IMPORTANT A/N AT THE END

The two girls sat at the bar of the Hard Deck, swirling around the concoction of alcohol that was in their glasses with their thin straws. Dakota had texted Penny asking if it was possible that she closed early, just so they could have some sort of 'quiet time' and to her surprise she agreed. So the usual chaotic and crowded bar was at a comforting silence, the soft bass and treble of a Rihanna song reverbing throughout the small building.

The barmaid was in the back storage room, saying she needed to take inventory before she relaxed with the two pilots.

"So about ten minutes after you left Rooster came in," Natasha sipped through the straw of her drink, listening to her friend catch her up to date with her 'situationship'. "And he claimed that he quote, 'heard I had a shit sequence' and literally made me ride his thi-" "Okay okay okay I would prefer if you didn't tell me about what he did to get you off." She interrupted Dakota loudly, a playful smile on her lips as she covered her ears.

The curly head laughed at her best friend, "Sorry, sorry, that was my fault." She placed a hand on one of her thighs, which was in between hers. Dakota took a sip of her drink, the alcohol calming her frazzled mind.

"It's just whenever I'm with him I remember what we had before that night," A light tint of pink sparkling on her cheeks, "The way he would hold me, and we would just literally watch tv," A deep inhale, as Natasha interlaced her fingers with her hand that was placed on her thigh. "I mean we literally baked cookies one night and had a Hunger Games marathon for the love of god."

Her heart clenched at the memories, "I just don't even know if he remembers the stuff that wasn't sex y'know? 'Cause that's what made me fall for him and I-" She cut herself off, blowing a raspberry through her lips, "I don't know if my heart can handle just sex with him." Her stomach felt like a knot was forming, just from talking about it.

Phoenix gave her a sympathetic look, "Babe," she started as Penny walked through the door of the back room, gaining the attention of the two females.

The older sighed, heading behind the bar top and started making herself a drink, "Okay sorry girls, what'd I miss?" She smiled at them, leaning her elbows on the counter.

Dakota turned in her chair towards Penny and Phoenix did the same, "Just saying how I don't know if I can handle just having sex with Bradley." She took another sip of her drink. "Babe, Penny and I were there when he broke your heart, we remember how broken you were," The barmaid reached a hand out to her forearm, rubbing comforting circles into her skin, "And we know how your brain works, if you continue this with him, it'll eventually break you again. Do you think you can go through that again?"

A beat of silence.

"I dunno," She deeply sighed, "Like it's fine right now, since I hate him and vice versa," the slight feeling of tears stinging behind her eyes as she held them back, "But I just know during these few weeks 'm gonna go back to how I was when it wasn't just sex."

Penny furrowed her eyebrows, "Well I know you don't wanna hear from me, even though I totally know what you're going through," A teasing tone hinting at her voice. The two pilots chuckled at her.

"What I did with Pete, since I kept on falling for him, was eventually," She inhaled sharply, "I told him how I truly felt. Because I knew the pain of rejection would be better than the pain of 'what ifs'."

She took in the older's words, as Phoenix traced patterns on her back. Her mind felt a thousand pounds heavier as she thought about her conflicting feelings.

Did she want to go through that pain again? The pain of Bradley not caring for her? Talking to her? Still, she smiled internally as butterflies erupted in her stomach each time he entered the room. How the weight of his gaze on her gave her a sense of calmness, the feeling of his skin against hers making her brain fuzzy with a euphoric-like feeling.

Dakota folded her arms on the counter and placed her head on them, "God I don't even know anymore. It's all too confusing and," She sighed, rising her chest up and down against the edge of the bar top, "I know that if I allow my non-logical part of my brain to take over that'll get hurt again, yet I don't even think there's a difference anymore. The feeling that I get when I'm around him is indescribable."

Phoenix and Penny gave each other a look, "Honey," the older started as Dakota moved her chin to rest on her forearms. "I think you know that feeling, you just don't want to come to terms to it."

-

The warm light of the afternoon sun shined through the large window overseeing the taxiway full of F-18s. Small beads of sweat gathered on her nose as she looked out at the view, sighing softly to herself as she crossed her legs, kicking the back of Rooster's seat occasionally due to her boredom.

He would clear his throat softly and adjust his pants every now and then, causing a smirk to tighten at her plump lips as she would play with her fingers in her lap. She should be listening to Maverick, firmly stating and getting onto her fellow aviators about their failed flight simulations they- some, of them completed yesterday.

Right now the captain was replaying Coyote, Phoenix, and Bob's sequence, watching as The solo pilot slowed down drastically without any warning to his duo, causing Phoenix with pull up, breaking the maximum altitude and being 'shot down' by the SAMS.

"Why are they dead?" Maverick questioned Coyote, raising his eyebrows as he paused the screen, the simulation of a missile striking down the duo jet. "We broke to three hundred foot ceiling and a SAM took us out." Phoenix stated, a pen in her hand as she rested her elbow against the built-in desk of the chair she was sat in.

Maverick disregarded her, turning his attention back to the solo pilot, "No, why are they dead?" He motioned to the screen behind him. "I slowed down and I didn't give her a warning. It's my fault-" "Is there a reason you didn't communicate with your team?" The captain interrupted, walking from the front of the room and towards him. "I was focusing on-" Maverick interrupted him again, "What will their family accept at the funeral?" A beat of silence, Coyote swallowed harshly, "None sir."

The captain then turned towards Phoenix, "Why didn't you anticipate the turn? You're briefed on the terrain." She went to speak, only to be cutoff, "Don't tell me," he motion his head to Bob seated next to her, "Tell it to his family." She turned her head, furrowing her eyebrows at her back-seater.

The screen behind Maverick then changed to Dakota's flying sequence, showing as she avoided the twists of the canyon, never breaking the three hundred foot ceiling, and making it to the target with ten seconds to spare. A small smile broke out on her face, a small ounce of pride filling her chest as quiet whistles of impressment echoed through the room.

He paused it was her missile hit the target, then turning to her, taking a step towards her as he leaned on the podium behind him. "Why are you dead?"

A shocked expression overtook her features, her jaw dropping slightly, "I'm sorry, sir?" She questioned, furrowing her eyebrows slightly as she tilted her head in confusion. Her eyes drifted to Rooster as he turned in his seat to look at her, not helping with her confused state at the site of his soft eyes gazing at her.

"Why are you dead?" Maverick repeated, as if the answer was obvious. She felt more of the pilot's eyes on her. "I don't understand, sir-" "You we're flying at more than double the speed allotted. Why are you dead?" She inhaled deeply, a small scoff falling from her lips, "With all due respect sir, I made it to the target, well within the given amount of time." Her voice rose a little, slightly annoyed at the captain.

"No, you didn't. You were reckless with no regard to anyone else's life."

A small wave of anger washed over her, her heart beat accelerating in her chest as she moved to the edge of her seat, "You don't know that, sir. I was the only one flying completely solo." Her lips were set in a firm line. "Just next time fly more responsibly. And at least act like you care about your life. No matter what, Lieutenant."

Silence pounded in the room. Dakota sighed as she settled back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. Red blossomed on her cheeks as she blew a strand curl out over her face out of anger.

The next flight sequence of Rooster, Yale, and his back-seater played. She didn't even pay attention to the screen as it stopped with them making it to the target. "Why are you dead? You're team leader up there; why are you, why is your team, dead?" Maverick questioned, only to be immediately followed by Phoenix, "Sir, he's the only other one who made it to the target besides Mustang."

Dakota heard her name, suddenly paying attention now.

"A minute late." A beat, "You gave enemy aircraft time to shoot you down. He is dead-" "You don't know that." Rooster stated lowly, pressing his lips into a firm line. "You're not flying fast enough," Hangman said loudly, tilting his head against the back of his seat. "You don't have a second to waste-" Rooster cut him off. "We made it to the target,"

"And superior enemy aircraft intercepted you on your way out." Maverick's teeth were clenched, as he motioned towards the screen behind him. "Then it's a dogfight." Rooster raised his voice slightly, flexing his hands around his thighs. Dakota hated herself for being attracted to him at the moment. "Against fifth generation fighters?" The captain asked rhetorically. "Yeah. We still have a chance." God, yeah she really hated herself. 

"In an F-18?" Maverick's voice sternly asked. Rooster's voice followed quickly, "It's not the plane sir, it's the pilot," "Exactly!" The older raised his voice. A deafening silence following. Dakota looked between the two males, rubbing her slightly sweaty palms on her thighs, "There's more than one way to fly this mission."

The obnoxious voice of Hangman invited himself into the conversation, "You really don't get it," he turned over his shoulder to look at Rooster, a smug look on his sharp features. "On this mission a man flies like Maverick here, or a man does not come back," He looked back at Dakota, and turned his head to the side to look at Phoenix, looking between the two females, "No offense intended." He smiled lightly.

To Dakota's surprise, Bob leaned forward, hands flexing around the pen in his fingers, "And yet you always manage." He set his lips in a slight snarl. The curly head silently cheered at him, knowing how shy the man is usually.

Hangman shot him a quick look before looking back to Rooster, whose nostrils were flaring slightly in anger, "I don't mean to criticize, you're conservative, that's all." Maverick's voice followed quickly after, a warning tone to his words, "Lieutenant-" "We're going into combat, son." A condescending sense as Hangman continued to talk to Rooster. "On a level no living pilot has ever seen." He turned his attention back to Maverick, smirking lightly, "Not even him."

Dakota inhaled sharply, watching the scene unfold in front of her. Hangman turned over his shoulder once more, facing the male pilot, "It's no time to be thinking about the past," Rooster adjusted in his seat, leaning his elbows on his knees as he tilted his head, breathing heavily, "What's that supposed to mean?"

'Oh god oh god oh god oh god,' she repeated in her head, chewing at her bottom lip.

Maverick gave a look, "Rooster," "I cant be the only one that knows that Maverick flew with his old man-"

The captain was quick to stop the blond pilot from speaking anymore, "That's enough," Hangman continued despite his efforts, "Or that Maverick was flying with his old man-"

Suddenly, Rooster shot up out of his seat, quickly making his way over to Hangman's seat before he had the chance to get up. Dakota made her was over to him, placing her hands on his chest as she tried to push against him, keeping him away from Hangman. Loud shouts came from everyone at the scene, the aviators fleeing to hold the two (childish) men back. Maverick tried with his best attempts, "That's enough!"

Rooster pushed against Dakota's small hands, she felt his heartbeat beating rapidly under her palm, "You son of a bitch!" Yeah, she definitely hated herself for being attracted to him right now. The air around them was tense, tight, making it hard for everyone to breathe. She turned around, placing her back against his chest once she saw he calmed down ever so slightly, watching as Hangman tugged his shoulders from the grip of Coyote and Yale, "Hey," a smug smile on his face, "I'm cool, I'm cool."  Dakota wanted nothing more than to punch his arrogant face.

"He's not cut out for this mission-" Mavericks voice cut him off, "That's enough!" "Y'know it."

Dakota left Rooster's face, walking right up to Hangman's face as he watched her, a smirk on his lips, "And little Mustang her just doesn't know how to fly at all." And before she could even process it, she raised her fist and decked him across the jaw.

Pride swelled in her chest as she heard a pained groan fall from his lips.

PAIGE SPEAKS

okay i'm hella proud of the chapter tf? like look it's a work of art!!

and i LOVED writing the lil bonding moment between my ladies🤭🤭arent they cute???

this chap is kinda in depth into dakotas feelings towards rooster and how they never went away.. hope y'all caught that🫣 the plot side of this book peepin through BITCHESS

and AFTER i post this i will be posting my other rooster fic and OMG IM SO FUCKINF EXCITED FOR THAT LIKE YOU DONT EVEN KNOW😭😭

it's called fire for you and it has me blushing so hard

and in case you guys didn't read my announcement i stated my updating schedule: i will be updating this every other day; and i think the other bradley book will be every two days given that one is going to be more plot driven than this.

and miles teller book should be in the works very soon, don't know when it'll be published tho.

ALSO one last thing. thank you all so much for over 60k reads and over 2k votes... you guys are honestly too sweet