Chapter 21
"Why are we going to the Viper system?" Garrus asked as he helped arrange Anya's armor on the table. Now that they'd had a chance to rest and eat, they'd decided to see to their equipment.
"Mmm, Hacket asked for a favor."
"Spirits, what does the Alliance want now?" he muttered, sounding mildly annoyed.
"Not an Alliance favor, this is strictly a favor to him. He said outright that it wasn't a military op."
"That...sounds shady. What does he want you to do?"
"I'm liberating a scientist from a barbarian prison."
"Oof, that's definitely shady. A jailbreak, Shepard?"
"The only reason I agreed to it was because this scientist claimed to have found a reaper artifact. I still don't feel great about it, but…" She shrugged and looked away, unsure of how to continue.
"You're second-guessing yourself," he replied.
"You think I shouldn't be? Half the crew felt the need to tell me that I should have saved the collector base for the greater good."
"Yeah, but half the galaxy thinks the reapers aren't a credible threat, and you don't listen to those idiots."
"You would have preserved the base."
That made him take pause. "Why did you opt to destroy the base?"
"I...because...it was just too...macabre. I don't believe that the ends always justifies the means, and making all those people unwilling participants to the Illusive Man's bullshit masquerading as science was just...too much for me. Cerberus can't be trusted to act in everyone's best interests if 'everyone' includes any aliens, or especially confrontational humans."
"Like you," he teased gently.
"Like me," she agreed, the corner of her mouth twitching upward.
"Honestly, I think...I think that it's important for you to hear other people's opinions, and for you to understand where they're coming from, but you don't need to talk yourself into doing anything you don't want to do, and you definitely don't need to doubt yourself just because I think I would have done things differently." He turned to face her as he spoke, one hand coming up to cup her jaw and gently guiding her to look at him. Her heart sped up when her eyes met his, and his voice, soft and low, was making it worse. "You have some of the best instincts of anyone I've ever met. Don't let other people water you down, Anya. Not even me."
"You're getting way too good at that," she said breathlessly, trying to joke.
"Too good at what?"
"Dropping lines that leave me with absolutely no retort," she explained, and he chuckled, leaning in to touch his forehead to hers for a moment.
"Hopefully you don't mind too much."
"Not even a little. When did you get suave, though?"
"Well, I'll admit, I've never really been great at talking to women."
"I hope you've noticed by this point that I am a woman."
"I had noticed," he said dryly. "It's different with you, though."
"How so?"
"Because, you're...you. I don't have to worry about you suddenly not liking me if I don't say what I mean the way I want it to sound in my head. The lack of pressure to avoid putting my foot in my mouth makes it oddly easier to manage, and the times where I have done it, we moved past it in less than two minutes. So, with you, I can flirt to my heart's content, knowing damn well that even my worst case scenario is just making you laugh a little, and that is fine with me."
"Is it?" she asked, her mouth now feeling dry.
"Spirits, yes."
"Well, what's your best case scenario?" He leaned in close enough that she could feel his breath on her ear.
"I think you know exactly what it is," he murmured, his voice making her melt as he placed his hand on her leg, just above her knee. He slowly, carefully ran his talons up the inside of her thigh, stopping just short of where she wanted his hand to end up.
"Oh, fuck," she breathed, and he chuckled.
"Sorry, I'll behave," he said, not sounding particularly apologetic as he started to pull back. "I know we have things we wanted to get done today and-"
Anya was quick to press a kiss to his mouth, and he made a small, pleased noise. "I think we have time. It'll be a few days before we get close to where we're going."
"Mmm, I suppose we could...move some things around," he agreed with a chuckle, tugging her closer, and she responded by touching her forehead to his. Her hand found his jaw, and her thumb grazed the bottom edge of his mandible. He let out an approving rumble when she suddenly threw a leg over so she was straddling his lap.
"Mmm, what a giver," she teased before kissing him again. His tongue was quick to tangle with hers, and she rolled her hips against his. He palmed her ass, keeping her captive close enough for him to be able to grind against her in return, and she moaned softly.
"You make it easy to be generous," he panted when their kiss finally ended, and he cut her laugh short when he leaned in, his mouth ending up on her throat. He nipped at a spot on the edge of her scar, and she nearly let another noise slip.
"You love playing with my mark, don't you?" she asked breathlessly, and he chuckled.
"I do. Do you mind?"
"Not even a little," she answered, and she let out a whimper when his tongue darted out.
"Good, because you sound sexy as hell when I do it." His voice reverberated through her, and she bit her lip at the way it heated her to her core. Another nibble at her sensitive skin had her arching against him. "Spirits, I love how responsive you are."
"Well, most of it's not exactly deliberate, so I'm glad you approve," she murmured, rolling her hips against his deliberately, and he groaned.
"You can't tell me that wasn't deliberate," he muttered as his hands wandered.
"That one definitely was," she admitted with a grin, and he laughed.
"Alright, but after this, we definitely need to do something productive," he teased.
"Absolutely. Just one little quickie," she agreed.
"You're right, no more than two times," he said, feigning seriousness.
"Of course I am, who has the time for more than three rounds?" she asked, playing along.
"Anything beyond four is just excessive anyway."
"So it's settled, the armor gets cleaned by the fifth time we both finish." He made a pleased noise before he spoke.
"I love the way you haggle."