005: Depression, 2017

He liked to think Naomi was a flash in the pan, someone both of them got over relatively quickly once the initial embarrassment that they fought over her at all passed. Fads and groupies came and went like the tides. Jaeger pilots could be on their way out the next day and the most Naomi could've amounted to was "that girl they fought over".

Still, to run into her in the middle of the Grand Central Market while off duty was something of a surprise.

She wasn't terribly affected by the news when she came around base to see him. In fact, Naomi was rather flattered that they duked it out over her. He couldn't blame her for the situation any more than his brother could think him jealous for returning the advances of someone who was interested in him. She lost interest in him eventually and for two weeks there was odd emptiness; his parents lived on the other side of Anchorage, it was chore to get out to see them. That she would come all the way just to ogle him was rather appreciated by his pride. When she was gone, well, he spent a good couple of days patching the holes poked in his ego after he found out she was flirting with another pilot.

Why was youth so difficult?

It'd only been a year since they actually met, but she'd changed so much already. The vibrant clothes remained, but her expression was ragged, like she'd spent hours running a late night shift at a coffee shop. Her hair was rolled up in messy bun and books pressed against her chest like a shield. His cheeks flared red as his mind fell back on the memory of car. The way his palm pressed against the upper part of her chest as she draped a leg over his lap. "Naomi, hey," He was pretty sure his voice raised an octave there.

"Yancy Becket," Naomi smiled back. "How are you?"

He shrugged, bomber jacket rolling with his shoulders. "I've been good, thanks. And yourself?"

"Working, studying, the usual," She titled her head to the right. "Unless you're Jaeger pilot, then you don't have to worry about school." Lowering the books from against her chest Naomi revealed an issue of a magazine that featured him and Raleigh among four other Jaeger pilots, the oldest in their relatively young business.

He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Yeah, yeah, there is that," He paused. "How's your family?"

"My parents are thinking of moving to the Atlantic, or somewhere away-" She waved dismissively. "Away from all of this."

"You think that'll help?" He was honestly curious. "Moving away?"

"I don't, but I can understand why they'd want to," She answered. "There's a drill in the city almost every other week and things aren't the greatest in our neighborhood because we're so close to the water. I mean, that's why you're here, right? Because of the Kaiju?"

"Yeah," His expression became studious, his body relaxed now that they were on more comfortable discussion. "LOCCENT got a reading. We're just waiting for a confirmation. I'm not even sure if I should tell you that."

"I'm glad you did," She smiled for a moment, the weariness melting from her face before the shadows returned. "Do you think they'll ever stop?"

"Who?"

"The Kaiju; do you think they'll ever stop attacking the cities?" From the look on her face, there was part of him that wanted to lie; tell her "absolutely", but he didn't even know himself. "Uh, listen, my brother and I are in town for another week-"

"No, that's okay, I'm just visiting a friend," Naomi shuffled to the side, making a move to exit. "Tell Raleigh I said hi, okay?"

"What and get my ass kicked again? Not a chance," That made her smile. Moving forward, she stood on her tip-toes and gave him an awkward kiss that landed on the edge of his mouth. He thought to respond in kind, but she moved away before he could even pucker his lips. She ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck. "See you later, hero," She stepped away and he watched her go, lips pressed firmly against each other to preserve the tingling feeling running up across his cheeks.

Naomi was a flash in the pan, but one that still made him relatively hot and bothered when he thought about her.

Author's Note I: This turned out be a little longer than I thought it would be. I just kept writing and writing until I realized a bunch of disconnected stories stuffed into a single [final] chapter wasn't going to work. Thus, it became expanded and the theme changed rather quickly despite its central focus. 'Cause I saw the movie a second time *Snoopy Dance* and it was still awesome

Author's Note II: So, I wanted to write something with Naomi Sokolov because most would just see her as the flagrant groupie looking to get laid by Jaeger Pilots and bash her if they bothered to remember the character. Yeah, she did want to get laid, but became more than that "girl they fought over". Tales From Year Zero does an amazing job of showing she's not just a static/shallow character. That she, like everyone else, is just as effected by the events caused by the Kaiju and wants some good to come out the situation, for humanity's sake.