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ryebecca · 2 years ago

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Hello there! 📚

Here you’ll find all of my moodboards (the ones with an asterisk have a fic attached!) broken down by series/character.

DAGGER DECADES

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw 1940s: true to me (WWII AU) 1980s: i want to know what love is (POV: it’s 1986 and, like, you’re feeling totally rad and in love with your husband, Lt. Bradley Bradshaw.)

Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd 1510s: no sooner looked, but they loved (Tudor dynasty AU) 1890s: there is a flower within my heart (Gilded Age AU) 1920s: the cooling twilight (speakeasy AU) 1940s: there’s just one place for me, near you (POV: It’s 1943 and you’re sending your boyfriend, Bobby, off to fight in the war.) 1960s: god only knows what i’d be without you (POV: it’s 1966 and you’re feeling groovy and totally in love with your husband, Bobby Floyd.)

Mickey ‘Fanboy’ Garcia 1540s: that which we call a rose (Tudor dynasty AU) 1950s: i only have eyes for you (POV: sock hops, diner milkshakes, and kisses with your boyfriend, Mickey.)

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin 1510s: the course of true love (Tudor dynasty AU) 1770s: we hold these truths (revolutionary war-era AU) 1920s: smoke and mirrors (speakeasy AU) 1940s: life ain’t always beautiful (noir AU) 1970s: you sexy thing (POV: You’re wearing your bell-bottoms and your best huckapoo shirt as you disco dance the night away with your boyfriend, Jake.)

DAGGERS @ DISNEY

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw when you wish upon a star (POV: you’re spending the day at the Happiest Place on Earth with your boyfriend, Bradley.)

Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd once upon a dream (POV: Disney, Dumbo, and Dole whips with your boyfriend, Bob Floyd.)

Mickey ‘Fanboy’ Garcia you’ll be in my heart (POV: you’re on your annual Disney vacation with your husband, Mickey - the biggest fanboy there is! And if you spend more time in Galaxy’s Edge than anywhere else, well, you’re not in the least bit surprised.)

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin a dream is a wish your heart makes (POV: You’re on a Disneyland date with your boyfriend, Jake Seresin - a not-so-secret Disney adult.)

DAGGER WEDDINGS

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw the best thing that you’ll ever have (POV: embracing all the beachy vibes on your wedding day to Bradley Bradshaw.)

Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd i’ve always been yours (POV: you’re getting married to your childhood sweetheart, Bob Floyd.)

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin my everything and beyond (POV: You’re getting married to the love of your life, Lt. Jake Seresin.)

DAGGER HONEYMOONS

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin life is a road (POV: you’re on a whirlwind European honeymoon with your new husband, Jake Seresin.)

LADY MAVERICK’S SOCIETY PAPERS

His Grace, Jacob Seresin, Duke of Hereford Captain Robert Floyd, Viscount Welles

MEET THE DAGGERS PROFESSORS

THE DAGGER CREW (pirate AU)

ETC., ETC., ETC.

Rhett Abbott (Outer Range) wild for you (POV: you, Rhett, and fields of wildflowers. Does he propose in one of those fields once he sees how much joy they bring you? Yes. Yes, he does.) the wedding date (POV: you need a plus one for a wedding, but your friend cancels on you and you’re having trouble finding a date. Rhett offers to go with you - just as a friend helping out a friend…right?)

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw baby of mine (POV: you’re married to Bradley Bradshaw, but now he’s leveled up to the one, the only, #dad!brad.) thankful for you (POV: you’re celebrating Thanksgiving with your husband, Bradley.) still falling for you (POV: you’re embracing all of the autumn vibes with your husband, Bradley.)

Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd fall into me (Leaf peeping, apple cider donuts, and walking hand in hand with Bob.) i pick you (POV: You’re feeling all of the autumn feels picking pumpkins with your boyfriend, Bob!) the story of us (POV: You’re on a cozy bookstore date with your boyfriend, Bob Floyd.) hail to the chief (President Bob Floyd AU) fun, fun, fun (POV: snacks, drinks, and kisses at the drive-in movies with your boyfriend, Bob.)

Mickey ‘Fanboy’ Garcia melting for you (POV: you’re spending the day snowboarding with your boyfriend, Mickey.)

Harrison Knott (Press Play) take along my love with you (POV: It’s a beautiful day at the beach with your boyfriend, Harrison.)

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin cabin fever* (Cozy cabin time with Jake.) falling in love (POV: Soaking up all the Fall feels with your boyfriend, Jake.) into the great wide open (POV: a camping trip with the one, the only, Jake Seresin.) rebel, rebel* (TGM x Star Wars) plus one (POV: you’re a bridesmaid at your best friend’s wedding and you need to bring a date. You ask your friend, Jake, to tag along…who may or may not be feeling like more than just a friend these days. But does he feel the same way?) love her like i do* (Summary: You overhear Jake talking to your newborn daughter. Fluff ensues.)

Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson you send me (POV: You’re spending a cozy day at home with your husband, Beau.) take me out (POV: Your husband, Beau Simpson, is a pitcher in the MLB. His fast ball was was so notorious in college that his team nicknamed him “Cyclone” - and the name just stuck.)

Ryan (Yellowstone) when you give a cowboy a kiss (POV: life on the ranch with your husband, Ryan.)

#ryebecca's masterlist #*myedit #*mymoodboard #moodboards

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writing-until-i-drop · 8 months ago

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Wildflowers For A Hangman Masterlist

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

26/29 Chapters Posted

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7 Pt. 1 | Chapter 7 Pt. 2

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

AO3 Link

#wildflowers for a hangman fic #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #top gun fanfiction #fanfic #jake hangman fic #jake seresin #top gun maverick

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writing-until-i-drop · 7 months ago

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Masterlist

*denotes smut

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Tyler Owens (Twisters 2024)

What's In A Name? Masterlist | Series (Complete!)

Tyler Owens x Harding! FemOC

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

Aesthetics

Jake "Hangman" Seresin (Top Gun Maverick 2022)

Wildflowers For A Hangman Masterlist*

| Series (Ongoing)

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Writer! FemOC

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Aesthetics Playlist

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace (Top gun Maverick 2022)

God Complex | One Shot

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace x f! surgeon! reader (no use of y/n)

You're a trauma surgeon resident, studying at a bar when you're approached by a woman who steals your focus.

warnings! Slight dom!Phoenix (if you squint), suggestive, drinking, not proof read

God Complex | Pt. 2*

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace x f! surgeon! reader (no use of y/n)

You're a trauma surgeon resident, studying at a bar when you're approached by a woman who steals your focus.

warnings! SMUT MINORS DNI | Slight dom!Phoenix, oral (fem receiving), edging, lmk if I missed anything

God Complex | Pt. 3

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace x f! surgeon! reader (no use of y/n)

You're a trauma surgeon resident, studying at a bar when you're approached by a woman who steals your focus.

warnings! Scary movie date night, reader is scared, not proof read, fluffy

Rhett Abbott (Outer Range)

Welcome Home, Sweetheart | Drabble

Rhett Abbott x f! reader (no use of y/n)

You and Rhett were childhood best friends and now you're back in town after living out of state for a few years. Your first night in town is one you'll never forget.

warnings! Rhett punches a guy, reader finds it hot, not proof read, written in under ten minutes

Run Away With Me | One Shot

Rhett Abbott x Fem! Reader (no use of y/n)

3 years ago your parents stole you away from Wabang to keep you out of trouble, now you're back, but only for a night.

Warnings: none!

Run Away With Me | Pt. 2

Rhett Abbott x Fem! Reader

3 years ago your parents stole you away from Wabang to keep you out of trouble, now you're back, but only for a night.

Warnings: none! no use of y/n

Pt. 2 requested by many, kitchen dancing requested by 🗡️😘 | read the request here

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Top Gun Maverick 2022)

A Stepdad For Christmas | Series (WIP)

Sneak peek

Rooster x Single Mom!OC

After divorcing her gay, marriage of convenience husband, Olivia and her teenage daughter move to North Island. Her daughter's one wish for Christmas? A hot step dad. And damn, if Rooster's Hawaiian shirts don't look like the perfect wrapping paper.

9-1-1 ABC

What He Needs | Buddie*

Buck doesn't want to be an omega, not without Eddie as his alpha. So he takes a pill that he hopes will suppress the need inside of him and ends up making everything worse in the best possible way.

Something About The Moon Brings Us Together | Buddie*

Buck was waiting for the day that Eddie came clean about being a werewolf. The entire 118 pack had scented it on him during his first day but he hadn’t brought it up or taken Bobby up on his offer to join them for their full moon night in the mountains. As it turns out, Christopher was going to force his father’s hand because in the middle of Buck’s living room was a half-transformed and terrified child.

Or: The one where Buck takes care of the Diaz boys, especially when Christopher turns out to be a werewolf too.

Kinktober 2024*

Masterlist - Minors DNI | 18+ Only (WIP)

Comfort Drabbles | Mixed Fandom

Masterlist

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writing-until-i-drop · 2 months ago

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Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 24

Summary:

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

Amelia's a little shit, Daisy's a little anxious, and Jake's managed to annoy everyone but Mav

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Two days. They were coming home in two days. Penny, Ames, and I were going around to each of their apartments, giving it a good clean, and I had baked a few lasagnas so that everyone would have a couple of meals in their fridges.

“Ames, what are you doing in there?” Penny called down the hallway where Amelia was supposed to be changing bedsheets in Rooster and Jake’s rooms. I was wiping away dust that had settled on and Penny was vacuuming the living room.

“Looking for an engagement ring!” Amelia’s giggles filled the apartment, “Jake didn’t have anything so now I’m checking Bradley’s drawers.” Penny and I shared a look somewhere between amusement and exasperation.

“Get out of Bradley’s room,” Penny ordered, shaking her head. I sighed, continuing to dust the cabinets. If Jake had bought an engagement ring, I’m pretty sure I would have known about it because the man did not keep secrets well. At least not from me. Even though it would have been a happy secret, Jake probably would’ve been jumpy or a little more anxious, and he probably would have at least asked what type of ring I would have wanted beforehand. And if there was anyone he would have trusted to keep the ring a secret, it would have been Mav, not Rooster.

Amelia came out of the hallway with a huff, arms crossed. She was trying a new hairstyle, wearing her pretty, blonde locks in a French braid instead of just having the cute, small braid while the left was rest down. It fit her well but it also made her look a little bit more like the teenager she was, which Penny had mentioned was harder than she thought it would be.

“You two are no fun,” She stuck her tongue out at Penny. “If I have to be at school for the proposal, I should at least get to see the ring beforehand.”

“Honey, I don’t think he’s going to propose at the docks,” Penny tried once again to dissuade Amelia’s theory. Proposing right after coming off the ship from deployment probably would look like something out of the movies but I knew it wasn’t a likely scenario. He had been expecting to come home months ago, before the one year mark, and probably hadn’t even bought a ring yet, and without contact with the outside world, there was no way he had been scheming with his family. Which meant unless he was proposing with a ring pop from the commissary, there wouldn’t be a Amelia-less proposal.

“You don’t know that,” Amelia insisted in a sing-song voice. This was going to be a long day.

The day before the whole gang got home, Jake’s family flew in. They had booked to stay at a hotel close to my apartment, since Jake spent most of his time there anyways, and I was giddy waiting for them at the airport. Pop’s surgery had gone well and his doctor had approved the trip, which was just one more thing to celebrate.

“Daisy!” Caroline shrieked, waving wildly from beside an equally smiley Helen. Pops had gained back a little weight in his face and was looking healthier already, holding onto mama’s arm as they trailed behind their daughters.

“You’re here!” I rushed to hug them both, heart overwhelmed with happiness. I had to be up on my toes to hug them around the neck, which earned me some giggles, but they hugged me back tightly. “He’s going to be so excited to see you guys.”

“I think he’ll be more excited to see you,” Helen patted my shoulder as we pulled apart. I gave mama and pops hugs as well before we walked to the rental car desk together, chatting as mama got the keys.

“How are you feeling about tomorrow, sweetheart?” Pops asked, arm draped over my shoulders.

“Excited and a little nauseous if I’m being honest,” I laughed awkwardly, knowing it sounded silly but pops just nodded. “It’s just been so long, a lot of things could have changed, if that makes sense?”

“Makes a lot of sense,” Pops tugged me closer into his side, kissing my temple. “I felt the same way when I was coming home from deployment, happy as hell to be home but scared of what could be waiting for me.” Pops’ words lifted a weight from my chest, validating that what I was feeling was normal.

“I’m so happy you’re here, pops, and I know he’s going to be too.” Pops didn’t say anything else, he just leaned his head on mine and we stood there in a comfortable silence as the world continued around us.

The next morning was a flurry of nerves and excitement. Their ship was coming in early according to Penny and I desperately wanted to wear my pajamas but just in case we ended up going to breakfast with his family, I actually put on clothes. Cuffed jeans, Jake’s Naval Academy sweatshirt, and a messy bun. Cute but comfortable enough that I wouldn’t want to throw myself into the ocean before he even got off of the ship. Pretty was also excited, riding in the back of the truck with his head out the window.

“Remember, no growling at Jake and you still get to cuddle with mommy but you’ve got to save space in the bed for him.” If Pretty Boy understood me was anyone’s guess but it made me feel better to say it aloud. “And no chewing on his uniform boots, those things are expensive.”

Mav was the only one not ready to kill me by the time the ship pulled in and that was because he was just as excited as I was. Daisy and Penny were waiting for us, probably together, and I was practically vibrating out of my uniform in anticipation.

“Twenty bucks says he proposes in the next twenty four hours,” Phoenix not-so-softly whispered to Rooster who snorted,

“Double he does it in the next hour.”

“Deal,” I rolled my eyes at them. Technically I was already late on proposing, the year anniversary of us meeting having come and gone, but I wasn’t going to rush it. I was going to wait until I had a ring and all the details planned out.

“Remember, Hangman,” Mav elbowed my side, “You’re in uniform.”

“I’ll remember if you do, Mav,” Mav grimaced.

“Good point, kid.” The Navy had a rule against PDA in uniform but no one usually paid attention to them when it came to loved ones before or after a deployment. Still, technically those were the rules.

Javy was laughing at me the entire time as we slowly shuffled towards the top deck to disembark, asshole. I was happy that he and Phoenix were finally together but it also meant that he hadn’t gone eight months without his girl, they had been sneaking around the ship while the rest of us suffered.

“Holy shit man, your family’s here,” Javy clapped me on the shoulder, pointing towards the crowd. Standing in a group were my parents, sisters, and Daisy. Mama and pops were hand-in-hand and my sisters had their arms around Daisy, who looked like she was crying.

“I think this is the best homecoming I’ve ever had,” None of the ones before even compared in the slightest. My whole family and the love of my life were waiting for me, and it didn’t hurt that I knew I’d be eating something home cooked for dinner instead of take out for once.

When it was finally my turn to step off the ship, I didn’t run but I wasn’t taking my sweet time either. Mama was the first one to hug me, wrapping me so tight in her arms that I dropped my bag on the pavement.

“I’m so happy you’re home, baby,” She sniffled, “Safe and sound.”

“I missed you too, mama,” I kissed the top of her head before she backed away and pops took her place. “Good to see you, pops.”

“Nice to have you home, son,” His voice was soft and his body was frail, but he still patted my back hard enough for me to feel it in my chest. “Your sisters got Daisy distracted?” What? I looked over and saw that Daisy was in a Seresin sister hug-sandwich,

“Yeah?”

“Good, here,” Pops pulled away and pushed a small, black box into my hand. “It was your Grandma’s, your mama had it sized while you were gone.” I didn’t have to open the box to know what ring was inside the box. It was pops’ mom’s ring, silver with a small diamond, he had shown it to me when I was in high school and told me he’d be saving it for when I found the one. I felt tears fighting to spill,

“Thank you,” I managed to choke out, hugging him again.

Daisy was next, pushed towards me by my grinning sisters and when I took her in my arms, all of my plans went right out of the window. She was crying and holding onto me like I’d run away at any moment, fingers curled into the back of my uniform.

“Marry me?” Daisy laughed into my shoulder, pulling away just enough to look up at me. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy but she was still the most beautiful woman in the world, “Marry me, Daisy.”

“Amelia’s going to be so mad,” Daisy laughed, smiling bright. “Of course I’ll marry you, Jake.” I kissed her softly, aware that my family was staring at us, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Wildflower.”

“Damn it, now I owe Rooster money,” Phoenix groaned, ending the moment. Daisy pushed out of my arms and threw herself at her best friend, who was hugging her just as tight, “God I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Tasha,” I laughed, holding up the ring box. Daisy’s eyes went wide when she saw it, my sisters were laughing up a storm behind us.

“Oh, shit, forgot that part.” Daisy’s cheeks burned red as she made her way back to me, holding out a shaking hand.

“Wrong hand, baby,” I grabbed her left hand and slid the ring on. “Now you’re stuck with me,” I joked. Daisy rolled her eyes but she was smiling, “No refunds, returns, or exchanges.”

“Damn,” She sighed, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me forward until our lips were inches apart. “I was planning on swapping you for Bob.”

“Too bad,” I kissed her and for the first time since I left, everything felt right.

Taglist: @dizzybee03 @littlezee80 @nervousenemyduck @carolina-on-my-mind03 @mizzzpink @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @hookslove1592 @closetspngirl @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @closetspngirl @shanimallina87 @owenniasstars @cevansbaby-dove @caitsymichelle13 @bigstrongblackheart @mrsevans90 @djs8891 @memoriesat30

Next Chapter

#bet writes #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #jake seresin #jake seresin x oc #fanfic #hangman x oc #wildflowers for a hangman fic

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writing-until-i-drop · 2 months ago

Text

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 23

Summary:

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

Jake receives Daisy's letters.

a/n: you can thank @closetspngirl for double updates this week

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

It had been five months since Jake and Rooster were deployed. Bob had gotten me a German Shepherd I had named Pretty Boy for Christmas and the whole squad had taken great pleasure in helping me train him and get him his exercise. When Javy would spend the night, he would take Pretty running with him in the morning, Fanboy and Payback liked to include him in their beach trips as a “babe magnet,” and I enjoyed taking him down to the apartment’s dog park to play fetch while listening to audio books Helen and Caroline recommended.

Penny also adored when I brought him to the Hard Deck, setting out a bowl of water for him, and had even bought packs of “dog beer” and puppy ice creams as special treats. That’s where we were early in the evening, sitting out on the porch of the Hard Deck, enjoying our respective drinks, watching the Daggers play volleyball on the beach while Penny balanced the books when Mav’s phone rang.

“Captain Mitchell,” Penny and I shared a look, somewhere between hope and confusion. Hope that somehow it was good news about Jake and Rooster, confusion over the call coming through on the weekend. Maverick’s face shifted from happy and carefree to serious, my heart beat racing. Had something bad happened? “Yes, sir.”

Penny took my hand, squeezing it gently. The touch anchored me as Mav wrapped up his phone call with one or two word answers.

“What’s going on, Pete?” Penny asks the moment the call is over. Mav sighed, running a hand over his face. I glanced over at the Daggers, laughing and taunting each other, completely unaware of what was going on.

“We’re being sent to meet up with Hangman and Rooster for the mission,” My heart stopped. They were all leaving? At once? How was I going to get through the next month without them? The Daggers had been my support system, my lifeline, and now they were all leaving? I took a deep breath, reminding myself that not everything was about me. They were pilots who loved their jobs and this was the job. “The mission is being extended as well, another three months.”

My brain kind of short circuited at that point. That would mean Jake would be gone for a total of ten months. He would have been deployed longer than we had been together by the time he got home. He’d miss our one year anniversary of meeting each other, which I was looking forward to as much as he was at this point, and the thought of it made me want to puke.

“It’s going to be okay, honey,” Penny’s voice seemed a thousand miles away.

“It’s all going to be okay.”

Natasha had taken the letters I had written for Jake along with enough cookies to last the squad a week. She had also taken a plain, white envelope with three little polaroids that Kate had convinced me to take. The day after Mav had gotten the call, Kate had gotten me drunk and put me in lingerie, claiming that after five months of blue balls on a ship, these would be a welcome surprise. The process of posing had been terrifying but Kate had kept it tasteful and had me laughing the whole time, so it wasn’t that bad of an experience, especially once we started drinking while taking pictures.

I cooked breakfast for the Daggers before seeing them off at the air strip where they were going to be flown out to the ship to meet Jake and Rooster. Penny, Amelia, and I were all a bit of a mess so Kate had offered to be our taxi, offering hugs and light hearted commentary throughout the morning.

“It’s just me and you, buddy,” I whispered to Pretty Boy, kissing the top of his head. Pretty snuggled closer, letting out a soft “woof” that seemed like he was trying to reassure me.

Dear Jake,

I love you and I miss you so much! It’s only been two days so I feel a little silly being this sad but I think it’s because I know it’s going to be awhile before I get to see you again. Penny suggested that I write you letters even though you’ll probably never get them. Apparently getting mail while you’re deployed is super unreliable. Go figure.

I spent all morning on the phone with Pops, his latest tests came back good and they’re scheduling him for surgery next month to remove what’s left of the tumor. Helen’s promised to keep me updated.

What do you think about Greek food? I know I cook mostly Italian but I’ve been thinking of learning some more recipes outside of my comfort zone. I guess we’ll see.

Love,

Your Wildflower

I put down the first letter, tears in my eyes. This letter was from five months ago and there was a whole stack for me to go through. When the rest of the team had shown up, it had been a welcome relief. It also meant things were going to get a lot more stressful around here as the mission approached.

Rooster had given me some privacy in the room when Phoenix handed over the letters, sending me off to our shared bunk with one of the M&M cookies Daisy had sent, and he was glad for it. Jake didn’t cry a lot but he had a feeling that there were going to be a lot of tears by the time he finished reading what Daisy had written.

Dear Jake,

You were right. Detective Monroe definitely has a crush on Cassandra. I blame you and your sisters for turning my crime novel into a romance book. Okay, I guess a few somewhat-romantic moments don’t make it a romance book but still. I’m not happy about it.

My first try at moussaka was not a hit. It’s kind of like lasagna but with eggplant instead of noodles. Apparently our friends aren’t keen on eggplant, so we ended up ordering pizza. Maybe I should just stick with Italian food because now I have leftovers that I’m going to be eating all week.

I love you!

Your Wildflower

God did I miss her cooking. The meals on the ship weren’t bad but nothing was as good as Daisy’s food. I wasn’t sure if I would have liked her eggplant dish but I knew I would have liked it better than the meatloaf the chef had served the night before for dinner.

Dear Jake,

I tried cooking Korean food, a dish called tteokbokki, that Rooster and Tasha liked when they were stationed over there. It was waaaaay too spicy in my opinion but when I wasn’t in tears it tasted really good. I think I’ll make it again but with less of the chili paste.

Kate and Amelia asked me to help plan another bake sale, this time for the end-of-season party for indoor soccer. I’m not sure how much help either of them are going to be with the baking part but I know it’s going to be a good time.

They’ve all been good at that. Keeping me busy. It was Penny’s biggest recommendation to handle you being gone and I guess it’s working? I don’t know.

Love,

Your Wildflower

P.S. Javy stole your cologne for me because the smell on your pillow was starting to fade, telling you now so I don’t forget to tell you later

I made a note to buy Daisy her own bottle of my cologne once I got back on solid ground. Out of everything that I had thought ahead to buy for her, that hadn’t been one of them even though it seemed so obvious now. I’d have to thank Javy later.

Dear Jake,

I didn’t realize I’d be spending Christmas without you until Harvey called asking if you’d be coming with me to visit them. What is it with us and spending holidays apart? Not going to lie, I cried my eyes out when I realized it because it was just so sad. I had plans for how to make it special but I guess they’ll just have to wait until next year, right? Hopefully we can spend next Christmas together.

Ignore the tear drops on here. The air is really dry on the plane and it’s making my eyes water. I’m flying out to Minnesota to spend Christmas with Harvey and his family, I suspect I’ll be making more than one lasagna. Emma loves my cooking and with Jill still being a baby, I’ll probably stock her freezer with food that she can just heat up if they’re all too tired to cook.

Tasha and I were watching HGTV last night, one of those house hunting shows, and it got me thinking. Would you want to stay in California when you retire? Move to Texas to be with your family, Minnesota to be near mine, or maybe somewhere in the middle? I don’t really think I have a preference but it’s something we should probably talk about. Not that I think you’re going to retire soon, I know you love flying too much, and like I said before you left, I’d never ask you to give it up.

I don’t know. Thinking about a house when we’ve already talked about getting married and having kids sounds like a good idea. We’ll figure it out when you get home.

I love you,

Your Wildflower

My tears mixed with hers on the page. When I left I had been expecting to be able to call her on Christmas, tell her that I loved her, press my luck and ask her to marry me, but none of that had been possible. It was heartbreaking all over again to know that Daisy had been sad and he had been the one to cause it.

I did love my job but if being away from Daisy hurt this bad for the both of them, maybe it was time to consider other options. Maybe. He’d have to talk to Mav about it. But buying a house didn’t have to wait until retirement, that was something that he could make happen in the next year or two. Something small, one or two bedrooms, just big enough for them and maybe a kid if he would end up being so lucky. God, the idea of Daisy with a baby was one that I did not need to be thinking of right now. Not when I was in the middle of the ocean with no way to get home.

Dear Jake,

Bob is now my favorite dagger (besides you and Tasha of course). He got me the BEST Christmas present ever!! I think you’re going to love it too but I’m not going to spoil the surprise before you get home.

Javy did give me the present from you and I also love it. I just took a bath with the purple bath bomb and I'm wearing the new pajama pants, which are sooo soft. Bob’s present is currently taking up your side of the bed but don’t worry, I’m keeping your pillow safe on my side of the bed.

Amelia had her first date yesterday with that guy she took to winter formal. Penny and I acted as chaperones, sitting in a different booth and keeping an eye on them. They were adorable and awkward. After the date we ended up hosting a sleepover for Kate’s daughters, they wanted to hear everything about the date as soon as they could. It was fun, lots of cheesy romcoms and pizza.

Also, did you tell Mav to stock M&Ms in his pantry? Because every time I go over there I suddenly have a packet of candy in my lap. If you did that’s adorable. If you didn’t, it’s even more adorable that Mav thought to do that on his own because Penny and Ames said it wasn’t them.

Love you,

Your Wildflower

What could the present from Bob have been? I couldn’t think of a single thing that would get her that excited that I would also be so excited over. I made another mental note, this time to ask Bob what the present had been.

As for the M&Ms, that had to be Mav’s idea because it wasn’t me. My list of “thank yous” just kept getting longer. I never would have thought when I was chosen for the uranium mission that the people who hated my guts would end up being so important to me, family even, taking care of my girl while I was gone.

Dear Jake,

Mama came to visit this week, she misses you just as much as I do. Pop’s surgery went fine and the doctors are happy with how he’s recovering. Apparently when the doctors told him the news he said “Of course I’m doing good. Even cancer knows better than to try and stop me walking my daughter down the aisle.” I might have burst into tears on the spot.

I also caught mama going through my jewelry box trying to figure out my ring size, so I think you’re right. If you’re not home before we hit one year, your family is going to propose for you.

Hope you don’t mind, I went over to your place and took a sweatshirt. If you want it back I guess you’re just going to have to take it off of me.

It felt wrong to write that in the same letter as I was talking about your parents. Just ignore that.

Love you!

Wildflower

I couldn’t help but laugh. Both at the blush I knew Daisy must’ve had when she crossed out that sentence and at my mama’s meddling in the situation. There was also relief at knowing that pops was doing okay.

Dear Jake,

I can’t keep it a secret any longer. Bob got me a dog. He’s a German Shepherd named Pretty Boy, I call him Pretty and you’re going to love him. You’re also going to have to fight him for your side of the bed back, sorry not sorry.

Apparently Cyclone is a dog guy, did you know that? Mav took Pretty on base and the man got down on his knees in uniform to baby talk him. I would have paid to see it but hearing Mav tell the story is funny too. You’ll have to ask him to tell you when you get back.

Mama also sent me some of her recipes. I made biscuits and gravy the other morning and everyone loved it. I also made her chocolate pie which Penny offered to divorce Mav to get her hands on the recipe.

Love,

Your Wildflower

Dear Jake,

I’m leaving for my book tour today. Just a month of being shuttled between different bookstores meeting fans and signing books. Helen and Caroline promised to be at the one in Houston so I’m looking forward to that.

Jason and Grace built the itinerary so that I don’t have a single spare second of my day. Apparently I’m a flight risk because I don’t like being around too many people. I think they’re being dramatic over the whole thing but still, it might be nice to not have to think about anything for a few weeks besides my books.

I love you,

Daisy

Dear Jake,

I got caught by Jason trying to slip out of the back door at a Barnes and Noble. I’m now no longer allowed to go to the bathroom alone when we’re at an event. I wish you were here, you could’ve run interference.

Love you,

Wildflower

Dear Jake,

Caroline came to visit and we had a spa weekend, Tasha came too. I know you were worried about me meeting your sisters but damn, you should’ve been worried about them meeting Tasha more. They had WAY too much fun swapping stories. I was laughing too hard to stop them but I think I know some ways I can make it up to you.

Caroline also brought some wedding magazines and insisted that we start putting together an idea book. It took some wine and M&Ms but they got me on board. I’ve never really thought about what a wedding would look like, which is apparently a crime under Girl Code, but planning a wedding seems stressful. How much do you think our friends and families would kill us if we eloped? Or do you want a big wedding? Add that to the list of things we need to talk about when you get home.

Also, Cassandra’s next book is almost done. The first draft at least. Jason is chomping at the bit to get his hands on it and is calling me at least twice a day. I know the second he and Grace read that Cassandra and Tim might get romantically involved that they’re going to be over the moon.

Love you,

Your Daisy

Dear Jake,

I guess this is the last letter I get to write you because by the time you get it, the whole team is going to be with you. Heads up, don’t open the plain envelope around anyone. That was Kate’s idea and there was a lot of tequila involved. Hope you like them?

I miss you a lot but I know you’re going to come home to me and that’s what I’m holding onto. I know you must be frustrated that the deployment got extended but it’s okay, a few months is nothing when we’ve got forever together ahead of us. That sounded really cheesy but it’s the truth.

I love you. Remember not to clench your jaw or you’ll give yourself a headache.

Can’t wait to see you,

Your Wildflower

I was crying by the time I finished the last letter, holding it to my chest. If anything, being away from Daisy just confirmed how much I loved her, that I didn’t want to be apart from her, that I wanted to marry her.

Next Chapter

#bet writes #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #jake seresin #fanfic #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #bradley rooster bradshaw #wildflowers for a hangman fic #natasha phoenix trace #glen powell

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writing-until-i-drop · 1 month ago

Text

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 26

Summary:

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

Natasha eats blueberries while giving Daisy anxiety, Daisy makes Jake's brain stop working, and Mav and Hangman have a short but meaningful moment.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

“We should talk about renewing the lease,” I shouted over the music, flipping pancakes. Tasha was sitting on the counter, eating the blueberries that were supposed to be added to the batter.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Tasha spoke through a mouthful of fruit, “I think you should move out.” The words didn’t process immediately, lingering in the air as the pancake began to burn in the pan. Move out? How could my best friend want me to move out? We didn’t argue, I cooked her favorites whenever she wanted them, I didn’t leave my dirty clothes on the hallway floor unlike someone I could point fingers at.

“You should,” I took a deep breath. “You should keep explaining before I start crying.” Tasha snorted out a laugh, hopping off the counter to hug me from behind and I moved the pan off the burner to keep myself from burning anything else.

“You know I love you and how much I love living with you, my little tequila tornado,” She kissed my cheek. “But you’re engaged, you and Hangman fuck like rabbits, which, ew.” Okay, so Natasha wasn’t mad at me. I laughed softly. “And you’ve got boat loads of money, sooooooo,” She squeezed my hips. “I think you should buy a house and start filling it up with more nieces I can spoil.”

“Jake and I haven’t even talked about all of that stuff yet, I mean, kids yeah, but not moving in together.” Natasha made a angry buzzer noise,

“You’re engaged, nauseatingly in love, and did I mention all of the sex?” I pushed Tasha off of me, shaking my head as I laughed. She stuck her tongue out, “You’re telling me if you pulled up a Zillow listing and texted to Hangman, he wouldn’t agree to buy the house without even looking at it?”

“I think he’d at least look at it,” I busied myself while Natasha laughed, throwing out the burnt pancake. “But before you kick me out, at least let me talk to the guy.”

“Whatever,” Natasha grabbed one of the pancakes off the stack and took a bite. “Aww, there’s no blueberries in this one.”

“That’s because someone was slacking on their blueberry duties,” I pointed the spatula at her. “Now come on, we’ve still got some batter left.”

Natasha’s idea of moving in with Jake had quickly taken root in my brain and she was right, technically I had enough money to buy a house all on my own. Nothing fancy, I didn’t have millions lying around, but I had enough and I also had an agent who loved making me happy.

“Hey, baby,” Jake sounded out of breath. “What’s up?”

“You know how you like to say things that make my brain explode?” I bit the tip of my thumb, eyeing the yellow fixer-upper Jason had sent me. One story, three bedrooms, a fenced in backyard. It needed a little love and DIY but the more I looked at the listing photos, the more I could see it becoming the perfect first house. A yard for Pretty, an office for me, and plenty of space to have the Daggers over.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Jake chuckled. “What’s going on, baby?”

“Move in with me. I’ll buy this house Jason found for us, you let me decorate however I want, and maybe you can move some of the boxes shirtless.” Jake’s silence transitioned into random noises and half sentences. “Not so fun being the one who has to reboot their brain, is it, cowboy?”

“You want to buy a house?”

“Well, Tasha said I should buy a house and start having babies with you,”

“Jesus, Wildflower,” Jake choked and coughed. “You’re hell bent on giving me a heart attack this morning, aren’t you?” I laughed, laying back against the pillows next to Pretty Boy, who was snuggled up for a mid-morning nap. “I’m like two miles away from your apartment, give me a few minutes and we can talk about this in person.”

“You out for a run?” I dropped my voice a bit, teasing him, “All hot and sweaty?” Jake groaned,

“I do not need to be hard while running two miles, Wildflower. Behave.”

“Or what?”

About an hour later we were laying in bed with the laptop perched on my lap. Jake had refused to take his hands on me since entering my room, even when I forced him to shower, which had been a little complicated with the size of our bathroom.

“How long has Jason been looking at houses for us?” Jake asked, kissing my shoulder.

“About a week,” I pulled up the list of houses, condos, and apartments Jason’s real estate agent had sent over. “I really like the yellow one but it’s going to need some work to make it perfect.”

“Lucky for you, your husband is good with his hands,” One of those hands slid over top of my thigh, squeezing. “In more ways than one.” If we weren’t careful, we’d never end up looking at the houses.

“Hands to yourself, fiance,” I elbowed him gently, “We’ve got things to talk about. Especially if you want to keep calling yourself my husband without the paperwork.”

“We could fix that, all we need is a witness and a judge,” Jake moved the laptop, moving me on top of his lap. Jake kissed my jaw, then my neck, “And I love the yellow house, even if I’m going to break my back renovating that kitchen.”

“We can look at houses with already remodeled kitchens,” I offered, tilting my head back to give him better access to my neck. “Save your back.” Jake made a rumbly noise when I dragged my nails gently down the muscles of his back, “Or maybe we keep looking and-fuck, Jake.” He chuckled, sucking a hickey into my neck.

“I kind of like the idea of building the kitchen of your dreams with my own two hands.” Was it possible to be any more in love with Jake? I didn’t think so.

Daisy had been solely focused on the idea of moving in together. I tried not to take it personally that it was more because she was avoiding one of her writing deadlines. Not that she wasn’t excited for the right reasons though. The day after we had viewed the house on her laptop we had scheduled a viewing of the house and put in an offer, I tried not to feel like a sugar baby while Daisy managed all of the finances involved. I made good money as a pilot but according to the phone calls I had overheard between Daisy and Jason, my bank account was nothing compared to hers.

Rooster was understanding about the whole thing, apparently he was looking forward to living alone. Without a roommate he could “play the field more.” Javy was also excited, he and Phoenix were talking about moving in together. Well, they were mostly arguing about it. Javy liked his apartment, it was nice and there was a pool at the complex. Phoenix didn’t want to pack her stuff and she liked how Daisy had decorated their current apartment.

But today was all about Mav and Penny. Well, mostly Mav. He had decided to wear a suit instead of his dress whites for their wedding and didn’t trust that any of us had suits that weren’t leftover from junior prom, so he had ordered us guys to meet him at a local shop to get fitted for suits.

“Never I thought I’d see the day where Hangman got engaged,” Maverick patted me on the shoulder while I looked between fabric samples. “Proud of you, kid.”

“Thanks, Mav,” I sighed. “I’m glad you’re going first though,” I was. I wanted to see one of the other aviators get married to sooth the irrational part of my brain that liked to whisper that it would never work. That someone who risked their life every day when they went to work, disappeared for months at a time for deployments, and couldn’t always talk about what they did. The risk, the secrets, the possible time spent apart… I was worried.

“And I’m glad Goose and Ice did it before me,” Mav said softly, getting a far away look in his eyes. “They showed me what a good marriage looks like and I’m hoping you and I can do it half as well as them.”

The sentiment hit me hard. I thought about my parents and my sisters, how happy they all were in their marriages despite the challenges. I looked down at the silver band on my left hand, the ring Daisy had gotten me to wear when I wasn’t in the air even though I told her I didn’t need one. I knew its weight was minimal but staring down at it, knowing what it meant, that made it feel like a thousand pound weight on my finger.

“No paisley suits, Hangman,” Mav patted my shoulder again before walking away. I laughed softly to myself, I had flipped to an orange and pink paisley fabric swatch without realizing it.

Jake: I love you

Daisy: I love you too

Daisy: Can’t wait to see you in your suit xoxo

Next Chapter

#bet writes #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #jake seresin #fanfic #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #wildflowers for a hangman fic

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writing-until-i-drop · 2 months ago

Text

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 25

Summary:

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

Harvey and the babies come to visit and more than just one couple is having thoughts about newborns

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

“How did my beautiful fiance sleep?” Jake whispers, kissing the back of my neck. It had been a week since his return and we were still in a blissful bubble, spending as much time as possible wrapped up in each other outside of work.

“Hand’s asleep,” I mumbled, turning to face him. “Something heavy’s on it,” I put my left hand on his chest, admiring the ring there. The heirloom was perfect and it meant so much to me that pops had chosen to give it to me, that his whole family had schemed to make the proposal special. Everything about our engagement was perfect.

“How many mornings in a row are you planning on using that same joke?” Jake slid a hand beneath my shirt, fingers splaying across my back. He was looking at me like I hung the stars and the moon in the sky, like I was his entire universe, and I thought back to the days where I wasn’t sure if Jake was flirting for the hell of it and wondered how I could have been so blind to the love in his eyes.

“As many as I damn well please,” I arched to kiss him, tasting the mint of his tooth paste. He must have woken up earlier and crawled back in bed with me so that I wouldn’t wake up alone, something I hated to do after being without him for so long. Jake hummed into the kiss, rolling me onto my back. My sleep pants were already abandoned on the bedroom floor thanks to a middle of the night quickie, and it was easy for my panties to join them there.

“I love you,” Jake whispered, fingers sliding between my folds, igniting the fire within me that burned for him. He swirled his fingers around my sensitive bundle of nerves, pulling needy noises from me. “And I’m gonna marry you.”

“I’ve still got, oh my god,” I moaned as Jake began slowly working his fingers inside of me, “Still got time to run away at the altar.” He rolled his eyes,

“I run faster than you, I’m not worried.”

“Asshole,” I laughed, pinching his side. It was nice being able to love and laugh at the same time, his fingers never faltering, preparing me to take him. “I’d have Javy trip you, give me a head start.” Jake shook with gentle laughter,

“You think my best friend would betray me like that?” My response was cut off by a moan, feeling Jake push into me, filling and stretching me. No one else had ever felt this good. Maybe it was because Jake was extremely good looking and knew what he was doing in bed. Or maybe it was because I loved him just as much as he loved me.

“He would,” I rocked my hips, urging him to move. “Because his girlfriend would be my getaway driver.” Jake kissed away my giggles as he fucked me and we took turns expressing how much we loved each other. When he came, it was with my name on his lips and I swallowed it with a kiss, loving the taste on my tongue.

Tasha was on my shoulders, taping up the birthday banner. Harvey, Emma, and the girls were going to disney for Sarah’s birthday and had decided to stop by for a day to celebrate the day before.

“Is it straight?” Tasha asked, stretching for the corner, testing my own balance. I tried to look but felt my center of gravity shift and decided that a crooked banner was better than an ER trip.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” I walked us back towards the couch and slowly lowered us until she could climb off of my shoulders.

“There’s going to be beer involved at some point today, right?” Tasha pouted, “Because I’m really hoping there’s beer involved.”

“Jake’s bringing the beer,” I promised, kissing her on the cheek. “Javy’s getting the balloons, I already made the cake for tonight. All we need to do is get lunch prepped and get ready.” I had everything planned out on my phone for the day, not wanting to waste a minute of time with my nieces, even though I knew they’d be happy if I just sat them in the living room with a Disney princess movie and a trough of candy.

“I’ll leave lunch to you, unless the little monsters want burnt pasta,” Natasha gently elbowed my side with a grin.

“Shut up and shower,” I rolled my eyes. Little monsters. That girl loved my nieces and I had a sneaking suspicion I would become chopped liver the second they saw her. Auntie Daisy was cool and all but Auntie Tasha? She flew planes for a living and was sooooo much cooler (according to Sarah at least). Once they got their adorable hands on her, my only hope for love and affection would be from baby Jill.

“Auntie Tasha!” Sarah screeched, dropping Harvey’s hand and flinging herself at Natasha. Javy and Jake both looked confused and amused by the display of affection,

“Auntie Daisy!” Haley ran forward, attaching herself to my legs like a koala bear. “We’re going to see Mickey!”

“Yeah you are,” I scooped her up into my arms, kissing all over her face before settling the giggling toddler on my hip.

“You must be the boys dating my sisters,” Harvey’s “big brother” voice had me biting back a laugh, “Pilots, right?” I rolled my eyes, looking at Emma who just shrugged, patting baby Jill who was in one of those swaddle-carrying things on her chest.

“Jake Seresin, it’s nice to finally meet you, Harvey.” Jake turned on the charm, offering a handshake, “Sorry I couldn’t make it to Christmas.”

“Wait, he’s a pilot too?” Sarah whispered unsuccessfully to Natasha and I couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore, neither could Tasha apparently.

“They both are, little monster. But don’t worry, Auntie Tasha’s still the best pilot in the world,” She glared at Jake when he opened his mouth to disagree.

“Want Tasha,” Haley tugged on my shirt. It was nice while it lasted, I let her down and watched as Natasha effortlessly picked her up and placed her on her other hip, opposite Sarah. I looked at Emma,

“It’s good to see you but I fear we’ve been forgotten about,” We did a side-hug around Jill.

“It’s been a long car ride,” Emma sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I’ve heard “mom” so many times that I’m happy to be forgotten about.”

“Why don’t you go up to my room and have a few minutes of alone time? I’ll take Jill and get you once the girls are ready for lunch.” Emma grabbed my cheeks with both hands, bringing my forehead within kissing distance,

“You’re an angel, I married the wrong Prentiss.”

Harvey was nice, quickly changing from trying to be a protective big brother to laughing and joking with Javy and I about everything from our jobs, to sports, to Natasha and Daisy. Javy’s attention kept drifting to Natasha, who was sitting on the couch with both of the older girls glued to her side, watching something animated on the TV. Daisy was in the armchair with Jill on her chest, humming softly and kissing the baby’s head.

The images I had imagined of Daisy with a baby while I had been reading her letters on the ship were nothing compared to seeing it in real life. She looked so perfect, I mean, she was always perfect, but it was clear that Daisy loved her niece and the idea of her with our kid? That was a lot to handle, especially surrounded by kids and her brother.

Daisy looked over at me, cradling Jill with one arm, her other hand reaching out to me. I excused myself from the conversation and crossed the room to squat down beside her,

“Hi, baby,”

“Hey,” She smiled softly, whispering. “Just wanted to give you a quick kiss.” Who was I to deny her? It was chaste and short but it still had my heart kicking into overdrive.

“Do you know what you’re doing to me with all of these kids, Wildflower?” I whispered, gently running my fingertips over Jill’s arm.

“Trust me, Cowboy, I’m struggling just as much as you are.” Really? Interesting… I kissed her cheek, whispering into her ear so that only she could hear me.

“All you have to do is ask, Daisy.” Daisy swallowed hard, her cheeks burning red. “And it looks like we’re not the only ones thinking about it.” Daisy turned her head, biting her lip to keep from giggling when she saw the way Natasha was eyeing Javy like a piece of meat.

“Our kids can share birthday parties,” She teased softly. I could imagine it, Javy and I grilling hotdogs and hamburgers while little kids ran all around, Natasha and Daisy keeping an eye on them, making sure everyone was having fun. The rest of the daggers would be there, hopefully with their own kids and partners, and Mav would be trying and failing to hide his excitement after buying a totally over-the-top present that Penny told him not to.

“I can’t wait to marry you,” Is all I said in response, kissing her forehead before standing back up, “Do you need anything?”

“Can you heat up lunch? I want to get everyone fed so we can take the girls shopping.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Next Chapter

#bet writes #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #jake seresin #fanfic #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #wildflowers for a hangman fic #natasha phoenix trace #natasha trace x javy machado #natasha x javy #coyote x phoenix

28 notes · View notes

writing-until-i-drop · 8 months ago

Text

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 5

Summary:

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Everyone but Penny sees the surprise coming and Jake gets a new lock screen wallpaper.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Amelia and I made eye contact over her mom’s head, holding in giggles. Penny was passed out, head back, snoring softly as a woman massaged her feet. Maverick had asked Phoenix to take the girls out for a mani-pedi but we all agreed that I was the less suspicious choice when it came to a girls’ day out.

“We should get lunch after this,” Amelia pulled out her phone and showed me a vegan place with a clean aesthetic. “What about here?”

“Sounds good to me,” I lied with a smile. “Is there anything else you want to do today?” I had to keep the girls out of the house for at least another hour but Maverick had said the longer the better. Amelia shrugged,

“If Mav’s gonna propose, we should go shopping,” I choked on my spit, and Amelia rolled her eyes. “Seriously? He was sweating buckets this morning and now we’re getting manicures?”

“That’s fair,” Fifteen-year-olds were very perceptive apparently. Penny let out a louder snore and Amelia elbowed her in the ribs, her mom shot awake.

“Yes?”

“We’re getting lunch and then going shopping for matching dresses,” Penny looked at me and I tried to look as enthusiastic as possible.

“Okay,” And then she nodded off again. From what Amelia and Mav had both said, Penny had had a long night closing up the Hard Deck and then had thrown back shots with her bartenders. Amelia rolled her eyes and then went back to scrolling through Instagram. My phone buzzed.

Jake: Hey, Wildflower. How are things going?

Daisy: Penny’s sound asleep and Amelia saw right through Mav

Jake: Figures, man has no poker face when it comes to her

Daisy: Mav owes me big time, Amelia wants to get vegan food

Jake: I’ll take you for pizza tonight after everything

Daisy: Deal

I paused, brow furrowing. Did he mean getting pizza as a friend? Or as a date? I shook off the thought, of course, it was as friends. Well…I blushed, it might not have been so bad if Jake wanted to- No. I put the thought away in a locked filing cabinet, the same cabinet where the feeling of his muscled arms beneath my hand was stored. Jake and I were never going to be anything more than friends, even if he was perfect and handsome, and he listened to all of my stories with a smile on his face. Absolutely not.

Jake: What color did you get your nails?

Daisy: Guess

Jake: Green, the same shade as your bedspread

Daisy: How the hell did you guess that on your first try?

Jake: Because you told me it was your favorite

Jake: And I remember everything you say

I didn’t even know how to respond, so I didn’t. Amelia and I chatted about baking while they painted our toes. She had volunteered to bake for a soccer team bake sale to buy new uniforms for the school year.

“If you need help, just give me a call. I’ll help you bake whatever you need,” Amelia lit up with a smile,

“That would be great! I was planning on using bagged mix but actual homemade stuff would sell so much better.” It felt good to be helpful, Amelia reminded me of my oldest niece, Sarah. Sarah was four and loved soccer, at that age it was mostly just kids running around and screaming excitedly. She had the same blonde hair as Amelia too, always smiling and giving her parents a hard time.

After a very dry and under seasoned lunch that Penny and I managed to grin and bear it through, we ended up at a little boutique. Amelia treated Penny and I like her own personal dress up dolls, having us try on dress after dress until she found one that looked good on all three of us and was up to her standards.

The dress she settled on for me was a light green made of light, flowy fabric. It cinched at my waist and made my boobs look fantastic. The only negative was that it clung to my stomach a little but I couldn’t stop smiling at how cute I looked and in a moment of giddiness, I snapped a picture in the changing room mirror with an arm around my waist. Then I sent it to Jake.

“Yo, D, you ready to go?” Amelia shouted and I quickly grabbed the shopping bag filled with my earlier clothes and followed her out to the car.

Jake: Baby you’re killing me in that dress

Daisy: That was the idea, pretty boy

“Flirting with Hangman?” Penny asked, the pep finally back in her step. “You two are adorable together.”

“We’re just friends,”

“Suuuuuuurrreeee,” Amelia patted my shoulder from the back seat, “You keep telling yourself that, D.”

“You two are horrible, we’re friends!”

“That man used to go home with a different girl every night and now he doesn’t even look at another woman, even when you’re not at the bar.” Penny shot me a motherly look that had me blushing like a schoolgirl, “In fact, he spends every moment you’re not there on his phone. Would you happen to know what he’s doing?”

“Oh! I know, I know!” Amelia pounds on the back of my seat, “Texting D!” Penny made a dinging noise. “You guys are too cute together, everyone can see it.”

“I’m not listening,” I plugged my ears with my fingers, “Lalalalalalala.” Penny smacked a hand over my mouth.

“I will bet you a hundred dollars that Hangman’s going to have his hands on you within a minute of us walking through the door.” I was going to lose that bet, I already knew it.

“You’re on.” I was an idiot.

Penny thought they were celebrating the end of summer, a weak cover story, but Penny was looking forward to it. Especially since Maverick had promised to organize the whole thing so that she didn’t have to lift a finger, me taking them out on a girls’ day on Maverick’s credit card was just the cherry on top.

“Ready to win, mom?” Amelia asked, the double meaning completely lost on Penny as we strolled through the doors of the Hard Deck. The lights were off inside and it was impressive how quiet the daggers were being before Penny flicked on the lights. Stretched across the rafters was a white and gold banner with the words will you marry me written in cursive and Maverick was on one knee with a ring in his hand.

“Oh my God! Of course!” Penny rushed to Maverick, kissing him soundly as he slid the long overdue ring onto her finger. The daggers came out from the woodwork, hooping and hollering with excitement. I caught sight of Jake who was already beelining towards me with an indiscernible look on his face.

“You’re so losing the bet,” Amelia snorted, showing me a timer that was counting down from a minute.

“You’re horrible,” Jake swept me into a hug, the bet officially lost. When my feet lifted from the floor I shrieked in equal parts surprise, horror, and delight.

“Jake, put me down!”

“You look fucking gorgeous, Wildflower.” Jake dropped me gently to my feet but kept his grasp on my waist, holding me at arm's length while he took one long look at me. Amelia walked off, laughing as she went. Jake was looking at me like I was a T-bone steak and he was a starving man, a deep flush working from my cheeks down to my chest under his intense gaze. “I mean it, Daisy. You look beautiful.”

“Shut up,” I laughed, letting him pull me into his chest. My heart was racing, that stupid fluttery feeling they described in romance books making me a little nauseous. “We’re supposed to be paying attention to Mav and Penny.”

“I don’t think I can pay attention to anyone but you right now and you, pretty girl, better believe this is Jake talking and not Hangman.” I stopped laughing, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“Well, whoever’s saying it is making me blush,”

“Well, you made me blush with that picture. It’s only fair.” Jake squeezed my hip, making me blush even harder. I wanted to go up on my toes and press my lips to his but instead, I pushed him away with a laugh, pretending I didn’t believe a word he said like I always did but this time I had doubts that he was joking. “Daisy-”

“Come on, pretty boy. I have to pay the bride.”

Daisy yelped when I lifted her onto the bed of the truck. We stayed at the party for a few hours, Daisy spending most of the time with the girls while I hung around Mav and the guys. Maverick had been over the moon, talking about his plans for a big wedding and an even bigger honeymoon. Then when he was ready to spend time with his fiancee, sweeping her off her feet and taking her to his bike, Amelia having been picked up by a friend earlier in the night, Daisy had gone right to my side and laced her fingers with mine.

“Stop doing that! You’ll hurt your back.” She protested, smacking my chest.

“And why would I hurt my back, Wildflower? You don’t think I’m strong enough to manhandle my girl?” Her mouth opened and shut a few times, I could tell by the scrunch of her brow that she didn’t know which part of my words to respond to. Did she insist she was too heavy again? Which was total bullshit. Or did she protest that I called her my girl? I tapped her knee, “Scoot your pretty ass back to the pillows while I grab the pizza.” Daisy muttered something under her breath about me being an ass but did what I said.

She looked as pretty as a picture, leaned back against the pillows in the bed of my truck, her sundress pooled high up on her creamy thighs, staring up at the stars with a soft smile. Lord have mercy, I needed this woman to give my heart a break before it beat so hard it lept from my chest.

“Are you going to keep staring or join me up here?” Daisy snapped without malice, making me grin.

“Actually, darlin, I want a picture to prove I had the prettiest girl in the world in my bed.”

“You’re an idiot,” She sighed but smiled for the picture that I quickly set as my lock screen before climbing up beside her. “You know, you’re not nearly half as charming as you think you are.”

“And you’re a horrible liar. Now eat your pizza and look at the stars,” She responded instantly to the stern tone of my voice, and hell if that didn’t make me that much more attracted to her. We ate in silence, staring up at the sky, and when the pizza was gone, Daisy let me wrap her in my arms.

I wanted to do this every night, lazily tracing patterns on her thigh and kissing her neck while she giggled at me to knock it off. I wanted her to tell me stories about the stars and lace her fingers with mine. I wanted everything she was willing to give me and a little bit more for as long as she would let me have it. Which was hopefully forever. Forever. I’d never thought about forever before, not like this at least. My biggest dream had always been flying and I would let nothing get in the way of that but Daisy had been on my mind every second of the day that I wasn’t in the sky.

“Hey, Harvey.” I had been so far in thought I hadn’t even heard her phone ring. There was a jealous spark in my chest. Who the hell was Harvey? Some guy from back home?

Daisy must have felt me tense, her free hand resting reassuringly on my thigh. “No, I’m fine. Yes, I’m telling the truth,” She huffed hotly. “Now’s actually not a good time, I’m stargazing.” The tips of her ears went red, “No, I’m not with Tasha. I’m with,” She looked over at me and I was already staring at her. What was she going to say? Friend might kill me, I knew boyfriend was off the table for now. “I’m with a very good friend,” She squeezed my thigh, “His name’s Jake.”

A very good friend? I could work with that. “Yeah, okay, Harv. I love you too,” Just hearing those three words come out of her mouth was enough to stop my heart. She squeezed my thigh again, biting her bottom lip as she stared up at me. “Give my nieces a kiss for me. M’bye.” Nieces. Harvey must have been the brother Phoenix had mentioned in passing.

“What was that about?” Daisy shook her head, silencing her phone before relaxing back into my side, her hand still on my thigh.

“He’s just checking up on me. I, uh, historically don’t do well with September.” I waited for her to elaborate, to talk my ear off for an hour but no explanation came.

“Care to explain?”

“It’ll ruin the night, trust me. I’ll tell you some other time.”

“I’m going to hold you to that, Daisy. I want to know everything about you, the good, the bad, and the ugly.” She huffed at me and I just knew she was rolling her eyes.

“Can you just hold me for a little bit longer and maybe…” She trailed off with a sigh, fingers tapping on my thigh. “Can you…”

“Whatever you want, Wildflower. All you ever have to do is ask.”

“Kiss my hair?” This woman was going to kill me, it was official, and I couldn’t have been happier to be a dead man walking.

“It would be my pleasure, darlin.” I tried to take a picture of this moment in my mind.

I could feel the warmth of her body against mine, making me forget about everything else in the world. Daisy’s hair smelled like vanilla and lavender and as I placed a gentle kiss on her soft, red hair, I couldn’t help but do it again, and again. We sat there until the air became too cold for comfort, even with a blanket, the sky twinkling above us as her fingers gently rubbed my thigh through my jeans. It was the perfect night, I kissed her forehead when I pulled her out of the truck bed, and then her knuckles after I helped her into the passenger seat.

“Such a gentleman, Jake.” She sighed, looking at me like Penny had looked at Mav when she spotted him on one knee. I swallowed hard, mouth going dry thinking about myself down on one knee.

“I’m your gentleman, Wildflower.”

Next Chapter

#hangman x oc #jake seresin x oc #top gun fanfiction #fanfic #idiots in love #jake seresin #natasha phoenix trace #pete maverick mitchell #top gun maverick #wildflowers for a hangman fic #penny benjamin #amelia benjamin

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writing-until-i-drop · 5 months ago

Text

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 19

Summary:

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Jake's hiding something and everyone thinks it's a bad idea

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Jake had been acting a little bit weird but I figured it was just the thought of spending Christmas without his family, especially since Pop’s surgery was being delayed. I did my best to be silently supportive, spending all the time I could with him. Jason, my agent, had called and said my latest book had been greenlit and the publishing house was looking to have me do a book tour for the release in a year. Jake was excited for me but not excited about the fact I’d be gone for at least two months. But Jason hadn’t just called to give me the good news, no, he had called to see if I had started writing the sequel yet.

“Cassandra’s getting a love interest?” Jake stage whispered in my ear, I was between his legs on the bed, my back to his chest while I wrote.

“How do you figure?” I leaned back against his chest, relaxing into him. Jake kissed my neck,

“Detective Monroe, he obviously has a thing for Cass,” He pointed at the screen. “He brings her coffee, checks on her after the killer got away, he obviously cares about her.” Huh. He had a point. Detective Monroe was Cassandra’s partner, he had her back and was probably the one person in her life that Cassandra could call a friend.

“And what makes you think he’s more than just a friend?” I prompted him, wondering what he could see that I couldn’t.

“The way he looks at her and knows what she’s thinking, he pays more attention to her than he should.” It was kind of hot hearing Jake get so riled up about my writing. He had been reading it over my shoulder for the past week, offering his observations and comments, and telling me when I needed to close the laptop and go to bed because I had typed “and” three times in a row while dozing off. “Baby, he’s in love with her.”

“Isn’t that for me to decide?” I giggled, closing the laptop. Jake huffed,

“Don’t you always say that the characters do what they want?” Again, he had a point. “Whether you like it or not, I think Monroe’s got a crush on his partner.”

“We’ll see what happens,” I put the laptop on the nightstand, turning so that I was face first in his chest. “How much time do we have until we have to be at Mav’s?” Mav was hosting a team get together at his and Penny’s house and the daggers had insisted that you were included on the guest list, Fanboy had threatened to give you your own embarrassing callsign if you didn’t show up.

“About an hour, we have a little time, what do you want to do?” He kissed my neck again, massaging my hips with his hands. I hummed, thinking about it. We could do a lot in an hour but we also had to spend time with the whole team for the rest of the evening. I could already feel the exhaustion setting in, I loved the daggers, I did, but that didn’t mean they were exempt from draining my social battery.

“I want…” I reached around blindly for the blanket. Jake chuckled, pulling the blanket over my shoulders, “I want to cuddle until it’s time to get ready and when we do have to get dressed, I want you to tell me it’s okay to wear sleep pants to the party.”

“I think I can do that, Wildflower,” Jake wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face in his neck. It briefly crossed my mind that I might be a little bit heavy on his chest but that thought quickly faded away as Jake began to hum a song, lulling me to sleep.

“Matching pajamas, really?” Rooster rolled his eyes, bringing me in for a hug.

“I think my girl’s onto something, they’re way comfier than jeans,” Jake announced to the room, pulling you out of Rooster’s arms and into his side, arm draped over your shoulder.

“Dee!” Amelia came around the corner, stealing me away from Jake, her arm looped through mine. “I need advice,” She whispered, “From someone who’s not my mom.”

“Is this a boy thing?” I whispered back and she nodded, pulling me into the hallway, away from everyone. “I’m not sure I’m the best at relationship advice but I’ll do my best.” Amelia rolled her eyes,

“There’s this guy named Charlie in my math class and he’s super cute.”

“Like, really cute?” Amelia’s whole face lit up and it warmed my heart. I could see my nieces growing up to be just like her someday, calling me to tell me about their crushes, making me swear up and down not to tell their dad.

“Winter formal is coming up and there’s a tradition that girls ask the guys out,” She was so nervous it was adorable. “I mean, we’re kind of friends, we text but it’s mostly about homework and I don’t know if it’s weird if I ask him to the dance or not.”

“You said mostly about homework, what else do you talk about?” Her cheeks went pink and she started playing with her hair.

“I mean, we both watch the same show so sometimes we text each other when the new episode airs and talk about what happened.” They were too cute, oh my goodness.

“Then I think it’s a good idea, maybe you can make him a sign or a note with an inside joke or reference to the show?” Amelia perked up,

“That’s perfect! I’m going to go work on that, thanks, Dee!” Amelia gave me a tight hug before running off towards the stairs, giggling the whole way up. I chuckled, making my way to the kitchen to get a drink when I heard Jake and Rooster whispering.

“Have you told her yet?” Rooster asked and I stopped just beyond the doorway, heart thudding in my chest.

“Not yet,” There was a smack, probably Rooster hitting Jake in the chest. “I don’t want to say anything until we know for sure. She’ll cry, hell, I’ll probably cry, and no one wants that.”

“You’ve got to tell her, the more time she has to prepare, the better. Daisy is an overthinker, you’ll need time to talk her off the ledge.” This was the moment in a movie where everyone is yelling at the screen, telling the main character to stick around and hear the rest of the conversation, and for the first time I understood why they never did. I quietly backed away from the doorway and down the hall, heart feeling like it was going to beat right out of my chest.

What did Jake have to tell me? And why did Rooster think he was going to have to talk me off a ledge once I found out?

“There you are,” Penny peaked down the hall, smiling. “Amelia find you okay?”

“Yeah,” I answered softly, clearing my throat, my voice evening out when I responded the second time. “Yeah, I was just about to rejoin the party.”

“Perfect, let’s get you a drink then.”

Daisy was a little tense, her smile not quite reaching her eyes throughout the night. When I pulled her aside she assured me that we’d talk about it later and to enjoy the party but it was hard to do so when she was sitting on Phoenix’s lap, her head on her shoulder, instead of tucked into my side.

Maverick pulled me aside when I went to grab a fresh beer, a santa hat on his head.

“I’m guessing you haven’t talked to Daisy yet?” I groaned, first Bradshaw and now Mav.

“How do you know?”

“Because Penny hasn’t gotten any panicked texts yet and she’s been waiting for them for two days.” I ran a hand over my face, leaning against the counter. Two days. I had been wrestling with the whispers around base and what to tell Daisy. The guys were right, I needed to tell her, but I also didn’t want to burst the happy bubble we had been in since getting back from Texas.

“Is it so wrong of me not to say anything until we’re certain?”

“It’s not a bad idea but when she finds out you’ve been holding onto this for a few days, how do you think that’s going to go?”

“You’ve got a good point, Mav.” He patted my shoulder, passing me to get a new beer,

“Tell her soon, Hangman, that’s an order.”

Next Chapter

#bet writes #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #jake seresin #fanfic #jake seresin x oc #wildflowers for a hangman fic

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writing-until-i-drop · 8 months ago

Text

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 4

Summary:

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Cassandra isn't speaking to Daisy and her work suffers but a call from her brother should make everything better, right?

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Cassandra wasn’t cooperating today and I knew better than to try and force it. Instead, I tried my hand at writing something overtly and didn’t make it a full page before scrapping the entire project. I’d had a few boyfriends before but none of them had given me the foot-popping, sparks-flying, kind of romance people wrote about.

In a desperate attempt to get something done, I wrote a few paragraphs more of an abandoned project about a kid detective trying to solve the theft of a neighbor’s lawn gnome. It wasn’t my most inspired piece of work, one of the many reasons Jason had told me to drop it, but it felt good to write something.

After completely throwing in the towel, I cleaned the apartment and made a double batch of M&M cookies, snacking on the chocolate candies as I went. Once the kitchen was cleaned again, I realized that I had made enough cookies to feed an army without an army to feed.

Daisy: Movie night at our place with the daggers?

Daisy: I may have stress baked

After an hour, Natasha responded affirmatively and I decided to run to the store for more snacks. While debating between Dorito flavors, my phone rang, Harvey’s picture flashing on the screen.

“Hey, Harv,” I greeted him, adding both bags of chips to my cart. “How are my girls?”

“Driving me crazy as usual,” Harvey laughed and I felt a bit lighter inside. There had been a point in our childhoods where I felt resentful that Harvey could be so happy but my therapist and a healthy dose of prescriptions had helped me past that. “How’s life in California?”

“Hot,” I joked. “The sun’s insufferable but it’s good to be living with Tasha again. She’s got some great friends that I bribed with cookies into accepting me as one of them.”

“Of course you did, your cookies could broker world peace.” I chuckled, waiting for Harvey to cut to the chase as I continued to throw all the snack foods I could find into the cart including frozen pizzas and chicken wings. “August is coming to an end.” There it was. I sighed but stayed silent, “How are you doing, DeeDee?”

“I’ve already scheduled the flowers to be sent to their graves and-”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“I’m fine, Harv. I’m keeping busy, trying not to think about it.” Something fell behind me and I nearly jumped out of my skin, white-knuckling the cart. It was like a switch flipped, all of my nerves lighting on fire, the acute paranoia I’d worked so hard to rid myself of sprinting to the forefront of my mind. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as Harvey’s voice faded into a soft buzzing. Was someone watching me? No, no one was watching me. I tried to shake off the feeling, moving at a snail’s pace through the aisle. I looked down at my feet and I could have sworn I saw red despite the canvas being black.

“Daisy?” I heard my name through the fog, “Daisy Louise? DeeDee, you’re okay. You’re okay, everything’s okay, DeeDee.” Harvey. Harvey was calling for me. Where was he? I had to get to him. “I’m okay, DeeDee. I’m safe.” The fog pulled away and I was on the floor of the frozen aisle, my phone beside me.

“Harvey?”

“I’m here, I’m alright, DeeDee.” He soothed, “Are you okay?” I grabbed the phone, tucking my head between my knees.

“I’m okay, Harv. I just…”

“I know, it’s okay. It’s normal but you should call Natasha and have her pick you up.” That was completely off of the table. I could handle this by myself, all I needed to do was get to my feet and everything would be okay. “I love you, DeeDee.”

“I love you too, Harvey.” I sat on the floor with my head in my hands for a few seconds after hanging up, evening out my breathing until I didn’t think I was going to pass out anymore. I struggled my way through checkout, my mind drifting and then snapping back to reality with everyone off-kilter sound I heard or thought I heard. But when my hands were shaking too hard to put the keys in the ignition, I put my pride inside and called Tasha.

“Phoenix’s phone,” Coyote picked up and I nearly ended the call, “Daisy?”

“Is Tasha there?” Fuck, I sounded like I had been crying. My voice wavered, full of emotion.

“She’s in the air, what’s wrong, Daisy?” Coyote was all business and I appreciated him for it.

“It’s fine, nevermind,” I even failed at convincing myself that things were fine. Coyote sighed then replied in a soft, quiet voice.

“Daisy, Nat told me that sometimes you have anxiety attacks. Is that what happened?” Damn it. Natasha had helped me through more than her fair share of them in college, it only made sense that she would tell someone important to her like Coyote.

“You can’t tell anyone,” I sighed, “I just, I’m at the grocery store and I don’t know if I should be driving home like this.” I heard Jake’s voice in the background and tensed, “Don’t tell Hangman.” Coyote chuckled,

“Yes, ma’am. Alright, there’s two ways this can go. I can ask Mav for permission to come get you or I can call Penny.” Neither option sounded preferable. “Penny’s going to ask a lot of questions because she’s a mom and then she’s going to tell Mav anyways. I will ask no questions because I’ve already got an idea of what’s going on.”

“As long as Mav’s the only extra person in the loop,” I relented. “And Javy? Thanks.”

Javy showed up in his flight suit not long after and I was distracted for a second by just how handsome he was. Natasha’s taste in men had gotten a lot better since college.

“Do you want to stop for food on the way back? Sugar will make you feel better after an adrenaline dump like that.” I nodded, thanking him again for showing up. “You’re part of the squad now, Daisy, no thanks necessary.” The sentiment warmed my heart, a soft smile appearing despite the embarrassing situation.

“Can we get Wendy’s? It’s my favorite.” A spicy chicken nugget and a Dr. Pepper sounded amazing right now. Javy messed my hair like a big brother,

“Whatever you want.” After a few minutes of listening to the radio in silence, Javy glanced over at me. “So, what do you think of Hangman?”

“What do you think of Tasha?” I shot back, not expecting him to answer but he took me by surprise.

“She’s one hell of a woman and a fantastic pilot.” Javy grinned like a lovesick idiot and I found myself smiling too, “I’m lucky she gives me the time of day if I’m being honest.” He glanced over at me again, still smiling and I rolled my eyes. “Your turn.”

“Hangman’s a flirtatious ass,” Javy barked with laughter, pulling into the Wendy’s. “But Jake’s nice and he listens to me when I go on my rants about random shit. Like, I swear he probably listened to me talk about Sherlock Holmes for an hour the other night.”

“Hour and a half,” Javy snickered, “We timed it.” I couldn’t even be mad, laughing with him.

“Not even Tasha would let me go on like that! So yeah, I think Jake’s pretty great.” I brushed my hair into my eyes to hide my blush, “Anyways, I’ll take a spicy number ten with a Dr. Pepper, please.”

“Do you want a frosty too?” Yep. Natasha’s taste in men had definitely improved.

After cooing over me like a mother hen and calling Harvey to let him know I was okay, Natasha took Harvey to get his car. After taking a shower and finishing the large frosty Javy bought me even when I told him not to, I felt a lot better. Well enough to respond to the texts Jake had been sending me.

Jake: Everything okay?

Jake: Coyote told me to mind my business and that you were fine but I want to hear it from you

Jake: Phoenix also told to mind my business

Jake: Honey I need to hear it from you

Jake: If you don’t text me in ten minutes I’m coming over

I rolled my eyes but the butterflies in my stomach took flight, swirling in delight that Jake was concerned for me.

Daisy: Listen to Javy, pretty boy. I’m fine

Jake: Too late

“If this boy isn’t careful, I’m going to fall in love with him,” I whispered to the empty kitchen, ripping open a packet of M&Ms.

“Hey,” Daisy greeted me with a lazy smile, throwing back a palmful of M&Ms. Something was off about her but I couldn’t put my finger on it just yet. I was going to figure it out though, you could bet on that.

“Hey, Wildflower. How are you feeling?” She rolled her eyes like she didn’t have a care in the world but her shoulders tensed. Coyote had been tight lipped over why he had left work early but with how both he and Phoenix were acting, I knew it had to be Daisy and that had spun me up into a twister of anxiety that eased a little seeing her.

“I told you I was fine, see?” She gestured down her body. Daisy was in cartoon pajama shorts that showed off her pale thighs and a tank top, her endless curves on display from top to bottom. I swallowed hard, my mind filled with thoughts of running my hands over her hips, spreading her knees, and eating Daisy for dessert on Phoenix’s counter. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“You look fine as hell, sweetheart,” Daisy blushed hard, her chest and cheeks burning red. “But you know it’s not your body I’m asking about.” I crossed the room, needing to put my hands on her even if I shouldn’t.

“Okay, Hangman,” She grumbled, using my callsign like she always did when I said something flirty. My hands landed softly on her hip and her cheek, forcing her to stay close and look at me. Daisy relaxed, eyes fluttering shut. “I’ll be fine, Jake,” She whispered and I felt myself melt. This girl had no idea that I was putty in her hands.

“Of course you will be,” I promised, “Because I’m going to be right here by your side.” Daisy smiled, eyes still closed, nuzzling her cheek like a cat into my hand.

“You’re laying it on pretty thick again, Hangman.” God this girl. She didn’t believe a word that came out of my mouth if it veered even the slightest bit away from platonic. I had my work cut out for me but when she opened her dark eyes and smiled at me like I hung the stars and the moon, I knew I was up to the task. “Do you want a cookie?” What I wanted was to kiss her forehead but a cookie would work for now.

The rest of the daggers showed up a little bit later and while Daisy played the role of the perfect hostess, I pulled Coyote off to the side.

“Should I be worried?” Coyote glanced over my shoulder to where Daisy was and then shrugged.

“I don’t think so, at least, not at the moment anyways.” My heart clenched, needing to know more but he shook his head before I could ask. “Nothing about this situation is my business to share, man. When she’s ready to tell, she’ll tell.”

“We should watch a horror movie,” Bradley suggested, the loud agreement of the squad interrupting our conversation. Coyote patted me on the shoulder, heading for the kitchen. When she was ready to tell, she would tell me. I had to trust that that would be the case. Right?

“Hangman, get some food before Bob eats it all!” Rooster shouted for my attention. Bob was blushing with a plate piled high with food, praising Daisy’s homemade mac and cheese so that’s what I scooped up first. I didn’t miss how Phoenix was hovering behind Daisy, watching her like a hawk. I said a little prayer, hoping that Daisy would find the right moment to tell me what was going on sooner rather than later.

With a plate full of snacks, we all scattered around the living room. Daisy came right to me with a blanket, a blush on her cheeks, not looking me in the eyes as she took a seat beside me. She was the one person without a plate of food and turned me down when I offered her some of my chips,

“I’m not hungry,” She whispered, bringing the blanket up to her chin. “Javy got me Wendy’s.” He was Javy to her now? I glanced over at my best friend, who was not so subtly making eyes at Phoenix while she and Rooster argued over what horror movie we were going to watch. Rooster won when he threatened to tell a story that had Phoenix slapping a hand over his mouth.

It ended up being about some demon who was influencing people to murder others but the special effects weren’t all that believable. I much preferred a 90s action flick or, when alone, a Hallmark movie on occasion. With every passing minute, Daisy inched closer to my side, the blanket moving higher up her face. Seizing the opportunity, I dropped my plate on the table and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close.

“Not a fan of horror?” I whisper, she shook her head, eyes locked on the screen as the possessed man picked up a hunting knife.

“Murder,” She whispered back, her hand tentatively resting on my thigh.

“Aren’t you a crime novelist, sweetheart?” I teased, trying to ignore how good it felt to have her hands on me.

“That’s different,” Daisy insisted, jumping at something on screen but I wasn’t watching the movie anymore, my focus was solely on her. Daisy looked terrified. I shifted sideways and pulled her face into my chest, forcing her attention off of the movie and whatever it was that was scaring her so much. Her hand moved from my thigh to my chest, fingers digging into my shirt.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you, baby,” I whispered into her hair, kissing her head. “It’s just a movie.” Daisy went limp in my hold and I pulled her sideways onto my lap, Bob looked and quickly looked away but it didn’t seem like anyone else noticed. Not that I would care if they did, if this was what Daisy needed, then it’s what I was going to do. I squeezed her thigh gently and began stroking my thumb back and forth, “I’ve got you.”

“I know,” Daisy whispered into my shoulder. After a moment she added, “If I’m too heavy-” She stopped when I squeezed her thigh,

“You can sit on my lap whenever you want, Wildflower.”

“My gentleman,” She sighed and I felt a glimmer of hope. She didn’t call me Hangman.

Next Chapter

#jake hangman fic #jake seresin x oc #jake seresin #hangman x oc #jake hangman seresin #wildflowers for a hangman fic #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #natasha phoenix trace #fanfic #javy coyote machado #pete maverick mitchell #coyote x phoenix

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