Aces of the Skies (rskde & Biting Girl)

Aaron stands in front of the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, excited that his elementary school class had taken a field trip to the location, everything about the place was exciting, large columns draped with posters about the space program or the military and civilian planes they had on display. He looks around him, realizing he had completely lost track of his classmates, though he doesn't mind, always preferring to be alone any way, it would be more fun that way. He decides to enter the museum, looking around while his eyes light up with wonder, the huge space ships and planes hanging from the ceiling are every seven year old's dream.

Aaron walks forward, grabbing a pamphlet with his little white hand, his eyes squinting as he attempts to make sense of the words written across it. One specific set of words catches his hazel eyes, a flight simulator. He decides to explore before even attempting to find the simulator from the pamphlet. He runs a hand through his black locks of hair as he looks around, trying to decide on what to do first.

He decides on the military plane exhibit, happily skipping off as he runs around, searching for information to absorb while also just staring at the huge models that surround him, intrigued by it all considering he is a child. He had always wanted to be a pilot, so the amount of planes surrounding him is like a dream.

His fantasies of running off alone are immediately crushed as his teacher, Mrs. DeMark finds him and grabs him by his wrist, scolding him for wandering off before returning him to the class. He shoves his hands in his pockets and pouts as he walks right next to his best friend.

"Aaron. You know you can't wander off like that. Ms. DeMark will skin you alive!" Amelia leaned in, and whispered in his ear as she took hold of his hand tightly.

Aaron nodded to her as they followed the class around the museum. This place was huge. So much to see and do there. Amelia wanted so badly to try the simulator that they'd passed on the way in, but couldn't muster up the courage to leave the group, for fear of her teachers backlash. So, they pressed on, falling to the back of the group, giggling and remarking at all of the cool old airplanes and aviation systems.

Eventually they made their way to the experimentation area. There were displays that could be manipulated to show the difference in weight, air flow, and force. All of the kids enjoyed trying out the different things. Like making the ball float in mid air by putting it close to the flowing airstream. Amelia enjoyed seeing the light in Aaron's eyes as he learned and explored the area. She was so happy to have a bestfriend like him.

As she moved to a display that dropped a ruler on a timer to see how quickly you could catch it, she felt a strong push to her right side as Jack, one of the kids in her class, pushed her out of the way. She landed hard on the floor with a thud, letting out a loud grunt.

Aaron giggles quietly. "That's half the fun." He insists as they start moving through the museum, his fingers laced through hers. Though he never understood why she liked to hold his hand, he just let her do it because of how they are best friends.

He points out a bunch of air planes as they walk by, rattling off information in short garbled up sentences, as if able to absorb the information but not able to truly understand it. They pass a section where Aaron puts on a flight helmet, the ridiculously sized helmet made for an adult looks silly and too big for Aaron, it slides around a little on his head and wobbles as he moves around, giggling. He puts the helmet back on the display case before looking back over at Amelia, who had separated from him.

He watches Jack push her, he had always been that school bully he hated, though he wasn't really able to do anything about him, his early physique was not good, the start of a little pot belly starting to come out along with some easy fatigue, though he doesn't exactly understand how to manage that.

Aaron approaches the bully, pushing him lightly before helping up Amelia, standing between them. "Pick on someone your own size!" He says to the bully who just laughs and places a hand on Aaron's face, knocking him down to the floor before walking off. Aaron lays in a crumpled mess, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, having always been emotional.

Amelia called after Jack as she knelt down beside her best friend. "JERK!" She yelled, as tears streamed down her 9 year old face. She turned Aaron over onto his back, and comforted him. She could see the tears welling in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Aaron" she said, wiping her cheeks. "I'll get him one day."

She helped him to his feet just as Ms. DeMark stomped over to them.

"Get off the floor, you two! We are leaving! I'll have to have a word with both of your parents if you keep leaving the group!! Now SCOOT!!" She pushed both of them forward, not caring one bit that they'd just been assaulted by the class bully.

Amelia took his hand into hers again and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She smiled at Aaron, her bright blue eyes lighting up with her grin. They walked silently behind the rest of the class, exiting the museum. As they did, Amelia took one more long look at the flight simulator, and then motioned to it with her hand that was clasped around Aarons.

"I'm gonna do that some day..." she said quietly as the door shut behind them.

Aaron sighs quietly, he had always hated their teacher. "You're going to do the simulator? Or fly?" He asks. "When I grow up, I wanna fly.. Maybe I'll be an astronaut, or a pilot.. Or something like that." He says after giving a little sniffle, starting to calm down now that she was there with him.

He sighs again. "I don't wanna go home." He says quietly to her as they board the bus that would take them back to their home school. His home situation is not the greatest, his parents are on the brink of divorce, as his dad is a drunk and his mother is very religious, to the point where he fears she has gone over the line, seemingly always finding it necessary to 'discipline' him whenever he did something that she didn't like, like writing with his left hand, because, well, he is left handed. There are many marks where a ruler has come down on his wrist.

Aaron curls up into a ball in the window seat, Amelia of course had sat down next to him. He stares out the window at the Smithsonian as they drive past it, holding his hand up to the glass as all of the cool things they had seen are left in the dust.

Amelia ran into the classroom with a piece of paper in her hand. She lunged at her best friend, wrapping her arms around his neck in a rough embrace.

"Guess what! Guess WHAT!!" She yelled excitedly, as she pulled away to see his puzzled look.

"I got an A!!! Thank you so much for helping me study Aaron!! Oh you're the best!!" She landed a large kiss on his cheek as she turned around and ran back out of the room. She had to get to cheerleading practice, and then meet Jack after his football practice. She bounced happily all the way to the locker room.

As she entered, she could hear Shelley behind her, commenting loudly on her and Aarons friendship.

"I don't know how Jack puts up with Amelia being in love with her best friend. He deserves so much better than that!" she said loudly. She said it loudly specifically for Amelia to hear.

" I am not!! You don't know what you're talking about, Shelley! Just shut your ugly face!" Amelia called back, hoping that'd be the end of it.

"Oh, MY ugly face?! Take a look at your best friend, or should I say boyfriend! He has more spots on his face than a Dalmatian!"

Amelia slammed the locker shut. She was infuriated that the girl would assume she and Aaron were dating, but even more mad at the fact that Shelley had called her best friend ugly. She knew what ugly was, and it certainly wasn't Aaron. More like Shelleys personality.

Amelia stormed off to the field for practice.

Aaron had been sitting in the class room, the bell having already rung to signal the end of the school day when his best friend came in, he blinks as she hugs him, his puzzled look melting into a grin as she tells him about her score. "No problem Amelia.' He says to her before she kisses him on his cheek, which surprises him a lot, he hadn't been very popular Ipswich any female audience in the school, so a kiss on the cheek felt.. Weird, but in a good way.

He watches her practically bounce out of the room, but hearing what Shelley had to say about him makes his shoulders sag, he had liked Amelia for awhile now.. But for some reason she went out with that bully from their elementary school, something he will never understand.

Aaron stands and awakwardly shoulders his bag, heading out of the classroom with his head facing down to the ground, receiving a sneer from Shelley before he headed out. He'd been staying with his dad for awhile, somehow he had won custody but still keeps up his alcoholic tendencies. Aaron sits down on the bleachers outside of the football field, watching the cheerleading and football team's practice while doing his homework, messy drawings of planes sit in the corners of each page.. But on his math homework, mathematical equations based around lift, g force, etc, sit scrawled across the paper, he realizes only now that he had written these things absentmindedly.

In his backpack sits a small pamphlet, which he pulls out, a F/A 18 Hornet 152 sits on the front, his fingertips brush across the plane's nose, as if actually trying to touch it. In a few days they would graduate, and then they would be free to make their own choices.. He knows what he wants to do. He starts to pack up his things while keeping his eye on the field.. He would show everyone here that his current look is not the way he will be forever.

After her practice had finished, Amelia took a quick shower in the locker room, and then made her way to the coffee shop to meet Jack. School was almost done for the year. They would graduate soon. She knew she had to end it with Jack before they went to different schools. She had also noticed that he had begun to get easily angered lately, so she dreaded telling him goodbye. Not because she'd miss him. But because she feared his reaction.

She ordered a cup of coffee, and sat down in front of Jack who smiled at her.

"We need to talk..." she started, anxiety in her tone.

"About what, beautiful?" He asked, leaning in and moving some hair from her eyes.

"Jack, school is almost over. And we're going to be going to different schools, hundreds of miles apart. I just think it's time to end this now, before we both end up heartbroken."

Her eyes darted to the tabletop, as she tried to avoid his eyes which had started to grow angry. She could feel the tension between them growing, and she waited for the response.

Jack stood up, and grabbed her roughly by the arm, yanking her outside. Amelia protested as best as she could, but he was just too strong for her. He dragged her around the side of the building, and shoved her up against the cold brick wall.

Leaning in closely, his lips pressed to her right ear. She was trembling now. "You're mine, do you hear me? Mine. I'll be damned if you think you can just break up with me, you cunt." His whisper was cold and vicious.

"Jack.... Please let me go. You're hurting me...." Amelia begged as she pressed her hands to his chest, trying to push him away. She couldn't even budge him. He laughed. An evil, devilish laugh, before reaching back and punching her across her face. Her head banged against the brick wall, and she slumped to the pavement unconscious, her face bleeding just above the eye where he'd landed his blow.

Aaron had gone home, immediately locking himself in his room while staring at the ceiling. He sighs quietly before sitting up, deciding to make some calls. First he calls the Navy, requesting a recruitment form in order to sign up, as he is eighteen now and he would be graduating tomorrow.

Then once he's done with that conversation, he decides to tell Amelia the news, little does he know she's unconcious.. He picks up his cellphone and calls her, tapping his fingers against his leg before narrowing his eyes, she had told him about breaking up with Jack.. And they always go to that coffee shop after school.. He throws his phone on to the bed before grabbing his pocket knife, shoving it into his pocket and leaving the house.

He runs down to the coffee shop, just a couple of blocks from his house, he checks inside first before around to the alley, where he sees Jack standing over an unconcious Amelia. He breathes heavily as he grabs the pocket knife from his pocket, flipping it out and pointing it at him. "Get away from her!" He yells to him while approaching, his free hand reaching down to Amelia and helping her up, keeping her standing while moving away, knowing the bully wouldn't want to get cut.

Once they're a safe distance he moves with her unconcious form in his arms to a small alley, hidden from the rest of the world before placing her down. "Amelia, wake up.." He begs, wiping some of the blood from her forehead.

Amelia lay on the concrete, fully unconscious. It took about 10 minutes before the sound of a familiar voice slowly worked her out of her state. She could hear Aaron's voice, softly to her side. "Amelia, please wake up" she heard his sweet voice say.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly. She was very dizzy and her head was in severe pain. Amelia brought a hand up her face, with a searing groan, and felt the warm blood which was slowly draining down her beautiful face. Her eyes focused on Aaron, an she began to cry.

"Please, take me home, Aaron. I need to rest." She begs as she tries to stand up.

Aaron nods at her request, helping her up with some effort before starting to walk her home. It takes a little while for them to get their, as she is woozy and doesn't move very fast, but they reach her house where he helps her inside to her room.

"Are you alright?" He asks while sitting on the foot of her bed, looking over at her with a worried expression. "I was trying to find you to tell you some good news.. Then I saw what Jack did.. Why did you ever date that scum bag?" He asks her, obviously very confused on the whole thing.

"I don't know... I honestly don't know, Aaron. Can we change the subject? What is your news? I'd much rather talk about that, then Jack." She winced as she moved the rag she was using to stop the bleeding to her face. She looked at Aaron with her bright blue eyes, and asked herself the same exact question he'd just asked.

She sat there in thought s she waited for his response. She had hoped it wouldn't involve him leaving, bit she knew he'd always wanted to be a Naval pilot.

"I've just enlisted in the Navy, my application got processed and I'm in for Basic right after we graduate." He says to her while watching her, knowing this would also be bad for them because he would be leaving her behind.

"I know that you want to go to college and all, but.. You could enlist with me, we'd never be separated then, and we can get away from all of this shit around us." He says while gesturing to the room around them. "Get away from Jack, our families, anybody around here that's ever done us wrong.. We can be free, free to fly, do whatever we want to do with our lives." He says as if really trying to get her to come with him. "But I understand if you don't want to." He says, his eyes dropping to the floor.

Her eyes began to well up at the thought that he would be leaving her behind. She'd lose her best friend for the first time since kindergarten. She was happy for him, but sad for herself.

Then he proposed that she sign up as well. She had always wanted to fly. To be a pilot. But to do so with the military? She worried about that. About the possibility that they'd end up dead. But it did sound a bit better than staying here in this shithole of a town.

"Let's do it!" She yelled, before wincing at her throbbing head pain. She would fill out the application tomorrow, and take it down to the recruitment office the very next day. She was nervous, but also excited about the prospect of it all. Aaron spent the night with her, holding her as she cried, until they both fell asleep.

It only takes a few months of training for the new Aaron to be born. He steps out of the doors of Navy Processing, wearing a brand new flight uniform he had received from flight training and boot camp, his wing medal sits on the left side of his chest.

He looks completely different, his acne has cleared up, he is the definition of physically fit, a lean, athletic body with the start of developing muscles. His once uncontrollable hair is cut down to size, giving him that stereotypical military look.

Aaron looks down at his new assignment, he would be assigned to the USS Nimitz under the Black Knight squadron, which flies the F/A 18 Hornet. He drives to port, getting on the gloriously huge aircraft carrier and reporting to his bunk, where his wingman or WSO (depending on the plane he would be assigned to later) would also be staying. He finds a flight uniform and helmet sitting on his neatly made bed.

He holds the helmet in his hands, turning it to look at the back before setting it back down on his bed. He places his loaded duffel bag under his bed, deciding to go through it later. The Nimitz would soon be leaving port, the ship would leave once all personel are on board.

A recent development in Ukraine led to a placement of policing military forces on the border of Russia, hopefully the Nimitz carrier would prevent any fighting, but more developments like Ukraine could lead to all out war. Aaron waits patiently for his wingman/WSO to show up, sitting on his bed while he waits.

Amelia sat at the edge of her bed and took a deep breath. Today would be the last time she'd see any of her family for at least a year. It would also be her first full deployment since joining the Navy. She hoped it wouldn't be her last.

Russia and America were in a bit of a conflict, and she was being sent on the Nimitz as a WSO. She wasn't sure who her pilot would be, as the paperwork didn't say. It just told her what time to show up, and where. She sighed as she stood up, her dress uniform on, hair done up in a tight bun. Reaching down, she grabbed her duffel bag, and left her apartment for the last time for a long time. As she shut the door, she had a rush of emotions. Part excitement, part anxiety. Mostly, she just couldn't wait to fly.

As she made her way onto the ship, she was greeted by grumbles and mumbles as she passed by machinist mates, and the like. She could tell they were none too happy about heading out towards the threat of battle. She made her way down to the middle of the ship where she signed in, was given her bunk assignment, and her flight suit. Her helmet she held between her arm and her side as she made her way down the narrow hallways and stairs.

As she turned the corner, she read the signs pointing her in the right direction of where he bunk would be. She'd be sharing it with her pilot. As she got closer, a ball of nerves grew in the pit of her stomach, and she tried breathing deep in order to calm herself. She reached the room she was looking for, turned the corner, and stopped.

On the bed was a very well built man, turned facing away from her. She stepped in, threw her stuff onto her bunk, and walked forward, hand extended. "Hi! I'm Amelia! Looks like we'll be flying together!" When he turned to look at her, a look of shock came over her face. Could it be?? Aaron?? He was different, but yet, the same. A huge smile spread across her face.

Aaron looks up at Amelia when she speaks to him, shaking her hand, he sees the smile on her face and he returns it. "I'll be damned, you're my WSO?" He asks, laughing. "I didn't think I would see you here, especially on the Nimitz.. Damn, especially as my WSO." He says while sitting back on his bed.

"How was bootcamp?" He asks her while watching her from across the room. He seems a lot more confident now, as if the old Aaron had been destroyed with his experience in bootcamp, not only that, but he doesn't look anything like the old Aaron, now he looks a lot better.

"I wish Shelley could see me now." He says with a laugh. "The bitch wouldn't know what to say." He says while leaning against the wall of his bunk. He runs his hands through his short hair. "You excited to get rolling? We'll probably have some exercises in the morning." He says to her.

As if on cue the ship begins to move, as all crew are on board and accounted for. It would be a couple of weeks before they would arrive outside of the Ukranian seaboard, which is around Italy, but the range of their aircraft would allow them to fly into Moscow if they honestly wanted to.

Amelia had the biggest smile on her face since high school. She hadn't seen Aaron in what felt like forever, and she couldn't help but be impressed. His skin was clear and smooth. His body appeared to have at least a six pack, and huge muscles under his shit. She couldn't help but blush when looking at him. Surely he had been snatched up by some lucky girl in the time she had been out of touch with him.

"Bootcamp was fine. Nothing I couldn't handle. Not like cheerleading didn't keep me in great shape. I out ran many of the men in my class. Haha!" She was being bragadocious. Trying to impress her best friend. She smacked herself on her thigh to bring her back to reality. This was Aaron in front of her. She knew Aaron very well. She didn't need to impress him.

"Yeah, I'm about as ready as I can be. Just ready to get back, and we haven't even left yet!" She said this just as she felt the ship begin to move.

"So, I don't know about you, but I am absolutely starved. Would you like to go to the mess and get some really shitty food with me?" She smiled at him, again blushing.

He raises his eyebrows at her when he sees her blush, shaking his head as a smile spreads across his face. "I'm sure you outran a lot of people.. Honestly, I've never felt better, I was really out of shape before Boot." He says to her, he had never seen this side of Amelia, always trying to impress people, maybe it had something to do with his new look.

"Honestly I'm glad to be gone.. I get to be free in the skies, F/A training was the best time of my life." He says with a chuckle. "I would've thought you would be a pilot, not a WSO.. But you know what? I'm glad that we get to fly together, I was terrified that I would get someone that is a complete opposite from me, but I think we might get along just fine." He says with a smile.

"Yeah, I could go for some shitty food.. You know if we see any downed pilots in the Blue we get ice cream, right?" He asks with a laugh, he notices her blush again but he just looks away this time. "Let's get going." He says while standing and walking out of the barrack, he has a much better stance and walk now that he actually has a good frame.

They enter the mess hall and he gets a tray full of food from the servers, sitting down at a table with Amelia and starting to pick at his food. He then starts to eat slowly. "You know, for shitty food.. This is.. Not shitty." He says while eating.

Amelia grabbed her tray and followed him over to a table. The tray didn't look too bad. Hamburger, green beans, a small salad, and a cookie. She had grabbed two bottles of water as well, planning to take one back to her bunk with her, in case she got thirsty overnight.

She was hesitant to take a bite, even though everything looked reasonably edible. She lifted the burger to her nose and smelled it as Aaron commented on the quality of the food. She smiled at him, taking his word as Bible truth, and shoved the burger into her mouth. Surprisingly he was right. It wasn't bad at all. Amelia raised her eyebrows and nodded at him in agreement.

"You're right!" She said with a hint of excitement after she swallowed her first bite. "It's pretty damn good. You know the food in boot was so terrible, I figured this food here would be just as inedible. I'm pleasantly surprised!" She took another bite, looking around the mess hall.

She noticed that almost everyone was staring in her direction. It was like they'd never seen a woman before. Or perhaps, they'd never seen a female WSO. When she took another look around, she also realized she was only one of 3 females in the entire hall filled with nearly 100 people. She thought this was strange, but quickly shrugged it off. Women had not been treated very well in the Navy by their fellow service members. Rapes. Harassment. So she really wasn't that surprised to find that women were few and far between.

After they finished their meal, Amelia suggested that they go on deck and check out the view. It was a warm summer night, and she really wanted to see the stars reflecting on the water.

"Yeah, the food at Boot was awful." He says with a laugh. He notices her looking around at the men who were staring at her. "C'mon now Amelia, you should be used to guys staring at you." He says with a chuckle. He stands up and nods to her, depositing his tray into one of the slots by the food servers.

He walks with Amelia to the top deck, standing on the side of the ship while leaning against one of the planes on deck, he stares out at the sunset. "It's beautiful." He says, some sea salt spraying into his hair which gives it a little sparkle.

"I really missed you Amelia." He says to her while looking over at her. He looks back out at the ocean. "I wonder what Jack's doing now.. Have you dated any body else since I last saw you? I sure as hell haven't." He says with a laugh. "Haven't even kissed a girl much less fucked one.." He says with a sigh, running a hand over his short spikey hair.

Amelia looked out at the beautiful sky as the sun set off the horizon. The smell of the sea infiltrated her nostrils and made her feel very calm and relaxed. She could almost feel the salt water on her face as the ship pushed forward. She took in some deep breaths, just enjoying the fresh night air.

"No, I haven't spoken to Jack since the assault. He tried to apologize and get back into my good graces, but once is more than enough for me. I'm better than that. And as for other guys, I've had dates here and there, but mostly they just wanted to fuck me and then leave. And I'm not into that game either. No, I'm afraid I'm doomed to be single forever. Until I find the right guy who will actually invest in something real with me." She sighed.

"What do you mean you haven't kissed a girl, Aaron? Are you trying to tell me you're still a virgin?" She giggled a bit as she playfully punched him in his shoulder.

He laughs. "That's how God wanted it, yeah?" He asks, rubbing his shoulder. "Plus nobody ever really wanted to be with me back in High School." He explains. "If I wanted to I could just hire someone to do it, but that's not happening, so.. Yeah, I guess if I die out here I'm dying a virgin." He says with the shake of his head.

"And nobody ever dated me, so I never had the opportunity to kiss anybody.. Well, I guess I dated Mackenzie Jening for a little while.. But all that happened was holding hands and hugging, and that was in middle school, so even that didn't count." He says with a laugh. "Don't judge me!" He says while pushing her lightly. "There's a reason I'm the pilot and you're the assistant, experience with dating has nothing to do with the Ace status I'm gonna be getting in the next deployment." He says with a grin.

Amelia smiled at him as he went on to explain why he hadn't lost his V card yet. "Well, I'm sure you won't have any trouble getting laid now that you look so fucking good." She said playfully, pushing him back.

Turning back to the sea, the sun had set and the sky was full of stars. She sighed as she thought about all she and Aaron had been through over the years, and where they would go from here. Part of her was hoping they wouldn't see any action, but the other part couldn't wait to press those buttons on the aircraft, sending the bombs flying at her targets.

"We should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow we get our craft assignment and have a lot to do to get familiar with it, test it out, and bring it back in. It's going to be a busy day to say the least. And I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted." Amelia started walking towards the steps that led down a few levels to their bunks.

As they both walked into their quarters, Amelia shut the door and pulled out her duffle bag, grabbing an extra large sand colored t-shirt. She turned towards her bed, and began to take her uniform off, laying each piece out onto the bed so that it wouldn't be wrinkled. First her pants, then her button down shirt. She took off her undershirt revealing a black lace bra that matched her black panties. She removed her bra last, quickly throwing the shirt over her head.

She hung her uniform up in her locker and pulled the sheet back on her bed before climbing in. Next to her bed she had set the bottle of water, and a book to read. But she was so tired that she didn't even bother grabbing the book.

He laughs. "You really think so?" He asks while following her below deck to their quarters. He catches himself staring at her bare back for a moment before shaking his head, pulling off his own t-shirt and leaving it on top of his duffel bag before slipping into bed.

He looks over at Amelia. "Night." He says before reaching over and turning off the lights. He stares up at the ceiling for a little while before his eyes drift closed, pulling him into a very deep and welcome sleep.

In the morning he is awoken by the role call, he jumps out of bed and pulls on an undershirt and pulls off the pants he had been wearing the night before before throwing on his flight suit, tucking his helmet under his arm before heading out.

He goes to the under-deck of the carrier, where most inactive or planes in need of repair are stored. They are assigned to a 152, which was fairly obvious from the start considering they are a team. He climbs the ladder of the plane, sitting down in the pilots seat.

"Cmon Amelia, we gotta get on to the catapult." He says while impatiently waiting for her, wanting to get moving on their first run of the plane. "Perform weapons systems checks." He tells her while turning on the engine.