Title: Navigating the Unknown

Characters: Mass Effect Andromeda cast

Pairing: Liam/Sara

Rating: Teen to mature

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone/anything from the forum Mass Effect. Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended. I do not make any profit/money or take any credit.

Summary: So, they are still figuring it out – and so is the rest of the crew

Timeline: Throughout Mass Effect Andromeda – basically set after the 'causal sex' but before 'Community'

Warning: Implied sexual themes, Spoilers for those who have not romanced Liam/completed the game, Angst in some parts (They are trying to figure out their relationship!)

Author's Notes: This – believe it or not – was actually inspired by Drack's mission when you go and get Vorn and Vorn accidentally slips up and tell the over-protective grandfather something he does not want to hear. It was funny to hear Drack go on about 'kids these days' which made it even funnier since my Ryder had slept with Liam at that point and they hadn't even established a relationship.

All I could think was how awkward it must have been for them and thus – this little plot bunny was thought up.

In addition, they are in a semi casual flirty banter/friends-with-benefits kind of thing.

Chapter 1: These Frustrating Unwanted Feelings

Timeline: Set During/After 'All In'

Changing some scenes

Sara Ryder resisted the urge to chuck her helmet into her locker, anger overriding her and making her slam her pistol onto the table. She let out a huff, shaking her head before she started stripping out of her armour.

She was being stupid. She was being childish. She knew it yet she refused to own it. Fuck it. She didn't ask for this shit and it was still happening.

She pulled her hair out of its ponytail, needing to let it down after having it up for so long. It was kinky and messy from being in a helmet, and from sweating. Running around and shooting was hard sweaty work.

And, of course, they were running around and shooting pirates because Liam had to give the Nexus codes to someone outside the Nexus and they ended up getting captured. Fearing that they were going to torture her for the codes, Liam came to her – reluctantly – and asked for her help.

And it stung.

She bit her bottom lip as she tugged on her hoodie, her eyes closing at the comfort it was giving her in that moment. She loved her hoodie, a little something from the Milky Way.

Getting back on point, it hurt her to know that if Liam could have taken care of the rescue on his own, he wouldn't have even come to her.

And it made her wonder if their - friends with benefits, or casual sex, or whatever people wanted to call it – is just getting in the way of their once blossoming friendship.

Okay, now she was just being harsh. She and Liam were still friends, good friends. He made her laugh – she didn't think she had ever laughed as much as she did with him. They confided in each other.

But, at the same time, there was still a distance between them. He had promised he wouldn't become the clingy boyfriend – saying that was not what she needed – but she felt like she was becoming the clingy girlfriend and it bothered her.

She was jealous. There, she admitted it. Stupid girl. She was jealous – Liam seemed concerned for Verand, so frustrated and agitated that it just spurned jealously inside of her.

It only increased when she heard the relief in Liam's voice when he spoked to Verand over the coms after they managed to catch up with the group.

She was being stupid. She could practically hear her brother's voice singsong in her head. He was always the one to point out when she was overthinking something.

But was she this time?

She and Liam had made no claim on each other, merely said they would leave the door open to see where it would go but nothing else.

They had sex. God it sounded so clinical in her head when she thought of it. It was more than just sex.

Then again, it could be just on her part and that Liam was just that good of a lover.

She sighed, worrying her bottom lip before she spotted Vetra's concerned gaze out of the corner of her eyes and distantly remembered that she was still in the locker room with her crew members.

Time to be the Pathfinder. Urgh, she hated that title and the damn position.

Sara turned to them and gave them a brief smile, meeting Vetra's gaze.

"Why don't you head on down to Lexi, Vetra? Make sure that graze is okay?"

Vetra merely narrowed her eyes at her before she looked at Liam, who was shifting awkwardly on his feet.

Sara watched as Vetra eyed them both before her eyes widened and Sara swallowed back the sudden fear that rose up in her. Understanding dawned on the Turian as she looked at Sara before she gave an exasperated head shake.

"I should have known." She walked away, leaving Liam frowning after her and Sara's watching as her heart thudded in her chest.

Fuck it. It was supposed to be a thing on the down low. Shit.

Sara cleared her throat, making Liam jump and look at her with wide brown eyes.

"Shall we go and talk to Bradley?" She asked. Liam nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Let's go," he cleared his throat before he gestured with one hand for her to go first.

She felt skittish as she walked by him, twisting the cuff of one sleeve nervously as they entered the deck and headed over to the front. She barely noticed Suvi and Kallo as August Bradley's image showed up on the screen.

"Glad to see you two made it," Bradley told them with a grin on his face. "You got out just in time, that ship is 6 kinds of irradiation now."

"Glad to see you showed up," Liam jested back with a hand raised in greeting.

"When you called us, I admit I wondered what we could do. Glad to see even Settlers can help out." He grinned. "Just to let you know that we are taking everyone home. Verena thinks we might even be getting Angara settlers. Which will be a good boost for Eos."

"Just make sure everyone gets home safe. No detours. We went through a lot to risk anything else now," Sara jumped in.

"I hear that," Bradley agreed before he looked briefly off screen then looked back. "Hold on a moment. Someone wants to talk to you, Liam."

The image shifted to reveal the Angara that Liam had been working with.

"Verand," Liam greeted with a bright smile and Sara bit her lower lip, giving the Angara a brief nod of acknowledgement.

"Liam, it is good to see you are safe. And thank you, for whatever that was." She smiled softly. "It is good to know that your friends will come for you, and their friends," she looked Sara.

Sara and Liam looked at each other and she felt her cheeks heat up before she quickly broke their gaze.

Friends. That's what they were. Why did it hurt again?

"Yeah, we weren't going to leave you in trouble," Liam's voice seemed hoarse to her and another streak of jealously ran through her. Damn it girl, you promised you wouldn't get in deep.

"You take care of yourself," Verand told him before she winked out and Bradley took her place.

"We best get a move on. Next time Liam; let us just play cards. I'm getting too old for this shit."

Liam laughed.

"I'll believe that when you believe it."

"Pathfinder," Bradley gave her a short nod before communications cut. Sara sighed before she turned and walked away.

"SAM, could you see about possible transport to get the Ship back to Nexus?"

"It might not be feasible, Pathfinder. It is hazardous inside."

She made her way up to the meeting room, walking over to the window, stopping when she heard Liam's voice.

"That worked out. Everything just…just so." she scoffed as she turned to face him with a look of disbelief. "Before you start, I want you to know…I…ah, well, I'm sorry." She arched an eyebrow. "I mean, this was a mess. Even though we won, it wasn't by much."

She opened her mouth to say something Liam got in there first, again.

"It was all worth it. You showed Verand that 'Pathfinder' can stand for everyone."

There was that bleeding title again. She never asked for the title and a brief surge of resentment built up inside of her before she squashed it down. It wasn't fair to resent Liam for that. It wasn't his fault.

"But…I need to be smarter about taking risks," that she had to agree with, giving him a nod, "So," he raised his arms, "You're right. Sorry."

Liam went to say something else but Sara decided to cut him off before he ran off even further.

"No, my turn to talk," she held up her hand, cutting him off. "We got lucky – you got lucky – Liam. If it had been anyone but Calot, we might not be having this conversation. I understand where you are coming from, and I know you want everyone to find a bridge together but you can't take these risks." She sighed, shaking her head. "I am glad to see that you understand that you know you can't take these risks but Liam…this is something that could have backfired on us, big time."

Liam looked away and she hated herself for saying these things, especially since he had already said he was sorry but she needed to know that he was going to stop taking these risks.

She knew he was reckless. Liam was all emotion; Cora said her father recruited Liam for that reason. He wore his heart on his sleeve and he rushed head first into danger to keep the enemies on him and off their team members.

And it was part of the reason why she was attracted to him. But it didn't stop her from waking up in the middle of the night – or for whatever passed as the middle of the night – in cold sweat over seeing his dead body and cold blank eyes.

She couldn't lose anybody else. None of her team members, they were beginning to come together as a family, and she couldn't lose him.

"You are not expendable, Liam," she finally said. God, was her eyes turning glassy? – she could feel the tears. She quickly closed her eyes and rubbed her hand over them under the disguise she was rubbing them out of frustration or tiredness.

"I know that," he finally said and she met his gaze.

"Do you? Really?" She doubted it. "Because sometimes it feels like you put the 'Pathfinder' first and I don't want that, Liam."

He didn't argue but she could see that it was sinking in.

"I," she sighed, shaking her head before she met his gaze again, "Just be careful." Her throat closed up as the memory of the last time she said that welled up in her mind and she shoved it down, hard.

She was not to compare them. Not in a million years.

"Ryder…Sara…" Hearing her name on his lips brought her back and she took a step back when he stepped forward, her hands coming up. Liam stopped.

"Please," she felt like she was begging, "Just think things a little more through the next time, please."

Liam stared at her before he nodded.

"I promise."

She felt like crying. She took a deep breath before exhaling, deciding to get back on track.

"Anyway, good job," she finally told him, mustering up all the happiness she could.

Liam's startled expression elicited a brief real smile from her before it dampened.

"Really? Good Job?" it got a stuttering laugh from the man.

"Could have done a little less dangling in open air," she shot at him as she turned away, walking over to the railing.

"Yes, of course," Liam hastily agreed, walking up next to her and placed his hands on the railing.

"But we did good," she gently admitted. "We saved everyone, no-one is any wiser to the codes, and we got rid of a dangerous psychopath. It's a win all around."

For them, she guessed.

She looked down at her hands, still curled around the railing before she spotted Liam's larger one next to hers and she wondered, once more, if she was just being stupid.

And there went her brother's voice again, calling her out for overthinking things. Damn it, she was a Recon Specialist, she was far more comfortable around artifacts than humans for fucks sake.

"So, do you think she will make the jump back to the Nexus?" Liam broke into her thoughts. She looked up at the ship, before she sighed, ready to shrug when her eyes widened.

The ship had decided that moment to explode in a fiery blaze.

Stunned silence dawned on them yet Sara knew – without looking – that Liam was grinning madly and it made her own lips curl up.

"I guess not," she finally replied, making Liam laugh, his shoulders shaking while she was torn, she wanted to laugh at the stupidity of the situation, yet she wanted to be in dismay over the fact they had just lost something that might have been able to help them get an edge over the Kett.

Soon her laugher won out, the relief that they had survived the mission without losing anyone or having it backfire on them was a high.

And the irony of the Kett Ship exploding wasn't lost on her.

The tension slowly released from her shoulders as she shifted her body so she could look at Liam, who was still chuckling.

She sighed when her laughter finally died, feeling better than she did before.

She met Liam's gaze and his eyes darkened. She felt her body warm in response, biting her lower lip as her eyes fell to his lips.

Another thing that came with the high, there was nothing like a rush to get her excited for Liam, especially since most of their missions usually ended up with her pinned against something – usually a wall – and Liam between her thighs, his full weight grounding her while he took her.

Liam moved in closer and she held her breath before their lips met. His hands slid around her hips before he brought their lower bodies together, her arms banding around his neck and she pushed herself up on tiptoes.

Why did have to be so damn tall fluttered through her mind before he deepened the kiss, making her moan as one hand slid round the small of her back, the other slid its way up over her back then cupped the back of her neck, his thumb rubbing where the base of her skull met her spine.

She stumbled backward, her knees weakening, and Liam spun them around so her ass pressed up against the railing.

She broke the kiss to breathe; boosting herself up onto the railing then wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him back in for another kiss, ignoring the cocky smile he gave her.

Oh, this was much better, so much, she grounded herself against him. Liam's arms tightened around her as he pushed further into her body, almost making her lean back as he broke the kiss, tilting her head so he could leave kisses down the side of her neck.

She squirmed in his embrace, his breath making her tickle and she giggled, feeling him smile against her skin before he came back up and kissed her again, one hand slipping under the hem of her hoodie and over the skin of her back.

"Pathfinder, you have emails," SAM broke into their kissing and suddenly, as if cold water crashed over her, she pushed Liam away, taking in the sight.

They were still in the meeting room, nearly inches away from tearing each other clothes off and she swallowed, breathing heavily as she met Liam's eyes, still dark with desire.

She pushed him away further, slipping off the railing and adjusting her clothes, clearing her throat.

"Do you…" she clutched the railing behind her at the sound of his voice rough with desire, "Want to finish this in your-"

"Actually," she cut him off with a small smile, "Could we skip tonight? I have a lot of paperwork and Director Tann has actually been sending me e-mails wanting to know the delay in me sending the paperwork back." She laughed – god, did it sound bitter – and pushed back her fringe before she looked up at him. "It would be a good idea to try and head that off."

"Sure," Liam gave her a nod and brief smile. "Remember, no expectations."

She nodded, giving him a small smile before she turned away, leaving him behind as her heart hurt.

No expectations, right, she needed to remember that before she got herself in any deeper. And she needed a cold shower. No e-mail was going to get her attention.

TBC

So this ended up being a little more angst that I originally thought it would be. *Clears throat*