A fic gift I wrote awhile back for a friend. A bit of Maleigh fluff because the world needs more of that. Enjoy :)

The dreams come fast and frequent. It's always him, bathed in the golden sun, standing tall amongst giants, and then the relief, the breath-stealing relief, floods him, just as it's flooding her, god, does he know how it's flooding her, as it has countless times before.

And just like every other time, it's all sucked away. The gold caressing his armour, the warmth in his eyes all disappear in a motion as swift and sharp as the slice of a blade, he's swallowed by darkness, and they're plunged into nothingness.

Raleigh's mouth is open, lips stumbling on a yell, "Stack-", when he feels himself jerked awake, and it's the trembling of the body next to him that becomes the centre of his attention. His sleep-addled haze falls away in alarm at the speed with which she's breathing. She turns, brow furrowed, face burrowing into his chest, and he takes her into his arms, tries to quell the tremors, but all he can do is wait, just wait.

It's his suggestion. He figures they should visit the places that have been haunting both of their minds. At first, it's unfamiliar to him, he's never made it there on foot, only through second-hand memories revisited so often that they've become first-hand. It's a labyrinth of snaking streets, each as interchangeable as the other, until they turn one corner and everything locks into place. There's the street – he's sure of it – where Stacker towered on the shoulders of his jaeger, and the alley snaking off it down which his mind has accompanied Mako so many nights.

Mako is resolutely turned away from the alleyway, her face tilted up to where Stacker once rose triumphantly. He can see the little girl imprinted underneath the woman, feel the vulnerability laced with pride and sorrow.

He stays back, keeps what he thinks is a respectful distance, but her hand hovers behind her, fingers outstretched and he takes them. Pulled against her, nose burying in her hair, he's close enough to hear her whisper, "You've been in my mind, what's one extra step?"

And they visit the rest of the places that he's seen through the drift. The merry-go-round which he has seen little Mako play on with giddy adoration, the park, which is as much a second home to him as it is to her. He can feel the waves of calm suffusing her, lets her relief sooth him too, as he follows her to place after place.

The school, with its flag flapping in the wind, the building that used to house her kendo club. He can't help a rueful smile at the thought of young Mako wielding her shinai, the prelude to her combat skills as a ranger.

"What are you laughing at?" she asks in that quiet tone of hers, a hint of a scowl touching her face.

"Just thinking about the sweet girl you used to be," he says, unable to resist taunting her.

"Used to?" Her chin juts out, just as it does when she is ready to take him to task on the combat mats.

"Well, now you're a woman, aren't you?" he murmurs, dipping his head to drop a kiss on the defiant chin.

She turns away, but he can see the hint of a smile, feel the currents of tenderness.

"Come," she says. "There's something else I want to show you."

There's her hand again, a silent request. He takes a step, reaches for her fingers, and he lets her lead him.

Stacker orders you to review. I'll add the please :)