SKYE GOT OUT OF THE CAR FIRST, LOOKING OVER HER SHOULDER TO SEE HANGMAN PARKING HIS TRUCK IN THE DRIVEWAY. a smile spread to her lips as he got out of the vehicle. "hey, bagman." she smirked, closing her car door as katia got out also. "you two play nice." 

katia shot her a look. "no promises."

"c'mon." the brunette groaned, practically dragging katia closer to hangman. "i feel like a mother trying to force her kids to get along. just shake hands." 

"i'm not going to shake his hand." katia mumbled defiantly, but she caved when she saw that the man in front of her had already outstretched his hand. "happy?" she asked skye when they shook hands. 

"it won't kill you to be nice." skye reminded her, patting her back with a chuckle before leading the way through the garage door. 

katia stopped outside the door, putting a fist on hangman's chest to stop him. "okay, listen here, bud." she said, looking up at him. "i just watched her get hurt by some guy, okay? you are not going to repeat that, understood?"

his eyes were wide as he nodded. "yes, ma'am."

"you hurt her, i will not hesitate to cut your dick off, seresin. understood?" 

he nodded again. "yep, understood."

katia then smiled. "okay. i'm glad we got that covered." with that, she walked into the house, leaving the startled hangman to follow her. 

"now, what are the dinner plans?" skye asked once the other two pilots had joined her in the kitchen. "want to get doordash or something?" 

hangman seemed offended by this proposal. "you're kidding, right?" he asked, looking between the two women. "absolutely not. no, we cannot get doordash."

skye and katia looked at each other. "and why is that?" the brunette asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"okay, listen." he sighed. "i'm from the south, okay? in the south, it's custom to make the food. to cook fine cuisine."

"fine cuisine?" skye repeated, her brows raised. "what, exactly, are you proposing?"

hangman immediately moved to raid their fridge. "are these steaks?" he asked, taking them out. "you were suggesting fucking doordash when you have steaks?" 

"are you offering to cook the steaks?" katia asked. 

he still seemed appalled by the whole situation. "yes. do y'all have a grill?"

"uh, yeah, out back." 

as soon as the words had left katia's lips, hangman was already opening the back door and turning the grill on. "okay, now, you need to marinate the steaks." he was explaining as he walked back inside. 

"i know how to make steaks, seresin." skye replied, but she still listened to his instructions on how to make everything go smoothly. 

he was, surprisingly, an excellent cook; something he'd probably gained from his southern family and upbringing. he'd also managed to be kind enough to win katia over, which surprised all three of them. 

soon enough, he'd completed the steaks, and skye was dishing out the mashed potatoes while katia was setting out the plates and getting the green beans ready. truthfully, it was a perfect southern dinner. 

hangman looked pleased with himself as he eyed the food, sitting down at the head of the table. "now this is fine cuisine." he said, making both women start laughing. "try it!"

"no, it's pretty good." they both agreed, laughing as he triumphantly cheered. 

the food was amazing, and soon the group of three were listening to music and cleaning up the kitchen. hangman had offered to help with the dishes, and the girls weren't going to deny him the luxury of doing so (they also didn't want to clean the dishes themselves). 

"woo, this song makes me wanna dance!" he said after the boot scooting' boogie came on. skye and katia were both laughing to the song, only laughing harder when hangman began to shake his hips along to the rhythm. "come on! don't either of you line dance?"

"kat does." skye replied, still laughing at his movements. 

katia was trying not to laugh as she moved to join him. "finally, i can have a line dancing partner!"

"howdy, partner!" he agreed, watching as she laughed again, joining him in the dance. 

skye was eyeing them with a smile on her lips, happy to see them getting along. maybe it was the multiple beers in their systems, or maybe they truly were becoming friends. 

"come on, ri!" hangman called her over, a gleam in his eyes. 

she shook her head. "i don't know the dance!" 

"i'll teach you!" he replied, moving over to grab her hand and leading her back to where he and kat were standing in the living room. "it's easy, i promise."

"oh my gosh." she chuckled, feeling him put a hand on her waist to help direct her movements. 

hangman laughed, and skye could feel his chest rumbling against her back with the action. "see! you're getting it!" he praised her, noticing the way she was watching both him and katia for guidance on the next move. 

rooster, meanwhile, was pulling his truck up to the curb of their house. he immediately noticed hangman's truck, the stupid fucking texas sticker. he was immediately confused, not knowing what he would possibly be doing at katia and skye's house. 

he almost wished he hadn't been curious enough to drive forward a bit, catching a glance of the living room window. inside, sure as day, was skye and hangman. she had a smile on her face, and was clearly laughing. his hand was on her waist. 

his fist clenched instinctively on the wheel. he was even more pissed when he saw hangman laugh and turn skye around by the loop of her pants, making her face him. she was still smiling, her hands on his chest. they began to jokingly sway, and rooster could tell that hangman was taking small steps to rotate them into circles. she just kept laughing. 

rooster didn't know if he could stand to see anymore. he'd lost his chance. she'd loved him, too, and he'd been too stupid to admit that he felt the same. of course she'd move on, and of course it would be with him. the one person rooster couldn't fucking stand. 

with his heart feeling shattered, rooster drove off and back to his house. he crashed on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately, seeking rest as the only solitude. his only way of distracting himself from everything.

skye was laughing as hangman danced with her until the song had finished playing. "you're insane." she said, smiling up at him.

he had been dancing with her for most of the time, trying to help her fix her footwork. she did notice, however, that he made katia included frequently, either by spinning her around or just giving her a high five.

"you're about to be the best line dancer in the world." he said to skye once they'd stopped dancing, laughing as she playfully hit his arm. "havoc's got you beat right now, though, gotta say."

katia laughed. "thanks, man."

"anytime!" he assured her. he grabbed his jacket from the back of the kitchen chair he'd been sitting at, tossing it over his shoulders. "this has been really, really fun." he smiled. "but i don't want to overstay my welcome, and we've got work again tomorrow."

skye chuckled. "yeah. yeah, you should probably go before it gets too late."

hangman smiled down at her, moving dangerously close to her face. "i'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he said as he pulled away, leaving her confused and breathless. he turned to wave at katia over his shoulder before he left.

"so, uh.. what did you think of him?" skye asked.

katia nodded. "not too bad."

"told you." she smirked.

the next morning, both women were annoyed at the mere concept of work. reluctantly, they both got their flight suits on and braided their hair up into their buns. they then got into the car and headed to the base, seeing hangman parked next to their spot again. 

"what do you think bradshaw's gonna have to say about this?" katia asked, looking over at skye.

the brunette scoffed. "it's not his business." 

phoenix and bob, both fully healthy, were back at the hangar, telling everyone about what exactly had happened with the bird strike. 

"good to have you back." skye said to bob, putting an arm over his shoulder. 

maverick stood at the front of the group, making everyone quiet down and move to their seats, rooster had been hiding somewhere, because skye didn't see him until then. he sat in his typical seat behind her, but she glanced over to see hangman sending him a concerned glance. she doubted that rooster gave him anything other than a glare. 

"today, you're going to simulate the mission." maverick said, clearly confused by the interaction going on between the two men. "today's foxtrot teams will be payback and fanboy, riot and havoc. rooster will be your wingman, and hangman is today's team leader."

skye looked over to see the cocky smirk on hangman's lips, but was surprised when he only nodded, a polite smile on his lips. maybe he really was trying to change for the better. "good luck up there, team leader." she said.

hangman smiled. "thanks, dagger three." 

she rolled her eyes. "try not to get me killed this time, please."

she followed katia into the locker rooms, both women grabbing all of their gear and suiting up. skye took a look at the photos in her locker, pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth as she saw the pictures of her and rooster. she slammed the locker closed.

"you know, you're gonna have to talk to him eventually." katia reminded her.

skye nodded. "i know. hopefully not today, though." 

katia's brows furrowed. "what's going on right now?" she asked. "you love rooster, but you're having this whole.. this thing with hangman?"

"whatever you think is going on between me and hangman.." skye shook her head. "he and i are just friends."

the blonde nodded. "okay, and i remember you saying the same exact thing about you and rooster."

"and i was right. we're still just friends."

katia rolled her eyes. "and what if i told you that i think both of them have a thing for you?"

skye chuckled. "then i'd say you're watching too much twilight."

"maybe this is a twilight scenario." katia shrugged.

"this is not a twilight scenario." skye replied with a roll of her eyes. 

the two left the locker room together, bumping fists before climbing into their jet. "riot! havoc!" they heard, looking over to see hangman in the jet next to them. "good luck!"

"thanks!" skye replied, giving him a thumbs up before lowering their canopy. 

in no time, the four planes were up in the air. hangman was first in the makeshift line they'd made, with skye and katia behind him. rooster was behind them, and payback and fanboy were in the fourth and final plane in the back. 

"okay, now you're just running the mission like you were briefed." maverick said on the radio. "i'm gonna be a nearby bandit ready to defend the target. good luck." 

skye followed hangman's lead as he moved through the directed path of the mission. "we're good on speed." katia said from behind her. "everything seems good." 

"where's rooster?" hangman asked as he and the women were nearing the inverted dive. 

"come on, rooster!" payback was pleading on the radio. "we need to move faster, or maverick's gonna be on us!" 

skye looked down at her radar, seeing that the other two planes were far behind them. "pick up the pace, boys!"

"we're trying!" fanboy replied. 

hangman grunted as he moved into the inverted dive. "well, we're already here. hav, you got my laser?" 

"i got you." katia replied, steadying the laser on the target.

hangman lined up the laser guide to the target in front of him. "bombs away." he mumbled before pulling up. skye followed after him, struggling against the force of the pull. "rooster, where the hell are you?"

"rooster, come on, man, we're behind!" payback was warning. 

skye and hangman both leveled out their planes, looking out to see where the other two jets were. they were still far behind, and maverick was moving behind them. "that's a kill." the man said from behind payback and fanboy, who both cursed as they took their masks off. "everybody back to base."

when skye and katia got out of their f-18, they could see rooster and hangman already on the tarmac, clearly in some sort of heated discussion. skye narrowed her eyes, putting a hand up to shield them from the sun. she looked over her shoulder at katia, who seemed equally confused. 

"what the fuck is going on between you two?" rooster was asking when skye moved into earshot.

"nothing, bradshaw." hangman replied. "not that it should matter to you."

rooster's nostrils flared. "you know it matters to me, you asshole-"

"hey!" skye yelled as rooster reached out as if to push hangman. "what the hell is going on here?"

both men turned to look at her, rooster still angry and hangman looking completely confused. neither of them said anything to answer her question, though, so she threw her hands up.

"huh? either of you gonna answer me?"

"it's nothing." rooster seethed.

skye tilted her head. "oh, really?"

"we were just talking about the exercise." hangman said.

skye didn't buy this. "is that so?"

"yep."

rooster looked between the two of them. "you don't fucking deserve her." he said to hangman, who furrowed his brows.

"oh, yeah? says the one who broke her heart."

skye, finally catching on to whatever was happening here, put a hand on both their chests as they moved closer to each other. "this is bullshit." she mumbled. "i'm not dealing with your shit right now, either of you. now stop it." 

they were both still glaring at each other, but they took a step back. rooster looked at skye for a moment before turning on his heel and walking the other direction. she shook her head before turning to walk back to the hangar.

she could hear hangman's footsteps behind her, but pretended not to notice as he moved to walk next to her. "i'm sorry for that, that was.. that was stupid. i shouldn't have egged him on."

"no, you shouldn't have." she agreed, stopping to look at him for a moment. "i know you're trying to better yourself, or whatever, but.. please, just stay out of whatever happened between rooster and i."

hangman reached out to grab her arm as she turned to walk away again. "i really care about you, skye." he admitted, watching as she turned back to look at him. "i'll stay out of it from now on. but i want you to know that i.. i really want the best for you." 

"you don't know what's best for me, jake." she replied. 

he was caught off guard by the use of his first name, and it almost brought a smile to his lips. he then shook his head. "i know it comes down to your decision. you tell me to buzz off, i'll- i'll do it in a heartbeat. but i really do care about you, and i want us to be able to be friends." 

she smiled. "i want us to be friends, too. but i-" she was cut off as cyclone approached them, giving each of them a curt nod. 

"mitchell." he said. "there's.. there's a call for you."

skye's brows furrowed as she looked from him to hangman and back. "uh.. a call from who?"

cyclone's face seemed solemn. "it's.. it's not good."