Ice and Amber spent hours kissing slowly. He was determined to keep it slow which was killing her, but There was a tenderness in the way that he was treating her. It was nearly as if they were back in high school.

"Ice?"she asked as she laid beneath him on the couch.
"Yes?" He looked up from her neck where he'd just been hovering and doing his best to not leave a hickey.
"Do you want to go to the bedroom now?" She had felt his reaction to her touch when she had reached inside his shirt.
"I told you! We're not doing that tonight." He commanded.
"Don't you want me?" She asked softly.
"Amber, I want you more than anything right now, but it isn't the right time. We're getting to know each other. Patience..." He said then he cupped her cheek,"Listen, I'm trying very hard to be respectful. I told you I'm not after you for just that..." He said as he watched her reactions.
She sighed,"I'm going to combust..."
He grinned,"I just want to take our time. I promised no pressure on you and I mean it. I respect you. I'm not blind to this chemistry...not at all... But I want to do things a certain way."
"Even if I fully consent for you to rip my pants off?"
He laughed,"Even so." He flashed his dimples at her.
"Damn it!" Then she smirked,"What if I do this?" She rolled her hips grinding into him creating a delicious friction.
He gritted his teeth and sucked in a deep breath." Damn it woman! No means No!" He laughed."Good try though."
"What about just...a little help?" She hinted..."I'm dying!"
"Nope... Kissing. Kissing is all for tonight." He snuggled in again and kissed her some more. She continued to squirm.
"All right. Listen. We can go to bed, but we're NOT doing THAT!"
"OH COME ON!" She was beyond frustrated now. Her pants were soaked.
"It will be very worth the wait. Patience Shadow!"
"I need a cold shower..." She was flushed and her legs felt like Jello.
"Come on. Bedtime." He detached from her and got up. Then pulled her up to her feet."You're gorgeous when you're hot and bothered. Let's go."
"I'll go grab something to sleep in. I'll be right in."
"You can use one of my shirts if you want..."
"Ok." She followed him down to his room. He pulled out another one of his shirts. A soft T-shirt this time. He intended on keeping her very warm himself.
He started to undress. Pulling his polo off first. Amber looked over and her jaw nearly dropped. He still had a six pack. It's not like she didn't think he still worked out to stay in shape, but damn he looked good. She realized that she was a mess down below... So she excused herself to use the bathroom and tried to clean herself up. She snuck down the hall to her room and changed her underwear. She HAD to. He had worked her up so well that it was necessary. She walked back in to see him in just his boxer briefs.
"Oh God..." She accidentally spoke her thoughts out loud again and bit her lower lip.
Ice looked up and greeted her with a devilish look in his eyes.
"Problem?"
"Ice...you KNOW there is!"
She did notice that he was plenty aroused...he had to have a will of steel to not be on top of her!
"Patience Shadow..." He winked and gestured for her to come sit on the bed. He pulled out a remote and messed with the controls and suddenly out of the top of the dresser across from the bed, a fireplace appeared.
"Nice!" She approved.
"I like the finer things what can I say?"
"I'm certainly not complaining. That's pretty cool."
"Come on. Get over here. We can relax with the fire going. But if you try to jump me I'm kicking you out."
"Okay. Okay. I went and splashed some cold water on my face. It helped a little..."
"You were gone a little longer than that..."
"What are you implying?"
"You did something else..." He grinned.
"If you must know...I needed new underwear... Because you got me all worked up!" She smirked.
"I figured." He chuckled softly.
Ice pulled the covers back."Get in."
There was something about the way he could lead her, command her even, to do as he wished. She had turned into putty for him in a matter of only 24hrs. Obeying, she slid in between the sheets. He did the same and turned out the lights with the same remote.
"You're very high tech here!"
"Gotta roll with the times!" He settled in next to her.
"Ice, I..."
"Don't say you're sorry for the way you used to treat me anymore. We're making up for it now. But that's part of why I'm not immediately on top of you right now. We have all the time in the world. We don't need to rush."
"Penny is going to give me so much shit."
"She's excited. She wants to see you happy."
"I think she wants to see you happy too."
"You're probably right about that too." He sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"I am trying really hard not to pounce on you..."
"We can makeout some more..." Shadow suggested.
"Yeah we could...scoot over here..." He laid on his side and waited for her to get nice and close, then he leaned down and started kissing her, cupping her cheek. After awhile she pulled away.
"What's wrong?"he asked leaning over her.
"I am going to need a cold shower."
Ice laughed."I think you'll live." He watched her, loving the brightness in her eyes. It was far better than the terror he'd seen the night before at the bar when her Ex showed up. "This is fun." He said chuckling."I really feel like a kid again."
"You don't look your age either to be honest." She looked up at him thoughtfully.
"Neither do you. Just as hot as when we were in our twenties."
They spent the rest of the night chatting until she fell asleep in his arms. In the morning the daylight filtered in and woke him, though he'd always been an early riser thanks to being in the Navy. His body clock just knew when it was 05:00. He sighed and listened to her breathing deeply beside him. It took a moment or two to carefully retrieve his arm from beneath her, but eventually it was free. He got up and took a quick shower. Shaved and then went to make coffee. Next came his routine of checking his email. Around 6:30 he was greeted by her standing in the doorway to his office in just his shirt and her hair mussed from sleep. A giant smile lit up his face.
"Morning!"
"Morning! What time did you get up?"she asked.
"Usually around 5."
"Oh God, I'm not even coming home until then when I close the bar down..." She laughed.
"About that. When you go to work if I can't be with you I'm sending one of my MP's to keep watch over you and Penny."
She tried to protest."Ice, that's not..."
"Yes. It is necessary. He pulled a gun on Penny. He's dangerous." Ice was dead serious.
"Right now he's still behind bars."
"You don't know when they'll release him for sure. He could make bail."
"Ok, that's true." She paused and then asked,"Work emails?"
"Yes." His face softened a little.
"Would you like a refill on your coffee?"
"I would love one!" He said as he finished off what was left in his mug.
She came and took the mug and left to go to the kitchen. Ice watched her walk away thinking how good she looked in his shirt. A smirk stayed on his face for a moment as he returned to his work. His Shadow came back in a few minutes later two steaming mugs in tow. He looked up and graciously accepted the coffee.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. I was thinking of taking a shower... Was wondering if you'd like to join me..."
"I told you last night... It's too soon. A few days ago you hated me." He smirked.
"Well, I was an idiot."
He met her eyes,"It's too soon. Go enjoy your shower. We can have breakfast together when you get out. I'm almost caught up here for now."
"All right. I'll be out shortly." She took her mug with her and found her robe, taking that to the luxurious bathroom. She loved his mix of modern and classic decor. The bathroom consisted of a very modern tiled shower stall with a digital showerhead with many settings. But in the other corner of the room was an antique clawfoot cast iron tub. She was mildly intimidated by the shower but after a little trial and error she got it working and steam wafted out of it.
It was wonderful having her regular toiletries to help her feel a bit more normal. Being so abruptly displaced felt strange. However, Ice's company made her feel free to make herself at home. He had given her a chance to settle in and did his best to see to her comfort. After her normal shower routine she walked in the robe back to her guest room and dug through her things looking for something to wear. Finally settlinging on a soft pair of jeans and light hacci knit sweater. So began their morning ritual. From that morning on, almost every morning went as such.
A month went by and still Ice wouldn't go any farther with her than making out. He did however show affection toward her and she could lean into him when they were side by side and she knew she was safe. She was able to let her guard down with him.
One day Ice had to go into the Office and discovered that he had to fill in for an instructor that had fallen ill during the middle of the night. Fancy the surprise of the class when Captain Maverick, aka Pete Mitchell announced that they'd have a four star admiral flying with them on drills that day! The drill was supposed to run for a good three hours in the afternoon. Ice was excited to go up with this class. Mav had been talking up this generation of pilots and was impressed by them as a team. He was all too happy to show Ice their skills thus far.
At high noon the class met at the hangar and was ready to fly. Everyone was geared up in their flight suits ready to go. Maverick and Ice were ready and waiting for them.
As the classmates arrived there were many gasps heard as people locked eyes on IceMan.
"It REALLY is IceMan! No way!" Arch Angel said to ShadyMay nudging her ribs.
IceMan and Maverick explained  the days training op and soon enough the engines were firing all through the runway. The kids all took off first then Maverick and Ice went up. They loved those few moments when they could relive their wingman days. Just like old times Maverick came up on Ice's side and they were flying through the clear blue sky. The day was sunny and perfect for them to run the training op. The goal was for Ice or Mav to lock on to every class man. But anyone that evaded them was the winner. The idea being to see everyones defensive maneuver skill set. They were being graded. An hour and a half into it Hooligan spotted something that wasn't part of their training.
"Hey Maverick? I see something off to the right that is going way too fast for a commercial airline!" Then a few seconds later an un-American fighter jet blew past Hooligan.
"It's it one of ours?"Shenanigan the RIO asked. Straining to see.
"Nope! Captain! Admiral what do we do?"Hooligan asked.
"You guys all stand down, separate and let Maverick and I take point. Fall into defensive formation. Now!" Ice said coolly. They were going to follow that uninvited visitor and try and get some Intel. "Ground control, we have spotted a jet in our airspace that doesn't belong. I cleared this air field for training. Do you see him?"
Ground control came back,"Roger that. It's unregistered. Not American either."
"Get me SecNav on the line now."
"Roger that Admiral."
The classmates were staying in defensive formation a moment later a second jet went over.
"We only have two armed jets right now. Class stay put, you're doing great." Ice said. "They don't know that you're unarmed. Hopefully they'll just go home..."
Secretary of the Navy finally came in.
"What's going on Admiral?"
"We have two unauthorized jets in our airspace. Do we have permission to fire if fired upon?"
"ONLY if it's a defensive measure. Do NOT go on the offensive. We have not had any chatter about attacks in your area. Keep an eye on them but do NOT fire unless fired upon! Send your class back to the hangar now. Get them home safe. You and Maverick just keep an eye on them. "
"Roger that. Class, turn and burn! Get home safe. Captain Maverick and I will be back shortly." Ice commanded
The class dropped and left their Captain and Admiral.
"We going to go greet them?" Maverick asked.
All of a sudden from behind came the radar warning that someone was trying to lock on him as a target.
"Ice, I may have spoke too soon. Your 6 is good but I have a visitor trying to make target lock...stay on that other guy I'm going to pull the breaks. Hell fly right by." Maverick said.
"One day that trick isn't going to work." Ice said.
"Maybe, but let's hope today it does."
Ice punched it and raced to catch up to the other jet.
Maverick did exactly as he said. The other jet flew right by. Now Mav had the advantage. He kept hot on  his tail. He wanted to know where he was going. Now it looked like he was heading for IceMan. Maverick kept on his tail still.
"Ice, my guy is coming up on you."
"Ok. I'm going to break right, see if he follows me or goes back with his wing man."
"Got it." Maverick confirmed.
Mav stayed where he was. Ice maneuvered as he said. The other jet moved up to cover the other's wing as Mav had for Ice.
"I think they're bugging out."Maverick said.
But just as he said it suddenly the other jets changed course and whipped around to come at Maverick.
"Shit! Here they come!" Maverick hollered.
"I'm coming back up on your six. Do NOT fire unless fired upon !"
"Roger that."
The Naval aviators went into full on work mode. The thing about IceMan and Maverick was, they had a great chemistry in the air. They nearly read eachothers minds most of the time. The other fighter jets came at them, guns firing when they got close.
"Ice! I'm taking defense measures."
"Are you hit?"
"Only a couple grazed me. No significant damage."
"Ground control we need support. We ARE being fired on. Get someone out here now. We need to take them down or find where they're coming from!"
Ground control came on,"U.S.S Carrier Freedom Rider is in the area. I'll radio them now,Slider and Wolfman are stationed there."
"Perfect! Get them out here now. There may be more incoming."IceMan said.
"A minute later ground control was back on,"Slider and Wolfman are inbound, 4 minutes out."
In the meantime the experienced fighter pilots wove in and out evading the opposing jets. It was the longest 4 minutes but finally Slider radioed in.
"Hey guys! This feels like old times! Holy shit! IceMan??? They pulled you out from behind that desk???"
IceMan grinned,"My wings aren't that dusty Slider."
"What we dealing with here fellas?"Wolfman asked.
"Two bogeys so far. Mav took a few superficial hits. Nothing major. We haven't allowed them to make target lock so far. I want to find their home base so we can report back to SecNav."
"Ok, four against two, that's decent odds." Slider said.
"Hey guys...I see a carrier that's DEFINITELY not ours." Maverick said."Guaranteed that's where they came from! I'm going in to say Hi! Watch my back!"
Ice rolled his eyes,"Damn it Mav."
"Just a little fly by. Maybe flip em the bird." Maverick said. Then he punched it and was well on his way to fly far too close to the opposing carrier. The other jets turned and headed to follow Mav. He buzzed past, the g-force shaking the cabin that was set on top of the carrier. The men inside all shook and cringed. Maverick looped back up around rejoining his fellow jet mates.
"Every time!" Ice said. "Slider,Wolfman, thanks for the extra cover!"
An Anti Aircraft missile released from the carrier.
"SHIT!" All four men shouted. Ice broke right, Slider and Wolfman broke left, Mav dodged the missile and released counter measures to confuse the missile. Then he looped back around and started to target the deck of the carrier, making sure the two airborne jets wouldn't be able to land. All 4 naval jets took a turn and Ice reported in to SecNav. Once smoke was billowing from the control center of the carrier and the landing deck was destroyed they went after the 2 jets. It took much team work but they eventually shot down the enemies then Slider and Wolfman were invited back to the training headquarters.
Once everyone landed and shut down they celebrated in the hangar. The class gathered around and cheered on the 'Old Timers' on their victory. Ice and Mav introduced Wolfman and Slider to the class. They all recognized them from pictures on the memorial walls. They were legends.
"Ohhhh man, that felt like old times!" Slider laughed, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Ice and Mav agreed."Thanks for the help." Ice said.
Wolfman and Slider both shook his and Mavericks hands. The commaradarie from the old days was still there.
"Any time!" Both men said to Ice.

During the dog fight in the air, Penny and Amber were having lunch at the bar. Penny and agreed to help keep an eye on her for Ice while he was at work and they ended up planning the evening specials for the whole week together. Amber was going stir crazy sitting at Ices house so she had called Penny.
"Yeah I really don't think you should come here yet. I'm just in worried about HIM getting out and causing more trouble." Penny warned.
"Penny I am going crazy. I'm not used to not working." She pleaded.
"All right but hurry here. I don't want him finding you at Ices house."
"I'll Uber. I'll have Ice pick me up when he gets done with work."
"Ok. There are some things we can do."
"Perfect. I'll text you as soon as the Uber gets here."
"All right. Be safe. Bring your Mace! Just in case!"
"Absolutely!"
Amber was able to get an Uber in ten minutes and then was on her way to the bar. She couldn't just sit around. It was making her crazy! She messaged Ice to let him know his plans, not knowing that at the moment in that his phone buzzed in his desk that he was in flight chasing down potential enemies in the ocean.
She tipped the driver as she stepped out of the car. Briskly walking up to the bar to go find Penny.
"Hey!" Amber called out. Penny's head popped up from behind the bar.
"Hey! I was just down here cleaning up a spill that must've happened last night. How are you?"
"I'm going crazy. I have too much pent up energy."
Penny pricked up an eyebrow and grinned,"How's Ice?"
"He's...pretty great..."
"I sense a But..."
"I'm finally willing to give him a chance... And now he's the one riding the brakes."
"Ohhhhh so that's why you have pent up energy...he hasn't sealed the deal with you...yet..."
"Oh my God, the chemistry is so there. But he's only going so far. Then he pulls the brakes."
"Maybe he's torturing you a little since it took you this long to finally see him."
"I think so..." Amber settled into a seat so they could still talk.
"Well, give him time. Maybe he didn't think he'd really get this opportunity with you. Maybe he's a little gun shy."
"He's one of the most direct men I've ever known."
"Yeah, but he's been sort of pining away for you for a long time. Maybe now that he's finally got a chance, maybe he doesn't want to mess it up. Be patient with him. Ha! I told him the same thing, to be patient with you. That's crazy how the tables have turned!"
"I just never thought...he's actually very kind. When we're alone he's not cocky. Not like when we were kids."
"Sounds like he feels safe to just be himself. That's pretty awesome."
"Yeah you may be right. So give me some work to do. What do you need done today?"
"Actually, let me just toss this gross towel in the laundry bin. We can plan out the dinner specials for this week."
"Awesome."
They went to check their food storage in the walk-in cooler and the dry good store room. Amber took notes of things they had surpluses of. Then they sat back down at the bar with Cokes and brain stormed. Occasionally asking the cook for input as well. Finally as they were finishing up their list Amber's phone went off.
"Hey Ice."
"Why did you leave the house? That's you're safe house!" He had just gone to his office after inviting Slider and Wolfman and Mav out to the house for a barbecue of steaks and grilled veggies and baked potatoes. He said he'd stop and pick up the food. Slider offered to bring the beer. Mav said no to that because he could ask Penny for help on the drinks. So Ice told him to just bring enough ice for a cooler. Wolfman offered to bring mac salad and coleslaw.
"I'm going crazy! I'm at the bar with Penny! I'm good! We're working! I need this! I can't just sit at your place scared out of my mind. I can't!"
Ice took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"All right. Penny still has her pistol with her?"
Amber turned to Penny,"Ice wants to know if you still have your pistol with you."
Penny nodded,"I always have it with me. Especially when I close."
"She always has it when she's here."
"All right." He sounded more calm."So, I invited some people over for a barbecue tonight. Let Penny know. Around seven A couple of our old crew are coming over. Mav too. I'm doing steak and potatoes and grilled vegetables. Mav said he'll come by the bar and he and Penny can bring the drinks."
"Okay, I'll let Penny know. Maybe she and I can decide what to grab. Do you want to pick me up or just have me ride with them? I Ubered here."
"What would you prefer?"
"I can just come with them. That'll give you time to run to the store and set up."
"All right. I feel safe having you ride with them. All right." He paused."How are you?"
"I'm good. How are you?"
"I have to tell you something."
"Okay..."she said.
"I was in a dogfight with Maverick and Slider and Wolfman this afternoon. We had unwelcome company during a training exercise."
"Holy shit! Is everything all right?"
"Yeah! Now it is. But I thought I should let you know. Maverick shot down one fighter I shot down the other. Mav Destroyed the carrier that they came from. They won't be able to land anymore or take off. I don't know if this will open a can of worms in the Pacific. It looked like Chinese spies. Amber. I just want to be honest. Our lives were in danger."
"Jesus Ice." She ran a hand through her hair.
"This is a little bit of why I'm taking it slow. I know you know that we're still active and that I go out now and then. Today though. My life truly was in danger. Are you prepared to deal with that in the event that something were to happen? I want to be honest with you. I love this time that we've had. But I need to know your feelings about the possibility of my death in battle."
"Wow. All right. That's definitely something we haven't discussed... It's true. I... Well I guess I need to think about that don't I?" She paused."You're all right though? You and Maverick are good?"
"Yeah. We made it home safe. Slider and Wolfman came as back up. They're coming to dinner. I wanted to thank then properly for covering our asses."
"Wow. I really hadn't thought that hard about this. I'm definitely taken off guard. Let's definitely discuss this later. Thank you for coming back safe!" She let the relief show in her voice since she couldn't see him.
"It's something real that we do need to talk about."
"Yeah it is."
"All right, I have one meeting left and then I will be out of here. Secretary of the Navy is coming in for a debriefing on today's attack. It's going to be all over the news in the just 24hours."
"Oh God."
Ice rubbed his temple as he spoke,"Yeah."
"I'll see you later. Ice. Be safe."
"Thanks Amber. I will. I'll see you at home. Be safe too." His words were a kindness. She knew he cared. He knew she cared. One step at a time.
They hung up and Amber turned back to Penny.
"Soooo, the guys were in a dog fight out in the ocean today...how do you handle that?" Amber asked.
"Like this..." She reached behind the bar, took out two shot glasses and the tequila. "Just one." She poured and they clinked glasses and said 'Cheers'.
"Okay, what the Hell was Ice doing out there? He's the Admiral!" Penny asked.
"I don't know. But apparently Slider and Wolfman came out as support. By the way, we're doing a barbecue at the house to celebrate the victory. Our boys shot down an enemy jet each."
Penny's eyes raised."Damn... Maybe we should have a second shot..."
"Can you guys bring the beer?"
Penny grinned,"You got it. It'll be nice to see Slider and Wolfman."
"Yeah, like old times!"Amber touched her shot glass to Penny's again. "Cheers!"
They both sucked on a lime wedge after.
"So we're running you home?"
"Is that okay that I volunteered you?"
"Yep." Penny smiled."All Right. Let's finish these dinner specials!"
"Yes! Let's!"
The girls went back to work. Though they were slightly less chatty. Their men's safety was on their minds. Penny didn't worry often since Mav was an instructor. But once in awhile they had to go active. This was one of those unexpected times. A couple hours later Maverick showed up, flight jacket held over his shoulder, aviators on his face that he took off and slid into a breast pocket.
" Evening Ladies!" He grinned that big dimply grin. His victory written all over his face and swagger.