Callsign: Mercy @callsignmercy - Tumblr Blog

I'm sorry - Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

Prompt: Rivals to friends to enemies to friends to lovers in 8.5k words. That’s it. That’s the entire fic.

Words: ~8.5k

Warning: near-death experience, Jake being a dick. Rooster being the best friend we deserve. Phoenix being extra supportive and ready to kick Jake’s ass any moment. Language. Happy ending. Lots of hate before that. Idk anymore.

Note: found a tweet that said « enemies to lovers isn’t enough. I need rivals to friends to enemies to friends again to lovers. » So here’s the whole experience in a Hangman fic for you. I’m currently writing three (3) other fics about Rooster, Iceman and Bob but decided to write an entirely different and super long one about hangman because HANGMAN. but anyway here it is people. This is highly unedited. please don’t copy, repost or translate my work. English is not my first language so apologies for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Enjoy!

Y/C/S: Your callsign.

————————————————————————

To say Jake Seresin was getting on your nerves was a euphemism. He was infuriating. Always had to be the best at anything and everything. Being the best in the air wasn’t sufficient for him. Oh no, on the contrary. He had to be the best in class, in the air, even at darts and pool and even had to be the one that drank the most without being actually drunk. What the hell is wrong with him?

You were rivals at Top Gun. Being in the same class as him had its ups and downs. You could actually thank him for being so stubborn and competitive as it gave you will to be better at what you do. And yet he was always better than you. But you didn’t abandon the fight. You didn’t really mind in the end. Being at Top Gun already was an achievement. Even if it meant coming up second in the end.

The thirteen weeks of the program were almost coming to an end and you doubted you could top Hangman before the end but it wasn’t really a big deal for you. Even though it was for him.

“Guess I’ll be winning this after all Y/C/S! Don’t get mad though you did well honey.” He said with a smirk. “Why thanks darling, I’ll be sure to kiss your ass on the way out.” You replied sarcastically. He smiled brightly and you rolled your eyes at him.

--

You all headed to The Hard Deck at the end of the day to get some fun time together.

You were nursing your beer at the bar, talking with Penny, as you usually did. “So, almost done with Top Gun then?” She asked. “Yup, only one week left and I’m out. I don’t know if I’ll get a new assignment at the end of this though. I kinda want to go back to the warriors, I really liked it back there. Had friends and everything.” “You didn’t make any friends those past twelve weeks?” “Why do you think I’m here every Friday night sitting at the bar and talking to you?” “Ouch.” She replied. “That’s not what I meant, you know it.” You smiled. “I know but come on, none of them are your friends now?” “They’re rivals mostly. Hangman still gives me a run for my money every time we’re in the air.” “You should stop considering them rivals and become a little more friendly, some of them might become more than that?” “If you’re talking about getting in a relationship that’s a hard pass. I’m not jeopardising my future and my potential second place for any of those men. What I am saying, men, they’re still boys. Immature ones on top of that.” “Yeah well Jake’s looking at you.” She smirked.

Your head shoots up meeting the eyes of Hangman, smiling at you.

He puts down his beer and comes over to you.

“Why is he coming here?” You ask Penny, starting to panic. “I don’t know, but you’ll find out.” She smirks.

“Alright Y/C/S, I’m tired of seeing you all alone every Friday night when we come here. Come play darts with me and Coyote.” He says and offers you his hand. “We’re rivals Hangman, why do you care?” You ask, suspicious, narrowing your eyes. “Alright, how about we call a truce. We can be friends from now on and still fight each other up in the air. But you seem like a good person and I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to be friends with a nice and outgoing person like you.” You seem genuinely surprised by his words and think for a few seconds before taking his hand and smiling. “Alright Hangman, lead the way. Maybe I’ll finally beat you at something.” You smirk. He lets out a loud laugh before replying. “In your dreams.” You roll your eyes and follow him to the dart board where Coyote was waiting for you both.

“Ever played darts?” Jake asks. “Of course I have, who do you take me for?” “Okay then, you start.” He replies.

After a few games that all ended in exactly the same way, meaning Jake came first, you second and Coyote third, you gave up and went to the bar to get yourself and the guys another round of drinks. “Looks like It’s always gonna be this way uh? Me first and you second.” He smirks as he comes up to you at the bar. “Alright Hangman I get it, you’re the best in everything that exists. Happy?” You reply sarcastically. “Very.” He gives you a bright smile in response. You hand him his beer and go back to the back of the bar to give Coyote his. “Okay, how about a game of pool?” He ask. “So you can win and rub it in my face? Pass.” You reply, rolling your eyes.

“What if I let you win?” “It’s not fair, I want to win the normal way, just by being better than you.” “Oh come on, I just want to have friendly activities, I don’t want you moping around on your own like the other friday nights.” He whines. “I was not moping around, I was talking with Penny. She happens to be very interesting and very interested in what I have to say. Thank you very much.” “Alright, I’m sorry, I just want to be your friend. What do you want to do then?” “It’s okay we can play pool if you want, but I don’t want you to let me win.” “Deal.” He replies with a bright smile.

The night ended in yet another second place on your part and a first place on Jake’s but you didn’t really mind. Jake was nice to you and he offered to be your friend which was a nice change in your life. Even though you were still rivals at Top Gun, you were friends on land and that’s all that mattered.

--

The week went by pretty rapidly and you were sad when you woke up that Friday morning. You knew it was your last day being with all of them and you were not ready to let them all go. That last class taught by Warlock, that last dogfight up in the air, those last risky manoeuvres, all of those you’ll deeply miss at the end of that day and could only hope you’ll be back one day.

Before you went up in the air that last afternoon, walking side by side with Jake and Javy, you thought about all the memories you would bring back with you. You stopped by your jets and looked at them. “Well, last flight together boys. Try not to kill me. I’ll see you on the ground.” You smiled. “Try to make this one count guys.” Javy answered. “May the best fighter pilot win.” Jake winked at you and you rolled your eyes as per usual. “You know you should really stop doing that, one day you’ll get stuck with your eyes back there.” Jake grinned. You chuckled and rolled your eyes again before turning back and walking to your jet to check it before take-off.

Dogfighting was thrilling as usual and even though you gave it all, Jake managed to win the fight yet again. Leaving you in second place, not without a smile on your face.

The party that followed the last class was nice and seeing everyone happy made you incredibly emotional. After getting your diplomas and taking the class photos Jake came up to you and gave you a hug, congratulating you for those thirteen weeks spent being rivals with you.

“You really gave me a run for my money and I really appreciate the fact that you accepted to be friends in the end. I’m really proud of you and I hope we can see more of each other in the future.” He says with a genuine smile. “Thank you for all of this, and for being my friend. Did you get your assignment yet?” “Yeah, I’m going back to Lemoore and the vigilantes. What about you?” “Well looks like we’re going to see each other a lot more than you think.” “You’re coming to Lemoore too?” Yup, same squadron as you pal.” You smile. “Really?” He asks, hopeful, and you nod. “They want me in the vigilantes.” Jake isn’t able to contain his happiness and engulfs you in a tight hug. “Oh God, I’m so happy! You can’t imagine how sad I was to be letting a friend like you go back to Virginia while I was on the other side of the country.” “Easy Cowboy!” You laugh as he still wasn’t letting you get out of his arms.

The party came to an end and you were all headed to The Hard Deck for a last night together before going back to your assigned squadrons. You played a few games of darts and pool with Jake and Javy before eclipsing yourself to go sit on the beach. You looked at the stars and thought about those thirteen weeks and the people you’ll be leaving behind. You were happy to be stationed with Jake and Javy at Lemoore and even more to be on Jake’s squadron. You knew you’d make a great duo together.

“Thought I’d find you here.” You heard the familiar voice of your future wingman coming toward you and you smiled to yourself.

“Why are you here on your own?” He asks. “Just getting some fresh air. Thinking about it all.” You reply with an absent-minded smile on your face. “You know we’re not leaving each other right? You’ll still see my incredibly handsome physique everyday from now on.” You chuckled and nudged his side playfully. “Alright come here.” He said and offered you his chest to rest on. “I got a question.” He asks and you hum in response. “Last week you said that Penny listened to whatever you had to say to her, how come since last week you never said anything to me since? Like nothing really personal that you might have said to Penny.” He asks, concerned. “Because I don’t trust you to keep my secrets.” You smile.

“Oh wow okay, very nice.” He rolls his eyes. “No you don’t understand. We’ve been rivals for thirteen weeks, Penny and I were just casually chatting on Friday nights, I’m not going to see her again before a long time, probably ever. I trust her not to divulge anything I said to her and even if she did, who would know me? You, I still had a week left being your friend slash rival and I didn’t know if I could really trust you with my secrets. Let’s be honest you could have been making fun of me and repeating them to everyone just to ruin my reputation or jeopardise my second place.” You explain.

“Alright, you’re probably right. I shouldn’t force you to say anything to me but know that if you need, I’ll always be there to listen and help if I can.” “Thanks Jake, that’s very nice of you. I appreciate the gesture.” “You’re welcome Y/C/S.”

A few days later you landed in Lemoore with Jake and Javy and a few others of your Top Gun class.

“Well boys. Here we are. Back at it again.” “Well, I’ll see you soon guys. Please don’t die and good luck with whatever comes your way I guess.” Javy bid you goodbye before heading to his own squadron. “You too buddy.” Jake replies.

“Well here we go, Y/C/S. Ready?” “Ready as I’ll ever be Hangman. Show me the way.”

--

A few months passed since the end of Top Gun and you and Hangman were by far the best wingmen in the squadron. Being Top Gun graduates gave you the skills and aptitudes to be the winning team every time.

Most of your jobs consisted in flying and keeping track of enemy aircrafts and carriers. Yet after many months flying side by side together you were called on an important mission.

The mission wasn’t difficult as much as it was important. You were to collect data on enemy carriers who were seemingly too close from the Californian coast.

You went up in the air with Jake and headed toward the sea in a few minutes only.

“Do you see it Hangman?” “Yes I do. What do you think it’s doing here?” “No idea. Wait I got two aircrafts on my radar. Control, are they with us?” “Negative Y/C/S, no other F-18 are flying near your position.” “You think they’re enemy aircrafts? What would they be doing here? Do they want to cause a war or something?” You say to Jake. “No idea Y/C/S. Stay alert.”

Suddenly the enemy aircrafts came flying your way and passed very close to your own jets. “Jesus fuck. What the hell? Control, what do we do?” “They are not with us, I repeat they are not Americans. You can counter if anything happens.” “Copy control.” You reply. “Hangman you with me?” “Affirmative Y/C/S.” “Alright let’s see what they want. I’m going to try and get close to one of them.” “Be careful Y/C/S.”

You approached one of their jets and started signing to ask them who they were and why they were here but they ignored you. Jake was right behind you as the other aircraft dropped behind Jake. “Y/C/S, they’re getting into fight positions.” “yeah I saw that, break left on three. One, two, three.” You and Jake break left and the enemy aircrafts follow your paths.

The dogfight starts as you try to get them off you but they don’t seem to budge. “Control, we’re probably going to need some help here.” “We’re sending you backups, they should be here in a few minutes, hold tight.” You started panicking when you saw the two aircrafts behind you seemingly trying to shoot you down and asked Jake for help. “Hangman, they’re on my tail, get them off me.” You tried several manoeuvres, trying to get the jets off you but you received no answer from your wingman.

“Hangman, where are you?” Still no response. With an agile manoeuvre you managed to get behind one of them and shoot him down but the other didn’t seem to be as easy to get off you. “Hangman!” You screamed as you heard the tone and froze from the realisation that your time had probably come but you managed to pull the ejection handle and shot through the sky.

The panic attack started as you were actively trying to search for another aircraft in the sky, Jake’s jet, but could only see one, the one that just shot you down. “Control to Y/C/S are you okay? I repeat, are you okay?” “Yes control, I’m alright. Can you come pick me up?” “They’re already on their way, hold tight Y/C/S.”

It wasn’t long before you hit the ground and you barely had enough time to pack up your parachute before the medical team came to get you back to base. But what you could only think about was where the hell was your wingman. Had he been shot down? Was he dead?

You landed on base and walked up the take-off and landing runway up to the hospital to get checked out. Suddenly you stopped dead in your tracks as you read the name of Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin on his aircraft. The jet was here, and in perfect condition. So he wasn’t dead. He left you on your own up there. He left you there to die.

You went to get checked out and got out after a couple hours and headed to your admiral’s office to give him a report on what you saw and what happened.

“Lieutenant Y/L/N, come in.” You entered and saluted the admiral. “I’m here to give you my report on the mission and its outcome Admiral.” “Go on.” “At 10:00 Lieutenant Seresin and I went up to get information on the position of the enemy carrier near our coast and noticed two enemy aircrafts on our territory. I contacted the tower to get information on those jets and after getting confirmation that they were not American I tried to get in contact with them but was left with no response on their part. We noticed with Lieutenant Seresin that they were getting into fighting position and after getting cleared by control we tried to fight them back. At that point I lost communication with Lieutenant Seresin. I managed to shoot down one of them but was left alone and the other jet caught me and shot me down. I had to eject and called control for immediate assistance to which they replied and came to get me back to base. I got cleared by the medical staff and came straight to you sir.”

“Thank you Lieutenant. You may go.” “Sir, can I ask, where is Lieutenant Seresin?” “He came back before you were shot down, he might be somewhere on base.” “Thank you Sir.” You replied with a salute before leaving his office.

You went down to the changing room to get a quick shower and get changed before getting into a fresh flight suit as yours was drenched in sweat from your rocky beginning of the day.

A few minutes later, you went to the mess to get some lunch. It wasn’t before you got back to the tarmac that you saw Jake, doing the last checks before getting back on his jet. You approach him with a death glare.

“Were you going to come check on me?” You ask bitterly. He didn’t reply. His expression seemed to be a mix of sadness and terror. “I only have one question Jake. Why?” He tried to speak, he tried to say sorry but no sound came out of his mouth as tears pooled in his eyes. “You left me on purpose up there? If I didn’t ask you before, now I know why your callsign is Hangman. Leaving people out to dry. At the mercy of heartless people up there. I knew I couldn’t trust you with my secrets. Now I know I can’t trust you with my life. From now on I never want to see you again.”

Tears made their way up to your eyes but you turned around before Jake could see them. You went back to the Admiral’s office and knocked on his door.

“Come in.” You entered and saluted. “What can I do for you Lieutenant Y/L/N?” “If it’s not too much trouble I would like to get my old post back at the Golden Warriors in Virginia, Sir.” “What guided your decision?”

“I came to the realisation that California might not be made for me after all.” “Are you sure?” “I am Sir.” “Alright. I’ll make some calls and get you back to Virginia. We’ll miss you here Lieutenant, you were a great asset to this squadron.” “Thank you Sir, for everything.” You saluted and left the admiral’s office.

You went back to your quarters to pack your belongings. After an hour, the Admiral called you back into his office. “Lieutenant, I hope your bag is ready, you’re leaving with a fret in ten minutes.” “I’m ready Sir. Thank you for everything.”

You were boarding the fret plane that was about to get you to Virginia when you saw him. Jake, a few metres away from your plane, looking at you with sadness. You looked at him and shook your head before climbing up on the plane, never to see him again.

Being back to the warriors was a joy. You met up with your old friends and comrade whom you left when leaving for Top Gun. They were so happy to see you again and so happy to find out that you came second in your Top Gun class. They knew you were posted with the vigilantes for a few months, you didn’t, however, tell them about the reason you came back to them.

“So does this mean I’m getting my best wingwoman back?” You turn to meet the voice that said this with a bright smile on your face. “Oh my God, Hi Rooster! I’m so happy to see you again!” “You too Y/C/S, it’s been too long. You’re finally back with us? Did they mistreat you or something?” He asks, furrowing his eyebrows. “It’s complicated. You give him a small smile with your answer. “Alright, we’ll talk about it later.”

As it was friday evening when you came back, you comrades and you were headed to the bar as usual. “Hi Y/N, it’s been so long! Where have you been?” Lila, the bartender asks you. “Hi Lila, I was stationed in California but I’m back for good now.” You smile at her. “Good to know, the usual for you guys?” Everybody agrees and Lila gets to work as you head toward the pool table with the rest of the guys.

“So tell me all about what happened. There has to be an excellent reason for you to be back otherwise you would have stayed back in Lemoore.” Rooster asks you as he takes the pool sticks and hands one to you. “Alright, alright, I almost died.” You reply, sighing. “What?” Rooster says, shocked.

“Yeah, my wingman left me with two enemy aircrafts and I had to eject after getting toned. I almost died this morning.” “This morning?” “Yeah it happened at 10 o’clock I got back and asked Hangman for explanations which he couldn’t give me so I went to see the Admiral and asked to come back to my old squadron and he accepted.”

“Wait, Hangman left you up there?” “Yeah you know him?” “Who do you think gave him the callsign? I was with him at the navy academy.” “Yeah well, I thought he was my friend, turns out I was wrong. I told him I never wanted to see him again.” “You did good, and I’m so glad you’re here Y/C/S, I missed you.” He gives you a genuine smile and you start your game as the beers arrive at your tables.

Going back to the Golden Warriors was the best decision you took in a while. You truly felt at home there. You knew you could count on your comrades and they could count on you.

--

The year after, Rooster went to Top Gun too and decided to be assigned back to the warriors which felt like a relief to you as he was your closest friend there. Following Bradley’s return, you and Rooster were stationed abroad for a few years as wingmen.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Y/C/S! Happy birthday to you.” Your whole squadron sang in unison in honour of your thirtieth birthday and you smiled brightly at them.

“So how is it being thirty?” Rooster asks you. “Well not a great change if you ask me. I’m still surrounded by the best people there are. Even six years later I’m still not tired of hanging out with you guys. As Rooster was about to reply both of your phones rang.

“Hello?” “Lieutenant Y/L/N, this is Vice Admiral Simpson. You’ve been called back to Top Gun for a top secret mission. You are to be on base at 0900 in two days.” “Copy Sir.”

You hung up the phone at the same time as Rooster and turned to face him. “I’ve been called back to Top Gun, I have to leave tomorrow.” He says. “Do you really think you’re going alone?” You smirk and he gives you a bright smile in response.

The next day you pack your bags and go to the airport to get on a plane for Miramar. “Hey you!” You exclaim when you see Bradley coming up to you. “How you doing Y/N?” “I’m good, I can’t wait to go back there, it’s been so long.” “What do you think we’re gonna do there?” “I don’t know but I intend to find out and I’m not going back to Virginia before we succeed on this top secret mission.”

“Make it two.” “Who do you think will join us there? This can’t possibly be just the two of us.” “Well I think there’s a girl that I was at Top Gun with that’ll join us, her name’s Phoenix. And well, maybe you know who else.” “Yeah don’t tell me about it.” You reply, losing your smile.

“It’s been six years Y/C/S, maybe he’s changed.” “Or maybe he’s still the exact same Roo.” He gives you a sad smile when the voice calls for your flight to board.

“There’s no comparison, I really prefer to be the one flying, this thing was way too long.” You exclaim arching your back to try and relieve the pain that developed during the hours you sat on the uncomfortable plane seat. “I agree, Y/C/S.” “Why couldn’t we take a fret to fightertown uh?” “Because it’s a top secret mission Y/C/S, people can’t know where we’re going, remember?” “Ah yeah, right. Well how about we go to The Hard Deck to end the day before tomorrow uh?” “Let’s go!” Rooster replies.

“Bradshaw! Is that you?” A woman’s voice exclaimed. “Ah that should be Phoenix, the girl I told you about.” “This is how I find out you’re stateside?” “Yeah I just thought I’d surprise you.” “Uhm.” Phoenix uhmed as she took her shot at pool and struck Bradley in the stomach with her pool stick. “I guess I surprised you back.” “It’s good to see you.” “Good to see you too.”

“Y/C/S this is Phoenix, Phe this is Y/C/S. We’re together at the warriors.” “Nice to meet you Phoenix.” You smile, giving her your hand to shake. She shook your hand with a smile. “You too.” “I hope Rooster’s not giving you too much trouble back there.” “He’s alright, I have to shake him up from time to time, you know.” “Oh believe me I know. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have won Top Gun right, Bradshaw?” She grinned and you chuckled.

“Bradshaw. As I live and breathe.” Oh you knew that voice alright. The smug voice of your once best-friend, Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin. You rolled your eyes and kept on discussing with Phoenix, hidden behind her figure. Jake hadn’t seen you yet, too focused on messing with your wingman. “Hangman.” Rooster deadpanned. “You look… good.” “Well I am good Rooster. I am very good. In fact I am too good to be true.” He said with a smirk and everybody shook their heads and rolled their eyes in response.

“So…” Payback intervened to ease up the tension. “Anybody know what this uh- special detachment is all about?” “Well, mission's a mission.” Jake answered. “They don’t confront me. What I wanna know… who’s gonna be team leader. And which one of y’all has what it takes to follow me.” “Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.” Rooster replied, not missing a beat. Your heart dropped, hearing the word come out of Rooster’s mouth, making you relive the moment once again. At that point Phoenix had moved and you were in full view of Jake but when he saw you, his expression didn’t change one bit. Some of them knew what he had done which made the moment uncomfortable for everyone but nobody said anything.

Fanboy, who wasn’t aware of your past with Jake oohed in the background, making everybody stop on their track but Jake’s smirk remained on his face nonetheless. “Well anyone who follows you is just gonna run out of fuel. But that’s just you ain’t it Rooster? You’re snug on that perch waiting for just the right moment… that never comes.” Jake replied, not to appear weak after Rooster’s comment. Rooster knew better but to reply to Jake after that and held his tongue. “I love this song.” Jake said and moved from the table.

You and Phoenix approach Rooster, still looking at Jake. “Well he hasn’t changed.” Phoenix says. “Nope. Sure hasn’t.” Rooster replies, looking back at you, making sure you were alright after their exchange.

After that, Rooster headed toward the jukebox to unplug it and piss off Jake for not listening to his favourite song and sat down at the piano. “I hope you’re okay. Rooster told me what happened to you with Jake when we were at Top Gun together.” Phoenix says to you. “I’m alright. But trust me, I won’t let him be team leader if that’s the last thing I ever do.” “I’ll help you, we can’t follow someone like that.”

“Hi Y/C/S.” Coyote came up to greet you with a small smile on his lips. “Hi Javy, how are you doing?” “Well, I’m alright, I’m glad to see you again after so long, I’m sad you didn’t come say goodbye when you left.” “Yeah well, you know, life happened.” His expression saddened but you gave him a soft smile and a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye, Javy, I took a quick decision and didn’t look back before I left.” “It’s alright, I understand.” He replied.

Rooster began to play the keys to Great Balls of Fire and Phoenix beckoned you all to go join Rooster.

--

The next morning at 9am you were all on base as asked by the vice admiral. Jake hadn’t talked to you at The Hard Deck last night and hasn’t laid eyes on you ever since you all arrived this morning. You didn’t know how to feel. You were torn between sadness of seeing your old friend not wanting to talk nor apologise to you but you were also relieved that he didn’t because you wouldn’t know how to react and you were scared to fall down in tears in front of him.

But in the end all you wanted was to know why you weren’t important enough for him to let alone to die.

—

“I’m dead, dickhead!” Phoenix said. You had to admit, seeing Hangman leave Phoenix and Bob on their own during dogfighting had a bitter taste and reminded you of your near death experience. You still couldn’t figure out why he would leave people out to dry like that all the time, why he had this need to escape danger and then save the day in the end just to appear like the hero of the day when all he did was flee.

You were about to go up for dogfighting with Payback and Fanboy when you heard Phoenix shout after Hangman. “You gonna do that everytime? Risk everyone’s life like that just to protect yourself? We’re a team up there Bagman. I know you almost killed Y/C/S six years ago and I won’t let you pull that stuff again with another one of us.I’m going to protect them by not letting you be team leader, believe me on that.” She pointed a finger at him during her speech and he didn’t say a word in return. She walked away as soon as she ended her rant and headed back to the rec room to meet the others.

You went up and waited for Maverick to show up with the guys. “Guys, you see him?” “Negative Y/C/S.” Suddenly you see Maverick drop down right in front of you, your jet facing his, coming at you. You wanted to take a shot but you also wanted to avoid getting toned so you dropped down to escape.

“Guys I need you on my right for this, I’ve got an idea.” You say to your wingmen. After turning around and getting chased by Maverick for a few minutes you managed to slow down and invert your plane so that you could get behind him and take your shot while Payback and Fanboy shot up in front of his jet to surprise him.

“That’s a kill Mav!” You exclaim out of breath. You heard Payback and Fanboy screaming of joy in their jet and couldn’t help but laugh. You were ordered to go back to base and turn your jet around, back to the tarmac. You saw Phoenix and Rooster running up to you to congratulate you as you were the first to shoot Maverick down all day. Even Jake couldn’t manage it.

--

After a few days, Jake still hadn’t said a word to you nor looked at you and you started to feel sad that he lied to you about being important to him. You thought that if you were that important he would have explained why he left you on your own that day. But he still hadn’t dared approach you.

“You alright Y/C/S?” Rooster asked you at the end of the first week, as you were all headed to The Hard Deck for a few drinks. “Not sure.” “Is this about Hangman?” You nodded and he pursed his lips. “You know, in my opinion you should either forget about it all and move on or face the problem head on and go talk to Hangman to get answers because it seems like he won’t be the one willing to give them to you.”

“I think I just need closure. I need him to explain why he did it, that's it. After that I’ll leave him alone if that’s what he wants but I just need to know.” “Then you should go see him and get your answers because otherwise you’ll never get ‘em.” “Yeah you’re probably right.” You sighed.

“Hi Penny, how you doing?” “I’m great, I’m so glad you’re all back here. Has your week been okay?” “It has, thanks.” “What can I get you?” “I’ll take 6 beers please.” “Comin’ up.” While Penny was getting your order you took a look around the bar to see if you recognized any familiar faces in the lot, only to be met by Jake’s eyes, staring at you with sadness while holding a conversation with Coyote.

You turned back to Penny and she put down the six beers you ordered in front of you. “Open a tab for me please.” You say as you handed her your card. You headed back to the table where you sat with Rooster, Phoenix, Payback, Fanboy and Bob and gave them their beers not looking back at Jake once.

As the night went on you forced yourself not to think about him but you could feel his eyes on your back and it made you uncomfortable. You excused yourself to go to the bathroom and walked out of the bar to get fresh air. “It’s alright.” You thought to yourself. “It’s alright.I’m alright.” You breathed. You walked up to the beach and sat down on the sand.

You felt someone come up to you and sit down in the sand next to you. You didn’t need to turn your head to see who it was, you could smell the cologne a mile away.

“I’m sorry.” He said in a whisper. “What for?” You asked not nearly louder. “Almost killing you.” “Why did you do it?” “I don’t know.” “Well you must know something.” “I saw my life flashing before my eyes up there, I thought I was going to die and I left you when they were chasing you because it was my only chance to escape. I’m sorry.”

“I thought I was your friend.” Tears made their way up to your eyes. “I thought you were my wingman and I thought I was important enough for you to not let me die. I was right, I can’t trust you up there.” “I’m sorry.” He repeated. “It’s gonna take a whole lot more than that, trust me.” You stated as you got up and went back inside.

--

“Y/C/S, I’m appointing you team leader.” Maverick said the next wednesday. “Thank you sir.” You replied, not feeling entirely ready for the task, but proud that he believed in you nonetheless. You finished training a week early as the mission had been updated and left that morning to get on the carrier that would bring you close enough to enemy coastlines.

“Y/C/S, your two fox-trot teams?” Cyclone asked. “Payback and Fanboy, Phoenix and Bob.” They looked at you with an expression of surprise mixed with anxiousness and fear. “And your wingman?” You looked at them all. “Rooster.” He knew you would pick him as you made a great team back with the warriors.

You all got ready to get in your jets. “Don’t leave me alone up there alright?” You asked Rooster. “I promise you I won’t.” “Alright, let’s go light up some things.”

--

“Dagger one is hit! I repeat dagger one is hit!” You heard Phoenix shout through your com as you ejected from your superhornet after almost getting hit by enemy fire. You landed on the ground and quickly tried to pack up your parachute when another enemy aircraft noticed you and tried to kill you.

You ran away as fast as you could but knew your life was almost to an end when you heard a loud explosion behind you. You turned your head around, still running when you saw the enemy crashing down and saw Rooster flying away mere seconds before getting shot down. You froze on the spot, not believing what you saw and hoped Rooster wasn’t dead when you saw his seat eject from his jet and his parachute open.

You let out a sigh of relief before running up to where Rooster was going to land. You ran up to him and tackled him to the ground in a tight hug. Rooster let out a loud oof before returning the hug. “Thank you for coming to save me.” “I would never let you die Y/C/S.”

--

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Rooster whispers as you were looking at the last enemy aircraft left intact. “Yeah well, that’s the only solution we’ve got isn’t it? Nobody can come get us and if we get caught we die. So…” You walked quickly to the F-14 in the makeshift hanger and looked at the panel next to it. “Alright let me remember this.” You say, closing your eyes.

“You know how to pilot this?” “Yeah well, I got bored reading my F-18 NATOPS, so I got back to the old ones.” You shrugged. “Jesus Christ.” “Okay.” You started lighting up buttons and opened the canopy. “Once I give you the signal for the air, you’re gonna flip this switch until the needle gets to 120. When the engine starts you’re gonna pull out the pins and disconnect everything. You understand?” You ask seriously. “Yeah.” He replies.

You flip the switch and air starts running through the pipes. “Yes!” You exclaim. “Once I’m up, store the ladder.” You say as you put your helmet back on and climb into the two-seater.

“Okay.” You say to yourself. “I hope I remember this correctly.” You add, flipping some switches and giving Bradley the signal. He does as asked and removes the pins before climbing up into the plane. “Oh my God, this thing’s so old!” He exclaims. “Alright.” You push down the stick and the plane starts moving. You get in place on the cratered runway and hope to God this will work.

“Runway’s cratered. How are we gonna get this museum piece in the air?” “I got an idea.” You reply and deploy the wings. “Why are the wings coming out Y/C/S?” You ignore him and keep pulling buttons. “Y/C/S this is a taxiway, not a runway. This is a very short taxiway Y/C/S.” You keep ignoring him and push down the stick. “You just hang on.” You say and let go of the pedal and the jet starts moving quickly. “Holy shit!” “Come on, come on, come on.” You pray to no one in particular and the plane starts going up.

As you made your way back to the carrier Bradley turned on his geolocation for the carrier to track him. “Y/C/S tally two, five o’clock low.” Bradley says to you. “What do we do?” “Okay look, be cool. If they knew who we were we’d be dead already.” You both put on your masks and tried to act normal as the enemy aircrafts got closer to you.

--

You kept fighting the two aircrafts and managed to shoot one down and make the other crash into a mountain below. “You alright Y/C/S?” Rooster asks. “I’m out of breath, this shit’s so hard to pilot. I’ll be glad to get an F-18 back when all this is over.” “I bet you do! Not sure they’ll be happy we crashed two multi-million dollar planes though.” He says and you chuckle in response.

You were finally flying above the ocean, only miles away from the carrier and you gave a sigh of relief to know this will finally be over. Only to be met with a ringing sound in the plane, warning you that an enemy plane was near you again. “Oh my God.” You whispered and looked everywhere. “Where the hell is this guy?” “He’s on our nose.” You deadpan.

You try to shoot him but nothing comes out. “Dammit! We’re out of ammo.” You say as you see a missile coming out of the enemy plane and coming straight at you. “Smoke in the air! Rooster flares!” You shout and break left. Rooster pushes the button that would eject the last flares of the plane and confuse the missile. “We’re out of flares Y/C/S!” He shouts. “Shit he’s already on us!”

You get attacked by the enemy as he tries to shoot you down with his guns. “Aaah this is not good!” Bradley screams. You do whatever is in your power to avoid enemy fire but you’re exhausted. “We took another hit!” “No no no no!” You exclaim. “We can’t take much more of this!” Rooster says after you get hit again. “We can’t outrun this guy, we gotta eject!” “What?” “We need altitude. Pull the ejection handles the second I tell you.” “Y/C/S wait !”

“Rooster, there's no other way!” You shout as you pull the stick as hard as you can and your plane shoots up almost vertically. “Eject! Eject! Eject!” Rooster tries to pull the handles but nothing happens. “Rooster pull the handle! Eject!” “It’s not working!” “Y/C/S!” He shouts.

“I’m sorry.” You kept going, slowly coming to the realisation that you were going to die. You didn’t want to eject either because you didn’t want to be responsible for Rooster’s death.

So you stayed like that. Awaiting your fate. You closed your eyes and prayed silently.

You awaited the missile that would finally kill you, saying sorry to Rooster. When you suddenly heard a loud explosion behind you. You turned your head along with Rooster to check out what just happened.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen! This is your saviour speaking. Please fasten your seatbelts, return your tray tables to their locked and upright positions and prepare for landing.” You heard the smug voice of Jake Seresin through your intercom and tears made their way up in your eyes. You didn’t dare look at him because you wouldn’t know what to do.

“Hey Hangman! You look good!” “I am good, Rooster! I’m very good. I’ll see you back on deck.” He says before heading back to the carrier as you followed.

When you crash-landed on the carrier you finally let yourself cry a little before getting out of your plane.

“Was this the kind of sorry you’re willing to accept from me?” Jake shouts through the noise as he approaches you after getting out of his plane. “Thank you.” You tell him with tears in your eyes. He hesitates but finally engulfs you in a tight hug which you reciprocate. “I’ve missed you those last six years. I’m so sorry for what I did. You can’t imagine how sorry I am and how terrified I was that you almost died.” You could feel his tears crashing on your flight suit as you hug him tighter. “I want my friend back.” He says in a whisper but you heard him nonetheless. “You got her Jake.”

You spend the two days it took you to go back stateside reminiscing with Jake about your lost six years.

That afternoon when you landed, you all headed to The Hard Deck to get a few drink to celebrate.

“Who are you looking at like that?” Phoenix asks you that evening. “Uhm?” You turn your head to her. “You look lovesick. Who are you looking at?” She grins. “No one.” You state. “Is it Hangman?” She smirks. “No.” Your eyes go wide at her words. “Oh my God, you have a crush on Jake!” She exclaims, excited.

“Shhh! Don’t tell anyone okay? I thought we were just friends but turns out I might have harboured a tiny crush on him since Top Gun…” “Why didn’t you tell him?” “Because I’m obviously just his friend and I spent the last six years being mad at him?” “Well I think you should tell him.”

“We’ll be leaving each other tomorrow anyway. What change does it make?” “Well you obviously could be happier with him than you are right now and who knows, maybe he’ll stop trying to kill you when you’re in danger.” “I’ll be going back abroad with Bradley anyway, I won’t see him for another ten years probably, so no, I’m not going to tell him how I feel.”

“Tell who how you feel?” Rooster interrupted. “Nothi-” “Y/C/S has a crush on Hangman but won’t tell him because she says it’s pointless and she won’t be seeing him for years after tomorrow.” Phoenix replied, cutting your answer short. You sighed and looked down, nursing your beer. “Well Hangman just happened to tell me the exact same thing! How crazy?” Rooster grins.

Your head shoots up to meet Rooster’s face, looking for a lie in his eyes but nothing. “What are you talking about?”

“Jake’s been in love with you since Top Gun apparently. He wanted to tell you but he didn’t, don’t ask me why, and that day up in the sky he got so scared of possibly seeing you die that he just left. And he’s held himself accountable for that for six years and now he’s just too scared to tell you so he said he’d rather be friends with you if it just kept you near him.” “God you’re both so stubborn.” Phoenix slaps her forehead.

“There’s no point, Rooster and I are leaving tomorrow, we’ll be going back to Italy or probably be posted in Guam or Hawaii or something. I won’t be seeing him for years probably. I won’t make myself sad by him rejecting me or even worse, by him saying he loves me back and me leaving him like that.” You shake your head.

“Well I hate to break it to you Y/C/S but you’ve been asked to go back to the vigilantes. It’s up to you whether you want to go back with me or you want to have a future with Hangman.” Rooster shrugs. “I- what?” You furrow your brows. “Yeah, Cyclone told me when we landed. He’s going to call you tomorrow to get your answer. You should really think about it.” Rooster grins.

“I-uh I don’t know, guys. The decision was easy before. What do I do now?” You start panicking. “Well you go get yourself another drink and tell Jake you’re in love with him. Simple as that.” Phoenix nudges you towards the bar and inevitably, toward Jake.

You take small steps toward the bar and order yourself another beer. “Go tell her!” You hear Coyote whisper to Jake behind you. “No dude I can’t, she’s leaving tomorrow I won’t see her again, what’s the point?” “I’m telling you she looks at you like you hung the moon, go tell her you feel the same or I swear I’ll do it for you.” Javy urges.

Penny hands you your beer and you turn around, facing Jake, whom Javy had pushed toward you in a desperate attempt to make him talk to you.

“Oh sorry!” You say, almost hitting Jake when you turned around. “It’s alright, can-uh can we go talk outside?” “Uh yeah, let’s go.” You start panicking.

“Y/N I-uh. I need to tell you something. I believe it’s pointless because you’ll be going back to Virginia or wherever tomorrow and I’ll go back to Lemoore but Javy believes I should tell you so…” He starts playing with his fingers, not sure what to say now. “I-uh. I like you.” He says looking up at you.

“I like you a lot. I’ve like you since Top Gun and I never told you and I regretted it for the last six years but here I am, being the better man and telling you how I feel.” Your heart is racing and tears make their way to your eyes. You don’t know what to say, you didn’t know you would ever hear him say those words to you. “Please say something.” He begs.

“I like you too Jake. I’ve liked you since Top Gun, even though I spent the last six years hating you I feel like I’ve never stopped loving you. And I also believed it was pointless to tell you but now I’m not so sure anymore.” “We’re gonna figure out a way to see each other, don't worry. I’m not letting you go again, I promise.” “It’s alright Jake, I already have a solution.” You give him a watery grin.

“You do?” “I’ve been asked to go back to the vigilantes.” “Oh God I could kiss you right now.” He smiles widely. “Yeah I wonder why you still haven’t actually.” You shrug. He looks at you with nothing but love and cups your cheeks before putting his lips on yours.

Inside, Javy, Natasha and Bradley are high-fiving and cheering seeing you two finally admitting your love to each other.

“Please, don’t ever leave me up there on my own again.” “I won’t baby, I promise.” You grin before kissing him again.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Callsign: Mercy