Chapter Text
Maverick swore loudly as the zip snapped off his rucksack. He threw the bag back onto his bed and rummaged around in the bottom of his closet, retrieving another bag and quickly repacking it. Rooster would be there in a few minutes to pick him up and Maverick was definitely not ready to go.
Rooster had, for several weeks now, been nagging Maverick to go camping with him. It was something they'd done a lot when he was younger. The first time was just after Rooster's tenth birthday and it was a complete disaster after rain flooded their tent. After Carole died, their regular trips became a respite for the pair who were both struggling to cope with everything.
After they returned from the mission, Rooster pretended not to notice how Maverick immediately went back to work, completely ignoring the imposed month-long leave they had been given. So Rooster had decided to take Maverick camping because it was the only way he could see that the man would actually take some time off.
Maverick had seen through Rooster's plan immediately. However, after almost twenty years of their relationship being in ruins, he agreed - he had missed doing things like this.
The doorbell rang just as Maverick finished packing and he hurried downstairs to open the door. Rooster stood on the front step, shades on, wearing a faded old Hawaiian shirt and some rather questionable denim shorts. "You ready old man?"
"Let me just grab some shoes." Maverick pushed the door mostly shut to grab his trainers from the pile he had wedged behind it. Like most things he owned, they were worn and had definitely seen better days. He grabbed his keys and locked up the house, following Rooster out to his bronco. Maverick threw his bag in the boot and climbed into the passenger seat.
It was almost awkward as they drove through the suburbs. Of course they had spoken since they got back, but not as much as Maverick would have liked. It wasn't Rooster's fault though, Phoenix's parents had basically kidnapped him and Bob for a week. Rooster had phoned to check in while he was there, sent him photos of what he had cooked with Phoenix's mum, but they still hadn't really talked since that conversation.
Maverick supposed that was why Rooster was so keen on the camping idea. "Bradley…" Maverick sighed. He might as well ask the question. "Why are we doing this?"
"I want to spend time with you."
"Kid, no one in their thirties willingly wants to go camping with their uncle."
"You're my dad." Rooster said with utmost certainty. "I've missed you. And… Damn it Mav, I'm worried about you."
"I'm fine! Couldn't be better."
"You haven't taken any time off since the mission, since…" Rooster's unfinished sentence hung heavy in the air. They both knew what he was thinking. "I'm just saying, it's not even been a month since the funeral. You're allowed to give yourself time to grieve."
"It's not that simple."
"Dad, one day you're going to have to face up to your demons. You've been running your whole life, one day your legs will give in." Rooster turned up the music before Maverick could argue back. It was some old song, something Goose would have loved once upon a time.
As they joined the interstate, The Righteous Brothers came on over the radio. Rooster put the volume on full and they both sung the song at the top of their lungs.
"Have I told you the story about the first time I sang that to someone?" Maverick asked as the radio host began talking again. "I don't think so…"
"I was at a bar with your father," Rooster rolled his eyes. Most of Maverick's stories started with that sentence. "and as always, we were both a little drunk."
"A bit vague, Mav." Maverick smiled.
"It was Goose's bachelor party. The entire squadron had shown up and completely freaked out when Carole brought you up to meet them." Maverick laughed at the memory. Rooster had been a couple months old at the time. Carole and Goose had intended on getting married before he was born, but Rooster had decided to make an early entrance to the world, delaying their wedding by a few months. "After she and you left, we broke out the alcohol and very quickly got very drunk. Then someone turned on the jukebox and there was a lot of dancing and terrible karaoke."
"I don't like where this is going…"
"I honestly don't know why I did it. But I got a microphone and found myself standing there singing that song to Goose." Rooster spluttered with laughter and nearly drove off the road. "The hell?"
"Goose then decided it was probably a good idea to take me home. So he hauled me into the car and I fell asleep. When I woke up he was standing next to the car talking to your mother. When she saw I was awake, she stormed over and opened the door. I was pulled out of the car by my ear and promptly slapped across the face whilst Goose was literally cackling behind her."
"Oh my God… I wish I had seen that."
"She later told me, over pancakes the next morning, that she wasn't angry that I ended up drunkenly flirting with her fiance, she was just worried that if I did that to someone else I might get hurt. And I received an entire lecture on being more careful."
"Classic mum. I have one question. Actually,I have many questions. But the main one is did dad flirt back?"
"Yep."
"What? I don't know what to say anymore…"
"I think he realised it was the only way to get me to go home with him. Before I made even more of an ass of myself." Rooster had dissolved into fits of giggles, desperately trying to focus on driving.
"You two were something else. Any other stories you got?"
With that, Maverick launched into another enthusiastic tale of drunken mishaps. It was nice, Rooster thought, how relaxed it made everything when Maverick had been either stuffy and uptight or drunk for most of the last month.
An hour later they left the highway and as the car drove through the countryside, Rooster finally came clean about the little extra detail of the trip. "So, Mav. There's something I haven't told you. Please don't be mad or anything."
"You know you can tell me anything, son."
"It's not like that! Just a little detail about our trip. What did you think I was going to say?"
"I thought you were going to tell me you were gay or something." Maverick laughed. Rooster didn't.
"Anyway, I may have invited a few friends on this trip." Maverick raised his eyebrows.
"Who?"
"Phoenix, Bob and Hangman."
"You invited Hangman?"
"Correction: Hangman invited himself. He got jealous when he heard of our plans. I hope that's okay since we're some weird dysfunctional family now."
"They're your friends Bradley, of course it's okay."
"Good. I hadn't told you in case you bailed, but we want you here."
"Are they meeting us there?"
"Yeah. I checked my phone when you were in the toilet, they should be there by now." Maverick nodded.
"Are you sure this is okay?" He plastered a fake smile across his face and looked at his son. "For the last time Bradshaw, yes! Now don't get us lost, you definitely don't have your father's sense of direction."
Maverick zoned out as Rooster kept talking about something or other. He loved Phoenix, Bob and Hangman. But he couldn't let his guard down with them.
This is going to be interesting. He thought as Rooster dived down a dirt track.