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[setpoint]

This will look pretty later!

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[setpoint]

[She nods again, letting out another shaky breath, but his touch is relaxing her, slowly but surely. Without thinking, she smoothes her hand down his back, mimicking him.]

Yes. Sometimes I can't tell if they're your dreams or mine.

[wentnuclear]

[ That's... unexpected, and Raleigh isn't actually sure what to do with it. He shivers a little at being touched so simply after so long, affected even though he knows she's likely just mirroring him. Aiming to comfort in return now that they're dredging up his trauma as well. ]

No way to know for sure. You saw it, you felt it, they're just as much yours now. Sometimes I dream about Onibaba.

[setpoint]

[He shivers and she hesitates, not sure how to read that. After a second or so, she just keeps her hand still, rubbing her thumb against his skin softly. She's not sure if that's okay, but then he mentions Onibaba, and her attention shifts.]

You do?

[It really shouldn't be unexpected. Logically, Mako knows what the effects of drifting are. It isn't like they didn't go over them a million times in the academy, but experiencing that connection for herself is much, much different.]

[wentnuclear]

[ It's just cold, okay? Space is cold and he's practically naked. That's it! ]

Yeah. It happens. I've even heard of some co-pilots dreaming the same thing the same night, but I don't know if it's true. Never happened with me and Yancy, I don't think.

[setpoint]

[It's an odd thought. A few months ago, she might have thought of it as almost invasive, but with Raleigh, she doesn't.]

Do you know what I was dreaming about tonight?

[wentnuclear]

[ He shakes his head a little, feeling her hair brush against his cheek. ]

No idea. But I wasn't asleep.

[setpoint]

[Hmm.]

I really didn't wake you up?

[He said that she didn't, but she's still wondering if that was just to make her feel better.]

[wentnuclear]

Nope. You think I was trying to spare your feelings or something?

[ Sorry, he's just an insomniac. But maybe he can lighten the mood a little. ]

I'd be much crankier if you woke me.

[ Lies. ]

[setpoint]

[She lets out a soft, disbelieving huff.]

You wouldn't be.

[Because he never, ever seems to get cranky with her, even when she deserves it.]

You still haven't been sleeping well?

[wentnuclear]

Nah. I wouldn't.

[ He really is getting cold, though, and considering pulling away to go fetch his blanket off the floor. ]

The insomnia's always worse when I'm stressed. It'll pass.

[setpoint]

Is there anything I can do to help?

[wentnuclear]

[ Raleigh's brow furrows a little, not that she can see his face at the moment. He never really found a way to cope with this either. ]

I don't know. Nothing's really worked before. But I'm freezing, so...

[ Yeah, he's very reluctantly pulling away and leaning down to grab his blanket, wrapping it around his shoulders like a cloak and then settling back on the edge of her bed. He's not going anywhere, just was sort of turning into a popsicle. ]

[setpoint]

[She can't hide her disappointment when he pulls away, and she's not sure how to reinitiate the contact, or if she even should. After a second, she shoves her nerves aside and leans her shoulder into his carefully. This is fine, right?]

Would taking the bed more often help?

[wentnuclear]

[ Oh. Okay, yes, this is fine. The angle is awkward, though, he should... hold on. He's gonna turn the other way, so they're facing the same direction instead of each other and he can wrap the blanket around her shoulders too. Once she grabs that end he does drop his arm, but only to settle it loosely around her waist. She can keep leaning. ]

We had a deal. It's not the floor that's the problem.

[setpoint]

[Oh. She wasn't expecting that. It makes her heart skip a beat, but she tries to ignore that. This is fine. It doesn't mean anything at all.]

Is it just the dreams? Is your arm bothering you?

[wentnuclear]

[ He might as well just get in the damn bed at this point, it'd be warmer for them both, but they're in their underwear and he is a gentleman who doesn't want to make her uncomfortable.

This line of questioning is kind of frustrating, though, because he honestly doesn't know. ]

Mako, I don't... maybe?

[setpoint]

[His frustration is pretty obvious, ghost drift or no.]

I'm sorry. It must be exhausting.

[wentnuclear]

[ He exhales heavily through his nose, trying to compose himself a little. Getting frustrated helps nothing. In fact that usually makes it even harder to rest, the nights where he's angry at himself for not being able to sleep. ]

It is. But it's also nothing new. I'm fine.

[setpoint]

[Mako nods, but doesn't say anything. She has an idea, although it's probably an awful one, and if he reacts badly she might die, but... she's still shaken up, and she really doesn't want him to leave.]

...We could share the bed tonight.

[wentnuclear]

[ Mako suggests sharing the bed, which in nearly a month here they've never even discussed, though he's sure thought about it. And what expectations it could imply. He goes still and quiet, then remembers that breathing is necessary to life and he should be doing that at least. ]

...it's big enough. [ He says it carefully, agreeably, logically. ] And it'd be warmer.

[ She's not suggesting anything besides comfort, it's fine. This won't be weird at all. ]

[setpoint]

[She is suggesting more than that, even if she tells herself she's not.]

We can share the blankets, too.

[Because this is totally about warmth.]

[wentnuclear]

Yeah. Okay, scoot over.

[ He lets go of her and gets up again, but this time to take his blanket and drape it on the bed properly, on top of hers. Another moment to snag his pillow and then he's setting it in the space she's made for him and climbing in beside her under the covers. The mattress is already warm from her body and he has a little pang of worry that she must be on a cold spot now, but they'll be better off in a minute. He snuggles down facing her, tugging the blankets up to their shoulders. ]

[setpoint]

[Mako settles down, curling up under the blankets, and it's only when he's finally settled down too that their proximity hits her. She didn't fully think this through, and now her heart is racing and she desperately hopes he can't sense it. She still has to fight the urge to snuggle closer.]

Is this okay?

[wentnuclear]

[ Well he thought it was okay. It is not okay?! He's weirdly nervous all of a sudden and it feels like it's coming from Mako, because he wasn't actually worried until just now. Is she afraid he won't keep his hands to himself? Because that's actually kind of hard to argue when his instinct at feeling her nerves is to reach out again. Hmm. ]

If it's not you can kick me back to the floor.

[ Or maybe she's just feeling kind of trapped, being against the wall? ]

Would you rather have this side?

[setpoint]

[She shakes her head insistently.]

No. I'm fine.

[And then, before she can quite think about it, she gives in just a little and reaches for his hand. She can't shake her nerves, which is ridiculous, because this is Raleigh. They've been in each other's heads. She's never felt this comfortable around anyone, except when they're in circumstances like this and she's second guessing herself.]

Thank you for waking me up.