Pairing: Fleurmione
Themes: Alternate muggleverse!Pacific Rim crossover oneshot, Comedy, Romance, a wee bit of drama
Summary: Fleur is a Jaeger Pilot, and Hermione is a Kaiju scientist. Need I say more? /Spoilers for the movie. Gotta thank the novelisation for helping me understand the steps and intricacies of Pacific Rim's Pons process. Well, through a direct connection anyway xD
A/N: Despite suggestions from some of you, this is the end of my dabbling with the Pacific Rim universe! :) Thank you very much for reading this, folks.
I'm not gonna lie, I had a lot of fun with this. Very sorry it ended up a bit short and brief. If you'd like to see more of this concept, however, user Apocalyptic Mirage is currently working with a meatier crossover than this. Go check it out soon if you'd like ;D I'll link it here~
See ya'll soon *salute :)
She was going to be honest with herself. Fleur Delacour had never thought much about the other side of the Jaeger Program's metaphorical coin. She had never thought much about the people who worked in the background, dirtying their labcoats with chalk and entrails as they crunched numbers, studied statistics, and sliced their way into a Kaiju's behaviouralpattern. As if every bit of flesh contained a cryptic code to decipher.
The Kaiju-Science team members have always been a reclusive and eccentric bunch of characters Fleur often had the misfortune to meet. It was a bit of a biased discrimination she shared amongst her fellow rangers. In their defense, the way the science team often looked at her and the rest of the Jaeger pilots with disapproval, and even pretentiousness, did not help matters much.
They were all too different from one another. The way they thought, the way they spoke, and the way they worked. For instance, their fascination and reverence with the Kaiju had never sat well in Fleur's mind. And she figured the K-science team, in turn, did not agree with them leaving their precious 'alien samples' as nothing but decaying flesh, and toxic sludge after every fight. It was a petty way of thinking, she and Gabrielle had agreed, and both sisters decided to leave it at that.
So thus, the rangers let the science team do their thing while they did theirs, and vice versa. It was a fair trade, as long as they didn't have to speak or negotiate with one another directly. Marshall McGonagall did the communicating well enough for both parties, and every final decision depended on her approval, anyway.
They all had more important things to worry about. And every time her neural centers linked with Gabrielle's, every time they were called in for action, the Delacour sisters thought of one thing only: winning the war.
Nothing else mattered. Nothing else should.
Except…
Someone was making noise in the Jaeger repair bay.
Fleur narrowed her eyes and tilted her head in confusion, snuffing her cigarette out on the cold metal floors of the platform. The blonde pilot hopped off the space she had been sitting on for the past half hour, landing smoothly on her two feet. She turned her head this way and that, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the noise. It took a bit of wandering around, using her ears and finding where the echoes were coming from, until she realized it was probably coming from the storage area near Phoenix Striker's Jaeger bay.
The repair bay was supposed to be empty at around this hour. She should know, since she started stealing some time alone here for the past three days, making sure to finish trainings and briefings early enough to spend time alone with her thoughts and cigarettes, if she didn't have anything else to do. Some of her fellow pilots were still training in the Kwoon, while most of the staff was eating in the mess hall for lunch or seconds. Fleur found she was still getting used to seeing different faces of people around Hong Kong's Shatterdome, instead of the original tech teams who had been deployed to work on the anti-Kaiju wall just a couple of months ago. It saddened her to see most of her friends gone, but no matter. She was glad they were safe, at least.
The mysterious person was making quite a ruckus in there.
Fleur tucked her hands in the pockets of her oversized jacket, and peered into the semi-dark room. The shadow of the person seemed harried as they moved, clumsily taking bits and pieces of tech here and there, and placing some of them in a dodgy cart nearby.
Judging from the person's voice, the stranger was female. And judging from her constant mumblings…
"I don't need this." the stranger grumbled. With a start, the person quickly jumped aside in time before a couple of cable-like things fell onto her feet, "Bugger, I think I needed that." Ignoring the mess for now, her arms stretched high up towards the containment shelves overhead, pulling more wires and parts here and there, studying each of them with a critical eye, "Fluid-core cables… where are you…?"
The woman must be a member of the Kaiju science team.
Fleur couldn't help but feel amused at the sight of the other woman's fumblings. She waited for a while, then cleared her throat.
"Doctor Granger?"
The pilot could have sworn she saw the doctor jump almost a feet high in the air before she became obscured by falling parts. Big metal parts, and coils which knocked the poor doctor off her feet and on to the floor. Fleur winced and closed the hatch behind her quickly unless someone else got a bit too curious for their own good.
Her amusement switched over to concern when she noticed the doctor wasn't moving under the pile of curious mechanical instruments. Fleur kneeled next to the prone body, and began to throw the parts away, hoping to revive her if she needed to. She wasn't keen on collecting a negative report about her snooping around in the science team's business, after all. On the other hand, judging from the doctor's reaction, Fleur thought she probably wasn't the only one who was snooping around here, either.
"Are you all right?" the blonde ranger asked, looming over the glassy eyes of Kaiju Scientist Doctor Hermione Granger.
The doctor nodded, grabbing a cable which had plopped itself over her midsection. She looked down at the part, staring at it as if she had just discovered a five inch Kaiju sitting near her head.
"Oh." she said, "This will do."
"Are you sure you're all right, doctor?"
Dr. Granger huffed and began to struggle up on her feet, "I'm fine." she said, nodding her thanks as Fleur helped her stand with a gentle tug of her arm, "Just a little shaken up, that's all. I can handle it."
"My apologies. I wasn't aware-"
"No. No, it's fine, Ms. Delacour. It was my fault." Dr. Granger threw her newly acquired fluid-core cable on the thankfully untouched cart. She rearranged her glasses on the bridge of her nose, "I was just…" the doctor wavered, obviously grasping for things to say, "This is just an experiment. Of sorts. Nothing dangerous. Just… experimenting on the Trespasser's lymph nodes. DNA structure and all that. You know. The usual."
Fleur chuckled, then smiled, "Right. Those things."
The blonde pilot sighed and rubbed the back of her neck wearily, cursing herself for letting the tingles take over her hand. For letting the red climb up to her cheeks. And she cursed, most of all, this idiot scientist's cluelessness. Because when it came to Kaiju behavior and genetics and all that other rubbish, Dr. Hermione Granger, jack of trades extraordinaire who not only dabbled in K-Watch in the early days but also Cryptozoology, was very much an idiot of an epic scale when it came to examining human behavior.
Yes, Jaeger pilots and Kaiju Scientists often didn't get along with each other. But ever since the good doctor arrived in Hong Kong Shatterdome, Fleur gain a new motivation for learning much about this side of the Jaeger Program's metaphorical coin. And that was only whenever she could find the time to catch the scientists at work. Particularly Dr. Granger, who was usually busy writing things on the giant blackboard, or cutting things on the autopsy table. Otherwise, Fleur started to spend more time visiting the science facilities to learn more about the basics of Kaiju types from Dr. Lovegood, too, and about the Pons from Dr. Malfoy, and… well…
Nothing else but the war should have mattered, Fleur knew this. Nothing else should.
But…
"Well then, Ms. Delacour." Dr. Granger struck the dust on her labcoat with the palm of her hand, until the gray dirt color faded into something a bit closer to white. She'd always been a bit neat, Fleur thought, as she gazed down at the rumpled woman with a certain calm adoration, "If you don't mind, I'll just be on my way."
Fleur pressed her lips together, trying to stifle a disappointed pout, and nodded, "Oui. Bonnechance, doctor. Please don't let me keep you."
The doctor didn't make a move, despite all her earlier excitement. She twisted her hands on the cart's handle and continued to speak: "Got some very important things to tinker with, you see."
Fleur made a show of looking at the doctor's cart, "I can see that, yes."
"You're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?"
"That depends. Can it be used to blackmail you later?"
The other woman grinned, her brown eyes sparkling as they practiced their usual banter, "Hopefully, yes." she said, "Yes it can."
"Then my lips are sealed, docteur." Fleur said, her voice shamelessly lowering into an octave which could easily be described as 'smooth as caramel', if it weren't for the doctor's poor processing skills at the moment.
Dr. Granger made a strange squeaking noise and nodded slowly, looking away from Fleur's piercing gaze. She shuffled on her feet, grasping for things to say, "Well, that's good then. Because this thing that we're doing…"
"Mmm hmm?"
"It's very, very important indeed."
"I see."
"The processor's startup takes ages to warm up, and since it doesn't have a stable power source, I should probably go now and search. For one. A power source, I mean. Immediately. To start it up."
"Yes, you should."
"Yeah."
Fleur chuckled under her breath, "Dr. Granger, are you sure you don't have a concussion?"
"Definitely, Ms. Delacour, thank you." the doctor said, feeling her skull up by combing fingers through her dishevelled hair. It was a talent, Fleur thought, that one could seem stuffy and proud, even after being knocked over by greasy tech parts, "Maybe just a few lumps, but nothing particularly alarming. I think it's a miracle I'm not bleeding, or worse."
"Good. Because if you feel something is wrong-"
"I'll haul my clumsy arse over to med bay." the doctor smiled. The smile she often reserved for Fleur. The one that wasn't self righteous, or pretentious, or infuriating. That one soft smile which seemed to equal the pilot's look of adoration.
Because it didn't take more than a second for Fleur to smile back.
They did this a lot lately. Smiling at each other. For no reason.
Feeling the overwhelming motions of her heart, the ranger looked down on her shoes, biting the insides of her cheek and willing herself to take control of her senses again.
The doctor seemed to recover more quickly compared to her. Dr. Granger cleared her throat and pushed her cart forward with a squeak, suddenly very hesitant at this point. As if she didn't want to go anywhere, "I'll be seeing you later then?"
"Yes, later." Fleur said, "In your office?"
The smile on the doctor's face wavered, "Then again, I might be busy with some 'things', after all."
Fleur frowned, noticing her troubled look, "Do you not want me to visit you anymore?"
"No, no." Dr. Granger shook her head, "It's just. Nothing. We're all really busy. And I just wanted to say good luck out there, too, things are getting very dangerous."
The pilot, relieved, laughed and nodded her head. Amused by the strange awkwardness of her friend again. Fleur felt giddy that the doctor implied she was worried about her. Althoughwas that really all she had to say?
"I understand. Thank you."
"And Fleur? I…"
The gentle and warm look on the doctor's face, right then and there, almost took Fleur's breath away. For a while, the pilot wondered if she'd been blind as well. Yet at this moment, she didn't dare think of anything else, or experience any other memory than what was happening now. She might regret having their first kiss in one of the Jaeger repair bay's storage rooms, yes. She might regret that she herself smelled like sweat, straight after Kwoon training, and Hermione like grease when they finally shared a deeper connection rivalling any drift out there.
And God help her when she drifts with Gabrielle the next time they were called out. Fleur was sure she'll never hear the end of it.
But…
No. No more.
There was too much hesitation, and yet so much emotion inside this dusty storage room. Both of them standing on opposite ends of the same resistance. Both of them standing on the edge of the world's end, daring the Breach to bring in another Category IV or V or…
So much was happening all at once in Fleur's mind. So much feeling, so much fear, so much hope, and so much physical stimuli. Like the heat of Hermione's face near her own as they leaned, ever closer to one another, and Fleur didn't want to think anymore. Didn't want to hesitate anymore, or fear anymore, or
Dr. Granger pulled away, a fraction of an inch. It was enough to break the spell between them; the haze which pulled them in together, sending them down a narrow path while they were blinded by sweet promises.
The doctor visibly swallowed "You—" she pulled away a couple of inches more, which wascue for Fleur to do the same, "You fight good."
Disappointed and just a bit miffed, Fleur could do nothing else but nod. Sharply nod. And purse her lips. Hermione took notice of this, and at least had enough sense to look sheepish.
"I think you should go now, docteur.
"I must agree, I'm afraid." taking a deep breath, the doctor tugged down her labcoat, blinking away the haze of that 'something-somethings' away from her now cognizant senses. Her warm brown eyes now turning sharper than steel. The K-science team might not have giant swords that could cut through Kaiju hide, but their intellect could do just as much damage.
And as the good doctor finally mumbled her final goodbye, Fleur watched as she pushed her cart of strange equipment, and headed towards the exit of the large room. As she did so, the pilot couldn't help but study the blotches of dirt on the doctor's labcoat, her faded black jeans, her scuffed canvas sneakers, and her messy brown hair which stuck in all directions. Fleurcrossed her arms, resting her back against one of the containment shelves as she allowed her mind to fade out of reality and deep into her thoughts
Fleur never even knew she could be attracted to self-righteous, stuffy, cheeky, scheming little idiot scientists until now but, honestly… what in the world did she see in Dr. Hermione Granger?
"Oh, by the way, Ms. Delacour?"
Blinking out of her thoughts, Fleur looked up and saw said self-righteous, stuffy, cheeky, scheming little idiot scientist smirk at her, eyes filled with so much hope, and say: "I'll be seeing you tomorrow night?"
Oh. So this is what she saw in Dr. Hermione Granger. That daring smirk, and a certainperfectionist's attitude which was annoying at times, but most of the time — endearing.
Admit it, Delacour, you're gone now.
Tomorrow night could mean a lot of things, Fleur thought. She could learn what her new project was, perhaps? Or maybe what her lips felt like, if they dared to be a bit bolder than earlier?
Fleur grinned back, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind an ear, suddenly bashful, "Oui. I'll be there tomorrow night."
The skull cap felt warm in her hand.
Briefly, Dr. Hermione Granger envisioned her head bursting into fire after prolonged use of the machine. An image which did not do well for her already jittery nerves. She's never actually drifted with anyone before, and currently she couldn't help but recall all those nightmarish stories she's heard about drifting, too. Like side-effects, a hiccup during the neural handshake process. Any lapse at all during the procedure, and her mind could be turned into mush.
She's heard of personal stories from Fleur herself, and not for the first time, she wondered how the older woman could risk her entire body in a Jaeger frequently, sharing her mind with not just a person, but also with a machine.
"Are you sure about this, Granger?" Dr. Malfoy said, the man's voice revealing a tiny bit of fear underneath a tone of defiance. He was the first person who expressed doubt on hers and Luna's idea, but the three of them managed to reach up to this point in their progress, and truth be told there was no where else to go. Every conclusion reached a dead end. They knew it was impossible to understand what happened in the Breach between their world and the Anteversewithout over-expending the Jaeger Program's resources, otherwise. It would be illogical and a waste to back out now after sacrificing so much.
"I'll be there tomorrow night."
"Yes." Dr. Granger said, slipping the skull cap on her head while Malfoy began to activate the Pons processor with the flip of a few switches.
Once the machine hummed to life, Granger took the neural spike dangling on a steel clamp nearby the Pons device. She paused, and stared at the center of their attention. The large tube containing the specimen inside.
Inside the tube, the Kaiju brain twitched and pulsated, as if it knew exactly what the three of them were about to do.
In Dr. Granger's case, she couldn't believe she was about to drift with a Kaiju.
She had no idea if it was going to be a better experience, or worse, but she knew she was about to get the bad end of the stick one way or another.
"I just had a thought," Dr. Lovegood said, knocking twice on the glass tube with a fist — 'clunk clunk', "I think it can sense us."
Malfoy clicked his tongue, eyes and hands still busy fitting the fluid-core cables together, "I'm not a Kaiju groupie, unlike you two, but even I know that piece of fish brain can't see anybody at all. Focus on the task at hand, Dr. Lovegood."
Luna shrugged, calm and cool as always. She gently patted Hermione's shoulders, smiling. The brunette didn't want to admit it, but Luna's easy-going attitude was beginning to unnerve her, "According to my calculations and prior mock testing—"
"Via a poor simulation program which is barely even approximate." Dr. Malfoy added.
"You will be fine. We'll pull you out before things get worse. Worser. Don't worry."
"Again, don't you think we need a second 'pilot' for this?" Dr. Granger banished away thoughts of her particular pilot friend who was probably none the wiser of what they were currently up to, "Won't the neural load be too much for me to handle?"
"In theory, yes," Luna said, "This'll be the testing stage, though. It'll be quick, in and out, not even a minute to lose. At least, if this procedure fails, we'll still have two scientists on roster."
Malfoy scoffed, "Cold, even for me."
"And drifting is a two-way connection, isn't it?" Luna said, "If your theory is correct, and the Kaiju consciousness works like a hive mind…"
"And if, through this two-way connection, they read two of our top scientist'sheads and find out all our plans and secrets before 'D-Day'." Draco paused for effect, "Another reason why I find this to be a very bad idea."
"Well, according to Dr. Lovegood, if it is a two-way connection — they read us, but we read them." Dr. Granger said, "I can take it. Just give me five extra seconds before pulling away the plug. If the drift is successful, and if I survive more than two seconds of drifting with the thing, we might get the answers we need." She inhaled, sticking the neural spike auxiliary inside the tank's input, officially taking the first tentative step of her connecting with the Kaiju brain, "Either way, we'll be dead if we do, and we'll be dead we don't. Logic and caution can only go so far, Dr. Malfoy. It's time to take some risks. I'll be glad take the first plunge, second pilot or no."
"I don't know if you're either brave or foolish, Dr. Granger." Malfoy said.
Risks, Hermione thought. And sacrifices. Like her life.
She didn't even say goodbye to her friends, Harry, Ron, Neville, the twins, her family, and Gabrielle… and Fleur.
They were supposed to meet each other tomorrow night. Her and Fleur.
Hermione's heart sank, remembering what almost happened earlier between them. What she wanted to happen. Four years of yearning, and that one moment could have solved it all. Except she still had this.
The Pons processor seemed to whir louder.
The skull cap on her head began to blink red.
"Copper pins are on?" Dr. Malfoy called out, turning on the holoprojector next to the Pons, where the Kaiju brain's image was supposed to appear, "Just need to get a hundred percent on this."
"Checked the connectivity tests. It's still active." Dr. Granger added, flexing her cold and stiff fingers.
Luna, her face oddly grim, nodded at Draco, "Ready, Dr. Malfoy?"
Draco nodded when the image of the brain rose into static above the miniholoprojector, and set it to record the status of both the Kaiju brain and Dr. Granger's.
The lives of everyone, the pilots, her friends, Fleur and Gabrielle depended on them now. True, the most visible and hands-on members of the Jaeger Program shunned the Kaiju scientists for years, labelling them mostly as pencil pushers amongst a legion of warriors. Sometimes, because of her fellow scientists' curiosity of the strange species, they were at worst branded as mad Kaiju fanatics.
Dr. Granger grinned at the memory of how she and Ranger Delacour's first meeting went. She had to admit, it hadn't been an ideal way to strike a new friendship. She was surprised they ended up talking afterwards, even after their little spat, at all.
Old rivalries and bitter feelings aside, what remained of the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps Science Team knew the lives of these people rested in the palms of their hands.
Noticing the thoughtful look on her face, Dr. Malfoy groaned and called out her name, snapping Dr. Granger out of her daze, "No offense, but you, my dear, are hopeless." he said, and continued as if he were speaking with a bunch of little children: "Let's all focus now, shall we? There's the tricky bit with the Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers, if you've already forgotten? Whatever you do, do not latch on to a memory. You and your girlfriend making out or otherwise, Granger, no matter how nice her buns look in a Drivesuit."
"Malfoy."
Tomorrow night could mean a lot of things, Hermione thought.
She could end up dead. Or have her brain damaged beyond repair. Or she could be spending time with that cocky, insensitive, French spouting, nagging, ridiculously blonde pilot in the medical bay, recovering from a neural overload which was a… fairly romantic way to spend time nowadays.
Dr. Granger steeled her gaze, daring the piece of Kaiju brain to resist her mind and their intent to save the world from the impending apocalypse. If she wasn't so nervous and afraid, she would have laughed at herself and her dramatics.
This is for you, Ms. Delacour.
"Fire it up."