A warm body slides into the bed, raven locks brushing over my shoulder as Elizabeth leans on me, a small smile on her face. "I couldn't sleep either." She states quietly, hugging my arm to her chest.

From the feel of it, I can sense that she's wearing a nightgown, the silky material sliding between my fingers. "I wasn't lying when I said I would miss you." I say, leaning my head on top of hers.

"I know." She replies. "Saul?"

"Yes?"

Elizabeth hesitates slightly, and continues in a lower voice. "When I was leaving… that moment when we were so close…you felt it too, didn't you?"

I sigh and pull my arm out of her grip and wrap it around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "Elizabeth, we've been working together for, what, four months? It'd be impossible for me not to feel something. You're the second person I've told about my situation, and the only one I know that can actually relate."

Elizabeth rests her head near my neck, her right arm going around my back while her left hand comes to rest over my heart. "I didn't want to push things too far." She says quietly. "Not only that, but…I've never had the chance to start a relationship." She scoffs under her breath. "There aren't many chances to date when you're jumping into different worlds."

"Yeah, I can imagine." I mutter to myself.

And we fall into silence, the sexual tension present between us going unspoken again. But, as I lay here and think, the more I'm irritated with myself. If anything, the day's lessons have taught me to stop pussyfooting around, given the situation with Tela.

It's time I put thoughts into action.

Elizabeth grunts in surprise as I slip out of her grasp and pin her to the bed with my body, my right hand tangling in the raven locks on the back her head while my left snakes around her waist.

Before she can say anything, my lips find hers.

Elizabeth stiffens in surprise, her hands clenching tightly on my shoulders. Through my half-lidded eyes, I can see that her sapphire orbs are wide to the point that it seems like they're popping out of her sockets. I stroke the back of her head coaxingly, and she relaxes, her eyes slowly closing.

Her lips are soft like satin, firm but pliable and very sweet. While the kiss is clumsy and somewhat awkward, it's tender and soft.

We break away, and I look down at Elizabeth, who's blushing with slightly-glazed eyes, with a smile. "You can dip your toes in the pool for so long, Elizabeth. Eventually, you just have to dive right in and see what happens."

She blinks away the dazed state of mind as I pull her close and rest my head on the pillow. Now that I've given her something to think about, my mind feels…well, not at ease, Tela saw fit to that, but more relaxed, and I'm glad for that.

…

The sun is just peeking over the horizon, and Illium is already bustling with people going about their clandestine and not-so-clandestine activities.

I can see Liara sitting in one of the booths of the restaurant, playing nervously with a cup of coffee and glancing around, looking for me.

This might be more awkward for me than I thought. 'Hi Liara, I just wanted to say sorry again for smashing in the roof of your car with my body! By the way, have you heard anything from your mother? What's that you ask? 'How do I know your mother?' oh, that's easy, we had sex about two years ago and I was just wondering if she'd like to pick it back up?'

Yeah, that would go over really well.

Sighing to myself, I push open the door and stride over to the booth, sliding in across from Liara and shooting her a small smile. "Hey…Liara, was it?" I know her name, but for appearances' sake…

She smiles back nervously and nods. "Yes, that's my name. You are Saul, right?"

"Yup." The waitress stops by and we both order the special, which is French Toast with berries, whipped cream and all sorts of goodies.

However, once she leaves, awkward silence descends on Liara and I. "So…what do you do for a living, Liara?"

The young Asari perks up and smiles. "I'm an Archeologist, specializing in Prothean technology and culture, primarily the Prothean Extinction."

I smiled back and nod, folding my hands on the table. "Really? I don't know that much about the Protheans. What's so interesting about them?"

Liara's eyes began to glitter as she leans forward and begins to talk very fast. "Almost everything we use today is based on Prothean technology, from firearms to ships and everything in between. Except for medical technology." She frowns and taps her chin, thinking hard. "From what I can recall, there doesn't seem to be any record of Prothean Medical Technology at all, only little pieces referencing such things. I wonder why…"

She trails off into silence, brow furrowed, leaving me to idly tap my fingers on the table while I wait for her to come back or for the food to come, either would work right now.

The waitress stops by with pot of coffee or whatever people call liquid caffeine these days and fills up a mug for me and tops off Liara's. Liara, finally remembering that there is someone sitting across from her, blushes and bashfully peers down into her cup. "Sorry about that. I tend to get lost in thought when unanswered questions pop up." She says in a very small voice.

I wave a hand and try to smile in a reassuring way. "Don't worry about it, I get lost in my own head all the time. What about the Protheans is so interesting to you?"

Liara begins to talk, but is interrupted by the waitress finally bringing the food to our table.

…

The next couple of hours are spent with Liara, who gushes about the Protheans like I'd expect a girl would about…clothes or something else girly. Maybe. Most of the women I've spent time around would probably compare guns, so I can't really say too much.

I just let her talk; it's obvious that she's been bereft of good company for a while, and I like the sound of her voice. It's very girlish and soft, but melodious and relaxing.

Eventually, time moves on and breakfast is over. After paying for the check, I stick my hand out for a shake, and then lightly kiss the back of her knuckles. "It's been a pleasure Liara."

She blushes lightly and smiles. "Thank you for eating with me. I hope we can meet again in the future."

You have no idea. "I'm certain we will." I flash a smile at her and wave as I walk away, heading towards the docking bay. It's been a long time since I've seen Kaia or my other friends on the Citadel, and it's not like I have something to do. The Normandy is still about nine months away from landing on Eden Prime, and as much fun as nine months of vacation sound, I gotta do something.

All this running around, shooting and getting shot at has made me an action addict. I would say 'I can quit anytime I want' but that would be a lie.

…

As I make my way on ship, my omni-tool flashes and beeps, signaling that I've received a message from someone on the Extranet.

I slide into my seat and fire up the engines, pulling away from Illium and setting off into the black of space. After plotting my coordinates into the nav-computer, I open the terminal and open up my inbox. Sitting right on type, blinking urgently, is a message from Anderson.

To: [Saul Dewitt]

From: [Capt. David Anderson, Alliance Naval Corps.]

Subject: [The Black Insignia]

Message: Saul, after you showed me that image, I did some research. And although I reached more than a few dead ends, I finally found something. A hidden Extranet site for something called 'Black Tide', which featured the design prominently. It was ridiculously difficult getting on the site, so took a screenshot.

[file: Black_ ]

These guys look like a lot of trouble. If you need help, you can contact me.

-Anderson.

Well, that's nice. Seems that Captain Anderson likes me.

I open up the file and begin reading over what I find. The words, in white text stand out from the black background, which is the circle with the black wave.

Black Tide Acquisitions and Transportation Services for the Selective.

So, stealing and smuggling for the rich. Good thing I have my thesaurus handy. The rest of the page is a listing of services provided and pricing, which is so ridiculously expensive that I'm sort of jealous. Whoever runs Black Tide must be making serious bank.

It also makes me wonder, since I found my lightsaber in a Black Tide shipping container, just what was it doing in a third-rate smuggling ring?

…Unless…

The 'third-rate smuggling ring' was just a cover for someone else. Most governments would let small rings like that go about their business, it's not like they could transport something really valuable, mostly hard to get food items or clothes and the like…Which is what whoever running Black Tide wanted people to think.

So, I stumbled upon probably the most expensive thing in the galaxy by pure dumb luck. Never have been so glad that I followed that kid to that warehouse.

Now, if I can find more of these containers, I could get some really awesome loot. If only I had someone who could tell me about the smaller smuggling rings…

To: [Garrus Vakarian]

From: [Saul Dewitt]

Yo, Garrus, I need you to look for smaller smuggling rings in the C-Sec database. I may be on to something here.

-Saul.

Ps. How's Chloe? You banged her yet?

I chuckle to myself as I send the message out. I added the postscript solely because I know how Garrus would react to seeing someone bluntly asking him if he's had sex with his human girlfriend.

Oh man, I hope he's drinking something when he read it. I also wish he had a camera I could hack, if only to catch a Turian Spit-take on film.

Speaking of friends who are aliens, I should also message the good doctor Nelon and see if he wants to grab drinks while I'm on the Citadel.

I tap the message into my terminal and send if off, then open video-channel to Kaia. Sort of like Skype, but in the future.

The screen buzzes for a few seconds, before it clears and reveals a half-dressed Kaia sliding into a chair to my appreciative gaze. "Well, hello there. Do you answer all your calls like this or should I feel special, Kaia?"

The Quarian girl blinks sleepily, lightly glowing eyes half-lidded as she scratches a cheek, wearing only a tank-top and a pair of shorts, both of which were previously mine that I magically lost before I left.

Well, now I know what happened to them.

After several seconds, Kaia's eyes clear, and she realizes who she's looking at. "Saul!" She squeals happily, jumping up and pushing her chair back. My tank-top is too big for her slender frame, so when she jumps, one of the shoulders slips down her arm, dragging a good amount of front down, exposing most of one violet breast and a good portion of the other.

My eyes dart down to her exposed chest and then back up to her face. Very quickly, Kaia notices that she's showing just a bit too much. She squeaks, wrapping her arms around her chest and ducking down, leaving only the area above her nose visible to the camera.

"How much did you see?" She asks with an embarrassed tone.

I smile at her and wink. "Too be honest, not enough, Kaia."

I can see one of her hands coming up to rub her cheek, and the darkening of violet skin on her visage. "How have you been?"

Kaia smiles. "I've been good! The work was hard to get used to at first, but after a while, I got used to it. I also moved out of your apartment after Nelon moved into his clinic."

"Really?" That's not really surprising. Nelon is really dedicated to his work. "Where do you live now?"

The Quarian girl pulled her chair back and sat on it, fixing the wayward strap. "In an apartment on the Bachjret Ward. It's sealed, so I can take my suit off and actually sleep on real sheets!" She looked at the floor, playing with the hem of the tank-top. "I like it, but it makes me feel kind of guilty…"

Ah, I get it. "Because you get to experience it but other Quarians don't?"

She nods and sighs. "I know I shouldn't, but I feel bad that I can sleep outside of my suit, and wear real clothes and eat real food while there are so many of my people out there and even here on the Citadel that have to sleep in their suits, downloading sims just to feel fake things from a computer and eat tasteless nutrient paste."

I sigh. "I know you feel bad, Kaia, but you shouldn't. Just by being Tevos' assistant, you've kick started better relations between the Citadel and Quarians and improved the stereotype people have of you and your people." I lean in, close to the camera so Kaia can see just how serious I'm being. "You're helping, Kaia, and you are being rewarded for it. So, don't feel guilty, remember that you're doing good."

Kaia smiles softly at me, her white hair falling around her face. "Thank you, Saul."

I smile back. "Don't mention it. Do mention, though, how you got my clothes."

The Quarian blushes fiercely, stuttering something about me forgetting them when I left, but I know she's lying. I can't hold it back, and I laugh at her panic.

Kaia pouts cutely, crossing her arms over her chest and crinkling her brow. "That was mean…"

"I know, I'm sorry, it was just too cute to see you stutter and blush like that." I reply with a smile. "Also, good news, I'm coming by soon."

She freezes and gapes, her mouth open. "Why didn't you say that sooner?" She nearly shouts, flinging her arms in the air.

I shrug. "Well, I'm not all that close, I'll be there in about a week."

Kaia frowns at me. It's still cute. "That's not soon! And I'm even off this week!"

Good to know. "Sorry to get your hopes up. Why are you off?"

"Oh, Tevos went to a conference on Thessia, but she didn't need me so I got the week off." Kaia explains, still frowning. "What have you been doing?"

I grin at her and lean my chin in my hand. "Would you believe me if I said I was fight Space Pirates?"

…

About an hour later, Kaia and I finish talking and sign off, and I settle in to my chair as Galaxy of Fantasy is loading. I've got maybe five hours until I get to the Citadel, and I might as well spend some of that leveling my Krogan Black Paladin.

Before I know it, the radio lights up, and a female voice asks me for my docking codes. After I send them in, I set the Ardat on autopilot and grab a quick shower and a shave.

By the time I'm docked, I am clean and fresh.

Taking the really slow elevator down into the Presidium, I call a sky-car and head for the Bachjret Ward, following the address Kaia gave me. Like most tall buildings on the Citadel, it's white and also rather high-end.

The elevator in the building is a lot faster than most of the others, which is kind of annoying. What, Citadel Council, the militaries can't use a lift that goes faster than eight miles and hour and the civilians do? Please.

The door to Kaia's apartment is closed and locked, but is no match for my hacking skills. I step in and close the door, re-locking it while also adding more protection. It wouldn't do for Kaia's home to be broken into.

White mist floods into the room, making my skin tingle while a soothing voice asks me to wait for the decontamination to end. After I am satisfactorily clean, the next door opens.

The first thing is see is the couch, followed by the half-naked form of Kaia lounging on said couch in a bra and panties. Her eyes widening in surprise, she jumps from the couch and rushes to me, leaping into my arms and doing her best to squeeze the life out of me.

"Saul! I thought you wouldn't be here for a week!" Kaia squeals happily, pressing her cheek to mine.

"I lied. I was already en route when I called you. I just wanted to surprise you by being early." I say, stroking her back softly.

Kaia draws back, looking me square in the face with an odd expression on her face. "Kaia?"

She brings her hands to the back of my head and surges forward, crashing her lips onto mine.

The kiss is oddly tentative, while also being very passionate at the same time. I pull her closer, meshing our bodies together tightly as my hands roam over her back and through her hair.

Something brushes my lips and slips through, tangling with my tongue. Kaia is actually making out with me.

Her tongue is longer than my own, with the top being oddly rough and the bottom very smooth. The taste is slightly tart, but very sweet and oddly spicy, but the feelings I feel through the gesture make more of an impact than I'm prepared for.

Kaia pulls back, breathing heavy. "I've wanted to do that for quite awhile." She says huskily, licking her lips.

"Is this safe for you?" I ask, which is not what I thought I would be asking.

She smirks. "I've been taking immuno-boosters for awhile. I did some pre-planning and I should be perfectly fine, if a little stuffy."

"Good." I say, moving in and laying another kiss on her. "There's no way I'm leaving it at that."

Kaia pushes me back, looping a leg around my own and tripping me to fall on the couch. She lands on top of me, her lips joined with mine, triple-digit hands tangling in my hair. My hands roam over her back, gently stroking down her spine, letting me feel her shiver and moan into my mouth. One hand descends from her back and comes to rest on one of her perky and well-sized gluteus, softly squeezing and massaging the round mass of muscle.

Kaia gasps and pulls away, her white hair acting like a curtain around our heads. "Saul…I'm not ready for that…"

Getting my breath back, I ask, "What? The fondling?"

She blushes lightly and shakes her head. "No…sex…I'm not ready for it…"

While I can't help but feel a little disappointed, I do have to remember that she's like, seventeen by Quarian standards, which means that she might not be ready for things like sex. "I gotcha, Kaia. I won't push it." I reassure her, noting the look of trepidation on her face. "So, can we still make out?"

Kaia gives me a saucy smile, a look that never occurred to me that she could pull off, and sits up, her hands grabbing onto the hem of the tank top. More and more smooth violet skin is revealed to me as she tugs the fabric up and off her body, eventually showing me her bare upper-body.

Her stomach is toned, though I suspect that it is more from a lean diet and plenty of running than anything. Her breasts aren't small, but aren't large either, and fit perfectly on her slender frame, with black nipples and small areola capping the peaks of her bosom.

"I'm keeping the shorts on," Kaia says sultrily, grabbing one of my hands and placing on her breast. "But everything else is fair game."

I push myself up and press my lips to hers, gently massaging the orb in my hand as our tongues meet. Quickly, I switch our positions so that I'm on top, pinning her hands above her head. "Just sit back and feel, Kaia. Let me do all the work."

…

…

A/N: And there you go. I had the hardest damn time getting the first part of the chapter done, it just wouldn't come out of my head.

To answer a question, no, not every woman wants Saul's jock. Some are simply appreciative of a fine view.

I'm a big fan of Naruto, as some of you might be able to tell by the majority of my stories being in that category, but not so much the manga and the anime lately. I actually prefer fanfiction to the real thing, because fuck Kishimoto. It started out pretty good, had it's flaws (like a retarded protagonist), mostly the huge fucking lack of common sense. A guy who stabs you in the chest twice with a lightning covered hand is not your friend.

I don't like canon-Naruto, and that's all I have to say about that.

But what I do have to say is this:

I've seen many stories, very many, that don't bother to build on powers or develop their own ideas and simply stick to what others have already established, and it pisses me off. The tag line for FF is 'Unleash your imagination.' So why the fuck are they not? And that's all I have to say about that.

One more thing: What is up with all these stories in Naruto and Harry Potter that are not about Naruto and Harry Potter? I read those for the main character, (Naruto and Harry) but it's bogged down by hundreds that only marginally involve both but still have their names in the list. Not mention, more than half the stories are slash. Jesus Christ, gay people, I like you, I do, but you're making it insanely difficult to find a story that doesn't involve magical male conception or two completely straight dudes discovering a sudden love for penis.

News Flash: That's not how it works!

Any way, the next chapter is coming and we move into the next arc, which is the last before Mass Effect canon.

Read. Review. Enjoy.

Stay Awesome.

~Soleneus

P.S.: No Saul's Tools today. Not much to point out at this point. Also, 'M4 part II' is freaking epic.

Stay Awesome Some More.

~still Soleneus