SHAME ON THE BUNNY 6

 Part 1 of The Lies We Told Each Other

Fandoms:
Top Gun (Movies), Thunderheart (1992)

Relationships:
Tom "Iceman" Kazansky/Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Sarah Kazansky/Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Sarah Kazansky/Tom "Iceman" Kazansky/Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Walter Crow Horse/Ray Levoi

Characters:
Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Carole Bradshaw, Sarah Kazansky, Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Ron "Slider" Kerner, Ray Levoi, Walter Crow Horse, Grandpa Samuel Reaches, Original Child Character(s)

Additional Tags:
Trans Male Character, Unplanned Pregnancy, Secret Relationship, Polyamory, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky Lives

Summary:
Tom looks at Sarah in surprise.
"What?"
"What?" she repeats, confused.
"Are you in love with me?"
She breaks away from Mav and straightens up.
"What's odd about that? Cougar fell for you, Mav fell for you, I fell for you." She shrugs. "You are a wonderful man."
"I believe there is nothing more logical in the world than falling in love with you. When you're an admiral, you'll have a line of officers everywhere you go, risking their lives to prove their love to you."
Tom rolls his eyes.
"Shut up Mav!"

NOTE: 

    Vocabulary
    Lakota = English
    cekpápi = twins
    iná = mother

--------------------

Chapter 6: 1994

January:

"We're here," Pete announces.

The car stops in front of a blue and white house.

"Mom, will I have to change schools when we move?" Brad asks as he waits for Sarah and Pete to get Sam and Jake out of the car.

"No, honey. You're going to finish elementary school with your group, don't worry."

"University City may seem like another world to you, Brad, but we're only fifteen minutes from the Miramar base," Sarah reminds him. "You will continue in school, have all your friends, and nothing you like will change. yes?"

Brad nods.

"Now come on, we mustn't keep the real estate agent waiting," Carole urges him.

Peggy is already at the door of the house. The agent is blonde, around forty years old, and slightly overweight. Sarah found her through a network of information and recommendations, so she wasn't fazed by her family's singularity or recommended neighborhoods where they would never fit in.

They have been in contact by phone since November. Peggy sent them profiles of a dozen houses in north San Diego. Everything was in duplicate: wherever her work as an itinerant midwife took Sarah and to Miramar. Sarah, Carole, and Pete had long phone conversations throughout December, considering things like the size of the yard, the space in the garage for the motorcycle, the orientation to the sun, and the width of the stairs. In this way, they reduced the list to four houses they decided to visit in these first days of the year.

They have already visited all four locations. They all have something excellent and something that needs to be repaired, but none of them has made them fall in love. This visit is extra. Peggy told them that the property came on the market a week ago. Since they set foot on the stairs, there is something...

"You can run," says Brad, looking to the right, where the covered porch turns around the side of the house and becomes a veranda.

"It's private." Pete's gaze goes from the large windows to the trees surrounding the property.

The double door leads to a spacious and bright hall. The effect is partly because it is empty, but there is definitely space.

As soon as they hit the ground, Jake and Sam walk determinedly towards a window with a wide opening where they try to climb. 

"I like the floor," Sarah comments as she moves her slippers across the honey-colored wood.

"This open space takes up half of the ground floor," Peggy explains. "To the right are the dining room and the kitchen, which goes to the bottom, where the door to the patio is. In the kitchen, there is a bathroom. On the left, you can see the corridor that leads to two rooms that can be converted into offices, a library, a music room, whatever you prefer. There is a second bathroom between the two."

"Two bathrooms on the ground floor?" Carole inquires, astonished.

"Yes, Mrs. Bradshaw. If you follow me, I'll show you the access to the upper floor and the detail that makes this the ideal home for your family."

Pete takes Jake and Sam into his arms. Peggy smiles at them and walks down the hall, where there are several doors.

"These are cabinets with mobile shelves. You can adjust them to put everything from books to food. They close with sliding doors, see? So they do not block access and preserve order, something difficult to maintain in a family with infants. Most importantly, one of these sliding doors leads to…"

With a gesture, the agent opens the last door of the gallery. It does not reveal another closet but rather a wide two-flight staircase. It is daytime, and the space is well-lit through a skylight in the ceiling and two others on the left side, the back wall of the house.

"Wow!"

"Yes, wow is a good way to describe it, Mr. Mitchell." 

Peggy goes up two steps and turns to the family, her expression turning thoughtful. She seems to be considering her words. 

"The people who lived here until last year were a large family and very much in need of discretion," and he emphasizes the last word. "So during the decade they owned the property, they modified the structure to completely separate their home's public and private spaces. No one can mistakenly go to the family rooms and fall into indiscretions. They planted trees and shrubs around the property for the same reason. Nothing that happens in the side gallery, the rear railing, or the patio is visible from the street or the neighboring houses.

"This staircase has another section down, which leads directly to the garage. The garage occupies the entire right side of the basement. It has two separate lift doors, space for three cars, and, yes, Mr. Mitchell, a motorcycle or two. Also, bike hanger hooks were installed, Brad. The other half of the basement is accessed from the kitchen. It contains a laundry complex and more space that can be used for storage. Should we go up?"

They follow her. The staircase leads to a wide corridor that crosses the entire second floor. Well-lit by windows at both ends.

"The house has six bedrooms, as you wish. To the right are the two main rooms, with an interspersed bathroom that can be accessed from the corridor and from the rooms. The fourth door on this side is a solarium, ideal for relaxing with the family and enjoying the scenery without fearing prying eyes. It has a service staircase that leads directly to the kitchen. To the left are the four smaller bedrooms and the second bathroom. Access to the loft is also on the right-hand side. More closets are built into the walls to store boxes, document folders, out-of-season clothes, and toys. Whatever they want." 

"Mavdad?" Brad's voice reveals deep emotion. "Can I choose my room?"

"Wait, Brad." Pete looks at the agent, doubting. "Are you sure this wonder fits our budget? Because we're a military family, we don't have…" he swallows and settles Sam into his arms. "I mean, this house is almost custom-built."

Peggy nods understandingly but turns to Brad when she speaks.

"Brad, go look at the rooms with your brother and sister, okay? I have to talk to your dad and your moms" Carole is surprised by the plural but prefers not to say anything. "Don't worry, Mrs. Bradshaw, there is no furniture. They are not going to bump into anything."

Brad waits for his mother to nod before leading Jake and Sam by the hand. Peggy's expression becomes much more severe when they are alone in the hallway.

"I told you before, the family that lived here adjusted the house to meet their needs for extreme privacy. They contacted me in the last days of December to process the sale. They had to leave in a hurry, but they gave me clear instructions about who the house should be sold to:" She takes a sealed envelope from his folder and hands it to them. "To you."

Sarah takes the envelope and unfolds a typewritten page. Pete and Carole lean over her shoulders to read. The letter is brief and eloquent.

"We have to go in a hurry, so I can't give you the house tour, but I trust Peggy.
We have told her to arrange things so you can get an interest-free payments option since feeding and educating four mouths is complicated, we know.
Ice and Mav, please stop eye-kissing whenever you're in a room. It's hard to pretend we don't notice.
Destroy this note after reading it. It could be evidence in a DADT process.
Take care.
Jester"

 "Jester?" Carole looks suspiciously at Pete.

He nods, swallows, and feels cold sweat running down his back. Have they really been that transparent? Who else knows his secret? But he forces himself to answer.

"He received a promotion to captain in December and left Top Gun. Rumor has it something from NASA. All I know is that he moved to Florida. I never knew anything about his family life," he looks around with renewed interest, "except that he lived in San Diego."

Peggy brings them back to the immediate issue.

"I decided to give you the letter after the tour because I didn't want you to feel any pressure, but I noticed that the other four visits left you unsatisfied. Instead, you all like this house, right?"

Mav and Carole exchange thoughtful glances. Sarah walks down the gallery to the solarium door. Check that the glass roof creates a pleasant temperature and a beautiful view. She imagines herself pregnant - this time voluntarily - and sitting in a rocking chair in this conservatory room.

"So?" Peggy asks.

"I like it a lot," Carole admits.

"I love it" Sarah does not hide her enthusiasm.

Pete tears up the letter and puts the remains in his pants pocket.

"Where do we sign?"

March:

They returned the keys to the house at the Miramar naval base on Friday, March 11.

They used the last two weekends of January to paint the rooms and assembled the furniture in stages in February. Brad went into a state of rapture when he discovered that he could choose his room's furniture  - until now, he lived in military bases decorated by Uncle Sam. It has been a good experience as a family: Pete, Sarah, and Carole found that they work well as a team. It is not a surprise that they know how to do it: they are nurses, he is a pilot, and the ability to collaborate is vital in their jobs, but that they fit without tension in this first project is a good omen.

In the legal transfer process, they discover surprising new details. The property includes a small plot of land on the other side of the middle alley, which adjoins the street on the other side, so technically, they are entitled to two mailing addresses. This will allow them to maintain the fiction of separate households in all their future documents. They also have two landlines, so each room has a white and a black phone.
Most importantly, University City is totally out of Miramar's orbit. It is a civilian neighborhood where most inhabitants work for the University of San Diego.

Operation "Continuing Hope," as the US intervention in Somalia was called, officially ended on March 15, 1994. In official discourse, it is about letting local forces take control of their destiny, but rumors within the military community speak of a shameful withdrawal. Of regret for the broken illusions and mistakes, both military and political, in an operation that cost hundreds of American casualties.
They know that Ice will not arrive in San Diego the next day. As the captain of the only air support squadron whose troops on the ground suffered no losses in Somalia, he must stop in Washington DC, write reports and talk to the top brass about his strategies.

At least the house will be ready for him.

Tom arrives at his new home on Saturday, March 19, in the late afternoon. After a week of wandering around Washington, DC, he has a grim mood. He forced himself to be invisible and listen carefully. He used his combat achievements to advocate for better troop protection, but he cannot know how effective his words were. In short, he returns victorious from a collective defeat, and although it is a personal advance, it is a bittersweet triumph.

He exits the taxi and contemplates the entrance, between impressed and restless. Is it a house or a mansion? It is true that they could not give him many details, but how will they pay for this? The noise of the taxi leaving makes him react, and he opens the gate. A silent alarm must be connected because a silhouette is immediately visible in one of the front windows.

The portal light comes on, and Mav opens the door.

He's wearing sweatpants and a tight white T-shirt. He smiles but doesn't move, so Ice throws all his coldness aside and runs toward the house. He goes up the steps two at a time, drops the regulation backpack, and takes him in his arms.

Mav lets go and hugs him tight.

"Welcome home…," but Ice cuts him off with a kiss.

They stay like that for a few moments, alone in the universe of their passion, until a voice brings them back to reality.

"Why do they kiss on the mouth, Mom?"

"I already told you that people kiss like that when they love each other a lot, Brad."

The boy does a skeptical grunt.

"I love Jake and Sam but don't give them my drool. Older people are disgusting."

Ice stares at him in disbelief. Mav laughs into his arms.

"We'll get back to it when you're fifteen," Carole says, then she looks at them. "Are you coming in?"

From there, everything is beautiful and a bit confusing.

Ice walks in but barely makes it past the hallway as Jake, Sam, and Brad throw him to the floor with the force of their hugs.

"Welcome home, honey," Sarah says, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

The gesture causes another noise of disgust from Brad. Thus he understands that the problem is not that he kissed Mav but the nature of the kisses on the mouth. Oh!

"Let Icepop get up to wash his hands," Sarah orders, helping him from under the childish mess.

When he returns from the bathroom, Carole has already set out a plate of scalloped potatoes and orange chicken on the dining room table —which must seat twelve people. Tom eats with Mav and Sarah in the seats on his sides and Brad in front. The boy releases about twenty words per second into the air, eager to tell him about the whole adventure of having a new house. Ice doesn't understand much specifically, but it becomes clear that Brad is happy, that Jake and Sam are delighted -since when does Brad call them brothers?-and that living in University City is the best thing in the world.
Suddenly it's nine o'clock, Brad's bedtime, and he starts yawning too.

"Your body thinks it's almost midnight," Mav says as he carries the plate and silverware to the industrial-sized sink in the massive kitchen at the back of the house.

"Come," again Sarah's warm hand guides him. "Let Mav take care of closing the doors down here."

They enter a light blue painted room with a very large bed upstairs. It occurs to Ice that it would fit up to four people.

"Start to take off your uniform while I'm going to look for a pajama."

He nods, but his brain comes up with a better idea: He walks toward the bed.

"No, no, no, no." Sarah stops him by the shoulder. "No getting in there with the dust of the road."

Mav suddenly puts an arm around his waist and makes him walk in another direction.

"You need a warm shower."

Tom pouts but lets Mav lead him toward the bathroom. Mav gets in the shower with him, and thank goodness because he's so asleep he can't even handle the soap. Instead, her lover's hands move safely and tenderly over his body. The massage he gives him by rubbing soap and the pleasant sensation of the warm water jets on his body has drained him of his little strength.

Tom leans his forehead against the tiled wall and closes his eyes.

"Hey! No, don't go to sleep yet. Sarah! Help me get him out of here."

Pete and Sarah get Tom out of the shower, dry him off, and sit him on the bed. They understand that getting him into his pajamas will be too difficult, so they settle for a pair of boxers and tuck him in.
Laughter wakes him up. Tom turns towards the source of the noise and slowly opens his eyes. The room is dim, but he can recognize Sarah and Pete on the other side of the bed. She is on her back, her black hair in two thick braids, and her hands under her head. He is on top of her, elbows resting on the mattress, taking care to not suffocate her with his weight. Sarah is wearing a nightgown. Mav is bare-chested. They speak in whispers and smile tenderly at each other.

Tom moves again, and the mattress change causes the couple to look at him.

"Good morning," she says.

"Did you sleep well?" he asks and turns to kiss him while keeping in touch with Sarah.

"Yes," he answers, still disoriented, "I slept well. What time is it?"

She turns and consults the alarm clock on the nightstand.

"Almost seven in the morning."

Ice nods and remains silent. He's still confused by the time change and the accumulated tensions, but what he saw... He sighs and sits on the bed, his back resting on the headboard.

"When did," he makes a circular motion with her index finger in Sarah and Pete's direction, "…this started?"

Sarah groans and jerks away from Mav like she's been shocked. Her face is a mask of terror. He stays on his knees in the center of the bed. He gives Tom a brief, furious look, then turns to her and speaks softly as if she were a frightened animal.

"No, it's okay, Sarah, calm down. We didn't do anything wrong. I know it, you know it. Breathe okay? That's it. Breathe with me. I will get a little closer, so you can feel my breath. Okay?" He extends a hand toward her. "Look at me, and let's breathe. Inside," he makes an exaggerated gesture of breathing in, "and outside," he exaggerates the exhale. "Very good! Inside and outside. Inside and outside. Now you're going to take my hand, okay?" she nods minimally. "Yes, of course, you will. Take my hand Sarah. There is nothing to fear."

At last, she reaches out and takes Mav's outstretched hand. He laces their fingers and gives her a gentle tug. Sarah lunges at his chest, and Mav wraps his arms around her.

"Okay, okay," he croons. "Everything's fine."

"You said he was okay with it," she finally says.

Mav strokes her hair.

"Of course Ice agrees," he replies softly. "This is just a misunderstanding."

At the same time, he looks at Tom with a hardness that he hadn't shown him in years. This was the face of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun when they were still enemies.

"Yes, Sarah," Ice forces himself to say. "It's just a misunderstanding. You must excuse me. I still have half my head in Somalia."

"He has his head in Somalia," Mav repeats, "that's why he doesn't remember that he will have another baby as soon as he gets married, in a week!" he concludes sarcastically.

Oh! That. Mav's plan to catapult him into the manly respectability of the high command.

"But I don't remember that you were so close before."

Mav looks at his lover as if he doubts his intelligence.

"How exactly did you think we would make the baby? Did you expect Sarah to spread her legs and think about her duty to the American Empire?"

"Honestly? I thought we'd do home artificial insemination."

Now it's Sarah who makes a mocking noise and looks at Tom in disbelief.

"The success rate of home artificial insemination is similar to that of sexual intercourse, with the difference that Mav would have to deposit the sample. Then you would inject me with the semen, a process during which we risk the sperm deteriorating due to temperature changes or I suffering damage due to friction between the syringe and my vagina."

"Besides, if Sarah and I are in love with you, I told her it made sense to see if we could fall in love with each other. So far, we like each other quite a bit."

Tom looks at Sarah in surprise.

"What?"

"What?" she repeats, confused.

"Are you in love with me?"

She breaks away from Mav and straightens up.

"What's odd about that? Cougar fell for you, Mav fell for you, I fell for you." She shrugs. "You are a wonderful man."

"I believe there is nothing more logical in the world than falling in love with you. When you're an admiral, you'll have a line of officers everywhere you go, risking their lives to prove their love to you."

Tom rolls his eyes.

"Shut up Mav! Sarah," Ice takes a breath to try to calm himself down. "Sarah, you can't be in love with me, we are siblings!"

"Legally, I am a first cousin of Racuel Seresin, but I have no familial relation with Thomas Kazansky. Also, Ice, we met when you were twenty-eight and I was twenty, and we were together during our first pregnancies. We will never have a brotherly relationship!"

The logic of her arguments is irrefutable.

"But I'm gay. I was never interested in women. You are gorgeous, but you are a woman."

"Okay," she says, "we can buy matching dildos and think about Mav while he's on his impossible missions."

"Well…"

"Come on, Ice, you're not going to say you're not flattered to have her and me at your feet. Just let yourself be loved, okay?"

Mav leans in to kiss him, and Ice responds immediately. As they part, Mav turns and kisses Sarah with equal passion. The blond stares at them and decides that Mav's plan is, at least for now, very nice to see. He understands he can be affectionate with Sarah, even if her body doesn't inspire the same physical heat as Mav's.

They don't leave the room until after nine in the morning.

The weddings are scheduled for Saturday, March 26, but on the 23rd at noon, the order arrives to put up arms until it is clarified whether the "Green Ramp Disaster" at the Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina was an accident or terrorism. Ice and Mav leave for Miramar, barely wearing their uniforms. At least they have enough clarity of mind to go separately: Tom in his car, Pete in his Kawasaki. Late at night, there is enough evidence that the crash between the F-16D Fighting Falcon and the C-130E Hercules was due to a series of tragic human errors, but the knowledge that more than twenty people have died sours the atmosphere.

Jake and Sam's third birthday party is already planned for Saturday, April 2. So they postpone the weddings to the following Saturday, hoping no more national security emergencies will occur.

Tom gets very emotional during the birthday party. It's the first time he's here for Jake's birthday, and since the boy expresses sympathy for him, he doesn't need to hold back or hide his affection. Jake and Sam have only been living together three months, but already they're acting like lifelong siblings: Jake repeats Lakota phrases he hears from Sam. Sam calls Brad big brother, as does Jake. The guests, base staff, and colleagues from the clinics where Carole and Sarah's work are soon calling them cekpápi (twins), as Sarah does.

Mav takes the goal of getting them pregnant very seriously. He does it for practical reasons: he is going on a ten-month deployment, and any coincidence of dates between his visits and pregnancy after this window could arouse suspicion. He does it for sentimental reasons: their love is fresh and intense, he can see Tom's features in Sarah's —especially the cut of her face and the shape of her hands— and the idea of helping bring another Kazansky baby into the world is beautiful. He does it for hedonistic reasons: the combinations that allow three to love each other are delightful.

Sarah does not have her period in May. Instead of buying a pregnancy test, they celebrate by intensely making love.

Bradley's birthday party, June 27, is a farewell.

"Well, Brad," Mav tells him seriously that night. "I'm going on a mission, but I'll leave Ice to you. He'll be your dad if you want."

The boy thinks about it a bit.

"Can he also be Jake's dad?"

Mav smiles. It is a bitter smile, but the child does not realize it.

"Ice will love being Jake's dad too. In return, you will be Sam's older brother."

"That's fair," Brad agrees.

"Something else, I leave you a very special gift with Sarah."

"I know!" the boy interrupts. "I heard Icepop and iná (mother) Sarah saying they will have a baby. I'll be a big brother again."

"That's how it is. You will be a big brother again. This time, your mission is to tell me everything that happens with the baby. Can you do that on your letters?"

"Of course, Mavdad," and Brad hugs him. "I am your reliable support on the ground."

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell reports for duty at Naval Base San Diego on June 28, 1994, at 8 am. He is dispatched to the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier as part of Operation Sharp Guard, a multi-year joint naval blockade in the Adriatic Sea by NATO and the Western European Union on shipments to the former Yugoslavia. The operation ends in the summer of 1996.