Atlas: A Top Gun: Maverick Fanfiction

Chapter 35: The One Where Ice & Mav Are Actually Married

A/N: Hey kiddos :) Considering that tomorrow is mother's day, I'm not posting this fic tomorrow and I'm just going to do it a day early!  I'm wrapping up the story really soon so I'd really like to know the things that you want to see before I end it!  And if you'd like to talk plot or Kelsey/Jake, or OC stuff, please come chat with me on Tumblr (luminouslywriting).  As always, let me know what you think and I hope you have a great day!  

With Christmas rapidly approaching and with no real cause to celebrate, Kelsey thought that she would get off the hook this year. Sadly, she was mistaken. Mostly due to the fact that the entirety of Dagger Squadron was a whirlwind of Christmas cheer and could have rivaled the Who's in Whoville.

And then there was the fact that Uncle Pete and Uncle Ice had banded together to ensure that her Christmas was going to be enjoyable. Never mind the fact that she was cold and bald and hated the way her hair was starting to spot up on top of her head—and that her wig looked ever so slightly off. Never mind the fact that sugar was practically poison to her body at this point and never mind the fact that she explicitly stated that she didn't care for Christmas this year.

But man—these people were persistent. She had always known that, but she had never particularly been on the receiving end of the way that this family decided to show love in such an aggressive way. Normally she was leading that attack, truthfully speaking.

No amount of training and no amount of knowledge for that could have prepared her for Ice and Pete to whisk her away in Sarah's suburban, Penny and Sarah in tow—and set out to pick out the Christmas decorations, get a few gifts, and hit the shops in downtown. Mostly because the only song that Pete would let play on the radio was Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Kelsey practically smashed her face into her knees the entire car ride, unnaturally nauseous from the motion of the car. Sarah and Penny rubbed soothing motions on her back while she just tried to block out the Queen of Christmas and the way that she had been meme-ified over the years.

"What's wrong? Don't like the music?" Pete questioned, craning in the passenger seat to glance at Kelsey.

"Absolutely-freaking-not," Kelsey mumbled, shaking her head at him.

"For the love of God, just change the station!" Sarah insisted.

Pete immediately had his hands swatted away by Ice, who promptly switched over to Frank Sinatra and his Christmas music. That was only slightly more bearable. It wasn't until they were exiting the car that Kelsey felt like her lungs were taking in the air again.

"Well, where should we hit first?" Penny questioned, glancing over at Pete and Ice, who were quietly arguing over the list that Sarah had provided them.

"I want paint," Kelsey said in a quiet voice.

All four heads immediately snapped in her direction. "For what?" Sarah asked curiously.

"I don't like the color of the walls at the house. It reminds me of the hospital," Kelsey said in a small tone. "So I wanna paint it."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Penny exclaimed, linking her arm up with Kelsey. "Sarah and I will go with you." Her gaze trained onto Pete and Ice, both of whom just gave a tight smile. "Do you boys think you can handle picking out the trees?"

"Obviously!" Pete said quickly. "We're two grown men in the military. We can handle picking out a few trees."

"Right, of course," Kelsey deadpanned in a deeply sarcastic tone. "Because you clearly forgot about the Christmas Tree Fiasco of '99."