Rooster Imagines (Top Gun: Maverick)

Nightmare

Author: Whynnter

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The sound of jet engines filled my ears as I stared off into the endless ocean from the carrier. Hondo stood beside me, voices echoing from the intercom he held in his hand. It was overly large, too large really to fit in his hand. I found that strange but ignored it. He turned to face me and waved, but his eyes weren't focused on me.

"Locked and loaded?" he asked.

A moment later, I was inside my own plane, my boyfriend Rooster in another plane to my left as we flew over snow capped mountains. I smiled and waved at him, but he continued looking straight ahead.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, but he didn't say a word.

Suddenly his jet plummeted toward the ground. I followed behind him, screaming at him to eject, but there was nothing I could do.

There was a cloud of smoke, the jet was blown into smithereens, and Rooster was nowhere to be seen.

I jolted awake and sat upright, my hands shaking as I looked around the room. Nothing was familiar to me. I let out a gasp when a pair of hands reached out from the opposite side of the bed, pressing against my back and reaching for my hand. I blinked a few times, finally registering where I was.

"Holy shit." My eyes filled with tears and I leaned forward resting my elbows on my knees.

The person beside me sat up and inched closer to me, "Hey, it's okay. You're okay."

I recognized his voice and turned to look at him.

It was Rooster. He was okay, It was only a nightmare.

"I got you, you're okay," he said again, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his lap, "What happened this time?"

I shook my head and wiped the tears that had fallen on my cheek, "You didn't eject in time, and your jet crashed into the mountain. It was the same shitty dream I keep having over, and over again."

He pulled me in tighter, his lips making contact with my temple. "Baby, you're scaring me with all these nightmares you've been having. You've barely slept."

"I'm sorry," I said, nuzzling the crook of his neck.

He shook his head and drew soft circles on my back, "Baby, don't apologize. I'm just worried about you. Was it about the mission again?"

"Yes, but I can't control it. I was so scared when I heard comanche say you went down. They didn't give any other information. They didn't say if they lost comms, if you ejected, nothing! And when I screamed your name you didn't answer."

He pulled me in closer, "I know, I'm sorry, but I had to go back for Mav."

"I know you did," I whispered, placing my hand on his cheek, "But you scared the shit out of me. I thought I lost you forever."

"You didn't lose me, you will never lose me. You're stuck with me for life."

I smiled before he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me passionately.

"I love you, we'll get through this together. I promise," he said, pressing his forehead to mine.

My heart raced, "I love you, Bradley."