A/N: Part 2 is here and part 3 is in the works! Thank you all for your feedback and love I got with the last part. Excited to share this all with you!
Today was one of those mornings where you woke up to your anxiety slapping you in the face like you stole its boyfriend. The uneasy feeling accompanied by a steadily racing heart had you anything but excited to head to training. And even with the anxiety doing its best to weigh you down, your mind somehow found a way to wonder off to the aviator who was more than likely going to make you day just that much worse. It wasn't like you meant to think about him. Especially after the comments he made to you last night. But he was slowly beginning take over your mind and there was nothing you could do to stop it
Arriving at base, you quickly made your way to the hanger with the rest of the group to receive direction for the day. You could hear the people around you talking, but didn't have it in you to join in. A figure appeared next to you and a short glance told you it was Bradley. "You seem quiet this morning. I know you aren't hungover either."
You shrugged your shoulders at him, "One of those days."
Maverick walked in and you could've sworn you saw Bradley tense up. Thinking back to yesterday and his dog fight that nearly killed to two of them, it confirmed what you saw. "You and Maverick okay?"
It was his turn to shrug his shoulders, "One of those days." A hum from you in response and the two of you left it like that.
Today we were going to run through the course with the simulation on our planes to match what is needed of us when we deploy. It was reminded that only 4 pilots would be chosen for this mission, and you knew you had to be one of them. But the course was nothing short of daunting and that feeling of impending doom still hadn't gone away. You made your way to do preflight checks, lost in your head until the voice who was plaguing your mind called out, "Now what tricks are Ghost going to use today?"
You didn't have any witty remarks to give him today, so instead you asked, "Please, can we not do this today?"
His face morphed into what looked like confusion as he heard the pleading in your voice. The confident, feisty pilot he saw yesterday was not here today. "Just try and keep up."
A huff escaped before you could stop it and mentally scolded yourself for showing he got to you. After finishing prechecks, you got in your plane and tried to steady your breathing as you taxied out to the runway. You watched Hangman take off and forced your plane to follow him, keeping up as best as you could. Flying as low as we were was one thing, but the speed required for us to make the drop time made it that much tougher. You got a taste of how Hangman flew yesterday and made the mental note that he was not a happy team player. You couldn't doubt his skills though. He was flying with precision and grace, something that every pilot wishes they could have. But the damn asshole didn't communicate, which caused you to nearly clip your wing on the side of the rock formations. You were able to pull up in time, but Maverick's voice called over the radio, "Ghost you are hit by the SAM's. Head back to base."
You hit the side of your canopy at the failure and turned around. If he would've let you know what he was doing, we might have completed the run which should've been the first pair to do it. But no. The one time he manages to keep his mouth closed was at the worst possible time.
You grounded the plane and sat for a few seconds, composing yourself before you faced the rest of your team. Being one of the first groups to go, you had a good while before you either got to try again or sit and listen to Maverick tell you how much you suck. Which again, wasn't entirely your fault.
"I almost thought you had it in you." You closed your eyes for a brief second and then turned to face the wingman from hell.
"Do us both a favor and leave me alone."
He smirked at the request and stepped forward. "I was surprised you managed to keep up as well as you did. I know I didn't make it easy for you. But in the end, it looks like you are just like the others. Average."
The rage that had been building up inside you was about to reach the surface. You took a step towards him, and he didn't move back, but instead gave you a challenging look. "I know you have it in your head that you have to be the best. But if you think putting your teammates in body bags is the way to go, then we have a huge problem."
He let out a short chuckle and asked, "And what do you plan to do about it, sweetheart?"
The rage took over and you threw your fist at his face. Instead of hearing the satisfying crunch of hitting him and ultimately wiping off the smirk, a pair of arms grabbed you and pulled you away from him. You tried to break free of the iron grip wrapped around your chest, but they didn't budge. Hangman smiled in amusement at what just happened, "You have a lot more fight in you than I thought, darlin'."
The voice behind me spoke up, "Walk away, Hangman." Bradley was the one who stepped and must have given Hangman a look to follow his command, because he walked off without another comment.
"Let me go, Rooster." He turned me towards the opposite direction of where the arrogant blonde walked off to and said, "When you calmed down I will. I don't think getting court marshaled will do you any good." While he was right, you still weren't happy with the outcome.
"I'm good. I'll keep my hands to myself no matter how much the other person deserves it." You felt his chest rumble with laughter and then the release of your arms. He let you pace back and forth for a few minutes, watching you slowly calm back down before he asked what happened.
"I didn't see him shift positions until the last minute and had to avoid him and the rocks. Flying at that speed that low meant I could only go up, which resulted in a failure." Bradley nodded his head in understanding. Everyone knew Hangman was going to only look out for himself and do everything he can to land a spot on the team. Which is why what you told him didn't surprise him in the least bit.
"Next time you go up it will be with someone different. Try and shake this one off because the rest of us aren't like him." And you knew that. But you also knew Hangman was probably one of the only people who wouldn't have many issues with this course with the skill he had. If only he knew how to function as a normal person, then you wouldn't have a single issue.
Your mom always did say the pretty ones had the worst personality.
The rest of the groups went, and no one seemed to make it past the first stage. Maverick tried to make us feel even worse about ourselves when he brought up funerals and telling the other persons family why you got them killed. You didn't have to look back at Hangman to know he didn't care. They started talking about the mission and the level of flying needed for it, but you already knew this. The mission required many, many miracles to happen and continually telling the group this didn't change the fact that none of the pilots were successful today. You tuned most of it out, thinking about ways you could at least improve on your side. You did look up however, when Hangman said, "You really don't get it. On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or a man does not come back. No offense, intended."
You turned back to glare at him, and Bob said what you wanted to, "And somehow, you always manage."
"Hey, I don't mean to criticize, you're conservative, that's all." You realized now that he was talking about Bradley, but you didn't understand what his angle was. "We're going into combat son, on a level no living pilots ever seen. Not even him. There's no time to be thinking about the past." He continued on even with Maverick trying to get him to stop.
Bradley was starting to take his words personally and you could see the rage you had earlier, now in him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Maverick tried to change tactics and get Bradley to stop, but that was just as pointless as getting the other one to. Then Hangman hit a whole new low. "I can't be the only one that knows that Maverick flew with his old man. That Maverick was flying when his old man..."
That's what did it for Bradley and he lunged at Hangman. Pilots were each holding them back, as Maverick tried to regain control of the group. More yelling ensued, but eventually Hangman backed off.
You got in front of Bradley and pointed at his chest, "If I didn't get to hit him, you sure as hell don't get to."
That seemed to pull his focus to you, and he relaxed his posture some. "Let's go get a drink and forget about this day." He gave you a small nod and thankfully followed you out of the hanger. You took one last look at Maverick and watch him run hand through his hair in frustration. Hopefully the two of them can start working past whatever it is that happened and focus on this mission.
Drinks were much needed after a day like today and you were all able to unwind from the drama and failures. Much to your annoyance, your eyes looked to the door every time it opened, seeing if the blonde asshole would walk through. While you tried to give your attention to your friends, the conversations from today kept replaying in your head. The anxiety was to blame as you picked apart everything that was said and the actions that followed. And you knew it wouldn't stop until you confronted the one person in the middle of it all. Which is why you told your friends you were having an early night and would see them in the morning. You didn't miss the concerned look Bradley gave you, but you threw a smile at him to try and play off how you were really feeling.
You found yourself in front of Hangman's apartment and took a few deep breaths before you knocked. The light above you turned on and a very shirtless Hangman was standing in front of you. "Well, you were the last person I expected to come looking for me. What can I do for you darlin'?"
A/N: Thoughts? Comment? A few more parts are in the works for you all! Thank you so much for reading!