Cleared for takeoff

in highschool, he gets a crush on the first chair oboe player in band and decides that the ultimate plan to get to know her is to learn it so they can sit together.

years later:

jake: so did it work?

mav is too busy laughing to tears to answer, bradley grumbles out a no.

jake: well why not??

bradley, still grumbling: teacher made me first chair. she hated my guts.

mav, wheezing: and you got stuck playing oboe

(Bradley has ALWAYS been a loving, touchy child. He was always hugging Ice and Mav, and he never seemed to reach that teenage boy stage where physical contact with your parents was uncool.

With Bradley back in his life, Mav's enjoying getting to touch his son again. He refuses to admit he's jealous when Bradley snuggles up to Ice, but Ice didn't get deprived of Bradley cuddles for over ten years, so STOP LAUGHING AT ME, ICE.)

So they're at the store and Mav's holding Bradley's hand the way he did when Bradley was a little kid, and Bradley's letting it happen. When Bradley grabs the same brand of cookies he's loved since he was four, Mav can't help himself — he drags Bradley in and smooshes a kiss to his forehead.

This is the point Javy and Jake walk past. They see: Maverick and Bradley holding hands, Maverick having pulled Bradley down for a kiss. Their minds see 2 + 2 and get 69.

Javy takes a photo and sends it to the Daggers group chat. Everyone's demanding an explanation, but Bradley definitely has the chat muted, partly because he only believes in messages via carrier pigeon but also because he's a sap who would Never let anything interrupt his time with his parents.

Jake is in turmoil. He Knew Bradley was a catch, but he'd also known Bradley never let himself be caught. He thought he had time to pull all his best moves. Now his competition is Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, and Jake respects the old man enough to admit they're neck and neck in a few categories Rooster likely finds Very important.