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Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers or Pacific Rim
The claxons went on just after diner. Movement in the breach. It'd been two weeks since Tony and Steve had become co-pilots. Steve heard his name paging over the system and promptly headed straight to the prep chambers.
Tony met him on the way in.
"Ready for this old man?" he said.
"Are you?" Steve shot back.
"Way before you were unfrozen," Tony responded which startled a laugh out of Steve.
They swept through the doors together and into the room full of bustling prep teams.
There was no more conversation while they were quickly fitted into their combat suits and then, they were out the next set of doors, straight to the Jaeger bay.
"Let's hope you two link faster this time," Fury says. "Half an hour is still too long but you're the only team we have on base right now."
"Don't worry Marshall," Steve said, "We'll be fine."
"Pretty sure that's not the reply he was looking for," Tony told him dryly.
"I know," said Steve. He pressed the comms. again and said, "Initiate pilot to pilot protocol."
"Initiating pilot to pilot protocol," the automate voice said a moment.
There was a pause and then Steve was sucked into the drift.
It seemed like forever but it was only somewhere around 30 seconds later that the neural bridge was holding steady.
"Longer than I thought," Steve said.
"It's the adrenaline," Tony said. His voice wasn't apologetic but his thoughts carried a slightly apologetic cast. The adrenaline made Tony's thoughts spiral faster than usual. Steve took note of the fact that emotions came over their drift better.
"No problem," said Steve, "The only problem we have right now is the kaiju trying to destroy Hong Kong."
"It won't be a problem for long," said Tony in a voice of dark satisfaction.
"No," agreed Steve.
"Alright," said Fury, when their jaeger, Diablo Intercept was thigh deep in the Pacific Ocean. "Orders are to hold the Miracle Mile. Your kaiju is a Cat 4, codenamed Thrasher. It's the biggest Cat 4 ever so be careful. Don't let it reach the city."
"Acknowledged," said Steve tersely. He was tensing up, fighting the memories, fighting the rage.
There was a wash of cool, calculating determination through the drift and Steve clung to it. Tony kept it until Steve was back on his feet and then the cold calculation disappeared in the warmth of his fiery passion, his joy in the fight, his desire and need to protect the people at their back.
Steve sent a wave of gratitude towards him and then buckled down, guiding Tony's fierce emotions along strategic paths. Tony let him, making adjustments and suggestions whenever he felt it was required, so by the time, Trasher leapt out of the ocean at them, they had at least 5 complete plans, 16 modifications and 32 half-formed pieces that they could weld together to create a functioning plan on the fly.
They reacted as one, side stepping out of the way and punching it in the face. The punch knocked Thrasher away to the side, twisting its body. Thrasher landed in the boiling waters of the pacific and struggled to get to its feet. It didn't quite make it.
The drift was silence but the connection itself was humming, taunt and strong, vibrating with the strength of the connection. The drift was silence but emotion had no sound and it ran through them like waves of the ocean, threading their way through the trains of thought that made their way between Tony and Steve.
Two of their plans were discarded on seeing the makeup of Thrasher. Several of their bits and pieces had formed into another one. They kicked Thrasher in the side, knocking it off its feet again. The kaiju fell on its back and wallowed for a brief moment in the water.
It was enough time to charge up the plasma cannons. They scored three hits, missed the fourth because they had to perform a full body dive out the way. They knifed neatly into the water like an Olympic swimmer. Steve thrust one arm out, brought up his plasma cannon and fired into the water. The force of the discharge was enough to turn them around. Thrasher took the opportunity to bring both fists down on them hard.
Multiple red warning sprang up after the third hit. Steve and Tony grunted as the force of the blows rattled them in their jaeger. Thrasher didn't manage to land the fourth blow because Tony had used the time they were getting beaten to transform his plasma cannon back to a fist and to pull out Diablo's chain sword, so when Thrasher raised its fist for its fourth blow, Steve kicked its feet out from under it causing it to made an unplanned dive onto their prone form. Thrasher got a sword through its throat for its trouble.
It reared back and off the blade. Steve averaged and emptied the remainder of the clip into the hole Tony had made. Thrasher crashed back into the ocean, headless.
"Nice shot," Tony told him, rather breathlessly,
"Well," said Steve, breathing hard, "I've always been good with projectiles." He won a laugh from Tony who then took a deep breath and checked the display to ensure there were no more signs of life from Thrasher. Finding none, he let out a soft sigh and Steve felt his relief flood over the drift.
"Well that was easy," murmured Tony.
"Well now you've got me worried," Steve told him. "Besides, we haven't tried to stand back up yet."
Tony laughed and they began the arduous process of getting Diablo Intercept back on his feet because the ocean floor was just a little too deep to be of any real help.
"Come on young sir," Tony muttered to Diablo, "You haven't reached the age where your bones should start creaking."
"Are you both alright?" Marshall Fury's voice crackled through the comms. Steve reached out and pressed it to answer.
"We're both fine," he answered.
"Good," said Fury and the comms. clicked off.
"I'm pretty sure that's the most amiable I've ever heard him," Tony said.
"You don't say," said Steve.
"I do say," said Tony. "Wanna race him back, get some kinks out of this young boy?"
"I'm fairly certain that's frowned upon," said Steve but Tony was already getting into a running stance having read the answer from Steve's mind.
He cocked his head at Steve eyes glittering. He looked strangely fierce, and if Steve wasn't in his head, he would not have recognized the expression for one of joy.
Steve gave him a quicksilver smile and then said, "On three." They were moving on two.
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