LIVING DAY BY DAY

"I hope you're going to the showers."

"I just happen to be, why, wanna come with?"

"You wish."

"Yes, I very much do." He replied quickly with a smile as he looked down at you and wiggled his eyebrows playfully. You rolled your eyes, but let out a soft giggle.

"Hey Rooster, Caelus!" You and Bradley both looked over as Coyote ran past "You hear that Hangman beat the record on the new training course?"

"What time did he get?!" Bradley called out.

"Three fourteen!" Coyote yelled back as he continued running.

You looked up and saw Roosters contemplative face. Looking down at you he nodded lightly "I can beat that, easy."

You squeezed his side "Sure you can big guy."

He looked down at you with a face akin to offence "You don't think I can?"

You let out a soft laugh "I know you could. And, I know you are going to try your hardest, but, not because you want to get a good time, but just because you want to beat Hangman."

"Yeah, and whats wrong with that?"

"You get flustered when you get competitive."

"So,I make mistakes?"

"I did not say that!"

He smiled teasingly before he nodded "I bet you, I can beat him."

Reaching the barracks you stopped at the door "Oh we're betting now are we?"

"Oh yeah." He took a step closer and leaned down a bit "I bet you a kiss I can beat him."

You shook your head as you smiled at him "And if you don't beat him?"

"You get to say I told you so."

You hummed "Nah, not good enough."

"Okay, I'll buy you dinner."

You let out a dramatic gasp as you placed your hand on your chest "He knows me!"

He chuckled as he stepped closer, pulling you towards him "So we got a deal?"

You eyed him, before an idea popped into your head. "Okay, you got a deal." You gently pushed him away "Now go shower before you attract the wildlife."

He let out a small bark of laughter "Okay, okay."

Before he left, he started pulling you closer again, leaning in for a kiss. Lifting up your hand you placed it on his lips, stopping him.

You saw his eyes dart from your hand to your eyes, his brow furrowing. Stepping away from him you repressed a grin, pulling open the door behind you.

"Sorry Roost, but no kiss until you win the bet."

You saw his lips start to curl into a smile before he paused and his face dropped. "Wait, seriously?"

As you stepped inside and let the door go you nodded "Seriously"

Seeing the look of offense and shock cross his face just as the door shut between you, you were unable to hold back the laugh that bubbled up. 'That should motivate him' you thought to yourself as you headed towards your quarters.

--- --- ---

You sat with Phoenix, Coyote, Hangman and a couple other students in the training room, eyes on the screen at the front of the room as Bradley began to start the training course.

You had gone earlier in the day, getting three minutes twenty three seconds, and scoring third in the class so far, only two seconds slower than Phoenix. You hoped for Bradley's sake you'd be fourth at the end of his turn, and that he'd be first.

Glancing over at Hangman, you saw a cocky grin on his face. Looking over, he locked eyes with you and winked. You rolled your eyes before looking back at the screen. You hoped Bradley would wipe that smug look off his face.

More than way through the course, you were hopeful, and Hangman was clearly nervous. Bradley was already three seconds ahead of Hangman's time, but you knew he could lose that lead quickly.

"Come on Brad." You whispered to yourself.

Another minute later and your cheering, Phoenix is clapping beside you, both of you relishing in the angry look on Hangman's face, as the time on the screen read three minutes and ten seconds.

"He got lucky." Hangman offered as he began to leave.

"If that's what helps you get to sleep at night Bagman." You said over your shoulder as you headed out the doors to meet Bradley.

As you walked across the tarmac, you could see the grin on Bradley's face from a mile away as he came out of the hangar. He spread out his arms before he spun around in celebration. You let out a soft laugh as you bowed jokingly.

"Now was I good or was I great?!" He called out.

You smiled and nodded your head, allowing him to gloat "You were great." He grinned as he stopped in front of you "I just wish you could have seen the look on Hangman's face when you beat his time."

He groaned "Oh God I bet that was great."

"His ego definitely took a hit."

"Eh, he'll shake it off, unfortunately." A grin spread across his face. "Now, if I am correct, which I know I am. You owe me a kiss. Actually, scratch that, you owe me four."

"Oh do I now?"

He nodded "Yeah you do. Since you decided no kisses until I won the bet. Last night, no good night kiss, that's one. This morning, no good morning kiss, that's two. Before I flew the course? No good luck kiss, that's three. And now, number four because I beat the course. And I think four works great, seeing as that's how many seconds-"

You let out a laugh before you leaned up quickly, grabbing his face and pressing a kiss to his lips. You felt him freeze for a second before he melted into the kiss. Pulling away you giggled softly as his soft eyes gazed at you.

His lips curled into a bright smile "It was torture not kissing you, you know."

You smiled up at him, your hands still holding his face "Was it?"

He nodded "Absolute torture. I live off those kisses."

"Then I'm sorry I deprived you of them."

He nodded "You should be."

Pulling his face down lightly, you kissed him again. His hands gently grabbed your waist, and as you pulled away he softly hummed. "Two."

Another kiss, this time his arms wrapped fully around you as he pulled you closer. When you pulled away he kept his forehead pressed against your own as he brought his hand up, caressing your face "Three." He muttered.

You wrapped your arms around his neck as you kissed again, the fourth owed kiss. He squeezed you closer as he deepened the kiss, briefly lifting your feet of the ground as he did so.

Finally pulling away, a little breathless, he cupped your face. "I love you sunshine."

"And I love you Bradley." Pressing another quick kiss to his lips before pulling away from him, you smiled "That one was for free."

xx End xx

General Taglist: @criminaly-supernatural, @caswinchester2000, @imaginesfire, @rexit-mo, @onuen, @witchygagirl, @alexxavicry

you had been in bali when you got the call. you and bradley, in bali, relaxing. but who ever said naval pilots get to relax?

it was something you had gotten far too used to, having to pack up your things and get the first flight back to the states. sure, you had been the one to chose this career and the disruptions you faced were consequences of your own actions, but you had really - really, really - hoped that you didn’t get called up when you did.

two weeks in bali with bradley bradshaw, the highlight of your year. it had been planned for almost a year, which was saying something. normally you and bradley would say you’d do something, and it would never actually end up happening. but no - this vacation had went ahead, and you’d had six days of utter bliss before the dreaded number showed up on your phone.

bradley had been phoned right after you, his reaction being about the same. annoyed, upset but somewhat excited. what the fuck was all this about? both you and him being on the same mission?

and so you had packed all your stuff and made your way back to california, dropped your bags off at your separate apartments and rushed to put together an emergency bag, with your uniforms and workout clothes inside.

that took you up to now, sat in the passenger side of bradley’s new range rover, forty minutes into the drive back to the naval base on lake tahoe. it wasn’t far away now - only ten or so minutes, but the sun was beginning to slowly dip it’s head, ever so slightly.

you were still dressed in your summer clothes, a tight, black dress with white lining and held up by a strap around your neck. it was low cut, a little lower than you’d like for the first time meeting your other teammates, but there wasn’t any time to get changed.

bradley was dressed in the same way, tight white tank top covered in a hawaiian shirt, nude-coloured cargos covering his thighs. and, of course, his aviator glasses. was it really bradley without them?

he turned into one of the roads leading to the hard deck - a bar frequented by everyone within a mile vicinity - and you turned to look at him, right as the sunlight hit him. golden rays washed over his skin, his collarbones shining and under his sunglasses you could see his brown eyes - turned like honey in the light.

you thought he looked beautiful, but you’d never tell him.

“this better be good,” he spoke, breaking the moment of silence. “that hotel cost a fuckin’ fortune.”

rolling your eyes, you nodded. “you’re lucky i remembered we get travel insurance. who was it that was determined we didn’t, again?”

“oh, shut up,” bradley said, but you could see the outline of a smirk on his mouth. “no one ever told me we get that.”

“lies!” you laughed. “they put it in the ads, that if you get called up while away, they pay you back whatever you lost.”

it was bradley’s turn to roll his eyes. “alright, miss ‘i always read the fine print’.”

“at least i can read,” you joked back.

electing to ignore the snide comment he made back, you reached into the passenger side compartment, searching for your own sunglasses - feeling nothing. you looked around the car, sighing in defeat as you realised you must have left your pair at home.

spotting another pair of aviators on the dashboard, you picked them up. “can i borrow these?”

bradley looked at what you were referring to, almost laughing when he saw his spare glasses in your hand.

“go ahead, sugar, i won’t need ‘em.”

putting the sunglasses on, you pushed down the butterflies in your stomach that flew around with the pet name.

the hard deck came into view, looking busy already. it was so loud - you could practically hear the music playing from the jukebox all the way out here.

“takes you back, huh?” you asked.

“that it does,” bradley pulled into a parking spot. “feels like yesterday we were here last.”

“wrong,” you undid your seatbelt. “yesterday we were in a five star villa in bali.”

opening the car door, you stepped onto the concrete, your heels clicking against the ground. why did you wear these again? good god, it would be a long night. bradley joined you, walking towards the front door of the bar. it was so loud now - it was like you were already inside.

he pulled the door open, letting you in first. fireworks exploded all over your body as his hand moved around your waist, letting him manoeuvre himself to be standing next to you. you let him take the lead to where the rest of your team appeared to be, and you watched him walk - his swagger that was just so fucking hot almost making you forget you were stood completely still.

most of the faces you recognised - actually, you recognised all of them. pheonix, hangman, fanboy and payback we’re speaking to bradley, and someone you had recently been introduced to was the first person to notice you.

“rainfall! hey, how’s it going?” bob smiled at you, the other people snapping their heads to look at you as well.

“yeah, alright, how’re you?” you answered, him nodding a reply.

“wow,” hangman spoke first. “both rooster and rainfall arrive late, not in uniform? been busy, you two?”

“about as busy as your mum, hangman.” you retorted, those around you letting out a surprised laugh.

“that’s not the most important question,” pheonix tilted her head. “what the hell is this? what can they possibly be trying do here?”

you furrowed your eyebrows, prompting her to go on; “well, we’re the best there is. who the hell can teach us?”

the question took you by surprise - but it wasn’t irrelevant. the only briefing you had was this was a training program for an intense mission, and only those who had came top of the top gun class would be accepted, so, pheonix was thinking right. who could possible teach the best pilots out there?

a bell rang throughout the bar, interrupting your thoughts. everyone cheered, knowing exactly what the bell meant.

“poor guy,” rooster mumbled. “i’m going to the restroom, get me a drink?”

you nodded, walking over to the bar.

he wasn’t recognisable at first - he looked so different. but it was the eyes that gave it away, he was still young behind the eyes.

“it’s you, then.” you mumbled, taking the empty spot next to him at the bar.

maverick looked at you, realisation hitting when he clocked who you were. “nice to meet you, rainfall. i’ve heard lost about you.”

“so have i.” looking at him, he wasn’t the man you had built up in your head. he looked nicer.

sighing, maverick nodded slowly. “i thought that’s who you came in with.”

“he won’t want you to teach him, you know that, right? you… you ruined his life, maverick. his mum’s, too.” you said, although you knew it wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard a million times already.

“yep,” maverick clicked his tongue. “i thought that would be an issue.”

“he hates you.”

“i know.”

bradley might have hated maverick, but you didn’t. sure, he was an arrogant ass from what you had heard and he destroyed your best friends family, but you personally had nothing against him.

penny walked over to you, interrupting your conversation with her greetings.

“wow, y/n, you’re here too? damn, what a mission.”

“hey, pen,” you smiled. “i know, i know.”

she raised her eyebrows. “must be serious, huh?”

you raised your hands in defence. “i have absolutely no idea what this mission’s about, swear.”

humming in response, she changed the subject; “what’re you for?”

“uhh, a blue WKD for me and the house beer for brad.”

she nodded, looking at the man next to you. “he’s paying, by the way.”

you almost laughed, turning to maverick. “unlucky son of a bitch. you better take a loan out, maverick.”

“how was i meant to know the rules, huh? i’ve not been here in god knows how long.” he grumbled.

both you and penny chuckled as she served your drinks, taking one in each hand and moving away from the bar, you turned to look at maverick again.

“mav,” you called, and he looked around. “good luck.”

he smiled, nodding. you would admit it would be hard work for him, and it must be difficult to teach the boy who’s father you watched die. but then again, he could have declined the job.

spotting bradley, you walked over to him and handed him the glass of beer. he thanked you, face contorting in disgust as you noticed what you were drinking.

“i don’t know how you stomach that stuff, sugar, it’s all sweetener.”

“says the man who threw up after three of them. they’re only like, three percent as well.”

bradley narrowed his eyes. “all sweetener.”

laughing, you walked with him to join the rest of the group. your feet already began to ache with every step you took, straps digging into your ankle. god - it would be a long night.

-

if you were counting how many drinks deep you were, you’d have used up all your fingers. you’d been here for a few hours, at least, the sun was almost setting now.

you could see it from the small window in the bathroom, the blur effect on the window turning the sunset into just colour. you didn’t need to pee or anything, just a minute. it was a fair assumption to say you were an extrovert, and loved to be around people, but the noise of the crowd in the bar had become slightly too loud, especially as maverick had just been thrown overboard.

the sound of a piano playing came muffled through the door, followed by a familiar singing voice. it made you smile; hearing bradley drunkenly scream out ‘great balls of fire’.

washing your hands and quickly drying them, you walked back out of the bathroom and into the crowd, thanking the girl who had been holding your drink for you. you walked towards the piano, seeing bradley completely in his element.

“kiss me baby, ooh! that feels good, good!” he sang, everyone joining in.

leaning against the piano, you joined in, the lyrics coming as a second language, this song was practically indented into your brain.

as you sang, you watched bradley’s hands hit every note perfectly, his fingers tracing the keys with a gentle-harshness, something that just about set you off. a man who was good with his fingers? lord have mercy.

he looked at you, as if on cue, smiling as you sang out the words. bradley took a spilt second to remove his hands from the keys, gesturing to his lap.

you tilted your head. he can’t be serious, can he?

“sit!” he called, hands going back to playing the instrumental section.

maybe it was the drinks you’d had, influencing your system. but it took you the whole of two seconds to decide to follow his order, slipping under his arm and placing yourself down on his lap. people around you whooped, especially the ones in your team. had this happened before? you couldn’t remember through the tipsy-horny-lovesick haze that had clouded your vision.

bradley’s leg bounced, making you laughing against his chest. when he started singing, you joined in with him, your voice coming out as more of a tuned shout compared to bradley’s angelic singing voice.

“kiss me baby,” you looked up at him. that second you made eye contact - that whole second - felt like an eternity. it felt like no one was watching, thay for once the love that remained behind your eyes finally appeared behind his, too.

or maybe that was the vodka shots talking.

“ooh! that feels good, good,” he sang.

you looked away, staring at his hands once again while you sang the words. if you had kept staring, you would have seen the way he looked at you while he sang; “i’ma tell the world that you’re mine, mine, mine, mine!”

if you had seen that, you probably would have melted on the spot.

the song came to an end, everyone cheering for bradley’s fantastic piano performance, yourself included. you fell against his chest, laughing like a schoolgirl. he laughed too, taking his hands off of the keys to embrace you.

was this normal for best friends, you wondered? did everyone do this when they were drunk? the answer: wait and find out.

“i’m gonna get a drink,” you smiled at him, finally standing up.

“alright, darlin’, get me a beer?”

“god,” you feigned annoyance. “one day you’ll pay for your own beers, bradley bradshaw.”

you walked away before you heard his mumbled comeback; “yeah, our wedding day.” but, even if you hadn’t walked away, what would you have done?

walking to the bar, you leaned against it, ordering with penny for the god-knows-how-many-th time that night.

“thanks,” you smiled.

“is that a tan line i see?” penny asked, pouring out a beer.

“yep,” you popped the ‘p’. “i was in bali with brad, was supposed to be there until next week.”

“oh,” she sat down one of the glasses. “but you got called up?”

nodded, you took a drink of bradley’s beer, instantly regretting it. “fuckin’ hate the navy sometimes.”

penny stopped in her tracks. “oh, y/n, did i just hear what i think i did?”

your eyes widened. “no, penny, please, i’m seriously broke right now, i’m begging-”

the bell ringing cut you off. hanging your head, you felt multiple people clap your back.

“oh, no, what do we have here?” bradley appeared at your side, laughing.

“this one,” penny giggled. “was insulting the navy.”

bradley exaggerated a gasp, putting his hands over his mouth. “no!”

“yep!”

“tut, tut, tut, lieutenant l/n!” he joked.

you raised your middle finger in response.

“honestly, rooster,” penny was half way away, walking to serve another customer. “get your girlfriend under control!”

the heat rose to your cheeks, head snapping up. luckily for you, you were ninety-nine percent sure that bradley didn’t hear her, but when you were sober, you’d have to tell her off about almost spilling your decade long secret.

“my god, brad,” you walked away from the bar. “i’m gonna be so broke tomorrow.”

he giggled, a sound your drunk mind would have registered as the trumpets of heaven, the best music in the world - every lovely sound put together. god, how in love were you?

“come on, rainfall,” bradley led you to the table the group were all sat at. “the night is young!”

-

there’s a saying, if you had a dollar for every time this happened, you’d be rich. well, if you had a dollar for every time you’d gotten blackout drunk the day before the first day of training and had to get up at the crack of dawn, you’d have slightly too many dollars. every time, every single time.

as you sat, shoulders straight and hair tied ever so slightly too tight, the commander speaking about something you weren’t properly listening to - the thought of about seventy aspirin was popping into your mind, almost soothing your headache with the sheer thought of it.

footsteps came from behind you, but you didn’t turn around. you knew who it was. instead, you looked at bradley, who was sat in the chair next to you.

as his eyes fell on maverick, you noticed the way his whole smug demeanour fell - for just a moment. you then noticed how he put those walls straight back up, clenching his jaw and shifting in his seat. he cleared his throat, making eye contact with you and raising his eyebrows.

looking away, maverick started speaking.

you must have been truly hungover, because from the second maverick opened his mouth to right now felt like it went by in a blink - you couldn’t tell if you had dissociated the entire time or if you weren’t interested enough to actually pay attention.

zipping up your flight suit, you smiled to yourself. this was your first training exercise for what seemed to be an impossible mission. getting in and out of a thin passage within a minute and a half seemed unrealistic, but compared with the insanely low hard deck and the pull up? you’d be lucky if you made it out alive.

a few planes were already in the air as you stepped onto the tarmac, helmet in hand. looking to your right, you saw two planes, to your left; pheonix and bob doing push-ups.

the exercise was simple; don’t get caught. if you do, you have to do two hundred press ups.

you had almost laughed when maverick set the exercise, how insanely easy it sounded. unfortunately for maverick, he had never flown with you before - he hadn’t quite learnt the meaning of your call sign.

radio chatter sounded from your headset as you climbed into your plane, spotting bradley on the tarmac as well. everyone had insisted you two went last - the top two of the class. even hangman bit back his ego for two seconds to admit that you had finished top of the class, so you should go last.

that’s right, you came top of your class. one of the best pilots of the last decade, apparently. it had earned you quite a reputation, pilots almost always recognising you wherever you went. you were some kind of a legend.

buckling yourself in and triple checking your belts were secure, you pulled your helmet over your head, and your ears were filled with radio chatter. bradley got into the plane next to you, doing the same thing.

“when are we ready to take off, mav?” you asked, closing the top of your plane.

“any time now, rainfall.” he replied.

it was a feeling you always craved, taking off. as a little girl, you used to love going on holiday, just because when the plane would take off and your stomach would turn, it made you smile. from that moment, and from the moment you saw the pilots in all the different documentaries, you knew you wanted to fly planes.

just in a little more extreme way. a way, way more extreme way.

gaining speed, you clicked the needed buttons and flipped the right switches in order to take off, and the tarmac got smaller and smaller as you flew higher into the sky. hearing bradley take off a few moments later, you knew the game was about to begin.

you knew this would be personal for bradley - getting beaten by maverick. anything maverick did to him, it would be personal. you prayed he would be able to separate the pilot from the person, just for a minute.

“good morning aviators,” maverick spoke. “ready to play?”

“oh you are on,” you smiled, still gaining height. “old man.”

bradley laughed over the radio, making you smile even wider.

“for everyone listening over the radio,” you spoke. “get ready to listen to the best flight of your life.”

down on the ground, the rest of the team laughed.

“ready?” maverick asked. “three, two, one… the game has begun.”

you understood the purpose of this exercise - dogfighting. to watch out for yourself while attacking at the same time. playing both offence and defence.

seeing bradley slip into your peripheral, you looked around for the other plane. still gaining height, you hoped to god that your technique would stay reliable.

everything felt like a blur - you were flying so fast, so high, nothing felt real. keeping your eye out for maverick, you swerved through the clouds.

“all alright, rooster?” you hated calling him by his call sign. if felt so… impersonal, weird.

“all good here, rainfall. you?”

you nodded, even though he wouldn’t see it. “no sign of him.”

looking down, you could see bradley underneath you and to the right. he wouldn’t even notice you, if he hadn’t learnt to always look up.

“oh hello, you,” he said, the smugness seeping through the radio.

“hello, rooster.” you smiled.

as you stared down at him, a second plane came into view, far enough away that bradley wouldn’t notice him.

“rooster, on your left!” you called, swerving away as soon as you said it.

“shit,” he mumbled, and you could see him fly away.

“language, folks, come on.” maverick laughed.

“alright grandpa.” you joked back.

looking below you, you could barely see the two planes dogfighting, but from the small glimpse you got, it wasn’t looking great for bradley. maverick was too fast.

“hurry up, rooster,” you spoke your mind. “he’s faster than you.”

“yeah, thanks for that observation.” he grumbled back.

“cheeky.”

from your point of view, the dogfighting was getting even more intense, bradley constantly being tailed by maverick. you hoped once again, that bradley didn’t take this too seriously.

a dial tone broke your thought.

“and rooster, you are out.” maverick spoke over the radio, making you sigh.

“fuck you.”

and there it was; all of your proof that bradley had taken it personally. fuck, this would be a hard one to calm him down from.

“ready to fight, rainfall?” maverick said, and you could almost see his smirk.

pushing everything else in your mind to the side, you let the calm, slightly arrogant side of you take control.

“do you know why my call sign is rainfall?” you asked, already spotting maverick below you.

“i suppose you’re going to enlighten me?”

you let a beat of silence pass, making sure you were in the right position. it was obvious maverick was looking for you, but you were at least fifty feet above him, slightly in front of him. why did no one ever look up?

“or not?” maverick added.

“because,” you paused, gripping your gearstick a little tighter. “rain always comes from above, and you don’t see it until it’s on you.”

with those words, you descended with absolutely no warning. as you came closer to maverick, he seemed obviously surprised, fumbling for a moment to move out of the way so you didn’t fall straight into him.

“jesus, kid,” he mumbled.

“did you know that i came top of my class?” you pulled back up without hesitation, g-force pushing you back ever so slightly.

“yeah, i read it somewhere,” maverick was flying parallel to you. “i wasn’t too of my class.”

“oh, i know,” you somehow managed to keep your tone casual. “iceman, right?”

maverick hummed over the radio, obviously too focused on getting you out.

but your technique was working perfectly. descend on them, climb up, and when the least expect it….

pulling away, you circled around maverick, seeing the outline of a target appear in your helmet. he hadn’t even realised what you had done.

a dial tone sounded through the radio silence, everyone on land holding their breath - even bradley.

“you,” a voice cut through the radio. “are out. good game, maverick.”

the people on ground cheered almost loud enough for you to hear all the way up in the air.

“what the hell?” maverick was in disbelief. “what?”

“i’ll see you on ground, mav.”

-

the sun was already setting by the time maverick had finished his press ups. he must not have taken in personally, offering to buy you a drink for how well you had flown.

but you didn’t want a drink, you were too concerned with other things. it had been hours since the training had ended, and bradley was still outside, doing press ups.

you walked onto the tarmac, out of your flight suit and in casual clothes, the figure of bradley noticeable - everything still apart from him.

he was shaking, sweating, almost sunburnt. the most noticeable thing was his red eyes, they were so red you thought he must have burst a blood vessel.

“bradley?” you called, getting closer to him. he didn’t answer.

walking right next to where he was, you sat down. sat, right on the hot tarmac - it heated up your legs. “bradley, please,” you called again.

this wasn’t new - for him to do exercise until he just about burst. some people punch walls, some people drink - bradley worked out. maybe it was just as unhealthy as every other coping mechanism.

his arms were so shaky, he almost couldn’t even keep himself up right. you wanted right then and there to take him into your arms, let him cry his heart out and tell him that one day - one day in the future - it will get easier.

as if he could hear your thoughts, he stopped. collapsed onto the ground, arms finally giving in. you could hear him, choking out sobs between breaths - it just about broke your heart.

“come here,” your fingers brushed his arm, and it was like he just needed the instruction to do so, because he moved into your arms and clung onto your shirt, just like a baby.

you didn’t care where you were. no one was looking, anyway. everyone went home or went elsewhere hours ago, you and bradley were most likely the only two people left there.

“what is it?” you cooed, gently running a hand through his hair.

“he- my dad, he- maverick-” and that was all he had to stutter out for you to understand.

“i know, i know,” you bent over him, almost encasing him in your body. kissing his head, you repeated the phrase over and over again.

it was in that moment that for the second time in twenty four hours you thought to yourself - is this normal for best friends to do? it is, right? like, you would do it for any of your other friends?or maybe that’s what you liked to tell yoursef to deny the simple fact;

part one

you’d always had a thing for your best friend. this mission didn’t help.

part two

you and bradley should’ve been in bali right now; but no, you were ten thousand feet in the air, sweating your ass off.

part three

a girl, the boy she loves, and another girl walk into a bar. wait - where’s the joke?

part four

this was the mission someone wasn’t coming back from; you were sure of it. you just hoped to god it wasn’t the man you loved.

part five

coming soon

part six

the look on pete “maverick” mitchell’s face would have been enough to revive you from death. his usual smugness and ‘i’m the best’ demeanour had completely evaporated - he sat gobsmacked across from you.

“well, sir? i should really be eating breakfast right now.” you looked around awkwardly.

“yeah - sorry, i just… how did you do that? who taught you that?”

you had to fight back a smirk; “i taught myself how to fly like that, sir.”

“surely not,” he leaned back in his seat. “i’ve never been beaten at that.”

“there’s a first time for everything, sir.”

maverick raised his eyebrows like he didn’t hear you properly. “you were top of your class, right?”

you nodded.

“yeah, i can see why. alright, you can go last for this exercise today as well. i wonder if you’ll manage it.”

“what’s the exercise?”

“you,” maverick stood up. “are dismissed.”

rolling your eyes, you gave him a salute before walking out of the office and back to the main dining hall.

as you walked into the hall, you could see your team sat around a long table, an empty seat next to bradley, reserved for you. before you sat down, you walked to the buffet, grabbing a plate and piling your food on.

everyone at the table had already started breakfast, and were having conversations among themselves. as you neared the empty seat, bradley turned, noticing your arrival.

“anything interesting?” he asked, pulling your chair out for you.

shaking your head, you sat down. “he was shocked that there’s someone in the world better than him.”

bradley laughed, tucking back into his own breakfast.

“and here our y/n might just overtake the teacher, huh?” you heard hangman say from the end of the table.

you hummed, mouth full of toast.

“what did maverick have to say about that, then?”

“i dunno,” you swallowed, looking at hangman. “maybe you’ll find out one day, if you’re ever better than anyone.”

bradley laughed from beside you, picking up his glass of orange juice and bringing it to his mouth in attempt to hide his obvious smirk.

the look on hangman’s face was something you could get used to - his smirk falling from his lips and turning to a dejected O shape. your teammates must have enjoyed his look just as much, because they all burst out laughing.

you enjoyed putting egotistical, overconfident men back in there place oh so very much.

as people again divided into their own conversations, a silence fell between you and bradley. it wasn’t awkward - those types of silences were long gone between you two. no, you ate in comfortable quiet. the kind of quiet where you were really saying a hundred things to each other, without having to say a single word.

“have you seen the exercise for today?” bradley asked.

skating your head, you took a drink of your orange juice. “he wouldn’t tell me.”

“oh,” he nodded. “by the way, y/n..”

“what?” you looked at him.

“i’m uh- look, i’m sorry about yesterday. i didn’t mean to go all soppy on you.”

“hey, brad,” you placed your hand on top of his. “it’s alright. really. i get it - it must be hard for you.”

bradley smiled at you, opening his mouth to say something before he was interrupted by footsteps entering the hall.

“attention, please.”

all of your chairs scraped in unison as you stood up, facing the rear admiral with a salute.

“good morning pilots. your training begins at zero eight hundred hours, meeting at the conference room. you are dismissed.”

groaning, you looked at your half finished plate of food- you had really been looking forward to that french toast. you’d even saved it to last. god damn it, maverick owed you breakfast.

-

you were one of the last people to arrive in the conference room, the showering order not doing you any favours. when you walked in, there was only one spare seat left - right next to hangman.

checking the clock, it read seven fifty seven. three minutes of sitting with hangman, plus however long maverick harped on for.

taking the seat, hangman smirked. “no space next to your boyfriend, rainfall?”

“i’d say the same for you, hangman, but i doubt even the most desperate would go near you.”

“oh, yeah,” he huffed. “very fuckin’ funny.”

laughing lightly, you looked around to find bradley - who was sitting right in the front.

he wasn’t looking at you, instead straight forward. it gave you the perfect opportunity to see his side profile, everything from his perfectly shaped nose to his jawline - god he was beautiful. your heart swooned with every second you stared at him, his eyes like honey in the light.

a scoff from beside you broke your trance.

hangman was watching you the entire time, eyes moving between you and bradley.

“what?” you snapped.

“i’ll be damned,” he smirked. “you really are in love with him.”

face flushing red, your eyes widened. “i certainly am not.”

“god, you are such a bad liar.” hangman almost laughed.

“shut up.”

“see!” he said a little too loudly, pheonix and bob both turning to look at him in confusion. “you can’t even deny it!”

“hangman, seriously, shut the fuck up.” you panicked, praying bradley wouldn’t hear.

he raised his hands in defence. “i wont tell anyone.”

scoffing, you turned away from him. “yeah, that’ll be right.”

“no, seriously,” his tone had changed. “i’m not a total asshole, you know.”

“news to me.”

hangman sighed. “you know i’ve never liked rooster, but what problem have we ever had with each other, huh? you’re a good pilot, i respect that.”

you hummed, slightly surprised. where was all of this coming from? “so are you, hangman.”

“oh, i’m aware of that.”

and there was the sarcastic tone again.

“good morning aviators,” maverick walked into the room, all of you standing to attention with a salute. “at ease.”

slumping back into your seat, you eyed the board at the front of the room. there was what looked to be a map, a timer and all of your teams profiles.

“now, the training exercise yesterday was to get you used to dogfighting,” maverick explained. “but this is a far different type of training.”

a small plane appeared on the board, at the start of the path on the map, and the timer began ticking.

“now, each of you will have a turn at flying this, and this is what your mission is, so listen up.”

-

it was crazy. completely fucking batshit crazy. surely he didn’t expect anyone to be able to do this. if you didn’t have to be breathalysed every morning you would have thought maverick was drunk.

the hard deck was low. impossibly low. the time limit? you doubted every maverick could fly that. you didn’t even want to think about the pull up, though.

part of you finally thought that this was the mission you weren’t coming back from. there was finally one that you couldn’t handle.

maverick, fanboy, payback, pheonix and bob were in the air now, the other half of your team and you, hangman and bradley on ground.

from over the radio, you could hear their struggles. the timer on the board continued to tick down, but the little trackers in each of their planes were hardly half way across the path.

“what does he expect to get out of this?” hangman mumbled to you from his seat.

“fuck knows,” you rolled your eyes. “i don’t think anyone could fly this.”

hangman scoffed, nodding. “i’ll bet you a drink that i can manage it.”

you looked at him, slightly in disbelief. was he so sure of himself that we would be able to do this near impossible task? “sure.”

“group C, let’s get ready to take off. rooster and hangman take one, rainfall take another.”

both bradley and hangman groaned, making you laugh as you stood up.

“honestly,” you turned to them from the door. “you’re like children.”

it was a short walk from the conference room to the landing strip, you could see a few planes lined up on the side. for the second time that day, you cursed maverick. he had made your job twice as hard by not giving you a partner.

but it was a challenge you were willing to rise to.

climbing into the nearest plane, you pulled your helmets over your head and closed the top, checking all your safety gear and getting the plane ready for takeoff.

chatter sounded over your headset, something about being too slow.

“who do you want in front, mav?” you asked.

“rainfall in front, please.”

nodding even though no one would see you, you steered yourself onto the runway, waiting for the all clear to take off.

as soon as you saw that wave, you went full blast until there was no surface under the wheels, only ocean. as the carrier got further and further away, you could see bradley and hangman take off, bradley being sat in the front.

“you all have the coordinates, yes?”

“yep.” you replied, reading the numbers on small screen. “i’ll be there in a minute or so.”

“yeah, us too,” bradley said.

“alright. when you get there, wait for me to signal you off. the timer’s been reduced to a minute and fifteen seconds, by the way.”

“what!?” you could have crashed the plane. “maverick, that’s impossible!”

“not with the way you guys fly,” he said. “i’ve seen you all. the top three in the class, right?”

“yeah,” hangman grumbled. “that doesn’t mean we can fly this, though.”

the coordinates on your screen turned a green colour, telling you that you had arrived. it was a huge open space in what looked to be a desert.

“then, hangman,” maverick said. “go home.”

that seemed to shut him up.

you could see bradley coming in behind you, stopping fifteen or so meters away. maverick was lingering above you, watching.

“now,” he said. “you all have the path route on your screens. stick to that, or you’ll be dead. don’t go above the hard deck, or you’ll be dead. get in and out in seventy five seconds, or you’ll be dead. and remember, the pull up is the hardest part of this. ready?

three, two, one, go.”

a dial tone sounded as you sped off, instantly trying to gain as much speed as you possibly could.

the turns of the route threw you around, it was like they were coming out of nowhere. on your route, you could see that only ten seconds had passed, and you were about a quarter of the way there.

bradley, however, had fallen behind.

“come on rooster,” you mumbled. “you’re too slow.”

“yeah, fuckin’ tell me about it. hurry up, rooster.” hangman sounded irritated.

trying to gain more speed, you felt yourself being pushed back in your seat. it didn’t matter though, you were half way there and still had fifty seconds to go.

“good job, rainfall, but let’s pick up the pace rooster.”

the route only got harder from here, and as much as you would have liked to keep reminding bradley to speed up, you had to focus on the course.

“for fucks sake, rooster!” hangman yelled. “hurry up, we’re not even half way there yet!”

sighing, you looking back at the path. you were about three quarters of the way there, but bradley was still flying at the same speed. god, what had gotten into him?

“rooster come on. you can do it.” you tried to encourage, although it came out more as a plea.

your attention was quickly moved back to the course, though, because the path was widening and you could see the drop zone. pulling up ever so slightly, you angled the target beam onto the small, dark box - or tried to. no light came from the beam, and you didn’t have enough time to fix it.

“shit, my beams not working. i’m dropping blind, mav.”

“alright, rainfall.”

attention to get the small target as accurate as possible, you pressed the button to drop your small bomb. it seemed as though you had it at least accurate enough, because maverick cheered over the radio.

“good job, rainfall. you’ve still got twenty seconds to get out of there. pull up now.”

it was like going completely vertical. the g-force instantly pushed you back, and you got a familiar taste of blood in your mouth, followed by hot liquid pouring from your nose.

“fuck, i’ve got a nosebleed,” you sighed, blood pouring into your mouth.

“just get out of there.” maverick said.

still pulling up, the g-force only got stronger. normally you wouldn’t have felt it too much, but with the nosebleed and the fact you’d barely had anything to eat, it was having a much bigger effect of you than usual.

your vision was slightly blurred, when you tried to blink it away everything just for darker, more blurry. everything felt light, and your brain was clouded over - you could barely hear hangman’s shouts over the radio.

the blood continued to pour from your nose, but you didn’t feel it properly. you didn’t feel anything properly, your grip on the gearstick loosening.

taking a breath, it came out shakier than you’d have hoped, vision almost completely blurred.

and then everything was black. well, to you anyways.

maverick noticed straight away, screaming over the radio in attempt to wake you up. this alerted bradley and hangman, both of whom were more concerned for you than the rest of the course.

seconds passed, everyone screaming your name over the radio, maverick praying that something would wake you up, whether it be the dial tone or the alarms, or someone screaming for you.

you were loosing altitude, and fast. your plane just fell, nose first, towards the ground.

maverick pressed on the dial tone again, joining bradley and hangman in scrmeaing your name over the radio. he prayed it would be enough to wake you.

and it was - a dial tone pierced through your ears, eyes fluttering open.

you didn’t have long to process where you were, though, because the dial tone was drowned out by shouting over the radio and an alarm, repeating for you to pull up.

“fuck!” you came to your senses, realising that you were going straight down, the ground only a few hundred feet away.

“eject, rainfall, eject!”

as you pulled the straps next to your chair, you had only one thought, recurring from before; this was the mission you weren’t coming back from.

-

machines around you beeped and whirred, waking you up. you knew where you were, it was fairly obviously a hospital, but you weren’t sure how you got there. you didn’t really remember anything, only that you passed out and had to eject.

the sensation of weight against your thigh came to you first, and when you looked down, you saw a sight you thought you’d never see.

bradley was fast asleep, mouth half open, head resting on your thigh and completely folded over the hospital bed.

part of you was so sure that you were still dreaming. this couldn’t be real, could it? in the hospital light you could see him, under eyes still red and blotchy, a small bruise forming on his left side. had he crashed, too?

you brought your hand up, hesitating for a moment before you placed it on his head, your fingers combing through his hair.

he instantly moved, eyes fluttering open and blinking against the light. as soon as he noticed his position, bradley snapped up, pushing himself up to sit straight in the chair next to you.

every fibre of you regretted waking him up. god, he was so beautiful when he was sleeping. why would you ruin it? he was so peaceful only moment before

“you’re awake,” bradley said, sleep still laced in his voice.

“so are you.” you smiled back at him.

“yeah,” he flushed red, boyish smile coming out as it did once in a blue moon. “sorry about that, uh, long day.”

maybe the painkillers made him look even prettier. “it’s alright, brad.”

a beat. was this what it would feel like if you were more than friends?

“how are you feeling?” he asked, eyes looking over you.

“fine, a little out of it if anything,” you answered. “what even happened?”

bradley sighed. “how much can you remember?”

“um,” you thought for a moment, the memories coming back in flashes. “i got a nosebleed, right? fainted. when i woke up, i had to eject. i think.”

“yeah,” bradley nodded. “you were only out for a minute or two, but you lost to much altitude. when you woke up, you had to eject straight away. maverick tried to get you as soon as you fell but… you fell so far, y/n, i thought…”

his voice broke.

“when we got back, hangman was full of shit, talking about my dad i- fuck, i could have killed him. y/n, i thought i lost you.”

“oh, bradley,” you pulled him towards you, feeling his body fall onto yours. “you didn’t lose me, alright? you’re never gonna lose me.”

feeling him sob into your neck, hands desperately clinging to any part of you that he could grab, your heart nearly shattered.

would he ever know that you loved him so much? you knew he loved you. you did. but not in the way that you loved him.

you longed to know him, every part of his soul, longed to wake up next to him in the morning and go to sleep next to him a night. you longed to kiss him every moment of every day, longed to feel his touch in places you couldn’t even name.

fuck, you loved him in every way. you loved him from the moment you laid your eyes upon him - even before he had the moustache. you would love him until the day you died, no hookup ever even coming close to the feeling you longed to have - the feeling of bradley.

you loved him with every fibre of your being. but to him, you were his best friend.

lucky didn’t quite cover it. you’d fallen over a hundred feet and managed to get away with only a few bumps and scrapes, as well as a new fear of fainting at the wheel.

so no, lucky did not quite cover it.

and the doctor had told you so - she had given you a weeks worth of painkillers, although you doubted you’d need them, and strict orders to relax. don’t fly for at least two days, and relax - don’t stress yourself out.

bradley had taken her instructions literally - insisting that he drive you everywhere, get you everything you need and tonight, you and the rest of the team were going to the hard deck to relax. what? the doctor never said anything about not drinking alcohol.

and so there you were, stood in front of your mirror, desperately trying to cover the bruise on your shoulder with concealer. you had about five minutes before pheonix was set to pick you up, bradley had already arranged to meet you there.

you eyed yourself in the mirror, smoothing down your white dress. you’d always been determined to dress for yourself and no one else, never letting a man define how you felt about yourself - but whenever you knew that rooster was going to be around, you couldn’t help but try to look your prettiest.

trying to look your prettiest meant spending twenty minutes picking a dress you thought would make you look best, an hour doing your makeup, thirty minutes panicking that your hair wouldn’t do what you wanted it too - all for the sake of bradley. bradley, who you were sure wouldn’t even notice your appearance.

a car horn from outside broke your trance, when you looked out of the widow, you saw pheonix outside your door.

rushing down the stairs and grabbing your bag, you locked your front door behind you, the hot air of the midsummers night hitting your bare shoulders as soon as you stepped outside.

it was something you never got used to - how hot it was all the time. even late at night, it was humid, muggy, heat hanging in the air.

“hey, rainfall,” pheonix smiled as you slipped into the passenger seat. “feeling alright?”

“oh,” you pulled your sunglasses out of your bag. “better than ever.”

she laughed, pulling away and towards the hard deck. it wasn’t a long drive, only a few minutes.

“so, anything new with you and rooster?” she asked, giving you the side eye.

it was then that you were reminded how long it had been since you were able to catch up with her. five years? maybe more. she’d always been your friend, one of the only other women in your squad.

“not really,” you sighed, looking out the window.

“you still like him?”

you laughed. “a little too much, i think.”

pheonix laughed, turning a corner. “he likes you too, you know?”

“oh, be quiet,” you waved your hand. “don’t give me false hope.”

“he does!” pheonix smiled. “do you not see the way he looks at you?”

sighing, you looked at her. “i’m his friend, alright? i know he only sees me like that.”

“god, y/n,” the hard deck was within view now. “it’s like everyone can see it but you two.”

she pulled into a spot, the parking lot looking busier than the last time you were there. you took your sunglasses off and shoved them back into your bag - passed your phone, your perfume and the two spare condoms you always kept in your bag. just in case.

you’d been smart enough not to wear heels this time, your white converse finally being proof you chose comfort over style. the noise from the bar already hit you, even before you’d walked in, chatter reaching your ears from meters away.

the bar was as busy as you had expected it to be, penny practically run off of her feet. whoever was unlucky enough to be paying for this round would certainly be broke - far worse than you had been.

scanning the room, you couldn’t find a trace of bradley, which was weird to you considering he had promised to be there when you arrived. maybe he was in the bathroom.

you spotted the rest of your team, fanboy taking a pink looking shot, his face scrunched up. walking to them, you noticed more shot glasses on the table, only three of them still being full.

“don’t tell me…” you laughed, eyes still on the shot glasses.

“come on, rainfall, we’ve all taken one. it’s only fair.” fanboy smirked, handing both you and pheonix a glass.

rolling your eyes, you raised the glass to your lips and threw it back, the familiar taste of strawberry sourz crawling onto your tongue.

“god, that stuff is awful!” pheonix exclaimed from next to you, making you laugh.

“c’mon, it’s not so bad! just sweet.”

“yeah, easy for you to say,” payback called. “you who only drinks those fruity, sweet drinks.”

turning to him, you raised your middle finger. “who’s the other glass for?”

“your boyfriend,” bob said. “he’s not here yet.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, confused. he had promised to be here, so why hadn’t he even showed up? he should’ve been here for at least an hour now.

“rainfall!” your thoughts were broken by hangman walking over, a hand patting your back. “just when i thought i finally had a chance at being top of the class.”

you scoffed, turning round to look at him. “never, hangman.”

he stared at you for a moment, sarcastic smirk still painted on his face as he looked down at you.

“now, we had a bet, didn’t we?” he said, looking towards the bar.

“oh, yeah,” you remembered the free drink. “and here i’d almost forgot.”

“mhm,” hangman moved his hand from your back to your waist, steering you towards the bar. “let’s see what you want.”

it was an odd feeling. you weren’t sure if you liked it or not - had you and hangman always had chemistry? had he always flirted with you, you’d just never realised it? surely not. maybe he’d just had one too many to drink, you thought.

“as this is both of our first drinks, i’ll have whatever you order. chose wisely, please.” there goes the one too many idea.

you already knew what you were going to order, oh how the men in your team all seemed to hate fruity drinks; hell, anything that wasn’t beer or whiskey was horrible to them.

“i’ll have a sex on the beach.”

hangman feigned hurt, scrunching up his face and bringing a hand to his chest. “how could you do this to me? for the first drink? damn.”

“what,” you raised an eyebrow. “you don’t want sex on the beach?”

another shocked look made its way onto hangman’s face, not this time out of an insult or distaste of drink - a shock of ‘i can’t believe you just said that’, a shock of ‘wait, are you flirting with me?’. that kind of shock.

truthfully, you weren’t sure why you were flirting with him - at all. maybe he reminded you of bradley, maybe you missed bradley. maybe you were just really sexually frustrated.

penny laughed as hangman ordered the drinks, knowing it must have been something of your doing, but got to making them either way.

“you look nice, by the way.” hangman said, eyes trailing over your dress.

“oh,” you smiled. “thanks.”

“you suit white,” he added. “that bruise must hurt like a bitch, though.”

you looked down at your shoulder, any attempt you’d made with concealer making absolutely no difference.

“yeah, it fuckin’ does. but i can’t take any painkillers, cause then i can’t drink. god forbid not being able to have a drink, right?”

hangman laughed, looking around the bar. “yeah, i get you.”

as penny handed the two of you your drinks - served with an extra cherry for hangman, making you giggle - the bell above the door tinkled, your eyes snapping to it in hopes of seeing bradley.

you were half relived. it was bradley after all, he had walked in a few steps, stopped, turned and waited for someone to come in after him.

it was a girl. not far off your age, giggling as she walked in behind bradley. bradley, who didn’t even look at you as he slung his hand around her bare waist and walked her over to the rest of the team.

you could have been sick.

and hangman noticed - he sipped his drink (which he actually didn’t hate, not that he’d ever tell you that), and watched you as you watched bradley. he pretended not to see the way your eyes clouded a little and your jaw clenched, before you blinked it all away.

“you know what, jake?” it took him by surprise, you using his actual name. “i think we need some more shots.”

“and what do you propose, y/n?” he took another drink.

you thought for a moment, considering what could get you the drunkest the quickest. “vodka, me thinks.”

hangman raised his eyebrows, nodding slowly. “me also thinks vodka.”

-

now you had a reason to flirt with hangman. now, you had a hundred reasons to be flirting with hangman. bradley had sat the entire night - hands all over this girl - not even looking at you.

it shouldn’t have hurt you like it did. it shouldn’t have ripped you apart, tearing at your insides with every touch bradley placed on her skin. but it did.

“and so i said, what the fuck are you looking at? you know, in that manly voice that all of you do, and he just stared at me.” pheonix continued her story, a few laughs coming from group.

there was only eight of you, fanboy, payback, hangman, you, bob, pheonix, bradley and whatever the fuck her name was - the other half of your team didn’t have the same schedule as you. the group of you were sat in an almost-circle, a small table in the middle of you all, crowded with drinks.

you were pretending to be interested in her story - you really were. but it was difficult when you could feel eyes burning into the back of your skull, the girl who bradley brought never seeming to take her eyes off or you.

hangman was sat on the couch next to you, hand slung over the back of the seat, but close enough to you that if you leaned back, he’d be touching your shoulders. did he know what he was doing? did he know that he was flirting with someone who was in love with his enemy?

not that you cared all that much, though. you needed a distraction from the train wreck that was your love life.

“i’m gonna get a drink, anyone want anything?” you asked the group, a few people asking for refills.

the bar was even busier than before, you had to fight for a space at the bar. penny really, really needed to hire someone to help her out, you thought.

as you ordered, the empty space beside you was quickly filled, and you recognised the long, dark hair.

“can i get a vodka coke and a redbull, please?” she asked, penny nodding.

“hey, you’re y/n, right?” you turned, forcing a smile the best you could.

“yeah, bradley brought you? sorry, i didn’t catch your name.”

“cassie,” she smiled. “yeah, he did.”

nodding, you tried to avoid conversation like it was the plague.

“god, i don’t know how he drinks that stuff,” her voice was scratchy, clawing at your ears as it made its way to your brain.

“what? vodka coke?” you asked.

“no,” she laughed, although it was painfully forced. “redbull. it’s disgusting.”

“what, is he not drinking?”

cassie shook her head. “no, he has to drive me home.”

that made it even fucking worse. he wasn’t even here because it was the closest place to get a drink - he was here because he wanted to bring a girl to a bar.

“well,” penny placed the drinks down in front of you. “when you work hours like we do, you get used to it.”

not even sparing her a look as you walked away, you handed the drinks to the different people before throwing yourself back into your seat, hangman looking at you in somewhat concern, his hand gently landing on your thigh.

“you alright?”

“tired,” you mumbled, taking a drink. “really fucking tired.”

“amen to that,” hangman clinked his own glass against yours.

it was in that moment that you made eye contact with bradley for the first time that night, and it was almost painful. he looked just about as hurt as you - although you had no fucking idea what he could he sad about. he wasn’t the one watching the person he’d loved for years flirt with someone else. well, that’s what you thought anyways.

“i’m going for a smoke,” he declared to the group, not breaking the eye contact between you two.

you watched him for a few steps, sighing before taking a drink, and standing up yourself. hangman’s hand fell from your thigh, as he stared at you.

“i need a smoke as well.”

the look on his face told you that he understood.

it was colder outside now, you hugged your arms as the night’s air bit at your skin. looking for bradley, the familiar silhouette was leaning against the range rover parked at the other side of the lot.

“well, look who it is.” bradley said, his tone something that you couldn’t quite work out.

“yeah, hi to you, too.” you snapped.

he raised an eyebrow, taking a drag and throwing his head back against the roof. “you were preoccupied.”

“the fuck is that supposed to mean, bradley?”

“you know,” he looked back at you. “we should have still been in bali right now.”

“yeah, i’m beginning to think we should go back.” you said. “you seem to have left your manners there.”

bradley scoffed, taking another drag. “manners. fuck me, y/n. we should’ve been in bali, but no. we’re here, one of us flirting with hangman.”

you walked to him, taking the cigarette out of his fingers and throwing it to the ground. “he’s a friend, bradley. am i not allowed to have friends?” 

“friends, my ass.” he bit the inside of his cheek, refusing to look at you.

“oh yeah, like you and that cassie girl? she seems nice, maybe someone should tell her that you’re an asshole.”

“oh, i’m the asshole?” bradley pushed himself away from the car, taking a few steps away. “i’m the fucking asshole here?”

“yes, bradley! you haven’t even looked at me all fucking night!”

“hangman’s been looking at you enough for all of us.”

you shook your head. “i can’t fucking believe you, bradley.”

“the feeling’s mutual.” he snapped.

“how?” you yelled, walking towards him. “what the fuck have i done?”

“you-” bradley stopped. “you show up here, looking like that, all over hangman. you know i don’t fucking like him, y/n! why him, huh?”

“looking like what? like what, bradley? since when did you dictate what i wear and who i talk to?”

he glared at you. “you know i didn’t fucking mean it like that.”

“then what!? what, bradley? you were the one who was late, you were the one who showed up with a random girl! you didn’t even introduce me!”

“why should i!?” he yelled. “i’m your best friend, yeah, but you don’t care about that shit! i know you don’t, alright?”

before you could even get a word out before you heard footsteps behind you, approaching.

“y/n, what’s going on?” hangman’s voice cut through the air, he was walking towards you, your handbag in one of his hands.

bradley scoffed, shaking his head at you. “yeah, here we fucking go.”

“the fuck is your problem, bradshaw?” hangman stepped in front of you, tilting his head.

“this is so fucking typical, y/n. yeah, big bad fucking me as always!”

“watch how you talk to her, you little shit.”

“or what?” bradley turned to him, almost squaring up. “or fucking what? just say your fucking her, hangman. it’s what she wants right? to rub it in my fucking face.”

you pulled hangman back by his shoulder, coming face to face with bradley.

“i’m going home.” you mumbled.

and with that, you turned away, grabbing your handbag from hangman’s hand. he stayed where he was for a moment, before he turned and caught up with you.

“let me walk you home?” he asked, meeting your pace.

“please.”

you were glad to live close by, it was getting colder and colder, and even though you had opted for comfort, your feet were beginning to ache.

“what’s his problem?” he asked.

shaking your head, you hugged yourself in attempt to warm up. “i don’t have a fucking clue.”

hangman seemed to notice you were cold, slipping his jacket off of his shoulders and putting it around you before you could even protest.

“thanks, jake,” you smiled.

“bradshaw’s a fucking dick. he shouldn’t be speaking to you like that, you know?” hangman mumbled, hands in his pockets.

“he’s probably just stressed.” you tried to excuse him, waving your hand.

“no,” hangman stopped. “y/n, you don’t talk to people like that, stressed or not.”

nodding, you took a deep breath. “yeah, you’re right.”

fuck, how you hated everything. you hated the way hangman flirted with you - you hated the way you wanted him to because if he was giving you attention, at least someone was. you hated bradley. hated how he made you love him and then pulled shit like this on you.

you hated the navy - you should have been in bali right now. everything could have been perfect.

“this is me,” you smiled as you approached your house.

“thanks for a good night, y/n,” hangman smiled back, looking down at you.

it was a decision you didn’t really process. you didn’t mean to do it - not really. it was like an instinct, something that you knew would be the only way to fix things.

hangman stood still for a moment before he kissed you back. his lips were hot against yours - the taste of some beer seeping into your mouth.

bringing your hands up around his neck, you felt his tongue slip into your mouth, making you moan lightly and you began to pull him forward, up to your front door.

he pushed you against the door, mouth moving from your lips to your jaw to your neck as you fumbled in your bag for keys, struggling to find them in the dark.

the dark, which was broken by the headlights of a car driving past. your eyes snapped up from your bag, going straight to the drivers side. bradley stared back at you, face laces with disgust and hurt.

he drove past so fast you weren’t really sure you even saw it.

feeling metal against your fingers, you pulled out your keys, haphazardly shoving them into the lock behind you and turning.

you weren’t even in the door before hangman had your dress pulled up over your waist, hands grabbing at the flesh as he slammed the door behind you, pushing you up against the nearest wall.

“do you have-”

“in the bag.” you finished for him, once again feeling around in your handbag.

you thanked yourself for always having the ‘just in case’ mindset.

-

the sun was hot, bearing down on you and clinging to every inch of your skin. you didn’t get why you were here - not really.

maverick had dragged you all to the beach, insisting that he had to build a team. all you thought he was building was the guys’ ego, because watching them strut around all sun kissed and topless was another form of torture.

not that you were feeling that good anyway - last nights activities combines with a heat-caused headache and your worries about what was happening between you and bradley - it was safe to say you were not in a good mood.

speaking of bradley, he had been moping around all day like a sad puppy. you were almost sure it had been him last night who saw you and hangman. god, was he so entitled that he thought you couldn’t fuck other guys? he was the one who had been playing with your feelings for years now.

this morning has been awkward. no other word for it. not quite regret - no, you wouldn’t go that far - but waking up next to hangman, half naked and sore, was something that was most definitely not on your twenty twenty-two bingo card.

and you told pheonix just that, lying on a lounger a few meters away from everyone else.

“holy fucking shit,” she almost laughed. “if there was anyone i would have put together, it most certainly would not have been you and hangman.”

“yeah, yeah,” you sighed. “god, i feel so bad. i hope he doesn’t think we’re dating.”

pheonix looked at your through her orange-tint sunglasses. “i can assure you, he does not.”

“what makes you so sure of that?”

“because, my dear y/n,” she rolled back over. “he’s barely looked in your direction all day, never mind spoken to you.”

“yeah, i suppose- oh shit, speak of the devil.” you pushed your sunglasses up, eyeing hangman as he walked towards you and pheonix.

“can i talk to you for a minute?”

“yeah,” you pushed yourself off of the lounger. “sure.”

pheonix laughed from behind you as you walked away, making you glare over your shoulder at her.

“what’s up?” you turned back to hangman as the two of you walked along the beach.

“i just, um- about last night.”

your mouth made an ‘O’ shape, nodding slowly.

“look, you’re really nice and it’s not that i didn’t enjoy it- trust me, i did, but, you know, the whole dating in the team thing? yeah, i don’t think it would work.”

“no, i hear you,” you said. “i was gonna say the same thing.”

“right, good!” hangman smiled, but it faded. “and i know there’s someone you’d much rather be dating.”

you tried to hide the look on your face, but it spread onto your features before you could stop it.

“i meant what i said last night, you know. he is an asshole.”

“yep,” you laughed lightly. “that he is.”

“we can be friends, you know? write last night off as two drunk people being a little confused.”

both of you stopped walking, smiling softly at each other.

“yeah, that’d be nice,” you nodded. “i never expected this, you know?”

hangman scoffed. “you think i did? this was most certainly not on my-”

“twenty twenty-two bingo card, yeah.” you finished for him, both of you laughing.

“i’m glad we could speak about this.” hangman said, turning back to the way you came.

“so am i, jake.” you looked in the same direction, stopping maverick coming into view.

“what the fuck is he holding?” hangman mumbled.

you sighed, peace was interrupted. “let’s find out.”

maverick was holding two balls, attempting to gather everyone around him, much to their displeasure.

you could see bradley, still looking like a sad puppy, completely refusing to meet your eye. god, should you have felt this bad? guilty? he didn’t control you. but then again, you loved him - the love you had for him had controlled you for years.

“alright, come on guys,” maverick sighed.

“what is the point of this?” fanboy asked, eyebrows raised.

if you didn’t understand the rules of american football before, it was no exaggeration to say that you were completely lost now. what could you say? you were never into sports as a child.

all you managed to gather was this - bradley was on your team, pass to him. don’t let someone take the ball and if someone has the ball; take it from them.

both of those things, at once. god, this was brutal.

it was too hot, too muggy - even though you were only wearing shorts and a sports bra, you still felt like you needed to strip and dive into an ice cold pool. maverick was crazy for making you do this in this heat; did he want you all to get heatstroke?

“are we ready to play?” he yelled from the opposite team’s side, whistle hanging from his lips.

“ready… go!”

and the game began - the boys instantly crashing int each other, because apparently none of them were taught that it’s just a game and that no, it’s not actually that deep.

but you wouldn’t try to tell them that, not now, anyways.

“rainfall, here!” fanboy called, throwing the ball straight to you.

catching it, you froze. who did you throw it to again? oh, yeah, bradley.

“rooster,” you called, aiming at him and throwing.

pheonix laughed from beside you, her memory of your god awful football skills serving her well. really - there was a million other sports you could play, but american football really, truly, was not one.

payback came into your field of view, charging at you full force. it took you a whole second to decide that no, it was not worth trying to defend it, and you should just get out of the goddamn way.

you stood back for a moment - watching everyone around you smiling and completely immersed in the game, even maverick was playing; his duties surrounding the mission completely slipping his mind.

and it was in that exact moment that you felt completely, utterly, wholly useless.

it didn’t happen a lot - the feeling you had. sure, you’d struggled with depression in your teenage years, but it was something you’d gotten help for - you were better.

but in a job like this, where you were so used to having control over everything, the moments where you felt useless and unwanted hit harder than ever.

so you did what your therapist had told you to do all those years ago - walk away. you walked away from the group, none of them even noticing your absence.

well, that’s what you thought.

bradley watched you leave, not even taking a look back at your teammates, his face falling with every step you took. he knew about your mental health struggles, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty - had he cause this?

his actions, everything that happened last night; was this is fault?

he knew that it would take forever to explain things to you, even longer for you to forgive him. but fuck - in that moment, as you got further and further away from the group, bradley wished that he hadn’t done anything last night.

the ball was thrown to him, but he didn’t care. you were his priority; you’d always been his priority, always would be. nothing could ever change that.

“rooster!” payback called, hands up in confusion as bradley completely missed the ball.

picking it up from where it had fallen beside him, bradley gave it a half-assed toss, not even checking his aim; he didn’t care where it landed.

maverick had stopped to look at him now, already half knowing what had changed bradley’s mood so quickly. the younger boy was stood completely still, eyes fixed on where you had been only a few minutes before.

“bradley,” maverick called to him, making him turn. “just go to her.”

it was like he had been waiting for someone to tell him, just needing those four words to be set into action, letting him move.

and so bradley turned back around, setting off in your footsteps. a walk turned into a jog, his eyes scanning all over for you, the only sign being your footsteps left on the sand.

-

it was colder inside. the short walk from the beach to the hard deck had cooled you down, just a little. but you couldn’t help the burning feeling in your gut, travelling up through your throat and reaching your eyes.

you stared into your own eyes, watching them get redder and clouding over with tears, not even trying to stop them before they fell, only adding to the mascara streaks down your face.

god, why were you like this? why did you have to be so goddamn sensitive about everything? it wasn’t like bradley cared - he was perfectly happy with carrie, or whatever the hell her name was.

you let yourself fall against the bathroom wall, slowly losing sight of yourself in the mirror as you slid down.

it took everything you had in you not to claw at your own skin, peel the flesh off until you were nothing but a puddle of blood and bones on the floor. but then again - what would that solve?

after spending most of your teenage years going through phases like this, you knew the feeling would pass in a day or so. but in that moment, if felt like it would last forever. the guilt of fucking someone else and secretly wishing it was bradley; bradley, the man who would never love you how you loved him.

bradley, the man who - unknown to you - had just walked into the hard deck.

letting your head hit against the wall, you closed your eyes. this part was the worst - the longing, the knowing that if bradley was there he would be able to fix everything. if only he looked at you the way you looked at him.

if only he didn’t want other girls; didn’t look at their asses when they walked past and for once, just once stared at you like that.

the funny thing was - he did. he constantly stared at you. when you weren’t looking.

“did y/n come in here?” bradley asked, looking around the bar for you but only seeing one, sad looking, glass sitting on the bar.

“she’s in the bathroom,” penny smiled over a crate of beer. “i thought you’d come looking.”

luckily for you, you hadn’t heard them speaking, if you had - what would you have done anyway? would you have wipes your tears, stood up and ran out the door? or would you have stayed exactly where you were, that selfish part inside you glad that bradley had finally come to save you?

speaking of which; he approached the door, getting as close to is as possible without pressing his ear against it, listening for any sign of you behind the door. a sign, which came in the form of a small, hitched breath; something that came out as more of a gasp.

“y/n?” he almost whispered, knuckles tapping against the door.

you froze. no - it couldn’t be, could it? had he really come running after you? fuck. fuck - no, it couldn’t be.

“y/n, you in there?” bradley repeated, your suspicions being completely confirmed - it was him.

“i’ll-” you started, voice betraying you with a crack. “i’ll just be a second.”

but bradley knew you far better than that.

“let me in, sugar,” the pet name had you choking back a sob, biting into your hand to stop the noise coming out. “please.”

it took you a moment to decide whether you’d let him in or not. a full moment - but the selfish side of you won. the little voice in the back of your head that sounded a little bit like pheonix; mumbling how you’d always had a chance with bradley.

the lock clicked, and bradley slowly turned the handle, not quite knowing what to expect on the other side.

what he did see, though, almost spilt his heart down the middle.

you were stood a few steps away, eyes, red and puffy, fixed firmly on the floor, you head tilted down - in a half-assed attempt to hide the mascara trails that ran down your cheeks. the way you were standing, like an insecure little girl, arms folded over your chest, hugging yourself.

any anger you thought bradley was holding towards you completely faded away.

“oh, sugar,” he stepped forward, almost scooping you into his arms. “what? what is it, darlin’?”

you felt so completely enveloped in him, it was completely blissful. his scent; the smell of beach water mixed with a spray of his cologne, his feel, everything - he had you completely covered in him.

“i can’t-” words failed you. “not here- i can’t.”

“alright,” bradley hummed, you could feel the vibration of his voice in his chest. “alright, sweets, i’ll take you home.”

-

bradley’s house was exactly the same as the last time you were there. even down to the jackets hanging on the back of the front door, everything was the same. after all - it had only been, what? a six months, since you’d been here? in his house?

he led you to his couch, sitting you down so gently you half thought he expected you to shatter.

but he didn’t - not really. you’d been friends with bradley long enough for him to know exactly what to do in this situation, how to handle you at your most vulnerable.

“alright, sugar, do you wanna talk to me?” bradley asked, sitting down next to you, hand wrapping around your shoulders.

“i just-” you took a breath. you just what? how in the hell were you meant to be honest with him and keep your oldest secret? “it’s nothing, really.”

maybe saying nothing at all would do the trick.

“it’s clearly not nothing,” his tone was so soft; like his voice was laced with bubble wrap to make sure he didn’t come across the wrong way. “y/n, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t-”

“i slept with hangman.”

the words came out quicker than you could have stopped them, tumbling out of your mouth and leaving you no room to even try to catch them.

“i know.”

“what?” you looked at him. “how?”

“i saw you,” bradley swallowed like the words were bitter on his tongue. “when i was driving cassie home.”

cassie - you’d almost forgot her name. but it still stung to hear him say it; say it like she was someone to him.

“oh, right.” you couldn’t hide the bitter tone.

“why do you feel bad for that, sugar? did he- did hangman do something? did he take advantage of you? i swear to god - i’ll kill him if-”

“no,” you almost laughed, placing a hand on his chest. “no, bradley, he didn’t. i just- i feel bad because… it wasn’t him i wanted to sleep with.”

bradley furrowed his eyebrows. “what do you mean?”

now you were fucked. you’d said too much - how did you get out of this hole you’d dug for yourself? “it doesn’t matter, really, i just feel like i used him, you know?”

“who would you rather be having sex with?”

the question took you completely by surprise. you’d spoke about sex with bradley before, it wasn’t a topic you’d ever shied away from - but how in the hell did you dodge this question?

“i-” your mind went blank. “i didn’t mean it like that, i mean- i was kinda mad, you know? i don’t like fucking like that, like a stress reliever. i dunno, it makes me feel like i’m using them.”

“why were you mad?”

you couldn’t lie this time. “‘cause you treated me like shit all last night.”

bradley hung his head, nodding. “i’m sorry. y/n, i mean that. i’d had one too many to drink and i was in a bad mood, i- i shouldn’t have taken it out on you. i really am sorry.”

smiling, you relaxed slightly. communication was always important to you - and this was one friendship you refused to lose after one fight.

“bradley?” he looked back up at you. “why didn’t you tell me about cassie?”

“well,” he laughed lightly. “i didn’t think it was that important, you know? i doubt you’d really care, honestly.”

“what?” you looked at him, slightly shocked. “bradley, of course i care! i’m your best friend, i’m like- the person who would care about this stuff the most.”

he looked at you for a moment. “y/n- who do you think cassie is to me?“

“she’s-” you furrowed your eyebrows. “she’s your girlfriend, right? or something close?”

“oh my god,” bradley laughed. “oh my god.”

you stared at him, totally confused. it felt like some inside joke you weren’t in on.

“y/n,” he smirked. “she’s my cousin.”

it was hilarious. absolutely fucking laughable. god - it was divine comedy at its peak. your mouth fell into an ‘O’ shape, slowly nodding. bradley’s giggles sounded from beside you, clearly he was finding this funny.

you were completely relieved. totally, selfishly, one hundred percent relieved. so you laughed too. laughed at yourself; how you’d gotten so upset over something you had no idea about.

whether a second or five minutes passed, you weren’t sure. the sound of bradley’s laugh, so completely drowned in happiness, it was music to your ears. a drug you were so totally addicted to, you’d cut off your own leg if it meant you could hear his boyish giggles.

god, you were in love with him.

and bradley was thinking the exact same thing about you.

once you’d finally stopped laughing, quiet came over you, a familiar kind of comfortable quiet, embracing the two of you and enveloping the room with a hum that settled in both of your souls.

or maybe that was a slightly rom-com version of saying; it went quiet.

meeting bradley’s eyes in the quiet, you couldn’t help but stare into them.

his eyes, god his eyes. you loved everything about him but his god damn eyes. they were like whisky, filling up the glass of his iris until it was just about overflowing. they were like jack daniels at the end of a bad day, a little distillery in the scottish highlands turning out the best thing you’d every tasted.

and by god - you would drink whisky every day if it felt like his eyes.

the world around you seemed to stop spinning as you stared into his irises, the couch you were sitting on melting into you until it felt like you were pure mass.

it must have been a genetic impulse. to lean in, to let gravity pull you towards him. you moved your gaze from his eyes to his lips, suddenly imagining what it would feel like to have them on yours.

there couldn’t have been more than a few inches between your faces now, an electric heat in between the two of you as your breath combined, fanning onto each other’s faces.

“y/n,” bradley whispered, the words hitting your ears and snapping you from your chance.

the way he whispered your name woke you up. fuck - what on god’s earth were you thinking? you were his best friend. nothing else. don’t be stupid, y/n. he doesn’t want you.

you pulled back quicker than bradley realised, his eyes still on the spot your lips had been milliseconds before.

clearing your throat, you felt the air around you turn awkward for the first time in years.

“takeout and a movie?” you proposed, hoping to god it would put a bandaid on whatever wound you’d just opened between you two.

“of course,” bradley smiled like nothing even happened. did anything even happen just then, or did you imagine it? “i’ll order.”

nodding, you watched him stand up and walk to where his phone was. you took a hand to your lips, swearing that when you touched the flesh you felt electric shocks.

fuck - you hoped bradley would forget that ever happened. bradley on the other hand; hoped he’d never forget that happened.

-

“good morning aviators,” it wasn’t maverick’s voice this time. “we have some news for you.”

the admiral eyed all of you, making sure he had everyone’s attention before continuing; “your mission date has been moved forward by ten days.”

“oh, shit,” hangman mumbled from beside you.

“this means that you have under a week to complete your training-”

“but sir,” payback piped up. “none of us except rainfall have completed the route yet, and even she fainted.”

“which is exactly why you’re going to be working double as hard, starting today. i’ll now hand over to your teacher.”

and with that he was gone.

“alright,” maverick walked to where the admiral stood a few seconds prior. “same route, in teams of four planes this time. i’ll give you an order, and please-” he looked at you. “no passing out.”

a few people sniggered, leaving you rolling your eyes. you were at ten point three g’s - what the hell were you supposed to do? and you’d lost at least a cup of blood. like they would stay conscious in that situation.

“alright, team one; yale as your team leader, fritz as your wingman, omaha and harvard in dagger two, halo and coyote in dagger three.”

the six of them stood up, walking to the door and waiting to be dismissed. maverick waved them off, chatting amongst themselves as they walked down the corridor.

“do you think any of them can manage it?” hangman asked you, watching the door close behind them.

you hummed; “maybe. yale’s a good pilot.”

“better than you?” he raised an eyebrow.

scoffing, you turned to him. “better than you? than any of us? we’re all the best of the best, jake. don’t be bitter.”

“hey, come on,” he raised his hands in defence. “i was just asking. you know, giving you something to think about.”

“have you been listening to like, anything, maverick said?” you smirked. “we don’t think up there. stop trying to sabotage me.”

“oh, yeah,” you were glad he got the joke. “that’s definitely what i’m trying to do.”

laughing, you turned away from him, looking at bradley. he seemed a million miles away, staring out of the window into the big wide ocean. you wondered where his mind was, but judging from the way he stared at the water, you knew what he was thinking about already.

his dad’s anniversary was coming up.

-

as it turns out, yale must not have been a good enough pilot, because none of the group managed to complete the route on time. not a single plane would have made it back if this had been a real mission.

“alright, next group is all of you guys. i want rainfall as a team leader, pheonix and bob as your wingman. fanboy and payback in dagger three, rooster and hangman in dagger four.”

without having to turn around, you could picture both bradley and jake’s faces. god, it was a sight to behold. they really were like two spoiled little kids.

did it surprise you to be made team leader? no. you’d been the only person who’d completed the course, and if you hadn’t passed out everything would have went completely ideally.

praying you wouldn’t pass out again this time, you followed the rest of your team out to the planes.

you could still hear hangman and bradley behind you, muttering insults at each other like little children who never learned the meaning of teamwork. it made you smile, knowing that no matter what happened, those task would always hate each other.

yes, it was a strange thing to be smiling about, but it was the sense of stability, a hatred that had been there since they met each other all those years ago and would most likely still be there until the day they died.

not that they really hated each other. you knew that, it was all an act deep down. bradley respected hangman, hangman respected bradley. they just didn’t like to show it.

it went in a blur - from being given your safety briefing to taking off, it felt like you had blinked and you were a thousand feet in the air.

“rainfall, proceed to the coordinates on your dash. everyone else, follow her.” maverick said over the radio; he was supervising the flight.

“got it,” you mumbled back, turning to follow the directions in front of you.

it was the same place you’d gone the last time for this training, you noticed. the same big, open desert, surrounded by forest, spanning what seemed to be hundreds of miles.

“alright, everyone in place?”

checking your controls once more, you nodded to yourself; “i’m good, mav.”

“we’re good.” fanboy replied.

“all good here.” pheonix said.

“yeah, us too.” hangman agreed.

“good. your time starts… now!”

you sped up instantly, pushed back in your chair from the force. pheonix was behind you, a shocked noise coming from her when she realised just how fast you were going.

g-force pushed against you, everything twist and turn you took pressing down on your lungs, like an elephant was standing on top of you.

“thirty seconds in, im about a quarter of the way there.” you stated.

“christ, rainfall, you’re fast.” pheonix answered. “i can’t even see you.”

laughing lightly, you turned to look behind you, pheonix and bob not even appearing in the distance.

“then get faster.” you said.

“speaking of faster,” fanboy groaned. “slow down, hangman, you’re up my ass.”

“you should’ve put pheonix behind you, fan, maybe then you two would be going at the right pace.” hangman answered, cocky tone dripping through the radio.

“that’s a minute, i’m half way there. pheonix, you gotta hurry up. i need that laser on time.”

as you said it, the pair of them appeared behind you, gaining speed with every turn they took.

“happy?” pheonix asked.

“very. like christmas.” you laughed.

the rest of the route was like a second nature to you, each curve coming to you almost naturally. it was here that your nose had started bleeding before, leading to you passing out.

you prayed the pressure wasn’t too much this time; you could not afford another accident. you’d never be put on the mission if you passed out again.

“alright, pheonix, you ready?” you asked, taking a quick look behind you to see where she was.

“always, rainfall.”

pulling up, you felt the g-force push you back, just slightly. this was nothing compared to what was coming.

“alright bob, get that laser ready.” you said, eyes fixed on the target.

“shit- there’s something wrong with this laser, it won’t catch.” he replied, hint of urgency in his voice.

“are you fucking kidding me!?” you yelled back, target getting even closer. there wasn’t enough time.

“i’m sorry, i’m trying everything to-”

“forget it, i’ll drop blind!”

trying to aim without a laser was hard - harder when time was running out. fuck, this shot would have to do.

“bombs away!” you yelled, already hundreds of feet away.

“bullseye!” bob called over the radio, making you let out a relived sigh.

and then you had to pull up. pull up - against the force that pushed you back, so much that you thought you’d go falling through the entire plane and put onto the ground.

you were pulling seven g’s now. seven point five. eight. fuck, your vision was blurring at the edges. your breathing was slow, rigid, like the oxygen wasn’t really getting to you at all.

everything felt light. like you were floating. you could feel your hands, tingly and shaky and slipping off of your controls. you couldn’t form any thoughts, just the overwhelming feeling of calm.

the world was quiet, dull. the ringing in your ears was the only sound audible to you, and even then it didn’t bother you. the bliss of unconsciousness was just about to overtake you and-

“get that fucking laser ready, rooster!” fanboy yelled.

and you were awake again, hands gripping your controls and pushing you forward, levelling yourself after pulling up.

“you alright, rainfall?” maverick asked over the radio, scratchiness scraping against your ears.

“all good,” you mumbled, voice slightly weak. “still awake.”

“i’ve got a lock, i’ve got a lock!” rooster cried, clearly having fun trying to work a laser.

“alright, bombs away!” payback yelled.

both you and pheonix were level now, watching the two of them pull up from a few hundred feet away. you could hear their groans over the radio, bradley taking a few gasps follow by a strained ‘fuck’.

that should not have been as attractive to you as it was.

they were almost there now, twenty seconds more or less and they’d be fine. they just had to stay awake.

which is far easier said than done, clearly, because fanboy seemed to go quiet over the radio, payback getting louder in his calls to his wingman.

“fanboy, you alright?” maverick asked.

and then you saw it - the plane losing balance, turning nose to the ground and falling. fanboy passed out.

“fuck, he’s in g-lock!” payback yelled, voice laced with fear. “fuck, wake up, man!”

“shit,” maverick mumbled, his own plane coming into your view. “let’s hope this works again.”

maverick lined himself up with the other plane, clearly trying to get a dial tone to wake fanboy up. it worked for you, right?

“come on, give me tone, give me tone.” he mumbled.

you felt completely powerless, all you could do was watch. two pilots could die right now, and all you’d be able to do was stare as they went down.

“oh, fuck- oh shit!” fanboy finally yelled, pulling up straight away.

“christ,” you let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding in, leaning back in your seat.

fanboy came level with the rest of you, clearly shaken up. payback was still yelling at him, something about almost getting both of them killed.

“shit, birds!” maverick interrupted them both, making you turn around in your seat.

about twenty birds were coming straight for you, making you break right straight away. but pheonix didn’t think so fast; you saw a bird fly straight into one of her engines, instantly causing a fire.

“right engine is out!” bob yelled.

“disconnecting power and restarting,” pheonix blurted. “fuck, it didn’t go out.”

you could see them, much like fanboy and payback just minutes before, on a downward spiral - fast. pheonix was an amazing pilot, you had no doubts about that; but there was no way she can pull this back.

and you heard just as much, over the radio; her desperate attempts to keep in the air, downed out by mavericks begs for her to just eject.

she must have tried absolutely everything else, because after a particularly desperate plea from maverick, you saw both pheonix and bob eject.

you watched, mouth half open and breaths shaky. the thought you’d pushed to the back of your mind reading it’s head once more;

…

“He wasn’t a bad guy, he just…” you sighed over your glass, shaking your head slightly as you thought back over the last two years. You lifted your head finally to look Phoenix in the eye for the first time in about thirty minutes. You giggled a little, embarassed at the admission, “He didn’t ever make me… y’know… finish.”

Phoenix’s eyes went wide, her mouth falling open. Please don’t, you prayed silently. “In two years? He didn’t make you come once in two years?” There it was. The Hard Deck was exceptionally loud at the best of times, but so was Phoenix after a drink.

You winced, feeling a few people in the vicinity turn to look at you. She realised her mistake, wincing and putting her hands up defensively, already backing away from you.

"Two whole years?" You flinched slightly, looking over your shoulder to find the source of the voice, sighing half in relief to find Rooster standing there. At least it wasn't Hangman. You simply shook your head and pinched the bridge of your nose.

"I mean, I hope you don't mind me asking but — why the hell were you still with him?" Rooster took the empty stool next to you, pulling it closer so that your knees were touching his. You groaned softly and shrugged your shoulders, “He was... cute."

Rooster laughed. He laughed heartily at that comment, his hand wrapped around a brown beer bottle, his sunglasses still on even though the sun had already set.

"Aw, honey." He put his free hand on your knee. You glanced down at his tanned hand, eyeing the silver class ring on his hand whilst his thumb stroked gently at your skin. You raised an eyebrow at him quizzically, leaning back slightly, “What are you doing?"

Caught, Rooster only seemed to be spurred on. His lips curled up into a grin, his broad shoulders rose and fell again in a casual shrug,

"Just comforting a friend." He patted your knee again and leaned in a little closer, "Lending a helping hand, whatever she wants."

Your lips parted slightly in surprise. You would've expected this from one of the other guys maybe, but Rooster had always been nothing but professional and respectful towards you.

"Do I need a helping hand?" You scoffed, trying to regain some control over the conversation like he couldn't see how flustered he had already made you. Rooster's grin only grew, "Seems that way to me." He confirmed, his hand sliding just past your knee to squeeze your thigh.

Your eyes flickered between his hand and his face. He had you right where he wanted you and he knew it.

You turned away from him, facing the bar, crossing your legs and pulling your drink closer,

"You guys think you're such hot shit." You forced a laugh, trying to make it seem like you weren't already a little wet. "Pilots."

Rooster laughed again at this comment, reaching into his pocket and putting a fifty down on the bar, your tab officially settled.

"Come home with me." It wasn't a question, you both knew that. You watched his lips move, yours parted slightly in anticipation.

As the only women in the group, you and Phoenix often joked about how the guys around here usually thought with what was between their legs more than their heads. Maybe you were officially one of the team, because it certainly wasn't your brain making the decision to nod at him, or follow him out of the bar.

Even in the passenger seat of his jeep, your brain was still struggling to compute what the hell you were doing here. You had only been single for six hours, and yet here you were headed home with someone you had known since flight school. Rooster, of all people. Kind, sweet, hilarious, Rooster. If it was Payback or Hangman, maybe that would've made sense, they had been making passes at you for years.

Once you were back at his place and he was offering you a drink, you couldn't help but just stare at him and wondering what the hell you were even doing here. The thought crossed your mind that maybe he didn't even know what he was doing either.

"Cat got your tongue?" Rooster teased, crossing the kitchen to you and lifting your chin to look at him. You blinked, lips parting. Rooster raised an eyebrow at you, expectantly.

"C'mon, honey. Use your words."

There weren't the correct words in the English language to describe the state of shock you were in currently.

Rooster swiped his thumb across your bottom lip, "Ask me to fuck you." Your heart thundered against your chest so hard, you wondered if he could hear it. Your neck craned back to look him in the eye, swallowing hard.

"Ask me nicely." Rooster's hand curled around your jaw, keeping your face pointed toward him. You weren't sure if his grip on you was the only thing keeping you on your feet.

"Please." You managed pathetically, eyes still on his. Pleased with your answer, he released your jaw, grabbing you instead by the waist and planting you on the kitchen counter behind you. His lips were on yours, his moustache scratching the top of your lip as he slid his tongue into your mouth, holding you close to him by the waist.

You caught his arm to steady yourself, surprised by how firm it was. You allowed yourself to look him over. How had you never noticed how ripped he was?

His free hand slid under your shirt, massaging your chest over your bra with a level of expertise you had also not been expecting. You wished you had worn a matching set. You lifted both arms up, allowing him to strip you of the shirt in one quick move, pressing your lips against his again hungrily.

"How many times d'you think you can cum?" Rooster muttered against your lips, sliding his hands down your torso and stopping at the waistband of your denim shorts, popping open the button and pulling back to look at you.

"Kind of a cocky thing to ask." You breathed, giggling at his confidence. Rooster's lips curled up, that smug smile back on his face as he lifted your hips off of the counter enough to pull your shorts down, you kicked your flip flops off with them, gasping as he grabbed your knees and pulled you to the edge.

His hand trailed along the inside of your thigh, tantalisingly slow, until he finally reached your clothed core. His eyes remained on your face, watching you take your lip between your teeth as he began to trace delicate patterns over your core through your underwear. Not touching any one place enough to satisfy you, touching you just enough to send sparks through you.

His other hand brushed your hair off of you shoulder and held you by the nape of your neck, keeping you looking at him. You hummed quietly, the motions of his fingertips sending tingles through your nerves. Your skin felt like it was on fire. Finally, his gaze unwavering, he nudged your underwear to the side with the knuckle of his index finger. The pad of his middle finger grazed your clit, causing you to jolt slightly.

“I’ve got you.” Rooster promised, capturing your lips and leaving you with a filthy, open mouthed, kiss. Your heart felt like it was going to burst out of your chest. You didn’t even realised you had made a noise until he looked back at you, pleased with the soft whine you had made.

“Feel good, baby?” He whispered, his index and middle fingers drawing circles around her clit. Everything he was doing was so slow, he knew that it was driving you nuts, he could feel the pulse between your legs on his fingers.

You nodded eagerly at him, parting your legs further for him to step between. Hand still on the back of your neck, he brought you in and kissed you again. This kiss was deeper, longer, you were moaning against his lips before he pulled away. His fingers moved in a steady pace over your clit — he made it seem so easy.

“You want more?” Rooster’s voice was low, gravelly. He slid his two fingers down to your hole and back again, keeping his focus mainly on your clit. You knew he knew how wet you were for him — maybe you should have been embarrassed about how desperate you were for him, but that was the furthest thing from your mind right now. You nodded at him eagerly.

“Ask me nicely.” He instructed, halting his fingers all together, making you whimper and knot your brows together in frustration.

“Fuck, please. More.” You whimpered, fingers digging into his bicep.

He drew you in for another, agonisingly slow kiss as his fingers slid down and teased at your entrance. His middle pushed in first, curling against your g-spot and making you jolt again, gasping. Rooster’s eyes twinkled mischievously as he released your neck and grabbed your hip instead, slipping a second finger into you.

You kissed him, grabbing a handful of his sandy hair, soft moans spilling out against his lips. He moved his long fingers in and out steadily, curling them upwards into you expertly, while his thumb found its way back onto your clit. His lips moved confidently against yours, his tongue in your mouth and his other hand on your breast. He kept going like this, speeding up steadily and eventually you could feel yourself starting to clench down around his fingers as you felt your orgasm approach.

“Fuckfuckfuck, I’mgonnacum.” You chanted, resting your forehead against his shoulder, your fingers leaving nail marks on his bicep. Rooster kissed at your neck, your ear, your jaw, slipping his fingers out of you and squeezing your thighs.

“You got a couple more for me, right, honey?” His fingers popped open the clasp of your bra and slipped it off of your shoulders while you were still seeing stars.

“Gimme a second, holy shit.” You squeezed your eyes shut and leaned back on your elbows, whimpering as you felt him slip between your legs.

You lifted your hips and allowed him to pull your underwear down, whimpering gently as he put your thighs over his shoulders. His lips were on your thighs, kissing them both, sucking at the skin, teasing you with marks you already knew would still be there tomorrow.

“Fuck, Bradshaw.” You breathed as he buried his head between your legs, sliding your fingers up into his hair as his tongue pressed flat against your sensitive clit. He adjusted his board shorts slightly, easing the discomfort, while his other hand gripped your hip, keeping you in place.

He slipped two fingers into you again, his lips planting firmly over your clit and sucking at the sensitive bundle of nerves. You fell back against the counter, involuntarily pushing your hips up against him, “Bradley, fuck!”

He held you back down against the counter, his other hand curling his fingers inside of you, drawing more sweet moans out of your lips. This was a welcome contrast to the vow of nervous silence you had apparently taken in the car.

Your fingers caressed his scalp, tugging at his hair gently, your head back in pleasure. He pulled you closer by your hips, removing his fingers and burying his tongue in you before you had chance to complain, his thumb taking over on your clit, working firm motions around the nerves.

He groaned softly against your core, making you writhe against him, your hand white-knuckling around the counter. You knew his name, and he had a cute name, but something in you had you chanting his call sign as he made you come for a second time.

You still couldn’t really think straight when he was pulling you into his arms again, kissing your temple, your cheek and then your lips,

“You like that, baby?” He breathed, chuckling softly as you hummed against his chest.

“I want you to fuck me. Rooster, please fuck me.” You grabbed the back of his neck, pressing your lips against his desperately. He guided your legs around him, lifting you off the counter and carrying you with him. You didn’t know or care where, gasping as you hit his mattress with a bounce.

“Since you asked so nicely.” He teased, shedding his white vest. You crawled to the edge of the bed, pushing yourself up onto your knees and popping open the button of his shorts. He cupped your jaw, stroking the skin of his cheek as you dragged his zipper down.

“Tell me how you want it.” He demanded, hooking a thumb into his shorts and pushing them down enough to set his cock free. He watched you swallow, eye to eye with his length.

“Just fuck me. Please.” You breathed, your hand resting against his thigh as you looked up at him. “Turn around.” You obeyed him immediately, turning around and raising your ass for him. His fingers stroked along your core, teasing at your entrance once more,

“Such a pretty pussy.” He breathed. You whined desperately for him, relieved as you felt the bed dip under the weight of his knee, his cock lining up between your legs. You squeezed your eyes shut, feeling his hand on the back of your neck as he thrust into you sharply, making you gasp out. He grunted softly behind you, pushing your head down closer to the mattress.

You moaned softly for him as you felt him bottom out, breathing hard at the stretch, still wanting to do well for him. You felt him wait for you, kissing the base of your spine gently.

“I can take it.” You promised him, reaching back and placing your hand on top of his as it was curled around your hip. He groaned, digging his fingers harder into your hip as he began to move his hips, fucking you hard and fast.

“Goddamn,” he whispered through gritted teeth, eyes shut and head pulled back as he found a pace, hips snapping with every one of his thrusts. You lasted maybe a minute before your knees buckled under you, his hand sliding under your stomach and lifting you back up onto your knees. He liked it, knowing he was the only thing keeping you upright. “Fuck, you feel good.”

You made a pathetic sound of agreement, his hand still on the back of your neck and he pounded you into his mattress. It wasn’t easy to focus on keeping yourself upright when Brad’s cock brushed perfectly against your most sensitive spot each and every time he buried himself in you.

Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead as he fucked into you, his hand sliding from the back of your neck to the base of your throat, pulling your back against his bare chest. You gasped desperately at the new position, moaning his name as your head fell back against his shoulder.

“Got one more for me, honey?” He breathed, his hand slipping between you legs and finding your clit once again. You whined, his fingers quickly circling the sensitive bud, shaking your head. “One more, honey. You can do one more, I know you’re close.”

He was right, you were. You dug your fingernails into his thigh as his other hand pawed at your breast. You squeezed your eyes shut, gripping his thigh tight as he made you see stars again. If you weren’t leaning back against him, you would’ve collapsed.

“That’s my girl.” He praised, lips at your ear. You felt his hips stutter slightly, his hand coming back to grip at your hip again. He grunted softly and gave a few more sloppy thrusts before he was spilling inside of you, his head buried in the crook of your neck.

He rolled onto his back, letting out a hard breath and pulling you down against his chest, kissing the top of your head.

“Where the hell were you the past two years of my life?” You murmured against his salty skin, humming contentedly. Rooster chuckled, kissing your temple delicately, “Right here, baby. Right here.”

…

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