Chapter Text
Despite his frequent claims, Jake Hangman Seresin actually fears something in this world.
No, no, mind you, not those normal, weak, feeble stuff. (He does fear spiders though, but he will murder anyone with this knowledge mercilessly, so that’s for your own good not knowing) He is not afraid of tension, obstacles, challenges, or adversity. He is not terrified of pain or death. Hell, he is not even frightened by moral dubiousness, for which he earns his call sign. That changes, somehow, after that insane suicide mission that happened a week ago, but you get the vibe.
He is afraid of boredom, very much so.
That is why, when the squad was granted a well-deserved long break and all of them decided to head to California for a beach vacation, when he is lying on a deckchair under a colorful parasol side by side with Coyote, when Rooster snatches the rugby ball from a surprised Maverick and ends up immediately running back to him as the older (and more cunning) man fakes falling down, he suddenly has this wonderful wonderful idea.
“Say, Coyote.” His best friend hums absent-mindedly, accustomed to his brainwaves. “Do you think Maverick is married?”
Coyote pulls down his aviator and cracks an eye open at him. “What?”
“You know, Maverick, as in Captain and soon-to-be Rear Admiral Pete Mitchel, married, as in the legally recognized union…”
“Shut up, hotshot. I am saying: why ya ask that?”
“Just curious?”
“You want to do something if he is not?” Coyote has slipped his sunglasses back on and his smirk is downright devilish.
“No! Maybe? I mean, look at him,” He gestures to the man in question, who is roaring with laughter (probably at some funny things Phoenix said), his tan muscle glittering under the sunlight, “I've got eyes, OK? But basically it’s some innocent attention and care paid to our legendary instructor who just happens to be smoking hot.”
Coyote shrugged. “Dunno. But I guess you can always look for the ring?”
Right, the ring.
So when the gang walk back from the sea, Hangman waits until Maverick walks past him and quickly rises up. He plans to adopt the usual Hangman swagger, trip Maverick just a little bit, then elegantly support him, and give some shit like “oooopsies are you ok pop with your age you oughta be careful”. Then he will have the opportunity to search for and study the ring, if any. Perfect.
But he has lay down for too long and his rebellious legs give out the second he stands, leaving him falling into the sands right besides Maverick’s feet.
Damn.
Maverick seems startled, but he quickly regains himself and offers Hangman a hand to pull him up. “You OK, son?”
Hangman would have made some witty retorts, he really would, but he catches a glimpse of something shiny hanging in front of Maverick’s well-built chest and near his heart, and he is speechless.
A ring, silver and plain, held by the same chain of his dogtag, twinkling in the California sun.
“Hey Hangman!” He is dragged out of his stupor by Rooster’s voice. “Why are you ogling my godfather's chest?”
Hangman just shrugged and grinned shamelessly. “It’s nice to look at.”
(Judging by Fanboy’s groan, Phoenix’s roll of eyes and Halo’s pouch on his upper arm, he has not lost all the swaggers yet. Good.)
“You are looking at the ring, are you?” Hangman tries very hard not to act like a starving man who smells fresh pizza and doesn’t quite succeed. Maverick smiles warmly, fondness dancing in the emerald eyes at the mention of his ring. “Honestly I would go for something fancier, but my husband picked it. He loves simple things and I love him, so.”
Husband, Huh. That's an unexpected reward. Hangman is very satisfied with his little stunt.
—--------------
Dagger Squad 🗡️✈️
[Hangman removes Rooster from the group chat]
[Hangman changes the name of group chat to “Let’s find out the lucky and unfortunate bastard ”]
Hangman: Soooo
Hangman: guys
Phoenix: ?
Hangman: and gals
Fanboy: what you up to this time Hangman
Omaha: and why you kicked Rooster out
Coyote: He wants to find out who Maverick is married to
Fanboy: explains the new name I guess
Hangman: and Rooster was blocked because the man's his godfather and he must have known something. Will take all the fun out of it
Halo: [rolling eyes.gif]
Bob: just wondering, why are we texting each other while we are around the same table in the same bar?
Hangman: because Maverick is here with us, man! He will know our plot
Phoenix: no he will not. He is too busy making love to the phone with his eyes.
Hangman raises his head. That's true, as Maverick is now typing on his phone, wearing the most dopiest smile the world has ever seen. “Love Smitten Hearty Eyes Face” is the only expression Hangman can think of.
Hangman: 100 bucks that he is sexting with his husband
Coyote: it's much much less interesting than betting on who the husband is, bud
An evil smile lights up his face. Hangman lives for good bets.
Yale: don't you dare give him ideas @Coyote
Hangman: just admit you will lose the bet to me @Yale
Yale:
Yale: Never
Hangman: [winking cat.gif]
Hangman: 100 bucks, two week’s time, who’s in
Halo: nah wager too small
Halo: let’s say 500 bucks
Hangman: attagirl
Yale: I am in
Omaha: in
Harvard: in
Phoenix: in
Bob: honestly I am also curious
Hangman: [Let the game begin.jpg]
[Hangman changes the name of group chat to “Pilots, Disciplined, Quiet, and Cute ”]
[Hangman adds Rooster to the group chat]
Rooster: WTF
Hangman: well
Hangman: technical issues?
—-----------------
The first person he goes to for his sacred quest, against all odds, is Rooster.
Sure, they have that little friction before, and Hangman kind of has been a bastard back then. But he has saved the brunet’s sorry ass in the uranium mission, and that must have won him something, right? (such as access to certain information of a certain godfather)
So the next morning, when all of them gather in the living room of the villa they rented, he sits beside Rooster on the sofa. He can hear Harvard, Yale, Halo, and Omaha playing some card game, their laughter crisp as the summer breeze. Phoenix and Coyote are trying (and failing miserably) to convince Maverick to play War Thunder with them. (“Nah, I will pass,” says the man, sipping his tea, “sounds like they don’t have enough stunts in the game.”)
“Heyyyy,” He says to a wary Rooster, “Why the face, man?”
“Just spell out what you want.”
“Hey!” Hangman feels a little offended. “Can’t I just have a casual small chat with my dear old friend?”
Rooster just shrugged. “I don’t know, but if you ask nicely, I may just tell you what you want to know.”
Wow, the man is really more observant than he thought.
“So, about your godfather...”
To Hangman's dismay (and horror), Rooster's teasing frown turns into something miserable and sad. One minute later, tears start to fill up his brown eyes.
"Wha..."
"Sorry." The man turns away and wipes at his eyes. "It's just... It's a bit hard for me to talk about him."
Hangman is speechless with shock and doesn't really have an idea what to say or what to do with his hands. So he keeps the mouth shut and puts both hands on his knee.
The taller man sniffs. “You were right that my dad flew with him back when they both were at Top Gun.” A rush of guilt surges within Hangman. But before he has the chance to address that, Rooster continues. “Dad was his RIO, and they made one hell of a team. The competition became intense between them and another pair, Iceman and Slider. Yes, Iceman as in Admiral and COMPACFLT Iceman Kazansky.” Oh, Hangman thinks, no wonder the drop-dead handsome blonde in that picture beside Maverick looks somewhat familiar. “During one hop when they got in each other’s way and went too far, Maverick flew through Iceman’s tailspin and the jet lost control. He and dad were forced to eject, and…”
Rooster seems too overwhelmed to continue, and Hangman can’t stand just sitting there any more. He awkwardly pats Rooster on the shoulder and is barely restrained from saying “there, there”.
The brunette is somehow calmed down, and the story continues. “Dad was severely injured, broke his neck. By some miracles he survived, but he was in a coma for almost two years. I was honestly too young to remember it all, but that time was tough for mom, working to support me, taking care of Dad and all. So, although Dad gradually recovered and made it back to the sky in the end, Mom was too worried for me to follow in his path. When I submitted my application to the Navy Academy, she secretly begged Maverick to pull my paper.”
Hangman’s jaw dropped.
(Distantly, Payback is doing an Eminem song while Bob is b-boxing surprisingly nicely. Wow, didn’t know the guy can do that. Maverick waits until the song is over and takes out his phone. “Lemme show you some old school classic.” he says, and starts playing “Ice Ice Baby”.)
“Yeah, I know. But Maverick, the self-sacrificing asshole…”
“... didn’t tell you that was your mother’s idea?” Hangman finishes the sentence for him.
Rooster shrugs and nods. “And he didn’t tell mom the whole thing either. I had no idea how to deal with the whole ‘my dad’s best friend and my godfather standing in my way’ thing, so I lied to my parents and said I failed the test myself. When I used another four years to get admitted with top grades again, mom finally compromised and let me follow my dream. But… I thought that Maverick pulled my paper because he didn’t think I am worthy or some shit like that. So I spent a decade or so hating him and ignoring him, while he kept finding excuses for me when my parents told off my bad way of treating my godfather.”
“And then he chose you as his wingman At the expense of forgoing the excellent opportunity of flying with a true genius, aka me.”
That earns a snort from Rooster, and Hangman feels strangely pleased.
“And then he chose me as his wingman. And saved my life with another self sacrifice.”
It is really hard to process all the bombshells in such a short time. No wonder Rooster struggles to talk about his godfather.
“When did you know? I mean, the reason behind the paper pulling thing.”
“Only lately. After we came back from the mission. I finally have the guts to tell my parents about Maverick, only for my mom to break out in tears and tell me the truth. Turns out the whole time he was just trying to protect me and care about me while I was just being a bastard and hurting those who love me.”
Rooster looks genuinely sad and regretful now, and Hangman pats his arm twice.
"I guess... the past is in the past, you know?" He surprises Rooster (and himself) by saying that out aloud. "What you did was not best, but you had your reasons. Your mom and Maverick, too. Shits happen, they are out of your control and not your fault. You just did what any normal person will do, really. Not perfect, many drawbacks, but that's life."
He thinks back to his own family, his loving but stern and extremely busy parents, all the Christmas and Easter that he spent alone, the empty house and the emptier heart.
“You should be happy that there are many people loving you.That even your hurting each other is because of love. And you still have your chance of redemption. That’s… lucky. ”
The brunette is now looking at him like he hasn’t seen Hangman before, and there is something strange in his eyes. Hangman wants to squirm under his stare, but he holds still.
After an eternity, Rooster shakes his head and lets out a quiet laugh.
“Who knows, right? Mr. Leaving your Wingman Hanging is actually a decent comforter.”
He is too busy hiding his blush when Rooster reaches out for a half hug that he doesn’t notice the thumb-up exchanged between Phoenix and Rooster (and the wink from Maverick).
So, the fish for information from Rooster expedition dies half-way because he can’t bring himself to ask that when Rooster is mourning for the time lost with his godfather. Doesn’t matter, totally fine.
At least he knows who to go to in the next step (and the hug wasn’t bad) ----
Top Gun class of 1986.