#nerdyholler

The comment made a laugh stutter out of him. There was a tightness in his chest that he wanted to ignore, the pain of so many truths wanting to burst out and spill all, and the agony of the chains that held them in place. Now was not the time for her to know. The kiss they had shared nearly unlocked every encrypted thought, but he was not ready. Nor was she. “Everybody has secrets, Ryder. Even you.”

“Psshhh.” The whiskey was apparently going to her head much faster than his own. She’d kill him for calling her a lightweight later. “Doubt it!”

“Alright, Ryder...” he swirled the mostly empty bottle of Mount Milgrom around before pulling a hit. “How about we play a game. You tell me things about yourself, and I’ll stop you if it’s something I haven't heard. In return, I’ll tell you some things about my life before the Initiative.” A cheap trick to play on a poor drunk woman, but he was also curious. There were only so many things in personnel files.

Kitt stole back the bottle to take her own drink, slamming it firm down on the shipping crate they were seated on. “Deal. I got arrested by C-Sec about a dozen times before my family left to live with Mom on Earth.” Silence. “I knew Garrus Vakarian! Briefly… Really? Argh. I always loved archaeology, but Dad always corrected me to say I liked ‘paleontology’ until I actually got into real archaeology. Seriously?!” The frown on her lips worked its way up her face, wrinkling her nose and creasing her eyebrows. “How d’you know this stuff?”

“As you are always so keen to remind me, gathering information is what I do best, Ryder. Go on, keep going.”

With a loud groan, she pulled off her jacket and threw it into a pile between them. Another shot of whiskey and she seemed raring to go again. “My Dad created SAM behind the Alliance’s back and it got him disbarred--”

“That’s cheating, Ryder. And, yes, I already knew that.” Reyes almost laughed when she bounced in frustration. That only seemed to make her more frustrated, and she was talking faster, even as her cheeks grew redder from the alcohol.

A yawn tried to fight its way past her words, but she stifled it down. “I crashed the Nomad the first time I used it because I mixed the pedals up. My middle name is Rachel. I picked a military outpost even though I knew it was a mistake, almost got shot on Aya for using my scanner, I insulted the Archon - twice. Drunkenly tried to kiss Keri. I lied to my brother about Dad being dead and Habitat 7.”

Reyes couldn’t help but chuckle. “Ryder. All of that is in official Nexus documentation - except that part about the reporter. That… I heard about through other channels.”

“Argh!! Uuuhm, I was forced out of my platoon and lost all my friends because of the Initiative. I was born a biotic but my brother wasn’t. I’m a minute older than him. I almost punched Cora. Also almost punched Peebee. Then I had sex with her - bad idea. Uuuuhhmmm?” Kitt rubbed her nose trying to think, while he simply watched, eyes glowing with amusement. All she really had to say was one personal thing from back before the Initiative, but she wasn’t thinking about it, or she didn’t want to. Something they maybe shared in common. Or, perhaps, it was that haze of sleep in her eyes that was slowing her down.

“Come on, Ryder, surely you can do better?” he teased.

She slumped against his shoulder, taking a long drink before handing the bottle back to him, face flushed and eyelids heavy. “I dunno anymore…” she mumbled. “You know everything…”

“Ha ha, if only it were so easy as that. It would make my work so much simpler. Are you sure you’ve tried everything, Ryder?” She drearily nodded her head. Apparently she was a sleepy drunk. When she started to slouch her weight on him even more, it was easy enough to guide her head down to rest in his lap. Kitt voiced no complaints.

“Well...” she drolled, closing her eyes, “there is this one thing.”

“Yes?”

“I thought you were cute the first time I saw you,” she hummed her words, a smile gracing her lips. “Very kissable.”

Those words lingered in his ears just long enough to make a heat rise in his chest; even his face felt warmer than usual. This woman, a Pathfinder no less, allied with the Initiative that betrayed all the exiles on Kadara, was worming her way into his body and mind.

That kiss in the storage room was supposed to be innocent, no ulterior motives beyond the distraction it provided, and yet… Reyes couldn’t help himself when she silenced all his fears about this new life in Andromeda. You’re someone to me , she had said. All he had ever wanted to be was someone that mattered, someone that would make a difference, someone people would look up to and be proud to know. It seemed he had become that person unknowingly because of her. For her.

“Well, that is a surprise, Ryder.” He laughed quietly to himself, but found no response followed his. Glancing down it became plainly obvious as to why. “If you fall asleep now, Ryder, you won’t learn any of my deep dark secrets.” Again, nothing. She was out like a light. Reyes tried not to laugh in case it might wake her up. This might be the only time he would see her in such a pleasantly serene state. All the stress he could normally see on her shoulders and in her features just melted away as she slept there.

As time passed, the bright orange star dipped lower on the horizon, coloring the sky in a broad spectrum. Perhaps one of the most beautiful sunset’s Reyes has seen since finding himself on Kadara. It had been a long time since he had spent any prolonged time in the Port proper to see a sunset like this one. The landing pad in the slums didn’t offer this nice of a view.

She knew better than to let something so insignificant bother her but the conversation resurfaced feelings of inadequacy in her. It was obvious she and Jaal were genetically incompatible and, while they hadn’t yet talked about having a family in the future, she thought she was robbing him of the opportunity to have a big angaran family of his own flesh and blood.

With a stifled groan and quick ruffling of her own hair, she chastised herself and tried to distract herself by singing along to the tune blaring from her speakers instead.

“Southern skies, have you ever noticed southern skies…Southern skies, it’s precious beauty…” she sang and hummed softly, fingers finally tapping the keyboard to the beat of the song as she continued her report.

Of course, this was the moment she would be interrupted by the one person she had been thinking about not a moment ago. Jaal casually walked into her room, smiling widely when he caught her singing and moving her shoulders slightly side to side in tune. Ever the sucker for procrastinating, Sara didn’t protest when Jaal stood before her and held out his hand. Her singing was only briefly interrupted by a giggle as she took his hand.

Pulling her to her feet, Jaal danced as best he could to the song, mostly following her lead. They danced, held each other close, and laughed when they tripped over each other until the song ended and it was followed by a faster, upbeat tune.

“I don’t think I can dance to that one,” Jaal chuckled, leaning down to her level and pressing his forehead to hers softly.

“If Drack can dance to it, so can you,” Sara laughed and snorted.

For a moment she was still, enjoying his closeness, her hands resting idly on his shoulders, reveling in his large hands on her hips, pulling her close. As she looked into his beautiful eyes, the thoughts she had been trying to block out came back to the front of her mind. It showed in her features, brow shifting with concern, lips downturning, because Jaal quickly pulled back slightly to look to her with worry.

“My darling, what’s wrong?” he asked in earnest, his hands coming up to cup her cheeks gently.

Sara bit her lower lip, avoiding his gaze momentarily when she took his hands in hers. Pulling them down in front of her chest, she gave them a firm squeeze when she asked, “Jaal…Are you…really, really happy with me? Do you feel there’s anything...missing?”

“Ari,” he used her nickname, his eyes widening in shock as if he’d been slapped across the face. “Of course! How could I not be? Have I…” his gaze shifted, as if searching his thoughts, brow furrowing with worry. “Have I not shown it enough? Is there something about your culture that I am missing? I could-”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong!” she hurriedly reassured him, suddenly feeling guilty for distressing him like this.

Tilting his head slightly, worry dissipating mildly, he inquired, “Then why do you ask me this my dearest?”

“Oh Jaal…It’s just…You’re handsome, wonderful—” she smiled softly, enamoured by the way his cheeks and cowl flushed a darker shade of purple. Just as her smile came, it was gone, gaze downcast as she bit on her lower lip anxiously. “—and I’m not the only one that thinks that,” Sara went on and took a deep breath. “I heard some angaran ladies speaking about you…I bet you have more admirers and–Point I’m trying to make, Jaal, is…well, I’m not angaran, obviously, I’m an alien and–” Releasing his hands, she made a vague gesture at nothing in particular, mostly she waved her hands all around herself.  “I’ll never be able to give you what an angaran woman can, and…well–”

“Ariadne, darling, please,” Jaal was quick to interrupt her then, starting to understand where this uncertainty stemmed from. “I love you for who you are, your differences from my species included.” Offering one of his gentle, warm smiles, he took her hands in his again, lifting them to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

“But…But we’re not biologically compatible,” she tried to argue, mostly giving into her self-doubt. Yet, how could she let these doubts emerge when he praised her on a daily basis like this? “I know we haven’t talked about this much but…Doesn’t this concern you just a bit? I know how important families are to your people, I just feel…like I’m robbing you of your own…biological children…I feel selfish, I love you so, so much and…” Sara stumbled over her own words, mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Instead she opted to just slump forward against his chest and buried her face in his rofjinn, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“My darling, my dearest, owner of my heart.” Soothingly he drew an arm around her shoulders, bringing his other hand to caress her hair, lightly tracing the copper brown roots down to the fading blue-lilac hair dye. “Let me ask you the same then. Does it concern you?”

“I…No,” she admitted, resting her chin against his chest and stared up at his loving gaze. Of course, she hadn’t considered that this implied she wouldn’t have biological children with him either. “Even if it’s only ever just the two of us, I’d be just as immensely happy as I am with you now,” a smile tugged at the corners of her lips once more, unable to contain herself at the thought of spending the rest of her life with Jaal.

“There is your answer,” Jaal grinned widely at that, leaning his head down to kiss her forehead. “And if we ever wanted a family, there are other ways. My people value families, Ariadne, but that doesn’t mean it’s limited to biological children.”

“I should have probablyasked you sooner,” she laughed. Standing on her toes, she pressed a quick chaste kiss to his chin. “Sorry, I just…let bad thoughts get to me sometimes, love.”

“Worry not. I am glad we talked about it though, thank you for sharing your worries with me, darling,” he declared. Gently grasping the back of her head, fingers threaded through her soft hair, he tugged her towards him as he leaned down meeting her lips in a soft, langid kiss.

Sara hummed happily against his lips, bringing her hands up around his neck, fingers softly tracing the grooves between his crests. The groan she elicited from him had her heart fluttering when he deepened the kiss in turn, his rougher tongue tracing her lower lip before she allowed him access into her mouth, meeting him halfway with her softer one. The familiar tingling of his bioelectricity was quickly egging her on, goosebumps running all over her skin. Just as she was really starting to get into it, sucking in his lower lip and lightly nipping, he pulled back gently, staring at her through hooded eyes as a whimper escaped her from the loss of contact.

Clearing his throat, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear when he said, “Now…if I saw correctly, I believe I interrupted you writing a report.”

“Oh no, I was singing,” Sara was quick to reply, any excuse to keep him close to her, to keep going, anything but going back to her duty.

“While writing a report,” Jaal didn’t miss a beat as he gently pulled her arms from around his waist, kissing them once again. Just like that, he began pulling her back to her desk.

“Jaaaaaal,” she whined, pulling back herself, trying to get out of his grip. “I’ll do it later, just-”

“Sara, you should finish it,” he insisted, refusing to let go, the terminal screen with the unfinished report staring (menacingly) at her from behind him.

“Don’t you want to kiss me a lot instead?” she asked with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows. “Come on, you kissed me first! You can’t tease me like that!

“Take it as a promise for later my temptress,” he did his best to wink as she taught him. “Besides…You always complain when you leave reports for the last minute, so…”

“Sara, I agree with Jaal. You should finish that report,” SAM spoke then, his orb flaring on her desk. “Lest you risk procrastinating on it so much that you regret it later.”

Sara stopped protesting then, pouting petulantly and leering at both Jaal and SAM. Giving up her fight, she allowed Jaal to pull her back to her chair, on which she unceremoniously flopped down on, rolling back until she hit the edge of her desk. “…I hate both of you…”

“I love you my darling,” Jaal chuckled, quite used to her idioms by now, knowing she didn’t literally hate him, it was just playful banter. Except she was annoyed. “If you finish your report soon…well, I’ll go take a shower first and I’ll come back to check on you. It’ll be up to you how soon I get to deliver further on that kiss we started on,” Jaal chuckled and kissed her cheek before stepping away.