Prompt by adreamingsongbird (check out her work here at "A Dreaming Songbird" or on the tumblrs)

"Pacific Rim AU where Dave and his sister are drift compatible and Jade is the cute-as-fuck technician/engineer always lecturing them to be more careful in the jaeger because she always has to fix it"

Gotta Use the Sword (Dave/Jade)

"I think we should use the sword."

"No. We're not using the sword."

"Why not?"

"Because it will most likely be ineffective."

"Ineffective? What the hell are you talking about, Lalonde? It's a G.D. sword, not a feather duster."

"I understand your affinity for weapons of barbaric nature, but try and school your testosterone fueled impulses for a second and examine this situation as a whole." Rose Lalonde, one of the best Jaeger pilots in the western hemisphere, adjusted the external display to highlight a Kaiju a mere four hundred yards away. "See the toughened armor plating on the exterior? You're going to need more than a simple blade to pierce that. I recommend using the targeting lasers to pinpoint our attack to weak points in the armor."

"Naw. I'm totally gonna use the sword." Dave Strider, Rose's brother and drift partner, began to fiddle with his controls.

"Dave. I swear, if you pull out that sword…"

"What are you gonna do? Nag me to death?"

Rose's eyebrows knitted dangerously.

"I will call mom."

Dave's hand faltered, but only slightly. Only Rose would stoop low enough to play that card.

"How professional of you." Dave scoffed, resuming his work. "Go ahead and call her, after you're done being a sorry tattle tale, I'll be sure to tell her how awesome it was when I sliced this Kaiju in half with a motherfucking sword."

"You're jeopardizing this mission."

"And you're being a prude." Dave's fingers hovered above the final button that would initiate the deployment of a hyper-sword, standard close-range equipment for all Jaegers. "Pull the stick out of your ass and loosen up. What's the worst that could happen?"

"So let me get this straight." Jade Harley messaged the bridge of her nose beneath her glasses. "You somehow managed to lose not just one, but both of the arms!"

Dave and Rose sat before her, raw masses of cuts, bruises, and various other wounds, most of which were inflicted upon their dignity.

"You can thank Beatrix Kiddo over here for this one, Jade." Rose casted her brother a sideways glare. "He got a little trigger happy, or should I say: blade happy at a rather inopportune moment."

"I had her on the ropes." Dave said in defense, as he pressed an ice pack to a bump of alarming size on his forehead. "Bitch took a cheap shot though and pulled a fucking atomic leg drop out of nowhere."

"I seem to remember warning you about the impeding leg drop a good ten seconds before it was fully executed. To which you responded: 'No worries, Sis. I got this.'"

"We took him down eventually."

"Only because I used the targeting lasers!"

"That's enough!" Jade interjected before Dave could counter. "I don't care what goes on out there in your little bickering pod! The only thing I'm worried about is what the hell I'm going to do about poor Sammy!"

"Whoa. Take a step back there, Harley." Dave cautioned. "How many times do I gotta say that our Jaeger isn't named freaking Sammy? It's Salmon Supreme: mighty fish slayer of the deep south. I mean, Christ. How hard is that to remember?"

"I thought we agreed his name was Janet Van Dyne?" Rose said with a frown.

"You can't name a boy robot 'Janet'. It's too sexually confusing."

"Oh, but you can name him Salmon Supreme? That sounds like an entrée at a low-end Mexican restaurant."

Jade, who was accustomed to the frequent bickering of the Strider-Lalonde siblings, was about to cut in once more, when the door suddenly opened with a pneumatic hiss.

"You guys are not going to believe this," John Egbert entered, with the biggest, doofiest smile plastered across his face. "That Kaiju you guys took down was a level three. That's the biggest one we've gotten this far inland and oh man, that plating. Have you seen it's natural armor yet, Jade? It's incredible! She's a regular Iron Man. Or I guess, Iron Monster really, but…"

"John." Dave raised his hand to silence his friend. "Chill it out with the monster fanboyism for a second. We all know you have a huge boner for them, so there's really no need to make it this painfully obvious."

John's face fell. As a top researcher on Kaiju's he could go on and on for hours about the various types, the various abilities, and even the various social behavior witnessed among the gigantic sea monsters. Very few had the wherewithal to put up with these rants. Dave in particular found it to be wearisome.

"Don't mind him, John." Rose casted Dave another sour look. "What were you saying about the Kaiju's exoskeleton?"

Straightening his tie, John continued:

"Well I was just saying that it's the most evolved we've ever seen! Usually we just see individual plates or groupings around vital organs and what not, but this is the first, fully armored Kaiju that's ever been recorded!" John grinned widely. "Isn't this exciting?"

"It doesn't sound exciting to me." Dave commented. "It sounds like these things are getting tougher."

"Which is why it's all the more important to proceed with caution when engaging them." Rose was the queen of dishing out loaded barbs such as these. Dave, luckily enough, was also the king of not giving a fuck. They were a good team. "If you ask me, we were lucky to make it out of this encounter alive."

For the first time, John fully regarded his two friends and their battered states.

"Oh, man." He breathed. "You guys look like you could use a nap."

"Or a nice, long bath." Rose stood up from her chair and began wobbling towards the door. "I'm clocking out for the day. Let me know how the repairs go with Janet Van Dyne, Jade."

"I'll walk you out." John took Rose's arm and together, the pair exited.

It was silent in the room for a moment. Dave shifted his ice pack awkwardly and tried not to wince, all the while thinking of some way he could escape without…

"So are you going to apologize?" Jade's voice was like steel.

"Yeah. I am."

"Well?"

Dave sighed and looked at Jade fully. She was leaning against a workbench, arms folded, eyebrows raised, and lip quirked. There's nothing worse than a girl who looks sexy when they're upset. Motivation to do the right thing becomes scarce in such scenarios.

"I'm sorry for going against protocol, arguing with my drift partner on the job, and loosing Salmon Supreme's arms." Dave's voice was monotone, as he recited this well rehearsed line. "I'm a big dummy head and I don't deserve a mechanical engineer who's as good as you."

"And?"

"And you're pretty."

"Mmmm?"

"I mean, you're the prettiest girl in the whole wide world." Dave finished with a groan.

Jade smiled.

"That's better." Pushing away from the workbench, she plopped down in Rose's vacated chair and took the ice pack from Dave's hand. "Let me see that. You're supposed to lightly ice the wound, not smother it."

"I think you're making that up as an excuse to be sit next to me." Dave winced again as she reapplied the ice.

"Yeah, well. I think you're full of it." Despite herself, Jade giggled. "I'm glad you're okay, Dave. When I heard that your Jaeger was in critical condition, I…"

"I'm fine." Dave cut her off. "Rose is fine. Everything is fine."

Jade just nodded, her mouth suddenly drawn into a thin line. After a few seconds of silence, she continued:

"Do you think you're right?" She asked. "Are these monsters really getting stronger?"

"It seems that way."

Jade's hand found Dave's and their fingers interlocked slowly, tentatively, as if they were in danger of getting caught.

"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up." Jade spoke quietly. "We've already lost the west coast and the Japanese islands. We're being pushed further and further east every day. It feels like…" She paused. "It feels like we're going to lose."

Dave tightened his grip on her fingers.

"I swear. Everything is going to be fine, Jade." He said.

Leaning over their joined hands, Dave pressed a quick kiss to her temple.

"I hope you're right." Jade murmured. "I really do."

Thanks for reading.

- Mike