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[justabigassnerd]

Worth The Risk

Pairing - Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x Mitchell!reader

Word count - 14.5k

Warnings - swearing, angst, fluff, Mav is a wee bit overprotective, mentions of Goose and Carole, allusion to smut at the end

Summary - in visiting your dad in Miramar you rekindle your friendship with Bradley Bradshaw, which yields unexpected results

A/N - sooo... it's a bit of a big one here lads. I wish I could tell y'all how I achieved such a feat but believe me I have no clue how I did this. this was a request sent in by @talesofreading so I hope I did the idea justice (and I'm so so so sorry it took me so long to write it in the first place). I won't ramble so as per y'all please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

“Yes dad, I’m at the gate now and we’re due to board in ten minutes or so.” You say with a breathy laugh after your dad finishes asking you what feels like a hundred questions about your flight. You were visiting your dad, Pete Mitchell, in San Diego while you had some time off work. After completing your studies at college, you had landed a good gig working as a nurse in a hospital in Chicago. You had grown up sure you weren’t going to follow in your father’s footsteps and so found yourself studying medicine and making a career out of it. It was hard when your dad was constantly deployed after pissing off Admiral after Admiral, but he did make the effort to visit you when he could and now that he was settled in San Diego, you decided you’d give him a visit.

“I’ll be at the airport when you land. I’ll see you soon sweetheart.” Maverick says a smile on his face as he thinks about how in a few hours you’ll be here in person.

“I’ll see you soon, dad. I love you.” You say, smiling as you hear your dad bid you one last goodbye before you hang up. After hanging up, you look out the window, seeing the plane you’d soon be boarding. You wait patiently at the gate, passport and boarding pass in hand as you survey the people surrounding you, little groups of people, family or friends, excitedly chatting about their trip and what they’re going to get up to, couples discussing similar topics, and businesspeople, making last minute calls or typing hurriedly on their laptops.

Before long, the call for boarding to begin comes over the loudspeaker and one by one a group is called up to have their passes checked and board the plane. Eventually, you are able to board and find your seat, settling down in it and tucking your bag away while patiently waiting for the journey to begin.

Soon enough, the boarding process is completed, and the plane begins to crawl towards the runway, patiently waiting for its turn to go. Within a couple of minutes, the plane gets onto the runway, and speeds along until it’s able to take off. You watch the ground get smaller and the clouds appear. You knew you inherited a love of flying from your dad, but your love for it never pushed you to make a career out of it. You watched the clouds pass you by while you listened to your music.

After just over four hours, the plane touched down in San Diego and you couldn’t wipe the smile from your face as you saw the beautifully sunny weather. You disembarked the plane and made your way to baggage claim and waited with the rest of the people from the flight until your bag comes around on the conveyor belt. You grab your bag and follow the signs to where you know you’ll be able to find your dad.  You enter the spacious area, eyes searching the sea of gathered people, quickly locating your dad’s familiar jacket and you swear your smile couldn’t get any wider. You lock eyes with Maverick, and he waves before making his way over to you.

“Hey, sweetheart. Was the flight okay?” He asks, sweeping you up in a hug, holding you close as you reciprocate the embrace.

“Hey, dad. The flight was fine.” You reply, squeezing him that little bit tighter before releasing him from the hug, taking the handle of your luggage and following your dad to the car park and letting him lead you to his car.

“New car?” You ask, an amused tone to your voice as you take in the sight of the car.

“I wouldn’t say new. Figured the bike would pose a problem so I had to take the car.” Maverick says with a chuckle, unlocking the car and loading your bags into the back of the car before you get into the passenger seat, and he gets into the driver’s seat.

The drive back to Maverick’s house wasn’t long and the scenery was beautiful. You had spent a little bit of time in Miramar when you were younger, but you don’t remember much of it since you only spent a few short months there before moving away again. You were silently glad your dad had found a place to settle down and that you could finally visit him after the countless times he had come to visit you.

“You probably don’t remember much about Miramar, huh?” Maverick muses softly, glancing at you quickly, noticing your enamoured expression before returning his focus to the road.

“I don’t. But it’s so gorgeous.” You say with a grin, taking in the views, your smile widening as you take in the sight of the beach.

“I’ll make sure we go to all the best places.” Maverick says, a smile on his face as he begins to turn up the road he lived on and then soon parks in his driveway. You get out of the car and by the time you get to the back of the car, Maverick has already unloaded your bags and leads you into his house.

The house was small yet perfect for Maverick, he’d decorated it with pictures from his time at Top Gun and pictures of you growing up. He shows you upstairs and to the room you’ll be staying in.

“I’ll let you settle in. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” Maverick says softly before excusing himself and heading downstairs while you stay put in the middle of the room. After a brief minute, you cross to the window, taking in the view and opening the window slightly so you can hear the breeze and birds singing while you got settled in. You unpacked some of your essentials before deciding you wanted to go and hang out with your dad while you had the time with him. You head downstairs and find Maverick sat on the sofa in the living room, smiling over at you.

“I’m still feeling pretty cramped from the flight. Are you okay if I go for a walk?” You ask, smiling as Maverick nods.

“Of course, do you want me to go with you?” He offers, already bracing his hands on either side of him ready to push himself up off the sofa.

“It’s okay, you can relax.” You say, watching as Maverick stays put, thinking to himself before speaking up.

“Don’t get lost, okay?” He says with a chuckle.

“I’m not as old as you so I can rely on my phone to keep me from getting lost.” You say with a cheeky grin, pulling your phone out of your pocket and waving it to emphasise your point, laughing at your dad’s expression of mock shock.

“You cheeky shit.” He says, breaking into a laugh and rolling his eyes as you pocket your phone.

“You know I love you.” You say with a grin, starting to head towards the front door.

“I love you too. Text me when you’re on your way back and I’ll start on dinner.” Maverick says, waving you off and you grab a spare key before exiting the house and letting your feet dictate where you go.

You find yourself wandering until you reach the beach, and you find yourself smiling as you see the families on the beach, lying on towels or playing in the sand and sea. You wished you could remember the times you had spent on that same beach but all you had was photos and stories your dad had told you. As you walk alongside the beach, take in the gorgeous sights as the golden sun starts to lower in the sky.

Eventually, you find yourself near a bar, it looks like a Navy bar to you just judging by the amount of people in khaki uniforms going in and out of the bar. You stood still for a moment, watching the people going in and out, wondering if your dad or anyone on his new squadron visited that bar. As you watch the bar, you catch sight of someone in a Hawaiian shirt standing on the decking just outside the bar. You didn’t mean to stare at the stranger, but you hadn’t seen anyone since Goose wearing a Hawaiian shirt so clearly this man had good taste and you couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh at the sight.

Before too long, the stranger caught sight of you, and you could’ve sworn your heart stopped when you realised, he was looking in your direction. Truthfully, you had no idea if he was actually looking at you or at something behind you because of his aviators hiding his eyes but the idea of this guy catching you looking at him was enough of a scare to get you to turn tail and begin your journey back to your dad’s house, shooting him a text to let him know you were on your way home.

In about twenty minutes, you enter Maverick’s house and are immediately greeted with the smell of cooking food, and you immediately know he is making you your favourite meal.

“Smells good.” You say with a wide smile, finding the kitchen and standing in the doorway, watching as your dad diligently works on the food.

“I had to make you your favourite.” Maverick replies, glancing over at you with a smile before returning his attention back to the food. You decide to help your dad out a bit and set the table and get drinks out. By the time you’ve set the table with cutlery and drinks, Maverick has finished the food and begins plating up the meals, handing you a plate with a smile. The two of you sit down at the table and eat your meals, chatting throughout and enjoying each other’s company. When you finish your meals, you help clean up, putting the dishes in the dishwasher despite Maverick’s insistence that you don’t have to. As he tells you what felt like the thousandth time to let him do it, the doorbell rang.

“Let me clean up, you answer the door.” You say, pointing towards the front door with a chuckle before turning back to the dishwasher, loading it carefully and wiping down the surfaces while you hear the muffled voices coming through from the hall.

“y/n, look who it is!” You turn and look through the doorway to see your dad entering the living room and behind him is a man sporting a shirt that looks incredibly familiar.

“I thought it was you I saw by the beach!” You couldn’t believe it. You were standing face-to-face with Bradley Bradshaw. Someone you thought you were never going to see again after that night he had screamed in your dad’s face about never wanting to see him again and leaving your house with the door slamming behind him. But here he was, standing in front of you with a huge smile and bright eyes. He’d changed a lot in the time that’s passed, he was definitely more muscular, and he had some new scars decorating his face, but above everything, he looked much more attractive than you remember him being.

“Bradley, I didn’t even recognise you!” You exclaim happily, accepting the offered hug instantly, clinging to Bradley and relishing in how gently he wrapped his arms around you, his chest rumbling with a gentle laugh.

“I almost didn’t recognise you. If I hadn’t of caught you staring, I probably wouldn’t have known you were here at all.” Bradley replies, both of you pulling apart when you hear Maverick’s amused scoff.

“Staring?” Maverick asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I wasn’t staring. I just noticed the Hawaiian shirt and it made me think of Goose.” You explain, rolling your eyes at your dad as both men laugh softly.

“Well, I’m happy to report that my dad’s impeccable fashion sense did in fact get passed down to me.” Bradley says, shrugging with a chuckle.

“So, what brings you by? Or was it just the fact you thought you saw me, so you came here to test your theory.” You ask, folding your arms across your chest as you raise an eyebrow with an amused smile.

“Maybe I was testing a theory, but I wasn’t exactly wrong.” Bradley admits, grinning as Maverick rolls his eyes jokingly.

“You could’ve called or texted if you wanted to know if she was here.” Maverick says, looking up at Bradley.

“I know but I haven’t seen her in a while, so I wanted to swing by.” Bradley says unapologetically.

“I’ll give you that one.” Maverick admits, nodding his head in approval as he turns to head into the kitchen to grab himself a beer.

“Hey, tomorrow would you like to grab a drink with me at the Hard Deck?” Bradley offers, a soft smile on his face as he awaits your response.

“Sure, it would be great to catch up after so long.” You say with a smile, more than happy to spend some time with Bradley now that you know he’s in the area.

“Great! I’ll swing by tomorrow and we’ll head down together. Is six, okay?” Bradley asks, offering a time.

“Six is perfect.” You say, your smile widening by the second, excited at the thought of spending the evening with Bradley.

“I’ll see you then.” Bradley says, giving you another hug before he leaves you and Maverick, closing the door behind him and signalling that he has gone. Once he’s gone you turn to face your dad, shocked to see his raised eyebrow.

“Don’t date an aviator.” Maverick says simply, making your jaw drop in shock.

“Dad, what?” You stammer, feeling your cheeks quickly heating up at the simple statement your dad said.

“You heard me. Don’t date an aviator. It won’t go well.” Maverick repeats himself, making you even more flustered.

“Okay, firstly, me and Bradley are going out for a friendly catch-up, we haven’t seen each other since we were eighteen. Secondly, I’m not a child so I can date whoever I want, aviator or not.” You retort, folding your arms over your chest as you stare down your dad.

“I’m just trying to protect you, sweetheart. I am an aviator, so I know what they’re like. It’s better if you steer clear of dating them. I saw how you were looking at Bradley and it’s best you don’t even try.” Maverick says, sticking to his guns and trying to explain himself.

“I appreciate that, dad. But I am an adult now, let me make mistakes and figure things out for myself.” You argue, raising an eyebrow as you continue to argue your point with your dad. Instead of responding, your dad just smiled softly before walking past you and heading upstairs. As his footsteps grow quieter as he disappears upstairs, you let out a soft sigh. You weren’t even going on a proper date with Bradley. It was just a friendly catch-up between two people who hadn’t seen each other in years. Right?

Six pm the next day couldn’t have come sooner for you. You had spent the day visiting some of your dad’s favourite spots with him. You had lunch together and he even managed to coerce you into taking a quick tour of his hangar. When you had got home you had spent way too long deciding on what you wanted to wear, trying to find something that was cute but didn’t make you look like you were trying to impress Bradley. Eventually, you find an outfit that fits what you’re going for and you put it on, smiling as you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. You knew it wasn’t a date but the mere thought of getting to spend time with Bradley after so long was making you giddy. Just as you finish freshening up, you hear the doorbell ring and just by checking the time you knew it was Bradley and you immediately began to make your way downstairs. As you were heading downstairs you could hear a muffled conversation between Bradley and Maverick, but they stopped talking as soon as Bradley caught sight of you.

“y/n… you look… wow.” Bradley stumbles over his words, not knowing what to say.

“I’m hoping that’s a good wow.” You say with a soft laugh, smiling up at Bradley.

“It’s definitely a good wow, you look beautiful.” Bradley says, a sheepish smile covering his face as he looks at you and you feel your cheeks heating up at his shy compliment. The moment was then disturbed by Maverick clearing his throat.

“So, I’ll see you when you get back. Keep her safe, Bradley.” Maverick says, softly smiling at you before turning to look at Bradley who straightens up ever so slightly at Maverick’s gaze.

“Of course, I will, Mav.” Bradley says as you both move towards the door, bidding your dad one last goodbye before you exit the house, stepping into the warm evening air and beginning the walk to the Hard Deck, making small talk on your way to the bar.

The walk that had been twenty minutes the day before felt like it was five minutes when you were walking with Bradley. You were having so much fun spending time with him again after so long. Eventually, you reach the Hard Deck and Bradley guides you to a table, finding the quietest corner in the bar and pulling the chair out for you to sit down at, making you smile shyly.

“Thank you.” You say softly, sitting down on the chair.

“I’m going to grab us some drinks. Do you want some fries as well or something?” Bradley says, still standing as he looks down at you.

“I’ll take a beer if that’s okay and fries sound nice.” You say with a smile as Bradley nods, turning and making his way to the bar.

“Hey Penny, could I get two beers and put in an order for fries?” Bradley asks, leaning up against the bar and smiling at Penny as she approaches.

“Of course, am I starting a tab?” Penny asks, handing Bradley two beers and taking his card in return, watching as he nods in response.

“Yes please.” Bradley confirms as Penny nods, tucking his card away someplace safe for the duration of his time at the bar.

“And what table am I taking the fries to when they’re done?” Penny asks as she hands the order to one of her employees before turning back to Bradley.

“Just that one over there.” Bradley says, pointing out the table and Penny leans over the bar slightly, following where Bradley was pointing before her eyes widen in shock slightly.

“Is that y/n?” Penny asks, remembering how she’d seen you a few times when you were younger.

“It is. She’s visiting Mav for a bit, and I haven’t seen her in years, so I figured we’d catch up over drinks.” Bradley explains, unable to wipe the smile off his face as he briefly glances over at you seeing you entertaining yourself on your phone before turning his attention back to Penny.

“A catch-up, huh?” Penny asks, an amused smile on her face as Bradley blushes slightly his gaze flicking down to the bar counter before looking back up at Penny as he licks his lips nervously.

“Don’t you start. I’ve already had Mav warn me away from her.” Bradley says with a joking roll of the eyes as he takes the beer bottles and heads back over to the table placing a beer in front of you and then sitting down in the chair opposite you.

“I was beginning to think you’d run away or something.” You say with a laugh, putting your phone away and holding the beer bottle in between your hands loosely.

“Never. I was just catching up with Penny.” Bradley says, lifting his beer bottle and tipping it lightly in Penny’s direction.

“Penny’s here?” You ask, turning in your seat and looking over at where Bradley had been pointing, smiling as you catch sight of Penny working at the bar seeing her catch sight of a patron and smiling as they approach.

“She was pretty excited when she realised you were here, so I’d imagine she’ll come over soon enough.” Bradley says, taking a sip from his beer bottle as you turn back around to face him.

“I don’t doubt it.” You say with a chuckle, taking a sip of your own beer as the two of you fall into a brief silence.

“So, how have you been? What have you been up to in these last few years?” Bradley asks, head tilted slightly in his curiosity.

“Well, the Navy wasn’t really my thing, so I just went to college and ended up pursuing medicine and now I’m a nurse over in Chicago. What about you?” You say, explaining what you’ve been up to since you last saw him.

“You’ve probably figured out I’m an aviator now, but I did go off to college after the whole thing with Mav. But I’m finally where I want to be and now, I’ve got a permanent squad and a place to call home.” Bradley explains, smiling softly to himself as he thinks of how far he’s come.

“That’s incredible. I know Goose and Carole are so proud of you.” You say, reaching over and gently resting a hand on Bradley’s arm, fighting the growing heat under your cheeks at the contact yet completely missing Bradley’s slight blush too.

“Thank you. You’ve done well for yourself getting a job in Chicago. I’m proud of you.” Bradley says, getting the bravery to rest a hand on top of yours, encapsulating your hand with the warmth emitting from his.

“Thank you, Bradley.” You reply softly, unable to contain your smile.

“So… have you got anyone back home? Any partners or anything?” Bradley asks, flushing a bit redder at the boldness of the question and fights to hide his relief when you shake your head with a slight chuckle.

“No. I’ve been single since college. What about you Mr. Aviator? You’ve surely got girls throwing themselves at your feet.” You say, retracting your hand from underneath Bradley’s both of you trying not to show any upset at the lack of contact.

“Throwing themselves at my feet? Well, you’re not entirely wrong with that. But I’m just waiting for the right girl to come along.” Bradley says with a soft shrug, making your heart pound just that little bit faster at the revelation that he is single.

“Here’s your fries.” You look up at the familiar voice and can’t stop your smile from widening when you see Penny placing the small basket of fries on the table and you instantly get out of your seat to give her a hug.

“Penny it’s been so long!” You exclaim happily, grinning as she wraps her arms around you, reciprocating the hug.

“It really has, hasn’t it?” Penny says with a laugh, pulling away to hold you at arm’s length.

“If I had known you were here, I would’ve swung by sooner. Somehow dad neglected to tell me that you worked here. He had mentioned you were in the area though.” You explain as Penny shakes her head with a laugh.

“I know what your father is like so don’t worry. I won’t interrupt your time with Bradley, sweetie. Enjoy your night and if you need anything, let me know.” Penny says, giving you one last hug before making her way back over to the bar to continue serving customers. You and Bradley then dig into the fries, continuing to chat as you eat.

You had no idea how long you were at the bar with Bradley, but it felt like mere seconds when you were with him. You knew you had a slight crush on Bradley way back when you were teenagers, but it had been pushed to the back of your mind in the last few years with how life had been. But just seeing Bradley and spending time with him had brought all those feelings back and they were stronger than ever.

What you didn’t know was that Bradley felt the exact same way. Only he was struggling with the warning Maverick had issued him when he turned up to pick you up. Maverick had warned him away from you, saying he didn’t want you dating an aviator. But for you, Bradley was more than willing to go against Maverick’s warnings and risk angering him.

“I’m going to close up my tab and I’ll take you home, okay?” Bradley says after clearing his throat and you nod, waiting patiently as he crosses to the bar and closes out his tab with Penny before he crosses back over to you. When you noticed Bradley coming over you got up, following him through the bar, bidding Penny goodbye as you passed.

Exiting into the cool night are you were suddenly aware of how long you had spent at the bar with Bradley now that the moon had replaced the sun. However, you didn’t even mind. With the evening now much quieter than the previous environment of the bustling bar, you and Bradley were able to walk and talk quietly, feeling like your conversations were much more private now.

Much earlier than you would’ve liked to, you wound up at the end of the driveway to your dad’s house and you felt your heart sinking at the finality of the end of the night.

“I had a great night tonight.” You say, turning to look up at Bradley with a smile, grateful for the evening you had with him.

“So did I. It was great to catch up.” Bradley replies with a soft smile of his own.

“It was. I just wish it never had to end.” You admit softly, eyes flicking to the ground before looking back at Bradley.

“Me too. But what if we did this again sometime before you go back to Chicago? Maybe like a date?” Bradley says, biting the bullet and deciding to just go for it instead of losing his chance. But when Bradley saw the hesitation on your face, he began to second guess himself. Had he completely misinterpreted how the night had gone?

“I’d really like that, Bradley. But…” You begin, glancing over at the front door before looking back over at Bradley who softens.

“Mav told you not to date aviators.” Bradley says, nodding in understanding.

“I’m not fussed about that rule, he can’t control me. I just don’t want this to ruin your relationship with him. You just made up after everything that happened, and I’m scared I’ll ruin it.” You admit, wanting to do what you can to protect Bradley from your dad’s protectiveness.

“You won’t ruin anything. I’ve never really been one for listening to Mav’s rules anyway. I think it’s worth the risk.” Bradley says quietly, as if your dad was nearby and listening in to your conversation, while he also reached out and interlocked your hands gently smiling so softly at you that you were sure you’d melt into a puddle right there and then.

“I think it’s worth the risk too.” You admit with a smile, blushing slightly as Bradley squeezes your hand softly at your agreement.

“How about in a couple of days’ time, we have our date? I’ll find us a nice spot and I’ll text you the details.” Bradley says, growing quieter near the end of his sentence.

“You don’t have my number.” You say with a giggle, digging in your jacket pocket for your phone, unlocking it and finding your number before holding it out towards Bradley who hurriedly digs in his pocket for his phone, almost dropping it at the speed at which he pulled the phone out before typing your number into his phone and creating a contact for you.

“Done.” Bradley says with a large smile as you turn your phone off and put it back in your pocket while Bradley mirrors your actions.

“I’ll see you around.” You say softly, knowing you should head into the house and let Bradley get home himself.

“I’ll text you. Goodnight, y/n.” Bradley says softly, extending his arms for a hug which you accept almost instantly, silently loving the way Bradley’s arms wrap around you and make you feel safe.

“Goodnight, Bradley.” You whisper before pulling away from the hug and heading up the path to the front door and unlocking the door, glancing over your shoulder and smiling at Bradley for one last time that night as he smiles back and offers you one last wave before you disappear inside. Maverick had clearly left the hall lights on for you so you could navigate the house and you made your way upstairs to your room, making sure you turned off the lights as you went. Once you reach your room, you change into your pyjamas before heading to the bathroom to clean up and get ready for bed. Then you return back to your room and climb into your bed, pulling the covers over you and grab your phone, smiling at the text that displayed as an unknown number, but you knew it was Bradley.

‘Thank you again for a great night. I’ve not had this much fun in a long time.’

‘It’s Bradley by the way.’

You couldn’t help but giggle at the second text, imagining the brief panic on Bradley’s face after he hit send on the first message without clarifying it was him.

‘Me neither, it was nice to catch up :).’

‘Let me know when you’re home safe.’

You found yourself double texting Bradley in return, wanting to make sure you know when Bradley gets home safe. While you waited for Bradley to text you back, you texted one of your closest friends from Chicago and told her about how your evening had gone and as you expected, she was very eager to hear everything and demanded to know what Bradley was like and whether you liked him. While you were explaining how the evening went, a text from Bradley came through.

‘I’m happy to say I made it home.’

You couldn’t stop your thumbs from typing a speedy response to Bradley’s text.

‘I’m glad you made it home safe. Although I’m sure being a big strong Navy man means you’re safer than most when walking home.’

You knew calling Bradley a ‘big strong Navy man’ was probably a bit of a step too far but your thumbs were typing quicker than your brain could comprehend and you only realised what you had typed when you had hit send on the message. Just as you were beginning to type an apology, a text came through from Bradley.

‘Oh, I’m a big strong Navy man, am I?’

He knew what he was doing, and you did very little to fight back the heat growing under your cheeks.

‘You know what I meant.’

You had no idea how long you had been texting Bradley that night. You had woken up the next morning with your phone under your hand as you woke up to Maverick knocking on your door, asking if you wanted any breakfast. After responding to your dad, you flipped your phone over, unable to stop the smile from crossing your face when you saw the good morning text from Bradley. You replied to the message as you kicked your covers back, stretching before throwing a hoodie on over your pyjamas and heading downstairs to where your dad was preparing breakfast for you.

“Morning, dad.” You say with a smile, sitting at the table as Maverick places a plate of pancakes in front of you.

“Morning, sweetheart. How did you sleep?” Maverick asks, pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head before returning his attention to his own food.

“I slept well thanks, how about you?” You reply, beginning to dig into your breakfast as Maverick finishes plating up his food, crossing to the table to sit opposite you.

“I slept well. How was your evening with Bradley? Penny mentioned she saw you.” Maverick asks, glancing across at you as you smile.

“It was nice to catch up with him. And yes, I did see Penny. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me she worked there.” You say with a chuckle, hoping your dad doesn’t read between the lines too much and instead focuses on Penny.

“Well, I didn’t anticipate you going to the Hard Deck so soon. I was going to invite Penny and Amelia over at some point.” Maverick admits with a light shrug and a grin as you roll your eyes jokingly.

“I’d love to see them and have a proper catch up.” You say in agreement before eating another mouthful of food. You continue to chat with your dad until you both finish your food, and you tidy everything away before you feel your phone buzz in your pocket and you pull it out, smiling when you see the text from Bradley.

“What’s got you all smiley?” Maverick asks with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“Oh, just a friendly text from Bradley.” You lie, acting as if you hadn’t just read the text from Bradley confirming the time and place of your date tomorrow.

“Just friendly? Good.” Maverick says turning away and missing you rolling your eyes at his statement.

“Yeah, we know your rule.” You say, wishing your dad wasn’t as stubborn as he was, but you were also a Mitchell and held that same stubbornness, hence why you were so adamantly going against his rule. You typed out a hurried reply to Bradley’s text, telling him that the time and place he had picked sounded great and that you couldn’t wait to have your date.

You spent your day on the beach with Maverick, getting in some tanning time as you read. Penny ended up coming out to meet you with Amelia in tow. You spent time catching up with the mother-and-daughter duo, unable to believe how much Amelia had grown since you last saw her, and you loved getting to hear what she had been up to in recent years. Amelia even managed to convince you into going in the sea with her and you couldn’t help but smile and laugh with her as she attempted to splash you.

When you tired of the sea you returned to your towel, drying yourself off and sitting back down to join in with your dad and Penny’s conversations. And you didn’t miss how both your dad and Penny were acting around each other. You could tell they liked each other, they just needed to act on it.

Eventually, you and Maverick headed home after bidding Penny and Amelia goodbye, promising to keep in touch even after you head back to Chicago. And when you get home you open your phone to see messages from Bradley and you reply to them as quickly as possible, apologising for how long it had taken you to respond and picking up the conversation right up from where it had been left off. You loved texting Bradley; he could make you smile and blush like he was right there in front of you having a proper face-to-face conversation. You didn’t like that you had to lie to your dad about what you were talking about with Bradley, but he had chosen to come up with this stupid rule that had you and Bradley sneaking around like a pair of teenagers. But Bradley was worth the risk.

The next day you were in serious planning mode, you had to figure out a way to get out of the house without your dad asking too many questions or catching on to what you were going out to do. You knew the restaurant Bradley had picked wasn’t super fancy so you could get away with a nice, cute outfit that wouldn’t arouse too much suspicion from your dad and maybe you could get away with saying it was another friendly hang out. Maybe you could talk Penny into hanging out with Maverick to distract him and also potentially give them the opportunity to confess their own feelings after seeing the way they skirted around each other. You had conversed with Bradley about this dilemma, and he had offered to meet you at the end of your road instead of coming to the door and you knew that was more than likely the best option you had. If this date went well and there was another, you knew your dad would get suspicious about Bradley constantly turning up at the door. After some careful planning, you and Bradley had come up with the most effective plan to ensure that Maverick did not catch on to your evening plans.

By the time the evening came around, you had already planted seeds with your dad, telling him you wanted to go on an evening walk because you promised your friend a video tour of the sights of Miramar. With that in place, you had changed into the outfit you had picked for the date and texted Bradley that you were on your way out.

“You’re heading out then?” Maverick asks, smiling at you from where he was sat on the sofa and you smile over at him, grabbing the spare keys.

“Yep! Don’t worry about waiting up for me. Katie and I can chat for hours once we get going. Maybe you could invite Penny over or something?” You suggest, fighting the urge to smirk when you see your dad blush slightly at your question.

“You figured that out quickly, huh?” Maverick asks with a soft chuckle.

“You think I’d miss something as obvious as that? Nice try.” You say with a laugh, feeling your phone buzz in your pocket and you pull it out to find a message from Bradley, letting you know he was at the end of the road waiting for you.

“Look, I have to go. Call Penny.” You say, pointing at your dad with a joking warning finger before leaving the house, looking up and down the road until you spot a figure waiting at one end of the road and head towards them, knowing instantly that it was Bradley. You make your way towards him, your smile widening when he notices you, revealing a bunch of flowers he had behind his back.

“Hey.” Bradley says softly, smiling as you take the flowers.

“Hey.” You reply, admiring the beautiful flowers Bradley had picked out, he had assembled a bouquet of red carnations, it was simple but so beautiful and you couldn’t help but love Bradley just that little bit more because of it.

“I hope those flowers are okay.” Bradley says sheepishly, offering an arm out for you to take which you do so happily, letting him lead you to where he had parked his beloved Bronco nearby and opening the passenger side door for you, letting you get in the car before closing the door, rounding the car and getting in the driver's seat, starting up the engine and beginning the drive to the little restaurant Bradley had picked. The drive wasn’t too long, and you chatted the whole way. When you reached the restaurant, Bradley insisted you stayed put while he went and opened your door for you, telling you that you could leave the flowers on the seat for now before closing the door behind you and leading you into the restaurant.

“Hi, I have a reservation, should be under Bradshaw.” Bradley greets the host with a smile who consults the list in front of him before instructing you to both follow him. You follow him through the restaurant with Bradley by your side. You were shocked to find that Bradley had managed to reserve a table by a large window so you could overlook the beach and ocean, able to see the sun beginning its descent over the horizon.

“Bradley, this is amazing!” You say, unable to keep the excitement from your tone as Bradley yet again pulls your chair out for you, waiting for you to sit before tucking the chair a little closer to the table before going to his own seat.

“I wanted to make sure we had a good first date.” Bradley admits with a light shrug as he eases himself down into his seat, both of you picking up your menus in tandem, letting out a soft chuckle as you do so. You both scan the menus, talking about which meals sounded good before you both eventually came to a decision on meals and a drink. When the waiter comes around asking if you’re ready to order, both you and Bradley nod and ever the gentleman, Bradley lets you order first before ordering his own food and drink. The waiter writes down your orders before dismissing himself with the promise to return with your drinks, so you and Bradley pick up your conversation, both of you overwhelmingly happy with how the evening is going even if the date had only just started. Soon enough, the waiter returns with the drinks, placing them in front of you before dismissing himself again to serve other customers while your food is being prepared. By the time the food had arrived, you were sure that had you been on a date with anyone else, you would’ve run out of things to say but since it was Bradley, the conversation flowed naturally, and you never seemed to have a lull in the conversation even once and before too long your food arrived, and you both began to dig in.

“I never asked the other day. But how are you finding Chicago?” Bradley asks after a mouthful of food.

“It’s good. Obviously, I’ve been out there a while but I’m enjoying myself. I have some great friends out there, but I do feel quite far away from dad sometimes.” You admit, eyes flicking down to your plate before looking back up at Bradley who smiles in understanding.

“I get that. It’s hard to be away from family.” Bradley says, a soft understanding tone to his voice which makes you feel awful. You knew he had lost both his parents before he even reached the age of eighteen.

“Bradley, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“No don’t worry, honestly. It’s good. The more I talk about them the easier it gets.” Bradley says with a gentle smile, letting you know there were no hard feelings about it. With the topic settled, you were able to start a new conversation and the rest of the night ran smoothly. When it came to paying the bill, you went to get your card out, hand reaching to hand it to the waiter, but Bradley was quicker, gently taking your card from your hand and giving his card to the waiter instead.

“Bradley, come on I can pay.” You insist, your pleas in vain as the waiter begins to process the payment with Bradley’s card.

“I asked you on this date. It’s on me.” Bradley retorts with a grin, thanking the waiter as his card is handed back to him, finally giving your card back to you, chuckling as you huff lightly. Once everything is confirmed to have gone through, you’re given the freedom to leave and Bradley gets up first and you follow, letting him guide you through the bustling restaurant until you reach the cool night air of the outside world. You head back to the Bronco, of course letting Bradley open your door for you again. On the journey back, you both continue to talk with each other, even singing along lightly to one of the songs that come over the radio. By the time Bradley pulled up on the end of your road you couldn’t help but feel your heart sink at the realisation that the date was over. You had the best time with Bradley, and you wished you could spend more time with him. Once again, Bradley made you wait for him to open your door before you got out of the Bronco, this time you brought the flowers with you.

“I had the best night, Bradley.” You admit softly, smiling as Bradley smiles in response.

“So did I. Do you think we could have a second date?” Bradley asks, a slight sheepishness to his tone as he asks.

“I’d love to. This time, I’m picking the place and I’m paying.” You insist, pointing a joking finger at him as he laughs and shakes his head.

“Alright, you can pick. I’ll still come by and pick you up though.” Bradley replies, raising an eyebrow as you let out a soft sigh and nod.

“Deal.” You say, holding your free hand out for Bradley to shake which he does so.

“Deal.” Bradley agrees, squeezing your hand ever so softly before letting go.

“I’ll text you the details.” You say as Bradley nods.

“Got it. I can’t wait.” He replies, smiling as you nod in response.

“Good night, Bradley.” You say softly.

“Good night, y/n.” Bradley replies, his voice matching yours in softness. Just as you turn to head back to your dad’s house, you decide to turn to face Bradley and then kiss his cheek softly before whispering one last good night and heading back to Maverick’s house. As you head back to the house, you missed Bradley flushing a deep red with an awestruck smile on his face, watching as you walked down the road, unaware of the effect you had on him.

When you reached your dad’s house, you noticed that his bike was absent which made you tilt your head slightly in confusion before just deciding to shrug it off and enter the house. You were surprised to find none of the lights on, you flipped them on and found a note on the little shelf where the key bowl was. You opened the note and saw your dad’s scratchy handwriting, informing you that he’d gone to Penny’s house, making your eyebrows raise slightly in shock.

“Didn’t think he’d actually listen to me.” You mutter to yourself, heading through the house to try and find something in the kitchen that could act as a vase for the beautiful flowers Bradley had gotten for you. After searching for a few minutes, you were able to find something that would work and you filled it with water, putting the flowers in before heading upstairs to your room. You place the flowers on the bedside table before getting changed and then heading into the bathroom to clean your face and brush your teeth before getting into bed. You chose to stay up for a while to text Bradley before you both eventually decided to go to bed with the promise of talking in the morning.

The next morning, you woke up and were somewhat unsurprised to find that your dad was still out, so you looked around in the kitchen and found some food to make yourself some breakfast. As you prepared your breakfast, you texted Bradley a good morning message, smiling to yourself when he replied not long after you had sent your message. You continue to text him as you eat your food, unable to rid yourself of your smile as he continues to send you texts. In between messaging Bradley, you find yourself looking online for things to do that could potentially make an interesting date night for you and Bradley. You had decided that you weren’t going to actively look for a restaurant as you wanted to branch out a little and find something different for the two of you to do and as you searched you eventually found a nice-looking mini golf place along the beachfront and when you sent some pictures of the place to Bradley and proposed it as the location of your second date just for a little bit of fun he was more than onboard with the idea. The two of you decide on a time to meet later that day. You knew it was probably a bit soon to have a second date the day after the first, but you weren’t permanently in Miramar, and you were both aware of it and wanted to make the most of you being here.

Just as you finish cleaning up after yourself after finishing your food, you hear the front door open and Maverick call into the house, letting you know he has returned. You called back to Maverick, letting him know that you were just in the kitchen. It didn’t take him very long to head to the kitchen and you could tell from his face that he had a good night.

“So… how was Penny’s?” You ask with a raised eyebrow and smirk as your dad rolls his eyes at your words, heading to the coffee machine, grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee.

“I’m pretty sure you can figure it out for yourself.” Maverick mutters, silently willing his mug to fill up with coffee quickly.

“I’m sure I can.” You say with a soft chuckle, focusing on cleaning up after yourself.

“Did you have a good time calling your friend last night?” Maverick asks, finally picking up his mug and taking a sip of coffee.

“Yeah, she loved seeing the beach. She couldn’t stop talking about how jealous she was of the beach sunsets.” The lie came quickly and easily and thankfully your dad didn’t think much of it, just nodding lightly and continuing to sip on his coffee. It didn’t look like your dad was awake enough to hold a functioning conversation, so you quietly dismissed yourself, heading upstairs to shower and get changed so you’re ready for the day.

After showering, you enter your room to get changed and you smiled when you caught sight of the flowers on your bedside table. You couldn’t wait to spend another evening with Bradley. You don’t know how you were going to keep lying to your dad, especially if your next date went as well as the last and you were going to come back to Miramar in the future. You wished your dad could be okay with the idea of you and Bradley being together. You valued your dad’s opinion so much and you thought he of all people would be okay with you potentially dating Bradley. Bradley was an aviator, but he wasn’t one of the aviators your dad was talking about when he enforced the rule. Shaking yourself out of your thoughts, you finish getting ready for the day and head back downstairs and find your dad fast asleep on the sofa.

“You are the only person I know who could drink coffee and fall asleep right after.” You mutter quietly to yourself, picking up the empty mug and taking it to the dishwasher as you reminisce on all the times your dad would doze off so soon after having a cup of coffee. After the brief tidy up you debate your next move. Part of you wanted to go and hang out with Bradley, but you didn’t know where he lived, nor did you want him to get sick of seeing you before your second date. So, you ended up deciding to just entertain yourself, you had a book, and the beach was nearby so you decided to take yourself down to the beach to read and soak up the sun while you could. You packed up a small bag with your book and a couple of other little things you figured you’d need while you were out before leaving a little note on the coffee table in front of your dad so he wouldn’t panic when he eventually woke up.

After you left the house, you slowly made your way towards the beach. It had so quickly become one of your favourite spots in Miramar and it made you happy that your dad had finally been able to settle down somewhere as beautiful as this. You sat yourself down on the towel you had brought with yourself and opened your book, eyes beginning to scan the pages, getting immersed in the world you were reading about. There were a few times when cocky Top Gun trainees would whistle to get your attention and then flex and show off in front of you, all of them unaware of you rolling your eyes beneath your sunglasses. Those were the type of aviators you had vowed to avoid. And they didn’t know that your heart had already been stolen by a much kinder and gentler aviator. One who was more than likely their superior. Once you stopped paying them any mind, they grew bored in trying to get your attention and instead found someone else who would give them the attention they wanted. You were able to get through a good chunk of your book with the sounds of the beach surrounding you. Just as you decided to pack up and head back home, figuring you had been out long enough, you caught sight of a family playing on the beach, the father scooping his son up and holding him close as the boy giggled and hugged his dad. The sight made your heart melt, and it made you wish all the more that you could remember the time you had spent in Miramar when you were little.

After tearing your eyes away from the sight, you started to make your way home, still finding yourself admiring your surroundings with every step you took. It didn’t take you long to make your way back to your dad’s house and just as you entered the house, you heard the tv playing in the living room, letting you know that your dad was now a bit more awake. You then head into the living room, greeting your dad as you enter the room, smiling at him as he greets you in return.

“Did you have a good time at the beach?” Maverick asks as you ease yourself down onto the armchair, nodding as you sit down.

“It was nice to just relax and read my book. I don’t get to do that much back in Chicago.” You say, glad you took the time you had to take care of yourself and relax at somewhere as beautiful as the beach.

“I’m glad you got a chance to relax. It must get pretty busy with your job, huh?” Maverick muses, realising he’s never truly sat down and thought about how busy your life can be.

“It’s a lot of long hours. But I knew what I was getting myself into when I pursued this career.” You admit. You had inherited a lot from your dad, one of which was your willingness to put in the hard work to get yourself where you wanted to be in life.

“I probably don’t say this enough but I’m so proud of you.” Maverick says softly, smiling over at you which makes you smile at his words.

“That means a lot, dad. Thank you.” You say softly, both of you standing from where you were sat and crossing to each other, hugging each other tightly. It wasn’t that your dad didn’t tell you he was proud of you, even if he thought he didn’t say it enough, in fact, he had said it to you a lot growing up. When you graduated college, you were sure he said it a hundred times just at the ceremony alone. Every time he told you that he was proud of you, it made your heart swell. All you ever wanted to do was make your dad proud.

You decide to spend the day spending time with your dad, talking about things and even coercing him into telling you a few stories from when you were little and lived in Miramar. It was nice to hear some stories from your childhood, especially when Goose, Carole, and Bradley were involved in the stories. You knew your dad missed his friends, and that was part of the reason you didn’t want your potential relationship with Bradley to drive a wedge between them. They were both the last thing left they had of Goose and Carole, and you’d never forgive yourself if you ruined their relationship after they had just mended it. When it grows close to the time you agreed to meet with Bradley, you begin to excuse yourself, getting up from the sofa.

“Where are you off to tonight?” Maverick asks, watching as you get up and begin to cross to the doorway so you can freshen up.

“I found a mini golf place down by the beach and Bradley kindly agreed to come with me for a friendly match.” You say with a grin, hoping your dad doesn’t think too much about Bradley being mentioned.

“You’ve seemed so much happier now you’ve reconnected with Bradley.” Maverick says, clearly not missing the effect Bradley had on you since you started talking with him again.

“I didn’t realise how much I missed him until we started talking again.” You admit with a light shrug, trying not to give too much away about your feelings for Bradley.

“Well, I’m glad you two have been able to be friends again.” Maverick says with a nod, silently dismissing you and you take the chance, heading upstairs to change and freshen up for meeting Bradley.

It takes practically no time for you to freshen up and get ready for your second date with Bradley. You were silently thankful that you had the sense to pack some cute outfits for your visit because now you didn’t feel like you had to panic and find clothes that might work. When you finish getting ready, you head back downstairs after checking your phone and seeing a text from Bradley saying that he’s on his way, grab your key, and bid your dad a quick goodbye as you make your way out the door.

Once more you make your way down the road, realising that you beat Bradley to where you agreed to meet. You waited patiently for but a couple of minutes before Bradley walked up alongside you.

“Funny seeing you here.” Bradley says jokingly, both of smiling as you turn to face him.

“I never could’ve expected to run into you here.” You say, a joking sarcastic tone to your voice as you let out a breathy laugh before giving Bradley the hug he offered. After greeting each other, you both begin the walk to the mini golf place. It wasn’t too far from your dad’s house, and you enjoyed getting to walk with Bradley, especially when you had no shortage of conversation topics. It didn’t take you long to reach the mini golf course and as you got closer; you began to take longer strides to get out in front of Bradley to ensure you could pay for it. Thankfully, Bradley stuck true to the deal and patiently waited for you to pay, only stepping closer when the employee at the booth handed you two golf clubs and two golf balls, taking one of each from you.

“Let’s play.”

As you make your way around the course, taking it in turns while making light conversation with each other each step of the way. As you get ready to take your first shot on the course you had moved on to, Bradley quickly steps forward.

“Hey, do you mind if I just do something that might help you really quick?” Bradley asks, making your focus shift from the golf ball to him.

“Yes, of course.” You say with a smile, waiting as Bradley takes a step closer to you.

“Do you mind if I touch you?” Bradley asks, his voice soft as he studies your expression, not wanting to make you uncomfortable.

“Yes.” Your voice is just as soft as his. Bradley then gently rests his hands on your hips, missing how your breath hitches in your throat at the gentle contact.

“Is this okay?” His voice was soft against the shell of your ear, making your heart pound ten times faster.

“Of course.” You mumbled, fighting the feeling of your cheeks heating up as Bradley carefully adjusted your body, his hands remaining on your hips even after he had finished adjusting your body.

“There, try taking a swing now.” Bradley says, removing his hands from your hips and taking a small step back, making you hold back a frown at the sudden lack of contact. You try to focus yourself after Bradley had stepped away, focusing on where you needed to aim for, and not shifting your body from where Bradley had carefully placed it. You took a deep breath before swinging your club, hitting the golf ball with just enough power to bag yourself a hole-in-one.

“I did it!” You cry out triumphantly, holding your hands up in celebration.

“There you go!” Bradley praises, pulling you into a hug, and carefully avoiding your golf club.

“You’ve given away your best trick. Now I’m going to kick your ass.” You say smugly, laughing as Bradley shakes his head jokingly.

“You’re definitely a Mitchell with that competitive attitude.” Bradley jokes, making you roll your eyes before you and Bradley begin to move on to the next part of the course. It doesn’t take the two of you much longer to get through the remainder of the course and by the time you had finished, you had practically stopped keeping score, instead just focusing on having fun with each other. After returning the clubs to the employee at the booth, you took a little walk further down the beach, finding a wall to sit down at to watch the waves crashing gently against the shore. You and Bradley continue to converse quietly, taking in the beautiful sights the San Diego beach has to offer. At a lull in the conversation, Bradley turned to face you, making you mimic his actions.

“Are you okay, Bradley?” You ask softly, analysing his expression, trying to anticipate what he might say to you.

“Can I kiss you?” Bradley’s question took you off guard, yet you couldn’t stop your heart from pounding in excitement.

“Yes.” You replied breathlessly, and at your response, Bradley gently cupped your face in his hands, inching closer before his lips met yours, your eyes fluttering shut at the contact. The kiss was perfect, it was like putting together two pieces of a puzzle. You didn’t want the moment to end at all but eventually, the need for air became too much and you both gently pulled away from each other, smiling as you locked eyes.

“That was… wow.” You say breathlessly.

“I’m hoping that was a good wow.” Bradley says with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

“It definitely was.” You reply, leaning in for another kiss which Bradley is more than happy to reciprocate.

“Do you think we could make this official? Will you be my girlfriend?” Bradley asks, watching you with the gentlest gaze.

“I’d be a fool to say no to you.” You say happily, pulling Bradley into a hug, your grin widening further than you thought possible, especially when Bradley pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head as he squeezed you ever so slightly closer. You had never been happier than you were in this moment with Bradley. The two of you continue to chat, embracing each other as you watch the sunset across the horizon.

“We should probably get you home, huh?” Bradley muses softly when he feels you shiver against him, instantly shedding his jacket and wrapping it around your shoulders. You get up wordlessly, waiting for Bradley to follow suit and then you begin to slowly walk back together, hands interlinked as you quietly converse, nothing able to wipe the smiles from your faces. When you eventually reach the end of the road leading to your dad’s house once more, you turn to face Bradley.

“Tonight was amazing.” You say, squeezing Bradley’s hand softly.

“It was.” Bradley agrees softly.

“Looks like we have an excuse to see each other more before I leave then?” You muse softly, looking at Bradley as he nods.

“Absolutely.” Bradley says, his smile gentle.

“We can meet at the Hard Deck tomorrow. My squad will be there, but I won’t make you introduce yourself if you don’t want to though. We can find a quieter part of the bar to hang out.” Bradley then continues, carefully picking his words in an attempt to not scare you off.

“I wouldn’t mind meeting your team. I believe I owe one of them a thank you for saving you and dad on that mission you went on.” You say, more than happy to meet Bradley’s team.

“Don’t thank him, it’ll go straight to his head and then he won’t be able to shut up about it for ages.” Bradley says with a laugh, thinking about how Jake would react to being thanked.

“Well, I at the very least owe him a drink for what he did.” You say with a light shrug and a smile.

“I won’t stop you but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Bradley says with a soft shake of the head, making you roll your eyes with a light scoff.

“I can handle egotistical aviators any day of the week.” You say, folding your arms across your chest and raising your eyebrow as if accepting a challenge.

“You know, I’d pay good money to see you put Hangman in his place.” Bradley admits, chuckling to himself at the mental image of you taking Jake down a peg or two.

“If I need to, I will.” You say with a soft laugh, both you and Bradley knowing that you can absolutely handle yourself. You then both fall silent for a brief moment before Bradley clears his throat softly.

“I should probably let you head back.” Bradley says, nodding in the direction of Maverick’s house, not wanting to keep too long.

“Thank you again. Tonight was amazing.” You say, taking Bradley’s jacket off and handing it to him.

“I should be thanking you.” Bradley says, slipping his jacket back on.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Bradley.” You whisper, stepping closer to Bradley and placing a quick, soft kiss on his lips, pulling away with a smile.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.” Bradley whispers in response, smiling sweetly as you take a small step back offering him one last smile before turning around and making your way back to your dad’s house with a wide smile that you were sure could never fade.

When you entered the house, you were unsurprised to hear the tv on in the living room. After all, you and Bradley hadn’t been out too long, so it made sense that your dad was still up and about.

“Hey, dad.” You say, standing in the doorway to the living room, smiling as he looks over at you.

“Hey, sweetheart. How was the mini golf?” Maverick asks, his focus completely on you.

“It was great. We had a good time. I kicked Bradley’s ass of course.” You say, jokingly bragging even though you had no idea who had won or lost between you and Bradley.

“That’s my girl. Want to finish watching this movie with me?” Maverick offers, patting the sofa to encourage you over. You nod and cross the room to the sofa, easing yourself down on the sofa next to your dad, relaxing back against the cushions as you watch the movie. You loved watching movies with your dad, you had similar tastes in movies, and you made funny comments to each other during the movie, commenting on a character’s choice or how you would’ve handled a situation. Partway through the movie, your dad decided to order some food given that the two of you hadn’t had any dinner. The two of you perused a menu and picked some food before Maverick placed the order. You both continue to watch the movie until the doorbell rings, giving away that the food has arrived, and you go to pick it up from the delivery driver while Maverick grabs some plates and drinks. Once all the food is plated up, you focus back on the movie, still exchanging comments and enjoying each other’s company. It felt like forever since you had been able to spend time with your dad like this and you were so grateful that you took the time off to come and visit him.

By the time the movie had finished, the food had been eaten and you were feeling the excitement of the day catching up to you, so you stood up, stretching your arms above your head as you stood.

“I might go and start winding down. I’m exhausted.” You say, a yawn spilling past your lips as you talk, emphasising your point.

“I believe you. You go and get an early night, sweetheart.” Maverick says as you pick up your plate and cup, nodding lightly at his words, heading into the kitchen to put your things away before returning to the living room just as Maverick was standing up himself.

“Night, dad.” You mumble, reaching out to hug your dad which he happily reciprocates, holding you close.

“Night, y/n.” Maverick replies, squeezing you a little tighter before releasing you. When he lets you go, you head up to your room and quickly get ready for bed, clambering under the covers and texting Bradley. You had a back-and-forth chat with him, telling him about how excited you were to see him next and how you couldn’t wait to meet his team. You also confessed that you would like to tell your dad about your new relationship with Bradley before you went back to Chicago, but you wanted Bradley’s thoughts first and he let you know that whenever you were ready, he’d be there to help you tell Maverick.

Eventually, you fell asleep and when you woke up in the morning, you remembered that you’d be meeting with Bradley at the Hard Deck, and it kicked you into high gear. You knew you wouldn’t be meeting him until the late afternoon, but you wanted to ensure that you had sufficient time to prepare for the evening. You got up and once you were showered and dressed, you headed downstairs to make some breakfast for you and your dad. As you prepared the breakfast, you put the radio on quietly for some background noise and you hummed lightly to the song playing.

When Maverick came down for breakfast, you had just begun plating it up and you handed him a plate just as he began to sit down. You then poured him a mug of coffee, placing it down on the table with a smile before focusing on plating up your own food. You then sit down opposite your dad and the two of you have a chat over dinner. You decided you’d spend the day with your dad before heading to the Hard Deck, so you laid out a plan with your dad since you knew you didn’t have much longer left in Miramar. You were excited to do some more things with your dad, especially given the number of times you’d been disappearing in the evenings to hang out with Bradley. You go with your dad to various places around Miramar that you haven’t seen yet. He even took you to Top Gun, showing you around his workplace, and even able to show you some of the jets he flew. Stepping back into Top Gun felt familiar to you, you didn’t have any concrete memories of the building, but the familiarity was overwhelming, and you were so happy your dad found himself back at Top Gun, so he not only had the familiarity but because he also had the stability of working in one place without having to move constantly. By the time you had finished the tour of Top Gun, you became aware of the time and turned to your dad.

“Hey, dad. I promised Bradley I’d meet with him at the Hard Deck to meet his team in like an hour or so. Is it okay if I head home to get sorted?” You ask, turning to face your dad.

“You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with Bradley. Is there anything you should know about?” Maverick asks, eyebrow slightly raised as he watches you.

“Dad, it’s not like that. He just wanted me to meet his friends. Besides, I do owe one of them a drink at least for saving you and Bradley.” You reply, shrugging lightly as you explain yourself. You longed to tell your dad, but you knew it wasn’t the right time, not without Bradley to support you through it.

“Well, that’ll go straight to his head.” Maverick says with a chuckle gesturing with his head for you to follow him which you do so, trying to hide your smirk when you realise your dad has said practically the same thing that Bradley had when you mentioned buying a drink for the aviator who saved both your dad and Bradley. You followed your dad out to his car, finding it a little bit funny at the number of times he’s used the car in the duration of your stay when you know he’d much rather be riding around on his motorbike. You both get into the car and Maverick begins the drive back to his house.

Once he pulls up and parks the car, you both get out and you make your way into the house and up to your room so you can freshen up. After you’ve made yourself a little more presentable for the evening, you head back downstairs to spend a little bit more time with your dad before heading down to the Hard Deck. Just before you leave to head down to the bar, you bid your dad goodbye, promising to be back before it’s too late.

The walk to the Hard Deck was quiet without Bradley around to keep you company, but you knew you’d be seeing him soon enough. Besides, as you made your way down to the bar, you were able to appreciate the beauty around you before you had to go back to Chicago.

By the time you make it to the Hard Deck, you feel your phone buzz in your pocket making you stop in your tracks, pull your phone out of your pocket to read the message you had received from Bradley, letting you know that he was in the Hard Deck and that you could just head in whenever you were ready. Taking a deep breath, you head into the bustling bar, glancing around and quickly locating Bradley just by his Hawaiian shirt, seeing him standing with a group of people who you could only assume were his team. As you cross the room, Bradley turns around and catches sight of you, eyes lighting up as he smiles and crosses to meet you in the middle, instantly capturing your lips in his for a sweet kiss.

“Well, that’s one way to say hello.” You mumble with a smile as you both pull away slightly, smiling at each other.

“I’m just happy to see you.” Bradley confesses softly, pulling you into a gentle hug, and pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“That makes both of us.” You reply happily, eyes fluttering closed in the embrace for a brief moment before you pull away.

“Let’s get you acquainted with the team, shall we?” Bradley says, wrapping a gentle arm around your waist and guiding you over to the group of people he had just been standing with by the pool table. As you approach the group, Bradley is quick to introduce you to everyone, making sure he made it known that you were his girlfriend before he introduced everyone by name. Once you had been introduced to everyone, you turned to address the group.

“Alright, so which of you is the one I owe a drink for saving my dad and Bradley?” You ask, making the group exchange looks at the realisation that you’re not only Bradley’s girlfriend but Maverick’s daughter as well. Once they get over the initial shock of the revelation, a blond man steps forward, a cocky smirk on his face as he smiles at you.

“Well, sounds like you owe me a drink then.” He says with a smirk, leaning back against the pool table with an eyebrow raised.

“I’m a woman of my word.” You say simply, shrugging with a laugh before going over to the bar to order a drink for both you and Jake from Penny, greeting her happily as you do so. When you’ve grabbed the drinks, you return to the group, handing one of the beers to Jake which he takes happily, making sure everyone saw the special treatment he believed he was getting.

“You weren’t lying when you said it would go to his head.” You muse with a laugh as Bradley winds an arm around your middle, pulling your back to his chest as he lets out a soft chuckle.

“He’s just warming up.”

Unbeknownst to you and the others, Maverick entered the bar while you were all occupied with your conversations and sat himself at the bar, smiling at Penny as he did so. As he received his drink, he glanced over at you with the Daggers, and his eyebrows furrowed as he saw the embrace Bradley had you in, and he certainly didn’t miss Bradley pressing soft kisses to your cheek as you laughed, looking up at him with all the love in the world.

“Did you know about them?” Maverick asks the next time Penny stops in front of him, gesturing over in your direction with his head.

“No more than you did clearly. But it was obvious they liked each other the moment they had that little meet-up when y/n first came back. Bradley did mention you warning him away from her though.” Penny says, focusing her attention on a stain on the bar top and wiping a cloth along it.

“I just didn’t want her to get hurt. I know what aviators are like.” Maverick says, eyes fixed on the drop of condensation running down the beer bottle in his hand.

“Pete, she’s not a child and I’m sure she’s told you as much. Besides, Bradley looks at her like she holds the entire world in her hands. Bradley’s not like the others. Give him a chance.” Penny says softly, watching the man in front of her softly, seeing how he silently processes her words. Instead of responding, Maverick looked back over to where you and Bradley were, and he could see the look of love evident on both of your faces.

Suddenly, a patron at the bar who was clearly already much too drunk stumbled in your direction and Maverick was convinced he had never seen a quicker reaction from Bradley until right now. Bradley, with one of the arms he had wrapped around your middle, carefully manoeuvred you so that you were now behind him, and he took the brunt of the patron falling on him, immediately steadying him while shooting him a warning look. Once the guy had wandered back to his friends, Bradley turned around to face you, placing gentle hands on your hips and giving you a soft kiss, pulling away with a gentle smile before inaudibly chuckling at something you said.

“They look happy together.” Maverick says softly, thinking of how Goose used to look at Carole the same way Bradley was looking at you.

“They do. Give Bradley a chance.” Penny reiterates, looking down at Maverick who nods sheepishly.

“I’ll speak to them in a bit. I don’t want to disturb them yet.” Maverick says, turning his attention to Penny, smiling softly at her before striking up a new conversation with her.

Across the bar, you were talking to the Daggers, finding out some more stories from when Bradley had first come back to Top Gun.

“Should’ve seen him. He was a menace when he found out Maverick was teaching. Damn near got themselves killed during training with the stunts they pulled.” Jake explains, beer in hand as he leans up against a nearby table as you watch Bradley and Natasha play a game of pool against each other.

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Bradley was pretty pissed at dad when everything went down, and dad��s stubborn as anything.” You say with a gentle roll of the eyes.

“I’m just glad they got past their issues by the time they went on the mission. I hate to admit it, but they’re our best solo aviators.” Javy admits with a chuckle, making you smile as Jake gawps in mock shock.

“I’m right here you know. I’m the one who saved their asses.” Jake shoots in retaliation, making you and Javy laugh to yourselves.

“What are you two laughing about?” Bradley asks with a smile, sidling up alongside you.

“Javy admitting that you and dad were among the best two pilots for the mission seemed to be a bit of a hit to Jake’s ego.” You explain, making Bradley chuckle as he reaches out to clap Jake on the shoulder then holding out the pool stick for him to take.

“Let’s step outside for a minute.” Bradley mumbles, his voice low as he dips his head near your ear so you can have a semi-private conversation with the bustling volume of the bar. You nod and let Bradley lead you towards the front door of the bar, both of you instantly stopping in your tracks when you see your dad standing near the door, a soft smile on his face.

“Can we talk?” He asks the two of you, eyes flicking between you and Bradley as you both nod lightly. Maverick then gestures for you to follow him outside which you do, stepping out onto the deck and watching the waves crash against the beach.

“Mav I-”

“Bradley, I think it’s best I do the talking here. Look I was wrong to tell the two of you to stay away from each other. Just seeing the two of you earlier was enough of a wake-up call for me to realise that I was being a dick and that you both clearly love each other. I won’t get in your way.” Maverick says, making you and Bradley exchange a look before looking back at your dad.

“Dad…” You mumble, heart softening at your dad’s gentle smile.

“Bradley looks at you the same way Goose looked at Carole.” Maverick then continues, making you look at Bradley who has a slight blush painted across his cheeks at the revelation.

“Thank you, Mav. I promise I’ll look after her.” Bradley promises, holding a hand out for Bradley to shake, instead being pulled into a hug by your dad.

“I know you will.” Maverick says reassuringly before pulling away from the embrace, patting Bradley on the shoulder, and taking a step back before you hug your dad gratefully.

“I love you dad, thank you for giving us a chance.” You whisper, only audible to you and Maverick.

“I love you too, sweetheart. Now, enjoy the rest of your evening.” Maverick replies, squeezing you a little tighter and planting a kiss on the top of your head before releasing you and heading back into the Hard Deck. After the door closes behind your dad, Bradley turns to face you with a grin and slightly raised eyebrow.

“Would you like to come to mine?”

It took practically no time for you and Bradley to get back to his small house, the two of you head into the living room and settle down on the sofa. As you sit down, Bradley wraps an arm around you and pulls you into his side gently. At the shift of embrace, you look up at Bradley, a soft smile on your face that matches his. Before you knew it, you started to lean up to press your lips to his softly, pulling away for a brief moment to adjust yourself, turning yourself more towards Bradley and cupping his face in your hands before kissing him once more. Bradley was quick to reciprocate the kiss, bracing a gentle hand on the back of your head in an attempt to hold you closer while his other hand winds around your waist, pulling you closer in that way as well as your eyes and his flutter closed. When the need for air becomes too much for both of you, you pull away but only enough to press your foreheads against each other, eyes opening again as your hand drifts up to play with Bradley’s hair.

“I know your dad pointed it out earlier but… I love you.” Bradley murmurs, a shy smile on his face as you smile back.

“I love you too.” You reply quietly before Bradley reconnects your lips for another kiss. Pulling you impossibly closer until air is needed once more.

“I know I’ve already asked you to be my girl, but what if you stayed? Is there a way you could stay here, with me?” Bradley asks, knowing that it was probably a long shot to ask you such a question, especially when the two of you had not long got together but he couldn’t just sit by and let his chances slip by again. To his surprise, you smiled, and gently ran a hand through his hair.

“I was actually visiting for more than just seeing dad. I actually got an offer to transfer to a hospital here in San Diego. I wanted to see the area before I made a choice and… I think I have a reason to accept it now.” You say, barely able to finish your sentence before Bradley kisses you again, gently pushing you back until you are lying back on the sofa with him hovering over you.

“Well looks like we have some good news to celebrate then.” Bradley says after breaking the kiss, smiling down at you as you smile back.

“Sounds like we do.” You mumble before grabbing the lapels of Bradley’s Hawaiian shirt to pull him back down for another kiss.

“I think we should take this to my room.” Bradley mumbles against your lips, making you loosen your grip on his shirt slightly so he can pull away, pulling you up with him yet still unable to keep his hands and lips off you as you make your way upstairs to his room. Just as you reach the door to his room you begin tugging his Hawaiian shirt off, carelessly discarding it on the floor as Bradley braces himself against the door, pushing it open behind him as you stumble in after him.

You couldn’t wait to make the move to Miramar now you had Bradley. You knew he was worth the risk.

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Forgotten Nest (Epilogue) - Rooster

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw / Mitchell!OC (Cora)

Word Count: 1.4k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only

Warnings: Past Unplanned Teenage Pregnancy; Crying; Named Mitchell Daughter OC (Cora) and Named Mitchell-Bradshaw Son (Nickie) and other named OCs

Summary: Ten years after the uranium facility mission, Nickie returns to Miramar.

A.N. There are references to a previous unplanned teenage pregnancy (between two eighteen-year-olds) in this fic. There won't be any flashback scenes to the pregnancy, but the references are still there, so if that makes you uncomfortable, please do not read.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Master List

Nickie walked through San Diego International Airport, excited to get home and surprise his family. Walking through the crowd, Nickie beamed when he spotted his ride home waiting for him. Amelia Benjamin waved to him and hurried over to greet Nickie.

“Welcome home,” Amelia joked, pulling Nickie in for a tight hug. 

“It’s like you’re actually happy to see me,” Nickie replied, hugging her back. Pulling back after a moment, Nickie grinned and gestured between them. “Hey, I think I’m a full head taller than you now.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Amelia huffed, poking him in the gut. “Now, let’s get going.”

“And that’s all the warm welcome I get?” Nickie called teasingly as Amelia walked away, causing her to shoot him a playfully annoyed look over her shoulder. “You haven’t seen me in two years and that’s all that I get?”

“You’ll get to walk home if you don’t hurry up, Prince,” Amelia mocked Nickie, causing him to sour.

“Do you really have to call me that?”

“It’s your callsign,” Amelia reminded him, grinning because she knew how much he hated it when people from back home called him by his callsign. “You get called that every day. Now, come on. There’s probably traffic.”

Nickie and Amelia caught up on their drive to the Mitchell house about everything that happened since they last saw each other. They still regularly texted and emailed, since Nickie was all over the planet these days, but it had been a while since they actually were able to sit down and talk like old times. But it never took long for them to find their rhythm again.  

“And we’re here,” Amelia called victoriously, putting the car into park in front of the Mitchell house.

“In one piece. Shocking,” Nickie replied, reaching for the door handle.

“You’re the one with the ticket on their record,” Amelia shot back, causing Nickie to groan.

“One time! When I was sixteen. It’s been ten years!”

“And we’ll still never let you forget it,” Amelia laughed, sliding out of her seat. “Come on. Before they hear your big mouth. Leave your bag.”

Nickie followed Amelia up the stairs of his childhood home but stuck a bit farther back. Amelia turned for the kitchen, waving to everyone. Maverick and Penny sat at the table, chatting, while Cora walked around the kitchen.

“Hey, I brought a friend. Is that okay?” Amelia asked, causing Cora to pick her head up.

“You know it is,” Cora assured Amelia with a kind smile. “Where are they?”

“Just behind me.”

Amelia stepped to the side and Nickie walked further into his childhood home and into the view of his mom. Cora let out a shrieky gasp before rushing forward to hug her baby boy. Nickie laughed and hugged his mom back, letting her cry and hold onto him for however long she wanted.

“You told me that you wouldn’t be home for three more months!” Cora complained, rocking Nickie back and forth.

“Well, something came up,” Nickie replied, causing Cora to pull away and hold him at arm’s length.

“What is it?”

“I’ll be temporarily stationed in North Island for a few weeks,” Nickie explained with a proud smile.

“Top Gun?” Maverick called from his place behind Cora. He stood back, letting his daughter thoroughly welcome her son home at first, but at the insinuation that Nickie made, he couldn’t help but step forward. “You made it to Top Gun?”

“As of two days ago,” Nickie stated, causing Cora to hold a hand to her mouth.

“Oh, Nickie, we’re so proud of you!”

Nickie accepted another bone crushing hug from his mom and then one from his grandfather, who still somehow barely had any gray hair, before glancing around the kitchen. Releasing his grandfather, Nickie looked in between Cora and Maverick.

“Where’s everyone else?”

“They just went out to grab something. They’ll be back any second,” Cora sniffled, still choked up from the surprise. “Maybe I should call them.”

“I’ll do it,” Maverick offered, knowing that Cora couldn’t keep her voice level right now.

Nickie moved to greet Penny and catch up with her briefly before another set of headlights pulled into the driveway. Nickie stepped back into the hallway, out of sight of the main door, and waited for the rest of his family to come in. Rooster, now retired and working a more traditional nine to five, opened the door and held it open. A little girl with light brown curls and stark green eyes stepped inside, immediately moving to greet Cora.

“Mommy, Daddy took forever,” Carly Bradshaw-Mitchell complained, causing Cora to laugh and bend down to her height.

“He did, did he?” Cora asked, glancing up at her husband of six years.

“Nothing wrong with being thorough,” Rooster replied, not seeing Nickie quite yet. “Why’s everyone standing around?”

“Just a surprise,” Cora explained, standing back up.

Rooster frowned, a bit confused, but his daughter turned her head and spotted someone standing in the hallway. She tilted her head to the side suspiciously before she let out a gasp when she realized who the man standing in the hall was.

“NICKIE!” she shrieked before racing forward.

“Hey, Princess,” Nickie greeted his little sister, scooping her up and into his arms. “I missed you.”

Carly wrapped her arms and legs around her older brother, whimpering a bit. She looked up to Nickie more than perhaps anyone else in her life. And even though he was absent a lot because of his job, they FaceTimed and talked all that they could. And Nickie always made time for her.

“I missed you too,” Carly mumbled into his shoulder, refusing to let go of him. “You’re not allowed to leave again.”

“I’m not?”

“Nope.”

“Well, can’t argue with that,” Nickie chuckled, giving her another squeeze.

Rooster slowly approached his son, not wanting to interrupt the moment between the siblings, but still desperately wanting to greet his son after so many months apart.

“What are you doing here?” Rooster asked softly, still in a bit of shock.

“To see me!” Carly called indignantly, causing everyone to laugh.

“And I got called up,” Nickie replied, turning to his dad. “To a little school down the road.”

“Top Gun? You made Top Gun?” Rooster breathed out, not shocked but still immensely surprised.

“I start in two days,” Nickie explained, nodding along.

“Holy shit.”

“Bradley!” Cora admonished, shooting him a look and pointing at Carly. “Your daughter is right there.”

“I know I just—holy Jesus, Nickie, we’re so proud of you!”

Rooster couldn’t help himself anymore and pulled both of his children into a tight hug. Carly was a bit squished between her dad and her brother, but she didn’t mind it too much. It was better than Nickie not being home at all. Nickie kept an arm on his sister but pulled his dad in with his other arm, having missed him too.

It killed Nickie to hold in that secret about Top Gun for two days from his family. And now that the secret was finally out, he couldn’t stop smiling.

“Oh, come, let’s eat. You must be starving!” Cora called, still wiping tears from her cheeks. “And tell us all about the last few months.”

Nickie sat at the table, surrounding by his family with his sister perched on his lap. After all, if he was Prince—the callsign that he received after they found out about just how many aviators that he had in his family tree and extended network—then his little sister was rightfully Princess. And princesses got whatever they wanted.

Maverick looked between Nickie, Rooster, Cora, and Carly, remembering days in the distant past when he thought that an image like this would never be a possibility. But he was so relieved that those days were long gone and now, the Bradshaw-Mitchell family could just relax.

“He made it to Top Gun. Can you believe it?” Maverick wondered silently, glancing out the window at the setting sun.

He’s named after me, Mav! Of course, he made it! Goose would have said in return.

God help us all. Another Mitchell at Top Gun, Ice would have replied.

Smiling to himself, Maverick turned back to his family and simply enjoyed the moment.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Thank you again to everyone for reading, commenting, and reblogging this story!!

Tags: @xoxabs88xox @eternallyvenus @mygyn @kmc1989 @thegoddessc @midnightmagpiemama @badasspizzalover @praline357 @oatmealisweird @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @abaker74 @avengersfan25 @yogabigooby @daisydaisygoose @sgt-barnesveins @angelbabyange @percysaidnever @artemissunn @indiestrashfire @kidd3ath @luv4kani @lt-spork @brooke-stinson

[jaidens]

pumpkin spice latte w/ extra whip and carmel w/ my baby rooster 😋😋 also completly disregard this plot if you want but seeing rooster after he’s been away yk at top gun for a while so r surprises him >:)))

And want you now, wanna need you forever In the heat of your electric touch, mm-mm

pairing [s] : bradley bradshaw x reader

warning [s] : mentions of : crying, making out, sex |

a/n [s] : my baby doll dal 🫶 requests are open!

It had been six continuous months without seeing your Bradley in real life. The scent of his cologne and musk had disappeared from your bed and his pillow, causing you to go after anything that has reminded you of him. Whenever you were invited to visit him in Top Gun after they were given a three-week break after a joyous win, you decided to immediately take it.

Deciding to not tell Bradley had killed you, as you watched him through the FaceTime call as he slept in a lonely house by himself. You told him your phone was getting repairs to cover up your five hour flight to where he was drafted, it worked surprisingly well. The flight was long, but your discount with it has given you First-Class seats with many helps from flight attendants to try and help your experiences.

When you landed in hot and humid, San Diego you were almost immediately dehydrated. You had called Penny and Maverick to pick you up from the airport, begging to keep everything a secret. Surprisingly, they kept it quiet and Pete told you he had told them he was taking Penny on a date tonight. The nerves were messing with your head as you mess with the hem of your (Bradley’s) Hawaiian shirt. It was a light and soft pink color, and you swore it looked better on him than it did you. Bradley would disagree, saying it was his favorite shirt you had worn.

“Hot as hell here, jeez.” You joke flapping a piece of paper against your face to try and cool yourself down. Even with the extreme cold air blasting on your face, sweat had still dripped from you. You couldn't tell if it was the nerves in your head about seeing Bradley, or the heat. If you had to assume it had probably been both electives. “I know. Bradley pretty much is shirtless half of the time. I’m tired of it.” Amy says next to you, tapping on her phone.

You laugh as you think of Bradley, who is extremely typical to get naked when it's over 95 degrees outside. You decided to call Jessica, Hangman's long-term girlfriend who had also decided to surprise her big hunk of man on the same day as you. She told you how the pilots were meeting at The Hard Deck and how most of the Navy wives were doing the same. You agreed with her and told Penny and Maverick to take you there for him.

Suddenly it all started to hit you: You would see Bradley in under three minutes after months of missing, crying, and taking screenshots of him on the phone. Maverick pulls into the sandy deck of the bar and parks the car. He looks in the mirror and looks at you. “You ready, kid?” He asks and you nod, opening the door and following after the older woman who had already been walking in. The bar wasn't that crowded, only having pilots and other people that had gotten off of work earlier. It was five o'clock when you landed, so now it was six.

The bar is playing some eighties hits loudly, some rowdy people dancing around with drinks in their hands. You touch yourself up in your phone camera, take a big breath in, and start walking into the back corner of the bar where the pilots stayed. That's whenever you saw Bradley, whooping and hollering about winning the 8-ball game with Phoenix and Bob. Jake and Jessica are rubbing up against each other, kissing and hugging on every second, looking like high school couples in the hallways.

You walk up behind Bradley and when he bends over to hit a ball, you slam up behind and put your hands in the front pockets of his 1980s Levi's jeans. “Wanna teach me how to play?” You tease and Bradley jumps up and wraps you in his arms. His hand goes to the back of your neck and he practically jumps while practically screaming your name in pure and utter excitement at your presence.

“You didn't tell me you were coming!” He pulls away for a second to look at your face, before pulling you back in and wrapping harder around your body. The feeling envelopes you tightly and you feel the need to melt in his arms. “It's a surprise, dummy. Are you surprised?” You ask and now he's nodding quickly before he drops you down and kisses you harshly. His lips are running across you as he pulls you into a bench in the other corner.

“Am I surprised? Of course!” He says sassily at you and brings you back into a deep kiss, his hand messing with the hem of your Hawaiian shirt and the other against your neck as he holds you up in the kiss with him. He's warm and touchy throughout the sweet moment and he takes like a Cranberry Vodka. “Love you, so much.”

“Awh, I love you too honey.” Your hand runs through his fluffy hair that's been lightened from hours of sun, and you stare at this tan skin with freckles littering against his cheeks and nose. His fingers mess with the rips on your shorts and he kisses against your cheek. “God, I missed you so much.” Jessica waves at you and giggles as Jake kisses her away from attention. You laugh at his antics before Bradley pulls your chin and kisses you once more, and you stare into his deep green eyes.

“Thank you for visiting, so much.” Bradley speaks softly in your ear. “Always, and forever when I can.”

[futfemfantasies]

Zone Breaker \\ mapi león x reader

Request: Can I request a fic where Mapi is ussualy trying to get into the zone on the bus and not really talking to people but then she lets the new signing (reader) fall asleep on her shoulder and the team is really schoked

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is it. Your first day at your dream club, FC Barcelona. You have spent your entire childhood watching short clips of both the male and female teams since you didn’t get the live games due to living in Australia. Since you got transferred from your current, well now former club San Diego Wave, your teammate and best friend Alex is kindly dropping you off at the airport. You hear a knock on the door and you know it’s her. You quickly open the door and let Alex in, along with Charlie, before checking the apartment for anything you might have missed.

“You go away auntie Y/N/N?” Charlie asks.

“Only for a little bit Charlie bear” You bend down to tell the 2 year old.

“Oh” Charlie’s face went from happy to sad in a flash. You pick up Charlie and she holds onto you tightly.

“You ready to go?” Alex asks. You nod and pick up your backpack from the ground. Alex grabs your suitcase since you’re holding Charlie.

Once all the suitcases and backpacks are in the trunk, you clip Charlie in and move to the passenger seat. You turn around and see Charlie about to cry. You reach back and she holds your hand the best she can. You stay in the awkward position for 40 minutes until you reach the airport. You get out and Alex gets Charlie out of her seat. You open the trunk and put your backpack on before getting out your two big suitcases. You close the trunk and see a whimpering Charlie clinging onto Alex’s thigh. You bend down and the little girl runs the short distance to hug you tightly. After promising regular video calls and a visit over the Christmas/new year break. Next, Alex hugs you tightly and you promise to call once you get organised in Barcelona. One last kiss to Charlie’s forehead and you start wheeling your life into San Diego International Airport.

“BYE AUNTIE Y/N/N!” You hear Charlie yell. You turn back and wave to her.

After checking your overweight bags in, you get through security and get a message from your good friend, Lucy Bronze.

hey girl! Keira and I will be at the airport to pick you up. Love ya!

You reply to Lucy before waiting at the gate for your 15 hour flight. After a delayed stopover, you finally made it to your new city of Barcelona. You collect your bags and see your two former teammates. You drive to their house where they said you can crash until you find your own place. A few days later, Lucy and Keira have to go to training so you decided to tag along, with your boots just in case. You all arrive at the training ground and someone else pulls up at the same time you do. You see her step out of the car and you breath is taken away.

“Who’s that?” You ask the couple.

“That’s Maria but she likes being called Mapi” You hum in response and subtly check out the tatted blonde.

You all walk in and Jonatan spots you and pulls you aside. He explains how training days work and if you weren’t too jet lagged, you can join in on the session. Jonatan walks you to the locker room and tells you there’s a kit for you to wear along with some other things. When he leaves, you feel a hand on your shoulder. You look up and see Lucy.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to the girls that’s in there”

You both walk in and to your surprise, only one is in there. You recognise it’s Mapi from the car park.

“Hey Maps, I want to introduce you to someone” Mapi walks over and sports the most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen.

“Hi, I’m Y/N” You hold out your hand for Mapi to shake but she pulls you into a hug instead.

“Hola, I’m Mapi but this one has probably told you that” You nod and hug her back.

“I’ll get changed and meet you out there?” Lucy nods and walks out.

You grab your kit and quickly get changed in the bathroom. When you walk out you see Mapi sitting there on her phone.

“I thought you would be warming up already” Mapi jumps at the sound of your voice.

“I didn’t want you to get lost to the field”

You smile and quickly put on your socks before grabbing your shoes and start the short journey to the training fields. As you are both walking, Mapi notices that you’re holding your boots.

“You’re not wearing your boots now?” Mapi questions.

“No I don’t put them on until I’m on grass. I know it’s sounds stupid but it’s a good luck thing I have, for training and games”

Mapi and you make small talk on the way to the field and subtly flirting with each other. Once you arrive to the group, Jonatan introduces you to everyone and then explains what the drills for today are going to be. Once Jonatan finishes, you quickly slip on your boots and start the training session. You found yourself with Mapi for nearly every drill until Alexia claimed she was “hogging the newbie” so you went with Alexia for a few.

Over the next few weeks, you have busy exploring Barcelona with either Lucy and Keira, Mapi, Alexia or small groups from the team. You felt extremely lucky to have such a nice group of teammates and now friends. Throughout those few weeks came many training sessions, proving to Jonatan why you are one of the best on the Matildas, but yet still no game time.

It’s game day and everyone had to arrive at the training grounds by 10am. You, Lucy and Keira pull up and you’re all one of the last players there. You walk over to everyone and say your hello’s before being ushered onto the bus by Jonatan. You notice that Mapi is being very quiet and closed off. You shrug it off and hop onto the bus to find your usual seat up the back. Alexia and Jenni sit in front of you and you tap Alexia on the shoulder.

“Is Mapi okay?” You ask.

“She gets like this before every game. She’s in the zone” Alexia says with a weird hand movement.

“Right okay”

You sit back and put your earphones in and talk to one of your best friends from the Matildas, Sam Kerr. You both talk about everything for a few hours until she has to go to training. You both promise to catch up when the international friendlies are on, that Australia isn’t partaking in for some reason. You put your phone and earphones away and decide to go see Mapi. You walk down the aisle of the bus and sit next to Mapi. You intertwine your hands together and Mapi looks down and smiles when she sees your tattoo on your hand. She wraps her arm around your waist and pulls you into her. You yawn slightly and Mapi looks at you with a frown on her face.

“Are you tired?”

“A little. I was talking with my parents last night and didn’t get to bed until 11” You reply.

“Go to sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there” You nod and Mapi intertwines your other hand with hers.

All around the bus everyone is shocked that Mapi is even letting you sit next to her let alone sleep on her. The different friendship groups talk amongst themselves about how you’ve broken Mapi’s ‘zone’. A few hours later, you feel a kiss on your cheek and someone whispering something in your ear.

“Hey there sleepy head, we’re here”

You open your eyes and notice the bus stopped moving and most of the girls are off already. You do a little stretch and fix your hair before moving back down the bus to grab your bag. When you turn back around, Mapi’s gone. You walk off the bus and follow the girls into the locker room to get prepared for the match. Just before heading out to start, you pull Mapi aside.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“Everything is perfect hermosa” Mapi replies with a kiss to your cheek.

You start on the bench for this game and Mapi is starting. As the game goes on, you feel Pina nudging you slightly when she catches you staring at Mapi.

“Ask her out, she stares at you too”

You think about what Pina has said until Jonatan calls you up to be put in for your debut at Barcelona. You see Oshoala run towards you and you high five her before running into position. By the 89th minute the scores are levelled. Barcelona need to win this to move to the semi finals of the Copa de Reina cup. Sandra kicks a short goal kick to Mapi, who dribbles it for a little before passing it to Lucy. You run up a little, still keeping onside, and Lucy does a chip pass to you. You run rings around the defenders and kick the ball into the top right corner, making the score 3-2. Your teammates run and jump on you and Mapi gives you a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead.

“I’m so proud of you”

You thank her and run back to your starting position. Thankfully the ref only adds 2 minutes of injury time which is enough for you and your teammates to hold off. When the ref blows the whistle, you shake hands with the other team and try to find Mapi instantly. You see her talking to Alexia and Pina so you decide to jump on her back to surprise her. You kiss her cheek and she looks at you with an added sparkle in her eye. You jump down and she gives you a tight hug. Alexia and Pina move away to give you two some privacy.

You both look in each other’s eyes as your arms wrap around Mapi’s neck and hers around your waist. You keep looking at her lips and she does the same with yours.

“Kiss me” You whisper in Spanish. Mapi wastes no time in connecting her lips to yours. You both pull away quite quickly as there’s lots of fans with cameras.

“Will you go on a date with me?” Mapi asks shyly.

“I thought you’d never ask”

[eternalsams]

Country Boy ⇴ J.Seresin

pairing: jake seresin x fem!reader

warnings: tiny innuendos at the end. that’s it.

summary: Jake goes back home to his family for a few weeks and has quite a hard time convincing some girl he’s a pure Texas boy.

words count: 1 124

notes: this one shot was DIRECTLY inspired by this gif from Everybody Wants Some, i freakin’ love this film !

Home sweet home ! Jake came back to his home city when Admiral Simpson allowed the whole Dagger Squad some vacation after the mission. Jake really needed that. He needed to see his family. His parents, his sisters, the kids. Everyone. As soon as he was dismissed from the Admiral’s office, he booked a flight back to Austin and sent a text to his mom, telling her he was coming home the next day. He slept during the whole flight, completely exhausted by the training and then the mission. The moment he stepped out of the airport, two little blond heads jumped on him. He stumbled back and chuckled, taking his nephew and his niece in his arms and resting them on his hips. He greeted his mom and sister before taking a seat in the backseat on his mom’s car, between the two kids.

He spent the first day resting at his parents’ place, either laying on the couch watching a Disney movie with the kids or sitting in the kitchen and talking with his parents. The next day, the whole Seresin family went to the park and when the sun eventually started to disappear, Jake decided he wanted to go out. He wanted to see if the bar in which he used to go as a student was as great as he remembered. He pulled his best stetson hat out of his closet and took his jacket before kissing his mom’s cheek and leaving for town. When he parked his truck, he could hear the catchy music and hear some boots hitting the wooden floor. He felt home.

He tipped his hat back on his head and walked in the bar. It was crowded but he’s seen way worse in California. He sat down on a stool at the bar and waited until a waiter came and asked him what he wanted to drink. Jake only ordered whiskey and when he got his glass, he turned on his stool to rest his back against the counter. He looked around him and felt someone sit down next to him. He quickly glanced at the stranger and had to do a double take when he noticed the beautiful woman looking at him. You.

“Hi!” You smiled and he chuckled. Texas girls, now he really felt home. He turned to face you and smiled. “Hi to yourself. How can I help you?” He licked his lips and tasted the alcohol remaining on them. “My friends back there didn’t think I could come and talk to you, so here I am. How’s your night going so far?” You cocked your head to the side and pulled your stool closer to Jake’s. “It’s going really good, but even more now that you’re here with me.” Sweet talker. You thought, but you didn’t mind. You could feel chills running up your back as he grinned at you and you introduced yourself. He repeated your name like a prayer and shook your waiting hand. “I’m Jake, nice to meet you.”

“So, Jake, where are you from tanned like that?” You didn’t try and hide the fact that you were checking him out. He liked the attention you gave him, reminded him of the girls at the Hard Deck back in San Diego. “The tan is from California. But the guy is from our sweet Texas actually.” He gave you his Hangman signature grin and swallowed up what was left in his glass. You slightly chuckled before bursting into laughter. Jake’s smile dropped and he frowned, thinking about what in what he said could have been funny. But you enlightened him right away. “You? From Texas? No way.” You pretended wiping tears under your eye and looked up at him. “Well, I am. I swear I am, you can’t find anyone else more Texan that I am.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re the typical California boy. Tall, blonde, green eyes, arms that could do wonders throwing foot balls. But you cannot be from Texas.” You raised your eyebrows with a sly smirk and that’s when Jake snorted. “First, thank you for the compliments. Second, how can I prove you that I’m from here?” He leaned in to get closer to you and he quickly glanced at your lips when you sank your teeth in your lower lip. “Get on the bull.” You grinned, getting even closer to him. “What?” He slightly backed off. “Get on the bull and hold on for a minute. One single minute and I’ll believe you.” You nodded towards the mechanical bull a little further. Jake lowered his head and sighed in defeat. It’s been so long he hasn’t ride. But he really wanted to impress you and he knew it was the first step to get your number. When you saw him lower his head, you thought you finally cracked him. Poor California boy. But your grin faded when he stood up and walked to the bull, asking you to follow him with a simple finger move. You didn’t hesitate and grabbed your drink before following him through the crowd. You saw him say something into a guy’s ear and and went to jump onto the bull’s back.

He looked like he’s been doing that his entire life. But you still didn’t believe him. Let’s be clear, he needed to hold onto the bull for a whole minute. He placed his hand correctly and hold onto his hat before nodding to the man. And here we go! 

2 minutes later

Speechless. You were absolutely speechless. Not only Jake held on for more than a minute but he did it the hottest way you’ve seen anyone do it. The way his hips rolled and hit every bang of the bull. You could see the way his hand gripped the handle and his veiny arm keeping him from falling. And then he decided to grab his hat off his head and throw it to you. You almost missed it by how mesmerized you were by his body but quickly caught it and held onto it for dear life. You watched him walking to you and he reached out to you. You weren’t sure what to do so you only put your hand in his. He looked surprised but only chuckled before kissing your knuckles. “I wanted my hat back but your hand is fine too.” He rubbed the back of your hand.

You looked down at the beige stetson you had in hand and looked back up at him. Then back down at the hat and put it on your head, earning you a grin from the Californian Texan. “Okay, take me home, cowboy.” You kept his hand in yours and made your way out of there.

[lgg5989]

One beer universe request the dagger squad gets invited to bob n readers hometown for a holiday and they meet the rest of bobs family and get to know the shy WSO more from stories and pictures from his childhood and teenage years.

OMG dear, I am sorry this took so long! I think I finally got it to a place I like it though. :D

I hope you enjoy and to everyone in the US have a great and safe Thanksgiving!!

Bob was nervous to say the least. The team hadn’t been approved leave over Thanksgiving, and many of their families couldn’t travel to San Diego because of other commitments or a lack of funds to get there. So, being the small town boy he was, Bob invited them all over for a meal. 

You had been running around the house like crazy, picking up clothes, organizing the bookshelves, and cooking the meal. He had been tasked with keeping Eddie and Katie occupied so that they couldn’t destroy the clean home you had created.

While the other families couldn’t join their aviator for the holiday, Bob’s dad had booked his ticket in advance, having made the plans to join them for Thanksgiving a few months prior. While you put the finishing touches on the house and meal, he took the kids to the airport to pick up one Arthur Floyd. 

Bob stood with Katie on his shoulders and Eddie’s hand in his at the baggage claim. His head swiveled to watch for his father, a man who was tall and thin like himself, the same gold framed glasses he had kept from the seventies, and his usual tan jacket a staple for the aging Floyd.

At the same time he heard someone call out, “Bobby,” Eddie’s hand was pulled from Bob’s and there was a cry of, “Pops!” 

Bob watched on with a smile on his face as Eddie raced towards his dad, the older man picked him up in a tight hug. 

“Edward-o, my boy, how are you?” he asked, one arm holding Eddie against his side and the other pulling a suitcase along behind him. With Eddie now occupied with another adult, Bob reached up and took Katie down from his shoulders, she was missing her nap and promptly tucked her face into his neck, her little eyes fluttering closed. 

“We’ll be in the car soon baby girl,” Bob whispered to her, rubbing her back with the hand not holding her to him. 

When his dad made it to him, he pulled Bob into a hug, “Hey pops,” Bob greeted, trying to keep from jostling Katie too much. 

“Hey Bobby,” his dad answered, “How’s Y/n?” 

“Good, she’s at the house. We invited the team over tonight, since they couldn’t go home,” he explained as he took the handle of his dad’s suitcase, rolling it towards the loading zone where he parked the car. 

The ride home was uneventful, the two men talked quietly, catching up while Eddie and Katie slept. When they got to the house, Bob was surprised to find that there were already a few cars parked on one side of his driveway. 

When they came inside, they found Phoenix, Payback, Fanboy, Coyote, and Hangman, some seated and some standing in the kitchen, talking with you as you finished cooking a few dishes. As they entered the living room, stripping off their jackets, the group turned to see the newcomers. 

“Hey guys, this is my dad, Arthur or Arty for short,” Bob introduced, “Dad, this is Coyote, Phoenix, Payback, Fanboy, and Hangman.” 

“Good to meet you all,” Arty said, rubbing his hands together, “I’m going to bet that those aren’t your Christian names.” 

Everyone let out a laugh, “No definitely not,” Phoenix said, extending her hand to the older man, she smiled, “I’m Natasha.” 

“Ah you’re Bobby’s pilot then!” he said, “So good to finally meet you dear.” 

“Thank you sir,” she said, a wide smile coming over her face. 

“Oh don’t bother with the sirs, I believe all of you outrank me, if anything I should be calling you ma’am,” Arty said before making his way into the kitchen and pulling you into a tight hug. 

“Hi Arty, I’m so glad that you could make it,” You greeted him, sinking into the warm embrace of your father-in-law. 

“You look good dear. I’m just sorry your momma still hasn’t come around,” he said quietly into your ear.

You gave him a sad smile, “That’s alright, just as long as you promise to come for Christmas.” 

“Like you could keep me from my grandbabies!” he said playfully as Eddie appeared at his side. 

You let out a laugh, “I would never even dream of it!” 

From your spot in the kitchen, you listened as the pilots talked to Arty. The man was a Navy veteran, which they had all picked up on. He had been drafted into Vietnam at only twenty-one. They might all outrank him, but they listened aptly to his stories. Eddie was content to sit on his pop’s lap, a toy jet in his hand.

As Arty started to delve into more personal stories, you felt Bob come up behind you, “Need any help honey?” 

“No, I’m all good,” you said, smiling as Arty began to regale the group with stories of Bob’s childhood. He told them about the time Bob had defended a little girl from bullies when he was eight, how he had won the science fair when he was ten, and how at fifteen, he had been made kicker of the varsity football team. You knew without a doubt that Bob was his father’s pride and joy. With the pair of them losing his mother so early in his life, all they had was each other. 

“I swear, I had never been more proud than to see him out on that field,” Arty said, “Until he joined the Navy of course.” 

At that moment, the timer you had set on your phone went off. You turned the blaring sound off before pulling open the oven and checking the temperature of the turkey. It was just at 165°F, perfectly cooked. Slipping on your oven mitts, you pulled it out of the hot oven and set it on top of the stove. 

Surveying your kitchen, you ensured that every dish was accounted for, before turning back to the living room, which was now alive with more chatter. 

“Alright y’all, dinner’s ready!” you called, moving aside as the group of aviators got quiet and began to file into the small kitchen. Everyone stopped, turning to look at you. 

“What?” you asked, confused as to why they were all looking at you, “Do I have something on my face?” 

Phoenix shook her head, “No, you just cooked us this delicious meal, you deserve to go through the line first.” 

You stood still, watching as she offered the plate she held in her hand out to you, “Oh, that’s not necessary. You all are guests here, I can wait. Besides I need to get the kids’ plates and-”

Suddenly, there were a pair of hands wrapping around your waist, “I’ll get it honey,” Bob said, his voice low in your ear, “Get a plate, enjoy our company.” With that, he placed a kiss just below your ear. 

You shuffled forwards, grabbing a plate and filling it, watching as the rest of the pilots, followed up by Bob and Arty did the same. The dining table you had was not large enough for everyone, so you all found seats through the house, some positioned themselves at the kitchen table, coffee table, while others were just eating with the plate on their lap. 

Eddie climbed up into the empty seat next to you, Arty setting a plate down in front of him, “Be good for your momma buddy, I’m going to go get some food too,” he said before giving you a pat on the shoulder and making his way back to the kitchen. 

Once dinner had been eaten, and the pilots had insisted on cleaning up, you were changing Katie into some clean clothes when you heard Arty say, “Oh, I love this one!” 

Glancing over, you noticed that he was pulling a thick, leather bound book off the shelf, opening it to the first page. You recognized it immediately, and smiled widely at the book. 

Arty cracked it open while he took a seat on the couch. The rest of the aviators slowly joined him once their duty in the kitchen was done. He began telling more stories of Bob, showing them all of his baby pictures, the sports he played, the last photo they had as a family, the first prom Bob took you to, the photo of him walking across the stage at his high school graduation, one of Eddie’s first ultrasound print out, and one from the day you eloped. 

Everyone’s faces changed with each story, but it made your heart warm that Bob’s coworkers were getting a better understanding of him little by little.You knew that your husband wasn’t the loudest person anywhere you went, and he often kept his personal life to himself. 

By the time you were ready to serve dessert, Bob’s ears were pink from the attention being on him, deciding it was time to step in before Arty talked about Bob all night, you stepped back into the living room. 

“Dessert’s in the kitchen when y’all want it!” you said, a smile on your face, “Does anyone want me to turn on the game?” 

“Could you turn on the Cowboys game?” Jake asked, causing the rest of the group to let out a collective groan, Rooster’s louder than the rest. 

You rolled your eyes at their antics before picking up the TV remote and putting the game on. This spawned more stories from Arty about Bob’s high school position and how he had been, sadly, cut from the Navy team during his time at the Academy. 

With that comment, Javy turned to Bob, “I didn’t know you played for the Navy football team.” 

Bob nodded, sipping his beer, “Yeah, just for a bit, I had to commit to my family,” he said, a smile on his face, “It’s hard to do that when you’re on the road all the time.” 

It was at that moment that the Cowboys scored a touchdown, and Jake, having been half listening to the conversation, launched himself off the couch and cheered loudly. Payback, who had nodded off in the corner of the sectional, jerked awake at the other man’s yelling and shot him a glare, you and Phoenix shared a look before both bursting out into laughter at the interaction. 

As the squadron started to trickle out of your house, you sent them all off with leftover plates in hand. Once everyone left for the night, save Arty, who was staying in the guest room, you made your way into the bedroom. 

You were rubbing in your face lotion, leaning close to see yourself in the mirror. Bob let out a laugh when he stuck his head into the bathroom and you jumped when he appeared in the mirror. 

“Hey,” he said quietly. 

You gave him a wide smile, “Hello love.”

Bob came up behind you, his hands wrapping around your waist to hold you to him, “You don’t think the guys will see me differently do you?”

“What do you mean?” you asked, confused as to what they would see different about your Bobby. 

He snuggled his face into the crook of your neck before speaking quietly, “Just about the pictures Dad showed them.” 

“No honey, I think if anything, they understand why you are the quiet wallflower I love,” you reassured him, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. 

You felt more than saw him smile into your neck, “Are you ready for bed?” he asked. 

“I think so, my feet are killing me,” you answered in an overexaggerated voice, slouching your shoulders to really get the point across. 

Bob laughed, his face still pressed tightly against you, “You are so dramatic.” 

You hummed, “But that’s why you love me.”

As you both climbed into bed, settling beneath the covers, you laid your head on Bob’s chest, listening to his deep breathing. Just as sleep started to take you, you heard him whisper, “Thank you, for everything you do.” 

The last thing you remembered as the world faded into peaceful dreams was mumbling out a quiet, “I love you.” 

[unhappycylinder]

Gonna Be Trouble (Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Fem!Reader) Pt. 8

wc: 3.3k

Warnings: Jake being an idiot, cursing, Gabby and Rooster being adorable,

Series Masterlist

“Gabby I just don’t know what to do,” you sobbed into the phone, “I know he said that stuff to push me away, I know it's not how he really feels, but what kind of person can say that to someone they love? He probably doesn’t even love me…”

“Y/n don’t say that,” Gabby’s comforting voice brought more tears to your eyes, “you know he loves you, we all do, but you gotta remember its Hangman we’re talking about. He doesn’t know how to love someone this much. He’s from Texas, he doesn’t know how to have feelings.”

You laughed, wiping away your tears that had pooled in the crease of your nose, “very fair.”

“I’m so sorry he did this…” Gabby stuttered, “I have no idea why. We talked to him just the same day he called you, like literally hours before, and he told Rooster that he believed in you guys…”

That only made you sob harder, “then which one is it?” You coughed, the emotions overloading you to the point you thought you might throw up.

“Sweetheart oh my god,” Gabby’s heart broke for you, and her blood ran cold thinking of Hangman and how he could hurt you like this, “I don’t think you should be alone right now”

“There’s nothing I can do about that Gabby. It’s a long weekend, I have no friends here who know anything about my personal life, I have no money to go anywhere, I’m stuck,” you ranted to her.

“Alright then I’m flying you down”

“What?” You squeaked, “Gabby you’re not doing that”

“Yeah I am,” she pulled out a computer and started typing, you just stared at her dumbfounded over the phone, “send me your TSA number honey, we’re getting you out of there”

“Gabby,” you ran your hands over your forehead, “a flight to San Diego would be like $400 this last minute, it's ridiculous. I’ll be fine, I’m not-”

“Y/n just hush. You’re my best friend, you need support, and I need to see you. Plus, my husband’s in the military, I get flight discounts, and I have access to his credit card and he’s gonna be away at sea so who’s gonna know”

“You’ve got this deployment thing down don’t you,” you laughed at her

“We’ve only been married a few months but I’ve been with this idiot for years, and not once has he questioned why thousands of dollars leave his bank account every time he goes away. Honestly I don’t think he’s smart enough to remember how much money he had before he left…” She rambled while she booked your flight, “Can you be at the airport at 6 tomorrow? Direct flight to San Diego at 8:30…Roo and I can pick you up?”

“Gabby, I mean this sincerely, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” you smiled at her,

“Suffer…probably,” she giggled, making you laugh too.

“Thank you Gabby, you’re the best”

“I know I am,” she flipped her hair, “anyway I gotta go soak up some Rooster time before he leaves for forever…”

You giggled, “I don’t want to know details…I’ll see you tomorrow, love you!”

“Love you more, go get some sleep, and don’t forget about your flight please!”

You blew her a kiss before hanging up. Luckily, the emotions from Jake’s phone call had drained you for the day, and you fell asleep pretty easily after the talk with Gabby. After all, you had a flight to catch in the morning.

—

“You better give me a big hug right now,” Gabby said as she walked towards you, arms wide open, as you exited the airport and the warm California air hit your face. Your lip quivered at the sight of your best friend, your tired arm threatening to drop your duffel bag as you embraced her and let your tears flow.

“You’re okay sweetie, you’re here now,” Gabby comforted you as she ran her fingers through your hair

“You have no idea how much this means to me,” you sobbed out, “I’m so happy to be here”

“Awww, I know,” she pulled away and grabbed your face, the widest smile across hers.

“Ladies, this is cute and all,” Rooster yelled from the car, “but this is 5 minute parking and this pilot isn’t looking to get banned from the airport anytime soon…”

“Oh calm down pendejo,” Gabby grabbed your bag from you and threw it into the trunk of the car. 

Sliding into the back seat of the car, you caught Rooster’s apologetic gaze through the rear view mirror, the sorrow in his eyes nearly making you break down again.

“Still haven’t heard anything from Hangman?” He asked, the bronco slowly moving out of the line of cars waiting to pick up passengers.

“Ay!” Gabby exclaimed, slapping the back of his head.

“What?” Rooster threw a hand up in defense, hunching over the steering wheel to avoid his wife’s swing.

“Why the fuck would you ask that?” Gabby hissed before turning around to face you, “I’m sorry honey, Mexico did a number on his brain apparently,” she joked as she muttered curses in Spanish to herself. Gabby and Rooster had just returned from a short but sweet honeymoon in Mexico, of which you heard many….maybe too many…intimate tales.

“It’s okay,” you sighed, “um I haven’t heard from him.”

Gabby and Rooster shared a knowing glance.

“Not to keep making you guys play middleman but…have you heard anything?”

“Um…” they both said in unison while staring at each other.

“You can tell me, guys, I’m pretty sure I’d rather know than not.”

Rooster sighed before turning to his wife, who then turned back around to face you.

“I wasn’t gonna tell you this cause I didn’t want you to get anxious,”

Too late, you thought to yourself.

“Jake knows you’re here…”

“Oh?” You felt a punch in your gut, the feeling of anxiety creeping into your throat as Gabby watched you process, “does he-”

“It doesn’t matter what he wants,” Gabby placed her hand on your knee, “you’re here to relax, not appease him. We’ll answer any questions you have of course, but I want you to spend this weekend how you want to, no matter what, okay?”

You sighed, questions and concerns filling your mind, “Okay,” you shook your head. Relaxing was probably the last thing you could do right now.

—

“I think I need to see him,” you muttered as Gabby helped you put your toiletries away in the guest bathroom.

Gabby sighed, “okay, whatever you want, but do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“I don’t know, is it? Did he say anything about wanting to see me?” You reclined against the bathroom counter, arms folding across your chest.

“Of course he did, Y/n, he feels like shit for breaking up with you, I know he regrets it. Rooster said his flying’s been off the past couple days, says he’s been extra dangerous, whatever that means.”

“Shit,” you panicked at the thought of him burning in, “yeah I need to talk to him”

“I’ll call him then, let him know to come by?” Gabby asked, waiting for you to decide where you wanted to meet him.

“I think I’ll just walk to his place,” you said mindlessly.

“Babe that's like a mile from here, why would you do that?”

“Give myself time to think of what to say? Time to abort the mission?” You sighed, leaving the bathroom to begin your pilgrimage to Jake’s.

“Alright, well, let me know if you need us to pick you up. I love you!”

“Love you too, wish me luck,” you yelled from the stairwell before departing.

—

Hovering your fist over Jake’s door, reality finally hit and anxiety flooded your body as you contemplated what the hell you were doing at Jake’s door three days before he deployed. 

“Y/n what the fuck?” You whispered, fist returning to your side as you promptly marched down his driveway, praying he hadn’t noticed you there.

He had.

“Y/n?” A groggy voice muttered from behind you, the Texan drawl of the man you loved barely identifiable over your own whispers. Stopping dead in your tracks, the anxiety bubbled up once again and this time threatened tears from your eyes. With a deep breath you turned around to see him.

Jake stood shirtless in his doorway, grey sweatpants clinging to his hips, his hair spiked and disheveled. The home behind him was dark, no blinds open to let in the midday sun of San Diego, and likely no ventilation for the better part of the last couple days. His eyes blinked rapidly as he adjusted to the light, the hand not clasping the doorknob shielding his green orbs as he trailed up your figure.

“Hey,” you croaked, tears beginning to slowly track your cheekbones. You didn’t move at all, you stood static on his driveway, arms crossed in front of you in a shallow attempt to comfort yourself.

“Come in baby,” he said groggily, breaking your heart to hear him call you such a loving nickname in such a tender way. The tears grew more frequent as you shook your head and walked towards him, arms still crossed until you reached the doorway and stood mere inches from him. 

He was impossible to read, but the one emotion you could identify was sympathy. Even Hangman, the hard-to-crack fighter pilot with confirmed kills, couldn’t stand to watch the woman who owned his heart stand in front of him shaking with sadness that he caused. You reached up to wipe away your tears, closing your eyes briefly, and just then you felt his strong arms around you. Jake pulled you close, nuzzling his face into your neck and stroking your back with his strong hands.

“I’m so sorry, Y/n, I’m so sorry baby,” he whispered into your hair. You cried harder, eliciting a grunt and sigh from him as the consequences of his actions finally caught up with his emotions.

“The things I said to you were-” he lifted up his head and stared upwards, searching for words, you remained nestled into his chest as you cried, “they were appalling. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything after Rooster told me you were here, I should have tried to see you. I just didn’t know what you’d want…”

“Jake-” you cut him off, peeling yourself off his bare chest to gaze into his eyes which were now also brimming with tears, “we need to talk about this stuff”

He nodded. You needed answers, he needed reassurance, talking was the only thing you could do. He let go of you and welcomed you into the house. Just as you had expected, he hadn’t opened a single window in the whole home, the air stagnant and dark, and the smell of dirty dishes beginning to creep through the building. You walked over to his couch, sitting down on the warm fabric that had obviously been the host of his body for the past couple days. He sat next to you, knees barely grazing yours as you sat in silence for a brief moment.

“Jake, do you remember what you told me on the beach at the beginning of the summer?”

“That I loved you?”

The past tense stung.“No, the part about you burning in, about what Phoenix was saying about you being safer…”

“Oh,” he glanced downwards, “yeah I do”

“Jake, you told me that you were flying safe because you were scared of losing me, that you were scared you’d miss out on our life, on our memories. You told me you wanted to see where we end up, and that our love motivated you to be a better pilot,” you fiddled with his fingers as you spoke, “and Rooster told me you haven’t been flying safe lately,” your throat choking up the more you thought of him being careless, “and I just don’t get why,” you finally sobbed.

The sound of your voice breaking finally brought Jake’s attention to you, concern and pity filling his eyes as he watched you struggle to explain yourself.

“I don’t get why you push me away. I don’t get why you tell me one thing and then do another. I don’t get why you put yourself in danger for no reason, why you put your career and your life on the line….to what? To prove some point?” Tears pooled on your cheeks while your eyes searched the room for some semblance of comfort. “The things you said when you broke up with me hurt, they hurt me to my core, but the thought of you throwing your life away out of spite hurts even more.”

Jake was speechless, his green eyes glassy under scrunched eyebrows as he finally felt the pain you had been enduring because of him.

“The life I want is the life I share with you. And I went into this relationship knowing distance and deployment and all that shit would be a factor. You did too. I’m prepared to go through anything for you…because I want those memories, Jake. I want to hold you and kiss you and dream of you while you’re gone. I want to move into your stupidly undecorated house on base when I graduate and be here for you every night when you come home,” you gestured to his bare walls, eliciting a small chuckle and nod from the hard-to-crack military man who had tears dropping from his eyes.

“God Jake the love I feel for you is endless. I gave you my heart, I gave you myself, don’t give those things back to me.” You stopped talking, the emotions overwhelming you to the point where you removed your hand from his and tucked your knees up in front of you, bundling yourself into a ball while Jake processed everything you said.

“I think…” he began, his eyes searching every part of the room except where you were, “I think we should take some time to think about all this,” he slowed down as he said the last few words.

Your tears dried up, shock overtaking the sadness. You didn’t expect this, you didn’t expect him to mean the things he said, to mean that he didn’t want to be with you.

“So you meant it?” You questioned, eyes finally meeting his.

“What?” He asked quietly

“You meant the things you said. The things about us? About me?”

“No, Y/n. I’m sorry for the things I said to you. They were hurtful and wrong and downright disrespectful. You’re a sweetheart and I’m sorry. I just mean I don’t think it's smart for us to jump into things right now, not with my deployment and your school.”

“What are you saying,” you cut him off.

“I think maybe we should just wait to date or something, til I’m back…”

“Jake,” your voice cracked, “I can’t do that,” you sobbed.

“You don’t think it's a good idea?” He asked earnestly.

“I’m gonna be waiting for you either way. I’d rather be waiting as your girlfriend than just some girl who's heartbroken and doesn’t even know if the man she loves loves her back.”

“You’re not some girl, Y/n, you’re my girl,” he rubbed your arm.

Shrugging him off as the confusion overwhelmed you, “no I’m not Jake. You broke up with me, you told me we should wait. Those don’t exactly go hand in hand with being ‘your girl,” you stood up to leave, he stared at you bewildered, “I’m leaving. You need to make up your mind, I’m tired of being confused about how you feel about me.”

You walked through the dark house to his door, opening it and letting the harsh California light hit the living room where he still sat on the couch, eyes never leaving your frame. 

“Good luck on your deployment, Jake,” and with that you took one last look at him and left the house, closing the door behind him. As you walked away, you held out for the possibility that he would open the door and come running out with an apology. But he didn’t. You walked the whole way back to Gabby’s without a word…without an ounce of clarity…just confusion like you had never felt before.

—

The remainder of the weekend went by without a word from Jake. Occasional glances from Rooster after he got a text or got off the phone let you know that, per usual, you were the only person out of the loop when it came to your relationship issues. Nevertheless, going through this breakup without Gabby would have been impossible, and her support meant the world to you.

Monday came around and it was time for the pilots to leave. The debate of whether or not to go had lived in the back of your mind for the better part of the weekend, eating away at you when you tried to close your eyes. Ultimately, after lots and lots of thinking, you had decided not to go for multiple reasons. For one, it gave Gabby and Rooster time alone during a special moment…and it also gave you the upper hand over Hangman. Despite what he told you, you knew Jake, and you knew he’d expect you to be there to wave him off. 

“You sure you don’t want to come, honey?” Rooster asked you as he walked by the couch where you reclined in their living room, dressed in his flight suit.

“Yeah I’m sure,” you sighed, sitting up to face him. “I know he’s gonna expect me to be there. And I want to be there for him…but I can’t let myself keep getting hurt. I can’t let him know that he can keep hurting me and I’ll come crawling back…”

“You know, as much as I love Jake, and as long as I’ve known him,” Rooster began, “I think you’re doing the right thing. You’re showing him you’re prioritizing yourself, which is important. He’s an asshole, he needs to be put in his place.”

“He is an asshole isn’t he,” you and Rooster laughed together.

“Alright honey,” Rooster ruffled your hair, the nickname he always called you by making you smile, “I’m outta here. I’ll keep my lips sealed to Jake for a bit, but you know how to reach me if you want me to tell him anything, okay?”

He grabbed his bags, “or if you just want to chat, I’d like that too.”

“Bradley!” Gabby’s piercing voice ran out from upstairs, “we’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry the fuck up!”

“Down here, baby!” He yelled back.

Gabby came running downstairs, “You’re ready before me?” She asked out of breath.

“Yeah?” Rooster said sassily, “why are you so shocked by that?”

You giggled at the couple, making Gabby sneer at you.

“Don’t you dare laugh with him,” she pointed at you, making you and Rooster laugh harder. She sighed before walking down and embracing her husband.

“You can’t wear this flight suit in the home, Brashdaw, otherwise you’ll be late to everything…” she flirted before kissing him, his hands gripping her hips.

“I love you, Gabby,” he kissed her again.

“Y'all are gonna make me throw up, go get on a boat or something Roo,” you pretended to gag as you got up from the couch.

“Bye Y/n,” Rooster said, letting go of Gabby briefly to give you a hug and kiss on the forehead, “don’t be a stranger”

“Back at ya.” you gave him a smile, “don’t like die or anything….Gabby would kill you”

Your friend laughed, giving you a brief nudge before opening the front door for Rooster. She shot you a quick wink before closing the door behind her, the sound of the bronco starting not long after. 

And with that, you sat back down on the couch, left with your own thoughts and the slightest feeling of regret and worry beginning…what if you never got to say goodbye?

--

Taglist: @dempy @shanimallina87 @luckyladycreator2 @mightiestheroes @taytaylala12 @djs8891 @clancycucumber230

[sunlightmurdock]

Sub Rosa | Part Four: Heading Out | Bradley Bradshaw x Kazansky!Reader

Masterlist

Warnings: none

…

You didn’t call Bradley back. You ignored his calls and texts, you pretended not to see his car parked down the block as he called you. You didn’t let him drive you up to college, you flew back alone like your parents had originally planned.

It was just to hard to face him. You couldn’t stop thinking that it could be the last time.

So, if you didn’t say goodbye, then it wasn’t really happening. But it was. His deployment was on Monday and you left San Diego on Sunday morning. Before you left, you did visit his place one last time whilst you knew he was at work. You left him a parting gift and went to the airport.

At first, Bradley had thought he had gotten his neighbours’ mail again — he hadn’t received a handwritten letter, maybe ever. But, when he saw your name signed on the back of the envelope, he sat on his couch and opened it. He was certain that this was you breaking up with him.

It wasn’t. As he slid open the envelope and pulled out the letter, a piece of card fell out and landed between his boots. His eyebrows furrowed as he leaned down and picked it up from the ground, turning it over.

His lips parted slightly.

He was confused, but not in anyway complaining. The picture in his hands was a Polaroid of you, wearing nothing but his dog tags, taken in the mirror of your room at your college apartment.

He had taken his tags off once to shower and had left them in the room. You had taken that picture two months ago. You had been holding onto it to give him as a birthday present, but you figured he could do with it sooner rather than later.

Rooster considered not taking it. He considered leaving it at home. But, with you still not answering his calls or texts, he tucked it inside of your unread letter and packed it into his bag. At least that way he’d have a little bit of you with him. He wrote you a letter too.

You received the letter three days after he had left, when you were coming back from class. You had sat on your bed, cuddling into the stuffed panda Bradley had won for you at a campus fair, reading the letter over and over for hours.

The letter had been three pages long, and honestly, you were surprised about how good Bradley’s handwriting was. The letter explained many things. That he was sorry. That he loved you. That he was going to make it up to you when he got home.

When. Pilots were always sure of themselves, but Rooster’s confidence did reassure you a little. He was never wrong, and he wouldn’t be this time. He signed off by hoping that you weren’t missing him as much as he was missing you.

Your father spent the next two weeks incredibly confused after that. You rarely called him in the previous three years you had been away at college, usually just checking in via text to let him know you were alive. This time, you had taken an active interest in his work.

The first phone call had been exhausting; trying to get him to bring up the deployment he had sent Rooster on without bringing up the fact you knew about a top secret naval operation. He had mentioned that Maverick was on a deployment in that area — the same one. After that, it was easy to ask questions. About how the mission was going, how the guys were doing. If anything had happened.

Rooster called you for the first time sixteen days into his deployment. You missed his call because of an exam. You spent the rest of that afternoon crying your eyes out to the point that your roommate came in and just sat with you, stroking your hair. It felt a little pathetic now that you hadn’t told him you loved him.

He called again four days after that. He couldn’t tell you where he was, but he was safe.

“I miss you so much.” You admitted, tucking your knees up to your chest as you relished in the sound of him breathing gently on the other side of the phone. You could hear him smiling as he talked.

“I miss you too, baby.” He said. “Are you being good without me there?” He teased, making you laugh just a little.

He listened to you sniffle quietly through the laugh, closing his eyes and resting his head against the wall.

“I’m trying.” You answered truthfully.

“How’d those exams go?”

Your heart hurt. He remembered the dates your exams were. You wiped the tears from your eyes and swallowed hard, “I think I did okay. I get the grades next week. I’m only a couple weeks away from being done.”

“You’re so smart.” He breathed, and you knew he meant it. “I’m proud of you, honey. You’re working so hard.”

You were quiet for a moment, wiping the tears from your eyes again. They were just coming faster than you could wipe them away.

“I’m sorry,” You murmured, your voice cracking slightly. “For ghosting you. I - I just… I didn’t want you to go, and it’s so stupid but I-“

“Hey, don’t cry.” He spoke gently, “I’m gonna be home before you know it. You can make it up to me then, how about that?”

You laughed softly, wiping the tears from your cheeks again, “Okay. It’s a date.”

“God, I miss you.” Bradley hummed, shaking his head slightly. “Alright, I gotta go. I’ll see you soon, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Bradley’s eyes widened slightly as his time ran out and the line went dead. His lips quirked just slightly. You had said it. You loved him. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his cargos and left the line for the phone, smiling to himself as he walked back to his bunk.

“Is your girl in high school or something, Bradshaw?”

“Excuse me?” He turned and glared at Yale, disgusted by what he had just asked him. Yale shrugged his shoulders, reclined back on his bed with his arms behind his head,

“We heard you in the phone line. You’ve got this secret girl that you never talk about, no one knows her name, no one has seen you together. But she’s got exams? — So, she’s in high school. Right?”

Bradley rolled his eyes, “You’re fucking disgusting. No. She’s not. — She’s in college.”

“So why has no one ever met her?” Coyote chimed in from his bunk, three beds up.

“I don’t know, maybe I don’t want her hanging around with you depraved idiots.” Rooster glanced up, making short eye contact with Hangman, who was smiling in amusement from the top bunk. Hangman chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he leaned back against his pillows.

Rooster slid into his own bunk below Hangman’s and pulled out the book Maverick had loaned him to help him pass time. Only fifty more days to go. He kept your picture inside of his pillowcase wrapped in a handkerchief to keep it away from prying eyes — he only allowed himself to look at it in the bathroom when he was certain everyone else was sleeping.

For the first thirty days, things were easy enough for him. His longest deployment to date was eight months, and that had been a piece of cake. But he hadn’t had anyone waiting for him at home then. It was right after his mom had died and honestly, he was glad to be away.

Plus, he had had a small thing with one of the female pilots back then. That made it easier too. Now, he was sleeping below Jake Seresin, listening to him mumble in his sleep and toss and turn every night.

He couldn’t help but think about being back home with you. How perfectly you fit against him and how well you slept in his arms — how sweet it was when you murmured in your sleep, lips brushing his chest.

Bradley had been counting down the days.

So had you. Your roommate was getting sick of hearing about him; she knew so much about him now that she felt like she was the one dating him.

Hangman was equally sick of watching Rooster mope around, unable to tell anyone except him how much he was missing you. He pretended not to see Rooster sneak off to the bathroom at 1am each night. Though, he was confused why Rooster always brought his dog tags.

It wasn’t until Day sixty that he let himself read your letter. He was holding out for a day that he really needed it. It had been over a month since he had been able to call you last because of the signal blockers on the carrier. So, he waited until training was done for the day and let himself into Admiral Simpson’s office to read your letter.

The first thing he noticed when he opened it was that it was spritzed with your perfume. He swallowed slightly, shifting in his seat as he popped a semi at just your scent. That hadn’t ever happened before.

He brushed his thumb across the page, eyes focused as he read. His lips quirked just a little. You really did have a filthy mouth. He took his lip between his teeth. The last three paragraphs were promises of what he would be coming home to.

“You lost, Bradshaw?” Rooster almost dropped the letter. His eyes widened slightly as he looked up to see both Admiral Simpson and Admiral Kazansky in the doorway to the office. He tucked the paper away in his pocket, standing up from where he had been perched on the desk and shaking his head quickly.

He hadn’t even known that Kazansky was coming. The letter felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket. Like they both knew exactly who it was from.

“No, Sir.” He stood to attention.

Cyclone furrowed his eyebrows, “So why in hell’s name are you in my office?”

“I, uh…” Bradley felt beads of sweat at the nape of his neck, “I was reading a letter from my girl back home, sir.” He hadn’t ever been a good liar, so he decided to just tell half of the truth.

“And you couldn’t do that in your dorm, because…?” Cyclone raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Iceman laughed, shaking his head, “C’mon, Beau. You remember what it was like. Those guys would make fun of him for weeks if they got ahold of a letter from a girl.”

Bradley relaxed just slightly as your father smiled at him.

“It’s alright, kid.” Iceman patted Bradley’s shoulder softly, “But Cyclone and I just need to have a chat. So, would you excuse us for a bit?”

Bradley nodded quickly, brushing past Cyclone as he left the office and hurried down the hallway.

“You shouldn’t be soft on him because you knew his old man.” Admiral Simpson muttered, shaking his head as he walked over to his filing cabinet and pulled it open.

“I’m not,” Iceman rolled his eyes, taking a seat opposite the desk. “I think he’s a good kid, and you know I’m right about those knuckleheads. I think it’s sweet that Bradshaw’s so considerate of his lady.”

Cyclone shrugged.

…

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[khaylin27]

Dinner with the Mitchells

Chapter One of Unexpected

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Fem! Mitchell! Reader

Summary: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw and Y/N "Starling" Mitchell have been childhood friends due to their dads, but since Maverick pulled both your papers you guys were pushed back 4 years. After 4 years, you guys finally got into the Naval Academy together. During their time in the Academy, they decide to become friends with benefits, but Y/N accidentally gets pregnant by Bradley. They agreed to raise their kid together as friends, but what happens when Bradley is stationed in Virginia and you are stationed in Lemoore? 

Series Warnings: accidental pregnancy, angst, fluff, there will be NO SMUT! (I suck at writing that)

Word Count: 2024

A/N: I'M SO SORRY Y'ALL HAD TO WAIT!!! I wanted to finish Dodgers vs Phillies Baby before I continue writing this new fic. Hope y'all like it 🫶

"So how did Bradley take it?" Natasha asked over the phone while you were cooking dinner.

"He was surprised." You grill some chicken while explaining to her what had happened with Bradley. "We went to the Navy clinic to make sure it wasn't a false alarm. Turns out it wasn't and that I'm actually pregnant."

"Are you going to keep it?"

You were silent once Natasha said that. You knew the risk of having a child in this line of work, you would be grounded for almost two years and after that the job of a naval aviator was a risky.

"I'm going to keep it. I know I'll be grounded for almost two years but I'm fine with that. This job doesn’t give us the chance to get married or start a family. So this really is just a blessing in disguise."

"Is Bradley going to help?" Natasha asks while you plate the chicken you just grilled.

"He said he wants to help when I told him he doesn't need to stay for this baby. I think he wants this baby too." Natasha knew not a lot about his background but he knew that his dad died at an early age.

"That's good. Did you tell your dad yet?" You were placing your food on your tiny dining table as she asked you that question.

"Not yet but he called me after the appointment saying he's coming to San Diego to spend time with me." Take a bite of your delicious grill chicken that was sided with steamed vegetables and rice.

"Does Bradley know he's coming?" Natasha also knew that Bradley didn't like your dad for some reason. She didn't know the reason though.

You laugh a little before you start to talk, "Well Bradley was with me when my dad called and my dad also asked if I can pick him up from the airport. I promised him that I would and would also treat him to dinner with Bradley."

All of a sudden you hear Natasha choking on water, "OMG TASH ARE YOU OKAY!?"

"YOU DID WHAT!?"

"I said that Bradley would have dinner with us!" You explain once again.

"How did that go?" Natasha asks trying to recover from choking on her water.

"Oh, you know Rooster." You say sarcastically. "He's dramatic and asked if I was crazy for telling my dad that he was coming to dinner. He told me he wasn't going to go but I told him he has to go. I invited my mom and sister so he wouldn't be alone."

"Y/N you can't do something like that? You didn't even take his feelings into consideration."

"Yeah, I did. I told him we would tell my family that we're having a kid together. I know that he's still mad at my dad but can they at least get along for the sake of our child!" You were irritated that Natasha asked you that question. You did consider Bradley's feelings, but why can't he take your feelings into consideration.

"Jeez, okay I get your point!" She sighs into the phone, "How do you think this dinner is going to go?"

"Oh, I'm expecting it to be a horrible dinner."

NEXT DAY (after picking up Maverick)

Driving back home from picking up Maverick was okay. It was filled with one on one conversations about how each other was doing and such. As you park on your driveway, you see Amelia and your mom getting parking as well.

"Sweetie, you didn't tell me your mom and Amelia were coming!" He gets out of the car to walk to Amelia and Penny to give them a hug.

You get out of the driver's seat and close the door. "Well I wanted to surprise you." Walking over to Amelia and your mom to give them a big hug.

"Hi, Pete," Penny says after hugging Maverick. "It's been awhile."

"It has." Your dad gives your mom the look he always gives when she sees her.

"Eww, Y/N can we go inside and make dinner?" Amelia asks you in disgust at what she's looking at between your parents. You nod yes and you two go inside while your parents have some catching up to do.

"So did you invite Bradley?" Amelia asks while peeling the potatoes.

After you cut the vegetables that Amelia peeled you looked at her. "Yes."

"OOOOH!! You guys finally a thing now?" If she only knew what you were going to tell all of them later that night. You weren't together but you were going to have a kid together.

"No, you know I don't like commitment." Putting the cut vegetables in the pot of boiling water, you hear the door open.

"Y/N!?" It was Bradley that had entered the house.

"In the kitchen." You holler out from the kitchen.

He walks into the kitchen and sees you. "Hey Y/N!"

"Here Bradley." You walk away from the pot of boiling vegetables to give Bradley a hug. "Did you say hi to Amelia?"

"Yeah Bradley!! Did you say hi to me?" Amelia says sarcastically.

Bradley walks to Amelia and gives a tight hug. "Hi Amelia!"

"Hi Bradley. I missed you." She says and hugs Bradley back. "Now go away so I can help Y/N."

Even though Amelia was your little sister, she was like a little sister to Bradley too. When Amelia was born, you and Bradley were 18. You two would watch over her while your mom had to work at the Hard Deck. Amelia considered you more than just her sister, she considered you as another mom. She considered Bradley not only a brother, but a father figure since her biological father wasn't around.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Bradley asks sitting on your bar stool watching you two cook.

"You can help me plate the food while Amelia sets up the table."

Bradley nods and goes to your side. "Scoot Amelia, go somewhere else." The 13 year old rolls her eyes at Bradley and leaves to go set up the table. "So are we going to talk about you know what?"

"Yeah, we're going to tell my parents the situation after dinner." You look at Bradley once you finish putting all the food in each plate. "How do you feel about this?"

This wasn't easy for Bradley, coming to have dinner with the man he resented. But he wasn't doing this for himself, he was doing this for the sake of you and their child. "To be honest, I don't want to be here. But I'm doing this for you guys."

You give Bradley a sad smile, this was a lot for him. "Thank you for coming. I don't think I can do this by myself."

"It's okay Star, we're in this together." Bradley gives you a hug and kisses the top of your forehead.

Once everyone came inside to go eat, it was the most uncomfortable dinner ever. You have Bradley who hated your dad, your mom who has a on and off relationship with your dad, and a big elephant in the room which is your child none of your family knew about.

Currently Bradley was helping you clean up dinner while you family was sitting in your living room. "Are those the last of the dishes Y/N?"

"Yeah looks like it," Bradley puts the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and starts it.

"You ready?" You ask Bradley while you took the ultrasound photo from the drawer in your kitchen. Putting the photo in your back pocket while you wait for Bradley to finish.

"No, but here it goes." Bradley walks with you to the living room where everyone was watching a movie.

"Finally you guys are done!" The impatient teenager says to you two. "Let's go play some board games."

"Actually we have to talk about something first." You and Bradley sit next to each other on the love seat couch.

"OOOH!! IS IT FINALLY WHAT I THINK IT IS!?" Amelia says so excitedly. She has been rooting for you two ever since she can comprehend what dating is.

"AMELIA!!" Your mom calls out Amelia's comment while your dad was smiling at her comment.

"No it's not, but I think you're going to like this one." Bradley looks like you seeing if you were ready. You nod yes and look at your family.

"So Bradley and I weren't planning for this to happen but it happened." You laugh nervously as you were getting the ultrasound out of your pocket. Once you get it out of your pocket, you put it on the coffee table so that they can all see it.

"I'm pregnant."

Looking at your little sister, her eyes went wide. "OMG YOU'RE PREGNANT!!" Amelia says happily getting off the couch and going to you two to give you a hug. "I'M SO EXCITED TO BE AN AUNTIE!!!"

"And I'm going to be a grandma!" Your mom laughs a little. "This is exciting! How far along are you?"

"12 weeks. We found out yesterday." You look at your dad since he was a little quiet. "How do you feel about this dad?"Your dad takes a deep breath before he starts talking.

"I'm surprised. You guys aren't together so this a big pill to swallow. I'm happy for you guys but at the same time I'm not. You guys are about to graduate within a couple of weeks! Y/N you're not going to be able to fly for almost 2 YEARS because you're pregnant! And you're going to be stationed in Lemoore Y/N. Where are you going to be stationed at Bradley?"

"Virginia." Your dad takes a deep breath again at Bradley's answer.

"Jeez, VIRGINIA! How are you guys going to raise a kid together if you're miles away from each other!" You can tell that your dad was upset about the situation.

"Dad! If you and mom could do it, why can't we do it?"

"There's a difference between your mom and I's situation than you guys. Your mom wasn't in the Navy, she has a stable job and was always there to take care of you. You on the other hand are in the Navy, you need to be realistic with this Y/N. You and Bradley are in the Navy, you guys don't have stability in the type of job you're in." Your dad was right. The Navy didn't provide stability for people in the field, you guys would always be moving around.

"It doesn't matter Pete. We're having this kid no matter what. You can support us or not." Bradley blurts out to your dad. "You know I didn't even want to be here because of you. But I promised Y/N that I would go for and get along with you for not only the sake of our unborn child but for her as well. If that doesn't say anything to you then that's your problem."

You take a deep sigh before you start to speak, "Dad, I know you don't agree with this but it is what it is. I know what I’m getting myself into and I’m fine with it. This job doesn’t give us the chance to get married or start a family. I don't want to wait until I'm old and regret not having children."

"How do you feel about this Bradley?"

"I support Y/N's decision and will help with her however I can." Your dad sighs at Bradleys's answer. He was happy that Bradley was going to help you.

"I'm happy that you'll help Y/N how ever you can, but it's not going to be easy." Your dad tells you guys true fully. "I know you don't like me right now too but I'll get along with you for the sake of your child."

You stand up and walk to your dad so you can give him a hug, "Thank you dad. I love you."

"I love you too," He looks at you and smiles.

"Wow, that was a lot." Amelia says sarcastically.

"AMELIA!!"

Here's to be added to the taglist

Taglist: @topguncortez @one-sweet-gubler @carsgeek24 @theliterarybeldam @sandyys-posts @merakiaes @adoringsebstan @wishingtobeforeveryoung1019 @lilmonstrjedi @blairfox04 @mygyn @atarmychick007 @louie-bug @emes-alexndra @k-k0129 @hmarsattacks @sebby-staan @the-simp-next-door @libra-2409 @iviste @super-btstrash-posts @ollyoxenfrees @inky-sun @mrsjobarnes @m14mags

[callsignthirsty]

ur reblog of slider’s playlist has me thinking: could u perhaps write something where he fucks you like an animal .. because now that’s all i can think about. love your writing, you’re very talented !!

Hey Nonnie!

Hope this was animal enough for you (I may or may not have been listening to one song in particular while writing this).

And for those of you who missed the Playlist: you’re welcome.

Pairing: Ron “Slider” Kerner x F!Reader Word Count: 3820 Warnings: Smut, breeding kink (I went a little heavy on it this time… I refuse to apologize), under-negotiated kink (?), dirty talk, language Minors DNI

You Get Me Closer to God (I Wanna Fuck You Like An Animal)

It's a smooth flight into San Diego, and despite your early morning, you're practically bouncing in your seat as the plane taxis to the gate. There's a window somewhere behind the businessman to your left, but you can't see the tarmac around his padded shoulders.

Each minute feels like an hour as you wait for the plane to come to a final stop and for the flight attendants to open the cabin door. Then you're retrieving your weekend bag from the overhead compartment before you step into the mid-morning sun. The breeze rolls in from the sea, updrafts playing with the flirty hem of your skirt, coating everything in the unmistakable brine you've come to associate with Family Weekends on base.

The stairs down to the tarmac are steep, and you're forced to pay attention unless you want to fall flat on your face. When you look up, a blonde woman is reuniting with her husband. Your lips curl at the way she tosses his flower to the side so she can fling herself into his arms and give him a smooch before he squats down to pick up his kid. It's horribly endearing. Something straight out of a movie or the feel-good stories covered in the nightly news.

Bubbles erupt in your stomach when you spot him among the crowd. A hot, overpowering, all-consuming flutter that works its way up your throat until you're unsure if you'll laugh or throw up butterflies. He's a head taller than anyone else at the gate and as subtle as a sledgehammer when he elbows his way to you. He hasn't bothered with flowers; instead, he wraps you in his arms and trails a hand up your short skirt with none of the decency that his uniform demands. Luckily he isn’t dressed to the nines for your arrival. No. Just his usual, unassuming t-shirt and jeans. Because, after weeks of separation, with your face pressed into his chest and his palm cupping your ass before God and everyone at the gate, he isn't Lieutenant Ron Kerner. He's yours.

"Slider, come on," Ice says from somewhere over Slider's shoulder. "Goose's kid is right there."

You press a sweet kiss to the corner of Slider's lips, grinning at his grunt of disappointment before you turn to pull his pilot into a much shorter and far more platonic embrace. "Sli didn’t mention he was bringing you. I’d have dressed up.” Iceman chuckles with a roll of his eyes.

The three of you make your way from the open-air gate and into the terminal, and Ice shoves your bag into Slider's arms with a comment about keeping his hands busy that has you giggling. But it doesn't unglue you from Slider's side. He holds you close, an arm around your waist as you walk through the airport and toward the short-term parking garage.

You're ready to climb into the backseat when you reach Slider's car, but it seems Ice isn't coming with you. He pulls you into another hug before he lets you know it was nice to see you and offers Slider a quick wave before heading back the way he came.

"Where're you going?" Slider shouts in his direction while simultaneously tossing your bag into the backseat.

"Back to the terminal," Ice says as if it's obvious.

"Yeah, but why?"

Ice fiddles with his watch. "To hail a cab."

Slider rolls his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous."

But Ice shakes his head. "I'm not getting between–" he gestures vaguely at the two of you "–this." You thank your lucky stars for Tom Kazansky and his powers of perception — though you suppose it doesn't take a rocket scientist to piece together that you and Slider are itching to get your hands on each other. You figure Ice has heard all about Slider's intentions throughout many whiskey-induced ramblings. So if he'd been expecting Slider to insist, he'd be sorely mistaken. But you doubt that Ice is when he throws "I'll see you back at base" over his shoulder before vanishing in his venture back to the terminal.

"Don't wait up," Slider exclaims as he drops into the driver's seat and leans over to unlock your door. He has plans for you that involve a hotel and a king-size bed. Maybe even a couple noise complaints.

You study his profile as Slider puts the key in the ignition and the Trans Am purrs to life. But instead of releasing the clutch and putting the car in reverse, he turns your way. The hunger in his eyes is the spark, and you're the gunpowder. You meet in the middle. A frenzied locking of lips over the center console as your fingers tangle in his hair.

You grin into the kiss and nip at Slider's bottom lip, eagerly following when he retreats. The buzzing beneath your skin demands that you pull him in for more, but Slider really needs to get you both to the hotel. You clock the sympathetic look he gives you as he shifts the car into reverse. He gets it, you know. There isn't a doubt in your mind that he'd fuck you right now if it wouldn't get you both written up for public indecency. Reluctantly, you settle into your seat and fiddle with the radio.

The drive from the airport to your hotel isn't that far.

Well, it isn't supposed to be.

You've caught every red light along your route so far, and as another light in the distance turns yellow, your luck doesn't appear to be shifting any time soon.

“Fucking lights,” Slider grumbles. He didn’t buy a muscle car to drive the speed limit, but that’s exactly what he’s doing.

You lick your lips as the car rolls to a stop, savoring the taste of him that lingers there and growing increasingly impatient. "How much further?" You know you sound like you're six, whining in the back of your parent's station wagon an hour into a week-long road trip. You don't care.

"Five minutes," he answers, glaring at the red light. "More if this shit keeps up." You let out a discouraged whine. "I know, baby. But we're almost there." A gentle squeeze to your thigh has you melting, but it returns to the gearshift as the light turns green. You can't help but pout. It's a special kind of torture having Slider so close, feeling the ghost of his lips against yours but unable to touch him like you’ve imagined all this time apart.

Epiphany strikes as you drum your fingers in your lap.

Approaching what must be the millionth red light, you run your hands up and down your thighs, steadily inching your skirt higher and higher. Slider looks like he's about to ask you what you think you're doing when you maintain eye contact and carefully slip your panties down your legs. They fly into the backseat. Gone to the ages.

The hunger is back. Eyes dark as Slider drinks you in. Trailing up your legs to your fingers where they toy with your skirt and dip beneath the loose fabric.

"Eyes on the road, Sli."

The light's green.

The car rocks back as Slider steps heavy on the gas. His hand is on you as soon as he shifts gears. He tugs your thigh closer to him and flush against the center console before you let the other fall open with an encouraging moan designed to rile him up just like your skirt. Calloused fingers waste no time on your sensitive inner thighs, and he knows he's got tone when they zero in on your needy cunt. You shift in your seat to give him better access and are rewarded when he drags two fingers through your lips.

"Fuck, baby."

"Missed you," you say as you return the favor and cup Slider through his jeans. Palm grinding down against his fast-growing erection.

"I can feel that," he groans as his fingers leave you to switch gears, but they return before the car rolls to a complete stop. "Can't even wait until we get to the hotel, can you?" He doesn't wait for you to answer before easing a thick finger into you, and you toss your head back with a breathless, shameless shake. "That's why you wore your pretty skirt, isn't it?"

And why your panties are so kindly decorating his backseat. "Wanted your hands all over me."

When the light turns green this time, you put your hand on the gearshift so that Slider's can stay right where it is. You're rewarded with a toothy grin and a crook of his finger that has you keening, your fist tightening around his thick cock behind rough denim. "Soon," he promises, leaving you empty and patting your thigh. "We're here."

True to his word, you've pulled into the hotel's parking lot. Once you've parked, you straighten your skirt and step out of the car.

The concierge is a small desk near the front door set before an awful pistachio green wall. But Slider hadn't picked this hotel for its luxurious accommodations. Quite the opposite. Neither of you is willing or has the money to spend on something ostentatious — God knows the Navy doesn't pay Slider enough. You just need a door that locks and a big bed.

"Checking in?"

"Yes," you say, making your way to the desk and the man behind, cocking your hip as you lean forward ever so slightly to put your ass on display. A tease.

"What's the reservation under?"

"Kerner." Slider sidles up next to you at the counter, and you tune out the rest of the check-in process, more interested in guiding Slider's hand to cup your ass. For what it's worth, Slider doesn't skip a beat, reminding the concierge of his military discount as he kneads the cheek in his big hand. The desk clerk isn't paid enough to care and goes to retrieve your key with a near-dead look in his eyes, handing it over before mumbling something about calling the front desk if you need anything.

Slider stops by the car to pick up your bags before herding you toward your room like an over-eager cattle dog. He's right behind you as suddenly-clumsy fingers fumble the room key. The door unlocks with a heavy clack, and you have just enough time to register that one of the walls has been painted in the same offensive green as the concierge desk before the door slams shut, and your bags are unceremoniously dumped.

You’re crowded against the wall as greedy hands pull you up until your tiptoes barely graze the rundown carpet. When Slider bows to kiss you, you turn your head. "Sli, c'mon," you feign annoyance, gently shoving at his shoulders as he bites sweet bruises into your collarbone. "I wanna put my things away."

A thick thigh slots between your own, flexing against your throbbing clit as hands find your ass and hoist you the rest of the way off the ground and into strong arms. "Don't act all shy now," Slider husks into the curve of your neck, hot breath chilling the spit-slick skin and forcing a shiver up your spine. "We both know you want me to fill up that pretty pussy." And like that, he's reduced you to a pile of goo.

Breath hitching against his lips, you give up the ghost. Fingers tangle into his curls as you rock your hips over stiff denim, too drunk off the taste, the smell, the feel to stop even as the rough weave scratches your sensitive skin. He's already got you soaked, innermost thighs slick from where your needy cunt has begun to drip, so you tear into each other.

You pull Slider's shirt off to wind your fingers around his dog tags and give them a tug, explore his broad chest — smooth skin and well-hewn muscle at your fingertips — and he does the same. Gets rid of your bra only to mouth at your tits while you tug at his belt so you can get his pants pushed far enough down to get his cock out.

The sting of sharp teeth has you arching into Slider's mouth, distracted as his hands ruck the body of your skirt up around the waistband, the fabric wrinkling and creasing between you. It's the furthest thing from your mind as he helps you wrap your legs around him. "You ready?" he asks, and the heels of your white sneakers dig into his lower back as you nod and try to pull him as close as possible; then he pushes into you with a groan.

You love how Slider towers over you, muscles flexing as he holds you steady against the wall, precisely where he wants you, as his cock stretches you wide and fucks up into you with a pent-up, feral passion. How his curls begin to dampen and droop into his eyes. Your toes curl in your shoes, your head thunking back against the wall as he brushes against your sweet spot.

When Slider steps back, and your shoulders come off the wall, your whole body clenches. You bite back a startled yelp, fingers desperately trying to hold on but only succeeding in marking him with angry red lines.

He pulls out to set you on the bed, kicking his pants off as you toe off your sneakers before the mattress dips beneath his weight. The duvet is scratchy, but it's easy to forget when his lips trail fire from your hip up to devour your own, a heady buzz under your skin when he hauls one of your legs over his shoulder before he sinks back into you. And it's deep. Further than your fingers or toys and so much better because it's him caging you against the bed, bringing you to the very edge of sanity, and kissing you until you're breathless. Your cheeks burn with the wanton noises that tumble out your mouth as he leans forward, your hamstring threatening to cramp as he folds you in half, your ass lifting off the bed to give him a better angle to piston his hips into yours with a wet slap.

It doesn't take much in this position to push you over the edge. His gaze piercing as you cum with a cry, fingers twisting in the duvet.

Slider pulls out while your walls are still tensing, his fingers filling, crooking, and teasing to try and draw out your pleasure. But his fingers — while delightful — are a poor substitute for his cock. You whine, body shaking at the loss and the overstimulation as his fingers attack your sweet spot.

"Sli," you gasp, head thrown back and eyes closed, sneaky tears leaking into your hair.

"Hmm?" His free hand kneads at your hip, the crease of your thigh, the dip of your waist while he sloppily kisses across your neck, chest, middle.

"Baby, please."

Slider leans over you, lips inches from yours before he ducks to the side, your belly swooping when he captures the corner of your jaw between his teeth. "Don't wanna cum yet," he rasps, swallowing your mewl in an eager kiss. His fingers continue to tease you until your hips roll into each shallow thrust instead of jerking away.

You luxuriate in the closeness. Opening your eyes to see him above you. Gasping for breath and finding him there, too, in the hints of minty aftershave and the musky cologne you'd bought him for Christmas two years ago. Goosebumps everywhere you're pressed against each other as if your very skin is reaching out for a better taste of his tan skin covered in a sheen of sweat. A warm, tingly feeling blooms in your chest as you wrap your arms around his neck, and he holds you in turn. A lightheaded, giddy feeling that's never gone away when you're around him. One that only seems to grow with each passing day.

Slider isn't quite wrecked, but he's definitely on his way there. Pupils blown wide as he lines up with your quivering cunt and slowly buries himself back in you. Big hands press your thighs into the mattress, keeping them spread wide as he drives his hips into yours and sees to another bruise — this one indecently high up on your neck.

"God," he groans, "you're so fucking wet." His hips grind sinfully into yours until you're writhing, and your pussy gives a slick squelch as if to prove his point. Teeth tug on your earlobe. "What's got you so wet, baby?"

"You," you breathe out. "Fuck, Sli. You."

"Fuck yeah," he grits into your cheek before recapturing your lips in a filthy kiss. "So good for me, baby. So perfect. So wet." Calloused hands circle your waist before dragging down to frame your hips, pulling you onto him with every thrust. "You been waiting for me to make a mess of this pussy."

Your head thrashes to the side with an obscene moan, heat blooming from your cheeks down your chest as your cunt throbs. "Sli–"

"That's right," he purrs, thumb petting your pussy lips where they're stretched and tight around him as your mouth hangs open in silent arousal. "Gonna fuck you right through this mattress, get you all pretty and dumb on my cock, then I'm gonna make you forget what it was like to be empty. Keep you stuffed and dripping for days."

"I'm not on birth control."

Everything stops.

The creaking of mattress springs.

Your breathing.

Slider.

Your eyes, closed in pleasure a moment ago, open, but the look on his face is unreadable. You should say something. You open your mouth, hoping the words will come to you, but you're being manhandled onto your knees, face pressed into the mattress before you can get your hands beneath yourself, and Slider is so deep inside of you that you can practically taste him. He folds over you, one hand fisted in the skirt bunched around your waist, the other braced near your head as he all but growls: "I'm gonna put a fucking baby in you."

And oh.

Teeth clamp down on the skin behind your ear, hips humping and grinding filthy against your sopping core as he tries to work himself deeper. But it isn't enough. He pulls out and pounds forward, grunting in self-satisfaction as you scream.

You're far from the only one making noise now. Slider runs his mouth between moans that he's no longer trying to hold back. Can't seem to keep it shut. "You like that?” he pants against your shoulder blades. “I know you do. Can tell from the way you moan and clench around my cock." He's got your back bowed so much he's practically fucking down into you, trying to drill you through the mattress just like he promised.

"God, you're so fucking perfect. Taking it so good for me." Your face is hot, your heart catching in your throat as each heady groan vibrates through his chest and serves to wind you tighter. Slider nuzzles into the crook of your neck, mouthing over your fluttering pulse as one of his hands clutches possessively low over your belly. "Gonna keep you full of me." You keen, head thrown back to give him more access to a long line of unblemished skin. "Not gonna be able to go anywhere without it dripping down your thighs, and when it does–" he grunts, hips stuttering "–I'm gonna fuck it back into you. Fill you up again until your pussy's all sloppy, and you can't walk."

"Oh, fuu– Ron. God. Yes! Give it to me. Please, Ron, please.” It’s desperate, pleading, and needy all in one heaping moan. You're going to cum and he hasn't even touched your clit.

"That's it," he says, brows drawn in a determined line as he unglues himself from your back. "Gonna– fuck– you gonna cum for me?" His hips crash into yours without rhythm, chasing his own end and knowing from the way your walls quiver and try to suck him deeper that you're just as close as he is. But you shake your head, stubborn and desperate to keep it going, to ride this high for as long as you can. "Yeah, you are." His palm is sweaty where it still rests over your womb. "Then I'm gonna fuck you again. And again and again, until it takes."

You lock up, vision whiting out as pleasure overtakes you, starting where you clench around Slider still so deep inside you and radiating to your fingertips. And Slider's right behind you.

Usually, he likes to make a mess of you. Pull out and cum all over your pussy. Leave the tip inside so he can watch his cum dribble down your thighs and onto the sheets. But this time, his hips press tight to yours to ensure nothing goes to waste. He groans into your shoulder, pulling you back onto his dick as it pulses, and makes you take every last drop, a shiver running up his spine and his ears staining red.

When he finally pulls out, you stay where you are, too fucked out even to slump against the hotel linens. But you don't have to move a muscle. Slider slips your skirt down your legs and gathers you in his arms, surrounding you in warmth. You catch your breath between kisses, fingers twirling and catching in his sweaty curls and tracing over the day-old stubble that lines his jaw.

He presses a kiss to your forehead as your breaths even out. He opens his mouth, then closes it to collect his thoughts. "You didn't actually stop taking your birth control, did you?" he finally asks, voice uncharacteristically soft and brows raised.

"Ew. No," you huff into his chest. "I was horny, Ron, not stupid." Besides, that's something you need to discuss together before you start flushing pills down the drain. You feel his chuckle bubble up in response as he presses a kiss to your hairline.

You idly draw circles into Slider's chest as the sunlight creeps through your blinds and tracks across your bed, the tv remote lost somewhere on the other side of the room. Neither of you is willing to get up and find it.

"So…" you drawl as your fingers begin to trek lower than is purely innocent. "You want to put a baby in me, Sli?" And there's no way he can hide how his dick twitches with your legs are tangled together as they are.

"What can I say?" His fingers card through your hair to angle your face toward his and whispers against your lips, even though it's the world's worst-kept secret: "It's hot."

Your eyes droop to half-mast. "Well, I don't see any reason why we can't practice." You have the entire weekend and have yet to rack up a single noise complaint.

Slider's lips part in a dagger grin. "God, you're perfect."

[alakeeffectgirl]

cruisequarries PART TWO

PART ONE What did we get up to yesterday? 2018? Okay. I will put everything behind a spoiler cut again (there are more pictures/a video today).

Actually, let's rewind just a little, for some Fallout premiere pictures just because.

Paris, July 12th:

London, July 13th:

Seoul, July 16th (according to the designer's website, the hanbok Heather is wearing was designed as a wedding dress, mmhmm)...

I love this picture because they're making those faces at Chris. Here's the bit of Tom making Heather cry in Tokyo:

I highly recommend listening to Tom & Chris commentary track on Fallout, which starts with McQ introducing himself as the writer/director and then Tom introducing himself - as McQ's friend. After the Fallout press tour wraps up, work starts in earnest on Top Gun: Maverick, which Tom and McQ have been discussing - idly, on McQ's part - for years now. "Our relationship is one long conversation about movies," indeed.

While TGM is filming, pre-production is also happening on MI:DR, which McQ has signed on to direct. (These two are usually juggling at least two projects at a time, and really it's probably more like five projects at a time.)

In January of 2019, they're all back in LA so Tom and McQ can pick up some awards.

The McQuarries also go to a premiere and look fantastic (I love McQ's suit):

Tom and McQ go to Ukraine to scout Dead Reckoning locations later in 2019, meet President Zelenskyy, and McQ gets to put his arm around Tom for once instead of their usual other way around.

OH NO I ALMOST FORGOT - at the end of 2019, Tom took the whole McQ clan with him to Las Vegas to see Lady Gaga and ask her to write the TGM song. [cries in 'that's his family']

Production ramps up on DR - and then unfortunately, as we all know, COVID. Most of the cast and crew were in Venice when everything shut down, but Tom hadn't arrived yet.

Production resumes in Rome in October (their production struggles/trying to keep everyone employed/Tom rightfully yelling at people to follow protocols because a lot of jobs depend on them is all well documented), and then moves to Venice. Heather and the dogs are also part of this traveling band.

This isn't six feet apart, dudes...

Production breaks for the holidays, and resumes in Abi Dhabi for the airport/desert sequences, and also one of my favorite pictures of Tom and Heather, just for her expression.

Train sequence filming in Yorkshire in April of 2021, that's Heather in the blue coat:

DR production then breaks for a bit over the summer so Tom can take all his friends to Wimbledon, go to several car things, and make McQ watch football (the soccer version).

DR filming resumes in the fall/winter. Heather goes with to South Africa and they rent out what is basically an adults-only hotel (and save it from having to close!), for part of their stay. I love this picture because Gypsy looks so long-suffering:

OKAY IT'S 2022 NOW, time for the Top Gun: Maverick premiere tour to start - finally! (Do any of these people SLEEP? No. I think it's well-documented that Tom Cruise does not sleep, which is part of what makes him Tom Cruise, but also this means he calls McQ at two in the morning to talk about movies. There's a podcast somewhere where McQ says he thinks Tom might sleep "between the 2:05 email and the 2:40 email", or something along those lines.) (After getting back from South Africa, there was a bunch of test screening stuff for TGM, which is why there are those parking garage pictures. Wouldn't the movie be done, you'd think, since it was supposed to be out in 2020? COVID gave them a reason to tinker with it even more.) The San Diego premiere on the USS MIdway (all the McQs were there, but there aren't any good pictures):

Then Tom went to Mexico, and McQ went home to London for a few days before Tom returned, and they went to the Royal Windsor horse show together.

THEN EVERYONE WENT TO CANNES. Sorry I have just a shitty screencap with a watermark here but alas tumblr only lets you put one video per post. Tom and McQ stopped to get their picture taken en route to the actual photocall and Tom made Heather come back and be in the pictures with them. There is video here.

Cannes, of course, was amazing. I have garbage homemade gifs but they're too big for tumblr (also they're garbage) but all the Cannes red carpet footage is available on YouTube, here and here. (Worth it for Heather, tbh.)

They went straight from Cannes - on Tom's helicopter - back to London for the Royal premiere. Where the McQuarries looked amazing and McQ wore his McQ shoes.

And the after party, because heaven forbid they not all ride in the same car:

And then the McQuarries got a slight break, while Tom went to do more TGM press. But he was back in London by the end of June, and they went on what can only be described as a string of dates. First, they went to the Rolling Stones concert at Hyde Park.

McQ was on Tom's other side, but he's only visible in video (the Daily Mail might be garbage but they do come through with the media).

Then Tom and Heather went to The Eagles show at Hyde Park:

And they all went to see Adele - also at Hyde Park. (The woman in the pink sweater is Tom's CAA agent Maha Dakhil Jackson - I found the picture where you can see Heather over Tom's shoulder.)

Then for Tom's birthday, they went to the F1 British Grand Prix (with some other TGM folks, but they aren't three steps behind Tom like the McQuarries are).

Oh no, we're not done. Tom takes Heather to Wimbledon, where she holds his sunglasses (not visible in this picture).

McQ did not go with, as he was recording a Light the Fuse podcast - which he surprise-dialled in a bunch of DR folks - and his final surprise was Tom. Who was still at Wimbledon with Heather. McQ calls Heather to get Tom, and Heather plays dumb and is like, "oh I don't know where he is, did you try calling him?" and Chris says he already told the podcast guys that they were together. So Tom does his segment from the car he's in with Heather, and his part is only supposed to be like ten minutes but he talks for about forty-five and this includes telling the world they basically all live together. Then they went out to dinner!

And the next day they all went to Wimbledon with Maha and her husband.

I'm stopping here because this is already SO LONG and 2023 is going to be wild just by itself! PART THREE

[estrellami-1]

Breathe

Also I’m trying my hand at a permanent taglist… let me know if y’all want to be added!

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Eddie had gone on before him. It wasn’t fair to keep him waiting, but, well… Steve had tried to warn him about smoking.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Steve’s eyes drop closed as he thinks over his life. It was good. Once Vecna was gone, once the hospital scare was over and done with, it was good.

Exhale.

Inhale.

They’d all grown up, separately but together. Robin and Nancy, surprisingly enough, had been the first to leave. Then one by one, the rest of the Part followed in different directions.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Robin and Nancy had moved to San Diego. Dustin and Suzie settled in Maine, of all places. Lucas and Max picked Florida. Will and Mike were closest in Indy. El and Erica—with whatever they had going on—were in Oklahoma, trying to find normalcy.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Steve and Eddie had bought an RV and traveled the country. Visited the kids. They were there for Dustin and Susie’s first kid (and second, and third). They were there when Nancy got her first journalist award. When Mike and Will tied the knot, even if it wasn’t exactly legal yet. When El and Erica needed some familiar faces. When Lucas and Max had gotten hitched. They’d even driven them to the airport, seen them off for their Colorado honeymoon.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Never any kids of their own, Steve reflects. Except in all the ways they did. Everyone had been there for Eddie. Crowded into the hospital room, annoying the fuck out of the hospital staff and uncaring, because that was their Eddie, their brother, their uncle, their grandpop.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Steve had seen memories flash through Eddie’s eyes, like they’re doing in Steve’s mind right now. Their first kiss, sun-drenched and summer-sweet, tentative and so, so hopeful.

Exhale.

Inhale.

When they bought the RV and visited everyone for the first time, rolled up in front of their houses and laid on the horn until someone had gotten annoyed enough to peep out the windows, only to run outside when they realized who it was.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Will and Mike first, since they were closest. Eddie and Steve had taken them out to a gay bar—a nicer one than they’d ever been to at the boys’ age—and had fun for a night. They’d stayed for a few days before making the trek up to Maine to see Dustin and Suzie. Skiing and dinner and loud laughs long into the night.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Then they’d gone to see Max and Lucas in Florida, getting horribly burned the first day and regretting it for the next few days. Max and Lucas had both made fun of them. Then a rather uncomfortable drive to Oklahoma to see the girls. El, who had been learning to cook, made them all dinner. They were introduced to May and Alex, two kids who had needed help. Eddie had put his arm around Steve’s shoulders like he knew Steve had been holding back tears.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Then off to San Diego to see Robin and Nancy. Robin had yelled and barreled out the door. Steve had done much the same thing after parking the RV, and the hug lasted long enough that Nancy had helped Eddie bring their things inside and were well on their way through the first of many iced teas. They’d stayed there the longest, even toyed with the idea of making home base somewhere near.

Exhale.

Inhale.

But Steve knew Eddie, knew he’d want to be near Wayne, at least while he could be. So they returned, set up camp in a town about the same size as Hawkins, about an hour away. Settled in. Hired someone to cut the grass. Bought groceries. On their third day there, kids had come around, intrigued by the new RV, drawn close by the sound of Eddie’s guitar. Kept close by Steve’s snacks.

Exhale.

Inhale.

They’d pseudo-adopted a few kids from that town. The kids had decent parents, who would come over from time to time and joke about Steve and Eddie stealing their kids. The nights would end in beer and laughter and more guitar, softer than the metal Steve had fallen in love with, but no less beautiful.

Exhale.

Inhale.

They grew up together. They grew old together. What goes around comes around, because a few short years ago Eddie had been in this very same hospital, right back in Hawkins. The familiarity of it all had given Steve double vision at times. He’d been there when Eddie passed. Felt him squeeze Steve’s hand for the last time.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Steve hadn’t cried until he’d gotten back to the RV. After all the condolences, the paperwork, the well-meaning bouquets and cards. The family they’d made, who were just as heartbroken as he was.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Steve had driven off, secluded himself for a few months, as he learned how to breathe without Eddie around. He didn’t make any more trips, but he did return to the town they’d made their own. He saw their youngest kids, their parents. More condolences. More faked smiles.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Now, he gives the ceiling a genuine smile. He’d kept Eddie waiting for too long. He takes his last breath and steps into the rest of forever, Eddie by his side.

Permanent Taglist:

@justforthedead89 @ilovecupcakesandtea @madigoround (you didn’t ask but I figured you’d be ok w it… but if not lmk, no hard feelings!)

[homomenhommes]

STORY: Ups And Downs 19

Dinner and Dessert

With less than two weeks to go until our big trip to New York and Connecticut, Woody called Rafael and me into his office to begin making preparations. I took notes with my new Wacom note pad. Our itinerary would look something like this:

Wednesday morning: fly to New York City, check into the St. Regis Hotel (overlooking Central Park and just two blocks from the Museum of Modern Art)

Thursday: cocktail reception in Mr. Block’s suite, followed by dinner for 10 in the Presidential Suite

Friday afternoon: Mr. Block, Woody, and I take the train to Stamford, Connecticut, and then travel by rental car to Greenwich for the art show; Rafael remaining in New York (unsupervised)

Sunday afternoon: take the train back to New York City

Monday: Mr. Block and Woody attend an international conference on LGBT+ rights at the United Nations; Rafael and I free for the day

Tuesday: Mr. Block, Woody, and I fly back to San Diego; Rafael remains in NYC for another week before flying to Spain

“We don’t always stay at five-star hotels,” said Woody, “but Mr. Block chose the St. Regis for two reasons: one, he will be entertaining a very exclusive group of gentlemen, and two, he sees this as an opportunity for the two of you to learn what constitutes first-class service. So, while we are there, take pictures and take notes. Before we check out, you will meet with the hotel manager to ask him any questions you may have. This is an exceptional learning opportunity for both of you, so make the most of it.”

After going over the general outline, Woody dismissed Rafael but kept me behind to work out details. My assignment was to make all the reservations—flights, hotels, train, rental car, and dinners. At the art show, I would be expected to provide whatever services might be needed by Mr. Block, Woody, or the show organizers.

“You’re in charge,” Woody told me, “but don’t be afraid to ask for help. Rafael has been through all of this before, so he can answer almost any question you might have. And when you talk to the sales manager at the hotel about that dinner, pull Kim into the conversation to work out the menu and other arrangements. He’s a pro at that.”

As I got up to leave Woody’s office, he called me back and handed me two things: a box containing the latest iPhone and a credit card. “Use these to make the reservations,” he said. The credit card belonged to Mr. Block’s account, but it had my name on it.

For the next week and a half, I worked my tail off, not only making the reservations and other plans for our trip, but also assisting Rafael, Ron, and Kim in their duties, learning as much as I could so that I could fill in when they took days off.

Of course, I still managed to squeeze in sexual adventures two or three times a day. I had sex before work and after work and sometimes during my lunch break, but never during work hours. I never had to look far for available or willing sex partners. They were everywhere.

I remembered what Woody had said about having sex in the limo, the barn, and the boats, so I made sure to play out those fantasies as well as quite a few others.

On the day of our departure, Ron drove the four of us (Mr. Block, Woody, Rafael, and me) to the airport in the Navigator—plenty of room for the five of us plus our luggage. Sitting next to me in the rear seat, Woody handed me an envelope containing $500 in bills of various denominations. “Remember,” he said, “you’re in charge. This money is to cover tips and any other incidentals that you can’t charge to the card. Use it wisely, but don’t be chintzy with the tips. These guys work hard to make our lives easier. The least we can do is to show them our appreciation.”

On the plane, the four of us sat in first class. I had originally booked Rafael and me in coach, but Woody made me change it. “You must constantly be watching out for anything that Mr. Block or I might need,” he said, “and you can’t do that if you’re not with us.”

Mr. Block and Woody took the aisle seats, giving Rafael and me the window seats. Since he and I couldn’t exactly chat with our bosses sitting between us, we texted each other as soon as the overhead lights went off. We joked about the flight attendants—two females in first class and two guys in the back who didn’t exactly appeal to either of us. We lamented the fact that Freddie wasn’t working that flight.

We initially dismissed the idea of having sex in the lavatory since we had both already been inducted into the “mile-high club,” but then it dawned on us: yes, we had both had sex on a plane, but not with each other. When Rafael got up to go to the lavatory, I waited about a minute and then followed him. Walking away, I heard Woody remark to Mr. Block, “They’ll be a while,” which drew a snicker from Mr. Block.

Rafael and I laughed about the fact that the lavatory in first class was bigger than the one in coach, which made it easier for him to ride my dick at 35,000 feet. At one point, we hit a little bit of turbulence, but that only drove my cock deeper into Rafael’s ass. I thought he was going to give us away when he squealed with stunned delight.

When we arrived at the St. Regis in the limo they had sent for us, the desk clerk immediately called the hotel manager, who came out to welcome us. With two cute bellhops carrying our luggage, he escorted us to the Presidential Suite, which was huge—basically a 3000-square-foot luxury apartment. It not only had two bedrooms, one for Mr. Block and one for Woody, but also a living room, a private office, and even a dining room, where our dinner would be catered. The manager, Mr. Danvers, also introduced us to Conrad, the butler assigned to the Presidential Suite. I tipped each of the bellhops $20, but Woody pulled Conrad aside and told him that Rafael and I were there to learn about superior service and would he….

“Mr. Danvers has already explained the situation to me,” Conrad assured Woody. “It will be my pleasure to assist them as well as you and Mr. Block.” Woody thanked him and slipped him a $100 bill.

The two bellhops then led Rafael and me to our rooms down the hall. Though the rooms were not suites, they were more elegant than I could have ever imagined. We had connecting rooms, each with a king-size bed.

As we settled into our respective rooms, there came a knock on my door. It was Conrad. “Mr. Block would like to have dinner at 7:00. Would you like me to reserve a table in the restaurant or will you have dinner in the suite?”

“I’ll have to call Woody and ask him,” I said, but before I could move, Conrad informed me, “Mr. Woodward said that the decision is yours to make.” When Woody said I would be in charge, he wasn’t kidding.

“Hmm. What would you recommend, Conrad?”

“I am happy to make whatever arrangements you wish, but since you will be dining in the suite tomorrow evening, perhaps you would like to try our restaurant tonight. The menu is excellent, the ambiance is quite nice, and you might become acquainted with some of our other guests.”

Conrad was understating the case. The Court restaurant was gorgeous and filled with handsome, well-dressed, and obviously rich gentlemen—mostly older, but some younger than 30. The four of us were well dressed too, Rafael and I in our new Brooks Brothers suits.

When the maitre’d asked Mr. Block if we had reservations, he and Woody remained silent and just looked at me. “Uh, reservation for Mr. Block,” I bucked up.

“Nice save,” Woody whispered to me as we were led to our table. “You’re catching on.”

I felt a twinge of embarrassment at having initially missed the cue, but hearing Woody compliment me pumped up my chest like you wouldn’t believe.

Conrad was right about the menu too. The food was delicious.

“There’s nothing on our calendar tomorrow until the cocktail reception,” observed Woody, “so what do you plan to do with your day, Joe?” My instinct was to say that I would take the time to see some of the sights of New York, but the fact that Woody directed the question to me and not to Rafael and me both, tipped me off that this might be a test.

“I think I should get together with Conrad to make sure that everything is in place for the reception and the dinner.”

An ever-so-slight nod from Woody said to me, “Go on.”

“And I think I should reconfirm our train and hotel reservations for Greenwich.”

When Woody took a very faint breath and leaned back in his chair, I knew that I had scored, but I didn’t quit there.

“Is there anything else I can do for you tomorrow, Mr. Block? Lunch reservations perhaps?”

The faint smirk on Woody’s face said to me, “Now you’re just showing off.” And I ate it up.

“That won’t be necessary,” replied Mr. Block. “I think Woody and I can take care of ourselves for a few hours. Why don’t you and Rafael use the time to get acquainted with the Big Apple? It’s a fascinating city.”

I thanked him but reminded him that I was just a phone call away if he needed anything.

When dinner was concluded and I saw the waiter approaching our table with the bill, I signaled to him to bring the check to me, which he did. After looking it over and adding a generous tip, I signed the check to my room. I think even Rafael was impressed.

As we were leaving the restaurant, we passed a table with two very handsome gentlemen whose eyes followed us out. When we got to the elevator, I said, “You guys go on up. I want to check with the concierge about sightseeing tomorrow,” which was a lie, of course. I was headed back to the restaurant to get acquainted with the two hunks.

When I approached their table, they invited me to sit down while they finished their dinner. “They have sumptuous desserts here,” I commented.

“They certainly do,” gushed one of the men, “and they’re not all on the menu apparently.” I feigned embarrassment, which they thought was adorable.

They complimented me on my new suit, which was obviously a ploy since they were both impeccably dressed themselves, and one of them asked if he could feel the material. Of course, I said yes. I’m not stupid. As he stroked the lapel between his thumb and finger, he let his hand rub against my chest, especially my nipple, which started to rise to the occasion. “Oh, man, this feels really good,” he cooed. “I’ll bet,” said his friend, who had started a seduction of his own by rubbing his leg against mine under the table.

Taking the hints, I told them about our shopping trip to Brooks Brothers and also to The Body Shop in San Diego, which led them to ask what kind of underwear I had bought and what kind I was wearing that night. “I’ll bet you look fucking hot in them,” said one of the men. “And even better out of them,” the other one dared to say.

“And your friend who was with you at dinner. Did he buy new underwear too? I wonder what he’s wearing tonight.”

“I don’t know,” I confessed. “I didn’t check before we came down to dinner, but I’m sure he’s in his room now. Maybe we could all go ask him.”

Well, I didn’t exactly have to twist their arms. They quickly finished their dinners and followed me upstairs.

When I knocked on Rafael’s door, he must have been exercising some ESP because he came to the door in his sexy underwear, which drew oohs and aahs from our two new friends. Rafael didn’t even look surprised when I led them into his room. Maybe when I said I was going to talk to the concierge, he suspected where I was really going and anticipated what the outcome would be.

The outcome, of course, was the four of us ending up naked in Rafael’s king-size bed. They both claimed to be versatile, but when they saw our dicks, they insisted on having us fuck them, which Rafael and I were perfectly happy to oblige. Actually, we swapped back and forth, fucking our respective partners for a few minutes and then, with a tag team slap of the hands, trading partners. The businessmen loved it.

As we fucked them, they occasionally leaned over to kiss each other and sometimes pulled us into kisses. It was such a delight to watch two incredibly handsome men kissing each other and kissing us. It was such a turn on…as if we needed any extra stimulus. Rafael and I both shot our loads more quickly than either of had intended and somewhat to the disappointment of the guys under us, so we tried to make up for the abbreviated fuck by sucking on their cocks, which they also unloaded more quickly than anyone would have preferred.

With our mouths full of their man cream, they kissed us again, swapping their cum with us and with each other until we ended up in a four-way cumfest.

After they got dressed and left Rafael’s room, he and I showered, but before we could finish drying off, the phone in his room rang. It was the two guys inviting us to their room. “Our husbands are back from their evening out and would like to meet you.”

To be continued

+

[katblu42]

Day 8 and Day 9

Day 8 was my last day in San Diego. Check-out of the hotel was in the morning, but my flight out was not until the evening, so I had one more half-day with my fandom (and roadtrip) friends in La Mesa.

All the goodbyes were done as they dropped me off at the airport (around 3pm). It's been such a blast meeting all these awesome people that up 'til now had just been names, aliases and avatars on fan sites.

Anyway, my flight from Sand Diego to Vancouver left around 5:30pm, flying up the coast until I could see snow-capped mountains below us, sometimes protruding above clouds.

(No prizes for guessing which airline I flew with!)

Managed to spend a bit of time on the flight working on my minibang fic!

Touched down in Vancouver a little after 8:30pm. Customs and baggage claim cleared, taxi ride downtown and I was in my hotel room by 10pm.

It's so weird to be in a place where the sky stays so light so long after sunset - not to mention that the sun doesn't set until 9pm! At 10pm the sky was just beginning to darken enough to call it night.

Day 9, getting my bearings in Vancouver, finding out what I can walk to and where I might need to take the bus, and how to go about that . . .

Decided to take the bus to Stanley Park and visit the Vancouver Aquarium. Took about 200 pictures of fish and marine life and frogs and Amazonian animals (including monkeys).

Then it was off for a walk around (one end of) the park.

Even encountered some of the local wildlife.

On the way "home" I had to stop in at a Rocky Mountaineer visitor center to pick up my boarding pass and luggage labels.

By the time I got back to the hotel my feet were sore from all the walking. So, I stayed in, cooked some dinner (my hotel room has a really good kitchenette!!!) and took it easy for the evening!

[loquaciousquark]

an account of hope, an account of redemption

So if you recall, I lost several beautifully mature, beloved trees in my backyard over the last year and a half or so. Well, about a month ago, I ordered two Schumard oak saplings through my local landscaping company on the advice of our state arborist. These are trees which grow well in my state and which grow fast without compromising strength, and they turn a stunning red in the fall.

So the landscaper calls last week to tell me the oaks are in. They close at 3:00 today, so I head out around noon to run some errands, then roll up to the building around 1:30 to check in and pay.

First wrinkle: the staff member who's going to help me load the trees takes one look at my small SUV, the back seats optimistically folded flat, and just shakes his head. No way, he says, not a snowball's chance. Not even on top like a Christmas tree? Impossible. He directs me around to the back of the lot where the trees are, and I see--oh man, no way. They're fifteen feet tall, the root buckets almost two feet round, no way these are EVER going to fit in, on, behind, or above my car. Do I have a friend with a truck? Buddy, if I had a friend with a truck, I'd be here in a truck. They suggest renting a trailer from Home Depot.

First hope: turns out there's a Home Depot two minutes from this landscaper. I call, and indeed they have one trailer I can rent. I hurry over--it's now about 2:15. On the third try I pick the right door and hurry to the tool rental desk. She starts to check me in.

Second wrinkle: They can't rent me anything because my driver's license is expired as of exactly seven days ago. (Secondary concern: I'm supposed to be on a plane to San Diego in a little over a week. A blessing in disguise this was discovered?)

I walk out to my car empty-handed, disappointed, trying to figure out when the heck I'm going to be able to get this trailer, get back to this landscaper, get home, and get the trees installed before I leave for this trip. I call my mother and tell her hey, is it okay if I just vent for a second? I'm so disappointed and I can't believe I did this to myself. Everything seemed to be falling into place so nicely, and now this. How do I get to the DMV given how busy my coming week is?

Huh, she says. Can't you renew your driver's license online?

Second hope: sure enough, there's a link on the state DMV website. There's a bunch of blanks to verify my identity. There's confirmation I've registered to vote. They're happy to take my credit card information. Five minutes later, I have a receipt, a printout, and confirmation of my renewed license. Oh, it's nothing, my mom says in response to my effusive gratitude. My hairdresser of thirty years told me he had to do this last year in line at the airport.

Home Depot takes it. The guy who hitches me up to the trailer compliments my car, tells me they don't make them like that anymore, and tells me it's perfect for me. Considering I just spent 4k getting it fixed, this was massively validating.

Back to the landscaper! 2:38 arrival, fifteen minutes to load up the saplings and strap them down for travel. The trailer is the perfect size. Thank God my dad suggested getting this hitch installed so many years ago; it's saved my bacon a hundred times. The guy who'd helped me earlier reassures me that when they lose their leaves in a week (we're finally dropping below freezing), not to worry, and here's how to check for life over the winter. Two gallons of water per inch of trunk twice a day, put the soaker hose in a wide ring around the tree to encourage outward growth of the roots.

The trees make it home, a little battered from the highway speeds but not much worse for wear. They're just on the edge of too heavy for me to lift, so I drag them down the driveway into the backyard. Trailer returned to Home Depot. The guy there helps me back into the parking spot; I think he really enjoys teaching, and I'd made the mistake of telling him I had no idea how to back up a trailer. Still don't, not really, but hey, he had a great time.

Home again and time to dig. Digging holes is hard. I have newfound respect for Stanley Yelnats, because even with relatively soft ground my arms and back are killing me. One of the trees had very fine roots that were easy to break up before installing; the other had thick, girdling roots all the way around the root ball which every guide I read, including the one from the arborist, told me to cut and pull away to avoid throttling trunk growth later in life. I will tell you that I am still petrified of how many of those I cut, the thickest about 3/4" wide. Four vertical slices around the root ball, two inches deep each, they said. Well, I did it, and the crisscrossing cuts underneath the ball after, and loosened up all the matted dirt I could, but man oh man I don't feel good about it.

The guides say always plant shallow over deep for trees. Encourage lateral growth; don't smother them, or the water will just go straight down and the roots will follow. I've done my best, so we'll have to wait and see now. I'm not very patient by nature, so this is hard for me, but I still feel like today was full of good work. If nothing else, I know where I can get another tree, and I know where to get the trailer to do it. But they're in the ground, they're watered, and I have hope! After today, I feel okay about starting there.