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imawkwardlysoc · 1 year

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twenty buttons and a strap

Song- Green Green Dress from tick.. tick.. BOOM!

Pairing- Pete Mitchell x afab!reader

Warning(s)- Allusions to sex (not mentioned), reader and Pete have a five year age difference, reader and Pete have a daughter together

Summary- Reader goes onto base to pick Pete up for their date and Pete sees her in her outfit

Wordcount- 1,117

“So,” I stepped back so I could fit in the frame. “What do you think?”

“You look great mom,” Y/D/N replied with a smile.

“Are you sure?” I questioned my outfit choice. “Shouldn’t I dress my age?”

“Mom, do you think Dad dresses his age?” She let out a laugh. “Besides, you look hot.”

“That is true,” I chuckled and put on the earrings that Pete got me for our twentieth anniversary. “At the same time if he’s not in his flight suit, it’s just jeans with a t-shirt, and his bomber jacket along with his aviators.”

“There’s the occasional suit that’s not his dress uniforms,” she shrugged.

“All right, your dad and I will see you in a few days when you get back from college,” I let out a chuckle and finished getting ready. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” she smiled and we hung up the video call.

Grabbing my phone, I saw the text Pete sent me saying that he’s running a little bit behind. We already had plans for me picking him up on base as he changes for our date. Sending him a reply, I adjusted the straps and smoothed out the velvet green dress that I got a little while ago. Putting on my heels, I grabbed my purse and made my way out of the house.

Getting into the car, I turned on the ignition and pulled out of the driveway before making the ten minute drive to base. On the way there, I hummed to some of the songs that Pete and I have in our playlist. Pulling up to base, I pulled my ID out and was allowed to go in. Parking the car, I got out and headed to where Pete and the Dagger Squad were.

“Well guys,” I heard Pete say as I walked into the hangar. “You all are dismissed. Need to get ready for date night for the misses.”

“Are you going to dress up Mav?” Hangman jokes.

“Oh please, his version of dressing up is wearing the same thing and putting on the fanciest pair of aviators he has,” Mickey quipped.

“Hey, he can don a suit from time to time,” I said, making my presence known.

“Oh wow,” I blushed at Maverick’s reaction.

“Damn Mama Mav,” Coyote hyped me up. “You look-”

“Amazing!” Phoenix completed his sentence. “That color looks great on you.”

“Thank you,” I thanked her and walked up to Mav. “So, what do you think?”

“You look amazing,” he replied before placing a kiss on my lips.

I let out a chuckle when I saw Pete flipping Bradley off as we heard him gag.

“Now go change,” I smacked his butt. “We have reservations.”

“Yes ma'am,” he saluted me as I rolled my eyes.

Once he left the hangar, I went up to the rest of my Dagger Ducklings and talked to them while we waited for Pete. I also mentioned there was going to be a family dinner when Y/D/N comes back from DC. I might’ve also threatened to ground Bradley since he let out a groan when I told him that he needed to pick her up from the airport since Pete and I are busy on the day she lands and he had a day off. I’m pretty sure Mav forgot to dismiss them since they haven’t left to go change yet. All of us continued to talk to each other about other things until Mav came back.

“Looking sharp old man,” Hangman whistled. “Suit, tie, cufflinks, and everything else.”

“Well then, you all are dismissed,” Pete announced. “I’m taking this lovely lady out on a night on the town.”

“Have fun guys,” all of them told us.

Thanking them, I reminded them about family dinner and we headed off base to the parking lot. Pete opened the passenger door for me and I got in. Getting into the driver’s seat, Pete started the car and started to drive off base to our location. During the drive there, Pete and I sang along to the songs that were playing through the speakers. Parking and getting out of the car as we got to the restaurant, we headed in and waited for a little bit for our table.

“Don’t give me that look,” I told him as we sat down and looked through the menu.

“What look?” I could see him smirking.

“That look,” I replied while looking at him.

I could see him undressing me with his eyes.

“This is the only look I have darling,” he winked and I rolled my eyes.

Our waiter came back with our drinks and we ordered our meals. Munching on the free bread, we talked about the plans we’re going to have with Y/D/N when she lands here. We already have the family dinner planned but we’re not sure what to do for the rest of the week. Our food came and we continued our conversation.

Throughout the meal, Mav and I kept on sending each other looks. We teased each other a little bit but not too much. Pete would sometimes place his hand on my thigh while I smirked. When dinner reached an end, Pete paid for our meal and we headed out of the restaurant. Pete wrapped his arm around my shoulders and he got closer to my ear to whisper something.

“That dress is immediately coming off once we step into the house,” he whispered.

“I would love to see you try,” I laughed as we got into the car. “The back has twenty buttons and it took me a while for me to button them up.”

“Darling, I’m a highly decorated captain of the Navy,” he chuckled. “I’m able to do anything.”

Rolling my eyes at his answer, he drove us back home. Parking the car in the driveway, we got out of the car and Mav rushed to open the front door. Getting to the front door, I let out a squeal and a laugh as Mav picked me up bridal style as he carried me into the house. Wrapping my arms around his neck, we started to kiss as he carried me up the stairs. Opening the door to our bedroom, he placed me down on the bed and started to unbutton the back of my dress while placing kisses along my body.

*Meanwhile in the Living Room*

“Did we just?” Phoenix questioned.

“Yeah, did we just?” Bob looked at his pilot.

“Wanna go back?” Hangman suggested.

“Yeah, let's go back,” all of the aviators agreed.

All twelve aviators grabbed all of their things and headed out of the house to the shared house they own.

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averagewriter-inthedark · 1 year

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The Rockstar, Her Husband, & Their Dagger Ducklings 🐥🎸 | TGM Imagine

Takes place after the events of TGM

TGM Masterlist

Read ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top’ first before this!

Characters & Pairings: Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell x 80s Rockstar!reader (romantic), Bradley Bradshaw x reader (mother/son-type relationship), Dagger Squad (platonic) Hondo (platonic)

Content Warnings: fluff, profanity, mentions or past drug use & alcohol, 80s references, found family troupe | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 5.3k

Premise: everyone loves a found family story. The one tells the what it looks like when you put a married couple, in which the husband is the Navy’s most famous pilot and the wife is the most iconic front-woman in rock n roll history, with their sorta adopted adult children that are the Navy’s best of the best pilots. Join Maverick, his rockstar wife, and the dagger ducklings on just some of their rock and rollin’ adventures.

Requested 📨: yes/no

Note: As soon as I finished IALWTTT I immediately started thinning about doing a little mini blurb about Mav, his rockstar wife, and the dagger squad as they become a little family. Plus I thought of how they would be if they were at the Rock n Roll HOF induction 😉 hope y’all like this and let me know what you think! -Bee 🐝

—————————————

There is only one word that could describe best what it’s like when a 60 and 58 year old couple decide to unofficially adopt seven 30+ year olds as their surrogate children…..It’s madness.

Well it’s madness about 80% of the time just because they’re basically teenagers in adult bodies whenever they get together. For example, Mav and Y/n really got a taste of what it was like when the daggers were in the same room just the night after the concert when they invited them over for Saturday dinner. The barbecue was going, drinks were passed around, music was on full blast and things were calm…..until it was time to sit down at the table.

“That is not how I got my callsign, Seresin!” Nat chucked a celery stick at the blonde. The conversation of call signs came into play about thirty minutes into the meal with Jake taking it upon himself to tell the stories he personally witnessed or heard from others. He had just got done explaining that Phoenix got black out drunk in flight school, threw up all over the dorms but managed to clean it all up, and then woke up in time the next day for training.

“That’s what I heard, Trace,” he defends with hands raised, laughing as the others try not to receive the wrath of the firebird.

“And who was your source?”

Jake doesn’t hesitate to throw him under the bus, “Rooster.”

“Dude!” The pilot shouts, causing Y/n to do an expression of, ‘nooooo.’

Nat threw a celery at him, “What the hell, Bradshaw, that’s not what happened.” Rooster sends a glare to Jake, before facing Nat with a look of plea, “forgive me, Nat. But that’s what I remembered happening.” Her reaction is one that reads, ‘are you serious?’

“You were just as wasted as I was! How the hell did you manage to remember that?”

“So you did black out and showed up in time for training?” Fanboy asks with slight awe. There was no way in hell he’d be about to do that. If it were him, he’d likely still be in bed and get chewed out for missing.

“Look,” she sighs, “the event itself happened, yes,” she ignores the sounds of ‘damn, Phee,’ ‘I knew it was true,’ the glare they receive causes them to shut up. “But I already had Phoenix as my callsign. That isn’t what gave me it, but people were just like, ‘no wonder they say you rise from the ashes.’ So, you can forget about that being the origin cause it wasn’t.”

Murmurs sound and then Y/n politely asks, “How did you get the name then, hon?” This time Nat blushes and tells the truth, “I used to be obsessed with the X-Men comics as a kid. And well….Jean Grey was my favorite character so I dressed up as her Phoenix form almost every Halloween for five years. Word got around and the rest was history.”

The rest of the night was full of laughs, games, and conversation.

“I am open about the fact I did…dabble in the white powder during my late teens-early twenties,” Y/n nodded when the question about her past drug use arose. The information was public that she and other band members smoked weed early in their careers and experimented with harder substances. In an interview with the Rolling Stone magazine shortly after the band went on hiatus Y/n confirmed the last time she used drugs was in 1988.

“Unfortunately it was common in the 80s—especially in the industry, I mean the amount of people you met who did it was longer than Santa’s list. When you have young, vulnerable kids who are new to the scene and having to migrate the spotlight like we did things tend to happen,” she waves a hand to emphasize her point. “But I only did it in social settings. It was only a few times really and the last time I did a line I swear I saw God. When I tell you it was like witnessing the Big Bang in real time—I-I immediately cut it off after that. It was so bad—never again.”

At one point Jake asked, “tell us your top five favorite moments in your entire career.”

“Oh God,” she laughed, turning to Mav who had the same expression. “Only five? That’s gonna need time to think but……” she starts counting off with her fingers, “in no particular order: the Super Bowl, duh. The first ever MTV Video Music Awards—you just had to be there. Smoking a blunt with Snoop Dogg after the 2001 Grammys,” she paused when they all hollard with cheers. “Performing with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr,” Bob made an audible sound like it was the coolest thing he’d ever heard. “And…..oh gosh there’s so many more—SNL, winning the Oscar, making out with Matt Dillion after The Outsiders premiere,” Mav rolled his eyes at that knowing she was teasing him. Of course he knew she’d been with Hollywood heartthrobs before they met, men and women alike. Mav wasn’t insecure or anything. They’d been together for so long he had nothing to be insecure for. It was just that he had met Matt Dillion in the 90s…..and could tell the actor still had lust for his woman.

Y/n couldn’t help but tease him knowing Pete was obviously jealous the night she introduced the two at a party they attended. It was just a friendly encounter with Y/n having her eyes for the pilot, disregarding the affectionate gaze from her former fling. “He won’t stop staring at you,” Pete pouted when he caught Matt’s eyes for a fourth time, once again checking his girlfriend out. Chuckling, Y/n made herself comfortable in Pete’s lap, pulling him closer so they barely had space as she went in to kiss him after saying, “Let him stare, baby. He had a chance and he missed it. Now he’s in the past and you’re my present and future.”

Yeah, Matt left the party shortly after that display.

Y/n kissed blushing Pete’s cheek and took a moment to think, “But I gotta include the first time we played at The Garden. I think that’s the moment when I really felt like I was a rockstar.”

The dogs were having a grand time with all the attention they were getting. Goose spent most of the time on Bradley’s lap, with Y/n scolding the man for feeding the pup some of the plain chicken wing meat. Plans were arranged for the upcoming months which included Mickey and Jake’s birthdays, Halloween and of course, Y/n’s HOF induction. The daggers were under the impression only Mav and possibly Rooster would get to go in person to the event, so they worked on meeting up to watch the live feed together.

Little did they know their resident rockstar was already conspiring.

Speaking of Halloween, the party was a night to remember when the holiday arrived. It had already been established that Mav and Y/n knew how to throw a party. Mickey and Jake’s birthday were just two examples in which the dagger squad, the band, and their close friends were thankful Y/n’s closest neighbors were quite the walk away. Halloween, however, was where the couple got to shine.

Not only were they best dressed as Jack Skeleton & Sally, with their dogs all dressed up as bats, but their entire home looked straight out The Nightmare Before Christmas. The front lawn was like a graveyard, with a giant inflatable pumpkin. Inside was spectacular with the sunken living room transformed into a dancefloor. One could expect the daggers were trying not to lose their mind with the amount of stars they met. Duran Duran was there, which was expected since the two bands had been friends since the 80s but also because of the induction in just a few short weeks.

Robert Downey Jr. was in attendance with his family—Fanboy pretty much shit his pants when he realized who Y/n was introducing him too. The Marvel junkie in him was going crazy. “Hey, buddy, nice to meet ya. Any friend of the Mitchell’s is a friend of mine,” Robert shook his hand, the pilot’s mouth a gape causing Y/n to chuckle and pat his back, “I think we broke the poor boy, Robert.”

Nat found herself having a drink with Carrie Ann Moss from the Matrix, who she was dressed as her iconic character. “Nice outfit,” the actress complimented with a genuine smile. Nat didn’t know how she managed to find the words to speak, but somehow said, “t-thank you. Wow um—it’s an honor.” Before she knew it the two women were talking with Carrie Ann telling her all the behind the scenes info of her most renowned sci-fi trilogy.

Fucking Serena and Venus Williams was there. Coyote just about had a heart attack and texted his mother right after meeting them saying, “You’ll never believe who I just met, ma.” He then proceeds to send the selfie they took to his family group chat. They were losing their minds just as he was.

Payback’s fan girl moment came when he ended up being challenged in a dance off with the one and only Janet Jackson. What made it better…he was dressed as Michael Jackson from his Thriller music video. It’s probably what had the singer challenge him when the song ‘Scream’ she did with brother came on. The costume Janet had involved a mask, so the man didn’t even know who he was dancing with until the song came to an end.

“Does he know that’s Janet?” Y/n came up to her husband, grinning at the sight. Mav shook his head, “I don’t think he does.” When the mask revealed the face hidden behind, Reuben forgot what the hell was even happening around him. “Holy shit,” was all he could say, grinning wide as she approached with a nod of respect, “You got moves, kid.”

Jake came up and slapped him on the back, “That was fucking awesome!” Payback was still in disbelief, exhaling with awe, “I just dance battled Janet Jackson…. while dressed as Micheal Jackson, to the song Scream by Micheal and Janet Jackson…I’ve won at life.”

Rooster, as usual, was the life of the party. A lot of the guests he already had the privilege of meeting years before. So one could imagine how stunned his friends were to see him nonchalantly shooting pool with fucking Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters. “You’ve gotten better since the last time we played,” the guitarist chuckled when Rooster hit the winning shot.

“Ain’t no better place to become pro than in a Navy officer bar.”

“Guess you’ll have to teach me a thing or two now, kid.”

Beach days were reserved for dogfight football. Ever since that first time playing it the pilots couldn’t play it any other way. Hondo or Y/n would be ref and there would be times where the band would come out with their kids so they had more players.

“Ready….set…” Y/n blows the whistle and the balls are tossed to their respective quarterback. The speaker blasting music would muffle out due to the shouts and cheers, Y/n squealing when Mav would lift her over his shoulder whenever he scored. “Pete Mitchell put me down!” A slap to his jean clad ass would result in her being tossed in the water. “Hey! Oh you little—,” the pilot was yanked down, falling into the upcoming wave to the sound of his wife’s laughter.

Sometimes the dogs would join in on the fun at the private beach. It always ended with Rooster, Mav, and Coyote chasing after Goose and Ice, the mutts stealing the balls in the middle of the game. Sweet Bella was always on her best behavior, cuddling with the younger kids who opted out of playing. “Goose, get back here!” “Ice, now is not the time!”

Four days before the induction ceremony, Y/n gathers her ducklings to the home for their monthly barbecue. “Gather ‘round, ducklings,” she taps a spoon to her wine glass. “Gather ‘round.”

“The Queen has something to say,” Rooster adds when they take too long to circle the table, resulting in Y/n to lightly smack his shoulder in a motherly way. He feigns hurt, mumbling, “rude.”

The rockstar calls the attention back to her, “It has come to my attention that you all have made plans to watch the live feed of Saturday’s ceremony. Well, I have some news I’d like to share….” She gestures for Pete, who brings over a literal silver tray with eight black and red envelopes neatly lined up. Each envelope had the pilots callsign in silver sparkly lettering.

“Was this your idea?” she muses at the silver tray, Pete and Rooster grinning like children who were presenting an art project.

“We thought it was fitting.”

“You two,” she sighs though there is amusement in her tone. “When I call your name please retrieve your present. But don’t open it till I say so.”

“What did you do?” Nat accuses when she’s the first to receive the envelope. Lightweight in her hands, she examines it closely while the others get theirs, but does not open it like instructed. Hondo is the last to get his, taking his place back between Javy and Mickey.

“Consider this your holiday present from Mav and I,” Y/n leans into her husband when his arm goes around her. “We both split the costs—though I insisted it all be on me since It was my idea,” she looks at him with a knowing look.

He just kisses her temple, “You know I wouldn’t have let you when you already do so much, honey,” Pete looks at his pilots, “But we hope you all like it and accept the offer.”

“If this is what I think it is,” Jake starts to say, catching onto what the couple were implying. Y/n’s little indication of the ceremony is what really had him suspect. “Then I’m going to scream.”

Nat quickly catches on, gasping, “I swear to God, y’all better not have.”

“Better not have what?” Bob innocently looks at the couple, who were both grinning wide. Y/n couldn’t take it any longer and allowed them to open the envelopes. Sure enough Jake screamed, but it was more of a dramatic one. With him were Mickey, Javy, Payback and even Bob was shouting. Nat immediately embraced Y/n in a hug while Hondo did the same to Mav. Before long the entire group was in a big dogpile with the pups getting in on the hype.

“You guys are unbelievable!” Nat shouted amongst the chaos, double checking the papers to see they were in fact what they were. It was a ticket to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony taking place that Saturday at the Microsoft Theater “Wh-what!? How!?”

“I’ve had them ready since July,” Y/n told her, laughing at Nat’s jaw dropped expression.

“Thank you so so much!” Nat hugs her again after the guys express their words of gratitude, “I don’t think we can thank you enough—I mean you’ve already done so much for us. Now this!? Honestly I don’t know how we’ll make it up to you.”

“Don’t think about that,” Y/n assured, moving to the side when a play fight broke out between Mav, Rooster, and Jake with the dogs. “It makes me happy to do these things and that we get to share them together. You guys are our family now. Not just mine and Pete’s, but also the Romantics. And I would want nothing more than my whole family to be in attendance Saturday night.”

“It would be our honor,” Nat squeezes her hand, still in disbelief that she got to call the woman a friend and was privileged to experience things she never thought she could. When Saturday came Nat had to pinch herself. Sitting in the stands of Microsoft Theater with her best friends, dressed in a sparkly pantsuit and in absolute awe.

The squad was close to the stage but in the stands since the floor was where all the tables were. From their position, they could see Y/n and Pete with the Romantics and their managers. Front tables were basically reserved for the inductees. The year's inductee lineup was insane. Absolute icons: Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Dolly Parton, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie, Eminem, Carly Simon, Judas Priest, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Harry Belafonte, Sylvia Robinson, Jimmy Lovine, Elizabeth Cotten, and Allen Grubman.

Those who had passed were to be honored by singers and the inductees present would perform. One by one the inductees were honored. Personal friends, fans, or colleagues gave speeches for the artist/group they were inducting. Dr. Dre inducted Eminem, Robert Downey Jr for Duran Duran. In between performances took place with the crowd on their feet and singing along to iconic songs that defined a generation.

Hearing Dolly Parton live was a moment they’d never forget. So many things could be crossed off their bucket list, including seeing Dolly Parton. Together they shouted the lyrics to ‘Sweet Dreams’ by Eurythmics at the top of their lungs, the guys rapping along with Eminem. Nat felt like a teenager again singing along to Pat Benatar’s ‘Love Is A Battlefield,’ & ‘Heartbreaker’. They rocked out to Judas Priest, Duran Duran, and Loionel Richie. Everyone was having a blast and then the moment they were all waiting for came.

To induct Y/n and The Romantics, the crowd screamed in joy when Ryan Reynolds approached the podium. At the table the band were in a heep of laughter already. It was fitting having the movie star induct them considering their songs were featured in the Deadpool movies and they made a cameo in Deadpool 2. Ryan was not only a big fan of the group but had become their friend.

“Hello, hello, greetings and salutations fellow rock n rollers,” he starts, the audience roaring around. Payback brought his thumbs up to whistle. “It’s an honor and privilege to be here tonight with you all, and it’s a mega blessing to be inducting this next group,” his attention lands on the Romantics, the cheers getting louder, “which is safe to say has been long overdue.”

“Damn right!” Rooster shouts, which actually catches Ryan’s attention, the movie star pointing in his direction with a curt nod.

“Now if you’re a child of the 70s like me and had your teenage years in the decade known for religious cults and a substance sharing the name with a popular soft drink,” he pauses at the laughter that rings out, coughing lightly before continuing, “then you should know who Y/n and The Romantics are.” Microsoft Theater rumbled with the reaction of the crowd. “If you don’t,” Ryan shrugs, “then you must be living under a fucking rock.”

The camera pans to the band, Y/n with a hand over her mouth covering the massive grin she had beneath. Her bandmates were just as joyous as they watched Ryan give his speech. “At just the ripe age of fourteen, these young cats hit the streets of Atlanta and sang tunes for all ears to hear. It was 1978. The Camp David Peace Accords was signed, the first IVF baby was born, NASA unveiled their first group of women astronauts, and Japanese explorer Naomi Uemura became the first to reach the North Pole. For a bunch of freshmen in high school, their lives changed when their rendition of ‘Cry Baby’ by Janis Joplin was heard by the right person passing by.” Ryan pauses once more to let the audience cheer, at the table Pete takes Y/n’s hand in his, giving it a loving squeeze.

“Though they released their first single on New Year’s Day of 1979, the new decade emerged with a new spice to rock music. It skyrocketed these kids to stardom with their unique sound and a frontwoman with a voice that sounded like an angel rebelled from God to become a rockstar,” Y/n smiled shyly when the camera panned to her, blowing a kiss before it went to her friends. “They were every rock n roll hater’s worst nightmare. With their leather and glitter, Y/n’s iconic split dye hair and swooning every person they met, the launch of MTV in 1981 made Y/n and The Romantics overnight sensations…. and the celebrity crushes of every young Hollywood heartthrob,” Ryan smirks, nodding with the hollars of the audience.

“The way people are when it comes to securing Taylor Swift and Beyoncé tickets, was the same for us trying to see The Romantics live back in the day. You can best believe seeing grown men and women cry when they were unable to get seats for the farewell tour. I think I even witnessed a fight break out in the ticket line.”

“Oh my God,” Y/n giggled, hiding her face in her hands. Glancing at her friends they had the same reaction: flustered.

“By 2002 The Romantics had sold over 150 million records worldwide and accumulated so many awards I can’t even list them all in this speech. I’ll just name a few: an Oscar for Best Original Song,” whistles and hollars sounded at his pause between each award, “twelve Grammy awards. Over a dozen in MTV Moonmen. Billboard’s Artist of the Year. The AMA Icon Award. Ranked number 15 on the Rolling Stone list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time—cited as the greatest influence on rock music of the 20th century.”

Ryan adjusted his posture, “I can confidently say that when the news broke of their hiatus, hearts shattered across the planet—including mine,” he faked a voice crack, causing the audience to chuckle. “It felt like my parents were getting divorced—s-sorry,” he wiped away a fake tear, Y/n leaning over her chair in a heep of giggles. “It was an emotional time for me and fellow Romantics.”

“But though they were no longer releasing music their spotlight never dimmed. The members ventured out in other projects and started families. Fans might have recognized keyboardist Ronnie Jensen as Detective Josie Adams on Law & Order,” the camera panned to Ronnie, the woman throwing up a rock n roll gesture with her hand to the cheers. “If you look at the writing credits on some of the 2000s best hits for modern pop rock artists and groups, you may find the daughter of rock n roll's name at the top.” This time the camera went back to Y/n’s smiling face, the rockstar giving a nonchalant shrug.

“Oh and let’s not forget that if you watch any superhero or action movie you’ll hear ‘Thunderstruck’ on the soundtrack.” That had the crowd go wild. “And if you listen to ‘Highway to Hell’ while diving…nine times out of ten you will be pulled over for reckless speeding. Believe me, I would know.” Danny and Evan were capping their hands by how hard they were laughing, wiping away tears that brimmed in their eyes.

“Around this time two years ago we were at the height of a global pandemic. The world was shut down and there was little to hope for in those hard times. But one random day I found myself shitting my pants when the first thing I saw on twitter was The Romantics trending worldwide. I thought one of them had died honestly and was too scared to look as a panic attack arose until my lovely wife Blake slapped me and said, ‘they're getting the band back together you fool—stop crying and get it together.’ I then proceeded to faint for a different reason.” Ryan caught Y/n’s eye and he broke out into a laugh, forgetting what he was about to say next. “I-I fuck I’m sorry.” The audience laughed with him.

“T-their comeback album ‘In Rock We Trust,’ hit the the top of the Billboard hot 100 within minutes of release—going platinum in just a week. Their debut single, the title track, remained number one on iTunes for eight weeks straight and every radio station lost their minds. It’s no surprise they took home the Grammy once again for ‘Best Rock Album’ and ‘Record of The Year.’ And now 43 years after the release of their first single, they have finally earned their spot in the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame.”

As the audience screamed the lights dimmed on the stage so the video montage could play for all eyes in the theater. Those viewing at home would get a full screen picture of the video while those in attendance all shot their eyes to the Jumbotron. Down below, stage crew motioned for The Romantics to get ready for their performance that would happen once the video was over. Y/n kissed Pete, the man telling her good luck as the band did the same to their loved ones before they all followed the stage crew to their positions.

The video montage consisted of clips starting from the Romantics first starting out at just 14 and 15 years of age all the way to present day. Watching them go from shy kids to rockstars selling out stadiums and racking up award after award. Some clips were of their music videos, others were celebrities gushing over the band, including Cameron Diaz and Ralph Macchio. “I love them so much,” a young Cindy Crawford said, blushing when she added, “I just wanna party with them and have a good time.”

“They are the band of our generation,” praised Molly Ringwald on the red carpet of the 1988 VMAs. “Seeing them perform tonight is gonna be the highlight of my life.”

Their songs played over the video showing a montage of the band's most iconic performances. One of which was the 1992 Billboard Music Awards where it was raining outside and they still performed. Y/n was completely soaked with her makeup smearing down her cheeks and hair in disarray, not to mention she was wearing a white tank top with no bra and leather pants. It made headlines with people and the media trying to degrade the rockstar. A clip with Diane Sawyer trying to humiliate Y/n played, showing the woman smirk as she shrugged and said, “why were your eyes there the whole time, Diane? Did I make you look at my chest? No, you and everyone else did that on your own.” The clip immediately cut to the Super Bowl Halftime show, regarded as one of the best performances of all time.

When the video ended, the spotlight shined back on Ryan and the cheers grew louder, “It is my honor to induct your Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2022 members, ladies and gentleman gave it up for Y/n and The Romantics!!” Evan’s opening riff sent the crowd wild, everyone on the floor to their feet and the daggers whistling against the noise. Strutting up to the front of the stage, Y/n brought the microphone up to her lips and sang her heart, “Hey yeeeeahhhh, are you ready?” She smiled and winked at Pete.

“We be a guitar band. We play across the land. Shootin’ out tonight, gonna keep you up alright.”

”You hear the guitar sound, playin’ nice and loud. Rock you to your knees, gonna make your destiny.”

“In rock we trust, it’s rock or bust,” she belts the chorus, the audience singing with her. It was their first single back as a band, one that dominated the radio for weeks on end. The theater echoed with the final line of the chorus, “In rock n roll we trust, it’s rock or bust!”

After the song ended they immediately went into the opening of ‘Highway to Hell,’ which had the entire theater in a frenzy. “Livin’ easy, lovin’ free. Season ticket on a one way ride. Askin’ nothin’, leave me be. Takin’ everythin’ in my stride.” Pink was head banging, so was LL Cool J. Duran Duran were dancing with Y/n pointing at them before going over to the side of the stage where her ducklings were going crazy. “Don’t need reason. Don’t need rhyme. Ain’t nothin’ that I’d rather do. Goin’ down, party time. My friends are gonna be there too,” she shook her shoulders with each pound of Danny’s drums.

“I’m on the highway to hell!” Everyone screamed/sang. “On the highway to hell,” Y/n shook her head side to side. “Highway to hell.” Rooster whistled on the last line, “I’m on the highway to hell.”

“Y/n, you’re an icon!” Jake shouted, cupping his mouth with his hands. She must’ve heard him cause she laughed into the second verse.

The rest of the ceremony the energy was off the charts. The Romantics shared the stage with Duran Duran, singing their 1988 collab which had jaws drop and in absolute hysteria. All the inductees gathered at the end of the ceremony, all now official members of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. It was truly a sight to behold.

The holidays passed with more celebrations. Before long the band were releasing more songs and an album at the end of the summer. By 2024 they were back on tour and this time the daggers would attend shows without telling Y/n to surprise her. They had really become a family in just the two years they’d known each other.

“Oh this is a great song,” Jake practically moaned at the opening chord of Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone. He and the daggers were on the floor of the Staples Center, Y/n had spotted them not too long into the show and forgot her own lyrics cause she was so excited, “My ducklings are here! Ooh this next song is dedicated to them.”

Pulling on some aviator sunglasses to go with her camo pants and combat boots, Y/n shrugged on her husband's bomber jacket, “Revvin’ up your engine. Listen to her howlin’ roar,” she pointed a finger and drifted from side to side, “Metal under tension. Beggin’ you to touch and go.”

“Highway to the Danger Zone. Ride into the Danger Zone.” She shimmied her shoulders, “C’mon let me hear you!”

“Headin’ into twilight. Spreadin’ out her wings tonight. She got you jumpin’ off the deck. And shovin’ into overdrive. Sing it!”

“Highway to the Danger Zone. I’ll take you right into the Danger Zone.”

At the end of the song Y/n took the jacket off and threw it back over the railing to Pete, the man catching it in his hands, “Thanks for letting me borrow that, baby.”

That night of the show was just a few days before Y/n’s 60th birthday. She couldn’t help but awe when Pete and the squad came out with the band's families, their managers and crew with a small cake and balloons to sing ‘Happy Birthday.’

“You guys,” she wiped a tear away after blowing out the candles. Kissing Pete on the lips, she welcomed his hug and heard him say into her ear over the noise, “Happy birthday, baby. I love you so much—more than my P-51.” She threw her head back as she laughed, kissing him again before saying, “I find that hard to believe, Maverick,” she teased, kissing his cheek, “But thank you for this. You’re everything a woman could ask for.”

“Happy birthday, Y/n!” Rooster blows into the noise maker, placing a party hat on her head. The squad swarm around the couple, the confetti blasting into the crowd.

The moment felt like a full circle. Just two years prior Pete’s 60th birthday brought them all together. Now here they were celebrating her 60th, on stage with her friends, family, and fans. She really had it all.

But not to worry. There were sure going to be more memories and adventures of the rockstar, her husband, and their dagger ducklings.

………………..

TGM Tag list: @avaleineandafryingpan @caitsymichelle13 @poppyalice2001 @cutelittlepotatofry @luckyladycreator2 @americaarse @elenavampire21 @back-tooo-black @phoenixssugarbaby @gizmodear

#Spotify #pete mitchell x reader #pete maverick mitchell #pete mitchell imagine #pete mitchell x y/n #captain pete mitchell #dagger squad #dagger squad x reader #dagger squad imagine #Maverick x reader #top gun imagine #top gun maverick #top gun maverick fanfiction #top gun maverick imagine #rockstar!reader

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cannibalhellhound · 3 months

Text

Mav listening to this after loosing Ice

Dagger ducklings seeing and hugging him

31 notes · View notes

the-authoress-writes · 2 months

Text

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

A MavDad/PennyMav Fic

Synopsis: What do paperwork and a manicure have to do with Pete Mitchell getting the happy ending he never thought he would?

Everything, apparently.

Warnings: Fluff—pure, unadulterated fluff with feels.

Author’s Note: At last, I fulfill my promise to write something for Mav!

I couldn’t be happier to finally write something where Mav is the star, and not the wingman, literal or figurative.

Honestly, this story idea has been floating around in my head for a while, and here it is!

I know I should be working on the next chapter of Wherever You Go, or heck, even my faceclaim post for said fic, but this just wanted to be written already, and hopefully, now that I’ve gotten it out of my system, I will be able to get back to writing that.

I swear I didn’t plan to post this around Valentine’s Day, but hey, I’m not complaining!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my schmoopy MavDad indulgence!

“Honey, have you done your homework?” Mav heard Penny ask Amelia, from where he was drying the dinner dishes in the kitchen.

“Did it this afternoon, Mom, and I told you, the light is better here.”

“Okay, alright, let me just open a window before you suffocate us with the acetone,” Penny chuckled.

“Thanks, Mom.”

The sound of latches opening and glass bottles clinking together tinkled through the air, and the shadow of Penny crossing to open the window behind the breakfast nook fell across the counter next to him.

The cool breeze of a San Diego fall evening washed in, much like the distant tide.

A few soft footfalls later, warm arms wrapped around him. “Pete, honey, you coming up soon?”

Cracking a smile at the muted gag from the dining table, he sighed, leaning back against her. “I’ll try—I have a shit-ton of paperwork that Cyclone dumped on me.

The disadvantages of being an instructor and squadron leader,” he ruefully smiled, though he didn’t really regret taking the TOPGUN job and the position of CO of the newly created VFA-223, the “Black Cloaks”, comprised entirely of the Daggers and those who had been selected for the detachment training—or Maverick’s Ducklings, as Cyclone had dubbed them.

She nodded against his back. “Alright, come to bed when you’re done, okay?”

“I’ll be there.”

It was one of the best decisions in his life to work at his relationship with Penny—they had no chance of working when he was younger; his soul was too haunted, his heart, mind, and body chasing ghosts while also fleeing from them, but now… well, now, his mother’s engagement ring was sitting in the drawer of his desk at work, just waiting.

For what, exactly, he wasn’t sure.

The right moment, he guessed.

Mav heard Penny’s footsteps start up the stairs just as he placed the last glass in the cabinet, and after a wistful exhale, he grabbed the reluctantly-owned attaché case that Ice would have cackled over him having, which contained the classwork from his TOPGUN students, and the relatively sensitive training run reports of the Black Cloaks, setting it down at the dining table, across from where Amelia was… doing something to her nails.

He began working on the papers, and soon realized she was doing her nails.

After a while, Amelia murmured, “How’s the paperwork going?” a smirk like her mother’s on her face.

Belatedly, he realized he’d been watching her work instead of reading his reports. “It’s uh… paperworking,” he muttered lamely.

“I bet it’s better than watching nail polish dry.”

He blinked—she had her mother’s and her grandfather’s dry wit, that was for sure.

After that pointed reminder, the two of them worked in silence, the sound of a bottle of clear polish eventually punctuating the air with a sound of finality.

She blew on her hands for a while, then set them down on the table.

He soon felt the weight of her stare, and let it rest on him for about five minutes before he interjected, “How’s the uh, manicure?”

“Good.

The paperwork?”

“… It’s…”

“Boring,” she dared, raising an eyebrow.

He debated the consequences of telling Amelia responsibility was boring, but the truth was, no matter how interesting the maneuvers were in the air, the constraints of report language made them boring.

“Yeah,” he admitted.

“Figured.” She blinked, thoughtful. “Do you have to do anything special with the paperwork?”

“Not really, just read them over, and make sure that what they’re saying in the report matches up with what happened in the air.

And then I have to grade my students’ homework.”

Amelia nodded, and after a pause, she asked, “You any good at multitasking?”

Even though he wasn’t sure where she was going with this, he replied, “Pretty good.”

It was part of his job after all, especially since he switched to single-seat; having to calculate things like AOA and airspeed relative to the limitations of his aircraft, all while flying faster than the speed of sound, among other things.

“Okay.

You read those reports and grade that homework.

I’m going to tell you about my day while I give you a manicure.” She inhaled, something hesitant in her eyes. “Unless… unless you don’t want me to bug you—it’s teenager stuff and all that—”

He cut her off, “I’d love to hear about your day, Amelia.”

It hit something in his heart to see the quickly concealed shock in her eyes.

Yet another strike for Penny’s dick ex-husband in Mav’s book.

“You would?”

“Yeah, of course, kiddo.

But uh,” Mav scratched the back of his neck, “is the manicure really necessary?”

Like a flash of lightning, she leaned over the table and grabbed his hand, scrutinizing each finger and his palm, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Ugh—yeah.”

He hedged, “I’m pretty sure it’s against regs for me to have pink—”

“Relax, old man, there is such a thing as clear polish—Admiral Stick-in-the-Mud won’t see a thing.

And I need something to do too, I’m not even halfway tired yet.

Fixing your trainwreck hands oughta do the trick,” she gestured.

He laughed, switching the papers to his right hand. “Alright, Skylark, go to town.”

Amelia ducked her head and grabbed her nail file, failing to conceal her smile at the nickname he’d given her shortly after he and Penny got back together. “Okay, so, um, at school, math is my first subject, and honestly, whoever said math should be the first class of the day needs to be punished…”

Almost two and a half hours later, the paperwork was done, Mav’s nails were cut, filed, and polished, his cuticles trimmed, hands moisturized, and he knew every dirty, juicy secret of North Island High.

Amelia drowsily packed up her nail kit, which was the size of a small toolbox, while he did the same with his attaché case, and as a team, they checked the doors and windows of the house, making sure everything was secure.

The task done, they ended up back at the dining room. “All hatches battened down, Captain,” she sighed.

At his slightly perplexed frown, she rolled her eyes, “Seriously—you’re in the navy.”

“Like I told your mom, I don’t sail boats, I just land on them,” he chuckled.

“Well, it means everything’s good.”

He softly clapped his hands together, “Alrighty, let’s get to bed then.”

Amelia snorted, “God, you’re so old, who even says alrighty non-ironically anymore?”

“Alrighty isn’t cool anymore?”

“No.

Was it ever?”

“Uh…”

She shook her head, “Remind me to get you up to date, I can’t have you embarrassing yourself out there—you’ll lose all your cool.”

Mav immediately pointed, “So you think I’m cool?”

Caught like a deer in the headlights, she tried to backtrack. “I mean, don’t—don’t all you naval aviators think you’re like, the coolest or something?”

“No, no, no, no take-backsies; you think I’m cool,” he grinned.

She winced, “You’re killing me here—‘take-backsies’?”

“Come onnnn, Skylark.”

“Ugh, fine,” she groaned, “you’re—you’re sort of cool.”

“I’ll take it, kid.”

She smirked, then looked at her nail kit despairingly. “Seriously regretting bringing the whole thing down.

It’s heavy as hell.”

He reached for it, “Lemme get it for ya.”

Amelia attempted to bat his hands away, “No, I can carry it, Mav.”

“I got it—just focus on getting yourself up the stairs.”

She visibly debated the idea of arguing, but a yawn cut her off, and with the element of her eyes closed, he used the opportunity to gently wrap an arm around her shoulder and usher her up the stairs.

“You should have let me carry it—you’re too old to carry heavy stuff,” she muttered, mindful of her likely sleeping mother.

“I can carry this for you, don’t worry about me.

And next time you do my nails, you can carry it.”

They had arrived at her bedroom door, and she stopped short. “Next time?”

“Yeah, who else will help me get through my paperwork, take care of my hands, and let me know if Micah takes Kenna instead of Alyssa to Junior Prom?”

A smile curled the corner of her mouth. “I guess someone has to help you stay in the brass’ good graces so they don’t ship you out to the asscrack of America for not doing paperwork.”

“Can’t afford to leave you and your mom, Skylark.” And he really didn’t want to leave this time, not when he finally had so much to stay for.

“Or the chicken.

And the ducklings.”

“Yeah, them too,” Mav laughed quietly, similarly mindful of Penny, before handing the nail kit to her. “Anyway, here you go, Amelia.”

She took the nail kit, looking at him for a beat, like she had something to say, but wasn’t sure about whether to say it.

Finally, she said, “Thanks.

And, uh… I… I—I know I like giving you crap, but, I—I like—having you around, Mav.

And I—I…” she trailed off, pinching the bridge of her nose, “you know what, never mind, I’m rambling, your disaster hands made me tired.”

He knew that she wanted to say something else just then, but he let it go, not wanting to pry. “I really, really like being around too, Skylark, and if I have anything to say about it, I won’t be going anywhere.”

“That’s good,” she smiled, swallowing thickly. “I, uh, I better go—gotta get that good sleep.”

“Alright, kiddo, goodnight.”

“Night, Mav.”

After a sleepy smile, she softly shut her door, and he continued up the stairs, getting into bed beside a sleeping Penny, wrapping himself around her, quickly drifting off to sleep.

“Alright, Daggers, good work on the hop, head to the hangar, and we’ll review the maneuvers,” Mav clapped his hands, looking at his squad, most of whom dispersed to the aforementioned location, save for Bradley, who hung back.

“I seriously don’t know how you do it, you crazy old man,” Bradley laughed, his Caravans doing nothing to hide the child-like glee in his eyes. “I thought we’d all learned everything our first TOPGUN sessions and during the detachment training, but somehow, you manage to teach us something new every time.”

“Well, I got to make sure you kids know everything I do, so you all can continue to terrorize the Navy when I retire,” Mav grinned.

Bradley scoffed, “You say that like you’re going to turn in your papers today—we both know the brass’ll have to drag you from your F-18, Mav.” His son in everything but name and blood paused, a twitch of his mustache the only giveaway of his rising concern. “I mean—you’re not doing that any time soon—right, Dad?”

He wrapped an arm around Bradley, “Nah, not about to leave you to the skies just yet, Baby Goose.

Not until I make you all better than me.”

His “Until I make sure you can survive anything,” went unsaid, but his boy, ever perceptive, leaned into the contact and murmured, “Love you too, Dad.”

“Love you more—” Mav cut himself off as he went to run a hand through his hair, frowning at his hand.

There on his thumb, in bright, varnished red, was a neatly drawn heart, and the letter U.

Distantly, he heard Bradley say, “Mav?

Dad, you okay?

What’s wrong?”

“This wasn’t here last night,” he muttered, showing Bradley his thumb.

The worry eased from his son’s face, replaced with amusement. “You let Skylark do your nails?”

“Yes, I did—sue me—but Roo, this wasn’t there last night, I distinctly remember making Amelia use clear nail polish.”

Bradley took his hand, scrutinizing it. “It looks like there’s top coat on here, so she put this last night.”

Mav couldn’t help the surprise on his face.

“Sue me, sometimes Phoe makes me paint her toenails,” the younger pilot muttered.

“How is that possible—I saw my hands after she did it; this wasn’t there.”

Bradley thought for a second, before the metaphorical lightbulb lit up. “Invisible nail polish.”

“What?

That’s a thing?”

“Yeah—absolutely.

It goes on clear, but stand in the sun or heat up your hands, it’ll turn the color it’s supposed to be.”

As Mav absorbed this information, the puzzle pieces came together in his head, what Amelia had been trying to say before they said goodnight, and tears sprang to his eyes.

“Dad?”

“Amelia loves me, Baby Goose—I can’t bel—I don’t—”

Immediately, Bradley took him into his arms. “Hey; Dad, listen to me: you deserve all the love in the world, okay?

And I am so sorry for my hand in making you feel like you don’t deserve love, but you do, Dad—I can assure you, you do.

I’m really happy for you.

Maybe now, you can muster up the guts to bust out that box that’s been hiding in your desk.”

Mav gasped, “How did you—”

“I saw it when I asked for some Post-It’s last week.

Seriously, you didn’t even make an effort to hide it.”

“You—you’re not mad I didn’t tell you?” he gulped.

Bradley smirked, pulling back, “Dad, I knew this was coming a long time ago, and really, as long as you’re happy and healthy?

I’m on your wing.”

Mav reached up, cupping Bradley’s face. “You’re a good kid, Baby Goose.”

Regret twisted his boy’s face. “Could have been better.”

“I love you regardless, kid.

Now come on, they’re probably all wondering where we are, let’s debrief so we can get outta here sooner; I need your help at the mall.”

“Su—wait, what?” It was amusing to see Bradley stop right in his tracks.

“I need to get something for Amelia; but I don’t know where to start.”

“I…” the younger pilot opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, before finally shutting it with a click and sighing, “I guess we’re going shopping later for Skylark, then.”

Mav eagerly slapped him on the arm, wide grin on his face as he dashed back to the hangar, and Bradley tried to not to feel that this mall mission was like stealing an F-14 all over again.

“Pen, Skylark, I’m home!” Mav ventured, hoping for the first time, that Penny wasn’t home.

“Just me, Mav, Mom’s still at The Hard Deck!” Amelia called back, and relief flowed through him; it made this a whole lot easier.

He followed the sound of her voice to the dining room, where she was bent over a textbook, and he pulled up the chair next to her. “Hey kiddo, you got a minute?”

Amelia froze and swallowed thickly, shutting her textbook slowly, an unreadable expression on her face. “Mav, I swear, if you have gotten yourself shipped off again, I am not going to be the one to tell Mom—”

“No!” he yelped, “it’s not like that.

I just wanted to talk to you for a bit.”

“Okay,” she breathed, still skeptical.

He reached out and took her hands in his right. “I got your message.”

She frowned, “I didn’t call you this—” she cut herself off at his meaningful look at his hand. “Oh—that.” She frantically shook her head. “I—I was just playing with you, it doesn’t—“

“I don’t think you were,” he gently pressed.

“I—I—Mav,” she breathed, eyes wide, like a deer in the headlights.

He pulled her into his arms. “I love you too, Amelia.”

And God, it broke his heart to hear her gasp, “You do?”

“Swear on my wings, Skylark,” Mav solemnly nodded into her hair.

He held her tighter against him as she sniffled, her small frame trembling.

When her trembling and sniffles subsided, he drew back. “Now, I have a pretty big question to ask you, Amelia.

It’s one I’ve actually wanted to ask for a while, but something held me back; I think I’m ready to ask now.

You up for it?”

She swiped the back of her hand across her face. “Shoot.”

He pulled a small, black velvet box from his jacket pocket, and opened it, laying it on the table. “You think your mom would like that?”

Her jaw dropped. “You…”

“Mm-hmm.

I’m asking your permission to marry your mother.”

She dared, “Hypothetically, what if I say no?”

Mav inhaled, wincing, “I would ask you to reconsider, but I’d respect that.”

A deep frown creased her brow. “You would deny yourself happiness just because I didn’t want you to marry Mom?”

He took her hand again. “Amelia, you and your mom are a package deal; the last thing on earth I want is to come between you and your mother.

And if that means that this never gets used… well, so be it.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and her voice shook, “You love Mom, right?”

He couldn’t help a soft smile. “I’ve… I’ve loved your mom for a long time, kiddo.

Yeah, I love her.”

“And you’re not going anywhere anytime soon, right?”

“If I have my way, I’m not going anywhere.”

Wordlessly, she nodded.

“Yeah?”

Nodding again, she stated, “Yeah, you can marry my mom.”

“Thanks, Skylark,” he beamed, wrapping an arm around her. “You don’t know what that means.

And hey, I have something for you.”

Mav pulled out the small, white bag he’d tucked in his bomber. “I had an idea of what I wanted, and Bradley told me this store was a good place to find what I was looking for—apparently, he’s bought here before.”

Amelia carefully took the box out of the bag, revealing a silver Pandora bracelet with a double charm of a silver swooping bird encrusted with small blue stones, a small round medal behind it saying “Time to fly” with stylized birds on it, and a simple, custom silver medal engraved with his handwriting, saying, “I love you too.”

Mav couldn’t help rambling, “It’s a Pandora bracelet, you can add charms to it if you want, I just wanted to give you something special; I was always going to give you this even if you didn’t give me your permission to marry your mother—”

“Mav.

This… this is too much,” Amelia breathed, interrupting him.

He twisted his mouth self-effacingly. “Nothing’s too much for those I love.”

Tears welled in her eyes again, and this time, she lurched forward into his arms.

He held her for a long moment, before pulling back to look at her. “Now, I need your help.

You and I need to get your mom here early, and you need to help Brads when he comes over in a bit; he’s bringing the food.”

Amelia’s eyes lit up. “You’re going to ask her tonight, aren’t you?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Didn’t know you were capable of making a plan, Mav,” she smirked.

“I am amazing at making plans, Skylark—come on, let’s get to work.”

Under the pretense of Amelia being very under the weather, both she and Mav had managed to get Penny home before the sun had even gone down—Penny burst through the door, gasping for breath. “Pete—Ames?”

“Here, Mom,” she called out from her seat in the dining room, exchanging happy glances with Mav and Bradley.

“What’s wrong, how are you feel—” Penny stopped short when she caught sight of the trio of Mav, Bradley, and Amelia at the dining table with shit-eating grins on their faces, connecting the dots that she did have. “You weren’t feeling sick, were you?” she addressed her daughter.

“It was my idea, Pen, we didn’t know how else to get you home faster,” Mav sheepishly spoke up, throwing himself on the figurative sword.

“Pete!”

“What?

I wanted us to… celebrate—family, you know?

Have a family dinner with your kid, my kid.”

Amelia piped up, “And my allergies were acting up really bad today, Mom.”

“You’re a bad influence, Pete.”

He stood, approaching her, his million-watt smile on full brilliance. “Aww, you love me.”

She stared stonily, before her eyes softened and the corner of her lips tipped up under the assault of his gaze and smile. “Unfortunately.”

Amelia and Bradley playfully gagged simultaneously, causing both Penny and Mav to laugh, to which Bradley spoke up, “Well, I still have to heat up the food I brought, because we didn’t know when you’d get here, Penny, so why don’t you two go for a walk on the beach, do whatever two old people in love do?”

Mav teasingly pointed, “Remember who kicked your ass in hops this morning, Baby Goose,” while Penny crossed her arms, seamlessly picking up the thread, “And who can raise the price of your drinks, Rooster.”

Bradley raised his hands in surrender. “That is freaky as hell.

Let’s leave them to it, Skylark, I need a wingman in the kitchen.”

Without even a peep of protest, Amelia followed Bradley, but not before giving Mav a supportive wink.

“What was that about?” Penny narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend.

“What?”

“That wink Amelia sent you.”

“Did she?

I didn’t see anything.”

She tilted her head skeptically, but he continued, “Why don’t we take Baby Goose’s suggestion and go take a walk on the beach?

It’ll be nice, sweetheart.”

Despite the feeling that Mav was up to something, she nodded and laced her arm through his offered elbow for the suggested beach walk, not knowing the other hand tucked in his bomber pocket was wrapped around a little black velvet box.

It was a nice evening, warm, but with a breeze coming in off the ocean, and the sunset was gorgeous.

Penny walked along the shore, arm in arm with Mav, just enjoying each other’s company in a way they wouldn’t be capable of over thirty years ago.

They had both grown so much as people, in so many ways, big and small, and she tilted her head, briefly leaning it against his shoulder.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he murmured, a smile in his voice.

She chuckled, “You’re corny.

But I was thinking about us.”

“Hmm—good thoughts?”

“Yeah.

I don’t think we could have had this years ago.

I’m so glad that we have it now, before it was too late.”

He sighed heavily. “That’s on me, Pen.

I am more sorry than you know—so much wasted time.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Pete; the time was right.

And we still have time, it’s not like either of us have a foot in the grave.”

“It’s less time than I’d like.”

She smiled softly, “You romantic.”

“I try,” he joked, soon growing serious. “But… as much as I wish it weren’t the case, I guess the time was right for us.

Even just five years ago… I’d have crashed and burned us, and there’d be no hope after that.

But now… look at us.”

“I know.”

“Penny… there’s so much I want to tell you, but I don’t know if I have the words to describe them,” he breathed, tone intense.

She ran her hand soothingly up and down his arm, knowing he was just collecting himself.

“I—with you, solid ground feels just as much like home as the sky always has.

Your love makes me feel free, when I’ve never wanted so much to stay in one place before.

You know all my issues, my shortcomings, my fears, and yet, you’re still here.

I don’t deserve a woman like you, but somehow, you chose me.”

“Pete—”

He stopped them, took both her hands in his, and slowly knelt in the sand, before he plucked a black velvet box from his jacket pocket. “All this is to say, Penelope Marissa Benjamin, will you make me the happiest man on earth and make me your husband?”

She gasped, her eyes darting from Mav’s earnest face to the beautiful solitaire diamond set in a simple band of yellow gold. “Isn’t it supposed to be ‘be my wife?’”

“I’m marrying up, here,” he grinned, continuing, “so what do you say?

Because Captain Benjamin-Mitchell definitely has a ring to it.

Though your dad would probably have a heart attack at the thought of me having his last name too.”

“I think he’s come around to you, actually—he calls you ‘that damn Maverick’ instead of ‘that fucking Mitchell’, nowadays.”

Mav tilted his head from side to side, considering. “I’ll take it.

So… marry me?”

“Yes.

Yes, I will,” she breathlessly replied.

“Oh, thank God,” he muttered, delight shining in his eyes, his hands shaking as he placed the ring on her finger.

It fit perfectly, and Mav wistfully sighed. “My mom would be so happy to see this now.

This was hers, you know.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked at the ring again, the vintage cut of the diamond now obvious to her. “Oh, Pete.”

His eyes grew glassy, and Penny immediately wrapped him in an embrace.

“I love you, Pen.”

She could hear the emotion in his voice, and she held on tighter, matching his own grip on her. “I love you too.”

When she felt his hold on her loosen, she pulled back, cupping his face in her hands. “You okay?”

Mav leaned into her touch. “I am now.”

“Good.”

“The kids should have dinner ready by now.” He sniffled, clearly thinking of something. Finally, he asked, “Uh, would you mind… helping me up?

My uh, knee is a little stiff.”

Penny chuckled, shifting her hands to help her now-fiancé up, a surprised little yelp escaping her when Mav spun the two of them in a circle, his joyful laugh singing through the air.

Mav took in the scene at the dining table before him like it was a fine wine; Amelia and Bradley were animatedly sharing stories from high school, trying to see who had the weirdest stories, both of them sending him “Can you believe this?” glances when they thought the other wasn’t looking; Amelia’s bracelet catching the light as she swept her hand in an expansive gesture; Penny at his side laughing at the stories Amelia and Bradley were telling, while she repetitively ran her thumb across his knuckles, his mother’s ring sparkling on her hand.

He never in a million years could have imagined he’d have this at this point in his life; in all honesty, he had been prepared to burn in over some foreign sea or land, decades ago.

But here he was.

And if not for his wingman ordering him to teach an impossible mission, this reality would doubtlessly be impossible.

Gratitude filled his heart, and he sent a thought to the heavens; “Thank you, Ice—for everything.”

High above the San Diego night sky, a singular star blinked, sending back, even though its intended recipient would never know; “You’re welcome, Mav.”

Title is from the song of the same name.

(I really like to name stories after songs, don’t I?)

I headcanon Mav as being neurodivergent, and for me, as someone with ADHD, more often than not, having something else to focus on in the background, helps me get something that I am directly focused on done.

Invisible nail polish does exist, though let’s suspend our disbelief about how dark it can turn if the pre-change color is clear…

The charms I describe are real—you can see the bird charm here, and Pandora does offer an engraving service to make charms with your handwriting on them!

I’ll leave it up to your imagination as to who Bradley purchased Pandora for…

(That’s not teasing, I’m genuinely leaving it up to you)

Taglist

@valmare

@callsign-skydancer

@permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88

@tadomikiku

@malindacath

@aviatorobsessed

@lynnevanss

@djs8891

If you’d like to join my taglist, just send me an ask!

#mavdad is the best dad #i wrote this instead of sleeping #top gun: maverick #top gun maverick #top gun: maverick fanfiction #top gun: maverick fanfic #top gun: maverick fic #top gun maverick fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfic #top gun maverick fic #mavdad #pennymav #pete maverick mitchell #pete mitchell #penny benjamin #amelia benjamin #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw

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storeboughtbrand · 2 years

Text

TOP GUN COUNTRY AU! PT.2: COUNTRY BOOGALOO

PREV || NEXT

*The class of 86’ got to witness young Mav’s toss-ability at the O Club, so it’s only fair that, as their successors, the baby pilots get to see it too at the Hard Deck."

Let’s just say Slider did NOT make a good first impression on his new nieces and nephews 😅.

It started as a typical night of drinking at the Hard Deck. It’s been about a week or so since the Uranium Mission, and the kids are hanging around the pool tables. Every pilot called back to TOP GUN is still there as the higher-ups haven’t decided what to do with them yet.

(And they are afraid to bring up the topic to Admiral Kazansky again after he sent that 2 star-admiral running away from his office with his tail tucked between his legs and looking one second away from shitting himself. *it was not Cyclone and Warlock)

So, for now, the baby pilots are enjoying their leave by drinking some good-ass beer and enjoying each other’s company.

They all are a fond sight around the base for everyone who works there. It’s rare for someone on staff to see Captain Mitchell walking around and not be accompanied by one to two of his students trailing behind him like ducklings. Warlock almost burst out laughing once when a visiting Admiral had to do a double take when he saw a giant moving mass of 12 Naval Pilots on the Tarmac and then saw the tiny 5’7 figure of Maverick somewhere in the middle before disappearing from view because he’s shorter than most of them. It was all thanks to a well placed elbow nudge in the side from Beau that saved his career.

So yeah, just a funky lil old pilot and his 12 adopted naval pilots.

While the Daggers are chatting, a tall man (6’2) walks in wearing aviator sunglasses and a leather G-1 Jacket. He’s wearing a lot of patches, but it’s hard to determine what each of them is.

The jacket catches Bob’s eyes, and he points out the guy to the rest of the squad, who turns to look at him. They all watch as he looks around the room and before his eyes land on Maverick who’s sitting at the bar, chatting with Penny. He starts walking towards Mav slowly, looking like he’s trying to sneak up on Mav. Fanboy, with narrowed eyes, quietly says the guy looks like a lion stalking its prey. Now, normally, a comment like that would get a laugh out of some of the pilots, but they’ve all got a bit too much alcohol in their systems. Instead, they all tense, and now everyone is watching this guy like a hawk.

The kids watch as the guy lunges at their Mavdad from behind and gets him in a bear hug. Then he drags Mav off the stool, who lets out a startled cry, and suddenly, the entire squadron is on their feet.

But they all relax but don't stop watching when the man starts spinning him around in a circle, laughing.

They all have the same thought running through their heads.

"Aight, cool, this guy must be a friend of Captain dad. I wonder how long it's been since they've seen each - OH MY GOD!” – and then proceed to go into smoke in the air panic mode as the unknown man fucking launches Mav HIGH into the air. Like this man almost touches the mug display on the ceiling.

The kids go into full-on – frothing at the mouth – protective mode and are already making their way over with Phoenix and Hangman leading the charge. The guy catches Mav easily, and the kids breathe a sigh of relief. But then they see this guy is winding up for another pitch and are like – “I think the fuck NOT!”. They’ve got this MF’s ass in a radar lock.

No, this was no man.

This was a boogie - an ENEMY - and they’ve got tone.

The Guy and Mav turn to see the approaching Daggers, and the guy puts Mav down but keeps his hands on Mav’s hips. Mav lights up at the sight of his students and opens his mouth.

“Hey, guys! I’ve got someone I want you to me-”

But his kids don’t hear a word he is saying. They are all gone; they’ve gone completely raptor feral.

Phoenix is the first to land an attack. She jumps on the guy’s back and latches on to him like a spider monkey. She gets her forearm against the front of his neck and pulls hard; Penny says later that he sounded like a dying horse, even if Slider disagrees.

She gets the Boogie to let go of Mav’s hips, and Coyote quickly picks him up and cradles the old aviator in his arms while Bob and Fritz check him for injuries. With Mav safely out of harm’s way, the rest of the kids go in for the kill.

Hangman dives in for the tackle, grappling the man around his waist and pushing overboard out the front door of the Hard Deck. Rooster runs to the door and holds it open allowing the screaming trio out onto the sand, the rest of the kids follow closely behind screaming bloody murder.

Phoenix and Hangman try to wrestle the man down on the ground, but he isn’t giving up and fights back with all he’s got. He’s thrashing around, kicking up sand, and prying Phoenix off his back. She looks like she’s riding a raging mechanical bull. He’s not ready for the full force of a flying Rooster tackling him, and the Tree of a man goes down.

Then out of nowhere, a volley of pool noodles starts raining down on the Boogie.

Somehow, the other pilots had each found a pool noodle lying around and were now wielding them like baseball bats.

The Boogie gives up on trying to phoenix off him and brings his hands up to defend him. He’s able to rip Fanboy’s pool noodle out of his hands and whacking them back.

Fanboy runs off because he spots something out of the corner of his eye. When he comes running back into view, he’s holding a giant Eagle Floaty high above his head and screaming like Tarzan.

The Boogie’s eyes go wide, and he tries to escape harder, but it is hard for him when he keeps getting whacked in the head with a pool noodle.

They’ve got this guy on the ropes, and the guy is basically beaten into the ground. He’s pinned down by the combined strength of Rooster, Hangman, and Phoenix. Fanboy stands over their downed foe, ready to deliver the final blow via plastic eagle.

“Lieutenants, stand down!”

And everyone freezes in mid-motion, the direct order from a commander officer unable to be ignored.

Phoenix still has the guy in a headlock. Hangman’s got his arms wrapped around the guys legs, holding him down.

Rooster’s half lying on top and half holding down the man’s torso.

Payback, Omaha, Halo, Harvard, and Yale all have paused mid-swing of their pool noodles.

Fanboy has the giant eagle float high above his head, ready to dive bomb straight into the man’s face.

At the entrance of the Hard Deck, stands Maverick, looking at all of them in shock. Behind him are Coyote, Fritz, and Bob who try to drag Mav back into the bar so they can fuss over him.

Hangman: Pops, go back inside; we’ve got this motherfucker handled.”

(-What! Who’re you calling a motherfucker-)

Maverick: While I do agree he is a fucker (-HEY-), he’s a fucker I would like intact and without a concussion.

Mav turns to look at the beaten man and says, “You okay, Slider?”

The Man glares at Mav - “Just fucking peachy, Pete.”

Mav winces at the use of his first name.

The rest of the pilots ready their noodles for another swing cause no one talks to their Mavdad like that!

Then Rooster just stops and stares at the guy. Mav called him Slider, which definitely sounds like a callsign. And it sounds familiar. Why does he feel like he should recognize that name?

…………..

“Oh Shit, Uncle Slider?!???”

And the rest was history.

———————-

Needlessly to say, Mav was apologizing for the rest of the night while holding an ice pack against the side of Slider’s head while he nursed a free beer, courtesy of Penny.

The baby pilots all apologize too, and to Mav, they sounded sincere, but Slider can see them all glaring at him over Mav’s shoulder, though Rooster’s is less heated. It doesn’t help his case when he glares right back. It also doesn’t help when he slides his arm around Mav’s waist and pulls him flush against his side.

Mav just snuggles into his friend’s side, completely unaware his kids are plotting out Slider’s death using hand gestures so his friend can see precisely how they’ll do it.

Mav does eventually explain what the tossing was able and Rooster’s all like, “Oh yeah! I forgot all about that.” Slider just throws his hands up in the background.

Slider is peeved that he got attacked by Mav’s adopted horde, but Mav gives him a …..proper apology…….if you catch my drift, later that night.

And that’s the story of Slider first met and almost died by the hands and pool noodles of his new nieces and nephews. Sufficient to say, the retired RIO was immediately placed squarely in the category of Favorite Uncle the Daggers like to fuck with. It’s done with love tho.

An artist's (Fritz's) rendition of the climactic battle:

*Slider was not amused*

#Slider had called Mav to tell him he was going to be in town #and Mav was ecstatic.#He’s missed his tall friend and Mav’s been vibing with the need to show off his kids like a proud father.#He seems like the type of dad to have a photo of every one of his kids in his wallet proudly displayed in one of those chain plastics.#Slider: So Ice tell me you adopted an entire class of TG graduates #Mav: And so?#Slider: ………You’re so fucking spoiled.#Slider thinks Ice is whipped for his reckless husband even though Ice denies it.#Slider: Get your fucking pilots bitch!#Mav: They don’t bite.#Slider: *with three pairs of teeth latched onto his skin* YES #pete maverick mitchell #implied Icemav #ron slider kerner #penny benjamin #bradley rooster bradshaw #natasha phoenix trace #jake hangman seresin #top gun maverick #and the rest of the baby aviators cause I'm too lazy to put all their names #top gun headcanons #top gun shitpost #country boy i love you au!

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