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1 - Phoenix
Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly if you really knew one Natasha Trace, Phoenix was the first to figure out that Maverick was married. She’d clocked his wedding ring on his dog tags when he was fussing over her and Bob after the birdstrike.
He’d leant over to give her a hug, and she’d noticed the plain gold band when he eventually pulled away.
“I’m really glad you’re okay, kid,” Mav told her quietly. “Anything you need, let me know, okay?”
Unused to the positive attention from a CO, Natasha just nodded, pulling her eyes away from the ring. “Bob and Coyote, sir?”
“Both okay. I’m going to check on Bob next, but I’ve already overheard that they’re planning on letting Coyote head home soon.”
“That’s good. I assume I’ll be kept overnight for observation?”
“You assume correctly. Get some rest, okay? I’ll try and get the medical staff let the others visit you.”
“That… Would be nice. Thank you. But… Sir?”
“Yeah, Phee?”
“Check on Rooster? He won’t be here at the hospital, he’ll be back on base still, in his head. He was like that the last time we were stationed together and I had to go to the doctor.”
Maverick frowned but nodded. “... I saw the accident report when I got all your service files. You’re a strong kid. Stronger than me.”
Natasha stared after him in shock as he left.
2 - Bob
When Bob found out, it was shortly after Maverick stole the f-18 to show all the daggers that the mission was possible. They’d all been dismissed by an angry Cyclone, which left them all with nothing to do. Most of the squad decided to spend their free time getting beaten at pool by Hangman at the Hard Deck, but Bob decided to take a walk around the base.
As he was passing one of the hangars, Bob paused when he heard raised voices. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, or even recognise who they belonged to, but concerned, he approached.
“- dammit Mav, what the hell were you thinking?!” one of the voices demanded. Maybe Hondo?
“I was thinking that if the brass were going to ground my ass, I may as well give those kids a hope that they’ll survive before they do!” Mav snapped back.
“By stealing a plane?”
“I got permission!”
“From who? Because it sure as hell wasn’t Cyclone!” A pause. “Who am I kidding, of course it was your husband.”
“Actually, no. They’ve put him on medical leave, which is why they’ve decided now is a perfect time to ground me,” Mav huffed. “... I asked Warlock and Merlin.”
“Merlin’s in town?”
“Yeah, he arrived this morning.”
Bob shook his head, starting to walk away. He’d overheard enough. But… Mav was married?
“Good for him,” the stealth pilot (Weapons Systems Officer, actually) mused with a smile to himself.
3 - Harvard and Yale
“I’m too tired to cook tonight. Want to grab take out on our way out of here?” Harvard asked as he and Yale got back into civilian clothes after a long day of training. After Maverick more than proved the course was possible, all of the aviators’ confidence had returned and, while they still had a long way to go, they were all getting there.
They were all working as a team, were all getting better at running the course.
And they were all exhausted. No one had even considered bringing up going to the Hard Deck to decompress, everyone more interested in going home, eating, and passing out.
“Yeah, sure. That little diner near the beach? The one with the good fries?” Yale suggested, pulling on his jacket.
“Yeah, sounds good. Am I driving or are you?”
“We took my car today, I ca-”
“Wait, shut up,” Harvard interrupted with a hiss, pressing is ear against the locker room door. “I hear someone.”
“We’re on base, of course you hear someone,” Yale deadpanned, starting to open the door only for-
“No, I know, sweetheart. I know I said I’d be home an hour ago, I got cau- I’m sorry. What if I grabbed us dinner to make it up to you?”
“That’s Mav,” Harvard hissed. Yale nodded, eyes wide.
They were above eavesdropping. They were!
Spoiler, they weren’t.
“You’re kidding, right? As if I wouldn’t know what my husband orders from- Don’t get sassy with me! I’m the sassy asshole in this marriage. You’re the snarky prick. Yeah, yeah, I know. Yes , I’ll get you dessert too. I’m heading to the locker room to grab my keys now. Uh huh. Tell him I said he can buy his own damn dinner. Love you too.”
The two Ivy League educated aviators were silent while they listened to Mav walk away from them to the instructor’s locker room.
“Holy crap,” Harvard whispered.
“Maverick’s married ,” Yale continued, both looking shocked.
“... How much you want to bet the others don’t know?”
4 - Omaha
With the mission looming ever closer, Omaha decided to take a moment to destress on the deck of the carrier. The teams hadn’t been picked yet, and he was nervous. Was he ready for the responsibility if he and Halo were selected?
Was he ready to potentially lose his friends if he wasn’t?
Sighing, Omaha turned his gaze towards the ocean.
His positon was pretty hidden, so it wasn’t a surprise when someone joined him on the deck, clearly thinking they were alone. Omaha was about to let them know they weren’t when he registered just what he was accidentally eavesdropping on.
“I wish you were here,” Maverick sighed, leaning against the railing in front of him while on the phone. “I know you can’t be, but… I don’t like doing this sort of thing without you.” The captain was silent for a moment, clearly listening to the person on the other end of the phone. “How are you feeling? Your best friend being a good nurse while I’m gone?” Mav then laughed at the response he got. “Aw, Sli, love you too. Yes, dear, I know he’s your best friend and you’re my husband, I’m allowed to tell him I love him when he tells me to go fuck myself.”
Shifting a little to try and get a better look at his Captain, Omaha pondered over what he was learning. Maverick was not only married, but to a man as well. And it sounded like his husband was unwell? Maybe that was why Mav had been so freaked at the hospital after the birdstrike?
“Sweetheart… I’m going to be okay. I promise I’m gonna do my best to come home, okay? Besides, it sounds like this is it for me. They’re either gonna force me to retire or get a promotion after this mission. Yeah, I know. When I get home, I’ll take you up in the Mustang, hey? I’ll hold you to it.”
Omaha’s phone buzzed in his pocket, thankfully on silent. He needed to go, to get to the meeting where the man in front of him decided who would be flying with him.
“I’ve gotta go. Gotta go save the world again. Love you too.”
Omaha hoped they all made it home. Whoever Mav’s husband was, he deserved to have his husband come home.
5 - Fritz
Fritz hated the locker rooms on board carriers. They were tiny and cramped and he wasn’t even going on the mission, why was he in the locker room when he didn’t need to be?
“Maverick…”
Fritz’s head snapped up when he heard Admiral Bate’s voice. He thought he’d been alone, but not just one but two of his commanding officers were in there? He needed to leave. Now.
“I don’t want to hear it, Warlock,” Maverick sighed tiredly. “I’m not calling him again.”
“He deserves to hear it from you, not from me, or Hondo, or even Cyclone.”
“I’m not calling my sick husband to tell him that not only am I sending myself on a mission where I’m likely going to die, but that I’m now sending our son as well!” Mav snapped.
Fritz’s eyes widened. Okay, maybe he could stay a little longer… It explained the weird relationship between Mav and Rooster, at least? But also… Husband?
“I’m not here to fight with you, but he deserves a chance to say goodbye in the event of a worst case scenario.”
“I’ve already said goodbye. He’s not losing Rooster. Those kids are all coming home alive. Even if that means I’m not,” Maverick said firmly, not leaving any room for argument.
Well. Shit. Fritz silently scrambled out of the locker room, not wanting to be caught.
6 - Payback and Fanboy
“I want to sleep for a month and eat like, two dozen burgers,” Fanboy groaned as he and Payback slowly made their way from medical to their bunk. They were the lucky ones. They hadn’t ejected, hadn’t flown a suicide mission soon after being ejected, hadn’t lost their whatever Rooster and Mav had going on, and they hadn’t crash landed their jet.
But the emotional and physical toll of the day still weighed heavily on their shoulders.
As it were, they didn’t realise they heard someone on the phone in a room up ahead until they were right in front of the door.
Mav had his back to them, but the pair immediately recognised him and moved out of sight. Mav was meant to be in a bed in medical getting looked after.
“Babe, baby, take a breath for me, please,” Mav was pleading quietly. “I’m okay, I promise. We’re both okay. They shouldn’t have called you so quickly, I was only mi- Well, ouch, that was a bit harsh. No, he’s- Yes, I- No- Tom! Listen to me or give the phone to Sarah. You’re gonna make yourself worse if-”
“Who’re Tom and Sarah?” Payback whispered to Fanboy, who shrugged.
Maverick sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Goddammit, okay! I don’t remember everything he said, but I’ve got three cracked ribs, bruising all over, I’m meant to be on concussion watch, all the fun ‘you’re almost 60 and have ejected twice in less than a month’ stuff. Of course I’m not in medical right now. Bradley’s sleeping, and the doctor was annoying me. Plus, I had hoped I’d gotten to my husband before the Navy had, but clearly they were all too happy to pronounce me dead when I’d only been missing for ten minutes. Right, sorry. No joking about near death experiences for a month, I forgot.”
The pilot and WSO pair glanced at each other in concern, but also shock that their all time favourite CO was apparently married.
7 - Coyote
As to be expected, the moment the dagger squad and their Captain were all on dry land, someone declared a party at the Hard Deck to celebrate not only everyone surviving the impossible, but also that they’d saved the world (for today).
Coyote was pretty sure it had been Fritz. Or Hangman.
Either way, Coyote was at the bar, waiting on his beer, only to overhear a whispered conversation close by.
“You know you’re going to be on the sofa for a while, right?” Penny was informing Maverick.
“Nah, I’ve been kicked to the guest room. He’s mad, but he’s not cruel. I guarantee I’ll be back in our bed by tomorrow though. He forgot when he decided to marry me that I know exactly how to get back in his good books.”
Penny snorted. “Yeah, but you really messed up this time, Pete. And you nearly died.”
“Exactly. I nearly died. And then if I make breakfast in the morning, and give him the best and biggest puppy eyes, we’ll be acting like teenagers again by 1400 hours.”
“I’ll never understand how he puts up with you.”
“It’s the boyish good looks.”
“Mm, I’m sure,” Penny laughed. “Not at all how much of a brat you-”
Nope. Absolutely not. Coyote was not sticking around to overhear details of his Captain Dad’s sex life with the husband he had no idea existed. No way.
8 - Halo
“Did you see how pissed he was?”
Halo paused on her way to the locker room from the on base gym. After the suicide mission, all 12 daggers had been given two months shore leave in the expectation they’d all seek counsilling to help process what had happened to them only five days earlier.
Naturally, they were using it to get even closer. As such, Halo immediately recognised the voice she’d heard as Mavericks. Pausing, she tossed up snooping or continuing towards the showers.
“I’ve not seen an admiral hate you as much as Chester does,” another voice sighed. That was Cyclone!
Mind made up for her, Halo shifted to better listen in.
“He’s had it out for me for years. Wanted me out of the Navy back in the early 2000’s. I don’t even know why,” Mav snickered. “Good thing I’m sleeping with his boss, hey?”
Halo’s eyebrows shot up. What ?!
“Please at least pretend you have a hint of decency,” Cyclone sighed tiredly. “Are you going to accept the promotion?”
“It’s either that or retire and I’m pretty sure my husband would actually kill me if I retired right now, so… Promotion it is. Admiral Mitchell doesn’t sound right though…”
“Perhaps it’s time you take your husband’s name as well.”
Maverick was silent for a time.
Too long.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Come on, Beau. It’d be fun!”
“You are not dropping your last name and only using your husband’s.”
Halo just shook her head as she walked away, wondering just who Maverick could be married to that could 1) cope with his quirks, and 2) would cause such a stir if Mav took his name.
9 - Hangman
Hangman was the last to find out, because of course he was. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been paying attention to the Dagger Squad’s emotionally adopted father. Not at all. It was more that all the hints and clues sailed over his head or disappeared from his focus entirely the second he heard Rooster speak.
It was hard to continue coming up with playful barbs and snarky one liners at the drop of a hat.
Still, he did eventually notice.
Or, well.
Was told.
“It’s not that I’m not flattered,” Mav was saying next to him as they waited for their drinks at the Hard Deck. It was a busy night, busier than normal thanks to a recent arrival of a carrier, and the accompanying flood of civilians.
One of whom was trying to plaster herself over Mav.
“But I’m very happily married, and you’re younger than my son.”
“Wait, you’re married?” Hangman gaped when she left.
Maverick looked at Hangman, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve been wearing my wedding ring all week, Jake,” he pointed out.
“Well… It could have been a family thing, like how Rooster wears his parents wedding rings!” the blond defended.
Mav’s expression became very amused. “This is true.”
“How long have you been married?”
“Since 2013. But we’ve been together much longer.” Mav paused. “Since 1987, before you ask.”
“Holy shit. That’s like… Over 30 years!”
Maverick nodded and smiled warmly. “32 this weekend. He actually wanted me to invite you all over this weekend. Said he wants to finally meet the kids I accidentally adopted while he was sick.”
“... All of us?”
“All of you. Saturday at 1830, let everyone know for me?” Mav asked, clasping Hangman’s shoulder and squeeing before grabbing his drink, disappearing into the crowd.
Well…
Hangman told everyone they were expected to show up at Maverick’s house at 1830 for dinner. And the group chat lit up with ‘about time you figured it out’s from his friends, and agreements they’d all be there.
But one of the texts made him smile.
Rooster : Hell yeah free food!
+1 - they find out WHO Mav is married to
Since none of them had actually been to Mav’s house before (other than Rooster, who apparently lived there?), the squadron decided to carpool. That way only 3 people who had to worry about getting lost.
And they definitely thought they were lost when they got to the address Mav had provided.
It wasn’t that they expected him to live in squalor or anything, but this was…
It was nice . And expensive.
But there was Mav’s bike and Rooster’s bronco in the driveway, so clearly it was the right place. Even if the bronco looked very out of place compared to the sleek black car it was next to.
“Who’s gonna knock?” Fanboy asked as they walked to the door. Which opened before they could decide.
“Oh, thank god you’re here,” Rooster breathed, hugging Phoenix. “My dad and my uncle were just about to get into another of their cat fights. Come on in. Shoes off, if you don’t mind?”
“This place is nice , Bradshaw,” Fritz marvelled.
“It is. Nicer than what a perpetual Captain could afford,” Hangman mused, once again reminding the aviators gathered that the Bagman had terrible foot-in-mouth disease.
“My dads bought it together a couple years ago,” Rooster snorted, leading them through to the kitchen only to pause at the sight of the three adult men there.
First was Mav, who was sitting on the counter and gesturing wildly at a Very Tall Blond, who was grinning in amusement at the clearly heated conversation.
And at the stove was…
The squad (again, minus Rooster, who’d moved back over to Mav and was filming his friends) all snapped to attention.
At the stove was none other than Admiral Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky.
“At ease, lieutenants,” the COMPACFLT chuckled. “And please, we’re not at work. It’s just Tom or Ice here,” he added before they said anything.
“Bullshit, only me and your sister are allowed to call you Tom,” Mav snorted. “You hit Slider when he tries, and ground Brads.”
Ice waved him off.
“Holy crap… You married up , Captain Dad,” Fanboy breathed.
“More like Ice married down,” the man Mav had been bickering with snorted, earning a smack to the arm from Mav.
“Shut the fuck up, Slider. We didn’t have to let you stay for dinner.”
“Uh huh. I’m living here right now, asshole. I’m entitled to Ice’s cooking while I am.”
“Slider, why don’t you and Bradley go get Pete’s adopted strays some drinks, hm?” Ice suggested tiredly.
“What am I, a slave?” Slider snarked.
“Remind me who volunteered to move in to help me recover?” Ice deadpanned. “Go. Now.”
“Come on uncle Sli,” Bradley laughed. “I got the video I wanted, and already sent it to the other uncles.”
“Welcome to the family, kids,” Mav laughed, grinning at his daggers. Dinner’s nearly done, and you’re in for a treat. Just make yourselves at home, yeah?”
Slowly, they all relaxed and nodded.
…
“Which of you was the first to figure it out?” Slider asked later when everyone was sitting down and had been cheerfully conversing for the better part of an hour.
Now almost all the food was gone and all of the daggers were completely relaxed and feeling welcomed and at home.
“I did, I believe,” Phoenix admitted. “If we’re not including Rooster, that is.”
After Natasha realised she, Rooster, and Bob all knew, they’d created a group chat and slowly added everyone as they found out.
“No, you found out before I did,” Bradley mused. “I knew they’d been together forever, but you were the first to realise dad was married.”
“So what you’re telling me is Penny owes me,” Mav chirped. “Drinks are on me next Hard Deck adventure, kids!”
Ice shook his head. “Remind me why I married you?”
Mav grinned. “Because I’m cute.”
“Mm, must be.”
“Jesus, get a room ,” Bradley whined.
…
“You know, Mavdad, you should absolutely go by Admiral Kazansky when the promotion goes through,” Halo hummed.
“Absolutely not!” two voices yelled at the same time. Rooster and Slider, she was pretty sure.
“You know… I just might,” Mav mused, watching his husband who was distracted from what was happening by discussing something with Bob. “May as well make our last years in the Navy a bit of fun,”