Sometimes Spectre duties reminded Gale of the things she did on Earth. She felt like she was yanked around everywhere, a pawn at times, muscle most times, a bloody messenger no matter how she delivered the message either with her brassed fists or her barbed tongue. She was off to the Citadel again to deliver the message to the Admiral waiting on news about his crew, off to deliver the message to the brother waiting on news about his brother, off to receive intel from some random lass by the name of Nassana Dantius.
Who probably required news of her own sort in some manner.
On those days, Gale wanted to off arseholes more than ever. She tried to focus on the positive - that as soon as she squared away her duties, this was a second shot at a better date with T'Soni. Gone would be the bloody library and the hunt to find the bookworm slinking away in their natural habitat.
This time?
"She's gonna see what I'm like in my natural habitat."
Not that Liara would know it, this time, because Gale was pretty damn sure the asari would get shy and come up with hundreds of excuses to hide before they'd even get the chance to make eye contact.
Was it really a good idea to ambush this way though?
There was only one way to find out.
"Or maybe I shouldn't."
Gale agonized as she stared at the star map, despite having already dictated their destination to the Citadel. She was aware there were fleeting glances shot her way, silent questions as to what on Earth their weird Commander was up to now. She forced herself to drop down from the podium and wandered thoughtlessly, checking in on some crew mates without really listening beyond the smack of heels and rustle of fabric in salutes. She slothfully meandered down the stairs and paced in the mess hall without aim.
"Wait, what time is it?"
A quick check at the omni-tool left a sour taste in her mouth and a decrepit sense of disappointment. It was far too many hours too soon to go checking in on the rec room to see if Liara was already prepping for whatever her next seminar would be about.
"She's probably in the lab running tests for Dr. Chakwas again. Is there ever a time where Liara is actually relaxing? She's always working or talking - barely sleeping. At least she's not holed up over her Prothean disks again."
One guess might've been because of the meld they shared - maybe T'Soni was turned off because of the grotesque nature of the visions, or the glimpses of a bratty dirty child.
"Or maybe there just ain't nothin' useful on them disks that she can make sense of? Gotta find her another one to sink her teeth into, light up her eyes again. Been a bit."
Not that it was something Gale could go actively searching for, but she was actively praying for it for once in her life. She decided to tackle the gym, shake off the yucky feeling shaking inside of her. The viral infection still wouldn't bugger off with the coughs and sniffles for her, though the others had already recovered - probably due to her being exposed to the virus a whole lot longer before she'd passed it on and exposed them. But at the very least it wasn't as debilitating and painful as it was initially.
"Never want to feel that again. Way too close to the hunger gnawing in me bones like before."
Comfort wrapped around her bones when she entered the locker room to change into her workout clothes, tension and uncertainty rushing out of her muscles when she stepped into the gym. There was nothing to agonize over in here, settling readily into her routine to punish out the thoughts clouding her mind. She needed clarity, needed better ideas as to what in the hell she was supposed to do with the bookworm she still had trouble understanding.
"Makes me wonder if that whole 'opposites attract' shite really is all just bollocks. I got the spark, but I ain't doin' it for her the way she does it for me, I can tell. Was just that one time when she kissed me - still haven't figured why the hell she did it. What drives her nutty?"
Probably books, or something. Maybe she imagined Gale reading a book.
A shudder rippled through the vanguard.
"Ain't pickin' up nothing if I don't have to. But maybe..." She glanced down at the weights in her hands, then at the mirror to watch her form on her bicep curls. She frowned at the sheer stupidity of the image in her head of replacing the weights with books. "Bicep curls with books? Ain't no way..."
Though mischief had just enough to sink it's teeth into and flare up with the ridiculous idea. She chuckled to herself, then, as her over-imaginative mind went on it's usual tangent of conjuring fantasies. She struggled to contain the laughter bubbling in her belly over the thought of Liara romping her on the couch and rushing to peel clothes off just for holding a book.
"Somethin' tells me I'm really not far off here. Jeez... She needs to learn what relaxing actually means. Well, I've learned not to take her sightseein' or she'll just get caught up in another mystery to solve. Chora's Den sure ain't got nothin' to solve except which dancer to go to - and ain't nothin' left for me to solve that that's a bad idea to ambush her with, yeah. She'll just cram up and cram herself in the nearest hidey-hole."
Frustration was coming back, and exhaustion was creeping into Gale's muscles. She gritted her teeth and pushed past the limits the infection imposed on her, and woefully still fell short of her usual. She called it quits before she could feel the skittering along her nerves, threatening to make her explode over her slow recovery.
A welcomed shower was next on the block, and she'd blast herself with the chill to empty these wretched thoughts already. She trusted her gut that clarity would strike when needed most. She just had to be the one to learn what relaxing actually meant, now. When she went back to the locker rooms, she engaged her omni-tool and sifted through her messages until she'd come to the one where Chief Williams sent over attachments of 'actual' rap songs.
Gale still rolled her eyes over the subject title.
But... One of the songs was one she couldn't stop replaying, the remnants of tension eking out her muscles as the familiar rhythm of the lyrics danced in the air, albeit electing to appreciate it quietly rather than exuberantly.
"Ash won't let me live it down if any of the marines recognize the song and snitch that it's all I'm listenin' to."
Thoughtlessness captivated her and she'd relaxed upon emptying her mind of all fretting concerns concerning a certain asari. She peeled out her workout clothes and tossed them in the chute as she made a beam for the showers, settling in at the closest unoccupied one and indulging her hot water ration to try to feel like some semblance of a human being again. A groan gurgled in the back of her throat when her body slackened from the warmth, and suddenly all energy was sapped of her. A tidal wave of exhaustion crashed down on her and she groaned again, though in annoyance, resting her forehead against the frigid tiled wall as she closed her eyes.
"Bloody Thorian... Piss the hell off and shove your spores elsewhere."
Weakness gnawed at her knees. She struggled and fought to push off the wall, but couldn't. She was glued to it, trying to contain her breathing before it grew ragged and worrisome and pathetic to her surrounding peers. She would resist and prevail. She would.
But she wasn't.
Never before had it been more tempting to just curl on the ground and fall asleep right here. A lethargic fog consumed her and what she was doing was delayed in her mind, the realizations of it all registered almost a minute later. She sighed and managed to turn her shower off, then turned to slump against the wall. She tiredly waved off the concerned eyes she caught from some of the other marines in here.
"If anyone calls Dr. Chakwas, they're getting a rep," Gale warned weakly. Her head lulled to the side when a shower turned off near her, footsteps sounding like they were making a beeline for her. She groaned when a smirk challenged her. "Chief Williams, I'm ser-"
"You need to stay alive to issue a rep, Commander. And I want my rep."
A firm hand snared Shepard's elbow, her biotics' manifestation pitiful to try to shove the abrasive soldier off. She groaned and struggled and cursed - why the hell had everybody else recovered already? It just wasn't fair. She was always the one marked to suffer, no matter what.
Shame glued Gale's eyes to the ground and she clenched her teeth as she tried to ignore the eyes on her now, seething. "This is pathetic."
"Everybody knows you got it bad on Feros, Commander," Ashley murmured - surprisingly gently too.
"That says it all there. I must be a real piss-sore sight to see."
At least it wasn't Liara. Seeing this would surely make her reconsider what on Earth she'd seen at all in such a mangy mutt. These days Gale was everything she hated to be - weak, indecisive, doubtful. She'd questioned the gut feelings that had always guided her, carried away in the moment by more impulsive whims.
Something couldn't quite blame only the Thorian for that, though.
Propped on a chilling bench, she sighed and buried her heavy head in numb hands as half a ear despondently listened to the Chief calling Dr. Chakwas over. She'd barely half a mind to scoot, twist, and rummage in her locker for some semblance of modesty - not that she cared, but she knew someone who had, and she had a feeling she'd be trucked off back to the med-bay for more tests and fluids.
There was a suck of breath, as if someone combed over her pitiful state and took pity. She heard it so many times in her life and it made her skin crawl. Her weary eyes lifted with enough semblance to glare, proven to be mistaken when it was just Ashley championing the risks as she smiled.
"It's okay to not be okay, Commander."
Gale's head dropped with a defeated groan. "Try saying that again when you got someone you don't want to look so daft to."
"Pretty sure that someone would understand too," Ashley chuckled gently. She strut over to her locker to dry herself off and began to don her clothes. "If they didn't, then that's how you know you can and should do better. You owe it to yourself. Nobody puts down the work you do just to put up with shit."
"I guess..."
"You know."
Did she? Gale felt so strange for not being as cocksure and headstrong as she always had been. What she'd do just to have that measure of obvious obnoxiousness, if to even grin all cheekily for it to top it all off. Were these stupid spores capable of siphoning confidence itself?
"Don't be daft," Gale sighed inwardly.
Dr. Chakwas entered the locker room with a med-kit in tow, and the vanguard succumbed to medical care without resistance, if only just to end this misery sooner rather than later. Gale dressed - ignoring all the wee bits where she needed help even for that - and lumbered along after the doctor to the med-bay. There was a hollow hole gnawing inside of her, crushing out every ounce of air in her lungs. She watched as a needle threaded in the back of her hand, willowy fingers hitting their mark the way she wished she would already be able to on a battlefield. Instead she had to delegate all the work and missions off on her crew.
"Livin' up to the commanding part, I guess..."
Thankfully, Karin worked in silence. She drew what blood she needed. She sat at her terminal to plug away her notes and glanced over to check in on the status of the machines feeding fluids into the Commander. There was tension riding in the atmosphere nonetheless and the vanguard stared at the entrance to the med-bay, praying with every muscle spindle and fiber of her being that Liara would never walk through them. It unfortunately seemed to be the sodding soppy cue to compel Chakwas to say something.
"Something on your mind telling you not to be happy, Commander?"
That wry tone beckoned an equally sardonic chuckle. "Oh sure, what's not to like about this? Drinkin' up the best cocktail on the house."
"I could send Dr. T'Soni off an errand if you're that concerned of her coming into the lab."
"Jesus," Gale blew with a laugh, "Am I that bloody obvious to everybody? Must be makin' some sorry arse puppy eyes."
"You've never exactly been known for your discreetness, Commander," Karin chuckled. "Would you like me to send a message?"
There was a moment of contemplation.
Why was there a moment of contemplation?
"Is my natural habitat changin'?"
Sirens in her mind were going off the second the hydraulic doors hissed. Her moment of contemplation effectively damned her, and she was stuck staring at the very eyes she least wanted to see right now - eyes that widened first with surprise, then concern. Her impulse thankfully came rocketing back to punch her hard in her gut and she quickly shot up a hand - changing them out when it was the hand hooked up to fluids - and grinned reassuringly. "Hey, doc. Fancy seein' you here."
Liara's brows knitted in confusion, likely her mind sent off on a furious adventure to decipher whatever puzzle she'd concocted with the vanguard's words. Her eyes hesitantly swayed over to Dr. Chakwas, who was stoutly fixated on her terminal.
"No way Karin ain't smirkin'. Bet she's enjoying this, hearin' me die inside. Cheeky, evil, arsehole."
"Gale-" Liara started, then coughed and cleared her throat for some reason. Her tone shifted too - became formal and stiff. Weirdo. "Did you have another episode, Commander?"
"Aye, but it's alright now, innit?" Gale made a slight show of the IV threaded in her hand. "Gonna be up an' about in no time, in time for the Citadel. We ought to arrive soon."
Something about what she said didn't seem to reach an agreement in T'Soni's eyes, but the asari didn't enlighten what was on her mind. She nodded stiffly and began to approach the bed, but did that weird thing of hers again. She became even more rigid - mechanical like a robot, even, and moved to head towards her room in the back of the lab.
"Understood. Call me if you require anything of me, Commander."
Gale couldn't help but gape a little when Liara left. Her bewilderment shifted to Chakwas, who'd quietly chuckled to herself.
"Doc, you're the only other bookworm I know on this ship. Translate that shite for me, would you?"
"Mm. It means: it's a matter you should discuss with Dr. T'Soni."
Gale's head fell in her hand with a defeated sigh all over again.
Life flowed through her veins once more, though lived on borrowed time. At least her prayer was answered as her certainty coursed back into her blood. Her stride matched her energy, her shoulders square and ready to take on the galaxy despite... The bullshit that Nassana suckered her into...
But!
Her checklist was done, all terrible news has been delivered of everybody dying as fucking usual, and Gale had a chip on her shoulders that she needed to sand down. She tried to ignore all the negatives that'd been pumped in and imagined the IV fluids were still working their way through her, flushing it all out with the source of all the positives that she was about to meet on the Presidium. That's it. Imagine that, T'Soni was the IV.
"I won't ambush her," Gale resolved, "I'll ask her if she's up to go to a club, first. I doubt she'll ever go to the Den, though. Maybe the Flux? Would she know anything about either of them, even?"
Only one way to find out.
One would have guessed that she was racing against someone with the way she'd broken out into a run as soon as she was out of the Embassy hallways, caring not for the dirty looks cast her way when she'd bumped through the shoulders of the elitist of all elite snobs. Her cheeks ached with a smug grin upon recognizing the archaeologist even in the sea of asari meandering about.
Someone else caught her eye, though - and her ire. She didn't know why. Her stomach gnarled at the sight of a rugged man who appeared to be talking to Liara, and her boots pummelled harder as she'd pushed to run faster. His eyes met hers, and his lips drew in a subtle arrogant smile. He seemed to recognize her. Maybe she thought she did too, but she couldn't put a name or memory to the face. He bowed his head towards Liara and she seemed confused by his abrupt departure.
It was all Gale needed to see to know why her stomach was tying up in a knot.
"He's definitely familiar. But who the fuck is he?"
Her pace changed when Liara's head turned, her eyes softening with a smile as she shyly waved at the Commander. Such a wee little thing, and it had such a profound effect as the burning in Gale's lungs had almost ceased, her chest feeling lighter, though tighter. The smile was replaced with concern, and T'Soni timidly walked towards the vanguard until she'd captured a shoulder with a firm hand.
"You shouldn't push yourself so hard," Liara urged tenderly. "You need to give yourself time to recover."
"I will," Gale promised, trying not to sound ragged as she controlled her breathing as quickly as she could. Judging by the asari's deadpan look, her pitch wasn't bought, and she laughed. "Later, aye? We don't have much time and I wanna make the most of it. This time, it's my turn to take ya where I like to be. How do you feel about clubs?"
Fear dilated the archaeologist's pupils in an instant. She immediately shook her head with fierce resolution.
"I am not dancing, Commander."
Gale grinned. "No?"
"No."
"How 'bout drinking?"
Suddenly, Liara eyed her with full-on suspicion. She crossed her arms. "Are there drills involved afterwards?"
"Nope."
That suspicion wasn't going away. She was making it bloody impossible to restrain the evil laughter bubbling in the belly... But she uncrossed her arms and nodded. Hesitantly. Very hesitantly. "Then... I suppose I am not opposed to a glass of wine, or two. It would only be fair. I guess."
"How 'bout I sweeten the deal a bit - we can go back to the archives after?"
She laughed when Liara was the one to get grabby with her wrist, pulling her along. It was her turn to be surprised, then.
"D'ya even know where the club is, doc?"
Her answer was a shy and sly smile.
Well, this definitely answered that whole bit about university students knowing how to party, and throwing the best of them. Gale was honestly stumped and at a loss of how to actually react when she'd convinced the shy doctor to dance at least a wee bit, and soon enough Liara was carried away - after the help of another three or four glasses of wine.
"Cardinal sin t'not be dancin' with her though, innit?"
Never would this opportunity come again, at least not as easily, Gale was certain. She prayed with all her might that Liara wouldn't become embarrassed over whatever she'll remember and realize later, all sobered up. She found the asari's moves endearing, a strange form and formality of dancing that wasn't at all like how everybody else had, but it was a sight to see T'Soni finally and actually relax - to laugh a little more carefree, to smile a little more lopsidedly.
Every moment was a test of discipline as Gale found herself falling harder and harder, telling herself she'd be taking advantage if she pulled any moves right now - but the being in front of her was absolutely ravishing, and her personality drew Gale in like a moth to the flame, bleating out the world around them. There were so many bodies in here, but the vanguard cared only for the one that bumped into her from the front.
Was it okay to at least put her hands on hips? She'd been so bloody terrified of ruining this between them - and so bloody relieved when Liara reached out to her to snare her wrist, pulling her in. She was stumped all over again when arms wounded loosely around her shoulders, and she struggled to heel as lips accidentally brushed her ear lobe, the velvet voice melting her like chocolate. She was going to make a mess of herself if she wasn't going to be unwrapped soon.
"Are you feeling unwell again, Commander? Should we go back to the Normandy?" Liara was a touch bit too loud - granted she had to be to be heard above the music, but she was right in the human's ear.
Gale succumbed to the temptation as she clutched the archaeologist's hips, trying not to think of how the body felt in her hands. She shook her head. Even with such upbeat music driving everybody else to jump up and down, they'd instead somehow found a slow rhythm to just circle to. She was brutally honest as she'd angled her head so that her lips daringly skirted the edge of the asari's aural.
"You're a gorgeous force to be reckoned with, T'Soni. I'm just lost, marvellin' ya, is all."
Heat pressed against her cheek, and the asari hummed shyly. Her arms tensed a little. She almost pulled away, but Gale tightened her hold on the hips.
"Please don't run off. I don't mean to make you uncomfy, just... Just feel like somebody should tell you. Does my mind in, boggling me that you ain't used to hearin' something like this. You should'uv been told this all your damn life, love." One of her hands ventured on, sliding up the hip to slither and palm the middle of Liara's back, pressing their bodies closer in together. "It's good t'see you let loose like this too. Was worried y'didn't know how."
"This is a lot," Liara blurted. "I am not good - I'm not sure what to say."
"Don't need to say nothin', love. I've had my fill o' fun though, if you have. You wanna go to the archives now?"
There was an adorable wee little hiccup in her ear, and Gale struggled not to grin maddeningly over it. She was proven over and over again just how bad she really had it. She was certain she was going to be a mess and she wasn't even touched intimately yet. It almost unhinged her just how intense this time with this individual had felt for her, and she had to keep reminding herself to stay reflective about it all - so that this wouldn't be another one of those times where she'd fall in and out of love within the span of five minutes.
Nothing was said, and she revelled in it. She took the silence as a shy answer that the shy doc didn't want to go just yet. Alas...
"Erm... What did you ask again?" Liara timidly inquired. "I forgot."
Gale laughed.
"Don't laugh at me! It's-"
"Impolite. All my sorries, love, just... I don't mean t'tease ya. I asked if y'wanted to go to the archives now."
"Oh." T'Soni held on a little tighter. "I'm not sure that's a good idea for me right now, in my state."
"Aw, you sure? I could record whatever you're reading if y'think you'll forget. Would be a nice quiet time to relax the way you like to. I think it'll be fun too."
"Am I hearing this correctly?" Liara leaned back with surprise, though her focus was muddled. It took an extra second for her eyes to find Gale's. "I'd have thought you of all people-"
"Hey, now, I got you in a club, and I was thinking the same. We're both full'uv surprises and that's all good, innit?" Gale grinned with pride. "I can enjoy books too, you know."
Just... Maybe not in the same way T'Soni had.
"C'mon, love. Let's get outta here." Gale gently pulled by the asari's wrists and shielded her from the thick crowd of the dance floor, bumping bodies aside and glaring at anyone who looked miffed with her. She'd flagged a drunk turian who looked he had something to say to her, though she'd put an end to it as she growled her warning. "Try me and I'll put you on the news."
Liara seemed to have heard and took matters into her own hands, slipping between them quickly so that she could be the one that dragged the vanguard out with a rush to avoid confrontation. There was ringing in their ears and aurals when they'd gotten out of the club and out of the music's deafening range. Gale chuckled when there was a slight high-pitched whine burrowed in her ears, almost dulling and muting the archaeologist with whatever she was whispering so bloody quietly. She caught on and raised her voice, much to the amusement of the vanguard when she'd caught the annoyed looks of those nearby, knowing they were likely obnoxiously loud.
And loving how neither cared.
"Could we get something to eat before we go to the archives?" Liara damn near shouted.
Gale nodded, thumbing back at the Flux. "They actually got some good food in there, want me to grab us somethin'?"
T'Soni had never looked so obviously hesitant. It compelled the vanguard to lean in, reacting without thought, and she planted a swift kiss - far too close to the lips, but at least she'd caught on at the very last second and diverted to kiss beside them.
"Wait here and save yourself, love," she chuckled, "I'll take the bullet an' go in."
Never before had she regretted something so intensely, bouncing off as soon as she noticed the beginnings of a fierce blush consuming Liara's face. Gale scolded herself and wished the loud music would have drowned her inner swearing, having half a mind to go pick a fight so that somebody could punch her for doing something so bloody daft.
"Now she's gonna run off on me again... Why do I always gotta ruin it all in the end? I was doin' so bloody good this whole time, too."
Pressure was sure to ramp up and remain for the rest of their date now, alcohol involved or no. Gale sighed and went to the bar to place her order for some takeout, guessing - and praying - that whatever she'd gotten would be to the asari's liking. She almost laughed upon seeing others stumble off the dance floor, each slapping over their own respective versions of ears when they were done partying themselves. It was more tolerable without being right up at the speakers, but even still there was an ache in her head over the volume.
"This could be a wee bit lower. Just a wee bit. But I guess everybody comes here to drown out others."
Soon, her food arrived and she'd taken off with the containers in hand, as well as a resolve to do better in her head. She would master that thing called patience - or she'd give it her best shot, anyways. She was gonna be one of them chivalrous lovers that bookworms love to read about.
"Does Liara like to read about that kind of stuff?"
Blood burned when she came around the corner, and that familiar man was talking to Liara again. Gale lengthened her stride to catch him this time, though by the looks of his smile when his eyes met hers, it didn't seem like he had any intention to run off this time.
"Not after stalking us this far. The fuck does he want from me?"
"I'll bet you don't know the Spectre's past and all her secrets," the man warned Liara. He clearly did so on purpose with the way he raised his voice to draw curiosity from eavesdroppers.
Gale came up behind the archaeologist with a reassuring hand on the back, forcing a cheeky smile as she quipped. "Careful, now, I can make you a secret too. Be a good lad and don't tell her where I hid all my fornax, would ya?" Her tongue tested a name dragged out the trench fog of buried memories, narrowing her eyes at him as the growl passed through gritted teeth.
"Finch."