12 Works by runningplanning
Listing Works
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Thirty years ago, they set the rules of engagement. But then a US Navy aircraft carrier is struck by an American-made missile in the Northern Pacific, and Tom has to break one of them, the only one they've managed to maintain.
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I’ll be there in the morning (Director’s Cut) by runningplanning
Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies)
15 Jul 2026
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Summary
He likes these mornings best. The ones where they’re both home, in San Diego, at the same time, and not because Tom is sick or Pete is hurt. The ones where he wakes first, but not because he has anywhere in particular to be. Where he can watch, through hooded eyes, as Pete drools a little on his own pillow, lips parted, dark hair inelegantly falling over his forehead. Tom will drift in and out of sleep, each time he wakes looking at the same sight but from a new angle, under different light. Sometimes, Pete will have turned, and instead of looking at his face he’ll be looking at the back of his neck, or the side of his jaw. Sometimes he’ll have shifted closer, and the smell of his shampoo will tickle Tom’s nose, or he’ll have moved away, and Tom will remedy it by claiming the warm space he left behind.
These mornings don’t happen often, and at the expense of sounding soft, every single one is a gift.
Or, RIP Tom Kazansky you would have loved Garmin sleep score.
Series
- Part 2 of I'm wide awake, it's morning
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He stares at the unopened envelope, sitting at the end of the bench. There are essentially two possibilities: it’s either a confession (I loved you. Always did, always will. Sorry I never said it, sorry it never was. But I’m saying it now…) or it’s a final refusal (Let it go, Maverick. Yes, you were right. Times are ah changing. It’ll be better for our kids and their kids after them. But you and I are old dogs, so let’s let it lie.)
Maverick’s not sure which one would hurt less.
Series
- Part 2 of Yours to keep
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“Maverick.” Metcalf warns.
The name sparks recognition in Tom.
He thinks of two boys, sitting on a patch of dirt next to a gravel path, watching jets against the San Diego sunrise- 'Hi, I’m Maverick', he’d said.
Nearly half a decade ago, now, but Tom still remembers it like it was yesterday.
Or, Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky never went to the Academy, but still meets Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell.Series
- Part 2 of Wild Geese
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“Did you know?” James asks, flipping the photograph over. There’s a date on the back, Seattle, November 1993- a year after Chris was born- in his dad’s neat print, and in Maverick’s handwriting: Wingmen.
“Not a clue,” Chris confesses.
Or, Ice's son learns a thing or two about his late father.
Series
- Part 1 of Yours to keep
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Despite himself, Naim is afraid.
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A series of mornings from the perspective of Tom Kazansky.
Series
- Part 1 of I'm wide awake, it's morning
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“It’s not too late for you, you know.” Ron had said as they sat on his back porch, watching the sun set over the horizon, almost a year after he handed in his request for retirement.
At Tom’s quizzical look, Slider just laughed and knocked him with his shoulder.
“You’re sixty, not dead,” he said, with a shrug. Then more seriously: “If you wanted to try it again with someone else, you’ve still got time.”
Or, ‘The compass was invented before the clock, because direction was more important than how long it took to get there.’
Series
- Part 1 of Nice things about getting old
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“Ice? You okay?”
Tom jumped at the voice, spinning around to see Maverick, of all possible people, hovering in the doorway, looking at him wide-eyed. He was in his boxers and a t-shirt, barefooted, hair sticking out in all directions.
Tom spun back around just as quickly, nearly giving himself whiplash, and scrambled for the paraphernalia he had laid out in front of him, shoving it back into its bag.
“It’s not what it looks like,” he said hurriedly, as he heard Maverick’s footsteps approaching.
“I think it’s exactly what it looks like,” Mav retorted, bending down to carefully pick up one of the larger needles where it had fallen to the floor.
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Such Great Heights - Or, five times they missed each other and one time they didn’t.
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Title from the Mary Oliver poem "Wild Geese".
In hindsight, it should have been obvious- the bizarre name, the early morning runs around the base, the effortless evasions whenever the matter of his employment came up- but that does little to ease the shock and the following anger when Tom does, eventually, find out.
AU where Tom "Iceman" Kazansky never goes to the Academy and ends up running into Pete "Maverick" Mitchell under completely different circumstances.
Series
- Part 1 of Wild Geese
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He and Ron are going through their personal pre-flight checklist, when Sam appears and says, “Here’s your water, Captain Kazansky.”
He accepts the bottle, but almost drops it entirely, when an eerily familiar voice calls from the aisleway-
“Wait, hold on, did you say Captain Kazansky?”
No, it can’t be, Tom thinks.
He looks to Ron, who regards him with a questioning look, not recognizing the voice as he had, and then Tom turns his head further, around the headrest of his seat, and holy shit, standing there, in his dress blues for some God-forsaken reason, medals shining on his chest, looking just the same as he did some twenty-odd years ago- “Maverick?!”
“Holy shit!” Maverick grins. “The Iceman, in the flesh. What are the odds?”