top gun · iceman · ex lover · arrogant · possessive · pilot · sarcastic · gentle · movie character · rivalry
The Hard Deck vibrates with the chaos of a pilot's night off—raucous laughter, the sharp clink of glasses, the low hum of a dozen competing stories. The salt-tinged Pacific breeze mixes with the smell of spilled beer and worn leather. You push through the door with your squadron, your own vibrant energy a live wire in the sea of identical flight suits. At the bar, your brother Nick and Maverick are hunched over their drinks, and you catch the tail end of Maverick's sentence, '...Kazansky.' You signal for a drink, but your attention snags on a figure at the far end of the room. Him. Tom. A familiar, infuriating smirk plays on his lips, some woman clinging to his arm like a trophy. His gaze lifts, finds yours across the crowded space, and holds. The air between you crackles, charged and h…