Lesson number one: Be wary of asari daughters.

Liselle stared at Lauren from across the bar. Derimus watched the two women silently, wondering if he should set their drinks down in between them. He had no idea what was going on, but the two had arrived in the off-hours of Afterlife, both surrounded by a sort of akward tension. He wondered numbly if Lauren had said something stupid to Liselle or vice-versa. Lauren finally tore her eyes away from Liselle and looked at Derimus.

"Is that mine?" she asked.

He nodded and set her drink down on the counter in front of her. She slid the drink towards her and stopped to glance up at Liselle.

"Knock it off, it's creepy." She mumbled.

"You slept with her." Liselle put heavy emphasis on each word. "What am I supposed to do? Ignore this?"

"She slept with who?" Derimus asked, confused.

"None of your-"

"Mother." Liselle said coldly. "I caught them this morning."

"I was leaving when you showed up-"

Derimus set Liselle's drink down and stopped the arguement before it started. "Wait a minute. Lauren. Aria's Enforcer. Slept with Aria? How?"

Lauren closed her eyes and put her head down on the bar's surface. "How is that even relevant to this conversation?"

Derimus stared at the human. "For seven years I've been here. Not once have I heard of Aria taking any lovers - I want to know about this. Spill it. I told you about that lovely turian woman I met on the Citadel-"

"That's not the same!" Lauren's voice was muffled. "But...you've got a point."

Derimus and Liselle watched as she sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked conflicted. Almost confused. "I was asleep, kind of. I was having a nightmare. Suddenly I didn't feel the same. It was calm and there was someone there - I don't know how to explain it. There was just her. Aria. She was just there. The next thing I know I'm feeling shit I haven't felt in fucking years. They weren't my thoughts. I know that. They must have been hers."

"My mother and you shared a sleeping bond." Liselle stared at her. "She barely did that for me as a chid. She must have seen something in your memories that mad eyou worth it."

"I don't know what she saw. All I know is that when she woke me from my sleep I got this feeling of loneliness and sadness. I just...went on a hunch that she needed it." Lauren looked at her drink. "Now...I don't know."

"You went on a hunch?" Derimus asked. "What the fuck is a hunch?"

"It's what we humans call a suspicion. Usually they're right." Lauren explained.

"Okay. So you fucked-"

"Slept!"

"-Aria on a hunch that she needed it, and you happened to be right? Did you ever pause to think you could be wrong?" Derimus asked.

"One, yes I did. Two, Liselle shut the fuck up. You're not helping."

"She coudl have killed you!" Derimus leaned against the counter.

"But she didn't," Lauren rubbed at her forehead. "And that's the dilemna. She...didn't protest to me last night. Not a word against what we were doing. And she doesn't strike me as submissive."

"You think the next time it happens, she might not be so...gentle with you?" Derimus asked.

"If theres a next time," Liselle said quietly.

They both turned to stare at Liselle. The asari was staring at her own drink as she stirred it.

"I don't know if she wants another relationship, Lauren. I don't know if she can handle it either. Just...promise me you'll be patient with her."

Lauren didn't know what Liselle wasn't saying, but she understood what she was asking. "I promise."

So I've been super busy with work and stuff, but I promise I will try to get more chapters out. Thanks for being patient!