driftsolo | for striker

You know, Raleigh is the kind of guy that's fairly forgiving. He can admit when he's wrong, when he's fucked up, and when he needs to forgive and just forget.

This? Not gonna forgive, not gonna forget.

He'd looked the other way when they stole kisses and held hands. He'd lied for them, blocked them from view, helped cover for them when they went on their little trips to Hong Kong and Australia and wherever the fuck else they went.

Now, he feels betrayed. It's irrational and ridiculous, but when Raleigh finds out that Herc knocked Mako up and then asked her to marry him?

He's pissed.

And honestly, he only knows because Mako told him -- mercifully, it's not a rumor that's circulating but it's still something that makes his blood boil. It seems some kind of disservice to her, like Herc didn't fucking respect her enough to ask her to marry him months ago, and now this happened.

Fucking dick.

So when Raleigh sees him in the hallway, he marches straight towards him, murder in his eyes.

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Mako sighs a little and gently presses back against him, her hand slowly reaching to grasp his. The ring is clearly visible, sparkling in the early morning light.

"The things he said were not right." Not in any way. Not at all. "It was not his place. I do not blame you."

He holds her hand tightly, staring down at her ring, trying to make himself listen to her and absorb what she's saying.

It's hard, though, because there's a part of him that agrees with Raleigh.

"I want him to be okay with this," he says quietly. "He's your copilot. He's important to you."

"He needs time," she says quietly, squeezing his hands back.

"Do you remember when he first found out? He was angry, but it got better. This will get better too."

She's just going to have to knock some sense into him.

"Yeah, I guess."

He sighs quietly.

"Is he going to be angry about everything that we do?" Because that's going to be exhausting and just generally too much to handle. Plus, explaining to the kids why Uncle Raleigh keeps punching their dad whenever something new happens in their life is going to get old, fast.

"No. You caught him off guard this time. We both did." She hesitates a little.

"He knew," she's gesturing to her belly, "before you. The Drift, it has always been very strong with us. I think maybe he even knew before I did." Might be why Raleigh suddenly decided that Miracle needed a lot of work. In his own way, he protected her.

"He knew?"

He lifts his head off her shoulder and stares at her, oddly hurt by the realization. Sure, they hadn't planned the pregnancy, and sure, there had been that moment where neither of them was sure what was going to happen, but still. It's his baby, he had wanted to know about it first.

"We Drifted a few times before I realized something was off," she says gently, looking over at him. "And then I suspected, and..."

Well.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

He's still hurt by the realization. Also because that means Raleigh was angry at him for something he hadn't even known he'd done, which is kind of a dick move. It's not like he knocked her up on purpose.

He sighs and levers himself to his feet.

"I should get dressed."

"Hercules..."

She's looking up at him from her seat on the bed, a helpless look on her face. She's managed to hurt him, and she doesn't know how to fix it.

"It's not your fault," he repeats, leaning in to press a kiss to her hair.

It really isn't her fault. It just means that the special — albeit terrifying — realization that they were going to be parents was had by someone other than him first, and that kind of stings. What if they had decided not to keep the baby? Would Raleigh have come barging down the hallway and hit him anyway? Would he have stopped at just the one hit?

Probably not.

It's just the nature of the Drift, that there are no secrets between you, even if you don't really realize what your secret is.

It just hurts to remember that her secrets are hers and someone elses', that he'll never get to share that with her. That he'll never be able to Drift again.

"I'm going to shower and then try to shave. You don't have to stay here, sweetheart."

She's not really comforted, but she appreciates the words and the kiss.

"Okay."

She's getting to her feet as well, understanding why he's hurt but at the same time nursing her own stings. She hadn't meant to hurt him, and she shouldn't have said anything, shouldn't have reminded him.

"I should shower. I have work to do."

She smoothes at her clothes and heads towards his door, pausing only to dip her head in acknowledgment.

"I will see you later."

You'd think he'd have come to terms with the fact that he can't Drift anymore.

And he has, sort of. He just hasn't really come to terms with the fact that the woman he loves, the woman he plans to marry, is going to be Drifting with another man. Another man who wants her to be more than just his copilot, even if Raleigh never has and probably never will make a move in that direction. Herc isn't worried about that, he's confident Mako wouldn't cheat on him and he's just as confident that Raleigh wouldn't try to make her, but still.

It's like emotional cheating, or something. It won't matter how much they talk or what secrets they tell each other, there will always be another man out there who knows Mako better than he will.

And that sucks.

"Thanks for staying with me," he says before she leaves. "I really appreciate it."

His thought process might as well be broadcast across the room right now with a bullhorn - the moment his attitude changed everything shifted, and realization dawned on Mako, settling on her shoulders like the heavy press of too-heavy weights.

"Of course." She mumbles as she slips out. "Anytime."

And she means that, really.

For now though, she's going to go to her room and have her own cry in private, where no one can see her weakness. She'll deal with Raleigh later, when he inevitably comes tapping at her door to apologize for being the worlds biggest dickhead and losing his temper, but until then, she's going to rest on her bed, thankful that it's a day 'off', and cry.

for striker_eureka

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