A/N: The scenes are extremely unorganized and random, but they are here if you wish to read them. They take place before, during, and after their relationship, with little to no grounding for the exact setting/time period. This is because I am lazy, but! Read on, if you want XD
Scene: Aria's war bunker in Omega, present day.
"You're so serious, Nyreen."
She meets Aria's stare across the makeshift table. The pirate queen is leaning back against her chair, one hand idly stirring the contents of what passes for food here in the bunker. Shepard had chosen not to sit with them, opting to inspect Harrot's now-mobile Emporium on the other side of the room. Everyone else had given the two women a wide berth to themselves as they busied with preparations for the next assault. For the moment, there's nowhere to look but at her (as if she can bring herself to look anywhere, regardless.)
Nyreen grunts. "Considering the situation we're in right now, I have to be."
"Still, what happened to your sense of humor?" Aria hums knowingly. "You used to laugh more."
She can't tell if the asari cut her reply short to make her guess at the unspoken words, but she wouldn't be surprised if that's the case: it had always been a guessing game with her, especially in those last months before she left. Perhaps that had been Aria's way of giving her an easy exit out. It still hadn't been easy. Nyreen tears open another tube of nutri-paste, avoiding her ex-partner's eyes. "Maybe you're not around when it happens."
"Hard to believe that," Aria says, pushing her bowl away, "when I've got eyes and ears in every corner of Omega."
"Not every corner," she can't resist murmuring.
She spoke too loudly, of course. Aria smirks. "You may think you got the better of me, but I'm always watching."
"Keep telling yourself that," Nyreen says and sucks at the tube. She feels the weight of Aria's gaze on her and refuses to look back up. It's why I had to get away. I didn't want you to watch me turn into another you.