Generally, when she climbed into the cockpit, she was about to fight, had to get out, had to be ready and alert. Enemy fire came at her from all directions, but she was good enough to dodge it, back and forth, left and right.
Sometimes, though, if she could, she'd savor that moment of flight right when she launched – the moment when she wasn't in a war, she was in the air, herself, as though she had wings. Those times were scarce, and that only made them all the more precious.
She could feel it perfectly – breathtaking, hair in her face, the sky all around her, and she was smiling, just for that instant. It was as though she had wings for a split second, and she loved those moments, lived for them as she inhaled and set out into the sky.
That was how she felt, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to tell anyone. It was too embarrassing, and if they didn't understand it, she'd just feel like a fool. She didn't want people thinking like she was crazy, after all. She didn't like being humiliated.
Then, one day, almost randomly, he came up to her. It was the school festival again, much less fun without Milley. He grinned and challenged her to a myriad of games, and at the end, he coerced her into following him out to one of the hills by the side of the school to relax and watch the sky. That's when he asked, looking straight at her, smile still on his face.
"Hey… do you know what it feels like to fly?" Her eyes widened, and she felt her lips curving up.
"Yes… exactly how it feels." She wasn't alone, it would seem.
End---
Fic because these two always seemed so natural to me, and yet barely anyone ships it. It's a pilot to pilot type thing.