#lexi's response today had me cackling
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one of my favorite things is catching up on the gc every day bc i always sleep later than everyone else and the second I'm like hey guys I'm here everyone is basically like "WOW LOOK WHO ISNT DEAD"
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Boys in Blue || Pt. 11
Pairings: cop!Stucky x F!Reader
Warnings: Steve’s a little cheeky, and then all the fluff, no joke, tooth rooting fluff
Word Count: 3500+
Summary: (Cop AU) There was just one crappy thing after enough that happened to her. It possibly couldn’t get any worse, or so she thought until she saw the dreaded flashes of red and blue behind her. Could things get any worse?
A/N: I have NOT forgotten about this wonderful story. I hope you all haven’t either lol. This part is completely fluffy like I said in the warning. Because it is a warning. I just want you all to know that you might die for cuteness overload. So yeah. Fair warning. I hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think!
The gifs are not mine, credit to the owner.
Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Series Masterlist
Y/N grumbled under her breath, hitting the breaks as she yet again caught another red light. She let her head fall back against the headrest and let out a heavy sigh. She was so close to being home. It was her day off and she was supposed to be relaxing. But no. Instead, she’d been running errands all day and didn’t get one second to take a breather. She was exhausted and just want to kick her shoes off. Literally.
Robert, Maddie’s oldest, was turning four this weekend and Maddie was at her wit's end. Lexi had learned how to walk recently, although Y/N would never admit to her friend that the ‘first time’ Maddie saw her daughter walk it technically wasn’t the first time. While it was a huge milestone for Lexi, it meant Maddie’s little girl was getting into anything and everything she could, basically a walking tornado.
Throw in the fact that Robert now thought he was a big boy who didn’t need to listen to his mother since he was turning four and with Jason being gone to work most of the time, Maddie needed an extra set of hands getting the party-ready. Of course, in a very Maddie fashion, she let some of the slightly more important details wait until the last minute. Such as the cake, decorations, and food. Not willing to let not only her best friend down, nor her godson, Y/N stepped in to help. She didn’t mind, Y/N would do anything for her best friend, but even she had a limit.
Only one thing turned into two, that turned into three and now it was six o’clock in the evening and Y/N was ready to pass out. She had already dropped off everything to Maddie’s house, who was incredibly appreciative and swore up and down she’d pay her back somehow. Now Y/N was on her way home to slip out of her jeans and into her comfy sweats.
During all the excitement, she didn’t have much of a chance to speak with either Bucky or Steve. Not that it mattered much, both had work and needed their focus on their jobs. She would send them texts every once in a while, and would occasionally get a response back, but they all had been rather busy today themselves. At one point, Steve jokingly mentioned the full moon was the reason for so many idiots running around today keeping them on their toes. She knew they’d call her once they got off like they always did, so Y/N didn’t think too much of it at the time.
She was almost home, sitting at the red light right down the street from her apartment. Mentally checked out and on autopilot, Y/N slowly put her foot to the pedal when the light turned green. She hadn’t seen the car that pulled up behind her, a familiar black and white dodge she knew well. But she did notice when the car flicked it’s light on, that wonderful dreaded red and blue. Y/N jumped when the sirens went off with the lights, her heart hammering in her chest.
Muttering an oath under her breath, Y/N turned into a gas station parking lot. It was like Deja vu all over again. Once again, Y/N had no idea what she could have done, but today she was too exhausted to even get slightly worked up about it. She let out an irritated groan, her eyes closing shut for a moment and let her head fall back against the headrest. She just wanted to go to bed.
The rhythmic tap on her window pulled her out of her thoughts. She let out a heavy sigh and reached to roll down the window, not once sparing a glance at the officer. She was already reaching for her purse beside her on the passenger seat when the officer spoke.
“License and registration ma’am.”
Y/N’s froze, recognizing the voice anywhere. Snapping her head to the window she stared into a pair of familiar blues and a wide grin.
“What the fuck Steve?” She growled.
Steve let out a laugh, not looking the least bit sorry and crossed his arms to lean against the window of her car. He titled his head to the side, smirking his stupid smirk that always made her stomach flutter and flip.
“You’ve still got a mouth on you, huh?”
“You know what, Rogers.” Y/N grumbled, narrowing her eyes in exasperation. Steve laughed through his nose, his smirk morphing into a smile that caused the corners of his eyes to crinkle. “Isn’t it illegal to pull me over without cause?”
“What makes you think I don’t have a reason?”
Y/N didn’t respond, instead sent him a flat glare. Any other time she’s snap back, but today she was all out of snap juice. All it did was cause Steve to cackle and simply shake his head.
“Oh, come on. Don’t be mad.” He snickered. “You weren’t answering your phone and Bucky and I were getting worried.”
Y/N paused, confused. That didn’t sound right.
“But you haven’t text or called me?”
“Yeah, we have.” Steve frowned. “Where’s your phone?”
“Um,” Y/N grabbed her purse and dug around in its bottomless pit. She could have sworn she looked at it before she left Maddie’s and didn’t have any messages from them. It definitely hadn’t gone off since. Finally finding it, Y/N tossed her bag aside and turned the screen on. Sure enough, there were several messages and missed calls from both Steve and Bucky. “Oh. I guess you did.”
Steve snorted with an amused smirk and shook his head. There were moments when Y/N spaced, whether she was exhausted or just checked out for a minute that Steve always thought was adorable. It only took him one glance at her phone to see it was on complete silence. No doubt she flipped it on at one point during the day completely unaware she did. Y/N ducked her chin bashfully and glanced over to Steve.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
“Nah, it’s alright, baby girl. We had a feeling you weren’t intentionally doing it.” Steve reassured her and leaned in to press a kiss against her temple. “I just clocked off and was driving back to the station when I spotted you.”
“Ah. Where’s Bucky?” She asked, glancing over his shoulder. He was supposed to be on patrol today, but one of his stipulations for the next week was always to be with someone. Steve typically was the one he picked as a partner, Sam being a close second if Steve had other things he needed to get done for the day. It made seeing him go back out on patrol a little easier knowing someone else was there to keep an eye on him.
“He had his therapy session push back to 5:30. He should be done by the time I get to the station.” Steve explained absently and brushed some hair from her face. “I gotta pick him up, but we were wanting to know what you wanted to do tonight. Although from the look on your face, you’re about ready to crash. I can tell Buck you might need a rain check.”
Y/N tried to hide her disappointment, but it was hard when all she wanted to do was melt into her mattress. She wanted to see the both of them tonight, even though she’d probably pass out on them. Although, cuddling with them did sound like an incredibly appealing idea.
“I doubt he’ll listen to me though.” Steve rolled his eyes. He already knew how that conversation would end. “You good to drive? You look that exhausted.”
“Yeah, It’s right around the corner.” Y/N said. Any further she probably wouldn’t feel very comfortable with that idea, but she could see the gate from where they were sitting. Steve was quiet, mulling over whether he should drive her the short distance or not. She was right though; it was right around the corner and he could always sit and watch her just in case.
“Alright, text me when you get home. And turn your phone off silent.” Steve leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek. Y/N hummed happily and mumbled an okay. She waited until he was in his car before she pulled off and went the short distance to her apartment.
She had barely kicked off her shoes before she fell face first on her bed and let out an over the top groan. Her feet were killing her, her back was sore, and she had no clue that she was so exhausted. It took her less than five minutes to hit the mattress and she was out like a light. It wasn’t until a heavy weight settled beside her on the bed and the familiar smell of oak and chocolate that caused her to jolt awake. Blearily she realized who it was. The boys must have let themselves in with her key, either that she forgot to lock the door.
Bucky inhaled deeply, snuggling as close as he could by pressing his front against her back and his arm around her waist. They must have run home to change, she could feel the texture of his favorite Henley against her cheek. He began pepper soft kissed up the column of her next, his nose skimming against her skin. Y/N’s lips curled up in a blissful smiled and nestled back into his hug.
“Maddie run you ragged?” Bucky whispered against her hair. Y/N nodded slowly, still too tired to form coherent sentences. “Well, Steve’s ordered some Chinese. While we wait, do you want me to make you a bath?”
That sounded like a wonderful idea. Y/N mumbled an unintelligible noise of agreement and began to wiggle out of his grip. Bucky snickered and held her fast, locking her against his front.
“Nope, you stay put.” He stated. “I’ll get it started and then bring you in when it’s ready.”
Cracking an eye open, Y/N watched Bucky crawl off the bed and make his way towards her bathroom. He paused to press a kiss to Steve’s lips when the other man walked into the room. He murmured his plans against Steve’s cheek and went off to do set up things in the bathroom.
Steve cocked his head to the side and smiled warmly at Y/N from where he stood leaning against the door frame. She flopped over on her back and opened her arms in invitation. Steve laughed when the effort of holding her arms up was too much plopped beside her and crossed the distance to the bed. Carefully scooping her up in his arms, he drew her close with a happy hum. She let out a sound of content and nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck.
Steve allowed his eyes to fall shut, listening to her soft breathing and the sound of Bucky starting up the tub. He lived for moments like this when there wasn’t a care in the world, and he had his best girl in his arms. He could spend the rest of the evening snuggled up with her, maybe a movie playing and Bucky on the other side of her. It had been a long week, and he was ready for a much-needed break.
The sound of the tap turning off made him crack open an eye and turn his head towards the bathroom. He could see Bucky bent over the tub, dropping in a bath bomb from the basket she kept under the sink. He spotted several candles set up already, the soft smell of eucalyptus and mint filtering out the open door. Y/N inhaled deeply, the corners of her lips turning up at the smell.
“You two are too good to be true,” She whispered against his skin. A shiver went up his spine, his cheeks flushing. He started running a hand through her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Why’d you say that?”
“Cause you are.” Y/N shrugged. Steve snorted and shook his head.
“Nah, I think it’s you who's too good to be true.” He countered. She pulled her head back, a brow raised in disbelief. “You are! Never thought I’d ever love another person as much as I do you. I don’t know how you put up with both of us, but my hearts happy you do.”
Y/N opened her mouth to argue, that she was the lucky one and not the other way around when Bucky walked in the room and made an over exaggerated noise of disgust.
“You’re both gross, sappy, and I love you. But the baths done and I’m not letting all my hard work go cold.” He smirked and began untangling her from Steve, who was quite content on keeping her there. He paused when there was a knock on the front door. Steve groaned and let Y/N go. “Go get the food, I’ll put our girl in the bath.”
Steve whined and reluctantly pushed off the bed, dragging his feet as he went to get the food. Bucky scoffed and shook his head, helping Y/N up and towards the waiting tub. She grumbled and leaned back against him, knowing he wouldn’t let her fall.
“Want me to help you get in?” He asked and rested his hands on her hips. Y/N thought about it for a moment before nodded sluggishly. Bucky chuckled fondly and helped her get undressed, occasionally peppering soft kisses on the skin he revealed under her clothes. She pulled her hair up, not wanting to deal with getting her hair wet or having to wash it. She didn’t have the energy to deal with that tonight.
A few moments later, Bucky was helping her settle in the tub when Steve walked in. He plopped down on the closed toilet seat and took in a deep breath of the calming eucalyptus, letting his head fall back against the wall with his eyes closed.
“Foods stayin’ warm in the oven.” He said, rolling his head to the side and looked over the two with hooded eyes. Bucky was crouched by the tub, one arm resting on the lip while the other arm was draped over the side. He was absently swirling shapes in the bubbles in the water. Y/N had melted in the warm water, watching Bucky’s hand swirl the water with a content smile.
Warmth grew in Steve’s stomach. It was so domestically sweet that he swore his teeth would rot out. He loved every second of it too. The only reason why he hadn’t decided to join her in the tub was the fact it could possibly contain all three of them. They already tried that, and it ended poorly.
“Do we wanna watch a movie while we eat, or catch up on The Good Place?” Bucky broke the silence as he reached for Y/N’s bottle of her favorite body wash and loofa.
“Don’t know if I could focus on The Good Place,” Y/N sighed. Bucky nodded and started to run the loofa up her leg. “I can do that, you know.”
“Shush.” He remarked, completely ignoring the hand she stuck out to take over. “We’ll put something on, pig out on dinner and probably pass out. Do you work tomorrow?”
“No, I took off today and tomorrow so I could get ready for this weekend. Didn’t think I’d have to do everything all in one day though.” She grumbled.
“Well, at least you got it out of the way so you can prepare yourself for Saturday,” Steve said, watching Bucky help her sit forward to get to her back. “Buck and I have off too, a miracle in of itself.”
“We also both grabbed bags incase you had off, so we don’t plan on leavin’ after you fall asleep.” Bucky paused, his hand resting on her shoulder. “If that’s okay with you?”
“No, that’s an awful idea. I don’t want to share my bed with my boyfriends.” Y/N remarked smartly. Bucky scoffed and flicked water at her in retaliation.
“Lean back you brat.” He rolled his eyes. Y/N giggled but did as he asked. “If I didn’t like you a lot, I’d splash more water on you, but you’re lucky I understand the struggle with hair.”
“Have I ever told you how charming you are? You just sweep the ladies right off their feet, don’t you?” Y/N quipped.
Bucky stopped and swiveled towards Steve. Steve blinked and raised a brow.
“Do you hear this? I was all sweet and made her a bath, even helpin’ her and she’s givin’ me attitude.” Bucky complained in faux exasperation. Steve shrugged and cross his arms over his chest, a smirk playing on the corner of his lips.
“I hear her. Cant’ say I blame her though. You’re the one who pulled her over first.”
“Yeah! This is payback!” Y/N interjected. Bucky groaned, rubbing his temple with his dry hand. “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time!”
“Alright, enough outta you,” Bucky growled, leaned forward to quiet her with a kiss. A peal of laughter slipped from her lips despite Bucky’s best attempts at smothering her, his mild irritation the funniest thing all day for her. Bucky nipped at her lower lip when she didn’t stop and let the loofa plop in the quickly cooling water. “You’re such a brat.”
“Mhm,” She hummed, a cheeky grin on her face. “But you love me.”
“I do,” Bucky sighed. “I question my sanity sometimes, but I do.”
He pushed off the tub to stand with a groan, stretching his arms up over his head and reached for a clean towel. Steve stood as well, stepping around Bucky to leave, gently squeezing his hip as he passed.
“I’ll go get Netflix started and get the food on plates.” He said before Y/N could ask where he was off too. He could see her scowl while he made his retreat. As he walked towards the kitchen, he could hear Bucky teasings.
“Alright, you heathen. Let’s get you out before the water gets colder.”
Steve heard Y/N giggle and stand in the tub, smiling to himself as he set up the television in her living room. By the time he had the food waiting on the coffee table, Y/N and Bucky emerged from her room with Y/N in her favorite pjs. She pouted when she realized they were going to sit on the couch and nod her bed like she thought.
“No cuddling?”
“We'll eat first and then move to your room to finish the movie,” Steve assured her.
Y/N nodded and sank into the plush cushions next to Steve, tucking her legs underneath her. Bucky took up his spot next to her, eagerly grabbing a plate to fill up with food.
“What do you wanna watch?” Steve asked as he flipped through the movies. Y/N paused in filling her own plate and glance up.
“Um… Coco!” She wanted a movie she’d seen plenty of time before and didn’t have to focus too much on to follow.
Steve nodded, agree with her selection and turned the movie on. He grabbed his own plate and the three settled in to enjoy their dinner and movie. Half an hour later the food was gone, and Y/N was slouched against Bucky’s side, her eyes dropping shut now with her belly full. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and jerked his chin to her bedroom. Steve didn’t need to be told twice, already shutting down the tv to move into the bedroom.
“Wake up baby girl,” Bucky cooed. Y/N’s face scrunched up and she shook her head with a whine. He grinned. “Guess I’ll have to pick you up then.”
By the time Y/N processed his words, he had already scooped her up in his arms and heading towards her bedroom. Her eyes flew open with a squeak and her arm flung to wrap around his neck. She knew his muscles weren’t just for show, but it always caught her off guard at just how strong he was.
Steve, ever the planner, had her television on with Coco pulled up where they last stopped. The sheet was pulled back for Bucky to gently deposit her in the middle of the bed while he was in the bathroom changing out of his clothes. Bucky pressed a kiss to her forehead and grabbed his own bag beside her dresser.
“Be right back.”
When Bucky stepped in the bathroom, Steve paused with the brush in his hair. He smiled at Bucky through the mirror, his heart growing in his chest at the blissful expression on Bucky’s face. Bucky wrapped an arm around his waist, resting his head between Steve’s shoulder blades.
“You okay, Buck?” Steve set the brush on the counter and wrapped his arms around Bucky with a squeeze. Bucky let out a relaxed sigh and pressed a lingering kiss to his back.
Steve twisted around in Bucky’s arms and wrapped his arms around the shorter’s neck. Bucky stared at him for a moment, his blues eyes dancing with a light and happiness Steve hadn’t seen in a long while. The corners of his eyes crinkled while Bucky tugged Steve forward and kissed him, humming contently. He rested his forehead against Steve, holding his boyfriend tight.
“Never better.”
#stucky x reader#steve rogers x bucky barnes x reader#steve rogers x reader#bucky barnes x reader#steve rogers imagine#bucky barnes imagine#steve rogers fanfiction#bucky barnes fanfiction#steve rogers fanfic#bucky barnes fanfic#steve rogers fic#bucky barnes fic#steve rogers#bucky barnes#marvel fanfiction#marvel imagine#marvel fic#reader insert#marvel au#cop!steve rogers x reader x cop!bucky barnes#cop!stuck x reader#cop!steve x reader#cop!bucky x reader#cop!au#policeofficer!bucky x reader#policeofficer!steve x reader#police officer au#boys in blue part 11#fluff#all the fluff
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Could you maybe do a Jalex? However you want to do it
Sure sure! I had the time of my life creating this hc! Thankyou for requesting❤️
{this is set really early on in season one and I changed Alex’s brothers age to be around 26/27}
• Alex was only two steps away from his schools entrance when he heard a familiar voice call his name, his eyes automatically roll in annoyance
• “Hey Alex! Alex! I need you to do me a favour please?” Peter says desperately
• Alex turns around to see his brother running up to him holding his 3 year old daughter Maya
• “I know this is really sudden but I need you to look after Maya for me”
• Alex looks at his brother like he’s grown a second head.
• “I have school, how do you expect me to look after her?” He asks incredulously
• “I’m sure skipping one day of school won’t hurt right? No one else can have her. Mom and dad are at work, Kate is in labour as we speak and I need to drive her to the hospital Alex please please please?”
• Alex makes the mistake of looking up at his brothers face, his puppy dog eyes on full display with the intention to manipulate his younger brother. It always worked
• “Fine, but you owe me big time” he sighs heavily and takes hold of his niece
• Alex gets a wide grin in response, peter gives one last kiss to his daughter and a thumbs up to Alex before he’s running back down the path and into the car that holds his pregnant girlfriend, taking off at high speeds to reach the hospital in time.
• “Well, looks like it’s just you and me kid” his niece lets out a sweet giggle at his words and clings tighter to him.
• Alex makes his way back down the steps that lead to the high school, about to take his usual route home before he realises he doesn’t have a ride back.
• Fucking Peter left him stranded at school with his kid, no offers of a ride in sight. He can’t take the school bus seeing as it’s 7:45am, he doesn’t have any money for an uber and as far as he knew Tony wasn’t in today so he couldn’t ask the older for a lift either.
• Just as he was about to give up and walk the 30 minutes it takes to get home, his eyes land on none other than Justin Foley, the insufferable jock that made his days at liberty high miserable. It wasn’t like the boy was mean or anything, he was quite sweet when he was on his own, but when he was with his dumb jock friends he’d say or do anything to fit in.
• For some reason Alex seemed to be the target for the group, they claim he’s weird and gay, “he must be with a nose ring like that.” Alex just chooses to ignore the boys but it’s hard to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Whenever he would get taunted by the group of athletes Justin would always laugh along with them, but once everything died down Alex could feel the boy’s heavy stare linger on him for too long, making him squirm at the attention.
• Something wriggling on his hip brought his attention back to the present, his niece thrashing her body slightly, seemingly becoming restless. She pouts heavily and tugs on her uncles hoodie, mumbles of “Uncle Lexy” falling deaf on his ears.
• Just as he’s about to start walking home, he makes eye contact with Justin. Although Alex would never admit it he could feel himself getting lost in his green eyes. They stare at each other for a while, seemingly trapped in the moment, hypnotised by one another.
• Alex breaks his focus out of the weird moment both boys share as he notices Justin making his way over to them.
• “Hey are you okay..” Justin trails off as if he wants Alex to fill in the blanks.
• “… Alex” he says annoyed
• “Yeah I know your name dummy, we share history and English classes together” Justin shoots back
• Bullshit, the only reason you know who I am is because of your stupid meathead friends, is what Alex wants to say. Instead choosing to keep his mouth shut in favour of his niece.
• “Hmm” he agrees instead
• “So are you? Okay I mean..” Justin rubs the back of his neck as a nervous habit, chewing on his lower lip as he waits for the younger to respond.
• “Not really, my brother dumped his kid on me and I have no way of getting home” dumped isn’t really the word he wants to use, he loves Maya to pieces and would do anything for the little girl. His brothers timing was just inconvenient, catching Alex when he was at his busiest, often causing him to become moody.
• At the mention of the little girl, Justin turns towards her and gives her the biggest smile, lifting his hand to play with her little fingers. Maya smiles back at the boy and giggles shyly.
• “So adorable” Justin mumbles before turning his attention back on Alex.
• Alex noticed that Maya had become calmed by the presence of the jock, no longer wriggling in his hold. Instead her face holds great happiness, her smile wide as the whole world seems to shine in her curious dark brown eyes. She reaches out for Justin’s hand, which he happily takes. It was almost cute to Alex, seeing the older boys hand completely envelope hers, tiny and petite hands resting against his large and calloused ones. This time Justin giggles along with the girl.
• “I can give you a lift” Alex snaps his eyes towards Justin in disbelief.
• “You want to give me a ride? Alex asks confused.
• "But why, don’t you like hate me?”
• Justin clicks his tongue in response.
• “Look I know I can be an ass sometimes but I don’t hate you. Take the offer it’s the least I can do.” Well it’s somewhat comforting (?) to know that the boy in front of him doesn’t completely hate him.
• Before Alex has chance to respond, Justin is already making his way to the parking lot, car keys swinging on his index finger.
• “Hurry up Standall we don’t have all day” he shouts to the boy behind him
• Alex picks up the pace, jogging to the other boy and getting in the car.• The two boys sit quietly in the car, the only noise filling the stifling silence was the static of the radio. Every now and then it would pick up parts of a song only to fall back onto the static, the noise making Justin physically cringe. He decides he’s had about as much as he can take and reaches over to turn it off, preferring to sit in the quiet rather than letting static swirl around in his head and let his mind haze over. He rubs his temples as he feels a headache coming on. Luckily for him the child and, not so surprisingly, her uncle had remained silent for most of the drive.
• Although he was thankful for it, the eeriness of the soundproof car was starting to irritate him. He needed verbal stimulation, needed to hear something even if it was the tapping of a foot, otherwise his mind would wander into the dark places he keeps locked away. He needed a distraction and if he wasn’t going to get it then he’d make one himself.
• “What’s the cuties name?” He glances at Alex in the passenger seat, the small child placed on his lap with the seatbelt secured around her waist. Although it wasn’t the safest option for the girl it was the only one they had. Peter hadn’t provided Alex with any type of car seat and he didn’t trust placing her in the backseat without one. So Alex’s lap it was.
• “Alex Standall” Alex joked lightly, revelling in the tiny chuckle it gained from the boy beside him
• “Very funny. I meant what’s this little cutie’s name” he reaches over to pinch her cheek to emphasise he was talking about the little girl.
• “Maya” he says fondly, Justin catches a smile on the younger boy’s face. Seeing a smile grace Alex’s features was pretty rare these days, making Justin smile in response to the beautiful sight in front of him.
• “She’ll be 4 this September. My brother’s girlfriend is actually in labour right now so it won’t be long before she’s a big sister.” He doesn’t know why he shares this information with the jock, maybe it’s because of the way Justin glances at him every now and then, softness painting his features and fondness swimming in his eyes.
• “I’ve always wanted to have siblings, I like the idea of having a big family.” Justin says out loud, not really speaking to anyone in particular.
• “I don’t want momma to have a baby” Maya chimes in.
• “What if it’s a boy? Boys are smelly!” She says, dramatically pinching her nose.
• “No they’re not! Daddy’s a boy and he’s not smelly is he?” Alex asks
• “.. sometimes” she says bluntly.
• Both boys cackle the rest of the way home.
• When they arrive at the Standall home Alex quickly makes his way to get out the car muttering a small “thanks” when a hand on his shoulder halts his movements.
• “Want me to stay with you? Help take care of Maya maybe?” Alex swears he hears a bit of desperation in the boy’s tone
• “It’s cool, you should probably get back to school or your teachers will get mad. Thanks though”
• “I don’t mind skipping. I have maths first period and I hate it so much. Plus it wouldn’t totally suck to spend time with a cutie… and Maya too” he winks at him before getting out of the car and walking to the front door of the house
• Alex sat frozen in the passenger seat. Did he just call Alex cute?
• When Alex finally gets out of the car he sees Justin leaning against the door smirking at him. Alex let’s out a scoff and rolls his eyes. That fucker.
• Justin had been at his house for an hour and a half now and he didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon. Not that Alex minded, strangely enough he was enjoying the company of the jock more than he thought he would. He thought that it would be really awkward for the two of them to talk without the toddler as a distraction, but as it turns out the boys have a lot more in common than they thought. They both shared a love for music, they both watched the same trashy tv shows, both hated the same characters and they liked the same snacks. For Alex this made the elder a little bit more enjoyable to be around.
• They slipped into easy conversation as it was just the two of them, the television playing in the background, some tv show they’d never seen before plays at a low volume. Alex had put Maya down for a nap not long after they arrived. She started to become cranky during snack time and Alex could only take that as a sign of her tiredness so he whisked the younger away to nap on his bed.
• No matter how tired the girl was it seemed that she wouldn’t be able to sleep any time soon. She awoke from a nightmare and ran throughout the house looking for her uncle. Once she spotted the boys in the den she ran over to them as fast as her legs would carry her. She stopped short in front of them and her eyes filled up with tears.
• Alex caught sight of his niece and leaned forward to pull her onto his lap.
• “What’s wrong bubba?” Alex asks, concerned for his niece
• “Had a nightmare” Maya’s voice wobbles as she tries to contain the sob that threatened to escape her throat.
• Alex rubs a soothing hand over her back as if to protect her from the fear of her nightmares.
• “It was just a dream love, it’s not real. You’re safe okay, you’re safe and you’re alright.” Alex’s words seemed to calm the young child. Her breathing steadied and her eyes eventually dried from the tears that were shed.
• Once she was back to her normal state the girl escaped from Alex’s lap and crawled over to where Justin was sitting, curling into his side and tugging on his shirt
• “Jusy could you and uncle Lexy please read me a story?” And there was no way that Justin could refuse, not with the cute use of the nicknames and the pout that adorned the girls face.
• He looked over at Alex to see if it was okay with him and sighed a breath of relief when Alex nodded his head in approval, a small smile on his face.
• That was all the incentive Justin needed before he lifted the girl up and swung her around in the air causing giggles to escape her lips and flow through the air. Her squeaks became louder as Justin made his way up the stairs, Alex following suit with the biggest smile Justin had ever seen.
• Both Alex and Justin placed themselves on the bed beside Maya. Justin was reading her the story that she picked out whilst Alex tickled her forehead and nose, something that helped to comfort the girl and make her sleepy. Maya kept chastising Justin for getting distracted but he couldn’t help it, not with the heart warming scene playing out before him. Alex really was amazing with kids.
• Justin did end up finally finishing the story, no matter how distracting the boy in front of him was. Just as he was reading the last few words Maya’s eyes slipped shut and her breath left her mouth in little huffs, signalling she was asleep. The boys tucked the toddler in, Justin pulled the blanket around her, tucking it into the corner of the bed whilst Alex kissed her forehead. Justin slipped the book back to its original place before sneaking off down the stairs behind Alex
• When they were at the bottom of the staircase Alex turned to look at Justin with a small smile on his face, Justin reciprocated the gesture. No matter how much Justin teased the boy he never meant it, in fact he found Alex to be a pretty great guy. He would never tell him this of course.
• “Thanks for today” Alex spoke softly.
• “To be honest I don’t think I would of been able to do it without you. She’s really taken a liking to you” he smiles wider
• Justin rubs the nape of his neck nervously, chuckling at the fondness of Alex’s words
• “It was fun, I’ve taking a liking to her as well. I’m not usually that fond of kids but she’s pretty cute” he says
• Alex just beams his beautiful smile at Justin, not saying anything in return but communicating his thoughts through his facial expressions. Justin concludes that Alex is pretty damn happy right now.
• All of a sudden Justin’s phone breaks the moment, beeping constantly as new messages roll through, all from his fellow jock friends. He takes a peek at the lockscreen to read the incoming messages
• “Shit” he curses softly
• “What’s the matter?”
• “Bryce and the guys texted me, apparently my teacher is in a super pissy mood and noticed I wasn’t in class. I’m definitely in trouble”
• “Go then” Alex spoke softly
• Justin was about to protest before Alex spoke up again
• “You’ve helped me out enough Justin, you should get to class whilst you still can. We’ll be fine.”
• “Are you sure?” He asked timidly
• “I’m positive. Now go and have a great day.”
• Justin makes his way over to the door and is about to step through the threshold but stops to turn back to Alex
• “I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asks
• “Yeah, see you tomorrow Justin” Alex smiles at him
• Justin returns a smile of his own and gives him one last wink before he’s out the door.
• Alex shuts the door and leans his head against the cool wood. He replays the scenes of the entire day over in his head, Justin spending time with him was unusual but certainly not unwelcome. It was nice to see how Justin behaved in the presence of young kids, it made his heart beat faster at the thought of how maternal Justin had been. He’d be a great father someday.
• Alex lifted his head and giggles to himself, feeling light.
• The boys had built up an unlikely friendship between the two, and Alex couldn’t be happier.
~ extra~
• Alex could feel the buzz of his phone against his leg. He fished it out of his pocket and looked at the lock screen to see a text from his brother
Peter: It’s a girl x
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#weirdobsessedfangirl#justlex headcannon#justlex prompt#justin x alex#justlex#13rw#13 reasons why#justin foley#alex standall#my headcannon
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Chapter 104
Lexi had once been trampled by a horse. It had been during a considerably long and arduous Hunt that had culminated in her breaking her own wrist to escape a pair of shackles and leaping from a fourth story window into a lake in the dead of winter.
Even with al that, the morning after that event she had still felt better than she did waking up on this particular morning. While the Mistress had been correct when she had assured her that her breath would return, she had failed to mention the immense pain that had come along with it. It was as if every bone in her chest had been shattered and slowly put back together. Ever breath since had been agony and it had taken all of her effort to rise up from bed and stagger down the stairs, leaning heavily on the wall as she did so.
Romeo was already seated at their customary table, a tall glass of something green in his hand and the daily paper spread out in front of him. He glanced up at she dropped into the seat across from him.
“Woah, you look like shit,” Romeo said as he slid the glass across the table. “Want some? It’s a recovery drink. Has lots of green things in it.”
Lexi shook her head weakly. The thought of even trying to eat or drink was enough send her stomach into knots.
“You’re loss.” Romoe said, draining the glass before his attention was pulled towards the staircase. “Well, would you look at that.”
Lexi followed his gaze and watched as Misa gingerly made her way down the staircase, her movements stiff and awkward. Spotting them she slowly made her way over, encouraged by Romeo’s extremely cheery wave.
“Morning!” Romeo grinned. “You’re looking… Well actually you look like shit too. Though I have to say, you are pulling it off. That messy, bed-head look really suits you. Almost like you’re wild.”
Misa did not reply as she sat down, her green eyes falling on Lexi. Slowly she reached out her hand and dropped a small seed on the table. Lexi picked it up as Misa produced another seed and popped it into her mouth. Lexi gave Misa one more look before copying the action.
The seed was bitter on her tongue, but Lexi still bit into it. The skin was softer than she had expected and easily broke beneath her teeth. After a few moments of chewing the bitter flavor began to fade away to be replaced by a sweet, citrus taste.
“It will help with the pain.” Misa said after she swallowed. “But it will not relieve it entirely.”
Lexi nodded, chew a few minutes longer before she was able to finally swallow the seed. “Thank you.”
Cross slid into the seat next to Lexi. “Can you let anyone join the Guild without getting into a fight with them?”
Lexi shrugged.
“So it didn’t go well then?” Cross glanced between the two girls. “Mistress get you with Kes-Jin or Lan-Jin?”
“Kes Jin,“ Lexi said, getting a nod of support from Misa.
“Ah, fun.” Cross sighed and rubbed at his chest. “Tenchi masters prefer to do internal damage. It takes longer to heal and its harder to treat. It’s also ideal for assassination.”
“Wasn’t the Tenchi style formed in response to Magic?” Lexi asked. “I was under the impression that it was more often utilized defensively.”
“An assassination is just a preemptive defensive maneuver,” Cross said with a small grin. “I think you’ve said something like that before.”
Banksy dropped into the chair beside Romeo and rested his head against the table, allowing his arms to dangle towards the floor. “Who are we assassinating today?”
It was Servilia that answered. “No one, hopefully. Though I do have an assignment for you. Well, specifically, Cross.”
“I just got back,” Cross mumbled before holding out his hand. “Where I am I heading?”
“This is actually a request from the Mistress.” Servilia said.
“Another one?” Cross’s eyebrow went up.
“Yes. It seems there is something she would like for you to retrieve in Tejko.”
“Tejko?” Cross made a face. “Leaving today?”
“Tomorrow, actually. There is a ship leaving in the morning,” Servilia glanced around the table. “I should mention the rest of you are welcome to go along. In fact, I believe it is expected.”
“Why?” said Lexi.
“While officially this does stand as a Courier request for Cross, unofficially the Mistress has arranged a relaxing week for you in Tejko.” Servilia smiled. “You could consider it a congratulations of sorts, for all of your hard work.”
“But I’m still working?” Cross said.
“Yes,” Servilia patted him on the shoulder. “But you can just think of it as doing a favor for your mother. Is that better?”
“I guess.” Cross sighed as he stood up. “I’ll go talk to the Mistress
Servilia’s eyes fell on Misa. “Ah, Miss. Artemisa. I hope you found your new room adequate If you wish to make any changes, do not hesitate. Cross has informed me of your rather… unique ability.” Misa nodded. Servilia was not offput by her silence as her eyes fell on Banksy. “Nathan, don’t slouth like that. You’re ruin your posture.”
Banksy shot up, his back stiff as a board. “Right!”
“As for the rest of you, well I suggest you get packing. While it is winter, Tejko is known for it’s abundance of healing springs. I’m more than sure you will get to enjoy them,” Servilia said before she headed back to her desk.
“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Romeo jumped to his feet and promptly toppled over. Even before he hit the ground he was already cursing at Banksy. “You dick!”
“Did I not tell you?” Banksy grinned as Romeo kicked his legs above his head and began to untie his interlaced shoe straps. “The Prank War is back on.”
“Oh you don’t now what you’ve started, little man,” Romeo said. He would have said more, but he was suddenly aware that his fingers had become trapped inside the lacing of his shoes. “What the hell?”
“Oh right.” Banksy held up his hands to show off his ring adorned fingers. “Enjoy the Gordium knot. The more you pull at it, the tighter it gets. Best of luck!”
Cackling to himself Banksy hopped out of his chair and made his way out of the guild, leaving the struggling Romeo on the floor. From the table, Lexi and Misa watched him with what could only be described as a detached interested.
It was ultimately Misa who glanced at Lexi, a question in her eye.
“The boys have an on going Prank War.”
“I do not know what a ‘Prank’ is.”
“It’s like a trick. Usually to embarrass the other person. Usually it’s harmless, but last time it got… out of hand.”
Misa stared at her to continue.
“Many members of the guild were involved. Half of the guild was set on fire and someone lost a toe. The Mistress got involved…. I thought we had all agreed not to continue it, but it seems I was wrong.”
“I believe I understand.” Misa stared down at Romeo who had resorted to pulling his feet up to his mouth in an attempt to chew himself free of his restraints. “This is an interesting place.”
xXx
“Hello, Cross.” Jiana looked up as Cross entered her office. She placed her pen down on the desk and leaned back in her chair. “You look terrible. Have you seen Galen?”
Cross shook his head. “I’m alright. Everything seems to be healing up alright. Besides, I’m sure I’ll be able to relax, considering, you know, I’m heading to Tejko.”
“Don’t look so excited.” Jiana smiled softly at him. “You will be fine once you get there.”
“Yes, but the getting there is the issue.”
“The boat ride is not that long.”
“It’s not that short either.”
“You know how to swim.”
“The issue isn’t if I can swim or not, its if I can swim long enough for rescue.”
“I’m sure Alexis would be able to hold you aloft. Besides, you will have Makina and Misa with you. I’m sure with those three you will be fine.”
“Those three could just as easily be the cause of the ship sinking.”
“The ship won’t sink.”
Cross sighed. “I thought I was supposed to be the clairvoyant.”
“You will be fine.”
“Yeah, I know.” Cross slumped his shoulders in defeat. “So, what is the occasion? Besides the rest and relaxation that everyone else will be enjoying.”
“You will be able to enjoy it as well, don’t be so dramatic. Your task won’t take that long.” Jiana reached across her desk and picked up a gilded envelope. She spun it towards Cross. He caught it with a deft hand.
“What is it?” Cross said as he held it up to his eye. There was a dragon embossed in gold on the creamy white paper.
“It’s a payment.”
“For what?”
Jiana tilted her head towards the wall. Cross’s eyes followed to where a elegant Tenchi blade hung on the wall. A visible crack could be seen on the blade. “I commissioned a replacement last year. It is finally finished. And seeing as the temple has recently renovated the springs, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, as it were.”
“I see,” Cross nodded. “Courier Cross, package accepted. Estimated delivery time: next week.”
“Oh my, so professional.” Jiana’s eyes crinkled into a smile. “Be sure and have a good time. And keep the boys out of trouble.”
Cross returned the smile. “Yes, mother.”
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Give Yourself To Harmony - 4 / ?
This huge alien who looks like a chubby, purple potato, this loud man who is part of the newest alien species just discovered in Heleus, this angara who expresses himself so freely and openly just like the rest of his species, is his sister’s boyfriend.
Her first boyfriend, since her nerd ass never found someone intelligent enough to understand how special she is.
At least, that means this weird guy is clever.
In which Scott Ryder finally meets Jaal Ama Darav, his sister’s boyfriend. It will take him a while to get used to this.
Chapter 1 - 2 - 3
Also on AO3
Warning: this fic contains spoilers of the game, the ending, and the post-game content!
“Ryder,” SAM’s voice says, interrupting her dreams, “it is 0800 and Kallo wants you to know we have arrived at destination.”
She groans, rolling on her back; it’s a bit difficult, considering Jaal’s limbs are practically glued to her body and his embrace is so tight she can barely move.
He is snoring against her hair: if the sound was at first disconcerting and a bit deafening, now she can’t sleep without hearing it.
He even talks in his sleep sometimes, like the Moshae told her: random mumblings that don’t really make sense, but sometimes he also pronounces her name and calls her or asks her silly questions.
She actually writes them down whenever she hears them and later shows them to him; some make sense and reveal his interest for topics he must have thought about for a long time, but didn’t find the time or willpower to ask her directly.
Others are… special.
The silliest one was probably “did you ever cry watching a vid?”. She showed him which movies had made her bawl her eyes out in the past and she promised they would watch them all together.
The sweetest one was “how can I ask you to marry me without offending you?”
She didn’t tell him about that one, but she holds it dear in her heart, waiting for the day when he will find out the answer for himself and act.
Today he isn’t talking, just snoring and snorting, but he refuses to let her go when she tries to get off the bed.
“Thank you, SAM.” she whispers, not wanting to wake him up abruptly. “Are the others awake?”
“Kallo and Gil worked for most of the night as usual.” the AI says. “Cora and Suvi are on the bridge, Drack and Peebee are eating breakfast in the galley, Liam and Vetra are in the cargo bay, Scott and Lexi in the med bay.” A pause, then he adds slowly: “My responses tend to slow down when I use the crew’s first names, but you are right. It feels more familiar, this way.”
“Of course it does.” she smiles affectionately. “You can’t keep calling your family with their second names, SAM.”
“I agree. I noticed a change in their behavior too. Liam and Peebee call me Sammy sometimes.”
“If you start giving us nicknames too, I’m sure Dad will shed tears of happiness from up there.”
“I’m not sure my humor algorithms have developed so much. Playful nicknames depend on one’s talent to find amusing or endearing characteristics in another person’s appearance or personality and turn them into a funny, inoffensive name.”
Chloe manages to sit up, although Jaal’s arms and legs instinctively tighten around her, anchoring her to the bed. She starts caressing the arm draped over her stomach, watching intently the holographic figure of the AI on her desk.
“SAM, I doubt you could ever offend us.” She grins, even bouncing a little. “Come on, try it with me! What nickname would you give me?”
She never thought she would have a conversation about nicknames with an AI while in bed with her alien boyfriend, in their comfy room illuminated only by the stars outside.
For a second, it all reminds her of those vaporwave songs she and Scott always listened to while studying.
If SAM could stutter, he would probably do it right now. Instead, he just stays quiet longer than usual and then he says, very slowly: “I’d call you Static.”
“Well.” She blinks, then frowns, thinking about the reason behind such a choice. “That’s original. Why would you call me like that? Jaal is the one with the electromagnetic abilities.”
“That’s right.”
She scratches her head, not really sure she understands, and then she does.
Her hair. Like every morning, it’s sticking out in all directions, thanks to Jaal’s electric waves she constantly sleeps next to.
“Oh!” She beams at SAM’s round figure, hoping he can sense her pride. “SAM! That was a cool joke!”
“Thank you, Ryder.” SAM sounds almost smug and even a little bit flattered, but maybe it’s just her imagination. “I still need some time to think about good nicknames for the rest of the crew.”
“Please, do. I want to hear the one for Jaal.” Speaking of him, he’s still snoring like there is no tomorrow. His arm moved and his hand is now on her belly, warm and broad.
“Come on, honey.” she whispers, kissing his cheek while trying to get untangled. “It’s time to wake up.”
But he looks way too content and adorable, so she decides to let him sleep a little more. She manages to get out of bed and find her clothes they threw on the floor the night before.
Her breasts and the space between her legs still ache in that pleasant, soft way that speaks of how delicate and gentle Jaal is. She dresses slowly, blushing while she thinks about last night, Jaal thrusting into her and moaning words of love in her ear as she gasped and called his name.
She is about to tie her hair in the usual ponytail, the one she makes without even using an elastic band or ribbon, but then she changes her mind and lets it flow down her shoulders. They are not going into battle today, so she can keep it free for once.
She isn’t used to the feeling and it’s weird to look down and see the brown curtain follow the movement of her head and even block her line of vision. But Jaal loves her hair and she saw his face when he looked at that old picture of her with the pigtails.
“SAM, do you think I would look good with a different hairstyle?” She rubs her neck, suddenly self-conscious. “When I don’t have to fight, I mean. It would be nice to change it once in a while, at least here on the Tempest or on the Nexus.”
“I’m not an expert about human hairstyles and my opinion wouldn’t be much helpful.” SAM gently replies. “I suppose Alec never thought such knowledge would benefit me and our work.”
“Yeah, of course.” She looks at the mirror that popped up on the console of the wardrobe when she approached it.
She brushes two locks of hair fallen near her eyes with her fingers, staring critically at her reflection, then she takes a red hairclip shaped like a star and ties those locks behind her head: this way her hair is still let loose, but she managed to style it in a more tidied up way.
To be honest, she never felt beautiful. When she was little, some human kids at her school used to mock her looks, saying her nose was too big and her lips too full, and those comments stuck with her ever since.
Letting her hair frame her face like this would highlight all those flaws, she thinks, but she also admits she looks older and more sophisticated this way, almost elegant, sort of like Mom was.
You are more lovely than anyone I have ever known, in body and in spirit.
If Jaal told her that, it must be true, so she believes him and goes for it, brushing the tip of her hair with the comb one last time before going back to the bed and kissing his cheek.
He makes her feel gorgeous every day and she almost doesn’t know how to show the full extent of her gratefulness.
“SAM, please, wake him up in… let’s say, five minutes.”
“Of course.”
She smiles at her boyfriend, then at her reflection in the mirror and moves to leave her room.
Before she steps into the corridor, SAM says: “That hairstyle suits you, Chloe.”
She laughs and smiles at AI, nodding.
“Thank you, SAM.”
There is no time for a shower, so she goes straight to the galley to eat something and make sure Jaal’s favorite nutrient paste is still there and hasn’t been entirely used by Suvi for her weird culinary experiments.
“Who the hell are you?” Drack’s amused voice asks her as soon as she enters, the krogan’s eyes quick and attentive as always. Peebee, busy munching some of those dry cookies she likes so much, is slower, but when she finally raises her head and sees Ryder through bleary eyes, she gasps.
“By the Goddess!” she exclaims, in a fake high-pitched voice. “Ryder! You look so cute!”
“She’s right, kid. You look great.”
“Aw, thanks.” she laughs, fidgeting on the spot. She wonders if make-up would be too much, but then she changes her mind. It has never really been her strong suit and she doesn’t want to ruin this humble, but decent result by painting her poor face clumsily.
“Jaal won’t stop touching it for the whole day.” the asari cackles, wiggling her eyebrows, then she gasps again, an idea forming in her restless mind: “Oh! Remember your pigtails? I saw a human wear them differently once! She kept them on the front, not the back, though.”
“Yeah?” Ryder opens the pantry and sees that the paste is still there, much to her relief. She starts preparing a bowl of it, while Peebee continues excitedly: “Yes and it was cute! Actually, now that I think about it, it reminds me of the neck flaps angara have.”
She can’t see it because her back is turned to the table, but Ryder can definitely hear her sly tone as the asari concludes: “Why don’t you style your hair like that, the next time? I’m sure Jaal will love it.”
“It would give him an instant boner.” Drack comments dryly and Chloe’s cheeks turn beetle red.
“I… I will think about it.” she babbles, doing her best to ignore – or at least erase from her memory – Peebee’s next words: “Using hair during sex, huh… I wonder how that feels like.”
“Kid.” Drack grunts. “Please. I’m eating.”
“Thanks for the chat, guys!” Ryder exclaims, voice cracking, and she flees the room, a bowl of paste in her hand and one of cereal in the other. She forgot the milk, but she doesn’t really want to go back into the galley to retrieve it, not with Peebee describing in detail how cool a hairjob would be like.
She lets out a long, relieved sigh once she is back into her quarters. Like she asked him to, SAM has called Jaal, who is stirring and moving in bed, but still refuses to completely wake up.
“Let’s give him more time.” she giggles, placing his bowl of paste on the small table, before sitting on the bed and eating her milk-less cereals. It’s almost heretical and her mind can’t comprehend exactly what she’s putting into her mouth, but it will have to do for today.
Jaal seems to sense her presence, because his arms immediately look for her body; once he finds her, he smiles contently, eyes still closed, and nuzzles her thigh.
“Come on, sleepyhead.” she says, poking his forehead with her spoon. “It’s time to get up.”
“Five more minutes.” he mumbles, his voice deeper and hoarser than usual. It does things to her groin, but she fights the urge to undress completely and join him back under the covers.
A part of her cannot wait for him to wake up and see his reaction; another is scared and timid, but she knows he loves her no matter what. He told her so yesterday too.
To be honest, they always tell each other how much they love each other, almost every day. Liam once said they are the couple with the highest level of PDA he ever saw.
“Alright, only five more minutes.” She leans down and kisses his cheek, holding back a giggle when her hair tingles his face and he scrunches up his nose.
He is still too sleepy to open his eyes, but his hand on her legs refuse to move when she tries to get up after finishing her breakfast.
“Come on!” she laughs, poking him with the spoon again. “Eat your food and join us on the bridge. We’ve arrived on Aya.”
He hums affirmatively, but whines sadly when she frees herself from his hold and leaves the room again, her laughter making him smile into the pillow.
On her way to the bridge, she meets Scott and Lexi: her brother’s eyes are less red today and he clearly took a long, hot shower, because he looks refreshed and his cheeks are finally pinkish.
“Oh, how cute!” Lexi exclaims as soon as she sees her. “I wonder what caused this sudden change in style…?”
“She never braided her hair like that before!” Scott gasps, pretending to be shocked. He even puts a hand on his chest and takes a staggering step backwards, as if hit. “Sis! What’s gotten into you?”
“Come on, I just wanted to try something new.” she grumbles, blushing, and glaring at the smiling asari and her silly brother. “It’s not that bad, isn’t it?”
“No, of course not. You look really pretty.” Lexi reassures her, although she is definitely going to write this in her next psychological report.
“Yeah, it’s pretty good.” Scott’s smile softens and it becomes a little melancholic, but also very sweet. “You remind me of Mom.”
Then, before she can react and hug him, he turns smartass again and grins cheekily: “I’m sure Jaal will have fun touching it.”
Chloe huffs, redder than her shirt, but seeing her brother like this is a balsam for the soul. Maybe a good night of rest really did miracles or maybe he’s just really excited of finally setting foot on a new planet.
Frustration. That’s what SAM felt when he was briefly connected to Scott. At least, that’s what he told her and that detail has always been carefully stored in a corner of her mind, a painful reminder of what her brother went through, even before leaving the Milky Way.
It seems a part of that frustration is finally leaving him, transformed into relief, excitement, healthy curiosity. If everything goes right, then he and Jaal will be finally able to develop a beautiful friendship.
She wonders if he will ever call him “brother” like Jaal does. Scott can be pretty awkward with new people, even more than Dad was, and it might take him a while to get used to let himself go when around Jaal, but there is time and they are in no hurry.
At least, not until Sahuna will learn that he is finally back on his feet.
“I saw Aya from the windows. It looks great!” Yeah, that’s definitely impatience and curiosity. He is grinning more than he ever grinned before. “I read some info about it, but the Initiative doesn’t say much about it.”
“Yes, we don’t want to risk the kett learning too much from our communications, should they ever start to spy on us.” Chloe sighs, shaking her head. She admits that’s always been a big fear of hers: accidentally leading the kett right to the angara’s most important planet.
Fortunately, that has never happened and both the Initiative and the government on Aya have taken even more extreme measures to ensure only the minimal and most protected information would be transmitted; also, confused and lost as the kett are now after the Archon’s death, she doubts they have the resources and time to try anything reckless like diving through the Scourge.
“I want to visit the museum. And the Embassy. Oh, and the tavetaan!”
“Wow, you remembered the name.” Ryder chuckles, heading with him to the bridge, and he grins at her from above his shoulder as he climbs the ladder.
“I’ve had my fair amount of free time, remember? Ugh, sis, you really need to install a lift here. My back can’t take this ladder.”
“And where would you put a lift here? Come on, move your ass!”
Despite his complaining, Scott rushes to the bridge, happy like a child, and Suvi shares his excitement, listing to him all the flowers and cool rocks she found on Aya.
“There is this plant, the tavarv, and I tried following an angaran recipe to prepare snacks with it, but…”
“Let’s just say they weren’t good.” Kallo flatly adds from his seat, earning himself an angry pout from Suvi. He is the only one who can bear to see her like that without feeling bad.
“How rude! Jaal said they were good!”
“Of course he did.” Scott chuckles and Chloe, behind him, braces for a bitter joke or an annoyed comment.
But that never comes. Her brother shakes his head at Suvi and says matter-of-factly: “He is an angara. His taste-buds can appreciate that kind of food.”
There, nice and simple, the most practical statement in the world, pronounced without any snarky remark.
“See?” Kallo exclaims, pointing at him. “He gets it! He is the third one, after me and Cora, to tell you that!”
“Ryder tasted an angaran pie.” Suvi mumbles, her pout reaching the “trembling lower lip” stage. “She said it was excellent. Isn’t that true, Ryder- oh!”
She and Kallo see her only now and they both beam at her and her new hairstyle. Suvi even gets up to go near her and admire the red star-shaped hairpin.
“Ryder, you look so good! It’s so nice to see you like this!”
“A simple, but elegant look.” Kallo agrees, before smirking playfully. “Addison might treat you better, if you styled your hair like this all the time.”
“Oh God, no. I can’t let the people on the Nexus see me like this. I have a reputation to defend.” she jokes, but a part of her knows that she will have to look the part in the years to come.
‘Tight shirts and boring shoes, here I come.’ she thinks wearily, but the thought of Aya manages to make her feel instantly better.
That place brings so many good memories and the lake where Jaal brought her has truly become her favorite place in the universe. That day was so perfect and she can still taste the sweetness of the water on his lips or feel the timid touch of his broad hand between her legs.
(“Like this…?”
“Yes... Just like that, I think.”
“You are…” he chuckled, face flushed, in awe. “Very soft.”
“And you are…” she giggled, reaching for the length between his legs. “Very hard.”)
“Uh-oh, dreamy eyes again! She must be thinking about Jaal.”
Her brother’s voice reaches her ears and brain and she snaps out of it, staring at Scott’s smug grin.
“I…”
“Red cheeks, too.” Kallo sighs dramatically, shaking his head. “Must be something sweet.”
“Don’t you have a ship to fly?” she grumbles, suddenly happy to be able to cover her face with her hair. “Scott, stop laughing, or I will force you to meet Evfra.”
“Who?” A hint of panic does appear in his eyes – and Chloe feels bad for that -, but he’s also so thrilled to finally visit new places that the idea of meeting more angara, new people, doesn’t scare him anymore. In fact, he looks curious about that too.
“Evfra, the leader of the angaran Resistance. He helped us on Meridian too, but I doubt you saw him.”
“My brain was kinda fried in that moment, sis.” He hesitates, playing with his sleeve, eyes focused on Aya, which is getting closer by the minute as Kallo pilots the ship.
“Do you think I could meet the Moshae? She sounds interesting.”
“As soon as we land on Aya and she hears about you, she will expect you to go to her office.” she chuckles, before grimacing. “Sorry. It’s just that she is an expert about Remnants and she will want to hear what happened exactly on Meridian.”
“Oh boy, she’s gonna be so disappointed.” Scott laughs nervously, but he calms down when his sister pats his shoulder and says, smiling: “Don’t worry, she is also very kind and I’m sure she will understand. I’ll come with you too.”
“No! I mean, thanks, but…” He swallows, looking at the clouds now surrounding the ship as they fly towards the LZ. “I want to do this alone. I want to get used to all this by myself.”
“Scott…” she sighs, eyeing him worriedly. “Don’t strain yourself. You know you can ask for help, right?”
“Yes, yes! And I will ask for it, if I need it, I swear it. It’s just…”
“Chloe.” SAM intervenes on their private channel. “I believe Scott wishes to experience this by himself. Landing on Aya and exploring it will be his turning point, just like it was for you.”
“Oh.”
I… I will never be like you or Dad.
SAM is right. Scott needs to feel ready, useful, professional. If she and Jaal accompanied him around like two babysitters, he would probably feel like a child and it would probably hinder his experience with the angara.
“SAM, you are getting wiser than me.” she jokes, using the private channel, and the AI replies a millisecond after: “I’m flattered.”
“Alright, then.” she tells Scott, who beams at her. “Go have fun. You will probably meet Drack and Liam at the tavetaan, so don’t get too drunk.”
“Psychologically prepare yourself for the food, man.” Liam’s voice says behind them. “Angaran paste is the… shit, who replaced our Pathfinder with this new girl?”
“Ha ha.” She glares at the grinning man, folding her arms. “Yours was the rudest reaction, by the way.”
“What, are you writing them down? I’m sure Gil made a smartass comment.”
“He didn’t see me yet.”
“Hey, Gil!” Scott opens the comms, dodging his sister’s hand before she can swat him. “Did you see Chloe’s new hairstyle?”
“What?” the engineer sounds flabbergasted, then he pauses. “Please, tell me it’s pigtails.”
“Shut up and help Kallo pilot the ship.” she huffs, starting to regret her choice, but she knows Scott is just joking – probably to feel better and avoid thinking too much about his First Contact experience – and she still can’t wait for Jaal to see her and…
The door of the bridge opens and she doesn’t turn around at the speed of light, absolutely, she is ready to swear it in front of Tann and the rest of the leaders. She just moved very quickly, clearly alerted by the sound that isn’t absolutely familiar after all the time spent on the ship.
Nobody believes that, of course, judging by Liam’s snickers and Suvi’s giggles, but her initial embarrassment goes away when Jaal enters the room, perfect and perfumed as always.
His eyes immediately settle on her, recognizing her face among the others, and then they widen beyond measure. They are already pretty big, like all angara’s, but now they are practically filling his entire face.
He walks over to Ryder in two fast strides and stops just a few inches from her, staring at her like she is the most wondrous of creatures, the birthplace of creation, the answer to all questions, a stars-filled deity riding a yevara in the sky.
“Incoming boner!” Drack announces with his unmistakable belly laugh and Chloe splutters, hiding half of her face behind a hand, trying to ignore Liam’s louder snickers and her brother’s amused snort.
Jaal successfully ignores them as if they even aren’t on his same plane of existence. He keeps looking at Chloe, eyes big and full of nebulas, and his hands at his sides twitch, yearning for contact.
“Do you like it?” she asks, fidgeting, feeling like a teenager on her first date wearing her best frilly dress. “I… I wanted to try something different today.”
He doesn’t reply, but he’s blushing a lot and she suspects some of that blood is flowing down like Drack said.
“You can touch it, you know.” she giggles, raising an eyebrow at him. Jaal has always been fascinated by her hair, but she usually lets it down only in bed.
He touches it and kisses it before and after making love or before falling asleep; when on the Tempest or while taking a break somewhere while on mission, he twirls her ponytail around his index finger or brushes back her bangs, sweet gestures of love shared while modding weapons, eating, or waiting for a shuttle to arrive.
To see her hair like this, out of bed, must be pretty interesting, exciting, and yes, perhaps even arousing for him. He immediately raises a hand and gently brushes it against the side of her head, watching the delicate brown threads flow through his two separated fingers like silk.
Then he notices the two locks of hair tied behind and he tilts his head to see what that’s about: she hears him gasp when he sees the star-shaped hairpin.
“The wonders of human hair.” she jokes, getting redder. Jaal’s eyes quickly move back to her face and he says slowly, with all the sincerity, love, and certainty in the world:
“You are stunning.”
And here she giggles again, looking down before looking at him again, biting her lips as she grins at him.
His hand grabs hers and he is about to say something, something important and sweet and tender, she can see it, when Kallo announces: “We’ve arrived.”
Scott is bouncing on his feet right in front of the console of the galactic map and Chloe hears him point at all the cool things he’s already spotting in the docks of the city.
“Wow, it’s all so clean! Look at those cool roofs! And what are those things, solar lights?”
“Well,” she chuckles, looking back at Jaal, who seems to have just remembered where he is, “someone is eager to get off the ship. We should go.”
“Yes.” he says, voice hoarse and rumbling. He brings her hand to his mouth and kisses it without breaking eye contact. She grins again.
“Scott!” she then calls. “Come on, we will accompany you to the main entrance.”
Her brother runs to her like his life depends on it and then he remembers Jaal is here in the room too; the two men look at each other, slightly embarrassed, then Scott clears his throat and nods at Jaal with a smile.
“Good morning.” he says and Jaal smiles back; for a moment, they really look like two brothers-in-law and Scott even opens his mouth to say something else, but then he stops and nods towards the airlock.
“So…? Shall we go?”
“Yeah.” Chloe swallows down the slight disappointment and prefers to feel only the hope blossoming in her heart instead, the one that tells her these two dorks will soon talk with each other without embarrassment and fear.
She also dreads it a little bit, because that will also be the day when they will joke about her and Scott will show her boyfriend all the old, mortifying pictures of their childhood.
But that’s not a bad thing, after all, she thinks as Jaal’s hand move to caress her hair.
- - - -
Aya is beautiful. It’s alien, different, and new and Scott’s heart thrums wildly in his chest.
It’s like he finally boarded a ship and went through one of the relays of the Arcturus Station, leaving it all behind.
Well, he did do that – he did that to a so large extent that he left his whole galaxy behind -, but that’s not the point.
The point is that he’s finally exploring Heleus. Seeing the people and things that live in this new home so unfamiliar, so scary to him.
And even if his First Contact experience didn’t go so well, he’s not going to consider those two encounters on Meridian and the Nexus official, but will instead focus on what and who awaits him here on Aya, hoping he has learned one thing or two after a few hours spent on the Tempest with his sister, her angaran boyfriend, and the angaran dictionary SAM was so kind to update for him.
The docks of the city are cool – tidy and colored, they remind him of those Greek or Italian cities the Alliance often advertised to sea-lover aliens like the salarians and the drells.
The angara seems used to the Tempest landing in their city, but some still glance at its shape and engines with a yearning to learn more about them. Some even stop to admire it from afar.
Almost everyone acknowledges Chloe and Jaal’s presence, nodding at them, greeting them with a wave of their hand or a big smile, often followed by a “Pathfinder!” or “Hi, Jaal!”.
Then they see him and their curiosity returns: they don’t conceal it and it’s clear they notice his similarity with his sister – or perhaps they even recognize him from the vids -, because he hears the words “brother” a lot.
The two guards at the entrance are forced to ask him questions; he doesn’t appear on their records and they scan him first, eyeing him and Chloe.
“A new member of your crew, Pathfinder?” one of them asks, her tone kind, and she chuckles.
“Yes, he’s my brother, Scott.”
“H-Hello.” Babbling again. Why does he always have to babble in front of the angara?
He remembers what he told Chloe and what she told him; he thinks about the stuff he read while ill and the stuff he read the previous night and a bit of his anxiety dies out, although his hands keep sweating a lot and his throat is dry.
Thank God angara do not shake hands or he would have made a mess.
“Wait! You are the one the Archon caught!” the other guard gasps. He can’t see their faces due to their helmets, but the tone of the guard’s voice is unmistakable: awe, surprise, and even a tiny bit of admiration.
“Yes, that’s me.” he says, lamely, but the angara don’t seem to mind the obviousness of his words. They are thrilled by the confirmation, instead, and one of them laughs, even bouncing on his legs.
For a second, he reminds Scott of a cute, big, purple rabbit.
“I heard you helped killing him! Anyone who kicked the Archon’s ass is welcome here.”
He smiles at that, a true smile, and his next joke is decent, caused by his anxiety, but also his joy to be here, be alive: “It was a pretty good ass-kicking, I admit it.”
The angara laugh and then the door opens; Jaal and Chloe exchange with them a few more words while Scott proceeds, entering what looks like a small plaza, with a holographic news outlet and a beautiful mural depicting angara in ceremonial outfits.
There is a particular smell in the air, pungent, odd, but not unpleasant and he fills his lungs with it, his mind unable to give it a name. It reminds him of lilac or perhaps basil, but he isn’t sure and he stops trying to recognize it. Everything here is new, different, but that’s not always a bad thing.
“The market is this way.” Jaal tells him, pointing at a beautiful pathway lined with flowers, benches, and round floating lights, which turn out to be a bigger, more complex version of the angaran omnitools that everyone in the city can use.
The feeling of being in a tropical or Mediterranean city increases, but there are also many details that tell his mind he isn’t on Earth; first of all, the angara he can see everywhere, accompanied by their melodious voices, colorful garments and scarves, and loud manners.
Then the flowers and plants, so mysterious and strange-looking; Scott has never been an expert about flora, but he recognizes a new ecosystem when he sees one.
There are waterfalls too: he can hear their sound echo in the pathway and then he sees one, tall and majestic, its sweet water falling on his hair and skin in round, luminescent droplets. It’s not cold and he is sure it shimmers faintly: perhaps an effect of the angaran bioelectricity?
At last, the market appears in front of his eyes, framed by more colored tiles, by the symbols of the angaran alphabet – which looks eerily familiar -, by more angara talking, bartering with each other, selling and buying or simply enjoying the view from the terrace.
A sight like this would have overwhelmed him just the day before, after his first awful encounter with the angara; now he feels calmer, even though he cannot deny how painful that little bit of anxiety still boiling in him is, especially when it twists his stomach like that.
He prays there are public bathrooms here.
“Well… We will leave you to your exploration, then.” his sister says, smiling at him, and she shakes her head when Jaal asks her a question with his eyes. He doesn’t even need to pronounce it: she immediately understands what he wants to tell her and she replies in the same way, using her expression and a simple gesture of her hand.
She has learned a lot from Jaal and the angara.
Despite the startling openness on his sister’s face – she has always been so awkward and goofy that reading her was like trying to decipher a Hanar poem -, Scott doesn’t feel bad, jealous, or scared.
He’s surprised and a part of him – one he still doesn’t want to admit exists – wants to become extroverted and clear about his feelings too.
“Alright, I… I will start from the market, I guess.” He clears his throat, looking around with his hands on his hips, a typical Dad’s pose. “What should I do if I get lost?”
“Use the map on your omnitool – SAM automatically downloaded it for you – or the one provided by the transport service.” Chloe explains without missing a beat, precise like Mom. Then she smirks and he sees a trace of amusement in her eyes. “Or ask for directions.”
Jaal laughs at that, but he is not mocking him, just agreeing with her, and Scott plays along, lightly punching her shoulder.
“Go, you two. Go smooch somewhere and let me explore in peace.”
“Brother. Scott.” Jaal hesitates for a second, before lowering his voice: “If someone bothers you, call us or come to us. Understood?”
“What?” Part of his anxiety spikes up. “Why should someone bother me?”
“They might exaggerate with their jokes or ask you too many questions, for example.” Jaal is eyeing him like he is a frail child, one who needs a lot of protection to go around. He feels mildly offended, but then he understands the big guy’s intentions.
He isn’t trying to offend him nor he thinks he really is weak and in need of assistance. He just wants to make sure his experience on Aya will be good, for the sake of Chloe too.
Every time he stops to think about things for a second without giving in to panic, things look better.
So he doesn’t snap at Jaal or glare at him; instead, he smiles at him and punches his shoulder too, seeing how happy that makes him and Chloe.
“Don’t worry! I’ll handle them better than yesterday, I promise. And if I won’t…” He looks at them both, serious: “Then I’ll come to you, I promise.”
“Good!” His sister and Jaal beam at him, then they leave, heading hand in hand towards the raised side of the market, the one with the terrace looking out over the beautiful, incredibly diverse landscape of Aya.
He thought it was strange seeing lava and hurricanes coexist together with lush vineyards, vines, and tropical forests. This sight that he observed from the Tempest as they landed was jarring enough to confuse him, but now he thinks it’s a pretty good analogy to the angara: welcoming and full of life, but also passionate, stubborn, ready to show how lively they can be.
He admits this was a thought that frightened him a lot: it haunted him during dinner, because if the angara can be so open with their love and kindness, that means they can be open with their rage and frustration too, right?
But then he saw the love in Jaal’s eyes, he saw the way he worries for Chloe, the way he always touches her with respect, with a sense of healthy possessiveness that says “you are mine and I am yours, whenever you go take me with you.”
Even now, from the distance, he watches them walk along the terrace with huge smiles on their faces and Jaal’s eyes never leave hers as she speaks or points at stuff on the horizon. His hand grasps tightly hers and he admires the shape of her nose and the color of her hair.
Believing the angara capable of being abusive partners just because they show their emotions without restraints was a foolish, rude, childish thing to do and Scott is aware of that now, so aware that shame burned his heart more than once during the night, as he spent hours reading their vocabulary, filled with poetry and affection for every little thing in life.
Ascribing to this new alien species human faults or characteristics is stupid and he should know better than that. He knows it was his fear talking and that he really didn’t think all angara capable of being dangerous with their feelings, but that’s not an excuse and he feels the strong urge to shout how sorry he is at the top of his lungs, so that every angara can hear him.
He glances at his sister and her boyfriend one last time, before they disappear from his sight, swallowed by the crowd and foliage: Jaal is whispering something in her ear and Chloe is laughing, her hair moving in the wind and drawing shapes in the air.
Scott sees some angara look at them, probably surprised by seeing one of their people and a human be together. They glance down at their hands, then at Chloe’s smile as she kisses Jaal’s cheek, then at his dark, intense look as he whispers something else, his other hand moving to touch her hair.
Ah, he was right, then. They are really going to smooch each other somewhere.
Chuckling, he enters the market and is relieved to see it’s not dissimilar from the market one would see in a small town of Earth or in specific neighborhoods of the Citadel: there is food – surprisingly, only a vast array of fruit and vegetables -, but also weapons and armors and anything angara may need in their fights against the kett.
One of the merchants glare at him when he timidly approaches his booth, so he steers away from him and stiffly moves to the fruit merchant, an angaran woman with a small, but kind smile.
“Hello.” she says, noticing his interest. “Would you like some angaran fruit? It’s all cultivated here on Aya.”
“Uh…” His bad habit of torturing his hands come back, but as long as he doesn’t snap his fingers in half, he should be good. He spots a round, yellow fruit similar to a mango, but it clearly isn’t a mango and he has no idea how it tastes like.
“That is a paripo.” the merchant explains. “It’s sweet, with pungent undertones. I think you might like it.”
“I…” Scott takes a deep breath and looks at the angara. Small steps, he tells himself. Small steps. Don’t mince your words.
“Forgive me if I’m rude,” he starts, hoping it won’t sound like a terrible apology for what he’s about to say, “but I was told angara mostly eat… paste? Is that right?”
The angara chuckles, a crystalline sound. Like Jaal before, she isn’t mocking him or laughing at him, but simply expressing amusement and it’s fascinating and refreshing how immediately clear the meaning is, how Scott can understand it so easily, without misunderstandings.
“Yes, we turn our food into paste. Easier to carry and consume in battle without wasting precious resources. That way more people can eat and we… how you humans say it? Kill two birds with one stone?” She chuckles again, shaking her head. “That’s a silly, but funny idiom. I like it.”
“Silly, but funny. That’s us!”
He uses humor to feel better, and he does feel better, especially when the merchant laughs with him.
“Fruit in this form is rare.” she continues, gesturing at her goods. “And expensive. If you buy a paripo from me, it means you are have something to celebrate.” She stops, blinking slowly. “You know, it’s strange. I’m sure I already had this conversation, long ago.”
“Maybe another alien asked you the same questions.” Scott suggests, taking a new interest in this paripo fruit. It looks good and if angara think it tastes sweet, then it must be the most saccharine thing human taste-buds will ever taste.
Also, if it really means what the merchant said it means… he has another reason to buy one.
“Yes!” the woman exclaims all of a sudden, making him jump. “You are right! I said the exact same thing to the Pathfinder, the first time she was allowed through the gates.”
“Oh, you mean my sister!” he blurts out, a huge grin spreading on his face. He’s always happy to brag about her and hear more about her experiences, especially now and here, surrounded by her First Contact species.
The merchant blinks again, eyes wide, then she narrows them, studying him intently. Scott stays still, continuing to smile, and the angara murmurs: “Stars. You do look like her.”
“We are twins.” He rubs his neck, not used to being stared at like that. “Uh… So…”
The angara starts chuckling again and this time the sound turns into a giggle.
“She was calmer than you.” she says, sincerely but without judging. “But still very, very excited and curious, like you are. I can see you are part of the same family.”
“Thank you.” He smiles and nods at a paripo. “Can I buy one?”
“Yes, we accept your credits. Bartering for a paripo would cost you too many things, anyway.” She taps something onto her omnitool and Scott’s pings; a window opens up and he can see the total, which apparently includes a “bag” to carry the fruit.
It’s a lot of credits, but it’s not like he didn’t bring any money from the Milky Way. Chloe was also kind enough to send him some, a few days before his discharge from the Cryo Bay.
He accepts the transaction and both omnitools ping again.
“Thank you.” the angara smiles, before turning to take a bag of unknown material and one of the round fruits. She stops, though, and looks back at Scott.
“Wait, do you plan to continue your visit? You can leave the bag here and come get it later.”
“Oh!” He glances at the fruit: it’s not big, but it will definitely get bothersome to carry around. “You are right. Thank you.”
The merchant takes a rectangular label and what looks like a short, green pencil. She hands them both to Scott and motions him to write.
“Your name.” she explains when he stares at her without moving a muscle. “So we will know which bag is yours.” She grimaces. “Not that I expect more people to buy a paripo, but you never know. The Archon’s death is cause of celebration.”
“Tell me about it.” he chuckles, writing down his name in clear – Latin – letters; the angara observes them take form on the label with an appreciative hum, then asks: “What does it say?”
“Scott.”
“Scott Ryder.” She nods, as if she heard that name before and she probably has, although she didn’t know it had his face. “Mine is Felaan. Thank you for helping kill the Archon, Scott Ryder.”
“You are welcome.” he grins, suddenly feeling proud of himself, and he gives her the label. She sticks it to the bag with another giggle.
- - - -
He reaches the tavetaan next and it’s a cozy, relaxing place. There are mostly angara sitting at the tables or at the counter, but he also sees Nexus scientists and researchers, taking a break or talking with the citizens of Aya.
He sees hope and enthusiasm in everyone’s eyes and he knows it’s all very recent, that things were bad at first, especially when exaltation was first discovered or when the truth about the Jaardan came out.
The war isn’t over, of course, and both the angara and the Initiative know this, but with the Archon dead and the kett confused and leaderless, it’s obvious people just want to let themselves go for a while and enjoy this moment of relative peace.
This is what his sister and her team achieved. When she first came here, there were fear and distrust, then she changed it all for the better.
But, he admits to himself, even if rather timidly, I guess I did my small part too.
He asks for a drink and the bartender – he discovers he’s actually a very important figure, a sort of cook-slash-scientist who continuously works on nutrients and food to help the population – smiles at him and gives him a tall glass full of… something.
“Oh boy. What is it?” Scott chuckles, not nervously, but excitedly. The drink smells funny, but not bad. It looks like plain water, but he sees that beautiful shimmer again, as if it is full of glitter, and realizes it really is the water of Aya.
The bartender – Roaan - confirms it is, his grin growing.
“There is a small quantity of tavum in it. It’s an intoxicant, but it shouldn’t get you drunk.”
“Alright. Here goes nothing!” He closes his eyes and drinks the water all in one gulp.
At first, he tastes only the light, peculiar sweetness of the water, then the tavum hits him like a sack of bricks to the face: he coughs and sputters, but thankfully he doesn’t spill any of the drink onto the counter and the bartender lets out a roaring laughter, not unlike Jaal’s.
The unpleasant experiences he had the previous day are gone from his mind: Scott laughs with the bartender and the other angara who watched the scene and then two of them let him taste their own drinks, sharing directly the glass with him, not caring that he’s an alien.
He learns the names of the fruits used to make those cocktails, the names of the drinks, and then the names of the angara themselves. They are loud and kind and it’s almost like being back to the barracks on the Arcturus Station, but there isn’t an underlying sense of shared frustration here, only joviality and camaraderie.
And instead of looking at his map, Scott asks them for directions.
Thanks to their explanation, he finds the Repository of Memory without problems, but he risks to get lost in it: not because it’s particularly big or anything, but because it’s full of angaran, Remnant, kett, and Milky Way relics.
He looks at every single stand, reads every single plaque, and asks so many questions to the curator – an angara called Avela – that her two assistants have to intervene so he can ask them questions too, without bothering the poor, busy woman too much.
They say this with the most amused and fond smiles he ever saw on someone’s face and when they learn he’s Chloe Ryder’s twin brother – “Stars, I didn’t notice the similarities!” – they become even friendlier.
“She found three very important angaran relics! They predate the Scourge, a detail of the utmost importance.” the curator says and his pride for Chloe grows, just like his hope to be able to find similar artifacts in his journeys.
He still fears he won’t be able to grow like she did, but perhaps all that matters is that he grows, even if his results will be different from hers.
Just as he ponders about that, admiring an ancient angaran musical instrument, a door opens and two other angara enter the room, coming from what looks like an underground part of the Repository or another floor entirely.
They catch his attention immediately: one angara, a woman, looks rather elegant, with golden accessories on her head and clothes. She looks different from the other female angara he saw: more… delicate, but tougher at the same time. She gives him a lot of maternal vibes.
The other angara, a man, is scary. A big, frowning guy with two ugly scars on the left side of his face, glaring at his angaran omnitool as if it just offended his mothers.
“You work too much, Moshae. Your vitals are still low.” he says with a tired sigh and Scott thinks he is the one who should rest more, if that’s how he usually sounds like. Then he realizes how he just called the woman next to him.
“That’s not true. I believe I’m not working enough, to be honest.” the Moshae chuckles graciously. “I enjoy being ambassador of Heleus. It is a huge responsibility, but it’s not like I never had those before.”
Then her eyes – so big and galaxy-like like all angara’s – set on Scott and she lets out a small, whispered “oh”. She smiles at him and walks over to him, followed by her confused, tense companion.
“Paavoa.” she greets him, slightly bowing her head, and Scott does the same, mouth dry, sweat running down his back.
“Hello.” he says, hoping that’s the right way to respond to that. “So… you are the lady Moshae?”
She giggles at that, but doesn’t correct him or anything, so he assumes he didn’t say something entirely stupid. The guy behind her, though, looks even more confused and annoyed.
“I am. It is a stubborn title that will never leave me, I fear.” Her smile grows and it becomes warmer. “You are Scott Ryder, are you not?”
Her friend, who is busy typing something onto his omnitool, freezes and his head snaps back at where Scott is, big eyes drilling a hole into his face.
“What?” he murmurs and Scott desperately tries to remember whether he ever offended this guy or his family in any way in the past.
“I… I am.” he confirms, looking back and forth from the Moshae to her friend, silently asking for her help or any kind of explanation. “You saw me in one of the vids going around?”
“Oh, no, I saw you that day on Meridian! You probably didn’t notice me, you were far too weak and hurt.” Her tone turns sympathetic and kinder when she pronounces the last sentence. He knows she is perfectly aware how painful a meeting with the Archon could be.
“You were on the battlefield, too?” he says, not really able to imagine such a lady punching or shooting kett, but angara are surprising creatures, he learned, so his confusion passes soon.
“I was and I greatly enjoyed myself.” She raises her chin high, proud. “The day the Archon died will probably become an angaran holiday.”
Then she turns to her friend, her smile containing a hint of amusement.
“Evfra, stop glaring at this poor boy and introduce yourself.”
Being in the presence of the leader of the angaran Resistance should fill Scott with his familiar anxiety and panic, but the past hour he spent in Aya did miracles for him and he feels reborn, so much he is able to beam at the towering angara and extend his arm to shake hands with him in the angaran way.
“Evfra of the Resistance, right? I heard about you. I’m Scott Ryder.”
His gesture greatly surprises Evfra: he obviously didn’t expect him to know how angara greet each other and he looks at his arm like it’s a poisonous barb, before relaxing a bit and bumping his fist against his shoulder.
He grunts while doing so, but at least he isn’t glaring at him anymore.
“Ryder.” He pronounces that name with a fake calm and his expression hardens for a second. “Please, tell me you are not related to the Pathfinder.”
“I am her twin brother.” He feels like joking, even if Evfra looks ready to die. “Can’t you tell from my face?”
The angara stays silent, then he inhales and exhales slowly, even closing his eyes while doing so.
Then he looks pained and a sound much similar to a low, resigned sigh leaves his lips as he turns to the Moshae, scowling.
“I want to retire.”
- - - -
Half an hour passes until the Moshae lets him leave the Repository. Like Chloe expected, she asked him some questions about the Archon and the Remnant tech, but it went better than what Scott hoped: not only he didn’t panic or answered rudely due to his trauma, he also managed to keep calm enough to answer honestly and clearly, sometimes even cracking a joke or two.
He promises her he will come back soon to continue their conversation and the last impression she gives him is that of a very wise, strong-willed woman.
Evfra is probably the grumpiest angara he has ever met, but there is great sincerity in his manners too and he goes straight to the point, blunt and honest like very few people in the Milky Way were.
There was a moment when Scott stared too much at his scars and the angara glared at him again, barking: “What? Never saw scars inflicted by a kett weapon before?”
“Sorry!” Scott’s panic rose a bit in that moment, but he managed to keep it under control and fix everything with a candid: “The kett left some scars on me too. On my brain, to be more precise.”
Evfra narrowed his eyes and frowned, perfectly silent, while the Moshae gasped loudly.
“The Remnant tech, right?”
“Yeah. When my sis and I interfaced with it without our AI, it fried our brains a little. The doctors found some faint scarring on them.” He realized he had probably revealed a very alarming detail, so he hurried to add, also to defend his sister’s reputation: “But it’s nothing serious! It doesn’t stop us from doing our work, it was just… uh… a flesh wound?”
The Moshae smiled at that and reassured him that she understood perfectly, but Evfra stared at him with something akin to sympathy and a weird kind of respect for the whole time.
Now Scott is wandering near the entrance of the Resistance Headquarters, admiring the way the light plays with the waterfalls and the differently colored skin of the angara.
He’s getting hungry and just as he debates whether go back and buy some fruit to eat while walking or see if the nutrient paste the tavetaan sells really is that bad, he spots his sister and Jaal near the terrace.
She is laughing as he plays with her hair – no, he’s trying to braid it.
He’s laughing too, but there is also a look of deep concentration on his face whenever he looks back at the brown locks in his big hands. She is holding her hairpin, waiting for him to complete the hairstyle.
“So I twist it… just like this?” he asks, seizing the hair in a delicate grip and twirling it; Scott realizes he’s trying to tie it in Chloe’s usual ponytail, but with little success, also because of his bioelectricity which causes a lot of static to go around.
“Yes, then ...” she starts, but another laugh bubbles up in her throat and she lets it out, bringing a hand to her mouth to muffle it. There are tears of mirth and joy in her eyes and Jaal laughs with her, bumping his forehead against the back of her head.
They laugh like two teenagers in love – no, that’s not right, their love actually looks more mature than that. It reminds Scott of a kind of love he already saw before and then he understands.
They are just like Mom and Dad were in private, in those quiet moment when Dad thought he and Chloe were asleep or too busy in their rooms to hear how loudly their parents were laughing and joking.
He remembers a particular day, when he walked in on his parents playing like that: Dad couldn’t close the zipper of Mom’s dress, no matter how hard he tried, and they were giggling so much their faces had gotten all red.
Dad looked rather sheepish when he noticed Scott, but the twinkle in his eyes stayed there for the whole day, another proof of how much he loved his family and how much strength his hard job took from him.
“Wait, I’ll show you again.” Chloe says and she ties her hair in just a few seconds, with swift, precise movements of her hands and wrists. Jaal hums thoughtfully, then he delicately unties the ponytail and smooths her hair with his large palms.
“Beautiful.” he murmurs, before kissing the back of her head and her cheek, and she laughs again, patting his thigh.
“Come on, Darling One! Try again.”
They look adorable and Scott smiles, wondering how he could ever fear the angara to be dangerous, how he could ever fear Jaal to be dangerous for Chloe.
He is about to leave, his heart finally at peace like never before, when he hears them.
“Ugh, can you believe it? The alien took him!”
“It means he really is dense, then.”
He slowly turns to where the two voices are coming from. Two female angara are whispering to each other while giving sidelong glances to Chloe and Jaal; they look surprised, disappointed, one of them might even be a bit angry, but most of all they look confused.
“I don’t understand. What does he see in her? She is not bad-looking, but…”
“Her head is small and her legs are weird. Also that hair he’s touching… Skkut, it’s disturbing.”
Scott breathes deeply and counts to ten, although he keeps glaring at the two angara without pause.
“The most handsome fighter of the Resistance… together with an alien.” One of the two women sighs, folding her arms on her chest. “What a waste.”
“I heard humans might be compatible with us, though.” her friend says, causing the other angara and Scott to jump.
What?
“What?”
“Yes, I’m not joking! They are much similar to us, even internally, and since we were… you know… created, maybe the Jaardan wanted us to be similar to other races they found in the universe.”
The other angara babbles some unintelligible words, then she manages to spit out: “What are you saying? The Jarevaon Imasaf is too far from here! The Jaardan…”
“The Jaardan created life. Who knows, maybe they were able to travel through galaxies without much problems, they saw the humans, and thought it would be useful to make us compatible with more species.”
“Useful why?”
The angara shrugs. She is talking about her species’ creation and the possible implications and reasons behind it like one would talk about the weather.
Her friend shakes her head, scoffing, and goes back to her unashamed staring. Chloe and Jaal are laughing again after the ponytail Jaal tried to make immediately got loose.
“Stars, can you imagine? Their children would be so odd. Her nose is so big.”
“I like her laughter, though.”
“Yes, but he is more stupid and blind than I thought.”
Scott can’t stand that anymore: grunting, he stomps towards the two women and clears his throat loudly to catch their attention.
They gasp and turn to him, tensing up.
“That human is my sister.” he starts, making the two angara gasp again. He can’t tell, but they are paler than before. “And she is the best person in Andromeda. The fact that the best fighter of the Resistance was able to see that and got together with her means he is a great person too.”
He folds his arms, glaring at the two women, trying to look imposing and bigger like Dad taught him before he went to work on the Arcturus Station.
“So, please. Stop talking ill of my sister and my brother-in-law and aim your jealousy and envy at someone else.” He grunts. “Better yet, appreciate how special their love is and find some harmony in your lives. I just did that and it feels good.”
He smiles at them, to show them he’s not angry anymore – he still is, but he doesn’t want to appear too frightening or resentful – and walks away, heading towards the Resistance Headquarters, his steps light, his heart even lighter.
The two women share a dumbfounded look, then they glance at the couple again: they are now facing each other, Chloe’s hair tied in a messy, but tight ponytail, and Jaal is caressing her cheek while holding her close. They are staring into each other’s eyes, murmuring words of love.
“Alright.” one of the two angara admits with a sigh. “They are kind of cute, I guess.”
Her friend stays quiet for a while, then she timidly asks: “Don’t you think the Pathfinder’s brother is particularly… fascinating?”
A few notes about this chapter!
- The frustration Scott feels is actually canon. After finishing the game, you can ask SAM how being connected to Scott felt like. He says that he sensed frustration and a growing desire to explore the unknown while staring at the relays of the Arcturus Station. "The rest is private", but he also says that despite his illness, Scott was ready to jump on his feet and fight. Ryder is as strong as he is, but she expresses that potential differently, probably because her job was more satisfying and she didn't miss anything while in Andromeda.
- All the angara mentioned in this chapter actually appear in the game: Felaan really is the fruit merchant, Roaan is the bartender/scientist who takes care of the tavetaan and works on the nutrient paste, and the two whispering angara are the ones who gossip about Jaal when you first explore Aya.
- I'm not sure whether Bioware really is pushing the "angara and human are compatible" idea or not with all their hints scattered around, but I like to think that through some space magic (or perhaps thanks to the angara's nature itself, like the end of the chapter implies) they might really have children together. Hybrids are actually canon in the Mass Effect universe: in the OT, it's stated that there are ways to create interspecies offspring, but they are illegal and frowned upon just like experiments with AI. It's a pretty delicate topic and I still have to decide whether an angaran/human hybrid would look good and healthy or not, but since the angara were a The Sims-like experiments made by the Jaardan, I wouldn't be surprised if their creators made them compatible with other species they observed in other galaxies (maybe the Jaardan could observe the other galaxies thanks to their synthetic nature or, if they weren't synthetics, they used the Remnants? Who knows?). It's all crazy theories, so let's just say it's all a big, bolded "?" and let's go with adoption for now :'D
- The comments about Chloe's look and her insecurity come from the heavy criticism the default/Sara look (the one I used for Chloe) got when the game was released. At first, I didn't like it much either, but then it really grew on me and now I think the default face is the cutest. I love it a lot ; v ;
#mass effect#me:a#jaal ama darav#chloe ryder#rydaal#lafaiette's fic#THESE CHAPTERS ARE GETTING SO FREAKING LONG
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