When Anne woke up Bradley and Reuben weren't in their beds and everyone else was still asleep. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her keys then headed out to the parking lot. Once she was out side, she spotted her dad leaning against his motorcycle.
"Morning," he said.
"Good morning," Anne nodded in response.
"Wanna ride with me?"
"Oh, no thank you. Motorcycles aren't really my thing," Pete nodded then swung his leg over the seat. "See you there then." Anne jogged over to her car, got in, and made her way to the Admiral's house. As the two pulled up the driveway, Anne saw the Admiral's grandchildren playing in the front yard, many of whom she used to babysit. Anne had spent so much time at the Kazansky house growing up she often called Iceman "Uncle Tom" and his wife "Aunt Sara". She had missed the big front yard and cozy interior, it was nice to be back.
They made their way to the front door but were stopped by a bombardment of hugs. Eventually, the kids let go and Pete and Anne made it to the front door where they greeted Sara, who swallowed them in a hug too.
Anne walked to a table filled with picture frames, her dad not far behind, and scanned the house. Not a lot had changed since the last time she was here which was probably close to 20 years now. Sara studied Anne and Pete, a sad look in her eye.
"Free-bird... Maverick," there was a moment of silence.
"It's come back?" Pete asked as Anne hung her head.
"No one knows. There's nothing else they can do. Even speaking is painful now." Anne swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Sara, I'm so sorry." Pete stepped forward and gave Sara a hug as Anne's vision blurred with tears. When they pulled back from the hug, Sara spotted Anne's frown and immediately stepped forward to hug her too.
"It will be okay honey. Don't you worry." Sara said as they pulled back. They shared a sad smile before Anne offered to go talk to him first.
She slowly pushed the door open, seeing Tom turn in his seat.
"Uncle Tom!" Anne said as Iceman stood up to give her a hug. "How are you feeling?" Iceman sat at his desk as Anne took the chair next to him.
He turned to type on his computer: I've been better.
"Well you look good." He tossed his hand forward and smiled.
How's the mission?
"It's going. There has been some drama but we're getting though!"
How was seeing your dad again?
"It went as expected. We talked things though and we're good now. You have my mom to thank for that."
How's Bradley doing?
"Do you mean with my Dad or on the mission?"
Both.
"Well, he looks at Mav like he hates him and when I told him that Maverick had apologized to me he wasn't too happy. I think they are growing to like each other... slowly. As for the mission, you know how he is. He's pushing himself so hard it's painful sometimes and the drama of it all isn't helping. He's performing really well though."
Well, I'm glad everything is going well.
"Me too!"
It was so nice seeing your face again. Tom stood up and embraced Anne once more.
"You too Uncle Tom. I'll send in my dad!"
"Tell your mom... I said hello," he said hoarsely.
"Will do." Anne was holding herself together with thread now. It was so hard to see him like that. Anne told her dad that Iceman was ready to see him now then sat down on the couch. She spent the rest of her time catching up with Sara and even though the conversation was lively, there was a sad sense about the whole situation.
"When you and Rooster were going through Top Gun, Tom went crazy tracking your progress. He probably asked about you guys once maybe even twice a week!" Sara said with a chuckle. "How are you and Rooster by the way?"
"Good! This mission is hard on us but for the most part everything's been great!"
"Oh, well, every relationship has its ups and downs. Don't worry, me and Tom had plenty of fights. We still do!"
"What do you- oh, my, no. Bradley and I aren't together. I mean, we are just very good friends."
"Really, still?" Anne face flushed red as she heard the office door open behind her. She turned to see her dad teary eyed but smiling.
"You ready for training kid?" He asked.
"Yep! It was so nice talking to you Sara," Anne said as she stood up and grabbed her keys.
"It was so great to see you both. Thank you for coming, he needed this," Anne and Pete smiled before saying their goodbyes and making their way back to the compound. They met up in the parking lot to walk in together and talk about their visit.
"How did it go?" Anne asked.
"Good. He's the same old Iceman," Pete said with a small smile. "Were you okay by the way. Your face was really red when I came out of Iceman's office."
"Oh, yea, Aunt Sara was asking about me and Bradley and she thought we were together," Anne laughed.
Pete turned his head and said, "You're not?" Anne face flushed again and she let out a breath before border line yelling at him, making sure he knew they weren't together. Pete just laughed the entire time.
When Anne entered the Barracks, all of her friends were already there. Some were getting ready for the mission, Payback was fast asleep with a hat over his eyes and, Phoenix and Bob were in an intense card game.
"Heeeey Free-bird!" Fanboy yelled. "Where've you been?"
"I was visiting a friend, what have you guys been up to?" Free-bird walked over to her bed and grabbed the clothes she would be wearing to training.
"Not a lot. You haven't missed anything interesting," he replied. Anne smiled as she made her way to the bathroom to change. She slipped on some shorts, a sports bra and a t-shirt that read "I ♡ the Navy". She was pulling her hair back into a braid when there was a knock at the door.
"Are you decent?" Rooster yelled, cracking the door slightly.
"Yup!" He pushed the door open the rest of the way then waited for it to close before speaking. Anne didn't look away from the mirror as he entered the room, deciding to focus on her braid instead.
"I'm sorry I got mad last night. You were right, we should focus on making a team and not holding grudges." There was silence as Anne finished her braid and Bradley waited for a reaction. Once Anne was satisfied with her braid she threw it over her shoulder then walked over to Bradley.
"I know I was right. Thanks for the apology though." She patted him on the chest then walked out of the bathroom. Not much happened leading up to training. The group relaxed and talked until they had to make their way to the classroom. Everyone sat in the same seats as they had for their past training sessions. It was a little strange seeing everyone in street clothes and not in their aviation suits. Most were wearing either jeans or shorts and a t-shirt.
"Hey aviators!" Everyone turned to look at the door. Maverick was leaning against the door frame with sunglasses and a smile on his face. "We're gonna be on the beach today." Rooster and Free-bird exchanged a confused looked before following the group out. Once everyone was outside, Maverick walked next to a beach chair and picked up two footballs.
"Bradshaw, Mitchell, heads up!" He tossed the balls in their direction, each of them catching one. "We are going to play a little dog fight football. You have to play offense and defence at the same time. Split yourselves up."
"Are you reffing Mav?" Hangman asked.
"No, Hondo will. I'm playing." Rooster and Free-bird exchanged a smile. The group split into teams and started to play. It started pretty serious, both teams set on winning but eventually the laughter started and the group was actually having fun. Genuine fun.
Anne had to admit, she never really liked football, but she was enjoying this thoroughly. Especially when the boys shirts started coming off. She had never seen so many six packs in one place, and that's saying something because her mom owns a bar. She caught herself staring at Bradley a few times but could you blame the girl... he had a nice set of abs. Plus, even her mom was staring at Pete from the porch of the Hard Deck!
They played well into the afternoon and by the time Pete tapped out everyone was covered in sand and sweat. The group booed him as he walked to the same beach chair from before and sat down. The group continued to play but Anne glanced up to look at her Dad between plays once, and saw Cyclone standing with him, a serious look on his face. She walked over to Bradley and hit him lightly on the shoulder, then pointed in Maverick's direction.
"What do you that's about?" She asked.
"Probably the Admiral being his old shitty self." Anne chuckled at his comment.
"Free-bird! Get your ass over here before we get called offsides!" Jake called with a smile on his face.
Anne started to jog over but turned around to say, "You better watch you back Bradshaw I'm coming for you this play."
"Oh, I'm so scared," he said with a smile. Anne went back to her side and lined up across from Bradley. They stared each other down as Jake and Reuben snapped the balls. Anne ran straight at Bradley, shoving him back and turning for the ball. She yelled for Jake to throw it. The ball sailed straight from his hands into Anne's arms but before she could run for the "endzone" Bradley wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his chest. Somehow, they ended up lying in the sand, one on top of the other and laughing their asses off.
Anne pushed herself up, only then realizing she was on top of Bradley.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she said still laughing and rolling off of him.
"Alright. Come on you two," Natasha said as she helped Anne up and Jake helped Bradley. They continued to play until Hondo was tackled in a dog pile after he had caught one of the balls. Most of the aviators left but a small group decided to stay on the beach and watch the sun set. The small group consisted of those staying in barrack 4. They all laid on the beach talking and laughing well into the night, running up to the bar a few times to grab drinks.
"Alright guys, I think I'm gonna turn in," Bob said.
"I think I'm gonna follow him," said Reuben. Mickey stood up and stretched, not saying anything but Anne assumed he was going with them.
"That means we should probably go in too," Anne said to Natasha and Bradley. The three stood up and grabbed their shirts. "Ugh I'm still super sandy. I might just keep my shirt off," Anne said holding her shirt away from her body.
"You could always wash off in the ocean," Bradley said.
"I'd prefer not to that water is cold and I-" Anne's sentence was cut off by a scream as Bradley picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She screamed in protest until he threw her down in the ocean water.
"Bradley! I am going to kill you!" She said while laughing. She lunged at him and pulled him down in the water with her. They proceeded to splash each other with the sea water as their friends watched.
"I give them a week," Reuben said.
"Less than. I say three days." Natasha said.
"I'm with Natasha," Mickey said.
"I say they kiss tonight but don't get together until after the mission," Bob said. The four of them turned and made their way back to the barracks as Bradley and Anne tired themselves out. They eventually made their way to shore.
"I don't know how much that helped, we are going to get sticky now," Anne said.
"We can just shower when we get back," Bradley ran his hands through his wet hair and looked at Anne. The sun hadn't fully set yet and the golden light was making Anne's eyes glow in the most beautiful ways. He hair was falling out of the braid but still managed to frame her face perfectly, even though it was wet. Her cheeks and nose were red from the sun and her freckles were more prominent than they had been this morning. He shook his head, snapping himself out of his daydream, and bent over to pick up his shirt and shoes.
As Bradley was occupied Anne admired how the setting sun made his hair look gold and made his eyes a beautiful chocolate brown. His hair had gotten much longer than the last time she saw him and now hung in his face slightly, messy and sticking to his forehead and neck. She examined the small scars on the side of his face, most of which she knew the stories behind. Also, his moustache. She loved it. It made him look rugged and just fit him so well.
He stood up and faced her, they were about a foot from each other now. They just stared at each other not really knowing what to say.
"Bradley I-"
"Can I kiss you?" Anne was taken aback by Bradley's question and was silent for a second. His eyes darted all over her face as he waited for a response. Anne's face broke into a shit eating grin.
"Yes," Anne said softly, moving towards Bradley. He wrapped one arm around her waist, cradling her lower back and softly touched the side of her face with the other. Anne's hands went straight to Bradley's hair. They both smiled into the kiss, spilling unsaid words and unexpressed emotions into the other's lips. They only pulled back once they needed to. Anne giggled like a little girl and looked at Bradley who was smiling bigger than she was. He kissed her again somehow pulling her even closer to his body. Once they pulled back for a second time, they were panting and smiling so wide their cheeks hurt.
"We should go back now," Anne said, still smiling, trying not to squeal like a teenager.
"Before people ask where we've been? Yea." They made their way back to the Barracks the feeling in their stomachs indescribable. Anne wanted to scream and laugh and hug and kiss Bradley. She wanted to tell everyone that she had finally kissed him after denying her feeling for so long. There was a voice in the back of her mind though that said, what happens now. She decided to ignore that voice and enjoy the moment while it lasted. Even as Anne fell asleep that night she, literally, could not stop smiling.
~
AN: DOG FIGHT FOOTBALL RAHHHHH. How did y'all like this chapter ;). More to come shortly. Also I know there is a lot of character development stuff and not a lot of romance BUT it's important I promise.