Well this is new! I have seemed to have had a bit of a case of...well...I started something that wouldn't leave me after playing through the Mass Effect trilogy twice. I instantly fell in love with the characters and may or may not have grown attached to my first FemShep I created. (I'll admit to nothing else). So when I found out that Aethyta was Liara T'Soni's father in ME3, an idea came to me that festered until I played the trilogy a second time. I hope I'm not the only one who wondered; How did Benezia and Aethyta meet? When did they get bonded? What made them break their bond and why? I also wondered what if Benezia never broke the bond and stayed with Aethyta while Benezia was pregnant with Liara? What if Benezia never met Saren and was never indoctrinated?
So this is what I've come up with! This is an AU story of how Benezia and Aethyta got together. Each chapter will take a peek into their daily lives and see what type of shenanigans Aethyta gets into (Lol). Not only will they be a main focus in chapters, other characters and pairings will be included and may have their own chapter. I only had four choices to put in the character search but there will be several characters in the ME universe that will be included; Aria, Tevos, OCs, Shiala, Garrus, Wrex, Tali, ect. ect.
I tried my best to get everyone into character. I tried my best to nail Benezia's character seeing as we gamers never got a chance to see the real side of Benezia; just the indoctrinated side with brief moments of clarity on Noveria in the first game. So without further ado! Here is Family Ties!
I do not own BioWare or EA. All the Characters in Mass Effect belong to them except for the OCs that will appear in later chapters.
Love at First Sight
Family Ties
Aethyta hated dealing with politicians of all sorts; her own government included. Most of all, she hated the Forum and the other Matriarchs. Sometimes she wished she could just leave her seat in the Matriarchy, leave Thessia and move to Illium where she doesn't have to worry about the wind-bags laughing the blue off her ass about her rather reasonable ideas. Aethyta couldn't help it; it was the krogan in her. Most of the time she wanted to head-butt every single matriarch in the damn building but nope! She'd continue with insults, snarls, and cursing. It always seemed to offend her fellow matriarchs.
She particularly hated it when the damn Matriarchy gave her a shit-job and bad intel that had her walking into the middle of a thresher maw nest. She was particularly pissed that her favorite armor had been completely fucking ruined by thresher spit; added with a gunshot wound or two but other than that, she came out smelling like a Thessian rose. It was all thanks to Samara who pulled her ass out of the fire…again. Aethyta wasn't a happy Matriarch at all.
Aethyta bitched to the head-matriarch and her minions about the bad intel about walking into a thresher maw nest and batarian slavers that had abducted asari from an asari colony that was attacked. They however claimed that they didn't know about the thresher maw nest.
'Yeah didn't know about it my fucking ass. And I'm the goddess Athame. That's two favors I owe my favorite Justicar.' Aethyta thought with a glare as she sent Matriarch Vilonia and her minions a hateful glare.
Samara stood in the back of the Forum building listening with a ghost of a smirk on her face as her oldest friend raged at the matriarchs about the bad intel she had received. Aethyta was very lucky she was in the same area looking for those missing asari colonists. The justicar would happily vouch for Aethyta about the bad intel the Matriarchy had given her. Many of the asari who had visited the colony said they had problems with thresher maws and told High Command and the Matriarchy. They knew about it; but said nothing to Aethyta.
The justicar had to chuckle to herself when Aethyta said 'Your intelligence officer is about as useless as tits on a hanar. You might want to find a new one because this current one is a fucking idiot.' Samara had heard some of the matrons and matriarchs stifle a snort of laughter at some of Aethyta's expressions. The justicar cast a look around the number of asari in the building and none seemed to stick out to her except for one; Matron Benezia T'Soni.
Samara didn't know much except that T'Soni was a very old and rich name on Thessia. Hospitals, private schools, The University of Armali, Armali General Hospital, and many other places receive donations from the T'Soni family. The Justicar assumed the matron was almost a matriarch; combined the fact that her name is very well known, the matriarchs accepted her into the forum a three centuries earlier than the required age. Samara continued to observe the matron as Matron Benezia stared at Samara's old friend as if she had met her soul-mate.
'Like when I met mine.' The justicar thought painfully.
Perhaps the justicar could help Aethyta out. After all, it would be three favors the half-krogan would owe her. Samara smirked at the thought of her oldest friend pouting petulantly like a child whenever the justicar would be ready to cash in her favors and they would be well worth it too.
Samara waited until Aethyta stormed out angrily but not before telling all the matriarchs in the room to 'Kiss the bluest side of her ass' leaving the room filled with stage whispers and gossip. The justicar saw Matron Benezia's shoulders slump and the expression on her face melt into a look of sadness as she stared longingly at the door Aethyta had just stormed out of.
The justicar pushed off the pillar she was leaning against shortly after the room started clearing out and approached Matron Benezia.
Benezia had noticed the justicar immediately and bowed her head respectfully, "Justicar Samara. It is an honor to meet you." She said with a smile.
"The honor is mine, Matron T'Soni." Samara said.
"Is it true that Matriarch Aethyta says you helped her with getting our sisters back from the batarian slavers on the colony they attacked?" Benezia asked curiously.
The justicar nodded, "It is a justicar's duty to right wrongs and will take any injustice against her fellow asari as a slight. I ran into Matriarch Aethyta while she was treating herself to some medi-gel and kicking a dead thresher maw for 'ruining' her armor. I had asked her why she was there and she had said that High Command and the Forum had given her a job. She also said that the nest of thresher maws was not in the intelligence she had received. I assisted her in destroying the nest before we worked together to take down the slavers and free our fellow asari that were taken from the colony." Samara said.
"Thank the goddess you were there to help her." Benezia said.
Samara chuckled, "I saw the way you were staring at her. I know that she will not have gone far. She is still quite injured and limping but doing her best to cover the fact that she is in a bit of pain. She claimed that it was the krogan in her. I told her it wasn't how asari reproduction worked but I do believe that she will receive you a little better than I. I would just tease her about limping and being a stubborn asari in masking the pain." The justicar said.
Benezia looked shocked, blushing as she looked away from Samara, "I—I do not think Matriarch Aethyta would receive me well. She believes that I am like the others." The priestess said.
"Then show her you are not. Show her you are not an 'enemy' and she will not perceive you as one. Aethyta is a…old friend of mine." Samara said with a chuckle.
"But aren't—oh goddess, this is awkward." Benezia said blushing in embarrassment.
Samara chuckled again, "You are assuming too much, Matron T'Soni. Aethyta and I met during our maiden days; back when I was a mercenary and she a dancer. She became a mercenary a few short years after she had met me. Goddess, we could have run our own mercenary group if we chose to. Honor this justicar and speak with my old friend?" The justicar asked.
Benezia nodded, "I will honor your word, Justicar. I—I thank you for encouraging me to speak with her. Not many speak with Matriarch Aethyta because of how…rough around the edges she is. She is…not like other asari." The matron said blushing.
"She is not. Matriarch Aethyta has been a loyal friend to me for many, many years. Not many can see past her brusque nature. I do wish the Matriarchy would consider some of her ideas she presents. While we may not have to worry about war, it is better to be safe than sorry sometimes." Samara said thoughtfully.
"Thank you, Justicar for taking time out of your schedule to speak to me and I will honor your word in speaking with Matriarch Aethyta. It has been an honor to be in your presence." Benezia said with a smile.
"The honor is mine, Matron T'Soni. Please give my regards to Matriarch Aethyta for I must be on my way. A Justicar's work is never done. Go with the grace of the goddess, Matron T'Soni." Samara said with a bow.
Benezia bowed back, "May the Goddess watch over you and your travels, Justicar Samara." She said before the two parted ways.
Samara watched as Benezia hurried out the door Aethyta had left through and smirked, 'That is…three you owe me old friend. You are welcome.' She thought before leaving the Forum and on to her next mission.
Aethyta paced in a quiet hall of the Forum building muttering to herself and wincing in pain when she stepped just right on her bad leg that was still healing. Every single one of the damn wind-bags deserved to board a ship and fly into the nearest sun because they were all useless.
'Fucking bitches.' She thought with a growl.
"Matriarch Aethyta." The half-krogan heard someone say.
"Wha—" She started to say when she whipped around but stopped when she stared at quite possibly the most beautiful asari she'd ever laid her eyes on.
The asari had a unique slate blue skin-tone with black face markings and brow markings and a set of icy blue eyes but they were partially covered by a priestess' headdress. She also happened to be wearing a unique patterned black dress with white accents and so on. Her curves were partially concealed by the dress but Aethyta could see the disguised hour glass figure of the blue-eyed priestess. However, that really wasn't what grabbed Aethyta's immediate attention. It was how much the priestess's cleavage was on display.
'Sweet goddess, I want to lay my head upon those tits.' Aethyta thought with wide eyes.
Benezia's thought process was eerily similar. The priestess was in a little shock at just how attracted to her fellow matriarch she really was. It was drilled into her head about two asari being together. The relationships never worked seeing as the two of them live to be well on into their thousands and there was also the stigma of asari-asari pairings that result in pureblood children. As of right now, Benezia promptly ignored all of that varrenshit that was drilled into her head.
The blue eyed matron could see the fire in the Matriarch's brown eyes, the faded crest markings upon Aethyta's brow. She had a heavy scaling pattern around her jaw and chin most likely signaling that she had a turian or krogan father. Justicar Samara did say that Aethyta had said something about being krogan so it seemed a safe assumption. Benezia marveled at the lavender skin-tone on the Matriarch and had to stop herself from biting her bottom lip at the broad shoulders and toned biceps that she could see. Benezia also noticed the bruises, scratches and other various blemishes that dotted Matriarch Aethyta's lavender skin and she suddenly had the urge to kiss every one of them.
Aethyta tried to get a good read on the asari but she kept drawing a blank. She saw the way the asari's blue eyes darkened. The air around the two of them grew hot and thick; almost to a point where the half-krogan wanted to jump the matron but that wasn't her style. She wanted to know the name of the asari who she'd take to bed tonight or very soon but then again, it wasn't just a 'hit and quit' vibe with this matron for Aethyta. Aethyta wanted to do all the domestic shit with her too. The thought scared the absolute shit out of her but she was feeling adventurous. The brown eyed matriarch decided to turn on the charm and see where it'd get her.
"You are Matriarch Aethyta, correct?" Benezia asked.
"Who's askin' babe?" She asked with a suave smirk as she took a few steps towards the other asari.
Benezia blushed before looking away bashfully, "Matron Benezia T'Soni, Matriarch." She said.
"None of that Matriarch crap, please. Just Aethyta is fine, babe." Aethyta said with a grin.
"Right of course. My apologies. I am…nervous I suppose. I am still rather new to the Forum and I am getting acquainted with everyone. I have spoken to mostly everyone except for you." Benezia said.
"Ah…May I ask who pointed you in this direction? I am just curious. Not many would openly tell a matron new to the Forum to speak to a trouble-maker like me." The half-krogan drawled as she leaned up against the wall with a slight smirk.
The priestess blushed again, "It was a justicar who said that it was imperative that I speak to you. I am honoring my word to her." She said.
Aethyta snorted in amusement, "Would this justicar by any chance have red and black armor with a gold circlet around her neck and red facial bio amps along her brow ridges?" The spy asked.
Benezia just nodded. The half-krogan shook her head with a chuckle, "Uh huh. Samara…Whatever she told you about our mission is a lie. I helped her not the other way around." Aethyta said trying to exaggerate her story.
The priestess bit back a laugh, "It isn't what she told me." Benezia said.
"Fuckin' Samara. She and I go way back to our merc days. Back then she wasn't a stickler for her code and shit. She knew how to let loose. I was there to witness a lot of it but she's good people. Not many can say a justicar would scold you instead of shooting you in the face. I am a special case." Aethyta said grinning arrogantly.
"You must tell me of your adventures then, Aethyta." The priestess said blushing.
Aethyta grinned, "Are you hitting on me, Benezia T'Soni? Because that'd be pretty awesome if you were. It'd save me the trouble of askin' you out for a night on the town. Then again, I doubt you'd want to be seen with an asari like me." The brown-eyed matriarch said now frowning.
"You are too quick to judge, Aethyta. Perhaps…I would like to spend the evening out on the town with you." Benezia said grinning innocently.
Benezia's answer really threw Aethyta for a loop but she recovered quickly, "Well fuck. I wasn't expecting you to really accept…Whatever doesn't matter. I'm hitting the town with quite possibly the most gorgeous asari in this whole damn building. Dinner, a vid and a night cap sound good to you?" Aethyta asked grinning right back.
The priestess blushed once again. She had lost count how many times she had felt her face get warm and felt like a giddy maiden whenever Aethyta would grin at her. Aethyta's throaty chuckle sent shivers down Benezia's spine in a very good way to a point where it made her knees weak.
'Goddess, I have a hopeless crush.' Both Aethyta and Benezia thought at the same time before Aethyta offered Benezia her arm to take as a gesture of being polite. Benezia looped her arm with Aethyta's and listened to the Matriarch as she began to tell Benezia about her parents; her mother a commando that fought in the Krogan Rebellions and her father a krogan that fought in the Rachni wars and the Krogan Rebellions.
'Fuck that's three I owe Samara. I hope to Athame's sweet sacred ass it ain't something out-fucking-rageous or I swear I'll head butt the damn justicar.' Aethyta thought before she turned her head to listen to Benezia's story. Any other time, Aethyta she wouldn't have cared but with this gorgeous asari, Aethyta could listen to Benezia recite a goddess damn Siari prayer book and make it sound sexy.
In the shadows, Samara watched with a grin on her face.
Few centuries later
Samara opened her extranet mail at her terminal at the Justicar compound. She had a new message from Aethyta. Samara opened the message and laughed softly to herself.
Sam,
I've sent you this to let you know this; I'm a dad! Sired the most beautiful little asari; Little Liara T'Soni. Nezzy's doin' good and she hasn't stopped starin' at the kid since she popped Liara out. Goddess, I don't think I've stopped starin' at her either. It's been a while since I've held a newborn that I didn't pop out myself. I still can't believe Benezia T'Soni of all asari chose me; chose to bond wrists with me, gave the matriarchs a counter-ultimatum, and chose me again to father her kid. I know what you did a few centuries ago when Nezzy first joined when I was bitchin to the matriarchs about that job with bad intel. Well seeing as you are off gallivanting through asari space dealing out your brand of justice and can't speak face to face, I owe you a bunch of fuckin' favors I suppose. When we cross each other's paths again sometime, you can tell me 'I told you so' to my face and I won't head-butt you. Anyway, I just thought I'd send you this message with an attachment of the newest addition to my brood. She looks like her mother and even has the eyebrow markings. I know you don't like talking about family much but you are the closest thing I got to family and I don't give a shit about your Justicar code when it comes down to that. You are family, Samara and you can't talk me out of it. Well, if I don't hear anything back from yah, you are probably gallivanting off some place doing whatever Justicars do. I gotta go…Nezzy's getting ready to feed Liara…I hope Nezzy's rack never goes back to the way it was. Pregnancy was a damn good look on her by the way and I just wanted to throw that out too. Gotta watch over my girls. Stay safe, Samara and go with the grace of the goddess and her sweet ass I suppose.
Thyta
PS. Nezzy says hello and thank you for giving her the incentive of falling for my dashing roguish charms.
PPS. Nezzy says that she never said dashing roguish charms…I did to make it sound interesting. She just won't admit it. Have fun with your code and justicars! Don't forget to look at the pic of my new kid. When she gets older I'll tell her how you and I blew up a nest of thresher maws and threw around batarian pirates for messing with the wrong asari! That's always a fun story to tell…Not the parts where I got shot but where I head-butt a batarian slaver out of his boots!
The justicar smiled warmly as she read Aethyta's message before she checked out the attached picture in the message. It popped up to a baby asari, looking very much like Benezia right down to the eyebrow markings. Samara was sure that tears blurred her vision when she got lost in the memories of holding her daughters when they were first born; how Mirala would snuggle into her arms nuzzling her breast as she slept, how Rila would coo happily when she would tap her on the nose, or how Falere giggled when Samara would tickle her tummy.
Samara snapped out of her memories before she composed a new message to Aethyta.
Thyta,
I told you so and your daughter is beautiful. I look forward to the day I meet her so I may tell her the true stories of our adventures. Tell Benezia I send my congratulations to the both of you and the rest of your family. May the goddess watch over little Liara T'Soni and your bond-mate. I am honored to be considered a part of your family, Aethyta.
Thank you,
Sam
Hope everyone likes it! I tried my best to get the characters right. From Benezia, to Aethyta, to Samara. I do have to thank NightmareWalker for being such an awesome beta for me and kicking my ass to post this lol.