#IC: JUDE WALSH.

[denouemente]

“ hey — piper, WAIT. ” he understands why she's storming off — jude pulls his microphone off from his shirt, ensuring it's in the hands of the person watching his partner storm off with a very confused look on her face before he chases after her, gently grabbing her forearm as he catches up to her. they were ambushed, no doubt about it. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE THE PROGRAM LOOK BETTER, hope for an increase in applicants. what it ended up being was much different, and he doesn't blame @fals3nd for being upset. he is too. “ do you wanna talk about this? ” he pauses, hand dropping to his side. “ are you okay? ”

[denouemente]

“ i was thinking simulator. nothing like distracting from the fact that they want to remove our program with the program itself. ” and what if it’s our last time doing it? he thinks, but doesn’t say it. it’s not like he’d need to, anyways. drifting meant their mental bond was sound, intense. even if she couldn’t necessarily read his thoughts, he’s sure she’s already felt what he was thinking. jude turns to look at her, a soft smile on his face. he can’t help it! he didn’t know anymore if he had these feelings before or after they began drifting, but they were there. “ if you’re up for it after, we can spar. how does that sound? ”

" ... right." jude's hope is often infectious, but piper is too pissed to be feeling generous. teeth bite the inside of her cheek and she flexes her fingers a little while staying connected by the arm to jude as he changes their course. she wants to believe that the powers that be are smart enough to keep some jaegers in storage even if they shut down the program entirely, but if that were the case they wouldn't be discussing the wall at all. "sounds like a plan," her voice is still a little too taut to be comfortable but she lets jude steer their course towards the facility. "wanna go simulator or just sparring?" simulator will mean drifting, of course, but that's hardly a concern anymore. sometimes it feels like she's still in the drift when they're together, when she can read his face and his movements so well they might as well still be connected.

[denouemente]

“ but they wouldn't decommission them. they can't. ” his voice is full of hope, even if he's forcing it. the wall won't last long enough to be put up. jude is willing to bet money on that — the kaiju are more brutal than his higher - ups could ever believe, and more capable of destruction than they know. he'd seen them, piper had seen them. would they have to work harder than ever? prove the worth of the jaegers, show them just how good they were? he nods, pulling her off towards the facility. better get started. maybe they can show off with a new combo move! “ then we'll get a drink after, if you're still feeling it up. ”

piper grumbles something under her breath, only every third word or so able to be heard, and the majority of them expletives. strands of blonde hair have escaped the sensible bun they'd been styled in before the interview as she walks in step with jude out of that horrible studio and away from that horrible reporter and into air that smells less stale. "if they actually decommission the jaegers we're fucked. like - - - they can beg for rangers back all they want, but if we've gotta wait 'till they've built more ... shit's fucked, jude." it's been weighing on her since talk of shutting the program down started floating around, back when they were in the academy. "i could ... yeah, a couple rounds of sparring is probably not a bad idea." it'll let her work off some steam, at least. will let the both of them.

[denouemente]

“ they probably wanted us to take the fall for him. fat fucking chance. ” he sighs, hand wrapping loosely around her forearm as he pulls her towards the sidewalk, allowing them time to escape from that god - awful studio. he needed a drink — or five. jude furrows his brow, free fist clenching tightly. “ the wall would work. until one of those things touched it. then they'd be begging us to come back. i don't know why they want to drop all that money on something they'll regret the second it finishes. ” he stops, arm still linked with piper's. “ wanna go train? get your mind off things? ”

piper knows he has feelings for her. how can she not? they're in each other's minds on a regular basis. it's why she knows that he knows that she knows, and that she doesn't mind - - - that, in fact, there's a little flame she carries for him, too. neither of them ever talks about it. piper thinks things are probably complicated enough as it is, with the program shuttering around them despite their being recruited to try and revive public interest, to not try and make jude talk about this. so she keeps their arms linked as they exit the sound stage, thank god she's out of there so she doesn't do something boneheaded like knock over a camera, and piper breathes in fresh air as soon as it's available. "total fucking set-up. if they were brave they would've got pentecost in that seat and asked him the same things. thought we were gonna break under pressure, probably, right?" her teeth grit and she shakes her head, "bull. that wall is gonna be the death of all of us if they seriously shut down the program, and anyone with half a functioning brain knows that."

[denouemente]

he has to work his absolute best to hide the flush on his cheeks from their close contact, but he fails. he knows he does. jude's never been particularly skilled at hiding his feelings, and the nature of their relationship as co - pilots does nothing to help it. HE JUST CHOOSES TO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE IT INSTEAD. which makes their partnership a little difficult on his end — but hey. each set of pilots has their difficulties, he knows they do. “ yeah, yeah. let's get a drink. ” he nods, walking towards the exit with her. he turns his head briefly, watching who he can only assume is the producer talking with the poor girl he left his mic with. hopefully she's not getting yelled at. “ uh, nope. no questions like that. i don't know about you, but i prepared for who i am, where i'm from, why i joined the program, and why it's the best thing ever. we were ambushed. ”

he opens his arms and she folds herself into them instantly. it's something they talk about when they're getting you ready to drift for the first time ; the way every touch seems like second nature. piper's eyes slide closed and she presses her forehead against his so their noses touch for a moment before they pull away at the same time. "please." she shifts so their arms are looped at the elbow and tugs a little to get him moving in the direction of the exit, past a bewildered looking production assistant with a clipboard. "i need a fucking drink. i just - - - those were not on the list of questions we were told to prep for, right? i'm not making that up?"

[denouemente]

horizon romeo was devastating, with the effects of it still affecting them. THEY GOT PULLED FROM THEIR JAEGER BECAUSE OF IT, forced to go on some press tour to fix the damage its caused. as if they had any responsibility in it . . . or training. hopefully after this disaster, the higher - ups wouldn't keep them to it. “ hold on a sec, ” he quips, opening his arms for her — a hug. he's always been a little touchy — and this bond between them as a result of their drifting didn't help. he takes her in his arms, resting his head against hers with a soft sigh. “ it'll be okay. promise. ” he pulls his head back with his best reassuring grin, hands moving to rest on her arms. “ what if we skip training today? i'm sure they'll understand. ”

"i'm fine," piper says through gritted teeth and a huff of breath. "what kind of bull was that? what do they expect us to say? yeah, program is totally useless, build a big wall and pray as hard as you can that the kaiju don't bust through in twenty minutes? are you kidding me!" fingers are scraped back through her hair and she shakes her head. "gah - i know i'm preaching to the choir, sorry jude, i just hate that shit. and how - - - seriously, how dare they bring up horizon romeo?" a jaeger that went down three weeks ago, taking with it two rangers and hundreds of civilians in australia. "throwing their deaths in our faces like that, i don't -" another frustrated sound from the back of her throat cuts off any words and she shakes her head again. "let's get outta here."