𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍, bradley bradshaw

chapter fourteen

Her numb fingers gripped the hard ice pack tighter, placing it against her bruised and busted knuckles once more. A small hiss fell from her lips, the coolness of the pack somewhat soothing her pained nerves.

She didn't mean to punch Hangman more than once. . . Just kind of happened when she started seeing red, the words that spilled from his mouth only egging her on more. She wanted nothing that to ruin his face. But before she could 'mess him up' (as she would put it), Rooster placed his hands on her waist, pulling her back against his chest as she fought his grip on her.

The sound of a door closing made her snap her head up, a sigh from Cyclone as he sat down, placing his elbows on his desk, a disappointed look on his face. "What were you thinking?" His surprisingly calm voice asked. Dakota inhaled, readjusting as she leaned forward in her seat, "I wasn't." She stated plainly, knowing damn well it wasn't a reasonable excuse. He pressed his lips into a thin line, "Lieutenant, I have given you many chances before, but this?"

She felt her heart pounding in her injured knuckles, "I know– It's just he was insulting my flying. Saying I didn't know sh-" "Dakota," Cyclone firmly said, stopping her from rambling which he knew was coming. "I'm well aware of that," She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "And although I know you handle it quite well usually, this is just over the line."

A lump in her throat, as she forced a swallow, "I'm not," she breathed, "You're not discharging me from the detachment are you sir?" A beat of silence thick in his office. The sound of the analog clock on the wall ticking, itching her brain tauntingly. Her leg bounced nervously, grip on the solid ice pack becoming deathly. "No. With what Captain Mitchell has told me, you are a crucial value to this mission." A sigh of relief left her tense lips as she leaned back in her chair.

Dakota pressed her lips into a thin line as she watched him flip through her file, his eyebrows raising slightly before clasping his hands together in front of him on the desk. "All I ask, Lieutenant Jones, is that you no longer punch anymore pilots." A small smile played at his lips, a chuckle from him. A small scoff followed by a toothy grin, "I make no promises, sir. Am I dismissed?" She stood up from the chair, taking a couple of steps towards his desk. He blew a huff, before leaning down and digging through one of his drawers, pulling out a small cloth and handing it to her, "For the ice pack, so it won't be so unbearably cold." Dakota took it hesitantly, wrapping it around the pack and placing it back on her knuckles.

"Now you are dismissed, Lieutenant."

She stepped through the door of his office, gaze settling on the various photos that were hung on the wall across. "What were you thinking?"

Dakota snapped her head to the older man, rolling her eyes as she walked the opposite way of him, "You just risked our entire fleet. Let alone this mission-" "And who are you to tell me? You heard what he was saying, and you didn't do shit." Her long strides trying desperately to lose him within the halls of the base, "Dakota-" She turned around quickly, the evening sun shining behind her through the glass doors of the exit. "You could've stopped that long before it escalated up to that point, sir." "I'm not the one who chose to punch a fellow Lieutenant!"

A beat.

Her chest rose up and down, as she was filled with something that mirrored anger. Hangman's words echoed in her brain; it was one thing for Rooster to call her a shit pilot, given that she could fuck him and he'd shut up. But it's the fact that Hangman uttered those words. Was that how everyone else saw her?  Her eyes met Maverick's a look of sympathy on his aged features as he watched her.

A small smile broke out on her lips, followed by quiet laughter. The Captain watched her, a smile of his own as her walked towards her slowly, "I can't believe I punched him." She muttered as Maverick pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her as she breathed in his familiar scent, something that has soothed her emotions ever since she was in the academy. "In my defense, it was enjoyable to watch." The both soaked in each others embrace, standing near the exit of the base.