#iceman x daughter!reader imagines

[callsign-dexter]

Allergic Reactions and a House Divided

Summary: An allergic reaction sends Blizzard to the emergency room. Maverick can't get ahold of Ice and a fight occurs leaving a house divided.

Pairings: Maverick x Daughter!Reader, Iceman x Daughter!Reader, Maverick x Iceman

Warnings: allergic reaction, fluff, angst, yelling, hospitals, swearing, medical inaccuracies

A/N: @callsign-minx, @justabigassnerd, @maverick-wingman get your tissues ready! I'm also very sorry for the emotional rollercoaster....

Blizzard

Masterlist

Rain. Rain in California is unusual due to the hotness of the climate. It was welcomed sometimes helping cool the environment off and stop it from being suffocating. When it rains that means all jets are grounded until it clears. Rain meant that Ice, Maverick, Goose, and the Daggers didn't have to go in but they did anyway due to paperwork needing to be done.

Normally Ice and Maverick would go together but Y/N's preschool on base closed due to bad weather and sickness going around so, Maverick opted to stay home while Ice went in. The daycare base let them know the night before so arrangements could be made.

Whenever Y/N got to stay home with one of her daddies she was always happy. When she got to spend it with both of them she was ecstatic. That little girl absolutely loved her daddies and wouldn't trade them for anything. She hated when arguments erupted and when she couldn't have both of her daddies with her at the same time.

The rain started on a Thursday night and hasn't let up and was going to rain for the rest of the weekend. As much as Maverick loved flying he also loved spending time with his little girl and spoiling her to no end. Ice complains that Maverick spoils her more but they both know Ice does it just as equally.

Friday morning rolled around and the rain brought in a storm that further grounded the jets. Although the jets were grounded that doesn't mean teaching stopped, no the top gun cadets still had to learn and so that meant The Daggers and two RIOs had to go in to teach them. Since the base daycare was closed Maverick opted to stay home and even though Ice was a little bit jealous but allowed it.

Maverick and Ice were the first ones up out of the Mitchell-Kazansky household. They started it out like every morning but this morning it was storms and rain. Maverick rolled over to see his husband sleeping peacefully and smiled, thinking to himself how lucky he was and that he should've confessed feelings sooner.

Ice felt like someone was staring at him and slowly opened his eyes to find his husband just smiling and staring. "Staring is rude." He said and Maverick let out a chuckle.

"Not rude if the person you're staring at is handsome and you're married to him." Maverick said and Ice rolled his eyes but smiled and kissed Maverick and then got up and headed into the bathroom. A few minutes later Maverick was following him.

"Blizzard's preschool sent out an email yesterday saying that'll be closed due to weather and the flu going around." Maverick said as he put his toothbrush into his mouth and Ice spit out the toothpaste in his mouth.

"Do you want to take her to work with us or do you want to stay home with her?" Ice said as he wiped his mouth as Maverick spit out his toothpaste.

"I hardly have any paperwork. I'll just stay home with her. If they need me to come in they can call me." He said and Ice nodded, he knew it was true. They finished getting ready and they both started downstairs to get breakfast ready. Once the batch of pancakes and bacon were done it was time for Y/N to get up.

"I'm gonna go and get Blizz." Ice said and Maverick nodded as he focused on getting plates and drinks ready. When Ice got to her room and opened the door he was met by the sounds of soft snoring and when he opened it up further he found her sprawled out, it reminded him of a starfish and her other father. He smiled at the thought as he walked over to her bed and got down on his knees. "Blizz?" He started while stroking her head but she just rolled over to where she was now facing him. He smiled and tried again "Blizzard. Honey. It's time to wake up." He said and she groaned and shook her head. "Don't you want breakfast and to see Daddy?" He asked that got her to slowly open her eyes and nod and he smiled. He stood up and gently picked her up and they headed downstairs. She clung to him like a koala and buried her face into his neck thinking about going back to sleep. Ice didn't let that last because as soon as she thought about it they were downstairs, Maverick smiled at the two.

"Good morning, Blizzard." He said and she popped her head up and smiled.

"Daddy!" She said and made grabby hands towards him and he quickly accepted it.

"You ready for breakfast?" He asked and she looked at him and nodded. Maverick already had the table set so all they had to do was sit and begin eating. Ice was already in uniform so he could make a quick dash to work but Maverick was in jeans and a nice-fitting black shirt that had everyone swooning over the man.

"Blizzard you're going to be staying home with Daddy while I go to work." Ice said as he took a bite of food and so did she chewed and thought about it.

"Why?" She asked and they both smiled.

"You're daycare called and they're going to be closed." Maverick said and again she thought about and nodded.

"Ok." She said and went back to eating they both smiled and shook their head. She could be easy going or she could be so stubborn, a trait she picked up from both of them.

When breakfast was finished Maverick got up and put the dishes and food that would keep away. Meanwhile, Ice was making sure he got everything he needed for work from his and Maverick's office, once he was sure he got everything. When he was done in there he came out to the sound of laughter and he smiled, that's the sound he always loved. Ice walked out to find Maverick chasing Y/N around the island he could see that Maverick was slightly damp. Maverick caught up to her and picked her up and attacked her with kisses and she squealed and then her eye caught Ice's.

"Papa! Save me!" She yelled out with a smile and Ice just shook his head and sat down his papers and walked over to her taking her from Maverick's grip. Maverick fought back playfully but in the end let her go to him. Ice then started to attack her with kisses the same way Maverick was doing to her just a few minutes ago. After he got his fill of his daughter's giggles it was time for Ice to get to work.

"Alright, Blizz. I've got to go to work but you'll be here with Daddy. I love you." Ice said and she nodded her head and he kissed her forehead and then she kissed his cheek.

"I love you too." She said as Ice put her down on the ground and watched as Ice kissed Maverick.

"I love you." They both said at the same time. Ice grab his car keys and headed off to work. Once they heard his car pull out and they saw him disappear out of view from their position by the window that they moved to as Ice walked out the door.

"Alright, what shall we do first?" Maverick asked as he turned to his 6 year old she turned to look at him look much like Ice when she was thinking.

"Blanket fort and movies." She said confidently now looking like Ice for sure and a little bit of Maverick. Maverick smiled and nodded.

"You got it." He said and they began gathering all the stuff needed to make the fort and put it right in front of the TV. The fort took about 30 minutes to make but with them both goofing off, being the same person, and while putting in their own comments, the fort took an hour to make. Their morning started at 7:30 AM and now it was 8:30 AM. Their morning was filled with naps, movies, and snacks.

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When noon came around it was time for lunch. The storms had stopped but the rain was still coming down. As Maverick was getting their lunch ready he noticed Ice had left his and sighed. So he packed theirs and grabbed Ice's and sat them on the counter. Y/N was upstairs changing and getting ready for the rest of the day since Maverick made her go and change out of her pajamas, if she had it her way she would've stayed in them all day. "Blizzard!" He yelled out at the foot of the stairs and he could hear patters of feet coming down.

"Daddy?" She asked with a look of questioning and confusion, an expression similar to Maverick's most days.

"Papa left his lunch here. You wanna take it to him and eat with him?" He asked and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes!" She said excitedly she would get to see her Papa, Uncle Slider, Uncle Goose, and The Daggers. Maverick smiled.

"Ok. Let's go." He said and she descended the rest of the stairs and followed Maverick out the door while he grabbed the lunches. He sent a quick to Ice.

Maverick: You forgot your lunch. Blizz and I are brining it to you and eating with you.

As he waited for a response he got Y/N situated and then got into the driver's side when his phone dinged.

Ice: Damn. Sounds like a plan.

Ice replied quickly and Maverick smiled and then set his phone down. He opened the garage and started his truck and they started on their way to the base. 20 minutes later he was at the gate and showing his ID and then rolling through and parking in his assigned spot. The rain was now to a sprinkle but it was still enough to ground the jets.

Maverick killed the engine and got out and then helped Y/N out he grabbed their lunches and they headed into the building but first they stopped by the lunchroom. "Bradley! Jakey!" She yelled out and they both looked up and smiled.

"Blizzard!" He yelled back and she went bounding over to him and hugged him. Bradley and Y/N were like two peas in a pod despite their age difference. They loved spending time together and nobody could figure it out but they knew. It was probably because Bradley always gave her things and babysat her a lot when his parents couldn't take her. "Whatcha doing here?" He asked when he released her from the hug.

"Hey there Blizz!" Jake said and hugged her and when they released she answered Bradley's question. Jake had also watched her several times because he was with Bradley and they spoiled that girl to no end.

"Papa forgot his lunch so Daddy and I brought it. We are gonna eat with him." She said and the Dagger's swore their hearts melted. That little girl absolutely loved her fathers to no end. She greeted the rest of the squad as Maverick walked over.

"Blizz, let's go. Papa has a meeting in a few." He said she smiled and said bye to them and skipped along to Ice's office. Maverick greeted his squad and then was off in the direction of his husband's office. Along the way she greeted Slider and Goose and even Beau. Beau may act like he hates everyone but he secretly loves that little girl then again everybody loved Blizzard.

Maverick and Y/N arrived at the door and Maverick knocked and when they got the clear to go in, Y/N didn't hesitate and ran in and hugged Ice. "Hi, Blizz." He said as Maverick walked and held up the food. he pulled a chair up and gave Ice his and Y/N sat on Ice's lap and they ate and talked. When lunch was done. Maverick and Y/N headed home to finish out the day.

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It was 3:30 PM and both Maverick and Y/N were sitting on the couch watching a movie when she turned to her dad "I'm hungry." She said Maverick turned to look at her.

"There is some fruit in the fridge in a bowl if you wanna go and get that and we can eat it together." He said and she nodded and got up and walked into the kitchen and to the fridge to retrieve the bowl mentioned. She then grabbed it and brought it into the living room. She took her seat back next to her dad and they began to eat while watching Tangled. What made up the fruit was some apples, coconut, watermelon, strawberries, grapes, and oranges. Neither of them were paying attention to what they were grabbing.

Y/N grabbed a piece of coconut and put it in her mouth and chewed it and then swallowed it. Nothing happened right away but about 10 minutes later her throat became scratchy and she started to cough. Maverick looked at her "You ok?" He asked looking concerned at her. She nodded her head not trusting her voice which was a mistake. He turned back to the movie but before he could get invested in it again she started to couch and wheeze. She felt her throat swelling and it was getting harder to breathe.

"Daddy." She said breathlessly he turned to look at her and his eyes widened because right in front of him his daughter was turning bright red. She was breaking out in hives and she was wheezing. Her throat was also swelling.

"Blizzard. Baby. What did you eat?" He asked jumping into action.

"Coconut." She wheezed out. It was something she hadn't eaten before and now she was having a severe allergic reaction to it. Before he could do anything she vomited and he tried to catch it but wasn't quick enough but he didn't care at the moment, because right now his daughter was close to passing out on him.

"We're going to the hospital." He said and picked her up and ran out o the garage and put her in the passenger seat and buckled her from the driver's side. He opened the garage door and every second he had to wait the closer to his daughter not being awake. He cursed silently to himself but when it opened he turned the truck on and backed out quickly and shut the door once he was clear. The rain had picked up again and the sky was dark and thunder rolled. "You still with me, Blizz?" He asked and glanced over to her and she had passed out and looked like she was barley breathing. Now he was full on panicking. Luckily Miramar Navy Hospital was close by like 20 minutes and little traffic lights. Maverick made it to the hospital in 10 minutes he didn't care if he got pulled over or breaking traffic laws his daughter was in danger.

Maverick through the truck into park in a parking space that was thankfully open nearby. He killed the engine and raced to the passenger side and opened the door and quickly got his unconscious daughter out and ran into the ER. "Help! My daughter is having an allergic reaction!" He yelled out the nurse at the front desk looked up and her eyes widened.

"I need a gurney! Also page Dr. Bailey!" She yelled out and another nurse came out rolling one in. She must've been the head nurse. As Maverick sat Y/N down on the gurney she turned to him "I'm Nurse Avery. What caused this?" She asked.

"We were eating fruit and she ate some coconut. She didn't start having a reaction until 10 minutes later and it took 10 minutes to get her. So, she's been having this reaction for 20 minutes." Maverick said.

"When did she lose consciousness?" Nurse Avery asked

"About 5 minutes ago." He said and she nodded.

"What out in the waiting room. Dr. Bailey is the best pediatric doctor we have. He'll get her reaction under control." She said and he nodded and she rushed off to deliver the information.

As Maverick sat in the waiting room he texted Ice several times and called him. His calls and texts went unanswered so he called Cyclone and told him what was happening and to get it to Ice ASAP.

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Ice was in a meeting that had been going on for an hour and opted to not take his phone in since it was an important meeting. Cyclone nor Warlock were not in the meeting due to it being for only Ice and a few other higher-ups discussing some new training exercises and missions. Finally 20 minutes later the meeting was over and Ice was walking out of the room when Slider bumped into him. "Hey, Blizzard is in the Miramar Navy Hospital." The RIO said to his pilot.

"When did you find this out?" Ice asked

"Maverick called and told me." Slider said and Ice became enraged and stormed off into his office. He grabbed his keys and his phone and headed to the hospital which was also a 20 minute drive but with the rain and traffic it became a 30 minute drive which put Ice into a further pissed off mood. When he arrived he found Maverick's truck and parked next to it and walked in and found Maverick sitting there. The waiting room was practically empty. He stormed over to him and Maverick looked up.

"Oh good you're here." Maverick said and stood up to hug him and kiss him but Ice stepped back and Maverick looked confused. "What?" Maverick asked him.

"I had to find out from Slider that my daughter was in the hospital." Ice said in an ice cold voice and now it was Maverick that grew mad.

"I called and texted you several times and you didn't answer." He said in disbelief that he was having a fight while their daughter was fighting for her life. Ice took his phone out and saw all the notifications.

18 missed calls from Maverick

Maverick: Please call me ASAP.

Maverick: CALL ME. IT'S AN EMERGENCY.

Maverick: It's about Blizzard. We're at the hospital. She had an allergic reaction to coconut. They took her back and are working on her now.

Maverick: You need to get here quickly. I know you're in a meeting but this is important.

"I was in a meeting and didn't take my phone. You could've called Cyclone and he could've gotten the message to me." Ice said

"I did and he didn't answer the phone." Maverick said just as pissed. Before their fight could continue Dr. Bailey walked out and went to the two after Nurse Avery pointed them out.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Bailey. I'm the pediatric doctor and surgeon here. You're daughter had a severe allergic reaction but we got it under control and gave her epinephrine to reduce her allergic reaction in her body. We also have her on some oxygen to help her breathe along with some IV antihistamines and cortisone to reduce inflammation of the air passages and improve breathing along with some albuterol to relieve breathing symptoms. Her hives should reduce under 24 hrs. I'll take you to her room." He said and they followed him into the elevator as they were riding up to her floor he started to talk again "We did have to intubate her because her breathing did stop. We expect to take her off of it in the morning that way we give the medications time to work, so we put her under slight sedation and will take her off in the morning. I want to keep her overnight afterwards just to keep an eye on her and make sure her body is healed and reacting well. She'll be out of it for the next few days this a major hit to such a little body." He finished as the elevator dinged. Maverick and Ice were speechless Ice was still incredibly pissed at Maverick. All three of them walked out and to her room "If anything happens let Nurse Jade know and she'll page me." He said and they nodded their head.

"Thank you." They both said at the same time and he nodded and left they walked into the room and sat on either side of her. Rain was still coming down and hitting the windows. Neither Ice or Maverick said a word.

"I'll let the squad know how she is." Maverick said but Ice didn't say a word. Once he sent the message he got some right away saying they hope she get's well and they'll come see her when she's well. Nothing happened during the night and neither Ice or Maverick slept too worried about their kid. Nurses were in and out of the room take vitals and making sure everything was running smoothly.

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The next morning at 7 AM Nurse Jade and Dr. Bailey walked in and greeted the two fathers. "We're going to be reversing the sedation and extubating her." He said and they nodded and stood up and back. Once the sedation was off and she woke up they explained to her what was going to happen and she nodded and when they removed it she coughed but took a huge breath and Dr. Bailey smiled. "Hi, Y/N. I'm Dr. Bailey. Do you know where you are?" He asked and she nodded.

"The hospital." She said hoarsely, which was to be expected and they all smiled.

"Good. You had a severe allergic reaction. But we gave you some medication to help you out." He said in a calm voice and she nodded. He turned to where he was looking at her and the fathers. "She's breathing on her own which is a very good sign. I still want to keep her one more night." He said and they nodded and then turned to her "I'll be back to check on you later." He said and she nodded and yawned and everyone chuckled and he left the room. Throughout the day she was checked up on and The Daggers, Carole, Slider, and Goose all came by and saw her but didn't stay long just so they didn't overwhelm her. Ice and Maverick still weren't talking to each other still incredibly pissed but put on a good act for their daughters sake.

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The next morning bright and early they got the all clear for her to be released and go home and rest. Dr. Bailey was also giving them EpiPen's and a prescription for more. Once she was changed into her clothing she had the day before they were wheeling her out to the parking lot. "I'll take her home." Ice said and Maverick was gonna protest but one ice cold glare from Ice and he didn't fight it. Ice went and got his car and drove to the entrance. He parked and got out and then helped Y/N into car and then he drove off leaving Maverick standing there. Maverick walked to his truck and got in and caught up to them both quickly. When they reached the house they both parked outside and the rain actually let up that morning. Ice and Y/N were already inside and she was heading upstairs to lay down once they heard the door shut they turned to each other. "I want you out of the house for a few days." Ice said and Maverick was shocked but then was pissed.

"Excuse me? Were you the one that had to watch our daughter almost die? Were you the one that tried to catch her vomit? Were you the one that got to the hospital in 10 minutes when it take 20 minutes?" Maverick asked

"It doesn't matter. You're the one that gave her the fruit." Ice said

"I didn't know it had coconut in it. We didn't know she was allergic to it." Maverick said as he walked upstairs and grabbed his duffle bag and began throwing clothes in. "You know what? Fine I'll leave. I need a break from you anyways, we need to cool down because we just went through something traumatic. I'll go stay with Goose and Carole." Maverick said "It's not like our daughter needs both of her fathers at this time." He finished heading to the garage and walked through the door and into his truck. Ice heard the garage door open and a car pull out and it shut again.

Ice turned when he heard footsteps on the stairs. "Papa, where is daddy?" She asked and Ice sighed.

"He's gonna go stay with Uncle Goose and Aunt Carole for a few days." He said and she looked at him.

"Why?" She asked

"We had a fight and both need to cool off." Ice said and she nodded and headed back upstairs. He went into the living room and saw everything from this morning and afternoon and started to clean up. He saw where she had thrown up and that made him feel guilty but he wasn't going to apologize he was still pissed that he had to find out from his RIO about his daughter being in the hospital. Yes Maverick did try to contact him but he should've called Warlock since he couldn't get ahold of Cyclone.

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It was now Tuesday and the preschool was still closed due to flooding. Maverick had yet been home and it was putting Y/N in a bad mood since she didn't have both of her fathers with her. Ice noticed this but still wouldn't apologize and neither would Maverick. Ice and Y/N did activates together but she wasn't enthusiastic about it The sun was out so Ice took Y/N down to the beach, he had taken the time off just to make sure she was ok, knowing that jets would be flying by.

When they got to the beach they grabbed their stuff and walked to the sand. The Daggers and the Top Gun cadets were flying over the beach and that always excited her. Ice sat back and watched them as well. Y/N was looking around when she spotted Maverick and smiled "Daddy!" she shrieked out that got Ice's attention and when he looked up she was already barreling towards him.

"Blizzard!" He yelled and got up and took off after her. When he reached them she was hugging Maverick and he was hugging her back in a tight hug. She had her head buried into his abdomen. His eyes were closed and head on hers. Ice stood there and watched them maybe he overacted but he was just stressed out. He was zoned out until Y/N's voice brought him back.

"I missed you, Daddy." She said

"I missed you too, Blizz." He said and opened his eyes and they met Ice's blue ones. "I missed you too, Ice." Maverick said.

"I missed you too, Mav." He said as Y/N released Maverick from the hug. "Let's head back to our spot." He said and they began to shirt trek to spot. Y/N nonstop talked about what they did and they reached their spot she had ran out of things to say. "Hey, Blizz. Why don't you go watch the jets further up? But stay away from the water." Ice said and she nodded and headed out of earshot.

"Look I'm sorry I didn't reach out to Warlock to get into touch with you. I was stressed and panicking. I knew you had a meeting and didn't want to be disturbed." Maverick said every now and then looking at Ice but then turning his attention back to their little girl.

"I'm sorry too. The meeting was stressful because they want everyone to learn to training exercises and maybe have a new missions. I should've taken my phone in with me. I'm sorry for making you leave. Blizzard was not happy with not having both of us together. She hardly slept and was just not acting like herself." Ice said looking at Maverick and watched him watch their daughter smiling and waving when she turned around and waved.

"Am I allowed to come back home now?" Maverick asked as soon as he saw their daughter halfway to them and knew she was safe and away from the water. Ice was still looking at him and he nodded with a smiled.

"Yes. Please come back. Blizzard and I would be happier with you back home." Ice said and Maverick smiled and leaned in for a kiss and Ice kissed back.

"Ewww!" Y/N said and they broke apart and looked at her and smiled and then looked at each other and had a silent conversation. They looked back at her and she pulled a confused look. Maverick grabbed her and then started to tickle her and she laughed and then Ice joined in. They attacked her with kisses and tickles. This is what they both needed and missed.

Ice and Maverick promised not to fight and if they did then they would make up before the end of the day. They never want to split up their family they got a taste of it and they didn't like it. They stopped tickling her and attacking her with kisses and they just sat there watching jets fly by as a family. One happy and whole family.

Tag list:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

@grandstrangerphantom

[mamsieur]

Used to it | Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Reader

Summary : Being Pete Mitchell's daughter has never been easy. But maybe one mission could bring you back together ?

TW : angst and fluff, angst with a happy ending, mention of alcohol, panic attack, canonical character death, age gap (reader is 27 and Bradley is 35)

Length : 7156 words

AN : I'm sorry for making Pete seem like a bad father but that man is not stable enough to handle a child in my opinion.

posted on AO3 July 12, 2023

You were 7 when your mother left your father, Pete Mitchell. 

You didn't have many early memories of him. There were only the arguments with your mother, his departures on missions that left you in tears, the missed birthdays and Christmases. It’s all you’ve ever known so you were used to it and being a child, you found it normal.

You were 7 when your mother decided to move out, leaving your whole life behind. You remember crying your eyes out in protest. As your mom tried desperately to get you out of the house, you clung with all your might to Bradley. Bradley Bradshaw was 15 and your regular babysitter, though your mother thought of him as a son, Carole and her were really close. They liked to remind you that when you were 4, you proudly announced that you were going to marry him. Bradley was almost always around, and Pete was his godfather, and they had a bond you envied. Despite the eight-year age difference, you remember being very close to your "Bradbrad" . He never pushed you away, was always ready to play Lego or other board games with you. He even took you to the park or with him when he went to the theater with his friends - when the movies were kids friendly -.

You were 7 , and your whole world shattered. No more Bradley, no more hanging to the naval base to have a glimpse of your dad and his incredible plane, no more aunty Carole and her sweet singing. You had hated your mom for years before understanding you left for the best.  She was finally happy ; not completely, she missed her friends and sometimes your father, but you could feel that she was happier away from the hustle and bustle of the navy, of your dad. You were not used to the strange calmness of the city, but your grandparents made it easy to adapt. Soon enough, you got used to the loving cocoon your mother succeeded to create around you.

You were 16, at your mother's funeral, when you had to accept the fact that you had to go back to live with Pete. When the two of you finally found each other in the crowd, he didn't say much, just gave you a few brief updates. You asked him about Bradley, a bit sad to not have seen him here, and he didn't have much to say. Only that the two of them were no longer as close as they had been.

The silence between you was uncomfortable. 

Of course, Pete had kept in touch over the years, calling on your birthdays, sending a little something. You spent some Christmas with him when he wasn't working and a few days during the summer break ; but Pete Mitchell loved his work too much to focus on you. As long as you lived with your mother, Pete's absence from your life wasn't something you suffered from, at least not really. 

You were used to it. Used to the absence, used to the missed calls, used to the Christmases with the attention of other aviators and their families but the ignorance of your dad, used to the unanswered phone calls.  Used to his silence.

But now your mum was dead... and you were dreading having to join your father in California.

You were 16 and you didn't want to live with him, you already knew what would happen ; he'd go flying, on a mission or for his own pleasure, leaving you alone at home - if you could call it home. The hangar where he lived now was something you'd always hated . It had no place for anything or anyone other than his passion for the sky, for planes and speed. You didn't want to leave your new life, even though you loved California. Your school, your friends, your family, your routine. But you didn't really have much of a choice. You were 16. He was now your legal guardian and you didn't want to drag your grandparents into a custody battle.  Even though part of you told yourself that your dad would probably agree to let you stay with them, you didn't want to take that chance. And you hoped he'd be more present, that you'd finally have the father you'd dreamed of, that your other friends had. If other military parents could be there for their children, why couldn't Pete?

Perhaps because Pete loved flying more than anything else in the world.  The sky was his one true love.

Even though you knew it, you held out the faintest hope that he would finally take his responsibilities as a father. Unfortunately, Pete was still Pete. He wasn't cut out to be a father. A fun uncle, maybe. A parent, no. The fact that Bradley no longer spoke to him proved that.

You were 18 when you packed your bags and headed off to the naval school in Maryland. You wanted to be a pilot too. And you wanted to get away from that bloody hangar, so empty, so alone.

Pete wasn't there when you left.  Not even a message or a note. Nothing at all.

You weren't even surprised.

It was Tom Kazansky - Uncle Tom - who had taken you to the airport. He had been more present in your life than your own father, even though you rarely saw him. You knew your relationship with Pete was a sensitive subject, and you knew when Tom gave him a hard time. Pete was suddenly more present - too present . He'd pop into your life for a few days, trying to be the cool or bossy dad, but it always ended in a fight. 

You hated it when he did that. You hated the way he would act like your friend, or like a strict parent, talking about curfew and how no boys were allowed in his 'home'. You hated the way he would try to be the father that he had never been in your whole life. You hated the way he tried to convince you that he was trying to change, that he'd be there for you.

But you couldn't blame Uncle Tom for trying to shake your father. He had children too, but despite his love of the air, he had been a present parent to them.  

But some days were not as bad as others. Sometimes, when he was in a good mood, Pete would take you flying. And even though it was hard to admit, you were a bit of a flier yourself. The feeling of freedom, of being alone in a comforting way. It was mesmerizing.

So, without him knowing, you decided to join the navy after graduation. You took your mother's name, Evans , so that you would not attract attention. Only Tom knew, so your dad wouldn't and couldn't pull your papers like he did with Bradley. 

You found out that he had done this when you saw Bradley one day in the summer before you made your choice. At first you did not recognize him.  He was 26 now. He was taller, more muscular and had a 80s mustache that suited him well - puberty had treated him really good. He was the spitting image of his father, whom you'd only seen in photographs and heard about when Tom and Pete reminisced over drinks about the past.

But Bradley had the same look in his eyes as his mother, Carole. 

As a child, you adored Carole. She was always there to comfort you when your parents were at odds, picking you up from kindergarten when your father was on a mission and your mother was at work… She was kind of a second mom. You went to her funeral with your mother eight years ago, you never cried so much.

The summer of your reunion with Bradley had been the summer of his return from the Naval Academy, which he had graduated from with honors. He was a very good pilot and would soon be going on a mission. The day before he left, you snuck out of the hangar to meet him at a nearby bar. He had celebrated his departure with you and a handful of friends, promising to keep in touch as often as possible.  As he left, you realized how much you'd missed your Bradbrad.

You were 18, and you remembered how quiet the ride to the airport had been. Part of you wanted to stay.  You loved California. It was close to the ocean, the people were friendly, and at the Navy base everyone knew you.

You'd even earned a nickname, the call sign you hoped to use soon : Tempest .  It was a bittersweet memory of a stormy night when Pete "forgot" to pick you up from baseball practice. You had landed on the base, mad as hell, soaked to the bone. You'd yelled at your father as hard as the storm had raged. It had been a huge fight. And of course, everyone had heard. Surprisingly, many had defended you rather than your father. You were relieved then. And to cheer you up while your dad was embarrassed, Tom took you to your favorite fast food and laughed with you about the scene. "You walked in there like a damn storm, a tempest ! Heck, that should be your call sign when you join the ranks !" You smiled as you remembered his raspy laugh and all the stories he told you about his days at Topgun . 

It was through those stories that you learned a little bit more about your father, The Maverick . His accomplishments, his reckless attitude in the air, his urge to always define what’s possible and pushing the limits.  Your desire, your need , to join the Navy to become a pilot only grew, digging a hole of longing for the sky deep inside you.  You wanted your father to see you, to acknowledge you. You wanted to be more like him.

You were 27 years old when you were called to the NAS North Island for a "top secret" mission that required "the best of the best". To your surprise, you were one of the youngest and one of the only women. But you'd missed California too much to worry about such details.  Like many pilots, you had joined the Hard Deck for a drink the day before training began. You soon met Natasha "Phoenix" Trace and Jake "Hangman" Seresin. Two strong personalities. Then came Javy “Coyote” Machado and Robert "Bob" Floyd. He was discreet, a bit shy. And before you could introduce yourself to the others, someone entered the bar and caught Jake's eye.

"Bradshaw. As I live and breathe."

"Hangman. You look... good." His voice was behind you and you didn't dare turn around to see him. 

"Well, I am good. I'm very good Rooster ."

You let the two men talk, then Bradley greeted Natasha and the others. At last, his gaze landed on you. You couldn't help but smile stupidly. He looked so surprised and happy. "Y/N Tempest Evans?!"

"Hey Bradbrad ..." you smiled and happily accepted his embrace. He squeezed you against him and asked you all about your journey, which you happily did, while in the distance the bell rang, indicating that a customer couldn't pay his bill and had to be kicked out. Out of the corner of your eye, you thought you recognized your father, but Jake and Javy had already grabbed him by the arms and dragged him outside. You didn’t have the time to really think about it, Bradley taking you by the hand to sing with him at the piano. You laughed and followed him with the others in his Great balls of fire ’s reprise. It had been a great night.

The next day, at the first meeting, you thought your heart stopped when you saw that your instructor was actually Pete... and from the look on his face, he wasn't happy to see you there. Before the meeting was over, you heard his voice call your name ; it had a barely disguised note of anger. "Lieutenant Evans. You’ll stay after training, we'll have a word."

Bradley looked at you, concerned. He knew that you had never told Pete about the Navy, but he didn't know that even after nine years, your father was still unaware of your career. The others were confused and you could feel questioning gazes on you. Great way to begin this thing , you thought.

You were 27 and a very good pilot. An excellent one. One of the best. That's why you were here after all, wasn’t it ? You walked in your father’s footsteps, perhaps as talented as him at that age. But you were also as reckless as him, living up to your callsign. A tempest was never soft or delicate, neither were you. You had risked your life so many times in your five years of service. Tom often told you that you were just like your father and that it scared him. You didn’t think, you just did , you wanted to go faster, higher and further. Acting like the storm that you were, leaving your enemies confused by what had just happened. The adrenaline, the speed, the immensity of the sky, the feeling of freedom... you finally understood why Pete loved being in his plane so much.  You felt a little closer to him in those moments.

And yet, in nine years of absence, he had never once contacted you. You had disappeared one day and he hadn't even looked for you.  Your uncle had promised not to say anything about your career, but Pete hadn't even been interested in why or where you were going.

Seeing him angry made you furious . How could he have the nerve to be mad at you? 

After the training and the 200 pushups you had to do because - of course - you didn't beat your old man, you stayed on deck and waited for the others to leave. Bradley gave you a little squeeze on the shoulder, as if to give you strength, and reluctantly left. You heard Hondo telling Pete to calm himself before saying things he might regret out of anger.

Once again, the silence between you and your father was heavy. 

You couldn't take your eyes off him, waiting for him to finally speak. You could see that he was trying to stay calm. But you already felt like exploding . You could feel the reproaches, the so-called concern. You could feel that he wanted to push you away . 

"Y/N... how did you... you went to the Academy behind my back?!"

"Iceman," you replied simply, your eyes and voice cold. "And you never asked where I was either."

"You-?! I should have known, you lied to me." 

“It’s not lying if you’re not asked.” you mutter, “You taught me that.”

“Now’s not the time to play that game Y/N,” he snapped, "you can't be here."

"With all due respect, Captain, that's not your call."

You really tried to remain calm, knowing that the others must have been listening nearby - especially Jake. You didn't want to draw any more attention, but you felt your blood boiling under your skin.

"I will talk to Vice Admiral Simpson about this. I don't suppose anyone's made the connection between us. But now there's clearly a conflict of interest-"

"You have no right to take this mission away from me. It's not fair," you gasped, eyes wide.

"I am your father ! I can and will do it."

"What ?! No ! No, you can't ! 9 years of nothing but silence and now you're acting like a worried father ?!" you snapped, moving towards him and pointing an accusing finger. A nervous laugh escaped you and you sighed, pursing your lips. "Why do you always have to act like this ? You've never acted like a father to me, except to get in my way !"

"Get in your way ? No ! I care about you-"

"Really ?!" you cut him off, raising your voice, "Then where have you been for 9 years ?! What did Tom have to say to you that you weren't even lookin' for me ? Where was all this care when I left and you were not here ? Where were you huh ?! Where was all that concern ?!"

Pete's eyes widened and he searched for words. He should have known that he could not argue with your point so he just huffed then scolded. "I'm your captain, Lieutenant Evans ! Keep your voice down !"

"Oh, now it's not my father talking ?!" you couldn't hold back a nervous, fake laugh. "You see how you are ?! Always twisting things your way ?! Why are you avoiding that conversation ? Why are you running away again ?!" you’re almost screaming, inches close to him, eyes locked in his.

"Lieutenant Evans !" he growled. You grumbled and let out a heavy sight, calming yourself. You stepped back and clenched your fists along your body.

"Will that be all, Captain Mitchell ?"

You clenched your fists even harder, your knuckles turning white. You wanted to physically shake him to finally have answers. But you couldn’t, at least not here, not now.

"Y/N..." he huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Will that be all, Captain ?" you repeated, your voice slightly trembling. Tears of rage threatened to fall. You held them back, too proud to cry in front of him. Pete looked at you and sighed quietly. 

"You're dismissed Lieutenant Evans..."

You left the deck with a quick stride. Your heart was pounding in your chest, a mixture of anger, frustration and sadness. Of course, the rest of the squadron was there, already clean and changed. Seeing the anger in your eyes, no one said a word, not even Hangman. He just stared at you, confused, as you slammed the door of the changing room. 

Later that evening, as the squadron relaxed at the bar, Jake couldn't help but bring up the earlier scene. 

"So our dear Tempest's dad is the famous Maverick?"

" He's not my father ," you muttered, finishing another beer. "My genitor maybe. But he's not my father."

"Why Evans if Mitchell's your old man?" Jake insisted. 

You could hear Bradley and Natasha telling him to drop it, but he kept coming back. You could feel your anger rising again.  You downed another beer and slammed the empty bottle down on the table. 

"Tell me, Bagman , weren’t you taught to keep your mouth shut about things that don't concern you? I'm sure your mama taught you some manners, didn't she? Now shut up before I put my fist through your face," you growled, half drunk, half angry. Jake scoffed and held his hands up in defense while Bob stopped you from approaching him. Seeing your father enter the bar only made you feel worse. And it took all your patience not to slit Jake's throat on the spot as he continued his overly curious and unpleasant comments with his snide attitude.

Bradley went with you to get some fresh air as he wasn't too keen on seeing Pete either. When you arrived at the beach, a wave of sadness washed over you. You knew that your father would do everything in his power to get you out of this mission, but what was worse was that he didn't even try to talk to you, to reconnect. Your shoulders shook and you couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Only a sobbing hiccup betrayed you and Bradley rushed to take you in his arms. You felt the strength leave your legs and the two of you ended up sitting in the sand, crying your eyes out and clinging to Bradley. "I've got you... Let it all out..." he murmured between two kisses on the top of your head. His big hands gently stroked your back, letting go of all your pain. "It's okay, baby girl... it's okay..." 

Bradley and you practically lived together now. You’ve inherited your mom’s old house by the ocean and it’s confier than being on base. So those kinds of pet names were almost common now. But this time you didn’t blush at it, your emotions a mess.

You cried against him for a long time, as you hadn't done for many years. Rooster held you until you calmed down.  "It's not fair..." you whispered, sniffling. "He's going to take me off the mission..." 

"He won't be able to... Ice recommended you... there's nothing he can do about it..."

You shrugged, not really sure if Tom could help you. He was very ill and you didn't want to tire him out with your disagreements with your father.

“He’s just an old dickhead, don’t worry…” Bradley tried to cheer you up but you’re too distraught to play along. After a little less than an hour later, you find the force to get up and you head home with him. You fall asleep in the car and wake up the next morning in your bed.

There wasn't much time left before the mission. Training sessions were coming up and so were your fights with Pete. Cyclone hadn't pulled you out of the mission, but you weren't sure if it was to spite your father or because he felt you were capable of succeeding, just like your comrades.

Days passed at an alarming pace. The team slowly bonded through group exercises and moments of relaxation, especially with the game your father had invented: dogfight football.

You couldn't lie, it felt good to have such moments. But your father still didn't talk to you and you were still angry. You remained professional, but you couldn't stand his fatherly attitude towards you.

All your hopes of renewing real ties disappeared when you learned of Tom's death. You had seen him the day before and he had made you promise to try to take care of Pete. His funeral was one of the hardest moments of your life.

And because bad news never comes alone, the mission was moved up by a week. Pete was temporarily relieved of his duties, as Admiral Simpson still believed his plan of attack was doomed to failure. Of course, your father, in his legendary arrogance and cockiness, proved him wrong with an unauthorized flight. Hope rose in the team but it was still a very risky plan. 

Cyclone decided to make Pete team leader, and not surprisingly, he didn't choose you as his wingman. Part of you was angry because you felt you could do it, and another part of you was mortified when he announced that his choice would be Bradley. This mission was suicide, and you couldn't afford to lose them both. You couldn't afford to lose anyone in the squadron, but these two, it was just too much.

You didn't catch up with Pete as much as you wanted to, there were still so many questions left unanswered, so much time to make up for… You hadn't been able to make things right with your dad, you hadn't been able to tell him that you had this passion for aviation because of him. You hadn't been able to tell him that you regretted not telling him about the academy, that you regretted the 9 years of distance between you...

And you didn't spend enough time with Bradley.

Sure, you were always glued to each other in your free time, taking walks on the beach, talking and singing together at the Hard Deck piano, having movie nights... but you didn't want it to stop. Not after you'd half confessed how you felt about him after a few too many drinks, telling him that your 4-year-old declaration still stood. He laughed and told you that he hadn't forgotten either.

On the day of the mission, you barely managed to find your way to your father. "Captain?" your voice was louder than you had expected.

"Lieutenant Evans?"

"I... Before you go, I'd like to talk-"

"We'll talk when I get back."

"... Promise me you'll come back." 

For a moment, you were that five-year-old girl again, watching her father leave. Pete must have seen it in your eyes and climbed down from the cockpit to take you in his arms. "I promise I'll come back in one piece, kiddo..." You hugged him tightly and nodded in agreement. After a few seconds, you let go and let him settle down.  You ran to Bradley and made him promise you the same. He smiled confidently, even though you knew he was stressed. "Don't worry, we've got a Star Wars marathon to watch," he smiled before gently and discreetly kissing your forehead. You blushed and nodded, a worried little smile on your face. 

Reluctantly, you left the track and joined Jake. You were glued to your radios, following the progress of the mission.  Everything was going well until two enemy fighters spotted them. 

You stopped breathing. 

First they had Bradley in sight and locked on. 

The enemy fired. 

But your father took the brunt of the missiles and saved Rooster.

Your brain didn't know how to process all this information and shut down when you heard Bradley's decision to go after Pete before getting shot down too.

You don't remember much else. All you knew is that Jake had to leave in a hurry to find and rescue them. When they landed with that really out beat up F-14, you rushed out on deck to greet them, swallowing all your worry and anger at their unconscious behavior for the moment.

Once ashore, the entire crew decided to celebrate their success at Penny's Bar, dragging Pete with them. You stayed close to Bradley, as if afraid that it was all a dream and that he wasn't really there. He wouldn't let go of you either, his arm tight around you. You felt like a schoolgirl, it was stupidly comfortable. You looked at Pete, who was happily chatting with Penny and other members of the team. You didn't want to spoil the evening with a discussion that was out of your control…

Around one o'clock you went out for some fresh air, leaving Bradley to play with those who hadn't returned home yet ; Reuben, Natasha, Mickey and Javy.

As a cold shiver ran through you, you felt a heavy jacket on your shoulders. You immediately recognized the peculiar smell ; old whiskey mixed with motor oil and a hint of cologne.

" Dad ? "

"I thought you wanted to talk ?" he asked quietly, moving toward the beach. You nodded and took his pinky with yours like a child, searching for your words.

"I'm sorry..." you breathed, holding back your tears. "For going to the Academy behind your back and not telling you… not talking to you for almost ten years... I know that giving news is supposed to go both ways and all, but... but you weren't even there when I left... and I guess... I guess I resented you as much as I wanted you to be there, you know ?" you sniffed before continuing your monologue. "I just wanted you to see me . ‘Cause… it’s because of you I wanted to go down this road, you gave me this love for flight, for speed, for the sky. I... I just wanted you to be happy that we finally had something in common, but... but you had already pulled Bradley's papers, so I didn't think and I just did what seemed most logical and easiest. Take Mom's name, ask Ice not to tell you. I know it was stupid… but I also know it would have hurt too much if you had stopped me. And... And then no news for nine years... It hurt even more. The Academy and my first years of service weren't what I thought they would be... it was rough and sometimes I just… I just wanted to call you to come and pick me from there… but… but I wouldn't change that for the world. Because I’m still a Mitchell and Mitchells never quit right ?” You took a few seconds, your gaze meeting his, to see if he wanted to intervene but he didn’t. He just looked at you, taking all the information you gave him. You let out a shaky breath, playing with the sleeves of his jacket nervously. “And I know you must and may resent me for the rest of my life, but… but I just wanted you to be proud of me and... and for us to finally be a family." You bit your lip, trying to calm the flow of emotions that came through.

The sky began to rumble and your father remained silent after your speech. A few tears rolled down your cheeks as he couldn't find the words.

"Please, Dad, say something..." you sighed, your voice breaking.

The rain began to fall slowly and Pete's silence was too much for your heart to take. He couldn't even look at you anymore. You thought you could take it ; you were used to his silenced treatment, used to the fact that he couldn’t express his feelings. But right now, you needed him to speak, to ease your worries, to confront you.

"Dad... please... I'm begging you... talk to me…" you repeated desperately.

You broke down again and cried like a little girl in front of your mute father. You hated that he couldn't open up to you and you hated that he saw you so frail, so fragile.  Your sobs mingled with the rain, which grew heavier, the wind and waves making the silence deafening. You bit your lip and wiped your eyes with the back of your hand, in vain.

"I know I'm not... I know you didn't plan… you didn’t want to have me with mom-"

"No, it's true... I never planned to be a father... The very idea of having children terrified me and still does," Pete interrupted you, "but... you're one of the most beautiful things, if not the most, that has ever happened to me. And I'm petrified of anything happening to you, I'm helpless on so many levels... and I... I didn't know how to be there when you needed me... I know I must have let you down a lot..." He sighed, catching his breath and holding back his own tears. "I thought... it would be best for both of us to let you have your freedom... but the weeks, months and years went by and I didn't have the guts to try to contact you. I was too ashamed... but Y/N, I never stopped loving you... you're my daughter... and even if you have my damn temper and your mom’s stubbornness," you couldn't hold back a little laugh and a slight smile despite your tears, which your father tenderly chased away with his thumb, "you'll always be my little girl, too eager to get on our little plane for a ride, passionate and fierce… I don’t resent you… I think I would have done it your way if my old man put me in this situation…" He allowed himself to cry as well as the two of you finally hugged each other, relieved of an enormous weight.

"I love you too, Dad... sorry for everything..." you mumbled against his shoulder.

"No, no… I’m sorry… It's my turn to apologize, sweetheart..."

The two of you lay embracing in the rain for a while, making up for years of distance in a few minutes. You were the first to let go. You once again took his hand like a child.

"We better get back before Hangman starts gossiping..."

"Or before Bradley starts worrying," Pete teased. You blushed and looked at him with wide eyes. "What? Like I haven't noticed the way you two look at each other. I'm not that blind kid!" He laughed “Ah… your mom and Carole would have been thrilled !”

You returned to the bar, soaking wet, chatting about anything and everything. Seeing you, Bradley's expression changed from worried to relieved, then back to worried as he noticed you were shivering a little from the cold. He politely left his conversation with Mickey to join you.

"Are you okay? Do you want to go home and change?"

"That would be a good idea..." you smiled at him. You had to admit you were exhausted from this rollercoaster of emotions. You said goodbye to the others from a distance, then to your father in a final hug, and followed Bradley back to his old blue Bronco. The two of you made your way to your small house. 

Bradley was a good roommate. You each had your own room, but you often fell asleep together in front of the TV or on one of your beds after long late-night discussions. You liked the routine you created. And you hoped with all your might that nothing would change. But your feelings for him were becoming more and more obvious in your mind and heart. You wondered how much longer you could hide it.

Seeing you so silent, Bradley placed his hand on your thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Are you all right, lil’ Tempest?" 

His eyes never left the road as his thumb traced small circles on your jeans. A shiver ran through your entire body and you wished this contact would never end.

"Everything's fine Roo... don't worry..."

"Okay..."

He squeezed your knee again and left his hand on your thigh. The warmth of his palm made you shiver and you placed your hand on top of his shyly. Once again, you felt like a teenager. It was stupid.

The ride home was rather quiet, in a comforting way, Bradley driving carefully in the pouring rain and humming the song that passed on the radio. When he parked, you stayed in the car for a moment. You sensed that he had something he wanted to say to you, and he sensed the same thing on your side. After a few minutes of silence and shy glances, he smiled at you, got out of the car, and you followed. He ran to unlock the door and waited for you under the porch.

You wanted to run as well, but your legs felt heavy. That's when your anxiety decided to take over. The stress and worry of the past few days were finally catching up to you. As you saw Bradley step out into the rain with a worried expression, the conversation on the radio played in your head. Your father's F-18 had exploded, and Bradley was on his way to pick him up. And now it was his turn to go down. A huge pressure on your chest stopped you from breathing and new tears rolled down your cheeks. You couldn't move, pinned to the pavement. Silent sobs shook you as your vision blurred. You couldn't see or hear Bradley any more. You felt so alone, so cold. Your panic attack froze you under the heavy rain and you couldn't get out of it. You couldn't hear anything except the intense ringing in your ear. You wanted to throw up. The world spun around you as your mind screamed what the communications officer had said earlier, "Maverick's down ! Rooster's down !" 

They were dead. 

For the long forty minutes or so that followed, they were dead .  And you were stuck in that loop. One minute everything was fine, the mission was a complete success. The next, the last two most important people in your life were dead. The ground began to feel strangely unstable as you fought harder to breathe. Eventually your legs gave out and you felt yourself fall, but you didn't hit the ground. You felt two arms around you, holding you securely but not too tightly, then lifting you up as if you weighed nothing. The buzzing in your ears slowly faded away and you didn't feel the rain on your skin anymore. You gasped for air when you finally heard Breadley call your name, concern in his voice. As you raised your eyes to look at him, a sudden relief washed over you and you couldn't help but sob again.

He was home. You were home. With him.

"What's going on, Y/N? Hey... Breathe... breathe and talk to me..." he said quietly.

"I thought... I thought you and Dad... you... you were dead..." you managed to say between sobbing hiccups. You clung to his shirt, afraid he would fade away. He smiled a little and kissed the top of your head as he cupped your cheeks with his calloused hands. Then he took your hands and laid them flat on his heart. You could feel it beating at a regular pace.

"I'm here. I’m okay. You're okay. I'm very much alive, Mav is too, and you're stuck with me, with us, little Tempest..."

"Yeah ? Promise ?" you sniffed, your lower lip still trembling.

"Yeah... Promise." he smiled at you again then hugged you tightly. 

He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, the bristles of his mustache tickling you a little. One of your hands reached up to his neck, your fingers brushing his little hair. The two of you stayed like that for a moment, absorbing each other's presence. You felt so relaxed in his arms, as if you belonged there. Your heart fluttered as you heard him hum one of your favorite songs and then felt him beginning to slow dance with you, taking you peacefully to the bathroom.  You were too exhausted and shaken from your panic attack to even ask him what he was doing. You just obliged and listened to him, hypnotized. He declared that you needed a long relaxing bath and in the meantime he would order pizza. He helped you take off your shoes and socks, then your hoodie. He kissed your forehead and let you finish undressing, leaving the bathroom to give you some privacy. 

You couldn’t stay too long in the bath, your mind being too loud. You knew you would break down again if you weren’t close to him .  Bradley made you feel safe, secure, grounded. That was what you needed to relax. You were so used to being alone before, used to the silence, the empty rooms. But since he decided to kind of move in with you, you couldn’t bear the loneliness. The house was so warm now, so welcoming and comfy.

As you crossed his room after you’ve washed, you noticed that old hoodie you bought him one Christmas when you were in naval school. It’s a silly one, the hood designed to look like a rooster. An amused sigh escaped you and you took it to wear. It was still as soft and comfy as the day you bought it. 

“Stealing my clothes I see ?” he chuckled when you joined him in the kitchen.

“Stealing my beers I see ?” you teased him back, pointing at the bottle in his hand, “I thought cranberry beers were for chicks ?” 

“Mama Carole didn’t raise me to be picky” He scoffed in défense, with a smirk.

“Oh I know she didn’t. And my mama didn’t raise me to steal, I’m just borrowing that hoodie.” you smiled, putting the hood on. “Look, we’re twins now, Rooster !”

The both of you laughed at that stupid joke. He then smiled at you and put a strand of your hair behind your ear. 

“Feeling better sweets ?”

“Yeah… sorry about that I… I think these past days were a bit too much for my brain…”

“Don’t be sorry… it’s normal to break sometimes… everyone does.” 

You hummed and nodded, but before you could talk, the doorbell rang. “Must be the pizzas ! Get yourself comfortable on the couch and choose a movie Y/N, I’ll be right back !” He kissed your cheek, close to your lips - too close - and ran to the door. You stood there for a moment, cheeks and heart warming up, before doing what he asked you.  Once again, you felt like a schoolgirl at her first sleepover with her crush. You couldn’t help but feel butterflies fluttering in your stomach and your face turning a bit red. 

You should tell him.  But you risked losing that friendship you had. And at the same time, you wanted more than that. You wanted to feel his arms around you, his lips - oh those lips - on you, to wake up next to him each and every morning in your bed… You fantasized about a life with him for a minute, not noticing him getting back with the food. You jumped slightly when he waved his hand in front of your eyes to snap you out of your reverie. Your gaze locked with his as he asked if everything was all right.

"Yes, yes... I was just lost in thought..." you smiled shyly, your cheeks flushed, letting him settle in beside you. He took the plaid to cover both of you, then put his arm around your shoulders.

"And what were you thinking about? Or who?" He teased.

"About us, actually..."

"Us?" He said, a little surprised.

Your cheeks were crimson. You'd said too much already. You couldn't run anymore. You just nodded, not daring to meet his gaze.  You felt him come closer and turn a little towards you after a few seconds of silence.

"Me too, I have to admit..." 

"Really?" you almost whispered, looking up at him. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah... to tell you the truth, I like it here, but... I don't want to be just another roommate anymore. We're pretty similar in a lot of things, Phoenix even says we look like an old married couple that's always jammed together." You chuckled a little but couldn't help but agree. Bradley smiled a little before continuing, a little nervously. "And... the crash, almost getting killed... It made me realize a lot of things... like the fact that I didn't want to lose you. And that... maybe... the fact that I felt so comfortable with you meant... meant more than friendship..."

Your heart raced in your chest. Was he going to confess what you were thinking? You bit the inside of your cheek to prove to yourself that you weren't dreaming, and before he could continue, you pulled him by his collar and crushed your lips against his. The kiss was desperate, as if you needed it to keep on living. Bradley didn't waste a second in responding, one of his hands sliding up your cheek and the other down your back to press you against him. You would have liked that moment to last forever, but the lack of air forced you to pull away a little. He pressed his forehead against yours and let out a small laugh. "I guess it's mutual, then?"

"You're a little genius aren’t you ?" You couldn't help but tease him before kissing him again.

You felt so good against him, kiss after kiss. You felt complete, soothed. 

And you could easily get used to it .

[jackiequick]

Meeting your boyfriends sister | Hangman fanfic ✨

Pairing: Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x Amber ‘Skysolo’ Kazansky

Timeline: Post-Top Gun Maverick

Summary: She didn’t think she would ever be nervous about something like meeting the family. She has done it plenty of times before but what happens you boyfriend Hangman Seresin’s sister comes to town?

Charcters mentioned: Elena "Enigma" Seresin, Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado, Georgia “Peach” Wells and etc.

Top Gun Maverick AU

——

Amber Kazansky had been though a lot in her lifetime so far. From moving around as a child to different states to watching her aunt Carol die in her teens. Hell she has seen her father go through cancer and survive it.

She has seen friends break up, others get married and move on with their lives. So it was something she was fine with.

It was part of life, meeting people and trying to see if things worked. And if they did, you meet your lover’s friends. They get to meet your parents, seeing if they approve of your relationship.

But meeting her boyfriend’s sister? That was not one of them. So imagine her surprise when she founds out she’s in town for the weekend.

She. Was. Actually. Terrified! 

Yeah she Amber has met a boyfriend or two’s brother and sister in the past. But a naval base boyfriend’s siblings? Never. Jake Seresin was her first boyfriend to be a pilot and a damn good one. Sadly he wasn’t good at breaking news like this.

Because he decided to break the news right before they went to sleep the night before. He said he had something to tell over dinner but forgot about it. But he remembered it right before he turned off the bathroom light and jumped into bed with her.

And he said it so casually too! Like it was the most normal thing in the world?! She knew he had siblings but she wasn’t expecting for her to come over to visit her in the next 24 hours.

Which lead her to find herself roughly tapping her French tips against her desk the next morning. Biting the tip of her nail on one hand as the other typed away furiously on her keyboard. She was filing in information for her father. His assistant, Mindy, sent a small stack of paperwork for her transfer over into spreadsheets within the next couple of days.

She was so focused on her laptop screen, having Rocket Man playing from her speakers, that she didn’t hear friend come in.

Georgia smiled chatting with Bradley at the door as he gave one kiss goodbye before she walked in. She hung up her jacket and set her lunch down on table nearby, grabbing her laptop from the cart. She left it charging earlier beforehand.

“Hey Amber.” She said with a peachy grin on her face as she started rambling about her morning. It was the cutest thing. Her eyes fell onto the blonde who was only half playing attention to what happened, making the brunette pause in her tracks.

“Uhh, earth to Sky? Amber, honey? Hello?” Georgia asked, waving a hand in the air and sighed, “Kazansky!”

“Huh?! What? I’m here, sir!” She yelled snapping out of it, ripping her fingernails away from the tips of her teeths, “Oh, what’s up sweets?”

“I was talking to you and you weren’t listening. That’s what’s up! What’s going on? Your usually cracking a joke by now.”

“You know. I can be very busy, busy, busy bee!”

“Ha! No. That ain’t it. Your always on a semi-busy monthly schedule but this is different. What happened? Was it Rooster and Jen?”

“No..”

“Uhh, hmm. Did Coyote say something stupid again?”

“No he didn’t. Neil didn’t do anything either.”

“Ohh was it Cyclone’s girl Valkyrie?! She’s a tough cookie!”

“No it wasn’t. Nor was it anyone else like Frostbite.”

Georgia’s eyes widen and gasped, “You and Jake had a fight? What did his sorry southern ass to do you? I’ll talk to him. I’ll get Phoenix and Frost as my backup. No one hurts my girl and gets away with it!”

Amber couldn’t help but laugh as she leaned against her chair. Peach was such a doll sometimes. Always so sweet and charmingly spiritual with the way she carried herself. She tend to get nervous and annoyed sometimes but other than that she was well..a peach!

Honestly she needed that today. A laugh from a friend.

“That’s not exactly what Jake said…it wasn’t a fight! We didn’t fight each other for anything. Oh god, I’m sweating. I don’t like this.” Amber admitted with a soft chuckle.

“Oh god something is up if you’re sweating bullets out of nervous. Come on, spill it out!” Georgia encouraged with a certain look.

“I’m meeting my boyfriends older sister today!”

“OH MY GOD! That’s great. From what I received from past relationships, that’s a good thing. That means he likes you, a lot! I’m so happy for you!”

“Now is not the time to be supportive! I’m freaking out, what if she doesn’t like me? What if she hates me and tells Jake stop dating me?! Tell him to aim higher?! That I suck! Cause technically, it’s kinda my fault I put him on a death defining mission to come back to Top Gun. Oh god she’s gonna hate me!”

Georgia stood there with her jaw dropped onto the damn floor. This was one of the first time she ever seen Amber Nic Kazansky in such a frenzy. This woman was always cool, calm and collected from the moment she met her. Giving her advice, by saying if everything is okay and sending a message to everyone on deck she meant every word she ever said.

Yeah sure, she had her moments where she lost her cool like an X-Men during a fight with Wolverine or something. Living up to her callsigns. Like when Jake and Bradley were arguing in the classroom or when Cyclone refused to listen to her and Maverick during the missions they went on.

But this?!

Here she stood in her office freaking out over meeting the family. It was honestly kinda hilarious to her. If she wasn’t such a good friend she would’ve recorded this and sent this whole thing as a video to the group chat.

But honestly it was cute though. It reminded people like her that the Kazansky family was just as human as the rest of them.

It was Georgia turn to calm her down.

“Hey, Amber. Amber, honey look at me. Look at me. Good. Just relax you’re gonna be fine.” Georgia encouraged, holding her shoulders.

“Wh-how? Sorry. How did you react to meeting Jen? She’s practically like a sister to Rooster.” Amber replied, taking a breath.

“Yeah well, I was freaking out cause her dad is sorta a legit legend, but I found her that she’s a total goofball. So maybe eh-what’s her name?”

“Elena.”

“Right, pretty name. Maybe Elena is the same way, just some cool chick. So go on, your gonna be late.”

“But what if she doesn’t like me and Jake didn’t say anything about me? Oh god what if she hates blondes?”

“Ok, now your rambling. Relax, you just gotta prove why your the first Mrs. Hangman. That ring on your fingers means something, right?”

“Right. Right..i yeah, I got this.”

“You got this! Now go on, I have a meeting with Wraith now.”

“Okay but..”

She didn’t have a moment to say anything else because Georgia practically pushed her out the door. She could’ve sworn she’s rubbing off on the brunette with her actions. Amber relaxed her shoulders, she was right. Elena probably a cool girl, relaxed and lay back.

But she was also beauty.

She seen the picture of her last night before she went to sleep. She was stunning with beautiful long blonde hair, pretty eyes glowing like a goddess of the sun and a lovely smile that take someone’s breath away. From just her pictures she seemed like the best women in the world.

A ray of sunshine wrapped up in pretty dress.

Hell she wanted to date her!

The moment Amber entered the cafeteria, her heart stopped. She saw her.

God she was even prettier in person. Laughing in mid conversation with Frostbite—Rachel, chatting about god knows what. 

Elena was enjoying herself greatly. It made her smile.

Her outfit was so sweet, her smile was sung by as she laughed and her makeup made her shine.

Amber pushed her hair out of face walking over to the pair who sat at the table, chatting about they’re active services. Once she got closer she heard them a lot clearer.

“Oh stop it!” Elena said mid laugh waving her hand, “You’re the one who got her first air to air kill last week. You should be overjoyed! It’s amazing.”

“Ok it’s not as cool as you! Yeah sure, Jenny and Wraith encouraged me to do it but still.” Rachel added with a chuckle, “You have been to so many different places. That’s awesome.”

Both girls acknowledge her walking over to them.

Frost smiled sheepishly and chuckles, “Hey, have you met Elena? She’s new.”

“No, I haven’t.” Amber repiled with a soft smile turning to the blonde, “Hi.”

“Hey.” Elena said with a smile, “Nice dress.”

“T-thanks. So is yours, I love the pattern!”

“Thank you! I got it from H&M, big sale last month.”

Rachel got a phone call and realized it was one of their friends, excusing herself as she left with a small wave. That left both women to stand there awkwardly chuckling, before Elena realized what her was name again. She remembered her brother telling that her that his girlfriend worked here in the building.

She assumed this was her? But she could be wrong.

So she smiled pointing to the seat in front of her and said, “Sit. Please. Sorry I’m a little nervous, which is rare because I’m not like this.”

“It’s fine, I’m nervous too. Jake has told me about you.” Amber repiled with a smile, sitting down across from her. 

“Ohhh! You’re his girlfriend? I’m sorry, he didn’t even show me a picture of you, just told me your name. He just told me that I’ll probably bump into you today.”

“Hahaha! He told me the same thing, he can silly sometimes.”

“No, he can be an idiot sometimes.”

Both girls chuckled breaking the ice a bit.

“He just said, ‘hey since your coming here for the weekend! Come meet my girlfriend.’ That’s all he said.” Elena explained with a chuckle, “I was supposed to be here last week but my boss decided to change my schedule.”

“No, it’s okay! Things happen, my schedule ain’t always the clearest either. Literally Jake just threw that information at me last night so casually. I was freaking out…I mean, you sound cool according him.” Amber repiled as she shyly smile.

Elena found it cute. How did her brother get a someone like her? She seemed so sweet and honestly pretty nice. She felt bad she didn’t get information from her baby brother beforehand, she was completely clueless about this girl.

But it a good thing in her opinion, a clean slate.

“Sounds like him, she tends to tell people stuff and never make himself clear. He’s like a bird strike, I guess.” Elena said with a smile, thinking about all the times her little brother messed up.

“Oh your correct. He knocks someone off course and brings you along for the right. But it’s a nice ride.” Amber added thinking about something and smile, “How about we start over?”

“How so?”

“It’s kinda been a long week for us and I think we should just relax..”

“I like that. Actually I love that! Good idea.”

Amber smiled holding out her hand for the blonde to shake and said, “Hi, I’m Amber Nic Kazansky. Very nice to meet you, Ms. Seresin.”

“Haha! Nice to meet you too, Ms. Kaz—” Elena replied, stopping herself realizing what she just heard and laughed, “Wait! Kazansky?! You’re the Admiral’s daughter?”

“Hahaha yes. Why? I’m sorry that last name kinda surprises people.”

“Surprises people?! How did-? No offense, but i thought the admiral’s kid would have guards nearby or something…sorry.”

It was Elena’s turn to become shocked and a bit nervous but excited all at the same time.

She didn’t know her baby brother was dating the admiral’s kid?! For how long, she didn’t know. He aimed high! Respectfully, she would date an admiral’s kid too if they let her. Even steal her brother’s girlfriend off his hands!

She was impressed. Very impressed.

Amber chuckled, “It’s okay. People like to make rumors around here.”

“Real question, how did my brother pull you? No offense, but he’s a little stupid.” Elena replied with a laugh.

“I guess I like ‘em a little dumb.”

“Oh I like you.”

“Hahaha, the Seresin siblings are one of a kind.”

“And clearly my brother has good taste in women. He got it from me! Where do you work?”

“I was gonna ask you the same thing!”

“You first.”

“Okay um. I’m a training officer for recruitment here. I overlook plenty of paperwork for research, send people on missions and organize them.”

“Lieutenant, huh? Respect. I’ll love to see your office some time.”

“What about you?”

“Oh! I work as a lead engineer at the aerospace engineering firm.”

“Wait! Really? That’s so damn so cool.”

“Thanks! I worked on designing cutting-edge aircraft with advanced maneuvering capabilities. All kind of planes.”

“How have we not met before?”

“I have no idea.”

“My uncle Mav, he was the one to worked with you guys for a project a while back. Uh, The Darkstar projects?”

“Yes! That was him?! Everyone was talking about it! He reached so high on the list that day and survived being ejected.”

Both girls laughed, kept chatting and smiling the whole time.

Amber decided to walk her around the building and probably head out to lunch later on. Elena smiled liking that idea very much, holding the door for her as they walked out of the room. Realizing they had nothing to worry about, it was all Jake’s fault that they were so nervous in the first place.

Little did they know Jake Seresin was sitting across the room with Rachel, Javy and Neil watching the whole thing, with his jaw on the floor. He glad they didn’t hate each other or anything but he wasn’t expecting for it to go so well.

Neil was laughing at his reaction and muttering, “Your screwed now.”

“W-what just happened?” Jake asked, sipping his glasses of a water.

Rachel snorted, “I think your sister just stole your girl. Honestly i don’t blame Amber, she’s cool. I’ll date her.”

That was when Jenny walked in with a smirk hearing her and asked, “Who would you date, Frosty?”

“Uh huh? What? Shut up, I’mma shut up now.” Rachel said, rested her head on her shoulder.

“Weirdo.” Jenny repiled with a scoff, grins at Javy and asks, “What we talking about?”

Javy grinning back and chuckles, “The Seresin siblings.”

“I made a huge mistake letting my sister and girlfriend meet, didn’t I?” Jake added downing his drink with a sigh.

His friends just laughed.

Thanks for reading this one! Tell me what did you think about it?

Remember to like, comment and share ✈️

Tags: @mandylove1000 @gaminggirlsstuff @hanlueluver @gcthvile @topgun-imagines @hangmanbrainrot @sherloquestea @rooster-84 @whitewiccan @msrochelleromanofffelton @buckysteveloki-me @djs8891 and etc

[roosterbruiser]

Happy sleepover night!!! I’ve been thinking about being with ice the night before you guys get deployed to separate bases 🥲 (tumblr is being homophobic and won’t let me use my white/black ink so we’re gonna be fruity and use pink)

(Also my hand is much better today <3)

it isn't fair, really.

everyone knows--like, official paperwork documenting your relationship kind of knows--that you and Ice are together. have been for a little bit over three years now, comfortably fitting into each other's lives as Lieutenants in the United States Navy.

but because of your precise lack of legal commitment to each other, you're being separated. that's really what isn't fair about all of this--it's that you're being punished for not having a little piece of paper, a diamond ring.

you've been sitting on the back porch for a few hours now, perspiration dried on your skin from packing the last of the kitchen and the bedroom. at first, the two of you came out here to cool off, watch the sunset. but then you poured him a glass of whiskey and he uncorked a bottle of merlot and the two of you have sat here in the dusk for hours now.

the sun has been gone, dissipated entirely, for over an hour now. there is not moon tonight, but there are stars. the world feels dark out here, the wind rustling the leaves of the magnolia tree the two of you have loved so much in your time here.

Ice is sitting on the top step, his jaw set and his eyes serious as he gazes out over the backyard. you've only been in here for a few months, at this assigned house together, but this place feels like home to him.

you're sitting a few steps below him, leaning back to rest between his legs with your arms propped on his knees. his chin is tucked above your head, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of your button-down.

you're looking at the little rose garden you planted in the corner of the yard, the one you worked hard at. whoever lives here next surely won't have the time or the decency to keep the flowers alive--so you feel guilty, like you're abandoning them to wither away.

Ice leans down, wordlessly kisses the crown of your head, burying his nose in your hair. god, he's gonna miss the smell of your shampoo. even the smell of your scalp.

"gonna plant another rose garden in Florida?" he asks.

you hum, blinking a few times, sinking into him further.

"no," you whisper. "not without you."

"I hardly helped," he utters softly, kissing the shell of your ear.

sinking into him, you just shake your head.

"they won't grow," you insist very softly.

he understands it, then.

neither of you speak for a long moment, just wrapped up in each other and this moment. this is one of the last times Ice is going to be able to hold you. he's going to soak it in, breathe in your scent, memorize the way your shirt feels beneath his fingers, until it becomes engrained in his memory.

he has to. he's not sure he'll survive if he doesn't.

"let's just get married," he tries, muffled from being nestled in your hair.

you've had this conversation already. when the two of you get married, you want to do it because you just can't stand it any longer--not because it makes it easier on the two of you.

"little late now," you sigh, letting your cheek fall against your shoulder as Ice kisses your throat. "unless you wanna hop down to City Hall in the morning."

it's a sad kind of laugh that the two of you release. you both know it isn't possible even a little bit--he leaves bright and early, packing up his Stingray and heading to the airport to catch a flight to D.C. you are set to leave not much later. besides, all your dresses are packed.

"I would," Ice tells you seriously. "if we could."

"me too," you whisper. "me too."

[pucksandpower]

Breaking the Ice

Happy Nation: A Series of Standalone Fics

Lando Norris x Räikkönen!Reader

Summary: a boy who never shuts up meets a girl who rarely wastes the energy to speak … it doesn’t go as expected (or in which not having much to say runs in the Räikkönen family)

Lando shifts his weight from one foot to the other, fidgeting nervously as he awaits the arrival of the other drivers for the pre-season press conference. His gaze darts around the stark concrete room, taking in the harsh lighting and the row of empty chairs on the raised platform.

This is his sixth season in Formula 1, but the thrill of the new year and the prospect of racing still sends butterflies fluttering through his stomach. He sucks in a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves.

The door opens and you stride in, Valtteri Bottas at your side. Lando’s eyes are immediately drawn to you, the rookie driver already capturing attention despite your quiet presence. You move with the casual confidence of someone who has grown up in this world, unbothered by the lights and cameras.

Lando finds himself staring, captivated by the way you carry yourself. The famously reserved Räikkönen genes clearly run through your veins.

Before Lando can gather his wits to introduce himself, you slide into the chair at the end of the row, Valtteri taking the seat next to you. Lando blinks, realizing he’s been caught gawking.

Smooth, Norris. Real smooth.

He clears his throat and makes his way over, mustering his most charming grin. “Hi there! Lando Norris. Welcome to the circus.”

You turn towards him, your expression unreadable. For a beat, you simply regard him in silence. Then, “Hey.”

You give a small nod of acknowledgment before turning away, effectively shutting down the conversation. Lando’s smile falters as you refocus your attention on … absolutely nothing at all.

Well, that’s a bit rude. He frowns, stung by the brush-off. So much for breaking the ice. Maybe you’re just shy around new people? Lando decides to give you the benefit of the doubt as the other drivers begin filing in.

He takes his seat a few chairs away, sneaking sidelong glances at you. You haven’t so much as glanced in his direction again, adopting the same thousand-yard stare as the Iceman.

Like father, like daughter, Lando muses with a shake of his head.

When the press conference gets underway, question after question is lobbed at the drivers. Lando fields them with his usual charismatic charm, unable to resist hamming it up for the cameras with comedic flair. In contrast, you remain stubbornly curt whenever the mic is passed your way.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“I don’t know.”

Your terse responses draw titters of laughter from the audience and press corps alike. Lando watches in amazement, unable to fathom how anyone could be so … so ...

“Boring?” He blurts out before he can stop himself.

You cut your eyes towards him, holding his gaze for the first time since your noncommittal greeting. Lando feels himself flush, suddenly uncertain if he’s been too cheeky. But then the corners of your mouth tug up in an unmistakable smirk before you turn away again, leaving him to wonder if he’s imagined it.

By the time the press conference mercifully ends, Lando has decided you’re definitely an odd duck. But also … kind of fascinating? In an eccentric, robotic sort of way? He’s not sure what to make of his swirling thoughts as you all rise to make your exit.

Lando hangs back, angling to get one more shot at conversation. “Hey, uh, Y/N? I know you’re still getting your feet wet here, but if you ever need any advice or, you know, someone to show you the ropes, I’m always around.”

You pause, glancing back at him over your shoulder. For a fleeting second, Lando thinks he detects … what? Amusement? Disbelief? It’s impossible to tell with your trademark poker face firmly in place.

“Thanks,” you reply, your tone mild. “But I’m good.”

And with that, you pivot on your heel and stride away, leaving Lando to stare after you.

“Huh,” he mutters to himself. So much for breaking the ice.

As the next couple of days of testing wear on, Lando can’t seem to get a read on you. Oh, you’re perfectly courteous whenever your paths happen to cross in the paddock. You’ll return his greetings with a respectful nod or murmur of acknowledgment.

But that’s as far as it goes. You’re polite, but also totally inscrutable. Lando has no idea what you make of him, or really anything at all that might be going on inside that head of yours. All he knows is that his curiosity about you has been thoroughly piqued.

One morning, Lando spies you sitting alone, sipping from a a mug of coffee as you study a stack of data printouts. He ambles over, determined to try chatting you up again.

“Y/N! How’s it going?” His voice is cheerfully upbeat. “That coffee from the hotel? Because let me tell you, it’s rubbish. If you want a proper brew, you’ve got to venture out and find a decent cafe. I know all the best spots around here if you’d like some recommendations ...”

He trails off as you simply look up at him, silent and unblinking. Lando clears his throat, feeling oddly off-kilter beneath your steady regard.

“Anyway,” he blusters on, undeterred. “How are you finding testing so far? Not too overwhelming, I hope? If you ever want to debrief or go over data or anything, I’m happy to lend an ear. Or even an eye, I suppose, since it’s more looking at numbers than listening to-”

“Bwoah.”

The single syllable cuts through Lando’s babbling. You set down your coffee and rise to your feet in one effortless, graceful movement. Lando blinks in surprise as you turn and walk away without another word.

“Oh. Erm. Sure, just … ignore me then,” he mutters, feeling his cheeks flush hotly.

He shakes his head as you disappear around the corner, baffled by your total indifference. But then a wry chuckle escapes his lips as the truth dawns on him with crystal clarity.

You’re not rude or shy at all. That’s just … who you are. Curt, to the point, unconcerned with frivolous chitchat and social niceties. You’ve got laser-focus, and nothing is going to distract you from your pursuit of speed.

In that moment, Lando feels a swell of admiration. He gets it now — you’re carved from the same uncompromising bedrock as your old man. Refreshingly authentic without any affectations or pretense.

Most people would find your blunt aloofness off-putting. But not Lando. No, he finds the prospect of unraveling the mystery that is Y/N Räikkönen irresistibly intriguing.

He grins to himself as he ambles off to get ready for his own session out on track. Just you wait, Y/N. He’s going to get you to crack a smile yet, even if it kills him.

After all, whoever said being a woman of few words was a bad thing?

***

Lando is in the middle of his pre-race routine, trying to center his mind and get into the zone, when you appear out of nowhere and thrust something at him.

“Here,” you say brusquely.

He blinks, puzzled, as he registers the scraggly bundle of wildflowers gripped in your fist. They look like they’ve been unceremoniously ripped out of the dirt, roots, soil and all.

“Uh … what’s this?” Lando asks.

You meet his confused gaze head on, your expression typically unreadable. “Flowers. For you.”

“For me?” Lando repeats dumbly. He glances around, as if expecting a hidden camera crew to jump out at any second. “Are you … giving me these?”

“No, I’m giving them to the other idiot who won’t stop yapping at me every single day,” you deadpan.

Lando feels his cheeks grow warm at the mild rebuke. He knows you’re referring to his persistent, if extremely one-sided attempts at conversation over the past few weeks. All his friendly openings and invitations have been met with a string of indifferent brush-offs and noncommittal hums.

Can’t blame a guy for trying, right? At least he’s being polite, which is more than he can say for-

“Well?” You break into his thoughts, arching one coolly expectant brow. “Are you wooed or not?”

This time it’s Lando’s turn to stare at you blankly. “I’m … sorry, what?”

“Wooed,” you repeat flatly. “You said the girl of your dreams would woo you with flowers or some nonsense. So I got you flowers.” You give the bedraggled bouquet a little shake for emphasis. “Now you’re wooed. Happy?”

It takes a moment for the words to click into place in Lando’s brain. Then a strangled laugh bursts from his lips as he remembers the foolish, offhand comment he made in an interview a few days ago. He’d been prattling on about his imaginary ideal partner, somehow painting the ridiculous picture of himself being “wooed” like some lovestruck Victorian lady.

Leave it to you to take the whole ludicrous scenario at face value. Lando can’t decide if he’s more charmed or bewildered by the fact that you’ve actually gone to the trouble of physically wooing him with … weeds?

“You cannot be serious right now,” he sputters out between residual chuckles.

You simply stand there, utterly unfazed as you hold out the world’s saddest excuse for a bouquet expectantly. “Well? Am I doing it right or not?”

“Doing what right?” Lando shakes his head, chortling again. “This whole wooing business? Y/N, that was just me rambling on like an idiot, as usual. You didn’t actually have to-”

“But I did,” you interject, effectively cutting off his protests. “So. Are. You. Wooed?”

Lando opens his mouth, then closes it again as he searches for the right response. There’s no menace or mockery in your expression, just that same intense focus and matter-of-fact bluntness that you apply to everything. Somehow, he gets the distinct impression that you won’t be deterred until he gives you a straight answer.

“Uh … no?” He ventures at last. “N-Not really, I guess?”

You stand there for a beat, Processing his words. Then you give a curt nod of acknowledgment. “Okay. That’s a you problem.”

With that, you turn smartly on your heel and stride away, leaving Lando gaping after you in a stupor. He stares down at the shoddy little bundle of greenery still clutched in his hand, not sure whether to laugh or just shake his head in amazed disbelief.

“A ‘me’ problem?” he mutters, a wry grin tugging at his lips. “Well, you’ve got me there, Y/N.”

Because the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that you respecting him enough to even entertain his absurd hypothetical … that might just be his new favorite problem.

***

The roar of the crowd is deafening as Lando brings his car across the finish line in fourth place. Not his best result, but respectable points in the bag. He allows himself a tight smile as he peels into the pit lane and kills the engine.

Until the unmistakable bright green and black livery of your Kick Sauber fills his vision, that is.

Lando does a double take, his jaw dropping as the implication sinks in. No way. There’s absolutely no way you’ve … you’ve won this race, right? In that underpowered, aerodynamically-challenged shitbox?

He can scarcely believe his eyes as you glide to a stop behind the large “1” board. The cheers and applause swelling around the track leave no doubt — somehow, against all odds, you’ve just taken the top step of the podium.

Lando scrambles out of his own car, tugging off his helmet and balaclava as he hustles across parc fermé in a daze. The first thing he notices is the sheer confusion and shock etched onto the faces of everyone else milling around. Even the marshals look gobsmacked by this upset for the ages.

In the middle of the chaos, you’re casually unfurling yourself from the cockpit with your trademark nonchalance. Like this is just another ho-hum Sunday drive for Y/N Räikkönen instead of, you know, the most spectacular overachievement in recent Formula 1 history.

Lando stands there gaping at you, unable to fully process what’s just happened. He vaguely registers the rest of the top finishers pulling in around you, their body language radiating bewilderment and disbelief as they all turn to stare, dumbstruck.

No one can quite seem to believe that an underdog backmarker has just eclipsed them all in a car that typically struggles to score points, let alone wins.

For your part, you’re projecting indifference to the chaos swirling around you. You simply grab a water bottle and take a long, unhurried pull, seemingly oblivious to the escalating frenzy.

Then, you casually turn in Lando’s direction and arch one brow ever-so-slightly. A silent question.

“I … you ...” Lando sputters uselessly, his brain still stuttering to catch up. “Did you seriously just ...”

The corners of your lips quirk upwards, hinting at a suppressed grin. “Well?” You prompt him calmly. “Are you wooed yet or what?”

It takes a moment for the light to flicker on in Lando’s mind. Any other time, he’d be delighted by the playful ribbing, eager to keep the back-and-forth banter flowing.

But right now, something else cuts through the haze of astonishment clouding his thoughts.

“Wait … is this ...” Lando squints at you searchingly. “Did you just win this race … for me?”

The words slip out before he can stop them. Because that would be such an impossibly, endearingly you thing to do, wouldn’t it? To dedicate achieving the unachievable all because of an offhand remark about wanting to be wooed?

His heart does a strange little flip-flop at the mere idea of you going to such outlandishly romantic lengths, all for the sake of who-even-knows-what is brewing between you two these days.

For a long beat, you simply stare back at him, your expression unreadable as ever. Then, “What?” You let out a faintly derisive snort. “No, of course not. Why would I do that?”

The words detonate like a slap in the face, momentarily winding Lando with their blunt force. “Oh. Well, I just thought maybe since I mentioned the whole wooing thing, and then you ...”

You shake your head impatiently, cutting him off. “You’re not the one who won this race, Lando.”

With that, you turn on your heel and stride away, dismissing him with a curt finality. Lando is left speechless, mouth agape as he watches your retreating back.

Around him, the rest of the drivers and crew are still buzzing with perplexed whispers and incredulous looks. No one can seem to wrap their minds around what they’ve just witnessed.

A sudden boom of laughter from Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber garage shatters the tension. Lando glances over to see your grizzled race engineer doubled over, tears of mirth streaming down his face as he wheezes helplessly.

“That’s my girl!” He chortles, shaking his head in amazed delight. “Leave it to a Räikkönen to blow the entire fuckin’ field away and just shrug it off like it’s no big deal!”

Lando feels the corner of his own mouth twitch upwards, the pinpricks of embarrassment fading as quickly as they flared. Of course he wasn’t on your mind out there today — you’re a laser-focused competitor brimming with the same single-minded intensity as your father. No thoughts, just pure, unbridled velocity.

You don’t crave grandstanding or glory, you’re simply out there doing what you were born to do, with ruthless, unsentimental precision. No fuss, no frills. Just inevitable, undeniable greatness through sheer force of will.

For now, that’s more than enough to leave him feeling utterly, deliriously, irrevocably … wooed.

***

Lando flops back on the hotel bed with a contented sigh, still basking in the post-race glow. P3 on the podium is a stellar result, made even sweeter by the fact that you claimed second place.

He grins lazily as you emerge from the en-suite bathroom, having shed your team wear in favor of a comfy t-shirt and shorts. Even with your hair tied up in a messy bun and your face scrubbed free of makeup, you’re still the most beautiful sight he’s ever laid eyes on.

“There’s the champion,” he rumbles affectionately, reaching out to snag your wrist and tug you down onto the bed beside him. You allow yourself to be pulled into the circle of his arms with a quiet huff of amusement.

“I didn’t win, you dork,” you point out mildly, making no move to extract yourself from his embrace. “That was Max on the first step today, not me.”

“Mmm, true.” Lando hums his agreement, nuzzling against the crown of your head. “But you’ll get there again soon enough. Then we can really celebrate.”

He punctuates the promise with a languid kiss, smiling against your lips as you melt into him with a soft sigh of contentment. These tender, unguarded moments are rapidly becoming his favorite part of any race weekend.

You allow the liplock to linger for a few long, blissful seconds before finally pulling back with a faint smirk. “Speaking of celebrating ...”

Then, without any hesitation whatsoever, you deftly roll off the mattress and sink down onto your knees in one fluid motion, effectively pitching Lando’s heart rate into a gallop.

“Whoa, hey now,” he sputters out a nervous chuckle, propping himself up on his elbows to gawk down at you in surprise. “What are you doing down there, trouble?”

Rather than answering directly, you simply arch one eloquent brow and ask, “Are you wooed yet?”

Lando blinks, needing a second to parse your meaning. Then a bark of laughter escapes before he can stop it, finally realizing where this is going. “Oh my god, you cannot be serious right now. Are we really still doing that stupid bit?”

There’s no missing the impish glint in your eye as you regard him from your knees, clearly quite pleased with yourself for managing to get the upper hand. “Well? I’m waiting for an answer here.”

Lando shakes his head in amazed disbelief, unable to smother his grin. “Y/N, love, you have got to be the most impossible woman on the planet sometimes.” He reaches down to brush an errant lock of hair out of your eyes, cradling your face tenderly. “But lucky for you, it’s impossibly charming as hell.”

You lean into the caress ever so slightly, regarding him with an impish glint. “So? Do you feel wooed yet or not?”

Something warm and gooey blossoms in Lando’s chest as he studies your features — the amused quirk of your lips, the slight flush on your cheeks, the fire dancing in your eyes. You’re such an endearing contradiction, managing to be the most formidably stoic badass on the racetrack while also being irresistibly playful when it’s just the two of you.

“Y/N ...” he starts, a bemused chuckle rumbling from his lips. He presses a kiss to your forehead, relishing your quiet hum of approval. “You do realize you don’t have to keep trying to woo me anymore, right?”

You blink up at him, your brow furrowing slightly as you process his words. “What are you talking about?”

Lando nods towards the pillow behind him, gesturing vaguely. “The flowers. The race win. All the coy banter and teasing.” He grins, cupping your face in his hands. “Pretty sure that ship has sailed at this point, love.”

You continue to stare at him with a blank look, like he’s suddenly started speaking in tongues. The lack of comprehension on your face is so unguarded and genuine that it makes Lando’s grin slowly slip.

Hold on … could it be that you actually don’t realize-

“Hey,” he asks slowly, hardly daring to breathe. “Correct me if I’m wrong here, but … I thought after the whole flower thing, we kind of … you know ...”

He trails off helplessly, not sure how to broach the subject in case he’s somehow misread everything completely. Your brow remains furrowed, making him abruptly hyper aware of the fact that your lithe form is literally kneeling at his feet while wearing very little clothing.

A pregnant pause stretches between you, thick with confused tension. Then-

“Oh my god,” you blurt out, your eyes going comically wide as the pieces finally click into place. “Did you think we were … dating? All this time?”

Lando chokes on his own tongue, too stunned to respond right away. He simply gapes at you, feeling like the world’s biggest moron for somehow operating under the wrong assumption for … how long, exactly?

Now that he’s thinking back, neither of you ever explicitly defined what was brewing between you two ... you just sort of started spending more and more time together, growing more and more intimately intertwined until … well ...

Suddenly he’s laughing, helpless peals of mirth bubbling up from his core as the truth dawns on him. All this time, you two have essentially been a couple of awkward teenagers muddling through the beginning stages of a relationship, the wires of communication getting hopelessly crossed along the way.

But oh man, of course it somehow ended up going down like this between you two. Why would he have expected anything less idiotically convoluted?

You’re chuckling too, the laughter rippling through your body in delightfully unreserved waves as you sway back on your heels. And just like that, the last lingering hint of tension dissolves from the air as you surrender to the hilarity of it all.

“So … I’m just gonna go ahead and take that as a no then,” Lando finally manages to gasp out between wheezing chuckles.

“Well that would depend,” you shoot back, your eyes bright with mischief. You shift forward onto your knees, leaning in close enough for him to feel the teasing rasp of your breath against his lips. “Because according to you, I’m already spoken for.”

Lando’s laughter cuts off with a soft groan as your nose brushes teasingly against his thigh, his palms finding their way to your hips as if by muscle memory. “You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” He accuses without any real heat.

“Nope,” you agree matter-of-factly before capturing his lips in a searing kiss.

He loses himself in the velvet glide of your mouths for endless minutes, his fingertips tracing maddening patterns across the sliver of exposed skin at your waist. When you finally break apart, you’re both panting softly, gazes locked in a heated stalemate.

“So ...” Lando murmurs at last, his lips brushing deliciously against yours with every word. “If we haven’t actually been dating this whole time, then what would you call … this?” He sweeps one hand up in a languid caress, hinting at the incredible tangle you’ve both willingly stumbled into.

“Hmm ...” You press another series of featherlight kisses along the sharp line of his jaw, leaving him shivering. “How about … badly in need of remedial communication skills?”

Lando bursts out laughing again — because really, is there any more succinct way to sum up the two of you? He tugs you up onto his lap, cupping the back of your head and crushing your lips back to his in a heated clash of teeth and tongues.

You willingly arch against him with a throaty sigh, hands roaming possessively across his chest. The two of you are a whirlwind of tangled limbs and shared laughter and scorching friction.

It’s all so achingly, impossibly right that Lando can hardly stand it. But as you meet his heated gaze, chests heaving and eyes sparking with unspoken promises, Lando finds he wouldn’t have it any other way. Not when the payoff is stealing heated moments like these, all tangled up in each other with boundless laughter and blazing passion.

“Y/N ...” he murmurs reverently, tracing the curve of your smiling lips with the pad of his thumb. “I adore you. You incredible, impossible woman.”

You lean into the caress with a soft hum, covering his hand with yours to hold him there. “So what now?” You arch a playful brow. “Are you officially wooed or do you need some more convincing?”

With a low growl, he abruptly flips you both over onto the mattress in one fluid movement. You let out a startled squeak quickly swallowed by his questing mouth as he settles between your parted thighs, pinning you to the sheets.

You arch up to meet him in a slick glide of fevered skin, clutching him close. Through it all, your soft laughter never ceases — bubbling up in breathless peals of delight that Lando hungrily drinks in.

Yeah, he’s pretty damn wooed all right. But from this moment forward, he’s going to spend every second making damn sure you never have to ask again.

[gryffindormarveltwilight]

All We Need - Part 8 - Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

A/N: Here is Part 8! I am hoping to have one last part to be put up soon! As always feedback is welcome and request are always welcome!

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, spoilers for the mission in the movie, naval inaccuracies.

Mav’s POV

I watched as Iceman left the control room, I can only imagine to go and find Hangman. I however a, frozen thinking of Rooster and Athena, having to explain it to our families that they weren’t coming home. I wasn’t sure how long I was sat there but I could feel Hondos gaze on me every now. He announced that the other to plans had landed I stood up and walked to the flight deck. Looking around I saw Ice and Jake still sitting near the landing gear of his plane and Coyote was still sitting in the cockpit of his plane, Fanboy, Payback, Bob and Phoenix pop their canopies open, unlike the other Phoenix doesn’t wait before sliding out of her plane as soon as she hits the tarmac I watch as she drops to her knees, I go to move to her but am beaten by Hangman jumping up running to her taking her into his arms as both of them let out sobs. I cannot hear when Phoenix is saying but I can hear Hangman trying his best to comfort her. I see behind them Fanboy, Payback, Bob and Coyote all with tears from their eyes as Payback explains to the others what transpired out in the field. Iceman comes up next to me putting a hand on my shoulder.

“How are you holding up Mav?”

“What are we going to do Ice? We lost both of them.” Ice just sniffles in response, “How are we going to tell Zeus, Sarah, Y/M/N, Penny that their kids aren’t going to come home?”

“I don’t know Mav, I really don’t, she was the closest thing I had to a daughter and now she is gone.” I turn and hug Ice as we hear boots hitting the tarmac heavily. We spin to see Hondo looking out of breath and a wide smile confusing all of us and catching the attention of the dagger squad behind us.

“It is Rooster…..He is supersonic….In a F14.” Hondo stutters.

“Rooster can’t fly an F14 Sir.” Pheonix says from behind before Ice speaks.

“No but Athena can, I taught her.”

There is a look of shock on everyones face before Bob speaks, “So what can we do, we have to be able to go out and help them?”

“They don’t know anything other than he is supersonic, in the F14 headed back to the carrier, so for now we stand fast and wait for further details.” Hondo response.

“So we do nothing, that’s your answer!” Bob yells shocking everyone as he throws his helmet, Fanboy and Coyote putting a hand on his shoulder, Bob had just said what everyone else was thinking just no-one expected Bob to be the one to say it. Ice mutters that he is going make to the control room to know what is happening before he stops as a radio transmissions all of a sudden being heard through the radio in the plane we were next to.

“Comanche this is Dagger Two do you copy?” We hear Roosters voice.

“Go a head Dagger 2.”

“Athena and I are airborne heading northeast, we have had company.”

“Dagger two, repeat?”

“Two contacts were following us, no we are heading back to the ship, our plane is damaged, very damaged. I am going to keep an open line of communication ” I smile at the use of the word ‘were’ knowing they won a dog fight against to better planes.

“Roger Dagger Two.”

“WHERE IS IT ROOSTER, TALK TO ME!” There is a collective sigh of release hearing Athena’s voice but we all note the panic in it as well.

“I can’t see him Athena, he is a ghost.”

“No he isn’t…..he is on our nose.”

Without hesitation Jake grabs his helmet from the deck and runs to his jet, pushing through some of the deck crew trying to stop him, saying he is not cleared for take off, before Ice or myself can give the order to let him go we hear Cyclone yell from behind.

“Hangman, bring them home!” Indirectly giving the all clear order, with a quick salute Jake’s plane launches off the carrier as he turns to head in the direction of the coordinated Rooster is yelling through the comms.

We all turn back to the radio as we listen to Rooster and Athena fighting for their lives.

“We are all out of flares Athena!”

“Rooster when we are high enough grab those handles and pull as hard as you can. Make sure the canopy is clear and eject”

“Athena I can’t leave you.”

“Yes you can and you will that is a direct order! You need to eject!” There was silence before we hear Athena yell again, “Rooster EJECT!!”

“The handle is broken I can’t eject Athena.”

“I’m sorry Mav.” I feel my heart drop, with what was possibly her last sentence she was still apologising for not protecting Rooster for . Now we all sit there and pray Hangman gets to them in time.

Y/Ns POV

I wasn’t sure how we managed to pull off a dog fight with two superior enemy aircrafts, you let out a breath though when you hear Rooster confirm the second kill turning back onto course to the ship. I smile as I hear Rooster finally get ahold of the ship, silently hoping that the daggers, Ice and Mav are all listening so they know that we are alive hopefully deploying back up. After Rooster tells the ship that our plane has damage the radars start beeping like crazy.

“WHERE IS IT ROOSTER, TALK TO ME!” I scream panic lacing my voice as I start looking around Rooster doing the same thing.

“I can’t see him Athena,,,,he is a ghost.” My heart drops Rooster can’t see him on radar or in person means only one thing.

“No he isn’t…….he is on our nose.” I hesitate for a second evaluating our options we can’t out run him and we don’t have any ammunition left, there was only one option. Rooster had to eject. I pull the throttle up so we go straight over the top of the other jet, I could out run him just long enough to get altitude for Rooster to punch out. That’s when I heard the tone of a missile lock and I see the enemy aircraft made its way behind us, as I see the release of the missile I pull back flying over the top of the enemy as Rooster lets off the flares. Suddenly the plane is circling back towards us as I pull the throttle climbing higher in altitude when I hear Rooster behind me.

“We are all out of flares Athena!”

“Rooster when we are high enough grab those handles and pull as hard as you can. Make sure the canopy is clear and eject”

“Athena I can’t leave you.”

“Yes you can and you will that is a direct order! You need to eject!” There was silence as I watch the altitude gage, “Rooster EJECT!!”

“The handle is broken I can’t eject Athena.”

“I’m sorry Mav.” I feel my heart drop, I am hoping that they can still hear me as I silently pray and apologise to everyone in my head that we are about to leave behind. I know I picked Mav to say sorry to after all Rooster is basically his son and he would be the one to have to tell our family what happened. I closed my eyes think of Jake and Daisy, how he was going to explain this, if they were going to be okay, knowing it would be tough initially especially on Jake, Daisy was young enough to not know what was happening, hoping Jake would tell her stories about us as kids. I let out a breath “I love you Jake.” I whispered to no-one hoping maybe by any luck he would hear it as I hear the missile tone lock on our plane hearing Rooster mumble something I can’t quite make out, when we hear the explosion, my eyes shoot open as I notice our plane is not spinning out nor is it on fire instead seeing a cloud of smoke I let out a small laugh as an all too familiar voice through the radio.

“Good afternoon ladies and gents this is your saviour speaking. Please fasten your seatbelts and return your tray to their upright position and l prepare for landing.” Rooster and I both let out a laugh.

“You look good Hangman.” Rooster says in a laugh.

“I am good Rooster, I am very good. See you both back on the ship.” We turn tail heading back to the ship as we see Jake preparing to land, I radio through to control to let them know we are preparing to land with not landing gear or hook, as we see them raise the barricade, I fly over the top of the ship buzzing the bridge on the way over causing Rooster to laugh. As I line the plane up with the tarmac I feel a jolt.

“Please tell me we didn’t lose an engine Athena?”

“Okay, I won’t tell you that. Brace for impact Rooster this is gonna be a very rough landing.” I throttle back to slow the plane as we hit the tarmac we are jolted forward and we pop the canopy open. I take a deep breath with my eyes closed and relax in my seat before Rooster taps on me shoulder, a huge grin on his face as we look at the crowd surrounding us. We jump down off the wreckage, Rooster is quickly pulled into Mavs arms and Ice spends no time before wrapping my tightly in his arms.

“You scared the hell out of me Sweetie.”

“I love you too Ice.”

He breaks away from me giving me a final kiss on the forehead before Mav wraps me in his arms and Ice hugs Rooster. Mav looks at me in the eyes a silent thank you for keeping Rooster safe. I just nod and hug him again. He lets go as the team begins hugging us all of them tears running down there eyes, I notice that all of them hug a bit tighter than normal all of them whispering into the hugs how glad they are we are alive along with a few threat about not doing anything like that again. After they all break away joining in the celebration I notice the absence of the one person I was actively looking for. I suddenly spot him across the crowd an unreadable expression on his face. I am broken out of my staring contest with Bob tapping me on the shoulder pointing to Rooster and Phoenix kissing on the tarmac making me smile even more. Rooster breaks from the kiss looking at me shouting out.

“We had a deal Athena!” With that I turn seeing Jake still standing in the same spot eyes trained on me I take off in a sprint dodging people left and right, the moment I was close enough I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist, his arms immediately wrapping around my waist tighter than ever before. I pull back looking him in the eyes. “I love you too Athena.” I look at him confused.

“You heard me?”

“I will always hear you.” With that he smashes his lips against mine as we hear louder cheering closer to us then before. Breaking apart we see the whole dagger squad standing there cheering but none smiling wider the Iceman. I turn and look back at Jake.

“You are not replaceable Y/N and you are all Daisy and I will ever need.”

Taglist:

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

[h-c-u]

The kids are alright

Summary: You're filming some videos around the house for your unborn daughter, while your husband struggles with something.

Pairing: Tom "Iceman" Kazansky x fem!reader

W/C: 1.4k

Rating: PG, age gap mentioned, but not specifically stated.

TWs: none

A/N: I love soft Ice the normal amount, your honor. Also, I imagine he's a bit older in the story than he's in the gif, but I just loved it so much...

Masterlist | List of tags | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

- And that would be your room, we just finished painting it... Well, mostly your daddy did because he was scared that something in the paint might be harmful to you, even though we triple-checked and chose the paint that was safe for pregnant women. So he waited till I went to sleep and spent the whole night painting it because he knew that I wouldn't let him do that alone... - you moved the camera, so it would record the light pastel-pink walls and the realistic clouds on the ceiling.

- But I was the one who did the clouds on the ceiling when he was at work, but don't tell him... - you lowered your voice to barely a whisper. - ...because I told him that auntie Flo did all the work, so hush about that. - you couldn't help but smile a bit. - I just really hope you're not going to hate the pink. I mean if you will, we'll, of course, repaint it, but at least for a while, you won't be able to tell us that you hate it. - at first, you really wanted to keep the room as gender-neutral as possible, but as soon as Ice found out you're having a girl, he was just so happy and wanted to do everything he possibly could to welcome his little princess into the world and make everything perfect for your daughter.

You had to fight tooth and nail not to have white furniture in the nursery though, because it would be, well... much too much in your opinion, so you settled on dark wood, which matched nicely with the pink walls and the deep green accessories.

- He just can't wait to meet you... You like that idea too, huh...? - you smiled when you felt her kick. - Ok, let's meet daddy... - you closed the door to the nursery and started walking downstairs step by step, taking your time, so you wouldn't lose your footing and fall. - Oh, you're gonna have so much fun sliding on those stairs on a sled, when you're a toddler, just promise me that you'll make sure to put couch cushions in your landing zone. - you laughed when you finally reached the bottom and pointed the camera toward the living room, where your husband was currently going over some most like very top-secret papers, that you definitely didn't see.

- See, that's your daddy. All serious and focused on work because he's very important and one day you'll understand that. But even though he has to think about keeping a lot of people safe all the time, he still has time for us... Watch his face... - you whispered as if you already had a secret comradely with your daughter. - Ice, baby... - it was all it took for him to put everything away, and look at you. His face instantly relaxed as soon as he laid his eyes on you, and a giant smile crawled onto his lips. - See...? - you've said to the camera. - He loves us so much and I can't wait for you to meet him. - you waddled towards the couch like a happy penguin, trying to keep the camera on Tom's face.

- What are you doing, dove? - he asked, even though it was pretty obvious. He gently pulled you onto the couch, and you turned the camera around, so now the two of you were in the shot.

- So remember when Florence mentioned the idea of filming the stuff for the baby? I'm doing exactly that... So we'll remember everything and one day she'll be able to see how cool her parents are. - you both laughed and he pulled you into a closer hug, almost forcing you onto his lap. - Do you want to tell her anything? - you asked, trying your best to keep the heavy camera steady, but your hands started to shake a bit, so Ice took it from your hands and you placed a small kiss on his cheek.

- Please be good to your mama... Don't kick her too much and all that. - you couldn't help but laugh when he put his hand on your stomach just as your daughter decided to ignore his request.

- She's gonna be a rebel. - you said through laughter. - Already not listening to her dad, and yet I bet that one look from her, and Mr. Ice-cold-no-mistakes will melt. - this time, he was the one who laughed.

- Yeah, that's true... So please don't abuse that. And just know that we love you very, very much... - he ended the recording and put the camera on the coffee table. Even though he was smiling, you knew that something was bothering him.

- What's wrong...? - you asked, and he sighed heavily, hiding his face in the nook of your neck, seeking every bit of comfort he could.

- I can't tell you... I wish I could, but I really can't, because I promised... - he mumbled against your skin, and you reached back with your right hand and started playing with his hair... It wasn't the most comfortable position, but you knew he needed it.

- Hmmm... So get this... I was thinking about writing a novel, where the main character is in the military and is struggling with a moral dilemma about his job, that could affect many, many lives... - you started and he laughed straight into your neck, which tickled, but you still didn't move away.

- It's not that kind of dilemma, dove... It's more of a request from a friend and I'm completely torn about it... - you moved away from him a little bit, but not for long because as soon as you found a comfortable position, you gently maneuvered him to lay down on your lap and you started playing with his hair. He already lived through a lot, and yet he still cared.

- Hmmm... So Maverick asked you to pull Bradley's papers... - you stated and he looked at you with surprise. - I might be young, but I'm not stupid. And I have great hearing. - you smiled and continued to gently run your fingers through his hair. It was easy for you to overhear or notice things because people either weren't threatened by you or ignored you, assuming you weren't important. Mav, of course, knew who you were since the day Ice met you, because he was there, convincing him to shoot his shot, but still... You were able to notice things he wanted to hide from the rest of the world. And even though you met Bradley only in passing, he was easier to read than a children's book; all emotions painted on his face with a contrast marker. - And now that we've established that I know, can you tell me why he wants to pull his papers? - you asked and he closed his eyes, considering his options, finally deciding on sharing this burden with you.

- He promised Carole before she died, that he wouldn't let him fly... - he sighed heavily, slowly melting into your touch.

- Now, that's just stupid. - you weren't exactly surprised. - Bradley is a grown-ass man, and he'll definitely find a way to do what he wants. Especially considering that it's the only way he knows how to connect with his dad... - Ice opened his eyes again and looked at you, waiting for you to continue, so you did. - I understand that Mav wants to keep his promise and keep him safe, but he would be much more successful in keeping him safe if he actually taught the kid how to fly in a safe environment, letting him find that connection outside the navy... - Bradley was only a couple of years younger than you, but you still felt like there was at least a generation separating you. - And the kid's gonna find out sooner or later that Pete asked you to pull his papers. Do you really think Mav can handle losing another Bradshaw? - Tom clenched his jaw, but as soon as you ran your finger over it, he relaxed. - How about you invite them both for dinner... I'm gonna cook something nice, and we're gonna talk it through... And just so we're clear, I will spill all the beans and blame it on the pregnancy, since apparently none of you knows how to communicate like adults. - he finally laughed and relaxed in your lap. He could easily find the best solution to a military conflict, but navigating a complicated issue when his friend was involved...? He forgot all about his training.

- I love you. - he smiled and closed his eyes again.

- I know. - normally you would lean down and press a soft kiss to his forehead, but your belly made that impossible. Fortunately, your daughter helped you and kicked him right in the cheek. 

[inmyloveworld]

life for two

pairings: platonic pete "maverick" mitchell x kazansky!reader, bradley "rooster" bradshaw x kazansky!reader

word count: ~0.6k

warnings: pregnancy, allusions to grief, top gun: maverick spoilers, allusions to anxiety and ptsd

a/n: there is an incredibly detailed collection by @ofstoriesandstardust revolving around a mitchell!reader x rooster where her godfather is iceman, but i have been pondering the idea of if the roles were reversed for a hot minute. i VERY highly recommend reading through the same mistakes-verse if you are a tg:m fan as this collection does an incredible job of expanding upon the characters we love so much from a different perspective. but this is my little self-indulgent spin on things.

song inspo: life for two by brandon jenner

A light knock broke Maverick’s focus on the reports scattered across his desk. The captain peered up to spot his intruder, eyes softening at the figure standing timidly in the doorway.

“Frost,” Maverick chimed. Her presence was always a welcome one, to be sure, but her demeanor was worrying to him. Ice’s daughter had always stood with as much pride as her father did in his earliest days at Top Gun. There was something off about her now, with her shoulders slumped and her fingers fiddling at her sides. Rather than a grown woman, Maverick thought he was looking at a frightened child.

“Uncle Mav,” she tried, voice already shaking. What had happened? How had his goddaughter been reduced to such an open state of fragility? Not even on her father’s funeral day did she let her resilience go. Maverick crossed the room in quick strides before tugging her inside and shutting the door behind them both.

He let her get settled on the small couch before sitting beside her. Maverick’s eyes didn’t budge from their fixation on her worrying expression. Frostbite couldn’t quite meet his gaze. Her hands continued to fidget frantically, wringing back and forth in an attempt to steady herself. Still, not a drop of her nerves relented.

Maverick tried calling out her name. He was now getting scared. Ice reacted similarly when telling him his cancer had come back. Was similar glum news awaiting him at the end of this conversation? “What’s going on, kid? Talk to me.”

At last, Frostbite looked up at her godfather. Tears were beginning to break along her lashline. It sent a cold shock through Maverick. But before he could press further, she spoke. “I’m pregnant.”

Oh. Oh. The news itself wasn’t entirely jarring. His goddaughter and godson had been together for quite some time, happy as can be. What was jarring was the fear that seemed to freeze one of the most fearless people he’d ever seen.

Maverick offered a soft smile in response. “Frost, that’s great. You’ve wanted kiddos for you and Bradley since you were kiddos.” He gently clapped a hand on her shoulder, feeling the muscle tense beneath his touch almost instantly. 

“What if he doesn’t want it?” Every word came out shaking. “What if he does, but another deployment comes up? What if he never makes it home?” Some of the tears Frost had been holding back slipped down her paling cheeks. Doubts and worst-case scenarios had been running marathons in her mind ever since that little plastic stick showed two dark lines. Giving voice to these ideas was only making them seem that much more plausible.

Frostbite did not give Pete the time to counter before she went on, her next words chilling him to the bone. “He should be here.”

Maverick knew she did not mean Bradley. Sure, Sarah was still ever-present and well in their lives even in the face of ultimate grief. But what little girl imagined going through a pregnancy without her father there? Walking down the aisle at her wedding without his arm linked through hers? Raising his grandchild who would never know his warm embrace?

A sob brought him back to the moment. Frostbite was bent forward, hands pressed against her head as her body shook with every cry struggling to surface. It broke his heart to see her, even now, trying to hold some composure.

“Come here,” he beckoned. Maverick softly tugged her to lean against his side, arms wrapping around her trembling form. Frost tucked her face against his jacket as she finally let go of all she had been holding back: all of the sadness, anger, denial, and resentment that came with grief.

Pete held her close, letting some tears of his own fall as the pair grieved for the man who tied them together.

-

i might write a part 2 where frostbite actually tells bradley that she is pregnant but this is all my mind will let me get away with for now. i hope someone enjoys >.<

[callsign-foreigner]

You’re as Cold as Ice- Part 11

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Reader (Iceman’s Daughter)

It was no surprise that Bradley wanted to get married as soon as possible. He had dragged Phantom and the whole crew to the courthouse the very next day. Some would’ve said it was from pure excitement, but Phantom knew it was from the underlying fear of what would happen on their upcoming mission. He wanted to savor whatever he could, just

in case it was taken from him sooner than expected.

They were set to deploy on their mission the very next day. So Bradley had decided that a small reception at the Hard Deck would help give everyone one last stress-free night before the big mission.

Phantom and Bradley were sat at a bar table, watching as Nick sang songs with Natasha and Jake. He had ketchup all over his dress shirt and face as he belted out lyrics to “The Wheels on the Bus”

“He’s quite the singer. Must’ve gotten from his dad.” Phantom said while looking up at Bradley. Bradley chuckled and watched Nick with a smile and twinkling eyes.

“He must’ve. God knows you can’t sing for shit.”

Phantom gasped and smacked Bradley’s arm that she was leaning against, causing him to chuckle in return.

“I’m just playing, Darlin. You can kinda sing.”

Phantom just shook her head and laughed.

Phantom’s demeanor suddenly turned a bit more serious as she spoke again.

“Mav not say who’s been chosen yet?”

Bradley sighed and looked down at Phantom.

“Said he’s not announcing until we’re all on the carrier. No one’ll know until we’re near the plant. “

Phantom closed her eyes and sighed. Bradley put his finger under her chin and angled it towards his face.

“I’m coming home. Regardless of what you think, baby. I gotta.”

Phantom gave him a half smile and leaned back on his arm.

_______________________________________

After all the festivities, everyone has decided to call it a night. The care-free atmosphere had now turned a bit sour as everyone realized that in just a few hours, they would soon be on the carrier. Phantom’s mom took Nick to the family home, but not before both Phantom and Bradley said their goodbyes to their son.

While they weren’t sure who was going, they had to mentally prepare for the case that they wouldn’t return home.

Phantom had tears in her eyes and she ruffled Nick’s shaggy blonde hair.

“Be good for grandma, okay baby?”

Nick was already half asleep, so he just nodded as he leaned his head on his grandmother’s shoulder.

Bradley had already said his goodbyes, now he was a few feet away, trying not to look in Nick’s direction again. For he knew if he did, he would burst into tears.

What Phantom didn’t know was that Mav had actually told him who was chosen.

Phantom wasn’t. But he was.

/// I’m sorry it’s been a long time coming friends! This is a sort of filler chapter as the next few are gonna be alot and I’m not mentally prepared for it 😭😭😭

I missed you all, I’ll update all the imagines very soon!

Ares is next 👀🚨//////

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[callsign-phoenix]

I wrote this for @kloy344 I hope you like it!

It is a Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace x female!Kazansky!reader imagine.

Thank you @mayhem24-7forever for proofreading!

Warnings: reader is Mav’s second in command and an instructor in this fic

In all honesty, you were a tiny bit sick of your job.

As Iceman’s daughter, it was guaranteed that you had a career in the Navy–should you choose to follow that path–and when you did, you quickly rose in ranks, becoming one of the very best and flying exceptionally well.

It was because you were that good that the Navy asked you to teach instead of fly, and when the Navy asks you comply.

You didn’t want to settle down in the sense of not spending each day in the sky, but you understood where they were coming from.

You were the youngest person to teach at TOPGUN, and most men tried to flirt with you but were met with resistance.

You didn’t care for any of them.

And you weren’t exactly keen on finding out what kind of troubles you’d get into if you were caught with a student.

You didn’t have a love life but you weren’t inexperienced, you just focused on your job instead.

When they told you they had asked a colleague of your dad’s to help you teach a special mission to the best of the best, you knew it was bound to get interesting, especially because you had heard stories about Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.

You were curious to see what he had to teach, so you were quite looking forward to it.

While you liked Maverick, your style of teaching was very hands-on and quite strict.

As a young woman, you simply couldn’t let even the smallest comment slip in fear of not being taken seriously.

Maverick understood and respected you, working with you in a strangely well-working partnership.

The only problem you had left was the matter of one of your students for the mission.

You had never met her before but the second you entered the room following Pete, you knew you were absolutely done for.

Your throat closed up and you were speechless probably for the first time in forever, but when Maverick stopped introducing himself, you finally managed to get a few words out as well.

You cursed yourself afterward but you managed to keep your cool during the rest of the class, even if your eyes sometimes traveled to the beautiful pilot you had heard a lot about.

When the group asked you and Mav to join them after hours at the Hard Deck, you agreed reluctantly, but you wanted to get to know them more.

You spent a bit of time with them and learned to appreciate every single one, but most of all Natasha.

She was strong, brave, and determined, traits which you had as well, but you were just incredibly attracted to her.

Whenever she smiled, spoke up, or did anything ordinary, your eyes followed her in her movement, studying her and never wanting to let go.

You usually didn’t care much about your students or the missions they’d fly, you knew better than to get attached to them, but there was something about Natasha that just wouldn’t let you go.

You were invested in the mission more than you ever had been before and you and Mav both knew how to fly it, which was why you volunteered to do it.

It wasn’t like you were eager to but you’d rather risk your own life than that of any of the others, so you decided to do it.

That meant there were only two cockpits left to fill, and you knew that Natasha alongside her WSO Bob would be one of them.

It scared you slightly but you managed to keep your cool, at least most of the time.

The night before the mission, you met in the ready room for sitting together for a final time, just to talk and drink, anti-alcoholic beers this time.

The room had been full of pilots and WSOs and the couch you were sitting on had been crowded, with Natasha sitting right beside you.

She hadn’t moved and neither had you which left you sitting close together in a room that slowly emptied out.

You were both silent as you waited for something to happen, the tension thick, both between you and because of the following day.

The tension slowly faded and it left you in a comfortable silence, just the two of you sitting closely together in anticipation of things to come.

“Honestly though, we had a good time, right?” You asked after a while, and you saw Natasha’s lips turn upwards in a gentle smile when you glanced at her.

“The best,” she answered honestly before the two of you fell into a comfortable silence again.

A few minutes went by in which none of you said anything, but you could feel her eyes on you and returned her gaze.

“I just want to say that despite everything, I’ve never felt about anyone the way I have about you,” she whispered, and your heart stopped at her confession, and at realizing how close your faces were to each other.

You knew exactly what she was about to do when she leaned in further, but you spoke up, stopping her in her tracks before her lips got any closer.

“We can talk about this after the mission. I’ll see you tomorrow,” you whispered, leaning the rest of the way in.

You didn’t kiss her but you let your noses touch, enjoying the bit of intimacy between you two before you pulled away.

You knew that if you hadn’t stopped her, Natasha would have kissed you but you stood up, leaving the room and hearing an exasperated breath from the woman you had left on her own on the couch.

The mission itself was thrilling, because you hadn’t flown a mission in ages it seemed.

You were nervous but determined and seeing Natasha there beside you helped you a lot, even if you had to force yourself to not reach out and take her hand.

Maverick and you had chosen your wingmen and so Natasha and Bob got to fly with you.

You flew well but you made a spontaneous decision in the mere seconds you had, shielding a defenseless Maverick despite not having any missiles or defenses either.

Nevertheless, you calculated your chances of survival and decided that you could survive in the cold and hostile environment better than Pete would, so you took the hit for him.

You heard Natasha call your callsign frantically over the coms, but you were preoccupied with trying to survive your crash-landing or you would have been able to respond or heard your first name slip from her lips as well.

You were dazed and unconscious for a little while and freezing as well, your head pounding so much that you knew you had a concussion.

You felt sick to your stomach and were tired as well, all you could think of was getting home and Nat of course, especially the fact that you hadn’t let her kiss you.

You had been worried of her dying but your own death had never even crossed your mind, but it terrified you now.

Before this mission you had never been scared to die, but with Natasha you had found something to live for, you had found a life you wanted to explore and a person you wanted to hold.

That was why you decided to take cover and wait for the rescue team, despite your aching body that begged you to stay still.

It took hours until you finally saw the helicopter, and it was difficult for you to stay awake, but you managed to get their attention.

You didn’t even remember the flight back or how you got in the helicopter, but you regained full consciousness when your feet touched the tarmac.

You were restlessly exhausted but you felt everyone’s attention on you, you saw your students and Maverick standing a few feet away from you, but the only thing you could focus on was Natasha’s face that was flooded with relief.

She rushed towards you to hug you but you reached upwards to cup her cheek, pulling her in for a needy and demanding kiss.

The moment you pulled away, Natasha started to say something but you couldn’t focus, instead your legs gave up under you and you fainted, falling into Natasha’s arms.

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[callmemana]

Broken Glass Slipper

Pairing: Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe (Henry “Wolfman” Ruth) x Cinderella!reader

Characters: Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe (Henry “Wolfman” Ruth), Cinderella!reader, stepmother, stepsisters, Margaret (fairy godmother), Adam (carriage driver), Lucifer (the cat), Rick “Hollywood” Neven, Sam “Merlin” Wells

Warnings: Cinderella AU, this is crack, a sort of Cinderella retelling, friends to lovers, evil stepsisters and stepmother, Hollywood the royal servant, Wolfman is an adorable dumbass, reader and Leonard have been friends for years, stepmother is a greedy and cruel woman, reader and Leonard are friends.

Word Count: 2375

A/N: Iceman and Slider are hidden in the crowd (not mentioned but I imagined them in the ballroom). Maverick and Goose were not invited because of some pranks they played on the king in the past (also not mentioned).

Top Gun: Disney AU

As the door clicked shut and the lock sounded, Ella knew she was trapped in the attic until her step-mother felt fit enough to let her out.

Her Step-mother had found her shoe in her Hope Chest and smashed it on the ground, the memory of her perfect night shattered like her slipper.

She pounded on the door to try and get another’s attention to free her but after a while she gave up and laid on her bed, head in her arms as she sobbed.

She could hear muffled voices downstairs, the front door opening, people coming in, and sounds of objects moving. Unknown to her, her little mice friends were trying to help.

Jac Jac and Gus Gus were on a mission to retrieve the key to Cinderella’s door, but had some fallbacks. For one, the mistress of the house kept it in her pocket and hand around it, as if it could disappear into thin air.

After many failed attempts at retrieving the key, they gave up and tried another way. They had to get Ella out of the attic, this was her chance at a happily ever after, a chance to get out of this horrible house and away from these dreadful people.

It would be the least they could do for her after everything she did for them!  

As the eldest sister sat down upon the chair, a servant tried to put it on her foot, but alas, the foot was too wide for the slim glass.

Upset at the outcome, she took the shoe from the servant and jammed her foot into it, “There, it fits!'' As she finished her exclamation, the shoe showed her toes squished against the glass uncomfortable, her eyebrows furrowed in pain, and jaw clenched.

“Well, ma’am, the prince did say every available maiden must try on the shoe.'' He said carefully, as if not to hurt her feelings, took off the slipper and motioned for the other sister to sit.

The other sat gracefully, holding her foot out delicately to the servant and smiled. The servant gently placed the shoe on her foot and gasped, it actually fit her, perfectly to be exact!

“Sire, we have the girl!”

“Yes, Yes. Now go, get her things we must leave at once!” The servants ran off towards the staircase as the three women smiled and planned.

Once the sister left, soon her mother and other daughter departed too.

Ella, seemed to be forgotten, spent several days locked in her room before someone found the spare key and let her out.

By that time, her sister had taken her happily ever after.

Leonard could see that this was not the woman he danced with, but he was vague with instructions, for he only said to ‘find the girl who fits into the slipper’ not ‘find a girl with golden hair and eyes blue as the ocean who’s foot fit into the slipper’’ for that mistake he is forever unhappily married to the wrong girl.

He was just too frazzled to give more information than just find the girl with the missing shoe. He missed the maiden whose name he knows not, but am undoubtedly in love with.

Leonard stood with his new bride at his side at a court meeting his father held with a blank gaze and clenched jaw.

His friends could see that he wasn’t happy, the only time Rick had seen him truly happy was when he danced with the mystery maiden at the ball. His friends didn’t like to see him this way, constantly angry and upset.

Before the marriage, Leonard was a little adventurous and mischievous, always getting in trouble with his friends, now, he was silent and always brushing their fun away.

They also didn’t like the maiden he did marry, for she was rude as was her sister, a learned trait from their mother no doubt. So, after the meeting the Prince’s friends held a meeting of their own and discussed what to do.

“Well?”

“We could find her, convince her he’s not happy with his wife?”

“Do you even know what she looks like?”

“No, but Rick does. I overheard him and Leonard talking in the hall one afternoon.”

They all pan towards Rick, “I have seen her, but there is a problem. We don’t even know if she’s from this kingdom.”

“Then we send word to other Kingdoms close by, maybe one of them has seen her!”

“Unlikely, there could be thousands, millions of maidens that match the description of her!”

“Do you suggest we just let our friend be miserable?”

“No, but we have to find a special characteristic about her that only she could have, something that couldn’t be duplicated!”

“Then we must talk to Leonard, maybe he could tell us something useful in finding his true love!”

Leonard was in his study, reading a book as the doors slam open and his friends are coming in.

“What’s this about?”

“You being a dumbass.”

“I’m not following, Nicholas.”

“You were so memorized by the maiden that you danced with the night of the ball that you only gave a brief description on how to find her. Well, we have come up with a way to do just that!”

“And, pray tell, what is it? How do you plan to do that? I’ve already lost her and I am married to another woman.”

“Did you see any identifying features? Anything special characteristically about her?”

“Yes. She had a scar on her right, inside upper arm. I saw it while we were dancing, it looked like it was from a burn. Does that help?”

“Yes, Leonard, it does. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, just promise me you’ll find her.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to.”

For weeks the friends tried to find the maiden, went to every house and asked questions to every villager.

When they spotted an older woman, they all exchanged looks before running towards her. If anyone was to know the maiden, it would be someone who’s been here for quite some time and knows everyone.

“Excuse me ma’am,”

“Yes my dear?”

“Do you happen to know a maiden with golden hair, blue eyes, and a burn scar on her right upper arm?” her eyes widen and she gasps, she didn’t pay much attention to their clothes at first, but now that she sees their royalty, she quickly excuses herself and leaves, leaving the men suspicious and worried.

They tried to follow the older woman to find out where she’s hiding, but the woman was quick and used passage ways unknown to them to escape.

During the week, they tried to corner her and ask questions, but every time they got close something would happen to gain their attention and look away enough for her to bolt.

After a month with no success and their friend wallowing in self-pity,  they tried a different approach.

They had convinced Leonard to get out of the castle in villager clothes and talk to the woman, and when they found her with a basket full of foods, they pushed Leonard towards her and hid.

“Hello ma’am, may I talk to you for a moment?”

She looked at him and smiled, “Why of course, dearie.”

“I was wondering if you’ve seen a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes and a burn scar on her upper right arm? I’m looking for her.”  

“Well, yes, I do know her. You’re talking about Ella, she lives up on Hickory Lane, in the big white house with the black accents, but if you ask me, its too big for just one person. Be careful dearie, she isn’t the same after her step-mother and step-sisters left to go live in the castle. Oh no, she’s been sad and rude since then.”

He thanked her and started his path to find his one true love, Ella, as it seems her name is. His friends following behind him closely, for he is a Prince and might need protection.

When they had made it to the house, they saw it had its windows boarded up and lights off, as if no one lived there for years.

Gathering his courage, Leonard knocked on the door in three swift hits. The group waited for a minute or two after hearing no response or footsteps coming closer and knocked again, this time more firm and loud.

Perhaps the lady of the house was too far away and couldn’t hear? More time passed and still no acknowledgement was given to the knocks.

Growing tired of being ignored, Leonard knocked again, and accompanied it with a shout, “Ella, are you in there? If so, would you please come out to chat?” as they waited for a response this time, Leonard bounced on his heels with a winning smile plastered on his face.

“Go away, I’m not taking any visitors today sir!”

“Please, I think it is very important that we meet!”

“I said not today sir! Good bye!”

The smile slowly made its way into a frown as he said, “Alright then, good bye Ella.” the others patted his back in condolences and reassured him that maybe tomorrow he’d have better luck.

The next couple of weeks were spent with Leonard and his friends coming to the house and trying to convince Ella to talk to him, and each day, ended much like the first.

When Leonard had had quite enough of this childish behavior, and coming from him, is a big statement, had travelled behind the gate and went into the house using the back entrance.

He quietly surveyed the area, being careful and silent in his approach to find the woman he sought after.

As he rounded the corner to the kitchen, he saw a young woman that fits the description of the maiden he danced with sulking as she cleaned the floors.

“You’re too beautiful to be this sad, please talk to me.”

She wiped her tears quickly despite him already seeing them fall, “How did you get in here? Who are you?” she questioned.

He puts his hands up as if to not startle her even more, “I went in the back entrance, I’ve tried the front for weeks with no answer. As for who I am, well darling, I am Prince Leonard. I believe you to be the maiden I danced with until midnight when you ran away.”

She clutched her broom as he spoke, unwilling to let go of this incase he was just here to rob her.

“I did no such thing, and you couldn’t possibly be the Prince, he is a married man.”

“Darling, I am the Prince, and as for my marriage, it is an unhappy one for I have married the wrong woman.” he gently grabs her hands in his.

“You have married the love of your life, sire, and for that I am very happy, but if you believe that I am even in the same social status as you, or the princess, you are mistaken. I am a maid, the Tramaine’s maid for decades and always have been. I hold no torch to the beauty of the Princess nor do I want to. Sire, please go home to her, love her for eternity, as she does you. You should forget about me, Your Highness. For I am nobody compared to her.”

She turns around and slips from his grip, “No! No, you are wrong, Ella, you are so much more than beauty to me. You are kind, and generous, as for my wife, she is the opposite. Her and her family will undoubtably run this kingdom to the ground with the coin they spend daily, and the rudeness they show to those under them in status. You, You my dear Ella, have a gentle heart, and would never do the awful things they do to the servants and staff alike. Please, consider this proposal?”

“I will think it over My Liege,” he nodded his head once, then twice, as if to reassure himself that he had gotten through to her.

As the days turn into weeks with still no reply to the proposal, Leonard started to get worried about Ella.

He decided to take a day off from his Kingly duties and ride the carriage down to the abandoned house.

He knocks once, twice, three times and waits for a few seconds before starting the knock pattern again.

This time after the wait he just opens the door and sees the dust and grime floating in the air.

And there’s a certain smell that permeates the air, somewhat of decay.

He finds the woman from before sitting in a big soft looking chair and a fire almost out.

Soon he realizes that she’s the cause of the pungent smell as he gets closer.

Leonard shouts, “Rick, please call the guards! We need to give the news to the Princess and her family.”

He knows that he has so reason to cry over the lost of this beautiful woman, not while he was married and had no claim on her to begin with.

Her face had sunken cheeks and tired bags under her unopened eyes.

It looks as if she passed in her sleep, he hopes it was at least a nice dream before the Grim Reaper took her from this plane of existence.

A week later was her funeral and as a noble’s daughter, she was given the honor of having the funeral she deserved.

He was one of the only people to show up as a large amount of nobles around the district and continent forgot about her.

When is was his turn to show his respects to her coffin he whispered, “I will carry my undying love for you until the day I am no longer walking the earth.”

Leonard takes a deep breath as the tears start to slowly stream down his face.

“I am beyond sorry for my late proposal and wished it was you who I would spend the rest of my life with and not your terrible sister. You are the only true love I’ve ever had.”

One tear lands on her hands as he says her last goodbye to her, his Ella.

Forever 🏷️: @crazyk-imagine

🏷️ list: -

[callsign-dexter]

We're Sorry

Summary: IceMav's daughter runs away after a heated argument. She runs to the only couple she feels safe with, her Aunt Carole and Uncle Goose.

Pairings: Maverick x Daughter!Reader, Iceman x Daughter!Reader, Maverick x Iceman

Warnings: running away, fluff, angst, yelling

Blizzard

Masterlist

Carole and Goose had just finished supper and were in the process of cleaning up the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. Both of them looked at each other and Goose went to answer the door. What he wasn't expecting was the Mitchell-Kazansky daughter. "Blizz? What are doing here?" Goose asked the young girl and she just looked up at him and her lip started to wobble. She just crashed into him and full-out started to cry. Carole having heard the commotion had come to the front door.

"Y/N/N? What are you doing here? Does your fathers know you're here?" She asked and the little girl just shook her head.

"No, we fought. I snuck out. Please don't tell my daddies that I'm here." She said letting go of Goose and looking at Carole.

"Oh, Honey. What was the fight about?" She asked as they ushered both the little girl and her husband into the living room.

"I failed a math test. I tried to get help but everyone just brushed it off and said that it's easy." She said sniffling.

"Did you try to get them to help?" Goose asked and she nodded.

"But they were too busy to help. So, I backed off." She said and then Goose wrapped her in a hug and she returned it as he rubbed her back.

"Oh, Blizz. It's ok. Everyone has been stressed at work they didn't mean it." Goose said using her unofficial callsign that everyone had given her. She yawned and snuggled closer into him. Carole looked at Goose and they seemed to have a silent conversation they only looked away and down at the little girl, who had fallen asleep. They both smiled and then Carole got up when the phone rang and she answered it. It was Maverick.

"Carole, it's Mav. Y/N ran off and we can't find her anywhere." Maverick said frantically.

"Mav-" Carole tried to cut in but he wasn't having it.

"We fought but I didn't think it was a big one. In the middle of it, she took off toward her room upstairs." Maverick said to her not letting her get a word in.

"Maverick-" She began again but nothing.

"Oh God, what if something happened to her? What if she's hurt? Or what if she's been taken? I don't know what to do." Maverick said and Carole knew he was just worried but he wouldn't listen to her.

"Put Ice on the phone." She said and he seemed to listen to that. There was the sound of the phone handing off and talking between the couple.

"Hey Carole." Ice said

"Hey Ice. I couldn't get a word in with Maverick." She said and he chuckled.

"Yeah, he's being a little frantic." Ice said always the calm one but freaking out on the inside. "But Blizzard is missing." He said.

"Yes, I know. She's here with us." Carole said in a low voice trying not to disturb the little girl. Carole could hear Ice sigh in relief. She also heard Ice tell Maverick.

"Oh thank God. We'll be on our way soon." He said but before he could hang up Carole stopped him.

"She said not to let her daddies know she's here." She told Ice and he could've sworn that his heart shattered.

"Why would she say that? Did she say why?" He asked and Carole shook her head but knew he couldn't see it.

"No idea. She's asleep on Goose right now." She said and he sighed.

"We're on our way. Don't wake her up." He said

"Ok, we'll see you both soon. Bye." She said

"Thank you, Carole. We'll see you soon. Bye." Ice said and then hung up. She walked back into the living room to see that she had fully crawled into Goose's lap, she smiled. Goose had his eyes closed. She took a picture and sent the picture to both Maverick and Ice.

Maverick and Ice were relieved that she had run to them. She loved Bradley, Carole, and Goose. Honestly, the fight should've never happened. They were both stressed from the pressure of the new Top Gun class that when Y/N asked for help they blew up. The way her face fell so quickly and the way she stormed off. They hadn't even eaten supper.

---------------------------------------------------

It was a Thursday when Ice got a call as he was going over some paperwork it was from Y/N's math teacher.

"This is Admiral Thomas Kazansky, speaking." Ice said into the phone.

"Hi, Admiral. This is Mr. Blake, Y/N's math teacher." Mr. Blake said and Ice stopped what he was doing and focused on the phone call.

"What can I do for you?" Ice asked

"Well, I'm calling because Y/N seems to not be doing so well in class with the subject we're on. She's usually a good student and excels at everything but her answers have been wrong on her homework and she failed the last test we had. She actually failed another test as well." Mr. Blake said and Ice's blood was already boiling but this was icing on the cake. "I tried to reach Pete Mitchell but was unable to." Maverick had been up in the air at the time.

"Yes, he was up in the air at the time. Is there any way she can make up the tests?" Ice asked

"Yes, she will be able to make both of them up on Wednesday." He said and Ice nodded.

"Thank you for calling. We'll talk to her and get it settled." Ice said

"You're welcome. I'm sorry that we are speaking on a not-so-nice occasion. Have a good day, Admiral." He said

"You too." Ice said and then hung up.

When the day of teaching the newest cadets came to an end for them and they were switched over to the official Dagger Squadron is when Ice pulled his husband into his office.

"I just got a call from Blizzard's math teacher." Ice said and Maverick looked at him telling him to continue. "He said that she is doing poorly in class and that she had failed the most recent test." He said

"What? Blizz is excellent at math." Maverick said in shock.

"I know she is, but her teacher said that she has been doing poorly in this subject. He didn't tell me what it was though." Ice said and Maverick nodded his head.

"We'll talk to her about it when we get home. Carole is picking her up." Maverick said and Ice nodded. They were already stressed and then getting that news just soured their mood even more.

By the time it was time to go home their mood just soured even more. Traffic had been slowed to a stop and it was getting even later. It was already 5 PM by the time they got to The Bradshaw residence to pick her up.

They walked to the front door and knocked on the door. Carole answered it and let them come in, Goose wasn't home yet due to some paperwork that Bradley had asked him for help. Y/N was sitting there working on some homework and when she saw them, she didn't even smile or get up to greet them, which was unusual for her.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Maverick asked and she nodded her head and packed up her stuff. Carole walked over to her and helped her.

"Thank you." She said quietly and then hugged her.

"You're welcome, honey. Have a good night." She said and she nodded and walked out the door with her fathers.

The drive home was silent. She knew what had happened and was just waiting for it to be brought up. When they got home Ice killed the engine after parking in the garage and they headed inside. They dropped keys and she dropped her backpack off at the front door.

Y/N started her way upstairs but was stopped by Ice. "Hold on. We want to talk to you about something." He said and she slowly turned around and stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Ice got a call from your math teacher." Maverick said and bowed her head.

"Oh?" She said quietly.

"He said that you weren't doing great on this subject of math. He also said you failed two math tests." Ice said "He's letting you retake the test on Wednesday." He said and she looked up at him.

"But you're grounded until you get that grade back up." Maverick said and she looked at him like he was crazy.

"What? That's not fair!" She yelled out.

"I think it's completely fair." Ice said

"I tried to ask for help! You both just brushed it off!" She yelled out.

"No, we didn't." Ice said and she looked at him like he was crazy.

"Yes, you did! You said that you were too busy right now to help me. I tried to go to Dad and he said the same thing. I tried my best. I did really but division is hard. I tried asking Mr. Blake but when he asked if anybody needed more explanation and nobody raised their hand so we moved on." She said with tears rolling down her face.

"You're still grounded." Maverick said and she turned around and marched upstairs.

"Get back down here! We're not done talking!" Ice yelled up at her but only got the slamming of the door as a response. He turned to look at Maverick but he was deep in thought.

"She did try to come to us and we did brush her off." Maverick said looking up the stairs.

"When was this?" Ice asked

"Last week. They had just started the division section of their math class. We were stressed that week because all of our cadets weren't focusing and not learning." Maverick said as he turned to Ice and watched his face fall.

"Did we really brush off our child when she needed help?" Ice asked and Maverick nodded.

"We really did. Should we go and apologize to her?" He asked his husband and he nodded.

"Yes. But let's wait a few and let her calm down." Ice said and Maverick nodded as they went to their office and did some work, they would worry about supper when everyone had calmed down.

It was an hour later when Maverick went up to her room and knocked on her door. "Blizz, it's supper time. We're sorry." He said but got no response so he knocked one more time. "Blizzard, please open up." He said and when he didn't get a response he twisted the handle and opened the door and the room was empty but her window was open. He checked everywhere before raising the alarm, the attached bathroom was the main other place but he knew that if she was in there she would've hollered back at him. When he couldn't find her, he ran downstairs and to Ice. "Blizzard is gone!" He yelled out frantically. Ice turned around and looked at him.

"What do you mean gone?" He asked

"She's not in her room or bathroom. The window is open." Maverick said in a rush. "I didn't think the fight was that bad." He said starting to spiral.

"Calm down." Ice said and Maverick looked at him bewildered.

"How are you not freaking out?" He asked his husband.

"Oh, I am trust me. But, someone needs to be the calm one and think with a straight head." Ice said to Maverick. "She couldn't have gone far. I'll send a group text to the Daggers and you call Carole." He said and as soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it.

Dagger Squad:

Ice: Blizzard has run away after a little argument. If she's at one of your houses please let us know. Please keep a look out for her.

Bradley: She's not here. I would've texted you or Mav. I'll keep a lookout for her. Call mom and dad.

Jake: Blizzard's missing? She's not here. I'll keep a lookout.

Bob: She's not here. I hope you find her.

Natasha: Poor girl she's not with me.

Mickey: I'm with Javy and we haven't seen her.

Slider: You mean to tell me that my favorite Mitchell-Kazansky is missing? She's not here. I'll keep an eye out for her though!

Ice: Thank you guys. We'll keep you updated. Also, Slider..... how dare you! But I get it.

Maverick was losing hope when he read through the texts but then when Carole answered the phone he started rambling.

"Carole, it's Mav. Y/N ran off and we can't find her anywhere." Maverick said frantically.

"Mav-" Carole tried to cut in but he wasn't having it.

"We fought but I didn't think it was a big one. In the middle of it, she took off toward her room upstairs." Maverick said to her not letting her get a word in.

"Maverick-" She began again but nothing.

"Oh God, what if something happened to her? What if she's hurt? Or what if she's been taken? I don't know what to do." Maverick said and Carole knew he was just worried but he wouldn't listen to her.

"Put Ice on the phone." She said and he seemed to listen to that. There was the sound of the phone handing off and talking between the couple.

"Hey Carole." Ice said

"Hey, Ice. I couldn't get a word in with Maverick." She said and he chuckled.

"Yeah, he's being a little frantic." Ice said always the calm one but freaking out on the inside. "But Blizzard is missing." He said.

"Yes, I know. She's here with us." Carole said in a low voice. Ice sigh in relief. He pulled the phone away and looked over to Maverick.

"She's with Carole and Goose." Ice said and Maverick sighed in relief.

"Oh thank God. We'll be on our way soon." He said but before he could hang up Carole stopped him.

"She said not to let her daddies know she's here." She told Ice and he could've sworn that his heart shattered.

"Why would she say that? Did she say why?" He asked

"No idea. She's asleep on Goose right now." She said and he sighed.

"We're on our way. Don't wake her up." He said

"Ok, we'll see you both soon. Bye." She said

"Thank you, Carole. We'll see you soon. Bye." Ice said and then hung up.

Dagger Squad:

Maverick: Blizzard has been found. She's with Carole and Goose.

Slider: Thank goodness.

Bradley: I knew that's who she would run to. I'm glad she's safe.

Bob: I was so worried. I'm glad she's safe.

Mickey: Javy and I are glad she's safe. Give her some love from us to her.

Natasha: Oh thank goodness!

Carole: Sent a photo

---------------------------------------------------

Maverick and Ice arrived at Carole and Goose's in no time. That's probably because Maverick was driving and he likes to drive how he flies. They parked in the driveway and got out and walked to the front door. They rang the doorbell knowing that Y/N could sleep through anything.

Carole walked to the door and opened it and motioned them inside. "Hey, guys come on in." She said.

"Hey, Carole. Thank you so much for taking care of her. I'm sorry if this caused an inconvenience." Ice said and Maverick nodded. She waved them off and they walked in then she led them to the living room where Goose, now awake, was holding her and he smiled at them.

"Nonsense. We love her." She said and Goose nodded.

"Hey guys." Goose said.

"Hey, Goose." Maverick and Ice said at the same time.

"I don't want to wake her." Ice said. "We'll just do a quick handoff." He said and walked over to Goose and they did a very fast but smooth handoff. She stirred a little bit but snuggled into Ice's neck and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Maverick and Ice thanked them profusely and a bunch of apologies. They headed out the door and to Maverick’s black Rav4 and Ice gently put her in her booster seat. She never woke up.

When they got home Maverick pulled into the garage and parked and killed the engine. Ice was already out and getting her out by the time Maverick was getting out of the car, truth be told he was just sitting there and reflecting on what happened. Maverick finally got out when he saw Ice walk by with their little girl.

Maverick followed Ice up to Y/N's room and watched him change her and then put her in her bed. "Goodnight, Blizzard. I'm happy you're home. I love you." Ice said and kissed her forehead. Maverick walked to her and kissed her on the forehead as well.

"Goodnight, Blizz. I love you." He said and they both walked out and turned off her light and cracked her door. They got ready for bed silently, none of them had supper but that was important. What was important was that Y/N was safe and sound at home.

---------------------------------------------------

The next morning Maverick and Ice got up and started their usual and then Maverick went and started getting Y/N up for the day and getting her to school. Maverick walked into her room and smiled and then walked over to her "Hey, Blizz. It's tike to get up." Maverick said.

"No." She said and turned over and Maverick had to hold back a laugh 'Just like Ice.' He thought to himself.

"Don't you want to eat breakfast with me and Papa?" He asked and she slowly blinked her eyes open and nodded.

"Yea." She said still riddled with sleep.

"Ok, then let's get ready for school and meet him down there." Maverick said and she did just that. 10 minutes later she was ready and headed downstairs. Ice turned when he heard patters of feet coming down ans he smiled. He already had some pancakes and bacon on the table and was finishing up the master bit when they came down.

"Good morning, Blizzard." He said and she smiled.

"Good morning, Papa." She said and sat at the table while Maverick fixed her plate. A few minutes later Ice was joining them.

Breakfast was eaten in silence but it was a comfortable silence. Ice knew that they had to talk about and he figured to go ahead and do so instead of putting it off. Apparently, Maverick had the same idea. "Blizzard-" they both began they looked at each other and Maverick nodded at Ice to continue.

"Blizzard, we're sorry for the way we blew up on you. We're also sorry for pushing you away. We were so stressed out and we should've left it at work and we didn't." Ice said and the Maverick started talking.

"If you ever need us, come to us no matter what. We'll drop everything for you. We should've dropped everything for you that day but we were not very smart. After school, we'll help you get ready for those tests. You can also come to any of The Daggers as well." He said and she nodded.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"No, it's not your fault. It's our fault we should've helped you. Your also not grounded." Ice said and she nodded and then got up and hugged both of them and kissed their cheeks. They ate the rest of their breakfast and then they headed off to work and school after everything was cleared up.

They both went and dropped her off at school and she was back to her normal cheerful self. They smiled they were glad to see her back to her normal self.

---------------------------------------------------

True to their word they helped her after school and all weekend. When Wednesday rolled around and she took the tests she was ready for them. The next day when she got them back she was smiling when she saw that she had gotten an A on both of them. Mr. Blake praised her and high-fived her, he was happy she was back to excelling at math.

When she got home Thursday she showed them to Ice and Maverick and they smiled and praised her. They vowed again to help her and drop everything and she believed them. Everything for them was back to normal and they were a happy family again.

Tag list:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

@grandstrangerphantom

@callsign-revenge

[jackiequick]

What did she just say? | Top Gun Maverick AU Fic 🧸

Top Gun Au Series

Previous fic —> Click here

Setting: After Top Gun, Before Top Gun Maverick

Characters: Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky and Audrey ‘Sunset’ Davidson. Ft. Baby JenPen Mitchell

Summary: What happen when one of your daughter's first clear word isn't what you exactly expected?

Months past and the trio had a good thing going on with the little princess in their lives. Maverick and Iceman lived together with Jenny’s beautiful blushing pink bedroom across the hall, Sunset moved closer to them. Sure they did have work and stuff to deal with but they didn’t care.

Today, Carol and Bradley came for a small visit after lunch. Carol gushed over her niece, never wanted let anyone hold her expect her, every time they came over. Carol liked to sometimes say that Goose sent Jennifer Mitchell to Pete’s doorstep for this family to get some more light in their lives. And they agreed.

After lunch, Pete decided to drive Carol and Bradley downtown to the stores for a quick shopping spree. Meanwhile Ice and Audrey stayed home to clean up, taking care of their 7-8 month year old. Jenny babbled on the floor in her yellow sunflower dress and two pigtails playing with her toys. She said a lot words every now and then across the day, but they sometimes weren’t the clearest just yet.

Ice didn’t care since he knew every baby learns at a different rate, Audrey was a little worried since she would like for her to at least start trying to say their names soon. Iceman washed dishes and noticed the look on her face. “Don’t worry, pretty mama. She’ll talk soon.” He said with a smile.

“I know that! I just would like for her to say Dada or something, I bet Pete would love her to do that.” She explained, putting away extra cups into the cabinet.

“You know the guys have started a bet right?”

“What bet?”

“To see who’s name she’s say first. Slider already started placing 20 bucks down, it’s why he’s always playing with her..”

“..for Jen can say his name! That little sh—”

Audrey stopped remembering Jenny was in the room and would most likely be listening into the conversation. Iceman chuckled drying of his hand and crouched down bopping Jenny’s nose. She giggled and scrunched up her nose the same way Maverick does. Audrey cooed at the sweet moment leaning against the counter

“Watch this, mama.” Said Ice glancing at Sunset before smiling down at Jen continuing, “You will be saying uncle Ice in no time right, princess? Come on let’s try, Uncle Ice.” 

In response she giggles trying to say ‘Ice’ but only got the ‘Ce’ part down then Jen said ‘Ic’. She was getting there slowly but surely putting it together. Iceman stood up from the floor, walking around to kitchen island clearing out the space, singing a random theme song. Audrey was currently picking up toys from the floor watching as Jen’s eyes followed her.

“Hiya princess!” Audrey said with a bright grin, watching the small girl stand up and slowly the petter patter of her feet carried her away towards her auntie.

Jenny kept smiling brightly softly but happily babbling, “..hi..i..hi! Hi, hi, hi!” That was the girls favorite words from her collection, especially one someone would say it back to her first.

Sunset picked up her niece with such glee, bouncing her on her hip repeating the word, ‘Hi’ along with a few words as she cleaned up the best she could with a bouncing gushing baby on your hip. Audrey sang a few songs and tried getting Jen to try say ‘Dada’ properly. Because Jennifer Mitchell knows the words and will point them out with her fingers, if you ask her to tell you where something or someone is. But she likes to tease the person and not say anything, just giggle or loudly laugh. Or something she’s be care free about the situation and not try to say it.

—-

After a while, Audrey sat on the couch bouncing Jen on her lap watching a Disney cartoon with her. Tom came downstairs after taking a mini shower, dressed in comfy clothes saying, “Hey pretty mama, do you know when Pete’s coming home?”

“No idea.” Sunset looked up and grinned, “Give us some time to ourselves.”

Iceman teased playfully, “Play nice, Sunset.”

“I’m nice. Very nice.”

“I know you are. But we’re on baby duty, so no beers or partying.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re responsible adult.”

The two just laughed when suddenly they heard. A soft ‘mama’ came from Jen’s mouth with glee. It was clear was day. The girl giggled leaning against Audrey comfortably watching her cartoons as if it was nothing.

But for Tom and Audrey, it was something. They didn’t expect it. The pair did a double take and almost dropped their jaws, letting out a surprised laugh.

In shock Iceman asked, “W-what did she just say?”

“S-she said..mama?” Sunset choked out with a smile, “Princess said mama! But..how?!”

“Seriously? How?! She must’ve heard it from me and Mav. We call you ‘Mama’ like every day!”

“We can’t let Mav know, he was hoping her first words would be ‘Dada’ not ‘Mama’!”

Audrey sat Jen on the couch, as Tom sat beside their niece. He could see how happy she was in her seat, holding her small handheld teddy bear as she watched her cartoons in peace. Audrey didn’t want to disturb her but she was concerned with Maverick’s reaction.

The pair spend an hour and a half after Jen’s got bored with her cartoons to teach her to say ‘Dada’ or at least ‘Papa’. But nothing worked, she kept saying ‘Mama’ with her classic Mitchell laugh attached to it. And when they thought she would say one of the two assigned names, instead she would mess around with them saying something else instead.

The pair huffed.

Iceman pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled in annoyance, at not getting anywhere with the situation. Sunset balled up her fists and kicked the table stubbing her toe in the process. “SHIT—!” Audrey yelled and winced then her eyes widen realizing what she said out loud.

“Sh—sit!” Jen yelled out proudly with a toothless, aside from her baby teeth that showed with every smile.

“Sunny!” Tom shouted with his hands in the air, gesturing to the baby in the room, “The heck?!”

“Sorry! It just came out..”

“Now we got these words and Maverick to worry about.”

“Maverick to worry about what?” Said the classic chipper voice that didn’t belong to either one of them, but a smiling Maverick Mitchell.

—

The two froze up like two deers in headlights. Their voices were lost in the air of the living room, the faces turn a faint palette of their natural shade and they squeezed their eyes shut.

Audrey squeezed her eyes for a second more before spinning around with fake charming grin. “Mav! Y-your early.” She said walking over to him running her fingers crossed her fallen bangs.

“Uh yeah, Bradley got tired so Carol and I took him home. I came back with groceries.” Maverick explained looking between his friends and his cheeky grinned daughter, “Is everything alright?”

Iceman spoke this time with a simple shrug, “Yeah we’re just trying to teach Jenny, some uh, new words. No big deal.”

“Oh okay.” Maverick said simply reaching down to pick up his daughter who made grabby hands towards him, “Come on sweetheart, daddy got you blueberries!

“Ah blu‘erries!” Jenny exclaimed in her daddy’s arms, saying another one of her favorite the words to the best of her abilities.

“That’s right, princess. Blueberries!”

Maverick grinned placed her in his high chair after washing her hands, chatting up a mini storm with his daughter. He loved how much his daughter has moved up in milestones on her pace, still he wished she said ‘Dada’ at once. Rarely he would hear a ‘Da’ or a ‘Pa’ when he was looking but never an actual full word.

Pete was told from Viper that he was a talkative child, but he always wondered how he was as a baby. Did he say ‘daddy’ or ‘mama’ first? Did he walk first and then talk? Did he have a favorite song to listen to? Was he a happy baby or a grumpy one? Pete Maverick had so many questions that he never got all the answers to due to not remembering much as a kid and his parents dying young.

“So baby, what did you do while daddy was gone?” Maverick said once he snapped out of his own thoughts.

In response, Jen babbled quickly and waving her hands in the air, as if she was telling a huge story. She said words you can clearly make out such as ‘play’, ‘toy’ and ‘toons’. Jen even said words like, ‘donald’, ‘duck’, ‘blue’, ‘pink’, and ‘mice’. Maverick laughed and nodded proud of her, his daughter was known for being a fast talker sometimes.

“Really? You had a big day with Uncle Ice and Auntie Sunny, huh? Can we say ‘big day’, sweetheart?” Maverick asked with a grinned placing the blueberries in front of her in a Minnie Mouse bowl.

“Da’y!” Jen said proudly with a matching grin grabbing two blueberries and tossing them into her mouth, “B—ig!”

“Good girl. Your definitely smarter than daddy, princess. What words did you learn today?”

Pete Mitchell had always made it a habit to teach or show Bradley and now Jenny, a few new things every couple of weeks and or months. Sometimes it was words or phrase, sometimes it was activities or places. Even if he wasn’t shown much as a kid, he wanted to make sure the kids in his life knew has much as possible at their own pace. It can be the most basic smallest things in the world, he would like to show them.

As much as Pete was told he wasn’t the best dad or fear he wasn’t doing the best to care for his kids, seeing his children smile told him everything he needed to know. That he was doing just fine, especially with the support system he built with his friends and family.

He ate some blueberries himself and smiled softly, just watching his daughter eat happily one of her favorite food made him simply smile, brighten up his day. He waited for his daughter to speak, knowing it will take her a minute before she can fully take the time to tell him something. One thing he had to learn with becoming a parent, was patiences and to have a hell-lot of it! He was still learning to stay quiet, calm and patient but he’s getting there.

Then he heard it. “Ma..ma-mama!” Yelled his daughter softly after eating another piece of fruit. Her big green eyes that grew into a dark shade as if late locked onto his. Maverick stayed silent for a moment. He wasn’t expecting those to be one of her words.

“M-mama? Did you just say ‘mama’, sweetheart?” Maverick repeated gently with a soft grin. He didn’t get a response from her, she just kept eating. He laughed still kind of surprised at how clear it was and continued, “Where did you learned that from, huh?”

—

Pete thought for a moment trying to think onto how she came to say that word. He thought she must’ve heard it from Bradley calling Carol ‘mama’ plenty of time and—his thoughts came to a pause he heard Audrey’s slide into the room.

“MAV—! I can explain!” Sunset said taking a breath as Iceman came running in after her.

“I tried to stop her but she escaped..” Iceman explained running his hands across his light blonde locks.

Pete chuckled for a moment and nodded, “You taught her that word?”

“We-well i-no I didn’t! I was trying to teach her to say ‘Dada’ or ‘Papa’, when Ice came in and called me ‘Pretty Mama’ and then—” Audrey exclaimed pointing to the tall blonde with a slight glare.

“How mature, Sunny! You shouldn’t blame me, she called out the word ‘Mama’ randomly. I was trying to teach her to say Ice.” Tom exclaimed pointing to himself.

“Fair. If anything, we should blame Maverick!”

Pete’s eyes widen at hearing that and gasped, “ME—?! I didn’t teach her to say ‘Mama’. It’s your nickname!”

“If you and Goose didn’t start with the nicknames in High School we would’ve gotten her to say ‘Dada’ like i wanted! And Ice came in with that nickname too!” Audrey exclaimed pointing to both of her boys.

“Again! You love the nickname, Drey! And clearly she decided to call you ‘Mama’ instead of calling me ‘Papa’ or ‘Ice’. I change her poopy diapers, give her baths, feed her and sing to her, i deserve at—” Tom yelled.

Pete cut him off and scoffed, “Sing to her?! I sing to her, change her diapers, I give her baths too and oh yeah, she has my DNA Ice, I deserve to be called ‘Dada’ or ‘Papa’!”

“Ok fair—still Mav I mean—we deserve something! We all deserve it!”

“So do i—i mean, hell yeah we do! I wouldn’t be surprised if Slider made a bet to see who’s name she said first!”

“Actually he did! Placing 20 bucks.”

“Y’all were betting on that and didn’t think to include me?!”

“Hey, I said Slider not me, Mav!”

The two men bickered back and forth like a old married, as Audrey cut in every few lines. It’s one voice on top of them other. The voices were high and mighty. It was like the sun in the sky, the ice of a snowstorm and the wind from between the heavy clouds has entered the kitchen in full force.

—

It kept going on for almost less than 5 minutes straight until a loud squeak and bursting squeals were heard from the princess of the two story castle. A mix of different sounds came her. But Jen said them loud and as clear as she could.

“..Da..dada!..M..mama!..Pap..Iceee!” She said loudly, repeating a couple of other words, as it came out in patches of sweet babbles.

The three rapidly whipped their heads towards the baby girl, as they’re jaws dropped. They all looked at each other then at Jen, then right back to one another. Iceman blinked at the sight, Sunset scoffed breaking into a grin and Maverick shake his head not believing that he heard. Eventually the guys followed suit, grinning softly at the young girl repeating the words.

Maverick was the first to sprint over to the baby girl, grinning brightly and cupping his daughter’s chubby cheeks kissing her face. “Yes sweetheart, that’s right! Your right, I’m daddy. I’m dada.” Pete said responding to her laughter.

“Mav’s head over heal prime time in love with that girl.” Audrey exclaimed, walking over to kiss Jen’s forehead before grabbing a baby wipe for her face.

Tom chuckled, taking one of Jenny’s blueberries from her bowls, resulting for the baby to pout and glare at him. Like father, like daughter. Ice laughed this time, seeing so much of his wingman in her eyes. He fell in love more and more everyday.

“Sharing is caring, princess Jen.” He said taking another one from her bowl looking at the group, “If I’m Pa or Iceeee, according to her, Mav is of course Dada. Does that make Drey…?”

“Mama?” Maverick replied finishing his questions with a smile growing onto his cheeks, “Now we got someone else who can call Audrey, mama..”

—

Audrey was drying a bowl placing blueberries and blackberries inside and softly grin, as slight blush reached her rosy face. She didn’t expect to be called ‘Mama’ by another Mitchell or anyone else in a while, but she was more than glad she was.

Sunset took Jenny from Pete’s arms showering the baby girl in a few kisses mumbling sweet nothings in her ear as she giggled. After less than a few second, she followed Mav and Ice into the living room. Audrey placed her into her daddy’s lap sitting in between her boys, stealing a blackberries from Tom’s bowl.

Pete chuckled at Iceman’s face from his berries being stolen, as his wingman glares playfully tossing a few at him. Audrey tried blocking the berries from behind thrown across the couch, Jen giggled eating her own. After a while, the trio laughed and ate, watching a movie when suddenly the character in the film said ‘Shit’, a mere moment later a small ‘Sh-sit!’ came from Jenny with a soft laugh.

Maverick almost choked on his blackberries and now set of grapes, looking down on his daughter. The poor man blinked a couple of time and took a breath. Finally he found the small words realizing what she said.

But just to make sure, he asked, “What did she just say?” Pete looked over at his friends, hoping for an answer of kind.

But all of he got was a simple scoff from Tom and a few giggles from Audrey. It took a moment but Maverick eventually got the gist of it, laughing along too.

Thank you for reading this story! Hope you loved it ;)

Tags: @topgun-imagines @mandylove1000 @t-nd-rfoot @sherloquestea @gaminggirlsstuff @morgan108 @rooster-84 @hangmanbrainrot @happilycameron @theloveoftoms @annepsilvaauthor @bradshawseresinbabe @hanlueluver @starkleila @msrochelleromanofffelton @gcthvile and etc

[callsign-jinx]

What I've been waiting for | Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Pairing: Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x Military Doctor!fem!Mitchell!reader

Summary: Bradley's best friend, the one that he hasn't seen in five years, comes back home and surprises him. He has some important things to tell her.

Word count: 1.7k

Warnings: fluffy things. EVERYONE IS ALIVE HERE. mentions of the uranium mission. and lots of flufffff.

A/N: This one was requested by my lovely @shrimping-for-all !! Hope you like it, it was really fun to write

Tag list: @tayrae515 @alexxavicry @xoxabs88xox @mercurio23

Thanks to @abaker74 for the marvelous Goose line at the end of the fic 💕

(if you want to be in the 'All TGM' tag list, send me an ask!)

When Maverick appeared on Bradley's third birthday with a baby in his arms, Goose almost had a heart attack. Where did that baby come from? Was it Penny and Mav's daughter? Wait, was Maverick still seeing Penny? He had many questions, but it was his son's day, and he decided to just let it go for the moment. 

Goose saw in you the daughter he and Carole never had. And when Maverick and Penny (yes, you were their daughter) made them your godparents, the Bradshaws knew that that girl would be loved as their own daughter.

Bradley and you grew up supporting and loving each other as much as your fathers did. You became best friends, even though there was a five-year gap between you, and the two of you continued the Mitchell-Bradshaw-partners-in-crime association that your dads began. 

Carole loved having baby Mitchell around, Goose and her were unable to bring another baby to this world, even though they tried so hard, it just wasn't meant to be. Penny used to take you to Carole's house whenever the aviators were away on a mission, so they could keep each other company. 

When you grew up, everyone and their mother thought that the young Mitchell would follow her father's steps, join the Navy, and become a legendary aviator… just like her father and her grandfather did before her. Nobody expected you to become a military doctor. You joined the military, gained the name ‘Doc’, and saved lives wherever they sent you. 

You love your job. The fact that you are out there, making sure that people go back home to see their families again makes it worthy. Even spending months away from home. You don’t remember the last time you were home for Christmas, but it’s okay. People need you in the field, not eating Christmas cookies. 

There’s only one person who is not very happy with not seeing you: Rooster. 

Look, he’s been in love with you since he can remember. You’re his best friend, his partner in crime, the person he wants to call every time he gets good news… You were there when his mom got sick and helped him make the party when Carole got home after that big surgery that saved her life. He doesn’t have a memory without you. Well, every single one from the last five years. 

It doesn’t matter how much the two of you have tried to see each other. Something always came up: one of you was called back to base, deployed or whatever. It’s been five years since the last time he saw you in person. 

He’s scared that by the time you come back you’ll tell him how you’ve met the love of your life or how you have a partner… He promised himself, five years ago, that when you came back, he would confess. He didn’t want to do it before you went away for months, he didn’t want to tell you during your deployment and make your staying there more difficult. 

He’s been waiting five years. Maybe the universe is trying to send him a message. That he has to move on, to let you go. But he can’t. Rooster can’t imagine himself with any other person that it’s not you. And he doesn’t want to. 

Iceman told you that all your family will be here tonight, even your mom is working. You’re so excited to see your mom, your sister Amelia and your dad after so many months away. Admiral told you that your mom and your dad are together again, and you just hope that this time it lasts. They love each other, but your father hasn’t ever been an easy guy. 

You stop in front of the Hard Deck, looking inside from the big windows, seeing all your family. Rooster’s at the piano, singing Great Balls of Fire with Goose. Carole and Penny are behind the bar, serving drinks to the customers. Maverick is dancing with Amelia, your younger sister smiling happily. God, how have you missed them.  

You move to the back door, trying to be sneaky and move towards them without being seen. You made it to the piano, luckily, without being seen, and put your arms around the male Bradshaws, singing the song with them. Goose is the first one to turn around and realize it’s his goddaughter who is behind him. He gets up so fast, bringing you in to hug you. 

“Mav, your daughter is back!” he yells next to your ear. 

 You don’t know many people are hugging you right now. You can feel a lot of arms around you, people laughing and even some crying. But you couldn’t care less. Your eyes can only focus on the man you have grown to love, your best friend, who is standing in front of you, completely dazzled to see your figure in front of him. 

“Hey, y’all can I hug my friend for a second? I haven’t seen him in years” you say, pulling away from the rest and getting closer to Rooster. 

His eyes scan your face in frenetic movements, drinking you in, finding the new scars and marks that cover your skin. “Couldn’t you let me know in advance?” he asks, swallowing his feelings. He’s about to cry, and you know it. 

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if you knew” 

“Oh my god, you’re back” he tackles you in a hug, almost falling down if Goose and Mav weren’t behind you. 

“Yes, I’m back you big cry baby” you mock, but your eyes are full of tears as well. 

“A round on the house for my daughter!” your mom announces, making the whole bar erupt into cheers. 

“C’mon, you have so many things to tell me” Rooster says, grabbing your hand and leading you to one of the tables. 

You spend the next hours talking, laughing, learning the news about Rooster being team leader of an elite squad, Iceman being cancer-free, your mom and dad having decided to marry at last… So many things have happened in the last few months. You had a few weeks off in summer and came back to the States to be with your family, going one day to your mom’s and another to your dad’s because they didn’t want to be in the same room. And now, they’re going to marry. Life is surely a box full of surprises. 

But you eventually get overwhelmed by being the center of attention, stepping outside and sitting on the beach. Your job has made you hate sand, but this one feels different. Feels like home. 

“You can’t come back and disappear again, ya know” Rooster says, sitting with you and taking off his jacket and covering your shoulders with it. 

“I didn’t disappear, just needed some fresh air” 

He tilts his head, looking at you with a small smile. “How can you be even prettier than the last time I saw you?” 

You chuckle, thanking that it is night already, and he can’t see your stupid smile. “I think you’re drunk” 

“Nope, I only had a beer” he clears his throat and looks at the sand between his feet. “I want to tell you something. I’ve been waiting five years to tell you, but it has never been the right time with us being on different sides of the globe…” 

“I’m here now. Don’t waste any more time” 

“I love you. I have loved you all my life. I loved you when we were kids, and we played with Legos, building a house in which I wish we could live in the future. I loved you when you came to my house after our dads had to leave on a mission, and you were so scared that you hugged me all night long, as if I was your safe net. I-I loved you when you looked for me after prom, scared because you wanted to follow your dreams and not your father's. That night I knew you were slipping through my fingers, and I wanted to confess so bad… I wanted you to be mine, but I couldn't say it." 

"W-why?" you ask in a shaky breath. 

"Because I wasn't brave enough. But when I crashed that plane three weeks ago to save your father, I swore that if I made it out alive, I would tell you" 

"You did what?!" 

"Don't focus on that, I'm pouring my heart out here," he complains, rolling his eyes. 

"Bradley, I love you too, but you can't just tell someone 'hey I almost died but here I am, confessing my feelings' and continue like it's nothing" you punch him in the shoulder. 

"It wasn't that bad, y/n. Don't worry" 

"Rooster, what happened?" you insist. 

"He tried to save me, and I wasn't having it, so I tried to go and save him, but I got hit and then - Did you tell me you love me?" 

"...you really have the attention span of a goldfish" you can't help but laugh at his shocked expression. 

"Say it again," he pleads with shiny eyes.

"That you have the attention span of a goldfish? Because I-" 

You never finish your sentence, his lips silence you in the sweetest way possible. You freeze for a second, causing Rooster to pull back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t ask if you want-” he mutters. You hold his face in your hands, as if he were your entire world, which he is, and kiss him again with such passion that you run out of breath. You move away slowly, Rooster’s eyes stay closed, and he leans his forehead against yours. 

“Of course I wanted, you idiot” you laugh and smile at his happy face. 

“Well, Doc…wanna meet my parents?” he jokes, getting up from the floor and giving you a helping hand. 

“Goose, your son is kissing my daughter!” you hear your dad yell from the bar. You can’t know for sure, but you hear someone shout a big, happy ‘Finally!’. It sounded like your mom. 

"No, Mav" says Goose, walking outside and standing next to Maverick. "Your daughter is kissing my son"

They keep bickering like an old married couple, making the both of you laugh.

“Isn’t it a bit early for that?” you follow. 

“Well, I’m sure they’re gonna love you. You’re everything they’ve ever wished for me. Everything I’ve been waiting for” he confesses, making your heart beat faster, and kissing your forehead, before taking you with the rest of your own small, crazy and loving family. 

[wild-lavender-rose]

Riot (part 2)

Part 1

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x shy!fem!reader (call sign Riot) 

Category: One-shot

Summary: After meeting in Penny’s bar, you and Rooster see each other the following morning under very different circumstances. Him, a lieutenant and candidate for an impossible mission. And you, Captain Maverick’s daughter and public affairs specialist a.k.a. army photographer assigned to chronicle Maverick’s life. 

Warnings: Mild swearing, brief insinuative flirting 

     You arrived at the base dressed for work, which for you was not something army issued. Your long term assignment of chronicling your father’s life and accomplishments had done much to ensure humans stayed in the cockpit and not robots. Combined with a little help from Iceman, your position as Captain Maverick’s personal photographer was essentially permanent. When he was shipped back to Top Gun to teach you were worried at first, fearing that the threats of his discharge meant you would be re-assigned somewhere else. But Iceman had pulled strings and you had gone with your dad, giving you at least a little more time to work together as father and daughter. 

     Amid the insanity of Maverick’s reassignment, one of the privileges you had managed to keep was the ability to wear civilian attire. So when you walked into the base wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with your hair tied up and camera bag slung over one shoulder, the Vice Admiral grimaced but remained silent. 

     Maverick smiled as you came to stand beside him. He was holding one of the thick flying manuals waiting behind the rows of pilots to be introduced. You scanned the line up of heads, gaze landing on Bradley. Heat rushed to your face and you looked away. He made you blush without even looking at you. You glanced back at Maverick to see him gripping the manual so hard his knuckles were turning white. You gave him a half-smile, trying to quiet both his nerves and your own. Contrary to popular belief, Maverick did have the capacity to feel nervous. He was just a master at hiding it. 

     “And in order to complete this mission, we have enlisted the services of Captain Maverick.” 

     That was his cue. He walked up the aisle, prompting the pilots to turn around. Hangman was the first to see you, a smirk lighting his face. You grimaced and adjusted the strap of your camera bag. You could feel Bradley’s eyes on you. The heat in your face grew worse. 

     No one had announced it but it didn’t take a genius to see that you were related to Maverick. You knew the nature of the water under the bridge between him and Bradley. You knew he blamed Maverick for his father’s death and the delay to his career. Maybe you should have told him Maverick was your father last night. Maybe you should have given him a heads up just like he did with the piano. Maybe you should never have talked to him in the first place. 

     You dared to glance at him just as Maverick began to speak. Bradley met your gaze, his expression unreadable. He turned to face the front and you followed suit, insides fairly trembling with uncertainty. He must hate you for not telling him who you were and what he was in for. Surely Bradley was now regretting even talking to you. 

     “You’ve memorized every inch of this manual.” Maverick dropped the book with a thud into the trash can. “Well so have they.” 

     Your hand slipped inside your bag without thought and withdrew a small handheld camera. You adjusted the settings by memory and raised it to your eye. Maverick continued his talk. You began to take pictures, capturing the moment, pretending Bradley wasn’t there. 

     The tension was growing in the room right along with the excitement. It made sense. This was the kind of mission pilots lived for, even if it meant that they might not come back home. Bob looked worried. Phoenix seemed to be fighting back the urge to jump up and run off to complete the mission that very moment. Hangman was practically drooling at the concept of a dogfight, imagined or otherwise. 

     You couldn’t help but smirk as you zoomed in on the side of his grinning face. “He’ll eat you alive.” You muttered, taking the shot. 

     Within a few minutes you had snapped pictures of everyone there. Everyone except Bradley. You couldn’t. You just couldn’t bring yourself to look at him, even through the lens of your camera. You should have told him, you thought, a growing sense of regret and embarrassment threatening to swallow you whole. Why didn’t you just tell him? 

     Because then he wouldn’t have talked to you, you realized. Because, for a single blissful moment, you felt seen and safe and content with someone other than those that had raised you. And nothing else had mattered. 

     Except now the moment was over. And Bradley knew. Now there was zero chance that he would want to flirt, let alone talk, to the daughter of the man he despised. 

     “On that note,” Maverick’s voice broke through your thoughts. “Suit up.” 

     The pilots took that as the cue to stand, uncertain but respectful of Maverick’s orders. You stepped to the side and continued to take pictures, kneeling for a different angle. 

     Hangman crossed to you. “Make sure you get my good side.” 

     “And that would be?” You looked up at where he was towering over you. 

     He ignored the retort. “Hey, about last night. I had no idea you were a, you know,” 

     “A captain’s daughter?” 

     “Yeah.” 

     “Don’t worry.” You snapped a couple more shots before standing, tinkering with the camera so you wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. “I know you would have tried to pick me up even if you did know who I was.” You smirked. “Pilots are unbiased like that.” 

     “Damn you’re hot.” Hangman jerked his head towards the hanger. “Don’t take it too hard when I pulverize your old man up there.” 

     “I’ll try to stifle my tears.” You looked up at him and saw Bradley watching you from over Hangman’s shoulder. Your heart fairly stopped in your chest. Bradley looked between the two of you for a moment, expression still unreadable. Then he walked on without a word. 

     Hangman followed your gaze. “Got a thing for the pathetic ones, don’t ya’?” 

     “Well if I did then we’d be in bed by now.” You slipped the camera back into your bag and brushed past him. “Have fun up there.”

     Hangman was chuckling as he followed you, joining the other pilots as they went to prepare for their flight. 

                                                  # # # # # 

     “Dad!” 

     Maverick looked over his shoulder as you ran to him with his helmet in tow. “Thanks, honey.” He smiled as he took the helmet, reaching out to tug at a loose strand of hair dancing in your eyes. “You’re grounded.” 

     “What?” You tried to seem offended. “I didn’t even ask to fly.” 

     “This one’s by the books, Riot.” 

     “Says the one who literally just threw the book away.” You continued on before he could defend himself. “I understand, Captain. I’m grounded.” 

     Maverick grimaced but he looked more bemused than annoyed. “I noticed Hangman talking you up.” 

     “More like talking trash.” 

     “Need me to ground him too?” 

     You shook your head, gaze trailing to where Hangman was prepping to get up into the cockpit. “As much as I’d like that, his file says he’s a good pilot. And you need all the talent you can get.” 

     Maverick chuckled. “See you later, honey.” 

     You couldn’t help but smile at that. Maverick always said the same thing before he flew. See you later. It implied that he wasn’t really going too far and that he was coming back. And he always did. Every time. 

     “Wouldn’t be a fair fight, you know.” Maverick turned away. “Having you up in the sky with me. Pretty sure we’re supposed to go easy on ‘em.” 

                                               # # # # # 

     Maverick did not go easy on them. Your heart twisted down into your stomach when you heard them make the deal of taking two hundred push ups. What a bunch of imbeciles. You paced by the radio the entire time except when you were looking out the window. To your surprise, you heard Bradley be the first to go down. Why was he the first to get gunned down? 

     You watched him from the window, sweat dripping off his forehead as he took his punishment silently, aggressively. Normally you would have taken delight in seeing a bunch of cocky pilots get deflated. But seeing Bradley out there made you feel sick. You knew Maverick had no intention of playing favorites...but why couldn’t he have gunned down someone else? 

     You paced between the radio and the window. Bradley disappeared and was back on the radio a few minutes later. You ignored the way your insides fluttered at the sound of his voice. Maverick gunned them down with minimal effort. The line up of pilots doing push ups grew. You smiled when Hangman joined them. 

     But the satisfaction was short-lived as you heard Bradley get gunned down again. And again. And again. 

     “Dammit, Dad.” you ran a hand through your hair and turned away as Bradley knelt to do yet another brutal set. You felt helpless and stupid. Why were you having such a reaction? Why did it even matter? 

     You considered this for another moment, eyes landing on a cooler filled with water bottles in the room you had been forced to wait in. An idea sparked within you. You took a deep breath and pushed your shoulders straight. “Forget this.” You muttered as you grabbed a water bottle and your camera bag. 

     Bradley might hate your guts for not telling him who you were but you’d be dammed if you had to stand by while he suffered. Maverick said you had to stay grounded. But he didn’t say a word about staying away from Bradley Bradshaw. 

                                                  # # # # #  

     You had lost your courage by the time you were walking towards Bradley, water bottle in hand, heart pounding out of your chest. Everyone else has left him. You could tell even from a distance that he was angry and tired. The sweat and pain that covered every inch of him pushed you forward even as your absolute and utter fear urged you to run away. 

     You reached him just as he finished the set and had collapsed on the ground, stopping in front of him. He looked up at you, sweat dripping off his chin. 

     You looked at the ground and held out the bottle. “Here.” 

     Bradley was silent. You started to set it in front of him and go but then he took it, fingers brushing against your wrist, stilling you with the slightest of touches. 

     “I’m sorry,” the blazing heat in your face was worse than the sun beating down on you. “I should have told you who I was. Should’ve given you a warning.” 

     Bradley twisted off the cap. “Doesn’t matter.” He gestured at you with the bottle. “Not your fault that your dad ruined my life.” 

     “He was trying to help.” You managed to look him in the eye, your thoughts swirling with possible implications of him dismissing the fact you’re related to Maverick. 

     Bradley scoffed. “Some help.” He tilted his head back and drained the water bottle without stopping for breath. “Mom never mentioned you.” 

     “Your mom was the best.” A smile lit your face as you remembered. “I got to meet her a couple times a few years ago, before she...I wanted to come to the funeral, but dad knew that he was the last person you wanted to see.” You bit your lip. “She spoke highly of you.” 

     Bradley’s smile was faint and tainted with the pain of bittersweet memories. It made your heart hurt for him. “Why are you here?” He asked. 

     “I’ve been assigned to chronicle the captain’s life, help prove that humans should be in the cockpit instead of-” 

     “No, I mean why are you here?” He nodded at your surroundings, gaze burning into you. 

     You shrugged as if it was an every day occurrence for you to face your impossible introverted self and talk to a near perfect stranger. “You needed someone.” You bit your lip. “I mean, someone had to tell you that you exceeded two hundred push ups.” 

     Bradley scoffed but amusement was washing the turmoil from his eyes. You stepped back as he got to his feet and leaned against the plane behind him. “You look good like that. With your hair up.” 

     The heat in your face tripled. You gave a breathless laugh and ran a hand through the strands of hair that had escaped from their disheveled knot you had created that morning. “Shut up.” 

     “Want me to stop?” 

     “No,” you smiled up at him carefully, heart skipping at the way he was smiling back at you. God, did you just do that? Change the emotion in his eyes from pained to happy? You didn’t think you had that kind of power, especially not with pilots. “Just, go shower.” You said, biting your lip as he grinned. 

     “Yes sir.” Bradley watched as you turned and started back the way you had come. “Hey, Riot?” 

     “Yeah?” You looked over your shoulder. 

     “You ever eat supper?” 

     It felt like you had been hit by a tank. Surely this man was not implying that he wanted to go on a date.

      “Yeah?” You replied. 

      “Nice,” Bradley nodded for a moment before pushing off the plane. “Good to know.” 

     Confused and giddy beyond belief, you turned on your heel and continued to walk ahead of him. Your brain tried frantically to process. What on earth had just happened? Was he asking you out? Was he kidding? 

     Your fists clenched as you forced yourself to breathe. Despite the confusing chaos in your mind one thing was painfully certain. Bradley wasn’t upset with you. In fact, he didn’t seem to mind at all that Maverick was your father. The question was, what would Maverick think? Your stomach did a twist. 

     Well, you thought, if Bradley’s flirting was all in your head then there was no reason to worry. And if, by some random and highly unlikely miracle, Bradley was interested in you, then you would find out quick how Maverick felt about it. At least you knew that he wouldn’t ground him. As you stated earlier, he needed all the talent he could get. You just hoped that Bradley knew how to fly a jet with a black eye. 

Part 3

Fanfic Masterlist

[dragon-kazansky]

I get a kick out of you

Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky x Reader

Platonic! Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell x Reader

[Masterlist]

[Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

Warnings: None. Movie plot right in the middle. Feelings at the start and the end.

30 years later and Maverick is back in Top Gun. This time to teach it. It’s his turn to deal with his past, but it’s going to be OK. You’re there to help him. Both of you have someone to look out for.

Admiral Tom Kazansky and yourself are still going strong. Married life is treating you well, but his health is taking a turn. Tom wants to do his best by Pete, but some things are out of his hands.

They both need you now more than ever.

Word count: 2.4k

Chapter Five - Bits and pieces

♡♡♡

Maverick hadn’t contacted you last night, not that you expected him to. You didn’t see him after the bar. You headed to where you were staying, a house near the base. Tom had organised everything for you. You were to stay close by where it would be easier to keep an eye on Maverick and Rooster.

You swore to Tom you would only spend a night here and then return home. He insisted he would be alright, and you should stay over there.

It’s not like you lived far away or anything, he just wanted you closer to the base while you did this for him. Your husband was a hard man to argue with.

You woke up bright and early. As you gazed at the clock by your bed, which felt cold and empty without Tom beside you, you saw that within the next hour or so, the Top Gun class will begin. You sigh as you roll over. Just as you get comfortable, you see your phone light up on the table. You reach out and pick it up, squinting slightly at the brightness of your screen.

It’s a text.

You smile when you see Tom’s name on it.

Tom: Good morning!

You: Good morning. Your timing is impeccable.

Tom replies quickly. You know by the time that he would still be in bed himself. It was basically tradition for him to wake up with you. You would both often spend time cuddling in bed together before you actually had to get up on get on with your days.

You were missing it already.

Tom: I know you well enough to know you’re awake.

Though I am sad to wake up alone.

You could roll your eyes at that.

You: You asked me to come here.

Tom: I know. Thank you for going.

How is he?

You roll on to your back and look up at the ceiling for a moment. It went pretty much how you expected, to be honest.

You: He’s alright. Rooster showed up last night. He didn’t see Mav though. Tom, he is the spitting image of Goose. It was like looking into the past.

Tom: Do you want me to call you?

You know he’s only offering because he thinks you’re upset by this. You smile at the thought, but you don’t want him to strain his voice.

You: You don’t have to do that, Tom. I’ll see you soon.

He doesn’t reply right away, but his text comes through, you smile at your phone. Even now he makes you feel like a teenager in love.

Tom: Shame. I wanted to hear your voice. How am I supposed to go through my day now?

You: Oh hush, you. Go bother your daughter for a bit. I’ll text you later.

If only you could hear Tom’s laugh on the other end.

Tom: I love you.

You: I love you too.

You drop your phone on the bed and look back up at ceiling, a silly little smile etched onto your lips. The butterflies were having a party in your stomach, it seemed like. How would you ever cope without him?

There wasn’t much you could do for Maverick when he’s at the base, so all you could do for now was wait until the day was over to hear from him. You could only imagine what was going on. There was definitely going to be some tension in the air between him and Rooster.

You wondered if Bradley would reach out to you about this. You were often his go to person when things happened.

When your phone rang, you were sitting in your kitchen eating. In front of you was a book you had been invested in. Between writing your own stories, you liked to lose yourself within the pages of other authors. You had bookshelves full of books back home. Tom often laughed when you came home with more books to read, but he could account for the fact you had read every book you owned at least once in your life. He was always amazed by your dedications to the worlds that were printed on paper.

You look up from your book to see your phone lit up. You reach for it.

Bradley’s name is flashing in bold letters.

The class would be pretty much over by now. You take a deep breath before answering the call and speaking.

“Hello?”

♡♡♡

Pete enters the hanger where the Top Gun graduates sit. This was pretty much his classroom back in the day. He keeps his head up high as he walks between the seats, ignoring the looks some of the pilots have on their faces.

They remember him from last night. Hangman almost sinks down in his chair.

“Morning,” he greets them.

Hangman nods his head, slightly awkwardly. Payback shifts in his seat. Rooster stares blankly at him before turning his head away when Maverick’s eyes land on him.

Of all places to bump into this guy, it had to be here.

“The F-18 NATOPS.” Maverick holds up a manual.  “Contains everything they want you to know about your aircraft. I’m assuming you know the book inside and out.”

Some of them agree and call out they do.

Maverick bins the book.

Warlock and Cyclone share a look as the aviators all sit up in their seats.

Yeah, this wasn’t going to be like any other Top Gun class. This was Maverick’s class. They were going to learn his way.

“So does your enemy,” Maverick states.

“And we’re off,” Hondo mutters quietly.

“But what the enemy doesn’t know is your limits. I intend to find them, test them, push beyond. Today we’ll start with what you only think you know. You show me what you’re made of.”

Rooster lifts his head up a little higher. He plans on it.

Walking across the tarmac with their helmets in their hands, each of them head for the jets. Rooster marches alone as he follows the group. Maverick is hot on his tail calling or him.

“Rooster.”

Bradley doesn’t acknowledge him.

“Bradley.”

Nothing.

“Lieutenant Bradshaw!”

Rooster turns around.

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s not do it like this,” Maverick says, coming to a stop in front of the younger pilot.

“You gonna wash me out?” Bradley asks.

“That’ll be up to you, not me.”

“Am I dismissed?”

As the two stare each other down, talking, Hangman and Phoenix watch from each of their jets. It doesn’t take much to notice the tension between these two. Bradley walks away from Maverick.

Pete sighs softly as he walks away, heading to his own jet.

It had been a disaster. No one had got a kill on Maverick yet. It was frustrating. Rooster had been one of the first to get shot down by Maverick, though he flew really well.

As a result, he had to do 200 push-ups. This had been decided by Fanboy as the consequences to losing. Of course, everyone wanted to see Maverick do those 200 push-ups. So far, everyone else had been doing them.

Poor Hondo having to count for everyone.

Now Rooster was flying with Hangman, waiting for Mav. Rooster wasn’t willing to let Maverick play him again. This time he would get him.

“So, Rooster, mind if I ask you a personal question?” Hangman asked him.

“Would it matter if I did?” Rooster asked, less than interested in whatever Hangman had to ask him.

“What’s the story with you and Maverick? It seems like he got you rattled.”

“That’s none of your business,” Rooster tells him. “Now where the hell is he?”

“Been here the whole time,” Maverick says. His jet flies up from right under Rooster’s, flying inverted right above Bradley.

“Holy shit,” Hangman mutters.

“You see me now?” Maverick asks.

Hangman watches from his jet as Maverick and Rooster stare each other down. Yeah, there is definitely something going on there.

“Come on, let’s get it over with.”

“Fight’s on!” Rooster says, leading Maverick down into a spiral.

“What is with these two?” Hangman asks, watching them go.

They stay on top of one another as both jets spiral down into a long nosedive, spinning around each other.

“All right, you put us here. How you gonna get yourself out?” Maverick asks.

“You can bail out anytime.”

“How low you want to go, Rooster?”

Rapidly. both jets are descending out of the sky. At this rate they were definitely going to go below the hard deck.

“I can go as low as you, sir! And that’s saying something.”

“What’s past is past. For both of us,” Maverick says.

“You’d like to believe that, wouldn’t you?” Rooster growls.

“Hard deck is 5,000 feet, fellas. You are running out of room.” Hangman reminds them.

“Your strategy is about to run us into the ground. What’s your move?” Maverick asks.

The altitude is dropping is falling fast and the automated voice is ordering to pull up. Within seconds of getting as low as 500 feet, both jets pull up instantly. 

Rooster chases after Maverick.

“Now you got it. Don’t think, just do.” Maverick mutters.

“Come on, Rooster, you got him! Drop down and take the shot!” Hangman calls out, watching the two jets below him up ahead.

“It’s too low!”

“Too late. You had your chance,” Maverick says. He brakes, Rooster flies right under him. Maverick levels out behind Bradshaw and takes the shot.

That’s a kill.

“Same old Rooster,” Hangman comments.

Maverick pulls up to Rooster’s side and tells him to go see Hondo about his push-ups.

Rooster won’t let what happened go.

♡♡♡

You look up from your book to see your phone lit up. You reach for it.

Bradley’s name is flashing in bold letters.

The class would be pretty much over by now. You take a deep breath before answering the call and speaking.

“Hello?”

“Did you know?” He asks.

“Know what?”

“About Maverick.”

You bite your lip and sigh softly. It’s only been one day, and things already seem to have had a bad start.

“I knew as of yesterday.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” He asks, sounding a little desperate.

“Would it have made a difference? I only found out yesterday, Bradley. It’s because of Admiral Kazansky he’s even here. I was going to find out one way or another.”

“Here? You’re here too?”

“Oh... uh, yes.”

The line falls silent for a moment. You’re worried about him and call his name softly. You hear some shuffling and a sigh.

“Can I see you?” Bradley asks.

You smile softly.

“Of course, you can.”

Bradley gives you the address for his house in Miramar. You smile and thank him, telling him you’ll see him soon. He hangs up and you sigh. Oh, Bradley.

You make the trip over to where he’s living and find him sat on his doorstep waiting for you. You smile as you approach him. Bradley stands up as you walk over to his house and wastes no time in hugging you. You hug him back tightly, happy to see him. You both head inside.

Bradley takes you into his living room and he slumps down into a chair.

You sit down opposite him, watching him.

“How was it?” You ask.

“Awful.”

“Tell me about it,” you urge him. You want to know what’s on his mind, and you want him to share his thoughts with you.

If Bradley could talk to anyone, it would be you.

“He doesn’t think I have what it takes. He doesn’t think I’m ready,” Bradley tells you. Bradley doesn’t look at you until he asks his question. “Do you think I’m ready?”

You stare back at him.

“I know you are.”

Bradley nods his head a little bit and then sits forward in his seat.

“Why did he pull my papers?” Bradley asks you.

You sigh softly.

“Bradley...”

“Please? I need to know why he did it.”

“Bradley, I don’t know. I don’t know why. He never told me.” You lie to him. You hate it, but you don’t have much of a choice. You cannot be the reason his hatred grows.

Bradley looks down at the ground in defeat. You hate that look on his face.

“Bradley?” He doesn’t say anything, but you go on anyway. “No matter what happens with Top Gun, you can always call me. I’m never too far away. I won’t ask you to forgive and forget, but please don’t let these negative feelings get in the way of this mission.”

Bradley raises his eyes to meet yours.

“Thank you.”

You offer him a smile.

“Any time, Bradley.”

Rooster sits up a bit more in his seat and looks around his house. You know he’s thinking, which can be a dangerous thing sometimes, but you get the feeling you’ve done your bit. He needed someone he could talk to, and you were that.

“I’ll let you get on with your day, Bradley, but remember, I’m just a phone call away. Don’t hesitate. You’ll always have me,” you tell him.

Bradley turns back to you, and you see a slight smile on his face.

You get up and head to the door. You hear him get up too, coming up behind you to see you out. Just as you go to open the door and leave, Bradley speaks.

“Mav and I broke the hard deck today. Way below it.”

You turn and gaze at him with furrowed brows.

“I wasn’t trying to prove a point, not really. He just... He brings out this side of me and I have to test him. I have to prove to him I’m not a kid. I can do this job and do it well.”

“I know Rooster, but please, for my sake, don’t do something reckless. I can’t... I can’t lose any more Bradshaw’s,” you whisper the last part.

Bradley is quick to pull you into a hug. You wrap your arms around him and stand there quietly, burying your face into his neck. Bradley means the world to you. He’s all you have left of Goose, and God forbid anything ever happened to him. You wouldn’t know how to cope.

You both pull apart and you smile at him.

“Show Maverick what you’re made of, but don’t let him get to you. I’m going to give him a right old scolding when I see him.”

Bradley chuckles softly.

“Thank you.”

“Any time, Bradley. Any time.”

He watches you leave.

When you get back home, your phone buzzes with a text message. You have your key in the door when you open the message, and sigh when you see what it says.

Pete: Meet me at The Hard Deck, asap.

You resist the urge to groan and turn away from your house. Your boys would be so lost without you, you swear.

♡♡♡

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