Dakota walked out to the hangar, helmet in hand, with the weight of her flight gear pulling down on her body.

After Payback had calmed her down a bit, which brought memories of the academy flooding her mind, and with help of Fanboy, Coyote, and Yale making sure that her and Rooster kept their distance, right back where the two were before that night he barged into her house and had his way with her right then and there.

The duo walked a bit ahead of her, having to clear some of the control regulations with Maverick before the last training sequence.

Heavy boots rapidly approached her from behind, she silently groaned, already knowing who was going to spoil her mood even more, "Mustang!" He yelled as she kept walking. "Lieutenant Jones!" No acknowledgment, "Dakota!" That got a reaction out of her, with her name sinfully rolling off his lips. She stopped walking, and turned to face him, "Yes, Rooster?" she sighed, looking up at him. He took a minute, seemingly scanning each inch of her freckled face. He smiled ever so lightly, "I just wanted to wish you good luck," She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she discreetly shortened the distance between them. "Go shove your luck up your ass, Bradshaw." She said lowly, anger laced with her tone, "What you did back there," Her teeth clenched, "Was over the fucking line-" "Why I have no recollection of what happened." A cocky smirk tightened on his lips.

"Cut the shit Rooster!" she wanted to die the minute she let her eyes drift down to his lips, watching has his tongue darted out to wet them, breaking the eye contact they held. "You know what you did." A huff, "Calling me a selfish bitch? Even that's low for you." He smiled down at her, tauntingly, "Just wanted to get you all hot and bothered." Rooster leaned in slightly, his mustache brushing over her ear as his mouth moved, "Plus it's cute when you get so worked up over something that used to get you to drop to your knees for me." Her breath hitched as he started backing up, walking back into the hangar, a smile on his tanned face. Cocky son of a bitch.

"Yo Mustang!" Payback yelled, making her turn her attention from the now empty space in front of her, to the F-18s lined up along the runway. "We got the controls checked by Cyclone, we're good to go." She nodded her head in acknowledgement, trying to shake the interaction that just happened between her and the one person she loathed.

Dakota walked towards her jet, unclipping the straps and closing the latches.

-

"Good afternoon fellow aviators, this is your captain speaking," Maverick's voice rang through her ears, as she flew alongside Payback and Fanboy, turning her head as she shook her head at them, a smile on their face, as they listened to him over the comms, "Same rules apply to this sequence as the one yesterday, first one to get hit gets two hundred pushups, hard deck is five thousand feet." Dakota gave Payback a playful smirk, "Why don't we put a little more skin in the game, sir." She chuckled to herself at his competitiveness.

"And what would that be?" Maverick questioned. The three of them smirked as Dakota spoke into her mask, "I say we bet four hundred instead of two." A small smile played at her lips, "I'm with all do respect that sounds like an obnoxious amount-" "Is that too much for the old man?" Fanboy teased, earning quiet chuckled from them. "I'm not the one who's gonna end up having to do them, guys." Dakota knew his tone, and knew that he was going to do a sneak attack on the pair. She put on her mask, "Payback break right!" she yelled, alerting him as she broke left, successfully avoiding the old trick of his.

Maverick laughed lowly, "You guys are lucky you have Mustang," "He's right, I am pretty amazing, despite what others believe."

Payback and Fanboy were unknowingly flying into his view.

"So how old do you guys really think I am?" He asked tauntingly, trying to distract them to his advantage. Yet hidden below his radar, Dakota lurked silently behind him. Fanboy blew a raspberry, "Gotta be no younger than seventy in my mind. Payback?" Laughs flooded the comms, "I was leaning towards a good sixty eight. Mustang?"

She let out a small chuckle, "Well as much as I would love to discuss his prehistoric age I'm afraid that he had four hundred push ups to do." A smirk spread over her features as she pressed the trigger that controlled her missile tracker, an obnoxious beeping ringing through her cockpit, "Gotcha Mav," cheers erupted from her duo pilots. She flew up next to him, "Go meet Hondo down for your 'shups, old man." She cockily stated, a defeated and surprised look bestowed on his face, before she lightly breaking right and headed back towards base.

-

A smile graced her tanned features as she walked back into base, the slight glints of San Diego sun peeking their way through the window of the room, the distant sounds of fighter jets taking off, something her ears have become used to over the years.

Her helmet bounced along her hip as she spotted Phoenix who was talking with Bob and Coyote. Dakota smiled as she snuck up behind her, snaking her hands around her waist and kissing her cheek. "Jones!" Natasha yelled, gaining the attention of the surround aviators as she threw her arms around her neck a bright smile plastered on her face. She pulled back, "Hope I made you proud," She joked as Rooster and Hangman came into her view. Nat nodded as Dakota placed her arm around her shoulders, leaning into her body.

The room was filled with sayings of 'congratulations' and something along the lines of 'I'm impressed'. She soaked them all in happily nonetheless if some of them were blatantly misogynistic.

She tuned them out once the aviators went back to huddling around the radio, listening to the next group of pilots challenge Maverick.

Laying in Phoenix arms, listening to a story Coyote was telling about Hangman back when they were in Top Gun. It was pure bliss in her mind.

Yet despite all that, she couldn't help but let her eyes drift over to Rooster: Brown hair in its natural waves, his jaw set, making it look sharper, his long eye lashes dashing over the apples of his cheeks as he blinks, Adam's apple bobbing each time he swallows, brink of his muscular chest exposed by how far down his jumpsuit was zipped, the particular way in which his large hands rested on his thighs; which were spread wide, listening to Coyote's story.

Dakota always did find him attractive, yes, but her hatred for him blinded that part of her thoughts, up until she knew what his rough hands felt like against her heated skin, what his lips felt like against hers, filled with passion yet delicately captured emotions which she couldn't perceive.

Phoenix tapped her thigh lightly, as Dakota was sat on her lap, something to two of them had done since god knows when. She turned her head, being met with her eyes. She mouthed, 'are you okay' to her, noticing her unusual silence. Dakota leaned in to whisper in her ear, "How many times are you gonna ask me that question today, Nat?" she smiled lightly. Phoenix just shrugged, turning her attention back to the now expressive story that was being told, "However many times I have to ask in order to get you to tell me the truth."

She nodded her head in Rooster's direction before she could respond, "Looks like Bradshaw's about to explode over there, huh?" She whispered in her ear, causing her to turn her head to look at him.

His eyes were settled on Phoenix's lap, where their legs touched. His hands flexing along the length of his thighs.

Dakota smiled slightly, when she saw his body language, "Well I did tell him about that time when we were over the legal limit, Nat." Phoenix smirked, her grip on her waist becoming tighter, "That time huh, Mustang?" She nodded, "And was this before or after you made out with him?"

"It was before, I told you I was trying to avoid it, thought that would help ya know? Put him off. Make him leave?" Phoenix scoffed lightly, "Babe even I can tell you right now that that man is fueled by jealousy." Dakota turned her attention back to Fanboy who was now telling his outrageous story of his days back at the academy. "Mhm okay sure."

PAIGE SPEAKS
a hella filler chap but i'm kind a proud of her, i tried to go a little more in depth to like the top gun stuff,, lmk how i did on that :)

it's shorter than i thought but it's in preparation for the next one 🤭🤭🤭

and for the fic i have planned, a lot of you said hangman which is understandable but the more i wrote the outline the more i imagined either rooster or phoenix as the love interest so please lmk if who'd you rather have.

ALSO 1K VOTES? ON THIS SHITTY THING? YOU GUYS ARE TOO NICE