Danger Zone - Top Gun: Maverick

14. One More Day

She's got a smile that it seems to me reminds me of childhood memories where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky...

Sweet Child 'O Mine blasts through Nova's phones speaker next to her on her nightstand. Nova slowly stirs awake at the sound of her morning alarm, but Bradley jolts up as soon as the sound starts to play.

Bradley sits up in Nova's bed, only in his underwear, and revisits the events of last night in his mind. His brain collects the fact that he's at Novas house and they leave today through the loud rock song playing. Nova turns to her side, shutting off her phone and fully awakening.

"Morning." She murmurs.

"Is that your alarm?" Bradley rubs his eyes, trying to wake himself up.

"Yeah." Nova nods, rolling out of bed onto her feet.

The wooden floor beneath her sends a chill through her body, and she is desperate to get some clothes on. Her hand fidgets against the wall for the light switch as she stumbles in to her bathroom tiredly.

Bradley rolls out of Nova's bed, untangling himself from her sheets. He had been dreading this day for a while. Waking up with Nova helped, but Nova couldn't be there for him in the sky. That's what he was dreading, being in the sky, something he loved.

Today was a full day of travel. All they head to do was swing by Bradley and the guy's house to get the last of his stuff and get theirselves on the ship. Today would be a fairly easy day, but still filled with stress. Today they would find out which pilots were flying on the mission, and Nova had a strong feeling she knew who Maverick would choose.

Nova emerges from her bathroom in an official Navy sweatshirt and sweatpants that match. Her hair is pulled into a messy low bun, the tiny pieces falling around her face as opposed to the usual slicked back military style. Her eyes are tired, and her lack of concealer really shows that. She stumbles over to her vanity and speedily does her usual morning routine, hiding her dark under eyes and painting her lashes with mascara. Bradley waits patiently, watching her do these things curiously. He didn't understand why she put concealer under her eyes, it was the same color as her skin anyway, what difference did it make?

"I'll run you by your place to get your stuff." She says as she rubs sunscreen on the rest of her face.

"Okay. I guess I'll put my pants on." He decides out loud, still groggy from his sleep.

Nova laughed at this under her breath as he slipped back into his clothes from the day before. She liked the sound of his voice in the morning. It was deeper than usual, but somehow she found it cute. She wished she could hear it every morning.

The two of them drove to the house in Novas car. Bradley looked at all the houses out the window as they talked to each other about the mission. His mind wandered around and around the thought of whether or not Maverick would choose him to fly, surely he thought it'd be Hangman. Mav would never let him fly on such a dangerous mission, hell, he wouldn't even let him join the Navy in the first place. Bradley did have hope in the beginning, having confidence in his own skill. He knew he'd make a better wingman than Jake, but he didn't know if Maverick thought so. But what if Maverick did think so? What if he though Rooster was an incredible pilot, but for some reason was going to try to protect him again? What if he actually does pick Rooster, what will Rooster do then? Then he'll have to fly the damn mission and could die. But what if Mav doesn't pick him cause he just isn't good enough? What if he isn't actually a good pilot at all, what if he's really not ready?

"Bradley Bradshaw!" Nova raises her voice slightly, snapping Bradley out of his deep thoughts and lightly swatting his arm.

"Hmm?" He jerks his head towards her, coming back to reality.