Reyes

Ryder had fallen asleep in his arms after throwing up for nearly 10 minutes. She was so incredibly drunk. He'd never seen her like that and he knew it was his fault. He'd made her like that. The message she'd sent and her yelling that she wasn't his girlfriend had told him what he needed to know, he hadn't earned back Ryder's trust. Reyes gently stroked Ryders long, dark blonde hair as he continued to hold her close, her head resting on his shoulder and her leg hitched over one of his. She is so beautiful. Reyes let himself memorize every inch of her face. God only knew if she would be angry with him about last night or embarrassed. Either one most likely meant that she would leave the second she woke up. Absently, he tenderly kissed her forehead while he thought about all the ways he could try to make her stay. Tell her about some of his safety concerns for the outpost? Supply shipment issues? Suddenly, Ryder began to stir and stretch. Her eyes flickered open after a moment and sought out his.

"Morning," her voice was soft and filled with sleepiness. After a moment, her cheeks flushed. "Sorry about last night."

"Lila," Reyes said with a soft laugh. "There's nothing to apologize for."

"I was kind of a bitch to you for being a gentleman."

"Well, there was that," he teased and Ryder gave him a gentle shove. "Where was my invite to the party last night?"

"Tempest crew only. You weren't invited."

"Who do I have to sleep with to get invited to parties, shit," he continued joking, wanting to keep Ryder's good mood going. She giggled at his statement.

"Me," she replied, smirking at him almost as if it were a challenge. This woman is gonna be the death of me. Reyes laughed in response and pulled her into a gentle hug, kissing her forehead. Ryder tilted her head up and kissed him softly on the lips. Cupping her cheek, Reyes deepened the kiss, massaging her tongue with his. His omni-tool pinged and he pulled away slowly bringing his arm up to see. It was one of his agents. Ryder began to pull away, clearly wanting to give him privacy.

"Where are you going?" Reyes pulled her back to his side. "No secrets, remember?" Ryder's eyes widened with surprise at his statement. He wanted her to fully trust him. To earn that trust, he needed to let her see everything, know that he wasn't using her. He opened his message and read through it. Just field reports from his representatives, but still important. His troops were clearing out some stragglers from the Outcasts to make the area safe for the outpost. He knew it would take awhile. He glanced down at Ryder, who was reading the message along with him.

"What else is going on?" Ryder asked hesitantly, seemingly probing his willingness to be an open book.

"Take a look for yourself," he offered his arm to her, letting her scroll through his messages and read each one. Some of his dealings were shadier than others, but Ryder already knew about that side of his life. After a few minutes Ryder closed his messages and rolled on top of him, straddling his hips.

"Thank you," she whispered before kissing him softly. He felt himself growing hard with the press of her core on his groin.

"For what?" He asked, his breath a little rough.

"For last night, for letting me read your messages," she kissed him softly again. Reyes couldn't handle their proximity and her current position any longer. He wove his hands into her hair and kissed her passionately, desperately wanting as much as she would give him. Ryder kissed back with the same intensity, their lips fitting together perfectly as their tongues massaged one another. Reyes shifted their weight, rolling Ryder underneath him and resting his hips between her legs. She pulled her legs up, hooking her heels around the back of his thighs and he groaned at the increased pressure on his cock. Reyes began to push Ryder's shirt up when her omni-tool pinged.

"UGH!" She groaned and Reyes laughed lightly.

"Of course," Reyes commented and rolled off of her, letting her answer. She opened her omni-tool to a vid call.

"Ryder! Where are you?!"

Ryder

Ryder hadn't thought to message her crew when she woke up. They all knew that she left the bar last night, but she was expected to return to the Tempest.

"Sorry Vetra, I ran into a friend," Ryder smirked with a glance over to Reyes, who was out of Vetra's line of sight. Reyes had turned and was lounging on his side, leaning up on his arm.

"Ahhh..." Vetra replied in a knowing tone. "Finally got you some, huh?"

"Okay, okay, what do you want?" Ryder scolded. Vetra laughed before replying.

"We need to get those monoliths activated to make it safe for the outpost. How soon can we expect you?" Ryder frowned momentarily, glancing over to Reyes. He just nodded at her.

"Give me 30 minutes," she informed the Turian before they ended their call. Ryder rolled to her side to face Reyes. She could see a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize, Lila." Reyes gently cupped her cheek. "We both have jobs to do." He sighed before leaning in to give her a sweet kiss. "Go save Kadara."

It took all of Ryder's strength to not stay in bed with a shirtless Reyes all day. Just when both of them were ready to take that next step, they were interrupted. But Ryder couldn't be selfish. She had a job - make Heleus habitable. There will be time for romance later. She told herself this, but she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince.

Ryder was in the airlock of the tempest locking her armor into place. Peebee came to the doorway and leaned against it with her arms crossed, a mischievous smile forming.

"So, Ryder... I hear that you got to see if the Charlatan was for real or not." Peebee wagged her eyebrows at Ryder. I should I expected Vetra to open her big mouth.

"Nope." Ryder didn't elaborate.

"But, you stayed at his place, did you not?"

"Yes, but I was fucking drunk, remember?" Ryder looked over to Peebee as she clipped the last piece of armor into place.

"That's one of the best times to have sex," Peebee looked confused.

"Well, being the gentleman he is, he declined." Ryder knew that most of her crew didn't approve of her relationship with Reyes, especially after they all found out he'd been lying to Ryder the whole time. Who loves someone but keeps the biggest secret they have from them?

"Well he's lame," Peebee scoffed jokingly. "I honestly didn't expect that from him."

"I did," Ryder said with a smile, equipping her Avenger with a new magazine.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Peebee's eyes were wide with shock at her realization.

"Is it that obvious?" Ryder asked, still smiling. Peebee smirked and shook her head before turning around and nearly smacking into Liam.

"Are you for real?" Liam asked, sounding like a mix between angry and jealous. Even though Liam had been an amazing friend after she found out about Reyes, some of the previous tension had returned since they had been on Kadara this past week. She wasn't sure if he still had feelings for her, or if he was just being protective of the Pathfinder. Liam had continuously put her on a pedestal since she became Pathfinder, and it honestly ruined what could have been between them.

"Why does it matter to you, Liam?" Ryder asked, putting him on the spot. Liam was about to open his mouth to say something when Jaal strode in, battle ready.

"Doesn't," was all the response that Ryder got before Liam grabbed his gun from the locker and they made their way towards to slums. They had monoliths to activate and a vault to explore.