Chapter Twelve

by Inkess

"Yes?" The female human in the doorway curved an eyebrow as she scrutinized Nyreen. Having a hood cover the most of your face wasn't the best way to inspire trust, the turian knew. She struggled the urge to fidget. "Can I help you?"

"Commander Shepard? My name is Nyreen Kandros," she replied. "I'm here on Aria's b—oh, hell." Why did the spirits make lying so difficult for turians? "I'm here to see Garrus Vakarian."

The other woman smirked. "You and the rest of the galaxy. Come on in."

Well. That went easier than I thought.

As they walked through the giant apartment, Nyreen pulled her hood deeper over her face, trying to avoid the prying eyes of other people in the apartment. No one with ties to Omega wanted to be seen on the Citadel. No one except Aria, maybe, but the Queen of Omega held an entire league all by herself.

"He's in there." Shepard motioned at a door, giving Nyreen a chance to stop thinking about Aria. The commander put her ear to it and listened for several moments."I don't think he's with anyone right now, which means you're safe to come in."

"Just like that?" Nyreen found herself speaking. "You're going to let a hooded turian who blabbed out that she has a connection with Aria in there just like that?"

Shepard crooked her lips in a tired, tense smile. "Believe me, I've had weirder guests walk through this apartment ever since Garrus got into his little predicament." Her eyes narrowed, and something cold glinted in them for a split second. "Go on in. Have fun."

Shepard turned on her heels and left. Nyreen wasn't an expert on human facial expressions, but she could swear that was jealousy she just saw. Shrugging, she opened the door. Garrus Vakarian waited inside.

Sure enough, on the big bed in the centre of the room lay the turian she remembered from the time she still served with the turian military. The happiest time in her life. No biotics, no Aria. Just loyalty and service.

"I don't suppose you remember me," she began, pulling her hood back from her face.

Roused from his nap, Garrus blinked several times before focusing on her face. He shook his head, confusion clear in the way how he his mandibles flapped with the motion.

Maybe he didn't recognize her, but he certainly liked her presence, if the bulge protruding from under the sheet he was covered with was any indicator.

"Let me refresh your memory." Not wasting any time, Nyreen unbuttoned her coat and let it drop to the floor. Remaining only in a light tunic and pants, she moved closer to the bed.

The bulge increased even more.

"We served together on the Pride of Taetrus. Your second year of required service, I believe."

"Oh." He at least looked like he was embarrassed. "Nyreen Kandros. Been… been a long time."

Stopping in the middle of unclasping her tunic, Nyreen pointed an accusatory finger at the turian on the bed. "You owe me a rematch!" She didn't fail to notice how his eyes snapped to her chest plates, revealed by the sudden movement. Smirking, she undid the rest of the clasps one by one, making deliberate pauses in between each one, and let the annoying garment join her coat on the floor.

His eyes went wide.

Nyreen reached for her pants. She would collect that debt soon.

"Let's… let's not talk about sparring matches." His mandibles stiffened, and his eyes tore away from her fingers working on the belt, looking at the door for a moment.

Nyreen clicked her mandibles. "I don't mind that you sparred with other girls. I know it was your trick to get laid. I was just happy I'd have Garrus Vakarian in my cabin for a night. And you didn't show up."

"That's not what I meant. And I didn't show up bec—uh!" His eyes went even wider.

Unhooking the pants from her spurs, Nyreen kicked them off her ankles in the far corner of the room. Now she stood naked before her old crush. Even after years spent as Aria's lover, being so exposed still fell embarrassing. Sometimes she hated herself for it.

"You have a chance to make it up," she said, feeling her heart pounding in her throat. Garrus had thrown his sheet aside.

All rumors flying around the Pride didn't give him justice. She stared at his pride, feeling her pelvic plates moving, shifting on their own.

In the next moment, she found herself pinned against the wall, Garrus licking on her mandible for a moment before sliding his tongue down her neck.

"I always pay my debts," he murmured into her cowl before sinking his teeth into her skin.

"Ah!" Nyreen shivered. Neck bites… she loved neck bites... Rough neck bites, and Garrus hesitated to go further from testing and teasing.

Of course. With all the soft-skinned women waiting outside, he'd have to be careful.

Bringing her talons under his fringe, Nyreen stuck them in between the spikes, reminding him that he had a turian woman in his arms. Garrus rewarded her with the sweet, sweet pain spreading in her neck. Her subvocals thrummed without her control as her plates shifted even more, leaving a visible opening now.

Two blunted talons found their way to that opening – of course he'd have to blunt them for those weaklings – circling around and around until it widened enough for Garrus to slip them under the plates.

Nyreen squirmed, but his other hand kept her hips pinned. She growled as his teeth sank even deeper, nearly tearing her rough skin. Her plates, being caressed on the inside, pulled away completely as a subvocal scream tore away from her mouth. Waves of pleasure mixed with waves of pain, leaving her panting and melted in his arms.

"Wow." She caught her breath in a few moments. "Wow."

Aria didn't lie about his skills. She had never had an orgasm so fast. Not that Aria's lovers were allowed to come before her, anyway.

What refreshment from her usual sex life.

Still dazed from the ecstasy, Nyreen didn't react in any way when Garrus hoisted her and carried her across the room. She let him drop her on the bed, forgetting this was supposed to be a fight, a rematch. The only thing she could think about were her still-open plates that longed to be filled.

Garrus towered above her, drinking in the sleek elegance of her body. Nyreen didn't think it could be possible, but his cock grew even larger and more rigid than before. It glistened, covered with its natural lubricant, gluing her eyes to his groin.

Noticing her stare, Garrus ran his hand up and down his shaft several times for her viewing pleasure. Her legs spread wide open as she watched, moving on their own, inviting him.

In the next moment, her vision was full of Garrus as he covered his body with his, settling between her legs. The tip of his member touched the gap in her plates, but didn't go any further.

"G-Garrus," she panted. "Just—ah!" He slipped his tongue under one of her mandibles and licked the sensitive skin there. The warm, wet feeling made her arch into him. He pulled away a little, teasing her even more.

Dammit, he tortured her worse than Aria. What should she do to make him fuck her? Beg? She could beg. Aria expected all her lovers to beg.

"I think I won round one," he murmured into her ear canal.

"Yes," she breathed. She would agree to anything at this point. "Let's start… round two… Please…" The words fell out of her mouth in between rapt breaths, desperation ringing in her subharmonics.

His tongue flicked under her other mandible, making her body seek his again. She needed to feel his plates on her.

This time, she felt his rod pushing a little in between her aching opening. "This what you want?"

"Spirits, yes!" she growled. Yes, yes, yes. Finally.

He granted her what she desired, pushing inside forcefully. The ridges on his member stroked her on the inside as he drove it in, making her purr.

It felt so much better than any of the biotic toys Aria could summon. Just plain, old turian fucking. No asari mental things. Just – her subharmonics keened in her throat as he began to move – the bump and grind. Exactly what she missed in all those years since she became Aria's pet.

Their plates cracked and clicked as he rammed her faster and faster, harder and harder. Nyreen dug her hands into the sheets, realizing that they weren't shackled with biotics. The thought of freedom made her crash her hips against him, seeking more and more pleasure.

He wasn't like Aria at all. Nyreen roamed his body with her hands, savoring the feeling of his muscles flexing under her talons. It felt so liberating to share and contribute, not just accept whatever Aria had planned for their moment of fun.

When the first, gentle wave of another orgasm shot up her spine, she didn't fight it like Aria expected her to. Instead, she drew it forward, rode it, moaned with every move of their bodies. Her core clenched as she reached the edge and fell over it, making Garrus tense up above her and purr.

Yes, come together. That's how it should be.

The waves of pleasure kept coming as he pumped her several more times. His teeth locked on her neck again as his control snapped. She screamed as his heat filling her, and his moans against her cowl, and the pain blooming from her neck squeezed one last pulse from her, stronger than anything she had experienced before.

Her senses dulled for a while, leaving her in a quiet void that felt surprisingly pleasant.

Some time later, she opened her eyes to see the last tendrils of her biotics disappearing into thin air. Garrus held her close and let her head rest on his chest.

"I… I didn't know you're the cuddling type," she blurted out.

"I'm not… usually," he sighed. "But the time right after sex is the only time I can think clearly… and it lasts longer if I… if I… hold someone close."

Nyreen hesitated for several long moments, and then moved to caress the shorter spikes on the side of his head. Among turians this was a sign of affection, not passion.

"Thank you," he replied after a while. Did he thank her for the cuddling or the sex? Nyreen couldn't tell. "I know my condition looks like I'm having the time of my life… but, frankly, I'm tired. I don't know for how long I can keep this up." He paused. "And I need to survive. She's waiting for me."

Nyreen stopped caressing his head and inched away from him, ready to leave. She got what she wanted, and he got his moment of peace. Her presence wasn't needed anymore.

"Stay." He wrapped his arm around her. "I love her, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep myself alive, but it doesn't mean I have to be an asshole to those who help me." She relaxed into his body again.

Why couldn't Aria let her guard slip sometimes and… and treat her like a person with feelings? Did she even care? Was that even a guard, or did the Queen of Omega have no emotion at all? Nyreen closed her eyes, enjoying the quiet warmth of his embrace.

"I don't remember you using biotics on the Pride." He broke the silence after a while. "Manifested late?"

"Yeah." She tensed up, fighting the urge to get up and run away. She hated talking about this. "They stuck me in a Cabal. No matter what you've heard, they're not elite. They don't get to do anything. My family treated me like a disgrace." The words just kept coming; she couldn't stop them. "I ran, tried to live as a mercenary, ended up on Omega. As Aria's… lover." The last word came out with such contempt it surprised even her.

"You don't sound happy."

Nyreen thought for a moment. "No, I'm really not."

"So why don't you leave?"

She propped herself on the elbow, moving away from him again. "Leave Aria? You think that's easy?"

"We've had a couple of run-ins with her." His mandibles tensed up." She's not a goddess, and right now she's stuck on the Citadel, outside her seat of power. If there's a good time for leaving her, it's now."

"I'll… I'll think about it." Nyreen stroked the side of her neck, but in her heart she already knew the answer.

Tonight she wouldn't be sleeping at Afterlife.