ill be here when you land ~ rooster x reader

pain in my ass

0735

MCAS Miramar

Tarmac

"200. Fritz, Harvard, Yale, Back to the radio room."

"Yes Ma'am." The breathless men said in unison.

I'll admit, I'm having a lot more fun than I thought I was going to have, so far at least. There are few things I have found more satisfying than playing drill sergeant with pilots who have just had their egos absolutely demolished four thousand feet in the air. That, having sweaty men bend at my will, being able to hear the pilots rage through my radio, and a personal air show? It almost made the heat bearable. Maverick so far had shot down all of the pilots at least twice. They were all somewhat good sports about it, despite being reasonably pissed off.

Well, most of them.

Rooster didn't too well. When he came down after the first rotation of pilots, he had gotten killed after almost breaching the hard deck. Safe to say, he was pissed. So pissed in fact, that he didn't make a single snarky comment aimed at me the whole 200 pushups I made him do. I was almost disappointed. My guess is his mind was preoccupied.

I take a sip of my water after sending the three pilots back to the radio room, and I notice Coleman approaching me.

"How are you holding up, Captain?"

"Well I can confidently say I'm in better shape at the moment then those poor sons of bitches." I say, gesturing to the three pilots walking back to the hangar. We both laugh. "Who's in the air right now?"

Coleman opens his mouth to answer, and is stopped by the buzz of my radio.

"Say Phoenix, hows about we tell everybody Bob stands for something other than Robert?"

"Uh-"

"Don't take the bait, Bob. Wanna know why he call him Hangman?"

"Alright. I got it. Baby on Board. Hahaha- SHIT!"

Coleman and I immediately grab our binoculars and look up. Maverick had nearly clipped them and was circling around the two jets.

"Nevermind." I comment, getting a chuckle out of Coleman.

Watching the jets in the sky is exhilarating. I feel like how I felt watching the Blue Angels living on the Naval Academy when I was in elementary school. I'm almost jealous.

"Greetings, aviators. Fight's on."

My father had a legacy.

"Alright Phoenix, let's take this guy out."

One I could've followed.

"Break right!"

One I should've followed.

"Breaking right."

One I was going to follow.

"What does he think he's doing?"

Coleman's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Where's he going?!"

"THAT'S why we call him Hangman. He'll ALWAYS hang you out to dry."

"Did he just leave her?" I question.

Phoenix and Bob eventually get killed, and Maverick makes easy work of Hangman. Soon enough, all three of them are back on the tarmac, and I'm back to counting for them. Then it's Omaha. Then it's Coyote. Payback, Fanboy, Halo, all shot down by Maverick. I make a quick radio call to the sky to let Maverick he's making my job more difficult, to which he laughs. I'm finishing up counting for Phoenix and Bob when Coleman radios to me that Hangman and Rooster are in the air.