The day had a certain "fuck you" tint to it, though Shepard as she sat in her least conspicuous corner of a no name little bar off the trading floor. She quietly nursed her straight whiskey, trying and failing to keep rehashing her encounter with her former lover, Liara. The whole experience had left her feeling more dead inside than when she'd mistakenly agreed to watch the Lazarus project reports with Miranda. Shit!
The day had started so swimmingly, too. Shepard had finally just left Horizon after a final encounter with her former team member, Kaiden Alenko, had ended well enough with Alenko deciding to profess his undying love, then call her a traitor. The cackling laugh Garrus made as Shepard bloodied his nose, knocked him on his ass, and winged him once in the foot as she was walking away, how could she not think things were finally looking up. But upon finally getting word that her lover was hiding out on Illium, and rushing immediately to her side, the cold response and often acerbic taunts left her with no doubts as to the cause.
She was, or to be specific, her dying was. Not that Shepard would admit fault or even allow herself to feel shame, it's not like she'd have wasted time with melancholy when her lover suddenly popped back into reality after a 2 year stint as a popsicle.
These thoughts flitted through her thoughts in half broken lurches, as alcohol and depression warred for control. It didn't make her any less observant, though. As a small slice of perspective reflected on her crippling relationship status, she noticed a not completely unfamiliar Asari trying to look as though she wasn't hawkish in spying on Shepard, but after picking up and cleaning the same 3 glasses about 6 times without ever shifting her gaze, it took some skill to be that blase. Picking up her drink and wandering up, Shepard took a moment to observe the Asari who turned to greet her without looking shook up at being caught, definitely some training to her.
She had a slightly fierce countenance that seemed to come half from her sharply defined features, hard and firm where most including her previous...lover were soft and sort of rounded. Though Shepard knew she'd been observing her for some time, she still made a effort to look slightly confused, then surprised at seeing Shepard walking up to her. "What, wait, aren't you Shepard? Wow, kinda makes my day. What can I get you?" Shepard took a moment, as her usual rush in and hold a gun against people's heads routine had her immediately flashing to Liara threatening her client not 20 minutes ago. Taking a breath, she said," Not really looking as wondering why I'm such a interesting target for observation. I don't have to worry about you sneaking a ghost program in my omnitool, do I?"
Seeing her discretion had the opposite effect of making her a suspect, she quickly put her hands up in a halting gesture, saying,"Wait, wait! Yes, I noticed you, and yes I could've immediately owned up to knowing you, but I figured I might leave you to your own worries. Looking at the way you've been putting away that horrid human alcohol, let's just say I've been around long enough to know when someone's here to listen and engage, and when they're tuning out."
"Well, in that case, thanks." Shepard felt discomfited, as her just barely avoided reaction of shooting this stranger in the head, for merely trying to honor what little privacy she had left, it was intolerable. She couldn't walk around at the moment as any hinting aggravation might set her off, and no matter her current mind set, she would never be able to live down starting a massacre because someone stubbed her toe. Seeing the soldier in her eyes shrink back, the bartender whipped out a 100 megawatt smile, which was easily returned. It seemed that both knew what the other was thinking and both feeling a bit of euphoria from the close call. "I'm Aethyta."
"Shepard, pleased to meet you." Shepard took another moment to run her eyes over the matriarch, obvious if you knew where to look, and couldn't help feeling a flutter of amusement and something more at the Aethyta's roguish grin. Something about the Asari had always been a bit of a compulsion to Shepard, ever since she'd risked her life for her first girlfriend on Mindoir, ultimately failing to keep her from being captured, ever since she'd had a automatic sense of honesty and love from the species. Not that such hadn't bitten her before, that eclipse kiddo had a full 3 seconds after buzzing her shields to experience the sight of Shepard just staring at her open mouthed before she retaliated in her typical overkill fashion, probably resembling a fish on land. Aethyta, for her part, immediately saw what was a radiant combination qualities to the Asari and imagined it had likely drawn a few maiden after her with drool slipping from their lips, Shepard was the perfect example of a alien any Asari would love to fuck.
She was like arcing electrical current, constantly shifting and as though a split personality were made manifest, she seemed to make every twitch and lift of her brow seem heavy with authority and power. To the mono-gender Asari, who had little to appreciate from the males of the species, human females were so similar and here was one with the joy and exuberance of a maiden and the power of a matriarch, a very compelling figure to her culture. Even knowing her daughter's interest in the matter, or perhaps thanks to that, she'd taken a interest as soon as she recognized the iconic N7 armor walking into her door. Having watched from her omni's remote monitoring program, she knew that this would either be a moment of singular serendipity that she had a chance to bed this human without directly taking her from her own kin.
"I've been here a while and have come to know the drinkers from the distractions, and you drink like a woman not looking to get drunk, but to have something for your hands and mouth to do while you brain strangles itself with it's frustrations." Shepard quirked her lips at this, knowing to to be dead on accurate in her case, and said,"I'll take this distraction over my other hobbies right now. Going out on a rampage might not actually calm me down, and...," halting, Shepard forced her head down as her blush began to creep up, continuing,"Well, it's the best of available options."
Aethyta took on a knowing full on smile, as she threw caution to the wind and reaching out, rested her hand against Shepard's, said,"The thing about living a thousand years, we all learn that distraction is the only way to survive this bitter universe. You humans seem to hesitate so much for such a short lived species, if you know how to calm down and it isn't offensive, why not ask?"
Shepard, for the first time since Udina had betrayed her for Council gold star stickers, felt her emotions literally lock off her throat. It took a moment to process the implied offer, and instead of immediately tossing it in favor of trying to reconcile with Liara, she looked at it as perhaps a genuine offer from another sapient seeing another in pain. She knew things were potentially broken with Liara, that there wasn't any wrong in appreciating and even accepting the offer, but the real thing that decided things was her first few moments with Aethyta, she hadn't hopped on her lap and planted a kiss, unlike some shameless hangers on hoping to be seen with the great Shepard, she'd stood off the the side and simply let Shepard exist. She could see Aethyta hadn't been too nervous, but had actually tried to help without a moment of reciprocity being demanded.
Finally narrowing down her response, she immediately felt better about her decision upon seeing Aethyta's blush when she said,"Ask hell, why not take someone by suprise?", as she reached across the bar and slip her fingertips down the side of the slim Asari curves-hugging dress.
-.
Aethyta quickly skipped ahead of Shepard as they neared her apartment building. Shepard had seen, as they walked, a nervousness building up in the beautiful Asari matriarch, a nervousness she was quick to reflect as she considered that she, "Commander F'in Shepard", was likely to engage in a little amorous activity with the relative stranger. She several times felt almost overcome with giggles, a nervous trait she'd noticed during her first dating attempts, but that she'd assumed had been defiled and buried under Mindoir. Still, the smile of amusement Aethyta had delivered as a small little chirp had wormed it's way out soon had both of them tittering like school girls as they approached the mega complex the appeared to be like the old fiction arcologies.
Quicky flitting through the lobby to the elevator where innocent kissing seemed to kill much of both of their jumbled nerves, they both tried to exit the elevator without heaving breathes, but it was a close thing.
Entering the apartment immediately changed Aethyta, it was as if she was the lioness reaching her favorite hunting grounds, her shoulders settled minutely and her back straightened, pushing the tall beauty another few centimeters taller than Shepard. The transformation of her face and eyes was very intriguing as she looked at Shepard in the doorway, seeming both hesitant and flighty, Aethyta decided to remove the last doubts about leaving.
With a corona flaring about her arm, Aethyta smiled a cat in the cream smile as she gently lifted Shepard a few centimeter and drew her close, tantalizingly close. Shepard almost began a biotic blow back upon seeing the corona, but fortunately had held herself short, the worst way to show trust to new lover was to involve them in any way with a warp explosion.
Aethyta saw the the flicker of doubt, and couldn't help but smirking as she drew Shepard close. "You don't have to worry, though I know you will still feel the flickers of emotion trying to flare up, I promise you by the end of tonight, you'll hardly have the energy to pick up a kitten, let alone worry about mistakenly attacking me."
Shepard hang a hands breath from floor, suspended, but not with the annoyance of physical bindings. She felt longing ache as Aethyta slowly traced her finger along the curve of her shoulder, between her breasts, and down to her midriff, the static arcing as across their skin as biotic touched biotic and slowly balanced their natural charge. A required delay for any full contact between biotics, simply holding hands for a few moments would prevent accidental arcing in the worst of times, such as arcing right when one's tongue first touched the clitoris.
Though normally just a minute or two of holding hands as each tried to maintain the mood with over the clothes petting, and fierce eye glances, this new method Aethyta was demonstrating had it's appeal. No real waiting, just use the arcing as another method of...stimulation. Shepard felt her eyes bulge for a moment as the blue goddess traced circles of tingling excitement around her nipples.
As the arcing finally died down, and Shepard recovered from sensory overload, Aethyta took a moment to appreciate her prize.
AN: Updated for minor grammar and spelling fixes, please do inform if you spot anything amiss.