Travis and crew leave, but everyone else stays at the 'dome a while longer, just to enjoy the "class reunion". Herc smiles and laughs for the first time since Pitfall that Raleigh can remember, and he suspects that Teresa has something to do with it. That pair have been near inseparable, but whether they're spending time thinking about all the years they've been part of the program or are experimenting with a not-so-platonic relationship is a mystery.
"We've got some scientists collecting Drift data. Trying to improve it, understand it better. Seeing as how I'm looking at the only confirmed compatible pair left in the world...OK, one of two, but the others..." Teresa has never been one to completely end her statements and she tends to tack things to the end of her stories, but the question is understood.
Raleigh and Mako are both five shades of nervous when they sit down and let giddy scientists place the Pons on their heads. They're already attached to several different medical machines, their vitals being displayed for the entire room. The neurologist even has them hooked up to an EEG. For old time's sake, Tendo monitors the readouts of the actual Pons system and makes the announcement, "Neural handshake established."
Drifting like this is different from drifting for combat or the simulations. They have all the time in the world just to wander each other's minds without the pressuring thoughts of the upcoming fight. They can completely relax into their headspace and not process the outside world. They've each done it before, it was part of training back in the day, but there's never been an opportunity for this since Raleigh and Mako became the unit of Raleigh-Mako-Gipsy Danger, later to be only Raleigh-Mako
Mako closes her eyes and loses herself in the Drift. She wanders through a thin grove of trees turning orange-yellow and plays on the tire swing he knew as a child. She smells homemade pumpkin pie (who knew that he had such a weakness?), and hears windchimes, and shares in the laughter of singing silly songs as a Cub Scout.
Raleigh watches as she closes her eyes and does the same. He plays in the ocean (back when it was clean and pure, or at least cleaner and purer), and tastes ramen and sake. He hears the sound of her father's forge, feels the embarrassment of spilling tea down her shirt in front of her crush, and touches the silk of her tiny, child-sized kimono.
They can hear the scientists "hmm"-ing and making comments about vitals and measurements and readouts, but they're distant to the sounds in the memories. They don't speak aloud, but they communicate in patterns of sounds and images with the occasional worded thought. It feels strange, at first, to be back in each other's minds, to hear the other's thoughts so fast.
Mako's nose itches, and the scientists note when they both raise their left hands to scratch. They write the event down on their pads
One of them (they'll never quite distinguish who, maybe it was both of them) thinks future? and they walk towards the door with the brass knob and push it open. They're in the realm of dreams now, where the senses are dulled, since there is no real stimuli to sense. They both fear the return of kaiju, though Raleigh worries more than Mako. They share their various scenarios: both of them in a Jaeger again, training new Rangers, the possibility of commanding a Shatterdome as the Marshals. She wonders if the food would be any better. He laughs
But what if they don't come back?
The scene blurs and Raleigh knows Mako is showing him her vision. He's never really thought about it anyway, since the Academy is home enough for him. But she sees a house with a little garden in the back and a tree in the front. A kitchen cabinet is full of tea, and the sofa is soft and long enough for Raleigh to stretch out on. The floors are hardwood, but there's a rug in the living room. There's a kitchen table, and also the lower table with the bamboo mats. We trade off, she explains. Framed photos, ones that Raleigh took, hang in the hallway. The curtains are drawn back and the windows are open to let in the breeze. They keep a few mementos of their PPDC days on a shelf in their bedroom, where a handmade looking quilt covers the double bed. He almost asks why, but she can hear his almost-question and stumbles an answer that is little more than flashes of emotion and the single word because.
He likes her dreamhouse, and he wraps his arms around her from behind so he can rest his chin on her head. She knows his chin feels pointier in real life
I think we should add my workshop over there. He points, and the building springs into existence in the backyard. He adds a cherry tree next to it. He has always wanted to see her surrounded by the pink blossoms, an image that he shares with her as he watches the tree grow and flower. (And anyway, he likes cherries.)
If only it were that fast in real life.
They laugh.
Anything else you want to add? she asks.
He builds a doghouse and adds a fluffy border collie.
That's a good idea. I never had one growing up, but I wanted a dog.
I know, he says. I'll even let you name her. Hopefully she never digs up your garden.
Mako frowns. We'll put up a fence. And sure enough, a wooden fence materializes around the garden.
The voice of a scientist cuts in, barely audible but also very loud. "Three minutes."
They make a final appraisal of the house, making little adjustments. He adds a vase of flowers to the table, and she adds a few beers to the refrigerator. They try adding three different blankets to the couch, but none satisfy. He says no to the idea of a cat. They reach the front door with the curtain pulled back from its glass window.
"One minute."
One other thing, thinks Raleigh. He's fallen in love with this future, with the idea of this house and being with her, and most importantly with her (he had long before he stepped into her dreamhouse), but he feels like something is missing and he wants to make it not-missed.
What?
Next to the shoes that are clearly his boots and her flats (and her heels, and her running shoes, who would have guessed she liked shoes so much?), he adds a small pair to the mat, then looks at her nervously. His question, not explicitly asked, echos in his head so loudly he's sure the scientists can hear it
(The scientists make a note of the spike in his pulse and blood pressure. A split-second after, Mako's go up too. They attribute it to the imminent disengagement, though the numbers are a little higher than they'd expect.)
She smiles and adds another, smaller, pair. Yes. Those feelings she for so long held in check, did her best to ignore, but never forgot, fill her and spill over into him
He returns the smile, and pulls her close against him, kissing her. But what he touches is just her dream-self, and suddenly he can't wait to leave the Drift, a thing he dreaded just moments ago.
That's my favorite of your additions. She grins. How did you plan that?
"Thirty Seconds."
How could I have planned that? You didn't show me this until now.
You didn't think about it? Her grin fades just a little
He responds with a flood of memories. She barely has time to process them all. He knows that she doesn't even try to look at some of them, she just does her best to store what she can.
"Ten. Nine." I'll see you on the other side. "Eight. Seven. Six." The scientist's voice becomes louder. "Five. Four." They head back to their respective minds. "Three. Two. One."
The machine turns all the way off, and reality assumes its normal place. They don't wait for the scientists to remove the devices from their heads, they pull them off themselves and cross the distance between their two chairs
Raleigh embraces Mako, picks her up and spins around. She laughs as she flies through the air
When her feet hit the floor again, she pulls his face towards hers and kisses him. A real kiss, their first kiss, and neither cares that Raleigh more or less proposed before it happened.
The scientists look at each other questioningly, confused by these actions. They've never seen this happen before.
Tendo hollers, "Finally!" and starts to clap. One by one, the scientists understand and join in his applause.
A/N: And with that little bit of cuteness, we conclude A Matter of Trust. Thank you to my readers, followers, and reviewers. Every one of your words means a lot to me.
~Still Waiting for Aliens