Even after being on the Citadel for several weeks, Kolyat still found himself learning something new just about every other day. The shops, the people, the way things worked. Everything was different. It was incredibly different from Kahje. He forgot that other worlds didn't rain as much as it did on Kahje. Not that the Citadel really experienced weather or anything, it was still a huge transition from pouring rains to no real weather at all.
As much as he liked discovering new things on the Citadel, what he found wasn't what he was looking for. There were a few electronic stores around the area, but none that he figured Lynn would be in. Well, none that he thought Lynn's father owned. From what Bailey said about Lynn's father, he gathered the human looked just like his daughter. Either that or they had the same attitude.
With how unique Lynn seemed to be, her father must have been unique as well. Maybe even more so. Then again he didn't know what to think about most humans yet. How was he supposed to go about trying to court Lynn? She seemed hesitant at first, though that wasn't going to discourage the drell. They didn't really know much about each other. Hell, she seemed to know a bit more about him than he knew of her.
The realization that his father had something with Lynn in the past angered him immensely at first. It was difficult to ask his father the true nature of their relationship, what with him going around the galaxy with Commander Shepard. He made a mental note to himself to bring it up the next time his father tried to video chat with him.
It still felt weird having his father back in his life and making an effort. There was still so much anger and hatred towards his father, but he knew deep down he wanted a relationship with his father. Not just because he was slowly dying, but because he remembered how much he loved his father as a kid.
Kolyat looked around at the stores and soon felt he would drag Bailey to help him find the electronics store. As he approached a corner, he saw various electronic devices through the window. When he looked up, a small smile grazed his lips. Above the entrance was a sign that read "Yessin's Electronics & Technical Support." This was the place!
When the drell made his way into the store, he noticed how quiet it seemed as compared to other stores that seemed to have a few customers here and there. This store was completely empty, save for the quarian working on a drone at the counter.
This was a bit of a surprise. Quarians weren't common on the Citadel, sort of like he was since he was a drell. If he remembered correctly, this quarian was male. He remembered seeing a few quarians on the ride to the Citadel and noticed that the males' suits tended to have a slightly more pointed mask while the females' were more rounded.
"Oh! Welcome!"
Yep. Definitely a male. The quarian seemed to move his current work out of the way so as to help a potential customer. Kolyat got a good look at the quarian while he waited and saw that his suit's colors were a mixture of purple and blue. Other than that, the quarian didn't really stick out that much.
"How can I help you?"
Kolyat looked back to the quarian, trying to make sure he maintained eye contact. Er, in this case, helmet contact.
"Yes, I'm looking for the owner," Kolyat said, clearing his voice to speak properly.
The quarian nodded his head and gestured to himself.
"You're lookin' at him!" the quarian said and Kolyat was sure there was a smile behind the mask judging by his voice.
The drell just stood there, staring at the quarian. No, that couldn't be right. Lynn said her father owned the store. Maybe there was another owner.
"No, no, I'm looking for a human," he reiterated. "Name Yessin? Daughter is Lynn? Human female who works here too?"
The quarian motioned his hands to himself again, a low chuckle hidden behind his mask.
"Again, you're lookin' at him."
This didn't make any sense. How was a quarian father to a human? Maybe Lynn's mother was a human. Maybe she had Lynn and married the quarian.
"Sir?"
Kolyat snapped his head back up to Yessin, who was probably deeply confused by the drell's words.
"You're Lynn's father?" Kolyat asked incredulously.
The quarian gave him another nod and another chuckle.
"Lynn's my daughter," Yessin said as he leaned against the counter, propped up on an elbow. "She's working right now in the back actually. Did you need me to get her?"
Kolyat shook his head, even though he wanted to see the woman. First he had to talk to the father, according to the extranet sites that covered human courting rituals.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you first," the drell said, feeling his throat become dry. "My name is Kolyat Krios and I wanted to ask for your permission to date your daughter."
The stunned silence made Kolyat reason that the quarian had not been expecting such a request. Yessin was quite for a few minutes, making the drell feel more and more uncomfortable. When the quarian's body began to shake, it caused Kolyat's body to stiffen up. Gods, he was going to punch him. Or yell at him. There were various scenarios that ran through his head, all which involved Kolyat being beaten by a quarian.
So when the drell heard a laugh, he just stared dumbfounded. That wasn't one of the scenarios his mind had conjured up.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Yessin said as he stood up straight and held up his hands. From the tone in his voice, the quarian was trying to contain his laughter. "You're asking me for permission to date my daughter? Lynn? You're joking, right?"
Kolyat managed to straighten up both his body and his expression, shaking his head. Did he not sound serious? He needed to make sure that this man knew how serious he was.
That seemed to get Yessin to pause in his laughter. Quarians were extremely hard to read behind their masks so he had no idea what kind of face he was making.
"Keelah, you're serious then?" he asked, voice skeptical. "You really want to date Lynn? And you're asking for my permission?"
"I assumed this was the right course of action," Kolyat said with a shrug of his shoulders. "According to some extranet sites on human courting rituals. One source said it was imperative to ask the father for permission first before further pursuing his daughter."
Apparently that wasn't the response Yessin had been expecting. He probably thought that the drell would suddenly reveal this was all a prank and he was just trying to be funny. He wasn't. Kolyat was completely and totally dedicated to taking Lynn out. Seeing as he knew next to nothing about humans, he wanted to make sure he was doing things right.
The silence was starting to get to him. Not only was it extremely awkward and uncomfortable, but also it wasn't reassuring the drell of his chances.
Yessin seemed to have finally found the words he wanted to speak, but before he could, another voice called out, "Dad! I finished revising your resume! Come back here and-"
Lynn appeared, messing with her Omni-tool when she saw Kolyat. She stared at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
Once again, the drell's eyes fell on her hips. He remembered vaguely one of his uncles saying that it was normal for drells to be attracted to hips. If he remembered correctly, it used to have to do with a female with wider hips giving birth better so males tended to fight over them. The drell never understood the hip fascination before. That is until he met Lynn.
"You?" she asked, her eyebrows narrowing slightly as she brought Kolyat back from his thoughts. "The hell are you doin' here?"
Yessin turned slightly to look to his daughter. The quarian seemed to be in the process of still analyzing the situation at hand.
"Lynn, love," Yessin said, struggling to find his voice again. "This drell came here to ask my permission to date you. I, uh, don't really understand how to respond."
Lynn gave an exasperated sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose, growing agitated. She honestly couldn't have any dreamed of the young drell doing something like this. The woman thought she had made it clear to him the other day that this wasn't going to happen.
"Seriously?" Lynn said, suddenly chuckling. "You seriously came here to ask my dad for permission? The hell gave you that idea?"
"Well, I looked up what I should do on the extranet and there was a site that-"
Kolyat was interrupted by another fit of laughter from Lynn. Her reaction was both embarrassing and angering him.
"Look, I don't know what humans expect!" he snapped quickly, eyes shooting her glares. "I wanted to do this right and make a good impression. I messed up at the bar! Just…gods, I want to take you out! Is that so gods damn bad?!"
When he realized what he said, it was too late. Lynn just stared at him, eyebrows arched and mouth once again slightly ajar. Gods, he probably just utterly ruined any chance of this happening. Why couldn't he have controlled himself better? Especially at something he wanted more than anything.
"You know what, sure."
Not only did her voice startle Kolyat, but her answer did more. The drell stared at her doubtfully. Did she just say she agreed?
"You…want to?" Kolyat asked carefully, trying his best not to ruin this.
"I guess," Lynn said with a chuckle escaping her throat and a smile grazing her lips, her shoulders shrugged. "Still don't think you're my type. I'm also pretty sure you'll come to regret this later. Still. Don't see why I can't at least go on one date with you. If I hate it, I won't be convinced to go on another one. Deal?"
Kolyat nodded his head, feeling incredibly stupid with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't believe it. She had flat out rejected and threatened him yesterday. Now she was agreeing? There was probably a downside to this, but he didn't care. She actually agreed to go on a date with him.
"Yo, Krios?"
Kolyat shook his head as he held up a hand. His mind was racing with possibilities on where to take her.
"My name's Kolyat," he said as he nodded his head to her, a small smile painted on his face.
"Kolyat, I think…."
The way she said his name had his mind go blank and he missed what the woman had said to him. All he did was nod his head at her, resisting the urge to laugh. He just couldn't believe his luck!
The brief feeling of happiness was interrupted when a hand whacked him upside the head. Eyes wide, he saw Lynn pulling away as she smirked.
"I think it'd be nice if you paid attention to me."
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Another roll of those lime green eyes briefly distracted him again. When they narrowed, he snapped out of his thoughts to give her his full attention.
"I was asking if you had a place in mind," Lynn said, crossing her arms neatly over her chest. "If not, I can make some suggestions. I don't really like fancy places. I can hardly sit still long enough. Maybe going to Castle Arcade would be good."
Honestly, Kolyat hadn't even thought of where he would take her out before. He was so sure that she was going to give him another firm rejection. His plan didn't get this far. Still, he supposed that was a bit of a good thing.
"Castle Arcade would be good," he repeated quietly. "Um, when would you like to go?"
Lynn offered another smile as she grabbed a piece of paper and pen, scribbling down on it quickly.
"I get off around the same time you do," she said as she handed him the paper. "I'm off at my other job so I'm free. I'll meet you over at the arcade."
The drell felt his brain slow, unable to give him the knowledge to give her a proper answer. Another nod of his head and Kolyat was heading back to C-Sec. His lunch had been over for a good while now.
"He seemed nice."
Lynn watched as Kolyat disappeared into the crowds before turning, seeing her father leaned up against the doorway.
"Were you standing there the whole time?" Lynn asked, glaring at him though her eyes showed no hint of any true anger.
"No, I finished my resume and submitted it," Yessin said as he chuckled. "Came back in time to see you give him your Omni-tool information. To be honest, I'm a bit surprised you accepted."
The woman shrugged her shoulders as she grabbed the drone Yessin was working on previously, diving in to finish it for him.
"While I was in the back, did I hear correctly? Did you call him Krios?"
Lynn nodded her head idly as she put on a helmet, her eyes disappearing behind the screen after she pressed a button. To complete her response, she gave another shoulder shrug to her father. She began working on the drone, sparks flying from it as she put her Omni-tool to work.
"As in Krios who…" Yessin trailed off, watching his daughter intently.
Lynn knew he was being careful not to bring up anything she didn't want brought up. She nodded her head once more, another shoulder shrug given as a response. Yessin was quiet and she could feel his eyes piercing her back. Obviously he was waiting for her to finish and she knew he wouldn't leave until she did.
Lynn pulled away from the drone, sighing as she pressed a button. Her mask lifted up and she stared at her father. People had hard enough times trying to figure out quarians expressions and feelings from behind a mask. It wasn't an easy task. Other aliens found it extremely difficult to get a good read from them. Usually quarians got easier to read the longer someone was with them.
Like Lynn. She could read her father like a book, even when he was behind his mask.
"He's the son of that Krios," she explained softly. "I saved him the other day from making a mistake."
Yessin stood up straight and Lynn could tell her father was giving her a confused look.
"Wait, he was the kid?" he asked in disbelief. "The one who was gonna shoot a turian for that ass Elias Kelham?"
Lynn nodded her head as she leaned back, watching her father begin to piece everything together. It didn't take him long.
"You knew it was his son?" Yessin asked, his voice low and in suspicion. When his daughter gave him a nod, he sighed. "I had no idea. Is that why you've been a little…little…"
"On edge lately?" she finished, offering him a small smile. It was true. She had been a bit cranky ever since the incident. It had more to do with seeing Thane again than anything really. "Yeah. I also saw his father at the station afterwards."
"Did you say anything to Thane?"
Silence draped over them, the only sound heard being the numerous people just outside their shop. It was clear what her father was doing. He was carefully tiptoeing so she wouldn't end up like that again. She wanted to tell him that he should have given her more credit. The years had been good to her and she was better than ever. Sure, this was a blow she hadn't expected to ever happen, but she was taking care of herself.
"I did," she said before turning back to her drone, mask once again covering her eyes.
That was her answer and Yessin knew that it was all he was going to get out of her for now. Her parents never pushed her, which was the rule. They always noticed a change in her mood, but never brought it up unless Lynn approached them about it.
Yessin said nothing as he reached over and touched her shoulder gently. If she were at her parents, his helmet would have probably opened and he would have given her a kiss on the head. Still. The message was clear and appreciated.
Of course her parents worried sick about her. After being put through hell for her, she understands. Still. She was happy with her life. No sudden appearances from her past could change that.
Castle Arcade; evening….
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!
Kolyat moved quickly through and around people, a look of distress clear on his face. He muttered apologies that were probably going unheard. They didn't matter. The woman he was supposed to have met half an hour ago was.
Despite knowing of his date, Bailey was forced to keep Kolyat after his shift ended. Several people had been arrested at a bar where a fight had ensued. A total of ten participants had to be documented and Kolyat's replacement was running late. There was a brief explanation about her kid needing to be rushed to the doctor for some reason or another.
Finally, the neon lights from Castle Arcade's sign came into view. He checked his Omni-tool for any updates, feeling his legs tremble underneath him from nerves. Somehow he managed to get a quick message to Lynn, explaining his situation and how he would be tardy. The woman merely told him she would be there and that was that. Was that a good sign? Was it bad? Was she angry?
The doors of the arcade swished open and the sounds of electronic games pinged through his head. His dark eyes began darting around the place quickly, looking for any sign of that cotton candy hair.
The touch on his shoulder caused Kolyat to flinch, whirling around to yell at whoever laid their hands on him. When he saw Lynn smiling, a knowing smirk on her face, he instantly relaxed.
"Easy there, tiger," she said as she gestured to his body. "Gotta relax or you'll keel over."
Seeing the smile displayed with those dark red lips began to soothe Kolyat, his nerves nearly vanishing instantly. Just the mere sight of this woman relaxed him and had him feeling at ease.
Lynn stood there, a hand on her hip as she watched his eyes move up and down her body. For the first time, Kolyat saw clothing cover up the human's stomach. A blouse rested on her chest, the blue and white vertical stripe design seeming to go well with her hair. Long legs were covered in dark grey pants, a neat crease down the interior. Open-toed heels covered her feet, dark black in color.
It was official. Her body was amazing. If her hips had been on display any better, the drell felt he would have passed out there on the floor.
"Not really arcade friendly," she teased, her voice bringing Kolyat's eyes back to her face. "But my mother insisted that this was best."
Kolyat nodded his head, staring blankly at her. That earned a smile and a chuckle, though it was difficult to hear from the amount of noise.
"Mom's a little obsessed," she said, waving a hand in exaggeration. "These aren't even my clothes. They're hers."
When Kolyat found his voice, he kicked himself mentally as it cracked ever so slightly.
"You look beautiful."
Another smirk was his response as her lime green eyes began eyeing his own body, moving from top to bottom gradually.
"Like the uniform."
It dawned on the drell that he didn't go home and change. As soon as he was cleared to leave, he practically ran here. His eyes fell down to examine himself. He was still in his blue C-Sec uniform, the blue camouflage style of his pants catching lime green eyes.
"Oh gods," he said as he ran a hand over his face. "I didn't go home and change."
Lynn's laugh filled his ears as he looked to her, watching her hold her sides as she smiled at him. Despite the fact that she as laughing at him, he knew she wasn't really laughing at him. Soon enough, the drell joined her in laughter; ignoring the strange looks others gave them.
"So, how'd you end up with a quarian as a father?"
After spending over two hours at the arcade, Kolyat grew tired of having his butt kicked at the games and suggested getting something to eat. Lynn agreed, saying she was growing tired of beating him so easily.
They were currently sitting at the Presidium, Lynn digging fries in a patch of ketchup before urging Kolyat to try. The lights of the sky were slightly dimmed at some point after they found a bench beside the water.
"I'm adopted," was her reply, digging for more fries for herself. "My mom and dad adopted me when I was 12. Dad hadn't been married to mom for long. She's an asari named Irryny T'kani. I think they were only married for around a year when they decided to adopt me."
Kolyat figured Yessin wasn't her real father. Despite the fact that quarians were dextro-protein species, it just didn't seem at all possible for him to be her biological father. It was a bit off a pity. He wanted to see whom Lynn took after.
Lynn's eyes fell to him as she watched him think, the drell most likely trying to figure what was appropriate to ask and what wasn't.
"You remember Mouse? That guy you got Elias' information from?" When Kolyat gave her a nod, she continued, "I grew up with him. I was a duct rat like him. We grew up together, made sure we had each others' backs, things like that."
From the look on his face, Lynn gathered he was once more shifting through appropriate questions. How she grew up didn't upset her. She had been taken care of.
"How did your parents end up adopting you?"
That was a generally decent question and she could hear the slight worry in his voice. It was kind of cute, watching him try not to offend her.
"I met my father first," she said as she leaned back on her arms, smiling at the memories. "I always had a fascination for technology. I tried talking to store owners so that I could learn a thing or two, but they all ignored me. They said I was driving away potential customers with my filthy look. Dad called me over and began teaching me as much as he could. I visited him several times a week. Sometimes Mom would give him extra food so that I could get a good meal. After four years, they came to the conclusion together that they wanted to adopt me and voila. Part of the family."
Kolyat nodded his head when he found it appropriate, following her every word. She seemed to have been a little like him. He wouldn't tell her that, seeing as he thought her situation was far from his. Even though his father was never around, he always had his mother. Even after her death, he still had his aunts and uncles take care of him.
"After they adopted me, they got me a proper implant," she said. Confusion covered Kolyat's face, silently asking her 'what for?' "I'm a biotic. I'm not a very good one though. I can make pretty damn decent barriers, but other than that, not very talented. I don't use them for much anyway. If I ever get in a scrape, I just use Xeena."
As if summoned, a small display of the drone appeared on Lynn's Omni-tool.
"It is such a privilege to defend Ms. Lynn," the drone's voice chirped before disappearing.
Lynn shook her head with a smile as she turned back to look at Kolyat's face, eyes burning into his own. Kolyat chewed on his bottom lip slightly, a look that showed he was holding back a question. She had a strong idea what that question was.
"I'm assuming you're debating whether or not to ask me what my relationship with your father was," she finally said, Kolyat's eyes widening. "It's okay. Promise."
Kolyat's head moved up and down as he acknowledged her approval. Still. The drell found it hard to open his mouth and bring up the subject.
"I met your father a year before I was adopted," she said, deciding to spare Kolyat. "Mouse introduced us. Told me there was a guy paying him in credits, candy, and other trinkets just for watching people for him. I met your father and decided to work for him."
Lime green eyes began to soften. It was hard to determine from her face if the memories were pleasant or upsetting. It was possible they were both.
"Your father was a huge influence to me," she continued, though she refused to meet the drell's gaze. "He introduced me to the drell gods. It stuck. I get a ton of weird looks when others find out I worship drell gods, of all things. The religion opened my eyes and gave me a sense of…understanding. A sense of purpose. I was a kid, I shouldn't have been in a life crisis. Though when he told me of them, I felt so wonderful. I have always been grateful to him for that."
Kolyat had so many questions for her; questions he gathered might upset her in some way. Questions he also had no right to ask her in the first place. Maybe, if they continue down the road, he could get her to open up to him.
The silence broke as Lynn stood up, having finished off the fries on their plate.
"I should be headin' out," she said as she stretched her arms above her head, releasing a pleased sound. "Gotta work at my father's and the bar tomorrow. Gonna be a long day."
As Lynn gathered their trash and threw it away, Kolyat stood and watched her go. Gods he was a mess. He had no idea if this was going well or not. Of course, it was going amazingly for him, but he had no idea how to read the human. Kolyat tried his best to read her face as he made his way over to her, trying to decipher if she enjoyed their time together.
Deep in thought, destroying his mind, the drell had been too distracted to notice Lynn had stepped over to him. Soft lips soon pressed against his, eyes growing wide as he froze. A soft hand grazed his left cheek, fingers moving gently over the side of his head. Gods, she was incredibly soft. The way her fingertips trailed ever so lightly against his rougher skin sent chills throughout his body, causing the drell to jerk slightly.
When the soft lick of tongue touched his lips, a groan hummed in his throat. Mouth opening, a purr escaped as he felt the human's tongue enter his mouth and browsed her tongue with his. The way she coaxed him into moving his own tongue caused his hands shoot out. He found her hips and gripped them tightly, digging his fingers harshly through the fabric.
As his body finally caught up with his mind, the drell grazed his tongue over hers. He could have sworn he heard something gently come from Lynn, but it disappeared as soon as it came.
After several minutes of enjoying the sweet taste of Lynn, he felt her pull away and looked at her face. A smirk appeared, though it seemed as though she was teasing him and showing her own pleasure.
"I'll send you a message soon," she said as those long, soft fingers shadowed up his chest painfully slow. "I had fun. We'll definitely be doing this soon."
With a swift kiss to his lips, Lynn turned and began heading home. Kolyat stood there, lightheaded as he just watched until she was gone. As soon as she disappeared behind elevator doors, a large grin emerged.
They would definitely have to do that again.
