Summary:
The T'Soni estate hosts a visitor
Notes:
Challenge Yourself: A Month Of Fanfiction 2017
Tuesday 8/8's Prompt: A Long Lost OTP
So, not really an "OTP", but certainly a "P"
Shepard loved early mornings at the estate.
House T'Soni had been lucky in that regard. Although Armali had been hit hard by the reapers, the invasion had been stopped before the enemy had reached much beyond the population centers. The estate's relative isolation had spared it the fate that had befallen so many.
The climate of the region had helped as well. The overnight rains had washed the particulate mass out of the air early on. Now, when her windows were open all Shepard could smell was forest or ocean, depending on the direction of the wind. Sarah had recently returned from meetings in Majesa. After two years, the desert city still reeked of soot and ash.
Shepard returned to the kitchen, having taken her customary morning stroll through the house. She had encountered little activity. A few commandos on patrol, a handful of staff preparing for the day, acolytes in the library who were taking advantage of the pre-dawn quiet to further their studies. None but the commandos had even acknowledged Sarah's presence, most members of the household having long since learned that engaging the commander when she held a cup of coffee was a certain way to lose thirty minutes to inquiries about your well being.
There were many things that Sarah felt guilty about. Her artificially robust health. Her unexpected wealth, when so many had to do without. The fact that she has survived so much, when many had not.
However, two things brought her no feelings of guilt whatsoever. One was the love of her bondmate, and the other was how said bondmate was able to keep her suppled with coffee in a galaxy that was still struggling to feed itself. She had finished her cup just as she reached the kitchen, and as expected, found it empty except for the freshly brewed coffee waiting for her. She smiled, shaking her head as she refilled her mug. She'd never actually seen who made her coffee, but she guessed that it was being coordinated by either Liara or Denai.
She made her way into the staff dining area, where she usually took her breakfast. She never used the breakfast hall unless there were matriarchs afoot and Liara forced her to do so. The idea that the estate not only needed formal dining areas, but needed them segregated by meal seemed needlessly wasteful to the human.
Morning e-mail was light, she saw as the scrolled through recent messages on her omni-tool. Hackett still wasn't talking to her, which was more of a blessing than a hardship. The longer he could go without trying to pull her back into Alliance business, the more she could help Thessia with the rebuilding effort. There was a circumspect greeting from Counselor Alenko, wondering when she would next be at the Citadel. 'Yes Kaidan, message understood. You want me to stop by so you can play messenger boy for the Alliance.' She couldn't describe how grateful she was to have dodged that bullet. Counselor. What a joke. But the Assembly had wanted a war hero with extrasolar ties, spectre status a plus. Fortunately humanity had a spare. She trashed the message. If Kaidan wanted to talk to her, he could relay through Tevos. She had no intention of giving him heads up of the next time she planed to be in the Sol system. The Alliance had forced her into playing her citizenship in the Republics as the only card that had kept her out of their custody. Until they gave her an eezo engraved apology, humanity was about one step up from the batarians on her shit list.
She'd just added more sugar to her coffee when Aethyta walked in.
"Hey, babe." The matriarch breezed past on her way into the kitchen for kaffe.
She returned a moment later, steaming cup in her hand, and took a seat across from Shepard before taking a long drink. Her hi'daa was barely closed, and loosely tied. Shepard had spent weeks mastering the ceremonial knot, and promptly abandoned it the first time Aethyta appeared at the estate and closed her robe with a simple overhand loop. Eventually even Liara had given up the nod to propriety.
She put down her mug, and indicated Shepard's omni. "Anything good?"
Shepard peered at the matriarch. The woman almost radiated good cheer. That alone gave the commander pause. Since Aethyta also hadn't insulted her yet, it made Shepard wonder what she was missing.
"Nothing worth caring about. Alenko wants to know when I'll be at the Citadel."
"Fuckwit." Aethyta's opinion of the Alliance was even lower than Shepard's. Not that she was complaining. Aethyta was part of the reason that she was sitting here enjoying her coffee instead of spending her days in an Alliance facility "for her own safety".
"Yeah well, Tevos is going to want me in front of the council eventually."
"Who cares? She wants to see you, she can come visit. Goddess knows you love to entertain. You're as bad as Benezia, although she never actually cooked when people came over."
"Who's coming over?" Liara's voice sounded from the doorway, Alaya and Dona behind her.
Shepard was immediately on her feet, hurrying to Liara's side. "Here, let me help."
Liara swung her cane at Sarah, the commander jumping aside just in time. "I am not going to get any stronger if you insist on treating me like an invalid. Both Karin and Dr. Iadri say I need to spend more time using my leg, not less."
Sarah just looked at her dubiously as she matched Liara's pace to the dining table. The urge to assist was strong, but she also knew that Liara fought dirty. If she didn't leave her alone then Liara might tell her therapist she was having nightmares again. Healing melds were not an experience she enjoyed.
Liara sat down next to Shepard as Dona went on to collect breakfast. Alaya positioned herself a few seats down from Aethyta, obviously still uncomfortable with the idea of the family dining with the staff.
"Good morning Father," she greeted Aethyta.
"Morning, Little Wing," the matriarch smiled.
Liara turned to Shepard, who shrugged. "She was chipper when she came downstairs. So far the harshest thing she's said to me today was to compare me to Benezia."
Liara turned back to her father, eyes wide. "Father! You didn't!"
"Why not? Can't stand the thought that anyone's getting any but you?"
Liara rolled her eyes. The estate was full of bonded couples, encompassing almost all the galactic species. "Of course not." She took a breath, "But I would prefer that you be circumspect about bringing unknowns to the estate for your pleasure."
"I wouldn't consider myself an 'unknown' Blue, and it wasn't just her pleasure."
"Wrex!" Shepard called to the krogan in the doorway. She started to rise, then thought better of it. "Uh, I'd give you a hug Big guy, but you're a little, um, exposed."
Wrex looked down at the robe that might generously be considered to cover half his body. "What?" He looked back at them. "I'm wearing the same thing all of you are. Don't you want me to be comfortable?"
A maiden appeared from behind him, and at Alaya's direction offered Wrex a larger garment. He handed off the one he was wearing while all but Aethyta looked away.
"What are you doing here, Wrex?" Shepard asked as the krogan sat down next to Aethyta. "Nevermind. Don't answer that. It's obvious what you're doing here. What uh," she shook her finger from one to the other, "brought this on?"
Aethyta elbowed Wrex when he started to open his robe in response. "We had a run in about 500 years ago. No, the good kind," she said when Shepard started to speak up. "Back on Earth we were pinned down by a bunch of banshees. I told him that if we made it out of there that we should make time for a replay."
"Bakara's busy petitioning the Council for more territory, so I had time," finished Wrex.
"How come you didn't go?" Shepard was more than willing to draw this out. Liara didn't quite look horrified now the Wrex was dressed, but Alaya looked like she wanted a hole to crawl into.
"Oh you know, good krogan, bad krogan. I'll go next week." Wrex directed his attention to the kitchen. "Hey! Hungry krogan here!"
"And Bakara doesn't mind?" Pressed Shepard. She knew Aethyta was many things, but she didn't think that a homebreaker was one of them.
"She was glad for me to take him off her hands," answered Aethyta. "Otherwise he'd be at the Citadel making the Council unhappy by causing a ruckus." She turned to Wrex. "Speaking of causing a ruckus, why don't we take our breakfast upstairs?" She turned to Liara as she rose, "Talk to you later kid, Shepard."
Aethyta left the room with Wrex close behind.
Liara buried her face in her hands. "Goddess, I did not need to know that my father and Wrex…"
"Are you kidding?" Interrupted Shepard. "This is awesome. Maybe I can use your dad to get him to come to Thessia all the time! I wanted someone to help me upgrade the cannon on the shuttle."
Liara's sigh was almost a sob.