Chapter Text
Bradley took a deep breath. He was finally going to speak to his godfather, tell Pete about his relationship with Jake. Maybe it was too soon, maybe it was too late, who knew? All he knew was that he was going to finally talk to Pete about it.
Jake squeezed his hand and Bradley appreciated the reassuring presence beside him. Whatever Pete’s reaction to this might be, he had Jake right here with him, supporting him. And that alone gave Bradley the strength to do this.
He knocked on the door to Pete’s quarters. And waited for a couple of seconds.
Silence.
“Maybe he’s asleep?” Bradley muttered as he took a step back. But Jake’S unmoving presence stopped him.
“It’s 19:00 Rooster, he’s not asleep yet,” Jake said. “And we’re doing this tonight. You’ve been putting it off for too long. And Natasha made me promise we’re doing this tonight because she’s worried about you stressing over this for longer.”
“Fine,” Bradley muttered. Jake had a point. He had been stressing about this for weeks. Months even. Since he had a crush on Jake. And now that they were actually going out, it didn’t feel right to keep it from his godfather.
He knocked on the door again. And this time, he heard hurried footsteps inside Pete’s quarters.
“Captain Mitchell?” Bradley asked, concerned. The footsteps sounded too small, too light, to be his godfather’s. Was he tiptoeing in there? He turned to Jake and saw his boyfriend had a frown on his face too.
“Uncle Pete?” Bradley tried again, and this time he heard a thud. And without a second thought, opened the door.
Pete’s room was trashed, like someone had gone through it without knowing where things were. Uniforms, socks, pins, and medals were strewn all over the floor. But Bradley could barely take in the chaos, because in the middle of all this mess, was a child, maybe no older than five, who was currently beaming at him, and wearing Pete’s helmet.
“Goose!!!!” the child exclaimed, raising his arms as if asking for Rooster to carry him.
Rooster blinked. “But... I’m Rooster...?”
He felt Jake elbow him from the side. “Do you secretly have a kid I should know about Roo?” the tone was teasing.
“Jake that’s not...” Rooster frowned as he looked down at the child’s bright blue eyes and realization dawned on him. “Wait... no. Can’t be. What’s your name kid?”
“Pete!! Maverick!!”
This cannot be happening.
