To Fight Monsters, We Created Monsters (Pacific Rim)

Chapter 13: Simple and Clean

As she turned to leave, Raleigh reached for her hand. His hand was rough against hers, but warm despite the weather. "Greyson. Thank you."

She tilted her head, confused. "What for?"

"For not hating me."

Their eyes met, and it was like experiences of the last five years apart came pouring out in the silence. Greyson could feel the air between them, filled with old feelings and new ones. Tension, forgiveness, kinship – and an old spark that attracted them together.

Unless that was just Raleigh's post-flight aura.

"Do me a solid and jump into the shower, eh? If you ever need my non-hating ass, I'm just across the hall." And then: "Be ready to meet the candidates at six hundred hours, Marshal's orders."

Giving Raleigh's hand a squeeze, Greyson turned on her heel and marched to her room directly across from his. She opened the door and ran a hand through her dark hair, thoughts flying.

Did she hate him? No, not anymore. A couple of years ago, maybe the answer would have been yes. He just... dropped off the face of the earth when they needed each other most. And now he's back, as if nothing happened.

Did she hate him? No. She couldn't find it in herself to. What she hated was the pain of having a hole in her heart that was shaped like the one they both lost. She hated being left alone, not willing to put trust in others until one man made her feel needed again.

The lieutenant turned around to close her door. Raleigh came into view, and that was when she saw them. The scars. They littered Raleigh's left shoulder, crossing over his torso and back. She hadn't seen them since the incident, and the burns in his skin were less angry. The patterns to the scars were only just visible, having healed enough to seem like light shadows.

Raleigh and Greyson stared at each other. His expression remained neutral, but his eyes were different. They were scared, perhaps a little nervous, but surely weren't something Greyson had grown used to seeing.

Was he afraid of her seeing his scars? Did he think they marked his failure of not saving his older brother? Maybe.

Greyson only nodded slightly as her hand reached for the door lock. "I'll see you in the morning, Rals," she said instead. A soft smile painted Raleigh's lips as he nodded to her. She plopped herself haphazardly onto her chilled mattress when the door shut.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

2025, January 3 – 04:27 – Hong Kong Shatterdome, Hong Kong, China

Greyson awoke to a session of knocks on her door. Grumbling to herself, she slid off the bed, sluggishly making her way to the door. Not bothering to see who had woken her, she opened it.

"What?" she snapped, yawning almost immediately.

The person that was at the door just laughed. "Sorry," he said, smothered by chuckles. "Did I wake you?"

"If it wasn't obvious," Greyson muttered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She blinked, meeting Raleigh Becket's gaze. He had on a new uniform sweater, fairly identical to hers. "Are you trying to steal my wardrobe on purpose, or what?" she joked.

Looking down, Raleigh pulled at the hem of his sweater. "Oh." Raising a brow, the Becket sported a cheeky grin. "I do pull it off better, don't you think?"

"And when I thought your ego couldn't have gotten any bigger, Mr. Becket." Greyson just scoffed before telling him to wait for her to freshen up.