whiteout » top gun

four

i try not to smile. truth be told, there was some part of me that was excited to be back in flight gear. there was a familiar tingle along my back, the good sort of nerves you get when you're in line for a rollercoaster. but i try not to let it show for fear of proving bradley right, hoping that my face came off as deadpan as i could manage. maverick, on the other hand, was the expression of pure glee. he places a hand on my shoulder, and scans me up and down from an arm's length away.

"look at you!"

"enough," i grumble and swat my uncle's arm. i don't hit him hard at all, but maverick rubs his arm like i've thrown a proper punch. i turn and trail after bradley, who was already heading down the hall to the elevator, leaving my uncle to entertain himself with his little one-man show.

"have a good flight, whiteout!" he calls out from behind me.

whiteout. this makes me stop in my tracks. it almost sounds foreign at this point, as i've long grown accustomed to just 'julie' or 'ju'. even when doing work for my father, i only ever introduced myself as 'captain juliette kazansky'. never my callsign.

bradley must've realized i wasn't following him anymore because he tells me to hurry along and how we don't have all day. i scowl before setting off after him in an awkward half-jog, half-walk. i mostly catch up to where bradley is, prepared to tell him off when i see jake coming up behind him. jake notices bradley first, but then he catches sight of me in my flight gear. he seems surprised, eyebrows raised, but i get this sinking feeling in my stomach when that quickly morphs into a smirk.

"well, well, what have we here."

i nod at him.

"good afternoon, lieutenant seresin."

he spares a quick look at bradley before walking past him to stand in front of me. he leans against the wall, arms crossed, as per usual. "what's with the costume, sweets?"

my mouth runs dry and i feel an itch in my fingers that begs me to break his nose. bradley grabs jake's shoulder, jumping to assume his protective big brother role, which, probably contrary to his expectations, annoys me. it was sweet at times, but certainly not now. certainly not in front of jake seresin.

i give bradley a dirty look before informing him, "i can speak for myself."

i meet his eyes and lift my chin a little higher. i can handle this. bradley hesitates for second and it looks as if it takes all his willpower, but eventually takes a step back. this entire time, jake hasn't stopped grinning. he pats bradley on the shoulder before directing his attention to me.

"yea, let the captain speak for herself."

he leans a little closer, and i can almost feel his breath on my face. it's close enough that i can see flecks of gold in his green eyes. i desperately want to take a step back because he's uncomfortably close but, for the sake of my dignity, i keep staring right back at him. i don't flinch.

"you look cute, but you're a bit old for dress-up aren't you, kazansky?"

"i'm a pilot, lieutenant."

"civil aviation license?" he continues, "that's adorable."

i feel myself grinding my teeth at this point. i take a step forward and we're almost touching.

"a naval aviator and topgun graduate, lieutenant seresin."

"you're a topgun graduate?" jake stops smiling for a second, but his disbelief is only momentary before he goes back to taunting me. he tilts his head to the side, "you sure about that?"

i give him a stiff smile, "yea i graduated topgun to become a glorified babysitter because of pilots like you who have the intellectual capacity of a newborn."