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barbiewritesstuff · 2 years

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Church Encounters: Chapter 4

-- Part 4 of the fic I am writing with @Igg5989, you can find this fic on her tumblr and her Ao3 account :)

On a different note, we just want to say thank you for the lovely responses we have received on this fic, we both adore writing this and we're hapoy you guys like it :D if you want to leave a comment, please do, we love hearing what you guys have to say :)

Previous part

Taglist: @acarboni21 @unsurebuttrying @dempy @peaches-1998 --

“Apparently Hangman has a girlfriend, can you believe that?” Halo asked, slamming her locker shut, “This asshole can manage to get a girlfriend, but I have been on, like, seven dates this month and I still can’t find anyone I like.”

“Yeah, it’s outrageous. You know what, I bet she only likes him for his looks. I mean, he has the personality of a dumpster fire, so she must be sticking around for something,” Phoenix replied. You stayed quiet, hoping that they would ignore you in their conversation. You felt a ball of tears lodge itself in your throat.

“What do you think, Dove? You’re awfully quiet over there, why don’t you tell us what you think Hangman’s got going for himself,” Vegas said.

She was the newest member of the team, a necessary addition after Harvard broke his foot before the previous mission and wouldn’t recover in time. She worked well with just about everyone, but whether she was friendly was something you hadn’t decided yet.

“Sorry?” You said, trying to steady your voice.

“What do you think she’s like?” Vegas repeated.

You hesitated for a moment, “Why do you assume all those things about her? I’m sure she’s nice.”

“Yeah, sure. I’m sure she’s really sweet,” Vegas laughed, throwing you a side glance, “Do you have a crush on Hangman?”

You rolled your eyes at her. Vegas removed her shirt, then her trousers and let them both fall to the floor. She advanced towards you, looking you up and down, a gesture that made you blush.

“Because, I’m sorry to say, I don’t think you’re his type,” She smiled at you in a threatening way. You threw a glance at Phoenix and Halo but found them engrossed into a different conversation, and entirely unhelpful.

“Do you think you are, Vegas?” you asked, laughing nervously.

“Sweetheart, I don’t think he’s into the entire Catholic schoolgirl shtick you’ve got going on. I think he’d like someone more experienced.” She said, taking one last sweeping look at your appearance before turning on her heels and whipping you in the face with her hair.

You let the hot water hit your back for a minute before soaping yourself up and then rinsing yourself off again. All the while, Phoenix and Halo stayed oblivious to the many amused side glances Vegas was throwing you. You exited the shower without telling any of the other girls and dried yourself off. By the time you were gently scrunching your hair dry, the other women had come to join you in the locker room again.

You waited for them to finish, not ready to leave the warmth of the locker room just yet. Halo took her time reapplying the minimal makeup the Navy allowed her to wear while Phoenix seemed to lose bobby pins whenever she managed to find another one, but eventually you were all ready to join the men again.

By the time you had spilled into the corridor, the last of the men were getting dressed. Omaha and a newly recovered Harvard were chatting, backs leaning against the wall while waiting for the team to reassemble. The door swung open again and out came Payback with Fanboy and Yale, and then Rooster. Bob, Coyote and Jake came out last.

Jake barely had time to fully leave the doorway before Vegas pounced. She made sure to throw a wink to you over her shoulder before blocking Jake’s path. You were too far from them to hear what she said as she twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, but it didn’t seem to matter as Jake didn’t stop to listen. Instead, he walked right past her and straight towards you, where he dropped his bag to the floor and put on his coat.

“Got any plans tonight Dove?” he asked you as he adjusted his collar, giving you a knowing look.

If you had been worried about your secret leaking, you needn’t have been, because at that moment Bob’s voice rang through the hall, “Admiral Simpson, how are you today?”

Everyone in the squad turned to face the Admiral, some snapping to attention and others staying relaxed.

“Doing well Floyd, thank you. Don’t you all have anywhere else to be? Any plans perhaps? You’re young… Go see your girlfriends, boyfriends, or whatever,” he said, giving you and Jake pointed looks before finishing his walk down the hall and turning the corner towards the exit.

You felt your face flush at Cyclone’s comment and pointed look. Before anyone could say anything to you about it, you grabbed your own bag off of the floor and headed out to your car. Climbing in, you turned the key over in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot quickly, heading towards your apartment.

As you make it off base, a phone starts to ring an unfamiliar tone. Looking at the passenger seat of your car, you realised that you had made an egregious error. In your rush to leave the hallway, you grabbed Jake’s duffle bag, not your own. Digging your hand inside, you pulled out his phone, your own contact number with a picture of you sitting at his table in front of a stack of pancakes greeted you. Sliding the call button to answer, you put the phone to your ear, “Hello?”

“I think you might have something that belongs to me,” Jake’s voice teased over the line.

You sighed, “I think you’re right, do you want to come get it tonight? I can make you dinner.”

His chipper voice responded quickly, “That sounds wonderful sweetheart, but you have the keys to my truck.”

The blush from earlier had just faded from your face, but as soon as you saw his keys and wallet peeking out from you on top of the bag, it was back in full force.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” you said, your voice quiet with embarrassment.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Jake said, you could hear the smile in his voice, before the call ended. You rush to find a place appropriate for a U-turn, but the roads near the base are so inconveniently made that it takes you another five minutes to turn around. Once you are back in the parking lot, you stop the car in the first empty spot you saw.

Climbing out, you turned towards Jake’s truck to find him talking with Bob. As you approached the two men, Jake’s duffle bag hung by both hands in front of you as if you could hide behind it. Bob saw you first over Jake’s shoulder.

“Dove,” he says in greeting, giving you the kind smile that he is known for.

“Bob,” you say back quietly. The fact that someone else now knows of your error makes you more embarrassed.

Jake, upon hearing your voice, turns to face you, “Hello beautiful,” he says, a big smile on his face.

You feel your eyes widen with panic, What was he doing? Bob was standing right there.

“Jake…” you say nervously, your eyes cutting to Bob and back to him.

Jake seems confused for a moment before stuttering out, “Oh, right, sorry, baby. Err, Bob knows. He’s also a Youth Minister, so I kinda had to tell him when we had our first date…”

Bob gives you a shit eating grin, “I think this whole thing is great by the way, you two are so sweet together.”

With that he bids the both of you goodbye and makes his way to his car in the lot.

You turn to Jake, a smile on your face, “Wouldn’t have thought you’d get along with Bobby.”

“Bobby? You have a nickname for him now?” Jake feigns jealousy by raising an eyebrow and clasping his hand over his pecs.

“Yeah, I do. Bobby is always nice to me, likes to sit with me on the wall while y’all have all the fun at the bar,” you pause for a moment, “When did the two of you get so close? I’ve never seen you talk to him like that before.”

“I guess ‘Bobby’ is a little ashamed of me,” he laughed, “On a serious note, Bob’s dad ain’t great so he’s keeping his involvement in the church pretty quiet… That and y’know… He’s quiet, I’m not, so we stay separate when we’re in public.”

You just nod as Jake continues talking, “Not my idea, though. He asked. I’m okay with being chummy, he’s a cool guy when he wants to be.”

“When he wants to be?” you repeat, a grin plastered onto your face.

“Oh yeah, that man knows how to stir shit like no one else,” Jake chuckled.

You laugh before responding, “I guess that explains the well timed ‘Admiral Simpson, how are you today?’”

Jake just nodded, “Yeah, he sure has perfect timing too. I think it's because he is always observing everyone, he knows the right time to get the biggest effect.”

You laugh again before holding out Jake’s bag to him, “Here you go, sorry I stole you bag.”

“It’s not a problem,” he says, trading your bags, “I don’t mind waiting on a beautiful woman.”

You blush, turning back to your car, “Don’t forget to thank Bobby for saving your ass!”

“Language!” Jake shouts after you, a smile seeping through his voice.

You laugh at his teasing, “You should take your own advice! Dinner is at seven, don’t be late!”

—

At six forty-five sharp, there was a knock on your front door, you were busy stirring the homemade alfredo sauce and you weren’t willing to risk it burning so you called out, “It’s open!”

You heard Jake push the door open and kick his shoes off, “It smells wonderful in here,” he said, coming up behind you and dropping a kiss on the top of your head.

“Thank you, it’s my mom’s recipe,” you say, giving him a sweet smile, “Dinner should be done shortly, this just needs to thicken first.”

“Can I help at all?” he asks, brushing a few fingers over the sleeve of your dress. It was something casual that you saved for home, lavender purple and cotton, but comfortable and cute.

“Do you want to open the wine? I can’t promise that it’s any good, I don’t drink often,” you say.

“I’m sure it’ll be perfect,” Jake whispers in your ear, before you feel his presence move away from you and towards the other side of your kitchen.

When the sauce was done, and tossed with the noodles, you served up two plates before setting them down at the table. Jake placed a glass of wine at each place setting before pulling your chair out for you as you took your apron off.

Giving him a grateful smile, you take a seat in the offered chair, laying your napkin delicately across your lap.

“I can’t remember the last time someone cooked me a meal,” Jake said quietly, after the two of you had prayed.

Your heart sank for him, “Why’s that?”

“I haven’t been home in a while, and I’m not known for having friends really,” he said quietly, giving you a small smile as he picked up his fork.

“Well I hope you enjoy it,” you said, smiling back at him as you cut into your own chicken.

After a minute of cutlery scraping against plates, you looked up to see that Jake’s plate was empty, and he was eyeing the pan on the stove discreetly, “You can get seconds,” you say to him, laughter in your voice.

“I was going to wait for you to finish,” he said, a slight tint coming over his cheeks, “I’m not an animal.”

“You aren’t?” you said in a questioning voice, laughing a little at your jab.

His face dropped and you took his hand from across your small kitchen table, “I know you aren’t Jake, I was just kidding. Getting seconds is the biggest compliment you can pay my subpar cooking,” you say with a soft smile.

Picking up his plate from the table, Jake got up, dropping a kiss on your head as he passed your chair, whispering into your hair, “It’s not subpar, it's the best I’ve ever had.”

The smile that split your face stayed with you for the whole evening. Jake helped you clean up dinner, this time he did the dishes as you dried them and put them away. You packed a few leftover containers up, leaving them out on the counter to cool. It was a work night, but you and Jake settled into the couch for a movie, he let you pick from your own extensive collection, and you couldn’t help but be in the mood for a RomCom. The credits for How to Lose a Guy In Ten Days had just started rolling as the clock hit ten.

You pushed off the couch and made your way into the kitchen, putting the lids on the containers and leaving one out, bringing it to Jake at the front door.

He looked at you surprised as you pushed the slightly warm container into his hands, “For lunch tomorrow,” you said in explanation with a smile.

He just stood there, looking at you, for so long that you thought he might kiss you. A thrill ran up your spine at the thought that tonight would be the night. You felt a blush cover your cheeks, and you looked down at the ground, brushing a piece of hair out of your face and behind your ear.

Your heart started pounding loud enough that he could probably hear it when he put two fingers under your chin, pulling your head up to look at him. He glanced down at your lips for a second before placing a gentle kiss to the crown of your head. Disappointment rushed through you, but you kept a smile on as he left. You stood on the doorstep of your apartment and waved as he pulled away from the curb.

---

Vegas, in her eagerness to guide the plane down to the ground, hadn’t noticed the lone seagull soaring around the tarmac. The bird flew straight into the landing gear and the impact snapped the thing straight off with a sickening ‘CLANG’. Silence reigned in the cockpit for a second as neither of you knew what to do, a bird striking the landing gear shouldn’t have caused it to fall off. As your mind raced, any mental assessment of the situation gave you a less than hopeful prognostic.

You blinked and in that split second, the plane made contact with the concrete. It flew through the air like it was made of paper, ricocheting off of the tarmac for a moment before hitting its wing against something and spinning out of control. The safety wall at the end of the runway was approaching at neck breaking speed, but by the time you hit, both you and Vegas had already lost consciousness. The front of the plane crunched as it made contact with the safety wall, the force popping the canopy open and flooding the cockpit with burning air.

The rest of the team was waiting for you to complete the training exercise from the comfort of the recreation room. The television set in the corner of the room blared above the sound of the foosball match being played and yet, when your aircraft lost its landing gear and it hit the tarmac, it felt as though Jake was watching a movie and had forgotten to turn on the sound.

The coffee cup he had been holding was dropped to the floor, sending bits of ceramic flying through the room as he sprinted towards the door, throwing himself against it as it slammed open into the wall. Bob and Maverick were hot on his heels, the only sound that could be heard with the men’s boots slamming against the pavement. They ran towards the smoking wreckage as fast as they could. Jake, thanks to a high school sport career in hurdle jumping, jumped straight onto the wing.

He saw Vegas stir in her seat, and the voice in the back of his head told him to save her first but both his heart and his arms decided to carefully scoop you from your seat. Jake lifted you out of the plane, making sure to limit the movement of your neck before kneeling down on the searing metal of the wing and depositing you into Bob’s arms. He stood up again and did the same with Vegas, giving her to Maverick.

As Jake jumped back down to the ground from the wing, the plane rocked with a small explosion, sending him to the ground at Bob and Maverick’s feet. He lifted his head from the tarmac, catching a glance of your bloody forehead before he pushed himself off the ground. Sirens could be heard in the distance and he saw a base fire truck pull onto the tarmac, but he wasn’t willing to wait for a base ambulance to join it.

Gently taking you from Bob, he started towards the hospital, jogging through the pain that he was beginning to feel in his back. He could hear Maverick and Bob calling out behind him, but he didn’t turn around, just kept up his pace across the tarmac towards the end of the airfield.

He slammed his back into the door, groaning out in pain as he made it inside. Medical staff were standing ready, probably briefed about the crash a few minutes after it happened. He watched helplessly as they took you from his arms, placing you on a gurney and rolling you down the hall, away from him.

As Jake turned to leave, a nurse stopped him, “Sir, you need to be looked at too.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused as to why she thought he needed attention.

“Your back is burned, and there is a singed hole in your pants. Let us take a look at you, okay? She is safe now,” the nurse said kindly, guiding Jake gently by his arm to a trauma room.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, letting them take off his clothes and check him from head to toe, the only thing running through his mind was the sight of your bloodied face, and the Hail Mary. Mav poked his head into the room soon after the nurse left.

Jake shot off the bed immediately, “How is she?”

“They’re both going to be alright, but I am assuming you’re asking about Dove,” he said, a knowing smile on his face, “She is going to be fine, the doctor said that she has a few bruises from the harness straps and that she hit her head on the console when the crash happened. They think she has a concussion, but we will know more when she wakes up.”

Jake released the breath he had been holding, sinking back onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

“So…” Maverick started, “Dove, huh?”

“Oh, drop it, pops,” Jake grumbled, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Mav laughed before continuing, “No, no, it’s sweet. I support it. You two are adorable together.”

“Damn right we are,” Jake laughed, sending the older man a wink.

“Hey, I don’t suppose you could do me a favour,” Jake started, “I have some… things… in my locker that I need. The nurses won’t let me leave the med bay to get it myself.”

“Things?” Maverick asked, suspicious of Jake’s intentions. His suspicions only grew when the younger man seemed unwilling to meet his eyes for a second

Jake stumbled over the words, “I need my -- Just, can you get -- You know what, can you ask Bob to come?”

“Nope, spill it,” Mav said, raising an eyebrow at the usually cocky pilot’s nerves.

Huffing out a sigh, Jake collected himself, “I have my Rosary and my Bible in my locker. I need them.”

Maverick raised an eyebrow at the request. He hadn’t expected Hangman to be religious, but then, Maverick thought, he hadn’t expected Jake to be the kind to fall in love, either.

“No problem,” he said, turning around and leaving the room.

Jake hung his head and sat in silence for a few more minutes before he pulled on the scrubs the nurse had left out for him to change into seeing as his flight suit had been rendered unwearable by the explosion, he was lucky that he had been wearing a t-shirt underneath.

Maverick returned to find him sitting in the same position he had left him in fifteen minutes later.

“You need a new locker, the door’s stuck,” He said, looking at Jake with a smile on his face. “Here’s what you asked for,” Mav said quietly, holding out a bible and a velvet bag for him to take.

“Those aren’t mine,” Jake said, looking at the beautiful white book and the white velvet of the Rosary bag Maverick had given him.

Mav hesitated for a minute before continuing, “No. Like I said, I couldn’t get your locker to open… These are her’s.”

Jake carefully undid the string that held the pouch closed and pulled out a silver Rosary. Its beads pink and iridescent, glinting up at him in the harsh hospital light. Each holy mystery was a red rose. The chain shined like it was used regularly, a small thumb mark on the crucifix that Jake covered with his own. He traced every rose and every bead with his fingers, running the rosary through his hands like water. It was so beautiful, so… you.

Jake’s own rosary had once belonged to his grandfather, it was a very minimalist affair, made of wood and a silver chain but it brought him comfort wherever he went. The Bible had been grandfather Thomas’ too, although it had been in brand new condition when it had been passed onto Jake as Thomas Seresin liked to keep multiple versions about the house. His grandmother had kept the tattered old one for herself and given him one of the newer ones.

Holding these items always made him feel emotional, but as he held yours, he found he was barely able to keep himself from letting out a choked sob. Maverick moved closer to him. He put his arm around Jake’s shoulder and squeezed a little.

“She’ll be okay,” He said in a low voice.

“I know, I -- I’ve never been so scared in my life, you know?” Jake explained, throwing his head back to stare at the white ceiling in the hope that tears would not fall. Maverick stayed quiet but patted him on the shoulder.

“She’s the one for me, Maverick. I really thought I was going to lose her,” Jake said, his voice horace from holding back tears.

Mav gave him a knowing look, “She’s the one, huh?”

Jake couldn’t hold back the smile that covered his face, they might have only been dating for a few months, but he knew she was the one.

----

A day later, Jake was still in the hospital. He wasn’t in his own room, but sitting next to the bed in yours. Mav and Bob had come by the day before and forced him to go home for the night to shower and change.

The burns on his back and knee weren’t very bad, but they hurt something fierce, so he had taken a cool shower and dressed in the only clothes he could find that were comfortable, a black t-shirt and a pair of his gray Navy sweatpants. He had laid in his bed at home for what felt like hours trying to sleep, but the bible and Rosary sitting on his night stand kept calling to him. Before he knew it, he found himself back in your hospital room, your pink Rosary clutched tightly in one hand and the other holding yours on the bed.

The nurses tried not to bother him as they came in and out, they all thought it was so sweet that Jake was sitting by your bedside, mumbling prayers to himself. He carefully counted the beads, each prayer flowing through his head as he mouthed the words to himself.

‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.’

Over and over the prayer went in his mind, each time another pink bead passed through his fingers, the glass of the beads was more slippery than he was used to being that his own Rosary was made of wood. His large hands struggled to hold on to them at times, but he was careful to never drop it.

As he was getting into what could be his third or fourth time around the sacred necklace, Jake was interrupted by a cough at the doorway. Looking up, he almost cussed, catching himself before the words could pass through his lips. Standing in the doorway was Rooster, Phoenix, Halo, and Coyote. Bob was running up from behind giving Jake a look that said, ‘Sorry man, I tried to stop them.’

"I gotta say, I am confused," Rooster said, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh no, Roo, this is totally normal. Completely, absolutely, not totally weird." Phoenix replied sarcastically

Jake quickly placed your Rosary on the bedside table, standing from the chair he had been sitting in for half the night and moving towards the doorway, “Let’s have this conversation outside,” he said quickly, glancing back to make sure that you hadn’t stirred in the bed. His hand gently brushed against your hair, as if to tell you he was going to be right back

Phoenix protested, but with a pointed look she allowed Jake to corral them all into the waiting room and thus the yelling began.

Halo and Phoenix both started into Jake at the same time, “What the hell are you doing with my best friend Seresin? Or should I even call her that, what with how she has apparently been the secret girlfriend you’ve had all these months!”, “What the hell Bagman? Really? A coworker? You couldn’t even pick the one who was throwing herself at you, you had to go after Dove?”

Jake held both of his hands up in the air, like the cops tell you to do when they’ve got a gun pointed at you, and to be honest, it didn’t feel too far from what was happening right now.

“Whoa, whoa, ladies, calm down,” he said trying to keep the bit of fear he was feeling from the two women in front of him out of his voice, “Dove and I have been together for a few months now. We didn’t want to make it public for this reason right here. She is a nice girl and we are taking it slow, I love her.”

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Vegas looked put out, Phoenix was looking at him like he had grown a third head, and Halo looked like the human version of the heart eyed emoji. Coyote broke the silence first, “Well congrats man, I’m happy for you. I just wish that you had told the rest of us sooner, I mean come on you know that I wouldn’t have been poking fun if I had known it was that serious between you two.”

Phoenix suddenly looked like someone had turned the lights on in her brain, turning to Bob she raised her voice again, “You bastard Robert Floyd, you knew!”

It was Bob’s turn to look like he had a gun pointed at him, “Hey now, just because I found out first doesn’t mean you get to be mad at me. I am observant, I probably know more about all of you than you know about yourselves.”

"Un-fucking-likely," Phoenix shot back, her eyes flaring daring Bob to say something no one knew.

Bob hesitated for only a moment before airing out Phoenix’s dirty laundry, "Your lucky pair of underpants is purple and currently laying on the back seat of Coyote's car."

The blood drained out of her face and Coyote just glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, not daring to set her off either, he smartly stayed quiet.

“H-how did you know that?” she asked Bob, sounding like she didn’t know what to say.

Sighing, Bob explained, "Coyote dropped me off at the Hard Deck yesterday… and you write your name on the label…"

"Why were you checking?!" Phoenix exclaimed. The most daring pilot Jake knew was blushing furiously.

"I wasn't! You just left them right there and I saw them! I'm not a creep!" Bob shouted, now blushing as well.

"You're a little creepy, " Jake said, winking in his friend's direction, happy for the distraction.

Bob just shot him a glare, but there was no anger behind it. Jake laughed before continuing, “Alright, so now y’all know about us and Phoenix's lucky underwear, can you go home?”

Then as if remembering something, Jake called them back "Can you guys keep it on the down low? At least until she's better?"

They all looked at him before nodding, Phoenix and Halo both giving him their own glares before making their way out of the waiting room, Vegas brushed by without saying a word, Bob and Coyote both shook his hand and pulled him into a one armed hug, but the one who surprised him was Rooster. Rooster shook his hand and smiled before saying, “You know Hangman, I think she will be good for you.”

Jake just let out a laugh before responding, “She is better than I deserve.”

“Nah,” Rooster said, “She’s just everything you need.”

With that he left the waiting room, and Jake returned to your bedside, a weight he didn’t know he had been carrying was lifted from his shoulders. He gazed at your sleeping face, admiring the peaceful expression etched on your features. Jake leaned down and placed a kiss right on your temple.

"I love you," He whispered quietly, he hadn’t meant to tell the whole team earlier, but now that he did, he might as well say it to you, even if you were sleeping.

"You are a damn coward Jacob Thomas Seresin," You croaked out, your voice rough from disuse.

"Yeah," Jake cringed, "Yeah I am. I'm sorry."

"So fix it," You said, cracking your eyes open to look up at him.

Jake looked you in the eyes, "I love you," he said a tear was hanging in his eye, and at that moment you could see he truly meant it. His face crumpled, his chin quivered for a moment before his hard voice came out, "Don't you ever fucking scare me like that again, do you understand, baby? Never. Because quite frankly, I don't think I can take it."

You nodded, wincing slightly at the pain in your head, “I understand. Technically though, I wasn’t flying the plane,” you said cheekily.

He sighed at your teasing, "I will threaten Vegas too, don't worry. You're just closest for now," his voice was joking as he took a seat in the chair next to your bed.

“I love you too, by the way,” you said quietly, looking him in the eye.

His face split with a smile before he let out a laugh, “We are terrible at this whole taking it slowly thing aren’t we?”

"I mean, babe, you've practically already proposed… so yeah, I'd have to agree," you said smiling as much as your headache would allow.

Jake noticed your pain and pushed the nurse’s button on your bed. A short woman with a blonde bob came into the room and she fussed over you for a few minutes before leaving, promising to return with pain medicine.

At that moment, you looked down to see your Rosary laying on the bed. You were certain that it had been tucked safely into your purse, in your locker, across the base. So how was it laying next to you now?

Jake followed your line of sight and the confused look that crossed over your features, “Oh, I hope you don’t mind. Mav couldn’t get into my locker but he knew how to get into yours…"

You let out a slight laugh, “Ah, Bobby probably told him. He has seen me at church a few times and he knows that I carry my bible and Rosary on me.”

Jake nodded, “That makes sense, I didn’t really question it earlier.”

Just then the nurse came back in, handing you a cup of pills to take, “For your head, doll. You have a bit of a concussion but the pain should subside shortly. This young man here is your knight and shining armour too,” she said, looking quite excited, “Carried you all the way to the hospital and everything.”

"C--carried me?" You stuttered out turning to look at Jake.

"He hasn't told you?" She said, glancing at Jake, "I'll let him tell the story then," she said before making her way out of the room, a devious smile on her face.

"There isn't much to tell, just… Y'know… Helped a little" He said, hanging his head low and staring at his shoes

“Jacob Seresin, you tell me the truth right now,” you said sternly. You could see some bandages at the top of his shoulder now that he had hung his head, “Why are you bandaged up? What happened?”

Jake let out a long sigh before tilting his head up so his eyes met yours, "I may have pulled you out of the burning wreckage of your plane…before being blasted by a minor explosion…" He said, seeing you wince, he quickly added," It's nothing bad, just some minor burns, I'll live."

You looked at him with doubt, “Come here,” you said, making room on the bed for him to sit down, “Turn around,” you instructed, looking at him sternly. As you pulled up the back of his shirt to see his injuries, you gasped, half of his back was covered with gauze that looked like it had been on for a little while, “Oh my goodness, Jake,” your hand clasped over your mouth.

He quickly pulled his shirt back down and turned to you, taking both of your hands in his own, “Hey, I’m alright. It looks worse than it is,” he said, adding a quick, “I promise.”

"How does it feel, then?" you asked, “Because it looks pretty damn bad.”

"Just kind of achy, you know, like a bad sunburn," He lied, hoping it would calm your worries a little. In truth, his back felt sticky and seared. The disinfectant they had poured onto the raw flesh did nothing to hide the smell of burnt hair that had lodged itself into his nose.

The doctor had told him it would clear up in no time, but Jake wished it would hurry up.

“Jake, that didn’t look good. You need to have someone look at you,” you said, concern still laced in your voice.

He sighed, “Well it’s hard to clean your own back you know,” he said sassily. The truth was that the doctors hadn’t been very gentle the first time around and he wasn’t looking forward to a second time, “Maybe it can wait until you get out of here? Then you can patch up your, what did she call me, your knight in shining armour?”

You laughed, “I will patch you up, but it needs attention soon.”

“Then you better work on feeling better,” he said, smiling at you before leaning forward to kiss your head. With that he moved back to the chair, the two of you sat in comfortable silence until the doctor sent you home that afternoon with the promise that you would rest.

—

While the doctors had cleared you to go home, Jake was worried about you. He questioned if you were okay to go to church come Sunday morning, but you insisted that you were more than fine, it had been days since the accident.

He picked you up, much like he did every Sunday, and drove you to church, his hand holding yours on the centre console of his truck. Mass passed as it usually did, with him kissing your cheek softly and holding your hand during the Our Father. After Mass he took you home, this morning you had insisted on preparing breakfast at your house since he had for the last two months.

As you made your way into the apartment, you bent down to take your shoes off. When you came back up Jake was standing incredibly close to you, almost pressing you up against the wall just inside the door.

“Jake..?” you asked, your voice coming out in a whisper.

He didn’t answer, just brushed a loose strand of hair off of your face, his fingers lingering a little too long against your cheek. You looked into his eyes to find them staring back at you, an expression like you had never before seen on his face written over his features. He looked at you so tenderly, so lovingly, so adoringly that you never wanted this moment to end. But it did, when Jake leaned down and almost brushed his lips against yours.

“May I?” he asked, needing your approval to continue.

If the feeling of his nose against the side of yours hadn’t short-circuited your brain, you might have kissed him yourself. However, you were unable to do anything, not even breathe, so you gave him the smallest nod. He took that for the yes that it was, and you were glad when he pressed his lips against yours.

It wasn’t like the movies where fireworks went off in the background, it was so much better than that. Jake’s lips were warm and soft against your own, pushing against yours in a desperate and hungry way. He was gentle, but it was clear to you that he didn’t plan on stopping soon.

You felt his hands start to wander, one found its way underneath your Chapel Veil and into your hair. He brushed through it with his fingers while slowly moving his mouth against yours. Jake’s other hand came down from your cheek to find the edge of your jaw.

The kiss only ended when his fingers hit a knot. The unexpected jab of pain made you bite down on his lip. Jake groaned pleasurably at the sensation. Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he pushed you away a little to break up the embrace.

“Can I -- err -- Can I borrow your shower?” he asked, his face looking a bit panicked.

You gave him a confused look, before answering, “Yeah, of course. Are you okay?”

“Just fine, no worries,” he said, hurrying towards your bathroom.

You saw him disappear behind the door and heard him lock it before starting the water. In the meantime, you busied yourself with making coffee and starting breakfast. Your pancakes could never compete with Jake’s regardless of how neatly you cracked the eggs, so you had opted for making your favourite: cinnamon rolls.

You had made the dough in advance and left it to prove in the fridge, now that the buns were risen, all you needed to do was to pop them in the oven. While it preheated, you set about changing your clothes.

You removed the Chapel Veil and brushed through the knots Jake had found in your hair, then, you changed into some more casual clothes, opting for a lovely pink house dress and as you were baking, a matching apron.

The coffee machine sputtered to life and the oven dinged at the same time. You dropped a latte pod into the machine for yourself and a regular espresso for Jake before opening the oven door and shoving the tray of cinnamon rolls towards the back of the oven. By the time you had done that, you could hear the water had stopped in the bathroom.

“Hey, you okay?” you asked as he entered the kitchen again. You moved towards him and touched his arm with a reassuring rub. His skin felt freezing under your touch.

He hesitated for a moment, clearly embarrassed about the situation, “I got -- I got a little carried away.”

You eyed him from your spot at the sink, washing a few dishes that you had made, “How carried away are we talking?”

“Don’t make me spell it out,” he replied quietly, wincing.

Trying to reassure him, dried your hands on a towel before looking up at him, “Jake, I --”

He interrupted you right as you started talking to him, “I want to do this properly. In the right order, you know. I mean I know that ship has sailed for me but I want you to get the experience you deserve.”

Your heart melted, “Thank you,” you whispered, leaning up to kiss his cheek softly.

#fanfic #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #top gun x reader #fanfiction #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin #original fic #jake seresin #hangman top gun

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lgg5989 · 2 years

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Church Encounters Pt4

-- Part 4 of the fic I am writing with @barbiewritesstuff, you can find this fic on her tumblr and my Ao3 account :) Check out my Masterlist for the other chapters!

On a different note, we just want to say thank you for the lovely responses we have received on this fic, we both adore writing this and we're happy you guys like it :D if you want to leave a comment, please do, we love hearing what you guys have to say :)