TOP GUN: BACK TO MY ROOTS

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how do we feel about smut?
also feel free to let me know if you see typos
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i stood with the rest of the pilots as we awaited dad to come back
bradley stood up and walked over to me
"you knew?" he asked as he took my hand
"of course she did" jake said walking up behind us
"like father like daughter" i said
pheonix looked at me
"so you ARE mavs kid, bobby you owe me $20" she said as she punched bob
me jake and bradley laughed
"surprise" i said still laughing
as admiral simpson walked into the room he cleared his throat
we all looked at him, dad standing behind him beau gave him a look before allying back out of the room
"guess who's back baby!?" he said as he threw his arms up in the air
we all cheered
"tonight, drinks are on me" he said as we all walked out of the room

i drove home and got changed out of my work clothes and into a more comfy outfit
as i bound down the stairs i i saw that bradley's room was open and the light was on
i walked in to see dad
"it's weird having him back" he said without looking at me
"yeah"
"he never did open these did he"
he was looking into his closet, i knew he meant his christmas presents from that night, he walked up and took them off the top shelf
"you should have them" he handed them to me
"are you sure?" i asked him
"yeah, they were things i wanted to pass on, i should have given them to you in the first place"
he said
i opened the small box, i was met with a shiny reflective surface, they were dog tags
i pulled them out and read them

BRADSHAW, NICHOLAS
GOOSE WSO

i stared at them
"i thought you got rid of these?"
"i did, the originals anyways, afterward i asked ice for his secondary tags"
"thank you dad"
i said as i opened the other box finding the keys to dads old bike that was sitting in the hangar
i smiled, dad never wanted me to ride a motorbike, always said it was too dangerous
i looked up at him
"it's about time" he said smiling at me
he wrapped his arms around me
"i love you kiddo"
"i love you to dad"

as i walked into the hard deck the smell of booze and sweat was prominent
i walked up to the group of pilots playing pool
sitting next to bob
"who's winning?" i masked him
"i don't know at this point, they just keep making bets and hitting balls"
i laughed which got bradley's attention, he smiled at me, i smiled back
"you have a pretty smile" bob said
"thank you bob"
"hey Y/N i've been meaning to ask you" i looked over at bob as he spoke to me
"yeah?"
he had turned a light shade of pink
"how come you don't fly? i mean i know you said there was an accident but, what happened"
i sighed
"it was an old plane. something happened, and i had to eject, i hit my head on the canopy, i was out for about two days in the hospital.
my dad lost his best friend the same way.
it scared him, i haven't flown since"
i looked over at him. he had a look on his face that almost made it seem like he was studying my words
"goose" he said
"yeah how's you know"
"i've been doing some research into old top gun incidents, i remember that one. didn't he have a son, is it?" he asked me
"yeah, it is. but best not to talk about it right now" i said
honestly i'm a little surprised bob knew,
"yeah, that's okay" he said
jake walked over to me
"can you talk?" he asked, his voice somewhat shaky
i nodded and stood up, walking with him outside

"what's up jake?" i asked him as i sat down at a bench, i could hear the ocean waves crashing
"i wanted to talk to you, about something i said at the beach, about how i might e liked you more that  i thought i had" he tripped on his words
"i was wondering when that was going to come back up" i didn't look at him, instead i looked out to the sea.
"well i just wanted to say i'm sorry, i don't think o do like you. at least not more than a friend.
i'm sorry, it was stupid, i guess it's just weird seeing you being hit on by rooster"
"it never seemed to bug you when other guys hit on" i said laughing
"that's cause i could beat those guys up"
"are you saying you could t beat up bradley?"
"what no, oh god, don't tell him i said that" i laughed
"you mean a lot to me jake, you know that right" i placed a hand on his shoulder
"i know, im pretty great" he said, clearly his ego was still intact
i stood up and gave him a hug
i heard someone clear their throat
i looked over to find brad
"hey babe, everything okay?" he asked me
i looked at jake and he smiled at me
"yeah, everything's good" i walked back over to brad taking his hand
"you coming?" i asked jake
"no im gonna head home, have fun kid" he said and i laughed
as we walked back inside i saw the group of pilots playing pool and bob and pheonix were laughing about something stupid
dad was flirting with penny, per usual
"hey i'll be back okay?" brad said as he walked away from me
i smiled at him.
i wiped my hands on my jeans, i could feel the tags in my pocket, i forgot that they were there
i let my hand linger over them getting lost i thought
these weren't mine, they weren't meant for me, the belong to him, i just needed to find the time to give them to him