Author's Notes: Thank you all so much for the feedback! Please keep it coming!
Chapter Three: Victory Dance
It was only after Mako unlocked her room and practically dragged Raleigh through the door that she felt him hesitating, and had to slam the brakes on her own libido. "Are you sure?" she asked, hiding the reluctance from her voice.
Raleigh gulped, stepping closer to her. This was nothing like she'd seen in his drift memories. Raleigh'd never been unsure of something like this in his adult life.
"I…yeah, I…" Raleigh sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against hers. "It's just been a long time."
Five years, four months…and change. He didn't want to mess this up. He didn't want to embarrass himself. He didn't want to fail to make it good for her… Mako groaned and slid her arms around his waist. "You won't. It'll be all right."
So she'd had something a little more frenzied in mind…since the first time she'd seen Raleigh Becket without his shirt. But that could wait.
She slipped a hand around his neck, but tugged gently, letting him choose, and she felt when he did. His lips were slow, soft, and trembling when they met hers, and he was the one who moaned when she deepened it. His hips rocked involuntarily against hers, and she pulled at him.
It was as if the drift fizzed back to life between them and she could feel it. He was nervous. It'd been a long, long time since he'd been nervous about being with a woman. She crooned, moving her lips and tongue up his jaw towards his ear. "It's all right. It's all right." Nothing he did would disappoint her. If this couldn't go slow, then they'd go again. "There's plenty of time."
"Maybe not," Raleigh groaned, but he wrapped himself around her, at last, with a little less hesitance and practically lifted her off her feet, heading for her bed.
Mako laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist. Better if their pants were off, but oh well. File that for later. Soon, but not right away. He rocked her down onto the bed, but she stopped him before he climbed down on top of her. Shirt. Off. Now. She'd waited for this one since his first day in the Shatterdome, watching him through his door.
And he knew it, and maybe that bolstered his confidence. He nuzzled her as she slid her hands up from his waist, under the fabric of his shirt, dragging it with her wrists until she could pull it over his head. Feeling his soft stomach and every hard curve of muscle under her hands, she groaned and rolled him onto his back, wanting to taste them. "Mako!" Raleigh gasped. "I can't – I won't – oh God…"
He was afraid he wouldn't last. Slow down, Mori. She grinned, moving back up to kiss him properly (but keeping both hands on his chest and waist), letting her tongue tease him, slowly, leisurely, enjoying his hands in her hair. He wanted her shirt off, but held back. She huffed faintly and leaned back after another deep kiss, gazing at him with eyes she expected were as half-lidded with lust as his own, and pulled her shirt over her head.
His eyes got comically wide, and she grinned, coming back down to press her weight on him, and he moaned, throwing his head back while she mouthed at his neck. His hands reached around her back for the clasp of her bra. "Can I?"
She guided him there, giggling as he fumbled at it, but he figured it out and moaned deep as the fabric fell away and she shimmied it off her shoulders, leaning forward to press her chest close, invite him to put his mouth on her. His pants were already bulging under hers as she moved and dropped a line of kisses along the line of his hair.
"Mako," Raleigh breathed against her breasts. "Oh, God…I'm not gonna last…" He squirmed, anxious, and Mako shushed him.
"Then don't. I'm not in a hurry." She smoothed his hair with the back of her hand, reaching down to undo the buttons of his pants, feeling him squirm. It was cute, but she held back from giggling. He was already embarrassed that she was taking him apart so fast. "Relax," she murmured. "We'll take care of each other." We're co-pilots. It's what we do. I'm not worried.
"I just…." Raleigh's head jerked back as his hips jerked. Mako crooned reassurances as he groaned apologies, but he was almost there, so she slid her hand down, keeping her touches gentle and kneading through his shorts.
"It's okay. Just let me. Let go," she purred, lifting herself on one elbow to watch his face. He gave in, eyes squeezed shut as his hips jerked, and she felt him come, shuddering, under her hands. He was beautiful. She'd known that, and she kissed him deep and hard to cut off the embarrassed stammer that followed. It's all right. It's all right. Give it time. She didn't want him to be humiliated, not ever. He didn't need to be; she knew how long it'd been.
Sometimes there'd been girls near the work sites, looking for money or ration cards in exchange for sex. Raleigh'd taken one up on it exactly once, but he'd been miserable and embarrassed when she recognized him, so he'd rushed through it, paid her more than she originally asked for, and fled back to the Wall. Now and then after working out to near collapse, he'd huddled in any private spot he could find, him and his hand just to take the edge off. Nothing had really felt good.
He wanted to make her feel good. He wanted her like he hadn't want anyone in a long, long time. Five years…more than four months.
And she wasn't laughing at him. She'd never do that. She was glad to have him, and she knew why he hadn't lasted. It's okay. We'll go again. In the mean time, she held him, kissing him languorously, letting him feel what they'd both imagined more than once and caught each other in the drift, smiling. Maybe later. Maybe some day. If we all live through this.
Well, here they were. And they had time.
His pants were clammy, so Mako slid her hands back down and helped him slide out of them, then settled herself next to him and let him help slide her out of her own. His hands at her waist, sliding down and cupping her…heat built between her legs and she clung to him, moaning. His hands, his hands felt so good. So big, so warm…
Raleigh raised his eyebrows, an offer, and she gasped, "Please…" But she caught him and kissed him before he could go down, lapping at him, the taste of him. She wanted him between her legs, but she wanted his mouth here too, never stopping. He tasted just as she'd imagined.
At last, she made herself let him go, and he rolled her onto her back, making his way down leisurely, his anxieties easing. She gasped and arched when he took her nipple into his mouth, softly, delicately, teasing her. She clutched his head and almost pulled his hair. He hummed at her and she almost spat a curse at him. Get down there, damn it!
For someone who'd had plenty of practice, she was losing her patience fast, but he didn't laugh until she did. No, this wasn't exactly the soul-melding love scene of some romance writer's dreams, but it didn't matter. They'd taken care of the soul-melding weeks ago. They'd manage this. They both knew beyond any shred of doubt that they wanted it.
Their legs were stubbly. Neither of them had bothered shaving since they'd been peeled out of the circuitry suits after Pitfall. Raleigh didn't seem to mind as she wrapped hers around his back and he lowered his head between her legs. Mako managed not to shriek the first time she felt his breath directly over her, his tongue sliding into her folds to her clitoris, one finger carefully moving from there down into her. She did buck, and he faltered, afraid he might hurt her, but she hissed, "yes," and grabbed the sides of the mattress once his hair was out of her reach. There, there, again. More, harder.
She wanted him between her legs, all the way, but he wasn't hard enough yet. It'd wait…it'd wait…her thighs tightened around him, she keened into the back of her hand as his tongue moved, slow at first, than faster, up and down as she swelled. However long it'd been, this he remembered, from his own memories and the ones he shared with her now. His tongue and his fingers switched places; he stroked her clitoris firmly through the surrounding folds, making her throw her head back and pant. His tongue lapped against her entrance, soft at first, then at her gasping command, "Harder – Raleigh – oh - "
It was all she could do not to slam her crotch into his face; she clenched her teeth and clutched the mattress again, wanting something to hang onto as he found that spot and pressed hard, deep – she let out a howl, bucking wildly as he shifted to catch her hips and continued – God, right through the lights flashing behind her eyelids, she still felt his tongue and his fingers, that glorious pressure, driving her forward in a dive through the drift, turning it into fireworks until she lay on the shore, panting and shuddering, gasping, "Raleigh, Raleigh…"
Here. Now. Fucking come back here.
He kept one hand between her legs, stroking firmly, but he slid back over her to settle his weight and make her moan even deeper. He was very heavy, but she was more than strong enough, and the pressure was exquisite, every part of him. She stroked the muscles of his back, learning them. At some point she'd find the way to lick every damned one of them. But now she wanted his mouth on hers – he tried to wipe it clean on a corner of the sheet, but she growled at him.
"Doesn't matter. Raleigh, come here."
So he collapsed on her in a frenzied barrage of kisses, and there, yes, there, this was what she'd dreamed of, feeling him growing hard against her thigh, her hands slipping in the sweaty sheen of him, cupping his hard, firm legs, sliding up and down from his ass all the way up to his sweat-damp hair, holding him there to kiss and kiss until they were both panting and rolling their hips.
She finally paused, raising her eyebrows in invitation. Ready now? He managed a jerky nod, feeling the wetness of her entrance, and shifted, letting her hand join his between her legs and guide him – though she had to let go, because the sensation made her throw her head back in a gasping shriek. She never used to be the noisy type.
Now it was Raleigh who purred against her like a big, golden cat. "Doesn't matter." Don't be embarrassed. What was there to be shy about? They'd been naked in the drift. They'd felt each other's fantasies, seen each other with other lovers. There was no hiding any of that.
He moved slow and careful on that first entry, and he did laugh when she growled again and grabbed at his legs, trying to drag him the rest of the way in. He caught her hands, pulling them up and suckling her finger tips. "Wanna feel this," he murmured, eyes heavy lidded, pupils blown so big she couldn't see the blue of them anymore. "Wanna…hang on…just…lemme…"
"Okay." She sloppily licked at his mouth and his jaw as he tickled her wrists, until she couldn't stand it anymore and yanked his face back to hers, their teeth knocking awkwardly until they found their rhythm again.
Finally, finally, he was inside her, entirely hers, so deep…a deep, low moan rose from her throat and he sank against her neck, murmuring in Japanese. She smiled into his hair. Now, this. This was perfect. They lay there for several long seconds, soaking in it, until one or maybe both of them couldn't last any longer, and their hips began to roll together. It was slow at first, both of them humming contentedly as heat built up in her again and she felt tremors rising in him. "Faster," she purred, and he obeyed, just a little, not trying to tease her, just to let it build naturally, coaxing the small flames to a deeper fire, imagining the inferno they'd build up to.
Pace, this was pacing…their rhythm faltered each time one of them sped up, and they waited, holding it until they matched again… in and out…she gulped back a gasp of protest if he pulled back too far. No, need you here, need you inside, stay, stay… Her legs wrapped around his waist again, but this time with him entirely on top of her, and it was delicious. He slid one hand between them, playing with her breasts, and she moaned again.
He jerked to a faster rhythm, and she stayed with him, heat rising and spreading from her crotch up to her belly, her mouth hot and wet with his as their kisses grew sloppier, their movements more frantic. "God…Mako, I'm gonna…"
"C'mon," she panted – then she felt him clench, his entire body, crushing her with his arms, pumping inside her, and she let herself fall – he was still shuddering when she followed him, gasping and seeing stars, her head thrown back, her hands in his hair, gasping his name.
They floated ashore there, shuddering and melting, mouthing each other's lips and chins and jaws and neck. At last, it was Raleigh who lifted himself enough onto his elbow to look at her eyes, and she felt the little twinge of anxiety through the ghost drift. She cupped his cheek and pulled him back for a softer kiss.
Of course, he'd satisfied her. Of course, it'd been what she wanted. Of course, she wanted him to stay. Of course, nothing had changed.
But if he needed to hear her say it, then she'd say it. "Stay," she breathed, running her fingers along his cheekbone. "Always stay."
There was no letting him go. He'd been under her skin from that first day, their first match, their first drift. "You felt it! We're drift compatible."
We're so much more than that. We always will be.
Raleigh shuddered and slid down to her side, but draped himself across her, nuzzling her neck. She returned to lazily kissing his mouth and jaw and pulled the top sheet across them both. They were too warm for anything else.
"What're you afraid of?" she whispered, feeling him cling to her from more than just satisfaction.
"Dunno," he admitted. "'s like I've just forgotten how to not be."
He was embarrassed again. She crooned against his ear. Nothing he said or did or felt around her should embarrass him. "Don't be afraid. Not with me." The Breach might be closed, but the world wasn't paradise as a result. There'd be plenty to worry about when they left this room in the morning.
But here, now, tonight, that was all far away. He could let go. So could she. There was nowhere in the world they were safer.
Money changed hands thick and fast as word spread throughout the Shatterdome long before breakfast. Tendo was practically dancing with joy, and someone got their paws on a bottle of champagne for "brunch", and everyone in the vicinity gleefully passed it around. "To the shit we all saw coming from Day One!" Newt Geiszler crowed, and even Hermann took a swig from the bottle. "Aww, even you're getting sentimental!"
"I see no reason not to celebrate young love," Hermann replied primly, getting snorts of laughter from the onlookers.
"So Newt saw 'em in the hall, but did they definitely do the deed?" demanded Christian, getting a yelp of outraged protest from his sister.
Tendo winked at him. "I bribed Peng D in J-Tech for the inside scoop – she's Mako's next door neighbor. She wouldn't give me the really good details, but half a dozen chocolate-covered cherries got confirmation. Trust me; we're not celebrating prematurely."
"Here's to Becket and Mori, joining the long, proud tradition of unrelated pilots gettin' it on!" declared Hien.
"And to future little Beckets and Moris," added Christian, getting a chorus of gasps and giggles.
Herc eyed them all when he came in to a burst of frantic shushing and snickering. "All right, what'd I miss?" He eyed the nearly-empty bottle, then his gaze wandered over the crowd, placing that most of them were either former Team Gipsy or very close to those personnel, and a sly grin crossed his face. "So?"
"Team Gipsy's initiated, sir," giggled someone.
Herc feigned disapproval as if he were Marshal Pentecost – but spoiled it by holding out his hand for the bottle. Then he hoisted it into the air to a roar of laughter and cheers and took a deep gulp before passing it along. "Long live Team Gipsy!"
"Wooooo!"
Raleigh heard the chatter and laughter in the halls when he woke the next morning, and decided this was a day for sleeping in...possibly all day long. He smiled at Mako's mussed hair, her smudged face in the dim light, but hesitated at touching her. No nightmares now. He'd leave it that way.
A few drowsy minutes later, she woke easily. Not that he hadn't watched Mako go to sleep or wake up before, but he smiled. She usually popped back to consciousness and alertness in just a few breaths. Today she was languid, stretching like a cat. She smiled without opening her eyes. "How long have you been up?"
"Not that long; I slept good." Can't imagine why.
She laughed softly, still not opening her eyes. "I'll be smug today." Before Raleigh could do more than sputter, she pulled him in for a kiss. "You can spend the day blushing," she concluded once she let him go.
"They're gonna give us both hell," Raleigh predicted as they got dressed.
They did. Before he'd drifted with her, he'd have expected Mako to be embarrassed. Now he knew better. She might not be prone to bragging about her conquests (unlike Raleigh might have done five years, five months ago), but she'd been raised not to let others make her feel ashamed.
At least they didn't have to deal with the crews whispering about "will they/won't they" anymore.
We did, now everyone move on!
Herc was nice enough not to pull either of them in for duty – though he did wink at Mako. So they were left to their own devices – and found their way back to Mako's room early in the day to use them.
Herc left Mako and Raleigh to enjoy themselves for as long as they wanted – though he let the crews enjoy themselves at the pair's expense too. The whole Shatterdome had earned it.
Responsibilities would pull one or both of them back to command eventually, but they'd earned a good rest.
In the US, President Lunk was actually bellowing that more Jaegers should be built so that the Americans would have a fleet to wield against "terrorists."
"He is so full of shit," Tendo grumbled. "For going on five years, he was all about the fucking Wall unless there'd been a kill in the last thirty-six hours. Or when the Wall plan blocked the view from one of his hotels."
Herc lowered his voice. "Some scuttlebutt is that that's the reason China rejected a wall: that he bribed the right people to keep his Hong Kong and Shanghai buildings unobstructed."
"Dunno if it's true or not, but do not repeat that around the Weis or their crew. They'll bite your face off."
"I don't blame 'em." Herc glanced around. "I'm more worried he and the UN want to get their claws into all the remaining pilots."
Raleigh, the triplets, Mako. Chuck. All stuck in front of a sea of cameras, getting grilled by the same bastards who'd chewed Stacker up and spat him out over and over again. Not if I can prevent it.
As usual, the Kaidanovskys were a step ahead of him, and popped into his office while most personnel were still goofing off and celebrating the Team Gipsy hookup.
"We must send delegates to the U.S. The media and UN can't be allowed to dictate what happens now, let alone control the narrative of what already happened."
"Yeah, my thought exactly." Herc sat on top of his desk. He hadn't moved into Stacker's old office. He just couldn't. Still, there were plenty of vacant office spaces in a Shatterdome that'd once housed six launch bays. He'd picked the one closest to the bay where Striker had once been docked. "I need to go. I won't have the bloody brass digging their claws into our people."
"We're all under your jurisdiction now," said Sasha. "The UN accomplished that last year with the intention that Stacker Pentecost remain in complete control over the program - and a convenient scapegoat to blame for its failure. We now operate separate and apart from any nation's military."
"We need only China to retain our independence," said Alexis. "Because the Dome is here. For the chance to have Crimson Typhoon restored as the world's only Jaeger, they will accommodate us."
"While Jerald fucking Lunk stamps his little feet and pounds his little fists over in America," Herc muttered. "He's got some pull in both China and Russia through his businesses. And he wants Raleigh to appear at the White House yesterday."
"He will do what Dustin Krieger and the UN tried to do with Raleigh after Knifehead," Sasha warned. It didn't surprise Herc at all that Sasha knew about that, even though he and Stacker had kept the proposal for Raleigh's "publicity tour" as secret as they could. "Not only to Raleigh, but also to Mako, Chuck, Cheung and Jin."
"I won't let 'em," Herc breathed. It was an oath, and Sasha and Alexis knew it. "All five of those kids gave up their youth and lost family in this war. They get to have peace now."
"We will go with you to America," said Sasha. "President Lunk holds no fear for us - and our president holds some fear for him. Perhaps some of the local Dome officials will come, to represent the Chinese personnel, and persuade the politicians that the remaining pilots suffered too many injuries, too much trauma to suit their purposes."
"It'll be a circus," Herc muttered. The real problem would be convincing Chuck and Mako to stand down once the inevitable mud-slinging and scapegoating of Stacker began. Most of the politically-savvy crew had seen the beginnings of it, but once the Jaeger Program delegation came forward, Herc's kid would find out - and go ballistic.
Then there was also the matter of Stacker's other kid. Herc knew Stacker's son had been living with his grandparents in London - though he hadn't learned that until Chuck had mumbled about while half-incoherent from painkillers. All those years,and you still kept so many secrets, Stacks.
To Be Continued...
Coming Soon:Even as our heroes are preparing to circle the wagons against a growing political onslaught, a biological onslaught begins, forcing the Shatterdome into quarantine in Chapter Four: Pandemic!
PLEASE don't forget to review