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Sometimes, when they’re getting ready for a mission, or when they're out at The Hard Deck, playing pool and drinking cheap alcohol, Rooster will watch as the light catches on the distant figure of Hangman, and think that maybe they could have had something great. Something like in the movies, like Ice and Mav, or Goose and Carole.
But then Hangman makes a comment about how he’s still stuck on his perch, or shoots him a cutting smile, and Rooster is reminded why it would never work. Hangman is competitive, like Bradley, but to a fault. He never knows when to admit defeat, to take the loss. It’s part of the reason he’s called Hangman, he's so worried about being the best that everyone else comes second, even his teammates, his wingman. He’s reckless, and more like Maverick than you’d think, always ready to jump into action and do something stupid.
Rooster, on the other hand, is loyal, always has been. He gets it from his parents, the two people in his life who stayed together despite the dangers of his dad’s job, and his mom stayed loyal even past his death. Bradley admires her for it, but he never wants to see anyone die, so he’s cautious, maybe to a fault, a fact Jake loves to remind him of.
So no, if there ever was a universe where they made it work, became something great, it wasn’t this one.
But he can’t stop thinking – Maybe in another life.