I sat on the cold, wooden floor. I felt guilt, or maybe it was disappointment. I was disappointed in myself for being classed as a joke, a conceited joke; I was never taken serious – I was too dangerous.

I was haunted by the false reputation my father had left me. It was false and I knew it – I was the only one who knew it, or maybe the only one who would admit it. My dad was a great fighter pilot. He didn't screw up.

But hey, I was Maverick. Good old Maverick; the wild card. The guy who was destined to screw up… just like his old man did.

But oh no, not this Maverick. I would fight 'till the end. Nothing or no one would get in my way.

I guess you could say my life has been good… and bad. I had had many experiences and learnt from them all. I wanted to have fun but I also wanted to be something bigger, better, unexpected.

Ever since I can remember, I had always wanted to be a pilot; a fighter pilot, a Navel Aviator. Like I mentioned before, my father had been a fighter pilot. I'd seen him fly when I was younger and by the age of four or five, I knew the score. I remember thinking to myself 'God, one day I'm going to be just like my old man'. All I can say is that it was my dream.


"Pete, Pete…" I heard a soft voice yell. I was only young. "Pete. Pete." The voice yelled again.

I turned around from admiring the large aircraft, and followed the sound of the sweet, soft voice. Within seconds I had found her. Her dark hair swayed silently in the breeze and her scent reminded me of vanilla. Her eyes resembled the midnight sky and sparkled like diamonds.

"Pete, Daddy's goin' away for a bit. Don't worry though," she paused, ruffled my hair, and then smiled at me. "He'll be back soon!"

I was confused by it all. Where was my dad going? Why did my mom look so scared and worried?

My father walked over to me and gave me a tight hug. He was strong and tough, yet his arms wrapped around me, felt soft, friendly and lovable.

"I love you Pete. I'll be back soon, don't you worry. Be a good boy for Mom." He whispered in my ear.

"I love you too Dad." He gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked out of the door.

That was the last time I ever saw my father.


Thinking back on it; I'm proud of my father, of the fighter who he was. And, despite being disappointed in myself, or perhaps the rest of the world, I'm very much proud of who I, Pete 'Maverick' Mitchel, have become.


Authors note: This is just sort of a random one-shot. It was written for me, helping my recovery of a so far 4month writers block. Please review. When I wrote this I was watching Risky Business, I was a bit destracted- it isn't my best bit of writing. Soon I'm going to write a multi-chaptered Top Gun fic.