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My castle crumbled overnight
I brought a knife to a gunfight
They took the crown but it's alright
Mav walked into the office with a heavy heart.
The helmet he wore is held in his hand, stained with dust from the blown up jet he tested for Mach 10 back then.
He put the helmet on Cain's table, getting ready to listen to his ear-splitting complaints
"You've been called back to Top Gun." was not something he expected to hear from the grumpy Admiral.
But he knew there was something expecting him there.
And I know I make the same mistakes every time
Bridges burn, I never learn
At least I did one thing right
Mav knew he had made various choices that made people disappointed at him
The plane crash, his attitude, his wicked ideas, and he surely would do them again
But he knew he had made the one right decision in his life with Rooster
'Cause
My baby's fit like a daydream
Walking with his head down
I'm the one he's walking to
So call it what you want, yeah
Call it what you want to
Mav tried his best to not be biased but it was hard to not pay more attention to Rooster's progress
The way he talked to his team, his ways to solve his issues in the air and on the ground
The proud smile on his face grew bigger knowing he had an impact in those changes because it changed his life as well
I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck
Chain 'round my neck
Not because he owns me
But 'cause he really knows me
Which is more than they can say
Rooster wasn't sure how to react when Mav gave him one of his dog tags
It's not that he didn't like, in fact he liked it so much that he would wear it around his neck — which he ended up not doing because he didn't want to raise more suspicion among the team though he's sure that they could understand how much Mav meant to him.
I recall late November, holding my breath
Slowly I said, "You don't need to save me
But would you run away with me?"
They were lounging around the fireplace in Mav's house, keeping themselves warm in wintertime
The silence was quite loud and Rooster could hear the distress in Mav's thoughts
And so, he decided to take an action now — like Mav always said; don't think just do it — to move his chair in front of Mav and gestured to himself
"I'm my own man now. I don't need you to run around to save me or worry about my safety anymore.." he paused and took a deep breath. God, the sadness in Mav's eyes made him felt so bad for choosing those words.
Rooster reached out and gripped Mav's shoulder before he continued "... but I'd like to run around with you. Would you do the same for me, Pete ?"
My baby's fly like a jet stream
High above the whole scene
Loves me like I'm brand new
So call it what you want, yeah
Call it what you want to
Rooster had seen a lot of beautiful things in his life
But nothing could ever top the sight of Maverick flying around in the air — especially when he flipped his jet around and flew past Rooster's own jet — he saw it as Mav's love language for him.
He loved Mav not only for who he is, but also for the changes he made in Rooster's life
And he knew Mav would still love every version of him.