Chapter Text
It had been so much easier when Bradley was a little kid. Before everything had changed, Maverick had been able to scoop Bradley up in his arms, drive him to soccer practices, and kiss him on the top of his head of soft brown curls peacefully.
Now, he was standing in front of a projection of pilot’s faces and one of them was Bradley’s.
“There a problem sir?” a voice asked innocently from behind him.
“You know there is,” Maverick spat back, his eyes glued to the image of Bradley with his callsign listed below him - Rooster.
In the picture he was smiling openly, his eyes shining with excitement, looking far too nice to be a Naval Aviator. Maverick shook his head firmly but in the end it wasn’t up to him.
He texted Bradley the moment he got out of the meeting, opening his phone up to the contact simply listed as: Kid.
Looks like we’ll be seeing each other more soon, he texted.
A moment later the three little dots appeared and then Bradley’s response came through: ? not that I’m not happy about that but why? He asked.
Boss wants us both and some other shitheads back at Top Gun for a special mission, Maverick replied solemnly.
He could practically see Bradley cracking up through the phone as he texted back : well see you soon then pops ;)
Maverick smiled down at his phone screen despite himself. Bradley had been out on deployment in the desert the last few months doing classified stuff so they hadn’t really had many chances to talk. It would definitely be good to see the kid again, he thought to himself.
When he got back to his house he parked his motorcycle and got to arranging things for Bradley’s return. The boy would have to stay at the barracks housing of course, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t probably end up staying over at Maverick’s place a bit like usual too so he got stuff out for the guest bedroom.
Bradley’s favorite sheets found their way onto the guest bed and if his favorite snacks mysteriously ended up in Maverick’s fridge too - well no one but himself had to know.
Humming to himself as he worked, Maverick finally got everything set up and returned to his living room to wait for news of when Bradley’s flight would be getting in.
_______
Bradley was fucking exhausted. He’d been traveling via a mix of civilian flights and military aircraft since that morning when he’d gotten the news of his reassignment.
Now, he slumped his head back against the headrest of the last civilian flight he had until he got home and closed his eyes hopefully. Not like it’d do much good, he thought absently, his exhausted brain spinning in circles. Bradley had unfortunately inherited Maverick’s sleeping patterns and was a perpetual insomniac. He knew he’d get some good shut eye once he was home and with Maverick at least and that's what kept him going from flight to flight.
Not a moment after he’d closed his eyes there was a voice chirping, “thank you for your service,” in his ear.
His eyes snapped open as he took in the flight attendant standing next to his seat who had said it. Bradley was in his Navy khaki uniform due to the mix of military travel he’d been on already that day and so he mumbled back, “appreciate your support,” before closing his eyes again and hoping she got the message to go.
Bradley awoke to his head bouncing against the headrest as the plane descended and he let out a sigh of relief as they dropped altitude. Almost home, he thought to himself determinedly.
As soon as he was back on the ground and walking through the airport terminal with his bag, Bradley texted Maverick: made it back to the airport.
A moment later a text from Maverick came through and Bradley’s heart sank: hey so sorry kiddo but I got hung up at work with meetings. Think someone else can give you a ride home?
Bradley sighed, texting back despite the bitter taste of disappointment on his tongue. Guess he’d been looking forward to seeing Mav again more than he’d realized.
Yeah, he texted back. No problem pops.
With that he had no choice but to call the one other person he knew in Miramar. As he dialed Phoenix's number he winced, remembering that he probably should have kept better tabs on her during the long months he’d been away from his friend.
Sure enough when she picked up the first words out of her mouth were, “so this is how I find out your stateside again?”
“Sorry,” Bradley muttered, envisioning her glare through the phone.
Phoenix must have recognized the exhaustion in his voice though because she let it go and asked, “what do you need Bradshaw?”
“Can you pick me up from the airport? I just got in and I don’t have my car.” He responded.
He left out the part about Mav because no one, not even Phoenix, knew about their close relationship. If they did then he and Mav would get tangled up in long ‘conflict of interest’ court cases and possibly lose their jobs or at least the chance to work together. He shook his head, Bradley couldn’t let that happen.
When Pheonix arrived he clambered into the front seat of her car and faced the slightly disgruntled pilot. She let him off with a sound punch to his arm and a tight squeeze which he willingly embraced, smiling despite himself as she hugged him.
“Fucking missed you Bradshaw,” she murmered as she let him go.
Bradley nodded, still smiling, and said, “likewise Trace.”
He wasn’t smiling at what came out of Phoenix's mouth next though. “So,” she started, eying him hopefully, “some of the guys are down at the hard deck right now..”
He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off like the annoying pseudo-little-sister she was. “I know, you're tired,” she said, waving her hand through the air dismissively. “But consider it your tax for not telling us your home.” Phoenix paused for a moment before adding, “plus it gives you a chance to see the new guys.”
“Fine,” Bradley huffed. The curiosity of checking out his new teammates was winning out against his exhaustion. Still, he pulled out his phone to shoot Mav a text, knowing the older man would worry when he wasn’t home soon.
Phoenix is dragging me out to the hard deck, should be home soon, he texted.
It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the Hard Deck and the sound of the loud music playing from the jukebox inside carried out into the parking lot. Giving Pheonix a mock-reluctant glance, Bradley followed her inside where the music was even louder.
Through the mass of bodies standing around inside, Bradley spotted a few other aviators in uniform and let Phoenix go after them while he grabbed himself a drink.
“Hey,” Penny called out over the sound of the music when she saw him approaching the bar, “back home?” she asked.
Bradley shrugged as he accepted the glass she handed her, “yeah for a bit at least,” he said.
He reached into his pocket to hand her his card but she held up a firm hand, “on the house since your home,” she smiled, adding, “just for the first one though,” with a wink.
Bradley sighed, putting away his wallet and thanking her since he knew there was no winning an argument with Penny. Then he rounded the bar to go find Phoenix again.
Phoenix was standing near the pool tables holding court with two vaguely familiar faces he’d heard her talking about before - Fanboy and Payback. And beside her, holding his own court and looking ready to start a fight, was another familiar face - Hangman.
“Bradshaw,” Hangman drawled, walking over, “as I live and breathe.”
Bradley smirked, “Hangman,” he responded, “you look…good.”
Hangman grinned broadly. Behind him, Bradley could see Phoenix rolling her eyes and fought the urge to laugh out loud. “I am good Rooster,” Hangman replied with a smirk, “I’m very good.”
Pushing away from the wall with a sigh, Bradley moved away from Hangman. He was too tired for this shit. Instead, he found a spot at a booth with Phoenix, Payback, Fanboy, and a quiet guy who’d identified himself as Bob and Phoenix's new backseater.
Phoenix went back and forth with Bob, evidently putting him through the ringer to make sure he would work well with her. Bradley was too tired to care, the one beer he’d had only serving to make him more drowsy than buzzed but he didn’t care enough to go get another one. He slumped his head back against the booth and let his eyes slip shut, the others keeping quiet and not bothering to include him in their conversation out of respect.
Well, he thought blearily, Phoenix had only wanted him here, she didn’t say in what state.
Minutes later his phone buzzed against his thigh and Bradley’s eyes jumped open as stuck his hand in his pocket to retrieve his phone.
It was a text from Maverick that read: ready to go home kid? I’m outside.
Bradley shot to his feet, not bothering to give an explanation to the group of aviators as he clumsily made his way to the front of the bar and out the door. Maverick was waiting for him in the parking lot and Bradley raced towards him with the last bit of energy he had left, throwing himself into Maverick’s arms.
The older man caught him with a quiet ‘oomph’ and wrapped his arms around Bradley, pulling him in close and encasing him in the warmth that Maverick always seemed to radiate naturally. Bradley melted, the stress of the day draining off of him, and he went practically limp in Maverick’s arms.
“Let’s get you home kiddo,” Maverick chuckled into his shoulder as he began to carefully lead him towards the car.
“Hmm,” Bradley hummed contendly, half-asleep now that he didn’t have to pretend to socialize. He collapsed into the front seat and was asleep with his head pressed against the window and drooling within seconds.
—-
Unbeknownst to Bradley and Maverick though, there was another pair of eyes witnessing the family scene.
Robert “Bob” Floyd happened to be looking out the window and daydreaming of ways to get out of the social event at the bar when he spotted Rooster make a weird half-conscious dash out the door.
Curious, he kept his eyes on Rooster as the other aviator stumbled out the door and into the arms of another man who looked old enough to be Rooster’s dad. The other man had the same brown hair as Rooster, just a little darker and tinted with gray, and they were obviously close. Bob shrugged to himself as he watched the two embrace - maybe they were a close family, he thought absently.
The truth of what he’d seen wouldn’t set in until he arrived for the first day of training for the special detachment.
On day one, Bob was nervous as hell just usual. He kept reminding himself that really it was just like an orientation day to meet their instructors and the other pilots but that didn’t make him any less nervous.
The Navy was weird with social stuff and even though they were supposedly ‘modern’ now, hazing still happened as evidenced with Phoenix's mild form of it last night when she’d grilled him.
So yeah, he wasn’t thrilled to start establishing the social hierarchy within the special detachment with the other pilots.
Wringing his hands to shake off his nerves, Bob walked through the door and into the hanger that would serve as their classroom during the training. There were a few seats already taken so Bob plopped down at an empty desk near the back.
Cyclone, a vice-admiral Bob had run into a few times, was standing at the front of the room behind the teaching podium and for a moment Bob thought that maybe he would be their instructor but then he opened his mouth to say, “your instructor is one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced, he is well versed in every aspect of this mission you be expected to accomplish. I’d like everyone to meet…Captain Pete Mitchell, callsign - Maverick.”
Bob’s eyes widened in shock as did his new teammates. Maverick, the guy was legendary! Second only to Iceman but still, what the hell were they doing on this mission that they needed a living legend to teach them?
He got his answer soon enough when the sound of footsteps echoed through the empty hanger and everyone turned in their seats to see Maverick approach. That’s when Bob’s jaw dropped open because it was him! The older man from the night before who’d embraced Rooster so fondly.
Bob continued staring like an idiot at the Captain as he approached and Bob realized that he’d only seen pictures of Maverick when he was in his youth, not any recent ones to recognize the man by last night.
The wheels in his head were spinning furiously through Maverick’s entire introduction speech and he hardly caught the shocking moment when Maverick literally threw out the rule book.
Shaking his head to straighten himself out, Bob made a silent vow to himself: whatever is going on between Maverick and Rooster, he needed to find out what was going on and who he trusted before he said anything. Their secret was safe for now.