A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and alerts; I'm so glad you like the story!
Thank you to The Red Celt for beta reading.
Disclaimer: BioWare owns Mass Effect and its characters. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The club was alive with music and laughter when they walked in. Claire looked lovely in her new dress, her hair tucked into a bun with a studded pin that sparkled like a hundred little stars in the dim light of the room. Anna, on the other hand, had barely brushed her short black hair and had only thrown on some comfortable pants and a shirt at the last minute. She wasn't here to have fun; she'd only come for Claire's sake and hoped that she didn't have to stay too long.
Claire scanned the room but all she saw was a few people dancing in the back and some humans, turians and salarians standing around chatting or sitting at the tables with their drinks.
They strode up to the counter and ordered two Asari Sunsets from the turian bartender. He poured three different liquids in a shaker, screwed the top on, shook it, threw it high in the air, then shook it again with great flourish. Finally, he poured the mixture into two glasses and pushed the drinks in front of them.
"Here you go, ladies," he said with a wide smile. "Two Asari Sunsets for two beautiful women."
Claire gave him a pleasant smile but Anna just rolled her eyes.
He put his hands on the counter and leaned closer, ready to say something equally witty and charming, but just as he opened his mouth another customer demanded to be served. He sighed, pushed away from the counter and slowly walked to the other end of the bar.
Claire took a sip of her drink then turned to Anna with an anxious look. "Do you think he'll come?"
"He'd better. I really don't want to stick around here the whole night, waiting for him. What do you see in him anyway? From the way you two always fight I thought you couldn't stand him."
"We don't really fight. We... have lively conversations. And he's smart, and funny and... very good looking."
"Good looking?" Anna snorted. "He's a turian, for Christ's sake.
"So? You think they can't be good looking?" Claire shrugged, then added with a smirk, "Have you looked at his eyes? Or his broad shoulders and cute little butt?"
"No, not really."
"Well, I have," Claire chuckled.
The next moment she almost choked on her drink when somebody grabbed her waist from behind.
"Hey, baby!" a dangerously swaying young man shouted in her ear. "Wanna dance?"
"No," Claire said, trying to push his hands off.
"Come on, it's gonna... gonna... uh... be fffun"
"Get your filthy hands off her or I'm gonna break every bone in your body!" Anna snarled, turning on her heel, ready to punch him in the nose.
"You can...cccome... ttooo," he stuttered, trying to grab Anna's arm. "Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow!" he wailed when three thick fingers grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back.
"I believe the ladies told you to leave them alone," a menacing voice growled in his ear.
"Okay, okay, I'm going," the man protested, and once free, he staggered away.
"Hi!" Claire beamed at the turian, cheeks blushing, eyes sparkling.
"Hi. Umm... Fancy seeing you here," Silus said, looking awkward, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He was not a very good liar.
"Thanks for your help with that idiot," Anna remarked, crossing her arms in front of her chest and frowning at the young man wobbling towards the door. Claire smiled and enthusiastically nodded her head.
"No problem," Silus said with a nod, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Umm... My friend and I got a table over there. Would you two care to join us?"
"We'd love to!" Claire quickly replied with a big grin. The night was going even better than she'd hoped.
He ordered some drinks for the group at the bar then led the two women to the table.
"This is my friend Etarn. Etarn, this is Claire and Anna. Uh... Two good customers."
"I think we've met a few times at his restaurant," Etarn said, flaring his mandibles in a smile. "It's nice to see you here."
"Likewise. You know what, I don't even know your name," Claire turned to Silus as she took a seat next to him. Between her and Anna he'd gone from that turian asshole to that turian to the chef to just him, but she'd never found out his actual name.
"It's Silus."
"Silus... That's a nice name."
"Thanks."
They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments then Etarn cleared his throat and turned to Anna.
"So, what do you do here on the Citadel?"
"Claire and I work at a shipping company in Zakera Wards. How about you?
"You know Rodam Expeditions? I work there, organizing adventure travel packages and selling weapons."
"Really?" Anna leaned forward, her eyes wide with excitement. "What kind of weapons?"
"Only the best. All high-grade equipments and upgrades."
"Mmm... I'll have to come in and check them out sometime."
"These are for hunting big game, you know, not shooting pyjacks."
"You don't say," Anna snorted. "For your information, I used to hunt varren and other beasts with my father and brothers on the colony I come from. So I think I know a thing or two about guns and hunting big game."
"Hmm... Maybe you'd be interested in one of our packages then."
"Possibly. I'll have to take a look."
Etarn glanced at Silus then turned his attention back to Anna.
"Say, do you want to dance?" he asked, fixing her with his gaze while slightly nodding his head towards the other two.
"Oh. Sure," she said and got up, shooting a sly smile at her friend.
Etarn grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the dance floor, leaving Silus and Claire behind. They sat in awkward silence for a while, waiting for the other to start the conversation.
"So. You work at a shipping company," Silus finally began.
"Yeah. Temporarily. I've come here to make enough money so I could go to art school on Earth."
"So you're planning on moving there some day?" His heart sank at the possibility of her leaving, no matter how far in the future. Just last week she was nothing more than a nuisance to him, but now he couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again.
"I was. But now... I don't know."
Would she really want to give up the life that she'd made for herself in this bustling, incredible place? Give up the friends she'd made and this fascinating, attractive creature that she couldn't wait to see and talk to every day?
"You know, there's a very good art school here on the Citadel," he interrupted her thoughts, nervously hoping that she wouldn't reject his idea.
"There is? Wow. There's still so much I don't know about this place. I'll have to look into this then. Thanks," she gratefully smiled at him and his heart almost burst with joy. "How about you? How did you end up here?"
"Well, I always wanted to be a chef and have my own restaurant but I needed some startup capital to make that happen. So I got a job here selling cooking ingredients and once I saved enough I bought the place and turned it into the restaurant that you know."
"How long have you lived here?"
"About five years."
"Do you miss your family?"
"Some of them."
"I know what you mean," Claire laughed. "I guess every family has its share of crazy uncles. Yeah, I miss some of my family, too. And some of the food that I can't find here."
"Like what? And don't say 'chicken paprikash'".
"Okay, other than that? Ice cream. Cookies 'n cream, specifically."
"Ice cream? Hmm... I'm not sure if I've seen that anywhere here on the Citadel. But... There's a place on the Presidium where they sell something similar. It's an asari frozen dessert and it's quite popular. Would you like to go there and try it?"
"Sure! I'd love to!"
They got up and cut through the crowd to find Etarn and Anna and ask if they wanted to come along. They found them on the dance floor, moving to the beat, trying to outdo each other with the coolest dance moves they could come up with and laughing their heads off in the process. Etarn took Anna's hand and twirled her around then grabbed her waist and dipped her down, making her squeal and hold onto him with all her might. They were having a great time and weren't the least bit interested in leaving.
"Just go. I'll get her home, I promise," Etarn said.
"Not before you've shown me those guns!"
"Fine. Dance, guns, then my place."
"Hey!" Anna punched him in the arm. "Watch yourself, buddy!"
"Okay, okay" Etarn laughed. "Your place then."
"That's better... Wait... You sly bastard" she giggled, then waved them off. "We'll be fine, just go and have fun. See you tomorrow."
The little café had a pleasant outdoor area next to a small lake, surrounded by trees and flowers. The artificial environment was set to nighttime and the lights of the neighboring establishments reflected on the water like hundreds of colorful jewels. It was a breathtaking sight that made it hard to believe that you were on a giant space station and not a paradise planet.
"So, how's your dessert?" Silus asked, taking a sip of his own turian smoothie.
"Very good. Sweet and creamy." Claire smiled as she licked the concoction off her spoon then dug into the fluffy substance again.
He watched her pink tongue emerge from those luscious red lips to dip into the soft peak and draw a bit into her mouth, only to dart out again and slowly lick the rest of it off.
He sat there, mesmerized, forgetting about the cup he was holding in his hand, starting to feel his plates loosen and his throat get dry. He forced himself to tear his eyes away from her lips and tongue and move up to her eyes. She had them closed for a second, enjoying another lick, then slowly opened them, letting her sparkling green iris emerge from under her long eyelashes.
'Not helping,' he groaned inside and took a deep breath in a hopeless effort to control his breathing and slow his racing heart down.
"How's yours?" she asked cheerfully, oblivious to the agony he was going through just making himself look relaxed and not at all like he was ready to pounce on her and take her right on the spot.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat, desperately trying to pull himself away from those dangerous thoughts and sound as casual as possible. "It's quite good."
"This is a beautiful place," she said, looking around, taking in all the sights around her. "Thank you for bringing me here."
"You're welcome. I can show you some other nice areas of the Citadel if you'd like."
"I'd love that!" she smiled at him, happy that he wanted to spend more time with her. "But we'd have to do that another day. It's getting late and I should really get home soon."
They finished their desserts then took a rapid transit cab to her apartment building. She stopped at the door, turned to face him and looked up into his eyes.
"Thank you. I had a great time."
"Yeah, me too. Umm... Can I see you again tomorrow? I mean, not only at lunch, but also in the evening? We could go explore the Citadel—"
"That would be wonderful," she grinned then reached up and pulled his head down to touch her lips to his mouth.
She only meant it as a little peck, not knowing if turians kissed, but he grabbed her waist and pulled her close to return the gesture. His mouth plates felt alien but soft and she could feel his mandibles twitch slightly against her skin. The moment she parted her lips his tongue rushed in, sweet and strong, searching out her own, drawing a soft moan from somewhere deep within her chest. He kissed her, holding her tight, sliding one hand up her back and onto her scalp, weaving his fingers into her hair. It felt much softer and silkier than he'd expected. He decided that he loved human hair and couldn't stop stroking it. She closed her eyes and let the sensations wash over her; their tongues swirling against each other, the feel of his skin on the back of his neck against her fingers, his strong hands holding her and caressing her hair.
Their lips finally parted and he touched his forehead to hers, a soft rumble vibrating in his chest that she could feel right through her own body.
"Claire," he whispered, "I wish you didn't have to go."
"I know. But I'll see you again tomorrow." She brushed her fingers against his cheeks and smiled. "Good night, Silus."
"Good night, Claire."
He watched her disappear behind the glass door then headed home. He needed a long, cold shower.
