Buried Beneath ch19: Bonds

Normandy, 2185, October 7th 7:35 AM

Miranda's office door opens, and I step inside. Scanning the room, I don't see any sign of her. That's... weird. Why does she never lock her door?

I shrug and approach the desk, placing down two plates of scrambled eggs-at least, I think that's what they are. Sometimes with Gardner's dishes, you can never be sure.

"You aren't supposed to be in here, Miss Ward," EDI says, appearing on her node. Déjà Vu.

"I just want to know one thing." I step closer to the node. "Do you know where Miranda is?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Ward. I cannot provide information you are unauthorised to receive." Unauthorised? Really?

I roll my eyes. "Can you just tell her I'm here?"

EDI disappears, leaving me staring at her node. Does that mean yes? This is why having an AI is a bad idea. They just mess with you.

"Vex," Miranda says from behind me. "Are you breaking in for a third time?"

Slowly, I turn around to find Miranda standing in the doorway, hand on her hip, a smirk on her lips. I hate EDI.

"Third?" I ask. Damn it. "How did you know about the second time?"

She steps inside, nodding towards the now-empty node. "EDI."

EDI, of course. "She didn't even show up that time."

Miranda's smirk turns into a mischievous grin. "I believe that's when you left me the scarf?"

Rubbing the back of my neck, I smile awkwardly. "Yeah, do you like it?"

"I do." She closes the door and steps forward, grabbing the waistband of my pants and pulling me towards her. Her lips meet mine.

I kiss her back for a few seconds before she slips a hand down the front of my pants. Reluctantly, I place a hand on her wrist and pull away. "As much as I would love to do this, I don't have time this morning."

She raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I have to be in the armoury by eight," I explain. "But I brought you breakfast."

Her hand retreats as she glances around me. "Eggs?"

"I think so." I shrug. "I thought it would be nice to have breakfast together before I had to work."

Miranda steps away, circling her desk and taking a seat. "That's kind of you." She pulls a plate towards her.

Sitting down, I grab the other one. "So, how's Oriana?"

A smile spreads across her face. "She's smart and adjusting well. We've decided to stay in touch." Miranda moves her food around with her fork. "I don't think I'll tell her about the mission."

Nodding, I take a bite of the food. It's pretty decent. "It's probably better for everyone. We don't know what'll happen once we pass through the relay."

Her brow furrows slightly. "It's something I think about occasionally, but whatever it is, we'll handle it." She takes a bite, watching me intently as she chews. "Also, make sure you come back when you're done in the armoury."

Meeting her eyes, I catch the smirk forming on her lips. Oh, I see. "Yeah, I think I can fit you into my busy schedule."

She raises an eyebrow. "Oh? I wasn't aware you did much around here."

I let out a laugh. "I'll be there."

Normandy, 2185, October 7th 2:03 PM

I have no idea what's gotten into Jacob. It's been hours, and he's only completed two upgrades while I'm on my ninth. There are too many weapons for me to handle alone, so he needs to snap out of it and pull his weight.

"Okay," I say, putting my tools down. "What's wrong?"

He glances up at me and sighs. "Sorry, I've been a little distracted."

"A little?" I gesture to the weapon he's working on. "That's your third upgrade."

He smiles. "I'm good. I'll catch up."

I roll my eyes. "Come on, boss. Tell me what's wrong."

He sighs heavily, "All right." He sets his tools aside and rests his hands on the table. "I told you about how I lost my father."

"Yeah." I remember him saying something like that.

He nods. "Well, I received a message the other night."

"Did something happen?" I hope it's not bad news.

"A distress call was detected from the ship my father was on." He sighs again, leaning back. "It's been lost for a decade."

Oh, is that all? I shrug. "So, when are we going?"

He gives me a disapproving look. "We're on a mission, Vex. We can't just take a trip to the Alpha Draconis system."

"Uh, yeah we can." I smirk at him. "We'll ask Riley. She dropped our plans to help Miranda." I have no doubt she'd want to help. "She'll understand."

He narrows his eyes at me. "I don't want to bother Shepard with this."

"So what? You just continue on this suicide mission with regrets?" I don't know about him, but I couldn't do it.

He lowers his head. "I-I'll ask her."

"There you go." I smile, picking up my tools again. "Now let's get this done so you can go talk to her."

He laughs, seeming more at ease. "Thanks, Vex. For this, and for helping Miranda. It means a lot to me."

And now I feel awkward. "Yeah, no problem."

We continue to work in peace. As I finish the current upgrade, I realise that Jack's weapons will need one too. I guess I'll have to secretly do that. I hope she's not still-I don't know, upset with me like last time.

Normandy, 2185, October 7th 5:27 PM

My breathing quickens as Miranda's lips trail from my neck to my mouth. She kisses me for a few seconds and I find it hard to focus on anything else.

Suddenly, there's the sound of the door opening. We both freeze. For a moment, everything feels like it's in slow motion.

"I brought the mission report from-" Riley looks up, pausing as she sees us.

Miranda quickly pulls the sheets over herself, backing away from me. I just hold up my hand, giving Riley a small wave.

She turns on her heel without saying another word and hurries out of the room. The door closes behind her, and Miranda immediately gets out of bed.

I adjust my position to sit up. "You didn't lock the door?"

"What do you think?" Miranda snaps, throwing the sheets back on the bed before running a hand through her hair, looking stressed. "I have to go talk to her."

Sighing, I get out of bed and walk over to her. "Okay." I take her hands, turning her to face me. "I'll talk to her. Just breathe."

She takes a deep breath, slowly letting it out. "I don't think this is working."

"Keep trying." I smile, brushing some hair behind her ear. "I'll talk to Riley."

She closes her eyes, taking another breath. "I just need to think." She steps away from me, collecting her underwear off the floor. And I lost her.

I roll my eyes. Riley couldn't have waited a minute? It would have made dealing with this more bearable. "Can you just relax?"

"Vex." Miranda turns to me, looking more annoyed now. "This is serious. I have a professional image to uphold."

"Riley will understand." I grab my bra off the floor. "You're only human."

She pulls her underwear up, and a small smile appears on her face for only a second. "You can talk to her, but report back to me straight after."

She's worried about nothing. "I will."

"Thank you." She finishes clasping her bra before approaching me and planting a quick kiss on my lips. "I'm sorry for snapping."

Smiling, I lean in for another one. "Nothing to be sorry about. I'll be back soon."

I quickly finish getting dressed and exit the room to find Riley waiting at the mess hall table. I awkwardly walk over and sit across from her. This sucks.

"So," she begins, trying to keep eye contact. "That was something." Just kill me.

I rub the back of my neck. "Look, Riles. Miranda's freaking out about-"

She holds a hand up. "It's okay, Vex. I understand. I was just surprised."

"We're not together." I don't know why I feel the need to tell her that. "It's just for stress relief."

Riley shrugs. "You don't have to justify it to me. I understand the mission can be stressful."

"Thanks, Riles." I knew she would be fine with it.

"No problem." She waves a hand. "When did it start? If you don't mind me asking."

Uh. "The night before we arrived at Horizon."

Riley raises an eyebrow. "That was a few weeks ago."

"I couldn't just tell you," I explain, trying to be vague. "It's not just my story to tell."

"That's understandable." She nods, leaning back. "How do you feel about her?"

I shrug. "I don't really know." It's not technically a lie.

"Okay, I'll stop questioning you for now." She gives me a smirk. "Now that that's out of the way. Promise me I'll never see that much of you again."

I lower my head to the table. "I hate you."

Normandy, 2185, October 8th 6:34 AM

The heat of my breath rebounds off the floor, just inches from my face. My arms burn as I struggle to push myself up. My hair sticks to my skin as beads of sweat run down my face, falling off the tip of my nose.

"Okay, that's enough for today," Riley says.

My arms give out, and I collapse onto the floor. Finally, I'm so tired and the ground is so cold. It feels so nice. I want to lay here for hours, maybe even forever. "I love this floor."

"I've been meaning to tell you." Riley sits on the ground beside me. "Jacob asked to check out a distress signal."

"Yeah," I mumble into the floor. "He was telling me about it yesterday."

"We're a few days out from where the signal originated," she continues, resting her elbows on her knees. "Jacob asked for you to come along."

I roll onto my back, staring up at her. "I'll do it."

She nods. "I thought so. I already put you on the mission."

I laugh. "And I knew you'd do that."

"Sure you did." She rolls her eyes. "Mordin wants us to go to Tuchanka after that. He hasn't really explained why."

"Tuchunka?" I scrunch up my nose. "I love getting charged by krogan."

She smirks down at me. "Yeah, maybe you should stay on the ship."

"Nah." I wave a hand dismissively. "I'm not afraid of a bunch of krogan."

Riley shakes her head before standing up. "Still, you should go with someone just in case. And they won't be a 'babysitter.'" She offers me a hand.

"I know." I reach up, taking it, letting her pull me to my feet. "Thanks. I'm beyond ready for a shower."

She smiles. "Yeah, I don't think Miranda would appreciate the smell."

"Bitch." I nudge her shoulder playfully. "Besides, I'm going to the armoury."

She pats me on the back. "Have fun with that."

I roll my eyes as I follow her to the elevator. I don't think I'm going to hear the end of the Miranda teasing for a while. Just my luck.

Normandy, 2185, October 8th 3:34 PM

Walking down the stairs, I spot Jack lying on her bed. It's been a few days since I've talked to her, so this might be a little awkward. But I have to fix things between us. I want my friend back.

"Taking a break?" I ask, standing a few feet away.

Jack lifts her head slightly, glancing over at me. "Yep," she replies, popping the P.

Stepping closer, I notice the datapads scattered across the floor. She still hasn't found anything, how many more files could there be? Judging by how often Miranda writes reports, probably a lot.

"Listen." I stop by her bed. "I'm sorry about the other day."

She seems surprised for a moment, but quickly tries to play it off. "I didn't expect you to apologise."

I shrug. "I was too harsh." Moving to my usual spot against the wall, I sit down. "You're not mad?"

"There's nothing to be mad about." She sits up, facing me. "I'm not stupid, Vex. I knew you were just frustrated."

Smiling at that, I try to play it off. "Yeah, cool."

She raises an eyebrow. "Is that all you came here for?"

"Actually, it's only one of the reasons." I pull out my toolkit. "I have to upgrade the shotgun you have hidden in here."

She narrows her eyes at me. "Yeah, okay." She retrieves the shotgun from behind the bed and hands it to me. "What's it for anyway?"

I set it down and open my toolkit. "I'm upgrading it with a microphasic pulse." I hold up a small grey box.

She gives me a blank look. "And that is?"

Opening the box, I show her the device. "It'll boost effectiveness against shields and barriers."

She nods. "Right. I forgot how much of a nerd you are."

"Hey, I resent that." But I smile anyway. "Also, the third reason is I just like hanging out with you."

"Yeah." She leans back against the wall. "Same." My grin widens, and she narrows her eyes. "Wipe that smile off your face, Ward."

"Gross." I grimace. "Why are you calling me that?"

Jack shrugs. "Change it if you hate it so much."

"Never," I defend. "It's my grandfather's surname."

She gives me a confused look. "Whatever, Ward."

Time for a subject change. "What are you looking for in the files anyway?"

Her expression turns neutral. "A place." Well, that's more than she usually tells me.

"And that's all you're going to tell me?" I already know the answer.

"Yep." That's it.

I shrug. "Fair enough, Jack."

We go quiet as I start working on her shotgun. Whatever place Jack's looking for, I hope she trusts me enough to tell me when she finds it. I want to help her if I can.

Jack sighs, staring at me intently. "You hate the name, but won't change it because of your grandfather? Why?"

Oh. I wasn't expecting her to fixate on that. "I don't hate the name. Zaeed just calls me Ward, and he and I haven't exactly been friends lately."

"You're-" she pauses. "Really weird."

"Yeah." I guess I sort of am.

"Where is your grandfather now?" She's still asking questions? Usually, she doesn't ask so many follow-ups.

I look down at my tools, smiling to myself. "He died almost a decade ago. He took me in after my brother died, and I got a little rebellious. My parents couldn't handle it." Sometimes it feels like they just took the easy way out, and that really sucks.

Jack nods. "Have you tried talking to them?" She's... trying to help? I knew she cared.

Shaking my head, I give her a sad smile. "I have no idea where they are now. It's been almost twelve years since I've spoken to them." Maybe I'll see how they're doing after all this is done.

"If it makes you feel any better," Jack begins. "I don't know where my parents are either."

I know she shared something sad about herself, but I can't help but smile. "I think that just sucks for both of us."

"That's life." She shrugs before standing up and stretching.

"Where are you going?" I ask, confused.

"This shit is depressing. I need a drink." She starts walking towards the stairs. When I don't follow, she turns around. "Hurry the fuck up, Vex."

"Coming." I quickly pack up my tools. "I'll come by and finish this thing tomorrow."

"Whatever." She rolls her eyes. "Move your ass."

I follow after her, catching up quickly. I know I really shouldn't, I have to train with Riley in the morning. But, on the other hand, a few drinks won't hurt.

Normandy, 2185, October 8th 8:51 PM

I step into the room as Riley turns in her chair to face me. Her curious look is met with a shrug as I head straight for the stairs. Sleep is all I want right now.

"I see you've been drinking again," she observes, watching me closely.

"Just a little." I make my way to the couch, taking a seat. "Jack's idea."

"Try not to drink as much, Vex." She gets up, and moves over to the railing.

I wave a hand at her. "I'll be more inclined to listen to you in the morning."

"I bet you would." She rolls her eyes. "I'm okay if you have the occasional drink, but you do tend to go overboard."

Well, she's not wrong. "I'll try to lay off a bit. At least while we're on the mission." The last thing I want is to fuck up because of it. I can't let that happen.

"That's all I ask." She disappears briefly towards her desk before calling out, "How come you don't stay in Miranda's room now that I know?"

I lay down on the couch, staring up at the spacelight. "I don't know." She has a point, but I don't want to push things with Miranda. She's still worried about the whole thing, even though I've assured her Riley was understanding.

"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to." Riley returns to the railing, locking eyes with me. When I don't answer, she shrugs. "I'll just grab a shower and get ready for bed."

"Sure thing." I nod as she disappears again. I hope she doesn't want me to wait for her to finish. I just want to sleep.

I roll onto my side, intending to do just that.

Thank you for reading.