I feel like I talk a lot about how in love with Nick Slider is but I NEED you to know Nick is just as stupidly in love with Slider as Slider is with him. Like, this is the photo GOOSE keeps of Slider in his wallet and when people ask who he has at home he shows them this photo (and very obnoxiously points out the ring on Slider’s finger and how he put it there and yeah yeah yeah) and then HE gushes for fifteen uninterrupted minutes about Slider.
So yeah.
In your brain imagine how stupid Ron gets over Nick and just know in your heart of hearts that that Nick is just as stupid about Slider.
GOD they’re the gayest people alive FUCK.
Oh yeah, new part of this is me trying series soon but I had to hop on here to proclaim to the world what I, like a prophet, have been told is true.
Goose survives the accident, barely. He lies in a coma covered un tubes to help him survive and Carole is almost used to it. Except one night, someone else sits by Goose's bedside with some interesting news to tell.
Words: 2250
Carole took a deep breath as she walked out of the bathroom. Looking at the clock, she realised visiting hours were almost over, not that that mattered with how many nights her and Mav spent curled up at Goose's bedside.
Bradley came out of the bathrooms shaking his wet hands. He rubbed his eyes and made grabby hands at her.
"Mommy, I'm tired." He stated with a yawn.
"Okay, baby, let's go home," She scooped him up and held him on her hip. He blinked slower and snuggled under her cardigan. "We'll just say goodbye to daddy first."
He was dealing with this as well as any four year old could. Part of him still didn't know what was wrong with Goose, the other was hyper aware of all the tubes and wires coming out of his dad's body.
She was just glad she had Mav. Sleeping was already hard and would've been impossible without him to talk to on all those lonely nights. There were far too many things to think about.
How much of the medical costs will the Navy cover? If there's long term effects, not really an if anymore but she could hope, will they support them? How much of a pension will he get? Will he be able to work? Will she be able to support them all on a library assistant's wage? Will she have to quit to look after him?
What if they can't make enough money to cover medical bills? What if they take the house? What if they take Bradley? What if Goose can't relate to her after the accident and leaves her? What if they can't take the stress and split up? Would he get Bradley? Probably, she doubted her abilities as a mother sometimes despite all Goose told her otherwise.
How will she cope alone? Her mother wouldn't take her in, surely not? She'll side with Goose, everyone will and she'll deserve it.
She can't do this. She can't do this. She can't do this.
Waking up from her thoughts, she realised she was at Goose's room already. That familiar weight was on her chest. Like a stone she couldn't shift.
Looking into the room, her eyes fell onto Goose's unconscious form. A tube came out of his mouth, two up his nose to help him breathe. A catheter came out from under the tightly tucked sheets. An IV was wedged in his arm, the bag was almost empty, the nurse would be there soon to replace it.
She wondered if it would be the nice one, who let her curl up at his side, or the harsh one who treated Goose like a porcelain doll in a museum. She practically knew them all by name now.
His neck was in a brace. A large bandage covered his head. His blond hair was shaved harshly and stood up in clumps. She wasn't allowed to brush it, the sticky pads measuring his brain waves couldn't be touched.
That had shocked her at first, them testing his brain, but she'd soon understood how much of a miracle Goose surviving was. Although no one was sure if he'd ever wake up, and she spent a fair amount of time wondering about that possibility too.
It was only once she'd assessed Goose's unchanged situation that she realised someone else was in the room. Slider.
She hadn't talked to him much alone, only with the other men from Top Gun. He seemed nice enough, a little cocky but genuine. Although she wondered if that was a facade like Mav or if he really was a bit of a dick.
She went to go in and talk but stopped when he sniffed. Perhaps she should leave him for a moment.
"Look, Goose, I don't know if you can hear me, but I need to get something off my chest-" he lent on his bent legs, "so maybe it's a good thing that you can't hear this, or can't reply."
He sighed, deeply. There was a shudder in his breath. His figure was silhouetted by the dark, nighttime lights of the room but she could see how his large frame looked small.
"And if you can hear me, and hate me for what I'm going to say, then okay. We'll probably never see each other again anyway."
He rubbed his face, "Let's just get this out of the way, I've got feelings for you, Goose."
"I think I'm falling in love with you," he sniffled. "And you're lying there in a coma and I may never know if you feel the same way."
She stopped herself from going in and comforting him. Because she knew that Goose reciprocated, she'd heard him blabbering about 'Slider this' and 'Slider that' in the weeks leading up to her and Bradley joining him out here.
Although, she didn't know if Goose knew that. And surprisingly she wasn't averted to the idea. Navy life was hard and if he could find some relief, with someone she liked, then why not? It would clearly be more than mindless sex, and her husband definitely still loved her.
But Slider didn't know any of that.
"And you've got a wife too," Slider continued. "So that kind of settles how this is all going to end, doesn't it?"
"You don't love me, you love your wife, like you should, and I'll just be heartbroken because I got too caught up in how whimsical you are,"
He looked up from his hands. For a moment he just stared at Nick, listened to the steady beep of his heart monitor and the regulated inhale and exhale the machines maintained.
"Remember high school?" He said. "Does Mav know we knew each other in high school? Does your wife?"
He shook his head, "High School Track Team, we took it so seriously, you ran the fastest 5000 metres in the school and I just couldn't beat it."
A beat went by. Slider was building up to something again but it took a little less time, perhaps the flood gates were well and truly open.
"I'm sure you remember our after practice 'rewards', god we really were desperate, weren’t we?" He said. "Horny teenagers, exploring ourselves with the only other person we knew we could."
"I expect that your wife doesn't know about those make out sessions behind the locker rooms."
No, she didn't know that. She knew they went to school together. Goose's mother had his class photos, Slider, or Ron as he was known then, was always listed underneath alongside the other names. Apparently they even went to the same church, although Ron wasn't in the church choir like Nick was.
"I thought for so long that's all we'd be, I think that's all I wanted, or thought I could have, for a while," he said.
"We had ideas of flying together, you'd be my RIO, but when we got to the Academy, we drifted apart. I met Iceman and little did I know, you met Mav and your wife. And that was that, we didn't meet up at all and I was left reeling for years because I realised how much I liked having you in my life."
He gestured at Goose. Carole realised how peaceful he looked, like sleeping beauty. She knew he wouldn't wake from a kiss.
"Because you make everyone feel like a friend," Slider continued. "Everyone's welcome when you're around, and back then, I was so insecure and having that presence in my life, even if it was just for make out sessions behind the locker rooms, did me good."
He ran a hand through his hair, "And I forgot about you, thought I'd got over you, but then you showed up in the O Club and, god, you looked good enough to eat."
"I mean, in your whites? Moustache filled out? More muscle on you? I had to make a joke or I would've gotten myself dishonourably discharged on the roughing you right up," he chuckled.
Carole agreed with him there. Whenever she saw Goose in uniform, she had to physically restrain herself from leaping at him. She sure showed him how much she thought a uniform accentuated his body when he was on leave, too.
"But it wasn't just that. You'd just gotten so much better than high school," he said. "You're confident in yourself, know yourself and you've got a life you're comfortable with now."
Sitting back in his chair, he sighed, "And I fell head over heels in love with you and just couldn't stop myself."
For a moment, he didn't say anything more. She didn't think much more needed saying. She knew she wasn't meant to hear any of this but couldn’t help but find herself endeared to him.
There was something about him she liked that she couldn't quite put her finger on. His confidence didn't seem to be making up for something like Mav’s was yet it wasn't all he was. From his speech, though, he hadn’t always had that balance. Him being easy on the eye helped also.
"But look what's happened," Slider continued, gesturing at Goose's unconscious form. "You almost broke your neck, or did apparently but survived? I don't know, I heard it all from Ice and even he's not sure."
"I can't help but feel like it's my fault. Because if I hadn’t been so smitten with you then maybe I would've thought about the jet wash and you wouldn't be here."
He broke down into tears. His head dropped into his hands and the silent room was made darker with his sadness.
"I'm just so sorry,"
With that, she stormed in. Bradley stirred on her shoulder but was still well asleep. It had been a full few days and they all needed their rest.
Slider jolted up with a start. He dried his tears with the back of his hand, "How much of that did you hear?"
She chuckled and sat next to him, "All of it."
His eyes widened. He gulped, not meeting her face at all. He settled his gaze on Goose's feet.
"I bet you hate me, then?"
"Hate you? What for?"
"For falling in love with your husband? Most people wouldn't be okay with that."
She rolled her eyes and pushed Bradley back onto her shoulder as he rolled off. He was slobbering, open mouthed and adorable. She pulled her cardigan further over him as a makeshift blanket.
"Well, I'm not most people." She said simply. "And I don't blame you for falling for Goose, I'm surprised I don't have to fight off suitors whenever I see him in uniform."
"You're right, there,"
They laughed together. Slider sniffed but still couldn't look at her.
"I think he feels the same way, you know,"
He perked up, "Really?"
"Yeah, whenever he's not saying how much he misses me and Brad, or how much of an idiot Mav is being or how stressful Top Gun is, he talks about you."
Slider shuffled in his seat, "What does he talk about?"
"'Slider's gotten so muscular since high school, he seems much more himself, he makes such a good RIO, I should ask him for tips, I should ask him what uses for his hair, it looks so nice,'" she said. "So all the usual things for a crush."
"How do you feel about him having feelings for me? You are his wife, after all, being okay with me liking him is different than the feelings being reciprocated."
She pondered for a moment and thought of them. Thought of Goose holding Slider's face like he held her's when they kissed, thought of him dragging him up to dance or chuckling on lazy mornings and it made her face warm. Warm because in each of them, she could picture herself there too.
That was unexpected. Maybe there was something more to the things she'd picked out about Slider than just noticing her husband's appreciation of him. Because seeing him close up was giving her butterflies, being here with him and Goose felt complete.
"I'm okay with it," she settled on. "Of course it'll take some getting used to if you both give it a go but I just want him to be happy."
She looked at him and her face dropped. All the wear and tear of the day caught up with her and her eyes felt heavy.
"I just want him to be happy."
Tears dripped down her face, her body shook yet she tried to suppress it so to not disturb Bradley, still sound asleep on her shoulder. Everything, all the worry, all the sleepless nights, couldn’t be held back.
Slider pushed her head onto his shoulder. His hand fell naturally on the back of her neck as the tears slid silently down her face.
"I'm so sorry," Slider whispered.
She shook her head, "It's not your fault."
"Yes it is. It was mine and Slider's jet wash."
"It was a mechanical fault, you can't see jet wash, apparently, so it's not you nor Ice nor Mav's fault, okay?"
He just gulped and nodded. His eyes were sparkly with tears. Settling his head on hers, she took comfort in the communal solemnity she'd found with him.
They sat, not talking for a while. She knew she had to get home, back to her sleepless nights. But for now she was happy staring at Goose with him while the monitors beeped and Bradley slept on her shoulders. It was almost perfect.
I originally planned for this to be part of a wider polyam au, a follow on from A Heart to Hold, but I wasn't feeling that, so this will be it's own separate thing from that. I think I'll still make that a whole AU, with gooslider later on but for now there's this.
These three have really taken a hold on me, thank @blurrwar for introducing me to the idea of them in this post, I may write more for them because there isn't much apart from @pollyna and @littleroosteruwu who are doing God's work. Also my friend @tophatcat459 is a major help for brainstorming various ideas and ships.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
"So Nick didn’t really know how to start this.
Well.
That’s not true.
He knew exactly where to start this.
Knew exactly what he wanted to talk about and who he wanted to talk to it about damn near down to not only the words he wanted to say but the cadence and the rhythm and the tone of it as well.
If he hadn’t thought about it the whole way there, the entire car ride back to Maverick’s house and again on up the stairs, he surely would’ve been able to fall back on the words he’d been ruminating over since the first time he’d seen that look on Ron’s face.
Y’know.
That one."
Alternatively: Nick finally finds out what happened between Mav and Ron, Ron thinks he's lost Nick, Nick is capital 'A' Angry and protective and it all comes to a head.
Featuring: Ron being self sacrificing, Maverick being Maverick (a little dumb but we love him), Nick trying to juggle his brood of idiots who he loves very much.
Oh and IceMav.
More IceMav.
AN: New chapter up y’all! Hope you enjoy! As always be nice, be awesome and read the tags :)
Literally only posting this on main because I saw it and I was like this is totally the picture that Slider keeps of Goose in his wallet.
Like whenever people see his ring and they’re like “oh have you got someone at home?” He’s like “yeah, fuck yeah” and then whips this photo of his dorky fiancée out and then proceeds to gush for fifteen uninterrupted minutes about how much he loves the guy.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Here it is babe!
My humble offering now that I have time to breathe again.
Hope y’all enjoy.
Summary: "After Nick’s accident, Slider didn’t think there was much that could scare him anymore.
Come to think of it, he had actually gotten a little cocky about it when he really probably shouldn’t have.
But he figured, how much worse could it really get, y’know?
How much worse could it be then the guy he’d been crushing on, probably since he’d first laid eyes on him if he was honest, going up for a hop and not actually touching down again?
How much worse could it get than watching Nick’s tall, lean frame normally so strong and sure and solid hanging limply, suspended in mid air looking like a puppet with its strings cut? He really didn’t think it could get worse than watching Nick’s crumpled, broken and bloody body being pulled into a medical helicopter.
It was a sight that still gave him nightmares.”
Alternatively: Nick and Ron are engaged, Nick has to eject again, it brings up some feelings of terror and loss Ron would rather not remember and Ron and Maverick's hostility finally comes to a head.
Authors Note: Thank y’all for waiting patiently for this. You rule! There is angst! Beware!
Me coming back to this website with a new part of the ‘this is me trying’ series after getting absolutely rawdogged by my degree for the past three weeks.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Kim, Kylie come get y’all juice. Chapter two of Peace Frog from the this is me trying series.
Up now!
Enjoy if you please despite the angst (and there is angst be forewarned).
Be careful, be safe and be awesome!
Maybe, just maybe, enjoy yourself along the way.
Title: Chapter 2 - To Live and Die in L.A
Summary: "He came back to himself in increments.
After he muttered those final words to Maverick, the last words he ever wanted to speak to the guy if he was really honest with himself, he moved the ten paces to the door of Nick’s hospital room.
He’s not quite sure when he started breathing again, just that he did.
He’s not quite sure when the tremor in his hand started, just that when he lifted it to grip at the door handle and actually turn the damn thing he felt weak. Like he didn’t have enough strength to actually do it.
How was he supposed to face Maverick again?
Shit how was he supposed to face Nick again when he felt more than a little like a fraud because Maverick’s words had hit home in a way he wasn’t comfortable examining too closely.”
Alternatively: Ron deals with the fallout of Maverick's words, Nick finally asks Ron just what happened in the hospital and the boys get a little closer to reconciliation.
Featuring: More Brad and Ron being cute, Nick and Ron being cuter and more than a little self-flagellation from everyone involved.
