AN: And we're back in the ME Universe! It's been a while since I've been able to play in this sandbox, but I'm getting pretty excited.
Hope you all enjoy this little fic about lady Ryder and a guy who turned out to be quite the pleasant surprise. Anyone know what this ship is called? Maybe Team Reyder?
I hope this is the first of many that I get to write.
Best,
Voi
He tells her not to worry about Kadara because he cannot quite bring himself to admit that he will worry about her. He should be able to, if he was a better man he would be honest with her, with his feelings.
But he fears the sentiment would be a burden. Not in some sort of fanciful romantic notion, but because the sheer volume of things on her mind leaves little room for anything else. What are the concerns of one man compared to the voices of thousands? The fate of humanity in Andromeda must drown out all other noise if their people are to have a chance, and Reyes knows better than to try overcoming something like that.
The success of the Initiative lies upon her shoulders, and he refuses to contribute even the smallest feather's weight more. He understands the responsibility that comes with looking after others, but those he guides are the rough sort of individuals who usually land on their feet.
Her people are still sleeping, the civilians from whom all future generations will trace themselves. And it is for those people that she ventures into that wide unknown, carrying with her all the expectations that her father had lifted so very high.
Glancing down at his glass, Reyes grimaces.
It has been months, and there has been no word. Even here at his usual haunt, the travelers have had little to share. Technology has been disappointly useless as well; there's not the slightest static on the old radios, nor useful hint on even the fastest of what the black market has to offer.
"Still waiting around for her."
Umi doesn't bother framing it as a question anymore, they both know he is.
Like some lovesick fool.
He feels like a lovesick fool, and the more the days pass, the more he's come to accept it.
Still, that's not of anyone else's business, and Reyes says nothing, does nothing except take another long drink. It burns, but not in the way he wants, not in the way he craves. He doesn't dare order whisky though. He hasn't been able to stomach it since his last message to her came back unanswered nearly five months ago.
Shoving out of the bar, Reyes ducks into the dark alleyway that will take him home, following the long winding way, mindlessly going through the motions that will ensure his continued security even if he's feeling entirely, unsettlingly unhinged.
I'll make sure Kadara stays ours.
It's as close as he's ever come to mentioning his hopes for a future with her, but the message has gone unread for so long he suspects the very worst. Not even his contacts in the Nexus have been able to locate her.
Fingers punching the keycode for his apartment, he pauses when he hears the slow strains of jazz echo in the hall.
He knows that song, and the familiarity both thrills and puts him on edge.
Hand on his holster, he creeps through the dark towards the sound, spotting the source easily enough. The light on in his bedroom, And there is someone just inside, humming along.
Assumptions have killed people before, and Reyes is a cunning enough man to have used it to his advantage as well. But if the person inside his room is not who he expects, he promises there will a cruel price to pay.
He has been wound too tightly to appreciate even a modest attempt at a joke.
And so, with little further fanfare he shoves the door aside, stepping into the light and out of the shadows he prefers.
What he finds within is even more to his preference. And though there are no true words for the feelings that rip through him, it is tinged with such shock and longing that he sways on his feet.
She is there framed in the dim light of Kadara's skyline, looking more real than even his most convincing dreams.
"Ryder."
It hurts when she turns around, and looks at him with those familiar eyes. Deep in his chest it twists, though it is both a pleasure and an agony.
She is here.
Wildly he wonders if it is possible for a man lose his senses from such a shock.
But looking at her is not enough, and he takes several impatient steps forward only to rock back on his heels when she races into his arms.
Warm.
Solid.
His heart shudders when he inhales and finds her scent blissfully unchanged.
"Reyes."
Her smile, soft and lovely as his hands reach up to cup her face, is everything.
And when he finally nods, mute for perhaps the first time in his life, she contents herself against his chest so that he can feel the heat of her body against his. Their hearts scant few inches away from each other.
"I worried."
The words are choked, but now that she is here, they are the only words that matter to him. The only words he can say to her after so long.
Even then, they are not the right words. Because he means-
Her kiss on his jaw is a tender, affectionate thing. But it is the knowing look in her eye, the way she still looks at him, that humbles him completely.
"I know, Reyes."
And she does, even though he has never said the words.
"I love you, too."