𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐗
𝟎𝟑. 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞
'𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐓. 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄. 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐎 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐂𝐔𝐄.'
( Elvis Presley, Are You Lonesome Tonight? )
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THE BAR WAS FULL OF PEOPLE. Juliette nearly considered leaving as soon as she arrived. It wasn't the fact that she didn't like to interact with new people - actually, she loved it as it was a means of getting any stress off her shoulders; she could be anyone she wanted to be and no one would notice - but her muscles were tired from the car ride and unpacking her things into the small apartment they had given her, and she still couldn't get her mind off the supposed mission she had been called in for.
She had decided to just be normal for one night before training started, so Juliette opted for wearing civilian clothes instead of dawning the usual uniform. It seemed as though she was one of the few people who actually had that idea because a group of pilots was already huddled by the pool table and they were easy to spot.
Juliette recognized some of them from pictures she had seen during her days at Top Gun. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin, Navy 'Coyote' Machado. Those were just a few of the faces that she found familiar. All Top Gun graduates.
The best of the best.
That was what Admiral Cain had said, and it rang in her mind repeatedly. Now that Juliette looked at the group of people that had no doubt been called in for the same reason she had, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of mission they were sending her on.
It was only after her eyes strayed from the group of pilots near the pool table that she noticed a very familiar jacket sitting by the bar and talking to someone. Juliette pushed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans as she approached the man, a cough coming from the back of her throat and making the man turn to face her.
"I see you've already made it to the bar," she raised her brows teasingly, eyes glancing at the beer near his hand.
Maverick beamed up at her and he quickly stood to engulf her in a tight hug. "I'm damn glad to see you, Jinx. You will not believe the day I've had."
"You could tell me all about it," she offered once she pulled away from the hug.
The look he gave her as he sat back down on his bar stool told her all she needed to know. This was something he couldn't share, no matter how much he wanted to - and it seemed that the all-confident Maverick was second-guessing himself.
"You'll find out tomorrow - when training starts," Maverick replied. Juliette followed his eyes as he looked over at the group that she had been staring at only minutes ago. "Just like those guys."
She sighed under her breath as she sat down next to him. "It's bad, isn't it?"
"It's not ideal," Maverick winced. "But you'll get through it. The right person is going to teach you."
Juliette craned her neck to the side at his off-hand comment. It wasn't like Pete Mitchell to keep things from her - she was his confidant, and he was hers. It had been that way since he had agreed to take her in, and nothing had ever changed that. But this time was different. And he was being very secretive about something for the first time since Juliette had met him - all the way back when she but a toddler.
"I see," she nodded slightly, her hand grasping his beer and taking of swig of it before he could stop her. "And who is this wonderful teacher?"
"The only guy I'd trust to prepare for this mission," Maverick shrugged as he took the beer back from her hands. He smirked slightly as he took a sip of it before he turned to her. "Me."
Juliette widened her eyes for just a split second as surprise ran over her features - and then a grin came onto her lips. "I should have known," she chuckled. "Let me guess, Ice asked for you?"
"Specifically," Maverick scoffed.
She moved her lips into a straight line at his tone. It seemed that Maverick was less than happy with this entire mission - and there were little things that truly worried Juliette when it came to flying; but when Maverick was nervous, she knew things were bad.
Juliette leaned her head against the palm of her hand as she surveyed the area around her. She found herself to be quite fond of simply people watching from time to time - and the sudden realization that each person she looked at had their own little lives and burdens was something that brought her an odd sense of comfort.
"Want anything to drink?" a voice called out to her. "Your buddy Pete here is paying for everybody's round."
"Penny-" Maverick tried to cut in.
Juliette turned her head back to the bar top to see a woman standing behind it and looking at her expectantly. She ran her eyes over the woman's light brown hair and perfectly carved cheekbones before a smirk tugged at her lips.
She raised her brows at the comment the woman had made about Maverick paying for people's drinks. The woman simply smirked and pointed to a sign behind her that explained something about how having your phone on the bar, disrespecting the navy, or disrespecting a lady would get you stuck buying people's drinks.
"Penny, huh?" she grinned, her elbow hitting Maverick's arm in a not-so discreet way. "I could go for a beer," she spoke as she turned back to the woman behind the bar.
"No, she can't," Maverick interjected.
"It's not like I'm underage, Mav." Juliette scoffed lightly as she spoke - it seemed as though Maverick was protective in every aspect of her life, almost as if he had taken over the empty role of being her father figure. Though she thought of him as more of a cool uncle. "I'm twenty-five."
"A baby," he shrugged. "She's still a baby."
"I don't think you want me to tell her what you were doing at twenty-five," Penny grinned mischievously.
"Oh, I would love to hear this," Juliette smiled at the blush forming up Maverick's cheeks.
"I'll have you know that-" Maverick was about to defend himself when something else caught his eye - or rather, someone else.
Juliette furrowed her brows at his sudden silence, and she tilted her head to discreetly follow his line of sight. Just as Maverick turned back to her and turned his back on the place his eyes had been glued to, Juliette realized what had made him turn so quiet all of the sudden.
Her eyes squinted at the figure of a man, seemingly about ten years older than her as he entered the bar. He was dawning a Hawaiian shirt that she knew for a fact had gone out of style decades ago over a white tank that was glued to his chest. His hair was a very light brown, one that seemed to be lighter due to the sun, and as his neck tilted from side to side, Juliette caught eye of the muscles hidden behind his clothes.
She couldn't help but notice the slight sweat on his tan skin as he walked into the place, nor could she dismiss the confident aura he had about him as he walked around. His lips were quirked into a goofy grin below the mustache that was on his face. There were sunglasses over his eyes, a choice that Juliette didn't quite understand for nighttime, but given his choice in shirts, she wasn't exactly surprised.
"It's his son, isn't it?" she whispered to Maverick, only earning a quiet nod in return.
For as long as Juliette had been under Maverick's wing, she had known about his best friend from his days at Top Gun. The man's callsign had been Goose and based on the stories Maverick told her, he had been the most important person in his life - that is, until he died in an accident that Maverick refused to talk to her about, leaving behind a wife and a kid.
The kid had clearly grown up. Juliette had seen the pictures that Maverick kept in the large garage he had for his jet. But she had never heard much from the boy, only elusive stories about his father and Maverick's time with him.
She suddenly understood at least one reason as to why Maverick seemed to be down about the mission. The son of the very man that had once been his best friend had been called in - and from what Juliette guessed, the mission was anything but safe.
"I'm sure things will work out, Mav-" Juliette tried to comfort weakly, her eyes searching the side of his face for any indication that her words were getting through to him.
"I don't know, Jinx." He spoke quietly, very unlike the man that she was so used to talking to - her mentor and the one person she trusted. "I think this time is different."
"You say that all the time, it's never actually true," Juliette pointed out.
"That's what I said!" Penny spoke from the other side of the bar.
Juliette smiled lightly at the woman, but when she turned back to Maverick he seemed to not share her enthusiasm. She might not have known much about the mission, but from how she was seeing Maverick act, Juliette wasn't all that excited to find out what it was going to be all about.
"I think I'm just gonna pay what I owe you," Maverick spoke up, his hand reaching into the pocket of his jeans.
Penny shook her head with a small smirk, but she reached her hand out to grab the credit card from between Maverick's fingers nonetheless. Meanwhile, Juliette was much too focused on what was happening near the pool table to pay any attention to the little exchange and subtle glances between her mentor and the woman behind the bar.
It seemed as though there was some sort of rivalry going on between the man Juliette knew to be Hangman and the son of Maverick's old best friend. Juliette kept her eyes focused on the men as they talked, and she could practically smell the macho pride hanging off of them as they talked.
"Sorry, your card didn't work-" Juliette turned her head away from the pool table which seemed to be the center of her attention that evening to see that Penny was handing Maverick his credit card back.
Maverick paused for a moment before he dug into his wallet and picked out a few five and ten-dollar bills. "Here," he mumbled. "Just take this."
"Yeah..." Penny winced, showing him the bill. "I don't think that's gonna cover it."
Juliette glanced over at the small paper receipt and her eyes widened in shock. "Those are quite a few zeros, Mav."
Maverick gulped silently, nodding his head along to her words silently. "I'll come back tomorrow with the money," he told Penny as he stood from the bar stool. "Promise."
"Sorry-" Penny smirked, her head nearing the large bell that Juliette had only now noticed. "Rules are rules, Pete."
Juliette grimaced at the sharp ring that tore through the small bar as Penny rang the bell incessantly. She turned to see that three of the pilots she had been watching - including a very cocky Hangman, were grasping Maverick and picking him up.
"Overboard! Overboard!" the people around them chanted excitedly.
"Oh- guys!" Maverick complained.
"Tough luck, Mav-" Juliette grabbed the beer that he had been drinking and raised it up at him before bringing it to her lips.
"Don't-" Maverick warned as he was being carried out. "You have better not be hungover tomorrow!"
That was the last Juliette heard from him as the pilots threw him out of the bar and onto the sand. Juliette winced as she craned her neck to watch, and once the door closed behind Maverick, she turned back to face the front of the bar counter.
Due to the fact that the loud chanting had now dissipated, Juliette could hear the faint playing of the piano from the other side of the room. She furrowed her brows, glancing over at Penny in search of answers, but it seemed that the woman was preoccupied with another customer.
"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain," a voice sang out. "Too much love drives a man insane."
Juliette swiveled around on her stool, her ears following the sound of singing. It surprised her to see that the very man she had stared at earlier was now perched on the small stool in front of the piano, a grin on his face as he played the instrument and sang along to the song.
It seemed as though everyone was quite familiar with the lyrics as well, and there was not one single person that wasn't singing along to the song he was playing. She couldn't help the grin tugging at the corners of her lips at the sight of so many people enjoying themselves.
"Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!" the bar erupted in song.
There seemed to be a golden glow around the man as he sang along to the song gleefully, and Juliette found it to be almost contagious as she tapped her foot along to the song. She failed to realize Maverick looking in through the window, a downcast look in his eyes, as she was much too preoccupied with the fun of it all.
"Kiss me, baby! Ooh, that feels good baby," he continued singing. "Hold me, baby! I wanna love you like a lover should... You're fine, you're so kind - I'ma tell the world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine."
She brought the beer up to her lips whilst she watched the impromptu piano performance in front of her, lips still quirked it a small smile. Just like everyone else in the bar, Juliette was no stranger to the tune, and she hummed along to it under her breath whilst she observed him play.
Once her beer was completely gone, Juliette wiped her lips on the back of her hand discreetly, her legs crossing over one another. Her brown eyes settled back on the song, and without even realizing it, she was singing along to the song, lips opening and closing slightly as she sang quietly.
In a flash, the man's eyes lifted up from the piano keys, and to Juliette's dismay, they landed right on her own curious eyes. She didn't stop singing along to the song under her breath, nor did her gaze falter away under the observant gaze of the man.
"Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!" Everyone shouted out loudly.
It was only then that the man's eyes turned away from her, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and he looked back at his friends. He stood from the stool with a laugh, and a goofy grin was implanted on his lips as he glanced around at everyone.
"Rooster! Rooster! Rooster!" people around the bar chanted.
Juliette guessed that was the man's callsign, but she had stared for much too long, and so she finally turned her eyes away from the spectacle before her. She didn't know him at all, but between the way, his personality seemed to radiate, and the way Maverick had reacted to him, Juliette guessed that things would surely be interesting when the training started the next day.
She rolled her shoulders back with a small sigh, feeling the muscles and joints crack as she moved around and tried to stretch them out. Juliette was feeling much more stressed than she usually did before a mission - and that alone was enough to stress her out all over again.
Her ears faintly picked up the sound of someone settling on the chair next to her, but she made no move to actually face them - until the voice spoke out, that is. "Sitting here all alone?"
Juliette groaned in annoyance, and she turned around, ready to scold whoever had interrupted her thoughts before she realized who it was. The very man from the piano - or Rooster was sitting next to her with a smirk, his brows raised as he awaited a reply.
"I was," she smirked back. "Until someone sat down next to me."
He laughed lightly under his breath, and despite the sunglasses covering his face, she could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I've never seen you around the other times I was here."
"Too bad for you, I guess-" Juliette shrugged as she leaned her chin on the palm on her hand. "But I have been here before."
"What? Just for fun?" he questioned.
"Actually-" Juliette was about to explain herself.
"I can't imagine what someone as lovely as you would be doing in Fighter-town," he interrupted, throwing a charming smile her way.
Juliette paused at that, her head tilting slightly as she contemplated her options. There were two possible things she could do - she could tell him that she had trained with Top Gun and had been called back for the same reason he had, or she could have a bit of fun with her words. The first option was the most responsible - but Juliette had never been very good at responsibility.
"Just checking out the beaches," she grinned sweetly. "What about you?"
"Oh-" he paused for a moment, looking around jokingly as if to check whether someone was looking. Once his head turned back, he leaned towards her ears slowly and spoke in a whisper. "I'm a pilot, actually-" she heard him mutter before he pulled away slightly. "I'm here on official duty."
"A pilot!" Juliette repeated, feigning being impressed. "So you work with the navy?"
"Yeah," he shrugged. "I've been training for a long time - graduated Top Gun some years ago, and now here I am - back again."
Juliette bit the inside of her cheek to refrain from laughing as she thought up her next question. "Sorry-" she winced slightly. "What's Top Gun?"
He blinked at her for a moment, almost as if he was questioning the validity of her question. "It's sort of a school that trains the best pilots," he explained. "Anyone that graduates from there are in the better 1% of the country."
"Impressive," Juliette smiled. "So what does training entail exactly? I hear you guys have to withstand some pretty rough things."
"We mostly just worked with piloting the jet in different situations," he told her carefully. "The hardest part was probably learning to train our bodies to endure heavy Gs."
Juliette knew she should have probably given up her little bit by now, but watching this man try to charm her with explanations from his terrific training at the navy was much too entertaining to turn down.
She tilted her head to the side and pouted in mock confusion. "What are Gs?" she asked, trying to maintain the most serious face she could.
He chuckled nervously, and Juliette could tell that he was silently asking himself how much dumber her questions could get - nonetheless, he composed himself quickly. "Gs are a way to describe the gravitational forces that pilots face when they accelerate the jets a lot - it basically makes us feel like we weight more and without training, it can be hard to endure."
"I see," Juliette nodded carefully, her eyes squinting as she pretend to really mull the whole G-force thing over.
"So.." he drawled out with the most charming smile he could muster. "You never told me your name."
"I don't remember you asking," Juliette pointed out. "But it's Juliette - Juliette Johnson." She had to remind herself of the little act she was performing as she refrained from adding in her callsign.
"Pretty name," he smiled.
"This is when you say pretty girl with a cheesy smile," Juliette joked, her lashes fluttering up at him as she once more tried to stop herself from laughing at the whole bit she was putting on.
"I thought that part was obvious," he shrugged - Juliette had to admit, he was good. "I'm Bradley Bradshaw."
"Nice to meet you, Bradley-" Juliette reached her hand out for him to shake. He grasped her hand in his without so much as a single hesitation, and their hands wrapped together for a moment as they shook - at that moment, Juliette took notice of how warm his palms were, and she pulled away soon after. "So, why did they call you Rooster back there?"
"It's my callsign," he told her.
She knew that.
"What's a callsign?" Juliette questioned.
She knew that too.
Bradley paused for a moment as he stared straight at her. "It's sort of like a nickname that us pilots make up for each other," he tried explaining as simply as possible in an attempt to do what Juliette guessed was spare her feelings. "They're easier to say and they can confuse enemies."
"So, what would my callsign be?" she straightened her back jokingly, pushing her chest out and raising her chin with a grin.
"I would have to get to know you better for that," he shook his head with a smile. "Maybe over a round of drinks?"
Juliette contemplated it for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she weighed her options. It's not as if she wasn't enjoying herself with his company - but he was searching for fun and when he saw her at training the next day he would surely be pissed off, so she thought it best to not indulge in anything.
"Can't - sorry," she frowned, already standing up from the bar stool and grabbing her purse. "I have an early day tomorrow."
His shoulders slumped for a moment, but he regained his posture in a flash. "I'll see you around then."
Juliette nodded her head, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips at his innocent comment - little did he know. "Goodnight, Bradley," she mumbled out softly, her fingers waving at him as she stepped back.
"'Night, Juliette," he waved back as his free hand pushed his glasses back over his eyes.
Before anything else could be said, Juliette turned her body away from him and she quickly walked out of the bar. When she was finally passed the door, she let out the loud laugh she had been holding in for so long - if there was one thing she enjoyed, it was messing around with cocky pilots who thought they could get whoever they wanted.
She didn't know if Bradley was any different from them all, but she pushed away any interest in actually finding out. Juliette was there for a mission - and she would be dammed if she didn't do her absolute best. No distractions were allowed. Not this time; not ever.
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