𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐖'𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄. | top gun

four - hidden bitterness.

the night after the bar, hangman, bob, literally everyone noticed a different demeanor and mood between leah and rooster, and it wasn't one of the good ones. everyone, including maverick, thought hell had finally frozen over whenever leah decided to sit with hangman of all people. but had raised even more questions whenever rooster didn't show up for that mornings drills. while the two admirals who assisted maverick insisted on there being some sort of punishment, maverick ended up winning the argument whenever he had made it perfectly clear he would handle the situation. but, it also meant that drills were to go on without one of their best pilots.

and so, there they all sat, tensions high as everyone would let their gazes wander to the empty seat.

"g force training drills will go on today as scheduled. metcalf, whatever happened, i don't need anyone's emotions getting in the way when up in the air. therefore, you'll backseat hangman for the exercise. anyone have any objections?" maverick instructs, still as perplexed as anyone else as to what in the world happened. and while leah could have screamed maverick's ear off for making her a backseater to hangman, the room was silent.

"good, let's get to it."

the first round of g force training drills had seen coyote, payback, and fanboy all grouped with maverick. and by the time they nearly completed the drill, was when things began to head even further south. the pressure from pulling up at such a fast speed ended up getting to coyote so badly to the point that it knocked him unconscious. thankfully, maverick was able to get close enough to the falling plane that the radio feedback jolted coyote awake. rendering him lucky as he pulled his plane back up towards a higher altitude.

the next rounds of drills saw phoenix and bob, as well as hangman and leah alongside maverick for the same exercise. thankfully, everyone was able to withstand the amount of pressure, and there were no repeats of coyote's situation. but, something new arose whenever hangman and leah suddenly began to argue.

"watch your right dumbass! before you take us into the trees and we become a christmas decoration." leah yells, trying to hold back the best she could after hangman got way to close to a couple of trees.

"i thought that's what you were for spider girl? a man's got to keep his eyes on the road." hangman's response earns an eye roll from maverick, and a very audible groan from phoenix.

"will you two quit your bickering and just pay attention?" phoenix demands, not wanting to hear any of it.

"tell that to the moody one here, she's been this way ever since last night with bradshaw." hangman responds, though his tone is extremely deadpanned.

"hangman that's enough! let's finish this round of drills and be done for the day." maverick orders, which, thankfully, the annoyance and anger in his tone got everyone to promptly quiet. though, unfortunately, it was only for a minute, as things took another turn for the worse.

"shit!"

"bird strike!"

everyone's hearts dropped into their stomachs whenever a bird suddenly struck the engine of hangman's plane. maverick watched in fear as their plane started to go down, him and phoenix doing their best to speed towards it. but, unfortunately, there wasn't much that they could do, as the engine the bird hit went out soon after.

"right engines done!" leah yells, hangman for a moment not knowing what to do. the left engine light then goes off, as well as multiple others.

"left engines done! hangman we're gonna go down!" leah screams again, but, hangman is frozen solid. the plane starting to reach the ground faster and faster.

"shit! eject dammit, eject!" maverick booms. and while it still doesn't snap hangman out of it, it snaps leah into a sense of urgency. as she grabs the rings for both of their seats, yanking them as hard as she could. both of them thankfully getting launched out of the cockpit, just before the plane goes up in a fireball.

miraculously, both hangman and leah had gotten out of the situation pretty unscathed. hangman was still shocked and shook up, but had fallen under a lot better circumstances than most who experience a bird strike. since no hospital trip was needed, leah ended up rushing home, not speaking a word to anyone.

surprisingly enough, the crash ended up getting the attention of someone who had been missing for the whole day.

as everyone had been cleared and completely dismissed for the evening and maverick was getting ready to leave for the night, he had a surprise run in with rooster, who had been waiting anxiously out in the hallway. maverick stops for a moment, a sigh escaping him as he pieces his thoughts together.

"leah's fine, bradley, and i know you don't care too much for him but hangman is also." maverick starts, a certain gentleness in his tone despite not knowing how to approach the situation. rooster stays silent, not wanting to speak with maverick.

"what happened between you and leah that caused you to not show up for drills this morning?" maverick asks, hoping it'll get a response.

"it's none of your business.." rooster finally speaks, causing maverick to mentally roll his eyes.

"actually, it is my business. admiral wanted to punish you for not showing up, but i told them i would handle it. plus, whatever happened has this whole team in a funk. so either tell me, or you can talk to him." though the gentleness in maverick's tone didn't fade, it morphed into a sense of firmness. the shift caused rooster to look up at him, sighing before finally giving an explanation.

"ever since we saw each other for the first time, i guess we've always been curious about one another. i didn't realize fully how hard that curiosity was pushing into feelings. she felt the same apparently, and vented to hangman of all people about it. but- last night, at the hard deck, we got to talking more. and, she knew that you pulled my papers..my bitterness towards you set me off so badly that i took it out on her. and the fact that you've told her everything.." for a moment, maverick falls silent. he knew that rooster would forever be upset over the fact that maverick was the one who ruined his chances of top gun the first time around. he knew it, and was forever sorry over it.

"listen, i pulled your papers because i felt you weren't ready, but this is no reason-"

"you nearly ruined my chances at the academy!" rooster snaps, causing maverick to recoil back.

"my dad believed in you, and respected you with everything he had. i'm not gonna make the same mistake. as for leah...i don't even know anymore...." rooster finishes, maverick frozen in pure shock as rooster then storms off.