Finding Freedom | Part 11
Summary: After your dad pulled not only Bradley’s Naval Academy application but your own as well, the two of you cut him out of your lives. Forced to find your own way to make your dreams come true, it became you and Bradley against the world. Now, engaged and highly successful, despite your father’s interference, you’re both recalled to Top Gun for a high stakes mission. Will this be an opportunity to put the past behind you all and find freedom from the hurt and anger…or will it lead to you losing everyone you’ve ever loved?
Cast/Pairings: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mitchell! Reader (Female) call sign Siren , Pete “Maverick” Mitchell x Daughter! Reader, All the Daggers! Penny.
Warnings: angst , fluff, implied smut, kissing/making out. (whole series)
Word Count: 3674 (SORRY FOR THE DELAY! MAJOR writers block and life)
A/N: Top Gun Maverick is property of Paramount, I do not own the characters, I DO own original/reader characters and the storyline pertaining to the original characters. I do NOT give permission for anyone to copy my work, use my work in AI, translate, print, sell, or post my work to any other platform, including this one. I will find you. Don’t be an asshole.
Taglist is open! If I missed anyone who asked to be tagged, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM to be added. It’s getting to hard to keep track of asks.
Requested by @kcloveswrestling Hope you like it!!!
Masterlist Part 10
You flew out to the carrier the next afternoon. The weather was a little dicey when you landed on the carrier. Once all of the jets were locked down and secure you were directed to officer’s quarters on the ship and given time to grab food before you were to report to the briefing room. Your stomach has been in knots since you left San Diego.
“Siri… you should try to eat something.” Jake said, noticing you’d just been pushing food around on your plate. “Even if it’s just a few bites.”
Bradley looks over, his face etched with concern.
“He’s right, Baby.” He said softly, “Are you ok?”
“Yeah.” You nodded, your voice just above a whisper, “Just not hungry… feeling a little anxious I guess.”
Bradley nodded, his eyes searching your face. He looked down at his watch to check the time then back up at you. “Come on, grab your sandwich and apple and bring it with, Baby.”
“Where are we going?” You asked, standing up and grabbing your food.
“To find a quiet place to talk.” He said, giving you a gentle smile. He looked at the squad, “We’ll meet you all at briefing.”
You followed Bradley down the narrow passage of the ship, both of you able to navigate a carrier in your sleep by this point in your careers. He pushes open the door to the quarters you’re sharing with Phoenix. Looking to make sure no COs or Admirals were watching you both ducked into the room, closing the door.
You set your sandwich, wrapped in a napkin on the small table in the room and sat down on the bed. Bradley did the same, sitting down next to you and pulling you against him.
“Talk to me, Baby.” He whispered, kissing your forehead, “What’s going through that beautiful head of yours.”
“I’m so scared, B.” You said softly, your voice thick with emotion. “Everything is happening so fast… none of us have successfully flown this under the new parameters… what if...what if we don’t come home?”
“Beautiful, there’s never any guarantees that we’ll come back from any mission…” He said, his voice low and raspy, “I know this one is different than anything any of us have ever flown…and the odds are not exactly in our favor… but one thing I do know, is that if anyone can make sure this mission is a success and we all get home… it’s Mav. Even with as complicated as my feelings towards him are, I do have that confidence in him.”
“Do you have that confidence in yourself, Roo?” You asked him, your eyes lifting to meet his. “I do… I always have… but… when it comes down to it… do you? Can you fly like you’re the only on in that plane?”
“Baby I’m not the only one in that plane.” He whispered, a pained look in his eyes, “Which is why I would fly that plane like my life depended on it… forget the manual and fly the mission like it needed to be flown… because you are my life and keeping you safe and bringing you home is the only thing that matters to me, above all else.”
“But you’re in the plane too… and you are my world Roo.” You said, your voice breaking. “I need you…I need to do everything you can to make sure you come home too.”
He gently pulls you into his arms, his head resting on yours.
“Y/N Bradshaw, I promise, if Mav picks us for this mission, I will do everything in my power to make sure we succeed and both come home.” He whispered, kissing your forehead, “We just got married, Baby… our happily ever after has just begun.”
Phoenix knocks, then walks in, her face looking worried.
“Figured I’d find you both here.” She said, her voice sounding heavy, “Admiral Simpson is looking for you both. He said to report to the briefing room before the team briefing.”
“Fuck.” Bradley sighed, “That can’t be good.”
Immediately, the fear and anxiety that had just started to abate, was back in full force. Your eyes locked with Bradley’s, both of you already fearing the worst.
“He knows.” You whispered
“It’ll be ok, Baby.” He assured you, unconvincingly. “Maybe he’ll surprise us and not be an asshole about it.”
“He didn’t look…. Happy.” Phoenix said, a grim look on her face. “I’m here if you need me afterwards.”
You nod, taking Bradley’s hand and the two of you make your way up to the mission briefing room, knocking when you get there. His stern “Enter” doesn’t make any of the butterflies ease in your gut.
“You wanted to see us, Sir?” Bradley said as we walk in and stand at attention in front of him.
“At ease.” He said, turning to look at us both, “I’ve been put in a tough spot. The two of you have been flying together for just about your entire careers… which is basically unheard of. Pretty sure we all know how that came to be. You make a great team. Arguably the best in the Navy. It’s come to my attention that the two of you got married while back in San Diego training for this mission. The paperwork just… happened to slip through the cracks amid the death of Admiral Kazanski…”
“Sir…” You start to say but he puts his hand up to stop you.
“I wanted to let the two of you know that I will honor Admiral Kazanki’s wishes in keeping the two of you together if you wish to continue to fly together.” He said.
You and Bradley looked at one another, shock reflecting in both of your faces.
“However… for this particular mission, I need to separate you.” He said
“Sir, I don’t understand.” Bradley said. “If you’re allowing us to still fly together…why not…for this mission?”
“That would be me.” Mav said, coming in behind the two of you.
You froze, as did Bradley.
“Unbelieveable” You whispered.
“Hear him out.” Simpson said, looking at you both. You knew he wasn’t Mav’s number one fan at all, so if he was telling you to listen, you would at least give him that. Bradley stepped closer to you, his hand brushing yours.
“I stood in your way…both of you… blocking your initial path through the Academy.” He said, “It cost me over ten years without my daughter… and the kid who I loved like a son. I know I’m risking a lot doing this. I believe in you both. You both have more than proven your skill and abilities over the years…together. Rooster, you need to believe in you now. Trust your instinct. It’s there. Don’t think…Just do.”
Mav looks over to you, “Siren, you need to believe that he can do it on his own… and that you can as well. You’re a damn good WSO, Uncle Goose would have been so proud of you. Learning to be strong apart will make you stronger together.”
“First of all, with all due respect, Sir, nobody believes in Rooster more than I do. I know he can fly the hell out of this mission with or without me. Secondly… do you really think that this is the best time to be teaching us lessons like this? On this mission?”
“I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t believe in him.” Mav said, holding his hands up, “As for this mission being the best timing… yes. I do. I believe the best odds of both of you coming home is putting you in two planes.”
“We don’t have more planes, Sir. So what’s your plan here?” You asked, your tone bordering on insubordination. You were past caring though.
“We could swap Bob and Siri.” Simpson suggested, trying to ease the tension.
“Put Rooster in a single seater.” Mav said, “Move one of the other single seater pilots to a two seater.”
“That’s the worst idea I have ever heard in my entire life” Rooster said, finally finding his voice again.
“And that’s saying something… we grew up around you.” You added, glaring at your dad. “You want Roo to fly solo in a plane he isn’t familiar with on the most dangerous mission the Navy has seen in modern times….and you want to put pilot used to flying a single seater in with a WSO…are you TRYING to get us killed?”
“Siren has a point, Maverick.” Simpson said, “I can’t approve swapping a single for a two seater.”
“So what’s your next move, Dad?” You asked, “Going to wash us out now that you can’t get your way? This situation is feeling very familiar.”
“Siren.” Simpson said, looking at you, his tone giving you a warning. You clenched your jaw and looked away.
“Can we have a few minutes?” Bradley asked, looking between Simpson and Mav.
“I can give you five.” Simpson said, “We have the mission debrief with the whole squad in fifteen. We will need to make a decision before.”
“Understood, Sir.” Bradley said. Simpson and Mav stepped out of the room, leaving the two of you alone in the room.
“Roo…” You said, turning to him, “What do we do? He’s not going to let us fly together on this… but flying apart is too dangerous when we haven’t trained any other way.”
“What would Uncle Ice say if he were here, Baby?” Bradley asked gently.
“He’d say that my dad knew what he was doing… to trust him.” You whispered. “But… I don’t know that I can Bradley. He’s not objective when it comes to us….but… Uncle Tommy told me to trust myself and to trust you. What do you think we should do?”
“I think…as much as it kills me to say it… that your dad might be right but only for this mission.” He said softly, “And I think… in your heart you know it too. I don’t know if the answer is necessarily putting me in a single and putting you with a different pilot as their WSO, or just swapping WSO’s…”
“B, I don’t know how to fly with anyone else.” You whispered. “We’ve flown together since practically straight outta flight school.”
“Sweetheart you are the most amazing WSO there is.” He said, “It doesn’t matter who your pilot is… you can fly with anyone, Siri. I’m incredibly grateful I’ve been the pilot allowed to fly with you all these years and I plan on fighting like hell to be the one that gets to keep flying with you after this mission.”
You’re silent, thoughts racing, heart conflicted. You look up, as if the answers will be written on the ceiling…or as if Uncle Tom will magically appear to tell you what to do.
Bradley steps closer, pulling you into his arms gently, loosely enough to let you pull away if you want, but you don’t. Your arms immediately wrap around him, needing his strength.
“Y/N…Baby, I have to confess… I came down that last night we were with Uncle Ice and Aunt Sarah before he passed away, after talking to him before I came in with Uncle Sli. You were talking to Aunt Sarah… I ..I heard you talking about not being sure about us flying the mission…together.” He said, his voice raspy, soft.
Your breath catches, you pull back to look up at him, eyes searching his.
“B, I swear to you nothing I said was out of doubt in your ability or in you, Baby.” You said, voice catching, “I just…it was fear.”
“I know” He smiled gently, leaning in to kiss your forehead. “I was never mad…it… stung for a few minutes, I’ll admit. Uncle Sli nabbed me and pulled me back upstairs quietly, had me take a minute and look at it from your point of view… put myself in your shoes, or seat I guess. Baby, I’m only bringing it up now because… I think you already know what to do but you’ve been holding back out of fear of hurting me. So I am asking you… how do you want to do this, Baby? Knowing that I love you unconditionally, until the end of time, and no matter what, I’ll fight like hell to fly with you again after this.”
You smile softly, tears falling from your eyes as you look up into the eyes of the man you loved more than anything in the world.
“Bradley… I love you so damn much.” You said, voice shaky, “As much as it will kill me to watch you launch off this carrier without me if …when… my dad chooses you to fly with him… I know that it is something that you need to do. I also know that flying without me will be the only way you’re able to forget about everything and to just fly on instinct.”
“I love you too, Sweetheart…more than anything.” He said, his eyes searching yours. “Are you going to have them put you in the backseat with another pilot?”
“I… don’t know.” You answered, “I think… I’ll leave that up to my dad or Admiral Simpson I guess. If I don’t fly the mission… I know it won’t be because I wasn’t good enough. Uncle Tom was right… we’ve more than earned our places, both on this squadron and in the top 1% of the Navy… I’ll be fine either way.”
“You’re my badass wife.” He smiled, kissing you tenderly, “Are you ready, Baby?”
“Yeah… let’s get this over with.” You said, taking a deep breath.
Bradley gave you another quick kiss on the forehead then moved to go open the door of the briefing room. Mav and Simpson were waiting down the narrow corridor. They looked over he opened the door and then came back into the mission briefing room.
“Admiral Simpson, do you agree to allow Lieutenant Bradshaw and myself fly together after this mission?” You asked once he was back inside.
“Admiral Kazansky arranged for the two of you to be allowed to transfer to the Pacific Fleet… specifically to San Diego if you would like,” He said, “Which would place you under my direct command. With that being said, yes… I would keep the two of you flying together. As I said earlier, you’ve proven in the many years together so far that you’re more than capable. You’re an asset to the Navy.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Bradley said, “For the record, we would in fact like to be transferred.”
“Noted.” Simpson said, “For this mission… if you’re chosen to fly it?”
“Liutenant Bradshaw will be in need of a single seater, Sir.” You said, keeping your voice even and your eyes straight ahead, refusing to make eye contact with your dad.
“Very well.” Simpson said, “And for you, Lieutenant Mitchell? Or is it…”
“Until we get back and I can get the paperwork filed, it’s Mitchell, but it’ll be Bradshaw the second I can get that rectified, Sir.” You said, “ And I will leave that decision up to you and Captain Mitchell, Sir.”
“Are you sure?” Simpson asked, looking at you, eyes locked on yours. “This is a big decision, Siren.”
“Yes, Admiral Simpson, Sir..” You replied, eyes meeting his, not wavering, “I’m sure.”
“Very well.” He said, then turned to look at Mav, “Captain, be ready in 10 minutes for final briefing. I’ll have the others paged to the briefing room.”
He walked out, leaving the three of you in the room in a tension filled silence.
“We’re going to take a lap.” Bradley said, lacing his fingers with yours and leading you from the room without waiting on a response.
The two of you walked to the lower deck to get some air before you had to be back in the briefing room. You passed Payback and Fanboy on the way.
“You’re going the wrong way…” Payback said, looking puzzled.
“We’ll be there.” Bradley said, “Just getting air.”
“Ok…” Fanboy replied, “But we just got the call to go to briefing in ten.”
“We just came from the room.” You said, “Needed to take a minute. We’ll be there.”
“Everything ok?” Fanboy asked, “Do y’all need anything?”
“We’ll be ok.” Bradley replied, giving him a small smile, “We’ll see you in there.”
“Ok.” Payback replied. The two of them reluctantly kept walking.
You and Bradley made it to the lower deck a minute later, giving you about 5 minutes to take a breather before needing to head back inside.
“Promise me… you fight like hell to come home to me.” You said, having to speak up to be heard over the sound of the waves and outside noises of the ship. “No matter what… above all else… you come home.”
“I will do everything in my power to come back to you.” He replied, “Always. I need you to promise me the same.”
“I’m not in the pilot seat.” You said, giving him a small smile “But I’ll do everything in my power to always come back to you.”
“I love you, Y/N Bradshaw.” He said, resting his forehead against yours. “More than anything in the world… and when we get home from this, we will put in for leave, take a honeymoon… and plan our forever.”
“I love you too, Bradley Bradshaw.” You said, holding tight to him, “I’m holding you to that.”
You both walked back to the briefing room, hand in hand, not caring who saw anymore… not with the nature of this impending mission. You were going to take advantage of every moment together that you had.
Mav was standing in front next to Simpson when you got into the room. The Admiral went through his speech on how we’d all earned our spots here and we were all the best of the best. He then gave the floor to Warlock who went over final mission parameters and intel. Warlock looked to Mav when he was done.
“Captain Mitchell, choose your two foxtrots.” Warlock said.
“Payback and Fanboy” he replied, “Phoenix and Bob.”
Your heart fell, but you locked your jaw and stared straight ahead not looking at your father, focusing only on breathing. You knew what was coming now.
“And your wingman?” Warlock asked.
Bradley shifts so he’s directly against you, his pinky connects with yours.
“Rooster.” Mav replied. Bradley’s head shot up, making eye contact with him. The rest of the squad looks at you both in confusion.
“The rest of you will be on standby on the carrier.” Warlock said.
“This is what you’ve all been training for. Come home safely. Dismissed.” Admiral Simpson said.
The other pilots start to leave. Phoenix makes eye contact with you and you just nod, needing a minute. She steps out with Bob.
“Hangman, hold back please.” Mav said before Jake had a chance to leave. You see him stiffen, but he stops.
You squeeze Bradley’s hand and move shift to leave but your dad catches your movement and looks at you.
“Siren… Y/N… please stay too.” He asked.
You stopped, shoulders slumping.
“Hangman, you are one of the most fearless pilots I have ever seen.” Mav said.
“But you need someone that will put the team first. I didn’t demonstrate that to you, Sir.” Hangman said.
“What I need is someone on deck that I know will defy orders and do anything necessary to bring their team home.” Mav replied, looking him in the eyes, then looking to you.
“I know you think I’ve betrayed you again, Sweetheart.” He said, sighing, “Washed you out from this mission… but that’s not true. I believe that if anything goes sideways, there will be nobody more fierce than you and Hangman together. I think that you’ll do anything needed to get your team back. That’s why I made the call.”
“Sir… you’re wanting me to fly a two seater?” Hangman asked, confusion all over his face. “I’ve… never flown with a WSO before.”
“It’s just like flying a single seater, but with your wingman right in the backseat.” Mav said with a small smile.
“How will this work, Mav?” Bradley asked, “I’m flying Hangman’s plane… and he’s flying in ours?”
“For this mission… yes.” Mav said.
“Siren, you’ve been really quiet.” Jake said looking at you, “Are you ok?”
“Yeah.” You whispered, “I’m good. Are you going to be ok with flying with me?”
“Absolutely.” He replied without hesitation. “If the need arises, you and I will do whatever we need to do... Yeah?”
“Whatever we need to do.” You agreed.
“Alright, get rested.” Mav said, his eyes meet yours and Bradley’s like he wants to say more but he’s not sure what to say.
After meeting up with everyone and talking things over… explaining the last minute switch, everyone goes their own ways to rest, get in the right head space for the next day, do what they need to do.
“Hey, I’m gonna crash in Bob’s room tonight.” Phoenix said softly when you and Bradley got your quarters. “The two of you need to be together. This way Bob and I can go over last minute stuff together too.”
“Nix…” You said, looking over at her, “You don’t have to relocate…”
“I know, but I love you both and I know how hard tomorrow will be as it is.” She said, “You need tonight together.”
“Thank you, Nix.” Bradley said, moving to hug her. “We love you too.”
She grabbed everything she’d need for that night and said she’d be back an hour before our report time in the morning, then headed out.
“Want to just grab a quick dinner in the officer’s mess then come back and snuggle all night?” Bradley asked gently.
“Yeah… that sounds perfect.” You agreed. “Just need to spend tonight in your arms, B.”
He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around you.
“It’s gonna be ok, Baby.” He said softly, “I can’t imagine any other outcome.”
“I don’t want a future without you in it, Roo.” You whispered. “Just…. Come home.”
***
A/N: This part had me SO stuck.,.. I wasn't sure how to tackle this...to get them to the next t part... give me your thoughts!! THANK YOU FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME!!!!!!!!
***
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