Title: RaSta (working title)
Author: Feygan
Fandom: Pacific Rim
Pairing: Raleigh Becket/Stacker Pentecost
Genre: action, romance, mpreg
Summary: Young Raleigh Becket has a crush on Stacker Pentecost. Shit happens, as it's wont to do.
It was hard getting his day started. A large part of him wanted to wallow in his bed, but he knew he couldn't give in to that kind of self-pity. He needed to keep moving.
He'd seen too many people just give up on living--they either joined a Kaiju-cult and let themselves be killed, their names added to the list of dead attributed to monsters such as Kaiceph, Scissure, or Yamarashi. Or sometimes someone would just stop. They'd stop appearing in the mess hall or at the grocery store. They'd stop taking care of themselves or making any plans. And it would be there in their eyes or writ across their tired faces. They were done. They couldn't go on any longer. And either way, resources were slim enough that a few less mouths to feed would add months if not years to some kid's ration card.
Raleigh didn't want to go out like that. And he had an advantage that few others shared. He could ride his Jaeger into fierce battle and *know* that he was making a difference.
Because the human race was a resilient cancer. And as long as a handful of them survived, they'd bounce back.
Maybe he'd already saved the future of humanity, some kid whose genes would carry on the species. Maybe his purpose was done and he was only spinning his wheels, saving people that were still doomed to die.
It made him want to lay down and give up. And if he'd been a civilian he might have followed depression to wherever it led.
But he wasn't a civilian.
He was Ranger Raleigh Becket of the Pan-Pacific Defense Corp. He had the privilege and the honor to pilot the best damned Jaeger in the world.
So he pushed the darkness away from his heart and went to breakfast. He would face this day like any other. He would not give in to the despair of a species that knew it was dying.
Raleigh shuffled his way through the mess line, adding reconstituted eggs, tofu sausage, a gluten-free banana pancake, and a cup of black tea to his tray. He spared a wish for coffee, but it had been so long that he didn't properly remember the flavor. He was just wanting life to go back to the way it used to be.
He spotted Yancy at their table, already stuffing his face while chatting with Tendo Choi. The J-Tech Chief was wearing a bow-tie and suspenders along with some non-regulation pinstriped trousers that made his legs look a mile and a half long. He kicked his feet against the table leg as he talked to Yancy, displaying a black and white pair of spats.
He wasn't sure how Tendo felt about Yancy, but he knew his brother's mind. He didn't want to interrupt if Yancy finally decided to make a move, but from Yancy's smile and waved hand, he'd already been spotted.
Raleigh drew in a deep breath before walking to the table.
TBC...