Thank you to all my readers. I'm not as happy with this chapter as I'd like to be but please bare with me :] I'm over at .com if you'd like to say hi

Isaac didn't seemed surprised when Derek walked through the door of his office without hesitation. The doctor was seated at his desk and his eyes darted across a few messy stacks of paper work. He looked up and smirked when he saw Derek standing with his arms folded over his chest.

"Derek Hale," Isaac's voice was sultry and he lifted a brow when the alpha rolled his eyes, "I have to say, I didn't think I would ever see you around here again." There was something in his voice that made Stiles look at his feet and dig his thumbs into the pockets of his pants. It was pointed and bitter- his tone made Derek's jaw tighten, "Yeah, well, Raleigh needed me. We're going into the city, do you want to come?"

Isaac tilted his chin up and pulled the sleeves of his white lab coat away, setting it on the back of his chair as he stood, "Raleigh needed you? How convenient."

They watched each other as Stiles shuffled his well-worn boots against the floor. The tension in the room was uncomfortably high and the young ranger didn't quite know what to do, he cleared his throat awkwardly, "You know, I feel some animosity here so if you don't mind I'm just gonna go meet Allison and Scott-"

"No, no, I'll go," Isaac's voice wasn't any less bitter and his eyes stayed fixed on Derek who nodded slowly, "I'll go and we can all pretend like nothing happened, right? We can just go on as if the past nine months didn't affect a single person besides-"

"Isaac!" Derek's voice thundered and Stiles flinched, taking a step back, "We will discuss what happened later. Right now I am inviting you out for a drink and food, if you want to bitch at me then we can do it another time. Allison and Scott are outside waiting for us, are you coming or should I schedule a time when you can properly-"

"Don't sass me, Hale," Isaac spat before his eyes trailed across Stiles. The room grew quiet and Stiles tried not to stumble over his words as he scratched idly at the back of his head, "Well, uh, alrighty then... I am, uh, I'm just gonna, yeah, go now-"

After a long pause Isaac lolled his head to the side and heaved an exaggerated sigh, "I'll go with you."

It was all Dr. Lahey said before Derek nudged his shoulder towards the door.

Stiles tried to flip through the memories Derek had reluctantly shared with him but the only piece that stuck out was the flash of bright blue eyes, how they filled with tears and the echo of Derek pleading for a man named Jackson to hold on. The memory ached and when Stiles' eyes fluttered shut, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Stiles," he blinked and took in a sharp breath when Derek tilted his head to the side and gazed back at him, "You okay?"

The tinge of comfort in the older mans voice made Stiles look away as he swallowed, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I just..." he shook his head and let a sigh fall over his lips. Derek squeezed his shoulder but was shoo'd out of the way as Isaac batted his hands in front of the rangers chest, "Let me look."

Stiles hissed when a bright light flashed across his eyes and he tried to take a step backwards but Isaac gripped his arm, "No, no, stay still." The doctor plucked the glasses off of Stiles' nose which made the pilot strain his eyes and tilt his head away from the harsh flash light, "I'm just tired, can you get that thing out of my face."

"Pupils are dilated, looks like you have some back-lash, Stiles," Isaac cleared his throat.

Something stirred behind Stiles' rib cage before he took in a shaky breath, "Back-lash?" The beta mumbled a 'thank you' to Isaac when he handed him back his glasses and scuffed his feet against the ground as they started pacing towards the stair case. Derek trailed behind and tugged at the hem of his black shirt as they descended towards the open hangar doors, "It's something that happens after drift, a kind of scar, I guess."

Stiles still couldn't comprehend how smooth his voice was.

"Is anything coming back? Is it your memories or is-"

"They're your memories," Stiles' voice was quiet and Derek looked away to try and find just about anything else in the room to set his eyes on besides the boy at his side. Stiles chewed on the inside of his cheek and ran blunt nails across the flesh of his palm, "Are we going to talk about what we both just went through or is there some weird terminology against us, oh, I don't know, getting to know each other before we skip down memory lane again?"

Derek's jaw tightened and his teeth gritted, "It's complicated."

"Yeah well so is French but I picked that up pretty..." his voice faded as he watched Isaac's brisk pace slow and halt in front of them. Something inside him screamed as he pulled his eyes to the woman standing in the doorway of the west exit. She had that Disney princess kind of beauty, with bright pink lips, doe eyes and perfectly curled strawberry ringlets hanging delicately passed her shoulders.

Lydia

Stiles blinked again before he sucked in a sharp breath. That was her. The woman from his memories, the one with the soft laugh and pompous voice.

The one that Jackson had spoken about.

He reached his hand up and rested it against the side of his head to try and soothe the ache that was now creeping from his temple down to the base of his neck. It was exhausting to try and search through memories that weren't his to begin with, none-the-less to attempt to do it in the shape he was in. "Back-lash, huh," Stiles mumbled but when he looked up the hair on the back of his neck rose. Lydia's heels tapped against the linoleum floor and her steady gaze raked across Derek like he was something far off in the distance that she could barely make out. Isaac followed her with his eyes as she brushed passed him and when Stiles opened his mouth to speak, a gasp replaced whatever words were about to grace the silence.

Lydia's open palm crashed against Derek's cheek and Stiles lifted a hand to cover his now gaping mouth.

Isaac was at Lydia's side before she swung another slap in his direction and he caught her arm as hushed words attempted to dismantle her flustered growls. Stiles could see her shaking, he could see the tremors in her fingertips and he could almost feel the hatred brimming over her mascara coated eye lashes. The doctor wound his arms around her waist and pulled her back when she snapped her wrist and lunged her free arm at the un-moving pilot in front of her. Derek's eyes were focused on the ground and his fingers were curled into tight, shaking fists. Stiles trailed his eyes across the alphas face to the red mark that was blooming across his left cheek. He flinched behind his glasses and Stiles couldn't help but also point his gaze at the floor, peeking up only once when Isaac finally hauled Lydia away. The beta turned to watch them go and Isaac glanced over his shoulder to jut his chin towards the exit, giving the two pilots a clear signal to leave.

Amber eyes flicked over at Derek who was still starring absently at the ground. His mouth was parted and Stiles felt a knot grow in his stomach as he watched the man try to catch his breath, "Derek," he tested the name and took a step forward, "are you-"

"Yeah," his voice was rushed, "I'm fine."

Stiles wanted nothing more than to ask what that was all about, to pry, to dive head first into Derek's past but the look on the other ranger's face told him that now was not the time. The dark haired pilot took in a shaky breath, eyes fixed on the ground, "We're not discussing-"

"Derek," Stiles interrupted and his eyelids fell shut, teeth set together behind his lips. Derek finally lifted his gaze and watched Stiles as he shook his head back and forth and fidgeted with the rim of his glasses, "let's just go eat."

Stiles didn't want to admit that he breathed a sigh of relief when Derek visibly relaxed, he didn't want to sit back and be comforted in the placid silence that was currently hovering above them. He wanted to scream and stomp his feet, to take the alpha by the shoulders and shake him back and forth. He didn't know whether it was the back-lash that stung at his mind or the persistent burn of curiosity that had his lips sealed shut but something bit at the weakness in his chest. The part that felt bad for Derek. Maybe it was how ridiculous he looked when he sported an expression of defeat or maybe it was that Stiles was familiar with the pain the other ranger had felt just moments prior. Either way, it wasn't the time or place to berate him about Lydia.

Green eyes peeked at him from under an array of thick lashes and Stiles pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, "C'mon," he mumbled while he watched Derek and pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose.

They walked through the busy hangar, Derek's vans squeaking every now and again when they scraped the polished floor. The light outside Shatterdome was bright and harsh but Stiles smiled warmly when he laid his eyes on Allison and Scott.

"Took you guys for-fucking-ever. Did you get lost or-" Scott was pushed lightly out of the way when Allison grasped Derek's chin between her index finger and thumb. She pulled gently so that he moved to the side and she shook her head when he mumbled that it was 'only expected.' The combat specialist grimaced when she saw the small red marks from Lydia's fingertips but his rugged five o'clock shadow concealed most of the hand-print. "It'll go away," he assured, pawing at Allison's tight grip on his chin. Scott tilted his head to the side and shot a smile over to Stiles who, once again, felt like he had been shoved into a situation that he knew nothing about.

Lydia's face flashed behind amber eyes and Stiles winced as he swallowed a shaky breath. She had caused a storm in his mind that refused to be silenced.

"Stiles?" It was Scott's voice and he shook his head, blinking over at him, "You alright?"

Derek cleared his throat, "He's got some back-lash."

Allison whined playfully and reached over to squeeze Stiles' hand, "It'll go away in time. It usually only happens to stubborn rangers," she moved her eyes accusingly at Derek and wrinkled her nose.

"Don't look at me like that," Derek muttered as he walked over to a sleek black Range Rover and opened the drivers side door. Scott shouted 'shotgun' over and over again and tugged annoyingly at the door handle until it unlocked.

Stiles sat in the back with Allison and they jabbered about what her and Scott had been doing while they had been in simulation. Allison shrugged and explained a few things about Striker Eureka and that some kinks were being made to the T-16 Angel Wings. It was fascinating to listen to her speak, her enthusiasm was inspiring and Stiles loved that she could go on and on about the complexities of Jaeger technology, because he could listen to it for hours. Scott would chime in every now and then with small fillers about maneuvers or how the mech could compensate for it's ability to use 'speed bursts' to confuse the Kaiju. It was a lot, more than Stiles could comprehend, but it coaxed a smile to tug at the corners of his mouth.

"You guys are gonna be in Lionheart, right? I've been doing some adjustments on her shoulder canons, they should be in tip top shape for whenever you two actually get to drop," Scott looked over the back of his seat to Stiles who lifted his shoulders and shook his head, "I think we're kind of jumping the gun here but-"

"Yeah," Derek's voice was firm as he looked across to Scott and shoved the car into park, "We'll be in Lionheart but we won't be on the field for at least a month, you know that."

Stiles felt his heart beat accelerate and his eyes widened. They had gone through their hand to hand, they had simulated a drift sequence and successfully completed the test mission but it hadn't occurred to him that Derek Hale was now his co-pilot. Not completely. Not realistically. Somewhere in the back of his mind Stiles thought something was going to go horribly wrong and they would be back at square one, Derek would go back to wherever he came from-

Oregon.

Trees. Beautiful trees. A city with gray skies, a town surrounded by streams, a house in the middle of the woods.

Fire.

Stiles was gasping and he scrambled to grip at Allison's hand when he heard her shout something to Derek. "What the fuck is this shit," he whined painfully as clear honey eyes squeezed shut. He could hear the drag of seat belts and he could feel Allison's soft hands gripping his trembling fingertips.

More trees.

Smoke.

"Stiles!"

It was Derek this time and he felt warmth when the back door on the passengers side swung open. Sunlight stung his eyes and he breathed out a sigh of relief when the ache in the center of his forehead dissipated. He slouched back in his seat with his eyes closed, chest rising and falling. "I-I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I have no idea... I don't..." Stiles couldn't keep the words from stumbling over his lips and he winced when he looked over and saw Allison's face. Her hands were shaking and she had them cupped across her mouth, "Are you okay...?" Her words were whispered when she finally let her hands fall and reach back over to touch Stiles' thigh.

"Y-yeah, is this... Is it always like this," he turned to look at Derek who had his knees bent and was leaning against the open door. The alpha shook his head and breathed a soft sigh, "No, it's not always like this. Some people don't get back-lash, some get very little, others get more than they'd like."

Stiles rolled his eyes, "I told you sleeping would have probably been a bett-"

"No," Derek shook his head, "Sleep just means nightmares. Trust me."

Scott hopped out of the car, shut his door and walked over to peek his head through the space between Derek's arm and chest, "Don't be embarrassed. Derek's had a full on panic attack over back-lash before and- ow, okay, I'm sorry. I'm done, ow, please," Derek's fingers pinched at the soft skin on Scott's tricep and dragged him away.

Inhale through the nose. Exhale through the mouth.

Stiles cracked his knuckles and looked over to Allison who nodded back at him, "I haven't seen someone react to backlash like that in almost a year but... it will fade in time," she whispered through a small smile. He watched as she shifted closer to him and bit down on his bottom lip when she rubbed his shoulder gently, "Do not beat yourself up over this. You didn't get a lot of sleep, you've been through more mentally and," she paused as her eyes flicked to Derek who was still prodding at Scott outside the car, "emotionally than most people will go through in a lifetime. The drift is incredible but your mind isn't going to be able to process everything at once so Derek's memories are now cataloged in your frontal cortex." Her index finger poked between his eyebrows and Stiles nodded as he tried to capture all the information Allison was throwing at him, "It's only natural for your brain to analyze the foreign memories and when that happens some pilots get back-lash."

Stiles chewed on the inside of his cheek as his eyes moved from Allison to Scott and Derek, "That makes sense, I just... I'm-"

"He's scared too," her words were quiet and she nodded through them as her eyebrows pulled together, "remember that."

The restaurant that Scott insisted they ate at was settled on a street corner across from the harbors in downtown, it's walls were painted a deep red and the tables were simple with gold and white embellishments splashed across the backs of the creaky chairs.

Stiles was quiet, smiling and nodding along with whatever his friends were talking about. He didn't want to be trapped or to feel like he wasn't meant for this, but the more he thought back on the episode in the car it was almost inevitable. The only thing he could focus on was the short stabs of pain in his fingertips as he pulled and tugged at his nail beds, trying with all his might to soothe the anxiety rising and falling in his stomach. It was as if he had lost his balance and was about to topple over the edge of something far more terrifying than he had ever expected it to be. Drift had been explained to him, he had read about it, watched it, seen the rangers when they did interviews but he had never wondered if there was a chance it wouldn't work the way it was said to.

Everything in life has a price, he just wasn't expecting this one to be so tolling.

Someone's foot brushed against his and he lifted his eyes to meet Derek's gaze from the other side of the table. Jungle eyes picked him apart and scraped him raw in the dimly lit and overly-crowded eatery, but Stiles didn't have the energy to look away or string together something sarcastic to say. Instead, he simply bumped the toe of his boot against his co-pilots shin. Derek raised his eyebrows and nodded as he sucked in a breath through his nose. Stiles narrowed his eyes but caught on when Derek tilted his chin down and inhaled again, a calm stare urging him on. He took in a deep breath through his nose, watching as Derek's mouth parted and he exhaled, following suit. It was unnerving to have someone he had just met this morning know something so intimate about him, to have a stranger know one of the only ways to calm him down. The dark haired pilot cleared his throat and Stiles jerked his eyes away, curling his nails into his palms when he realized he hadn't looked away from the mans lips.

"Oh my god, Stiles, you can speak Chinese, right?" Scott bounced up and down in his chair and Stiles pushed his glasses up, "Yeah," he laughed gently, "Yeah, Scott, I can speak Chinese. Technically it's Mandarin but yes, I can."

The tense cluster of nerves that had been settled in the middle of his chest had started to subside as Scott rambled about how awesome it was that he knew so many languages and how much they needed someone like him at Shatterdome. Stiles shook his head, "I was going to be a translator before I came here," he mumbled against the side of a small teacup, "but you know, sometimes life throws something at you that you just can't resist."

Allison smiled over at Scott, "I know the feeling," she scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

Scott flashed a toothy grin, "I am irresistible."

Stiles let his fingertips crawl across the patterns on the laminated menu in front of him, pointing when the waitress appeared at his side, "柑橘鸡，请。荷兰豆和蜂蜜为好。谢谢."

The woman nodded and walked around to Allison who ordered a small salad and some type of raw fish, Scott who simply pointed at a picture on the menu and said 'that' and to Derek who politely ordered some kind of goat and sweet bread.

They ate quietly, Allison asking Stiles a question about his school every once in a while and Scott inquiring about Danny when his old room mate was mentioned. Stiles felt his stomach sink when he thought about his best friend back on campus and he swallowed a piece of the citrus chicken on his plate. "I miss my friends," Stiles whined playfully as he pushed out his bottom lip and Scott rocked into his shoulder gently, "Yeah, yeah, well you have us now and it isn't like you can't keep in touch. I still stay in contact with a few of my friends back home, too." Allison nodded, "I didn't really have many friends but when I got here I met Derek," she smiled over at the ranger whose lips curled gently, "and then I met Lydia and..." her voice faded and she turned her eyes to the table.

The white elephant that had been roaming around Shatterdome was now standing in the corner of the tiny sea-side restaurant and Stiles gritted his teeth, "Jackson, right?"

Three pairs of eyes locked on to him immediately and Allison's mouth dropped open when the name was finally spoken aloud. Scott took in a rushed breath and busied himself with his food as Allison stammered to try and find something to say. Derek peered at Stiles and he sat back in his chair, nostrils flaring, "Yeah, Stiles," the way Derek said his name made him immediately regret his insistent need to be brave, "Lydia and Jackson were married."

Stiles plucked the glasses from his face and set them on the table as his teeth gnawed on the soft flesh of his bottom lip, "Makes sense now," he mumbled, more to himself than anything else.

Derek nodded but he didn't look at Stiles and Stiles didn't look at him, they just bumped their feet against each other underneath the table.

Before Stiles could register whether Derek was trying to tell him it was alright, or give him some other kind of hidden message, a ring came from the small purse hung over the back of Allison's chair.

"Hello..." there was a long pause and Allison pushed her plate away, eyes darting up to Derek, "We're coming. We're coming now. Striker, is she? Yeah, no, the repairs are done. No! We're on our way... Just, Raleigh... No, I want to see-" A growl rumbled in her throat as she shoved the phone back in her purse and slung the strap over her shoulder.

Scott threw a few bills in the center of the table.

"Category five, they're sending Striker," Allison took in a shaky breath and Scott rubbed her back reassuringly as they all climbed quickly into Derek's car. The two field specialists sat in the back and Stiles tried to catch up to the situation in his mind as Derek swerved around cars and blew through red lights on the busy streets of Hong Kong.

"They'll be fine, they're always fine," Scott whispered softly as he pulled Allison into his chest.

Stiles reclined his seat and turned to face them and watched his combat trainer stare wide-eyed out the window, "Allison," he said her name gently and she raised her eyes to blink back at him, "they're coming back."

He didn't know why he felt the need to reassure her, or to reassure Scott or even himself, but something inside him said it wouldn't be right unless he did. It wouldn't feel right unless he did. His own heart was twisting behind his ribs and he could feel his nerves vibrating on the inside of his knee caps and elbows. This was a situation he had not prepared himself for and it was apparent that even if he had tried, nothing could have softened the blow.

Boyd and Erica were about to go to war. His friends were about to climb into a machine, walk into the middle of the ocean and battle a Kaiju. His hands shook as he reached up and grabbed his glasses to clean them with the tail of his shirt. It didn't seem real, none of it did. The entire day had been a blur and Stiles half-expected to simply wake up in his bed with Allison knocking at his door telling him that it was time for breakfast. He wouldn't find a partner. Derek wouldn't exist. He would be told to go back to Brown and he would live the normal life he had built for himself. The life that he had almost forgotten about over the passed few weeks.

But he didn't wake up and Stiles closed his eyes as he inhaled a trembling breath.

The car stopped and Derek was the first one to get out. Stiles was next with Scott and Allison following close behind. The hangar doors were open and helicopters circled above Shatterdome like vultures over a rotting carcass. The entire facility was alive and moving. Technicians checked every inch of Striker Eurkea as they prepared her for departure and as Allison ran passed Stiles and Derek she stumbled when the helmet to the giant Jaeger was lowered.

"They're already... We didn't..." Her voice was choked and Stiles saw her lips start to shake.

Scott ushered her quickly to the elvator, shouting over his shoulder to meet them in the control room. Derek looked to Stiles who nodded back at him and they climbed the four stories to the large windowed room. Chills ran up Stiles' spine as they walked quickly through the doors where Raleigh, Mako and the others were watching the many monitors lining the tall walls.

"Erica!" Allison was shouting into a speaker, her hands cupped around the microphone.

"Hey, baby girl! You gonna route for us out there?" Erica's voice echoed in the room and Allison's mouth shook and she lifted her hand to rest over her chest, "Of course," she breathed into the microphone, "You two kick some ass and..." her voice faded but Erica purred, "You know we will."

Boyd was laughing in the background, "Category five, code name Tsume. We've got him right off the coast."

Mako snaked an arm around Allison and pulled her away from the microphone as she whispered that they were strong and to take a deep breath. Stiles stood next to Derek and Scott with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pants. He wanted to say something, to say that they made him feel welcome when he thought that he was an outcast and that if they didn't come back he didn't know what would happen. But instead he sealed his lips together and chewed anxiously on his cheeks until they were raw and sore.

"Marshall Herc and Marshall Argent on deck," one of the workers stated loudly to the room as he opened the double doors for the two senior officers. Herc Hansen was tall and worn with old tattoos on his forearms and an aged leather jacket wrapped around his shoulders. A set of dog tags hung between his collar bones and they were almost identical to the ones that Raleigh also had around his neck.

He could only imagine what it was like to carry the weight of fallen soldiers with them everywhere they went and his throat burned when he thought back on the panic in Derek's eyes and the torture in his voice when Jackson laid dying in his arms. Stiles shook his head and pinched the inside of wrist again and again, fighting to urge to delve deeper into the shadowed memory.

Herc set his hand on Raleigh's shoulder and breathed out a sigh, "What're we lookin' at?"

The ranger pointed to the screen with his finger and sighed, "Nothing uncommon, Lydia told us from it's heat signature that it's got some big ass hands so-"

"Claws, Mr. Becket. I believe the word I used was claws," Lydia's voice was just as it had sounded in Derek's memories and Stiles visibly stiffened when he heard her heels click against the floor as she walked towards the two men. Derek swallowed and Stiles could have sworn that he felt the rangers fingertips brush against his waist.

"We named it Tsume for a reason, it seems as if this particular Kaiju has a fetish for bad manicures. Now, may I?" the red head reached for the microphone and Herc held his hands to show two open palms, "Please, Mrs. Whittmore."

Stiles felt something sink into the pit of his stomach when he looked over at Derek and saw how the mans eyes fell shut.

Lydia hummed, "My Eureka team," her voice was crisp and when she spoke her lips parted into a smile that Stiles couldn't have described even if he wanted to, "This Kaiju's main weapon will be close-range. It has claws that will do extreme damage if you let it get close enough. Use your missiles and try to keep distance between the two of you."

When Lydia stepped back from the microphone the building began to shake. The Jaeger was pulled forward on large rotating wheels and when it left the hanger it was lifted by thick cables and flown out to the open ocean.

Chris Argent was talking to Allison in low whispers, rubbing her shoulders and offering soft smiles as she shook her head back and forth. It was obvious that she didn't take this very well, and Stiles didn't blame her. The Marshall was clean cut and the resemblence between the two was uncanny.

"Hey," Stiles' voice cracked when he tried to speak and he closed his eyes, huffing an irritated sigh, "So, what about back-up? Shouldn't we send another team out just to make sure they complete the mission?" Derek nodded and pointed towards the open doors of the hangar, "I'm sure they're sending someone from one of the other stations. There's no way they would send Striker out to breach with a category five and no defense."

Although it made Stiles feel better to know that his friends weren't out there fighting alone, it didn't make him anymore comfortable knowing that they were currently on their way to battle a creature that was specifically designed to exterminate the human race. He shifted his weight and let his eyes dart from monitor to monitor as he lifted his hand up to his mouth and started chewing absently on his fingertips. The control room was full of quiet chatter, Herc was speaking with Lydia and Raleigh, Chris was consoling Allison and Scott was now babbling about the inconvenience of surprise Kaiju and that they needed to work on the accuracy of the war clock.

"Hale," the Marshall's voice was firm and Derek nodded to Herc as he saluted the ranger with two fingers, "Glad to see you're back, and I also see you've found yourself a new co-pilot?" The man walked forward and offered his hand which Stiles took gratefully, "It's an honor," the beta smiled through his words amd Herc smirked, "The honor's mine. Raleigh speaks highly of you, have you already drifted?"

The two nodded simultaneously and Derek noticed that Stiles shifted awkwardly, "Yeah, this morning."

Hansen's eyebrows rose and he flicked his gaze from Stiles to Derek and back again, "Well, I suspect it's not going to be easy for you two so take it slow and make sure you're seeing Isaac daily," he nudged his chin towards Stiles who nodded dumbly.

"Herc, we have it on screen..." Lydia's sharp voice had disintegrated into something weak and soft as she gazed at the panel that flashed in front of the windows.

Stiles took in a sharp breath when the beast manifested from the ocean waters. The camera was built into Striker's helmet and it allowed for the rest of the team to see the progression of the Kaiju's fighting abilities, but it also reminded everyone who wasn't in a Jaeger and didn't get the chance to experience a monster like Tsume, that they weren't something to underestimate.

The screen was clearer than Stiles expected and he took a step forward to get a better look at what Boyd and Erica were currently staring at out in the middle of the Pacific. Tsume sported a large scaled body with a small cranium and long strong arms. He was almost humanoid, but his back was hunched by the weight of dense bone that jutted out of his spine and lined his back. The Kaiju's arms were lengthy and his reptilian hands flared out where long jagged claws tore through the thick hide. Like all of the aliens, Tsume had the traditional blue duvets on his chest, around his eyes and at the base of the spines on his back.

"Missile detonation in 3... 2... 1," Erica's voice came over the loud speaker and the screen shook when Striker's chest slid open and six long-range missiles were fired at the beast across from them.

They hit the target and Tsume fell back into the water with a strangled screech that made Stiles flinch and shrink back to his place next to Derek and Scott. The screen tried to adjust as water streaked across the lens and trembled as Striker took a few steps forward.

The screen was jostled again as the Kaiju's spiked tail knocked into Striker and made the Jaeger tumble backwards beneath the waves. Allison took in a strangled breath and clumsily reached out to Scott who pulled her against his chest. Stiles closed his eyes for a moment and reminded himself to breathe.

"Titan!" Boyd's voice was sharp, "Light him up!"

Stiles pulled his brows together as another Jaeger came into view from behind Tsume, a large forest colored mech with pale yellow accents. His voice was soft as he tilted his head to the side and blinked through the lenses of his glasses, "Who is..."

"Titan Omega," Derek was smiling and he shook his head back and forth, "The German team." The alpha snorted through a small laugh when he looked over to Raleigh who had his tongue stuck between his teeth, sporting a childish grin.

"You finally got them tame enough to send out?" Derek looked to Raleigh who shrugged and glanced over his shoulder, "No, I just sent them out anyways."

Stiles could hear the irritation in Chris's sigh as he watched the monitor and he could feel the small amount of playful tension currently filling the room as Titan Omega charged across the waters and hurdled itself at the massive Kaiju. Small canons lifted from his wrists and propelled small tight shots at the creature before landing strong blows into its chest. The view became distorted as Striker bounded forward and the view of the fight soon became a blurred wave of colors and water. The sounds were guttural and made Stiles turn his eyes to the floor. It reminded him of roars or screams, and it was something completely different than anything he had ever heard but after a few minutes the last screech echoed through the room and Stiles couldn't help but smile when Erica's voice came over the loud speaker.

"This is Striker Eurkea confirming their eleventh kill!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Scott kissed the top of Allison's head as she sank against him. Derek clapped along with everyone and Stiles smiled to himself as he looked to the two Marshall's who spoke through relieved smiles to one another. Even Lydia smiled as she smoothed her hands over the front of the long white lab coat draped across her and turned on her heels to walk out of the room. Derek's eyes followed her and Stiles saw him swallow uncomfortably when she flicked her gaze to stare back at him before walking through the double doors and taking her leave.

"Nice job, rangers, now report back to base," Marshall Argent cleared his throat, "and to our new Titan Omega team, congratulations on your first kill."

Raleigh clapped his hands together and barked a laugh when Mako slapped his arm, bickering something about how 'unprepared' the German rangers were. "Seems to me they did just fine," he purred before curling his fingers gently against the dip of her lower back. The small woman rested a hand on her hip and shook her head back and forth, eyes rolling towards the ceiling when Raleigh tugged her to press snugly against his side.

It was a surreal experience to watch Striker Eureka and Titan Omega battle. Stiles couldn't differentiate the excitement from the fear that was currently radiating from him, but both were prevalent. Amber eyes felt around the room, from the workers turning knobs and entering data to the Marshall's now walking out with paperwork in both of there hands and then back to Derek who was nodding to Scott and Allison as they spoke about how quick the fight was and how relieved they were that it went smoothly.

They walked from the control room to the floor of the hangar where Derek stalked off by himself to stare up at Lionheart who stood in the corner of the room. Stiles watched him for a moment, let his eyes trail across the rangers messy dark hair and raked his gaze down the his curve of his spine to where his hands were shoved into the back pockets of his jeans.

"Beautiful isn't she?" Scott's voice made Stiles jump and he pushed at his glasses as he stumbled over his words, "Oh, y-yeah, yeah, she's uh..." his voice evened out and he looked back over to the Jaeger and to the more interesting subject standing at her feet, "She's something alright."

When he turned back to face them Allison's eyebrows were raised and her smile told Stiles that she wasn't as oblivious as Scott was to his curious eyes. He wrinkled his nose at her and she shook her head before her attention was aimed at the hangar doors where Striker Eureka was being lowered onto the wheeled platforms. Her boots locked down and once they placed her back next to Gipsy Danger long, thick cables came down to latch on to her shoulders and chest piece. Sparks toppled off the damages that were sprayed across her right leg and on the left side of the abdominal piece. Stiles watched as the helmet was shot back to the fourth floor Drivesuit room and it wasn't but five minutes later that the elevator doors opened and Erica and Boyd stepped out.

The room erupted into applause as the two walked forward, Erica's wild blonde curls were splayed over the black armor and she held tight to Boyd's hand as he looked down at her and squeezed gently between her fingertips. Stiles glanced at his feet and rubbed his fingers together as he listened to the commotion in the room die down and pushed the feeling of being completely inferior to the side before he smiled to the pilots.

Erica squinted as she walked towards them and Boyd's eyes widened when they both recognized the handsome smile beaming at them from across the room.

Derek licked across his lips and tried to stifle a laugh when Erica ran forward and flung her arms around his shoulders, "Derek! You son of a bitch, where have you been?!"

Stiles could hear the excitement in her voice and smiled when Boyd also pulled Derek into a tight hug and told him that it had been far too long since they'd seen each other. The dark-haired pilot nodded and reached up to rub his palm leisurely over the scratchy stubble on his cheek, "Raleigh sent for me," he mumbled, eyes following Erica as she walked over and wrapped her arms securely around Stiles.

Amber eyes rolled when the woman swayed him back and forth but he smirked when she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss against his cheek, "Is it exhilarating?" he asked softly. Erica raised a thin brow and her smile broke for a moment as she reached forward and took off his glasses to set them on her own face, "Yes," she mumbled. He tilted his head to the side as she blinked playfully through the lenses of his glasses, "Were you scared?" he whispered. Erica's lip sank and she wrapped her arms back around him, lips brushing across his ear, "I'm always scared."

Stiles gripped his fingers into her back as she pressed tighter into the hug and he heard her breath tremble when he told her he would lend her a shoulder or an ear anytime she needed it. Their hushed conversation was shattered when the strong woman over-heard her co-pilot laugh, "Really, now? You and Stiles?"

Her head jerked back and she stared at Stiles, ripping his glasses from her face to let them dangle between her fingers, "You-" Stiles heard her voice catch and a laugh was pushed from deep in her chest, "You guys are-"

"Yeah...?" Stiles questioned before he reached out to take his glasses back, "I guess it's kind of an official thing now."

Deep caramel eyes blinked from Stiles to Derek and she grinned at both of them, which made Stiles blush and lift a hand to run nervously through his hair, "Holy shit... I never thought," her eyes fell on Derek who nodded slowly as his smile became small and coy, "I never thought you'd have another co-pilot but that's amazing. This is amazing, you two will be fantastic!"

Stiles looked at the ground as he set his glasses back on his nose and stepped away from Erica when she started bouncing on her heels, "I'm so excited, this is so fucking exciting!"

Scott grinned and bounced along with her, nodding enthusiastically, "I was telling them about the core adjustments I've made to Lionheart's shoulder canons and, oh! I also re-calibrated the coolants above her elbows which will pack a mean punch if you guys ever need to use them and-"

"Calm down, both of you," Derek's voice was a sigh, "We still have a long way to go." Forest eyes moved to Stiles and he lifted his chin, blinking at the beta as he folded his arms across his chest, "It's only been one day. We still need to go through more simulations, move in to the apartment and-"

"Apartment?" Stiles raised his brows and his mouth fell open. All the muscles in his body clenched and he stared over at Derek, narrowing his eyes when the alpha blinked back, "Yes?"

Allison cut in as Stiles' cheeks filled with color and his hands began to shake, "All the rangers move in to apartments together, that's why they built the complex behind Shatterdome."

"And it's not only for the pilots, me and Allison have a place back there and so do a lot of the workers on base. They kind of had to supply us with housing," Scott's voice was clear and Stiles felt like a complete idiot as the five people fixed their eyes on him. It wasn't his fault that he was uninformed when it came to 'Jaeger pilot' protocol, he had literally never been in a situation so complicated in his life and as he swallowed dryly and shrugged his shoulder, Scott bumped against him, "I know it's weird. We all know how weird it is."

He felt like a puppy who couldn't get up the stairs properly and Stiles didn't have the courage to look up and see his friends nod and smile at him like he was a child who had done something embarrassingly cute.

"Anyways," Derek's voice was warm and Stiles closed his eyes with his gritted together as the man once again saved him from an awkward situation, "We'll be in training for the next few weeks, I'm sure."

Erica nodded and Boyd tugged on her wrist as he gestured down to the dark green and grey suits they were still wearing, "Can we please go change?" His voice was light and she nodded, poking Derek in the chest and flashing a smile across to Stiles, "See you around, Lionheart."

Her words made a chill run down Stiles' spine and his fingertips went numb. He bit down on his bottom lip to try and suppress the smile that pulled at the edges of his mouth and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. Lionheart. In one day he had met his co-pilot, a damaged, beautiful, fucked up man with more baggage than he knew how to deal with. He had experienced back-lash in the worst kind of way and rushed to be at his friends side as they charged into battle against a Kaiju. The rangers head throbbed and he sighed as he watched Erica and Boyd disappear into the elevator, "I think it's time I go throw myself into my bed and not come out until tomorrow."

Scott laughed and Allison nodded to Stiles, "I think you deserve some sleep."

Stiles pressed his eyes into Derek as his co-pilot shrugged his shoulder towards the stairs, "I'll see you in the morning." His words were gentle and Stiles still wasn't used to how soft-spoken the rough pilot seemed to be. Tired eyes blinked and he shook his head, stumbling over a 'yeah' as he quickly paced away and tried to catch his breath when he realized how fast his heart had been beating. "Fuck," he hissed under his breath and turned the corner to walk up the stairs. He was exhausted and it felt like half of him was swimming in his mind while the other half desperately tried to dissect anything that had to do with Derek Hale. Nimble fingers pushed the door to his room open and he kicked it closed before his back fell heavily against the wrinkled comforter, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"What the fuck is even happening..." he mumbled to himself as he set his glasses on the night stand next to his bed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too much to process, Derek, drift, Erica and Boyd, the Kaiju, the future. Every piece of it seemed to be too much for Stiles to comprehend so when he shut his eyes he tried to put himself back at Brown, next to Danny on the stained carpet of their dorm with an Xbox controller in his hand.

It seemed to work to begin with and he drifted off to sleep as he remembered Danny's lung fulls of laughter.

The only thing that kept distracting him was the flash of wild green eyes and the curve of Derek's bottom lip.

Dad, please- c'mon, just... You need to stop, you need to sleep this off, it's-

You're a fucking disgrace! You hear me, kid! Do you hear me? You're mother was a good woman, a good god damn woman and she's rolling over in her grave knowing you share her last name-

Derek choked and his eyes flew open in the dark. His room seemed smaller than it had before and he trembled when he lifted his arm above his head and nestled back into the pillow, eyes darting to the side to look at the clock above his dresser.

3:22 a.m

His chest was slick with sweat and he felt his heart pound rapidly as his lungs burnt behind his rib cage. The scent of whiskey still infiltrated his nostrils and it made his stomach flip before he closed his eyes again. The rangers hands were sore from curling into tight fists while he slept and when he sat up and slung his legs over the side of the bed he felt a wave of nerves slide from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet.

Shatterdome was quiet at this hour and Derek felt at peace when he stepped through the misty door of the dark garden on the fifth floor. White sweats hung low on his hips and he grumbled when he stepped through a shallow puddle of water in his socks.

"You can't sleep?"

Her voice jostled him and Derek tried once again to catch his breath as he turned and blinked at the dark silhouette seated on a bench underneath the overgrown tree in the middle of the room.

Lydia busied her hands with her hair as she twisted it into a braid and Derek took in a shaky breath when he took a hesitant step forward, "No," his eyes closed angrily as the sharpness in his voice cut the silence. "No," he tried again, softer this time, "I can't."

Hazel eyes lifted to lock onto the ranger and the red-head hummed as her hands brushed over the creases of the cream night gown she wore. He analyzed everything about the woman, from her petite bare feet to the small swell of her hips, up to the shadow cast under her prominent collar bones all the way to the purple stains under her eyes. Lydia's cheeks weren't rosy with Christian Dior blush and her lips weren't painted with Chanel lipstick. She hadn't concealed the bags under her eyes and it made his knees shake when he saw the sadness etched into the ring she twisted back and forth on her left hand.

"Neither can I," her voice was quiet and she lifted her brows through a sarcastic laugh, "But I got used to it after the first couple months."

Derek stood in front of her and fixed his eyes on the crinkled rose she absently played with it on her lap. She looked like a doll who had been broken and put back together again. Something reassembled. He recognized her in a way that made him want to turn and run out the door, take something that would force him to sleep and forget that he had ever woken up from the nightmare to begin with. But Derek was stronger than that and he swallowed painfully, "I'm sorry, Lydia."

He didn't expect the lump in his throat to drench the words in desperation but it did and he set his teeth together hard to keep himself from falling to his knees in front of her.

She looked up briefly and he could hear her breath shake, "When they handed me the flag," she didn't try to calm the tremble in her voice and Derek closed his eyes and swayed slightly on his heels, "When they handed me his flag, I looked for you. I looked for you and I tried not to drop it and I-"

Lydia sucked in a breath and Derek clenched his jaw when she started to cry.

"You were like his brother, you were like my brother and you weren't there, Derek, you left me there alone. You were the best man at our wedding, you-"

It was when she tried to catch her breath on a shaken sob that Derek stepped forward. He fell so hard that his knees thumped against the concrete and he stumbled frantically over his words as the alpha let 'I'm sorry' fall from his lips again and again.

Her open palm struck his cheek for the second time and chapped pink lips trembled as they parted in the darkness. She watched him for a moment and he stared back at her before Lydia's hard expression crumbled and she fell into his chest with her fingernails gripped into his sides and her face pressed into his shoulder. Derek held her as tears fell across his skin and he bit down on his lip when she heaved pleading breaths into his collar.

"Why did you leave?" Lydia gasped in breath after breath and Derek squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped strong arms aroung her, holding her close in the misty green house.

"Jackson, why did you leave?" the words were hushed through her tears as Derek rocked her against him and he felt her nails uncurl from his sides and wrap around to clench into his back. His throat burned and his eyes stung. Every bone in his body felt splintered and as he sat there in the cold with Lydia clinging to his chest, Derek wanted nothing more than to trade places with the man they had lost almost a year ago.

"I miss him, Lydia," Derek's voice was broken and he buried his nose in the top of her head and rubbed his tears into the her hair, "I miss him too."