Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to BioWare.
Author's Note: This story does not necessarily follow any particular story and may not be chronologically accurate.
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Arriving in the ship's small medical facility without incident, Vadix allowed himself a sigh of relief. Yesterday he'd felt confused about his possible feelings for both Cassana and Juvelea yet determined not to hurt anyone's feelings. This morning, after watching her sleep, he'd been certain that what he felt for the human went far beyond mere friendship. However, after their subsequent debacle in the shower, the turian felt he had no choice but to ignore whatever spark was being fanned between them—no, not to ignore it: to quench it.
To invite the flame-haired woman any deeper into his life was to encourage a wildfire: devastating, consummate, and unconquerable.
The entire trip from the captain's quarters back to the crew deck, the turian had been terrified even to speak to her. Of course he knew it was inevitable—they were coworkers after all, partners even—but if he could avoid the issue for the time being, Vadix would.
Perhaps he wasn't as brave as he'd thought he was.
In his defense, he thought, this was entirely uncharted territory for him. He had no idea how to maneuver through this present dilemma.
Then he was struck with an idea.
What if he pretended to be in an exclusive relationship with Juvelea?
Cassana would respect his privacy enough to maintain a purely professional relationship, and Vadix would be able to avoid any future misunderstandings that might endanger his employment—and Cassana's employment, for that matter—with the Commander.
The deception would protect both of their careers. In a strange way, it might even enable him to pursue the relationship Vadix knew he should want for himself. Maybe all he needed was time; distance from the relationship he should not want would be an added benefit.
One woman would have no idea it was a ruse, and the other would have no idea it was even happening.
Surely everyone would benefit from this scheme.
Yes, it seemed as good a plan as any.
A staccato noise jolted him back to the present.
Several quick blinks revealed an older yet handsome red salarian and his own red-headed partner staring at him, as though they were waiting for a response.
"Dr. Solus was just bringing us up to speed with his research," Cassana explained after a moment, one eyebrow raised as she gestured toward the scientist.
"Call me Mordin," the other man insisted, breathing deeply between short sentences. "Title unnecessary, though Professor would be preferable. Familiar with your role here, yes?" This last sentence was directed at Vadix with a questioning blink.
It took him a moment to respond with a matching "Yes?"
Not a very good recovery.
The salarian began to pace, each sentence punctuated by a 180-degree turn. "Shepard asked for special research. Novel request from her. Need to imitate turian facial markings. Disguise as Garrus Vakarian. Require samples to test potential side effects, reactions. Talon shavings would do."
Again the man's wide eyes met his own expectantly, but Vadix was having trouble keeping up with the scientist's verbal pace. All he could do was stare back.
"'Talon shavings'?" Cassana queried, miraculously diverting attention away from the nervous turian.
Nodding enthusiastically, Professor Solus clarified, "Similar to human nail clippings. Regular personal hygiene necessity. Sufficient for chemical analysis. Provide these today?"
With his partner's intervention, Vadix was able to catch up mentally and offered a more intelligent response than before. "I can do that, yeah. Just need to get my shears."
"No need," the salarian shook his head. "Can conduct procedure here." Grabbing the turian's hand, Mordin moved to slice the razor-tipped tool along the hardened edge of his forefinger.
Vadix didn't even have time to flinch before one side of his first talon had been trimmed.
Then the fast-talking man turned his hand over and stilled. "Allergic reaction. Rather developed but recent, yes. Issue since boarding Normandy? Likely. Cause? Several candidates. Requires further analysis, questioning."
His rambling was too much to bear and Vadix interrupted. "This morning," he explained stiffly. "It's a reaction to some levo-based salve."
"Purpose of salve?" was the immediate response. It was the shortest length of speech he had yet to hear the salarian speak.
Cassana answered with a grimace. "It was supposed to be a universal pain ointment, but I mixed up the bottles and accidentally gave him human body glue." A glance in her direction told the turian she was still embarrassed about it, signaled by the soft pink stealing across her cheeks.
"'Body glue'?" he repeated, mirroring the human's earlier response to his own explanation. "Bring to lab. That is, med-bay. Possible starting place for ink project. Useful for research."
Vadix exchanged a nervous look with the woman, but she voiced their mutual concern first, moving closer to the men as if she were worried the doctor would slather the stuff on right away. "Um, won't that be a bad place to start? We don't want him to have an allergic reaction on his face."
"Agreed. Still, good place to start, study chemical properties of glue, must remain in place on skin, be able to remove later. Intriguing paradox. Also determine what substance caused the adverse reaction, identify what compounds to avoid later, help speed up analysis of individual biology."
At some point during this speech, Dr. Solus had moved away and resumed pacing along the wall, apparently deep in thought. He didn't seem to require a response from either of his newfound pupils at least. The pair looked at each other again, sharing a confused look.
"Bring glue," came the instruction once more. "Continue this discussion then."
With a shrug, Cassana left him alone with the doctor.
For a moment, Vadix shuffled awkwardly in place. He'd never been good with people, especially since most people didn't want to interact with him. Instead of making conversation, he watched the strange salarian putter between several instruments, apparently adjusting the apparatus to a more desirable setting.
Or something like that.
Vadix was only marginally better at science than he was at interpersonal skills.
Abruptly Dr. Solus swung around and walked right up to Vadix, taking his hand again with only a "Finish shaving" as explanation. The turian jumped at the unexpected intrusion but the scientist's grip was stronger than he'd anticipated, and the other man simply continued with the "procedure" as he'd called it earlier.
The whole thing made Vadix feel like an imbecilic child.
Mordin paused when he switched hands, his eyes fixed on the turian's palm once more. "Different allergic reaction. Odd," he stated without emotion. "Cause?" This he asked with curiosity, glancing up to make eye contact.
His mandibles flexed in embarrassment, but Vadix thanked the spirits that Cassana wasn't here to witness his mortification. "Er, well, that's more complicated," he offered weakly, hoping the doctor wouldn't press for more.
"Will keep up," Mordin prompted, holding his gaze.
No such luck.
With a heavy sigh, Vadix decided it was better just to get it over with, much like removing a nearly-detached plate. "Because that glue is intended to be removed by human saliva, Dr. Chakwas wanted to test my reaction to it on a smaller area first. That's where Cassana licked me."
"Hm," the salarian murmured, a few quick blinks punctuating the silence as he bent over the turian's talons. "Current symptoms?" he finally asked.
Shrugging, he described the effect, "Just a minor itch really. Irritating but not unbearable."
Now Professor Solus straightened up, looking Vadix directly in the eyes. He said nothing for several heartbeats, and then, "Intriguing. Uncommon among turians to have such a mild response. Levo-proteins usually cause difficulty breathing, swelling, watering eyes, vomiting, or diarrhea. Sometimes any combination of these…"
As the salarian droned on, Vadix felt his mandibles still, feeling somewhat shocked at the possibilities. Dr. Chakwas hadn't mentioned any of this.
Perhaps he should have been more concerned.
No wonder xenophilic relations weren't exactly encouraged. Who wanted to swell up, cry, vomit and stop breathing while sharing a bed?
Vadix felt the salarian pick up his hand once more to continue his work, bringing the turian back to the present—one in which the doctor was still speaking.
"…in several studies. Makes interspecies relationships difficult. Personally seen in very few subjects."
"Wait, you've seen this before?" Vadix was suddenly fascinated by what he was hearing. It was something he hadn't even thought to consider before, but now he wanted to know everything about it.
Not because he wanted to pursue his own 'interspecies relationship'. It was merely academic curiosity.
"Indeed. Twice before, once on Normandy." Nodding as he finished with the third talon, Mordin stared up at Vadix once more. He seemed to be studying him.
Now he felt like an academic curiosity himself.
"Have shallow mandible dimple too. Possess how many elbow ridges?"
"Uh, four?" He'd never been asked such an intrusive question. Somehow it should have been impertinent, but Vadix had the distinct impression this conversation had nothing to do with the doctor's sexual preferences.
Again he was supremely relieved that Cassana was not present at the moment.
Of course that was exactly the moment the med-bay doors slid open, parting in time for the woman herself to stride back in, looking sort of breathless.
And pink.
Before Vadix could dwell on her unusual appearance, the salarian's stilted speech caught his attention once more. "…test for disease resistance to confirm suspicions. Several other traits could affect conclusion." He paused for breath and then noticed the human's return, his mouth stretching into a grin.
The turian's subvocals growled.
Mordin barely even glanced at the source of the noise. "Mean no harm," he reassured Vadix, earning a puzzled look from Cassana. "Place glue sample here," he instructed, gesturing toward a small clear dish.
She walked toward the countertop, looking between the two men. "Should I be concerned about this 'disease resistance' test, whatever that is?"
"No need," Professor Solus answered without looking at her, typing away at a nearby machine. "Unrelated to present matter. Focus on disguise for turian first."
The woman glanced at Vadix, but he could only shrug. Despite having been present the entire time, he wasn't sure he knew what the salarian was talking about.
"On the topic of a disguise, there is also the issue of Cassana's hair and skin," the ship's voice resounded out of nowhere around them.
The redheaded human looked worried. "What's wrong with my hair? And my skin?" she asked, concern edging her tone as she ran her fingers through the burgundy locks.
"Shepard is restricted to Alliance-approved hairstyles and would have to wear it up, at your length. However, the Commander prefers to keep it short enough that it needn't be tied back," the AI explained.
For one brief moment, Cassana looked horrified.
But then the bodiless woman continued, "Rather than cutting your own hair, a wig could be obtained if that is what you would prefer."
Immediately Vadix watched the relief wash over his partner's frame.
He himself felt somewhat relieved: her hair was practically magnetic. It would be such a shame to lose any of it.
"That would be great, thank you," Cassana replied, still stroking her hair like she wanted to be sure it was still there. "Then what about my skin?" she asked, more confident than before.
"Similar to Vadix's situation, a pseudo-blemish will have to be manufactured somehow. Commander Shepard has a scar just below one eye, an artifact of her brush with death, as it were."
The human nodded in acceptance. "Okay, that makes sense."
"Vadix, Cass, your next lesson will be conducted after lunch concludes, at 1300 hours. Your instructor will meet you below the engineering bay at that time."
It was obviously a dismissal, and Mordin simply looked up and nodded at them once before resuming his work.
The pair left the room in silence, heading toward the mess hall, although it was barely even 1100 hours.
"Sorry it took me so long to get back," Cassana muttered, not meeting his eyes.
"It's alright," Vadix responded automatically. "You didn't miss anything."
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To anyone reading this weekly, apologies for not posting for so long! Life has kind of exploded (in a good way) and I just have not had the time nor the brain power to write very much. Additionally, this chapter was more difficult to write as I wanted to be as true to Mordin's character is possible. Hope you've all enjoyed it so far; I'm excited about where this is going, but I'm gonna take a few weeks off so I can get ahead and not stress about writing as much, plus potentially do some rearranging of past chapters to make the overall storyline flow better. Thanks for your support-even if fredih is the only one reading this! X'D