Atlas: A Top Gun: Maverick Fanfiction

Chapter 31: I Take This Magnetic Force of a Man To Be Mine

A/N: What if I....just arrived....to drop this....and then disappear again for a bit because of midterms?? Please enjoy and have some fluff! As always, let me know what you think! And let me know what you'd like to see in the reception! :)

The law of attraction states that people attract the things that they tend to focus on. Opposites tend to attract towards one another because like forces repel one another. This is simple science and yet it rings true for people.

For Kelsey Ryan, if you had told her ten years ago that she would be marrying a pilot—she would've thought you were damn crazy. Or alternatively, that she was the crazy one. It was something that would never happen.

But fate has a certain way of bringing people together. Like the tide of the ocean, like the immutable law of gravity, like the very fact that the sun will rise tomorrow. Certain things in this lifetime are unexplainable.

And while she wasn't certain that she believed in fate or destiny in any way—she believed in them.

Things had been hectic, to say the least. Scrambling to get a marriage license, scrambling to find somewhere to have the wedding and the reception (a rather small affair anyway), trying to find a wedding dress—

All of it had been an absolute blur to Kelsey.

None of it really felt real anyway.

And none of it could be possible without a few people. Uncle Ice had risen to the occasion, immediately offering up a venue for the wedding and finding a chaplain to marry them. A backyard wedding wasn't quite what Kelsey had pictured.

But it was perfect.

Uncle Pete had gone the extra mile to make sure everyone had tuxes and that everything was decorated (along with most of Dagger Squadron). He had been to several stores and though she was sure it was going to be corny, she had full faith in him. Even if it did end up looking like some dumb 80s movie come to life.

And since Kelsey had won the rights to Javy as her Man of Honor, that meant that Bradley was left to be the Best Man for Jake. The two had been as secretive as she had ever seen them.

But Javy was more than ready to step up too. He had dragged Bob and Natasha out to go wedding dress shopping with her and they had somehow miraculously found something.

At the moment though, Kelsey was taking a quiet moment. The sunlight was streaming in through the window and she just stared at herself in the mirror. It was sad, but she wondered how long her hair would last. How long before her eyes were covered in bags and she looked sickly.

She hoped it wouldn't be for a while. She wanted to look like this forever. Kelsey had a faint glow about her as she finished applying the last of her makeup. Something rustled in the background and she turned, finding Sarah and Penny standing there.

For a moment, no one spoke. The silence that filled the room was loud.

"You look gorgeous, sweetheart," Sarah finally breathed out, coming up to embrace her.

Kelsey sank into the hug and for a moment, she could pretend that it was her mom that she was hugging. Could pretend that her dad—who she had never known—was going to be the one walking her down the aisle. Could pretend that this was the day of her dreams that she had spent forever planning—not just a cancer induced wedding.

"Oh baby, are you crying?" Penny caught sight of a tear gliding down her cheek.

"No—" Kelsey insisted, wiping at the tear. "I just—I just need a minute."