Chapter 1: Talk
Notes:
For those who my have already read this, I have added a little bit more to this chapter.
Chapter Text
Meeting with Cyclone
“We’ve recalled 12 TOP GUN graduates from their squadrons.” Cyclone spoke showing the display of candidates. “We want you to narrow that pool down to six.” He finished as he observed Maverick. “They’ll fly the mission. Is there a problem, Captain?”
“You know there is, Sir.” Maverick spoke as he let out a sigh.
“Yeah, Bradley Bradshaw, aka “Rooster, I understand you used to fly with his old man. What was his call sign?” Cyclone asked.
“Goose, Sir.” Maverick spoke with a slight sadness.
“Tragic what happened.” Cyclone commented.
Maverick stood there answering their questions, but he couldn't help look at Bob’s profile; he seemed familiar to him.
“Him?” Maverick spoke pointing to the profile. “I’ve seen him before haven’t I?” He asked as he stepped closer.
“Robert Floyd, AKA “The Scorpion” he’s going by BOB nowadays.” Cyclone spoke tapping on the young man's profile. “He helped rescue you and your team a few times.” He finished smiling slightly that the captain remembered.
“Wasn’t he a SEAL?” Maverick asked curious to know the change of direction.
“He was in the reserves for 2 months before calling and requesting a change.” Cyclone spoke. “They offered him a pilot’s position, and he’s been a great pilot and WSO.” He responded with a sad tone.
“Why the change of heart?” Maverick spoke.
“You’d have to ask him, he hasn’t taken a break since that month. It’s been about 5 years since then.” Cyclone spoke. “He goes wherever we need him, as pilot or SEAl, he’s happy to do it.” He finished.
“Has he been back at all in the last 5 years?” Maverick asked curiously.
“Hasn’t stepped foot in his house since he returned to active duty.” Cyclone spoke.
Maverick nodded as he accepted the position, knowing it would be his last post. He had some thinking to do, but he knew for sure he wanted Scorpion… BOB and Bradshaw.
Present At The Hard Deck hours later
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Penny spoke. “Pete.” She said with a small smile.
“Penny?” Pete asked in disbelief. “What are you doing here?” He asked.
“Eh… I should ask you the same thing.” Penny commented.
“Well, that is a long story.” Pete spoke as he put his phone down on the bar.
“I doubt that.” Penny responded.
“Yeah…” Pete spoke admiring the view.
“Who’d you piss off this time?” Penny inquired curiously.
“Another admiral.” Pete spoke.
“Exactly.” Penny responded, which confused the man.
“Are you mad at me?” Pete questioned.
“Oh Pete, I can never stay mad at you.” Penny spoke with a pause. “That’s the problem. I got to say, North Island is the one place I thought for sure I'd never run into you.” She finished.
“How long have you been here?” Pete asked.
“I bought this place about three years ago.” Penny spoke.
“Three years?” Pete replied.
“Mm-hmn, yeah. Not long after you got shipped off to the desert for pissing off that other admiral.” Penny spoke simply.
“That was three years ago?” Pete was shocked and surprised he didn’t realize that much time had passed.
They talked for a few more minutes before Penny rang a bell and cheers all around the bar could be heard. Pete was confused especially when a man patted him on the shoulder.
“Much appreciated, pal.” The stranger spoke.
“What am I missing?” Pete asked. “Disrespect a lady, the navy, or put your cell phone on my bar you buy a round.” He read out.
“And you buy a round.” Penny finished for him and laughed.
“For everyone?” Pete asked as she took a look around.
“I’m afraid rules are rules. You’re lucky it’s early.” Penny replied before walking away.
“Oh come on!” Coyote spoke watching as Hangman sunk another ball.
“What do we have here?” Hangman asked excitedly as he looked up. “If it ain’t Phoenix!” He finished, Maverick looking around, recognising the call sign. “And here I thought we were special, Coyote. Turns out the invite went to anyone.” He finished as he sat down.
“Fellas, this here’s bagman.” Phoenix spoke as she turned to her friends.
“Hangman.” Hangman corrected.
“Whatever.” Phoenix spoke happily to have some banter.
“Who are your friends?” Coyote asked, pointing to the men behind her.
“Payback.” Payback answered.
“Fanboy.” Fanboy responded.
“Hey, Coyote.” Phoenix finally greeted.
“Hey.” Coyote greeted back.
“Who’s he?” Phoenix asked, nodding her head towards Bob who was wiping his pants.
“Who’s who?” Coyote asked, sounding confused. “When did you get in?” He asked seeing phoenix look to the side.
“Oh, I’ve been here the whole time.” Bob responded.
“The man’s a stealth pilot. Literally.” Hangman spoke, eyeing Bob up and down when the man wasn’t looking.
“What do they call you?” Phoenix asked as she took the pool cue from Hangman.
“Bob.” Bob answered as he looked down for a second.
“No, your call sign.” Payback responded.
“Uh… Bob.” Bob spoke, he stopped using his other call sign ever since the incident that happened almost 5 years ago.
“Bob Floyd?” Phoenix asked. “You’re my new co-pilot, wingman? From Lemoore?” She asked with a smile. “They weren’t too clear about it.”
“Looks like it, yeah.” Bob responded with a smile of his own. “I can be anywhere I’m needed.”
“Nine ball. Rack em.” Phoenix spoke after taking a pause to look at BOB before handing the man the pool cue.
“Okay.” Bob spoke hesitantly.
“Penny my dear?” Hangman spoke as he walked up to the bar.
“Yeah?” Penny spoke with a smile.
“I’ll have four more on the old-timer.” Hangman spoke with a smile.
Maverick sighed as he handed over his card to Penny, wanting to cash out before evenmore people came in. While he was waiting he spotted Bradley Bradshaw, and smirked seeing the interaction between him and Hangman. With one glance he could tell something deeper was going on with the pair.
“It’s been declined.” Penny spoke as she handed the card back.
“You’re kidding.” Pete exclaimed. “How about this?” He asked taking out some cash.
“That won’t cover it.” Penny spoke smiling as she handed Pete his tab.
“Uh… I’ll come by tomorrow and bring you the cash.” Pete tried to reason.
“I’m afraid rules are rules Pete.” Penny spoke as she rang the bell yet again.
“Overboard!” People chanted
“Really?” Pete asked as two men tapped his shoulders.
“Great to see you, Pete!” Penny exclaimed as he was being thrown out.
“Thanks for the beers! Come back anytime!” Hangman spoke before turning around and closing the bar doors behind him.
Maverick couldn’t help but glance at Bradley Bradshaw through the windows of the bar. It’s been 6 years since he last saw Bradley, he had so much to say, with no way to start. Maverick shook his head as he slowly walked away. Bob, having seen Maverick walk away, decided to see how the old man was doing. He quietly slipped away unnoticed by everyone around.
“Mav!” Bob called out smiling when he got the man’s attention.
“Scorpion?” Maverick asked, sounding confused.
“How are you doing?” He asked, giving the man a hug.
“It’s BOB now.” Bob corrected. “I’ve been alright, been working a lot.” He spoke returning the hug.
“I’ve heard, I believe last we spoke you wanted to retire.” Maverick spoke wondering why those plans tried.
“I did, I went into the reserves.” Bob spoke quietly.
“For 2 months from what I’ve heard.” Maverick responded wanting to know more.
“Retired life… it just wasn’t for me.” Bob said, his tone sad. “When your reason for going home is gone, why come home at all?” He questioned. “It was great seeing you.”
Maverick watched as Scorpion… Bob walked away, the man’s question left him thinking. What could’ve happened to Bob that made him not want to come back home. Everyone always wanted to come home, come back to see family. When he had the time he’d see if I could find out more. Maverick took a deep breath before taking his leave.
Later that night in a hotel
Jake sighed as he finally entered the hotel, a smile on his face as he’s greeted by Bradley. Despite all the banter they have while in public, they very much loved each other.
“Are you doing ok?” Jake asked sincerely. “It’s the first time you’ve seen him since the funeral 6 years ago.” He spoke softly, wrapping his hands around his boyfriend's waist.
“He’s not the only one we saw at the funeral.” Bradley spoke, enjoying the warmth of the hug. “I have a feeling that Bob may have been there as well.” He whispered into Jake’s neck before kissing the pulse point, earning him a small moan.
“I wanted to speak to you about him, he could be our third.” Jake whispered as he broke away from the hug. “He’s cute, quiet and have you seen those muscles?” He spoke as he entered the bathroom and turned on the shower.
“I saw and I’d like to agree with you.” Bradley spoke as he got undressed as well. “The biggest problem would be convincing him, and finding out more about him.” He spoke as he took Jake’s hand and entered the shower.
“Well let’s just hope he’s into guys first.” Jake said with a laugh. “We can worry about the rest later.” He finished as they helped wash each other.
10 minutes later they were both in bed cuddling, both feeling exhausted while also excited for tomorrow. It would be the first time since they’ve been dating they were finally assigned together.
The next day
Bob had arrived at the hanger early, he was glad the place was big and that no one else was here yet. He parked his car and smiled as he got out the sun was yet to rise, which meant he could probably go on a run. Depending where he was stationed he was pretty lucky enough to be able to do his 5 mile run and have a 5 mile swim. Bob quickly dropped his stuff off in the locker room, putting it in one of lockers before starting his 10 mile run. Unbeknownst to him, Cyclone was watching him carefully. Cyclone had read BOB’s file and had read the reports from the last mission he was on before entering the reserves. There was a filed complaint of misconduct made by the supervisor at the time. Misconduct for ending the career of a fellow teammate. The recorded severed nerves, and almost 10% of the bones in the body were shattered as well as another 30% being broken in several places. His eyes widened at the number that was about 82 bones in the human body if his math is correct. This had him concerned, and wondering if he should address it. Having no insight on what he’s read leads to a lot of questions. From the many people Cyclone had talked to who have worked with Scorpion/BOB they all said he was lovely to work with. Always happy to provide back up wherever it was needed, and he performed well as a leader. Cyclone was interrupted by a soft cough coming from in front of him.
“What are you looking at?” Hondo asked as he took a seat.
“Robert Floyd’s file, there was a file complaint of misconduct.” Cyclone answered as he passed the file along. “This happened just before he entered the reserves.” He spoke as he saw BOB come in.
“Well that’s pretty serious, this could’ve ended his career or set him back many years.” Hondo answered as he passed the file back. “There is definitely more to the report than what’s stated here. Honestly it’s been so many years since the incident I’d let it rest.” He finished as he stood up and started to walk away. “You don’t know what kind of ghost could come out of the closet.”
Cyclone shook his head and looked at his watch, he stood up and locked BOBs file in the filing cabinet behind him before making his way to the hanger so he could get set up.
In the locker room
Bradley and Jake had arrived surprised to see that someone else had arrived earlier than them. They kissed each other passionately before making their way inside the locker room to get changed. Pausing as they spotted Bob who was standing under the shower with the water turned off and a towel around the waist. They walked silently trying to make it seem like they had arrived separately, the silence was awkward. Jake and Bradley looked at each other before they too started to change.
“Have you thought about what we talked about earlier?” Jake spoke, unable to stand the awkward silence.
“I have and that’s a lot to think about… I mean meeting your parents?” Bradley spoke as he put on his uniform. “That’s a pretty big step.” He whispered.
“Come on, we've been dating for about a year now, they already know I’m gay.” Jake spoke. “It’ll just be dinner, nothing too extreme.” He spoke sounding hopeful.
“Jake I’ve never done anything like that, meeting my partner's parents.” Bradley spoke.
“Oh, don’t be shy Bradley.” Came Bob’s vice from beside the pair. “It might seem intimidating at first, but after the first meeting thing’s should smooth right out.” He said speaking from experience. “Unless they don’t like you, but usually one could tell within the first 30 minutes.” He finished as he put his uniform pants on.
“You speak from experience?” Bradley asked.
“Yeah, it was a long time ago.” Bob responded with a small frown as he looked away. “The first time I met my husband’s parent’s is one of my most cherished memories.” He said, wiping his eyes as a tear formed.
With his husband having passed only a couple of years ago, the thought of his lover always brought a sense of grief within him. Bob did his best to smile as he got his shirt on and fixed it before making his leave just as Phoenix and the rest of the team got in. Jake and Bradley had so many questions for Bob, but they didn’t know how to ask the man. One day they would but that day was not today, they were going to find out who their instructor would be for this new mission.
2 hour later
The team had finally finished reviewing the schematic of the mission and now Maverick was ready to see them in action. The planning and training for this mission is different from any previous assignments. This mission would require at least a month of training if not more to accomplish the goal of the mission with everyone making it out alive. There would be room for further improvement and adjustments to the plan if needed.
“The first person I want to see in the air is BOB.” Maverick spoke, surprising everyone.
“Why?” Bob asked, sounding confused. “I’ve been assigned here as a co-pilot or WSO.”
“I want you to fly first because I want them to see your abilities.” Maverick spoke as he motioned for Bob to get going. “The point of this exercise is to shoot me first before I shoot you.” He spoke as he got into one of the jets.
“You want stakes in the game?” Bob asked with a smirk as he sat down and got everything ready.
“Sure, what did you have in mind?” Maverick spoke into the comms.
“How about a 5 mile run?” Bob asked as he gto ready to take off.
“Only 5? You could do that in your sleep.” Maverick spoke with a laugh. “Make it at least 10.” He spoke sounding cocky.
“If that’s what you want, old man, let's do it.” Bob spoke as he took off. “Just remember that time 7 years ago when I shot you down.” He said with a laugh.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah you were lucky.” Maverick responded with a smile on his face from the memory.
The comment left everyone confused, how did Maverick and BOB know each other? If Bob only joined the Top Gun program 5 years ago what was he doing prior to that? Everyone had questions. The only other people who seemed to know what they were talking about were Hondo and Cyclone but they made no move to elaborate. Jake and Bradley shared a glance, evident that who they had their eye on had many secrets. Secrets were made to be found out with time, they smiled knowing that they had time on their side.
Chapter 2: Out in The Open
Summary:
When somebody from Bob's past is seen, past memories and events are revisited.
Chapter Text
7 years ago
Scorpion and his team were doing a training exercise with the Top Gun pilots, they had permission to use real firearms against the old jets. When certain divisions got new equipment it was up to the person in charge of that division to decide how to discard the old equipment. For the Top Gun division the old jets would be used as a training exercise for the pilots, as well as some ground training for the SEALS. It was kind of a competition to see which side would win. Each team was equipped with full bullet proof clothes and a helmet and the rounds in all the weapons had been modified slightly to have a little bit of paint on the bullets so you could see where they hit. Robert smiled as he looked at his team of 6 including himself, they’ve been through so much over the past 2 years. They were a tight knit group that worked well together in completing their assignments. This training exercise was no different, albeit a little strange.
“So Robert, Chris, what are your plans after this?” Arthur asked as they waited.
“We plan to go home and spend some time with our daughter.” Robert answered. “Maybe even take her on a vacation to Hawaii.” He finished with a smile.
“We have 4 months off, so we’ll probably do other things.” Chris spoke up. “Maybe go to a water park, something fun for the summer before she goes back to school.” He spoke just as they could hear the sound of jets flying by.
“Do you guys ever plan to retire?” Cam asked all of a sudden.
“Yeah, do you?” Teased Pheon she was laughing wholeheartedly.
“We plan to retire in two years.” Chris spoke with a smile. “Our daughter’s getting older and we want to be able to see her grow up.” He responded as he kissed Robert on the cheek.
“She’s only 13. We want to be able to take her to father daughter dances at school.” Robert responded. “Watch her go to prom, see her get married one day.” He spoke smiling as he envisioned his future with his husband and daughter
“Boys, as much fun as it is to hear you talk about what you’re going to do in the future, you still have some training to complete.” Their supervisor spoke into their Comms.
It was another 5 minutes before they were allowed to move and find spots to camouflage with.
Present
Maverick sighed as they continued to fly, but got overly worried at Bob’s silence as he maneuvered through the air. He wasn’t too worried yet, but he also couldn't get a lock on the man. Bob for his part was still reminiscing, his body was on autopilot as he flew.
“BOB, you’re heading towards below deck.” Maverick spoke into the coms. “You need to pull up.” He shouted now feeling worried as he got no response.
“BOB!” Maverick tried to yell, sighing. “SCORPION!” He screamed watching as Bob finally reacted as he headed straight up.
“Sorry Mav, looks like you’ll be doing that 10 mile run.” BOB said with a laugh as he got a lock on Maverick. “That’s dead.” He spoke before heading back to base.
“What the hell was that BOB, you stopped responding, you dived for no reason.” Maverick spoke 5 minutes later once they landed on the ground. “I had to call you Scorpion.” He whispered as he held Bob by the shoulders, comms removed so it was just the two of them.
“I was remembering that time 7 years ago.” Bob spoke truthfully. “My husband and I were talking about retiring so we could watch our daughter grow up.” He spoke as he looked down to the ground.
“What happened?” Maverick spoke as realization dawned on him.
“She committed suicide 5 years ago, I had only been home for just about two months.” Bob whispered, before changing the topic. “So you gonna run those 10 miles?” He asked with a laugh as he saw the others approaching.
“Really, you’re still on that?” Maverick asked as he patted Bob on the back.
“Why don’t you let the others fly? I'm sure they'd love to make a bet with you.” Bob teased. “After that you could do your ten mile run.” He laughed ignoring the questioning gaze he received from the team, Cyclone and Hondo just gave him a small nod as he walked back into the hangar.
“Who’s up next? You guys could go up two at a time if you want.” Maverick spoke as he looked at the group.
Bob actually felt better having told Maverick what had happened, and he trusted the man not to share it with the others. He never really talked about the reason he came out of the reserves so quickly. The fact that he gave Maverick an idea of why was enough for him though, at least someone else knew besides himself. The weight of feeling like he wasn’t enough always carried with him, he wasn’t enough to make his daughter stay. If he was he the past 5 years would’ve never happened.
Later that evening at the Hard Deck
Penny watched as the boys all came in laughing, except for Maverick who seemed to be out of breath. She smiled as they each greeted her, over the past three years they were regulars. The only one she didn’t get to see as often was BOB, always seemingly having somewhere to be. What surprised her most was Cyclone and Hondo joining the team. Was this some sort of team bonding exercise, or did they all seem to make nice.
“BOB!” Penny spoke, catching the man by surprise.
“Penny, what can I do for you?” Bob spoke as he approached the bar with a smile.
“I gotcha your favourite mix of nuts.” Penny said, handing him a cup. “And your drink.” She spoke, handing him a glass.
“Thanks Penny, you always seem to know what I’m in the mood for.” Bob spoke as he took a look in his cup to find some seasoned peanuts, some walnuts, cashews, almonds, and Macadamia nuts. “How much do I owe you?” He asked as he took out his wallet.
“Don’t worry it’s on the house.” Penny spoke as she watched Bob leave after having said thanks.
Jake and Bradley had noticed the change in Bob since the moment he landed, after having a few words with Maverick the man seemed to smile just a little bit brighter and there was a small sparkle in the man’s eyes. They looked over and frowned, noticing a strange man approaching Cyclone, Maverick and Hondo. The man wasn’t in uniform so maybe he wasn’t on duty or maybe he was former military.
“Arthur thank you for meeting with us, we were wondering if you could tell us what happened between you and Robert Floyd.” Cyclone spoke as he shook the man’s hand.
“Oh, I mean shouldn’t you be asking Robert that question?” Arthur spoke feeling uncomfortable.
“Oh please, we’ve read the reports but there wasn’t much on them.” Hondo spoke. “We’d like to just understand what caused him to react the way he did, we need to know if he’s safe with this team.” He finished looking at Maverick and Cyclone who both nodded.
Arthur nodded with a sigh as he told them the story of where it all went wrong. How he made a mistake and it almost cost the entire team at the time, they had lost 3 of their team members with Robert almost not making it. By the time Arthur was finished with the story, all three of them were conflicted.
“Yes it was a mistake, but the way the report is written makes it seem like it was personal.” Maverick spoke, as he heard someone approaching.
“For Robert it was personal.” Arthur said, turning around to see who was approaching only to be met with a fist to the face.
“Thank you for your honesty, another question we had, which we are a bit concerned about are his sleep habits.” Cyclone spoke having read multiple notes about the man’s sleep habits.
“You’ve read the notes then? He gets by on 2-4 hours of sleep.” Arthur spoke. “Always tried to keep work life and personal life separate.” He added.
“Why so little sleep?” Maverick asked. “Most people try to get as much as they can, I mean isn’t it dangerous in your line of work?” He finished.
“He’s had insomnia for most of his life, from what I remember him telling me.” Arthur explained. “Once we get a break he’d go home and rest, sometimes he’d sleep for 3 days straight.” He replied remembering what Chris had told him.
“Arthur?” Bob asked as he handed his superiors the beers he had brought to them. “What are you doing here?” He asked with a small smile on his face.
“Robert, they asked to talk to me about the incident.” Arthur replied as he stood up to give his former friend a hug.
“Oh, that was a long time ago and I’m sorry about what happened.” Bob spoke, giving the man a hug. “How’s your wife and kids?” He asked, trying to make small talk.
“They’ve never been better, you look exhausted?” Arthur spoke seeing the exhaustion clearly written in the young man’s eyes. “Have you been home at all? I remember you talking about retiring 7 years ago.” He spoke freezing as he saw Bob's face change no longer was there a smile, but a cold hard mask that made everyone shift uncomfortably.
“I guess retired life just wasn’t for me.” Bob spoke, ready to walk away. “You know what they say home is where the heart is.” He added as he stepped back.
“What about your daughter Ashley, you wanted to watch her grow up.” Arthur spoke with a small smile on his face as he thought about his goddaughter. “You said you wanted to watch her go to prom, get married.” He finished as he looked around and noticed there were more people gathered around.
“I didn’t know Bob here had a daughter.” Phoenix spoke, jumping into the conversation. “Let alone that he was married.” She finished trying to see if she could get more information.
Maverick, seeing the shift in Bob, was about to say something when the man himself signaled he was ok.
“I was married and I had a daughter.” Bob emphasized his eyes never leaving Arthur. “I did the best that I could, but I guess it just wasn’t enough. I guess I wasn’t the one she needed or wanted home.” He finished as a tear fell from his eye.
“N… n… no she wouldn’t… she didn’t.” Arthur spoke as sudden realization dawned on him. “She was my goddaughter… she… she…” he couldn’t help but hug Robert as he grieved the loss.
“I know I’m sorry I would've sent the funeral invites, but I just couldn’t do it.” Robert whispered. “I had her cremated, and had her spread out around the world.” He spoke into his friend's neck.
“How did she do it? How long ago?” Arthur asked as he wiped his face.
“Suicide, one bullet through the temple.” Robert spoke as he heard everyone gasp. “It was 2 months after Chris.” He whispered softly as more tears fell from his eyes only seen by his superiors.
“Wait, that means… no you… you should’ve called me.” Arthur spoke, eyes looking horrified. “I should’ve been there for you.” He mumbled.
“I was still angry at you, the mistake you made cost me everything.” Robert responded. “I’m just going to go, and now that everything is out in the open I hope you guys understand.” He spoke as he walked away leaving a shocked crowd.
“Who’s Chris?” Jake asked, wondering who this mysterious man is.
“Chris was his husband, who died in the line of duty.” Arthur asked as he watched Robert walk away and out of sight. “Look if you want to know more, you should just ask Bob, when he’s in a better mood.” He finished as he shook Hondo, Cyclone and Maverick's hand.
Jake and Bradley looked to one another knowing that what they wished could happen was now possible, however to get there would be very difficult. Jake couldn’t imagine losing a husband, or daughter, but Bob had lost both so close to one another. Hearing the way Bob said those words describing how he wasn’t enough made something within his chest cry. They’d check in on Bob later after things died down at the Hard Deck, they also just wanted to give the man time to relax and cool down. A conversation like that couldn’t have been easy, and to face those resurfacing memories. Bradley observed Jake as his boyfriend was lost in thought, probably thinking about what had been said and what new information was found about Bob. He looked toward the others and there was a silent agreement not to bring it up. With that the team spent the rest of their night relaxing before going back to their accommodations.