I got an idea for a Pacific Rim AU for Raily last week, and decided to act on an impulse and write a short little thing while rewatching the movie.

Ray stared over at the Atom as he walked across the catwalk towards its head. It had been a long time since he had set foot in the jaeger. After Star City and Anna and Knifehead, he thought he was done with this life. Now, with the kaijus coming quicker and quicker, Oliver Queen had managed to talk him back into it. He'd gotten back into the swing of things in the Pan Pacific Defense Corps quicker than he expected. Hopefully the same would be true for the Atom.

He managed to get in his suit quickly as if he'd never stopped fighting after Anna's death. He was working out the controls on his side to get his harness into test mode when the second pilot was announced to be coming aboard. Looking over, he couldn't stop himself from grinning at the sight of Lily Stein. She had been the first person he'd met once he arrived at the Shatterdome, and probably one of the most approachable people in the whole base. Lily had been the one of the best candidates to drift with during the trials yesterday, right up until an older man had stormed in and demanded to know what she was doing. Everyone else had filed out as the two got into an argument, and Ray had followed after them.

"You made it," he said as she stepped over to the opposite side of him.

Lily smiled. "You didn't think I'd show after that fight with my dad?"

"I wasn't sure," Ray admitted. "You look good."

"You too," she told him, getting into place and putting on her helmet. "Are you ready for this?"

"Are you?" he asked. "It's your first drift, right?"

She nodded. "Any advice?"

"Don't get caught up in anything," Ray told her. "There's going to be memories rushing by you, and you're going to be tempted to latch onto them. No matter how tempting they are, let them wash over you."

"Got it," Lily nodded.

"Felicity, we're ready when you are," Ray announced.

"Copy that," her voice filled the cavern of the Atom's head. "Drift happening in fifteen…fourteen…thirteen…twelve…eleven…ten…"

Lily glanced at him briefly before turning back to face front. Ray closed his eyes when Felicity hit three. Barely a second after she hit one, the familiar feeling of the drift hit him. Memories, both his own and ones that belonged to Lily, rushed over him.

"Lily, we're singing the alphabet."

Chasing his brother around the backyard.

A young girl taking a sip from a coffee mug as she and her father worked on what seemed to be a science project.

His first science fair and winning it.

A teenage Lily in a prom dress in a science lab.

His first semester of college.

Aftermath of a kaiju attack in what must have been Central City.

Meeting Anna in the jaeger program.

Lily under the umbrella when he first arrived in Hong Kong, followed by her seeing him for the first time.

The connection struck between them. Ray could feel it was strong, just as strong as his had been with Anna. He heard Felicity confirm the drift had been successful. Together, Ray and Lily began to test out their system functions and movements. Everything seemed to be working fine until Ray looked over at Lily. Suddenly, the memory of Knifehead tearing through and grabbing Anna came surging back at him.

Things went downhill then.

After the failed drift trial that had nearly resulted in the control center getting blown to bits, Ray wasn't blind to the dirty looks he got. The crews of both the Canary and the Rogue were actively avoiding him and Lily. Ray was blaming himself for losing control first and bringing her down with him. As he went to go eat alone, he caught sight of Lily in the dining hall with her own tray.

"Looking for a friend?" she offered as she approached him.

"More or less someone who's willing to deal with the guy who can't stop screwing up with the Atom," he responded.

Lily frowned. "Come with me."

Ray followed after her out of the dining hall and down the halls to the Shatterdome. She led him up the stairs so that they were on a platform across from the Atom. Lily took a seat with her food a little ways from the edge, and Ray followed her example.

"Less judgement up here," she told him. "You won't have to worry about the other pilots staring at you."

"Thanks," Ray nodded.

They watched the mechanics and engineers work on Atom's systems, eating in silence. The core of dwarf star could be seen glowing from where they were.

"It's my fault that we got out of sync," Ray finally admitted. "I got caught on the memory, just like I told you not too. It was a mistake on my part, and it hurt you too."

"I heard about what happened to you in Star City," Lily replied. "Losing your wife had to be traumatic. Stepping into a jaeger for the first time after losing her had to be difficult."

"Central City had to bring some rough memories of its own too," he said, making Lily look downwards. "I knew it was rough, but seeing it like I was there was something else."

Lily nodded. "I lost my mother that day. A lot of friends too. It's what got my dad and me into the corps to help with the jaeger program. He wanted me to stay in the labs where I was safe. The last thing he wants is to lose me too. I understand that, but-"

"But you want to fight too," Ray finished.

"Exactly."

Ray set down his fork. "The first drift is always the hardest. But it does get easier. The more time you spend with a person and the better you get to know them, the easier it gets. Kind of like riding a bike."

"An enormous bike with a dwarf star core," Lily quipped.

"Pretty much," Ray laughed. "But I have a feeling we'll have the next run down."

An alarm started to blare, echoing around the enormous chamber. Lily climbed to her feet quickly.

"Kaiju?" Ray asked.

"Kaiju," Lily confirmed. "We need to get back with the others."

"Lead the way then."

Maybe I might return to this, maybe not. Still had a blast with it though.

Reviews=Love