TOP GUN: BACK TO MY ROOTS

NICKNAMES

the next morning me and jake rode to work together since dad took the car. 
when we got there i hopped out, "thanks for the ride jake"
"no problem, kid" he taunted me with that stupid nickname my dad gave me
"is that where it came from by the way, your dad?"
i thought back to when i first met jake

"hey pretty bartender, let me get another round"
i whipped my head around "are you talking to me?"
"i don't see any other pretty girls around"
"i've got a name seresin" i read his name tag aloud
"oh do you and what is that"
"names Y/N although most pilots call me fawkes"
"well fawkes i apologize if i offended you"
he showed his nice side not wanting to be on a pretty girls bad side
"well that's okay at least you didn't call me something stupid like kid"
"kid? what are you seven?"
"eighteen, nineteen on wednesday,"
i said handing him another beer
"and they let you work here?"
"i'm a family friend"
that wasn't true i came in one day to get away from some creepy guy and penny took a liking to me
"well, maybe after your shift i can buy the birthday girl a drink" normally i would shoot him down but, i don't know, something about this one seemed interesting,
i wrote down my number and when i got off on  a piece of paper and handed it to him
"what's your callsign lieutenant"
"maybe you'll find out"
he said taking the paper from my hand
"thanks kid" he said walking out the bar
oh boy i hope this one doesn't stay around too long

as i walked in the building i met up with dad
"you ready for today" he asked me
"am i ready? are YOU ready? your the one who has to fly?"
he looked at me like a kid on christmas
"oh am i ever, they're all changing into their flight suits and we're gonna meet them on the deck, the pilots who don't fly with me are going to be up in the tower with you"
"taking notes and listening in" i repeated as i had heard this lecture explained a hundred times now
"hah who are you thinking of having first?"
i asked as he handed me a case file
"i'm thinking fanboy and payback
maybe hangman and pheonix" he wrote down on his note sheet, he really hadn't let the previous night's i cede the effect how he treated jake, and you were glad
"and coyote and rooster" he paused for a second before looking around and then at me "your sure you don't wanna fly?"
i swollowed hard, "dad it's been years, im just not ready to go up again not since what happend"
i looked down
"hey it's okay, just know if you ever want to you have the opportunity to change your mind okay kiddo?"
"okay dad"
cyclone appeared "maverick, mitchel, you ready"
i looked up at das who was smiling
"born ready cyclone" i responded
dad sped walked to the deck
"let's get this over with" i whispered to myself
"alright pilots, here's what's going down, we're playing a simple game of cat and mouse, try to get me into missel lock before work can get you"
some of the pilots laughed, they had no clue what they were in for
"first up" i yelled next to the group
"payback and fanboy, the rest of you follow me to the tower" the rest of the group groaned
"oh come on i'm not that bad" i said only loud enough for a few people to hear
as we walked up to the tower i could feel bradley's eyes on me although when i turned to look back at him i noticed he was staring at my ass.
when we got up into tho tower i handed them note pads
"what are me fifth graders, we have to take notes,?"
"aye i can't make you write im them but feel free man" i said turning on the radio kicking Back on a the couch
i listened to the pilots surprised by dads flying
jake came and sat next to me and gave out a loud sigh
i looked over at him
"yes lieutenant may i help you" i said it sarcastically
"i'm bored"
"well maybe you should try paying attention, dads a very good pilot"
"no i know but i wanna be UP there, not DOWN here" he used hand gestures making me laugh
i looked over across the room and say bradley glaring at me
i gave him a confused look before looking back over at jake
"and that's a hit, your out, go see hondo for your push-ups"
"man what is it with you pilots and making bets,
alright ja- hangman" i caught myself " hangman pheonix and bob your out next"
"hell yeah let's go!" pheonix yelled while giving me a high five
i laughed and jake came up next to me "better watch yourself there kid" i rolled my eyes
"get out of here"
i eyed him as he walked out
that left me with rooster and coyote, and thank god for coyote cause i did not want to be left alone in a room with only bradley
the were both sitting here the window so i decided to go sit at the table across the room by the radio
cyclone walked in the room "mitchel"
i stood up "captain, what can i do for ya?" i smiled kindly
"i need to borrow coyote for a moment, if that's alright with you"
"of course, anything else" i was hoping he would pull bradley too
"no that's i'll be all, i suspect you can handle yourself with this one" he said gesturing to bradley who was still facing the outside window
"yes sir!"
i turned around and sat back down as coyote and cyclone left the room
bradley cam and sat right next to me at the table
we sat for awhile in silence listening to the coms
dad got pheonix and bob out about three minuets ago so they had just landed, it was dad and jake
he almost got him but jake lost dad in the sun
"nice one jake" i whispered it but brad still heard
he broke our silence
"so you and hangman, how long has that been going on" he seemed angry
"oh, we're just friends" i tried to sound nice, although i didn't like how he jumped to conclusions
"really? i didn't realize friends answer FaceTime calls topless" i sighed
"well it's not like he's seen me naked"
he ignored my statement
"didn't realize they gave each other hickeys either" my eyes went wide, shit, could he see it
i tried to wear a shirt that would cover it up
damn you bagman
i didn't say anything for about a minuet
bradley broke the silence again
"did you sleep with him" he stood up walking over to the window, he sounded sad
i was hesitant to answer, it was none of his business, but part of me wanted him to feel at ease to know i wasn't like that
i took a breath
"no" that's all i said
"ok"
"i'm sorry" i said it without looking at him although he turned to look at me
"what" he asked
i looked at him hesitantly
"i said im sorry, im sorry for getting all mad at you the other day, it was stupid" i looked down at my feet
"no, it wasn't, i didn't know what to say i was just surprised to see you, and maverick"
he trailed off
god i hated feeling things
after about a minuet i wiped away a tear from my cheek
i turned the radio on
"you guys almost done playing around up there"
jake spoke first "okay i won't lie Y/N he's good, but i'm still better"
"i'm better than good hangman"
"come on dad bring bagman and his ego down"
i felt okay calling him dad it was nice for a change
"he knows?" i looked at bradley
"yeah, it was a recent development"
i said looking pot the window
"does he know about me" he sounded ashamed
i looked at him "no, and he's the only one besides you who knows mav is my dad, please don't tell anyone" he graded my hand and squeeze it
"i won't" i stood there holding his hand and looking at him
this time i didn't feel anger or discomfort
i felt safe, like i wanted to hug him, i felt happy?
"and that's a kill for the old man" we both laughed
Rooster let go of my hand when coyote walked in
"hey rooster you ready to go?" coyote asked as he grabbed his stuff and headed twords the door
"yeah man i'm ready i'll meet you down there"
"alright but hurry up, i don't want to keep the cap waiting" he laughed at his own joke and left the room
rooster looked back at me
"be careful okay chicken boy" he rolled his eyes at me
"yeah yeah whatever" he graved his jacket and put it on
"hey rooster" i yelled after him
"yeah?" he was i between the door
"i missed you too"
he smiled at me and left the room
i'm glad i was on a good page with him, although him and dad were not.