Trying to get at least one short done a day to get my word counts back up! Vitius and Sarah short!

What I Am

"... shit!" Crassus hissed as he slowly extracted the broken piece of plate out from the wound in his chest that it was lodged in.

He tossed it into the sink, watching as it sank into hot water that filled it and turned it to a faint blue with his blood.

The turian stared at the damage using the mirror, eyeing it carefully to make sure nothing else was clogging it.

Vitius perked up once he heard the knock on his front door. He quickly placed a temporary bandage over his injury before throwing on his shirt as he hurried out.

"Hello," he greeted with a wry grin to his guest.

Sarah gave a slight one in return before she stepped inside.

"I expected you to be here when I got back if I'm honest," Vitius continued. "I mean I gave you free run of the place while I was off station."

Sarah shrugged. "Felt... wrong. Without you being here I mean."

"Huh," Vitius murmured. "Well... drink?"

"Sure."


He quickly led the way to his relatively clean kitchen and found the bottle of levo-dextro wine he'd picked up.

"Some good stuff apparently," he chuckled, showing Sarah the label.

"Looks good," she replied, shrugging off her overcoat and hanging it up.

Vitius stalled completely as he stared at what little she was wearing. "I, ah, I like the outfit," he rumbled with eyes greedily taking in the sights.

Sarah blushed a little but kept that defiance that Vitius liked to the fore. "This is what you paid for, Mr Crassus."

"Vitius. Don't call me Mr Crassus," he hummed. Once he poured the wine, he brought a glass to Sarah who sipped it.

"Hmmm! That is actually really good."

"How did you get yourself into that get-up..." Vitius drawled, staring at the slick fabric of the small black dress that was stretched tightly over every curve of Sarah's body.

"Just put it on. It's not miraculous."

"I dunno," the turian growled. "Seems pretty magical to me."

Sarah carefully put her glass down before slipping off her high heeled shoes she'd tottered in on.

With Vitius's intense observation, Sarah slipped the thin straps off her pale shoulders and started to peel the dress down over her body. It revealed the intricate and delicate lingerie that had somehow been hidden underneath.

"This is just getting better and better," Vitius murmured as he reached out for her.

He stalled at the horror that appeared on Sarah's face. "Oh god! You're bleeding!"

Vitius glanced at his shirt. "Shit..."

He bolted for the bathroom, tossing his shirt off mid-run. Vitius reached the sink and stared at the sopping bandage that was seeping out thick blue blood.

Vitius got to work quickly. He yanked off the bandage and threw it in in the nearest bin. After yanking down the contents of his first aid cabinet, he started to wash out the wound once more.

He reached out to grab the medigel he left on the side only to find it missing. Vitius glanced up only to find it in Sarah's hands.

"That looks terrible. You should be at a doctors."

Vitius snatched the medigel off her and started applying it. "Doc would only do what I'm doing right now."

"... Can I help?"

Vitius glanced at her while his hands still liberally applied the gel to the wound. "Sure. Grab teh bandages."

Sarah did as he asked and, once he'd finished his work, began to wrap the injury carefully.

"How did this happen?" she finally asked.

"Fight,"Vitius replied. "Stabbed with a serrated blade."

"Your opponent?"

"Dead. Very very dead."

The human went quiet, continuing her work. Vitius suddenly felt as though he was being judged and it didn't sit right with him.

"I have to make a living," he almost barked out.

Sarah nodded, her eyes avoiding contact with his. "Sure. As do I," she replied before tying up the bandage securely.

Once done, she slipped out from the bathroom and left Vitius to finish up.


By the time Vitius rejoined her, Sarah was sitting on his small balcony barefoot and her dress back on.

She was watching the distant traffic and flickering neon lights of the many districts while she sipped the last of her wine glass.

Vitius picked up the bottle that he'd left propped on the kitchen table and brought it with him. He took the seat beside her and offered to top up her glass wordlessly.

"Thank you," she said softly as he filled it.

They sat beside each other in silence, both watching the busy to and fro of Omega life.

"I'm a mercenary, Sarah. Have to do some pretty dirty jobs to get by," Vitius found himself saying. "Can't sit here and lie to you that I'm a good person. I'm not. Well... I'm not a terrible person. I've been killing since I was eighteen. Did my military service. Got called into Blackwatch and served with them for a time."

"How did you end up here? On Omega I mean," Sarah asked softly.

He leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs. "Long story that one. Complicated."

Vitius peered at Sarah. "I have some standards. I reject more jobs than I take and-"

"It's okay, Vitius, " the slight human replied as she put her drink on the ground. "You don't need to explain yourself to me."

She got to her feet and stood in front of him, dragging his hands up to rest on her thighs.

"Do you want to continue where we'd left off?"


"Sarah? You awake?"

Vitius was sprawled out naked on his bed with an equally nude Sarah near him.

They weren't touching although he would have preferred to be able to hold her. Sarah had placed a few ground rules for their time together of which that was one she refused to budge on.

"What's the matter?" came her quiet mumbling reply.

"I just... Sarah, I've never killed anyone who didn't deserve it in one way or another. I've never hurt good people. Honest people. Spirits... I couldn't face my family if I did."

"Vitius, you don't need to explain to me any of this."

"I do," he huffed out. "... I do."

He felt the bed move as Sarah shuffled on it before he hid his surprise as she rested her head on his stretched out arm before her hand was carefully placed on his chest.

Vitius slowly rolled on to his side and curled up with Sarah trapped in his embrace.

"I know you're not a bad man, Vitius."

The turian let out a long low sigh of contentedness.