Chapter Text
The next day and a half saw Raleigh pining for his copilot like a kicked puppy. He knew how easy it was to put drift compatibility in jeopardy; it had happened with him and Yancy all those years ago, and the thought of never drifting again—or worse, having only Chuck to drift with was not an option. Was it borderline pathetic that he’d given up his pride as a man to go to Mako’s door that evening with a peace offering—something he’d scrounged up from the nearby junkyard where they repurposed parts--waiting for her until it became apparent that she either wasn’t inside or ignoring him? Possibly. He sure had gotten more than a few pitying looks as he leaned against her door, hoping she would open it and let him in. She didn’t, and it remained shut. Still, didn’t hurt to try.
He didn’t so much as see her again until he and Chuck stepped into the sim room, Chuck sporting a red welt from his encounter with Mako earlier that morning. The other man stopped short, and Raleigh collided with his back, a biting remark dying on his tongue as he looked over Chuck’s shoulder to where Mako was standing in front of the one-way glass. Chuck tried backpedaling, but Raleigh caught him, forcing him into the room. There was no way in hell that he’d be alone with Mako while she was mad at him. Both men warily kept her in their line of sight, giving her a wide berth as they went to their respective Jaeger harnesses, sharing nothing more than a nervous glance. This time was a stark contrast to their first attempt at drifting and Mako had them pinned.
“We’ve made a few changes,” Tendo’s voice came in over the intercom. He sounded more than a little pleased, no doubt this was a plan that he and Mako had cooked up in the aftermath of the failed drift. Raleigh also noticed that the room already had the fans going, keeping it at a far more comfortable temperature for him, even though he still found it too warm.
“Yeah, like giving us a bloody babysitter,” Chuck muttered beside Raleigh who had the good sense to suddenly find putting on his helmet very interesting. He heard the clink of Chuck’s Drivesuit immediately after, the telltale sign that the other man flinched.
Raleigh looked up after he had the extra protection of his helmet and offered Mako his best smile full of wide-eyed innocence. As though he had done no wrong in his life… ever. A lie; one they all knew, but he’d set aside his pride if it stopped her from being mad at him. It was then that Raleigh noticed she was also wearing a Drivesuit and he brightened, his smile becoming far less forced.
“You’re whipped, mate,” Chuck said as he finished securing his own helmet, looking between the bonded pair.
“Is that what they said about you and your old man?” Raleigh shot back.
“Fucking Gages.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Raleigh noticed Mako shift and he flinched, the movement echoed by Chuck, the two of them pressing back against the harnesses as though she wouldn’t be able to see them if they stood still. Mako looked between the two of them, her hand up by her face as she tucked a strand of blue-black hair behind her ear.
“At ease, gentlemen,” Tendo’s voice, barely holding back a laugh sounded in their ears as Mako put on her own Drivesuit helmet to hide her smirk. The two of them were enjoying this.
“Shit,” Chuck breathed.
Raleigh found himself agreeing. Chuck could have his moments of brilliance, rare as they were, and this was one of those times.
This time when Tendo initiated the neural handshake, they were so focused on watching Mako they didn’t have time to think of anything else.
-She’s still mad…
Ya think?-
<Sadness>
My old man <pain> would always say mum was right whenever they had a fight.-
Thought he just didn’t know how to be a real man.-
-Never knew you were this chatty
Fuck off-
<Amusement>
Don’t laugh at me, ya dickhead.-
I love her
-How long until she isn’t mad at us anymore?
Not soon enough, miss not having to watch my back.-
Did she get closer? Move back.
Inside the control room, Tendo kept an eye on the monitor, watching with satisfaction as it maintained a steady 92%—a far cry from what it had been once they’d started chasing the RABIT during their first drift. He pressed the button on the microphone in front of him and leaned forward.
“Everything good, gentlemen?” He asked. There was no reason he couldn’t tease them a little, not with how both men were keeping their sights locked on Mako, going as far as to attempt backing up as though they were piloting a Jaeger and she wasn’t in the room with them. There truly wasn’t anything a healthy dose of adrenaline couldn’t fix. Especially not with Raleigh the thrill-seeker in the right harness. Tendo had looked back at the historical data of the man’s prior drifts and he always did best with a stressor to keep him grounded and Chuck tended to mirror whatever his father had been doing. A shame that it was Mako this time who was the one providing the… incentive, but Tendo had a feeling Raleigh had been the one to dig that hole for himself.
With a frown, Tendo realized that they hadn’t responded. “Rangers?”
“Sir, respiration is at 0,” The tech beside him said. “Slightly elevated heart rate for them both, but otherwise stable.”
“Is a line blocked?”
“No blockages are being shown.”
Tendo pressed his lips together, letting out a slow breath as he schooled his face into stoic professionalism. “Rangers, holding your breath is not going to make her go away. She’s in the room with you.”
“Fucking hell.”
“Fuck.”
Their responses had a murmur of laughter ripple through the control room and Tendo had to wonder whose bright idea it was to try something as stupid as holding their breath. It didn’t matter now, and it seemed as though Mako had forgiven Raleigh for the time being. At least, it seemed that way if Raleigh’s expression was anything to go off of. Any more distraction and Tendo would have to tell her to leave the sim, but a quick glance at the monitor told him that wasn’t necessary for now. The drift was holding steady at 93%, enough that he could initiate the next phase; running the actual sim so Chuck and Raleigh could get used to the Jaeger they’d be running.
Pulling up the stats for Cherno Alpha, Tendo skimmed through the settings, making minor adjustments to the parameters in the sim. It was completely manual without a shred of assist, something that Raleigh was already used to having minimal of to begin with; but Chuck wasn’t, which meant they would need to start out slow. A walk cycle would be good enough, but no more than an hour of work total; the mental strain of a successful drift would be more than enough to take both men out for a few days. The emotional and mental toll always got to new partners first before the physical drain could catch up and while Raleigh would be able to bounce back after drifting with Mako, their bond was also new enough that it wouldn’t have the same restorative powers that drifting with Yancy would have offered. Chuck didn’t have either of those options. He’d owe them both appointments with the Shatterdome physio after this.
“Loading Jaeger specifications for Cherno Alpha,” Tendo said into the microphone as he studied the pilots’ faces for any indication that they knew what was in store for them. No surprise, it was Chuck who had the realization dawn on him first, next to him Raleigh’s expression took on one of confusion as he felt his copilot’s dread through the drift. On the monitor his heart rate spiked momentarily, but the handshake remained stable. “Switching to manual drive.”
It was then that Raleigh realized what the momentary flash of dread he felt from Chuck was for. It was like the cradle had been put on lock down, all minor movements abruptly halting while next to him Chuck groaned, the drift between them choppy with a more intense version of his protest.
“Spoiled from enjoying a Mark-V?” Raleigh asked, even though the drift betrayed his own feelings about having no assist.
“Shut up, this is going to suck and you know it,” Chuck said, glaring daggers at the one-way glass where he thought Tendo was sitting.
"Begin walk cycle."
Tendo’s voice over their coms had both men grumbling under their breath, no doubt having expected to fuck around in the drift and not actually have to work. Raleigh shifted all of his weight to his right, stomping his foot down a few times to build up enough momentum to get the walk cycle started. No wonder the Kaidonovsky’s were built like tanks, the amount of power it took just to start a walk-cycle in their Jaeger was enough for Raleigh to wonder how long it would be before Chuck tapped out. Irritation flared against the back of his mind from Chuck who no doubt heard and resented that thought, but was too focused on getting his footing in a completely manual Jaeger to fill the drift between them with chatter.