"And you're back in the room!"

Awoken from her daydream Lana jumped from her slump on the desk, Jason before her with his arms crossed with an overblown and rather idiotic grin plastered onto his face. Unable to hold back a giggle of embarrassment, she looked to the floor, a hand to her cheek.

"That's the fifth time this week. Oh how I wonder why." he smirked with his eyebrow raised suggestively.

"I'm sure you do. Anyway I'm busy." Lana answered flatly, reaching to the glasses beside her and and putting them on, shuffling through the papers before her in a bid to appear occupied.

"I can see that. Anyway I'll leave you to your 'work', I have stuff I need to do y'know."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah! I'm a very busy guy in case you didn't know. So many amazing things to do with my life on this ship. A living heaven you could ca-"

"Goodbye, Jason."

With humor in his eyes, Jason left the room with a chuckle. Lana had stopped searching through papers and was staring at the door Jason had departed from.

'Where is he?'

Since that day when the rebel ship attacked them, all she had thought about was Vann, and the kiss they had very nearly shared. Since then, she hadn't seen him anywhere; not in the Combat Section, his quarters, the Crews quarters, nowhere. In the short time she had known him, this hadn't happened once. But in her mind, she was fully aware of her attraction to him now, and frankly, didn't want to see him.

'God, why now?' an angry thought hissed, 'If I see him again, I'll ignore him, simple as that. He deserves someone better than me. Someone younger, more exciting, someone just plain better. I can't be with him, or anyone, not after my fiancee.'

With her work finished, Lana rose from her desk. Tired of many years of sitting around doing paperwork, and of daydreaming, she had taken up a spot in shooting practice and combat once again, finally deciding that her health was more important than her fears. Plus, she could always pretend the targets of people who had annoyed her the previous day... The revolver was her personal favorite, admiring its precise aim and it's elegant shape. Inserting the rounds, stilled in the correct position, her finger was clasped on the trigger, frozen in wait for the target to appear. Seconds melting away unnoticed. Instantly the faceless figure appeared. The trigger squeezed to fire on the shadow until it was sponge-like with gaping holes. Unable to hear the shots through the earmuffs, a scream or a flinch was an extremely rare occurrence, one that fortunately did not happen today. However, continuous shooting rounds were tiring, and Lana decided drinks were needed for everyone.

Same old hallways, same old automatic door, same old damn slow elevators. Same old electronic buzzing sounds and rattles of the ship dangling in the atmosphere like a bird trapped in a storm, and conversations in untranslatable languages. Unable to prevent a sigh, Lana continued to tread through the slightly crowded hallway, often clumsily brushing people walking past, too hurried for a 'pardon' or a 'sorry'. Keeping her eyes to the ground, she refused to gaze up in case, well, he was there.

'Just forget about him damnit. Just keep-'

"Hey."

Automatically she turned to the direction of the familiar voice, freezing at the sight of Vann and his immaculately perfect timing, standing still just as her and smiling warmly, making her feel slightly guilty. People continued to walk in the hallway, obscuring vision of each other at time.

'Perfect.' Lana realized, embracing the potential escape.

As soon as a flock of crowd hid her she hurried away, vanishing into the commotion as if in a tactical cloak, the sliver of guilt beginning to overwhelm her. She would have turned but she knew what she would see, him confused and searching for her. She would have stopped and went back, but she knew she couldn't, remembering the morals she had recently set for herself. They were two different species, was that enough to prevent her attraction? Of course not, if anything that fact drew her closer to him, his vivid appreciation of things, his sense of danger and authority, his protective nature and the safety she felt with him. Her head told her that she was nowhere near ready for another relationship, but her heart had other ideas. What about the age difference? Why did she not care? Her head was buzzing again. Before she knew it she was back in shooting practice with the promised drinks, not seeing him again on her way back.

With her practice finished, Lana finally stopped, throwing on her taupe jacket and making her leave from the place. As she strolled through the ship, she couldn't help but frown angrily at herself, realizing ignorance was the one thing that she couldn't do to Vann. She continued to walk, turning at the sound of a door at the side of her open, and gawking to see him there again. Talk about coincidence and good timing.

"Um, I..." Lana mumbled at Vann's usual silence, knowing that this silence was different.

"You... you ran off before. Why?" He looked like a puppy who'd been caught chewing a shoe.

"Look, we're different people. Yeh, I've told you my situation, but there's more about me than that. I like you, I do, and that's why I don't think we should go on doing... this anymore." Lana explained, not once daring to look at him.

"Lana, you need... someone."

"And so do you, someone better than me. Someone younger maybe, another turian perhaps, or-"

"I don't want anyone else!" he exclaimed, obviously louder than planned. Shaking his head in frustration, he took her hands in his, staring with shy intent.

"Since I met you I've felt better about myself, I can actually open my mouth and speak without screwing up one way or another. Ever since I first saw you in that room I knew you were deteriorating, fast, and I've wanted to help you since then, however I can. I've known you only a few months now, yet I feel so... close to you. I know you and I care about you. I... I..." Sputtering, he hung his head, only looking up when she released a hand from his and caressed his cheek.

"Please, give this up." she whispered flatly, releasing herself from him. Momentarily, tears were down her cheeks and she was quickening away, only to be stopped by the feeling of fingers on her spine, turning to enter an embrace.

"Don't be afraid." Vann hushed as he cuddled her lovingly.

"I need you, don't I?" Lana giggled as she wiped away her tears, accepting the fact.

Smiling, Vann placed his forehead on hers.

Sorry if this one's a bit late or seems rushed, had a slight case of writer's block here :)