17. The Difficult Truth

Pete: Meet me at the Hard Deck after work tonight?

Finley: Sounds like a plan! :)

She got there first which allowed for some time to chat with Penny.

"Uh oh, here comes the boyfriend," Penny announced, picking him out from the crowd. "Get lost, you." She waved Finley on. Then she stopped and said, "Oh."

Finley turned. Oh was right: Pete was dressed in full white dress uniform. Penny seemed to understand this more than she did.

"Hey!" Fin ran up to him and into his arms.

"Hey. How was work?"

"Oh good, same old. You?"

"Eventful. Want to take a walk?"

"Yeah sure, it's a beautiful evening."

They left the bustling bar and headed out into the quiet calmness of the beach. From out here they could hear the Ring! Ring! Ring! of the bell and a cheer from the crowd back inside.

"Uh oh," Finley chuckled. "Sounds like someone broke one of the rules. Hey, this is just like the night we met."

He smiled. "It is."

"So does the uniform mean you're back to work?" she asked, giving him a playful nudge, and he was glad she initiated the topic, because he was really struggling with telling her.

"It does, yes."

"Did you do something dramatic then?"

"I did. I successfully flew the course - and now Admiral Simpson has appointed me as Mission Leader." There, he'd done it, he'd said it. He'd told her.

Understandably she was confused. His words sank in. "Wait so, what does that mean?" She needed more details, more context.

"For our upcoming mission, there's a Leader, three Daggers, and one spare. Six fliers total, seven with the spare."

"So you're going on the mission?"

"Yes."

Again, this sunk in. "You're going on the mission now? I thought you were the instructor, that you weren't actually participating in the mission part at all."

"Yeah, so did I. But that changed today. I was promoted."

She was silent for a moment. Then, "Wow..."

"Yeah..."

"I mean, congratulations, I knew you still had it in you. Take that, U.S. Navy! And I know how much this must mean to you, Captain." She gave his arm a playful punch, but the fun of the gesture was lost due to her now sullen expression.

"This is a shock to me too," he said. "A real shock. I was thinking I was going to be fired for sure, go out with a bang, as usual-" She chuckled a little at this and he saw that as a win. "But now this... I don't know what's going to happen," he admitted.

"No one can. But we shouldn't expect the worst." Because that was definitely what his serious, low tone was suggesting.

"No, but we should also prepare for it."

"No, don't say that."

"But it's true."

"You're Pete Maverick Mitchell - the Maverick. You can do this."

"Fin," he gently took her arms, turning her to face him where she had been turning away. "I'm not suggesting what will or won't happen, but I want us to be prepared - I want you to be prepared..."

She swallowed heavily, her throat suddenly feeling very tight. "I don't know how to be prepared for something like this."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. This is amazing. Amazing, but very real, and very scary."

They fell into silence, a comfortable one, the only discomfort being their new situation looming overhead. They leaned into each other, arms going around each other, and just stood there staring out across the water, the noise of the bar fading away into the background behind them.

Bidding farewell and good luck to Bradley proved none the easier.

"So I hear you're shipping out."

"Yeah, this is it."

"Well, good luck, Brad."

"Thanks."

"Remember, you deserve to be out there just as much as everyone else does."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Also-" This wasn't exactly how she saw this going - to be perfectly honest she didn't know how she saw this going, period - but now there was this. Pete's talk of caution, despite her not wanting to jump to conclusions and immediately think of the worst case scenario, made her want to tell Brad her big news. "-I'm seeing someone. I just wanted to let you know."

"It's not Hangman is it?" These were not the words, or his reaction, that she was expecting. "I mean no judgement if it is, it's just, as your friend, and knowing him, I don't really think he's right for you."

This made her laugh in disbelief. "No, it's not Hangman, but you do know him: it's Pete."

There, she said it. Whether he had already suspected it or not, it was out there now, out in the open between them, and there was no going or taking any of it back.

He blinked back at her for what felt like a long moment - no, it didn't just feel like a long moment, it was long. For a while, that was his only response, his only reaction. And for a while, he said nothing, absolutely nothing, but she watched as his expression changed, as his face fell, his jaw tightened, and his eyes darkened.

Then, finally, he spoke. "Finley, he's old."

Now her own smile fell and she scoffed. "Seriously? That's all you have to say?"

"No, I've got a lot to say in fact." He scoffed himself. "What the hell?"

"We got to know each other through Penny and Amelia and we clicked. I really like him, and he really likes me. Actually, I think I love him..." Wow, that last part had just slipped out, but she wasn't denying it.

Her smile returned at her revelation until his next words left his mouth.

"I don't believe this - how long as this been going on?"

"A couple of weeks at most."

"Unbelievable - wait, so that night I stopped by and you said you were with a 'gentleman caller'... Oh my God..." He gave her a look of pure betrayal. "I can't believe it, I just can't believe it." Then he turned and was walking away, his long strides carrying him away from her in seconds, before she even had any time to react.

She stared after his retreating form in disbelief. "Bradley! Brad!"

But he was gone.

She didn't tell Pete about her fallout with Bradley. She didn't want to worry him before the mission. She wasn't sure if Brad would confront him about it - she could only hope not.

On the other hand, she wanted to tell him those three special words she had revealed during her heated discussion with her friend. But something held her back - was she ready to tell him? Did she want him to have to carry the weight of those words with him while on the mission? She didn't know.

Their last night together, before he and the other pilots would be shipped out on the aircraft carrier to their mission, instead of putting on his leather jacket with the patches, he wrapped it around her shoulders like a hug. "I want you to have it while I'm gone, keep it safe, and know that I'm thinking about you."

"I'll be thinking about you too." She pulled the jacket tighter around her, smelling in the scent of leather and of him.

They held each other close while they kissed, long and hard until they had to, had to, pull away.

"Good luck, Captain."

"I love you..." She didn't end up saying the words.

Oh, my heart!

I wanted to mention that I've started another Top Gun story AND another Pete story AND another PetexYoungerOC story (all the same story, not three separate ones!)

I'm hoping to update my Ice and Sarah story soon too but the next chapter isn't coming to me as smoothly as I hoped it would!

As always thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)