Creds To @epiimetheux !!!

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Pure Curiosity

Wings

creds to @epiimetheux !!!

i kept coming back to this beautiful artwork and i got inspired by it so here you go...

(disclaimer: i haven't completed a fic in forever, let alone published one, so i'm very anxious about this, i apologise if it's a mess •~•♡ love you guys)

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tom watches from the side as his husband steps forward to his coffin. pete's head is bowed, but he can see the trembling of his lips and the coiled muscles in his jaw.

oh my love.

what i'd give to embrace you one more time.

he knew he couldn't reach his husband anymore. his time had passed.

that didn't keep tom from standing next to pete's side. keeping watch. protecting his wingman, as they'd promised to each other years ago on that fateful day.

when repressed feelings and pretentious rivalry finally made way for the unconditional love thay had never wavered once.

partnership that had lasted 33 years.

tom watched as pete took the wings off his uniform, laying them onto the smooth oak.

the gun salutes were no more than background noise, tom's sole focus lying on the man in front of him.

the moment he saw pete punching the wings into the coffin he felt an incredible warmth spread through his chest.

such a feeling had been limited to very few moments in his life.

in the cockpit of his plane, soaring above the clouds with ron at his back and pete right by his side.

the return from the layton mission.

aching and sweaty and all kinds of shaken up but alive, thriving on adrenaline and pent up energy.

they had only seen each other then.

not iceman and maverick, but tom and pete, right there on the deck, what ron had later jokingly called their "confession".

their wedding. finally being allowed to slip a ring onto pete's finger while surrounded by all their loved ones. to call him his husband for everyone to see and hear without having to fear anymore. forever and always - the ending of both of their vows.

when their son had come back to them.

pete, bradley and himself crying with relief in their kitchen as they embraced for the first time in years. pete almost losing it as bradley started called him 'dad' again, and tom almost following suit when 'pops' returned back to daily use.

in that hospital bed, when he'd kissed his husband for the last time. he had wiped the tears on pete's cheeks with trembling hands, mapping that gorgeous face he knew better than the back of his own hand.

hushed i love you's in the quiet of the room, both signed and said out loud as they held each other.

the last words he felt pressed against his forehead being 'forever and always', before he slipped away into neverland.

tom looked over his shoulder just as pete stepped back from the coffin.

the wings on his back were strikingly white. glossy and strong feathers fluttered softly in the wind, and tom couldn't help the smile that spread on his face.

i will protect you, my heart.

my wingman.

my everything.

carefully he guided his wings around pete's sides. shielding him for just a moment. providing the endless support he couldn't give in person anymore.

pete looked up towards the sky, just like the rest of the crowd, watching as the missing man formation flew by.

everyone watched the sky, but tom couldn't tear his eyes away from his husband. how the dusking sun reflected in those tender green eyes. the curve of his nose, and the sweet lips he'd kissed so very often, now being worried at between pearly teeth.

i love you, forever and always.

as if he heard him, pete echoed his words.

"forever and always, sweetheart."

okay quick shoutout to @polar-equinoxx here, because YOU ROCK! you're literally one of my favourite top gun & general artists ever!

you're so talented, you write & draw icemav + the other daggers so beautifully and i get so very excited every time when i see that you posted☆

(the way you draw ice's hair is just... mwah<3)

definitely check them out if you haven't!

Slider sat in the chair, the steady beeping of the heart monitor his only company. He looked over his best friend, still a commanding presence despite his current frailty. He rolled his neck on a sigh as he glanced at the clock.

He hoped to have two more hours before the whirlwind arrived. A glance at his phone revealed messages from Wood and Sarah. Wood is on his way to get the hurricane, Sarah was on her way back to the hospital.

Ron knew he needed to be strong today, they had all been blindsided by the speed of events. Tom was diagnosed three weeks ago and Mav was due back next week. Surgery was scheduled for the week after that, but when Tom collapsed in his office the day before, the timetable was thrown out the window.

Surgery had gone well, the pathology was not back, but the knew Tom would have some amount of follow up treatments. Sarah walked into the room, two large cups of coffee in his hand. As she passed him a cup, she trailed her hand over his shoulder, squeezing the right muscle. "Did you sleep at all?"

Ron lied through his exhausted smile, "Some. I'll be ok. He should be here soon." Sarah knew Ron was lying but they didn't say more as Tom groggily opened his eyes. "Tom, you can't talk, don't try." Sarah's voice was kind, but firm. Tom pushed himself to open his eyes wider. He looked around the room, disappointment apparent on his face as a scanned the room. Ron stepped forward, "Don't do that Tommy. He's on his way. You blindsided us all yesterday. Wood's on his way to get him."

Tom nodded and opened his lips. Ron shook his head fiercely, "NO TALKING!" Sarah slid the whiteboard into Tom's left hand and a pen in his right. "Surgery?" He wrote, handwriting shaky.

A voice from behind answered, "Admiral, nice to see you awake. Surgery went well. We got the margins, but we are going to make a treatment plan. It's too soon to know about your voice yet. Don't try to use it if you ever want it back." Tom nodded in understanding, appreciating the directness of his surgeon. As soon as the doctor cleared the door, the sounds of running boots echoed through hall.

Sarah and Ron stepped away from the bed, clearing the space for the runner. The boots skidded to a halt outside the door before making their way into the room. Pete looked exhausted, he's been on the air when the call came in and on transports for 20 hours since then. Tom's eyes slipped closed as he waited for Pete to say something. Pete collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face. The surgery must have gone wrong, Tom wasn't awake. Pete wasn't ready to talk to the doctors yet and face the future, right now he needed to lament what was lost.

Wood and Wolf stood outside the door, neither wanting to be far from their family nor wanting to interrupt. From his spot on the floor, Pete heard a soft tapping, his name in Morse code. He looked up to see Tom's green eyes looking at him in confusion. On the whiteboard, "Pete, are you hurt?"

Pete took a deep breath, exhaling on a soft chuckle. "Only my heart, dear. You scared the hell out of me." Ron and Sarah waited, glancing out the door at Wood and Wolf nodding for them to come in.

In the bed, Tom scribbled on the whiteboard and wiggled slightly closer to the side with the monitors and opened his arms wide, whiteboard out, "C'mere"

Pete sat frozen, afraid to get to close, to hurt Tom. Tom pointed at the whiteboard with his head and shook it slightly for emphasis. Pete looked over at Ron and Sarah, earning an eye roll from Tom. Ron nodded and Pete launched himself off his knees and rushed to the bed. He stopped, trying unsuccessfully to remove his boots.

Ron huffed, "Just get in the damn bed, Pete. I'll get them." Pete crawled into Tom's open arms and the two sighed in unison. Everyone else in the room shook their heads, never have any two people been more in love, they were sure of it.

Ron untied Pete's boots, struggling to get them off. Pete's feet and ankles were swollen, a sure sign of the long hours of travel. Ron leaned over the pair, "You get two hours and then I'm taking Pete to shower and eat. I'm guessing he hasn't done either of those since yesterday." Pete ignored Ron, even as Tom nodded in agreement.

Tom held Pete tightly, taking the comfort he needed from his husband. Tom wrote on the board again, "How long do I have you?"

Pete grinned, "Forever and a day." Tom smiled as he fixed the question. "How long are you in for?"

Pete shrugged, "I'm done." Murmurs of confusion on the room were interrupted by Wolf, "I thought you had a month left."

Pete shook his head, "I'm quitting." Ron's eyebrows shot up, as did Tom's, "Quitting what?"

Pete snuggled into Tom's shoulder as he casually replied, "The Navy." The room stilled, nobody moved a muscle. The only sound was Tom's monitor, the rhythm faster now. Tom kept his left arm around Pete as he wrote on the whiteboard with his right. "NO!"

Pete didn't look at the board, he knew what it said. "I'm not asking, Tom. I was halfway across the world, it took me more than a damn day to get here. What if I had been too late?"

"NO!" Pete furrowed his brow, that was a commanding voice. He lifted an eyebrow at Hollywood, standing at the foot of the bed. "I don't remember asking permission, Rick."

"Technically, Mav," he trailed off, but Pete knew where he was going. "Fuck," he muttered. Wood was up the chain of command for Mav and would have to sign off on discharge papers. Mav's contract wasn't up yet so it wasn't as straightforward as not renewing. Tom's silent laugh shook in his chest.

Wolf jumped in, "You can't quit, Mav. We will sort this all out, but you can't quit. You COULD stop pissing off admirals though."

In the corner, Sarah spit coffee at those words. She dabbed at her mouth and nose, "Sorry, but that's like telling Tom to stop being an admiral. File it under things that will never happen."

The group nodded and Pete looked over his shoulder at his sister-in-law. She was as steadfast a person as any in his life. She knew the pair of them too well. He jutted her chin at her, "I promise I'll do my part if Tom will take extended leave."

Nobody looked over, they heard the tapping of the whiteboard and knew the answer. Pete shrugged. He looked at Wood, "Do they still have an opening for a test pilot out in the desert?"

Ron huffed, "No work talk today. Today is a family day!" Just as he finished his declaration his phone rang. He screwed up his face as he looked at the number and answered, "Admiral Kerner."

The group laughed as Ron stepped out of the room. "Isn't it ironic," Wolf sang as the chuckles continued. Tom's eyelids drooped and Pete's eyes slid closed. Sarah turned and shooed the two admirals out of the room, closing the door softly behind them. She walked over to the bed, turning the lights in the room out. She fluffed Tom's pillow as Ron reentered the room.

"Help me get Mav's flight suit off his arms. If he has a nightmare, I'm afraid he'll hit Tom as he flails." Sarah knew she couldn't talk Pete into leaving yet, but he hated sleeping in long sleeves and they sometimes they triggered his nightmares. Ron and Sarah worked gently to pull Pete's arms from the flight suit without disturbing the pair.

Tom's eyes fluttered open and he locked eyes with Sarah. "Thank you," he mouthed to her. She nodded as she slipped a pillow under Pete's head and pulled a blanket up over them.

She closed the blinds sat on the couch making space for Ron. "You too, Ron. I'll take the watch." Ron snuggled into his wife, head on her lap as she pulled a blanket around his shoulders. She sipped on her coffee as Ron slept, watching over the most important men in her life. She would make sure they all got through this.

*slider balancing the bottle of whiskey he dared mav to down in one go*: let him continue goosey

mav, loudly clearing his throat and shaking out a VERY long sheet of paper: my dearest goose

goose, glancing up: yes?

mav, assuming a strong stance like he’s about to serenade him: my dearest nicky, words cannot express my adoration for you, nor my dedication to your side. nay, but I shall attempt anyways. your hair is silky like a really nice pillow, your eyes as deep as a river. your nose was drawn by the gods, and your mouth was painted with a rose. 

goose, turning to mav’s literal boyfriend, eyes wide: you aren’t going to stop him???

ice, mav’s aforementioned literal boyfriend, turning the page in his book: if I stop him now, he’ll just start over

mav, getting louder: YOUR HANDS-

anyone wanna hyperanalyse this with me? because i could go on for ages on how absolutely heartbreaking this scene is every single time

in conclusion: yep, i am still so very much not over this and basically every other scene in tgm

i don't know why this made me laugh so much but hey here ya go

:-D