automatic stop, bradley bradshaw

thirty-five.

no matter the outcome, rooster couldn't think of one that didn't end with ruining skye's blissful unawareness of the situation.

at least, he thought she'd been unaware. she was too smart, as always, though, and knew that rooster was still upset about what had happened between him and maverick. and it wasn't fair because she deserved to know. he knew that she deserved to know what had happened. it involved her just as much as it involved him. 

but rooster couldn't tell her. he couldn't bring himself to do that to maverick. he hated him for what he'd done, but he still respected him. he was still the father he'd never had. 

however, it wasn't like rooster couldn't enjoy all of the time he had with skye, right?

a smirk came to his lips as he grabbed his jacket, shrugging it over his shoulders and heading out the door. when he knocked on the door, skye was dressed in denim shorts and a naval recruitment shirt she'd cropped. she looked good, as always, but he could tell that she was tired because she rubbed the underside of her eyes with her hands.

"what, we don't work today, right?"

he chuckled, shaking his head to calm her down. "no, no, we're not working. i just wanted to see you."

skye's head tilted, but she began to smile. "is that so, bradshaw?"

"that's lieutenant brad brad to you." he replied with a laugh, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "so what do you say? wanna go get lunch?"

she looked over her shoulder at katia, who was giving a thumbs up. skye turned back to rooster, an amused smile on her face. "um.. yeah. yeah, that sounds nice." 

rooster smiled, and they both waved goodbye to katia before skye grabbed her shoes and headed out the door with rooster. he turned on his car, and he was listening to the strokes. he snuck a glance over at her, swelling with glee as he saw her smile at the sound of the song. 

"so, where are we going?" she asked after a moment, putting her sunglasses on.

he shrugged, always one for surprises despite knowing how much she hated them. "you'll see."

"i hate you." she replied, though the smile on her lips betrayed it as a joke. 

"c'mon, my dear skye." he replied, reaching up to adjust his mirror. "you know you don't hate me."

she smirked. "try me."

rooster drove to the diner, parking outside and watching as her face changed from confused to excited. "i haven't been here in a few years, but i hear their fries are still pretty good."

"you're kidding." she replied, taking her sunglasses off. "the place we ate two years ago?" 

he nodded. "you liked it, right? i think i remember you liking it."

skye shook her head with a smile. "yes, roost, i liked it. this is so sweet, thank you." 

he opened the door for her, putting a hand on her back as the waitress led them to their booth. the booths were still exactly the same, as were the light fixtures. but rooster didn't care. she was still the prettiest thing in the room. he sat across from her, leaning his elbows on the table so he could still be close to her. 

"so, what's the most fun thing you got to do with the sunliners?" he asked after they ordered drinks.

she thought for a moment. "um.. well, we had a really fun mission a couple months ago. we had to go out and stop some of the enemy fighters in our f-18's. it was really risky, but we beat our fastest speed ever."

he raised a brow, impressed. "and you've been flying super hornets this whole time?"

skye nodded. "yeah, mainly. i flew an f-4 one time. the missiles are insane on those things, though. and i honestly didn't like it as well.. the f-18 is just so much more sleek."

rooster began to talk about the deployment he'd done with the golden warriors, and it dawned on him that he hadn't ever talked to anyone about it before. yet there he was, spilling the story to skye effortlessly, as if it hadn't been some of the worst months of his life. and she listened, giving input when appropriate. 

after a while, the waitress came back to ask what food they wanted. they'd both been so caught up in conversation that they hadn't even looked at the menus, and they laughed as they playfully fought over the menu, their heads nearly touching over the table. 

"i'm so sorry if this is out of line, but you two are an adorable couple." the waitress said, and rooster's heart stopped beating. 

they both looked at each other for a moment before rooster cleared his throat. "we're actually um.."

"we're not a couple." skye finished for him.

the woman flushed with embarrassment. "oh, i'm so sorry for assuming!"

rooster shook his head. "no, no, it's totally okay!" he assured her. he would be lying if he said he didn't like the sound of it, if he didn't like the idea that people saw them as a couple. 

the rest of their dinner went perfectly well, and rooster was smiling as he opened the passenger door for her. he was also smiling as he dropped her off, and as she waved at him before going into her house. 

he sat parked outside for a moment in thought. then it dawned on him. what the hell? why shouldn't he just go for what he wanted? why should he wait any longer to see if skye felt the same, or if her father's opinions of him had changed?

a part of him wanted to run out of his truck, to wrap his knuckles on her door and then press his lips to hers. but the other part of him knew that he couldn't do that, not with a clear conscience. 

and so, despite how much he wanted to do the opposite, rooster pulled out of her driveway and down the road. he kept driving until his gps had told him he'd arrived at the location, and then he got out of the truck, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 

"hey, mav." he said when the door opened. "can i talk to you for a minute?"