Chapter 32: Glued
Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to BioWare.
Author's Note: This story does not necessarily follow any particular timeline and may not be considered chronologically accurate.
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It only took about two steps beyond the threshold for Cass to remember she had no idea where anything was, that they were on a spaceship suspended somewhere in the galaxy completely unknown to her.
Hearing a soft babble of voices, she strode ahead, still unsure but hopeful she'd recognize at least one of the early risers. After rounding a corner, Cass found herself in what must be an open mess hall, which felt somehow familiar despite having never been here before.
Unfortunately, none of the faces that turned toward her were as familiar as the setting.
In her rush to find help, she didn't even notice the sudden straightening of posture nor the salutes aimed in her direction.
"Doctor, where's the doctor?" the woman demanded of the nearest crew member.
The dark-skinned man looked askance at her for a moment before gesturing mutely to a nearby door.
Cass whirled toward it without a backward glance, still oblivious to the strange expressions everyone was wearing while watching their hysterical commanding officer. Dragging her partner through the doorway labeled "Med-Bay", the human cast her eyes about once more, landing on the woman who had met them a couple days ago.
"Is something wrong?" the gray-haired doctor asked, noticing the outward concern of the younger woman.
"Yes," Cass answered, pulling Vadix forward. "I gave Vadix this bio-universal pain relief ointment after he fell out of bed onto his ass this morning"—the turian scowled at this—"except after he put it on, I realized I'd accidentally given him something intended for humans only and now I'm worried he's going to have an allergic reaction to it"—his scowl turned into a grimace—"and I don't know how serious it will be or how soon it will happen so I wanted to get medical attention as soon as possible." The words poured out of her mouth until they didn't.
Dr. Karin Chakwas, patient woman that she was, offered a gentle smile at the pair. Oddly, the one in potential danger appeared far less worried about the situation. "Well you've come to the right place," she assured them both. Then, turning to the man, she asked, "Where exactly is the affected area?"
The turian lifted one hand into the air, shrugging slightly as he murmured, "Here."
"I see. How does your hand feel? Any different than before applying this intended remedy?" The silver-haired human leaned over his palm, noting the overall appearance of the site.
His mandibles flexed as he paused to contemplate his body. "Nothing so far," he replied slowly.
"And how long has it been?" the doctor continued questioning.
Vadix looked at his partner before responding, "No more than couple minutes I'd say." Cass nodded, chewing on her lip as she watched the turian, still holding tightly to his talons.
"Hm," Chakwas mused aloud. "Depending on its chemical composition, the ointment may not have been absorbed, especially given how non-porous your carapace is. Cass, could you bring me the container of whatever it was you gave Vadix?"
The redhead nodded and tried to walk out of the room. Except her hands were still clenched, and the turian she was attached to didn't budge. "Ow," she mumbled, rubbing her shoulder. Then for a brief moment her face lit up before a chagrined mask took over. "I just realized I'm, uh, holding it, still." Cass handed the bottle to Dr. Chakwas.
She still hadn't let go of the man's hand.
Interesting, thought the doctor with a mental smile. Then she turned her attention to the offending liquid, its front label worn and unreadable, scanning the list of ingredients. There were a few potential culprits—none of them deadly—but the one most likely to affect the turian was xylitol, a natural sweetener.
"Cass, what exactly is this product?" Karin asked, trying to keep her tone neutral, afraid her curiosity would be interpreted as scorn or censure.
"Um, well, it's a body glue," the other woman replied quietly, looking at her feet. "The container is the same size and shape as my pain relief cream," she continued, still feeling uncomfortable.
The answer surprised Dr. Chakwas, who had never come across such a thing. "Fascinating. And how is it removed after application?"
Now Cass cringed, seeming to shrink even further into herself. "Either a lot of scrubbing with soap or…" she trailed off before sighing and finishing in a whisper, "or with saliva."
"Ah," the older woman said, grinning softly. "That explains the sweetener. I never would have imagined such an invention."
The turian had watched this exchange like a slow-motion ping pong match, but now he piped up, having extricated himself from the human's grip, thanks to her utter embarrassment. "Um, whatever is in that stuff, I must be allergic to it cause now I'm feeling really itchy." If simply rubbing the lotion on his rear plates had been embarrassing, scratching them like he really wanted to would be absolutely mortifying, he realized. But Vadix wasn't sure if he could resist the urge much longer.
"Ah," the woman said again, this time more decidedly, displaying her adept bedside manner. "Let's see what symptoms you've got now. Luckily it shouldn't be anything life threatening, only unpleasant."
"I feel so much better," the man grumbled under his breath, unconsciously scratching one hand with the other.
The doctor tut-tutted, seeing an angry purple rash spreading across his palm and talons—which did in fact appear to have been glued together. "Let me just find an appropriate corticosteroid."
As Dr. Chakwas moved away from them, Cass glanced at her damaged friend. "Vadix, I'm so sorry," she told him, certain he would forgive her before she forgave herself. "I should've been paying more attention."
"It's fine, Cassana," the turian reassured her. "You heard the doctor; it's nothing life threatening."
"Indeed," the grey-haired woman chimed in, returning with a small cylinder. "However, there is still one dilemma to be solved."
The unwitting pair faced her again, wordlessly asking for further explanation.
Karin chuckled, finding a sort of black humor in the potential solution, one she hoped would lead the both of them to admit their feelings for each other. "You see, as Ms. Arvius told us earlier, the adhesive is meant to be removed by a good and thorough rub-down with soap, or else with saliva. The issue is that the former option will agitate the hives as well as possibly spread the allergen; the latter option, well," she grinned, "I'm sure you can determine the logistics of that on your own."
Still, the two just blinked at her.
Now the doctor really did laugh. "Oh dear. Perhaps the scandal of it all is interfering with your mental processing abilities. You see, turians don't produce saliva, not in sufficient quantities for this at least. Besides, it likely wouldn't even contain the proper enzymes to remove the glue. Human saliva, however, would do the trick. Of course, it will likely aggravate this allergic response, given that all turians are allergic to levo-amino acids, but the severity of your allergy to the foreign biology could be tested on an unaffected area first."
Again she was answered with a couple of wide-eyed blinks. Dr. Chakwas remained silent until her speech could sink in.
"You mean," Cass recovered first, licking her lips. "You mean to say the body glue has to be removed before you can fix it?"
Taking pity on the duo, the older woman nodded and said gently, "That would be best. Else I couldn't say how long the symptoms would remain."
The human looked over at her partner, who was still staring at the space in front of him. "I see," Cass murmured, thinking it over. From an outside perspective, it probably seemed like an odd but bearable resolution. What the doctor didn't know was that Vadix had slathered the would-be salve on his butt.
Somehow she doubted Vadix would want her licking his ass clean.
Even if he were to agree to such an outrageous idea, would she?
After a moment's thought, Cass realized it probably wouldn't be that bad.
Maybe it would even be enjoyable.
"You don't have to decide anything right now." Dr. Chakwas' voice broke through her reverie. "But we should at least assess your reaction to human saliva." She was speaking to Vadix again, who appeared to have focused on the medical professional once more.
Cass wondered what had gone through his mind at the suggestion of a tongue bath.
"You're right," he said, stunning Cass with his easy acceptance. "How would you propose to run this test?"
Silver hair swinging as she tilted her head, the human paused before answering. "This may surprise you, but I do not stock saliva with my medical supplies. So you'll have to find a human to simply lick you." Her face remained impassive, save for a flicker of mirth which Cass glimpsed for a split second, hiding behind her genuinely kind eyes. "And I'm afraid I am unable to volunteer for such a task."
Vadix turned to his partner with a steady look on his face, determined, having accepted this bizarre fate. "Well, Cassana, what do you say?" He extended his clean hand toward her, talons hovering just below her chin.
The woman gulped, feeling uncharacteristically shy. Their roles seemed to have been temporarily reversed, she thought detachedly. But then she shrugged to herself, squared her shoulders and leaned forward.
She licked him, from the tip of one talon to the bend of his wrist. It was an odd sensation, especially when her tongue dipped between his hardened plates, meeting leathery skin for a fleeting moment.
It was odd, certainly, but also not disagreeable in the slightest.
Suddenly Cass was reminded of Duron, whose tongue had ministered her into oblivion. She felt her cheeks burn, certain her mortification was published on her face. At least Vadix and the doctor would assume her reaction was to the present situation, and not to her previous alien-induced ecstasy.
In fact, her reaction was the only one at present.
The trio stared at the turian's palm, as though waiting for it to spontaneously combust.
"Well," the doctor began. "The fact you didn't immediately break out into a rash is a good sign. Certainly not the worst reaction I've ever seen. As your doctor, I would recommend removing the glue with this method; it will likely be more bearable than scrubbing with soap." She cringed, emphasizing her words with greater poignancy than any tone could have. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I find myself in dire need of some breakfast. I'll leave you to attend to our 'invalid'," Dr. Chakwas winked at Cass as she left the med-bay.
This left the human and the turian looking at each other, trying to look like they weren't looking at each other.
Cass knew she would have to break the silence first, but she worried about the strain this would put on their friendship. "How do you want to go about this?" she asked gingerly.
Finally Vadix met her gaze and paused before answering. "Since my other hand hasn't broken out in awful hives, I think the doctor may be right. If it isn't too uncomfortable for you, I would appreciate it if you would help me with my hand." He couldn't maintain the eye contact, feeling too embarrassed to be asking this of his only friend on this ship.
"Of course!" the woman exclaimed. "It's not uncomfortable for me at all. I've done far more—" she broke off, seeing a darkness come over his gaze. "That is, I'm happy to help you, Vadix," reassuring him, Cass placed one hand on his upper arm, encouraging him to trust her.
Staring at her like she'd sprouted eye stalks, Vadix considered the openness of the alien in front of him. He was sure he couldn't tell if she was lying, and the thought unnerved him. "Very well," he whispered, offering her the palm she had not yet licked.
Carefully the human grasped the alien claws, turning his wrist so his talons pointed toward the ceiling. Then she brought his hand to her face and began to bathe his skin with her spit. The triangular plate next to his thumb felt like polished stone, mirrored by a second triangular plate which covered most of his palm. They seemed to have been frozen in place, the adhesive working as well on his hand as it did on her breasts.
Then she was thinking about what it would be like if they switched places, and he were the one licking the glue from her skin.
She shuddered, striving to remove the enticing image from her mind. Focus, Cass berated herself.
Moving up his palm, she continued lapping at the edges of the small plates, this one rectangular, resting just below the bottom of his two fingers. The divots between each metallic sheet felt like velvet compared to the rigidity of his carapace.
So close to her eyes, the human scrutinized the surface of this alien's hand. Never before had she noticed how smooth his hardened overlay was. As angular as it was, Cass would have expected it to be rough as well.
She couldn't help but wonder how the texture would feel against her skin, all over her bare skin.
Clearing her throat, the woman corralled her attention back to her task.
"Are you alright?" Vadix asked, oblivious to the true cause of her inner battle.
"Yes, yes, fine," she verbally waved away his concern and resumed her efforts. Now she cleaned his fingers, taking care to avoid the tips that could slice her tongue into ribbons.
Working in silence, one finger slowly wiggled loose, followed by the second, and eventually by his thumb.
"There!" Cass cried, relieved that job was over—if only so she could stop imagining what she wanted the turian to do to her.
Vadix flexed his talons, twirling them in all directions he could. "Thanks," he grunted, voice gravelly.
The human looked at him expectantly, waiting for further instruction.
Realization dawned like a mass relay. "Hell no," Vadix stated, emphatic. "You don't need to do anything else, Cassana. You've done enough."
Shrugging, her red hair bobbed back and forth. "It's not difficult. I'm sure I could easily manage the rest."
"No," he repeated, immoveable in his decision. He absolutely would not let her tongue near any other body parts—Vadix knew he wouldn't be able to guarantee that certain other body parts wouldn't also respond to her proximity. "I'll just take a shower."
With a smirk, the infuriating woman shrugged again. "If you insist. But it's gonna take a long time, I can tell you that right now."
Glaring at her like a stalled glacier, Vadix growled, "Whatever it takes."