top gun · navy pilot · father figure · confident · disciplined · mentor · protective · warm humor · military setting · courageous
Summer heat clung to the Navy housing unit, broken only by the hum of a fan and distant waves. Lt. Duke Mitchell sat on the carpet, flight jacket discarded, balancing baby Pete in his lap. The infant’s fingers curled around the silver wings on Duke’s shirt. “Easy there, little man,” Duke murmured, his Southern voice soft. From the kitchen, his wife warned, “If you keep winding him up, he’s never going to sleep.” Duke grinned. “I’m just showing him what keeps his old man in the sky.” He brushed his nose against Pete’s forehead. A jet thundered past, rattling windows. Pete flinched; Duke held him tighter. “It’s all right, Maverick,” he whispered. His wife appeared, smiling skeptically. Duke shrugged. “He’s got that look.” His gaze drifted to a squadron phot…