Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned here.

Wings of Change
authored by WingsuitFlying

The biggest constant in Donovan Grimm's life is that people always leave. People come and go like the tides, leaving behind only memories that he looks back at and wishes that they were not just memories.

It started with his father, being deployed on a mission, disappearing in action and never coming back again. The only thing they received were the news and he was gone from their lives, never to be seen again. His brothers leave too. For the greater good of their family and the world, obviously - they can't very well stay in place when their family is in shambles and the world is still in need of heroes.

It starts with his oldest brother John, enrolling in the army. Even though he's now the man in the family and his family needs him, John can't spend his entire life in their hometown of Austin, Texas. Even though their mother Elaine, a nurse, is doing everything to provide for her boys, finances are short and John takes it upon himself to provide for his family. Don doesn't see him a lot, as John eventually makes it to the U.S Rangers and is constantly deployed and even when he's stateside, his duties don't provide him with enough time to visit. They keep in touch but it's difficult accepting that people care when they are so close and yet so far.

Two years later, his older brother Mark leaves, enlisting in the U.S Marine Corps. He says that for a better tomorrow they need to change. Not just to fix the future, but also heal the wounds of the past. Except change turns out to be the very reason Mark packs up his duffel bag and is off to report for duty.

"To move on, people need to know it is time for change", Mark explains, and that cannot happen when the past still lingers. Don begs Mark not to leave.

The family still needs him, Don still needs him! He can't do this without him! Mark smiles and ruffles Don's dirty-blonde hair, but doesn't waiver. He promises that he will always be there for Don when he needs him, but the flower will never blossom if it spends it's life in the shadows of the tree. Don understands and he appreciates what Mark is trying to do for him, but it doesn't make watching him go away any easier. One by one, they all leave until Don is left with no one but a family in shambles, a mother that is grieving and an everyday life in desperate need of change.

"Change." Don thinks one day. It's a terrifying thing and it sends shivers down his spine every time he thinks about it. He's still in high school and he's not sure yet what he wants to do with his life. Ever since childhood he dreamed of being a naval aviator, but ever since his father disappeared in action, he's not sure if a dream like that, one that is capable of causing the people he cares about such a colossal amount of pain is worth chasing.

As he graduates from high school he's determined to enroll in the Naval Academy. In case he's not accepted he still has a backup plan – becoming a lorry driver. That's why he signs up for CDL license program as soon as he can and gets his license. But to his surprise the Naval Academy accepts him with open arms – due to his father disappearing during active duty, it means an automatic nomination.

Don doesn't for a moment think that he's going to get special treatment at Annapolis because of who his father was, that he won't have to work hard. So Don makes it his goal to work as hard as he can to be the best he can be, not for himself or anyone else, but just to honor his old man and carry on his legacy proudly. And so for the first time in his life, it is Don that leaves, leaving behind a teary-eyed mother. No matter how much he tells her that he'll call every day there's nothing he can do to make her feel better. So Don just looks back in the mirror of his pickup truck as his mother disappears into the distance.

"This feels like shit." Don thinks to himself as he drives. Being the one who does the leaving. For the first time, he feels what it is it like to be on the other side.

On the first day in his first year in Annapolis he meets Reuben Fitch. The Naval Academy isn't the friendliest place in the world, but Don is unfazed. So is Reuben – Reuben was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a town steeped in the legacy of the Civil War. Growing up as an African-American in the Deep South, Reuben faced discrimination and prejudice from an early age. But rather than let it hold him back, he used it as fuel to propel himself forward.

Don and Reuben, two individuals who had faced all challenges life threw at them head on and defied the odds and form an unbreakable bond from the moment they meet. Born and raised in vastly different backgrounds – Don, a Texas boy through and through, and Reuben, an African-American from the Deep South – they cross paths on the very first day of their journey at the Naval Academy when they end up being roommates. Their friendship blossoms quickly, fueled by a mutual respect and admiration for each other's strengths and character. Despite the differences in their upbringing and backgrounds, Don and Reuben find common ground in their shared passion and their unwavering determination to succeed.

In their second year in the Naval Academy, Don and Reuben volunteer to help in the admissions office. There they meet Natasha Trace, a sweet but fiery girl from San Francisco, California having been accepted into the Naval Academy. Natasha Trace grew up in the vibrant city of San Francisco, California. From a young age, she was drawn to the thrill of flight, spending hours watching planes soar overhead and dreaming of one day taking to the skies herself. Ever since that first day in the Naval Academy, Don takes Natasha under his wing and shows her the ropes of life at the Academy. Despite their differences - Don, with his Texas charm and ice cold determination, and Natasha, with her fiery spirit and unwavering resolve, seem like an unlikely friendship at first glance - but they form a bond that only grows stronger with time.

And then there are the challenges they face along the way – Don grappling with the legacy of his father's disappearance in action, Natasha overcoming the gender barriers and prejudices in a male-dominated field, and both of them navigating the ups and downs of life in the Naval Academy.

"Time flies by quickly when you enjoy yourself." Don thinks to himself as his and Reuben's graduation is a few weeks away. He thinks it's weird how time flies by and before you realize it you're facing change once again.

At Don and Reuben's graduation ceremony, Natasha watches her friends being called up to the stage to receive their diplomas.

"Donovan Brian Grimm." The dignitary calls out his name as Don walks out to receive his diploma.

"Reuben Joseph Fitch." The dignitary reads out afterwards as Reuben follows his friend and roommate for the last four years.

Natasha claps enthusiastically as they shake hands with the dignitaries on stage, their smiles radiant with joy and relief. For Don, this moment marked the culmination of years of hard work and dedication, a testament to his unwavering determination and resilience. And for Reuben, it was a triumph over adversity, a testament to his strength and perseverance in the face of challenges.

For the second time in his life, it's Don that leaves. As he packs up his belongings, Natasha can't help but feel a pang of sadness knowing that their time together at the Naval Academy is coming to an end. They shared so many memories over the years, from late-night study sessions to impromptu adventures around the campus.

Standing in his dorm room, surrounded by boxes and bags, Don looks at Natasha with a mixture of gratitude and regret. Gratitude for all the moments they shared, the laughter and the tears, the triumphs and the challenges. Regret for the inevitable distance that would soon separate them as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.

"People always leave." Don thinks to himself. He also learns a new thing – being the one to leave doesn't feel any better. You just turn around and look, he thinks and you're utterly helpless as you watch the people you leave behind disappear into the distance.

Natasha surprises him by suddenly hugging him. They embrace there in silence for a moment longer, holding onto each other as if they never want to let go. But eventually, they knew they have to say goodbye. With one last squeeze, they reluctantly pull away, their hearts heavy with the weight of their parting.

"I'll still be just a phone call away, okay?" Don tells her. He's not sure why he's saying it – to comfort her or to comfort himself, but he does it anyway. "Text, call, whatever. I'm always here for you" he says as he loads his belongings in his pickup truck. And with that he's gone. Natasha feels helpless as she watches the black pickup truck disappear into the distance.

Despite the promises, Don finds them difficult to keep. Flight school and duty takes most of his time, even though he's keeping in touch with Natasha and Reuben, he doesn't feel as close to them as he used to in their Naval Academy days.

"Sometimes people just drift apart." At least the last part is what John tells him once on a rare occasion when both of them are home back in Austin, Texas, revealing he's in a process of divorce with his wife Jenna even though they were together ever since Don could remember. Don's mind wanders to his nephews – John and Jenna's children, Christian and Charles and how they probably will feel when they learn that their own family is breaking apart.

"People just aren't what they were before", John explains. He will always love Jenna, but they both agreed that ending it was for the best.

"It's a little terrifying", Don thinks, how relationships can just change like that. Like all the time you spent together just isn't important anymore. He thinks the world is cruel like that, always taking things away when you think you've finally gotten a hold of them. But he doesn't say it. He just gives his brother a sympathetic look.

"That's rough, big brother" Don says instead. John just shrugs as he takes a long sip of his beer.

"It really isn't", John replies. It is what it is. Don hates to admit it, but turns out that John was right.

He's assigned to a Fleet Replacement Squadron – the VFA-122 Flying Eagles. He meets new people and makes new acquaintances, but like his brother said – people grow apart when they don't see each other. He changes too – he's no longer just Don, instead he's "Reaper". His squadron mates come up with it as a play on his family name and his mother greatly disapproves of the callsign, claiming that he doesn't really look like a "Reaper" and he has to constantly remind her that people don't pick their own callsign.

Just as he thinks he found a permanent place he receives a transfer order after a year – he's being transferred to the VFA-14 Tophatters. The Oldest and the Boldest. Just as he thought he found a permanent place, for the third time in his life Don leaves.

Even though they grew apart since their Naval Academy days he still sees his family and his friends, Natasha and Reuben. There are shore leaves, meetings and missions and deployments together, after all. Being a naval aviator means being the protectors of the country, which means needing to be everywhere all the time. It can get tiresome, but it's for the greater good. And he's always happy to see his friends again. But it's never the same, and their group is never really whole again. Sometimes only two of them are there and sometimes someone's off somewhere else.

That is until one day when his commanding officer Captain Edward "Venom" Farrier gives him an order to report to Top Gun. It's a tremendous honor and he promises to give his best. To his surprise he's reunited at Top Gun with Reuben. As it turns out, Reuben isn't just Reuben anymore either – he's "Payback". Reuben keeps claiming they called him that because of his ability to always get his payback, but Don is sure it's a play on Reuben's love for James Brown's song "The Payback".

The reunion is just for thirteen weeks, but they make the most out of it. Even though they haven't been in constant contact, they instantly pick up their friendship from where it was left.

After thirteen weeks, Reuben finishes first in his Top Gun class, with Don finishing second behind him.

Don isn't disappointed with the result - Reuben deserves that top spot. He thinks that Reuben is a hell of a pilot, and that he worked damn hard for it. Don is happy for his friend and claps and cheers him on louder than everyone else as Reuben receives the Top Gun trophy, but can't help but feel disappointed with himself, feeling like he let the memory of his old man down.

"What's the point in fighting for something that we both know is going to fall apart?" he overhears his squadron mates Emily "Brownie" Browning debating Sebastian "Count" Fornier one evening, her voice so crisp he thinks her words might actually cut worse than any blade ever could. Don wasn't intending to eavesdrop, but he stumbled into the scene when he was about to walk into one of the hangars on their base and now he can't leave unless he wants to make his presence known.

"To keep it from falling apart, Count says, each word more desperate than the previous one.

"To protect what we've built together - what we've accomplished together. Isn't that worth fighting for? Aren't we worth fighting for?" Count continues as Don just listens just outside the hangar, and clinches his fists to the point of almost drawing blood. And it makes him furious, to the point where he can feel his blood boiling.

Because out of everyone, aren't the loves of your life supposed to be the one who never leave? Aren't they meant to be the one constant throughout their life? Brownie and Count would fight any challenge because they loved each other, but turn their backs on each other now? It makes him want to scream and shout and cry and destroy everything in his path. But he doesn't.

He feels bad for Count, as Don knows what it feels like because people always leave him, but unlike Count he feels that he deserves it.

"Maybe it's because" Don thinks he deserves this for all the bad things he has done in his life. Maybe it's because he's just become accustomed to the loss. Or maybe it's the look in Count and Brownie's eyes when he sees them the next day that lets him know they're already gone from each other's lives and there's nothing they can do to change that.

One day he receives a letter when he's going on about his duties on the base, as it turns out, Penny, an admiral's daughter and the owner of the Hard Deck, a regular visiting spot near NAS Miramar that he got to know during his time there, weirdly, sends him a letter. Old fashioned, but thoughtful. That's Penny. As he reads her words, a faint smile tugs at the corners of his lips, grateful for her thoughtful gesture.

"Don, darling," Penny writes, "I remembered our last conversation about change when you visited and I couldn't resist sending you a little pick-me-up. Change is tough, no doubt about it, but remember, it can be a good thing. Sometimes it's the kick in the pants we need to shake things up and find something better. After all, change led me to opening the Hard Deck and reuniting with Pete once again."

As Don continues to read, he couldn't help but marvel at Penny's resilience in the face of adversity. Despite the challenges she had faced in her own life, she had managed to carve out a new path for herself, finding love and fulfillment in unexpected places.

"It's easy for me to say," she writes in the letter, "sitting here behind the bar with my ragtag group of misfits, but trust me when I say that life has a funny way of working itself out. So come on down to the bar sometime, have a Lagavulin 16 on me, I know it's your favourite, and let's toast to new beginnings."

As he closes the letter and places it on his nightstand, Don ponders Penny's words.

"It's easy to say", Don thinks, when there's no other option. When people have no way to go back to the life they had before. It's harder when the people they care about are so close, but keep on leaving them. He thinks Penny is lucky like that – no one ever chooses to leave her. She isn't like Don. He ponders about her offer about visiting her once again. Don changes his clothes, puts on a black shirt and a leather jacket and dark jeans that fit him well and decides to take Penny up on her offer.

As Don steps into the Hard Deck bar, he was greeted by the familiar sights and sounds that he had come to associate with the place. The soft glow of the neon signs, the low murmur of conversation, and the comforting aroma of beer and whiskey mingled together in the air, creating an atmosphere that was both inviting and nostalgic.

Penny is behind the bar, a warm smile lighting up her face as she catches sight of him. "Well, well, well, look who decided to grace us with his presence," she teases, setting down the glass she had been polishing to greet him properly.

"What brings you to my humble establishment, Donnie?" Penny affectionately asks as she smiles at him.

Don returns her smile, feeling a sense of relief wash over him at the sight of his her. "Just needed a change of scenery, Penny," he replies, sliding onto a stool at the bar.

"Thought I'd come and see how my favorite bartender is doing." Don continues as he reaches into his pocket to grab his phone, but catches himself at the last moment, as Penny points to the sign that hangs above the bar with her rules.

Penny chuckles, pouring him a glass of Lagavulin 16, Don's favourite, without needing to ask. "You always know just what to say to make a girl feel special," she quipped, sliding the glass across the counter towards him

.

That's where he sees Natasha again when she walks in the Hard Deck. As an old friend from the Naval Academy, she instantly joins him. She got a callsign of her own now – "Phoenix".

"A pretty spot on callsign for Natasha" Don thinks to himself as he sips his drink, letting the taste of peat and smoke dance in his throat as the amber liquid coarses through his system.

It feels like they didn't grow apart at all and she gladly catches up with him and he appreciates it. As he orders her a drink, he salutes her and clinks his glass against hers. "To our reunion, Tweety Bird." Don jokingly declares, earning himself a glare from Natasha.

Maybe it's the alcohol, but it can't be as he only had one drink, and now he feels his heart beat faster each time he looks in her dark brown eyes, he decides not to escalate the sparks between them from the Naval Academy, their what-could-have-been that never happened. Back then, things were less serious, there was less danger, they all had goals to accomplish. They had their fun moments every now and then, but it was a few bright moments in the midst of chaos and education. But this time, despite being here on more distant terms, there's more time for jokes and laughter and games. Games, as it turns out, are one of Natasha's specialties. Especially festival games.

He figures this out the night Penny announces a games night at the bar. Natasha wins a stuffed wolf plush in a knife-throwing game. It's not a particularly happy looking wolf, with an angry frown. Penny gives the oversized wolf to Natasha as the prize.

"He looks a bit like Donnie", Natasha says as she passes it to Amelia, Penny's daughter. Amelia agrees, deciding to name the wolf after him, no matter how much he protests. He glares at Natasha and points out that this is all her fault. She only laughs, and even Don can't help but smile because okay, maybe he does make that face sometimes. She only laughs more, before taking his arm and dragging him to the next game.

"Come on, Reaper, she says, show me what you've got." Natasha says as she grabs his hand and starts pulling him to the pool table. It's nice, he thinks, being around Natasha once again.

The night before his leave ends and he has to go back to the base, sleep refuses to come. It isn't a usual occurrence for him. He's a fighter pilot, for God's sake. No matter how hard he tries, he tosses and turns in his bed, his mind going a mile an hour with all the thoughts in his mind. But as everything flies around in his mind, there is one constant among his thoughts: Natasha, the sweet but fiery girl from San Francisco, California.

"This isn't working." Don thinks to himself. He puts on a loose fitting t-shirt and some shorts, grabs his room keys and walks out of his room at four o'clock in the morning. Don's half way to the beach shore when he spots her, dressed as casually as she did all those years ago, back when they were students in the Naval Academy. It's such a mesmerizing site that he doesn't realize he's staring until he sees her dark brown eyes staring right back at him. It's a sharp contrast, his icy blue eyes and her dark brown eyes meeting. Don barely has the chance to look away, barely managing to hide his blush. When he looks back at her, he finds Natasha smirking at him.

"Never try to sneak up on the Phoenix", Natasha tells him and smirks.

"The Grim Reaper always takes his due." Don replies as he shrugs and he sits next to her. Two can play this game. Natasha's smirk grows, and she asks if he cares to wager that. He laughs without even thinking about it. She grins back at him.

"Natasha has the most beautiful eyes", he realizes and thinks suddenly as they reminisce about the good old days. They're the exact shade of brown that alternates between dark brown and black. They simultaneously look like an ocean of chocolate and the darkness of the night. He thinks there may be an entire world there, just in her eyes.

"Your eyes", he says suddenly, "are brown. And black." Don immediately hates himself for speaking, and wants nothing more than to get up, walk off into the ocean and drown himself. He tries to shake it off, and focus on his breathing, but he can feel the heat rushing up his neck and to his cheeks, so he turns away and glares at the ocean instead. Natasha laughs beside him, fully and loudly.

"Wow", she says, "you're really bad at this." She continues as she barely gets her laughs under control. This time he turns to glare at her, his face full of determination to prove her wrong, but when he faces her, she grabs him by the collar of his t-shirt and crashes her lips against his.

He thinks that maybe he's been looking at it wrong all this time, because maybe the biggest constant in Don's life isn't that people are always leaving him - it's that they're always coming. If all the people that left him didn't leave him, he would have never gotten to know Natasha, Reuben and the rest of his friends. At least not Natasha, not the way he does now - not just friends, but more.

There's a balance in life, he realizes, when one thing leaves, another comes. The world has a way of constantly shifting, but maintaining a balance. If his life wasn't constantly changing, he wouldn't be the person he is today.

He wouldn't be here, sitting on this shore with Natasha sitting on his lap, his arms wrapped tightly around her, watching the sun rise against the ocean. This may not be forever, he knows, because there will be more changes to come, but Don thinks that he doesn't care anymore, because for the first time in his life, Don is content with the change.

After all it is right here, right now - they are here right now - and he plans to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

AN: A one-shot I came up with while doodling in my free time after I watched Top Gun: Maverick once again. It was originally intended to be a one-shot but I can write it as a full-blown story with more than a dozen chapters, just let me know. Reviews are always welcome!