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[wentnuclear]

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[wentnuclear]

Hmm... French music. Poetry. Traveling and getting lost in the culture, learning new languages and finding the best little restaurants. Winter sunrises. Tawny port and hard candy, but not at once.

What about you?

[setpoint]

[She's assuming he means "besides mechanics and engineering", so...]

Um... I like music, and poetry. I liked the street food in Hong Kong, and stout beer.

[What else?]

I used to get up to watch the sunrise from the helipad, and my favorite thing about Alaska was the snow. I've always wanted a cat, but I could never have one.

[wentnuclear]

[ It's actually sort of surprising to him, how some things they like are lining up. He wouldn't have guessed they were opposites, exactly, but neither that there were so many similarities. Drifting, Mako felt more like a complement to him than a match, but that was exactly what he needed. Compatibility wasn't a complex thing. ]

...so we're getting a cat.

[ Then he realizes how that sounded. Whoops. Uh. ]

I mean. We're getting you one. Wherever you want to settle, after all this. Have you ever thought about that?

[ Raleigh never had, but Yancy did. He'd loved Hungary. Maybe Mako would want to go back to Japan? ]

[setpoint]

[Uh-huh. Sure, Raleigh. She vastly prefers the "we".]

...I'm not sure. All I ever focused on was becoming a pilot. Have you thought about it?

[wentnuclear]

Nah. Like I told you before the mission, I've never really thought about the future. About there being an 'after' anything. There was just what I was doing now.

I feel like that's finally changed.

[setpoint]

[He said that before, too, and she's not entirely sure how to take it.]

What do you think you'd like to do?

[wentnuclear]

[ Okay, this is... difficult to spit out, but it's also the only answer he has. He hadn't really come up with anything specific in the moment, any places he wanted to go or things he wanted to do. He'd just known that whatever he did do, he wanted it to be with Mako. ]

I want to stay with you.

Obviously we're stuck here for now, but if we get home I guess... maybe I'd like to see my mom's hometown, in France? And yours in Japan. And I want to build something meant for people instead of monsters.

[setpoint]

Oh.

[She says it without thinking, soft and surprised. It's what she wants, too—she can't imagine losing him when she's only just found him, when he understands her on a level no one else has, but she's been afraid he might not feel the same way. In the grand scheme of things, they haven't even known each other that long, even if the drift makes things so much more intense.

Mako hesitates, then reaches for his hand.]

...I'd like that, if you're sure.

[wentnuclear]

[ Oh good, she took that well. Raleigh squeezes her hand, nodding at her. ]

Honestly? I don't think I've ever been so sure of anything.

[setpoint]

[Mako absolutely beams at him, even as her heart skips a beat. She can't pilot anymore, and honestly, she's not sure where that leaves her, but if Raleigh is there, it won't be nearly as overwhelming. Maybe it's okay that she doesn't know. They can figure it out together.]

Me too. What do you want to build?

[wentnuclear]

No clue.

[ But the way he's smiling, he obviously doesn't consider the lack of ideas a problem. He's got the skill, the rest he can figure out along the way. ]

We don't need to have all the answers at once.

[setpoint]

You don't have any idea at all?

[She's still smiling, voice almost teasing. He's right, she thinks, but she's also curious. She can't help it.]

[wentnuclear]

Not really. Just no more walls. Physical or metaphorical.

[setpoint]

[She nods. That sounds like a good plan, albeit vague.]

France, then.

[wentnuclear]

Do you know any French? We could get a head start.

[setpoint]

No. [Well.] Only the words that everyone knows.

[wentnuclear]

Then I'll teach you. Your accent might clash a little, French needs some sounds Japanese just doesn't have. But I know a trick for that.

Do you sing?

[setpoint]

[Oh. Well.]

Sometimes when I'm alone.

[wentnuclear]

Well I know a ton of French songs. It's the best way to practice the difficult sounds. I remember when I was learning as a kid and couldn't get them right speaking yet, I could still sing along with my mother.

[setpoint]

...Okay. I'll try.

[Only for you, Raleigh. She'd never sing for anyone else for any reason.]

[wentnuclear]

What kind of music do you like?

[setpoint]

Have you ever heard of Towa Tei?

[wentnuclear]

[ That's a no! Raleigh shakes his head, waiting for her to tell him what genre it is so he can pick something he knows that might be similar. ]

[setpoint]

He's a DJ. He was part of an electronic band.

[But!]

I like pop, too.

[wentnuclear]

[ Raleigh tilts his head, thinking. Then clears his throat and starts to hum, the beginning of j'ai demandé à la lune by Indochine. When he hits the lyrics, his voice is low and gentle, and the song is pretty. There are in fact a number of consonant sounds in it Mako will probably need practice at, which is the point. ]