[Should've figured it was her because no one comes to his apartment. Not even his neighbors stop by to say hi or borrow anything from him. And Raleigh likes it that way, it's quiet and calm and he doesn't have to think, doesn't have to do anything if he doesn't feel like it and most of the time he doesn't.
The past three nights, he's barely been able to sit still. Working out like there's demons chasing him, and maybe there are, he hasn't felt so uncomfortable in his own skin since he set off on his own, where something's wrong and he can't fix it. Not on his own, his heart's screaming for someone else, to be close to her again, to burrow into her and not come back out.
Raleigh leans against the door frame after he opens the door, his pulse picking up, just at the sight of her, and that's pathetic. He doesn't have to ask what she's doing here-- they're that connected already.]
[ Mako is prim and elegant in her black coat and high boots, a scarf wound around her neck -- surely, stalkers didn't possess this much class. If Mako is offended by that insinuation, she doesn't let on. Raleigh strikes a gorgeous figure against his doorframe, his solid, powerful shape so much like a panther, innately dangerous but painfully attractive -- which woman wouldn't want to sleep with him?
Her mouth is dry, just a little, but she musters herself and his pulse is not the only one that picks up. Her awareness of him is incredible, as is her awareness of her desire for him in more than just the carnal way. Here he is, the other half of her soul, the missing half, and she wants him to come back with her, or she would risk losing him forever. She's been haunted by him for the past three days, her waking thoughts and considerations lingering and circling around him, which is frustrating all in itself.
There is the barest ghost of a smile on her face at that comment, because he's right, they both know exactly why she's here, and she responds. ]
[It was more of a joke than anything anyway, since even just the sight of her is melting away his agitation. Like she's literally a balm for his aching soul, that just being near her calms him down, centers him, makes him feel alive again and the corner of his mind that is fully on board with this, that wants her, desperately wants to know what it's like to Drift with her.
People are only supposed to have two halves to their souls. Raleigh lost his off the miracle mile of Anchorage five years ago and yet-- yet here's this girl, this woman, she's not a replacement for Yancy, she's something else entirely different. Another half he didn't think that he had until she showed it to him and even he knows that math doesn't add up.]
Dunno. [He knows that isn't (entirely) what she's here for. If she just wanted to fuck, she would've waited for him at the bar, or in that alleyway behind it. Raleigh's just as much at fault for their last encounter as she is, probably even more so. He wanted her, wanted to feel alive again for ten minutes and he wanted her to stop talking, so put them all together and that happened. But it's not just that, Mako doesn't look at him with stars in her eyes because he's a former pilot, or like he's a piece of meat.]
[ And the funny, curious thing is that what he feels, she feels the same -- as if they have an open connection already, that his settling down, his anchoring bleeds through her and they find each other without words. She finds herself unconsciously relaxing, the previously unknown knot of tension in her shoulders easing away at the sight of him.
It's strange, but she doesn't question it overly -- it's new, and she's heard that it's always going to be something like this. But there's a difference between knowing and feeling, the rightness of it in the pit of her stomach, the knowledge that he's The One, The One. She's not here just for a fuck -- Mako is here for more than that and they both know it.
He's incredible, the way he feeds off her passion and makes her feel alive at the same time, when everything comes into focus and there is only the both of them in the world. She knows what he's capable of, what he can do and all that he can achieve, if only he takes that first step with her. She sees him as an equal, a partner, and she looks back at him politely. ]
Or maybe you just hadn't noticed. [ Because she remembers the groups and groups of crazed fans that had hung onto the brothers' every word, and the fans even had separate factions for the both of them. ] May I come in?
[That was different. That was an entirely different Raleigh who loved the attention and the girls and the fame and the ego stroking. Now he doesn't care about it, uses it to make a living but when he lets himself think about it-- it makes his skin crawl really. He doesn't want attention, he doesn't want praise or thanks or any of that bullshit for being a former Ranger.
He made a mistake. And he's just trying to live with that. Maybe he spends half the time trying to ignore the world but what's the difference.
Raleigh just steps back when she asks, leaving the door open for her.]
What do you want, Mako?
[He knows but he's still going to make her say it.]
[ Mako just gives him a long, piercing look when he asks that -- he knows, and she knows it, too; he's just not in the mood to make it easy for her. Mako is aware of the exceptions that Raleigh makes for her, subconsciously or otherwise, and with his nature, she knows, too, that to engage in hooking is also a masochistic attempt to punish himself.
Stepping inside, she delicately unbuttons her coat and hangs it up, taking in the sight of his apartment without judgment, before her gaze finds his again, reaching around him to close the door and lock it. ]
[Maybe he wants her to say it. Maybe he assumed wrong. Maybe he doesn't know what he thinks anymore, and he needs her to tell him, like a lost little sheep. His apartment is pretty bare, there's not much there to tell about how lives there, except for the photographs on his wall in his bedroom. Not that she can see those right now.]
[ Mako asks quietly, not responding to that statement, but deciding to lead him into it from another angle. Because she remembers, and it's mostly what she'd been thinking about. The incredible power of connected souls, and even if she knows it's not quite Drifting, it's close enough. ]
For the first time, I knew what it really feels like to be with another person so completely. You made me feel so good, and not just because of what you were doing.
[ No, because he's hers, because he's always been hers, and he would always be hers. Mako wants him so badly that she aches; ambition and desire and duty and passion and vengeance all rolled into one, and she's unbuttoning her shirt, one by one. ]
...For the first time in awhile, you were alive, too. I could see it in your eyes. Could I -- feel it again? Before I go.
[See, he did read it a little wrong, since he assumed largely that she was here, yet again, to try and convince him to come back to the Jaeger program, to push his buttons until he snapped and either yelled at her or caved or both.
Raleigh doesn't move immediately, like a cautious deer caught in the headlights, a man watching her undo the buttons on her shirt and hearing her words and hell. Why not? One last time with them, because she's right. It's something special with them.
He moves after a pause, reaching behind himself to pull his shirt off in one quick motion, dropping it on the couch next to him. That's really all the answer she should need.]
[ He's not wrong, she's just going another way to manipulate him into staying. The way she sees it, there's nothing wrong with using the things you were gifted with for the greater good.
He's still careful, but she's driven nearly to distraction when he takes off his shirt and yes, he's still as gorgeous as she's remembered him to be, definitely no perception bias there. It's endearing, because when he pulls his shirt off, the hair at the back of his head sticks up, and she can't help but get closer to smooth it down, smiling faintly despite herself.
It's the second time he hasn't charged her, but she doesn't bring attention to it -- no, this means that she's right; that he wants this as much as she does. Mako leans up to kiss him, tentative and sweet. She's still inexperienced, but she remembers what he likes, lets him guide her. ]
[She's still not the same girl that kissed him in that motel room a week ago, who was tense and all nerves and who didn't want to admit to anything. But then she's not the Mako that cornered him in an alleyway outside his usual haunt, and yelled at him and who left scratch marks on his back.
She's just Mako, who pulls at his heart and soul whenever she wanders too close. Like pay attention, Raleigh, are you paying attention, this one is different.
He kisses her back softly, following her example even as he leads. Really, really they don't even have to have sex to feel it, the connection, because even just this has his heart going, his head just aching at how close they are, and how he coaxes her mouth open so he can be even closer.]
[ She's just Mako, she's just a woman who's found someone who could be a soulmate, someone she could save the world with -- someone she hadn't known she'd been searching for all her life. And he's here, surrounded by vice and caught in the undertow of his pain.
Mako reaches for him and presses close, assertive and just as passionate, and for these few moments she forgets her agenda and just revels in the feeling of their connection, nebulous and abstract at best, but it's never felt so real. Tangling her fingers in his hair, she tiptoes and feels her heart thrill at the way he leans down to kiss her, when he wants her as much as she wants him. ]
[He hums back at her quietly, he knows. He knows, Mako, she doesn't have to say it because the same thing that she's caught in, is drawing him in too. Like a moth to the flame or a deer to the headlights of the car that's about to hit him.
Raleigh brushes another soft kiss against her lips, as his fingers move between them, finish unbuttoning her shirt and then he's pushing it off her, to join his on the couch or the floor, he doesn't really care. It's gone and that's all that really matters, and he's drawing her in again, kissing her just a little bit harder and deeper this time.]
[ And it's everything she's ever wanted, everything that she's dreamed of and desired, and the passion comes upon them, swift and intense when they're locked in each other, clothes pushed aside and away and all that's left is just them, moving with each other, unconsciously aware of every movement, every thought written on their faces.
Raleigh's not fucking another client, and Mako's not fucking a hooker -- they've found each other in the unlikeliest places, in the worst sort of scenario, and she's holding on tight to him when it's over, breathing hard and sweating, sprawled over his chest. She aches in the sweetest ways still, and she kisses his fingers lightly. ]
[He's so fucked anyway-- not just in the literal sense but in every other meaning of the word too, he realizes that when she lays over him, her hair brushing his chin, her heart beating fast against his own, he's just looking down at her, and knowing that it's going to hurt so much when she leaves.
And she's going to, he knows she can't stay here forever and he can't go back with her.]
I suppose I could take the night off. [He runs his fingers through her hair, arching a little so he can brush a kiss there too.]
[ Mako bides her time, feeling the way he relaxes under her, appreciating the warmth of him. He's incredible, wonderful in so many ways that it makes her ache, and she has to smile. He's taking the night off for her, and she knows what it means.
Leaning into his touch, into his kiss, Mako stifles a soft, longing sigh. Oh, Raleigh. She'll have to ask him again soon, because she needs him with her, she wants him so badly it hurts.
She leans in to press a kiss against his mouth, her heartbeat fluttering against her ribcage. ]
I've never felt anything like this before. Not with anyone else.
[He notices that smile, don't think he doesn't but it just has him smiling back at her, like a mirror. Like he literally cannot control himself around her, he just has to follow her.]
That makes sense. [Raleigh smooths his hand down her back, resting near her hip.]
[ Mako's cheeks are warm at that - for all of her ambition to impress him and make him come back with her, he has to find that out. Admittedly, she hadn't intended for the night to turn out the way it did, but she regrets not a moment.
She's charmed by how he smiles, matching her almost subconsciously, and her fingers drift over his generous mouth, her skin tingling at his touch. She wants more of him, she thinks -- and not just in a sexual way; she wants to be with him, fighting the monsters together, but how can she make him understand? ]
[It'd been pretty obvious, really. He's been with enough girls to tell by now, how many people they've kissed and fucked and maybe that's not really a life skill worth bragging about but it's something. Still, it has surprised him really, how she'd come alive during it, how she didn't let her nerves and her lack of knowledge stop her, how she sought to please him too, reached and touched and kissed and he's going to be carrying memories of her for a long time. That's for sure.
Raleigh nips at her fingers when she gets closer, playfully for the sake of it.]
No, most girls are looking for bragging rights and a 'I went to Alaska and fucked a Becket' sticker.
[ She lets him, her fingers drifting over those soft, sweet lips; Mako has half a mind to ask him if they're this naturally pink always, or if he puts something or other on it. But he most likely doesn't, and it's all the more charming.
She's caught by him, attracted despite best intentions, and it takes effort to focus on what she wants to say. Mako winces, though, at the less-than-graceful bluntness of his words because she knows it's the truth, and a part of her is furious with them and their idiocy, that Raleigh isn't some prize stallion to -- mount, or something.
[She's kind of asked him that before, but this time it's different. She's not really goading him, or it doesn't feel like it. It just feels like he's talking to a friend, someone who understands something of what he's been through and who doesn't see him as a dick and a good time and he'd be a liar if he said he hasn't missed that.
Doesn't seek it out because people bother him but Raleigh Becket really doesn't do very well all on his own.]
I have to eat somehow. What they think doesn't matter.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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The past three nights, he's barely been able to sit still. Working out like there's demons chasing him, and maybe there are, he hasn't felt so uncomfortable in his own skin since he set off on his own, where something's wrong and he can't fix it. Not on his own, his heart's screaming for someone else, to be close to her again, to burrow into her and not come back out.
Raleigh leans against the door frame after he opens the door, his pulse picking up, just at the sight of her, and that's pathetic. He doesn't have to ask what she's doing here-- they're that connected already.]
This is stalking, I'm pretty sure.
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Her mouth is dry, just a little, but she musters herself and his pulse is not the only one that picks up. Her awareness of him is incredible, as is her awareness of her desire for him in more than just the carnal way. Here he is, the other half of her soul, the missing half, and she wants him to come back with her, or she would risk losing him forever. She's been haunted by him for the past three days, her waking thoughts and considerations lingering and circling around him, which is frustrating all in itself.
There is the barest ghost of a smile on her face at that comment, because he's right, they both know exactly why she's here, and she responds. ]
Do you get intimate with all your stalkers?
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People are only supposed to have two halves to their souls. Raleigh lost his off the miracle mile of Anchorage five years ago and yet-- yet here's this girl, this woman, she's not a replacement for Yancy, she's something else entirely different. Another half he didn't think that he had until she showed it to him and even he knows that math doesn't add up.]
Dunno. [He knows that isn't (entirely) what she's here for. If she just wanted to fuck, she would've waited for him at the bar, or in that alleyway behind it. Raleigh's just as much at fault for their last encounter as she is, probably even more so. He wanted her, wanted to feel alive again for ten minutes and he wanted her to stop talking, so put them all together and that happened. But it's not just that, Mako doesn't look at him with stars in her eyes because he's a former pilot, or like he's a piece of meat.]
I haven't had one before.
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It's strange, but she doesn't question it overly -- it's new, and she's heard that it's always going to be something like this. But there's a difference between knowing and feeling, the rightness of it in the pit of her stomach, the knowledge that he's The One, The One. She's not here just for a fuck -- Mako is here for more than that and they both know it.
He's incredible, the way he feeds off her passion and makes her feel alive at the same time, when everything comes into focus and there is only the both of them in the world. She knows what he's capable of, what he can do and all that he can achieve, if only he takes that first step with her. She sees him as an equal, a partner, and she looks back at him politely. ]
Or maybe you just hadn't noticed. [ Because she remembers the groups and groups of crazed fans that had hung onto the brothers' every word, and the fans even had separate factions for the both of them. ] May I come in?
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He made a mistake. And he's just trying to live with that. Maybe he spends half the time trying to ignore the world but what's the difference.
Raleigh just steps back when she asks, leaving the door open for her.]
What do you want, Mako?
[He knows but he's still going to make her say it.]
no subject
Stepping inside, she delicately unbuttons her coat and hangs it up, taking in the sight of his apartment without judgment, before her gaze finds his again, reaching around him to close the door and lock it. ]
You already know, or you wouldn't have let me in.
no subject
I've given you an answer twice.
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[ Mako asks quietly, not responding to that statement, but deciding to lead him into it from another angle. Because she remembers, and it's mostly what she'd been thinking about. The incredible power of connected souls, and even if she knows it's not quite Drifting, it's close enough. ]
For the first time, I knew what it really feels like to be with another person so completely. You made me feel so good, and not just because of what you were doing.
[ No, because he's hers, because he's always been hers, and he would always be hers. Mako wants him so badly that she aches; ambition and desire and duty and passion and vengeance all rolled into one, and she's unbuttoning her shirt, one by one. ]
...For the first time in awhile, you were alive, too. I could see it in your eyes. Could I -- feel it again? Before I go.
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Raleigh doesn't move immediately, like a cautious deer caught in the headlights, a man watching her undo the buttons on her shirt and hearing her words and hell. Why not? One last time with them, because she's right. It's something special with them.
He moves after a pause, reaching behind himself to pull his shirt off in one quick motion, dropping it on the couch next to him. That's really all the answer she should need.]
No charge either.
no subject
He's still careful, but she's driven nearly to distraction when he takes off his shirt and yes, he's still as gorgeous as she's remembered him to be, definitely no perception bias there. It's endearing, because when he pulls his shirt off, the hair at the back of his head sticks up, and she can't help but get closer to smooth it down, smiling faintly despite herself.
It's the second time he hasn't charged her, but she doesn't bring attention to it -- no, this means that she's right; that he wants this as much as she does. Mako leans up to kiss him, tentative and sweet. She's still inexperienced, but she remembers what he likes, lets him guide her. ]
no subject
She's just Mako, who pulls at his heart and soul whenever she wanders too close. Like pay attention, Raleigh, are you paying attention, this one is different.
He kisses her back softly, following her example even as he leads. Really, really they don't even have to have sex to feel it, the connection, because even just this has his heart going, his head just aching at how close they are, and how he coaxes her mouth open so he can be even closer.]
no subject
Mako reaches for him and presses close, assertive and just as passionate, and for these few moments she forgets her agenda and just revels in the feeling of their connection, nebulous and abstract at best, but it's never felt so real. Tangling her fingers in his hair, she tiptoes and feels her heart thrill at the way he leans down to kiss her, when he wants her as much as she wants him. ]
Raleigh. [ She breathes, quiet and soft. ]
no subject
Raleigh brushes another soft kiss against her lips, as his fingers move between them, finish unbuttoning her shirt and then he's pushing it off her, to join his on the couch or the floor, he doesn't really care. It's gone and that's all that really matters, and he's drawing her in again, kissing her just a little bit harder and deeper this time.]
no subject
Raleigh's not fucking another client, and Mako's not fucking a hooker -- they've found each other in the unlikeliest places, in the worst sort of scenario, and she's holding on tight to him when it's over, breathing hard and sweating, sprawled over his chest. She aches in the sweetest ways still, and she kisses his fingers lightly. ]
I hope you have nowhere else to be tonight.
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And she's going to, he knows she can't stay here forever and he can't go back with her.]
I suppose I could take the night off. [He runs his fingers through her hair, arching a little so he can brush a kiss there too.]
For you.
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Leaning into his touch, into his kiss, Mako stifles a soft, longing sigh. Oh, Raleigh. She'll have to ask him again soon, because she needs him with her, she wants him so badly it hurts.
She leans in to press a kiss against his mouth, her heartbeat fluttering against her ribcage. ]
I've never felt anything like this before. Not with anyone else.
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That makes sense. [Raleigh smooths his hand down her back, resting near her hip.]
Since I was your first.
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She's charmed by how he smiles, matching her almost subconsciously, and her fingers drift over his generous mouth, her skin tingling at his touch. She wants more of him, she thinks -- and not just in a sexual way; she wants to be with him, fighting the monsters together, but how can she make him understand? ]
I take it that this doesn't happen very often.
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Raleigh nips at her fingers when she gets closer, playfully for the sake of it.]
No, most girls are looking for bragging rights and a 'I went to Alaska and fucked a Becket' sticker.
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She's caught by him, attracted despite best intentions, and it takes effort to focus on what she wants to say. Mako winces, though, at the less-than-graceful bluntness of his words because she knows it's the truth, and a part of her is furious with them and their idiocy, that Raleigh isn't some prize stallion to -- mount, or something.
She frowns. ] Why do you put up with that?
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Doesn't seek it out because people bother him but Raleigh Becket really doesn't do very well all on his own.]
I have to eat somehow. What they think doesn't matter.