Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and I have been best friends ever since going into the Navy together, which was almost 5 years ago now. He's been my go-to person, I can tell him anything and I know he'll be there with a hug or finding a way to make me laugh. His best friend Nick "Goose" Bradshaw has become like a brother to me. When I'm feeling down, I can always count on Mav and Goose to come to my rescue. Recently, I've seen Mav in a different way, I've fallen for him. I was leaning on the wall outside while they were in the sky with Merlin and Cougar. It's always fun to watch Mav do the things he isn't supposed to do, it makes me smile because I'm told I do the same things. So, we have that in common. We both have motorcycles, we've raced each other now and then, it's the little things he does that makes me fall in love with him more than I already am. I think Goose knows how I feel about Maverick, he just doesn't tell me. Something was happening with Cougar, I overheard them telling him to land, but it's not registering with him. His RIO Merlin telling him to land. I see Maverick's jet coming in, I then see him pull back up to try and help Cougar. I smiled. Cougar finally landed. My wingman came and got me saying that Stinger needed to see us. I nodded. I've known my wingman for about 3 years now, we've become good friends. His name is, Jordan Lake, his callsign is "Mustang."

My callsign is "Midnight." We headed to Stinger's office. I see Mav and Goose standing there, too. "I wonder what this is about." I said. Mav shrugged, "I don't know. I'm wondering the same thing." Cougar came out. "Cougar. What happened?" Goose asked. He just nodded and said, "Thanks, Maverick." Maverick nodded. "Maverick, Goose, get in here. Midnight and Mustang, you too." Stinger called us. The other two went in, Mav held the door for me, "Ladies, first." He smirked. "Thank you, kind sir." I chuckled, he nodded. "Okay, I'm just gonna get down to it. Cougar lost it, turned in his wings. Now," He pointed to all four of us. "I can't believe I'm saying it, but the four of you are going to Top Gun." We all smiled slightly. "But don't screw it up. Maverick and Goose, tell me about the MiG another time. Good luck." We nodded and said thank you. Maverick put his arm around my shoulder, I smiled, "Well, this is gonna be fun, I know it." He said. "Oh, yeah, definitely." I told him. "Are you okay?" He asked me quietly. "Yeah, Mav. Let's go." I gave him a small smile. He looked over at Goose and he shrugged. "Come on! Top Gun, man!" He exclaimed. "Yeah, let's go!" Mav said.

We headed for Top Gun the next day. We all arrived at Fightertown. In the classroom, I was sitting behind Maverick. He looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. Jester was talking about dogfighting, and then introduced Viper. He stood in front of us and started talking, "You're the top one percent of all naval aviators. The elite. The best of the best." "The best of the best." I leaned forward and whispered to Mav, he turned to me, smirked and winked at me. "You'll fly at least two combat missions a day, attend classes and evaluations." Viper continued. Mav was looking around. "What're you doing?" Goose leaned over to him. "Just wondering who's the best." He said. "In case some of you are wondering who's the best." I stifled a laugh, Mav looked at me and shook his head. "They're on this plaque. The best driver and his RIO from each class has his name on it." Viper said, coming to the front again. He asked, looking at Pete. "You think your name will be on this plaque?" Viper asked. "Yes, sir." Mav said. "That's pretty arrogant, considering the company you're in." He said. "Yes, sir." Maverick said again. "I like that in a pilot." Viper smiled. "Remember, when it's all over out there, we're all on the same team. This school is about combat. There are no points for second place. Dismissed." Viper said.

"Nice going." I said to Mav as we got up. "The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies' room." The blonde haired pilot said. Goose let out a sarcastic laugh. It made me laugh. "Oh, you kill me. You really do. There's two O's in Goose, boys." Goose told them. Maverick walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulder, "Bar time?" He asked me. I giggled, "Yeah, sure. Let's go!" I wrapped my arm around his waist, he smiled. I gave him a small smile back. Goose noticed. Before we left to go to the bar, Maverick called me, "Hey! Wait, you wanna ride with me or are you gonna take your bike, too?" He asked. "I'll ride with you, but you'll have to let me take mine back to my place." I told him. "I'll wait on you. Goose, we'll meet you there!" He told him. "Okay!" Goose said. I got on my motorcycle and Maverick followed. I parked it at my place and went to sit behind Mav on his. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he drove us to the bar. We both had on our white uniforms, but man, did Maverick look handsome in his. "Earth to Midnight." He waved his hand in front of my face. "Huh?" I asked. "You with me? You seem to be in your own world." He chuckled. "I'm with you. Let's go in." I said. When we walked inside, we saw Goose at the bar, we went over to him and ordered our drinks.

"Hey, Mav. You wanna know who the best is? That's him, Iceman." He nodded his head toward the blonde haired pilot. Another pilot soon came over and Goose called him Slider. Iceman's RIO. "So, you're flying with Iceman?" Goose asked. "Hey, mother Goose, how's it going?" Iceman came over. "Tom, this is Pete Mitchell. Tom Kazansky. And Sarah." Goose told him. "Congratulations on Top Gun." Iceman told us. I nodded. Then Ice was talking about Cougar, about flight school together, "He was a good man." Ice said. "Still is a good man." Mav told him. "Yeah, that's what I meant." Ice said. I rolled my eyes and turned to Goose, and mouthed, "Really? He's the best?" Goose chuckled and shrugged. "So you figure it out yet?" Ice looked at Mav. "What's that?" He asked. "Who's the best pilot." "No, I think I can figure that one out on my own." Maverick said. "Right. You're lucky. First the MiG then Cougar's spot." Ice said. "They didn't slide into Cougar's spot. It was theirs." I said. Ice looked at me. "Yeah, sure. See you later." "You can count on it." Mav said. He looked over at us, "We're gonna have a good time." He told us. I nodded and drank some of my drink.

Maverick went off somewhere and Goose turned and looked at me. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, I sighed. "What is it, Goose?" I asked him. "When are you gonna tell him?" He asked me. "Tell him what?" I asked. "Sarah, come on, you're like my little sister, I've known you for a long time. You love him. You need to tell him." He told me. I whispered, "Goose, please." "No, come on. You're in love with him. How long are you gonna keep that a secret from him?" He asked. "I don't know. What if he doesn't feel the same? Then I'll feel stupid." I said, my eyes tearing up. I saw Mav coming back. "I'll be back. Excuse me." I said. I walked past Mav and our shoulders hit. "Sorry." I whispered. "It's okay." He said softly. He went over to Goose, "Is she okay?" He asked. "I don't know." Goose answered. "What's that supposed to mean? What's wrong?" Mav asked. "Mav, she's okay. I'm sure she'll tell you later." Goose told him. "I'll be right back." He said. Goose nodded. Maverick walked to where the bathrooms were, I was coming out, I saw Maverick, I tried to not let him see me, but it was too late. "Hey, wait." Mav said as he gently grabbed my arm. He looked at me. "Please, tell me what's wrong." Mav said. "Nothing's wrong, Pete. I promise." I said. "Yes, there is. I can see it on your face, I've known you long enough to know when something's not right." He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear. "Not here, Maverick, okay? Please?" I said. He nodded.

I almost ran out of the bar, he came after me. "You know you can't go anywhere I drove you here on my motorcycle, so you're gonna have to tell me what's bothering you or I'm not gonna stop asking you." He told me. I closed my eyes, I sighed. 'Crap.' I thought. He's right. He grabbed my arm, "Please, tell me? I hate it when you're down like this." He said. "Pete, please-" I started. "No. Tell me." He said. I exhaled deeply. "Do you really wanna know?" I asked him quietly. "Of course I do." He said. I closed my eyes briefly and opened them back up. "I love you, okay!? I'm in love with you!" I sighed, "I have been for a while." I said as he let my arm go, I turned to him. "You love me?" He asked. "Yes, Mav." I said, looking down. "And you weren't gonna tell me? You were just gonna hold that in forever?" He asked me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. "Please, look at me." He said softly, I looked up at him. He smiled softly at me. "Were you really not ever gonna tell me?" He said. "Yes, because I don't know how you feel." I whispered. "Well, maybe this will tell you." He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulled me closer and kissed me. He pulled away and cupped my face in his hands. "I love you, too, you know? I've been in love with you forever." He told me. I looked up at him and held his wrists. "You love me?" I asked him. "Yes, more than anything. I've always wanted you to be my girl." He said. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulled him closer to me and kissed him. I pulled away and smiled. He smiled, "So, does this mean you're mine?" He chuckled. "I'm yours, Mav." I hugged him, he hugged me back tighter. He intertwined his fingers with mine. Goose walked out. "About freaking time." He laughed as he wrapped his arms around our shoulders. "Let's go, you two." I said. We left.