Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a Sunday. One of the rare days Nate had a day off. Don’t get him wrong he loved the cadets, he loved teaching them, but it was a lot of work, they were teenagers after all. So he almost turned away when Jules approached him, looking like the dog ate her new project. But he didn’t, because Jules doesn’t look like that unless its important.

“Hello Jules. I’m guessing bad news.” Nate asked

“I don’t know. They told me we are getting a new recruit and a ranger, which is weird, because all the rangers I know are either stationed here or in the other domes. Maybe they will tell you who it is, which brings me to, Marshal needs you at the bridge.” Jules stopped talking and Nate signed.

It’s never good when a new cadet joins this late in the program, they either fall behind quickly or they feel left out and abandon the project by themselves, when they can’t find a drift partner.

“Fun.” Nate rolled his eyes.

“Very. Fill me in when you get back, yeah.” Jules smacked Nate on the shoulder with the rag she used for cleaning her hands.

“Yeah, yeah. Dinner still on at 8?” Nate asked.

“Of course. I can’t miss my daily gossip session now, can I?” Jules smirked as she walked away. Nate rolled his eyes again. It is starting to become a habit of his, especially with the kids. He signed and started to walk towards the bridge.

Nate made his way through the automatic doors and searched for the Marshal. When he finally spotted him, he was standing by the big window with hands behind his back looking at the hanger. Nate approached him.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” Nate asked mimicking Marshals stance.

“Oh, yes, ranger Lambert. How are things?” Marshall asked, glancing Nate’s way, before turning his attention back to the jaegers.

“Pretty quiet actually. The cadets are well on their way to become rangers. Although we will have to see if they will become pilots, considering you know what.” Nate hated thinking about the technology Liwen was planning to introduce, because it would take the one thing he was good at, away and Nate was afraid he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.

“But, that’s not why you asked me here, sir.” Nate added.

“No, it is not.” Marshal smiled and faced Nate. Nate turned so they were face to face.

“As you know, we are getting a new recruit and a ranger tomorrow.” Marshal said.

“But, sir, isn’t it a bit late for the recruit? I mean the others are 6 months from graduating.” Nate asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, but this one is something. She built her own jaeger and piloted it. Even gave November Ajax a run for his money.” Nate was surprised. There is no secret that people built their jaegers. But building one and piloting one is very different.

“Okay, her I get, but who is the ranger coming in? Because as far as I know everyone is deployed in their own shatterdomes.” Nate was curious.

“Well they technically didn’t finish their training, but were recently upgraded. And as far as I know, you and him know each other, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” The Marshal smiled.

“With all due respect sir, I still don’t know who you are talking about.” Nate was confused. He couldn’t come up with anyone with that description.

“His name is Jake Pentacost. Son of Stacker Pentacost. Your ex-drift partner. The cadet his own father kicked out the program when he tried to pilot a jaeger alone. I gather you know now.” Nate’s jaw was clicked shut and his jaw muscles were very close to twitching. Behind his back, his hands were gripped tight around each other. Yes, he knew Jake. He knew too much about him and nothing at all. But Jake was kicked out more than 11 years ago, what the hell is he doing back. He said as much to the Marshall, without the swear word of course.

“The orders came from higher up, Mako Mori to be precise.” Marshal answered. Damn you Mako. Always looking out for your idiot brother.

“They are in bound and should land tomorrow morning. Be there to welcome them.” Marshal turned around and went back to staring out of the window.

“Yes, sir.” Nate took his leave. He couldn’t believe that after all those years Jake was coming back. Like he didn’t get kicked out in the first place. Nate was fuming. He needed to punch something, preferably someone, but that someone wouldn’t be here till tomorrow so a bag will have to do. He made his way towards the gym. No one wanted to stop him, they rather avoided him like a plague. And Nate was totally okay with that, because if anyone tried to talk to him right now, he would punch them.

The gym was occupied by some of the cadets, but he payed them no mind. Nate didn’t put on his boxing gloves, because he needed to feel something, something, anything besides the rage that filled just about every inch of his body, making his skin itch and his inside boil. So Nate took a punch after a punch, every one getting more erratic and less precise, and more he punched the bag, shittier he felt. The cadets were no longer lifting weights or fighting, but watching their instructor pour all of his anger into a punching bag. Nate didn’t care. He didn’t even know they were there. He needed this, because otherwise he was going to cry and Lambert men don’t cry.

It was an hour before Nate felt exhausted enough to collapse on the floor. The sweat poured down his body and his breathes filled the room. The cadets were long gone, leaving their instructor alone and if they told no one to go to the gym because “someone spilled beans and it smells horrible” in order to give their instructor some privacy, well nobody has to know.

Nate brought his hand up to his face in order to block the artificial light, but saw his bloodied hands. He sighed. He needed to go to medical to get them checked out, he would do it himself, but he ran out of supplies, when he bandaged Jules. Nate still felt like crying, but he no longer felt like punching someone. He just felt done. Nothing was going his way right now. First his partner leaves and then Jake is coming back. Nate just wanted to be gone. For a while at least. But he couldn’t, he had people depending on him here, the cadets, other pilots, Jules. And besides, not like he deserves it anyway. His father always said that as long as Nate was working he was at least worth something, so Nate never stopped. He never stopped training, never stopped looking for a drift partner, even after Jake left. But Jake was coming back, exactly at a moment Nate couldn’t wish but for him to be far away. But Nate is a grown up and a professional, so he can do this. Even if he already knows that most of the eye rolls and sneers, followed by witty and bitter comments will be directed at Jake now. But Nate didn’t care. Jake was the one who decided to leave and Nate was the one who decided to stay.

Nate looked at the clock in the middle of the wall. 0700. Great. He needs to get to medical if he wants to be on time for dinner. He sighed and picked up his things and made his way out of the gym. He arrived at medical 5 minutes later. No one was there. Not like Nate thought there would be anyway. Most of the people who visit medical are permanently ill, cadets or occasional J-technician.

Nate rang the bell and sat down. He finally had the time to look at his hands properly. They were shaking and stained with dried blood, some still slowly spilling out of the open wound. Nate sighed again. He leaned his head at the wall behind and closed his eyes. He willed his hands to stop shaking.

Finally a nurse lead him to an empty room. A doctor entered a minute later.

“Hello Nate.” She said.

“Hello doctor Kayle.” Nate knew her. She treated him when he broke his wrist while teaching the cadets and other times Nate accidentally injured himself.

“What brings you in tonight?” She asks

 “These.” Nate answers and raises his hands. The doctor sighed.

“Oh Nate.” She looks at him with sympathy. Nate shrugged.

“Well, I will bandage these up and give you some meds to help with the pain, okay?” Nate wanted to tell her they don’t hurt, but they did. Nate nodded. He sat there and stared at nothing, while she bandaged his hands.

“Here we go. Now, you know the drill right?” Dr. Kayle asks and Nate nods.

“Great, here are the meds. And Nate.” She stopped and waited for Nate to look at her.

“Go easy alright?” Nate nods again. They exchange goodbyes and Nate makes it to the mess hall where Jules waits for him. Nate sits down with his food and smiles at Jules.

“So, did you find out who is the ranger?” Straight to the point then. Nate grimaces.

“Yeah it’s Jake fucking Pentacost.” Nate rolls his eyes and digs into his food.

“Jake Pentacost!?” Jules almost yelled.

“Yeah.” Nate sighed again. Jules took one look at Nate. His wrapped up hands and defeated face, told her everything she needed to know and she switched the subject.

“Did you know, Mark, the lead J-technician off Titan Redeemer and Luke, the lead analyst finally stopped with the sexual tension and banged. Much too every one’s relief.” There was time that two men being intimate with each other would send Nate in a frenzy, but that was before Jules came out as bi and made it her mission to educate Nate on everything (besides the obvious). And Nate felt like an absolute asshole for treating anyone like that horribly. Nate realised then that his father was right about many things, but he was not right about this one.

Nate and Jules talked for about an hour before Nate made his way to his quarters and fell asleep. 

Chapter Text

Nate woke up at 0400. It was early, but Nate couldn’t really sleep, the dread of seeing Jake again kept his sleep light and restless. He felt horrible. But he couldn’t do anything about it. Unfortunately for him, mess hall opens at 0500, that meant he had a full hour before he could eat. He contemplated walking around for a bit, maybe see Gypsy Avenger, but he didn’t feel like doing anything. And that’s how Nate spent the hour lying in bed, spacing out, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. Nate sighed as he finally made his way out of bed and put on his white shirt and his ranger mechanic suit. Already knowing he will spend the day working on Gypsy.  He made his way from his quarters to the mess hall, hoping for some good food to be served there.  There wasn’t. Just Nate’s luck. But he couldn’t do anything about it, so he sighed and took his breakfast to the farthest point of the mess hall and sat down. He ate in silence and observed as the mess hall got busier, brighter and more cheerful. He watched the J-techs sit down in groups eager to discuss the upgrades of the jaegers, watched as the higher ups smiled at the servers, watched and watched, but he didn’t utter a single word to anyone. Why would he? He had no one here anymore, except for Jules, but she’s never here this early. Since Burke left, Nate resigned himself to long mornings in silence. And he preferred it that way. It gave him time to think. To think why kaiju attacked, why they stopped. Don’t get him wrong. He was happy they weren’t in a war anymore, but he did sometimes question, if he still served a purpose with the kaiju gone. And thus he rather pose a question, why. It was easier that way.  

Nate made his way out of the mess hall towards his jaeger. She needed some upgrades and Nate was set on finishing them before Jake’s arrival.  He climbed the cat walk to the Gypsy’s head and buried himself with work and music. He worked, because it was easier that to sit around and wait for Jake’s arrival and it was certainly easier than listening to the cadets laughing and teasing, like they used to do.

Nate’s comms came to life as he was finally paged to the landing dock to welcome Jake. He made his way down and towards the landing docks. He thought he would be able to keep neutral. To not react. To be emotionless. But he slipped quicker than he would have liked. Because just seeing Jake, brought forward years of pent up anger, feelings of abandonment, of betrayal. Jake still looked the same.

He bit his tongue before he could curse, because that just wasn’t professional. And if it was one thing Jake can’t take from him, it was this. But he couldn’t help the bitter tone to his words.  

“You got to be kidding me. I didn’t believe it when they told me you were inbound.” Nate said. Jaw clenched.

“How you doing Nate” Jake sounded like he did 11 years ago when he got kicked out. English mostly, but self-reassured, confident. And Nate hated it. Hated how it made him feel even angrier, so he corrected the one thing he could. The one thing that would made him feel superior to Jake, because it was him after all that actually finished the training and Jake had no right calling him by his first name, that ship sailed the day he decided to pilot the jaeger by himself.

“It’s ranger Lambert.” He hated how bitter he sounded even to his own ears. Jake rolled his eyes.

“Are you having a laugh?”

“Well this is a military base, you remember how that works, ranger Pentacost.” Nate’s last few words were laced with venom and he knew it hit hard. Nate was honestly done with this conversation. He turned to the new recruit. She was small, young, full of admiration and hope.

“And you must be Amara Namani.” Nate’s jaw was still clenched, but he was responsible for her now, he just hoped she wouldn’t wash out.

“Yes sir. Ranger, sir.”  Amara answered.

“Well, let’s get you squared away.” Nate turned around and started walking to the dome.

“Oh, and try not to steal anything while you are here.” Nate kept on walking.

“Did that haircut just call you Pentacost?” Nate resisted the urge to turn around, because seriously, insulting your instructor in the first minute of meeting him? Nate rolled his eyes. Amara kept on talking with awe in her tone.

“As in badass Stacker Pentacost, pilot of Coyote Tango, hero of basically the whole world.” Nate knew Jake hated the mentions of his father, and it made him smile that Jake was also suffering.

“It’s just a name.” Jake said. Jake hated the fact he would be always recognized by his last name, hated how it will hang to him for the rest of his life.

“Yeah a really cool name.” Amara said, still in awe.

“Sim training starts at 0600, you are late, you miss the day. You fall behind, you’ll be on the next transport back to wherever they found ya.” Nate said to Amara, still not turning around. Amara heard him, he knew she did, but she was amazed by the jaegers walking aorund too much.

“That’s Titan Redeemer and Bracer Fenix. She’s a three-man rig. Saber Athena. I love Saber Athena. She’s the fastest jaeger in the fleet. Did you know that?” Amara was talking to Jake, but Nate did have to give her credit, she knew her stuff.

"So. Which one is yours?" Amara looked at Nate. Nate stopped. Amara and Jake stopped with him. Nate looked at Jake and then to Gypsy behind him.

“Gypsy.” Nate said with pride. Amara looked at him with jaw wide open. Admiration.

“You pilot Gypsy Avenger?” She asked, but before he could answer Jules turned up.

“He used to.” Jules said all smiles.

“Until his co-pilot got a better offer in the private sector.” Nate rolled his eyes. Jules smiled at him.

“Jules Reyes, J-tech.” Jules went to shake Amara’s hand. Amara enthusiastically returned it.

“Amara. Cadet.” Amara said back. Jules went to shake Jake’s hand.

“Jake. Ranger, apparently.” Jake smiled and Jules smiled back.

“Heard a lot about you Pentacost.” Jake’s eyes glimmered. Nate watched with his jaw tensed.

“Yeah.” Jake said softly, flirting.

“You know you still hold the record?” Jules said teasingly.

“What record?” Amara asked, curious. Nate sighed inwardly. He knew that the cadets will eventually discover the record, but none of them had the curiosity thus far. He knew it would change now, but he wasn’t really ready for that part to be revealed yet.

“Shut up.” Neither was Jake, it would seem. And Nate was grateful for a moment.

“So how did they lure you back in? Couldn’t have been the pay so…” Jules was curious, she always was when it came to gossip.

“Yeah, it’s a long story, but if you want to talk about it, we can meet up…” Nate intervened before Jules could say yes, because Jake’s flirting made something stir in Nate, something he dare not name.

“She’s busy.” He passed in front of Jake and Jules. Jules gave him a small smile, that said ‘we will talk later’ Nate dreaded it already. She then looked at Jake.

“Ranger.” Jules turned around and left. Nate looked at Jules and then at Jake. He could see Jake looking at her. He felt protective.

“Eyes front Pentacost.” Nate sneered. He turned around and made his way towards the cadet rooms. The whole way there he was quiet, listening to Jake and Amara bickering behind him. Occasionally he would catch Amara admiring and fanning over the dome and tech. Jake was unusually quiet and it occurred to him that maybe Jake didn’t want to be here. And somehow Nate hated him even more. They didn’t need people like Jake, Nate certainly didn’t.

The door to the room opened.

“Ranger on deck!” He watched as the cadets scrambled to attention.

“This.” He points to Amara on his right, “is Amara Namani. She will be joining you in sim training bright and early. And this.” He points to Jake on his left, his words laced with more venom then before and his jaw clenched, “is Ranger Pentacost.” He sees recognition flash in their eyes. “He will be helping me instruct you until I can find a new co-pilot to replace ranger Burke. Anything you’d like to add.” He doesn’t turn to Jake, doesn’t think he deserves it. He thinks Jake will say a joke or something, but all he says is:

“Nothing you want to hear.” Jake adjusts his backpack, but his words are as venomous as Nate’s. Nate grinds his teeth. He sees some cadets intrigued by their words and he already knows they will gossip. Probably with Jules. 

“Malikova, get Namani squared away and prepped for training.” Nate wants to get away from here, from this.

“Yes sir.” The blond answers and Nate nods.

“As you were.” Nate says and sees the cadets relax just as he turns around and walks out of the room with Jake behind. Nate only has to show Jake to his new quarters and he can make himself disappear for a while.

They don’t talk, Jake doesn’t try to lighten the mood and Nate doesn’t look at Jake. They are a standstill. And Nate won’t break or bend first.

“Here you go.” Is the only thing he says to Jake, as they make it to Jake’s quarters, before he walks away, not waiting Jake to say anything. He doesn’t turn around, he doesn’t stop when Jake calls his name. He walks until he makes it to the roof of the dome. It’s already night by then and Nate feels calm. His hands itch from yesterday and he absently rubs at them. He stares at the sky and wonders if Jake coming back will bring only chaos, as chaos seems to follow him everywhere. And Nate sighs. He doesn’t know if this will shatter the already broken pieces between them, but he does know that the cadets are now both of their responsibility. And besides, it’s only until Nate finds a new co-pilot right? Yeah, Nate can survive this, he already survived Jake Pentacost once, he can do it again.

Nate falls asleep on the roof, under the warm night sky and the stars promising the begging of an end.

Chapter Text

The next morning Nate woke up with the alarm buzzing in his pocket. Confused he reaches into it and drags his phone out. He swiped right to shut it off. Nate groaned. He looked away from his phone to the sky. It was brightening up, orange sipping into the blue and Nate was mesmerized. There was a slight breeze and Nate shivered. He shouldn’t have had spent the night on the roof without anything to cover himself with. He sighed. Nate got up slowly and made his way down and towards his quarters. He needed to shower, change and preferably get himself a nice cup of coffee, because otherwise there is no chance he will survive the cadets today. And Jake. Nate had almost forgotten about him. He decided he definitely needed coffee.

The walk to his quarters was long and Nate was dragging his feet. He felt tired, he felt exhausted. He never felt exhaustion like this before. Sure, he had a burn out or two after Jake lef- got kicked out. He was trying so hard to ignore the feeling of betrayal Jake left behind, that he had forgotten to drink and eat, and worked himself half to death. He felt like something inevitable was going to happen ever since and he just wasn’t quite ready for it. But he couldn’t think about that right now. Right now there was a warm shower and a fresh set of clothes calling his name.

Standing in the shower he was just letting the water run down his body. It was relaxing and warming. He didn’t think of anything or anyone. Once he felt warm enough he exited the shower and got dressed. He had to get to the mess hall and eat, then grab a coffee on his way to the sim training.

The mess hall was fuller than usual and one of the faces occupying the farthest table in the mess hall was Jules. Nate groaned. He forgot that they were supposed to talk yesterday. Accepting his fate, he walked straight for her. When she saw him, she smiled and waved.  Nate walked the rest of the way with a scowl. He knew they need to talk, but that doesn’t mean he will make it comfortable for Jules.

“Hi there.” She greeted. “Where did you disappear to yesterday? Did you have some fun with our new ranger?” She wiggled her eyebrows for good measure. Nate looked at her.

“I went to the roof to clear my mind and ended up sleeping on it. And for our information, even if I was into guys, Jake would be on the bottom of my list.” Nate answered. He ate some of the bread on his plate.

“Mh, are you sure about that?” Jules asked. But before Nate could answer, Jules continued.

"So, are you going to tell me why you were so eager to shut down my potential date with Jake yesterday?" Jules asked, a vicious smile on her lips. Nate rolled his eyes. 

"He is no good. He will string you along and then leave. Jake never stays. Better to just stay away." Nate answered. 

"Mhh. Sure." It was Jules's turn to roll her eyes. He saw her think as she bit her lip, contemplating whether she should say something or not. He saw her decide when her smile turned sour. 

"You know, you don't have to take care of me. I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself, and there is no need for you, who can't keep a girl for longer than a few days, to tell me what's good or not." Nate stared at Jules. She never got angry, not like this. She knew where to hit and it hurt. So Nate got defensive.

"What is wrong with you?" Nate asked his eyebrows furrowed together. The chair scraped back as Jules suddenly stood up. The metal on metal echoed as the mess hall got eerily quiet. Nate didn't want anyone hearing of their argument, nevertheless the whole dome. But Jules didn't care. 

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!" She pointed a finger to her chest and then furiously pointed it towards Nate.

"You have been in a pissy mood ever since you found out Jake was coming back!" Nate had a feeling the whole mess hall was looking at them, but he didn't dare turn around. His jaw clenched as he kept looking down at the table and suddenly his whole appetite was gone. Nate watched as Jules furiously walked away. She was right; he was in a pissy mood, but she didn't understand, and she never would. And maybe, if Nate was honest with himself, neither will he. At least not fully. What happened between him and Jake was intimate on a level only jaeger co-pilots could understand. And when they fought Nate could feel his heart and mind shattering. What Jake did after was a breach of trust, of loyalty and of their friendship. Jake didn’t think they could have mended the broken pieces and it was then that Nate stopped trusting Jake and vowed to himself that he would never fully trust anyone. And if Nate couldn't trust Jake after he was in his fucking head, how could Jules expect him to trust him with her. It couldn't work. 

He grabbed his barely eaten breakfast and put the tray in the trash. He stalked out of the mess hall, never once looking up. Instead, he went into the cafeteria to pour himself a cup of coffee because the headache was already starting to worm its way into his head, and it would inevitably only get worse. 

The clock struck 0600 just as he entered the sim room. To his surprise, all of the cadets were there, with Jake standing in the corner with his arms crossed. He looked like he was unused to waking up at this hour and Nate couldn't care less. 

"Morning cadets. Let's get started." Nate said and took a sip of his coffee. He looked over the cadets, like he did every morning, and stopped his gaze on Amara. She was the new face, the new recruit. He knew she was able to pilot a jaeger, but drifting was different. Time to see what she was made from.

"Namani, Suresh, suit up." Nate felt Jake looking at him, but he didn't care. He continued sipping his coffee as Amara and Suresh suited up. He was thinking about what kaiju to put them up against, when he chose the one where most of the senior pilots got defeated; he didn't know why. Maybe it was because he wanted some confirmation that Jake didn't bring only trouble, or maybe he just wanted to see if Amara would be able to swim if she got thrown in with the sharks. Either way, it was a dick move. 

The cadets initiated the drift. It was going alright at the beginning. The connection was holding but barely. Then the fight happened. The kaiju hit their jaeger over and over again, forcing them out of sync. The connection was fast fading and it wasn't long before Amara was breaking the connection, effectively getting them killed. The simulation ended.

“I just can’t get this.” Amara said.

“That sucked.” Suresh said, defeated. Nate pushed off the railing he was leaning against.

“You know, when I heard you gave November Ajax a run for his money, I thought we might have something here. Now, I’m not so sure.” Nate knew how he sounded. Bitter. Like he has a stick up his ass, as would Jake say. But he was in an even pissier mood than usual, after his fight with Jules. Somewhere behind him, he heard Viktoria laugh, before someone hit her.  

“How am I supposed to drift in this thing? It smells like feet.” Amara said defensively, taking off her helmet.

“I didn’t ask for you excuses, cadet.” Nate said back with a snap. It was then that Jake spoke for the first time.

“Putting her against a kaiju that almost killed veteran pilots doesn’t make any sense.” He said defending Amara. He was leaning against the railing on the other side of the room looking at her.

“Well maybe she’s not the only one that doesn’t belong here.” Nate spat back, turning his body slightly in Jake’s direction, but still looking at Amara.

“Wow, see Nate, I know you have a problem with me, but come on, she’s just a kid.” Jake said, now straightened up and looking at Nate. Nate turned towards him, locking his eyes. Jake walked closer and Nate transferred2 his weight onto his other leg.

“So were we, that’s the point. You make stronger connections when you are young and that kind of bond makes for a better drift pilot.” Nate felt like he was reciting from a pamphlet, but he didn’t feel like he was lying. Sure, one of the strongest pilot bonds belonged to Mako Mori and Raleigh Becket and they met when they were in their late twenties, but that doesn’t disprove every other strong connection made from youth. Either way, Nate believed it. Jake just looked at him, before lifting his hand and patted Nate’s left shoulder.

“Yeah I remember the pitch, thanks.” Nate is still looking at Jake as he returned to where he previously stood. Nate exhaled, his shoulders dropping. He turned towards the cadets.

“Ryochi, Renata. You are up.” Nate turned back towards Amara. “Show our new recruit how its done.” He really thought Amara would be able to keep up, apparently he was wrong.  

The rest of the sim training went smoothly, cadets fighting in tandem, following each other, in sync and drifting. Nate and Jake only spoke to each other in snarky comments and sharp glances. Nate had a feeling all of this conversation will somehow make its way to Jules. He knows the cadets love to gossip as much as her. He hates it. But only when it includes him. Other times he silently listens and comments. That reminded him that he should find Jules and apologize, probably explain too. Because no matter how good friends he and Jules are, he has never talked about Jake. What she knows about him is the information other people told her. She doesn’t know what happened, and she certainly doesn’t know why Jake climbed into that jaeger.

Nate ended up giving the cadets the rest of the day of, which he knew they will either spend in the gym or kwon. Maybe they will actually go outside for a bit. He watched as the cadets started talking to each other, planning what to do. He watched Jake leave and when no one was in the sim room anymore he walked off, in search of Jules. Most of the time she spends in the upgrade work shop, so he tried his luck there. Nate walked in and saw one of the engineers discussing something with Jules. He decided not to interrupt and he leaned on a wall. Soon the engineer walked off and Jules turned towards him. He nodded his head towards the exit and started walking away. He knew Jules would follow, too curious for her own good. Nate made his way to one of the cat walks looking towards Gypsy. He leaned on the railing. Jules joined him a second later.

“Hi.” Jules said.

“Hi.” Nate answered back.

“Look I’m sorry for calling you pissy,” Jules said at the same time Nate said:

“Look, I’m sorry for insinuating anything is wrong with you.” They looked at each other and then bursted out laughing.

“You can go first.” Jules generously offered. Nate took the offer.

“I’m sorry for this morning. You are right I have been in a pissy mood ever since Jake came back, or it was announced he would be coming back. It’s just, we didn’t part on good terms. Everyone knows how Jake got kicked out but no one knows why. And it is not a pretty story, at least not where our relationship is concerned. That day Jake got kicked out, was..” Nate sighed and looked at Gypsy. Jules kept looking at him with sadness. “…it was not a good day for us. Me and Jake got into a pretty heated fight, I’m not going to tell you about what, because I do actually know of the bet going on.”

“Uh… What bet?...” Jules said innocently. Nate looked at her and smiled.

“You know the one “The one who finds out what happened between ranger Lambert and ranger Pentacost, gets to keep this pot of money” I think it’s called something like that.” Nate just watched as Jules blushed.

“Damn I thought you didn’t know about that one.” Jules said.

“I’m actually curious why no one has come and ask me.” Nate wondered. Jules laughed.

“You scare them. I suggested someone just go and ask you and they laughed. They laughed. Said asking you wasn’t even an option.” Jules shrugged. Nate laughed.

“Well I want to see who ends up finding out, so keep me updated.” Jules nodded.

“Anyway, the things between me and him got heated to the point where the words and actions exchanged crossed the point of no return. I still can’t forgive him for that and neither can he forgive me. But the cadets can’t be taught like this. I am aware we need some sort of peace to be able to teach those kids, because they deserve better. They deserve to be taught by cooperation and not by people with a past that wraps them in hate.” Jules was looking at him with pity. Nate looked back at Gypsy, he couldn’t handle her pitying looks. It doesn’t matter, they can’t fix it, that day it was left broken beyond repair.

“Talk to him. At least, I don’t know, tell him that the cadets need to see that you can work together or something. It’s not like they have long before they are pilots.” Jules patted Nate’s back.

“Yeah…” Nate kept looking at Gypsy.

“I’m sorry for this morning, but in my defence you have been acting like you actually have a stick up your ass.” Nate looked at Jules, eyebrows raised. Jules shrugged.

“It’s true. Look I might not know what happened between you and Jake, yet-” Nate gave her a look. “But I do know you care about the cadets and that they make it through, so talk to him. Maybe you will be able to start fixing what was broken 11 years ago.” Jules smiled sweetly. Ever the optimist.

“Yeah I doubt it. We can never go back to the way we were. Thankfully I don’t have to drift with the guy anymore, that would be a nightmare.” Nate said and smiled. It was a que to stir away from deep topics and Jules laughed. Someone started calling for her and she turned around. Before she could go, she turned back to face Nate.

“We good?” She asked.

“Yeah we are.” She smiled and Nate returned it. She then ran back towards the upgrade workshop as Nate turned back towards Gypsy. Nate loved being a pilot, it was all he had really. Born into war, with a military father, there wasn’t much of a choice for him from the beginning. He knew he wanted to help save people, and to pilot a jaeger was one of the greatest honours one could achieve. So he signed up as soon as he could. He made his father proud, when he told him he had been accepted. His dad even hugged him. Nate was happy then. But it wasn’t even a week later that he was packing his things, on his way to the academy. Although he was excited to be there, his father had taught him how to be a soldier from a young age. So he became one. Followed orders, broke no rules, front of his class. He was quiet and reserved which made it difficult to find a drift pilot. But then Jake came. Son of Stacker Pentacost, the highest ranking officer, a legend. But contrary to his father, Jake was only trouble, and it wasn’t long before Nate found that out.

He hadn’t realised how long he was staring at Gypsy, as the sky started to darken and orange hues took over the sky. He ripped his eyes away from Gypsy and made his way towards the kitchen.  At this time of the night they were empty, the cooks had gone to sleep long ago. He wanted a drink, one because tomorrow would determine a lot of things and two because he can’t face Jake entirely sober.

What he didn’t expect was to find Jake in the kitchens, rummaging through the fridges. He saw the god awful robe he was wearing, full of washed out colours. And before he could stop himself he said:

“What the hell are you wearing?” Jake turned around surprised, but recovered quickly.

“Jules loves it. Yeah she told me, it’s nice to finally have someone with style around here. Can’t blame the girl, I’m sexy.” Jake and his witty comments. That hasn’t changed.

“Um yeah.” Nate raised his eyebrows. Jake turned around. Nate exhaled, his shoulder dropping.

“Wanna drink?” Jake asked.

“Sure. Thanks.” Jake turned around handing Nate the beer bottle. Nate walked closer to the counter and took it. He looked down as he opened it. Nate then remembering the times they spend together, often involved ice cream and decides to make a peace offering.

“Ice cream’s up top.” He said, head nodding to the top of the left freezer. Jakes eyes sparkled for a moment and he smiled.

“Yes.” He enthusiastically turned towards the freezer and took out a tub of ice cream.

“So one more time around, prove your old man wrong.” Nate looked up at Jake.

“Nah I just came to see if your chin implant ever settled in.” Jake scooped up ice cream and put it into a bowl. Nate knows this dance. He says a witty comment, he responds. It’s familiar.

“Well I think it settled in quite nicely.” Nate responded.

“Yeah, looks very commanding. The kids must love it.” Nate seized up the opportunity.

“Jake, these kids, they look up to us.” Nate started. Jake hummed.

“We gotta show them that we can work together.” Nate finally said. Jake ate some ice cream.

“Well the war ended 10 years ago mate, you just gotta let that go, just, wussa.”

“You-” Nate was interrupted by Jake putting cream on top of the ice cream. The loud screech it made, washed out Nate’s voice.

“You have to-” Nate tried again, but again Jake interrupted him. Nate raised his eyebrows and waited for Jake to be done.

“Sorry mate.” Jake said.

“You have to understand your enemy’s objective to know you’ve defeated them. We still don’t.” Nate looked at Jake.

“I can help you with that. See I’m thinking it has something to do with them sending giant monsters to kick the crap out of us.” Jake said. He walked away from the counter towards the sprinkles. Nate turned around following him.

“No, no, no. The Precursors wouldn’t send kaiju to flatten a few cities if they were trying to wipe us all out.” Nate emphasized the last few words. He knew he was right. It made no sense. But Jake was never a person who looked at things thoroughly, he was always the person who reacted.

“All right, look Nate, I don’t have a problem with you, man.” Jake walked closer. “But I had to make a choice.” Nate sighed again, his shoulders dropping. He didn’t know where Jake was going with this. “It was between your pretty face and prison.” Jake took another step closer. Their eyes were locked. “I chose your pretty face.” Jake hit him with the sprinkles, broke the eye contact and walked back to his previous place. Nate was used to Jake calling him pretty. He used to do it all the times. But it was different then.

“Well I’m touched. And how many damn toppings do you need?” Nate turned around facing Jake again.

“Leave my toppings be, man. Don’t mess with my damn toppings.” Jake said, pointing a finger at him. Jake then reached into the sprinkles tub and took out a handful. Nate watched him in silence, eyebrows raised.

“So the cadets got like, what, a couple of months before they graduate?” Jakes asked while sprinkling his ice cream. He looked up at Nate. Nate was looking at the mess Jake was creating. Jake looked back down.

“Six.” Nate finally looked away from the ice cream and looked up at Jake.

“Okay.” Jake was looking back at Nate now.

“I tell you what. Every time you want to say something soldiery to them-” Nate raised his eyebrows. “-I’ll just nod.” Nate ran his tongue through his bottom teeth, staying quiet. Jake continued. “Or like ‘Yep what he said’” Jake pointed a finger at him, then shrugged. “Then, before you know it, they get to become pilots and I get to get back to my life.” Jake finished. It occured to Nate then, that Jake didn’t actually want to be here. Nate wondered what Mako had over him, because she was the only person in the world capable of convincing him to do something he didn’t want to.

“Great.” Nate responded.

“Boom.” Jake said as he ate a handful of sprinkles from his hand, still holding his gaze on Nate. Nate then remembered he had to tell Jake about tomorrow.

“It way happen sooner than you think.” Nate broke the eye contact and looked away.

“How so?” Jake asked.

“Big dog and pony show tomorrow. Shao and her team are presenting this new drone program they have.” Jake sprinkled his ice cream again. “Could make us all obsolete.” Nate furrowed his eyebrows.

“Sounds like my get-out-of-jai-free card.” Jake pointed at Nate with his beer bottle and took a swing. Jake then walked away. Nate hated him, he hated how he turned his back on something Nate dedicated his whole life too. Something he was supposed to be a part of since the beginning.

“You know, you can front all you want-” Nate walked towards Jake and stopped in front of him, holding his gaze. “But you and I both know you could’ve been great.” Nate shrugged and shook his head, then walked away. He didn’t say them, because he knew, that he could never be great. Good?  Yes. Even above average, but not great. That always did and always will belong to Jake, no matter how much he runs away from it.