𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐖'𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄. | top gun

thirteen - best friend to the rescue.

of all the things they could have done in order to get themselves out of the situation they were in, the last thing leah expected was to be hiding by the enemy air base with rooster and maverick. contemplating whether or not they should steal two planes.

"you're nuts!" rooster comments over the whole ordeal. but, unfortunately, it was really the only thing they had to go off of. instead of waiting around for someone to help them, possibly getting themselves killed in the process.

"oh yeah? you got a better idea?" maverick asks him, causing rooster to look at leah for assistance in the argument.

"i mean, it worked once before.." she comments, referring to the time maverick managed to steal a plane in order to prove that their mission could be done in a certain amount of time. rooster stops for a second, attempting to process what she had just said.

"worked once bef- you know what, i don't even wanna know. let's just get this over with." he finally gives in, maverick then leading the way as the three made their way towards the two planes.

one of the planes that had been sitting was a classic F-14, one that maverick had known good and well since he'd flown the same model during his top gun days. the other one had been a vintage lockheed F-12, one that leah was very familiar with since not only did her dad fly one before retiring. she had also been trained by him in an F-12. while they were a specific aircraft from her dad's era, leah never complained about flying in an older model, as it made the experience more unique. someone who did have a lot of complaints, however, had been rooster.

"so we're flying in these old rust buckets?" he starts, leah rolling her eyes at the remark. neither her, nor maverick made any comment towards the complaint, knowing that this was the only way to get out of the situation alive.

"i mean, leah's also hurt! she shouldn't be flying one of these things." rooster tries again, this time managing to get leah's attention. she was hurt, but she wasn't about to let it hinder the objective.

"just because i'm your girlfriend and the daughter of a famous pilot doesn't mean you have to go easy on me. i know what i'm doing and i'll be fine." leah finally responds, trying not to laugh while turned around as she got the plane started and climbed into the F-12 cockpit.

there was a certain sense of nostalgia that came over leah as she looked at all the nooks and crannies of the plane that were in front of her. she managed to find the switch that turned on her radio, which, surprisingly enough, also put her back on the radar at base.

"sir, we're picking up a signal from leah, in an F-12??" the communications operator questions, though viper simply gives a relieved smile.

"that's my girl."

after some convincing, and slight bickering with maverick, rooster finally gave in to the idea of flying the older models. he managed to get the other plane started, before eventually climbing into the cockpit with maverick as they took off.

"alright you two, how far will these museum pieces go up in the air?" rooster asks, leah audibly laughing through their communications radio

"quit your whining and just enjoy the ride." maverick tells him, the two planes now drawing every bit of suspicion as they were now in the air. they came upon a very thin opening, which rooster had questioned how they were going to thread. it was done without issue, as maverick took care of his planes wingspan and him and leah threaded the gap clean.

the three now found themselves away from the enemy air base and up in the skies. rooster had eventually switched on the radio, telling everyone back at their base that the three were okay. as they're going, leah suddenly gets a feeling about her, telling her that something's wrong. she doesn't say anything at first, but she then catches two bandits trailing them like before. she assumed that maverick had noticed them also, as before she even said something, he commented on the sudden presence behind them.