The noonday sun hung over the aging Victorian house, heat waves dancing across the grey tiles of the roof as overhead gulls screeched, hungry for a meal.
Crimson Typhoon lay with his cheek scraping the rough cement of the driveway, the salty air thick in his nostrils as he gazed out at the street with depressed eyes. He wondered what lay hidden behind the closed doors and shut curtains of the dark colored shanties that surrounded their house. He wondered if any of their snoopy neighbors were watching, waiting to see this 'freak' fail at the thing he cared most about.
"Dude, what's he doing all curled up like that. It's weird."
"Shut your mouth, Cheung, he'll get the wrong idea."
"It's not like he can hear us, Hu."
"I can hear you," sitting up, Crimson stared at his three pilots, who were lousily attempting to sneak up on him. The three of them froze like startled deer upon getting caught, staring at their now humanized jaeger awkwardly.
Jin, the third triplet, cracked a shy smile as he tucked the basketball underneath his arm. "Forgive my brother, he can be a real snot sometimes." He grunted slightly as Cheung elbowed him begrudgingly in the ribs, causing Hu to snicker.
"I…I know that," Crimson stood up, shoulders hunched, "I mean, in the drift, I remember everything from all the drifting sessions. It's the only time when I could remember, really," he smiled nervously. He knew it was coming, he could see the anticipation in their faces, and it filled him with dread.
"We were looking for you everywhere, Crimson" Hu, the leader of the three, stepped forward and placed his hands in his pockets, " you ready?"
The jaeger looked down at his brand new basketball outfit the triplets had surprised him with last night. It was a little loose, with him being slightly skinnier and shorter, but he still managed to keep his shorts on his bony hips. He eyed the smooth red material of his jersey as he ran a hand through his messy black hair (unlike the triplets, he didn't like shaving his head.) "Uh yeah, let's do this," there wasn't an ounce of happiness in his voice.
"Awesome!" Hu grinned happily as they made their way to the basketball hoop they had just recently screwed onto the top of the garage.
"2v2! I call dibs on Crimson!" Laughing excitedly, Jin threw his arm around Crimson's shoulders. " I can't wait to see the moves you're gonna pull on these two unlucky guys."
"And what are you going to do, sit on the sidelines eating pie? Because that's the only thing you ever been doing after the Breach closed!" Cheung shouted back his own insult, while Hu only rolled his eyes as he got into position.
"Hey," Jin tugged on the jaeger's elbow like an excited kid, ignoring the snide comments of his brother, "you should show them what you can do. Go make a basket!" He shoved the basketball into Crimson's arms, who instantly paled.
The triplets instantly became silent admirers as Crimson took his own position a ways away from the basket. He could feel their eyes on him, causing nervous sweat to bead on the back of his neck. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer as his lungs threatened to squeeze themselves out of existence.
He knew he sucked at basketball, he knew he would miss the shot and the triplets would hate him forever. They would go find a new jaeger and leave him in the dust, he knew it.
Come on Crimson, don't think like that. Maybe you CAN do it! You've read every book on the subject, you have ALL the knowledge, you just gotta put it to use! You can do it. You can do it! Encouraged by his mental pep talk, he took aim, and let the ball fly.
It collided with the rim, bouncing off and hitting Cheung right in the face.
Twenty minutes later the Wei triplets finally found Crimson curled up underneath his bed, crying.
"Whoah, hey, it didn't hit me that hard," Cheung tried to smile underneath the massive ice pack taped to his face.
"You don't have to lie to me, I accept my defeat,' the jaeger sniffled, "I'll be gone in the morning, so I'll disgrace you no more."
'What are you talking about?" Hu elbowed his brothers as they all hunkered there, heads poking underneath the bed.
"I suck at basketball."
"So? We still like you," Jin replied gently.
'Really? Why?"
"Because you're our jaeger, stupid," Cheung reached in and patted his head, 'and our little bro. Besides, basketball isn't the only thing we do."
"Uh, like what….." Crimson searched his memories, confused.
"LIKE PICKING UP CHICKS! COME ON!" Whooping like wild men, the triplets dragged the jaeger out from underneath the bed.
"WAIT! I SUCK AT THAT, TOO!" Crimson wailed as he was dragged away for a day of fun and debauchery.
Cherno sat cross legged on the floor of the living room, icy blue eyes filled with wonder at the large box set on the ornate rug before him. Sasha and Aleksis sat on the couch across from him, wearing matching green and white striped sweaters.
"We brought this all the way from Russia, Cherno," Sasha quipped, never losing the commanding tone in her voice, "open it."
"Da, Mama," using his large hands, he easily ripped open the top of the box. A sweet scent wafted into his nostrils as he gazed down upon the small pile of brown and black fur nestled in a soft blue blanket. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion, "what is it? Did papa make me another hat?"
Aleksis merely shook his head, sliding his immense build off the couch and engulfing Cherno in his shadow. Reaching down, he gently rolled the puff ball over, revealing tiny paws and a yawning mouth as large dark eyes awakened to survey this new world.
"Papa, new hat has eyes," Cherno breathed, surprised.
"It's not a hat, Cherno," Sasha moved around them to put a hand on her jaeger's shoulder, "it's a puppy."
"Puppy?" He repeated, staring in awe as Aleksis picked the tiny thing up for them to survey. "What is puppy?'
"It's what dogs give birth to, it's an animal. This one is a Caucasian Shepard, a good, strong mountain dog," Sasha instructed, "good for hunting bears and killing wolves. He's yours now, Cherno. " Taking the puppy from her husband, she set it in Cherno's arms, smiling.
The Russian jaeger's eyes went wide as he timidly stroked it's fur with a rough finger, "He's soft!" Upon contact, the pup began to fully awaken, wriggling and yipping happily. "Ah, he makes noises, too! " A laugh escaped his chest as tiny paws flailed at his thick coat. "What else can he do?" Curious, he set his new fluffy friend down on the rug, who promptly began to waddle excitedly around.
"Puppy, where are you going!" Blushing happily, Cherno crawled after him.
Sasha pulled herself onto Aleksis's lap, the two of them watching in bemusement at this muscular monolith of a teenager scampering after his new pet.
"He will be a big dog when he grows up," Sasha smiled in approval, "perfect for when we take Cherno back to Russia.
"IF they let us take him back," Aleksis rumbled softly, eyes dark.
Her jaw tightened, "no one will take our Cherno Alpha from us. "
"No one," the large man agreed, cracking his knuckles.
EPILOGUE (FOR THIS CHAPTER)
It was the happiest dinner anyone at the house ever had. Coyote and Marshal Pentecost had been cooking all day, serving up a delicious meal of BBQ chicken, hamburgers, apple pie and water melon. The main dining room, with its class chandelier and bay windows looking out to the ocean, had been set and the jaegers and their pilots had piled in.
Bright smiles and chatter lit up the night as everyone pretended not to notice how Mako and Raleigh held hands underneath the table while Gipsy stuffed her face with pie. She spent the entire night showing off her sweater, even Striker obliged to compliment her (albeit blushing and stuttering) about how good she looked with her new sleeves while a snickering Herc whispered things to a smiling Pentecost. The Wei triplets had stumbled in late, recounting tales of their adventures as Crimson sat in a daze with lip stick kisses splattered across his face (which Coyote tried to rub off with a napkin, but to no avail) Cherno seemed to be the most excited, even though the Marshal wouldn't let his puppy on the table. Instead, he hid it inside his jacket, feeding it scraps as his parents passed out shots and challenged the other pilots to have a go. They were all one giant family, and together they partied late into the night.
The man let his binoculars drop to his lap, grimacing at the moving forms of the jaegers behind the kitchen window. "Seems like visitation day went well for them. "
'The pilots are scheduled to leave tomorrow morning," Beside him, a young woman with a gruesome scar across her face read off a file she had fished from the dashboard of the black van they were sitting in. "What are your orders, General?"
"Patience, Brawler, " the General let out a cold smile as he scratched his beard, "let's give them one more night to enjoy themselves, then we'll strike."
DUN DUN DUN! TO BE CONTINUED! Thanks to Beast King, Dog Lover 120, KnightPheonix2, glitchrr36, Prophet21, KeepingThenAtBay, Katmaz, Winged Pyro, Optimus prime girl, Tel Nok Shok, and ShepardisaBOSS for reviewing the last chapter. It's because of you guys that I decided to release this chapter so soon, as a little treat. Hoped you liked it. :D Until next chapter!