Chapter Text
Her design was pointed and sleek. Long, slender legs burst out from a thin, shapely chassis.
BT-7274 looked down at his own hands, acknowledging that his design was anything but. BT, while not self-conscious, understood that this other Titan held a certain artfulness in her creation that he did not.
And thus, she was magnificent.
As Jack and BT had returned from their mission, the Titan had stopped for just a millisecond to gaze at the new Northstar at the end of the hangar. In that brief period of time, he had taken in all of her information.
She was gunmetal cobalt blue with highlights of a stunning orange. Her serial was NS-5112. Height 6.3 meters. Status offline. Her Pilot had nicknamed her "Nessie."
"You should go say hi." Jack goaded from down below. Startled, BT's optic quickly swiveled to face his Pilot. Perhaps he had been staring longer than a millisecond. BT remained quiet as his gaze flicked back over to the other Titan.
"Or," Jack held the word, "You could wait until tomorrow's mission. That's Commander Gates' Titan." He looked down, fiddling with a datapad, hoping to hide the grin smeared across his face.
"I am aware." BT huffed, venting air from his sides before plodding up to his space in the racks ahead.
"I was only logging information for tomorrow." The Titan continued, leaning forward out of his space to look at the Northstar again. "It is important to know who our partners are."
"Whatever you say bud." Jack chuckled, slapping his Titan on the knee before exiting the hangar, "Have a good night."
"Sleep well, Pilot."
Morning came, and after a much-needed shower and a decent breakfast, Jack and BT readied themselves for today's mission.
They had been temporarily contracted by the 6-4; the very same group of freelance Pilots that had aided them in wresting control of the IMS Malta. Apparently they were a few pilots short, and specifically requested Jack and BT's assistance for today's mission.
After loading onto The FM-Blackbird, Commander Gates led a short mission debriefing. She paced around the center strip as the ship launched and warped to their destination. The other Pilot-Titan duos listened in, and Jack took notes on his datapad, determined to do his best for the 6-4.
Gates' Northstar stood directly across from them on the ship. Jack could hear BT's optics adjusting and re-adjusting as he stared straight ahead at her.
"Don't be such a creep, man." Jack whispered to his friend, not wanting to draw attention during Gates' speech.
"I have said hello." BT hummed into Jack's earpiece, also not wanting to vocalize out loud. The Northstar's teal optic blinked and swiveled slightly to directly meet BT's gaze. After a second, she cocked it to a tilt, blinking again.
"What did she say?"
"Nothing."
Jack patted the inside of the cockpit, "Don't worry bud, she's probably preoccupied at the moment."
Gates had wrapped up the details of the mission. Jack and BT were part of the support group, stationed off to the side in case an additional body was needed. The firefight today shouldn't yield any casualties, as it was just a seizure of land and intel from an IMC research facility.
BT watched closely as the Northstar opened her hatch to allow Gates to hop in. The mech swayed gracefully, leaning forward slightly as Commander Gates took control.
Minutes later, alarms sounded and they dropped toward the planet's surface at hypersonic speeds. Despite being deployed from space countless times already, Jack didn't think he would ever get used to the stomach-lurching feel of freefalling from orbit. BT turned the controls over to Jack, and they ran to their designated area.
Hours later, night fell, casting a dreamy blue haze over the landscape. It was still warm out from the day, but it was clear that the temperature would drop significantly. A warning from BT insisted that Jack stay within the cockpit to prevent discomfort.
"Incoming message." Jack could feel anxiety coming from the Titan through the Neural Link they shared. "NS-5112 has responded with a greeting." Something mechanical within BT chirped. Jack couldn't hide his smile; that was an incredibly cute reaction from his Titan.
"Proud of you, bud! What're you gonna say now?"
His friend was silent. The only noise heard was a deep hum as BT processed information.
"Pilot Jack Cooper, I request your assistance."
"What's up?"
"Please teach me how to flirt."
Jack sat up straighter in the cockpit. "You're kidding me."
"I am not."
"Just" Jack motioned randomly in the air with his hands, "Tell her what you think of her."
"That is difficult."
"Why?"
"I.. do not want to."
Jack wheezed. His 20 foot, 40 ton talking war machine was nervous.
"Alright." Jack's voice took on a more serious tone, "Tell her that you think she looks cute."
"NS-5112 is not cute."
She was aesthetically pleasing. Gorgeous. Made his cores stutter and threaten to overheat.
"I am going to respond with another greeting." BT hastily said, shifting his weight suddenly. Jack, who was sitting awkwardly in the first place, was jostled out of his seat in the cockpit.
"Wh- no! BT! You can't be sending the same-"
"It is sent."
Jack facepalmed. At this rate, the two Titans would be greeting eachother until their collective batteries corroded. Jack had gotten thrown and wedged between the cockpit door and the chair. With great effort, he freed himself.
"She has responded." BT piped up. To the average person, they would find BT's voice as monotone as always, but to Jack, he heard a slight variance in his synthetic voice. The Titan was elated.
"She says hello." BT finished.
For a long time, Jack didn't respond. He slowly made his way back to the chair, his expression blank. He couldn't believe what he just heard.
"I'm going to bed, BT. Wake me if Gates calls." Jack sighed, curling himself into the most comfortable position he could be in. The seat itself was comfortable enough, but certainly wasn't built for sleeping.
However sleep would temporarily relieve him from BT's flirting.
And that took priority over comfort.