"I JUST FEEL SO STUPID." SKYE LAUGHED, DROPPING HER HEAD INTO HER HANDS AGAIN. she was still perched on the edge of the side table, and rooster was significantly taller than her as he chuckled, and she could feel the vibrations of his chest from how close he was.
"why," he said between his laughter, "because you thought i was dating my cousin?"
she groaned in response, playfully pushing him away as he laughed again. "i saw you with some blonde girl, yeah, i thought you were dating her. and then fanboy was telling kat all about how you've been with all these different girls, but still had your heart set on someone else, and i didn't know what to think-"
rooster's laughter ceased, and his brows furrowed in confusion. "fanboy said what?"
"i don't know, ask kat." skye shrugged. "something about you getting in and out of all these relationships."
he nodded. "yeah, he'd already been saying that as a joke, i know that. what was the last part?"
"he apparently said there was some girl you couldn't have, so none of the other girls were satisfactory, or something." she said, not understanding the big deal.
rooster then chuckled, dropping his head. "of course he said that."
skye was about to question him about what he meant by this when hangman walked over, having finished ordering himself and his buddies a new round of beers. "bradshaw, as i live and breathe." he said, making rooster turn around.
"hangman." he greeted, clearly unimpressed. "you look.. good."
"i am good, rooster." hangman replied, landing a pool ball in a basket without looking. "i'm very good."
phoenix nodded, turning to bob, who hadn't been introduced to anybody other than herself and the other women. "you're looking at one of the only naval aviators on active duty with an air to air kill."
"who's the other one?" bob asked, looking between them.
skye smirked. "me and hav."
"and how many did you have, again, riot?" hangman asked.
"three and counting." she replied.
payback, who was clearly uncomfortable by the tension in the interaction, looked up. "look, more badges." he said, watching as more aviators in khaki uniforms walked in. "harvard, yale, omaha.. shit, that's fritz."
"what kind of mission is this?" fanboy then asked.
skye shrugged her shoulders, looking around at the group. "getting the band back together."
"i think we should be asking ourselves something else." phoenix said. "everyone here is the best there is. who the hell are they gonna get to teach us?"
skye's eyes wandered over to maverick, who was still sitting at the bar and talking to penny. there was no way, though, she thought. her father had had his fair chance as a top gun instructor, and frequently joked about how much he hated it.
hangman shook his head, bringing skye's focus back. "you know what i'm worried about? who's going to be team leader. and which one of ya'll has what it takes to follow me."
"hangman, the only place you'll lead anyone is an early grave." rooster piqued, earning surprised chuckles and whistles from the group.
the blonde quirked his head, moving closer. "and you'll just run out of fuel." he said, a smile on his lips. "you sit there, snug on your perch, waiting for the right moment.. that never comes." hangman smirked, his gaze shifting over. "right, skye?"
she rolled her eyes, lifting her middle finger. she kept it up for a moment before pretending to be shocked, covering it up. "oh, i'm sorry, i hate when it does that."
rooster chuckled over at her before he refocused on hangman, who was still standing close to him. "what's that supposed to mean, hangman?" he asked, tensing as if he was trying to square up to him.
hangman only shrugged, a wicked smile on his face. "i love this song." with that, he walked away, leaving rooster to shake his head.
"well, he hasn't changed." katia commented.
"nope." rooster replied, looking to her for a second before moving his focus back to skye, who stood up.
"hey, what do you say we shut it off during his favorite song?" she asked with a smirk.
"what, you mean.."
skye nodded. "jukebox heroes back at it again?" she held up a fist that he immediately bumped, a smile spreading on his face.
rooster unplugged the jukebox, chuckling as the people around him groaned and complained. he then joined skye, who was already sitting on the piano bench. "what song are we feeling, honey?" he asked, the nickname falling from his lips with ease.
she only shook her head. "what song do you think?"
he began to play a miscellaneous run of notes, smiling as he put his sunglasses back onto his nose. "are we doing the classic?"
"sometimes you gotta give the people what they want." skye replied, shrugging her shoulders. she smiled as katia and phoenix lead some of their fellow aviators to the piano, giving her blonde best friend their handshake from behind the piano.
she turned her head at the sound of the bar bell, hearing people begin to chant their typical 'overboard'. she felt bad for her father, who was definitely the person getting tossed outside, but her gaze was shifted back over to the piano when rooster nudged her arm with his to get her attention.
once rooster had finished amping up the crowd, and the chanting had ceased, he began the actual song. "you shake my nerves and you rattle my brain. too much love drives a man insane. you broke my will," he smiled down at skye, "but what a thrill."
"goodness, gracious great balls of fire!" they sang together, laughing as the entire bar yelled along.
"i laughed at love 'cause i thought it was funny," rooster continued, "but you came along, and you moved me, honey." he looked back down at skye. "i changed my mind, this love is fine. goodness, gracious, great balls of fire! kiss me baby," he sang, turning to skye, who just rolled her eyes at hime, "oo, that feels good." he finished, focusing back on the piano. "hold me, baby. i wanna love you like a lover should."
"you're fine. so kind. imma tell the world that you're mine mine mine mine!" skye practically yelled the words, her head thrown back in laughter.
rooster admired her for a moment. "i chew my nails, and i twiddle my thumbs. i'm real nervous, but it sure is fun. come on baby, you drive me crazy."
"goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!" the entire bar yelled, a few people whooping and cheering.
once the song had ceased, everyone started chanting for rooster and riot, who both started doing joking dances before giving each other a hug. skye had never felt so content, so entirely surrounded by him. his cologne hadn't changed, and neither had his warmth. the man was like a heater, and it made his hugs so comforting.
skye giggled against his chest as he squeezed her tighter, moving them in a side by side dance. "roost, let go." she said, though she was still giggling.
he swore it was music to his fucking ears.
rooster listened, though, because how on earth could he ever do anything that upset her? when he pulled away from the hug, she was still smiling. "hey, do you need a ride home?" he asked, straining his voice on top of all of the noise in the bar.
she shook her head. "i rode the motorcycle here."
he laughed. "of course you did."
"don't knock the motorcycle!" she replied, still smiling up at him.
"can i at least walk you outside?" rooster asked.
skye rolled her eyes, but nodded her head nonetheless. "i think i can allow it." he put a hand on her back as they walked back to the group, and skye waved down katia, who was talking with phoenix and bob. "hey, i'm gonna head home, okay?"
katia nodded. "okay, i'll be about fifteen, twenty minutes after you."
she gave her a thumbs up of acknowledgement before walking outside with rooster. the air was brisk as the sun set, and she wrapped her arms around herself. "are you cold?" rooster was quick to ask.
skye shook her head. "no, i'm good."
"no, are you sure?" he pressed. "if you're cold, you shouldn't be driving. i can just put your motorcycle in the back and take you to your place. my truck has a heater."
she knew what game he was playing, and knew he was practically coming up with excuses to spend more time with her. and honestly.. she was enjoying it. and so, skye rolled her eyes again. "fine, bradshaw. but only so i can save money on gas."
he triumphantly clenched his hand into a fist, biting on his lip. "you still at the apartment?"
skye shook her head, helping him lift her motorcycle into the bed of his truck and secure it with bungee chords. "no, the navy personally paid for our new place. it's beachside, real nice."
"and i'm assuming you're going to ruin it with your home decor?" he asked, his brow quirked in amusement.
she sent him an offended look. "okay mr. live, laugh, love. our home decor is fucking fantastic."
"oh, yeah? and what things have you bought for the new place?"
skye shrugged her shoulders. "a pickle rick shower curtain, and a gibby tapestry."
"a gibby tapestry?" he repeated, opening the passenger side door for her. "where the hell are you gonna put that?"
"on the ceiling." she replied as if it was obvious. "that way, he can watch over us."
rooster chuckled, fondly shaking his head as he turned on the vehicle. "and do you still have the squirrel? what's his name?"
"gerald the squirrel, yes." skye said, knowing that he was referring to the stuffed animal that sat on top of their tv. "yeah, he's still with us, of course. we also have one of the cows from chick fil a."
"you do not." he laughed.
"we do!" she replied, succumbing to laughter herself as he started to drive down the road. "hey, wait," she said, recognizing the song that was faintly playing, "is this the flaming lips?"
rooster nodded, feeling like he'd been caught. "um, yeah. it's the playlist you made, actually."
"you still listen to it?" a smile spread onto her lips.
"yeah." he said. "i actually.. i don't really listen to much other than it." he didn't need to tell her that he'd listened to it nearly every day he'd had his phone, or that he noticed when she'd added new songs to it, even when they weren't speaking. she also didn't need to know that he'd memorized every word to all of them, new and old songs alike.
skye shook her head with a smile, turning to look out the window. "better be careful, bradshaw, or i'll think you're obsessed with me." she teased.
with directions from skye, rooster finally found her new house. "no fucking way." he laughed.
"what?" she asked, tilting her head.
"i live a few blocks away." he informed her after opening her door.
"you're kidding." she deadpanned.
he chuckled again, shaking his head and taking her motorcycle out of the bed of his truck. "i live just that way." he said, pointing down the road and to the left. "i tried to get the same place i had before, but some old guy was already living there. thought it wouldn't be appropriate to kick him out."
skye laughed. "might be a bit frowned upon, yeah."
rooster just smiled down at her for a moment, standing there with his hands perched on his hips. "well, uh, you should probably head inside before it gets colder." he said, though the last thing he wanted was to say goodnight to her.
"probably." she said back, her eyes locked with his.
"i'm really glad you got called here." he then blurted. "i know it's a dangerous mission, and the last thing i should be thinking about is who i want to spend time with, but it's true. i was hoping you'd gotten called, too."
skye smiled. "i'm glad you're here, too, bradley."
his heart soared at the sound of his first name coming from her lips. speaking of her lips, his eyes were completely locked on them, and he was sure he looked like an absolute creep. "i'll see you tomorrow, right?" he asked, clearing his throat as he refocused on her eyes, which were just as easy to get lost in.
she nodded. "bright and early."
"looking forward to it." rooster replied, smiling once more. "sleep well, skye." he said, practically forcing his feet to move. he was walking backwards to his truck, trying to keep eye contact with her (or, to just keep looking at her) for as long as he could.
"yeah, you too, bradley."
he kept walking backwards, and eventually he ran into the front of his truck, making a confused face that had skye nearly doubled over with laughter. rooster could feel the embarrassed heat flooding his cheeks as he regained his balance, smiling over at her sheepishly.
"i'll see you tomorrow." skye said between her laughter, waving at him as he got into his truck. she then walked inside her house, noticing how he waited to make sure she got in safely. she then put her head into her hands. holy shit, she'd forgotten just how much she liked him.