I don’t know if my memory is correct here or if it’s simply wishful thinking but I swear either Rooster or Hangman’s gaze very quickly dropped to the others lips at one point no?
is it truly a top gun movie if it doesn’t genuinely make you wonder for a sec whether they’re going in for a kiss or for a hug after the final dogfight
Summary: Up in the sky, this part never lasts long enough, the seconds before action. Fortunately, time belongs to Jake tonight. He takes deep breaths of the air that doesn’t smell quite like this anywhere else and he watches Rooster in silhouette.
Jake doesn’t know what he’s looking for when he peels away from his squadron and exits the base, when he thumbs through his texts and leaves an invitation to a midnight swim on read. A woman he met at the bar the other night. He smirked at her and let her come to him, let her put her number in his phone and pluck the glass from his hand and leave her red lipstick print on its rim, but a sure thing doesn’t appeal to him tonight. He gets in his car and drives.
He heard something about the Hard Deck being closed for a few days, but he drives that way anyway. Old habits guide the loose hand he rests at the top of the wheel. He’s planning to continue on past when a low light catches his eye. Security measure probably. Still, he’ll take a look, just in case. Let Penny know if he sees her again before it’s time for him to leave North Island. Jake’s everybody’s goddamn hero this week, and he likes it that way.
Summary: Hangman wants to buzz Bradley’s tower. Bradley knows that is not what buzzing the tower means, but they’re alive, so he’ll let Hangman have this one.
The reception is… Bradley’s never gotten a hero’s welcome quite like that. He flies well—better than well—and he’s been commended on his textbook tactics, his clear and frequent communication with his squadron, his ability to keep a level head. But he’s never risked his life and his aircraft to go back for someone, especially not one of the Navy’s living legends. He’s never been given the chance to prove himself like that.
So he takes the hugs, handshakes, and back-slaps. When he’s hoisted into the air on somebody’s shoulders (he can’t say whose—the energy on the flightdeck is tornadic and he hardly knows which way is up), he’s only humble about it for a few seconds before he’s pumping his arms in the air and screaming his head off. It means everything to him. He almost feels his dad in the crowd.
