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It’s 2 A.M. at the Hard Deck, the team returned to base only a few hours ago and with adrenaline running through their veins no one was tired, luckily Maverick knew the owner pretty well so Penny keep the bar open for them. A classic rock song can be heard on the jukebox as the pilots all gather around the pool table belting out the lyrics to Don’t Stop Believing.
Bob sits on the piano bench watching Phoenix smoke Omaha three rounds into a pool competition the crew started two weeks ago. Thinking about the first day he met everyone, the first day he met her. She was bold, she called him out, include him, asked him to wrack the game, to play with her. He was grateful to have been paired with her and grateful to have gotten to know her.
He’s sipping on a Sprite lost in thought when Rooster walks over to the piano stool, a shot held out to the backseater.
“Come on tradition”
Bob shakes it off. He wasn’t a drinker and was used to the Navy guys giving him a hard time about it. “No, thank you” he waves his hand in a no motion towards the pilot.
“Fine” Rooster tilts his head back slamming one shot and then the other setting the glasses down on the top of the piano. He picks his beer up off the top of the piano, and sits on the piano bench next to Bob. He watches the game, looking over at the weapons specialist with a smirk. Bob is watching Phoenix like a hawk, a sheepish grin on his face as he catches her looking back at him.
“You like her?” Rooster nods in his friend’s direction.
“Phoenix?” Bob questions “she’s a great pilot”
“I didn’t ask if she was a good pilot. She's elite. I asked if you like her?” Rooster speaks slower emphasizing the word like.
Bob shrugs the question off. “She’s just my pilot” he says trying to deny his feelings.
Rooster flicks his own nose “your nose is growing Pinocchio“
“She’s out of my league” Bob says staring down at his cup, unsure he could ever be in Natasha's league even after the mission today.
“What league?” Rooster asks taking another sip of his beer, waving his hand around “this is the league Romeo, you’ve got just as many stars and stripes as the rest of us”
“What am I supposed to do? Just walk up and kiss her?” Bob asks looking up at the model planes hanging from the ceiling, anywhere but the pool game before him now.
“That’s actually a great idea” Rooster agrees “I’m about ready to shove you both in a broom closest myself, maybe I’ll go ask Penny” he starts to get up.
Bob panics lightly touching the other pilot’s shoulder holding him back. “Wait! If I do, I screw up what we have now” he always thought in worst case scenarios, this was top of his list. He couldn’t imagine being with another pilot, not in the way they seemed to connect and he didn’t want to have to start all over again. His old pilot, Ponyboy and him just didn’t fit right maybe the reason he got sent back to top gun and not Pony.
Rooster shrugs “she rejects you, and you have to ask for a transfer, or… ”
“Or?” Bob raises an eyebrow.
”or it works out and you two become the best top gun team in and out the air.” Rooster takes another drink “we could be up there in the air again tomorrow, another dog fight. It’s now or never.” Him more than anyone knew what it was like to loose someone up in the air. “Do what the fossil trained us to do… don’t think, just do” he repeats Maverick’s words as he stands mouthing kiss her again he starts towards the door.
Never Surrender starts playing on the jukebox as Bob keeps his eyes on Phoenix quietly contemplating Roosters words to him. If he didn’t do anything nothing would change between them, in a few weeks he may get assigned somewhere else with someone new, but he couldn’t deny he did have feelings for her. It was hard not to when she always seemed to constantly be there with her determination to be the best pilots wanting to spend every second together. They ate together even, her usually stealing food off his plate even though they had the same basic Navy assigned meals. They studied the manuals after class, went up after hours till they finally felt like partners in the cockpit. She doodled little jet planes in the side margins of his notes, and he wondered if she should have been an artist. She had embraced him in a tight hug screaming in his ear how proud she was of him when he won the football game, and he thinks no one had ever been more proud of a fake football game, more proud of him.
Bob stands up slowly gaining the confidence of a war hero. He makes the few feet towards the pool table watching as Phoenix is leaning down on the table aiming the perfect eight ball center pocket, as she rises and turns towards him, a big smile on her face, he inches close to her ever so carefully and leans his head down pressing his lips to hers. The kiss is clumsy at first Phoenix closes her eyes releasing the pool stick in her hand it drops to the ground. Her left hand comes up to cradle his face, their lips parting open, accepting. She kisses him back for a brief moment, and then pulls away. When Bob looks into her eyes fear cascades over her face. Phoenix turns away pushing past the other pilots she walks quickly towards the door without a word. He can only watch frozen with fear of what he just did.
“You sly dog, I think they need to rename you Viper that was smooth” Payback says picking up the pool stick behind him.
Fanboy pats Bob on the back.
“Do I go after her?” Bob asks them his face full of remorse.
Payback becomes his voice of reason. “No, dude. Never go after the girl, it’s a rookie mistake.”
Bob wants to run after her anyway. “How do you know?”
“Cause if she didn’t like it she would have punched you in the face” Payback smirks knowing Phoenix could have easily kicked his ass.
Fanboy agrees “he’s got a point, we’d be calling 911 right now”
Bob gulps watching her exit the bar. He runs his hand through his hair hoping the other pilots are right and he just didn’t blow it with the most breathtaking person he had ever met.
—-----—
Phoenix slides through the small crowd easily making her way to the door. A rush of emotion over coming her as her backseat pilot just did the most un-Bob thing and actually acted an instinct and made a move on her. She needed air. She needed clarity. She needed to make sure this wasn't a dream.
“Nix where you going?” Rooster calls after her, talking to Fritz by the door, he turns following her out.
Phoenix catches her breath on the porch as she leans against the side of the old wooden building. The cool salty night air hits her face as she breathes in slowly trying to calm herself. “I crashed. I think crashed and I'm in a coma dreaming, because Bob just kissed me!” She can barely recognize her own voice sounding like a teenager squeaking the words out.
Rooster is laughing, leaning against the side of the building next to her. “You're not dead. I told him to kiss you”
“This isn't funny. Why would you do something like that?” She glances over at him her gaze razor sharp on him.
Rooster looks over at her. “Precisely because you aren't dead”
“So that’s a good excuse? We almost die every day out there” Phoenix crosses her arms upset at herself for being caught off guard. She hated not feeling in control, of her life, of her emotions.
“Exactly! Natasha, we went out for weeks in the academy and you never looked at me the way you look at him” a bit of resentment echoing in Rooster’s voice.
“I have to look at him he’s my backseater”
“You never looked at your old WO that way. I’ll call Swifty right now and ask him” he starts to pull his phone out his pocket pretending to dial.
“In what way?”
Rooster puts the phone back in his pocket. He turns standing in front of Phoenix so he can see her clearer in the moon light. “Like he knows all your secrets. Stuff you never told anyone. Stuff I only heard when we were drunk off base. You’ve told him about your brothers? The animals you rescued?”
She had told Bob everything about herself in between stacks of paperwork and flight mapping charts, long hours in the briefing room going over strategies turned to talks of their past. It had been easy to talk to him, he was a great listener unlike some of her other WSOs. She revealed pieces of herself to him bit by bit. In turn he had told her things about himself, things no one else knew. She knew it had come down to the Navy or peace-corp for him and in the end his grandfather had been the one to encourage him into the Navy program. She knew he had two sisters and never got a word in at home which is why he was so quiet. She knew he hated olives. But above all, she knew Bob was one in a million.
“Yes, he knows everything, but it doesn’t matter” Phoenix has tears in her eyes looking at her best friend thinking how she had been a coward “I turned and ran. I can’t go back in there”
“Does he make you want to get on that piano and sing Great Balls of Fire?” Rooster knew valiant actions of love were few and far between but Bob had been the daring one tonight, which meant it was Phoenix’s turn to do the same.
She chuckles a bit wiping her eyes and grabs Rooster’s beer taking a swig. She wasn’t used to being the vulnerable one and she wasn’t use to falling for the nice guy with a sarcastic wit.
“Yeah, he does” Phoenix says felling like a weight was lifted off her chest admitting it out loud. “He’s not like the rest of you stick jockeys” she says with a heartfelt smirk tears leaving her eyes now. She holds the beer out to her friend.
Rooster takes his beer back “we both know Bob-Bob is good for you, so go back in there.”
She straightens up composing herself. “When did you become a romantic?”
“Since I’ll always care about you and I want to see you happy.” Rooster shrugs, things might not have worked out between them but she had always been there for him, and now he wanted to return the favor. "And maybe a hundred dollar bet with Hangman. He didn’t think Floyd had balls but I knew he’d come around.”
Phoenix laughs, Rooster was always full of surprises and while she didn’t like them betting on her life she knew he had only taken a bet if it was a sure thing. “Thanks Roo.” She turns and looks at him for a brief moment before walking back inside.
“Don’t think, just do,” Rooster calls out behind her.
—-
Phoenix walks back into the bar but instead of going back directly to the pool table she makes her way over to where Maverick and Penny are talking behind the bar. She leans over whispering in Penny’s ear.
"He did what? That's a Maverick move. What have you been teaching these kids Pete?" Penny looks over towards Maverick before turning her attention back to Phoenix. "A little lesson then" Penny nods understanding what Phoenix wants.
Penny walks over to the bell and rings it, the loud sound echos throughout the bar, it gets quiet as she begins to speak “ATTENTION HARD DECK!! A rule has been broken by Lieutenant Robert Floyd! Floyd… Don’t you know it’s customary to buy a girl a drink before kissing her? You broke that rule so next round of drinks is on you!” Noise erupts from the bar area as everyone cheers Bob’s name. Penny winks as she hands Phoenix a beer.
Phoenix takes a sip and then starts to walk slowly through the crowd towards the pool table. Bob is standing with Fanboy and Payback, they all freeze as she approaches. Bob looks like deer caught in the headlights of a moving vehicle. He opens his mouth but the words are lost.
“Hold this Mickey” Phoenix holds her beer out to Fanboy, the backseater takes it with a nod.
“Phoenix, I wasn’t…I don't...” Bob’s guilt and embarrassment clear on his face but he won’t apologize not now, she had come back that had to mean something.
She cuts him off. “Thanks for the drink Bob” Phoenix says turning to him with a wide smile forming on her face. Maybe he had gone about it wrong the first time around but she was for second chances. She hoped she didn’t make a mistake as she takes a final step towards him.
When Bob sees the smile on her face his brightens up, the fear and panic of the last few minutes leaving him. He’d buy the whole place multiple drinks if only to see her smile.
Phoenix leans up on her toes pressing her lips to his, warmth fills in the gaps, the sour taste of beer mixing with the sweet lime taste as mouths collide together again. Bob’s right arm goes around her back lifting her onto the pool table. Her fingers dig into the back of his hair and trace along the back of his neck. His arms grounded around her hips now holding her steady as they continue to kiss. The passion of weeks of getting to know each other exploding between them, truer and deeper than either one has experienced before. Bob kisses her as if its their last night alive, as if he lets go all this will disappear.
Howls and cheers can be heard behind them growing louder. Phoenix pulls back for a moment, raising her middle finger to the crowd, out the corner of her eye she can see Hangman hand Rooster a one hundred dollar bill. She turns her attention back towards Bob. Pressing her forehead against his the world fades away for a few more moments it’s just them. They survived and now there was no turning back, the world would be different tomorrow but tonight they wouldn’t think, just do.