AUTHOR'S NOTE: I literally cannot stop writing PacRim AUs. Also, Mikasa/Annie is the most important pairing ever.
This thing is a really crappy drabble that I just wrote on a whim. So um. Don't expect too much.
Fifteen seconds before the Drift was initiated, Mikasa could feel Annie's eyes on her. It wasn't a predatory glare; the type of look reserved for unsuspecting cadets or Marshall Smith, but a curious sort of glance.
Ten seconds before the Drift was initiated, Annie finally looked away and Mikasa could almost feel the other girl's anticipation like molten lava through her veins.
Five seconds before the Drift was initiated, Mikasa cast her gaze to the glass in front of her, set in a honeycomb pattern. Lights scattered across the heads-up display, blinking and flashing numerous commands. As the voice made its countdown to zero, she finally closed her eyes and let Annie in.
Memories swam across her vision—though not entirely. Fleeting glimpses, indistinguishable from one another, painted the back of her eyelids and there was this instinct to raise her fists up, creating a protective block against any oncoming enemy.
Of course there were none. Their Jaeger was still in the port, Conn-Pod not even attached to the rest of the body.
Looking over, she saw Annie in the same position.
"Drift is looking strong. Tempest Melee ready for the drop."
"Ready," replied Annie and with their minds being connected, Mikasa felt the nod of affirmation.
The head of their Jaeger—a Mark III beauty equipped with heat-tipped dual blades perfect for severing titan limbs without fear of blood contamination, and powered by a nuclear core—began to make its rapid descent to the rest of its body. As the pod grew closer, the neck opened up to accept it, gears whirring and flaps unfolding. The head slowly turned around until Tempest Melee was combatant-ready.
"Tempest Melee, we have a category III kaiju in the bay." The voice of Marshall Erwin Smith sounded over the intercom. "It's managed to evade our sensors, owing to the silicon-based structure of their bodies. Stop it within the Miracle Mile or it'll reach Trost within the hour." Smith was referring to the ten mile stretch that ran between the open sea and the busy port city of Trost. The Mile was named for the "miracle factor" necessary for defeating a kaiju within that distance.
Of course, for pilots as seasoned as Mikasa and Annie, this wasn't a particularly difficult challenge.
"Plasma cannon?" Lights shot up Annie's hand, cloaking her wrist in a pseudo-cannon. The array of reds, greens, and blues cast her face in an eerie light, making her eyes look all the more blue.
"I was hoping for the blades," replied Mikasa, moving her legs in time with the other girl's. After Smith had finished his debriefing, the two had begun walking toward the kaiju. The churning waters made it difficult to maintain speed and if it wasn't for Annie's tenacity combined with Mikasa's speed, they would have easily fallen behind.
"We're calling this one, 'Dreadtooth'."
The kaiju was enormous, its dark green hide covered in patchy scales that the pair knew would be difficult to pierce. Large, jagged teeth hung over its jaw, curving cruelly to a sharp point. When it took note of the gigantic, ice-blue jaeger headed its way, it opened its mouth and roared. Like all kaiju, the inside of its mouth was luminescent and glowed bright green in the darkness of the night.
Immediately, Tempest Melee rushed forward, its blades outstretched.
Mikasa inwardly felt her heart lighten with triumph that Annie had conceded to using the blades so quickly. Normally fond of emptying the clip on their plasma cannon, Annie was never one for the messiness that came with cutting up gargantuan reptiles. The plasma cannon was powerful and fast, exactly what she preferred.
The jaeger aimed for Dreadtooth's armpits, an area the two girls knew was unarmoured. Digging deeply in, they managed to raise the kaiju off its feet momentarily before the beast came crashing down, luminous silver-blue blood pouring from the wounds. They had partially severed its left arm and the limb hung pathetically.
Angered, the kaiju slashed at Tempest Melee with its one good claw. The jaeger leaned back, avoiding most of its talons, but it still left a scratch.
"Tch." Annie gritted her teeth and Mikasa felt the resounding frustration. "Historia is going to get fussy if we damage the jaeger again."
"Then, let's end this," said Mikasa.
Annie turned to her partner, a rare half-smile on her face. "Plasma cannon?" Before Mikasa even responded, the lights crept up Annie's right arm again, forming the column around her limb and the two brought their arms back, like cocking a gun.
Outside, Tempest Melee's right hand disassembled itself, reforming the limb to create the plasma cannon with its glowing sparks of electricity. The kaiju lunged for the weapon with its formidable teeth, but the moment it opened its mouth within range, the jaeger fired. The shot arced before making its home in the kaiju's throat, lighting the inside of its body up and shrouding the surrounding waters in blue light. The kaiju exploded and the heat of the blast was so hot that there was nothing left of its head.
"Next time, let's start off with that." Annie still had her fist up as the lights dimmed around her arm. "If it doesn't work, we'll use the blades."
"The blades always work," replied Mikasa, watching her partner with something akin to fondness. "Just because you're better with guns than you are with knives doesn't mean we always have to use the plasma cannon."
Annie shrugged, but the rigid set of her shoulders suggested dejected resignation to her partner's observations. "Maybe you should teach me."
"I'm a terrible teacher," said Mikasa and even though the noise never left Annie's lips, she could almost feel the bark of laughter in their connection.
"I'm a good student. We'll even out."
The intercom above their head crackled with noise. "Can you two STOP flirting and get back to the Shatterdome before I kick your ass for getting Tempest Melee all scratched up?" When angered, Historia Reiss was a force to be reckoned with and nobody wanted to incur her wrath, so they all battled with the upmost delicacy so as to not damage their jaeger.
"We're not flirting, Reiss." Annie's voice was heavy with derision, but Mikasa knew her better than that. The shorter girl shielded her face from her, but they were still locked in the Drift.
Mikasa knew Annie was blushing.