Lock & Key: Part Two - B.B

You were all ordered to stand at attention at the end of the class before leaving to get ready for flying. Once you were allowed at ease, everyone looked around at each other to begin discussing their new instructor.

You pushed your chair in and started walking towards the exit. You felt a lot more at ease with your Dad being there and you felt more comfortable being in the same room as Bradley. However, until now, he hadn't known you were there.

"y/n?"

His voice came above everyone else's and you stopped in your tracks, a few other conversations halting as they all turned to see who Bradley was calling after. You took a deep breath and turned back to face Bradley and the rest of the group. Everyone had now finished their conversations and were all staring at you. You felt a heat rise through your chest, up your neck and to your cheeks.

"Who's this?" The cocky blonde asked Bradley, taking a toothpick out of his mouth.

"I'm Lieutenant y/n Mitchell. Callsign: Locket. Who are you?" You asked the blonde back.

He smirked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Lieutenant Jake Seresin. Callsign: Hangman. When did you show up?"

"Last night like the rest of you." You answered.

"Why weren't you at the bar?" Another guy chimed in.

"I was busy." You retorted the handsome looking man.

He scoffed a laugh, "Goddamn. We have two Phoenix's."

The only other girl punched the guy in the arm, "I'm Phoenix. She's Locket. Different people, asshole."

She rolled her eyes and walked towards you, extending her hand in front of you.

"Lieutenant Natasha Trace, callsign: Phoenix. Don't mind them, Locket, they're all horrible. Especially bagman over there." She turned to look at Hangman and he winked at her.

You shook hands and smiled. You felt as if you had a friend, already. You were glad to not be the only female, again. It's always shit being the only girl. As much as you liked male company every once in a while, you definitely needed girl time.

"Didn't you say her name, Rooster?" One of the other guys asked, shoving his chair in and leaning against it.

Your eyes moved slowly towards Bradley. Rooster. That was his callsign. You felt your heart sink ever so slightly at the name, making you think of his old man.

You don't think he looked away from you that whole time. His eyes burned into yours and it made your breath hitch and your chest begin to rise and fall harshly. You watched as he clenched his jaw and quirked his head a little, your weird staring contest waiting to be broken.

His eyes moved first, towards the guy who asked the question.

"Yeah." He answered simply, his eyes returning back on you.

"How do you two know each other?" Hangman asked, smugly crossing his arms.

You already wanted to punch that guy in his face.

Bradley - or Rooster - kept his eyes burning through you like a hole. He rose his eyebrows at you, signalling for you to tell everyone the answer. The silence while you thought of what to do was loud and confusing. You didn't know what to say or what not to say. All you knew was that you didn't want anyone to find out about your Dad just yet, and you didn't want that to affect Bradley's time here, either. So, you decided to tell the truth. Just not the whole truth.

"Our old men flew with each other back in the day." You answered, your eyes still trained on the tanned man that stood only a few feet in front of you.

Hangman hummed as if he was surprised. He began walking forward. Past Bradley, past all the tables, and up to you and Phoenix. He stood in front of you and looked you up and down. Slowly.

You would punch that smug face right off him if you could.

"Let's see if you take after your Pops, then. Would we know him?" He asked.

You clenched your teeth together, swallowing. You looked from Hangman to Bradley. Brad hung his head for a second, not knowing if you were about to blow it yet. You looked back to Hangman and his stupid face.

"He's done alright for himself, sure. But I don't think you'd know the name." You smirked up at him.

He twirled the toothpick across his lips, and back again, as if examining you for the truth.

"Well, then. Let's see how well you fly."

You sighed in relief as Hangman walked away from you, other's following on. You stood in your spot, Phoenix standing by you. She was speaking to you, giving you advice on how to deal with Hangman. But you could hardly hear her.

Bradley - Rooster - was the last one to walk out. He stood tall and began walking towards you. Your heart pounded in your chest, scared that he was about to say something to you. You both kept your eyes on each other as he walked to, and past you. Something about his demeanour had changed. He seemed somewhat more intimidating. Or maybe it was because he hated you right now.

As he passed you, his eyes finally leaving yours, you automatically - as if it was clockwork - breathed in the air that wafted your way. He smelled the same. Fresh with a hint of cologne.

"Don't worry about Rooster. He's the sweetest guy here. Other than Bob, of course."

You turned to Phoenix and flashed a weak smile.

"Now let's get going."

---

That night, you and your fellow pilots went to Penny's bar. You felt a lot more included after making quite a good friendship already with Phoenix and a fun relationship with Bob and Fanboy, especially. You and Rooster had hardly looked at each other since your first encounter this morning. And thankfully, your Dad took your glaring eyes as a sign not to pair you two together for any of the training today which was lucky.

You had seen and heard - as it was pretty hard not to - the scene between your Dad and Bradley. You tried to pay attention to the plane, checking it was good to go, but your ears couldn't help but listen in. Rooster was not playing ball. And up in the air, he didn't take any shit.

You had all ridden your bikes to the bar and you and Phoenix walked in together, arm in arm, and sat down on barstools beside the pool tables where Hangman and Payback were already slotting coins in to get their game started.

You all ordered a round of beers and once everyone was settled in and the game of pool between a few of the guys began, you all relaxed.

Rooster was sat on a bench behind the pool table, focusing only on the game and hardly giving you a second glance.

"So, I've been dying to ask you this." Phoenix said, readjusting in her stool to look at you.

Everyone chimed into the conversation, listening to Phoenix and you talk.

"Why is your call sign 'Locket'. I've been trying to figure it out and I can't." She smiled, taking a sip of her drink.

Not even Rooster knew the origin of your callsign. You still wanted to keep the Dad/daughter relationship under wraps but you could still tell them the truth about it.

You sighed as some of the guys took an interest in knowing, too.

"Right. So, at the academy I was kind of known for being the daughter of..." You looked to Bradley for a split second and he tore his eyes from you as if it was a curse.

"-well...my dad. And all the guys liked to joke I was kept under 'lock and key' because they knew if they messed around with me, my dad would kick their asses." You told them all with a smile.

The origin story of your callsign was a funny and light-hearted story you loved to tell. It summed up naval academy for you.

"Damn, Locket. So how did you date in college?" Fanboy asked, leaning over the table to take his shot.

"I mean," You took a drink."The joke never stopped me. And it never stopped any of the guys either." You smirked behind your glass.

Phoenix whooped and laughed next to you, nudging her leg with yours. The boys all laughed and whistled at you. You chuckled, sitting your drink down and looking at Rooster who was now sat back, legs spread and arms folded across his chest. He was staring at you. And not in an impressed manner. When you caught eyes, he shook his head as if he was disappointed or annoyed, and looked away from you. You pulled a face and returned back to your own conversation with Phoenix.

Throughout the night, you chatted to everyone and got to know everyone a little better. The bar was a lot less busy, only your group of pilots and a few townies straggling on. You played some pool and won a few rounds and it began to near midnight. Music from the jukebox hummed peacefully in the background as you were sitting by the bar talking to Penny and catching up with her.

"I just can't get over how much you look like your Mom and Dad, y/n." Penny sighed, leaning against the bar with her chin in her hands.

You smiled fondly, "Thanks, Pen. You haven't changed a bit."

She rolled her eyes, "I got wrinkles."

"You got hot." You replied.

She scoffed a laugh and stood up, folding her tea towel in front of her. You watched her glowing face as her eyes moved from you to behind you. Your smile faded a little, knowing what - or who - she was looking at.

"You know-"

"Don't." You sighed.

"Honey, I think if you just talked to him, he'd be okay." She lowered her voice.

You shook your head, "You should've seen him and Dad today, Penny. They damn-near died with how below deck they got. Brad- Rooster is mad at Dad because of flight school, and Dad is just egging him on with his competitiveness. And I'm stuck in the middle."

You fiddled with your ring and looked down at your hand.

"Your father is stubborn. But he loves him just as much as he loves you, I can promise you that. He's letting Rooster have his time to be angry. But you two have nothing to be pissed about. Do you?"

You paused and sighed, looking behind you at Rooster as he pocketed three balls like an expert and celebrated by high-fiving Phoenix. You smiled a little before turning back to a curious Penny.

"We didn't leave things on the best of notes. Let's just say that." You told her.

Penny hummed in understanding, "That was, what? Nearly a decade ago? I'm sure if you talk it out, you'll be fine. And you need to, y/n. You can't do this job in a bad mood."

She was right. She was always right. You knew how dangerous this mission was going to be and the last thing you needed was to be on bad terms with him. However, you did have 3 weeks to patch things up, so you didn't want to rush it.

Penny straightened abruptly, looking behind you and flashing a smile to whoever it was.

"Another drink?" She asked the customer, throwing the tea towel over her shoulder.

"Nah, I'm good, Pen. Thanks."

Your heart dropped.

Rooster.

You felt his presence as he sat next to you, his body being larger than you remember. You looked down and your knees were already nearly touching.

You gulped and just stared straight ahead. Penny left the two of you alone and walked to the other side of the bar to chat to some of the old guys from town.

"You've not changed much." Rooster commented.

Here we go, you thought. You took a swig of your beer, keeping your eyes trained ahead as if you were being told off by an admiral.

"Apart from your shitty attitude, neither have you."

He scoffed at your retortion.

"Don't get pissy at me, y/n- or sorry, Locket." His tone was patronising and agonisingly annoying.

It brought you back to some stupid arguments he and you used to have when you grew up together. Fights about who'd get the front seat in the car or who was smarter or stupid stuff like that. Even though at the time you hated him and he got on your nerves, you would give anything to have been back in that time again where everything was whole again. You and him were together. And friends.

"Don't patronise me, Bradshaw. What story did you come up with about your callsign, huh? Because at least my story is truthful and entertaining."

You cringed inside when you heard what you said. It kind of just left your mouth without your brain being able to shut you up. You weren't meaning all of these shitty comments. You hope he knew that.

"My callsign story is from when the guys in the locker room at the academy decided to take my towel away from the shower and I had to walk out naked in order to retrieve it. Therefore-"

"Jesus Christ." You scoffed a laugh, finally looking at him next to you.

"That's bullshit, Bradshaw."

He smirked, seemingly amused that you were finally giving him eye contact. He also noticed the slight rose colour in your cheeks. Were you blushing at the thought of him naked?

"I got my name Rooster because of my..."

"Cock. I get it. No need to spell it out." You rolled your eyes, taking a rather long swig of your drink.

He watched you in silence for a moment. Something about Bradley Bradshaw's stare made your skin burn every time you felt it. You could feel your cheeks heating up and it was times like these you cursed having long hair you had to gel back every day.

"I know that's not the real story, though." You told him, your voice a little softer than before.

You turned your head to look at him again. He just looked into your eyes, blinking at you. You softened your expression, your eyebrows involuntarily scrunching together for a moment of sympathy. He shook his head and looked at his near-empty glass.

"You're the only one that knows." He said, his voice lowering.

You nodded, looking at him as he nervously twisted his glass around.

"It's okay. I've got your back, Bradshaw. Whether I like it or not."

He smirked, looking back at you with those beautiful hazel eyes you missed for 8 years. You smiled back and then looked forward again, taking a drink.

"I definitely know your callsign is a true story, though." He commented.

I scoffed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged, "Just that your type is pilots. Always has been."

You paused mid-drink and sat your glass back down. You turned your head slowly to look at his smug expression.

You scoffed. Asshole.

"Penny?" You called her over, keeping direct eye contact with Rooster.

His smirk grew into a smile, but he had no idea what you were about to do. You were going to relish this moment for years to come.

"Yeah?" She answered as she came over.

"This man just disrespected a woman and a navy pilot. How many bell rings does that count for?" You asked with a smile, still staring Rooster down.

His smile faded into a regretful look, his eyes closing as Penny decided his fate.

"I think that calls for two rounds, y/n." Penny said with a sarcastic hiss.

"Well, then. Ring the bell, Penny. Rooster here is paying for this round and the next." You bit your lip with a smile.

He hung his head back on his shoulders, his eyes closed in disappointment as Penny chimed the bell. Everyone in the bar whooped and cheered in unison and you threw back the last of your beer. Bradley finally looked back at you as you sat your empty glass down and slid off your barstool.

"I guess I deserved that." He sighed, rubbing his hands on his thighs.

You tried not to look at his veiny, strong hands or his thick thighs hidden beneath his uniform trousers. You just slid your leather jacket on and readjusted your collar.

"Thanks for the drink, Lieutenant." You winked at him, before breezing past, leaving only the slight smell of your perfume lingering in the air and whatever the pounding feeling was within Rooster's chest after that wink.

You said an all-round goodnight to everyone and they all replied back. You caught Rooster's eye again before you stepped out the back door and he lifted his hand to his head to salute you. You smirked and walked out to your bike, riding home in the moonlight with only one thing on your mind:

How the fuck you were supposed to last three weeks with Bradley fucking Bradshaw?