Agents - Top Gun AU

Going Home

Rooster woke up only a few hours after falling asleep. His body ached which forced him awake.

He propped himself up with his arm and sighed. The room was dark and quiet. He looked over to the other side of the bed and saw Hangman asleep.

He pulled himself up and was gonna just go over to the window but he heard his phone vibrating.

He picked it up and saw the contact for his mothers hospital.

He took a deep breath. "Hello?" He was scared.

"Yes, this is him...." He rubbed his neck as he listened to the doctor talk to him about mother.

You see... his mother is suffering from cancer. She had beat it once, but it came back again. It came back worse than before.

She had been teetering between getting better and getting worse, and it looks like things are taking a turn for the worse.

Rooster sighed and nodded. "I'm kind of out of country at the moment, but I'll be back in the country day after tomorrow at the latest." He said as he got up to not disturb Hangman.

"Alright... alright thank you. Yeah, bye." He hung up and gently tapped his forehead with the phone in frustration. "Shit..." he mumbled.

He sat by the bed on the floor and covered his face. He felt like crying.

He couldn't lose his mom too.

When he lost his father all those years ago... it was hard on him. He still remembers Maverick coming to the house, delivering the cursed news about his dad.

He couldn't do it again.

He really couldn't. But he feared he might. Despite all that,he pulled himself up from the floor. He paced for a few minutes taking deep breaths and calming himself down.

"Don't get emotional right now... get home first." He calmed himself down, laid back in bed and fell asleep shortly after.

Hangman stared at the window hearing all of this. From him getting up from the bed to the phone call. He felt as if he should've said something, but...

It probably wasn't a good idea.

The next morning everyone rendezvoused outside the hotel after checking out. Rooster was being assisted by Hangman.

Maverick lead the troops with Phoenix. Everyone was still tired but it was expected. As everyone waited for their jet to land, Rooster zoned out.

His mother flashed in his mind. She was all he could think about. He needed to be right there by her... but he couldn't.

He continued to sink deeper and deeper into that hole until a hand touched his shoulder. He looked up and saw Phoenix in front of him.

"Hey, the jets here. You've been standing here staring..." she said worryingly. Rooster just looked at her and cleared his throat.

"I'm alright... just tired and just not feeling 100%." He said with a chuckle.

She raised a brow but still helped him onto the jet. "Whatever you say, Roo."

Hangman watched the two. He knew they were friends, but he didn't know if it was any further than that... but he didn't care. Why would he care?

He didn't care at all...

Well...

Maybe a little bit.

Maverick grabbed his phone as it vibrated. He saw Ices name show up on the screen. He answered.

"Hey, what's up?" Maverick said as he looked out the window.

"You okay?" Ice asked. Maverick was silent for a second. "That's a good question..." Maverick said. He thought back on his evening. He had to flirt with an awful man, kiss him, got beat up, and almost lost someone who was like a son to him.

"Pete..." iceman said worried.

"I'm kidding. I'm alright. Just had a rough evening.. you know, with almost dying and just being here..." Maverick said with a teasing chuckle.

"Alright... it's good to hear your voice. I was worried that you would be in worse condition this morning, so Slider recommended me to call." Ice said with a soft smile.

"Ah tell him I said thank you."

"I will. Well, I have a meeting in a few minutes. We can discuss the mission report when you get back. Be safe." Ice said.

"We will." Maverick hung up and sighed as he leaned his head back. Finally... he was going home.

Maverick turned towards the group. "You all did well... I appreciate all the effort that went into making sure this mission was a success. Any comments about this mission?" He asked as he looked at the group.

Fanboy raised his hand as Payback and Coyote started to chuckle. "Fanboy..." Maverick said.

"So... us three were on cameras, and there was a uh..." he tried to hold back the laughter. "... there was a camera in the hallway outside of Alex Drekov's room." They all turned and looked at Hangman and Rooster.

Hangman turned red. "Don't. Continue. That. Sentence."

Coyote laughed with the other three. "That was some good cover you two did. It worked so well."

Rooster chuckled at the teasing. Maverick just looked confused. Phoenix caught on with Bob. Hangman just wished he was dead.

"And just and FYI, he's not a bad kisser." Rooster said as he looked at his phone. Everyone cheered and laughed as Hangman tried to bury himself into his jacket.

"You all are assholes..." he said as embarrassment filled his voice. "But hey!" He said suddenly snapping back to his normal self.

"The cover worked! And we didn't get shot up or caught. So shush! Clearly, I'm the best at undercover work." He said proudly.

Everyone immediately started to argue over all that. Maverick watched the group argue and smiled softly.

It reminded him back when him, Ice, Goose, and Slider were the top group back in the day. He chuckled and turned his chair around and looked out the front window.

He thought of how well this group started to work together. He was impressed. Genuinely.

They were excited to be a team.

Maybe this wasn't as bad as he thought anymore.