after pitfall , raleigh’s just as lost as he is found. he doesn’t have to tell mako what he sees , she knows. the anteverse fucked with his more than his body , left images and thoughts raleigh doesn’t know how or with what to replace them. mako is just as lost. even as he’d fought his way out of the med wing , he went back everyday to sit chuck’s bay for a couple hours. they’d come in hot - headed and angry and beat each other to hell ; somehow they’d left closer friends than anyone would’ve thought. so it’s no surprise that raleigh confides in chuck , says he’s got worse nightmares , smiles when chuck rolls his eyes and mutters “ i almost blew myself up for your sorry ass ” with a teasing smile , falls even more in love when he tells him “ i thought about getting a dog , seeing how max helps you ” and watches chuck’s eyes light right up. a couple months after chuck’s released , he takes raleigh to the city and leads him this way and that before the younger becket realizes they’re a little lost. he’s preoccupied with market trinkets while chuck argues emphatically with a vendor , and suddenly his sweater’s yanked sideways and he goes with. then all he can hear is barks mingled with yelps and howls. chuck ! raleigh had forgotten , so busy with canceling the apocalypse fallout.
several turns of convincing and forty five minutes later , raleigh falls in love with the puppy rolling over herself in pure delight. when she stops as soon as raleigh bends down and tilts her head curiously , there’s no way he isn’t taking her home. meet lady becket ! raleigh adopts her that day , and beams at chuck while lady does her damned best to cover his face with kisses. he sneaks her past the marshall , past everyone , so she can settle in before she’s bombarded by strangers. but he can’t hide it from mako ( nor does he try ). lady loves max the moment she meets him , takes great joy and trying to knock him over when all max does is snort ; she’ll get better at it , give her time. she sleeps curled into raleigh’s neck , gives him a literal run for his money during morning jogs , and bites chuck’s ankles because raleigh thinks its funny. the nightmares are less , especially when lady’s nosed into one side and chuck’s curled into the other with max at their feet. x x
