[ she doesn't know what to do for him. she wishes she did, but what do you say to someone who has experienced so profound a loss, so massive a hurt as one as he has? nothing. not a god damn thing. because words of comfort could end up trite and he's hurting so much she doesn't want to add to that.
he will always have them. her, and yancy and alison and tendo. and mako, always mako, because she and naomi love him in all the ways that are the same and in all the ways that are different - one woman his better half in the most literal sense of the word, and her, she'd like to think, a second chance at something that might not have been. ]
Okay. [ her emotions are a stuck, balled up mess at the base of her throat, but that's fine. it'll be fine. ] You're allowed. [ her fingers tilting up his chin so she can look straight into his beautiful eyes. ] You're allowed to grieve, Raleigh.
[ she won't ask him about the dream even if she wants to. but she offers: ] But if and when you want and are ready to talk, you can always come to me.
[ mako had taken her aside once before, when it was evident that she and raleigh had finally set aside their individual apprehensions and fallen headlong into being involved. raleigh has had two co-pilots. one is the man who made your daughter possible, the other is me. the drift merges two minds, so you have not just words but images and emotions and memories making up an exchange. it is different for every pair, but the common denominator is that speaking out loud often becomes obsolete - because why say out loud when you can think it, when you just have to feel for the other to know.
it is a wonderful, profound experience that only a few people can bear. and while it is that, i do not believe that is a healthy way for him to live.
you and yancy fill a place in his heart that gipsy and yancy's father once filled. i know what i am talking about, naomi, and as someone who cares about raleigh very deeply, who knows how he felt the first time you smiled at him all those years ago when you were both still very much children - understand that i do not say it lightly when i tell you that he will need you to drag him out of the water sometimes before the tide closes overhead like a coffin lid. ]
I love you so much, Raleigh. [ i can't be mako and i can't be your brother, but i hope that being me is enough. ] Whatever it is, however long it takes you to deal with it, I will never stop loving you. So you take however long you need and I will be here. [ her fingers are tight around his, the pressure of her touch is more than just a promise. it's as close to a vow as she can make it. ]
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he will always have them. her, and yancy and alison and tendo. and mako, always mako, because she and naomi love him in all the ways that are the same and in all the ways that are different - one woman his better half in the most literal sense of the word, and her, she'd like to think, a second chance at something that might not have been. ]
Okay. [ her emotions are a stuck, balled up mess at the base of her throat, but that's fine. it'll be fine. ] You're allowed. [ her fingers tilting up his chin so she can look straight into his beautiful eyes. ] You're allowed to grieve, Raleigh.
[ she won't ask him about the dream even if she wants to. but she offers: ] But if and when you want and are ready to talk, you can always come to me.
[ mako had taken her aside once before, when it was evident that she and raleigh had finally set aside their individual apprehensions and fallen headlong into being involved. raleigh has had two co-pilots. one is the man who made your daughter possible, the other is me. the drift merges two minds, so you have not just words but images and emotions and memories making up an exchange. it is different for every pair, but the common denominator is that speaking out loud often becomes obsolete - because why say out loud when you can think it, when you just have to feel for the other to know.
it is a wonderful, profound experience that only a few people can bear. and while it is that, i do not believe that is a healthy way for him to live.
you and yancy fill a place in his heart that gipsy and yancy's father once filled. i know what i am talking about, naomi, and as someone who cares about raleigh very deeply, who knows how he felt the first time you smiled at him all those years ago when you were both still very much children - understand that i do not say it lightly when i tell you that he will need you to drag him out of the water sometimes before the tide closes overhead like a coffin lid. ]
I love you so much, Raleigh. [ i can't be mako and i can't be your brother, but i hope that being me is enough. ] Whatever it is, however long it takes you to deal with it, I will never stop loving you. So you take however long you need and I will be here. [ her fingers are tight around his, the pressure of her touch is more than just a promise. it's as close to a vow as she can make it. ]