Work Text:
“How dare you?” It takes everything Chuck has to keep himself seated and not take a swing at Pentecost. He can still feel Raleigh’s shock and nausea floating over the Ghost Drift. “To bring them here without warning?”
The Marshal just looks at him. It is doing nothing for his self-control.
It’s Yancy who breaks the silence.
“So, you’re telling me that was Raleigh.” He nudges the brother that sits beside him. “As in my little brother has come back seven years in the past and is going to pilot a Jaeger with you? And you’re the Hansen brat, also from seven years in the future?”
Chuck does not want to punch his lover’s dead brother either. “Yes!” He tries to rein in his temper. He really does. But the words are spilling out at the Marshal before he can stop them. “Did you ever stop and think about why I’m here and not the other Becket?”
Pentecost finally breaks his silence. “Yes.” He doesn’t so much as adjust his posture. “It’s obvious. Chuck Hansen is the best Jaeger pilot to take to the seas, correct?” Chuck deigns to give the slightest nod. “When we learned that your father was injured before the run on the breach in your time, it was obvious that—as your romantic partner—Raleigh would be the person to take the secondary place in your Jaeger for the drop. He has always excelled at that—”
Chuck laughs. It’s brittle, and a little manic, but it’s laughter. Everything that Pentecost has just said is so goddamn ridiculous. He can’t help it.
By the time he gets control of himself, the younger Beckets are looking at him warily, and Pentecost’s raised eyebrow looks deadly. He can also feel an inquiry from his Raleigh, wondering what has him in such a state. That’s a relief. It means Raleigh is coming back to himself. I’m fine, I’ll explain it later. He sends, and then does his best to put up walls to block his Raleigh out as he turns his focus to the younger version of his drift partner.
“Kid, I have to hand it to you.” Chuck flicks his gaze to Yancy for just a moment, then back to Raleigh. “Both of you really. You’ve got them all fooled.”
And before anyone could do more than frown at that, Chuck continues speaking, his voice becoming, flat, hard, and dangerous. Ranger Hansen. “You really should double check your information sir, not build half-baked theories based on whatever you learn from bugging our bunk to listen to our nightmares or wherever the hell you got those misinformed scraps.”
He smirks and flips through the briefing notes, just to have something to do as he continues. “It’s true that my old man broke his collarbone before the final drop, so he was benched. What you missed was that Ray wasn’t my partner.” He looks up to meet Pentecost’s eyes. He wants to see his expression for this. “You were.”
The tension in the room freezes. Pentecost’s only visible reaction is a widening of his eyes, but Chuck’s been in his head. He knows how this news is affecting the man. He just learned how he died in Chuck’s future. But Chuck refuses to let that sit. This man, who is supposed to have the fate of the world in his hands, has continuously hurt two of the three people Chuck considers family. He will not stop when he has the chance to get revenge.
“And as for Ray,” Chuck makes a small head nod at the still frozen-in-shock Beckets, “this ‘excels at secondary’ or whatever the fuck you said. There may be a designation for lead pilot in a Jaeger, but as you well know Marshal, once you're in the drift, that doesn’t mean shit. If I’ve got my timeline right, then Yancy there has been the one playing second fiddle for at least the last six months.”
To most people, Pentecost would look unaffected. But Chuck knows better. The deliberate slowness of his breathing, and slackened grip on his pen are two huge hints showing just how much Chuck is getting to him. And while the mix of pole-axed wonder and watch-your-fucking-step looks he is receiving from the Beckets has him at least more aware of the fact that his words are having consequences, the bright rush of satisfaction in his chest is still too strong to consider stopping. He is proving to Pentecost that the man doesn’t have all the answers. That stopping and listening to others may actually help. And even if that makes things harder in the moment, it’s a victory Chuck’s not willing to surrender.
So, Chuck continues on, shoving more future knowledge the Marshal’s face. He sends a quick look of apology over to the Becket brothers, because this isn’t going to be easy to hear. His voice is still low when he speaks, but now there’s an element of scorn he can’t keep hidden. “Raleigh Becket is the most celebrated member of the Ranger Corps. He has nine official Kaiju kills. He’s the fourth highest ranking member of the PPDC. Your underestimation of him speaks to both his skill at obfuscation and your inability to see past what you want to see. I could stay here all day and list off his accomplishments and commendations for you, but what he’s most well known for is the same reason it was frankly a dick move for you to introduce him to his past self without warning, sir.”
Younger Raleigh does a poor job at muffling a laugh at his language and the sarcasm Chuck layered on the word sir. But it isn’t enough to cut the tension that has built in the room.
Chuck looks directly into Pentecost’s eyes. “Raleigh Becket is the only pilot on the history of the Jaeger program to successfully pilot a Jaeger solo…” He pauses here, to see if the Marshal will interject, input his own claim to fame.
“Ranger Hansen—” Pentecost starts.
“Twice.” Chuck finishes, letting every horror of what that really meant sink in.