Naomi1Go: Thank you for reading! I do love a good enemies to lovers story…
A/N: Part 3 is here and part 4 and 5 are being written now! Have zero idea how many parts this will have, but I'm enjoying writing this! Thank you all for your feedback and love I got with the last few parts. Excited to keep this series going!
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'?" He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the door frame. You had to peel your eyes from his toned chest and shook your head to get rid of the thoughts that were starting to creep in.
"Why are you trying to break us down? What did we ever do to you to be treated this way?" You paused and shook your head, "Look say what you want about me, but bringing up Roosters dad like that in front of everyone? How would you feel if something personal of yours was made fun of?"
You looked up at his face and saw his normal smirk replaced with a stone-cold look that almost sent shivers down your spine. But what surprised you more, was him opening the door and inviting you in. You slowly followed him to his living room where he pointed to the couch for you to sit. He disappeared for a second but heard the familiar clank of glass bottles opening. Once he came back and sat down on the couch opposite of yours, he handed you one of the open beers.
"I'm not as heartless as you play me out to be." You couldn't help but roll your eyes at him. "Look, what I said about Bradshaw might have been a little harsh, but you've seen the way he acts around Maverick. They are walking on eggshells and until something was said, it was going to keep happening. Rooster isn't ready for this mission, and he needs to step up. He wouldn't listen to me any other way and the rest of you are too afraid to get your hands dirty."
You thought about what he said and took a few sips of your beer. Was Bradley holding back? Yeah. But how do you tell someone they need to step it up without causing issues? Which now you understood why Hangman did what he did. It still didn't sit right with you though.
His voice cut through your thoughts. "And you can be so much better if you actually get out of your head for once."
Your eyes cut back over to him. "And you are just the perfect package, huh?" That made him chuckle as he leaned back into the couch. It took a lot of will power to keep your eyes on his face and not the body that seemed to be sculpted from the Gods.
"I know my worth and no one can take that from me. So, you can continue to hate me or whatever, but I don't care what others think." Your heart sunk a bit at those words. Why did it matter that he thought you hated him? This was the guy that continued to push your buttons and can't see when something is his fault.
"You know it was your fault today that we failed the assignment, right?" You watched his eyebrows shoot up and an amused look cross his face.
"And how do you figure that, sweetheart?" Was this guy serious? You shook your head and put the now empty beer down.
"Thanks for the beer." You got up to leave and noted the confused look on his face. It only lasted for a second, but you saw it. He didn't think you would give up that easily. You made it to the door, and he let you walk out with zero interference. It was when you were a few steps away that you turned and asked, "Why are you like this? Why push your team away?"
He leaned back up against the door frame like earlier and countered, "Because I'm the best and it was drilled into me to be the best. No exceptions. So, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but this is life or death and I need you to be better. You said today was my fault that you pulled up, but did you stop and think that maybe you were riding too close? You had the simulation map up just like I did. One shift from me shouldn't nearly run you into the rocks. You were too focused on keeping up with me than doing your job correctly. But if you want to keep blaming me for your mistakes to make you feel better, then be my guest darlin'. Doesn't bother me none." He didn't give you a chance to argue back as he shut the door in your face.
You stood there for a few seconds trying to wrap your mind around what just happened. Jake Hangman Seresin, the villain in all our stories, had just put you on blast. And wow, did that fucking suck.
The anxiety you had managed to escape from came barreling in at full speed and you wanted nothing more than to curl up in your bed and forget about this god-awful day. Your legs decided they wanted to work again, and you swiftly found your way out of the apartment building and into your car. Everything you were doing seemed like it was one big blur. Your body moving on autopilot as you kept going over what he told you. Today, you were so focused on keeping up with him that you didn't take in your surroundings. It was like you were playing follow the leader and not being the strategic aviator you were taught to be. Which meant he was right, and you vowed to never tell him that. To give him one more thing to hold over you.
Having zero idea how you made it back to your apartment in one piece, you got changed and headed straight for your bed. A quick glance at the clock told you it was only 8pm, but there was no way you could function enough to do more than lay in complete darkness. Tomorrow would be better. Tomorrow had to be better.
It was 6am and everyone wasn't due to be at the base until 8, but you needed to speak to Admiral Simpson. Praying he was in at this time, you knocked on the door and was met with a gruff "come in." You stood at attention and relaxed when he gave a lazy "at ease". "It's early Lieutenant. What brings you in here at this hour?"
Last night you kept going over and over how to "be better" as Hangman so nicely told you and this was the only way you figured you could do that. "I am requesting extra flight time, sir."
He sat back in his chair and asked, "Is the hours you log right now not enough?"
You shook your head. "I am not as confident flying the course as I need to be. The only way for me to get there is to run it as many times as possible, sir."
You were expecting the next question after running through this conversation in your mind last night. "Why should I give you more flight time and essentially spend more government money to allow you to do this? I have many other people to choose from, Lieutenant. What you just told me is that you are not cut out for this mission."
You tried not to let his words get to you, but there was the momentary panic that this would kick you off the team. "Because our days are already long as it is and I'm willing to put in the extra work. No one was successful yesterday and the rest of them took that as acceptable. I do not, sir."
The room was silent as he thought over those words and you could've swore he heard your heart beating rapidly. "I'll allow you from 0600 to 0730 from now until the end of training. Use that time wisely and if I feel like it isn't benefiting this fleet, it will be terminated. Understood?"
You could've kissed the ground he walked on. "Yes, sir. Thank you." He waved his hand at you in dismissal, and you walked out towards the locker room. Hangman might have thought you weren't good enough, but that ended now.
Bradley walked into the hanger before the rest of the pilots and saw Maverick standing with his arms crossed looking out at the sky. He had turned when we heard footsteps and waved Bradley over. As much as Bradley didn't want to, he figured it had to be something important for him to want to have a conversation with others about to walk in. Bradley went to ask him what was going on when he saw one of the F-18's land. "Who is out there this early?"
Maverick sighed, "Ghost asked Admiral Simpson for extra flight time. Saying she wasn't ready and needed this to get there."
Bradley shook his head. They already logged a crazy number of hours now, she was going to run herself into the ground with this. "I know you and I aren't in the best spot, but I need you to keep an eye on her. This could hurt her more than help her."
Not wanting to go further into conversation, he nodded his head at Maverick's request and walked out to the runway to meet her when she landed.
You landed your plane and looked at the time to see if you were able to get a quick shower in before pre-briefing. Before you could calculate it, Bradley stepped into your line of vision, making the decision for you. Time was not going to be on your side. "Morning Bradley."
He gave you a small smile and pointed to the F-18 you were standing next to. "Trying to out do us?" His tone was light, but you could tell there was more to that question.
"When I didn't get something right in the academy, I worked until I got there. This isn't any different." The pair of you started walking to the hanger and you were able to see a few more of the pilots filing in.
"You were the only one to pin Maverick the first day and the only one to keep up with Hangman. Why do you feel behind now?" You tried your hardest to not flinch when he brough tup Hangman, but he caught it. "Did Hangman say something to you?"
You sighed and stopped so the others wouldn't hear, "Look, I have a past just like everyone else and this is me working through it. It may not make sense to you but trust me when I say this is the best option." You watched his brows scrunch down in confusion, not expecting to hear those words. You had managed to run from your past this long but being back at Top Gun was threating to let it catch up.
Deciding not to go into it further, you continued walking towards the hanger. A few sets of eyes looked over to you when you walked in. Between the sweat and flushed face from the California heat and it didn't take much to figure out you had been flying. Phoenix was the first to ask, "What's got you flying this early?"
You threw a glance over to Hangman and saw he was waiting for the answer as well. "Someone told me I needed to be better and that's exactly what I'm doing."
Maverick walked in causing everyone to find their seat and abandon the conversation. You tried to focus on him until a southern accent whispered in your ear, "Looks like I was right, darlin'. Imagine that." You could picture the proud smirk he had on his face as he said that, and you clenched your fists to keep calm.
You knew you had let down a lot of people in your life, including your past WSO. And you vowed to never make that mistake again. Even if it means suffering through Hangman's intolerable ego.
A/N: Thoughts? Comments? A few more parts are in the works for you all! Thank you so much for reading!