Work Text:
Title: Up Close
Fandom: Pacific Rim
Characters: Newton Geiszler, Raleigh Becket
Word Count: 510
Rating: G
A/N: AU after the events of Pacific Rim
Warnings: n/a
Summary: "You finally saw a Kaiju up close. Was it everything you expected?"
Newt stared at the beer in his hand while trying to decide if he had enough energy left to lift the bottle again. Hermann had left the party over an hour earlier after telling Newt the loud music was making his head ache almost as much as his leg. With a sigh, Newt slowly raised his arm up. He was beyond exhausted and couldn't remember the last time he'd slept.
"Hey."
His eyebrows shot up when Raleigh sat down next to him on the step. "You're not going to punch me because of what I said in the elevator the other day, are you?"
"Nah." Taking a candy bar out of his pocket, Raleigh peeled the wrapper open and then split the bar in half. He held out the larger chunk out to Newt. "Life's too short to dwell on things like that."
Newt eyed the chocolate suspiciously before plucking it from the other man's fingers. "Thanks. Who'd you get this from? Chocolate's harder to come by than cheese puffs."
"Tendo." Raleigh groaned softly as the chocolate hit his tongue. "Oh, that's good."
Newt nibbled the corner off his piece, wanting to make the candy last as long as possible. "Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you sitting here with me instead of doing hero crap?"
"I had to ask you something." Finishing the last of his chocolate, Raleigh gave Newt a small smile. "You finally saw a Kaiju up close. Was it everything you expected?"
He looked at Raleigh while he ate his candy. There had been no malice in the words, just curiosity. "Part of me wishes I would have had more time to study her. I'd never seen one alive and right there before. I only worked with the bits and pieces they managed to preserve. But it was also terrifying. I didn't know if she was going to kill me or grab me or what. She never went after anyone else in the shelter, just me. She was beautiful and horrible and made me feel very small and insignificant."
Newt took his glasses off, cleaned the unbroken lens, and then stuck them back on his face again. "Running from the infant was incredibly not fun. I know it was trying to tear me apart and I came very close to being killed. It was all teeth and claws and promises of death. I ended up curled in a ball on the ground, hoping it would be over fast, when it choked to death on Hannibal Chau's body." He shuddered at the memory. "I guess the answer to your question would be yes and no."
Raleigh nodded before giving Newt a pat on the back. "I've got to go catch up with Mako." He got to his feet. "You should get some sleep. You look like crap."
"So do you." They grinned at each other. "Give me a hand?" Raleigh helped Newt stand up. The smaller man wobbled back and forth for a moment. "We did it. We saved the world."
"Yes, we did."