His Life
Charles stopped in front of the door to the apartment, opening his omni-tool to pull up the access code. Hearing footsteps, he glanced up and saw a human woman walking down the hall. Tight blue jeans hugged the most interesting curves, the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder rested between her breasts, making them stand out, and her black hair flowed down over her shoulders. Her tawny skin gave off an almost golden glow, and when she met his gaze, her smile left him feeling momentarily stunned.
He grinned at her, and he could tell by the way her eyelashes fluttered his smile had the same impact on her. He was just about to turn his attention back to the door when she stumbled and fell. Crying out, she pulled herself up to sitting and grabbed her left ankle, rocking back and forth, face contorted in pain.
She hissed. "Ow. Ow. Ow."
Hesitating, glancing between the damsel in distress and the door to his apartment, he scraped his teeth over his lip. "Are you alright?"
"I think I sprained my ankle," she said, looking up at him with damp, hazel eyes.
"Do you … should I call a doctor or something?" Lowering his arm, he took a couple of steps toward her.
"Um … no. I think I'll be alright." She started pulling herself to her feet, wincing and whimpering.
He crossed the rest of the distance between them and held out his hands. "Here, let me help you."
She didn't pull away from him, so he slid a hand under her arm and the other around her waist, steadying her while she got her feet under her and stood. He held onto her for a few seconds while she regained her bearings and took a hesitant step. As soon as she put her weight down on her ankle, though, her knee buckled. He grabbed her again, keeping her upright.
"Are you sure you don't want me to call a doctor or something?" he asked, uncertainty filling his voice.
"I hate doctors." She groaned and glanced at him. "But … I wouldn't say no to an ice pack if it's not too much to ask."
He hesitated, glancing at the apartment door again. He knew Ares wasn't home, he'd sent Charles a message about an hour before he got off of work telling him that Ares would be back later. He didn't say where he planned on going, and Charles didn't ask, just thanked him for letting him know. He felt uncertain about letting a stranger inside—even a hot chick—while Ares stayed on the Citadel. What if Ares left out something he didn't want anyone else to see?
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." She started to pull away from him, letting out another whimper when she took a step.
"No, no. It's fine." He tightened his grip on her a little to keep her from pulling away completely and hurting herself worse. "Just uh, give me a second to go in and make sure there's nothing embarrassing laying around." He slapped a smirk on his face and chuckled.
She smiled, letting out a soft snort of laughter and nodded. "Sure. Thank you, uh …."
"Charles," he said, leading her over to the door and leaning her against the wall.
"Thank you, Charles. I'm Alexa." She flashed that killer smile at him again when he glanced at her.
"Nice to meet you, Alexa. I'll be right back." He opened the door. "Move, Eezo," he said, nudging the dog out of the way as he went inside and closed the door behind him.
He sent Ares a quick message to let him know they had company, explaining to him a woman fell out in the hall and he'd brought her in to set her up with an ice pack. Then he gave the apartment a quick once over, making sure anything important of Ares' was put away. Whistling, he patted his leg until Eezo came running and then closed her up in the bedroom for the time being.
Making his way back out to the hall, he helped Alexa inside and walked her over to one of the stools at the breakfast bar. "Here," he said, "put your foot up. I'll get you an ice pack and something for the pain."
He left her there and rounded the bar, moving into the kitchen to put ice in a plastic baggie before wrapping a hand towel around it. Reaching over the bar, he handed it to her and then grabbed her a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Do you care if I let my dog out? She might get excited and jump on you, but she's not very big yet."
"Not at all." She smiled at him again, cracking the lid on the bottle of water. "I love dogs."
He grinned and nodded, rounding the bar again and passing by her to head to the room. He opened the door and watched as Eezo came racing out, headed straight for Alexa. She smiled down at the Alaskan Malamute, lowering her hand for Eezo to sniff before running her fingers over the dog's head. He went into the bathroom and grabbed the bottle of painkillers he used for his headaches out of the medicine cabinet and brought them to her.
He made his way back to the kitchen, grabbing himself a bottle of water, too. Turning to lean back against the counter next to the sink, he watched as she read over the label before opening the bottle and shaking a few out into her hand. She popped them in her mouth and chased them down with a few swallows of water.
"So, Charles," she asked, putting the cap back on the water and setting it on the breakfast bar. "What do you do?" She eyed his work uniform and raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, I work at Citadel Souvenirs." He reached in his pocket and pulled out his cigarillos, fingers brushing over the cool metal of his razor. "What about you?"
"I'm … between jobs at the moment," she said, turning her gaze to Eezo for a few seconds.
The way she said it made him think it was something she wasn't too proud of. It made him wonder if she'd been fired or maybe did something embarrassing for a living.
"What's Citadel Souvenirs like?" She glanced up at him, giving him a coy smile. "They hiring?"
He chuckled and lit a cigarillo. "They just hired someone, actually. A few weeks ago."
"That's too bad." She pouted her lower lip a little and shrugged. "Do you like it there?"
"It's not terrible." He crossed the floor to lean against the breakfast bar opposite of where Alexa sat, dragging the ashtray over to the edge. Flashing his best smile at her, he grinned wider as her lashes fluttered, gaze fixed on his face. He knew he had a good smile, a damn good smile. It was his best feature, and he sure as hell knew how to use it. "I don't think I've seen you here before. Do you live here?"
"Maybe," she said, returning his smile. "I was looking at the vacant apartment down the hall."
"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah," she said, leaning over the bar a little, giving him a peek at her cleavage. "What do you think about these apartments? Do you recommend them?"
"Uh …." He turned to the sound of the door opening.
Ares stepped into sight, mandibles snapping tight against his face as his gaze zeroed in on Alexa. Snarling, he pulled out one of his guns and pointed it at her, aiming right for her head. "What the fuck are you doing here?" he demanded, mandibles flicking against his jaw in obvious anger.
Charles froze for a second, his brain spinning out as he tried to make sense of the scene unfolding in front of him. Something clicked into place, and he turned back to look at Alexa, wide-eyed and suddenly very uncertain about the harmless-looking woman. He pushed away from the counter, edging his way toward Ares who'd started moving toward him, too.
Alexa's gaze never left Ares', though. She blinked, fear and shock making her eyes nearly bug out of her head, lips parted in a silent gasp. Slowly, she raised her hands, and only then did Charles realize her right hand had been resting in the opening of her bag.
She showed Ares her empty hands and left them there in the air. "I—I—I fell, outside." Shaking her head a little, she licked her lips. "I just came in for an ice pack. I don't understand …." She glanced back at Charles, giving him a confused, pleading look.
He just moved in closer to Ares, didn't say anything or take his gaze off of the woman. The old saying 'wolf in sheep's clothing' danced through his head.
"Cut the shit," Ares said, growling as he put himself between Charles and Jasmine. His gaze flicked to Charles for a split second before he asked, "What has she asked you? What have you said to her?"
"I … I don't know." Charles licked his lips and shook his head even though Ares wasn't looking at him anymore. "We just talked about work …."
Alexa let out a loud, irritated sounding scoff and rolled her eyes. "Oh, for fuck's sake. Put your gun away, I'm not here for you or him." She huffed, shaking her head a little. "Jesus Christ, I told you I might need him some time."
Furrowing his brow, Charles looked up at Ares, confused and trying to make sense out of Alexa's statement. It sounded a whole hell of a lot like she knew Ares, and she knew about Charles. Planned to … what? Use Charles for something at some point, and Ares had agreed?
Ares didn't look at him, though, or offer any explanation. He just kept his gaze pinned to the woman and asked, "Are you alone?"
"Can you be more specific?" She raised an eyebrow, giving Ares a look of annoyance.
"Who the hell is she? What's … what the fuck?" Charles threw a hand out toward Alexa then toward Ares' gun.
Ares flared his mandibles, growling in his throat. His gaze didn't waver from the woman, and he didn't bother to acknowledge Charles' question in the slightest. "I don't think I need to spell it out," he said, using his free hand to urge Charles back out of the kitchen, turning them so their backs weren't to the front door. "You aren't one to work alone."
Her jaw clenched a little, her gaze shifting deliberately to Charles. "Does he know you?" she asked, but it seemed directed at Ares. "I mean, really know you?"
Ares' mandibles clacked as they flicked against his jaw, his voice low. "Better than you do, now answer my fucking question."
Okay, so she was definitely someone Ares' knew. And by the way Ares responded to her, she was clearly someone dangerous. Which meant … she was an assassin, too. Ares talked about another assassin before, a woman, but it'd sounded like he'd considered her a friend. Charles might not have a lot of friends, but he felt pretty damn sure pulling a gun out when you saw them unexpectedly wasn't the standard way of greeting a friend.
Either way, holy shit, what the fuck was she doing there? He swallowed, hand slipping into his pocket to wrap his fingers around his razor. He wished he'd carried his Stiletto III to work with him, too. Maybe he'd start doing exactly that.
She rolled her eyes. "Ray's on the Citadel. He knows I'm working a lead, but not who or where."
"And the other one?" The words left Ares in an agitated snarl.
Jaw clenching, she blew out a heavy breath. "Off on his own job, now put the fucking gun away. Asshole."
Ares glanced down at Charles, a clear look of 'we'll talk about this later' in his eyes as he irritably flicked a mandible. He exhaled a huff through his nose before holstering his weapon but remained standing between Alexa and Charles. Charles swallowed, ducking Ares' gaze and bent down to pick up Eezo, holding her to his chest.
"Thank you." Alexa huffed but seemed to relax a little. Then, slowly, the same wide grin she'd given Charles a moment before slid across her face directed at Ares. "It's good to see you, too," she said, voice softening.
Charles let out an exasperated sigh. "Will somebody please tell me what the fuck is going on here?"
Ares hummed and gave her a slight nod of greeting before looking at Charles. "We know one another through work."
Charles eyed her for a moment, and she gave him an apologetic shrug. "Is she the one you mentioned?" he asked, gaze flicking to Ares. "The one you consider a friend?"
"That's a damn good question." She raised an eyebrow, turning her attention back to Ares. "Am I the one you mentioned?" she asked, ice in her tone.
Uh oh.
Charles winced. He was so going to get reamed by Ares later.
Ares rumbled at Charles. "As well as I can consider someone in this profession."
She let out a little huff of sound. "You should've told me you'd kept contact with him. I'd have spoken to you first."
"And you should understand that I still don't trust who you work for." Ares hummed. "As long as you listen to orders, I don't fully trust you can ignore some of my more intimate secrets."
Moving slowly, she leaned over and pulled the ice pack from her ankle, tossing it on the breakfast bar. She zipped up her boot and dropped her leg from the stool. "Yeah … well, whatever. I've got work here, and you just fucked up my lead, so … thanks."
Ares looked at Charles with a considering hum. "Just what do you need from him?"
She'd started to stand but stopped, turning her attention back to Charles. Her gaze roamed over him for a second. "Information. Maybe an in somewhere."
Charles looked up at Ares, raised an eyebrow, and shrugged. If Ares seriously considered her to be a friend, and he was cool with it, then Charles didn't mind helping her out if he could.
"It's up to you if you want to offer it," Ares told Charles, glancing her way before his gaze returned. "You can hear her out and decide then, too."
"Who does she work for?" Charles raised his other eyebrow. He only asked because whoever they were, Ares didn't trust them, and it might change what he'd say to her.
"No, you don't get to know that," Alexa said, voice leaving no room for argument, drawing Charles' attention back to her. "Sorry." She gave him a slow shake of her head. "I don't know what you are to him, but you don't get to know who I work for. Not so easily."
Ares gave Charles an exasperated sigh. "You know you aren't going to get something like that so easily. Don't get cute." Rumbling, Ares stepped out of the way, leaving Charles exposed to Alexa, and made his way to the kitchen. "I'm not involved in this conversation, so don't expect to get any more information on her than what little I've told you."
Charles grumbled, stroking Eezo's fur. "Guns being pulled on people, assassins everywhere, no one wants to tell me a goddamned thing. Sure, why the hell not?" he muttered.
Alexa snorted and smirked, lifting an eyebrow at him.
He put Eezo down and took a heavy drag from his cigarillo. "What do you want to know?" he asked, studying her.
She reached out, drumming her nails on the breakfast bar, looking Charles over. "And why should I believe you won't warn whoever I'm after?"
He let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes. "Look, there's maybe four people on the Citadel besides for him," he said, jerking his head back toward Ares, "who I actually give a fuck about, so unless you're telling me you're here to kill one of them, then I really couldn't give a shit less what you do."
Pursing her lips, she tilted her head to the side a little and asked, "How many of them do you work with?"
"Two." He took another drag, moving a little closer to the breakfast bar and flipped his ashes in the ashtray sitting on the edge.
Tapping her nails again, she asked, "Species?"
He raised an eyebrow and gave Ares an irritated look. He didn't understand why the whole thing had to be so … evasive. He said he'd help her, why didn't she just tell him what she wanted to know? Either she was after someone he cared about, or she wasn't. If so, he'd be able to figure it out just as easily by her not coming out with it as he would if she did.
"Turian and asari," Ares said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "If it's either species, he won't help you."
Alexa relaxed, leaning her side against the counter, keeping Ares and Charles both in sight. She reached down to pet Eezo when Eezo nuzzled at her leg. "Salarian. I need information on a salarian named Werin Menoko."
Charles raised a brow, taking a drag from his cigarillo and leaning against the breakfast bar. "I don't know him well, he works a different shift than I do. I've only met him a handful of times. I don't really know what I can tell you about him."
"Do you know if he lives alone?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Charles shrugged. "No clue."
"What days does he work?" she asked, taking no real time to consider his last answer.
"Mmm. Same as me, actually, just a different shift." Charles opened his omni-tool and pulled up his schedule, holding his arm out for her to see.
Alexa leaned in closer, gaze roaming over the schedule. "Send this to me?"
"Sure." He waited for her to open her omni-tool and ready it to receive the schedule before sending it to her. "You're going to kill him?"
"Is that a problem?" She didn't look away from her omni-tool as she spoke, but he had the distinct feeling she watched his every movement nevertheless.
"No. Just curious." He hesitated a second. "Can you tell me why? I mean, I am helping."
She snorted, glancing away from her omni-tool and raised an eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised you'd want to know?"
He shrugged. "I don't even know how you know who I am."
She pursed her lips, gaze slipping over to Ares, a question in her eyes.
Ares hummed and blew out a breath of smoke. "It's not that hard to track your username," he said when Charles looked at him.
Charles glanced back at her, suddenly understanding the obvious: she'd found him the same way the first assassin he met found him. "You're on Assassins Unveiled?"
She grinned, holding her hand out to him. "TellMeNow360."
Charles let out a bark of laughter, slapping his hand into hers, regaining his equilibrium. He didn't doubt she wasn't exactly as she portrayed herself online, but at least she'd given him something he could work with. Something familiar. "Holy shit. I knew Ar … uh …. I knew he couldn't be the only one on that website."
Smiling, she turned her attention back to Ares. "I assume we know the same name for you?"
"Yeah," Ares said, taking a drag as he leaned back against the counter behind him. "Among many others I use …."
She hummed, her gaze drifting back and forth between Ares and Charles. Her eyes slowly widened before she sucked on her teeth, seeming to come to some conclusion about the two of them. "Shit." She glanced back at Ares. "I seriously didn't know …."
Ares shrugged. "I'll take it as a compliment."
Alexa seemed to relax completely, something about her face and body language taking a drastic turn. Charles saw Ares do the same thing countless times as they moved in and out of public places. Like he'd let his guard down a little, let his alias slip away. Charles thought it was a good sign if she just did the same.
She turned her attention back to Charles and seemed to consider something for a moment before finally saying, "My name's Jasmine."
"Jasmine," Charles repeated, nodding his head. He knew it was a big fucking deal for her to supply him with her real name—assuming it was her real name, or at least as close to it as she gave anyone. "It's nice to meet you." He figured it must mean she trusted Ares quite a bit and, by default, Charles, too.
She smirked. "You, too." Standing up from the stool, she rounded the bar to stand in the doorway to the kitchen, blocking the exit. "As for Werin … he moonlights as a smuggler. Drugs, mostly, but weapons, too." She glanced at Ares. "Do I get to come hug you now, or are you going to pull your gun on me again?"
Ares hummed but stood up from the counter. "At least you asked," he said as he gave her a jerk of his head before sticking the cigarette in his mouth.
"Shut up, you love me." Grinning, she crossed the floor, moving past Charles who turned to watch her with raised eyebrows and an amused smile on his face. She opened her arms, reaching upward, and Ares stepped into her embrace. She was pretty short, so her hands mostly just rested on his shoulders as he wrapped his around her waist. "I forget how freakishly tall you are."
Charles snorted. He knew the feeling, it took three or four times of Ares dropping by before he stopped feeling shocked by the turian's size. The fact Ares let her hug him spoke volumes, Charles just wasn't entirely sure what those volumes said. He really wanted to find out.
"And I forgot how freakishly small you are," Ares retorted with a low drone around his cigarette, flicking his mandible in exasperation.
Jasmine grinned as she stepped back and gestured toward his cigarette. "I'm not freakishly small, I'm compact and adorable."
Ares hummed, clearly unconvinced as he stood up straight and flicked a mandible. Taking his cigarette out of his mouth, he passed it over to her. Charles' eyebrows twitched, jealousy suddenly rearing its ugly head, writhing around in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like seeing Ares share his cigarette with anyone else. It seemed too intimate, something he should only do with Charles. Stupid how something so small could make him feel like that, but it did.
She slid her fingers around the cigarette, pulling it from Ares' hand and took a small drag, seeming to roll the taste around on her tongue before blowing it back out. She took one more brief drag before handing it back to him. Leaning against the counter next to Ares, she eyed Charles. Watching the two of them, picking apart their body language and how close together they stood, Charles pushed himself up to sit on the breakfast bar.
She glanced up at Ares, grinning as she said, "He's cute."
Ares snorted. "Cute?"
She drew her brows in, looking at him like she thought he was crazy. "Yeah. Really cute. And with a smile like that … damn."
Charles blushed, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks?" He wasn't sure what made him more flustered, the fact she said he was cute, or the fact Ares didn't seem to agree.
She grinned at him, something mischievous in her eyes. "You're welcome."
Ares grunted and took a long drag from his cigarette, blowing out the smoke.
"What can you tell me about Werin's personality?" Jasmine squatted down next to Eezo who'd been following her around. She turned her attention away from Charles and Ares to dig her hands into the dog's fur, pitching her voice low to coo at Eezo and say, "Aren't you just the sweetest little thing ever?"
Charles chuckled. "Her name's Eezo." He watched her for a second while he considered her question. "Uhhh … Werin's quiet, kind of reserved. He's not unfriendly, just seems to stick to himself. He works from twenty-three hundred hours to seven hundred hours, and he's been there for years, so he's on that shift by choice."
"How's his work attendance?" she asked, her attention still on Eezo, smiling as the dog licked her fingers.
"I don't know." Charles shrugged. "I've never heard anyone complain."
"Anything else about his routines and habits you can tell me?" Stroking her hands over Eezo's head, she glanced up at him.
He shook his head. "Sorry. I really don't know much about the guy … but maybe I can ask around a little for you tomorrow?"
Her gaze started to flick to Ares, but she stopped, lips parted in hesitation before she shook her head. "No. Thanks, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with you risking rousing his suspicions. It might be dangerous for you." She glanced back and forth between him and Ares. "Well, if neither of you are going to offer me something to eat, I guess I'll have to ask myself. Le Bleu?"
Ares shrugged and looked at Charles before back at her. "It's up to him."
Charles hummed and shrugged, and then after a second, he narrowed his eyes. "She's the one who made you eat French fries, isn't she?"
Jasmine grinned, petting Eezo and looked up at Ares.
Nodding, Ares stamped out his cigarette. "She is. She also knows my opinions of them."
"Which are utterly wrong." She stood back up. "But, it was fun to watch, and in my defense, I was drunk."
Ares grumbled softly as he walked out of the kitchen and toward the door. "Let's go before I change my mind."
Charles flashed her a covert grin when Ares' turned his back. Smiling, she bit the corner of her lip, shoulders shaking a little with silent laughter. They both followed him from the kitchen.
She stopped in the hall and asked, "You wanna see my new scars before we go?" She sounded proud of them.
Turning, Ares lifted a brow plate at her and shrugged. "Why not?"
She grinned at him and lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing a slightly puckered, rounded scar on her abdomen. Charles tilted his head a little to get a better look at it, guessing it was a bullet wound. Dropping the hem, she tugged down the right side of her shirt and showed them a similar scar on her shoulder, though smaller, fainter scars around it seemed to indicate she'd had surgery on the wound.
"What happened?" Charles asked.
She glanced over at him and said, "Assault rifle." She turned a soft, affectionate smile on Ares. "He helped get me to the hospital."
Charles hummed, not really caring for the way she looked at Ares. "Looks painful."
He's mine.
"It was," she said, glancing at Charles.
"Humans scar too easily," Ares said as he tapped the spot on her shoulder with the tip of his talon. "Anything else?"
She snorted, pulling her shirt back into place. "Scars? No. Stuff to talk about? We'll see."
Ares hummed and looked between her and Charles. "Sounds good. Let's go." He paused mid-turn. "Unless there's anything else under your clothes you'd like to show off?"
"Thought you said once you saw my tits, there wasn't any point in seeing them again?" She raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. "Lost my leverage, I believe is what you said?"
Ares shrugged. "Doesn't mean I'd tell you to cover yourself if you had the wild hair to show me again." He smirked and motioned to Charles. "And he hasn't seen them yet."
Charles grinned at her when she glanced his way. "Guess I should've asked for it before coughing up information on Werin."
She snorted, pushing Ares toward the door. "Maybe."
Charles ended up ordering the same thing as Jasmine—which she did without even a glance at the menu—cheeseburger and French fries. Once the waitress brought their food and left them again, he turned to her and hummed. "So … Jasmine … how long are you on the Citadel for? Is that a thing I can ask?"
She glanced at him, shoving a fry in her mouth and shrugged. "Until the job's done and I get told where I'm needed next." Her gaze flicked to Ares.
"You don't even know how long it'll be?" he asked, already suspecting her answer.
"Nope." She glanced at Ares again. "That can't be much of a surprise for you?"
Shrugging a little, he shook his head. "Not really." He just didn't know what else to ask, but he wanted to know more about her. He still didn't feel sure about her, about how he fit into the picture with her and Ares.
Ares speared a large piece of one of the dextro steaks he ordered and flicked his mandible, holding it before his mouth. "She doesn't have as much leeway as I do."
Charles thought about it for a second, picking at his fries before he asked, "So, you work for someone else?"
"Yep," she said, picking up her glass of tea and taking a drink.
"And they tell you who to kill?" He raised an eyebrow and took a bite of his cheeseburger.
She glanced up at him and blinked, putting her glass down as her gaze flicked over their surroundings. Turning her attention back to him, she gave him a blank stare and, with a dry voice, said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Charles snorted, looking at Ares and shook his head. He wondered if it was something she'd picked up from Ares. "Right … guess you're not as chill about it, either."
"You can be assured that she's not likely to answer questions I wouldn't," Ares said, sticking a big piece of the raw steak in his mouth.
"Especially poorly worded questions in public." Jasmine bit into her cheeseburger, chewing as she watched Charles. She took a drink of her tea to swallow it down. "I don't pick my assignments the way he does." She scoffed. "I don't get paid as well, either."
"Although her pension plans are probably better," Ares added with a snort, drinking some of his beer.
She gave him a snort of laughter, pushing hair back behind her ear. "Probably. If I manage to stick around that long."
"Don't like your boss?" Charles asked with a soft chuckle.
She waggled her head a little and picked up a French fry. "Something like that."
Ares snorted but didn't speak as he swallowed more of his food. Charles didn't like the dynamics, didn't like feeling like there was a shitload going on behind the scenes between Ares and Jasmine that he didn't have any clue about. Like an inside joke he wasn't in on.
"How is work at Citadel Souvenirs?" She looked up at him again and smirked. "Maybe I'll quit and come work with you."
He scoffed then smirked. "Shitty. But with your skills … I'm sure you could be running the place in weeks."
She let out a soft chuckle. "No offense, but I'm pretty sure I'd go stir crazy within a week."
"That's a bit optimistic." Ares finished off his first plate and pushed it aside, pulling the other over. "I've seen the place. You wouldn't make it that long."
"Oh, ye of little faith." She picked up her glass and leaned back, stretching her legs out to prop them on the chair between her and Ares. "I'd last at least a week."
With the initial confrontation behind them, she seemed completely at ease with Ares but not quite so much with Charles. Ares seemed surprisingly comfortable around her, too. He grunted around his food, making it clear he didn't share her optimism.
"So, how'd you two meet?" Charles asked Ares.
Ares hummed, swallowing. "Hot, young, singles dating site."
She snorted, drawing Charles' attention, and she tilted her head back a little as she looked at him. "The same way you met him. Just less fucking involved. At least, I assume there was fucking involved with you. He wouldn't say for sure."
Ares glanced at Charles, his expression telling him it was up to Charles on whether or not he confirmed her suspicions.
"There was definitely fucking involved." Charles grinned, shoving a fry in his mouth, he glanced at Ares. "Still a lot of fucking involved."
Jasmine smiled, but her gaze shifted to Ares. "Good. Who doesn't love a good fuck?"
Ares flicked a mandible. "They'd have to be insane."
She laughed, putting down her glass and returning to her plate. "Yes, yes they would."
Charles let his gaze drift between the two of them for a moment. "Can I ask where you're from?"
"You can ask whatever you want." Giving him a sideways glance, she shrugged. "But I may or may not give you the answer you want."
He huffed. "Okay. Where are you from?"
She sat back in her chair again, lips a little pursed and watched him. "You first?"
"Ferris Fields." He shrugged.
The corner of her eye twitched, and she smirked. "Liar," she said, and Charles had the sneaking suspicion he'd just failed a test.
Ares sighed and set his fork down once he'd swallowed his last bite. Looking at Charles, he gave him a stern lift of a brow plate. "Don't ask something you aren't willing to give your own answer to."
Charles let out a slow breath. He glanced between Ares and Jasmine and sucked in another deep breath. The woman was important to Ares on some level, and she was the only person he'd met who seemed to know who Ares really was. The only person Ares didn't pretend to be someone else around—besides for Charles. He wanted to be a part of it, a part of Ares' life. So, he let the breath out slowly and said, "Shanxi."
She chuckled, lifting an eyebrow. "Shanxi? No shit? And you're with a turian?"
"No shit." Charles reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.
Snorting, Ares hummed at Jasmine, and she looked at him. "And my father was in the war. What does that have to do with anything?"
Eyes narrowing a little, she said, "I can't tell if you're lying or not, but either way, you know damn well what it has to do with anything." She shrugged, tilting her head toward her shoulder and smiled. "Not saying I personally mind, I've slept with a few turians myself."
Ares chuckled, flicking a mandible at her in a smirk. "I take it as a personal victory to still be able to have you guessing whether or not I'm lying about shit."
She grumbled and threw a French fry at him. "Shut up. Give me enough time, I'll have you figured out."
"So, I answered." Charles raised an eyebrow at her.
"Earth." She turned her attention back to him and pursed her lips. "You should know, the more you learn about me, though, the more dangerous it is for you." She glanced at Ares. "I trust him, and I'm willing to extend some of it to you," she glanced back at Charles, "but you really should pick your questions wisely. As we've already said, I work for someone else."
Ares' gaze turned to Charles as he sat back in his chair. "She's right. Even if she chooses to lie to you, it's still dangerous because you'd think it's truth."
Charles turned his gaze down to his plate, picking at his fries while he chewed on the corner of his lip. Finally, he glanced back up at Ares. "Are you warning me or telling me to stop asking?"
"I'm warning you not to be an idiot," Ares said, pulling out his cigarettes and lighting one. "You've known me long enough, know what questions I'll answer, so you know what's too risky to ask."
Charles let out a deep breath before pushing his plate away a little and lighting a cigarillo. He really didn't, though. What Ares would or wouldn't tell him seemed to depend a hell of a lot on what mood he was in that particular day. "Alright." Deflated, he felt Jasmine's gaze on him, so he glanced at her.
She took a sip of her tea and gave him a soft smile, something in her eyes telling him she understood his frustration. "I tell you what … I won't lie to you. I'll just tell you I don't want to answer something if you go too far. Leave it at that, and we'll be good. Alright?"
He smiled at her and nodded. "Alright."
She turned her attention back to Ares. "So, what's new?"
Ares hummed around a drag from his cigarette, blowing it out. "Broke a racist's arm."
She snorted and grinned. "Nice. Too bad I wasn't around to see it. Care to share with the rest of the class?"
"Story's mostly his," Ares said, jerking his chin toward Charles. "I wasn't here for the start of it, just to finish it."
Charles took a drag and said, "A turian friend of mine took me to a mostly turian gym to teach me fighting techniques. The owner fought in the war and has an issue with humans. Kept giving us shit, said the only reason he even let me be there is because I'm bonded to another turian." He hesitated when Jasmine's eyes widened before blinking, but she didn't look away from him and a second later her expression seemed neutral, so he continued, "So … anyway, he threw me to the mat one day after I smarted off to him and told me he'd make me and Ares his bitch." Smirking, he shrugged. "So, when Ares got back, I told him."
She grinned, and it seemed like she held back a laugh. She glanced at Ares, lifting an eyebrow. "I take it you didn't just walk into the gym and break the guy's arm."
"Of course not," Ares said, sounding slightly affronted. "I gave him the chance to make me his bitch." He took a drag while she tossed her head back in laughter. He blew the smoke out slowly. "I was severely let down."
When she got control of herself again, she wiped her eyes. "Why aren't you teaching him to fight?"
"I taught him what I could." Ares hummed and flicked ash onto his empty plate. "But there's only so much I can teach not only a human but one that's much shorter than I am. Cammus is much more suited to teaching him."
"Cammus," she repeated and glanced at Charles, "your coworker?"
Charles nodded. It felt more than a little disturbing to have a stranger—an assassin at that—know things about him and the people he worked with. It left him feeling like he grasped at straws, having no real idea exactly what she already knew about him and what was for him to decide to reveal. She'd called him a liar when he said he came from Ferris Fields, but she seemed genuinely shocked when he confessed to being from Shanxi. He didn't know what to think.
"Hmmm." She looked over Charles. "Might be easier for you to start with human techniques."
Ares rumbled, sounding interested, but didn't say anything.
Charles shrugged. "I don't actually know a whole lot of humans, my circle of friends is pretty small."
Jasmine glanced at Ares with a raised brow, a question in her eyes. He shrugged, tilting his head to Charles.
She glanced back at Charles, gaze roaming over him in a way that made him a little uncomfortable. "I can teach you a few things while I'm on the Citadel if you want."
"Seriously?" Charles' eyes widened, and he leaned a little closer to her, feeling the scales tip in her favor. "Just fighting?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking for something else?"
Charles glanced at Ares and licked his lips before turning his attention back to Jasmine. "Whatever you're willing to teach me."
She hummed, sounding as if she were considering it as she turned her attention back to Ares "Does he go on jobs with you?"
"No." Ares hummed deeply around a drag before blowing out the smoke. "It's not safe."
"It would be if I learned," Charles huffed.
Ares gave him a stern look, a slight rumble to his vocals making it known the topic wasn't up for discussion. It hurt. Ares knew he wanted to go with him on his jobs, at least some of the time. And not just because killing people apparently got Charles' cock hard. He wanted to be with Ares. Wanted to share in his life, wanted to … wanted to feel useful to Ares.
Jasmine snickered and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not going to teach you anything he doesn't want you to know."
"You can teach him whatever he's willing to learn, but going on jobs is not part of the discussion," Ares said, voice gruff.
Jasmine gave Ares a soft, understanding smile, and it kind of pissed Charles off. "No problem."
He sat back in his chair, smoking in silence for a moment, feeling like the kid whose parents wouldn't let him go play with the big kids. "Fine. When do we start?"
She snorted, glancing at Ares. "I need to call Ray, let him know I'll be out for the night, but we can start tonight if you're so eager."
Charles looked to Ares for his approval.
Ares rumbled around a drag from his cigarette. "Do you want to practice at a gym or the apartment?"
Charles looked at Jasmine, and she shrugged, so he looked back at Ares. "The apartment. For now, at least." It'd be different than fighting with Cammus, at least he'd hoped it'd be, and he didn't really want an audience.
Humming, Ares nodded and flicked ash. "Sounds good. We'll move the furniture to make room, and I'll put the dog in the other room."
She grinned, turning her attention to Ares again. "Maybe I'll convince you to give me a second round?"
He chuckled and shrugged. "Sure, but full disclosure, the fight with Travium has made me pick back up on some of my official training."
She hummed. "Full disclosure, I've spent the last few weeks with Ray and Tannor, in the middle of no-fucking-where, with not a lot else to do but convalesce and train."
He chuckled and nodded in understanding.
"Who's Ray and Tannor?" Charles asked before he thought better of it. "Wait, nevermind."
Jasmine chuckled. "Nevermind is a good call."
Ares hummed as he stamped out his cigarette. "I guess we should get back, you can contact yours, and I can prepare him for what's coming."
"Sure." She nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Care if I tell Ray I'm with you?"
Ares shrugged as he stood up, flipping a credit chit onto the table. "Just don't give him our location."
She glanced at Charles, and something in her eyes made it seem like the statement offended her. "Of course not."