𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐖'𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄. | top gun

two - show me what you're made of.

if there was one burning question that sat in the minds of everyone but leah and the fellow top gun staff, it would have been

"who the hell is our instructor?"

the question sat in everyone's minds until they sat in what everyone would come to call their "classroom." everyone having their mouths nearly fall to the floor whenever the heard the name "pete 'maverick' mitchell." the students instantly recognizing him as the "old man" who got stuck buying drinks for everyone. hangman hides his face in his palms, embarrassment beginning to take over. rooster, on the other hand, nearly has a scream escape his lips whenever he sees maverick.

"good morning." maverick starts, surveying the students. mostly everyone was thankfully pretty attentive, despite hangman, who was still in disbelief the "old man," was their instructor. and rooster, who was floored over the both sudden and unpleasant reunion.

"we also have one more pilot who will be joining you all." the admiral who went by the callsign "cyclone" starts, peaking everyone's attention. maverick gives a small smirk, excited that leah would be joining the program again.

"she is the daughter of one of the best pilots this program has ever seen. and has one of the best records of a pilot when it comes to dogfights. lieutenant leah metcalf, callsign black widow." cyclone's introduction causes a feeling of both shock and excitement to come over everyone once more; as the mysterious pilot from the previous night had come into the room. leah lets the introduction fully get out of the way before taking a seat right by rooster. who, if he was being honest, had to fight to where his cheeks wouldn't glow bright pink. the ever-growing sense of curiosity he had for the girl becoming more and more obvious.

"now that you're all here, i guess you're wondering, well, why are you here? each of you have been selected based on your elite flying abilities, but only half of you will make the cut. this is your chance to prove yourself, and show that you have the ability to go on what will be a dangerous mission. whenever we go out in the field, we'll start with some basic maneuvers. show me, what you're made of." as maverick gave his speech, he finally found his gaze breaking off of rooster. excitement and adrenaline beginning to pump through each of the students, devious, but confident smiles coming from leah and hangman.

no matter how hard maverick had been teased at the hard deck over having to buy everyone beers, he had the students in his stomping grounds whenever it came to the field. though he still couldn't help but feel that childlike sense of excitement whenever he stepped into the pilots seat.

the first round of drills had been a basic game of cat and mouse, which saw payback and fanboy, as well as coyote being the first ones to take on maverick. what came out of it, however, was a bet that whoever lost each round, would have to do 100 pushups.

"you're on!" maverick says into the radio, before frightening the living daylights out of the three whenever he shot up like a rocket in between their planes.

"okay maverick, try not to get fired on the first day." maverick says to himself, having to hold back a laugh over the shocked reactions he garnered

back on the ground, the group were both watching and listening to the drills, as a way to study and formulate an even sharper flying method.

"this guy needs a major ego check." hangman groans, in no way shape or form pleased over the maneuvers maverick was pulling, almost boiling with jealousy.

"at least that guy's ego isn't 95% of his brain." hangman's attention is suddenly snapped away from the screen whenever leah comes back at him. not knowing what to say for a moment, he simply rolls his eyes.

"save it for the skies spider girl, save it for the skies."

after payback, fanboy, and coyote had all ended up losing to maverick and completed their pushups, the next two to take him on were phoenix and bob. for a while, the duo were actually doing really well. but, maverick had managed to catch them off guard whenever he snuck up behind them, which of course led to more pushups.

the moment that mostly everyone had been waiting for within the drill had finally arrived, seeing hangman take on leah and maverick.

"let's dance old man, and spider girl, no hard feelings?" hangman teased, maverick rolling his eyes as leah gave him the finger.

"here's an idea, since you're so experienced, how bout you try and catch both of us?" maverick suggested. something about the kid maverick had found very, very similar to iceman, so maverick had his ideas on how to handle it. hangman taking on him and leah both was one of them.

"you're on!"

back at the base, rooster had been watching this particular round closely. he knew virtually nothing about leah, and was curious to see how she would tackle a narcissist like hangman.

as the chase had begun, hangman had almost immediately made a very, very crucial mistake. he set his focus in on pinpointing maverick, and for a moment, forgot about leah. knowing that leah could spring at any given moment, maverick gives chase, trusting his instincts.

and sure enough, just as hangman thinks that he finally got maverick on lock, he gets what he would consider the fright of his career. there was a particular maneuver that leah's dad had taught her during her academy days, and it was something she became known for. she managed to pull off a spiral around hangman's plane, simulating a spider trapping a fly in a web. surprisingly, it scares hangman so badly that he nearly loses control of his plane.

"oh no you don't!" leah yells through the radio, her plane now nearly nose to nose with hangman's. and also, where both maverick and leah had managed to lock him in.

"you're out pretty boy." leah teases, maverick simply laughing at the whole ordeal.

"damn she's good!" rooster exclaims, watching the maneuver along with everyone in utter shock.

"they call her the black widow for a reason." phoenix simply responds, with an utmost respect for the fellow female pilot.

after hangman had finished his pushups and rooster had went for his turn, things surprisingly, and quickly, had gotten very bad. leah was allowed to fly alongside him, the two now up against maverick. but, maverick and rooster had actually ended up getting into a verbal argument, tied up in a torpedo maneuver as they sped towards the ground. everyone back at the base watching as both confusion and fear rattled through their expressions.

"what is with them?" hangman asks aloud, everyone seemingly sharing the same question. there was a sense of curiosity whenever it came to bradley bradshaw's past. and even though he never bothered to talk about it, it was extremely obvious that maverick had something to do with it.

as the two had gotten closer and closer to the ground, leah's eyes only got wider as she watched the both dangerous and stupid maneuver. finally, not being able to take it anymore.

"pull up you belligerent dumbasses, pull up!" she yells, both of them then doing so.

as the sun was beginning to set, rooster was forced to do the pushups regardless as a punishment for the maneuver. although he was struggling, rooster did manage to break 100, but was so hyperfocused and filled with emotions, that he kept going. noone knew what to do, so everyone simply walked away from him. everyone, of course, but leah, who watched from her impala with hurt in her expression. rooster didn't know her, but she knew who he was, she knew the rough past that connected him and maverick. if she was being honest with herself, both sides of the story and what they had went through hurt to hear. she talked to maverick about all of it, and wanted to do the same with rooster. but, even as she sat there, she felt something stopping her, screaming at her not to do it. and whatever feeling it was that she had, she ended up listening to it, as after she lingered for a moment more, leah drove home, feelings beginning to go through her that she couldn't explain.