Something's Different
Mahlia sat next to the news kiosk in the breakroom when Charles walked in. She glanced up at him and smiled before returning her attention to the datapad in her hand. The feminine voice on the kiosk talked about the virus which killed off a bunch of quarians in the Migrant Fleet the year before, saying something about some sort of remembrance service to mark the one year anniversary.
He made his way to the staff refrigerator and grabbed his bottle of orange-flavored, sparkling Paragade and sat down at the empty table. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a pack of cigarillos, brushing the filter off with his thumb before sticking it between his lips. He dug around a minute for his lighter, then stopped, hearing Ethan Rorschach's name on the news. He swallowed, lighting his cigarillo before stuffing the lighter and pack back into his pocket.
"Ethan Rorschach?" Mahlia asked with a spark of recognition in her voice. "Isn't he the guy we called C-Sec on a couple of weeks ago?"
Charles took a heavy drag off his cigarillo, blowing the smoke up towards the ceiling and glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "Is it?"
Mahlia stood up from her chair, moving over to the table to sit with Charles, eyes wide. "I think it is."
She stopped, head cocked toward the kiosk as she listened to the rest. C-Sec reached out to the public, asking anyone who might know what happened to Ethan to contact them. People were encouraged to call with any piece of information they might have, if they saw or heard anything that night, even if they didn't think it was important. Charles cracked the lid on his Paragade, taking a heavy swallow before putting the cap back on. Good news: they didn't have any leads yet, it seemed. Bad news: someone might've seen him coming or going, might've heard Ethan yelling. What if they decided to call C-Sec?
"Goddess. I wonder what happened to him?" Mahlia turned back to face Charles when the news switched over to building aggressions between humans and batarians following the Alliance's retaliation against the batarians for the Skyllian Blitz.
He forced himself to shrug and took another drag from his cigarillo. "Who knows?"
"At least the little boy will be safe now." She sighed, a sad look tugging the corners of her mouth down. Nodding towards the cigarillo in his hand, she asked, "Can I have one of those?"
"Yeah," he said, eyebrow twitching. Shifting his cigarillo to his other hand, he dug into his pocket again. "Didn't know you smoked."
She shrugged and waved a hand. "I don't very often."
He hummed. "You sure you want one of these, then? They've got a bite to them."
"I'm sure," she said with a smirk. She pulled a cigarillo out and lit it when he passed them over to her before setting the pack back on the table, lighter on top. She eyed him for a second, something about her scrutiny making him uneasy. "Something's different about you."
"What do you mean?" He took another drag, leaning forward to grab the ashtray and drag it over, positioning it between the two of them.
"I don't know. You're just … different. Not as—what's the human term for it?—mousy?" She arched one of her brows. "Something happened a few weeks ago when you took off from work, didn't it?"
He smiled despite himself, letting out a soft chuckle. Flipping his ashes, he let his hand linger there, wrapping his fingers around the ashtray to turn it back and forth. "Mousy, huh?"
"Is that the wrong term?" She propped an elbow on the table, resting her chin in her palm.
He shook his head, letting out a soft snort. "No, no it's not the wrong term."
"So?" She arched her brow again and took a drag off of her cigarillo.
"What?" He kept his face straight, hoping the asari would let it drop.
Giving him an exasperated huff, she tilted her head to the side. "Did something happen?"
"Nah, nothing important, anyway." He opened his Paragade and took a drink before putting the cap back on.
"So what's going on with you, then?" Christ, she acted like Eezo with her chew toys.
"No offense, Mahlia, but why the hell do you care?" He took a drag, letting the smoke seep back out of him. "You've never given two shits about me or my personal life before. None of you have."
She jerked back as if he'd just slapped her across the face. Blinking, she looked down at the cigarillo in her hand. "I—I suppose I deserved that. I'm sorry, Charles, I never meant to—"
"Don't worry about it," he said, cutting her off. He really didn't want to hear her apologies.
He lay in bed jacking off, images of Ethan painting the backs of his eyelids in blood. His thoughts shifted to Ares, feeling the turian sink his teeth into Charles' shoulder, sliding his huge cock in and out of Charles' ass. Damn, he missed Ares. He hummed, tightening his grip and imagined Ares in the shower, talons digging into the tile while Charles' sucked his cock. The sounds he made … fuck he was so sexy and he had no clue. Just as Charles was about to cum, Eezo jumped on the bed, sticking her cold nose against his thigh.
Charles groaned, trying to shove the dog away and pull the covers over himself. "No, Eezo! Down! Get down. I'll take you out in a minute."
"You need a better sense of awareness," Ares' voice filled the room, scaring the shit out of Charles.
Charles jumped, scrambling back on the bed, slapping his hand against his chest. "Jesus fucking Christ." It felt like his heart might burst out of his ribcage. He rubbed a hand over his face. "Damn it, Ares, you gave me a fucking heart attack," he said, but then grinned, realizing but not caring about the fact he probably looked like an idiot. And maybe the tiniest bit embarrassed to be caught jacking off.
Ares leaned against the doorframe, his dark silhouette barely recognizable against the other shadows. "Your dog sucks. I thought its purpose was to guard your fucking apartment."
Charles huffed. "She's a pup, she has to learn." He tossed the covers back. "Besides, you said you got her for me to make it easier when you're gone. She's … emotional support."
Climbing out of bed, he walked over to Ares, pressing himself against the turian. Wrapping his arms around Ares' waist, he lifted up on his toes, mouth turned up. Ares leaned down, barely letting his mouth plates brush across Charles' lips before his tongue pushed past, hungry and demanding. Charles moaned, more than pleased with the turn of events, opening his mouth wider, meeting Ares' tongue with just as much urgency and desire. Pulling his arms away from Ares' waist, he wrapped them around the turian's cowl instead, tugging him down closer.
After a moment, Charles started to pull away, the words 'I missed you' and 'well someone's happy to see me' warring with each other over which made it from his lips first, but Ares growled into his mouth, refusing to let Charles go. He slid his arms around Charles, bare talons gripping his ass. Ares lifted him off his feet, and he wrapped his legs around the Ares' hips. Tugging and pushing at Ares' clothes, Charles became more forceful with his own kiss. Ares started walking, moving them to the bed. Loosening one of Charles' legs from around his waist, Ares leaned over, dropping Charles on the bed before stepping back. He started to undress, and even though it was too dark for Charles to see much of anything, it just made him more excited.
He reached down, taking his cock back in hand, slowly stroking. "I missed you," he said, mildly disturbed by the tremble of emotion running through those words, making them something more than just a declaration of his craving for Ares' touch.
Ares let out a low rumble. "If you cum already, I'm not stopping."
Charles grinned, but he halted his movements, just letting his fingers stay curled around his cock. "I was already really close before Eezo jumped up here, but don't worry, I have no intentions of asking you to stop."
Grunting, Ares pulled off his jacket tossing it aside before kicking off his boots. "Why didn't you just lock the damn thing out?"
Charles huffed, sitting up to grab the waistband of Ares' pants, tugging at the closure. "Because she'd just bark all night, and then C-Sec would knock on my door."
Ares stopped undressing, pulling away from Charles to march over to the door. He looked down at Eezo. "Get the fuck out," he said with a growl. He slammed the door closed when the startled dog ran out of the room.
"Hey!" Charles furrowed his brow, anger creeping into his voice. "Be nice to her and get your ass back over here."
Ares hummed, wordless sarcasm dripping from his subvocals. Pulling off his pants, he kicked them aside. As soon as he came back within reach, Charles grabbed for him, annoyance over Eezo's treatment slipping away as soon as Charles felt warm hide beneath his fingers. Squeezing Ares' hips, he ran his tongue along the parted seam in Ares' plates before leaning in enough to bite his hips and stomach. Muscles twitching beneath Charles' palms and teeth, Ares let out a low, breathy growl. Charles kept biting and tasting and touching, starting to feel desperate with his need to take in as much of the turian as humanly possible.
Ares put a hand on Charles' shoulder, pushing him back against the bed. "Move up."
Charles scooted to the middle, licking his lips and looking up at the shadow looming over him. "How do you want me?"
Instead of answering, Ares crawled up onto the bed, moving over Charles and crushing his mouth down over Charles' lips, tongue diving inside once again. A hand slid under Charles' head, pulling him in even tighter against Ares. Charles let out a little whimper, hands moving over Ares, touching every place he could reach. Ares released Charles' head, grabbing one of his hands and settling it over what felt like a bandage on Ares' left side, just below his ribs. Charles stilled, confusion and concern rushing through him until Ares tightened his hand on Charles', making him dig his fingers into the bandages.
Ares thrummed, kissing him harder, and it gave him all the information he needed about the injury for the time being. Taking the cue, he squeezed the area, and Ares trembled, the arm holding him up nearly giving out, cock twitching against Charles' thigh. Reaching up with his other hand, Charles dug his fingers into the softer hide beneath Ares' crest, working both spots to bring a more heated response from the turian.
Ares jerked away with a snarl. "Where's your lube?"
If not for already knowing about Ares's tendency of making aggressive sounds in bed, the snarl might've left Charles thinking he'd done something wrong. He couldn't quite reach the table from where he lay, pinned beneath Ares, so he waved his hand in the general direction. "In the drawer."
Humming, Ares leaned over, opened the drawer, and grabbed the lube. "Roll over."
Charles did as he was told, rolling over to his stomach, watching Ares over his shoulder. Ares opened the lube, squeezing some out into his hand before tossing it aside. He grabbed Charles' ass, his grip almost painful, and spread Charles' ass cheeks apart, smearing the lube over his asshole before slowly sliding a finger inside.
"Fuck," Charles said, voice low, almost a growl as he pushed back against Ares.
Working his finger in and out, Ares leaned over Charles, scraping his teeth along Charles' spine.
Charles hissed and moaned, arching his back into the sensation. "I'm not going to last long. Not with that."
Ares let out a dark sounding chuckle, pulling his finger back out. "Get into a position, then."
Rolling back over, Charles hooked his ankles around Ares' thighs, pulling him closer. Ares slipped his arm under Charles' left leg, holding it in the crook of his elbow while he lined himself up and pushed in, slow and steady, stretching Charles' ass around his cock. Charles shifted against Ares and reached out, wrapping his hand around the bandage on Ares' side, squeezing, urging him in deeper. Letting out a growl, Ares shoved himself the rest of the way inside with one, hard thrust, baring his teeth. It tore a pained groan from Charles, filling him with pleasure.
Charles' gaze fixed on the sharp points in Ares' mouth, barely visible in the dark even with Ares so close, need growing inside of him. "Bite me," he said, voice husky.
Lifting Charles' leg in toward his chest, Ares leaned over, sinking his teeth into Charles' shoulder, fucking him hard and fast. It didn't take more than a handful of strokes before Charles cried out, spilling his cum all over his stomach and Ares. He kept digging his fingers against Ares' bandaged side, taking each frenzied thrust from Ares with satisfaction, savoring how far gone the turian seemed as he slammed into Charles again and again.
Letting out a growl, Ares sunk his teeth in deeper, drawing a hiss of pleasure from Charles, tensing as he emptied himself inside of Charles. Wrapping his arms around Ares' ribs, Charles eased his leg free from Ares' grip, lowering his foot to the bed. He turned his head, kissing Ares' neck, and Ares let out a low rumble, extracting his teeth from Charles' shoulder and started licking the wounds.
After a few moments, Charles brushed his hand over the bandage and asked, "What happened?"
"Bar fight," Ares said between passes of his tongue.
Charles snorted, finding the idea of Ares getting into a bar fight rather amusing. "Assassins get injured in bar fights?"
Ares hummed. "Drunk ones do."
Charles chuckled, trying to keep it light and cut it short, feeling his ass muscles squeeze at Ares' cock still inside of him. He caressed Ares' back and sides, soaking in the warmth from his hide. "Fuck, I needed this."
Letting out a grunt of agreement, Ares slid himself free from Charles and rolled over, stretching out on the bed next to him, taking up most of the available space. "There are plenty of people to fuck on the Citadel."
Charles let out a sigh. "I know. But it requires going out there and actually talking to people … and they're not you, so it's just not the same." He didn't think it could ever be the same again. He'd shared too much with Ares, let Ares pull out those dark things he'd always fought to keep locked away inside himself. And he reveled in it; they both did. He'd never be able to have that with anyone else. He rolled over, scooting closer to Ares. "I'm sure if you stay gone long enough … I'll find someone to occupy a few hours with." But it just wouldn't be the same.
Ares thrummed but didn't say anything, staring up at the ceiling. Charles reached across the turian, dragging his right arm over where Charles could run his fingers over his name carved into Ares' forearm. He still couldn't believe Ares asked him to do it, but admittedly, he loved feeling his name there.
"Besides," he said after a moment, "I've been too damn busy kissing my boss' ass since we got back from Shanxi to do much of anything."
"Why?" Ares asked.
"Irene wanted to fire me. I convinced her to let me stay on, but she's making me work the front again … because she knows I hate it." He traced each letter in Ares' hide again. "And she's got me picking up extra shifts when someone calls in sick."
Ares didn't say anything, and though curious, Charles didn't ask what was on his mind. Instead, after a minute, he rolled over, lighting a cigarillo and brought the ashtray over to sit on his stomach. He finished smoking in silence, stubbed the butt out in the ashtray and sat up. Sliding the ashtray back onto the table, he stood up, leaving the room to use the bathroom and clean himself up, Eezo at his heels.
In the morning, Charles dragged himself out of bed when the alarm went off, cursing the incessant beeping. Ares was already gone, Charles figured he probably went out on the balcony. Making his way to the bathroom, he glanced in the living room, seeing the balcony door open, before heading inside to take a shower.
Once he'd dressed and fed Eezo, he headed out to the balcony, lighting a cigarillo. "I've got to go into work in a couple of hours." Turning his back to the view, he leaned against the railing next to Ares, studying his face. "I'll be there most of the day, if you're sticking around, we can meet somewhere for lunch, if you want."
"Fine." Ares didn't even really look away from gazing out over the Citadel.
Charles hesitated, a cold, sinking feeling taking root in the pit of his stomach at Ares' obvious disinterest. He knew something felt different the night before, the softer, more vulnerable moments they shared over their time on Shanxi and just after were apparently a fluke, a thing of the past. He didn't think Ares stopped caring—he'd shown up after all—he'd just gone back to not really letting it show. Charles worried it was because he'd killed Ethan and called Ares for help.
He swallowed. "Something wrong?"
Ares blew out smoke, looking down over the balcony. "No."
"Okay …." Charles pushed away from the railing. "I'm going to take Eezo for a walk, otherwise she'll tear the place up while I'm gone. I'll be back in a few minutes unless you want to come with us?"
Ares shrugged, flicking his cigarette butt over the balcony. Charles smiled as Ares followed him inside, and he grabbed Eezo's leash, fighting the excited dog to get it latched on her collar. He decided against taking Eezo to the gardens, despite her trying to tug him off in that direction, because he didn't think Ares would appreciate it at all if Lindsey tried to strike up a conversation … or looked too closely at him. So, instead, they just took Eezo around the block and let her sniff at the planters and handle her business. Ares groused a little when Charles cleaned up after Eezo, using a little bag to pick up the mess and toss it in a trash bin, but Charles wasn't going to just leave it there. They were on a space station, not a planet with grass and dirt.
Ares shifted around uncomfortably when some kid stopped them to ask to pet Eezo, but he didn't say anything when Charles consented. He watched with a smile as the kid squatted down in front of the dog and let her lick his face, but Ares turned his back on them, leaning against a wall and staring out over the Citadel. Eezo tired to get Ares' attention a few times, but he largely ignored her. So, Charles stopped once or twice to love on her, telling her she was a good girl. It earned him an irritated flick of Ares' mandibles, but he just smiled, amping up the baby talk and cooing at Eezo.
By the time they made it back to the apartment, Charles didn't have much time before he had to leave. He ate some cereal, then headed out to the balcony to smoke, leaning against the railing next to Ares. "I'll message you before my lunch break. Figure out where you want to eat, and I'll meet you there."
Ares stared at him, his voice dry as he said, "I eat rations. And you're asking me to know of and pick a restaurant."
Charles let out a heavy, loud breath, rolling his eyes. "Okay, well, I guess I'll figure out a place and let you know."
Ares hummed, flicking his cigarette over the railing and turned back to the apartment, headed for the bathroom. Charles sucked in a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh. He heard the shower start as he finished his cigarillo. Closing and locking the balcony door behind him, he bent down to pat Eezo's head.
Heading for the door, he called out loud enough for Ares to hear over the water. "I'm headed out." He left, making sure to lock the door behind him.
Seeing Mahlia kind of made Charles feel like an ass for shutting her down the day before. "Hey," he said to her, offering her an apologetic smile as he hung his jacket up in the breakroom.
"Hey." She eyed him for a second before offering him a weak smile.
He moved to lean over the table, pressing his palms into the surface next to her. "So, I was kind of a dick yesterday. Sorry about that."
Her soft smile shifted into a smirk. "Like I said, I probably deserved it."
Charles grinned, and he could swear he saw a spark of interest in her eyes. "So we're okay?"
"Yeah, we're okay." She let out a sigh and glanced over her shoulder toward the door leading to storage. "Which is why I'll be nice and warn you Irene's here today."
Groaning, he hung his head.
She chuckled, standing up from her chair, tentatively patting his shoulder as she walked away. "Don't worry, though, she's focused on training Cammus."
He looked up at her retreating back and arched an eyebrow. "Cammus?"
She stopped in the doorway and turned back to him. "Oh, right, I guess you haven't met Lindsey's replacement yet. His name's Cammus. Turian." She shrugged. "He seems nice enough."
Charles sucked on his teeth, wondering if his shower would be enough to cover Ares' scent on him. They sure hadn't touched much that morning, so it might be. Otherwise, he'd make a pretty awkward first impression on the new guy. "Alright, thanks." Oh well, nothing for it either way, it wasn't like he could go back home and take another shower.
She smiled, heading through the door out to the main lobby. Charles glanced at his omni-tool, he still had ten minutes before he needed to clock in, so he sat down and lit a cigarillo. Halfway done when the door to storage opened up, he looked over and saw Irene walk through, a good looking turian with dark plates and white facial markings hot on her heels. Charles wasn't really good at determining turian ages, but he pegged the guy as being in his early to mid-twenties. Irene glanced at Charles, giving him a fake smile, and he gave her one right back.
Leading the turian over to Charles, she stopped in front of him, dropping her weight to one hip and crossed her arms. "Good, you're here. I want you to work with Cammus up front today, get him used to the kiosks and how to deal with customers."
Charles took a slow drag off his cigarillo, more to keep himself from giving Irene a snarky response than because he really wanted a drag just then. Blowing the smoke back out to the side, he let his gaze slide to Cammus. The turian's nose twitched a little, his gaze on Charles' cigarillo. Looking back at Irene, he found her watching him with a raised eyebrow. Charles took one last drag from his cigarillo and stamped it out in the ashtray.
Standing up, he forced her back a step. He slapped a smile on his face and said, "Sure, no problem. I was just about to clock in."
She let out a soft huff and turned back toward the turian. "Cammus, if you have any questions, Charles will be more than happy to help you. If he's busy, Mahlia will be around for a few more hours. When she leaves, Okal will replace her."
Cammus gave her a quick nod. "Thank you, ma'am."
Irene smiled at him and then walked away, headed back to storage. Charles watched her until the door closed behind her. When he turned back to Cammus, he saw the turian's posture relax a little. Cammus met Charles' gaze and let out a soft, questioning hum.
Charles tilted his head toward the employee kiosk. "Did she have you clock in yet?"
"No," Cammus said, following after him.
Charles snorted, shaking his head. It figured. "How long have you been here?"
"Today?"
Charles glanced over his shoulder and nodded. "Yeah."
Cammus tilted his head, mandibles fluttering softly. "About an hour," he said, hints of confusion and doubt coloring his subvocals.
Charles shook his head again, stopping next to the kiosk and clocked himself in. "Rule one, don't do shit in this place if you aren't on the clock. You should've been getting paid for that hour."
Cammus flicked a mandible, the hint of a smirk shifting his mouth plates, but he lifted his shoulder a little and kept his tone neutral. "I'll keep that in mind."
Charles stepped to the side, clearing the way for Cammus to get to the kiosk. The turian stepped closer, finding his name on the main screen. He logged into his account, but then hesitated, seeming confused. Charles leaned over and pointed to the button he needed to clock in, and he heard Cammus take a sharp, sudden breath. He glanced up at the turian, finding Cammus looking at him with wide-eyes, mandibles flared.
Well, I guess that answers the question.
Charles face flushed, and he stepped back, turning his gaze back to the kiosk. A moment later, Cammus let out an amused sounding rumble and pushed the button. Charles let out a soft snort; it could be worse, at least the guy found it funny Charles recently fucked a turian instead of taking offense. Rubbing the back of his neck, Charles waved at the door to the main lobby when Cammus finished clocking in. Without a word, Cammus turned and started walking, and Charles followed him out. Once in the lobby, though, Cammus stopped and looked at Charles, seeming to wait for direction, face a little too passive to not be deliberate.
Charles groaned inwardly and nodded his head towards the sale's kiosk. "You'll need to familiarize yourself with the customer kiosk first, that way when a customer asks about something, you know what they're referencing." He made his way over to the kiosk, turning it around to face Cammus, and pulled up the first browsing screen. "You don't need to memorize all of the details or anything, and don't worry, it'll probably take you a few days to get comfortable with it all." He glanced up at the turian who'd moved to stand next to him, looking down at the kiosk. "Is this the first time you've looked at it?"
"Yes." Cammus nodded, meeting his gaze. "I came in once last week, but Irene just showed me around the storage room. She said I'll mostly be working back there, but I need to know all areas in case I'm needed to fill in."
Charles' jaw twitched, anger creeping up on him, low, but burning the back of his neck. It was insult to injury for Irene to ask him to help train Cammus, then. After all, he took the position she yanked away from Charles. Didn't matter, he refused to let it bother him.
Cammus flicked a mandible. "Is this … a problem?"
Charles shook his head. "No, no problem." He sighed, taking in the wary look Cammus gave him, and he shrugged. "It's nothing you need to worry about, it's my problem, not yours."
Cammus slowly nodded his head. "Alright."
Charles waited for Ares outside of a restaurant his translator told him was named 'The Moons of Palaven'. He'd spent a few minutes on a smoke break looking for a place nearby that would have a good selection of dextro foods, but also served levo. It also looked like something Charles' could afford, he had a feeling Ares would insist on paying, but he wanted to try to make the offer either way. He hoped Ares was okay with the place.
A few minutes passed by until Charles caught sight of a turian towering over most everyone else in the crowd. He smiled, gaze latching onto the figure, watching as Ares brought a cigarette up to his mouth. He had on his fake plates, freshly painted green. Charles still didn't like seeing Ares with his face covered, but it didn't bother him quite so much as before. Ares dropped his cigarette to the ground, stepping on it as he neared Charles.
"Hey," he said, already feeling happier just having Ares there. "I figured I'd let you pick where to sit."
Ares rumbled and nodded, leading Charles out onto the veranda and took a seat. Glancing around a little, Charles wondered about the choice of seating, trying to see the location though Ares' eyes. It was relatively close to the gate, not that the short fence would keep either of them in if they had to bolt, but it also had a decent view of the area, putting the wall to Ares' back.
"So, how's your day going?" Charles asked, hoping to break the silence.
Ares shrugged. "Your vidscreen is broken."
"Since when?" Charles asked, trying to keep his voice calm, his face neutral, despite the sudden spike of confusion and panic. He'd saved for months to get the damn thing, and it worked just fine the night before.
Ares shrugged again, grabbing one of the menus. "About two hours ago? I wasn't paying attention to the time." He sighed, lowering the menu again to look at Charles. "And calm your tits, there's already one on order. A better one."
Damn turians and their excellent sense of smell.
"I don't have tits." Charles sucked on his teeth, narrowing his eyes. "Ares … did you break my vidscreen just so you could buy me a new one?"
"No." That was it. Just a simple 'no'. He didn't flick a mandible, didn't even blink, just giving Charles a cold stare of nothingness.
"Uh huh." Charles pursed his lips. "So then, what happened to the vidscreen?"
"Your resolution sucked, so I fixed it." Ares rumbled. "I attempted to anyway." He shrugged. "No fixing it."
Charles huffed, waving a hand, annoyed with how nonchalant Ares acted over the whole thing. "There was nothing wrong with it!"
"I fail to see why you're so upset," Ares shook his head, seriously seeming oblivious as to why Charles might possibly not be happy about the fact his property was broken, despite being replaced. "Your vidscreen sucked, and I know you can't seem to find anything else to do but watch it, so I got you one that was actually worth watching."
Sighing, Charles rubbed a hand over his face, trying to find a silver lining to latch onto. "Well … thank you. Maybe I can sell the other one off at a pawn shop or something, I guess. Or get it actually fixed and stick it in the bedroom."
"I doubt it," Ares said, voice flat.
"Why?" Charles dropped his hand to the table, raising his eyebrow. "How bad did you break it?"
Ares hummed as if in consideration. "I guess you could technically find someone to fix it."
Something about the way Ares skirted around telling him what happened actually kind of amused Charles. He cocked his head to the side, studying the turian for a moment before calmly asking, "Ares, what did you do?"
"I shot it." Ares shrugged again as if it were no big deal at all. "You might also have a hole in your wall."
Shocked, Charles leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table. He opened his mouth, paused, and closed it again, struggling to process what Ares just told him. After a second, he opened his mouth again, but a soft croak escaped his throat. "I'll have to get it fixed before the landlord finds out. Did C-Sec show up?"
"You really think I'd be careless enough to have C-Sec show up?" Ares lifted a brow plate as if it was completely impossible to think someone might call C-Sec over a weapon's discharge in an apartment building. "No. C-Sec didn't show up. Anyone who overheard would probably have just expected I broke it, not shot it."
"Last gunshot I heard wasn't exactly quiet and unnoticeable by neighbors living right next door." Charles sighed, shaking his head and letting out a soft chuckle. "For fuck's sake, why'd you shoot it?"
Ares blinked, flicking a mandible. "It was annoying me," he said, his tone making it clear he thought it should be obvious and Charles must be slow for not seeing it.
Charles let out another sigh and rubbed his hand over his face again. "Just … please don't shoot anything else of mine. Even if you have enough credits to just replace it."
"I didn't just replace it, I got you another fucking better one." Ares growled and flicked a mandible. "Most people would be grateful."
Anger sparked white hot in Charles, Ares' attitude finally pushing his last button. He thought he was being pretty damn understanding and forgiving, why didn't the damned turian get that? "That's not the point. It's mine. I worked for it, I bought it, I was proud to have something I earned." He leaned forward a little, fighting to keep his voice low, but it just made it come out sounding even more seething. "Even if my job is shit, I've been taking care of myself, you know?" He clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth for a second. "I do appreciate you wanted to do something nice and got me a better one, which is why I said thanks, but it doesn't mean I'm grateful you broke the one I had!"
Ares didn't say anything, just watched Charles, jaw snapped tightly closed, mandibles flicking in obvious irritation. After a moment, his head whipped around to the side, and he let out a low, threatening growl. Charles' brow pulled in, and he turned to look in time to see several other turians around them snap their attention back to their own plates.
Suddenly deflated, Charles snorted softly and leaned back in the chair again. Letting out a long, heavy sigh, he crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the table. "I'm sorry," he said, worried he just did something to push Ares away. "You're right. Let's just drop it, okay?" He looked up and swallowed, hating the pleading sound to his own voice.
Ares pushed a heavy breath out through his nose and turned his attention back to his menu, still not saying anything. Charles swallowed again, fighting back the panicked feeling tightening around his chest. He picked up his own menu, turning to the short list of levo dishes, reading over them several times while he finally started to calm down, the tension in his chest and shoulders relaxing.
Still, he felt like he needed to say something, clear the air. "Eezo bother you too much?"
Christ, he better not have shot Eezo.
"No."
Charles licked his lips, tentatively pushing forward. "She likes you, you know?"
Ares hummed and lifted a brow plate when Charles looked at him. "It's a dog. It likes food and destroying furniture and clothing."
Charles opened his mouth, snark already building on the tip of his tongue as he wanted to tell Ares it sounded more like him than Eezo. He snapped his mouth closed on it instead, thinking better of it for the moment. He didn't think Ares was in the mood for his smart mouth. Instead, he just smirked and said, "She's a good dog, and she likes people, too. She's been really good for me … I'm really happy you got her."
Ares thrummed, the sound a little less rough around the edges, almost gentle. He nodded once, leaning back in his chair to pull out his cigarettes and lit one. "Yeah."