They Lost Focus And Had A Consensual Workplace Relationship

They’re both #1

A Meeting by Wendell Berry

In a dream I meet

my dead friend. He has,

I know, gone long and far,

and yet he is the same

for the dead are changeless.

They grow no older.

It is I who have changed,

grown strange to what I was.

Yet I, the changed one,

ask: 'How you been?'

He grins and looks at me.

'I been eating peaches

off some mighty fine trees.'

jakes about an hour late to the latest iceman-maverick (icemav for short, as phoenix has coined) barbecue, so he’s just passing through the kitchen, not even thinking as he tosses out an easy “hey pops,” to the hosts on his way towards the doors to the backyard.

two voices call back in response. “hey kid.” “good to see you jake.”

he feels the pause. his hand hovers uncertainly over the door handle. slowly, he turns.

iceman and maverick, happily married couple, have suspended all kitchenly duties to glare at each other. “he was talking to me.”

“no, he was talking to me.”

“everyone calls me pops,” ice says, eyes narrowed. “bradley calls me pops. mickey calls me pops. even cyclone called me pops that one time that was embarrassing for all of us.”

maverick waves a hand at ice, the hand also wielding a knife he was using to chop watermelon. “yeah, but jake calls me pops. he called me pops before he knew you. that gives me pops rights.”

jakes debating just slipping out the door when they both turn towards him. in unison like good wingmen.

“jake, buddy, sport, slugger, who were you talking to?”

he offers a shrug. “uh, both of you, i guess.” it’s the truth, he wasn’t thinking too hard about it, his mind focused on getting to the backyard where he has it on good authority that his loving boyfriend is sweaty and shirtless and waiting for someone to share his lawn chair with.

ice purses his lips. “that won’t do.”

“we can’t both be pops,” maverick agrees. “that’s ridiculous.”

“right,” jake says, “that’s what’s ridiculous about this.”

“a challenge then,” ice forges on, ignoring him. “to determine who’s the better pops.”

solemn as their air boss, maverick sticks his hand out (sans knife) to shake on it. in some funhouse mirror reflection of that one photograph that seems to be everywhere, ice clasps his hand back.

and jake is somewhere between laughing, running, and bursting into tears. because no sane person has ever had this argument before and certainly not over him. nobody’s ever fought to be jake seresin’s pops before.

no one except these two ridiculous, crazy old men.

“oh we don’t wanna consume problematic media–” i unironically think everyone should consume problematic media at some point in their life. obviously not to say that people should monetarily support hp or aot or that, but i think it teaches you critical thinking skills when you say “yeah, objectively kingdom hearts has a lot of issues with the writing of their female characters” instead of “if you play kingdom hearts you’re a sexist”, you know?

Tell me a soft memory

Everyone talks about Maverick and Iceman unofficially adopting the Dagger Squad, but can we take a second to consider: Cool Gay Uncle™ Slider? I mean, obviously Slider and Ice were super close (I just watched Top Gun again, and Slider seems like the protective older brother), so when Ice (or Mav) mentions adopting the Dagger Squad, Slider is just like ‘hell yeah’ and becomes the Cool Gay Uncle™

can anyone remember that post about how children write the best poems & it had an article attached showing the differences between little kids' poetry & preteens?? im desperate to find it again

maverick knows his pilots miss him because of the little things they share. the texts he gets and the pictures. always at random, sporadic and unprompted.

things like —

fanboy telling him they nailed a test run for a new mission because of the way mav taught them to fly.

you two would’ve done that all on your own. proud of you.

phoenix telling him she’s up for promotion and hoping he can make it to the ceremony since it’s his fault she’s gotten even better in the air.

you were always going to soar, phoenix. i’ll be there.

coyote telling him, not for the first time, how grateful he is that maverick knows the importance of getting everyone home alive.

nothing wrong with a little hope, right?

just. small things that make mav’s chest ache every time with something proud and fond and soft because he may not be flying for the navy anymore, but these kids are absolutely making sure he still feels like he is.

This is the great love, this is the love lost, this is the love found again. This is the reason to continue fighting and to go the ends of the earth for the person, the thing that you love. [For Carol], it’s her best friend and her best friend’s daughter. Which to me, that’s so natural. I went and saw the movie with some people and it was like an hour later and they were like ‘Oh, Maria’s the love!’ and I was like 'Yeah!’. ― Brie Larson (x)