FIREBALL

Chapter 7

"he was so harsh on us in training today, thalia, you wouldn't believe it!" bob ranted as he, natasha, bradley, and the pilot in question walked back to the barracks. "and bradshaw here decided to get into a fight with hangman!"

thalia hummed quietly and pulled out her phone to see a text from falcon. "shit, sorry guys. i need to go. i'll catch up later!"

she shared a look with bradley and went to double back but natasha's voice stopped her. "where are you going?"

thalia turned back to the trio, of which two were watching her with confusion and slight frustration.

"this is the second night in a row you've disappeared, and yesterday you came back upset! we're your friends, jacks. you can tell us anything, you know that right?" there was desperation in nat's voice that caused thalia's heart to clench.

"this isn't to do with what happened yesterday, nat. don't worry about it." 

natasha shook her head, disappointed at the girl's answer. "see you later then," she said shortly, and pulled the guys back with her towards the building they called home for the following weeks.

---------

thalia called the admiral, and he picked up almost immediately. "sir? what's wrong?"

a heavy sigh came from the other end of the call. "it's terrier and bulldog, lance-corporal. they were shot down by bandits yesterday. there were no parachutes, and no survivors. i'm sorry for your loss- i know you three were close."

a numbness filled thalia, and she reacted on autopilot. "thank you for telling me sir." the voice that spoke was not her own. "i will see you in a few weeks when i am back from my detachment to discuss a new fighter pair."

she did not wait for his response before hanging up.

-------

the ride to her godparent's house was longer than usual. as normal, sarah opened the door to the girl and invited her in.

"tom's speaking to maverick at the moment, but i'm sure he'll have time for you after, if you want?"

thalia shook her head. "i wanted to talk to you, auntie sarah.  we haven't had a proper conversation in so long."

sarah gave her a warm smile and led her into the kitchen, where the curve of her lips turned into a wicked smirk. "what's the gossip, little niece?"

the pilot couldn't help but grin back, and launched into the full story of what had happened in the past six months.

"there's another reason i came... josie and jackie were killed on a mission yesterday. shot down by bandits. i thought you'd want to know. i get uncle tom's not going to last long, and that that's on the forefront of your mind, but you loved the j's, and if i were you, i'd want me to tell you-"

sarah pulled thalia into a big hug, swaying her lightly. "thank you for telling me, sweetheart. how are you feeling?"

"i'm not," thalia confessed, looking down at her tan boots. she was still in her combats, not having time to change before coming over. "the second i start feeling, i think i'll lose sight of the mission. i can grieve after, y'know?"

her godmother sniffled slightly at her words. "don't let this mission stop you from being human, you got me?" 

thalia nodded. "i should probably go," she said, hearing maverick walk down the stairs. "message me if he takes a turn, please."

sarah agreed in an instant, walking her god-daughter to the door and waving after her as she pulled out the driveway, leaving a trail of dust and the roar of an engine in her wake.

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thalia ran into natasha on her way to her room, and paused in her way. "tash, listen to me. i'm sorry that i can't tell you what's going on."

natasha gestured for her to continue, her eyes losing the fire of her anger.

"i still can't say much, but a space has opened on the dark souls, and i'm in need of a wingman." nat tried to interrupt but thalia stopped her. "i know what you're thinking. it's a pair jet, so talk it over with bob. i want someone i know and trust in that position, and i'd like to think i do both. just- just think about it for me, please?" 

she smiled at her friend and carried on towards her room, unlocking the door and walking through, leaving natasha, bewildered, on the stairs. 

-------

the next morning, maverick had emailed the group. 

meet at the beach behind the hard deck at six am. wear athletic clothes!

thalia shook her head at the email, laughing quietly to herself. she had an idea of where this was headed, and she wasn't a fan. she opted against her morning run, instead making a pot of coffee and scrolling mindlessly through instagram as she decided what to wear. 

she eventually picked out a black sports bra under a long-sleeved teal top, and a pair of three-quarter-length leggings. her trainers were easily slid on and she drank the coffee quickly, packing a bag with a towel, spare clothes, and a lot of bottles of water. thalia his her wallet in her spare shoes and grabbed her hat and blue-tinted aviators.

the sun was rising when thalia arrived, parking her motorcycle in the space she claimed as her own on her second night there. it was already warm, but she couldn't take of her top for revealing the horrors below, both self-inflicted, and from her time in the marines.

there was fifteen minutes until the others were supposed to get there, so the copper-haired pilot decided on some stretches to do as a warm-up in preparation for the clearly sport filled day. hangman joined her halfway through, and silently copied her exercises. 

they were done by the time everyone else got there, hangman murmuring a joke to her before he beelined to coyote.

"you're really gonna live up to your callsign if you keep that top on, fireball," he'd muttered. she let out a surprised laugh, and he winked back at her as he walked away, letting out a chuckle of his own.

-----

"dogfight football! rules are simple! attack and defend at the same time! hangman, rooster, you guys are team leaders!"

"pick your poison, boys," thalia called to the two men, who laughed her off and named off their players. unsurprisingly, rooster's team consisted of himself, thalia, natasha, bob, payback, and fanboy, and hangman had himself, coyote, omaha, harvard, yale, and fritz.

hondo was ref, placing the balls down for the first round.

"ready... set.... hut!" he shouted, and the game was on.

1077 words- again, fairly heavy lol. if y'all are enjoying the fanfic lmk!- C xox