ℳ𝒾𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓁𝑒 𝒩𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 | Top Gun Maverick

Chapter 5: Football

After the mess that had happened in class, Maverick sat in one of the seats, staring into space, contemplating whether he could save those pilots. He felt responsible for the lives of those pilots and he would never forgive himself if any of them died on the mission. His phone buzzed, snapping him out of his thoughts, noticing it was now dark outside. He checked the message and saw it was Iceman.

"I need to see you."

"Not a good time."

"I'm not asking"

╚»★«╝

Maverick rode to Iceman's house in the morning. He parked his motorbike in front of their house. Sarah opened the door immediately, as soon as she saw him get off his bike. His smile was wide on his face as he went to hug Sarah. Maverick then stopped to admire the number of pictures they had inside. Pictures of Iceman's children, Sarah, Emily, and her mom. When he turned around, he saw the sadness in Sarah's eyes, dread dawning on him.

"Maverick"

"It's come back?"

"No one knows"

His heart dropped at the news. "Not even Em?"

Sarah shook her head. "There's nothing else they can do. Even speaking is painful now." Tears now starting to form in her eyes.

"Sarah, I'm so sorry!" Was all Maverick could say before hugging her again.

╚»★«╝

Maverick came into Iceman's office, his constant coughing filling the silence in the room. Iceman didn't even realize Maverick was there.

"Admiral" Iceman looked at him, and a wave of sadness washed over him. Maverick took a chair and placed it in front of him. Now the two of them looking at each other, face to face. "How's my wingman?"

Iceman smiled and began to type on his computer. Despite everything, he still had the same bright smile he had years ago.

"Want to talk about work"

"Please, don't worry about me. What can I do for you?" Iceman simply pointed at the screen again, Maverick gave in because he knew how stubborn he was. "Alright...well Rooster is still angry with me about what I did. I thought eventually he would understand why. I hoped he'd forgive me."

"There's still time"

"The mission is less than three weeks away. The kid's not ready."

"Then teach him"

"He doesn't want what I have to give."

"What about Emily?"

"She still hates me. I don't think she'll ever forgive me, I don't expect her to. Ice...please, don't ask me to send someone else to die, please don- don't ask me to send them. Send me!"

"It's time to let go." That was all Iceman said. Maverick knew he had to put the past aside for the sake of the mission but he simply couldn't. He had already lost so many people, and Iceman was about to be one of them, he could not bear to lose Snow and Rooster as well.

"I don't know how. I'm not a teacher Ice. I'm a fighter pilot. A naval aviator...It's not what I am, it's who I am. How do I teach that? Even if I could teach it, it's not what Snow nor Rooster want. It's not what the Navy wants. That's why they canned me the last time. The only reason I'm here is you." Maverick paused for a moment, contemplating his options. "If I send them on this mission...they might never come home. And if I don't send them, they will never forgive me. Either way, I could lose them forever." Iceman still had the same words printed on the screen. It was time to let go."I know. I know." Maverick sighed, gaining control of his emotions.

Iceman got up, hinting to him to get up as well so Maverick did. Iceman cleared his throat and began to talk. His voice was harsh and hoarse, basically a whisper.

"The Navy needs Maverick. The kids need Maverick. That's why I fought for you. That's why you're still here." They hugged each other, tight.

"Thank you, Ice. For everything you've done for me, and for Em."

They pulled away from the hug, Iceman still holding on to Maverick for some sturdiness.

"One last thing" Iceman spoke again. "Who's the better pilot? You or me?"

"It's a nice moment...let's not ruin it."

They laughed it off and hugged each other one last time. It felt like a goodbye, and little did they know that it would be their last time hugging.

╚»★«╝

Maverick had thought about yesterday's events and Iceman's words. They need Maverick. So he decided to teach them a lesson, but in his way. The aviators got to class as usual, Maverick waiting for them whilst they all sat down.

"I want you to learn how to work as a team." He started. "In order to come back from this mission you will need to trust each other, help each other and most importantly communicate with each other. So today we will play football!" He clapped his hands together.

The aviators looked at each other in confusion and disbelief, but after all this was Maverick.

╚»★«╝

They all got on the beach. The men were all shirtless except for Bob. Phoenix and Snow-white were wearing sports shorts and a sports bra whereas Halo was wearing long leggings and a tank top. Everybody got into position and as soon as Hondo blew the whistle, the game started.

Maverick caught the blue ball immediately and Yale went to attack him but failed. Hangman had the red ball, he threw it and passed it on to Phoenix. Maverick then passed the ball to Rooster who then threw it to Snow and...

"TOUCHDOWN!" everybody from her team cheered, Maverick gave her the typical "proud dad finger pointing" as Rooster made a little dance. That dance. His physique was defined and toned, and Emily couldn't help but stare at her boyfriend, they haven't had the time to make up yet but she could not stay mad at him for long and he couldn't either.

The game went on and the other team scored points as well as ours. Snow was looking for Rooster when she saw Maverick get knocked onto the floor, she started walking towards him to help him but Rooster got there first, he picked him up and nodded at him. That surprised her, to say the least but she was also happy that they were, somewhat, becoming friends again. Or at least Rooster didn't seem to have murder on his mind 24/7 anymore. In fact, his talk with her made him think, she was right and he hated that.

After a few more matches, Mav stopped playing and went to sit on a chair, Rooster threw the ball at Bob who caught it to everyone's surprise. Rooster picked him up on his shoulder and carried him around the beach, cheering "BOB! BOB! BOB!" Everybody joining in. At one point, even Hondo started to play and they all tackled him to the ground to get the football. This was one of the few moments where they all got along, and we were genuinely happy. All their differences and fights were gone even for just a few hours. Maverick had succeeded.