Relationship: Chuck Hansen x OC, Herc Hansen x OC
Genre: Drama/Romance
Rating: M
Synopsis: Sunara Deloi is Chuck Hansen's co-pilot in Striker Eureka. He develops feelings for her but is aware that she has no such feelings for him. After being injured in a kaiju battle, Chuck is laid out of commission for several months. A sudden kaiju attack forces Sunara to drift with Herc and take Striker Eureka into battle, but after their drift, Sunara finds herself falling for Herc. She tries to hide her feelings for the sake of Chuck, but in the drift, nothing is hidden...
Chapter 1
It had been over five years since Hercules Hansen had spent more than ten minutes with his son Chuck. Once his boy had entered the Jaeger Academy, he was so focused on passing and becoming a pilot that even when Herc came to visit him, the young man could hardly be bothered to see him. Of course, not all of it was because of his training. They had always had a strained relationship and Herc knew that much of it was because of him. He had been an absentee father, but there was little he could do about it. He was a Jaeger pilot and that meant he went where the kaiju went, fought when the kaiju attacked, and raised a son in what little spare time he had between the two. He tried his best to be there for his son, especially after his wife died, but the life of a Jaeger pilot was a hard one. Death was ever present and raising a child in such circumstances was a challenge he was never prepared for.
On his way to Hong Kong's Shatterdome, Herc wondered how his best friend Stacker Pentacost had managed it. He too was a single father and Marshall of the Pan Pacific Defense Corp, yet he had raised his daughter Mako to be a strong, smart, courageous young woman. Chuck was also strong, smart, and courageous, yet where Mako had shown wisdom beyond her age and humility, Chuck was forever a slave to his own ego; something that his father had tried again and again to rid him of yet his lessons never seemed to take. And now his son was poised to inherit his own Jaeger, provided that a co-pilot could be found who could tolerate the man long enough to establish a stable drift.
The helicopter touched down at the Hong Kong Shatterdome in the late afternoon. Stacker was on hand to greet him as an old friend would, yet Chuck was noticeably absent. Herc should not have been surprised, but it saddened him. He was certain that his son knew he was coming. Stacker would have told him. He glanced around involuntarily as Stacker clapped him on the shoulder.
"He's readying for the trials," he whispered in Herc's ear. Stacker always seemed to know what was on his friend's mind. Herc nodded with a small grunt and lifted his head to take a look around. It had been many years since he had been to Hong Kong. Herc was primarily stationed at his home Shatterdome in Sydney, but Stacker recently requested his presence in Hong Kong, not just because of Chuck's candidate trials but it was fortunate timing.
"How's my boy doing?" Herc asked as they entered the massive structure side by side.
"In as much of a need of a kick in the pants as he always is, but he's well. Talented yet egotistical."
Herc frowned and nodded. He had hoped that working under Stacker's supervision would have straightened the young man out a bit, but that seemed to be unlikely.
"What time do the trials start? Do I have time to shower and grab a bite?"
"Two hours. You have plenty of time. Here are your quarters," Pentecost replied and they shook hands.
"It's good to see you again, Stacker."
"Likewise, my friend. I'll see you in the Kwoon."