Top Gun: You Can Be My Wingman (Maverick X Reader)

Journey.

Sweat collects on my brow and upper lip, the heat from the sun and my flight gear already causing me discomfort, despite the cool breeze blowing in from the sea around us, a grim mood settling over me because of this. Shifting around slightly as we listen to the commander droning on at us, I look around the top deck, noticing the other aviators standing a little way away, watching us as we are briefed on what to do, their faces unrecognisable at this distance. Beside me, Maverick rolls his shoulders, the buckles on his gear jangling a bit with the movement, the pilot as bored as I am.
Eventually, the commander stops, allowing us to get on with our final goodbyes with the other aviators, as well as some preparation for the long flight ahead of us. The journey itself will be split into several "hops", seeing as the Lexington is too far off to fly the distance in one, the first leg being a small stretch to the mainland to pick up a tanker for in-flight refueling. A small escort of four other fighter jets from the Enterprise will accompany us on this first leg, but will return to the carrier immediately after, their only objective being to provide some protection for our unarmed jets. Luckily for me, one of the jets in the escort is piloted by Maverick, which gives us some extra time to say goodbye.
A few of the other pilots come over to say farewell, but not many approach either me or Hawk, so we continue on over to the waiting jets, picking out ours from the line of six. As we make our way to them, we discuss the next couple of hours, knowing that they will be tedious and uncomfortable, but necessary.
"Just don't get too grumpy with me!" Hawk teases, voice light and joking.
Elbowing him in the ribs, I flip him off before responding;
"If I remember correctly, it was you, not me, who complained the entire way here!"
"Shut up, it was turbulent, ok?"
At his words, I burst out with laughter, the irony of a naval RIO complaining about turbelency causing me great hilarity.
"We'll catch up on land!" A call from a familiar voice draws my attention to the plane in front of us.
Maverick and Merlin stand by the wing, the former blowing a kiss to me, which I "catch" and place on my cheek, smiling at him in return.
"We've not even taken off yet and I already feel sick." Hawk comments behind me, making false gagging sounds, mockingly.
"Oh, shut up, Oli!" I scold, equally as jokingly.
Still grinning, I climb into the cockpit, buckling myself in, preparing for the uncomfortable flight to the mainland. I pull on my helmet, fastening the straps under my chin deftly, before signalling to the ground staff that we are ready to take off.
As we wait for the other pilots, I look out at the dull grey construction I've spent the last couple of months living in, feeling suddenly nostalgic at the thought of leaving it.
"Base to Quicksilver, you are permitted to take off. Please proceed to the runway." The crackly voice from the mic interrupts my thoughts, the bored spokesman sounding as drab as ever.
"Roger." Pulling out onto the runway, I gear up the engines one last time, hearing the flares roar in response, the jet inching forward slightly, waiting for me to release the brakes. Bracing myself, I switch them off, relishing in the sudden burst of speed as the plane hurtles off down the runway, jolting forwards as it flies off the end, pulling the nose up quickly to join the others.
Falling into formation, I wait for the last jet to take off, before turning in accordance to the lead aircraft, heading off in the direction of the mainland. I loosen my grip on the joystick, only using it to turn the plane slightly with the others, angling wherever I need to, relaxing my muscles to avoid getting cramps which I would struggle to stretch out inside the cockpit.
Two and a half hours later, the mainland comes into view, the airport we are to land at appearing on my radar.
"Oh, thank god!" I sigh in relief, sitting back in my seat as much as possible. Orders flow in through the mics from the speakers on land, their voices unfamiliar and formal.
"Welcome pilots. You are to land one at a time on the East runway, please do so with haste."
Murmuring confirmation, we fall into a drawn out line, each a little way apart to make way for the landing time. As the second to last, I put on the air brakes, slowing the plane to 220 knotts to prepare the jet, dropping in altitude as we near.
Finally, I pull the aircraft down to line up with the stretch of concrete, bracing myself for the impact that accompanies touch down, hearing Hawk grunt in surprise as we  do, the RIO having dozed off slightly throughout the flight, providing very dull company for me. Slowing the jet, I carefully taxi off the runway, following the illuminate signs all over the green spaces on the ground to the hangers, gesturing to the ground staff once stationary.  I start to unbuckle myself, pulling off my helmet as I climb out, the cool air around my head feeling nice and refreshing after being confined for hours, rolling my shoulders to relieve the already aching muscles.
"You doing alright?" I ask Hawk, patting him on the shoulder as he stretches and yawns.
"I guess. That was boring as hell, how are we supposed to deal with another five hours, just today?!" He complains, doing exactly what he taunted me for back on the Enterprise.
Grinning, I turn to face the approaching pilots, feeling my heart flutter as always when I see Maverick coming over, his face sweaty and marked by his helmet.
"How was that?" He chuckles, already knowing the answer as he leans in to press a kiss against my lips.
"Horribly dull." I giggle in response, pushing him away, playfully, as a member of ground staff comes over.
"Quicksilver, I am to inform you that you and Iceman will not be flying alone on the next leg, which will commence in just under twenty minutes once your aircrafts have been refueled. Commander Viper will join you until the penultimate stop, which is where you will meet another commander who will guide you to the Lexington." The young lieutenant reports before turning away and heading back inside.
I look at Maverick.
"Viper's joining us? That'll be fun." I say, grinning like an idiot.
"Yeah, you guys are lucky!" The pilot replies, pulling me to his side comfortingly as we watch the ground staff look over the planes, attaching fuel pipes to their undersides as they prepare them for another flight. In companionable silence, Pete and I scrutinise their every movements, knowing we can't do much in the remaining fifteen minutes before I have to leave again.
"You two finally got together? Took long enough." A familiar voice sounds behind us, the tone teasing and light compared to what we're used to.
Spinning on our heels, we both smile and salute at the sight of a cheerful Viper, the grey haired commander looking us up and down in approval.
"Hello, sir. How are you?" I respond politely, lowering my hand as he gestures to do so.
"Not bad, but I'm dreading the rest of this flight." He muses, looking off at the jets being prepared for flight.
"The rest?" Maverick frowns in confusion.
"Yeah, I flew here from another base with the pilots who will be accompanying you back to the Enterprise."
Raising an eyebrow, Maverick responds.
"The new pilots, huh? What are they like?"
Viper grins, turning back to us.
"You trained with them back at Top Gun. They're very good flyers."
"Who are they?"
"The pilots are Wolfman and Chipper." He reveals, laughing at Maverick's eye roll.
"Goddamnit." He curses under his breath, his mood ruined slightly. Chuckling, I turn to the ground staff, recognising the lieutenant from before approaching us to give us the all clear.
Gritting my teeth in realisation at this, I twist on my heel to look Maverick in the eye.
"I guess this is it for now." I sigh, looking down as he draws me into his arms, pressing his lips to my forehead.
"Only for now." He reassures, lifting my head with his hand, connecting our lips together, sadly. Returning the kiss, I bury my hands into his hair, pulling him closer one last time, enjoying the gesture as much as possible.
"Come on, Quicksilver, we haven't got all day!" Slider's harsh voice interrupts us, the RIO calling to us from his cockpit.
Pulling away, I push away the longing feeling in my gut, knowing we have to part ways whether we like it or not.
"I love you, Pete." I whisper to him, looking into his piercing eyes.
"I love you, too, (Y/N)."
The words replay in my head as I head over to the plane, continuing to do so even as I take off from the airport, falling, once again, into formation with the other jets.