drear | god, he called for rain

[Naoto can't say that her plans are any better, and really, when fighting a monster, the battlefield can change no matter how much of a home advantage they have.

She grits her teeth, squaring her shoulders, sword drawn.]

I'll keep it distracted.

[By that she means dancing around it's maw, slicing at what she can.

They've been chosen for this mission because they work well together, their fighting styles complimentary, but even Naoto is a bit surprised that neither of them die in this fight, when the kaiju finally stops struggling.

She grabs one part of the corpse, looking into the rift, trepidation skittering across her skin.]

What do you think is down there?

[Not that it mattered, they'd see soon enough.]

[ cerberus' left arm is badly damaged and he's slowly running out of power, but it's over. or—it's almost over. whether or not they make it back from that rift in their world, it'll be over soon. ]

More alien assholes, probably.

[ he picks up another appendage of the kaiju and holds on tight to it, taking a last step towards the rift. ]

...that won't be around for much longer, if this works.

Come on. [ they can destroy them—all of them, this way. it doesn't register as a problem to heine that they might not make it back. ]

[It's almost enough to get a small smile out of her, that answer, and she only shakes her in amusement.]

Right.

[Once she's sure that they both have a tight enough hold on the corpse, she jumps. Every sensor and screen is going crazy around here, her vision awash with color as she looks around the inside of the rift.

It's only when they're safely on the other side that she lets go of the corpse, manually setting off the nuclear load with a bit of difficulty.]

See you back on the other side.

[Like there's no doubt that their tiny escape pods will get them back through the rift.]

[ he follows suit, taking a few electronic records for later investigation on his jaeger as directed just before he sets off the payload.

it's over, he thinks, and when she says 'the other side', it takes him a second to pull himself away. heine starts disengaging to the escape pod. ]

Right.

[ there's a rush of mechanical clicking, the whoosh of the pod doors closing properly around him, and before he knows it there's a sensation of falling in his stomach following the ripples of the explosion. funny, because he's not falling anymore but being pushed through meters and meters of ocean water. it's hard to see or even think straight.

when the pressure stabilizes he's looking up at the stormy sky. the clouds are clearing; he takes a slow, deep breath as the voice from mission control makes contact again through the static. for a long time he doesn't reply, just lies there in the escape pod staring through the tiny window. ]

[Honestly, Naoto didn't think they would succeed. It doesn't sink in right away as she sits up in her pod, her hair whipping around her face, the air heavy with the scent of a storm. She's sure that headquarters is in a frenzy, trying to get in touch with them ( because she's sure they both survived, there's no way she could make it back and Rammsteiner wouldn't ), but she waits patiently, quietly.

Even though she didn't have any doubts, it's still a relief when she spots the other pod. Feeling a bit silly and apprehensive, she paddles her own over, the two pods bumping gently together. She reaches out, knocking politely on it, as if they're back at headquarters and she's knocking on his undecorated door.]

[ he hears the knock. it echoes weirdly through the contained space, and he struggles not to roll her eyes. there's no need to be polite, really. they've been through enough.

all the same, it takes him another moment to disengage the airseal and trigger the opening mechanism. heine sits up, looking around for a moment before his gaze fixes on her. he's got nothing to say, but for the first time he really looks at her. it's over, but it hasn't sunk in yet.

the transmission comes back to life, made unclear by the waves slapping against the side of his pod. still, he doesn't respond. ] Mission control to Cerberus... status, pilot?

[For once, communication to their base is the furthest concern from her mind, and her face is awash with relief when Heine emerges safely from his pod, his expression still as disgruntled as ever. It's starting to sink in then, that somehow they managed to complete their mission and that somehow they both made it out alive. It was a scenario she had scarcely entertained.

She's sure their pods will be picked up soon, so she doesn't bother with the radio, instead a small smile blooming on her face.]

Guess you'll have to think about what you want to do seriously, now.

[ heine swipes a hand over his face before realizing that the glove of the jaeger suit isn't exactly conducive towards cleaning the sweat away in the first place. ]

So will you.

[ if he sounds grumpy, it's because he is, in addition to being incredibly... relieved. yes, that's the word for it. it's an unfamiliar feeling. ]

So what's your plan? [ after all the publicity and shit that's bound to come after... closing the rift. (they did it. they really--) ]

[Part of the reason perhaps she had been so interested in what Rammsteiner was going to do after all of this was it might give her some direction. Right now, the world had opened up to her, as expansive and peaceful as the seas. The possibilities were enough to engulf her, if she let them.]

Tie up odds and ends.

[There was her family to see. She wanted to see her sister's face, what expression she might have now that her spare had stepped out of her shadow. She wanted to see her father's face. She wanted to see the people she had left behind at her old base.

And then... She turned her gaze back to her fellow Jaeger pilot, shrugging slightly.]

Go out to eat somewhere that isn't the mess hall.

[ heine nods minutely. he understands that, at least, the desire to finally take the opportunity to make decisions now that their imminent death isn't so imminent anymore.

but... that second idea. ]

I guess they'll shut it down soon.

[ that's his reason for agreeing. ]

[There's a small moment of silence Naoto will give out of respect to the mess hall. She might not have been fond of the cuisine but it had done it's job reasonably well, so she couldn't really complain.]

I'll miss it.

[Not just the mess hall but everything. There was a sense of community on the base, everything might not work perfectly but everyone knew their roles. Now she wasn't so sure.]

[ it's true that the food was nothing to cheer about, but it was food. and heine hasn't been off-base for more than a week or two at a time for the last seven or eight years. ]

...yeah. [ an even more grudging pause. ] Me too.

[ finally, he punches a button inside the escape pod, replying curtly to the now-panicking mission control transmission. ]

You think we're going to have to do publicity tours again?

[ because he really doesn't want to. they're a huge pain, and he really just wants to lie down and sleep. ]

[While the admission isn't a surprising one, what is was the fact that Rammsteiner would willingly say so. She shot him a look that was half-amused half-curious as he replied to mission control, settling a bit in her pod.

The expression is gone however, at the thought of having to do publicity tours. She's a reticent person by nature, and being paraded around and patted on the back was more of a punishment than a pleasure.]

I'm sure a higher up would be happy to do all the talking.

[And taking the credit as well, but she would rather be a prop than a mouth piece.]

[ heine has to agree with that, but honestly, if it meant he wouldn't have to talk, he'd be glad to have someone else take the spotlight. he's... tired. he doesn't want to have to do with this anymore, but at the same time, he doesn't know what else he can do.

the noise of chopper blades overhead catches his attention, though, and ladders are thrown down. at this point mission control is cheering for them, congratulating them. ]

...here's our ride.

[ heine just wants to sleep. ]

[The next hours passed by in a blur. Naoto could only vaguely remember clambering up the ladder into the helicopter, making her statement to one or two officials before she nodded off and they let her go to her room. Of course as soon as she was awake she was questioned again, shuttled to the one quiet room in the base since it seemed the rest of the place was exploding into a celebratory party.

Once they were sure she had nothing else to add, that's when they started talking about the publicity tours and the rounds they'd have to make. At least for that portion they seemed to think it was okay to have her and Rammsteiner in the same room.]

Do you think they would be open to pretending someone else had done this?

[The words were tired and haggard. She was sure someone like Badou perhaps would be eager for the spotlight, or someone as dependable as Mihai would be a better choice.]

[ heine goes through a similar experience, sleeping for a good thirteen hours before climbing out of bed to sneak into the back room of the kitchen to get something to eat. he's just about to try slipping away again when he gets dragged back into prep for the talks and publicity.

by the time he and fuyumine meet again, he looks mildly more well-rested, but no less testy than usual. ]

Probably, but they've got video. Hard to pull a cover-up of that size.

[ he shrugs, slouching back in his chair. other officials and the man who ran the resistance effort are talking on the other side of the table, but the general consensus is that the pilots should be left to their own devices for at least a little while. ]

...think they'd be open to us not being here? [ he sighs, resting an elbow on the table. at least for a little while, he'd like to be away from this. ]

[It was a pipe dream anyway, but Naoto couldn't help but sigh. There was always the possibility that they could still argue their case, but it would be a losing battle. Right now, unfortunately Naoto was too tired to even consider it. Her usually impeccable posture was slouched a little, her attention prone to wandering.]

They should be.

[Considering they had managed to complete their mission and possibly have saved the world, getting a bit of breath of fresh air wasn't asking for much.

She pushed out of her chair, ignoring the looks that got, tilting her head to the side.]

Hungry?

[ heine's gaze is drifting and unfocusing. there's nothing much to pay attention to, honestly. the question from fuyumine, though, is arresting. ]

...yeah. [ he gets up as well, shoving his hands into the pockets of his fatigues. ] We'll be back, so don't wait for my input on the new merchandise.

[ because he really doesn't care about it. heine starts walking towards the exit, shoving back a few unruly strands of hair. already he's moving more quickly, back straightening at the prospect of being out and about again. ]

[The prospect of there being action figures of them, of having their unsmiling faces stamped on lunchboxes or t-shirts, of having statues of them and their jaegers popping up all over the world almost makes her laugh, the thought so strange. She half expects that she's dreaming or they never made it back from the mission. None of this seems real, underneath layers of tediousness.]

How long do you think they could be avoided?

[She jerked her head back towards the room full of people deciding their fate, their tour schedules, their financial futures. Honestly Naoto would be fine just receiving the stipend she has now and settling somewhere quiet. She has an urge to walk out the door and keep walking.]

At least until they start calling. [ pauses. ] Maybe an hour after that.

They'll find us if it's really important. [ an unspoken "whatever". they reach the elevator and take it down; there few people still in the shatterdome at this time of night, now that they're free to travel without fear of kaiju.

it's so foreign to him, the idea that kaiju simply don't exist anymore. or won't exist, at least, for them. heine puts his hands into the pockets of his fatigues to keep from fidgeting and glances at fuyumine for a second. ]

...it's humid out there. [ he says after a second, in lieu of anything actually substantial. ]

[She couldn't stop the heavy sigh that passes her lips at the thought of only an hour or so of time to collect herself, crossing her arms wearily. If she had only so much patience for the people who had helped make their operation a success, she could only imagine how quickly she'd burn out if they had to do all the press tours they wanted them to do. Disappearing would be the easy part, but actually surviving might be more difficult. Her only marketable skill, through her own actions, was now obsolete.

Rammsteiner's innocuous observation startled her out of her thoughts, and she turned to him, half amused and half incredulous.]

You want to talk about the weather?

[It was almost enough to make her laugh. They had saved the world but Rammsteiner seemed as unmoved as when she had first met him.]

It'll be nice to go somewhere less muggy. And warmer.

[She'd give him that at least.]

What else is there?

[ the whole "saved the world" thing doesn't seem like an appealing topic to him. ]

I don't like sunny weather. [ heine burns like nobody's business, pale as he is. ] But drier would be good.

...have you thought about going home?

Home decor.

[The answer was flat, only the small uptick of her mouth any indication that it was a joke. It wasn't exactly better than the weather, but perhaps a bit more useful now that the base was going to be closed down soon.

She nodded at his assessment, not too big of a fan of sunny places. She'd rather be cold than warm, not to mention colder places tended to be a lot less populated which was ideal for her.

The question made her turn to look at him, her expression a mix of consideration, anxious, and a tinge of frustration.]

I have. I have business there, but I don't plan on staying.

[Did Rammsteiner have family and a place to call home other than this place?]

Would you want to come?

You're going to switch professions now? [ there's some joke to be made here, some attempt to lighten the mood, but heine doesn't make it. too hard. too weird.

the idea of fuyumine working in interior decor is enough to make heine half-smile for just a second at his feet, though.

her question dashes the expression from his face. he has to do a double take and realize she's actually being serious in the inquiry. ]

Depends. Where's "home" anyway?

I don't enjoy the thought of just spending the rest of my days collecting checks.

[She had always known that she was restless, always needing a goal to strive toward. Even though she had met most of her goals, she still had the urge to do more, to keep striving.

Naoto was careful not to meet his gaze, shrugging slightly.]

Vladivostok is where my family is.

[Not really a home, but closest she had known.]

After that...

[Well who could say.]

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timeskip to a bit after return?

sounds good to me o/

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