Yes, Maejirase, you're not worng. Sorry, I didn't dare to change THAT particular part of the original plot... (Thanks again!)

CHAPTER 6

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar - May , 1985 - two weeks to graduation.

Just as any other day they got to their planes. Maverick was once again in the full fighting mode. Ice had two points on him and he was determined to change it. They got into the air, close enough to keep an eye contact.

Goose was enthusiastic. "It's time for a big one!"

Iceman didn't return the smile from the brunette in the other jet. In the air they were not Pete and Tom, they were Maverick and Iceman. They were professionals.

"You're up for this, Maverick?"

"It's like a walk in the park, Kazansky." Maverick answered him with a grin, not caring about the call signs, or just to rile Ice up.

He was brutally reminded about their everlasting rivalry by Tom getting into his way at the first occurring occasion.

"That son of a bitch caught me off!"

Aaaaaaaaand, he was doing nothing.

"Ice! Fire or clear!" Maverick wanted to use other words but…"Jesus Christ! I could take a shot right here!"

"Easy Maverick! Twenty seconds and I got him."

"I'm getting in! I've got a shot!" Maverick didn't want to wait.

"Come on Mav, let's get in there!" Goose's voice was encouraging him. "Come on, Mav! Ice, get the hell out of there!"

"Ten more seconds!" That was all Ice needed, just…

"I'm moving in!" Maverick was getting impatient.

"Five more seconds!"

"I'm in!"

"I'm up! SHIT!"

That's how they got into Iceman's jet wash, the turbulence sending them into a flat spin. After that everything was a blur of voices, images and unbearable pain in his chest. Pain from the wound that would never heal.

Then, much later, Viper's words…. "First one dies - you die too, but there will be others. You can count on it. You've got to let him go."

Was that supposed to console him?

Let him go… while all he wanted was to have him back?

"The spin was induced by the disruption of air flow into the starboard engine. This disruption stalled the engine. Which produced enough yaw rate to induce a spin which was unrecoverable. There was no way Lieutenant Mitchell could see or avoid the jet wash. The Board of Inquiry finds that he was not at fault in the accident. His record will be cleared. He's restored to flight status without further delay."

Bull shit. It was his fault… For Caroll, for Goose's kid and for himself, he would always be the guy, who caused Nick's death, because if only he had stayed back patiently, if he… did... something… Fuck! It was all over.

Caroll said that Goose would fly without him…. But he wasn't Goose!

He was clearing his locker when he heard someone behind his back and braced himself for another 'I'm sorry about Goose' speech.

It was difficult to talk to Maverick. He had lost his best friend, his RIO, and along with it his own confidence as a pilot and clearly his will to live. He was a mess. He needed some support, but he was a stubborn bastard, too proud to accept consolation from Tom. At first Iceman was afraid that Maverick would blame him. It was his jet wash after all… but it was nobody's fault and it pained Ice that the idiot would probably never accept it. Maverick would blame himself because he would like that more than admitting that he had no power over the events. He would never stop and think. He would only jump into conclusions and run away. He would break down, shatter... while Tom wanted to pick up the pieces and fill the cracks with his... his... he just wanted to be there for him, no matter what.

"Don't go."

Maverick froze.

"I'm really sorry about Goose. Everybody liked him and… I'm sorry. Just don't go."

"Why? You'll go. In two weeks time we will all go. Or maybe you'll take the trophy and stay as an instructor. It's all the same."

"Not for me. And not for you."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Kazansky. Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?! " Friend? Boyfriend? Father?

"It's not about me. You said that flying is all you want, that it's all that matters. What would your father say…"

Maverick smashed him into the wall. It hurt but it didn't matter. Pete didn't say anything. He was just looking at him angrily, pleadingly, pitifully… with his tear filled eyes. He was in so much pain, and Tom didn't know what to do to take it away. It felt awful. True, he wanted the man to grow the fuck up, but not like that…

"If you need me, Pete, I'm here." He just shook his head and left with a duffle bag in his hands while Ice calmly wondered if trying to stop him could do anything good. It looked like Pete needed to deal with it on his own. Tom hated it. Just a mere notion of Mitchell doing anything on his own was making him sick. He shouldn't leave him alone… ever.

In the end he didn't leave and Ice was dying to know why. He was a mere shadow of the real Maverick though. He hesitated with every move driving others nuts. Ice decided to let him be, but slowly he was losing hope. Acting like that was even more dangerous for others than the old Maverick's crazy stunts.

Fightertown, Miramar, may 1985

The graduation ceremony was not as they all imagined. It was supposed to be the best day of their lives but it was kind of sad, and disappointing, full of forced smiles and halfhearted congratulations. It wasn't supposed to be like that….

Tom was on edge.

"I swear, if Piper asks about Maverick one more time I'm going to kick his ass."

"Pete!" Chipper's voice dragged everyone's eyes to the door.

So, Maverick did show up after all. He came up to Ice to shake his hand, but Ice refused to let go. He didn't care who saw them. Pete was going to leave forever to wallow in his self pity. It was tragic…

He held his hand and when the other man looked up at him, questioningly, he pulled him into a hug. Maverick's slightly smaller form fitted there just perfectly. They were perfect together, complementing each other, balancing each other's faults… It was too good to let it go. He squeezed tighter and Pete returned it slightly, practically melting in the other man's arms.

He wanted to tell Tom about the conversation he had with Viper. He wanted to thank him for what he had said in the locker room, for mentioning his father in just the right moment to make him stop and think. He wanted to tell him about everything he had learned about his father from Viper. He wanted to stay in his arms listening that everything would somehow be alright; but it would be useless. Ice would leave, he would leave… It wasn't meant to be from the start and it was fucking killing him, that even though he knew it, he still let it happen, still got so close. And now he craved Iceman's closeness. He wanted to see him, to be close, to have sex and pointless banters. He wanted to fall asleep in his arms and wake from his kisses. And he hated himself for this weakness.

For a very short moment some trace of hope appeared and it made Tom's heart beat faster. Would Maverick stop that drama and come back to him? Would he stop being useless in the air and get himself together again?

But Maverick pushed him away just as Viper approached them all with a mission. And then he couldn't stay silent. That was more than just some training sessions. This was real. Too many lives on the line to take risks. Too much of a risk of losing Maverick forever….

Viper offered Mitchell himself as his RIO. Tom didn't get it. It didn't make sense! He followed Viper to his car.

"Sir! He's not…"

"I know, Lieutenant. But he deserves a chance. He'd lost Goose…."

"I'm losing HIM and no one walks on eggshells around me!..."

He froze. He couldn't believe his own outburst.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean it… It's just that…"He was breathing faster. He didn't mean to say it. It was all wrong. Not just because he had just revealed their secret but because he admitted that it was over, taht he had really lost him. And to say it out loud was equal with ripping his own heart out. He never thought it would hurt that bad.

"I just… I want him back… I want him back…" Viper's hand was on his shoulder.

"Me too. And sending him up there is our only chance to achieve that."

"What if he's not ready…?!"

"If you can't trust him, trust me." One more pat on the shoulder and R. Commander Metcalf was gone, leaving Tom confused and with tears in his eyes. He had no idea that loosing Mitchell affected him that strongly. But he couldn't fall apart now. They had work to do.

After changing up they had a debriefing with Stinger on the ship. They paired Maverick with Merlin – Cougar's RIO… It was Tom's last chance to save Pete's sorry ass….

"Sir, it's nothing personal but I don't think that Maverick…" But Stinger just silenced him sharply and all too soon they were up in the air.

Iceman's voice roared through the radio: "Wood, You got them?"

"Not yet, I can't see them…" But ever helpful Wolfman had his own radar.

"They must be close. I'm getting a hard on!"

Iceman took the lead. Maverick was ready for a take-off, squeezing Goose's dog tags in his fist.

Suddenly, completely out of nowhere there were five enemy planes instead of two and they were MiGs! Wood'd been hit. Ice watched with a great relief as Hollywood's and Wolfman's parachutes opened.

That's when Stinger called Mav. Sixth MiG appeared. Four of them were on Iceman and Slider and they opened fire. Maverick was speeding through the air but he was still too far, while other planes weren't even ready to start.

Ice was truly brilliant avoiding every shot and making it look like a dance. Maverick was close. It was his turn but the situation looked like hell.

"Maverick! How about a little help?" He never heard Ice sound so desperate. Not even in bed. They fell into the enemy's jet wash and spun around. Maverick gripped the handle for dear life in fear of repeating the situation that took Goose away from them all… Or maybe it was his turn now…? Maybe… Maybe it was, but hell! He still had Merlin on board and he wouldn't let him die. He regained control over the plane.

"Ok Mav, let's go and help Ice! Engage!" Merlin urged from behind him. Sweat was pouring down Pete's face. It was bad. It looked like a suicide. If he went there he would have another dead RIO on his conscious.

"No, it doesn't look good…" Sider couldn't believe Maverick's words.

"SHIT! Maverick isn't engaging!"

"I knew it!" Ice fucking knew it. They would all die now, because Mitchell was send there too soon!

"MAVERICK!" Merlin tried to be the voice of reason. "Come on, Maverick! We can't leave him! Maverick! SHIT! Ice is in trouble! He's got no cover!"

He squeezed the dog tags just a little bit tighter and whispered: "Talk to me Goose…."

And what would Goose say? Move your ass, Mav, and help those pussies! Great balls of fire! Gods, he really was stupid, wasn't he? Of course Goose would fly without him. He didn't start to fly for Goose either, not even for his father. Just for himself! And Goose would surely kick his ass for all the drama he was playing out in front of the whole Fightertown. Damn, he was such a looser without Goose to mend his stupidity…

It took only few seconds to shot down the first MiG but another one was already openining fire at Ice. Maverick was there in an instant.

From there it was like walk in the park!

Albeit one very fucked up park, but still…

And at some point it was Merlin, scared to death, begging Maverick to stay away and Maverick swearing that he would never leave his wingman – even if it meant that his RIO dies form a heart attack.

Tom took another MiG but soon after he got hit.

NO! Not Iceman! Maverick shot - but missed. Damn Kazansky should've teach him better to not let emotions take over. He calmed down and the next missile made a beautiful blast! The third one was down.

"MAV! MOVE!" Ice sounded strangely desperate again. "There's a MiG on your tail! There's a MiG on your tail!"

"Well, we've got a problem here. We've only got ONE missile left." Was Pete's answer.

The MiG was still behind them and it was getting harder and harder to avoid getting hit. Merlin was thrashing around the cockpit and looked like he was ready to jump off!

"What are you doing, Mav!? YOU'RE SLOWING DWN!"

"I'm bringing him closer, Merlin." No worries...

" WHAT ? ! ! ! !"

Meriln was seeing his whole life in front of his eyes, analyzing his life's choices, and so far getting into that plain with Maverick was his worst one! And then they were suddenly behind the MiG, insetad in front of him, and they were shooting.

"Wooooooo! Splash four!" Maverick was ecstatic! Merlin… well… still breathing and able to talk: "Mustang, this is VooDoo 3, remaining MiGs are bugging out."

It was glorious.

"Mustang, this is Maverick requesting fly by!"

"Negative, Ghost Rider, you're too close…."

Right...

After they landed Woolfman jumped him right away, but there were others, hugging him, and laughing.

And there was Ice… And he was the only one kissing.

He had his Maverick back and that was all that mattered. They would deal with other stuff later, one at a time, but together. Together they could take down anything. They could kick asses of six MiGs with just two F14… They were TOP!

...

"Maverick!" Stinger took the cigar out of his mouth and handed him a rumpled paper.

"Sir?"

"How does it feel to be on the front page of every newspaper in English speaking world?! Even if the other side denies everything – Congratulations, kid."

"Thank you, sir." He was packing his stuff. Iceman was already waiting for him on the deck. They were going back to Miramar to wait there for their next assignments.

"They gave you free choice of duty, son! Anything. Anywhere. Do you believe that shit? Anywhere you wanna go?" Tom wanted to be an instructor, and Maverick thought it was a great idea. He would be a brilliant teacher, teaching youngsters 'the right things'. If Pete ever got a chance to teach at Top Gun he wouldn't hesitate. But Ice wanted to wait, discuss options and plan for the future. He refused to make any moves without truthfully discussing it with Pete. Maverick wasn't good at planning but brilliant at jumping into occasions, so… now they could choose THAT together!

"I thought of being an instructor, Sir."

"TOP GUN?"

"Yes Sir."

"God help us….."

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar - April 13, 2001

Maverick was looking at the sun setting over the air strip and enjoyed the sound of jets' engines.

"Hey Mav, what the fuck are you still doing here? Sulking for having your sexy ass kicked by a kid?"

Maverick smiled at Ice. Fucking bastard looked so much hotter now! He got that look sometime after he turned thirty… Now at his 36 he was sex on legs… It made Mav shiver to just think about him waiting patiently in their home, cooking dinner. They were still perfect together. Maybe Maverick grew up a little but Iceman also loosened up a bit so… The balance was kept.

Ice came closer and ravished maverick's lips. Damn, he loved that hot headed idiot so much it was crazy. Every 8 weeks he had to glare to death 20 new students checking Maverick out. It was exhausting… but still worth the trouble.

"I wasnt sulking, you asshole. I'm gloating."

"Little Bradshaw is really something, isn't he?"

"Yea… He's… Fuck, he's much better than Goose could ever be, you know…?"

"I know. Poor Goose probably turns in his grave seeing who is his kid's role model."

Maverick just laughed. In the last sixteen years of his teaching in Top Gun no student had ever gotten a single shot on him. NEVER.

Until now.

Nick's son was something else. He was brilliant. He was the best. Goose (the 2nd) was their future.

"Now I feel nostalgic." Iceman's smirk was so damn sexy. It almost made Mav loose his footing.

"Because the next generation steps ahead of us?"

"Fuck no! They're not better than me! Just better than you, you weakling! But, no. I was thinking about all the good memories I've got about the… sunsets here… in exactly this very place."

Maverick chuckled but blushed anyway.

"Sunsets, huh?"

They haven't done it in here for years, but… since they caught the sunset now it would be a waste not to have that simple joy of playing with a boy.

THE END

Thank you for reading.