Atlas: A Top Gun: Maverick Fanfiction

Chapter 32: The Reception

A/N: I arrive early with a short chapter because i have midterms this upcoming week and am STRESSED about a ton of essays and tests. Wish me luck, besties. Anyways, I hope this is cute enough for all of you! Next chapter...angst and back to reality! Let me know what you think, as always! Thanks and love you all!

If in some way, Kelsey thought that the wedding itself was the best moment of her life, it was only followed up by the reception very closely. The sheer closeness of people and gathering of the people who she cared about most was something that had inherently endeared the reception to her.

The playlist for such an occasion had been contributed to by three people—Bradley, Amelia, and Natasha. As such, there was a healthy rotation of Taylor Swift music, classic wedding songs, and current popular love songs.

Sitting at the table, hand entwined with Jake's, Kelsey felt like the night would never end. And maybe it wouldn't. Maybe in this one moment, they would be infinite—never ending, never stopping, never forgetting. Maybe for just a moment in time, this is where she would live forever—no matter the outcome of what the future brought.

She leaned against Jake's shoulder, a smile permanently stuck on her face. "This is the best day."

"I think it gets better," Jake murmured back into her hairline, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Kelsey almost laughed at the sight of Bradley making his way to the center of the reception, microphone in hand. This was sure to be the most chaotic thing she had ever heard in her life—

She was certain of it.

"I uh—" Bradley coughed once uncomfortably. "I don't think Hangman would have wanted me to speak at his wedding, but since we're brothers now, I guess it comes with the territory."

"Damn right." Jake mumbled, shaking his head at Bradley.

"I think the first conversation I've had with Hangman—er, Jake—where I didn't want to punch him was last week." Bradley admitted. "And that was after I had punched him, admittedly. But as I talked to him, and I figured out that he did actually love my baby sister, I...got over some of my annoyance. See, he compared her to loving a sunset."

This time, Jake did hide his face somewhat bashfully in his hands and Kelsey glanced at him with wide eyes. "You said that?"

"Yes."

She just pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love you too."

"And the entirety of the time that I've had a sister, I've only ever wanted my sister to be loved by someone who sees her for who she is. Someone who gives her the world. Because she deserves it. And...and the world does not deserve her. The best gift I've ever been given was a sister—and it took me a long-ass time to figure that out."

At that, Kelsey couldn't help but get a little misty-eyed.

"Duckie used to follow after me like a little duckling. Thus the nickname," Bradley admitted. "But now she's doing her own thing. And Jake is following after her. So I guess what I'm trying to say...is that Jake—you make my sister happy in a way no one ever has and no one ever will. Don't mess it up, okay?"

The strangest thing about the entire situation for Kelsey was watching as Jake and Bradley (ever so briefly, and not that they'd ever admit it) hugged one another and then quickly moved on.

Kelsey thought that she was off the hook at that point—but then Javy was standing up with a shit-eating grin and she knew that it was over for her and Jake. "Should we hide?" She questioned in a low voice, grinning at Jake.

"He's your Man of Honor." Jake just tipped his drink in Javy's direction, a grin on his face.

"I've been waiting for this day for what seems like FOREVER!" Javy admitted. "Because for a while there, I was absolutely certain that Kelsey Ryan did not exist and that Jake had to be hooking up with some Italian girl. But then she came over and they were talking about pizza and I was instantly endeared."

"I was endeared when she made us sit through Star Wars and when she became just as much of my friend as she was Jake's. I was endeared when I watched her punch a man in the face and then fake an engagement. And I was endeared the entire time I watched her and Jake look at each other with those pathetically pining eyes."

"Hey!" Both Kelsey and Jake said at the same time.

"Oh please!" Javy rolled his eyes. "You know it's true! And when they FINALLY stopped skirting around things, I was never more thrilled in my life—except for when they got engaged, but that's a different story. The entire time that I've known Kelsey Ryan, she has this amazing superpower of bringing people to life. Of bringing passion into the real world and making people smile. And I've never seen my best friend smile more than when he was with her."

"I believe in beating the odds," Javy continued. "And I believe that when fate or God or the universe really wants something to happen, it will happen. And so I believe that no matter what happens, you two are going to be absolutely amazing. And you're the kind of stuff that makes me want to find love myself."

The next person who got a speech was Uncle Pete—who just stood up there with a drink in hand for a moment, staring at the ground. Talk to me, Goose. "I got thrown out of a bar once by Jake Seresin," Pete started.

Kelsey giggled as Jake hid his face in his hands. "He's gonna wreck me," Jake murmured.

"And I knew who he was when he did it. And I knew who he was when I was his instructor," Pete said. "But I also knew that if my favorite niece loved him, it was for a reason. And I started to see the person that she loved. And I started to see how she made him better. Goose—Nick Bradshaw—and Carole—they made each other better. They gave each other hope. And that's all I ever wanted for you, Kelsey."

At the mention of her parents, Kelsey couldn't help the tears.

"In fact—I...I know your parents aren't here tonight, but I feel like they are. I saw what they wanted for you—all the hopes and dreams they had for you—and you've exceeded them. You're the best daughter a father could have ever asked for and I know that your dad is so proud of you right now. He should be here. They should both be here. But if all you've got is me and Ice," Pete glanced to the side. "Then we'll keep telling you for them."

It didn't get easier from there.

Because after that, they danced. She got to dance with the three men in her life that had raised her—Pete, Ice, and Bradley. And there was something really tender about the moment.

There was something inherently both heartbreaking and altogether beautiful about the fact that Kelsey felt like her parents were there. Felt like when she was dancing with Uncle Pete, she was also dancing with her dad.

And when she finally got to dance with her husband—and Bradley was playing the piano—

Kelsey could only describe this moment as magical. A moment straight out of a fairytale or something from a movie.

And as she swayed in her husband's arms—a phrase she really couldn't get over anyways—she thought she heard a whisper on the wind. You're going to get through this, kiddo.

So Kelsey Seresin smiled. She smiled and she knew. That this was not going to be the end of her story. That the tragedy of the past was not going to be her defining moment. It had already been that for so long.

No—see, Kelsey felt it in her bones. She felt the hope springing into her chest like she could feel Jake's hand in her own. And she knew that somewhere, somehow, her mom and dad were keeping an eye on her.

Like the angels that they were.