#duckie bradshaw

[sarahsmi13s]

Duckie

Chapter 9

pairing: jake ‘hangman’ seresin x bradshaw!reader; bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw x twin sister!reader

characters: y/n bradshaw, nick bradshaw, jake seresin, penny benjamin, serenity hart, denver miller

word count: ~10.7k (don't kill me i know the chapter lengths are all over the place, i'm sorry)

warnings: language, parental doubts, canon character deaths mentioned, drinking, thunderstorms, jake being an absolute sweetheart

a/n: i want to apologize that is has been 8 months since i have last updated the main story, i really didn't think it would take that long... but i just wanted to make sure i was proud of the chapter and i really do think i am proud of it. so thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy 💜

series summary: daughter of goose and carole and twin sister to bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw, y/n bradshaw also got her papers pulled when she tried to enlist in the Navy. which turned out to not be as bad as she thought.

chapter summary: a week after duckie and jake went on their "not-date" she is seriously regretting not getting jake's number before he left -- considering they haven't seen each other since. though, as fate would have it, that weekend they see each other at the beach and as duckie is walking away jake gets a push from his friends to get her number. little does he know he'll be getting much more than that from her

'duckie' universe

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It had been a hectic week since your ‘not date’ date with Jake and honestly… you were missing him. Nick was missing him too, hugging the cowboy manta ray every afternoon when he napped. You were really kicking yourself for not getting his number, you had no way of talking to him. And you both were busy, you with school stuff and softball practices and Jake with his Top Gun classes. So you just had to bet on the off chance of running into him again.

Late that Saturday morning, you and Nick were walking the beach, occasionally splashing in the surf. You wanted to tire him out so when Serenity came over later to babysit, he wasn’t too much trouble.

At some point when you had been distracted, Nick had run off without you noticing, most likely seeing something he liked or wanted.

When you do notice his absence, it’s because you don’t hear giggling and splashing. You look down next to you and panic shoots through you when you see that your son isn’t right at your feet. 

“Nick? Nick! Nicky!”

Your chest heaved with your panicked breathing, thoughts running through your mind a mile and a half a minute as you shouted and ran across the beach like a mad woman – shouting for your son.

How could this happen? How could you not notice that your toddler wasn’t right next to you? What kind of mother gets that distracted that she doesn’t even hear her child run off? How did you not notice? Why didn’t you hear him? Why did you let something else pull your attention away that fast and for that long?

Maybe those middle aged mothers in the store were right? Maybe you were too young to be a decent mom… Maybe you shouldn’t–

“Han’man!” 

The small, but excited voice shut your thoughts off in an instant, relief flooding your entire body as you ran in the direction you heard your son – nearly tripping over your own feet in the panic. 

You spotted the classic beach volleyball court and saw Jake pick him up, looking equally as confused as he was happy. 

“Nick where’s your-” 

“Nicholas Jacob!” You called, adrenaline still pumping through your body.

Your son yelped a little and turned into Jake’s neck upon hearing you shout as the pilot cringed. The first and middle name? Never a good sign. 

“Oooh, someone’s in trouble,” he mumbled, instinctively rubbing the child’s back in order to keep him calm. 

The other aviators noticed this and gave Hangman a confused look. They were in the middle of a volleyball match and then boom a toddler’s running into the pilot's legs. And now he was comforting said child, not something they would expect from him usually.

Nick threw his arms around Jake’s neck, not turning to look at you as you ran over, sliding a little as the sand shifted under your heavy steps. “You can’t just run off like that! Do you know how worried I was?!”

The other pilots probably should have looked away, minded their own business. But now they were very intrigued as you came up to Jake as he held your son. 

And by the time you got in arms reach you had calmed down slightly, trying to channel your mother to help you handle this situation.

“Nicky,” you coaxed, as you got closer and reached out to rub his back. He just buried his face into Jake’s shoulder, a small cry coming from his lips as he hugged the pilot tighter. He hates yelling, he doesn’t like it when people are mad at him. You played with his curls, knowing that he thought you were angry, “Baby, I’m not mad… You just worry me when you run off like that. You are too much like your Uncle.” 

Nick looked at you finally, but still rested his head on Jake’s shoulder. His eyes were red and you sighed, knowing that he still thought you were mad. “I’m sorry I shouted, Nicky. Mama’s not mad at you. I promise.” He sniffled and reached out for you. You smiled softly and took him into your arms, then he promptly buried his face into your shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, guys,” you apologized, looking around at all the pilots. “I don’t know how he got away from me.” Jake shook his head, waving it off with a flick of his wrist, “It’s okay. I was winnin’ anyway.” You laughed, bouncing Nick instinctively, “Alright, well, we’ll leave you to it.” You adjusted Nick on your hip, smiling at the men before walking away.

Jake watched you walk away before turning back to his classmates, clapping his hands together and ready to start the next match. But he was met with crossed arms and expecting looks. “Okay let’s – What?” 

“You’re in so deep, Hangman,” Denver, also known as ‘Ransom’, said with a teasing scoff. “Have you gotten her number yet?” 

The blond shook his head, “No but I figured she’d offer it when she was ready.” The other pilot rolled his eyes. “Seresin, since when have you ever waited for her to make the move?” Jake huffed, “She’s different. I don’t want to move too fast. I want her to know that I’m all in first.” 

Denver crossed his arms, “Hangman, go ask her. Show her you’re all in. She won’t know if you don’t tell her. And I’m pretty sure she’s a little nervous to ask you. You know… given that she doesn’t know!” 

Jake’s eyes widened in realization, making the brunette laugh as Jake jogged after you, “Hey, Y/N, wait up!”

You turned as he called out to you, Nicky looking up as well from his spot on your shoulder. Looking up at him as he slowed down to a stop in front of you, you tilted your head a little, “Yeah?”

He took a few deep breaths, talking with one hand as the other rested on his hip, “First I want to preface, it’s totally cool if you say no. But we’ve been getting to know each other, and I was wondering if I could get your number?” 

You looked at Nick then back at Jake, thinking about your response carefully. “I’ll be at the bar tonight. Come by and we’ll talk about it.” 

Jake nodded, and smirked, “I look forward to it.” He ruffled Nick’s hair before going back to the group.

You smiled, eyeing him as he walked away – a little more confidence in his step as he walked up to his friend. 

You know you were kicking yourself before for not getting his number, but now that he’s asked you… you were hesitant, you felt like you had a lot you needed to tell him before you took this step. Sighing a little, you adjusted Nick on your hip again and made your way back to your car.

During the drive home, Nicky was quiet and played with the shells he had found on the beach.

You knew he was still upset from when you yelled, and you knew that he didn’t quite understand why you were so worried. He was only three after all, and he had so much wonder that it was a miracle he didn’t run off to squash his curiosities more often.

He did need to understand why you had shouted and why you were so worried, it was important that he knew that.

But neither of you were ready to give nor receive that conversation. You were still thrumming with that anxiety from the 90 second eternity it took to find him and he was still upset from when you yelled at him. You just needed to wait for when you got home after you both calmed down.

When you got home, you gave Nicky his bath in near silence as you made sure all the sand was gone and he was clean of salt water.

You had thought through your side of the conversation and decided on how you were going to talk to him.

After getting him bathed and getting some comfy clothes picked out, you knelt in front of him as you helped him dry off.

“Nicky? Can we talk about what happened at the beach?” 

He sniffed, nodding his head under the little shark hood of his towel. 

You smiled softly at him and gave a gentle squeeze to his arms. “You know Mama isn’t angry right?” “You yelled… people yell when they’re angy…” His voice was soft and timid, he was trying not to cry again. 

“Oh baby…” You tilted his head up and cupped his cheek. “Sometimes people yell when they’re angry or mad. But not all the time.” Confusion flashed over his tearfilled eyes and you sighed. 

You sat back on your heels, wiping his tears away with your thumb. “People can yell for a lot of different reasons, Nick. Sometimes we yell or shout because we’re excited, we’ve done that before haven’t we? Like when you saw Hangman and shouted because you were so excited to see him.” 

He nodded, using the towel to wipe his other eye as you gave him an encouraging smile.

“It all comes down to how we say something, and I know that might not make sense just yet, because you’re three, but it will and we’ll talk more about it then. But I know you don’t like yelling when people sound angry or mean, it’s loud and it can be scary, right?” He nodded again, sniffling a little, “Yeah…” 

You nodded, dipping your head a little to look him in the eye. “And Mama’s sorry if she sounded angry or mean, that wasn’t my intention. But you running off like that scared me, it really really scared me. I didn’t know if you were hurt or lost.” 

“But I was safe with Han’man… I was okay Mama…” 

“I know that now. But in the moment I was really worried about you and I didn’t know where you had run off too. That’s why I shouted.” 

You rubbed his arms, making sure to hold eye contact. “You can’t just run off like that without telling me. It makes me worried for your safety.” 

The dam finally broke and Nick started sobbing. “I’m sorry Mama… I-I jus’ saw Han’man an-and wa-wanted to s-say hi…” 

“I know, I know baby,” you cooed, wiping his tears as they fell. “And Mama forgives you, I know you didn’t mean to. And I know there will be times where you’re really really curious and you want to explore, but you have to tell me so I, or someone else, can make sure you’re safe. And there will be times I’m gonna yell, but I still love you okay? And I will do better to control my tone in the future.” 

He sniffled and hugged you tightly, his little arms wrapping around your neck in a grip that rivaled a grown man. You smiled and adjusted your legs, crossing them before wrapping him tighter in his towel and pulling him into your lap.

You sat on his floor for a while, holding him close and rocking back and forth as you pressed kisses to the side of his head.

It wasn’t too long after that conversation that Serenity was using her spare key to come in, finding you and Nick giggling in the living room as you watched Kung Fu Panda.

“Looks like I’m missing all the fun,” she laughed, sitting her backpack down on the bar. 

Nick sat up, a wide smile on his face, “Ren!” She smiled and walked over, her arms out wide for a hug, “Nicky J!” He got off the couch quickly and ran to her, hugging her with a high pitched giggle. 

You smiled as you stood up, “Oh I don’t know about missing the fun, just a little late to the party.” 

“Well, I guess I have some fun to catch up on,” she said as she ruffled Nicky’s curls. “And Mama can relax a little bit.” 

You nodded because now that she was here you could take a shower and get ready to go to the bar. You needed the moment of solitude to collect yourself after your mild panic attack on the beach. Needed to take a second alone to let the parental mask slip and just let yourself feel.

“Yes, and I will be showering and getting ready to go to the bar. You both can finish the movie and give me the rundown when I come back.” 

Serenity nodded, “You got it, we’ll take notes. Won’t we buddy?” Nicky nodded, “And we can act it out for you too!” You smiled and played with his hair, “Yes you can, and I look forward to it.” Nick giggled, running back over to climb on the couch and continue watching the movie.

You looked at the college student, brows raised as you let out a breath. She arched her eyebrow inquisitively, “Mama need me time?” You nodded, rubbing your hands on your thighs. “She needs so much me time. Had a bit of a scare at the beach and I need a minute to process it, without him two feet away… God, that sounds so bad doesn’t it?”

She shook her head, grabbing your wrist gently, “Not at all. You need space to breathe, that’s why I’m here – well, and cause I love that little man over there.” You both laughed, glancing over at the couch where Nick was zeroed in on the TV. 

Her grip tightened momentarily to gain your attention again. “And you’re doing great, Y/N. Don’t ever question that.” 

A rush of tears filled your eyes, a weight you hadn’t realized was sitting on your chest lifting ever so slightly and allowing you to actually breathe again. Biting your lip to keep from crying in front of your son, you hugged Serenity letting out a heavy exhale that released the obsessive thoughts that rattled in your head. 

“Thank you…” 

Your voice was no louder than a whisper, but your gratitude was nothing short of a scream. 

Serenity rubbed your back, “And I will fight anyone that says otherwise. Even you. Understand?” She pulled back only when you did as you nodded and wiped your face. “Good,” she nodded towards your bedroom with a smile. “Now go shower.” 

You nodded, squeezing her shoulder in thanks before jogging towards your room.

She smiled after you before turning to your son, clapping her hands as she walked over, “Okay Nicky, let’s make sure we get all the details for Mama.” 

After your much needed shower, taking the solitary moment to breathe and let more tears fall to just release the stress, you got dressed in a pair of jeans and an old band t-shirt you had held onto from when you went through your mom’s things. And you added a black jacket because it had clouded over while you were in the shower. 

And of course, Nicky gave you the rundown of what you missed of Kung Fu Panda while you got ready before going back to let you finish up.

You took a deep breath as you clasped the guitar pick necklace behind your neck, letting the engraved gold rest against your sternum. Kendall had gotten it for you for graduation, having your favorite lyric of Great Balls of Fire engraved on the front – because he indeed drove you crazy and vice versa. For Christmas, Penny went and had Kendall’s initials engraved on the back, knowing that you’d be giving the necklace to Nicky once he was old enough.

Letting the breath out and calming yourself down, you stepped out of your room and slipped your jacket on as you walked to the door. “Okay, I’m heading out. It looks like it might rain, so just call me if anything happens or you need me to come home, okay?” 

Serenity nodded from her spot on the couch, popping a goldfish cracker into her mouth “Got it, go have fun.” 

You squatted down and Nicky ran over to give you a hug. “Bye Mama, have fun with Han’man.” You smiled and rubbed his back, “I will. Be good for Ren okay? I won’t be back until after you go to bed, so I love you baby.” You gave him kisses all over his face, “Mwah, I love you sooo much.” He giggled and kissed your temple, “I love you too Mama.” 

You shared a smile and he ran back to the couch to curl up in his corner.

“Okay, you know all the numbers Ren. If I don’t answer, call Penny or the bar. Okay, I’m gonna head out now, see if I can beat the rush of pilots that are gonna get grounded soon. I love you both, bye.”

They both waved at you as you grabbed your purse and walked out the door.

About 90 minutes and one Amarello after you arrived, you watched Jake stroll into the bar, his green eyes finding you leaning on the bar immediately despite the crowd in front of him. 

“Howdy,” you greeted with a smile as he walked over and leaned on the bar next to you. “Hi, Darlin’,” he replied, grinning down at you.

You glanced around, the bar wasn’t as packed as you thought it would be, but it was still full of pilots since the surprise showers grounded their classes for the rest of the day. 

You looked back at Jake, remembering his question from earlier today on the beach. As you drove over and the hour and half you had to yourself at the bar, you had tried your best to prepare your speech, get everything you needed to say in order so you didn’t fuck anything up and miscommunicate your feelings.

Sighing, you closed your eyes, recalling everything you had lined up to tell him. You didn’t look in his eyes, keeping your gaze centered on his chest, knowing his green irises would wipe your memory. 

“I’m gonna be honest here Jake…” 

He held up his hand, gently interrupting you, “I get it, Y/N. If you still aren’t ready for a relationship, I understand. But I still want to be a friend that you can call, whether it be just to talk to me or if you need help.” 

You sighed, relief filling your chest knowing that he was willing to wait, but you still wanted, no needed, to tell him how you were feeling. 

You finally looked up in his eyes, swallowing the word vomit of emotions that wanted to escape, “Jake, you have done a lot these past few weeks. You’ve taken the time not only to get to know me but to get to know Nick. That means so much to me, more than you know. And I can tell that Nick already likes you, so I can’t just let you out of our life easily.” 

Jake smiled, bashfully looking down at the bar as a chuckle broke through his lips, “I try my best. And I’m a little offended that you thought getting rid of me would ever be easy.” 

You rolled your eyes before continuing. 

“And I do like you, Jake. I like you a lot. While you are cocky as hell, you’re sweet and a gentleman. It’s just…” You rocked on your feet, thinking of everything you needed to say but couldn’t put into words – your rehearsed lines disappearing into thin air now that Jake was here. Damn those eyes.

You hung your head, trying to see if looking away from him would help re-materialize the pre-coordinated words. 

But Jake ducked his head to meet your eyes, showing you he was listening and chasing away your coherent thoughts, “It’s just what, Y/N?” 

You glanced at Penny, receiving a reassuring nod from her and sending a short one back. “I’m gonna step outside really quick Pen, watch my drink?” She nodded and gave you a small, encouraging smile. 

“Follow me,” you patted Jake's shoulder, and slid your hand down his arm to grab his hand. 

You pulled him outside to the covered deck and leaned on the railing, taking a deep breath to inhale the scent of the rain – trying to reign in your racing thoughts.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Jake’s whiskey smooth voice asked as he leaned on the railing as well, his back facing the clouds.

You cleared your throat, dropping your head to look at the damp sand as you pieced together the puzzle of emotions and words in your head. 

“My dad died when I was 4… He left my mom alone to raise 2 kids that were too much like their father. I told myself that I need to stay away from service men, definitely pilots. But you, and your perfect teeth and perfect hair, those damn green eyes…” 

Jake was flattered but he could feel how this was going to end. You’d build up his ego to cushion his fall when you turned him down.  

“You have become an exception to my one rule.” Okay… Jake certainly wasn’t expecting that. “A rule that I gave myself on my own. I’m just scared, Jake. Nick and I have grown so… close to you and I’m afraid–” 

Jake lifted your chin, cutting you off, and quietly spoke to you, noting the thin line of tears in your water line. “Hey… I understand. But I’m a damn good pilot, I ain’t goin’ down easy.” You laughed, shaking your head fondly before smiling up at him, “There’s that ego.” 

He chuckled softly, his trademark half-smile flashing a canine, “What can I say? But seriously, I will do whatever it takes to get back to you both safe. If that’s what you want.” 

You nodded, stepping closer, unconsciously straightening your back to be closer to him, “I want it, I do.” You bit your lip, a shuddering breath escaping your lips. 

His soft gaze hardened slightly, reading your body language, but it softened again as he tilted your chin up. “Then why are you hesitating?” You shrugged, shaking your head subtly, “I don’t know.” 

You knew why, deep down you knew why you were holding back. Why you wanted to spray the butterflies in your stomach with vinegar. Your brain knew why. But your heart was pounding on your ribcage, trying to get to your brain to tell you it was okay. That you could love again, and it would all be okay.

Jake leaned down, seeing the fight in your eyes. “Is this okay?” You nodded, your breath mixing with his as you looked from his eyes to his lips and back again.

There was a soft eagerness, a puppy in those green eyes waiting to run around, bouncing as he waited for his command – a command only you could give. It was familiar but completely new at the same time. But it felt safe.

Instead of giving him the words he was looking for, you rested your hand on the side of his neck and pressed your lips to his – letting your heart take the wheel.

The kiss was soft, but it didn’t change the fact that butterflies went wild in both of your stomachs. Jake couldn’t help but smile against your lips as he cupped your jaw and tasted the hint of Amaretto on them.

You pulled away, needing to get air into your lungs but Jake chased your lips, catching them in their minty trap. It was clear he came prepared for anything, not that you minded. 

Your free hand fisted in his jacket, wafting his cologne into the air – an all consuming, but not overwhelming scent.

You both finally pulled away from the chaste kiss, light headed and breathless. You stayed close, your noses brushing against each other. 

“What’s gonna happen when you leave?” 

Jake smirked, his breath still tickling your lips as he pulled out his phone, “Well, I’m not sure, but it’d be a hell of a lot easier with your number.” You laughed and finally looked up at him, stepping back a little to take his phone, “Smooth Lieutenant. Very smooth.”

As you and Jake held eye contact a smile settled across your face before you looked down at his phone, typing in your number and sending a text to yourself.

Jake couldn’t help the blush that darked his tanned cheeks at the sparkle of your smile that not even the rain could dim. 

You weren’t like anything he’s ever seen before; a strong, single mother that did everything for the sake of her child and someone that had gone through so much at such a young age.

“You’re amazing…” 

Jake hadn’t realized what he said out loud until you giggled and looked down at the deck with pink tinted cheeks. 

“I said that out loud, didn't I?” He laughed at the end of his question. You nodded, “You did. But I’m flattered, so thank you.” 

You messed with his jacket, “And you’re good, Lieutenant. Maybe too good to be true.” 

“You’re stroking my ego, Darlin’.” You giggled and gave him a quick kiss, “I better head back in.” He grabbed your waist, “Do you have to?” “Do you want to have fun or not?” He bit his lip and you patted his chest and walked in. 

He watched you walk in and shook his head. Laughing to himself he adjusted his posture and went in and straight to the pool table.

You and Jake hung out at the bar for hours after that, having the time of your life. 

You danced to the music that came from the jukebox, played darts and you watched him play pool. You drank and ate, Penny keeping an eye on you both because you had to drive back home to your son and Jake did not need a hangover in the morning.

But you didn’t need the drinks to have a good time. Like right now. Jake had suggested another round of darts, but this time, you added a few spins before your throw. Almost like kids getting ready to hit a pinata at a party.

Jake grinned as he spun you around a few times. “Okay, now that you’re properly dizzy, why don’t you try and get a bullseye?” 

“You’re kidding me,” you giggled as you swayed a little on your feet. “I doubt I’m gonna hit the target. I can’t hit it when I’m standing straight, what makes you think I can hit it when I’m dizzy?”

He shook his head and turned you by your shoulders to square up to the board. “Who knows, maybe you’ll be better?” You snorted as you raised the dart, “I highly doubt that.” He scoffed playfully, “Just throw the dart, Y/N.”

You giggled, “Okay okay.” 

Your tongue poked out of the seam of your lips as your vision swam a bit and you lined up your shot. 

Taking a few balk throws, you finally get ready to actually throw it when there is a harsh crack, followed by a loud, booming sound – loud enough to rattle the windows.

“Oh shit!”

Any attempt you had made to actually aim the dart didn’t matter, because when you jumped at the harsh thunder the dart was sent on its own journey.

You laughed at your reaction to the sudden thunder and leaned back against Jake, “I can blame that horrible throw on the thunder, right?” He looked over your shoulder, seeing the dart about a foot and a half under the board in the wall.

“You sure it was thunder?” 

Your jaw dropped and you smacked his chest with the back of your hand, “That was uncalled for Seresin. But I walked into that one.” You both laughed as Jake nodded, “Yeah, I guess I can give you another shot Bradshaw.”

“Well, thank you oh so gracious Hangman,” you sassed a little as you readied another dart. “I’m actually gonna try this time.”

He chuckled and crossed his arms as he watched you repeat your process, his eyes drawn to your lips as your tongue once again pokes out. 

You managed to throw the dart just as the lights flickered out. 

“Are you fucking serious? The weather really doesn’t want me to hit this board,” you grumbled as you pulled your phone out to use your flashlight. 

Jake did the same, him immediately shining it at the dart board.

“Look at what we have here, you actually hit the board,” he teased as he walked up to the board. “Not a bullseye, but you hit it.” You flipped your hair, “Look at me go. Mama’s still got it.” 

Jake gave you a look, his face deadpanned and his brow low. You held his eyes, yours playfully squinting. 

It was a standoff for about 20 seconds before you both started laughing.

“C’mon Mother Goose, let’s go to the bar,” he chuckled as he grabbed your hand gently.

You froze for a second, confused as to where he got that nickname from – forgetting it was just a nursery rhyme to everyone else at that moment. 

He looked at you, frowning in concern, “Hey, sweetheart, you okay?” 

You shook it off, swallowing as you nodded, “Yeah, yeah… I’m okay.” 

With a furrowed brow, he stepped closer, tilting your chin up with a crooked finger, “You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?” 

His light tease pulled you back fully. 

“N-No, I’m fine, it’s okay,” you said softly as you shook your head. He cupped your cheek, “Are you sure?” You nodded, “Yeah, yeah, just thought of Nicky… He’s not the best with storms sometimes.” 

“Do you wanna check in on him? Make sure he’s doing okay? Especially now that the power’s out.” 

You chewed on your lip, your thumb and pinky tapping rhythmically on your thigh. “Are you sure it’s okay?” 

Jake nodded, “Of course it is! That’s your baby, do not question if it’s okay. It’s always okay.” You immediately open your contacts, “Thank you.” 

He smiled, squeezing your hand, “I’ll be at the bar when you’re ready, if you gotta go home, that’s okay.”

You gave him a smile and mouthed a ‘thank you’ as your phone rang, waiting for Serenity to pick up. 

Jake nodded again before going over to the bar.

Penny and Jimmy were turning on battery powered lanterns and setting them up around the bar. 

“You guys need some help?” Jake offered as he leaned on the bar.

She looked up at him as she sat a lantern down on the bar, “You don’t think you could get the power back on, could ya?” 

Jake laughed lightly, “If my call sign was Sparky, I might be able to give it a shot. Unfortunately, it’s not.” Penny shook her head with a laugh, “It’s alright Hangman, once we get these set up, we’ll hopefully get the generator up and running.” 

He nodded, “In the meantime, I’ll take two waters, if you can spare them.” She nodded with a smile, “Coming right up.”

As she got the bottles out of the ice bucket she prepped after looking at the forecast, you came over after finishing up your call.

You sighed a little as you sat down. 

“Hey,” Jake greeted as he rubbed your knee. “How’s the little man holdin’ up? He alright?” You nodded, smiling as you rested your hand on his, “Yeah, Serenity said he was snuggled up on the couch with his turtle and his manta ray, watching movies with plenty of goldfish crackers.”

Penny popped up, “You have power?” 

“Nope,” you laughed a little awkwardly. “He’s watching it on Serenity’s laptop. Which I told her she didn’t have to let him do that. She’s got stuff to do for summer classes but mine was dead. I just hope she doesn’t get behind.”

She gave you your water, “She’s a good kid, I’m sure she’ll be okay for one night.” You nodded and sipped your drink, “Yeah.”

You looked around noticing that everyone started to mellow out since the place was practically pitch black – save for the lanterns.

“Man… seems the lights weren’t the only thing the storm took out. How long until the generator is up and running?” You asked, leaning on the bar. 

Penny shrugged, “I don’t know. It depends, we haven’t used it in a few years. It shouldn’t take too long, I think Jimmy checked on it after the clouds rolled in and the forecast changed.”

You nodded and looked around, “Well, maybe some live music can hold everyone over until then.” Penny and Jake furrowed their brows as you grabbed a lantern and went over to the piano.

“What? Did you seriously think that Bradley was the only one of my father’s kids that could play? C’mon now Penny, you should know better than that,” you teased with a playful wink over your shoulder.

Jake furrowed his brow, “Have you been holding out on me Mother Goose?” His tone was entirely playful as he came over to piano with his phone flashlight on as a fresh toothpick hung from his lips.

Penny blinked and looked up, a rush of nostalgia hitting her, “Wait did you just call her ‘Mother Goose’?” Jake looked up at her and nodded as he rolled the toothpick to the other side of his mouth, “Yes ma’am I did.” She nodded and glanced at you as she wiped down the bar, “And um… w-where did that nickname come from?” 

He shrugged, “She’s got a little duck on her keychain and she’s a mama. Just kinda makes sense, I guess. Why do you ask?” 

You couldn’t help but smile a little as you tapped the keys. 

“Oh I was just-” Penny started but you cut her off gently.

“Goose was my dad’s call sign, Jake. A lot of his friends from the Academy and flight school called him ‘Mother Goose’,” you said, emotion present in your voice but you weren’t sad.

Jake stumbled over his words a little, “Oh I-I had no idea. I can stop if you w-want me too.” 

You shook your head, a smile gracing your features as you looked up at him, “No no, it’s okay Jake. It definitely shocked me when you called me that earlier, but it’s… nice.”

He smiled back at you and sat down, “I’ll call you whatever you want, Darlin’.” 

A giggle slipped past your lips and you were now thankful that the poor lighting hid the blush on your cheeks as you tested more keys.

You took a breath and readied your fingers on the right keys, “Okay okay, let’s get these people fired up.”

Jake arched his brow but then you played the opening notes to a song he heard non-stop in flight school when the class went out to a bar.

“Jerry Lee Lewis? You really are Bradshaw’s sister,” he laughed, gently nudging your shoulder but not so much as to mess you up.

You just rolled your eyes before jumping into the song. “~You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain!~”

Jake chuckled as people in the bar began to cheer, a few patrons jumping in to sing with you. He looked around, seeing that the flashlights on phones had been turned on and everyone’s moods seemed to flip on dime.

“~You broke my will! Oh what a thrill!~”

“~Goodness gracious great balls of fire!~”

His eyes landed back on you, watching you play the piano like he had only ever seen your brother play. It was lively, bringing an energy to the bar that got zapped out with the electricity. Almost as if the lightning hit you and you soaked up all the energy in the bar, and now you were returning it when it was needed.

He felt himself singing along, unable to escape the way that your infectious voice seemed to latch on to everyone that heard it. 

Jake had always fought the urge to ‘feel the music’ when it was your brother. Be the one person in the bar unaffected by him. But here with you, he didn’t fight. He didn’t want to fight it. And he was unashamed to be sitting next to you on that piano bench, singing a song that you were sure your brother had played to death. 

He saw you smile at him when you noticed it, feeding off of his energy just as much as he was feeding off of yours.

You found yourself looking only at him to see if he was enjoying himself, using him as a reference point for how the rest of the bar was feeling. That your attempt at entertainment was working.

It felt good to see everyone having fun because of you.

Now you could understand why your dad and Bradley did this so often.

Your smile never left your face as you continued to sing, though you hated how the song was coming to an end so soon.

Jake met your eyes as you started the last verse, his smiling matching yours. 

“~I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs!~”

“~Real nervous but it sure is fun!~”

He watched your eyes light up as he sang the words back to you and the blush crawled up your neck. You clearly weren’t expecting him to sing that line to you – telling you how you made him feel through the song.

So, he continued to look at you, holding eye contact as he sang through a wide, infectious smile, using the lyrics to convey what he had trouble putting into words once again. 

“~Come on, baby! You’re drivin’ me crazy!~”

His heart fluttered when you seemed like you were at a loss for words, despite them already being written for you – all you could do was smile as your muscle memory continued to play.

“~Goodness, gracious! Great balls of fire!~”

You played the last string of notes, your face dangerously close to Jake’s as the soft glow of the lanterns and phone flashlights illuminated his features almost angelically, the lights creating a halo around him and blurring the crowd like a camera focusing in on the subject of its image. His green eyes, though casted in a shadow, twinkled softly as he looked your face over like you were the only thing in the room – and to him, you were.

He was seeing the same thing. The blues of LEDs and the yellow of the lanterns created a harsh but gorgeous contrast on your face as your chest heaved when you attempted to catch your breath and the light sheen of sweat made your skin shine in a way he never thought about before. Your eyes were illuminated, but they held a shine of their own when you looked him over.

The cheers behind him all melded into one sound, one that Jake could confuse for his own heartbeat if it wasn’t pounding against his ribcage.

There was no hesitation this time as he pulled you close by the nape of your neck and pressed his lips to yours with breathless passion.

Your outside hand fisted in his Henley shirt, the fabric warm but a little rough under your fingertips. His heart was thumping rhythmically against your knuckles, giving the butterflies in your stomach a beat to dance to.

His hand moved down to the side of your neck, his thumb finding your pulse point. The sensation of your heartbeat under his fingertips was mesmerizing.

The kiss felt both like an eternity and not long enough when you finally pulled away, both of your lips damp and as your breath mixed as your foreheads rested against each other.

Around you, the crowd was still buzzing with energy, talking to each other as they started mingling again. 

But you and Jake couldn’t hear them, not when you're so consumed with one another right there on the piano bench. You were in your own little world, a small sanctuary in the middle of the bar. Just you and him.

Smiling, you can’t stop the giggle from escaping as you try to smooth out where you had gripped his shirt. “That was um…”

“Electrifying?” Jake offered, his dimple appearing as he smirked playfully.

“That’s one way to put it, yeah,”  you said with a light, slightly breathless laugh.

He chuckled and opened his mouth to say something else, but the overhead lights flickered for a split second before they stayed steady and the sound of the jukebox started up again.

You both sat up straight, looking around the bar as the patrons started back up in their games they abandoned.

“Would you look at that – one song and you managed to light up the whole bar, literally,” Jake said as he looked from his surroundings and then back to you, taking in how you smiled at everyone having fun again.

You hummed, turning your head with a playful glint in your eye, “Well, thank goodness it was only one song. I don’t know if I could’ve played another one. Unless Twinkle Twinkle Little Star counts.” 

Jake laughed as he stood up, offering you a hand to pull you to your feet. “Well, if Nick was here, I’m pretty sure he would have a blast if you played that.” 

“Oh, yeah, he definitely would,” you said with a laugh as you pushed some hair out of your face. “Another drink?”

He nodded, fluffing his shirt a little. “I can go for another.”

You grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bar, “Penny!”

After you got your drinks, you and Jake went to a booth by the windows.

“That was really impressive, Y/N. I knew Rooster was good, but he’s not that good,” Jake complimented as he sipped his fresh beer. The bitter liquid soothed his throat, his voice a little raw after singing.

You shrugged and sipped your Amaretto, the warm liquid warming you up from the chill of the rain outside. “I don’t know about that. He’s been playing since he was little. I started getting into piano in, like, middle school. And then in college I um.. I picked up a little guitar.”

Jake watched you bite your lip, your nails tapping against the glass of your drink. He wasn’t entirely sure what caused that far off look to appear in your eyes, a fogginess he wasn’t familiar with. But one thing he did recognize was that flicker of love, a shine of longing and admiration peaking through the fog – like a lighthouse on the shore.

He didn’t know much about Kendall, just what you had told him. He knew that you had met in college, you had been friends before you began dating, and that Kendall played the guitar – his favorite one tucked into the corner of Nick’s bedroom.

You cleared your throat, blinking the fogginess away and pulling Jake out of his thoughts. 

You rubbed your hands on your jeans before resting your elbows on the table to talk with your hands, desperate to keep the conversation flowing.

“But like I was saying, Brad and I are very different when it comes to singing and playing the piano. He definitely channels our dad a little more than I do.”

He chuckled and leaned forward, resting his upper body on his forearms, “Well, I think I’m a little biased when it comes to that. But don’t sell yourself short, Darlin’, you put on quite the performance.” He added an unnecessary wink, but it didn’t stop you from smiling and looking at the table to hide your blush.

You lifted your head and smiled at him, sniffling just a little. “Thank you, Jake. That means a lot.”

Jake reached over and squeezed your hand, “Anytime.” He cleared his throat, “If you don’t mind me asking, that song clearly means a lot to you and Rooster, why-why is that?”

Tears stung your eyes a bit, again, but your smile didn’t falter. “Our dad, he um… he played it all the time. And I mean all the time. I’m surprised our mother stayed sane.” Jake reached up and wiped a tear that slipped through. You leaned into his warm palm slightly, as you continued.

“One of our last memories with him was sitting at the piano as he sang that song. Our mom in his lap singing with him without a care in the world about who was watching…” Your voice was a little heavier as you neared the end of your sentence, the memory making you a little emotional.

He smiled and squeezed your hand again, his thumb rubbing your knuckles, “That’s beautiful.” You gave him a soft smile and squeezed his hand back. 

“Can I show you something?” He asked softly, not wanting to disturb the moment too much.

You nodded and sat up a little straighter, wiping your eyes as you spoke, “Of course.” 

Jake nodded his head towards the window and your eyes followed the direction. 

The glass was a little foggy, sweating as the cold temperature of the rain was meeting the warm air of the bar and the glass acting like a mediator between the two.

Your brow furrowed in immediate confusion though you weren’t going to question Jake just yet. There was certainly much more to it.

And he proved your suspicions by bringing his finger up to draw in the condensation.

It was a quick drawing, a simple sun with a smiley face and a little heart next to it. But the look on Jake’s face told you it was so much more than just a little doodle on a window.

“That’s really cute Jake,” you said softly, as you smile at him.

His grin widened and he shifted in his seat. “When I was little, I was never good with storms. My sister was even worse. She was scared and I was upset because I couldn’t go play in the rain.” 

You couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up when he said that, the picture of a young Jake pouting in his room as he watched the rain out of his window in your head – he definitely picked out two droplets to race against each other, maybe even him and his sister picked one and had a competition.

He just smiled at you before continuing.

“My grandma and my mom had this routine with us where they would have us by the bay window in the living room and we would draw in the condensation. And I, of course, rubbed my wet hand on my sister’s face,” he said with a small chuckle.

“That I’m definitely not surprised by. Bradley pestered me too, still does, it’s a brother thing.”

Jake nodded, “Oh yeah, for sure. But aside from that, there was a purpose to why my mom and grandma had us do this. Because as you can see now-” He pointed to the drawing, seeing that it was already dripping and disappearing, more condensation taking its place. “-it’s already going away.”

Your brow furrowed in confusion. You still weren’t exactly sure where Jake was going, but it was clear this was something he held onto and cherished. Especially for him to bring it up now, years later. Plus, he had you roped in now, you were invested in this little smiling sun. 

“The whole point of drawing in the fog was because it doesn’t last forever, and neither would the storm outside. Or any storm, really. As I got older, we stopped the window drawings, but my mom kept it up with us for little things. Like when my sister was going through a break up, she drew a sun with a little heart on a note and put it in her backpack. I can bet you that she still has every note, because I know I do.”

Tears pricked your eyes a little bit, “That’s really really beautiful, Jake. Your mom and grandma sound like very wise women.”

Jake nodded, a proud smile pulling at his lips, “They are, I’m lucky to have them.”

You mirrored his smile and you both went back to conversing with each other, planning out ideas for your next ‘not’ date.

“There’s so much to do here, so much it’s like there’s nothing,” you said, laughing as you sipped your drink.

You had listed off a lot of places to go nearby and all the things you could do together, but it all sounded so fun that you were having trouble deciding.

Jake nodded, rubbing his face a little as he laughed, “Yeah, seems like it.” He glanced around, noticing a pool table nearby. “Hey, how about we think on it some more later and just play a game of pool?”

You hummed a little and glanced over your shoulder at the pool table. 

A sly smile came over your face as an idea popped into your mind. 

You turned back to face him, biting your lip a little, “I um… wow this is embarrassing, I haven’t really ever played pool before.”

Jake squinted at you, almost analyzing you to see if you were just fucking with him. But you just played it up by hiding your face in your hands, hiding the grin that you knew would give you away if he spotted it.

“You’re serious? You’ve never played pool before?”

His tone was inquisitive, but it also had a laugh behind it that he was hiding as best he could and it almost had you laughing.

“No no, I have played before. But it’s just been too long. Last time I played it was maybe 10 years ago when I was in high school, and I was awful.”

Jake’s laugh finally broke through at that.

“Hey! Don’t laugh!” You whined, holding back giggles of your own.

He nodded, trying to stop himself by clearing his throat. “You’re right, you’re right. It’s not funny. It’s… it’s kinda sad actually.”

You dropped your jaw and reached over the table to swat at his shoulder. “Oh shut up!” 

He chuckled as he dodged your hand, and you couldn’t help but smile as the corners of his eyes crinkled and his dimples poked through. “Okay okay, I’m sorry. But c'mon let’s play at least one game,” he proposed as he slid out of the booth and stood. He offered you his hand, a wink accompanying his next words, “And I promise I’ll go easy on you.”

You rolled your eyes and took his hand, “Fine, one game.”

A victorious grin crossed Jake’s face as he pulled you to your feet, squeezing your hand as he turned and pulled you to the table. Your lips pulled up in a similar fashion as you stumbled a little when he drug you behind him. 

“Okay,” he said as he came to stop at the pool table. “I don’t have to explain the rules, do I?” His brow arched with his question, only using it to further his teasing. You rolled your eyes, hand going on your hip, “No, I know that much, Seresin.” The sass in your tone made Jake laugh, “Alright, Bradshaw, let’s play.”

You nodded and grabbed the two pool cues, “Let’s.”

He chuckled and shook his head playfully as he quickly racked the pool balls. Once they were all in order, he took the triangle off and tossed it on a table as he walked over to you.

His fingers wrapped around the taller cue, his warm hand encapsulating yours. 

How had you not realized how large his hand was until now?

“Y/N?”

You shook your head, not having realized that you froze, “Oh um, sorry, sorry.”  You let go of the pool cue, clearing your throat as you pushed some hair behind your ear. He chuckled at your sudden shyness, “It’s alright, darlin’. It’s cute when you get all blushy.” You huffed, though a smile pulled at your lips as you shoved his shoulder. 

Jake laughed and held his hands up in defense, only slightly jostled by your shove. He gestured to the table and grabbed the cue ball, “Okay, okay, you wanna break?” He punctuated his question by putting the ball on the table with a *clack*.

You bit your lip, still feigning nervousness as best you could. You nodded and walked around to the end of the table beside him. 

Tossing the cue up and catching it lower, you leaned over and nearly fell into muscle memory – letting the end come down and rest easy in the dip between your thumb and pointer finger.

You rolled your shoulders a little bit, moving your hand much lower on the stick so you would have less control of the cue. You relaxed your shoulders, letting them drop as your right hand tightened its grip. The maple cue rested on the walnut of the table, using it as the support for the middle of the stick. 

Jake tilted his head, taking in your posture. It was… unconventional, and maybe a little awkward. But he wasn’t going to step in just yet, because maybe that stance just worked for you. And the look of concentration on your face was just too cute for him to interrupt.

Much like earlier at the dart board, your brow furrowed and your tongue poked out from between your lips. Jake grinned at the sight, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Nick made the same face when he focused on something. Like if his nose crinkled like yours did when he colored or if he stuck his tongue out when he did a puzzle. 

Then his mind wandered a little further. 

The image of a little girl appeared in his head, basically a clone of you in your lap as you sat at the piano. You guiding her hand along the keys, then having her repeat the order on her own. Her tongue sticking out as she tries to remember. 

But before he can fantasize any longer, he shakes himself out of it once you take your shot.

He watched the tip of the cue whiff the ball as the butt nearly became perpendicular to the floor. “Woah there!” 

You covered your mouth with your hand, doing your best to feign embarrassment at your ‘failure’. “Oh.. my.. gosh.. I can’t believe that just happened,” you snorted, laughing at yourself as you looked up at the ceiling, hoping that a blush was covering your cheeks to really sell it. 

Jake came over to stand next to you, chuckling just a little. “So um… is that how you held it in high school?” He leaned against the table, the cue snug against his side as he crossed his arms, looking down at his boots as he crossed his ankles before looking up at your profile.

You swallowed as you kept your eyes on the ceiling, and Jake couldn’t help but watch the column of your throat move with the action. 

Sighing, you looked at him, “I mean, kinda, like I said, it’s been awhile. But that felt so wrong.” You looked away from him and focused on your cue. “And now I’m embarrassed… because you just saw that.” 

He sighed gently, a smile pulling at his lips. While you were embarrassed, he couldn’t help but admire the blush on your skin. He didn’t like the reason, because you shouldn’t be embarrassed, but you looked cute.

He reached out and turned your head to face him, smiling softly at you. “Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed. It happens, and I guarantee that is not the worst shot I’ve seen.” 

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” 

He sighed and propped his cue against the wall, “C’mere.” He adjusted the cue ball again and gently pulled you to him when you hesitated to move closer. “I don’t bite, unless you ask,” he whispered the last half of that in your ear, his accent slightly thicker as you felt his lips curl into a smile against the lobe of your ear.

His warm breath raised goosebumps on the skin of your neck, a shiver going down the nerves of your spine. He chuckled, his chest rumbling against your shoulder and making you giggle as a genuine flush covered your face and neck.

“Okay,” Jake said, turning you gently so your back settled against his chest. His hand rested on your hip and everything just felt right. Both of you slotted together like a puzzle piece, it was comfortable.

He looked down at you, “Am I too close?” 

Your head shook almost embarrassingly quickly. If anything he wasn’t close enough.

“No no, you’re okay.”

He nodded, smiling at you, “Alright, just let me know, okay?” You swallowed, nodding back, “I will.”

“Alright, now, I’m gonna show you how to properly hold a pool stick. Do what you were doing before.”

You nodded, bending back over and mimicking the stance you had done previously.

Jake looked at you gaging what to adjust. “Okay, so one issue is, your back hand is too low. Don’t shake hands with the bumper.” He took your wrist and tried to slide your hand up but it barely moved. “And you don’t need a death grip on it, it’s not going anywhere unless you move it.” You nodded and relaxed your grip to let him adjust your hand placement. 

He moved it to about the middle of the weight and watched your guiding hand adjust itself to a bit more of a natural position.

Smiling, he glanced down at you, “There we go, how does that feel?” You nodded, “A lot better, definitely more comfortable.”

“Perfect, and that’s how you know you’re doing it right. Before you were uncomfortable and it threw off your control. You guide the cue, it doesn’t guide you.”

You snorted a little, hanging your head as you laughed, “You sound like a therapist, or a yoga instructor.” Jake laughed along with you, “Unfortunately I’m neither of those. Not qualified nor flexible enough.”

You arched a brow and looked at him over your shoulder, a cheeky smile on your lips, “Not flexible enough? Oh, that’s a shame.” His eyebrows raised, almost as if he was sizing up a challenge, “Oh is it now? I mean, I’m sure with enough stretching, I’ll be good to go.”

You laughed before shaking your head, “Okay okay, let’s stay on task, Lieutenant, yeah?”

“Right, right, of course.” 

Jake cleared his throat as his fingers wrapped around your shoulders, “Okay, being relaxed is fine. But you’re too loose and that makes it awkward.” He slowly pulled them out from their slouched position, straightening your back a little in the process. “That’s better.” 

You swallowed a little, the heat of his chest against your back making you both nervous and excited.

“Do you feel more in control?” You nodded at his question, not trusting your voice to be steady. “Good, now, let’s test this.”

Worry shot through you for a moment, afraid he might step back and let you do this on your own – squashing the mini fantasy that you created.

But your worry was smothered when Jake adjusted his own stance, his knees nudging the backs of your thighs. His right hand encased your own as his left hand acted as a stand for yours – keeping your guiding hand steady.

“Loosen your grip, Duckie. It’s not gonna change your power. In pool, the speed determines the power.”

Jake’s voice was steady, but it was raspy as he spoke in your ear again. His breath fanned along your ear lobe and your jaw, raising goosebumps once again.

He felt your wrist and hand relax a little, and he just hoped you couldn’t feel his heart beating against your back. 

“Alright, there we go. Now, all you gotta do is bring it back and–”

His sentence fell short as the felt tip collided with the cue ball and he felt a vibrating sensation against his hip.

“See? So much better. And now, if that’s your phone in your pocket, I think you’re getting a call.”

He stepped back and let you stand straight as you pulled your phone out.

Your heart dropped slightly when you saw Serenity’s contact flash across your screen. 

Did something happen to Nick? Was he okay? Did something happen to the house? What went wrong?

Jake must have noticed that your face changed on dime, because his face fell into one of concern. “Y/N? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” 

Was it Serenity? Was it Bradley? Was it a chaplain? Or hell an NCIS agent?

“It’s Serenity,” you said as you pressed the green answer button and brought the phone to your ear. “Hey Ren, what’s up?”

Jake sighed in relief, his worst thoughts going off to the wayside in favor of just worried thoughts.

You brought your hand up, chewing on the edges of your nails as she spoke.

“Hey, Y/N, everything’s okay–”

Jake watched your body visibly relax, your hand rubbing at your mouth much like he’d seen Bradley do when he was stressed.

“Nicky’s okay? Nothing’s on fire?” 

“No, nothing’s on fire. But Nicky is not wanting to go to bed without you here. I think it's the rain, the storm I should say. He doesn’t want to go to his room. Won’t even get up off the couch.”

You sighed but nodded, “Okay, I’ll be there in a little bit. Get his turtle and his manta ray, then get my body spray and lightly spritz a blanket and let him curl up on the couch until I get there.”

“I’m so sorry Y/N, I know you wanted to have a fun night out… I just didn’t know what to do.”

“Don’t apologize, I’m glad you called. I’ll be home in a little bit.” 

You hung up and looked at Jake, “I’m so sorry, Jake. Nicky is–”

He held his hand up, “Nope, no apologies, go be with your baby. We can meet up later. Tell Nicky I said ‘hi’.”

Your heart skipped a few beats as you smiled at him. He smiled back and nodded towards the front door, “Now go Mother Goose, you got a duckling waiting on you.” 

The look in his eyes was nothing short of fond, the yellow overhead lighting making his eyes a comforting shade of green. 

He wasn’t upset at all, no disdain for your sudden departure on his features. Was he disappointed? Yeah, but you were always going to be a mother first. He couldn’t and would never get in the way of that, or try to change it.

You hugged him, and he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around your waist in reciprocation. 

“Thank you,” you kissed his cheek in thanks as you pulled away from the hug. “You don’t have to thank me, Darlin’. Just text me or call me when you get home safe, okay?” He said with a smile, gently squeezing your shoulders.

You nodded, matching his smile, “Of course, as long as you do the same?” He winked, “You got it.” 

He grabbed your purse for you, “Drive safe, Sweetheart.” You nodded, “I will. Bye Jake.” “Bye Y/N.”

You smiled at him again before going over to the bar, patting the top with the palm of your hand. You opened your mouth to get Penny’s attention but she was already smiling at you. “Heading out?” Your head tilted as you nodded, “Yeah, how’d you know?” She shrugged, nodding down to the bag hanging off your shoulder, “Lucky guess.” 

Chuckling, you pulled your wallet out, “Nicky won’t go to bed, the storm is keeping him up.” You pulled out a fifty, “For my drinks and Jake’s, the rest is your tip.” Penny shook her head, pushing the money back towards you, “That’s way too much, Duckie. 25 is plenty. Plus, Jake’s tab is open and your drinks are on it.” 

“Penny Benjamin–”

“Y/N Bradshaw, don’t argue and go home to your son,” Penny pointed to the door to punctuate her order, the damp towel swaying slightly from her movement.

Huffing out a ‘fine’, you put the fifty away and put a ten on the bar, “I’m still tipping you, because I love you. Not as much as you deserve, but you’re gonna fight me on it.” She smiled gratefully at you, taking the bill, “Thank you, now go home. Text me when you get there.” 

You patted the bar again, “Yes, ma’am. I’ll see you later, don’t let Jake get too drunk.” 

With that you walked to the door, though Penny stopped you with a shout. 

“That was an Oscar worthy performance by the way!” 

You rolled your eyes, waving to her as you slipped your jacket on, “Bye Penny!”

phew!

that was a long one huh? but hey, we finally got a kiss! they kissed!! and before hand we got a little peak into duckie's insecurities as a mom. though we can all agree she's pretty great right?

i hope you guys liked this chapter and are ready to see where the next chapter takes duckie, nicky, and jake!

hi darlings i know it's been a long time, too long, but like i said before -- i wanted to make sure this was a chapter i was proud of and lately my creative battery just wouldn't behave and it's been hard to write and like what i write. but i think... i think i did it here.

my ducklings <33:

@roosterscockpit @milesdickpic @luckyladycreator2 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @hisredheadedgoddess28 @malindacath @avengers-fixation @shawnsblue @caitsymichelle13 @classycolorpeach @mamachasesmayhem @bobby-r2d2-floyd @twsssmlmaa

@horseshoegirl @startrekfangirl2233 @babyreads​ @amatswimming @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @hangmansgbaby​ @callsignwidow @kmc1989​ @goodstuff28​ @pjngpp3501​ @lunamoonbby​ @joyfulpandamiracle​ @craftyinfluencersandwich @averyhotchner​ @emily-roberts​ @teenwolf01 @sunderland-6​ @bethabear12

@coldmuffinbanditshoe​ @dempy​ @djs8891​ @ingoaliesitrust @novavida @tigerfan24 @lynnestra44​​ @lilmonstrjedi @yourlocalloser-core @adventures4ever @onlyheretowastetime @mygyn @buckysvinyl @allyyssaa @clockworksficstoread @elisha-chloe @abaker74

#duckie universe #duckie #duckie bradshaw #nicky bradshaw #duckie and nicky #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #🤠🐤 #duckie and jake #bradley bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin x bradshaw!reader #jake seresin x bradshaw!reader #bradley bradshaw x sister!reader #bradshaw!reader #top gun maverick #top gun maverick fanfiction #sarahsmi13s

[dearestdaffodils]

Things coming soon:

- a new Outer Banks series rewrite chapter

- a new installment to The Adventures of Ducky and Cowboy, the origin of the Ducky and Cowboy nicknames

- a new installment to the Career Day universe (still tbd so if anyone has any ideas, lmk)

- a Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia fic/series

- a Bob Floyd universe akin to Career Day or The Adventures of Ducky and Cowboy

#aidia.txt #coming soon #outer banks series rewrite #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #outer banks #the adventures of ducky and cowboy #jake seresin #jake seresin imagine #hangman seresin x reader #hangman seresin #career day universe #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw x reader #mickey garcia x reader #mickey garcia #bob floyd #bob floyd x reader #robert floyd x reader #robert floyd

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

Three Generations - Rooster

Pairing: Rooster / Fem!Reader (Wife!Reader)

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Rooster is a Dad; Female Reader with No Name or Physical Description, No Y/N, Third Person POV; OC Bradshaw Kid without Physical Description (minus a reference to his smile being similar to Rooster's)

This work, all of my other works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only.

Summary: Rooster is married. Maverick found out when the paperwork got filed with the Navy, but he doesn’t have a chance to ask Rooster about it until after the mission

Master List

Sequel: A Day with Duckie

Maverick remembered the text that he received from Ice about four years prior to the mission.

The kid’s married.

Three little words that felt like bullets straight to Maverick’s heart. Bradley was married. Married. Maverick shouldn’t have been surprised, really. Bradley was more than old enough for marriage. Especially for a naval officer. But it still hurt, it still stung that he wasn’t there to see it.

Ice gave him Rooster’s wife’s name but he couldn’t find many photos of the two of them together. Rooster’s wife’s profiles were all set to private, but Maverick did find some photos posted by one of the bridesmaids. He printed them out and hung them up in his hangar, next to his old photos of Rooster. Even if he cried like a baby while he did it.

It wasn’t until after the mission, when they were sitting alone in their hospital room together, that Maverick had a chance to ask Rooster about his wife.

“You got married?” Maverick asked Rooster quietly.

Maverick gestured to his own left ring finger, which made Rooster fiddle with his gold band. Staring down at his wedding ring for a moment, Rooster tried to figure out how to respond properly to Maverick’s question. Nodding slowly, Rooster turned back to Maverick.

“Yeah, I did,” Rooster answered quietly.

“Congratulations,” Maverick replied softly.

“Thank you,” Rooster returned, fiddling with his ring again.

“How did you meet?”

“She was in the Navy. She worked in intelligence, though. We met through mutual friends and I asked her out. We went on a date to a karaoke bar and never looked back,” Rooster explained, smiling at the memories. “I asked her to marry me about two years after that.”

“And you’re happy?”

“Extremely,” Rooster replied without missing a beat. “Her and Kai, they’re my whole life.”

“Kai?” Maverick asked curiously.

Rooster, seemingly realizing his slip, shrunk a bit into himself. He looked nervous. Incredibly nervous. Fiddling with his wedding band again, Rooster slowly turned back to Maverick.

“Kai is my son.”

“You’re a dad?” Maverick asked, unable to stop the emotion from dripping into his tone.

Not only had Maverick missed Rooster’s wedding, but he also missed the birth of Rooster’s child, and all of the little milestones along the way. And that ache in his chest quietly intensified, though Maverick tried to not let it show.

“Yeah, I am.”

Rooster reached for his phone, pulled up a photo, and passed his phone over to Maverick. He grabbed Rooster’s phone and stared down at the photo. And Maverick would have been lying if he said that he didn’t get a little choked up at the sight of it.

Rooster and a woman that Maverick knew was Rooster’s wife were standing together with a little baby boy sandwiched between them. A little boy that had his father’s smile—albeit one with a few missing teeth—and a matching Hawaiian shirt. Rooster’s wife smiled widely at the camera with her cheek smushed against the top of her son’s head.

And Rooster looked happier in that photo than Maverick had seen him since before Carole passed, even though Rooster wasn’t looking in the direction of the camera. No, Rooster was far too busy smiling at his little family.

“Are they coming to see you?” Maverick asked, handing the phone back to Rooster.

“Yeah, uh, their flight lands tomorrow morning. Phoenix said that she would pick them up from the airport and bring them here,” Rooster explained, placing his phone aside. Rooster paused before turning back to Maverick. “And . . . can you . . . can you not mention the part about me defying a direct order and everything that happened afterwards?”

“I won’t,” Maverick promised, earning a thankful nod from Rooster. “But, at some point, Brad, I think that you should be honest with her about it. As much as you can, given the sensitive information, anyways. Not that I’m in any position to give anyone marriage advice but . . . you should be honest with your wife.”

“I will,” Rooster returned quietly. “It’s just that she gets really stressed when I’m in the hospital. I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

“Are you scared about her reaction?”

“A little bit,” Rooster admitted honestly.

Maverick chuckled, reminiscing about how Goose always looked when he was worried about telling Carole about whatever shenanigans they got into back in the day.

“I’m sure that you’ll be fine.”

~~~~~

Maverick and Rooster were discharged from the hospital the next day.

Phoenix, along with Rooster’s wife and Kai, were supposed to pick them up. Rooster spotted Phoenix’s car and walked after it. The passenger door flew open and Rooster’s wife. She walked around the car to see that Phoenix was helping Kai out of the back seat.

Kai slid out of Phoenix’s car and immediately perked up when he spotted his dad quickly making his way over. But knowing her son, Rooster’s wife snatched him by the back of his shirt before he could run out into the parking lot.

“You have to hold Mommy’s hand when you’re in the parking lot,” she reminded her son.

She looked up and down the road before leading Kai across it. But once Kai safely stepped up onto the sidewalk, she released his hand and let Kai run to Rooster.

“Daddy!” Kai yelled happily, running into Rooster’s waiting arms.

Bradley bent down and scooped Kai up. Holding Kai to his chest, Rooster pressed a kiss to Kai’s hair as he rocked his son back and forth in his arms. Almost like Rooster was trying to soothe himself with his son’s presence.

“I missed you so much, Kai.”

Rooster pressed another kiss to Kai’s head before turning to his wife. She looked like she was trying to hold it together and just barely managing it. But when she caught Rooster’s gaze, she let some more emotion show. Wordlessly, Rooster held out an arm to her and she immediately ran into his embrace, officially reuniting the family of three.

“I’m alright,” Rooster assured her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m okay.”

As Rooster reassured his wife and son that he was fine, Maverick walked around them to stand beside Phoenix. After his wife and Kai were soothed, Rooster turned to introduce them to Maverick.

“Guys, this is Maverick. Mav, this is my wife,” Rooster stated, wrapping his arm around his wife’s waist.

“The man who pulled your papers?” Rooster’s wife asked sharply. Maverick winced at her tone.

“We got past that,” Rooster assured his wife, which caused her to immediately relax.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you then,” she replied with a much warmer tone. Rooster’s wife walked over to give Maverick a proper hug that Maverick was happy to return. “And to put a face to the name after all the stories.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Maverick replied, releasing Rooster’s wife.

“And this is my son, Kai,” Rooster added, bouncing his son lightly on his arm. Smiling at his son with complete and utter adoration, Rooster nudged him in the side. “Kai, this is Maverick.”

“Hi,” Maverick greeted Kai softly.

“Hi,” Kai returned shyly, resting his head on Rooster’s shoulder.

“Mav’s a pilot like me,” Rooster explained to his son, causing Kai to pick his head up again. “And he used to fly around with your Grandpa Goose.”

“Really?” Kai asked his dad, earning a nod from Rooster.

Kai stared over at Maverick with newfound curiosity and Maverick tried to not choke up at the clear similarities between Kai and Rooster. Kai wasn’t so much his dad’s twin, but he had that same expression and look in his eye that Maverick saw all the time on a younger Bradley. Offering a small encouraging smile to Kai, Maverick decided to approach.

“Yeah, your Grandpa Goose used to sit in my back seat,” Maverick replied, nodding along. “And he was the best at what he did.” Trying to not burst out into tears at the fact that he was talking about Goose while Baby Goose was holding Grandbaby Goose, Maverick managed a small smile. “Your grandpa’s callsign was Goose. Your dad’s is Rooster. What bird do you want as your callsign, Kai?”

“Mommy calls me ‘Duckie’,” Kai informed Maverick, ending his sentence with a giggle.

“Yes, because he’s impossible to pull out of the water once he’s in,” Rooster explained, shaking his head playfully at his son. “And he pretends that he can’t hear us.”

“No,” Kai giggled, clearly lying.

“He’s also a great liar,” Rooster quipped, tickling Kai’s stomach.

Kai squealed and pushed his dad’s hand away, but he couldn’t stop giggling. And Maverick tried to not burst out into tears again. Baby Goose had a baby. The little baby that he used to babysit and take for extra ice cream had a little baby of his own now.

God, Maverick was getting old.

~~~~~

After spending the day with the rest of the Dagger Squad, Maverick and the Bradshaw family of three retired to Maverick’s quaint residence in town. Rooster grew up in the house after Carole’s death and his old bedroom was perfectly preserved from that time.

It was only about a half an hour before Kai’s bedtime when Rooster approached Maverick in the kitchen.

“Can you watch Kai for a second?”

“Yeah, of course,” Maverick agreed, nodding along immediately. “But why? Where are you going?”

“I just thought that I should tell her,” Rooster explained, keeping his voice low. “There were too many close calls as it was with the rest of the Dagger Squad, so I need to tell her. About the mission and . . . my little stunt.”

“The couch is very comfortable,” Maverick joked, earning a tired sigh from Rooster. “You’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Rooster replied, straightening up.

Rooster thanked Maverick before the two rejoined Kai and Rooster’s wife out in the living room. Rooster managed to find an old Connect 4 game in the cabinet and his wife tried to teach Kai how to play. They were sitting around the coffee table with Kai studying the layout closely.

“Can I play with you, Kai?” Maverick asked, moving to sit down beside Kai.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, not taking his eye off of the board.

Maverick saw Rooster lean down to whisper something in his wife’s ear before she nodded. Turning to Kai, Rooster’s wife leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder, causing Kai to look up.

“Behave for Maverick, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy.”

Rooster and his wife got up and headed out of the room to talk. Kai turned to Maverick once his parents were out of sight.

“Why did they leave?”

“They just needed to talk about some things. Adult things. Nothing fun,” Maverick stated, causing Kai to nod with a slight pout. Maverick moved to take the seat that Rooster’s wife was sitting in and picked up a yellow piece. “Did you take a plane to get over here, Kai?”

“Yeah,” Kai stated, smiling up at Maverick.

“Do you like flying?”

“Yeah.”

“Has your dad ever taken you flying before?” Kai shook his head dramatically, causing Maverick to nod along. “You just fly with your mom then?”

“Yeah. Daddy gets scared,” Kai informed Maverick, leaning on the coffee table.

“Well, it’s a little scary when you’re a pilot and someone else is flying the plane,” Maverick replied, very well acquainted with the control freak tendencies that popped up when a naval aviator flew commercial. “And your daddy just wants to make sure that you and everyone else is safe.”

“Mommy tells him to relax,” Kai replied, emphasizing the word with a wave of his hand.

Kai must have seen his mom do that exact routine at least a thousand times because he seemed to know the part by heart. He had the expression, the wave of his hand, and the tone down perfectly. Maverick couldn’t help but laugh.

“Does he listen to her?” Maverick quipped, failing at hiding his amusement.

“Sometimes,” Kai answered with a giggle.

“Like you?”

“Yeah.”

Maverick was about to ask Kai another question when Rooster’s wife’s voice echoed around the house. The door to Rooster’s old bedroom did little to muffle the shock and sheer incredulousness of Rooster’s wife’s question.

“You did what!?”

“Have you ever seen the moon, Kai?” Maverick asked the toddler, quickly getting up to his feet.

“Yeah,” Kai replied as Maverick scooped him up into his arms.

“Well, looking again wouldn’t hurt,” Maverick reasoned, setting Kai on his hip. “And maybe we’ll even see a few stars too.”

“Oh-kay,” Kai agreed with a sigh, laying his head on Maverick’s shoulder.

“And where was your brain during all of this!?” Rooster’s wife snapped loudly.

“Yeah, let’s go look at the stars, Kai,” Maverick stated quickly, hurrying out the back door.

“Was that Mommy?” Kai asked, staring back at the house.

“No, I don’t think it was her.”

Sequel: A Day with Duckie

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[honkytonk-hangman]

Take Care Of Business

40s!Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Mechanic!Reader

gif belongs to babyrooster

Summary: The last time you met Lieutenant Jake Seresin, the war was still ongoing and you’d been in a floundering engagement. Back then you’d seen the possibility for more in his eyes, and now? Well, now you could explore it.

Warnings: mentions of period accurate sexism, mentions of a cheating fiancee. copious amounts of fluff, seriously you may overdose

Notes: OMG ITS HERE ITS ACTUALLY FINISHED!!! thank you so sosososososos much to @hangmanssunnies for your endless endless ENDLESS love and encouragement during the last year writing this, and also to @ussgallifrey, who was super supportive during the earliest versions of this fic <3 i can't believe its heeerrreeee

1946

You can’t help but let out a laugh as you’re guided through the busy dance hall, barely missing a waiter with a large tray of drinks as you go. You try to call back an apology, but the hand wrapped around your wrist is already dragging you away, weaving in and out of the crowds of dancers and party-goers.

You’d almost forgotten what the atmosphere in a place like this could be like, exuberant and daring, and now that the war was officially over, lacking in any sort of melancholy.

Bea, your well meaning, but a little over-excited friend, finally seems to be slowing down, though she has one last surprise in stall for you, using your momentum to swing you around to her side with a strength such a small woman certainly shouldn’t possess.

“There she is!” a male voice, deep and pleasant, greets from somewhere in front of you, and you give your head a quick shake, attempting to get your bearings now.

“Sorry we’re late, sugar! Had a lipstick emergency!” Bea says only half truthfully, stepping away from your side momentarily to allow a handsome moustachioed man to lean down and kiss her cheek.

You can’t help but smile at the sweet display. Bea had been telling you all about Bradley Bradshaw for weeks now, and if even half of what she’d told you was true, you already liked him immensely for treating your friend so well.

“And this must be the famous Ducky I’ve heard all about,” honey coloured eyes swivel away from Bea and land on you, making you remember yourself.

“It’s so good to meet you at last, Lieutenant Bradshaw!” you shake his offered hand warmly.

“Please just call me Bradley– or Rooster!” he gently corrects you, before he hums, and shoots Bea a suspicious look.

“Do you think she’s adding us birds to some sort of collection?” he asks conspiratorially, the question making you laugh genuinely at the absurdity.

Bea huffs, shakes her head, and smacks his arm, trying her best to fight off the grin on her lips.

“All I’ll say Rooster, is that you’d best treat her right, or she will hunt you for sport,” you lean in and reply, receiving your own smack for your trouble. Rooster’s face turns bright and he laughs, pulling Bea near with his arm around her.

“I can believe that, yes ma’am,” they look at each other with barely concealed adoration, and it makes your heart clench a little in your chest. You’re quickly distracted though, with the sudden and rowdy approach of six other people, all dressed to the nines like everyone else around you. Rooster seems unfazed by their appearance, though he tears his eyes away from Bea to glance around at the now much larger group you were in.

“Fellas, you all know Bea already, and this is Bea’s friend, Ducky,” he easily introduces you to the six newcomers, all men except for a tall, beautiful brunette woman who looked like she could eat every single one of them for breakfast. A flurry of handshakes and names are exchanged, and you’re surprised by just how quickly you feel totally absorbed by the group of Naval Aviators, like you’d known them all for years and were just catching up again.

“I’m spotting a free table, north west!” the man who held the youngest looking features of the group, Fanboy you believe he’d introduced himself as, pipes up, pointing over everyone's heads to the large round table that was currently being cleaned up. Before you can even process it, the entire group is migrating casually toward the table, Rooster catching the arm of the waiter before he leaves, putting a round in, you assume.

You find yourself next to Bob, who sends you an adorably awkward little grin as he pulls out your chair for you, and you thank him sincerely. Despite the gentlemanly gesture, the moment you’re comfortable, he’s taking his own seat, and once more totally absorbed by the woman you’d learn was named Phoenix, or Nat. You hadn’t noticed it earlier, too distracted by all the new faces, and their excitable personalities, but Bob was clearly, utterly enamoured by Phoenix, and it looked like the feeling was returned, if perhaps a little less obviously

“Hey, Javy, where’s your other half?” Bea is sat a few places down from you, her hand wrapped through Rooster’s arm. A man on the opposite side of the table waves his hand over his shoulder.

“He’s coming, probably caught his reflection in a glass,” Javy snorts.

“I wanted to introduce him to Ducky!” Bea pouts, and her words make you frown.

“Pardon?” you say pointedly, leaning around Bob and Phoenix to look at Bea with a frown. Rooster seems to be matching your expression, and he cocks his head at his partner.

“Ducky is far too nice for him,” Rooster says, but you get the feeling he doesn’t really mean it.

“Oh come off it, Ducks, you could do with meeting someone new!” Bea rolls her eyes, but her voice is imploring.

Your frown deepens just a little bit, but you aren’t too angry. It wasn’t as if she’d tricked you into a double date or anything. There were plenty of other seemingly solo people around that you’re sure any awkwardness could easily be avoided if you managed to stick by Bob and Phoenix.

“I’m afraid that I won’t be able to help you there, Honey Bea,” A smooth male voice purrs from behind you, and you almost jump at the hand that comes to rest warmly on your shoulder. You turn quickly in no small amount of surprise at the person apparently so close, but any further thought is cut off when your eyes properly take in the handsome face smirking coquettishly down at you.

You’re so surprised, you gasp daintily, fumbling to your feet so that you can greet him properly.

“Hangman!” you welcome him excitedly, happily accepting the hand he offers to help you up.

“Jake,” he corrects gently, and you feel foolish for laughing.

“Jake!” you repeat fondly, caught up in staring at him.

“You two already know each other?” Bea sounds put out, but intrigued, and you manage to tear your gaze away from Jake for a few moments to focus on her.

“Oh, Ducky and I go way back,” Jake tells her, at first offering no more explanation.

“We met during the war,” you explain to her, opening your mouth to continue on that he had been a friend of your fiance’s, but you stop yourself. Jake had been your friend long before you’d found out he knew your ex-fiance.

“Best damn aircraft mechanic I’ve ever had,” Jake adds, sounding proud as he brings your hand that he still holds up to his lips. Phoenix jerks then, blinking quickly around the other’s and then up at Jake with a growing smile.

“Wait, you’re the Ducky?! Jake’s Ducky?!” She questions in no small amount of disbelief. There’s a quiet chitter of understanding and awe that briefly overcomes the table, and you’re about to ask what it is she means by that, when Jake squeezes your hand and draws your attention, all the while shooting Phoenix a dirty look.

“Stop interrupting,” he scolds needlessly, and draws you closer.

Your chest flutters, but you’re distracted from the butterflies caused by being described as ‘Jake’s Ducky’, and instead distracted by an odd look on the blond’s face. It quickly turns a little darker, and you can’t help but notice the brief flicker of his eyes down to the hand he still holds.

“Where is the old man, then?” Jake tilts his head at you, and then quickly around at the crowded club, seemingly a little stiff now. You suck in a breath, realising now what he’d been confused by.

Clearing your throat, you take your left hand back from him with only a small amount of effort, before smoothing down your frock primly. Suddenly his closeness was nerve wracking as you feel him studying your features.

“Probably with his new wife. I haven’t exactly been keeping up,” you can’t help but scold yourself for the sass and bitterness in your tone. It just wasn’t classy. Jake seems to jolt as he processes your words, and for several more moments he stares down at you with an unreadable expression, before at last a tiny crease pulls between his brows, and his lips purse.

“I never liked him, anyway,” Jake says the words flippantly, and you know it’s supposed to be a joke, but his still taut expression and lack of humour in his voice tell you otherwise.

“Never good enough for you. To you,” he goes on quieter, so no one else can hear but you. You look down at your skirt, heart thumping away rapidly in your chest even as you shrug.

“Well, it’s probably for the best,” you do your best to shake off any residual foul mood and nerves, straightening up. Your lips curl back into a smile as you look back up at him once more. It felt nearly impossible to be melancholy when you knew Jake was around.

“It’s so good to see you again,” you tell him earnestly, and watch as Jake’s face softens. He takes your hand again, keeping eye contact as he lifts it to his lips and kisses it once more, this time, right where your old engagement ring would have been.

“I imagine,” he smirks, bouncing an eyebrow at you. You scoff, but grin even as you roll your eyes.

“You’re supposed to say ‘you too’!” you scold with no conviction as Jake rounds your seat, not even releasing your hand when, helping you back into your chair before he quickly folds himself into the empty space beside you. He simply shrugs at you, making a point of pulling his chair closer to yours, before his eyes flicker past you to land on Rooster and Bea.

“Sorry to ruin your little setup,” he doesn’t sound very sorry at all, though you doubt Bea was feeling too upset, not with the way she was looking between you and Jake with glee in her eyes.

“Hey, wasn’t my plan. I think she’s too good for you,” Rooster chortles, catching the fist Bea attempts to sock him with, and kissing it instead.

Jake ignores Rooster, and instead cuts his gaze down at you, leaning in so only you’ll hear him.

“How long have you been in San Diego? Are you staying?” he asks, sounding excited by the idea. When you turn to face him fully, his nearness is so much that if only for propriety’s sake, you’re forced to pull back from him as you talk.

“Six months now. I met Bea on the boat coming home from London, she convinced me not to go back to New York after… everything.” you tell him, realising suddenly what incredible luck you must have that you just so happened to run into one another when you’d resigned yourself to never seeing him again.

“I’m glad.” he says, pinning you in place when you feel his hand reach out and take yours from where it rests on your lap. Your heart thumps heavily at his brazenness, but it also sets you alight with a hopeful flame that in recent months you had come to realise you always had, but never allowed yourself to take notice of or indulge before.

The thoughts make your face boil, and you avert your gaze, your free hand shaking just a little as you reach for the glass of water that had been poured for you earlier.

“Oh, Ducky,” Jake sighs affectionately, leaning away from you at last, but tightening his grip around your fingers. You finally get the courage to glance up at him sheepishly, only to find him grinning down at you cheshire-like.

“My little sitting Ducky,” he continues, his smile only continuing to grow.

You know you should probably feel more trepidation about his sudden forwardness, but the only thing that you feel pumping through your veins is the exhilarating thrill at the thought of Jake calling you ‘his’ anything after so long of secretly wishing it to be true.

The way he looks at you feels positively predatory, and under his blistering hunter’s stare, you really are his sitting duck.

1942

The rain batters down against the airfield in what you knew would only prove to be ugly flying weather tonight, and you quickly send out a prayer of luck on behalf of the pilot you know by handwriting alone. Your time as an aircraft mechanic had officially come to an end, not for any good or decent reason, mind you, but for the sole fact that someone had suddenly decided that an active airfield was no place for a woman.

Nevermind that you were the best mechanic in the hangar, your colleagues had stroppily resented your presence from day one, and your true purpose as an additional engineer was forcibly concealed. Instead, you’d had to pretend you were a secretary around any actual personnel, especially the pilots, and once the hangar was clear for the day, you would be at last allowed to perform your actual job.

You’d gotten the impression fairly quickly that your coworkers shunted off the hardest to please, fussiest pilot, onto you, hoping you might fail at the first hurdle under the sheer amount of work this ‘Hangman’ seemed to demand. Unfortunately for them, you’d had no problem meeting the brief, and day after day that the planes were towed into the hangar for repairs, the stack of memos detailing Hangman’s complaints that always accompanied his aircraft grew smaller and smaller.

And then one day, instead of a plane to fix and a list of notes, you had a letter shoved into your hands, the contents of which was a written apology from one Lieutenant Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin, informing you that he’d he’d been shot down, and all your hard work over the past weeks was now engulfed in flame somewhere in Italy. You’d immediately penned a reply, not caring at all about the state of his aircraft, and expressing your relief that he had made it out safely. You’d had to sign it off using a pseudonym, your own name would have gone against your boss’s wishes, and a fake name would be easily found out on an active military base.

You’d gone with ‘Ducky’, the callsign your father had used during the Great War, and from then on out, it had stuck.

Lieutenant Seresin had been sent back to the airfield eventually, and you’d both gone back to business as usual for several months. His battered bomber would be towed into the hangar for repairs, but gone were his blunt instructions, in their place he left short personal letters usually detailing his most recent flights, and only sometimes with requests about fixtures to be made. You would then leave your own reply for him to find when the plane was returned back to the runway, and so on, so forth. 

At least, that's how things had been carrying on until this morning, when you’d been abruptly dismissed by the airfield’s second in command, a snivelling man who had informed you they had ended your auxiliary work here, as it was apparently no place for a woman to be.

You’d wanted to shout and demand explanations, to demand your colleagues defend your worth, but they'd all remained silent, and you’d quickly been escorted off to pack your things with tears stinging your eyes.

You can’t help but wonder if your secret somehow got out, by the doing of jealous coworkers, and if perhaps Hangman hadn’t been so pleased with you upon finding out that you’re a woman.

The heavy rainfall makes it difficult for you and your bags to get across to the waiting transport plane, but the war stopped for nobody, so you’d wound up in the back of the empty aircraft, your clothes and things all but totally soaked. You’d been told the plane wouldn’t leave until the storm died down, so you’d huddled onto one of the benches miserably and tried to get warm, but you felt yourself filled with a deeper coldness than simply the biting european air.

You sit and stare out the back of the plane’s fuselage, simply taking in the distant ebb and flow of the airfield, a flurry of activity that wouldn't stop just because of some rain. It comforted you in a way, to know this place would carry on, but there was a deeper part of you that worried for them. You weren’t a braggart, but you knew you were the best mechanic here, taking not just pride in your work, but joy and passion too. It concerns you what may happen to the pilots in the future.

But, it was much too late for you to do anything else now. Perhaps if you’d been brave enough from the start to demand your recognition all along, this wouldn't be the case, but you think that perhaps they’d have just gotten rid of you sooner.

And then you notice something very odd.

All of a sudden out of the pouring sheets of rain, a covered military jeep comes tearing into sight, its driver in some kind of rush despite the slow lazy movement of everything else in this weather. You blink in surprise as the car skids right up to the plane you’re in, and jump up when it at last comes to a full stop only a few feet from the ramp. You can’t help but take a step back when the door flings open, and you watch as a tall, handsome man bounds out, clearly with urgent business to attend.

The man quickly moves up the plane ramp toward you, ducking out of the rain and taking a moment to fix his hair briefly before he straightens fully again. You stare at him with widened eyes, taking in the aviation uniform he wears, complete with gold wings that seem to glint blindingly despite the lack of sunlight on them. He pauses at the top of the ramp, and you almost jump back again at the intensity of his gaze when his bright green eyes narrow at you.

“Now, now, Ducky, don’t you know it’s rude to leave without saying goodbye?” the lazy southern drawl to the man’s voice surprises you so much that you almost don’t notice the familiarity with which he speaks to you.

“I’m sorry?!” you blurt dumbly. The blonde nods acceptingly, and steps forward, placing his hands on his hips.

“I should hope so! You think Kirk is gonna send me letters the next time I get shot down?” he asks scoldingly, but his casual mention of what would have been certain death for any other pilot is what finally snaps you from your shock.

“You'll get more than just a letter from me the next time you’re shot down!” you say crossly, finding yourself none-too-pleased by his nonchalant attitude toward the subject. Your threat makes a smirk form on the blonde’s lips, and at last he seems to stop his baseless tirade in favour of giving you a very blatant once over. You’re more subtle in your own assessment. A quick glance at the name pinned just below his gold wings confirms your suspicions about who it is you talk to, and when you snap your eyes back to his face, you find he’s already watching you closely.

“For what it’s worth, I’ve known you’re a woman for quite some time,” Hangman says, somehow both seriously and flippantly at the same time, waving his hand dismissively. Your brows furrow and you open your mouth to defend yourself, but shut it again quickly when you realise you’re unsure of what you’d say. “I first suspected when the repair hangar suddenly had a secretary who made terrible coffee. They aren’t sending anyone who makes shitty coffee this close to Italy. No offence.”

You feel like you should be insulted by his words, but truthfully, you’d made the joe that bad on purpose out of pure spite, until they stopped asking you to fetch it. The two of you continue to stare at one another for a few seconds, before you shift your eyes away from him, swallowing thickly as you begin to fidget with your still damp sleeve.

“The other’s thought it best that the pilot’s didn’t know a woman was working on their planes…” you try to explain. Hangman immediately scoffs at your words, and you eye him cautiously as he flings a hand out behind him, toward the entrance of the transport plane and in the vague direction of where the bombers are lined up on the tarmac, their bright colours obscured by the heavy rain.

“Ducky,” he begins dryly, “We paint our planes with women, we name our planes after our women,” he tells you, his smirk tipping up into pure amusement now, an eyebrow following. “Besides, I ain’t ever known a pilot who’s intimidated by a little skirt, especially around our machines,” he purrs, lowering his voice flirtatiously. Your face immediately heats up at his insinuation, and you can’t help but tut disapprovingly at him, even if you did appreciate his other sentiments. You fold your arms over your chest in disapproval while Hangman chortles at your clear bashfulness.

“I mean it, Ducky, please don’t go,” the pilot all but begs you then, his tone suddenly serious. He steps closer again, forcing you to look up at him  in the gloomy dark of the plane.

“I– I’m not leaving because I want to, Lieutenant,” you tell him somberly, dropping your gaze again when you find his stare too intense. “I was told to leave.” 

Hangman scoffs again, and adjusts his stance.

“Right, and I’ve just come from dangling my ass in front of a court martial, or seven, to make sure that order is belayed.” he informs you much too casually. You sputter at his mention of possible charges on your behalf, your arms falling unfolded again as you take a half-step forward in panic.

“W–what?! What did you do?!” you demand, half worried, half furious. 

Hangman grins widely at your clear exasperation, and tips his chin up cockily. You get the sudden feeling he enjoys ticking you off and making you nervous.

“Well, they can’t expect me to remain their best pilot if I don’t have my best girl working on my other best girl,” he tells you slowly, as if it should have been completely obvious already. Your face gets even hotter at his clear flirting, guilt strumming in your stomach at the way your chest flutters despite your relationship status. However, before you’re able to rebuke him by pointing out the ring you wear, the handsome blond makes a show of digging into his breast pocket, and pulling out a crumpled, coffee stained letter, holding it out towards you.

You hesitantly step closer to take it from him, feeling his bright, intense gaze return to yours, as you unfold and quickly look over the typed missive. It’s only a few lines long, and signed at the bottom, so you find yourself hurriedly meeting his eye again.

“You did this for me?” you ask, voice now watery. Hangman stares down at you, looking suddenly less cocky and sure of himself, taken aback by your clear emotional response.

“... Technically, I did this for me.” he corrects unconvincingly, voice lilting to sound dismissive, but you barely hear him, and certainly don’t care for his posturing.

“Thank you!” you gush, feeling a massive weight lift form your chest for the first time all morning. The pilot blinks down at you, stiffly taking in the tears that you try to wipe away with the back of your hand.

“How’re you supposed to drag me back by the ear the next time I get shot down, if you’re not here?” He changes the subject slightly, but only earns a small laugh in reply, not a further telling off, which he’d hoped might distract you from your tears.

“I think that will be the least I owe you after this.” you sniffle. The pilot shuffles uncomfortably, and raises a hand to scratch nervously at the back of his head, unable to sidestep the emotional centre of this interaction like he’d wanted to, but he chooses to wade through it, for you.

“You don’t owe me a damn thing, Ducky, really,” Hangman sighs, speaking tiredly, but firmly. “You’re the best aircraft mechanic I’ve ever had, probably that any of us have had. Shouldn’t matter if you’re a woman.” he hopes he sounds sincere. You hold the belayed order to your chest, and with a wobbling lip stare up at him like he was the sun itself.

You don’t realise this is the exact moment Lieutenant Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin falls completely in love with you, but as he eyes the shiny engagement ring you wear, he does.

1946

You try to ignore the way Bea stares at you and Jake for the next half hour as you catch up, and eventually, you are able to brush off her pointed looks and coquettish smiles. The other Daggers, Rooster and Phoenix particularly, show no such subtly in the way they seem to watch Jake interact with you. Phoenix had even grown a smug little smile in the last few minutes and had begun teasingly questioning Jake about the tender way in which he had taken up your hand and absolutely refused to let it go.

You get the feeling they know something you don’t, but you don’t feel that poorly over it, not when Hangman, Jake, has his hand in yours, his thumb caressing back and forth in little circles everytime you seem to go quiet.

Eventually, tiring of the clear teasing at his expense, Jake rolls his eyes and clears his throat. Fixing you in his gaze fully, he squeezes your hand and gets to his feet.

“I think we’ve both answered more than enough of your questions, Ducky, dance with me?” he doesn’t wait for your answer, but you would have said yes anyway, and, with a final glance back at the table as if to apologise for the sudden exit, you’re tugged gently away and almost immediately find yourself wrapped up on the dancefloor.

“I’m sorry if I’m rusty, it’s been a while since I danced properly,” you say nervously, feeling slightly lightheaded as Jake’s free hand moves to take hold of your waist firmly. His lips flick up, but he fakes a frown anyway, lowering his chin at you. You’re so close now you can feel yourself pressed right against the front of his pristine dress whites, feel the gold buttons through the tulle of your dress.

“I would have thought you’d be out dancing all the time now, fiancee or not,” Jake replies smoothly, making you shift your gaze away from him for a moment.

“It’s hardly wise to spend all my time dancing when I can barely find a job…” you say quietly, chewing on your lower lip, before you finally look back up at him. “If I’m honest, I hadn’t thought I’d still be working, once the war was over.”

Jake’s features lose any of their humour and he purses his lips.

“No, I’d have thought not… you should be being looked after by a good man, living a good life, taken dancing whenever you’d like and you’d never be rusty.” he tells you seriously. You can’t help but smile warmly at him and shrug a little in his hold.

“I think what I should do is adjust my expectations,” you say, inhaling sharply when his hold on your tightens, and he seems to pull you even nearer, if possible.

“I’m afraid that is absolutely unacceptable,” he tells you with a vehement shake of his head. “I think we’re going to have to do something about it, aren’t we?”

Butterflies errupt in your stomach, and unable to bear looking at him any more, you gently pull your hands from his, and wrap them around his neck. Your head rests softly on his chest, Jake quickly adjusting to meet your new stance in a way that suggested to you he’d imagined holding you like this for some time. You squeeze your eyes shut and let out a soft sigh.

“Thank you, Jake.” You say quietly, only knowing for sure that he’s heard you by the way he gently squeezes your waist in response.

“For what, darlin’?”

“For everything. For always coming back like I asked, despite your terrible habit of only ever  returning with about half as much plane as I sent you out with, for believing in me, and fighting for me, and always being there for me, even when Grey wasn’t.”

Jake stays quiet for a beat, his grip on you never wavering, and for a few moments the two of you just sway.

“It never felt right, knowing what I did about him, how he behaved, and keeping it from you… I… I felt so guilty all this time thinkin’ you’d been married to a man I knew didn’t deserve you, knowing I should have said something.”

It’s your turn to stay quiet, though eventually you shift your face up so that you can look at him. For the first time ever, Jake struggles to make eye contact with you, but when you begin gently smoothing over the hair at the back of his neck he meets your gaze. You smile sadly and shake your head.

“I knew,” you tell him, watching how his expression shifts from guilt-ridden to pained, and he opens his mouth, but you cut him off. “I didn’t want to believe it, and if you’d tried to tell me, I wouldn’t have believed you.” You continue stroking the back of his hair as if to comfort him. “And now I can still look fondly back on that time. In my mind, I will always think more of you looking out for me on his behalf, more than I think of him.” you admit.

Jake purses his lips and frowns.

“He never once asked me to do that for you, I couldn’t believe it, even when he knew we were stationed together. I woulda made sure you had someone you could trust, rely on, especially given how the other mechanics treated you.” He sounds so angry, and you can’t help but blink up at him in surprise.

“Grey never asked you to look out for me?” you ask, a fresh sting cutting your heart. You were long over your cheating, good for nothing ex-fiancee, but occasionally on nights like tonight, you felt the hurt once again. Jake takes in your surprise and hesitates for a moment before shaking his head.

“No. I won’t give him credit for that, I’m sorry sweetheart.”

You stop swaying, pausing for a moment to stare up at him, and then you can’t help yourself, you lean up and press a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you, Jake.” you say once more. When you pull away, Jake studies you for a while, before he slides his hands up to take yours, suddenly spinning you out, and then back in, where he catches you seemingly with his entire body, hands quickly wrapping you up securely again as you gasp.

“Why so surprised, honey? I’ve never made a secret of how much I adore you?” He teases you, making you stutter.

“Y-yes well, you were usuaully far more subtle about it!” you attempt to defend. Jake’s face breaks out in a grin, but he eyes you sardonically anyway.

“I’m glad my restraint didn’t go unnoticed. I could easily have seduced you away back then,” he tells you wryly. You frown.

“I don’t think that’s true…” you argue, but Jake only smiles.

“Let me believe, honey,” he implores, making you laugh.

You fall into a comfortable quiet then, and happily let Jake twirl you around the dancefloor, shaking off any rust you may have obtained in the months since you’d last been out like this. After once more spinning you away and catching you again, you meet together with your faces much too close to be proper, but you hardly care with the way he looks down at you.

“The moment I saw you sitting in the back of that transport plane, I knew for sure you were my dream girl, you know that?” he tells you breathlessly. “I spent my entire recovery when I was shot down daydreaming about you, rereading every letter you wrote me.”

“You’re just trying to charm me now!” you accuse playfully. Jake chortles, and shakes his head.

“I told all my nurses about you, how I was going to marry you when the war was over,” he says, making your heart skip several beats.

“And all because I fixed your plane up real good?” you ask, unsure how else to respond. Jake raises an eyebrow and fixes you with an amused expression.

“Clearly you don’t grasp how attractive that is.”

“Clearly I don’t.”

“I hope my being unavailable didn’t hurt you, back then,” you say softly, surprised when Jake only shrugs minimally.

“Other than curbing my ability to seduce you, I knew one way or the other things would work out,” he tells you, sounding oddly serious. You blink at him, but cock your head slightly.

“I suppose they have, haven’t they?”

“I knew you liked me,” Jake says teasingly, leaning his face even closer to yours so that your noses almost touch. You roll your eyes, but don’t move back.

“How could I not? I’ve spent the last year feeling like a fool because I thought I’d never see you again!” you reply, lamenting the wasted time.

Jake hums, making you suck in a breath when he presses a kiss to your forehead.

“I’ve been looking for you, but I didn’t even know your full name, or if you’d had it changed… But I’d never have left you, not when you never left me, no matter how many planes of yours I got shot out of.”

“Please don’t ruin this moment by reminding me,” you scold him, making the blond laugh. After a few beats of swaying together, you wrap your hands back around his neck and lean into him. You feel Jake’s head come to rest on yours, the both of you looking out at the dancefloor, where you spot Rooster and Bea dancing alongside Pheonix and Bob.

“Who do you think will have the wedding bells ringing first?” you ask wistuflly. Jake takes a moment to answer, humming briefly before he replies.

“Us.” He tells you matter of factly.

You can't help but giggle, and blindly smack his shoulder lightly.

“You’re hopeless!” you say, shaking your head where it lays against his chest. Jake only tightens his hold on you.

“Can’t let those nurses down, can I? They told me I had to marry you if you still hadn’t left me after the amount of times I was shot down.”

Against him you grumble, and poke his neck a little more forcefully.

“I wouldn’t recommend tyring that again,” you say darkly. You feel the man straighten ever so slightly, his head bobbing as he nods.

“Yes ma’am.” He affirms. You stay dancing closely, wrapped up in one another until he speaks again. “Will you come down to base tomorrow, look over my plane?” He asks quietly, and you can’t help but grin. Pulling back from him, you gaze into his green eyes, finding pure hope and adoration there.

“Only if you kiss me first.”

#jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #jake 'hangman' seresin #hangman x reader #jake 'hangman' seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #top gun maverick #jake 'hangman' seresin fanfic #jake hangman seresin #top gun fanfiction

[jupitercomet]

Morning Person

summary - Goose is a morning person. You are not.

warnings - language, talks of sex

word count - 627

I probably shouldn’t post this at butt fuck o’clock, but I am going to anyway because I want to. this is dedicated to @bradshawsbitch​ my Goose Girlie sister in arms. please enjoy the little intro to college boy, hockey player Goose!

follow the adventures of Goose and Duck in Duck, Duck, Goose!

“Good morning, duck!”

You groan, shoving your pillow over your head as the peace in your dorm room is interrupted.

Goose ignores your current, clear disdain for light, turning on your overhead light and you groan again. “Rise and shine, my radiant little cherub.”

“I specifically picked afternoon classes so that I wouldn’t have to wake up at the asscrack of dawn, Goose.” You turn, squishing your cheek into the pillow, to glare at him.

“I know,” Goose grins widely, his eyes softening at your sleepy features. “But I thought, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I deprived you of my company for the whole morning?”

“Fuck off.”

“Well, since you said it so nicely.” You let out a slightly less frustrated groan as he falls on your mattress, getting comfortable on your twin bed.

For a man who claims to want to wake you up, his hand goes straight to scratching your scalp and you sigh contentedly, snuggling up to his leg and letting your eyes close again. It’s quiet for a moment—too quiet for a room holding Nick Bradshaw—but then he’s shuffling against your headboard as his thumb massages your temple.

“You think Mav and Ice are fuckin’?”

You wrinkle your nose against his thigh. “Why the fuck would you ask me that?”

“Listen, I’ve been theorizing—”

“You’ve been theorizing?”

“Don’t interrupt me, ducky, it’s not nice,” Goose’s finger stretches to tap your nose. “But yes, I’ve been theorizing. Every time we let Mav and Ice privately duke it out in the locker room, they always have their best practice literally the next day. I’m like 86.3% sure they’re fucking.”

You prop your head up on his leg, tapping his hand so he’ll resume massaging your scalp. “Is this what you woke me up at 7 in the morning for? To theorize about your best friend’s sex life?”

“I’m worried about him, it’s not good for a boy his age to go this long being celibate,” Goose sighs deeply, his fingers moving against your hair again.

You fake a gag. “See, these are things about Maverick that I didn’t need to know.”

“But who else would I tell? You’re the person I tell everything to.”

“You know, if we weren’t talking about Maverick getting laid right now,” you let out a yawn, moving to fully cuddle Goose’s right leg. “That would be cute.”

“You’re cute,” Goose grins.

You pat around the bed without responding, refusing to open your eyes. Goose seems to know what you want already, grabbing your hand with his free one. You hum at the feeling of his hand and the weight of his fingers against your scalp. “I’m going back to bed now. Good night.”

“Fine,” Goose sighs wistfully. “But I can’t be held responsible for the sharpie mustache that will inevitably end up on your face. We’ll be twins.”

“I can’t stand you. I hope you trip on the ice tonight and eat shit.”

Goose laughs. “I love when you sweet talk me, duck. Do it some more.”

“Let me sleep!” You whine, stretching out the word pathetically.

The mattress creaks under his weight as he dips down to press a kiss to your lips and you feel him smile against you. “Since I’m the best ever, you get one hour, duck.”

You bury your face in the fabric of his light gray sweatpants with a grumble. Finally, it’s quiet, and with Goose’s fingers massaging your neck and head, you find yourself being lulled back to sleep. Tension seeps from your body as you melt against his thigh, a small smile making its way onto your face as you relax.

“Be honest, do you think I’d look good with a mullet?”

“Goose, for the love of God!”

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#nick bradshaw imagine #nick bradshaw imagines #nick bradshaw x reader #nick bradshaw fluff #nick bradshaw au #goose imagine #goose imagines #goose x reader #goose fluff #goose au #top gun imagines #x reader #duck duck goose #buggy's got a pen

[dckweed]

Helloooo ☺️ since I adore your writing so much, I also wanted to request something. Maybe a Rooster imagine where you fly with Rooster during the Dagger Mission and also help him saving Mave as he crashes but you also got pretty hurt but not tell anyone. So when you're all finally back at the ship, you black out just in front of Rooster and he freaks out. He stays by your side the whole time you're being taken care of and also stays by your side till you wake up. First he lectures you why you didn't tell him, but then he also admits his feelings and it's all cute and fluffy then? Hope this is okay for you and sorry it's so long 🤭

Hi love! of course i can do this for you! i love a good rooster fluff makes me all ooey gooey on the inside!

feel free to send in requests guys, or even just random questions! also this took me so long and im so sorry! also i feel like this really sucks and i could have done so much better and im so sorry..

let me know if we should turn the two birds into a series???

warnings: shooting, near death experiences, plane crash, traumatic injuries, rooster being a mother goose because he cares too much, mav being mav reader is referred to as callsign duckie (or duck for short), incorrect military references and portrayal because what the fuck do i know about the navy? although i did actually google the catapult thing because i was curious.

"TWO BIRDS AND A MAV" bradley 'rooster' bradshaw x fem!pilot reader

You stood with the rest of your fellow pilots inside the hangar of the aircraft carrier, back straight and gaze forward as you stood at attention, waiting for the mission team to be chosen. Captain Mitchell stood at the front of the room, calling out names.

"Phoenix and BOB," He starts first, his voice ringing out. "Fanboy and Payback" He looks over towards Rooster, who is stood right next to you. "Rooster, Duckie." They had modified the flight plan to include a fifth single plane bringing up the rear carrying a third explosive in case of failure. You and Rooster share a look, the pair of you more nervous than you realized, not expecting to hear the others name called.

Your fellow pilots congratulate you as you and your other squad members gather your things to go finish getting your flight gear ready. Everyone files out before you and Rooster, and just as you're about go, he grabs your wrist. "Duckie," His voice is gruff, full of emotions that you more than recognized. He was worried about you, he always was, you supposed that was the price of the lengthy fling the pair of you had had during your time at the academy. You both cared about each other too much. "Be careful up there, yeah?"

His voice is tender, and you can't help the small smile that spreads over your lips as you squeeze his hand, moving in to give him a brief hug. You had missed his embrace, it had been years since you had stopped seeing each other, but it hadn't ever changed the way you felt towards him, or how you reacted when you were in his presence. "You too, Roo.." You say, kissing his cheek before walking off.

Rooster kicks himself as he watches you walk off, he wanted to stop you, beg you too step down and let Jake fill in your spot, he didn't want you to be careful up there, he didn't want you to be up there at all, but he couldn't change the decisions, not when he didn't have a say in them to begin with. He has to remind himself that you are an extremely capable pilot, and quite underestimated by the unsure looks of the fellow squad members and the admiral.

It wasn't long before you and your team were on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier, loading onto your aircrafts. You did your usual pre-flight check right along with Nat and Bob, and just before you got ready to climb up the ladder to your cockpit, you gave Bob a fist bump and told him and Natasha that you had their backs up there. You were bringing up the rear, you were support for the whole mission, you knew what your role was and deep down, you knew what you would have to do if it came down to it.

Climbing up into your cockpit, you slide into your seat with ease buckling into your safety belts and going about your onboard flight list. When you're sure that you're set and secured and your plane is safe to fly, you give signal to the ground crew that you're prepped and ready for take off and start to lower the dome of your plane, listening to it lock in place. You know you'll be last to take off and say a silent prayer for yourself and your crew as you slide your orange and black helmet on over your head, your callsign written in cursive on the front and back of it. And as you wait for your go to start taxying onto the runway you let you the mission control team know that you're ready. "Dagger Five, up and ready." You say, locking your visor down into place to help protect you from the glare of the sun.

Not much longer after that they start to taxi your crew onto the runway, as Rooster's F/A-18 scoots along past you, next to go off the deck and into the air, you send him a salute, noticing he was looking at your from his cockpit. He nods back in recognition, holding his fist up to his glass, his way of telling you to be careful.

Soon, it's your turn and before you know it you're being released from the catapult and lifting your nose off the deck and up into the air, catching a beautiful headwind. "Dagger Five, in the air." You report to the control tower, hearing an affirmative response from them as you catch up to the rest of your crew. There was an apprehension in the air, even if you weren't all in the same plane, you knew you were all nervous, all scared. This was the most high stakes, life risking mission any of you had ever faced before, but you knew were the right ones for the job and so did the U.S. Navy, otherwise you wouldn't have been called back to TOP GUN. You were all the best of the fucking best, and you were going to do your damn jobs and do them well.

The mission was going smoothly (even with Rooster falling behind), almost too smoothly you thought, and even with Fanboy and Payback's radar malfunctioning Rooster somehow, by the graces of whatever higher power that might be, managed to land his bomb perfectly bullseye. You were hot on their tail, pulling up sharply as you came out of the inverted dive down the mountain wall, just catching glimpse of the collapsing ground beneath you as you flipped back into position, pulling hard on your controls.

Somewhere in the distance, your vision and hearing going spotty as you pulled in more gforce than was probably healthy for your body as you climbed altitude rapidly, you hear your team yelling over the shared radio connection, and mission control chatter in the background. By the time you're able to gather your own wits about you, your deep into an air strike of surface to air missiles, noticing your radar going off just in time to deploy counter protective measures. "Holy fuck!" You shout, looking around through your cockpit, trying to gather where exactly you were and where your teammates were and how the fuck to get out of the mess.

You pay attention to your radar again, pulling up the nose of your plane just in time to deploy your counter flares once more, punching the button on your side wall like its your savior. "Dagger 5, deployed counter measures twice!" You report, on the mission controll channel, keeping an eye on your radar and in the air in general and you see the flares lighting up the sky. "Daggers report!" You shout into your shared channel needed to know that all of them are okay. You know it will only last a few minutes, but it was going to be a long and brutal few minutes, a true test to how sharp your skills were in the cockpit.

"Dagger One, safe!" Mav's voice comes over the coms, you knew he was team leader and was probably the one that should have been calling for the report but you needed to know. You deploy a third counter measure as you listen to Phoenix call over her com for her and Bob.

"Dagger Two, safe!" Rooster calls, you can hear the edge in his voice, and a grunt. You see a light of flares and missiles colliding just above you in some clouds and you realize that must be him. Fanboy and Payback call in their safe report, and you're about to add in yours at Mav's urging when it happens.

"Dagger Five, sa-" The plane shakes with the force of it, the bomb clips your wing, just barely making contact, but enough to take a chunk out of the right wingtip and cause your engine to missfire. "I'm hit! I'm Hit!" You repeat into your com, urgently deploying your engine safety measures. You knew this plane like the back of your goddamn hand, you knew what to do when one of the engines missfire.

"Duckie!" Mav yelled over the line at the same time as Rooster dropped down next to you, wing to wing on your good side. You ignore Mav, shutting down your right engine before refiring it. It doesn't start. You panic, turning your head to glance at Rooster. He shakes his head at you from his cockpit, wondering what was going on. "Duck! Report!" You flip the engine switch a second time, just as a set of flares comes up on your radar.

"Bradley!" You shout, trying to keep your plane level with only one engine working. He grunts over the line, and you hear him punch his flare button. And then punch it again. "Bradshaw!?"

"I'm out of flares!" He yells, getting ready to deploy bullets, even though he knew they wouldn't do much good judging by how loud your radars were yelling, when all of a sudden Mav dropped down from your damaged side, dropping his flares. They work, but he clips your wing on the way down and it sends both of your planes spiraling. Your instinct is to scream, but you know it will do no good so you try your best to steady your aircraft, though it's not easy to do with only one engine working properly. "Y/N! Mav!" Bradley yells, and before you know it you can see the ground coming up fast through the cockpit.

"Oh shit!" You yell, pulling the ejection handle between your legs as hard as you fucking can, your lid flies off and your seat topples out, and so do you.

The cold air meets your face, the wind hitting it as you race to the ground, waiting for your parachute to deploy. You scream the whole way down, your plane not too far from you, and if you squint you can see Mav off in the distance to your right side. Your planes hit the ground before you do, fiery messes as they collide with the earth. It takes a few minutes, and your parachute hadn't slowed you down nearly fast enough so your body collapses as soon as your feet touch the snow covered ground of where the fuck forest you were in, merely fifteen feet from your fireball of a fucking plane.

"Oh my god.." You groan, looking at the mess of it as you unclip your parachute as quickly as you can, not wanting to be weighed down by it incase the enemy came searching for your downed plane. You looked around, trying to see if you could spot Mav somewhere, but through the smoke and trees you couldn't see him. "Captain Mitchell!" You scream, before flinching, realizing that probably wasn't the smartest idea to do in enemy territory. You wanted them to assume you were dead, it was safer for you that way until you could figure out how to get the fuck out of here, hopefully with your Captain.

A loud burst of flames comes from whats left of your plane and you duck just in time, shrapnel flying over your head and landing merely a foot away from you. "I am so being discharged!" You yell to yourself as you start running toward the tree line, hopefully in the direction of your teammate.

You trudge through the snow for what seems like forever, thanking god for the heavy duty boots on your feet and the fact that you wore long sleeves under your flight suit, the air was a tad brisk in the middle of the dense forest, though you know it was only a few minutes and you start to see the flames of another plane in the trees on the other side of a clearing, and a quarter of the way into the clearing, Maverick is slowly clambering to his knees. He must not have had an easy landing, you deduce.

"Mav!" You call, running over to him, though just as you do the sound of helicopter blades chopping the air reach your ears. You both look up, you merely twenty feet away from him when you see it in the tree line near where his craft had gone down. "..fuck.." You mutter, noticing someone in all black point towards you guys out of the open side door. The chopper turns towards you guys slowly and Mav struggles to gete his chute pack detached before telling you to run, grabbing your arm and pulling you with him as he passes you.

Just in time too because whoever mans the guns starts shooting at the pair of you as you run, the bullets chasing you as you run as fast as you can through the thick layer of snow. Mav is pulling you over a thick log when you feel it, the searing, burning pain going through your leg and your side. You've been shot. You grit your teeth as Mav pulls your body under his, shielding you from the hail of bullets sure to come as the Helicopter positions in front of you guys, pointed directly at your forms. He was prepared to die for you, if it meant that at least one of you got to get out of here.

You close your eyes, preparing for the spray of bullets and your captains blood to riddle your body, but it never comes. You hear a large explosion and peak an eye open, your breath leaving your body as the helicopter and its occupants go up in flames, the unmistakable sound of a fighter jet filling the valley as it flies away. You don't have to be smart to know that it's Bradley, though you do have to have some ounce of brains to realize that there was probably more SAMs hidden in the area and he was probably about to catch the attention of them.

And sure enough, as Mav pulls you up to your feet the both of you in disbelief, you watch as his plane erupts into a ball of smoke. "Oh god.." Mav says, and starts running in the direction that Bradley's plane went down in. You followed right behind him, the fact that you were shot in two different places the least of your worries, your adrenaline pushing you forward and keeping you from feeling the burning pain of the bullets in your body.

You're right behind Mav when you finally make it to the clearing, Bradley had thankfully landed far away from his plane and you hear him yell "You okay?" and Bradley's affirmative response before Mav picks up speed and pushes the stupid ass to the ground.

"The fuck was that for?!" Rooster yells, taking his helmet off and standing up, catching sight of you coming up just behind Mav.

"What are you doing here?!" Mav yells, worry lacing his voice. "You could've been back on the aircraft carrier by now, what the fuck were you thinking?!"

Bradley looks at him, eyes wild. "You told me not to think!" If you weren't in the situation you were in, this whole scene would've been comical.

Mav is silent for a moment, not being able to argue farther because he was right, he had told the boy not to think. Just do. And, at the end of the day, if he hadn't, they would've be alive right now. "Yeah, well..its good to see you.." The older man concedes.

Bradley chuckles. "It's good to see you too.." He says, bowing his head before looking back up at you. "Duckie? You okay?"

You rear back and punch his stupid as shoulder as hard as you can, gritting your teeth as a burning sensation goes through your side. You'd been shot on your dominant side, that wasn't a good thing. "Just fucking peachy." You grunt, hoping that neither men realized that something was wrong with you. You wanted to get the fuck out of here.

Rooster nods, rubbing his shoulder. "So, what's the plan?"

And that, that small question was how you wound up in the back of an F-14, sat on Rooster's lap, the only thing securing you in place were his arms wrapped around your waist holding you tightly against his chest and lap as Mav took off from the enemy base.

"This is so not safe!" You yell, gritting your teeth as you try not to cry from the pain of Rooster squeezing your bullet entry wound. "Bradley' don't you fucking let go of me!" You cry, trying desperately to get the radio back up and working so you could reach the carrier, let your crew know that you guys were still fucking alive. He squeezes you even tighter in a way that clearly says 'I've got you' , and despite the pain you feel a comfort go through you that allows you to focus that much more. "How the fuck do i work this shit?"

"I'm really not sure, that was always Bradley's dad's expertise!" Maverick calls back over the intercom, maneuvering the ancient ass plane through the valley. You could cry, or slam your head against the radar. Either way you didn't care. "Um..there should be a switch.."

"Pete theres like ten thousand switches back here!" You yell back, your voice high pitched and panicky. You try to recall anything you read about an F-14, about working an RIO cockpit (which wasn't much because it really wasn't your specialty) and start mentally cross referencing it to what you know about working your own cockpit to get your systems up and running. Eventually, you start flipping a few switches and to your utmost surprise, one of them works.

"Got it!" You call, your Radar flipping on. Just as it does you spot a bogey not too far off your tail. "Mav, tally two right wing, tail." You say. "Rooster, let go of me and try flipping on your locator!" He lets go of you for a brief second just as the Bogey starts to pull up even with Mav in the cockpit.

"Uh, what do we do?" Rooster asks, looking out the lid and then to the back of Captain Mitchell's head. "Mav?"

He doesn't answer for a minute. "Just, be cool." He says and you want to yell at him that this is a do or die situation, not a 'stay cool' situation. What the fuck did that even mean, be cool? You guys just obliterated their entire base, you were most certainly not cool and pilot in the next plane over was most certainly not stupid. Scary, but not stupid.

The pilot throws up a hand signal, his hands decked out in all black. "Jesus are they wearing leather flight gear?" You ask, barely heard over Rooster's "Mav, mav what does that mean? I don't know what that means.."

You see the captain shake his head in the reflection of the dome, and swallow back fear, closing your eyes. "I don't know either.." He says, trying to do something with hand signals that he did know. The plane falls back after a moment, only to get into attacking position.

You're pressing down into Rooster for dear life now as Mav does (as rooster had called it), some of that pilot shit, your hands bracing on the dome above you, trying not to fucking die in your secured predicament. Your former boyfriend does his best to keep you secured to his body, but there isn't much he can do when you're both being thrown around in the air, the craft rolling and diving every few seconds as Maverick tries to get you guys back to safety with your fucking lives.

Just when you think you've made it, the radar goes off again and none of you see where the danger is until it's much too late, and your defense mechanisms are far too gone. With a shaking breath and tears in your eyes you listen to Mav and Rooster get over whatever bullshit had been between them, an emotional apology that really means nothing if the two of them aren't going to survive this. You're scared, all the things you've never done and said running through your mind, all the things you'd missed out on and were going to continue to miss out on because you wanted to be just like your own father. Your sister would laugh at you, would tell you to stop being so dramatic and use your last few seconds (or minutes if you're lucky enough), to do something besides think about all the things you could have done.

You feel him try to pull the ejection handles as Mav pulls up hard, only for you two to not eject. He gives an emotional cry before he tells Mav that they aren't working.

"Rooster," You blurt, eyes squeezed closed. If you were going to die, you didn't want to see it coming, it was better this way. You would much rather go with visions of Bradley dancing behind your eyelids anyway. "Bradley," You sob loudly and he squeezes you tightly against his chest, you don't even feel the pain of the two bullet wounds anymore. "I love you..i'm so sorry i never said it back but i do, i fucking love you."

And then it must happen, you must fucking die because you hear the explosion. You see the light of the burst of flames behind your eyelids, cutting through the vision of you and Bradley. You brace for it, the pain or..the coldness, but it never comes. Instead, you think you hear what must be Satan's voice.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen," What the hell have you ever done bad enough that you're sent to a hell with Hangman as the voice guiding you? "This is your savior speaking, please return your trays to their locked and upright positions."

You cry in relief.

Every person on the carrier must be on the flight deck that you guys have surely marred and damaged with your lack of landing gear in the ancient ass plane you'd been forced to fly in. Their loud cheering greets your ears, a sea of thunderous applause as the dome of the cockpit slides open. You still don't think that you've made it. That you're even alive, and maybe that checks out because as soon as you step out onto the wing, you collapse.

three days.

You're out for three days in the medbay of the carrier, Rooster by your side. He doesn't leave, but he fusses over your unconscious form, fusses over the doctors and nurses to the point that they threaten to kick him out if he doesn't sit the fuck down.

His words rattle in his mind, those three little words that the both of you had been much too scared to say to each other when you were in the academy, when you were in TG the first time around. He never realized how much he truly longed to hear them come from your lips until they finally had, and he wanted to grab you up and tell you how much he loved you back, wanted to kiss you until you saw stars but you had collapsed as soon as he let you off of his lap.

He had been so scared, moreso than he was before Hangman had saved them because at least then he was going to die with you in his arms, it was a pretty decent death considering the way death could have been. You dropped like a rag doll, hitting the wing of the plane first before sliding off of it onto the crowd below as he unhooked his safety belts as fast as he could. He remembered shouting your name, dropping to the ground next to your where he looked at your flgihtsuit for the first time and found the two bullet holes. You had taken on fire. You were bleeding. And you hadn't said anything to him. How could you not say anything?

He supposed he shouldn't dwell on it because you were still alive. You were still here with him. He just needed you to open your damn eyes so he could say it back to you. He had his head tilted back, looking up at the ceiling as he tried to rest, he was exhausted and still in his dirty suit from three days ago. He was sure his mustache was being joined by a beard, and he was sure that he smelled, but he wasn't going to leave you.

"Bradley?" A hushed whisper. Had he really heard it? No..no he couldn't have. "Bradley!" He snaps his head up, eyes on you instantly. You're staring up at him, your beautiful eyes glossed over with unshed tears, your pale skin looking even paler under the harsh florescent lighting of the medial bay.

"You fucking scared me." He says, voice wavering with unshown emotions. He moves so he's hovering over you, a gentle hand on top of your head. Your lips quivered. "Duckie, you fucking scared the shit out of me, do you know?" He says again, putting his lips to your forehead. He feels you sigh against him and he pulls away, looking down at you. "I love you too.." He whispers. "Scared the absolute shit out of me, but i fucking love you, you brat." You chuckle at his last words, only to wince at the pain that goes straight through you.

"That hurts, don't make me laugh." You groan, taking his hand in yours. "How long have I been down?" You didn't remember exactly what happened once you'd landed, hell, you barely remembered that. "Are we home yet? Roo, I want to go home.."

"Three days..and we should be stateside by tomorrow.." He says, brushing hair away from your face, squeezing the hand that you had in his. "They had to take your gall bladder, bullet lodged in it real good.." He grazed a hand gently over the wound. "They fished the other out of your leg..said you might need rehab.."

You hum, closing your eyes. "Just get me home first," You say, not letting him go. "We'll handle everything else later.."

#top gun #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw fic #bradley bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #miles teller #captain pete mitchell #maverick mitchell #top gun rooster #top gun mav

[cowboybeepboop]

Hawaiian hangout

“Mm this is my favorite song, what about you Darling? Do you like it?” “It’s nice, but I don’t like slow rides, I like going fast,”

Pairing: Hangman x fem! Reader

Genre: plot with some porn

Word count: 2928

Summary: Hangman has a thing for you but your relationship with Rooster makes him jealous. You’re a badass who is the best of the best and this shows when you and Mav get into a “fight”.

A/N: I don’t usually give the reader a callsign cause I think it’s fun to make up your own but for this oneshot I made the readers callsign Darling because her superior (the guy from the academy) who gave it to her thought it was fitting because she’s innocent and sweet looking on the outside but in the sky she’ll out fight anyone in a dog fight. Basically he’d call her Daring Darling, or DD, since no one saw her as a threat at first and also because she loved the DareDevil comics. Anyways this is just some random ass info I made up, it gives nothing to this so like yeah idk I was just bored. Also I fr based the friendship on my friends and I’s relationship because I think we’re absolutely hilarious no questions asked and for some reason everyone thinks we’re dating. ALSO I WROTE THIS ENTIRE THING WHILE MY MOM WAS NEXT TO ME ON A ROAD TRIP SOS I CAN’T STAND MYSELF. Anyways saw Top Gun: Maverick for the 5th time and met some really cool older women today.

Bradley has been your best friend forever, since kindergarten when he “accidently” pulled your pigtails and you started crying. His only excuse was that they were uneven and he was trying to help, fucking idiot. He does that a lot though, he’ll try to help and end up making a bigger issue out of it, for instance this exact moment when he spilt red wine on your white dress and poured white wine on top to “even it out”. Now you’re fresh out of the shower, smelling like Bradshaw’s coconut shampoo and wine.

“Hey, Brad. Got anything I can wear? I mean after all you did wreck my dress, twice,” you giggle with a teasing smile, he scratches the back of his neck and hands you a pair of your old shorts and one of his Hawaiian shirts.

“That's all I could find, I must have left your wardrobe at my mom’s storage place.” shrugging you take the clothes from him, smiling sweetly.

“Don’t worry about it duckie,” he rolls his eyes and puts his best mom face on, standing with his hands on his hips.

“It’s Rooster, not duck,” he puts on a dramatic performance, throwing his head back, hand over his heart, “I can’t believe you don’t even know my callsign, after all of these years.” one last exaggerated sigh before he falls back on the couch.

“Damn, did the shock kill you?” your eyes light up with mischiv, as long as he’s pretending to be dead I mean you might as well, you tickle his sides watching him fight back a fit of laughter.

“Come on Y/N you should get changed, we’re supposed to go meet Phoenix soon,” he sits up grabbing your arms and pinning them to your sides with a sweet smile.

“Shit, I almost forgot about that,” you quickly grab the clothes, throwing on the shorts and his white Hawaiian shirt, leaving it unbuttoned showing off your white cropped tank top. “I think we’re actually a little late,” he grabs his keys and puts his hand on your waist pulling you out the door with him.

“Well, I intend on surprising her anyway,” he locks the door and hops in his jeep. You follow suit, getting into the passenger side sighing at the heat that hits your thighs as they touch the dark leather seats.

“This is torture, I’m burning alive,” Bradley shakes his head while starting the engine, you buckle up pulling the seatbelt under your left arm so it doesn’t sufocate you.

“That defeats the purpose of the seatbelt, you’re supposed to have it over your chest,” he teases as you glare into the side of his face.

“It’s uncomfortable, it’s suffocating my chest,” he puts his free hand on your thigh, squeezing lightly.

“I know, I just wanted to piss you off,” Bradly smiles innocently as he keeps his eyes on the road, you flip him off secretly. “I saw that, Darling” he glances over to you raising his eyebrows slightly, “You’re gonna have to be more careful next time,”.

“Ouch, you’re being real serious Bradley. You even used my callsign,” you fegin shock covering your mouth theatrically. That’s the thing about your relationship with Bradley, the majority of the time you guys are being dramatic, which really confuses people because they don’t understand your guy’s comedic geniusness.

Bradley pulls into a parking spot, he gets out of the jeep and walks over to your side of the car, opening the door and offering you his hand. You roll your eyes “You go first Brad, I’ll go in, in like a minute,” he nods his head and salutes you.

“I’ll see you in a minute then,” you wave him off pulling a thing of chapstick out and applying it, you check your phone and reply to a couple texts. Mentally preparing yourself for the loudness of the bar, sticking your phone into your pocket before climbing out of the vehicle. You run a hand through your hair while walking through the bar entrance, “Hey, Y/N over here,” Bradley calls you over while holding his stomach softly.

You go up to the bar to order two beers, you end up standing right next to Maverick, “Can I please get two beers Penny?” she nods with a sweet smile, “Oh shit, Mav I didn’t notice you earlier,”.

“Hey, Y/N, how’s it going?” He smiles while sticking his phone into his pocket.

“I’m good, how about you,” you sit down on the empty stool next to him, keeping your attention directly on him.

“I could be better,” he runs a hand through his hair, “you should head over to Bradley, he’s waiting for you.” you nod, standing up to get the beers and thank Penny, “One more thing though,”

“What is it?” you search his serious eyes looking for any hints about what he might ask of you.

“Could you maybe not tell Bradley that I’m back in town just yet?” Maverick scratches the back of his neck while his eyes go softer pleading with yours.

“Of course, Mav,” you smile and lean in for a hug, he wraps his arms around your waist gently while using his thumb to rub up and down your back. You pull back from the hug, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

You weave in between a few groups while making your way over to Rooster and Phoenix, once you get to the pool table you pull your sunglasses up leaving them on top of your head. “Here Bradley,” you hand him a beer, taking the other as you sit next to Bob, “Hey, Bobby boy. How’s the man, the myth, the legend?” he smiles as he pushes his glasses up his nose bridge. The familiar blond man turns his attention on you, looking you up and down with a small smirk.

“I’m good now that you’re here,” you smile, showing your slightly pointy canines.

“Fuck, Bob you know just how to get my heart racing,” you stare into his eyes before he looks away, a soft blush creeping up his neck.

“You know him?” Hangman questions as Bradley pops up behind you taking your glasses from your head, folding them up and hanging them on the collar of your shirt.

“Yeah, he’s my favorite weapons systems officer,” you smile while placing your hand on his shoulder. “He’s always focused and has never made a mistake, it’s too bad they don’t let me fly with an RIO anymore,” you sigh dramatically while he admires you from the side, Rooster rolls his eyes.

“You know, the higher ups would let you fly with an RIO if you weren’t such a maniac,” you pretend to be offended as you shove his arm away from your side.

“Ugh, you’re so mean to me all the time,” Hangman is not so subtly checking you out while you and Bradshaw bicker. Phoenix interrupts you two trying to stop your random argument.

“So, Y/N I’ve been wondering something for a while,” she pulls Bradley by his shirt softly, you nod at her motioning for her to continue, “why is your callsign Darling? Isn’t that kind of misogynistic?” Phoenix’s comment draws everyone’s attention to you.

You laugh softly, “It does seem like that doesn’t it? It’s just something my parents nicknamed me when I was younger and my commander thought it was fitting for me. But,” you smile softly, “People usually call me DD,”.

“Before you ask the meaning of that,” Rooster laughs, “you’ll have to wait until you see her fly to fully understand.” He sounds like a proud dad while talking about you.

“I also have a question,” Coyote raises his eyebrows, “Why are you wearing Roosters shirt?”.

“He ruined the dress I was wearing earlier,” you shrug and Coyote’s eyes slightly widen as he coughs. Hangman’s jaw clenches while he narrows his eyes on Bradley.

Slow ride starts playing, “Mm this is my favorite song, what about you Darling? Do you like it?” Hangman smirks flashing his perfect white teeth.

“It’s nice, but I don’t like slow rides, I like going fast,” you swipe your tongue over your bottom lip keeping an intense stare on Hangman.

Penny rings the bell again, Hangman, Coyote, Payback, and Fanboy take Mav out. You chew on your cheek while going over to the bar, “Hey, Pen, I’ll pay Mav’s tab,” she hands you the check.

“It’s a pretty big bill,” she warns you but you already had your wallet pulled out, you hand her your card.

“It’s fine, I have a lot saved up,” you smile sweetly, Bradley pulls the cord on the jukebox, taking his beer over to the piano.

“Are you sure, love?” you nod, she swipes the card and then hands it back to you with the receipt. Rooster motions for you to come over.

You go over to him and he sings to you “You broke my will, but what a thrill,” Bradley pulls you onto his lap and you start singing with him.

“Kiss me baby,” you hold his cheeks, kissing him on the forehead, “Ooh, that feels good, baby”, he smirks looking you up and down. You giggle as you continue to sing in sync with him, nodding your head with the beat of the song. Hangman clenches his fists, sucking his teeth, shifting his jaw in anger.

_________

Things between you and Maverick have been a little tense since he found out about how you paid his tab, not to mention the tension between him and Rooster putting even more strain on your friendship with Maverick. The funny thing is Maverick told you not to fly like you usually do, you’re way more skilled in dog fighting than the rest of the pilots from your previous training and missions, your goal is to train for the mission with the rest of the team rather than gain more skills; however, Maverick went ahead and pushed your buttons. You’re the first pilot up which means you’re supposed to lose like everyone else and do the 200 push ups, but with Maverick’s intensity and Bob’s encouragement you’ve found yourself flying like your life depends on it.

Maverick’s plane is right on your ass, both hands grab your centre stick, pulling toward your midsection. Your plane shoots up, “Holy shit,” Hangman's voice rings through your ears as you switch directions heading straight for Mav. He pulls up trying to level with you, you flip upside down, narrowly missing his “shot”, you push the centre stick opposite of your body swooping low.

Maverick locates you once again, he creeps closer to your tail, before you hastily pull up. You’re upside down (again) hovering over Mavericks plane, “Fuck she’s on his fucking tail,” Hangman is sat back watching you two fight.

Your engine stalls and you direct your plane away from Maverick’s, you’re headed straught for the ground, “Fucking hell, my engine stopped,” you keep hitting the buttons grabbing your centre stick, still none of your efforts make a difference.

“Eject, Y/N eject right now,” Maverick yells as he follows your tail, at this point you’re hitting the hard deck.

You’re finally able to gain control of the engine again, you pull up as fast as you can. Your plane zooms past Maverick, your hands shake as you put your aim on Maverick and the beeping starts to ring out, “I gotcha Mav,”.

“Y/N get out of the sky, now.” you can hear the anger in his strong tone, your planes all touch the ground. You get out of the vehicle, hands shaking as your feet touch the ground, Mav runs over to you.

“Why the fuck did you not eject? What if you couldn’t gain control of your F-18?” you fall back on the ground, laying against the boiling pavement.

“I don’t know, can you stop yelling though. My head hurts,” you close your eyes, chest rising and falling quickly, your arms and legs feeling like jello. The rest of the team rushes down over to you and Maverick, he stays stood over you staring down at you.

“You’re reckless,” he says in a silvery tone, “you could have been seriously injured, or even killed,” Maverick nearly yells at the end of his sentence.

“In my defense I’m tired of doing push ups, I’m an amazing dog fighter I don’t even need any more training. I've already got two confirmed kills. That’s half of what you’ve got Mav, I’m good and I’m not cocky.” you sigh out, lifting your head to look at him as you sit up, “I’m fine with not winning against you or being the best but shit you’re getting on my nerves,” Rooster comes over and helps you stand up.

“Hangman, take Y/N inside and get her some water,” Mav pinches the bridge of his nose while using his other hand to wave you and Hangman off.

You unzip your uniform while walking towards the locker room, Hangman is a couple steps behind you keeping a close eye on you to make sure you don’t fall.

“Hey Darling, why doesn’t Maverick use your callsign?” Jake’s hand rests on your back as he opens the door for you, his body getting impossibly close to yours. “I mean he uses Roosters, it doesn’t make much sense that he doesn’t use yours,” he says voice barely over a whisper.

“I was his right hand man in a mission once and because he named me, my mom couldn’t think of a good name so she asked him,” you shrug, walking into the locker room peeling off your uniform that’s drenched in sweat.

“You were really good up there,” Hangman presses up against your back, arms wrapping around your waist as he breathes against your neck softly.

“Hangman, what are you doing?” his hand moves down to your thighs, spreading them a little. You instinctively lean back against him, throwing your head back on his shoulder.

“Darling, you can stop me whenever you want,” he kisses your neck softly, “and please, call me Jake,” he whispers into your ear sending shivers down your body. He moves to sit down on the bench pulling you onto his lap.

“Are you okay with this?” you nod enthusiastically, biting down on your lip roughly, “No love, I need to hear you say it,” he pulls his hands back from your body.

“Fuck, please Jake. I want this, I want you,” you put his hands back on your thighs, spreading your legs for him.

“Good girl,” he smiles, biting your earlobe softly, receiving a soft moan from you. Jake pulls your soaked panties to the side, sliding his index finger between your pussy lips before landing it on your clit. He rubs slow circles around your bundle of nerves, changing the amount of pressure from time to time. You grip onto his upper arm roughly, squeezing your eyes shut tightly as your body presses into his. Pleasure shoots down your spine causing your body to shake softly, biting down on your lip you snake your other hand up to his hair pulling at the roots.

Hangman uses his free hand to grab something from his pocket, “You know Darlin’, you dropped something yesterday,” he whispers into your ear. “I didn’t think much of it, so I picked it up. But there’s something curious about this lipstick container,” fucking hell, there’s no way I dropped it here. You think to yourself while trying to stay focused on his words.

“You can imagine my shock when I opened it and..” he takes the cap off, sliding the base to the side, the dreaded quiet vibration filling your ears. He smirks against your neck as he begins peppering kisses against the warm sensitive skin.

“Fuck,” Jakes movements were overwhelming, giving you zero opportunity to come up with an excuse, “I can totally explain why I have that,” your hole pulses around air, grasping for some sort of friction.

He presses the tip of the vibrator against the spot he's been massaging, swirling it around in steady circles while keeping a consistent rough pressure. “Jake,” you pant out his name, moaning into his ear.

“Is my pretty girl close?” he uses his free hand to knead one of your breasts through your shirt, you nod against his shoulder, “You’re so naughty, do you like that Rooster could walk in at any minute and see how good I make you feel?” he tightens his jaw at his mention of your chaotic friend.

You squeeze your legs tight around his hand, feeling close to your climax. He spreads your legs with one hand and his knee, “You’re being so good for me Darling, don’t disappoint me now,” he bites down on your neck softly. Jake increases the amount of pressure he’s using, causing waves of euphoria from your head to your toes.

Soft moans spill from your lips, your toes curling as the knot in your stomach snaps, Jake pulls your chin to move your lips against his. Your lips mesh passionately as he keeps pushing your orgasm, eyebrows scrunching together as overwhelming pleasure fills your body, like a warm cup of hot cocoa after a long time in the snow.

“Good girl, Darling you’re so good for me,” he whispers against your ear, he begins wiping up the warm liquid with a handkerchief from his pocket. “We need to get you cleaned up before anyone notices how long we’ve been gone for.” Jake kisses down your neck before pushing you up off his lap.

#jake seresin #jake seresin smut #top gun maverick smut #top gun hangman #top gun hangman smut #jake hangman seresin #hangman imagine #hangman seresin x reader #hangman x you #hangman x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin x y/n #jake seresin x you #top gun smut #hangman smut #smut

[ladywaffles]

humpback whales

mavdad + whales: a discord prompt written for @nicejobkid

So here’s the thing.

Bradley Bradshaw was all of eighteen years old with a head full of exactly jackshit nothing when he left Maverick and Iceman’s house on the end of the street. He didn’t know a goddamn thing about being an adult, even if he claimed otherwise. He left behind an entire life: baby pictures and journals and reels of home videos.

He really did think leaving was the only choice he had. In hindsight, it’s the dumbest thing he’s ever done.

On the one hand, he knew it would be fine. The Navy always provides. He got three square meals a day at Basic and an annual physical that he always aced, thanks to a lifetime of playing baseball and racing Maverick around the diamond. His old man had no right sprinting that fast.

But then there’s the other hand: the calendar of shots and immunizations a teenage boy going off to college required, the yearly appointments with an optometrist, a dermatologist, and most crucially of all, a dentist.

Bradley, Iceman always said, was blessed in that he didn’t take after either Goose or Maverick, both of whom had terrible teeth. Their x-rays were surely some kind of dental case study in a textbook somewhere. But Bradley had taken after his mother and Iceman, in this regard: his teeth all came in like ducks in a row, pearly white like ivory piano keys.

Maybe it was just bad timing, maybe it was because his teeth were just that good, but when he enlisted, no one bothered to ask Ensign Bradshaw if he’d ever had his wisdom teeth out.

So fifteen years later, with a toothache so bad it’s finally driven him to the clinic—and isn’t that embarrassing, to survive Maverick Mitchell’s particular brand of insanity, an ejection out of an F-18, a dogfight in a jet that had no business being in the air, and a (controlled!) crash landing, only to be done in by a goddamn toothache—Lieutenant Bradley Bradshaw, aged thirty-four, with his newly re-acquired father in tow, has his wisdom teeth removed.

They don’t hook him up with an IV, thank goodness. Instead, they give Maverick a packet of pills to make Bradley take an hour before surgery that will supposedly knock him out for the duration.

As a member of the F-18 Ejection Club, Bradley’s been on the good shit for the past few months. He has sincere doubts about these pills.

“Bottoms up, kiddo,” Maverick tells him, pushing the pills towards him with a cup of coffee. It’s the same mug he gave Maverick for Father’s Day when he was ten years old.

“You’re the worst,” Bradley says, swallowing the pills in one go with a scalding hot gulp.

Later, Maverick will laugh at him over the dinner table as he recounts to Ice what exactly happened when Bradley had his wisdom teeth out. (He really shouldn’t have doubted those pills.)

The meds hit about fifteen minutes after he takes them. It falls to Maverick, all five-foot-and-change of him, to wrangle six-foot-oh of Bradley into the Bronco, strap him in, and haul him back out into the dentist’s office. He vaguely remembers being wheeled into one of the surgery rooms and led to sit on the chair, falling asleep, and then waking up to the dentist telling him they’d finished taking his teeth and they just needed to stitch him up.

He immediately bursts into tears—he hates stitches more than anything—and then conks straight out again.

He doesn’t really remember getting home, only that the next time he wakes up, he’s back in Maverick and Ice’s house, laid out on the couch. Maverick is whistling in the kitchen. He’d covered Bradley with an old blanket. A smart move on his part; Bradley drooled on it in his sleep.

Maverick comes back into the room with two bowls of very boring chicken broth.

“Good morning!” he teases. “I didn’t know you were such a lightweight, ducky!”

“Yuh’re de wurst,” Bradley gums through the cotton gauze in his mouth.

Mav hands him a bowl and a spoon. The broth is barely hot. Gross. He looks up at Maverick with the same baleful expression he used to get dessert before dinner as a kid, but Maverick just laughs at him.

“No dice here, Brads. You’re not getting anything hotter, unless you wanna get your stitches replaced.”

Bradley rolls his eyes and slurps his lukewarm soup.

Maverick flips on the TV. He turns on a nature documentary on humpback whales, then kicks his feet up onto the coffee table, the exact way that Bradley knows Ice doesn’t let him.

He can see straight through Maverick. It’s the same routine he used to do when Bradley would stay home from school sick. Animal Planet never failed to knock him out. It was more effective than anything else at getting him to sleep.

But this time, Bradley finds himself staying awake as he watches this otherwise ordinary whale documentary with Maverick sitting next to him on the couch. He’s an adult now, but Maverick is treating him as if no time has passed. There’s no resentment, no blame, for all the pain he’d caused his father.

He missed moments like this, in the years they spent apart. He’d almost forgotten how nice it was to have someone to care for you.

In the end, Bradley stays awake for the whole movie. It’s Maverick who falls asleep, his head lolling to the side to rest on Bradley’s shoulder. It’s not such a bad place to be, Bradley thinks to himself, trapped on a cozy couch with his dad.

He hits play on the documentary again and settles in closer to Maverick. The whales are pretty cool, after all.

#top gun #pete maverick mitchell #bradley rooster bradshaw #lamby.prompt

[juniperwoodwell]

Master list

Disclaimer: I only do Gn or Female for X reader, I don't do OCs.

I will write smut but I will not take requests for it.

Request's are open.

I take Plots,prompts, dialogue prompts,etc. Anything your imaginative minds can think of.

•Prompt List

ADCU

•Prompt Exchange with @kylowritten

•ADCU prompt list

•Kylo Ren / Ben Solo

•Favorite Distraction°

•Pen and Paper°

•Domesticated°

•Dedication Masterlist°

•Flip Zimmerman

•Proud

•Adam Sackler

•Phillip Altman

• Reunion pt.1

•Ren/Zimmerman/Sackler/Altman

•How ADCU character's react to an S/O who is insecure.

X-Men

•Charles Xavier

•Oneshots•

•It's a goldfish and cream soda kinda night

•Totally normal morning!?

•Skits(?)•

•Snacks

•Cruel Joke

•Late nights

•Requests•

•Paris

•Erik Lehnsherr

•Love is Complicated

Batman

•Bale!Bruce Wayne

•Presence

LOTR / Hobbit

•Thranduil

•Legolas

Top Gun Maverick

•Bradly "Rooster" Bradshaw

•Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Detroit: Become Human

•Conner RK800

•"Nines" RK900

•"Sixty" RK800 '60

•Markus RK200

Daredevil

•Matthew Murdock "Daredevil"

•Night Terrors (Request)

• And Down We Fall

•Frank Castle "Punisher"

•The Beast Finds Love

9-1-1

•Eddie Diaz

•Thief (part 1)

•Thief (part 2)

•Theif (part 3)

•Theif (part 4)

•Theif (part 5)

Moon Knight

•Steven Grant

•Ducky

•Marc Spector

•Jake Lockley

BBC Merlin

•Arthur

•Merlin

•Gwaine

______________________

Others

•Damon Salvatore

•JJ Maybank (OBX)

______________________

Request's are open

(Gotta think of some more later lol)

#writing #writers on tumblr #fanfic #reader insert #x men x reader #dbh x reader #bale!bruce wayne x reader #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #lotr x reader #hobbit x reader #jj mayback x reader #kylo ren #ben solo #kylo ren x reader

[judeshifts]

name: Jude (OR & Better CR DR), Élise (Parent DR), Scarlett (Ghostbuster DR)

pronouns & gender identity: any pronouns, genderfluid 

main DR(s): Better CR/Fame DR Parent DR

rules: don't be a bigot i'll block u, don't be mean i'll block u, anti-shifters please leave (i'll block u).

currently inactive DRs: Marvel (teenage), Lord of the Rings, YouTuber, Pretty In Pink, Clue, Ghostbusters, The Beatles, Mha (teacher), Mha (student)

active DRs: Better CR/Fame DR, Parent DR, Hobbit DR 1

Possible DRs: Backrooms, Spiderverse, Fame DR, Marauders, Bob's Burgers, Good Omens, Stardew Valley. TADC

inactive DR s/os: Ford Pines, James Kojiro, Ebenezer Scrooge, Rooster Bradshaw, Peter Parker, Pippin Took, Duckie Dale, Wadsworth

current DR s/os: Egon Spengler, David Tennant, Dwalin

possible DR s/os: Hobie Brown, Regulus Black, Calvin Fischoeder, Aziraphale, Elliott

#reality shifting #shifting #shiftblr #shifters #shifting realities #shifting community #reality shift

[queeniewp-29]

Dagger Squad Head canon || Part One

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

Bradley is a theater kid,he done musicals and plays such as Willard Hewitt (footloose), Kenickie Murdoch (Grease), Sky (Mamma Mia), John Proctor (The Crucible), Juror #8 (Twelve angry men ) etc.

Bradley plays baseball from when he’s a kid in Elementary up until his College years, In all honesty he could've made a career out of it if he wasn’t so hell bent on being in the navy.

Bradley got the callsign “Rooster” when he was drunk when he was stationed in Japan and drunkenly decided to do a Rooster call on a roof early in the morning unfortunately it was his boss roof who was telling him to knock it off. Hench people started calling him Rooster, his original call sign was little goose.

Bradley has a stuffed duck that he calls him duckie . He has had it since he was a baby.

Bradley knows how to speak multiple languages because of his job as a navy. His languages are mandarin, spanish, italian, chinese etc.

Bradley hated hospitals which really didn’t hold really any good memories until his daughter Elizabeth was born.

Bradley would have laughed if you had told him that he and hangman would become friends, let alone him being his best man and godfather of his daughter.

Bradley knows how to play all types of instruments, the first instrument he knows how to play is piano.

Bradley's favorite color is Blue.

Bradley’s favorite childhood movies are the Aristocats, Oliver and company, Treasure Planet, and The Rescuers.

Bradley’s favorite Disney cartoon shows are The Replacement, Proud Family, The Emperor's new school etc.

Daggers Squad headcanons part 1

#top gun maverick #top gun headcanons #bradley rooster bradshaw

[sarahsmi13s]

Duckie

Chapter 8

pairing: bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw x twin sister!reader; jake ‘hangman’ seresin x bradshaw!reader

characters: y/n bradshaw, nick bradshaw, jake seresin, bradley bradshaw (mentioned) penny benjamin (mentioned), hayden kazansky, serenity hart (hayden’s gf and nick’s baby sitter), random booth workers

word count: ~6.3k 

warnings: extremely fluffy, jake being domestic and sweet, nicky being an adorable child, mentions of deployment, just a very very fluffy chapter, mentions of food and desserts, the use of the word ‘smile’ a lot, let me know if i missed any

a/n: i am so sorry it’s been nearly two months since the last update, i got bogged down with school and summer classes, i ended up writing a whole new chapter to dive more into jake and duckie

so despite the wait, i hope you like it

series summary: daughter of goose and carole and twin sister to bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw, y/n bradshaw also got her papers pulled when she tried to enlist in the Navy. which turned out to not be as bad as she thought.

chapter summary: jake as spent weeks trying to get to know nick and duckie, hoping to show her that he was willing to be there for both of them. duckie can see that and she wants to face her fears and dip her toe in the water. so during a morning at the beach that jake stumbled upon, she asks him to go to a farmer’s market with her

duckie universe

ch 7  ch 9

*************

For the next few days, that turned into weeks, Jake talked to you, getting to know you and your son; and both of you getting to know him in return.

He sometimes caught you and Nick at the picnic table and he would go outside, ignoring his friends’ teasing as he did. He then talked exclusively to Nick, getting the kid to laugh and would occasionally catch you watching him. 

Jake really wanted to win you over and show you that he was all in, that he wanted to love you and your son.

And you could see that.

********

You, Jake, and Nick were on the beach, sitting on towels and facing each other as Nick sat in between your legs and played in the sand. “So, you run on the beach on your days off?” You asked, replying sunscreen to Nick’s arms and back. Jake nodded and took a sip from the water you had given him, “Yeah, it’s nice. You know, run a few miles, cool off in the ocean, run half the distance and do a cool down walk the last half.” 

“And I assume you like the added difficulty because of the sand. You seem to like to challenge yourself.” Jake chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, yeah, I do like to challenge myself.” 

You smiled and put the sunscreen away, “Challenge paves the way for change and can make you better. If you know you can do something, you aren’t really challenging yourself are you?”

Jake’s smile matched yours, “No, no you aren’t. But mental challenges and physical challenges are different. Like I know-” He pointed to his head, “-that I can run 8 miles. I’ve done it before, I know I can do it. But is my body going to let me or is it going to try and stop me from finishing my run.”

Before you can speak, Nick gasped as he dug in the sand.

“What did you find bubba?” Jake asked immediately with interested eyes. 

You smiled and looked down at Nick’s hands as he held a shell in them. “That’s so cool Nicky!” You said as he showed Jake.

“Look Han’man, a shell!” Jake grinned and held his hand out, “That so neat! Can I hold it?” Nick nodded and put the shell in Jake’s much larger hand, turning what looked like a big shell into a normal sized, or even small, shell.

Nick giggled as Jake carefully held the shell. You played with Nick’s blond hair, “You gonna add it to your collection bubba?” “Can I, Mama?” He asked, looking up at you hopefully. “Of course sweetheart.” 

“Oh, wait, hold on…” Jake objected gently. “I don’t think you can add this one Nicky.” 

The toddler turned to Jake, pouting, “But.. why?” 

Jake felt his heart twist at the pout on the little boy’s face, tears threatening his teal eyes. He didn’t like it when kids cried, especially if he’s the reason.

But he saw this as a learning moment for the 3 year-old. 

“Well, come take a look Nicky,” Jake said as he shifted and Nick scooted closer. “Look in there, do you see it?” 

Nick tilted his head and leaned in closer to the shell in the pilot’s hands. You leaned as well, curious as to what Jake was talking about. 

That’s when you saw the little legs and pinchers curled up inside the shell’s opening. “Oooh, I see. Do you see it baby?” You rubbed Nick’s arms as he looked closer and huffed, “I don’t see anything!”

Then the little hermit crab peaked its head out and started to walk around on Jake’s palm.

Nick squealed and got in your lap, a little scared by the new creature. “It’s okay Nicky. It won’t hurt you,” you reassured him. “What is it?” Nick asked in a hushed whisper, leaning a little closer and becoming more intrigued.

“It’s called a hermit crab,” Jake explained. “Hermit cwab?” Jake nodded, “Yeah, they like to hide in their shells and be alone sometimes. And something that’s really cool is that they get new shells when they outgrow their old ones.”

“Ooooo,” Nick awed as he looked even closer at the little crab.

You smiled as Jake continued to talk to Nick about the sea life in his hand.

Nick loved the water and the beach. He loved to collect shells and give them to people on their birthdays or when he thought they looked sad, because shells made him happy and he figured they would make other people happy too. He loved marine life too, turtles and sharks mostly. But you now had a feeling hermit crabs would be added to the list.

“So, since hermit crabs make some types of shells their homes. You always need to check and make sure that the shell is empty before you take it home,” Jake told your son as he sat the little hermit in the sand and watched it scurry off.

Nick nodded curtly and saluted Jake, “Aye aye, Capan Han’man!” Jake grinned and saluted back. Nick ran over in the hermit and squatted down to watch it scurry and dig in the sand, making you and Jake fall into a fit of giggles.

You calmed down and smiled at Jake again, admiring the way the morning sun made his hair shine and the sweat made his skin glow like Adonis.

“Um, there’s a farmers market just downtown this weekend. Would you want to…” You trailed off feeling a little forward for asking and anticipating the turn down.

But Jake looked at you curiously, wanting you to finish your question.

You smiled nervously and started to lift sand into your hand before letting it fall through your fingers. “Would you want to go with me?”

“It’s totally okay if you don’t! I’m sure you have plans or want to spend time with your pilot buddies. I just wanted to offer,” you spat out after your question before Jake could answer.

You braced yourself for the sympathetic smile before the decline of your offer, but all you received was a genuine smile with a nonchalant shrug. “Sure, sounds like fun,” he smiled at you, his green eyes shining before he covered them with his sunglasses.

Smiling, you let out a relaxed breath before looking back at your son.

“Hey Nicky wanna get in the water now?”

He nodded vigorously, “Yes Mama!”

****

As the morning turned into afternoon, the forecasted rain clouds rolled in.

“I think that’s our cue,” Jake chuckled as he pointed at the sky. He needed to get back to his room and study, since they had to take the day because of the weather, but he loved hanging out with you and Nick and really didn’t want it to end.

“I think our cue was Nick getting fussy at the sand on his feet. He got really tired after lunch, and all the playing and sand castles. So thank you for that, Jake,” you smiled as you started to pack up.

He smiled and helped you, “My pleasure, I’m sure he’ll go down easy for a nap.” You nodded, “Oh he will. As soon as I get him in the bath, I’m sure he’ll be falling asleep.”

Once everything was packed, you slipped your swimsuit cover back on.

“That’s a really nice color on you by the way,” Jake complimented as he shook out your towel and folded it before repeating the process with the other.

You looked down at your yellow cover up and smiled, “Thank you!” He smiled before picking up what he could hold, “You’re welcome. But I mean, you look good in about every color I’ve seen you in.. but yellow just really makes you glow.”

The heat that warmed your cheeks went deeper than the sunburn as you giggled a little.

“This was my mom’s actually. She loved the color yellow,” you smiled as you smoothed over the dress. Jake smiled, “She’s got good taste.”

You smiled wider before unlocking your car. “You can just put it in the back, I’ll be there in just a second.” Jake nodded, “Yes ma’am.” He smirked at the lip bite you tried to hide as you turned around.

“Nicky! Come on bubba, we gotta go home.”

Nick stomped his little foot, “Wanna stay!”

You crossed your arms, “Nick, we gotta go. It’s gonna rain.” He continued to play in the sand, “I like rain Mama.”

You sighed and hung your head before going to him. 

“Okay, you get two options,” you held up two fingers. “We go home and we can have a movie day for the rest of the day. Or we go home and we can read by the window. But we are going home, it’s not safe to be on the beach in a storm.”

He pouted and continued to dig in the sand, “Don’t wanna go home…”

You knelt in the sand and gently made him look at you, “Why don’t you wanna go home?” “My hermit cwab…” Nick said, tears pooling as his lip quivered.

“Oooh,” you nodded, realizing why he was so upset. “You don’t wanna leave your buddy, do you?” He shook his head and sniffled, “Wanna take him home…”

You sighed. You understood how he felt. When you were his age, maybe younger, you watched ducklings in a pond at the park and when one let you pick it up, you didn’t want to put it down.

Then your parents told you that you had to leave the park, you cried and cried because you didn’t want to leave your new friend. But your dad found a way to make you feel a bit better.

“Hey, Nicky?” He wiped his eyes as he sniffled and looked at you. “How about I take a picture of you and your hermit crab? That way you have him with you?”

His eyes lit up, “Reawy?” You nodded and pulled out your dad’s polaroid that you had brought with you, “Yeah bub, let’s find him.”

You and Nick dug in the sand for a little bit and you found the little crab. “I found him bubba!” Nick gasped and giggled, “Bootles!”

Your brow furrowed as you laughed, “Bootles?” Nick nodded, “His name is Bootles!” You smiled, “That’s a very good name baby.”

“Okay, hold your hands out. And remember, be gentle,” you instructed as you placed the small crab in his hands. “Okay, say hermit crab!”

“Hermit cwaaaaab!”

He grinned and held the crab by his face as you snapped the photo.

You pulled out your phone and snapped a few more photos while the polaroid developed. “Okay baby, we need to head home.”

Nick nodded, “Bye Bootles!” He placed a little kiss to the shell before sitting the crab down and watching the creature scurry off.

He ran over to you as you put the camera away and looked at the developed photo, “Let’s go home Mama.” You smiled, “Alright baby.”

You smiled at the photo and put it in your bag before standing and holding your hand out, “C’mon Nicky.” He pouted a bit before making grabby hands at you, “Don’ wanna walk.” You sighed and rolled your eyes playfully, “Okay baby.” You grunted a little as you picked him up, “Let’s go home.”

Adjusting your bag, you trekked up the sand back to your vehicle, keeping Nick up on your hip.

By the time you get to your car, Nick was fast asleep on your shoulder.

“Little man all tuckered out?” Jake asked as he put the last of your things in the back of your vehicle.

You giggled, “Yes, very tuckered out. I’m really considering just a movie so he can sleep through it.” Jake smiled and opened the back door for you, “That way you can have a nap too.”

“Oh no, I have so much to do today,” you said as you put Nick in his carseat. Jake nodded, “So, this was your desired outcome?”

You looked at him over your shoulder and giggled a bit, “Is that bad?” 

Jake shook his head as he gently shut the door, “No, it’s strategic. Take him to the beach, tucker the little guy out, get home and make sure he’s asleep, and then boom, you’ve got him out of your hair for a little bit to do what you need to do.”

“I feel like he might catch on eventually, but I will milk this strategy until then,” you laughed as you got in the driver’s seat. Jake laughed as well as he leaned on the top of the car and the door, “A mama’s gotta do what a mama’s gotta do.”

You smiled and nodded, looking at Nick sleeping in the rearview mirror.

Looking back up at Jake, you found him already smiling at you. “Thank you for today Jake,” you said softly, your cheeks heating up a bit. “Nick had a lot of fun.”

“What about you?” Jake asked, with a hint of hopefulness in his tone.

You nodded. You had had fun today, Jake was making you laugh and blush, and you started feeling something you hadn’t felt in years.

And if you were completely honest, it was starting to scare you. But there was just something about this that you couldn’t let go of; no matter how scared you were. However, you had to go slow and be careful, for both the sake of your heart and the sake of your son’s heart.

“I had a lot of fun today Jake. Thank you,” you smiled up at him. “Though, I am sorry that you had to stop your run.”

He shook his head, “Don’t worry about that. I can go to the gym on base and hit the treadmill. Maybe the stairmaster.”

You giggled, “Well, I hope you have fun with that.”

“What time should I pick you up this weekend?”

You blinked at him confused for a second before you remembered, “Oh right right! Um, does 0830 sound good?” He nodded and smiled, “Sounds perfect. I’ll see you then.”

“Here let me get you my address,” you said before digging in the console for a pen and sticky notes.

Once you found them and wrote down your address, you gave the sticky note to Jake.

“I’ll see you then?” Jake nodded and smiled, “See you then.”

You nodded back and smiled, “Alright, have a good rest of your day Lieutenant.” “You too, mama.”

He closed your door and watched you drive off before looking down at the yellow sticky note, “I need to find out what flowers she likes…”

**********

A few days later you’re getting ready for your trip to the farmer’s market with Jake.

Now this wasn’t a date, no not at all. Just an outing between friends. Time for you to get to know Jake when he wasn’t around Nick. But it was not a date.

****

You applied your mascara in the floor length mirror in your room, humming a song to yourself as you did so.

“Maaamaaa?” Your toddler called from your bed.

“Yeees Nicky?” You asked as you screwed the lid back onto your mascara.

“Why can’t I go wiff you and Han’man?” He asked as he bounced on your bed.

You sighed a bit and caught him, “Because, mama and Hangman are going to be walking about in the heat and sweating, it wouldn’t be fun for you baby.” You grinned and began to tickle him, “I think Hayden and Serenity have a lot of fun things planned for today.”

He giggled and curled up to escape your hands, “Ah! Mama!” You laughed and continued to tickle him as he flopped onto the bed. You kissed all over his face, “Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!”

You pulled back and took a breath, “Okay baby, Mama has to finish getting ready.” Nick giggled and starfished in the middle of the bed and you went to your bathroom. “You wanna help mama brush her hair?”

Nick nodded, “Yeah!” He rolled onto his stomach and slid into the floor before going into the bathroom.

****

“Duckie, you look good. You sure this isn’t a date?”

“Yes, Hayden, I’m very sure this isn’t a date. I actually have a list of things to look for,” you said, matter of factly.

Hayden put his hands up, “Okay, okay… But I mean you look-” “Hayden, you’re pressing,” Serenity said as she played with Nick.

“Right, sorry. But still, you look great, Duckie.”

You smiled and ruffled his hair, “Thank you Hayden.” You slipped on your shoes and clipped your hair up with a claw clip.

“Okay, I’ve still got fifteen min-” Your sentence is cut short by tires in your driveway. You chuckled, “Military man, should have guessed he’d be early.”

You waited for a honk or something but one never came.

But, then there was a gentle knock on your door.

Your heart rate elevated and you couldn’t hide the grin as you went to open the door.

“Jake,” you said a little breathlessly, smiling as you took in his appearance.

His blond hair wasn’t gelled, allowing it to fluff and rest against his forehead. The green checkered shirt he was wearing matched his eyes and showed off his biceps and tanned arms. His light wash jeans hugged the tops of his thighs but were loose the rest of the way down and bunched around his ankles, brandishing his brown cowboy boots with the contrast.

“You look… good,” you smiled, eyes trailing back up to his eyes.

He chuckled, smiling to show off his forming smile lines, “So do you, Y/N.”

You felt the heat on your face as you bit your lip and looked at your shoes bashfully

“Han’man?”

You turned as Jake looked around you and inside.

“Nicky, hey buddy,” Jake smiled as Nick ran over. Nick wrapped his arms around Jake’s leg, “G’moorrnniing!”

Jake squatted down to give him a proper hug, “Good mornin’ little man!” 

Nick put his hands on Jake’s shoulders, “Have fun wiff Mama today! I not going cause Mama said I would get too hot and I wouldn’t have fun. So, I’m playing with Hay and Ren today!”

“Well that sounds fun, and I promise your mom and I will have fun. I’ll make sure she gets home safe.”

Nick nodded before running back to the living room as Jake stood back up.

You smiled and looked at the floor before looking up at Jake, catching the flowers in his hand. “You-you brought me flowers?”

He furrowed his brow before looking at the bouquet in his hand, “Oh! Yeah, yeah, I did. I hope that’s okay. I know this isn’t r-really a date, but-”

“Jake, Jake!” He looked back up at you and you smiled softly, “They’re lovely, thank you.” You gently took them from him, your hands brushing together and making you both blush.

“Would you like to come in for some coffee? We’ve got about thirteen minutes before we need to leave,” you offered, holding the flowers to your chest. He smiled, “Sure, that sounds great. Thank you.” You smiled and led him into your home, “Kitchen’s this way.”

“Where do you keep your vases?” Jake asked once you got to the kitchen. “Oh, um, I think they’re under the sink.” Jake nodded and looked under the sink, “Ah-ha! Gotcha!”

He stood up, “This one okay?” You turned from the drawer you were digging in to see the tall mason jar. “Oh yeah that’s perfect.” He nodded and stood to rinse it out and filled it before sitting it on the island.

“Thank you, Jake,” you said as you smiled, putting the cut stems into the water.

You turned to the cabinet, “Iced coffee or hot coffee?” “Hot if you got it.” You nodded and grabbed a mug and poured him a cup.

“Here you go, there’s sugar and dry creamer, liquid creamer is in the fridge, if you want it,” you told him before grabbing your mason jar glass and opening the fridge.

He thanked you before adding a little bit of sugar. “So, have they done this farmer’s market before? Or is this like a new thing?”

“Oh they’ve done it before, started back when I was a kid. They took off for a while, started it back up a few years ago. Actually the year before I moved back.”

He nodded and sipped his coffee as you sirred yours.

“And a lot of the booths are military families.”

“Oh really? That’s cool.”

“I think there’s a care package booth too. They… They um,” you smiled a little to yourself. “They put it together right there in front of you. My mom would get one made for my uncle every year if he was deployed when we went.”

Jake smiled, “You said your brother was on deployment right?” You nodded back, “Mhmm.” “Well we need to make sure we stop by that booth.”

You looked up at him, “Wait really?” He nodded and sat his mug down, “Of course. I can tell that you and your brother are close, even though I may or may not know him.”

You snorted a bit, “Right, I haven’t told you about him. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t ask Penny about him.” He crossed his arms and shrugged, “I won’t lie, I did want to ask. Buuuut, I figured you’ll tell me when you want me to know. I’m not entitled to that information.”

And there were the butterflies again.

Yeah, he did the bare minimum and didn’t try to find out more about you through other people. But the fact he was willing to admit it and be upfront with you was something you really liked, especially after being with Chad.

“Thank you,” you said before sipping your coffee. Maybe today you should tell him; just let him know in case there is any tension between them and if that’s a turn off to being friends, or more.

“Of course.”

You both smiled and continued to drink your coffee and talk for the next fifteen-ish minutes.

“We should probably get going, it opens at 0900 and it takes about 30-45 minutes to get there,” you said when you noticed the time on the microwave.

Jake nodded and rinsed his cup out, “Where do you want this?” You blinked for a second, a little surprised he didn’t just leave it in the sink. “Oh um,” you checked the dishwasher and saw that it was full. “You can just leave it in the sink, I’ll wash it when I get home.”

“Nonsense,” he waved you off and pointed to your glass. “Are you done?” You looked down, “Oh yeah.” You dumped out the ice and put the jar in the basin, “I’ll wash it. It’s not a big deal.”

Jake ignored you and grabbed the rag. “Jake, you don’t have to do that.” “It’s not a problem. You invited me in for coffee, it’s the least I could do. And plus, it’s two dishes.”

You smiled gently at him, “Thank you.” He smiled back and watched you go to the living area.

“Nick, come give Mama a hug.”

****

You and Jake walked past the booths, laughing and stopping when you see something that is on your list.

“Hey, isn’t honey on your list?” Jake asked, stopping as he saw a table full of jars of honey. You hummed and looked down at your list. “Oh, yes! Yes it is.”

Jake smiled as you came over, smiling as you looked at the jars.

“Hi, how can I help you?” The lady behind the table asked with a sweet smile.

Jake watched you smile back, just as sweet. “Hi, I was just wondering what flavors you had?” “Oh we have regular, orange blossom, and lemon honey syrup.”

You bit your lip, “Man, I want all of them..” You looked down at your list. “Okay, I’ll take a pint of regular honey and the lemon honey syrup.” She smiled and grabbed the two, “Is that all?” You nodded and pulled out your wallet, “Yes, for now, I may swing by before we leave.”

She nodded as she wrapped them in tissue paper before putting them in a little crate then into a paper bag.

“That’ll be twelve dollars.” You smiled and handed her the cash, “There you go.”

“Thank you, you two have a good day.” “You too thank you.”

You looked back at your list, “Fruits are next and then care package and then roam the crafts.” Jake chuckled and nodded, “Okay, I’ll catch up in a second.”

You smiled at him, “Alright.”  You thank the lady again before walking away to the fruit stands.

Jake watched you walk away before turning to the table. “Can I get you anything sir?” “Yes,” he smiled and took out his cash, “I will take two pints of the orange blossom.”

The woman gave him a slightly knowing smile as she did what she did with yours. “Twelve dollars.”

He smiled again and gave her fifteen, “Here ya go ma’am, keep the change.” She smiled as Jake walked away, “Thank you, have a good day!”

Jake found you at a peach stand, “Peaches?”

Your head whipped up and you smiled at him, “Nick loves them, his dad loved them too.” Jake smiled as he saw that glimmer of love in your eye.

You and Jake held eye contact for a moment, just looking at each other with smiles on your faces.

A baby giggling in the booth next to you knocked you both out of your trance.

Jake jumped a bit and shook it off, “Wha-what do you make with the peaches?”

You giggled and picked through the peaches, “My mom had a cobbler recipe that I love and Nick likes it too. I’ll juice them and make tea. Then other times we just eat them.”

“My grandma makes amazing peach cobbler,” his eyes trailed to the apple stand. “Her apple pie however, is what she’s known for.”

You smiled at him, “So are apples your favorite?” He chuckled and shook his head, “No actually. I love oranges. Always have.”

“Any desserts your mom makes with them?” Jake nodded with a huge smile, “She makes a loaf cake, it’s amazing.” You smiled, “That sounds delicious.”

“I’ll have to make it for you sometime.” You nodded and finished picking out your peaches and giving them to the woman to weigh, “I would like that.”

“Thank you,” you said as you traded eight dollars for the fruit. “Okay, just a few more booths. Then we can go to lunch.”

Jake nodded, “We can check out the food trucks.” “Oh, yeah! But if we get snow cones we can’t tell Nick… or Hayden.” You and Jake laughed as he made a zipper motion over his lips, “My lips are sealed.”

You nodded, “Thank you.” You grabbed his hand, “C’mon let’s go.” He grinned as you pulled him along, fruit stand to fruit stand.

****

“Okay, let’s go get that care-”

“Miss Bradshaw!”

You turned over your shoulder, “Oh Cheyenne! Hi, how are you?” “Good, I’m good. How are you?” You nodded and smiled as you walked over to her booth, Jake right behind you, “I’m good, Cheyenne.”

“Nicky not with you today?” She asked as she stood up. “Oh no, he’s with Hayden and Serenity today. He would have gotten too hot or run around.” She nodded, “I can understand that. Max is the same way. Except he’s seven.”

You and Jake laughed as she huffed with a grin, “Which is why he is at our dad’s house today.”

Then Cheyenne noticed Jake, “Ohh, who is this?” You blushed and looked up at him, “This-This is um, Jake. He’s a pilot for the Navy.” She nodded, “Oh, and he’s your friend right?” Her emphasis on ‘friend’ making you and Jake blush.

You and Jake looked down at the table. “Oh, did you make these?” Jake asked, trying to change the subject. 

“I did, and Miss. Bradshaw, I made this for you to send to Bradley.” She held out a crocheted rooster to you. “Oh my goodness, Cheyenne! It’s so cute, he’s gonna love it. Thank you!”

She smiled, “You’re welcome.” You looked up at her, “How much do I owe you?” “Oh, no, Miss. Bradshaw, it’s free.” “Are you sure? You must have spent days on this.” She nodded, “I’m sure.”

You smiled at her again, “Thank you.” Cheyenne nodded back with a smile.

You looked down at the table and saw something, “Awe Nick would love that… but he has so many stuffed animals already.” You bit your lip and bounced on your toes.

After the internal argument you groaned. You wanted to get it for him but you still needed to get Bradley’s care package squared away. “I’ll come back and see if it’s still here.”

Jake watched you walk away and looked at the table. “I think you know what I’m about to ask.”

She laughed, “For little Nick Bradshaw? Five dollars.” “No, don’t do that. How much, actually?” “Ten.” He nodded, “That’s better.” He held out a ten and she put the crocheted animal in a bag.

“Here you go Jake.” “Thank you, have a good day,” he smiled and walked toward the care package booth.

“Jake?” Cheyenne said as she came up to him.

“Yes?”

“She likes you. A lot. I can tell in the way she looks at you.”

Jake smiled and looked over at you, “I like her a lot too.” Cheyenne smiled and nodded before going back to her booth.

He chuckled and shook his head, his heart feeling a little lighter that he wasn’t seeing things when you looked at him.

He made it to the booth as you were finishing up.

“Bradley is going to love this, Y/N!” You nodded with a smile, “I know and can you put this in there? It’s from Nick.” “Oh of course, I bet Rooster loves getting these shells from his nephew.” You smiled again, “Yeah, he sends some back from Virginia Beach sometimes. Or wherever they’ve docked.”

The woman behind the table smiled, “That’s so sweet. Let me get this totalled up for you, I’ll be right back.”

You nodded and turned as you saw Jake approach.

“Got it all sorted?” You nodded, “Sure did.”

He smiled down at you, his hand moving to rest on your lower back, but he forced it down. “So, roaming the crafts is next?”

You nodded, “Yes! And then lunch.” “Sounds fantastic,” he grinned at you as you smiled up at him.

“Thank you for coming with me today Jake.”

“Of course, I’m having a lot of fun actually.”

You nodded and smiled wider to match his smile, “I’m having a lot of fun too.”

****

“Okay I have a question,” Jake proposed as he sat down with his burger and fries.

You froze a bit, before nodding as you sat next to him, “What’s up?”

“Well, it’s not so much of a question as it is like a statement that could wind up being a question,” he rambled with a fry in his hand.

You giggled, “What is it, Jake?”

“I think I know your brother.” You stayed silent but nodded. “Now here’s the question, is it Bradley Bradshaw, a.k.a Rooster?”

You sighed and nodded, “Yeah, that’s my brother.”

He nodded, “We were in flight school together.” “Really?” He nodded again and took a bite of his burger, “He wasn’t the biggest fan of me to be honest.”

You shifted a little as you brushed salt off your pretzel, “Oh…” You cleared your throat, “Does that- does that change-” You point between you and Jake, “This?”

“No, no not at all. I don’t care how your brother feels about me, I care about how you feel about me.”

You nodded again and opened your mouth to speak but he continued.

“And I totally understand if his opinion matters to you and you-”

“Jake, stop.” You cut him off and held your hands up, making him stop talking. “Take a breath.” He nodded and inhaled.

You giggled, “Okay, now yes, my brother’s opinion matters to me. But I’m also a big girl and can make my own choices. From what I’ve seen, from what you’ve shown me, you’re a good guy, Jake. A great guy. That matters more.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Jake, in flight school, you and my brother were basically rivals. No one is a fan of their rival.”

“I guess that’s true,” Jake smiled.

“And as long as you two don’t fight in front of my son and keep the jabs and smartass comments to a minimum around me, I think we can make it work.”

He nodded, “For you, I can do that.”

You smiled and nodded, “Good. Now let’s eat.”

****

Jake parked his truck in your driveway, “Let me walk you to the door.”

You smiled and unbuckled, the door opening as your hand reached for the handle. “Thank you Jake.” “Of course.”

You grabbed your bags and Jake walked with you to the door.

You sat your bags down and pulled out your keys.

“Is that a duck key chain?” Jake asked, his head tilted with a smile gracing his lips. You nodded and smiled at him, “Yes, it is.” He held it in his hand, a small twinkle in his eye, “It’s adorable.”

“Thank you, my uh… my nickname has been Duckie ever since I was two. My dad had gotten me a duck stuffed animal and I would not let go of that thing,” you said with a light laugh.

Jake smiled at you, “That’s really sweet.” You nodded and unlocked your door.

You opened it and turned back to Jake, “I had fun today.” He blushed and smiled, “I had fun today too.”

“Mama!”

You and Jake looked down as Nick ran to you.

You bend down and pick him up, “Nicky baby! Did you have fun with Hayden and Serenity today?” He nodded and looked at Jake, “I did Mama! Did you and Han’man have fun?”

Jake chuckled and tickled Nick’s ribs, “We did little man! And I brought you something back.”

Nick gasped and your brow furrowed as Jake pulled something out of the bag you hadn’t realized he was holding.

Your jaw dropped when he pulled out the crocheted manta ray with a little cowboy hat; the one you saw and wanted to get Nick but was gone when you had gone back by the table.

“Jake-”

“That’s for me?” Nick gasped as Jake nodded and smiled. “It is Nick!” “I wove it! Thank you Han’man!” Nick stretched out of your arms to hug Jake, which Jake gladly did with his free arm. “You’re welcome, Nicky.”

Jake put him down and Nick looked up at you, “I’m gonna put this on my bed, Mama! With my turtle!” You smiled and ran a hand through his curls, “Alright baby, have you had lunch yet?” He nodded, “Okay. I’ll be in in a minute and we can Octopus.” “Okay!”

You and Jake chuckled as he ran in and to his bedroom.

You looked up at Jake, “Jake, you didn’t have to get that for him.” He nodded and looked at the bag, “I know I didn’t. But I wanted to.”

“Well, thank you Jake. He’s gonna cherish that little cowboy manta ray.” Jake blushed and looked through the door, “You think so?” “He’s putting it on his bed with his turtle, the turtle his dad had when he was a kid,” you said, tearing up slightly as you smiled.

Jake’s heart clenched at your tears but it fluttered because Nick thought of him so highly.

“So yeah, I think he’ll cherish it,” you smiled softly as you messed with his shirt a little.

“I got you something too,” he said as he reached into the bag and pulled out the jar of orange blossom honey.

You smiled and took the jar gently, “Jake…” 

“You said you wanted to get all of them, and I wanted to get some orange blossom honey-” You looked up at him, the smile still on your face, “‘Cause you love oranges.” He nodded, a smile matching yours, “Yeah, and I really think you’ll like it.”

“Thank you, Jake. And it’s a good thing I went back to that booth, cause I remember you asking about the syrup…” You pulled out the jar, “So I got you some.”

He took the jar and smiled, “Thank you, Y/N.” You nodded, “You’re welcome. It works great in teas and even water. Maybe whiskey, but you didn’t hear that from me. It’ll help with sore throat as well, works with Nick great.”

Jake chuckled, “Ever wanna know if something works, you ask a mother.” You nodded and held the jar close to you.

“Thank you again Jake, for coming with me today.”

He smiled and nodded, mirroring your actions with his jar, “Thank you for inviting me. It probably sounds a little silly but… it felt like I was back home for a few hours.”

You shook your head, “That doesn’t sound silly at all.” You smiled softly at him, “It sounds really sweet.”

“Thank you,” he said softly with a grin on his face.

You went on your tip-toes and kissed his cheek, “Have a good afternoon Jake. Thank you for today. We should do this again.” He nodded and watched your lips as you went back to your flat feet, “We should. I’ll figure something out and we can talk about it.”

You nodded, “That sounds great. I’ll see you later, Jake.” “See you later, Y/N.”

You and Jake smiled at each other for a moment before you shook yourself out of it and went inside, waving bye again as you closed the door.

Jake smiled and looked at the jar before walking to his truck.

****

Once you closed the door you leaned against it.

You sighed and looked at your jar, smiling like a fool with your heart fluttering like you were a teenage girl before groaning as you heard his truck leave.

“Shit… I forgot to get his number…”

*************

duckie and jake got to spend a day with out nick. it wasn’t a date, just a nice friendly hang- who is duckie kidding, it was totally a date

and jake got to learn who her brother was, but that doesn’t matter to him. what matters is how duckie feels and how nick feels about him, not bradley.

so now they’re planning another ‘hangout’ and let’s see if they can finally cross that path into being more than friends

my ducklings <33: @roosterscockpit @milesdickpic @luckyladycreator2 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @hisredheadedgoddess28 @malindacath @avengers-fixation @shawnsblue @caitsymichelle13 @classycolorpeach @mayhemmanaged @startrekfangirl2233 @bobby-r2d2-floyd @twsssmlmaa​ @horseshoegirl​ @babyreads​ @amatswimming @callsign-athena @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @cassiemitchell​ @callsignwidow @kmc1989​   @goodstuff28​ @pjngpp3501​ @lunamoonbby​ @joyfulpandamiracle​ @craftyinfluencersandwich @averyhotchner​ @emily-roberts​ @teenwolf01 @sunderland-6​ @bethabear12​ @coldmuffinbanditshoe​ @dempy​ @djs8891​ @ingoaliesitrust @novavida​ @tigerfan24 @lynnestra44​​ @lilmonstrjedi

apologize if i missed anyone! go to the duckie universe masterlist and comment or reblog if you would like to be tagged!

i’ll put the ones that didn’t work in the comments!

#duckie universe #duckie #duckie bradshaw #nicky bradshaw #nick bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x twin!reader #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin x bradshaw!reader #bradley bradshaw x sister!reader #bradshaw!reader #top gun maverick #top gun fic #sarahsmi13s

[dearestdaffodils]

People I write for, what I write, masterlists, and other important links can be found in this post

#aidia.txt #outer banks series rewrite #the adventures of ducky and cowboy #career day universe #outer banks #jj maybank #jj mayback x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin #hangman seresin x reader #hangman seresin #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

A Day with Duckie (Sequel to Three Generations)

Pairing: Rooster / Fem!Reader (Wife!Reader)

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Rooster is a Dad; Female Reader with No Name or Physical Description, No Y/N, Third Person POV; OC Bradshaw Kid without Physical Description (minus a reference to his smile being similar to Rooster's)

This work, all of my other works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only.

Summary: Maverick takes Kai to the zoo for the day and finds out why Rooster was so insistent upon needing a babysitter.

Part of Three Generations Universe

Master List

About three months after the mission, the Bradshaw family permanently moved from Virginia Beach to San Diego. And they even moved into a house that was only a seven-minute drive from Maverick’s small residence. So, Maverick was over just about every other day. He tried to not encroach on their family time, but Rooster and his wife assured Maverick that they loved having him around.

And the free babysitting offers.

Rooster’s wife always sounded worried that she was completely inconveniencing him when she asked Maverick to pick Kai up from daycare or watch him for a few hours, but Maverick hadn’t turned them down once. He already missed so much time out of Kai’s life and Rooster’s, so any opportunity that he had to spend with either of them, he was going to take it.

And today, Maverick was going to take Kai out to the zoo for the day. Rooster texted him a few days ago, practically begging for Maverick to watch Kai for a few hours, and even offered to pay him. As if Maverick would take any money for watching Grandbaby Goose.

Gliding through the relatively quaint streets of Miramar, Maverick hummed a tune to himself as he made his way to the Bradshaw family home. He pulled into the driveway and parked his Kawasaki beside the Bronco. Turning off the engine, Maverick reached up to undo the strap of his new helmet that Penny bought him only a month ago.

It followed an afternoon where Kai was learning how to ride his bike and gave his mom a bit of sass about not needing to wear a helmet since ‘Mav doesn’t wear one.’ And, so, every time that there was even a chance that Maverick would see Kai, he wore his helmet. Penny even somehow got one customized to replicate the markings on his pilot helmet.

Walking up to the Bradshaw house, Maverick knocked on the door and waited patiently to be let inside. A few seconds later, Rooster opened the door. But before Maverick could even greet him, he was attacked by a very excited four-year-old with seemingly limitless energy.

“Mav!” Kai screeched happily, wrapping his little body around Maverick’s leg.

“Hey, Kai,” Maverick chuckled, stumbling back a little bit. “You excited to go to the zoo?”

“Yeah!”

“And what do you say to Mav for taking you to the zoo?” Rooster asked his son, in that classic ‘parent giving a lesson’ tone.

“Thank you, Mav!”

“Anytime, Kai,” Maverick chuckled, ruffling Kai’s hair.

“Thanks for taking him again,” Rooster replied, letting Maverick hobble inside with Kai on his leg. “We really appreciate it.”

“Stop thanking me for it,” Maverick told Rooster with the classic grandparent tone.

“Can we go?” Kai pleaded, grabbing Maverick’s hand and tugging it a bit.

“Kai, wait a second. Your mom’s still packing your bag,” Rooster stated somewhat firmly. “And you need to put some sunscreen on.”

Kai let out a sigh, but stopped tugging on Maverick’s hand. When Rooster walked off to grab some sunscreen, Maverick squatted down to Kai’s height and motioned for him to come closer, like he had government secrets. Kai quickly perked up and cupped his little hands around his ear for Maverick to whisper his ‘secret.’

“Don’t worry. The zoo’s not even open yet. We’re not missing out on anything,” Maverick assured Kai, poking him in the side.

Kai let out a little giggle and curled away from Maverick, rubbing his side. But the smile on Kai’s face quickly dropped when he saw Rooster returning with sunscreen in hand. Kai didn’t fight his dad, but he certainly pouted through the whole thing. He even shot Maverick a look that screamed ‘see what I have to deal with?’ that made Maverick have to hide a chuckle behind his hand.

As Rooster was finishing up with Kai’s sunscreen, Rooster’s wife walked into the room with a small bag for the day. She greeted Maverick with a wide, kind smile and a quick squeeze of a hug.

“Thank you again for taking him to the zoo,” Rooster’s wife stated as she handed the bag over to Maverick. “He’s been dying to go since we moved out here.”

“Any time,” Maverick assured her, putting the bag on his shoulder.

“Can we go now?” Kai called loudly, sliding out of his dad’s grip easily due to the sunscreen.

“Yeah, you can go,” Rooster replied, handing the bottle of sunscreen over to Maverick. “Behave for Maverick, okay, Kai?”

After a quick set of goodbyes and Kai all but dragging Maverick through the front door, they headed out for the day. Rooster handed Maverick the keys to his wife’s car, which was the car with Kai’s car seat already in it. Maverick set up Kai in his seat and put his little backpack down on the ground before walking around to the driver’s seat.

“Alright, talk to me, Duckie. Am I clear to maneuver?” Maverick asked Kai as he started the car.

Kai made a dramatic show of whipping around to check the driveway and the road for any sign of cars or other hazards. And Maverick, although he already knew that he was clear and was going to triple check for any dangers anyways with precious cargo in the backseat, waited patiently for Kai to finish up with his thorough check.

“You’re clear, Mav!”

“Copy that, Duckie.”

~~~~~

The zoo was rather full on a nice Saturday, but Maverick and Kai intended to have a good time anyways. Kai was still bursting with energy and pointing at everything that he could see and identify. And even though his identification skills were not always accurate, he certainly sold his story.

Kai waved to his ‘Uncle Coyote,’ even though the animal in question was certainly not Javy Machado and was actually a wolf, not a coyote. He also practically screamed in greeting to ‘Grandpa Goose,’ even though the animal was actually a spoonbill.

Maverick was having a wonderful time and happily snapped plenty of photos of Kai for Rooster and his wife in front of just about every exhibit. They made their way through the penguins, the big cats, and now they were on their way over to the reptiles. And, of course, they had to stop by the grander bird exhibits before they left.

Walking around the outside exhibits, Maverick led Kai by the hand as they entered the tortoise area. However, Maverick quickly noticed a frazzled looking zookeeper diverting people further down the path. And when Maverick saw what the tortoises were doing, he quickly understood the situation.

“Let’s keep walking, Kai,” Maverick tried to urge Kai, but Kai inherited his father’s stubbornness.

“But I want to see the turtles,” Kai stated, tugging a bit on Maverick’s hand. “They’re right there.”

“Oh, yeah, they are,” Maverick chuckled nervously, sharing a look with the flustered zookeeper. “Alright, we saw them, so—”

“—What are they doing?” Kai asked curiously, turning to the zookeeper.

“Um,” the zookeeper grunted out, forcing a smile, “they’re, uh . . . they’re just playing with each other.”

“Oh,” Kai held out, nodding along. He turned to Maverick with an innocent smile. “I saw Mommy and Daddy playing like that!”

The zookeeper let out a noise between a squeak and a gasp and slapped a hand over their mouth. A set of heads swiveled over to Kai and Maverick as Maverick tried to not let his eyes pop out of his skill. Maverick didn’t get embarrassed often or severely. But holy hell, he wanted to get away from those stupid turtles or tortoises or whatever the hell they were in that exact moment.

And, well, maybe he figured out why Rooster was so desperate to have someone babysit Kai.

“That’s . . .” Maverick trailed off, unable to find the right word to use. After a few more moments, Maverick quickly whipped around and pointed over at the next exhibit. “Oh, look, Kai, there’s some ducks over there!”

“Where?” Kai asked, whipping around too.

“Oh, you just missed them, but they went this way, come on,” Maverick replied, dragging Kai with him.

“Okay!”

~~~~~

After a dinner of burgers, fries, and milkshakes and a quick stop at a hardware store, Maverick and Kai returned to the Bradshaw family home.

The sun had already started to set, but there was still a glow of light left in the day. Kai was a bit sleepy, so Maverick scooped him up and carried him inside. Kai insisted that he was old enough to not take a nap, but his energy still seemed to have a limit. At least after 5 PM.

The door was already open for him by the time that Maverick walked around. Rooster stepped outside, dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a casual tank top. He smiled softly when he spotted Kai half-asleep against Maverick’s shoulder.

“You tuckered out, Kai?” Rooster called out to his son.

“No,” Kai protested sleepily.

“Alright,” Rooster replied with a light chuckle, taking Kai into his arms.

“I got a you, Daddy,” Kai stated, picking his head up as he transferred hands.

“A me?” Rooster asked, sounding confused.

Maverick opened the bag that he was carrying and held up a brand-new stuffed rooster from the zoo gift shop. Rooster let out a light laugh before pressing a kiss to the top of Kai’s head.

“Yeah, you did, bud,” Rooster agreed as he headed inside. As Maverick stepped inside behind Rooster, Rooster’s wife walked over.

“Hi, Kai. Hi, Mav, how was the zoo?” she asked kindly.

“Well, I can’t speak for Duckie, but I had a great time,” Maverick replied, smiling proudly.

“Was it fun, Kai, honey?” Rooster’s wife called again, rubbing his back soothingly.

“Good,” Kai mumbled out quietly.

“Ok, let’s get you to bed,” Rooster’s wife stated, pulling Kai into her arms and heading for the stairs. She shot Mav a smile and a small wave. “Thanks for taking him, Mav.”

“Any time,” Maverick replied, returning the nod. Once Kai and his mom were out of earshot, Maverick turned to Rooster. “But I have one last gift for you.”

“What? What gift?” Rooster asked, sounding confused. 

Maverick led Rooster out to the car and pulled out a bag from the trunk. Handing it over to Rooster, Maverick motioned for Rooster to open it. Rooster shot Maverick a look, but begrudgingly opened the bag. Pulling out the door lock that Maverick bought him, Rooster took about three half-seconds to register what the gift was, before turning pink with embarrassment.

“He told you?” Rooster groaned, holding a hand to his face.

“Well, apparently there were two tortoises who were ‘playing’ like ‘Mommy and Daddy’ at the zoo,” Maverick replied, folding his arms over his chest. “He forgot about it in about three seconds, but I thought that I should get you a lock. Just in case.”

“You cannot tell anyone,” Rooster begged Maverick, grabbing his shoulder gently. “Mav, I’m dead serious. My wife wouldn’t even look at me for a day after that.”

“I won’t,” Maverick assured Rooster. “Just wanted to spread the embarrassment.”

“You know that I can’t bring this inside, right?” Rooster replied, holding up the lock.

“I’ll leave it in your car,” Maverick stated, plucking it out of Rooster’s hand and putting it into the Bronco. Chuckling to himself, Maverick shook his head, far too proud of himself and this little joke. “You know, if you and the missus needed some alone time, you could have just said that. I babysat you all the time so that your parents could—”

“—Mav, as much as I would love to talk about that,” Rooster interjected, causing Maverick to laugh. “But thank you for watching Kai. We really appreciate it. And he really looks up to you and likes spending time with you.”

“I’m always here if you guys need me,” Maverick promised, nodding curtly. “And tell Duckie that I’ll have the side car attached to my old bike in about a week.”

“I will,” Rooster returned, before he paused. “Wait, what!?”

#rooster x reader #rooster fanfic #rooster top gun #bradley bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #top gun maverick #top gun #top gun fanfiction #tgm #tgm fic #pete maverick mitchell

[honkytonk-hangman]

SNEAK PEEK – TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS

40s!Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x Reader

Summary: The last time you met Lieutenant Jake Seresin, the war was still ongoing and you'd been in a floundering engagement. Back then you'd seen the possibility for more in his eyes, and now? Well, now you could explore it.

Notes: hello comrades, its me, el presidente of the Jake Seresin Professional Baby Girl Club :) vibes wise, this is partially based on the potato movie and a little bit of what we've seen in trailers for Devotion. Mostly because sweetcheeks looks so good in both. I hope you enjoy this little sneak peek, please send an ask or comment if you would like to be tagged when it comes out!!! <3

Reader has a nickname– Duckie, but its just so that it's easier to write dialogue lol pls dont b mad uwu thank u to @ussgallifrey @natrace @bvckysmoon for being very devious and sending me lots of pictures of mr handsome when i should be finishing my other wips <3 love u all never change <3

Words: 1.8k

UPDATE: FULL FIC AVAILABLE HERE!

1946

You can’t help but let out a laugh as you’re guided through the busy dance hall, barely missing a waiter with a large tray of drinks as you go. You try to call back an apology, but the hand wrapped around your wrist is already dragging you away, weaving in and out of the crowds of dancers and party-goers.

You’d almost forgotten what the atmosphere in a place like this could be like, exuberant and daring, and now that the war was officially over, lacking in any sort of melancholy.

Bea, your well meaning, but a little over-excited friend, finally seems to be slowing down, though she has one last surprise in stall for you, using your momentum to swing you around to her side with a strength such a small woman certainly shouldn’t possess.

“There she is!” a male voice, deep and pleasant, greets from somewhere in front of you, and you give your head a quick shake, attempting to get your bearings now.

“Sorry we’re late, sugar! Had a lipstick emergency!” Bea says only half truthfully, stepping away from your side momentarily to allow a handsome moustachioed man to lean down and kiss her cheek.

You can’t help but smile at the sweet display. Bea had been telling you all about Bradley Bradshaw for weeks now, and if even half of what she’d told you was true, you already liked him immensely for treating your friend so well.

“And this must be the famous Duckie I’ve heard all about,” honey coloured eyes swivel away from Bea and land on you, making you remember yourself.

“It’s so good to meet you at last, Lieutenant Bradshaw!” you shake his offered hand warmly.

“Please just call me Bradley– or Rooster!” he gently corrects you, before he hums, and shoots Bea a suspicious look.

“Do you think she’s adding us birds to some sort of collection?” he asks conspiratorially, the question making you laugh genuinely at the absurdity.

Bea huffs, shakes her head, and smacks his arm, trying her best to fight off the grin on her lips.

“All I’ll say Rooster, is that you’d best treat her right, or she will hunt you for sport,” you lean in and reply, receiving your own smack for your trouble. Rooster’s face turns bright and he laughs, pulling Bea near with his arm around her.

“I can believe that, yes ma’am,” they look at each other with barely concealed adoration, and it makes your heart clench a little in your chest. You’re quickly distracted though, with the sudden and rowdy approach of six other people, all dressed to the nines like everyone else around you. Rooster seems unfazed by their appearance, though he tears his eyes away from Bea to glance around at the now much larger group you were in.

“Fellas, you all know Bea already, and this is Bea’s friend, Duckie,” he easily introduces you to the six newcomers, all men except for a tall, beautiful brunette woman who looked like she could eat every single one of them for breakfast. A flurry of handshakes and names are exchanged, and you’re surprised by just how quickly you feel totally absorbed by the group of Naval Aviators, like you’d known them all for years and were just catching up again.

“I’m spotting a free table, north west!” the man who held the youngest looking features of the group, Fanboy you believe he’d introduced himself as, pipes up, pointing over everyone's heads to the large round table that was currently being cleaned up. Before you can even process it, the entire group is migrating casually toward the table, Rooster catching the arm of the waiter before he leaves, putting a round in, you assume.

You find yourself next to Bob, who sends you an adorably awkward little grin as he pulls out your chair for you, and you thank him sincerely. Despite the gentlemanly gesture, the moment you’re comfortable, he’s taking his own seat, and once more totally absorbed by the woman you’d learn was named Phoenix, or Nat. You hadn’t noticed it earlier, too distracted by all the new faces, and their excitable personalities, but Bob was clearly, utterly enamoured by Phoenix, and it looked like the feeling was returned, if perhaps a little less socially awkward.

“Hey, Javy, where’s Hangman?” Bea is sat a few places down from you, her hand wrapped through Rooster’s arm. A man on the opposite side of the table waves his hand over his shoulder.

“He’s coming, probably caught his reflection in a glass,” Javy snorts.

“I wanted to introduce him to Ducky!” Bea pouts, and her words make you frown.

“Pardon?” you say pointedly, leaning around Bob and Phoenix to look at Bea with a frown. Rooster seems to be matching your expression, and he cocks his head at his partner.

“Ducky is far too nice for him,” Rooster says, but you get the feeling he doesn’t really mean it.

“Oh come off it, Ducks, you could do with meeting someone new!” Bea rolls her eyes, but her voice is imploring.

Your frown deepens just a little bit, but you aren’t too angry. It wasn’t as if she’d tricked you into a double date or anything. There were plenty of other seemingly solo people around that you’re sure any awkwardness could easily be avoided if you managed to stick by Bob and Phoenix.

“I’m afraid that I won’t be able to help you there, Honey Bea,” A smooth male voice purrs from behind you, and you almost jump at the hand that comes to rest on the back of your chair. You turn quickly in no small amount of surprise at the person apparently so close behind you, but any further thought is cut off when your eyes land on the handsome face smirking coquettishly down at you.

You’re so surprised, you gasp daintily, moving to stand so that you can greet the familiar man properly.

“Lieutenant Seresin!” you welcome him excitedly, gratefully accepting the hand he offers to help you to your feet.

“Jake,” he corrects, and you feel foolish for laughing.

“Jake!” you repeat warmly.

“You two already know each other?” Bea sounds put out, but intrigued, and you tear your gaze away from Jake for a few moments to focus on her.

“Oh Ducky and I are good ol’ friends,” Jake tells her, and you cock your head at him with a small shake, but look back at your friend.

“We met in Paris, during the war,” you explain to her, opening your mouth to continue on that he had been a friend of your fiance’s, but you stop yourself.

“My favourite nurse,” Jake adds, and brings your hand that you realise he’s still holding to his lips. Your chest flutters, but you’re distracted from the butterflies by the odd look on his face, paired with the brief flicker of his eyes down to your hand.

“Where is the old man, then?” Jake tilts his head at you, and then quickly around at the crowded club, and you suck in a breath, realising now what he’d been confused by.

You take your left hand back from him with only a small amount of effort, and smooth down your frock primly. Suddenly his closeness was nerve wracking.

“Probably with his new wife, I haven’t exactly been keeping up,” you scold yourself for the sass and bitterness. Jake’s head whips back to face you, and for several moments he stares down at you, before a tiny crease pulls between his brows, and his lips purse.

“I never liked him, anyway,” Jake says the words, and you know it’s supposed to be a joke, but his taut expression and humourless voice say otherwise. You look down at your skirt and shrug.

“Well, it’s probably for the best,” you shake off any residual foul mood, and straighten, letting your lips curl back into a smile.

“It’s so good to see you again,” you say happily, and Jake’s face softens. He takes back your hand, and kisses it once more.

“I imagine,” he bounces an eyebrow at you, and you scoff, rolling your eyes.

“You’re supposed to say ‘you too’!” you grumble with no conviction, as Jake rounds your seat, only releasing your hand when he has to, to help you back into your chair, before he takes the empty space beside you. He simply shrugs, before his eyes flick past you to Rooster and Bea.

“Sorry to ruin your setup,” he doesn’t sound very sorry at all, though you doubt Bea was feeling too upset right now, with the way she was looking between you and Jake with glee in her eyes.

“Hey, wasn’t my plan. I think she’s too good for you,” Rooster chortles, catching the fist Bea attempts to sock him with, and kisses it instead.

Jake cuts his gaze down at you, and leans in so only you’ll hear him.

“How long have you been in San Diego?” he asks, and you’re forced to lean away so you can look up at him without your faces being much too near.

“Six months now. I met Bea on the boat coming home from London, she convinced me not to go back to New York after… everything.” you tell him equally as quietly, but realising what a stroke of luck it was that you had just so happened to run into one another here, when you so easily could have never seen him again.

“I’m glad.” he says, pinning you in place with an almost curious stare, but you figure he was just taking in your face for the first time in two years. Part of you wishes you hadn’t moved back, but if you’d remained in place and simply turned your head, you’re almost certain your lips might’ve been close enough to touch when you spoke.

The thought makes your face boil, and you avert your gaze, and reach for the glass of water that had been poured for you earlier.

“Oh, Duckie,” Jake hums in an almost sing-song, leaning away from you at last, and once again speaking at a normal volume. You turn to look at him with a questioning frown, but he only continues to watch you in amusement, cheshire grin pulling at his lips.

“My little sitting Duckie,” he continues, smile only continuing to grow. You shake your head at him good-naturedly, but can’t help but feel there's some truth in his teasing.

You know you should probably feel more trepidation, but the only thing that you feel pumping through your veins is the exhilarating thrill at the thought of Jake calling you ‘his’ anything.

The way he was looking at you felt positively predatory, and under his blistering stare, you really were a sitting duck.

#jake 'hangman' seresin fanfic #jake 'hangman' seresin x reader #jake 'hangman' seresin #top gun: maverick #jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #jake seresin 40s au #jake hangman seresin x reader #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin

[jupitercomet]

Purring in My Lap ‘Cause It Loves Me

summary - You’re the only one who can put up with Goose when he’s sick.

warnings - barely suggestive, mentions of medicine, listen Goose is dramatic okay? but if one of you say some silly ass name about it being ironic that he acts like he’s dying I will swing

this blog is 18+, minors please do not interact

word count - 923

two fics in one day 😦 the Bradshaw boys are talking over! (insert ghost busters song) you can blame @fandomxpreferences​ for making me feel things at near midnight and thus making me turn to my emotional support hockey bird man bf

follow the adventures of Goose and Duck in Duck, Duck, Goose!

Maverick never regretted moving into an apartment with his best friend. It beat the college dorms—and RAs that always had it out for him—and neither he nor Goose wanted to join a frat. So Mav loved living off campus, unsupervised, with his best friend. There was only ever one time when living with Goose was like hell on earth. And that was whenever Goose got sick.

Being around Goose when he was sick was like being around an orphaned, malnourished kitten. Except this kitten was 6’0” and perfectly capable of surviving on his own. He was loud, and whiny, and needy. The smallest cold and Goose was out for the count, acting like he was a moment away from succumbing to a deadly disease. 

The only person who found Goose remotely bearable when he was sick was you. Which baffled Mav to no end because you hardly had patience for anyone, including Goose, and yet when he was sick not only did you put up with him, you were sweet to him. 

So when Goose woke up with a stuffy nose and a pounding head, Maverick didn’t even make it through the full morning before calling you.

“Hi, sweet boy.”

Goose whines, his eyes scrunched tight as he nuzzles his head stubbornly into his pillow. He made his way out of his room earlier in the morning, collapsing on the living room couch with his bed pillow under his arm and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His ankles are hanging off the couch arm and you aren’t entirely sure it’s comfortable, but you can only shake your head fondly.

“I’m sick,” his groan is muffled by the cotton pillowcase.

You laugh quietly. “I know, honey. That’s why I’m here.”

“C’mere.” With his head still shoved in his pillow he shifts to make grabby hands. “Want cuddles.”

It takes a bit of maneuvering, but you manage to lie flat on your back, Goose entirely on top of you as he burrows his nose against your collarbone. Planting both hands on the sides of his head, you rub slow circles against his temples as your fingernails scratch his scalp. Goose hums happily, the sound vibrating through his lips as he presses lazy kisses against your skin.

There was one thing that you learned very quickly about Goose when you started dating him and that was that he’d kill a man for a good head massage. You also found it was the only thing that quieted his whining and made it so Mav wouldn’t bust out of his room to strangle him. 

You dip your chin down to plant a kiss on Goose’s forehead. “Mav said you took some medicine when you got up?”

Goose nods against you, his body going slack when you move your fingers to massage his neck.

“Do you want anything else? I can make you soup?” You offer.

“Mm-mm,” Goose shakes his head. “Don’t get up. Stay.”

“Goose—”

He whines loudly. “I’m so comfy, ducky. You leave me and I’ll never recover, I’ll—”

“Alright, alright,” you shake your head fondly. “You’re dramatic, baby, you know that? It’s a cold.”

“That’s what they said during the plague.” Goose lifts his head with a straight face.

“Goose!” You let out an incredulous laugh and, unable to help yourself, you press a couple kisses to his nose. 

“I’m serious! If I’m going out, it’s between your tits and nowhere else. Thank you very much!”

Your jaw drops. “Mav is in the other room, be quiet.”

Goose makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like he doesn’t care, but quiets down, returning to his comfortable state on your body. You can tell the cold medicine is starting to make him drowsy, his blinks slowing as he lets out a soft yawn.

“You’re so cute,” you press a few more repeated kisses to Goose’s forehead and he smiles sleepily.

It was a long running joke in your friend group that, somehow, the only time you exhibit a single tender trait is when Goose is at his absolute most annoying. But what you refuse to tell them is that maybe you’re just a lovesick fool because there is something so endearing about Goose when he’s so vulnerable. He hardly ever lets you take care of him—only when he’s sick or you sit him down for monthly spa night—so whenever you get the chance, you run for it. Of course you don’t want him to be sick, but you certainly don’t mind being the only person willing to be around him.

Goose sighs happily against your chest, letting his eyes close. “You made my headache go away. Thank you, duck.”

“You don’t have to thank me, honey,” you gently massage his ears.

He sniffs, slurring out, “And you’re so nice, and funny, and pretty. You’re my favorite in the whole world.”

The cold medicine is definitely hitting him, you think. You stifle a laugh as you move your fingers to trace his facial features soothingly.

“You’re my favorite too.”

Goose giggles happily. “I’m your favorite,” he sings.

“You are, silly boy,” you confirm. “Now go to sleep.”

With your hands massaging his head, Goose’s headache is now gone, and being elevated on your chest has cleared his sinuses some too. That coupled with the sweet, familiar scent of your perfume and the feeling of your warmth underneath him finally relaxes Goose enough for sleep to become a possibility. 

He presses a drowsy kiss to your collarbone. “I luh you.” 

Yeah, sick Goose could never be annoying to you.

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