Hangman meets this Nick-Goose guy at the bar (not a joke)
Jake rested his chin on his cue stick as he stared curiously at the pair at the bar.
The famous Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson and some skinny blonde guy were hanging around. He never knew that the Admiral could smile. Sure, the guy was fair and respected all around the base, but he was stoic. He shrugged and went back to his game.
By the time he sunk the 8-ball in, he looked up and the Admiral was gone. He handed the cue stick to the next guy about to play and went up to the bar, knocking on the counter.
“Ma’am, a cold beer, please,” He said flashing Penny a smile, she rolled his eyes and handed him his drink.
“Stop calling me, ma’am, I’m not your commanding officer, Lieutenant,” Penny grouched before smiling.
“Aye aye, Captain,” Jake said flashing a wink and Penny rolled her eyes in response.
“Damn, Pen, not checking IDs, you’re getting sloppy or soft,” The mystery man said and Jake turned to get a better look at him.
He blinked before realizing that Roo-Roo Bradshaw was somewhere in the Pacific Ocean and a good 30 years younger than the man.
“Shut up, Nick, he’s a grown aviator,” Penny sniped back, hitting the man with a towel as he batted it away.
“Damn straight,” Jake said, taking a sip of his beer.
“Ahhh, so you are getting soft, you’ve always been soft around aviators,” Nick said, giving Jake a wink.
Penny blushed and gave Nick another hit with a towel before another customer called her away.
“Piss her off enough and you’ll get thrown overboard, even if I gotta do it alone,” Hangman said, flashing Nick a sharp grin.
Nick gave a low whistle, “Damn, son, no wonder she’s soft on ya, you probably remind her of me and the boys back in the day.”
Jake frowned at that.
“Nevermind that, I’m Nick or Goose, choose what you want,” Nick, Goose, said, reaching out his hand to shake.
“Jake,” He replied, shaking his hand, looking the guy up and down, seeing the grey on his temples. “You used to be an aviator?”
“Old men, can’t be on active duty?”
“The Navy would be too busy worrying about paying for your back pain.”
Goose honked out a laugh that made his callsign make sense.
“I was a backseater, RIO, then after I left I became a civilian flight instructor,” Goose said. “Single-seater?”
“Yep,” Jake said, finally deciding to sit down beside the older man. “Lucky guess?”
It was Jake’s turn to be scrutinized as he was looked up and down, “Nah, I just know the type, do you prefer Jake or Hangman?”
Jake’s lip twitched down before he settled on a blank mask. He used to have no shame regarding his callsign, so who gives a shit if he misspelled a couple words here and there. Until.
“All you do is leave good men hanging! Goddamn executioner of your own squad!”
“Hangman! Smoke in the ai-”
“Lieutenant Jacob “Hangman” Seresin, you did everything you could, dismissed.”
He took a deep breath that was more shaky than he’ll ever admit, “Jake’s good,” he said, flashing a smirk as he took another sip of his drink.
The older man’s eyes softened and he gave Jake a small smile.
“How about you?” Jake asked, realizing it was polite to reciprocate the question.
“Eh, either is fine, they’re both the same to me,” Nick said, shrugging.
“Doesn’t Goose remind you of the thrill of being in a jet?” Jake asked, swirling his beer bottle around.
“Nah, reminds me more of hanging around the boys,” Nick replied. “Still see them, but it ain’t the same as it used to be. Plus, I think I’ve had enough excitement for this life,” Nick said chuckling, leaning back and both men wincing as they heard his spine crack.
“You’re showing your age, old man,” Jake muttered, looking at him worriedly, wondering if he was about to keel over. “You hangin’ in there, gramps?”
Nick chuckled, “Not that old, brat, I have a son your age. He’s 27.”
“How old do you think I am?”
“Hmmm, 21?”
Jake squawked in offense, “You’re actin’ like this my second time drinkin’ or somethin’!”
Nick raised a brow at him, “Is it not?”
Jake glared at him and all Goose saw was the same pout on his son’s face when he withheld the cookies from him.
“ ‘M 23,” Jake muttered.
“See? Not that far off, no need to get your feathers all ruffled, birdy,” Nick said, honking out a laugh.
Jake grumbled, but Goose could see the smile behind the sip of the beer bottle.
—
“Mav, did the Navy bio-engineer you and Ice’s DNA to create a son we don’t know about?”
Mav paused, looking at his phone to check if this was Goose he was talking to. “Not that I know off,” he said slowly. “Why?”
“Kid, tall, blond hair, green eyes, naval aviator, technical flying style with some of your style, has your social skills too,” Goose added the last part thoughtfully.
“Is that a compliment to the kid or an insult?”
“....Anyways, you made sure you don’t have some kid we don’t know about, right? Because if you gave me a nephew and didn’t make me his godfather I will ground you, no jets for a month.”
“Let me check with Ice.”
—
“Hello my sweet-precious-baby-mini-me,” Goose crowed to the phone as his son groaned on the other line.
“Dad, I am taller and bigger than you.”
“You still get your good looks from me, honey, how’s the deployment going?”
“The other pilots are shitheads, the amount of ego here is astounding.”
“Naval aviators,” Goose said, shrugging before realizing his son can’t see that. “There’s never a shortage of ego, say these pilots are younger than you?”
“Some of them are, some of them are older,” Bradley said slowly, wondering where this conversation was going.
“Good, you’ll have enough practice then.”
“Practice!? Practice for what!? Dad?”
“All good things come to those who wait, Brad-Brad.”
—
Hey gramps, I’m being’ deployed to Top Gun, Hard Deck?
Sure, Jakey
—
Gramps flew with pops? Goose and Maverick ejected. Goose got an honorable discharge. Holy shit.
Bradshaw was Nick’s son?
Is that why he was angry?
—
Hangman was face to face with Bradshaw, anger coursing through his veins. Doesn’t he understand? If they couldn’t fly like Maverick, they would all end up dead. Dead.
Is he angry because of hop 31? Pissed on behalf of his Dad? But, Nick wasn’t angry at Pete, right?
You can find out.
“Come on, take a walk with me, son.”
No. Nick doesn’t deserve that.
“You have a family Bradshaw,” Jake said slowly, watching as Bradshaw’s hackles raised up even higher.
“Yeah, kid is simultaneously too hesitant and reckless at the same time, and I thought my wingman is the reason I’m gray…”
“You’re almost 60 gramps, that’s the reason why you’re gray.”
“Don’t let them lose you because you can’t think straight. Feelings ain’t matter here, not if you want to live,” Jake gritted out, shoulder checking the other man as he left the room.
—
They’re alive.
He saved them.
Thank fucking god because in all the hours he spent on stand-by in his jet, he still didn’t know what the fuck to say to Nick if he came back, but his brother and son didn’t.
A selfish part of him wondered if Nick would still care if they both died.
Probably not. Thank god he wasn’t a complete fuck up.
—
The celebration died down and he was walking back from his long-ass debrief. Getting reamed for launching without orders.
He felt his phone ping with a text.
Come over for dinner when you’re onshore.
Jake gave a small smile at that as he sent back a reply.
—
“Hangman! Hangman! Lieutenant Seresin! Jake!”
It was the inverted version of Mav calling out for Rooster during that first day in the tarmac. Except Jake was already turning around once Mav said Lieutenant.
“Jesus, Mav, calm down, I hear ya, I ain’t goin’ anywhere yet, pops,” Jake said, raising his hands up as he flicked his toothpick to the side of his mouth. “Don’t stretch your legs too far tryin’ to keep up with me,'' Jake said, smirking.
Mav rolled his eyes upwards as he put his hands on his hips, as if asking god for patience. Heh.
“I wasn’t able to talk to you one-on-one after the mission, kid, how are you?” Mav said, eyes softening as he looked at Jake up and down.
Jake felt self-conscious, as he straightened up instinctively, which was dumb because surely Mav wouldn’t notice that he was eating less. That he felt more tired each day. That he doesn’t know what kind of man he is.
“I’m fine, Mav, just thinking,” is all Jake could say.
“Don’t think too hard, kid, you might hurt yourself,” Mav said, giving Jake a smile, but there’s a glint in his eye that told him he meant it.
Mav’s an ace.
“Do you think about it, often?” Jake blurted out.
Mav furrowed his brow, “Think about what?”
Killing people.
No, not now.
“Nothing, nothing, sorry, pops, long day, just thinkin’ about how much the big bosses lectures on and on and on,” Hangman said, cringing at the babbling he just did.
Mav frowned, looking unconvinced, but gave a grin when command’s lectures were brought up, “I just learned to tune it out and forget. After you hear the first one, it all sounds the same, anyways.”
Jake barked a laugh at that, “You’re a menace, Mav.”
Mav grinned at Jake’s laugh, shoulders relaxing as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders.
“Anyways, I’m here to ask if you’re free tonight? My family and I are having dinner together and I want you to join in,” Mav said. “Some of the other Daggers will be there.”
He felt a pang of regret when he realized he’d have to decline, and it must have shown on his face, when Mav gave an understanding smile.
“Have plans, already, huh?”
“Yeah, a,” grandpa, family, mentor, father-figure-, “friend invited me for dinner, I haven’t seen him in a while, and yeah. I wanna hang out with ya pops and the squad, cross my heart, it’s just that I already got plans, and-”
Mav cut him off with a chuckle, “I get it, kid, don’t work yourself up, there will always be next time. Just promise me I won’t have to bail you out of jail tonight and you have fun.”
Jail with Nick? What a joke.
“Aye, Aye, Captain!” Jake said, giving Mav a salute, smirking as Mav shooed him away.
“Yeah, yeah, go on, brat, don’t cause trouble, you hear me!?”
“As if you can talk.”
—
Jake took a deep breath as he turned off the ignition of his truck, grabbing the beers he brought. He ain’t gonna come to a dinner empty handed, and Nick was more of a beer guy, rather than a wine guy.
He went up to the door and knocked.
“Hangman?”
“Mav?” Jake said, blinking his eyes in shock.
“Jakey! You made it, kiddo,” Nick greeted warmly, gently pushing Mav away to envelop Jake in a tight hug. Jake closed his eyes and leaned in, burying his eyes on the older man’s shoulder, trying to reciprocate the hug despite his hands being full.
“Here, let me take that from you, buddy, and you two can catch up for a little bit,” Mav said when Jake pulled away from the hug, taking the beer from his hands.
“It’s okay, pops–”
“How come Mav gets pops, but you call me gramps?” Nick said, pouting as he slung an arm around Jake’s shoulder.
“Because,” Jake said dumbly, still a bit shock at seeing Mav.
“Ahh forgot to tell ya I invited my former wingman, Mav and of course you’ve heard of my son, Brad-Brad,” Nick said leading Jake to the kitchen. “Some other guys will be coming, later, some of them are part of Mav’s squad.”
“We’re well-acquainted Goose, heck, the kid even told me he couldn’t come to hangout with us because he had plans with a friend,” Mav said grinning at the two of them.
“Awwww, so you do see me as a friend, huh, Jakey?” Goose cooed, ruffling Jake’s hair as Jake pushed him away.
“I didn’t know you were invitin’ me to the thing I was already invited to!” Jake protested, blushing.
“Hey Dad, where’s the— holy shit, Hangman, you came?” Bradshaw Jr. said, walking into the kitchen. “Mav said you said no, did something happen?” Rooster asked, furrowing his brow.
Jake finally had a side by side view of the two Bradshaw’s. Definitely related. Should have figured that out years ago.
“Ohhh good that you’re here Brad, here’s the baby brother I promised you years ago,” Nick said, steering Jake by the shoulders to push him towards Bradley. “You’ll love him, play nice, okay?”
“That is a pain in my ass, grown-ass man,” Bradley said, blinking slowly as if he couldn’t understand what was happening. “How the hell did you two even meet?”
“Oh, I found him in a bar acting like a mixture of Mav and Ice and I just gotta keep him,” Nick said casually.
“Baby brother-?”
“Congratulations, you’re adopted, kid,” Mav said, taking a sip of his beer. “Wait til Ice sees you.”
“Ice?”
“Iceman,” Nick said. “Tom-Tom, Tommy, Tomcat, you will probably be calling him gramps.”
“I am not calling the COMPACFLT, gramps,” Jake said, jaw-dropping.
“No, you will be calling my brother, gramps, Jakey, plus they already expect it, they have heard many stories about you.”
“You talk about me to the Iceman!?” Jake said, his pitch rising an octave.
“And me, and everyone else, I was wondering why I haven’t heard about this aviator kid Goose here was talking about, started thinking he adopted an air force kid or something,” Mav said grinning. “He only really called you Jakey.”
“Or Jake-Jake, Jay, Baby J –” Bradley started, smirking at a flushing Jake.
“THAT’s enough,” Jake said, pushing at Bradley to cut him off, but Bradley just laughed.
“Boys enough. Bradley, stop teasing your brother. Jakey, no pushing,” Goose said wagging a finger at them.
“Yeah, yeah, dad,” Bradley said, rolling his eyes.
“Also, we need to make a custody contract, Goose, I want partial custody of these two,” Mav said looking way too serious as he pulled out a pen and a piece of paper.
“We need to wait for the other boys to show up first, I have a feeling Cyclone or Iceman would be calling dibs,” Goose said grinning.
“What?” Jake said, confused.
“It means, you’re stuck with us now, Jake-Jake,” Bradley said, ruffling the blond’s hair.
—
“You named your kid, Bradley Bradshaw?”
“I wanted a little Brad-Brad.”
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