┌───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────┐
FIFTEEN
touching the stars
└───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────┘

☆.｡.:*　　.｡.:*☆

ONE YEAR LATER...

CELESTE sometimes wonders if her life has changed at all. Because to argue that point, the last year has seen more change than she could ever imagine, and not just for herself. That mission — the one Maverick bravely led them all into — challenged her like never before, forcing her to confront her past and her future in more ways than one...

Just looking around her proves her point. Ryan may be ascending up the ranks of the navy, and yet he has never appeared so at peace with himself. Maybe it has something to do with moving closer to his family, whom he has not let slip out of sight or mind since, just like the memory of Iceman. Or, surely, it must be helped by the mysterious 'Emily' they had all heard about — one minute, he was texting her back and arranging to meet and catch up, and the next they were being introduced to his girlfriend. Even Maverick and Penny have been going strong over the last year.

     Then there is Luisa, who only needed half of a technically-second-date to decide Bob was a keeper. The times Celeste does get to see the partners, they appear happier than ever, balancing their military careers with raising Gabriela (who is particularly fond of her new stepfather). Celeste is also no longer an honorary aunt, either, becoming the real deal once Quincy and Felicia introduced their daughter in the winter of last year. Olivia Sterling is a bouncing bundle of joy just like her father, and relishes in being held by her favourite aunt when she flies in to Florida.

     Quincy, himself, has stayed outside of a cockpit ever since the incident. Sometimes Celeste asks him if he misses it — "every day," he always replies. Nevertheless, his optimism doesn't waver in the face of being grounded, where he now implements his wisdom onto younger TOPGUN students as a soon-to-be instructor. She can almost envision her brother taking on the teaching methods of Maverick, and she has yet to decide whether that is a good thing or not.

     And Bradley, well...

     Celeste never let him go again after they walked off that carrier. Not when they do long distance during missions, geography splitting them apart only to come together better than ever. Not when their closeness would overwhelm them, purely out of the relief of finally being so close at last... and certainly not when, after running out of reasons why they should wait any longer, Bradley asked her a very important question. And Celeste said yes.

     The day had only been a small occasion — that's all it can be, when your boyfriend proposes right before a mission, and you have to scramble for something elegant to wear to a naval base. With their closest family and friends as witnesses, Celeste walked down the aisle on Manny's arm, where her best friend waited at the end. The universe had felt infinite as she walked out hand-in-hand with Bradley; and somewhere, they knew, Goose and Carole were smiling down upon them.

So, yes, a lot has indeed changed...

     ... And yet, nothing has changed at all. Everything still leads back to a starry night sky, sitting on a swing set under the stars with Bradley Bradshaw. They're just a little bigger; and with luck, a little braver too.

     Celeste knows she has been caught staring off into space again. Literally. Feeling Bradley's gaze on her, she purses her lips into a smile, the stars above twinkling in her eyes. "What?" she asks.

     "Honey," he says teasingly, "are you keeping secrets from me again?"

     "Again?"

     "I can literally see the gears turning in your head. It's no use hiding it."

     Scoffing, Celeste pushes her feet off the sand below and starts gently swinging back and forth. Before she can go any further, Bradley walks up behind and starts pushing her. Nothing has really changed, has it? Celeste thinks, amused. Maybe excluding the fact that she is considerably heavier than when she was eight.

     The breeze softly whistles past her ears but she can just about hear him ask: "Okay seriously, Cel, what's on your mind? You haven't said anything about what happened this morning..."

     "This morning?"

     "You know what I'm talking about. That meeting you got called in for."

     "Well... there's not much to tell..."

     "Tell me anyway, because the fact you're not telling me is making me nervous."

     Celeste laughs and skids to a halt on the swing, her soles scraping against the ground. Bradley's hands catch the small of her back to slow her momentum. She sighs in defeat. "Alright, fine. It was about work. For some reason, the higher-ups had taken note of all the flight hours I'd accumulated, the ones I always wanted to put towards my NASA application. And... I got an offer to train as a test pilot. With the idea that it would eventually admit me into an astronaut program."

     She watches Bradley's face morph in front of her, lit up with excitement on her behalf; it is like watching what she thought her reaction would be through a window. "Holy shit, really?! Celeste! That's amazing..." he beams, threading his fingers through Celeste's. "I– I mean, I always believed you could do it, and it doesn't surprise me, but—"

     "I said no."

     "You what?" Bradley asks, puzzled.

     Celeste nods contentedly, confirming it. "I said no."

     "But... why?"

     She studies how his face has changed, now filled with earnest concern for her. Celeste knows he would understand if she explained herself, so she gives it her best shot. No one else would understand her choice better than her best friend.

     "I'm happy where I am," Celeste tells him. "I have been for a while, and I intend to keep it that way. Remember the night before that mission last year, how I told you I was done clinging onto the past? How... how I wanted to look to the future?"

"Yeah, but that was before you actually got an offer," Bradley points out quietly.

"Getting that offer just confirmed it for me. I don't need to prove myself to anyone anymore, and I've got other plans for the future anyway."

Her husband sighs. His hands caress the top of hers, his stare hardened in deep thought. "... Okay, but you're sure? You promise you're not just saying it to look all put-together?"

"I promise. Didn't even have to think about it," Celeste tells him honestly. And she truly means it. "Besides, it's not like it changes anything. Just because I'm not going into space, that doesn't mean I won't sit in the back yard every night to look for constellations... kind of like how we've been married for two months, and I still bet I can beat you on the swings."

"Is that a challenge, Mrs. Bradshaw?"

"Only if you think you're worthy enough, Mr. Bradshaw."

Filled with a child-like giddiness over it, Bradley gets onto the other swing and they swoop back and forth for a couple minutes, before quickly realising this activity doesn't have quite the same appeal as it did in their childhood. They slow down again, the metal chains of the swings squeaking.

"Hey... when you said planning for the future, what did you mean? Anything involving me?" Bradley asks curiously.

Celeste glances shyly at him. "It might," she murmurs. She has been mulling over the idea in her head for a little while now, and although it may be early days, she becomes more certain that she wants it all the time... except that she has yet to know how her husband feels. Nervously fiddling with her silver wedding ring, Celeste draws in a deep breath.

"There was another reason why I couldn't accept that job," she tells him, "why it didn't feel like it fit... with my future."

He nods encouragingly at her.

"How do you feel about kids?"

Bradley blinks at her, his swing going completely still. "Like... uh, in what– in what way? Having them?"

Celeste just stares at him, unsure what to say next, desperately trying to gauge his reaction. In truth, when she and Bradley finally got together, it felt like so many shards of her heart fell into place — she hadn't previously considered a life like that with anyone. Perhaps she thought she could never deserve it. But every day she spends with Bradley, closer than ever, Celeste finds herself yearning for more to share with him... and perhaps she would be lying, if she said her new niece didn't have something to do with it.

Reading her a little more, his lips lift into an emotional smile. "Celeste, you want to have a kid?"

"I mean..." she shrugs one shoulder, grinning a little. "I've toyed with the idea. I'm aware it would change a lot of things, and we would probably have to re-think how our careers would go. But I wanted to ask how you felt first, because if you don't want to, I would never want to force you, and it's not like I'm in a rush—"

     Before she can finish her sentence, Bradley leans across the swing set, meeting her lips with a long, warming kiss. Celeste relaxes into his touch, the anxiety seeping out from her and leaving nothing but liquid peace in her bloodstream. Her eyelids stay stuck together when they break apart, temples fused together by some invisible force.

     "I would love to try," Bradley whispers.

     Humming happily, Celeste watches as he returns to his seat again, her heart fluttering at all the futures opening up for her. She wonders about how she used to feel in her life — like every path was closed to her, because she was undeserving or unworthy. But now, she realises, her possibilities are infinite. Like the stars above. Too many to count, all shining bright. She used to calculate every possible pitfall or opportunity ahead. Celeste remembers fearing her downfall... maybe she still does sometimes. Moments of doubt will come and go, as they do.

     When that happens, she will always know she needs to look no further than the night sky; the true constant that has never left her alone.

☆.｡.:*　　.｡.:*☆

AUTHOR'S NOTE

oh. my. god. that's it! that's the end! honestly i'm in denial right now, it will probably hit me later. writing this ending felt so tricky, as i really had no idea what to do with it, but i did want to leave the characters in a happy place whilst also leaving some things open to interpretation. the ending line might have been corny, but screw it, i'm all for a bit of corny!

(in case you were curious: celeste and bradley do end up having a kid! in my head they have a son, nick bradshaw... named after goose 🥺 also he would probably be born in 2022, so he would be about a year old now hehe)

actually, the date i'm completing supernova is exactly one year after i first added it to my drafts (give or take a day), so talk about a full-circle moment. it has been an amazing journey ever since — top gun: maverick has become such a comfort film for me, i swear it's one of the most re watchable things ever. i've already seen it at least 12 times! anyway, my love for this movie got channeled into this fic, and it challenged me in many ways, for instance with the flying scenes. it was tricky to get around the terminology in the beginning, but i've learned so much from the research i did for this story, and that is always something so valuable and fun to take away.

but most of all, i have to thank YOU guys, the readers! THANK YOU SO MUCH! your support throughout this book has meant the world to me. whether you have been reading along as the chapters have come out, or if you're reading supernova in its entirety now,  i'm very grateful that you have made it this far.

now for a fun fact: i did have some spin-off ideas, which probably won't happen because i'm pretty content with putting this story to rest, but i'll humour you here and share what i subtly tried to set up during this fic:
— one spin-off would focus on ryan and "emily", the girl who he has ended up with in this epilogue. in my head she is portrayed by olivia liang and she might be in the navy too? maybe a mechanic or some sort of similar role. i've enjoyed writing ryan wayyy more than i thought i would, so i guess this idea came from that.
— another spin-off idea was for a hangman love interest... remember houdini from the first chapter?? she makes a brief appearance, go back and re-read chapter one otherwise, because you might blink and miss her. her real name is aubrey morgan, and my face claim for her (currently) is riley keough, and i envisioned her and hangman having a competitive-rivals-to-lovers dynamic!

again, these spin-offs aren't likely to happen now, but i just had to share my ideas with you guys anyway! i do have a book with one shots (that i've never written anything for lol) so maybe i could write some of these spin-off ideas there?

anyway, i'm aware this author's note is getting VERY long now, so i'll leave it here. once again, thank you for reading, and i really hope you enjoyed it. if you had a favourite moment from supernova, or just any feedback in general, that would be greatly appreciated. i'll miss writing celeste, quincy, ryan & luisa, but they will forever me close to my heart...

that's all, folks — we made it!!

──

published (& COMPLETED): september 1st, 2023