TOP GUN: BACK TO MY ROOTS

BOXES

bradley took me home, although he said he had a meeting and left shortly after
after he left i cleaned the house, trying to occupy myself for the rest of the day to occupy my mind

i pulled out my phone as i heard it ring
it was dad

"hey dad what's up"
"hey can you do me a favor"
"yeah sure" i put down the towels i had just folded
"can you go into my room and see if you can find an old top gun hat for me?"
i walked towards his room
"isn't all of your old man stuff at the hangar?"
i asked as i opened the door to his room
"some of them,"
"where would it be?"
"closet, very top, probably labeled top gun or something like that"
"okay dad sounds good"
i hung up as i pulled down an old box labeled

pete mitchell top gun

i put it on the floor before seeing an identical one just behind it, except this one read

nick bradshaw

i pulled that one down too
i brought them both out onto the kitchen table
opening up the first one i found a ton of old photos, i put aside one of him and my mom, for myself
there was one of him and goose in front of a plane
i also found one of bradley on dads shoulders, he couldn't be older than six or seven
i turned it over to see the writing on it
pete mitchell and baby bradshaw
i smiled "baby bradshaw" i laughed out
as i continued to pull stuff out i realized this was going through an entire chapter of dads life, one that i hadn't even been a part of
i pulled out old tags, photos even a couple of patches das never put on his jacket before i pulled out and old top gun hat, it was a dark olive green with the top gun logo, it's fabric was torn at the brim of the hat
i pushed it aside, staring at the other box i had brought out
carole must've given it to dad before she died
i debated wether or not it was okay for me to open it
i decided i would just have a small look
i opened the box, on top we're pictures, there was a picture of goose and carole kissing, one of them smiling as goose held brad
there was one of dad and goose together
there was one of tiny bradley with a dog
i put them back in, deciding i didn't want to look through it anymore without him here
i took the box up to my room, putting it in my closet on one of the higher shelves
i put dads box back too leaving out only the pictures and and then hat
when i walked back into the kitchen i picked up the hat studying it
i turned it inside out noticing writing in it
MAVERICK
i rolled my eyes, there had be hundreds of hats like this when dad was in top gun, of course he would be the one to be possessive of it
i heard the door unlock
"hey kiddo" dad said walking into the house
i held up the hat for him to see
"oh good you found it" he said as he took it out of my hands before noticing the photos on the kitchen table
he sighed
"hey i've been meaning to talk to you, about penny" he said
"it's okay dad" i said
"i get it, your worried cause your dating again and you don't know how i'm gonna feel about it but honestly, this is the happiest i've seen you, and i love penny" i said making him smile
"but my mom will always have a special place in my heart, you know that" i placed a hand on his shoulder
"i know kid, she was your mom"
i gave him a hug
"well, don't expect me back anytime soon" he said winking at me before slipping out the door
i laughed "i never do"

as i sat on my floor staring at the tv i decided i wanted to stop moping around
i picked up my phone and called bradley
he answered quick which i expected
"hey honey what's up?" he sounded tired
"oh nothing, did i wake you up" i looked at the phone seeing it was only 9PM
"no no, just long day" he said
"well i have something here and i want you to come over" i said
"now? yeah okay, what is it" he asked i could hear him grab his keys
"it's a surprise" i said not wanting to tell him
he laughed "yeah okay"

we both stood at the table, as he looked at the photos i had handed him
"thank you" he looked up at me with glassy eyes
i hugged him into me
"don't thank me yet" i said as i pulled out the box i had moved downstairs
"i wanted to go through it with you" i said as i pushed it towards him
as we began to pull things out i found more pictures, a baseball glove, a lighter, normal pilot stuff although all of it seemed to scream goose at the both of us
we laughed as he told me stories his mom used to tell him
i pulled out a small box and opened it, inside was his moms engagement ring
i smiled and handed it to him
"wow, i didn't know this stuff even existed" he said as he studied it
"well it's all yours now" i said as i pushed the box towards him
he looked at me "thank you Y/N"
i smiled at him "always"

that night me and bradley talked about the mission. about how dad was taken off of the board. we talked about how i would still be there but it would be different
i got a text from dad
dad: hey kid, you know i love you right?
me: what did you do?
dad: it's what i'm going to do
me: what are you thinking, and how can i help?
dad: you really are your fathers daughter

"Y/N?" i looked up from my phone
"yeah, sorry" i said realizing he was talking
"it's okay, you feeling alright?" he asked as he moved closer to me
"yeah, just stressed i guess" i sighed
"come here" he picked me up and threw my over his shoulder
"what the" he flipped my down on my bed and hovered over me
"hello sir" i said before he let his arms out and elk on top of me
"oh my god" i breathed out
he wiggled himself into me
"feeling better yet?"
"well your trying to crush me it's working"
"it's called DPT" he said in a kids voice
"i know that idiot"
i said
he moved off of me pulling me with him i kissed him
"it's time for bed bradshaw" i said getting up and changing my clothes
i crawled back into bed next to him as he pulled me towards his bare chest and kissed me on the top of the head
"try and get some sleep baby" he said as he moved my hair out of my face

when i woke up the next morning i changed into jeans and bradley's old jacket
remembering dads plan, he was either going to be outback on the teaching board
or kicked out of top gun forever
either way, im a mitchel aren't i?

when they announced that dad wasn't coming back none of the pilots were thrilled
even less so finding out that the time had ben pushed from 2:15 to 3:00 putting them at a higher risk of being targeted by enemy aircraft
i didn't care much to listen, knowing what was about to happen

"captain mitchel callsign maverick ron route today" i heard over the radio
"copy captain, however i don't see a time slot out for you today" the radio response said
"oh no, there's not one, setting time 2 minuets and 15 seconds" as dad raced through the course i smiled
"did you know about this?" cyclone asked me
i simply shrugged my shoulders and smiled at him
"you mitchels are insane"
he yelled at me
"oops"

after dad landed he was called into admiral simpson a office
i could only pray for the poor man