goosemavcarole is almost canon and that means so much to me. goose and mav call each other honey and dear. mav sleeps next to a framed photo of goose kissing carole. in the script, carole kisses mav on the lips and says she wants to marry him. in the novel, mav compares flying with goose to “good sex” and it’s confirmed that carole loves watching goose flirt with other people.
also there’s this. which is. not platonic by any sense of the word.
1️⃣ working overtime
Goose considers turning in his wings if it means he’ll be spared having to listen to even one more rambly, sappy monologue about Ice’s eyes.
2️⃣ but it’s always the same
Goose spent twenty-five years thinking that it couldn’t get worse than his best friends, and now he feels like he’s being punished for tempting fate like that.
no fear, just faith by qin_ling {M}
/Goose & Icemav/
1️⃣ if you lead, I will follow
Maverick and Iceman stare at each other a lot. Goose despairs.
Or; Goose is the best wingman.
2️⃣ no fear, just faith
“Why don’t you send him a letter?” says Goose.
Maverick stares at him. “Why would I do that?”
—
Lo and behold, Maverick and Iceman still don’t have their shit together.
Goose's distress knows no bounds.
Thats Me, Honey by orphan_account {T}
/Sloose/
“Dammit Goose, you couldn’t have splurged for a booth?”
“Sorry, booths are reserved for people I plan on going steady with”
“Aw sweetheart, are you planning on dining and dashing?”
“I’m hardly dining Kerner. Can’t a man sip his coffee in peace? Is nothing sacred anymore?”
"Quit your honking. I saw you through the window and thought I’d check in.”
Or, 5 times Slider surprises Goose and +1 time Goose surprises Slider back.
and you moved me, honey by vannral {M}
/Sloose/
”Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” Slider says somewhere on Goose’s left. His voice is gruff, flat and so deadpan it would be hilarious under any other circumstances but unfortunately Goose is stuck on this ride, too, so he can relate heavily."
Slider and Goose are 200 % done with their pilots and their stupid pining. Goose also realizes he might care a lot more for Slider than he thought.
The Retirement Of Admiral Bradshaw by SaintClaire {T}
/Gooserole/
1️⃣ The Retirement Of Admiral Bradshaw
He’s been sitting back at his desk for almost half an hour before Beau kicks the door in.
“What the fresh hell is this, Bradshaw?”
And so, Nicholas ‘Goose’ Bradshaw, two-star admiral and wrangler for the best and worst naval aviators ever to fly, retires.
Predictably, it leaves him with absolutely no fucking idea with what to do with himself.
2️⃣ Not An Admiral But A Ringmaster
Other people might think that it’s actually bloody difficult to be a one-woman show in a circus-sized family of idiot naval pilots, but Carole is just that good.
Pete introduces her a whole day later to a sweetly-blushing Nick Bradshaw, and Carole’s family takes off from there.
She marries Nick within the year in a beautiful tulle monstrosity that only the 80’s could have ever produced, and kisses her husband for the first time on the steps of the town hall. Pete cries. Goose cries. Carole laughs, and tips her head back to the sun as she hugs her boys tightly.
Goose and Pals by yellow_crayon
/Goosemav/
1️⃣ sweet but a psycho {T}
"Yeah, I know, Chester. I'm so sorry he crashed the test plane on top of one of your new program sites and-" Bradshaw Senior is in the middle of saying, one hand tugging absently at his collar, "Exactly, he's too reckless. Where do you think I get all my white hairs?"
He expertly dodges Maverick's kick and rests his hand briefly on his partner's knee. Rooster's dad had stuck with the all-natural look, and at the tender age of forty-five, he's gone half-grey. Maverick on the other hand, doesn't have a single white hair on his uniformly dark head. Rooster suspects he may be using hair dye but has yet to turn up concrete evidence to support his theory.
2️⃣ I say a little prayer {G}
"Hey, I learned from the best, ok?" Rooster says over the radio after confirming their information with the base command center, "Trust me, sir. I got this. Gonna get you down to the ground safely. It's just a bit of funky weather."
"Wait, who are you referring to as the best?"
"Your old pilot."
"Mav?!" Goose's voice finally cracks, panic flooding in. "Ice is the best, Maverick is—" He starts to say. There's a burst of static over the recording accompanied by the sound of someone loudly retching.
"Dad, did you fucking throw up back there?!" Rooster shouts before remembering that the entire command center is eavesdropping, "I mean, er, sir, just hang in there."
hold me, baby (like a lover should) by vannral {E}
/Sloose/
’”C’mon, Goose, if you wanted me to show you good time, all you had to do was ask,” Slider drawls, his smooth voice taking a rough, almost husky edge.’
In which Slider and Goose have an encounter in the locker room and Goose comes to a shocking conclusion that oh shit, the feelings he has for Slider are more of romantic variety. Includes a lot of pining and sarcasm and supportive pilots who have their own show going on.
Family Dinner by Specter_Ross {G}
/Goosemav/
Rooster brings Jake to meet his dads Maverick and Goose. Jake is nervous, he wants to make a good impression.
But when he breaks one of their plates, he's sure he ruined everything.
here in our bed (’til the morning comes) by vannral {E}
/Sloose & Icemav/
'”Are you sure?” Goose asks hopelessly, completely aware that he sounds whiny.The receptionist’s smile tightens. ”Very sure, sir,” she says, her tone still extremely polite. ”Two rooms, like I said.”
Two rooms which – like she very patiently explained to him – also means two beds instead of four.'In which there’s Only One Bed™, both for Slider and Goose, and for Maverick and Iceman, because the RIOs won’t stand for their pilots pining anymore and can’t deny the affection for each other, either.
when the coast is gettin’ clearer by vannral {M}
/Sloose/
"It starts after Hop 31 and in retrospect Goose would like to point out he can’t be held responsible for not noticing any of it earlier because at that point, he’d been pretty much occupied.With straight-up not having a good time."
In which Goose survives, there's something up with Slider and they both have to deal with their pilots.
Or, five times Slider did something nice for Goose and one time Goose knew why.
our mighty wings by vannral {M}
/Sloose/
”Tower, this is Delta-324, asking permission to final approach… that you, Goose?”Goose gasps and nearly drops the clipboard, his heart slamming in his throat. ”Holy shit, Delta-324, Tower copy – Ron?”
In which Goose becomes an air traffic controller after Top Gun and Slider’s a commercial pilot and they flirt over the comms much to the exasperation of everyone around them. They still have to deal with their own former pilots.
little taste of heaven by lesbiseresin {G}
/Gooserole/
“Go back to sleep, honey.”
Part of Carole wants to push back. She’s the one who’s more used to waking up for this and Nick only got home from his deployment a few days ago. He deserves the rest.
She opens her mouth to tell him that, but he shakes his head and lifts his hand to brush his thumb over her cheek. “It’s my turn.”
(alternatively: a glimpse at the bradshaw family before it all)
the ships have come to carry you home by indigofudge {T}
/Platonic Goosemav/
“Here it is,” Carole says, bringing Mav’s wheelchair to a stop.
Mav’s mouth is dry. He aches for another cup of water. “Carole, tell me something, and don’t lie to me.”
“Anything, Maverick.”
“How bad does he look?”
Carole is quiet for a while. Then she comes around and kneels in front of Mav, taking both of his hands in her own. Her eyes swim with tears. “If I didn’t know any better,” she says, voice breaking, “I’d think he was dead.”
Or, Goose is alive when they hit the water. That's enough.
Home is who I share it with by Lacerta {G}
/Goosemavrole/
Bradshaws get a house. Mav insists on giving them space, but the evidence of his love and care turns up everywhere.
Or: the five times Mav goes all out to look after his friends, and the one time when Carole and Goose make their house a home.
tonight it’s very clear (‘cause we’re both lying here) by indigofudge {T}
/Goosemavrole/
Almost a year after Hop 31 left Goose disabled and medically discharged, Maverick uses his annual leave to stay with the Bradshaws in their Tennessee house. When he can't hide his insomnia anymore, Goose and Carole invite him to sleep in their bed with them, but it isn't long before they have to address the elephant in the room: What are they to each other?
Or: Maverick, Goose, and Carole begin having late-night conversations about their relationship and Maverick's place in it.
Heaven Written. by pollyna {T}
/Sloose/
Five people, and five different occasions, who realise Goose and Slider are in love + one time they finally realise it for themselves (mostly).
wonder why i try to fight the chemistry by indigofudge {T}
/Goosemav/
Before Maverick can think better of it, he’s standing on his toes and kissing Goose's jaw.
Goose’s pupils are blown wide. He gazes down at Maverick, lips parted. The dance floor lights illuminate him in all sorts of colors that travel over his hair and face.
“Hollywood’s watching,” Maverick says, voice low. “Sorry. I shouldn’t—”
“You didn’t do it right.” Goose leans down just the slightest bit and kisses him square on the mouth.
*
In the mid-90s, Hollywood and Wolfman errantly assume Goose and Maverick are dating. Is it really so errant after all?
hoping about this by teacupivy {T}
/Gooserole/
In a small town where gossip fuels anxiety, Carole's mom has the perfect groom picked out.
Only Find the Stars are White by StarlingDust {T}
/Goosemavrole/
The dark swathe of Carole's funeral clothes seem to drink up all color, until the flag clutched against them is nothing but drab fabric, the red and blue made monochrome.
Pete closes his eyes, and does his best to recall the world in technicolor.
or; vignettes of the three of them, of the way their love painted the world brighter before it burned.
