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It's no surprise that Mako has nightmares. Anyone who's seen what she's seen would have full rights to a lifetime of erratic sleeping patterns, and she's learned to function despite the monsters that crawl into her mind when she closes her eyes. In the two weeks since closing the portal, however, things have gotten a little more… complicated.
Maybe it doesn't help that she gets unofficially exiled to the middle of freaking nowhere. Maybe it doesn't help that "middle of nowhere" is actually a small town in Iowa. Maybe it doesn't help that she saved the goddamn world and isn't sure if there's anything left for her. And maybe it doesn't help that she has a tiny crush on her partner.
Not that it's going to go anywhere. Ever. Because while she's well aware that there were several married pilot pairs, she's not one to get her hopes up. (At least, not openly.)
The first couple of nights, she forces herself through it on her own. But when she wanders into the small kitchen with tired eyes and gets that look from him, she wonders if he's trying to make some sort of point. He never says anything outright beyond formalities, never actively worries about her, but she can't help getting the impression that he feels hopeless in their situation. Well, that makes two of them.
Then comes the night she has the worst dream of her life. It's her childhood all over again, but this time, she dies. This time, there's a lot more blood. This time, she wakes up too shocked to scream. And this time, it's not her battle to fight.
She slips out from under her blankets and wanders across her room, then the hallway that separates the bedrooms. She shouldn't be doing this. It's not right to intrude on another person's space, and Raleigh needs to rest every bit as much as she does. But the idea of hearing another person's heartbeat is just the slightest bit too tempting, and it's been ages since she's done anything rebellious (if she ever has at all, and she's not sure about that detail), and it's high time she did something for herself for once. So, with fingers shaking, she opens his door and lets herself in.
As if on cue, he rolls over to face her, eyes opening and a half-smile on his lips. "You alright?" he asks, voice sleepy but content. As if there's any other possible reason she'd be invading his space at what feels like three in the morning.
"No," Mako replies, fighting back the instinct to turn and run. "I had a nightmare, and I was wondering if… I really don't want to be alone, and if you wouldn't mind…"
His body shifts, making space for her on the double bed. "That kind of night, huh? It's alright. Make yourself comfortable."
And she does, shutting the door behind her and slowly making her way towards him. At first she tries to take up as little space as possible, but she relaxes when she feels his arm protectively wrap around her waist. "There," he whispers inches from her ear. "Nothing can get you now."
She's always been able to take care of herself, or at least that was what she told anyone who asked. But as she falls into a dreamless sleep nestled against someone who tries so beautifully to understand the war she still fights, she's not sure if that's what she wants.