The Way Back Caitlin44 by Caitlin44 Bradley Bradshaw was eight years old when he lost the last connection he had to Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. The years that followed made him into a lot of things: an orphan, a street kid, a Marine Raider, a decorated war hero carrying more ghosts than he can count, and now, a firefighter. What they never made him was ready to walk into his new station and find Jake Seresin standing there alongside the future he’d buried with the rest of his ghosts As Bradley settles into a life he’s still not sure he deserves, he’s forced to confront a past he thought was long buried, a future he never planned for, and the people who refuse to stop loving him, looking for him, or waiting for him. A Firefighter AU about found family, old ghosts, second chances, and the long road home. Words: 5021, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/M, Gen, M/M Characters: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, Natasha "Phoenix" Trace's Family, Original Characters, Javy "Coyote" Machado, Ron "Slider" Kerner, Penny Benjamin, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky Relationships: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw/Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Jake "Hangman" Seresin/Original Male Character(s), Javy "Coyote" Machado/Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, Penny Benjamin/Pete "Maverick" Mitchell Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Alternate Universe - Different childhood, Past Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw/Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw and Pete "Maverick" Mitchell Reconciliation, Found Family, Slow Burn, Second Chances, Reunions, coming home, Healing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Survivor Guilt, The Trace Family Adopted Bradley Bradshaw, Marine Raider Bradley Bradshaw, Firefighter Bradley Bradshaw, Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Jake Seresin, Firefighter Jake Seresin, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw Needs A Hug, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw Has Issues, Bradley Bradshaw Has Terrible Coping Mechanisms, Everyone Wants Bradley Bradshaw To Go To Therapy, He Would Rather Fight God, Past Child Abuse, Military Working Dogs, Jake Seresin Needs A Hug, Jake Seresin Is Not Over It, Abandonment Issues, Unresolved Feelings, Idiots in Love, Protective Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Mutual Pining, Bradley Bradshaw Learns To Stay June 11, 2026 at 12:28AM https://ift.tt/MWd86cC







