Where do I know you from? 4/?
Hangster crackfic. There are too many Jakes and Bradleys for Jake and Bradley to be dealing with. Or the Universe is just as fed up with them being blind.
PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE
PART FOUR
Jake is still trying to not imagine Maverick and Cyclone together, although Three and Five are of course asking more questions. Jake doesn’t know if he’s imagining it, but the rate at which new Roosters are arriving seems to have picked up. Twelve and Thirteen arrive together and they’re both older. Bradshaw still looks good, especially the one in uniform, but the one not in uniform is making a beeline for him, looking worried.
“Jake. Are you okay? This has to be really fucking weird for you.”
“Yeah. Very weird.”
“You’ll be okay. I mean, you time travelled in my universe so –”
“He what now?” Three, Five and Eight all exclaim, and Thirteen looks a little taken aback at the response from them all.
“Just Jake travelled… not me.”
“Nothing freaky happened where I’m from, if that helps…” Twelve states.
Three and Five, along with Eight who just watches go back to their spreadsheet, asking the two new arrivals the standard questions he’s heard a few times now. Jake has also noticed that the ticks in the naval aviator column are also increasing, although Rooster Thirteen has an asterisk by it. Fourteen has arrived and is listening in horror as DADT is explained to him, because it somehow wasn’t a thing where he comes from. His Maverick and Iceman were together since the Eighties. Which seems to be normal judging by the way Three and Five react, despite them having DADT.
“A lot of me are naval aviators. Interesting.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, my mom didn’t want me to be a pilot. Seems like I went against that wish in a lot of different universes.”
“Oh…” Jake says, because he cannot imagine a Rooster that doesn’t fly. “He’s the best of the best.”
“Have you told him that?”
“Of course not,” Jake replies, rolling his eyes and Three bumps his shoulder again in a friendly gesture. “I can’t imagine him not flying.”
“Oh, I fly. I’m just not a fighter pilot.”
“Same. Mav started teaching me when I was like, fourteen,” Five states.
Three and Five seem to have a lot in common, even if there is about an eight inch height difference.
“Hangman. You look good.”
“I am good…” Jake says automatically, and it feels almost right, but this Rooster, number Fifteen now, is looking at him like he already knows all of Jake’s secrets and he doesn’t know if he’s a fan.
“Hmm… you are,” Bradley says, stepping right up against him and his Rooster would never. He’s pretty sure his Rooster would only help him out of obligation. Or payback for saving his life. “You blush very prettily, but I better leave that for your Rooster to find that out hmm?”
“You know what, you can go and sit with number ten,” Jake states, pointing to the pool table where he banned Ten to. “I’m sure the both of you will get on great.”
Of course, there are universes where Rooster is even more confident and walking -sex-on-a-stick, but Jake has limits. And they are being stretched.
“Want me to go tell him to back off?” Thirteen asks and Jake shakes his head. He kind of likes the way Thirteen seems to be looking out for him, and he doesn’t want to explore why he feels like he needs to do that. Fucking time travel.
Sixteen arrives with Seventeen. Sixteen is simply in service khakis, looks comfortable entering the Hard Deck. Seventeen on the other hand… Jake’s mouth goes dry. Seventeen is wearing cowboy boots and hat and he looks like a fucking wet dream and Jake didn’t realize this was a thing he had, and he’s sure he actually doesn’t, but on Rooster it’s just too much…
Because the universe hates him Eighteen walks in wearing an almost identical get-up, but with a whip swinging from his hip and Jake lets out a little whimpering sound, holds out his hand and makes a grabby gesture to Six for another drink. Fortunately Six is forthcoming and Jake throws it back gratefully. Two Roosters dressed like cowboys. Not just dressed like it but they also seem comfortable and capable and Jake cannot cope with this.
“Oh. Now there is a look I wouldn’t have thought I could carry off, but I look good…” Ten says; he and Fifteen have come to watch the door, because the door does not even close before another Rooster is walking through it, which is why they’re almost arriving in pairs now; one of them sometimes holding the door for the other. He’s starting to lose track of who is who, the number of identical uniforms and almost identical faces making the job a lot more difficult. Three and Five are also starting to look a little overwhelmed, which he doesn’t find reassuring at all.
“You said you know your Bradley. I think we should maybe either get him to come here or we go to his place.”
“How am I meant to transport twenty people?”
“Hound isn’t around?” Rooster Nineteen, maybe, asks, eyebrow raised in question and Jake shakes his head.
“Who the fuck is Hound?” Jake asks, because it sounds like a callsign.
“Just my Universe then…”
“Apparently.”
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