Danger Zone - Top Gun: Maverick

18. Intermission

"I was just joking about that!"
"I wasn't." Phoenix crossed her arms while Fanboy and Payback laughed and made fun of Bradley.

"Phoe, you've got shotgun, right?" Nova walked up to her car, joining the five pilots after getting off the ship.

"Are you serio-" Rooster starts but cuts himself off when he sees Bob opening the trunk of Nova's car.

"Looks comfy." Bob grinned.

Rooster finally obliged, climbing into the back of the car and crouching his long legs.

"What the hell are you doing?" Maverick asked, walking by with pure confusion.

"Don't worry about it. Hard Deck tonight?" Nova asks, closing Rooster in the trunk.

"I might stop by." He nods.

"Alright then, see ya."

"You kids all buckled in?" Nova asks the group as she climbs into the drivers seat of her car.

"Yep!" Everyone says, everyone except for Bradley.

"Nope!" He shouts and peaks his head out from behind the backseat.

"This is hilarious." Phoenix laughs out loud, pulling out her polaroid camera to take a picture of them in the car.

Bradley flips off the camera right as she takes the photo. And then as a car cuts her off, Nova slams on her breaks. Everyone is fine, but Bradley rolls around in the back of the car. "Sorry!" Nova shouts.

The whole squadron went to the Hard Deck that night. Penny wasn't in town, but luckily Nova had a spare key and let everyone in, her and Bradley scaring as the bartenders for a bit. They all had a lot of fun now that the stress of the mission was over. The group was now more a group of friends than coworkers, and they actually did enjoy spending time together. Maverick came and even Warlock, Hondo, and Cyclone stopped by for a bit. As the night went on, Nova's brain was like a motor. All she could think about was what was gonna happen next. Her and Bradley were in some kind of relationship, her father was back with Penny and back in her and Bradley's lives. Iceman was gone. And they all had one month on leave to figure shit out.

Nova glanced out the window and saw Maverick standing on the porch looking out at the ocean. Bradley seemed to have sensed where she was looking and nudged her to go talk to her father.

"Hmm?" Nova hummed in question.

"You should go talk to him."

"So should you." She pointed out.

"I have. I made my amends with him, now it's your turn." He hits her where it hurts.

"Me and him are fine. There's not much to talk about, we've gotten along pretty much this whole time."

"Because you had to. I know you've been avoiding talking about your relationship with him."

Nova sighs.

"Do you think this time is different? Like maybe he won't leave this time like he used to always do?" Nova allows herself to get vulnerable.

"I think so, but if you have to wonder that then you should just go ask him." Bradley urges, and Nova finally agrees.

The girl squeezes her way between two aviators and reaches the double doors to the porch. She takes a deep breath when Maverick turns around at the sound of the door opening.

"Hey, Dad." Nova says hello, feeling like a child all over  again.

"Hey, Nov." He smiles at her.

"Whatcha doing out here all alone?" She asks casually.

"Just thinking." He takes a sip of his beer.

There's a minute of silence as the two of them are caught staring at the waves in the night sky.

"Penny said she didn't want to be here for when...if I didn't come back. She told me she'd be back in a week or two."

"Oh. So uhh, are you guys...?"

"Yeah. Nova, this is it for me. I'm not letting her down again, I'm gonna be with Penny forever." He admits.

"Are you gonna let me down?" She throws out the question.

"What do you mean by that, honey?" He turns to her.

"I just mean...I guess...we haven't ever really gotten along, and you're never around. You've always been on the move and I know it's your job but I've just been wondering...when are you gonna stay in one place?"

"I'm sorry. I know I haven't been the best fathe-"

"That's not what im saying..."

"No, but it's true. I've let my career take over my entire life and I should've made more time for you. So, I'm staying here in Fightertown."

"You are?"

"Yeah. Cyclone wants me to teach at Top Gun after how well these guys did on the mission. I figured I'll teach for a couple years then retire with Penny."

"That's umm...that's really cool, Dad.  What are you doing for your month off?"

"Going back to Mojave...I figured you and Rooster could stop by and help me fix up an old F-14." He grins at her.