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The first time they kiss, they are exhausted but high on emotion and adrenaline and Mako still tastes of saltwater. She sighs into Raleigh’s mouth, rests her hands on his cheeks to keep him close as if he had the slightest desire to pull away. Even when their lips part, he doesn’t move back; he stays there, rests his forehead against hers like they had done out there in the ocean, feels her hint of a smile.
“You’re dripping,” he says eventually, means it innocently although as soon as the words are out of his mouth he’s imagining something very different, “you should change out of your armor. I mean, you survived the kaiju war, you wouldn’t want to die of pneumonia.”
Mako chuckles and kisses him again. “And we should rest,” she adds, stroking a hand through Raleigh’s hair. They separate reluctantly, though not far, and Raleigh clasps her hand in his as they walk to their quarters and doesn’t let go until they part at their separate doors. Mako smiles at him over her shoulder before she goes into her room, a small, secretive little thing that makes Raleigh’s breath catch. She’s the most amazing woman he knows, and so, so beautiful. There’s time for that, now. Time for them.
Raleigh shucks his body armor, distracted and half-hard. He’s considering jerking off when there’s a knock at his door: Mako. He lets her in and realizes only belatedly how he must look when she sweeps a slow glance up and down the length of his body; his boxers don’t hide much. She is much more covered, in a tank top and sweats.
“Uh, I can put some clothes on,” he offers, but she just shrugs.
“I don’t mind, I like the way you look. I thought I might stay, though, if that is all right with you.”
“Of course it is.”
Mako nods and climbs into his bed, pressing back against the wall so there will be room for him as well. It’s a tight fit, but after you’ve shared someone’s mind sharing a bed hardly seems like an intimacy. Mako pillows her head against Raleigh’s shoulder and draws a long breath.
“You smell like Gipsy,” she murmurs. Raleigh makes a noise of agreement and bends his head, stealing a kiss despite the awkward angle. Mako allows it, tilts her face up to meet him more easily. They linger like that, unhurriedly exploring one another’s mouths; Mako kisses like the act is unfamiliar– and he’s pretty sure it mostly is– but it’s kind of hot, her careful exploration of what he likes and what she likes, and she’s a quick learner. His hips arc up involuntarily, but Mako presses them back with a gentle but firm hand and breaks the kiss to look at him.
“I want to be clear,” she says, “I didn’t come here to have sex with you.”
Raleigh had kind of guessed as much. “Okay. But the kissing is fine?”
She smiles indulgently. “The kissing is good.”
“Yeah,” he agrees, reeling her back in. “I can control myself, promise. But there’s no way it’s not gonna turn me on.”
Their noses bump together, and Mako briefly catches his bottom lip between her teeth. “I know. I just–”
“You wanted to make sure we were on the same page. I get it.” Raleigh twines his fingers in her hair. “We are. Of course we are.” He smiles up at her. “Kiss me again?”
She obliges, and obliges, and they trade kisses until they fall asleep.
There is less time after that first night– there are celebrations, but mostly there is still work to be done, ambassadors and press to talk to, people to grieve. Mako buries herself in the work and spends much of the rest of her time with Herc. Raleigh gets it; he could never begrudge her the time to mourn her losses. He’s there if and when she wants him, and he knows she knows that. They still spend nights together, often, but he knows she needs time. Maybe he does too.
She gestures to him across the mess hall a couple weeks later and wordlessly leads him back to the spot they had eaten at together after that disastrous first drift, looking out at Gipsy Danger. There’s only the empty bay now, of course, and maybe it’s stupid to miss a machine but he does anyway.
They eat their meal in comfortable silence, sitting close enough for Mako to press their calves together. Only when they’re done and have pushed their trays aside does she speak.
“The night you sealed the breach–”
“The night we sealed the breach,” Raleigh interrupts, and she inclines her head slightly.
“The night we sealed the breach, I told you I didn’t want to have sex.”
“I remember.”
“I just meant, not then. I wasn’t– well. You know what it was like.”
“Yeah.” Raleigh smiles slowly. “Is this you asking me to sleep with you?”
“Yes.”
“As if I’d say no.” He leans over to press a slow, gentle kiss to her lips. “Whenever you want us to.”
“I’ve never done it before.”
“I know. I mean, I was pretty sure.” Raleigh taps her temple lightly. “Thanks for telling me, though.”
Mako smiles at him. “Tonight, then?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Mako knocks on the door at at 21:00, and Raleigh can’t deny that he feels a little nervous about it. He’s never been anyone’s first, and it’s Mako. He wants so much to make sure it’s good for her. Special.
If Mako is nervous, though, she gives no sign. She smiles delightedly against Raleigh’s lips as she presses him down on his bed and climbs on top of him. He’s perfectly content to let her set their pace; she’s doing a damn fine job of it so far, taking her time so that heat simmers in the pit of his stomach.
“Mako,” he breathes, when she drops her attentions from his mouth to the notch of his jaw, the side of his neck, kisses and teasing bites. Raleigh reaches to fit his hands to her hips, but she brushes them aside instead to pull his shirt off of him with a pleased noise.
“I heard somewhere that you like how I look,” Raleigh teases, and Mako laughs but also thumps him hard on the shoulder and tightens her teeth a little more forcefully on the patch of skin at the base of his throat. He groans a little, dick twitching at the dull impact, and the sound turns protesting when she climbs off of him.
“Take your pants off,” Mako says, and Raleigh fumbles hastily to obey. It’s frankly a little difficult, though, when she’s stripping off her clothes as well. Mako is petite but strong and sleek, her skin as smooth as satin and her gaze somewhere between desirous and tender. It feels like she’s been made just for him, or he just for her.
“You’re so beautiful,” Raleigh says hoarsely, reeling her back in so they are skin to skin, touching everywhere they can along the lengths of their bodies. “Mako, tell me what you want, anything.”
She rubs against him, a delicious slide of skin, then kneels up. “Turn over?”
He does as she asks, and Mako kneads her hands down his shoulders and back and then lower. Raleigh arches into the contact with an encouraging murmur, then jolts when her hand suddenly comes down sharply on the swell of his ass.
“Jesus, Mako!” He twists to look at her; her expression is mild, but there’s a hint of a smug smile curling her lips.
“Problem?”
“I thought you’d never– how did you know I–”
Mako taps her temple, properly grinning now. “Your safeword is drop.”
“Fuck,” he says on a hard release of breath, then gets his hands and knees under him, braced. “Fuck, okay, yes. Use your fists.” He’ll be bruised when they’re done, bruised from her. He can’t imagine wanting anything more than he wants that, to feel the dull ache in his body and know that she put it there.
Mako doesn’t keep a rhythm, scattering blows over his ass and thighs and varying her force. It leaves Raleigh strung tight with anticipation and focused completely on the things Mako is doing to his body, the feeling of each strike. She soothes over the spots she hits with her other hand, sometimes, but when she reaches down to stroke his cock instead he moans desperately and twitches as his body both tries to push into the touch and pull away.
“Gonna come if you do that,” he gasps. Sometimes he can get off just from being hit, but that and her touching him? No way he’d last. “Mako...”
“Shh. You have condoms?”
Raleigh nods and jerks his head toward the nightstand, then rolls over on to his back as Mako gets one out. She rips open the foil and then hands it to him, watching intently as he rolls it down on his cock.
“C’mere. Let me get you ready.”
“I am ready,” Mako answers, and when he slips a hand between her legs he finds her already slick and wet for him. She makes a low noise of pleasure and tips her head back when Raleigh slides a finger into her. “I said I hadn’t had sex,” she adds, “not that I’ve never touched myself.”
That’s a mental image that will stay with Raleigh for a long, long time. It must show on his face, because she adds, “I’ll show you sometime. But not now.”
“Mako,” he moans helplessly, “please, Mako, let me–”
“Shh. We need the same thing, Raleigh,” she murmurs. She lets him roll them both over and hooks her legs up over his hips in silent invitation. Her brow creases slightly when Raleigh presses carefully inside her, but she shows no sign of pain.
“You okay?”
“Yes. Please.”
Raleigh surges forward and kisses her, because how can he not? They find their rhythm here as easily as in a jaeger, and Mako is quiet but she takes soft, gasping little breaths and rocks up to meet him on every thrust. Only when she comes does she make noise, a low keening moan as her body clutches at him and her head falls back on the pillow, laying bare the pale column of her throat. Raleigh joins her, overwhelmed and right there with her like he’ll always be, and then they lie together, panting and tangling up their limbs.
“That was... not how I expected that to go,” he admits when he has his breath back.
“No? Better or worse?” she teases.
“Fucking amazing. You don’t waste time, do you?”
“Why would I want to?”
Raleigh shakes his head. “Point taken. It was– I mean, you liked it too, right?”
“It was the best first time I could ask for,” she replies, because she knows exactly what he means. “I’m going to have lots of firsts with you, Raleigh Becket.”
“God, I love you.” The words slip out without Raleigh meaning them to, but Mako just snuggles closer and kisses him long and deep.
“I love you too. You know that.”
He does.