It was the silence that woke him. Normally his apartment had the typical sounds of a building, with creaks and pops at odd hours, but even those had fallen silent under the oppressive stillness.
The silence of snow.
Without thinking, Raleigh threw himself into his clothing, ignoring the memories that pushed at him. Memories of him and Yancy, roughhousing in their icy front yard. Their sister, slipping and sliding down a frosty white hill. An old man, asking if he needed help...
He shoved the coat on with a little more force than strictly necessary, intent on reminding his brain that he didn't need his sad memories right that moment. He had something more important to do.
Raleigh knew things had been hard for Mako. Their trip from Hong Kong to Anchorage had seen Mako retreat farther and farther into herself, her grief still too near to cope with. The Marshal's funeral had only made things worse. But this time... This time things were going to change.
He stomped his way up the icy steps to Mako's door, and slammed his fist against the solid wooden surface in an effort to wake her.
"Mako? Mako, get up. I want to show you something."
It took a few moments before he heard the telltale creak of floorboards and heard the slide of the bolt before the door swan open to reveal his copilot, hastily dressed in a bathrobe.
"Raleigh? It is 3 am. What are you doing here?"
"Come on Mako. There's something I want to show you."
Her answering smile was tired, if a little exasperated.
"I've seen snow before."
"I'm not showing you snow." He grinned at her, "Come on."
After she put on clothing more suited for the cold, he gestured for her to follow him. The walk wasn't particularly long, but in the cold and the dark, it seemed to drag on forever. Finally, he stopped her at the peak of the small hill, its snowy surface unmarred by any footprints other than theirs. As she stood there with him, trying to catch her breath, he pointed upwards at the undimmed stars above.
"Yancy and I would come here sometimes, after a drop." He looked at her, but she merely nodded for him to continue, "Yancy liked the silence, and the stars, and I guess I just got used to it, coming out here after everything that would happen."
He chuckled ruefully, resettling his jacket around him in an attempt to gain more warmth.
"Funny how feeling insignificant reminds you that you're alive."
Out of the corner of his eye, Raleigh saw Mako raise her face to the sky, her brown eyes taking in the expanse of stars above them. Eventually silent tears began drifting down her cheeks. Unsure of what to stay, he merely turned his own gaze to the stars, getting lost in his own memories as the cold seeped into his bones.
If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine Yancy there again, standing in between him and Mako, with his face upturned towards to the sky...
"Thank you."
Raleigh blinked, startled from his thoughts by Mako's unexpected statement.
"Not a problem," he said, smiling at her.
Seeing her return his smile, he relaxed again, satisfied that his work was done. Smiles were infinitely better than nightmares and sleepless nights and-
Raleigh stiffened in shock at the sudden sensation of cold on the back of his neck. He spun around, his eyes widening at the sight of Mako with a double handful of snow and the slightest hint of a mischievous grin. Before he could react, she threw the rest of her icy ammunition directly at his face and bolted down the hill, her delighted laughter echoing in the morning air.
Shocked into immobility, Raleigh found himself unexpectedly reveling in a sound he had never heard from Mako before. Lost in thought, he found himself pelted in the face again by unerringly aimed snowballs, and sudden happiness or not, there was no way he would just let her get away with this. Grinning, he scooped up his retaliation, and barreled down the hill after her.
