palcaart - Tumblr blog

palcaart · 2 years

Text

Promise?

Requested: yes

Summary: You hear something that you're not supposed to. Ice tries to explain himself. But is he too late?

Word count: 2.3k

Pairings: Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky x Mitchell reader

Carole laughed loudly as Goose played the piano with their son Bradley sat on top singing along. You sat on the left of Maverick with his arm thrown over your and Carole's shoulder as you all watched the two members of your dysfunctional family. “Maverick, would you go fetch him? Doesn't he ever embarrass you?” She laughed popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

“Goose? Hell no,” Your brother smiled widely at his best friend. The conversation shifted as Carole brought up Penny Benjamin, the daughter of an admiral that your genius brother had made a pass at. You, Charlie, and Carole all laughed at the expense of your brother as he stood from the table trying to hide his blush from Charlie. “If you ladies will excuse me, I’m gonna go embarrass myself with Goose for a while.”

You were here to assist Viper and Charlie with teaching your brother's Top Gun class. Almost exactly one year ago you yourself were in Pete’s shoes, attending Top Gun before winning the trophy with your RIO. Arriving at Top Gun a few weeks ago you were introduced to the numerous hot shots in the class. The same night that Maverick serenaded Charlie at the bar, you yourself were growing closer with one of the other pilots.

It had all started while she was standing at the bar with her brother and Goose, listening to Goose puncture Maverick's ego by pointing out the best pilot at Top gun. Moments later a tall brunet that you knew as Slider was walking past you, trailing after a blonde before Goose grabbed him. They began a conversation which you paid little mind to, instead sipping on your drink. You paid great attention, however, when a blond walked up to your little group and grabbed one of the shot glasses that Slider held out for him. You definitely recognized him; a face like that was hard to forget. He threw back his shot, grimacing at the taste before he switched his gaze from your brother to you. Something Maverick definitely picked up on. He straitened to his full hight-which was incredibly short-and stood by you defensively, watching his new rival with a hard stare. “I’ll see you later.” He smirked slightly at you, leaving you pleasintly curious to know more about him.

“Please, stay away from him,” Mav mumbled only sparing you a short glance before turning back to Goose while they made some silly bet. Not even a minuet later they had abandon you at the bar. Rolling your eyes you ordered another drink before sitting down on the stool and drawing random shapes in the condensation on the counter.

In the corner of your eye you could see a hand reach in front of you and grab a few pieces of the bar mix. “So, you’re Mitchell’s sister huh?” The voice made you grin slightly, spinning on your stool and meeting the eyes of Leautenint Tom Kazansky.

You nodded slightly. “Also know as your superior.” He grinned at your comeback.

“Tell me you really want me to leave and I will,” When you didn’t say anything and instead nodded to the seat beside you Ice smiled again.

Spinning back, you picked up your newly delivered drink. “You’re rather cocky, aren’t you?” You commented offhandidly. Ice tossed another piece of bar mix into his mouth.

“You don’t seem to mind,” He was 100 percent right. You really didn’t mind at all. Sure, Ice may have a bit of a big ego but so did every other pilot, and if you were being honest, you really did have a thing for men in uniform.

You grinned into your drink. “Just dont be a dick and you can stay,” Chuckling quietly at your remark Ice nodded wordlessly. The two of you spent the rest of your night talking. Moments after Ice sat down you could hear your brother and Goose serenading some poor girl at the bar. A look at her closer caused you to chuckle. Ice shot you a quizzical look. With a grin, you explained that your genius brother had decided to get in the pants of your fellow instructor. Laughing along with you Ice shook his head, fully believing that Maverick would do something like that, intentional or not.

The rest of the night passed in a flash and suddenly the bar was closing. Ice walked you out to your car and grinned softly down at you when you got there. You were almost shorter than Maverick which was saying something. “I had a good time,” Sighing slightly you looked up at Ice to see the soft look in his eyes. You had a feeling he was going so say something like that.

Regardless of your internal dilemma you smiled back at him. You had to be honest with yourself, even though this could get the both of you fierd it was worth the risk. Plus, you definitely weren’t the only instructor getting to close with a student.

Ever since then, you and Ice had grown so much closer, becoming fast friends while you hopped there would be more. It wasnt hard for you to realize when you had fallen for the overly cocky blond pilot. You only hopped he felt the same.

You were brought out of your daydream by Goose calling the three of you over to sing with them at the piano. Your little dysfunctional family crowded around the three that were already there. Maverick pulled you into his right side and Charlie into his left as you put your hand on Bradleys leg and tickled him, grinning when he giggled. Singing loudly, you all laughed before finishing off the song loudly/ “Great balls of fire!”

Carole turned and kissed her husband as you pulled Bradley off the piano and spun him around while he cheered. You let him hop up on your back as your group left the restraunt. While you walked out of the door with Bradley on your back the pair of you teased the two couples around you, Bradley laughing loudly when you fake gagged as you brother kissed Charlie.

Suddenly you stopped. “Damn, I forgot my jacket. I’ll be right back, buddy.” You promised Bradley as you set him on the ground by his parents. Rushing inside you quickly grabbed you jacket from the booth and were about to leave when you heard a familiar voice.

“Come on, Ice,” you peaked around the corner seeing Slider and Ice leaning against the counter. Just as you were about to sneak up behind Ice, Slider continued. “It’s not like you’re doing anything serious with her. If anything you can get one over on Mitchell by screwing his sister.” Ice just laughed. You froze. Is that all Ice wanted to achieve with you? To sleep with you just to piss off your brother?

You were seeing red as you turned on your heel and stormed out of the diner. Plastering on a smile you picked Bradley up again, fighting the tears in your eyes as you walked away from the diner. Away from Ice.

……….

Three days had passed and you were still giving Ice the cold shoulder, doing your best to avoid him in class and completely ignoring him outside of it. He had noticed immediately, trying to get you alone so the two of you could talk about whatever had changed.

You were walking out of the changing rooms just as Ice rounded the corner. His eyes widened when he saw you and quickly rushed forward. “Hey,” He called out softly. “Can we please talk?” At this point you were tired of his words having such a stong effect on how you lived your day to day life. Sure, they had hurt, but he didn’t seem to care in the moments so why should you?

“What do you want, Ice?” He could hear how broken you sounded, no matter how hard you tried to hide it.

Ice stepped closer cautiously. “What happened?” When you didn’t say anything he continued. “We were good, perfect even, and something happened and now you barely even look at me. What changed?” Was he seriously that thick?

Shaking your head with a scoff you looked up at the blond pilot. “Do you honestly think I’m that stupid?” By this point your anger had coverd up your hurt. “I heard you and Slider the other day, Ice,” All he gave you in response was a confused expression. “Seriously Ice? I heard what Slider said. Were you seriously just trying to sleep with me so you could get one up of my brother?” Ice could see the tears gathering on your lashes and instantly knew what you were talking about. “You know what, forget about it. I have somewhere to be. I can’t do this right now.” He watched in shock as you walked away, helmet clutched tightly in your hand.

That day at the diner Ice had been barely paying attention to what his big mouthed friend was saying. So much so that when he heard the name “Mitchell” he just laughed, not at all hearing the rest of the sentence. How could he have been such an idiot?

Ice sighed, deeply regretting both what you had heard and how he let you walk away. Both times. There was nothing he could do about it now.

Up in the air, you were running a standard training exercise with one of the Top Gun teams. You tried not to let your recent conversation with Ice cloud your mind but your attempts were futile. Just under an hour later and you had finished the drill and were leading Chipper and Sundown towards the base when things took a turn.

Suddenly, you could hear the loud thud of a bird bouncing off your wing, another one hitting the windshield moments later. “Bird strike!” You called into the radio. The students behind you breaked left, narrowly missing the rest of the birds. You, However, were not so lucky. “Engine one is out,” Informing the control center, you tried to restart the engine cursing as it caught on fire as soon as you tried it. “Engine two is out. Damint, I’ve lost control!” You tried your hardest to regain control of your aircraft.

Chippers voice sounded over the radio. “Eject! Eject! You can’t save it Trip!” Groaning, you pulled the ejection handle and shot out of your plane, only consious for a few more seconds as you watched it crash into the hill.

..........

When you woke up there was an extreme pounding in your skull. Bringing a hand up you shielded your eyes from the harsh lights as you opened them. You moved to raise your other hand, feeling something weighing it down causing you to furrow your eyebrows. Looking down you suddenly felt extremely conflicted when you saw Ice with his head resting against your joint hands on the hospital bed.

The shifting of your fingers woke Ice up meer moments after you. Once he realized that you were actually awake, he shot up from the uncomfortable hospital chair and placed a hand on the side of your head. “Thank God,” He breathed quietly, pressing his forehead to yours. When he felt you tense he immediately pulled back. He began his long overdue apology. “I’m so sorry. You heard wrong, I promise you. Slider couldn’t keep his big mouth shut and I wasn’t paying attention and I swear on my life that I didnt mean to hurt you.”

You cut him off by pressing your finger to his lips, watching his eyes cross as he stared at it. Which you found rather cute. “Slow down,” you instructed him as you pulled your finger back. He nodded slightly and cleared his throat before starting again. Ice explained how he was paying absolutely zero attention to what his dimwit of a best friend was saying. He explained that he was so zoned out that as soon as he heard the name “Mitchell” he laughed. You weren’t necessarily happy that Ice was accustomed to laughing at your brothers expense but you knew it woud be the same way the other way around so you didn’t say anything.

He finished explaining himself and the pair of you sat in silence as Ice anxiously waited for you to respond. Against your better judgment, you believed him. You knew he was telling the truth, the look in his eyes proving that even further. “Promise?” You whispered brokenly.

You had never seen anyone nod faster in your life. “I promise. I swear on my life, baby.” And you believed him. You always would. Because, even though you tried, you could never deny that you had fallen for the blond haired pilot with and ego to big for his own good. But if anyone were to ask Ice, they would know just how much he loved you, which was more than you would ever know. “I love you, Mrs. Mitchell. And I promise you, I never meant to hurt you. And if I can help it, I never will again.”

His words were sealed with a gentle kiss to your forehead as the pair of you made yourselves comfortable in the tiny hospital bed. Right now, in this moment, it didn’t matter if you were his superior and it didn’t matter if you were mavericks sister. Those were both problems that you could deal with later. All that mattered was that Ice was here with you and that together, you would both be okay. Because you had each other, and thats all you needed.

2K notes · View notes

palcaart · 2 years

Text

Unorthodox (Pt. 1). (Robert 'Bob' Floyd x Kazansky!Reader)(+ a bit of Ice and Mav)

Word Count: 6760

TW: Mentions of throat cancer and death (no one dies in this, it's broadly fluff), alcohol consumption, swearing, implied marriage of convenience (See AN)

AN: I know this wasn't requested- and you're all still waiting on Recall pt2 but I'm just trying to perfect that before I post it, but meanwhile have a Bob fic! There was a gap in the market for it so I went for it since I had the inspo. I also decided to lean into the IceMav stuff in the background of this fic- Implying a marriage of convenience between Ice and Sarah- though I like to think he's just bi and it's a bit more than that, a person can love two people- similarly I didn't want to get rid of Mav and Penny's relationship. It's basically up to you what you think their relationship is. I also decided to whack some music in that I totally didn't steal from the 'sky dancing 🤘' playlist on Spotify :)

Enjoy! (Requests are open, I'm slowly working through them, and feedback and replies are really needed! I wanna know what you guys think of what I write!)

REQUESTS (OPEN)

MASTERLIST

----------------

"Hey Papa-" (Y/n) spoke with a smile on her face, dropping her handbag off of her shoulder and onto the floor in the hall. She kicked off her sandals and approached her father, who had waited and watched her come inside from the door of her study. She was always glad to see him.

"Baby girl-" He croaked and held out an arm, into the crook of which she gladly tucked herself before she wrapped her father in her own arms. She'd always been a Daddy's girl, he'd probably only ever been really mad at her once, and to be fair- she was glad he had been and she knew he'd been right about it.

She walked with him into his study, she could feel how thin he was these days, and the fact that he'd spoken any words to her was a miracle - though no matter how much it hurt, he always tried to speak to his children.

(Y/n) Kazansky was the eldest of her siblings, and was a carbon copy of her Dad - cocky and sure at times but broadly responsible, intelligent, a quick and critical thinker, good at putting up the barricades when she needed to work, pretending like she was cold- but exactly like her father, she melted into a warm, squishy and soft person the remainder of the time. Especially for family and friends.

She had gone away to college across the country when she was 18, but despite being excited about it, ended up hating everything about it. She couldn't put her finger on what it was but she just didn't enjoy a second of it, her only solace was coming home on break.

To her total surprise, her Dad had sat her down when she'd come home at the end of her first year and told her to drop out. She had been the nost scared of telling him that she was miserable at college- but he'd seen it. He knew people, his own daughter especially, well; she had been so clearly not herself and was getting nothing positive from her experience that he couldn't bare it anymore. So she did, she came home and sobbed when she walked back in the front door with all her stuff. She felt like a failure, now she was a college drop out- and again it was her Dad who fixed everything for her, told her that life wasn't worth living she didn't love what she did everyday, if her work was a burden then she'd be torturing herself, and they were privileged enough that she didn't have to do that.

So she found a job she actually enjoyed and worked hard at it, with all the same drive that had made her Dad so successful. Now she was head of her team and most importantly, happy.

She never regretted staying living at home. She was in her late twenties now, but the house was big enough that it had never felt cramped with them all staying. She especially didn't now that the famous Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky was sick. He'd been sick before, on and off. The throat cancer started as treatable, and just came back every couple years more and more aggressively.

Being at home meant spending as much time as she could making memories with her Dad, helping look after her younger siblings whilst their Mom took their Dad to hospital appointments, and making sure that her siblings would be able to remember their Dad as well and as fondly as she would. Now they knew where it was all heading.

(Y/n) sat down across from her Dad as he lowered himself into his chair and coughed.

"How you feeling Papa?" She asked, leaning her head on her hands on the desk and looking up at him adoringly like she had done since she was a kid.

He just nodded and smiled and she gave him a look of 'I know you're not telling me the truth'. He laughed, as much as he could laugh, and typed on his computer monitor.

'I'm feeling fine. Don't worry about me, Sweetheart.'

"You say that like it's easy Papa." She read and looked back to him.

'What about you?' He typed, moving swiftly off of the topic of himself because he justifiably didn't enjoy it.

"I'm alright." She smiled. Normally she'd go into plenty of detail but today she just didn't feel like it.

'and work?' He typed again.

"Work's fine. My boss is putting me up for an industry award next month." She nodded and smiled softly as he Father broke into a much bigger smile.

'I'm proud of you, Baby girl.' He once again typed out.

"I know Papa. You never let me forget it for one second." She smiled and her Dad leant forward just a little and stroked her hair softly. She'd never really be grown up in his eyes.

After a while, her Father looked at the clock.

'Your brother needs help with his homework. Can you help him out?' Ice typed out.

"Trying to get rid of me?" She laughed.

'It's work stuff' He typed and smiled. She knew him too well.

"You'll never give it a rest, will you Papa?" He shook his head. Still smiling.

'Love it nearly as much as I love you, Sweetheart.'

"No use buttering me up now, I'll still get you back for making me help with Math." She laughed and stood. She leant down and kissed her Dad's cheek before heading out to find her brother. "Love you too Papa."

After quite a long argument with her brother about algebraic equations and how he didn't wanna do them- (Y/n) decided to give up. She didn't often give up, but her brother was stubborn and would rather text his girlfriend than study. To be fair, he was usually better at studying but considering the circumstances in the family, which (y/n) knew he wasn't coping great with, she just cut him some slack.

She wandered out through the house, a little aimlessly, looking for her Mom to ask if she needed any help with cooking dinner or anything else. She heard the study door open, and peeked around the corner.

"Pete?" She asked, watching him emerge from the doorway and rushing to him.

He looked around and saw her, a smile growing on his face.

"(Y/n)" He smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm good- What about you? Papa, you never told me Uncle Pete was in town?" She spoke, looking to her Dad who was stood in the doorway. He gave a look of 'really? You're a sap'.

"Well, here I am." He smiled and held his arms open for a hug which she gladly indulged in. "I'm good kid, just came to talk to your old man."

"Oh, you're work stuff?" She put 'work stuff ' in air quotes and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah - I'm back at Top Gun, if you can believe that." Mav spoke with a gentle smile and a sigh.

"Really?" She was slightly taken aback but Mav nodded. "Wow- I wouldn't have guessed that." She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"It's where I'm headed now, if your Dad's done with me?" Mav grinned and looked back at Ice.

"Show him the door" Her Dad spoke croakily, in as much of a faux menacing tone as he could manage, and winked at his daughter. He still had a stupid fatherly sense of humour.

The two men hugged a lingering goodbye and Kazansky retreated, with a nonchalant wave, to his desk, watching the pair through the door with a smile. She'll be looked after even without him there. She'll always have a Dad, even if her Papa ain't there. He was glad about that.

(Y/n) hooked her arm through that of the man she had always known as family, who was her Godfather in fact, and they started toward the door. He'd always been there, at her Dad's side. He was a constant presence in the house, if not at the table for dinner and sat in her Dad's office, in the garden chasing (y/n) and her siblings with a garden hose (and her Dad) when they were little, crashing in their spare room and appearing in the morning for breakfast like the drifter he sometimes was, seeming to swap exclusively between the Bradshaw's and them, then it was hearing his voice on the phone drifting out through the house as her Dad put him on speaker and cooked for his kids or attempted to put shoes on his youngest who didn't want to cooperate (Ice would put the kid on the phone to Mav, then somehow he'd always convince them to do as their Dad asked), the pictures in scrapbooks, the pictures on the wall- their Top Gun class picture, his and her Dad's photo on the deck after their first flight together on Ice's desk next to that years Christmas picture, and ones of his kids and wife.

"How you doing? With your Dad?" Mav asked, looking down at the young woman.

"Oh- You know, looking after Mom, preparing for everything." She nodded.

"You know you can call me anytime if you need anything." He spoke sincerely.

"I know Pete." She nodded and patted his arm with a content smile. They were quiet for a moment. "You're an instructor again I guess?"

"Uh- yeah." Mav nodded.

"I'm told that went well the last time?" She teased with a laugh.

"Very." He grinned.

"You'll be sprinkling some unorthodox methods in your lesson plans, I've no doubt." (Y/n) laughed, thinking back on the stories she'd been told.

"Yeah-" Pete nodded admittantly. "You been down to the base recently?"

"Not for a while- Papa doesn't like me going there without him to chaperone; not since I took a leaf out of your books and got engaged to a pilot. Still the only time I've ever seen the guy really mad with me." She grinned. Pete just laughed.

"You demoted the guy to just an ex-fiance? That's cold (y/n)."

"Hey, we didn't even divorce! It was annulled! The guy doesn't get that privilege, Papa was right, he was an ass." She rolled her eyes as they reached the door and stood at it.

"Yeah- alright, makes sense." Pete shook his head with a smile. "Glad you and your Dad still share that high self esteem."

"I knew I was a prize to be won- You of all people know how a young pilot likes an Admiral's daughter. Shame I didn't know that my Dad was telling the truth when he gave me strict orders not to go out with pilots." She laughed and Pete could only agree. "Talking of that- You seen your Miss Benjamin again yet? She's living around here again you know."

"Well- actually, yeah." He spoke like he was still surprised about it.

"It go well?" (Y/n) grinned, immediately knowing that Pete Maverick Mitchell wasn't so stunned by any ol' lady.

"Something like that." He nodded with a slightly absent smile.

"Ooh- well, if any woman would be able to tame you, it'd be her." (Y/n) laughed as she teased the elder man.

"Yeah- Well; what about you kiddo?" He stopped and looked at her expectantly.

"What do you mean what about me?" She scoffed as if it weren't an obvious question.

"You've not got any fancy man? There's no one for me and your Dad to chase off?" Pete raised an eyebrow and gave a teasing smirk.

"No! I don't exactly get out much anymore, and even when I do I only find these dumb hotshot pilots who are younger than me and treat me like some piece of meat to ogle- not relationship material." (Y/n) spoke very matter of fact and ended with a little twitch of her nose.

"Good- that's the talk your Dad wants to hear." Pete nodded crossing his arms and leaning back on the door frame.

"I said not relationship material, not that-" Her eyes lit up and she grinned.

"Stop there! I've heard enough." Pete laughed and put a hand up. "Never should have told you what your Dad and I got up to back in the day..." (Y/n) rolled her eyes and grinned still. "Glad you're having fun, kid." Pete winked at her and gave her a playful nudge.

"Alrighty- well I guess you've gotta head off?" She sighed after a moment, sad to see him go. She got along with him very well, he held a place in her heart and he was like family to the Kazanskys.

"Yeah." He nodded with a solemn smile.

"I'll see you soon Pete. Thanks for coming." She nodded as he opened the door and turned to give her a hug.

"Anytime kid." He spoke sadly and softly, embracing her and then turning down tbe path. She stopped a few paces down and turned again- just catching her as she went to shut the front door, having watched him leave. "Hey, (Y/n)?" He called out.

"Yeah?" She looked up at him.

"If you've got time, you wouldn't want to help me out with one of my 'unorthadox methods' would you?" He asked, the idea having occured to him as he'd neared the gate.

"Uncle Pete- How could I ever say no to such a good influence as yourself?" She gave a smile and they shared a look that they'd always shared, since she was small, that meant trouble.

Less than an hour later she was sat on the edge of the decking behind the Hard Deck, looking out to the sea, whilst Penny and Maverick stood in the doorway of the bar, flirting like teenagers.

She leant back on the heels of her palms, letting the slotted wood dig in and reveled in the heat of the low sun. People normally expected her to stay home, what with how her Dad was doing- but he refused for life to anything but normal. That why he still tried to talk even though it hurt, why he still walked around even though he was nowhere near being the strong built pilot he had once been- instead he was a thin stick of a man, it was why he still worked. Normal people would have retired, travelled the world and completed some sort of bucket list, spent time with family. But he loved it too much- he wanted his family to remember him as the driven, motivated and stubborn old sap that he was- not as sick. So he insisted things just continue. This was how he wanted to enjoy what time he had; doing what he had always loved and what he always would love, with his wife and kids and friends around him.

So when (y/n) had texted her Dad to say she was going out for a bit with Uncle Pete (though she didn't dare elaborate on what they were up to) she received the thumbs up and the usual 'tell me when you're on your way home and stay safe.' text. And Pete got a 'Don't let my kid do anything you or I would do Mav'.

She heard a vehicle pull up in the lot and smiled to herself, pulling her sunglasses from her nose and eyes and perching them on her head.

After a few minutes there was another, and another and she could hear people talking, calling eachother over.

Mav glanced at her and she gave a cheeky smile. He returned one and gave a nod. She loved the stupid shit they got up to.

She stood and pulled her cropped linen shirt back over her shoulders- it was supposed to be a sun cover but she'd long since neglected to use it for that. She wore a sky blue bikini and she knew she looked damn good in it. That was half the fun of what was coming next.

First, she picked up the little portable radio that sat next to her, playing quietly bluetoothed to her phone and playing one of her playlists. She slung it over her shoulder, and then hooked a football, which had been nestled nearby in the sand, waiting for her, under her arm and waltzed on around the corner. She could just see a glimpse of the group clad in khaki uniform.

"Yeah- outside the Hard Deck, that's what he said." She heard a voice. Someone looked up, having noticed the music first, but saw her and looked away quickly- surely assuming it wasn't relevant to their mysterious instructions.

She continued closer, counting 1, 2, 3, 7- 10 and 12. That was all of em, plus Hondo- who she knew well and was keeping his mouth shut about what he knew the exercise was.

Another one glance at her, looked her up and down with a smirk but again turned away.

She looked like any other beach goer, pretty hot, a slightly darker tan on the shoulders and legs and a touch of pink on her nose- even slightly freckled.

"Hey, Boys and Girls-" She spoke, unable to get rid of the smirk on her face. Most of the group turned to her and noted her confident stance and twinkle in her eye. "Looking for Maverick?"

She spotted Bradley Bradshaw, he was tall- and she remembered him from the Top Gun 86' class reunions which she and all the families were dragged to. Plus Mav had brought him round a few times when they were kids, their Father's had been friends after all. All the pilots in that class who knew his Dad well wanted to keep an eye on him. Poor kid was always paraded around those events cos of his Dad, usually stuck to Mav or his Mom like glue. (Y/n) was usually paraded around as the eldest kid of the class first placer- and since he was rising in the ranks as she got older, as the kid of an Admiral. She never knew Bradshaw actually became a pilot- she knew he'd not got into the academy first time round, what with Mav pulling his papers, but didn't know much more. As usual her Dad kept 'work stuff' seperate from home (except Pete, of course, he was everything), so she didn't know he was around at all. She was glad for him, it never sat right that Pete had interfered, even if she could guess why it was that he did.

The one who had glanced at her, 'Hangman' she read from his uniform, went to speak with a bit of a smirk going, but it was Bradshaw ('Rooster'?) who spoke first.

"Yeah-" He looked like he recognised her for a moment, though she didn't expect him to- and he didn't seem to have enough confidence in the recognition to point it out. "You seen him?" He spoke with a hint of suspicion.

"Yep." She grinned and threw the ball toward the group of confused airmen, it was caught in the hands of a spectacled pilot. "He's put me in charge. I'm your referee." She winked and turned. She heard a hearty laugh and some chatter. Instinctively they all just followed.

Mav waved at them from the deck and threw her a whistle, which she caught as she passed by.

"Meet (Y/n). She doesn't bite-" He laughed as he looked at the pilots faces, all slightly confused but slightly amused by equal measure. "She's just got a damn good eye for detail." He grinned.

"Gotta know the rules before you bend em'" (y/n) laughed. "Now- I'm afraid I'm gonna need you guys to strip off and get sweaty- Pronto." She spoke, teasing was half the fun.

Mav watched as suddenly all of his pilots were the most cooperative they'd been the entire week and within about two minutes were split into two sides and running up and down the beach with football in hand.

He hated to admit that the little girl he'd watch grow up could be considered attractive by anyone in that way, but he knew that's how young men saw her. He hoped that it would drive them to put their all into the game- show off a bit. It had worked so far. Plus, he liked that (y/n) was getting out of the house- he'd always encourage her to do stupid shit (not dangerous stupid, but maybe a bit dumb), he had to be the fun one even if she was an adult now.

"Hey- Pete. The sides are uneven." She called up to him.

"Yeah- what about it? Realistic isn't it?" He laughed as she put her hands on her hips.

"Hangman says it's unfair and he's getting pretty moody about it." She raised an eyebrow.

"That's just cos Bagman's loosing-" Pheonix called out.

"I am not loosing! And I am not being moody!" Hangman spoke with with a lightness and laugh in his tone that was unfamiliar. He wasn't being quite so arrogant today- competitive? Yes. But he seemed to have momentarily mellowed. The activity agreed with him.

(Y/n) turned to him and raised an eyebrow, giving a look of 'what did you just say?'.

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded when he saw it and she just laughed. She'd practiced that one on her brothers before, always commanded respect. She couldn't have been more her father's daughter.

"So, Pete-" She started before Mav put his hands up and shook his head. "You put me in charge old man! I'm telling you to come even the field, so give the lady up there something to look at and play the game!" She laughed and Mav sighed. He couldn't argue it and joined them.

As she watched the pilots play, watching for foul play, she couldn't help but think that they were all so typical of pilots. She liked em, but Hangman was clearly a peg above the rest in his own head, Bradshaw (she didn't know how used to Rooster she was when she thought of him as a sky little blonde kid in her head) seemed to take himself too seriously, they were all powerful personalities. She thought they were attractive, but broadly uninteresting. She wasn't looking for anything like that anyway.

She scanned the field of play, and awarded a point to Coyote as the game began to lapse into fun more than anything serious. It'd already been an hour or two. No one was paying attention to the time.

It didn't help that she kept getting distracted. She wasn't sure why, but her eyes kept drifting and she'd find herself watching one man in particular- for no particular reason- instead of the game.

She liked watching how he watched his colleagues - how his eyes darted about and he seemed to calculate things in an instant before a muscular arm would shoot up into the air and signal for someone to make a move. He had enough faith in his teammates that just once glance back at them was enough before he was moving onto the next step. His face would be deadly serious as he ran, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as they slipped, but break out into a grin as something went well- and fade back into a stern concentration as his mind swirled through the strategy of it all. He wasn't perfect at it; he was playing football- that wasn't was he was trained to do, and he looked delighted at himself everytime he ended up with the ball- and yet knew exactly what he wanted to do with it, where to put himself and who to pass to.

(Y/n) didn't know what about that she seemed drawn to but she kept catching herself. So much for an 'eye for detail'. She had an eye for detail alright- just the wrong damn ones tonight. She could only laugh at herself.

Mav eventually tapped out. She glanced back at him as he sat down, and noticed Simpson walking across the sand, looking as stern as usual.

She approached as he started talking to Mav, and smiled.

"Miss Kazansky-" He nodded.

"Sir." She spoke courteously but stood at an angle that meant she could glance back at the game. Simpson seemed for a moment to not know what to say to her, and he looked like he was about to ask something attempting to be sentimental about her Father. People didn't know how to talk to her these days. But equally he just seemed confused as to the necessity of her presence. "I'm referee." She nodded.

"I see." Simpson spoke slowly. "Who's winning?"

"I think they stopped keeping score a long time ago." Mav laughed, looking up at his boss.

"Yeah..." She agreed, meaning to laugh but instead sounding slightly unsure as she looked back and once again her eye was caught by a young man. That was until another dispute came about- "I still get to hand out points though." She laughed and took a springy jog toward the group.

The teams had dissolved by now, but since (y/n) was still there with a whistle and her thumbs up was needed for points (as meaningless as they were now) the group all threw their hands in the air and ushered her over.

"Hey- (y/n), you see that?" Coyote called, and it was echoed.

"He was over the line!" Pheonix argued- and pointed down at a line that they'd drawn in the sand which now barely existed.

"Now come on- (y/n)? That was clear!" Hangman laughed and looked between her and Bob, who was stood out of breath, the ball in his hands, leaning over. He pushed his glasses up and stood- saying nothing but looking at her expectantly, a smile twitching at the edge of his lips.

In truth she had no idea what was happening. She was watching him- but she was watching him, not what he was doing in terms of the game. She was deciding that she thought he was cute.

She slowed from her jog and walked over. Soon she was close enough that she was looking up at him. She used the opportunity to look him up and down, slowly. Suddenly the group fell silent. They were all hanging on this now.

He was clearly quite muscular - even if he hid that under the baggy t-shirt he wore instead of none like the other guys. His expressions were generally soft, he was pretty especially even when he was sweaty.

"No. He gets the point." She smiled and looked up at him through her eyelashes as she did. He lit up and was quickly swept up by Rooster who half tackled him whilst the entire gang cheered.

She laughed as she watched him get hoisted onto Rooster's shoulders and his colleagues start chanting his name. She walked behind, shaking her head as she thought about how teenage she was being- letting a guy win just cos she thought he was cute.

She looked up at Pete, who was still sat in his fold up chair, the radio playing next to him. He had a twinkle in his eye. Today was his idea of fun. If only he'd had the chance to do something dangerous in a jet she was sure he would have considered it perfect.

She looked past him, to see Penny ushering the group inside- the bar wasn't usually open today, but she would allow the group a couple rounds.

She walked along, slowly, just sorta watching everything as she headed for the bar. Pete stood as the group reached him long before she did. He had that stupid familiar grin on his face.

Rooster put Bob down and the guy was surrounded by his peers quickly, all thumping him heartily on the back and still cheering.

Someone turned and called (y/n) to hurry up, she shook her head with a laugh- which only encouraged the rest of them to call out to her. She just laughed, she didn't want to run, but she was surely on her way.

Pete took up a jog toward her, his own laugh on his lips.

"Pete! Don't you dare!" She realised what he was up to when he was just a few yards away- as the pilots cheered and her eyes widened.

"Maverick!" She yelped.

He knew he was in trouble then. Sarah had banned callsigns in the house- 'Someones Mama worked hard on that name you know- and if you hadn't noticed, we're not in fighter jets. The Navy would never have such nice carpets.'

Before she could stop him, he'd lifted her on his shoulders in a fireman's carry- which prompted more cheers from the pilots as she and Mav just laughed, her sunglasses slipping from her face and onto the sand.

"Just like when you were a little kid." Mav grinned and spoke as he carried her toward the bar, collecting the group as he went.

He finally put her down inside, as the rest headed for the bar. She gave him a playful punch in the arm- to which he just laughed and headed behind the bar to help Penny.

She shook her head and laughed.

"Hey-" She heard from behind her. She turned, but didn't need to, the man the voice belonged go had circled to face her. She didn't even have time to say anything before he seemed very close to her and she realised who it was.

"You dropped these?" He spoke, holding out her sunglasses to her with a little, calm smile.

"Oh-" She felt her cheeks heat up and preyed they weren't flushing pink. "Thanks." She smiled and softly took the glasses from his outstretched hand. She never got flustered, but my my did she feel like a teenager.

"Anytime." Bob nodded and didn't move for a moment, wether or not he knew he was holding the tension, keeping her stunned and not breaking eye contact, was an interesting question. Either way he was doing just that.

Before he could, (y/n) decided to throw caution to the wind. She hadn't felt like this in a long time.

"Can I get you a drink?" She asked quickly and looked to the bar- before she totally melted in front of him.

"Uh- yeah, please." He nodded.

(Y/n) had to move away from him before she froze up, so she moved toward the bar- glancing back to see him follow.

"What can I get ya?" She asked, feeling a little more her smooth and confident self. This was not usually a difficult task.

"Just a coke, thanks." He smiled and nodded as (y/n) leant on the bar.

"You don't drink?" She looked up at him. He shook his head.

"No- never been my thing." He smiled, content and cool in that answer. Clearly pretty secure in himself, not one to be pressured into anything. She liked that. It was kinda hot.

"I like it." She smiled and waited a beat as he met her gaze for a moment. "Cheap date." She spoke that bit unknowingly quietly- still slightly dazed.

She chatted to him for a while, and they joined the others playing pool at one point. God- she really did like him. He was a little quiet, but not exactly shy. He was intelligent and interesting. He was pretty funny too- at least she thought so.

It was a pretty chilled out evening- as Mav and Penny looked on from the bar, sat with their own drinks.

Eventually (y/n) looked up at the clock.

"Wow- how did it get to be that late?" She spoke to herself.

"Time flies when you're having fun, (y/n)." Hangman spoke leaning on his pool cue and winked at her.

She rolled her eyes playfully. She now knew he was just sorta like that- he was definitely flirting but he seemed to flirt with anything with a pulse so she didn't exactly take it personally.

"Well, I still gotta get home-" She spoke, trying to think of how to get there. She'd got here with Mav, he probably he expected he was gonna drop her home too.

"I can give you a ride." Bob spoke, more confidently and keenly than even he had expected to sound. She turned and looked at him. She didn't hesitate to answer- but Bob still followed it up with "If you- want?" He suddenly seemed back to his mildly awkward self. "I haven't been drinking so-"

"Thanks- I'd like that." She cut him off and smiled, finally sensing her confidence coming into it's own like she was used to.

He nodded and smiled, tipping the last of his drink past his lips before standing.

He put his hand out to her as he stood in front of her and she gathered her things, her purse and phone, then the jeans and t-shirt she'd been wearing earlier in the day before she'd changed into the bikini she was wearing.

She looked up and instinctively took it as she stood.

"Thanks." She mumbled, with a twitchy, shy smile.

Bob just gave a soft, warm smile, and again she just couldn't look or she knew she'd never move again. She slid her hand from his and headed to Maverick. Bob stayed still, watching her- and not even processing that the entire rest of his colleagues were watching the entire exchange, totally fascinated.

"Pete-" (y/n) smiled.

"Kid." He nodded.

"Thanks for today." She smiled and gave him a tight hug.

"You're welcome." He smiled as he squeezed her tight. "Give my love to your Mom and Dad- alright?" He asked, and she nodded.

"I'll see you soon, Pete." She spoke. "And you too Penny." She smiled and gave another hug to the woman.

"It was lovely seeing you again darling." She nodded.

"Not too soon, (y/n)." Pete spoke slowly, as yhey shared a knowing look. They knew what next time would be.

She nodded and gave an almost bittersweet smile.

Then she turned back to the group- swapping it for a grin as she saw Bob walking toward her.

"It was great meeting you guys! I hope this mission of yours goes well- fly safe and come home!" She waved as Bob stood by her.

A chorus of goodbyes and mirrored sentiments came up.

Soon they were out the door and heading toward Bob's old beat up pick-up.

"You know who that was don't you?" Hondo spoke as soon as they were definitely out of earshot.

This gained him some confused looks from the pilots.

"(Y/n) Kazansky. Admiral's daughter." He grinned as he spoke smoothly and drank. Knowing he'd unleashed some good information.

"Oh shit-" Rooster spoke, half laughing, half realising he was right when he'd first thought of it and assumed he was wrong.

"And my Goddaughter." Mav called across to add to the conversation.

"My god- Bob doesn't know what he's in for." Hangman laughed.

"If you think I would have let any of the rest of you take her home- You're idiots." Mav laughed.

It was a pretty normal journey, the pair chatted- then a lull came in the conversation. She watched the streets go by through the window and listened to the radio.

"Oh, Bobby-" She smirked and Bob's ears perked up and he immediately felt heat in his cheeks at the nickname. She sighed as she spoke it. "My Daddy always told me to say away from pilots... Such a cruel thing- when you're sat so close to me." She smiled and shook her head before glancing at him. Her eyes drifted from watching his scan the road, to his jaw and lips and neck, to his hands as they turned the wheel.

After a few moments he took his eyes from the road on a quiet street, and glanced right back at her. As her eyes made their way back to his face, she was almost stunned to find his to meet.

Once they did, a smile crept onto his face- one that let on something.

He turned back to the road.

"I don't fly the plane. I'm a WSO, not a pilot." He spoke, his smile remaining.

"I know." She breathed.

Again, there was quiet.

Soon they pulled up outside the addresses she'd given.

He switched off the ignition and looked over at her. He gave a soft smile. She gave a little smirk.

"Get out." She spoke. He looked at her for a half a second then did as told.

He stood beside the truck, holding the door open and looking in. "Now close the door and turn around. I'm gonna get changed." She nodded.

"Yes Ma'am." He spoke under his breath, taking one last very quick look at her in her bikini before once again taking the instruction.

"What a gentleman." He heard her tease, the smile on her lips almost audible.

He chuckled to himself and looked down at his shoes as he waited, his hands clasped behind his back.

Soon he heard the door of his truck open and close again.

"You can look." She spoke as she rounded the front of the truck.

He looked round at her. There she was, blue jeans and white t-shirt. Classic.

He smiled once again. He didn't think he could stop, she was too pretty.

"Thanks for the ride, Bobby." She used the nickname again and stood close.

"Anytime." He spoke breathily, slowly- with a small nod as he leant back on his truck.

She moved her hand up and tucked a small rolled up piece of paper behind his ear.

She smiled and couldn't break the eye contact. He didn't move a muscle.

He looked so pretty in the dusk light. The damp strands of hair that fell across his forehead, how the oversized loose shirt sat over his shoulders, the shine in his eyes and his overall aura of calm. It was magnetic to her.

She finally moved to turn away, and as she faced away from him, he acted on impulse- putting his hand in the back pocket of her jeans and spinning her back around, plunging into a deep and very tender kiss.

She melted into it- though she didn't expect it from him.

His hand stayed in her back pocket, his other rested on her hip, ring finger through her belt loop. She wasn't going anywhere though.

Hers rested on his chest.

Eventually they pulled away. She was flushed pink, he was strangely calm.

He looked at her, and looked up behind her- noticing the Admiral stood at his front door watching with a stern look on his face. Bob gave a sheepish smile.

(Y/n) glanced over her shoulder, and gave a breathy laugh before looking back. Bob looked back to her.

Slowly he let go of her, and she let her fingertips trail on him.

"Call me, Bobby." She smiled as she turned away again and headed for her door.

He nodded and breathed out as he watched her go.

"I surely will..." He spoke to himself.

"He's not a pilot, Papa." She smiled as she walked in the door. "He's real sweet."

Ice closed the door.

"I saw." He spoke slowly, looking unimpressed. "I know my aviators." He told her. He handpicked these guys, he could recite their records like the alphabet by now. He handpicked them to fly missions, not to audition them for son-in-law. Even so- he had to admit, Floyd's record was clean as a whistle. He had commendations and good reviews across the board.

"Bob!" Fanboy spoke as he walked back into the bar. Suddenly he was swamped and surrounded by his peers who were patting him on the back and chattering.

He smiled sorta shyly as they did.

"What'd you do?" Pheonix teased, not expecting anything.

"Kissed her at the door-" He answered- leading to another cheer.

"Man- you know she's Admiral Kazansky's daughter? Right?" Coyote spoke, amazed and with a laugh.

"You didn't?" Bob returned with a little smirk at the corner of his mouth as he looked around.

If they hadn't lost their shit before then- they did as he said that.

"Dude- you've got some balls." Hangman slapped him on the back and laughed. "I mean- that's real crazy stuff."

Mav shook his head at the whole lot of them, taking a drink and smiling. As he did, he saw his phone light up in his jacket pocket, hung on a chair.

I'm assuming you're responsible for what I just saw?

Depends

Floyd.

I wouldn't let our baby girl go home with any old pilot