Her back hit the mat, and a burst of teal the color of deep water flared behind her pinched eyelids.
Again.
Not a single soul interrupted the indigo shadows of the Normandy's Mako garage, leaving the sound of her heavy breaths to echo bare in the silence.
His breathing was still a demoralizing resting rate. "Too slow. Try again." His voice reverberated above her, around her, through her.
If she had known this was what awaited her when she agreed to his offer of training, she might have opted to remain in the pain-free confines of her quarters. Isolated, but content. Surrounded by her hard-collected knowledge.
But then, she knew she lied to herself. No matter how bruising it may be, a lifetime's worth of sore muscles would still be worth this level of closeness to the Protheans.
To him.
"Can we not rest for a moment, Commander?" He was not a cruel man. Surely, he would see the wisdom—no, the necessity—of not over-exerting one's self.
His weight depressed the mat beside her, and the heat rolling from his body radiated through her along with his words: "When we're on the ground, caked in dust, pressing our shoulders into a failing piece of cover while we suck thin air through whatever sections of our helmet's filters haven't been clogged with dirt yet, are you going to stand up and ask the enemy to stop firing for a moment so you can catch your breath?"
She was mistaken. He was a very, very cruel man.
She opened her eyes against the sting of sweat, and breathed out, "No, Commander."
Miniature oceans of blue looked down at her, and the sweat-glistened skin around them crinkled, his lip tilting up at the corner. "That's more like it." He offered her his hand.
She tore her gaze from the twin oceans teasing down at her, and swallowed. She wiped her palm against the thigh of the Alliance-issue pants he had given her for training, and slid her hand into his.
Hard callouses brushed over her skin. But they didn't scrape like she expected them to. Or maybe his touch was simply too gentle for it.
An easy tug, and she was on her feet.
"Biotics alone aren't going to be enough for what we're flying into," he said. "You need to know basic hand-to-hand before I'm willing to take you ground-side." A single droplet trailed a slow path along the contour of his neck, following the angled line of his throat until it disappeared beneath the midnight fabric covering his chest.
She looked away. "I understand, Commander."
Her own top stuck to her, pulling taut and damp with each breath.
"Good," he said. "Then let's call it a day."
He turned and grabbed a towel slung over a piece of railing, and dabbed his face and neck.
She furrowed her brow, and watched the fabric glide over his skin. "Call it... But, you said—"
The oceans twinkled. "I was gonna keep going because you wanted to quit. Now that you're willing to keep going, it's okay to stop."
The crease of her brow deepened. Was this human logic? "I don't understand."
He tossed the damp towel back over the railing. "The first rule of fighting is, don't give up. If you do, you've already lost. You have to know your goal, what you need to do to accomplish it, and then do it. But all the fighting technique in the world doesn't mean anything if you're just going to lie down and die when things get tough."
He gestured to her. "You reached the end of your strength, you wanted to quit, but you chose to keep going anyway." He nodded. "Now I'm willing to bring you on missions."
With a final nod, he started walking toward the elevator.
You have to know your goal... His words echoed through the space along with his footsteps, and before she knew what she was doing, she spoke, "Commander."
He paused and turned.
What am I doing? She took a breath, and set her shoulders. "All the combat ability in the world also isn't going to mean everything in a battle of knowledge."
He cocked a brow.
No turning back now... "The Protheans are the key in this, I am sure of it." She straightened. "They are Saren's key for unleashing the Reapers, and they are our key for stopping him." Her hands found each other, and she fidgeted her fingers together. "Perhaps... Perhaps later, you could join me in my quarters, and I could share with you what I know."
Those twin oceans looked at her. And then, he smiled faintly. "It's a date, T'Soni."
She bit her cheek, and with a quickness in her step she hadn't felt in quite some time, she gathered up the mat-roll and crossed the indigo shadows to join him as the elevator doors parted.
It was only logical. She was the ship's foremost expert on Protheans. He held a connection to them she could only dream of. It only made sense that they should work closely together.
She squeezed the mat as they stepped onto the lift, and she stood close enough beside him that his heat radiated through her.
It had nothing to do with twinkling oceans or soft touches. It was purely academic. An exchange of instruction. He was teaching her, and so she would teach him. And hopefully not utterly embarrass myself in the process...
But as he pressed the button for the crew deck, and the lift rumbled to life, she couldn't quite stop the smile that fought its way onto the corner of her lips. But then, she knew she lied to herself. A lifetime's worth of embarrassing moments would still be worth this level of closeness to the Protheans.
To him.
"Thank you for the lesson in combat, Commander." She kept her eyes forward, and bit her cheek harder when twin oceans turned to her.
"It was very helpful, indeed."
