⇢ seven - do it for your name ⇠

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      AS SOON AS ELLIE OPENED HER EYES, SHE WAS MET WITH A MASSIVE migraine. The blonde groaned quietly and hid her face in the pillow, pressing her fingers against her temples.

      When she opened her eyes again, she immediately noticed that she wasn't in her own bed. Ellie shot up into a sitting position and it quickly registered that she was in Bradley's room.

      The blonde's lips parted, her eyes widening in shock. No, there was no way. Ellie hesitantly grabbed the blanket with her fingertips and lifted up the covers before she sighed in relief, seeing that she still had her clothes on.

      The blonde looked over at the nightstand, seeing two tylenol pills and a bottle of water sitting there. Ellie had a feeling she drank a lot last night since she couldn't remember a thing, so she reached over and took the medicine.

      She quickly climbed out of Bradley's bed, leaving the room and heading into the living room. Ellie could smell that something was being cooked and she entered the kitchen, seeing Bradley cooking some bacon and eggs.

      "Hey," Ellie said softly as she entered the kitchen.

      Bradley turned and smiled at her. "Morning, sleepyhead."

      Ellie chuckled softly, leaning against the counter as she reached for a cooked piece of bacon on a plate. "Thanks for the tylenol."

      "No problem," Bradley replied. "I figured you'd need it after last night."

      Ellie sighed and ate a piece off of her bacon. "So how bad was I?"

      "Not too bad," Bradley replied. "You made me dance with you, though."

      "Hm," Ellie hummed and smiled softly, taking another piece of bacon from the plate and biting into it.

      "And, uh..." Bradley paused for a moment. "And you kissed me."

      Ellie choked on her piece of bacon she was chewing, looking at him with wide eyes. "I- I did?"

      "Yeah," Bradley replied. "You don't remember?"

      "Well, I was pretty drunk, so..." Ellie answered.

      "So?" Bradley repeated.

      Ellie raised an eyebrow. "What, you're telling me you would remember kissing me if you were that drunk?"

      "Yeah, I would," Bradley replied. "I'd have to be dead to forget that."

      Ellie paused at his words. Did she really mean that much to him? "Bradley..."

      "I kissed back, you know?" Bradley told her.

      "You did?" Ellie asked.

      Bradley nodded. "I did. That's how much you mean to me. No, actually, fuck that. That's how much I love you."

      Ellie froze, not knowing what to respond with. "What? You love me?"

      "I do," Bradley answered. "I've been in love with you for so long. Don't you feel the same?"

      Of course she did, but she couldn't admit that. She was too scared too. Ellie had already cared so much for him, she couldn't care for him more, well, not in that sense. If either of them had been picked for the mission and he died, it would leave her heartbroken.

      Taking her silence as an answer, Bradley nodded. "All right."

      Ellie shook her head. "Wait, no."

      Bradley sighed and looked down. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

      "What?" Ellie asked.

      "You heard me," Bradley replied.

      Ellie stared at him for a moment, swallowing the lump in her throat as she pushed back the tears that threatened to fall. The blonde turned on her heel, walking back into his bedroom and grabbing her clothes and phone before she went straight for his front door.

      As soon as she stepped out and shut the door behind her, Ellie let out a breath, leaning against the door. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to compose herself before she unlocked her phone.

el
i need you to come pick me up from bradley's place

nat
oh, do i? 😏

el
nat, now's not the time

nat
oh sorry
i'm omw

el
thank you

      Ellie waited for about fifteen minutes on Bradley's porch when Natasha's jeep pulled up in front of his house. The blonde quickly walked down the steps and approached the jeep, looking over her shoulder at his house before she climbed in.

      "What's going on?" Natasha asked.

      "I'll explain while you drive," Ellie replied.

      Natasha nodded and immediately stepped on the gas pedal, driving to Ellie's place. Ellie explained everything to her, from when she got shit-faced drunk, to when she kissed Bradley, and then their small argument.

      They now sat on Ellie's couch and Natasha looked at her. "You need to tell him how you actually feel."

      "No, I can't," Ellie shook her head.

      "Why?" Natasha asked.

      "I already care too much about him, I can't open my heart up even more," Ellie replied as her voice got caught in her throat. "If I lose him on this mission-"

      "All the more reason to tell him," Natasha cut her off. "You don't want him dying knowing that your last conversation was an argument."

      Ellie shook her head and looked away, she was way too scared to tell him her feelings. Natasha sighed, pulling her friend in for a tight hug. The blonde let the tears fall, wrapping her arms around Natasha's waist.

      Maverick and Ellie now stood in Cyclone's office, both standing at attention and wondering why they were called to his office.

      "Ellie," Cyclone began. "I can only imagine what you're going through right now. I want you to take some time off."

      "Sir, I appreciate that, but the mission-" Ellie tried to reply.

      "No," Cyclone interrupted her. "In the least offensive way possible, the mission will be fine without you."

      "No, I- I need to keep going," Ellie replied. "I want to keep going. I'm going to do this mission for my dad."

      "I'm sorry, Winters," Cyclone replied. "You're grounded. Permanently."

      Ellie clenched her jaw, turning on her heel and storming out of his office, slamming the door shut behind her. That probably wasn't the best thing to do to an Admiral, but she didn't really care. The blonde stopped and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms as she cursed quietly under her breath.

      The door to Cyclone's office opened and Ellie looked over, seeing Maverick walking out. The blonde sent him a short smile as he approached her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

      "What happened?" Ellie asked.

      "I got grounded, too," Maverick replied.

      Ellie scoffed and pushed herself off of the wall, throwing her hands up. "He can't do this! Can he do this?"

      "Yeah, he can," Maverick replied. "We both just lost someone, he can do what he thinks is best for us."

      "But he doesn't know what's best for us," Ellie argued, pacing back and forth.

      Maverick could tell something else was bothering her. "What's going on with you?"

      Ellie looked at him. "What do you mean? I'm obviously mad at Cyclone for-"

      "No," Maverick shook his head. "Did something else happen that I'm not aware of?"

      Ellie took a deep breath, leaning against the wall opposite of Maverick. "Bradley and I... we got into a small argument this morning."

      "About what?" Maverick asked.

      "He, uh..." Ellie sighed. "He admitted his feelings for me."

      "Really?" Maverick raised a brow as Ellie nodded in response. "Did you admit your feelings for him?"

      "No," Ellie replied. "And when I didn't admit them, he told me to leave his house. And now this," she gestured toward Cyclone's office. "Everything's just so confusing and it's upsetting me."

      Maverick came to her side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, do what you think is best."

      Ellie furrowed her eyebrows. "You mean, go against Cyclone's orders?"

      Maverick only shrugged in response, a small smile on his face before he turned around and walked down the hall. The blonde watched him until he disappeared around the corner, a small smile appearing on her face before she walked in the opposite direction.

      Ellie slowed to a stop in front of her father's plaque, another smile appearing on her lips.

      She was going on this mission.

      As soon as training started for her team, Ellie walked into the room they were in. Every head turned to see her walking in and Cyclone sighed, shaking his head.

      The blonde approached her seat and sat down, avoiding eye contact with Bradley as much as she could.

      Cyclone sighed. "Winters..."

      "No," Ellie shook her head, remembering Maverick's words. "I'm doing this for my dad. With all due respect, I am going on this mission."

      Cyclone stared at her for a moment and he sighed, realizing that she was sounding a lot like Maverick right now. He sighed once again, knowing he wasn't going to win this fight. "Fine."

      Daniel chuckled quietly from beside her and Ellie looked at him. Daniel held his fist out for a fist bump and she accepted it, quickly turning her attention back to Cyclone. She never spared a glance toward Bradley, who she already knew was looking at her.

      "Captain Mitchell is no longer your instructor," Cyclone began. "And as of today, there are new mission parameters. Time to target is now four minutes," the time on the screen behind him changed. "You'll be entering the valley level at reduced speed. Not to exceed 420 knots."

      "Sir, won't we be giving their planes time to intercept?" Bob asked.

      "Well, Lieutenant, you have a fighting chance against enemy aircraft," Cyclone replied. "What are the odds of surviving a head-on collision with a mountain? You'll be attacking the target from a higher altitude, level with the north wall."

      Ellie furrowed her eyebrows, slowly turning her head to look at Daniel as he did the same. Both of them had a look of disbelief on their faces.

      "It's gonna be a little harder to keep your laser on target, but you will avoid the high-G climb out," Cyclone explained.

      "We'll be sitting ducks for enemy missiles," Fanboy muttered to Payback.

      Suddenly, there was a beep and a jet appeared on screen, flying toward the simulated mission. Ellie furrowed her eyebrows again, leaning forward in her seat.

      Cyclone looked at the screen. "Who the hell is that?"

      "Maverick to Range Control," Maverick's voice sounded as Ellie smiled. "Entering point Alpha. Confirm green range."

      "Uh, Maverick, Range Control," a man replied, his voice laced with confusion. "Uh, green range is confirmed. I don't see an event scheduled for you, sir."

      "Well, I'm going anyway," Maverick replied.

      Phoenix smirked. "Nice."

      "Setting time to target: two minutes, fifteen seconds," Maverick said as he changed the time for the mission.

      "2:15?" Payback asked in disbelief. "That's impossible."

      "Final attack point," Maverick said. "Maverick's inbound."

      Ellie sat back in her seat, a small smile on her face as she rested her hands over her abdomen. Daniel was leaning forward, his eyes trained on Maverick's jet on screen.

      They all watched as the screen simulated Maverick weaving around the mountains with ease. He successfully made it through, heading toward the target as he flew one hundred feet above the ground.

      "Popping in three, two, one..."

      Ellie watched as Maverick climbed the mountain, then steep diving down toward the target. The blonde began to get nervous, the time was declining rapidly. It was now down to thirty seconds.

      Maverick successfully locked the laser onto the target, pressing the button on the controls to release the missile. "Bombs away."

      Maverick began climbing up to avoid hitting the mountain. Everyone leaned forward in their seats and some stood up, all nervous if the missile was going to hit the target.

      The missile successfully hit the target, leaving .16 seconds on the clock. Ellie let out a breath, a smiling appearing on her face when she realized this mission could be accomplished.

      "Bull's-eye!" Fanboy exclaimed. "Holy shit!"

      "Yes!" Bob cheered.

      Hangman sat back in his seat, a smirk appearing on his lips. "Damn."

      Maverick was named mission leader after the stunt he had pulled. Ellie stood in the room on the carrier with the others, her arms folded behind her back. She was pretty nervous to say the least, she really wanted to be picked for the mission, but there was also a small part of her that didn't.

      "It has been an honor flying with you," Maverick said as he stood in front of his students. "Each one of you represents the best of the best. This is a very specific mission. My choice is a reflection of that and nothing more."

      "Choose your two foxtrot teams," Cyclone said.

      "Phoenix and Bob," Maverick replied. "And... Winters and Flash."

      Ellie looked up from the ground, her heart racing as she shared a look with Daniel. It all finally became real.

      "And your wingman," Cyclone added.

      Maverick was silent for a moment. "Rooster."

      Ellie's lips parted at his answer, the blonde looked over her shoulder at Bradley, who seemed shocked that Maverick chose him. Ellie looked away, her heart clenching, she did not want to lose him.

      "The rest of you will stand by on the carrier for any reserve role that's required," Warlock told them. "Dismissed."

      Ellie stood next to Daniel and in front of Bradley, listening to Cyclone and Warlock as they explained the mission, pointing at a map. The blonde could feel Bradley's eyes on her, she wanted to look back, but she didn't.

      "Your target is a clear and present threat. A secret uranium enrichment site under rogue state control. It's an underground bunker, tucked between these two mountains. Your route of ingress is heavily defended by surface-to-air missiles backed up by fifth-generation fighters. Once your F-18 strike team crossed the border, tomahawk missiles from the USS Leyte Gulf will launch a synchronized strike on the enemy's airfield here. This will knock out their runway. But you'll have to contend with any planes already in the air. The moment these tomahawks hit, the enemy will know you're coming. Your time to target will be two minutes and thirty seconds. Any longer than that, and you will be exposed to any aircraft the tomahawks may have missed. This is what you've all been trained for. Come home safely."

      Once they were all dismissed, Ellie and Daniel made their way to their F-18. The blonde took a deep breath, running her hand along the front of the jet. She knew she could do this.

      "Ellie!"

      The blonde turned around, seeing Bradley walking up to her. "Oh, hey."

      "Look, I just wanted to say-" Bradley began.

      Loud radio chatter cut him off and everyone began running around and getting ready. Ellie's eyes landed on Bradley, who was staring at the ground. She then walked up to him, pulling him in for a hug.

      Bradley's arms wrapped around her waist and he held her close. He didn't want to let go, knowing there was a chance that he would never be able to hold her again.

      Ellie pulled away, placing her hand on his cheek. "I feel the same way."

      "Wait, what?" Bradley asked.

      Ellie nodded. "I have always felt the same. I was just too scared to admit it," Bradley went to say something, but she cut him off, knowing they were running out of time. "Hey, we'll talk about it when we get back."

      Bradley nodded and he stepped away from her, walking toward his jet. Ellie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down as she looked up toward the sky, a small smile appearing on her lips before she climbed into the front seat of her jet.