raleighs | open rp post ;

[Mako Mori is a blanket hog.

That's something about her that Raleigh didn't glean from the Drift, all three that they did in about thirty six hours, sometimes he thinks it's a wonder he still answers to Raleigh and not to her name, but apparently there's still stuff that he doesn't know. Like how she's six inches shorter than him and he's pretty sure she weighs a hundred pounds soaking wet and yet-- he's the one waking up in the middle of the night freezing cold because she wrapped herself up in the blankets like a little burrito.

He supposes that he should be grateful because a) he was sleeping and b) there weren't any nightmares but c) he's from Alaska, it takes a lot to make him cold and come on, Mako.

Raleigh sighs and reaches out to try and tug the blanket away from her, either give him one back or let him into the burrito. Actually, just do the latter.]

[ (Mako's all snuggly in her burrito and she doesn't want to share :c!)

Despite appearances, she's always been a creature of warmth, preferring it to the cold, and had become quite the blanket bandit as she'd grown up, quite happy in the cocoons subconsciously makes for herself. She takes to sleeping with Raleigh because he's a natural heater and it's really quite nice to snuggle up to a warm body now and then.

But said warm body is feeling the chill, and it's only by virtue of the fact that Raleigh's so much a part of her that his tugging isn't met with a disgruntled shove off the bed (because no one takes blankets from Mako Mori); rather, a sure indication that she's somehow heard his thoughts. ]

Mmmph. [ She rolls over on her side to face him sleepily, instinctively tugging at her blankets to give it a bit more room, which makes her toes curl in annoyance. Cold. But finally, a vague Raleigh-shaped space in the Mako Burrito.

Get in, Ranger. ]

[That's the ticket.

Raleigh's laughing as he fits himself into the space that she's made for him. Not at her but more like in her direction since she's not laughing for him to laugh with her.

It's easy to lay an arm around her waist, and dip his head down to rest against hers. So easy that it makes his heart hurt with how well they fit together, a kind of closeness that he really didn't even have with his brother. Sure they shared a bed on occasion but it wasn't ever like being in the bottom and top bunks was too far away from each other and that'd definitely be too far from Mako.

Maybe it's because he's pretty sure he's love with her. Pretty sure because he's never be in love before he met her and he doesn't have anything to compare it too.]

I can't believe you're a blanket hog.

I could still evict you.

[ Mako mumbles drowsily (blanket hog, how insulting), and it's purely instinct that drives her to burrow against him, cheek against the solidness of his chest. It's not hardship, to share her bed with him, to cuddle up -- it feels right, it feels suitably close, and she's unwilling to part with him for too long.

Raleigh's arm is a welcome weight around her waist, and she breathes him in as she tangles their limbs together, wriggling to get comfortable, nosing against his throat absently. She hasn't felt like this before, and as if to put the lie to her threat about evicting him from the burrito, she drapes an arm around him in turn, and maybe, just maybe, she's in love with him too. ]

Nah, you won't.

[He's smiling into her hair even as he tries really hard not to think about the wriggling and what wriggling is kind of like because she's his friend. His co-pilot. She's not just some girl rubbing up against him but maybe settle down there sooner rather than later, Mako.]

[ Mako eventually settles, halfway between sleep and wakefulness, and it doesn't help that when Raleigh's awake it's difficult to go back to being practically dead to the world in her burrito. ]

I could. [ This comes out in all its drowsy grumpiness, and Raleigh is good company, and she makes a note to include him in the burrito more often -- more expedient when it comes to heating, too. ]

But I'll spare you today. [ She yawns, then grimaces when her feet brush against his. One more point for wakefulness. ] Your feet are cold.

[Sorry Mako, it's hard to sleep around Raleigh in general. Though she wakes up a lot faster than Yancy ever used to and he appreciates that about her.]

Someone stole all my blankets. [Raleigh says with a shrug, and maybe he moves his cold to brush her leg around, just to be a brat, and what are you gonna do about that, Mako.]

[ That merits retaliation! Mako makes a soft, indignant noise at that and pokes him in the ribs, because you are such a brat, Raleigh Becket, and she doesn't know why she puts up with you. ]

You just weren't holding on to them tightly enough. [ There's a smile in her voice nonetheless, and this is Mako fully awake and a minute or so away from engaging all out in a tickle war he's going to lose. ]

I was asleep.

[Raleigh emphasizes that point with a poke of his own to her shoulder. Bring on the tickle war. He's a Ranger, he's not afraid of you.]

I didn't know I had to guard my blankets with my life at the same time.

You learn new things everyday.

[ That's the overly Japanese way of saying, 'you snooze, you lose'. And there might be another poke to the ribs as she gives him a lazy smirk. Hey, it's not fair if you're not afraid!

At any rate she's happily nestled and warm and get your cold toes away from her calf thank you very much. ]

[He's completely in awe of her but he's not afraid of her. Kind of hard to be afraid of someone after the Drift and it's not like he's got any reason to fear her either. Since she doesn't want him dead, last time he checked.]

You could've warned me. So I knew what I was getting into.

[What was that? Was that press his cold toes more into her leg? Oh okay, he can do that.]

[ Mako scowls, affronted by the indignity of having cold toes on her calves (keep doing the thing, and they might have to revisit the whole Mako-not-wanting-Raleigh-dead hypothesis), and decides that short of shoving him out of her bed, she's swiftly moving, pinning him underneath her. She straddles his waist, burrito quite forgotten in the grand scheme of things. Better -- no more calf molesting.

Unfortunately, it also looks like they're both probably not going back to sleep anytime soon. But true to form, she remarks mildly, ]

That wasn't nice.

[No more calf molesting, that's true, but what about other kinds of molesting.

She more or less tackles him, and it reminds him of their first fight in the kwoon. When she took his leg out from under him and he tried to rise up to meet it but she still had his leg and he was just. So amazed and shocked by what she made him feel, alive again and like he was connecting to someone, it sent him straight back to those days with Yancy when they were in the Academy and they spent fourteen hours down there and Yancy would just bitch the entire time about the lack of sleep.

His body reacts the same way now, arching towards her and he can't stop his mind from going there even if he wants to and he... doesn't. She has to sense it too, there's no way she can't read the tension in his body under her and shit, it feels like he can't breathe. Like literally the next breath is going to decide their entire lives.

Then that breath leaves him in a sigh and he's moving, he's made his decision, he can't hold back anymore, he just can't. Raleigh surges up and his hands slide up her thighs, resting on her hips. It could be awkward but he just knows her so well, that he knows where she's going to be, to tip his head slightly when he gets close to her face and he just kisses her and he's not sorry.]

[ Is it molesting if she likes it?

Mako is reminded of it, in the space of a heartbeat, the look in his eyes when they first connect against the odds, at the tail end of a fight and she has him under her. It's an incredible, marvelous feeling, the way her blood is singing and her heart soars because that was a dialogue, not the practiced efficiency of a man going through the motions. Mako could spend hours and hours with him in the Kwoon and still keep going, to be perfectly honest, especially when every move comes so easily, so fluidly.

He's the first person to make her feel this way, when she comes alive against him and she comes alive now, and she knows where his mind is because she's right there, too -- enough pretending, enough skirting the tension that's begun between them. Her thoughts are fluid with his, the warmth of her affection obvious when she knows exactly where he's going to be, and her eyes close because he's going to kiss her, and it's something she's thought of for a long, long time. She sees it in the instant he sighs, and she's meeting him halfway, the way she'd always done when they came at each other in the Kwoon -- always ready, always seamlessly synchronised.

The pressure of his kiss, chaste upon her lips, makes her toes curl, and it seems to be the next inevitable step in all they'd shared together. He's all she could ever want, this other half of her soul, guilelessly gorgeous and with a smile that could probably signal ships at sea and he makes her happier than she's ever been in the longest time. His hands are warm on her thighs, solid against her hips, and she can't help a quiet sound before her hands come to push him back down to the pillows, following after to deepen the kiss, curious but unwavering.

He shouldn't be sorry, at any rate, and Mako keeps him pinned beneath her when she pulls away just a little, the taste of him on her lips and she licks it unconsciously.

Then, because traditional love stories are for losers: ]

That was interesting.

[Okay, so Raleigh will admit that he doesn't really have a lot of experience with girls, that he hasn't kissed anyone since before Yancy died, so it's possible that he's just not remembering it very well. But kissing Mako is different and so much better than kissing those other girls. He doesn't have to know what he's doing or wow her with his skills because he knows what she likes and doesn't like, feeds off of her and the Drift. They killed four kaiju together, they can figure out how to kiss.

Interesting feels like an understatement and he wants to laugh and slide his hands further up her back to the back of her neck and pull her in again and explore her mouth until he knows everything little thing about it. Practice makes perfect, right? Right.

He doesn't do that just yet, she's taught him so much about restraint that it's really shocking if he thinks too hard on it.]

Good interesting or bad interesting?

[ Kissing's interesting to figure out; Mako's fingers brush over her own lips, the lingering heat of Raleigh's an enticing treat. He doesn't need to know what he's doing, he doesn't need to impress her, because she's already plenty taken with him and it's obvious in the flow of her thoughts, budding sentiment alongside his.

She likes this, and she curls over him, her hands coming on either side of his face because he's never been more handsome to her, newly awake and thrumming with the thrill of a first kiss, of an anticipation even she feels under her own skin. This time, she's the one to do it, catching on to Raleigh's half-buried desires and brushing her lips over his in another tentative kiss, tucking her hair behind her ear before their mouths meet.

It's slow, searching, and Mako learns to acquaint herself with him like this, to suss out just what it is he likes. Unclear. She teases, I should try it again to find out. ]

[There's really no point in her tucking her hair back, since Raleigh slides his fingers into her hair four seconds later and effectively shakes it loose as he returns the kiss. She's apprehensive, in a good way, like she's exploring something totally brand new, and actually the more he thinks about, the more he's pretty sure this is her first kiss and holy shit. Holy shit.

That sends a little thrill down his spine, both excitement and oh god, don't fuck this up, Becket.

Not that Raleigh considers himself a master but he knows some things. Things that Yancy told him about, never demonstrated because that's gross, but little tricks that he's always kept filed away in the back of his head that he's never had a chance to use before now, like this little thing he's doing with his tongue now.]

[ Becket is definitely not fucking this up, because he's doing that curious thing with his tongue right now that's making her toes curl, and a quiet, startled noise of appreciation from her. Oh. Oh.

She didn't think he could do that. Her protest at his hands tangling in her hair dissipates before it's even fully formed in her mind, and yes, yes it is her first kiss and she's thrilled, responding to him and mirroring that trick, the tiniest flick of her tongue against his -- like this? Mako is new to this, hadn't thought of how good it's going to feel, when her spine tingles and she shifts above him, pleased with her discovery. And speaking of her discovery, she's catching on to his realisation, to the fact that he knows and this is something Yancy's taught him and she smiles, just briefly.

I've never -- Yes. You're definitely the first. ]

[He smiles back at her faintly, that thrum moving down his spine again, because holy shit, he's her first kiss. It makes sense if he thought about it for longer than two seconds, because she's Mako Mori, she didn't have the time to mess around.

Still.

Holy crap.

When she turns it back on him, he more or less moans back at her. She's a quick learner, he's not surprised and yeah, okay good call on that one, Yance, that is pretty awesome. Mako could probably do anything to him and he'd like it but this, this discovering what each other likes is really awesome.

Raleigh grips her hair tighter, and arches up, like he's trying to get even closer to her, kiss her harder. Yes, just like that. He will gladly be her practice dummy to discover kissing on, for the record.]

[ She likes that idea, Raleigh Becket, right there for her to practice kissing on. Mako is contented with this, carefully exploring his mouth, mapping out what he likes and what makes him make that particular noise. She does it again, tilts her head just slightly more, the touches delicate and light, before she decides to pull back, teeth lightly grazing his bottom lip instead.

He's reaching up to her and her hand splays over the solid muscles of his abdomen to keep him pinned -- easy, I've got you. She follows in quick order, her body molding against his before she deepens the kiss again, her tongue sliding deftly against his, it's really, really nice, and did he like that?

She hopes he does, because she sure as hell liked doing it to him. ]

[Yes. Yes ohmygod yes, he likes it.

He relaxes when she puts her hand on him and pushes him back down, even as he makes a louder and more turned on noise right back at her for doing that thing with her tongue. It's easy as breathing to just follow her lead, because she has that effect on him. Like in the Drift, you'd think that he would be the calming presence because he's the more experienced one but that's not it at all. If anyone has a restraining effect, it's Mako but more because Raleigh respects her so much that he'd do whatever she wants.

It's not about obedience, Mister Becket, it's about respect.

He still wants more, he still wants to push and push but she's got him and he knows, doesn't act like it sometimes but he knows. His hand relaxes, stays in her hair for a moment longer before sliding around to cup her cheek as he turns her move back on her and finishes with his teeth on her lip and God, this was so worth the wait.]

[ It sparks something in her, the way he turns it on her, and it's almost like they're in the Kwoon again, each so attuned to the other that it becomes a dance, it becomes a conversation that flows easily, without hurry -- only the enjoyment of the moment.

Mako doesn't take it further, no, she's relishing this far too much, when he's quelled under her hand; Raleigh, older and more experienced, choosing to follow where she leads because he's just that kind of person, because he's just that incredible. It's respect that he gives her, not surrender.

She's smiling, her hand between both their bodies as she makes a soft, appreciative noise, tingling at the way his teeth feel on her lips, a kiss that she's sure to remember for days. Mako doesn't pull away with the kiss tapers off, and only looks down at him with warmth, and more than just a touch of affection. ]

You're either a quick learner, or you had that up your sleeve all along.

[Hopefully, you know, it won't just be a memory over the coming days but the start of a new thing they do all the time, which is make out because now that he's experienced it, he's not sure he's going to be able to hold it back anymore. Doesn't really see that being an issue either, given her response to it and when she pulls back, he smiles at her softly, taking his hand off her face and settling it down lower near her hips again.]

I've been thinking about it for a while, I won't lie.

[ Engineers, as a general rule, are curious by nature, and Mako is no exception. There's the ever-present need to take the measure of something they're given -- a theorem, a logic, an equation, or a person -- and Raleigh is a profound mixture of all of it.

He warms her, large hands on her hips and she reaches down, braces herself against him and brushes the back of her knuckles over his cheek. She indulges in some studying of her own, when her fingers trace over his lips, kissed pink and ever-so-tempting. He might have a right idea there, because Mako decides that she quite likes kissing, too. ]

What do you think about?

[God, he's so stupidly gone over her that he could probably stay like this all day, just covered in Mako and trading slow, sweet kisses and doing literally nothing else. His body has other ideas, wants more, but it's easy enough to push that to the side, it's not the right time. They have a relationship that was measured in seconds when they first met and now they've flipped that on it's head, measuring in days and weeks and that's okay because they have the rest of their lives ahead of them.

He knows literally everything about her mentally, the physical stuff just doesn't seem as important, you know. He's heard stories from pilots that were lovers after the Drift, and how sex with your co-pilot is apparently as close to Drifting as you can get without a pons and he wants to try that out sometime.

Raleigh presses a kiss to her fingers when they brush his lips. Just because.]

I think it's the best thing we've ever done.

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