𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐖'𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄. | top gun

nine - dance with me, baby!

after leah exited the room suddenly, nobody knew what to say again. it was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. rooster wanted to go after her, but was overcome with so much shock that him and leah both were going on the mission, he couldn't move.

"i'll go talk to her, the rest of you are dismissed." maverick instructs, but, for a moment, noone moved. leah's sudden exit seemed to lead to a forced congratulations. hangman, for a moment, wanted to go up to rooster and say something, but couldn't, so he simply walked away.

outside, leah sat on the ground, right outside her car with tears in her eyes. that voice in her head screaming that this mission was a super bad idea getting louder and louder. she heard the noise of someone walking towards her, but didn't think too much about it. they sat down by her, and leah let a heavy breath out whenever someone gently stuck a hand on her back, rubbing small circles.

"leah.."

the gentle voice of maverick makes leah relax a little bit. but she still feels a certain heaviness over her.

"i can't do this, maverick, i can't. bradley going is enough, i can't bare the both of us..." leah cries, maverick giving her a slight side hug.

"leah, you're one of the best pilots this program has ever seen. you were made for this. if i sent hangman, it's asking for a death sentence. you have that sharpness to keep everyone safe. what's one thing that your dad always taught me?" maverick consoles, causing leah to stop for a second.

"my dad taught you not to quit." leah sniffles, wiping her eyes with her hand.

"maybe you should listen to that advice." maverick starts, leah sniffling again as she gives maverick a look.

"this program needs you, rooster needs you, i need you. your father i know wants you to keep going." maverick consoles, leah taking a second to take it in. she runs her face through her hands, sighing before she turns back to maverick.

"thanks mav, for everything." she responds, the two sharing a smile, as they then share a sweet, genuine hug. they stay in it for a moment, before breaking away as maverick then stands to his feet. he holds out a hand for leah, which she gladly takes as he pulls her up.

as they walk back inside, leah is met with rooster, who is talking to phoenix. their conversation suddenly ceases whenever leah walks up, maverick going the other direction. rooster almost immediately wraps an arm around her, which makes leah smile bright.

"you feel better leah?" rooster asks, him and phoenix both looking at her with concern in their expressions.

"yeah.." she responds, letting her head sink into rooster's shoulder.

"good, and i have something that will help the mood even better. we were thinking about going dancing tonight to have fun before we leave, if you two wanna come?" phoenix suggests, causing leah to look up at rooster.

"i'm down if you are, just know i'm not that much of a dancing man." rooster jokes, causing both of the women to laugh.

"we'll see about that lover boy, we'll go, tasha." leah responds, causing natasha to smile bright.

"yes! we'll meet at the disco across from the hard deck at 10. it's the only one of these places they've bothered to keep open in fightertown since the 70's. it's super nice and you guys will love it." phoenix explains, getting giddy over the concept of going dancing. she hadn't done it in a long time, and doing it with her friends before their big mission seemed like the perfect occasion to try it again. leah was excited as well, ready to see was cheesy moves rooster would pull.

that night, leah had come home to a great steak dinner that her father prepared. and while the majority of what she ate were her father's mashed potatoes, it was great all the same. they had a conversation about the mission, her father making it clear that she was super super proud. and would be there to watch everything as it went on at the request of the admiral. knowing that her father would at least be there in some way made her feel better, and that he backed her and loved her 100%.