Danger Zone || Pete "Maverick" Mitchell • Top Gun

i.

The locker room was humid and smelled heavily of sweat as Maverick walked to sit next to his RIO, Goose.

The other pilots milled about, cracking jokes and getting dressed.

All Maverick cared about was getting his first briefing.

The morning had been filled with introductions, room assignments, and the anticipation of getting up in the air.

"You ready buddy?" Goose asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

Maverick looked over at him and grinned. "As I'll ever be, Goosey boy.

Both stood up and pushed past the other damp men to get to their lockers.

Excitement raced through Maverick at the thought of being in the air so soon again. He was ready to show the rest of the pilots that he and Goose were the best. Nobody was going to top the best.

"Alright, I'll see you down at the briefing," Goose patted his friend on the back. "I gotta go take a dump."

Maverick grinned. "You enjoy that, Goose."

---------

Viper stood in front of the group, hands clasped behind his back. "I want to introduce the lot of you to our new pilot and their RIO. They flew in a little late today due to bad weather in the east."

Maverick narrowed his eyes. How many more people was he going to have to deal with here? What kind of pilot wasn't able to even make it to Top Gun on time?

"You two can come on in," Viper said loudly, right before the door opened.

All heads turned as a young woman and another young man walked through, still in their pilot gear.

They hastily stepped up next to Viper, turning to face everyone seated.

"Our pilot here is Christine Edwards, call sign 'Arrow.' Her RIO is William Smith, call sign 'Raven.' I expect you all to treat them with respect. You two," Viper went on, "can have a seat next to Maverick and Goose."

Viper pointed towards the mentioned duo, and the newcomers hesitantly sat down next to them.

"Hi," Goose whispered, rather loudly. "I'm Goose."

Arrow giggled. "I think I figured that one out. I'm Arrow."

"I think I figured that out."

Maverick tried his best to be subtle as he took in the appearance of the two.

The pilot had long blonde hair that was pulled back into a braid. Her hazel eyes had turned their attention to her RIO, who was shrugging about something.

The RIO in question had fluffy brown hair, which appeared to be kept orderly with gel. Maverick would get a kick out of seeing him without the sticky styler. Raven's icy blue eyes were focused intently on what Arrow was whispering to him.

Maverick turned back to Viper, who announced a basic flight exercise to warm everybody up.

"You're to head to the mess hall for lunch. You'll have 45 minutes before I need you in the hangers for our exercise. Dismissed." He waved the group off before walking down the aisle and out the door.

Goose stretched, leaning his back against the seat. His arms came behind his head as he sighed. "Aw man, Mav. Gonna be a piece of cake, huh?"

Maverick nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving though. Let's go get grub." He patted Goose on the shoulder and stood up.

"Hey fellas, mind if we join you?" Raven asked hopefully, glancing down at Arrow who had yet to stand.

"Gee I don't see why not," Goose beamed. "We gotta make friends at one point, right, Mav?"