HARD DECK
a top gun: maverick fanfiction

CHAPTER EIGHT: HARD KNOCK LIFE

"You're too cautious, Rooster. You're going to get someone killed," Hangman said, tossing a crumpled up piece of paper at the back of Bradley's head.

Bradley spun around, his face turning red as anger boiled through his veins. "Last time I checked, being cautious doesn't get people killed. Flying like an asshole does."

Hangman chuckled and shook his head. "Not on this mission. You heard Mav. We have to be fast."

"Yeah, but we also have to stick with our team," Bradley replied through gritted teeth.

"The only thing you're going to do with your team is get them killed," Hangman replied. "When the enemy catches your tail, because you didn't haul ass out of the canyon." He laughed again, a cocky smile on his face. "Of course, it's not like you'll even be flying the mission."

An annoyed chuckle slipped from Bradley's lips. "And you're so confident you'll be there, Hangman."

Hangman flashed his characteristic grin. "I am."

The pilots were released for their lunch break, and Bradley high-tailed it out of the classroom before Hangman made another obnoxious comment and he had to punch him in the face.

Instead of following his comrades along the familiar path to the mess hall, he found his feet carrying him down a different hallway, towards the med bay.

He entered the room, seeing that the receptionist was gone. He continued down the hallway, where he knew Dr. Hatchett's office resided. Her door was half open, so he knocked once before pushing the door open.

"Hey, Doc, how's it --"

He stopped abruptly, noticing a puddle of blood on the floor. His eyes widened and he frantically met Summer's eyes. She was clutching a wad of paper towel to her nose, which was gushing with bright blood.

"Jesus, Summer," he said, her first name accidentally slipping from his mouth. He rushed towards her, his hands hovering unsurely near her face. "What happened?"

She let out a quick laugh before turning away, waving a hand at him in an attempt to get him to leave. She sat down at her desk, holding her face over the garbage can as blood continued to drip down her hand.

"I walked into the supply room without turning the lights on, and one of the nurses left a drawer open. Needless to say, it was nose-level," she said, spitting the words out with a harsh humor he hadn't heard from her before.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Hackett!" One of the nurses called from across the hallway.

Summer rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, looking defeated. "Lieutenant, if you're not going to leave any time soon, can you at least close the door?"

Bradley smirked and nodded, kicking the door shut before taking a seat across from her. "Looks like you're the one with the bloody nose now," he joked.

A flicker of a smile crossed her face and she rolled her eyes, reaching for a fresh piece of paper towel. She pinched the bridge of her nose and leaned over the trash can once again.

"So, are we just leaving biohazards lying around now?" Bradley joked, pointing to the small puddle on the floor.

"I'll clean it up once I stop bleeding, dickhead," she replied.

"Dickhead?" Bradley repeated. "Is that any way to speak to a patient, Doc?"

"Today it is," she replied. "Do you need something, Lieutenant?"

He shook his head. "No, just wanted to stop by," he said, leaning back in his chair to prop his feet up on the desk.

"Get your feet off of my desk," Dr. Hackett replied. "Seriously? You're seriously going to come in here and put your feet on my desk?"

Bradley laughed as she swatted at his feet with her one free hand. "Wow, Doc."

"Sorry, I'm just being difficult, per usual," she replied shortly.

Bradley's face fell, and in the back of his mind, he suddenly recalled calling her difficult the previous night. They were in the bathroom, drying off their pants after Payback spilled drinks all over them.

"Well, you like to make everything difficult, don't you?"

He hadn't meant it.

Well, maybe he had.

It was clear that there was a spark between Bradley and Dr. Hackett. He certainly felt it, and he was fairly certain she did too. But, she wouldn't let go of her stupid rule. On one hand, Bradley didn't really blame her. If he did go on that mission, he probably wouldn't be coming back. On the other hand, he was selfish. And he really liked her.

"I did say that, didn't I?" He replied, a smirk on his face.

"You did."

He chuckled and ran a hand through his dark waves. "Well, I guess I meant it, and I think, in that big doctor brain of yours, you can figure out why."

He expected Summer to retort with one of her usual quick-witted, well-thought out comments that was meant to be mean but would just make him smile. Instead, she rolled her eyes and turned away from him, clearly irritated.

Had he really pissed her off that badly, or was there something else going on that he didn't know about?

"Well," Bradley cleared his throat and stood up, pushing his chair in. "I guess that's my cue to leave. See you around, Dr. Hackett."

He left her office with a frown on his face, though he could feel Summer's eyes lingering on him as he closed the door behind him. Had he really gone too far? Up until now, their whole friendship — or whatever it was — had revolved around picking on each other and some not-so-under-the-table flirting. Of course, she had just had a nasty run-in with a cabinet door, so maybe she was just not in the mood for it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.

hey y'all! it's been a while :) i've been busy! thanks for all the love and support on this book.

you'll notice i haven't been sticking to the original script, and honestly, it's a personal preference for me as a writer and as a reader. i hate writing that way, because it's so boring, tedious, and a bit uncreative to just copy it word for word (no offense to those of you that do). i just feel like you can do so much with fanfiction, especially ones with ocs, if you diverge from the original script a bit. additionally, i hate reading stuff that is literally just a copy-paste from the movie/tv show script, where the author just gives lines from the movie to their oc. again, no offense if you do this ... it's just my personal opinion, and i wanted to explain my reasoning as to why i am not and will not be doing that. 

thanks for reading!

xx,

madi