New Things

Irene walked into the backroom, glancing at Charles and throwing a smirk his way as she kept moving toward storage. "Charles, Cammus, I need you two in the back for a few hours." She wiggled her fingers as she walked by, gesturing for them to follow.

Charles groaned, just barely loud enough for Cammus to hear as they both stood from the break room table. Cammus fluttered his mandibles, reaching out and surprisingly patting Charles on the shoulder as they made their way after Irene. Charles gave him a soft snort, the show of moral support bringing a smile to his face.

"Okal convinced the owners that the storage room needs reorganized." Irene stopped, turning around to face the two of them. She threw a hand up, gesturing behind her. "There's a datapad over there. I need you two to get started on rearranging the shelves. Poleceus and Werin will be coming in for an extra shift after lunch to take over, and you can go back up front."

"Why don't you have Mahlia help?" Charles shrugged.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "The job requires muscle, and besides, someone is needed up front to deal with customers."

"I'm pretty sure that's sexist," he said with a gin, pointing a finger at Irene, "and she's a biotic."

"Just move the shelves, Charles." Irene glared at him as she walked past, leaving the storage room.

Cammus fluttered his mandibles. "Is it really wise to antagonize her if you're already in trouble?"

Grinning, Charles moved over to a table and picked up the datapad. "No, but it's fun."

Cammus chuckled, moving over to stand next to Charles and looked at the datapad with him. It looked like they needed to move a total of twenty shelves, but of course, the shelves had to be unloaded first. He looked up, glancing around the room. Someone—probably Okal—had gone the extra step of marking the shelves with color-coded tape.

Charles groaned, handing the datapad over to Cammus when he reached for it. "I'm going to kill Okal."

Chuffing, Cammus sat the datapad down and made his way to the first shelf. "Think that will get you fired?" He glanced over his shoulder and smirked at Charles.

"Probably." Charles followed him, starting to pull down the boxes they could move by hand, stacking them on the tables. "But then again, it might be worth it."

"If you don't mind my asking," Cammus said, pulling two boxes down, carrying one pinned against each hip, "what exactly did you do?" He hummed, easing the boxes onto the table and turned back, passing Charles on his way to the table and flicking a mandible. "I only ask so I can make sure I don't do the same thing."

Chuckling, Charles sat his own box down. "I had something come up I had to deal with and called in last minute. Told Irene I needed to take some time off, but I didn't know for how long. When she said we were too short staffed and company policy says I have to give them more notice, so if I didn't come in I'd lose my job … I told her to do what she needed to do and cut the call."

Cammus hummed but otherwise stayed quiet for a minute as they worked. "How did you manage to keep your job?"

"I reminded Irene that I'm the best damn employee this place has, and I've been here longer than anyone else at this point. Including her. With as high of a turnover rate as Citadel Souvenirs has, she couldn't really afford to lose me. I know things about how this place works she hasn't even figured out yet." Charles took a deep breath, letting it out in a raspberry and said, "Add in a killer smile and some good old fashioned ass kissing, and Irene decided to keep me on. With the caveat she moves me to the front, claiming I was needed up there more since we hadn't replaced Lindsey yet."

"Why don't you like working up front?" Cammus put two more boxes on the table and stopped to look at Charles, mandibles flared with his curiosity.

Charles smirked, lifting an eyebrow. "Aren't you full of questions today?"

Mandibles pulling in against the side of his face, Cammus lowered his gaze. "Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"Nah, don't worry." Charles waved his hand, moving back to the shelves. "You're alright. I'm just not used to so many personal questions." He stacked up a couple of smaller boxes and slid them off the shelf. "Uh … I don't really like dealing with customers. It takes a lot of mental energy to keep a smile on my face and act like I give a shit about their petty complaints and narcissism. At the end of the day, I feel fried. Burned out."

Cammus let out another thoughtful sounding hum, and they both let the silence linger as they cleared the rest of the shelf. Taking a look at the datapad again, Charles checked out where the shelf was supposed to go. He really didn't see how the new layout was going to make anything better, but whatever. Nodding his head at Cammus when he asked if Charles was ready, they each lifted an end of the shelf and carried it over to its new location.

"So, what's your story?" Charles asked, starting on carrying the boxes back over to the shelf.

"My story?" Cammus fluttered his mandibles as they passed by one another.

"Yeah. Tell me something about you." Charles checked the labels and slid the boxes back on the shelf where they belonged.

"Hmmm. I think I'm still trying to figure my story out."

"How so?" Charles glanced over his shoulder at the turian before turning and making his way back to the table.

"I'm what my mother calls 'aimless', and apparently it's a very disgraceful thing for a turian to be." Cammus lingered near the table, waiting for Charles. "My father says I have a wanderer's spirit. He … encouraged me to leave home. Told me to go wander." He flicked a mandible, glancing down at his feet. "So here I am."

Smiling, Charles picked up another box. "That's … that's actually kind of sweet."

Cammus chuffed. "Perhaps, but I just feel lost. Although, I'm determined to make the most of the whole experience. Learn whatever I can. See new places, meet new people, try new things."

"Well," Charles said with a hum, "the Citadel definitely has a lot of people."

Cammus chuckled. "Yes, it does."

Charles glanced at the time on the kiosk, he only had ten minutes before time to clock out. Turning his attention back to Mahlia, he said, "Yeah, she seemed kinda sad when she asked about you. You should go see her."

Mahlia smiled, her cheeks turning a darker shade of blue. "Maybe I will."

"Oh … you like Lindsey, don't you?" He asked arching his brow.

Cammus let out a soft chuff, fluttering his mandibles and turned his attention back to the kiosk. Irene had him shadowing Charles again, no surprise there, but if she thought it bothered him, she was mistaken. He really didn't mind Cammus at all, in fact, he kind of enjoyed having him around. He thought he heard an amused sounding rumble coming from the turian, but he kept his gaze on Mahlia.

She rolled her eyes up and shook her head. "Why does everything end up being about sex with you humans?"

He grinned, holding a hand palm up. "I just said you liked her, didn't say anything about sex, but now we know where your mind is."

She let out an exasperated sigh and turned her attention to the datapad resting on the counter in front of her, but a shy smile still tugged at her lips. She totally liked Lindsey. He filed it away for later consideration when he heard the damn chime above the door go off, fighting back a wince, he forced a smile on his face and looked up. It only took half a second for him to recognize the giant turian, despite the dark brown plates and sweeping, white, facial markings, and his smile shifted into something far more natural. The same, stupid rush of excitement flooded him that he got every time he unexpectedly saw Ares, making his heart flutter in the most ridiculous way. He seriously had to fight the urge to vault over the counter and throw himself in Ares' arms.

Cammus chuffed and cleared his throat, no doubt smelling everything Charles felt in that moment, good enough as if he'd painted a big sign saying 'my turian' and hung it around Ares' neck. Ares gaze zeroed in on Charles before sliding past him to the other turian, and he flicked a mandible, seeming amused. Charles wasn't sure why Ares showed up there, though, so he hesitated, waiting to see what Ares intended.

"Welcome to Citadel Souvenirs." Mahlia had a smile on her face when Charles glanced at her, attention firmly on the new 'customer'.

Ares hummed, as if in consideration of her welcome, but the sound rang false in Charles' ears—no doubt Cammus' as well. "I'm looking for something for someone that doesn't come to the Citadel very often, that hasn't seen what only locals know about."

Charles tilted his head, wondering if Ares came to buy a gift for his sister, and if so, if it meant he'd made up his mind about going to the wedding. Bonding ceremony. Whatever. He pursed his lips, debating on whether or not to move in and offer to assist the 'customer' and risk stepping on Mahlia's toes. Ares moved to the counter, standing in no man's land, somewhere between Mahlia and Charles.

Charles smiled, moving down the counter a little closer. "What's the occasion?"

"A marriage," Ares said, crossing his arms and looking back and forth between Charles and Mahlia. "And save the cheap tourist shit. I want something fit for someone close."

Letting out a soft snort, Charles forced himself to stick to his salesman's voice and said, "Alright. I'm sure I can help you with that, sir. If you'd like to step over here to our kiosk, there's a variety of items I'm sure you'll find of interest."

Cammus let out a soft chuckle, and Charles glanced over his shoulder to see the turian still managed to hold a straight face despite the slip. He gave Charles a very light flick of his mandible but nothing else. When Charles looked back at Mahlia, however, she gave him a narrow-eyed stare. Well, shit. He'd have to fix things with her later. She looked back at Ares who stared at her for few seconds longer, and she blinked, taking what seemed like a reflexive step back.

Ares looked away, moving down to Charles' kiosk and started scrolling through it. "Well? What were you going to show me?"

Charles smirked, fighting the urge to tell Ares to stop being an impatient ass. Leaning over the counter, he did the next best thing, though, and pulled the kiosk away from Ares, turning it enough for them both to easily see. He moved through a couple of screens, stopping on the housewares' section and scrolled down to the bottom. "Our most popular selection for wedding gifts are personally engraved vases made from hand blown glass, using sand from a Council homeworld of your choosing, with gold or silver veins. If that doesn't interest you, there are other equally impressive items in the housewares' section." He let his gaze flick to Ares for just a second before looking back at the kiosk.

"You might also consider looking at …" he said, changing screens, "… our selection of fine jewelry, handcrafted, and in a variety of designs." He shifted to another page, showing their selection of food and beverages. "If consumables are more to your liking, we offer a selection of fine wine and spirits as well as delicacies from a variety of cultures." He dropped his hand from the screen and let his gaze roam over Ares' fake plates.

Ares looked up at him, skepticism written all over his otherwise blank stare. "Well, I'm certainly not getting them dishes."

Charles narrowed his eyes at him a little—he didn't say anything about any damn dishes—but kept the smile on his face. "Certainly not, sir. Do you have a more specific idea in mind?"

Cammus cleared his throat and when Charles looked back at him with a raised brow, he stepped closer. He kept his gaze on Charles, an underlying nervousness creeping into his subvocals as he said, "I think we also offer more traditional, turian ceremonial daggers …."

Charles grinned, stepping away from the kiosk and waved a hand at it for Cammus to take over. Nevermind the fact Ares seemed to imply he wanted something less traditional—which made sense given Malea's penchant for new and interesting things—if Cammus felt brave and wanted to try his hand with the sarcastic asshole, he was welcome to it. Charles moved to the side and watched as Cammus filled in the space he'd vacated. Cammus looked at Ares, nodding his head and giving him a soft rumble in greeting before reaching for the kiosk.

Ares thrummed, actually sounding genuine and good-natured, as he glanced over Cammus' shoulder to flick a mandible at Charles. "This kid gets it," he says with a jerk of his chin toward Cammus, giving Charles a shit-eating grin.

Charles snorted, rolling his eyes and muttering, "Of course." He glanced around to see if Mahlia noticed, but she was nowhere to be seen. He turned his attention back to the two turians, relaxing without the asari around. "I so should've just let you deal with Mahlia."

Cammus chuckled, still flipping through the screens.

Ares rumbled. "Maybe, or maybe I'd insult her just by being here. She's not a very good salesperson."

"You insult people deliberately." Charles laughed, moving a little closer to watch Cammus work and leaning back against the counter. "She's better than Okal."

Cammus chuckled again, glancing up at Ares. "Okal would probably try to organize whatever's in your pockets." Finally finding the specialty items screen, he scrolled down to the turian ceremonial daggers. "Sorry, I'm still in training. I don't have the whole sale's pitch thing down yet."

"Probably for the best," Ares said, distracted by already looking through the selections.

Cammus looked back at Charles as if seeking his approval, and Charles smiled at him. He seemed to do it quite a bit, actually, even with things that didn't really seem work-related. He thought about Cammus saying he felt lost, and suddenly he felt really bad for the guy if he thought following Charles would help him get found.

Charles thought it was kind of nice, though, having someone know—even if it wasn't exactly intentional—that Charles and Ares were a thing. And, an even better bonus, Ares had to know Cammus figured it out, but he didn't seem to care at all. In fact, he seemed to like the other turian. After a moment, the kiosk sent a notification to the employee screen below the counter, telling Charles that Ares had selected something and added it to his purchase list. He glanced down, seeing Ares chose the most expensive one they carried, a dagger inlaid with about a month's pay worth of gemstones.

"And might as well show me that other shit you mentioned." Ares gave Charles a stern look. "Not the dishes."

"Vases aren't dishes. Christ." Charles rolled his eyes, nudging a chuckling Cammus aside and pulling the screen for the jewelry up.

Ares shrugged. "They're equally as delicate, and I don't want to give something that'll break if they so much as breathe on them."

Charles snorted. "Most people know how to handle delicate things."

Cammus let out a fuller sounding laugh, flicking his mandible at Charles when he glanced at the turian. Charles flashed his teeth at him in a grin. Cammus turned, leaned his side into the counter, and rested his forearm over the surface, apparently taking his social cues from Charles.

"And who do you think is going to carry them to the wedding?" Ares lifted a brow plate at Charles once he looked at him, but then he turned his attention back to the kiosk. "And I'm certainly not going to give them something that's only purpose is to hold flowers. That's just pointless."

Charles' eyebrows shot up. Was Ares seriously saying he intended to deliver his gifts to his sister in person? Shit. That was so not good. "Well," he said, sinking a little caution into his voice, "we do offer delivery service, sir." He hoped switching back to something more formal might make Ares pay attention to his underlying message. "I'm sure we can make sure your purchases arrive undamaged."

Ares hummed thoughtfully, hitting a few more buttons on the kiosk, wracking up quite a list. Expensive ass feminine jewelry, wine from Palaven, dextro chocolates …. "Probably for the best …." He continued to shop, not bothering to look up at Charles.

Charles took a deep breath, looking over the purchases again on the employee screen and let out a low whistle, very pointedly saying, "That's quite the selection. I'm sure the happy couple will be eager to send you a very long thank you card."

He had to be kidding. Even if he didn't take all that crap to his sister in person, there's no way he could have it delivered anonymously without raising more than a few brow plates. People would start asking questions, try to figure out who sent them so much. Hell, they might even trace it back to Citadel Souvenirs and the human who made the sell—the human who smelled very much like Ares. Shit, even Cammus looked at the screen with a not-so-subtle, wide-eyed stare.

"True," Ares said with a hum, changing screens and adding one of the vases Charles showed him to the list. "Figured I'd get a bunch of shopping done for various occasions." He gave Charles a fake, gratingly forced chuckle. "Might as well spend my bonus on something worthwhile before I burn it all on new tech for myself."

Charles relaxed, leaning against the counter again and plastering a stupid, taunting grin on his face. "Thought you didn't like the vases?"

"The way you tried to sell them, I figure there's idiots out there that like the useless shit." Ares shrugged and finalized his purchases, scanning a credit chit and inputting a delivery address. "I'll give you an address," he said as he looked up at Charles, "but I'd prefer everything be packed up in protective wrap. It's an apartment complex, so you'll need to get clearance with the doorman."

Charles' brow twitched as he looked down at the address again. It certainly wasn't his address, and his place didn't have a doorman, but he figured he could always ask Ares about it later. He hummed, glancing back up at Ares and giving him a smart ass look. "So … you bought one because you plan to give it to someone you think is an idiot? How thoughtful of you." He grinned, pushing off the counter and shrugging. "Not a problem, everything will be taken care of. And thanks, you just raised my commission sky high. Mahlia's going to be pissed." He glanced at Cammus. "I'll split it with you."

Cammus shrugged and shook his head. "No need."

Charles raised an eyebrow, calling bullshit, but he'd talk to Cammus about it another time. He was ready to get out of the place and get something to eat. He wanted to kick back, get off his feet and relax.

Ares looked between the two of them, giving them a curious hum. After a moment, he shrugged. "Whatever works. I'm not doing the math, so I don't give a shit who gets paid what."

Charles scoffed. "You wouldn't give a shit either way." He finalized the purchase on his end. "You paid with a credit chit, would you like the receipt sent somewhere?"

"Not really, no." Ares shook his head. "I'm sure you'll give me a manifest of the shit, so that's fine."

Seeing no point in pretending when he knows it's already more than obvious to Cammus, Charles nodded and said, "It's past time for me to clock out. Dinner?"

Ares looked at Cammus and made an odd sound, and although different from the tone he used with Charles, it still carried the same suggestive, flirtatious quality to it. "You in?"

Charles raised an eyebrow, not really surprised to see Ares hit on someone else, but a little shocked he chose Charles' co-worker. It could make shit super awkward for him, especially since he'd decided he liked the guy … might actually be able to start thinking of Cammus as a friend. Those were in short stock for Charles. He kept his gaze on Ares, forcing himself to relax because he didn't want his doubts to give the wrong signal. A moment later, he heard Cammus make an inquisitive sounding hum.

Ares chuckled, looking at Charles. "Want to take Cammus home?"

Charles glanced over his shoulder at the other turian, ready to brush it off as a joke and offer an apology if he looked uncomfortable, but Cammus hummed again, the sound one Charles definitely recognized as sparked interest, mandibles lightly fluttering. Charles grinned, relaxing as he held Cammus' gaze to answer Ares' question, "Well … I'm not his supervisor, so if he wants to come, I don't see why not."

Cammus chuckled and dipped his head. "Dinner sounds good."

Ares jerked his head toward the door when Charles looked at him again and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "I saw a place that seems to sell dextro and levo equally. Hurry up and clock out."

Charles laughed, more than surprised by the turn of events and amused by Ares' enthusiasm. It certainly made him look at Cammus in a new light. He found Cammus attractive, and the thought crossed his mind a time or two since they met, but he didn't expect the turian to ever agree to something like what Ares suggested—even with the declaration about trying new things. Charles was sure interested to see where it went, though. He hummed, turning on his heel, and nodded toward the back. Cammus followed him, casting furtive glances at Charles as they went.

Ares led them onto the porch of the restaurant, Steel and Stone. Charles had passed by the place a few times but never bothered to stop in and check it out. It was a little bit of a hole in the wall place, but it didn't look bad at all. Ares picked a seat putting his back to the wall, letting him keep his good eye on the rest of the place. Charles sat down at his right and waved Cammus over to the seat across from Ares at the round table, making sure Ares wouldn't be forced to turn to see either of them.

Cammus hadn't said much of anything on the walk over, and with Ares not being one to start or hell, even keep a conversation going, it left Charles floundering a little. At least Ares took the lead in introducing himself as 'Aelianus' because Charles sure as hell didn't think another turian would buy the name 'Thanatos'.

Charles glanced around the place again, spotting several humans and asari as well as turians and even one, lone quarian tucked back into a corner inside. He picked up a menu, flipping through the pages of the levo section and quickly settled on the elyine special. He didn't really care what he ate, to be honest, he just wanted to fill the hole gnawing away at his stomach. Glancing at Cammus, taking in the turian's stiff posture, Charles decided he might get himself a drink, too.

He shifted in his seat, leaning forward to rest an arm on the table while he dug out his cigarillos. "Cammus is new to the Citadel," Charles offered, trying again to start a conversation, hoping to put the turian at ease. He put a cigarillo in his mouth and dug back in his pocket for the lighter.

"Oh?" Ares pulled out his own cigarettes, sticking one in his mouth before offering the pack to Cammus. "Where from?"

Charles had yet to see Cammus smoke, and the turian's nose always seemed to twitch when Charles lit up, but after only a second's hesitation, he took one from Ares.

"Taetrus," Cammus said, rolling the cigarette over in his fingers for a second, letting out a curious sounding trill. He glanced up, meeting Ares' gaze, tilting his head a little.

Ares shrugged and held his hand out to Charles, rumbling in question and gesturing for his lighter. "I had a friend from Taterus."

A little surprised he didn't just pull out his own lighter, Charles lit his cigarillo and passed the lighter over to Ares.

Ares snorted. "'Course, the man got me hooked on these," he said as he lit his cigarette and held the lighter out to Cammus. "Can't really complain, though."

Charles figured the odd, turian dialect inscription on Ares' lighter—which didn't even translate for Charles when he looked at it closer—probably had something to do with why he didn't use his own lighter. But seeing Ares just hand over Charles' lighter instead of offering to light the other turian's cigarette brought a pleased smile to Charles' face. Cammus chuckled, looking over the cigarette again and took the lighter, turning it over in his palm, too, glancing at Charles.

When Charles jerked his head to tell him to go ahead, Cammus put the cigarette between his mouth plates, muttering, "I don't usually smoke." He lit the cigarette and passed the lighter back to Charles. Pulling the cigarette away, he let out a soft cough and looked at it again, humming. "I moved here a couple of months back." He shrugged, tilting his head toward his shoulder. "I needed a change of scenery, and the Citadel seemed like as good of a place as any." He took a small, seemingly experimental drag from the cigarette and managed not to cough. "What about you," he asked, turning his attention back to Ares, "where are you from? How long have you lived here?"

Ares thrummed around an exhale of smoke, leaning back in his seat. "I was actually born on the Citadel, but my parents are from Macedyn. We bounced between the two depending on family—some were here, some there," he said, waving a hand. "I myself, though, mostly just go where my job takes me. I work on a cargo vessel, helping to load and unload shipments."

Charles looked away, catching the eye of an asari waitress and nodded to let her know they were ready to order … but mostly just to have somewhere else to look while Ares spun his web of lies, not wanting his own expression to give anything away. He listened, though, cataloging the details the best he could to make sure he didn't fuck them up later if it came up again. Ares trusted Charles to keep his identity safe, and he'd damned well do his best. The asari smiled and nodded her head, holding up a finger. Charles returned her smile and nodded again.

Cammus hummed, drawing Charles attention. "Maybe that will be my next job."

Chuckling, Charles took a drag and asked, "Already hate the place, huh?"

Cammus hummed again, gaze sweeping over Charles in the first hint of anything beyond professionalism or casual conversation, making heat creep up Charles' spine. "No, it's not so bad. It's growing on me."

Charles grinned, taking another drag and letting it seep out of him slowly as he returned the leer, gaze lingering on the turian's lean build before glancing back up to meet his gaze. "Good."

The waitress approached with a smile and dipped her head to the two turians before smiling at Charles. "What can I get you, gentlemen?"

"Cipritine Red," Ares said, stacking his menu on top of Charles'. "And the sliced xemna on halafan, rare."

"I'll have the same," Cammus said, passing over his menu to Ares to be stacked with the others.

Charles waited for a second, giving the waitress a chance to record their orders. When she looked at him again, he said, "Mount Milgrom and a glass of tea." He hummed, pursing his lips, considering changing his mind about his choice of food but decided against it. "And I'll have the elyine special." He handed the menus over to the asari and waited for her to get out of earshot before turning back to the others.

Ares looked away from the retreating waitress and turned to Cammus, letting out a low thrum Charles barely heard. "Don't tell me you have something to do besides this tonight?"

Cammus shifted a little, mandibles seeming to flare in response to whatever the thrum of Ares' meant to him. He took a drag from his cigarette, looking as if he used it to buy himself some time. "No, no other plans."

Charles smiled at the younger turian when Cammus met his gaze. "You're nervous … what can we do to put you at ease?"

Cammus chuffed, sounding mildly put off by being called out, but Charles did warn him etiquette wasn't his specialty. Cammus flicked a mandible at Charles when he grinned. "I'm fine."

Charles hummed, lifting an eyebrow. "Liar." He chuckled, leaning forward on the table. "But I get it. You're not really used to humans."

Cammus fluttered his mandibles and shrugged. "It'll be a new experience."

Ares hummed and smirked at the younger turian, his voice low and thick. "They're soft but tight." He rumbled at Charles. "Hot and grips you in all the right ways."

Charles felt himself flush a little and gave Ares a slow, exasperated shake of his head. He wasn't entirely sure whether to feel complimented or insulted, but he did feel entirely objectified … and it was kind of hot. Maybe not something he'd normally appreciate, but since Ares entered his life, it seemed like just about everything about himself became skewed.

Cammus seemed flustered, looking around the restaurant and patio as if to see who else might be listening. He chuckled, shaking his head, too. "Spirits, what did I get myself into?"

Charles laughed, taking a drag from his cigarillo before adding, "And we're not nearly as breakable as you might think."

Ares chuckled, tilting his head toward Charles as he watched Cammus. "He even wants to feel it. I sure hope you haven't filed your talons dull or this won't nearly be as fun." He shrugged, growling as he looked at Charles. "Although, he may forgive that if you use your teeth."

Charles grinned, both amused and starting to get aroused by Ares' lewd behavior. He glanced at Cammus, watching as the turian lifted a brow plate and turned his palms over to look down at his gloved hands, talons appearing to be a socially respectable length but still definitely pointed beneath the leather. He glanced back at Charles and gave him a curious hum.

Charles tilted his head to the side and shrugged. "I like the pain."

More now than ever.

Humming, Ares took a drag and waited until the waitress brought over their drinks and left again. He turned his attention back to Cammus. "Alright, so maybe we're going about it wrong. What do you like?"

Cammus squirmed in his seat a little, glancing around the restaurant again. "Hmm. I, uh …." He chuckled, reaching up to scratch at his facial plates. "I'm not really sure how to answer that … but I'm open to new things."

"What have you done?" Ares watched Cammus, curiosity on his face as he held his bottle of beer without drinking from it at all. "That might give us something to go off of."

Cammus gave Charles a helpless sort of look and fluttered his mandibles. He cleared his throat. "Mostly just your standard stuff with turian women … hmm, a couple of turian men."

Ares rumbled, the sound thoughtful as he took a drink and then set the bottle down. He looked between Charles and Cammus as if doing some sort of calculations in his head. "We can work with that."

Charles chuckled, knowing they were embarrassing the hell out of the turian by talking so openly about it at dinner. Hell, it was probably doubly awkward for Cammus since they worked together. Which seemed funny, because to hear Ares tell it, turians were far more open about that sort of thing than humans. He decided to take mercy on Cammus and said, "We can worry about it more later, after dinner, yeah?"

Cammus let out a relieved sounding trill but glanced at Ares.

Ares shrugged and with a light flick of his mandible, said, "Fine by me." He stuck his cigarette in his mouth.

Charles smiled at Ares, relieved, but not just for Cammus' sake. He did have to work with the turian, he didn't want to traumatize the guy and make shit weird. "So, change of subject, then." He turned his attention back to Cammus. "Why Citadel Souvenirs of all places?"

"They had an opening?" Cammus relaxed into his seat and shrugged.

Ares let out a bark of laughter but didn't comment.

Charles laughed, too, nodding his head. "Fair enough."

"Why do you work there?" Cammus raised a brow plate. "Especially since you … what did you call Irene?"

"A bitch." Charles shrugged. "I started working there shortly after coming here, I didn't have a lot of credits at the time, and it was the first place to hire me. I stay because … I guess because I don't really know what else to do with myself."

Ares blew out smoke, glancing at Cammus. "He takes vacations with me enough." He looked at Charles, and Charles smirked. 'Vacations', right. "But I think you just enjoy being settled. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose."

Charles shrugged, his hand slipping absently into his pocket to run his fingers over his razor. "I think I more enjoy being able to actually take care of myself."

"I can understand wanting to be able to take care of yourself," Cammus said, flicking a mandible and nodding.

Charles smiled, biting back a joking remark about turians he didn't think would go over too well. "It's nice." Glancing over at Ares, he added, "Though sometimes I think he wants to turn me into a kept man."

Ares rumbled, giving Charles an innocent shrug. "I have no idea what you mean."

Charles snorted. He didn't believe it for a second, knowing damn well after the first time Charles said it to him, Ares went and looked it up. And he knew just as well that if it wasn't true, at least on some level, the crass turian would outright deny it instead of feigning ignorance. Although to be fair, if Ares really offered to take care of Charles' rent and bills, he probably wouldn't say no, especially after watching the man burn through credits like they were nothing. Hell, he'd be more than willing to quit working if it meant Ares wanted to take Charles with him on jobs but not so much if Charles was expected to just sit around doing nothing while waiting for Ares to show back up. He just didn't want Ares to do it because he thought Charles couldn't handle taking care of himself. And, he didn't want Ares breaking his shit as an excuse to buy him better crap.

Cammus shook his head. "Neither do I."

Charles snorted again, taking a drag. "Just means he wants to take care of me instead." Of course, he realized it wasn't the entirety of the definition, but he didn't really think Cammus needed a full explanation of the sexual connotations behind the term.

"Of course not," Ares protested, but his smirk was telling. "But you might as well take what I get you."

Charles raised an eyebrow, giving Ares a dry look. "You didn't see me throwing out the vidscreen, did you?"

Ares chuckled. "Who knows? You might wait until I leave on another cargo trip just to spite me." He looked at Cammus, fluttering his mandibles. "I accidentally—"

Charles let out a bark of laughter, following it up with a noisy scoff.

"—broke his last one. Just shows how bad I am at tech," Ares said, and Charles gave him another, softer snort, "even with all the shit I spend my credits on."

"I said I like taking care of myself, didn't say I mind being spoiled." Charles pulled on his cigarillo before blowing the smoke toward the overhang. "And you know how excited I was over Eezo."

Cammus, who'd been watching the back and forth between Ares and Charles with an amused expression on his face, suddenly looked confused. He hummed. "Eezo?"

Ares nodded, blowing out smoke. "Know anything about dogs?"

Cammus shook his head, so Charles opened his omni-tool, pulling up a picture of Eezo before turning it around for Cammus to see. The turian fluttered his mandibles, looking at the pup, doubt and skepticism crossing his features. He rumbled, the sound a question, and glanced at Ares as if looking for guidance and an explanation.

"It constantly chews on shit, has to be taken for walks so it can shit—and have it picked up." Ares huffed. "Then it gets hair everywhere, pants constantly, and doesn't listen worth shit when you tell it to get off the damn bed."

Charles reached out, swatting at Ares' arm with the back of his hand. "Shut up, you love her, too. Even if you won't admit it."

"I really don't." Ares stamped out his cigarette in the ashtray.

Charles huffed, hearing the ring of truth to Ares' tone, and took a final drag from his own cigarillo before putting it out. "Well, you only have yourself to blame. She was your idea."

Ares shrugged. "What was it about you keeping everything I give you, again?"

"I'd never throw Eezo out. Just because she was your idea doesn't mean I think she was a bad one." Charles pursed his lips, leaning back in his chair. "I love her, and she keeps me company when you're gone."

Cammus hummed. "Is she … grown?"

"No, she'll get quite a bit bigger." Charles stretched his arm out to the side of the table, indicating with his hand in the air the approximate height for an adult Alaskan Malamute. "And, as she grows, she'll be less of a hassle."

Ares gave him a doubtful snort, cutting off his protests by saying, "Hush, the waitress is coming."