automatic stop, bradley bradshaw

twenty-seven.

THE NEXT MORNING, SKYE DIDN'T THINK SHE WAS READY TO GRADUATE. "YOU HUNG OVER?" SHE HEARD katia ask her when she walked out of her bedroom, and she shook her head, putting a hand to her temple anyway.

"nah, i didn't even finish a full beer." skye replied.

katia smirked. "too busy at the piano with bradley?" she dragged his name out as she frequently did, laughing as skye rolled her eyes.

skye and katia were soon wearing their matching white suits, smoothing their sleeves to perfection and straightening their pins and wings of gold. they both stared at each other in the mirror of their bathroom for a moment, attempting to process what was happening.

they'd been waiting their whole lives to be in top gun. their fathers had united throughout the program, and had always told them about how much they loved the process and the program.

and now here they were, and they were finally realizing that the months they'd spent with their fellow aviators had slipped past them almost instantly.

"you look like your dad." katia said after a moment.

skye smiled. "so do you." she then chuckled. "you're slaying for real."

"haha, very funny." she replied sarcastically, fixing her hair before putting on her black-rimmed hat and handing skye her sunglasses.

they drove side by side in their motorcycles to the outdoor ceremony, amused by how many of their fellow pilots they saw, all wearing the same exact suit and hat as them. the two women took their seats near the back, arriving just on time.

skye caught rooster's eye as he turned in his seat, looking around for a moment before his eyes settled on her. he then smiled, and phoenix turned next to him, also waving at them. skye had forgotten until then that both pilots had given her and katia offers to join their squadrons. that was a problem for another day, she thought, as panther started speaking.

"ladies and gentIemen," he said, "here at top gun, we challenged you to fly against the very best. now, we ask you to take that expertise, and keep the tradition alive."

the pilots and their families began clapping, and skye turned over her shoulder to look for maverick and ice. sure enough, both men were sitting in the pre-set chairs, joined by the rest of katia's family.

skye had somehow managed to drown out most of what deadzone was saying until he grabbed the plaque from a table behind him. "every class here at top gun is awarded with a top pilot, and his or her wso or rio, if applicable, will receive their named engraved on this plaque."

panther, who was standing next to him, smiled. "it is my honor to present you with this class' top pilots." he turned the plaque around for dramatic effect. "skye 'riot' mitchell and katia 'havoc' kazansky."

skye and katia leapt to their feet, and their jaws dropped as they moved to hug each other, laughing and nearly falling over one another in their excitement and shock. they moved over to panther and deadzone, shaking hands with both of them before eyeing the plaque.

sure enough, both of their names were engraved on it, and katia's name was only a few rows away from her father's. skye could hear the people around her clapping, but she was only focused on katia, who was holding the plaque with the biggest smile on her face.

as sad as it would've made her to admit it, skye didn't think she'd seen katia this happy in weeks; holding the plaque with her name on it and grinning over at her. skye put a hand on the other side of it, smiling down at it before holding up her hand in excitement.

other aviators soon made their way to congratulate them individually, and most of their words only required a curt nod, a smile, and a thank you. rooster, however, picked skye up and spun her around, making her laugh.