Title: The More Things Change...
Chapter 2: Going Through the Motions
"There has got to be an easier way to do this" Shepard mumbled to himself as he trudged by the entrance to afterlife, a bulging brown stained bag thrown over his shoulder. He looked up as the club's music faded into the background, spotting his target leaning against a rail overlooking a huge pit carved out of the asteroid encompassing Omega. "Gavron!" he called out, throwing his bag to the ground in front of the turian. "I've got another delivery for you."
"Well lets see what you brought me today" said the turian as he bent over and grasped the back of the bag before pulling it up, dumping its contents out on the walk way. Over twenty vorcha heads lay on the ground, various expressions of pain and rage were permanently etched on their faces. "Thats a hell of a collection there Shepard. How did you manage so many? I've heard that they hide now when they know you're coming."
Shepard shrugged as he leaned back on the rail, watching the turian take a photo of each face with his omnitool. "I was collecting a bounty for Aria when group of bloodpack decided that they wanted to have a crack at me. I turned in the suspect, along with the head of the battle master since he had a bounty. I left his two clan mates behind, and decided that I might as well collect on the bounty you always offer for vorcha." He watched as Gavron tuned over one of the heads with his foot to expose the face. "Seriously though, why the hell do you demand the heads? It's disgusting as hell having to prep and transport them here."
"It's because their head is the only thing the little bastards can't grow back" mumbled the turian as he finished typing into his omnitool before waving it over Adam's, transferring the bounty's funds to the human. "And because I get to do this." The turian turned towards the closest head before dropping his pants and proceeding to urinate on the pile. "Help me out human and I'll throw in a bonus." Adam wrinkled his nose in distaste, before giving a sigh and pulling down his zipper. Once all of the heads had been 'marked' they stepped back to admire their handywork. "I know how you feel, but there's a purpose for it" consoled the turian. "These little scavengers have an incredible sense of smell, and this lets them know that they shouldn't head up here unless they want to deal with a larger predator."
He proceeded to kick one of the heads into the open pit, where it fell into the smoke obscuring the bottom until there was a wet splat. Alarmed and angry hisses could be heard rising up from the pit, bringing a small smile to Shepard's face. "When in Rome…" he offered up as he toe punted the nearest ugly mug into the void, watching it sail away. This was one policy he could get behind.
A small twinge of guilt began to rise up as he made his way to Afterlife, before he ruthlessly buried it with memories of the slave trading, cannibalism, and general cruelty he had experienced in his past dealings with vorcha. 'Honor and compassion should be saved for those who deserve' it he reminded himself as he passed the elcor bouncer. He reflected on when he had become so jaded compared to the paragon standards he used to hold himself to, before he realized that it wasn't a specific event. Life had a way of piling up on a person, and no one could go on forever without it starting to wear on them. He sat down at a booth, holding up two fingers at an asari waitress whose clothing consisted of less fabric than his socks. Not that he was complaining at this point in his life. Relationships had no draw to him after both of his attempts with Liara and Tali had ended abruptly with the culmination of events with the Catalyst. 'I may be hurting, but I'm still a man' he thought to himself as he watched the asari throw a little extra motion into her hips as she walked away, throwing him a sultry smile over her shoulder.
He sat back and watched the crowd on the dance floor grind against each other as the music played. The waitress returned, setting a glass in front of him. He held up a hand as she moved to grab the second glass, his motion stopping her. He paid for the two drinks, along with a generous tip which brought a spark to the girl's eye, before motioning up towards the ledge hanging out over the dance floor surrounded by windows. "The other one is for the queen" he said as he sat back. The asai nodded before working her way back through the crowd towards the back stairs. A quick conversation allowed her access, before she came back down again empty handed. A second later he noticed Aria leaning over the rail of her platform, searching the crowd before her eyes rested on him. He bowed his head in acknowledgement, before offering up his drink in a toast. She leered at him with a smile that was all teeth, before raising her duplicate drink back. She pounded it in a single swallow, before turning around and slowly walking back to her office, giving him a spectacular view of her backside clothed in a pair of skin tight pants.
"Smooth move there player" he heard in his earpiece as he leaned back into the couch. Is that a hint of jealousy I hear Eve? He typed into his omnitool. "Why would I be jealous? I've already seen all of you every time you change. Besides, I bet none of them know how your mind really thinks and feels like I do." Can't you at least try to act like I'm still your god father? He asked with a sigh. "That ship sailed a long time ago Adam. I take care of you way more than you do for me." Her avatar popped up on the corner of his omnitool screen out of sight of the rest of the bar. Her current choice in eye candy was a white two piece swimsuit that showed way more then it covered.
He couldn't argue that point. Ever since his arrival on Omega, Eve had helped him with becoming acclimated to new location. In the months after the Andromeda Initiative presentation, she had stepped up her care of him to the point that he was starting to get a sense of deja vu from when he used to observe Joker and EDI's interactions. Love you too Eve he typed to her as he gave the AI a small smile. Eve looked to develop a blush for a moment as she looked away, before quickly offering him a wink and disappearing from the screen as the waitress came back up to his table. The asari placed another drink down on the table as well as a folded up note next to it. "You know who it's from" was all she would offer at his questioning look before she put down a second folded paper and walked back into the crowd.
Adam picked up the second note first, seeing the waitress's contact info it it, along with the time she got off of work. He noticed a glint on the back of the note, causing him to turn it over only to find a blank paper. "Try getting it wet" he heard Eve whisper to him, causing him to swipe his hand over the condensation on the outside of his glass, before transferring the moisture to the page. A small message became visible as the letters seemed to soak in the water.
Shepard,
We need to talk about your future employment opportunities. I'll be in contact with you tomorrow.
- The Benefactor
'Well that's not ominous' Adam observed to himself as he put the letter in his pocket before picking up the second note. It contained 4 simple words. Your Place, 30 minutes. He wasn't sure who had left this note either, but a check on his omnitool showed he had about ten minutes to make his choice and take the walk home. He downed his drink before slipping out of the booth and leaving the club. He noticed his apartment block seemed to have extra guards around it tonight as he entered the lobby. His biotics subtly flared under his skin as he cautiously moved towards his door, ready for either fight or flight as the situation called for. There was a lone figure waiting in the middle of his hallway, clearly unarmed yet no less dangerous. "Oohhh, someone's getting lucky tonight" Eve whispered in his ear as he recognized the stranger to be no other than Omega's Queen herself.
********Lemon********
"It's time we had a talk" Aria said, the implied offer/order clear in her tone. She beckoned with a finger as she turned and walked down the hallway towards his bedroom. Adam closed and locked his front door in a trance, before slowly following the Queen's previous path. His self preservation and hormones fought a war inside his head, unable to discern why someone so dangerous as Aria was in his home yet also unable to move past how insanely sexy she was while doing it. He came to the closed bedroom door, slowly pushing it open to find Aria sitting on his mattress with her legs folded under herself, wearing a white teddy that hugged each one of her curves and contrasted perfectly against her purple skin tone. Even in such a compromising position, her expression screamed dominance as she gestured for him to approach the front of the bed. Adam swallowed his nervousness as he stopped in front of her, his outer expression fixed into a small smile as he appreciated the view while waiting for her to speak.
"It's been months since you've saved my daughter's life, yet you've still not asked me for anything. The jobs you've done for me have been perfectly executed, letting my power and influence grow while leaving me owing you even more now. Tonight I've found myself with an itch I need scratched and I've decided I'm done waiting for you to make a decision." She had leaned forward as she spoke, removing his armor piece by piece before pulling his shirt over his head and pulling down his pants and boxers in a single motion. His excitement had continued to peak until her hand shot forward at lightning speed, grasping his testicles and squeezing just enough that he couldn't help but wince. When she knew she had his full attention, she raised up on her knees to look him levelly in the eyes, her grip maintained. "We are even after tonight. I will owe you nothing afterwards. This will never be spoken of again. There will be no repeats." She leaned in towards him, until her forehead was touching his. Her hand gave another squeeze for emphasis. "You will do as I say, when I say, until I am satisfied. Do you understand?"
At his silent nod she eagerly leaned the rest of the way, claiming his mouth with her own while her tongue explored everywhere it could reach. Adam realised that he could still taste the drink he had bought her earlier as they continued to kiss. Her hand released it's hold of his balls, before moving north to take a firm yet gentle grip on his shaft. He couldn't help but marvel at how small it was as he watched it slowly start to stroke him as she leaned back to begin peeling off the lower portion of her outfit. She enjoyed watching his face as he stood entranced as she slowly exposed her core to him, her lower lips already wet with anticipation. "Do you want me to eat it" he whispered as he unconsciously licked his lips. It had been years since he had tasted an asari, but the flavor was something he wasn't able to ever forget. There was a reason that race had members of every species in the galaxy desiring them.
"No, I've waited too long as it is. But I will keep that in mind for later." That said, she used her grip on his shaft to gently pull him down onto the bed, before flipping him over and mounting herself on top of him. She lined her core up with his shaft before quickly sinking down onto it, not stopping until their pelvises met. She slowly began to move, gyrating her hips around in circles while refusing to rise up off of him. It almost looked as though she was giving him one of the most erotic dances he had ever seen. His excitement began to build causing him to reach up to put his hands on her hips, encouraging more of an up and down motion. She responded by slapping his hands away, growling at him while her core tightened almost painfully around his cock as she glared at him. Message received, he laid back with his hands behind his head content to let her do what she wanted while he concentrated on outlasting her. Her dance picked back up again while her hands moved up to her chest, kneading her breasts through her top. A few minutes more and her breath began to quicken as sweat became visible on her skin. Shepard waited until she closed her eyes and felt her core tighten again, signalling her impending release. At the right moment, he thrust upwards feeling himself hit her back walls and causing her eyes to fly open in surprise before her orgasm ripped through her, causing her to go cross eyed as she tried to stare at her partner. Adam wasn't able to hold it any longer as let go, painting her insides white and causing her to go into another mini orgasm of her own.
She leaned her forehead into the crook of his neck as they slowly came down from their high, panting and sweaty. He felt himself start to shrink inside of her, spent from the previous activities. "So…" he said lowly "How did that measure up to what you were expecting?" He was quite proud of himself for lasting as long as he did considering how long it had been since his last conquest.
Aria snorted before shoving his chest with her hand, causing him to fall back onto the bed. "That was an adequate start for a human, but you have a long way to go before you begin to impress me." She lifted herself off of him, before positioning herself between his legs. She took his softening member into her mouth, before sinking all the way down on it until it entered her throat. Adam's breath hitched at the sensation, unable to put into words how good it felt in her tight throat, with her mouth vacuum sealed on him. Aria looked up at him, observing his state of bliss. She was unable to resist biting down lightly to remind him who was still in charge. At his yelp she smiled internally, before rewarding him by snaking her tongue out to lick the underside of his ball sack for a moment. The sensation almost caused Adam to blow, but moments before he was able to release, she pulled herself off of his dick. Her mouth releasing it with a 'pop'. "Don't forget" she reminded him as she climbed back into his lap again, facing away this time, before bringing him back inside of her, "You're not done until I say you're done." Adam was unable to hear her though, his eyes transfixed on the purple ass bouncing right in front of him, almost hypnotically. The Queen noticed this and smiled, before resuming her activities, content that her chosen for the night would be able to meet her needs.
********Lemon Ended********
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Shepard awoke alone in his bed late the next morning, feeling exhausted as if he had just returned from the battlefield. Eve appeared on the holo player set on the wall across from his bed, dressed in the same teddy that Aria had on the night before. Adam couldn't help but reflect on how the same clothing could look so different, yet still so good on two different women. The AI was bouncing on her feet, unable to contain her excitement as she waited for her partner to concentrate on her. "That was so much better than porn!" She burst out, unable to wait any longer.
'God Damn It Joker!" Shepard raged in his head, knowing it was his former pilot's influence that made the AI act that way. "Wait a second" he said as his mind caught up with what she said. "How much of that did you see?" He felt his stomach drop into a pit of dread a his holo projector lit up with the entire scene last night from multiple angles around the bedroom. "How the hell did you even do that?" he asked in exasperation as he saw one of the camera angles zoomed in to extreme levels at the actual meeting point of his and Aria's private areas.
"The apartment owner had them installed back before we rented it. One of the first things I did was follow the signals back to his server and completely wreck it before shutting them all down. I just activated them again last night and stored their feeds for later review." Eve sounded extremely proud of herself for her accomplishment. Shepard just wanted to pretend it never happened and move on with his life. "Oh, you should check your other pillow" she said with a grin as she leaned forward on the monitor, giving Shepard another eye full of her cleavage.
Shepard threw his pillow at the screen as he sat up, looking over at the other half of the bed. "Forget it Eve, you can't get much of a reaction at this point. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and spongy." He ignored the AI's pout as he picked up a datapad left on his other pillow. It was a quick message from Aria thanking him for the wonderful night, while simultaneously threatening to brutally kill him if he ever spoke of it to anyone. He wasn't sure where that fell on the bad/good scale, but chose to take it as a compliment in the end. Noticing something out of the corner of his eye, he lifted up the pillow to find Aria's panties from her teddy set placed there with a small note that said "Only in your dreams Adam".
He smiled to himself at her second message as he pushed himself out of bed to head towards the shower. Never in his previous life did he imagine he would bed Omega's Queen. She was on a pedestal that he never considered himself capable of reaching when he was the great Commander Shepard, yet he managed to hook up with her as a lowly bounty hunter. 'The universe works in mysterious ways' he reflected to himself as the water turned on in the shower unit. He shuddered as he stepped under the cold spray, letting it wake him up the rest of the way before he set the water to hot for cleaning and relaxing his aching muscles.
Adam felt like a new man when he stepped out of the shower 15 minutes later. He would have spent a considerable longer time in there, but Eve pulled him out due to a call he had waiting that she insisted was important enough for him to take ASAP. He approached the holo projector, a towel tied around his waist, and another drying his hair as he pressed the accept button. "So who are you and what's so important that it had to be talked about right at this moment?" he asked as he pulled the towel away from his head. A blushing Dr. Michel and an annoyed looking Garrus where what greeted him on the screen. "Oh… well how can I help you two today? It's good to see you again." He offered a quick wave and a smile as he reattached his omnitool to his arm again.
"Do you want a minute to go change?" Garrus snarked. "It would do all of us a world of good." He tried covering Dr. Michel's eyes only to get his hand swatted away. Giving up, he turned back towards the screen. "We both had messages for you so it just seemed easier to make a group call. Guess I'll just go first, then give you some privacy. I'm taking you up on your offer to come work out in Omega. I need a break from everything here and you seem to have a good setup." He raised his hand to interrupt Shepard, before he could respond. "I'm not done yet. I'll be bringing my sister Solana along too. I'm sure you heard about what happened to Commander Alexis Shepard right?" At the human's nod, he continued. "She's been inconsolable about it, can't stop thinking there was something more she could do to change it." He frowned at the ground for a moment before looking back up, "I promised my father I'd take care of her, so she'll be living with me." He pulled Dr. Michel into a one-armed hug as he continued. "Chloe is coming too. She's planning on opening up a clinic while we do our work."
He was interrupted as Shepard pumped a fist in the air with a small cheer. At his inquisitive look, the human looked somewhat sheepish. "Apologies, I had figured you were interested in her for a while, but could never tell if you had gone for it. Congratulations!" The couple smiled, happy to meet someone who didn't have a problem with their interspecies relationship. "We'll see you in a few weeks" said the turian with a wave as he exited the screen, followed by the hiss of a door opening and closing.
The smile slowly left Chloe's face as she regarded Adam, trying to figure out how to broach the subject. "I'm not sure how to talk about something like this since it's not a common issue with my patients so you'll pardon the blunt approach." With his go ahead gesture, she continued. "I've been studying how some of the tech in your body functions on a cellular level since that seemed to be the strangest of the readings. From what I can tell, your lifespan is going to be greatly elongated from here on."
Adam blinked in confusion. He knew that Cerberus had used reaper based tech to rebuild his body, but his only concern had been if he was going to be indoctrinated from it. After verifying that wasn't the case, he hadn't given it much thought in the grand scheme of fighting the collectors and the reaper war afterwards. He was starting to regret that choice now. "So you're saying that I'll live for a few hundred years now?" he asked as he tried to comprehend what she said.
Chloe shook her head, realizing she had to break down her explanation. "The nanites made by the machines in your body are keeping your cells alive instead of letting them die off at their set times. Your body won't age anymore from the moment you were 'rebuilt'" she said with finger quotes. "Frankly I don't know exactly how it's happening but all life has some form of cellular decay that marks when their bodies start to die off. I can't find ANY for of decay for you at all. I'd like to bring in some outside help to examine my data."
"That wouldn't be a good idea Dr. Michel" Shepard said as he shook his head. The owners of that technology would come after both of us if they found out that knowledge of their work was exposed. It's not worth endangering our lives for" he said in a voice barely above a whisper as the implications began to kick in. "You'll have to excuse me but I think I need some time alone. I'll see you guys when you arrive." Chloe offered a quick goodbye before she shut off the connection from their end, leaving Shepard alone with his thoughts.
What exactly was the point of going on? Shepard was hard pressed to find an answer to that question. Everyone he knew and loved from his first life was gone, so suddenly that he still had trouble processing it almost a year later. Little events would cause repressed memories to come to the surface forcing him to deal with them then and now, no matter how bad the timing was. Now he just found out that anyone he developed a relationship with in this timeline would die long before him. Why would he even bother trying at that point? At that moment he felt his omnitool on his arm vibrate showing him a message from Eve. "You are never alone. You'll always have me" "Thank you Eve" he murmured as he slowly stood back up to his full height. Maybe life was still worth living after all.
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"Adam, when I say break left, I mean my LEFT!" Garrus slapped his head as he had to pull his shot at the last second. His partner dodging right into his shot as he pursued their bounty down the hallway towards the optimum kill zone. The shot went wide, but still managed to clip Shepard in the shoulder, spinning him around to the ground. He reloaded and corrected his aim again, hoping his partner was ok, just in time to see the human male they were chasing go down with his knee cap blown out. Adam put his gun away as he propped himself up against the corridor's wall, taking a moment to slap some medigel on his shoulder as he watched Garrus dress the suspect's wound and cuff him. He pulled himself up with his good arm, before walking over to the turian as he pulled up their bounty.
They began to walk towards the bounty station, content that they were getting paid soon. "If you know I'm dodging to my left, why the hell do you keep referring to your own?" asked Shepard in exasperation. "As the one getting shot at, I feel it's my privilege to choose which way is actually left from now on." He ignored the turian's rude gesture towards him as they waited for the bounty to be transferred over before heading off. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine and our teamwork will only get better. It's only been a few weeks since we started."
He was stopped by a talon on his shoulder swinging him in the opposite direction and pushing him forward. "You know damn well you need to visit the clinic and have that looked at" said the turian as he marched behind Shepard to stop him from running off. Only a few weeks into their work and the human was already infamous for trying to shrug off most injuries. Chloe had Garrus under orders to bring Shepard in for anything more than a bruise or he risked sleeping on the couch when she found out later. "Traitor" mumbled the human as he walked as slow as possible, only to get a shove for his troubles. "You know I'm not a prisoner right?"
They arrived at the clinic to find it empty, the lights dimmed and no noise. As they passed the threshold, a chime sounded throughout the clinic prompting two individuals to walk out of the back to see who needed help. "I knew it" Chloe called over her shoulder as she prepped one of the beds. "Bring him over here and we'll take a look. What happened this time?" she asked as she examined the wound with her omnitool.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that looks like too big a wound for a pistol or assault rifle" said a new voice. Solana appeared next to Dr Michel carrying a tray with a few medical instruments and an application of medigel. "How the hell did you end up shooting your partner?" she tossed over her shoulder at her brother as she started cleaning the wound to Chloe's directions.
"He should have gone left like I told him to" Garrus mumbled as he leaned back against the wall, watching his girlfriend and sister patch up his friend. He wasn't sure exactly when Shepard had crossed the line from co-worker to actual friend, but the human got along with him too damn well to be classified as anything else. His sister's talons smacked against the back of his head, causing him to squawk in surprise before he glared at his friend who couldn't stop laughing.
"I did go left" Shepard corrected him. "My left. And thank you for helping me out again Sol, you're looking lovely today." He made a point of rubbing the hand she was using to bandage his shoulder with his own, causing her to look away in embarrassment. "Your scales have an extra sheen to them today, and your blue markings really come out well against your white tone."
A gagging noise caused him to stop and look over to his friend who was staring at him in disgust. "What the hell is wrong with you? That's my sister you're hitting on. Do you have any idea how disgusting that is? I'll neve.. SHIT!" Garrus took off running, making a straight line for the exit, hoping over the reception counter to make it quicker. Solana was directly on his tail with a scalpel in her hand and retribution in her eyes. There was no way she was letting her brother go after ruining such a perfect moment with her growing crush. Adam had the same kind of command presence as her old boss Commander Alexis Shepard. It helped her get over her grief being around him, yet she couldn't help but get attracted to a male like that. And here came Garrus trying to sabotage her chances!
Chloe and Adam stared at the door for a long moment before realizing that the two turians weren't coming back any time soon. Adam sighed as he threw his shirt back on before turning to Chloe. "Want to have me help you close up, then go grab a bite to eat while we wait for them?" Chloe shrugged as she began gathering the tools spilled on the floor. "Sure, but let's stay away from the ramen stand. I've seen too many vorcha around there lately."
"No problem" offered Shepard as he handed her coat to her before stepping outside so she could lock up. "If they give you any problems, just let me know." He watched as a vorcha scuttled away at the end of the corridor as it caught sight of him. "I've got the magic touch when it comes to handling them. I learned it from a turian."
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Adam leaned back into his couch, exhausted after such a long day. Dinner with Chloe had been a fun experience. They had found an actual burger diner run by an old human couple near their apartments and were able to experience a little bit of nostalgia for earth. Garrus and Solana had joined them half way through the meal and no one felt the need to comment on the bandage Garrus had over his right arm. Everyone enjoyed themselves until Garrus made a comment on wondering where the meat had come from. Everyone's' appetite dried quickly after that and Shepard had left Garrus playing damage control with Chloe for ruining their night. Shepard had moved on to one of his favorite spots, a walkway over hanging one of Omega's busier markets. No matter what part of the cycle it was, the area was always teeming with life as people went about their day. He had spent hours just sitting there people watching with Eve as they spent time talking. She had insisted that she was fine not being able to pop up with all the others around but he wanted to make sure he set aside time just for them. She was his oldest friend in his new timeline and he wanted to make sure the AI knew how much she was valued by him.
As he reflected on his day, Shepard brought up his omnitool to review the mail that he had put off sorting. He automatically deleted the advertisement for Fornax, knowing that they had nothing new to show him that Joker hadn't already downloaded for him. He pretended not to notice Eve move the mail from the deleted items to a folder she had created for later review. Aria had sent him another job request, this time for a krogan that had beaten up two of her bouncers before retreating back into the slums. He skipped over the next few spam letters before stopping at one simply titled 'Your future'. 'Well isn't this interesting' he thought, intrigued enough to open the letter.
Greetings Adam Shepard.
You are a hard man to get in touch with. It explains why Cerberus and the Shadow Broker are putting out such a high bounty for any information about you. Your DNA, examined from the blood you had taken at the Citadel, is almost an exact match with the late Commander Alexis Shepard. As you can imagine, this has sparked the interest of many parties, some more unsavory than others. I have brought this to your attention not as a threat, but as a warning to help establish trust.
I'm sure someone as resourceful as yourself knows about the threat to the galaxy that is coming soon. There are many concerned citizens such as myself that feel that a backup plan is needed to ensure humanity's survival. We have invested heavily in the Andromeda Initiative whose briefing you attended earlier. The project is nearing completion and no expense has been spared on equipment and materials. Now is the time to recruit the individuals necessary to see the mission through successfully. If you share as much as I believe you do with Commander Shepard, then I feel you will be one of those key to the mission.
I've included the contact information for both the Initiative's founder Jien Garson as well as the potential human pathfinder Alec Ryder. Please reach out to them soon as they are waiting for you. I have given Jien my theory about you and a possible suggestion for the use of your skills. She will give you the details.
- The Benefactor
"Well didn't this just get more interesting?" Eve commented as she read the letter as well. "You know this could be the possible solution you've been looking for right? A place where you barely know anyone, and you'll have minimal ties to worry about losing when you out live them. You know you're going to be bored here anyways, and if what you and my parents have said will really happen, this might be humanity's best chance at surviving. This can be your shot at redemption that you've been wanting for what happened with the catalyst." Adam couldn't present a real counter to such a well thought out argument. This might in fact be exactly what he needed to get his life back on track instead of just living in limbo like he had been.
His musings were cut short by his door chime, causing him to wonder who could be calling so late. He grabbed his pistol as he moved towards the door, lining up a shot out of the camera's view. Switching on the viewer brought a sense of relief as he calmed down, seeing only Solana at the entrance. "Hey Sol. Come on in." He moved aside, making way for the female turian to enter into the living room. She sat down on his couch, shifting nervously as she looked around his apartment, trying to concentrate on anything but him. "Is everything ok Sol?" he asked, not enjoying the vibes she was putting out.
She went rigid for a second, seeming like she was about to bolt, before almost collapsing into herself as she looked up at him from her seat. "Garrus is taking Chloe out on a date night to try to make up for earlier, and I didn't want to stay around the apartment for what comes next." Shepard nodded his head, beginning to understand the situation a little better. He wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall for a family member's mating attempt either. "So what stopped you from just getting a hotel for the night?" he asked, trying to get a feel for her motives.
She laughed lightly to herself, the sound of it causing a tingle to run down his spine. "I haven't been able to sleep alone since what happened on Shepard's ship. You were the only other one I knew here and I was hoping you'd let me stay. I understand if it's asking too much but…" She was cut off as the human threw her a blanket and pillow from his hall closet. "The couch is all yours for as long as you need it. My house is always open to you for future reference. You are one of my friends after all." She smiled as she curled up under the blanket that smelled mildly like Adam. She watched him walk towards the bedroom, cutting off the lights as he left. "Sleep well Sol" he tossed over his shoulder before cutting the lights. She closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet. It wasn't too long though before she awoke on the Normandy, flashing lights and alarms were going off all around her. She awoke nearly out of breath, distraught at watching her friend suffocate as she fell into the planet's atmosphere again.
Adam awoke to the sound of his door opening. The next thing he knew, another body was laying next to him in his bed, facing away towards the far wall. The faint smell of lilacs invaded his nose, letting know exactly who had climbed into bed with him. Garrus's sister was the only one he knew used that scented lotion on her scales. "I just need someone there for the nightmares" she mumbled into her pillow in embarrassment, praying to the spirits that the man wouldn't kick her out. Shepard sighed to himself before turning towards his bed mate. He just wanted to go to sleep, he'd deal with whatever fallout would come in the morning. He threw an arm over her stomach before using it to pull her close, spooning into her as he passed back out. Solana smiled to herself as she put her arm over the Adam's as he held her close. She hadn't felt this safe and content in months. She closed her eyes as she laid back into him, finally able to sleep peacefully again.