#(part of it also takes place in phoenix and that always makes me laugh too)

[gryffindormarveltwilight]

All We Need - Part 7 - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader

A/N: Sorry guys for the delay on this part. It is a bit shorter than usual and there will probably be 1 maybe 2 more parts to this series. I hope you enjoy it - as always feel free to send through requests or feedback.

A/N2: I have just reposted this it turns out some of the tags were not working so sorry to those who wanted to be tagged and weren't hopefully that is fixed now!!

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, spoilers for the mission in the movie, naval inaccuracies, alot of Rooster x reader giving sibling vibes

Sitting in my cabin on the carrier my leg was bouncing up and down it was only two hours until the mission took place. I hadn’t spoken to Jake since last night when I left him speechless on the couch and I had my dad pick me up early before anyone was awake leaving Daisy with a kiss on the forehead. Flashbacks to my conversation with Jake running through my head when the cabin door cracks open to reveal Bradley with a sad look.

“You okay in here Thena?”

“Brad, come in, yeah i am fine”

“Want to try that again?”

“Who told you?”

“Hangman actually, said something about a disagreement last night then said he hasn’t seen you since.” I nod lowly.

“It wasn’t a disagreement I just told him why I picked you and not him.”

“Ah yes he also mentioned that. You do know you are not replaceable to anyone especially not Jake and Daisy.”

“Did you just call him Jake?” Rooster cringed slightly with a laugh.

“That is beside the point, you aren’t. I know we haven’t spoken much since we got recalled but Athena you have to see what we all see, you are Daisy’s mother and Hangman is so in love with you.”

“And you are in love with Phoenix.” Rooster laughed and looked down at his hands.

“Yes I am, how about we make a deal, we both make it through this we tell Hangman and Phoenix how we feel.”

I laugh slightly “you know what, deal.”

“We are going to make it through this aren’t we?” Bradley ask in a sad voice.

“I am going to try my hardest to make sure you do.”

“I love you Y/N, we will get through this.”

“After all we have a few angels looking out for us, I love you too Bradley.” Bradley pulls me into a tight hug and kisses the top of my head before turning towards the door. 

“Bradley! When we are up there, Don’t think, Just do.” He nods and leaves my cabin. I fix up my uniform before grabbing my helmet and heading towards the flight deck, as I get there i can see everyone else next to their planes doing there checks, at the end i see Jake and Coyote getting there planes ready incase we need back up, Jake and I make eye contact, his eyes hold a sad look, I turn quickly to my plane starting to do the checks when i hear footsteps behind me. I turn to see Ice and Mav and Hondo standing there.

“Sirs, can I help you?” Ice doesn’t respond just give me a tight hug followed by mav and Hondo.

“Be safe and come home. We all love you.” Ice says and Mav nods before they turn around and head back to the control centre. 

“You have some people looking for advice Athena.” Hondo steps aside and I see Payback, Fanboy, Bob, Phoenix, Rooster, Coyote and finally Jake right at the back.

“Daggers, some of you may know but after this we are permanently becoming a squad, therefore whatever happens up there today, we stick together and we have each others backs to make sure everyone comes home. And if by some miracle we pull this off, beers are on me.” They all cheer at the laugh statement and start hugging each other. Phoenix and Bib hug me before we hear the announcement that we are to be taking off in less than 5 mins and that kills that laughter before we all look at each other before heading back to our planes. I climb into my jet Hondo following me up.

“I don’t like that look Athena.”

“Its the only one I have Hondo.”

“Mav only says that when he is about to do something dumb.” I laugh and so does he.

“Look after them Hondo, for me.”

“Always,” i nod it was one of the things i lkked about Hondo, he was a realist and never tried to pull the whole everyone will make it back speech. “you know everyone compares you to Ice but you really do have the best of your Dad, Ice and Mav, so fly like that today okay.” I nod as i start to close the canopy up.

“Dagger Three Up and ready” i hear Phoenix say through coms.

“Dagger Spare Up and ready.” Jake comes through next followed by Payback and Rooster. I take a deep breath.

“Dagger One, up and ready.”

“Daggers ready on catapult awaiting command approval.” I hear control centre thorough the comms, then we hear Cyclone.

“Send them.” With that we are launched off the carrier and get into formation, after descending below radar level, i give the all clear to release the tomahawks looking up as they fly above us. 

“Daggers into attack formation, enter point in Tminus 30secs, 2minute 30 second on the clock - entering now.” I press the timer on my dash as i hear the others confirm they have to as we enter the canyon. As we fly at pace I can hear in the comms that rooster is falling behind.

“Rooster you have to pick up the pace.” I yell into my comms

“Come on Dad talk to me.” As I am about to respond i bear Mav come through the comms.

“Come on kid, dont think just do.” Suddenly Rooster picks up the place as i fly under a bridge speaking into the comms to warn the others.

“You with me Phoenix?”

“Right behind you Athena.”

“Popping up in 10secs be ready on that laser Bob.” 

“All system check, Laser is a go.” Bob responds.

“Popping in 3,,,2,,,,1” i suddenly feel the force on my body as we pop up and level out heading towards the target, as Bob confirms he has a lock to the target  I drop my missiles and pull up on the joy stick, crushing weight of gravity as the G-Force gets stronger, i can hear the heavy breathing of Phoenix and Bob.

“Stay with me Phoenix, Rooster status.” I say through laboured breaths,

“Nearly there Athena. Fanboy have the laser ready.” I hear Bob yell that we had direct contact, simultaneously with Fanboy saying there is something wrong with the laser. He is going back and forth with Rooster until Rooster said he was dropping blind. I levelled out when i saw smoke in the air from the SAMs.

“Here they come guys, SMOKE IN THE AIR.!” I yell. With that chaos ensures everyone screaming at each other where the SAMs were coming from and what direction to break, i saw rooster with two SAMs behind him.

“Deploying counter-measures,,,SHIT I am out of flares.” I hear Roosters panicked voice through the comms.

“Rooster Evade Evade!” I yell back at him as i see he has come up behind me, without hesitation i pulled the throttle back soaring over the top of Roosters jet releasing the flares I had left before i felt an all too familiar jolt of a missile hitting the back of my jet and before i know it I am burning in plummeting towards the snow as I reach down below me and pull the ejection handle, quickly followed by the string to deploy my parachute before blacking out as i land in the snow.

Icemans POV

Everyone let out a sigh of relief when we heard through the radio the Rooster had hit the target. The mission had been successful. I hear Cyclone mutter under his breath now they just all had to get home. I looked at Maverick who look as nervous as i felt listening to our pilots yelling directions at each other in order to avoid the SAMs. I held my breath when I heard Rooster saying he was out of flares with two SAMs on his tail. I looked at Mav as we heard Athena yelling at him to evade, and i felt like i was about to pass out when Roosters voice came through the comms.

“ATHENA NO!!” Rooster screams

“D-dagger one is down” I hear Phoenix say her voice breaking slightly “I repeat dagger one is down”

I stumble backwards sitting down on the chair behind me looking at Maverick who has tears in his eyes, Hondo has his head in his hands and Cyclone and Warlock are speechless, before we can even really process one of the operates reports that there are bandits incoming, and Cyclone is telling them to come back to the carrier, like ringing in my eyes i can hear Rooster argue that they should go back for Athena and cyclone argues that they aren’t losing anyone else. A silent sob leaves my chest when i hear Jake through the comms

“Dagger Spare request permission to fly cover and search and rescue.” Hoarseness in his voice indicating that he too probably has tears streaming down his face like me and Mav who both are yet to say anything outloud.

Cyclone shakes his head at Jakes request. “Negative spare, daggers return to the carrier.”

“Sir, what about Athena.” Hondo says his voice slightly shaky.

“There is nothing we can do for her, not in goddamn F-18s” he shakes his head “I won’t lose anyone else today.” We all look down understanding his position.

“Rooster, don’t do it, she is gone.” We hear Phoenix over the radio.

“I am not loosing her, not today.”

“ROOSTER!!” We look at the screen to see Roosters jet going in another direction before hovering for a few seconds then disappeared on the screen much like Athena’s had done minutes before. Now Mav sat down next to me head in his hands.

“We certainly raised dumb stubborn kids.” I laugh slightly but can’t form a sentence, I pat Mav on the shoulder before walking out of the control room towards the flight deck. 

When I get to the flight deck I can see Jake sitting against the landing gear head in his hand and I go and sit next to him.

“We lost them both.” Jake looks up shocked.

“What do you mean both?”

“Rooster went down as well, I think he went back for her and got shot down.” Jake let out a sob as I wrapped my arms around him.

Y/Ns POV

I jolt awake in the cold snow and unclip my parachute before I turn around and hear the sound of a helicopter approaching. At first I thought that it may have been search and rescue then I saw their guns point towards me, without hesitation I start to run and I dive behind a log, accepting that this may very well be the end of me and I start to think of my parents, my dysfunctional aunts and uncles and finally Jake and Daisy and I smile at the thought they will be my last thought until I hear an explosion and look up to see that the helicopter is spinning out of control and there is one of our jets hovering, then I see smoke in the air and the jet tail is hit, I let go of the breath I was holding when I see a parachute land a few hundred meters away from me in the woods. I start sprinting towards where I saw the parachute land, as I get closer I see Rooster wrapping up his chute.

“Rooster, are you okay?”

“Athena, I am fine.”

“Good” I say as I shove him back into the snow. 

“What the hell Athena?”

“Me what the hell! You are meant to be back on the carrier by now Rooster what the hell were you thinking!”

“Mav taught us not to think, plus I made a promise to make sure you came home!”

“YOU WHAT! Who the hell made you promise that.” Rooster just raised his eyebrow at me “Jake of course, well news flash Rooster now we are both stuck!”

“They will send search and rescue.”

“No Rooster, they won’t, we have landed to far into enemy territory for them to risk it.”

“It is good to see you alive Athena.” “You too Rooster, you too.” I gave him a hug as I pull back I give him a look.

“I don’t like that look.”

“I think I have an idea, follow me.” After a walk we are perched on the top of a hill looking at the demolished airbase that our tomahawks took out earlier that day, I grab a mini telescope looking to see if there is any planes undamaged, “Bingo.”

“You have got to be shitting me Athena, a F-14”

“Hey Mav shot down 3 MIGs I one of those.”

“We don’t even know if that bag of ass can fly.”

“Only one way to find out.” I say as we start walking across the base towards the plane, Rooster pointing out people coming near us so we start to run to the plane. Once we get there I start explaining to Rooster what to do as I climb in the pilot seat, sighing with relief as it starts up and Rooster climbs into the back seat. 

“Do you even know how to fly this thing Athena.” “Rooster I knew how to fly one of these before I knew how to drive a car.” He just nodded as we got onto the taxi way, I look over to see the runway is completely destroyed, I start putting the wings out when I hear a panicked voice from behind.

“Why are the wings coming out Thena?” I ignore him as I push down on the throttle the plane speeding up as I do. I can hear Rooster stressing behind me. We gain speed quickly and just before the end of the taxi way i pull up of the throttle the plane jolting up along with it the landing clipping the ruin of a building snapping off.

“Get us in touch with the ship Rooster.”

“Any clue how to do that Athena?”

“Uhhh circuit breaker 2 I think.” 

“Thena there is over 300 switches back here”

“Figure it out Rooster it is in you blood.” I hear him mumble a complaint before his panicked voice breaks through again “tally two low Athena”

I tell Rooster to put down his visor and pull his mask up as the other planes pilot starts to make hand signals I barely recognise.

“What is your plan here Athena?”

“I don’t know yet, have you turned your beacon on?”

“Yeah I turned it on as soon as we were airborne.”

“I want you to punch out Rooster and then the ship will send search and rescue for you”

“And what about you huh? What are you going to do?”

“Rooster…”

“No Athena, if you think for one second that I am going to punch out and leave you to draw them away with a dog fight you are extremely wrong.”

“Rooster, you have to make it back.”

“Then do some of that pilot shit Athena, cause I am not leaving my sister to die up here.” I sigh heavily.

“Alright then, its a dogfight.”

Taglist:

@dory-98 @djs8891 @brooke-stinson @emma8895eb @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @itsdesiree86 @dempy @kmc1989

#dagger squad #hangman x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake ‘hangman’ seresin #jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #hangman x you #jake hangman fic #jake seresin x y/n #jake seresin x you #jake seresin #top gun hangman #hangman imagine #hangman fanfiction #hangman seresin #top gun au #jake hangman x you #hangman top gun #jake seresin imagine

[xelizabethvalentinex]

He’s a Piano Man // Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

Summary: A handsome man shows up at your work only to distract you

Word Count: 1.4k

You weren't one to brag, but your life was going pretty awesome. You had a boyfriend who worshipped the ground you walked on; You two shared a cute little house that was the perfect size for you guys; You had a job where you got to see a wide variety of people. Overall, life was perfect in your eyes and tonight was no exception.

You were working late at The Hard Deck on a Friday night, and it was busy. There were men and women in uniform all over the place. Some locals were having a date night, and there were plenty of regulars. By nine o'clock, the bar was packed. You were behind the bar for the most part, but when it came time for your server to take a lunch, you were running drinks to seated customers. Currently, you were taking a break while Penny ran the bar. You needed a breather before the chaos started.

Once you finished taking some deep breaths and counting to ten a couple of times, you pulled yourself out of the walk-in and headed back to the front. Penny informed you it was your server's turn to take her break. As she walked toward the back, you took another deep breath before settling in. Mostly, the pilots were busy playing pool and darts, but that didn't mean they weren't ready for more drinks.

As you headed towards the pool table, you noticed a very handsome man sitting with a woman, 'Phoenix,' as her name tag said, three men, 'Hangman, Bob, Fanboy,' and another woman called 'Omaha.' He was glowing. A gorgeous tan graced his clear face, a mustache that looked straight out of the 80s, and a tacky Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned to show off his toned chest. He had aviators hanging from his white tank top, but you knew he was in the same profession as the rest of the bunch. That didn't help with your attraction toward him.

You put on a polite smile before asking for their drink order. Everyone was sweet, joking with you and smiling. It helped with your nerves. It was all going fine until you got to the hot man with the bright smile. "How about I get your number?" He asked with a smirk, looking at you like a puppy.

You pressed your lips into a tight line. "Sorry, Lieutenant. I don't give out my phone number, especially when I don't even know your name," you said politely, not wanting to come off as rude.

"My callsign is 'Rooster,' but you, sweetheart, can call me Bradley," he stated. It made you laugh, this confidence he had. It matched his looks, but it was refreshing. The rest of his group seemed shocked.

"Are you always this flirty with your waitresses?" You asked as you started to collect the empty glasses that littered the table.

He chuckled. "Only the ones as pretty as you," he replied. You scoffed before walking away. You put the order in with Penny, who also laughed when you recalled the events to her and headed to the other occupied tables. They were all nice too. Everyone was sure they were loud enough to be heard over the blaring music but not screaming at you. You never had a problem with any customers, but Bradley was the only one to flirt with you so openly.

When it came time to get the fresh drinks back to the group of pilots, your server was back from break and ready to work. You let her run drinks while you maintained the bar once more, and Penny began restocking glasses and ingredients. The flow continued throughout the rest of the night. You made drinks, the server ran them to tables, and Penny helped the two of you when needed.

It wasn't until almost midnight when Bradley approached the bar. He came up solo, no wingman or woman in tow. As soon as you finished serving the customer you were on, you turned to him, smiling. "How can I help you, mister pilot?" You asked, leaning against the bar to get closer to him.

"I was coming to check on you, make sure no one was hassling you. I know how much of a handful these locals can get," the man replied. "It'll only take so long before someone asks for your name and takes you out on a date."

He was good at making you smile. "Let me guess. You want to be the first?" You questioned as you started cleaning some of the glasses. By now, the bar crowd had lessened, but the remaining ones were still having a good time. You could tell by the boisterous laughter and singing going on. You would be closing in about an hour, but everyone knew that.

"It would be an honor," Bradley said, looking at you with a fond look. It was like he was feeling the same attraction you were feeling to him.

"As I said, I don't give out my phone number to strangers, but you can have my name if you do something spectacular," you stated as you put down a clean glass. You returned to your spot across the bar from him, so close you could smell the cologne he was wearing. It was intoxicating.

He gave you a look before asking, "And what would that be?"

You shrugged your shoulders. "I don't know. That's for you to decide and me to find out." With that, you gave him another drink and went to help other customers. You could see he was in shock for a little while before he smirked, coming up with something to wow you, and headed toward his friends.

You must've got distracted because the next thing you knew, the music from the jukebox cut out, people started groaning, and you stopped pouring a drink in surprise. Suddenly, the piano started playing. You looked at the source to find Bradley, his back to you. He began playing the opening to "Great Balls of Fire" expertly. Once he started singing, no one complained. Everyone started singing with him, and you were captivated. This performance was something spectacular.

Immediately after the song ended, he looked over at you, a fresh coat of sweat covering his face and chest, but that made him even more enticing. He looked smug, but not in an 'I have a huge ego, and I'll do anything to get in your pants' type of way. He knew he had completed his task.

Everyone continued to laugh and enjoy themselves without the piano. Someone plugged the jukebox back in, but that didn't compare to the singing done by Bradley.

It was almost closing time when you got to speak with Bradley again. His friends were still sitting at the table they grabbed earlier, but he was walking towards the bar.

"Sorry, Lieutenant. The last call was ten minutes ago. No matter how good you can sing, you can't get anything else to drink," you told him as you counted your drawer.

"I think you know what I'm here for, darling," the man said. You could feel him staring at you. It set your body on fire. He did things to you you've never felt before. You turned to face him. His face was flushed, pink from the alcohol in his system. As you moved in his direction, you could see his friends watching the two of you. Your following actions were what made their jaws drop.

You leaned across the bar and pressed your lips into Bradley's. The alcohol on his lips made your head spin, but that also happened every time the two of you kissed, so you weren't sure which was affecting you more. When you pulled away, his eyes were still closed, but he was smiling. You could hear his friends cheering him on across the bar. "You think they figured it out?" You asked as he opened his eyes.

Bradley chuckled. "I think they figured it out when you called me Lieutenant. I did enjoy singing for you, though," he said.

"I've always loved your singing. So, are you coming home with me tonight or letting your friends drive you back?" You still had to clean up and lock up, but your boyfriend was more than welcome to help you get out faster. He turns his head over his shoulder before nodding. His friends got the message and started to head out. They all said 'thank you and goodbye' before doing so, but soon, it was just you and Bradley in the bar. "That answers my question."

The two of you worked along to the music. You wiped down the bar and remaining glasses while Bradley moved the crates left outside. Once you finished, he pulled you into his embrace by your waist and kissed you passionately.

"Let's go home, angel."

#rooster x reader #rooster imagine #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw imagine

[siempre-bucky]

Sending Letters Home

Headcanons ft. Rooster | Hangman | Bob | Fanboy

summary: headcanons about some of the guys sending letters to you while they're away

warnings: brief allusions to sex, fem!reader

a/n: i had one idea about rooster and it spiraled into this...enjoyyy

Rooster prefers calling and video chats while he’s away, he loves to hear the sound of your voice at every given opportunity.

 He has some letters that his dad wrote to his mom, which was nice and all…but being able to see you made him feel like he was right there instead of an ocean away.

But then he dropped his phone into the ocean 

It wasn’t like it fell over during a storm on the carrier or something heroic 

A little kid bumped into him while he was trying to take a picture of the view while they were docked 

Sending his phone into the ankle deep water 

The poor guy froze for a while and simply watched his phone fall to the sand

“Think it’ll work again?” he asked Phoenix after begging their cook for rice to put his phone in 

“Give it a couple of days,” she said, patting him on the back 

“I’m supposed to call her tomorrow,” he said solemnly as he swished the container back and forth 

Phoenix smirked and pointed to his desk, “There’s always the old fashion way… mail goes out tomorrow.”

Rooster sat there for at least an hour trying to find the right words 

He paced the room and took breaks without a word on the page

“Talk to me dad, what would you write?” 

You didn’t expect a letter from Bradley a week later, knowing he didn’t write to anyone 

But Jake also called and laughed hysterically about Rooster’s phone incident 

Rooster wrote you the most beautiful letter, telling you how much he missed you and how everything he saw reminded him of you. He told you about his time on the carrier and the places he got to see while they were docked 

He fails to mention his phone 

“Will you write me another letter,” you asked once he was finally back home and you were wrapped in his arms 

He looked at his letter pinned on the corkboard frame by your dresser “You really liked it?” 

He smiled brightly and held you tighter as you nodded and he promised to write you all the time 

Jake loves the romance of it all 

sendiing a handwritten letter to a lover just makes his heart soar 

Every time he ships out he takes the personalized stationery from his family’s ranch to write on 

Seeing the Seresin’s logo every time you opened his letters made you smile 

Jake had a way with words, the southern charm really came out when he wrote to you 

He’ll tell you that he loves you, but it’s a whole page of him describing how you make him feel 

‘I’ve never felt a love like this before you.’

‘You make me want to come home and fly safer—can’t imagine my life without you, Darlin.’

Of course, he hypes himself up too and tells you about his successful missions and training exercises 

always, always, always reassures you that he’s ok and will come back home to you safely 

Sprays his letters with his cologne 

You always know there’s a letter in your pile of mail by the way it smells 

You keep a small box of his letters that he’s sent you over the years in your closet, pulling one out when you miss him 

His spicier letters always go in the drawer of your bedside table 

When he’s home you make him read the letters to you 

“Read me the part where you tell me how pretty I am,” you said, only half joking as you hand him one of the pages 

He pulls you into his lap and attaches his lips to your neck 

“I could always just show you, Darlin’,” he grumbles, his accent slapped on thick while his hands roamed your sides 

You hummed in delight but gently pushed him away 

He pouted and threw his head on the back of the couch boyishly

“I wanna hear it in your pretty voice, start us a bath and I’ll get my favorites,” you told him with a smirk

Jake smiled and considered it a win/win situation 

You sat in front of him in the tub, one of his hands running a loofa along your chest while he held the letter away from the water, whispering all the pretty words in your ear 

Bob wrote letters for his little family 

He’d always sent you letters over the years you’d been together

Bob cutely asked if he could send you letters while he was away right after you began dating 

You knew you were each other's soulmate from the very beginning so naturally, you said yes

He thought it would be a good way to help his daughters with their reading by sending them their own letter

Each envelope contained four letters: one for Amy, one for Jo, one for you that was paired with some polaroids that were meant for your eyes only, and one to read together 

“Girls! Your dad sent us mail!” you called, sticking the photos that were wrapped in another sheet of paper in your back pocket 

The girls ran from their spots and gasped as they saw the mail in your hands 

You passed them their letters but they both looked up at you longingly, “Let’s go,” you giggled 

The girls ran to the couch and eagerly waited for you to start reading 

Josephine always curled up to your side while Amy sat on the floor with her head resting on your knees (she was a daddy’s girl and didn’t want you or her annoying little sister to see her cry) 

“For my Floyd girls…” 

“Are you crying already?” Josephine cackled 

“Shut up, Josephine!” 

“Four eyes,” Jo mumbled 

“Baby…” Amy bit back 

Ironically the first sentence was Bob telling the girls not to make fun of each other 

After the girls went to bed with the read letters sitting on their tables, you read your letter in private, wiping away the tears that always seemed to fall 

“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he told you over the phone later that night, trying not to laugh 

“I can’t help it. I miss you so much,” you tell him, finding yourself trying not to laugh at how fast the tears came while you clutched the paper to your chest. “Your letter was beautiful.” 

“I’ll be home in a few days, I miss you so much—I really miss you.” 

You clenched your thighs at the sudden change of tone 

Your fond smile turned into a sly grin, putting the letter down and picking up the pictures he managed to take of himself for you. “You outdid yourself with these, Robby,” you said, biting back a moan. 

“Only for you, my love.” 

Mickey loved sending you letters when he had no signal 

He always had something to tell you 

He often found himself being cut off by signal failure when you two got to talk 

“So we were in the air, right and then another plane came in an-” his face fell when he heard the small beeps 

“Mi amor? Baby? Can you hear me? Shit…” 

His letters contained heavy detail about everything 

Training? Pain painstakingly in depth 

The whales he saw? You got at least three pages about them 

“Another thick one, Mrs. Garcia,” your mailman let out a big belly laugh as he handed you the envelope 

You were surprised the envelope managed to close with how thick it was 

It was at least a month or two worth of pages sitting on your bed

Fanboy didn’t send letters…he sent novels 

But then again, you loved a long read 

He included little doodles of airplanes and ocean animals in the corners 

You remembered your first date when the WSO barely said a word out of nerves 

But after you mentioned a tv show you both liked he hasn’t shut up since 

You liked that he sent long letters, it occupied the time while he was away 

It made you miss him slightly less 

“I think you should be a writer,” you told him playfully over a video call 

You swooned as those pearly white teeth flashed when he smiled, his gorgeous laugh was music to your ears 

“I think I’m a better WSO, mi amor,” he countered 

“I don't know, Mickey, your page about going through that mountain was riveting.” 

“You think?” 

You nodded and showed him a binder filled with the letters he sent you 

His smile faded a little, “I wish I could keep them that organized,” he told you as he held up a couple that you sent him 

Shaking your head you sighed, “You kept them, that’s all that matters to me.” 

“I kept every one of ‘em.”

#bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster x reader #jake seresin x reader #hangman x reader #bob floyd x reader #fanboy x reader #mickey garcia x reader #top gun #top gun maverick

[in-flvx]

On borrowed time

A small exploration of Remus' state of mind before he takes the position at Hogwarts. Some flashbacks, reflection on the time before Halloween '81, and many memories of Peter. Remus Pov.

Inspired by a conversation with @jmagnabo92 and @fiendishfyre

I'm using very few names throughout, I hope this won't be too confusing.

Remus is sitting at his kitchen table, a half-drunken cup of coffee before him. It had been steaming when he sent out his patronus, hands shaking so hard that he nearly dropped his wand. Waiting for a return message. Anything would do. Anyone to tell him he will get to come, well, home, for lack of a better word. The place he found friends, love, safety, adults who respect him, people weaker than him. Remus sighs out a shaking breath. Every rattle, every noise outside sets him on edge, the siren song of a death omen. He had been living on borrowed time since he was four years old. And now he asked dumbledore for more.

Too often had he thought about this. If it had only been him. It should have been him, who hunted Black down. He should have been his last victim. Not sweet Peter, with the golden hair and ocean eyes. Peter, with his deep love and joyful laugh, who made friends with everyone, wherever he went. But Peter had always had a better hand at reading people, Remus supposes. He had seen the signs as well, tried to show them to Remus, who didn't want to listen. Didn't want to see. The tired eyes, the paranoia, the unkempt hair. The missions no one ever seemed to know of. The deaths of his brother, and his father over the span of a year...

An owl coos, and Remus jerks so hard that he knocks over his cup. His wand sends sparks over the table, scorching it. Remus curses, and then attempts to vanish the mess. His spell works only partly, leaving behind a dark stain, where the coffee had eaten it's way into the fibres of wood, where the darkness has become part of the table.

Peter had seen the signs, and had also seen just how much Remus' own perception was compromised. What had lead to some cruel jokes in school, was now legitimate cause for concern. It still makes him ache, in more ways than one, to have wanted like this. Peter had been brilliant. He had seen the supposed suicide of R. Black, and the later demise of O. Black for what they were, had warned Remus against becoming secret keeper for the Potters. Let him, Peter go into the confrontation with him, let Peter put a target on his own back. So when he was approached, Remus forcefully objected. So forcefully, in fact, the communication between them stopped entirely. Peter had told him, then, that he wasn't even approached for secret keeper. That the choice has been made, and that they can only hope now, that Peter had been wrong all along. But Peter always knows how to read people best, so he was right in that too. Remus had left the country for a while, on the potters suggestion, and their wallet. Borrowed their money, borrowed their time. He is so tired. If he had been there, it could have been him and Peter against Black. A united front, a team. Maybe they'd have stood a chance. Or else died as brothers.

"After careful deliberation, we have come to the conclusion that Alastor Moody is of better use on the hunt for Sirius Black. His position as teacher for Defence against the Dark Arts is thus open for you to fill. Your safety will be ensured. I'll visit with you tomorrow, to talk about accommodations and curriculum. If you have any insights into Blacks mind, please share them with me. Renew the wards on your home. Regards, A. Dumbledore"

Remus had just stared at the silver apparition of a giant Phoenix, while dumbledores deep voice finally made him relax a little. Unwilling to go into the dark, Remus just speaks a few wards around the kitchen, resolving to do so by light.

Breaking out to collect his last two victims was a very fitting thing to do. Remus should have expected it. He had always been able to so the impossible. It's one of the things Remus had lov-, no, respected, about him. And he must have learned a lot of Dark magic from Voldemort. Enough to kill a dementor, maybe? To step through solid walls? Who knew. Just two more victims, until every last family he had once had was dead. Remus and the son. He tenses again when he thinks about the son. What a Dark omen, to get him as godfather. Or maybe it's that what protected him? Breaking a vow can have weird results. He doesn't know what to tell the son when they meet. Doesn't know how to tell a child he's not wanted, has too much darkness surrounding him. Remus shakes his head at that. It's not the sons fault that his godfather is evil. It's not the sons fault that the parents are gone. What would Lyall say, if he knew that Remus feared a child for its circumstances! Remus would be civil, kind, and do his best to protect the son from his godfather. No more, no less. And when the godfather was safely back in prison, Remus could go back to his normal life. And maybe, just maybe, Remus could do what he was meant to do 12 years ago. Stand up to Black, with Peter and the Potters on his mind, to serve justice. To repay just an ounce of his life debt..

#remus lupin #sirius black #Harry potter #Poa #prisoner of azkaban #peter pettigrew

[undiscovered-horizon]

Imagine being Maverick's daughter and quickly catching the eye of both Rooster and Hangman, unknowingly starting a cutthroat competition. - ROOSTER'S ENDING

▷TOPGUN PLAYLIST

[Part 1] [Hangman's Ending] [Secret Ending?]

Note: didn't even think about writing follow-ups until @rosiahills22 made a comment.

Ever since that memorable handshake he shared with Jake, Bradley really did bring out his A-game each time he saw you. Perhaps North Island simply got warmer and that's why he walked around shirtless or wearing white tank tops. Considering how much he made you laugh, maybe he could become a stand-up comedian when flying aeroplanes becomes a tad too boring. It's hard to say whether he had learned that your father kept close, squinted in suspicion, eye on him Maverick himself was quite torn: you looked really happy, radiant, whenever Bradley was around but at the same time, he remembered Rooster's mother when she learned that her husband wasn't coming back home. Pete didn't even want to think about the very real possibility of you being in her shoes.

It didn't escape anyone's attention, especially Maverick's, that those two men seemed even more competitive towards each other than usually. Whenever someone brought up the escalation of the conflict intrinsic to their relationship, Rooster and Hangman suddenly were in agreement that there was nothing particular going on and the other guy was just being a shithead. No one believed them but also no one wanted to dig through this can of worms.

The climax of the bizarre butting of heads between Rooster and Hangman seemed to take place during the dogfight. Although there were two teams fighting neck in neck, it looked more as if Bradley and Jake were the only players, constantly trying to one-up the other. Phoenix, the more observant of the group, quickly caught on to the fact that the two pilots would glance in your direction every now and then. You were sitting next to Maverick, acting as a referee and recalling fond memories of playing dogfighting with your neighbourhood friends when you were younger. Back then, every kid thought you had 'the coolest dad ever'. And, truthfully, you couldn't disagree.

Hoping that your dad wouldn't notice, you bit the inside of your cheek as you watched Rooster play the game. He was this big, bulky and terribly handsome sun-kissed god you thought existed only in ladies' literature. Bradley always knew how to make you laugh, even if it meant embarrassingly butchering top hits in the most ridiculous of ways. You were pretty convinced he was the only man alive to be able to pull off a moustache and not look absolutely creepy.

"You're not listening to me, (Y/N)." Your father's voice brought you out of your daydreams.

"Sorry, dad, it's just..." There was no way in this world and the next one that you would ever admit to admiring one of his trainees. You had to think of something plausible, fast. "It's nice to see them all so happy and carefree you know? Not arguing for a few minutes. I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"I said we're all going for a beer to The Hard Deck tonight. Come along."

"You sure it's a good idea? One day without exercises might put you behind. It's not like you have much time in the first place."

"I know what I'm doing. I raised one kid and it went pretty good, you know?"

"Yeah, she's kinda cool," you said while nodding. A self-assured grin crept onto your face - exactly the same smile that made it virtually impossible for you to ever renounce your connection with Maverick.

"She's the best."

Laughing, you and Maverick clicked bottles of beer in a light-hearted toast. Shortly after, laughter erupted among the pilots playing dogfighting: Bradley, terribly distracted by your radiant happiness, got hit with the rugby ball straight in his chest. Maybe you can kiss it better later.

You bit your lip, unsure which song in the jukebox to choose. All the titles that you were familiar with made you remember something about Maverick or rather listening to his CDs when he was gone. Music from his youth, that you grew up listening to, seemed to be tainted in a weird way. Your hand was wet from holding a cold bottle of beer.

"Oh, what the hell," you whispered to yourself, partially annoyed with your own indecisiveness. Having quickly pushed the buttons for record A58, The Hard Deck was momentarily filled with the electric guitar and drums of Mountain's Mississippi Queen.

"Thought of you as a more modern music type of girl."

Turning around, you saw exactly the man you expected: Bradley. He was leaning against the wall next to the jukebox and had been, most probably, silently watching your musical dilemma for some time. A curious gloss covered his eyes whenever he looked at you - Rooster was wearing his adoration for you on his sleeve, or rather, his face. Even though he was leaning, he remained physically bigger than you, making your heart excitedly jump in your chest. His broad frame was the source for quite a few of your unsavoury fantasies.

"The most modern song Penny has in here is dinosaurs' mating call."

Rooster laughed at your words and you could feel your chest clenching. He was a beautiful man - in any and every meaning of that word. A few years ago, you would have considered him way out of your league.

"So, Mississippi Queen, can I get you out of here for a bit?"

Catching a glimpse of you and Rooster leaving the bar, Jake hit the cue ball a little too hard and went for a foul instead.

The sand was refreshingly cool under your feet. Soon, the sound of waves lazily washing the shore had drowned out most of the noise coming from the bar. It truly felt like aside from you and Bradley, there was nobody else in the world, only memories of friends and strangers dancing in distant realms.

Your head was on his shoulder, silently watching the rhythm of the tide. Bradley had his arm wrapped around you, pulling you even closer to his chest. He had this very particular smell of salty ocean water and motor oil. At that moment, you swore you could happily drown in the peaceful contentment.

"If my dad finds out, you're getting shot dead." Although your statement was meant to be humorous, there was a kernel of truth hiding somewhere between those words.

"I thought I had the old man's sympathy."

Of course, Maverick did have warm feelings towards Bradley. It was just the very father-like combination of being overprotective and not quite communicative that spun their relationship into the odd situation that it now was. Still, Rooster wasn't exactly innocent in this less-than-favourable turn of events.

Rooster leaned away for a moment to look at you. Softly silver moonlight danced across your face and he couldn't recall if he had ever seen someone so beautiful.

"Well, you surely have mine," you said quietly before kissing him. Feeling your lips on his, Bradley thought that, maybe, Maverick shooting him wasn't that bad.

You felt his hot breath against your cheek. Whenever his lips left yours, even for a fraction of a second, you were quick to chase after them, never satiated with the affection he was offering. To your displeasure, Rooster pulled ever so minimally from you, your mouths nearly brushing against one another. His voice was quiet enough that the ocean waves nearly drowned out his whisper:

"That's more than enough."

The endless kisses the two of you shared that night were filled with giggles and carefree jokes, pretending as if the troubles of tomorrow were nothing but fairytales and fever dreams.

#rooster x you #rooster x reader #fanfiction #fanfic #imagine #scenario #rooster fanfic #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #top gun maverick #top gun maverick fanfiction #rooster imagine #rooster fanfiction #rooster imagines #bradley bradshaw imagines

[roosterscockpit]

His Little Girl | Bradley Bradshaw x reader P. 33

click here to see the master list

Hi, babes! I am back!

In the last part, the squad all pitched in to buy some stuff to give daddy Brad’s house a “kiddie makeover.” I am so excited to see how Leia will react to her new toys! I hope you are all enjoying the story! I love you all so much! 💕 Happy reading and enjoy! ❤️

A/n: Leia gets picked up in style from school today. Bradley and the dagger squad take a couple of breaths away 😉 Leia struggles with the alphabet, but learns it in a very unique special way with help from her aunties and uncles! ❤️ 

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: cursing, taking breaths away, small bickering, but cuteness/love overload! 🥰

Please don't take my work, I will find you. 

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                                                                          Gif Created by Unicornships

Bradley’s POV

The squad helped set up all of the toys they had all got for Leia. Payback and Fanboy put the princess tent together and Phoenix, Hangman, and Coyote were putting up the pool in the backyard. Bob was inside with me trying to sort out the toys and helped me create a little play corner for Leia. 

Bob pulled out the lightsaber, “Oh! Rooster, tell little Vapor that this is from me!” He turned it on and pointed it at me.

“Is that Darth Vader’s lightsaber?” I looked around at the glowing red blade. “How the hell did you get this thing?” My eyes were wide as he held it put in front of me.

“Well when we met little vapor, I saw she was for Star Wars. She always carried around her BB-8 and R2-D2 toys. I also figured since her name is Leia, She would be quite fond of a lightsaber.” Bob examined the Saber in his hand. “You want to have a go before she gets home to play with it?” 

I nodded slowly and took the saber from Bob’s hands, “Holy shit. I might just have to have this for myself, man.” I swung it around a few times. “HOLY SHIT! It makes noises too?” 

Bob nodded his head and clapped, “Yea, Rooster it does!” He laughed as I was swinging it around. 

“How much was this thing, Bob? This is way cool.” I turned off the blade and held it in my hands rotating it to see all the details.

He pressed his lips into a narrow line and shook his head, “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Little Vapor has no price tag.” He patted me on the back.

My eyes were wide when he walked away. I put the saber back into its case and placed it in Leia’s corner. Bob and I joined Hangman, Coyote, and Phoenix in the backyard to help with the pool. They were already starting to fill it with the hose. 

“You guys, this is all really way too much.” I put my hands on my hips as I looked around at the squad setting stuff up for Leia. 

Hangman came and threw his arms around my shoulders and leaned up against me, “Rooster, dear. Our little honey is not only your daughter, she is all of ours daughter now. So you will have to share.” He patted my chest. “When is our girl coming home?”

I looked at my watch, It is currently 1:30 PM. “30 minutes.” I smirked and looked up at all of them, “We should pick her up in style.”

Phoenix looked at me with a devious look. She already knew what I had in mind. “Say less, Bradshaw. Everyone jam pack into my car. We have to go back to the barracks to change.”

I looked at her and laughed. “You so get me, Nix.”

All the guys made their way to Phoenix’s car. She patted them all on the back as they made their way out my front door. “We will be back in exactly 20 minutes, Bradshaw. Be ready in your flight suit. Vapor girl is going to get her honorary pick up by all her favorite naval aviators today.” She patted me on the chest and ran out to her car. I waved to all of them as she pulled out of my driveway. 

I headed upstairs and threw on my flight suit and boots. I made my way back downstairs to put on my watch and aviators. I still had 10 minutes to spare. So I went into the bathroom downstairs and took pictures to send you. I sent you one of me making duck lips and a peace sign. Under it, I wrote, “We are all picking up Vapor from school today in style.” I sent it. 

I went out to the front room by the front door and waited for the squad to arrive. After some time they finally showed up. All of them emerged from Phoenix’s car wearing their flight suits and aviators. I laughed as they all stumbled out of her little car. They all lined up and I looked at them, “You all ready to get our little girl?” I smiled. 

“Lead the way, Bradshaw.” Fanboy laughed. 

Coyote, Bob, and I piled into the Bronco. Hangman, Fanboy, and Payback with Phoenix into her car. Phoenix followed me to Leia’s school. We parked on the curb and all got out of the car. We straightened out our flight suits and hung around the cars. We still had 5 minutes before Leia was going to be released. 

“Oh wait! I have something! Phoenix your trunk!” Coyote ran over to Phoenix’s trunk and opened it. We all watched him as he came out from it and was carrying a boombox on his shoulder. 

I lowered my aviators and looked at him, “You’ve got to be kidding me, Machado.” I started to laugh.

“Wait, Rooster. It’s gonna get even better.” He connected his phone to it. “Okay, now I am ready.”

The bell for school to get out rang and we all looked at the school. “Everyone ready?” They all nodded. 

“Formation ladies!” Phoenix yelled.

They had me in the very front and everyone lined and feathered out behind me. “What the hell are you guys doing?” I looked at all of them behind me.

“Go with it, Daddy Rooster.” Hangman patted my shoulder. 

I shook my head. I took the first step and Take My Breath Away by Berlin, started to play over Coyote’s boombox. I straightened out my back and started to walk. Everyone did the same. It was me and behind me were Hangman and Phoenix, feathered out behind them were Payback and Bob, and feathered behind them were Coyote and Fanboy. We were in the V formation making our way into Leia’s school. 

It was like it was happening in slow motion. All the parents stood aside as we walked through. I could have sworn I had seen a couple of moms and dads faint at the appearance of us walking in together. The song didn’t help. There was a bunch of moms gasping as they picked up their children. All we did was smile and wave. There were kids all around us in awe as we walked through. We started to approach Leia’s classroom. We were smiling and giving little waves to the kids as we passed by. Leia’s class was outside with their teacher waiting to be picked up by their parents. Leia saw all of us coming. 

I could see her as she looked up when she heard a commotion. First, her eyes went big, her jaw started to drop and then it turned into a huge smile. 

“Woah!” One of the kids in her class was mesmerized as we walked to them.

“You guys! That’s my daddy! And my aunties and uncles!” Leia started to jump up and down. 

I got down on one knee smiling. I held my arms out and she b-lined for me. She crashed into me as I hugged her tight and gave her a kiss. The rest of the squad came over and had turns giving her kisses and hugs. 

Leia started to cry, “I love you guys so much. This is the most rad thing ever.” She sniffled and wiped her tears, “I want to get picked up like this every day. You guys are the best!”  She started to cry more. 

Coyote put his boombox down and picked up Leia. He rested her on his hip, “Don’t cry, Vapor! We love you so much, buttercup!” He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “What song do you wanna walk out to?” He poked her nose. 

She smiled, “Can we play Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)?”

Payback came up to Leia, “Little babe, how do you know about that song?” He laughed.

“Momma.” She smiled.

Coyote put Leia down and grabbed his boom box. 

Payback gave Leia a high-five. “For you to leave in style all the time, little babe.” He placed her very own aviators over her eyes. “Now you look like one of the squad, babe.”

We all took formation again. Leia stood in front with me and held my hand. Coyote started to play the song as we walked out. Leia was definitely loving all the attention that was now on her. All the parents had their phones out and were recording as we made our exit to the cars. Leia was pointing at everyone that looked at her and nodded, she blew kisses, and was waving. I laughed as she ate up all the attention she was getting. But, if I am being totally honest. She was a natural.

When we got to the cars, Bob put Leia in her booster seat in the back of the Bronco. Everyone loaded into the cars and headed back for my house. Everyone came out of the cars. Phoenix popped her trunk and all the guys started to grab bags from it. 

“Guys. No more stuff please.” I stood there slouching. 

Payback slapped my chest, “No bro, these are overnight bags.” 

I looked at all of them wide-eyed, “Huh.” I bit my lip. “Sounds good to me. I love the company.” I patted them all on their backs. 

Coyote and Bob successfully got Leia out of the car. She came running over to me and held my hand. We walked into the house and her eyes lit up. She saw all the toys that were waiting for her. 

“Oh my gosh! Is this all for me?” She stood in front of us covering her mouth. She turned around and we all nodded. She screamed and ran over to her toys. 

“A tent! Toys! Another lightsaber!” She was examining everything. She turned around and ran to everyone giving them hugs.

Phoenix squatted down next to Leia and wrapped her arm around her, “You haven’t seen the best thing we got you, yet.” She brought her to the backyard.

“A POOL!” She screamed loudly, I’m sure the whole neighborhood now knows there is a pool in my backyard.

Everyone started to laugh as they made their way out to see her reaction.

“Daddy, can we swim in it!?” She flashed me her puppy dog eyes.

Hangman laughed, “Oh shit man. She has your puppy dog eyes. That’s not good.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed, “Swear jar.” 

He looked back at me annoyed. I turned back to Leia. “After your homework, we can.” I smiled.

She got sad, “I don’t want to do my homework.” She started to pout and cross her arms. She looked up at me disappointed. 

I patted her head, “Don’t worry, baby girl. You have all your Aunties and Uncles to help you today. We both looked back at the squad standing behind us. They looked at Leia and me terrified. 

“I am not good at math, Rooster.” Fanboy shook his head nervously.

“It’s my ABCs!” Leia smiled.

Payback hit Fanboy’s chest, “Oh it's just ABCs this is a piece of cake.”

The squad brought Leia inside to help her with her homework. I started to prep lunch for all of us. As I prepped some sandwiches I watched on as the squad was gathered around Leia at the dinner table teaching her letters and the order they went in. They sang it a couple of times altogether as Leia sat there and laughed. 

After about an hour of getting some snacks together and making sandwiches for everyone, I set the trays down on the table. They all continued to teach Leia. 

“All right break time, aviators,” Hangman called as he picked up a sandwich.

They all started to eat. “Rooster, your girl has got this in the bag. She was having trouble at first remembering where each letter was, but we got a system down to help her.” Fanboy took a big bite out of his sandwich and sat back in his chair confidently.

“Is that right?” I looked at Leia and raised my brows. She nodded at me. “Let’s hear the first 5 letters, sweetheart.” 

She put down her sandwich. She stood on her chair confidently and cleared her throat. She looked down at the table with all the letters of the alphabet scattered. She lifted the first letter card, “This is an A it is for Alpha and it’s the first letter.” She scanned the table and picked up the next card, “This is B it is for Bravo.” I looked around at everyone confused. They watched her proudly with their eyes boggling out of their heads. She picked up the third letter, “This is C it is for Charlie.” I leaned back in my chair looking at her in shock. She picked up the fourth letter, “This is D it is for Delta.” She looked up at everyone and they all nodded enthusiastically and pointed to the scattered cards. She took a little bit for the last one, but she found it, “This is E it is for Echo!” 

She put the card down and stood tall. Everyone started to whoop and holler. They were all clapping for her excitedly. They all gave her high-fives. I sat there mind-boggled. I mouthed, “What the hell just happened.” I looked around and they all looked at me.

“I did it, daddy!” Leia clapped her hands.

I was shocked. “You sure did, sweetheart! I am so proud of you!” I looked at everyone as they looked at me smiling waiting for my approval. “You guys taught my daughter the alphabet… IRSA style…The military alphabet…” I sat back in my chair and put my hand over my mouth. I looked at all of them with worried eyes. “Holy crap.” I muffled into my palm. I was in shock.

“You said to help her with the alphabet, Rooster.” Coyote looked at me confused.

I looked at all of them with shifty eyes. I was holding back my laughter, “I really appreciate you all helping Leia. I really do.” I started to laugh, “But you guys had to add more for her to remember?” 

They started to laugh at me. “Just the letters would have been fine!” 

Hangman sat back in his seat, “Well, Rooster. You have a very smart girl on your hands. This is how she’s remembering it. The harder way.” He tapped his fingers on the letter cards and laughed. “By the end of the night, she’ll know all of them.” He looked over at Leia, “Right, honey?”

Leia nodded and say back down in her chair. We continued lunch and after lunch, the squad continued to help Leia with her homework. I cleaned up around the house and checked on the pool. It was almost done filling up. I went back inside and listened in on the squad with Leia. 

“Bradshaw, you need to see the progress. She’s doing really good.” Coyote said excitedly.

Phoenix held the cards in her hands. Leia leaned over the table and looked at the cards as phoenix showed them.

I watched as she read them and identified the letters. 

“F is for Foxtrot.” Phoenix flashes another card, “G is Golf.” Phoenix kept flashing through cards and Leia was associating them with the terms. When she was finished I looked at all of them in complete shock.

“Does she know them in order?” I smiled. I wanted to see if they achieved Leia’s homework vs squad mission. 

Bob looked over at Leia, “little Vapor, why don't you show your daddy how it's done.” He winked at her.

I sat back in my chair and got comfortable. “Go ahead, sweetheart.”

“Alpha. Bravo. Charlie. Delta. Echo. Foxtrot. Golf. Hotel. India. Juliet. Kilo. Lima. Mike. November. Oscar. Papa. Quebec. Romeo. Sierra. Tango. Uniform. Victor. Whiskey. X-ray. Yankee. Zulu.” She looked at me confidently.

“Jesus. That is something else. She is going to be the smartest one in her class for remembering words that associate with the letter and not just the letter.” I smiled, “you guys did a great freaking job. My girl is 1000xs smarter now.”

They started to cheer for Leia and took turns giving her kisses on the cheek. She looked at me with wide eyes, “Daddy can we go in the pool now!?” 

I smiled and looked at everyone, “Hell yea we can go in the pool now, sweetheart.” 

I took Leia upstairs to change into a bathing suit. I changed into mine. We went downstairs and everyone was changed into theirs. We all made our way outside. Hangman picked up Fanboy and body-slammed him into the pool. I picked up Leia and cannonballed with her in my arms. Everyone else joined in. We all took turns getting Leia to swim to us. We all stood around the pool on opposite ends of each other and taught her how to swim. A majority of the time she was clinging onto someone, but that was okay. She was getting the hang of it. We all picked teams and had chicken fights. First up were Leia and Bob. 

Leia was on my shoulders and Bob was on Coyote’s. Leia was shoving Bob and laughing. She eventually stood on my shoulders and leaped onto Bob. He, Coyote, and Leia went underwater. Bob came up laughing and holding Leia as she gasped for air and pushed her hair from her face. 

Coyote spit out water after emerging to the surface, “Damn, buttercup! You took the both of us out!”

Bob brought Leia to sit on the pool’s edge. She watched as Phoenix went up against Fanboy. Phoenix was on Payback’s shoulders and Fanboy on Hangman’s.

“Come on Fanboy, shove her!” Hangman was encouraging his teammate. He started to shove at Payback to throw him off balance.

“Stop cheating, Seresin!” Payback splashed Hangman in the face.

Hangman wiped the water from his face, “IT’S ON!” He lunged and pushed Fanboy into Phoenix. 

“Oh crap! Hangman!” Fanboy went forward and grabbed onto Phoenix. He flew over the top of her and took her under with him. She had no chance. He was on top of her and used her as a floaty.

Payback and looked back as he lost grip of Phoenix. He turned back to Hangman laughing. “Woman overboard!”

They emerged from the water. Phoenix’s hair was all over her face and she looked pissed off at Hangman. 

“Oh shit Jake, you’re gonna get it now.” I started to laugh. 

“Oh shit.” Hangman started to trudge in the water to get away from Phoenix.

Coyote and Bob held him in place as Phoenix swam over and grabbed his head. She got up over the top of him and started to push him into the water. He fought back, but Phoenix was the winner in the end. 

After we finished swimming. Payback and Coyote grilled some burgers for everyone to eat for dinner. After dinner we all cleaned up we set up the airbeds all together with the couches to watch a movie. Since Leia barely knew any Disney princesses we picked a Disney movie. 

“I want to watch Aladdin.” Hangman snatched the remote from my hands. 

“Hey what the…” I threw my hands up in disbelief. 

“No, we are watching Princess and the frog.” Fanboy snatched it from Hangman.

“Who said you get to pick?” Coyote snatched it from Fanboy, “We are definitely watching Maleficent.”

Payback grabbed it from Coyote, “She’s not even a princess!”

Phoenix grabbed it from Payback, “We are obviously going to watch Tangled.”

Bob gently took it from Phoenix’s hand, “I think we should let Leia pick.” He gave the remote to Leia. “What do you want to watch little Vapor?”

Leia smiled at Bob and then looked at me. “Pick what you want to watch, sweetheart.” She looked back at everyone nervously.

“I think I want to watch Aladdin.” She said quietly and in a baby-like voice.

Everyone threw themselves back in the spots they were laying in and groaned. 

“Aww man, I knew she would pick that!” Fanboy pouted.

“Of course, she was going to pick Aladdin.” Coyote laid his head back.

“Hangman’s her favorite, of course, she’s going to pick what he wants.” Payback slouched over upset.

“Uh duh, she was going to pick Aladdin. Who wouldn’t want to watch it?” Hangman was being cocky and fist-bumped Leia. “Good choice, honey!” 

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Not them fighting over the Disney princess movies. It was obvious Leia was going to pick anything Hangman wanted 😂 If you were a mom picking up her child at Leia’s elementary school and you saw all of them walking in the way they did, how would you react? I would have passed away... 🥴 I’ll see you in the next part, babes! 🫶🏼

My babies are tagged in the comments 🫶🏼

#miles teller #Bradley rooster bradshaw #Bradley bradshaw #rooster #rooster bradshaw #top gun maverick #top gun #top gun maverick cast #tgm cast #jake hangman seresin #rueben payback fitch #mickey fanboy garcia #javy coyote machado #natasha phoenix trace #robert bob floyd #Bradley Bradshaw x reader #Bradley Bradshaw x you #Bradley Bradshaw fic #Bradley Bradshaw fanfiction #rooster Bradshaw x reader #rooster Bradshaw x you #rooster Bradshaw fic #rooster Bradshaw fanfiction #rooster x reader #rooster x you #rooster fic #rooster fanfiction #his little girl Bradley Bradshaw x reader #I love u

[sp1drrthwips]

━━ ch☆r's req ! 💌❄️

a/n : soz im not sleeping YET

anyways

phoenix x gn!reader ( Romantic )

UHHH I COULDNT REALLY THINK BUT SMTG WITH JEALOUSY ???!!

nah its actually just a secret relationship with her & jake flirts with reader calling those sweet nicknames and phoenix hearing him and comes up to reader and shows off their relationship by kissing them

[ this was so hard to write i cringed so much but ig this is short but hopefully u can make it longer ]

- charlie <3

TAKEN

natasha 'phoenix' trace x gn reader ; fluff

summary — ( read req )

content / cws — hangman and his horrible attempts at flirting (yes he has his own warning deal with it), hangman makes a suggestive remark about r

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

natasha smirked, making eye contact with you as she walked into the hard deck, her squadron pushing past her and right into the bar. they were always here the same time, ordering the same drinks, at the same time of week.

out of all the aviators you had enter your mother's bar, phoenix was the one that caught your attention, she was the most put together, and one of the sweetest. you had spent most of your time exchanging small smirks and glances with her, until she eventually had enough and asked you out. that was roughly four months ago.

your eyes followed her as she walked past you and to the pool table her squad usually hung out at. you smiled to yourself, handing out a drink to a random guy to ignore the holes your mother was probably burning into the side of your head with her staring. she had told you not to fall for an aviator, but she didn't tell you how god damn gorgeous they would be.

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

the rest of her stay was the same as always, you'd share knowing glances every time you handed a beer out to somebody in her direction, but eventually, she got up to talk to some other aviators nearby the dart board.

"hey, sweetcheeks, we'll have another round of beers." you'd been called that more times than you could keep score of, and every time it somehow got more bitter than the last. you picked up a couple more beers, absentmindedly handing them off to the man, keeping your eyes locked on natasha.

expecting the man to be already gone, you got a bit startled when his voice came back, "what's with the look, sweetheart?" you looked at him, noticing his uniform and pin that had 'seresin' engraved into it.

"oh— just, thinking." yeah, about natasha you flashed him a fake smile, which you had mastered after months of dealing with men and women flirting with you.

"well why don't you come think over here, i'm sure penny dear wouldn't mind if you hung out with me and my friends for a bit." trying your best not to visibly cringe, you gave him another fake smile, "actually, i've gotta go get some more beers."

"i'm willing to wait till you get back." you sighed, letting out a fake laugh before politely declining and heading to the storage room.

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

"hey," now that. that startled you. shifting the crate of beers in your hands, you slightly looked up, noticing it was that seresin guy again. "sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

you gave him yet another fake smile, walking straight past him as he continued trying to make conversation. "told you i'd wait." god, does he ever know when to stop?

heading straight back to the counter, you continued to ignore his comments, acting as if the music was too loud for you to hear.

"cmon, at least let me introduce my friends to who i'll be taking home later." now that made you visibly cringe. it was always the same, some dude thought he was coming up with an original flirting remark only for you to have heard it a plethora of times. not only did it make you visibly cringe, but it also caught natasha's attention, especially since she heard it come from hangman.

placing the crate of beers down on the counter, you agreed with a sigh. you don't know why you agreed, or even followed him at that, normally you'd go over and ring the bell to have him pay for everyone's drinks. honestly, a part of you just hoped that you might be able to see natasha for a moment.

unlike you hoped, natasha wasn't there. instead, you were met with a bunch of —what you assumed were— aviators, that were definitely not natasha.

"fellas, this is [n], who i charmingly swooned with my good looks." instead of the response hangman was hoping to get out of his friends, he was met with snickering and smirks. he turned around, his smile immediately faltering at the sight.

you smiled, feeling a familiar pair of arms wrap around your waist and turn you to the side, followed by a pair of lips connecting to yours for a kiss you'd be sure to think about for the rest of the week.

your cheeks flushed and you hid your face in natasha's neck when she pulled away, a shit-eating grin staining her lips — "sorry not sorry bagman, but you're gonna have to find someone else to take home, [n] here is taken."

"go back to the counter, baby, i'll deal with bagman." and with that she let you out of her embrace, pressing a quick kiss to your temple before you headed back the counter.

noticing your mother staring at you with her eyebrow raised and hands to her hips, you sighed, before shaking your head in embarrassment. oh boy, she was definitely gonna give you a lecture later.

#natasha phoenix trace #natasha trace #top gun phoenix #natasha phoenix trace x reader #natasha trace x reader #top gun phoenix x reader #top gun hangman #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #top gun maverick #₊˚⊹ᰔ requests .ᐟ

[kazoosandfannypacks]

“Blanket Fort Fluff” by kazoosandfannypacks

Pairing: Captain Swan Rating: Teen Word Count: 1788 words Summary: When Emma realizes Killian's never made a blanket fort before, she sets up a blanket fort for their next night-in together. Author’s notes: A few months ago, we were watching my cousin's young son, and I asked the lad if he wanted me to make him a blanket fort. He seemed confused by this question, and I realized his parents and uncle and aunts had all failed him, in that he had never had a blanket fort before. He was delighted when I made him his "very own room" with some tray tables and blankets. Always on the lookout for fanfiction ideas, I realized that our favorite pirate has probably never had a blanket fort before either, so I decided to write a fic to remedy that. Taglist:@zahara@kmomof4@jonesfandomfanatic@booksteaandtoomuchtv@jrob64@tiganasummertree@anmylica@teamhook@undercaffinatednightmare@gingerchangeling@lonelyspectator@caught-in-the-filter  @ultraluckycatnd  @cs-rylie @silver-the-phoenix @pawshapedheart  [if you’d like to be added to or removed from this list, hmu in my dms or askbox!]

Also on Ao3!

 Killian sat on the couch next to Emma, his arm wrapped around her as she scrolled through the pin-interesting application on her talking phone. How Emma and Henry were able to focus on watching a moving picture show while also focusing on their phone screens was still a mystery to Killian.

 Emma's talking phone buzzed- a digital message from Henry, one with a picture.

 "You do realize your mother is actually right here in the room with you?" Killian asked Henry, who sat in his own chair a few feet away. "Why don't you just get up and show her whatever it is you want her to see?"

 "It's just easier to send a text message," Henry said, "Less work."

 "Makes sense," Killian said, secretly wondering how any step that involved using more technology was something someone could consider less work.

 He saw Emma smile at whatever it was Henry'd sent, then reply with a picture of a face that was laughing while crying. She showed the message to Killian; it was an image of text that said: "I've decided to no longer be an adult. If you need me I'll be in my blanket fort- coloring and eating fruit loops."

 "A fortress made of blankets?" Killian asked.

 "You guys didn't have blanket forts back in our world?" Emma asked.

 "Of course not," Killian said, "we had fortresses made of practical materials, like wood and stone. What's a blanket fort supposed to protect against?"

 "Bad days," Emma shrugged, "sadness, I guess?"

 "And adulthood," Henry tacked on.

 "Ain't that the truth, kid."

 "So kids in this realm just build forts out of blankets," Killian asked, "for fun?"

 "All the time," Emma said.

 "Fascinating." Killian said.

 He didn't bother trying to continue the conversation, as the movie was just getting to what Emma and Henry referred to as "the good part," the final confrontation between good and evil, and Killian wanted to give it his full attention.

💕🦢💕🏴‍☠️💕

 That conversation was all but forgotten after a week, when Killian took Henry sailing to give Emma a day to herself. He then dropped Henry off at Regina's- and now Emma and Killian could have a night to themselves.

 "Emma, love," he called as he entered, "I'm home!"

 He was in for a bit of a shock when he entered the living room. It looked like someone had set up a tent over the couch. It was made of blankets, hung on a clothesline strung across the room, fairy lights from last Christmas strung along the blankets' edges.

 One of the blankets lowest to the ground moved, opening like a flap to reveal Emma peeking out underneath.

 "Surprise!" Emma said.

 "Indeed I am," Killian said, "what's all this?"

 "Remember when I told you about blanket forts?" Emma crawled out from under the blankets, wearing a robe and pajama pants.

 "Aye," he smiled as she walked over to him, "I take it this is one of them,"

 "Not too shabby, if I do say so myself." Emma placed her hands on his shoulders and gave him a kiss. "I figured it might be fun to do something special tonight."

 "Every night with you is special, love," Killian kissed her cheek, "I'll join you in the fort as soon as I've washed up."

 "Don't be long."

 "Wouldn't dream of it."

💕🦢💕🏴‍☠️💕

 He'd noticed when he went upstairs that Emma had laid out his own fluffy robe and pajamas pants for him, as well as his slippers, so after a quick shower he changed into those, then hurried downstairs, not about to keep his Swan waiting too long.

 Emma was waiting for him at the entrance to their blanket hideout, holding a bag of microwaved popcorn

 "That was quick," Emma remarked, "I almost didn't have enough time to make popcorn."

 Killian smiled. "You'd be surprised at how motivated a pirate can be when he's got a blanket fort and the most beautiful woman in all the realms waiting for him."

 He gave his wife a kiss on her now blushing cheek. Ever looking for a chance to be a gentleman, he took the bowl of popcorn from her so she wouldn't have to carry it herself.

 She smiled and pulled back the "door" to their fortresses and gestured for him to enter first. He did so, and she followed after him.

 He hadn't expected it to feel so much cozier than the blanket fort than it usually did in the living room- and yet, something that felt like home hit him as he walked into the blanket walled room, which contained the couch, a pile of pillows and blankets in front of it, and more fairy lights around the inside.

 "In the spirit of nostalgia," Emma said, taking his hook in her hands and dragging him across the fort by it, "we'll sit on the floor."

 "And color in a coloring book while eating fruit loops?" Killian joked as he followed Emma to the pile of pillows and blankets in front of the couch

 "I was thinking I could pull up a movie on my laptop, and maybe we could have popcorn and snuggle instead," Emma said.

 "Aye, I like that plan," Killian smiled.

 Emma took a seat on the floor, and Killian followed her down. He found a comfortable position reclining against the back of the couch, and it soon became a lot more comfortable, as Emma sat down next to him, nestling into his arms like they were the only place she could possibly belong.

 Emma pulled out her laptop.

 "What movie are we gonna watch tonight, love?" Killian asked.

 "I don't know," Emma said, "picking which movie we watch every time is such a huge responsibility."

 Killian could tell she was being sarcastic, but he still understood the sentiment. As much as he wished he could be more helpful in picking movies, he really knew nothing about the topic in question at all.

 "In the name of nostalgia," Killian offered, "maybe a movie you liked as a kid?"

 "That narrows it down," Emma rolled her eyes, then looked at him and smiled as she added, "but I appreciate the suggestion."

 "I just wish I could be more help."

 "You're all the help I need," Emma said, patting him on the leg.

 Killian pressed his forehead against the side of her head and took her hand. "And you're all that I need." he whispered.

 A slightly flustered smile crept across her face, just as Killian had calculated would happen, and she set her laptop down and turned towards him, so their noses brushed against each other.

 "You're all I need too," Emma said.

 "The most incredible woman in all the realms needs an old washout like me?" Killain thought, shaking his head and smiling.

 "What?' Emma asked.

 "Have I told you recently that your eyes sparkle like the morning dew on the grass?" Killian asked, brushing his hair out of her face with his hook, "Or that your smile is like the silver lining in the clouds after a week of storms? Or that your hair shines like the sun in winter, and that flush of red creeping across your cheeks right now is the most beautiful color I've ever laid eyes on?"

 Emma placed her hand on his neck.

 "I don't know," she replied, "have I told you recently that your eyes are like a dip in the lake in the summer? That your hair's like a field of flowers that I just wanna run through," and she slid her hand back and her fingers charted their courses already through his hair, "and that your lips are like a ship, like a home I want to fall into?"

 Now he was blushing too, trying as he may to keep his cool.

 "I believe you have, love," he said.

 "Have I?"

 "At least once or twice- but about that last line," he then tapped her lips, then his, with the flat of his hook, "something about falling into my lips?"

 "Oh?" Emma leaned forward, her smiling lips hovering next to his, just close enough to drive him mad. "And what was that?"

 Killian smiled, "I think you know," he raised an eyebrow.

 "Do I?" she raised an eyebrow in return. "Do I really?"

 "Now you're just toying with me," he said, "you know how it gets to me when you play coy with me."

 Emma's smile widened, "You wanna kiss me so badly it's almost pathetic."

 "I don't want to kiss you badly," he said, letting go of her hand so he could cradle the back of her neck instead, "I want to kiss you well- oh so very well."

 Her breath spiraled across his lips like a hurricane, and her fingers twirled around his hair and twisted across his neck like they'd gotten caught in the storm. She smiled, then whispered, "Go for it."

 She didn't have to tell him twice. He pulled her lips into his like the tide draws a ship to her home port, less like he was pulling her and more like he was leading her exactly where she wanted to be anyways.

 And it was right where he wanted to be too. Half a decade ago, he wouldn't've dreamt of a moment like this one- holding Emma Swan- his wife, Emma Swan- in his own two arms, in the living room of their house, her lips on his, her hands on his neck, wanting to be here, wanting to kiss him, to hold him, to love him! In two centuries spent trying to get what he wanted, he never would've guessed that what he wanted was as simple and beautiful as this.

 She slid her hands down to the edges of his robe, pulling him even closer than he already was, curling her lips even tighter around his.

 He shifted her ever so slightly, Emma giggling a little as he laid her down, her head now resting on the couch, himself almost laughing as well as he wrapped himself around her. His lips stayed on top of hers, his face on hers, his chest on hers- his heart on hers.

 "Oh," she sighed. She let go of his robe, only so she could run her hands underneath it, all along his chest and back, tracing out routes she was well acquainted with. "Thanks for the help."

 "Help with what?" he asked, with a low voice, and with messy kisses as his lips danced across hers.

 Emma wrapped her arms around him tighter, pulling him even further onto her, then left his lips so she could plant a field of kisses just below his ear, before whispering a response into it.

 "I don't think I'll have to worry about picking a movie tonight."

💕🦢💕🏴‍☠️💕

#captain swan #once upon a time #killian jones #emma swan #ouat #cs ff #fanfiction #post canon #canon compliant #henry mills #once upon a time season 6 #fluff #kazzy writes

[nutmeg-mayonnaise]

I love your AU and I want more so I was wondering if you had fanfiction to pair with it? I’d love a link!

Hello @lettis ! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like the AU! That makes me so happy!

I recently finished the first draft of a novel-length (about 90k words) fanfiction that takes place shortly after "Turnabout Time Traveler" from "Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice" through to when Edgeworth adopts Gregory Wright. It basically showcases how Maya, Phoenix, and Edgeworth got from their roles and relationships in the games' canon to building a family together.

This AU means a lot to me so I'm putting in a little extra time and effort into edits and potential rewrites. Therefore, I'm not entirely sure when I'll post it--but I promise if you follow this blog, you wouldn't miss it when I do!

Here's a teaser. :) The fanfic is written from Phoenix's perspective, so keep that in mind!

“The Elders… They want me to get married soon,” Maya said over the phone. My eyes widened and I leaned forward.  “Married?” I echoed. “Why?” “As the head of the Fey Clan, it’s my responsibility to… well… continue the Fey bloodline…” she explained. My shoulders slumped. “You remember how mediums inherit their spiritual powers… right?”  “Y-yeah, that only the women can inherit it, right?” I said. The thought of from where they had to inherit it sunk in. My face felt tight. “Yeah, and we inherit it from our mothers,” she added. “Me and Pearly… we’re the only ones left, now.” She paused. “Hmm. It’s funny. It had always been in the back of my mind, but it always seemed like something I wouldn’t have to worry about until I got older.” She paused again. “I guess… I’m older now.” Those words hit me like a punch to the gut. I didn’t know what to say. I could only think of one thing. “I… I’m sorry.” Maya hummed a sigh. “It’s fine, Nick. I mean, I’m up to it—I knew I had to do this ever since Mia left to pursue law.” She made a soft, almost carefree chuckle. “To tell you the truth, I’m glad I opened up to you about this. Now I have another person besides Pearly to complain to!” I laughed nervously.  “Complain away,” I said. “You have my ears.” I shook my head. A part of me didn’t want to hear about Maya’s new-to-me love life, but as her best friend, it was the escape I knew she wanted—maybe even needed. Maya deserved someone who would be a loving husband to her and her children… but something Maya told me a long time ago began to haunt me. The culture in Kurain Village revolves around its women, and that matriarchy doesn't often sit well with men, especially if they are outsiders. This, more often than not, caused unhappy marriages and broken families. Pearls was one of the victims of an unhappy marriage. Her father left her. Pearls’ half-sisters also suffered. Their father dumped one at a temple, and the other… I shook my head. I sucked air through my nose and hoped whoever was listening that the same wouldn’t happen to Maya or her kids. Maya’s kids… That was too weird to even think about.

Thanks for the ask!

#Meg Text #Gregory Wright AU #ace attorney fanfic #ace attorney fanfiction #ace attorney #phoenix wright #maya fey

[meet-me-in-the-pouringrain]

The Phoenix and The Rocket

Chapter 7/8

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Emily Prentiss, at the insistent of her therapist, signs up for a trauma ‘dumping’ site. She never expected that her Dump would connect her back to her old boss and the man she’s been in love with for over ten years.

Also the man who she is absolutely furious at for leaving

Ya’ll this is 5k words.

Since publishing the first 5 chapters, I have been made aware that the term ‘Trauma Bonding’ is actually an abuse tactic and doesn’t mean ‘bonding over shared trauma’. Would like to make it clear that was a very strong mistake on my part and I apologise deeply for any offence. Moving forward, PenPal will be used in place of Trauma Buddy, with only the website being titled a such. Thank you for understanding.

Warning : Smut, 18+, Unprotected sex.

Never written smut before and I don’t think I ever will again so don’t bully me too hard okay I really tried.

Read below the cut

Jack stares at his father as he sits at the table, ever present scowl back on his face. "Dad?" He questions. "You've been quiet all day, since you met up with E-Phoenix" He almost slips up and winces but Aaron doesn't notice.

"Have I?"

"Dad."

Aaron sighs and looks up from his pasta to look at his son, spying the blue eyes of his ex wife staring daggers into him. Jack tilts his head, his expression all Haley, and waits patiently. "Jack this is a grown-"

"Don't give me that" Jack interrupts, looking like Haley but sounding like him. Aaron rolls his eyes and points his finger at him.

"Stop." He says. "First and final warning."

Jack sighs and leans against the wall of the dining room. "Sorry" He mumbles. Aaron's sat at the table, eating takeout pasta that he put on a plate to feel better about himself. Jack didn't want anything so he's just ventured out of his room to see if Aaron was in a better mood. "Did something happen with Phoenix?" He asked.

Aaron takes a big gulp of water and sighs. "It..turns out that I already know her." He tells Jack in a mumble. "And I didn't realise who."

Jack blinks.

It's not Emily?

He glares out the window at his mom, the wind doesn't blow, and shrugs.

"Who was it?" He asks, casually.

Aaron looks up at him again and shrugs. Jack sits next to him, concerned. "Nobody-"

"Dad you can tell me" Jack prods. Then he lights up. "Is it Beth? It's gotta be Beth-" Beth was nice, she made him happy. He could live with that. Not the brunette woman he thought (or wanted) but it's liveable.

"It's Emily." Aaron tells him, almost breathlessly. "The woman...Phoenix. It's Emily."

Jack stares at his father, unblinking.

He's kidding. Right?

Aaron didn't know what to expect with Jack's reaction but silence wasn't one of them.

Finally, he talks.

"Yeah" Jack says. "I guessed that." He speaks slowly, confused. Aaron opens his mouth but no sound comes out. "Her name is PhoenixPren" Jack tells him, shocked. "Dad, seriously? She's got half her name in her user."

Aaron blanches at that, shocked at himself.

"She rose from the dead like a phoenix" Jack carries on. "..There's no way you didn't know!" He practically begs, almost laughing. Aaron just sits still, staring. "Jesus, Dad!" Jack exclaims, standing up. "You told me she works cases"  He continues, full of disbelief.

"I thought she was a lawyer" Aaron says, more to himself than his son, with furrowed brows.

"Oh my God" Jack shakes his head,

"I- uh i wasn't thinking about Prentiss at the time" Aaron mumbles, trying to save himself.

Jack shoots him a coy look. "Dad, you always think about her" He says pointedly. He smiles and pats his fathers shoulder. "I'm glad you've found her again."

"Really?"

Jack nods. "Mom's been dead for over ten years dad" He tells him. "You've had one serious girlfriend in that time. And she looked a hell of a lot like Emily did." He's quiet now, the mention of Haley bringing a somber tone.

"Beth did not-"

"She wore the exact same blue shawl to Jj's wedding" Jack rolls his eyes. "I'm going to meet Auntie Jess for dinner." He tells him, moving to the front door. He pauses though, and turns to his father. "You've missed her a lot dad. I think you should invite her over for dinner or something."

Aaron chuckles though it's bitter and pained. "It doesn't work like that, son." He replies. "She's furious at me. I've missed my chance."

Jack actually laughs this time, a whole hearted belly laugh. "Yeah, Somehow I doubt that" He shakes his head. "Call her dad. Don't give up."

Aaron smiles at his teenager, shaking his head. He stands and walks over to Jack to hug him tightly. The boy is almost as tall as him now and that fact pains him. "Thanks buddy. Enjoy dinner"

Jack pushes him off with a false grimace. "Gross" He mumbles. "Call her" He orders. "And then call Uncle Dave."

"Uncle Dave-"

"Oh we both know you miss him too" Jack rolls his eyes before disappearing into the evening. Aaron watches as he waits on the curb until a blue car rolls up and Jess hops out. She waves at her ex brother in law happily before wrapping her nephew in a long hug. Her husband pops out from the drivers side with a smile, giving a side hug to Jack.

Jess smiles at her husband, laying a hand on her round stomach. Aaron's chest tightens as he kisses her forehead and a little brunette girl rolls down the window of the car, yelling impatiently that she was hungry. Jess waves at Aaron again, smiling before they all pile in and the car drives off.

He can't get the image of Jess' daughter out of his head as her face morphs into a near identical one to the woman he can't stop thinking about either.

It was too late for that in life, he realises with a lang of bitterness. Emily was turning 53 in March and he was on the ugly side of 60 already.

Just another chance they've missed out on.

With that aggressive thought he picks up his mobile forcefully. As he's punching in a well remembered number, he pauses and realises that it's been almost three years since he last called her. He may not even have the same number.

A horrible noise emits from his throat as he reset his phone. Aaron rubs at his forehead, utterly stressed before switching tactics and dialling a new number, one he knows hasn't changed.

"Hello?" A coy voice answers. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hey Dave" Aaron smiles despite himself. "I need your help."

~

"What do you want?" Emily snaps a few days later, feeling the presence of someone standing behind her. She slams the spoon on the counter and whirls to find Dave standing there behind her. They're doing over time in the office, Linda Barnes was intent on torturing them as much as possible and as such the bullpen was half empty, only their team and a few others mulling about. Didn’t help that she had drunk herself half blind (again. Don’t worry she’s sworn off alcohol for the time being) the previous night and was feeling dead on her feet.

"Coffee." Dave shrugs and moves around. "Thats all."

Emily hums in suspicion before plucking up her own. She eyes Dave as he sings a tune to himself while moving around the Kitchenette.

"You drank the last of it" Dave states, not even attempting to act innocent as he pours the fresh coffee pot down the drain.

"Dave!" Emily protests, trying to stop him. "What are you-"

"You're gonna have to make a coffee run" Dave tells her, shaking the pot so it empties. "You know the office rules, Prentiss."

She huffs at him, putting down her mug. He shrugs.

"PRENTISS DRANK THE LAST OF THE COFFEE" Dave suddenly yells loudly. Tara throws her head back and groans while JJ whirls in her seat to glare at their boss. Spencer was in the process of walking up to make his own and he stops and pouts in the middle of the bullpen.

"No I didn't!" Emily has the urge to stomp her foot. "Dave, I'm really not in the mood for your shit today." She groans, picking her coffee up again.

"Look, See!" Dave points at the china. "Proof,"

"Dammit Emily." JJ curses.

"I-" Emily tries to process. "Fine." She concedes and slams the mug back down. "This is the second time you've done that to me." She hisses at him, feeling the urge to throw a punch at his smug smirk and marches off. She orders JJ to text her everyone's coffee order over her shoulder as she stalks out angrily.

"Okay" Dave claps his hands together. "Everyone go home." He waves his hands in a dismissive motion

Penelope, who entered just as Emily left while cursing in Italian, laughed a little. "What?" She giggles. "But Prentiss just-"

"She won't be getting coffee" Dave tells them nonchalantly.

Spencer narrows his eyes. "What did you do?" He asks. Dave shrugs.

"What about Barnes?" Luke asks, fiddling with a pen.

Penelope flicks his ear, rolling her eyes at his loud exclaim. "Linda left two hours ago." She tells him as if he's stupid. "Stupid." There you go.

Tara is still staring at Rossi. "What did you do, man?" She asks, suspicion coating her.

Rossi rolls his eyes. "Does it matter?" He asks, ignoring the way the girls look at each other. "Look, Prentiss has been stressed out lately, more than usual right?" He prods gently. "I may have stumbled across a solution and fixed that. Can we drop it."

"You got Prentiss laid?" Tara responds, making Penelope giggle and Spencer scoff in disgust. "It better not be Mendoza" She warns, standing up.

"Like it'll be that fuckhead." Rossi tells her seriously, almost mad at the mere suggestion.

"Good" JJ stretches in her chair. Her phone pings and she flips it to check, smirking at the username. "She's hounding me for the order, what shall I say?"

"Make excuses for everyone leaving, I don't care." Dave shrugs before leaving them to fend for themselves.

CheetoBreath : Don't kill me.

Blackbird : Fuck off. What happened?

CheetoBreath : Well, Michael got sick so Will called me I'm halfway out the door, Luke's dog sitter has to leave Roxy so he followed you out. Tara's ex husband is kicking up a fuss with the lawyers and Penelope has a meeting with some tech kids. Morgan called Spencer because Sav has taken Hank to her parents for a visit so they're having a guys night. Dunno what Dave's doing.

Blackbird : ALL of you are leaving? After sending me out on a GODDAM COFFEE RUN??

Cheetobreath ; Yes. I'm so sorry.

Emily launches her phone onto the passenger seat of her car, yelling profanities in a multitude of different languages. She groans loudly when she's done swearing and lays her head on the steering wheel.

Knock Knock

Emily jumps in her seat and fumbles for her gun in the glovebox on instinct. She turns her head to the passenger window to find certain Aaron Hotchner standing out there, two mugs of coffee in his hand and a sheepish smile on his face.

Emily narrows her eyes.

Fuckin' Dave.

She curses the man as she rolls down the window.

"Don't kill Dave." Aaron quips, suppressing a sigh when she just glared at him. "I put him up to it. Here" He holds out one of the takeaway cups. "Peace offering. A Caramel Latte, Decaf. No sugar, one packet of Splenda." He rattles off her usual order and unknowingly disarms her.

She can't tell whether that makes her angrier or sadder.

"You remember?" She says softly. When Aaron nods, looking up at her with wide hopeful eyes she sighs. "Get in." She orders, unlocking her car.

"Huh?"

"In. The. Car." Emily orders him again, grabbing the peace offering. He smirks in victory as he yanks open the door while she takes a delicate sip. "Thanks for the coffee." She says, clearing her throat. "Did you drive here?"

"Took a cab" He replies, tensely. "Jack's got the car, he's gone to visit his old friends."

Emily pauses as she reaches for the ignition. "Jack's driving?" She asks quietly, awed. The image of the small boy, dressed far to somber for a kid his age blowing a kiss to his mothers coffin rudely enters her mind.

The passage of time is just so cruel.

Theyre sat silent for a while as Emily pulls away from the curb she parked on to text JJ.

"Why am I getting the sense that you're mad that Rocket was me?" Aaron begins as soon as they pull away. He means it as an icebreaker, a joke, but it serves the opposite effect.

Emily's focus is on driving and her knuckles are white with the force of her grip on the wheel. Her jaw is clenched just as firmly and her eyes are locked in front of her. "Huh" She replies, sarcastically. "Guess retirement has made you a little rusty." She quips, yanking the gear stick back with more force than needed.

"Prentiss." He shoots back, familiar authority rising in his chest without permission. An order.

Emily rolls her eyes. "You're not my boss anymore" She sasses. "And you haven't been for 7 years, you can call me Emily."

"Emil-"

"I'm not mad" She interrupts him before he can sass her back. "At the fact that you're Rocket." She practically spits out.

To be fair, that's sort of the truth. Emily feels a twisted sense of relief that she hasn't unloaded all her baggage on a complete stranger. It's confusing and hurtful but relief covers her that her PenPal is the only man in the whole world that actually can understand her.

They drive around aimlessly for a while in tense silence, willing the other to speak before Emily decides she's had enough of driving.

They pull up to her apartment building and he winces when she clambers out, slamming the door. He follows after her quickly, vaguely wondering why she's brought him home, and quietly.

Emily storms off to her apartment and forces open the door, slamming it when he gingerly steps in behind her. Aaron watches, awkwardly, as his ex employee hurls her purse across the room to the couch with a huff.

"Why are we here?" Aaron asks, taking in the apartment. It doesn't look lived in, more like a show room with immaculate couch cushions, spotless counter tops and stark white carpets. The only real homely attributes are the magazines laying haphazardly on the counter and the cat items thrown about.

She's still not settled, even after two years, and that fact only cuts him deeply and hurts even more. She really had put her own life on hold to help him.

How could he ever thank her?

Emily shrugs. "Needed a private place to have a talk" She mumbles.

A black tuff of fur runs out from her bedroom, yowling. He beelines straight for the man, hissing and glaring. Emily catches him as if she expected that.

"Serg, it's just Hotch" She mumbles as the man's name made him hiss more. She calmly puts Sergio in his crate and moves him back into her bedroom.

"Did you know?" She asks quietly as she comes back. "That it was me you were talking to?" She whirls around on Aaron, narrowing her eyes.

"How would I have known?" Aaron's so confused. "You lied in half your dumps!" He accuses her.

Now that he knows the truth about Phoenix, he can't help but feel annoyed at the fact she lied to him. She was willingly lying while he was opening up.

Emily clenched her jaw and wonders off to the kitchen, not really wanting anything but busying herself with finding a snack. "Technically it wasn't a lie, just wasn't the full truth." She retorts. Aaron perches himself at the other side of the kitchen, against the counter. She settles for a kitkat and distracts herself with fidgeting with the foil.

He folds his arms. "Did you know?" He asks her, suspicious now. "That it was me? Did Garcia put you up to it?"

"Excuse me?" Emily laughs at his ridiculous question, barely looking up from her chocolate. "No, I didn't know it was you at first."

"At first?"

"I spoke to Dave about it" She tells him honestly. "He said something that had me realising it was you. I figured it out 3 days ago." She states, slamming her chocolate on the counter and changing lanes, making up a glass of water.

"So you did know it was me?" He asks.

"Yes."

"Then I'm so confused, Emily." He emphasised her name and she pauses because her stomach bounces with butterflies at the sound. She can count on one hand how many times he's used her first time to refer to her. "You're angry at me because of what exactly?"

She snaps.

"BECAUSE YOU LEFT." She hollers, slamming her cabinet door shut. Aaron stares at her as she gets off on a roll. "YOU LEFT THE TEAM AND ME." Emily's too far gone in her anger to think about the words coming out of her mouth. "AND YOU GOT ME TO OPEN UP AGAIN AND HOW?? HOW ARE YOU ALWAYS THE ONE?!" She finishes with a deep breath, throwing stuff around. She turns away from him as her words began to register in her head and she cringes.

"Okay, first of all YOU left." Aaron boils over too, her yelling accusatory and hypocritical things does him in. "Multiple times!" He adds, louder.

Emily sighs and drops her shoulders. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. "I know..." She replies, softer. "I know. I'm sorry."

Emily can't tell whether she apologises because she yelled, because she's being a hypocrite or because she left.

Aaron doesn't know what to say to that. 'You left me'  echoes around his head in the quiet. They're silent for a long, tension filled, while

"In your dump.." Emily begins in the silence, eyes narrowed. She turns around again and walks forward, standing in the middle of her kitchen.  "You said you lost the love of your life when she-"

His hardened stare makes her voice trail off. "I lost her when she died and came back a hollow shell. She couldn't handle being a ghost and she left."

Her heart pounds in her chest while he talks. His hands are shaking.

"I lost you."

Emily's glass clatters to the ground when he steps towards her. He keeps moving until she's backed up against her kitchen counter. Aaron isn't thinking rationally anymore, not when he pins her against the marble by gripping her hips. He stares down at her like a lion with prey but she's strong and stubborn so her gaze is as equally dark. Filled with lust, heat and heartbreak.

Aaron comes to his senses when there's no reply apart from heavy breaths. He releases her as if her skin burned him. "Shit. Em I'm-"

She cuts off his apology by gripping the sleeves of his shirt and bringing his head down to her. She pushes their lips together like he was water and she had been in the desert for days. He's still, shocked, just for a second, until his brain kicks in to high gear and he's responding just as passionately. He pushes back against her furiously, again pinning her to the counter. They're connected until their lungs are burning and their eyes are dripping with tears.

Emily pulls away first with a loud sigh. He chases her and their foreheads stay merged. They're breathing heavily in the silence, Aaron's hands on her hips and hers on his biceps. Both of their grips are almost painful, as if the other would be swept away in a moments notice.

"Me?" Emily asks quietly, taking him off guard.

Aaron swallows and removes one of his hands to cup her chin. The sight of her reddening, unsure eyes makes his heart break. "You, Emily." He confirms, voice thick with his own emotion. "Since before Viper." He adds, smiling a little at his ridiculousness. "Me?" He asks, now insecure.

Emily's breath comes out in a laugh. "You" She replies before going in again. "Since Foyet." She mumbles against his lips.

"God we're such idiots" He laughs, making her break too. "How the hell didn't we realise this sooner?"

"How the hell didn't we realise that we were each others PenPal?" Emily replies, pressing another kiss to the corner of his lips. He silences her by reconnecting them fully.

They barely part for air this time before they're back together. Soon, the kiss becomes more heated and their hands start wandering. Emily unexpectedly moans into it and Aaron's no longer powered by his brain. The sound is delicious and he wants more of it. He disconnects their lips, smirking at her whine, before planting them on her neck. Her whine turns into a low groan as he instantly finds her pulse point and sucks hard.

"Hotch" She gasps out, impulsively arching her hips.

Aaron pulls back and stares into her eyes. "Aaron." He corrects, seriously.

Emily's flushed under his gaze and she nods. "Aaron" She corrects herself, licking her lips.

He trails the action and literally growls. She would've made fun of him for it, if he didn't follow the action with hoisting her up onto the counter with strength you wouldn't know he has.  He kisses her again and she's helpless against it.

"Mhm" She makes a sound as she pulls back from him. "Not here."

They're too old, too tired to be fucking against the kitchen counter. Aaron looks seconds away from protesting but her heated gaze makes him nod. He doesn't wait for her to jump and instead simply picks her back up and carries her into the room where she stuck her cat. Emily pushes Sergio out, rolling her eyes when he hisses at her again. She turns back to him only to be smothered by another furious kiss.

Their clothes are removed in a desperate frenzy and she finds herself with her back against the pillows with him hovering above her. This part is slower, awkward, as they finally take each other in.

"Fuck you're so stunning" Aaron states, raking his eyes over her. He's thought about her before - what man in proximity to her hasn't? - but nothing he's imagined has ever come close to the real thing.

Emily licks her lips as she looks over him. "You too" She breathes, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at his proud smirk.

Aaron gazes at her with something that can be only described as love and it catches her off guard, makes her breath stick in her throat. He ignores her scars, except the branding from Doyle she kept as a token of survival. He glares at it as if he could will it away before suddenly clamping his lips over it. Emily bucks off the bed in surprise as Aaron uncaringly sucks a bruise over the raised skin, claiming her as his. He trails his tongue over the pattern twice before releasing her. He moves over to the other breast and does the same, his hand toyed and pulled at the neglected nipple each time.

Then his hand takes her by surprise again and cups her vagina unexpectedly. She gasps in surprise, throwing her head back, and exposing her throat. He takes the opportunity to reattach his lips to her neck.

"Someone's excited" He chuckles against her flesh, making her swat the back of his head.

He tries to go further down, dropping a kiss on the scar of her torso but she stops him and tugs him back up. "Next time" She sighs, staring up at him. "Want you" Emily mumbles. She hates how pathetic she's sounding and hates him (not really) for how he's made her like that.

Aaron can't help the ecstatic grin on his face at her words. Next Time. She arches her hips against him in response, a raised eyebrow, and that grin falls. He groans in her ear and the sound nearly makes Emily fall over the edge.

Their gazes are locked when he finally enters her for the first time. Emily gasps at the intrusion and lifts her hips in response, tensing up. He hisses at the way she's clenched and reluctantly stills to give her time to adjust. He already knows he's not going to last very long, so while he's still, his hand comes up to press down on the small bud of nerves between them.

Emily moans out and nods her head, reconnecting their eyes. She's completely under his mercy. Aaron begins a slow, experimental pace but soon speeds up, encouraged by her cries. He grunts in pleasure as he leans down to reconnect their lips again. They move in tandem, chasing their highs, finally feeling each other.

"I've thought about this." He admits as he thrusts into her. "For years."

Emily cant even reply, her senses overtaken. She worms and wriggles underneath him, moaning loudly. Finally she gets out a weak "Me too." She confesses, staring at him. "Years."

"Sometimes I'd wonder what you'd look like, bent over my desk at work" He teases her, his hand coming back to toy with her clit. Emily's moans got louder in response and shes clenched impossibly harder. He told her some more of his sinful thoughts that starred her over the years and it's not long until she's falling over the edge, his name on the tip of her tongue. "Fuck Emily" He grits out as she slumps down, knowing he was going to follow. He pumps a few more times before pulling out just in time, spurting all over her stomach.

He collapses next to her, utterly exhausted, chest heaving. Emily opens her eyes weakly to look at him.

"Didn't have you down for a talker" She says first breathlessly.

Aaron laughs in response and nods, not verbally replying, ironically. Emily looks at him properly, lying in her bed and satisfied, and her eyes start burning at the image.

He was here. He was in her bed and He was in love with her.

He leaves to the kitchen during her thoughts, coming back with wipes and a drink of water. Emily watches through half open, teary eyes as he thoughtfully cleans himself off her stomach and makes her drink the water.

Aaron's emotional himself, looking over the figure of her. Hair tousled, lips swollen with her neck and chest covered in love bites and bruises. He winces at the roughness of her chest, the clover glowing red where his mouth had been. He reaches out and brushes his fingertips over it as he lies back down.

Emily breaks then. She begins sobbing under his gaze, even harder when he simply pulls her into his arms.

"I just" She tries to get out an excuse for her crying but Aaron just shushes her and hold onto her while she shakes. His hand rests on her back, her face in his chest and tucked under his chin. They curl together as she cries, not saying a word and instead just holding onto each other. When she finally calms down, still crying but not profusely, she pulls away and looks up at him. "I love you" Emily says. Her smile is fake and watery when he glances down in shock.

She's worried she's scared him, admitting that so soon after everything, paranoid that he's going to take off again.

On some level, she has to agree saying that then and there is fucking insane. But she had to get it out. Had to see that through. The universe, so far, hasn't been on their side so Emily figured she better get ahead of it this time.

So no, she's not taking it back.

"I love you." Aaron repeats it back to her, softly. She breaks again, crying in relief this time, and goes back to hiding in his chest. He keeps her there, soothing her tears and repeating that he loves her too. She's never normally this emotional about anything (Derek once called her a sociopath) so this crying shocks them both. Emily would later consider that this outburst was the climax of everything over the years, all the heart ache and pain her own stubbornness put her through.

Eventually, she tires herself out and falls asleep pressed against him.

The Rocket allows himself to break then, knowing she couldn't see him. Though he'd been overly vulnerable with her over the past 6 months it's different now.

Phoenix was a stranger. Prentiss was certainly not.

Emily had always been the one to know him more intimately. She was there for him after Foyet, the one who sought him out after the bomb, the one who was his fucking pen pal before he knew what that even entailed.

Aaron cries in the stillness of the darkening room, holding onto the woman he loves as she slept. All the emotions came back to him at once like a freight train and he loses it in the safety of her arms.

He doesn't realise that she's awake and moved to hold him instead until after he's done crying. She runs her fingers through his salt and pepper hair and shushes him softly.

"I've got you" Emily muttered in his hair. "I've got you." He pulls back to look at her fully.

"I'm in this." He tells her. "I'm staying. It's your turn to run." He reminds her softly.

Emily bites her lip and shakes her head slowly. "I'm staying." She practically whispers. "I'm not running."

They make love again, slowly this time less desperate with the confirmations that neither were willing to go, as the moon rises. They whisper all the words they wished they could have said years ago in each other's ear, urging the other to let go.

Afterwards, Their phones ring and make them jolt apart. Emily has a case in Florida and Jack's calling out of concern when Aaron wasn't home when he came back.

They reluctantly pull themselves away to get dressed. Aaron notices with a twisted sense of pride that she's limping and there's a hickey on her neck that has to be covered up.

"We'll talk when I get back?" Emily asks, almost hesitantly, after she locks her door. She reaches out for him but drops her hand before she touches him. "Please?" She hates how insecure and small she sounds but it melts away when he smiles at her.

Aaron pulls her by her off centre belt to him, smirking. "Yeah" He agrees, stamping a kiss on her lips that leaves her wanting more. "We'll talk." He pauses and fixes her collar nonchalantly. "Wheels up." He states.

Emily laughs at him, noting that his words don't fill her with bitterness like they usually do , and bends down to pick up Sergio's crate. "I love you." She tells the man softly.

Aaron smiles. "I love you." It's hard not to get choked up at the words. It was only the disbelief that she actually said them to him that stopped his emotions coming though.

"C'mon you" Emily huffs, putting Sergio in her trunk. "Off to Penny's"

He watches as she drives off, taking his heart with him. Aaron's smiling though, grinning like a crazed man in the moonlit as he journeys home.

Taglist : @lonelychicagos @84hotpockets @serqueljisbon @loriprentiss @velvetblackness @castielryan

#criminal minds #emily prentiss #aaron hotchner #hotchniss #criminal minds fanfiction #agent hotchner #hotch #agent prentiss #hotchniss fanfiction #the phoenix and the rocket

[itwasalladreamsblog]

Fight or Flight? (chapter 2)

Jake Seresin x Pilot Reader (+ Maverick's Daughter)

Note: The events of this piece very loosely follow the timeline of Top Gun Maverick, parts have been changed or altered to fit this story.

Another note: OMG!!! Thank you all so much for your warm response to part 1!! It means the world 🥺 I was so inspired that I spent 99% of my day neglecting all other responsibilities and have written 7 new chapters for this piece so far, which I will edit and release throughout the week! Although this next chapter is not my favourite (please bare with me, it's a bit more of a short filler chapter to help set the story), I hope it still delivers. Thank you again! x

P.s. a lovely warm welcome to those on the taglist!! Thank you for your support!!!! If anyone else would like to be added, please comment below x

Warnings: language and innuedenos.

'Well if it ain't, Duke' Hangman smirks, holding onto his pool cue. 'Bagman' you greet, knowing this play on his call sign would get under his skin. 'I thought this mission was reserved for the best of the best, I guess they must have called you in for the backup reserve' he retaliates confidently. Both you and Hangman had finished first in your respective Top Gun graduate classes, it was always a source of competition between the two of you.

Just as you prepare to conjure a quick-witted remark, you welcome an interruption, being the arrival of Phoenix, Payback, and Fanboy. Despite the fact that you hadn't been in the same Top Gun class as Hangman, given your friendships with Phoenix and the rest of his graduate squadron group, you may as well have been. You'd been blessed with meeting Phoenix through various stations over the years, bonding instantly over your shared detest of Jake.

Rooster, on the other hand, you'd known for years. Although a few years older than you, you'd grown up together. You'd supported each other through your single-parent childhoods. Rooster was a friend that you never took for granted. Even through his falling out with your dad in recent years, he never let this impede on your own friendship, and you were grateful for that. As a returned kindness, you made a point of staying out of his and your father's mess, even when it hurt you not to meddle and mediate. He was also the only aviator friend of yours privy to knowing the true meaning behind your call sign.

Phoenix and Hangman engage in their own version of a bantered greeting while you say hello to Payback and Fanboy, before quickly enveloping Phoenix into a tight hug. As you begin to pull away from her, Hangman speaks again 'Ladies, please do not stop on my account. I was very much enjoying the show' signature smirk once again present on his face. 'You repulse me' you fire back quickly, scowling at his comment. 'Oh baby, you can tell me all about how much you repulse me later. Meet back at my place?' he winks at you. Deciding his comment isn't worthy of your time, you make a direct beeline for the bar, turning over your shoulder as you go 'Phoenix, beer? Great.' not even allowing her time to respond, eager to escape the confrontation.

'Hey Pen' you greet Penny as you approach the bar, reaching over to give her a hug. 'Drinks are on the house, courtesy of your dad' she winks in his direction. Your dad lifts his drink in your direction, saluting it to you in a form of defeat. 'Thank you' you wink back to him, 'Although they should be courtesy of Hangman. That man is one sentence away from disrespecting the entire female population of Miramar' you add with a roll of your eyes. 'Want me to give him a talking to?' Penny asks you in all seriousness. You laugh at her protectiveness of you. 'Thank you, but don't worry. I always put him in his place' you reply. Penny laughs, knowing too well that you can hold your own.

You thank Penny and take your drinks and begin to return to the group, giving your dad a small subtle wave on your way back over, still attempting to remain under the radar with your connection. You're elated when you finally see Rooster arrive at the Hard Deck. He has no chance to react before you're in his arms, but he is quick to respond when he realises it's you. Although you hadn't seen him in person for a while, knowing he had been deployed interstate, you both texted and called frequently.

You laugh silently in Rooster's embrace as you hear the bell ring at the bar. You look up over his shoulder and watch as some of your squadron (Hangman included), carry your dad out of the Hard Deck, clearly unsuccessfully footing the bill for the round. You smile to yourself, thinking about tomorrow when they'll come to the realisation of who the man they're currently throwing out is. But for now, you remain grateful that your fellow aviators are currently unaware of his identity.

You could already predict Hangman's response to finding out about your heritage, using it as another chance to remind you that he doesn't think you belong in the Navy, and now also, that you probably didn't make it in on your own merit. Although his finding out was likely inevitable, you still didn't feel the need to endure the consequences any sooner than necessary.

The rest of the night moves quickly and effortlessly, even with the palpable tension between the squadron, and the endless discussion about the possibilities of the upcoming mission. You only manage to receive one sexist comment from Hangman regarding your outfit, and so you deem that a success.

Taglist:

@luckyladycreator2

@clockworkballerina

@dempy

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

#hangman seresin x reader #jake seresin x reader #hangman #hangman top gun #jake seresin #top gun #top gun maverick #hangman x reader

[3tabbiesandalab]

Part of a Family (Part 3)

Part 1 Part 2

Bob is adorable and the best and everyone finally sees it. Hangman is soft as. I didn’t have it in me to write SMUT sorry but I still firmly believe #bobfucks This Bob just needs someone to take care of him for a change. Hope you enjoy!

………

Bob always took care of people, even after all the horrible shit that happened to him, it was ingrained in him by his Ma to be kind and thoughtful no matter what. He didn’t even realise most of the time he was doing it and it’s not like many people even noticed anyway. Small things to make someone’s day easier, to lift them up when they needed a boost, helping someone in training or even making sure whoever wanted to sleep with him was very well looked after.

Well Bob supposed they him noticed then, mostly due their shock that the seemingly shy, awkward man actually knew what he was doing. He didn’t mind though, Bob wasn’t considerate to get praise or attention, he got that professionally by being a very good, hardworking WSO. But doing those little things for people, made him feel good and made him feel needed, while keeping everyone at arm’s length.

Bob walked towards the group as they got ready to go for a swim in the lake. He had a pile of towels under one arm and was holding a tray of beers in the other.

“Thanks man. You didn’t have to do that.” Payback said grabbing a beer from the table where Bob had just placed them.

The others, except YFN who was still inside the house, all grabbed a drink “No he didn’t, but he always does.” said Annie matter of factly.

They looked at her confused and Annie exclaimed “Are you guys serious? You’ve really never noticed all the little things Bob does for you? I have only known him for a few days and can see he’s so bloody kind to you all.” She shook her head at them, even Phoenix.

Bob was both surprised and a little embarrassed that she had noticed, and he looked around the group and they looked both perplexed and a little ashamed.

“Well fuck. You are our mother hen, aren’t you?” Rooster said looking at Bob then at the others, “Think about it people, he is always our DD, gets rounds even though he doesn’t drink and you’re the one who puts my phone on the charger when the batteries low, aren’t you?”

Phoenix shook her head as she came to realise “Oh my God. The snacks in the cockpit and you go through my reports and fix mistakes before I lodge them, no other WSO has ever done that.”

Bob looked at the ground humbled as they all continue listing the things he does, hell Bob didn’t even recognise all of them either but realised it meant that he cared about these people a lot.

“You always shower last, so we get the hot water, don’t you? I used to think it was so you could check me out.” Hangman grinned motioning to his half naked body and everyone rolled their eyes.

Bob laughed and confessed “I guess I do that, for both those reasons.” It was true, he didn’t want to use up the hot water, but Hangman was also built, and he could admire that. 

Hangman was shocked into silence and Rooster snorted.

“Huh Omaha tried to tell us when he was drunk that you rocked his world a few years back, but we though he was talking shit to get attention.” Fanboy mused, and Bob just shrugged like it was no big deal that one conversation had exposed both his kind nature and sexual orientation.

YFN had joined them, putting down tray of cut fruit before wrapping her arms around Bob’s midsection and she looked at the surprised group “Why does everyone look both shocked and guilty?”

Annie laughed “They just put two and two together about how fucking sweet your man is to them and now they feel bad they never noticed him.”

“Seriously guys. He is literally the nicest person on the planet. It is obvious he loves you all. Don’t you Robbie?” YFN smiled up at Bob, squinting her eyes slightly.

He rubbed behind his head sheepishly and said “Didn’t mean to but yeah, I do.”

Phoenix, Fanboy and Rooster all grinned widely at Bob and Payback said, “We love you too man.” and Bob smiled shyly at the statement.

Hangman remained silent still in shock and YFN mused “That doesn’t explain why Jake looks like he’s buffering though.”

Rooster laughed and clapped a hand on Hangman’s shoulder “That’s because my boyfriend here just found out he missed out on a potential shot with your boyfriend’s magical cock.” and everyone burst into laughter.

Bob put his hands up to clarify “Wait a second, I didn’t say that. Yeah, I might have admired the view, but immature Ken dolls who aggressively flirt with men with moustaches aren’t really my type.” and the loud laughter continued.

Hangman had finally come out of his stupor and quipped “Nope you can’t take it back now baby, you…” whatever joke he was about to make was stopped dead by piece of cut fruit at hitting his face.

“You snooze you lose Ken.” YFN said using the same name for him that Bob did, cuing another fit of laughter. “The magic dick is mine. Besides that, you are taken.” she giggled gesturing to Rooster.

She gave Bob a flirty smile “He always takes care of everyone so deserves someone who is going to look after him for a change, don’t you Robbie.”

Bob turned a deep pink, he hadn’t really seen this side of her yet but keened at both YFN’s claim on him and the implication that came with it, because no one had taken care of him in a long time.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Phoenix “Ok I’m done with this shit. Bob is bi whoop dee doo. YFN is quite possessive of her toys. And this sexual tension. You are as bad as Hangman and Rooster. Please just do it already. I’m swimming. Who’s coming?” she rolled her eyes and Annie, Payback and Fanboy followed her into the water.

Hangman stayed and continue ribbing YFN “I’m surprised you hit me with that fruit, you’re as blind as your boyfriend.”

YFN squinted at Hangman while giving him the finger. She reached into her pocket and put on a pair of tortoise-shell glasses “I knew it had to be you fucking with my contacts” and then she took off her dress to reveal a navy-blue bikini.

A choking sound came from the back of Bob’s throat, and he felt himself getting instantly hard at the sight of her so shifted the towels still in his arms over his front. His eyes swept up her body, she looked incredible all curves and smooth skin, but the glasses were a real surprise. Fuck if they weren’t sexy as hell and Bob swears if she was to touch him, he’d cum in his pants like a teenager.

Rooster burst out laughing “Are you serious? Her fucking fantastic boobs are on display, but it turns out a pair of bloody glasses wrecks the Navy’s sex god?! Phoenix is right, this is ridiculous. Just fuck already.” and he took a smirking Hangman’s hand and led him to the water.

YFN looked at Bob shyly through her glasses, “You don’t have to listen to them Robbie…” He cut YFN off, grabbing her hand and practically yanking her back to the house to the hoots and hollers of the group, a trail of towels left in their wake.

They both laughed breathlessly as he led her to his room. Not only had YFN seen him and cracked his defences and his heart wide open, he had never wanted someone so badly in his life and a bikini and pair of glasses was all it took to turn him into a fucking mess.

Once inside, YFN pushed him Bob against the closed door, she was flushed a pretty pink from her cheeks to her breasts, her eyes behind the glasses locked onto his and she bit her lip. Bob audibly groaned at the sight.

YFN smiled at him sweetly “You are the kindest man I have ever met. You are always looking after everyone else, and they didn’t notice. But I did Robbie. And I think kindness is so fucking sexy.” she purred as she ran her hands up his arms and into his hair, bringing him down for a deep kiss.

They kissed until they were breathless and YFN broke the kiss “I know there are the rumours of what you can do but I’m gonna take care of you first OK?” she said, and Bob just nodded his head dumbly. YFN did just as she promised and took care of him like no one else had ever done, with her hands, her mouth and her body.

………

YFN had eventually let Bob have his turn to show her what he could do, and he did not disappoint, making her fall apart over and over in every way he could.

A couple of days later, it was their turn to come up for air.

Bob and YFN were famished and made their way to the kitchen only to find Hangman making up a breakfast tray.

“Oh good you’re alive. I’m glad you didn’t kill her with your massive cock.” he quipped as YFN swatted him across the shoulder.

Hangman pushed the tray towards a confused Bob “I am being thoughtful. I guess you’re rubbing off on me baby.”

Bob smiled and laughed “Thank you Ken.”

Hangman rolled his eyes “That’s gonna stick then I see.” 

YFN chuckled, and Bob looked lovingly at her, eyes shining in amusement.

“You’re in love with her.”

It was a statement not a question from Hangman.

“Yeah, I am. I’m in love with her.” Bob said huge smile on his face as he looked at YFN. He'd figured that very quickly. 

YFN stood next to her brother smiling widely and Hangman gave Bob the most genuine look and said “That’s good. It would be kind of awkward if you didn’t, because all of us have been talking...” 

“We love you Bob. You are not just part of our family. You are the heart of it.”

………

#bob top gun #bob top gun fic #bob top gun x reader #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd #robert floyd #robert floyd x reader #robert bob floyd #hangman top gun #rooster top gun #phoenix top gun #top gun fic #top gun maverick #bobfucks #x reader

[liahswriting]

Call Sign: Sweetheart: Part 2

Relationship(s): Lt. Natasha "Phoenix" Trace/Original Female Character

Words: 16,398 (I am so sorry)

Warnings: None

Summary: Due to popular demand (really, I only needed 1 person to ask for this lmao) here is a part 2 to Call Sign: Sweetheart. Sorry it's so long. I had trouble trying to come up with a plot and connecting it to the previous fic. I didn't intent to make a part two so I had a lot of filler. Anyway, enjoy.

Phoenix had set her alarm on her phone the night before. She needed to be up early so she could head back to her hotel, get herself cleaned up, straighten out her uniform, and make it to base on time. It was day one of whatever TOPGUN had in store for her. Plus she had to walk back to her hotel. So it was imperative she woke up early enough to give herself the time she needed to get presentable. But she was also considerate of her bed mate beside her. She set her alarm for the early hours, but kept the volume down low enough to not disturb Sweetheart.

But when the alarm went off, despite its soft tone chiming in her ear, Phoenix woke to see Sweetheart up and at 'em as well. Sweetheart rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned wide while she scratched her tangled hair, seemingly forgetting for a moment that she wasn't alone in bed. Once Phoenix squirmed into an upright position, it was when Sweetheart realized her presence.

"Morning." Sweetheart smiled.

"Morning. Did I wake you? I tried to keep the volume down." she said apologetically.

"You can pull the girl out of the Navy, but the training sticks with you. I haven't slept through an alarm since I was fifteen."

"I figured you would've adjusted back to civvy life over the last two years." commented Phoenix.

"I wish." laughed Sweetheart. "Do you know how much easier my life would be if I could go a single day without connecting anything to the Navy? And being able to sleep consistently for more than three hours?"

"But that's what makes life fun!" the other woman taunted. They shared a smile with each other, watching as the life in each other's eyes take over their color. Sweetheart loved Phoenix's eyes.

"You getting ready to head out?" Sweetheart suddenly broke the moment. Phoenix realized her mission and sprung into action, grabbing her forgotten uniform and putting it on.

"I have to walk back to my hotel and finish getting ready. I might do a dry bath if I can."

"I'll drive you back. That'll give you some more time to get ready." she said, jumping from the bed and grabbing her shoes.

"You don't have to-" Phoenix went to go dismiss the woman. Her timeliness wasn't Sweetheart's problem to deal with. Phoenix knew she'd be in this predicament when she agreed to stay the night.

"I wouldn't be happy knowing I was the reason you missed your report time. I had you for the night, I can say goodbye for the day."

"Seriously, you don't have to-"

"Shut up." Sweetheart smirked and then placed a gentle kiss on her cheek to keep her quiet. "No room for arguing. Come on. If we leave now, you can take an actual shower."

Phoenix just huffed out a laugh. Sweetheart didn't take no for an answer. Neither did Phoenix, honestly, but Sweetheart always won the fight. So she stopped trying to deny the offer of a ride, and laced up her boots. Once Sweetheart had her shoes on, she grabbed a jacket to cover herself up, and then both women left the hotel, got in her car, and drove off to Phoenix's hotel.

"Let me know what's going on, yeah? If you guys need anything, I'm happy to make a food run." Sweetheart tossed out through the window as Phoenix exited the car.

"I have a feeling we're gonna need it." laughed Phoenix.

"I got a new phone, but Rooster has my number. Just shoot me a text."

"Will do." and Phoenix turned to walk off.

"Tasha!"

"Yeah?" she turned around and quirked and eyebrow.

"It was good seeing you again." Phoenix's eyebrow dropped and a genuine smile replaced it.

"You too. I'll talk to you later."

And then she disappeared into her hotel. Sweetheart sat behind the steering wheel for a moment, letting everything from the past 24 hours sink in. It hit her all at once, that it happened. It was real. And then she squealed and did a happy dance in her seat like she was in high school and just got asked to the prom.

"Holy shit." she murmured to herself. "Okay, get yourself together."

She should go out and buy something pretty to wear. And take Tasha out on a date. Yeah. She put her car in drive and almost sped her way back to her hotel so she could put on some real clothes. Clothes that wouldn't make people grimace at her and dare to ask her why on Earth she decided to go out in public in them.

She dolled up a little bit: dressed in some decent clothes, ran a brush through her hair, brushed her teeth. And then she headed out again. It was early. Not many places would be open at this hour. If the sun wasn't up, neither were people. But there was always a boutique open somewhere in California. Heavy tourism practically demanded it. And she was determined to find it. A simple Google search told her what stores were open and where they were located. There weren't many, but it was a start.

Today was a day for pampering. She deserved it after everything she's been through. And now she has Tasha back in her life. Who, by the way, hasn't sent a single message yet. Sweetheart kept looking at her phone as she shopped around, hoping either she or Rooster would pop in with an update.

"It's only been an hour. Calm down." she told herself and then stuffed her phone back in her pocket.

She rummaged through another rack of clothes. Nothing popped out at her. She wanted something nice that Phoenix would like. Phoenix once made a comment about a shirt Sweetheart had -a dark navy blue shirt that Sweetheart had dubbed her 'I don't have anything to wear' shirt. Phoenix said she looked good in it. Sweetheart hadn't ever taken a second look at her shirt until then. After that, it was her favorite shirt to wear and would find as many opportunities to wear it as possible. Until it got bleach on it. It was a sad farewell.

Sweetheart felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Excitedly, she pulled it out. Her smile fell when the notification ended up being the daily weather forecast. Sunny. Gee, who would've taken a guess at that. She put her phone away again...... After looking at it one more time in hopes Phoenix or Rooster would say something.

Sweetheart spent a few hours shopping around. She managed to find something nice to wear. Even bought a pair of shoes to go with it since she only brought her sneakers and her sandals. After that, she grabbed a quick brunch and a drink. All the while still staring at her damn phone. Seriously? Not a single text from either of them?! Her mom sent her a text though asking for a check-in. Making sure she's still alive and whatnot.

After brunch, she decided to walk along the pier. Anything to keep her mind off of the fact that TASHA ISN'T TEXTING! LIKE SHE SAID SHE WOULD!

It was warm outside. Not hot, just warm. It felt nice. Reminds Sweetheart of the time she and Phoenix went to the beach when they had an off day from work. Off days were few and far between, so they made sure to do anything and everything they could cram into those 24 hours. Sweetheart remembers one time when she got attacked by an entire grouping of seagulls because they saw she had a pretzel. Instead of helping, Phoenix was laughing her ass off and video taping it. And then Sweetheart tripped in the sand the seagulls covered over her fallen body as they attacked the pretzel that had been tossed from her hand.

"You should've just let it go." Phoenix hardly got the words out because she was laughing too damn hard.

"I paid ten-fucking-dollars for it! I wasn't gonna waste it!"

Sweetheart laughed as she thought back on it. She didn't laugh then, but now it was hilarious. She wonders if Phoenix still has that video?

There were a lot of memories here from when they were first at TOPGUN all those years ago. Like here on the pier, where they watched the sun set and then kissed like they were in a movie. And over there by the shops where Phoenix almost accidentally stole something because it got caught on her foot as she was walking out and the staff practically chased her down for it. And there by the ice cream parlor where they had their first official date. They had been together for months on base before they could actually go out and do something. At the time they were in a rush and could only spare a few moments. So they grabbed ice cream here, got some drinks at the Hard Deck, then went back to base. It wasn't much, but it was the beginning of something good.

Soon enough, the day had come and gone, the sun was setting, and Sweetheart was ready to head back to her hotel. Still no sign from Phoenix or Rooster. She had half a mind to send a text out just to make sure they were all good. She was sure they were just held up with training, or whatever it is they're doing. At this point, she probably wouldn't hear from either one of them until tomorrow after they had gotten some sleep. So she just ordered a late dinner, put her phone on the charger, and decided to shower while she waited for her food to arrive.

The hot water felt nice. The type of nice after a long day when you're just so worn out. Where you've spent hours upon hours just working yourself to death. Sweetheart remembers one time during training when she was just pushed well past her limits. It had several days of testing her mental capabilities in the air, as well as working her physical body to peak perfection. She had been ready to collapse, but held out because Rooster was going to throw Phoenix a birthday party at his place, and Sweetheart wanted to be there.

The party started off fine. There were some drinks, lots of music, games, and whatnot. Tasha was living it up, as she should seeing that she was the birthday girl. When presents started passing around, Sweetheart just felt something inside her shut down. She got dizzy and the room started to spin. The last thing she remembered was Tasha and Rooster rushing to her side, and then it just went black. When she woke up, she found herself in Rooster's bed with a worried Tasha wiping at her forehead with a wet cloth.

"You had me so worried!" she practically screeched, throwing her arms around Sweetheart in a tight hug.

"I guess I was just overworked. It's been a long week, Tasha. I'm sorry I ruined your birthday."

After getting some cold fluids in her from an equally worried Rooster, Sweetheart was then taken to the bathroom with promises of relaxation. Tasha had filled the tub with warm water and some of Rooster's bath soap. She then stripped the both of them of their clothes and they stepped into the steaming water. Tasha sat behind Sweetheart, keeping her arms around the tired frame of her girlfriend. She peppered kisses to her clammy shoulder and all Sweetheart could do was melt against her touch. They stayed like that for what felt like forever. But it was Sweetheart's favorite place to be.

Sweetheart heard her phone beep from the other room, pulling her out of her memory and excitedly peeking her head behind the shower curtain. It was either Phoenix or Rooster, or her food. And while she hoped it was the first option, she wouldn't be upset if her food was almost here.

She quickly scrubbed the last of the conditioner out of her hair, rinsed off the last of the body wash, turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, and wrapped a towel around her as she entered the bedroom. She grabbed her phone to see a new text message from an unknown phone number. All it said was her name followed by a question mark. It was Tasha!

"Hey, how was first day of TOPGUN?" she replied back. A second later, a new text message came through.

"A lot has happened. Free to talk?"

"Yeah, just one second. Just got out of the shower."

"Without me? :)"

Sweetheart had to contain herself from squealing again. But a blush was heavy on her cheeks. She could feel it. Quickly she got dressed in some pajamas and then dialed Phoenix's number.

"Took you long enough." Phoenix joked.

"Sorry. Been lost in thought for awhile."

"Thinking about?"

"You." Sweetheart gave the one-worded answer easily. She heard the other woman hitch her breath through the phone.

"And? Care to share with the class what's got you all distracted?" Phoenix urged with a teasing lust.

"Hmm. We'll save that conversation for another day. As much as I love phone sex, I'm really interested in what happened today." she said and Phoenix huffed.

"Where do I begin?" she asked rhetorically. "Hangman was being his usual asshole self, for starters."

"I don't even want to imagine how arrogant he was."

"He gets one air-to-air kill and makes it his entire personality, and then thinks that will single-handedly make him qualified for this mission."

"Mission? You guys got called back for a mission?" Sweetheart interrupted, a worried glower in her eyes as she stared at nothing.

"Yeah. Not really sure how much I'm allowed to share, but basically we've all been asked back to take down an enemy plant. And Hangman seems to think he's the only one qualified for the job. Him and Rooster kept butting heads during BFM training. Which, ultimately, cost me."

"Whatdyu mean? Hangman didn't kill your chances, did he?"

"No. Not yet, at least. But my arms are still sore from having to do 200 pushups thanks to Payback's stupid gamble."

"Why the fuck would Payback gamble out 200 pushups?!" Sweetheart asked in surprise. That was stupid, even for him. "I hope he had to join you in that punishment."

"Oh he did, don't you worry. Although it's making me wish you were here, ya know. With you as my partner, we've never lost."

"I wasn't sure with myself if I could stomach being back here." she admitted solemnly. This wasn't the time to get into the topic, but something had to be said. "I wasn't positive that I could handle the memories of what happened. Or having to face you on the off chance you wouldn't forgive me. I figured this was the safest course of action for me."

"Listen, I'm not blaming you for your decision. I get it. And I want you to do what's best for yourself. But that doesn't stop me from missing you behind me."

"Funny, usually you're behind me. Quite honestly, I prefer it that way." Sweetheart changed the conversation to something more light-hearted. And the innuendo was not lost on Phoenix. The brunette practically snorted with laughter.

"Well, keep sweet-talking me like that and we'll see what happens."

"Is that a promise, Lieutenant?"

"Oh it absolutely is."

"What's the time-frame for the mission? Is there any room for me to wiggle in at some point?"

"The entire thing is gonna be a few weeks. And based on what the Captain outlined, it's gonna be pretty loaded and hard-hitting until we set out for the actual mission." explained Phoenix.

"Damn." Sweetheart huffed. "You'll have to keep me updated."

"I will." Phoenix promised. "Oh! And speaking of the Captain, does the name Captain Pete Mitchell ring a bell at all? Call sign: Maverick?"

The question threw Sweetheart for a loop. What that had to do with anything, she wasn't sure. But she thought on it anyway. It took her a minute to rack through her brain for the name. It rang a bell. A small, quiet bell. But a bell nonetheless.

"Uh. Yeah. Kind of. He's another TOPGUN graduate, right? Supposed to be one of the best in the entire Navy. Why?"

"Rooster's got beef with him. Serious beef. And it manifested in training today -almost cost him his life. I tried to talk to him about it, but Rooster shut me out. I was wondering if you knew anything. He's got me worried."

Hearing the confession made her choke on air. Rooster was her friend, and just the thought of him being so careless like that and almost dying had her worried beyond belief. Rooster was not one to be so reckless. Hell, that's how he got the call sign Rooster. He waits. He's calculated. He's safe. What's going on?

"I haven't talked to Rooster, like actually talked, in at least a year. Maybe more." Sweetheart admitted. "But, even still, he never brought up the name Maverick before."

"It was worth a shot...." Phoenix trailed off. "Maybe you can talk to him. See what's going on. Because not only is he putting his life in danger, he's putting the rest of ours as well. If he gets kicked off this mission, we're left with Bagman. And, at that point, we might as well just say game over for us all."

"I'll talk to him. You're right; if Hangman is in charge, no one is gonna be coming home."

Sweetheart and Phoenix chatted for a bit more. Sweetheart's dinner arrive shortly and Phoenix had bid her a goodnight so she could eat in peace. Plus Phoenix had to be up early again tomorrow and she needed the sleep after the day she had today.

The following day panned out similar to the previous day. Sweetheart spent most of her time alone, just aimlessly walking about as she tried to pass the time until she could call Rooster and talk to him. She worried for her friend. Rooster had always been there for her, even when she shut him out, so the least she could do was lend an ear to him.

Her phone was silent all day as both Phoenix and Rooster were occupied with their training. It had to be brutal. She wondered just what they were up to. She remembered her time at TOPGUN -it wasn't fun at first. You were put through the ringer and tested on not only the things you knew but also the things you didn't know. But it wasn't all bad. There were good times at TOPGUN. The friends you make, the gratifying feeling of accomplishing something, and plus you get to fly fighter jets. Like, who wouldn't want to do that?!

Being in the backseat was a great feeling. Having Phoenix be her wingman in the sky was what made everything fun and worth it. Sweetheart missed it, and she somewhat started to question her decision to turn down the call. No one would ever be able to fly a plan smoother than Phoenix. No one would ever make Sweetheart feel as safe in a flying weapon as Phoenix did. They were a team. And she felt like she let her teammate down. Who did Phoenix even get paired up with? She didn't ask.

After dinner, Sweetheart spent a few hours at The Hard Deck just talking with Penny to keep herself occupied. Penny was a sweet woman and coming back here felt like coming back home. Penny asked her how she was doing, what she was up to, and all that good stuff. They talked as the older woman handed out drinks. Sweetheart suddenly had a thought, and decided to try her luck with it.

"What can you tell me about Pete Mitchell?" Sweetheart asked, taking a sip of her rum and coke.

"Maverick? What about him?" questioned the woman.

"Just wondering. I'm told him and Rooster aren't getting along."

"Oh. That." Penny said, sparking Sweetheart's interest. She leaned against the bar top trying to get closer for the details. "Listen, it's not really my place to talk about it. Have you talked to Rooster?"

Sweetheart sat back, dejected at not having any gossip to invest in. She took another sip of her drink.

"Waiting for him to be dismissed. Phoenix told me she tried to get something out of him, but he kept quiet. It's got me worried."

"Rooster is a grown man. You can't make him talk if he doesn't want to. But at least he's got a friend like you to go to if he does want to talk."

"Well, I owe him that much. I'm gonna go try him, see if he's done for the day."

She left her half finished drink on the bar and walked outside where it was quieter. She pulled out her phone and dialed Rooster's number. As expected, the call got forwarded to his voicemail. She left the standard message: hey, it's me, just calling to check in on ya. Call me back. Ya know, that spiel. But less than 60 seconds later, he called her right back.

"Rooster?"

"Hey, what's up."

"Nothing. Just calling to get my daily report." she chuckled lightly. "I got the basic run down from Tasha yesterday. Anything new today?"

"Not really. It's tough out here but we're all managing." Rooster replied easily, yet the tone of his voice was curt.

"Yeah? Even with Hangman on your ass?"

"He's not helping, but it could be worse."

"Hey, can I ask you a personal question?" Sweetheart gingerly steered the topic.

"Uh, sure?"

"Can I ask you what your history is with Maverick?" she asked him, and Rooster was silent for several seconds. Sweetheart could just see the veins in his neck twitching as he clenched his jaw.

"And what do you know about Maverick?" he clipped.

"Just asking. Phoenix told me you scared her yesterday with some dangerous stunt you pulled. That's not like you, and it's got me worried."

"It's none of your business!"

"Come on, Bradshaw. You've always been there for me. Let me be there for you." she begged of him. "Tell me what's going on."

"Maverick is the reason my dad is dead....." she heard him spit through the phone. "And then he had the audacity to pull my papers from the Naval Academy and set my career back four fucking years!"

Sweetheart stood silent. The conversation went quiet. The only sounds she could hear were from the bar behind her and from Rooster trying to calm himself with some breathing. Her mouth ran dry as she tried to think of something to say to that. What does she say?

"I'm so sorry, Rooster."

"Listen, I don't wanna fucking get into this right now. I'm tired, okay?"

"Rooster, you gotta promise me you'll keep a level head through this." she pleaded with him. "Whatever's between you and Maverick, it's not worth dying over. It's not worth putting the rest of the team at risk. I care about you and I want you to come home from whatever mission you're on, okay? And afterwards we'll hang out together. You and me. Like old times."

"Yeah, whatever." he tried to play it off. But it wasn't a promise.

"Promise me, Bradley Bradshaw!"

"Okay! I promise."

"Good."

"Listen, I gotta go."

"Call me if you need anything. I'm just twenty minutes away."

And then the call died. And Sweetheart was left standing in the sand, staring at her phone, looking like an idiot that got stood up on a date. She worried about him.

Many days passed and Rooster hadn't called her again. Phoenix did though, and she offered any updates that she could when asked about it. But the updates were very few considering the only thing the team is focused on is mastering their aircrafts. Rooster seemed to calm down over the days based on Phoenix's lack of reporting on out-of-character actions from him. At least that was a good sign.

"So when can I take you out?" she asked the brunette during another one of their phone calls. Sweetheart laid on her hotel bed on her stomach, phone pressed to her ear, and kicking her feet in the air like a teenager.

"How about now?" Phoenix surprised her with her answer.

"Now?"

"Grab a bathing suit. We're going to the beach!"

"What? Beach? You're actually serious."

"Listen, I'm not gonna question it. We've got a free day, and I intend on taking it. So get your cute butt in a bathing suit and get to the beach! Or else I'll drag you from your hotel room myself."

"Actually, I kinda like that sound of that. You gonna bring some rope?" teased Sweetheart. She wiggled her eyebrows as if Phoenix was in front of her. Even thought Phoenix couldn't see it, she sensed it.

"I'll wipe that look off your face. If you follow orders and come to the beach, I'll bring some rope."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now come on. We're all heading out soon."

Sweetheart excitedly threw herself off the bed and rummaged through her bag for her bathing suit. She knew packing it was a good idea, and now she had the chance to wear it. And it was a cute one too. She got it right before she came to San Diego, hoping to impress Phoenix if their reunion yielded a positive result -which it did.

She tossed on a loose shirt over top of it, put on her sandals, grabbed a towel, and packed a small carry-on of essentials, and then headed to the beach. The ocean wasn't far from her hotel. A bit of a walk, yes, but given the heavy tourism traffic it was much more efficient to walk than to drive.

Today couldn't have been a better day for the beach. The sun was high in the sky, it was hot out, it was just perfect for the water. Sweetheart found a somewhat empty patch of sand and laid out her towel. She waited for Phoenix to text her telling her when they arrived. In the meantime, she covered herself in some sunscreen, flipped down her aviators, and lounged back to bask in the sun's rays. She hoped Tasha would like her bathing suit. What would Tasha be wearing? She's seen the brunette in nothing but a bra and panties before -if you don't count completely naked- and she is a sight to behold. Everything about her was just perfect...... Oh those were some dangerous thoughts to be having in public. Sweetheart looked around as if she could catch if people could read her mind.

Impatiently, Sweetheart watched the clock on her phone tick the minutes. Just waiting for a text, a call, something. And then.....

"We're here. You?"

"Kept me waiting long enough <3 Where are you?"

"We came in through the entrance by the hotel."

"I'll come find you."

Sweetheart quickly grabbed her stuff and practically ran down the beach towards them. She pushed through crowds of people, all of them watching her with irritated expressions as she pretty much gave no second thought to the people she pushed aside. But to hell with it. She didn't care. All she could think about was Tasha.... And maybe Rooster.... But mostly Tasha.

It was easy picking out the group of pilots on the beach. They were the only group where everyone was wearing aviators and had the physique of a military man (or woman). None of them spotted her approaching them, so she took the opportunity to do something cute. Carefully, she set her stuff down just a little ways away from theirs and snuck up behind Tasha, throwing her arms around the woman and yelling 'boo' in her ear. Tasha jumped and quickly whirled around, ready to punch whoever invaded her personal space. But she relaxed when she saw Sweetheart.

"Hey! You made it!" the pilot hugged her tightly.

"Was I not supposed to?" Sweetheart cheekily replied, which prompted a flick on her forehead.

"Hey there, Sweetheart!" Rooster greeted much happier than he did on the phone call. He came and gave her a hug, which caused the others to come give her a hug too. Fanboy hugged her so tightly and picked her up off the sand, making her squeal a bit.

"Didn't realize you were still here, Sweetheart!" he happily cheered.

"Can't get rid of me that easily, Garcia."

"Come on, girl. You gotta stop with the last name." he waved her off.

"Technically not Navy anymore." she reminded him.

"That means nothing. You'll always be one of us!"

"Yeah, Sweetheart. Once a pilot, always a pilot." Payback chimed in.

"Come on, enough talk. Let's play." said Coyote, holding up a football in his hand.

"Later, I'm stealing this cutie for a little bit." Phoenix said, giving a shoulder bump to Sweetheart as she spoke, making said woman conceal a grin. This garnered attention towards her, and she could hear Rooster whistle playfully.

Phoenix took her hand, intertwining their fingers, and pulled her down the shore away from everyone. But Sweetheart could feel eyes on them as they walked away. Everyone was watching them lean against each other and act all lovey dovey. But she didn't care. All she cared about was the woman beside her.

"I didn't realize so many people had been called back." Sweetheart randomly spoke. "Who are the others?"

"Well you already know most of them. The others you've probably heard of. Like Logan 'Yale' Lee and his WSO Brigham 'Harvard' Lennox are part of the Red Rippers. And Callie 'Halo' Bassett is part of the Redcocks." she said, pointing to each person she spoke of. "She's Neil 'Omaha' Vikander's WSO who is part of the Nighthawks."

"And that guy?" Sweetheart asked, pointing to the guy who refused to take his shirt off for whatever reason.

"Robert 'Bob' Floyd. He's my WSO. Comes from Lemoore. He's part of the Screaming Eagles."

"WSO huh? How does he hold up?" Sweetheart wiggled her eyebrow teasingly.

"He's not you, that's for sure." she replied. "But he stands alright. A bit awkward but nice."

"Well not everyone is brave enough to handle you."

"You've never complained before." Phoenix teased back, throwing her arm over Sweetheart's shoulders and pulling her into her side. She pressed a kiss to Sweetheart's cheek.

"I'm not complaining now. Although you did promise to bring some rope." she reminded.

"Later." Phoenix teased. "Right now, I just want to enjoy spending some time with you. It's been so long since it was just the two of us."

"It's not really just the two of us considering we've got those guys watching our every move." she pointed to the gaggle of pilots that seemed to be miles away. They were immersed into their game of football, tackling each other into the sand and cheering each other on. It didn't appear that anyone was on any sort of 'team'.

"Hangman's just upset you won't suck his dick." laughed the brunette. "Rooster just misses you. And the others? Well you let's just say Fanboy had a bet going seeing how long it takes us before we get back together."

"Have you given any thought of us getting back together?"

"I've thought about it a lot." she admitted.

"And?"

"And..... I want to. It's just, I feel really guilty for the things I've said to you. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for treating you like dog shit when you were suffering really bad."

"I don't hate you for it." soothed Sweetheart. "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the fact that we had to come to this."

"You could've come to me. I would've done whatever I could to help you."

"I know that. I was just afraid. But not anymore. I'm tired of hiding, and letting this ruin my life. I miss being with you in a fighter jet, traveling the world, taking down the bad guys."

"It's not too late. It could still be you and me." Phoenix turned to her, cupping her face in her hands and stroking her cheeks. "We're a team. We've always been a team. I can't remember a time where it wasn't you in the jet behind me. I don't trust anyone else at my six."

"I already got my discharge. I've been dismissed. It's done."

"But you were called back. That's gotta count for something! Maybe we can get you your RE code, and you can come back. TOPGUN wanted you back, maybe you can reenlist through that and bypass all that paperwork bullshit."

"It's been too long, Tasha." Sweetheart said solemnly. "I'm way too rusty to be in the sky again."

"So you'll have to spend a few weeks back in basics again. So what? It's not the end of the world."

"I don't know, Tasha."

"Please? It's not the same without you."

The two women stood at the edge of the water, staring into each other's eyes as if the rest of the world didn't exist. And, to Sweetheart, it didn't. All she saw was Natasha Trace, the woman she's loved for years. The woman she wanted to marry one day. And the way Phoenix was stroking her cheeks with her thumbs was a comfort that brought back memories of the times she used to caress her face as they lay in bed together, basking in the afterglow of sex, when the endorphins were high and they were drunk on love. Life was boring without Natasha Trace. The transition back to civilian life was an adjustment that Sweetheart never got used to. She missed the Navy. She missed being a pilot. And she was angry that her life was stolen from her by a man who got his kicks abusing his power.

"I'll have to think about it. At the very least, it's too late to come back to TOPGUN. The mission is already underway and you have a new WSO. I won't have a place to fit in."

"After this mission, you and I are gonna spend some time together. And then maybe the Captain will let you do some training to get your wings all polished."

"If he even cares. Speaking of, how's Rooster holding out with Maverick?"

"Rooster's still closing himself off. He's not getting along with the Captain, but at least he hasn't almost killed himself again."

"Well that's good at least."

"Did he tell you what's going on?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if it's my place to share it. It runs deep, Tasha. And, quite frankly, I'm on Rooster's side. If what he says is true, I think his anger is justified. I worry where his head is at, but I don't think he's in the wrong here."

"As long as he doesn't ruin his chances for being on this mission. If I end up with Hangman, I might just drop out of this mission altogether." Phoenix sighed heavily.

"Enough talk about this. Now's not the time to be upset about work. Let's have some fun." Sweetheart attempted to cheer the woman up.

"We could go play football with the guys. Let's go beat their asses. Some of them deserve it."

"I'm always down to beat the shit outta Hangman." she said and both women laughed.

They intertwined their fingers again and turned around to walk back to the group. When they approached, Rooster and Fritz were celebrating triumphantly over something. Rooster flexed his muscles to show off the definition, getting into a muscle show-off with Hangman. But it seemed to be all in good fun as both men laughed and playfully pushed at each other.

"Hey boys." greeted Sweetheart. "Got room?"

"Hey hey, Sweetheart! Come on, girl. You and me!" hollered Fanboy.

"Nah, she's with me. Get your own partner." Phoenix defended.

"Come on, Nat. Don't be like that. We can share!"

"Phoenix? Share? Ha!" Rooster roared out a laugh, stabilizing himself on his knees.

"Phoenix doesn't share, but Sweetheart loves sharing. Ain't that right, darlin?" winked Hangman. Sweetheart wanted to throw up in her mouth. Phoenix was in offense mode, ready to defend her, but she held the brunette back.

"Come on, Hangman. I'll kick your ass no problem. Pick your team and let's fight."

"Ohhoooo, Sweetheart. I'll take that bet. Alright, pretty girl. I'll go easy on you. You can have Rooster and whoever else you pick. You can even pick first."

"Careful, Bagman. I don't think your reputation could sink any further by losing than it already has."

"Then put your money where your mouth is, honey. Make your bet."

"I'm not sucking your dick."

"Come on, guys. Stop fighting and let's play." Fanboy begged with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, we're here to have fun. It's not that big 'a deal." Fritz followed behind Fanboy, also annoyed at the fight that was brewing.

Both Hangman and Sweetheart dropped the argument for now, but both of them knew it wasn't over. However, Fanboy and Fritz were right. Today was a fun day, and they were all determined to kick back and relax. Everyone split into two teams: Sweetheart, Phoenix, Rooster, Halo, Fanboy, and Bob on one team. Hangman, Coyote, Fritz, Yale, Harvard, and Payback on another. The game was simple -first team to break through the other's defense three times, or whoever got three tackles first would be the winner.

The first round started off with Rooster holding the football, eventually passing it off to Fanboy when he started getting boxed in by Hangman, Fritz, and Yale. Fanboy ended up getting tackled by Harvard and Coyote. The second round had Coyote taking the ball, passing it off to Payback, who passed it off to Harvard. Harvard got to running, ready to elbow through the barricade that Bob, Phoenix, and Halo formed. Sweetheart and Rooster chased after him, reaching out to grasp at him and yank him back until he fell to the ground.

Round three was quick. Sweetheart had the ball and she told Rooster to go long. Rooster ran past everyone, getting to the fake end zone where Sweetheart threw the ball as far as she could. He ended up catching it, scoring the touchdown. And then round four was where it all went wrong. Payback took the ball. He decided to hog it and just brute force his way through the defense. Sweetheart ran behind him, attempting to get a tackle. But she was side swiped by Hangman who just bull slammed her to the ground. She fell onto her shoulder, and she felt something pop.

"FUCK! FUCK GOD DAMN IT!" she wailed out, getting a mouthful of sand as she writhed on the ground.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?!" Rooster angrily slapped at Hangman before rushing to his friend's side. Phoenix knelt to the ground beside her, quickly assessing the damage. And then Captain Mitchell rushed to aid.

"Something popped! Holy shit it hurts!" Sweetheart hissed out.

"Come on, let's get you sitting." Maverick said and both Rooster and Phoenix carefully helped Sweetheart to her butt. She cried out through clenched teeth as the pain radiated down her entire left side.

"Oooooh that doesn't look good." Sweetheart heard Bob whisper out.

"Damn, Hangman. Someone needs anger management classes." Payback had said, and whether or not that was meant to be a joke, Sweetheart didn't take kindly to it.

"Everyone shut the fuck up!"

"You'll be alright." Maverick tried to calm her. "Easy fix. Just take a deep breath." he instructed her as he splayed his palm against her shoulder blade.

Sweetheart braced herself, taking a deep breath like he said, and giving her free hand to Rooster so she could hold onto something in case she passes out. Maverick counted to three, and then shoved the bone back into its socket. Sweetheart cursed to the high heavens when he did that. Pain engulfed her and nausea threatened to consume her. When he told her that everything was back in place, she fell to her back to try and ground herself so she didn't black out.

"That was not cool, man." she heard Coyote say. And when Coyote goes against his own friend, you know Hangman really fucked up. But Hangman didn't seem to think so.

"I'm just playing the game." he chuckled out arrogantly. "Maybe it's best she left the Navy. She can't handle a little tackle football, how is she gonna handle a fighter jet?"

"Bite me, asshole!" she spit at him, wobbling as she got to her feet and readied herself for an actual physical fight.

"Only because you asked oh so nicely, darlin."

"You're real conceited for someone who got one achievement and made it your entire personality! You're just a shit pilot and are trying to cover it up!"

"Between the two of us, which one is still a pilot?" he calmly responded, an ugly smirk plastering his fucking face.

Sweetheart lunged at him, only getting millimeters from him as Rooster held her back. But Phoenix was ready to back her up as she too swiped a fist at him. But Fanboy held her back as well.

"I'll take you outta the sky any day! You're garbage! You couldn't keep up even if we gave you a head start!" claimed Sweetheart.

"Alright! Everyone! Calm down!" yelled Maverick. "That's an order!"

Everyone halted their motions, one by one taking a deep breath and relaxing themselves until the threat of physical violence was no longer a main concern. Rooster still had a hold on her, and Fanboy on Phoenix, but they got shrugged off as the two women made their way into each other's space. And then Maverick caught everyone's attention, but his focus was only on Sweetheart.

"You're a pilot?" he merely asked her. Sweetheart straightened up when he addressed her. Call it force of habit. She ignored the thumping of pain in her shoulder.

"Yes, Sir. I was, Sir."

"Name?" he asked her, and she freely gave it. Former rank, call sign, all of it. "And your service record?"

"I am a TOPGUN graduate. Former WSO for Lieutenant Trace and The Black Aces in Afghanistan. Been stationed all over the East Coast since I was eighteen."

"WSO?" he eyed between the two women curiously. "Are you supposed to be here, Lieutenant."

"I'm not a Lieutenant anymore, Sir. But I did get the call back. I declined it."

"Why?"

"Personal reasons."

"She didn't make the cut. She just won't admit it." taunted Hangman, which riled her up once more. She tried to take a swing at him but was intercepted once more by Rooster.

"I'll leave you in the dust, Bagman! Phoenix and I could take you down before you could finish saying goodbye to your mommy!"

"You wanna bet?!" he spat back.

"I said that's enough!" yelled Maverick once more. He stepped between to two of them, acting as a barrier to prevent any more fighting. "If you really want to take each other on, do it in the air!"

"With pleasure, Sir." Hangman grinned sickeningly. "I will happily take them down."

"I second the motion." chimed Phoenix with an equally sickening tone.

"Alright, everyone calm down." Rooster tried to be the middle man. "We'll talk about this later."

He began to pull both Sweetheart and Phoenix away from the scene, attempting to calm them down as much as he could. Once the three of them were far enough away, they all let out an exasperated sigh and relaxed the tense muscles they hadn't realized were knotted up.

"I really wanna punch him in the face." Sweetheart muttered.

"Trust me, I do too." replied Phoenix.

"Why'd you have to make that stupid bet with him?" asked Rooster. "You do realize that if you don't actually take him up in the air, he's never going to let it go."

"Relax. I doubt the Captain will allow me on base to actually fight him."

"I dunno. Maverick seemed pretty serious about it." said Phoenix.

"Oh please. I'm not even part of the mission. I'm pretty sure unauthorized personnel on sight would be literally kicked out." she tried to wave them off, but her shoulder was still throbbing so she dropped her hand.

"Can we just forget about it? I don't wanna think about Bagman anymore. Not when we have this day to ourselves." begged the brunette pilot.

She was right, so the three of them agreed to put the last ten minutes behind them and continue on with their day like it didn't happen. Sweetheart's recent injury put a stop to any plans they may have had to go swimming, so they opted to just wade in the water for a little while before heading up the beach to grab something to eat. After a quick lunch, Rooster split to give the two women some alone time, which was greatly appreciated.

They enjoyed being able to actually have time with each other after all these years. It made Sweetheart realize that she didn't give Phoenix enough credit as a girlfriend. Being without her the last two years was miserable. And she was positive that had she just been honest about what happened, the present day would be completely different. Maybe she would've stayed in the Navy. Maybe she would've gone back to The Black Aces with Phoenix after graduation.

There was no point in dwelling on the past. The only thing they could do now was rebuild what they lost. And, so far, it was working out perfectly. They walked down memory lane for a little while, revisiting old spots. Then they went back to the water to cool off as the sun got even hotter throughout the afternoon. One game of water tag, a few sandcastles, and a deep tan later, they called it a day and went to go grab dinner at a little seafood diner spot not too far off from the beach. They shared some shrimp, had a few drinks, and Sweetheart even treated her girl to some cheesecake for dessert.

And then Phoenix got the dreaded text message from Rooster that let her know everyone was heading back to base and to meet up with them.

"You gotta go?"

"Yeah." she sighed reluctantly.

"I'll walk you back to the beach. I don't wanna say goodbye yet."

"Awe, you're cute." Phoenix lovingly pinched at her cheek like a mother would her child. Despite Sweetheart slapping her hand away, she couldn't help the blush that painted her face.

They walked back down the beach hand-in-hand. Fingers entwined just a little bit tighter as the shore came into view. Today was a good day, and Sweetheart was already discussing plans on the next time they can get together, much to Phoenix's enjoyment. The brunette kept saying how adorable she was when she was excited.

The group of pilots were visible now. All huddled together around their Captain as he talked to them about something. Hangman responded back, his arrogance clear on his face even from all the way back here. Rooster was annoyed and rolled his eyes. As the two women got closer, they captured the others' attention.

"Didn't think you'd have the balls to show up." Hangman was first to speak. Sweetheart took a deep breath to prevent herself from literally spitting in his face.

"Enough, Lieutenant." Maverick put a stop to it before it could start. "Phoenix, we're heading back. Sweetheart? I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning. Eight am sharp."

"Wait, what?" Sweetheart uttered in surprise and confusion.

"You can back out now if you wanna. I won't hold it against you, swear it." Hangman faux promised, holding his hand up in a scout's honor that everyone knew he wouldn't abide by even if his life depended on it.

"Wait, you're actually serious about letting us fight it out? I'm not a pilot anymore. Surely that breaks some sort of code?" Sweetheart tried to reason with the older man.

"I don't care if you're still active or not. Once a pilot, always a pilot. Besides, it'll be good training for everyone." he responded confidently. "Tomorrow. Eight am. Don't be late."

The Captain walked away, signalling for everyone to follow. They did, but Phoenix stayed back a moment to give Sweetheart a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"It'll be alright." she soothed. "I'll see you tomorrow. And we'll give Hangman a good beating. You and me." Another hug, and she was off, leaving Sweetheart alone to process what just happened.

Sweetheart had a hard time sleeping that night. She was up tossing and turning, picturing what the day ahead was going to consist of. A huge part of her was a bit terrified. It's been two years since she was in a fighter jet. And on top of it, they bet against Hangman of all people. If this didn't go right, he will use it to abuse both her and Phoenix for the rest of their lives. Why did she have to make that stupid bet? It was the heat of the moment, she didn't mean it!

But when the alarm went off at 06:30 am, she couldn't hide any more. She had an hour and a half to get presentable and make it to base or else..... She didn't have her uniform with her -but then again why would she? She didn't expect to go back to TOPGUN. She was just here for Tasha. And Bradley. She hoped a pair of jeans and a plain shirt would suffice. Besides, she'd be putting on a pilot's suit anyway.

She made sure to pay extra attention to her appearance: she gelled her hair a little bit more, parted it in that way she used to when she was still active, pinned back the stragglers she keeps saying she'll get taken care of but never does. Then she brushed her teeth a little bit longer than usual, straightened her shoe laces before tying them up, and flattened down any wrinkles in her clothes. And then she grabbed her car keys and phone, and headed out of the hotel.

She knew the drive to base very well. She hadn't forgotten it at all. It felt like yesterday she was first here with Tasha. Seeing the gates as she pulled up felt like the first time too.

"Can I help you?" a man stopped her. His name badge said Coleman on it.

"Um, hi. I've been called here by Captain Mitchell." Sweetheart responded.

"You must be Sweetheart, then."

"Yes, Sir."

"He's waiting for you. Go on in."

The gates opened, allowing her in. Coleman told her where to park her car and where to meet Maverick, but she already knew that, and she was able to get her shit together fairly quickly despite panicking hardcore on the inside. Walking towards the hangar didn't help one bit, and seeing everyone anxiously huddled and looking around didn't help either. She caught Phoenix's eyes -the woman smiling widely at her appearance- and found herself relaxing slightly. Tasha always calmed her.

Phoenix ran her way, meeting her in the middle, and throwing her arms around her shoulders.

"I was afraid you'd back out." she whispered in her ear.

"I almost did. Honestly? I feel like puking." Sweetheart responded back.

"You'll be fine. There's nothing you and I can't do."

"It's not about not being able to do it. It's more like if we don't beat Hangman, it'll be the end of our careers. Or, well, your career and my life."

"No. Don't act like that." she sternly pointed a finger. "We'll kick his ass and make him cry. He deserves it."

"I'll do my best, Lieutenant." Sweetheart playfully saluted, making the brunette laugh. They then walked back to the group, ready to face the music.

Hangman didn't even try to hide his arrogance. He was twirling that ugly toothpick like he always does, the whites of his teeth shining behind his lips as he smiled over the wood. Sweetheart hated when he did that. The toothpick was a stupid signature trademark of his. It didn't make sense to her. He probably thought it made him look tough, but really it just made him look like even more of an asshole than he already was.

"You ready to lose, darlin'?"

Exhibit A.

"I hope we get your defeat on camera, Bagman. I want to replay it every night before I go to sleep." Phoenix was quick to retort. Her comment did little, if any, to deter him.

"Alright, everyone take a seat. We'll do a quick rundown on the course and then you'll get in your jets.." Maverick interrupted.

No one argued against him and took their seats in the makeshift classroom in the center of the hangar. Everyone appeared to be sitting with their wingman -as evident by the fact that Phoenix was sandwiched in between Bob and Sweetheart. Sweetheart, her former WSO. Bob, her current one.

"Alright. You guys have had your practice with dogfighting. But that skill is reserved for an as-needed situation. Your main goal is to simply navigate." Maverick began to explain, bringing up a holographic layout of a mountainous terrain. "The terrain is hidden in a canyon range, guarded by surface-to-air missiles. Your task will be to navigate below these SAMs along the canyon with a max ceiling of one hundred feet." he said so casually, but both Sweetheart and Phoenix shared an oh shit look with each other. No way this guy was serious. One hundred feet? In an F-18? That was suicide!

"He's not serious?" Sweetheart muttered to Phoenix, but her doubt was heard loud and clear.

"Oh, I'm very serious." said Maverick, looking directly at her. "But because this is just a training session, I'll go easy on you. You will not exceed a max ceiling of three hundred feet. You will not have to worry about dodging any missiles. All you have to do it navigate this canyon and take out a marked target on the ground. You'll have three minutes to complete this course. Exceed three minutes, you lose. Go above three hundred feet, you lose. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I don't have a WSO. A little unfair, don't ya think?" Hangman quipped with a hand raised like he was in grade school again. Maverick didn't answer, instead passing the reins to the two women who merely exchanged a silent look. Phoenix shrugged. Sweetheart quirked an eyebrow. Phoenix twitched her lips. And then Sweetheart shrugged.

"We'll be nice and let you choose your own WSO." answered Phoenix.

"Alright.... Fanboy."

"Dude, really?" whined said WSO. He pouted like a child.

"Shut up, dude. You'll have nothing to worry about because we'll win. Easily."

"Yeah, I just don't like you." Fanboy rolled his eyes.

"Are we all in agreement?" spoke Maverick. Another round of glances was exchanged, and everyone nodded. "Good. Go suit up."

At the dismissal, everyone stood from their seats. Phoenix led Sweetheart to a set of lockers, pulling out a couple of flight suits and handing her one. Sweetheart eyed it cautiously. She couldn't help but remember the last time she wore one of these, and the reason why she stopped.

"Hey, look at me." Phoenix cooed, using a finger under her chin to raise her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I've been gone for two years. And my first time back I'm having to fight against Hangman over a stupid bet."

"You doubt yourself?"

"Is it shameful to say a little bit?" she questioned guiltily.

"No. But I know you. And I know you're the best damn WSO I've ever had. You've taken down targets half blind. You've taken down targets without a targeting system. If there's anyone that could do this with me, it'd be you." she soothed. The finger under her chin had migrated to her hair, plucking a stray that Sweetheart somehow missed with the gel.

"But it's been years. What if I mess up?"

"You won't. It's like riding a bike, once you get up in the air, it'll come back to you. And if we lose this bet, so what? It's not the end of the world. Who cares if Hangman makes fun of us for losing?"

"But what if this ruins your chances for being on this mission? What if I screw it up for you?"

"If it does, it does. I don't wanna be on this mission if you won't be with me anyway." the woman claimed. Sweetheart doubted her words, knowing full well that Lieutenant Natasha Trace lived and breathed for the skies. Being grounded was like clipping a bird's wings -cruel. But, even still, the words comforted her. And maybe for a moment she could believe that this woman would risk a job for her.

"So you won't be mad at me if I miss the target?" Sweetheart smiled softly.

"I promise. Now come on. Suit up." she tossed the flight suit at her and then began to pull her own on.

Sweetheart followed her lead and dressed. Then she took her hand and followed her outside where the F-18s were. Hangman and Fanboy were outside already dressed, standing by Hangman's engraved fighter jet. Phoenix's -and Bob's- were beside his. Everyone was gathered around, ready for the fight.

"How about we make this bet worthwhile?" came Hangman's grating voice. It rattled Sweetheart's ears and made her grimmace.

"What'chu got?" prompted Phoenix.

"Double the pushups." spoke Fanboy. Sweetheart had to rack her brain for what that meant. Double the pushups? And then she remembered what Phoenix told her when they first talked. Payback had bet two hundred pushups for whatever reason, and everyone had to do them. Now double them? Fanboy officially took first place for being the dumbest idiot alive.

"No. That's too easy. Let's spice it up a little bit." Phoenix waved it off. Hangman silently urged her to go on. Sweetheart was also curious as to what the woman had up her sleeve. "If we win, we get to dress you up and parade you around like a showgirl."

"What?!" both Sweetheart and Fanboy cried out incredulously.

"No way! I don't want any part of this!" said Fanboy.

"Relax!" yelled Hangman. "We've got nothing to worry about."

"Dude, I'm not risking my reputation like that."

"Don't worry, Fanboy. This punishment only applies to Bagman." said Phoenix. This made Hangman scoff out.

"That's not fair! What's to stop him from sabotaging me? He's gotta take it too."

"You picked him yourself. You saying you can't trust your own WSO?" challenged Rooster with a shit-eating grin.

"Not when he has nothing at stake!"

"You can back out of this bet now if you want, dick-head." pushed the brunette pilot. She crossed her arms over her chest, seemingly confident that they already won without even trying. It was silent for a moment as Hangman pondered it.

"If we lose, we both take the punishment." he reiterated. Fanboy's eyes bugged, unbelieving at what he was hearing. He threw a look at Sweetheart, hoping that she'd speak up and say something to save him

Fanboy was a good friend to Sweetheart. He's never done anything to her to warrant that type of embarrassment. She didn't want to punish him. She tried to tell him as such without actually saying any words. She used her fingers to cross over her heart, letting him know that she held him in good graces and wouldn't punish him. He seemed to understand and nod along.

"Fine. I'm in." he relented.

"Good." Hangman sighed with relief. "But, when we win, we get to dress you up and you have to be our personal showgirls."

This made Sweetheart reel with worry. No way Phoenix would actually agree to that! She wouldn't put Sweetheart in that position! Not after all the harassment Hangman has been directing at her for her entire military career. Not after the actual sexual assault she had to deal with. No, she wouldn't do that.

"Deal." Phoenix spoke.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Sweetheart angrily directed towards the woman. "You did not just agree to that?"

"It'll be okay. Do you trust me?"

"You just sold us out to Hangman!"

"We're not gonna lose. Why am I the only one that believes that?"

"She's right." came Rooster, idling up beside them. "I know you'll win. And maybe this will knock Hangman down a few pegs. It's about time someone shows him up."

"I don't like this." muttered Sweetheart.

"Hangman and Fanboy will run the course first. We'll all be keeping watch and monitoring your flight path. Remember, your ceiling is three hundred feet, and your time limit is three minutes." reminded Maverick.

"Might as well stay out here, because we'll be back before you know it." taunted Hangman. He spit his stupid toothpick to the ground and then ordered Fanboy to the jet. They got in, got all buckled up, and did a quick rundown on the equipment to make sure everything worked. When they gave the okay signal, the runway was cleared in preparation for takeoff.

Maverick ordered everyone else back in the hangar where their jet was pinged on the holographic map. Maverick pulled out a mic, speaking into it to test the two-way communication. When that was all good, Maverick gave full control over to Hangman.

"Once you're in the air and hit one hundred feet, your timer will start." he spoke. "Runway is all clear for takeoff. Comms are all yours."

"Noted. Fanboy, how we looking on the weapons systems?"

"Targeting system up and active." he replied.

"Copy. Let's get this over with. I can't wait for this to all be over with." Sweetheart could hear the smirk painting his lips and it made her roll her eyes. But, secretly, her heart was thumping.

She watched as Hangman navigated the jet towards the end of the runway and then make a smooth takeoff into the air. Immediately, all eyes were watching the monitor. the F-18 reached one hundred feet in a span of seconds, and the timer at the top began counting. The makeshift terrain had spawned around the marker meant to be Hangman and Fanboy.

Hangman and Fanboy kept each other updated every few seconds. Their communication was heard loud and clear in the hangar. Hangman was so confident in himself, claiming they were making great time, that he cracked a few jokes. Sweetheart wanted to laugh at him, but he was in fact making great time. She looked at the timer and saw they've only been in the air for a minute, and they were pretty much halfway through the course.

Sweetheart chewed on her thumb, wanting desperately to cry. She hoped their aircraft would suffer some sort of failure, making them drop from the course and get eliminated. But then she remembered Garcia was in the jet as well, and she didn't want any harm to come to him. She felt bad for thinking like that and reprimanded herself in her head. Even still, the bad thoughts did nothing to quell her fear of losing.

Two minutes. They were in the air for two minutes and Hangman was already claiming that they were approaching the target and for Fanboy to ready the missile strike.

"Targeting system engaged." he spoke, just rambling off the updates. "I've got a lock. Bring us in closer." he instructed his pilot.

"We've got one shot at this. Don't screw it up." he spat back.

"Gee, I was thinking how I could fuck us over. But now that you mention it, I've changed my ways!" he sarcastically replied. If there was room in the aircraft, and time for him to do so, Sweetheart was positive he would've dramatically shrugged his shoulders and slapped his forehead for emphasis.

"Just drop the missile!" Hangman was tired of the jokes.

"Bring us in closer and I will."

"Fucking drop it!"

"The targeting system needs us to be closer if we want to make direct contact!"

"Fine! I'll get closer! But if you miss the window and overshoot, it'll be your own fault!"

"I won't overshoot!"

The marker for the jet rapidly approached the target. Just as they were about to fly overhead of it, Fanboy dropped the missile. A new marker on the monitor appeared as it tracked the missile. It landed just short of the target, but at least it wasn't an overshot. Fanboy was close. He had waited just half a second longer, he might've been dead on.

Once the missile was dropped, Maverick ordered them back to the runway. They had landed just a moment later. Despite missing the target, both men were rather happy with their run. And as Sweetheart and Phoenix passed him while they made their way to their jet, he shouldered Sweetheart and knocked her to the side. She caught herself before she tripped over her feet, but bit her tongue. Now was not the time to focus on him. She needed to focus on the course.

The two of them got in the jet, buckled in, and went over their equipment. Sweetheart was using a loner helmet from Halo. The other WSO had told her to kick Hangman's ass as she handed it off, claiming she's only known the male pilot for a couple of days but already hated his guts.

"Comm test. You copy?" she heard Phoenix's voice in her ear.

"Copy. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear. How's the weapons system functioning?" she asked and Sweetheart took a moment to fiddle with the multitude of buttons surrounding her. It took a second for her to remember what button did what, but she managed and she flicked the system to life.

"Up and functional."

"How are you feeling about this?" the brunette asked, a little less Lieutenant-y and a little more girlfriend-y. Sweetheart took an audible deep breath.

"Nervous."

"Hey, look at me." Phoenix turned to peer behind the seat. "No matter what happens, I still love you, okay? If we lose this bet, and Hangman turns us into his sick fantasy, I won't blame you. But we won't lose, because I'll fly us faster than the speed of light, and you'll hit that target dead on. You and I haven't failed a mission yet, and we're not gonna start now."

"Can I least have a moment to re-familiarize myself with the buttons? It's been two fucking years, Tasha. And I'm a little scared."

"Our timer doesn't start until we hit a hundred feet and Maverick didn't say we had to takeoff immediately. I'm not moving until you tell me to."

"Okay."

Feeling a little better knowing Phoenix was giving her all the time she needed, Sweetheart began pressing buttons she was confident wouldn't just drop the missile on the runway. Okay, what does this button do? And this one? she asked herself as she pressed stuff and watched to see what they did. One button brought up the course. Another button activated the target lock. She knew for a fact that this button was to drop the missile, so she left it alone.

"Alright. Let's get this over with." Sweetheart muttered.

"You ready?" Phoenix asked for confirmation.

"As ready as I can be."

"Alright, ladies. The runway is clear. Comms are all yours." spoke Maverick.

"Copied." said Phoenix.

"Copied." repeated Sweetheart.

"Tell me when the timer starts." was Phoenix's only order. When Sweetheart agreed, Phoenix took off down the runway.

Feeling the rush of gravity as the aircraft actually pulled off the asphalt and skyrocketed into the sun made Sweetheart's stomach drop to her feet. But in a good way. It was a feeling that took her months to recondition her body to forget when she went civilian. She'd go to bed every night, feeling herself sinking against the imaginary force of gravity that ingrained itself into her brain. And now that she was experiencing it again, she wouldn't be able to forget it a second time.

"We've got countdown!" Sweetheart was brought back to the present when the altitude flashed one hundred feet on her screen.

Phoenix straightened out the nose, keeping it level and underneath the hard ceiling. Seeing the course displayed on a holographic monitor was one thing, but actually being thrown against the sides of the aircraft as Phoenix sharply took each turn was another thing. This wasn't anything new; their time with the Black Aces had prepared her for every fast-paced situation one could think of. But it still took her by surprise when they went through the first turn.

"Skies clear. Course on par with time. You've got another turn in four decimal seven seconds." Sweetheart rattled off. It was second nature to just talk, even if the information wasn't all that important. Phoenix liked being talked to. She hated having a quiet wingman.

She took the turn effortlessly, and Sweetheart watched her monitor ahead of their location, making sure the course was still clear of obstruction and that their pathing was matching up with their marker on the course. She made sure Phoenix was aware of the information.

Sweetheart tried not to look at the timer that was flashing in front of her eyes. She looked at it once, and they had already gone past a minute. She panicked for a moment, because it felt like they were only in the air for ten seconds. She told herself not to look at it again, because it would just make her freeze up and ruin everything. And she was already on edge.

"How far until we reach the target?" Phoenix asked. Sweetheart knew she was aware of where the target was in proximity to their location, but she wanted Sweetheart to talk.

"We've just reached the halfway mark on the course."

"I'm gonna drop us lower, give you a better chance at hitting the target."

"Are you crazy?! Three hundred feet is already pushing it! I don't want us to die for this stupid bet!"

"The mission will have us lower anyway. Might as well give it a shot now."

"Tasha, it's not worth it. Just keep your altitude. I can hit the target from this height."

"Well you better get ready because it's coming up any second now."

"Copy that. Maintain speed. Targeting system up and running. Target locked and-" Sweetheart began to say. Her sentence was cut short when her screen flashed a warning that her targeting system was nonfunctional. Sweetheart messed with the buttons, trying to diagnose the issue, but every time, the screen kept saying the auto-lock wasn't working.

"Talk to me, Sweetheart. What's going on?"

"Targeting system is down! I repeat, targeting system is down!"

"What?! You said it was operational!"

"It was! I can't fix it! I'll have to manually target but you gotta slow down and give me time!"

"I can't slow down! If I drop speed we won't make it in time!" claimed Phoenix, forcing the other woman to look back at the flashing timer. She was right; their time was rapidly approaching the three minute mark and they still hadn't reached the actual target yet.

"I can't hit the target unless you slow down!" Sweetheart repeated the problem.

"You can do it! Just drop the missile!"

"I can't! You need to slow down!"

"We won't make it! You can do it! I believe in you!"

Both women began screaming at each other, both of them giving differing opinions. Sweetheart was adamant that she wasn't skilled for such a low-altitude drop at this speed. Her expertise was dropping bombs from high in the sky. There was too much room for error here. Too much math that needed to be precise for it to work out in their favor. But Phoenix kept saying how there wasn't enough time to slow down. She needed to maintain her speed in order to stay under the three minute mark, which was now almost up and caused Sweetheart's hands to get sweaty and her brain to get foggy on the equations.

"Slow down!" Sweetheart said.

"I can't!" Phoenix replied back just as quickly. "DROP IT!!!" she cried.

"ALRIGHT!!!!"

Sweetheart practically slammed her fist into the button, releasing the missile and sending it hurdling towards Earth. Phoenix took the jet higher into the sky, breaching the three hundred feet ceiling to protect them from the blast. Sweetheart turned as far as she could in their cramped aircraft to watch the explosion cloud up the atmosphere with dust and smoke.

"Holy shit!" she found herself yelling out, like it was the first time she was witnessing this despite that being further from the truth.

"Runway clear for landing. Make your way back immediately." Maverick's voice brought her back to the present.

"Over and out. Runway in sight. Attempting a landing." Phoenix replied. She maneuvered the aircraft back to the runway, smoothly resting the landing gear on the asphalt like she was resting a sleeping baby in its crib. Not a hiccup in the landing. Not so much as a scuff on the wheels. But, then again, Sweetheart never doubted her skills.

Once on the ground, and the F-18 turned off, and the canopy open, Phoenix happily jumped out and got to her feet. Sweetheart on the other hand was still strapped in, eyes glazed over as she mentally tried to bring herself back to Earth. Her head was still in the clouds. She was still reminiscing the feeling of being in the sky. It almost felt like a dream, like she was watching herself in third person and the last three minutes wasn't her actually doing it, but rather controlling a video game character.

"Hey, you okay?" Phoenix asked through the comms, approaching the side of the aircraft and holding out a hand as if she could pull the woman out.

"What? Yeah. Yeah I'm good." Sweetheart shook her head to clear it.

"Come on. Let's get your feet back on the ground."

Phoenix helped Sweetheart out, keeping hands on her waist to hold her steady as she swayed. When she was confident her partner wasn't going to collapse, she helped remove the helmet and smoothed down the hair that pulled out of its neat bun.

"You did it." she whispered, a loving smile breaking out on her face. "You fucking did it."

"I did?"

"Yeah! I told you you would!"

"Haha! You two are fucking insane!" Rooster ran up to the two women, enveloping them in his arms and laughing out his happiness as she shook them. "Holy shit you dropped it without a lock! And hit it! I knew you were good but god damn!"

"I actually hit it?!" Sweetheart's eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Hell yeah you did!"

"Come on, guys. Let's go over the results." ordered Maverick with a wave of his hand.

"Help me walk. My legs feel like jelly." said Sweetheart, making both of her friends laugh.

Phoenix had one arm around her waist, Rooster had one arm linked with hers. The both of them guided her back inside the hangar where she was assaulted with more hugs from everyone else. Including Fanboy. Not really knowing what to do, she handed the helmet back to Halo, muttering a thanks. This made Halo laugh a hearty laugh like it was the funniest joke she's ever heard of in her entire life.

"Alright, everyone. Come on. We'll celebrate later. First let's go over the replays and see who won." repeated the Captain.

Everyone took their seats again, acting like kids in class who were excited for the teachers to bring in pizza for a pizza party. Everyone was leaning forward on their elbows, eagerly awaiting Maverick to say something again. But Sweetheart hid her shaking hands in her lap, trying to hide the fact that she was still pumping with adrenaline. But Tasha noticed. She always does. And she took a hand in hers, intertwining their fingers and giving her palm a squeeze. Sweetheart smiled at her gratefully.

"Alright. Let's make it quick and simple." started Maverick, pulling up replays of both their pathings. "You both stayed below the three hundred foot ceiling. You both made it to the target. Hangman and Fanboy: your time to target was two decimal seventeen decimal forty-seven." he said, making both men cheer with delight. "Phoenix and Sweetheart: time to target was two decimal fifty-three decimal twenty-one."

Hearing the recorded times made the air in Sweetheart's lungs disappear. They barely made it. Had Phoenix sneezed they would've been late........ they lost. Hangman was faster than them. But of fucking course he was. He's known for being one of the fastest pilots in the Navy. That skill is what gave him that air-to-air kill. He was just faster.

Sweetheart and Phoenix turned to each other, their faces solemn and disappointed. They knew that this bet was a mistake, and now they were paying the price for it. Sweetheart shuddered at the image of what Hangman could possibly dress them up in.

"Phoenix and Sweetheart won." said Maverick, and everyone's heads snapped up to look at him with bugged eyes.

"What?!" Hangman jumped to his feet, making the desk screech across the flooring. "We were almost a minute faster! What do you mean they fucking won?!"

"Your only two agreed upon stipulations was one: stay below three hundred feet altitude, and two: reach the target in no more than three minutes. You both met both of those parameters, but it was Sweetheart's dead-on missile drop that pushed them ahead of you. Fanboy was off almost a hundred feet. Had this been the mission, you would've alerted the enemy at the airstrike, giving them time to fight back. And then it's a dogfight."

"And she did it without a targeting system!" reminded Rooster with a shit-eating grin.

"I knew she would do it. I never doubted her for a second." Phoenix prided herself, giving Sweetheart a one-armed hug and holding her into her side.

"You're fucking kidding me!"

"Sit down, pretty boy. You'll need your energy for the show you're gonna be putting on for everyone tonight." taunted the brunette pilot. Hangman wanted to sneer at her. He wanted to curse her out, fist fight her right here right now. But everyone was witness to the bet. Everyone heard them agree on the conditions. He couldn't get out of it.

"Screw this!" he yelled, storming out of the hangar and head hung low in shame.

Rooster coughed out a 'loser' behind his back. Whether or not Hangman heard it was irrelevant as everyone else heard it and they all laughed. Maybe seeing Maverick crack a smile and try to hide it was what Sweetheart needed to see. Once Hangman was gone from sight, that was when the celebration started. Everyone once again jumped to their feet to circle around the women.

"About time Hangman got a taste of his own medicine." Bob happily rocked on the balls of his feet.

"He was seriously starting to piss me off." commented Halo again. "Bet he'll keep his ego in check from now on."

"Not yet. First we have to get him all nice and pretty." reminded Phoenix, elbowing Sweetheart with a knowing smirk. She grinned back.

"Oh yeah, don't remind me...." Fanboy grimaced and shuddered. "Please be nice to me. I'm a good friend to you guys." he dramatically begged.

"Relax, Garcia. The punishment still stands for just Jake. You're clear." Sweetheart consoled, a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh thank god!" he huffed out.

"Don't let him hear that. He'll throw another tantrum." chuckled Rooster. "Actually, now that I think about it, get it tattooed on his forehead. That way he's always reminded of it."

"Now that's an idea!" agreed Phoenix.

"Nope. That was not the agreed upon punishment." spoke Maverick, acting like a parent scolding their child.

"You're no fun." said Phoenix.

"I let you guys do this, didn't I?"

Sweetheart and Phoenix shared a look that said he wasn't wrong. They shrugged and rolled their eyes. They'll punish Hangman one way or another. All they have to do is brainstorm how badly they want him to hurt. Phoenix was thinking an old-school Rockette or maybe a Pinup Girl. Sweetheart had the idea of finding the ugliest, trashiest Halloween costume and putting it on him.

"Everyone take a quick break. Let Lieutenant Seresin calm down. We'll pick up training later."

With everyone in agreement, they all split off to go do whatever they wanted for the next few minutes. Sweetheart took the free time to head back out onto the runway and inspect the F-18. She wanted to know why the targeting system failed on her. But, also, she couldn't help but feel drawn to the aircraft. All she ever wanted to do was fly. She remembered seeing the military recruiters come to her high school on career day. She was only fourteen years old at the time, and before that she had never given the military a single thought. But for some reason, she wanted to talk to them, get more information.

Of course the recruiters glorified what they actually did, making it seem like you're not actually risking your life for it. But she wasn't stupid. She knew the Army was tough. The Marines as well. Hell, she couldn't even do a pull up when they told her to get on the bar. It was embarrassing as all hell. And even though they didn't laugh and instead just told her to work on it and she could do anything, she couldn't help but walk away from them in shame. When she walked by the Navy booth, they stopped her to talk to her.

Her ignorance of what the Navy actually did made her try to weasel her way out of it. 'Sorry, I don't like water' she said. They told her they do more than station on boats. They fly aircrafts. They fight in the skies. She thought that was what the Air Force did. The Air Force does fly planes, they said, but unlike the Air Force, when they're in the skies they're fighting. Whereas the Air Force will do a lot of basic cargo transportation.

Transporting cargo didn't seem like fun. Dropping bombs from a plane did. She talked with the Navy recruiters some more. They had already seen her fail at the pullups, but they asked her to do some other physical tests like pushups and stretches. She didn't completely make a fool out of herself, so they handed her some pamphlets that detailed salaries and benefits and outlined the tasks they did, and she carried on with her day.

Something inside her clicked. 'This is what I want to do' she said and she began to work on herself so she could get there. Her high school didn't have a Naval ROTC, just an Army one, so she just took a lot of physical education classes to bulk up and get her strength. She studied hardcore for the ACT and SAT so she could pass with flying colors and get accepted into an NROTC college. Once she got there, she applied for a Navy scholarship and focused her concentration on an aviation career.

Graduating with a job as a pilot was the happiest day of her life. And now here she was: a TOPGUN graduate with over ten years of experience under her belt. She was the best of the best. She was a decorated pilot with highly ambitious recognition. She loved it. Being gone for the last two years was heartbreaking. She missed the skies. But her fear of what happened to her overruled her love for aviation. It wasn't fair. And she was no longer going to let it overrule her life.

"You're thinking hard about something." she heard Phoenix approach her.

"I'm thinking about how I got here. It feels like just yesterday I was training to join the Navy. And then I blinked and now I'm a TOPGUN graduate." she replied.

"Time just races when you've got a good wingman by your side." Phoenix nudged her.

"True, but I've also been thinking about the last two years I was gone. When my situation finally dawned on me and I made the decision to leave the Navy, I was angry with myself. I was angry that I let my fear ruin my life and my career. I worked so hard to get where I was and I just gave it up."

"You didn't just give it up." consoled Phoenix. "You had every reason to leave. You were taken advantage of. Our XO had a rope around you. You did what you had to do."

"I keep asking myself if I could've done something differently." she spoke, finally turning to face the other woman. Phoenix stayed calm, but her eyes showed her pity. Sweetheart hated it.

"What's done is done. There's no changing what happened. You can only go forward, and I'll be here to help you. I miss you, a lot. I miss having you as my wingman, I miss being up in the air with you behind me, I miss being able to hold your hand whenever I want." on queue, she took Sweetheart's hand. "You and I were meant to be a team. We work so well together. I want you to come back. Maybe it's too late for this mission, but it's not too late to re-enlist."

"I don't even know where to begin with that. I begged to be let go. When we graduated TOPGUN, it was expected that I would go back to work and apply for a promotion. I had stipulations attached to me. I had to jump through hoops to drop them and go home." she explained, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. But she wouldn't let them. No more crying. She's done enough crying.

"We'll figure it out. Maybe Maverick can put in a good word for you."

"Maybe Maverick will." speak of the devil. Both women turned to see him approaching them. "I looked into your service record. You've got quite the list of accomplishments."

"Thank you, Sir. But I can't take all the credit; Lieutenant Trace and I have been a team for so long, that our service records are almost identical." she motioned to the woman in question, happy to share the glory.

"Can I ask again why you decided to retire so early?"

"Personal reasons, Sir." she repeated. "I was being coerced by a higher up. He took advantage of me and I couldn't handle it anymore."

"I see....." he trailed off. "You impressed me today. If I could get you a way back in, would you accept it?"

"I would need to go back to training...."

"That can be arranged."

"And, if it's not pushing my luck, I would like to be Phoenix's WSO again."

"I'm sure The Black Aces would accept you back without issue. But that would be up to them. I can only promise a good word."

"Come on, take it!" Phoenix urged her quietly. "We'll figure everything else out later!"

Sweetheart and Phoenix stared at each other for a moment, having a silent conversation. Well, it wasn't much of a conversation -more so Phoenix telling her what to do.

"What would I have to do, Sir?"

"Do you have a uniform?"

"Not with me. All my stuff is back home. I didn't plan on re-enlisting when I came here."

"Go home, get your stuff, and get back here ASAP. We'll get you started on some of the basics and work our way from there."

"Yes, SIr!" she gaped. "Thank you!"

Maverick smiled at her and walked away, leaving the women there with their jaws halfway to the floor. And then they jumped and squealed like school girls.

"I told you!" claimed Phoenix, throwing her arms around sweetheart.

"I can't believe this is actually happening." muttered Sweetheart. "I gotta get home. I gotta get my stuff!"

"Not yet, first we have to punish Hangman." she reminded. "We'll let that be your send off."

"I have to thank you for pushing me to do this. If it wasn't for this stupid bet, I wouldn't be standing here with the opportunity to get back in. And we wouldn't be punishing Hangman."

"Well, truthfully, I did it for me." she admitted. "I can't stand the new WSO I was given in The Black Aces. He annoys the shit outta me. And Bob is nice, but he's not you. His spot should've been for you. It was for you. He was probably called in last minute when you declined."

"I'm sorry I left you hanging. And forced you to adapt to a new wingman."

"It's alright. It's all fixed now. Because Maverick is gonna help you get back out there. And I'm gonna be your advocate however I can." she promised.

Phoenix loosely wrapped her arms around Sweetheart's neck, locking her in and holding her close. Sweetheart instinctively held onto her waist in kind. They looked at each other, slowly pacing themselves as they tested the waters. But they both desperately wanted to jump each other right here right now. The two years apart did nothing to quench their desire for each other. Despite the anger that Phoenix held over those two years, not knowing the truth, she still thought about Sweetheart. It was hard to forget her.

As if they could read each other's mind, they leaned in slowly until their lips finally connected. They fit together like puzzle pieces. They molded against each other like no time had passed since their last kiss. Phoenix stuck her tongue out, parting Sweetheart's lips and allowing her entrance. Their tongues danced around each other in the familiar way they always did. It was sweet. It was soft and slow. Despite the deep longing they had for each other, they were conscious enough to remember their environment and not do something they'll end up regretting.

The kiss felt like it lasted a lifetime. By the time they pulled away, it felt like they had stopped breathing ages ago. They both huffed, trying to get the air back in their lungs.

"God I've missed you." Sweetheart found herself saying. It wasn't meant to be funny, but Phoenix laughed anyway.

"You do realize that I'm never letting you slip through my fingers again, right?"

"I wouldn't put it past you to handcuff me."

"Only if you ask nicely." she winked. This time, Sweetheart laughed out.

"Is that a promise? You already let me down by not bringing rope to the beach."

"I couldn't fit it in my bag." she joked. Maybe.

"Get a bigger bag."

"Or I could just tie you up right now."

"Hmmm. As much as I would love that, you've got more training. And I don't think it's a good idea to miss that after the Captain was so gracious to help us out." she hummed, making Phoenix groan.

"I hate that you're right."

"We'll have time later. You go on. I've got a plane to book." Sweetheart pecked her lips once more, then pushed her back into the hangar. Sweetheart pulled out her cell phone and checked for the earliest flight out of California.

Sweetheart was ready for her send off. After training for the day was complete, Phoenix and Sweetheart ordered everyone to The Hard Deck for Hangman's punishment. Maverick left with a threat that he better honor the bet, and Hangman reluctantly agreed to it.

Phoenix and Sweetheart had grabbed all of the supplies they needed to make him the prettiest girl they ever did see. They did his makeup, put a wig on him, and forced his fat ass into a pair of booty shorts. The entire time, the women were laughing. Hangman was trying to fight against it, but they forced him regardless. With their masterpiece complete, they drug him to The Hard Deck. Phoenix waited outside with him while Sweetheart entered the busy establishment and gathered everyone's attention. She stood on a table and whistled out so everyone could turn their gaze to her. The gaggle of pilots in one corner of the bar were eager to see what was to come next. The other patrons in the bar, and Penny, were just confused.

"Allow me to present tonight's entertainment, courtesy of the United States Navy, Lieutenant Jasmine Seresin!" she announced, and Phoenix yanked on Hangman's arm to bring him in full view of everyone.

Everyone, and she means everyone had cheered him on. They caught onto the joke fairly quickly, people already pulling out dollar bills and handing it to him as he was pulled center 'stage' and forced onto a table. Rooster messed with the jukebox to put on a raunchy song for Hangman to shake his ass to. And shake it he did. Despite the rage evident on his face, he put his all into his impromptu table dance.

People gathered around him, trying to shove dollar bills into his way-too-small jean booty shorts. What couldn't fit, was just left on the table. Sweetheart could see from the corner of her eye Penny resting her face in her hands on the bar top. Did anyone even tell her what was happening? Or was she just as surprised as the patrons when Jake Seresin entered her bar looking like this?

The older woman was too embarrassed to raise her head, but Sweetheart didn't pay her much attention, instead focusing on the lovely dancer she and Phoenix put together. Fanboy came to hand them some beers.

"Thanks for sparing me from this!" he thanked, giving them a one-armed hug.

"Remember this, though. Don't piss us off or else you'll be the next one on the table." threatened Sweetheart.

"I give a Scout's Honor I will never double cross you." he held up his hand in said honor and crossed his heart.

At the end of the song, Hangman was ready to jump down and end his punishment, but the other aviators weren't ready to let him go so soon. Rooster played another song on the jukebox, and the gaggle of pilots circled around him, whooping and hollering for him to dance some more.

This was the send off Sweetheart needed: a good laugh, some beers, and a girlfriend by her side. She didn't expect any of this to happen when she risked it all to face the woman she abandoned two years ago. She was fully prepared to be yelled at, maybe slapped a few times, and told to never show her face ever again. But she got the opposite. Everything worked out in her favor. And maybe it was just dumb luck, or maybe it was the universe trying to tell her something, but she wasn't going to let this go to waste. She was going to take full advantage of it. Like Tasha said, when they're together, they can face the world.

#top gun #top gun: maverick #lieutenant natasha trace #original female character #phoenix #ofc #natasha “phoenix” trace #fanfiction #oneshot #imagine #drabble

[japanifornication]

9, 22, 26 for the fic writer asks!

hi rylan, tysm for the ask!!! 🥰

9. what fic meant the most to you to write?

this is a pretty tough question! looking back i wrote a lot more than i thought this year (2023 has been so long jfc) but i guess i would have to give this to status. mostly just because it finished off the series that really kicked me into gear in this fandom 💕

22. share an excerpt from your favorite scene.

it was an open secret they were frustrated with each other, phoenix with edgeworth for running away again, edgeworth with him for “giving up.” things were made worse by the distance, made worse by the constant friction in the ways they’d both always done little things that drove each other crazy and now amplified into disaster by everything else.

so the notion of edgeworth being a “friend” instead of someone he just miserably wanted to hatefuck just to get over him was laughable, but he couldn’t tell his daughter that.

he’s been thinking about it too long and he knows she knows that. he pulls away from the half-hug she’s got him in and picks up her crooked hat from atop her head, ruffling her hair softly then setting it back down straighter and pulling her back in for a tighter hug. “yeah. everything’s fine, kiddo. sometimes he’s just annoying, you know? seems like he knows everything, doesn’t it?”

that earns a laugh, which always makes him feel a little lighter. “i think he does, daddy. he’s so smart. but you’re smart too, just in a different way.” she leans her head against his shoulder and it tips her hat again.

“mm. you think so?” he asks with a low chuckle, scratching at his stubble.

“mhmm! he reads like a lot of books, i bet. and probably wikipedia, for fun. i like to do that too sometimes. like i bet if i asked him… the national flower of austria, he could tell me in a second. but you’re better at people. like, you could tell that snake guy was a good man who wasn’t just selling us a sick snake for more than it was worth, right? d’you think miles would be able to tell that?” she asks. her eyes are closed as she talks, and phoenix wonders what she’s picturing in that endless imagination of hers.

“i think he could have gone online and done the research to find out, but i don’t think he would have agreed to this in the first place,” phoenix snorts.

“because he’s too proper for a pet like a snake,” trucy sniffs with a faux air of decorum, and phoenix lets out a loud laugh. he’s needed that; she always knows what he needs.

“yeah, he is. but it’s not his decision. he’s helping but ultimately it’s still my decision, and i know you’ll take good care of ant.”

my favorite parts of writing decadence are actually the scenes between trucy and phoenix. i think during 7yg he really does need her just as much as she needs him, and i wanted their relationship to be more than just set dressing to the nrmt, even though that is the focus. i hope i pulled that off and keep pulling it off. more soon! i know i keep saying that but... more soon (croaks and dies).

26. if you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

also a hard question. if we're talking about specifically writing, and not like, anything related to posting the writing, it has to be writing decadence. i just find a lot of catharsis in writing arguments, especially of characters in very unhealthy (manic, anxious, etc.) mindsets. it's a place i know very intimately from my own life but with Help have come a long place from, and don't want to return to obviously, because it's not fun in real life. but it makes for compelling writing/reading imo, i can't really explain why misunderstandings and arguments are some of my favorite things to dig into. i guess there's still some part of me, even now that i am medicated and doing okay, that loves the satisfaction of being the architect of fights and deciding who gets the last word and when it's over, something that very much is not how it works when you are the one having a manic episode or anxiety attack.

[mssleepy876b]

TGM Fic Possible Chapter 3

summary: An reunion with between Bradley and a childhood peer makes waves during the prep for the Uranium Mission.

requested? No, just a possible start to a story.

word count: 2198

warnings: No

a/n: Please give feedback as might be the start of a new story. This chapter was the hardest to write.

@seresinhangmanjake @tongue-like-a-razor @bratshaws @bradshawsbaby @roosterforme @beyondthesefourwalls @townmoondaltwistle

Chapter 3

Several hours later, Ellie entered the door of her parents’ home.  The familiar scent filled her nose and eased her tensions.  She took off her jacket and cover placing them on the table by the door and called out into the empty room.  “Mom, Dad, Anyone home?”

                “Lizzie?” her mom called to her.  Sarah entered the room smiling at her youngest child and took her into a hug.  “Welcome home, baby girl.  Look at you all active aviator again.”  She said running her hands over Ellie’s shoulders.

                “Thanks, Mom.  Feels good to be here.  How have things been for you?  I know the 3 of us all over the place must keep you busy but it must be quiet here too.”

                “I am good, Lizzie.  Your dad has been working here at home a lot lately and he keeps me company.  Plus, I have been keeping busy with hobbies of my own.  Sasha called last night.  Seems a red-eye flight is on her schedule later this week and she plans to take a few days to visit.  Tommy emailed too.  His carrier group is due to return to Norfolk next month.  He plans to take a little leave and visit home too.  They keep in touch with your dad all the time, so he keeps up to date too.” Sarah said leading her into the kitchen.

                Ellie followed and sat at a seat at the bar and responded.  “Definitely sounds like you have full plate, Mom.”

                “It can be a little hectic but I got so used to it from your dad’s different duty stations or deployments so I can handle it.  You look happy, sweetheart.  Is being an active pilot part of that?”

                “It is.  I feel like I am back to normal.  Not quite back to flying normal sorties but at least I feel like my skills are being used again.

                “I knew you would get there, baby.  You have too much of your father in you to stay out of the skies or the cockpit for too long which is why you are his mini-me in more than just your looks.” Sarah said smiling at her.  Ellie sighed catching her mom’s attention.  “What is troubling you, little one?”

                “I can’t say too much, but there is a special training mission that is really dangerous, Mom.  Uncle Maverick is training the pilots, Brad is one as are Phoenix and Fritz.  If I had been healthy, Fritz wouldn’t have to be here.  It scares me, Mom.”

                Sarah sighed.  “Well, you know how resourceful your Uncle Maverick is.  I know how close you, Phoenix and Fritz are.  Trust in their skills, sweetie.  They would not be there if they didn’t have the right skills.  With Bradley, there are more layers there as we both know, Baby.  I think this maybe the chance for you two to work things out finally.”

                “Mom.” Ellie started to say when Sarah’s cell phone went off with an alert.

                “Your dad is wondering where his mini-me is.  Feeling left out.  Go see him, Baby.  Remember, things work out how they are supposed to.  Also, dinner?” she said moving to let Ellie pass.

                “Thanks, Mom.  Of course, why else would I come out here?” Ellie said laughing as she moved down the hall to her dad’s office.  Ellie smiled with the memories of always coming here after school to catch up with her dad on her day and see him if he had left for work before she had been up.  Chess games, homework, projects, and reading all happened as she hid out in here at times.  It was where she felt closest to her dad other than at his formal office at Pacific Fleet Headquarters.  She smoothed out her shirt and hair before she entered quietly.  Her dad was reading a file in front of her as he faced away from her.  “Heard an Admiral was looking for me.” She said with a smile as he whipped around to see her.

                He stood and pulled her into a hug.  He looked over her uniform and smiled before sitting and typing on his computer.  “Looking good, Mini-Me.  Like an aviator we both know.”

                Ellie giggled slightly, sitting at his side.  “Yeah, I know, you, Dad.  Sore throat today?”

                He nodded and typed again.  “How are things at North Island?”

                “They are okay, Dad.  Warlock is easy to keep happy.  Cyclone is another story.  His devotion to your career is a little annoying at times but I can easily counter it.  Feels good to be back in the cockpit again.”

                He typed again.  “I am proud of your work to get back in there, Mini-Me.  It was not easy, and you showed your determination and why you earned that Trophy that your brother and I also have.”

                “Thanks, Dad.  But can I confess something?” He looked at her confused and she continued.  “This mission that Uncle Mav is training, it makes me nervous, Dad.  Fritz, Phoenix, Uncle Mav, and Bradley.  They are all at risk.  I feel like Fritz is my fault.  If I was healthy and still flying, he could be back with our old squadron.”  He placed his hand on her arm.  “I know, Dad.  I know.  But seeing them all is bittersweet.  Mav and Bradley are family.  Phoenix and Fritz, I shared the air with.  Trusted them up there.  I worry.  Plus, add the Brad situation to it and as we know it is complicated for me.  I even lost my cool with one of the pilots today.  He brought up Uncle Goose to throw Brad off his focus.  I was livid.  Phoenix said she saw you pouring out of me in that moment.  Said I never looked more like Ice’s girl than in that moment.”

                She took a breath and looked around them.  “This room has always been special.  It is so you, Dad.  I always felt you here even when you were off on deployments.  I knew not to touch your desk, but I would sit here and read just to feel close when you were gone.  It was a safe place to be.  I came in here so often after Brad cut us all off after his fallout with Uncle Mav.  I know he has rebuilt some of that connection, but you know it was different for me.  It just hurt and still does.”

                He nodded and typed “You two need to sit and talk, baby girl.  He has grown into a good man, good officer.  Has worked hard to get where he is.  I have been watching but he has done this all on his own.  He is probably the only man other than your uncles and Tommy that could stand up to you like you need, Mini-Me.  It took your mom to calm me down and smooth me out.  You two could do that for each other.”

                She blushed and whispered to him.  “He doesn’t see me like that, Dad.  He never has I am just like his little sister.”

                Ice spoke to her softly, “Liar.  I know what I see, Mini-Me.  You have never been able to fool me.”

                Ellie smiled up at him. “I love you, Dad.”

                Ice pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, “To the moon and back, baby girl.”

                It was about a week and a half later when the mission date had been moved up, that Phoenix and Bob had a bird strike on a training run and had to eject.  The movement of the date concerned Ellie.  Then adding the ejection of Phoenix and Bob just threw her as she tried to focus on her work for Warlock that night.  But her memories of the stories of Uncle Goose and his death filled her heart.  She tried to pull from the control she used the cockpit and focused.  A knock at the door surprised her so she called out, “Come in.”

                Her eyes met Bradley’s as he entered.  He was pale and nervous which surprised her.  She stood moved to meet him.  “Ellie” he started softly.

                “What is it, Brad?  Is it Phoenix or Bob?  Reports were that they were fine.  Did they find something at the medical center?” she asked quickly as she stood in front of him.

                “Ellie, No.  It is not Phoenix or Bob; they are both fine.  Elizabeth, I need you to sit down with me.” He said to her as he guided her to a chair facing her desk.

                She paled as she sat down.  “Brad, what is it?  You are scaring me.  You haven’t called me by my full name since I was a kid.”

                He sighed as he kneeled by her side and took her hand as he took a breath.  “Ellie, I was waiting in the ready room for news of Phoenix and Bob.  Mav came in and we got into an argument.  As it came to a close, Warlock came in looking for Maverick and you.  Warlock got a direct phone call from Sasha.  She was at the hospital near Pacific Fleet Headquarters.   Your dad’s condition severely declined overnight.  She and your mom got him to the hospital and while the doctors tried all they could.  It was too late.  He’s gone, Ellie.  Uncle Ice is gone.”

                He watched her face as the words sank in.  Her head began to shake in denial.  “No.  You’re wrong.  He is fine.  He was fine just about a week ago.  He only had a sore throat.  Tommy is coming home soon.   We would all get to be together again.  He was going to finally have us all home for a bit of time.  No, it’s not true.  No, no!” she said as the tears began to stream down her face.

                Brad pulled her against him as she sobbed.  She tried to push him off as she tried to pull herself under control.  He looked over her face and knew she was pulling Ice’s control over her emotions.  “Here look at your phone, Ellie.  Sasha called you first before she reached out to Warlock.”

                Ellie recognized Sasha’s cell phone number and saw the numerous calls that she had missed.  She texted Sasha quickly.  “Please tell me Brad is lying.  Please, Sasha, it can’t be true.”

                Her phone lit up and Bradley answered the call.  “Sasha.  Yeah, she’s here.  Okay.  I will put it on speaker.”

                Sasha’s voice filled the office.  “El, I am sorry.  He’s not lying.  Dad’s really gone.  He was peaceful and out of pain finally.  It had come back, El.  They couldn’t do anything for it.”

                Ellie’s tears fell again as she again felt herself be pulled against Brad’s chest.  Her head throbbed and the world seem to disappear around her.  She felt the vibration of Brad’s voice but couldn’t understand the words.  She began to collapse onto the floor only to find Brad pulled her into his lap and curled her against his chest again.  Ellie felt her body go numb as she tried to pull her emotions under check.  She finally pushed back against him slightly and wiped her face.  “I am sorry, Brad.   You didn’t need to see that.” She said as she moved to stand.

                “Ellie, I know better than anyone else what this is like.  I will never judge you for this.  I know the connection that you and Uncle Ice shared.” He said pushing some loose hairs back from her face.

                She shook her head and whispered to herself.  “Of course, he was right.  He was always right.”

                “What’s that, Ellie?”

                “Dad.  Our last conversation in his office mentioned you.  He said you had grown up to be a good man someone Goose and Carole would be proud of.  He also said you worked hard to get to where you were.  He told me we need to talk more about the past.”

                “He told me something similar, Ellie.  I went to see them this week.  Your concern about him made me nervous.  He told me that he thought my mom and dad would be proud of me.  He also said that you and I need to clear things up.  That there were things unresolved.  But I know right now is not the time for that.  You need to focus on your Dad and saying goodbye.  But I promise you, Ellie.  You call and I will be at your side through it all.  Your family took care of me and mom for so long.   I feel like being at your side is where I belong, Ellie.” He said as he looked over her face as she looked over her desk.

                He watched as he squared her shoulders and moved to pack her things.  “I need to go home.  I need to help Mom find his dress uniform and make sure it is set.  I need to help her with the organization of things.  I need something to do.”

                He moved to help her.  “Okay, that sounds like a plan.  Let’s go.  I will get you there.  You don’t need to drive right now.  I will check out with Warlock and then we can get you home.” He said placing a hand on her lower back and walking at her side as they exited her office.

#bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw x reader

[soundcrusher]

When the bird was found

Part 9 of season 2 of my ongoing story set in the sentient SG/LL au from @cuppajj is out, and the stakes rise.

It's a little bit shorter than usually, and I'm sorry for that.

Either way, I hope you'll enjoy this.

Trigger Warning: None --"--.--"--.--"--.--"--.--"--.--"--.--"--.--"--.--

They couldn’t find a trail, no matter how much Tarn and his crew tried. Everytime their lead would end or they couldn’t find any new ones. The only thing that seemed to stay the same were those rumors of a prime’s ghost hunting down Autobots and saving Decepticons, or of a youngling followed by a turbofox walking alongside the ghost. 

The rumors were also the reason why they were on this planet now. After they got a new hint from Fulcrum, one of the few Decepticons saved by this ‘ghost’, the whole crew of the Peaceful Truth kept their optics open. And they always seemed to find something. Be it new rumors or the sighting of a strangely calm turbofox.

The latter was the reason for why they were looking for clues in this specific city. 

“What if we don’t find him anymore? What if the ghost of the prime got Dominus!?” Asked Helex for the third time this day. “I mean. If it really is the ghost of Rodimus Prime, he wouldn’t stop from killing him, right? Oh Primus, we shouldn’t have disturbed his resting place. We shouldn’t have!”

“Helex, buddy, you should stop talking like that. You spewing out those ghost stories is upsetting Kaon.” Said Tesarus, as he tried his best to calm the shaking mech down. Ever since Dominus disappeared, Kaon has been worrying non-stop, which only grew worse after the rumors of Rodimus Prime’s ghost appearing on various planets started to reach them. 

“Ah… I’m… I’m sorry Kaon. I didn’t mean to make you worry more… I mean… I guess I’m just worried that something bad happened. Even if it isn’t Rodimus’ ghost, it still could be an Autobot who might know who he is…” 

Yes, but you’re forgetting something.” Replied Tesarus. “There’s also a rumor about a kid running around with that ghost. And the kid is followed by a turbofox who’s description fits Dominus. So, we could say that Dominus is, at least, fine. Maybe the Autobot won’t even do something to Dominus, because the kid is there.” Said the big mech in an attempt to take at least some worries off of Kaon’s shoulders. And it seemed to work. The smaller mech looked a little less worried than when Helex started to talk about the rumors they heard. “Although, I’m still wondering why he even disappeared. Dominus isn’t someone who would walk off without letting anyone know.” 

“Maybe he saw something that we didn’t…” Muttered Kaon, as he thought back to the day Dominus disappeared, but the only thing odd was the lone youngling walking up to their booth before disappearing again. Strangely enough, the day this youngling showed up was also the same day Dominus disappeared.  

While Tesarus, Helex and Kaon were walking along one part of the city, Tarn and Vos were taking another street. They had already met one kind femme who owned a small shop around the corner and who had seen the ‘ghost’ and ‘youngling with the turbofox’. Although, the femme laughed at them for even implying that the older brother was a ghost. “He surely was real when he helped me carry my wares into the shop.” Was what the femme sad, before she mentioned how the younger brother seemed too shy to even leave the side of his turbofox. “The poor thing started shaking as soon as I smiled at him. Maybe it’s my pointy teeth?” Said the femme, before Tarn showed her a picture of Phoenix, asking if that might have been he youngling, too which she only nodded, before pointing down the street. Saying that the two brothers mentioned a  park, or something like that. 

And that’s where Tarn and Vos were heading now. With the leader thinking about the facts they learned and coming to the conclusion that the ‘ghost’ probably was probably an Ex-Autobot who just looked similar to Rodimus Prime. They saw the corpse of the prime after all. And if a youngling can look like Rodimus Prime, then there surely can be another one who shares similarities. 

He just hoped that they would find the Ex-Autobot and Phoenix at the park. 

While the DJD was still doing their search in the city, Rodimus was sitting on a bark bench. Watching Phoenix run around and play with the turbofox, while lamenting how the Autobots ruined this planet. Sometimes, when he was faced with the things his faction had done, Rodimus found himself questioning if he had made the right decisions. Sometimes, he would even start fantasizing about a universe where the roles were switched and he was the good guy. But then he would start laughing, because there could never be anything like that. 

Him? Being the good guy? How laughable. 

“Roddy?” Asked Phoenix,as he ran towards him. Followed by the damned turbofox Rodimus still was suspecting of being Dominus Ambus. “Can I go to the sales stand to buy something to drink?”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Asked Rodimus in return, to which Phoenix only shook his head. “No, I think I can go by myself. And if something happens, I can still call for you, right? The stand isn’t that far away from here after all.” Rodimus would have loved to say no and go with Phoenix to make sure nothing would happen, but this was the first time his brother asked to go somewhere alone. Also, the prime knew that the damned turbofox would follow Phoenix either way, which meant he wasn’t all that unprotected. 

“Okay,” said the prime, before adding, “but only to the stand. You come back afterwards.” After hearing that, Phoenix quickly nodded before running off towards the stand selling all kinds of drinks, followed by Dominus. Not noticing that he forgot his hat with Rodimus.

And that’s where Tarn and Vos spotted the youngspark together with Dominus. The leader of the DJD was quick to take out the picture of Phoenix they had, confirming that they indeed found the missing youngling, before telling Vos to take a look around. “See if you can find this ‘ghost’, but don’t engage with him.” Was all he said, before making his way over to the stand. Comming Helex, Tesarus and Kaon to let them know that they had found the missing youngling, while taking his place next to Phoenix, while pretending to take a look at the different drinks. 

“It’s hard to choose, isn’t it?” Asked Tarn softly, as to not scare off Phoenix. Which didn’t seem to help either way, because the youngling still jumped slightly, while letting out a small, fearful, squeak. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me, you just… surprised me. That’s all…” Muttered Phoenix, as one of his servos reached down to pat Dominus on the head, while his wings twitched uncomfortable. Even if this tall and strange looking mech seemed to be nice, Phoenix was still intimidated. Especially because Rodimus wasn’t here with him. Maybe he should have asked his brother to come with him. He would have felt safer with him here. Having his turbofox friend near was helping Phoenix to stay a little bit calm, but he could still feel himself starting to panic.

Also, was this tall mech always standing this close to him? Phoenix didn’t know, but it wasn’t helping. No, not at all. So, the youngling turned around and started running back to Rodimus. Ignoring the tall mech’s calls asking him to stop, because why should he? He didn’t know that mech, and mechs you don’t know, you can’t trust. 

But just before Phoenix could reach Rodimus, two strong servos grabbed the youngspark and hoisted him up. Keeping him at arm's length, because Phoenix was kicking and screeching at the mech, while trying to twist out of his grip. 

“E-ehm… Tarn? What am I supposed to do now? My grip is slipping.” Asked Helex, as he looked over at their nearing leader. 

“You better let him go, before I melt your friend’s head.” Said Rodimus calmly, as he walked over to where Helex and the others were. One servo firmly gripped Vos’ arm, while the other was tightly pressed against the side of his head. 

“Because I will do it, if I don’t get my brother back.”

#sentient sg/lost light au #phoenix #rodimus #tarn #vos #helex #kaon #tesarus #Dominus Ambus #only phoenix is my character #the plot thickens! #boy; it feels like I have written chaos incarnated #but I don't care #my head hurts and this is all I can manage to write #I'm sorry; if some of you are disappointed now #seriously #I'm sorry if some were expecting more #I'm going to try better next chapter #either way #wee will see where this is going in part 10 #yay?