[Well shit, Raleigh hasn't even told the prospect anything yet because he's been talking to her. So this is Raleigh snapping at a guy and gesturing him over all while waving the binky at him. That pretty much says exactly what needs to be done.]
They can probably already hear him. Nothing to lose there.
[ It's hot when Raleigh gets all authoritative; he gets all sexy-frowny even when waving a binky around and the Prospect runs over, because this is Serious Business.
Fast forward, though. It's two hours later and Mako is holding a very satisfied, sleeping baby with his binky in his mouth when Raleigh comes home. ]
...Your son gives me the worst grief, and your boy seems to be terrified of me.
[Raleigh loves coming home to that site, of Mako with their son. It's better that Tyler isn't screaming but even when he is: it's Mako. And their son.]
Oh is he just my son today? [He holds out his arms, offering to take him if she wants.]
He is, today. [ And Mako pretty much just gives him over because she loves their baby with all her heart, but she'd just endured more than an hour of his temper tantrums and screaming and right now she just needs a break from the kid.
She's tired, on the edge, and she's going to make some coffee. ]
[Come to Daddy, Tyler. The baby stirs like he's going to wake up and start all of that adorable screaming again but he doesn't. Just settles against him with a gurgling noise. For now at least. Knowing him, he'll decide he's hungry in fifteen minutes and start it all over.]
No of course not. But they all know you're capable of killing them in five seconds flat.
[ And if he starts it over, Raleigh's going to take care of it, not Mako. Mako's had enough of being mommy for the day. She's putting the coffeepot on, rubbing at her temple because there's a headache that's been building up and today is not the best of days.
[It works for him, to have his boys fear his old lady as much if not more than they fear him. Because they might want to test him but not the both of them and definitely not her.
Raleigh is running a hand up and down Tyler's back to keep him calm. Not crying at least.]
Maybe I should just threaten them with babysitting from now on.
[ Good point -- this way, the boys know not to fuck with either of them. Raleigh's rising rapidly up in the inter-city community as someone not to be messed with, and he's only grown more dangerous as the months pass.
A part of her is worried that he'd be completely submerged in this life -- which is not hard, admittedly, especially when it's largely all that they know, and it's convenient. The way he soothes their son reminds her of the quiet, nagging fear of raising their children in a life like this, full of bloodshed and violence and double-crossing and murder.
She comes back after a moment, watching him with their son. Smiling faintly, she asks. ] Asking me to do your dirty work for you?
[She should share some of those fears with him sometime. She might find that he shares some of the same worries. The club is really all he's ever known but he finds that he cares more about Tyler than running it sometimes.]
[ Yeah, maybe she'd bring it up real soon -- because as much as she likes the guys, and as much as they like her and accept her as the King's old lady, the problem persists.
She finally takes Tyler from him, adjusting him in her arms so that Raleigh can settle down -- he's had a long day at the club, after all. ]
[It's obviously serious, since she takes the baby from him, knowing that Tyler distracts Raleigh whenever he's close to him, like he's entranced by his infant son.]
[ Excellent call. Raleigh's focused when he wants to be, but it's impossible when Tyler's in his arms, and Mako doesn't want to take that chance. Adjusting to his weight, she pauses, choosing her words. ]
...We can't stay in this club forever, Raleigh. I know things seemed different to us before, but Tyler -- I don't want to raise him in a place like this.
[ And what a thing to say; it's going to be an impossible thing to quit, an immense thing to consider that Mako doesn't know which way Raleigh's going to swing on this. After all, which old lady would ask her man to leave the club? ]
[Raleigh's quiet at first, not because he's mad but because that's really one of the last things he expected her to say. If Tyler wasn't here, it wouldn't be an issue, and he knows that. It'd be the two of them, running the club, facing the world together, having each other's backs through everything and knowing that the other could defend themselves as needed.
Tyler can't do that. He can't even walk yet. Losing a bike or getting a few bruises is collateral damage that Raleigh can live with but he can't live with anything happening to Tyler.]
[ And to say it out loud is even more foolish still. It's treason, of a sort, the queen making such a request from her king. Mako doesn't blame him if Raleigh's reluctant to leave -- this club is his lifeblood, this club is hers, and up until now she doesn't even know if she's invested in leaving, when this is all she knows, when this is family.
She understands the reluctance, and the security that this club gives them. It gives them income, too, and assures that their son is the new prince of the club, a rich inheritance if they played their cards right.
She doesn't look at him, even as she steps away to put Tyler into his cot in the living room, the baby soothed and ready for sleep. ] I know this club means everything to you.
[The money is a concern but it's not the only thing he's thinking of. The fact is that the club is making is possible for them to survive, financially, and rather comfortably as well, and if they saved it right-- that could be a lot for Tyler to inherit.
He could be king someday. Take over everything that his parents built. Make it his own. But he could also die young and horrible and it would be no one's fault except theirs for exposing him to this life.]
The two of you mean everything to me. [Raleigh corrects her softly, leaning in the doorway as she puts the baby down for his nap.]
I'm saying we wouldn't be able to leave right now.
[ Mako thinks about that for a few moments, because he's not refusing her -- he's actually considering it, and she's aware of what sort of treason it is. Once you're part of the reaper crew, you never leave. Not even if you're the president.
And he's right -- if they stay, Tyler would stand to inherit an empire, charters of over two thousand men all over America and the monopoly over the gun trade from the Irish and the Russians. It would be a sweet life, dangerous and wrought with landmines, but if he were anything like his old man, he'd definitely come out on top.
She turns to him, and gestures him over with a soft smile, leaning against the cot. Mako's worried, but still not entirely sold on leaving -- not yet, and she's wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing close. The two of them mean everything to her, too, and she can never have one without the other. ] Have you thought about it?
[Raleigh comes over to her, curling his arms around her in return. He's not lying when he says that she and Tyler mean more to him than the club. They do. Everything he does with the club, the deals he makes, the money he takes, the reputation he builds, it's all for them. To keep them safe and happy and none of it would mean anything to him if they weren't in his life.
Then again, he'd probably still be the VP and Chau would be alive if it weren't for Mako, wouldn't he?]
Sometimes. I want him to have a Harley but I'm not sure I can hand him a gun at the same time.
[ Mako knows better. Mako knows that their son will need both a Harley and a gun to live in this roughshod world, and she would have no problem giving it both to him. She's the one who makes the decisions when he can't; in his name and for the good of their family, and this isn't going to change.
She presses a kiss to the side of his mouth, knows all the sacrifices he makes, knows what a brutal man it's slowly but surely changing him into -- but Mako loves him all the same. He's her prince, her king, and she would follow where he goes. ]
That's where I come in. If we are to be trapped here in the end, our son will know how to use one.
[They're undeniably becoming a team, him and Mako. They are a force to be reckoned with together, where he might falter, she surges. And where she'll hesitate, Raleigh won't.
He draws her in close, looking over her shoulder at the crib where Tyler's sleeping right now for a moment.]
[ They are, and that's why they've always been so compatible since they'd first met, when she'd been Chau's woman instead of his. They are perfect complements of each other, even if they do have bumps and scrapes along the way, and they still fight.
She hugs him tight, kissing his neck and nuzzling against him with a soft, approving noise. ]
We can all hope. But he's a Becket, and your son. [ Mako smiles. ] He'll do well.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
YOUR MOM
They can probably already hear him. Nothing to lose there.
YOUR BUTT
Fast forward, though. It's two hours later and Mako is holding a very satisfied, sleeping baby with his binky in his mouth when Raleigh comes home. ]
...Your son gives me the worst grief, and your boy seems to be terrified of me.
wow no my butt is amazing
Oh is he just my son today? [He holds out his arms, offering to take him if she wants.]
They're all scared of you. That's not new.
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She's tired, on the edge, and she's going to make some coffee. ]
Did you tell them I breathe fire?
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No of course not. But they all know you're capable of killing them in five seconds flat.
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Still, she manages a brief smile. ]
A rumour encouraged by you?
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[It works for him, to have his boys fear his old lady as much if not more than they fear him. Because they might want to test him but not the both of them and definitely not her.
Raleigh is running a hand up and down Tyler's back to keep him calm. Not crying at least.]
Maybe I should just threaten them with babysitting from now on.
no subject
A part of her is worried that he'd be completely submerged in this life -- which is not hard, admittedly, especially when it's largely all that they know, and it's convenient. The way he soothes their son reminds her of the quiet, nagging fear of raising their children in a life like this, full of bloodshed and violence and double-crossing and murder.
She comes back after a moment, watching him with their son. Smiling faintly, she asks. ] Asking me to do your dirty work for you?
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I didn't think I had to ask.
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She finally takes Tyler from him, adjusting him in her arms so that Raleigh can settle down -- he's had a long day at the club, after all. ]
We need to talk.
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What's up?
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...We can't stay in this club forever, Raleigh. I know things seemed different to us before, but Tyler -- I don't want to raise him in a place like this.
[ And what a thing to say; it's going to be an impossible thing to quit, an immense thing to consider that Mako doesn't know which way Raleigh's going to swing on this. After all, which old lady would ask her man to leave the club? ]
no subject
Tyler can't do that. He can't even walk yet. Losing a bike or getting a few bruises is collateral damage that Raleigh can live with but he can't live with anything happening to Tyler.]
We can't just walk.
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[ And to say it out loud is even more foolish still. It's treason, of a sort, the queen making such a request from her king. Mako doesn't blame him if Raleigh's reluctant to leave -- this club is his lifeblood, this club is hers, and up until now she doesn't even know if she's invested in leaving, when this is all she knows, when this is family.
She understands the reluctance, and the security that this club gives them. It gives them income, too, and assures that their son is the new prince of the club, a rich inheritance if they played their cards right.
She doesn't look at him, even as she steps away to put Tyler into his cot in the living room, the baby soothed and ready for sleep. ] I know this club means everything to you.
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He could be king someday. Take over everything that his parents built. Make it his own. But he could also die young and horrible and it would be no one's fault except theirs for exposing him to this life.]
The two of you mean everything to me. [Raleigh corrects her softly, leaning in the doorway as she puts the baby down for his nap.]
I'm saying we wouldn't be able to leave right now.
no subject
And he's right -- if they stay, Tyler would stand to inherit an empire, charters of over two thousand men all over America and the monopoly over the gun trade from the Irish and the Russians. It would be a sweet life, dangerous and wrought with landmines, but if he were anything like his old man, he'd definitely come out on top.
She turns to him, and gestures him over with a soft smile, leaning against the cot. Mako's worried, but still not entirely sold on leaving -- not yet, and she's wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing close. The two of them mean everything to her, too, and she can never have one without the other. ] Have you thought about it?
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Then again, he'd probably still be the VP and Chau would be alive if it weren't for Mako, wouldn't he?]
Sometimes. I want him to have a Harley but I'm not sure I can hand him a gun at the same time.
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She presses a kiss to the side of his mouth, knows all the sacrifices he makes, knows what a brutal man it's slowly but surely changing him into -- but Mako loves him all the same. He's her prince, her king, and she would follow where he goes. ]
That's where I come in. If we are to be trapped here in the end, our son will know how to use one.
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He draws her in close, looking over her shoulder at the crib where Tyler's sleeping right now for a moment.]
Still. I'd rather he never did.
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She hugs him tight, kissing his neck and nuzzling against him with a soft, approving noise. ]
We can all hope. But he's a Becket, and your son. [ Mako smiles. ] He'll do well.