Citron tea

Raleigh meets the Cherno Alpha pilots and discusses things from a softer time.
==Kindling==
-December 31, 2024; Hong Kong Shatterdome-
Raleigh meets Stacker's brightest with his normal reserve and she rekindles the fire buried under layer after layer of grief.
She sparks it even further when she tells Stacker, in Japanese, "I imagined him differently."
"Better or worse?" he [replies and now the fire ignites], swirling and waiting for battle. It cools down during the walk, bracketed by Gipsy's happy calm.
She wants to show Raleigh something and she fidgets along the bond they share; he hasn't felt her this eager in years.
You really like this one.
I want you to see what she did.
Okay, Gips, lemme follow your lead. Raleigh falls into his old role, his cocky pilot façade. That's all the attitude is to him; a veneer few people try to break through.
"Stay back! Kaiju specimens are extremely rare so look but don't touch, please!"
The squeaky voice has Gipsy growling with a metallic undertone. She doesn't like him.
"Mr. Becket, this is our research team, Dr. Gottlieb and Dr. Geiszler."
Raleigh looks them over and something niggles at the back of his mind about one of the names. He ignores it in favor of paying attention to the K-Sci team.
"Aww, nah. Call me Newt." The squeaky doctor comments as he huffs and pulls off his jacket. "Only my mother calls me Doctor. Hermann, these are human beings; why don't you come say hello?"
Raleigh cocks his head to the side because he knows the parka trying to swallow the other scientist but his memory refuses to cooperate after the exhausting flight.
The pair bicker, the taller of the two in a low voice laced with venom.
Newt (as the man insists) rolls up his sleeve and Raleigh recognizes the stylized Kaiju tattooed on his forearm.
"Who is that? Yamarashi?" he asks softly, knowing that even though he and Yancy had beheaded the damn thing with a crane cable there had been massive casualties before they'd killed it. He wonders faintly if it's a memorial tattoo.
"Oh this little Kaiju?! Yeah, you've got a good eye!"
"My brother an' I took him down in 2017." Something tells Raleigh this guy has no idea what he's talking about in real terms, definitely not the lives the Kaiju had taken.
"You know he was one of the biggest Category IIIs ever? He was two thousand five hundred tons of awesome."
The statement further lowers Raleigh's opinion of the asshole. He sees Ms. Mori exchange a look with the Marshal that speaks volumes as he swings his baleful gaze towards Dr. Geiszler.
"Or awful," Geiszler backpedals with a shrug.
"Please excuse him, he's a Kaiju groupie. He loves them." Dr. Gottlieb snarls.
"I don't love them, Hermann, okay?! I study them and, unlike most people, I wanna see one up close someday."
Raleigh watches to see where the Marshal and Ms. Mori were going before he turns to face Dr. Geiszler with the most serious expression he could muster without spitting in the man's face.
"Trust me, you don't wanna," he practically growls, gripping the little man's shoulder, wanting to shake him for his stupidity.
That's the Groupie Dad argues with.
Yeah? I don't envy your Dad, Gips, if he has to work with that utter moron.
Amen to that, my Ranger, she snorts as they take in the Jaeger Bays with a wash of nostalgia. My siblings!
Yeah? The faint tug of a smile at his lips makes him feel more at home here, where Shaolin's crew used to work. He spots the Bay they'd repaired Gipsy in years ago. We met the Shaolin an' HB I crews here in '18.
Typhoon, Alpha and Striker. Striker was so mad at that Wall-Breaking Kaiju! Zher wanted to stab it to death, but zher's Rangers said no; too much Blue if they let zher do what zhe wanted, Gipsy points out and Raleigh snickers along the link.
Sounds like zher wanted an outlet for zher's anger, he murmurs mentally as they pass the Typhoon team and Cherno Alpha's as well. Raleigh can feel his Asperger's categorizing everything, taking in every last thing with an eye for detail that would put a hawk to shame.
Zher wants to know if we cuddle like zhe does.
Cuddle?
Gipsy sends a flash of Striker Eureka holding the smaller of zher's pilots close.
We never got the chance.
I know.
The feeling of deprivation has him holding her as close as possible via bond. Not your fault; it's never your fault. It's the damn Kaiju that are to blame.
But I never would have met you if it wasn't for them, Gipsy points out in a quiet voice.
Raleigh hums in acknowledgement as he listens to the Marshal rattle off the sort of technical information he loves to know. Yeah. I got you outta them.
Ms. Mori smiles behind her clipboard as the Marshal recites info she's probably heard a hundred times before; Raleigh cocks his head to the side because part of him knows this woman from somewhere but he can't connect the dots for the life of him. Gispy pulses comfort and reassurance as he searches his own mind in frustration.
He learns of the plan and then...
"There she is," Ms. Mori announces softly.
There you are. Raleigh echoes.
Here I am. Gipsy's heart warms.
He's barely keeping stopping himself from running straight for his beautiful, blue girl.
Ms. Mori's a miracle worker and she knows it.
"Look at her. Gipsy Danger. God, she's so beautiful. She looks like new." Raleigh sets his hands on the railing and smiles for the first time that day.
"Better than new, she has a double core nuclear reactor. She's one of a kind now."
"She always was."
Gipsy purrs, says, Now listen to Ms. Mori, my Ranger.
A familiar voice graces his ears with, "How do you like the ride, Becket boy? Solid iron hull, no alloys. Forty acres of muscle span and a new fluid synam system." The same swagger as the last time Raleigh'd seen him, only there's a blinding grin as well.
"Tendo!" He engulfs his oldest friend into a hug and sighs as Tendo pats him the same as ever.
"Good to see you, buddy." he knows his voice wobbles a bit but Tendo seems to understand as he slings an arm around Raleigh's shoulders.
"It's good to see you too, brother. It's just like old times." Raleigh gives Tendo a soft smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. Tendo presses his forehead to Raleigh's in an apologetic gesture and they stand together for a long moment.
.
"May I show you to your room?" asks Ms. Mori.
"Layout hasn't changed that much in five years, I don't think," Raleigh grins.
"Very well; I will see you at 0600 hours." She bows.
He does too.
"Good day." Turns on her heel, clicks down the hall.
"Thank you!" Raleigh calls.
She doesn't look back.
But Gipsy's right there and holding him close.
He nudges her back with a wash of affection. You're back!
You're back!
Oh, you look amazing, doll! Ms Mori did a damn good job an' if I didn't care what she thought, I might kiss her. It would be plain bad manners an' rude ta boot if I did it without her permission.
Good choice my Ranger. She might end up flipping you over her shoulder. She's amazing in the Kwoon from what the J-Techs said.
Think we can sneak in a cuddle?
Oh, my Ranger, how I wish we could but with so much to do in so little time there's no way to clear the hanger.
Too bad.
She thinks of all the things attached to hugs.
Yancy woulda loved to see you again.
I know.
A quiet thought.
Feels kinda like a reminder.
Don't get cocky.
.
"Raleigh, come sit with us." Herc Hansen and the man hasn't changed one bit over the years. Yancy envies him a little for that.
"No, I'm okay. Thank you." he keeps his reply short, trying to sit where the memories won't bother him too much.
"Oh, come on, there's plenty o' room at our table."
He decides that Hansen the Younger has an issue with him the second Herc sets the tray in front of Yancy. Switching hands is barely a thought as he takes his first bite. Yancy has to admit that Shatterdome food is nice after so much rationing on the Wall; he keeps his mouth shut on the fact that he's Yancy because Tendo keeps calling him Raleigh.
"I haven't seen bread in a while." he admits, bracing himself for conversation. He never was fond of being the center of attention.
"Hong Kong. Beauty of an open port, no rations. Potatoes, beans, sweet peas, decent meatloaf," Herc shrugs as he digs into his food as well. "Can you pass the potatoes?" The guy next to Yancy hands them over as Herc continues, "Raleigh, this is my son Chuck. He's my co-pilot now."
Yancy knows that Herc noticed his hand movement and he swears that he heard a familiar gasp when he did so. Maybe Hermann was here in this last-ditch effort. Knowing the Doc, it was probably true but Yancy hadn't seen him yet.
"He's more my co-pilot. Right, dad? So, you're the guy, huh? You're the guy who's gonna run defense for me in that old rust bucket of yours?" Chuck sneered at Yancy and he was so, so very tempted to reach across the table and slap the kid.
"That's the plan." he murmured as he turned his attention to his tray. Pietr wouldn't appreciate it if Yancy smushed Chuck's head into the pile of potatoes and Yancy reigned in his temper.
"Good. So, when was the last time you drifted, man?" The smug look wasn't helping anything but Yancy had years of putting up with Jazzy's attitude so he drew on his well of patience.
"'Bout five years ago." Yancy was blunt and honest, something Raleigh never would've done. Herc gave him an odd look.
"What have you been doing for five years? Something pretty important I reckon." Chuck stubbornly refused to let go of the topic.
"I was in construction." he stated flatly, his jaw clenching as he remained polite.
"Oh, that's great. I mean, that's really useful. You know, we get into a fight you can build our way out of there, hey, Ray?" The cheek of that little-Oh, that kid was pushing in places he didn't even understand were scorched beyond repair.
"It's Raleigh." He bites out with a stiff posture.
"Whatever. Look, you're Pentecost's bright idea. My old man, he seems to like you, but it's guys like you who brought down the Jaeger program. To me, you're dead weight." Chuck stands, his body saying more than his face was at the moment. "You slow me down, I'm gonna drop you like a sack of Kaiju shit." He gives Yancy a sarcastic wink followed by, "I'll see around, Rahleigh. Come on, Max."
The strut out of the hall (there's no way Yancy's calling it anything else) has him shaking his head.
"I'd give a wide berth with that one. I raised him on me own, he's a smart kid, but I never knew whether to give him a hug or a kick in the ass." Herc sighed as he took a bite of his mashed potato.
"With respect, sir, I'm pretty sure which one he needs," Yancy snorted dryly as he continued to eat.
"Awkward supper is awkward," mutters Yancy as he's heading back to his room.
I dunno what Striker's talking about, Gipsy huffs. That kid needs a kick in the ass, not a hug.
You're damn right.
Like this? Gipsy presents a stunning visual of a martial arts movie.
Just like that, Yancy replies smugly. And please don't tell me I ever sauntered like that brat.
You never sauntered like that brat.
You are a cruel friend, Gipsy. Cruel.
.
==Sleepover==
-January 1, 2025-
Raleigh wanders the hallways of the Shatterdome, marking certain corners with a bit of chalk he found in his quarters as a guide for the HK Dome. He's not watching where he's going and bumps into someone much larger than himself.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," he apologizes, looking up to locate a face.
"You were brought here for the reborn Jaeger." The thickly accented English has Raleigh smiling into Yancy's grey scarf.
"Yeah," Raleigh replies in Russian. "Lt. Kaidanovsky, right?"
"Ah! You speak Russian very well. Please, just Aleksis. We are not on duty and I do not care much for titles." Aleksis brightens as he speaks his native tongue and Raleigh can't help but smile with him. "I would like to know you better. Do you drink tea?"
"Sure. When I can get my hands on it." Raleigh hums as he falls into step with Aleksis.
"Good, good. Sasha is with our little bird now." Aleksis is warm and surprisingly happy for a Jaeger pilot.
"Little bird?" Raleigh asks in confusion.
"He is an old friend." The large hands gesture expressively as the man walks and talks at the same time. "Come, come, inside. It is not as cold here as it is in Vladivostok but I like warm things and now I have an excuse."
"Is this because we're both runnin' defense on this bomb run?" he asks as he sits gingerly on a deep green cushioned chair, having hung up his jacket and Yancy's scarf on the coat rack.
"Somewhat. We have worked with Weis and Hansens before but never Beckets. I like to know the people I work with and my Sasha agrees," comes the response.
"You guys are really close." He thinks that they have technopathy but keeps that thought to himself.
"She is my sunshine," Aleksis states quietly with a wistful smile. "Hmm. All I have is Korean tea from Nova Hyperion's pair. Is that okay?"
"It's fine."
Alpha says hi.
Thought Jaegers couldn't communicate with other pilots? he projects confusion down the bond.
Gipsy laughs softly as she presses back reassurance. Not directly, no, but through other sentient Jaegers. It's complicated.
"... I get the feeling you have an unusual Jaeger." Aleksis' words are hesitant, testing the waters.
"I'm pretty sure they're chasing each other through their frames." Raleigh laughs as Aleksis pours hot water into mugs. "Gips tells me they woke up the same year an' that's why they're closer than the others."
Aleksis stirs in two scoops of the citron, making sure the chunks of lemon and orange stay on the bottom like they're supposed to do. "Alpha is... like our child. He is innocent in ways the others are not." Aleksis sighs as he cradles his large mug close.
"Gips is a bit jaded but I think that's because of my farce of a trial," Raleigh concedes as he brushes Gipsy while she giggles with Alpha. "They're incredible but I'm amazed they're here at all."
"Yes, Sasha and I have wondered as well but no answer seems... plausible."
"Coyote said something about the AI interacting with the Pons and the Drift. He's close to figuring it out, I think." Raleigh hums as he takes a long drink of his tea.
"I see. Alpha has been talking with his older siblings more recently. They say that Coyote and Brawler were working with Dr. Lightcap."
"Been a while for me though. Gipsy keeps me updated but my memory's... It's not what it used to be. I'm not always me anymore," he confesses quietly, almost a whisper but Aleksis hears him anyway. Raleigh's engulfed in a hug and he relaxes into the embrace with a sigh of relief.
"Hush. Here you are safe and we do not judge," comes the gentle reassurance. Raleigh buries his face into Aleksis's shoulder and dozes off for the first time in a long while in complete peace.
.
He wakes up slowly, inhaling the scent of Russian food and fresh bread. Raleigh blinks slowly as he realizes where he is; in Hong Kong with the Kaidanovskys.
"Kitten is awake, Aleksis. You deal with him, yes?"
"Becket?" The soft squeeze on his good arm has him burrowing back under whatever's covering him. "Becket, we have pelmeni and knish with kvass."
"Mmm, sounds good." Raleigh sits up and sees his 'blanket' is Aleksis' parka. "Why'd you say I'm a kitten?" He yawns, rubbing at his eyes sleepily as he takes in the steaming food. "I know that's not from the mess hall."
"No, Aleksis cooked it. You are Kitten because Yuri is a good friend of ours and asked we look out for you if you came here," Sasha replies as she brushes Raleigh's longer hair away from his face. "So young but your eyes tell a different tale."
"I've seen a lot of stuff no one has a right to survive but I have an' I'm still here," he murmurs as he leans into her touch. "Hurts a hell of a lot more than I thought it would."
"There is still hope in the world, Kitten. I promise you that much," she replies gently as she leads him to their table. "I invited the little bird but he has much work to do and cannot be separated from his boards."
"He searches for a way to get rid of the monsters that plague our world, sweet Sasha," Aleksis says with a firm nod. "We will bring him food after our dinner and make sure he eats."
"Good plan, my bear." Sasha hums as she spoons pelmeni and knish onto Raleigh's plate. "Eat. You will need your strength for practice."
"Practice?" He asks as he's cutting into the knish with a fork. Raleigh's eating faster than is probably socially acceptable but neither seems to mind.
"In the Kwoon. Yuri said you are fit but he is not sure if you remember the forms so Sasha and I have decided to help," Aleksis points out pragmatically. "We will practice after we bring the Doctor his food and you have digested yours."
"Oh. You'd be willing to do that?"
"Yuri is Aleksis' cousin. Of course we will help you; he spoke of you much in his letters home to his Mama," Sasha informs him with a wry grin. "Family helps family."
"Mother hen." Raleigh shakes his head at Yuri's thoughtfulness. He takes his last bite with a swallow of kvass to wash it down. "He took care of me for a long while."
"Yuri is a good man. A bit cat-crazy but he helps others willingly." She shakes her head with a fond smile.
"He took care of my cat." The response is soft and tired. "Don't think I c'n spar tonight."
"You are still tired. Sasha and I will escort you back to your quarters," Aleksis says as Sasha packs knish and pelmeni into a Tupperware container that's got Cyrillic writing on the lid. She pours the kvass into a thick mug that she caps with a plastic top.
"Sleepy kitten needs his own bed," Sasha points out as she shuffles her armful to the side.
Raleigh gets scooped up by Aleksis, a literal doll in the larger man's hands. He pillows his head on Aleksis' chest with a soft sigh.
The Kaidanovskys chit-chat about the Weis and how they're going to prank the triplets for the seventh time. Sasha giggles as she suggests yarn bunnies. Aleksis agrees with a hum that vibrates through his chest.
It's idle chatter, something Raleigh's no longer sure he can do. He curls up into a ball on his bed, blinking in surprise when he's handed Tulio. The stuffed husky is ratty due to the decades it's been in Raleigh's grip but he's grateful Aleksis went through his ruck to hand Tulio over. "Thanks."
"You are welcome." The soft press of lips against his forehead is something he hasn't felt in years.
A second, much scratchier press makes his shoulders go slack into the pillow as Raleigh drops off into dreamland.
.
A hoarse scream rips out of Raleigh's chest as he reaches for Yancy, sobbing into his pillow as he comes down from the nightmare.
He paces for a bit before heading towards the Kwoon, taking a hanbo off the rack and going through forms until he's blinded by sweat rather than tears.
Slipping into the familiar, if rusty, forms is relaxing for Raleigh as he spins the hanbo fast enough to make it whistle as he slides into the la canne style his Mémé taught for years.
He switches to a smaller hanbo, hefting it for a moment before going through stances with a speed that would terrify someone not used to the art form.
"What the hell is he doing?"
"I don't know but I don't want to find out."
The commenters watch from the edge of the Kwoon, both of them in J-Tech gear reading 'Chernobog Alpha'.
Raleigh attacks with a sharp horizontal swipe designed to bruise ribs. He looks up when the staff cracks against another one.
Aleksis grins and examines the dent Raleigh left in the wood with his strike. "Your style hits harder than I would expect."
"La canne is a bruising sport. Shtyk is less about injury and more about finesse. We studied them under my Grandma." He hums as he spins his staff and sets it back on the rack, selecting a five-foot staff instead of a lighter one. "Wanna see who can trip the other without bruises?"
"Yes." Aleksis laughs as they fall into practice stances.
Raleigh practically clings to the Kwoon mats, dodging every swipe with la canne tactics and lashing out with shtyk moves that force Aleksis to block.
"Good! Very good."
Raleigh dodges, weaves, and eventually slaps the staff out of Aleksis' fingers, then trips the larger man with his own momentum.
Both of them are panting harshly as they drip with sweat. They've attracted quite the crowd, but it parts as Tendo shoves his way through.
"Raleigh, man, come get breakfast with me?" Tendo asks as he holds out what smells like premium coffee, the scent extremely familiar.
"You lucky sonofagun. How'd you even get that sent all the way out here?" He laughs quietly as he helps Aleksis up and puts the staff back into place, slipping on his socks, boots and his patched Gipsy Danger jacket. "Sorry, Aleksis. Gonna catch up with an old friend of mine."
"Go. I can practice with my sunshine." Sasha steps from the margin and presses a kiss to Raleigh's sweaty cheek, a wrinkle forming above her nose at his scent.
"Take a shower, kitten."
"Can do." Raleigh hums as he follows Tendo to the wing housing LOCCENT staff.
"You can shower here. I might be able to get you some clothes from Herc." Tendo says with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of the pilot quarters.
"'S'okay, Tendo. I got it. I'll meet ya in th' Mess?" Raleigh reassures him with a gesture that soothes Tendo's worry. "'M not too fond of public showers anymore, so thanks for offerin' the clothes, but I got my own."
"Sure thing, brother." Tendo claps him on his good shoulder as Raleigh high-tails it to his quarters, which are still as bare as ever. He digs into his ruck for clean clothes (thanks to Irina and Yuri) and tacks up a few Polaroids that don't make his chest ache when he sees them before heading to Tendo's to shower in peace.
.
He hesitates at the mess doorway, remembering his first time in here didn't go well even if the association is blurry at best.
"You made it." Tendo steers him into the LOCCENT group and he eats with a small smile as Tendo launches into the 'good ol' days' brand of storytelling. Raleigh snorts at a couple of them and gives a small laugh at the mention of the snowball fight in late '17 with the Gages and the D'onofrios.
"So, Raleigh, was it, what's it like going solo?"
The table suddenly turns silent as they wait for an answer.
Raleigh swallows and closes his eyes for a moment.
"It hurts," he murmurs into his plate of half-eaten eggs. "It's loss and silence and--I don't wanna talk about it anymore." Raleigh stands up abruptly as Tendo scolds the techie who asked the question.
He flees to Gipsy's Conn-pod and eats the rest of his food there, curled up in the tightest space he could find.
"Raleigh? I told 'em not to ask you anything. I'm sorry." Tendo sighs as he sits down on the floor of the Conn-pod. "Thought they were decent enough not to ask a guy something like that."
"Not your fault, Tendo," he finally replies with a rasp. "Assholes don't understand what it's like ta feel your heart ripped out an' stomped on by a goddamn monster." Raleigh slides out of his spot and curls up next to Tendo, his body relaxing as Tendo pets his hair to the sounds of Gipsy being finished. "An' they never will cause we were in Gipsy for them. That's what Rangers do; we protect."
"And where did you learn that tidbit?" Tendo inquires as the petting turns into a scalp massage.
"Lot of time ta reflect on th' Wall," he divulges as he settles further into Tendo's ministrations. "You give a lot of these?"
"Yeah, to Ali when she was pregnant with Felix. Is that ... cat hair? It's pretty long for hair." Tendo pulls out a tri-colored strand.
"Patches is still growing up and she is pretty fluffy." Raleigh shrugs as Tendo digs into the tense muscles of his neck.
"Another stray then," Tendo smiles as he shakes his head.
"She helped with the nightmares, but she's with Charlie right now. I miss her."
"Ah, well, I can't help you with your cat problem, but I can help with the cuddle bit. I still have that stupid plushie Y-he passed to me in '16." The LOCCENT Officer mentions as he cleverly presses at just the right point to turn Raleigh into mush.
"That thing has moved around a lot. I've got a question for you, though, since your memory's probably better than mine at this point; the guy with the huge parka, I know him from somewhere, but where?" Raleigh asks.
"... Raleigh, you guys were best friends for years, even after he got transferred to the Shed, right up to that thing."
"What?" He rolls off of Tendo's thigh and looks at him in shock.
"I think that your mind, and I'm definitely no expert here, protected you by repressing stuff that has your ... brother associated with it. All three of you were really close man," Tendo suggests hesitantly.
"Well shit." Raleigh rocks back on his heels, running a hand through his hair and thinking. "If we survive this, I gotta reconnect with this guy."
"Hermann. Y'know, he always let you use his name." Tendo gives him a wry sort of grin.
"Pretty picky about it, too, if I--Oh." Raleigh wipes a hand down his face as he's jarred by a memory that's definitely his own.
He swears he'll bring back that brilliant smile.
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