#squadron dad au

[kanerallels]

For my 501st follower celebration, as requested here by @auroramagpie: a snippet of the Squadron Dad Au!

“Drop and give me twenty!”

Chass let out a long, theatrical groan as she dropped to the ground and started doing push ups next to Wyl, who was already doing his. “I think I hate this guy,” she mumbled.

“He’s… an acquired taste,” Wyl offered.

“That’s how you say you hate someone on Polyneus, right?” Nath said from next to them. The man was breathing hard, but still wore an easy grin.

Before Wyl could answer, their drill sergeant spoke up. It was tough for a grown man to look menacing while wrangling a five year old, but Kanan Jarrus managed to at least look stern. “Tensent, you seem like you’re enjoying yourself. This getting too easy for you?”

“Not at all, sir,” Nath called back.

“What about you, Chadic? You ready to take a break?”

Scowling at him, Chass said, “You know what you can do with your break? You can take it and—”

“Mr. Jarrus.” The clear, familiar voice of General Syndulla cut through whatever Chass had been about to say. Striding into the room where they were training, the general clasped her hands behind her back, surveying them with a thoughtful expression as she took it all in— Chass, Wyl, Nath, and Quell all doing push ups, while Jarrus watched, holding his kid’s backpack leash in one hand as Jacen explored the confines of the room.

“General Hera,” Kanan said, the corner of his mouth tipping up into a smile. Chass still wasn’t sure how this guy, of all people, got away with using the general’s first name. But then, there was a lot about him that she neither knew nor cared to know. Because she hated his guts.

“I take it things are going well?” General Syndulla said.

“More or less. With a little more training and discipline, I might even be able to whip them into shape. You’re welcome to stay and watch, if you want.”

“Tempting though that offer may be,” the general said, “I have other projects to work on. I just wanted to make sure things were running smoothly.”

“Absolutely, general. Drop by anytime,” he continued, and Chass could swear there was something almost flirtatious in his tone. I’m definitely imagining it, she told herself.

“After all, I’m always happy to have you around,” he added.

Oh yeah I’m not imagining that. Was their drill sergeant flirting with the general? Chass exchanged a glance with Wyl, who was grimacing. He’s lost his mind.

General Syndulla’s eyebrow went up. But all she said was, “As I said, I’m busy. But the offer is appreciated. Keep up the good work.”

Turning on her heel, she headed out of the room, and if he hadn’t been blind, Chass would swear that Kanan watched her go.

As they finished their push ups, Wyl hopped to his feet and went over to Kanan. “Uh, sir? About General Syndulla…”

“What about her?” Kanan said, frowning at him.

“Well, it’s just— I thought you should know. We’re pretty sure she’s married.”

To Chass’s surprise, Kanan found this so uproariously funny that he forgot to make them do their next set of drills, and sent them off to their ship maintenance time while he was still chuckling.

[jakekazansky]

More thoughts for my juvenile delinquent turned fighter pilot Jake au

Previous post

Jake finishes high school in juvie at 16 cause he was bored and getting his GED was easy

He’s 17 when he starts at the academy cause that sounded better than sitting around juvie for a year til he turned 18

Due to his history and being 17, Jake is assigned to an admiral to go stay with on breaks and check in with since they couldn’t put an ankle monitor on him

The admiral is Sam “Merlin” Wells who over time becomes like a dad to Jake along with his husband slider

Jake isn’t allowed to drive until he’s 18 cause they think he might try to run if given the chance

Before stealing that high performance car at 16, Jake hid his own car at a friends uncles junk yard and paid him all the cash he had and promised to pay him another significant sum of money when he comes back to get the car

The car is a skyline (like Brian drives in fast and furious)

Jake goes to pick it up when he’s 26 (in this au police can no longer search a vehicle after 10 years after a crime is committed (so if he committed the crime in March 14, 2006 he would have to wait til March 15, 2016 to be able to drive the car again without the police being able to search it for evidence) (no clue if this is how crimes and evidence works irl but it’s how it works in my au

So in my mind the ship for this is Beau/Jake cause I imagine Beau being a car guy

They meet at a car meet when Jake is in flight school (Jake is like 21-22)

They end up getting married 3 weeks after meeting (neither knows the other is in the navy but they told each other they both travel frequently for work)

They only find out cause beau is in charge of all the squadrons on the ship doing carrier training and Jake is on that carrier doing carrier training after flight school

Javy and warlock were both at the courthouse as witnesses when Beau and Jake get married

So the big crime that Jake actually does to get arrested at 16 is to steal a prototype car from an event where he pretended to be a valet

What attracts the navy to Jake, is that during the chase Jake uses a homemade EMP device to disable police vehicles en mass which has never been done before as the ones at that time required you to basically ‘lock on’ to another vehicle and could only be used on one vehicle

Essentially, the military want Jake to teach them how to replicate the one he used since Jake destroyed the one he used during the police chase

Jake would roll up to dagger family dinner (mav has the daggers over for dinner every other week or more, sometimes ice is there sometimes he isn’t) with his skyline once he could drive it again, running late

Mav doesn’t allow phones at dinner cause it’s “family time” which is fine by Jake but Jake makes a comment about ‘ how being phone free means his husband can’t bitch about Jake spending $$$$ on new tires’

Ice getting home and laughing cause the neighbors are bitching about Jake’s car cause it’s old and is bringing down their property value

This is the first day Jake is driving his skyline again after getting it back

No one knows about Jake’s history at this point, not even Javy, he just thinks Jake is super in to cars

Thinking about having it be a slight crosser with fast and furious where Brian and Jake are friends but idk for certain yet

[tgmsunmontue]

From the top 1/? (WIP)

IceMav, (eventual) Explicit, (background Hangster who are already established). Set post-TGM. (No dead Ice obviously).

Featuring not-mistaken identities (where they (Ice and Mav) pretend to be in the dark for REASONS), Ice is Jake's Uncle Tom, Mav is Bradley's Dad, everyone knows everyone, (un)requited love, coming out as an older person, and a little bit of a circus-vibe where Ice has a horrible realization that this is indeed his circus and these are also his monkeys.

An AU where Mav married Carole and adopted Bradley to make things easier legally. A USNA Bradley who has been very careful to separate Dad/Pete from godfather/Maverick. They had an argument prior to TGM, but it was around Maverick being careless with his life (RE: Darkstar because Bradley got the call that Maverick was missing, presumed dead). So it was about risk taking and thinking while flying, so that was happening and Bradley admits to the Dagger Squadron that Maverick is his godfather and they have a ‘complicated relationship’ which isn’t a lie per se, however it’s… complicated.

                He and Bradley haven’t reached the stage yet where they’ve met any of each other’s family. They haven’t even introduced each other to their friends as boyfriends yet, and their circle of friends overlap. And he’s okay with that. More than okay actually. Doesn’t quite know how he’d broach the whole by the way I’m sort of related to the COMPACFLT through my mom conversation. He’s close with Tom now, closer than he is to any of his mom’s other cousins that’s for sure. Idolized him when he was young, and now also holds a deep-rooted respect and affection for the man. It had also helped knowing he had someone to look to as a role model, someone who was gay in the Navy and got so high up no-one could do anything to him now. Jake wanted that. Badly.

                But he also kind of wants his Uncle Tom to be happy. Although, hell, for all he knew he could have had a secret lover all these years. If anyone could keep it hidden it’s Uncle Tom, face quiet and impassive, unmoving and unflinching. He’d really hoped for a callsign half as cool as Iceman, and even if Uncle Tom jokes that he does have a literal half with man, he wishes he didn’t have the connotations of Hangman, even if it’s because of fucking song lyrics he was forever quoting and now twisted into something that make people assume things before they even know him.

                Not that he really has that problem now, with the Dagger Squadron being made a permanent detachment and with them all knowing each other so well now. They know he’s got their backs when it actually comes down to it. And he likes being based where his Uncle Tom is, because while he’s meant to be based in Hawaii they’ve made some concessions due to his cancer treatment. He knows their entire family is grateful, not least his Aunty Sarah. God, he knows it’s the high of surviving a literal suicide mission but life feels so good right now. He’s expecting Bradley to turn up any minute, they’ve got plans for dinner and a movie and then sex, not necessarily in that order.

                When he opens his door and Rooster is there, he can’t help the little happy swoop his insides do and he lets Bradley kiss him hello.

                “Hi.”

                “Hi. How are you?”

                “Good. Little annoyed… my dad is talking about getting back together with an ex…”

                “Is this the ex you like, or don’t like?”

                “You can safely bet money that it’s nearly always an ex I don’t like. I don’t think he’s ever had a relationship with anyone I’ve actually liked… shit that’s depressing.”

                “Maybe you just have really high standards for him?”

                “You mean unlike for myself, where my standards are really low?”

                “Hey!”

                They end up play-wrestling which quickly morphs into not-play making-out and yeah, the sex comes before dinner but he was sort of banking on that, making food that would be perfectly fine just staying warm in the oven. They end up curled around each other on the sofa, queuing up a movie and Jake asks about his day. Listens as Bradley talks about going out to Maverick’s hangar to work on the plane, having lunch with his dad and he wonders if Maverick has met Bradley’s step-dad. Obviously he must have, he’s been around even longer, although it must be weird to have two people called Pete wandering around, he guesses that’s why Bradley calls Maverick Maverick, and his step-dad dad. Stops the confusion.

                He knows Maverick and Bradley had a falling out of some sort, they’d been very angry with each other. He figured out that Maverick flew with Bradley’s dad, was the pilot when his dad died, and he’d thought it had been that. But then Bradley had dropped the bombshell that Maverick was his godfather and they’d had a fight over something he can’t talk about, but they would be fine. So Jake hasn’t pushed wanting to also hang out with Maverick, because when Bradley talks about the P-51 and the hangar his fingers itch but he gets Bradley wanting to mend bridges with his godfather.

                More than that though he wants to meet Bradley’s step-dad, doesn’t understand Bradley’s reticence about introducing them. It’s not like he’s going to care. But they’ve only been doing this, whatever it is, for a couple of weeks, which he guesses is early days, but with everything they’ve gone through in the last couple of months it also feels like several lifetimes. Then again, he’s in no rush to introduce Bradley to Uncle Tom, so maybe it’s for the best they wait a few weeks. Or months.

                “You still thinking about your dad?”

                “Yeah. I just need to get him seeing someone else. Anyone to take his mind off getting back with Georgia. Or any of his exes for that matter. Georgia especially is… well. I have no idea what she gets out of sleeping with Dad. She’s anti military for a start.”

                “The fact that she gets to sleep with him?”

                “Ew, gross…”

                “Maybe she thinks she can convert him to a non-military life one blowjob at a time…”

                “You could try that on me you know, see if you can convince me to do something with a blowjob…”

                “Don’t think I need the promise of a bj to convince you to do anything,” Jake says with a grin. “You know, my uncle Tom is gay, maybe we could set them up? Well, assuming your dad swings both ways?”

                “Huh. Yeah… He does. Keeps that pretty much on the down-low, very much on a need to know basis. Pretty sure I only know because I saw him trying to sneak a guy out when I was seventeen. Did make me feel safer about coming out to him myself though.”

…            …            …

                “Jake, I am not installing Grindr on my phone, work, personal or otherwise.”

                “Thought you might say that, so I bought you a burner. Well, please don’t actually burn it, but you know what I mean.”

                “Jake…” Tom lets out an exasperated sigh. “I wouldn’t burn it. I know what a burner is. I’m not an idiot. I just don’t want to go on a date…”

                “Okay, so you don’t actually have to go on a date. All my cards on the table. I’m using the app to introduce you to the step-dad of my… uh, a friend.”

                “A friend huh? Is this the same friend you won’t introduce to the family?”

                “Yes. The exact one. Anyway, I just want you to send him a couple of messages. Let’s say ten messages. After that you can go back to ignoring it, remove the battery from the phone and pretend it never happened. Okay?”

                “Will you let it go if I do this?”

                “I mean… yeah. I hope you make a friend or something, but he’s military as well, so you guys have something in common at least…”

                “Fine. But I want the name of your friend.”

                “No! You’ll just look him up.”

                “He’s Navy?”

                “No!”

                “He is! Good job.”

…            …            …

                “Bradley! Why is Grindr amongst my recently installed apps!”

                “I’m setting you up!” Bradley calls out, grabbing two beers to go with their takeout Chinese.

                “I don’t need setting up. I can find my own dates. I don’t need an app!”

                “Yes, you do. You can’t get back with Georgia just because you’re lonely. Look, I’m not going to make you swipe through dick-pics…”

                “Maybe I want to swipe through dick-pics!”

                “Mav, be serious! You just said you didn’t want the app!”

                “Seriously? You’re the one that installed Grindr on my phone.”

                “God, maybe this was an awful idea.”

                “Yeah, you think?”

                “Okay, give me a second,” Bradley mutters, rolling his eyes and pulling his own from his pocket and thumbing into his contacts.

                “Hi… how’s it going?” Jake asks, voice quiet, and he must still be at his Uncle’s house.

                “Not well. You think we can maybe just set them up with an app that blocks their numbers and then just let them talk that way?”

                “Can’t hurt to try… your dad resisting the Grindr approach too huh?”

                “So much. And I get it, HE’S REALLY OLD,” Bradley says, raising his voice while looking Mav dead in the eye.

                “Hey! I heard that!”

                “You were meant to!”

                He ignores the glare Mav shoots him and pokes his tongue out at the back of his head as he walks away.

                “Okay, let’s see what we can find. I’ll message you and let you know.”

                “Sure thing.”

                Fifteen minutes later Jake has sent him the information, an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, one which hides the number of the phone sending the message. It’s silent and has to be manually opened to check for notifications, which is very old-school but means there’s no potential odd sounding pings. The icon is a mundane looking tower symbol and he guesses that could mean anything.

                “Okay Mav – you need to give this guy a chance okay? Please?”

                “What’s in it for me?”

                “I will stop bothering you about… uh… your love life for six months?”

                “No deal. I want to meet the guy you just rang. Who’s he in all this?”

                “Uh… I guess he’s my boyfriend.”

                “Ooohhh… it’s new huh? You’re in that new loved-up stage where you want everyone around you to be in the same stage.”

                “Uh, I mean we’ve known each other for years, but we’ve recently… come to an arrangement.”

                “Is it boyfriends or friends with benefits?”

                “Well, we weren’t exactly friends before, so definitely closer to boyfriends I guess,” Bradley says, carefully skirting the fact that Mav actually already knows Jake quite well.

                “Great. I’ll send what, ten messages to this guy and then I get to meet your guy in two weeks.”

                “No! Three months. And twenty messages.”

                “You realize you can’t force me to do anything right? You have no bargaining power here?”

                “I know, but… for me?”

                “Ugh… sad cow eyes. Fine fine, put them away. I’ll message the guy. But I do want to meet your guy when you feel the timing is right.”

                “Yeah, of course.”

                God he hopes this works because he has no idea if Mav will like the fact he’s with Jake or not.

…            …            …

                They meet up every week when they’re both in the same place, and it’s been a treat these last few months, but also a trial. Usually the distance has been a unintended blessing, making his unfortunate case of unrequited love easier to ignore. When he was younger he’d thought it was just a crush, that it would just… fade away. Instead the opposite has happened, time and distance have hardened and solidified similar to how pressure and temperature turn limestone into marble his love for Maverick is a solid and unmoving object that is ever present. Every time Mav walks through his front door he has to fight the urge to enfold him in his arms and just hold him. Every time.

                “Did you ever want kids of your own?” Pete asks and Tom startles, looks across at him.

                “No. I have nieces and nephews and cousin’s kids coming out my ears. They’re enough trouble to be getting on with, without adding my own genes to the mix. Wasn’t ever going to happen anyway,” he tacks on, and he wonders if this, today, this moment, will be the time it twigs and Mav will ask what he means.

                “Too much trouble by half. Do you know what Bradley did the other day? Installed a dating app on my phone.”

                “What? Why would he do that?”

                “He thought I was considering getting back with Georgia for some reason.”

                “And you’re not?”

                “No. Anyway, he’s trying to set me up with someone. At least you don’t have to worry about that.”

                “You’d be surprised. My cousins kid bought me a phone, a burner phone, with a dating app installed on it.”

                “Oh yeah? Which one?”

                Tom swallows.

                Okay.

                No more subtle hints.

                It’s now or never.

                “Grindr.”

                He didn’t purposely wait for Mav to have a sip of his drink, but he still sprays it out across the coffee table, eyes bugging out and he can’t seem to look Tom in the eye and he feels his stomach start to sink.

                “You… ah… you know that app is for gay guys right?”

                “I’m aware.”

                Pete just stares at him and he wonders if this is it. The moment his best friend just gets up and walks out of his life.

                “You never told me.”

                “You never asked.”

                “Yeah well, there was a whole thing about not asking and not telling until about ten years ago so… sorry if I thought you’d have maybe mentioned it. Or at least… alluded to it.”

                “I did Pete. With something called subtlety. I know it’s not your strong suit, but I tried to leave it there in the open for you to pick up on. I’m only just… getting to the grips with the idea of being more out.”

                “Okay. Uh. Does anyone else know?”

                Tom snorts.

                “Yeah, my whole family for a start. Had to get them to stop trying to marry me off. Slider of course.”

                “Why of course? Why Slider?”

                “He’s known me for a very long time.”

                “I’ve known you for a long time.”

                He doesn’t want to mention that Slider figured it out, because he’s had to learn to be subtle, and his weak point has and will always be the man in front of him. And he can never let him know. Still, Mav sounds annoyed.

                “Slider figured it out. He’s too perceptive for his own good,” Tom mutters, because he’s also the one person who knows about his lifelong torch bearing.

                “Huh. Okay.”

…            …            …

                Tom locks the house up, Mav having left to go home after Tom had soundly beaten him at chess. He knows it isn’t one of Mav’s favorite games, that he really only plays to humor Tom and give them something to do while they talk… his brain is catching on something and it’s going to bother him until he figures it out. Pete. Playing chess simply to spend more time with him...

                He stops.

                Blinks.

                Pete had said Bradley had installed a dating app on his phone.

                Within a day of Jake giving him a phone with Grindr installed, which quickly morphed to a simple encrypted messaging service.

                He’s learnt to not ignore his gut and this is deeply suspicious with the coincidence.

                He wonders if Jake and Bradley are dating. The idea of that makes him smile, even if it’ll cause an administrative nightmare. He knows they know each other, they’re part of the same squadron and there are rules, however it wouldn’t surprise him at all if both Bradley and Jake decided that that particular rule was for other people.

                Wait.

                He suddenly needs to know which app it is exactly that Bradley installed and he has his phone in his hand ringing him before he even considers the time of night, or where Bradley might be right now.

                “Hey Uncle Ice… Everything okay?”

                “Hey Bradley. Sorry for the late call, Just, uh, Mav mentioned you installed a dating app on his phone. You mind telling me which one it was?”

                “Uh… Grindr. Why?”

                “Oh. No reason. Just curious Thanks. Have a good night.”

                Why would Bradley install Grindr.

                Maverick’s not gay.

                To his knowledge Maverick isn’t even bisexual. Or anything else that might imply he’s anything other than overwhelmingly heterosexual.

                Maverick didn’t say anything tonight when he learnt about Tom’s own sexuality.

                Maybe Bradley knows something Tom doesn’t.

                Scratch that.

                Bradley definitely knows something Tom doesn’t.

CHAPTER TWO

[charliemwrites]

idek how many days it's been at this point but I cannot keep the Keeper/Kept worms at bay and they have wormed into a childhood memory of mine that I think fits this au soooo well!

When I was a smol bean (2 or 3 I think) my father was actually active duty special operations (flew on the same gunship Shadow Company uses for close air support, and was assigned to the real-life squadron that flys the "spooky's"/AC-130H frequently referenced in the CoD universe. bit of personal lore lol). ANYWAY the first time my dad deployed after I was born I snuck one of my baby socks into his big green duffel bag while he was packing and when he found it and showed his squadron?!?! For the rest of their tour of duty they WOULD NOT clear the gunship for takeoff unless my dad showed them he had my little sock in his flight suit because his entire squadron had made it their good luck charm for missions. I think this is 1000% something Feral, Shy Thing and Good Girl/Boy would do for their keepers and all the keepers/team would all absolutely cary whatever they had snuck into their bag with them RELIGIOUSLY on missions.

Okay first of all??? This is utterly adorable and I could CRY. Thank you for sharing that lore it’s going to live in my head rent FREE. I love stuff like that.

As for little tokens?!

For Simon, it’s a rock that Feral gave him after a penguin documentary (per this ask). But I could also see her biting him hard enough to leave a bruise that lasts, something that he can’t lose somehow but fades. When it’s gone it means he needs to come home. He presses on it when he misses her.

For Johnny, the red mask is one. Shy Thing has written a little message on the inside in marker something like “I love you” or “come home safe” with her initials. I can also see her crafting a little soap bar charm that he has to put with his dog tags or belt or something.

Good Girl has sewn/embroidered something in his hat. A flower, a heart, her initials, maybe a cigar. The other thing is a lighter that she built from a kit and hand-engraved painstakingly. Even if he hasn’t brought his cigars on the mission, he has the lighter.

[whohasthecards]

Top Gun AU Idea -- Jake is Mav's son and grew up in foster care.

Jake only has a beat up picture of his dad and that his name was "Pete". He didn't know his mother at all, not even his birth certificate. He was abandoned and whoever abandoned him made sure that his lineage would never be traced.

He figured out who his father was during his first time in Top Gun.

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

He also found out that his father was married to the COMPACFLT.

He didn't need a father anymore, right? And he wouldn't want to break up a family in his desperate attempt to maybe gain one. His father probably didn't know he existed. Hell, his father could even be the one that abandoned him (although why he would leave the picture makes that theory unlikely).

However, he did want to meet the one of the Navy's top pilots. It's all professional curiousity.

(He was in the same profession as his father, aviation is in his blood.)

He will become the best.

Maybe he'd meet Maverick once he's on top.

During his first air combat kill, Iceman was the one to shake his hand. The admiral gave him a clap on his shoulder and congratulated him.

The mission occured.

As a person, Maverick was not who he expected him to be.

As a pilot, Maverick was the best.

He was numb when Maverick and Rooster were shot down.

He never felt more alive and scared when he pushed his jet to save them.

He turned and walked away when he saw Rooster and Maverick hug it out, confirming his suspicions during training.

Rooster was Maverick's son, in every way that matters.

Blood doesn't matter, heck there isn't even a blood test that proves that Jake was his son. Only a battered photo with scripted handwriting.

Jake should let go.

After the mission, Dagger squad becomes a permanent squadron with Maverick as team leader.

Maverick got along with every single Dagger just fine, but there was an awkwardness between Hangman and himself that neither knew how to bridge. Mav never did know how to act around people who was just like himself.

Maverick acts paternal and caring to everybody, especially Bradley, and Jake had to swallow the growing jealousy (I don't need him, I don't need him, I don't need--). Why did everyone get a family and a Mav that would look their way for more than 10 seconds?

Why did Rooster get everything he ever wanted?

What did he do or not do that made him deserve this crippling feeling of jealousy and loneliness?

[oh-great-authoress]

Hey there. Was wondering if I could help jog your muse so how about this?

Can I have five facts about a Top Gun AU where Bradley is hurt on mission and Mav is of course the Dagger dad. You decide if he's actually there or on the radio. ;D

Thank you so much for this ask, @musewrangler!

I’m so sorry this took an eternity, but I only got the inspiration for this now!

*sighs in author*

Anyway, many authors better than me have tackled the idea of Bradley getting injured on the Uranium Mission, so I decided to tweak the prompt a little bit—I hope you like this!

It’s a big deal—this is the first mission of the newly formed VFA-223, the “Black Cloaks”, and it’s air cover for a high value hostage rescue in Eastern Europe; a simple task, ostensibly, for such skilled pilots: Bradley is mission lead, Jake is his wingman, with Omaha and Halo, Payback and Fanboy as their two Foxtrot teams.

Mav is there in the command center, practically ready to jump out of his skin, praying they all make it home, his heart sinking when, though the hostages are successfully rescued, the mission quickly turns bad for the Daggers; there’s much more firepower than the intelligence indicated, including a UN sanctioned missile system—however, Mav’s trained them well; they’re all able to evade its targeting system, barely using their flares and chaff, but when an RPG catches Bradley off guard, Mav practically knocks Cyclone over in his rush to get to the radio as they all hear Jake’s terrified “Roo!”.

Bradley just manages to dive to avoid most of the explosion, but the blast has damaged his right aileron, with shrapnel striking his cockpit, cutting into his leg, and shearing off most of the F-18’s right elevator; he’s about to bail out of his jet into enemy territory for the second time in two years when he feels a warm hand close around his own on the stick, the battered aircraft suddenly stabilizing. “Let me show you the way home, kiddo,” a warm voice echoes in his ear, the ghost of a mustache whispering against his cheek, and as he looks out the corner of his eye, he can see the mirage of an F-14 on his wing, with a silver and blue-helmeted pilot at the stick.

Gently reassuring everyone over comms that he had control over the aircraft, especially Mav, whose fatherly concern is thinly veiled by military protocol, he miraculously makes it home, to the shock of his whole squadron when they see the state of the aircraft, everyone hugging him, Mav the tightest of all, who then promptly drags him to medical, and if the whole squadron along with its commanding officer decides to camp out in a particular room, the corpsmen decide not to mention anything.

Over the squadron’s long and storied history, it becomes a legend reverently whispered by every aviator assigned there, that if you ever find yourself in a mission gone bad, more often than not, you’ll feel a warm hand around yours on the stick, as a mustache ghosts against your cheek, and catch the faint sight of an F-14 at your wing with a silver and blue-helmed pilot at the stick, and eventually, also an F-18E with a black, white, and red-helmed pilot at the stick, VFA-223’s own guardian angels, ready to show their aviators the way home.

[padawansuggest]

So. Y’all know that newer fic I made where Obi-Wan and Dooku get deaged and it makes Dooku light again cause it took away the insanity that being in the dark caused?

Yeah so I wasn’t gonna say anything cause this is a plot point all it’s own. But. It’s evolved so let’s chat a moment.

Ventress hears about Dooku getting deaged and it at first sends her into a rage, but then a spiraling depression.

The ghost of master Ky Narec shows up and begs her not to do anything rash. She’s crying and full of grief after losing TWO masters now and sorta just… wanders off to the planet where they got deaged… and ends up deaged herself.

But. In the process her master’s ghost is still there begging her not to do this because she’ll be just a little girl with no one there to take care of her.

And that grief ends up making him follow her all the way and. Ends up. Alive. Again. As young as he was when he first met Asajj.

But the difference is. He was a ghost. And therefore, different, he still has ALL his memories now. Being dead, watching his little girl fall, watching his bestie (in this AU it’s got a reason) take over her training and taint her further.

And now he’s looking into little five year old baby girl Asajj’s big eyes and just unable to do anything but absolutely fold to those confused eyes. Asajj is upset at all the changes but dada is still there and now he’s cuddling her and kissing her head like he does when they encounter something dangerous and walking them off to the nearest squadron of clones that were supposed to guard the deaging anomaly.

Anyways, they get back to the temple, Ky is upset and depressed, but Dooku is there and Ky has Some Words for him mostly threats that if Dooku drags their baby into the dark again he’ll neuter him, but yeah.

Now they’re platonically life partner raising Asajj who’s still baffled at it all but she’s got her da and even another da who just showed up and already has a bond with her! What luck she has, to be a happy healthy baby girl with two loving parents and getting cuddles! Wow!

Anyways. This all happens several months after the actual fic started, and so Asajj has been spiraling a while and yes I made myself tear up at giving her two loving dads.

[topaz-witch-tea]

Yanqing’s Happy Family AU: Baiheng’s Parenting

I can finally drop all the stuff I've been working on now that I don't have to work overtime!!! It was torture watching all my stuff be in-progress and not being able to work on them.

1. Spoils him the most out of the five. She has spent an outrageous amount on her nephew. Yanqing, as a kid, while easy was also quite picky about certain things, and one of them was clothes. He hated onesies and would cry and fight when people would put him in one, preferring a cross-collar top and trousers. The issue was that there were not a lot of options when it came to that. Baiheng proceeded to spend hundred of thousands of strales on custom clothing for baby Yanqing, who like all babies, would spit and vomit on them. When asked about it, she stated "You cannot honestly expect me to sit there and watch you put Yanqing in plain, unstylish clothes." This would continue as she would order for him more and more custom clothes. Yanqing currently had 5 winter cloaks in a variety of colors, fur trims, and clasps from his auntie.

2. She taught Yanqing how to drive a Starskiff. In fact, I am convinced she taught everyone in the HCQ how to drive. She was a renowned pilot back in the day and definitely knows her way around one. But it should be prefaced, that she taught Yanqing way before the legal age to drive a starskiff. Her mentality was that if Yanqing was old enough to join the battlefield, he should learn to drive since it might one day save his life. She is a very chill teacher and had gone out to buy an old starskiff to teach him in. However, she did it in secret since the three dads were already very against Yanqing going out to fight even though he had earned his position as lieutenant and any possible incident/issue could cause them to revoke Yanqing's mission. Yanqing, being the responsible kid he is, never drove in public and his dads did not know for a long time. They only found out when he was 15 and his squadron was ambushed by the enemy. After getting his men out first, Yanqing commandeered an abandoned starskiff to escape as well. Despite the fact it was hidden from them, the three could not be mad in the slightest since it saved their son's life.

3. Baiheng has fought many families at PTA meetings. She has the most available schedule and participates in a lot of daily school events for Yanqing. Yanqing goes to a fancy private school where a lot of children of the nobility go, and Baiheng never forgot the comments that floated around when Yanqing was first taken in (comments are in the fic Family Dinner). Some nobles still keep the belief that Yanqing is a nuisance that lived too long and the attitude trickles down to their easily-influenced children. Baiheng does not stand for this at all, she attends every meeting with the intention of throwing down. While she doesn't fault the children, she does not hold the same patience for the adults. She actually punched a mother in the face during a PTA meeting for bad-mouthing her nephew and dared the woman and her family to retaliate. "Go on then, you can fight back if you want. Or you can even go and report what happened to the Cloud Knights, where you can repeat what you said about Yanqing to the General instead."

4. When Yanqing was just a little baby and was left in her care, she would constantly send photos every hour in the group chat so no one would miss anything. There were a lot of photos of him sleeping or smiling at the camera. There was one photo of Yanqing in a sea-green cloak where the hoodie had little horns resembling Dan Feng's. The photo was his screen saver for a year.

I hope you like them! Feel free to let me know if you want a part 2 to any of my headcanons or want a drabble written about them.

[dearsnow]

I’m planning a few series after I finish Out of Touch and the oneshots so this is just a general interest poll 👀 below the poll is a brief description of each series! (Not all will be written, because that would be insane)

I would really appreciate a comment, reblog, ask, basically anything letting me know why you think the series you chose has the greatest potential. It’ll really help me narrow things down :)

And if the series says “love interest unknown”, feel free to tell me who you want to see as the love interest!

1. Angel on Earth: Rivals to lovers with Jake! You’re the new hotshot pilot before the events of Top Gun Maverick and you just so happen to be his wingman during every single goddamn deployment. More just a collection of every time you’ve interacted with him, leading up to him eventually growing and learning to love you. Your call sign is “Angel” because you’re always looking out for the other pilots, like a guardian angel, while Jake is attempting to leave everyone behind.

2. Jackrabbit: You’re a mechanic working on all the planes and jets, but you’ve always dreamed of being a pilot. Unfortunately, you just can’t seem to get to where you want to be. You make friends with Bob after working with him for a while, and he eventually steers you in the right direction and helps you get into flight school. He gives you the unofficial call sign “Jackrabbit” because you’re always thinking fast, and you can be a bit jumpy at times. Somewhat self indulgent but it can work lol

3. Down by the Bay: Interactive choose your own man adventure story!! Based off of the vibes of Our Life: Beginnings and Always (my favorite game). Coastal!AU. Starts off with you being paid to make friends with your mysterious new neighbor (Bradley) after his dad passes away, continues with you meeting your two best friends in school (Bob and Phoenix), and goes into you helping Bradley thwart the boy who’s been picking on him (Jake). Basically just your whole story of growing up in a small beach town where you get to pick your own suitor. Will likely be a long, long series, so there’s not a full guarantee that I will finish it before my top gun phase ends :(

4. Love Me Like a Sailor: After rescuing a mysterious sailor from a stormy shipwreck, you can’t stop thinking about him. The Little Mermaid AU!!! Mermaid!reader, Prince Eric!Bob, basically just me turning the vibes of my Jacaerys fic (the day the sun met the sea) into a series. Honestly I think this one would be the most interesting and the most fun to explore.

5. Space!AU: You and a squadron of fellow astronauts get sent to space to fix a very important satellite, but your ship breaks down while you’re in orbit. Can you and the other characters avoid death (and killing each other) by working together and settling your differences before help arrives?

6. Descendants!AU: Ok hear me out 😭 it’s less Disney villains and more vibes, but your rowdy, underfunded school of magic got combined with the uppity, rich school of magic. Your only goal is to steal the magic wand that has the power to bring your father back from the dead (potentially Bradley’s sister? No clue if I want to make him your brother bc that would take him away as a love interest), and by doing so, you have to make the crown prince (unknown currently) fall in love with you so you can get close enough to the wand. Love spells, magic, unique characters, just everything that descendants brings and more <3

[redfurrycat]

🐓🤠Hangster Fic-on-Tumblr Recs🤠🐓

🐓🤠Hangster Goodies to Read! 🐓🤠

Check the Top Gun Masterlist post for the latest updated version. 💕

Tumblr Authors: allbark-no-bite, film-in-my-soul, green-socks, hangster-hangout, icemavs, natashatrace, norabrice1701, ravens-words, semperhuggs, tgmsunmontue, the-sun-and-the-sky.

(Use this post to let me know about your works, it’s easier for me to keep track!)

(Reminder to come here in case Our Beloved is Down.

*True Story of why I wanted to do this specific recs list*)

TGMSUNMONTUE (AO3 – SunMonTue)

Tgmsunmontue’s Masterlist, including:

Another Time ➡️ 14 Chapters | M | BodySwap | Jake wakes up in Rooster's body ~30 hours post-Mission and they have to deal with it. They're adults. Apparently.

Bird on a Wire ➡️ 3 Chapters | E | Meet-cute | Jake tries to make a good impression on one of the servers at a restaurant. Except he turns out to be the head chef. Who in turn tries make a good impression. Their families try and help.

He remembers ➡️ 1 Chapter | Bradley remembers key points in his life as he faces starting at the USNA. IceMav feels.

It's all academic darlin' ➡️ 9 Chapters | E | Academic Professor AU | Bradley is a professor but living his best well-adjusted life with IceMav parents. Jake is a pilot. Maverick tries (and fails) to play matchmaker, so he tries again.

Lonely Nights ➡️ 4 Chapters | E | Smut | Rooster really needs to get laid.                                                                                       

ICEMAVS (Ao3 – Sreshaw)

Avery’s Masterlist, including:

Planes, trains, and gay people ➡️ 3 Chapters | E | Planes, Trains, and Automobiles AU | Bradley just wanted to get home for Thanksgiving to see him mom and uncles. What he ended up with was three days with a hot stranger who happened to annoy the shit out of him.

Springsteen ➡️ 2 Chapters | M | High School | Bradley Bradshaw has to pick up and move from San Diego, California, with his not-dad Pete "Maverick" Mitchell to Corpus Christi, Texas. He's not upset about it, but he doesn't expect to fall hard for a boy he meets there.

Whiskey and Rye ➡️ 1 Chapter | E | Only One Bed | The Dagger Crew got turned into a real-deal instructor squadron after the mission. They get sent on missions and demos to teach new pilots how to do what they do. On this trip to Florida, the WSOs are staying with their pilots, but Jake and Bradley, since they are WSO-less, have to room together. And the hotel fucked up.

NORABRICE1701 (Ao3 – MidnightBlast)

Twist My Heart ➡️ 6 Chapters | Twister AU | E | The hope of anything with Jake is a fool’s hope. Bradley has understood that from the first minute Jake waltzed into the lab with his dazzlingly brilliant smile, sun-kissed skin, and grass-green eyes gleaming with dangerous red flags. Yet still Bradley let the man get under his skin, burrow in his chest, and take root in his heart. 

GREEN-SOCKS (Ao3 – Aprilfoolish)

(Do You) Share My Affection ➡️ 1 Chapter | M | Bradley and Jake end up on a date with each other through an anonymous dating app (because they are just a little bit idiots about each other). The date is the wakeup call they needed.

RAVENS-WORDS (Ao3 – Ravens_Words)

been you all along ➡️ 5 Chapters | T | Kid Fic | Somehow, in a truly horrifying twist of fate, Bradley's mortal enemy became his daughter's favorite person. Or, Five times Jake was his daughter's favorite person, and the one time he was Bradley's too. (🐈 Note: +1 on Ao3!)

THE-SUN-AND-THE-SKY

The Joke's On You ➡️ 1 Chapter | Fluff | In which Hangman makes a joke and Rooster takes it literally.

FILM-IN-MY-SOUL (Ao3 – ReformedTsundere)

Ficlet Bingo Soulmates ➡️ 1 Chapter | T | The time between getting shot down and reuniting with Maverick, Rooster isn’t alone. First Kiss ➡️ 1 Chapter | T | The night before the rest of Bradley’s life he gets pretty drunk and a little lucky. Whump ➡️ 1 Chapter | T | Jake is hurt. But it’s alright. Bradley is there. A/B/O ➡️ 1 Chapter | M | Between waves of Jake’s heat, he and Bradley have a domestic moment. Epistolary ➡️ 1 Chapter | T | In a box, there lives two letters that the writers never want read.

NSFW Alphabet S = Stamina ➡️ 1 Chapter | E | The thing is, Jake hadn't really thought Bradley was serious when they'd made The Bet. He'd laughed when Bradley had stated his terms ( "I want to fuck you til sun up.") It had sounded like a cheesy line, like he'd never left that pre-twenties stage of sex-based hubris. And then Jake had lost. Y = Yearning ➡️ 1 Chapter | M | He’s paying the piper for the gift he’d been given: shockingly easy submission, a slack, wet mouth, a freely offered place to rest his need and have it soothed with tongue and sex.

HANGSTER-HANGOUT

The Love Chicken ➡️ 1 Chapter | Fluff | My dad said he knew my mom was the one over a bottle of wine and the best roast chicken he ever had.” “And now you’re making it for Hangman. So he can figure out that you’re the one.” “Something like that.” Bradley cooks for Jake. It goes even better than expected. 

NATASHATRACE (Ao3 – crueltether)

first I love you/bronco conversations under the stars ➡️ 1 Chapter

daily create challenge (2/365) ➡️ 1 Chapter | something something Jake thrives in chaos but craves peace, something something Bradley thrives in peace but craves chaos

Restraint ➡️ 1 Chapter | E | Smut | “What was it you said, Jake? Something about being snug on my perch?”

ALLBARK-NO-BITE

mr. iceman, sir ➡️ 1 Chapter | Fluff | they called him Iceman for a couple of reasons. Jake is sweating under his stare. a snippet of Jake asking Ice to marry Bradley

SEMPERHUGGS (Ao3 – Semeprhuggs)

Slider's Matchmaking Again? ➡️ 3 Chapters | Present day Christmas with the Daggers and the Flyboys.

Proposal ➡️ 1 Chapter

[callsignspirit]

come back home | j.h.s. | chapter one

a/n - devil works fast but i write faster, introducing a purple hearts au!! thought this could be fun to write! let me know if you guys want more i.b. purple hearts obviously

tw - men being gross, jake being a DICK but it’s okay we can change him ;)

caitlyn tapped her pen against the bars railings. she was in the process of writing a new song, or trying to at least. she was debating going over to the piano to try and work on a tune but her train of thought was interrupted by penny’s words.

“if you want a share of the tip pot you’ll have to help me wipe down these counters” she spoke, tossing cait a spray bottle and a cloth.

sighing, she sprung into action, cleaning the sticky beer residue off the wooden counter tops and gently humming a tune to an unfinished song.

the bar was practically empty, only a few early patrons milling around waiting for the crowds to come flooding in. the godforsaken crowds. filled with fresh aviators ready to go on their first deployment.

she spent the next hour doing odd jobs for penny, restocking the bottles, checking the celler and dusting the piano even though it was never out of use long to collect dust between cait's song writing and the playing of popular naval anthems.

the bell rang on the door as 7 or 8 fresh faced aviators strutted through the entrance, joshing around and hitting each other in the arm playfully.

"oh god," cait complained, throwing her head back in protest, penny remarked some comment about how the aviators were her new best friends.

however through the crowd, a familiar face spotted cait as the bar. "hey stranger!" he called, pushing his way past the men.

"bradley!" cait excitedly shrieked, leaving the middle of the bar to throw her arms around him. she slapped his chest, "i missed you!"

he laughed at her, "i've missed you too caitie." the pair had grown up together, bradley occasionally babysitting cait, despite their small age difference. she was there for him when his mom died, when pete pulled his papers and he was there for her when her dad walked out, leaving cait and her mom alone.

she stroked his face, "what's with this mustache? i am not okay with this!" she giggled. although she was enjoying catching up with bradley, she could feel the eyes of his friends on her, on her body. "well, introduced me to your squadron!"

he went through the names, introducing each member as his friend, she could see their toxic masculinity practically seeping through their pores. cait took their orders and walked back to the bar, collecting the various drinks and arranging them on the tray.

when she looked over to group, she saw bradley harshly scolding "berlin”, one of the younger pilots, shaking his head in disapproval. she hoped that whatever dispute was going on between the two wouldn’t affect their deployment.

she made her way over to the table and she set the drinks down pushing them towards their respective owners.

“so we’re good enough to fight for your ass, but not touch it?” berlin spoke up, striking silence into the other men. clearly bradley had told them her ‘no military men’ rule.

“excuse me?” cait challenged, raising her eyebrow. she decided instead of causing a scene to just walk away.

rolling her eyes, she worked on serving other customers, making small talk and chatting with them about their day. she uncapped beer bottles and stuffed the lids in her pocket, a habit she had picked up from her first night, now, at home she had a small collection.

her heeled boots clicked along the floor as she made her way to the back, penny suggested a few minutes break to cool off and to drink some glucose gel to raise her blood sugar. dealing with diabetes was hard but it was that much when some man tried to hit on her.

after a few minutes she had calmed down and was ready to serve again, she led the storage room to find “hangman” standing at the bar.

“i just want to apologise for our friend,” he said, “he’s a bit… my names jake, what’s yours?” he offered his hand out to cait, almost as a peace offering. she turned the other way walking to the opposite side of the bar, but jake was relentless.

“don’t think i don’t know your type.” he stated bluntly.

“my type?” cait asked, genuinely interested as to what group this man would brand her into.

“yeah, the girl who drives a lexus and probably has a million different flags hanging from her windowsill in support, but when it actually comes down to fighting for those groups, you’re no where to be seen! cause ‘guns and bombs are mean’ and you’re a pacifist”

“i’m sorry do you have a phd in mansplaining?”

“i guess it’s our job to fight for you!” he cut her off, “you know what i bet you even have a little peace dove tattooed on your back!”

“actually it’s on my ass, which you can’t touch but you can kiss!” she argued, walking off yet again to the other side of the bar to escape him.

jake looked over to the group and saw them mimicking explosions and laughing at him.

[kanerallels]

I'm recovering from some emotional devastation (they were out of tater tots at the Sonic I went to) so have a Kanera snippet from a fic I'll probably never write, born out of some writing that didn't fit into my latest story today.

“It’s like having even more kids,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Because that’s exactly what we needed.”

“We’re young yet,” Kanan joked, stirring the contents of the pan. “We can still keep up with most of them.”

“Hmm. Well, they’re still driving me crazy. Mainly Alphabet, they can’t seem to… come together, be cohesive. Be a team.”

Kanan nodded, his face thoughtful. “They need something to come together for. Or against, maybe.”

Rolling her eyes, Hera said, “And apparently the Empire isn’t good enough.”

He set a plate down in front of her, dropping a kiss on her forehead in the same movement. “Well, let me know if there’s any way I can help.”

Hera, fork halfway to her mouth, paused, an idea sparking. “Actually, you might be able to after all.”

Lifting an eyebrow, Kanan said, “Oh?”

“How would you feel about playing bad cop for a while?”

A smile crossed Kanan’s face. “I love it when you come up with schemes.”

[shrinkthisviolet]

WIP word asks: lost, crime, help, three, or gold?

Much appreciated, these ones were fun!

lost:

More than frozen, though, Shawna looked...dejected. Lost, almost. “He left me.”

He pursed his lips, trying not to think about how familiar that tone sounded.

(“Just leave me alone. It’ll be better for both of us.”

“Barry—”

“Don’t.”)

~Barry POV fic

Barry in this fic is basically the “admit you miss Morgan or draw 25 cards” meme…and he keeps drawing 25 cards 💀

crime:

“Morgan keeps dodging my calls.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, that sounds like her.”

Caitlin frowned. “What on Earth happened? I know she was still mad about—”

“No. No, it’s not that. It’s worse, actually.”

Caitlin, if anything, looked more confused at that. “What could be worse?”

He hesitated, unsure what to say…but then the crime sensor cut them off, saving him the effort. So instead, with a sheepish smile, he rushed off.

~Barry POV fic

Morgan’s big sister is on to you, Barry…careful, she knows how to perform a lobotomy

help:

“Man, come on…I’m kind of on a date.”

“Well, I could call our resident forcefielder to help out,” Cisco replied with a hum that sounded a little too sarcastic in Barry’s opinion, “but you’re still pissed at her.”

“I’m…it’s complicated. Anyway, it’s not her night.” Barry sighed. “But seriously, can’t the cops get this one?”

~Barry POV fic

Good for you Cisco 🥰

three:

As Sam finished getting ready, using some of the makeup that she’d claimed from the big stash that she, Tory, and Aisha had bought, she slowly made her way out on her crutches. But she didn’t make it out very far before three people clamored around her and tried to help. Which she appreciated, but also…she wasn’t some delicate flower. She’d managed just fine until now, and she’d ask for help if she needed it.

~CK AU interlude fic

Oh Sam…just as stubborn as her dad 😂

gold:

“It’s not nepotism when you got your start in Gold Squadron, at the same time as I started in Red.”

She shrugged. “I like them, and they like me. We work well together. I’m not going to switch to a whole new squadron and lose that.”

~Lucy AU ESB fic

Aww piloting siblings 🥰

send me a word, and if it’s in one of my WIPs, I’ll post the snippet that it’s from!

[tgmsunmontue]

From the top 3/? (WIP)

IceMav, (eventual) Explicit, (background Hangster who are already established). Set post-TGM. (No dead Ice obviously).

Featuring not-mistaken identities (where they (Ice and Mav) pretend to be in the dark for REASONS), Ice is Jake's Uncle Tom, Mav is Bradley's Dad, everyone knows everyone, (un)requited love, coming out as an older person, and a little bit of a circus-vibe where Ice has a horrible realization that this is indeed his circus and these are also his monkeys.

An AU where Mav married Carole and adopted Bradley to make things easier legally. A USNA Bradley who has been very careful to separate Dad/Pete from godfather/Maverick. They had an argument prior to TGM, but it was around Maverick being careless with his life (RE: Darkstar because Bradley got the call that Maverick was missing, presumed dead). So it was about risk taking and thinking while flying, so that was happening and Bradley admits to the Dagger Squadron that Maverick is his godfather and they have a ‘complicated relationship’ which isn’t a lie per se, however it’s… complicated.

CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

                Pete is pretty sure he’s chatting with Ice. Tom. He chats the same way he types, all correct with capital letters and punctuation in the right place. Pete does as well of course, but it’s too much of a coincidence that Bradley installed Grindr on his phone and Tom’s cousin’s kid installed it on his phone. And now they’re chatting anonymously. Except Pete is pretty sure he knows exactly who is on the other side. He’s just asked what his biggest secret is, not sure what he’s expecting as an answer because he’s pretty sure he knows all of Ice’s secrets.

>>I’m in love with my best friend.

>>Have been for a long time.

                Pete stares at the words and just… cannot fathom what to say.

                Is Ice in love with Slider?

                Or someone else?

                Before now he’d have thought he was Ice’s best friend.

                Surely Ice doesn’t mean him though.

                Does he?

                He lets the realization that Ice may in fact be talking about him wash over him and Pete can’t help the little flare of hope. He’d never thought that maybe he and Ice could be more than friends. He’d definitely fantasized about it in his quietest and saddest moments, when he’d felt lonely and thought about coming home to him. His friendship has always been enough to sustain him.

                Before.

                Before he’d known that there might even be the slimmest chance. Now though? Well, other than the fact that Ice hadn’t trusted him stings a little, but also he understands, it’s not like he was shouting it from the roof tops. He’d just assumed Ice had known. His fault.

>>I recently found out that my best friend is gay.

                He stares at the message and wonders what Tom will say back. Wonders whether he should maybe ring Slider and do some digging.

>>Oh.

>>Really?

>>Yep.

>>He’s been unattainable the whole time I’ve known him, and I’ve cherished his friendship, thinking that was all I could ever have.

>>I had placed him very firmly in a box marked DO NOT TOUCH.

>>Fascinating.

>>And now?

>>Now I want to sweep him off his feet.

>>Do you think he’ll appreciate that?

                Pete grins to himself and taps out his answer.

>>I’m not going to give him much choice in the matter.

…            …            …

                Tom stares at the words and snorts in amusement, but the slow bubbling excitement is fizzing through his blood as he considers the implications that Mav is going to woo him. He’s never been wooed before, and casting his mind back Maverick is not subtle when it comes to affairs of the heart. Stolen planes and public serenades are definitely his speed. He’s not sure if he’s quite ready to be the recipient of such gestures, but if it’s the choice between having Maverick or not having Maverick he knows what his decision is.

>>So, while I know my kid hoped that I was going to maybe dip my toes in the dating pool with you, I’m going to have to let you down gently…

                Tom frowns, because surely Pete knows it’s him he’s talking to, unless he’s trying to give Tom an out?

>>Well, as I said. In love with my best friend and I’m in no rush to get over him.

>>I wish you luck in wooing your best friend.

>>Thanks. I think I’m going to need it.

>>I doubt that very much.

>>How about you try asking your best friend out?

>>Report back to me?

                Tom rolls his eyes, even without the social clues and seeing Mav in front of him he can tell Mav is teasing and part of him wants to call him on it but he also likes this flimsy excuse of pretending they aren’t going to… do what exactly? Try a couple of dates? Hell. They already do that when Mav is in town.

                Oh.

                Oh no.

                He’s going to have to try and be romantic back.

…            …            …

                It’s their standing weekly dinner when they’re both in the same area.

                Nothing special about it.

                He’d received a message from Ice asking if he was still coming over, he’d answered in the affirmative and then he’s had a little freakout that he was having dinner with Ice. He’d talked himself down, because he’s had so many dinners with Ice he’s lost count. But this is different. It’s a dinner date with Ice. He takes extra care getting ready, has to drive his car rather than his bike, because he’d like the flowers he bought to arrive intact rather than a mash of petals barely holding together.

                He knows he judged right when Ice answers the door. That’s the first difference, because he’s clearly been waiting for Pete to arrive rather than letting him simply push open the door or use the key Ice gave him when he moved in. Huh. He should have maybe considered that action more closely at the time. Secondly, Ice is wearing nicer clothes than usual. So is he of course, but in the dark fabric Ice's legs look even longer than he knows they are.

                “Hey Pete.”

                “Hey. Something smells good.”

                “Thanks.”

                He always compliments Ice on his cooking, but this is the first time he sees or notices the slight blush his comment causes. Fuck. Has he really been this clueless all these years? Then he realizes that Ice is looking at the flowers in his hands. Sunflowers. Because Ice has opinions regarding flowers. Roses are too pedestrian, lilies remind him of funerals, but sunflowers... Those make him smile. Whether a single one or a large bouquet, they never fail to bring a smile to his face and right now is no exception, although it’s a little shy and seeing Ice look so soft makes him want to wrap him up and hold him tight. His heart does a little stutter at the idea that he might actually get to do that, maybe one day soon even.

                “Let me put these in a vase for you…”

                “Thanks. I’ll just go and check on dinner. Glass of wine?”

                “Yeah, please.”

                On his hunt for a vase he spies the table, set for two, and it's not super unusual, but neither is it normal. Most often they usually eat in the living room, plates balanced precariously on their knees. Not tonight. Tonight lots of things are different. Little things, but they’re adding up, one atop of another into something monumentally huge. He turns to find Ice watching him, glass of wine held out between long fingers and he takes it, fingers brushing Ice’s slightly. It’s an accidental brush, but it feels like every hair on his body is suddenly standing on end, hyperaware. He licks his lips, doesn't know if he's imagining it or not, the weight of Ice's gaze on him, but it’s so heavy he can almost feel it on him like a calming weight.

                Things slip back into normalcy, conversation focusing around work and their extended group of friends, and he can almost pretend that it’s two or three weeks ago before he knew that Ice was gay. That Ice is in love with him. The knowledge still sends jittery excitement through his veins and over his skin, and when Ice directs him to the table to eat he doesn’t miss the barely-there hand on his lower back, like Ice isn’t sure it would be welcome or not. He needs to make sure that Ice knows it is, welcome and wanted.

                He settles into his seat and reaches his legs out carefully, then purposely rests his ankle against Ice’s. It’s all so innocent and careful, like they’re equally wary. But he’s always been the one more prepared to take the leap of faith and he notes the little spots of pink high on his cheeks and feels the same thrill as getting tone on a target.

                Bullseye.

…            …            …

                He’s slept with Pete. Spent the night curled together in a bed more than once when they were younger. Purely platonically of course, and he’d been younger, dumber and much more of a glutton for self-flagellation when he’d realized he was in love with his straight best friend. They’d gotten older and they hadn’t really needed to share a bed again, although passing out drunk on the sofa had also happened plenty.

                Needless to say, he’s familiar enough with touching Pete’s body that the simple press of his ankle against Tom’s shouldn’t be as arousing as it is. He knows, logically, that it’s not the touch exactly, that his brain has gone into overdrive thinking about the touch elsewhere. That the possibility of that touch happening is now almost certain after years of fantasizing about it. He fully expects Pete to bring it up, the whole silly situation with the misunderstood identities. Pete’s always faced things like this head on. He doesn’t bring it up though. So neither does Tom.

                They finish dinner, and Pete insists on doing the dishes, which is usual. Neither of them can stand to leave the mess sitting around, too many years of ingrained habit of having to be clean and tidy. He doesn’t miss the way Pete’s body is in his personal space more, every movement feels charged with electricity, making him hyperaware of the distance between them, of the warmth emanating from Pete’s body when he passes close by. He wonders what Pete would do if he just pressed him against the bench and kissed him, lifted him up onto the side table and slid his hands around him.

                He doesn’t do anything of the sort of course, but he thinks about it, each thought getting worse and he finds his pants getting a little too tight. Lord. He’s too old for inconveniently timed erections, this is ridiculous.

                “I’ll go set up the chess board.”

                Pete hums his acknowledgment and Tom wonders if Pete can tell, or knows what kind of effect he’s having. He finds he doesn’t care either way. The evening has felt both familiar and comforting, reminding him why he and Pete have been friends for so long. Layered over it though is a fresh newness, or maybe rather than it been layered over it’s been peeled back, exposing both of them to the potential of more. They play chess and he’s distracted, it takes him longer to win than usual, and the smirk on Pete’s face tells him that he’s perfectly aware of why.

                He really does love the asshole.

…            …            …

                He’s pulling on his jacket when he remembers. Ice is going to Hawaii for two weeks, where he’s meant to be based, and Pete is back in the good graces through his recent heroic actions, despite what Cyclone thinks.

                “I’m headed back to China Lake for some testing. Be gone a few weeks but should be back here by the time you get back.”

                “Hmm. Have a good time in China Lake. I'll see you when we’re both back in town.”

                “Yeah. Of course.”

                Every part of him is screaming to close the distance between them and just grab Ice’s face and pull him down into a kiss but he’s suddenly frozen with indecision. Terrified that maybe he will screw things up. Or maybe just somehow disappoint him. Which he realizes is such a ridiculous thing considering the number of times he’s had to ring Ice and listen to his disappointed sigh on the other end of the line as he’s explained exactly what he’s done and why it’s pissed someone off.

                Huh.

                Maybe he should have figured out that Ice was in love with him earlier.

                Instead he reaches for Ice’s hand and brings it to his lips, brushes a kiss over his knuckles and he doesn’t let his eyes leave Ice’s face. Takes in the widening pupils, his mouth dropping open slightly, and pink stain returning to his cheeks and Pete preens inwardly. Feels so infinitely powerful that he can make Ice look like this without even kissing him.

                “Thanks for dinner Tom.”

                He never uses Ice’s given name, but he uses it now, because this whole evening is about changing their relationship, moving the dynamics of what they have into something more and he wants Ice to know he’s all in.

[the-ace-with-spades]

Things/headcanons about my firefighter!Bradley and still a naval aviator!Jake AU because I can't seem to stop... I'm sorry, guys...

- Jake has tried to talk Bradley into bringing his turnouts for a roleplay thing in their bedroom (b/c, let's be honest, the suspenders alone...) but Bradley insisted that the turnouts are still carcinogenic even if they're washed regularly. The furthest Jake managed to talk him was putting on his uniform, button-up and trousers, and his decorative helmet (one he has on his Firefighting Shelf at home)

- Jake, just like Mav, buys the firefighting calendars Bradley is featured in - just for obviously very different reasons. He takes one to deployment if it's longer than three months. His bunkmates make fun of him until he shows them the Mr August he's dating...

- the first time Jake was there to see Bradley after a bad day at work, he didn't know what to do. Bradley was just so quiet and unresponsive and didn't really want to tell Jake what happened. It had continued for another two days (Bradley was supposed to have four off) and Bradley's barely been sleeping at night so Jake drove down to his station under the pretext of doing groceries and asked the on-shift crew for help with dealing with it. In the end, they took a bath together and Jake let him cry it out before talking him into booking an appointment with his psychologist

- Jake also had to get used to Bradley's ever-present need to help people. Whenever they'd go out on dates, they'd inevitably run into someone who needed help - a lady that locked her car keys, a teen that couldn't turn on his car, lost tourists, there was an older lady that was struggling to mow the lawn once and Bradley just up and left him in the middle of the date to do that. By that point Jake was so used to it he just made them some cocktails and gossiped about sweaty, half-naked Bradley with her.

- They're on a flight to Texas to meet Jake's parents when some lady goes into labour and Jake hears, 'Do we have medical personnel on board with us?' and just sighs before telling Bradley, who's sitting there, looking at him with puppy eyes, 'Just go'. It takes longer than the flight itself and the airport medics are taking their time so Jake goes to pick up their baggage alone and his mama is waiting to pick them up and he shows up alone. She's all 'where's your bf?' b/c it seems like he ditched Jake and Jake is just done but also like fond and tells her 'Delivering a baby, I guess'.

- Bradley's whole crew calls him 'the real lieutenant' for years after they met, even when Jake got promoted. Even when Jake married him.

- Jake has also once brought half his squadron to Bradley's station's charity car wash - both because it's for charity and because he wanted to show off his boyfriend in a wet t-shirt *shrugs*

- Bradley volunteers for Pride every year and the first year he and Jake are together, he gets a permit from his chief that allows Jake to ride along with him in the passenger seat

- Jake used to think he could do Bradley's job easily (the same way Bradley'd've been a good aviator if he wished to be) but then they witness a car accident and Jake sees Bradley calling 911, doing triage, crowd and traffic control, and first aid at the same time while Jake just hands him things he asks for until the ffs and EMTs arrive

- the kid that just started working under Bradley (Nate) in the fic absolutely gets adopted by Bradley and (reluctantly) Jake. Jake complains for years that he was tricked into dating a single dad and Javy points out to him that the kid was clearly already Bradley's even the day they met for the first time so he shouldn't be so surprised

(I swear firefighter Bradley was supposed to be Buck-fied but instead I Bobby-fied him more than anything else...)

im putting this under the cut since some people my find this icky but yk...

- Since Bradley is trans in this au even of it's a teeny-tiny mention (he's now going to be trans every time I write him, I'll admit...) so depending how they decide to have kids, you can just imagine the heart attacks Bradley would give Jake when he continues to do all of the above while pregnant and not see a problem ('i'm fine, Jake, I'm just pregnant, I can still do everything on my own' said when he's barely able to get up from a chair on his own). He'd for sure be like that one headline, pregnant firefighter rescues car crash victim and goes into labour, or something along those lines

- Also, for baby shower/gender reveal Bradley insists he won't show up unless everyone promises him that the gender reveal will be non-flammable b/c he's not setting California anymore on fire.

- They get cute photos of the baby/babies in their helmets (Bradley's decorative one and Jake's spare Hangman helmet)

(there'll be more headcanons to come, probably...)

[newtonsheffield]

How do you know so much about everything to write all these AUs? OB/midwife, deaf culture, WWII, being CEO, being prime minister, vampires, lawyers, musicians, the list goes on!

Okay um-

OB/Midwife- I work in healthcare. And it's different, dentistry and OB but... healthcare is healthcare and the rest is research

deaf culture- I took a Auslan (australian sign language) class and there's a really handy BSL dictionary online

WWII- My Dad loves history. Particularly WWII era I have watched the film The Battle of Britain so many times I could recite it. Also if you wanna know what Goosey Bagwell is doing in this time: Check out Memphis Belle. He;s a Bombardier

Vampires- My vampire universe is all made up

Musicians- I play several musical instruments

But honestly, mostly it's just research. This is kind of what I mean when I say that content creators put a lot of effort into things. I want my fics to have as much detail as possible. I will pull up a calendar from 1814 I'm not ashamed! For example in this new AU, Anthony's with Squadron 19 out of Duxford. Squadron 19 was instrumental in the battle of Britain and covered the beaches at Dunkirk and Thriplow House was requisitioned as a convalescent home in 1939. I want it to feel realistic even if no one is fact checking this!

Research! Research! Research! And I also have a lot of useless facts stored away.