I've decided to post two versions of this work, to comply with 's rating requirements, and to provide an alternative to readers with differing sensiblities. This, obviously, is the safe(r) for work version. To read the explicit version, with the cut scene, visit my AO3 account (Forlorn_Melody)
The Clone remembers almost nothing from her next training session. All she can think about is Dreya and their upcoming study date. Only, she can't imagine them getting much studying done-and she doesn't want to. She impatiently watches clock tick forward as she works on her barrier—it's not wanting to cooperate. Her biotics keep fluctuating with her concentration, which dips back and forth between her, the clock, and her training partner.
Dreya has a pistol loaded with stunning rounds, nothing lethal, but man, do they hurt when they launch through the gaps in Ana's barrier. Her shots come lazily, half of them missing on purpose. She's toying with her. "You know, if you don't get your shit together Tandros is going to make you stay after class."
"Not…happening." She would kill for a ration bar right now.
"Mm. What are those metaphors you humans like to use? Football? Dead infant dogs?"
Ana shrugs. "Hell if I know. Colony kid, remember? That stuff doesn't translate past the relay."
"Mm. Right. Okay. Imagine Tandros throwing up after a long night."
Her barrier stutters as she laughs. "Do Asari even get hangovers?" One round hits her shoulder, sending electric sparks all over her nodes. "Grah."
"Not usually. It's easier just to burn off the alcohol. Unless we want to get completely plastered."
Eons later Tandros finally dismisses them. Ana stands, stretching, and wincing as she feels every single one of those stun rounds as her muscles move. "Here." Dreya steps up behind her, opening a medigel packet with one of her teeth. It's the least graceful thing Ana's ever seen her do. Dreya's fingers glide over her skin, sending goosebumps all over her body. The implants flare in warning—her position is prone, the Asari is far too close to strike-
The words tumble out of her mouth before she can stop. "That feels really nice." Ana blushes after more than one classmate stops their conversation to look at the both of them.
"Mm. Your place or mine?" Dreya gives the medigel one last rub. She taps Ana's arm twice.
The look on Hope's face when she flipped on the light flares across the Clone's mind, and her muscles tense all over again. "Yours," she says flatly.
Dreya leads her to a sky car in the nearest lot, and Ana runs her hand over the window. Her implants remind her of all the ways to crash a sky car and injure the other passenger, some options more lethal than others.
"It won't kill you, I promise." Dreya pulls the door open on the opposite side, watching her with an amused smile.
Opening the door on her side, Ana asks, "This is your skycar?" The Clone can't recall a time where she's ridden in one. Has she ever existed off this planet?
"Try not to scratch the paint. Now get in before it takes off without you."
Ana laughs as she sits beside Dreya, pulling the door closed behind her. "Right. Because this car totally has a mind of its own."
Dreya leans closer. "It does when I put it on autopilot." Her finger taps the interface, and the car lifts off ground, throwing Ana against the seat.
"Shit!" Her arms flail, and one of them grabs Dreya's for purchase. "Oh, sorry."
"Relax." It's Dreya's turn to laugh. "You look like you've never flown before."
Shit. "It's been a while."
"Clearly." Dreya leans closer, toying with the bangs falling into Ana's face. "Now that we're finally alone…"
Ana chews her lip, reaching with a tentative hand, brushing Dreya's crests. The Clone swears Dreya's skin glimmers even in the low light of the car. She watches her with an amused smirk. Tentatively, Ana squeezes one of the ends. "Does that hurt?"
"Not really. It would be pinching your earlobe, or your nostril." Dreya takes her hand, guiding it between the ridges of her tentacles. Her voice falls soft, and her eyes close as Ana draws a finger up the line one of the tendrils. "Now that feels really nice."
It's then Ana realizes their faces are close enough to kiss. She isn't sure what to call what's happening between them, but she knows she's enjoying every minute of it. Bumping her nose against Dreya, the Clone whispers, "What does it feel like?"
Dreya snickers softly. "Well, I've never been human, but your people seem to have a similar reaction when I do this." She weaves her fingers between Ana's hair, scratching small, soft circles against her scalp.
Ana's eyelids flutter closed, her mind blissfully silent for what might be the first time ever. She swallows, managing to find the words. "Yeah, that does feel nice."
"Hey, Ana?" Something in her voice makes the Clone open her eyes. The Asari's eyes search her own as she weaves her fingers in hers. "Can I kiss you right now?" She smiles shyly.
The Clone can barely speak. "Of course!" Warmth fills her body as Dreya leans forward, brushing her lips with her own. Just as Ana presses closer, tilting her head to deepen the kiss, the skycar beeps. Apparently it landed while their attention lied elsewhere.
"C'mon." Dreya takes her hand, pulling her out of the skycar and toward one of the largest homes Ana has ever seen. It stands at three stories tall, curved like the petals of a tropical flower, wide at the base and sloping up to a sharp curve at the top. Glass covers the entire building. Ana stumbles as Dreya tugs her inside.
"This is your home?" Ana stands in a sprawling foyer, with two staircases spiraling from the entryway. A ring of sofas sit between them, with a marble coffee table between them. Hope's apartment would fit on this bottom floor thrice over. "How many people live here?" The size staggers her, as do the number of entry points. Her implants examine several of them for their tactical weakness.
"All the local matriarchs and their families." Dreya leads her up the staircase on the left, down the hall to the first suite on the right. "My mother, father, and I live in these rooms."
Ana gapes at the living area, her gaze flying from one hall way, nook, and corner to another. She stops by the massive row of windows that rise from floor to ceiling, showing off the view of Serrice's city center. Her hand presses up against the glass as she takes it in. The implants in her brain rage about how her back is turned, how vulnerable she is to attacks—The Clone does her best to ignore them.
"You okay?" Dreya slides an arm around Ana's waist, leaning against her.
"Your home is beautiful." She smiles shyly at the Asari inches from her face. "Makes sense, I guess."
Dreya nuzzles the tip of her nose against her cheek, nearly kissing her lips, but never quite touching. "You look nice, too." She smiles mischievously. "Maybe I'll draw you if we have time."
"Time? After what?"
Dreya answers her with a kiss.
While her kiss was soft and gentle before, this time Dreya doesn't hold back, pressing her mouth and her body against Ana's as if she can unite them as one. Her tongue slides along Ana's bottom lip, and she invites her in with a small gasp. Ana swallows, feeling as warm as the sun outside, and yet she can't get enough. She skims her hands up the back of Dreya's neck, pressing tight, small circles along the bottom of her crest, melting at the sweet taste of the Asari's mouth. They pull apart, breathing raggedly against each other's faces.
"That was amazing." Ana presses another kiss against Dreya's cheek, closing her eyes in reverence.
Dreya brushes each of her cheek bones with her thumbs, cupping her jaw with her fingers. "Mm. We're just getting started." She slides her index finger down the bridge of her nose. "How far do you want to take this?"
"Uh…" Ana blushes as red as the sunset. She wants everything at once—her nose pressed against Dreya's crest, her lips on her chest….her fingers between—"I…I haven't done this before."
The Asari smirks, and if she had eyebrows, one would be raised right now. "With an Asari? Or…with someone other than a man?"
Ana clears her throat.
Dreya laughs. "Don't tell me." She hugs her close, then pulls back to look into her eyes. If she's put off by Ana's shyness, she doesn't show it. "Show me." Taking Ana's hands, she lays hers on top. "Show me how you want me to touch you." Her words hum with warmth…and something different, something that flares in the Clone's gut.
Later after sun has started to set, and they've worn out their bodies, Ana holds Dreya close against her chest, not wanting to ever let her go. She struggles to find the words to describe how she feels, the overwhelming warmth in her body, the sunlight and the blissful silence between her ears. "Dreya…I…"
Someone on the other side of the room clears her throat. "Really, Dreya. Out here?"
Ana ducks behind the back of the couch, reaching for her clothes that have scattered between it and the windows.
"Oh hey, Dad. You're home early." Dreya hardly moves, and she grins at her father.
Ana manages to slip her shirt back on. "Eh…nice to meet you s—uh.." She frantically glances at Dreya for a hint.
"Please. My name is Vali T'Vasi. And who are you?" Dreya's father eyes what little of her is visible past the couch with disdain.
"Ana Fields. Nice to meet you." Dreya presses her pants into her hands. She dives to the floor, wrangling them back on. It's then that she notices the twilight outside. Shit.
"Mm. Haven't heard of you."
Dreya rolls her eyes. "So she's a colonist, so what?"
Ana touches her arm. "Dreya? Could I get a ride home? It's getting late."
"Probably lives in the slums, doesn't she?"
"Enough, Dad." Dreya leads her out, shaking her head. When they reach her car, Dreya says softly. "Sorry about that."
Ana swallows the knot in her throat. "Could have been worse." She gives Dreya her address and they take off.
They ride back in silence, Dreya boring holes into the windshield with her gaze. The Asari's probably just angry with her dad, not at her, but her stomach keeps twisting into knots. "…I had a really great time."
Dreya throws her a soft, sheepish smile. "So did I. This your place?" She lands the car, squeezing Ana's hand.
"Yeah." Ana dares to kiss her one last time. "Thank you. For everything"
"Always." Dreya returns the kiss, watching her go. Ana waves as the sky car takes off.
Hope locks the door behind her. "How was your study date?"
Ana starts a little at the word "date," but she tries to play it off. "Really well. We drilled some pulling maneuvers. Wanna see?"
Yawning, Hope shakes her head. "Not particularly. Let's grab something to eat." Something about Hope's stare seems to pierce right through her. She slides an arm around her, guiding her to the kitchen.
"Sounds good." The Clone rests her hand on Hope's, remembering the feel of Dreya's fingers all too well.
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