Maverick has a dark-haired, green-eyed daughter who is a naval aviator just like her Dad, her (Ice)Pops, and her older brother, and her callsign is Shrike.
Maverick(walks into the kitchen): - Hey, kids.
Hangman(immediately hides something behind his back): - Oh, hey Dad!
Maverick: I had to get away from those big butts for a while...
Phoenix: You mean Uncle Slider and Uncle Wolfman?
Maverick(chuckles):...No, your Uncle Slider's paintings. What're you kids doing?
Hangman: WHAT KNIFE?!
Maverick: What do you mean 'what knife'? Why're you holding a knife?!
Hangman: Why am I holding a...?
Bob: - He's gonna turn me into a REAL artist!
Maverick: No, he's not. Put the knife down, Jake!
Bob: I want to be an artist! Like Leonardo Dicaprio!
Phoenix: That's right!
Maverick: That's Da Vinci, Bob...
Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, naval aviator, Captain of the United States army and father of a little girl (now woman) called Y/N.
Not a lot of people would think of him as a good father, but in reality he really was. He was spoiled her little girl to treats but without making them a brat, spent all the time he could with her, he tried to always contact her while he was deported away from home and was very protective of her. Maybe a bit too over-protective.
He was a little bit hesitant when his daughter broke the news to him that she wanted to be a naval aviator, just like him. It didn’t come as a surprise to him, since his daughter was a bit too much like him. And it’s not like he hadn’t been encouraging her to join the army either, he was just scared she would loose her too. He didn’t want what happened to Goose happen to her as well. Either way, his daughter convinced him and he let her go on the condition she would train a lot so that she wouldn’t have any incidents and that he could choose her call sign. And that is how Y/N Mitchell became “Hawk”.
In the end, Y/N became one of the best pilots and was admitted into Top Gun, that was one of the happiest days for her father. He threw a party, not a big one of course, since it was just them both, but still. It’s the intention that matters.
Although he was extremely proud of his daughter, no father is prepared to feel the fear for his daughter’s life like he was about to. He had recently been called to go back to TOP GUN to train some pilots for a highly dangerous mission. The moment the man entered the classroom seeing Y/N “Hawk” Mitchell seated in one of the tables, he went completely pale. The man should’ve felt proud that his daughter was claimed as one of the best pilots in the navy, but he was just scared for her life. He couldn’t do anything to stop her from being in the classroom, but he had one idea straight: Y/N was NOT going on one of those planes.
Days passed and the day of the mission was only getting closer. Maverick was only seeing great results from his daughter, she was one of the best of the group, what did he expect? She was his daughter. And he knew Y/N was only getting angrier and angrier at him because he still refused to let her go. She was prepared for the mission.
“Today, we will simulate the flight you will have to perform the day of the mission. You will fly under the misil’s radar, that is, under 100ft. You will also have to reach the target in less than 3 minutes. Go.” He instructed, the pilots automatically grabbing their things to go to their planes, thinking and talking about how nuts the mission was.
After the mission, everyone was shocked by how well you had performed, even your dad. You had reached the target in the required time, two and a half minutes. Everyone congratulated you, but when you looked at your dad, he looked extremely… disappointed?
“Hey dad? Are you ok? I reached the target in time! Isn’t that exciting?” You said, trying to cheer him up. Your innocence thought he was feeling down because you were the only one that had actually reached the target. You said this with an incredibly bright smile plastered on your face, which started to disappear the moment your father started nodding his head with a “no” motion.
“Y/N, you are one the greatest pilot in this team. Hell, you are one of the best pilots on TOP GUN!” He stated with a hint of trying to convince himself
“Yeah dad… I’m having a hard time catching up… how is that a bad thing?” You were starting to get angry, but most importantly sad. You worked incredibly hard to live up to your dad’s name. You needed to be the best, just to make him feel proud.
“Kiddo… you’re not going on that mission. I can’t afford to risk to loose you.” You were crushed by his words. A tear falling down your face and sniffing, you looked to your feet. Anger started bubbling inside of you, you felt like you were going to explode.
“But… dad I’m ready! You saw it out there, I reached the target on time and even had a bit extra! Please dad… I will not fail…” you tried to convince him, but you could see he was getting angry too.
“You will NOT GO Y/N. I don’t give a FUCK if you are ready or not! Even if you were the best pilot in the WORLD I would NEVER LET YOU GO ON THIS MISSION” Everyone in the room went silent, you had forgotten there was people still in the room. Tears started falling down your face and you couldn’t control yourself to stop them.
“Dad.. If you don’t want me to fly, at least give me an RIO, I can do that as well!” That completely broke your dad.
“You will not fly a plane and YOU WILL NOT BE A RIO! How many times do I have to tell you? YOU. ARE. NOT. GOING. Much less as a RIO!”
You hated crying in public, he was humiliating you a lot. Not only you were crying, making you look weak in your teammate’s eyes, you were also being lectured by your dad in front of anyone at the age of 25?! Anger completely replaced your sadness. The next words that came out of you, came out as a blur. You didn’t control your next words at all.
“JUST BECAUSE YOU FUCKED UP AND KILL HIM, DOESN’T MEAN I’M GOING TO DO THE SAME! OR THAT OTHER PILOTS ARE AS RECKLESS AS YOU ARE!” You immediately regretted your words. You knew who ‘him’ was perfectly, and he did too. Silence filled the room and the tension in the air could have been cut with a butter knife.
“Hey dad… I’m sorry I shouldn’t-“
“It’s fine, you are all dismissed…” but things were far from fine. You started having a panic attack in that moment. You had just shouted at your dad, the man that has sacrificed a lot of his life for you, the man that tried to take care of you the best he could without a mother figure to back him up, and shouted at him about the thing he feels the guiltiest of.
You ran out of the room crying, pushing through the team. Rooster put a hand on your shoulder, caressing it lightly. You hadn’t even stopped to think that it was his dad that died that day. He slowly helped you exit the room and sat you on a bench outside. He put an arm around your shoulders and without a word, you started crying into his chest.
——————
A/N: thanks for reading! I hope you all like it and let me know if you want a part 2.
Title and chapter loosely inspired the song “Line Without a Hook” by Ricky Montgomery.
Summary: Aurora arrives back in San Diego, and reunites with people she both expected and unexpectedly anticipated.
Warnings: Swearing/language and mentions of PTSD
Word Count: 6.5k
A/N: Sorry I haven’t been posting as much, been going through some stuff mentally. But without further ado, here’s a longer chapter and enjoy the reunion of the BAP trio 💛
Thanks to my beta reader and editor @reginleight!
As always, likes are great and all, but comments, reblogs, and feedback are highly appreciated and loved! 🤭
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“Where do you want this last box, Rory?” Amelia asks from the living room.
“Over there in the kitchen please!” Aurora replies to her sister.
Aurora was so happy to be back in San Diego. She, Maverick, and her puppy, CJ, arrived in San Diego late last night and stayed in a hotel. Aurora had called her mom and Amelia the day she had left Washington DC, to let them know that she was going to be back in San Diego.
Penny and Amelia were currently spending the morning and afternoon with Aurora as they were helping her move into her new house within the city. Maverick had yet to see Penny and Amelia as he went straight to the Navy base where they had provided him lodgings for the upcoming mission. In the afternoon, he would be going to the Admirals to be briefed a little more on it.
“I still can’t believe my little star is back in San Diego!” Penny gushes over her daughter, as she gives Aurora another hug for the hundredth time today. Aurora groans as Amelia cackles, taking the box into the kitchen.
“Mom,” Aurora whines as Penny refuses to let go of her eldest daughter.
“She gets worse with age. You should have seen her last year when I bought my dress for the homecoming dance,” Amelia snickers, holding CJ, who Amelia had already bonded with.
“My babies are growing up. I’m getting so old,” Penny groans, releasing her daughter.
Aurora and Amelia both roll their eyes and chuckle, knowing their mother looks so much younger than her actual age.
Aurora kisses her mom’s cheek as she finishes unpacking the box she was working on before Penny left, walking into the kitchen to most likely unpack the remaining box Amelia had brought in.
Aurora was lucky that NCIS had helped her find a nice three-bed and two-bathroom house she was able to rent on short notice.
Apparently, Gibbs and Director Vance had pulled a few strings to help her find a good place that was a ten minute drive from the Navy base since the NCIS office was also located there. As well as her mom’s house being fifteen minutes away, with another five minute drive from Penny’s house to Goose and Carole’s.
She would sometimes hear the sounds of the naval aircrafts flying above her house, and it made her smile remembering Bradley. And Jake and Peyton obviously, but mostly Bradley. Everything seemed to be settling in place.
“So, when do you start work?” Amelia asks, sitting on the floor and tossing CJ’s ball for him to chase after. The dog ran after the ball as it bounced away, skidding across the hard floors and almost tumbling straight into the wall.
“On Wednesday,” Aurora recalls from the email she got from her new boss. Since it was a Saturday, her boss had figured Aurora would need a few days to get used to her new surroundings before she started her new desk work.
Amelia smiles at her big sister from where she sat. She had missed Aurora so much, always looking up to her. When Amelia heard she would be coming home, she was so happy she screamed with excitement.
The two sisters were always close, with Aurora helping out as much as she could, especially when Amelia’s dad had left them. Amelia didn’t really consider her father as a dad, as Maverick had helped fill that void a while ago. But she never said it out loud.
“Have you heard from Peyton lately?” Amelia questions her, as Aurora pulls out a framed photo of the family. Aurora sighs as she hears the question. She stares longingly at the photo, where it was Maverick, Penny, Amelia, Peyton, and her at their graduation party.
“You know for being the talkative one out of all of us, he sucks at replying to letters,” Aurora responded, setting the frame down on the table next to her.
“I hope he’s doing alright,” Penny sighs, walking back into the living room.
She knew not to worry too much about her son, but it never got any easier when he went on deployments. She preferred if all her children lived in the same place, even though she encouraged them all to live out their own lives and dreams.
“He’s fine. He has Bradley,” Amelia surmised.
“That’s what I worry about,” Aurora chuckles, as she pulls out the stuffed rooster that was given to her by Bradley when he told her his callsign.
Aurora thinks back to the letter she wrote to both of them. She didn’t tell them about meeting Hangman, or any of her cases. Just that she was usually drowning between paperwork and fieldwork.
Penny and Amelia give each other a look as Aurora stares off into space.
Even though they were both happy that Aurora was home, they noticed she was different, even though they just saw her today. Sometimes she would go into a daze for a bit before returning back to normal. She would flinch and reach for her knife at a loud noise sometimes, occasionally falling silent and biting her cheek, or even fidgeting with her bracelet.
Penny knew a bit of her PTSD to an extent, but not the whole story, where Amelia didn’t know anything. They didn’t say anything though, wanting Aurora to get settled before saying anything.
“Any big plans tonight?” Penny asks, drawing Aurora out of her mind.
“Probably nothing as fun as what you’re going to ask me,” Aurora smirks at her mom.
“Well, how about a little help tonight at the Hard Deck then since you don’t have to work yet?” Penny suggests. “Amelia is sleeping over at her friend’s house. I had a coworker have something come up and I need someone to help me with the Saturday rush.”
“Sure! I haven’t bartended since college, so I might be a bit slow,” Aurora shrugs.
“No, you’ll be fine,” Penny reassures her. “Plus, you’ve always been good at it.”
“And there’s always hot eye candy to look at too!” Amelia pipes in.
“Amelia!” Penny turns to her youngest daughter. Aurora bursts out laughing at her sister’s antics.
“Not that it matters, you only have eyes for Bradley,” Amelia teases in a singsong voice.
Aurora rolls her eyes, not objecting to her statement, and throws bubble wrap at her. Amelia catches it and tries throwing it back at Aurora and soon they end up throwing a lot of the leftover bubble wrap around, with CJ jumping up and down, joining in the chaos.
Penny chuckles at her daughters, wishing Peyton was there to complete the family.
—
Maverick had just finished his meeting with Cyclone and Warlock as he sat at the bar of the Hard Deck. How was he not only supposed to train this new group of aviators but also work with his godson who had still yet to even talk to him ever since he pulled his papers from the Academy?
He had already spotted two of the students he was going to be training for the mission at the dartboard, noting that he could already sense the ego of the blonde guy. He was texting Ice about his meeting before he heard a voice speak to him.
“Dad?”
He looked up and saw Aurora had walked in with her purse in hand with a confused look on her face. Maverick turned to her, confused about what Aurora was doing at the bar.
“Sweetie? What are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you the same question. Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting with your higher-ups about the mission?”
“I finished. Why are you-”
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” a voice says behind the bar. Maverick turns back towards the bar and sees Penny. “Pete.”
“Penny? What are you doing here?” Maverick questions, stunned and confused, until remembering the bar he’s at and laughs to himself. He was so deep in his thoughts, he had forgotten that Penny owned the bar and was most likely working.
“I should ask you the same thing,” Penny answers him. “Hi sweetie, you can put your bag in the office near the kitchen,” Penny tells her daughter.
“Sure thing, mom.”
“You’re working the bar tonight?” Maverick asks Aurora.
“Duh, gotta help mom out,” she winks at both of them heading towards the kitchen/back area and leaving her purse inside the office before walking out toward the bar area.
“No way. Artemis?!” a voice calls. Aurora freezes in her tracks and turns to the voice.
In all his glory, stood Jake Seresin in his khaki uniform, standing next to the dartboard.
“Holy shit! Hangman?” Aurora was stunned.
Last she had heard from him, he was stationed down in Texas, near his family for the time being. They would message each other now and then, as they had truly bonded quite a bit ever since Aurora had saved his life.
He holds out his arms, as Aurora walks quickly towards him and launches herself into his arms.
“What are you doing here?” Jake questions the woman after pulling back from the hug, holding her within arm's length.
“Reassigned to the office here in San Diego. What about you?”
“Called in for an assignment at Top Gun. They called in the best of the best,” Jake answers proudly.
Aurora freezes for a bit.
Does that mean Bradley would be called back? What about Peyton? No way, she thought. They would have called her. She shakes that thought from her mind, focusing back on the guy in front of her.
“Who’s this?”
Aurora and Jake turn to the friend he was with, the other guy confused as he had never met the woman who had hugged Jake.
“Oh, crap right. Coyote, this is Aurora. Aurora, this is my friend, callsign Coyote,” Jake introduces.
“Lieutenant Javy Machado, at your service ma'am,” Javy says as he puts out his hand for Aurora to shake, to which she does.
“Aurora Benjamin-Mitchell, nickname Artemis,” she smiles proudly.
“Wait, hold on. As in THE Artemis? The NCIS agent who is part of the infamous Gibbs team in DC? The team that solved the Port-to-Port killer case?” Javy questions incredulously. He wonders how Jake knew her.
“The one and only,” she proudly smirks at him before shortly being called by Penny to hurry and get behind the bar.
“Sorry for the short introduction. Duty calls,” Aurora winks at both of them before hurrying towards her mom, who was still talking to Maverick.
“Wait. Mitchell? As in?”
“Apollo? Yeah.”
“Holy fuck.”
“Holy fuck is right. C’mon. I’ll tell you all about it while I beat you at pool,” as Jake drags Javy to the pool table.
Aurora was behind the bar and she could hear her mom and dad talking, and she smiled at their interaction. She loved seeing her parents together.
Even though many times they’ve told the kids to never get their hopes up of them getting together, Aurora also held hope for them. She saw the way her dad looked at her and her mom never talked badly about Maverick, even though Maverick would leave constantly. They loved each other too much to ever talk badly about each other.
Aurora was drawn out of her thoughts when her mom rang the bell. She looks at her dad and sees that he has his cell phone on the bar, looking around confused.
“What am I missing?” He asks his daughter. She chuckles and gestures to the sign.
“Disrespect a lady, the Navy, or put your phone on my bar,” he reads.
“And you buy a round,” Penny finished his sentence. Aurora laughs as she scoops ice into a shaker and makes a drink for someone.
“For everyone?” Maverick looked around, nervous as there were quite a few people in the bar.
“I’m afraid rules are rules,” Penny smirks at him.
“You’re lucky it’s early dad,” Aurora chuckles as she leaves to serve the drink.
Aurora smiles as she hands the drink to a lady, taking her card to open a tab for her. She was getting into the groove of things behind the bar with her mom.
She used to bartend a bit in college before her NCIS internship in order to earn a bit of money on the weekend. It helped her out a lot during an undercover case, as well as when her mom purchased the Hard Deck.
“What do we have here?” Aurora hears Jake call out from across the bar. She turns and glances at who he’s talking about, seeing a woman and two other men wearing their khaki uniforms enter into the bar.
“If it ain’t Phoenix!” Jake smiles at the woman who had stopped in front of him. “And here I thought we were special, Coyote.”
Aurora rolls her eyes at Jake’s ego literally oozing out from him, as she turns to reach the beer tap next to her, filling a drink for someone. A bit goes by and she hears Jake call for her.
“Artemis, my dear.”
Aurora rolls her eyes as she turns to him.
“What do you want, Hangman?”
“I’ll have four more on the old timer,” Jake says, as he makes eye contact with Maverick.
Jake didn’t know who he was, which made Aurora want to laugh, but didn’t say anything about it.
“Say please,” she teases.
He rolls her eyes as her mom comes up right behind her.
“I got it, can you get some glasses in the back for me? And fill up the kegs as well,” Penny tells her.
“Sure, mom.”
“Mom?” Jake asks, as Aurora was about to leave. She winks at him, as she rushes to go to the kitchen, but before she does, she goes up to the jukebox and puts on the song “Tramp.”
It was a song Bradley had added to the Spotify playlist that he, Aurora, and Peyton shared, and it reminded her of him. She smiles as it comes on, before running to the back.
Outside, Bradley had just parked the Bronco outside the Hard Deck and turned to Peyton.
“You ready?”
“Hell yeah.”
Together, they both exit the car and strut into the Hard Deck with their sunglasses on. Both of them decided to forego their khaki uniform and wear comfortable clothes instead.
“Ha! Someone’s playing your song Rooster,” Peyton chuckles, as Bradley rolls his eyes, not that Peyton could see it.
“Bradshaw! Mitchell! Is that you?”
Penny and Maverick turn to see the two standing near the Hard Deck doorway, shocked. Maverick knew Bradley was going to be part of the mission, but he didn’t know about his son being stateside. Penny didn’t know either of them would be back.
Bradley and Peyton walk up to Natasha.
“This is how I found out you both are stateside?”
“We just thought we’d surprise you,” Peyton smirks, taking off his sunglasses and tucking them into his shirt pocket.
Bradley chuckles at his best friend’s remark, but then grunts in pain as Natasha hits him with the pool stick as she hits her ball into the pocket.
“I guess I surprised you back,” Natasha replies as Bradley looks up.
“It’s good to see you.”
“Good to see you too.”
Bradley pats her shoulder before standing up to say hello to everyone else. Peyton hugs Natasha before greeting Mickey, who was also someone he had met during his time at the Naval Academy.
“Here you go,” Penny says, before handing over the beers to Jake.
“Thank you,” he genuinely says to Penny, now that he also realized that Penny is Aurora and Peyton’s mom.
“Much appreciated Pops,” Jake says to Maverick, winking at him before heading to the jukebox.
Maverick shakes his head going back to nursing his drink.
Aurora, still in the back, was bobbing to the faint music as she moved a few of the empty kegs so she was able to change the hose to the full kegs. The full kegs were always heavy to move, so she knew this would take a while.
The jukebox changes to the song Jake had put on, “Slow Ride,” and Aurora in the back chuckles knowing that it was him that put the song on. Jake soon walks back to the pool table and spots Bradley Bradshaw.
“Bradshaw, as I live and breathe,” Jake smirks as he hands the beers to Coyote and faces him. He takes the pool stick from Bob as he lines up to take a shot.
“Hangman, you look…good,” Bradley admits before giving a quick glance to Peyton next to him, to which Peyton, who was sitting on a bar stool, kicks him.
“Well, I am good Rooster,” Jake says as he shoots the ball into the pocket. “I’m very good. In fact, I am too good to be true.”
He stands up and sees Peyton and tries to keep cool. “Apollo, still attached to Bradshaw's hip I see.”
“Hangman, still vying for attention I see,” Peyton retorts back.
“So,” Payback interrupts the two. “Anybody know what this special detachment is about?”
“Well, a mission’s a mission. They don’t confront me” Jake replies.
Bradley had to hold in a chuckle before turning to Peyton, who was trying his hardest not to let out a groan, as Peyton had repeated those exact words to Bradley that day.
“What I want to know is,” Jake continues, “Who’s gonna be team leader?”
The pool balls clatter.
“And which one of y’all has what it takes, to follow me.”
Bradley was over Jake’s ego, so he decided to say something back.
“Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.”
It quiets around them, besides the music playing in the background, while you can hear Mickey let out a small laugh. Peyton smacks Bradley’s arm, while even Natasha looks at Bradley with a little disbelief.
Jake smirks at Bradley as he makes his way in front of Bradley, passing by Payback and Phoenix.
“Well, anyone who follows you is just gonna, run out of fuel,” Jake smirks as he sits on the edge of the pool table. Bradley smirks at him, keeping eye contact and never backing down.
“But that’s just you, ain’t it Rooster,” Jake sighs as he stands up to eye Bradley, chest to chest.
“You’re snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment, that never comes,” Jake whispers to him.
Not only did Jake mean in the sense of Bradley’s flying skill, but also meaning Bradley’s waiting for Aurora. Jake wondered how long Aurora would wait for him if Bradley would ever make a move. Aurora would brush it off whenever they talked about it via letters and texts.
Him and Bradley stand chest to chest, neither backing down. “Slow Ride” continues playing in the background.
“I love this song,” Jake grins, as he walks away and leaves Bradley, pondering what Jake had said. Natasha walks up to Bradley, who both were watching him walk away towards the bar.
“Well, he hasn’t changed,” Nat says.
“Nope, sure hasn’t,” Bradley looks at Nat and they both just roll their eyes at Jake.
“So am I the only one who felt the sexual tension, or…?” Peyton speaks up.
Bradley swats at him, and they both laugh it off. Bradley sits next to Peyton, both watching the next pool game happen, their seats against a pillar blocking the bar.
Aurora walks back out of the area, and lugs the box of clean glasses from the kitchen, to the bar.
“Need help there, hon?” Penny asks her, moving out of the way so Aurora could set the box down.
“No, I’m fine. I’ll set them down over there on the other side of the bar.”
Aurora sets down the box as she huffs to take a breather.
“You look like you were struggling for a bit there.”
Aurora looks up and sees Jake leaning against the bar, smirking at her.
“You think you can do better?”
“Oh, I know I can,” Jake teasingly winks at her as she laughs.
She fiddles with her bracelet, and Jake realizes how much Aurora was still struggling with her PTSD and anxiety. He gave her a worried look, to which Aurora shook her head, not wanting to talk about it.
“Need another beer?” Aurora asks.
“Please.”
Nat looks back over to Jake and sees him flirting with a woman, whom she felt she recognized, but couldn’t quite place her.
“Hey, who’s Hangman flirting with? She looks familiar.”
Mickey, Bob, and Payback look to where Nat was gesturing towards.
“Oh, that poor girl. She must be a new bartender,” Mickey assumes.
“She’s pretty cute though,” Payback admits.
Coyote looks over to where they were looking, laughs to himself, and takes a glance at Peyton and Bradley who still had yet to look at Jake and Aurora.
“Wait, who?” Peyton was confused, feeling a bit jealous, but trying not to show it.
“Look, over there,” Bob says as he points behind Bradley and Peyton, towards the bar.
Peyton and Bradley both get out of their seats to look at Jake and this so-called new bartender and they froze.
Aurora and Jake were laughing as Aurora handed him a beer.
Peyton was the first to react as he got up and walked past Nat, Bob, and Mickey who were staring at the two.
“Wait, Apollo, what are you-? Rooster? Where the hell are you two going?” Natasha was confused at their sudden urgency.
Bradley trails behind Peyton, knowing it was best to let the twins have their own reunion first.
Peyton walked faster towards the bar. Soon he could hear his sister and Jake talking until he spoke up.
“Rory.”
She froze and looked over Jake’s shoulder, gasping.
“Pey?”
She exited the bar area and ran straight into her brother’s arm, tearfully wrapping her arms around him. It had been about 3 years since they last saw each other, the longest they had been away from each other.
Jake smiles at the two, before leaving to go back to the pool table to give them space for their reunion.
“What are you doing here?” They both asked at the same time before laughing and looking into each other’s eyes.
Peyton examines his little sister, who didn’t look so little anymore. Her dark brown hair now had faded blonde tips, Peyton guessed from when she had dyed it and just decided to let them grow out.
Aurora smiles as she puts her hand on her brother’s cheek. She could feel the stubble underneath her hand. Peyton and Aurora, as different as they are, were the spitting image of each other, especially now that they had grown up.
“Wait, if you’re here then…” Aurora trails off before looking over Peyton’s shoulder, tears filling her eyes.
There stood her best friend, all grown up. Bradley was not the lanky boy she had left those years ago. He had filled out, and had a mustache just like his father. She would poke fun at it later, but all she could do is take him in.
Bradley couldn’t believe the girl he was just thinking about was finally right in front of him again. He had to be dreaming. It wasn’t until Aurora tore herself from Peyton and started running towards him did he finally realize this was reality.
He took her into his arms, lifting her up and swinging her into a little spin, as she gripped onto him tightly, giggling and burying her face into his neck.
He stopped after a few turns, setting her down, before taking a good look at her, cupping her face in his right hand, and leaving his left hand on her waist. Aurora stares at the man in front, her heart beating fast, finally being back in the presence of her best friend.
“Am I dreaming? You’re actually here?” Bradley wistfully asks her, still not believing Aurora was right in front of him.
Aurora smirks as she keeps her hands around his neck, even with the height difference, she was on her tippy toes to help reach around his neck.
“Dream of me often, Bradshaw?”
Bradley chuckles in disbelief. He gives Aurora a kiss on her forehead before replying.
“Every hour, every minute, every second that I breathe princess,” he whispers with his raspy voice into her hair.
Aurora’s breath hitches at the nickname. It had been so long since she had heard him say that. She would never get enough of Bradley calling her nicknames.
Her heart was full of love, as Peyton approached the two, grouping all of them into a hug.
The trio was back together as they held each other tightly, before letting go.
“What are you doing here, Ro? Aren’t you supposed to be back in Washington DC?” Peyton asks her.
“I was reassigned to the San Diego NCIS office after uh…after realizing I wanted to come home, especially for Amelia and mom,” Aurora changes her answer quickly, remembering she had yet to tell them about her PTSD.
Technically it was the truth, just half the truth.
Aurora then realizes that the two idiots in front of her didn’t even call her to let her know that they were both stateside.
“And you two! When were you both going to tell me you were stateside?” She accuses the two.
Bradley and Peyton suddenly both looked interested at their surroundings, refusing to look at Aurora.
Peyton soon spots his mom and his dad across the bar. He sighs, relieved that he found a way out.
“Oh my gosh, is that mom and dad?” Peyton interrupts Aurora mid-rant of telling them off for not letting her know they’d be in San Diego. “I better go say hi to them!”
Immediately, he’d taken his way out and left to go say hi to their parents.
“Peyton, get back here!” Aurora follows her twin. Peyton tries not to run into people as he tries to escape his sister’s wrath.
Bradley chuckles, realizing how much he missed the twin’s antics before following them, knowing he also had to say hi to Penny and Maverick.
As much as he wanted to avoid Maverick, he knew his dad would be mad at him for not saying hi to his godfather.
“Oh, my baby boy!” Penny hugs Peyton tightly, just as Aurora caught up to him. Aurora rolls her eyes, as Peyton sighs, realizing he had safely escaped her fury. For now at least.
“I’m not done with him yet, mom!” Aurora hisses at Peyton.
“Now, now little star. You and your brother behave while you’re in the bar. Don’t make me ring the bell.”
“For what?!” both the twins exclaimed.
“For Peyton, disrespecting a lady. For Aurora, disrespecting the Navy.” Penny shrugs, with a mischievous grin.
Both the twins start to protest until Penny reaches for the bell, about to ring it. They stopped arguing, realizing it was best not to piss off their mom.
“That’s better. Oh, Bradley! It’s good to see you as well, hon!” Penny smiles, as she reaches to give Bradley a hug. Peyton and Aurora roll their eyes, knowing the Bradshaw boy was well-admired by Penny. Peyton turns to give his dad a hug.
Aurora stares at Bradley, realizing how much Bradley looked different from a few years ago. His biceps were bulging from the gaudy Hawaiian shirt he wore, and she could feel his chest when they hugged.
Realizing she was still staring, Aurora turned to join Penny behind the bar again, an attempt to calm the blush that was threatening to show on her face. She fanned herself a bit, feeling hot all of a sudden. Aurora couldn’t believe she was ogling at Bradley so outwardly.
“How long are you two here for?” Penny asks both the boys after Bradley had given Maverick a nod, not wanting to interact with him much more beyond that.
“Not sure yet, we’ll know after we find out what our assignment is tomorrow,” Peyton answers his mom.
“Where are you two staying?” Maverick questions both of them, wondering if they were staying on base.
“Mom and dad said we could stay at their house until they come back next week,” Bradley answers, giving a side glance to Maverick, before settling his eyes on Aurora.
Staring at her, he was really seeing how much she had changed since the last time they’d seen each other. He couldn’t help but admire Aurora, watching as she moved about behind the bar, helping her mother. He was full-on ogling her, and as soon as Peyton noticed this, he elbowed Bradley to stop.
“Wait, I have two spare bedrooms at my place! Just move in with me!” Aurora suggests.
“Are you sure? We don’t want to be a bother,” Bradley was hesitant and gave Peyton a glance.
Peyton smiles, as he wouldn't mind sharing a house with his two favorite people. Plus, it would get Peyton more opportunity to get Bradley and Aurora together. He was already plotting out a scheme in his head.
“Of course! You’d have to share a bathroom though. Oh and I have CJ, so I hope you don’t mind.”
Bradley’s heart sank. Who was CJ? Was it her boyfriend?
“CJ?” Peyton speaks up for both of them, as they were confused at who Aurora was talking about.
“Oh, yeah, CJ! My emotional support puppy!” Aurora chuckles, realizing what it had sounded like at first, not noticing Bradley’s reaction.
Bradley lets out a sigh. Okay, so not a boyfriend.
“Wait? Why did you name your dog CJ?” Bradley wonders. Penny laughs, as she hands someone a drink.
“She won’t tell anyone else, but whatever it was, she told Amelia and they laughed for like ten minutes straight.”
“Well, if you’re okay with it. We’d love to be your two new roommates!” Peyton smiles as Bradley nods along with his statement.
“Wonderful. We’ll settle everything tomorrow then,” Aurora smiles at both of them.
They nod as they realize that work was really starting to pick up for Penny and Aurora at the bar. Bradley and Peyton decide to head back to the pool table where some of the other newcomer aviators had joined the rest. Aurora smiles before giving them a wave.
Before the evening rush could get any worse, Maverick decided to ask Penny to close out his tab for the day. Penny leaves to close it, while Maverick talks to his daughter for a bit. He started noticing Aurora getting a bit apprehensive, chewing her inner cheek.
Reaching out his hand, Maverick offered it to Aurora to ground herself with. Glancing over, there was little hesitation before taking it and slowly taking a few deep breaths. Once calmed enough, she whispered her thanks to him before releasing the grasp.
Penny then comes back with news about his card.
“It’s been declined,” Penny states. Maverick looks at her in disbelief while Aurora arches a brow in amusement.
“You’re kidding?” Maverick sputters.
Penny shakes her head. Maverick reaches for his wallet, and pulls out a few bills. Glancing at the receipt Penny held in her hand, Aurora’s eyes went wide at seeing the total.
“How about-?”
“That’s not gonna cover it,” Penny shows him the paper. Maverick chokes at the sight and awkwardly chuckles.
“Uh, I’ll come by tomorrow and bring you the cash.”
“I’m afraid rules are rules, Pete,” Penny says as she rings the bell. The crowd cheers at the sound as someone yells overboard.
Aurora groans, feeling second-hand embarrassment that her dad was getting kicked out of the bar, and also the fact her mom had rung the bell.
“Overboard, overboard!”
Jake, Javy, and Reuben show up behind him. Jake smirks at Maverick, before the three boys lift him out of his seat to throw him out of the bar.
Aurora waves her dad goodbye, as she knew he could handle himself. She wished she could be in the room on Monday when Jake found out that not only did he throw out his instructor for their mission, but Aurora and Peyton’s dad as well.
“Great to see you, Pete!” Penny waves at Pete being carried away. Aurora uses the rag that was on her shoulder to whack her mom for her stunts. Penny smiles, realizing how much she had actually missed Maverick.
The jukebox soon stops working, and the crowd groans at the lack of music.
Penny sees the Bradshaw boy, followed by her son going towards the bar, before realizing that they had been the ones to unplug the jukebox.
She takes a glance at her daughter who was starting to get a bit restless. Penny knew it wasn’t because she was tired, but the crowd was getting a bit much for her, as Aurora started fiddling with her bracelet again.
Penny looks through the crowd and sees Bradley and Peyton walk their way towards the two.
“Hey Mama Pen, do you think Aurora can go on her break?” Bradley asks her with a pleading face.
Penny laughs. “She’s done for the night actually, take her for me, will ya Bradshaw?”
“Gladly!” Bradley smiles. Aurora turns upon hearing this.
“Are you sure, mom? I can finish up here-”
“Nonsense, Jimmy and I have it from here. Now go, before I change my mind.” Penny reassures her daughter. She gives Aurora a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to the other side of the bar.
Aurora smiles before putting her rag down, and stepping away from the bar. Bradley grins at her exiting the bar area, before lifting her over his shoulder.
“B! Put me down!”
“You’re coming with us, sweetheart.” Bradley smiles, as Peyton pats his sister’s back before they traipse towards the piano.
Bradley sets her down on the piano bench, while Peyton stands next to her, as Bradley sits on the other side of the bench. He smiles at Aurora before showing off his piano skills, playing a little jazz melody, knowing Aurora was a sucker for jazz. She rolls her eyes, as Peyton leans on her.
Soon a few people joins them.
Nat pats Bradley on the shoulder before turning to introduce herself to the girl sitting next to him.
“I’m Natasha Trace, callsign Phoenix.”
“Aurora Benjamin-Mitchell,” Aurora smiles at the woman shaking her hand.
Nat lights up at the name. No wonder she looked familiar to her. She was the girl in the photo Bradley had in his cockpit every time he flew. Peyton and Bradley always talked about her whenever they had the chance.
They were interrupted as Mickey, Reuben, and Bob came to introduce themselves to the girl.
“Wait, you’re Artemis, right? Apollo’s sister?” Payback asks, as Bradley continues riffing on the piano.
“Unfortunately,” she sighs as Peyton hits her arm.
“Holy crap. Is it true you saved Hangman from a killer?” Mickey asks. Peyton and Bradley turn to Mickey confused.
“What?!”
“I don’t know, ask him yourself,” Aurora gestures to Jake and Javy who were walking over to join the group. Bradley huffs, scooting closer to Aurora, feeling a bit threatened by Jake's and Aurora’s friendship, knowing he would ask her about it later.
“Yo, Hangman. Is it true Artemis saved you from a killer?” Mickey repeats the question to Jake when they get closer. Jake laughs and looks at Aurora.
He takes a sip of his beer before nodding at the question. “She brought a knife to a gunfight,” he answers. They all gasp as Aurora rolls her eyes.
“You’re leaving out details,” Aurora says.
“Holy damn, you’re badass. How are you Apollo’s sister?” Natasha wonders out loud.
“Hey!” Peyton protests.
They all laugh. Aurora turns to Bradley who has gone silent, still playing a bit on the piano. She smiles softly before putting her hand on his thigh. He looks up from his hands, meeting her gaze.
“Great balls of fire?” She asks him.
Bradley smirks. “Only if you sing it with me, princess.”
Aurora nods, and soon Bradley starts off the song.
You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane
You broke my will, but what a thrill
Bradley looks at Aurora and Peyton before they join in with him singing.
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!
Everyone around them starts singing along, and soon the whole bar starts cheering and singing along as well.
Outside, Maverick watches all of this happen from outside. He gets flashbacks of him and Goose singing the exact same song, with Bradley and Aurora on top of the piano, and Peyton on Goose’s lap.
He remembers how he almost lost Goose, and how this mission could change almost everything. Maverick wonders if Bradley was ready for the mission, and if he didn’t choose Bradley to fly, what would happen to their relationship? Bradley would never forgive him.
Maverick then looks at his son and daughter and sees their smiles. He hadn’t seen Peyton in a long time, but Maverick was just happy to see Aurora smile since they had left Washington DC. He walks away, leaving them to enjoy their moment.
Kiss me, baby.
Bradley gestures his head for Aurora to give him a kiss on the cheek, to which Aurora smacks her hands on her lips and uses the hand to push Bradley’s cheek away. Peyton chuckles as Bradley fake pouts at Aurora for not giving him a kiss, but continues on singing.
Ooh, that feels good, baby
Hold me, baby
I wanna love you like a lover should
You're fine, you're so kind
I'ma tell the world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine
Aurora glances to see Jake nodding along to the song, who was looking at Peyton. Peyton seemed to actively refuse to look his way. Making a mental note of that, she knew she would have to ask her twin about this later.
For now though, she decided she was going to take in this moment, watching the people around her play off of Bradley’s energy.
Kiss me, baby.
Aurora gives Bradley a kiss on the cheek to which he grins and glances at Aurora.
Ooh, that feels good.
Bradley gives a little fake shudder, as Aurora laughs at his action, singing until they end the song.
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!
Everyone in the bar cheers for Bradley. He stands up to give a little dance and Aurora shakes her head and laughs.
“Rooster! Rooster!”
Aurora stands up and claps along with everyone as she watches Bradley twirl and give a few more dance moves. Finishing his dance break, Bradley smiled at the scene around him. He glances at Aurora who was standing next to Peyton after the song before dragging the twins into a tight hug.
For now, everything felt right. Not worrying about the past or future, and instead living in the present with each other.
- - -
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Disclaimer: This story is fictitious. All works are written by me and only posted here. Please do not copy, repost, or plagiarize on any other platform without my permission!
I would love to read one when you’re Penny‘s oldest daughter and Maverick soon found out that living with two teenage girls and they’re mum isn’t the easiest you once come home from a party at 4 am and knocked over you’re Mums plant in the entering hall which got Penny Sitting straight in bed thinking that you’re an housebreaker hitting Mav‘s arm shaking him and telling him to wake up when he’s finally awake he tells her that it was probably just the dog wanting to go back to sleep but when he sees Penny‘s face expression he gets up with a groan putting a shirt on before heading down stairs seeing the knocked over plant and light in the kitchen he asks himself which kind of housebreaker knocks down the plant and then makes himself lunch in the kitchen? When he enters the kitchen you turn around and let fall down you’re sandwich screaming out of shock which not only got Theo to eat the sandwich from the ground in two minutes Penny and Amelia also stand in the kitchen with sleep in they’re eyes Penny is pinching the bridge of her nose thinking what she’s supposed to say about this but decides that it’s the best if you all just go back to sleep and as you’re all in you’re rooms Maverick can’t help but tease her that she can’t really be mad at you as she used to sneak away in the middle of the night to meet with him and they did other things until the morning hours than to party as you walk past they’re room with toothbrush in you’re mouth you can’t help but tell them that they are gross Penny jokingly asks if it’s too late too give you up for adoption he tells her that cleaning up the hard deck for a week should be enough of punishment. Much Love❤️
Nonnie, you have the best idea- I am kinda jealous???😌
Dad!Maverick is such a cute idea, I love it!
question, do you mind if I tweak and add something to this request 😩?
-Dad!Maverick, the reader is Mav's daughter, Penny hid the pregnancy and she's the oldies obvi
-She grew up knowing Mav was her dad but Penny lost contact with Pete, so ya know
-Penny gets married and has the reader's half-sister Amelia (sisters😩❤️)
-Goes through it, rebelling and stuff, likes her stepdad (Amelia's dad) but then obviously Penny and they get a divorce so they end up moving back to Miramar
-Reader decides she wants to go to college; only comes back to help out at the bar with her mom and sister during her breaks ( gets the usual sermon from her mom on how she needs to stay away from the Navy/military men, like who her dad was)
-Before coming back for the summer, Pete shows up for the special assignment, hence Penny sees Pete again.
-Reader comes home and Penny confesses to both that Pete's your dad and Pete finds out
-Both making up lost time and meeting his 'students', protective!Mav of course.
-The reader has a crush on Bob and gets teased by her Dad and mom for the way she gets nervous at the bar when he's there.
Maverick(points to Hangman): That one. Marry that one.
Rooster: But he's an asshole and we hate each other!
Maverick: A) you don't hate each other, you want to jump each other's bones, and everyone can see it. B) He plays darts with his eyes covered - that's reckless, dangerous, and stupid...I respect the hell out of him.
