They got back into their daily routine, the training, the runs to the ocean floor, the simulation Drops to improve their interaction with the improvements made to their Jaeger, and Kwoon sessions.

They were good together, inside a Drift and out.

Chuck was proud of their achievements, how he was in sync with Raleigh, though he never said so in these words.

His father knew, though.

As did Raleigh.

They were in each other's head and Herc had been in his enough to know his son inside out.

x X XX xx X XX xxx x X XX xx X XX x X

Anchorage wasn't mentioned again.

Nor the boxes stowed in storage.

The few items taken to their shared rooms had ended up in storage once more, like Raleigh had hidden them away.

Except for a family photo. Well, Yancy and Raleigh. Richard Becket no longer featured in Raleigh's life and his mom… those photos had been put into a drawer.

Chuck smiled when the photo of the brothers was placed next to the one of him with his mom and dad, taken on the last family picnic before Angela Hansen had been killed.

x X XX xx X XX xxx x X XX xx X XX x Xx X XX xx X XX xxx x X XX xx X XX x Xx X XX xx X XX xxx x X XX xx X XX x Xx X XX xx X XX xxx x X XX xx X XX x Xx X XX xx X XX xxx x X XX xx X XX x X

Raleigh had fallen asleep, head pillowed on Chuck's lap, the rest of him stretched out on the old, rather comfortable couch. The TV was running, some kind of game show with subtitles Chuck found hilarious to read. He supposed it was English, but it made little sense.

He still watched it. It was easy entertainment.

His fingers were tangled in Raleigh's hair, playing with the blond strands, stroking and caressing and petting. It was how his partner had fallen asleep.

He looked up when he heard someone approach and found Herc giving him the raised eyebrows. A slight smile played over the Marshall's lips. He got himself a beer and settled near-silently in the armchair.

"Worn him out?" he asked, voice low.

Chuck grimaced.

Herc grinned more, completely unrepentant. He looked at the screen and grimaced a little.

"Whatcha watchin'?"

"Actually, I've got no clue."

Herc made a demanding motion with his fingers for the remote and Chuck gave it to him without a fight. He hadn't been interested in the program and his main attention was on the sleeping man with him.

Settling on a documentary that seemed to be about demolitions, Herc glanced at them again.

"Not getting enough sleep?"

Chuck gazed at his peacefully resting co-pilot. "Getting it where he can."

"Where you are," Herc corrected him, nailing it immediately.

Yeah, his dad was sharp; no one should underestimate the older Hansen.

Chuck simply shrugged one shoulder, not even going there.

X X X

The documentary ended just about the time Herc was finished with his beer and he nodded at Chuck, smiling slightly, as he rose.

Chuck refused to be baited.

X X X

Raleigh woke during a movie. Something with dancing and lots of heartache and romance and some kind of weird, abstract romcom plot that Chuck had given up on following. He hadn't really paid attention anyway.

The blond yawned and moved sleepily. Chuck smiled down at him, looking into those open, rather vulnerable baby blues.

Yeah, he had it bad and it wasn't really getting better, even after months of having… this… having Raleigh… having what could almost be called a normal life.

"What time is it?" Raleigh mumbled.

"Late."

It got him a little snort.

"Just past one."

Raleigh scrubbed a hand over his face as he sat up, trying to smother another yawn.

"You should have woken me."

"Nope."

Chuck smiled brightly when Raleigh frowned a little.

The other man ran his fingers through the blond strands, which made them stick up even more, and Chuck held back a snort of amusement.

They went back to their place in amiable silence. Chuck didn't really fight the kiss Raleigh gave him behind closed doors, nor the hands sliding under his shirt, stroking over his skin.

Raleigh's question was brief and silent.

Chuck's answer was a biting little kiss.

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It took the Anchorage property three months to sell. Chuck was there when Raleigh received the call.

The amount of money was…

"For real?" he murmured when he saw the figures.

Raleigh shrugged and clicked away the agent's sale confirmation.

"So, whatcha gonna do with all that money? And whatever else you amassed?" he teased.

"Not much right now."

"Invest into later?"

"I thought about a place."

Chuck leaned his hip against the desk, brows drawing down in a quizzical frown.

Raleigh shrugged. "We're not always on base. There are days off. Vacations."

"I thought you wanted to take me camping?" Chuck reminded him with a smirk.

The blond chuckled. "And you're not getting out of that. I'm not talking about buying something right now. I wouldn't know where."

Not Anchorage, Chuck knew.

"Well," he speculated, voice filled with mocking sarcasm, "you could buy a used Shatterdome. I hear there are one or two left in private hands."

Raleigh snorted. He had placed a warm hand on Chuck's thigh, gently running it up and down. It was… slightly distracting, but nice.

"I thought about a place for us. Together. One day."

He felt momentarily breathless, then swallowed when those brilliant blue eyes looked up at him.

"Ray."

"Even Australia," Raleigh added, a tender smile on his lips.

"You wouldn't last a month," Chuck told him with a scoff.

Underneath the gruffness was a warm feeling, spreading through him. Raleigh was thinking about a shared home. Outside the Shatterdome. With him!

"Of course with you," the blond murmured, squeezing his thigh.

He glared at him, aware that he might just have said that out loud.

"I… need to go back, though," Raleigh said softly. "Clear out the last storage unit."

Burn all bridges behind him, Chuck thought, nodding. Nothing left to link him to Anchorage but the grave of his mother and the place of birth on his birth certificate. No house, no family, no storage unit with the last of the Becket family's worldly possessions.

"When?" he only asked, mentally going through the next few weeks, their scheduled Drops, their trainings.

"As soon as I can get a few days off."

Chuck gave him a cocky grin. "Hey, I got good connections to the Marshall. He happens to be my dad."

"Asshole."

He leaned forward, kissing his partner. "He won't say no."

x X XX xx X XX xxx x X XX xx X XX x X

Actually, Herc didn't. Actually, he told Raleigh to accompany him, Marshall Herc Hansen, to the Anchorage Shatterdome, where he just happened to be needed.

"Bloody lie," Chuck muttered when they packed their bags.

Of course it was. A blatantly obvious lie, but who would call him on it? Anchorage had by now picked up basic operations with a very rudimentary crew. The appointed Marshall was someone Herc, and Chuck, knew personally. Trevin Gage, former pilot of Romeo Blue and twin brother to Bruce Gage, had taken command and was currently in the middle of getting Anchorage operational. The Shatterdome had been declared a research facility and a monitoring station, though it would house at least two Jaegers, possible three.

Romeo Blue would be one of them.

With new pilots.

Bruce was one of the instructors at L.A. and overseeing the restoration and repair of the Jaegers transferred out of Oblivion Bay.

So two days after his agent's call, Raleigh Becket was on a plane to Anchorage again.

Herc had told them he would stay a week, which gave them ample enough time.

Chuck was only shaking his head. "Sneaky," he commented as he strapped in.

Raleigh smiled a little. "Yeah."

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They arrived late, in the middle of a thundershower, and Chuck grimaced.

"Welcoming weather," he muttered as they hurried across the landing platform and into the Shatterdome.

"Get used to it. Weather this time of the year is unpredictable."

"You got monsoon season up here?"

"Nope. Just weather." Raleigh shrugged and slipped out of his dripping wet jacket.

Chuck finger-combed his drenched hair. "Weather," he repeated, trying to sound sullen and unhappy.

Raleigh shot him a smile. "The way the rain felt, it'll snow soon. C'mon. Let's get this over with."

'This' being the meet and greet.

"Snow," Chuck muttered to himself. "Great! And what did you mean 'how it felt'? You feel snow? Really? For real? 'Cause I know you're part polar bear at heart, but even you don't feel weather, Raleigh!"

"Cold rain, almost sleet," Raleigh explained patiently with an expression that told Chuck he was being humored. "Not just water drops. Already partially frozen. It's not my first winter up here, y'know."

"Huh. Snowy rain? More to come. So much fun!" the Australian groused. "And I know you're the homeboy here." He hunched his shoulders, shooting the closed doors leading outside a wary look.

Raleigh grinned more. "C'mon. Let's go. We'll tackle the weather tomorrow."

"As long as it makes you smile."

And that was the truth. As long as it made Raleigh smile, he would suffer through whatever. The smile he got now was amused and knowing.

They headed deeper inside the Shatterdome, Chuck shadowing his partner.

X X X

They had been assigned quarters in the Shatterdome itself. Crew quarters, for pilot pairs, with two bunks and the bare military style décor they were used to.

It wasn't the room Raleigh had last shared with Yancy.

Raleigh looked actually relieved and Chuck knew what was going through his partner's head. He had been inside it often enough. He didn't really want to spend the nights in his hometown, but he had also dreaded the Shatterdome, the memories buried there. At least they wouldn't run into the ghosts that lingered in what had been the Becket room.

They unpacked and grabbed a bite to eat, then Chuck followed Raleigh around the Shatterdome until the other man gave him an annoyed look.

"What?" the Australian asked innocently.

"I'm not going to have a breakdown, Chuck!"

He shrugged. "Yeah, okay, you won't."

Raleigh's expression darkened. "You don't have to follow me around!"

"Got nothing else to do and you know your way around. Thought I'd tag along before I get lost."

It got him an eye-roll. Shatterdomes everywhere had the same general layout. Raleigh didn't try to push him away, though, which meant Chuck silently followed him as the other man explored his former home base. When they ended up in the Jaeger bay, looking at Brawler Yukon, Chuck leaned his elbows on the metal railing, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

"She looks almost like new. Saw her on TV in a special about Jaeger tech one day."

There had been brief bios on all Jaegers and their pilots, right up to the latest Mark-IIIs and their crews. Like the Beckets.

Raleigh mirrored his pose, a faraway expression in his eyes. "Yeah, I remember that. Tons of interviews and shots and questions about our lives." He smiled slightly. "Yancy spun them in circles with his tall tales. They never knew what hit them. He charmed that one reporter for all he was worth."

"Bet you weren't any better," Chuck teased.

"Well, we went for the same woman once. We were still in the Academy. I didn't know she was hitting on both of us to get her story. I hated his guts when I saw them together in the Drift."

Chuck watched the crane swing close to one of Brawler's arms, then stop and secure the position for the mechanics to go on with their work.

"C'mon." Chuck straightened and looked at his co-pilot. "Let's get some shut-eye before tomorrow."

Raleigh nodded and they walked past the workers, back toward their quarters.

X X X

The hot water loosened his tense muscles, relaxed him, had him sigh with pleasure. Raleigh let the hot stream slush over him until the whole bathroom was foggy and the ventilation labored to clear the air.

"You drowning in there?" Chuck's voice hollered from outside. "'Cause I'm not going to rescue you."

Raleigh stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist while he used a second one to dry his hair.

"I thought you could swim," he teased.

Chuck lay on the bunk bed, hands folded underneath his head, smirked. "I can swim, Rah-leigh."

All pilots could. It had been a requirement. Raleigh had watched his partner cutting through the pool they had in the Shatterdome, all lean muscle and grace and strength.

Now Chuck's eyes wandered up and down Raleigh's close-to-naked form with an exaggerated leer.

"And maybe I'd pull you out of the water," he added, grinning that shit-eating grin. "Wouldn't want the hero of the hour end up as a floater."

"You could have joined me," Raleigh responded, running his fingers through the damp strands, trying to get them into some shape and order. "Prevent accidents from happening."

The blue-gray eyes darkened and Chuck sat up, all predatory grace. "I wouldn't know about preventing accidents," he purred.

And then he was on his feet, prowling over to where Raleigh stood, and the next thing the blond knew was that the Australian had him with his back against the wall and was kissing him.

"Never too late for mouth-to-mouth, right?" Chuck whispered when he came up for air.

"Never."

The towel was suddenly gone. And Chuck was still fully dressed. Raleigh bit back a groan when his skin brushed over the denim of the other man's pants.

The grin on Chuck's face widened, becoming devious.

Raleigh saw another shower in his… their near future.

tbc...