𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐖'𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄. | top gun

twelve - you told me not to think!

during certain situations throughout his life, maverick questioned how he survived most of the stuff that he went through. this, was definitely one of those occasions.

he found himself in the cold snow, tangled up in his parachute that he managed to pull at the last second. his mind immediately going back to leah's scream for her mom, and where she might have ended up if she was okay. maverick struggles to untangle himself from the parachute fabric for a moment, before eventually bringing himself to his feet. crashing nearly knocked everything out of him, but he pushed it back as he searched for leah.

even though leah felt as though she had been hit by a train, she found herself staring up at the sky as she finally came to. it took a second for her brain to process certain feelings, which was the reason it took her a moment to notice the small pool of blood that trickled from her side. like maverick, she had been wrapped up in her parachute. doing her best to untangle herself as she wanted to at least dress her wound. at that point, she was relying on small bursts of adrenaline to help her, not caring about the sharp pain that shot through her body with every movement.

whenever she finally managed to untangle herself, leah noticed a black silhouette coming towards her. at that point, she didn't care who it was, and was ready to accept whatever was coming to her. in that moment, she felt bad for telling hangman that their goodbye was temporary. because as of now, she truly didn't know if she would make it back.

"leah!!"

maverick's voice booming through the environment was the absolute last thing she had expected.

the sudden call had caused her to jump, confusion laced throughout her whenever maverick finally came into clear view.

"maverick?" she calls, the confusion clear as day as he finally kneels down by her.

"you alright?" he asks, although he immediately notices the blood after his words escape him.

"peachy, other than the fact that my side is a fountain." leah responds, obvious sarcasm laced in her tone. maverick then frees leah from her parachute, tearing a certain amount of fabric off. leah knew exactly what he was doing in an attempt to help her, but had to try to hold back a snort whenever he suddenly stopped.

"can i?" he asks, indicating he wanted to ask before touching her. he was no paramedic, and surely wasn't accustomed to being the one that helped others when they were hurt. he tried to fight for goose, but that ended in him losing his best friend.

"mav please just make the bleeding stop!" leah groans, not caring in the slightest what was done as long as her pain was taken away. her thoughts weren't leaving her family, a hidden part of her wishing she was home.

quickly getting the hint, maverick begins to wrap the parachute fabric around her. concern never leaving his gaze as he did it. the father figure mode in him coming out as anytime leah made a pained noise or anything, he would stop. it got on leah's nerves slightly with the pain she was in. but, she didn't say a word, knowing that her father would have done the same.

as maverick was just about to help leah to her feet, and the two were gonna figure out how to escape their situation, both of them suddenly hear a helicopter engine whirring their way. leah feels her body go cold for a moment when an enemy helicopter suddenly looks through the trees into their view. while leah and maverick were hidden under a wall of snow, both of them knew that eventually, they would be spotted.

unfortunately, they didn't last as long as they thought they would, as maverick's helmet suddenly peaked into view. the helicopter began to fire rapidly, causing maverick to duck back down under the wall. he ended up covering leah, who clawed his forearms tight as the bullets breezed past them. the firing stopped for a moment, as the two heard the engine buzzing closer. at that point, both of them were prepared to go out. they assumed that everyone thought they were dead meat anyways, so them dying now would confirm the theory.

just before anything else can happen, an explosion is suddenly heard. the helicopter had been blown to shreds by rooster, leah breathing a huge sigh of relief whenever she saw his plane. but, unfortunately, he joins the unlucky trail as one of the missiles locks on to him, sending his plane into a fireball. thankfully he manages to parachute in time, leah and maverick watching him go into the trees.

something in the both of them switched at that point, leah was concerned over her boyfriends safety, maverick, at that point, wasn't even sure how he felt. but, they suddenly found themselves making a dash into the woods, leah fighting the pain back as they tracked rooster down.

thankfully, rooster had gotten out of the crash unscathed, maverick and leah finding him cutting away from his parachute.

"you alright?" maverick calls, him and leah finally reaching rooster.

"yeah.." he simply responds, though both shock and confusion suddenly shoot through him whenever maverick suddenly pushes him into the snow. leah, at the sight, slapping her palm against her forehead.

"what the hell?!" rooster nearly yells, leah giving a barely inaudible "here we go" as she waited for whatever maverick had to say.

"are you crazy?" maverick suddenly asks, rooster still laced with confusion as he stands to his feet.

"what- i saved your life and leah's!" he suddenly booms, slightly offended that maverick was even finding reason to argue after what happened.

"that's not how this works! i mean, what were you thinking -"

"you told me not to think!" the sudden cut in from rooster causes maverick to shut himself up, taking a second before he finally processes what they had been bickering over.

"fair enough." he huffs, rooster rolling his eyes as leah cuts in with a cough.

"i hate to break the sweet moment here; i have a wound the size of hangman's brain, and all three of us are stranded out here, next to an enemy air base, with no way out. either of you have any bright ideas?" the comment over hangman at that moment had been leah's only way of not snapping at them for their senseless bickering. she wanted to go home, she wanted the three of them to make it out of this, she wanted another date with the boyfriend of hers that had concerned laced throughout him knowing leah was hurt. leah assured him she was fine, no matter how true or false the statement actually was. she wanted to see the rest of her friends, she wanted to quit. but, with the circumstances her, rooster, and maverick found themselves in, she knew quitting wasn't an option.

as they stopped for a second to ponder what to do, leah suddenly notices maverick get a signature look on his face, telling her he was definitely up to something. rooster catches it also, eyes now set on maverick.

"i have the perfect idea.." he simply comments, beginning to walk off.

little did leah and rooster know what they were in for.