A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Thanks for the favs/follows, etc. Happy Valentine's Day!
Bex had wanted Zaeed to be the first to know about the engagement, to make up for being the last of her friends and family to know about the relationship. But before she'd made it halfway to Hackett's home office, she'd been waylaid by pings on her omni-tool, one from Joker and one from Kaidan. Joker's message had been blessedly short and to the bloody point: the ship's check-up wasn't done yet, but as they hadn't found anything yet, he wasn't expecting it to be much longer. She'd nearly ignored the hail from Kaidan, but knew it would only make things more awkward later on if she did.
By the time she got settled into Hackett's cushy desk chair and dialed Zaeed's omni-tool, she was more than a little annoyed, and very afraid he had already seen Khalisah's broadcast.
But when he finally answered, he seemed more alarmed than anything.
"What's wrong? Who do I have to kill?" He blinked blearly at her, as if he was trying to bring the image on his screen into focus. "Oh. 'S you."
Bex raised an eyebrow. "Your first instinct when you get a call is to ask what's wrong and who you have to kill?"
"Didn't know it was you, did I? Was your admiral's ID that came up, not yours." Zaeed shrugged. "Couldn't think of any reason he'd be calling. Nothing good anyway." He squinted again. "What's that in your hair?"
Bex swiped a hand through her red and black curls and came up with what amounted to crude paste. "Flour. Thought I'd gotten it all. It's a long story, but part of why I called."
"You called about flour in your hair."
She rolled her eyes. "If you're gonna be this bloody difficult, I'm just gonna hang up now."
Zaeed snorted. "No you won't. You called for a reason, and I'm guessing it's important. Haven't talked to you in… ages."
"Three weeks is not 'ages,' Z." She sighed. "Have you seen the news lately? Like in the last… hour?"
"No. Why? Were you on it?"
"Not because I wanted to be, but yeah." Another sigh. "The whole bloody galaxy knows about my relationship now."
"That so?"
"Joker wanted to get the ship checked out after a… close call on our last mission." She told him everything–almost everything–that had happened since the Normandy had docked. She decided not to mention seeing Ian's goons at the dock; she hadn't decided what, if anything, to do about them yet and Zaeed would only zero in on them and not hear anything else she said.
Finally, she got around to the actual reason she'd called. "And I said yes, of course, and now we're getting married for real."
Zaeed looked distracted and confused, as if he hadn't heard a word she'd said before that. "You're… wait. What?"
She held up her left hand to show him the ring.
"And you're happy?" He only glanced at the ring and fixed her with a serious expression. "He's not pressuring you into this?"
"Of course not."
"Are you sure? Sounds like he's making plans and you're going along with them."
Bex rolled her eyes. "Well, that just proves you weren't actually listening. I was the one who brought up getting engaged."
Zaeed sighed. "Sorry, Half Pint. No, I wasn't entirely paying attention."
"You're on a job?"
"Surveillance, yeah."
"You could have always just not answered, y'know."
"You remember the beginning of this conversation, when I said I thought it was Hackett calling, not you?" Zaeed shook his head. "With this mission you've got going on, there's no way in hell I wasn't answering a call from him, in case…"
"Oh."
"You're really happy?"
"Surprised, but yeah." Bex grinned. "Definitely happy."
"Good. So when are you getting married?" He frowned. "That wasn't one of the things I didn't hear, was it?"
She laughed. "No. We hadn't talked about it, but then I said something stupid in a conversation with Kaidan, Steven sort of… panicked. And now we're getting married, um, now. Before we leave again anyway."
"He panicked?"
"Kaidan asked when we were getting married and I said I didn't know, that I guess it depended on if we even survive this whole clusterfuck."
"Yeah, that was pretty stupid. But it's not like this is your first mission or like he doesn't know the risks."
Bex shrugged. "That was pretty much what I said too. He said that it's always in the back of his mind, worried every time I go out on a mission, especially ones he's sent me on. He's just never heard me say anything about not coming back." She rushed on before he could respond. "Anyway, you've got your job. I just… if you'd had the time…"
"If you were on the Citadel, I'd have made it over in a couple of hours, job be damned. But unless your ship needs actual repairs, you'll be gone before I could get to Arcturus."
"Why don't you just bring the terminal into the living room?" Bex jumped a little as Hackett walked into the room. He murmured an apology for startling her and pressed a kiss behind her ear before he crouched beside the chair. "Evening, Massani."
Zaeed nodded a greeting but said nothing.
Bex wasn't surprised. It was obvious he still had mixed feelings about the relationship, and about Hackett specifically, and didn't want to risk expressing said feelings at the moment.
"That works for me." She glanced at Zaeed. "You okay with only being a 'virtual' witness?"
"Don't really have a bloody choice, do I?"
"Not on the virtual part, no." Her eyes narrowed. "You're not gonna wander off again during the… important parts, are you?"
"No, I'll be there. Scout's honor. Guy I was watching left anyway."
She rolled her eyes. "You weren't in the scouts."
"Hush. So you're, what, getting married right there in the apartment?"
"Yup." She grinned. "Didn't you know that's every girl's dream, getting married in her pajamas?"
Hackett cleared his throat and stood up. "Shall we?" he said, gesturing to the door behind him. "I think we've left Joe and Karin to their own devices long enough."
"So you got hold of the doc?" Bex grimaced as she got to her feet, wobbling unsteadily for a moment before Hackett grabbed her arm. Pain shot through her leg and she swore a blue streak as she sank back into the chair. "I don't think I'm walking anywhere."
"What the hell'd you do now?" Zaeed asked.
"Oh, you know, the usual," she said as she picked up the terminal and Hackett turned the chair to wheel it from the room.
"I know your usual, yes."
She blew out a long breath. "It's um… a long story, but basically, I… sort of got on the wrong side of an angry krogan mercenary–no, not Wrex–and almost got tossed into a pit of lava."
"Bloody hell." Zaeed frowned. "Why'd you specify it wasn't Wrex?"
"Because I know how you–both of you," Bex glanced back at Hackett for a moment, "feel about him. And any mention of a krogan-induced injury, you'll both go straight for Wrex."
Zaeed raised an eyebrow. "I suspect the admiral's got a whole other view on Wrex, but all I've ever said against him is he's not the big reptilian teddy bear you seem to think he is."
"Maybe he just doesn't like you as much as he likes me," she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. "'Sides, if it hadn't been for him and Garrus, we would not be here having this conversation. Or any conversation."
"And on that wholly depressing note," Hackett said as they arrived in the living room, "I believe we're ready to proceed."
Admiral Faulkner raised a questioning eyebrow at the strange parade but Dr. Chakwas nodded approvingly. "I'm glad you're taking my advice and staying off that leg, Shepard."
"Didn't have much of a fucking choice," Bex grumbled as Faulkner took the terminal to set on the side table and Hackett helped her over to the couch, propping up her injured leg with pillows.
After a bit more shuffling so everyone was settled comfortably, Faulkner began the ceremony. The words were familiar, a shortened version of the script he'd used for Tamara and Morgan's wedding a decade ago. Others might have thought it was cheap or unromantic, but Bex thought it was beautiful.
Sure, she'd have liked to have actually had Zaeed there instead on a screen, and she might have liked to have been able to dance with her husband after everyone else had gone, or at least been able to fucking stand without wobbling during the vows. But under the circumstances, it was perfect. It was "very them," as Tamara often said.
"Well, it is ," she insisted a few hours later when Bex called her while Hackett was making takeout arrangements for dinner–the kitchen was still covered in flour. "It just… is. Your whole relationship has been like that, all chaotic and whirlwind-y."
Bex grinned. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." The grin faded in an instant when a notification popped up on the screen. "You have got to be fucking kidding me." She shook her head. "Dunno why I expected any fucking different."
"What's up?"
"Just… fuckers from the past making trouble, again." She gave Tamara an apologetic smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "I gotta go, Tam. Give my love to Morgan and Mandy."
"Good luck, and stay safe."
Bex grinned. "You know me."
"I do," Tamara said with a laugh. "That's why I said it."
Bex stared at the screen for several seconds after Tamara had hung up. She'd known that seeing Ian's idiots at the dock wouldn't have been the end of it. They'd been there for a reason. But this… This was something unexpected.
"What's wrong, my love?" Hackett wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he sat beside her. "You look like the world's fallen out from under you."
She shook her head and said nothing, letting the message on her omni-tool speak for itself:
Bar of Legends, back booth, half an hour. Come alone or you will regret it.
Hackett sighed deeply. "I suppose there's no point trying to talk you out of going. But take Alenko or Williams with you. Preferably both."
"I'm not going, Steven."
"Oh?" He seemed more pleased than surprised. "What changed your mind?"
"This." She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers a bit. "I'm not letting those fuckers ruin my wedding night. Plus," she grimaced as a twinge of pain shot through her leg, "my Spectre status is the only thing I've got going for me if it came to a fight or something."
"And between you and them? It would definitely come down to a fight."
"I'd fight them all day long, but I don't want to get anyone else involved, possibly hurt, y'know?" She sighed and snuggled against him. "Last thing I need is a repeat of the fight that landed me in the Alliance in the first place, even if it would be so bloody satisfying to see them stuck in the brig while I walk out."
"I can imagine."
"Christ. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass." She slumped a little as she typed a quick response:
Fuck. Off.
"If it does, we'll deal with it," Hackett murmured as he held her close. "Together."
Bex drew in a sharp breath as her omni-tool pinged almost immediately after she hit send, as if the person on the other end had been anticipating her response. Hackett's arms tightened around her and he swore more vehemently than she could ever remember before as they read the short text together:
Wrong answer, Rebekah.
