~ ❀ ✿ ~

𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇 ― ☀ ☁ ― 𝖑𝖆𝖇𝖞𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖍

\\ 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 //

THE BELL HUNG ABOVE THE ENTRANCE OF THE FALLING LEAF RANG, ANNOUNCING PEOPLE'S ARRIVALS.

In honor of their successful first day of training, the Cruise woman and her squadron had pulled them all to the bar for celebration.

One by one, they step into the lively bar, taking the atmosphere in.

Taylor looks around in nostalgia, reminiscing the last time she'd entered these very doors with her very own squadron for her send-off.

The squadron leads the others towards the backside of the bar, somewhat more quiet than the entrance area, and full of sources of entertainment too. The pool table was as is, green so evergreen, playing balls ever so stripy and shiny.

"Woah, this is crazy..." Danny mutters, looking towards the huge interior of the bar which seemed never-ending; even with the heaps of crowd assembled in it.

The Falling Leaf was the bar where most Naval aviators, or anyone closely related to the Navy would go for drinks or a quiet or exciting night out. There was a piano, a drum set, hell, there was an entire makeshift stage, and she'd had multiple times of getting up on said stage with her squad and playing music as if they were a band.

Her and Laz on guitar, JJ on drums with Slick, Cas on the keyboard. Lennie would participate occasionally, no, when he was completely lost under the effects of alcohol.

It was also the place where Taylor had first got shit-faced drunk right before her first day of training with the very people she could proudly call her wingmen and best friends for life. Yes, they'd gotten yelled at on their first day at the Naval academy, but it cost them a friendship worth a lifetime, and neither of them all would have it any other way.

"Is that little Valkyrie I see there?!" A Southern drawl calls out, Texan accent smooth in her ears as she whips around to meet the familiar face.

"Mama Mae!" Taylor excitedly chuckles, reaching the way older woman behind the bar from the opposite side and into a hug.

"Oh, sweetheart, it's so good to have you back!" Mae is rubbing Taylor's back, and when they pull away, the older woman places several kisses on Taylor's joy-risen cheeks, ones she gladly accepts.

"It's good to be back, Mama." Taylor returns Mae's embrace.

"Gosh, I still remember the ruckus you and your little group had created the first time you came in. Bunch of assholes just tryna find some fun. Y'all would sweep this place out like a damn hurricane."

Taylor snorts, memories blacked out with alcohol slowly returning to her mind, flashing like a reel as she shakes her head.

"There's the troublemakers! C'mere boys!" Mae makes sure each and every one of the Red Knights would get noogied. Each and every one of them. Every single time.

She holds back chuckles as JJ and Slick are pulled by Mae into her embrace, either one of them struggling under the older yet way stronger woman's grip on them, making faces which had clear depictions of 'get us out of here' splattered across their faces.

Taylor makes sure to click one or two pictures of them.

"And who's this?" Mae turns towards the successful trainees of the day, giving them all welcoming smiles when she meets their eyes.

"These guys, Mama, they're, um, well..." Taylor contemplates if telling Mae was the best idea.

"Okay, you have to swear you won't tell anyone, Mama, you gotta promise." Taylor holds out her pinkie.

Mae does too, grumbling under her breath before catching her pinkie with the Cruise woman's.

"We're filming a new Top Gun movie, and these guys are the stars of it. They've also had a long and hard first day of training, so I recommend you bring out the Double Black..." Taylor and Mae share a mischievous smirk and glance, looking over at the trainees standing pretty awkwardly by each other.

"Take a seat, and buckle up. You're about to taste the best in town!" Laz calls out, punching an excited Slick's shoulder.

"That's thirteen shots, thanks, Mae!" Taylor thanks, slapping the counter as she awaits the alcohol's arrival, Cas announces to the barkeep, "We're by our table."

As they make their way to, what Mae calls, the Red Knights' reserved table, Lewis catches up on Taylor's side, asking with an amused smile on his face, "You guys used to come here often?"

Taylor's eyes flash with memories when she meets Lewis' gaze, simply smiling, nodding her head.

They reach the table, and Taylor motions for everyone to take a seat, taking her own between Laz and Monica, looking opposite her to find Miles, who gives her a polite smile when her eyes crash against hers'.

Why were his eyes, so, good to look at?

Why can't she look away?

Why isn't he looking away?

"To answer your question, Lewis, we used to come here every weekend." Lennie replies for them all, nodding his head.

"Bruv, not all of 'em!" Finally, she finds herself able to look away.

Agreeing with Laz, she nods, looking at Lewis with a nostalgic smile, "Almost every weekend. It'd become some sort of habit. We'd come here, drink our heads off, and just sleep through the Saturdays."

"Sounds like fun." Miles points out, brows raising in amusement. Everyone chuckles, nodding their heads.

Taylor chuckles a mix of a groan and a laugh, brows furrowing as she reminded, "Oh, the hangovers were not." The squad could barely nod in agreement, also reminded of the horrible migraines that would tend to last through the entire week's training.

"Here 'ya are! Lori, darlin', I brought you two, so you can show 'em how it's done." Mae sends a challenging wink her way, and Taylor takes the dare, looking down at the largest shot glasses ever made.

She was quite sure they were mousse cups.

"Shots! Shots! Shots! Shots!" Almost the entire table is slapping their fists against the wooden table which stays barely attached to the ground.

The cheers get only louder when Taylor picks up either glasses in her hands, jerking her head to the side and throwing out a puff of air.

She shakes her head, muttering, "Here comes the headache..." Monica rubs her back in encouragement.

One shot down, two shots down.

They're clapping and cheering, looking at the Cruise woman who places the second glass down after downing the shot with a straight face, definitely having done this before.

Her fellow actors look at her in awe, mouths open in shock as their eyes shift between her and the largest shot glasses ever made.

Though, Glen's reaction gets them all cracking up, "Marry me..."

His green-blue eyes are awe-stricken, shaking his head, mouth open and brows raised.

"Where's my ring, honey?" Taylor moves her hands at her side, held out in a manner of saying 'where?', shaking her head seriously with her eyes widened, leaving them all snorting and chuckling through the night, downing their own shots after clinking their glasses together.

\\𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦//

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\\ 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 //

"OKAY, BIG FELLA, ONE STEP THERE, CAREFUL."

Taylor's left arm was around Miles' shoulder, right placed on his chest so she could steady him.

The man had drunk nearly five to six shots of the Double Black consecutively, after an entire bottle of Heineken.

Safe to say, he was drunk.

Very much so.

If it wasn't for her and Monica, she was sure the dude was going to stand up on the counter and do some.. not descent things.

He was holding her right hand with a rather tight grasp, squeezing once he's finally steadied, a quiet way to say thank you.

"Dude, your life must, must've been so cool back then. So fucking awesome, man." Taylor tries not to snort at his random excitement regarding her life nearly twelve years ago.

Who was she kidding?

The best days of her life where from her days as a Naval Aviator.

"It must've been so hard to, to just, just pack your stuff up and stop doing what you loved." Woah.

Where's this coming from?

"It wasn't something I loved that much, dude. It was my job, and, it was, fun,while it lasted." Taylor replies, shrugging slightly.

"Shut up. You love flying. You love the Red Knights. You loved being a Fighter, everyone can see that so clearly." That she did. Taylor did love serving her country. She did love to fly alongside her squadron and protect. But there was no possible way the Navy would have her back, right?

They reach the car, and she pulls out the keys to her midnight blue Porsche Cayenne, and unlocking the doors.

Placing her right arm back in his, she smiles, realising he still held his up to return back to holding her hand.

Obviously, because he was drunk and unstable and needed support.

Glen, Jay, Danny, Lewis and Monica make their way to the somehow, very spacious backseat, sliding in one by one as Taylor helps Miles into the front seat.

Once he's in his seat and she makes sure he's buckled in, Taylor realizes that he's already dozed off, eyes closed, and mouth slightly open.

She tries not to smile at the, for some reason, cute sight, watching as a single curl falling onto his forehead.

There was a sudden surge, a strong urge in her that made her want to push that one curl behind.

She takes a deep breath, leaning backwards to close the passenger's door, before round the car and getting into the driver's seat.

She throws a quick wink and two-fingered salute in Mae's direction, who'd kindly come outside for a few minutes to send them off.

Pulling out of the driveway of the Falling Leaf, she rounds the corner, waving at Mae and whispering for the back-seaters to do so too, who repeat her actions, muttering their bye's under their breaths.

Driving on the not-at-all busy roads, she keeps her eyes peeled, yet her mind was crossed with multiple thoughts.

What was happening?

Why couldn't she wipe the smile off her face?

Why couldn't she stop seeing that image of him, out of her mind?