Jakes About An Hour Late To The Latest Iceman-maverick (icemav For Short, As Phoenix Has Coined) Barbecue,

I will not be taking arguments about this. 

Everyone talks about Maverick and Iceman unofficially adopting the Dagger Squad, but can we take a second to consider: Cool Gay Uncle™ Slider? I mean, obviously Slider and Ice were super close (I just watched Top Gun again, and Slider seems like the protective older brother), so when Ice (or Mav) mentions adopting the Dagger Squad, Slider is just like ‘hell yeah’ and becomes the Cool Gay Uncle™

they lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship

maverick knows his pilots miss him because of the little things they share. the texts he gets and the pictures. always at random, sporadic and unprompted.

things like —

fanboy telling him they nailed a test run for a new mission because of the way mav taught them to fly.

you two would’ve done that all on your own. proud of you.

phoenix telling him she’s up for promotion and hoping he can make it to the ceremony since it’s his fault she’s gotten even better in the air.

you were always going to soar, phoenix. i’ll be there.

coyote telling him, not for the first time, how grateful he is that maverick knows the importance of getting everyone home alive.

nothing wrong with a little hope, right?

just. small things that make mav’s chest ache every time with something proud and fond and soft because he may not be flying for the navy anymore, but these kids are absolutely making sure he still feels like he is.

Sitting in front of a cake with 40 birthday candles on it, it's probably one of the weirdest experiences of Bradley's life. Not because he didn't think he was going to get forty, but because there were so many people around him singing and hugging him, passing him presents and taking photos of the event that it baffled him a little. Uncle Tom and Uncle Pete are there too, and that's another reason why his eyes are a little wet; he spent so much time being angry with them, and now they're here, on the other side of the table, drinking beers and laughing with the rest of the squad. At forty, Uncle Tom had been raising Bradley since 1988. He was married to Mav, and their little family was all they had to celebrate, and most of the men he called, calls, uncle were around the world. They are still around the world, but their presents and their birthday videos are there, and they will be around, in person, at least once a week. They, his uncles and his squadron, are his family now, and they're enough to not fit on his two hands when he counts them all. He makes Bradley's heart beat a little faster, and all he feels is happiness.

When he blows the candles, he wishes for another thousand birthdays like this.

(He falls asleep, drunk and exhausted, hugging Jake in the middle of the other twelve people, and Logan is hugging him. He knows his head and back won't thank him in the morning, but he's safe, and the blankets around him make it all warm and cozy. Bradley couldn't ask for a better birthday.)

This is the great love, this is the love lost, this is the love found again. This is the reason to continue fighting and to go the ends of the earth for the person, the thing that you love. [For Carol], it’s her best friend and her best friend’s daughter. Which to me, that’s so natural. I went and saw the movie with some people and it was like an hour later and they were like ‘Oh, Maria’s the love!’ and I was like 'Yeah!’. ― Brie Larson (x)

(Phoenix, as Hangman and Rooster's surrogate, has just given birth)

Rooster(holding their newborn): Oh my God, he's beautiful. Thank you so much.

Phoenix: I'm really happy for you guys.

Hangman: How do you feel?

Poenix: I'm tired.

Doctor: Well, you don't have that much time to relax. The other one will be along in a minute.

(all three at them freeze and stare at the doctor in shock)

Hangman: I...I'm sorry, WHO should be along in a WHAT NOW?!

Doctor: The next baby should be along in a minute.

Rooster: We only ordered one!

Doctor: You know it's twins, right?

Hangman: Oh, yeah! These are the faces of two people in the know!

At sixteen he used to tell wild stories about the scar on his cheek. Wild adventures he lived with wild people during a summer camp he was never part of it. But it was a good story and girls and boys spent hours listening him talk.

At twenty seven, fresh out of Annapolis the story got wilder and bigger than life. This time it was about a crush, a dogfight and saving his teammates before ejecting and marring his face forever for them. Seresin always laughed in the louder way possibile when he heard the story and always alway bought a shot to Machado because and even this night it got more adventurous Bradshaw! What's next?

At thirty eight, in the backyard of his dads' home and with every single person important in his life, new and old family, Rooster tells all another story. It's Fanboy who asks because he's curious as a fox and he needs to know the truth, so how did it Rooster got the scar on his cheek Mav?

It was actually a very funny story, wasn't it Slider? Ice asks, half laughing and half trying to stay serious. So funny, adds Mav, that Admiral Kerner lost his babysitting privileges for three whole months!

I had to do a PowerPoint to let him be back in the house it's Rooster's answer and I still have it around somewhere Baby Goose, I was so touched.

You cried like a five years old Kerner, stop bullshitting everybody! screams Hollywood from the other side of the garden. He did and, anyway, we left that two alone for a day, Ice was picking me up at the airport and when we got back that evening Baby Goose had this enormous bandage covering half of his face, there was blood everywhere in the bathroom and Ron's shirt was as bloody as his hands. This idiots tried to save a kitten but forgot none of them actually knew how to go up or down on a tree and the poor beast was probably scared out of his mind and attacked Bradley who lost his balance and fall out of the three with Ron following him and it y'know the blood wasn't even their but of a poor bird the cat left on the base of the tree.

Everybody is laughing and honestly this version of the story? Way better than anything Rooster could have every come out with.

Maverick is the greatest Dad (disregarding that one mistake) not only to Bradley who he officially adopted when the other turned 16 and Carole Bradshaw passed away in a bright San Diego Hospital room, but to his unofficially adopted Dagger kids. Jake had even given him a Father’s Day card last June which is proudly hung up on his kitchen fridge.

But for as much as he loves his kids there’s 12 of them and he’s not had too great a memory since the great head bump accident of ‘89.

Aka Maverick calling his kids the wrong name for 5 minutes

-

“Jake pass me the salt it’s in the storage cabinet”

Javy “Coyote” Machado who had been leaning against the door way for the kitchen while he watched Maverick try and replicate one of his moms dishes- because he was feeling home sick and the older man confidently told him he could replicate it if he had the recipe- simply raised an eyebrow at the mistake.

“I hope you know my name isn’t Jake at this point in our relationship because if not it’s a little concerning”

Maverick just groaned as he leaned his head back before looking at him unexpectedly

“You know what I meant Javy just go get the god damn salt”

-

Maverick for as little as he knows about football, hosts Sunday football every season because he once caught Jake sulking on the ship because Sunday football started that Sunday and the ship didn’t have a stable internet connection so he had to miss it and since then his kids come and get drunk every Sunday at his house.

All of them were scattered amongst his living room (which used to only have one couch and an arm chair for Ice but has since been reorganized to fit 3 for his many long legged kids) watching some program Bradley had wanted to watch.

Said son was still holding onto the remote and as much as he loved him the game started in 5 minutes and Jake was fidgeting in anxiousness because of the possibility of maybe missing the game for some weird nature show about birds.

“Brigham- no shit, Billy fuck, Bob- BRADLEY”

4 heads turned his way confused at hearing their names and he just sighed annoyed he had to go through 3 different kids before getting to the one he need to talk to

“Damn it Bradley please pass the remote”

His legal son just chuckled before tossing him the remote and letting him change the channel, having been called too many wrong names to count at this point that he was very used to this name game.

Whatever it’s not his fault there are 4 different kids with a name that starts with ‘B’

-

“Natasha I swear to god I do not need glasses you guys are exaggerating, how could I have flown for 30 years if I needed glasses”

His daughter was currently driving him to her optometrist for an eye exam cause she swears that he needs glasses after bumping into his furniture a few too many times to count

“First of all my name is Callie, second of all bob has glasses and can go airborne, and third aging fucks up your eyesight gradually I’m sure you can see fine enough but it’s clearly getting worse and at this point you’d be a danger in the air so shut up and sit back you’re making me panic by leaning forward in the seat like that you child”

If maverick had leaned back and pouted at being scolded by someone half his age and then scowling for accidentally proving her point than that’s between him Callie and god so mind your business Ice I can already hear your loud cackle from up there.

-

Next time it happened may have been the most disastrous time yet because they were currently playing dogfight football and calling the wrong name to catch or pass a ball to him was just asking for a disaster.

“Hey bob ball!”

His brain did not in fact process that Bob had been 5 feet away from him and looked over in confusion as Jake who was his intended target was still facing the other way when he threw the pass and hit the Blonde square in the back of the head”

The newly injured blonde just looked around pissed while rubbing the back of his head, “Ow what the hell who hit me!”

He watched as 10 other hands pointed in his direction and in a panic pointed at Bradley who had been very offended at the false accusation

When Jake flipped him off he just rubbed his neck and apologized before they resumed the game and not 5 minutes later then hit Bob in the chest when he accidentally called out for Jake, whoops.

-

You would think this was only a verbal issue but unfortunately it turns out he still types in and calls the wrong name in his phone.

Last night he had walked into Bradley’s house hoping to talk to him about organizing thanksgiving when he had found a shirtless Jake Seresin in his son’s lap on the couch and kissing him so passionately that when they pulled away at the sound of the front door opening he saw one sliver of spit connecting their mouths before he backed straight out the door and decided it could wait for the morning

The issue however is that Maverick decided he would be a sensible adult and be mature enough to call Jake and have a proper discussion about him and Bradley, but accidentally typed and clicked on Harvards contact instead of Hangman’s

The man groggily picked up after 4 rings having clearly been woken up by the incoming call from his superior officer, “Hello sir d’ya need something”

“Listen son I like you a lot and I would do anything for the sake of your happiness but last night I saw you and Bradley kissing half naked on his couch and not to assume your relationship with him but I have many questions most importantly what intentions do you have with my son”

The blonde didn’t say anything for a couple seconds but he could hear shuffling so he knew the other was still on the phone

“Sir I did not have sexual relations with that man I would never do that to Jake, are you sure you’re calling the right person”

Only then after hearing his kids clear voice and not the jumbled half asleep croak it was a minute ago does he look down at his phone screen and see ‘Harvard’ written there and a picture of him smiling wide in a birthday hat and cake splattered over his face from his birthday

“Well it appears I have called the wrong kid my apologies Logan I’ll leave you back to your sleep”

“Yeah okay bye”

-

Okay so sure he messed up their names a lot but in the end of the day he loved his kids and they just accepted that this was another one of his long list of quirks they just have to come to accept and love, because for all his faults that’s their dad and they love him.

“And nearly a quarter century after Top Gun, when Kilmer and Tom Cruise, by chance, attended the same Los Angeles Lakers game in 2009, they found themselves together again, shown split-screen on the Jumbotron, while Kenny Loggins’s “Danger Zone” played over the speakers.”