#I love soft iceman with all my heart

[thatsrightice]

Val Kilmer on the set of Top Gun (1986)

[missxwrites]

new beginnings - tom kazansky

tom 'iceman' kazansky x reader

Summary: Tom finds his pregnant wife in the heart of their shared home, the sight of her simply takes his breath away. Word count: 1,120+ Warnings: fluuuufffff, SERIOUSLY FLUFFY SOFT TOM, pregnancy, afab!reader (still working on gender neutral tone as best I can), assumptions about size (I play into the plus size side of things because I am plus size, but there's no direct mention), no use of y/n (just she/her pronouns) A/N: This is only rough edited by myself, I'm so sorry for any mistakes. (Im rusty as f*ck at fic writing) I've had this fic in my back pocket for months, please enjoy all the fluff. I'm head over heels for val kilmer as a person, and I'm well aware that the gif is not from Top Gun... this is however an aged up version of Commander Kazansky (;

Tom wasn't typically a man of many words, even after Top Gun and becoming a commander... He was still on track to becoming an admiral in a couple years and his stoic ice-cold exterior has carried him far in the Navy. No, there wasn't much that could get in his way now. 

Except for her.

She melted his every icy edge. Especially now that she's 7 months pregnant with his baby. The way she waddled around the sizable estate that he purchased the year they got married. It'd been nearly 7 years since that beautiful day, but Tom and his wife decided to focus on their separate careers before committing to living with little ones under foot. He was nearing his mid-to-late 30's now and with his career excelling, his mind constantly settled on imagining what her beautiful features would be like mixed with his. 

Would they get his ice-like stare or her warm bright irises that see right through to his soul? Would they get his pin straight hair that stuck up in all the wrong places or her beautiful, textured hair that fell beautifully in every light? 

His mind would run rampant every time he looked at her, his eyes never failing to trail up and down her whole figure. He would linger on her face, taking in how absolutely mesmerizing she was in the pregnancy glow before darting down to her ever-changing belly. It was very noticeable now, and the way she braced the underside of the bump softened his stare every time. Even through the literal growing pains of making a human, she looked ethereal. He subconsciously pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. Tom was fully convinced that she could never be more beautiful than she was in this exact moment. 

With a warm but soft chuckle under his breath, he stood slowly and made his way over to her. The book she'd been perusing at the kitchen counter happened to be a cookbook he got her for Christmas in the early years of their relationship. He'd assumed she must be craving something specific by the way she quickly flipped through the pages. He placed his hands over the tops of her shoulders, giving a gentle rub to the tense muscles in her shoulder blades and leaned in to kiss her neck. The smell of her conditioner and body wash from her shower this morning is almost intoxicating. His body was warm, causing her to lean back on his chest.

"You're absolutely radiant dear," Tom stated, a smile forming across his lips. "And absolutely distracting..." He hasn't been able to take his eyes off her since she entered the kitchen adjacent to the doors of his office. He'd been trying to get through some paperwork before finding her to ask what you might want for lunch as she graced her way into the heart of their shared home.

She was one of the only women that could ever truly take his breath away, though many tried. Even in a moment like this... with his wedding band heavy on her finger and growing the fruit of his love for her in her tummy, he still had to remind himself to breathe.

His large arms made their way down her body until they gently embraced her and her bump. He supported her belly gently, the same way the two had learned in the parenting classes Tom insisted on attending once she confirmed her pregnancy. The soft hum that escaped her throat told him that she needed this. Her eyes fluttered closed as he stood there, swaying gently with her in his arms.

“Blueberry.” Was the only thing that snapped the quiet of the moment between the two of them. Her words were soft in his ears. Tom raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he leaned forward to place his chin on her shoulder. The pages of the cookbook landed on a muffin recipe that had been dog-eared and made enough times to sport the stains of baking chaos. 

Another low chuckle reverberated through his chest. “Cravings?” Tom placed another gentle kiss on her neck as he slowly released his childbearing wife to turn to the refrigerator behind him. This recipe was one he was familiar with, having made it several times over the years. He grabbed out the bowl of blueberries, buttermilk, butter and eggs while his wife gathered the remaining dry ingredients. 

A quiet melodic sound filled the kitchen as Tom watched his wife pull up the large glass bowl from the cabinet. The smile spread across his face as he recognized their wedding song falling from her lips. “I wanna know what love is…”

Tom set the cold ingredients out on the counter, crossing the kitchen swiftly to pull her back into his arms. “I want you to show me…” He whispered to her, a hum parting his lips as he twirled her around slowly in the afternoon light of their kitchen. He mirrored her radiant smile as they slowly swayed together, her baby bump separating them a little more than usual but neither of them cared. 

After enjoying the embrace of her husband, Tom’s wife pushed him away gently as she resumed making the muffins lil’ kazansky was craving so badly. The blonde commander only laughed as he kissed her hand before parting their embrace. He too busied himself making muffins again wordlessly as he reached into the bottom drawer of the oven. Grabbing out the old muffin tin, he paused to preheat the oven as he lingered there for a moment.

Tom’s hand immediately found his wife’s lower back as he brought the tin over to the island countertop, using the other to place the white liners in each cup. A devious giggle caught his attention and before he could even blink, she’d managed to touch his nose with a flour-covered hand. His steely eyes closed suddenly as she swiped at his face, unable to hide the slow grin that parted his lips as he dipped his own hand into the bowl of flour. 

He laughed as he pulled her back from the counter slightly, his flour covered hand landing gently over the top of her baby bump. The white handprint was stark on her dark dress. The gasp that escaped from the woman in his arms only made him laugh harder as she rolled her eyes and shook her head at her husband’s antics. 

"What am I going to do with you, Thomas Kazansky? ” She said exasperatedly despite a smile growing on her face.

“Love me.” He said simply, his eyes gazing deeply into hers as he pulled her in close again. “And make muffins with me forever.” She laughed, her heart full, as she accepted his proposal.

[lecsainz]

Kk! So I absolutely loved your last piece about Carlos and the heiress!reader, and I have to agree I really really love those blended fics. Something about them just hits different ya know? And then I saw this post https://www.tumblr.com/monzabee/729167936518012928 and was like god I wish someone still wrote for kimi. And then off I’m scrolling through your blog and I see that ask were apparently you do?? Like holy shit bestie! This is like the greatest day ever! So all of that to say will you please please right something that involves the video from that post?? Pretty please??

MELTING THE ICEMAN

parings: kimi räikkönen x wife!reader

author 🗒️’s: my heart melted writing this, I hope it turned out as you want, love

summary: the one where you see your husband taking care of your son and feel that you couldn’t be happier as you are.

✩. . . masterlist !

Kimi Räikkönen, the Iceman of Formula 1, had always been known for his stoic and unemotional demeanor on the race track. But at home, in the quiet moments, he transformed into a different person entirely. There was a side of him that very few people got to see, a side that was incredibly warm, loving, and tender.

One sunny afternoon, the two of you sat in the cozy living room, surrounded by the soft laughter and gurgles of your 6-month-old son, Jake. Kimi held the baby in his arms, cradling him gently as he made funny faces to elicit the most delightful giggles from your little one.

Kimi leaned down, his lips brushing against Jake's plump, rosy cheeks. "Who's the happiest baby in the world, huh?" he cooed, his Finnish accent making it all the more endearing.

Jake's response was a chorus of delighted baby laughter, a sound that could melt the coldest of hearts. You watched in awe as your husband continued to play with Jake, making silly noises and pretending to nibble on his tiny fingers. It was a side of Kimi that you fell in love with all over again, a side that he reserved for his family.

"Kimi," you whispered, unable to contain your fondness, "you are the best dad in the world."

Kimi looked up from Jake's little face, his azure eyes meeting yours. A small, warm smile graced his lips, a rare sight for the world but a daily occurrence in the privacy of your home. "I learned from the best," he said softly, referring to you.

You couldn't help but blush at the compliment. Kimi's transformation into a devoted father had surprised you, but it had also filled your heart with an indescribable joy. His dedication and love for Jake were unmistakable, and you couldn't have asked for a better partner to share parenthood with.

As the day continued, you both took turns caring for Jake, feeding him, changing his diapers, and watching him drift off to sleep in his crib. Every moment felt like a cherished memory in the making, and you couldn't help but daydream about the future.

When Kimi returned to the living room after putting Jake down for his nap, he found you deep in thought. You looked up at him with a dreamy smile, and he knew you were up to something.

"Darling, what's on your mind?" he asked, settling beside you on the couch.

You took his hand and interlaced your fingers. "Kimi, I was just thinking about how wonderful this is—our little family. I love watching you with Jake, and I can't help but wonder… I want more of these moments. I want more children with you."

Kimi's typically cool exterior cracked, and he looked at you with a mix of surprise and delight. "More children?" he repeated, as if the idea had never occurred to him before. But the spark of warmth in his eyes revealed that he was just as excited by the prospect.

You nodded, your heart pounding with anticipation. "Yes, more children. I want to see you as a father again and again, to have more of these beautiful moments with you."

A slow, genuine smile spread across Kimi's face, and he pulled you into a loving embrace. "I'd love that," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "I love you, and I love our family. Let's make more beautiful memories together."

The two of you sat there, lost in the prospect of a larger, even more joyful family. Kimi held you close, and you knew that your dreams were aligned. It was a beautiful day of laughter, love, and dreams for the future, all in the gentle embrace of your husband and your precious son, Jake. The Iceman had certainly melted, and you couldn't have been happier about it.

[icemankazansky]

Top 5 Iceman Kazansky eras

Oh my God, this is inspired.

Lessee.

In chronological order:

USNA Valedictorian and Most Valuable Player (Varsity Lacrosse and Intramural Sex) Era

Work hard, play hard. Ice did his share of grinding in high school, excelling in academics and balancing as many extracurriculars as possible, but now he's out of his family home, and he can come into his own. Between his Navy work and the extra rigors of playing Division 1 sports, as well as the natural effects of aging, Ice is going to bulk up, lose his puppy fat, and get Stupid Hot. Now that he doesn't have the confines of being a minor living with your parents, he's also going to have the opportunity to slut it up properly. I love this for him.

Top Gun Era

Waist: Snatched. Patience: Nonexistent. He's the best, he knows he's the best, and he's looking his best. Cannot stop serving cunt for a single second. This man is a 24/7 cunt buffet with a heart of gold and a smile made of actual sunshine.

Hot Shot Era

For several years after TOPGUN (probably at least a decade), Ice is going to spend his life as an active duty pilot, in demand and the best of the best. He gets to prove his mettle, hone his skills, and fuck Maverick in aircraft carriers and exotic locales all over the world. I believe they refer to these as glory days. You're doing amazing, sweetie.

Dad Jeans Era

As he ages and is promoted away from flying full time, Ice is going to be less competitive as a reflex. That razor's edge he's maintained so long is going to get sanded down, and he'll become more comfortable with his place in life and the people with whom he shares it, and be more comfortable going without that icy mask, be more comfortable showing his softness. He's going to buy some sweaters. He's going to take some vacations. Maybe he'll pick up some hobbies. He'll buy a bird feeder. He's going to go full DILF.

Growing Old Together

A well-earned retirement for the man who was one of the world's best pilots, one of the highest-ranked military leaders in the world, and an Olympic gold medalist in sex. Sweater Ice is going to enter silver fox mode. He's going to retire and relax for five fucking minutes. He's going to learn to use Do Not Disturb mode on his phone. He's going to install a porch swing on the front porch of his forever home with Maverick. He's going to read books for pleasure, savoring them slowly the way he hasn't been able to in years. He's going to join the AARP and get discounts at restaurants once he's able to eat normally again after cancer and chemo. He and Maverick are going to take long vacations together, just the two of them, doing things they've wanted to do their entire lives. It's well deserved, Admiral.

[jackiepackiee]

“May I have this dance?”

Chuuya x reader

(ft. The Flags)

Warnings - none

Type - Fluff

Word Count - 798

A song for you by Donny Hathaway. The slow jazz filled every inch of the old world pool hall, seducing the ears of every resident that found themselves inside. There were only seven, but that's how it always was. Every other night, when no missions were to be had. Albatross, drinking some fruit-based cocktail while teasing Chuuya. The latter gritting his teeth at his friend, although any passersby would think he hates him. Iceman enjoyed the music, as well as Doc as he both sipped on some heavy whisky. Pianoman and Lippmann were in a very intense game of pool, tied the entire run. Then, you. Changing the record to some more up beat jazz.

“We should dance! Doesn’t that sound fun?” You had always been rather energetic with a bit of alcohol in your system. It’s not like this place had a limit or carded anyone.

Lippmann looked up at you, a bit surprised. “Dance? Since when did you dance?”

“Since forever! Come on~ I love dancing, it’s only natural.” She explained.

On the other end of the hall Albatross teased Chuuya’s hair, before whispering into his ear.

“Go dance with her, you know you wanna~”

You didn’t realize this teasing, thinking Chuuya’s red cheeks were only from some overly expensive wine. Little did you know he hadn’t had a sip all night.

“No way! Anyways she’s talking to Lippmann, I don’t wanna bother her.” Chuuya said, pushing away Albatross. Not enough to hurt him of course.

Lippmann was having the same idea, no way he’d pass the opportunity up to play matchmaker.

“Very well then. Hmm, I’m not sure… you shouldn’t dance with Doc, wouldn’t wanna knock over his IV.”

Pianoman joined in, putting his pool stick down.

“And not Iceman, he’s a whole lot bigger than you with all that muscle.”

Pianoman said, easily concealing his playfulness.

Doc leaned into the trio of you, Lippmann, and Pianoman.

“And not Albatross, I’d bet he has two left feet.”

You.. you were not understanding what this was leading to. But still giggled at Doc’s little joke. Luckily Albatross couldn’t hear.

“Well, then who? You, Lippmann?”

Did she have to be so dense?

“No! I mean uh- I’m not very good at dancing, and neither is Pianoman!” Lippmann tried to turn it on Chuuya.

“But Pianoman, I’ve seen you dance on a mission before?” She spoke, curious as to why it was said he couldn’t dance. He shook his head, lying for a good cause.

Albatross walked over before she could ask any more questions, Chuuya in tow.

“You know, Chuuya could dance with you! Isn’t that right?”

She perked up, happy someone would dance with her. She smiled, and he melted. How could he ever say no to her?

“Sure… will you dance with me?”

He asked, gentlemanly as he always was with her.

Iceman, quiet as he always was, was still listening. He picked a record, it was from New Orleans. Jazzy and fast pace, probably from the 1930’s. He knew she loved this style. Swing dancing… Chuuya was in for an absolute treat, as well as the rest of the flags. Since they knew damn well he’d be faking it till he made it.

“Of course I’ll dance with you! Let’s go!”

She took his gloved hand in hers. It was surprisingly soft leather, though the real hand would be much nicer to hold and feel. Even if neither would admit it.

“You ready, Chuu?” God, his heart would give out if she called him that nickname ever again. But, he wouldn’t complain. What a lovely way to die that would be. Damn it, he got distracted.

“Chuuya? Ready?”

She was so patient.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Umm.. what do I do?”

She laughed, not in a mean way. It was cute, that’s what he thought anyway.

“Sorry sorry.. we can start with the basics. Okay, hands in mine.”

He took her hands. Unbeknownst to her, the flags gave him grins and thumbs up. “Your nails… They are painted red. That’s my favorite color, they’re lovely.”

“It is? Well isn’t that perfect, and thank you.”

She started to sway to the music. He followed suit, thanking his past self for learning how to keep rhythm.

“Can I spin you?”

She agreed, spinning while holding his hand. She was smiling, eyes beaming while looking into his. Was she?… she had her doubts before, but she definitely loved him.

Iceman, with his knowledge of records, changed the music to play a slower song. Meaning Chuuya could hold her close. He did not need five wingmen.

He pulled her closer by the waist.

“The music slowed down, so we should too.”

“Since when did you know about dance?~”

He made a faux annoyed expression.

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

Part two?

[jungle-angel]

My Heart Belongs To You (Doctor!Bob Floyd x Reader)

Summary: You and Bob share a beautiful little moment when studying for your exams

Warnings: None, Grey's Anatomy reference though (lol).

Notes: Inspired by the amazing moodboard of @ryebecca Honey, I couldn't help myself and yes there will be a part two to this (lol).

Tagging: @floydsmuse @ryebecca @callmemana @attapullman @hederasgarden @withahappyrefrain @rhettabbotts @desert-fern

You groaned loudly, frustrated by the endless round of exams you were faced with over the next few weeks. All you wanted was to be out and about, enjoying the gorgeous summer evenings but instead you had your nose buried in a copy Gray's Anatomy that was clearly older than you. But oh was that old book smell worth it. You didn't care that your classmates had made fun of you for using those old books for studying, but their bitchy, superficial whisperings had made all the stress go straight to your neck.

"S'matter sweetheart?" Bob asked, placing his keys in the fishbowl near the door.

"M'fuckin stressed," you said, your voice muffled as you buried it in the pages.

Bob sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Lemme guess," he said. "Teddy Altman?"

"She's such a fucking BITCH!" you blurted, placing as much emphasis as you could on the last word. "She thinks she owns everyone and everything, that she's all that and a bag of chips and that she gets to boss around all the interns."

Bob laughed a little. "Oh believe me babes," he said. "She's on thin ice."

"She made fun of my books because I got them at the thrift store," you commiserated. "I'm sorry, I can't afford all those fancy medical books that I'll never use again and enjoy the smell of old books."

"Babes don't worry," Bob chuckled. "Teddy's about two steps away from getting fired after what she pulled on the last patient."

"Oh really?"

"Oh yeah," Bob answered. "Jake and I tattled on her because she was denying people organ transplant surgeries. We had a wicked young couple who both had CF and who had gotten married but Teddy of course had to meddle in it all."

"No!" you gasped.

"Oh yeah, total mess," Bob said, kicking off his shoes. "She told them that if they didn't get a divorce then she'd deny them the organ transplants. Jake and I reported her to Iceman and they're gonna give Teddy her walking papers tomorrow."

"Did the couple get the transplant?" you asked.

"Ice came to see them personally and told them that under no circumstances would he deny them the transplant," Bob explained. "Ricky and Julia are both going under tomorrow and you're looking at the surgeon who's gonna be operating."

You shrieked excitedly, jumping up from your desk seat and throwing your arms around your husband's neck, kissing his soft cheeks. "Bob that's amazing!!!"

"Oh that's not all," Bob elaborated. "I talked to Father McKenna, the hospital chaplain, and he said that Ricky and Julia wanna renew their vows before they go in for surgery."

You were practically melting at the thought. Meemaw Floyd had been right, true love really did conquer all.

"Alright, enough about my day," Bob laughed. "What's up here? What can I help with?"

"This stupid practicum," you answered. "I have to practice giving a full body physical and I don't wanna do it."

"I'll help," Bob said.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely!" he insisted. "I'll walk you through everything."

You and Bob set up a mock exam room in the living room and began the practice part. He guided you through everything and let you know if you were doing too much or too little.

"Alright Mr. Floyd," you said. "I will need to have a listen to your heart and lungs just to make sure everything's all good. Do you mind removing your shirt for me?"

"Don't mind if I do sweet cheeks," Bob chuckled removing the shirt of his navy blue scrubs.

You laughed a little bit as he tossed it to the corner. "You've got alot of nerve there mister."

Bob smiled and kissed your cheek. "I'm just teasing."

You pressed the stethoscope against his chest, listening for any abnormalities and moving it from one side to the other. You were surprised by how strong the beat of his heart was, not a single abnormality to be found and nothing out of the ordinary.

You moved it to just below his nip, the beat having grown louder and more noticeable. You didn't realize how long you had been listening until you felt Bob's hand covering yours, holding it there with a dreamy look on his face. You blushed a little, the heat rising to your cheeks, swearing you could hear Bob's heart saying "I love you" with every beat.

You took the earpieces out and set it aside as Bob pulled you closer to him, his skin warm against you. He pressed sweet little kisses to your lips, loving every little giggle that came out of you.

"I love you sweetheart," he whispered before kissing you again. "You're gonna do great."

And you knew he wasn't wrong.

[oathkeeperoxas]

TOP GUN / Icemav fic recs part 4

Hello my fellow icemav enjoyers, I bring to you more fic recs, freshly harvested from the local fields. If I list an author below, I also recommend checking out their profile for their other works as well!

Rec list 1 here

Rec list 2 here

Rec list 3 here

Where Are You Going by @adiduck

They’ve both heard all the philosophical bullshit, of course. Poems about your soul forever seeking its other half, impassioned treatises they were supposed to read in high school English about how you know where your own limbs are, quotes from long-dead guys about physical distance but hearts taking up the same space--that kind of bullshit. Maverick never put much stock in that kind of thing--he’d hated school. It probably shouldn’t have been surprising that Ice also really did not care about the science or philosophy--they were supposed to be perfect for each other, after all. (Or: There’s a handshake in the O Club the first night of Top Gun, and the very bearing of “magnetic North” shifts permanently under Ice and Mav’s feet)

Soulmate AU!!!!! This is so cleverly put together, the worldbuilding details are delicious and so very excellent, and the characterisation is on point. A very fun and enjoyable read 💖

Polaroid Picture by @betanoiz

man, we used to be brothers. superheroes and warriors. - The story of Maverick and the important relationships in his life, as told through photos.

The author plays with form through the use of pictures in this fic, using them to broaden the story and really show the character's relationships with each other. A very soft landing that hits all the right notes.

Ever Higher by @astolat

Maybe he wouldn’t have thought of it on his own, but soon as he’d heard about it—well, it was fucking obvious, wasn’t it? There was no other way to keep climbing.

I read this the first time, had to sleep on it, then come back to digest it properly. The author fits so much into every single sentence - the plot and the reveal hit you straight to the chest, no room to avoid it.

Mach 4 Mile High Club by @topgunreacts

In a civilian bar off base, Ice finds half-price drinks, trivia, and Maverick. The drinks he's expecting. The trivia he can handle. He isn't ready for Maverick.

This is just pure fun!! The back and forth between Ice and Mav builds deliciously throughout the story, the smut is top tier, and the finale lands just perfectly.

that’s what i love (about sunday) by @gracedbybattle

For the past few years, Ice has gotten used to the silence. But their house isn’t so quiet anymore.

Established icemav and the daggers can be so so good actually!! The domestic fluff here hits all the right notes.

Decent by @lambourngb

Ice was aware of the old adage, 'Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover', but he had seen Maverick fly, and now that they were teaching together, he was pretty sure he had Mav figured out. There were lots of reasons for Mav to be insanely confident; he had movie star looks, he had gifted hand-eye coordination in the sky, and he had no discernible shame trigger. Turns out, probably all of that was true, but Mav had one more reason for his swagger.

I have been converted to the Mav has a big cock agenda. Enough said.

Take the Long Way by @kerbyfullyloaded

Five times Iceman tried to get Maverick to come home and the one time he finally did.

This and it's sequel are so full of satisfying emotion - this author has such an excellent voice for the characters and it very much comes through in the prose!

Centrifugal Motion (Perpetual Bliss) by @brendaonao3

A month after the DADT repeal goes into effect, Ice finally gathers the courage to tell Mav he wants another chance.

The pining! The second chances! The yearning that threads its way through this, oh... so very soft and good 🥺

A Box of Love by @film-in-my-soul

It's black and embossed, a medium-sized thing with a careful label facing outward— Wedding, 2014. Jackpot.

Married icemav my beloved. The established relationship is written so tenderly and well, with an understanding between the two of them that I hold very close to my heart

[mqverick]

Waking On Air || chapter 4

Three whole days accompanied by swollen puffy eyes, night sobbing and restless mornings had passed ever since your fight with Iceman. You’d put it as a personal goal to isolate yourself from everyone, mostly Maverick, which you had successfully accomplished. You’d seen him looking at you in Top Gun academy, quite an amount of times, but dodged every single one of his looks and disappeared into thin air whenever you caught him walking towards your figure.

You missed Tom, but not as much as you missed Maverick, which had been a shock to you at first — had you been lying.

The fact that Tom hadn’t reached out to you ever since, though, was making you sick to your stomach. You never meant to hurt him the way you did and you’d expected yourself to be more civilized than to go cry off to Pete Mitchell, for crying out loud. However, having in mind that he needed time to think and process just as bad as you did, you came to the conclusion that begging for forgiveness was not going to work.

There you were now, pushing around the dreadful food in your plate with your fork, all alone in the lunch hall. The weight of another person sitting next to you slightly scared you off as you flinched a little, hoping it would be either member of the messed up love triangle you’d gotten yourself into. The tiniest hint of a relieved smile formed on your face when you looked up to see Goose.

“My girl, Roger,” he greeted with a hug, lingering a bit longer, providing you the comfort you needed the most at that specific time in your life.

“Oh, Nick,” you sighed, burying your face in your hands. “I’ve screwed up. I don’t know what the fuck to do, it’s driving me restless. Not even flying makes me happy anymore and it used to be my only way to escape from reality.”

“Hey, there,” Goose said sympathetically, running his hand up and down the length of your back. “Uncle Goose is here. I’d ask you to tell me what’s bothering you but I’m pretty sure I’ve painted quite the picture in my head. You know, with Maverick up my ass and all.”

“I don’t even want to know his name.”

“You don’t mean that, Roger.”

“You’re wrong,” you argued, coming off too strong. “Ever since that guy showed up in my life, everything between me and Ice has been going downhill — and I like Tom so much. Now he probably fucking despises me.”

“Iceman is a tough guy, but he surely doesn’t hate you. His ego probably got hurt after he heard you’re going out with his biggest opponent.”

“I’m not going out with Maverick.”

“He seems to believe otherwise.”

“He can believe whatever the fuck he wants, I’m done ruining things I already have and love for his sake. He’s not all that either, to be honest.”

Goose exhaled rather loudly as he shifted closer to you, giving you a soft nudge. “You know how much I love you, Roger, but I also love Maverick. Look, I get it, he’s a little too much than anyone can handle, he’s not famous for being good with words and sometimes his attitude doesn’t help him make the greatest first impression, but once you get to know him, he’s actually a really nice guy.”

“You’re biased, Goose.”

“Maybe. But all I’m asking for is to not break his heart. He’d probably kill me if he knew what I’m telling you right now, but he’s not just trying to get in your pants. He genuinely cares about you — a lot — more than I’ve seen him care about anyone in his life before. I mean it; he’s constantly looking for an excuse to bring you up in the most random conversation.” You blushed at Goose’s revelations about Maverick, finding the idea of the cocky aviator being so caught up in you so incredibly distracting. Truth is, you’d been kind of feeling the same way about him. “Just, please, don’t lead him on if there’s a zero chance with him.”

“I don’t know,” you sighed, eyes burning and stinging with tears. You were so torn, so unable to decide, so incapable of thinking straight.

“As much as I’d love to see my two best friends together, I’m not here to convince you to date Maverick. That’s your own decision, but just know that if you ever need to talk to someone, my door will always be open for you,” Goose reassured you with a bright beam, which you weakly reflected.

“I meant what I said about Ice, Nick. He’s been treating me like royalty ever since we started going out. He’s a completely different person than the one you get to see here, but…” you clenched your jaw, eyes dropping back on your plate, scanning it as if it were the most interesting thing you’d seen in your life. “See? That’s the problem; there shouldn’t even be a but.”

“Do you feel like something’s missing?”

“Yeah. I mean, no — maybe? All I know is that whatever that but represents, it goes away when I’m with Maverick. And it terrifies me, Bradshaw.”

Goose chuckled. “Maverick terrifies you?”

“The way he makes me feel does. It’s like I’m seventeen all over again and I’m experiencing this unruly and intense wave of overwhelming emotions that I can’t control. It’s like I’m flying so freely and fast, but at the same time, I’m about to crash and catch on fire. He’s… he’s special and he knows it.” For a split second, you let yourself wander through the fantasy of being with Pete, forgetting all about the present actuality. You dreamt of hugging him, telling him how he made you feel, kissing him. It was growing into something that was beyond physical attraction, beyond than an innocent middle school crush.

Goose looked down, trying to cover the knowing smile on his face. “You deserve to be in a perfect relationship, Roger. You deserve to have someone who’ll make you happy.” And with that, he patted your back, giving you a quick peck on the forehead before heading back to his table.

Making difficult decisions is a common occurrence in life, you decided. Your eyes were burning, shutting as you combed your fingers through the roots of your hair. Goose’s words were replaying through your mind, driving you close to insanity. He was surely right about one thing though; and that was that in the end, it was your life and your choice whom you wanted to spend it with. You weighed every advantage and disadvantage of the situation, but still found yourself unable to audibly make a decision.

Your heart only had one person, one choice, one future. It was beating into the rhythm of three familiar syllables of a certain call sign, sending a wave of unsettling feelings in your stomach.

Were you actually about to do this?

Go big or go home, your inner voice encouraged as you stood up, eyes locked into the reckless aviator that went by the name Maverick.

“Roger?”

Out of the blue, you felt yourself glue on the floor, knees trembling at the sound of Tom’s voice. He hadn’t talked or even looked at you for the past three days — you thought he’d cut you off — but there he was, hands nervously shaped into fists against his sides, pupils scanning the ground. You didn’t even know how to respond. “Yeah?”

“I feel like we’ve got some things to discuss about.”

“Oh.”

What was it with you and the monosyllabic words that came out of your mouth in the most unfazed tone of voice? Tom grabbed your hand and dragged you all the way to the lockers, making sure no one else was there. He then proceeded to hug you; an action you hesitantly and half-heartedly returned as your eyes pricked with tears for the bazillionth time that morning.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he breathed against your neck. You wanted to reciprocate, tell him you missed him too, more than anything else in the world — but he wasn’t Maverick.

“Tom, before you say anything—”

“No, let me speak first,” he interrupted and you sighed. “I acted like a douche to you. So much anger bubbled up inside me that it fogged my brain and I couldn’t think straight. All I could picture was losing you to Maverick and it drove me over the edge. You’re the most important person in my life and I had a very different and more romantic way of telling you this in my mind, but I love you. I love you and I don’t want to let my jealousy affect what we have again. I swear to you, I’m trying to be a better, more positive and compatible person and I think it’s working — only because you motivate me to be the best version of myself.”

With your jaw slightly hanging, you stared at Tom speechless. Never had you ever been expecting such a heartfelt apology from him and you were pleasantly shocked. You liked him, you liked him so much and you’d remind that to yourself until it would actually become true.

“I’m sorry as well. I should’ve never talked to Maverick behind your back, let alone to meet up with him. But Tom, about what you just said—”

“I understand it might be a little too soon, you don’t have to worry about saying anything back. I just wanted you to know.”

Your face steeped in guilt, bitterly regretting every interaction between you and Maverick. Why were you so afraid of owning up to your own feelings? Pangs of sweat washed the back of your neck as you gulped what felt like a rock covered with thorns roll down your esophagus.

Tom Kazansky was a great guy and an even greater boyfriend, but could you imagine yourself falling in love with him the same way you’d already been doing with Pete Mitchell?

“Look, Ice,” his call sign rolled out of your tongue with a hint of uneasiness — and lord, you wished the ground would swallow you from the face of earth. “I like you a lot, but…” your trail of thoughts died down the moment his expression dropped when you mentioned a certain three-lettered word he’d been hoping not to hear from you.

“There’s a but,” he noticed, struggling to hide the fact that you’d somewhat crashed his dreams.

“It’s not your fault,” you attempted to comfort the blond pilot, but the sadness written all over his face was giving you such a hard time to come up with an excuse that your body intuitively lunched at his, arms wrapping around his neck hurriedly as your lips silenced whatever else you’d been about to blurt by landing right on his. Though you’d shared loads of kisses with Tom before, none of them had the same awkwardness and force of that one. He seemed to be quite enjoying it, pulling you closer to him as his hands snaked around your middle, but you, on the other hand, were suppressing tears of frustration (you were furious with yourself for not being able to handle such a hardship, let alone the fact that said hardship should’ve lead to a breakup).

Nevertheless, you were not opposed to giving Tom a second chance. Maybe you could take it from the top, go slow, reignite the fire. Yeah, you could do that, your inner voice convinced as you pulled away from him with a small smile, rubbing his shoulder a little bit as he leaned his temple against yours.

Little did you know that by opting not to break Iceman’s heart, you’d subconsciously gone against Goose’s earlier pleads and had broken Maverick’s instead, who’d stood frozen during the entire scene across from where you and Tom were, words strangling in his throat as his eyes blurred achingly at the sight of you smiling in his opponent’s arms.

Chapter 5

tags:

@holishol

@iheqrtaustin

[rose-pearls]

Office hours - Part 2

Part 2 of this story: Bradley and you can't stand your bosses flirting/arguing so you decide to get them together.

Relationships: Icemav, bob x hangman (mentioned), Bradley x reader

Taglist: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187, @nyx2021, @thestarspangledcaptain (open for every fandom)

Top Gun taglist: @bisexual-watermelons (open)

“Do you know what Mav just sent me?”, Bradley asks as he falls down on the chair in front of your desk, a pout on his lips.

“I don’t, and it’s still weird you call him Mav when you are at the office.”, you say, and Bradley rolls his eyes before turning back to you.

“He has just told me that he won’t be coming in today because he is ‘too busy’.”, Bradley says with air quotes, and you can’t help but snort.

“Too busy with Iceman probably.”, Bradley looks disgusted at the words, and you laugh at that.

“That is my godfather you are talking about.”, he says, and you shrug your shoulders.

“Not my fault they finally have gotten their heads out of their asses and are enjoying some alone time.”, you say, and Bradley still looks slightly disgusted but there is a soft smile on his lips.

“Alright love birds break it off.”, Jake says as he barges into your office, and you can’t help but sigh in answer.

“Does no one knock in this office?”, Jake simply ignores you before sitting down and giving you your favorite coffee order.

“And that is why you are my favorite.”, you tell the blond and receive a smirk in response while Bradley scoffs.

“Now that we all know that I’m your favorite, I need some advice.”, this surprises you and as you look at Bradley, you see him with an equally surprised face.

“Shoot.”, Bradley says, and Jake lets out a dramatic sigh.

“I met with Bobby yesterday and it was perfect, I mean that man is the most perfect human being on earth.”, Jake continues to ramble about how perfect Bob is in every way before you roll your eyes and interrupt him.

“Why do you need advice?”, Bradley nods, looking relieved that Jake isn’t waxing poetry anymore about Bob.

“I need to figure out how to woo him.”, there is a silence for a moment before Bradley starts laughing, quiet loudly, until he sees that Jake is serious.

“Wait, you are serious?”, Jake rolls his eyes at the words before letting out a sigh.

“Bob seems to think that I am a player.”

“He is not wrong.”, you say and Jake glares at you but you just smirk back.

“So, I need to show him that I am serious and that I only want him.”, Jake says, and you can’t help but look him over, he seems a little bit scared and desperate, which is something you never thought you would see on Jake.

“Well, why don’t you start off with little gestures. Discover what he likes, like flowers or maybe he is someone that prefers to spend time together. Find little things that will make his heart flutter and will show him that you truly care.”, there is a hopeful smile on Jake’s lips before he jumps out of his chair and kisses your cheeks with a loud smack. Leaving you in shock and Bradley with wide eyes.

“Thank you so much!”, Jake says before leaving, ignoring Bradley’s stuttering about how you are his girlfriend.

“That man is something.”, you can’t help but say as you take a sip from your coffee and Bradley agrees grumpily. 

“Aw common Brad, he just kissed my cheek to thank me for helping him find a way to ‘woo’ Bob.”, you say teasingly but Bradley seems to still be pouting so you get up from your chair and go stand in front of him.

“Talk to me.”, you tell him softly and he lets out a sigh before bringing you closer to him, between his legs.

“I just, don’t like it when other people touch you, especially without your consent. And because I get jealous of them touching you, when I’m the only one that should.”, you feel yourself shiver at his heated gaze and his hands that are wandering along the lines of your body.

“Good thing you are the only one touching me.”, you whisper, and Bradley brings you into a heated kiss, making you sit down on his lap.

The kiss is far more heated than it should be, at work, but you can’t stop yourself from kissing him just as fervently. His hands are running across your body before gripping your ass, making you gasp into his mouth and giving him the opportunity to kiss you even deeper. You can feel him getting harder against you and you rock yourself against him, enjoying the breathless moan from him. 

“I know I said I wouldn’t come into work today but-”, the door is flown open, and you nearly fall from Bradley’s lap from the surprise but his strong hands on your ass stops you from falling. The both of you turn around to find Maverick and Iceman in the doorway of your office with mouth wide open.

“Told you.”, Iceman says with a smirk, and you feel confused for a moment before Maverick grumbles and gives Iceman a crumbled dollar bill. 

You scramble off of Bradley’s lap and you try to get yourself back together, but it seems a bit more difficult than you thought it would be.

“So sorry sir.”, you say quickly as you sit back down at your desk, but Iceman only has a bright smile on his lips.

“Don’t worry, I’m happy that the two of you are together, you should come by for family dinner.”, Iceman says, and you can’t help but look at him in shock.

“I – I would love to sir.”, you say and Iceman smiles happily before looking at the two of you with a cold gaze. 

“However, don’t let me or anyone else catch you in this kind of position. Is that clear?”, he says, and you feel slightly scared at the cold blue eyes.

“Yes sir.”, you tell him, and Ice seems satisfied, Maverick is looking at Iceman with so much love in his eyes you feel like he is going to explode but there is something else in there that you don’t want to think about.

“Yes Ice, but make sure you and Uncle Mav don’t get found into a similar position.”, there is that cheeky smile on Bradley’s face and you can’t help but look at him with wide eyes.

“Yeah, yeah that is all Maverick’s fault.”, your boss says, and you can’t help but laugh as Maverick rolls his eyes.

“Didn’t hear you complain old man.”, Maverick says with a smirk and Ice rolls his eyes.

“I’m one year older than you.”

“Still one year.”, the two are looking at each other with heated gazes and you suddenly feel like you are interrupting something.

“Not that we don’t enjoy your company but keep this foreplay between the two of you and between locked doors.”, Bradley says, and Ice seems to try and say something, but nothing comes out. Maverick rolls his eyes and drags Iceman out of your office with a smirk on his lips.

“We are taking our lunch break it will be of an hour.”, there is a smirk on his lips before he closes the door, and you look back towards Bradley.

“They really can’t keep it in their pants.”, you say and Bradley snorts in answer.

“What do you say we lock that door of yours and get back to what we were doing.”, he whispers, a seductive smile on his lips as his eyes roam over your body.

“Better do it quickly Bradshaw because time is ticking.”, that is the only thing you need to say before your boyfriend locks the door and brings you into another heated kiss.

[wishfulwithwine]

Fathers

Beau Cyclone Simpson x Fem!WifeReader

Warnings: pregnancy, terrible fathers, cursing, alcohol, abandonment, navy, death

Author - couldn’t get this concept out of my head! not edited, just needed to write it all out, so i apologize if it’s terrible.

photo from pinterest:

For how stern Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson was, his wife was the epitome of sunshine. If Y/N Simpson worked in the Navy, Warlock joked your callsign was ‘Sunshine’. You added the softness to the relationship in public, however you would say that your husband was a romantic. You viewed him as the love of your life, your protector, and the only person either of you loved more than each other would be your newborn son.

Beau planned all your dates, would always randomly bring you flowers, and made sure every day you knew you were the most beautiful woman in his eyes. 

You were Beau’s heart, and although some of the Navy guys teased he didn’t actually have one, no one could deny the personality change that seemed to happen when you were around. You were the light of his life, and your newborn son was another beacon that made Beau’s heart brighter. 

“Baby, do you want me to hold him?” Beau asked, concerned as he watched you walking up the with your Tommy in your arms. You didn’t look like you were in pain, but since delivering less than two weeks ago, he was still nervous.

“Sweetheart, I love you, but I’m good. He’s good right now” You said, with a soft smile, before looking down at your son who was awake but just sucking on his pacifier for now. Smiling, Beau kept walking besides you, as he rolled the stroller with plenty of “in case” bags. 

As first time newborn parents, you didn’t know what was going to happen with leaving your house for more than a few minutes. As a Navy Admiral, Beau usually planned for everything - so he packed multiple bags for multiple scenarios - crying, sleeping, eating, etc. Another reason you two got along so well was because you both were very “type A”. 

Today was Admiral Kazansky’s funeral however, and although you had not brought Tommy to the actual funeral, Sarah Kazansky had requested that he appeared at his namesake’s house afterwards. 

Tommy - Thomas Jeremy Simpson - was named after Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, the man who was basically a father to Y/N after her own father had ignored her. In all sense of the word parents, that was Admiral and Mrs. Kazansky to Y/N. They had been the ones at her high school graduation, college graduation, wedding, and this past week, birth of her son. 

Only a few people had been at the hospital the day Tommy was born - Sarah and Tom Kazansky, Warlock, and Y/N’s best friend. Ice was incredibly honored to have been his ‘grandson’s’ namesake, tears streamed down his face when Beau had broken the news.

Her actual father…well he cared more about the son of his best friend to ever pay attention to his own. Most people didn’t even know he had a daughter. 

You met Beau after a dinner party at Kazansky’s. He’ll never forget when he saw you in that dress, how you radiated beauty with your kind smile. Despite his reputation, he couldn’t help but stare at you, as you talked with many others before making your way over to his group. 

“Y/N darling, this is Vice Admiral Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson” Ice introduced, and he watched as you smiled warmly at him, before looking at Ice, a smirk appearing on your lips.

“This is the infamous Cyclone? He doesn’t look so bad” You replied, your hand reaching out to shake his. Surprising the group, he took your hand and pressed a kiss to the back of your palm, keeping his eyes locked onto yours. The Kazansky’s looked to each other with confusion on their faces.

“What have you heard about me?” He replied, a raised eyebrow but playfulness in his eyes. You smiled widely, and Ice couldn’t help but feel a smile creep on his face. 

“Ice thinks you’re too much of a rule follower” You replied, as Ice sighed, rolling his eyes at your comment.

“Well someone has to be. Can’t keep letting Maverick off the hook every time he pisses off an admiral” Beau says, slight annoyance in his tone about Maverick, but as he watched Tom and Sarah’s head turn swiftly to you, gauging your reaction, he could see he said something wrong.  

“I’m going to get some more to drink. Would anyone like more?” You said, a forced smile on your lips. He nodded caught your gaze, following you over to the bar. He could feel Tom’s staring on his back, which he shook off as he looked at you. 

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Do you know Maverick?” Beau asked, curiosity over taking him. You looked back at him, nodding before pouring some more wine in your glass. He poured some more whiskey in his glass.

“I’m assuming you don’t like him very much?” You replied, deciding to not give much away about how you know Maverick. He shrugged, when you met his gaze again. Your expression wasn’t alluding to a positive nor a negative relationship. Did you date him? 

“There’s a reason he hasn’t had a promotion more than Captain. He might be friend’s with Ice, but…” Beau said, trailing off on how best to describe him.

“He doesn’t care about rules. Very his way or the highway” You replied, rolling your eyes as you took a big sip of your wine. Beau looked at you curiously, and when you looked back at him you sighed. “Trust me, I’m with you on it. He’s my father, but we haven’t spoken in about ten years” You said, and Beau froze.

“I’m so sorry” He said, but you smiled warmly at him, reaching out your hand to place on his shoulder.

“Please, don’t worry about it. Ice is more of my father than he is. Now, should I call you Beau or Cyclone? Which would you prefer?” You asked, switching topics easily. He smiled, putting his hand over yours.

“You can call me Beau. What do you do for work?” He asked, as he saw you smiled wider.

The whole night the pair of you stayed by each other’s side, causing Sarah to rearrange some of the dinner place cards so you two could sit together. The Kazansky’s, as well as the rest of the guests at the dinner party,  watched as you laughed and flirted with the Vice Admiral, and Cyclone smiled for almost the whole night, a rare sight for those involved with the Navy. The other officials were in shock. 

“Did you give him drugs?” Warlock asked Ice, as they both stared at Cyclone and you, laughing together. 

“No… Sarah?” Ice asked, looking to his wife, as she glanced over to the couple.

“I think he likes her” Sarah said, smiling, as she watched you blush over something Beau said. They watched as he grinned wider, a twinkle in both of their eyes.

“Maverick is going to hate this” Warlock stated.

“Maverick hasn’t spoken to his daughter in 10 years. I don’t think he has any room to comment” Sarah stated conclusively, looking to Ice with a knowing glance. He nodded, looking at you.

“She deserves happiness” Ice said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

“Y/N, Cyclone, it’s so good to see you. Tommy! Oh he’s so adorable” Sarah Kazansky - Y/N’s “mother" said, looking at the couple and child. Y/N smiled softly, not a bright smile considering the circumstances, but Sarah looked genuinely happy to see the child.

“Do you want to hold him, grandma?” You asked, causing the woman to smile wider. 

“Oh I would love too” Sarah said, picking up Tommy from your arms and cradling him. Tommy looked up at her with wide eyes, and Sarah looked back at the couple who also seemed enamored with their newborn. 

“Where should I put Y/N’s pie?” Beau asked, as he put aside the bags and stroller in the hall closet.

“I made some other meals so you won’t have to cook as well” Y/N said.

“Oh just in the kitchen. Thank you both” Sarah said, warmly, before looking back down at her ‘grandchild’. Beau gave Y/N a forehead kiss, before heading to put the food in the kitchen fridge.

“Y/N! And little Tommy!” Warlock said, bringing you into a hug before turning his attention to Tommy in Sarah’s arms. He was getting a bit fidgety so you held out your arms to take him back, and Sarah passed him into yours. 

“I can’t believe you just gave birth. You look beautiful” Sarah said, and you smiled.

“I can’t believe Cyclone let you two out of the house. I was certain he’d make you keep recovering” Warlock teased as you chuckled, rocking Tommy back and forth which seemed to calm him.

“Well it’s a celebration for his namesake after all” You smiled sadly, as you watched Warlock reach out to Tommy, who held onto his hand.

“He’s got a strong grip. If he didn’t have your eyes, I would say he was a mini Cyclone” Warlock said, as everyone chuckled.

“Sarah, my condolences” Pete Mitchell said, walking over to the woman and giving her a hug. 

Warlock and you shared a glance, as you tensed. You diverted your gaze down to Tommy. 

“Let’s go find your father” You whispered, and Warlock nodded, patting your arm before you left to find Beau. He was talking to two men, who looked a bit younger than yourself, in their naval uniforms.

As you walked over, the blonde caught your eye and smiled at you, before Beau saw the lieutenant’s attention was somewhere else, and followed his gaze. He smiled, which seemed to surprise the men, before reaching his arm out to put around your waist and lead you into his side.

“Hey sweetheart, I was just about to come back to you. This is Lieutenants Jake Seresin and Javy Machado. Lieutenants, this is my wife Y/N and our son Tommy” Beaut introduced, as the men smiled and nodded.

“I’d shake your hand but this boy has my hands full. It’s nice to put faces with names, Hangman and Coyote, right?” You said, and they all chuckled.

“Congratulations! How old is he?” Coyote asked.

“Not even two weeks” You said with a smile.

“Are you in the Navy too?” Jake asked, before another woman and two other lieutenants came to join the group.

“No, but most of my kindergarten students have naval officers for parents because the school is so close, so I like to say I’m ‘Naval affiliated’” You said, and the group chuckled.

“You’re also an admiral’s wife, remember?” Beau teased, and you laughed, as the group chuckled, although it seemed slightly awkward, in surprise that your husband was capable of teasing. You were used to it at this point.

“Lieutenants, this is my wife Y/N and son Tommy. Y/N, this is Lieutenants Natasha Trace, Robert Floyd and Bradley Bradshaw” He said, giving you a look as you tensed, looking at Bradley.

“He’s talked about this group all week, so let me guess - Phoenix, Bob and Rooster. It’s a pleasure to meet you all” You said, your smile a bit more forced than usual as you felt the stare of Bradley on you, although you couldn’t meet his eyes.

“He’s so cute! How old is he?” Natasha asked, cooing over Tommy. You focused on Tommy and Natasha.

“Two weeks” Beau said, with a smile, gazing lovingly to his wife. 

“Wow, I can’t believe you’re here. Was it easy?” Natasha asked.

“Stubborn boy gave me twenty two hours of labor” You said.

“If it was up to me, you’d be resting at home” Cyclone said, rubbing your shoulder.

“Yea, well I think I have some veto power since I delivered him, and Tommy was named after Ice” You said, as Beau rolled his eyes but with a smile on his face. 

The lieutenants watched both of you interact with curiosity. Cyclone was acting so strangely compared to normal, but seeing the two of you together, it made sense.

“There they are, Warlock, with Cyclone. Is that a smile I see on his face?” Maverick said, and you tensed. The smiles instantly dropping from both of your faces, you looked to Beau. You hadn’t actually looked at him yet, and now that he was so close, you didn’t know how to escape. 

“Maverick” Cyclone acknowledged, and the lieutenants were almost confused as to why the energy changed so drastically. You looked up and coincidentally made eye contact with Bradley, who seemed to put the pieces together, before you looked down at Tommy, rocking him to calm your own nerves. You looked at Warlock who looked guilty. 

“Cyclone, was that a smile I saw before? I didn’t know you could do that. Is this your wife? I didn’t even know you got married, let alone had a kid. How old is he?” Maverick said, leaning closer, before you stepped away, looking straight at him. Your father.

As soon as you two locked eyes, Maverick’s eyes widened. 

“Yes, this is my wife Y/N, and our son Tommy, named after Ice. He’s two weeks old” Beau said, holding onto you. You broke your eye contact with Maverick, looking back at Beau and Tommy. 

“Y/N?” Maverick asked, and you sighed.

“Yes?” You asked, annoyed.

“Could we speak, outside?” He said, and looked back up at him. His face was tense, his eyes blazing with hurt and anger. You looked to Beau, and he nodded.

“It was nice to meet you all. We’ll be right back” You said, smiling at the lieutenants, before leading Maverick and Cyclone outside.

Inside, the dagger squad watched as Cyclone, Maverick and you all walked away from the house to have your discussion.

“So, ex-lover? Maverick seems to get around” Hangman said, theorizing with a smirk on his face.

“No, no. That’s Maverick’s daughter” Rooster explained, as the group looked to him and then the group in shock.

“Holy shit” Bob said.

“That doesn’t look like a happy reunion” Phoenix stated.

“That’s because it isn’t” Warlock stated ominously, as they all watched, eager for gossip. 

“You got married and didn’t even invite your father?” Maverick yelled as softly as he could, once you three were far enough away from the house outside, his face red with annoyance. You sighed, rocking Tommy in your arms, kissing his face to keep him from crying. 

You could only roll your eyes, but saw Beau’s jaw clench, ready to defend you with harsh words. The veins in his neck were throbbing, and you could see this ending badly. 

“No, Beau. I got this” You said, in a soft tone, placing a hand on Beau’s chest, staring up at your husband with a smile, watching him look down at you before kissing your forehead. 

You stared at him for a moment longer before removing your hand, looking over to Maverick, your gaze shifting from warm to a frosty chill. It felt like the space around you could be an icebox.

“Do you even know what I do for a living?” You asked, your face becoming cold as you watched the emotions all over Maverick’s face. 

Everyone watched how calm you were, and shivered at the iciness in the air. If it was a cartoon, Maverick would be having smoke come out of his ears. Warlock had gotten the attention of Sarah, but held her back from going over to you. 

“Do you know where I went to college? Do you know where I lived before here?” You asked, raising an eyebrow, at his lack of answers. You could see the flashes of regret in his eyes, as his anger became one of remorse. 

“You know, everyone thinks you’re so admirable - keeping track of your best friend’s kid, making sure you’re there for him - at least in the background because Bradley doesn’t speak to you, right? Does he know you keep only his picture in your wallet? Go to his parent’s grave at least three times a year - one for the anniversary of Goose’s death, Goose’s birthday, and Bradley’s birthday, right? Now, can you tell me when my - your daughter’s, your actual child’s - is?” You asked, and you watched Maverick’s Adam’s Apple move, swallowing hard. 

The other lieutenants looked at Bradley, who just stared at you, eyes filled with sympathy. 

There was a long pause, and everyone was shifting eyes back and forth between you, Maverick and Rooster.

You rolled your eyes, already knowing the answer to your questions before you even began your reply. 

“I didn’t think so. You know, I didn’t purposefully keep you away. I told Ice that if you ever asked about me, he could tell you. But only if you asked him” You said, your bite on your words getting harsher, feeling the rise of emotions in you. Biting the inside of your cheek, you looked up to Beau, his eyes raging with anger.

“So to answer your question, there was always a wedding invite for you. Always. It’s in Ice’s desk. If you ever asked him or Sarah about me, he would have given it to you” You said, before turning away, feeling Beau’s hand on your back, and leaving. 

“Y/N! I’m your father. You can’t walk away from me!” Maverick shouted, causing you to stop and take a deep breath, before turning around.

“That didn’t stop you from turning your back on me. You aren’t my father, Ice is.” You said, feeling Beau’s arm tighten on you, before walking away with him.

“I love you” Beau stated, stopping the two of you when you finally got far enough away from the crowd of people. 

“I love you too” You replied, gazing up at him as he put his hand on your cheek, bringing his lips to yours.

[topgun-imagines]

Iceman thoughts 💭

I always had the head canon that iceman always have been wearing ever since his Top Gun days. He usually wears contacts since he rather not be seen with his glasses. However there are days he doesn’t care or forget to wear his contacts and puts his glasses on instead.

He walks downstairs wearing them while searching for his books and a few pen (out of habit he always love twirling and clicking his pens). The reader notices him wearing them is fall in love with him all over again as she smiles. Ice noticed the smile and chuckles, “You alright, honey?”

The read nods and chuckles, “Y-yeah. It’s just I rarely see you with your glasses on. You look kinda hot.”

“Really? I always wear my contacts..”

“Yeah. You should wear them more often.”

From that moment on, Iceman tends to wear his glasses at more around the house and on occasion to work.

Oh my god I love this 🥹 I definitely have a soft spot for glasses cause I’ve worn them since I was little.

But imagine after you tell him that he just starts wearing them for the mundane domestic things. Like he’ll just randomly put them on while he’s making dinner, grinning slightly at the way you stare at him for a few seconds longer than normal.

Or when he wakes you up on the weekends by kissing all over your face gently. Your eyes flutter open and your heart melts at the sight of the thin frames on his face.

(Or by brining you breakfast in bed but that’s a discussion for later)

One day, he comes home way later than normal and you can practically feel the exhaustion rolling off him. He simply drops his books and files by the door and allows you to lead him to the bed. You both get ready together, tucking the cover around him first and slipping them off his face gently before kissing his forehead 🥹🥹

[callsigndragon]

The Christmas Date | Chapter 11: Christmas makes me cry

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Fem!Kerner!Reader

(Ron Kerner is Slider, Iceman’s backseater)

Wordcount: 2.3k

Summary: Y/n “Athena” Kerner and Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw hate each other. Everybody knows. What happens when they have to fake date for a whole week to avoid Iceman and Slider’s matchmaking plans?

(there won’t be smut in this series)

Warnings: maJOR ANGST. Thena has a panic attack. anxiety. you know the deal. major fluff to compensate at the end. partial nudity (there's underwear on in the characters involved so don't worry)

A/N: Okay so this came to me randomly a few hours ago and i just...had to write it. This episode was supposed to be completely different but my heart wasn't having it so I changed it. Pros: Solo won't be doing anything more to thena (you're welcome). Cons: you're not gonna get rid of the other part of the angst that's is coming in the next chapters. FINAL ANGST I SWEAR. maybe.ALSO this chapter is a bit weird, you'll notice a song in the middle of the text, IF YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT WHILE READING THAT PART. You'll thank me later.

Taglist: @ducks118 @milestellerwife @craftymoonchaos @littlebadariell   @xoxabs88xox  @alexxavicry @tayrae515 @shrimping-for-all  @mak-32 @my-soulmate-is-mycroft @harper1666 @purplevortexx @abaker74 @ssprayberrythings @melllinaa @loveless-simp  @k-k0129 @mygyn @castle-bookworms-world @chaoticversion @one-sweet-gubler @loveforaugust

@taytaylala12 @benhardysdrumstick @green-intervention @waatermelon-sugaar @smells-like-perfect-senses @interstellarloneliness @tay-bluey @diggorycullen @dhwanishah09 @inky-sun @luckyladycreator2 @nograce-nomercy @witchybabel

(If you want to be added, write in the comments!)

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His lips wake you up, as if he were a prince wanting to rescue his princess from an eternal slumber. 

“Not now, I want to sleep more,” you whine, pulling up the covers and hiding underneath them. 

“I woke up early and went to get you some nice French toast from that place you like. I got you one of those fancy coffees with unpronounceable names and arranged it all in front of the fireplace, where my dad’s Polaroid album is waiting. You’re getting out of bed now, please?”  

Oh, shit. The album! You kick the covers away from you, hugging Rooster and covering his face in kisses. His giggles make you smile. “Morning, handsome nugget.” 

“Morning, beautiful grouchy.” 

You move back a bit to look in his eyes, sighing at what you see in them: pure love and adoration. “Why did you go all the way out for me?” 

“First of all, you deserve it, so shut up. Second,” he sighs, getting up from the bed, “I wanted to make this morning a bit easier for you before going to the station to report… the monster.” 

You swallow, looking at the floor. “I’m not gonna report him” 

“What?” 

“We’re leaving in two days, I don’t think it’s necessary. We won’t see him again after this” you shrug. 

“Sweetheart, this is not how things work. You know it.” He kneels in front of you, opening his hands and waiting for you to grab them. You don’t.

“I-I know but I can’t go to the station and talk about it. I’m doing my best to block those memories, but they’re so recent, a-and I…” Someone knocks at the door and you begin to tremble, tears welling up in your eyes. 

Are the walls moving closer? Why does it look like the room is getting smaller? You can’t breathe. Run. You can’t. You can’t move. 

“Oh no, no, no. Grouchy, look at me.” 

You can’t. Your eyes are closed, protecting you from the outside world and the white, menacing walls that keep getting closer and closer as if trying to crush you between them. 

“Thena. Thena, please. Look at me. Only at me.” 

Someone is touching you. The monster has finally gotten what he wanted. He’s carrying you around, maybe looking for a bed to lay you down. You need to get out of his arms. You hit him everywhere you can, but it’s not working. He’s stronger than you. 

The soft knock is now an insistent banging against the wooden door. Erratic and incessant sounds that echo in your ears. Is he here again? Has he come to finish what he couldn’t yesterday? 

Make it stop.

Make it stop. 

Make. 

It. 

Stop. 

Rooster looks at the trembling girl in front of him, not knowing exactly what to do. He can’t touch her, not like this. He can’t get consent from Thena, he’s not going to touch her. But if he can’t ground her back to reality soon, she’s going to get worse. 

I’m sorry, Y/n. I’m sorry for this.

Rooster carries her to the bathroom, bridal style. She screams, hits him, and tries to escape, too immersed in her own nightmare to realize that the monster is not there. The person knocking on the door is becoming impatient. Probably Slider, worried about her daughter’s screams. Rooster can’t open the door now. He needs to take care of Thena first. 

The world can wait five fucking minutes. 

He goes straight to the shower, opening the faucet and standing in the freezing water with Thena in his arms. He doesn’t know if this is going to work, but it does for him when he has panic attacks. He’s getting soaked, but it doesn’t matter. She matters. His star is agonizing, and he needs to bring her back. 

The bedroom door bursts open, and Thena screams, tossing around in his arms and crying even more. Slider walks in the bathroom with a worried expression, followed by Iceman and Mav. 

“What the fuck is happening?” he asks with a mixture of anger and fear. 

“At this point, I think she’s hallucinating.” Rooster responds, his voice breaking down at the thought of Thena going through something he can’t help her with. “It’s Becca here?” 

She appears from behind his father, tears in her eyes. “I’m here” 

“I need you to come here and talk to her. Maybe hearing a female voice would calm her down.” 

Becca nods, stepping into the tiny shower and talking with her in that motherly tone she always uses with Jesse. Oh, Jesse. Rooster hopes he’s not seeing this. Nobody should see Thena like this. But poor Jesse might be so scared if he saw her favorite auntie in such a state. 

“Hey, sweetheart. It’s me, Becca. You’re here with me. You’re safe. Listen to my voice, please. You’re safe.” 

Becca keeps talking with her for a few minutes, with Thena’s body slowly relaxing between his arms and her eyes, which have been closed the entire time, opening slowly. She looks around, confusion spreading over her face. The trembling doesn’t stop, however. 

“Grouchy, can you hear me?” 

“N-nugget?” she mumbles, her voice hoarse for all the screaming. 

“Yes, my love, it’s nugget. I’m gonna ask you a few questions, okay? Answer if you can," she nods slowly, and Rooster employs a technique taught to him by his therapist years ago. “Tell me five things you see” 

She doesn’t move her gaze from him, as if she were scared that if she looked around, she would see the monster’s face in front of her. “You. Your scars. Y-your stache. Your wet hair. The faucet” 

“Now, four things you can feel” 

“My wet clothes. The water on my skin. Your body is trembling… are you cold?” 

“Focus now, fly girl. One more” 

“My feet on the ground” 

He nods; she's returning slowly but safely. “Three things you can hear”

“Your voice, your breathing, water running” 

Her breath slows down to a normal rhythm.

“Two things you can smell” 

“You. And soap” he looks at one of the shampoo bottles Thena had kicked when he got her in the shower, now opened and oozing. 

“One thing you can taste” 

She stops shaking. 

“Nothing. I didn’t have breakfast. Oh god, Rooster…” 

"There you are," Rooster exhales, relieved. “Please don’t go to places where I can’t follow you.” 

She hugs him harder than she's ever done before. Becca turns off the faucet, being careful not to touch Thena by accident, and steps out of the shower, getting wrapped in a towel by her dad. 

“I’m sorry,” Thena whispers. 

“Don’t. You have nothing to apologize for. Let’s take you out of these cold clothes. I’ll run you a bath and wait for you downstairs with a warm cup of chocolate.” Rooster offers, knowing that if he doesn’t warm Thena’s body, she will get a cold. 

“Don’t leave me,” she pleads. 

“Never” 

“Once you two are ready,” Becca says, talking for all, “we would like to know as much as you can tell us of what has happened here” 

Rooster looks at Thena, she looks at the ground, considering her choices, and then nods slowly. “He’ll tell you. I can’t think or hear about it. Not yet” 

The family nods, slowly leaving the bathroom and the room. “I don’t know if I can be alone with my thoughts in a bath…” 

“I can keep my underwear on and join you,” he offers. 

She nods, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. “He broke me, Roos.” 

“You’re not broken.” 

She opens her mouth to say something else but closes it quickly, as if she wasn't sure how to express her thoughts. “I’m cold” 

“I’ll get the bath started.” 

You look at Rooster getting inside the tub, leaning against the white end. You take off your clothes, you’re only wearing Rooster’s hoodie that he gave you last night, black yoga shorts, and your underwear. You’re not ready to take off your underwear yet. “Can I keep this?” you ask him, signaling to the mismatched bra and panties you’re wearing. 

“Sweetheart, you’re the one that decides, not me.” 

You nod slowly, getting closer to the tub. “This may sound contradictory because ten minutes ago I was trying to escape from your arms, but... can I sit with you?” 

“You mean, your back on my chest?” 

“If it’s okay,” you insist, asking for permission. 

He doesn’t answer, just opens his arms as a nonverbal confirmation. You smile a bit, getting inside and sitting in the middle of the tub, leaning slowly against Rooster’s body. You don’t really understand how, but he’s the only touch you can tolerate right now. Whenever he isn’t there, you miss it. Crave it, even. It’s completely illogical. 

The hot water pierces your cold skin, warming it slowly. He moves his arms to rest on each side of the tub, avoiding any more contact between you and his body. He doesn’t want you to be overwhelmed. 

“Thank you, Bradley,” you whisper. 

“Don’t need to thank me, little star” 

“Star? That's a new one," you say as you lift your hand from the warm water and grab Rooster's large one. He turns his hand, his palm facing up, and your fingers slowly trace the lines. 

“I said once that you were my Polaris. You’re my little star” 

“What if this star doesn’t shine anymore?” you question with tears in your eyes. 

He kisses your head. “You don’t need to shine to be my star” 

“Do you still want to be with me after all this?” 

And there it is, the question you have been afraid to ask. 

“Y/n look at me” 

You turn around to see his calm and comforting expression. “The only way you’re getting rid of me is when you say you don’t love me anymore” 

“I think I love you more than yesterday,” you admit shyly, his hand moving to caress your cheek. 

“And I think I love you less than tomorrow.” 

Rooster stated that he will inform your family about the monster and everything that happened not only yesterday, but years ago as well. He asked for Ice’s help, because both of you knew that once Slider learns that his best friend hid something so important from him for years, things will get uncomfortable. 

You can’t stand being in a room alone, so he hands you his headphones, looks for a playlist that he has on Spotify named ‘the brightest star’, and presses play. You want to ask him why the playlist is called like that, but you see the family entering the room, and you know that it’s the moment to tune out the world. In your hands, you have Goose’s album. It’s old, and some pages seem to be, quite literally, hanging from a thread. You should get a new album, too. 

You look at all the pictures, finally finding that picture of baby you and a 4-year-old Rooster. He’s wearing his dad's glasses. It is truly a beautiful picture. Maybe you can get a copy and have it in your cockpit. 

Rooster playlist changes from a silly and happy Paramore song to a song you haven’t heard before but it has the most beautiful lyrics. 

Let your arms be a place she feels safe in. 

Wait, what’s this song about? You unlock Rooster’s phone, quickly opening the music app to read the lyrics. 

She always has trouble 

Falling asleep 

And she likes to cuddle 

While under the sheets

She loves Pop songs

And dancing, and bad trash TV

It's as if this song was talking about you. 

Has a hard time accepting 

A good compliment 

She loves her whole family

And all of her friends

It’s this playlist about you? Does he have a special selection of songs that remind him of you? 

So if you’re the one she lets in

Take it

If she gives you her heart

Don’t you break it

Let your arms be a place 

She feels safe in

This might be the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard. And you wish he would sing it to you. He has a beautiful voice. 

She’ll love you 

If you love her 

On days when

It feels like the whole 

World might cave in

Stand side by side 

And you’ll make it

She’s the best thing you’ll ever have

She’ll love you

If you love her like that

When you raise your head to look at Rooster, you notice the room is empty. It looks like he finished his story, and all of them left the room to leave you some space. 

He takes off your headphones. “What are you listening to, grouchy?” He stays silent for a few seconds until he registers the song and smiles. “Oh, is this one?”

“Roos is this-”

“Is the playlist about you? Yes. Absolutely. At first, it only had one song. When I see you smile”

"80s song, how typical of you," you say with a smile. 

“Well, the lyrics fit, don’t you think? Anyway, then I kept hearing songs on the radio that reminded me of you, or had a very deep meaning or… just like this one, it was made for you” 

“If it helps… your arms are the safest place on Earth for me” 

“And when I see you smile, I can face the world,” he admits, leaning close to your face to kiss you. 

“Agh, you’re literally DISGUSTINGLY CUTE,” Nick says, covering his eyes while walking towards the sofa, where his phone is. 

“Get lost,” you both say before closing the distance and kissing each other with so much love you feel goosebumps on your skin and tears in your eyes. 

Feeling loved has to be the best feeling in the world.

A/N: Anyone interested in hearing the playlist? Is small but cute, i swear. I'll leave it here.

[bellaireland1981]

Stubborn Hearts | 9

Summary: Reader (Firecracker, Sunshine) has been in love with Bradley since she was a young girl. Growing up the two were inseparable, apart from short periods of time when she was on the West Coast with the Kazanskys. One faithful decision by her dad to block Bradley from going to the Naval Academy resulted in a huge rift between father and daughter and left her without Bradley in her life. Now all grown up, she’s called back to the west coast at the same time as her father and Bradley. Her mission, according to her dying godfather, is to mend fences with her dad and Bradley. Can stubborn hearts be healed?

(I suck at summaries for real).

This will have multiple chapters… this is 9 of 9 (Plus an epilogue) – added another chapter ;-)

Characters: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mitchell! Reader, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell x Daughter! Reader, The Dagger Squad, Shay (OC), Penny, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky

Word Count: 6058

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Death of character, TGM Spoilers, Illusions to Smut (later on ), Turbulent relationship with parent, Friends to lovers, …Please let me know if I’ve missed any!

A/N- This is my first time writing for TGM. I do not own the characters or plot lines from the movie. I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION TO COPY OR REPRODUCE MY WORK ON THIS OR ANY OTHER PLATFORM! Reblogging is always welcome! Feedback is MUCH loved and appreciated. THANK YOU to @waywardodysseys​ for all support and bouncing ideas!!

Ch 1    Ch 2   Ch 3   Ch 4  Ch 5  Ch 6  Ch7  CH 8

Tags below ! If I forgot anyone, please message me! If you want to be added, let me know!

The sun breaking through the window roused you from your sleep the next morning. You stirred, slowly opening your eyes. You smiled, seeing Bradley still deep in sleep. He looked carefree and content, you hated to wake him up, but if you didn’t get moving you’d be late to view the rentals.

You gently reached up, allowing your fingers to gently trace over his face. Leaning in, you placed soft kisses on the path your fingers had followed.

“Mmm, morning Sunshine.” He mumbled, still half asleep. He pulled you closer, his hand trailing down your back.

“Morning, Sleep head.” You replied, entwining your legs with his to get closer.

“You’re killing me, Sweetheart.” He moaned, the friction of you pressing up against him, causing blood to rush south. “Stay still a minute.”

“Hmm, but I seem to be having a hard time getting comfy.” You sassed, continuing to move against him, adding to the friction. You knew exactly what you were doing to him, and felt zero remorse. You considered this to be part of his punishment for almost not coming home to you. You did however, absolutely plan to make it up to him later tonight.

“You’re an absolute minx.” He groaned, grabbing you to hold you still. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

“Oh, I can definitely finish.” You teased, pressing kisses to his jaw and down to his neck, “But, it’ll have to wait. We’re going to be late.”

You untangled and started to get up when Bradley tackled you back to the bed, turning so you were trapped underneath him. You could feel the evidence of your teasing rubbing up against your core as he leaned down and captured your lips in a heated kiss. He had your wrists  trapped above your head, gently but firmly gripping them in one hand, the other trailing down your side only to slide up under your t-shirt, tracing over your heated skin. You moaned against his mouth, trying to squirm up into him, now needing more friction to relieve the ache in your core. He had definitely turned the tables on you.

Pulling back, he gave one final kiss to your lips before releasing your wrists and sliding off the bed.

“Come on, Sunshine.” He said, smirking down at you, “Time to get going. We’re going to be late.”

“Well played, Bradshaw.” You grumbled, “Well played.”

He came back over, kneeling on the bed and leaning over you. “I fully plan on continuing this tonight, Sunshine.”  He promised, “I’ll get coffee and breakfast started while you shower and get ready.”

“Or…” You countered, “We could both get in the shower and then make coffee and breakfast after.”

“If we did that… and holy shit do I want to do that…” He replied, “We would miss the appointment for the rentals all together and would probably end up not making it to Mav’s. When I do finally get to unwrap the most breathtakingly beautiful gift I’ve ever been given, I will be damned if I’m going to be rushed. I plan to take my time, uncovering every square inch of you, tasting and savoring you… committing every inch to memory. Afterwards, I will happily follow you into the shower, my Sunny little minx.”

“I will 100% hold you to that, Lieutenant Bradshaw.” You said, pulling his head down to kiss him, one final time before rolling away and heading to the bathroom to shower.

An hour later you were pulling up outside of the first rental property. Truth be told this was the one you really liked the most. It was a yellow single story home with an adorable front porch. It had a privacy wall around the home, and a white iron gate with a paved walk leading to the front door. Bradley pulled the Bronco into the driveway, parking behind the property manager’s car. The two of you hopped out and met the manager at the front door where he was unlocking the door.

You’d already been inside and seen everything once, so you let Bradley wander through the rooms.

“It’s really nice,” He said, coming back to where you were standing in the living room. “Lots of space and open floor plan. What do you think, Sunshine?”

“It’s actually my favorite of the 3. It just feels more homey I think. I like that it’s a house and wouldn’t be sharing walls with neighbors.” You replied.

“No, just with Hangman.” He laughed, “Could be just as bad.”

“How many would be on the lease?” The manager asked, “ We would need anyone residing on the property to be included on the lease.”

“Potentially 3” You said, “I won’t know immediately.”

Bradley looked over at you, happy to be included in your potential rental number.

“Certainly,” The manager said, “We’ve had Naval renters in the past, so we understand the sometimes uncertainty that comes with it. Should you choose to lease the property, we could lease it based on whatever your situation is at that time and then if and when orders change, you can add or subtract people to the lease.”

“Perfect.” You said. “We have two others we are looking at but we can let you know by tomorrow on our decision.”

“That sounds good.” The manager said.

“Actually,” Bradley said, turning towards you, “Sunshine, if this one is your favorite, why are we looking at the other two?”

“Because, you might like the other two better.” You said simply, not thinking too much about it.

“If you were making the decision 100% for you, not taking anyone or anything else into the equation, which one would you choose?” He asked.

“I guess, this one.” You replied, “It kind of reminds me of the house dad and I lived in in Virginia Beach… the one down the street from you and your mom.”

“She’ll take it.” He said immediately, turning to the manager, “Do you have the application?”

“Bradley…” You said smiling, shaking your head at him.

“Sunshine, this is your new home. Fill out the application. I’ll cancel the other viewings while you fill it out.” he replied, winking, “Not letting this one get away from you.”

“I do have the application if you’d like. You can fill it out and I can process it and get you a decision by early afternoon.” the manager said, “If everything checks out we can have you sign the lease and leave the deposit and you can start moving in by the weekend.”

“Ok.” You said, smiling, “Yes, I would like to fill out the application please.”

Bradley leaned down, kissing you quickly before pulling his phone out to cancel the other viewings.

Application completed, you and Bradley left what would hopefully be your new home. You decided to go to the hangar where your plane was and fly over to Mav’s early. You called your dad while Bradley drove to make sure it was OK and he’d be there. He’d spent the night at Penny’s but said he’d meet you out there. You knew he was excited to spend time with Bradley and try to build back that relationship.

You gave Bradley directions to your hangar, having him pull the Bronco up to where you normally parked the Jeep. The two of you worked together to ready your plane before you ran over to the office to log your flight, Frank confirming you for the runway.

“Alright, Lieutenant ‘Rooster’,” You said, tossing him the keys to the plane, “Show me what you’ve got.”

“You want me to fly?” He asked, shocked, “Are you sure?”

“Yup” You said, “I wanna see you do your thing in your natural environment.”

“Are you going to return the favor on the way back?” He asked, “I think watching you fly will be fucking hot.”

“You’re a menace.” You laughed, “Yes. I will happily try to live up to your pilot fantasy on the way back.”

“Baby, you are the fantasy.” He winked. “Alright, hop on in, my beautiful co-pilot.”

You were right. Bradley was 100% at home in the cockpit of a plane. He was in his complete element in the air.  You watched as he easily maneuvered your plane, flying smoothly.

“Hey Bradley?” You said into the headset, getting his attention.

“Yeah, Sunshine?” He asked, glancing over at you.

“I love you.” You said, smiling at him.

“I love you too, Y/N.” He replied, reaching over and resting his hand on your thigh, chuckling.

Once you got closer to Mav’s hanger and runway, Bradley radioed to let him know you were approaching and would be landing in about 5 minutes. Mav confirmed a clear runway and before long you were making your descent onto the small runway.

Bradley taxied the plane over to the hangar at your directions and once parked, started shutting everything down.

You jumped down from the plane and walked over to where your dad was standing, watching the two of you arrive.

“Hey, Dad,” You said, hugging him.

“You let Rooster fly your plane?” He asked, feigning shock. He knew that if you’d let anyone fly it other than you it would be Bradley.

“I had it on good authority he was kind of a good pilot… figured I’d give him a shot.” You teased

“Hey!” Bradley protested, “Kind of a good pilot?? Sunshine, I graduated Top Gun at the top of my class. I’m a badass pilot.”

“You Top Gun aviators are a sensitive lot.” You laughed, “I’m kidding, Roo. I know you’re a badass pilot. Pretty hot too.”

“Wow.” Your dad said, shaking his head. “I see things have shifted for the two of you?”

“Did you know that this idiot was in love with me his SENIOR year and didn’t say anything?” You replied, rolling your eyes playfully.

“Sweetheart, the only people who didn’t know the two of you were in love with each other…were the two of you.” Mav replied, raising an eyebrow.

“You didn’t say anything either, Sunshine.” Bradley reminded you, wrapping his arms around you from behind and resting his chin on your head. “And it was the summer BEFORE senior year thank you.”

“Semantics.” You sassed. “Come on, I wanna show you something.”  You decided he needed to see your dad’s wall of pictures. While the two of them had talked and things were smoothed out, you knew Bradley needed to know that even through it all, your dad had been rooting for him.

You laced your fingers with this, walking into the hangar. You dad followed behind.

“Wow, Mav…” Bradley said taking in everything once walking in. “This place is awesome. Is that a p-52?!”

“It is.” he confirmed, “I brought it in to do some maintenance on it.”

“Any f-14’s laying around?” Bradley teased.

“No, the last one I flew met an unfortunate demise.” Mav laughed.

“So did the f-18” You said, give them both a hard stare. “Both of you are a menace around planes apparently.”

“You crash one jet…” Bradley said, looking to Mav for support.

“We won’t win this one kid.” Mav told him, “She’s kept up with both of our antics from Ice.”

“Fair.” Bradley replied.

“Come here… “ You repeated, leading him to the back wall. “You need to see this. Really see this.”

Bradley stopped in front of the wall, his eyes running over all the pictures. He had a soft smile on his face as he took it all in. He realized there were pictures of his dad and Mav, of himself growing up, pics from his various advancement ceremonies, and Top Gun graduation. His eyes misted over at the sight, and knowledge that Mav had kept tabs on him.  

____________________________

“Thank you.” Bradley said, later that night as the two of you were getting ready to go to the Hard Deck.

“For what?” You asked, glancing over to where he sat on the edge of the bed.

“For today. For being you. For loving me enough to give me a second chance…” He listed, grabbing your hand and pulling you to stand between his legs. “For helping me find my way back.”

You brought your hands up to gently trace over his face, before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his lips.

“You just needed a little nudge.” You replied, ��I think we all did. It was Uncle Tommy’s last gift to us all. Each other.”

“I promise you, Sunshine, I will not fuck up this second chance.” Bradley said, resting his head against your chest, needing the contact. You gently ran your fingers through his hair, offering comfort silently. “I know that life without you absolutely sucks and I don’t plan on repeating the experience.”

“That works out well, then…” You said softly. “I wasn’t a huge fan of life without you in it either. I am more inclined to fight harder this time… I probably should have fought harder after things blew up with you and my dad.”

“Sunshine, none of what happened is on you.” He said looking up at you, “It was 100% me being an asshole with the emotional maturity of a middle schooler.”

“I’d have given you high school… freshman at least.” You teased. “We’re going to be late. Let’s go celebrate with our people.”

“Do we have to?” he asked, looking you over. You were in another sundress, like the one you’d worn to the Hard Deck last time. Your hair was falling in soft waves, one side tucked behind your ear.

“We do.” You insisted, “But we can definitely have our own celebration when we get back tonight.”

“Deal.” He said, “So… we’ll go for like… an hour, tops, then home?”

“Roo…” You replied, “Y’all just had one hell of a mission… that was a huge success. It’s probably going to launch your careers. We are celebrating.”

“Fine.” He gave in, “I supposed I can share you for a while.”

Everyone was already there by the time you and Bradley pulled in. You smiled seeing your dad sitting at the bar chatting with Penny as she served drinks. You had hoped she’d have gotten someone to cover her so she could just enjoy the night too… you’d have to work on that.

“Sweets!” You heard Jake yell from across the bar as you walked in. “What took you so long? Actually… nevermind. I don’t need that kind of information on my now officially adopted sister.”  Thankfully Shay and Phoenix were right next to him and both slapped him without hesitation.

“Thanks, girls!” You said, laughing, “Jacob, behave.”

“No fun.” He pouted, playfully. He reached out to hug you once you’d made it over to where he was standing with the others. While hugging you he whispered in your ear, “Everything good, Sweets?”

You pulled back enough so you could look at him. Smiling at the genuine love and concern in his eyes, you hugged him again before replying, “More than good, Jakey.”

“You know you’re literally the only person I’ve ever been ok with calling me that?” He laughed.

“I can find a different nickname if you prefer.” you offered, not wanting to call him something he hated.

“No! I don’t mind with you…” He replied, “I kinda like it actually.”

“Ok.” You said, kissing his cheek then stepping back.

“Sunshine, I’m going to grab some drinks.” Bradley said, “Do you want a beer or vodka cranberry?”

“I’ll start with a vodka cranberry.” You answered, smiling warmly at him. “Thanks, Roo.”

Shay and Phoenix pull you over to a booth and the three of you get comfy while the others are immersed in a pool and dart game.

“Spill!” Shay said immediately.

“You and Rooster definitely looked cozy coming in.” Phoenix replied, “Which, let me tell you, is a fucking relief. He’s been a lovesick baby since seeing you that first night.”

“We talked…” You started,  eyes still following Bradley to the bar. “Things are good. We are on our way to figuring things out.”

“Did you tell him how you feel?” Shay asked, “And did he bring flowers? He owes you flowers.”

“Who owes my Sweets flowers?” Jake said coming over to join the group.

“Girl talk, Bagman.” Phoenix said, playfully glaring at him.

“Fine, I see when I’m not wanted.” He pouted. “I’ll just go beat Coyote at darts.”

Before heading to the dart game, Jake bends down and kisses Shay. You loved seeing the softer Jake on display. You hoped he kept showing this side of himself to his friends.

“No flowers.” You replied, after Jake had walked away. “But we really talked… laid all the cards on the table. Apparently, we were both idiots in love, neither fessing up.”

“Well that much was obvious, even in the short time I’ve known you.” Phoenix said, “One minute in the same room as the both of you and anyone with eyes knew you were both in love with each other.”

“She’s not wrong,” Shay laughed, “But I had the benefit of knowing the full backstory.”

“Ok, so we’re idiots.” You grumbled, playfully, “The point is… we are now on the same page as far as feelings go. We are on the right path… the same path. The only thing left to figure out is how distance will work for us.”

Bradley came back, sliding in next to you, placing your drink in front of you. “Here you go, Sunshine.”

“Thanks, Roo.” You replied, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

“So what’s next for the now famous newly formed Dagger Squad?” Shay asked, changing the subject now that Bradley had joined in.

“It would be pretty amazing if they just kept us together now.” Phoenix said, “I’m not overly attached to my current squadron. They’re kinda assholes.”

“So not much different than the Daggers?” You teased, nudging Bradley teasingly

“Hey!” He protested in mock hurt. Then winked at you and said, “In any case I’m now your asshole so jokes on you, Sunshine.”

“I guess I can claim you.” You replied, rolling your eyes teasingly.

“You two are sickeningly adorable.” Phoenix said, Shay nodding in agreement. “It’s a good look on both of you.”

“I fully agree with that assessment.” Shay confirmed.

“Anyway….” Bradley said redirecting the conversation, “I am all for making this squadron official. We started off  a little dicey but I think we’ve worked out the kinks. Also, selfishly, I don’t want to leave my girl.”

“Ooo, your girl now, huh?” Shay teased.

“Absolutely, my girl.” He replied, reaching over to tip your face up and lowered his own until your lips met, leaving no doubt that you were indeed his girl. You heard the group erupt into cheers and a piercing whistle.

“It is about damn time, Chicken.” Jake said, coming back over and sliding in next to Shay.

“Can’t you annoy someone else?” Bradley groaned, only halfway serious. Truth be told, the cocky aviator had grown on him. Partly because he’d saved his life but also because he clearly loved you and was protective of you.

“Boys, behave.” Phoenix said, rolling her eyes, “I’m going to grab another drink, does anyone need anything?”

“I’m good.” You said, still working on the drink Bradley had just brought over. After checking in with the others, Phoenix slid out of the booth on the other side and headed to the bar.

“So, in other news…” You said, “I filled out an application for a rental house today.”

“Which one did you pick!?” Shay exclaimed, excited you were indeed set on staying. “The cute house or the townhouse?”

“The cute yellow house.” You said. “We were going to go look at all 3 that I’d found but it was pretty obvious the house was the one I loved the most.”

“Which is why I encouraged her to not even bother on the other two and just fill out the application on the one she loved.” Bradley added.

“And they called back this afternoon to let me know it’s mine if I want it!” You said happily, “I have to go drop off the deposit and sign the lease tomorrow.”

“That’s awesome, Sweets!” Jake said, flashing his bright smile, “Let us know when moving day is. We’ll supply the muscle.”

“I will!” You replied, “Also… if your transfer gets approved… there’s an extra bedroom and the property manager said names can be added to the lease.”

“SERIOUSLY?” Jake asked, as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning. Damn, you loved this guy.

“Yup.” You confirmed, “As long as you were serious about the roomie thing…”

“Sweets, I would love to be your roomie!” He replied, happily. “Don’t worry, Rooster, you can come visit.”

“I’m hoping he’s living there too, Jake.” You laughed.

“Ooooo, already to the living together stage, huh?” Phoenix said, rejoining the group. This time Bob was with her. He pulled up a chair at the end of the table. “Damn, Bradshaw, you move quickly when someone lights a fire under your ass.”

“Enough time was wasted.” Bradley shrugged, “Just want to be with my Sunshine now that I’ve got her back.”

You laid your head on his shoulder, not knowing what else to say to that.

“Alright, Dagger Squad!” Jake yelled, grabbing the attention of the others who were still playing pool, “Let’s toast to a successful mission, new friends, and hopefully more nights like tonight!”

“I will drink to that!” Coyote said, raising his beer. The group took a moment to clink glasses and bottles in the celebratory toast before everyone took a drink.

“Oh good, all of my favorite aviators in one spot.” Mav said, smiling as he made his way to the group. You hadn’t even seen him come in.  “I’m glad you’re all here to celebrate with one another. Just be on base and in the training room bright and early tomorrow morning. We have a debriefing and your new orders from Admiral Simpson at 0730 sharp!”

“New orders?” Bradley said, perking up, “Aren’t we all being sent back to our squadrons?”

“0730!?” Complained, Coyote, “Why is everything always so early with the Navy?”

“Could be ‘new’ orders to return to our detachments.” Jake reasoned, “I have to file my duty station transfer.”

“I’d hold off on that, Jake.” Mav said, smiling. He clearly knew something but was refusing to share.  “See you all in the morning.”

“Dad!” You complained, “Can’t you just give them a hint? Drop a crumb?”

“You  know the Navy loves protocol, Firecracker.” he replied, “Penny wants to know if you two want to do dinner tomorrow night though.”

You looked at Bradley, who nodded, “Yeah. We’d love to. Just let us know the time.”

“I’ll have her let you know.” He said, “I’m not in charge here, just do as I’m told.”

“That’s a first” You sassed.

“Says the Little Mav.” Jake teased you, winking. You stuck your tongue out at Jake making him laugh loudly.

“You all have fun tonight, you’ve earned it.” Your dad said, laughing, “Love you, Firecracker.”

“Love you too, Dad” You replied.

“Love you Pops Mav.” Jake said, trying to keep a straight face and failing.

“Lord help me, I need a new group.” Mav replied, rolling his eyes and heading over to Penny.

The rest of the night was filled with the crazy antics of the newly formed Daggers, several more rounds of drinks and the forming of new memories. You had a sneaking suspicion this group wasn’t going anywhere in the near future.

________________________________________

The next morning, Bradley reported to base bright and early for debriefing and the new orders. While he was at work, you decided to get a jump start on making plans to get your stuff out of storage in Virginia Beach. You’d have to sweet talk your dad into flying you there or you’d have to catch a commercial flight so that you could drive your car back with the moving truck. You planned on going to the leasing office for the rental closer to lunchtime to drop off the deposit and sign the lease.

Your phone rang while you were mapping out a plan.

“Hey, Aunt Sarah.” You answered the phone, “Everything ok?”

“Hi, Sweetheart.” She replied, “Just wanted to check in to see how you were doing. I’ve been meaning to see how things were going with Bradley and your dad.”

“It’s going really well.” You smiled. Your aunt, even when her own life had just gotten flipped upside down, was still worried about you. “Bradley and I had a chance to really talk after the mission. I don’t know how you’ve heard, but apparently Uncle Tom was flying with dad and Brad as their guardian angel.”

“I did hear.” She said, “Penny called just to let me know they’d made it back and that there’d been a close call.”

“Too close” You replied, “Both idiots went down trying to save the other. I love them, but they’re going to be the reason I need therapy.”

“You mean they haven’t caused you to need it already?” She teased, “So… you talked… are you two spending time together?”

“Yes.” You answered, “We’ve both been honest about how we feel. Please don’t say you told me so… I’ve gotten it from everyone… but he admitted to being in love with me and I finally told him that I’ve been in love with him….forever.”

“The only thing I will say is it’s about time…. And I am happy that the two of you finally see what the rest of us have for a very long time.” She said, “Your uncle is definitely celebrating with Carol and Goose as well.”

“Aunt Sarah, you’re going to make me cry.” You said, emotion washing over you. “I miss you guys, but I’m glad you’re able to take the time to be together and regroup.”

“We miss you too, Sweetheart.” She replied, “We will be home next week though.”

“I was actually planning on calling you later…”You said, “I am staying… for good. I found a rental and actually will be signing the lease today.”

“Sweetheart, I am SO happy you’re staying.” She replied excitedly, “You know you’re welcome to stay with us as long as you want though, you don’t have to move out.”

“I know, and I love you for offering” You assured her, “But I think this will be good. Jake is trying to change duty stations and said he’d be my roommate… and I think Bradley is thinking about requesting a change in orders too.”

“I think that would be good then.” She replied, “I don’t doubt that that boy will move mountains to be with you now that he has the chance. How are things between him and Mav?”

“They’re on the right track.” You reported happily, “Penny and dad asked Bradley and me to dinner tonight.”

“That’s definite progress.” She agreed, “I’m glad. It’s something your uncle really wanted to see happen too.”

“I really miss him.” You said quietly, “I think throwing myself into moving and establishing myself here is the distraction I need.”

“I know, baby girl.” She replied gently. “I still feel badly for leaving you right away. You’re all grown up but you’re still my sweet little girl.”

“Don’t feel bad, Aunt Sarah.” You assured her, “You and the kids needed this time. I’m really ok here, I promise. I’ve got support here.”

“Let me know if you need any help with the rental, or if you need any furniture or anything!” She said, “I can’t wait to see it… and you. I still expect regular visits!”

“Absolutely! You can’t get rid of me easily.” You promised. “I will be here bugging you all the time.”

“It’s a deal.” She laughed, “I love you, Sweetheart. I’ll see you next week.”

“Love you too, Aunt Sarah!” You said.

___

By lunchtime you were ready to get out of the house and go sign your lease. You’d called Penny to see if there was anything you could bring to dinner, to which she replied just you and Bradley.

You were just about to head out when you heard the front door opening.

“Honey! We’re home!” Jake said as he and Bradley came through the front door. Bradley with his hands behind his back.

“They let you out early?” You asked, curious what the duo was up to.

“Hi Sunshine.” Bradley smiled, stepping out from behind Jake and walking to you. “How’s my beautiful girl?”

“Hi Roo” You laughed, “I’m good. What are you up to?”

“I have a special delivery for my Sunshine.” He answered, pulling a large bouquet of sunflowers out from behind his back. “I promised my girl flowers and have slacked at delivering.”

“They’re beautiful, Roo.” You beamed, taking them and burying your nose in the flowers. “Thank you.”

“They’re not nearly as beautiful as you, or as bright,” He replied, “But they’ll look pretty great in our new home.”

“I got you something too, Sweets!” Jake said, holding up a keychain with an f-18 plane on it. “For my favorite new little sister and roomie. You can  hang the keys to our new place on it.”

“Our home.” you parroted, “New roomie…. Our new place… YOU GUYS GET TO STAY!”

You threw yourself into Bradley’s arms, kissing him fiercely. He brought his arms up to hold you tight to him, kissing you back before setting you down gently and pulling back smiling.

You turned to hug Jake just at tightly, excited that your boys got to stay,

“So the daggers are 100% official now?”  You asked, “Everyone gets to stay?”

“Yup!” Jake replied, “Cyclone said the Navy wants to keep the dream team together and have us do missions in the future.”

“We may also be tasked with instructing new Top Gun recruits as needed.” Bradley said, “But we get to stay.”

“That is the best news ever!” You said, “Even better, you’re both here in time to go sign some papers! I was going to go sign the lease before you got here.”

“Let’s go!” Jake said, “We can sign papers then get lunch to celebrate. I’ll call Shay to meet us.”

“I like that plan.” You agreed.

A lot had happened in a fairly short amount of time. Your  uncle was right though, life was too short, and too unpredictable to waste it being stubborn. You had your dad back and you formed a solid relationship. You had Bradley back, not only as your best friend but as the love of your life. You’d made new friends who were becoming more like family. Despite the immense loss of your uncle and the hole that was left in your heart, you were finally where you needed to be and you were happy.

_______________________

Epilogue

The next month was a whirlwind of activity. You got all moved in and settled into the new house. You’d had a fun road trip  back from Virginia Beach with Bradley when you’d gone to collect your stuff. The time together was good for you both.

While you were in Virginia Beach you’d made a point to stop at the cemetery where Carol and Goose were buried. It also happened to be where your mom was buried as well. You’d both gone to the graves, leaving flowers on each. Bradley had informed his mom that he’d finally gotten his head out of his ass and got his girl. You’d laughed at that.

On the way back you’d taken your time, stopping at some sights and playing tourist together. You’d made a point to swing through Pensacola to pick up Bradley’s stuff he’d left when he’d been called to Top Gun. It made sense to save a trip since you were already driving across the country.

On a whim, the two of you had stopped in New Orleans for a night, getting a hotel room and deciding to take on Bourbon Street. Needless to say, neither of you felt 100% the next day for the next leg of the journey, so you stopped in Texas, opting for another hotel room and sleeping off the hangover.

By the time you pulled up to your new house, you were more than ready to home.

“It’s about time you two got back!” Jake complained, pulling in behind the truck. “I was starting to think you two were AWOL!”

“We were taking a much needed vacation, Hangman.” Bradley replied, stretching as he got down from the truck. “You should’ve taken Shay on one to get your crap.”

“For your information,” He replied in mock indignation, “I did take her with me to get my stuff. Mine was just closer than yours because it was in Texas.”

Several other cars pulled up and you realized it was the rest of the Dagger squad.

“Alright, crew, let’s get this truck unloaded!” Phoenix yelled, getting everyone going. “Bagman promised us all pizza and beer to get you all settled. We happily accept.”

“You all are the best!” You laughed, “Don’t worry Jake, we’ll help fund the pizza and beer.”

“Nope.” he said, “It’s on Pops Mav!”

“Does my dad know he’s buying everyone dinner and drinks?” You asked him.

“I do indeed.” Mav replied, walking up. You hadn’t even seen him arrive. Penny was with him, their hands joined.  

“Let’s get you settled in your new home, Kiddo.” Penny said. “Shay said she’s already inside attempting to sort through Jake’s mess.”

“I do not have a mess!” Jake protested, “I have neatly organized and stacked boxes of possessions. I was waiting on Sweets and Rooster to get back so we can start setting up together.”

“It’s ok, Jakey.” You replied, hugging him from the side. “Come on, let’s go get started.”

With everyone unloading and moving stuff around, getting things set up, it wasn’t long before all three were moved into the house and settled. Bradley and you were sharing the  master bedroom with the attached bath. Jake had insisted on taking one of the other rooms because it was just him.

“Alright, food!” Coyote said, collapsing onto the couch. “I need to be fed!”

“Pizzas are ordered and will be here shortly.” Mav said.

Once everyone had left that night, Jake headed to his room, declaring that he’d better not hear crazy business coming from you and Bradley.

Alone in the living room for the first time together, Bradley put on music and pulled you up from the couch. The beginning of the song “Ain’t No Sunshine” started to play.

“Dance with me, Sunshine.” He said, wrapping his arms around your waste, his hands settling on your lower back. Your arms lifted, winding around his neck, your fingers lacing together. The two of you swayed together to the music, enjoying the quiet and peacefulness of being together. You laid your head against his chest, the top of your head only reaching his collarbone.

Towards the end of the song, Bradley shows off his fancy moves, taking your hands from around his neck and spinning you before you dipped you backwards. As he pulled you up, leaned over and kissed you.

“I love you, so much Sunshine.” He whispered, lifting you back to a standing position.

“I love you too, Roo.” You replied, standing on your tiptoes and pulling his head down to kiss him. “We get to live together!”

“We do.” He replied, smiling against your lips. “If I have it my way, we’ll be living together forever. Maybe upgrade to owning our own home, adding kids and a dog.”

“Well we already have Jake, so I guess we’ve got a headstart on the whole kids thing.” You teased, “I want it all too, Bradley. I want forever, the house, the kids, the dog.”

“I promise to deliver the perfect proposal because you deserve the most effort and the best of everything.” He said, “I just want you to know that I am all in forever, Sunshine.”

“I don’t need anything fancy or over the top, Roo.” You assured him, “You’re all I need and want.”

Later that evening, falling asleep wrapped in one another’s arms, you both thanked the universe, and your uncle, for bringing the two of you together again. You didn’t know what the future would bring, but whatever it was you’d face it with your best friend and soulmate by your side.

A/N: We’ve made it to the end of the main story!!! Thank you ALL for the love and support through this series!!! I can’t even tell you how much I love you all! Stay tuned for glimpses into the lives of Bradley and Sunshine! If there is a specific life event or moment you’d like to see let me know! 

Taglist: @gracespicybradshaw​ @memoriesat30​, @khaylin27​, @snekssss, @shanimallina87​ @atarmychick007​  @jstarr86​  @marantha​  @taytaylala12​ @theweekndhistorybook​ @happylittlereader​ @hobiismyhopeu​ @krismdavis​

[mollymauk-teafleak]

how could you think, darling, I'd scare so easily

Maverick is left deeply depressed after Bradley finds out he pulled his papers and Ice is left with no idea what to do. Until Maverick goes out for a run in the storm and finds the first step out of the darkness in a storm drain.

Huge thanks to @hangsters who constantly gives the best ideas and betas all of my fics and is the best ever ever ever

Please reblog and comment over on Ao3 if you liked this!

-------

It was still raining. 

It had been raining all day, Tom could hear it drumming on his office windows. 

He had just enough time to think I hope Bradley doesn’t have a baseball game today before the grief closed tight around his chest, slipping in through that door left ajar in his mind to sharply remind him that it didn’t matter. Bradley wasn’t here. Bradley was gone.

Tom pushed the glasses he was still getting used to up his face, rubbing the bridge of his nose like that was going to do anything. The thought was still a physical pain, a stab right to the nerve endings. Tom had never been someone who cried easily, he’d taken enough blows in his life to be the one who promised other people it would be okay, the arms that other people ran into. That had always been his job. 

But just that one thought, the realization that Bradley didn’t care whether it was raining or not because he wasn’t going to be walking through the door, curls sticking up from being under his baseball cap, drinking one of those sodas he loved that turned his tongue blue, asking what's for dinner. He wasn’t going to be in the backyard, throwing a ball at the back of the house and catching it, despite Tom constantly joking that if he broke the kitchen window again, he’d trade him in for another cat. When Tom got up in the night, unable to sleep and feeling that he might scream if he had to hold still a second longer, there would be no soft snores coming from behind Bradley’s door, he’d never get that sense of peace and comfort that everyone he loved was safe and accounted for. 

Tom felt his ragged breaths condensing into tears at the back of his throat. He almost let them fall, almost allowed himself a moment’s selfishness but he couldn’t. There were footsteps coming down the hall towards his office. 

“Papa?” the door pushed back, he’d had it ajar anyway but Sofia had never needed to knock. 

Fixing a smile on his face, resting his hands on his keyboard like he’d been actually working, Tom managed a passable impression of Admiral ‘Iceman’ Kazansky for his daughter, “Right here, bobbin. Just getting some work done.”

Sofia hovered anxiously in the doorway, her jacket on and her backpack slung over one shoulder. Looking at her was almost enough to break his heart all over again, every day she seemed to get a little older, a little more grown, he saw more of the young woman she was turning into. She’d never be tall- thanks to Maverick- but she had that gangly, wiriness all teenagers did, like a young colt. Especially when she was drowning in a patterned shirt Tom remembered wearing himself through the eighties. But none of that was what broke his heart, he’d accepted a long time ago that his daughter was always going to grow up faster than he was ready for. 

It was the expression on her face. No high schooler should have had to look so terrified.

“Daddy still isn’t back,” Sofia fidgeted, playing with the straps of her backpack, “I need to go, I’m gonna be late but…he isn’t back.”

Tom had to work to keep his reassuring smile in place. Of course Sofia was giving voice to the same fears currently pacing behind his ribcage, her fingers were twitching and foot was tapping the same way his wanted to. He wanted to take her in his arms and hug tightly, cry with her, refuse to let her out of his sight in case he lost her too. 

But she’d asked him yesterday, in a soft, small voice  like she was afraid someone would overhear, if she could go to the movies with her friends today. She’d held herself so tightly like she was expecting something to fall from the sky and strike her just for asking, like she wasn’t allowed to put down the grief they were all collectively carrying around, even for one Saturday afternoon. Tom wouldn’t let her feel like that. 

So he stood, crossed the room and put his hands on her thin shoulders, “He’ll catch you when you get home, bobbin, don’t worry about it. Everything’s fine, you have fun.”

The guilt in her eyes, those eyes that had started off looking so much like Maverick’s but had turned into Tom’s somewhere along the way, it lessened. Like she only believed him in the way young children did when their parents told them it was so, despite evidence to the contrary. 

“Okay,” she nodded, “Just…just tell daddy I waited for him?”

“I will,” Tom promised, already moving into the tight hug she gave him, letting her bury her face against his shirt, “I’ll keep an eye on him, we’ll be okay. It’ll all be okay…sure you don’t want me to drive you, it’s pouring down out there?”

Sofia shook her head quickly, too quickly to not punch a hole in her casual tone, “Nah, I like getting the bus. I got my umbrella.” You need to stay here in case he comes back, he can’t be alone.

All Tom could do was hug her tighter. Like that would fix anything. 

He waved her off from the front porch, chest tightening every time she glanced back at the house until the curve of the street took her out of sight. Still checking, still hoping. Tom had to wonder who it was she wanted to see, Bradley or Maverick. 

He couldn’t bear to go back to those reports, they were just another reminder of everything that was falling by the wayside as he tried to keep his family together with a white knuckled grip. His feet took him away from his office to the kitchen, to a bowl of pierogi dough that had been chilling in the fridge for way too long, one he’d started around 2am the night before but hadn’t gotten to finish because he’d heard Maverick screaming with another nightmare. But now he took it, scattering the bench with flour and got to rolling with smooth, practiced motions. 

He was failing as an uncle, as a father. He was failing as a husband. He was failing as a rear admiral. But he could at least do this, he could make sure there was food for them, food Maverick didn’t have the stomach to eat, that Sofia would thank him for, a portion that would sit untouched because it still hadn’t sunk in that he didn’t need to feed Bradley. But it would be there and right now, it was the best Tom could do.

It was an understatement to say things were bad. But there were no words to put to this kind of grief, one that wasn’t supposed to exist because his family wasn’t supposed to exist. Everything that had ever threatened them was supposed to be external, Maverick being sent halfway across the world on a vengeful deployment, getting kicked out of the Navy entirely if anyone decided to pry into their relationship, having Bradley and Sofia taken from them. 

The fact that what finally pulled them apart had come from inside was a sour taste in Tom’s tongue. 

He’d felt betrayed, hurt, for a flash of an instant he’d been as angry as Bradley when Maverick had confessed. He’d had no right to pull his papers, to wreck the future the kid wanted without so much as a word, that was never how they’d done things. Of course he didn’t want Bradley in the air, he didn’t want Sofia in the air but part of being a parent was swallowing that, smiling and wishing them well while the fear shredded him inside. The fact that Maverick broke rank, acted so selfishly, Tom couldn’t lie and say he hadn’t been furious. 

They’d all felt it. There had been a moment, after Bradley had come home with one foot in a panic attack, holding his rejection letter, after Maverick had confessed what he’d done in a small voice that had tried so hard to sound like he’d done the right thing. Bradley had raged at him, his face looking far too young for that kind of anger, that kind of hate. Tom had got between them just in time, needing all his strength to keep them apart, to push Bradley back out of the magnetic pull of his own fury and give him a chance to leave. And there had been a moment. A moment where Maverick, sprawled against the kitchen counter, and Sofia, sobbing helplessly in the corner, and even Tom himself had waited to see what he’d do. If he’d stay or if he’d go after Bradley.

And Tom had stayed. He’d slept on the couch a few nights, they’d taken things slowly. At first his texts to Bradley had gone unanswered but then he’d called him, they’d talked, they’d cried down the phone, he’d sent him money so he could get set up at the University of Virginia, the one he chose out of his handful of last minute acceptances just to be as far away as possible. Bradley let him help, that was all Tom was going to ask of him, the kid needed space, he needed to be treated like an adult. 

Tom smiled bitterly at the irony of it. He’d stayed, he’d let Bradley go to the other side of the country and take half of Tom’s heart with him. 

But Maverick was the one he was losing. 

It was like they were trapped in the same depressing, gritted-teeth dance routine every day, like there were white dotted lines and footprints across the floor of their house. Maverick rarely left their bed but somehow also rarely slept, not that Tom could blame him. These days, sleeping for him meant nothing but nightmares. It meant five minutes of quiet, Tom lying beside him like a guard dog, tense and hopeful, but the screaming always started, Maverick begging for someone to come back, to not leave him. Sometimes it was Bradley, sometimes it was Goose. Sometimes it was even Tom himself. 

He’d tried everything. He’d read books, he’d talked to professionals as candidly as he could while still being safe, he’d found and scoured enough articles on the Internet that he could probably go for a PhD in psychiatry if he ever got sick of being a rear admiral. Every new technique he found for dealing with loss, Tom told himself that would work, that would be the one that helped Maverick, the rope he’d toss down where he’d feel something tugging on the other end. And every one got them nowhere. 

Tom thought they’d made some progress with the running. Maverick wouldn’t leave their bed to shower, to come down and eat dinner, he wouldn’t even leave for Sofia, no matter how many times she asked. He wouldn’t play board games with her, he wouldn’t watch their old horror movies together, he wouldn’t come sing to her when she couldn’t drift off after losing Bradley had broken her sleep into pieces. It was like he was afraid he’d hurt her too if he so much as looked at his daughter. 

But he’d left the bed when Tom suggested he go for a run. And now that was all he did, if he wasn’t lying in their dark bedroom, nearly comatose, Maverick was running up and down the beach. Tom remembered feeling optimistic the first time he’d woken up with Maverick not actually lying beside him but tying his running shoes on the stairs. He’d felt like it was the first step towards things actually getting better. 

Tom felt pretty stupid, thinking back on that now, standing in his kitchen and overworking dough until he could throw it at the wall and have it bounce back. Maverick didn’t run to clear his head, he didn’t run to try and process his grief or pull himself out of this spiral. He ran out of fear. He ran like he could get away from everything he’d done, until Tom had to drive to get him and beg him to come back, until his feet were torn up by blisters. 

Until the sky was opening and more rain than San Francisco had seen in the last year was falling all at once but Maverick was still not coming home. 

Tom felt that headache still pressing against his temples, like the dark, cloudy thoughts in there were trying to force their way out. Thoughts that took fierce shapes and whispered in poisonous voices. You’re not doing enough. Everything’s falling apart, you’re losing them. They’re all hurting and you can’t save them. You were an idiot to think you could have this life. 

Tom brought his fist down on the counter, sending flour into the air, just for something to drown them out. But the rain kept drumming on the windows, a sound that got under the skin of him and stayed there, like it took over his own heartbeat. Tom sucked in a breath, fuck it, he turned and went for his keys. He needed to find Maverick. 

He was halfway down the hall, his mind set in concrete, until the only thing that could have stopped him tumbled through the door and nearly slammed into him. Maverick himself, soaked to the skin, panting like he’d sprinted the whole way home.

“I need your help,” he gasped, meeting Tom’s eye unflinchingly for the first time in months. 

That had been all Tom wanted to hear from his wingman lately, but now he’d said it, all he had in response was a blank look, “Huh?”

The dullness was gone from Maverick’s eyes, they were going like fireworks, “I was running down to the beach, I’d come up once but I went back again…anyway, I was running past that giant storm drain at the end of the avenue and I heard something? Sounded like someone crying so got down and…and look…”

He shifted, reaching into the pocket of his sweatshirt, probably the only part of him that was still dry. What he brought out was hard to understand at first, it looked just like a sodden piece of fabric, something that had definitely been fished out of a storm drain. But then it began to move, two milky eyes opening in that mass of matted, mud slick fur, a small mouth panting raggedly. A heart wrenching noise came out of it, a sound that yanked right on the instincts Tom had grown when he became a father, the kind of sound that had him stumbling to his feet in the middle of the night before he was really awake despite what the parenting books said about letting babies cry it out for a little while. 

“I need your help,” Maverick said again, his voice a little thin, anxious, like he wasn’t expecting Tom to say yes. But he was asking. 

Tom gave him a fond smile, “Let’s start with a bath.”

It took a good few sluices with the shower head before it became clear that Maverick had brought home a puppy, up until then it was hard to tell. A terrifyingly small puppy, frail bones jutting up through thin fur. Tom would have been anxious to try and hold her still, scared to hurt her, but she was good as gold, only sitting in the bottom of the tub and trembling as they washed her down. 

“Her eyes are barely open,” Maverick groaned, checking through her fur for any sign of ticks or fleas, “They’re not supposed to be away from their mom this early, right?”

“Well, we’ll just have to do our best to fill in for now,” Tom reassured him, “The vet said on the phone, the best thing we can do for her is get her clean, warm and dry then she if she’ll eat.”

Until we take her to a shelter. But he didn’t feel like saying that out loud would be helpful right now. He just passed Maverick a towel, now the puppy was thoroughly washed, hovering as he bundled her up. Now she was an admittedly rather pretty brown and white, a little like a collie that hadn’t been coloured fully in the lines. Her eyes were striking too, lopsided in color, not entirely unlike Maverick himself. Actually, in the way she trembled with barely restrained energy, the brightness in those eyes, the alert little ears, there were a lot of similarities. To Maverick when he was himself, at least. 

But as Tom perched on the edge of the bath and watched Maverick gently towel off the little puppy, he realized this was the most he’d heard him speak in months. It was the most aware he’d been, the longest he’d spent on his feet without running, the brightest his eyes had been. Tom was almost afraid to push too far, like if he nudged something in just the wrong way, the whole thing would shatter. 

But still he risked it, “You’re soaked through, baby, can I make you a coffee?”

“Huh? Yeah sure, if you don’t mind,” Mav hummed, rubbing the puppy behind her tiny ears. He didn’t even look up, like there had never been a time where a question like that, a quick answer, wasn’t normal, “Actually…I’m kinda hungry. Did you end up making pierogi?”

It was a good thing he didn’t look up, as Tom left the room. He didn’t have to wonder why he was close to tears. 

Another call to the vet just to make sure, one trip to PetSmart, another bath after she drank her formula a little too enthusiastically and the puppy’s tail still hadn’t stopped wagging. Even as her head nodded and blinking slowed, even as she was swaying on her paws in the middle of the kitchen floor, it was still drumming a little beat against the tile, like she didn’t want a second to go by without them hearing just how happy she was. 

Maverick however, looked less than happy. Tom, in contrast, was having to fight to keep his stern frown in place. 

“I’m not having a dog sleeping in my bed, Maverick,” he repeated slowly, like the issue was with Mav not hearing him, “She was in a storm drain three hours ago.” 

“And we gave her treatment!” Mav insisted, his jaw set in that stubborn way. 

He was raising his voice. He was meeting his eye. He’d eaten three helpings of pierogi, no matter how tough the dough was. Tom wanted to jump up and down.

Instead, he folded his arms, “Nope. She’s not getting on the furniture. You shed enough for crying out loud, let alone her. She’s got all those blankets, she’s got her little box, she will be fine.”

He was being proven right, the little thing was halfway into the cardboard box Tom had filled with soft things for her, back legs pinwheeling as they struggled to catch on the edge of it. Mav immediately ran to help her, kneeling down to ease her in. 

“What if she needs feeding in the night? What if she needs the bathroom? What if…what if she wakes up and misses her mama and gets scared?”

Tom couldn’t see Maverick’s face but he heard the way his voice trembled on the edge of that last word. The iron resolve that had earned him the two stars on his lapel took a significant dent, was about to crumble completely, when Mav stood up and faced Tom with a grim set determination. 

“Then I’ll sleep down here with her.”

“He really means it, doesn’t he…” Sofia’s voice was soft with a mix of awe, hope and fear. 

Since she’d got back home, full of frantic apologies for taking so long, she’d been leaning against the kitchen counter with her papa, watching Maverick with wide eyes, like he was some kind of rare bird that would squawk and flap away if she made a loud noise. She should really be in bed, it was getting late, but she hadn’t been able to tear herself away.

Tom shared her bewildered, shaky optimism, the kind that was almost scared of itself. 

But he just smiled and reached out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear, “Looks like it.”

Maverick had wrestled an old camping bed down from the attic and was currently sitting on it, grinning as the puppy rolled around, held safe by his crossed legs. 

“And now we have a dog,” Sofia gave him a sly smile.

Tom rolled his eyes, “I suppose. But don’t tell your father, I have to pretend to put up a little more of a fight.”

Sofia could barely contain a gleeful squeak, throwing her arms around him and hugging tight. There was more than just joy in that embrace, there was relief there too and faith that everything Tom had told her, every time he’d told her it would all be okay, he’d been right. He wasn’t quite ready to believe in himself that much but knowing she did, that meant a lot. 

“Goodnight, daddy,” Sofia went over to hug Maverick too, “I’m heading to bed.”

“Oh, is it that late? Alright then, kiddo, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tight right at the end the way he always hugged their kids. 

When she pulled away and kissed his forehead, there was an odd look on Mav’s face, like he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure what it was just yet. In the end, after pressing a kiss to the back of her hand, he let her fuss over the puppy and run upstairs. It would all come later. 

“You’re sure about this?” Tom smiled fondly, arms folded. 

Maverick nodded firmly, “I’m staying right here. She…she needs me.”

Tom hesitated, tripping over that break in his voice, the way he suddenly bit his lip to keep it still, “Pete…”

He sank onto the little bed, reaching out and resting a hand on his knee, one he could easily pull away from if he wanted to. But Maverick didn’t. He looked like he might, for a split second, like he might withdraw, back inside the shadows he’d been carrying around for a while. 

Pull up, baby, Tom felt his breath still in his lungs. If there was one thing he’d been able to give his wingman throughout their wildly different careers, the one thing he’d been able to give him that was in criminally short supply from anyone else, was faith. He’d made the mistake of not trusting Pete Mitchell before and he would never make it again. Pull up baby, come on. 

“I’ve messed up so much, I can’t mess this up too…” Maverick’s voice broke, “Or…or accept that I ruin everything I touch.”

“Sweetheart,” Ice couldn’t quite hold his voice together, squeezing his knee because he knew he didn’t have the words. 

“Come on,” Maverick swallowed hard, as if there were any chance he could stop the tears, “Ice, you’ve been in my corner every goddamn day but even you can’t stick by me on this. I just…I just don’t know why it’s taking you so long to realize and give up on me.”

“Because there’s no way I’m fucking doing that, Maverick,” Tom croaked, shaking his head fiercely, “We can get through this, we can save it.” 

“How?” Maverick sounded desperate, sounding like a man who had water up to his chin and rising but at least he was reaching for something, “I’ve hurt Bradley so much, I’ve hurt Sofia. I don’t know how to get better.”

Tom reached out, finding his hand, knowing he needed to feel anchored, “With hard work. We’re going to get you some professional help, we’re going to talk about it, we’re going to get you back on your feet. And, I can’t lie, baby, It’s going to suck. A lot of the time it’s going to feel like we aren’t getting anywhere. But we’re going to make it work. We’ll keep going. Yeah?”

Maverick clutched him tight enough to hurt and after a moment, he nodded. And in his weary determination, Tom saw the young man who’d chosen to live as himself despite everything, who’d become the best pilot in the navy despite being exactly the kind of person they thought could never be good enough. The man who’d clung to Sofia, to Bradley, to Tom when the easiest thing would have been to let go. The man who’d saved him in the air above The Enterprise and every day since. 

The puppy squeaked, flopping against Mav’s leg, cuddling in like she was perfectly happy to spend the rest of her life there. Maverick smiled weakly, even as tears rolled down his face. 

“Yeah. Baby steps, right?”

“Right,” Tom raised their joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to them, “There’s plenty to walk towards, sweetheart.”

Mav looked down at the puppy, who was now snoring, surprisingly loudly for her size, “I think I’m going to call her Piper. It’s a kind of plane, right? Those little ones that go really fast?”

“Sounds somewhat familiar,” Tom smiled, leaning in to kiss him, “You know where I am if you need me. I’m here for you, okay?”

Maverick watched him as he got up, letting his hands go after a second of two longer than usual, “Okay. I love you, Tom.”

He hesitated in the doorway, knowing his heart was going to break a little when he left. But that was okay. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed. 

“I love you too, Pete,” he flashed him a soft smile before making himself turn and head up to bed. 

Maybe Maverick would wake up in the night, screaming, sobbing, begging someone not to go. Maybe Tom would come down in the morning and find him and Piper curled up, fast asleep, safe and sound. Whatever happened, they would deal with it. 

Baby steps. 

[shelfwar]

Since requests are open could you write a fic with slider x fem!reader where his girlfriend is maverick's sister and they have a secret relationship but mav finds out

Hi! Thanks so much for the request, sorry it took so long but I hope you enjoy it!

Slider X Reader ~My sister!!~

WARNINGS: Suggestion to sex, use of words, angst

Waves crashed against the boat as you stared up at the metal ceiling hoping the sound would sooth you to sleep, but alas it never did. So you quietly climbed down from your shared bunk with your big brother Maverick (that slept on the bottom) and headed out of the room and wandered down to the room you knew all too well; your secret boyfriend Slider.

You rapped on the metal door as a grumble of "Come in" sounded behind it. You slowly opend the door and found Slider sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes of sleep. "Hey, I can't sleep." "C'mere love." He said as he scooted over so you could lay next to him. You quietly tip toed over not trying to wake Ice in the process and cuddled up next to Silder. "You okay?" "Yeah, just thinking?" "Care to explain?" "I dunno I hate boats, to begin with and my brothers stupid cause he dragged me onto this thing." "But you've got me." He said as he kissed your temple.

"True, true." "But your right about your brother, he is stupid." "Hey, keep it down, I'm trying to sleep lovebirds." You and Slider both glanced up to see Iceman glaring down at the two of you. "Sorry Ice." You said as you gave him a small smile. "Your lucky I like you both, now if it was-" "I know, if it was my brother, you'd chew his ass out the next day." "Slider, you've got the better Mitchell." "Thank you Iceman." Ice clicked his mouth and went back to bed. "Well, then. I love you." "Mm, love you two Slider." You snuggled up closer and he held you very close as if he was gonna loose you.

"Goose, have you seen my sister?" "No, Mav I haven't." "I swear she was in here last night." "Maybe she's in the cafeteria." "Good thinking Goose!" Maverick clapped his RIO on the back as he made his way down to the cafeteria, as for you. Well you were working out with Iceman and Slider in the gym.

"One more squat, one more!" You started to slowly squat down as you felt Sliders hands hovering your waist. "You got this baby." He whispered as you made the squat and slowly made your way up to the barbell holder. Once placed you felt a bit dizzy as you started leaning forward towards Ice, but luckily Slider still had his hands by you, so he caught you. "Easy there love." "Mmm, might need to lie down." "Ice go get something soft-" "I got her some water." "Thanks." You felt Silder place your head in his lap as he looked down at you making sure you were okay. "I think I out did that didn't I?" "No shit." Ice said as he looked over to the now opened door.

"Hey have you-" "OH MY GOD Y/N ARE YOU OKAY?" Maverick said as he stormed through the room ."Shes fine, right baby?" Slider said as he kissed your chapped lips"Yeah, just kinda out did it Mav. I'm fine just light headed." Maverick’s eyes widened as he saw the small intimate moment. "Slider get your fucking hands off my sister. NOW!" "Pete relax please." "How long, huh?"

You looked up at Slider as he looked over at your brother. "3 months." "3 MONTHS!" "Mav stop yelling please." You pleaded as you tried sitting up, with Slider helping you. "Hey Slider?" "Yeah, hun." "You have mmm. NOW RUN HES GONNA KILL YOU.!" You giggled as Silder ran out the room and your brother went right after him. "YOU BETTER OF NOT FUCKED MY SISTER!" "OH, MAVERICK I DID!" You and Ice just started laughing at the two as you heard there yells through out the small corridor.

After around 5 minutes of cat and mouse Slider ran back into the gym where he then picked you up with a yelp. "Slider." You giggled as he held you when your brother came back. "If you fucking break her heart Slider, your gonna die." "Mav your not gonna do that you pussy." "Ahem, pussy." Iceman said as Maverick glared at the 3 of you.

"Here let me rephrase that, you hurt her heart I know where to find you." "Now that sounds better."

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Hello! I just found your blog and I absolutely love it! I love your kiss masterlist, and I was wondering if i could request one. Number 23 in relief. With Iceman x reader I just think they would be so adorable! Can’t wait to see what you do!

Hiya! Here's Kiss #23 - in relief - with Iceman x reader. This one actually became really angsty and I love how it turned out! I hope you love it too!

A Kiss to Celebrate (The Beast's Gone Away)

Cancer. It’s been as much a companion in your marriage as your husband has been of late. It reared its ugly head out of the blue. Hearty, hale, healthy forty year olds aren’t supposed to wake up one day and just not be able to talk? Right? Forget men with families - Naval Captains with hearts of gold, keen eyes and the kindest hands?! They should never be struck down at all.

But maybe you’re a little biased. This isn’t just any forty year old Naval Captain you’re talking about. This is your husband, your Tom. You thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, the shaky partnership you’ve formed with the beast ravaging your husband’s body and tainting his soul. Then you’d woken up one morning to your three year old laboriously fluttering her little hands in painstakingly drawn out signs as she sat on her father’s lap and told him, “Good Morning Daddy. I love you.” That’s when you realized that your youngest probably doesn’t even remember what her dad’s voice sounded like. That’s when you’d broken, shattered into a million pieces standing there in your kitchen watching your baby and your heart speak in the only way they could. 

In your weakest moments, you cursed everything you could think of for trying to rob Tom from you. But even then, you knew you wouldn’t have changed anything in the world. Your entire life would be different, and you’re not sure it would be a good difference, either. So you’ve been holding onto the good moments, taking things day by day, focusing on being there for Tom and your kids as much as you can. Each day your foundation feels a little steadier as Tom responds to the treatments and as the flush of health seeps back into his cheeks.

“Captain and Mrs. Kazansky? Doctor Wilson is ready to see you.” Your palms are sweaty and damp as you follow Tom into the Doctor’s office. You must black out, emotionally, at least, because the next thing you remember is walking in the wintery San Diego sunshine with Tom. He’s mostly silent, with his arm wrapped around your shoulder as he leads you to a bench at your favorite look out point. It was here that he’d proposed to you a decade ago. It was here you’d told him you were pregnant, the first and second times. All of the best things in your relationship happened here. Please, you’re pleading as you sit down - please don’t destroy this place by telling me bad news. Please don’t take him away from me, from our babies.

“Sweetheart?” That’s not what you’d been expecting at all.

“Tom?!” Your voice chokes on a sob. “You’re speaking! Is that okay? I thought you weren’t supposed to strain your voice.”

“I’ve been working on speaking again with my speech therapist. It’s what Doctor Wilson wanted to talk to us about. I’m in remission, sweetheart. The cancer’s gone. We’re going to keep monitoring me, but I have the feeling it’s going to stay gone for good.”

You’re sobbing, tears dripping down your face in hot, salty rivulets as you kiss your husband gently and sweetly. 

“I’m so happy, Tom. I love you.” His smirk is soft as he pulls away.

It doesn’t surprise you at all when he signs back to you, “I love you. I told you I wasn’t going anywhere without you, sweetheart. I love you too much for that.”

It’s with a finally unburdened heart that you curl into your husband’s side to watch the sun set below the waves. If Tom can beat cancer, becoming an Admiral should be child’s play. The future once again looks bright.

Want to request a Kiss and a pair for me to write? Guidelines are here.

Want to see other Kisses I’ve written? Here’s the full Masterlist.

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.