Neross: Are we all ready for chapter 2? Yeah. Me too. So let's get to it shall we?

Warning: This fanfiction contains foul language, violence, adult situations, and sexual situations. Enjoy!

…..

Maria was elated. Truly that was the only word for how she felt at this moment. Everything she had seen so far that day had been beyond what she had expected. Beyond what she had hoped. From the moment her shuttle had landed she had been astounded by it all. Everything was so different. So new. And yet still somehow similar.

It was amazing.

She did feel a bit bad about ditching her escort after they were cleared through security at the dock. But it had been worth it. She'd turned off her translator and simply washed herself in the cacophony of foreign sounds, tongues, and languages. She'd gone running through the wards on her own, popping into shops and stores to inspect things as she went before something new would catch her eye.

There were quite a few people who watched her as she went but for the first time in her life Maria didn't care. There were so few humans here. And none of them knew her personally. It was a fresh start for her. In the cultural heart of the galaxy for that matter. She loved it all.

She didn't even stop to think about her apartment and the C-SEC officer waiting for her there until an Asari stopped her and seemed to say something concerning a worry for her well-being. Or at least that's what Maria guessed the Asari was saying by the expression on her face. Maria simply smiled at the Asari and told her she was fine, she wasn't lost, and then turned and headed straight for her new apartment.

She'd memorized the layout of her ward and new neighborhood on the shuttle ride up. She'd memorized much of the layout of the Citadel in fact. Though memorizing anything didn't take her long. There were times she believed that having a photographic memory wasn't such a blessing. This, however, was not one of those times.

She made it to her apartment quite easily and braced herself as she reached for the door panel. A Turian roommate. No. A Turian bodyguard. She felt a shudder of anticipation, excitement, and nervous embarrassment run through her. From what her father had told her Jaksus Vikil seemed very capable and intelligent. Though her father had also warned her that he, like so many other Turians, probably didn't think the best of humanity.

Maria took a deep breath and steeled herself. 'It's alright,' she told herself, 'changing those preconceptions is part of the reason I'm here.' And with that Maria plunged through the door.

She didn't see Jaksus at first, just the large and rather fancy apartment suite the Council had given to her for her stay. It was amazing. It was twice the size of her parent's apartment back on Earth. It was almost as big as her Brother's apartment in Oregon. And he shared it with his wife two kids, and Maria's niece Gene.

Truly Maria was blessed. And then Maria heard the deep voice that growled at her.

Maria fought back against a purely primal reaction to shudder in terror. A Turian, more than likely her bodyguard Jaksus Vikil, stood on the other side of a wide couch, glaring at her with the sharpest, most piercing, green eyes Maria had ever seen. He was impressively intimidating. He was tall, taller than her by at least a foot and a half and his chest was broad even by Turian standards. He had a long fringe and his scales were the color of red clay she'd seen once on a trip to Mars. The color of red bronze. Save for the squared, white markings that traced underneath his eyes down his mandibles and across his nose to the upper half of his brow plates.

Maria loved Turian facial markings. They reminded her of war-paint. And Jaksus definitely reminded her of a warrior. There was nothing about him that did not scream predatory. It made her body quiver in response. He, like everything else she had seen that day, was spectacular. And he looked furious.

Maria supposed she might too, if someone he didn't know had just walked in on him. So Maria simply grinned at his harsh questions. Or what she suspected were questions. There was a strange inflection at the end of his speech pattern that hinted at something. Maria surmised it hinted at an angry line of questions. "I'm sorry I barged in." she began, retaining her smile despite the excited quivering that seemed to have taken over her whole being. A Turian, a real Turian. Flesh and blood and glaring at her. She could not believe her luck. "You must be Officer Vikil right? I'm Maria St. ! Sorry! I mean, DR. Maria St. George."

She cringed inwardly. She'd forgotten her own title again. She'd gotten her second doctorate five years ago. She'd been working on her third, in a field SHE'D helped established, when the Alliance had come to her with this proposal. Yet here she was still treating herself like the child everyone considered her to be. "I'm the Cultural Anthropology expert the Alliance recruited for the study. I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to work with you."

She saw something process in his eyes and then she watched as Jaksus' brow plates slowly raised in what Maria guessed was surprise. There was very little facial movement upon Turian faces. Or at least as far as Maria had seen thus far. But there was something else upon Jaksus' face that Maria simply could not interpret. She could only hope it was something good.

….

Jaksus stared at the woman standing in his doorway with a growing mixture of despair, disbelief, and world-shattering irritation. This could not be happening to him. This woman could not be the one he was stuck with for the next year. She looked like a child. What's more she seemed to act like one too. And she kept staring at him as if she expected him to suddenly break into song and dance. Not to mention the fact that she'd nearly completely ignored his insults and just kept standing there, shaking from excitement.

At least, Jaksus thought it was excitement.

It took him a moment but he finally got over his initial surprise and went back to glaring at her. He saw her expression fall a bit. Somehow that made him feel just a tad bit better. "You have got to be kidding me. There is no way you're a cultural anthropologist. You're what? Twelve? If this is some kind of joke I do not appreciate it. Now who the hell is responsible for you so I can get you out of fringe and back on with my life?"

The girl simply blinked at him. And then she gave a somewhat shaky smile. She let out a nervous chortle of amusement and took another step into the apartment. Jaksus watched her with growing dread. Maybe she was insane.

"Um…that sounded rather…disbelieving. I assure you I am a Doctor of Cultural Anthropology, as well as in Xenoscience Studies." she told him, her face changing a sort of pinkish hue. Jaksus guessed this was out of embarrassment. He'd never seen any human change color like that so dramatically. It was sort of funny…and also sort of unnerving. "I know I don't quite um…look it though. I will admit my situation is unique. But I assure you I am quite knowledgeable in my fields and I'm quite old enough to be here on my own. Although I suppose I won't be with you here." She shot a glance at him and then turned her eyes away shyly. They lit up however as she caught sight of the boxes behind him. "Oh! Good! My things DID get here before me. I was a bit worried. Someone in the shuttle crew told me the cargo ship had been delayed due to some difficultly involving a volus and some fish. I had no idea what the meant but I thought it was a rather funny story at the time."

She talked like a Salarian. The turian began to wonder if she was even stopping to breath. She brushed past him as she went on and began to sift through her box smiling and holding up the dress he'd been inspecting. She held it up and then clutched it to her chest. It was her exact size. Damnit. She was his ward. A migraine began to brew in the back of Jaksus' head.

He growled as she chattered on and picked her up off the floor. He spun her around, set her down again and held her there. He held up one finger and stared her down as best he could. He could still feel her nervously shaking and twitching in his hands…and it annoyed him. "Stop. Talking. For the love of the spirits just shut up for two seconds. You are worse than a Salarian with a point to prove. I haven't finished going through your boxes yet you little idiot. Not that I care but there could be something dangerous in them and I'd lose my job if you wound up maimed or killed so just…stand there… and don't touch anything."

She stared at him as if dumbfounded. Then she blinked and slowly smiled again though this one was more unsure than any of her previous ones. "Um. That …that sounded important."

He stared back at her. He felt his migraine worsen. Was she playing dumb? How could she not understand him? He knew humans had translators. Didn't she-

He stopped and then he glared at her. "You don't have your translator on. Do you?" he snapped out.

She blinked and then cocked her head to the side. "Oh goodness…" she muttered, "I didn't understand that at all. Your vocal intonations are wonderful though. I can see why translators are important. I don't think any other race could replicate those sounds. How do you do that? It's simply amazing."

His shoulders slumped in disbelief and utter frustration. No translator. Great. He growled and pointed at his mouth. "Translator. On. Now." he said slowly. Loudly. And with barely restrained fury.

Maria just gazed at him with that blank look of confusion. And then there was a look of realization upon her face. "Oh! Oh you probably want me to put my translator back on!"

"Yes. That would be helpful." He ground out, finally releasing her.

She reached up and pinched her ear and then turned her attention back to Jaksus and had the decency to look apologetic. "I'm sorry about that. I just. I was so excited to hear the languages here on the Citadel. I mean, really hear them. Not just sit back and have them translated for me. After all there's so much you can learn by understanding another culture's language and-"

Jaksus slapped a hand over her mouth and glared at her again. "Please stop talking." he told her.

She turned pink under his hand and the turian could feel the heat that rose in her face underneath his palm. He quickly released her mouth and stared at her curiously as her face slowly turned the same color as her hair. "Oh I um…I'm sorry. I uh…I know I have a tendency to go on. I'll just uh. I'll shut up now."

Jaksus just let out a huff of agitation and moved past her to get into the box. She watched him curiously, but didn't move to stop him and didn't raise an objection. She just turned a brighter shade of pink the face and bit her lower lip. Jaksus turned toward her and looked at her as if she were crazy. "What? Why are you doing that? Stop biting yourself. Are you into self mutilation or something? Cut it out." He told her.

She stared at him in surprise and instantly stopped, though only to start talking again. "Oh sorry. No. I . I uh…I sometimes bite my lower lip when I'm nervous. Lots of humans do it. It's not self-mutilation. Um it doesn't make us bleed or anything and sometimes humans just-"

Jaksus brought up his hands and waved them in order to get her to stop talking before she went on another full-blown tirade. "No. Okay. I get it. Fine. Chew it off then. Just…just don't touch anything else. I have to make sure nobody shipped something dangerous in with your stuff."

Maria's brows shot up in understanding and she instinctively smiled. "Oh! Oh right. yes. Okay. Sorry. Go ahead."

Jaksus watched her for a moment more, suspiciously waiting to see if she'd start talking again. But she didn't say anything more. She didn't even move. She just sat there. Watching him with a wide expectant smile. So hesitantly he returned to his task of sifting through her things. He got a third of the way through when the door suddenly opened again. This time, however, it was a pair of Alliance officers in uniform, both carrying bags and desperately trying to catch their breath. Neither one looked very happy. They looked even less happy when they spotted Maria beside Jaksus on the floor.

The darker of the two simply tossed his bag on the floor, turned, and walked out, muttering something about 'crazy civilians' and 'never taking this sort of job again'. The other one, a more lighter skinned individual whose dark hair and equally dark eyes glared at the tiny human sitting beside Jaksus. He took a step forward and placed his hands on his hips. "Damnit Maria. You can't just ditch your protection detail like that! I turn my back for five seconds to order you a goddamn coffee and the next thing I know you're gone! Do you know how worried we were? You're lucky the Commander didn't find out or Johnson and I would have been discharged!" He let a snarl of irritation and then shot a furious glance at Jaksus.

"Good freaking luck trying to keep her out of trouble. You're going to need it." He then shot one last glare at Maria and narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth as he issued one final warning. "I WILL be telling your Father and brother about this. You are SO lucky Brandon's on deployment right now."

With that the officer straightened his jacket viciously, and sharply turned on his heel and stalked out. Jaksus stared at the door for a minute after they had gone, wondering what had just happened, before he turned back to glare at Maria. She was hiding her face behind a deep green jacket he'd just pulled out. He crossed his arms and leveled her with a disapproving stare. "You ditched your escort?"

Maria lowered her jacket slightly and showed off the bright shade of red her face had turned. After a moment she made something of a sputtering sound and then nodded. Then she hastily lowered the jacket completely, "But I swear it was just because I wanted to get a good look at things. And honestly everywhere we went everyone kept staring at me like I was some sort of diplomat's daughter. And neither Jake or Martin would let me go into any of the stores to look around and-"

Jaksus placed a hand over her mouth again and sighed in frustration. "This is going to be a thing with you isn't it?"

Maria turned red again and Jaksus could feel the heat straight through to his wrist.

….

Neross: Alright well there you have it for Chapter 2. I hope everyone enjoyed it. And hopefully we all got to see the dynamics between our perspective couple. And since we only have seven more days until Mass Effect 3 comes out I hope this gives you all something to bide you over until the Reapers come and invade us all.

Just another reminder to you all don't forget to check my profile for updates and news about all of my current and on-going stories. And don't forget to leave me a review as I'll never update if I don't get any. Them's just the facts. I don't care if they're good reviews or bad I had just better get some kind of feedback.

Until next time, keep on rocking out!