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callsignmercy · 1 year

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I'm sorry - Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

Prompt: Rivals to friends to enemies to friends to lovers in 8.5k words. That’s it. That’s the entire fic.

Words: ~8.5k

Warning: near-death experience, Jake being a dick. Rooster being the best friend we deserve. Phoenix being extra supportive and ready to kick Jake’s ass any moment. Language. Happy ending. Lots of hate before that. Idk anymore.

Note: found a tweet that said « enemies to lovers isn’t enough. I need rivals to friends to enemies to friends again to lovers. » So here’s the whole experience in a Hangman fic for you. I’m currently writing three (3) other fics about Rooster, Iceman and Bob but decided to write an entirely different and super long one about hangman because HANGMAN. but anyway here it is people. This is highly unedited. please don’t copy, repost or translate my work. English is not my first language so apologies for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Enjoy!

Y/C/S: Your callsign.

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To say Jake Seresin was getting on your nerves was a euphemism. He was infuriating. Always had to be the best at anything and everything. Being the best in the air wasn’t sufficient for him. Oh no, on the contrary. He had to be the best in class, in the air, even at darts and pool and even had to be the one that drank the most without being actually drunk. What the hell is wrong with him?

You were rivals at Top Gun. Being in the same class as him had its ups and downs. You could actually thank him for being so stubborn and competitive as it gave you will to be better at what you do. And yet he was always better than you. But you didn’t abandon the fight. You didn’t really mind in the end. Being at Top Gun already was an achievement. Even if it meant coming up second in the end.

The thirteen weeks of the program were almost coming to an end and you doubted you could top Hangman before the end but it wasn’t really a big deal for you. Even though it was for him.

“Guess I’ll be winning this after all Y/C/S! Don’t get mad though you did well honey.” He said with a smirk. “Why thanks darling, I’ll be sure to kiss your ass on the way out.” You replied sarcastically. He smiled brightly and you rolled your eyes at him.

You all headed to The Hard Deck at the end of the day to get some fun time together.

You were nursing your beer at the bar, talking with Penny, as you usually did. “So, almost done with Top Gun then?” She asked. “Yup, only one week left and I’m out. I don’t know if I’ll get a new assignment at the end of this though. I kinda want to go back to the warriors, I really liked it back there. Had friends and everything.” “You didn’t make any friends those past twelve weeks?” “Why do you think I’m here every Friday night sitting at the bar and talking to you?” “Ouch.” She replied. “That’s not what I meant, you know it.” You smiled. “I know but come on, none of them are your friends now?” “They’re rivals mostly. Hangman still gives me a run for my money every time we’re in the air.” “You should stop considering them rivals and become a little more friendly, some of them might become more than that?” “If you’re talking about getting in a relationship that’s a hard pass. I’m not jeopardising my future and my potential second place for any of those men. What I am saying, men, they’re still boys. Immature ones on top of that.” “Yeah well Jake’s looking at you.” She smirked.

Your head shoots up meeting the eyes of Hangman, smiling at you.

He puts down his beer and comes over to you.

“Why is he coming here?” You ask Penny, starting to panic. “I don’t know, but you’ll find out.” She smirks.

“Alright Y/C/S, I’m tired of seeing you all alone every Friday night when we come here. Come play darts with me and Coyote.” He says and offers you his hand. “We’re rivals Hangman, why do you care?” You ask, suspicious, narrowing your eyes. “Alright, how about we call a truce. We can be friends from now on and still fight each other up in the air. But you seem like a good person and I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to be friends with a nice and outgoing person like you.” You seem genuinely surprised by his words and think for a few seconds before taking his hand and smiling. “Alright Hangman, lead the way. Maybe I’ll finally beat you at something.” You smirk. He lets out a loud laugh before replying. “In your dreams.” You roll your eyes and follow him to the dart board where Coyote was waiting for you both.

“Ever played darts?” Jake asks. “Of course I have, who do you take me for?” “Okay then, you start.” He replies.

After a few games that all ended in exactly the same way, meaning Jake came first, you second and Coyote third, you gave up and went to the bar to get yourself and the guys another round of drinks. “Looks like It’s always gonna be this way uh? Me first and you second.” He smirks as he comes up to you at the bar. “Alright Hangman I get it, you’re the best in everything that exists. Happy?” You reply sarcastically. “Very.” He gives you a bright smile in response. You hand him his beer and go back to the back of the bar to give Coyote his. “Okay, how about a game of pool?” He ask. “So you can win and rub it in my face? Pass.” You reply, rolling your eyes.

“What if I let you win?” “It’s not fair, I want to win the normal way, just by being better than you.” “Oh come on, I just want to have friendly activities, I don’t want you moping around on your own like the other friday nights.” He whines. “I was not moping around, I was talking with Penny. She happens to be very interesting and very interested in what I have to say. Thank you very much.” “Alright, I’m sorry, I just want to be your friend. What do you want to do then?” “It’s okay we can play pool if you want, but I don’t want you to let me win.” “Deal.” He replies with a bright smile.

The night ended in yet another second place on your part and a first place on Jake’s but you didn’t really mind. Jake was nice to you and he offered to be your friend which was a nice change in your life. Even though you were still rivals at Top Gun, you were friends on land and that’s all that mattered.

The week went by pretty rapidly and you were sad when you woke up that Friday morning. You knew it was your last day being with all of them and you were not ready to let them all go. That last class taught by Warlock, that last dogfight up in the air, those last risky manoeuvres, all of those you’ll deeply miss at the end of that day and could only hope you’ll be back one day.

Before you went up in the air that last afternoon, walking side by side with Jake and Javy, you thought about all the memories you would bring back with you. You stopped by your jets and looked at them. “Well, last flight together boys. Try not to kill me. I’ll see you on the ground.” You smiled. “Try to make this one count guys.” Javy answered. “May the best fighter pilot win.” Jake winked at you and you rolled your eyes as per usual. “You know you should really stop doing that, one day you’ll get stuck with your eyes back there.” Jake grinned. You chuckled and rolled your eyes again before turning back and walking to your jet to check it before take-off.

Dogfighting was thrilling as usual and even though you gave it all, Jake managed to win the fight yet again. Leaving you in second place, not without a smile on your face.

The party that followed the last class was nice and seeing everyone happy made you incredibly emotional. After getting your diplomas and taking the class photos Jake came up to you and gave you a hug, congratulating you for those thirteen weeks spent being rivals with you.

“You really gave me a run for my money and I really appreciate the fact that you accepted to be friends in the end. I’m really proud of you and I hope we can see more of each other in the future.” He says with a genuine smile. “Thank you for all of this, and for being my friend. Did you get your assignment yet?” “Yeah, I’m going back to Lemoore and the vigilantes. What about you?” “Well looks like we’re going to see each other a lot more than you think.” “You’re coming to Lemoore too?” Yup, same squadron as you pal.” You smile. “Really?” He asks, hopeful, and you nod. “They want me in the vigilantes.” Jake isn’t able to contain his happiness and engulfs you in a tight hug. “Oh God, I’m so happy! You can’t imagine how sad I was to be letting a friend like you go back to Virginia while I was on the other side of the country.” “Easy Cowboy!” You laugh as he still wasn’t letting you get out of his arms.

The party came to an end and you were all headed to The Hard Deck for a last night together before going back to your assigned squadrons. You played a few games of darts and pool with Jake and Javy before eclipsing yourself to go sit on the beach. You looked at the stars and thought about those thirteen weeks and the people you’ll be leaving behind. You were happy to be stationed with Jake and Javy at Lemoore and even more to be on Jake’s squadron. You knew you’d make a great duo together.

“Thought I’d find you here.” You heard the familiar voice of your future wingman coming toward you and you smiled to yourself.

“Why are you here on your own?” He asks. “Just getting some fresh air. Thinking about it all.” You reply with an absent-minded smile on your face. “You know we’re not leaving each other right? You’ll still see my incredibly handsome physique everyday from now on.” You chuckled and nudged his side playfully. “Alright come here.” He said and offered you his chest to rest on. “I got a question.” He asks and you hum in response. “Last week you said that Penny listened to whatever you had to say to her, how come since last week you never said anything to me since? Like nothing really personal that you might have said to Penny.” He asks, concerned. “Because I don’t trust you to keep my secrets.” You smile.

“Oh wow okay, very nice.” He rolls his eyes. “No you don’t understand. We’ve been rivals for thirteen weeks, Penny and I were just casually chatting on Friday nights, I’m not going to see her again before a long time, probably ever. I trust her not to divulge anything I said to her and even if she did, who would know me? You, I still had a week left being your friend slash rival and I didn’t know if I could really trust you with my secrets. Let’s be honest you could have been making fun of me and repeating them to everyone just to ruin my reputation or jeopardise my second place.” You explain.

“Alright, you’re probably right. I shouldn’t force you to say anything to me but know that if you need, I’ll always be there to listen and help if I can.” “Thanks Jake, that’s very nice of you. I appreciate the gesture.” “You’re welcome Y/C/S.”

A few days later you landed in Lemoore with Jake and Javy and a few others of your Top Gun class.

“Well boys. Here we are. Back at it again.” “Well, I’ll see you soon guys. Please don’t die and good luck with whatever comes your way I guess.” Javy bid you goodbye before heading to his own squadron. “You too buddy.” Jake replies.

“Well here we go, Y/C/S. Ready?” “Ready as I’ll ever be Hangman. Show me the way.”

A few months passed since the end of Top Gun and you and Hangman were by far the best wingmen in the squadron. Being Top Gun graduates gave you the skills and aptitudes to be the winning team every time.

Most of your jobs consisted in flying and keeping track of enemy aircrafts and carriers. Yet after many months flying side by side together you were called on an important mission.

The mission wasn’t difficult as much as it was important. You were to collect data on enemy carriers who were seemingly too close from the Californian coast.

You went up in the air with Jake and headed toward the sea in a few minutes only.

“Do you see it Hangman?” “Yes I do. What do you think it’s doing here?” “No idea. Wait I got two aircrafts on my radar. Control, are they with us?” “Negative Y/C/S, no other F-18 are flying near your position.” “You think they’re enemy aircrafts? What would they be doing here? Do they want to cause a war or something?” You say to Jake. “No idea Y/C/S. Stay alert.”

Suddenly the enemy aircrafts came flying your way and passed very close to your own jets. “Jesus fuck. What the hell? Control, what do we do?” “They are not with us, I repeat they are not Americans. You can counter if anything happens.” “Copy control.” You reply. “Hangman you with me?” “Affirmative Y/C/S.” “Alright let’s see what they want. I’m going to try and get close to one of them.” “Be careful Y/C/S.”

You approached one of their jets and started signing to ask them who they were and why they were here but they ignored you. Jake was right behind you as the other aircraft dropped behind Jake. “Y/C/S, they’re getting into fight positions.” “yeah I saw that, break left on three. One, two, three.” You and Jake break left and the enemy aircrafts follow your paths.

The dogfight starts as you try to get them off you but they don’t seem to budge. “Control, we’re probably going to need some help here.” “We’re sending you backups, they should be here in a few minutes, hold tight.” You started panicking when you saw the two aircrafts behind you seemingly trying to shoot you down and asked Jake for help. “Hangman, they’re on my tail, get them off me.” You tried several manoeuvres, trying to get the jets off you but you received no answer from your wingman.

“Hangman, where are you?” Still no response. With an agile manoeuvre you managed to get behind one of them and shoot him down but the other didn’t seem to be as easy to get off you. “Hangman!” You screamed as you heard the tone and froze from the realisation that your time had probably come but you managed to pull the ejection handle and shot through the sky.

The panic attack started as you were actively trying to search for another aircraft in the sky, Jake’s jet, but could only see one, the one that just shot you down. “Control to Y/C/S are you okay? I repeat, are you okay?” “Yes control, I’m alright. Can you come pick me up?” “They’re already on their way, hold tight Y/C/S.”

It wasn’t long before you hit the ground and you barely had enough time to pack up your parachute before the medical team came to get you back to base. But what you could only think about was where the hell was your wingman. Had he been shot down? Was he dead?

You landed on base and walked up the take-off and landing runway up to the hospital to get checked out. Suddenly you stopped dead in your tracks as you read the name of Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin on his aircraft. The jet was here, and in perfect condition. So he wasn’t dead. He left you on your own up there. He left you there to die.

You went to get checked out and got out after a couple hours and headed to your admiral’s office to give him a report on what you saw and what happened.

“Lieutenant Y/L/N, come in.” You entered and saluted the admiral. “I’m here to give you my report on the mission and its outcome Admiral.” “Go on.” “At 10:00 Lieutenant Seresin and I went up to get information on the position of the enemy carrier near our coast and noticed two enemy aircrafts on our territory. I contacted the tower to get information on those jets and after getting confirmation that they were not American I tried to get in contact with them but was left with no response on their part. We noticed with Lieutenant Seresin that they were getting into fighting position and after getting cleared by control we tried to fight them back. At that point I lost communication with Lieutenant Seresin. I managed to shoot down one of them but was left alone and the other jet caught me and shot me down. I had to eject and called control for immediate assistance to which they replied and came to get me back to base. I got cleared by the medical staff and came straight to you sir.”

“Thank you Lieutenant. You may go.” “Sir, can I ask, where is Lieutenant Seresin?” “He came back before you were shot down, he might be somewhere on base.” “Thank you Sir.” You replied with a salute before leaving his office.

You went down to the changing room to get a quick shower and get changed before getting into a fresh flight suit as yours was drenched in sweat from your rocky beginning of the day.

A few minutes later, you went to the mess to get some lunch. It wasn’t before you got back to the tarmac that you saw Jake, doing the last checks before getting back on his jet. You approach him with a death glare.

“Were you going to come check on me?” You ask bitterly. He didn’t reply. His expression seemed to be a mix of sadness and terror. “I only have one question Jake. Why?” He tried to speak, he tried to say sorry but no sound came out of his mouth as tears pooled in his eyes. “You left me on purpose up there? If I didn’t ask you before, now I know why your callsign is Hangman. Leaving people out to dry. At the mercy of heartless people up there. I knew I couldn’t trust you with my secrets. Now I know I can’t trust you with my life. From now on I never want to see you again.”

Tears made their way up to your eyes but you turned around before Jake could see them. You went back to the Admiral’s office and knocked on his door.

“Come in.” You entered and saluted. “What can I do for you Lieutenant Y/L/N?” “If it’s not too much trouble I would like to get my old post back at the Golden Warriors in Virginia, Sir.” “What guided your decision?”

“I came to the realisation that California might not be made for me after all.” “Are you sure?” “I am Sir.” “Alright. I’ll make some calls and get you back to Virginia. We’ll miss you here Lieutenant, you were a great asset to this squadron.” “Thank you Sir, for everything.” You saluted and left the admiral’s office.

You went back to your quarters to pack your belongings. After an hour, the Admiral called you back into his office. “Lieutenant, I hope your bag is ready, you’re leaving with a fret in ten minutes.” “I’m ready Sir. Thank you for everything.”

You were boarding the fret plane that was about to get you to Virginia when you saw him. Jake, a few metres away from your plane, looking at you with sadness. You looked at him and shook your head before climbing up on the plane, never to see him again.

Being back to the warriors was a joy. You met up with your old friends and comrade whom you left when leaving for Top Gun. They were so happy to see you again and so happy to find out that you came second in your Top Gun class. They knew you were posted with the vigilantes for a few months, you didn’t, however, tell them about the reason you came back to them.

“So does this mean I’m getting my best wingwoman back?” You turn to meet the voice that said this with a bright smile on your face. “Oh my God, Hi Rooster! I’m so happy to see you again!” “You too Y/C/S, it’s been too long. You’re finally back with us? Did they mistreat you or something?” He asks, furrowing his eyebrows. “It’s complicated. You give him a small smile with your answer. “Alright, we’ll talk about it later.”

As it was friday evening when you came back, you comrades and you were headed to the bar as usual. “Hi Y/N, it’s been so long! Where have you been?” Lila, the bartender asks you. “Hi Lila, I was stationed in California but I’m back for good now.” You smile at her. “Good to know, the usual for you guys?” Everybody agrees and Lila gets to work as you head toward the pool table with the rest of the guys.

“So tell me all about what happened. There has to be an excellent reason for you to be back otherwise you would have stayed back in Lemoore.” Rooster asks you as he takes the pool sticks and hands one to you. “Alright, alright, I almost died.” You reply, sighing. “What?” Rooster says, shocked.

“Yeah, my wingman left me with two enemy aircrafts and I had to eject after getting toned. I almost died this morning.” “This morning?” “Yeah it happened at 10 o’clock I got back and asked Hangman for explanations which he couldn’t give me so I went to see the Admiral and asked to come back to my old squadron and he accepted.”

“Wait, Hangman left you up there?” “Yeah you know him?” “Who do you think gave him the callsign? I was with him at the navy academy.” “Yeah well, I thought he was my friend, turns out I was wrong. I told him I never wanted to see him again.” “You did good, and I’m so glad you’re here Y/C/S, I missed you.” He gives you a genuine smile and you start your game as the beers arrive at your tables.

Going back to the Golden Warriors was the best decision you took in a while. You truly felt at home there. You knew you could count on your comrades and they could count on you.

The year after, Rooster went to Top Gun too and decided to be assigned back to the warriors which felt like a relief to you as he was your closest friend there. Following Bradley’s return, you and Rooster were stationed abroad for a few years as wingmen.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Y/C/S! Happy birthday to you.” Your whole squadron sang in unison in honour of your thirtieth birthday and you smiled brightly at them.

“So how is it being thirty?” Rooster asks you. “Well not a great change if you ask me. I’m still surrounded by the best people there are. Even six years later I’m still not tired of hanging out with you guys. As Rooster was about to reply both of your phones rang.

“Hello?” “Lieutenant Y/L/N, this is Vice Admiral Simpson. You’ve been called back to Top Gun for a top secret mission. You are to be on base at 0900 in two days.” “Copy Sir.”

You hung up the phone at the same time as Rooster and turned to face him. “I’ve been called back to Top Gun, I have to leave tomorrow.” He says. “Do you really think you’re going alone?” You smirk and he gives you a bright smile in response.

The next day you pack your bags and go to the airport to get on a plane for Miramar. “Hey you!” You exclaim when you see Bradley coming up to you. “How you doing Y/N?” “I’m good, I can’t wait to go back there, it’s been so long.” “What do you think we’re gonna do there?” “I don’t know but I intend to find out and I’m not going back to Virginia before we succeed on this top secret mission.”

“Make it two.” “Who do you think will join us there? This can’t possibly be just the two of us.” “Well I think there’s a girl that I was at Top Gun with that’ll join us, her name’s Phoenix. And well, maybe you know who else.” “Yeah don’t tell me about it.” You reply, losing your smile.

“It’s been six years Y/C/S, maybe he’s changed.” “Or maybe he’s still the exact same Roo.” He gives you a sad smile when the voice calls for your flight to board.

“There’s no comparison, I really prefer to be the one flying, this thing was way too long.” You exclaim arching your back to try and relieve the pain that developed during the hours you sat on the uncomfortable plane seat. “I agree, Y/C/S.” “Why couldn’t we take a fret to fightertown uh?” “Because it’s a top secret mission Y/C/S, people can’t know where we’re going, remember?” “Ah yeah, right. Well how about we go to The Hard Deck to end the day before tomorrow uh?” “Let’s go!” Rooster replies.

“Bradshaw! Is that you?” A woman’s voice exclaimed. “Ah that should be Phoenix, the girl I told you about.” “This is how I find out you’re stateside?” “Yeah I just thought I’d surprise you.” “Uhm.” Phoenix uhmed as she took her shot at pool and struck Bradley in the stomach with her pool stick. “I guess I surprised you back.” “It’s good to see you.” “Good to see you too.”

“Y/C/S this is Phoenix, Phe this is Y/C/S. We’re together at the warriors.” “Nice to meet you Phoenix.” You smile, giving her your hand to shake. She shook your hand with a smile. “You too.” “I hope Rooster’s not giving you too much trouble back there.” “He’s alright, I have to shake him up from time to time, you know.” “Oh believe me I know. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have won Top Gun right, Bradshaw?” She grinned and you chuckled.

“Bradshaw. As I live and breathe.” Oh you knew that voice alright. The smug voice of your once best-friend, Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin. You rolled your eyes and kept on discussing with Phoenix, hidden behind her figure. Jake hadn’t seen you yet, too focused on messing with your wingman. “Hangman.” Rooster deadpanned. “You look… good.” “Well I am good Rooster. I am very good. In fact I am too good to be true.” He said with a smirk and everybody shook their heads and rolled their eyes in response.

“So…” Payback intervened to ease up the tension. “Anybody know what this uh- special detachment is all about?” “Well, mission's a mission.” Jake answered. “They don’t confront me. What I wanna know… who’s gonna be team leader. And which one of y’all has what it takes to follow me.” “Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.” Rooster replied, not missing a beat. Your heart dropped, hearing the word come out of Rooster’s mouth, making you relive the moment once again. At that point Phoenix had moved and you were in full view of Jake but when he saw you, his expression didn’t change one bit. Some of them knew what he had done which made the moment uncomfortable for everyone but nobody said anything.

Fanboy, who wasn’t aware of your past with Jake oohed in the background, making everybody stop on their track but Jake’s smirk remained on his face nonetheless. “Well anyone who follows you is just gonna run out of fuel. But that’s just you ain’t it Rooster? You’re snug on that perch waiting for just the right moment… that never comes.” Jake replied, not to appear weak after Rooster’s comment. Rooster knew better but to reply to Jake after that and held his tongue. “I love this song.” Jake said and moved from the table.

You and Phoenix approach Rooster, still looking at Jake. “Well he hasn’t changed.” Phoenix says. “Nope. Sure hasn’t.” Rooster replies, looking back at you, making sure you were alright after their exchange.

After that, Rooster headed toward the jukebox to unplug it and piss off Jake for not listening to his favourite song and sat down at the piano. “I hope you’re okay. Rooster told me what happened to you with Jake when we were at Top Gun together.” Phoenix says to you. “I’m alright. But trust me, I won’t let him be team leader if that’s the last thing I ever do.” “I’ll help you, we can’t follow someone like that.”

“Hi Y/C/S.” Coyote came up to greet you with a small smile on his lips. “Hi Javy, how are you doing?” “Well, I’m alright, I’m glad to see you again after so long, I’m sad you didn’t come say goodbye when you left.” “Yeah well, you know, life happened.” His expression saddened but you gave him a soft smile and a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye, Javy, I took a quick decision and didn’t look back before I left.” “It’s alright, I understand.” He replied.

Rooster began to play the keys to Great Balls of Fire and Phoenix beckoned you all to go join Rooster.

The next morning at 9am you were all on base as asked by the vice admiral. Jake hadn’t talked to you at The Hard Deck last night and hasn’t laid eyes on you ever since you all arrived this morning. You didn’t know how to feel. You were torn between sadness of seeing your old friend not wanting to talk nor apologise to you but you were also relieved that he didn’t because you wouldn’t know how to react and you were scared to fall down in tears in front of him.

But in the end all you wanted was to know why you weren’t important enough for him to let alone to die.

—

“I’m dead, dickhead!” Phoenix said. You had to admit, seeing Hangman leave Phoenix and Bob on their own during dogfighting had a bitter taste and reminded you of your near death experience. You still couldn’t figure out why he would leave people out to dry like that all the time, why he had this need to escape danger and then save the day in the end just to appear like the hero of the day when all he did was flee.

You were about to go up for dogfighting with Payback and Fanboy when you heard Phoenix shout after Hangman. “You gonna do that everytime? Risk everyone’s life like that just to protect yourself? We’re a team up there Bagman. I know you almost killed Y/C/S six years ago and I won’t let you pull that stuff again with another one of us.I’m going to protect them by not letting you be team leader, believe me on that.” She pointed a finger at him during her speech and he didn’t say a word in return. She walked away as soon as she ended her rant and headed back to the rec room to meet the others.

You went up and waited for Maverick to show up with the guys. “Guys, you see him?” “Negative Y/C/S.” Suddenly you see Maverick drop down right in front of you, your jet facing his, coming at you. You wanted to take a shot but you also wanted to avoid getting toned so you dropped down to escape.

“Guys I need you on my right for this, I’ve got an idea.” You say to your wingmen. After turning around and getting chased by Maverick for a few minutes you managed to slow down and invert your plane so that you could get behind him and take your shot while Payback and Fanboy shot up in front of his jet to surprise him.

“That’s a kill Mav!” You exclaim out of breath. You heard Payback and Fanboy screaming of joy in their jet and couldn’t help but laugh. You were ordered to go back to base and turn your jet around, back to the tarmac. You saw Phoenix and Rooster running up to you to congratulate you as you were the first to shoot Maverick down all day. Even Jake couldn’t manage it.

After a few days, Jake still hadn’t said a word to you nor looked at you and you started to feel sad that he lied to you about being important to him. You thought that if you were that important he would have explained why he left you on your own that day. But he still hadn’t dared approach you.

“You alright Y/C/S?” Rooster asked you at the end of the first week, as you were all headed to The Hard Deck for a few drinks. “Not sure.” “Is this about Hangman?” You nodded and he pursed his lips. “You know, in my opinion you should either forget about it all and move on or face the problem head on and go talk to Hangman to get answers because it seems like he won’t be the one willing to give them to you.”

“I think I just need closure. I need him to explain why he did it, that's it. After that I’ll leave him alone if that’s what he wants but I just need to know.” “Then you should go see him and get your answers because otherwise you’ll never get ‘em.” “Yeah you’re probably right.” You sighed.

“Hi Penny, how you doing?” “I’m great, I’m so glad you’re all back here. Has your week been okay?” “It has, thanks.” “What can I get you?” “I’ll take 6 beers please.” “Comin’ up.” While Penny was getting your order you took a look around the bar to see if you recognized any familiar faces in the lot, only to be met by Jake’s eyes, staring at you with sadness while holding a conversation with Coyote.

You turned back to Penny and she put down the six beers you ordered in front of you. “Open a tab for me please.” You say as you handed her your card. You headed back to the table where you sat with Rooster, Phoenix, Payback, Fanboy and Bob and gave them their beers not looking back at Jake once.

As the night went on you forced yourself not to think about him but you could feel his eyes on your back and it made you uncomfortable. You excused yourself to go to the bathroom and walked out of the bar to get fresh air. “It’s alright.” You thought to yourself. “It’s alright.I’m alright.” You breathed. You walked up to the beach and sat down on the sand.

You felt someone come up to you and sit down in the sand next to you. You didn’t need to turn your head to see who it was, you could smell the cologne a mile away.

“I’m sorry.” He said in a whisper. “What for?” You asked not nearly louder. “Almost killing you.” “Why did you do it?” “I don’t know.” “Well you must know something.” “I saw my life flashing before my eyes up there, I thought I was going to die and I left you when they were chasing you because it was my only chance to escape. I’m sorry.”

“I thought I was your friend.” Tears made their way up to your eyes. “I thought you were my wingman and I thought I was important enough for you to not let me die. I was right, I can’t trust you up there.” “I’m sorry.” He repeated. “It’s gonna take a whole lot more than that, trust me.” You stated as you got up and went back inside.

“Y/C/S, I’m appointing you team leader.” Maverick said the next wednesday. “Thank you sir.” You replied, not feeling entirely ready for the task, but proud that he believed in you nonetheless. You finished training a week early as the mission had been updated and left that morning to get on the carrier that would bring you close enough to enemy coastlines.

“Y/C/S, your two fox-trot teams?” Cyclone asked. “Payback and Fanboy, Phoenix and Bob.” They looked at you with an expression of surprise mixed with anxiousness and fear. “And your wingman?” You looked at them all. “Rooster.” He knew you would pick him as you made a great team back with the warriors.

You all got ready to get in your jets. “Don’t leave me alone up there alright?” You asked Rooster. “I promise you I won’t.” “Alright, let’s go light up some things.”

“Dagger one is hit! I repeat dagger one is hit!” You heard Phoenix shout through your com as you ejected from your superhornet after almost getting hit by enemy fire. You landed on the ground and quickly tried to pack up your parachute when another enemy aircraft noticed you and tried to kill you.

You ran away as fast as you could but knew your life was almost to an end when you heard a loud explosion behind you. You turned your head around, still running when you saw the enemy crashing down and saw Rooster flying away mere seconds before getting shot down. You froze on the spot, not believing what you saw and hoped Rooster wasn’t dead when you saw his seat eject from his jet and his parachute open.

You let out a sigh of relief before running up to where Rooster was going to land. You ran up to him and tackled him to the ground in a tight hug. Rooster let out a loud oof before returning the hug. “Thank you for coming to save me.” “I would never let you die Y/C/S.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Rooster whispers as you were looking at the last enemy aircraft left intact. “Yeah well, that’s the only solution we’ve got isn’t it? Nobody can come get us and if we get caught we die. So…” You walked quickly to the F-14 in the makeshift hanger and looked at the panel next to it. “Alright let me remember this.” You say, closing your eyes.

“You know how to pilot this?” “Yeah well, I got bored reading my F-18 NATOPS, so I got back to the old ones.” You shrugged. “Jesus Christ.” “Okay.” You started lighting up buttons and opened the canopy. “Once I give you the signal for the air, you’re gonna flip this switch until the needle gets to 120. When the engine starts you’re gonna pull out the pins and disconnect everything. You understand?” You ask seriously. “Yeah.” He replies.

You flip the switch and air starts running through the pipes. “Yes!” You exclaim. “Once I’m up, store the ladder.” You say as you put your helmet back on and climb into the two-seater.

“Okay.” You say to yourself. “I hope I remember this correctly.” You add, flipping some switches and giving Bradley the signal. He does as asked and removes the pins before climbing up into the plane. “Oh my God, this thing’s so old!” He exclaims. “Alright.” You push down the stick and the plane starts moving. You get in place on the cratered runway and hope to God this will work.

“Runway’s cratered. How are we gonna get this museum piece in the air?” “I got an idea.” You reply and deploy the wings. “Why are the wings coming out Y/C/S?” You ignore him and keep pulling buttons. “Y/C/S this is a taxiway, not a runway. This is a very short taxiway Y/C/S.” You keep ignoring him and push down the stick. “You just hang on.” You say and let go of the pedal and the jet starts moving quickly. “Holy shit!” “Come on, come on, come on.” You pray to no one in particular and the plane starts going up.

As you made your way back to the carrier Bradley turned on his geolocation for the carrier to track him. “Y/C/S tally two, five o’clock low.” Bradley says to you. “What do we do?” “Okay look, be cool. If they knew who we were we’d be dead already.” You both put on your masks and tried to act normal as the enemy aircrafts got closer to you.

You kept fighting the two aircrafts and managed to shoot one down and make the other crash into a mountain below. “You alright Y/C/S?” Rooster asks. “I’m out of breath, this shit’s so hard to pilot. I’ll be glad to get an F-18 back when all this is over.” “I bet you do! Not sure they’ll be happy we crashed two multi-million dollar planes though.” He says and you chuckle in response.

You were finally flying above the ocean, only miles away from the carrier and you gave a sigh of relief to know this will finally be over. Only to be met with a ringing sound in the plane, warning you that an enemy plane was near you again. “Oh my God.” You whispered and looked everywhere. “Where the hell is this guy?” “He’s on our nose.” You deadpan.

You try to shoot him but nothing comes out. “Dammit! We’re out of ammo.” You say as you see a missile coming out of the enemy plane and coming straight at you. “Smoke in the air! Rooster flares!” You shout and break left. Rooster pushes the button that would eject the last flares of the plane and confuse the missile. “We’re out of flares Y/C/S!” He shouts. “Shit he’s already on us!”

You get attacked by the enemy as he tries to shoot you down with his guns. “Aaah this is not good!” Bradley screams. You do whatever is in your power to avoid enemy fire but you’re exhausted. “We took another hit!” “No no no no!” You exclaim. “We can’t take much more of this!” Rooster says after you get hit again. “We can’t outrun this guy, we gotta eject!” “What?” “We need altitude. Pull the ejection handles the second I tell you.” “Y/C/S wait !”

“Rooster, there's no other way!” You shout as you pull the stick as hard as you can and your plane shoots up almost vertically. “Eject! Eject! Eject!” Rooster tries to pull the handles but nothing happens. “Rooster pull the handle! Eject!” “It’s not working!” “Y/C/S!” He shouts.

“I’m sorry.” You kept going, slowly coming to the realisation that you were going to die. You didn’t want to eject either because you didn’t want to be responsible for Rooster’s death.

So you stayed like that. Awaiting your fate. You closed your eyes and prayed silently.

You awaited the missile that would finally kill you, saying sorry to Rooster. When you suddenly heard a loud explosion behind you. You turned your head along with Rooster to check out what just happened.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen! This is your saviour speaking. Please fasten your seatbelts, return your tray tables to their locked and upright positions and prepare for landing.” You heard the smug voice of Jake Seresin through your intercom and tears made their way up in your eyes. You didn’t dare look at him because you wouldn’t know what to do.

“Hey Hangman! You look good!” “I am good, Rooster! I’m very good. I’ll see you back on deck.” He says before heading back to the carrier as you followed.

When you crash-landed on the carrier you finally let yourself cry a little before getting out of your plane.

“Was this the kind of sorry you’re willing to accept from me?” Jake shouts through the noise as he approaches you after getting out of his plane. “Thank you.” You tell him with tears in your eyes. He hesitates but finally engulfs you in a tight hug which you reciprocate. “I’ve missed you those last six years. I’m so sorry for what I did. You can’t imagine how sorry I am and how terrified I was that you almost died.” You could feel his tears crashing on your flight suit as you hug him tighter. “I want my friend back.” He says in a whisper but you heard him nonetheless. “You got her Jake.”

You spend the two days it took you to go back stateside reminiscing with Jake about your lost six years.

That afternoon when you landed, you all headed to The Hard Deck to get a few drink to celebrate.

“Who are you looking at like that?” Phoenix asks you that evening. “Uhm?” You turn your head to her. “You look lovesick. Who are you looking at?” She grins. “No one.” You state. “Is it Hangman?” She smirks. “No.” Your eyes go wide at her words. “Oh my God, you have a crush on Jake!” She exclaims, excited.

“Shhh! Don’t tell anyone okay? I thought we were just friends but turns out I might have harboured a tiny crush on him since Top Gun…” “Why didn’t you tell him?” “Because I’m obviously just his friend and I spent the last six years being mad at him?” “Well I think you should tell him.”

“We’ll be leaving each other tomorrow anyway. What change does it make?” “Well you obviously could be happier with him than you are right now and who knows, maybe he’ll stop trying to kill you when you’re in danger.” “I’ll be going back abroad with Bradley anyway, I won’t see him for another ten years probably, so no, I’m not going to tell him how I feel.”

“Tell who how you feel?” Rooster interrupted. “Nothi-” “Y/C/S has a crush on Hangman but won’t tell him because she says it’s pointless and she won’t be seeing him for years after tomorrow.” Phoenix replied, cutting your answer short. You sighed and looked down, nursing your beer. “Well Hangman just happened to tell me the exact same thing! How crazy?” Rooster grins.

Your head shoots up to meet Rooster’s face, looking for a lie in his eyes but nothing. “What are you talking about?”

“Jake’s been in love with you since Top Gun apparently. He wanted to tell you but he didn’t, don’t ask me why, and that day up in the sky he got so scared of possibly seeing you die that he just left. And he’s held himself accountable for that for six years and now he’s just too scared to tell you so he said he’d rather be friends with you if it just kept you near him.” “God you’re both so stubborn.” Phoenix slaps her forehead.

“There’s no point, Rooster and I are leaving tomorrow, we’ll be going back to Italy or probably be posted in Guam or Hawaii or something. I won’t be seeing him for years probably. I won’t make myself sad by him rejecting me or even worse, by him saying he loves me back and me leaving him like that.” You shake your head.

“Well I hate to break it to you Y/C/S but you’ve been asked to go back to the vigilantes. It’s up to you whether you want to go back with me or you want to have a future with Hangman.” Rooster shrugs. “I- what?” You furrow your brows. “Yeah, Cyclone told me when we landed. He’s going to call you tomorrow to get your answer. You should really think about it.” Rooster grins.

“I-uh I don’t know, guys. The decision was easy before. What do I do now?” You start panicking. “Well you go get yourself another drink and tell Jake you’re in love with him. Simple as that.” Phoenix nudges you towards the bar and inevitably, toward Jake.

You take small steps toward the bar and order yourself another beer. “Go tell her!” You hear Coyote whisper to Jake behind you. “No dude I can’t, she’s leaving tomorrow I won’t see her again, what’s the point?” “I’m telling you she looks at you like you hung the moon, go tell her you feel the same or I swear I’ll do it for you.” Javy urges.

Penny hands you your beer and you turn around, facing Jake, whom Javy had pushed toward you in a desperate attempt to make him talk to you.

“Oh sorry!” You say, almost hitting Jake when you turned around. “It’s alright, can-uh can we go talk outside?” “Uh yeah, let’s go.” You start panicking.

“Y/N I-uh. I need to tell you something. I believe it’s pointless because you’ll be going back to Virginia or wherever tomorrow and I’ll go back to Lemoore but Javy believes I should tell you so…” He starts playing with his fingers, not sure what to say now. “I-uh. I like you.” He says looking up at you.

“I like you a lot. I’ve like you since Top Gun and I never told you and I regretted it for the last six years but here I am, being the better man and telling you how I feel.” Your heart is racing and tears make their way to your eyes. You don’t know what to say, you didn’t know you would ever hear him say those words to you. “Please say something.” He begs.

“I like you too Jake. I’ve liked you since Top Gun, even though I spent the last six years hating you I feel like I’ve never stopped loving you. And I also believed it was pointless to tell you but now I’m not so sure anymore.” “We’re gonna figure out a way to see each other, don't worry. I’m not letting you go again, I promise.” “It’s alright Jake, I already have a solution.” You give him a watery grin.

“You do?” “I’ve been asked to go back to the vigilantes.” “Oh God I could kiss you right now.” He smiles widely. “Yeah I wonder why you still haven’t actually.” You shrug. He looks at you with nothing but love and cups your cheeks before putting his lips on yours.

Inside, Javy, Natasha and Bradley are high-fiving and cheering seeing you two finally admitting your love to each other.

“Please, don’t ever leave me up there on my own again.” “I won’t baby, I promise.” You grin before kissing him again.

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callsignmercy · 1 year

Text

The voicemail - Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

Prompt: Jake calls you to tell you he still loves you after ten years.

Words: ~2.5k

Warning: slight mention of death but nothing serious.

Note: I’m sick and I feel like shit so I wrote a shitty piece. I don’t like this and probably will edit it later but anyway here it is. Please don’t copy of repost my work. English is not my first language so apologies for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar.

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The voicemail went like this: “Hi it’s me. Uh it’s uh- it’s Jake. Seresin. I don’t know why I’m calling really… I think I just wanted to hear your voice. It’s been so long since I’ve heard it… I’m sorry we broke up. Truth is, I should never have done it. I should have known that I would never stop loving you even after all these years. But you might have moved on since then, and if you’ve found someone else I’m happy for you really. Forget I ever called, it was a mistake. We’re going on a top secret and insanely difficult mission for Top Gun in a few hours and truth be told I’m terrified. I wish we could’ve had more time together but those few high school years were worth it because you were there with me. I should have never made that stupid decision of leaving you when I got into aviation and I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me. Anyway I don’t have much time and I’ve been drinking a little so, forget I ever called. Another thing I shouldn’t have done. Anyway, bye.”

Jake Seresin, whom you haven’t talked to in about ten years after he broke up with you when he joined the navy just called you to tell you he shouldn’t have left you? What the hell is happening?

You were trying to understand what came through his mind to gather up the courage to call and confess to you after so many years, and just hours before probably dying.

No but how dare he? Seriously! You were fuming. Admitting his love for you after a decade like it was nothing while casually telling you he might never come back?

But who were you kidding really? Of course you loved him back, you never stopped thinking about him actually. Even after ten years he was still in the back of your mind. But anyhow, how dare he break your heart like that? You contemplated calling him back but decided against it. You didn’t want to ruin his mission which he said could potentially be fatal. Oh God. You couldn’t dare think about the love of your life potentially dying.

Suddenly you jumped on your feet, packed a few clothes and took your car keys and drove away. After all Miramar was only two hours away…

When you woke up in the late morning and listened to his voicemail you knew he had already left as he had called the night before but you decided to go anyway. Wait for him. Wherever.

You arrived at Miramar in the late afternoon and stopped at a navy bar to get something to drink.

“Hi, what can I get you hun?” The bartender said. “A coke please.” You replied. “I’m Penny by the way. Did you come for the holidays?” “Nice to meet you, I’m Y/N. Actually it’s a spontaneous and maybe incredibly stupid decision that I took about two hours ago for someone that will probably never show up here.”

Penny seemed confused. “What do you mean?” She asked. “An old boyfriend of mine, like ten years old boyfriend called yesterday to tell me he regrets breaking up with me and also casually said that he was going on a mission that he could probably never come back from. He’s a pilot for the navy by the way. And so I don't know why I decided to come here to see him even though I know they’ve already left.” “Yes they left this morning.” She replied and your head shot up to look at her. She had a sad smile on her face. “I rekindled with an old boyfriend of mine too that flies for Top Gun and so he told me he might not come back. They left this morning.” She explains.

“And how do you manage something like that? What do you do?” You ask. “The best thing is hope. You know Top Gun pilots are the best in the world, you just have to trust that they’ll succeed and come back to you.” “And what if he doesn’t? What if he never knows that I came here for him, that I still love him?” Tears were slowly making their way up but you fought them, not wanting to appear vulnerable in front of a total stranger. “Who is it you’re waiting for?” “Jake Seresin. You know him?” She smiles. “Yeah I know him, he’s cocky but he’s a nice guy and I’m sure he’ll come back, especially if he didn’t get an answer back from you, I swear he’ll come back to get it.” You laugh at her answer. “Do you know how long they’ll be gone?” “No idea, Pete didn’t tell me. But I’m sure they’ll come here as soon as they come back stateside.” “Can you recommend a place to stay while waiting for them?” “You’re going to stay in Miramar?”

“Well I can’t possibly go back home and come back here every single day.” “You’re right. Well, there’s a motel not far from here if you want, or if you’d like you could help me here a few hours a day and in exchange you could sleep on my couch. Your pick.” “Well, It would sure occupy my days to work a little, rather than hoping and stressing all day.” “Then it’s settled, you’ll start tomorrow.” She smiles and you smile back.

“So tell me about you and Hangman.” Penny asks the next day as you were working together. “Hangman?” You replied. “Jake. Hangman is his callsign, they get one when they become pilots.” “Why Hangman?” “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him I guess.” “Sure. Well Jake and I used to date in high school, we met when we were both freshman and dated until after we graduated but he broke up with me when he signed up for the navy.” “Why?” “He said he was leaving for a long time, that he didn’t think a long distance relationship would work. I cried for days.” “I can understand. Pete and I were just hooking up from time to time back then but when he came back a couple of weeks ago I felt things I hadn’t felt in a long time. It took a while for me to let him back in but now we’re happy and I can’t wait for him to come back.” “ I’m genuinely happy for you Penny.” “Don’t worry, Jake will be really happy to see you too I’m sure.” “I can only hope so.”

After a few days, Penny decided that she wanted to go on a little holiday with her daughter Amelia and left you in charge of the bar. The night wasn’t really busy so you handled things well, serving up patrons and cleaning up tables, hoping yet again to see a certain man come through the doors of the bar.

“So you’re telling me that you left your high school sweetheart a voicemail saying that you still love her and you should never have broken up with her and in the same sentence telling her she can forget about you ‘cause you’ll certainly die?” “Yes Phoenix, for the hundredth time, I did it and I don’t know why I did it.” That voice sounded rather familiar to you and you froze on the spot, not believing your ears. “Well Hangman, let me tell you yet again how stupid you are.” “Thank you Phoenix I think I’ve heard it enough. I’ll probably never see her again anyway so you can stop talking about it now.” Jake sighs and they all head for the pool table. You watch as Jake walks, talking with the woman named Phoenix, still not believing that it was really him in front of you after so many years.

“I’ll get the first round.” Phoenix says. “Hi, what can I get you?” You ask her. “I’ll get seven beers please. Are you new? I’ve never seen you here before.” “Yeah, I started working here a few days ago. I’m Y/N by the way.” “Natasha, pleasure to meet you Y/N.” You smiled and handed her the beer and started a tab for her.

“Well Jake, if you want to forget all about your stupidity and the high school sweetheart you’ll never see again, there’s a new cute bartender, I’m sure your southern charms will work wonders on her.” “No thanks Phoenix. I’m still going to wait for an answer from Y/N and if she doesn’t I’m going to call her while being drunk again and demand that she answer me.” He replies ironically. Phoenix tilted her head when she heard you name come out of Jake’s mouth. “Well the girl at the bar said her name was Y/N so you might want to check if that’s your Y/N first.” Jake frowned and looked at the bar only to see you, serving drinks to the men on the other side of the bar. His face dropped and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of you after so many years, looking more beautiful than ever.

Phoenix bit her lip in excitement seeing Jake’s face and understanding what it meant. “Oh I love seeing love happen.” She whispers to her wizzo next to her.

Jake didn’t know how to react to seeing you after so long. He might have frozen for a few minutes before Rooster gave him a slight push to force him to go to the bar and talk to you.

He gave the pool stick to Rooster before walking awkwardly toward you. He gets to the bar as you turn around and you stop right then and there.

“You came.” Jake said matter-of-factly. You shrug. “You called.” You replied.

“What are you doing working here? Where’s Penny?” He asks, still not looking away from your eyes. “It’s a long story. How did you avoid death?” You ask. “It’s a long story.” He replies.

“Did you really come here for me?” He asked, hopeful. “I’m waiting for an actual explanation. For why you called me after ten long years to tell me you should never have broken up with me and why you scared the shit out of me by telling me you were probably going to die.” “I’m sorry I did. I just realised that it was the right thing to do, to tell you how I felt and hopefully you’ll feel the same.” “After ten years?” “Yeah well, I never stopped loving you, never stopped thinking about you, never stopped hoping we’ll meet again and nothing happened so I decided to take the matter into my own hands and call you to tell you everything.”

You looked at Jake for a few seconds before being called up at the other end of the bar to serve some people. You think about what Jake just said to you while doing your job. After a few minutes you wipe the bartop and sigh before turning back toward Jake, still a hopeful look on his face looking at you.

“Look I think about you all the time, I’ve got a photo of us constantly in my flight suit and in my cockpit. I constantly think of you when I’m up there. I don’t want to leave this world without knowing what you really feel. That's what keeps me from dying and helps me come back every time. I’ve never stopped loving you and if you want to take me back I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.” “I’ve waited ten years for you to come back, Jake. I’m not going to let you go again.” You say with tears in your eyes. “God I love you so much baby. I’ll do this right I promise. I’ll take you on dates and tell you how much I love you for the rest of our lives and I’ll marry you baby. Right here and there.” You chuckled. “Just shut up and kiss me Seresin.” He smiles from ear to ear and leans in to kiss you tenderly.

The voicemail went like this: “Hi baby. Today is the day and I can’t wait to marry you. I’m so thankful you came back into my life and I’m so thankful you put up with my shit for so long. I love you so much and I’m sure there’s still so many things waiting for us. I love you forever baby.”

You smiled while listening to your fiance/soon-to-be-husband’s voicemail.

Jake had made a habit to leave you voicemails for key moments in your life for you to save and still hear his voice whenever he left for a mission.

“Thanks for our first date. I really had fun with you tonight. Thank you for agreeing to take me back, thank you for still loving me even though I was a total dick with you ten years ago. I can’t wait for all the things we’ll do together.”

“Hi babe. Today you agreed to be my girlfriend again after all these years and I thank God everyday for you. I swear I never thought I’d see you again and even less that you’ll agree to take me back. Anyway, I love you. That’s all I wanted to say.”

“Today we moved into our first house together. Our very own home. Everywhere you are is home for me anyway but being able to wake up next to you every morning will be heaven on earth for me. I can’t wait to decorate it all with you. I love you baby.”

“Jake why are you calling me? Just leave it baby I’m leaving you a voicemail. Oh it’s already on, okay. Hi baby. I’m whispering because you’re in the other room and I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you. I’m about to ask you to marry me. After all, we've been together a while. Plus four years if you add our high school years together. Anyway, I love you so much I hope you’ll say yes. And then we’ll have a beach front wedding like you’ve always dreamed of. I love you so much I could marry you with paper rings but for you I gave it all and I hope you’ll like the diamond better. I can’t wait to put it on your finger. I love you baby.”

You were about to marry the love of your life. In about an hour you were going to call him your husband. And the truth is, you couldn’t wait. But you had one more thing to do before saying yes.

“Hi Jake. For the first time I’ll be the one leaving you a voicemail. You leave me voicemails for me to listen to whenever you’re away from me and I thought I should do it too because a photo of us in your cockpit doesn’t really do the job does it? Well here I am. And I’ve got something to tell you. Soon, I won’t be the only one you’re going to call baby. I checked this morning and I’m pregnant, Jake. You’re going to be a dad. I hope it’ll make you happy. I love you Jake. Forever. I can’t wait to say yes and spend my life with you baby.”

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callsignmercy · 1 year

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No fear - Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.

Prompt: Tom Kazansky has no fear. But maybe almost losing you can change that.

Words: ~3k

Warning: Iceman being a dick, crying, near death experience, language? Happy ending, fluff, Charlie being nice.

Note: Happy 100 followers to me! Thanks you everyone. Here’s an Iceman fic for you! Still having a writer’s block but hopefully I can get rid of it soon. Highly unedited. English is not my first language. Sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Please do not republish translate or do whatever to my work.

Y/C/S: your call sign

Your RIO’s name and callsign: Jack/Sunset.

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Lieutenant Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky has no fear. He flies fast, with precision and never misses the target. As they say, ice cold, no mistake. And you resent him with every fibre of your being.

He’s so obnoxious and arrogant, always sure of himself. Everything that you are not. You’re cute and nice and kind and you wish you could show that side of your personality but in the field you’re in it’s impossible. Unless you want to be stepped on. You’re a woman, which doesn’t help your case in the first place, but being nice on top of it? No way. So you fake a mean attitude all the time, as well as a confident personality and you try to not take shit from anyone.

It’s hard but you manage.

The Top Gun class of ‘86 welcomed a woman for the first time in history and you wanted to make women all over the USA proud of it. You had fierce opponents like Maverick and Iceman but you wanted to prove them all that you were fit for the task.

They had all pretty much tried to flirt with you since the beginning of the week but you didn’t pay them any mind, not wanting to be affiliated with any of them. People might think that you were trying to get points by flirting with the others and you didn’t want any of that, so you stayed away from them.

The only one that didn’t come after you was Iceman. You didn’t really know why considering his RIO even asked you out, but you were grateful that at least one of them had a little decency.

He was polite and said hello to you whenever you passed each other in the halls and smiled at you but nothing more.

During a night out at the bar that you were mainly spending alone as your own RIO had decided he was gonna try his luck with one of the girls there.

Sitting at the bar you were nursing your cocktail, paying no mind to anyone, trying to have a little fun but not really succeeding in the task. The sound was too loud for your liking and the bar was packed. You couldn’t turn without bumping into someone. You really hated this kind of atmosphere but you played the part, not wanting to be considered dull for not enjoying yourself.

Your RIO kind of forced you to come, so you had to fake having fun but you would rather be in your room, reading a book or watching a movie right now.

Iceman noticed you sitting alone at the bar and walked up to you. “Having fun round here?” He asked. “Best time of my life.” You said sarcastically. “I can see that. Why are you sitting here alone?” “I don’t feel like talking to anyone or just being here altogether but Sunset kinda forced me to come, so here I am.” “You don’t like parties?” “No, I do, it’s just that it’s too packed and too loud for my liking and I don’t have any friends other than Jack and he just left to go see some girl so I’m on my own.” You answered.

“Do you want to get out of here?” He asked, which surprised you. “I wouldn’t want to make you miss the party or the opportunity to get home with a girl. I can stay on my own, don't worry. You should go back out there.” “It’s alright I don’t feel like it tonight, do you want to go get some food?” “Really?” “Yeah.” He smiled. “Alright.” You bit your lip. “Let me just go tell my RIO and I’ll meet you at the door.”

He nodded and you went to see Jack to tell him you were leaving. A few minutes later you met Tom at the door and you walked the few metres that separated you from the diner.

You spent the evening talking and laughing with Tom. It felt easy and nice to be able to talk with someone other than your RIO. You didn’t feel like he was trying to flirt with you which felt nice for a change.

After a few hours you both went back to base and he bid you goodnight before going back to his own dorm room.

You went to sleep that night with a smile on your face and the feeling that you had made a new friend and didn’t feel so lonely anymore.

As you headed to class the next morning you harboured a soft smile on your face which differed from the hard look you usually had. When you entered the classroom all the guys were already here smirking at you. Your smile disappeared as you felt this couldn’t be a good omen.

You decided to sit down next to your RIO, as usual, without paying any mind to any of them but they kept smirking and shaking their heads.

“What’s happening?” You whispered to Jack. “Apparently you slept with Iceman last night.” He murmured. “Excuse me?” You said, louder than expected.

You turned your head to Iceman. “Care to explain?” You asked him with a cold tone. “It’s okay sweetheart. I asked where he went last night and he told me he left with you and he didn’t deny when I asked him if you fucked so…” Slider answered for him. “Why are you lying to them? You know nothing happened between us.” You exclaimed, still looking at Tom, ignoring the others. He shrugged, unphased and you scoffed, shaking your head before facing the board in front of you as Charlie came through the door.

You tried to focus on the course Charlie was teaching but knowing that nobody respected you anymore because of a simple lie was destroying you inside.

You knew people would assume you really did it, and that you did it to get in Ice’s good favour and score more points like this. And on top of everything, you knew that if it were to be known by any superiors, you might be dismissed and removed from the program for it, ultimately penalising your RIO as well. The image of women in the navy and in any army corps would be worsened and they wouldn’t be taken seriously anymore as everyone would assume they were all like you.

You almost cried in the middle of the classroom that day, thinking about what you had done. Which, in the end was, well…nothing. And yet, men won again.

So that day you decided that for the remaining of the thirteen weeks of the program, you wouldn’t talk to any of them, unless absolutely necessary, and keep any communication to the bare minimum.

And you had never felt so lonely in your life.

You weren’t the nice, kind and cute woman you were before entering Top Gun, or the stern, emotionless woman you appeared to be at the beginning of the program. Now you were just plain empty. Neutral face on, at all times, no more smiles, no more charisma, no more hellos and goodbyes to your comrades. You didn’t speak a word to them anymore, you didn’t smile at them, didn’t participate in class, nor volunteered for anything. Everything felt dull.

Jack, your RIO felt it too, even though you still spoke to him, he felt like you weren’t your usual self. He knew the real you, the cute and kind you, the always nice and polite you but now this part of you was gone.

“Are you alright?” Charlie asked you one day at the end of a class as the last of your comrades walked out the door. You put on a fake smile and nodded. “You don’t have to lie to me, you know. I can see something is wrong. Also Maverick told me.” She admitted. Your smile faded as she spoke the last words. “Then you already know the answer.” “You know, they’re still boys in their head, they don’t understand that we feel emotions differently than them and they don’t know how such lies can affect our lives. They believe it’s pointless, that nobody will pay any mind to it but they’re wrong. Maverick and Goose know it, if it can make you feel better. They know you didn’t do anything and it was just a lie. They feel sad because you don’t talk to them anymore, they really enjoyed your company the first few days before it happened. They told me that you were really nice and that they enjoyed talking with you and Sunset.” You gave her a small crooked smile before thanking her and leaving as well.

—

At the end of the thirteen weeks Iceman and Slider won Top Gun with you and Sunset coming second. You didn’t really mind that they won, you managed to make some people proud and you hoped women would be more considered now that you had proven you were capable.

Everyone was having a really nice time at the party. You were conversing with Jack when you saw Iceman approaching you both. You turned your back to him, still not ready to face him nor talk to him. You knew he wasn’t going to apologise for anything.

You didn’t see it, but his expression saddened when he saw you turn your back to him. Jack saw it too and understood your move. He got up to approach Iceman in order for him not to get too close to you. “I just wanted to say congratulations to you both.” Iceman said. “You did a really great job together.” “Thanks man, we really appreciate it.” Jack answered, shaking Tom’s hand.

Iceman’s eyes wandered above your RIO’s shoulder, seeing you were still ignoring him. He smiled at Sunset again and left with a small sigh.

“Thanks for this.” You told your RIO. “I’ve always got you, you know that.” You gave him a small smile. “Why do you still not want to talk to him? It’s been like twelve weeks.” “You don’t understand the power a small lie like that holds. It can literally ruin my career.” “How so?” He asked kindly. “Well first of all, he lied to everyone, it’s something everyone believed I did, and after that everyone was going to think that I slept with him to get an advantage on the ranking. Second of all, if it were to be known by any of our superiors I could have been sent back to our squadron, and you would have too, because we’re a team here. Ultimately losing any opportunity we had to finish Top Gun and humiliating every woman in the navy because I couldn’t keep it in my pants so every man would assume we were all like that and not give us chances anymore.” “Wow, I didn’t really think about all that.” He said, stunned. “Yeah, well now it’s done so let’s just go back to our lives and hopefully not see any of them again.”

Your hopes were cut short as you were immediately called for a secret mission along with Maverick and Goose and obviously Iceman and Slider.

As you were getting ready to go on the mission the next day, Iceman came up to you. “Hey, can we talk?” You jumped at the sound of his voice. “Jesus, give a girl a warning.” You replied coldly. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you, I just wanted to apologise.” “Okay, but I do not forgive you.” His expression dropped at your words. “Understandable.” Your face remained stoic while looking at him. “I don’t know why I did what I did, that was really stupid of me.” As you didn’t reply he kept going. “I really liked you, still do actually. And I realised how stupid of me it was to have lied like that.” “Then why did you do it?” “Honestly I don’t know, it was just supposed to be a joke and then Slider told everyone and it escalated and I’m sorry.” “You know I really liked spending that evening with you, I thought we were friends and then you screwed me over for no reason.”

“I know I’m sorry.” He replied, head low. “I wanted to ask you out on a real date.” “Well it’s too late now isn’t it? You’ve wasted every chance you had. And you know what? I think I would’ve said yes, because you were the only one that didn’t hit on me and the only one with whom I felt truly happy being with. But you’ve wasted this. And maybe I could’ve been happy right now, instead of being sad.” You say gripping your bag and walking out the door.

A few days later you were risking your life along with your RIO, and four of your Top Gun comrades trying to shoot down enemy MIGs. Maverick managed to shoot down three of them but one was following you and you didn’t seem to be able to lose him.

That’s when you felt it. Bullets shot through your F14 and you started losing altitude. Being unable to control your plane you quickly got closer to the ground. “Eject Y/C/S! Eject! Eject!” You heard Iceman scream through your helmet. Panic came over you as you were trying to recover your plane and not kill yourself and your RIO in the process. “For the love of God Y/C/S eject!” He shouted and you almost felt like you heard his voice break.

As Iceman saw your plane get closer and closer to the ground his eyes welled with tears. “Y/N!” He couldn’t help but scream. And as you nearly crashed on the ground you managed to restart your aircraft and shoot up to the sky. A sigh of relief could be heard from everyone through your helmet. “Why the hell didn’t you eject Y/C/S? You and Sunset could have died!” Maverick was the first to speak. “I went through something like that before, I knew I could escape and save my plane.” You replied. Iceman didn’t say a word, he was traumatised. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to you and how he would have coped with it. It was all too much for him.

You managed to shoot down an enemy plane after that and complete the mission. The three aircrafts landed on the carrier. You didn’t want to think about what could have happened up there so you got down your plane quickly, followed by your RIO. “I’m sorry I put your life in danger, I shouldn’t have done that.” “It’s alright, I knew you’d either save the plane or we’d have to eject. I was waiting for your instructions, I trust you with my life.” You give him a soft smile and head to the office to debrief the mission.

On the other side of the carrier Iceman is stuck in his plane, not being able to move. Slider gets up from his seat and looks at his pilot. “Hey, you alright man?” Iceman’s head shoots up. “Yeah, uhm yeah, I’ll meet you inside.” He replies.

It took him a few more minutes and a mechanic to get him down from his plane. “You okay Lieutenant?” The mechanic asked. “Uhm, yeah sorry.” Tom replied and got up from his seat.

He headed towards the conference room walking at a slow pace, trying not to think about you. As he got up the stairs and opened the door to enter the premises he was surprised to see you sat down behind it. You were hugging your knees, holding your helmet and tears made their way up your eyes but didn’t seem to go down your face yet. You quickly wiped your face when you heard the door open and hurried to get up on your feet. Only to see that it was Iceman standing in front of you.

He looked at you for a few seconds before speaking. “You scared the shit out of me, you know that?” He said quietly, hurt evident in his voice. You looked down. “Is it going to become a habit? Breaking each other’s hearts like that?” He said and your head shoots up to look at him. “I could have lost you today and I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened. Because now I can still pretend you’re going to forgive me for what I did and I still have a chance to be with you but if you had died then there would be nothing giving me hope anymore.” “Do you really believe what you said?” “Of course I do. I would never be able to apologise enough for what I did but I hope one day you can forgive me and my stupidity and actually go on a date with me.” He said hopefully.

You take a look to your right and left to see if anyone was there and grab Tom’s collar and pull him to you, crashing your lips on his. He was surprised for a second but quickly returned the kiss and pushed you softly behind an electrical panel so no one could see you. You break the kiss, gasping for air and smiling like a high school girl kissing her crush. He smiles back and kisses you again.

Now Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky only has one fear, the fear of losing you. But the joy of loving you is stronger than anything.

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callsignmercy · 2 years

Text

Don’t go breaking my heart - Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

Prompt: The only thing you asked Jake was to not break your heart. But Jake can’t keep a promise, after all he always leaves when the fight becomes too intense right?

Words: ~4k

Warning: Jake being a dick (why you asking), crying, Phoenix and Halo being the sweetest friends ever, cute Bob, fluff, happy ending.

Note: Somebody needs to stop me writing about Hangman, this is becoming concerning, I’m scared for the small amount of mental health I have left. Highly unedited. English is not my first language. Sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Please do not republish, translate or do whatever to my work.

Y/C/S: Your callsign

————————————————————————

You pass the door of The Hard Deck that evening not really waiting for anything in particular. You have been called back to Top Gun for a top secret mission along with a few other pilots whom you don’t know yet.

“Hello, I’m Y/N, but you can call me Y/C/S.” You smile at the cute nerdy lieutenant who was sat down on a bar stool eating peanuts. “Hi uh- I’m Bob.” “Your callsign is Bob?” You ask with a smile.” “Uhm yes well people never really gave me one so we just stuck with Bob.” “Oh that’s sad, is your name Robert?” “It is.” “Well nice to meet you Robert. Are you going to Top Gun too?” “I am.” He smiles softly.

You sit down next to Bob, waiting for other aviators to arrive. “Well hello there. What’s your name beautiful?” A man asks, arriving at the pool table. “I’m Y/C/S.” “Hello Y/C/S, I’m Hangman.” “Nice to meet you. This is Bob.” You tell Hangman, pointing Bob next to you. “Man’s a stealth pilot, didn’t even notice you there.” “I’m a WSO actually.” “Yeah it was sarcasm buddy.” “Oh I uh-” Hangman pats him on the shoulder with a smile. “It’s okay, don't be so shy. Wanna play pool with Coyote and I. Two vs two?" You look at Bob who seems hesitant and you smile softly to him. “Come on, it'll be fun.” “Alright.” He smiles shyly.

You begin a game while others arrive, saluting Hangman and Coyote whom they seem to already know. You meet Phoenix, Payback, Fanboy and later on Rooster and many others.

As Rooster begins playing the piano everybody joins him for a karaoke of Great Balls of Fire but you stay back being a little shy. “Wanna play darts?” Hangman asks with a genuine smile on his face. “Hum yeah. I’m not really good at it though sorry.” “It’s fine, I can show you some tricks if you want.” “Okay.” You smile at him.

“Okay just like this, can I put my hand here?” He asks, hovering over your arm. “Yes, go ahead.” He puts his hand on yours when you give him the go and shows you the move to throw a bullseye which you almost get when you shoot your dart. You shoot him a bright smile seeing the dart next to the center of the target. “Not bad for a first time.” He exclaims with a smile.

You don’t know what it is but you genuinely feel attracted to Hangman, he seems so nice and gentle. After Rooster ends his song and the aviators come back to the pool table you get to talk with Phoenix among others. “I saw you playing darts with Hangman. I don’t wanna kill the mood but Jake’s a real womanizer and he’d do everything to get in a woman’s pants so be careful with him. You seem so nice I wouldn’t want you to get attached to someone like him.” She says.

“Really? He seemed so nice and gentle. He asked if he could touch my hand to show me a move at darts and everything. He doesn’t seem like the type you’re describing.” “I know but trust me, be careful. If you wanna have fun I say go for it. He seems like a really good one night stand but don’t really expect much more from him.” “Alright, thanks for warning me.” You reply and she gives you a genuine smile.

As the night comes to an end you head out of the bar to go back to base. “Hey Y/C/S. Can I give you a ride home?” Hangman - or Jake as Phoenix called him - asks. “Are you on base too?” “I am.” “Alright then.” You smile and climb inside his truck. “Did you have a good night?” “I did, thanks for the games of pool and darts, by the way.” “You’re welcome, I really enjoyed playing with you.” He replies.

You arrive on base and show the officer your badges as he lets you in. Jake parks his truck and runs to the other side to open the door for you. You chuckle at the gesture. “Why thank you lieutenant.” Jake can’t help but feel his stomach twist as his rank comes out of your mouth. It’s a word he hears daily by his friends and superior officers yet somehow, coming out of your mouth, the word has a different sound to it. A sound he can’t quite decipher but he sure likes.

“I assume you might bunk with Phoenix and Halo?” “I presume yes.” “Do you know where your dorm is?” “I do, thanks for asking.” You smile back at him. “Well goodnight then Y/C/S.” “My name’s Y/N.” You tell him. “It suits you, I like it. I’m Jake.” He smiles softly. “Well it was nice meeting you Jake. See you tomorrow?” “See you tomorrow, sleep well.” “You too Jake.” You say as you head over to your dorm, leaving Jake in the middle of the corridor, smiling like a child in love.

You can’t help but think about how cute he is despite everything Phoenix told you a few hours ago.

–

The next morning you head to your first class with the girls and sit in the front as you usually do. Jake arrives a few minutes later and sits in the same row, leaving an empty seat between you two. “Sleep well?” He asks. “I did, thanks for asking.” You give him a cute smile and his stomach makes somersaults inside him. He needed to ask you out. Not in front of the whole class but he would find an opportunity. He needed it like air to breathe.

So that evening after dogfighting he did exactly that.

“Y/C/S wait a sec!” He exclaims catching up to you as you were headed back to the changing room to end your day. “Hangman.” You reply solemnly. “I uh- I wanted to ask you something. You can totally say no I will understand but um… Will you go out with me? Like… ever?” “Are you asking me out on a date, Hangman?” “Only if you say yes.” He says and you grin. “Then it’s a yes.” You reply. “Is tonight too soon?” He asks, hopeful. “Tonight’s perfect.” You chuckle. “Meet me at the door at seven? And please, call me Jake.” “Alright Jake, see you then.” You smile shyly and enter the changing room to take your shower.

Jake feels like a little kid almost twirling on himself as he heads over to the men’s changing room.

–

At seven you go to the main door to meet Jake who’s already waiting for you. “You look wonderful Y/N.” He says, smiling. “Thank you, you clean up nice too.” You reply. “Where are we going?” “I thought we could just pick up some food and then go have a picnic on the beach? There is a food truck not far away that serves really good food if it’s alright with you?” He asks with a hopeful smile. “Sounds perfect Jake.” You reply, smiling brightly.

Jake drives you to the beach where a food truck is parked. You order food before going to sit down in the sand with your meals.

“So tell me about you Y/N.” “What exactly do you want to know?” “Everything. Parents, siblings, pets, favorite food, drink, hobby, pet peaves, ideal holiday, the whole shebang.” You laugh. “Okay so, my parents are divorced. My mom’s a chef and my dad was in the navy, a naval aviator like me but I’m the first to make it to Top Gun.” “Congrats on that.” Jake interrupts you. “Thanks, it wasn’t easy to be honest, being a woman and everything. Anyway, I don’t have any siblings nor pets because my parents can’t be bothered with any which is really sad but I really want a dog someday.”

“What else um, I love pasta and I like to have a beer once in a while but I’d much rather drink water. I love to read and I hate the sound of people chewing or people that walk slowly in front of me. My ideal holidays are skiing or doing nothing on a beach far away from naval towns where everyone knows everyone you know. What about you?”

“Well what do you wanna know?” “Truth be told, Phoenix told me things about you and I only wanna know if she’s right.” Jake’s face falls a bit. “Uh oh… What did she tell you exactly?” “That you’re a womanizer and you’d do everything to get in a girl’s pants.” “It was true.” He admits. “But I met you yesterday and I instantly thought you were really cute and to be honest I just want to spend time with you.”

“Well I thought you were really cute too. But I warn you I really don’t want to get my heart broken so you better be honest and not lead me on if you don’t want this to be serious.” You reply as he grins. “I promise I’m not trying to get in your pants. Well yes, but not only.” He smirks. “Jake Seresin!” You exclaim as you playfully punch him on his arm. “Well you told me to be honest.” He chuckles.

“Don’t go breaking my heart, that’s all I ask.” “I promise.” He smiles softly.

“Alright I wanna know your biggest fear.” You say. “People leaving me on my own to die up there.” “Why would they do that?” “I’m not a really likable person to be honest and people have done that in the past so…” “So you’ve developed a defense mechanism which consists in leaving everyone out to dry by fear of people doing the same to you right? At least that’s what I picked up from dogfighting earlier.” You smile and Jake sighs. “I do, yes.” “You know, we’re a team up there. You should really start trusting people not to leave you hanging. People count on you and you can count on them. There’s no need to be arrogant in this field, it’s a team’s job. We’re not playing solo here.”

“I know.” “Promise me you won’t do that to me up there. Cause I promise you you’ll be the first to be sad if someone that you’ve left behind dies on you up there.” “You’re probably right. I’ll try my best.” He replies as you smile at him. “I really like you, you know.” “I really like you too Jake.”

–

The next day was dogfighting again. You, Jake and Rooster were up in the air waiting and searching for Maverick. “Hangman you see him?” Rooster asks. “Negative. Y/C/S?” “Negative guys. He must be up in the clouds.” “Oh but I’ve been here the whole time.” You hear Maverick on the radio before you see him, going up above Rooster’s plane, inverted. “Holy shit.” Hangman says. The next few seconds go really fast as Maverick and Rooster start fighting and Rooster provokes a Cobra maneuver that lead them to almost crash on the mountains below. “Come on Rooster, drop down and take the shot.” Hangman says but Rooster doesn’t budge. and Maverick tones him a few seconds later before going after you.

“Shit Hangman, get him off me.” You exclaim. “Coming Y/C/S.” Hangman replies.

He listened to you and didn’t leave you out to dry. Even though you ended up “shot down” by Maverick you gave him a run for his money and Hangman stayed with you all along.

“I’m proud of you.” You whisper to Jake after getting ready for your push ups. “We’re still dead, you and I.” “Yeah but we fought till the end and that’s what it means to be a team. I’m happy you stayed and fought with me Jake.” You smile at him. “Next time we gotta survive though.” “We will, don’t worry.”

At the end of the day as you head towards the women’s changing room you hear Jake’s voice talking to someone.

“It’s not like I would ever go out with her, she’s not even my type. Gotta be blind to ever wanna chase someone like Y/C/S.” He chuckles awkwardly. “You seemed really close to her during your push ups though. And someone told me they saw you together last night.” It was Coyote’s voice now. “I don’t know who told you that but they’re wrong, I would never go out with her.”

Tears begin to pool in your eyes. So much so for not breaking your heart. You run back to the changing room, luckily you were hiding for the entirety of their conversation.

You fall down on the bench in front of your locker and the tears flood your cheeks. You hear Phoenix and Halo coming in laughing together about something. You quickly wipe out your tears before getting up and opening your locker. “Hey Y/C/S, good job up there you almost had him.” “Thanks.” You reply trying to sound convincing but your voice just breaks because of the sadness you were feeling. “Are you okay?” Halo asks, concerned. “I’m fine.” You reply as a single tear drops down your cheek, not going unnoticed by the girls. “Wait why are you crying, what happened?”

Instead of answering you break down again and fall down on the bench behind you, putting your head in your hands. Phoenix and Halo are quick to get to you and sit down on either side of you hugging you. “Do you want to talk about it?” Phoenix asks carefully. You sniffle before answering. “Jake’s an asshole and I should have listened to you.” “What did he do?” “He took me out on a date last night and we had a good time and I just heard him say to Coyote that I wasn’t his type and that people would have to be stupid to ever go out with me and another load of mean things like that although earlier today he was still flirting with me and everything.” “Fucking asshole, I swear to God I’ll kill him.” Phoenix groans.

“Yeah well it doesn’t matter anymore really, I’m just gonna forget about him and keep working on going on this mission.” “That’s the spirit Y/C/S!” Halo says. “Just forget about him, he’s a dick.” Phoenix adds. “But it hurts you know, I asked him not to break my heart after he told me he liked me and everything and he promised but he did anyway.” “I will never understand the pleasure men get in hurting women. Seriously, what are they gaining from it? A sense of purpose? An ego boost? Because I can tell you what they’re losing it’s awesome women that would have given the world to them but they are too stupid to comprehend this.” Phoenix rambles and you and halo laugh at her words.

–

You’ve been ignoring Jake for days. Not letting him talk to you, nor explaining why you weren’t talking to him. You haven’t been up in the sky with him since that second day but today Maverick called the both of you up.

“How is it looking, Y/C/S do you see him?” God, even hearing his voice made you want to punch him in the face. “Negative.” You reply with a stone cold voice. Jake knows now is not the right time to get into an argument with you but he would very much like for you to explain what was wrong to him. The tone of your voice made him shiver, he never heard you sound so… not you? He didn’t know how to describe it but it didn’t sound like you at all, you were usually really cute and gentle in your tone and choice of words that this simple word sent him goosebumps.

As Maverick drops from the clouds above and appears on your radar Jake is the first to speak. “He’s on our tail Y/C/S break left!” You do so as Jake breaks right to force Mav to pick a side and he chooses to follow Hangman. You hear Jake panting on the radio trying to avoid being toned by Maverick.

“Y/C/S a little help here please?” Jake asks but you don’t respond. You drop down behind your captain and take the shot, having been unnoticed by neither of them. “That’s a kill, Captain.” You say blankly.

Hangman is shocked at your words and before he could say something Maverick speaks. “Really good job Y/C/S, I’ll see you both back on base.”

You head back to base and hear Jake talk to you through the radio. “Good job Y/C/S.” He says but you don’t respond.

As you walk towards the hangar Jake comes running behind you. “Hey can we talk?” He asks, expectant. You don’t reply and keep on walking. “Y/C/S!” He shouts. “Y/N!” He tries but you keep walking. “Lieutenant Y/L/N!” You stop dead on your track and turn around to look at him.

“Can we talk?” He asks again. Your jaw clenches before you speak. “You know I really wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine up there. Play solo, save my own ass. But I didn’t, because I’m a team player but I know you would never have done that, you’re so selfish. And why would you save my ass if he went after me uh? After all, people gotta be blind to ever wanna chase someone like me right?” You ask, voice stone cold. Jake's face drops at the realization but before he could open his mouth you were already walking back to the hangar.

You were shaking the whole way back to the changing room. Never in your life have you ever done something like that. Staying impassible and stoic in front of the man that broke your heart and telling him off like that. You thought it was so well done but you hated being mean towards people like that but he needed to understand. Understand that you knew what he really thought of you and understand that he really hurt you by saying what he said.

When you push open the women’s room door you allow yourself to let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding and you fall down on the bench in front of your locker. Luckily for you it was next to the door as you don’t know if your feet would have supported you for another step. Phoenix and Halo were already there when you entered and they were next to you in a second, seeing your state of panic.

“Are you okay? What happened?” “I told Hangman that I knew.” “Really? That’s wonderful! How did you tell him?” “I was telling him that he is selfish and that if I was the one Maverick was chasing he probably wouldn’t have saved me like I did him and I said ‘After all gotta be blind to ever wanna chase someone like me’, the thing he told Coyote the other day and his face just dropped and all the colors disappeared at once. And then I left.” “That is so badass, I’m so proud of you Y/N!” Phoenix exclaims. “You’re shaking.” Halo states. “I know I’m not used to being mean to people like that.” You reply matter-of-factly. “You weren’t being mean, you were being truthful and that’s all that matters. Now Jake has a chance to come and apologize now that he knows why you won’t speak to him.” Halo says. “You’re right. But It doesn’t mean I’ll forgive him though.” “And you’ll be in your own right not to. After all, he did break a promise he made you when he said those things.” Phoenix replies.

On the other end of the corridor Jake was walking towards the men’s changing room, mind blank, gaze on the floor. Coyote arrived and stopped next to him. “You alright?” Jake didn’t respond as he kept on walking, afraid of what would come out of his mouth if he did.

Phoenix came out of the room at the same moment and heard the guys’ voices. “Have you seen a ghost or something? Are you sick?” “Fuck you Coyote!” Jake exclaims. “Wow okay what did I do?” Phoenix thought it best to film the interaction just in case she needed something to blackmail Jake in the future. She got her phone out discreetly and started filming, trying not to be noticed.

“Why would you ask me about Y/N uh? I don’t even know why I lied to you. Of course I like her she’s the cutest, and nicest person I’ve ever met and I seriously think I’m in love with her. But now it’s all gone out the window because she heard me say that she was not my type and everything to you the other day. I don’t even know why I said that. I wanted to keep it a secret for now but of course you had to get your nose in my business!” Jake shouts.

“I uh- I’m sorry man I didn’t mean to bother you I wasn’t being nosy or anything I just wanted to know if you’ve finally found someone to settle down with that’s all. I really like Y/N and I think she’d be good for you. Look, you've even stopped leaving people out when we fly. We almost have to give you a new callsign now.” Javy chuckles.

“I don’t deserve her man. You know what she did today? She almost left me get toned by Mav but she saved my ass. She just nice like that and I fucked it all up.” “I think you need to tell her the truth.” “How? She would never listen to me and even less believe me after what she heard the other day.” “You have to try. You cannot let her go, you'll never find another one like her.” “I know that, trust me.”

Phoenix stopped the recording and went back to the changing room to find you. “Y/N you need to look at this!” She says. She sits down next to you and plays the video for you.

When you hear Jake rambling about the fact that he loved you you felt the tears pool in your eyes.

You went back to your dorm after that, mind racing, processing Jake’s words. “Y/N.” You hear behind you. You turn around, knowing who the voice belongs to. “Jake.” You reply. “Please let me explain.” You don’t reply but you don’t walk away so Jake takes this as a sign to go on.

“Look, what I said to Coyote the other day, it wasn’t true. At all. I just said that because I didn’t want him meddling into my life, I wanted to keep whatever we had a secret because I wanted to protect you from people talking, considering… You know… That I’m a womanizer. But the truth is, you’re totally my type and I will chase you to the end of the world if need be.” “And you’re in love with me.” You stated. “I- What?” “That’s what you said earlier right? You’re in love with me.” You repeat as Jake chuckles. “You really gotta stop eavesdropping on my conversations.” He grinned. “I wasn’t, Phoenix heard you. But the point is you should never talk about me behind my back because I’ve caught you every time.”

“I’ll stop.” “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. About the fact that you were selfish.” “Already forgotten. I promise I’ll never leave you behind. Ever.” “So?” “So what?” “Is it true you’re in love with me?” You smile softly. “Undeniably.” He replies before closing the gap between you and putting his lips on yours.

“Finally.” You said as you smiled into the kiss.

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callsignmercy · 2 years

Text

Hawaii getaway part 2 - Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

Prompt: the vacations take an unexpected turn after Jake’s declaration. But the nightmares continue and Phoenix is there to listen.

Words: ~2.9k

Warning: nightmares, ptsd, trauma, mention of death, mention of suicide, bad notions of aviations, fluff, soft!Jake, Rooster and Phoenix being in love with each other.

Note: this is for @bbooks-and-teas since you asked so nicely, I hope you like it I did my best 🤍 Highly unedited, English is not my first language. Sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Please do not republish, translate or do whatever to my work.

Y/C/S: your Callsign

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“Morning aviators, this is your captain speaking. Today, as briefed, we will train for complex flight manoeuvers. Things you need to know for your upcoming mission. Y/C/S, Phoenix, Bob, you will have to complete this maneuver in the required hard deck of six hundred feet. This is complex, I know, but let me remind you that you are part of the one percent of naval aviators that made it to Top Gun, and you have been called back because you are the best that came out of it. Fight’s on.” Maverick said.

“Let’s do it Y/C/S, you ready?” Phoenix said to you. You breathed deeply and replied. “I’m ready, Phoenix. Let’s do this.” You put both your planes into position and started the manoeuver. A 600 feet hard deck was new to you for this. Even though you’ve already done this one time before, the hard deck stood at 5000 feet and you weren’t training for a life or death mission. This time was different.

“Phoenix I have a problem with my engine I need to stop. Extinguishing left engine.” “Y/C/S we’re too low, you need to climb up you’re gonna crash.” Bob replied. “Shit it’s not working! Jesus bird strike! Bird strike!” You took the bird strike head on and your plane made a descent on the mountains in front of you. “Shit shit shit!” You started panicking, knowing the outcome if you didn’t manage to restart your engine.

The moutain in front was approaching dangerously and you would not have time to eject if you tried to save your plane. It was a 50-50 chance of you dying in the next thirty second but you took it. “Y/C/S you need to eject you’re on fire! You’re too low, you can’t save it!” “Extinguishing left engine. Climbing up.” You said. “Left engine extinguished. Restarting left engine.”

When you finally took hold of your plane you allowed yourself to let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding. Slowly realizing what could have happened thirty seconds ago. Your plane almost crashed with you in it, unable to punch out in time. “Y/C/S are you alright?” Maverick asked. “I’m alright Maverick.” “Alright, fight over for you, get back to base to get your jet checked and head to the hospital for a check out.” “I’m fine, I don’t need a check out. I’ll see you back on base.” You replied as you headed back to base.

“Well well well, what do we have here? Turns out Y/C/S can’t do basic manoeuvers?” You sighed as Hangman approached you while you climbed out your jet. “You know this was the easiest maneuver Maverick has to teach us this week right? How are you gonna survive on friday?” He laughed as you sighed. “Fuck you Hangman you don’t know shit about me.” “I know that you can’t fly like we all do and that you almost died today. What else is there to know?”

Tears welled up your eyes as you took off your helmet and ran towards the hangars. “Tough luck Princess, guess you’re not cut out for this mission after all!” He shouted after you.

As you kept on running to your shared dorm with Phoenix the tears kept on falling down your cheeks.

Phoenix found you ten minutes later, sat on the floor, hugging your knees and unable to stop crying.

“What happened, Y/C/S?” “Hangman.” You muttered between two sobs. “What did he say this time?” Phoenix was used to Hangman being mean to everybody but especially you. God knows why. “He said I wasn’t cut out for this and he just reminded me that I almost died up there. I wish I did. It would've been easier than listening to him say this shit to me all the time.”

“Hey hey hey, it’s alright, you’re not dead and you’re not dying anytime soon. You had an engine failure and a bird strike but you made a call to save your plane and you made it out alive. And you’re definitely cut for this as I don’t know if I would’ve been as brave as you not to punch out up there, especially with Bob in my backseat.”

“You have two lives in your hand up there. I only had mine, and trust me sometimes I wish I had died a long time ago not to endure anything like this again.” You replied. “What do you mean?” Phoenix asked as you sighed. “I wasn’t always a single seater Phe. I had a WSO some years ago on my backseat. He was my best friend and I lost him, pulling this exact same maneuver and that’s why I got scared at first. I put my mind to it and thought I could do it but that engine failure took me back to that time and I got scared. I didn’t punch out because I was brave Phe, I didn’t because I thought it was okay if I died today. I would just see him again.”

“You were in love with him weren’t you?” Tears came back flooding your cheeks as she took you in your arms. “We were together for two years before he died. He had just asked me to marry him Phe. And I killed him.” “No you didn’t Y/N. There was an issue and it just happened but it’s not your fault at all you hear me?” You didn’t reply but let out a loud sob as she held you tighter in her arms.

“Hangman doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s just an asshole and if he ever makes a comment about you again I swear I’ll punch him in the throat for you.” You chuckled at Phoenix’s words.”Thank you Tasha.” “I’ve got you Y/N.”

–

You woke up in a cold sweat reliving your near-death experience from the past week. Your phone indicated four in the morning. You’ve had two hours of sleep before the nightmares started again. Two hours since Jake took you in his arms and confessed his love to you and yet the nightmares didn’t stop.

You got up silently, trying not to wake up Jake and went to the kitchen to get some water.

“Can’t sleep either?” You heard the familiar voice of Phoenix whispering to you. “Nightmare about last week and our conversation after.” “Are you okay?” “I wish the nightmare would stop. But I feel like with what happened they have just gotten worse.” “I know what you mean, I have them sometimes. I dream about losing Bob the same way Maverick lost Goose… The same way you lost… him.” “PTSD really is a fucker.” You chuckled. “Tell me about it.”

You and Phoenix went to sit on the beach together to talk some more as you usually didn’t have time to really open up with anyone.

“So, is Jake still an ass?” “I put him back in his place, he hasn’t really bothered me after we came back last night.” “Good, are you gonna tell him you like him?” You chuckled. “No I won’t because I don’t, Tasha.” “My ass.” She replied. “Although he told me something really interesting last night.” “Yeah? What is it?”

“Rooster has been in love with you since Top Gun.” “What?” She chuckled. “Yeah apparently he told Jake about it but he doesn’t want to tell you because, exactly like you, he thinks you won’t return the feelings.” “Jesus, we’ve wasted so much time.” She shakes her head at the thought.

“Yeah you did, you should just go up and kiss him and tell him you’re desperately in love with him.” “He’s sleeping right now.” “Yeah we heard you two go at it.” You laughed. “Oh shut up, he’s great in bed. The best I’ve ever had if you want to know.” “No thank you.” You grimaced and she laughed.

You didn’t want to tell her the truth about what happened with Jake hours before, just in case he wasn’t serious about it. You wanted to keep this a secret if he was going to break your heart in the morning. Moving on from your fiancé was tough at first. Recovering from losing someone is hard when you’ve been harboring as much feelings for the person. He was it for you but what you felt was an error on your part shattered your dreams of ever being truly happy again.

With the years you understood that none of what happened was your fault in reality. A faulty canopy was truly what caused his death but you blamed yourself nonetheless. It took time to recover and open your heart again but you kept on being cautious about whom you let in as you didn’t want to suffer anymore.

But you let Jake in, even though he was obnoxious and mean towards you in the beginning. You realized that he truly cared for you and that he was mostly joking whenever he said things to you. He was in fact capable of opening up and expressing his feelings to someone without the usual level of sarcasm he usually harbored.

You held onto Natasha’s bicep as you leaned in to rest your head on her shoulder and she rested hers on yours. “I’ll always be there for you Y/N, don’t forget that. And don’t let anyone, especially Hangman, tell you you’re not good enough. Understood?” You chuckled. “Understood.” You stayed like that for an hour before you went back to your rooms.

As you entered your room silently you saw Jake lying on his side, facing your side of the bed. He looked so peaceful you couldn’t help but smile softly at the sight. You went to lie down next to him facing him. “Where were you?” He whispered. “I had a nightmare, I went to get a glass of water.” You whispered back. “Oh, come here baby.” He said as he put his arm on your waist and pulled you closer to him. “You should’ve woken me up.” “It wasn’t necessary I saw Natasha we talked downstairs I’m okay really. Get back to sleep Jake.” “Alright turn around.” He whispered and you did as he pulled you closer to him to spoon you. He pressed a light kiss to the back of your head and bid you goodnight before you both fell asleep again. This time, without nightmares.

–

“Hey you.” You heard Jake say the next morning as you stirred awake next to him. You smiled. “Hi.” You said, eyes still closed because of the sun you could feel on your back. “Any other nightmares?” “No, I slept like a baby.” “Good, me too. Having you in my arms seems to keep them away.” You smiled softly. “Lucky you.” “Yours are gonna go away too babe.” You opened your eyes at the nickname he gave you.

“Jake?” “Yeah?” “I uh- What do you want us to be exactly?” You asked cautiously. “I mean I like you that’s for a fact, I’d like to take you on a date if that’s okay with you?” You smiled. “That’s okay with me.” “Great, can I kiss you again?” You nodded as Jake put his lips on yours in a tender kiss.

“Jake?” “Uhm?” “Can we keep this between us for now?” “If you want, baby.” He smiled. “Want breakfast? I can smell the pancakes already.” “Sure.” You chuckled.

You both got up and put clothes on before going to the kitchen to meet the others.

“Hello everybody.” You said to Phoenix, Rooster and Coyote. The others were apparently still sleeping. “Sleep okay?” Rooster asked. “Pretty much.” You replied, shooting a smile at Phoenix who smiled back at you.

“Today we thought we could go surfing.” Coyote said to you and Jake. “Sounds good.” He replied. “I’ll go wake the sleeping beauties.” You said.

After everyone was awake you picked up your surfboards and went to the beach. “I haven’t done this in a long time.” Fanboy says. “It’s like riding a bike, you can never forget it.” Roster replied as you all entered the ocean.

You fell quite a few times yourself but the day was spent in good humor for all of you.

You watched as Rooster picked up Phoenix from the water after she fell down her board. “Careful Nix. Don’t want you all bruised for tonight.” He winked and she chuckled at his innuendo. “Take me on a date first, yeah?” His cheeks turned pink as he looked at her. “Alright, tonight, you and me, it’s a date.” He said to her. She blushed and nodded her head before looking at you discreetly and smiling brightly. You gave her a thumbs up along with an ear-to-ear smile.

You were sat down on your board smiling like a child looking at how happy Phoenix was before Jake paddled up to you. “What do you say I take you out on a date tonight too?” He whispered, not wanting to be heard by the others. You blushed and nodded at the question just like Phoenix did.

—

Leaving the others in the water you went back to the house to get ready, followed by Jake not long after. You went early, not wanting to be questioned by the others about why you were leaving together as you supposedly couldn’t stand each other.

You put on a sundress and your favorite open heels and Jake wore jeans and a loose shirt to go with it. He was as handsome as ever. You smiled softly at the sight of him before he took your hand and led you out of the house.

“You look wonderful baby.” “You do too Jake.”

Jake took you to a nice restaurant not far from your house. “Jake there’s something you should know about me that I didn’t tell you about last night.” “Okay, what is it?” “I told you that I lost my WSO right?” He nodded. “We were training, doing the exact same stunt we did last monday when I…” He put his hand on yours. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say it.”

“We had an engine failure and we had to eject, just like I did last monday. I opened the canopy but his seat went up too soon and his head hit the canopy. He died on the spot.” You took a deep breath. “He um- He was my fiancé.” Jake’s expression saddened at the thought of him losing someone like that, especially if that someone was his fiancée.

“We were together two years and he proposed not long before and I killed him.” A single tear rolled down your cheek. “I never wanted him to be in my plane in the first place because I knew his life was in my hands and I knew I wouldn’t handle it if something was to happen to him but he convinced me and there we are now.” You took a breath. “I never wanted to fly a double-seater after that. I never wanted to have the responsibility of anyone’s life but my own. That’s why I pulled that stunt last week when I almost crashed. I thought that it was okay if I didn’t make it because I was the only one in the plane anyway.”

“Y/N I’m so sorry I didn’t know.” “It’s alright, it was a long time ago.” “You’re not alone anymore. We’re all here and so am I if you’ll have me.” He said softly. “If you don’t break my heart I won’t break yours.” “You almost broke mine last week.” He replied. “How?” You furrowed your brows.

“You almost crashed into a mountain after Maverick, Phoenix and Bob repeatedly told you to eject.” He simply said. “And that broke your heart?” “Yes because if you had died back then I would never have been able to tell you how I feel.” You blushed. “I promise I will take your heart into consideration next time I almost die.” “Please don’t say that.” He chuckled sadly as you gave him a soft smile.

The evening came to an end as you made sure to come back after dark in order to avoid questions from the remaining members of the dagger squad that would be left awake when you arrived.

You went up to your room and changed clothes before going to bed, Jake holding you in his arms.

—

As the night went on you found yourself unable to fall asleep so you went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. “This is going to be our secret meeting if we keep going like this.” Phoenix whispered to you. You chuckled lightly. “Wanna go sit down on the beach again?” You ask as she nods her head.

“How was your date with Rooster?” “Amazing, we went out to eat and then we took a walk on the beach and he told me he loved me.” “I’m so happy for you Phe.” She smiled.

“How was yours with Jake?” You chuckled. You knew everyone would suspect you not being here so you were ready for the questions. “It was great.” “Did he tell you he loved you?” “We’re not there yet, he told me he liked me.” “Did you kiss?” “Yes.” You smiled as you put your head on her shoulder and she put her head on yours just like the night before.

“There you are.” You heard Rooster’s voice from behind you. You both turned your head to notice Jake and Bradley coming up to you. Jake sat down next to you and Bradley sat down next to Phoenix. Natasha put her head on Bradley’s shoulder with a soft smile.

You put your head on Jake’s shoulder as he gently caressed your back. The four of you contemplating the moon above the ocean.

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callsignmercy · 2 years

Text

Hawaii getaway - Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

Prompt: After spending so much time with the dagger squad you’d believe you’d want to go home and spend a little time away from them but no. After weeks of non stop work and training you’re finally able to go on leave and what do you all do? Rent a house for a small holiday together. All eight of you, packed up in a house, two girls, six boys, what could possibly go wrong? Maybe having to share a bed with Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin could be a problem.

Words: ~2.5k

Warning: nightmares, ptsd, trauma, mention of death, Jake being a dick, forced proximity, single bed trope, fluff, soft!Jake, Rooster and Phoenix being in love with each other.

Note: Highly unedited, English is not my first language. Sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Please do not republish, translate or do whatever to my work.

Y/C/S: your Callsign

————————————————————————

After spending so much time with the dagger squad you’d believe you’d want to go home and spend a little time away from them but no. After weeks of non stop work and training you’re finally able to go on leave and what do you all do? Rent a house for a small holiday together. All eight of you, packed up in a house, two girls, six boys, what could possibly go wrong?

Hawaii was hot this time of year and being out of your required uniform and tight navy bun was a relief. After your commanding officers gave you permission to leave, Rooster suggested spending some time together, all eight of you, relaxing, going to the beach, playing dogfight football and all. So you all agreed and that’s how you found yourselves in a house surrounded by the beach in sunny Hawaii.

Eight of you, four bedrooms. You’d think it’ll go easy: Payback and Fanboy, you and Phoenix, Coyote and Hangman and Rooster and Bob. Easy right?

But no. Payback got a room with Coyote, your lovely WSOs Bob and Fanboy decided to bunk together and Rooster decided it was out of the question to share a bed with Hangman so Phoenix bunked with him. Anyway, who’s left? Obnoxious, self-assured, insufferable and cocky Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin, harbouring an unnerving smug smile on his face. He’s so full of himself you want to punch him right there in the kitchen. “Well don’t be mad sweetheart, it’ll be fun.” You groaned as you got your suitcase and brought it up the stairs to your shared bedroom.

Having to work with Hangman on a daily basis was one thing, but being forced to share a bed was another. Because obviously it had to be one bed instead of two, right?

You couldn’t stand him. Always cocky and acting like he’s better than everyone else. And after the week you’d just spent working on dangerous manoeuvres that nearly cost you your life, you wanted to be left alone, not having to deal with Hangman and his sarcastic remarks on how you couldn’t keep up with the rest of them and how that manoeuvre was just the simplest in all of the dangerous one they were teaching you, so how were you gonna survive the others?

What he said back then took a toll on you and made you think about how maybe you shouldn’t be there with them and that you probably don’t deserve to train and work with such awesome pilots.

Phoenix had come to you that day reassuring you, on the fact that you deserved it as much as anyone there and that Hangman was just being a dick. But even though she tried to include you, Hangman’s words stayed in your brain, repeating over and over again. You were so happy when you were finally cleared and able to go on leave but now you have to spend even more time with him? This had to be a joke.

When everyone got their suitcases to their rooms and got changed you all headed to the beach for some dogfight football which you loved ever since Maverick introduced you to it.

You played with Rooster, Bob and Payback against Phoenix, Coyote, Fanboy and Hangman. And you were currently winning by a touchdown. As you were thrown the ball for a two point transformation you were met with someone’s broad chest and fell to the ground. “Ouch.” You groaned, your head hurting. “You okay Y/C/S?” As you raised your head to the voice you were met with Hangman’s smug smile and you sighed. “You could have been a little more gentle, that one hurt.” You replied. “Sorry Princess, no can do. It’s a dogfight after all.” You groaned once more and the game began again.

“So, Hangman huh?” Phoenix said with a grin after you both went to get water at the house for everybody. “What do you mean?” “Come on! I know you like him, and you’ll be sharing a bed for a week so something is bound to happen.” “You’re one to talk, you’re sharing with Rooster.”

“Yeah but Rooster and I hook up from time to time.” “You what?” You shouted which made the boys turn around in your direction, considering the house was not far away from your playing ground. “You serious, you never noticed? I thought we weren’t really discreet. Bob knows.” “What the hell, since when?” “Oh since our Top Gun days.”

“That was years ago! Why aren’t you together?” “Well he doesn’t like me like that and it means I don’t have to get attached and lose him if anything happens you know.” “Oh Phe. I didn’t know you liked him like that. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, I’m used to it now.” “Well maybe he likes you like that. Have you ever tried speaking to him about it?” “No but it’s okay, I just know.”

“You want me to talk to him or something?” “No it’s fine, and don’t change the subject, we were talking about you and Hangman.” “What about me?” Both yours and Phoenix’ head snap up at the sound. Hangman was standing there, grinning and looking at you with a brow raised. “Nothing, I was just telling Phoenix how mean you are to me on a daily basis.” You replied.

“What do you mean I’m mean to you? I’m just kidding, you know that right?” His expression was different, kinda concerned. Something you’ve never seen on his face before. You shrugged and headed back to the beach followed by Phoenix and Hangman.

As the day came to an end, you all got home to get changed into nicer outfits as you decided to go out to eat that evening.

You entered your bedroom and took your towel and shower essentials as Hangman entered the room. “Can I join you?” He said with a cocky grin. You looked at him with disgust and headed to the bathroom as he chuckled.

After your shower you went back to your room, only to find Hangman sat on your shared bed waiting for his turn. He looked at you up and down not looking guilty in the slightest and you rolled your eyes. “Damn. Why did I never notice how hot you were?” “Jesus, stop being such a perv. Do I need to be afraid to sleep in this bed tonight?” You replied with a hint of worry in your voice. His face dropped as if you said something tragic to him.

“I- No, god no I’m just kidding I would never do anything to anyone without consent. Do you seriously think I’m that type of person?” He replied, deeply saddened. “I don’t know, you tell me.” You muttered with a blank expression. I furrowed his brows. “Y/N, I swear I could never do anything like that to anyone. You don’t have to be afraid of me, that’s just friendly banter everything that I say to you, I promise.”

You nodded, as you took your clothes to get changed. “Can you um- turn around please?” He nodded and turned around, dropping his attention to his phone.

After everyone was ready you got to the restaurant. You sat next to Phoenix and Bob and started talking to her. ‘He’s looking at you.” You whispered. She looked up at Rooster and smiled shyly. “Yeah well, Hangman is looking at you too.” You furrowed your brows and looked up at the man. He quickly looked away as your eyes met his and you smiled softly.

“Don’t tell me you don’t have a crush on him, I would never believe you.”

“I don’t, alright? He’s just been mean and obnoxious and cocky ever since I met him and you know what he said to me last week, how’s that not mean? Today he made yet again some pervy comments about my body when I got out of the shower so no, I don’t have a crush on him, if anything I hate him.”

“You know he doesn’t mean anything he says. And even if you don’t have a crush on him, he has a crush on you. I can see it, the way he looks at you, and how concerned he was earlier when you told him he was mean to you? He likes you and that’s a fact.” You shook your head, not believing her.

The dinner came to an end and you all went back to your house. Phoenix looked at you with a knowing grin and you both removed your shoes and started running towards the beach.

“What are they doing?” You heard from afar as you kept on running. You both tried to get out of your dresses and ran into the ocean. You noticed the boys running towards you laughing and removing their clothes as well before entering the water.

“Jesus, it’s cold.” You and Phoenix laughed at Payback’s words and threw him some water.

“Hey! Not nice!” He laughed. You swam and played for a few minutes in the water and watched the sun set on the horizon with a soft smile on your face. Jake’s hand brushed over yours in the water and it made you shiver.

You all decided it was time to get some sleep so you headed back to your house.

You and Jake went up to your shared bedroom and Jake closed the door behind him. “No peeking.” He said with a smirk. “I literally just saw you in your underwear.” You replied, matter-of-factly. “Yeah but I kinda need to change it since it’s all wet.” You rolled your eyes and turned around to change as well. “Are you gonna be uncomfortable if I sleep in my boxers? I don’t really like sleeping in sweatpants.”

“If you stay on your side of the bed, we’ll be fine.” You replied. You found it sweet that he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable so you asked him the same thing. “Are you gonna be uncomfortable if I sleep with just a t-shirt over my underwear?” You hesitated. “I’ll stay on my side of the bed sweetheart.” He winked at you and you rolled your eyes.

You both took your place in the bed and switched off the light, the light of the moon being the only source of comfort you were gonna have for the night.

You hated sleeping in the dark, you were prone to nightmares and night terrors. And of course being a naval aviator didn’t help with the thing, especially when you almost died seven days ago. You didn’t tell Jake in the hope that maybe you’d be exempt from said terrors all week and he never had to know. You look out the window and stare at the moon when you hear Jakes light snores next to you.

You decide to get up and go get some fresh air on your balcony. You stare at the moon, not really expecting anything, you just hoped to fall asleep peacefully tonight. “Are you alright? Jake said just above a whisper. He looked sleepy and God how hot was he in those white boxer briefs. “I’m fine you can go back to sleep.” You said softly. “You don’t look fine.” He said, brushing your hair away from your face and his touch made you shiver. You guessed he felt it as he said “Are you cold?” You shake your head no and smile softly at him. “Come back to bed with me.” He took your hand in his and led you back inside the bedroom.

As you both lay down face to face on your shared bed, face lit by the moon you can’t help but think about how cute he is as he brushes your hair out of your face. “Am I making you uncomfortable? Is that why you couldn’t sleep?” He asks softly.

“No, I uh- I have night terrors and I didn’t want you to know and make fun of me even more.” “I would never make fun of you for this. Everybody has their issues Y/N, I have night terrors too.” “You do?” “Yeah, I have PTSD.” You nod. You perfectly understand as you have it too. “Almost dying last week was pretty traumatic too you know and um- I wish you hadn’t made all those comments you made about my flying.” You bit your lips and he furrowed his brows, saddened.

“I uh- I lost my last WSO pulling one of these stunts. I forced myself to train last week because we were required to do it but the truth is, having to do it again brought back memories I thought I forgot and I lost control for a second.” After a few seconds of complete silence a tear fell down your cheek. “I’m so sorry Y/N I didn’t know.” He said brushing out your tear with the pad of his thumb.

“I’m sorry I said those things to you, I was only joking and I thought you knew that I was never being serious when I said dumb things to you. I didn’t mean to be mean I swear I uh- I like you Y/N.” The last words came out as a whisper but considering how close your faces were you heard them. “Do you really mean that?” You ask, hopeful. “I do.”

“I really thought you hated me saying all these things to me.” “How could I ever hate you? You’ve always been sweet and adorable and incredibly cute with me and I’m sorry for yanking your pigtails like I did. I swear it was always a means to express my feelings but I guess I should’ve been straight up with you.”

You smiled as you leaned forward and captured his lips on yours. He put his hand on the back of your head and pulled you closer to him, deepening the kiss. “Gosh I’ve waited for this for so long.” He said, pulling back with a bright smile on his face. “So Phoenix was right then.” “What?” “She said you liked me.” “Yeah well, Rooster likes her so you need to tell her that and they need to do something about it because I can’t bear listening to them go at it every night.” He laughed. “You knew about it too?” You ask, dumbfounded. “You didn’t? Gosh, have you been living under a rock?” He exclaimed.

“Shut up!” You say playfully. “Wait did you say that Rooster likes her?” “Yeah, totally in love since they went to Top Gun together.” He replied. “She thinks he doesn’t like her like that and she doesn’t want to tell him she likes him.” “God, what a bunch of hopeless people we all are. Bob’s in love with Fanboy.” He adds.

“Now you’re just full of shit, shut up.” You said as he laughed. “Come on baby, time to sleep.” He said, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Say it again, that sounded good.” You answered, eyes closed under his touch.

“Baby.” He repeats kissing your nose. “Baby.” A kiss on your jaw. “Baby.” Your lips.

“Hold me close.” You mumbled. “Forever baby.” He replied.

206 notes · View notes

callsignmercy · 2 years

Text

Baby, please don’t go. - Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

Prompt: You and Jake are Top Gun sweethearts but a fuck up on his part is never far. How will you handle the heartbreak and how will you manage being reunited with him after so long?

Words: ~4,5k

Warning: Jake being a dick, phoenix and Coyote being the best wingmen ever, fluff, soft!Jake

Note: Highly unedited, English is not my first language, sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Please do not republish, translate or do whatever with my work.

Y/C/S: your callsign

————————————————————————

You know, it is so hard to leave. Until you leave. And then, it is the easiest goddamn thing in the world.

It was so easy being with him. And now the emptiness that he left in your heart feels like it’s gonna swallow you whole.

Jake was your everything. It hadn’t started on the easiest path though.

“You’re a fucking pain in my ass you know that?” He said with gritted teeth. Top Gun was known to be hard, so you gave it everything you had, up to the point of being as good as mister Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin. He tried to beat you everyday, at every flight course, every dogfight, every class, every exam but you ended up tying with him in everything. You knew being a girl was complicated in a man’s field such as this one, but you were competitive and you knew that you couldn’t let this one go.

But the last day Jake finally beat you at something and you knew he’d just won Top Gun, with you coming only in second place. You were devastated. Of course being second would earn you a good place in a top squadron anyway but you really wanted California and the Vigilantes.

But Jake took that away from you too. There was only one available spot there and he took it. Mainly to piss you off. You were forced to select your second option: the Black Aces.

That night you were all celebrating at The Hard Deck but the ambiance was too much for you at some point. Jake being an obnoxious brat as usual, telling whomever wants to hear that he’d just won Top Gun not without mentioning the fact that you arrived second.

But the worst part is, you came second because you let him win. But he didn’t know that.

During your bickering with Jake you’d learn that he was the first in his family to be in the Navy, the first to be a naval aviator, the first to make it to Top Gun, the first in everything. You knew he wanted to win to make his parents proud and support them with the money he’d earn being in the army. And being first or second didn’t really matter to you in the end you’d still be the first girl on top.

So you let him win. During that last day, that last flight course, you’d slow down your plane just a bit, just a knot, to make it to the finish line a fraction of a second after him and without anyone noticing and being suspicious of your action.

As you got down your plane you put a fake angry face on and pretended you were mad that he won, leaving you in second place but really you were happy seeing him this happy.

You rolled your eyes as he came up to you saying how he was the best and you just couldn’t keep up with him but you didn’t mind anymore. Seeing him happy made you happy, and to you right this second it was all that mattered.

That evening at The Hard Deck after hearing Jake brag for hours you went out the back door discreetly and sat down on the beach watching the waves crash on the Californian sand. You knew you wouldn’t see most of them again, being dispatched all through the US and the islands around the world, and you were sad thinking that you probably wouldn’t see Jake anymore. You knew you weren’t stationed far from each other but the army didn’t leave you a lot of time to socialise. So you thought of what could have gone differently in order for you to stay close to him or see him again frequently.

But who were you kidding? He didn’t like you like that anyway. If anything he hated you for being such a strong competitor the previous weeks. Sadness came flooding into you just like the waves you were watching and tears crept their way up your eyes flooding them. Sat on the beach, chin resting on your knees, watching the ocean you let the tears fall down your suntanned cheeks.

“Can I sit here?” The sound of Jake’s voice startled you. You quickly wiped away your tears and nodded your head.

“Why did you slow down?” He asked. “What?” You replied, voice breaking because of the sadness. “We were at the exact same speed, wing to wing on that flight course, we were gonna make it on the line together but you slowed down. I saw you, even though you think nobody noticed I did because I was right next to you back there. You slowed down. Why?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You replied.

“Come on Y/N admit it. Why did you slow down?” “I thought there was something wrong with my jet.” You lied. “Bullshit, I checked the parameters when we came back. You slowed down on purpose and I know it, what I don’t know is why you did it.” You stayed silent and looked straight in front of you.

“Y/C/S did you let me win?” You stayed silent once more but shifted your gaze and looked at your feet in the sand. Jake understood what it meant. “You did? But why?”

“I heard you talk with Coyote the other day, saying how you wanted to make your parents proud and everything, so I did it in order for you to achieve that. You know I really am a nice person believe it or not, I do have a heart and I do acknowledge other people’s feelings, even though those feelings are the one of an obnoxious ass, no offence intended.” Jake stayed silent for a few seconds, taking in what you had just told him.

“Wait, you did that for me? But you hate me.” “I’ve never hated you Jake, you were just competition and in my way, up to the top. But I never hated you, if anything seeing you smile makes me like you a little bit more, you look less of an ass.” You smile.

“But don’t you want to make your parents proud?” “My parents are both dead.” “Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-” “It’s fine Jake, you’re fine. They’ve been gone for a few years now, I’m okay. Top Gun was a dream after I became a naval aviator and of course winning would have been a bonus but I’d rather be happy seeing someone else win if they deserved it more than me. You’ve been a great competitor Jake, and I’m happy you could make your parents proud like you did.”

You looked at him and smiled softly. Jake looked at you searching your eyes for any kind of lie in anything you’ve just said but he couldn’t find any. You were genuinely happy for him. The next thing you know Jake’s lips are on yours in a soft, butterflies inducing kiss.

“I’ve never hated you either, I like you Y/N and thank you for letting me win. But you know my parents would have been proud even if we tied for first place.” He said as he pulled back from the kiss, still inches from your face. “It’s okay, I really don’t mind you being on top.” You kissed him again and he smiled at the innuendo pushing you back slightly to lie on the sand.

After that night, You and Jake went on a few dates and became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Being separated from each other wasn’t a really big deal at first but it really took a toll on you after a few years.

You and Jake had talked of marriage and children and living together but everything went down the drain that dreadful night.

You were on leave and Jake was supposed to be too but he was nowhere to be found. He was supposed to come to your apartment two hours ago but he still wasn’t there, hadn't called or texted and nobody you knew knew where he was. After waiting for him and fearing the worst for hours you decided to go to sleep knowing there was nothing you could do but wait for a phone call from him or the police or firefighter in the worst case scenario. When he passed the door of your apartment at four in the morning you knew he was drunk.

“Hey you.” He said drunkenly when he arrived in your bedroom. “Oh for fuck’s sake Jake, seriously?” “What?” “You’re drunk? You went out on the only night we could have spent together on our leave? You’re an asshole Jake.” Tears flooded your eyes as you knew you couldn’t bear this anymore. You knew if he wasn’t gonna change you wouldn’t be able to live with him and be with him entirely. “Jesus, am I not allowed to go out with my friends once in a while?”

“You’re also allowed to come see your girlfriend when you haven’t seen her in months.” “Yeah well, if I knew you were gonna be like that I wouldn’t have come at all. Let alone spend my life with you.”

The words that left his mouth flooded your brain and sadness took over. “Really Jake?” You said, your voice breaking. “Yeah, who wants to spend their life with someone as annoying as you?” You knew being drunk made him say things he would probably regret in the morning but you couldn’t care less, this was the last straw. After all, drunk words are sober thoughts aren’t they? “Get out of my apartment Jake.” “Gladly.” His voice was stone cold which made your throat itch. How could anyone be this heartless?

That night Jake stepped out of your apartment and made his way back to his. The following morning he woke up and tried to call you but you didn’t answer. He didn’t remember any of what happened the night before and he didn’t understand why you suddenly didn’t want to give him the time of day. He tried to call you, text you, dm you but nothing worked. He even came by your apartment but you weren’t there or simply weren’t responding he wouldn’t know. He went to see you on your base but couldn’t find you either.

Eventually he stopped. Not knowing what he did wrong, not being able to get any answers out of anyone you both knew. You didn’t even explain to Coyote why you weren’t talking to Jake. So he knew he would probably never see you again. He was devastated.

You know, it is so hard to leave. Until you leave. And then, it is the easiest goddamn thing in the world.

It was so easy being with him. And now the emptiness that he left in your heart feels like it’s gonna swallow you whole.

Jake was your everything. Now he’s just an old memory tossed down under your bed.

This was 342 days ago. 342 days spent trying to build yourself back up after Jake told you how annoying you were and that he would never spend his life with someone like you.

And now you were called back at Top Gun and you knew that he had to be there too. After all he was in the 1% just like you were. And you hated that. You hated that after everything you did to avoid him for so long he was gonna waltz back into your life so easily. But more importantly you hated the fact that you knew if he apologised, you weren’t gonna be able to resist him.

You entered The Hard Deck that evening hoping but dreading to see him. He was playing pool with Coyote when you noticed him. You went to the bar to order yourself a drink and noticed your fellow squadronmate Phoenix. She waved at you when she saw you and beckoned you over. You made your way to the pool table as slowly as you could, fearing the way the evening was gonna go.

You took her in your arms as you said hello to her. Jake froze when he saw you. He knew you would probably be there too but seeing you in person after so long stirred something in him.

“Y/N I believe you already know Hangman and Coyote from your Top Gun days.” Phoenix started. “This is Payback and Fanboy.” “Who’s he?” You asked.” “Who’s who?” Coyote asked. Both you and Phoenix turned your heads toward a blond-haired man sitting at the bar eating peanuts. “When did you get here?” “Oh, I- I’ve been here the whole time.” The man replied. “Man’s a stealth pilot.” Jake exclaimed. "Literally." Coyote added.

“Weapons system officer actually.” “With no sense of humour.” Jake said. “What do they call you?” “Uh, Bob.” “No your call sign.” Payback asked. “Uh Bob.” He replied. “Bob Floyd? You’re my new backseater? From Lemoore?” Phoenix exclaimed. “Looks like it.” Bob said. “Well Bob, rack ‘em.” Phoenix smirked, handing Bob the pool cue. “Okay.” He replied with a big smile, happy to be included.

That’s why you loved Phoenix and you made a great team together, because underneath her tough surface she was just as nice as you and didn’t like people not being included. You smiled softly and watched them play.

Little did you know that Jake was eyeing you from afar, heart clenching at how sweet you looked, smiling softly at Phoenix and Bob playing pool together. He didn’t know what he did wrong but he regretted doing it, whatever it was because he couldn’t bear not seeing you smile like that to him anymore.

“Go talk to her.” Coyote interrupted his thoughts. “She doesn’t want to talk to me, you know it.” “Yeah but you can’t go three weeks without talking to her as if she wasn’t gonna be in the same room as you the whole time. You have to know why she stopped talking to you man, she must have a reason you were perfect for each other and you know I resent this whole love thing.” Jake chuckled. “I can’t man, what if she rejects me once more or doesn’t want to explain anything?” “You have to try, for your own sake, and maybe mine because I won’t bear another three weeks of you wallowing in self pity. Took you long enough to stop the last time.” Coyote said. “Alright, I’ll try.” Jake replied.

Jake doesn’t remember that night of 342 days ago. He remembers going out with his friends and next thing he knows he wakes up fully clothed in his bed the next morning and you don’t reply to him when he tries to call you. Nobody knows why you don’t answer him and your friends don’t want to tell him. Eventually he thought it best to leave you alone because you undoubtedly didn’t want to be bothered by him anymore.

“Stop thinking so loud.” Phoenix told him as she was about to take her shot next to him. He snaps out of his trance and looks at her. “What’s up with you? You’re unusually quiet.” She asks. “Nothing, I’m fine.” He replies as his eyes search her. “You got a crush on Y/C/S or something?” She teases him.

Coyote shakes his head, eyes widening at Phoenix to make her understand not to go there so she stops, frowning. Jake sighs and glances at his feet. “It’s okay man, you’ll figure it out.” Coyote whispers to him.

Phoenix finishes her pool game with Bob and decides to go up to the bar where you currently were to try and get an answer out of this weird situation. She hated not knowing.

“Hey Y/N, do you have any idea what might be up with Hangman? I just mentioned your name and he went awfully silent.” You sighed. You knew you wouldn’t be able to get out of this one. “You know that boyfriend of mine I told you about when you arrived at the Black Aces? The one I broke up with about a year ago and still can’t get out of my head?” You start. “Yeah Jak- Wait? Jake? Your Jake? It’s Jake Seresin?” She said pointing at him.

You keep your eyes fixed on your beer bottle. “Why did you never tell me?” “I didn’t know you knew him and I didn’t want anyone to know.” “So the asshole that made you cry for weeks on end and told you you were not worth his time was Seresin?” Remembering this once more made your eyes water.

“I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind.” She starts walking away but you grab her bicep and bring her back to you. “Please don’t say anything to him. I don’t want to bother him with that nor involve anyone in our relationship.” She sighs. “Okay, I understand. But are you at least going to talk to him? Get an explanation for his acts?” “I don’t know, maybe this mission won’t require me talking to him, so probably not.”

“Come on. You’ve been miserable for months before finally letting him go. At least try to get some closure, you deserve that.” “Maybe, I’ll see.”

At the other end of the bar Coyote watched the whole scene of you and Phoenix playing live. Phoenix pointed slightly at Jake when you told her who he was for you and her surprise and your sadness. He knew she knew and it was the chance he was waiting for to help his friend.

When Phoenix came back to the group, leaving you at the bar Coyote went to her and pulled her away from the crowd. “You know right?” “What? What do I know?” “About Hangman and Y/C/S.” “What am I supposed to know?” “That they were together and maybe why she broke up with him.” “I don’t know, do you know?” She replies, eyes narrowing. “Stop playing. I really need to get them back together but I have no idea why she broke up with him and neither does Jake so you need to help me get my friends back together.” “Wait, he doesn't know why she left?” “No he spent that night with us and the next morning she wasn’t replying to him at all.”

“Oh Javy.” “What?” “Jake fucked up.” “What do you mean?” “He was supposed to spend the evening with her that day, they were both on leave and hadn’t seen each other in months but he went out and got drunk, that bit you know. But he went to her apartment after that and they had a fight and he ended up telling her she was annoying and that he would never be able to spend his entire life with her if she was to keep being annoying like that.” “What?” “Yeah, all because she told him he could have spent the evening with her.”

“Jesus, what an idiot. He woke up the next morning but he didn’t remember anything, he was too hammered.” “She thinks he knows though.” “We need to get them to talk and get back together. They were too perfect for each other.” “Alright, how do we do that?” “We cyrano them.” “They’re gonna see it coming they’re not dumb.” “So we can just lock ‘em in a room and force them to communicate.” “Okay where?” “We’ll find something this week, don’t worry.” “Alright, we really need to make it work.” “Right, I can’t bear him wallowing anymore.” “I agree.” Phoenix replied.

The first few days back at Top Gun showed Phoenix and Coyote how important it was for them to succeed in their mission. Yours and Jake’s flying were dodgy, you both were unsure of yourselves and didn’t prove how good you normally are and used to be during your Top Gun days.

You and Jake didn’t pull your famous moves, didn’t bicker like you used to at Top Gun, didn’t communicate really, except for the required amount. You stayed awfully silent and Jake hated that.

“Y/C/S that’s a kill.” Maverick exclaimed. “Copy.” You simply replied and headed back to base. But did Jake or Maverick see you shoot up behind Jake’s plane, right in front of Maverick to avoid Jake being toned? If yes, they didn’t mention it. You were always that nice, and yet again you’ve helped Jake win.

As you were doing the required 200 pushups Payback bet with Maverick you couldn’t help but think of why you did this. You didn’t know really, it just felt right in the moment, like something you had to do.

“197. Down. 198. Down. 199. Down. 200. Good job Y/C/S, you can go. Good job up there.”

“Thanks Hondo.” You simply replied and headed back to the now deserted rec room.

On the tarmac, Jake landed his plane and Coyote was about to board his, when Jake interrupted him. “Hey do you have my sunglasses?” He asked. “Oh shit, I think I left them in the rec room.” “It’s alright, I’ll go get them. Good luck up there.” “Luck’s not a factor. It’s the pilot.” Coyote winked at his wingman and Jake chuckled.

As he entered the rec room he noticed you, sat on one of the couches and bit his lip. Maybe it was time to talk to you.

A wave of panic overflew him as he thought more about it. Abort, abort. Eject, eject, eject. His brain told him. As he was about to head out the door it closed on him and outside of it stood Phoenix, key in hand. Jake sighed and bowed his head in defeat.

The noise made you look up at what was happening and you saw Jake looking down and Phoenix shooting you an apologising glance. You didn’t fight it, you knew it would be no good. So you just stayed seated on the couch. Looking out the window. Waiting for Jake to speak first.

Slowly but surely, Jake came to sit on the couch in front of you. “Y/N?” He began softly. You hummed and he continued. “Will you, maybe, explain to me what I did that night so that you’d stop talking to me?” You frowned but his voice was so gentle there was no reason for you to scream. “You don’t remember?” You asked. “I- uh. I got really drunk that night and I don’t remember anything. I'm sorry. I really want to understand, it’s been clawing at my skin for about a year and… well, if you still don’t want anything to do with me I’m just going to need closure I think.”

Tears began to pool in your eyes hearing this. You didn’t want to give him closure, you wanted him back, you wanted him to apologise, you wanted him to love you again. “We were supposed to spend the evening together because we hadn’t seen each other in months but you went out with your friends and came by my apartment at four in the morning completely drunk and I called you out for it and you said-” You started, your voice breaking.

“And I quote “if I knew you were gonna be that annoying I wouldn’t have come at all. Let alone spend my life with you. Who wants to spend their life with someone as annoying as you?” I can't get your words out of my head, they constantly repeat in my brain no matter the time of day or what I’m doing.”

“It’s impossible I would have never said something like that to you.” He replied. “Well you did, I asked you to leave and you replied “gladly”. So I blocked you on everything and focused on work from then on. I never told that to anybody except Phoenix and she didn’t even know you were the one I was talking about before that first night at The Hard Deck last week-end.” You said. “Jesus why did I say that?” “I keep wondering as well.”

“Look Y/N, I know I’ve been an asshole that time I missed you but I preferred going out with my friends rather than spending some precious time with you and for that I am terribly sorry. I know I cannot apologise enough for my actions and words. I understand if you want to stay away from me and if you ask I’ll stay away from you too. But thank you for explaining everything. It means a lot.”

Jake being nice wasn’t new for you, during the years you were together you got him to open up more to you about his feelings and emotions and that’s why he’s so gentle and good at talking to you now.

“342 days.” You said. “It’s been 342 days since you passed the door of my apartment and I never stopped loving you even though you said that to me.” “I know sweetheart. I don’t know what came to me. I’ve been miserable ever since that day and not knowing what I did to make you mad at me was the worst thing.”

He stood up and came to sit down next to you. “I’m sorry baby.” He said as he held your hand. The tears came flooding down your cheeks. “I never want to look at myself again and wonder who I am and how I got this way. All sad and lonely. I want to be happy. Preferably with you but that part is up to you I would never force your hand on anything you know this.” “I know Jake.” You replied resting your forehead on his softly. “I love you so much my sweet girl.” “I love you too Jake.”

It was all Jake needed, and with a soft movement, his lips were on yours for the first time in a year. “Gosh I missed this so much.” You mumbled against his lips. “I’m never leaving you again, I promise baby.” He replied, kissing you once more. He put his hand on the nape of your neck, deepening the kiss. “God I love you.” “I love you too.” You pulled back, searching for air, resting your forehead on his and closing your eyes at the thought that you finally can be happy again.

“Oh and sweetheart?” “Yeah?” You replied softly. “You really gotta stop letting me win when we fly.” You chuckle thinking about the move you pulled thirty minutes ago. “I’m way too nice for that.” You replied. “I know my sweet girl, you’re perfect, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, especially me.” He smiled softly. “Baby?” You said and he hummed. “Please don’t go.” “I won’t. I promise. Not anymore. This time I’ll make it right. And I’ll marry you like we talked about I swear.” He replied. “I think we’re gonna have to name Phoenix and Coyote as our best man and maid of honor.” You replied, looking out the door and seeing both of them grinning like children and high-fiving each other. “We sure do, baby. But for now, I gotta kiss you and make up for all the time I lost without you.” “Oh yeah you definitely have to do that.” You chuckled and kissed him again, putting your arms around his neck and pulling him against you.

701 notes · View notes

callsignmercy · 2 years

Text

Of bets and heartbreaks - Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd.

Prompt: Bob likes you but has a hard time asking you out, so what a better idea than Jake betting on it?

Words: ~2.2k

Warning: swearing, bob crying (I’m terribly sorry), Jake being a dick.

Note: Highly unedited, English is not my first language, sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar. Please do not republish, translate or do whatever to my work.

Your callsign: Sunshine.

————————————————————————

When Y/N Y/L/N arrived at The Hard Deck that evening to meet her fellow pilots for a new Top Gun mission every single one of their heads turned in her direction. She was like a ray of sunshine illuminating the room. She had a bright smile and big Y/E/C eyes that complimented her skin tone really well.

“Hi Phoenix!” She said to her friend. “Oh my God Sunshine, you’re here too?” She replied. Phoenix and Sunshine had met at Top Gun together finishing second and third. Being the only two girls in the class bonded them so they kept in touch after being assigned to different parts of the US.

“Yeah I’ve been called back for a mission at Top Gun, I assume you all were?” “Damn right.” She replied. “Sunshine, let me introduce to you Payback, Fanboy, Bob over here, Rooster, Coyote and Bagman.” She continued. “It’s Hangman.” "Whatever." Y/N chuckled at her answer and headed to the bar to get herself a drink.

“Hi, Bob, right?” She said to the aviator currently sitting at the bar eating peanuts. He looked at her and nodded his head, not being able to mutter a single word. Y/N smiled at him before ordering her drink. “Hi Penny, a beer please.” “Put it on my tab.” She turned her head to look at whoever said that and noticed a smug smile on Hangman’s face. “I’m good, Deadman, I can pay for my own drinks.” “It’s Hangman, and I’m just being nice.” Whatever Snowman.” She replied with a straight face while handing Penny some cash. Bob snorted at her comeback. She suppressed a smile while turning back, giving Bob a wink and heading towards Phoenix and her friends. She waved at Bob to come along which he did, putting down his cup of peanuts and walking towards the pool table they were currently using.

“It’s not fair, you cheated!” Payback exclaimed. “I did nothing of the sort, you’re just shit!” Fanboy replied. The whole group laughed at the comment as a sound of piano was heard through the bar. Phoenix smiled and took Payback’s arm and headed over to Rooster and the piano.

Y/N took one of the pool cue and handed it to Bob as they were the only two remaining at the pool table. “Wanna play?” She asked him with a bright smile. He didn’t reply but took the cue and smiled back at her. He knew the dagger squad from a previous mission they flew together but Y/N was the new one and he didn’t feel yet okay around her. But her asking him to play with her was a nice step towards inclusion for him and so he smiled and nodded.

Y/N made small talk with Bob during the game trying to get him to open up a little.

It was undeniable for her that Bob was a cute and shy boy, the exact opposite of everyone she knew in the Navy. She had her fair share of boyfriends inside and outside of the navy, all smug, arrogant and unable to share their emotions for the life of them. A fair share of Roosters and Hangmans but she knew that the Bob type was what she truly needed. And he knew it too.

Even though his number of girlfriends was extremely low (according to Smugman Hangman) he felt like what he needed was a girl that would bring joy in his life and Y/N was the perfect candidate. Extroverted but not as much as Phoenix, able to make snarky comebacks at Hangman, and funny ones on top of that, and also super beautiful and cute and with a smile that could light up New York City after dark.

So why was he incapable of muttering a single word to her? He could manage small talk but how for crying out loud was he going to ask her out?

“I’m gonna go get myself another drink, do you want anything?” She asked him at the end of their game. “Hum, a coke please. And a cup o-” “A cup of peanuts? Got it.” She replied with a smile. He smiled shyly and watched her head to the bar. As he was putting back the cue sticks to their original place he was interrupted by Hangman.

“Gonna ask her out anytime soon?” He turned his head towards his fellow squadonmate. “What?” “Well it’s undeniable that you like her considering how you’re undressing her with your eyes.” Hangman replied. “Wha- I- I do not undress her with my eyes.” He muttered. “Come on Bob, it’s okay to have a crush, and considering how she punched me in the balls earlier with her comments I’m not gonna try and get her so you better ask her out because she likes you too.” “How can you know that?”

“I happen to know how girls look at guys when they like them and she’s looking at you just like that whenever you’re next to her.” Hangman said. “Yeah well, I don’t plan on asking her out because I know you’re lying.” “Come on Bob, Let’s make a bet, if you haven’t asked her out before next week, I’m shooting my shot or maybe Rooster will, considering he’s obviously trying to get in her pants right now.” Bob’s head shot up at the bar, noticing Y/N and Rooster deep in conversation and her laughing at whatever he said.

Bob’s stomach flipped at the sight and Jake couldn’t help but smirk. “$50 that you don’t ask her out before next week.” Hangman said. Bob looked at him with disgust and headed back to Phoenix, Fanboy and Payback.

A couple days later after a particularly difficult training session Y/N was back at The Hard Deck to blow off some steam with her squadronmates. She eclipsed yourself to go sit on the warm sand and look at the sunset for a few minutes. “Can I?” She turned her head to see Bob standing next to her. She nodded and he sat down next to her. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” He said. “It really is. I love watching the sun set, it’s different every time.” “I- uh. I wanted to ask you something. Uh, you can totally say no if you don’t want to but I really need to ask you this, but um… Do you, maybe, want to um, go on a date with me?” He mumbled. She smiled and bit her bottom lip at his sweetness. “I would love to, Bob.” “Wait really?” He exclaimed, shocked that she would accept. “Yes, I really like you Bob.” “Alright then, are you free tomorrow night?” “I am.” She replied with a bright smile. He smiled shyly at her and got up to go back to the bar, unbeknownst to her with the brightest smile on his face.

The date with Bob went amazingly and Y/N and Bob went on two other dates after that. The next monday they were back in class. As Y/N and Bob were walking side by side talking heading toward their classroom Hangman interrupted them. “I see you finally got her to go on a date with you.” He smirked and searched his pockets. “Here, good job.” He said while putting fifty dollars in Bob‘s hand. “Too bad I didn’t get to shoot my shot.” He said to Bob but looking at her.

She gave him a disgusted look and turned to Bob. “What is that?” Y/N asked softly. “It’s um… It’s nothing, I- um.” “Oh I bet Bobby here that he couldn’t ask you out on a date before today. Guess I was wrong though.” Hangman said while Y/N still looked at Bob. “You bet on me?” She asked with sadness in her voice. “No I never did I- He mentioned it but I never accepted I-.”

“It’s fine Bob. No need to explain. You know what, I thought that you would be different than all the guys I dated before, smug and arrogant like Haphazard here or unable to share their feelings and with anger issues like Rooster but I thought you would be different. I thought-” She didn’t finish her sentence and sighed. “You’re all the same.” She added and headed to class. What shocked Bob was how calm she remained during her rant and for some reasons that terrified him.

Tears puddled in his eyes and he looked at his feet. “You’re a fucking asshole Bagman.” He said, lifting his head to look at Jake. He put the money back in Jake’s hand. “You know I never agreed to this, you knew I liked her and you nevertheless managed to fuck my love life up. What’s your gain in that uh? You can’t get a girl for yourself so you have to ruin other people’s love life? I don’t want you near me again. Go fuck yourself.” And with that he headed toward the classroom leaving a dumbfounded Jake behind.

He noticed her sitting at the back of the class, purposely avoiding his gaze and he took it as a sign to not go near her so he sat down next to Phoenix. “Are you alright?” She said to him when he sat down. “You look sad.” She added. “I’m fine. Just Bagman being a dick for a change.” “What did he do?” She asked. “Told Sunshine I made a bet with him over her, which is not true I never agreed to it but he needed to fuck everything up.” “Jesus what a dick.” He didn’t reply and looked down at his notebook, a tear fell down his face and soaked the page and Phoenix put a hand on his knee when she noticed.

“We’re all going to The Hard Deck tonight, you should explain everything to her.” “I already did but she said that all men were the same and left.” “Try again, I know her, she has the biggest heart ever even though she dated some real dickheads. It never changed the way she saw love and I’m sure she will understand that you did nothing wrong.” “I’m not sure she wants to talk to me right now.” “Let the day go, and you’ll see tonight, and if you prefer I can talk to her instead.” “I’ll see. Thanks Phe.” “No worries Bobby.” She smiled softly at him.

That evening at The Hard Deck Y/N was sitting in a corner, eyeing her drink as if it was the most interesting thing there. Phoenix nudged Bob on his side and motioned him to go talk to Y/N. He looked up at her seeing how sad she looked which clashed with her usual bright smile and optimistic nature. “I- uh… Can you go?” Phoenix looked at him sadly. “Alright Bobby.”

She walked up to the table Y/N was sitting at and sat down facing her. Y/N lifted her head to meet Phoenix’ and Phoenix shyly smiled. “You know we’re gonna have to change your callsign if you keep going like that.” She chuckled sadly. “What’s going on Sunshine?”

“Hangman being a dick that’s what’s going on.” “Nothing new around here. Gotta admit, after our last mission I’d hoped he’d change a bit but turns out he’s still the exact same.”

“Anyway, Bob told me what happened.” “Never been bet on before, that was a first. Especially by someone who I thought was incapable of doing such a thing.” “He never bet on you though. Hangman started the bet but Bob didn’t agree. Jake just wanted to act like a dick by pulling that stunt in front of you this morning but Bob never agreed to that.” “Really?” Y/N asked. “Yes, Hangman’s a dick like that.” “Crap. I should go talk to him.” She said.

“Yes you should, I’ll just tell him to come here.” “Thanks Tasha.” Phoenix winked at Y/N and headed toward Bob who had been watching the whole interaction not knowing what was happening. “Go see her, I explained everything.” Phoenix told him. Bob looked at her hopefully and she nodded her head back at him. He got up and headed towards Y/N’s table.

“Hi.” She said. “Hi. I’m sorry for what happened this morning. Hangman was just being a dick but I promise I never bet against you, I would never do something like that.” “I know Phoenix told me, I’m sorry I got angry at you, you weren’t responsible.” “Hangman made a bet that I couldn’t ask you out on a date before the end of last week and he told me that if I didn’t he was gonna shoot his shot but I swear I asked you out because I really like you and I also didn’t want him to bother you but I never accepted the bet.” He hurried. “As if Hindrance ever stood a chance.” She said. He snorted at the nickname and she smiled back.

“So if I ask you out again, will you say yes?” He asks. “You’ve become overly confident there Bobby.” She smirked. “I-uh…” He mumbled. “I’m kidding, of course I’d say yes.” She smiled brightly. “Please, never stop smiling.” He said looking at her with heart eyes. “Don’t ever give me a reason not to then.” She replied. “I promise.”

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callsignmercy · 2 years

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Hey guys!! I’m looking for a fic where Jake bets the reader if he gets 3 bullseyes he gets to take her out and then they go surfing? Does anyone know what I’m talking about?

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callsignmercy · 2 years

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Navigation

Welcome to my blog !

I’m Clem, 24, French, currently obsessed with Top Gun and certain naval aviators… Who can blame me?

I do not take request because I don’t write very often but feel free to come and chat with me I’d be more than happy to talk with you!

This is not my main blog you can also find me here (which for idk what reason has been shadowbanned 😑) and on my main (but I don’t post anything on there 🤷‍♀️)

Anyway here is my Masterlist 💫

And enjoy! 🤍

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callsignmercy · 2 years

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Masterlist

Top Gun

- Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin

Princess.

Prompt: Hangman is an obnoxious man and very keen on making your life a living hell after you told him off. But what happens when you’ve got tired of all of this?

Princess part 2.

Prompt: After Jake apologised to you you make it a priority to make Maverick proud and go on the mission with them. And maybe find more than an apology on the way…

Baby, please don’t go.

Prompt: You and Jake are Top Gun sweethearts but a fuck up on his part is never far. How will you handle the heartbreak and how will you manage being reunited with him after so long?

Hawaii getaway.

Hawaii getaway part 2.

Prompt: the vacations take an unexpected turn after Jake’s declaration. But the nightmares continue and Phoenix is there to listen.

Don't go breaking my heart.

Prompt: The only thing you ask Jake was not to break your heart. But Jake can’t keep a promise, after all he always leaves when the fight becomes too intense right?

The voicemail.

Prompt: Jake calls you to tell you he still loves you after ten years.

I'm sorry.

Prompt: Rivals to friends to enemies to friends to lovers in 8.5k words. That’s it. That’s the entire fic.

- Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd

Of bets and heartbreaks.

Prompt: Bob likes you but has a hard time asking you out, so what a better idea than Jake betting on it?

- Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky

No fear.

Prompt: Tom Kazansky has no fear. But maybe almost losing you can change that.

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callsignmercy · 2 years

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Princess - Jake ´Hangman’ Seresin. Part 2

Prompt: After Jake apologised to you you make it a priority to make Maverick proud and go on the mission with them. And maybe find more than an apology on the way…

Words: ~2.8k

Warning: mention of suicidal thoughts. Minors DNI. Overall way too much fluff it’s teeth rottening. English is not my first language so sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar…

Note: part 2. Highly unedited. It’s 5am, you gotta let a girl sleep ffs. Hope you like it.

Part 1.

————————————————————————

The next day felt better. Hangman didn’t make any remarks and didn’t pull any prank on you, which felt relieving. You had an okay night for the most part and you were ready to start the day and prove to yourself that you were among the best.

You managed to do just that and even managed to pilot alongside Hangman for a few hours. Still you didn’t communicate much because you didn’t want to trigger any remark from Hangman but you got up in everyone’s esteem pulling an exceptional manoeuvre and shooting down Maverick.

Combat training took an end the next day as you were getting ready to try the flight course Maverick had prepared to get the mission done.

You successfully did the manoeuvre in the required three minutes. The steep climbing at the end made you almost pass out but you put your focus on your father and you made it to the end of the route.

Everyone else missing the shot, or passing out from the g’s made you go up the hypothetical leader board alongside Rooster who successfully did the course but in more time than required.

Day after day you were getting better and better which even earned you a pat on the shoulder and a smile by Hangman. A sort of congratulation but without the words it seemed. You gave him a shy smile back, still a little afraid about him getting jealous but you had to admit it was soothing to not have to fear for your life every day or constantly wanting to crash your plane on purpose.

At the end of the second week, you were back at The Hard Deck again, playing darts with Coyote, well more like impressing him with your dart skills. At some point you did fifteen bullseyes in a row just to win a bet against him. “Can I?” Hangman asked you, wanting to join you for a game.

Coyote left to get a beer so you agreed, nodding and smiling silently. Jake was good at darts, in fact he was good at every game, but you beating him wasn’t in his plan. At the end of the game he gave you his hand to shake, with a soft smile, admitting defeat. Hand that you shyly shook, giving him a small smile back. You knew he was still trying to apologize and be soft and comforting around you.

After Phoenix used the words ‘terrified’ and ‘suicide’ to refer to you when she shouted at him, he knew he couldn’t act this way anymore around you by fear of pushing you over the edge.

His softness was weird for his squadronmates but it was reassuring for you and for Phoenix. She knew he was trying to do better for you.

After yet after another game of darts against Payback and Fanboy and a game of pool against Bob – all three of them you won – you eclipsed yourself to go sit on the beach. Unbeknownst to you, Jake had seen you leave and waited a few minutes before coming out to see you.

“Is it alright if I sit with you?” He asked softly. You nodded before he sat down next to you. “I feel like I should apologize for that first night. I shouldn’t have said those things to you, I don’t know what got into me.” You begin. “You shouldn’t. You were right in everything you said, I’m the one that shouldn’t have told you those things about your call sign. I don’t know why I felt the need to be a dick. Maybe seeing you with Rooster made something explode in me.”

“Why?” He hesitated a second before answering. “When you went through that door I thought you were the hottest and cutest woman I had ever seen in my life. And then alongside you came Rooster and I immediately thought that you too were together, I don’t know why.”

“So before anyone had the chance to tell me anything I was a dick to you and I apologize.” “It’s alright, you couldn’t know.” “Yeah but I should’ve waited for you to introduce yourself before assuming anything.” He said.

“It’s alright everybody makes mistakes.” “I guess you’re right. But I tend to make more than the entire population of San Diego combined.” You chuckled and you both fell into a comforting silence for a minute. “So where are you stationed when you’re not at Top Gun?” “At Lemoore, with the vigilantes. And you’re with Rooster in Virginia?” “Correct, Golden Warriors.” Jake felt relieved that you didn’t pick up on his remark about you being hot and cute.

“You wanna go back inside? I’ll buy you a drink.” “With pleasure Lieutenant.” He had to admit that you calling him lieutenant was giving him butterfly in his stomach. He helped you get up and you slowly made your way back to the packed bar.

The next day you were announced that the mission was to take place the next morning. You had to pack your bags and get ready to leave in twenty minutes. As you did so, Phoenix – whose room was across the hall from you – engaged the conversation.

“So what did you talk about with Hangman? No need to deny I saw you both yesterday.” “He apologized again.” “That’s good, are you feeling better?” “Yeah.” “That’s good, are you ready for tomorrow?” “Yeah, about that. If I’m chosen and by some chances I was to die there could you call my mom for me? And tell her I tried to make my dad proud?” “Y/N you’re gonna make it.” “Just- please?”

She looked at me across the hall, with sadness in her eyes. “Alright, but don’t go there thinking you’re not gonna come back because we all need you here alright? Rooster, Maverick, your mom and us, and Jake.” “I don’t think I really matter to him actually.” “Well you’d be wrong in that.”

“What?” “I see the way he looks at you. Like you hung the moon. Don’t think that you don’t matter to him because you do. I think he realized that you meant more to him than everything he believed in. I think you mean even more to him than flying.” “Don’t be ridiculous.” “I’m not. I promise. I saw it yesterday when you were at the bar together. He even looked at you when you weren’t looking. I’m telling you, he’s all in.”

Phoenix’ words were fighting in your head as you both headed to the plane that would bring you onto the carrier. Was she telling the truth?

That same afternoon as you were all standing in front of Maverick waiting for his orders you started thinking about your father. “Phoenix and Bob, and Princess.” You heard your name being called alongside Rooster, Payback, Fanboy, Phoenix and Bob’s meaning that you were to be part of the mission of the next day. Against safety reasons but for the good proceeding of the mission, another jet was to fly behind the four others just in case one of the miracles didn’t work. You were the one chosen to do it.

You couldn’t help but notice the look of disappointment on Jake’s face. But you understood Maverick’s choice, he couldn’t risk Hangman leaving them behind, saving his ass and his ass only.

That same evening the mess was awfully quiet. No one dared speak a word just in case it would jinx the miracle that was supposed to happen the next day.

That morning when the sound of the bugle was heard you were already ready. You managed to sleep for a couple hours but you couldn’t stop thinking. You suspect everyone’s night was the same.

“Let’s go.” Maverick announced as you all stepped in your jets awaiting departure. When you were given the go you took a deep breath and took off. “I’m gonna make you proud dad.” You thought to yourself, not wanting the others to hear. As you were given the go to enter the precipice you felt your heart race speed up but you tried to stay focused on the mission ahead.

One after the other the miracles were announced, meaning you didn’t have to use your own bombs and you could follow Payback and Fanboy out of there. You thought the climb was even harder than during training but the adrenaline rushing through your veins kept you from fainting. You already knew that if you were to pass out you’d be dead right after the top of that mountain as the missiles would catch you and you wouldn’t be able to avoid them.

So you silently prayed. You prayed your father to be proud of you, you prayed to come back home safely and for the others to as well. You prayed and prayed for a few seconds until you passed the hard deck and the missiles turned toward your jet. “Shit.” You muttered. The voices on the radio were impossible to discern, the number of “smoke in the air”, “I’m out of flares”, “break left”, and other things you heard in just thirty seconds was numbing. You tried to focus on your own plane, not wanting to be left behind on enemy territory. You used flares to protect Rooster and Phoenix and even managed to shoot down one of the enemy jets.

When you heard what happened to Maverick you wanted to go help despite the official orders given by your superiors. Listening to his own instinct and probably not thinking of consequences, you saw Rooster follow Maverick to try and help. After only a second you followed him as well, ignoring direct orders. “I’ll probably get court martialled for this but fuck it. And if I die saving Uncle Mav and Roos then it wouldn’t have been for nothing.” You thought to yourself.

“Princess come back!” You heard Hangman shout on the radio. You even think you heard his voice break. “I’m sorry.” You thought.

As you saw Rooster being forced to eject you managed to gun down the jet that crashed down his. As you crawled your way out of this mess, leaving your best friend and ‘uncle’ behind you managed to make another enemy plane crash with a manoeuvre your dad told you about. It wasn’t technically considered a kill on your part but it relieved you for a second.

While Rooster and Maverick found an enemy F-14 jet to come back home you managed to come back to the carrier safe and sound, not without shooting down another plane on the way back.

You were exhausted when you landed on the carrier. Not being able to come out of your super hornet until the mission was over – in case of need of immediate assistance – you looked outside the canopy, seeing Phoenix and Bob signing to you that you did a great job. You opened the canopy to get some fresh air in your lungs because you felt like fainting.

You turned your head to the left only to see Jake already looking at you, worried. “Are you okay?” He mouthed you from afar. You nodded, a blank expression on your face, still worried for Maverick and Rooster. When the radio went off again announcing that they might be on their way in an enemy plane you couldn’t believe your ears. After a while Jake was dispatched to go and help them and you felt worried again that he might not make it.

When you heard him again on the radio you couldn’t help the tears of joy streaming down your face. “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this is your saviour speaking. Please fasten your seatbelt, return your tray table to their locked and upright position and prepare for the landing.” You couldn’t help but let out a belly laugh hearing Hangman on the radio. “Hey Hangman. You look good.” You heard your best friend say. “Oh I am good. I am very good. I’ll see you back on deck.”

You were cleared to get off your jets as no other bandits were seen on the radar. You quickly got out and removed your helmet, waiting for the two planes to land.

You didn’t know what got into your mind when you launched yourself into Jake’s arms as soon as he got off his super hornet. First he was surprised but soon chuckled and almost swoon when you put your head on the crook of his neck. “I thought I lost you.” You whisper, mostly for yourself. “I’m here Princess.” You didn’t know if it was a nickname or your call sign but you didn’t care, Jake was here, safe and sound. You didn’t want to make it awkward so you got down and he put his forehead on yours. “I’m here Princess.” He repeated.

The whole squad reunited and hugged as Rooster was the first to speak. “Got yourself another kill!” “That makes two.” Jake answered. “Mav and Princess have five.” Phoenix added. “Makes them aces.” She finished. Hangman looked at you dumbfounded. “What? You thought you were the only one pilot with a confirmed kill when you arrived here? I already had two.” He laughed shaking his head and took you in his arms, putting his head on top of yours as you were way smaller than him. You’ve never felt more safe.

When you got back to Fightertown you all headed to The Hard Deck for a celebratory beer and pool game. After a few hours of laughing and playing with your squadronmates you eclipsed yourself to go sit on the beach.

“Hi Dad. We made it. We all made it.” You paused. “Rooster and Maverick are okay. I hope uncle Iceman is not giving you too much trouble up there. I only have Maverick now, but it’s okay. I’m an ace now Dad, I hope you’re proud of me from up there.”

“I think I fell in love. His name is Jake. He’s a pilot. I know I always told myself that pilots were trouble but I think he might be good for me. I think you would have liked him Dad.”

“I hope you’re as proud of me than I am proud of you. I love you Dad.”

“You can sit down I know you’re here.” You say softly to the person you heard coming behind you. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Jake apologized. “It’s okay I was just talking to my Dad. I’ve been doing it a lot lately. It soothes me I guess.” You both fell into a comforting silence before you spoke out again. “You heard everything?” “Pretty much.” “Well I hope I didn’t embarrass myself.” You said shyly. “Look at me.” Jake said softly. You turn your face to him and he is giving you a soft smile. “When you got picked yesterday I thought that I would lose you. Not that I didn’t believe in you but I thought that maybe a simple error could cost you your life. And when you followed Rooster and Maverick my heart felt like it shattered at the thought of you being forced to eject in enemy territory.”

“So when I saw you come back I felt like maybe, just maybe, it was time for me to tell you everything. I know you forgiving me for all I did to you will take a long time but I promise you that I will spend my entire life apologizing to you.” You shake your head. “Don’t say that.” “I fell in love with you Y/N McLeary. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize but when you hugged me today I thought that maybe, just maybe my feelings were mutual. So when I heard you tell your dad you fell in love with me I felt like my heart tripled in size.”

“When I heard you screaming my name on the radio I heard your voice falter. I knew that from that moment on I didn’t want to spend another minute without you. And when I heard you being dispatched to help Rooster and Maverick I thought that I lost you. But then I heard your smug voice and stupid comment and I started crying from joy.” You reply.

Jake looked at you with nothing but love in his eyes, tears forming on the corner of his green eyes. “Can I kiss you baby?” He asks in a whisper. You bite your bottom lip as you nod and Jake closes the gap between you two. The kiss is soft and loving and makes your heart flutter with joy.

“I’m gonna make things right, I promise you baby.” He paused. “What are you doing tomorrow night?” “Nothing.” You smile. “Then I’m taking you out on a date.” You look at him lovingly while biting your lip. “Stop doing that or we might just skip dinner.” “Show me the way home honey.” You answer as he chuckles and kisses you once more.

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callsignmercy · 2 years

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Princess - Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

Prompt: Hangman is an obnoxious man and very keen on making your life a living hell after you told him off. But what happens when you’ve got tired of all of this?

Words: ~3.3k

Warning: Sad, mention of death and suicidal thoughts. Minors DNI. English is not my first language so sorry for the easy vocabulary and bad grammar…

Note: This is my first Top Gun fic, please be kind. This is only part one as I made it extra long sorry. HIGHLY UNEDITED.

Part 2.

————————————————————————

Hangman could swear he found you insufferable. That evening when you passed the door of The Hard Deck with Rooster, scanning the room for your squadronmates, Hangman held his breath. He found you hot and cute but seeing you with Rooster maybe meant that you were together, which saddened him. But he was soon comforted.

“Bradshaw, as I live and breathe.” “Hangman. You look… good.” “Well I am good, Rooster. I am very good. In fact, I am too good to be true.” “Anyway, guys this is Princess, a fellow pilot at the Golden Warriors.” Rooster introduced you to the group. “Well hello there princess. Why do they call you that? Because you’re hot-” Okay is he flirting with you? Seems like the type to be honest. “-or because you’re a kiss-ass?” Okay maybe he’s just an asshole.

“Excuse me?” You stutter. “Well I don’t know, Princess as a call sign? Seems like you’re here because you kissed some admiral’s ass. You see you don’t resemble the type of pilots we usually see.” Coyote turns around, whispering to him. “Look at her name tag.” Hangman does so but he doesn’t seem to care. “Just for your information, Bagman, my call sign is Princess because I am William “King” McLeary’s daughter, it has nothing to do with any admiral whatsoever. In fact, I piss them off more often than I like to admit.-”

“True that.” Rooster murmurs. “-Second of all, you seem like a narcissistic asshole, with constant need of approval by your peers and mommy issues considering how you like to flirt with literally anything that breathes.” “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Hard of hearing and anger issues, we’re going somewhere.” “Don’t talk about my mother like that you bitch.” “Wow, that escalated quickly.” You add.

“You don’t like being put back at your place so you feel the need to insult anyone that contradicts you? How progressive. You need to grow up and realize everything doesn’t revolve around you. Look in a mirror from time to time and see how pathetic your life is before assuming things you didn’t even background check. Think before you talk, you’ll see it’s a good way to prevent you saying stupid shits. On that note, I’m gonna go get a drink. You can go back to your pool game and your miserable life.”

Everyone is taken aback by your monologue. Apparently nobody had every stood up to Hangman before you except to make snarky remarks.

You call Penny over and greet her as you haven’t seen her in a long time. “How are you doing Hon? It’s been so long. I heard about your father I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, I’m doing better, it’s not like it was unexpected, he’d been sick for a while.” “What can I get you?” “A beer please, I’m gonna need it to spend the night with that douchebag over there.” You point to Hangman as he gives you a deadly look.

“What has he done this time?” “You know the usual arrogant pilot thing, getting cocky and insulting people without arguments.” “Tell me about it.” You chuckle and take your beer. “How much do I owe you, Penn?” “It’s on Maverick tonight.” She points to a guy on the other side of the bar. You laugh. “It’s fine, I’ll get it. Put him out of his misery.” “Alright.”

As you go back to your squadronmates, Hangman heads towards the bar and whispers to you. “You shouldn’t have said that. You’re gonna regret it.” “Yeah sure.” You roll your eyes. If eyes could kill, you’d be dead ten time by now

As the first week passes you are constantly met with Hangman’s mean remarks about your name. You’re used to it and you don’t really care but today it has gone up a level. He is decided on making your life a living hell and for you to leave the mission before it happens.

This morning you found dirt all over your clothes, which made them impossible to wear, so you had to do a full laundry before going to class, which made you late. At noon he made you trip at the mess and you ended up on your butt, covered in sauce as your tray spilt on you. And he constantly ridiculed you in class, marking snarky remarks in class in front of Maverick.

The next day was no better, you shower stuffs were emptied all over the bathroom floor, constant devaluation of your performances in class, yet again, snarky remarks which made everyone laugh, except for your best friend Rooster, who tried to stop him but couldn’t. You feel like if he could, he would have gladly beaten you up in your sleep, which made you sleep bad for more than a week now.

Your lack of sleep affected your performances in the sky, which made you go down in Maverick’s esteem and the overall charts. Being a solo pilot meant that you didn’t have anyone but yourself to protect, but lately you were making dangerous manoeuvres and wishing you’d just crash just to stop having to deal with the constant pressure of Hangman wanting to defeat you.

As you go back to your quarters after yet a disastrous day you can’t help but break down. Hangman’s means were up the roof to make you leave and you couldn’t handle it anymore. Lately, because of your disastrous results, he had made a remark about you not living up to your dad’s legacy which ultimately lead to your downfall.

You couldn’t handle it anymore and as soon as you passed the shower door you fell down of your knees and started crying. You didn’t think a simple – yet true – remark about Hangman’s true nature could have led to a week of constant harassment and suicidal thoughts on your part. As you were sat under the running shower, fully clothed and crying to the point of not being able to breathe properly Natasha entered.

“Hello? I heard crying are you okay?” She saw you, and immediately came to you. “Oh my god, Princess are you alright?” You couldn’t manage an answer and kept on crying.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” You shake your head, not being able to mutter a single word. She cut off the water and sat next to you, holding you in her arms.

After several minutes of you constantly crying and not being able to catch your breath you finally managed to calm down a bit and explain to Phoenix why you were like this.

“I’m gonna quit. I’m gonna go back to the Warriors and leave you guys to it I’m not cut for this job anyway.” “Gosh, is this because of Seresin?” You didn’t answer but your tears doubled and she understood. “Look, Hangman’s a douchebag, you shouldn’t listen to him. You bruised his ego so he tries to do anything to get back at you but it’s nothing. He’s just an insecure little boy.”

“It’s more than that he’s made my life a living hell. The other day I was late to class because I had to redo all my laundry because of him, and the time he made me trip and fall at the mess? I can’t sleep because I fear he’s gonna show up during the night and beat me to death. And recently he’s been talking about my dad and I couldn’t handle it. I’ve been shitty in the sky because of his remarks in class, I won’t be chosen for the mission so better yet go back to my normal life. I’ll tell my decision to Captain Mitchell and the admiral today.”

Phoenix held you tighter as she felt saddened about everything you just told her, she couldn’t imagine what had happened because you never told anyone. She felt sick that anyone could be this mean to anybody and not feel guilty about anything.

As she managed to get you to bed and let you sleep because you definitely needed it, she goes up to Jake with the sole intention of telling him off. “Bagman!” “It’s still Hangman.” “Whatever. What the fuck did you do to McLeary?” “Nothing more than she deserved.” He replied, not guilty in the slightest.

“She just told me that you made her life a living hell, pulling shits on her constantly, making snarky remarks, terrifying her to the point that she cannot get a single minute of sleep at night. Wearing her down to the point that she wants to kill herself whenever she’s up there. What the fuck is wrong with you? She just told you the truth, something that none of us could have had the guts to tell you upfront and you decided, instead of thinking about it and doing better, that it was best to give her suicidal thoughts and depression? Grow the fuck up Seresin, this isn’t kindergarten anymore. You’re thirty for fuck’s sake. Of course you’re a womanizer and maybe you in fact need constant validation by your friends but it’s not a reason to push someone over the edge. As she said, look in a mirror, you’ll see how pathetic you are, even more than you used to be.”

Jake froze the instant Natasha told him Y/N wanted to kill herself when flying. It made him think about his attitude and how he ended up in this situation. Don’t get me wrong, it is highly unusual for Jake to even think twice about the way he acted, but he never wanted to push anyone to the point of no return. He just wanted you to quit so he wouldn’t have to deal with you anymore.

The next day when you show up to class, Natasha can’t help but notice the even bigger bags under your eyes. You don’t smile, you don’t even look alive. You were determined to give you resignation at the end of today, you just couldn’t handle it anymore. This was worse than the basic training you had to do to become a pilot, the torture they put you through as a final test, in case you had to crash in an enemy territory – of course you can’t give any information about you or your bosses of anything for that matter – but the torture was nothing compared to this. Because the torture you could handle just fine, the pressure was like adrenaline to you, but this was a totally different scenario. You had said something in the first place that led you here. In a real torture scenario, you would have kept your mouth shut.

As you sit at the very back of the class, not being able to comprehend a single word that comes out Maverick’s mouth you think about your father. The King was the greatest alongside Maverick and Iceman. They had graduated together and made a great team whenever they went on missions. He was rear-admiral during the time Iceman was admiral and they retired around the same period. About a year ago, your father became really sick and eventually died a couple of months ago. He was your hero, he gave you the love for flying and the envy to do great in the navy. So when you graduated Top Gun – a year before Hangman and Rooster – he was obviously the proudest father in the world. You thought he was the greatest – alongside Iceman and Maverick – and hearing Jake say that you didn’t live up to your father’s legacy made you lose all control.

You had always tried to make him proud and very often succeeded, you were the only one – with Jake – to have confirmed kills in the Navy. Jake didn’t know about it and you weren’t the type to brag around unlike him. But you always hoped you made everyone in your family proud.

The hours you spent in the sky that day weren’t great either, you almost had to eject because of a bird strike but eventually managed to regain control of your jet. You stayed alarmingly quiet up there, not joking like you used to, just giving the minimum of communication that was required of you. Your voice felt cold and sad and everyone seemed to have noticed it but they didn’t say anything to you by fear of saying something wrong. Even Hangman didn’t make snarky remarks to you today. And you were grateful that you didn’t have to fly a single time with him. But your mind was set and at the end of the day you were going to talk to Maverick about your decision.

“Captain Mitchell, may I have a word with you?” You asked. Your face and tone remained neutral which was actually destabilizing for him, as the usual spring in your step and smiley face weren’t there to welcome him.

“Lieutenant McLeary, how may I help you?” Somewhat he remained professional. “I wish to resign from the mission, I’m afraid I am not cut out for it and I feel like I’m taking the place of someone that would be more deserving than… me.” He let out a small sigh. “What guided your decision Lieutenant?” Maverick wasn’t blind, he noticed the constant meanness of Hangman and the fact that you were unusually quiet and sad today.

“My results are too low compared to the others and I feel like my dad’s passing is taking a toll on me right now.” “Come on Y/N-” Maverick got angry which made him lose his seriousness. “I practically raised you. You’re not even going to say the goddamn ass’s name? You’re perfectly cut for this mission as Iceman and I are the one that approved all the candidates. We had the shortest discussion when it came to you and Rooster, it was an automatic yes for you both because we knew that you two are the best of the best. So admit that someone made you take that decision and that your flying performances are not due to your father passing.”

Tears crept to your eyes has you were trying to keep a composed face in front of your superior. “I don’t know what you are talking about Captain. As I told you, my father’s death – although expected – was a great shock for me and I wasn’t ready to let him go.” Maverick sighed to your answer. “Alright, but please, give yourself and everyone one more chance. Come to The Hard Deck tonight with us and see if you change your mind.” “I really don’t think it’s a good idea Captain.” “Please, one last chance, and if anything goes wrong I’ll let you go on the spot and I’ll deal with the admiral myself.” You thought of it a second. What was worst? Having to keep a straight face and lie to the admiral to avoid Hangman being reprimanded or spend the evening with happy people and inevitably ruining their evening with your sadness?

“Alright. An hour and then I’m gone.” Maverick’s face erupted into a soft smile. “Come on, I’ll buy you a beer. Don’t tell anyone.” You couldn’t help but laugh.

That evening you were sat at the bar with Maverick and talking about everything and nothing. “So, are you going to say his name? We’re not at the base, I’m uncle Pete and you’re just Y/N, so tell me what happened.” You sighed deeply. “Ever since that first night here, Hangman has made my life a living hell on the sole reason that he doesn’t accept someone telling him the truth about himself.” “What did you say to him?” “That he was a narcissistic asshole with mommy issues, anger issues and constant need of validation.” “You should have added arrogance and small dick in the mix.” You couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah.” Is your only reply as you drink a gulp of your beer. “I’m gonna go catch some fresh air, I’ll be back in a few.” “Alright I’ll wait for you here.”

As you headed toward the back door – the one that led to the beach – you heard the obnoxious voice of Hangman saying hello to Penny. You rolled your eyes without looking back and pushed the door open.

You’re sat on the sand, facing the ocean, thinking about all the time you wasted here that could have been useful back at your base with the Golden Warriors. You got startled by a voice you knew too well. Yet this time it was soft and comforting. “Do you mind?” You didn’t reply but Jake sat down anyway. Since when did he need permission for anything anyway?

“You know why they call me Hangman?” You stayed silent once more. “It’s because they say that whenever we’re in danger, I’d rather save my own ass and get away from the conflict rather than sticking up to the enemy.” He paused. “But the truth is that I’m the one that fears them leaving me behind. So whenever I have the chance, I’d rather save myself than waiting for someone I trust to leave me to die.” You understood what he meant, yet didn’t say anything.

“Phoenix told me how you were feeling.” You closed your eyes, wanting him to stop talking.

“I don’t want you to die Y/N.” That’s the first time he has ever spoken your name in a nice manner. “I realized I pushed you too far and you shouldn’t feel the way you feel right now. I’ve been there when my mom died when I was little. So yeah, like you said, maybe not having my mother around probably gave me mommy issues and this constant need of validation. I shouldn’t have gotten angry about that. But the truth is, you were probably the first person to say it to my face. And having it said made the whole thing so much more realistic that I just snapped.”

“I’m sorry I did all those things to you, you didn’t deserve any of it. I know I’m never gonna be able to apologize enough for you to forgive me but I want you to know that I’m being genuine. I’m terribly sorry for everything.” He continued.

“I’ve had an appointment with a shrink just before coming here and he made me realize that you were right all along. I’m trying to be the bigger person and facing the reality now. I hope it’ll work. Anyway, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I made you feel like you weren’t up to the expectation and I’m sorry I talked about your father.”

The tears came crashing down on the sand but as you didn’t make any noise and it was dark, you suspect Jake hadn’t seen them. “I’m gonna go back, I won’t bother you anymore. I just wanted to be able to tell you everything.” You didn’t answer and he got up. You kept looking at the waves crashing on the sand and Jake leaving left a hole in your heart. The tears kept on coming, blurring your vision. You looked up at the stars, looking for one specific one. The one you always wished on with your father. “Dad, what should I do?” You asked the star.

After about an hour processing Hangman’s words you got up and headed back to the bar, your eyes red from the tears. Maverick noticed them when you sat back down next to him. “Penn!” He said quietly and motioned for her to give you another drink. “Thanks Penn.” He says.

“Is everything okay kiddo?” “I just spoke to my dad. It felt good. Relieving actually.” “And what did he tell you?” “That I should stay and fight to earn back my place.” You answer, eyes locked on the drop of water falling from your beer bottle. “Will you be alright?” “Yeah I think I will.” You look up at him with a small smile. “I think I will.”

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