Chapter Text
Only humans would see a monster built of nightmares and decide they need monsters of their own to fight back.
‘Kaiju’ became a word akin to death.
And they whispered ‘Jaeger’ with a reverence like that of some holy power.
These monsters from the Pacific -- they were unlike anything humanity had ever seen. No two were the same in shape, size, or deadly feat, but anything that bled could be killed. Clashes between the two forces were enough to leave blue blood guts and metal plating washing to shore for months afterwards -- but for the time being, Jaegers stood victorious. So Jaegers hunted, protected, and were coined as heroes in turn for their bravery in the fight to save humanity.
Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane was not the first to pilot a Jaeger and he would not be the last.
But he was the first to pilot Paragon Atlas.
A marvel of her time, Paragon Atlas was Alfor’s last gift to humanity before his untimely demise just five years past. As both a Jaeger pilot and an engineer, it was thanks to his work that the program was as far along as it was and that the world as a collective was working together.
Paragon Atlas was just that -- a symbol of victory and peace. When she started to collect dust following Alfor’s death and left the world feeling colder from her lack of a presence, Shiro was offered forth as the new pilot.
He was best of his class, with a burning desire to prove himself and ready to use all means necessary in order to do so.
The uppers were okay with putting Takashi “Ticking Time Bomb” Shirogane in Atlas and seeing if she came back.
Shiro never allowed them a moment of regret since.
Good run. The words crossed between them without Shiro having to physically speak -- the faint buzz of internal conversation always infuriated his partner, but Adam seemed surprisingly cool-headed today. They loomed over the corpse of a Kaiju, freshly slaughtered; the mood was good because they won.
Their Jaeger raised her left leg to toe at the mawled face of the Category II they had just ripped apart. The corpse remained still.
For three years they have been killing Kaiju -- three years they had stood side by side, never knowing if today would be their last. The idea had once been exhilarating enough to keep Shiro from asking any other questions about their end-game but today it dragged heavy through his mind.
Adam was quick to catch onto the thread, but he also knew better than to prod for answers. If there was anything to be said it would have already been laid bare between them. Category II was real ugly. And did it really need three tails?
That finally got a laugh from Adam. He shot Shiro a fond smile and turned back to their task at hand -- getting their Jaeger home in one piece. Helicopters circled them like flies and it took everything in Shiro’s mind not to swat them away like the bothers they were. In this case, it was good that the Category II had managed to leave their left arm dangling useless. Atlas wasn’t looking picture-pretty like she normally did, and Shiro knew exactly who he was going to get an earful from for it.
Katie ‘Pidge’ Holt was five feet tall, dusty-blonde, and had glasses as thick as old-timey soda bottles, but she was in charge of Paragon Atlas and let absolutely no one forget it. Just like the Kaiju, Shiro didn’t want to get on her bad side unless he had a shield between them. Unfortunately, today was not his day.
“--and just look at the arm, Shiro, that’s going to take ages to recalibrate! Couldn’t you have let it rip off some of the shielding on the side? Even the outer cannons--” Pidge threw up her hands in dismay and finally stalked away from Shiro in favor of giving her baby another look over.
That rage was going to age her faster than any 22 year-old deserved, but as her senior Shiro really had no place to judge.
Shiro had been dragged from Atlas and cleared for dismount for all of five minutes before Pidge was hailing him down to the deck for a thorough ripping. There had been time for him to shed the shell of the drivesuit and not much else. Shiro plucked at the skin-tight mesh of the underarmor and wished for maybe the fourth time that he had managed to wiggle into his civilian clothes.
Not that Shiro had anything to be ashamed of.
It was the principal of the matter, was all.
From the other side of the room, Hunk, the other head engineer, sidelined up to Shiro and gave his bicep a reassuring pat. If Pidge was the spice, Hunk was the savory, with his big doe-eyes and gentle smile. Shiro immediately felt at ease under his touch and relented, hearing Hunk say, “She won’t say it, but we were worried about you two. That was one nasty son-of-a-gun Kaiju. Thought maybe it was gonna get more than just your arm.”
Said right arm twitched angrily under Hunk’s palm at the memory of having the nerves ripped out. Sometimes it was too hard to distinguish the difference between what was happening in the mech and what his real body was going through. Shiro gave a small nod to Hunk and let the words wash over him. This wasn’t Atlas’ first brush with trouble, but the level of danger was multiplying with each new battle. “Every time I think I’ve seen it all, the Breach finds humor in spitting out some new fancy abomination.”
The remainder could go unsaid. Everyone knew the Kaiju would continue to come so long as the Breach remained open and while the world’s council argued over the best course of action, they would continue to send out monsters of their own to fight back.
At least they were winning. For now.
While the mechanics scrambled to follow Pidge’s directions, Shiro took to walking with Hunk back to the inner lab for their statistical run-down.
“Adam get pretty roughed up?” Hunk asked lightly. Shiro had noticed his co-pilot walking in the opposite direction, too.
“You know how he is. Leaves nothing to chance.” After a moment’s hesitation, Shiro made sure to add, “I’ll make sure he gets the stats later.”
The machine between them whirred to life and spat out said stats on a long, winding piece of paper that Hunk grasped with practiced ease. They both watched the numbers’ ebb and flow, spelling out each err and victory and oversight in the battle, numbers that Shiro had seen nearly a hundred times before that it no longer provided the old rush of pride. He was still content to watch the digits but a strange feeling nagged at Shiro until his eyes drifted to the surrounding desks.
There was an inexplicable change to the lab that held Shiro’s attention for the moment -- he had almost grasped the difference by the time Hunk remembered to comment on it. “Oh, right, right, I forgot to tell you. Finally got the OK from the higher ups to get some more help on the team. New guy’s down on the deck.”
“Glad to hear you’re getting another pair of hands.” Pidge and Hunk were a force on their own, but even their combined genius had a hard time handling two different Jaegers at once. Repairs were often massive and ugly, with the added danger that any misstep could mean the death of said Jaeger and her pilots. Shiro wished he could have pulled some strings to help his behind-the-scenes crew, but even he was powerless when it came to dividing up the budget.
Shiro gave Hunk his best supportive smile. “Do I know him?”
He was answered with a slight shrug, nearing the end of the stats. “I know they have you travel around to the other bases, but I don’t remember you ever hitting the Korean one…?”
“Ah, probably not then. Well, if you all trust him, then I trust him. Though...Korea? How did we manage that?”
“Needed a change of scenery.” A voice answered from behind Shiro, low and even. The sound of footsteps hadn’t even registered and Shiro found himself spinning on his heel to tag the new voice. It belonged to someone he didn’t recognize -- must be the new recruit. He gave Shiro a lazy one-over with stunning violet eyes and turned away, already bored. “Stars are brighter out here too.”
“He also owes me big time. ” Pidge called from below deck, making the stranger’s lips tug up into a brazen smile. There was probably a story or two behind that, but Shiro was being pushed forward with his hand extended, a firm hand on his back directed by Hunk.
Keith, Shiro. Shiro, Keith. Pleasantries never felt so awkward. Shiro had to actively fight to keep his grip unwavering as they shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Keith. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say -- Keith’s smile soured into a firm frown. Shiro faltered only until Keith muttered, “You left me one hell of a job on my first day.”
“More time to see Paragon Atlas close and personal.” Hunk said. “And what a beauty she is, Keith, you’re gonna love her. Give me just a tic, though, have to get the rest of these statistics to the uppers.” The sheet was now at least three feet long, and curling in Hunk’s hands like a wire spring.
Shiro was used to a companionable silence, but he felt bad for the new guy having to wait so he offered up a small alternative.
“So, do you know Katie from her engineering work or from her life of crime?”
Keith chuckled at that, tilting his head so that his dark bangs brushed out of his eyes. He easily had the softest-looking hair Shiro had ever seen, a bit too long and all bunched up at the base of his neck and inky black. “A little of both. The three of us met at the last annual convention and might’ve had a bit too much of the free wine.”
“Might’ve.” Hunk echoed, ominous-sounding. There was the distinct impression there was no approximation about how much alcohol had been in their systems.
“Hunk and Pidge make for a deadly combo.” Shiro agreed after a moment.
“We snuck into storage and soaked all the suits in champagne. So the newest models, brought out for all the coalition to see, had massive puddles of bubbling alcohol trailing them.” Oh, hell, that’s why Shiro’s new suit had been on backorder for two months? He bit back a laugh as Keith rolled his eyes. “It was fun, but Iverson went for our throats. Would have been worse if Hunk and Pidge didn’t already have a reputation.”
Ah, Shiro saw where this was going. “Which she’s been holding over you since.”
“Lovingly.” Keith faltered, shot Shiro another unsure smile. “I think.”
If Katie went this far to grab Keith for her team, that meant he was something worth fighting for. As casually as he could, Shiro gave Keith another once-over. He was maybe a few years younger than Shiro, a bit shorter, but with a frame that indicated he was hard-working to a fault. The racing jacket made Shiro think Keith owned the cherry-red hoverbike Shiro had spotted in the garage that morning -- parked next to his own dark beauty.
Keith wasn’t wearing the Garrison-approved uniform yet, and Shiro was grateful for the moment as Keith’s jeans were frayed at the knees and skin-tight.
When he brought his eyes back up, Shiro noticed with a start that Keith was doing the same damn thing. Shiro could only imagine what he thought of his underarmor suit and the scars that peeked through.
He wasn’t so vain to take Keith’s quirked eyebrow as approval.
“Done!” Hunk broke the tension by shoving a copy of the stats into Shiro’s hands. “Here you are, Shiro. I’ll get the other to the uppers, so go on up and get some rest, OK? Good run today.”
“Thanks.” The ugly erroneous red marks on the roll of paper grew by the drop, and Shiro was momentarily pulled from his preening to feel his stomach clench at the sight.
By the time Keith and Hunk had settled down on the new deck, Pidge had forgiven Shiro enough to call him over. He was already late to dinner, but he wasn’t looking forward to another argument with Adam so this proved a welcome distraction.
Pidge opened up the metal shutters and indicated her head down to the deck. Mechanics had been working on Atlas since she hit the base, but Hunk was re-dividing up resources so Keith would get his own share of the team. Shiro took a curious peek before turning back to Pidge, gaze questioning.
She never made anyone wait long. “Keith’s work over in Korea is unparalleled, Shiro. If anyone can get her back up and purring, it’ll be him.”
“You two have always done perfectly fine by Atlas. ” Shiro said, still puzzled. Not that he minded the addition, but he was curious for Pidge’s reasoning.
“Hunk and I have only worked on tech that’ve been around already -- Keith’s led teams on design and creation of brand new Jaegers.” The news was staggering, but Pidge continued before Shiro could even stammer out anything. “You should ask him about it sometime.”
It would be the polite thing to do. “Of course.”
“He’s never piloted a Jaeger before, though. Still, he’s always been interested in the simulations. You should broach that with him, too. For science reasons.”
This was growing to be too suspicious. Shiros’ eyes narrowed down at Pidge’s innocent smile. “You all already got the approval for him to work here. You don’t have to … to sell me on the idea of him being part of the team.”
“Oh, well that’s because that’s not what I was doing.” Yep. Pidge was definitely playing him.
“Adam and I are still working together, Pidge.”
Her expression shifted to boredom. “Yeah, and we’ve seen how good your Drift Compatibility still is.”
That was a sore spot with Shiro, and a low blow even for Pidge. He struggled to keep his features carefully neutral before it all crashed around him. It was no secret around the base that he and Adam had ended things between them a few months back -- not that it changed much in the long run. As partners piloting Atlas, they still had to spend near every moment together eating, training, relaxing, to maintain their link.
Shiro wasn’t sure what changed between them, but it was suddenly too much to keep going. The break had been mutual. It was still strained, but they had been friends prior to starting a romantic relationship and it wasn’t so hard to revert back. Adam had his new crush and Shiro got a fresh reminder of that fact every time they stepped into Atlas and synced together.
“I’m nowhere near in the mindset to even start thinking of something like that.” The words tumbled from him, uncertain. Pidge gave Shiro a pitying look but thankfully dropped the subject. They reviewed the repairs for Atlas until the last bed toll and Shiro forgot all about it.