Warnings: Major Spoilers for Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Word count - 2.1K
A/N - Last semester had me crying on the floor because of the syllabus (pls computer science majors, you have my respect) but I'm back and so are Bradley and Nisha!!! It took me a while to write this chapter please let me know how you liked it and what do you think is gonna happen next? Take care y'all!
Italics are thoughts and/or emphasized words Taglist is open and feels free to request headcanons or drabbles on this series
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Wednesday
Natasha was back, and in all the excitement of hanging out with his friends after work, Bradley accidentally slipped that he was headed to the beach.
That led to the entire dagger squad tagging along. He asked Nisha about this. When she said she didn’t mind, and that she is actually excited to meet his friends, he readied himself for the much-needed outing.
He knew Nisha to be reserved, and he knew the dagger squad who would jump at the opportunity to pull his leg. Harvard and Yale challenged everyone to an intense volleyball game on California's shores as Bradley and Reuben played referee.
The sun was over their heads, a cool ocean breeze blew their hair, and a smile was plastered on all their faces. This was as they passed the ball around. It looked like a scene from a summer flick. All they needed was a pop-rock song playing in the background.
He tried to focus on the game and was met by Harvard pausing mid-game and gawking at something just behind him. Bradley then nudged Halo who was on his side to look.
He turned on his seat just in time to hear Halo say, "Uh, guys, a total babe is approaching our way.”
In his view, Nisha was the only person approaching them.
She wore a simple beach outfit, a white tank top, and an ankle-length skirt in deep blue.
And Halo was right, she looked gorgeous without extravagance.
Bradley rose to his feet and greeted her. She smiled blindingly, as she looked behind his shoulder towards his crew. They had all stopped the game and looked at them with rapt attention.
"Hey," he said, unknowingly fumbling with his hands, "You look great." He smiled.
Her brows were raised as she admired his khaki shorts and T-shirt. "Thank you," she said, laughing, "you look great too".
“Stop with the sarcasm.” He deadpanned.
“What? This look has been your trademark since the 90s.”
“haha.” He smiles, “Come on, meet the crew.”
/-/-/-/-/--/
Bradley introduced her to the infamous Dagger Squad.
She heard their stories from Erin. The group of insanely hot elite naval pilots that hang around on The Hard Deck all the time. It had only been minutes meeting them, but they had already made her feel so welcome and happy, she felt like exchanging stories with old friends.
The crew settled down in the empty parking lot next to the beach after finishing their match.
Natasha and Jake leaned on her bike as he hugged her waist, Callie, Bob, Mickey, and Reuben fought for a place on her beach towel, all while Billy, Logan, and Brigham watched as chaos ensued, Neil opting to record this on his phone.
Bradley leaned quietly next to her on his Bronco bonnet, laughing now and then watching his friends goof around.
Nisha cheered as Callie was successful in getting rid of Reuben and Mickey and letting only Bob sit with her.
“Bagchi, please tell me he has been through an EMO phase,” Mickey asked, pointing at Bradley as she looked at him.
Bradley stared at Nisha as she smiled softly, “No, he didn't."
And then Bradley’s face dropped when he saw her smirking, "but he did undergo a rock phase so…”
Laughter filled the air as Bradley ducked his head and nudged her shoulder playfully.
Nisha remembers clear as a day, 15 and 16 respectively, lying on his bedroom floor as he introduced her to Guns N’ Roses.
“Guns N’ Roses?” Mickey looks at Bradley.
“O… o, o, o, sweet child of mine…” Harvard, Yale, and Fritz broke into a pitchy version of the song right then and there.
“O… o, o, o, sweet love of mine…” The others joined in just after.
And soon enough, the iconic opening riff to the 80s hit blared through Mickey’s portable speaker, and a dance broke out.
Her hand slipped into Bradley's grasp, and he pulled her forward. Walking out, he smirks, "Come on!"
Bradley dragged her towards his friends and held her hand, slowly swaying to the beat. Eventually, as the temperature rose, the gentle swaying turned into jumping and enjoying it. It was impossible for Nisha to realize when her hair came loose from her hairband, as she was lost in the music, the familiar beats of her youth, and the thrill of dancing with new people. Like she was back in the 2000s, living life in the present without caring about anything else.
As much as she missed this version of herself, she was glad to know that this version of her was still alive after all that had happened.
/-/-/-/-
Bradley turned onto her street at nine.
She laughed, telling some silly story about one of her students who thought it would be a genius to base his physics theoretical paper on Star Wars.
“…and of course, I gave him a piece of my mind, but his research was thorough. Like, really thorough. He somehow managed to explain hypothetical light-year travel with a spacecraft solely based on The Empire Strikes Back.”
“So what did you do?” Bradley asked, slowing down the car.
“I gave him an A. And wrote a recommendation letter for his NASA internship. He was one of my first students. Absolute genius.” She looked out the window.
"I cannot remember the last time I felt so... free," she exhales deeply. This is what I missed, living in the moment and not worrying about tomorrow. Even if it was only for a day, it was nice.” She smiled.
Bradley looked into her eyes. He found a glint in them; the same one she would have when telling him about the latest comic or the book she had read. He would sit for hours and listen to her talk. He loved her voice and the way she told the stories.
Nisha got out of the car, and Bradley came around. The cool evening wind blew around the neighborhood, indicating a storm was coming in soon.
“So,” he breathed out, looking at her trying not to smile.
“So…” she asked with raised eyebrows.
“When will you be free again? ”
Nisha laughed, "Maybe this Sunday but I’m not sure.”
“Okay then, I’ll pick you up at 6.” He smiled.
She looked to the side, trying not to smile. “Okay.”
Nisha extended her hand and shook his, looking at how the wind blew his hair. She stepped closer and brushed some hair away from his face with her other hand.
Bradley froze at his place. The feel of her warm fingers running through his hair made his heart skip a beat.
He held on to her hand for a while.
She glanced at how his hands had engulfed hers fully. Her hands were cold as ice, but he didn’t let go. His heart pounded as she looked him in the eye, slowly closing the distance between them, their chests almost touching. Bradley’s eyes remained fixed on hers for a second, and he saw how they were moistened, tears filling the void in her eyes.
“Hey,” he whispered, gently caressing her face, wiping a stray tear tumbling down her cheeks, “what happened?”
Nisha let out a breath. Her head tilted to one side, and her eyebrows winched. It was as if she remembered something, and her entire body froze.
She jerked back, almost stumbling on the lawn.
“Nisha,” Bradley stepped forward to grab her arm but she stopped him. “Don’t.”
He stood there looking at her, his arms extended to catch her if she falls.
“…just don’t Bradley.” Nisha sniffled, tears falling freely down her face.
Nisha left him standing on the sidewalk as she ran toward the front porch.
The sight of her running away from him broke Bradley's heart. Something big hurt her, and she has yet to recover from it.
-/-/-/-/-
“heyyyy” Erin ran to the living room, all ready to hear about her date with Bradley.
But instead, he found her sobbing at the front door.
“Oh honey,” Nisha looked at him as she closed the door, and broke down. She walked up to him and hugged him close.
“I… Erin, he…” She broke down, and Erin struggled to keep her up.
“Nisha, Nisha looks at me,” Erin panicked as he tried to reason with her, who was shaking her head and crying badly. He held her shoulders and faced her, “He isn’t Dhruv.”
Nisha broke down further listening to that name after so long.
Erin began, rubbing her back to calm her down, “He won’t…”
Nisha didn't have the sense to listen to him. Then she squeezed her friend even tighter and cried even harder.
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A/N - Thank you everyone for sticking with me till the end of this fic! if you liked it please let me know through the asks and the comments. Any and all requests, headcanons, and drabble requests about this AU is mostly welcome. Love y'all, Take Care!
Set I ↠ the duke and I (x) ● Set III ↠ an offer from a gentleman (x) ● Set IV ↠ romancing mister bridgerton (x) ● Set V ↠ to sir philip, with love (x) ● Set VI ↠ when he was wicked (x) ● Set VII ↠ it's in his kiss (x) ● Set VIII ↠ on the way to the wedding (x)
Paintings used from left to right Mastani by Raghuvir Mulgaokar 1953, South 60 by Iva Morris 2017, Little Dreamer by Lyn Cook 2011, Tulip by Valentine Bartholomew 1822, Croquet by George Elgar Hicks 19th century, Papa's Pocket Watch by Bernie Rosage Jr. 2010’s, Rose con ape by Angelo Comoll 20th Century, Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh later the second Marquess of Londonderry by Sir Thomas Lawrence 1817
KATE /SHARMA/ - WHO CALLS OUT THE BIGGEST RAKE OF THE TON ON HIS SHIT BUT ALSO HAS PANIC ATTACKS DURING THUNDERSTORMS AND WHO IS STRONG AND BRAVE AND LOVING AND KIND - IS A DARKSKINNED DESI WOMAN ON A MAJOR TV SHOW STREAMED IN 80 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS IN THIS ESSAY I WILL -
‘Bridgerton’: Simone Ashley Lands Female Lead In Season 2 Of Netflix Hit From Shondaland
Simone Ashley (Because the Night, Sex Education) has been tapped as the female lead opposite Jonathan Bailey in Season 2 of Netflix and Shondaland’s hugely popular Regency-era period drama series Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels.
Ashley will play Anthony’s romantic interest, Kate Sharma. Newly arrived in London, Kate is a smart, headstrong young woman who suffers no fools — Anthony Bridgerton (Bailey) very much included.
In Season 2, Bridgerton continues to break conventions on race. Anthony’s love interest (named Kate Sheffield in Quinn’s novel) and her family were conceived by the series’ creative team as being of Indian descent in a continuation of the reimagined world created in Season 1, which included several major Black characters, including the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel).
“Which just goes to show, Miss Sheffield, how very little you know of men. At least of the rakish, roguish variety.” He leaned in closer, letting his hot breath brush against her cheek.
She shivered. He’d known she’d shiver.
He smiled wickedly. “There is very little we relish more than a challenge.”
The music drew to a close, leaving them standing in the middle of the ballroom floor, facing one another. Anthony took her arm, but before he led her back to the perimeter of the room, he put his lips very close to her ear and whispered, “And you, Miss Sheffield, have issued to me a most delicious challenge.”
And then, with quite the most evil grin her lips had ever formed, she drew back her mallet and smacked her ball with every ounce of every single emotion within her. It knocked into his with stunning force, sending it hurtling even farther down the hill.
Just wanted to thank you all for following my page in the recent weeks! It’s so wonderful having a collective fandom for bridgerton/ Anthony+ Kate shippers. I’m so flattered with all the love I am getting for the gifsets and imagines I wrote envisioning Adelaide Kane as Kate Sheffield.
Unfortunately it seems as though we won’t be getting Adelaide as playing Kate for Season 2. A post in Reddit confirmed that she had reached out to producers to audition for the role but they wanted a POC as the role.
That being said I will continue to post imagines with Kate and Anthony! I will take this time now to ask you all who do you envision as Kate for Season 2?
The apparent open secret is that the producers want someone of South Asian descent for the job! So let’s get this discussion going! Who do you guys want for the role? Here are my picks
1. Anya Chalotra (unlikely but a girl can dream 😂)
