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Hangman smiled softly to himself, realizing just how close Rooster and he had become in a few months. Since the suicide mission, Rooster and Hangman had been dating, casually at first, but it had obviously developed into something more serious. They were going on dates (often bickering over who paid), they played football together, and sometimes Rooster would show Hangman what other songs he could play on the piano. They had become soft in each other’s presence like never before, and experienced a vulnerability that was new, but exciting.
At this moment, Hangman realized just how soft they had become, Rooster had let Hangman into his house and said that he was going to grab something from a neighbor. He told Hangman to make himself at home, despite Rooster awkwardly looking over the state of his house and now Hangman in the center of it. He moved forward quickly, pressing a kiss to Hangman’s lips, before leaving for his errand.
The domesticity of it all rooted Hangman to the spot for a few moments afterward, his fingers brushing his lips.
All these months, his kiss still takes me by surprise.
From there, Hangman decided to take in the room. Rooster was neat-enough (you had to be in the Navy), and had various trinkets. There were model planes, Hawaiian Leia’s, a piano, and books - tons of books. Hangman walked over to the bookshelf closest to the door, where books and picture frames covered it from top to bottom. He ran his fingers along some of the titles, gazing at Fahrenheit 451, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. These books were the most worn, clearly favorites of Rooster’s. He looked at the photo nearby, and saw the young Bradshaw family, with a man who clearly resembled Rooster in a Hawaiian shirt, arms around a slight blonde woman.
As someone close to his own family, Hangman felt his heart clench for Rooster. He lost his mom and his dad. And from the glimpses of Rooster’s personal relationship with Maverick, it seemed like he lost his godfather too.
Hangman continued to peer at the shelves before he spotted a section that appeared to be cards stuffed behind other books.
Well, he told me to make myself at home…that’s like permission to snoop for sure…right?
Unable to stop himself, Hangman pulled the cards from their hiding spot and came face to face with years of birthday cards. The cards clearly chronicled a child’s growth into adolescence and then somewhat adulthood based on the style of the card. Cracking open the first card, Hangman realized these were cards to Rooster, from Maverick.
Each card had a different variation of how much Maverick loved Rooster, and how proud “Goose” would’ve been of Bradley as he grew up. There were added shenanigans and stories shared in the cards as well, before an abrupt shift in tone around…year 17 to Hangman’s count.
Maverick was apologizing, sharing that Rooster wouldn’t understand; there was mention of how Maverick knew Rooster was mad, but he still loved him. There were questions about how Carole was doing.
Year 18 was an apology for Rooster’s loss, and a promise to do whatever he could for Rooster.
The cards just kept going, the most recent one from early this year, per-suicide mission. Where the sentiments remained the same, the love expressed was just as potent.
In his stupor, Hangman hadn’t heard Rooster come back.
“Jake, what are you…” Rooster trailed off, eyes landing on the cards in Hangman’s hands. At the sight of the cards, Hangman could see the closed-off expression his face took.
“Roo, what happened between you and Maverick?” Hangman couldn’t imagine what could’ve gone down between Maverick and Rooster that he stopped responding to his birthday cards over a decade ago. But also kept them hidden on his bookshelf.
Rooster shook his head and started to walk away, clearly with no intention of continuing the conversation, but a hand caught him before he was too far.
“Baby…you’re hurting. Please tell me.” Hangman hoped his sincerity was coming through clearly. He knew Rooster wasn’t quite accustomed to pet names at this stage, but he wanted Rooster to know he was asking because he cared about his wellbeing.
Eyes locked, Rooster read Hangman’s expression, before sighing and gesturing to sit on the couch. Rooster’s expression had taken a vulnerable but stubborn shape. They moved to the couch, sitting side-by-side.
“You know Mav is my godfather…well all my life, after my Dad’s death, I told Mav how badly I wanted to fly; how much I wanted my own wings. I wanted to be just like him. He taught me everything I know about planes, he bought me books on top of books, not just about planes, but about the Navy. He bought me fiction books too. He called every two weeks unless he was deployed and he always made sure my mom and I were okay.” Rooster pushes air out of his lungs, steeling himself for the next part.
“So all my life he had known, I was going to apply to Annapolis. I did my application - Hell, Mav even looked it over. And I submitted it. I waited anxiously for the decision, I felt like everything I had done meant I would be sho-in.” Rooster’s eyes pulled close tightly, and Hangman gently rubbed the back of his hand.
“Then a letter came, saying my papers had been pulled and thus my application was null. I was sick to my stomach because the opportunity I had to make my dad proud, to be a pilot was just ripped from my hands. And I knew there was only one person who could do it.” Rooster’s hands had become clenched fists, trembling with emotion.
Breathing deeply, Rooster opened his eyes, revealing a watery gaze. “Mav had listened to me talk about the Academy and the Navy and being a pilot for years. I mean literally over a decade . And then at the last second, he pulled my papers. He set my career back years and he didn’t even have the heart to tell me to my face that he was going to do it.” Rooster scoffs, angry now. He abruptly stands and begins to pace, as he continues to relay the story.
“And then, when I asked him why? All he kept saying was ‘you weren’t ready’. And I call bullshit because he would never tell me what exactly that means.” Rooster finishes, tension radiating through his body, and finally, Hangman understands why Rooster was so abrasive when Maverick arrived.
Hangman stands, grabbing Rooster’s hands and pulling him close. He pulls him into a hug and whispers an “I’m sorry”. In his embrace, Rooster relaxes, realizing how much he’d been holding that, and how much it still makes his heart hurt.
Their night together continued, as usual, bantering and bickering around the kitchen making dinner, before some TV, and then bed.
But Hangman couldn’t sleep. His mind wandered to Maverick’s reasoning for pulling Rooster’s papers. He thought of the sad looks Maverick always gave Rooster when he wasn’t looking and how he seemed to almost hold himself back.
And Hangman decided on a plan
While Ice enjoyed working out of his home office, it was nice to be back in his primary base office. He enjoyed greeting his pilots and getting a daily debrief on the ongoing missions.
It was also nice because Maverick had been antsy at home since his well-needed, Doctor and Ice mandated rest. Mav was all over the place, experimenting with the layout of the furniture, reorganizing the way his and Ice’s medals were displayed, trying new recipes in the kitchen, trying new exercises, taking apart the bike and cleaning it, and then putting it back together and of course, watching every known Netflix show known to man. And when he got past those activities, he got to horny - Ice couldn’t believe the number of times Maverick wanted to make love in a night, let alone the week. And while Ice was certainly up for the challenge, even he had to bend to human refractory periods. His energy was chaotic and unfulfilled and painfully bored.
More than that, he was itching to talk to Rooster. Post-mission, Rooster, and Maverick had restarted to talk somewhat regularly, Rooster having even worked on the plane in the hangar with Mav a few times. But as the months continued, the distance in their relationship returned.
Mav and Ice had discussed it multiple times, laying in bed at the end of a day, Mav laying on top of Ice, or vice versa. Though Mav knew why the distance was there, it made it no less painful. Maverick loved his godson and wanted nothing more than to have a relationship with him, but he also wouldn’t betray Carole.
In the quiet of his office, Ice let his thoughts wander for the first time in days and truly did wonder what he could do to help.
But luckily, help came to him.
“Admiral Kazansky?” Ice turned his eyes to the door, seeing his coordinator. “There’s a Lieutenant Seresin, Callsign ‘Hangman’ here, and has requested a moment of your time, sir. He says the matter is personal.” Having read over the mission report, Ice was aware of who LT Seresin was.
“Send him in.” Ice nodded, leaning back into his chair.
LT Seresin came in, clearly nervous. Ice imagined, if it weren’t for protocol, LT Seresin would’ve averted his eyes. He stood at attention and waited to be addressed.
“Admiral Kazansky, sir”
“At ease, Lieutenant. Take a seat.” Ice granted, before gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Before we start, good work on the nuclear plant mission support. So, what’s this about?”
Seresin sat, and his face began to take on a flush. “Thank you, Sir. I was happy to help.” Seresin cleared his throat before starting again. “But I came to see you, Sir, because I believe we have a shared…conflict.”
“Oh?” Ice regarding him with scrutiny but let him continue.
“Yes sir.” Seresin appeared to brace himself before continuing. “I am rather…close with Lieutenant Bradshaw and I know you are…close with Captain Mitchell.” Seresin paused tactfully, but upon seeing Ice’s lack of reaction, continued.“They are experiencing a strain in their personal relationship and I think we can help resolve it.”
And Ice was shocked, but more importantly, Ice was listening.
The plan was to be executed as follows: Ice would make Maverick stay in for dinner (easy) and Hangman would pretend to take Rooster on a surprise date, but actually bring him to Maverick and Ice’s house (hard).
Today, the plan was in motion, and Rooster was already feeling cranky. He was tight-lipped all morning, but some life was brought back to him at the mention of a surprise date. It was cute that Hangman had gone through the trouble of planning something and even more, he was acting nervous.
On the ride to the destination, Rooster sat patiently in the passenger seat, occasionally mentioning the music, while Hangman drove in relative silence, which wasn’t like him usually.
Red Flag Number One
The drive continued when Hangman made a turn into a residential neighborhood. Initially, Rooster wasn’t going to say anything because Hey, fancy neighborhoods have clubhouses or country clubs that also have restaurants. But then Rooster, realized he recognized the neighborhood.
Red Flag Number Two
“Hangman…where are we going?” Rooster could feel the displeasure and anxiety building in his stomach.
“Don’t worry, it’s a surprise.” Hangman tried to sound bright and excited but it wasn’t working well enough to hide his own anxiety.
Red Flag Number Three
Ice sat patiently, tapping his fingers lightly on the arm of the leather sofa. Maverick had believed him easily enough when he brought up staying home and ordering in, thinking Ice was just tired from working in the office this week.
But Mav was a pilot, and as such was observant, nearly to a fault. So, he noticed that Ice was acting strange. He also noticed when a car pulled into their driveway, and Ice didn’t react, as if that’s what he was expecting.
“Ice…who’s in the driveway?” Maverick looked at his husband, and for the first time in a long-time, Ice looked sheepish.
“Well….” Ice started, standing quickly and wiping his hands on his pants.
But Maverick already knew, based on the angry whispers approaching his porch.
“What’s Rooster doing here, Ice?” Maverick asked, exasperatedly, as he moved to meet Rooster at the door.
“Let’s just let them in and talk.” Ice suggested, opening the front door to reveal a clearly sheepish, Hangman and an annoyed Rooster.
“Hey guys…” Maverick started but he wasn’t really sure what to say.
“Come inside, please.” Ice opened the door fully, gesturing the couple inside.
“Maverick, Admiral,” Hangman muttered walking fully inside. Rooster was slower to enter, but when he did, he nodded to Maverick and looked at Ice, before uttering “Admiral Kazansky, thank you for the invitation.” Rooster nodded stiffly, entering the house. Maverick looked at Ice, hoping his expression conveyed his inner thinking of ‘what is going on here’, but Ice didn’t catch his eye.
In the living room, Hangman and Rooster stood stiffly, before Ice gestured for them to sit, while he sat on the sofa across from them. Maverick walked around to join them and sat awkwardly staring at Rooster.
Ice and Hangman nodded and then turned to the remainder of the group.
“Well, I guess I’ll start…” Hangman cleared his throat. “Rooster, after I saw the birthday cards at your place…I realized there was damage to your relationship with Maverick.” Hangman took in a deep breath, trying to push through the scowl that Rooster had set on him. “And, you don’t have many people in this world, so I figured you two should talk about it…even if you don’t want to. You deserve to have family” Hangman finished nodding to Mav and Rooster
“Hangman approached me, because he, rightly, assumed I would be invested in Maverick’s long-term happiness. And I figured it was also time for you two to talk.” Ice added in agreeance, absolving Hangman of his role as the sole recipient of scowls in the room.
But Ice didn’t become an Admiral by being scared of scowls.
“The fact of the matter is…Rooster is upset that Maverick pulled his naval academy papers, without warning. And at this point, Rooster deserves to know why.” Ice finished looking at Maverick expectantly.
“Ice…there’s no point-” Mav started.
“No, I want to know.” Rooster interject. “Why did you do it? And from the sound of it, it’s more than the bullshit you’ve been feeding me, about ‘you weren’t ready’. So why?”
“Rooster, I-” Mav started again, but he couldn’t get the words out. He wasn’t sure he was ready for this conversation. Ice reached out and grabbed his hand, and Mav decided it was time, whether the outcome was good or bad.
“Rooster…I didn’t mean to blindside you. I loved hearing about your dreams and aspirations to go to the academy, and become a pilot just like your dad. I was so proud of you, and recognized all the work you had in preparation for that moment.” Maverick had to breathe deeply, because he knew this was the hard part.
“But the truth is, your mom never stopped being scared of those planes, I never stopped being scared of those planes. Your dad and I were supposed to be on a routine exercise and suddenly he was gone…” Maverick felt his throat tighten, thinking of Goose and how much life he had in him, how he hadn’t made it to graduation from Top Gun.
“And your mom got sick, and she knew it was rough. Carole was scared that a plane would take you the same way it did Goose, and so was I. She didn’t want to discourage you and it wasn’t because I thought you couldn’t do it…we just wanted to protect you. So she asked me to pull your application…and I did.” Maverick finished, averting his eyes.
In the retelling of events, Rooster’s eyes had gone glassy with unshed tears.
“In hindsight, our past was ours alone and you were entitled to our own future. I should’ve told you and I’m sorry. But more than anything, please don’t resent your mom. She was just doing what moms do.”
Maverick felt his own eyes water, thinking of what to say next. He looked to Ice, who nodded in encouragement and continued to his final piece. “It was a mistake because you were always meant to be an aviator, but more than that, I miss my godson. I wish you could know how much Goose, Carole, and I are so ridiculously proud of you.”
Rooster nodded, digesting all the information. Only when Hangman grabbed his hand, did he realize he was trembling. He hadn’t even considered that Maverick’s reasoning was out of fear. But it made sense because his godfather loved him and had seen what had happened to his dad.
He swallowed thickly, before standing. At Rooster’s standing, Maverick stood, his face pinched to brace for the oncoming disappointment.
“I miss my godfather.” Rooster said thickly. “I thought you didn’t think I was good enough. And I was mad about my career, but the rank in the career doesn’t matter, because I just want to fly.”
Maverick could only look for a moment because Rooster looked so much like Goose, he just wasn’t sure how breath.
“But like I said…I miss my godfather.” Rooster added a second time, before rushing to a hug with Maverick. And for the first time, Maverick really felt like their relationship had healed.
The moment stood still in time, as Maverick and Rooster just took in each’s space, but of course, Maverick could only go so long without some chaos. He knew just how to get his godson and former student to squirm.
“So…when’d you start dating Hangman?” Maverick asked with a grin.