AN: Everyone loves lemony goodness, it seems! I musta done something right! Seriously, though, thanks so much to everyone who left me feedback, an artist is always pleased to hear their work is appreciated. ;) I actually did a little fluffy illustration to go with the last chapter but didn't get it finished in time, so if anyone is interested, find me on Facebook, Instagram or DeviantArt and take a look.

FOURTEEN

I didn't want to separate our bodies, let alone get up and continue my walk of shame down the hall in search of clothes – where no doubt every one of his companions with a half-decent sense of smell would know. So, I didn't make any protest when he rolled us over and onto the bed. Nor did I stop him from taking top and coaxing my body into a second round of blissful play. I let him have whatever he wanted of me, and treasured every moment of teaching him about the joys of cross-species intercourse. Eventually, even he – Mr I-have-as-much-stamina-in-the-bedroom-as-I-do-in-a-firefight – had to admit exhaustion. He collapsed beside me, his head propped on his mountain of pillows.

I crawled up to lay against him and rested my head on his shoulder, my leg slung over his narrow waist. "I'm definitely gonna feel this later."

"Sorry…"

I blinked a few times, not quite believing I'd heard what I'd heard. "Apologise again, I dare you."

A rumbling chuckle reverberated through his chest. "Glad to know my romantic er… skills… have made an impression."'

"For a human virgin, they made one hell of an impression." I lifted my head just enough to send him an accusing glare. "You've been peeking at Monty's Fornax collection, haven't you? Come on, fess up!"

"I…ah…"

"Aha!" With a triumphant smile, I pressed a finger to his nose. "Gotcha! 'Not into humans' huh? You bullshitter."

"I wasn't," he protested. "But you made a pass and… it got me thinking…" I felt heat come to his neck and watched as the softer skin around his plates darkened. "…a lot, actually." He looked towards me, unafraid of meeting my eye. "About a lot of things."

A weight settled in the air between us. I looked away, the intensity of his gaze utterly unbearable. I guess that made me the coward. He was reaching for me. His hand came dangerously close to my cheek. I spun around, even went as far as getting out of bed to avoid his touch. "I should get another shower."

"Maggie…" Archangel sat up and pulled the blanket into his lap.

A glint of silver caught my eye, derailing my rush to retreat. I bent down and collected the blood-stained crucifix from the tiles. "You really killed him…" It was finally starting to sink in. I felt a cage door being swung open only to wonder if I had the strength to actually walk out. I'd been running for so long it had become part of who I was… What was I supposed to do now?

My hesitation cost me my hasty exit. I felt the turian approach. His presence paused just behind me. Talons reached to rest and grip against my shoulders. "I… can't imagine what it's been like for you—"

"Don't!" I yanked free of him and turned, a sudden spike of terror making me feel sick. Sympathy was the last thing I wanted from him. "The only people that pity me are the ones that have somehow managed to get close to me. My enemies know that, Archangel! They'll see it in you, and they'll use you to get to me!"

He was quiet for an unnervingly long moment. His expression was calculating, thoughtful… with the same determination as when he was looking over a tactical map and planning his attack. Then there came quiet triumph. Archangel straightened his back, his eyes flashing as he gazed at me with all the scrutiny of a c-sec officer who'd just got a big break in his dead-end case. "I understand."

No. That was worse. People didn't 'understand' me. They'd have to know me better than I knew myself to pull off that miracle. "Fuck you, Vakarian." I turned and stormed back into the bathroom. "Go to hell and take your 'understanding' with you!"

He didn't say anything. He didn't call me back to scold me or beg forgiveness. He just watched as I retreated. Oh yeah… I'd definitely fucked up.

It'd probably surprise no one, but I didn't do 'relationships'. Hell, a person was lucky just to get a free ride out of me. So, this 'thing' with Archangel? I didn't know what to do with that. The bastard haunted my every conscious and unconscious moment. If I wasn't having hot and sweaty dreams about him, I was avoiding his bony arse with every trick I'd ever learned. 'Course, avoiding him in his own HQ was ambitious even for me, but there was literally nowhere else to go. Infuriatingly – inconveniently – I found I'd completely lost my appetite for anyone else. I'd turned down so many appointments my clientele was starting to get edgy, and worse, I was running out of booze money. Without hard liquor to drown my Archangel-shaped problems in, they were only getting more dangerous.

The man himself strolled into the dorm. "Maggie, have you seen Monty? Er… What are you doing?"

I rolled my eyes. Of course, he'd pick now to catch up with me… right when I was on all fours, arse in the air, shoulders almost touching the ground. Throwing him a death glare, I shoved my storage box right against the wall under my bunk. "None of your God damned business!" I straightened up and ran a hand through my wild pink and red locks. Angel watched me with a predatory eye, and I remembered belatedly how much he appreciated the texture of my hair. Clearing my throat awkwardly, I stuffed my hands into my pockets instead. "Haven't seen him. Why?"

Archangel shook himself from whatever dirty thoughts were tangoing through his mind and jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "Got an Eclipse shipment to get in the way of. You want to come?"

"I've got somewhere to be." The claim rushed out too fast to be genuine. He opened his mouth, ready to quiz me on my plans I was sure. To my fortune, Monty chose that moment to appear in the doorway.

"There you are. Come on, those shipments ain't gonna sit around all night."

"Yeah… right." Archangel turned and followed the human out into the corridor. He waited until he thought I was out of earshot then mumbled, "Hey, you know what she keeps under there?"

"Under her bunk? Storage box full of all kinds of crazy shit." Monty was less careful with his volume. "Nothing valuable. OSD's. Broken tech. I saw her putting a silver crucifix in there a little while back. I'm guessin' it's trophies…" His rambling trailed off as he and Archangel left HQ. I grit my teeth with fury. He'd been rummaging? Little shit! Now I needed somewhere else to hide my box!

Ducking under the bunk again, I retrieved it. Probably used to have shoes in it or something equally useless. It was made of rough, battered metal and had a flimsy lock on the front. Tucking it under my arm, I glanced out into the corridor, even peeked over the bannister to be sure everyone was busy, before darting down the hall to Archangel's room. I leaned over his preferred side of the bed and hid the box under the headboard.

It wasn't 'trophies'. I pursed my lips with resentment at Monty's choice of term. It was 'mementoes'. Completely different. The few, tiny fragments of my life that I didn't want to forget… the moments that made the shit worth fighting through. They didn't come around often, so I clung to each and every one. Stupid really. A sentimental weakness… But I couldn't get rid of my box any more than I could stop wanting to fuck Archangel.

The door chime sounded. I rolled over just in time to make it look like I was lounging on Archangel's bed before Sid let himself in. "You just missed him."

"I know. I was looking for you, actually." He cocked his head in curiosity. "What are you doing in here?"

"Taking advantage of the only comfy bed in the entire apartment. What do you want, Sid?"

My answer was apparently satisfactory. He leaned on the door frame with as much casual as he could muster while blatantly nervous. "I… came into some credits. Thought, maybe, you might want to come to the Citadel with me. You know… on a holiday or something."

I arched a dubious eyebrow. "A holiday? Wasn't the Citadel your dream home?"

"Well, yeah, I'd stay. But I can get you a return ticket if that's what you wanted."

I sat up and crossed my legs, surprise etching into my expression. "You buggering off, Sid? For good?"

He shrugged with forced calm. "I have a chance to go home, Maggie. Back to my family… back to the life I left behind. I gotta take it."

I frowned, my stomach surprising me when it dropped a few inches. Was I going to miss him? No way I was ever admitting to that. Maybe I was just offended that he wanted to leave so badly…? No. I couldn't blame him. Sid wasn't really Omega trash, more a washed-up shipwreck. Like all the marooned, he was sitting out each day praying for rescue. "I guess…" I heaved a sigh and rolled my eyes at my own sentiment. Archangel really was a shitty influence. "And I suppose I might miss you… a smidge."

His mandibles fluttered with a turian smile.

"Don't let it go to your head."

"No, no. I know. You'll only bash it out again if it did." He rubbed his forehead plate in painful memory. "So… er. You in?" He shifted around, twisting his talons together nervously. Little coward.

"When?"

"Tomorrow night. The midnight shuttle…"

I snorted in amusement. "You're not even gonna say goodbye, are you?"

His smile turned uneasy. "I don't do goodbye too well. Figure it'll be better this way. But… I could really use the company. Just till I get settled back on the Citadel."

Yeah, that sounded like him. I lounged back against Archangels pillows, taunting him with a smile. "You're too chicken shit to travel alone? You really are a coward, Sid."

He didn't deny it. In fact, he just shrugged it off with another 'yes, ma'am'. "Come on, Maggie. Please. You can't spend your whole life on this rock. What have you got to lose?"

I looked away and found myself staring at the gun case for Archangel's beloved sniper rifle. Cold frustration took residence in my chest. I scowled. Why the hell not? Daniel's and his cult were dead. There was no reason to stay so hidden anymore. Nihlus had talked up a storm about the Citadel. He'd made me want to see the Presidium, just once if I could… to take a walk through a park where it was always sunny and beautiful. "…Alright."

Sid's face lit up with enthusiasm. "Really?"

"Yeah. But just a vacation. And I'm not sleeping with you any."

"No! Of course not. It'll be great!" He relaxed enough to let his shoulders slump, a stupid turian grin still flashing his sharp teeth. "Thanks, Maggie. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll meet you at the transport hub tomorrow. Midnight, yeah?"

"Yeah. And… hey. Please don't tell the others? I don't want to kick up a fuss about going."

I waved him off. "Sure, sure. You better get packing. You've got a shit-ton of stuff in your locker." He darted out, leaving me alone with Archangel's scent. A sense of foreboding had settled in my gut that I refused to acknowledge had anything to do with the vigilante or leaving him alone for a couple of weeks. He was a big boy. He'd proven he could take Omega by the scruff of the neck and slap her around a bit… that was kind of the problem. I turned over and rested into his pillows. I was just nervous about travelling for the first time. That was all.