The effects of ghost-drifting.
Chapter 2
Mako was eating a pudding cup on her steps when Raleigh finally appeared, limping a little as he walked down the corridor. She raised her eyebrows.
"Hey," he said.
He stopped in front of her. "You waited up for me. That's sweet."
"Is Tendo alright?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't he be?"
"Did you get in a fight?"
He scratched the back of his head.
"Not really. It was nothing." Before she could ask him to elaborate, he blurted, "Can I have some of that?"
He didn't wait for her to answer before collapsing beside her – wincing in pain as he did so – and grabbing her spoon. She let him finish it, then pushed him away when he started mouthing at her neck.
"Sober up so you're not hung over tomorrow."
"Fine, Ms. Mori," he pouted.
She watched disapprovingly as he grimaced and stood up.
"Drink some water."
"Yeah, yeah."
He waved before shutting his door behind him.
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There was an enormous amount of salvaging and rubble clean-up to do, even months after the war ended. The Jaeger Program and PPDC ground crews were working with local governments and contractors to clear the wreckage. Even now, they were still recovering things, not all of it inorganic.
As their minds connected in the Drift, Mako suddenly felt a throbbing pain in her head, left side, and arms. She didn't chase the R.A.B.I.T., but she saw enough. Some guy at the bar had a beef with Tendo, Raleigh leapt into action, and all of them were eventually thrown out onto the street. When the Neural Handshake was complete, she gave Raleigh a side-eye, but he ignored her.
By the time they got back to the Shatterdome, Mako was dying to eat something. As they made their way to the mess hall, she noticed that they were walking in synch.
They sat beside each other, like always. Her side twinged as she sat down, and she shot him a resentful look.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
"You should watch out for yourself."
"Alright. I promise I won't fight anymore." He held up a hand. "Scout's honour. Unless they really, really deserve it."
Mako rolled her eyes. "I don't think you can keep that promise."
"Have I ever broken a promise to you before?"
"First time for everything," she said and poked at her casserole, "When we get back to your room, I'll look at your bruises."
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Raleigh held the door open and waved her in ceremoniously. She went straight to his freezer and grabbed an ice pack. When she turned around, he was already shirtless.
The large bruise on his side was a nasty bluish-purple. His arms were smattered with smaller ones. Despite his stony-faced act, he jerked away when she pressed the pack to his ribs. The sharp pain and freezing cold hit her as well.
"We wouldn't have to do this if you had just stayed out of trouble. And let's also not forget that our actions in public reflect on the Jaeger Program and the Shatterdome."
"Oh, please don't lecture me –"
He cut off abruptly, but she heard it. It wasn't so much the words, as the sentiment, that came through.
"You sound like your dad."
His eyes widened as he saw in her face that she knew.
"Mako, I –"
"I'm ok."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –"
"It's ok. I'm fine."
On a bad day, she wouldn't be able to think about Stacker without crying. But today was a good day. She knew Raleigh didn't mean anything by it. She never would've heard it in the first place if it weren't for the damn ghost-drifting.
To get through her grief, she had started to deal with negative emotions like bad memories in the Drift – just let them flow past. Maybe that was unhealthy, but it was how she kept herself together when things were rough.
She glanced up at Raleigh. He was clearly upset with himself, but at least he wasn't still trying to apologize.
They were silent from then on. Raleigh returned the pack to the freezer. They usually spent the night together, but she wasn't feeling like it, so she said goodnight, gave him a kiss, and left for her quarters.
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Mako woke up to silence, so she knew it was too early. She lifted her head to look at the clock. She still had a few hours before her alarm went off.
She noticed a dull warmth between her legs and instinctively rubbed her thighs together. She wasn't prudish about dealing with herself, and she wasn't that tired, so she shoved a hand down the front of her pants.
After several seconds of slow, firm rubbing over her panties, she got an odd feeling. It was hard to identify, but was like intrigue. Nervous excitement. Guilt.
Her eyes flew open, and she yanked her hand out. The connection snapped shut just as quickly. She sat up and stared at her door. She wasn't sure why she was embarrassed at being caught touching herself. Or maybe, it was she who had caught him?
There were two gentle knocks.
She slipped out of bed and stepped lightly over to the door, as if a dainty approach would make the situation less awkward.
As soon as the doorway was wide enough, Raleigh was through it. Then, her back was against the cold steel, and his hand was in her underwear. The back of her head hit the door as he pressed his forehead to hers.
"Holy shit," she thought, but that wasn't her.
His needy thoughts reverberated in her mind as he shoved his tongue into her mouth, and his fingers worked deftly between her legs. The kiss broke momentarily, and she gasped. Raleigh was panting like he'd been going at himself.
The thought to go to the bed had barely occurred to her before he was pulling her towards it.
He fell onto his back and pulled her down on top of him. She whimpered and rode his fingers for a minute before he rolled them over. Raleigh yanked off her clothes, then his. She spread her legs, and he didn't hesitate to dive in.
Mako reached up and grabbed him by the neck, pulling him closer. His arms hooked under her legs and held them back as he fucked her. Inside her felt so good – hot and tight and ridged…
"I've never fucked myself before."
An actual giggle bubbled up in his throat, and she couldn't help joining him. She tried to cover his mouth, but he bit her hand.
She came fast and hard, gasping loudly and arching her back. Raleigh grunted, and his hips faltered, like he felt it.
"More!" she demanded.
He pistoned his hips until he reached his own climax a few seconds later, and Mako became even more hopelessly confused. She was cumming, too, but she was ejaculating, and –
When she came to, Raleigh's face was in her neck.
"Fuck, you own me," he groaned in Japanese.
They were both trembling. She noticed he'd managed to prop himself up on one forearm to keep his full weight off of her. She stroked his cheek before nudging him to get off. He gingerly extracted himself and snuggled into her side.
His consciousness was a comforting presence. Mako felt him slip under with her into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
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