Author's Note: Sorry about the formatting issues, FF decided to take some liberties. Should be resoled now. Thank you
They were almost done with the data extraction when the growl sounded from somewhere in the bowels of the complex. Both turians glanced at each other for confirmation. Not confirmation as to which animal the sound belonged to but rather confirmation that the sound had indeed sounded. Nihlus's mandibles drew tight against his face in worry and Saren swore, although whether it was at his protégé or at the circumstances in general remained unclear. In their typical style, they had divided the defenses and as usual, Saren preferred the living aspect, leaving Nihlus to the automated defenses while he annihilated anything walking on two legs. The fact that the growl belonged to a creature that preferred quadrupedal locomotion threw a wrench in the normally oiled machine of destruction that the pair represented. The sound resonated again.
"What did you do?" The pale turian glared at the darker one across the hepatic display.
"Me? Living defenses were your responsibility!" It had been a while since Nihlus backed down from an argument and he certainly wasn't going to start now.
"Not if they were initially contained behind automated defenses. Defenses you disabled, apparently without looking to see if they should have been left up in the first place!"
"Saren that is ridiculous, even for you!" The silver glare intensified. "I mean, you're not ridiculous. But you are being unreasonable! There was no way to disable the kinetic barriers without cutting power to the entire system."
"And yet you failed to account for what was behind those defenses."
"I thought that was your responsibility."
Saren just growled and returned to the console. The download finished and with a small beep the OSD disk ejected. Saren thrust it at Nihlus and turned to leave. With Saren's back safely turned Nihlus rolled his eyes as he pocketed the small disk. The growls had ceased as no doubt the recently freed beast was making its way out of the cell that had held it captive. More than likely its thoughts were on food and freedom, not fighting. The two turians turned to leave but before they could take more than a few steps, a ripping, snarling growl echoed off the walls as a massive blur slammed into Saren.
Pale hands grappled with the massively long fangs made slick by the ropes of saliva leaking from the varren's gapping mouth. The force of the attack slammed Saren to the ground with the powerful jaws of the varren snapping at his face, only inches away. Saren had managed to grab a hold of the varren's fangs, saving himself from an immediate and unpleasant end. His battle gauntlets had absorbed most of the damage but blue blood was oozing from the tears.
A sharp crack resounded a moment before the varren collapsed sideways, dead from a bullet in the head courtesy of Nihlus's pistol. Saren heaved the dead creature off himself, grimacing in disgust at the tendrils of drool that draped from his fringe to the cowl of his armor. He made to wipe the mess from his face but halted suddenly with a pained hiss, clutching his hands to his chest. Nihlus rushed to his side and ignoring the menacing growl, pulled the lacerated appendages out to where he could get a decent look. The varren's serrated teeth had made mince work out of the inside of the gloves and an even worse mess of the white hands beneath.
Nihlus swore, rather impressively, as he reached for a medigel packet but Saren pulled his hands away.
"Stop, the flesh is too shredded to heal properly. It will need sutures first."
Nihlus couldn't stop a small wince at Saren's dispassionate appraisal of his own injuries. "You sure? C'mon Saren, I know you're a tough bastard but-"
"I said it will need sutures. Be quiet and get back to the ship" Saren interrupted, moving to his knees as he prepared to stand. It wasn't an easy feat without the use of his hands.
Nihlus, again ignoring Saren's growl, reached down and hauled him to his feet with a firm hand to the elbow. He swore again, muttering under his breath about "stubbornness" and "pride".
Saren must have heard however. "Nihlus, this is your fault and I'd think the gravity of the situation would weigh more upon you. I warned you about the defenses." His undertones were full of pain but malice and anger made their presence known.
Offended Nihlus drew up, "My fault? My fault! You were the one in charge of living defenses! There was no way to know that varren would come after you! It could have just as easily been me!"
"But it wasn't!" Saren's voice was quiet but it did not ease the rancor in his tone. "It's my hands that are shredded, my hands that are currently useless. So all I want to hear from you is 'Yes Sir'. Is that clear?"
"You can't be serious!"
Normally such an insolent tone would have earned him a sharp cuff upside the head but Saren's current condition made such a feat impossible. The irony of the situation only seemed to anger Saren more. He leaned into Nihlus's space, his face right next to Nihlus's, so close that he could feel the damp warmth of his breath as he whispered, "Just. 'Yes. Sir'."
Nihlus worked his jaw for a moment but no noise came out. Saren's gaze was piercing, hot, and seemed like it alone could strangle the words in his throat. He drew his mandibles up tight to his face in anger and raising his head slightly, growled out, "Yes Sir." Go fuck yourself.
Saren growled but made no verbal comment on Nihlus's tone. Cradling his mangled hands to his chest he stalked off towards the exit leaving Nihlus to follow in silence. They had no need to worry about further surprises.
o.O.o
After the air lock had cycled and granted admittance to Saren's ship Nihlus immediately started shedding his armor. Saren had no tolerance of mess and his armor was covered with filth best left unnamed. His under-suit was thankfully free of anything worse than sweat so he kept it on as he made his way to his locker. After changing into some old, worn civvies he went back to the air lock to clean and stow his armor properly however the sight of Saren still standing next to the airlock in full armor made him pause.
Saren looked up as he approached, giving Nihlus a look with resignation in his eyes. Wordlessly he held out his hands to Nihlus. Nihlus felt a flush of shame wash over him as he realized that Saren couldn't undo the seals of his own armor.
"Yes Sir" he said softly, stepping closer and starting on the battle gauntlet seals first. I'm sorry.
Saren only huffed slightly, his mandibles pressed close in pain. He kept his eyes down, not looking at Nihlus as he gently shed the abalative-coated material. Once only in his under-suit, Saren stalked off to his room. Nihlus followed quietly. His mentor wasn't one to ask for help but he knew that the under-suit would pose a challenge.
Sure enough, Nihlus found Saren standing in the middle of the small room glaring at his hands. Wordlessly Nihlus stepped up to Saren's front and grasped the suit's closure. As Saren's soft sigh he quickly undid it, separating the top and bottom but as he made to pull the upper half off he hesitated. The blood had crusted shut over Saren's hands but the tight under-suit wouldn't stretch enough to be removed without dragging over the tender flesh. Nihlus looked to Saren for confirmation.
"Just get on with it."
"Yes Sir."
Swiftly, efficiently, Nihlus drew first one hand then the other though the tight material. Saren hissed at the contact but made no comment. Blood once more started seeping from the lacerations and Nihlus could only imagine the fresh torment. Saren seemed disinclined to move for a minute, managing the pain taking most of his concentration, so Nihlus took the opportunity to grab the med-kit and supplies from storage. Returning to the room he filled a large bowl with warm water and added some antiseptic and placed it on Saren's desk. Saren thrust his hands into the bowl, turning the soft brown color to an ugly green as his blood mixed and swirled. Nihlus had chosen the gentlest antiseptic but it still burned as it entered the flesh. Saren made no comment.
Nihlus gave him a moment before placing his hands on Saren's waist, again looking to him for confirmation. A small nod and Nihlus removed the bottom half of the under-suit. Throwing it into the corner, Nihlus snagged a soft, dark robe from Saren's wardrobe. Gently he slipped it over one arm then the other, the wide sleeves not even coming close to touching Saren's hands. Saren placed his hands back in the bowl as Nihlus settled the robe around his cowl and tied the sash snug. Still working in silence, Nihlus set up the supplies he'd need on the desk next to the bowl. As Saren removed his hands from the bowl, Nihlus offered him a soft towel but he shook his head in the negative. Instead, Nihlus set the towel down on the desk and Saren placed his hands on it, palms up. Nihlus grabbed the bowl and went to dump it.
Returning to the room, he saw that Saren was now sitting, hands still on the towel but his head was bowed between his arms, eyes closed. At Nihlus's soft approach, Saren looked up and sighed once more. Nihlus proffered a med-patch but again Saren shook his head no. He had never liked the things as they made him fell drowsy, lassitude settling too heavily in his limbs. Green eyes peered into his, beseechingly, but all he said was "No."
It was Nihlus's turn to sigh. "Yes Sir". Stubborn bastard.
Saren's only reply was a dismissive flick of the mandible. Nihlus sighed again before settling on the corner of the bed nearest the desk and reached for the topical numbing agent. Saren closed his eyes in preparation. The bendocaine worked well once it took affect but it stung like a bitch when first applied. As gently as he could Nihlus sprayed each of Saren's hands, mandibles flickering in empathy. He'd been on the receiving end of the spray more often than he cared to remember.
At the first contact, Saren's hands twitched spasmodically, attempting to curl in on themselves. He fought the urge, knowing it would only make the pain worse. It seemed far longer than it actually was but eventually the burning faded and mild tingles tickled his palms before finally, nothing at all. Some of the deeper cuts still had feeling but it was muted, more manageable. Nihlus's gaze softened as Saren relaxed. Once more Saren looked up to meet his gaze. "Go ahead." His words were as soft as before but the anger had faded.
"Yes Sir."
It took a while to stitch the hands back to even a shadow of their former glory. Several times only one or two sutures would fit in an area before Nihlus had to tie off the line and move to the next area. Long cuts looked horrific but were usually quicker to patch back up. These small, shredded cuts resembled putting a puzzle back together after running the pieces through a shredder. The bendocaine took care of most pain but occasionally Nihlus would hit a tenderer spot. Other than the occasional hiss or grunt from Saren the work proceeded in silence. Eventually, the once bone white hands were crisscrossed with neat, dark knots of sutures. Satisfied now that the tissue would mend properly, Saren allowed Nihlus to apply a thick coat of medigel before wrapping each hand carefully in soft bandages. It would take several hours for the healing to be complete yet.
As Nihlus put the medical supplies away, Saren made his way over to the bed and stretched out. Even though they were next to untraceable while in FTL travel, Saren still couldn't bring himself to relax enough to take any pain management. The bendocaine was wearing off and soon he knew that his hands would being to itch as medigel did its job. If he could sleep through the worst of it, he could manage the mild after effects. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He detected the sounds of Nihlus finishing up in the storage area, his soft steps returning to check in on him and then departing back towards the common area but he made no move to open his eyes.
Normally the soft lull of the ships engine was a peaceful sound, a temperate white noise in which one could lose themselves. Many nights Saren had fallen asleep with nothing louder than the gentle hum but now it was a harsh, static sound, entirely unconducive to sleep. He could also hear Nihlus messing around in the common area, opening a cabinet, filling a glass and then the gentle clink as he set on the counter. More cabinets opened and closed; Nihlus must be making a meal of some sort. Saren couldn't understand why he was being so loud, normally he had more tact than that.
"Will you be quiet!" He called, voice somewhat muffled by the pillow.
Soft footsteps once more approached his door. He cracked one eye open to glare at the offender. Nihlus, unfazed beyond a dismissive mandible flick, walked into the room and offered Saren a share of the bounty he'd rummaged up in the kitchen. Dried pando strips. A sensible meal, filling and nutritious but with next to no clean up. Still though, the itch in Saren's hands were enough that eating didn't sound to appealing at the moment. He shook his head no and resettled back into the pillows.
Shrugging, Nihlus quickly finished off the small handful he'd brought with him. If Saren was too stubborn to eat that was his problem. Still, it was unusual for Saren to neglect to take care of his basic needs. Nihlus took a closer look and could see the lines of discomfort that graced his features, an unusual tightness around the eyes. Cautiously and full expecting to be rebuked, Nihlus gave Saren's forehead a soft stroke all the way from between the eyes to the end of the fringe. It earned him a soft sigh and emboldened, he repeated it.
Saren relaxed further into the bedding, pleased Nihlus had finally found something worthy to occupy his time with. He couldn't deny that the younger turian had a calming effect, once he settle down at least. The gentle strokes felt good, good enough to take his mind of the itch in his hands. He felt the bed shift slightly as Nihlus leaned over and pressed his forehead against his own in a brief contact. He frowned when he sensed Nihlus move away, the air growing colder where once warm brown plates had rested. His eyes shot open, searching the room and expecting to find it empty but it seemed Nihlus had just reached the door.
"Nihlus-" he cut off, not sure what he wanted to say.
Nihlus turned at the soft word, glancing over his shoulder. Saren saw the surprise in the set of his shoulders and felt a flush of embarrassment. He had a tendency to push Nihlus away or treat him unreasonably, especially when injured. It was a testament to Nihlus that he kept returning, kept forgiving him.
It was Saren's turn to be lost for words. He wanted Nihlus to stay, wanted his presence, wanted him to keep touching his fringe but after the way he'd snapped at him, Saren couldn't blame him if he left. Something must have shown on his face though, for Nihlus returned to the bed and settled himself down, showing no sign of leaving again. His green eyes peered into Saren's, full of questions and a hint of concern. He knew better than to show pity towards Saren, a fact he was grateful for. If there had been any trace of pity, Saren would have had to react, forcing Nihlus to leave.
Green eyes flickered briefly towards the abandoned med patch before dark hands resumed their calming touch, soft strokes from strong hands, this time along his cowl and neck. Saren broke eye contact first, closing his eyes in bliss. Firm yet tender, Nihlus stroked him, working out across his shoulders and down the keel ridge of his chest. A brief pass of the hands over his waist made his stomach muscles flutter but he quickly clamped down. When Nihlus did it a second time, the touch was longer, more deliberate. He opened his eyes once more.
Nihlus was peering down at him, an unmistakable hunger in those green eyes. He'd always loved touching the silver hide, drawing out the soft sighs and murmured curses. Fighting and battle always increased both their libidos and the interim between the fight and now had done nothing to curb the desire. Saren made no comment other than to settle more comfortably into the bedding. Nihlus took that as permission enough and resumed his gentle mapping of the familiar terrain.
Dark hands roamed all over silver hide, from cowl to leg spurs and back again. Tender touches lingered over the sensitive areas behind the knee, where thigh met body and Saren's waist. Each pass awoken rippling tendrils of desire along Saren's body and his breaths deepened. It was exquisite, Nihlus had always known just how to touch him. Anticipation started to build as Saren awaited the deeper, more intimate touches Nihlus favored. Soon, his warm tongue started chasing the paths laid down by his hands. Hot paths left scorching marks in their wake.
Infuriatingly, Nihlus stayed away from the most intimate spots. Dark hands would skirt around his pubic plates, teasing but never touching. Hot breath would ghost along the seam but not tantalizing lick would follow. Soon Saren found himself starting to squirm, attempting to get Nihlus to touch a little longer, a little lower, a little harder. Anticipation turned to expectation which turned into frustration. A soft keen escaped Saren before he could clamp it down but it turned to a growl as Nihlus chuckled quietly against his stomach. He raised his head and glared at the mischievous green eyes. His plates had softened but not yet spread. He shifted his hips meaningly.
Nihlus chuckled again, "yes Sir," and gave Saren's plates an utterly obscene lick along the seam.
Saren bucked his hips, following Nihlus's tongue as it bathed him from between his legs to up his stomach. He felt Nihlus's thumbs massaging his plates, tempting them open as the hot tongue drew circles along his hip. Finally! This was the touch he wanted, the touch he needed. His plates spread open in a rush as his cock emerged. The cool air of the ship caressed it and Saren waited for Nihlus's hot mouth to follow. And waited. And waited.
Nihlus continued to lick along his hip bones and along the edges of his spread plates. His hands massaged his thighs and lower belly, occasionally dragging his talons along his ribs. But the hot, throbbing need jutting up from between his legs remained neglected. Saren was so hard he could feel himself leaking without any direct stimulation. He gritted his teeth and breathed deep. He just had to wait. Nihlus liked to play such games on occasion, withholding or teasing in an attempt to get Saren to beg. He just had to wait a little longer. Surely Nihlus would give in soon. Right?
Nihlus dropped his hands down along Saren's legs until he reached his knees. Gently he nudged his legs until Saren bent his knees, drawing his legs up and out. It was a direct path to what he most wanted, namely Nihlus' mouth on his cock. But instead Nihlus just moved lower, licking at a leg spur. Saren never had any illusions to his lack of patience and what little he had had run out. "Nihlus, if you don't touch me, as soon as my hands heal I will." And you won't like it. His glare while still strong enough to peel paint was lacking just a little as it traveled past his sweat soaked body and twitching, weeping member.
"Yes sir."
Immediately strong hands reached up to caress and stroke. It was just the barest of a touch but it left Saren bucking off the bed in a gasp. Nihlus had shown an innate understanding of how Saren liked to be touched, even from the very first time and his abilities had only increased from there. Frankly Saren would have been disappointed in anything less. Quickly he was right at his limit, ready for release. Just a little bit more, a little touch there-
He gasped suddenly as his member was left bereft right as he was about to come. Icy blue eyes bored into smirking green. The room was silent except for the sound of Saren's harsh breathing. Saren didn't understand why Nihlus was being stubborn now. He owed Saren for his hands. Didn't he? Of course he did, otherwise it would be Nihlus writing and panting on the bed now. Between his glare and an ominous rumble in his undertones, Saren attempted to convey this to Nihlus. He was never in the habit of repeating himself. Infuriatingly, Nihlus continued to smirk at him. His growls changed from threating violence to promising to never touch him again if he didn't resume what he was doing. Right now.
'Yes sir"
Saren threw his head back as he was suddenly engulfed in a blistering heat. While he had softened slightly during the battle of wills, he was rapidly approaching his peak once more. Anxious for the relief that it would bring, he thrusted himself into Nihlus accommodating mouth. Once again though, right as he was about to crest, Nihlus pulled away, just a touch, just enough that it was no longer enough. Saren could feel the howl building in his throat.
"You're doing this on purpose aren't you?"
"Yes sir" Took you long enough
"Because I yelled at you about my hands?"
Yes sir" Partly
"Do you have any idea how infuriating you are?"
"Yes sir" Of course
"You're still at least partially responsible for the mess that my hands are."
"Yes sir" But only partially
"If I apologize will you finish what you've started?"
"Yes sir" Only if you mean it
Saren stared at Nihlus. Nihlus stared back. He'd been stroking Saren with his hand during the exchange, just enough to keep him close but not at the edge. Blue eyes softened slightly and silver mandibles dropped just a fraction. No further words were spoken but none were needed. Apologies from both sides were offered, accepted and forgiven. The slick slide of Nihlus' hand gradually increased until Saren's pants once more accompanied the gentle sound. Slowly and without breaking rhythm Nihlus slide up the bed until he was able to capture Saren's mouth with his.
Moving in just the right way and in just the right speed Nihlus brought Saren to his peak for a third time. Tongues dueled for dominance until Saren broke away gasping as Nihlus finally allowed him to crest and finish. Immediately his entire body relaxed, waves of endorphins soothing away any and all jagged edges of mind and body. As the high faded enough for coherency to exert itself, Saren pulled Nihlus down for a plate crushing embrace. Subtones said what he could not verbally and were matched by similar tones. As he moved to pull away, Saren pulled him down hard with a growl.
Nihlus chuckled.
"Yes sir"
Fin.