Chapter Text
The first time it happens, Maverick is pretty sure it’s an accident. He’d been tormented by nightmares for days—when wasn’t he these days?
The night before, he finally reaches the end of his rope and calls Ice and Slider’s housing in the dead of the night, desperate to hear someone’s voice, for someone to tell him that they weren’t all dead. That it wasn’t his fault that both planes fell out of the sky.
Ice comes over immediately while Slider stays on the phone with him, the RIOs soft, grumbling tone keeping him grounded as he tries not to hyperventilate. When his wingman knocks on the door moments later, Pete practically throws himself at the other man, hugging him tightly as he clings to reality.
It was easily the most pathetic Pete had ever felt.
But Ice, sweet, incredible Ice just keeps a tight hold on him and walks them both back into the housing, closing the door behind him. He leads Mav into the kitchen and sits with him for what feels like hours, making him hot cocoa and talking to him in soft, soothing tones.
When it feels like he could no longer keep his head propped up, the blond gently leads him back to his bedroom, settling him in the bed and sitting next to him when Mav tenses once again.
But surely Ice hadn’t meant to fall asleep? He’d probably intended to let Mav fall asleep and then to slip off to his own house—to his own comfortable bed that Mav had dragged him from at two in the morning.
And yet, here he was—
He wasn’t close enough to touch Maverick but he was there , face relaxed and almost boyish in his sleep, hair sticking up at odd angles. He looks—
Ice blue eyes suddenly flutter open, a yawn escaping as Ice slowly pushes himself upright.
He mutters a soft good morning to Maverick as he does, asking if he’d slept any better the second half of the night.
At Mav’s soft confirmation, the blond merely smiles and then stands with an exaggerated stretch. He leaves with a quiet reminder that they had a briefing in an hour.
Maverick knows it must have been an accident.
But then it happens again.
He and Ice fall asleep together on the couch, the credits of a movie playing on the television. They gravitate towards one another in their sleep, Mav’s head tucking itself into the junction of Ice’s head and shoulder as he curls closer to the other man.
In the morning, Tom merely stretches and offers him a soft good morning before making his way back to his own housing.
A week later, it happens again !
And again—
And so on for nearly a month. One way or another, they find themselves asleep together every few days.
But then it was different.
This time, Mav had invited the other pilot over to share some pizza and beer, intent on chatting about the new Top Gun class and blowing off steam. But it had been a long week and an even longer month, and the nightmares were still plaguing Mav’s nights.
It doesn’t take long for the pair to fall asleep once more, relaxed and comforted by each other’s presence.
And when Pete starts trembling and whimpering from the nightmares that start to haunt him, it was easy for Tom to wake enough to pull the other man into his arms and slip back into a deep sleep.
This time when Maverick wakes, he finds himself tucked into Ice’s embrace and it’s the first home like feeling he’s had since he lost Goose.
He doesn’t know what the hell to think about that .
Or what Tom will think.
But the blond merely offers a soft good morning and a gentle squeeze before standing up and stretching with an exaggerated groan.
“Hey Mav?”
“Yeah—” and Mav can feel his heartbeat start to race. This was it, this was when Tom would tell him that this was getting weird. That—
“Next time, let’s crash in bed, okay? Not really young enough for the couch anymore.”
“Next time?” Mav knows he’s staring like a dumbass; his brain is struggling to process the fact that Tom wasn’t scandalized by his koala impression.
“Yeah, next time,” Tom chuckles, bending to press a kiss to Pete’s cheek. “Figured I should be clear with you— just in case you aren’t understanding.”
“And—uhh—-” Maverick clears his throat. “What am I not understanding?”
“I like you, Pete Mitchell,” he pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “And I love waking up with you in my arms, but I think we should try it in a bed next time, okay?”
“Okay,” Mavericks says softly, a grin stretching across his face.
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Over the years, there are stretches of time where they’re separated by circumstances beyond either of their control. There are deployments and stations at China Lake and Pearl Harbor and long stints on aircraft carriers. There are hospital stays where they each spend time in uncomfortable plastic chairs as the other looks wrong in the cold hospital beds.
But more often than not, Maverick wakes up in his absolute favorite place.
They both rise earlier than most; their lifelong dedication to the Navy ensures that. But Mav often wakes slightly before Tom, as his past experiences with oversleeping were not met with understanding amongst his fosters.
Because of this, he is often granted his absolute favorite moment of the day, where he just watches his husband. He traces soft fingers over Tom’s relaxed features with a feather light touch. He loves seeing him like this — all soft and at peace. He presses light kisses to both of Ice’s cheeks before softly capturing his lips, grinning into the kiss when he feels the admiral respond.
Ice hums gently as Mav pulls away, blue eyes mirthful as he slowly blinks them open. “Mornin’, baby—what was that for?”
“Mornin’ angel,” Pete grins, as he tucks himself closer to his husband, relishing in the way his arms tighten around his smaller frame. “Just wanted to tell you that I love you—and that I love waking up with you.”
“Hmmm someone’s feelin’ sappy this mornin’,” Tom teases sleepily, pressing a kiss to Mav’s mussed hair. He chuckles as Mav elbows him playfully. “I love you too, baby–
and
I love waking up with you. More than you’ll ever know.”