Stars - Iceman (Top Gun)

Eighteen

Life without Pete was... barren. Sarah missed his charismatic smile and cocky personality— though Tom was the same in that league. She sat down in the briefing room in the spot where Pete sat many times before, pondering what she should do. She almost teared up because Nick was gone, and he couldn't come back. She laid a hand on the spot where he sat, trying to grasp some kind of memory.

Tom noticed what she was doing, so he sat down on her other side, in her usual spot. His face was filled with concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah... just thinking of the memories made with both of them," she replied, closing her eyes.

The first day, when Pete immediately introduced himself to her when she walked in without judgement, and Nick followed suit. Her first friends. In the bar, where they sung 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'. Nick's humor about any situation. Their dogfight against Jester, the way he would put his arm around her to comfort her, Pete's jealousy of her and Tom, and Nick trying to be a good wingman... Both of their concern for her after she was shot out of the sky...

She opened her eyes and met Tom's blue eyes. He just stared off into space, wondering what to do in this situation. Sarah put an arm around his waist and gave him a side hug.

"It'll be okay, let's listen to this briefing," She told Tom, and he nodded.

The instructor went on to talk about what was going to happen during the hop. Sarah concentrated on what was being told to her, but her mind was also wandering to Pete.

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Pete's POV:

He walked outside of the TOPGUN building and took one last look at the whole base. He didn't want to leave, but it's what he had to do to keep the last bit of sanity he had. The PTSD was just too much for him.

He got on his motorcycle and drove to the airport. He arrived there and went straight to the restaurant. With no plan in mind, he ordered an ice water and sat, thinking about Sarah and what she was possibly doing right now.

Her smile, her laugh, her... everything. How I confidently walked over to her during the first day of TOPGUN, our little rivalry because of Tom, her hugs...

He shook his head to remove the thoughts. It was okay, he could make it to graduation as a guest. The waitress set his ice water down and he thanked her, then took a sip. He put his head in his hand and closed his eyes.

"Excuse me?" A voice asked.

He opened his eyes and looked up to see Charlie.

"May I?" She said, her arms crossed.

"Please..." he responded in a raspy voice.

A waiter came up to them and she looked up.

"Uhh, I'll have what he's having. Hemlock, is it?" She asked him.

"Ice water," he said, and the waiter walked away.

It was silent for a second until Charlie spoke up. "You weren't gonna say goodbye?"

"I heard you got that job in Washington. Congratulations," Pete looked at her.

"Thanks, but I wasn't gonna leave without saying goodbye."

A pause. "It's good to see you."

"Thanks."

Pete took a drink of his water.

"Where are you going?" Charlie asked him. He shook his head. "You don't even have a ticket, do you? Listen, I've seen all the evidence and it's not your responsibility. It's not your fault. You're one of the best pilots in the Navy. What you do up there... it's dangerous. But you've got to go on."

"You don't understand..."

"When I first met you, you were larger than life. Look at you. You're not going to be happy unless you're going Mach 2 with your hair on fire."

"That's... over. It's just over."

"You're the best of the best. You make mistakes, and then you go on. It's just like the best of the best."

"You don't think I know that?"

"I'm here to help."

"Thank you. But if I wanted help, really, I would have asked for it."

"So I'm too late. You already left. You didn't learn a damn thing, did you? Except to quit." She got up and left, Pete watching her as she walked out the door.

The conversation swirled in his head. He didn't know what to do now.

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Sarah's POV:

She got up in the pilot's seat of the plane her and Tom were flying. She told him that she wanted to fly, since being the RIO gave her too much PTSD. He agreed, so they both hopped in. She gave the signal and they took off.

"Good morning people, this is the last hop before graduation. The points are as follows: Iceman and Riser, 15 points. Maverick, with 14 points. If he doesn't come back, Hollywood is in second with 12 points," The announcer said into the comm.

"Okay, let's do this," Sarah said, taking a deep breath.

"You got a bogey on your six, Riser!" Tom shouted, trying to get her attention. She went into a loop and managed to shake the enemy plane. She was going straight and then took a deep dive unexpectedly. The enemy didn't predict this and flew above her. She pulled up behind it and selected missile lock, earning a "kill".

They cheered and went back to the runway. Sarah got out of the plane and collapsed. Tom picked her up and brought her to the locker room. He shook her slightly to wake her up.

"Sarah? Are you okay?" He asked her once she began to stir.

"Yeah... I think that was too much for me," she replied, reaching out to touch his cheek. "I'm okay."

Viper told her to stop flying for the rest of the day because he could see the stress in her eyes. She sat, watching the planes fly and land, thinking about Pete.

That night, she fell asleep instantly, ready for graduation the next day. I hope Pete will come...