For Fun

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

Instincts

Star Trek: The Original Series Story

TOS!Captain James T. Kirk x Security!Female!Reader

Warnings: playing fast and loose with Star Trek cannon to fit my needs, mentions of death in passing (no one dies)

GIF not mine (obvs)

Enjoy

/////\\\\\

You stood a few dozen feet away from the rest of the Landing Party, your dominant hand idly resting on your phaser as you looked around the undiscovered planet warily. You and your fellow security members were keeping watch out for any...unfriendlies as the team of scientists and Captain Kirk explored their immediate surroundings and as always, you were tense and alert.

While you loved your job and loved to explore strange new worlds, it was stressful to be in charge of multiple lives while on a planet where nobody knew exactly what was out there. But you were one of the best at what you did: your instincts for danger were unmatched as was your dedication to making sure your Landing Party made it back safely (you had the scars to show for that) and you found yourself on more and more security details the longer you served under Captain James T. Kirk.

Not that you were complaining. As a security officer, you didn’t see the Captain much on the Bridge as you had no reason to go there, and it was refreshing to see the man outside the cafeteria or training rooms. Especially with the childlike wonder he sometimes possessed when the Landing Party found something particularly interesting. The fact that you found the man incredibly attractive, kind, intelligent and an excellent conversationalist didn’t have any bearing on your happiness at being continuously chosen to help guard these missions.

A few soft exclamations of wonder from the Landing Party drew your eyes briefly to the scientists and you couldn’t help the smile that crossed your lips, even as your eyes returned to scanning the horizon.

You’d all landed in a large clearing of different types of vegetation and rock formations, but your eyes kept being drawn to a particular dark part of the somewhat distant forest. Your instincts weren’t screaming at you yet, but that section of this planet was making you uneasy.

You and your team of Red Shirts were in a loose circle around the science team, Security Officer Johanson the one that was closest to the dark trees. While there was no official lead on these missions when it came to security – Captain Kirk was the one in charge or the next highest officer if he was absent – the other Officers defaulted to you whenever your instincts came into play. It’d saved your hides more than once.

You thumbed the private communication line that security shared.

“Johanson – you getting anything from the forest to your right?” you asked quietly, keeping your voice level and even. No use in making anyone panic. You were uneasy, but that wasn’t necessarily unheard of on these missions.

You saw the man turn and look, before you heard over the comms, “Negative. There’s nothing I can see.”

You replied absently in the affirmative that you received his message, your eyes not leaving the forest.

You stole a glance at the Landing Party and saw that the Captain was already watching you. The man had good instincts too.

As soon as you locked eyes, he started your way and you mentally applauded him. Smart move. If the Captain checks in with Security, no big deal. But if Security checks in with the Captain, that usually means a problem. Captain Kirk coming to you meant that none of the scientists would think that anything was wrong. And there was no reason to panic anyone.

Not yet at least.

“Officer Y/L/N,” Captain Kirk greeted and you greeted him in return. “Everything still going according to plan?”

Your eyes left the ridiculously good looking Captain to turn back to the forest.

“Not sure, Captain,” you said lowly, ensuring that no one besides Kirk would be able to hear you. “Nothing concrete but there’s something in that forest that is…not right. Nothing threatening or visible – yet. But I’ll admit that I’m uneasy. And it’s about that particular area.”

The Captain hummed lowly, brown eyes also staring into the part of the forest you’d indicated.

“In the numerous missions we’ve been together on, Officer Y/L/N, I’ve learned to trust your instincts. What would be your suggestion?”

You valiantly squashed both the butterflies in your stomach and the heat to your face at the Captain’s words. Having the trust of a man like Captain Kirk was…exhilarating. But also not the focus right now.

“You know me, Captain,” you said after a few moments. “I tend to err on the side of caution. We don’t know what is on this planet; how big, how fast, how dangerous. Our transporter isn’t instantaneous and we beamed down in two different groups because of the size. I’m tempted to suggest to send at least one group back. That uneasy feeling isn’t going away. I don’t think we’re the only ones in the immediate area, Captain. But I do think we may be the only friendly ones.”

Captain Kirk was silent for a few moments before you both locked eyes again. He gave you a nod and a small smile, flipping open his communicator and requesting Scotty to stand by.

“A smart move, Officer Y/L/N,” he murmured before turning and heading to the scientists, presumably to tell the ones who’d be beamed up to prepare.

You tried, with less success this time, to again smother the butterflies that erupted in your stomach at the praise. Honestly, what this man did to you. You never reacted this way to your previous Captains on the other ships and various Starbases you’d served on.

Your eyes again found the section of forest and you thumbed on your communicator to tell the rest of the Security team to tighten the circle. One group was going back for precautionary purposes; they needed to bring it in as well.

You heard multiple affirmatives and saw the team closing in more on the scientists that would be left as the first group gathered in formation to prepare to be beamed back aboard the Enterprise.

The uneasy feeling grew as the transporter beams appeared and spun around half of the Landing Party. Your eyes never left the section of forest, even as the light from the transporter faded and the rest of the scientists continued their documentation.

You trusted the rest of your team to keep an eye out on the rest of the clearing and so felt no hesitation in giving the sketchy forest all of your attention. Even straining your eyes, you couldn’t see anything nor could you hear anything – even the scientists were quiet – but the icy feeling that suddenly skittered down your spine had you flipping open your communicator before you could even thing about it.

“Enterprise – beam up the rest of the Landing Party, now!” you barked and then the trees were violently swaying and an earsplitting, animalistic scream from beyond the clearing sounded out.

There were shouts as the security team rushed to surround the scientists and the Captain, yourself included, phasers out and set to stun.

The transporter beams began to shine around you just as a large…thing broke through the trees and hit the clearing at a dead run. You couldn’t even tell what exactly it was; some kind of beast with six legs, a large thrashing tail tipped with what looked like spikes and two heads, all on a mottled brown and black body that stood at least three stories high.

One head let out another ear-piercing scream while the other snapped large jaws filled with sharp fangs open and shut.

It was fast. Too fast. There was no way that the transporter would get you all up completely before it was upon you. Either it would end up on the Enterprise with you, or multiple people in the Landing Party would be gored or grievously wounded before disappearing from the planet.

Your body tensed as you came to a decision and you shot a quick look over to the nearest Security Officer. He looked grim but nodded and then grabbed the self-sacrificing Captain’s arm.

The Captain cottoned on immediately and shot you a glare. “Officer Y/L/N, don’t you dare—”

You grimaced but then unhooked your phaser and took off at a run, firing at the beast as you went to try and draw its attention away.

And it worked.

Boy did it work.

The beast skidded into a turn that you were surprised it could make given its size and took off after you. You continued firing at it as you ran, realizing quickly that any hits it took, or any dodges it had to do, slowed it down enough that it kept you alive.

Thankfully, while the sketchy forest where this sucker had apparently been lurking had taken up the majority of your attention, you had made a thorough visual sweep of the area when you’d first beamed down and there was a tall formation of rocks not too far away with what had looked like a small cave. Hopefully, it was a cave large enough to hide you until the Enterprise could beam you up.

If not – well, at least you wouldn’t have to worry about the disciplinary action that was sure to await you if you even got back to the ship.

Another scream sounded out behind you – much closer than before - and you shot your phaser behind you again, managing to hit the beast it one of its mouths. It stumbled, shrieking and thrashing and you put on a burst of speed you’d never reached before and shot up into the nearby rocks, scrambling to keep your footing and find the cave you’d seen earlier.

The beast had recovered enough that it was now climbing the rocks after you, howling and screaming, large taloned feet carving deep gouges into the sturdy rocks. Another phaser blast had it screaming and tumbling down to the grass below and you almost cried with relief when you saw the cave – and it was a cave.

You scrambled into it, phaser still in hand and went as far back as it allowed. Hopefully, it was far enough that the long, six legs of the beast after you couldn’t reach.

You could hear said beast still howling and growling, though you couldn’t tell if it was getting closer. And you were certainly not approaching the front of the cave to check.

Your chest was heaving and your heart was racing, but you gulped in lungful’s of air and flipped open your communicator, hoping to get into contact with the Enterprise. If they could just get your signal in the cave—

You weren’t even able to say anything into the communicator before you heard the Captain’s voice come over the speaker and then saw the transporter beams start to encircle your body.

“Y/N – we’re beaming you up – hang on!”

You answered with a worn out yet relieved, “Aye, Captain,” not even sparing a thought to the Captain calling you by your first name. No, your attention was on another thought as you faded along with the transporter beams.

You were so going to be fired when you got aboard.

/////\\\\\

Thankfully, Doctor McCoy was in the transporter room as well and had whisked you away to Med Bay to check you out after your ‘stupid and reckless heroics’. It was good to know you had a fan.

Captain Kirk’s heavy gaze had followed you both out and you weren’t sure what was worse, getting fired now, or being able to stew about it while in Med Bay and then getting fired later.

Probably the latter, but at the same time, you were glad for a short respite to get yourself back in order. You’d face your disciplinary the same way you faced everything else; straight backed and stoic. You wouldn’t show your devastation at being reprimanded and canned by your superior nor would you show your grief at having disappointed Jim. That was going to hurt worst of all.

But if you were going to go into this without showing the mess of your emotions, you’d need a few minutes to collect yourself and you mentally thanked Doctor McCoy for giving you that, even unintentionally.

“You scared him, you know,” the Doctor spoke up suddenly as you both walked side by side to Medical. You looked over at him and then gave a sigh, facing back to the front.

“I’m aware that the decision I made was not one he approved of,” you murmured. But you’d do it again in a heartbeat.

“Not what I said, nor what I meant,” McCoy said gruffly. You looked at him in confusion and he fixed bright blue eyes on you.

“You scared him,” he repeated. You stared at the Doctor for a moment before shaking your head.

“I’m sorry, Doc, I don’t know what you mean.”

The man gave a long suffering sigh, muttering something about being a doctor not a counselor and you just gave him a bemused look. You liked Doctor McCoy – had been fixed up more than once by him – but he was definitely a curmudgeon.

The Med Bay doors opened and you both walked in, the Doctor directing you to take a seat on one of the bio beds while he looked you over.

Other than a ridiculous amount of adrenaline (that was leaving fast and leaving utter exhaustion in its wake) and some superficial scratches on your palms and arms from your rock climbing adventure, you were fine.

But McCoy tended to the scratches like they were life threatening and you found yourself struggling to stay alert and awake. You’d need your wits about you for your upcoming verbal thrashing from the Captain, but all you really wanted to do was sleep.

“I’ve never heard or seen Jim that scared,” the Doctor spoke up again suddenly and you hummed, not really sure how to say ‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about’ again without making him upset. Blue eyes once again focused intently on you. “You sacrificed yourself for the Landing Crew – him included. You had an Officer hold him back so he couldn’t go after you.”

“Actually, I had an Officer hold him back so he wouldn’t sacrifice himself,” you corrected absently and Bones gave a loud huff.

“And how is that better? Bit hypocritical, isn’t it?” he demanded and you narrowed your eyes. You could – and would – take any disciplinary action since you technically violated an order from your Captain (even though it wasn’t stated explicitly as an order but everyone there knew it had been) but you wouldn’t just sit here and take what sounded like a slight to your character. You were doing your job.

“Captain Kirk is the Captain,” you bit out. “It’s literally in my job description to not only protect him, but anyone who’s on board this ship. I made a calculated and correct, I might add, call that the creature was gaining on us too fast for us to escape unscathed by transporter. The Captain is more important than a Security Officer,” continued, holding up a hand when Bones opened his mouth to presumably argue. “I’m not saying that in a self-deprecating way – it’s fact. While I will do anything in my power to not die, if it’s a question between me and someone in a Landing Party or the Captain of the Starship himself, it’s going to be me – every time. It’s what I signed up for.”

There was silence in the Med Bay as you and Doctor McCoy stared each other down. For all his intimidating glares and words, you weren’t going to back down – not about this.

Yes, technically, you disobeyed a direct order – but you’d saved the lives of everyone in that Landing Party. As far as you were concerned, you were just doing your job.

Though why no one else seemed to see it like that was both a mystery and incredibly frustrating.

“Jim, I hope you got all of that,” Doctor McCoy said suddenly, voice raised to the ceiling and then the Captain’s voice sounded out, “Affirmative. I’ll be there in a moment. Kirk out.”

You shot the Doctor a betrayed look.

“Wow. Just going to ream me in front of an audience, then?”

Bones snorted. “You’re too professional,” he said bluntly and you rose a brow. “Too professional when dealing with the Captain when you’re not actively on a mission,” he corrected. “There was no way you would have said what you really thought or felt when he asked you – you would have just taken whatever he said and said ‘okay’. This way, at least he knows what was going through your mind when you sacrificed yourself and scared him half to death.”

You rolled your eyes, feeling the exhaustion creep in even further. “You keep using that word. I’m not sure it counts as ‘sacrificing myself’ if I’m still here. And why do you keep saying I scared him? What does that even mean?”

“It means that I care,” came the Captain’s voice and you jerked your head around to see him leaning against the doorframe of the Med Bay. You hadn’t even heard the doors open.

Kirk stalked to the bio bed you sat on while Doctor McCoy gathered his supplies and headed for his office, leaving the two of you alone.

Wonderful. Is this the part where you got fired?

“I’d ask what you were thinking, but thanks to Bones, I have a pretty good idea. You know, it’s the Captain’s job to go down with his ship, to sacrifice himself for his crew.”

You figured you were going to be fired anyway (or at the very least with a black mark in your otherwise pristine record) so you might as well go for broke.

So, you rolled your eyes. Hard. “First of all, Captain, will all due respect – no. That’s not how that goes. If that were the case, and no one but you was supposed to be ‘sacrificing’ themselves, there wouldn’t even be Security Officers. Second of all, the Captain is not technically supposed to beam down with Landing Parties, so that’s also a moot point. You weren’t even supposed to be there. And thirdly, sir, respectfully again, you’re an idiot. A Captain is not a good trade off for a Security Officer. One clearly outranks and outweighs the other. You know it and I know it. Starfleet knows it. That’s why it’s in my job description.”

Kirk’s eyes flashed and then he was standing right in front of you, so close you could feel the heat coming off of him and could feel your knees touching his thighs.

“So you just decided that you could disobey a direct order and go and try to get yourself killed?” he ground out.

You scoffed, feeling your face heat (and not just in anger). “I hardly got myself killed, Captain,” you hissed back. “And I was doing my job.”

“You had someone hold me back.”

“You have a bad habit of trying to get yourself killed – it seemed prudent.”

“That’s not your call to make.”

“Actually, it is. Perhaps I should send you my job description so you can see for yourself?”

“Sarcasm isn’t going to get you out of this.”

“But proving I was doing my job might.”

You were both glaring at each other, chests heaving and eyes flashing.

And then, he was stepping between your legs, grabbing the back of your neck and crashing his lips onto yours in a bruising kiss.

Time stopped.

Your brain tried valiantly to reboot but all you could feel and see and smell was Kirk. The Captain was kissing you. Jim was kissing you.

You closed your eyes and kissed him back.

Your hands skirted up his arms to wrap around his neck as you pulled him closer, giving as good as you got, fighting in your kiss just as quick and bold as your argument.

Then…it shifted, gentled. It was no longer a demanding, hard kiss, but a softer, pleading one. Jim’s hand on your neck softened, fingers now caressed instead of gripped. Your own hands loosened and slid into his hair and along his shoulders, causing him to groan as your fingers scratched his scalp.

The kiss ended gently, but Jim didn’t move away, he stayed in your space, forehead pressed against yours, your breath mingling.

“You scared me,” he murmured after a moment, echoing what Bones had told you three times. “I thought that I’d lost you. Lost you before I…before I got to get to know you better. Got to…court you.”

You blinked up at him in surprise. Sure, you’d spoken to the Captain a lot of times and had been on numerous missions with him but you had no idea you’d apparently affected him as much as he’d affected you.

The swarm of butterflies in your stomach you were sure you’d squashed came back with a vengeance and you felt your heart jump.

“Really?” you asked quietly, not quite believing, but desperately wanting to.  

The Captain – Jim – gave a soft huff of laugher. “Really, Sweetheart. And assuming you’re open to it, I’d like to start getting to know you better starting now.”

“Not in my Med Bay!” McCoy yelled out from his office and you groaned in embarrassment, your head falling to rest against Jim’s chest as he threw his own back and laughed.

“Duly noted, Bones,” he called back, grinning. “We’ll take it elsewhere. I’m assuming she’s cleared to leave?”

“Yes. Cleared. Get out of here!” Bones grumbled. Jim gave you a soft smile, though his eyes were still twinkling and helped you down from the bio bed.

“How about a short date in the cafeteria before I walk you to your quarters so you can sleep? You’ve had an exhausting day,” Jim suggested as you both headed for the Med Bay doors and you gave him a bright smile.

“That sounds perfect.”

The answering grin on his face made your chest jump funny and you found yourself walking side by side with a man who you had admired for afar and now were being courted by. Life really had a funny way of working out.

And you didn’t even have to get fired.

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

Keeping Score

Top Gun Maverick Story

Older!Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (healthy and single, thanks) x Female!Civilian!Reader

Warnings: age gap, Insecure!Reader, some crude humor (apparently I’m also a 12 year old boy)

Not beta read

GIF not mine (obvs)

Enjoy

/////\\\\\

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Uncle Ice needs to get a woman,” Rooster said as he plopped down across from you in the booth by the pool tables.

You barked a laugh as Phoenix smacked Rooster on the arm from where he had sat next to her.

“Rooster,” she hissed, “you don’t just say that about the Commander of the Pacific Fleet— “

“I’m not,” Rooster argued, interrupting her. “I’m saying it about Uncle Ice. The man is lonely and needs someone to take care of!”

“So, get him a cat,” you deadpanned and saluted Rooster’s halfhearted glare with your drink.

“I expected more sympathy from you,” Rooster sighed dramatically and you gave a cheeky grin, even as your stomach rolled.

You were stupidly attracted to the Admiral and had been from the moment you met him. He was incredibly good looking, but your attraction was more than superficial. He was kind, caring, assertive, protective. How could you not fall for someone like that? Someone who gave you the time of day, who listened to you and actively engaged you in conversation. Who made you feel special.

And that was the problem. He was high up in the admiralty (his position as COMPACFLT was as high as one could go). You were normal- a civilian. Average job, average life. Younger. You were not in that man’s league. And you knew it.

But that didn’t mean you wanted to talk about finding him someone else. You weren’t that strong.

Flippant jokes and sarcasm to guard your heart- that was the only way you were going to get through this (hopefully short) conversation.

“I mean it,” Rooster said, already leaning away from Natasha’s next smack.

You just watched the two as you took another sip of your drink.

“Rooster, I think that Admiral Kazansky can find a woman himself,” Phoenix lightly scolded but the man was already shaking his head.

“That’s just it, Phoe. He’s been on a few dates but recently he doesn’t seem interested in finding anyone. But he’s lonely. Especially with Mav and Penny getting together, I think he’s getting more and more…depressed about it.”

You felt your stomach clench. You didn’t think you were strong enough to see him with someone else but you didn’t want him to be miserable either.

“Have you ever thought about inviting him to join in your pool games?” you asked after a moment. You were not going to start suggesting women, but you could suggest Dagger camaraderie.

Rooster sighed, shaking his head. “He won’t join in- he says that he doesn’t want to ‘ruin the vibe’ or whatever. He doesn’t want everyone to stand on ceremony.”

You threw a glance at Phoenix who raised her hands in defense. “Alright, I admit that I refer to him as the Commander of the Pacific Fleet but that’s what he is.”

“He’s also a man named Tom,” you said gently, understanding where she was coming from -she was military after all- but also needing her to understand that he was more than his rank. Especially off duty.

You glanced over at Rooster and inwardly blanched at his scrutinizing look. You needed to reign it in or your feelings for the man would be found out.

“So,” you continued after a moment, clearing your throat and trying to put as much nonchalance as possible into your tone, “I think you guys should lay off the COMPACFLT avenue for awhile and treat him like Ice: Maverick’s equally crazy, infamous wingman. You guys treat Maverick with respect but also like a friend. Surely you can do the same for Tom? At least while you’re at the Hard Deck?”

Phoenix and Rooster exchanged a look and then Phoenix nodded while Rooster just leaned back in the booth and looked at you.

“Yeah, alright, Y/N,” Nat said in agreement, raising her glass towards you. “We’ll give it a shot.”

You grinned, raising your drink in return. “Glad to hear it. Get Hangman on board; he’s got the most issue with authority and should be thrilled to treat Ice like an old pal.”

Natasha barked a laugh and then made Rooster get up so she could go and tell the cocky blonde aviator that all his dreams were about to come true.

Rooster let her up and then sat back down across from you, face unreadable.

You rose a brow, taking a sip of your drink to hide your sudden nerves. You really didn’t like his sudden silence or his suddenly piercing gaze. This is what you got for being nice.

“There something you want to tell me regarding my Uncle?” Rooster asked lowly.

You swallowed your drink and answered with a firm, “Nope.” There was absolutely nothing you wanted to tell anyone about anything, thank you very much. You very much planned to take these feelings to the grave.

“Really,” Rooster deadpanned and you rolled your eyes to mask how uncomfortable this was making you. Please don’t push it, Roo.

“Yes, really. If Tom isn’t interested in dating right now but is lonely, I just think it makes sense to have him included in Maverick’s adopted family.” You threw a wide grin at the man. “He can be Uncle Ice to everyone.”

Rooster opened his mouth to say something else but you were saved by Hangman. And wasn’t that a thought.

“So,” the blonde menace said with a cheeky grin as he approached, leaning against the table and leveling a shark-like grin at both you and Rooster, “I hear that our little family is growing by one. That we’re getting a new Uncle.”

You threw Rooster an amused grin as Hangman unknowingly repeated what you just said.

For his part, Rooster just tilted his head back and groaned. “I hate you both,” he muttered and you and Jake shared a conspiratorial grin. This was going to be fun- in more ways than one.

“Now, now, Roo,” Hangman drawled, “don’t be stingy. You’re going to have to share; that’s what siblings do.”

Rooster groaned again and you stifled a laugh as best you could when Jake gave you a wink. He really did the ‘annoying brother’ well.

“So when do we start the hazing of our new Uncle?” Hangman asked and you threw a look at the bar where Tom and Pete were sitting, idly chatting between themselves and Penny when she had moments between patrons.

“No time like the present,” you shrugged, ignoring Rooster’s sudden gaze.

Hangman straightened, looking at the bar as well.

“Alright, Y/N,” he drawled, “you get him here and we’ll welcome him with open arms.”

It took you a second but then you snapped your head to Hangman.

“What? Why me?” you demanded, trying to keep your voice from going up an octave or ten.

Hangman rose a brow. “Uh, this was your idea. And besides, he’s already said no to mingling with the lower class. But if you think you can get him to come shoot a few rounds, we’ll lay off the respect for awhile.”

You gave him a half-hearted glare; what a schmuck. But you knew that if anyone could get the rest of the Daggers to treat Tom like a normal person, it’d be Hangman. And Rooster wouldn’t hurt either.

Fine. You’d do your part.

“Alright,” you sighed as you got up, ignoring the look that passed between the two pilots at the table, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“We got faith in ya,” Hangman winked and you rolled your eyes. If you couldn’t get Ice to come shoot some pool, you could at least get a refill.

You steeled your nerves as you approached the bar. Here goes nothing.

Hopefully he wouldn’t turn you down too harshly.

“Heya, Penn,” you greeted as you leaned against the bar on the other side of Ice from Maverick. “Can I grab another?”

“Sure thing, Y/N,” she grinned and you turned to the two pilots as she went about getting your drink.

“You guys going to guard the bar all night?” you asked with a cheeky grin. “Or do you think you can leave Penny long enough to teach Hangman a lesson in pool?”

Maverick chuckled while Ice just gave a smile, shaking his head.

“Those pilots don’t want two of their superior officers breathing down their necks,” he said firmly and your grin turned feral.

“Pretty sure only one of you is supposed to lean over the pool table at a time there, Ice. You had a different way to play in the 80s?”

Ice’s eyes went wide and Maverick choked- for a moment you thought you’d overstepped, but then both he and Maverick were laughing heartily.

Score one for you. Getting Ice to laugh, really laugh, was always a feather in your cap. It didn’t happen often except for around Pete.

You were working on changing that.

“Noted,” Tom said, eyes dancing. Then he turned a bit more serious. “But I still don’t think having their superior officer and the COMPACFLT is something they’re going to want.”

You gave a sigh, taking your drink from a smirking Penny and turning to head back towards the pool tables.

“Tom,” you said with a dramatic pause as you put your hand on his shoulder, watching as both he and Pete zeroed in on you, and desperately trying to ignore the butterflies in your stomach at touching him so casually, “I mean this with all due respect. But you’re an idiot.”

Maverick barked a laugh and Iceman looked at you incredulously.

“The kids are all excited to meet their new Uncle,” you grinned, giving his shoulder a squeeze because you could, while you gave Maverick an exaggerated wink over Ice’s head, “and Hangman could be taken down a peg or five at pool.”

You gave his shoulder a final pat. “The kids have been instructed to call you nothing but Ice, though I’m sure Hangman will find some other nickname for you. Offer’s open, Tom. It’s up to you.”

Throwing the men one last smile and thanking Penny for the drink over your shoulder, you headed back to the pool tables, feeling two sets of eyes following you.

Ball was in his court now.

/////\\\\\

It took less than five minutes before both Pete and Tom sauntered over towards the pool tables.

You tried really hard not to preen at the incredulous looks you got from the Squad.

Score two for you.

The Daggers quieted down as the two legendary pilots reached the ongoing game near your booth and then Hangman shot you a grin and loudly proclaimed, “Papa Bear! Glad you could make it!”

You face palmed, though you were grinning. Trust Hangman to find another variation of ‘Pops’.

“Papa Bear?” Tom inquired, though you could hear the amusement in his voice.

A few of the Daggers shifted in unease but Jake, to his credit, just shrugged.

“Figured ‘Daddy’ wouldn’t sit right,” he drawled and you laughed -of course he’d say something like that- and felt your heart melt at Tom’s amused agreement. Maverick for his part was laughing loudly.

Oh, Hangman might be competition for getting Tom to laugh if he kept this up. But you found that you were thrilled to have a partner in crime.

The Admiral really needed to relax and be able to be himself around more people- hopefully the Dagger Squad would be those people. You would gladly be one of those people too, if he’d let you.

“After I beat Javy here,” Hangman grinned at Coyote’s squawk, “hows about a game, Papa Bear? See how good you really are.”

Tom gave a feral grin, and you snickered at Jake’s suddenly worried look. Ice shot you a look, “I see what you mean about taking him down a peg or five.”

Hangman gave you an exaggerated wounded look and you waved a hand at him with a laugh. You knew getting Hangman on board was going to be a good idea.

Score three.

“You got yourself a game, Hangman,” Ice said with a grin and then Hangman gave him a very flippant salute that’d surely get him reprimanded at work, but one that made Ice shake his head in amusement and Maverick chuckle.

Both the older pilots beelined for your table and you tried to hide your amused smile behind your drink.

Judging by the looks on their faces, you failed on that one.

“Fancy seeing you here,” you said innocently, and Mav chuckled while Ice gave you a look.

“Hmm, well, when I get challenged, I tend to show up, Sweetheart,” came the reply (and smirk) and you batted your eyes at him.

“I’ll keep that in mind, dear.” You had no idea where this…bravery was coming from. Maybe you just didn’t care since Rooster seemed set on finding a woman for his Uncle Ice. When another woman came into his life, you’d have to make peace as his friend (if you even got that far)- may as well start trying to get rid of your feelings now. As long as he quit with the pet names.

“Dad, Uncle Ice,” Rooster greeted from behind your shoulder and you scooted over as Rooster started to sink into the booth next to you.

“Baby Goose.”

“Bradley.”

“Going to teach Hangman a thing or two, Uncle Ice?” Rooster grinned, “Can’t wait to see that.”

“I think they had different pool rules in the 80s – we may have to keep an eye on him,” you stage whispered to Rooster with a smirk, laughing as Tom flicked a peanut at you from the bowl on the table with his own huff of amusement.

Rooster and Maverick shared a look across the table and you sobered. Right. No tilting your hand; these feelings were coming with you to the grave. You weren’t the one meant for Ice.

Groans and cheers suddenly erupted from around the pool table and Hangman was mockingly bowing to the watching Daggers.

Tom sent you a grin and a wink, then stood and headed towards the table.

Hate to see him leave, love to watch him go.

Jake and Tom jokingly shook hands and then squared off, racking up the pool balls and starting what you hoped was the first of many games.

Tom deserved to have this.

“So, Y/N,” Rooster said casually after each pilot had taken a few shots, “are you dating anyone right now?”

You choked on your drink.

“What?” you gasped out as you coughed and tried to breathe through a lungful of liquid. You really hoped Rooster wasn’t going with this where you thought he might be. Not in front of Maverick. You didn’t need the infamous pilot telling you (politely because that’s just how Mav was) that you weren’t good enough for his wingman.

“Breathe, Y/N,” Maverick said lowly and you threw him a look what exactly did he think you were trying to do that made him grin and hold his hands up in surrender. “At least throw Ice a wave so he doesn’t scrap his game with Jake to come over here and check on you.”

Startled, you looked over at the pool table and sure enough, Ice’s eyes were locked on you and Hangman had the biggest smirk on his face behind him. You waved him off as convincingly as you could as you drew a deep breath and when it didn’t start of another round of coughing, you sucker punched Rooster in the arm. Hard.

His yelp seemed to reassure Ice more than your wave and he turned back around to continue the game.

“Ow,” Rooster whined and you rolled your eyes.

“That’s what you get,” you grumbled, a little hoarsely.

“Careful, Baby Goose,” Maverick said, his eyes dancing over the rim of his glass. “Not sure I’ll be able to save you from Ice next time.”

You threw Maverick a look as well that had him chuckling.

At least if they were teasing you about Ice, they weren’t taking it seriously and wouldn’t tell you how wrong you were for him.

The three of you watched the pool game in silence for a few minutes, listening to Jake and Tom good naturedly trash talk each other and to your delight, the other Daggers were slowly joining in. You really needed to get Hangman a gift basket or something – he was doing wonders for morale and getting the Squad to accept just ‘Ice’ instead of ‘Admiral Kazansky’.

“I’m impressed Uncle Ice actually came over here to play,” Rooster spoke up suddenly and Maverick snorted into his drink.

“I’m not,” the man said with a grin and a significant look at you. You looked at him in confusion but Rooster, for his part, just gave a soft laugh.

“Seriously?” he questioned Maverick and you looked between the two of them with a furrowed brow as Maverick nodded with a pleased hum. “That…fits, actually. Wait, is that why he suddenly got so disinterested in dating?” Rooster asked and Maverick barked a laugh, nodding again.

“Yeah. Tonight worked out well, I think. It looks promising at least.”

Rooster threw a look your way and grinned, before turning his attention back to Maverick.

“Yeah, I think it’s gonna work out great, Mav.”

Now it was Maverick’s turn to look searchingly at you and you finally huffed, leaning back against the booth and crossing your arms.

“Are you guys done having an irritatingly cryptic conversation right in front of me?” you asked, though there wasn’t really any heat to it. They were entitled to talk however they wanted – but you did feel like you were missing something and it wasn’t necessarily a feeling you liked.

“Probably not,” Maverick shrugged unrepentantly and you rolled your eyes with a fond grin. At least the man was honest. “But you never did answer Rooster’s question, Y/N,” he continued. “Are you dating anyone right now?”

You looked from Maverick to Rooster and back to Maverick again, now on full alert. Alright, you weren’t dumb. Something was going on. And you were trying really hard not to get your hopes up.

“No?” you answered finally, though it came out more as a question.

Maverick gave you a soft smile that put you immediately at ease and boy if that man didn’t know how to work a room.

“Sure about that?” he asked. “You seem a little unsure on that one.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes, Mav. I’m sure I’m not dating anyone. What I’m unsure of is why you two suddenly are asking.”

There was silence at the table for a moment before Maverick asked gently, “You really don’t know why we’d be asking? You’re a smart woman, Y/N. I think you have a good idea.”

There went that hope you were desperately trying to smother, growing to epic proportions.

“Pete,” you said quietly, voice a little raw, “please.” You weren’t really sure what you were asking for – maybe for them to not mess with you? To not get your hopes up any further because when you crashed, it was going to hurt. Or maybe to just come out and say it? Because you didn’t trust yourself with this – didn’t trust that you weren’t reading it all wrong. And you couldn’t take it if you were wrong.

The two men exchanged another glance and then both turned to you fully, bodies angling towards you and Maverick even reached for your hand that wasn’t wrapped around your glass.

“Y/N,” he said quietly, earnestly, “Ice has been in my life for decades. He’s the only one who ever stuck it out with me, who’s been there through everything. Believe me when I say that meddling is not something I take lightly with him. Not with something like this.”

You swallowed against the sudden lump in your throat.

“I’m not asking for a declaration of love or a marriage commitment on his behalf,” the Ace said with a small smile. “Just want to see if you’d be open to getting to know him. On a personal level.”

Would you be open to getting to know— was he dumb? In what universe would the answer be no???

Pete must’ve read all that on your face because he chuckled, giving your hand a squeeze before letting go and leaning back against the booth, a self-satisfied air around him that you really didn’t begrudge him for.

“Good,” he grinned, flicking his eyes over to the pool table and back to you. “That’s going to make my life a lot easier.”

You felt almost dizzy with the sudden 180 your life -your dating life too?- just did, but you still didn’t trust it. If something sounded too good to be true…

You opened your mouth but then clicked it shut a moment after. You weren’t exactly sure how to articulate what you were feeling. Telling two fighter jet pilot, Top Gun graduates, ‘Hey, I appreciate the thought but I’m pretty sure the highest man in charge of the Navy outside of the Secretary of Defense could do better than my average, uneventful self’, didn’t seem like it would go over well. You honestly weren’t looking for praise or accolades of how amazing you were. You just wanted to understand what they saw in you that you couldn’t see in yourself. Why would Tom be interested in you when he had the entire world to chose from?

“Baby Goose,” Maverick said suddenly, “grab me another drink, would you?”

Rooster looked like he wanted to protest but then looked between you and his dad and just nodded, giving your shoulder a squeeze and then standing up and heading towards the bar.

That left you and Maverick. You looked at the pilot and then promptly back down at your drink.

His gaze was far too understanding and you felt like he was able to see everything you didn’t want anyone to know. You’d planned to take these feelings for Tom to the grave; you weren’t sure what to do now that it seemed they were out in the open.

“He’s been waiting for a sign, you know,” Maverick suddenly said, voice low and warm.

You jerked your head up to meet his gaze in confusion.

“Ice,” he clarified. “He’s been waiting. Watching. Trying to determine if you were talking to him as a friend or as an interested party. You’re close to all the Daggers and you and I talk a lot too; he was trying to judge where you stood in regard to him.”

You stared at Maverick, the doubt within you warring with the sincerity you could see on Pete’s face.

Sudden shouts from around the pool table made you jump and you and Pete both looked over to see Hangman looking suitably defeated and Ice shaking his head with a grin.

“Just…give him a chance, Y/N,” Maverick said quietly with a gentle smile as Ice made his way over to the table. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

You gave a jerky nod to show you heard, butterflies erupting in your stomach as, instead of sitting back down by Pete, Ice sat down by you. Close enough that you could feel his body heat.

You took a gulp of your drink.

“I’m assuming Hangman has already told you he wants a rematch?” Maverick asked his wingman with a grin and Ice rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“He has,” he confirmed. “Sounds like this may become a standing thing.” Ice’s blue eyes turned to you and you felt your face heat. “And I think I have you to thank for that, Sweetheart.”

Maverick muttered something about finding Bradley and his drink and left the table, leaving you and Ice staring at each other.

Your mind was racing with the possibilities- that maybe Tom liked you as much as you liked him, that he had been waiting for you, that he wasn’t interested in dating unless it was with you— but it also seemed so outlandish and you weren’t sure what to think.

A warm, calloused hand was suddenly on your jaw, thumb stroking your cheek.

“I assume my wingman has been…being a wingman in every sense of the word?” Tom asked and it startled a laugh out of you.

Tom hummed in approval at your laugh, seeming to relax himself as you did.

“Yeah,” you said after a moment, voice quiet. “He has been.” You hesitated, not really sure how to ask if Pete had been right.

But Tom didn’t let you hesitate for long.

“What is it you want to know, Sweetheart? Ask me anything.”

You blinked up at him, Pete’s words coming back to you. If you gave him a chance, you’d be pleasantly surprised.

“Why?” you asked simply, still not brave enough to ask ‘Why me?’ since you still weren’t even sure it was you and wouldn’t that be embarrassing.

The look Tom have you was soft and open, and it made your heart beat even faster.

“Why not you, Y/N?” Tom said gently, leaning in closer. “You are…wonderful,” he breathed. “So caring, funny, gentle, beautiful- you are the highlight of my day and our conversations are what I most look forward to. I have been…waiting, trying to see if I was someone you were interested in.”

You found your eyes tearing up, reaching up to grasp the hand still on your cheek.

“Tom,” you murmured and then he was leaving even closer.

“Am I?” he asked quietly, with a gentle smile. “Someone you’re interested in?”

You huffed a laugh, feeling breathless all of the sudden. “Is that actually a question you need an answer to?” Because you were pretty sure it was obvious if Maverick and Rooster were to be believed.

“I’d like to hear it from you,” Ice said, thumb continuing to caress your cheek and you found yourself getting lost in warm, blue eyes.

“Of course, Tom,” you whispered, and then his mouth was meeting yours in a chaste, gentle kiss that had your eyes fluttering shut.

And then the cheers registered.

“Looks like we’re getting an Auntie too!” Hangman crowed from somewhere over by the pool tables and you felt Ice laugh against your lips.

Alright. Score one for Hangman.

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

New Family

Top Gun Maverick Story

Older!Pete “Maverick” Mitchell x Female!Civilian!Reader

Warnings: you’re going to have to use your imagination – writing drunken slurring is not something I felt like tackling so the drunk in this story has marvelous diction, gratuitous amounts of strike through because it’s fun, Rooster’s OOC – but all in the name of the plot, age gap mentioned, it could be continued-but it won’t be, abrupt ending because I have the attention span of a walnut.

GIF not mine (obvs)

Enjoy

/////\\\\\

“I loved my mom, y’know?” Rooster slurred as you practically drug him to his Bronco. You made a half sympathizing, half exhausted sound, how did this man weigh so much and why was he so tall, as you listened with half an ear.

The man had been all over the board with his drunken conversations and you had given up trying to understand what he was getting at ten minutes ago.

How Rooster had even found this hole-in-the-wall place was beyond you, but you really didn’t want to stay here any longer than necessary. The bar keep had been nice enough to notice Rooster was trashed and go through his phone for a contact -apparently you were the first one that picked up- but you weren’t so sure about the clientele.

And with a drunk Bradley and you not exactly being a WWE runner up, you were far more vulnerable than you were comfortable with.

“She was really something,” Rooster continued to prattle on. “She had so much, so much love. And Mav- he listened to her. She was the only one that could make him.”

You hummed in agreement -getting Maverick to listen was something amazing all right- eyes skittering around the parking lot to make sure no one was around. You’d been prepared to drive him home, knowing Rooster would be beside himself if his precious Bronco got left overnight, but now faced the problem of getting a drunk, rambling Rooster up into the passenger seat of his own car. You didn’t do military calisthenics and Rooster was out of your weight class.

Maybe if you just…shoved him? Head first? At the moment, he had the coordination of a young giraffe and if you weren’t careful, you were both going to end up on the ground.

“You remind me of her,” Rooster’s voice cut through your strategizing. You looked over at him in confusion, still half thinking about how to get him in his Bronco. “My mom,” Rooster repeated with a loopy grin, “you remind me of her.”

You gave him a soft smile, knowing how close Rooster and his mom had been before he’d lost her.

“Thanks, Roo,” you murmured, feeling touched. That meant a lot coming from the aviator that had been so angry, so hurt, so guarded when you first met him and the rest of the Squad. Best decision you ever made was checking out the Hard Deck one night after you’d first moved to town.

“And Mav is like my dad,” Rooster bulldozed on, oblivious to your sudden raised brows. You knew they had history and knew that they were closer now, but you hadn’t realized they’d fixed things that far. “I used to call him dad sometimes, y’know?” Rooster asked as you helped him to lean against the back door of his Bronco. “But I can’t remember if he ever heard me. He was always there for me and I don’t remember much of my own dad. But Mav and Mom always told the best stories. Mav has a whole wall of photos!”

Alright, Rooster needed to talk about something else. You were actually starting to get teary eyed and no, we’re not doing that tonight.

“Roo-“ you started and then Rooster’s phone was ringing. Saved by the bell.

You batted Rooster’s uncoordinated hands away from his pocket and pulled his phone out, answering it without even looking at the caller ID. Who cared who it was? You needed help.

“Hello?” you asked, reaching forward to push Rooster back against the side of the Bronco. If that man hit the ground, he’d have to stay there because you wouldn’t be able to lift him.

“…Y/N?” came the somewhat hesitant reply. “I uh, sorry. Apparently, I missed a call from Bradley. Didn’t mean to interrupt—”

“Maverick,” you said pure relief, ignoring the ‘interrupt’ part for now. “Ugh, thank you, thank you, thank you for calling back. Look, Roo is drunk off his feet and I am struggling to get this boy into his Bronco. Can you come help?”

Even over the phone you could sense the immediate shift, Maverick going into Protector mode as you heard him moving around – gathering keys and his jacket most likely.

“Where are you two?” he asked, all business and you felt your shoulders ease a bit. Even just talking to the man had you more relaxed.

“We’re – hold on,” you turned around, after pushing Rooster back against the vehicle again, honestly, could the boy just stay put?, to look at the flickering light of the bar sign. “Uh, The Dragoon? Honestly, Rooster,” you muttered to the man as an aside, “how did you even find this?”

“That’s…not the best place,” Maverick said after a moment and you snorted.

“Yeah, Mav, I figured that much when I clocked the other drunk patrons. Not sure why Roo is here, the bar man was calling around for rides for him, but I’d like to get him away as soon as I can. But the man is an uncoordinated drunk.”

“Is that dad?” Rooster asked, as Maverick chuckled at your understatement over the line, seemingly to finally register that you were on the phone. You blinked at him -how much did he actually have to drink? “Hi, dad!” he suddenly hollered and you jumped, giving him a look.

Maverick’s side of the phone went oddly silent, even as you scolded Rooster.

“Bradley Bradshaw,” you hissed, looking around the parking lot again, “we are trying not to draw attention to ourselves. Be quiet!”

There were some…interesting looking people going into and out of the bar almost constantly and you did not need to get jumped tonight. With Rooster in the state he was, you’d both end up in the hospital. And you hated hospitals.

“Sorry, mom,” Rooster said somewhat sullenly and you pinched the bridge of your nose. You’d never seen this man drunk before, not like this, and you were so out of your element it wasn’t even funny.

“Did…” Maverick spoke and then paused for a moment. “…did he just call me dad? And…you, mom?” You weren’t even going to try to decipher Maverick’s tone.

You heaved a sigh, tipping Rooster back against the Bronco. Again. “Yeah. He’s been talking a lot about his mom and dad and you since I got here to pick him up. Not sure why he was here tonight drinking his body weight in liquor, but it’s messed with his head, I think.”

Maverick’s side of the line was silent again and you pulled the phone away briefly to make sure the call was still connected.

“Mav?” you asked after a moment and then Maverick was back in your ear, assuring you that he was there, but needed to hang up so he could get on his bike, but he’d see you both soon.

The line went dead and you looked carefully at Rooster who seemed content now to just lean against the side of the Bronco and ramble to himself -about what, you couldn’t tell.

Maverick had seemed…well, you weren’t sure exactly what he’d seemed like when he heard Rooster call him dad (and you, mom). You’d gotten the full story from both of them and knew how close knit they’d been and then all the years of hurt and silence.

And now they were getting their relationship back, finally putting aside the past and Rooster was pulling out parental labels. And you weren’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Oh, Roo,” you murmured, leaning back against the Bronco beside him to keep watch, “I hope this all works out for you.”

/////\\\\\

You had never been more thrilled to hear a loud motorcycle in your life.

You and Rooster leaning against his classic Bronco had begun to garner some interest and you were about ready to weep with relief as Maverick pulled up beside you.

The fact that Rooster had continued to drunkenly insist that you and Mav were like parents to him, and he loved you both, and he was really sorry…well. You were ready to weep from more than just seeing Maverick.

Sure, you had become a sort of “team mom” to the Daggers since their self-preservation instincts were next to none, but you hadn’t realized it had made an actual impression. Especially on Rooster.

And you weren’t really sure how Maverick and a sober Rooster would feel about you being dubbed mom.

And if the thought of you and Mav as ‘mom and dad’ made your stomach swoop and your heart race, that was between you and your smart watch.

“Hey,” Maverick greeted as he approached, looking both you and Rooster over, both of you leaning against the side of the Bronco in varying stages of grace. “You guys okay?”

“Now that you’re here? Yes,” you smiled in relief. Your eyes found a few patrons looking over at you three from the other side of the lot and Maverick followed your gaze, shifting casually to position himself more in front of you and Rooster.

Your watch was going to think you were having a heart attack at this rate.

“We were waiting for you,” Rooster suddenly piped up, grinning drunkenly at Maverick.

Maverick’s whole countenance loosened and he gave his godson (son, now?) a smile.

“Yeah? I can see it’s time to get you home, Baby Goose.” He stepped forward, catching Rooster and holding him upright when the giant aviator tried to give him a hug and missed. You stifled a laugh the best you could.

“I don’ wanna go home,” Rooster sulked. “It’s too empty there. Wanna stay with you.”

And there went the happy smiles on yours and Mav’s faces. You both exchanged a look and you pretended not to see Maverick’s expression; like his whole world had just righted itself but he didn’t trust it. Not with Rooster being this drunk.

“Alright, Baby Goose,” the man said after a moment and a suspicious throat clearing. “You can stay at mine tonight, okay?”

“Wanna stay with both of you,” Rooster murmured quietly, leaning heavily into Mav, “like a family.”

…What.

Again, you marveled at the fact that completely wiped out of his mind, Rooster ranked you right up there with a Pete in his family tree. And your heart broke a little thinking of how long it had been since Bradley Bradshaw had a family all together.

It was so sweet, but also intimidating, awkward and potentially devastating- Carol had been not only an amazing mother to Bradley, but also the wife of Maverick’s wingman whose death still rested on his conscience.

You did not need either one of these men thinking you were…trying to take her place or something. Even if it was her son claiming you as mom.

As for Bradley calling Maverick ‘dad’- well that was not your potential fall out. You had enough problems.

You moved to position yourself at Rooster’s other side. The sooner you could get him settled at home, the sooner you could leave and put this weird evening behind you.

“I’m driving, Roo- so we’ll all be at Mav’s.” The fact that you were absolutely not going to stay didn’t need to come out. “So come on, buddy. Up ya get.”

You and Maverick both worked to get Rooster’s uncoordinated Hawaiian shirt-wearing self into the front seat of the Bronco. And while the drunk man tried to help, it really didn’t work in your favor and both you and Maverick got shoved and pushed around while Rooster’s arms flailed.

Finally, you got the man inside, belted and you shut the door with a heavy sigh.

“That man is never allowed to drink ever again,” you groused as you wiped the sweat off your forehead. “Or I’m just never answering his calls from this moment on.”

Maverick chuckled lowly, not even looking winded, and you hated him just a teeny tiny bit for that.

“Well, let me just say, thank you for answering his call tonight,” he said quietly, voice grateful. You gave him a small smile of your own.

“Of course, Mav.” There was a brief silence as Maverick stared at you with an indecipherable look before you stifled a yawn. It had been the early hours of the morning when the barman had called you on Rooster’s phone; you shuddered to think what time it was now.

“I have no idea where you live, Pete,” you said after a moment. “Drive slow and I’ll follow?”

“Yeah, Y/N. Sounds good.”

Then Maverick was jogging back to his bike and you were walking around the Bronco and clambering into the driver seat.

“I thought you were going to make me sleep in here tonight,” Bradley murmured as soon as you’d shut the driver door and you snorted a laugh.

“I should,” you muttered teasingly. “Making me come all the way out here this early in the morning.”

Rooster didn’t laugh; he was silent and you chanced a look at him as you pulled out of the bar parking lot, following the motorcycle that you’re positive had never gone that slow before, ever. He looked deflated, leaning against the door and looking at his lap.

“…are you mad at me?” he asked quietly and your heart broke a bit at his tone of voice. Apparently happy drunk Rooster was gone and now sad drunk Rooster was here.

You were ridiculously out of your element.

“No, sweetie,” you said after a moment, the pet name just slipping out. “I’m not mad at you.”

“Is dad?” he asked subdued and you stiffened before making yourself relax. You had absolutely no idea if Maverick was disappointed – mad, never. But to ease the man next to you, you just answered, “No, hon. He’s not mad. We’re just…worried.” There, that seemed safe.

And then Rooster sniffed. “I’m really, sorry. I didn’t mean to get like this.”

Okay, maybe ‘worried’ wasn’t a safe word choice after all. You did not want to show up at Maverick’s house with a crying Bradley.

“Rooster,” you started and then shook your head once, starting over. “Bradley. It’s okay – we know you didn’t mean any harm. We just want to make sure you’re okay.”

You debated asking him what was wrong – surely there had to be a reason why he was getting this drunk in a rundown bar away from all his friends – but decided maybe that was a Maverick conversation. You were just the contact that picked up first. No matter what label Rooster called you.

“I just didn’t want to feel for awhile,” came the quiet mumble and you tried to smother the sound you made. No need to make him feel worse.

“I thought you and Pete were getting along really well,” you hazarded, trying to at least get a game plan so Mav had something to work with when you left Bradley with him.

“I let them down,” Rooster said with what sounded like tears.

When he didn’t say anything else, you prodded gently, “Let who down?”

“My parents. Mom loved Mav and my dad was his back-seater and I pushed Mav away and said horrible things to him and I can’t ever undo that and now I want to have him back as my dad but he’s my superior and I treated him horribly and he wouldn’t want me cause I’m not my dad—“

“Hey, Bradley, hey,” you interrupted as he got more and more worked up. “Maverick loves you. Come on, you gotta know that. All he ever wanted was to have you back and now he does. He doesn’t hold any of that against you, hon. He never would. Okay? And he knows you’re not Goose and that’s okay, Bradley. You’re Rooster, Bradley Bradshaw, and Mav would never compare you to anyone else and find you lacking- not even your dad.”

You kept your eyes glued to the motorcycle in front of you while Bradley seemed to process (as much as he could) what you’d just said. You may have overstepped, but you’d deal with that later. No way were you going to let Bradley think that Mav was anything other than proud of him.

“You’ve been carrying that around awhile,” you said quietly after a few moments of silence. Rooster made a strangled laugh and scrubbed his hands over his face.

“Yeah,” he said wearily and you hummed, relief filling you as Pete pulled up in front of a house, motioning you up park in the driveway.

Good. You made it to Pete’s house.

Now it was his turn to assure Bradley that they were good.

But before you left- “Roo, can I tell Pete what you told me?” you asked gently. Brown, wide eyes met yours and you have a soft smile, reaching over and grabbing his hand, giving it a squeeze.

“I can absolutely promise you he’s going to say the same thing- he’s not mad at you, he doesn’t hold any of what happened against you and he certainly isn’t comparing you to anyone else.”

You left out part about Rooster and Maverick being father and son already since they both had the tendency to internalize pain and blame themselves for everything.

Which honestly, was ridiculous. Both of them were.

“I-I guess,” Rooster stuttered. Normally, with someone this drunk, you’d take whatever they told you to the grave (unless you got permission from sober them) but in this case, these boys needed to talk. Even though you thought they’d already cleared the air.

You could wrestle with the morality of it later.

“Good,” you smiled, giving into the impulse and reaching over, brushing an unruly curl off his forehead. “Stay put and we’ll get you out in a few moments, okay?” Guess all the calling you ‘mom’ had gone to your head too. Wonderful.

Bradley leaned into your hand and nodded, still sniffling a bit.

You quickly got out of the Bronco and headed to Maverick who was standing a few yards away, expression unreadable.

This was probably not going to be the best conversation you’d ever had with the legendary pilot, but if it got them even closer, it’d be worth it.

“Bradley okay?” Maverick asked lowly as soon as you reached him and you nodded absently.

“Yeah- he’s fine. Well, sorta.” You huffed in frustration, at a loss of how to start this conversation.

“He change his mind?” Maverick asked casually, and boy his mask was good, but you were shaking your head before he finished his sentence.

“No, Pete, he didn’t. We uh…had a good, well maybe not good, but a conversation on the way here.”

There was a pause as Maverick waited for you to continue and you desperately tried to figure out how to say it. Maybe you should just…throw it out there.

“Bradley is convinced that you don’t like him because he was horrible to you, said hurtful things, he isn’t his dad or your wingman and he’s devastated that he can’t call you dad anymore because that’s something you wouldn’t want,” you rushed out in one long breath, mirroring Bradley’s own rushed confession in the Bronco.

But unlike your initial reassuring response to Bradley, Maverick didn’t say a word. Just stared at you, eyes wide.

“What?” he finally croaked out and you took a deep breath, ready to blurt it all out again but apparently he didn’t need that, because he was suddenly right in front you, calloused fingers gently resting over your mouth.

“He said…I mean, he thinks…” Pete stumbled over his words and you gently grabbed his hand with yours, pulling it away from your mouth and threading your fingers together.

“Yeah, Pete. He does. I did tell him that you loved him and that you weren’t upset with him; that you wouldn’t compare him to anyone and find him lacking – he seemed to take it okay. But I think he could really benefit hearing it from you.” And now for really overstepping. “And I think that it would be good for you two to talk this out -again- when he’s sober. He’s going to need reassurance tonight, Pete. But tomorrow, he’s going to need it again.”

Pete’s eyes bore into yours, his jaw clenching and then he nodded once, fingers squeezing yours. “And you’ll…be here for that?” he asked quietly. “I believe Bradley said he wanted us all together.”

You blinked at him, his initial reaction to you answering Rooster’s phone suddenly coming to the forefront of your mind. Didn’t mean to interrupt. It sounded like he thought you and Rooster were…a different kind of close. And while you wanted to straighten that out in no uncertain terms you were absolutely gone on a Top Gun graduate, but it was one that was out of your league, class and age bracket, tonight might not be the best time. And the fact that Rooster seemed to still be calling you mom and you weren’t sure how either of the two men would take that when emotions were not so high and everyone was sober…well.

“I’m not sure that’s the best thing,” you said after a few moments and then Pete, somehow, was even closer to you. You could feel his jacket brush the front of your shirt with every breath you both took.

“He called you mom,” he said after a few moments of silence and you nodded, swallowing hard. “…does that bother you?” the man continued and you tilted your head, trying to read his expression, but it was so neutral it almost gave you the chills. You had no idea which way this conversation was going to go.

“A little,” you murmured after a moment and Maverick’s jaw clenched. You hurried to add, “But only because I don’t know how he’s going to feel about it when he’s not drowning in liquor…or how you feel about it.”

The man in front of you tilted his head. “How I feel about it?”

“From what you guys have told me of Carol, she was an amazing woman – she was your RIO’s wife and love of his life, she was such a great mother to Bradley and you and she were so close and I guess…I just didn’t want either you or Bradley thinking I was trying to replace her or something.”

“Oh, Sweetheart,” Pete breathed after a moment and you felt a full body shudder at the pet name. “I absolutely do not think you’re replacing Carol and I’d bet Bradley doesn’t either. He hasn’t had a family he can hang out with and hold for years and him calling you mom is not something he takes lightly. I can guarantee that boy has that about it a lot.”

“He wants to call you dad,” you reminded him, both to make a point about Bradley’s also having thought that one through and also to remind Pete that if you were mom and he was dad, that did have some connotations that you were more than willing to explore needed to be brought up.

Maverick’s eyes searched your own. “Would being a family with me and Rooster be so bad?”

“No!” you said loudly, instinctively squeezing Pete’s hand, and then promptly groaned, hiding your face in your free hand as the pilot gave a delighted chuckle.

“We will absolutely be talking more about this,” he promised, leaning in a pressing a gentle, chaste kiss to your lips. “But right now, I think we need to go get our boy before he passes out in the seat.”

You blinked at Maverick – dazed by just a kiss, what was wrong with you – before nodding, following along around the Bronco to the passenger door as Pete pulled at your joined hands.

He didn’t let go until he opened the door and had to steady a tilting Rooster.

“Easy, Baby Goose,” Maverick murmured, his whole countenance seeming lighter than it had been earlier that night.

“You guys left me,” Rooster accused with a pout and you huffed a laugh.

“I told you it’d be a few minutes,” you said with a smile as you stepped up to try and help Maverick get Bradley out of the seat without any of you faceplanting.

Bradley looked between you and Pete, his expression wary and sad. Right. You went out to talk to Maverick about what Rooster had told you.

“Bradley,” Pete said firmly, though his tone was warm and fond. “You are my kid. I love you and I am not mad at you. I’m just happy that we’re back together and I would be honored for you call me dad. If you want.”

You almost rolled your eyes at his add on; you told the man that Bradley wanted to call him dad, for crying out loud. These men were going to be the death of you.

Then Bradley was sniffing again and he tumbled out of the Bronco and into Pete’s arms, almost knocking them both to the ground as he sobbed into this dad’s neck.

You grabbed on them both to try and help steady them and found yourself pulled into the hug as well.

“I love you, dad, mom,” Bradley cried and you stiffened, it was still weird to be thought of as a parental figure to someone who was not son age to you, and then Mav was meeting your eyes over Bradley’s head.

“Don’t think, just do,” he murmured and you huffed a fond laugh before thinking screw it and hugging both of the men back as hard as you could. You were practically in love with Maverick already – it wouldn’t take long of having them both as a family to start loving Bradley, in a completely different way, as well.

You don’t know how long passed with your group hug and Maverick murmuring reassurances into Bradley’s hair, but eventually his crying settled down into hiccoughs and you met Pete’s eyes again over his head.

“Alright, Baby Goose,” Maverick said quietly, “let’s get inside, okay?”

In was uncoordinated and an absolute mess to get the three of you – still entangled in a group hug because Rooster wouldn’t let go – into the house, but you managed, feeling yourself relax as Maverick’s front door shut behind the three of you.

“Rooster’s bedroom is on the right,” Maverick said to you as you both worked to get Rooster down the hall and your heart both melted and broke at the fact that Maverick had a room for Bradley, even though he hadn’t spent the night over yet. “You can take my room, I’ll sleep on the couch,” the man continued and you and Bradley spoke at the same time.

“No!”

“Not happening, Mav.”

Maverick looked back and forth between the two of you, lips twitching.

“We stay together,” Bradley said resolutely, though he seemed half asleep on his feet, exhausted from both the drinks and the emotional melt down.

“I agree with Roo, Mav,” you said with an impish grin. “I’m not taking your bed. Well, not alone.”

Maverick snorted, shaking his head in amusement, though he dutifully steered the three of you towards his room.

“It’s going to be a little cramped with all three of us,” Maverick warned though it didn’t seem like he was trying to dissuade you too hard.

“I think that Roo needs you – us,” you corrected at Maverick’s look. “You can sleep in the middle. And in the morning, we can talk all of this over. Again.”

Because they were not going to ignore it in the light of day, if you had anything to say about it. You were all going to talk about your feelings like adults.

“We’re s’pposed to listen to mom,” Rooster murmured and Maverick huffed a laugh.

“Don’t give her ideas, Baby Goose. She’ll run with that.”

“Too late,” you said angelically as you and Mav finagled Rooster through the doorway and sat him on the end of the bed. You and Maverick exchanged a look and then he wordlessly turned and dug through a drawer, taking out a shirt and sweats and handing them to you.

“I can get Roo taken care of. Go change and we’ll see you back here?” he asked lowly and you nodded. You may have all been playing at being a family, but you weren’t going to be helping a drunken Rooster change.

“Thanks, Mav. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Rooster was looking up at you, blinking sleepily and you swept that stubborn curl off his forehead again.

“I’ll be right back, Roo. Get changed and then we’ll get some sleep, okay? Together.”

Rooster nodded and then Maverick was in front of him with a change of clothes and you headed for the door to give them some privacy – and take some for yourself.

It didn’t take long to change, so you grabbed Rooster a glass of water and some aspirin you found in Mav’s kitchen and headed back to Maverick’s room.

The door was wide open so you peeked in, feeling a smile steal over your face at the Rooster sized lump under the covers on one side, clinging to the Maverick sized lump in the middle. Maverick leaned up, locking eyes with you and giving you a smile that made your knees go weak.

“Alright, Y/N?” he asked quietly and you nodded, rounding the bed on Rooster’s side to put down the glass of water and aspirin before heading to the other side and climbing in. Once the covers were pulled over you, you hesitated for a moment, still not sure this wasn’t some kind of dream. That Pete was right there, and you guys were… well you weren’t sure what exactly you guys were yet, but he seemed amendable to the whole ‘mom and dad’ thing. But you didn’t know how far that extended. Should you wait until you talked again? Should you wait for him to do something?

Don’t think, just do.

Screw it. You turned on your side toward Pete and curled up against him, your arm coming over top of him, hand resting on Bradley’s own arm that was slung around Mav.

You felt the man you were half laying on go practically boneless as you finally settled. Bradley was softly snoring, half laying on Mav as well, completely sacked out and you felt your own eyes get heavy.

“Thank you,” Pete said quietly a few moments later and you made a soft, questioning noise. “For answering Bradley’s call…and for agreeing to be part of our family.”

You shifted, locking eyes with Pete. Green eyes looked softly into your own and you felt your heart start to pick up as he leaned in and gently covered your lips with his own.

You made a noise in the back of your throat that you’re pretty sure you’d be embarrassed about later, but it was worth it to feel Pete’s lips stretch into a smile against your own.

You could get used to this.

Pete pulled away, staying close enough that your breath intermingled. “We’ll continue this when our son is not in our bed,” he murmured with a grin and you huffed an incredulous laugh because how was this your life now?

You pressed a kiss to his lips before settling back against his chest, feeling his arm come around you to press you even closer to his side.

Tomorrow, you’d make sure that all three of you talked this out and were on the same page. But tonight? Tonight you’d fall asleep at peace and with your new family.

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

Bit Oblivious

Top Gun Maverick story

Older!Pete “Maverick” Mitchell x Female!Civilian!Reader

Warnings: Oblivious!Reader, age gap, Insecure!Reader

Not Beta read, not even really Alpha read

GIF not mine (obvs)

Enjoy

/////\\\\\

“He’s not a bad guy, you know,” Penny said abruptly to you as she sat your drink down in front of you.

You blinked at her.

And blinked again.

Then cocked your head.

“….what?” you asked intelligently. “Who?”

“Pete,” the woman answered back almost exasperatedly. You cocked your head again.

“…Pete?” you asked slowly, trying in vain to figure out who she was talking about. Or even what she was talking about.

Penny leveled you with a look that almost had you thinking she was about to throw you Overboard. You raised your hands in surrender. “I’m not being sarcastic, Penn,” you said with a lopsided grin. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Maverick,” she emphasized and you let out an “Ah” in recognition. That’s right. Penny had used ‘Pete’ and ‘Maverick’ in the same sentence before. But everyone else around the Hard Deck used Maverick, Mav or Pops. The man had even introduced himself as Maverick.

You gave a brief, self depreciating shrug. You sucked at names – not really your fault. Then the rest of her sentence registered.

“He’s not a bad guy?” you repeated back at her in confusion. What on earth was she talking about? Why was she telling you that? Unless…

“Is this your way of telling me you’re getting back together with him?” You and Penny had gotten close over the short time you’d lived in the city and when the newly minted Dagger Squad had gotten to town for some secret mission you didn’t know really anything about, Penny had told you about her history with the infamous Maverick.

Who was also apparently named Pete. Right. You should probably try to remember that.

The borderline annoyed huff from the women in front of you brought your attention back to her.

“No,” she sighed, leveling you with another look, but you couldn’t decipher this one. “I am not getting back together with him. We haven’t been together since that one time months ago before his mission and have decided to just remain friends. It’s better for both of us that way.”

You nodded slowly, trying really hard to follow her train of thought. Assuming there was one.

“….so then why are you telling me this?” you asked slowly.

The woman rolled her eyes heavenward and muttered out an, “Unbelievable.”

“What?” you asked defensively. This wasn’t exactly a clear and concise conversation! And while you had conversations with Maverick -with all the Daggers really, but mostly their leader- you couldn’t for the life of you figure out why Penny was telling you he wasn’t a bad guy. He was a great conversationalist and was smart, funny and attentive, not to mention stupidly good looking, so why this conversation? …Had you given the impression you though he was a horrible person? You certainly hoped not! You really liked the man!

“Have you thought more about what we talked about a few weeks ago?” she asked abruptly and you were pretty sure your head was spinning in confusion like a Tom and Jerry cartoon at the sudden turn in conversation.

“What?” you asked, completely lost. “Penny, finish one thought first before jumping to the next one. What are you talking about?”

The woman just looked at you and you felt your hackles rise again defensively.

“Afternoon, Ladies,” a deep voice said from behind you and Penny threw you another look before greeting Maverick -Pete- back and turning away to grab his drink.

You just blinked after her, absolutely lost.

What had just happened?

“Hey, Y/N. You doing okay?” Maverick asked as he took the seat next to you and you turned to him absently.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, just fine, Mav. Thanks,” you said after a moment, throwing him a small smile. Best to just put whatever the heck just happened with Penny out your head for now.

You didn’t think you could figure it out on your own anyway. You’d have to sit her down and get her to be less cryptic.

You focused back on Mav and found him looking at you with a raised brow.

You huffed. Why were people looking at you weirdly this afternoon?

“Scout’s honor, Mav,” you said with a sloppy salute. “I am fine.”

“Y/N and I were actually just talking about you,” Penny told the Naval Aviator as she placed his beer down in front of him.

Maverick looked back and forth between the two of you with raised brows and a grin, though for some reason you thought it looked wary. Maybe it was a trick of the light.

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, “What about?”

You snorted into your drink. “I have absolutely no idea,” you muttered, still completely lost as to what exactly Penny had been trying to say. You’d think for a bartender she’d have better communication.

Maverick looked at you in confusion and then turned his attention to Penny.

“Penny?”

“Oh, we were just talking about how you are such a great guy,” the wonderfully infuriating woman said with a smile that you didn’t trust one bit.

To your surprise, Maverick seemed to sit a little straighter, face becoming unreadable.

“Is that so?” he asked nonchalantly, but even you -who didn’t know him as well as Penny- could hear the tense undercurrent.

Now it was your turn to look between the two, totally baffled.

What was happening?

“Yep,” Penny continued, either not noticing or not caring about Maverick’s sudden change in mood. You were betting it was the latter. “But now that you’re here, guess we’ll have to put the conversation aside for another time.”

For some reason, Maverick seemed to get even more tense at that and you just sat there, looking between the two in utter confusion.

You felt like you were missing a whole other conversation. That apparently included you, but you hadn’t been a part of.

Rude.

With a Cheshire grin, Penny left you two alone abruptly as she went to go assist other patrons.

You watched her for a moment before turning your attention to Maverick. Your brow furrowed even more when you saw his tense posture and his jaw clenching.

“…Mav?” you asked after a moment, voice a bit hesitant. You’d never really seen him anything other than happy. “You good?”

The handsome Navy Pilot turned to you, green eyes serious and guarded. Nothing like he’d been the last few months you’d known him.

“Yeah,” he said after a moment. “Just fine.”

You just blinked at him, ridiculously confused, and then watched as he gave you a halfway sincere ‘have a nice night’ and then left the bar to head to the pool tables.

What.

You turned back to your drink and met Penny’s eyes from the other end of the bar and she frowned, jerking her head towards the back where the pool tables were set up.

You seriously debated flipping her off.

You were absolutely not going any farther into this quagmire until you knew what the heck was going on. This felt a bit like walking through land mines; one wrong move and everything was going to blow up in your face.

You were still new enough to the area that the people at the Hard Deck -Penny, Mav and the Daggers- were really the only people you were close with. You had a few coworkers you got along well with, but your relationship with them stopped at work. You certainly didn’t want to alienate some of the only people you knew in this town.

And it seemed obvious to you that Maverick really didn’t want to talk to you.

What a mess. And you didn’t even know what it was about!

“Hey, Y/N!” came a cheerful voice from beside you and you turned to see Rooster leaning beside you on the bar, grin wide and Hawaiian shirt bright.

“Hey, Roo,” you greeted, smile stretching over your face unconsciously. You really did enjoy the tall aviator- and he and Maverick seemed to be close, or closer than they were a few months ago, and you always had good conversations with the three of you.

At the thought of Maverick, your brow furrowed again. Usually by now, you two were deep in a conversation about something and you were already missing that.

And you didn’t know why it was suddenly different.

“So how come you and Mav aren’t attached at the hip this afternoon?” Rooster asked casually, brown eyes boring into your own.

You almost started complaining about Penny and her cryptic conversations and Maverick and his sudden mood swing, but Rooster’s verbiage made you draw up short.

“What? Attached at the hip?” Is that how people saw you?

Rooster leaned down towards you, giving you an impish grin.

“Well, considering you two are always within a few feet of each other whenever you’re both in the same place, I thought it was a good word choice.”

You looked down at your drink with a half smile, not really sure how to feel about that. You enjoyed speaking with Maverick for sure and it was something you’d started looking forward to, but you weren’t sure you liked the fact that it was so obvious.

There was an age difference between the two of you and while it didn’t matter to you, you weren’t keen on the idea of people getting the wrong impression of you and Maverick. What if they saw you as some sort of groupie or simpering idiot or something? What if Maverick saw you as something like that? After all, you were just a civilian, nothing military related and Maverick was…well, Maverick. Navy legend and hot shot pilot. There was absolutely a difference in class and importance and you were not the higher up.

“You know, Y/N, I’m pretty sure you’re the highlight of his days,” Rooster said suddenly, as he leaned closer so he could speak a little quieter but still be heard. “He enjoys talking with you; half the time he’ll bring up stuff you’ve talked about when we’re at his Hanger or after Hops. Your time together has been good for him.”

You looked over at the brunette with a small smile. “Really?” you asked quietly.

“Absolutely,” Rooster assured. He leaned in a little closer. “Don’t say you know anything, but the Squad is taking bets on how long it’ll take.”

You tilted your head. “On how long what will take?”

Rooster just stared at you, then threw his head back and laughed.

“Oh, no wonder!” he laughed. You scowled at him as he kept laughing.

“Rooster,” you growled and he tried valiantly to smother his laughs and be serious.

“Sorry, Y/N, sorry. But I just…this explains a lot. And makes me feel a lot better.”

“What explains a lot?” you sighed exasperatedly. You were so tired of people not coming right out and saying what they were talking about.

“Y/N,” Rooster started with a large grin. “I mean this with love, I really do. But you are oblivious.”

Whatever the look on your face was, it made Rooster throw his head back and laugh again.

You scowled at him, feeling embarrassment creep in. “Glad I can be so amusing to you.”

Rooster reached over and slung an arm around you.

“Sorry, Y/N,” he said with a grin, trying to keep from laughing again. “Sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I mean, I am laughing at you, but not in a mean way.”

You threw him an unimpressed look.

“Listen, Y/N,” Rooster said now face serious, though you swore his mustache kept twitching, “I’m not going to lie, I was getting a little nervous there for a bit. Honestly, I figured Mav would be successful eventually, but I also knew he wouldn’t push it if he truly thought you weren’t interested. I’m glad to see – or at least think I see – that you just have no idea he’s flirting to begin with.”

Your jaw dropped.

Flirting?!

Cue another deep laugh from Rooster and then Penny was suddenly right there, grin wide.

“Did she figure it out yet?” she asked the lieutenant and was it your imagination or did she sound really excited at that prospect?

 “I think we’re getting there,” Rooster grinned and you jabbed him in the ribs.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, pulling away and rubbing his side. “What was that for?”

“That’s for making fun of me,” you retorted. You looked between the two of them. “For the last time, can someone please tell me what’s going on!”

The two exchanged amused looks. That’s it- you were swearing off the Hard Deck.

“Y/N,” Penny started, “you know we love you—“

“Yes, yes, yes,” you said impatiently, waving a hand, “You love me, I’m oblivious, Maverick’s apparently been flirting and now you’re going to tell me why he’s suddenly not talking to me and what exactly you were trying -and failing- to tell me before he showed up.”

“Alright,” Rooster started, after exchanging another look with Penny, “it’s like this. Mav has been gone on you since like, day one.”

“But he wasn’t sure how you felt since you were friendly but never really responded to his flirtations,” Penny continued.

“And he was getting a little bummed out, though he kept insisting that he was fine just being friends and talking.”

“I told him he was being an idiot,” Penny muttered.

“We all told him he was being an idiot. But then, we thought maybe not, because you didn’t seem to flirt back, Y/N.”

“Which is why you and I had a talk a few weeks ago about Maverick and him having his eye on someone and how I was happy for them.”

“What?” you blurted out, interrupting their back and forth. “That’s what you were saying a few weeks ago, Penn? That Maverick was interested in me and that you were what, giving us your blessing?!”

“Yes,” the woman had the gall to look at you like you were simple. “That’s exactly what I was saying. Then when you didn’t do anything to nail him down, I figured that maybe you were thinking he just wanted to sleep with you and then leave—“

“Hold up,” you interrupted again, because what, “I’m still stuck on the fact that you thought I was on the same page a few weeks ago. How was I supposed to know you were talking about me?!”

“Uh, because it’s obvious?” Rooster piped up, the duh going unsaid, but clearly heard.

“It was most certainly not obvious!” you shot back. “I thought he was just being nice!”

Penny gave another, “Unbelievable,” and suddenly the conversation from earlier made so much more sense.

“You were trying to get me to remember our obscure, brief conversation about Maverick liking someone and then were trying to tell me he’s not interested in sleeping with me?” you pieced it all together incredulously.

“I mean, I wouldn’t say he’s not interested in not sleeping with you,” Penny cut in.

 “Ugh, you guys absolutely suck at communicating,” you groaned, ignoring her. Your stomach swooped and you wondered how many other ‘obvious’ conversations you’d missed. Maverick, Pete, liked you? Was flirting with you? The whole time?!

“You’re just incredibly dense,” Rooster said fondly with a smirk. “How you haven’t noticed Mav orbiting you and appearing by your side minutes after he sees you is beyond me. How could you not think the man was flirting with you? He’s been insufferable!”

“Why would he?” you demanded, feeling the need to defend yourself. You weren’t stupid! And it wasn’t your fault you were ‘oblivious’! “He’s Maverick. He’s a Navy man with a spectacular career, a legendary pilot, is ridiculously intelligent, good looking, charming- he could literally have anyone and you think him flirting with me is something I’m going to notice? Why would it be?!”

Both Rooster and Penny were quiet, staring at you with unreadable expressions. Wonderful. Apparently, you not realizing what was happening because you never thought it could happen wasn’t an outcome they thought of.

Good to know they thought your self confidence was so high. You must’ve nailed the ‘fake it until you make it’ thing.

“Is that what you really think?” came Maverick’s low voice from behind you and you shut your eyes with a grimace. Floor just swallow you now.

“Hey,” Pete said lowly from suddenly right in front of you, warm fingers ghosting down your cheek. “Y/N, Sweetheart.”

You opened your eyes to see the infamous pilot standing where Rooster had been a second ago- both Rooster and Penny were nowhere to be seen.

“Is that what you really think?” Maverick repeated and you blew out a breath.

“Yeah, Mav,” you said quietly. “It seems pretty straightforward to me.”

“Oh, Honey, you got that all wrong,” Pete said warmly, a hand gently grabbing one of yours. “If anyone has reason to think this is too good to be true, it’d be me.”

You scoffed. “Pete, please. That’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Pete laughed, low and warm.

“Thank you, Sweetheart, but it’s true. There aren’t too many people who are fond of me in the Navy and it’s bled over into other areas of my life.”

You rose a brow, pointedly looking at the Dagger Squad at the back of the bar.

“Aside from the Daggers, and Penny,” Maverick conceded with a smile. His smile dimmed and he looked at your earnestly. “I was starting to think that you’d heard the rumors or just weren’t interested. But it looks like maybe that wasn’t the case?” It was phrased as a question and you looked him over carefully, deciding that you could also be brave.

“No,” you murmured after a few moments, “that wasn’t it at all.” You huffed a soft laugh at Maverick’s brightening expression. “Apparently, I’m just oblivious.”

Maverick’s answering grin made you a bit weak in the knees.

“In that case,” he murmured, crowding into your space, “I’d like to make my intentions crystal clear. I want to be with you, Y/N. Take you out on dates, plan our future together, share every part of my life with you and share every part of yours in return.”

“For how long?” you breathed, vaguely recalling Penny’s worry that you only thought Pete wanted to sleep with you.

“For as long as you’ll have me,” Maverick said seriously, green eyes boring into your own.

You couldn’t stop the blinding grin from crossing your face if you tried.

“You’re going to be staying around for a long time then,” you warned as Pete’s eyes dropped down to your lips.

“Good,” he said simply before leaning in and capturing your mouth in a kiss that could leave absolutely no doubts to his feelings for you.

You dimly registered some kind of cheer but just pulled Pete closer.

Oblivious indeed.

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

Hobbled in Love

Top Gun Maverick Short Story

Older!Pete Maverick Mitchell x Female!Civilian!Reader

Warnings: injuries (there for the plot line but not the focus), mention of reader being carried, insecure!Reader, seems a bit sub-droppy but it wasn’t meant to be?, somewhat abrupt ending: this thing just didn’t want to end but my attention span did

Not beta read – barely even alpha read

GIF not mine (obvs)

Enjoy

/////\\\\\

You hobbled into the Hard Deck, throwing a grin and a thank you at the random bar patron who’d held the door open for you. Chivalry wasn’t dead – how nice.

Crutches were a pain in the…well, a pain. And the cast on your lower leg was not any better.

You clunked your way further into the bar, your arms feeling the strain. You’d just been outfitted with your new accessories a few days before and you were still not even remotely used to having only one leg and your arms available. How annoying.

But the walls of your house were slowly closing in and you just needed a change of scenery.

So, you’d texted Nat who had told you that everyone would be at the Hard Deck that afternoon and you’d decided what the heck. Might as well go too.

“Y/N!” came the loud greeting from Hangman and then tall, blonde and loud was right in front you. “Heard you had an issue with some stairs,” the man grinned, though his eyes were carefully looking you over. You rolled your eyes good-naturedly.

“They were out to get me,” you huffed, grinning as Hangman barked a laugh.

“Well, come on. Come sit at the pool tables with the rest of the crew – Rooster can grab you a soda or something.”

You rose a brow as Rooster seemed to appear out of nowhere and clapped Jake on the shoulder, giving you a grin and a wink, and then heading to the bar.

“I see that Mav’s team building exercises are working,” you said slowly, looking between the two. You knew they had put a lot of animosity behind them (Rooster and Mav’s fixed relationship seemed to also have something to do with that) but you didn’t realize they had made it to ‘partners in crime’ yet.

Hangman gave you a grin. “I think Roo just realized that he can’t beat me, so he better join me.”

It was your turn to bark a laugh and you slowly started to hobble your way over to the pool tables. Jake kept by your side, keeping up his idle chatter as you both made your way -slowly- to the back of the bar. It never seemed so far before and you found yourself having to pause and catch your breath. New rule: you were never falling down the stairs again. This was stupid.

“Alright, Y/N?” Rooster asked from where he appeared on your other side, your drink in his hand.

Before you could answer, Jake did for you. “She will be, Bradshaw. Take the crutches, yeah?”

You looked over at Hangman in confusion – take your crutches? Uh, you needed those?

But Bradley didn’t seem to see any issue with what Jake said and gave a flippant salute before reaching out one hand to take first one crutch and then reach for the other.

“Wha-Bradley!” you stuttered, “What are you aaahh!”

Jake had unceremoniously swept you off your feet and into a bridal hold, Rooster grabbing the second crutch before it could hit the ground.

“Jake!” you scolded, heart hammering. “Warn a girl next time!”

Hangman gave a cocky smirk as he looked down at you. “Always knew you’d look good in my arms, Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes, though you couldn’t stop your lips twitching. The man really was ridiculous.

“Too bad I had to fall down the stairs for you to see it,” you shot back and Rooster guffawed a laugh from behind you.

You really weren’t all that far from the back of the bar where the rest of the Dagger Squad was huddling around the pool tables, but Jake carrying even that short distance did manage to turn a few heads. Honestly. It’s like they never saw a Damsel in Distress before.

“I come bearing gifts!” Hangman announced your presence to the Squad and you shared a look with Rooster. For crying out loud—

“Y/N!” Natasha greeted, giving you a once over as well. “Glad you could make it! Though I think you could have chosen your Uber more carefully.”

You laughed at Jake’s exaggerated pout.

“I’m on a budget,” you responded and Hangman gave a huff as a few of the Daggers laughed. He carried you over to one of the in tables and lowered you to one side of the booth.

“She’s your problem now, Pops,” he declared as he straightened. “Very ungrateful. Better watch this one.”

You shook your head, even as your stomach jolted at seeing the smiling eyes of the infamous Naval Pilot on the other side of the table, but you grabbed at Hangman’s arm all the same.

“Thanks, Jake,” you said with a warm smile. All teasing aside, you really did appreciate the man and he did come through for you all the time. “I can always count on you.”

Jake gave a sincere smile as Rooster leaned your crutches up against the table.

“Of course you can, Y/N. You’re one of us. Well, once Pops makes it official, anyway.”

You blinked up at the blonde pilot while Rooster choked on air and Maverick gave a warning, “Jake.”

Hangman raised his hands in surrender. “Just telling it like it is, Pops. Now, you kids don’t do anything crazy. There’s a lot of witnesses here.” And then Hangman was dragging an amused, but apologetic looking, Rooster away towards the pool tables.

There was a silence at your table before Maverick gave a sigh. “I think having friends has gone to that boy’s head.”

You laughed, grabbing the drink Rooster had left by your crutches, trying desperately to act normal and not look too much into the exchange that had just happened. It was just Jake being Jake.

“I think anything that happens to Hangman goes to his head,” you smirked, taking a small sip of the non alcoholic drink Rooster had gotten for you. All the pilots were very thoughtful- maybe it was a military thing?

“How are you holding up?” Maverick asked after a few moments of watching you, categorizing your movements and slight grimaces and shifts as you moved to try to alleviate the always present throb of your leg.

You leveled him with a look.

“Apparently I look as awful as I feel because Hangman just carried me the last like, twenty feet to the table.”

Maverick gave you a small smile, eyes unreadable.

“He does seem rather fond of you; I’m not surprised he tried to take care of you. Have you guys tried the uh, dating thing?”

You couldn’t help your snort-laugh if you tried, however un-ladylike it sounded.

“He’s like the annoying older brother I never had, Pete.” This was a conversation you wanted to make sure the man took seriously- no call signs here. “We tried fake dating once to try to make some girl he had his eye on jealous. And we both couldn’t even hold hands without almost throwing up,” you said (exaggerated a bit, but you needed to make your platonic feelings for Jake very clear). “Dating is definitely not in the cards for us. At least, not with each other.”

There was a pause and then Maverick asked, “Did it work?”

At your head tilt he clarified, “The fake dating. Did it work?”

“Only because I followed her to the bathroom and begged her to give him the time of day so I could go home,” you said dryly.

Pete gave a laugh- a real laugh- and you learned back in the booth, satisfied.

Good. As if you needed the man you had the biggest crush on thinking you had the hots for Hangman of all people. You knew that Hangman was attractive but there would be absolutely no misunderstandings of your sibling-type relationship with the cocky blonde aviator.

If Maverick never made a move and didn’t see you the same way you saw him, fine. But Maverick not making a move because he thought you were spoken for? Not happening in this lifetime if you could help it.

A comfortable silence reigned over the table as you both watched the pool games and listened to the trash talking.

Honestly, sometimes it was hard to believe they were all adults. It sounded more like an elementary school playground.

But after a little while longer, your energy was starting to flag and judging by the growing pain in your leg, your life was about to get a little more miserable before you could take another pain pill.

You looked towards the door -had it always been that far away?- and mentally geared up for the trek. You’d square up with Rooster for the drink later.

“Ready to leave?” Maverick asked because of course he’d already clocked your change in demeanor.

You gave a rueful grin and a nod, reaching over and grabbing your crutches. “I was not as ready for an outing as I thought.”

Pete was immediately on his feet, coming around to your side of the booth and helping you up, making sure you were set with your crutches before taking a single step back.

“You gonna get home okay?” he asked lowly and you have a tired smile.

“Yeah- I’m sure I’ll be good. But thanks, Mav.”

You really just wanted to go home and put your feet up while you waited for your next round of meds. And the quicker you could leave the Hard Deck, the quicker you could get there.

The man in front of you hummed lowly and then turned and headed to the pool tables and you rose a brow, looking after him.

Kinda odd. Mav was usually pretty good at saying goodbye.

With a mental shrug, you gave a wave to the Daggers whose eyes you could catch and then slowly headed towards the front door.

You hadn’t made it more than ten feet before there was a presence by your side. You looked over to see Maverick, jacket on and shades hanging off the front of his white shirt.

You tilted your head as he kept pace with you, bypassing the bar and moving with you to the front door.

“You leaving too?” you asked as he gently -but firmly and you tried really hard to not lean into that strength - grabbed your arm to steady you when you wobbled.

“Yup. I’m taking you home,” he said casually and you did a double take.

“Wait, what?”

The infamous Captain gave you a look that you weren’t really sure how to interpret. It looked like a cross between long suffering and indulgence with a hint of amusement.

“Y/N,” he said in a no-nonsense tone that would make even Jake sit up and take notice, “I don’t know how you got here, but I do know how you’re getting home.”

You weren’t supposed to be ‘operating heavy machinery’ on your meds so you’d ordered a ride but, “What if I drove?”

Pete gave a shrug. “Then I’ll steal your keys and drive you home. One of the boys can come pick me up.”

You’d both made it outside and Pete looked over the parking lot before turning to you with a raised brow and a smirk.

You have a sheepish smile. “That was a valid question! …. but I didn’t drive here.”

Huffing a laugh, Pete guided you to one of the benches that sat in front of the bar.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back,” he said as he got you situated and turned towards the parking lot.

“Wait!” you blurted, suddenly having a horrific vision of you, with cast and crutches, trying to hold on to the back of Pete’s bike and not fall and break your other leg.

You would have no issue taking a ride with Pete on his motorcycle -the thought did stimulate the imagination- but not like this!

You were pretty certain the man was physic because before you could say anything further, the man was dangling what you recognized as Rooster’s Bronco keys from his fingers.

And you’re pretty sure he was inwardly laughing at your expense when you absolutely deflated in relief.

“Give me a little credit,” he teased, slipping on his shades and then jogging off across the parking lot.

You watched him go, both enjoying the view and trying not to get yourself worked up.

It was fine.

The man you had ridiculous warm and fuzzy feelings for was going to drive you home.

It was fine.

You’d never been in his presence alone, always with a group either on the beach or at the Hard Deck, and now it would be just you and him in the car.

It was fine.

You’d be at the center of that man’s attention and there’d be no one else around as a buffer.

It was fine.

It was fine.

It was not fine. Oh, it was not fine.

You could feel the nerves bubbling up and you swallowed heavily.

The man took ‘Mother Hen’ to a whole new level- you’d seen it with the Daggers when training had been brutal or illnesses came around. If he thought you were not okay, he’d hover. He wouldn’t just drop you off and run, he’d stay.

And for your sanity, you couldn’t have that. (Even though, in your deepest thoughts, you’d like nothing more than to be with Pete, have him to hold and hold you in return, have something solid and something real with the man.) But now? With you just -sorta?- friends? And you about to be in your home and eventually taking more pain meds?

You really needed to get your nerves under control.

The rumble of the Bronco was approaching and you took a deep breath, gave yourself a mental pep talk, Seriously, Y/N, you can do this, and then you hauled yourself to your feet, grabbing your crutches and hopping away from the bench.

A car door slammed and then Pete was suddenly next to you, huffing a laugh even as he helped to take some of your weight.

“Really, Y/N? You couldn’t wait twenty more seconds?”

“Gotta be quicker, Mav,” you grinned back. As Maverick helped you into the passenger seat on the Bronco, you made it a point to do as much as you could yourself. If you seemed capable of doing things on your own, surely he’d stay just long enough to get you inside your house and then he’d leave. Then he wouldn’t be in your space and you’d be free to let down your guard and not do something stupid, like ask him to stay forever.

It was fine.

Except it wasn’t fine. It wasn’t fine at all.

You knew that Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was a smart guy- he had to be to get where he was today. And the way the man could fly anything was so hot- You also knew the man had a good sense of humor- you’d heard him holding his own with the whole Squad.

But to be on the receiving end of that? To have a one-on-one conversation with no other distractions and no other interruptions as he drove you home? To be the focus of this man’s attention and to have him speaking and listening to you so intently?

It was devastating. And doing things to your self control that you didn’t want to think about. You had to keep reminding yourself, You can’t just ask the guy to move in. Just because he’s hot and funny and caring and a protector and provider and — it was not fine!

“You all set at your house?” Mav asked suddenly after a lull in conversation (and your mild, internal freak out) and you blinked over at him.

“What?”

“Are you all set?” Mav repeated, lips stretching into a grin. Don’t look at his lips, Y/N. Stop it. “Got enough food to last through the next few days? Furniture all moved around to accommodate your crutches?”

You just blinked at him again.

It honestly had never occurred to you to move your furniture around. Not like you could do most of that on your own with a busted flipper anyway. You’d just been hobbling, hopping and using the walls as needed when your crutches wouldn’t work through the living room or bedroom.

At your silence, Mav’s expression turned knowing - and maybe a little smug? - and you mentally facepalmed.

Great. You were pretty sure you just activated Mother Hen Mode.

“Guess we’ll fix that first,” Mav grinned as he turned down your street and you inwardly groaned.

Well, this wasn’t going according to plan.

/////\\\\\

Yup – you’d activated Mother Hen Mode. And it was…different. You couldn’t put your finger on it exactly, but there was something different in the way Mother Hen Maverick treated you than how you’d seen him treat the others.

Even though you had proved – or at least you had thought you’d proved – that you could handle it all yourself, you weren’t even allowed to get out of the Bronco on your own.

And while you were thoroughly emancipated, there was something about the way Maverick, Pete, asked you to let him help you that made you agree and wait for him to come around and help you out of the Bronco and into your own home.

It shouldn’t have made you feel as good as it did.

And then you desperately tried to trample that feeling to dust. No, no, no. That was not helping.

But Pete was making it so difficult.

He was attentive. And again, you were pretty sure he was physic and just hadn’t told anybody because the way that man could figure out what furniture needed to be moved, and how, and when you were trying to get up and do something yourself that he beat you to – you were desperately hoping that he was physic and that you weren’t that easy to read because you did not need your feelings to be obvious. Not now. Not while you were this vulnerable, physically and emotionally.

It wasn’t until the fifteenth ‘Sweetheart’ and then the tender kiss he placed to your forehead as he leaned over you to situate you a bit better on the couch that the proverbial lightbulb went off.

Oh. That was the difference.

While he was caring and loving to his ‘adopted kids’, as you liked to tease the Dagger Squad, it was parental. Familial. Obviously that of ‘Dad Mav’ as he’d been dubbed.

But this…this was not parental at all.

And you tried valiantly to tamp down on the hope that suddenly surged through your chest, like it had been just waiting for a sign.

You had to be misinterpreting it, right?

The man was a literal legend- surely it was the meds, or the pain, or the stress that had you seeing things.

Surely.

But then a calloused hand was gently cupping your cheek and turning your face so you could meet soft, worried green eyes.

“Alright, Y/N? You zoned on me for a moment, Sweetheart. Time for your medicine again? You in more pain?”

His voice was low and concerned, thumb brushing back and forth across your cheek.

You just looked at him, mind running a mile a minute, trying to figure out what had happened, what had changed, or had it always been there and you’d just been too blind to see it? But no, there’s no way you had missed…this, no way you would’ve missed affection coming from the man who had first stolen your attention and then shortly thereafter, stolen your heart…right? The Daggers had been hinting around, Jake’s declaration not long ago about ‘once Pops make it official’ being the most direct, but you’d never really taken them seriously about it. What on earth would Pete see if you? Not that you were an awful person or anything, but you weren’t in his league. You weren’t Navy – weren’t any kind of military – what could you offer him? Sure, the planes the pilots spoke about sounded cool and you’d googled terms and maneuvers and the planes themselves to get a better idea of their lives and passion, but you couldn’t hold an intelligent conversation about any of them. And the Navy, being a pilot, was Pete’s life. And you were woefully uneducated in that - - but then Maverick’s “Jake”from earlier floated to the front of your mind and you weren’t sure what to think because a part of you wanted to believe that he was just as infatuated with you as you were with him but how could that be possible—

“Y/N, Sweetheart,” came Pete’s voice as his forehead rested lightly against yours, “I need you to breathe, Honey, okay? Just focus on me.”

You blinked back into awareness; you didn’t even realize you had drifted so deep for a minute there. But Pete was still leaning over you, forehead pressed to yours and he slowly lifted one of your hands and pressed it to his chest.

“Follow my lead, Sweetheart,” he murmured, “just breathe easy – in and out. There you go, atta girl.”

You kept the breathing up, feeling your heart slowing – you hadn’t even realized it was beating so fast. You hadn’t really gotten Lost like that before; it was surprising.

“You’re doing so well, Sweetheart,” Pete said quietly, his other hand reaching behind your head to gently but firmly grab the nape of your neck and you felt yourself relaxing even further. “You wandered on me again, sweet girl. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, hm?”

You opened your mouth but nothing came out- you weren’t really sure what to say. Or how to say it.

Pete searched your eyes, one hand still on the back of your neck, the other holding your hand against his chest.

“Is this about what Jake said at the Hard Deck?” Pete asked quietly before adding, “Or maybe about what’s happening here?”

You gaped at him. Yeah- the man had to be physic.

Pete huffed a soft laugh before slowing removing both his hands. For a moment, you panicked, you didn’t want him to pull away, but then warm, calloused hands were framing your face and Pete was smiling down at you from where he was still leaning over you.

“Alright, Sweetheart, cards on the table, hm? Okay, I’m in love with you.”

Your jaw dropped. What.

“Which I thought was pretty obvious, the way Rooster and Penny have both been harassing me. And with what Jake said this afternoon…well. I wasn’t sure you felt anything for me in return, but I figured I’d take a chance.”

You just stared at him, mouth agape, as your brain tried really hard to catch up. The hints and good-natured teasing from the Daggers had all been real? Pete…loved you?

“Y/N?” Pete asked you, voice now quieter and more subdued.

“You love me?” you whispered, eyes starting to tear up.

“Oh, Honey,” Pete breathed, “how could I not?”

You gave a watery, happy laugh and then Pete’s lips were on yours in a gentle, chaste kiss that had your heart hammering and your head dizzy.

The roar of a motorcycle suddenly cut through the haze of kissing Pete and you both broke apart as the sound seemed to stop right outside your house.

Pete gave you one more peck, which made you grin like an idiot, and then straightened up, heading towards your door.

“That’ll be Rooster with my bike,” he explained over his shoulder, grabbing the Bronco keys from the kitchen counter.

“Want to invite him in?” you asked from the couch, wincing as you shuffled to try and get your leg in a more comfortable position.

Pete gave you a look. “Maybe next time, Sweetheart. Tonight, you’re going to take some meds, eat some dinner and rest.”

You rose a brow, trying -and failing- to keep the silly grin off your face. Having this man taking care of you was going to go straight to your head. And your heart.

But you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t snap off a sassy salute that had the man chuckling as he opened the door and spoke lowly to his godson as they traded keys in the doorframe.

Then Rooster was speaking loud enough for you to hear, “Behave, Mav. Bye, Y/N!!”

You yelled your own goodbye with a fond headshake, and then grimaced again, looking around for your crutches. Absolutely time for a pain pill.

“No, Y/N,” Pete’s firm voice had your head snapping up. “I’ll get your pill. Sit there and try and get as comfortable as you can. Give me a minute and I’ll help.”

You blinked at him for a moment, still not used to someone caring for you. You were so used to doing things on your own. But you had a funny feeling that with Pete now in your life, that wasn’t going to be a thing anymore.

And you couldn’t be happier about it.

/////\\\\\

Not only had Pete gotten you your pain pill, he’d gotten you set up and more comfortable on the couch, cooked dinner and kept you entertained with stories while you both were eating that you’re pretty sure were above your nonexistent security clearance. But that you enjoyed immensely nonetheless.

Neither one of you had actually said it out loud, but it was an unspoken decision that Pete wouldn’t be going to his own home that night.

And you found your nerves coming back full force as the evening progressed and it was time to start getting ready to sleep.

This was new territory – you hadn’t even realized that Pete liked you as more than a sorta friend, let alone loved you, until this afternoon – and you weren’t sure what to expect.

But Pete apparently tapped into his physic abilities and while he was helping you to your bedroom to start getting ready for bed, he gently stopped you, leaning you carefully against the hallway wall and then crowding into your space.

“There’s no reason to be nervous, Sweetheart,” he murmured, eyes soft and smile unguarded. “I just want to take care of you tonight, and as many nights as you’ll let me. We’ll take this as slow and as steady as you need. I’ll even sleep on the couch tonight so that—”

“No,” you interrupted, almost unconsciously. Pete tilted his head and you clarified, “Don’t sleep on the couch. Sleep with me.” As Pete’s smile widened into a grin, and you could see why he was still so popular with the ladies, you felt the blood rushing to your head. “I mean,” you started again, embarrassed, “not like that—”

“Easy, Honey,” Pete said, grin still on his face, but softer on the edges. “I get what you mean. You sure having me in your bed is something you want tonight? Even innocently?”

You huffed with your own soft, still somewhat embarrassed, grin. “Can you be innocent, Pete?”

The man threw his head back and laughed and you felt a laugh in your own throat. Oh, you absolutely loved this man.

“I will do my best,” the pilot in front of you promised, eyes twinkling and then he was carefully folding you into his arms and lowering his lips to yours.

Innocent indeed.

Your last thought for quite awhile was that you’d probably have to thank Jake.

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

For Better or Worse

Top Gun Maverick Short Story

Cyclone x Female!Civilian!Reader

Warnings: mentions of car accident, injuries (minor), somewhat insecure reader?

Not beta read – hardly alpha read

Enjoy

/////\\\\\

Your leg bounced anxiously as the phone rang and rang and rang.

Dang it.

This was the seventh person you’d tried and so far, no one was picking up.

Around you, the emergency room buzzed with nurses and doctors running to and fro and people in varying stages of injury.

You were lucky – the car accident you had just been involved with had only left you with some bruises and a wrist that the attending doctor had assured you was just sprained. You wore a cloth brace for ‘precautionary measures only’.

But now you really wanted to go home. Your car was a mess and had to be taken away by a tow truck- you needed a ride.

But so far, no one had answered your calls.

You flipped back through the unanswered calls and text messages and you sighed heavily.

You could try for a taxi but… you had one more option, though you debated the merits of calling him.

Maybe a taxi would be better?

But you really wanted someone you knew and could trust- your nerves were frayed and you just wanted to have someone else take over and let you just be.

You were also about three minutes away from tears, so there was that.

With a mental pep talk, it’s not like he was going to bite; the worst he could say was no- you could do this, you pushed on his contact name and held the phone to your ear.

It rang once, twice and before the disappointment could fully settle in your gut the line clicked to life with a brusk, “Simpson.”

You exhaled a bit shakily. He’d actually answered.

“Hello?” his voice came across the line gruffly and you closed your eyes, taking a deep breath.

“A-Admiral Simpson,” you stuttered out, pausing immediately after. You weren’t exactly sure what to say. ‘Hey, I almost died, can I get a ride?’ That probably wasn’t the best approach.

“Y/N?” Cyclone asked after a moment, sounding much more alert and invested in the conversation. “Are you okay?”

You mentally sent him a thank you.

That was as good a way as any to start your request.

“No,” you said after another moment of silence. “I mean, yes, I’m fine, for the most part, just bruised but I need a ride and no one else answered or I wouldn’t bother you and I’m really sorry but I didn’t know what else to do and I didn’t want to take a taxi but I can- that’d probably be better- I’m really sorry for bothering you—“

“Y/N,” Cyclone’s ‘Admiral Voice’ cut through your increasing panic and you snapped your mouth shut, wiping at the sudden tears tracking down your cheeks. You tried really hard to not sniff loud enough he could hear you -you didn’t want to seem weak around the unflappable Air Boss- but you didn’t quite manage.

Cyclone’s voice was much softer, but no less urgent when he asked you, “Where are you?”

“Hospital,” you croaked out, wiping away yet more tears.

You heard the sound of the admiral moving around and then doors closing and opening.

“I’m leaving Base and heading that way- what happened?”

“Car accident,” you said quietly, not really able to expand on that. It honestly happened so fast and you’d already given your report to the police and the doctors;you just wanted to go home.

“And you’re okay?” Cyclone pressed and you felt the knot of anxiety in your chest ease up a bit at the concern in his voice.

“Yeah,” you said softly, not able to cover up the sniff this time, “I’m fine. Just…”

“Shaken up?” the Admiral said softly and you gave a wet laugh.

“Yeah. Kinda dumb, huh? You guys fight in wars and I’m freaking out because someone smashed into my car.”

“No,” came the ‘Admiral Voice’ again. “It is not ‘kinda dumb’. There is nothing wrong with being shaken up by an accident, Y/N.”

“But,” you found yourself arguing, “you guys deal with accidents and crashes and battles all the time; you’re never shaken up.” Never mind that you weren’t actually military like they were.

There was an inelegant snort from the man in the other side of the phone.

“If you’ve gotten that from listening to Mitchell’s stories, you should know he makes at least 80 percent of them up,” Cyclone muttered and you couldn’t help the laugh, even if it came out a little more shrill than normal.

“That’s better,” the man said warmly and you felt that knot in your chest loosen a little more.

You’d spoken to the Air Boss on quite a few occasions when you’d crossed paths and he was a good conversationalist and had a dry sense of humor but you’d never been on the receiving end of his care.

It almost made the whole accident worth it.

Speaking of accident—

“Are you almost here?” you asked in a small voice, feeling a bit silly for being so needy, no matter what Cyclone said.

“Just pulling in,” he answered. You stood up from one of the plastic chairs in the lobby where you’d been turned out once the doctor’s released you.

“I can meet you out front,” you said quickly, ready to get away from there.

There was a pause and then, “You’ve already been released?”

You gave a soft huff, already feeling better at the idea of getting out of there and going home. “Yeah- there wasn’t much wrong with me. Got a brace and also a prescription for pain meds if I need them- that’s it.”

“A brace?” the Admiral’s tone had sharpened and you gave a small smile as you walked out the door, easily finding his pickup idling at the curb in front.

“You can see for yourself in a moment,” you answered and then hung up as his driver door opened and Admiral Simpson came around the front of his truck, eyes boring into you from behind classic aviators.

You shaded your eyes with your not-braced hand as he stopped right in front of you.

“Thank you for coming,” you said after a few moments of silence.

Cyclone gently took your braced hand, turning it slightly this way and that to look it over.

“Always,” he rumbled as he finally deemed your brace satisfactory and opened the passenger door for you.

You gladly accepted his help into the cab and then leaned back against the seat and closed your eyes as he shut the door after you.

The truck smelled like him and leather and you felt the last of the tension release from your shoulders.

You felt safe.

As soon as Cyclone got into the driver’s seat, he raised a hand to gently brush a few tear tracks on your cheeks.

“Alright?” he asked softly and you blearily opened your eyes.

“Yeah,” you answered back just as softly. “Just tired.”

Beau hummed, putting his truck into gear and slowly pulling away from the curb.

“You going to be okay tonight?” he asked after a few minutes of silence and you gave him a soft smile.

“Yes, thank you. I’m just going to take some pain meds and go to sleep. I’ll be fine on my own.”

Even though you wanted nothing more than someone to cuddle with and sleep next to. But you figured that might be a bit above the call of duty for the Admiral.

Besides, it’s not like you were attacked and were afraid or anything. Just shaken up and on an adrenaline high- a high that was quickly leaving you.

Cyclone glanced over at you briefly before looking back to the road.

“We need to go fill your prescription?”

You gave a small groan. Dang it. You’d already forgotten about that- Beau made you feel safe enough to relax and your tiredness came to the forefront.

“I have some over the counter stuff at home,” you said finally. You just wanted to go and sleep. “I’ll be fine.”

 You could feel the raised eyebrows even though Beau wasn’t facing your way.

“Those aren’t going to be near as effective as what the doctor prescribed; you can stay in the truck and I’ll go in and fill it.”

You blinked over at him in surprise, though you really weren’t sure why. The man had left his job to come get you after all.

“You don’t have to,” you started but Cyclone’s look, even hidden behind his sunglasses, made you raise your good hand up in surrender. “Nevermind. Thank you, Admiral.”

The man huffed. “Beau or Cyclone, Y/N - not Admiral. The only reason I didn’t correct you when you first called was because I was a little preoccupied by the fact you had called at all. But I’d really rather you call me by my name and not my rank. I’d like to be more than that with you.”

There was silence in the cab of the truck after his declaration while you valiantly tried to figure out what exactly was going on. Maybe you’d hit your head in the accident? But no, they’d checked for a concussion at the hospital. Did adrenaline crashes include auditory hallucinations?

For his part, Beau was calmly driving, seemingly not bothered by the silence at all. But then, he was the Air Boss and probably dealt with more stressful and awkward situations than proclaiming intentions? feelings? and not having them immediately returned.

Not that you didn’t want to return them -hello, you weren’t blind and the man was pushing all the provider, protector buttons, but…what? Since when did he even remotely think of you as anything other than a friend of Maverick’s? (And it’s not like that relationship was necessarily a feather in your cap considering the love-hate relationship they had with each other – and Mav’s complete disregard for anything resembling rules and authority.)

The truck coming to a stop made you snap out of it and you looked around to see you were at one of the pharmacies in town.

Beau leaned over the console and looked over the rims of his sunglasses at you.

“Prescription, sweetheart?”

You automatically gave him the paper -now he was pulling out the pet names?!- and you just watched him in stunned silence as he exited the truck and headed inside.

What.

You pinched yourself lightly to make sure this was actually a thing. You winced. Yep. It was real. Huh.

Now you just had to decide what to do about it.

It wasn’t long before Cyclone was walking back out of the store (seriously, did Khaki always look that good?) with a bag filled what looked like a lot more than your prescription.

Curiously, you watched as he came around the passenger side and opened your door, putting the bag on the floor by your feet.

“For you,” he explained when he caught your eye. “Figured they’d help.”

He straightened up out of the truck and shut your door once again, heading back to the driver side, and you leaned down and looked through the bag.

Besides your filled prescription, there were Epson salts, Gatorades, a few different kinds of chocolate, a couple of ice packs and a heated blanket.

You looked at Beau as he got into the truck, eyes wide.

“Those things will help you the next few days,” the Admiral explained before you had a chance to even open your mouth. “The salts are for a bath and the ice packs and heated blanket for your bruises and sore muscles. However bad you feel now, once the adrenaline wears off completely and you sleep tonight, you’ll be stiff and feeling much worse tomorrow. Use those things and you’ll feel a lot better a lot quicker.”

You stared at him, blinking back tears. Honestly, if you hadn’t already been attracted to him, this would have sealed the deal.

“I-thank you,” you breathed, reaching your good hand over to grab his. “You didn’t have to, I mean, I really appreciate it, Beau. Truly.”

The man gave a small smile, his hand squeezing yours.

“I’m glad. Now, let’s get you home and to bed, sweetheart, alright?”

You murmured your agreement, still staring at him in wonder – no one had ever done something like this for you and it left you stunned and with a warm feeling curling in your chest.

Beau seemed to understand your fragility and kept your hand in his, running his thumb over the back of your hand as he drove down the road.

You shifted slightly in your seat to turn towards him, tiredly resting your head against the seat and closing your eyes, soft smile on your face. He really was wonderful.

“Go to sleep, Y/N,” Beau murmured from beside you. "We'll be at your house soon."

You hummed in agreement, giving his hand a soft squeeze before letting yourself drift off.

Such a wonderful man…

/////\\\\\

You woke with a start sometime later, wincing as you accidentally put pressure on your wrist. You looked around in confusion – you were in your house. In your room. In your bed.

What…?

There was a creak in the hallway and you jerked your head over towards your door to see Beau fill the doorway.

“Ah. I was hoping you’d wake before I left. It can be disconcerting waking up alone after an accident. Especially in a different place than where you fell asleep.” He moved farther into the room towards the bed. “You okay? Remember what happened?”

You stared at him for a moment, mind racing. Remember – oh yes. The accident. And calling the Admiral. Who wanted you to call him Beau. And who bought much more than your prescription.

“You like me,” you almost accused him and Beau jerked in surprise at the random statement before barking a laugh.

“Yeah, sweetheart. I do,” he grinned, taking a seat on the edge of your bed.

You stared at him, not quite comprehending the ease of his agreement.

“Why?” you asked him, still confused.

“Because you’re you,” the Air Boss said with a shrug. “You’re smart, funny, gorgeous and you make me feel like I have a purpose outside the Navy. I enjoy the time we have together, even when it’s short conversations about the weather. And I even enjoy talking to Mitchell when he’s regaling me with stories of your latest escapades together.”

You looked at him carefully, seeing the open and honest expression on his face. You had no idea he saw you like that.

“I didn’t know,” you murmured and he gave a small smile.

“And now you do. If you’re agreeable, I’d like to do this in a way that would leave no doubt as to my regard for you; I’d like to take you on a date when you’re recovered.”

You found yourself nodding eagerly before he’d even finished his sentence.

“Yes -please,” you said quickly and he gave a soft laugh.

“Alright, sweetheart. I’ll plan something once you’re better.” He laughed louder at the pout that sprung up on your face. Forget being better - you were fine to go on a date right now!

“I’ll swing by with some coffee and breakfast tomorrow morning,” he compromised, standing up and then leaning down to tuck the covers up closer around you. “I’ll help you get better as quickly as I can and then we’ll have our date, okay?”

“Okay,” you grinned, snuggling down into your covers. Beau gave you a soft look, leaning in and pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Sweet dreams, my girl. I’ll see you in the morning.”

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

Double Date

Top Gun Maverick Short Story

Older!Iceman (healthy and single, thanks) x Female!Civilian!Reader

Warnings: slight insecure Reader? Idk

Not beta read – or alpha read

Enjoy

/////\\\\\

“Hypothetically, if I needed you to go on a double date with me and Penny, how open would you be to that?” Maverick asked unceremoniously as he sunk down in the booth across from you.

You looked up from your lunch, looking around the small diner confusedly.

“Mav? What are you doing here? … How did you even find me?”

This diner was tucked away down a mostly residential street and you’d stumbled upon it by accident one day when you’d taken a wrong turn. You’d only been here a few times- you hadn’t even mentioned it to anyone.

Maverick waved a hand. “Not important.”

You rose a brow and just stared at him.

“You do realize how creepy that sounds, right?” you asked slowly.

“Would it be any less creepy if I said I’ve been looking for you and so I rode around town until I saw your car?” the man asked dryly and you just blinked at him.

“…Not really.”

“Well, there you go then. Don’t ask next time. Anyway,” he continued on as if he hadn’t just admitted to stalking, “double date. Whaddya say?”

You just stared at him, still hung up on the fact that he’d found you by riding around and looking for your car.

“You are aware it’s not the 80s anymore, right?” you asked, only half joking. “We have cell phones now. You could have called.”

The man in front you groaned like you were the problem.

“Y/N, I need you to focus.”

“Oh, I’m focusing,” you shot back, hiding your sudden grin behind your cup. “I’m focusing on the fact that you just stalked me like some horrible B movie from like 4 decades ago.”

Maverick groaned again, putting his head in his hands and you snickered, feeling pity for the guy.

“Alright, Mav, alright. I’m sorry. I’m focused. What’s this about a double date?”

His head shot up from his hands so fast you were surprised he didn’t give himself whiplash.

“So you’re in?” he asked excitedly.

You snorted. “No, I’m not in until I get some more details. You said double date, not blind date. Who is this incredibly fortunate man you’re wing-manning for?”

Your brows rose when Maverick hesitated and you leaned forward in the booth, suddenly paying much closer attention.

“Pete?” you asked after a few moments of silence.

This time when Maverick scrubbed a hand over his face it was at the situation, not you.

“He is probably not going to be thrilled I’m doing this,” the man muttered finally, “but it wouldn’t be because of you! He’s just the ‘suffer in silence’ type and he’s become a bit jaded. Too many women have tried to get with him for his name or position, that he’s kinda given up. But I think you’d get along really well and you’d be good for him and then he would actually come to dinner and not keep making excuses about being a third wheel—“

“Mav,” you interrupted the man’s ramblings, “who is it?”

“Ice,” Maverick finally sighed. You weren’t sure what face you were making, but it made Maverick snort in amusement, so there was that.

Ice? As in Tom “Iceman” Kazansky? The Commander of the Pacific Fleet?

Maverick wanted you to double date his infamous wingman?

You weren’t Navy -or military of any sort- so while you knew the name and history of “Ice Cold, No Mistakes” (you were friends with Pete after all) you weren’t star struck by any means.

More just…struck by the fact that Maverick thought you’d be a good fit for each other.

Ice, Tom, whatever, seemed like a good man and obviously was ambitious and dedicated. You were intelligent and had made a good name for yourself at your own work, but… really? What on Earth could you offer a man like that? You were no pedigreed socialite and you knew beans about military jargon, maneuvers or history. Just whatever Pete had told you. And judging by his disciplinary record, you probably shouldn’t believe everything he told you in the first place.

You were normal. Average. With a regular job and regular hobbies and a regular life.

Ice was Ice. COMPACFLT. Admiral. One of the most famous pilots, people, in Naval history.

You must have been quiet a little too long because Maverick leaned forward and placed his hand on yours.

“I meant what I said, Y/N. I think you’d be good for him. You don’t have him on a pedestal and you wouldn’t be trying to further your career by being seen with him. You’re down to earth, funny, smart and I think you’d be able to keep up with him easily. The fact that you’re a sarcastic schmuck is totally in your favor too. And he’d be good for you as well. Ice is…protective of those he cares about and he’d provide for you and look out for you which yes,” Maverick rolled his eyes good-naturedly, “I know you don’t need, that you’re perfectly capable of looking after yourself, but I think Ice would be a wonderful partner for you.”

You looked at Maverick -really looked at him.

His shoulders were tense, eyes pinched and he had the most earnest expression on his face you’d ever seen.

“This really means a lot to you,” you observed quietly and he gave a short nod.

“Yeah. Ice has been with me for decades. And I know we haven’t known each near that long,” he grinned and you snorted, “but you’ve become important to me too. I just want two of the most important people in my life happy. And Amelia’s too young to matchmake for,” he added cheekily.

You barked a laugh, shaking your head.

What the heck- why not?

“Sure,” you agreed, watching as Maverick perked up like a spaniel.

“Really? You’ll do it?” he asked with a large grin and you rolled your eyes with a grin.

“Yes, Mav. You make a surprisingly good case. Guess all those disciplinary hearings have come in handy.”

Maverick gave you a baleful look, though he couldn’t quite hide his grin as he got up out of the booth.

“Uh huh. You’re such a charmer.”

You picked up your fork and started to dig back into your lunch.

“You are the one who hand picked me for a date, remember,” you threw at his back as he headed for the exit and his answering laugh followed him out the door.

You shook your head.

 This was going to be interesting.

/////\\\\\

Maverick texted you the details later that afternoon -look at that; he did know how to use a phone!

(The emojis you got in response when you texted that very thing to him made your day.)

There was a restaurant in town that Penny had really wanted to try and a reservation for four had already been made. For that night.

You had to give it to Mav- he didn’t waste any time.

You’d been told the dress code and the time he and Penny would come pick you up.

According to Pete, normally Ice would be a proper date and pick you up from your house himself, but he had a meeting that afternoon that would probably run long. Admiralty meetings usually did.

You were pretty sure Maverick was half convinced his wingman would bail out on him last minute, but you were determined to enjoy the food and company either way.

You understood Ice’s hesitance and didn’t take it personally; sounded like he’d come across some wonderful women. His reluctance was understandable.

But as you locked your house behind you and headed to Penny’s car idling in the driveway you found yourself hoping he’d show up.

You’d thought about Maverick’s spiel all day and you were looking forward to officially meeting this man that Mav spoke so highly of and who he thought would be a good partner for you.

“You clean up nice,” Maverick greeted you from the driver's seat with a wide grin as you got in the backseat.

You and Penny shot each other equally fond eye rolls as you scooted into the middle.

“How on earth you landed Penny with compliments like that, I’ll never understand,” you sighed dramatically. “I’ve heard better from a five year old.”

Penny’s laugh almost drowned out Maverick’s “Hey!” and you watched them interact with a small smile.

They were too cute. Penny had such a grounding and settling effect on the Navy’s Craziest Pilot and Pete was able to give Penny the love and attention she more than deserved.

You found yourself idly imagining you and Tom in the same situation and mentally shook your head.

Don’t get ahead of yourself. Let’s actually meet the man first.

The three of you laughed and teased the whole way to the restaurant and you gave a low whistle as Pete parked the car.

“Didn’t this place just open? How’d you get reservations here? And on such short notice?” you asked, looking out at the opulent building.

Maverick turned in his seat to shoot you a smirk.

“Used Ice’s name- how else?”

You barked a laugh and shook you head as the three of you exited the car and headed towards the front doors.

Of course. Why didn’t you think of that?

“Reservation under Kazansky,” Pete said with a charming smile to the hostess and the woman seemed to stand a little straighter when she clocked the name on the reservation book. She looked between the three of you, obviously noting how close Pete and Penny stood to each other and your slight distance.

“We’re short an Admiral,” Pete continued smoothly, “but he’ll be along shortly.”

“Of course, sir. Right this way.”

And then the three of you were led to a large private corner booth where Penny and Pete sat on one side and you sat on the other.

The hostess gave you another shrewd look, looking you over not very discreetly, but said nothing other than your waitress’ name and then she left you.

You looked across the table at Pete and Penny and saw Penny looking at you with an equally befuddled look while Maverick’s look was unreadable.

“I had to notate who exactly he was to get this reservation so quick ,” the Captain said lowly, “so he’s listed in their book as the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. This is not exactly a family friendly atmosphere, so I’m sure they’ve already figured out you’re his date. I’d expect some weird vibes from the majority of the female staff tonight. Ice has always been a catch.”

You looked at Maverick searchingly, mind recalling all the things he’d said that afternoon. Not putting Ice on a pedestal or using him to further yourself in society seemed to be pretty big points to both men.

You relaxed against the booth and shot Mav a grin.

“Sounds fun. But someone is taste testing my food- just in case.”

/////\\\\\

Only twenty minutes had gone by before there was a murmuring that seemed to ripple through the front of the restaurant.

Maverick shot you a grin.

“Ice is earlier than I thought he’d be.”

The nerves you had been so good at shoving down came back with a vengeance as you looked over towards the front of the restaurant and saw your hostess leading a ridiculously good looking man towards your table.

He was still in his uniform and whoever had said suits to women were like lingerie to men had obviously never seen this man fill out a Naval uniform.

You’d seen pictures of him, of course. Maverick always had photos on his phone of the Daggers, Ice- even his Mustang.

But seeing the man in person?

Pictures did not do him justice.

“I think you may be drooling a bit there, Y/N,” Maverick stage whispered as Ice neared and you shot him a glare.

“You could have warned me about the uniform, Mav! All the pictures you showed me were casual clothes!” you hissed back.

Which the man had filled out just fine but that was not the point.

No wonder practically the entire female population of Fighter Town was panting after him.

“Good evening,” Ice’s deep voice greeted as he arrived at the table and you inwardly (hopefully) swooned. Seriously.

A soft laugh sounded out from the other side of the booth, Penny was absolutely laughing at your expense, and then Maverick piped up, “Heya, Ice! Glad you could make it.”

You looked up, giving Ice a soft smile as he took a seat next to you.

“I apologize for my tardiness,” he said lowly, reaching out to grasp your hand, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it. “It is wonderful to meet you, Y/N. You look beautiful.”

You blinked at him, surprised at the compliments and the warmth in his voice.

Based on the conversation you’d had with Mav earlier, you assumed Ice would have been more reserved, if he even showed up at all, and would be hesitant to engage so quickly with another woman.

Ice rose a brow in amusement at your silence and Maverick chuckled.

Mortifying.

“Uh,” you cleared your throat, sending Mav a good kick under the table that had him muffling a yelp, “thank you. It’s good to meet you too.” You paused for a moment before adding, “Do you prefer Ice or Tom? I feel as if my source,” you threw a glance at Mav, “may be a bit biased.”

Tom gave a chuckle, thumb caressing your hand once before releasing it.

“Either will do. Just no ‘Admiral’ if you don’t mind. I’ve had quite enough of that.”

“Had a good time herding cats at the meeting then?” you asked with an impish grin and Ice’s eyes lit up in what looked like surprise before he laughed.

“Something like that,” he agreed.

Your waitress appeared at your table and you all put in your drink orders, an unspoken unanimous decision that you’d wait for food until Tom had a chance to glance at the menu.

Your waitress was very attentive to both the Admiral and, to an extent, the Captain.

Penny rated higher on her scale for customer service but you had a hard time getting her to pay attention when it was your turn.

Eventually, your orders were written down and she disappeared.

You shared a glance with Penny and snickered.

Let the games begin, apparently.

“Yeah,” Maverick said suddenly, grin wide, “someone is absolutely taste testing anything that woman drops off for you.”

You and Penny broke into laughter while Ice looked between you and then leveled a look at Maverick.

“There been problems?”

You patted his arm, eyes twinkling. “We’re just pretty sure the entire female staff is gunning for me. We’ll just make it obvious you’re eating off my plate so I don’t die tonight.”

Ice hummed lowly, giving you a smirk that absolutely did not make your heart stutter, thank you very much, “We will definitely have to make sure they’re aware you’re off limits.”

Maverick whistled lowly and said something about ‘smooth moves’ and ‘still got it’ but you could hardly hear him over the blood rushing in your ears.

Oh Lanta. You were in so much trouble.

Luckily for you, Penny came to your rescue and steered the conversation to other things. It was refreshing to be able to laugh and joke with other adults without any competition or fighting to be heard.

All four of you got along amazingly well and you caught Maverick giving you a look you interpreted as a thank you when Ice laughed for the nth time that night.

You gave a subtle, mock salute.

It was absolutely your pleasure.

Placing your food order with the waitress went much smoother- probably because Ice ordered your dish for you, stating that you and he would be sharing your prospective meals so could she please bring a few extra plates?

You had to take a drink of water to hide your grin.

It felt…good to have someone take care of you, even with something as simple as ordering your meal.

You met Maverick’s eyes across the table and he smirked. Yeah, he had been right. Darn it. You’d be hearing about that for awhile.

But when your food came and Ice leaned over to share some of his food -and steal part of yours- you found that you didn’t care.

Maverick definitely knew what he was talking about and you were glad he’d thought of you for this double date.

If you were lucky, it’d be more than a one off.

The check came and Ice slipped his card into the card holder before anyone else could say a word.

“That’s not how that was supposed to go,” Maverick protested and Ice just smirked.

“You can get the next time.”

“You always say that,” Maverick shot back and after Ice responded with a flippant, “Well, be quicker then,” they delved into a back and forth that had you and Penny shaking your heads with twin grins.

Honestly, they were like children.

“Girls- girls!” you interrupted them and both men turned to you, “Quit arguing- you’re both pretty.”

Maverick barked a laugh, Penny gave you a salute with her drink and Ice…Ice one upped you, turning his body to you, placing his arm on the back of the booth behind you and leaning in.

“I’m prettier though, right?” he asked huskily and what should have been a ridiculous question made heat shoot through you.

Or maybe it was because of his leg pressed against yours. You didn’t think you were this touch starved, but wherever Tom touched you, your nerves positively tingled.

The Admiral seemed to notice, eyes darkening and smirk widening as the hand behind you on the booth causally shifted so he could trail his fingers along your shoulder.

“You are not playing fair,” you murmured, finding yourself a bit breathless. And over such innocent touches!

“Never claimed I would,” came the smug response and you huffed an incredulous laugh.

This was not the hesitant date you were expecting to show up tonight, but you were absolutely not complaining.

“I’d like to take you on a proper date,” Ice said lowly after a few moments of you two just staring at each other, “just the two of us.”

You blinked once, twice, and then felt a somewhat loopy smile stretch across your face.

“Yeah?” you asked giddily and Tom’s eyes softened.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, shifting to lean just a little bit closer. “How about tomorrow? I’ll come pick you up and we’ll start with coffee.”

“I’d like that, Tom,” you said softly, with a smile and Ice grabbed your hand and pressed another kiss to it.

“Then it’s a date, Sweetheart.”

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

Cyclone's Wingman

Top Gun Maverick Short Story

Beau “Cyclone” Simpson x Female!Civilain!Reader

Warnings: Cyclone is probably out of character – I couldn’t write him any other way-he wouldn’t cooperate, age gap (probably?), somewhat inappropriate humor/remarks-all sassy

Not beta read – not even alpha read – posted impatiently

GIF not mine (obvs)

Enjoy

/////\\\\\

You were sitting in a low backed chair on the beach, half watching the Squad play some game that looked like a cross between Red Rover and Tackle Football, and half reading a book.

The absolute mess of the game in front of you was holding your attention better than the book your coworker had suggested you read -your tastes in literature were not the same- so you clocked Mav coming towards you immediately.

“Y/N,” the Captain greeted, somehow making plopping down in the sand at your feet look graceful. “Good book?”

You snorted, flipping it shut and tossing it (gently) to the side.

“Not to me, Mav. Not my speed. Watching your ducklings try and murder each other in broad daylight however – that is incredibly entertaining.”

Mav barked a laugh, turning his head to look out at his team.

“Builds moral,” he said conversationally.

“Lets them get in pot shots at each other without being discharged, you mean,” you grinned as Phoenix tackled Hangman to the ground.

“Like I said,” Mav turned and smirked at you, “builds moral.”

It was your turn to laugh. Well, at least he had his Squad’s best interests at heart.

“You heard about the Navy Gala?” Mav asked suddenly and you gave him a wide grin.

“Are you kidding? Between the moaning, groaning, complaining and dress shopping, yeah. It’s been mentioned once or twice.”

The Daggers had all been invited by the COMPACFLT himself -you secretly figured this was a convoluted way of Ice making sure his wingman actually showed up- and were both excited and dreading it.

Lots of good food and dancing, but lots of high brass and pressure.

You didn’t envy them one bit.

“You going with anyone?” came the next question and you snorted.

“Uh, no. The Invincible Iceman didn’t invite me so I don’t have to go,” you grinned. You’d had a lot of fun rubbing that in the Squad’s faces. High society parties were not your forte. And since you weren’t Navy, you were off the hook.

“Now, I’m surprised at that,” Mac said, eyes boring into you from behind his signature shades. “I figured one of the guys would try to snap you up quick as their Plus One.”

You gave Maverick an exaggerated once over. “Oh, they did. Almost all of them. But I’m very choosy.”

The booming laugh from Maverick carried across the beach and you leaned back in your chair satisfied.

“Would you like to go?” Maverick asked after a few moments and you tilted your head.

“If this is your round about way of asking me to accompany you, Mav, the answer is absolutely not. I’ve seen Penny’s dress for the gala and I’m pretty sure she’d poison me if she couldn’t wear it.”

Cue another laugh from Maverick.

“No,” he explained with a smirk, “not with me. But I do have someone in mind if you’d be interested in going.”

You looked at the Captain dubiously.

“….Sarah didn’t put you up to this, did she?”

The moment you met Tom and Sarah Kazansky, at a party the Daggers had thrown for Mav, they’d taken you under their wing and both had been very interested in your love life since. Or lack thereof at this point.

If you met one more “friend of the family”, you were going to scream.

Maverick’s chuckle brought your attention back to him.

“No,” he assured you, “Sarah didn’t put me up to this. But, I know she and Ice would be glad to see you there. Ice thought the same thing I did: that you’d be a Plus One for a Dagger, which is why he didn’t invite you specifically. Then you wouldn’t have to find someone or go alone.”

Huh. Well, that was nice of Ice. It would have sucked to get an official invite and then try to figure out who to take. It’s not like you had close friends outside the Squad. You wouldn’t have wanted to go alone and you would have never heard the end of it if you turned down the invitation.

“And what poor man do you have in mind?” you asked, mentally rehearsing a multitude of reasons why you couldn’t go. Everything from watering your plant to a staged family emergency.

Maverick stared at you for a moment, before saying nonchalantly, “Cyclone.”

Your brain drew a blank on your rehearsed reasons.

“Cyclone,” you repeated dully. Then, “Cyclone?!”

Maverick drew his sunglasses down a bit on his nose and peered over the rims at you.

“No?” he asked lightly, though his gaze was searching.

You just stared at Maverick.

Cyclone? The Air Boss? You’d met the man a few times- hard not to when your circle now contained the Commander of the Pacific Fleet and a dozen direct reports of Admiral Simpson’s- but besides polite small talk, you hadn’t engaged much with him.

He was very stoic, accomplished and stupidly handsome- you got tongue tied quick around that man. And besides, you weren’t as straight laced as he seemed to be. You were professional when needed and not a total idiot, thank you very much, but you still had a wickedly sharp tongue that you used whenever possible. You were not the quiet, meek or stoic woman you could see someone like Cyclone bringing along. You were way too mouthy.

And Mav thought you being on his arm all night would be a good idea?!

On his arm… that was something to think about though.

“I’m not entirely sure I want to be a part of another prank of yours against the guy,” you finally settled on.

Maverick snorted.

“Despite apparent popular belief, I’m not dumb enough to pull a prank on my direct superior. Well…not anymore. And buzzing the tower doesn’t count.”

“That last bit sounds a bit rehearsed,” you muttered and gave Maverick an angelic smile when he flicked a little sand your way.

“There’s no pressure, Y/N,” Maverick assured you. “I just figured it’d be good for Cyclone not to go alone this year. I hear that Admiral Chaney and his wife got divorced and she’s been on the warpath- flirting and sleeping with everyone she can.”

“Ah,” you grinned, “so that’s it. This is a decoy mission. If I’m with poor Cyclone, the former Mrs. Admiral Chaney can’t sink her claws into him.”

Maverick gave a shrug. “Eh, two birds. You get to go to a Gala and see everyone and Cyclone gets to spend the evening with someone who’s not insane. Win win.”

“Huh. Well, thanks for not thinking I’m insane, Mav. That means a lot. And really, your strategic powers are to be applauded- sounds like you thought of every angle.”

“I tried,” Maverick grinned. “So can I tell Cyclone he has a date?”

You gave a theatrical sigh, even as you grinned and nodded, though the sudden butterflies in your stomach almost made you nauseous.

“I suppose, Mav. The man has got a date.”

/////\\\\\

Apparently, Maverick had not only told Cyclone you were going with him as his date, but everyone else as well, because you’d been essentially kidnapped the next day by Sarah and Penny to dress shop.

Sarah had been beside herself, horrified that she had never thought to bring you and Cyclone together. Maverick beating her to the punch was unforgivable and while you tried to assure her that she was still a great matchmaker and Maverick hadn’t meant it like that, you were going as a decoy after all, she wouldn’t be swayed.

You and Penny had shared conspiratorial smiles as Sarah Kazansky went on about Cyclone’s attributes. For practically the whole trip.

Penny -wonderful, amazing Penny- finally stepped in and changed the subject when Sarah started talking about wedding venues.

Yeah, she and Ice were far too interested in your relationship status.

But the trip had been a success- you’d found a beautiful evening gown that both women approved heartily of (and which started another of Sarah’s rants of how attractive Beau would find you) and then the night of the Gala was upon you.

All of you girls had been invited to get ready at the Kazansky house and while Halo and Phoenix were hesitant at first (you were so glad you didn’t have a military rank to get in the way of friendships), you all ended up a lot closer than you started.

The ridiculously expensive champagne Sarah had laid out may have had something to do with that.

But the time came for your ‘dates’ to pick you all up (including Tom- Sarah had gleefully kicked him out of the house to go get ready with Mav- she was adamant she would get picked up at their front door too) and you felt any lingering effects of the champagne disappear when you laid eyes on Rear Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson.

Your first thought was, Dress whites should be illegal.

Your second thought was, You were not going to make it through the night without making a fool of yourself.

You always knew the man was good looking - you’d never found Khaki so attractive before – but this was…WOW.

“I’m not going to be able to steer Sarah away from booking the wedding venue if you keep staring like that,” Penny quietly teased at your side and you dropped your gaze hastily.

“Shuddup,” you whined quietly as the men came up to the wrap around porch, each man heading to his date.

You found yourself holding your breath as Beau approached you. You really needed to get it together and be your normal self. Maverick, the Kazanskys and the Daggers were used to sarcastic and witty Y/N. It’d be rude to short change the Admiral.

“Miss Y/L/N,” he greeted and you felt yourself melt a bit at his voice. You’d noticed the deep timbre before, how could you not, but something about that voice saying your name while you were going to be his date for the evening- it hit different.

Yeah, you were absolutely not making it through this night with your dignity or your sanity. He was going to make you being normal a bit difficult.

A pointed cough somewhere else on the porch jolted you out of your stupor and you figured you should probably say something back to the man. Honestly. Good thing you’d spoken to him before or else he would assume you were an idiot.

“Admiral Simpson,” you greeted with a smile. “Or is it Rear Admiral? Honestly, there are far too many ranks for us ‘normal’ people to remember.”

His deep chuckle practically made you swoon.

“Beau or Cyclone is just fine for tonight – no ranks,” the man said with a small grin that honestly did wonders for his looks. The man was ridiculously good looking when he was serious but when he smiled? Game over.

You were so screwed.

“Well thank you for that small mercy,” you quipped.

“We’ve got cars ready to take us to the Gala,” Ice said loud enough for everyone to hear and with murmurs from the assembled group, you all started to descend the stairs and head to the parked cars.

Beau offered his arm and with a smile, you looped your arm through his, waiting until most the group had already made it off the porch before following behind.

“Since you rode with Pete and myself,” Tom said to Cyclone as you passed him and Sarah on the stairs, “you two will have to carpool with us to the Gala.”

You gave Ice an angelic smile that instantly had Sarah turning her head away to hide her smile.

You almost felt sorry for Cyclone. He seemed to be so professional all the time. And his boss was right in front of him…ah well. Ice was too good a friend at this point for you to treat him too respectfully. And he should have known what he was getting into – they all should have.

“That is so sweet of you, sir,” you laid it on thick, even batting your eyelashes, “but I have already promised my date that he can drive my car to the Gala and you wouldn’t want to make me a lair this early in our relationship, would you?”

The look Ice gave you made you grin even wider– oh, now you understood why Maverick enjoyed poking at Ice. Not only was it remarkably easy, but it was fun!

“I mean, your wife is the one who mentioned this is like Prom, so I’m not sure how I’m supposed to have a Prom night if I don’t have a back seat.”

The man standing beside you tried valiantly to turn his laugh into a cough, you’d give him that. Honestly, you weren’t sure Beau had that kind of sense of humor. It was a pleasant surprise.

“Y/N,” the COMPACFLT standing in front of you sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and you laughed.

“Tom, relax. I’m kidding. Well…sorta. Beau and I are going to take my car. Just in case someone needs to get away for whatever reason. But we’ll be right behind you guys. Scout’s honor.”

Ice muttered something under his breath and you just smiled placidly at him. You both knew he was going to cave eventually.

“Fine,” the man sighed, which made you shake your head amusedly. Like he really had any say if you took your own car. “We’ll see you there.”

You and Beau made your way to your car as Tom and Sarah headed to the car where Maverick and Penny were waiting.

“We could have rode with them,” Beau said quietly as he opened your door for you. You grinned up at him.

“You’ve not only gotten ready with Pete, and have to spend an entire evening around him, but you’re also willing to ride to and from the Gala with him? My, my, my. Have you guys become best friends since he first started?”

Cyclone barked a laugh, shaking his head. “Not quite. I just don’t want you uncomfortable.”

You gave him a sincere smile this time. “Thank you, Beau. But I assure you, I feel perfectly fine driving with you. Besides, Ice’s car is small and I get carsick.”

Huffing in amusement, Cyclone finished helping you into the passenger seat of your car and then headed for the driver’s side.

“Well, it seems that Ice is taking his protector role very seriously,” the Air Boss remarked as he buckled in. At your inquisitive look, he gestured to the idling car waiting for you both.

You rolled your eyes. “I’ve heard stories of Ice’s ‘mother-hen’ tendencies when they were all in Top Gun and during their careers afterwards. I think it’s gotten worse the higher up he’s climbed the ladder.”

Beau hummed in amused agreement. “He’s got the power now to back it up. Poor Mitchell never stood a chance.”

You laughed and then you both spent the rest of the car ride swapping stories of Pete. The man really was a menace. A lovable, competent, thoughtful menace.

Beau offered to drop you off at the front while he parked the car – he wouldn’t think of the valet service doing it; true military man though and through, he wanted to know exactly where it was parked and make sure he had plenty of room for a hasty leave, just in case – but the look you leveled him with made him just grin and go park.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking through a parking lot, even in heels,” you griped good naturedly as he helped you out of the car and he gave you a dry look.

“I believe I heard some rumors about you sprinting through a parking lot after Lieutenant Seresin in heels, so I have no doubt you can walk just fine through one.”

You gaped up at him and then gave a wicked grin. “Why Beau Simpson, I do believe this is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship.”

The man gave you a small smile, his face and eyes suddenly more serious. “I hope so,” he murmured and then seemed to shake himself out of it.

“Come along, Y/N. I shudder to think what Admiral Kazansky will do to me if we’re too much later.”

You blinked in surprise, taken aback by the mood shift, but then shrugged it off. You had all night to get him back to…whatever that serious part was. Because that was something you definitely wanted to explore.

Looping your arm back through his, you both made your way to the doors of the Navy Gala. You could feel your nerves creeping back in. You’d never been to one of these, or anything remotely like it. You weren’t exactly sure what to do or how to act.

When you said as much to the man beside you, he drew you a little closer to him.

“It can be a rather stuffy event, more political than fun most of the time, but none of us will leave you alone. Just follow my lead and we’ll get the niceties over with as soon as possible. Unfortunately for you, as an Admiral, I have to greet and speak with quite a few people. But I’ll make it as painless as possible. Or drop you off with Mitchell.”

“Uh, the whole reason I’m here is to be your plus one, Beau. Can’t really plus one if I’m not with you.”

“Fair enough,” the man said with what sounded like relief and then you were swept through the doors and into what felt like a thousand different conversations.

No wonder Pete never wanted to move past Captain.

/////\\\\\

“If I have to fake smile at one more man looking at my chest, I’m going to start throwing hands,” you groaned as you and Beau finally headed to sit at your table.

You’d been paraded around for the last hour and a half while Beau made nice with the proper people. You’d even been introduced to Admiral Chaney and Beau had actually tucked you further into his side when the former Mrs. Admiral Chaney was mentioned. He’d apparently heard about her too.

“You handled that all with remarkable calmness,” Beau observed, pulling out your chair for you. “Quite honestly, I’d have expected something barbed to escape your lips the third time I had to repeat myself to ol’ Jeffrey.”

“Ah, Wandering Eyes Jeffrey. Yeah, he was about three seconds away from a broken nose,” you grumbled, relishing in the deep chuckle beside you.

“I’m sure you would have gotten off with a warning,” Beau shot back and you laughed, looking over at him.

“Beau, please do not take this the wrong way, but you are much lighter and funnier than I expected.”

The man didn’t seem offended or surprised by your statement.

“Ah, yes. The Air Boss persona,” he nodded, eyes meeting your own. “I admit, I am serious and all business on Base – I have to be. I have the lives of everyone there – and those deployed under my command – in my hands. There are decisions I have to make on a near daily basis that aren’t easy and I can’t let emotion rule. However,” here he paused as if unsure and looked down at his place setting, “I like to think I’m not that kind of person outside of work. Admittedly, I haven’t had much reason to be ‘lighter and funnier’, but,” he looked up at you again, “I think that may have changed.”

You felt your eyes widen and the butterflies in your stomach spontaneously change to pterodactyls. Doing summersaults.

What.

There was no way that Air Boss Rear Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson was saying what you thought he was saying.

Beau cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly and you realized you were still staring.

Your hand shot out and covered his own.

“I-wow. I was not expecting that, Beau. Not in a bad way! I just…I guess I never thought of myself as anything other than the decoy tonight,” you said someone self-depreciatingly. After all, that’s what this has been set up as; you keeping away the claws of former Mrs. Admiral Chaney.

The hand under yours shifted so Beau’s fingers could intertwine with yours.

“You’ve been much more than a decoy from the moment I saw you,” Beau murmured, eyes soft and unguarded.

You gave a soft smile, giving his hand a squeeze. “That’s good. Otherwise, my growing feelings for you would be super awkward.”

Beau gave a soft laugh, thumb stroking the back of your hand. “What do you say to an actual date? I come pick you up with flowers, dinner reservations, the whole thing.”

You were sure your eyes were absolutely sparkling. “I’d say that sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”

Beau raised your hand to place a soft kiss to the back of it and then rested your joined hands on his knee.

“Think Admiral Kazansky or Mitchell will be the one with the shovel talk?” he asked lightly after a moment and you snorted, thinking of matchmaker Sarah and her wedding plans she’d already started.

“Somehow,” you grinned, eyes shining, “I doubt either one of them is the one we need to worry about.”

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

The Favor

Top Gun Maverick Short Story

Older!Iceman (healthy and single, thanks) x Female!Civilian!Reader

Warnings: age gap, insecurities

As usual, not beta read. Barely alpha read.

Gif not mine (obvs)

Enjoy.

/////\\\\\

“I need a favor,” Hangman grinned at you, as he sunk into the seat across from you in the Hard Deck.

You smirked at him. “Well, hello, Hangman! How are you? It’s been awhile since we’ve talked- how’s the family? Work going okay? Lovely weather we’ve been having, don’t you think?”

The blonde in front of you rolled his eyes so hard you were surprised they didn’t roll out the back of his head.

“Yes, yes, yes,” he said impatiently, waving a careless hand through the air, “Hello, you look good, glad to see you, hope all is well, yadda yadda yadda - I need a favor.”

You took a sip of your drink, eyes dancing over at the cocky pilot.

Ever since you’d moved to town and found yourself at the Hard Deck one evening, talking it up with a bunch of random Navy pilots, you and Hangman had become as close as siblings. He was protective of you in the way only annoying older brothers can be and you kept him humble as little sisters did.

And you enjoyed every minute of it.

He was actually a very sensitive and caring guy once you got past the bluster and peacocking, though not all the peacocking was for show, but he was able to easily go toe to toe with you in friendly banter and sarcastic quips.

One of the reasons you both got along like a house on fire.

“I’m serious, Y/N!” Hangman almost whined at your amused silence. “You’re the only one that can help me!”

You snorted, putting down your drink to give this lovable idiot your full attention.

“Hangy, if I’m the only one that can help you, you’re screwed. I’m not even military! And we already tried the fake dating trope to make someone jealous and it backfired when we both got too grossed out to even pretend to date. So, I’m not sure what you think I’m able to help with,” you said with a raised brow. You were curious, but also already convinced he was barking up the wrong tree.

“See,” Hangman smirked, “that’s where you’re wrong, Y/N. You are the only one that can help me. I need to you to broach the subject of my favor with a certain someone that would listen to you over anyone else.”

Hangman paused dramatically and you rose a brow, taking another sip of your drink.

“Iceman,” he whispered conspiratorially and you promptly choked on your drink.

Hangman’s face was positively gleeful, even as he reached across and tried to smack you on the back to assist you getting your drink out of your lungs.

“What?!” you finally rasped, eyes wide and involuntarily flicking to the bar where the Commander of the Whole Freakin’ Pacific Fleet was sitting with Maverick, both of them keeping Penny company in between patrons and probably reminiscing of the good ol’ days and confidential missions.

Fighter Town’s 2 Most Eligible Bachelors.

Quite honestly, in the looks department, you wouldn’t kick either one of them out of bed for eating crackers, but Maverick had become more of a fun mentor to you- someone you loved to hang out with and learn from, but someone you couldn’t see anything else ever happening with.

But Iceman- Tom. He was someone you had been attracted to from the moment Maverick introduced you.

His aura of command, his sheer presence and discipline still didn’t take away from the softness and care you saw from him when Maverick or one of Maverick’s adopted Daggers were involved.

And he was one of the sexiest men you’d ever seen- the age difference didn’t even register.

Well, not where your feelings for the man were concerned. The age gap was just one of the dozen reasons you came up with soon after meeting him of why he wouldn’t be interested in you; a list you tried to remind yourself of daily to keep from falling too hard.

It didn’t work, you were gone on the man, but it kept you from doing something truly idiotic like listening to Rooster telling you to “just say something to Uncle Ice so the pining stops. Please.”

Yeah. Right. You greatly hoped he was over exaggerating and your feelings weren’t that obvious.

“Earth to Y/N,” Hangman’s voice brought you abruptly back to the present and you realized you were still staring at Ice.

And Penny had clocked it. You couldn’t quite read her expression across the room, but you knew her well enough to figure it was at your expense and when she turned back to the 2 men at the bar, you ducked lower in your seat and turned your attention back to the smirking blonde in front of you.

Floor just swallow you now.

“You good?” Hangman asked nonchalantly and you gave as much of a glare as you could.

“Still not seeing how I can help,” you grumbled, taking a fortifying drink. The sooner you could convince Jake you couldn’t help him, the sooner you could get back to not talking about Ice.

“I told you,” he sighed, “you’re the only one he listens to without much convincing, so I need you to present my idea for me. That way he’ll say yes. And not shoot it down. You’re like…our secret weapon.”

The glare settled on your face pretty easily now. Hangman and you were so close, you’d confided in him about your feelings (the drinks he’d plied you with first made that conversation possible as you had planned to take your feelings for Ice to the grave) and you didn’t appreciate him making fun of you.

And you told him as much.

He looked like you’d just sucker punched him.

“Y/N,” he said lowly, voice serious, “I would never do that to you. I’m being actually serious about this- Iceman listens to you. We’ve all noticed it. I think you’re right up there with Pops in his eyes.”

You shook your head in automatic denial. There was no way, no way, that man would look at you as anything more than one of Pete’s kids. If you even rated that high.

Ridiculous.

“Jake, I’m done,” you sighed, tossing back the rest of your drink. “I’m headed home. I’ll see you later.”

“Y/N,” he started as he also began to stand but you waved him off.

“Not in the mood, Jake. I’ll talk to you later,” you said firmly, moving to the bar to return your glass and grab your card.

You purposefully approached the bar as far away from the source of your problem as possible- without trying to make it too obvious or too hard on Penny to run to the register.

Penny approached you with a smile. “Ready for another?” she asked, reaching out to take the glass from your hands.

You shook your head.

“No, thank you,” you said with a tight smile though you tried to loosen up at her suddenly searching look. “I need to close out, actually.”

She paused for a moment, looking you over before she asked deceptively casual, “You okay?”

You squinted at her. She was up to something. She always was.

“Yep,” you said as normally as you could, trying incredibly hard to not notice the twin stares from the legendary men at the other end of the bar.

Nope, nope, nope.

You were going to just smile, act normal and leave without anyone else talking to you.

“Y/N!” Rooster cheered as he sidled up next to you, throwing a casual arm around your shoulders, “how’s my favorite civilian? Aside from dear Penny here, of course.”

Your head dropped and you sighed.

For crying out loud-

“Doing great, Roo- just great,” you smiled as convincingly as you could, lifting your head and unwittingly making eye contact with Ice who was staring at you and Rooster, an unreadable expression on his face.

Mav leaned over to say something to his wingman and Ice’s stare left you to turn to the man next to him.

You felt your shoulders loosen a bit and you breathed out.

This was ridiculous. Surely, there was a home remedy for unwanted, inconvenient feelings? Especially unreturned ones?

“You sure about that?” Rooster asked, his deep voice dubious.

You sighed again, much louder this time.

“Yes,” you practically hissed, then immediately felt bad when you turned to him and saw his expression. Your back to Ice and Mav, you felt it safe to let your guard down a bit and you rubbed a hand over your face.

“Sorry, Rooster,” you mumbled. “Just…tired. I’m headed out and to bed. But I’m fine. Thanks.”

Rooster rose a brow, his expression telling you he didn’t believe you for a single moment, but he wasn’t going to push it.

Good. Maybe something could go your way tonight.

“Y/N,” Maverick’s voice sounded out behind you and you closed your eyes in defeat.

Apparently that was too much to ask for.

Plastering on a fake smile, which made Rooster’s eyes sharpen before you turned away from him and towards the Captain, you greeted Maverick back, shooting a glance over to Penny, relieved to find her closing you out.

At least, you hoped that was your card. Something needed to go in your favor tonight.

“Ice and I were talking about one of our missions and it reminded me of that story you asked about that I wouldn’t tell you. Ice made me promise years ago that he had to be present before I told it- apparently I “exaggerate to extreme proportions” and he refuses to let me be without adult supervision when I rehash that particular mission. Whaddya say? Come sit at the bar with us for a few minutes? It’ll absolutely be worth your while,” Maverick grinned and you felt torn.

You loved listening to his stories and having Iceman wrangle a promise from his wingman about being present during all retellings of this story assured you that it would absolutely be worth it.

But you also were feeling raw and vulnerable tonight- your unrequited feelings never so obvious as they were that night.

Could you sit by Ice and Mav while Maverick regaled you with stories of their time together- sure to put Ice in the spotlight as well and make your feelings for the Admiral grow?

You chanced a glance at the Admiral in question; he was again looking at you with that unreadable expression.

You felt your heart squeeze.

He didn’t look particularly thrilled -or any emotion really- when looking at you and suddenly, you could think of nothing worse than having to suffer through his indifference.

Not tonight. You were too fragile for that.

Giving a mental apology to Pete because he really did look excited for you to join them, you gave a small smile and a shake of your head.

“Sorry, Mav,” you murmured. “Normally I’d say yes, you know that, but not tonight. I am exhausted and going home. But we’ll rain check, yeah?” you asked as you -almost tearfully, you were so grateful- took your card from Penny and slipped it into your pocket.

Finally. You could leave now.

As you expected, Maverick’s face dropped and you felt so bad, but your own emotional state overrode anyone else’s and with a pat to his shoulder and a soft goodbye to him and Rooster, you headed for the door and your empty house.

//////\\\\\\

Work kept you stupidly busy for the next three weeks. A coworker had missed an important deadline notice and you and half the department had ended up working so much overtime to assist in making it happen (and all your normal duties on top of that), that you only had time to go home and pass out for a few hours before you had to be up and do it all over again.

Jake had been in constant contact with you, starting a few days after the…. incident at the Hard Deck.

When you didn’t show up to the bar any other evenings that week and hadn’t reached out to him, he thought you’d been so mad at him you quit talking to him.

You’d had to reassure him that no, that wasn’t the case, you were just busy. And that it would take more than him making light of your feelings for you get mad enough to cut him out of your life. Which then started the conversation again of how he wasn’t making fun of you, Ice really did like you, blah blah blah.

You nipped that conversation in the bud as soon as it started and Jake hadn’t brought up anyone else when he checked in on you daily.

A quick checkup was all you had time for, but he seemed to be content with a daily, ‘Hey, Jake- I’m still alive!’ text.

The project at work finally finished around dinner time on a Friday and you were almost ready to drop.

The past weeks had been brutal and you were looking forward to a weekend of nothing but sleep.

And then Jake called.

“You’re coming to the Hard Deck, right?” he pounced as soon as you answered the phone.

You groaned, though you couldn’t stop the small smile. It really was a good feeling that somebody missed you.

But still.

“Jaaaaaaaake,” you complained as you got into your car in your work’s parking lot, “I am human. I need sleep. And that’s been in short supply for the last 3 weeks!”

“Come on, Y/N,” Hangman cajoled, “just a drink. You can show the gang you’re actually still alive and I haven’t been lying through my teeth, thank you very much, and then you can go home.”

When you paused for a moment, thinking it over, he brought out the guilt trip.

“Pops has really been looking forward to telling you some story.”

You groaned in acceptance.

Although the reminder that Ice needed to be there for Maverick to tell the story wasn’t stellar, you really had felt bad about having to rain check on the Captain. He’d looked so disappointed.

And honestly, the last 3 weeks away from all the Navy pilots had reassured you that you were just being dramatic and that unrequited feelings were actually not the end of the world.

You were bright, competent, had a good job and a nice place to live. You were fine with one sided feelings.

…Totally fine.

“Alright, you win,” you acquiesced over the phone, shaking your head fondly at Hangman’s cheer. “But don’t expect me to stay all night.”

“Done!” came the cheerful response and then you had dial tone.

You rolled your eyes and pointed your car towards the Hard Deck. You really needed to work on his goodbyes.

//////\\\\\\

You had barely walked through the door before you were enveloped in a huge hug.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here in person,” came the dramatic declaration from Hangman of all people.

You rolled your eyes and thumped him on the back.

“Jake- you’re an idiot. You’ve literally been talking to me every day and we just spoke on the phone.”

“Not the same,” he argued, pulling away but keeping an arm around you as he hauled you towards the pool tables. “Everyone has been mad at me thinking I did something and then wouldn’t believe me when I said you were fine. I’m pretty sure my death has been plotted by every single pilot we know,” he said significantly, though his underlying meaning escaped you. “So now you get to try and convince them you’re not mad at anyone here and don’t hate everybody.”

“I had mandated overtime!” you protested as you neared the group. “It wasn’t on purpose!”

“Oh good,” came the relieved voice of Rooster and then you were suddenly taken from Jake and squeezed by a 6’ plus Hawaiian shirt.

“We were worried that we’d scared you off,” he joked, though it sounded off, and when he was done hugging you, you looked between him and Hangman in confusion.

What in the—

“What’s going on?” you asked slowly. “You guys cannot be this relieved to see me. I’ve been away from the bar before and no one said a word.”

The two men exchanged a glance over your head and you huffed.

“What is the matter with you two?”

“You were missed,” a warm voice said from behind you and you spun to see Maverick standing a few feet away, giving a lopsided grin.

“Mav!” you greeted, stepping forward into the offered hug. You’d missed everyone too, though this was a bit ridiculous in your opinion. Maybe it was a pilot thing.

“It’s good to see you,” you said with a smile as you stepped back.

The Captain seemed to perk up a bit and then shot a look at the two men still standing sentry behind you.

“I’m taking her,” Maverick announced.

“Ah, can’t wait to tell me this infamous story?” you grinned as Maverick didn’t even wait for Hangman or Rooster to respond and just started steering you towards the bar.

“Yup!” the brunette grinned, clapping Ice on the shoulder as he passed him and settling you on a stool between the two of them.

You willed the butterflies to calm down and for the blood to please quit rushing to your head.

This was fine- totally fine. You were an adult. You could absolutely act normal when sitting within 2 feet of the man you were fairly certain you were in love with.

…oh man.

You were so screwed.

“I’m surprised they let you go so easily,” came Ice’s deep voice from beside you. It almost sounded like…reproach?

Your brow furrowed.

Ice had never been anything but nice to you, often talking with you about various topics when the absolute crazy of the Daggers got to be too much and you sought solace at the bar. Ice usually kept his distance from the pool tables- something about superior commanders ruining the vibe. And there really wasn’t anyone more superior than the COMPACFLT.

…was he frustrated that you were now at the bar and in his space?

A part of you died a little on the inside; it was such a drastic difference from the exuberant greetings of the others.

When, in moments of weakness the past few weeks, you had imagined how your reunion would go with Ice, him being upset at your reappearance was never an option. Though for all your adamance that he couldn’t be interested in you, it probably should have been.

You turned and gave him a small smile, trying to keep the hurt from showing on your face or in your voice, though you weren’t sure how successful you were.

“Well, Mav here has been dying to tell me more about your heroics,” you said as evenly as you could. You gave (what you hoped) was a nonchalant shrug. “I feel bad for dipping last time and this is the first time I’ve been out so- seemed like a good idea.”

“You haven’t been out and about in three weeks?” Maverick interjected. “I thought Hangman was just keeping your location a secret from us or something.”

You couldn’t help but bark a laugh as you turned to face Maverick.

“Is that why he was so adamant I come show my face tonight? I thought he was joking when he said everyone thought he was a liar.”

Maverick was grinning, shaking his head. You were too nervous to look behind you at Ice’s expression. Until he spoke next.

“Seems like something Seresin would do,” the man said idly, though he didn’t sound right. Not that you were an expert on his tones, but after the talks you both had, you could tell there was something different in his voice. You just didn’t have a clue what it was.

Might as well play as nice as possible, have Mav tell his story and then you could leave the men in peace.

“Well, you can rest easy, Admiral,” you said, a little flippantly. You needed to cut these feelings out fast- this was getting old. “He wasn’t lying. I haven’t been anywhere but home and work for the last 3 weeks. Mostly work. We had to pull 14-16 hour shifts every day, including the weekends, to make a deadline.” You shook your head. You were still a little salty about losing your weekends to work of all things.

The air around you seemed to get a little warmer, less stifled.

Maverick made a noise that sounded like a chuckle he tried to make into a cough and you looked at him oddly.

What was with these people?

“You’ve worked 3 weeks straight?” Ice asked, voice a few shades warmer and more at ease.

You leaned your head on your arms with a groan.

“Yeeees. It sucked so bad. We started taking cat naps at our desks throughout the day by day 9. Freakin’ Kelsey can't read,” you grumbled. The low chuckle from the Admiral beside you made a warmth curl in your stomach that you tried really hard not to look into too closely. You were supposed to be losing these feelings.

“I’m assuming you at least got to sleep some at home?” Maverick asked from your other side and you huffed.

“Some days more than others. But yes- I slept a bit.”

“And eating?” Ice asked and you snorted.

“Who had time or energy to eat?” You lifted a finger in the air as you could feel the lectures about to happen- from both of them.

“But luckily for us, our bosses felt bad too and they catered every day. So I may not have eaten much at home, but I ate my body weight in calories every day at work. Scout’s honor.”

You grinned into your arms as you felt the lectures die away. Ha. You called that one. Mother hens.

A clink in front of you made your head lift to see Penny putting down your favorite drink in front of your crossed arms.

“On the house,” she grinned and while your brows rose, you didn’t ask any questions, instead thanking her and taking a long drink.

Oh, Penny made a good drink. And it was going to go directly to your head, but after 3 weeks of working enough for 30 people, you deserved a drink and a break.

“Now,” you turned to Maverick, “what is this amazing story you need your wingman present to tell?”

//////\\\\\\

Your sides hurt from laughing and your head was pleasantly quiet of any negative thoughts from the drinks Penny had kept placing in front of you.

It was like she was making up for the single drink you had last time and the 3 weeks you were gone.

Not that you were complaining. You weren’t sure if it was Maverick’s story, the drinks you were ingesting, or the weeks catching up with you, but you felt that Ice had loosened up considerably. It may have been your imagination, but you were too happy to care.

While you were facing Maverick as he told the wildly fantastic story, Ice had leaned in towards you, correcting Maverick over your head with exasperated fondness as Maverick’s story derailed into even more fantastic details time and time again.

The warmth of Iceman’s chest was radiating into you and you were fighting every urge not to lean back into him.

But he was so warm and so close and the last few weeks had sapped your strength, both physically and emotionally.

So, you threw caution to the wind and leaned back against the strong chest behind you.

If it blew up in your face and there was a negative reaction, you could always claim you were drunk (though you were not even close to that).

But to your surprise, Ice just shifted slightly to accommodate you and you found yourself leaning even more into his chest while a strong arm wrapped around your waist to keep you steady on your stool.

Maverick didn’t break stride in his storytelling, but you caught the large grin and wink he threw Ice over your shoulder.

“Subtlety was never his strong suit,” Ice murmured into your ear and you barked a surprised laugh, causing Maverick to immediately switch from storytelling to heckling as he began giving his wingman a hard time. The butterflies started up again with a vengeance at Ice’s easy acceptance of both your weight and -dare you think it- your affection.

You let their banter back and forth wash over you as you finished your drink, enjoying the closeness of the Admiral behind you and hoping it wouldn’t end.

But your eyes were getting droopier by the minute as the last few weeks -and the drinks- caught up to you. You found yourself leaning heavier onto the strong chest behind you and then Ice was gently taking your empty glass from your hand and setting it on the bar top.

“Alright, darling,” Ice murmured, “I think it’s time for you to finally get some sleep, hm?”

You hummed a response, mentally getting ready for the trek home. And trying to find the energy to stand. (You’d be replaying that pet name over and over as you were falling asleep tonight – of that you were certain.)

But Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky beat you to it, standing himself and then, his arm still wrapped around your middle, helping you down from your stool.

“I don’t think you should be driving home,” Maverick said quietly from right in front of you, eyes roving your face and seeing your obvious exhaustion. Just the thought of driving home like this almost had you in tears, but you were an independent, capable woman. You could do it.

But Ice beat you to it again.

“Of course she’s not driving home,” the Admiral said in a voice that was used to having people obey. “I’ll take you home, Y/N – Mav, you follow in my car.”

You and Maverick both looked at each other and then you gave a soft laugh, eyes slipping shut again for a moment while Maverick grinned.

“The only reason I’m not fighting you is because I’m tired,” you informed the Admiral at your side and Pete’s answering laugh drowned out anything Tom may have said but you could feel his chest rumble with a chuckle.

“Of course,” he agreed graciously, steering you towards the door, Maverick at the bar speaking to Penny, before following along behind.

Hangman met your procession at the door, eyes taking in Iceman’s arm wrapped around your waist and his assistance in helping you to walk.

“Alright, Y/N?” he asked nonchalantly, though his eyes were steely. You felt your heart melt a bit at his protectiveness. Even against the COMPACFLT.

“Just peachy, Jake,” you said with a smile. “Exhausted and going home. I told you I wasn’t going to make it all night.”

Jake didn’t move for a moment and Mav stepped around you and Ice, placing a hand on Jake’s shoulder and muttering too low for you to hear.

But the way Hangman’s eyes lit up and the grin he shot your and Iceman’s way made you groan and hide your face in Ice’s shoulder. Oh for crying out loud—

“Got it,” Hangman said loud enough for you to hear. “You kids have fun – don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Ice snorted, steering you again towards the door. “From what I’ve heard, Lieutenant, that doesn’t narrow the list down too far.”

You giggled as Hangman sputtered behind you and then you were out in the fresh air and headed towards your car.

“Thank you,” you murmured to the admiral as he opened up your door and helped you into your passenger seat, “for taking me home. For…taking care of me.”

 Iceman paused buckling you in and lifted his head, face only a few inches from yours. His eyes bore into your own, searching and you simply stared back, letting him see what he would.

A large, calloused hand cradled your cheek and then warm, soft lips ghosted over yours.

“It is the only thing I’ve wanted to do since I met you,” he murmured, pulling back just enough to catch your eyes. You felt a giddy, relieved smile start to stretch over your face.

Before you could say anything, you heard Maverick’s call from a few spaces down in the parking lot, “Hey, Ice! How long does it take to buckle someone in?”

The Admiral hung his head, muttering under his breath and you gave a laugh at his defeated posture.

“Your wingman has amazing timing,” you teased and Ice snorted as he straightened up out of the car.

“He always breaks it out when it’s most inconvenient,” Ice responded with an eye roll and then he was shutting your door, yelling something indecipherable across the parking lot and then getting into the driver seat of your car.

You turned your head to just look at him as he started up the car and headed towards your house. He really was an unbelievably good looking man. Honestly. It wasn’t fair.

“See something you like?” Iceman teased, glancing at you with a grin before turning back to the road.

“Yes,” you answered simply, inwardly marveling at the change in his personality since finding out you hadn’t been avoiding the Hard Deck.

Ice looked at you, brows raised in surprise at your candidness, but then a soft smile overtook his own features before he reached a hand over and gently grasped yours.

Ugh. There was nothing sexier than a man driving with one had while holding your hand in the other.

 But you still had to ask…

“Why did it bother you so much that I wasn’t around the last few weeks?”

There was a pregnant pause in the car for a few moments before Ice said quietly, “I was afraid you were avoiding me.”

You tilted your head back against the headrest.

“Why? I mean, it sounded like everyone was upset but I don’t understand why. I’ve been gone before for periods of time when I get busy and it’s not like I see the Squad every day. I didn’t even speak to you that night before I left.”

“Don’t I know it,” Ice muttered, eyes flicking to you briefly before going back to the road. “I have been…pining,” Ice said after a moment, choking out the word ‘pining’ like it had been shoved down his throat so many times he had to use it.

You shot up in the seat with a surge of adrenaline.

“That’s what Rooster meant!”

Startled, Ice turned to you look at you in confusion.

“Rooster?” he repeated. “Meant what?”

“Rooster was uh, cheering me on, I guess?” you started, it still new to you to just throw out your feelings to the man who was the cause of them. “He kept telling me to ‘just say something to Uncle Ice so the pining stops. Please.’ I always thought he meant that my pining was that obvious and I was always a little mortified at the thought. But apparently, he meant you.”

Ice’s flicked from you, to the road, back to you and then back to road again before he said quietly, “Your pining for me wasn’t something you wanted known?”

His voice was carefully controlled, neutral. Like he didn’t care what the answer was. His hand, still firmly encased in your own, was still, like it was also waiting for an answer.

You shifted in your seat, giving his hand a squeeze at the same time you tucked a leg up under you and turned your body halfway towards Ice in the driver seat.

“Ice,” you started, then shook your head once before starting over. “Tom.”

You were rewarded with startled eyes boring into your own. You’d never called him by his first name before.

“Tom,” you said again, “I’m sure you’ve noticed. But uh, you’re the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. An Admiral. One of the most legendary pilots the Navy has ever seen. I’m not even in the military. I work an office job that is honest work, sure, but isn’t anything near what you do – why on earth would I want anyone knowing of silly, one-sided feelings that—”

“No,” Ice practically snarled, interrupting you. “You don’t get to say ‘one-sided’. And if your feelings for me are silly, than mine for you are equally as silly. You are an intelligent, hardworking, funny, beautiful, kind and gentle soul while I’m married to my work and past my prime. If anyone should be insecure about their feelings, it should be me.”

You meant to reassure him like he did you, you really did. But you found yourself laughing instead.

“I’m, I’m sorry,” you wheezed between chuckles and trying to catch your breath, “but that’s ridiculous. ‘Past your prime’ – are you crazy? You are aware you and Mav have been unanimously voted this town’s most eligible bachelors?”

Ice’s startled eyes met yours – huh, guess he hadn’t actually known that – before he chuckled along with you.

“Alright,” he grinned when you both were quiet again, “let’s call it even and say neither of our feelings are silly.”

The headlights of your card flashed over your house as Ice pulled into your driveway and you gave his hand one last squeeze before releasing him so he could put your car in park.

“Sounds very politically correct,” you teased, reaching down and unbuckling your seatbelt.

Ice’s calloused hand reached up to cup your cheek again, pausing your movements.

“I learned a few things over the years,” he quipped softly, eyes looking into your own before dropping down to your lips.

You weren’t sure who leaned in first, you or him, but you are sure that nothing ever happened as a single car honk made you both jump apart.

“Maverick,” Ice cursed and you couldn’t help but laugh again. Granted, you were starting to get upset at the man yourself, but seeing the normally unflappable COMPACFLT get upset he couldn’t kiss you – well. That did wonders for your ego.

“I suppose I should probably get out and get you inside. Before my blasted wingman wakes the whole neighborhood,” Ice said with a heavy sigh and you looked at him, really looked at him.

You could trust him. Ice was a standup guy; loyal, disciplined, caring, thoughtful and highly respectful. He protected your friends in the Squad and his own wingman like a mother bird and her chicks. This was a man you could absolutely trust to never do anything to make you uncomfortable.

“Would you like to stay?” you blurted out before you could change your mind.

Ice stopped griping about Maverick mid-sentence, staring at you as if you’d grown two heads. You squirmed under his stare uncomfortably. Had you misread everything?

“Sweetheart,” Ice started lowly, “you don’t have to—”

“Tom,” you groaned, “I’m not stupid. I know I don’t have to. I’m exhausted and ready to just sleep for the next 4 days but I’m…well, I’m not quite ready to give you up yet. I’d, I’d like you to stay. If you’d like to.”

 Suddenly you were kissed to within an inch of your life, Tom’s hands cupping your face and him leaning into your space over the console.

It took Maverick three honks this time and Ice broke away, breathless and with a soft huff of laughter.

“I’d love to stay, Darling,” he murmured, giving you another chaste kiss before turning and getting out of the car. “Let me go tell my Wingman to go home – I’ll be back for you in a moment.” And then he shut the door and was gone.

You leaned back against the seat with a slightly hysterical giggle.

Your feelings were reciprocated. And the subject of said feelings was going to spend the night – longer, if you could convince him. You watched Ice hit the hood of his car as it drove away and then make his way back to you.

Maybe you needed to hear out Hangman’s favor after all, you thought, as Ice opened up your door and swept you into his arms.

 Seems like maybe…maybe he actually did you one. It was only fair.

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

In Sickness and Health

Top Gun Maverick Short Story

Older!Maverick x Female!Civilian!Reader

Warnings: flippant mentions of death (nothing to take seriously), illness, copious amounts of “sweetheart” and “honey”, age gap

Not beta read. Barely even alpha read.

Gif not mine (obviously).

Enjoy.

/////\\\\\

Your phone’s shrill ringtone cut through your NyQuil medicated brain and you fumbled for the offensive device on your nightstand, managing to miss it three times before you finally unplugged it from the charger and brought it to your ear.

“‘Lo?” you mumbled, free hand plastered to your forehead. Hot again. Apparently your fever was back.

“Y/N?” came Nat’s loud voice over the phone, bar background noise up close and personal in your ear. “Don’t tell me you forgot!”

With a grimace, you pulled the phone away from your ear and glared at it. Why was she so loud?

“Y/N? Y/N!” her tinny voice sounded out and you cautiously brought the phone back up to your ear.

“Nat,” you groaned out, sounding just as miserable as you felt, “I’m sick. Go ‘way.”

There was a pause and then the noise on her end faded a bit as she seemed to move away from the boisterous Dagger Squad.

“What’s wrong?” she asked a bit quieter, (though not quiet enough for your sickness riddled brain), the background noise down to a dull roar in the busy bar.

“Sister. Kids,” you grumbled out, mind only half aware of what you were saying.

Your sister and her kids had visited a few days before. Children. They were like little Petri dishes running around- sick with everything all the time. They needed to learn to keep that mess to themselves.

You hated being sick. You got needy and clingy and you had no one to cling to. Which made you even more miserable.

“Do you need anything?” Nat asked worriedly and you were only half aware of the noise you made. You were pretty certain you said no. Or something that sounded like it.

No one else needed to come and get sick. You’d manage. You’d been taking care of yourself for quite some time now.

There was indistinct mumbling on Nat’s end of the phone and then a deep, warm, concerned voice was in your ear.

“Y/N? What’s wrong Sweetheart?”

You couldn’t help the groan that escaped if you tried.

Maverick.

Of course, Nat had to get him involved. She knew of your massive crush on the man (you weren’t blind or immune to his stupidly charming charms) and was now using it to her advantage.

You couldn’t help but cave whenever Maverick asked you something. Or invited you somewhere. And apparently Nat was not satisfied with your answers and was bringing in the big guns.

“Y/N?” Maverick’s voice said again in your ear and you made a questioning sound. What had he asked again?

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“Sick,” you managed to mumble. If you were more coherent, you’d be mortified at the whine to your voice, but at the moment, you were too sick to care. They should be thankful you even answered the phone. (Also, if you were more coherent, you’d be a blubbering mess at Maverick calling you sweetheart. He’d never used that endearment -or any endearment- before.)

There was more mumbling on the phone and you let yourself drift. You were so tired.

“—okay, Honey?” Mac’s voice came over the phone and you mumbled something in return. Sure. Whatever he wanted. You didn’t care anymore. You just wanted your body to stop betraying you.

You were vaguely aware of Nat saying something, but you were hardly paying attention. Was the flu supposed to make you this miserable? Maybe you had the plague? That seemed more plausible.

“Let me know how you’re feeling later,” Nat’s voice finally permeated the fever fog and you felt a bit of surprise. You’d figured she’d be way more mother-hen. A distant part of you warned you that you were missing something- there’s no way any of the Daggers would just leave you alone if something was wrong. But the majority of you was too tired and relieved you could go back to sleep to care.

You’d probably be smothered in hugs and well wishes when you were well enough to hit the Hard Deck anyway. In the meantime, you’d wallow in misery and hopefully not die.

//////\\\\\\

You weren’t sure when exactly you’d hung up the phone or when you’d drifted off to sleep, but a calloused hand gently brushing over your forehead had you slowly rejoining the land of the Awake.

You blearily opened your eyes to see a figure standing over your bed- white shirt glowing in the evening light coming through your blinds.

What the— “Mav?” you questioned, voice hoarse and weak. Ugh. You felt worse than you did when you answered the phone.

“Hey, Y/N,” the Captain greeted, voice gentle and hand still gently running over your forehead. “How do you feel?”

“Like I got hit by a truck,” you muttered, leaning into the caressing hand eagerly.

Healthy Y/N was going to be very upset with sick Y/N. You’d made a point to seem very put together and competent around the Daggers and Maverick. You weren’t military and didn’t have their expertise or training, so you tried to make sure you were seen as capable and independent at all times, able to handle anything that came your way on your own. Like an adult.

And here you were: weak, vulnerable and nuzzling into Mav’s hand like a cat.

Oh yes, heathy Y/N was going to be mortified. Healthy Y/N would also probably wonder more closely how Maverick got into your house, but the sick version of you couldn't care less; you assumed he picked the lock or jimmied a window.

And you certainly weren't going to ask - you were over the moon. Here was the man of your dreams, in your home, speaking softly to you and gently caressing your face. You could actually die happy at the moment and you wouldn’t even haunt anyone.

“Sweetheart,” oh the pet names were so much more powerful in person, “why didn’t you say something?”

You blinked bleary eyed at the man now sitting on the edge of your bed, hip gently pressed against yours.

“Wha?” you questioned, eyes slipping shut again before a tap on your cheek had you opening them back up.

“You’re sick, Honey. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Your brow furrowed. Say anything? Your family didn’t live anywhere near this city (and this was all your sister’s fault to begin with) – who were you supposed to tell?

“No one to say anything,” you mumbled, eyes falling back shut, not really sure what you just said but Maverick was an intelligent man. He could figure it out.

Maverick made a low sound you only half paid attention to, most of your admittedly limited concentration focused on the hand that was now gently rubbing your temples and chasing away the worst of the headache. 

“Oh, Y/N,” the man murmured and you made a soft noise in response. “Let’s get you better, Sweetheart.”

You were starting to drift off again and a low chuckle at your hip said that Maverick knew it. A light pressure to your forehead and then the presence of Maverick was gone and you drifted off to sleep with a small smile and the thought that if he’d just kissed your forehead, this would have all been worth it.

//////\\\\\\

“Come on, Honey,” Maverick’s voice murmured softly in your ear. “Up and at ‘em.”

Your eyes blinked open as a strong hand, attached to an equally strong arm, snaked it’s way under your shoulders and easily lifted you, another hand stacking pillows behind you.

The bedside lamp was on, casting a yellow, muted glow around the room, which your pounding head thanked Mav for.

“Got some broth and some medicine for you, Y/N. Can you stay upright for me?”

You hummed, wiping your eyes and sinking into the sick, half-awake awareness that didn’t care how awful you must look – and smell – from being sick and lying in bed for almost two full days. It just felt nice to have someone taking care of you.

A low chuckle brought your attention back to the man beside you.

“You’re adorable,” Maverick murmured, grin wide and you had enough awareness to roll your eyes. Sure you were. You’d been bedridden for almost 48 hours; adorable was not the first word you’d think of.

But his gaze never wavered and his smile never dimmed, and inexplicably, you found yourself believing him.

Pills were gently placed in your hand and a glass of water was held in front of you.

“Bottoms up, Sweetheart. And then we’ll try the broth, okay?”

You dutifully put the medicine into your mouth but found your hands a bit too shaky to hold the water and half the glass spilled on the bed beside you before steady hands assisted and took the glass back.

“Easy,” Maverick said gently, no reproach in his voice, even as your eyes filled with tears at your helplessness. “It’s okay, Sweetheart. You’re okay.”

Maverick gently lifted the glass to your lips and you washed down the pills, after spilling water down the front of you too.

“I’m a mess,” you whispered, voice scratchy and sullen.

“Honey, you’re sick,” Maverick said with a fond smile, brushing warm fingers over your forehead. “There is nothing wrong with not being at your best. That’s what I’m here for.”

Tears gathered in your eyes again. Why did he have to be so sweet? And why did he have to see you like this? When you’d only ever tried to be perfect and unflappable around him?

Maverick made to stand from where he’d been beside you on the bed and you instinctively grabbed at his arm. You were horrified he was seeing you like this, but it was preferable to him leaving you. You didn’t want to go back to having to do everything alone.

A calloused hand cupped your cheek and drew your eyes up to the man now leaning over you.

“Y/N, it’s alright. I’m just putting down the water, grabbing the broth and I’ll be right back in your space, okay?”

You gave a nod, moving your hands back to your lap where you clenched them together. Right. You were okay. You were an adult. You were perfectly capable of sitting here alone.

True to his word, Maverick put your now empty glass on the nightstand and took up the coffee mug you assumed the broth was in.

He returned to your side, now sitting fully on the bed stretched out next to you, his thighs and side flush against yours, his arm wrapping around you and pulling you closer into his chest.

“Alright, Sweetheart, let’s give this a try, okay?”

You eyed the mug warily. “Mav,” you croaked, “I couldn’t even drink water.”

A low chuckle resonated from the chest you were tucked up against.

“Oh, I’m not going to let you hold anything, sweet girl. I’ll hold it and you just tap out when you get enough, okay?”

You were dubious but too tired to argue any further. Besides, who were you to turn down Maverick taking care of you so gently?

Slowly, you worked through the broth, Maverick attentive to every sip, his arm snug around you and his hand rubbing soothingly along your hip.

He was lulling you to sleep and you were almost to the bottom of the mug when you tapped his thigh, head falling to his shoulder as soon as the mug was taken away.

Maverick chucked quietly.

“I see the meds are working,” he observed as he leaned over to put the mug back on the nightstand.

“Hmm,” you hummed sleepily, belly full, eyes closed, soft smile on your lips, “I think it’s you.”

“What do you mean by that, Sweetheart?” Maverick murmured as he leaned back in and made himself comfortable against you again.

“You,” you yawned, “you make me feel safe. And cared for.”

You felt Maverick tense up beside you and for a moment, you thought you’d done something wrong, but then he moved, hands under your arms and sliding you into his lap, you now curled against his chest, between his legs, both of his arms completely surrounding you.

“Y/N,” he murmured into your hair, his voice sounding a bit choked, “oh, Sweetheart. I’ll always be around to make you feel safe and cared for if you’ll have me.”

You lifted your head to look at him, heart thumping so loud, you were sure he could hear it.

“Really?” you asked, eyes searching his. You were half convinced this was a fever dream. Surely, Maverick, the Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell wasn’t sitting in your sick bed with you and telling you he wanted you, right?

Maverick gave a soft smile, stroking your cheek and gently trailing his fingers along your eyebrows, the bridge of your nose, as if memorizing you.

“Really, Y/N. You have to have noticed my…regard for you,” the pilot said quietly, carefully. Your brow furrowed.

“Your…what?” You couldn’t remember any regard he had for you. Sure, he was polite and kind and generous and protective, but he was like that with all his ‘kids’! Why would you think it meant anything different with you? That you were special? Even though you desperately wanted to be.

Maverick’s chest expanded in a long drawn out sigh. “Penny is going to gloat about this until the day I die,” he muttered and you huffed a laugh at his despondent voice. Maverick’s answering smile to your laugh made your chest feel funny in a way that had nothing to do with the plague you’d contracted.

“She’s been hounding me for months,” he continued, leaning his head back against your headboard with a small, rueful grin, “saying that I needed to actually just tell you how I felt instead of trying to hint around at it. Apparently I suck at subtlety and you’re oblivious,” he teased gently, hand finding your hip and continuing his slow, rubbing motion that almost put you to sleep to begin with.

“But I was far too insecure to say anything outright. After all, you’ve got everything going for you; you’re young, you’re bright and absolutely gorgeous. And I’m—”

You cut the sweet, kind, comforting, handsome, idiotic man off with your hand over his mouth. You’d worry about germs, but the man was literally cuddling you – he’d be fine or he was already contaminated. But you were not going to listen to him put himself down.

And you told him so.

Through your sick-addled brain, you listed off his accomplishments, his attributes, both physical and characteristic, and how handsome and out of your league and intimidating in all his awesomeness you found him. At least…you were pretty sure you said all that. You meant to, but who knows – the meds were definitely kicking in now and you were slowly but steadily losing steam.

And judging by the fond smile and soft eyes of the man sitting above you as he watched you avidly defend his honor, he could absolutely tell.

You finally ran out of breath and leaned tiredly against his chest, half hoping he’d made sense of what you’d said and half hoping he didn’t. You’d really laid your heart out on that one.

Maverick shifted around until he was reclining rather than sitting, you still laying on his chest.

“Does this mean you have feelings for me like I have for you?” he asked after a few moments of silence, his voice lighter and more carefree than you’d ever heard it.

You felt a silly grin overtake you as you burrowed further into his chest.

“Yeah,” you rasped, “it does. But…can you go over all of those feelings you have again when I’m not doped up on meds?”

Maverick’s chest shook with his laugh and you felt his smile when he leaned down and pressed a kiss to your head.

“Of course, Sweetheart. I’ll tell you as many times and as often as you’d like. Promise.”

[how-do-i-drive-this-thing]

Mom and Pops

Top Gun: Maverick short story. Older!Maverick x Female!Civillain!Reader

Warnings: Insecure!Reader, age gap, nothing else really

Gif not mine (obviously)

//////\\\\\\

You pulled into the parking lot of the Hard Deck, feeling exhausted and sore, but also accomplished. You’d helped the local police department with a large animal seizure for the last 3 days and you were covered in bruises, cuts, lots of dirt and sweat, but you’d helped. You had been needed and you had helped. It felt good.

But you were thankful it was done – working 16+ hour days and fighting various forms of wildlife -some illegal to own privately in this country- made you grateful that you only did this occasionally as a volunteer. You wouldn’t last doing this every day long term.

Today had been the last day and while you were absolutely trashed, you were also too mentally wired to go home to your empty house and sit around. A Friday night at the Hard Deck with your favorite team of Top Gun pilots sounded like a good way to ring in the weekend and ring out the last few days. You didn’t even go home and change, instead heading straight from the police department to the bar in your tactical pants and work boots.

Walking -or slightly limping- through the doors, you felt the last of the adrenaline leave your system and your shoulders slumped a bit. You used to be anxious about being out among a lot of strangers, but since becoming friendly with the vast majority of the regular pilots and navy personnel in this particular bar, it had begun to feel like a second home.

Making your way up to the bar, you didn’t even have to look to know that the Top Gun best of the best were at the pool tables – you could hear their trash talking from the door.

And while you had no qualms about making yourself comfortable in their space and sending one of the guys for your usual drink, sitting at the bar and catching up with the calmer, steady Penny in between her serving patrons, sounded more appealing at the moment. You’d catch up with the pilots after you sat for minute.

The fact that Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was also sitting at the bar had nothing to do with your decision. Nothing at all. (But was it terrible to be so attracted to a man that much older than you? Probably. And nothing would ever come of it you were sure, but a girl could dream, right? And after the last few days, your tired mind just wanted to dream.)

“Hey, Penn,” you greeted a bit tiredly, though with a wide grin as you sat down a few stools away from the navy pilot. “Mav. How’s the night so far?”

Both Pete and Penny turned to look at you and both of their eyes widened, jaws falling open a bit. You snorted a laugh at the matching looks. Even though Pete and Penny had broken things off -while still remaining friendly- apparently they’d been dating long enough to start looking alike.

“…what’s a girl got to do to get a drink around here?” you finally quipped after a few moments when neither of them made a move to say anything, just kept looking you up and down.

That seemed to snap them both out of it, Penny automatically moving to get your favorite while Pete blurted out, “I thought you had an office job?”

You rose a brow, being purposefully obtuse (it gave you a small thrill that he remembered even that much of your life). “I do, Mav.”

You threw Penny a grin as she slid you your drink and you slid her your card. Her eyes were worried, but there was the slightest smirk on her face that showed you she knew what you were doing. And the fact that you were here at her bar and being a little schmuck eased a bit of her worries about the state you were in.

“Then what the hell happened to you?” Pete asked, moving from his stool to the one directly next to you. He didn’t seem to find the same consolation as Penny did in your flippancy, instead taking in every inch of you, eyes darkening even further. “Who did this?”

You gave a fond smile, reaching out and patting his hand, all while desperately trying to ignore the swarm of butterflies in your stomach. He was like this with everyone, you had to remind yourself. He’d practically adopted the grown pilots from his crew and was caring and protective of all of them as well. You were no different in his eyes. Though he was far from a father figure to you.

“No one did this to me, Mav. I took the last few days off and was helping the local PD with a large-scale animal seizure. They needed the extra hands and since I used to work Animal Control back home, well… it worked out.”

To your surprise, and by the soft sound from the woman behind the bar, to Penny’s utter amusement, Pete lifted a hand and gently grasped your chin, turning your head slightly to inspect the bruise on your cheek. You felt the blood rush to your head and tried valiantly not to gasp or worse, lean into his touch. You didn’t need that kind of mortification tonight.

“You get checked out?” the brunette asked quietly and you couldn’t help the snort that escaped you.

“Really, Mav? Of all people to ask that –”

The pilot gave a soft huff of laughter. “Fair point. But I’d still like an answer.” His hand gently fell away but not before giving what felt like a soft caress to your jaw. You couldn’t help the gulp but tried very hard to wipe any incriminating expression off your face before you turned back to him.

“Scout’s honor. I got checked out by the EMTs that are always around the police station. Nothing but a few cuts and bruises. I’ll live.”

Pete hummed lowly, looking you over once more head to toe before turning back to Penny behind the bar. He reached over for his beer, still staying in the stool right next to you and you gave -what you hoped- was a subtle deep breath to center yourself before also turning back to the bar and your drink.

There. That wasn’t so bad. Minus the fact that you still had dozens of butterflies swarming your stomach from the unexpected care and touching. But it was over now. You passed. No declarations of love or leaning into him like some love-struck teenager.

Perfect. Now if you could get your skin back to usual temperature and finish your drink like a normal, not thirsting after the man next to you, person.

Judging by the smirks Penny kept shooting your way, you weren’t quite there yet.

You gave a low groan, rubbing a hand over your face. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea you’d ever had. Next time, it was straight to the group of cocky pilots you felt nothing but brotherly and sisterly love for and they could approach the bar and get your drink for you.

A warm, calloused hand was on your forearm suddenly, another hand gently pulling your hand down from your face. “Alright, Y/N?” Pete asked quietly and you just blinked at him for a moment.

Seriously, how freakin’ unfair was his stupid gorgeous face and his stupid caring and his stupid niceness when he didn’t see you as anything different than his one of his “kids”? Assuming you even rated that high.

That was it – you needed to leave. At least his presence if nothing else. It wasn’t fair of you to put all this on him when it wasn’t his fault you’d developed such a massive crush on the man.

“Y/N?” he asked again, a little more urgent. You blinked at him again before shaking your head slightly. Yeah, not his fault, but not doing your sanity any favors either.

“I’m fine, Mav,” you finally answered, trying for a reassuring smile. “Just tired. But still too wired to go back to an empty place. I think I’ll go see the gang for a bit before heading home. But thanks.”

You gave him another smile as his hands fell back to his own side and you stood, grabbing your drink.

“Thanks, Penn,” you smiled at her, lifting your drink in salute before giving Pete one last small smile (no use in him thinking you were mad at him or something) and then turning to the pool tables.

You felt yourself give a relieved sigh as you neared the loud group. Good. Some normal chaos without the touchy-feely-can’t-admit-how-you-feel mess at the bar.

Ugh, you were so screwed. And your overthinking brain was desperately hoping you didn’t somehow push Pete away even further than he already was.

But thankfully the loud chatter of the squad around you had always been good at drowning out your inner panic, probably one of the reasons you got so close so fast with the group.

Your musings were cut short as Hangman spotted you first, yelling out, “Y/N?! What the hell happened to you?”

On cue, all eyes of the squadron turned to you and it was just through sheer familiarity with the group that kept you from tensing and shrinking under the attention.

Instead, you were able to give a fond smile as you sunk into the space Nat and Bob had made between them and answered back, “Helped the PD with some animal seizures. I’m fine, just cuts and bruises, nothing serious.”

Everyone seemed to look you over for another minute before Hangman broke the silence with a crass, “I always knew you’d look good in Tacticals.” And that was that. The group started their conversations again, though not without flipping Hangman some crap, or in a few cases, agreeing with him and you just shook your head with a grin and took another sip of your drink.

They were idiots, but they were your idiots.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Nat asked from your side, and you gave her a grin.

“Scout’s honor, mom,” you teased. She gave you a smirk, eyes dancing in mischief.

“If anyone here is ‘mom’, it’s you Y/N. Not only do Rooster and Bagman actually listen to you, but since Maverick is like our dad and you and he are…you know, you’re more ‘mom’ than I am.”

You choked on the drink you’d been in the process of swallowing, leaning forward to cough while Bob patted your back, though whether it was to help you breathe or in sympathy, you couldn’t tell.

“What?” you rasped when you’d gotten most of your breath back and your drink out of your lungs. “Me and Mav are….what?!”

The fact that maybe your feelings were obvious was absolutely mortifying and you really wanted to just sink into the floor. If the Daggers were able to see it, then could Pete?! The thought of him knowing you were attracted to him – and much more than just superficially (yes, the man was good looking, you had eyes, but he was also thoughtful and caring and sweet and generous) – and him humoring you and being kind even when he didn’t feel the same way, was enough to make you want to just…leave. Move to Brazil or maybe France. Somewhere far away.

“Come on, mother dearest,” Hangman spoke up from where he was leaning over the pool table to line up a shot, “it’s obvious you and Pops are head over heels with each other. Which does wonders for us kids. It’s good to see mom and dad getting along. True love and all that.”

The cocky SOB sent you a wink over his shoulder as he nailed his pool shot, sauntering around to the other side of the table to take another.

Had this been a conversation about literally anything else, you would have given him crap right back but this topic was so…mortifying, it wasn’t even funny. First of all, them being able to tell you were “head over heels” for Pete was something worthy of an early grave and second, to even tease that he felt the same way…

For a moment you felt your eyes sting, a combination of the topic of conversation and the long last few days. Your skin wasn’t as tough as usual when you were tired. Or insecure. And tonight, you were both.

Okay, so this was the second bad idea of the night. Next time, after pulling long, grueling hours doing crazy animal related manual labor, you would go straight home. No socializing and no feelings involved.

You tossed back the rest of your drink, mentally despairing the fact that you usually had at least two and so Penny still had your card at the bar. Dangit. Oh well. A quick close out and you could be on your way home in 2 minutes.

“Well,” you said as you stood, voice as solid as you could manage with your brain and heart going a million miles an hour, “I’d better be off. Been a long few days. See you guys around.”

You were careful not to make prolonged eye contact with any of them, but shot the group as a whole what you hoped was a normal, friendly smile and headed to the bar. You didn’t give yourself any room to relax; you’d need an even better game face for Penny and…Pete.

Fantastic.

Seriously, the next time you felt too wired to go home, you were just going to go for a drive. Never again going to a bar when you were tired and emotionally compromised.

“Hey, Penn,” you greeted, much more exhausted than your initial greeting a half hour ago. “Can you close me out?”

Penny jerked her head around to look at you from where she had just placed another beer in front of Pete – Maverick.

Maybe you should start mentally calling him ‘Maverick’ from now on. Distance yourself a bit.

“Close you out? Are you feeling okay? You usually have at least two,” Penny asked, her voice a bit worried, even as she grabbed your card and started the close out process.

You could feel Maverick’s eyes boring into the side of your head, but you kept your voice as neutral as you could, “Yup, just fine. Days are catching up with me – headed home to bed.”

There. Enough detail to hopefully derail any additional questions. Penny -and Maverick for that matter- were far too perceptive for your good.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Maverick asked, unknowingly mirroring Nat’s question from a few minutes ago. You felt yourself involuntarily tense.

You grabbed your card from Penny and gave Maverick a quick smile, though you could feel it was nowhere near as loose and friendly as normal.

“Positive, Mav. Just tired. I’ll see you all around.”

Without waiting for a response, you headed to the door, being careful to not run like you wanted to. Ridiculous. See, this was why you were usually a lone wolf. Feelings were dumb and complicated and sucked rocks. Stupid. This was stupid.

You remembered to throw a quick wave to the gang right before you exited the doors and you tried really hard to pretend you didn’t notice how instead of only one or two of them watching -really they all acted like personal bodyguards around anyone they liked outside of their own squadron- all of them had their eyes trained on you and there were no smiles or joking faces anywhere to be found among them.

Fabulous. Hopefully by the next time you saw them all, you were sufficiently recovered from this bout of stupidity and would be able to fend off the questions you could practically see them coming up with. Running away – because yes, that’s what you were doing – after them teasing you about Pete…Maverick was going to come back and bite you. And soon.

Hopefully you’d be able to play it off when it happened.

But for now, you were going to go home and go to sleep. Maybe you’d wake up and this would have all been a bad dream.

You could only hope.

///////\\\\\\\

You woke up the next morning realizing two things. One: it hadn’t been a bad dream and two: you were absolutely screwed.

And the reason you knew those two things? Natasha.

You had multiple texts from her when your eyes were open enough to check your phone: a few from the night before and one from that morning, first asking if you were okay, then apologizing for Hangman’s lack of tact (you weren’t aware he’d ever had any to begin with) and then finally, a text telling you in no uncertain terms that you wouldn’t be able to just hide from this and that she was coming over that day and you were going to talk.

Seriously – next time you were too wired and not tired? No bar.

With a groan, you sent off a text telling her that it wasn’t necessary, you had just been tired and were totally fine, but also that you knew her well enough to know you’d see her soon.

You didn’t even wait for a reply – jumping into the shower and making yourself look presentable. The better put together you felt, the better you’d be able to handle the conversation you were sure was going to take place.

Honestly. You weren’t sure what would be best at this point; deny, deny, deny or admit you were attracted to Maverick, pretend you agreed that he liked you back and then just…never do anything with that information. They both had the opportunity to blow up in your face.

If you denied it, she’d push you to admit it. If you admitted it, she’d push you to confess it.

HA! No. There was absolutely no way you’d be confessing anything to Pe—Maverick. That way lay heartbreak and even more mortification, if that was possible.

As you climbed out of the shower and finished getting ready, you perversely started a tentative plan to move away. Worst case scenario, it wouldn’t be hard to pick up and move. You never had really found a place you felt like you belonged to begin with (though this place and it’s fighter pilots was becoming more like home every day), and so you were always keeping one eye open for a new opportunity. You were renting the house you were in anyway – it was a month to month lease (perks of living close to a Naval base) and it wasn’t like you had too much to move… It was a half baked idea, but it gave you a twisted sense of comfort that no matter how this ended up, you had an out. A cowardly out, but an out nonetheless.

You were just putting the finishing touches on lunch (you were not doing this hungry) when there was a knock at your door. You gave a sigh, though a small smile touched your lips unbidden. As much as you were dreading this conversation, you did love the Daggers and Nat and you had formed a very close sisterly bond.

The knock sounded again and you yelled out, “Just a sec!” Wiping your hands on a paper towel, you headed to the door and flung it open, greeting already in the air.

“I don’t know why this can’t wait—” you cut yourself short as you realized it wasn’t Natasha “Pheonix” Trace on your porch but Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

You gaped at him for a moment, not even remotely prepared to see him. You had hardly been prepared to see Natasha!

“Uh, Mav,” you managed to squeak out, before clearing your throat with a wince. Wow. This was going so well.

“Y/N,” came the soft, amused response of the gorgeous man in front of you. How any person could make simple jeans and a white shirt look so good was absolutely beyond you. The jacket hanging loosely from one hand and the motorcycle behind him parked in the street – boy if you weren’t already hooked, this would have done it for you.

And of course he had to show up the morning after Hangman planted the seed of Maverick liking you back.

What an absolute mess.

With a start, you realized you were staring – as if this could get any more embarrassing – so with a flustered hand wave, you ushered the Captain into your space.

And promptly tried not to freak out. Natasha had been the only one who had ever been in your space before and now Maverick, Pete, was here. In your home.

Boy, were you grateful you’d put on your ‘armor’ of a bra and dressy clothes. Thankfully you hadn’t been waiting for Natasha in your comfy clothes (no bra and your ratty sweatpants and t-shirt) like you normally did for your semi-regular movie nights. Small mercies.

“Uh, do you want anything to drink or eat? I just made lunch,” you offered, trying valiantly to act normal. Psh, like that was possible.

Maverick glanced at the food you had on the kitchen island and then looked back at you with a raised brow and a soft smile.

“Sure there’s enough for two?” he asked teasingly, and you felt yourself falling back into the easy banter you shared with all the Dagger Squad.

“I’ll try not to take that personally,” you smirked as you headed to the large amount of food on the island. At Maverick’s answering laugh, you added, “I figured Nat would appreciate a few different choices when she gets here and I’m hungry enough to sample all of it.”

The tilt of Maverick’s head made the light, familiar feeling that came with bantering pause and his furrowed brow made that feeling completely disappear.

“Nat?” he questioned, now leaning against the other side of the island. “She actually is why I’m here. She said that she spoke to you and you had something you wanted to talk to me about?”

You felt the blood drain from your face and felt your stomach plummet to your feet. She…she wouldn’t have. There was no way she would betray you like that. Surely?

“Y/N?” came Maverick’s soft voice and your eyes darted up to his unbidden. The panic that had been slowly rising in your gut now hit record levels at his intense stare. You couldn’t do this. You wouldn’t do this. Time to deflect. You dropped your eyes – a sure sign whatever you were about to say wasn’t the whole truth – but you didn’t care. You couldn’t say anything with his eyes boring into you li. ke that.

“Not sure what she was talking about,” you said as airily as you could, though you were well aware it sounded high pitched and fake. “Unless it was about last night.” Lies were more believable when mixed with partial truths. “I was out of sorts, but just tired. It’s all good – but I’m sorry if I came across rude or abrupt. Been a long few days. But I did appreciate your concern. So…thank you.”

There. Not even remotely believable, even to you, but maybe, just maybe Maverick would be a gentleman and take your lies at face value.

“Y/N,” Maverick started and to your horror, you felt tears sting your eyes; déjà vu from last night.

This. This was why you hated catching feelings. They made you dumb.

“Maverick,” you sighed, closing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose, “I’m not sure what Nat told you, but I don’t have anything to talk about. Maybe you misunderstood her or maybe she misunderstood me,” right. Like you said anything remotely resembling you wanting to talk to Maverick, “but I am sorry you wasted the trip. I’ll make sure to never speak to her again in retaliation.” And because she was a dirty, rotten person for doing this to you. You were seriously reconsidering your camaraderie with the Dagger Squad. Between her and Hangman…Brazil or France was looking better by the minute.

There was a heavy pause in the room before Maverick’s voice softly said, “You always call me ‘Mav’.”

Your head shot up in confusion at the random turn in conversation and you just blinked at him.

“…what?” you asked after a moment, a bit thrown by his statement.

“Mav,” he repeated slowly, eyes taking in every nuance of your expression like he was trying to figure out how to navigate this conversation. More power to him. “You always call me ‘Mav’. Never ‘Maverick’. Until just now.”

You just stared at him, not sure what to say. It had honestly just slipped out – perhaps your subconscious trying to distance yourself from the man in front of you by saying his full moniker. But there was no way you were going to bring up that possibility, so you just stared at him, not really sure what to say.

Slowly, like he was approaching a startled deer, Maverick stepped around the island, moving slowly but purposefully until he was standing directly in front of you. If you wanted, you could reach out a hand and touch him. And you wanted. So, you firmly clasped your hands in front of you.

“Y/N,” Maverick said quietly, calloused hand raising to your face in a mirror of last night, but this time, his palm gently cupped your unbruised cheek, his thumb gently running over the apple of your cheek.

You were frozen, eyes wide. What…?

“Hopefully Penny wasn’t wrong,” the man in front of you breathed and before you could ask what on earth Penny had to do with anything, warm, dry lips were pressed softly to your own.

Your eyes fluttered shut of their own accord, even as your brain misfired and drew a complete blank. Maverick, the Maverick, PETE was kissing you.

Your brain finally caught up enough to that fact, and the fact that with your unresponsiveness, Pete was slowly drawing away and so with a small sound, you desperately grabbed the front of that stupidly good looking white shirt and pulled him closer, kissing him back. It was chaste, but wrought with emotion and you felt your eyes burn again, but this time with relief.

Maybe Hangman and Nat were right.

Maverick, Pete, slowly pulled away again, though he kept one hand on your cheek and the other around your waist, though you couldn’t say for certain when that had happened.

“Y/N,” he breathed quietly, leaning his forward against yours.

You gave a soft sigh, murmuring, “Pete,” and giggled when he gave a quiet moan, leaning in for another chaste kiss.

“I should never have doubted Penny,” he murmured and you pulled back just enough to be able to look him in the eyes without your own crossing.

“Penny?” you asked, curious as to that conversation.

Pete’s thumb began stroking your cheek again as he gave a sheepish smile. “Penny may have been telling me for quite some time to “man up” and “make a move”. That you were interested and wouldn’t turn me down if I asked you on a date.”

You couldn’t help the blood rushing to your face- apparently you had been that obvious- but you didn’t deny it either.

She wasn’t wrong.

“Why didn’t you?” you asked quietly. “Ask me out, I mean.”

Pete pulled back a little farther, eyes searching your own.

“I didn’t think she was right,” he said after a moment of silence. “After all, what could you possibly see in me? A washed up has-been, old enough to be your father at least, who has been a Captain longer than anyone else in the Navy? A man who has run from every commitment he could over the years? Whose only real worth is what he can give to the Navy?”

“Who is caring and protective and scary level genius,” you interrupted hotly. “Who has taken a group of cocky, hot headed misfits and turned them into an amazing, loving team, a man who had adopted said team as his own kids and protects them as such. The best fighter pilot the Navy has ever known- a man who has defied death on multiple occasions just to make sure he makes it back to a pseudo son who didn’t want anything to do with him at the time. One of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen with a heart of gold and a million dollar smile, who is always the first to jump in and help and always the last to leave- what on earth would I not see in you?”

In retrospect, you should have seen the earth-shattering kiss coming. Definitely no longer chaste, but still with just as much emotion and desperation.

Yes, he really should have listened to Penny a long time ago.

And you should have listened to Nat.

Later that night, after you and Pete had kissed and talked and kissed some more, you’d find your phone and see Nat’s response to the text you’d sent her that morning. The text you’d missed as you’d gotten ready and made lunch. The text that read:

I decided I won’t be by to talk to you this morning. But Maverick will.

We’re all tired of you two martyrs pining. Just listen to what he has to say. I think you’ll be surprised.

Have fun, mom.