━Chapter two━
CIEL

"Attention on deck!" A loud voice boomed in the area. Everyone stand up from their chair as Admiral Bates made his way to the podium.

"Good morning. Welcome to your special training detachment, sit down." They all sat down. "I am Admiral Bates, call sign Warlock. You are all Top Gun graduates; the best of the best but that was yesterday. The enemy's new fifth-generation fighter jet levels the playing field. We no longer possess the technological advantage. Success depends on the man or woman in the box."

Hangman put his gaze on Phoenix who noticed and silently pull out her middle finger towards him.

"Half of you will make the cut and only one of you will be named mission leader, The rest will attend to any reserve roles necessary."

"Your instructor is one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced. His exploits are legendary. What he has to teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death," Warlock remarked as they heard echoing footsteps walking up the aisle.

All the pilots turned their heads to the newcomer, Hangman, Coyote, and Payback looks away out of fear and embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Bradley sunk in his chair a little.

"I give you Captain Pete Mitchell, call sign Maverick."

Warlock stepped away from the podium letting Maverick take over. "Good morning," he held up the manual book for F-18. "The F.A.T.-18 NATOPS, This book contains everything they expected you to know about your aircraft. I assume you all know it well."

"Damn right."

"Damn straight."

"No shit."

Maverick tossed the book to the trash beside him, "And we're off." Hondo mumbled.

"So does your enemy, but what the enemy doesn't know is your limits. I intend to find those limits and push beyond them, so today we will start with what you think you know, you show me what you made of." He continues.

A door clicks open and is soon followed by echoing footsteps, all pilots automatically turn their heads, and once again Jake Seresin looks away.

Admiral Bates lifts his head, "Lieutenant Mitchell you're late." He said.

"Apologies sir." She nods her head, walks to the front, takes something out from her pocket, and gave it to the captain, "My father has lost his glasses."

Cue for Jake Seresin to winched at the news, last night he was hitting on the Captain's (that he had thrown out from the bar) daughter.

"Thank you, have seat." Maverick sends a smile at his daughter, Y/n winks at him with a smile, she takes a scan between the naval aviators searching for her new assigned backseater. Her eyes have a small amused glint when her eyes stop at the man that was hitting on her last night who offered her a smile, the smile gave her a slight warmness in her stomach.

She look away and stop a man who was adjusting his seat, she walked toward him and gave him a nod "You're Mickey Garcia?"

"Yes, ma'am. Call sign Fanboy." He answered.

"Hm, Nice to meet you I'm Y/n Mitchell, call sign Ciel."

Maverick dismissed the group to grab their gear and head to their respective planes.

As she talks to her new back seater a hand grabs her wrist making her turn around to see her brother's figure, his jaw was clenched showing that he is pissed. "Did you know?"

"I just know this morning. I tried to tell you but I didn't have any time, sorry B." She gives him a sympathetic smile.

"Well, at least you tried to tell me," Bradley sighs, "heard you shot down five from your last mission."

"I'm not very proud of it, it made me lose my backseater. They tried to shoot me down first so I had to do it. My backseater's wife didn't like how I handle it and said I was too dangerous. So he quit."

"She's not wrong." He commented.

Fanboy somehow looks terrified yet excited at their comments. As they walk to their assigned plane.

"Rooster, Bradley." Someone called, and the said man did not turn back or stop in his tracks just continued walking to his plane ignoring the call.

"Lieutenant Bradshaw," Maverick stated.

"Yeah, can't ignore that one can't you, see you later." Y/n pat his shoulder nodding at Fanboy to give the two some time.

As she and her WSO walk to their plane she feels a pair of eyes staring at the back of her head. She turn around to see Jake Seresin staring at her with the corner of his lips tugging upwards, she sent him a wink and unconsciously smile at him with a toothy grin making him look away.

━━━━━━

Maverick made everyone do a warm-up before splitting everyone into pairs, those who were not called up yet returns to the hangar and listened in from the radio.

"Good morning aviators, this is your captain speaking," Maverick said. "Welcome to basic fighting maneuvers. As you were briefed, today's exercise is dog fighting. No missiles. Guns only and no going below the hard deck of five thousand feet. Work as a team to shoot me down or else."

"Or else what sir?" Y/n asked into the comms.

"Or else I shoot back."

"How about we put skin in the game, to make it fun you know," Y/n suggested, wanting to add some more fun in the air.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Whoever gets shot down first has to do two hundred pushups." Y/n inquired.

"Gosh, that's a lot of push-ups."

"They don't call it an exercise for nothing, sir." Fanboy comments.

"You just got yourself a deal Fellas, let's turn and burn," Maverick says, Maverick's jet soared between the jets of Y/n, Fanboy, and Bradley. Catching them off guard.

"Holy shit!" Fanboy scream.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Maverick makes Y/n and Fanboy his first target to shoot down first, "Ciel Where's your wingman?" He asks preparing to press the trigger on them.

"IS THIS A PAYBACK FOR WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY?" Y/n yelled to the coms, "Rooster where are you? Get him off me!"

"I got you, I'm coming. Hang in there hang in there." Rooster says flying in front of Maverick.

"Ciel break right!"

"Breaking right!" Y/n and Fanboy were saved but now Maverick has a new target in front of him.

"Rooster just saved your life but it's going to cost him."

"Not this time old man!" Bradley glares at Maverick.

"Don't let him get to you Maverick," he says to himself.

"Rooster you're too low. Pull up, you're hitting the deck!"

"Oh shit."

Rooster pulls up only to get locked by Maverick. "That's a kill," Maverick says as he sighs but the alarm went off.

"And that's also a kill," Y/n said from behind, snickering at her dad. "That's how you bury a fossil everyone."

They all watch as Bradley does his two hundred push ups outside, Y/n shakes her head at the cruel sight if her friend doing the push-ups. She was way too cocky to suggest that game.

"Should be us down there." Fanboy says as he watches Bradley with his pilot through the window.

"But it's not." They look beside them to see Phoenix, "Now you know a little something about Rooster."

The next team was no good than the first, only Y/n managed to get a single lock on his aircraft.

"That's a kill," Maverick said.

"Damn!"

"Smoked."

"Shit."

Then Maverick decided to get Ciel and Fanboy as his partner for the game. To bring in more heat.

"Hey, Phoenix, how about we tell everybody that Bob stands for something, other than just Robert," Hangman says through his comms, looking at Phoenix's aircraft.

"Don't take the bait, Bob. Wanna know why we call him Hangman?" Phoenix questions.

"Wait, I got it. Baby On Board." Hangman jokes. As he laughs Maverick and Y/n passed in between the two.

"Oh shit!" Hangman shouts.

"Greeting Aviators fights on."

"Breaking right," Bob watches Hangman leave, "Where's he going?" Bob asks.

"That's why we call him Hangman, he'll always hang you out to dry."

"I'll take care of him," Y/n said to the comms. Pulling up to chase Hangman.

"Copy that." He watches Hangman being chased with Y/n's aircraft. "Leaving your wingman, there's a strategy I haven't seen in a while." Maverick comments.

"He called you a man Phoenix, you gonna take that?"

"As long as he doesn't call you a man."

"Talk to me Bob, Where's Maverick?" Phoenix asked. "Get him off me, Hangman!"

"For all you folks at home, this is how you bury a fossil," Hangman said as he pulled up behind Maverick preparing a lock on him.

"Might want to watch your back Hangman." Fanboy said as Y/n sped up to Hangman.

"Alright Hangman time to teach you a lesson, you're out Phoenix" Maverick said as he put the lock on Phoenix and Bob.

"Son of a bitch!" Phoenix cussed.

"You're going to take care of that sweetheart?" Maverick said to his daughter.

"I can handle him, thanks. You should do your push-ups " Y/n said, giggling. Hangman suddenly pulled up and start to chase her, she immediately pull the defensive maneuver.

"Alright Ciel, let's see what you got."

"Is he still with us?" Y/n asks Fanboy.

"Yeah! He's just behind us." Fanboy responds, Y/n looks behind her to see him still chasing her.

"Looking for me, Ciel?" Hangman asked with a cocky tone. She can imagine him saying that with a smirk on his face.

"Alright let's end this game," Y/n said pulling up to the sun with Hangman close behind her. Pulling the trick her dad once showed her.

"Shit," Hangman said as he squint his eyes to spot Y/n aircraft in the sun. "Phoenix I can't see her, how close am I?" He asks Phoenix not aware that she's already after being in a missiles lock by Maverick.

"I'm dead dickhead." Phoenix says in the comms.

"See you in the afterlife bagman," Bob added.

Hangman starts to look around and finally, he noticed that there's no aircraft in front of him. His search was cut with the alarm blaring, telling him that he was in a missile lock.

He looks behind him to see them, "That's a kill." Y/n stated with Fanboy cheering behind her.

━━━━━━

They repeated the practice with Maverick killing them easily without breaking a sweat but it's a challenge when it comes to the young Mitchell. Maverick was genuinely happy and impressed by her skills and he believed that his talent was passed down to her.

Bradley, however, takes it a bit personally, he and Maverick were sent into a downward spiral that immediately broke the hard deck rule with their ego way too big but Maverick managed to put a shot on Bradley and he sent Bradley back to the base for his pushups.

Hondo took pity on Bradshaw, "Okay that's enough Rooster." But he was arrogant he kept doing his pushups, pushing his body for more pushups with his body which was at the edge of exhaustion. "Come on man that's enough." But he did not stop so Hondo just leave him be.

"Damn BradBrad I thought I was the only one who always had the hard deck rule. Are you trying to copy me?" Y/n smirks, kneeling beside him while chewing a piece of gum.

She didn't get any reply or anything she took that signal that he wants to be alone, "Alright talk to me whenever you're ready Brad Brat."

A gasp left Bradley's mouth, "You did not just pull that nickname" He said stopping his pushups and starting to sit after all the push-ups he had done.

"What do you mean? You mean Brad Brat?" Y/N said innocently, with a mischievous smile.

"You did not just pull that name on me seal" Bradley smirks as Y/n gasps at that nickname.

"How dare you" They start to bicker back and forth, from the distance Maverick shakes his head at the two remembering the old times when they were little and they would start to bicker like they were siblings by blood.

"You know I'm done talking with the chicken," Y/n huffed walking away from the man.

"ITS ROOSTER!"

"Bye chicken!" She waved, leaving the area.

After taking a shower and changing her clothes, she leaves the place to buy herself a meal. The gum is only to trick her stomach that she's eating. A hand shot up and circle her wrist and push her to a wall.

"Oof!" She looks up to see the Ken doll himself, Jake Seresin aka Hangman. She gave him a side smile "What can I help you Kenny doll," She teased him.

Her tease made its way to his mind making the corner of his lips tug upwards, "I didn't know the Navy hired a model this day."

"Yeah, they decided it's time to have a queen walking around in this place." She crosses her arms. "I also didn't know they start to hire a Ken doll."

"You also forget to tell me that you're the Captain's daughter." He added.

"Yeah, It's always fun you know seeing someone's reaction when it's revealed that I'm the Captain's daughter, I mean come on your face before that was hilarious" Y/n laughs before patting his cheek, "Anyway see you tomorrow, bagman."

She slips from under his arm and walks out of the area with his eyes watching her walking away figure. Something is blooming and it's definitely not a flower.

🗒 ❛ note༉‧₊˚✧
Hello! I'm so so sorry for the long wait for the update, I did have much ideas for the past couple of months and I decided to ask my friend what to do to bring more tension between the two.

I hope you enjoy it, see you soon!