Fox: A TopGun Fanfic

The Fight

Not spell checked!!

"Come on, man!" I exclaim, grunting as he makes an incredibly sharp turn with Phoenix on his tail.

I glance radar, seeing clear skies. We are on course, our fighters humming as they make the turns around the imaginary run, their shadows flickering on the mountains and hills below us.

"Guys, we're five seconds behind, we need to pick it up!" Bob calls into the comms, his voice raising in slight panic.

"We've got to get going, Coyote!" Phoenix calls, and my pilot accelerates.

"Copy, increasing speed... HOLY SHIT!" We almost collide into the side of the mountain, and I hear Coyote grunt.

Coyote slows the plane, yanking dramatically too the left. I cry out, slamming my hands out to steady myself, gritting my teeth.

Phoenix curses frantically behind us, pulling the nose of her plane up and flying above us to avoid a collision, pulling up and out of the max air height.

"Damn it!" Coyote curses, slapping his hand onto the dashboard. "We freaking had it!"

"It's okay, Coyote." Phoenix speaks up, her voice calm over the Comm channel. "We'll have another chance."

"Yeah," Bob says, laughing. "I'd like to see Hangman do any better."

"You mean Bagman." Phoenix corrects, a smile in her tone. Coyote doesn't respond, and I lean forward in the slightest, reaching my hand out to pat his shoulder.

"Hey, man, it's okay." I say. "It's just an exercise."

"Maverick is going to tear into us, and you know it." He replies, tilting the plane.

"Come on, guys. Time to head back to base." Maverick says over the comms. "See Hondo about your push-ups."

***

I sit next to Coyote, watching him bite down on his thumb. His eyes are on the board, watching Fritz's run— which went terribly, much too my amusement. They haven't gone over ours yet, and he is stressed out.

  I put a hand on his knee, gently rubbing my hand back and forth. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him look at me, but I keep my eyes remaining on the board.

  His hand closes over mine, gently threading our fingers together. I have large hands, but his fits mine perfectly. He plays with the ring on my middle finger, twisting it around and around.

  "Coyote!" Maverick barks, switching the screen to our run. Two planes, one labeled 'Phoenix and Bob' and one labeled 'Coyote and Fox', blink onto screen, the courses walls building around them.

"Watch this for a second." He says, pressing a button on his tablet. The planes move, our plane slowing, moving too the left.

  It's almost as if I am in the plane again, and my stomach twists as Coyote's hand tightens around mine. Phoenix's plane flies over us, up out of the 'Canyon', and artificial sAm's fly out of their holders, catching them in the nose of the plane.

Coyote swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

    "What did you do wrong?" Maverick asks the pilots, before turning to face mine, his eyes burning into his.

  "It's my fault, I didn't tell her. I increased our speed without alerting—" He says, and our Captain shakes his head.

"No, Coyote. It needs to be an excuse to tell their families at the funeral." He says, nodding towards Phoenix and Bob. Coyote swallows again, his hand becoming clammy in mine.

Maverick turns to Phoenix, striding across the room until he is standing in front of her. Bob glances at me, eyes wide.

"What about you?" He asks her, and she looks nervous. "Why didn't you anticipate the turn?"

"I- I—" He raises his hand, and she shuts her mouth.

"Don't say it too me." He says, nodding towards Bob. "Say it to his parents."

Bob lets out a shaky breath, not meeting his pilots gaze. Everyone is tense as he turns to Rooster.

  "Why didn't you make it too the target on time?" He asks. Rooster meets his gaze challengingly, not shying away like the rest of us.

  "My wingman and I where moving too slow." He says simply. "I wanted to actually make it to the target, sir."

"You gave superior enemy aircraft time to intercept you. You're dead." Our Captain says. Rooster huffs.

"You don't know that." He says.

"You aren't flying fast enough." Hangman exclaims exasperation in his voice. "You don't have a single second to spare!"

Maverick raises his hand to silence him, eyes remaining on Rooster

"You gave enemy fighters plenty of time to intercept you." Maverick snaps.

  "Then it's a Dogfight." Rooster says back, and everyone glances at him, surprised at his nerve.

  "In an F-18?" Maverick snaps, turning towards the board. Rooster's mouth tilts upward at the edges hinting a smile.

  "It's not the plane, sir. It's the Pilot." He says challengingly.

Maverick snaps.

"Exactly!" He bursts, before freezing. His eyes flash from terror to regret to pain, an emotion I know all too well. My heart stops in my throat as his mouth opens and closes, a thousand apologies shining in his eyes.

Rooster glares at him.

I could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Coyote shifts next to me, raising our intertwined hands to his lips, nervously brushing my hand against them.

"You don't understand, Rooster." Hangman cuts in. "We're going into a level of combat no living pilot has ever seen." He glances at Maverick. "Not even him."

Maverick seems to fail, his eyes panicking. He looks so... nervous.

"Now is not the time to be thinking about the past." Hangman remarks, shifting in his seat and putting a toothpick in his mouth.

Rooster seems to freeze, looking ready to shove the toothpick down Hangman's throat.

"What did you say?"

"Ah, come on, I can't be the only one who knows that Maverick flew with his old man—"

Rooster launches himself at Hangman, and Coyote lets go of my hand, rushing to hold Hangman back as the group tries to separate the two brawling men.

  "You son of a bitch!" Rooster exclaims, and I can't help but agree.

 

Rooster's father had been a naval aviator.

Thanks all!!

-❤️Kena