High Altitude

Chapter 2

The early morning sunlight was peaking through the clouds as the cool air hit your exposed skin. You walked forward with your white tank top living it's best life before you ruined it with grease. Your heavy tool bag an accustomed weight on your arm as you reported to duty with the Top Gun class. You made sure to be early so you could enjoy your hot mug of coffee before the chaos Maverick would unleash began. Opening the the hangar door you saw a figure slumped over their desk in the shadows. The sound of soft snores met your ears. It couldn't be Maverick. He knew his ass was on the line far too often to be sleeping on the job. You walked closer and saw the familiar aviator glasses dangling in the fingers of Rooster. You rolled your eyes and sighed. He was just like Maverick. And from all the stories he's told you over the years, Rooster was shaping up to be just like his dad. Maverick had been keeping a close eye on him since the day his dad left this world. It wasn't always the easiest relationship to manage but he tried his very best. You stopped your tracks in front of the sleeping man in front of you and slammed your bag of tools down loudly. Rooster startled awake nearly jumping to his feet. "Rough night lieutenant?" You wondered as he groaned looking around clearly still disoriented.

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath. You raised your eyebrow in response.

"Oh quit your whining." You grumbled as you dug around in your bag looking for a very specific bottle. "Drink this." You offered handing over one of your electrolyte replacement drinks. He took it begrudgingly as he gave you a curious expression. "You do this often?" You asked as you turned your back to place your tools down where they belonged.

"I try not to make a habit out of it." He admitted as he stood to his full height. You had to look upwards to meet his eyes. Above you in his office Maverick was watching the entire thing unfold before him. He stepped out into the platform alerting you of his presence. "Morning Mav." You greeted with a sly smile.

"Morning Duchess" he greeted back with his helmet in hand. "Rooster you look like hell son" Maverick stated trying to fight his grin.

"Yes sir." Rooster replied trying to stand as erect as he could. The voices of his fellow classmates started to fill the hall that attached to the hangar.

"Let me know if you need me to sneak you a few extra barf bags in your cockpit." You teased for good measure walking off and pressing the button on the wall opening the hangar door. Maverick chuckled at your mood this morning.

It was a little past midday on the tarmac and you felt the full effect of the sun directly overhead. At this point you felt as if you were hiding under a layer of your own dried salt. You popped your head out from under one the engines you've been tinkering on for the past four hours. The team was running an exercise that seemed not to be going in anyones favor. But then again they were going up against Maverick who was almost unbeatable. He flew his plane as if it was a toy. He was fearless, smart and resourceful. He knew how to make that piece of machinery do his bidding. Taking a long and much needed drink of water you saw a lone man doing push ups on the tarmac. "155..156..157" Hondo was counting. Then you saw the face. Those same glasses covering his eyes. Maverick must've had his way with him in the clouds. You smirked to yourself before returning to your work. Dialing in to the engine you heard the thunderous sound of another aircraft taking off. A new set for Maverick to toy with. An hour later you looked up from your work to see Rooster on the ground again. You watched him for a moment as you took in his form. He looked up from his punishment to check his surroundings and found your gaze. Quickly you looked at the ground pretending to be adjusting your wrench. You looked back seconds later to see he was smiling to himself now. Just a quick one but it was there. "You must really love pushups lieutenant." You joked before dropping your wrench into your work bag. You dropped down to find the right tool you need to fix the wiring issue you discovered.