Mako woke suddenly, body shaking and tangled in the sheet, cold sweat covering her face. She didn't know what had happened in her dream, but residual fear gripped her body and mind, leaving her fairly certain of what the dream had entailed. She felt panicked, unable to sit still, and kicked the blankets off her body onto the floor. She sat bolt upright in bed, adrenaline surging through her body and making it impossible to lie still. She jumped up, not thinking about what she was doing but running on some sort of autopilot mode she hadn't experienced in years. She rushed to the large metallic door of her room and threw it open, darting into the hallway and pulling it shut behind her.

She stood on the step to her room, heart pounding and breath racing, not sure what she was doing. Was she awake, or sleepwalking? The haze in her brain made it impossible to tell, but the fear created by her nightmare hovered at the edge of her consciousness and pushed her forward. She stumbled down the stairs and crossed the narrow hallway to the door directly across from hers. To Raleigh. She hovered on the steps to his room, slowly starting to wake from her night terror, trying desperately to think rationally, but couldn't quite get there.

She tapped quietly on the door, the small gesture making a sound that seemed loud enough to wake the entire wing. She winced at the volume of the noise, and debated whether she would be able to rush back to her own room before he opened the door. Maybe he was still asleep…she turned away from his door to look back at her own, but then heard the metallic clicks that signaled the door was being unlocked from within.

A chill ran through her, and she didn't know whether it was due to residual fear caused by the dream or…something else. She turned back to the door and saw him standing there, framed in the dark doorway and staring at her blearily. She froze, unsure what she should do or say, or even if there was anything she should do or say.

"Mako?" His voice was a hoarse, tired rasp. "What's the matter?"

She didn't move. What was the matter? She couldn't remember. She didn't know what was wrong, just that she'd had to get out of that room as soon as she could. She froze.

"I…I-" she tried desperately to think of something to say, an explanation for this bizarre behavior. She had never set foot inside his room before, and certainly never visited him in the middle of the night. She had never visited anyone at this time of night…

"Mako." His voice was more firm, but kind as he tried to get her to focus on him. "Did you have a nightmare?"

She nodded silently, not sure why she was responding or how he knew what must have happened, but understanding somehow that it was the right thing to do. He gave a small, sympathetic sort of smile and reached out and touched her face, rubbing his thumb gently over her cheekbone. She felt blood rushing to her face, not sure what she was feeling or why, but wanting it to continue all the same. He opened the door wider and stepped to the side, a silent invitation

"Why don't you come in?" he asked when she showed no sign of moving. Her eyes darted up to his, seeing a soft sort of kindness there, as though he knew exactly what she had dreamed about, even when she did not. She took a hesitant step forward, and his hand slid from her cheek down around her shoulders, guiding her inside his room and closing the door behind her as quietly as he could. Her eyes darted around the room, seeing that the lamp on his bedside table was on and wondering whether he had already been awake when she had first knocked. Her gaze finally landed back on his, and she felt the flush rising in her cheeks as her eyes met his. She didn't understand her body's reaction to his look, but she shoved it aside.

"I'm not really sure why I came over here," she blurted out, trying desperately to relax.

"You had a nightmare," he said, speaking as though it were fact. Mako reminded herself that he had been through as much as she had, and then some, so he would know what she was feeling even without having seen into her mind during the drift.

She nodded slowly, trying to use her usual breathing exercises to slow her heartbeat. What was happening to her? Was her heart rate due to the dream or…something else? He gave her another sympathetic smile, his expression telling her that he understood her unspoken conflict.

"It's okay, Mako," he said quietly, "I understand. We can understand each other in a different way, now that we've drifted together. I know that you feel it, too."

Still, she said nothing. She couldn't bring herself to say anything out loud; not about the trauma she was feeling after having to kill the Kaiju, not about the residual terror she felt after going down to the Breach, and not about her father. And certainly not about this strange new anxiety she was feeling, which she was beginning to suspect had something to do with her proximity to Raleigh.

Shirtless Raleigh. Shirtless, warm, protective Raleigh, who was standing here ready to keep her safe, even if only from her dreams. She bit her lip, her nervous habit coming out once again. Was it her imagination, or were his eyes focusing on her mouth more than strictly necessary? Did that mean something? Her breath caught in her throat once again, and she suspected that it wasn't due to fear of whatever nightmare had plagued her this evening. What was wrong with her? She had never felt any sort of…attraction towards anyone before. Was this what attraction felt like?

She tilted her face up towards his, surprised at how close his face suddenly was to hers. She felt his warm breath in her face, and she took a small, unconscious step forward, bringing her right up to him. It was his turn to freeze; did she really hear that catch in his breath, or was it wishful thinking?

"Raleigh?" Her voice was a whisper, barely audible even to herself, but she knew instinctively that he heard her.

"...yeah?" his response sounded strangled and nervous. Was that bad?

"Raleigh, I-" she broke off, suddenly panicking.

She didn't know what made her do it, but she stood up on her tip toes and brushed her lips against his.

He froze, and at that moment she knew she had miscalculated. She had made a huge mistake. Her eyes widened and she immediately pulled away as though she had been burned, frantically looking around for a quick escape.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, sounding slightly hysterical, "I thought-"

His hands came up to her face, cupping her cheeks and gently pulling her face back to his, bringing his mouth down on hers. He kissed her hungrily, his tongue parting her lips before she really knew what was happening. She'd been kissed a few times before, but never anything like this. She shyly opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to tangle with hers, her breaths coming quicker as he did so. She pressed her body against his, her hands on his hips and pulling them towards her own. Her experience being extremely limited, she didn't really know what she was doing, but her body seemed to have a mind of its own at this point in time.

His body was nothing but hard lines and roped muscle compared to her soft, gentle curves, and she felt heat pooling in her lower body as his hardened pelvis met hers. She felt herself shaking slightly, a tremor that had nothing to do with a nightmare and everything to do with what was pressed up against her inner thighs. She gyrated ever so slightly, creating a small amount of friction between the two of them, enjoying the small gasp that left his lips when she did so. The movement gave her another pulse between her legs, making her crave more, so she did it again.

This time, however, he pulled back. "Mako…" he said, looking at her with a strange expression that was somewhere between desire and…anguish? "We can't do this."

Her heart sank; she should have known. She pulled back from him immediately and tried to regain her wits while quelling the swell of embarrassment that was quickly taking over. He had just been trying to comfort her when she showed up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, and she had accosted him out of nowhere. What had possessed her to do it, she would never know, but she had to get out of here. Now.

"I'm sorry," she said for the second time, "I should go." She turned towards the door and stepped quickly away from Raleigh, reaching out for the handle and pulling it open as quickly as she could.

"Mako, wait." Raleigh placed a hand on the door, preventing her from opening it further.

She felt like she might die from the embarrassment. "Please just let me go," she pleaded in a whisper, "I just want to go to bed."

She couldn't bring herself to look him in the face, so she averted her gaze to the hallway, looking at the door to her own room and cursing herself for leaving it in the first place. What was wrong with her? Why - why - had she thought that it was a good idea to come here? She knew from her years at the Jaeger academy that it was common for strong feelings to develop between copilots, even ones that seemed romantic in nature, and she should have ignored anything she had felt for Raleigh since they returned from the Breach. It was natural for things like this to happen after that sort of trauma, but what had possessed her to go to his room in the middle of the night like a…booty call? That was not a phrase she herself had ever used, but she had heard it from other cadets, and she was sure that this situation would qualify.

"Mako, please. Just look at me, will you?" Raleigh's voice was a plea, and she reluctantly turned her face towards his, afraid of the rejection she knew she would see there. But it wasn't rejection she saw there. Instead, it was some sort of sympathy, which might even be worse. Her gaze hardened.

"What?" she snapped. He sighed, but did not seem deterred by her tone.

"Mako." he said her name like a statement, "I don't want you to go."

She stared at him blankly. "What are you talking about? You told me to stop…" she trailed off, feeling stupid for even thinking the words, let alone saying them out loud.

"I didn't say to stop," he corrected her calmly, "I said we can't do this. Not that I don't want to."

She continued to stare at him. "I don't understand," she stated, not sure whether he was serious, or simply trying to spare her the embarrassment of turning her down flat-out.

"Mako," he said, sounding a little exasperated, "You can feel things that I feel. You know I want this, too...don't you?" He sounded suddenly uncertain as he finished the thought. Mako remained silent, not sure what she should say, so he continued. "Look, we have feelings for each other. I know I have them for you, and I can feel that you have them for me. But the time to act on them is not right after a huge trauma. I don't want you to regret any of this. I know you haven't been with anyone before, and this isn't a good time to change that. Not yet."

Mako hung her head, averting her eyes in embarrassment. Was it that obvious? She knew he had been with women, having seen flashes of them in the Drift, but was it so easy for him to tell that she had no real experience of her own? She had never really thought about it until now; nobody had ever really sparked her interest, and even if they had, who would want to go near the only daughter of one of the most respected (or, perhaps more accurately, feared) Marshals that the Defense Corps had ever seen? Nobody, she was sure.

She felt Raleigh's hand cupping her chin, tilting it back up so she was looking him in the eyes. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Mako. I don't care that you haven't been with anyone before. But I don't want you to regret it later if we do something now, while you're upset and hurting. I can feel the pain you're feeling now, and I won't take advantage of that. Do you understand?"

His voice was so tender and kind that her embarrassment seemed to slowly fade away, and she nodded slowly up at him.

"Okay," he said quietly, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her forehead, "Okay. Good. Will you still stay with me tonight? Please."

She wondered if he was asking for her sake, or if he was being chased by his own nightmares. She nodded again as he closed and locked the door, and she let him lead her to his bed. He pulled back the covers and slid in first, holding them up so she could lay down beside him before covering them both. She lay stiffly, not really sure what she should be doing. She had never shared a bed before; should she stay on one side, or get closer to him? What was the protocol for this sort of interaction?

Raleigh seemed to know what she was thinking, and said quietly "Why don't you come over here by me? You'll be warmer."

She heard the smile in his voice, and felt a blush rising once again in her cheeks when she realized she had come over here in nothing but her short pajama bottoms and a thin-strapped tank top, but she moved closer to him nonetheless. She turned over on her side, facing away from him as she tried to preserve just a small amount of her usual modesty. She felt the mattress dip a little and knew he was moving closer to her, and she tensed as she felt his strong, warm arm wrap around her waist.

"Is this okay?" he whispered in her ear, causing a chill to run down her spine and goosebumps to rise on her arms and legs. She nodded silently and tried to relax as he laid his large palm over her stomach and gently tugged her towards him. His chest was right up against her back now, and her body seemed to meld with his under the covers. She felt his warm breath on her neck as he buried his face into her hair and inhaled deeply, his body seeming to relax as he did so. She cautiously placed her hand over his, unsure whether or not to keep it there, but his fingers immediately laced through hers and made the decision for her. She began to relax then, his familiar scent now a source of comfort to her. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the musky scent of his pillow and allowing her eyes to drift shut, somehow sure that now that she was in Raleigh's arms, the nightmares would stay away.

. . . . . .

Her body felt flushed, heat spreading through her and pooling between her legs. Her breath came in heavy pants as she tried to regain her bearings, her shoulders flat on the bed but her back arching upward, bringing her chest towards his. His blonde hair fell into his eyes, brushing her forehead as he brought his face towards hers. He rubbed his nose against hers, the gesture surprisingly intimate, before quickly bringing his mouth down on hers. His kiss was demanding and rough, and she feasted on the feel of his tongue exploring her mouth. She gasped as he pulled back, even more turned on by the look in his eyes; the appraising glance that he was giving her, as though trying to decide what part of her he wanted to taste next.

His hand caressed her cheek and then moved down her body, cupping her breast before continuing on down her side, heading towards her center. His mouth moved to her neck, kissing it lightly and then beginning to suck, gently at first and then more desperately. She gasped when she felt his teeth grazing the delicate skin, and even more when his palm reached its destination, slipping inside the thin material of her shorts and covering the silky underwear she had on underneath. A strong finger stroked her there, and she felt a thrill going through her whole body as though it were an electric current. She wanted more, but she didn't know how to name what she was looking for, let alone how to tell him. She allowed one of her hands to wind into his hair, gripping it tightly and holding him closer to her, desperate to keep his mouth doing whatever it was doing to make her feel this way.

He groaned loudly against her neck, his thumb rubbing her harder while he used the rest of his hand to push her legs further apart. She opened them gladly, desperate for him to keep going and turning her head to the side to give him better access to her neck. He increased the pressure of his mouth on her neck, simultaneously rubbing his thumb in small, rough circles around her clit. The combined sensations made her moan out loud, and her hand reached up to his shoulder almost reflexively, pulling him down on top of her. The weight of his body on hers felt strange, but so, so right. She widened her legs further, bringing her knees up around his hips as she felt the pressure of his hardened pelvis between her legs—

"Raleigh," Mako gasped, jolting awake with a start. She was sweaty and hot, tangled with bedsheets, blankets, and Raleigh. The bedside lamp was still on, and in its dim glow she saw his eyes fly open, and the shock in his face mirrored her own. His body was on top of hers, his hips in between her knees, his hand buried beneath the waistband of her shorts. Had she been awake the entire time, or dreaming? Had all of that actually happened? Mako felt panic rising and wasn't quite sure why. She tried to get ahold of herself, but it was difficult with his face so close to hers, not to mention the placement of his hand. She was torn between the lingering arousal from the dream - was it a dream? - and the anxiety that she had done something else to make things awkward between herself and Raleigh.

"Mako," Raleigh's voice came out like a hiss as he whipped his hand out of her shorts and quickly lifted himself off of her, "Did I- Jesus, Mako. I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me-" He scooted away from her, sitting up in bed and staring at her with a horrified expression on his face, "Did I…did I make you-"

"No!" she said hurriedly, shocked that he could think himself capable of such a thing. "No, of course not. I was dreaming, and…and in my dream we were-"

"I know. I think we were having the same dream," Raleigh interrupted, like he was desperate to explain himself. "At least, I thought it was a dream…" He ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Yancy and I used to have the same dreams sometimes after we had Drifted together, but I never thought…" his voice broke off awkwardly.

"Look," Mako said quickly, "It's not a big deal. We both had it in mind before we fell asleep, it just transferred into the dream. That's all."

She was trying to convince herself as well as him, she realized, and she was not sure that she was succeeding. The look in his eyes was almost anguished as he looked at her, certain he had done something to take advantage of her.

"Ral, please stop looking at me like that," she said quietly. "You didn't do anything wrong. If anything, it's my fault for coming over here and coming on to you like I did..."

She sat up, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, creating a barrier in between herself and Raleigh, who still looked pained. He sighed and looked down. "Of course it's not your fault. I wanted it, too. I just don't think the timing is right for us yet."

Mako felt sadness seeping in, but tried to ignore it. He had said "yet," after all, and that meant that there would be a time for them in the future.

"Maybe I should go back to my room," she said halfheartedly. She didn't really want to go, but surely that was better than seeing that look on his face right now.

"No," he said quickly. "No, please don't go. I…I feel better when I'm close to you. I've started to feel anxious when we're apart for long. Is that weird?" He said it all in a rush, as though desperate for her to know it, while also not wanting to admit it.

The corners of her mouth lifted into a small smile at the awkward expression on his face, like a kid confessing a crush and waiting on her reaction. "No," she said, "It's not weird. I feel it, too. But I guess you already know that."

He smiled sheepishly and crawled back to his side of the bed, next to her rather than on top of her. "I'm really sorry, Mako. That must have been scary, waking up with a huge guy on top of you with his hand in your pants…" He broke off awkwardly.

She gave a small snort of laughter, trying tolighten the mood. "If you were dreaming what I was dreaming, you know that wasn't my reaction." She felt his breath come out in a laugh as he laid down behind her once again, burying his face in her hair.

"I guess you're right" he whispered in her ear. "That would seem to suggest that we have some things to look forward to in the future, wouldn't it?"

She grinned into the pillow, lacing her fingers with his once again as she tried to get comfortable. It was difficult now, with the obvious hardness pressing into her backside, but somehow they managed to fall back asleep together, and slept the rest of the night without dreams of any sort.