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It's the complete chaos of relieved joy - handshakes, pats on the back, some huge guy hugging Raleigh so hard he lifts him off the floor - and Mako and Raleigh float through it all like it’s a dream. Not that it’s unreal, and not that they’re disengaged or unappreciative, but they’re still in the contented halo of connection, attuned to the world but happy to let it flow over them like water. The crowd separates them, and occasionally they’d catch a glimpse of each other at the corner of their eyes, being lauded, being loved. Raleigh smiles and Mako barely has time to return it before she gets swept up in another wave of congratulations.
After the debriefing, Mako and Raleigh head back to their rooms. They walk in sync, unhurried, often stopped by people expressing their appreciation in multiple languages. Mako and Raleigh are gracious. There’s no need to rush the present. They have all the time in the world, now that the world is here to stay. When Raleigh holds open the door of his room, Mako walks through, neither of them saying anything, as if this is what they do every night.
He lies on his bed with his eyes closed as she looks at his photos. Compares them to what she saw in the drift. She can’t help it. She knows the synopsis of the Becket brothers’ relationship through Raleigh’s file but that’s all she knows: a synopsis. So Raleigh starts telling her stories about his childhood because he knows she won’t ask. His childhood, and then about becoming a ranger, and then becoming an international star.
"There were limited edition action figures," he says.
She says, "Yes, I know."
Mako doesn’t talk about Stacker and Raleigh now knows better than to ask. The wound is hers and hers alone. An offering of solace at this point in time would be an insult.
They fall asleep on his bed, still in their day clothes. Who knows how long they sleep for? They can sleep the whole day and they’d deserve it, much as Mako doesn’t have much use for the concept of ‘deserve’. The world has beaten her down to her bones and she beat it back; this is the important thing. When Mako opens her eyes, she’s in Raleigh’s arms, her arm draped over his waist, his breathing ruffling her hair. His mouth pressed against her forehead in an accidental kiss. They had drifted to sleep on their backs, squeezed together side by side as they stared up at the grimy ceiling and conversed softly about other potential uses for jaeger tech. His arms were crossed. Her hands were folded on her stomach. But in sleep, they tangled with each other like the body, too, longed to drift and finally could try to, now that consciousness isn’t stopping it.
Mako breathes in time with him, absorbing the details of the world as she slowly wakes. The world as condensed to this small metal room. The world as shrunk down to this bed, and the patient curiosity one step away from hunger in the pit of her stomach. She shifts her head and Raleigh grunts, and she kisses his chin. He resurfaces from sleep, barely, rickety smile on his face, and he kisses her nose, clumsy like he was aiming for her mouth.
"Hey," he murmurs.
Mako says hey back, waits to hear more, but he just holds her tighter and closes his eyes again. So she does too. They sleep some more.