SOON AFTER THAT, THEY WERE ALL BACK IN THE AIR. SKYE WAS listening to fanboy and payback argue before she rolled her eyes, hovering her plane next to theirs. "you boys gonna come to an agreement, or should havoc and i just decide?" 

they were supposed to be making decisions on their next move in regards to the exercise that was currently doing anything but succeed for them. the two pairs were up against hangman and rooster, who were their own team. they were supposed to go head to head to see which group would be first to locate and drop a false bomb on a piece of "dangerous cargo". 

"we're thinking, riot, we're thinking." payback said. "nah, you think for us."

katia laughed. "we've already done one lap around this thing, where else could it be?"

"maybe on the top of the mountain?" fanboy suggested sarcastically.

skye thought about this possibility for a moment. "i mean, to be fair, we haven't looked there yet." 

they all looked to their left as rooster and hangman almost immediately moved in different directions, clearly not on the same page. "okay, while they're distracted, let's do another lap." payback suggested.

skye followed his lead around the mountain, cursing as she still didn't see anything. 

"how big is this dangerous cargo?" fanboy wondered aloud.

she shook her head. "i don't know. i'm gonna get lower, see if i can spot anything." she moved just barely above the hard deck, looking to her right as katia looked to their left. 

"i have sights on it." katia said suddenly, and skye looked to the left to see a small boxed package. 

"are rooster and hangman still butting heads?" skye asked. 

fanboy looked over at them. "looks like it. how are we gonna take this thing out?"

"payback?" skye asked, waiting for him to make a decision. 

"do you two wanna bomb it?" 

she shrugged. "i mean, kind of. gives havoc something to do." 

katia nodded. "it's so boring in the backseat half the time."

payback laughed. "go for it."

skye increased her altitude, moving the plane in a circle around the target before going down so katia could target it with her laser. "got it?" she asked.

"yeah, i got it." katia said. "bombs away." 

she landed the bomb expertly onto the target, and skye cheered before lifting the plane in time to watch as the fake bomb made a small disruption, breaking apart the box. 

"how's it feel to be a sore loser, bradshaw?" skye asked when she saw him back at the base. 

he laughed. "very funny, mitchell. you guys did good today." 

"thank you." she said. "what was going on between you and hangman? every time we'd look over, you looked like you were about to strangle each other." 

rooster shrugged. "i mean, realistically, we probably were. he was just, you know, being himself." 

she nodded. "ah, i see." 

"everyone's making plans to go to the hard deck tonight since it's our last night before christmas break." he said, walking by her side to see the display of their exercise. "you should go, we can have one last jukebox moment before the end of the year." 

skye laughed. "okay, yeah. speaking of christmas, is your calendar still free?"

"i'm following you back to mojave, we're meeting up with mav and iceman there, and then i'm staying with whichever one of them makes me want to kill myself the least." he summed up the plans of their trip, watching as she rolled her eyes.

"okay, smartass." she said, nudging his shoulder with her own. "sounds like a plan, though."

"are we driving separately?" rooster asked. "or are you guys wanting to leave your motorcycles here?" 

skye shrugged. "it doesn't snow in the golden state, so i'm not worried about driving on snow. why, are you offering to give katia and i a lift?"

"i mean, gas is polluting the environment." he said, a smirk mirroring her own spreading on his face.

"and we can't have that, can we?" skye raised a brow.

he shook his head. "no. driving in the same vehicle is much, much better for the earth." 

"god bless america." she agreed. 

"so i'll pick you guys up tomorrow morning and we'll drive up?" 

she nodded. "yeah, sounds like a plan." 

they parted ways to analyze their individual performance in the day's exercise, and then suddenly the whole base felt like a high school before break. everyone seemed to let out a collective cheer as they were officially released from their classes for the next few weeks. 

if there was one thing skye didn't like about top gun, it was how time consuming it was. sure, she was learning so much more being there. but, she hadn't been on a proper break since she'd arrived, since both she and katia had time to make up during what should've been their thanksgiving break. 

the girls weren't really ones to get homesick; if they were easily homesick, they wouldn't have packed up and enlisted. but they were both missing their fathers after going over half a year without being able to see them in person. 

but, for that night, they were gearing up for their final appearance at the hard deck before the new year rang out. skye and katia arrived in baggy ripped jeans and t-shirts, having lazily thrown on the first clothing items they could find.

skye easily located rooster standing by the bar, and she moved to join him. "you're not gonna drink as much as you had last time, okay?" he told her with a laugh. "we don't want anymore brad brad situations."

she rolled her eyes. "okay, bradley bradford bradshaw."

"that is not my middle name." he retorted, though there was an amused smile on his face. 

"it should be." she replied, ordering herself a beer. "at ease, roost, this is the only thing i'm drinking tonight." she assured him. 

he laughed again. "good. i don't really want to have to carry you home again." 

she chuckled as she swished her drink around in the can. "you know, next week is christmas." she reminded him. "and you're wearing a hawaiian shirt." 

rooster shrugged. "it's comfortable." 

"it's wintertime."

"we're in california."

she rolled her eyes. "this is still not the hawaiian shirt time of the year." she argued.

he only shrugged. "it's always hawaiian shirt time of the year." 

they were hanging out by the bar until they'd finished their drinks, and they then decided to be social. skye joined katia, who was currently beating everyone's asses at pool. "rack 'em." she said as she handed skye the cue stick. 

"get that phrase from phoenix?" she asked, looking over at the other woman who laughed.

she lined up her shot and made it, laughing as the pilots around her cheered. "perfect aim not just in the air but also at the pool table, both of them." fanboy laughed, referencing the exercise earlier that day when she and katia had made a bullseye shot. 

"what can we say?" skye replied, hanging the stick back to katia. 

"so are you excited to see the infamous maverick and iceman over break?" fanboy asked, moving to sit by them. 

skye nodded. "i mean, yeah. i'm looking forward to seeing slay and mav."

rooster and katia, the only two people who understood the reference, started laughing. 

"have any ideas for a new year's resolution?" hangman asked, holding a pool stick in one hand and a beer in the other. 

"yeah, i'm gonna get off all the hardcore drugs i take." she replied sarcastically, smirking as the pilots around her laughed. 

hangman shook his head. "no, i think it's a good idea to have goals. for example, i've been making a goal for myself to master my surprised face when i get awarded top of our class." he said, a smile on his face. "you know, don't want to let them know that i already knew." 

skye scoffed. "you better perfect it, then. i want a picture of your surprised face when havoc and i graciously accept the plaque, which will by then have our names on it." 

he titled his head. "that, or you'll follow after duke mitchell. that was his name, right? the mitchell who disappeared on duty?" he shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he was deep in thought. "i don't know. too many of you mitchell's have had disappointing careers for me to remember the differences between you."

skye made a move as if she was going to punch him, and hangman immediately flinched. she then started dying of laughter. "scared of a little old mitchell, huh, hangman?" 

he scowled at her. "your name isn't gonna be the one on that plaque." 

"how much do you want to bet?" she countered, looking up at him.

"my life." he replied immediately. 

she smirked. "count your days, bagman." 

their conversation was broken apart when katia made another hole in one on the pool table, and the other pilots resumed their respective conversations once they sensed that the show was over. 

"that was a low blow, bringing up duke." rooster said from next to her, and skye had almost forgotten that he'd been standing there. 

"you didn't have any interjections this time, huh?" she asked. 

he shrugged. "you were doing a good enough job putting him in his place by yourself. i figured if you needed me to punch him again, you'd ask." he replied with a smile.

skye rolled her eyes. "your services in that area are honestly much accepted and encouraged." 

he laughed. "anytime." they stood quietly by the pool table for a while, silently listening to the conversations that were happening around them. skye found herself smiling over at jake and katia, who looked completely in love with each other. rooster then nudged skye. "should we go be jukebox heroes?" he asked, a smirk on his face. 

she nodded. "after you."

rooster unplugged the jukebox from the wall, moving over to the piano. skye sat down next to him on the bench, watching as he played over the keys. "what song are you feeling in your soul tonight, my dearest skye?"

skye rolled her eyes at the nickname. "hm, whatever's in your heart tonight, bradley." 

he thought for a moment before pattering out a few chords. "you shake my nerves and you rattle my brain," he sang, looking over just in time to see her laugh, "too much love drives a man insane. you broke my will," he looked at her again, "but what a thrill." 

"goodness gracious, great balls of fire!" they cheered together.

other pilots had begun to gather around the piano as rooster continued singing. "i laughed at love cause i thought it was funny. you came along and you moved me honey. i've changed my mind," he looked down at her, "this love is fine." 

skye laughed as rooster leaned over so his head was on top of hers. "goodness gracious, great balls of fire!" 

he continued on with the song, completely focused on his fingers on the piano. "kiss me baby." he sang, and skye leaned over to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. she could see the flash of confusion and then shock pass through his eyes, and she almost wanted to laugh as he pretended to keep his composure, going on with the song. "oo, that feels good!" he sang, laughing a little. "hold me baby. i'm off to love you like a lover should."

the song continued as usual, and by the end of it all of the other pilots were cheering the lyrics with the two aviators sitting at the piano bench. 

when it was long past dark, katia moved over to skye and put a hand on her arm, a wide smile on her face from hanging out with jake. "are you ready to head home? we gotta wake up early tomorrow for mojave." she said.

skye nodded, sending a look over at bradley. "yeah, yeah i'm ready to head out." 

katia gave her a nod before moving over to say goodbye to jake and everyone else. skye stayed back, but gave a wave to the group as a whole and a hug to phoenix before moving back to rooster, who was standing with his hands in his pockets. 

"i'll see you tomorrow, then?" he asked, a soft smile on his lips.

she smiled. "yeah, you're still good to pick us up, right?"

he nodded. "yeah, of course. i'll be there at about six so we can get there early enough." 

"okay." 

there was a moment of comfortable silence before rooster wrapped his arms around her waist, letting his head fall onto her shoulder. "i don't know why it feels like i'm saying goodbye." he admitted. "i mean, i'm seeing you tomorrow." 

"maybe it's just a melancholy mood." she suggested, smiling as he chuckled.

"have you been listening to podcasts?" he asked.

she shook her head. "no, but katia has. maybe it's rubbed off on me."

rooster laughed. "maybe." he pulled away to smile down at her, seemingly taking in her appearance as if it was the last time he'd see her. he then leaned down, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "if you can give me one, i can give you one." he whispered as he pulled away.

skye stood there awestruck, unable to move as she looked up at him. he was so close to her, and all it would take was a small movement before she'd be kissing him. instead, she just smiled. "i'll see you tomorrow, bradley." 

he didn't seem offended, though, and smiled. "i'll see you tomorrow, skye."

katia came back over to them, having finished saying goodbye to everyone before the holidays, and the two women put on their helmets and drove home, both anxious for the holidays to come.