Written for the prompt: Mako&Stacker, Herc&Chuck. Chuck and Stacker catch each other's last thoughts before the end. They're both thinking of the things they never got to say to the people they loved the most. I sincerely apologize for any and all sad feelings afterwards.
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Taken Apart in Retrospection
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The first time they drift is also the last time they do.
Chuck is too experienced (eleven kills and counting) to chase the rabbit.
But in the brief flashes of memories and instincts his mind is receiving through the neural bridge, Chuck can see flashes of blue, and black, and a little girl with dark eyes. He hears the soft whispers of Japanese, of Sensei, and English that sounds strange when she wraps her tongue around the 'r' and the 'l'. Chuck sees the warmth in Marshal Pentecost's eyes, the patience and the sadness, and a red shoe that reminds him of a beating heart in her small opened palms.
The man's mind is a quiet place, a calm in the roaring ocean around them, the current the only thing that pushes them forward even when it looks about too late to save the world.
Chuck knows it isn't him, he doesn't know how to think in Japanese but in those last moments, he thinks Mako, watashi mo.
(A soft me too that Stacker Pentecost knows she can't hear.)
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"It's been an honour serving with you, sir."
Chuck turns to look at Stacker, his eyes meeting his. They don't need to do this, the Drift makes sure of that but words have always meant admittance and that has always been something that even the Drift can't replace. Stacker nods in return, a solemn final thing.
"And the same to you, Ranger."
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The first time they drift is also the last time they do.
Stacker sees a man in the Air Force and a woman with straw blonde hair. The air smells of the sea and the sun is a pleasant warmth that reaches the bone, their laughter a memory all soft around the edges. And then he is reliving the apocalypse all over again, except this time he is half the height than he is now. The world tilts all wrong and it feels impossible. Because such a small child shouldn't be capable of feeling so much when Chuck is being clutched to his father's chest and the only thing he knows is fear and relief, and then the dawning realization that it has always been him or her.
Chuck's mind is loud and every thought is a slow burn that blisters.
Stacker understands that it isn't him, but the Marshal's been a son once too. The little boy with the dirty blonde hair clutches back, holds on, breathes through the debris and thinks, dad, I never thanked you for choosing me.
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The last pilots of Striker Eureka can see the Breach only because it is the last remaining light on the ocean floor. The decision is made between the two of them before Pentecost can even relay back to the Shatterdome control centre. But they can both imagine the devastation in their eyes, a father who never said I love you and a daughter who never wanted anything more than a family she could keep.
Their dreams aren't recognized but it's a close damn thing when the world goes out in a final nuclear bang.
XXX Kuro