Okay…maybe this guy wasn’t so bad. Or maybe it was the energy similarity to Steve that made this somewhat reasonable to deal with. He couldn’t deny that there was that similarity there. Maybe the Steve and Newton would have gotten along if the scenario had been different. If James hadn’t…no, he had to stop thinking about that in a negative light. There was only so much he could think about now before wanting to destroy something, and this was number one on that list. Things would be easier after he got his arm replaced, as weird as that was to think.
He watched the scientist perk up, a smile almost growing on his own face. He’d have to focus later on to figure out whether or not this was because the energy was contagious, or just a product of the Drift. Nothing better than asking a scientist to help with an experiment. No, gotta put those thoughts aside. Professionalism was needed here. “Cool and badass. I think I could manage that.” He nodded. “What’s the potential of physical damage to me if I get in a jaeger?” Probably slim, but still likely.
Oh. Shirtless already. “I thought I was supposed to get dinner first.” He looked away as the words left his mouth, almost certain that was something he wasn’t ever supposed to say in this kind of situation. At least he was letting go of the anger and sarcasm, so that was kind of a step. His fingers fumbled with the hem of his shirt for a minute before realized what was going to be a problem. He walked towards the nearest surface and pulled off his current prosthetic, too light and too plasticy, and placed it on the closest clear spot he could see. “Sorry, I- uh…I should have warned you before doing that.” He just stared at the arm as he spoke. Normally people were unnerved by it. He only cared when it was off, a reminder that he wouldn’t have a functioning flesh and blood arm on that side again.
Shaking his head, he turned back towards the scientist. There was still a sweater in the way. Normally, he wasn’t so…hesitant about undressing in front of someone else. He cared about so many other things, thought that moments like this would just barely be a blip on the radar of things that matter. Maybe it was just that he was now very different from how he used to be, probably less easy to look at with a majority of a limb missing. He couldn’t think about that now. He managed to maneuver himself out of the sweater with one hand, almost getting tangled up around his neck. Having a flush on his own cheeks, he put the sweater on his plastic replacement and turned back towards the scientist.
At the question of potential damage, he blurted out, “Well, you could get electrocuted and die. Or explode. If you were really really unlucky. I mean more unlucky than you are now…” Probably not a great thing to say, when it seemed like the dude was warming up to him. Shut up, Newton.
Right, he had a job, which involved getting that arm on that man.
Newt did a double take on James’ banter. Yeah, he heard that James could be a flirt. Still, Newt just blushed harder. Jesus, he really needed to get out more if one comment made him like that. “I’m sure the metal arm alone is enough for at least three dinners.” He flirted(?) back anyway, at least he thought it was. Whatever were social cues?
“Uh…” Newt blatantly stared at the man removing his top, tongue tied. Shit — knowing was one thing, seeing was another. “It… it doesn’t bother me at all.” He tried to cover up his stammering, blaming it on James’ actions rather than the fact that James was shirtless in front of him. Thank God his colleague wasn’t here because Newt could just imagine the things he would say like “Get a grip,” or “He’s out of your league,” not that Hermann would have worded it like that, but the intent was the same. Hey, Newt couldn’t help it if he had a crush on like, all the Jaeger pilots because they were almost as cool as Kaiju.
“Anyway…” Newt continued, derailing his train of thought, “So I know it’s been a few weeks, but your stump’s not completely healed so I guess we’ll attach the metal arm and detach it probably daily to allow it to breathe. And as days progresses and when you get used to it, it’ll stay on for longer. I’ll teach you how to do it so you can remove it if it gets uncomfortable.”
Newt gestured for the man to follow him to the table where the metal arm was currently on. “It’ll probably hurt the first few times, but I’ve designed it so that it would be easily attached, and used. Also it’s adaptable. But if you experience any difficulties, please tell me.” He explained as he tinkered with it to ensure that it was compatible with James. He lifted up the arm, and passed it to his patient, allowing James to have a feel of it before he actually gave it to him.
This was absolutely idiotic. He’d have to talk to Stacker about this later. Being compatible with a scientist, let alone one that was this messy, energetic, and probably the messiest person James had ever seen, was something that he didn’t want to deal with. He could just sit in his office for hours, look over strategies until the maps were burned into his eyes, and just email back and forth with the scientist, right? That had to have been a definite possibility. And even if it weren’t, he’d make it a possibility. Being around this guy longer than necessary wasn’t something James really wanted to deal with. He’d suck it up for his arm, then be on his way.
He brushed his human hand aside at the other’s words. “Just…forget what I said.” It was possible the other hadn’t even noticed the internal change of their bodies, or was ignoring it so well that it wasn’t going to be a problem at all. Just as long as it didn’t develop into something unnecessary, James would be fine. Maybe. Hopefully. Actually, there was a huge possibility that things were going to go sour faster than cucumbers left in a vinegar mix for dinner, but he was ignoring that. Kind of had to if he wanted to get this done.
He gestured to his arm as if it wasn’t obvious that it was fake, nor that it needed to be replaced. “I was told you had a surprise.” Probably could have phrased that better. No, definitely could have phrased that better. What else was he supposed to do when the majority of his brain function was trying to figure out exactly which kaiju owned the brain that was currently sucking on the tank that it inhabited.
This was probably the strangest lab he had stepped into, now that he thought about it. Pieces of kaiju strewn everywhere like jaeger pilots had spent the past few hours defending the dome against the aliens right in the lab. A few of the pieces had to be left over from Hammerhead. Of course, he wasn’t sure, since most of the pieces were preserved well enough to make them look like they had been fished from the kaiju an hour ago. Now that he really thought about it, it was a shame no one had been able to save a piece of Hammerhead’s…head. James would have adored to put a piece of the alien on his wall.
James’ damp mood towards him would have felt like a personal affront, but considering the man had just lost his entire arm, Newt figured he could let that slide. He wouldn’t just be cranky if he’d lost his arm after all. There would be acts of rage and anger on his part certainly, and he wouldn’t even care about hiding it from people. In fact, if Hermann even tried to bitch at him, he would have probably killed the other scientist. As it was, it was probably not going to ever happen, or so he hoped, so it was best not to dwell on it.
He didn’t know what to make of the pilot, now that he’d actually had a first interaction, but he wasn’t going to be deterred or judge him right now. Newt brighten up at the words, sarcastic as they may be, “I’ve got you a metal arm. It’s slightly heavier, but it looks cool and badass. Not that you’re not already cool and badass, because you are, cool and badass I mean, but yeah metal arm. Also not to get your hopes up, but we could potentially work something out that would allow the arm to interface with the drive suit so you can pilot again. Probably. Most likely.”
I guess you’re going to have to take your shirt off, for this, I mean.“ Newt said, rolling up his sleeves in the process. Red tinted his cheeks suddenly, dammit, he was a professional. He wasn’t blind, James built obviously. He didn’t need for James to take his shirt off to see that, but he wasn’t one to get any human interaction at all, (Hermann didn’t count because he was probably the Devil Incarnate), so he figured he was allowed some leeway. "You know, so I can install the new arm, I mean — attach the arm to the rest of your body… your shoulder. Jesus, installing sounds like some sort of software. And you’re not a software. Of course you’re not a software, and just so we’re clear, I’ve never even thought of you as software. Just in case I’ve given that impression. Also, if the arm was actually a software you’ll actually be an operating system anyway. Not that you’re that either, though the human body does have a lot of similarities with an operating system after all…”
Fantastic. He’d managed to be completely idiotic in front of an easily irritable man, who could probably smash his face in even with one arm. Not to mention the fact that he could just as easily punch him with the metal arm later, and boy that was going to hurt.
No one looked at him the same after the attack.
Steve had come out without any scratches, but James had lost his entire left arm. Well, almost his entire left arm. At least three quarters of it had been pulled off, along with a majority of Crimson Yankee’s left side. With James in as much pain as he was in, the screams undoubtedly unnerving his partner, Steve was left to fight, and no one could deny that he did a hell of a job. He managed to defeat Hammerhead, pilot the jaeger mostly on his own, and get James back to the medibay in an hour. Though, James still lost his arm. No one could help that. The new problem: his new prosthetic was incompatible with jaeger tech. The chance of him having to be put back in one of the robots was slim, the made that obviously clear to James. But he was on the list of “back up pilots,” the seemingly washed up rangers who were only called upon when every other chance had been thoroughly exterminated. Which was why he was now on his way to see one of the few people recommended to him to possibly get a new arm.
What he wasn’t expecting was the tug he got when he walked into the (what seemed to be, at least) lab. See, when you come across someone who you’re drift compatible with, you feel it in your core. You immediately know it. It’s kind of like walking into a room and knowing which person you’d want to befriend, or bone, if that’s your thing. You don’t even have to know what color their eyes are to know that you’d be compatible. He was perfectly fine with being compatible with someone who would probably have to work his ass off to find another partner. He and Steve had a lengthy conversation over it all. Steve needed a new partner, and James would probably become a strategy supervisor or something equally as horrible. No scenario he had come up with had ever prepared him for the feeling he got seeing the man in a white shirt that seemed like it needed to be washed a week ago and tattoos covering almost every visible part of his arms.
“Well, shit.”
He’d heard he would be working on the pilot who had his arm ripped out. Newt had a vague notion of who the man was, a great hero, (and the fact that everyone he knew called him Bucky, so it didn’t include him naturally), best friends with that other hero, the really patriotic and righteous and kind and basically everything good one, and he admired the dude (both of them). Then again, he admired all the jaeger pilots so that wasn’t too surprising. Newt didn’t know how Mr. James Barnes could continue living without an arm, he doubt he could live without one, but then again many other people have had loss of limbs before and not just survived but moved on, and besides that was what James was seeing him for. A new arm.
Right, so a new arm. If this Mr. Barnes was to ever pilot a jaeger again, the best choice, though a bit unorthodox was a metal one. It was strong, and could potentially be connected to the pilot suit, but that would of course result in a new set of problems, i.e. James getting electrocuted or something equally horrifying, and then he would have accidentally killed a pilot and that just wouldn’t do. Newt shuddered at the very thought. Stacker would probably kill him and then bring him back to life just to kill him again, and then feed him to Kaiju as bait. (Okay so he wouldn’t actually mind being fed to Kaiju, but that was only if he died a natural non-violent death.)
It’s only been about a week or so since that incident which had the whole Dome abuzz, so Newt wondered if James was ready for this so soon, or if he had any therapy. He was terrible with that sort of thing, he couldn’t even comfort himself, how was he supposed to comfort other people? And what if the pilot lashed out, with all those muscles he could probably just pick Newton up and throw him like a rag doll. Now that was scarier than electrocuting the man.
THE ARM. He really had to stop thinking about the what ifs and just get to work. Wouldn’t want the man to appear without a prototype or something that at least works. Newt had modelled the arm after the size of the pilot’s original arm, with the measurements he had gotten for the database, so that it would feel the same, if a bit heavier. Of course, the point was to make the metal arm as light as a normal prosthetic, so James wouldn’t feel that much of a difference, other than the fact that he lost a real arm of course.
If Newt had been more attentive to life in general he would have felt and understand that something that would have sparked in his heart when the pilot he was thinking about entered his lab. As it currently was, the first thing out of said pilot’s mouth didn’t seem to bode well for their partnership as “doctor” and “patient”.
He turned to face the man, frowning. “Now usually people get to know me before they say that and never speak to me ever again, and I don’t look that bad do I?” He looked over his attire and then his lab, which granted, was rather messy to someone that wasn’t Newt (maybe that was what the comment was about), and then back to the man.