His heart was in his throat and his head was spinning when they all flew out of coffin corner and into the 'safe' area of this land. He didn't know what he said exactly, but he did know that he asked (pleaded) for them to go back and to find Maverick (to make sure he's alive). Every second they flew further away from the canyon, the regret in Rooster's heart grew and when his last plead had also been dismissed (it was apparently too dangerous for medical aid to be sent out), he made a decision.

He turned his GPS-tracker and radio off and steered his plane away, making a small u-turn back to where he came from. He did glance back once, but none of the others had followed him. He did understand. Every cell in his brain screamed at him to turn around, to follow orders and to not be stupid, but the regret and terror in the rest of his body won by a landslide.

When he had returned to the place Mav had been shot down, he immediately spotted an attack helicopter firing away at a person jumping behind a fallen tree. Without thinking about it, he used a missile to incinerate the helicopter. When the sad hump of bent metal crashed into the ground, Rooster let out a sigh of relief, followed by the loud beep of his radar. He had no flares, no way to run, but he wasn't scared. He had done the right thing.

He angled his plane for her to catch the missile at her rear and ejected out at impact. The ejection slammed the air out of his lungs and the harness cut into his armpits when the parachute opened, but he was alive. He floated downwards slowly and couldn't resist looking for Maverick in the general direction the man had crashed. He saw nothing, off course.

He tried to land in between the trees, but there were too many, so his parachute got tangled in a few of the higher branches and he got stuck a meter or two above the ground. He waited to see if he might fall a bit more, but the parachute didn't move so he was definitely stuck here. Rooster sighed while he slowly dangled back and forth, but when he grabbed his knife to slowly cut his chute from his harness, he started giggling softly. He had been shot down above enemy terrain and now his biggest struggle was a tree, how ironic.

That tree, however, did end up to be a fierce adversary, as the different branches hold his chute just tight enough that he couldn't pull down the ropes, but that he also couldn't cut them down easily as well. In the end, it cost him twenty minutes (or so) to cut himself loose and when he eventually fell, it was because the last two ropes snapped and not because of Rooster himself, so Rooster felt himself tumble awkwardly down. He fell diagonally and prepared for a rough landing, but the snow was thicker than he had thought so it was not as painful as expected (although his ribs had not been happy with it after being shot out of a plane no less than half an hour before).

When he stumbled upright, he heard someone running towards him and he quickly glanced around for his knife that he had let go when he fell. The snow was as high as his knees on this side of the tree so he quickly gave up the search and just took a stance in the direction the sound was coming from. When he saw who was running towards him (with a remarkable speed, considering the depth of the snow and the height of the runner), however, he relaxed a bit.

"You all right?" Maverick yelled at him and when he nodded quickly, Maverick reached him. He didn't slow down however and Rooster regretted having relaxed as Maverick pushed him back into the snow with a lot of force for such a small man. It was cold enough that his ass didn't immediately got wet (small mercies) and thus he had time to look at Maverick sheepishly.

"What the hell?" he asked, but he wasn't angry (for once).

"What are you doing here?" Maverick asked, not angry but also not calmed down in the slightest. He did, however, offer his hand and Rooster happily took it to get on his feet again.

"I saved your life?" Rooster asked quizzically, but Maverick's frenzied state (completed by his red cheeks and heaving chest that made Rooster question just how long Maverick had been sprinting) made him worry as well.

"I saved yóúr life," Maverick said while he doubled over and gasped for breath.

"That was the whole point!" Maverick tried to yell and Rooster didn't know what to say to that.

"What were you even thinking?" Maverick asked with wide eyes as he slowly came up, wincing a bit when he straightened.

"You taught me not to think." Rooster huffed while he scratched his neck awkwardly. At that Maverick blinked a few times, before he let out a small huff as well.

"I guess I did." He grinned slowly, but his statement was a question as well so Rooster grinned back, happily locking eyes with his father.

"You sure did, Mav. Took me over twenty years to learn it, but at the end you succeeded," Rooster laughed, but Maverick's face fell.

"I don't know how to say how sorry I am, Bradley. I'm so sorry I pulled your papers," Maverick said and the anger Rooster had expected was just a small flicker in the back of his mind instead of the all-encompassing beast it had been before.

"Yet you did," he said and Maverick looked down.

"I did and I could have never not done it, but I regret not going after you when you left," the older man said, shuffling his feet a bit in the snow. Rooster shook his head and laid his hand on Maverick's shoulder, causing him to look up.

"I wouldn't have let you, Mav, and that is what I regret every single day." Maverick kept silent as that, but he didn't look down again.

"I think I can never forgive you for what you did," Rooster started and Maverick nodded with a little bit too much comprehension and self-hatred in his eyes so Rooster quickly continued.

"But I hate hating you, Mav." Maverick's eyes widened.

"You asked me to be your wingman and I couldn't do anything else but agree because I don't want to be separate from you anymore," Rooster said and he felt his eyes water. Maverick stood frozen in front of him and Rooster tentatively stepped forwards and guided the other pilot into his arms. It was awkward for the first few seconds until Maverick closed his hot arms around Rooster too and sunk into his arms.

"Can you just be my dad again, Mav?" Rooster asked softly, one single tear escaping his eyes. He felt Maverick take a startled breath before nodding feverishly against his chest.

"If you let me, I would love to, baby Goose," Maverick whispered and Rooster smiled softly at the nickname before hugging the smaller man a little bit more tightly.

"Would Ice also-" Maverick stopped, but Bradley understood him anyway. He slowly stepped out of the embrace to really look at Maverick and then he sighed.

"I don't know how I feel about him, Mav. What you did had been so long ago, but he? I just realized that he hadn't held his word at the start of this mission. I don't know what to feel." At that Maverick frowned. This time it was him who laid a hand on the other one's shoulder. The steady presence relaxed Rooster immediately.

"Bradley, you gotta believe me. Whatever you thought he had done, I am sure he hasn't." Rooster shrugged his hands away and crossed his own in front of his chest.

"But you knew," he said, trying to sound accusing but utterly failing in the process.

"I knew what, Bradley?" Maverick asked with a pleading tone.

"You knew about the abortion." At Maverick's blank face, Rooster desperately elaborated, a feeling of dread slowly filling him.

"You know, about the abortion Phoenix had because she became pregnant from me on accident? That Ice deleted from our records behind the back of the whole navy after promising he would tell nobody about it?" Maverick's eyes grew big.

"So that was why you called him." Maverick said, comprehension flickering alive in his eyes.

"Yes, but he told you?" Rooster said and he hated how much of a question it was. Had he been furious at Ice for nothing?

"Bradley," Maverick said and he made sure to look the crestfallen pilot in the eyes.

"I swear he never told me what was being discussed in that phone call."

"He didn't?" Rooster asked weakly. Maverick chuckled and scratched his neck.

"He never did. Slept a few days on the couch for it, but then I realized he had promised you not to tell anyone so I resigned to just not knowing." Maverick shrugged a bit helplessly.

"But you looked at Natasha and me at the first day of the mission." Rooster said and the moment he said it, he realized how dumb it sounded. Maverick frowned.

"I was wondering why you two weren't sitting together since I knew you had been very close friends for years, that's all."

"Oh," Rooster said and Maverick smiled.

"God, I'm so stupid," Maverick lifted his eyebrows at that, but he kept silent.

"I should apologize to him. Mav, I should apologize to Ice, tell him-" Rooster rambled but his ramblings got interrupted by the sound of breaking wood on his right. They both hurled around as a figure appeared from the shadows of the trees.

"Tell me what?" Iceman asked as he flashed his trademark smile. Rooster and Maverick gasped in unison but while Maverick stayed where he was and just confusedly yelled "Ice?!", Bradley quickly stepped the few steps towards his other father and flew into his arms. He heard something drop on the ground as he did so, but was too busy burying himself into Ice's steady presence to really care.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I thought you broke your promise, but then it turned out you actually didn't and that I was just an incompetent arse who couldn't see past one moment and destroyed our relationship for over two decades," Bradley rambled while he felt Iceman's arms slowly close around his back until Bradley was snuggled in a distinct Ice-cold (get it?) hug. Ice laughed softly.

"I'm sorry too, Gosling. And Mav is too, you know?" he asked and Bradley sniffed (where had those tears come from) at the adorableness of Iceman always looking out for his wingman, even when apologizing.

"Yes, I know," he nodded and they kept standing in each other's arms for a few seconds, before Iceman slowly stepped out of the hug.

"Hey, Mav," he said as he turned to Maverick, who was still rooted to the spot. Maverick opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again as he apparently reconsidered. The smaller pilot stepped to the other and Maverick pulled Iceman in a soaring kiss, standing on his toes to rest his arms on top of Ice's shoulders while Ice circled his arms around Maverick's waist to pull him even closer. Rooster smiled at the two, but started to feel a little bit ignored when the kiss went on for a while. Iceman was the first to break it, but he did it slowly and kept his body flushed against Maverick's. He laid his forehead against Maverick and closed his eyes.

"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered softly and it was only because Rooster was standing not more than a feet away from them that he could hear it.

"I thought so too," Maverick whispered back as he pulled his husband impossibly closer.

"But you didn't," Iceman said with a small grin as he leaned back.

"No I didn't," Maverick mirrored as he took a little bit of space as well (but not breaking the embrace). They smiled to each other and then Ice turned to Rooster, which was Rooster's sign to finally ask what the hell was going on.

"Yes, I would like to know that as well, mister. How the hell did you get down here? Besides, shouldn't you be lying in bed?" Maverick asked with a fond mirth in his voice. Iceman chuckled.

"The doctors thought I had a heat stroke, hon, did you really listen to them?" Maverick laughed at that, but Rooster frowned.

"Why is that so funny? What was going on, Ice?" he asked. Iceman looked at Maverick and pulled up one eyebrow (how the hell he did that was still a mystery). Maverick shrugged at that and nodded carefully.

"Well, he has been sixteen for a while now, so maybe it's time we tell him," he said.

"Now? Don't you think that can wait until we aren't in enemy terrain anymore?"

"Tell me what?" Rooster asked, but the two ignored him.

"We agreed to wait when he was sixteen and look how that turned out." Maverick dead-panned so Ice chuckled and kissed his nose quickly before finally turning to Rooster.

"So, Rooster, you probably know I was born a few degrees too cold and Maverick a few degrees too hot?" Ice started and Rooster nodded slowly.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with-" he said, but Maverick shushed him quickly.

"What we didn't tell you, however, was that these different temperatures gave us some, let's say complications," Iceman added.

"It's a long story and we don't even fully understand it, but the TLDR of it all is that when I think too much, something catches fire and when Ice feels too much, something freezes." Maverick said it without a grin, or even his fond eye-smile so Rooster looked at him dumbfounded.

"What kind of joke is this?" he asked.

"It is not a joke. I know it must sound weird, but it is the truth." Ice said.

"So you can shoot ice out of your hands, who are you, Elsa?" Rooster asked while taking a step back.

"Who?" Iceman asked, looking dumbfounded as Maverick snickered besides him. They both regained their composure quickly enough, however.

"He isn't Elsa, Bradley, but he can instinctively freeze things, just as I can put things on fire if I focus enough."

"That's some bullshit. Something like that doesn't exist." Rooster stepped back another step. Had they gone crazy?

"Bradley, if you don't want to believe us-" Iceman started, sounding a little desperate, but Maverick stopped him by putting a hand on his arm. He squatted and picked a small pine leaf that had fallen with Rooster on the snow. Without saying anything he held the leaf on his outstretched hand. For a second, nothing happened (except Maverick getting a faraway look in his eyes), but Rooster cautiously stepped closer anyway. He opened his mouth to say something but then suddenly, the leaf caught fire.

"What the fuck!" Rooster exclaimed as he scrambled back, but the snow had turned to ice behind his feet so he stumbled and fell backwards. This time it was a rather hard landing, however, as the snow behind him wasn't soft and fluffy anymore as well.

"I'm sorry, Bradley, it was not my intention to make you fall. Mav has more control over it than I do," Ice said apologetically while he pulled him upright.

"You believe us now, little Goose?" Maverick laughed while he shook the ash from his hand.

"I think I have to," Rooster said dumbfounded. His parents had superpowers? This changed everything! Or did it? They seemed to be still the caring, loving bad-asses in the sky that they were a mere minute ago, or did they? Somehow, though, he felt like all the questions he had had could be answered by now, if only he would think a bit harder, but everything was reeling in his head, thought by thought screaming for his attention. Bradley pushed his fists against his temple as he tried to remain his sanity.

"So, the accident, the coma, it was all because of this?" Rooster asked weakly and Ice nodded softly, a pained look in his eye.

"We are sorry Bradley, we never told you, because we didn't want you to feel even more apart from your peers than you were already, with two male foster parents and all that." That actually made sense, but all Roosters incredibly intelligent brain could mutter was:

"The meditation too?" Iceman snickered and a warm smile spread over his features.

"Yes, the meditation too, for it is the only way Mav can control his fire, or can't you Mav?" he asked amiably to the shorter pilot at his side, but when he actually turned his head to look at him, the smile dropped quicker than an F-14 in freefall.

"Mav? Mav?!" Ice yelled, his eyes big when Maverick, white as a sheet, made a gurling, pained sound before his eyes rolled back and he crashed down on the snowy ground, Ice and Rooster too frozen from shock to catch him.