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A Promise is a Promise (Atroxa & OstrichFromJoust)

Tamsin leaned against Vexus as she cried, her hands leaving her face for her arms to wrap around his neck, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Her forehead rested against the softer, leathery skin there, surprisingly soothed by his scent. He was something solid for her to anchor to, the girl clinging to him as her crying began to abate a little, drawing comfort from how solid and real he was. She knew that Vexus wouldn't let anything happen to her, as selfish as that seemed to her, to already have that sort of expectation of some one who was still very much a stranger to her. But she knew it was true, and that was about the only thing keeping her from losing it completely right now, so she had to believe it.

She was sniffling softly but had nearly stopped crying by the time he voiced his opinion on her sleeping arrangement, Tamsin shaking her head. “N-no,” she managed to choke out in protest. He was right that she would refuse, she still wanted to, but she didn't have the will or the energy to fight him as he scooped her up and carried her away from the couch and back to his room. She knew there were no ulterior motives in Vexus' mind with this act, she trusted him, and while he was a stranger in that she didn't know his favorite color, or if he was a morning person or a night owl, or what his greatest fear was, she knew his character very well by now. The girl doubted she'd ever meet anyone as kind and honorable as Vexus.

Tamsin let him carry her into his room with minimal fuss, crying the last few tears she had as he set her on his bed. Letting him go, she wiped at her face quickly, sniffling softly and looking at him as he awkwardly tried to alleviate any misgivings she might have about this new arrangement. She still felt pretty awful but she couldn't help a small laugh at his behavior. She kept setting on the side of the bed as Vexus moved to the other side, drawing a deep breath and releasing it slowly to try and calm herself down. Once she was satisfied that she wasn't going to burst into tears again Tamsin laid down, getting comfortable under the covers and rolling onto her side to look at Vexus. She grew nervous then, looking at him, before she scooted closer bit by bit until she was finally close enough to rest her head against his shoulder. Tamsin needed contact, and so far about the only time she felt like she wasn't on the verge of a panic attack was when she was near Vexus, but he might not be comfortable with it, she wasn't sure.
 
He was glad to see her smile, laughing a bit at him trying to make sure he wasn't planning something. If sleeping alone out on the couch gave nightmares, maybe sleeping in here with him being close by would let her actually get a good night's sleep. That was the theory, anyway. Vexus slipped back into his former spot as he moved to the other side of the bed, getting under the first layer of covers and giving a content sigh as he found the comfortable part once more. He shut his eyes, slowly opening them a bit as he felt something on his shoulder. He gave a light smile, realizing it was her head resting against him. It was fine, actually he didn't want to admit that it felt nice, to have her there, feeling safe with him. "Good night, Tamsin," he said once more, closing his eyes again and eventually drifting back to sleep.

Morning came a few hours later. It was certainly a different kind of experience, waking up on a station rather than on a planet. The light of the sun didn't get to greet you as you got up, it didn't really look any different than when you had gone to sleep. Basically the clock was the only thing to tell you that time had passed. His alarm blared at his usual wake-up time for work, the turian military anthem playing from a small clock radio on a nightstand. That was the tune that woke him up so many times during his service, so he kept the habit now.

Reaching his long index finger to shut it off, he stretched a bit as his body woke up. Vexus slipped away from the bed and Tamsin carefully, not sure if it had woken her up as well. He moved quietly, getting his things around to prepare for the day, then moved out to the bathroom to shower and get ready.
 
When Vexus didn't move away, or ask her to move, she relaxed, taking that as silent permission to stay where she was, her head resting against his shoulder and curled up on her side facing him. She glanced up at him as he told her good night, smiling a little and closing her eyes before she answered him with a murmured, “Night.” And fell asleep almost immediately. No dreams plagued Tamsin, it was the deepest, most restful sleep she'd had since arriving on the Citadel. It was dark and quiet, and she felt safe with Vexus close by, her head remaining on his shoulder through the night, her arm ending up draped over him at some point.

Tamsin only stirred a little when the alarm clock went off and the turian slipped from bed, the girl only rolled a little to end up where he'd been sleeping, curling up into a ball to keep sleeping. She woke reluctantly, opening one eye to peer around the still dimly lit room and then gave a wide yawn. She continued to lay there, just thinking, her eyes half closed, letting her mind wander. It was strange to wake up in an unfamiliar place like this, and it was stranger still to wake up in some one else's bed, especially a man's bed. Her parents would definitely not approve. And with Vexus being a turian, her father would especially disapprove.

But her parents weren't here. Tamsin frowned to herself, fighting back the urge to cry. She was trying to resist the dawning realization that her parents weren't coming back, but it was a losing battle. Thankfully there was a small distraction as she heard the shower that she assumed Vexus was taking stopped, and in a desperate attempt to get off the subject of the fate of her parents, her mind clung to that instead. To her embarrassment though she only found herself wondering what turians looked like naked, making her face turn red.
 
Vexus went through his typical morning, most of the standard things a human might do, just a little different. For one thing, turians didn't have hair. Actually, humans were the only intelligent race that did. It was a bit odd to the rest of the galaxy. For a shower, turians had to make sure to get under their fringe, in the crevices of their carapace, the hard metallic parts and the softer, leathery parts. They had a different kind of brush to get their teeth, being rather sharp. After a little while he'd finished, walking out of the bathroom dressed in a different version of the same C-Sec uniform he wore.

His mornings usually went the same, but with C-Sec, the rest of the day could bring anything. A perk of the job, he supposed, it wasn't usually boring. Actually, this was a different morning, he had a guest. It was nice actually, having someone else there. Of course he'd made a couple friends while he'd been here, spent some time with other people and such. It was the first time someone had spent the night, though. Work kept him busy from really getting close to people yet, and it hadn't really been that long since he'd arrived. While they hadn't done anything, of course, it was still nice.

Dumping his clothes in a hamper, he moved back to the bedroom. He was still unsure if the girl was awake, she may still be sleeping, being the first night she'd had in a bed for a few days at least. His long fingers moved the doorknob slowly, head peaking in as he cracked the door open. She was still on the bed, facing away. "You awake?" he said a bit quietly in case she was still sleeping.
 
Back home, Tamsin's mornings had been very routine. She'd wake up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast with her parents, then she would go off to school and they would go to work. Her father worked in the fields like most everyone else, her mother worked with the livestock. She'd graduated last spring though, and since then she'd been helping her mother as an assistant. Tamsin liked animals, she had a naturally caring and nurturing spirit that they responded to. She'd been considering going to college for veterinary medicine, it had been the main topic of discussion in the weeks leading up to the attack. It would mean leaving the small town she'd called home since birth, and going to one of the larger cities, maybe even off world.

It all seemed so distant now, like another life time, and it had only been a few days ago.

She heard the door open and then heard Vexus' flanged voice asking her if she was awake, obviously trying to be quiet in case she was still asleep. She was wide awake by now though and sat up, looking over at him with a smile. “Yeah, I'm awake,” she told him, her short blonde hair a mess around her head, sticking out at odd angles in gravity defying ways. Tamsin looked better, not so strained and tired. The girl looked sad though.

“Vexus...” Her eyes dropped and her face fell a little, and her voice was soft and sad as she continued, “They're not coming back are they? My parents?” Tamsin swallowed softly, still not looking up at him, looking at her hands resting in lap over the covers. “I know they promised that they'd come get me, no matter what they had to do but... it's been so long...” Her eyes welled up with tears, she couldn't handle it anymore, the constant worrying and wondering, she just wish she knew something. And the most likely scenario was that they had never made it off the planet, that they were dead.
 
As she sat up and looked at him, Vexus opened the door wider. He stepped into the room and returned the smile. The thought came again, that it was nice to have someone there. Her hair was wild, sticking out, 'bedhead,' he believed they called it. Weird, yeah, but he liked it.

The nice thoughts drifted away as he saw her face, past the smile. It was obvious as she spoke again and looked down, it all seemed to be hitting her at once, even after a good night's sleep. His smile had since faded, mandibles shifting as he frowned. He moved closer, sitting on the bed next to her. His hand cautiously moved, resting on her shoulder.

The turian gave a light sigh as he thought of the right words to say, what he could possibly say. Slowly they came to him, his mandibles moving and mouth talking just as his mind could send them along. "Tamsin, I wish I could say I knew they were on their way here right now. I really, really do. I don't know though, I hope that they are, I hope that they're fine and coming to see you. Ever since this stuff started happening, this galaxy's gone crazy, everything's all messed up. There's so much stuff that we knew for sure a few days ago that's up in the air now, that we were wrong about or we don't really know. Something I know for sure is that they would be happy knowing you're here, and that you're safe."
 
Tamsin wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks quickly, sniffling as she did. It wasn't the adrenaline fueled relief of when he'd saved her from the Batarians, or the frantic sobbing after her nightmare, these tears were slow and heavy, tears of grief and acceptance. “I never used to cry this much...” she told him, for some reason not wanting him to think she was some simpering, foolish little girl who cried at the drop of a hate. She didn't want Vexus to think she was weak, even though here of late, she certainly felt as if that were the case.

“I just miss them so much,” she whispered, wiping away another round of tears and swallowing down the lump in her throat. “I just wish I knew what had happened to them, you know? It'd be easier if I knew.” If they were dead and never coming, then she could move on, it would hurt, but she could grief and move on. And if they were alive, then she'd at least know that they'd show up one day, even if it wasn't any time soon.

The girl looked up at Vexus, her expression soft and sad, but not so upset. “I'm only safe thanks to you,” she told him, “If you hadn't come to check on me last night...” She looked away, her face going a little pale then looked back to him, “I'm just glad you were working the docks that day.” Tamsin leaned forward then, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly,finding that she only felt really content when he was near her.
 
"Well, a lot of stuff is happening, it's fine. No judgement here," he said, letting her cry, long fingers moving slowly in their place on her shoulder to comfort her. He didn't think she was weak, even though they'd only known each other a short time he knew she was a strong person. Even the strongest person would crack with what's happened to her in the past few days. The invasion, leaving home without her parents, waiting on the docks, being attacked, and now dealing with the fact that her parents might be gone...It was understandable.

Vexus nodded as she spoke. Not knowing was the worst part, he completely understood. While it wasn't likely...it was still possible they were out there. She could grieve, but without knowing, a little part of her would wonder, and not let her really move on. He wished somehow he could help her get closure, but all he really had was kind words, no answers. He hated it.

A sad smile crossed his face, mandibles moving as she looked to him, looking a bit better. The thought of what would have happened if he hadn't been there, if the thing with the vorcha had taken even a few minutes longer, if someone had stopped him to talk...Vexus quickly pushed the thought away. His eyes widened a bit, fringe moving slightly as she leaned forward and took him in a hug. His arms went around her, squeezing a bit and holding her, smile getting warmer at her touch. "Me too," he just said.

After a few moments, a thought popped into his head. He pulled back a bit in her arms, giving her a smirk. "You know, technically, being the officer on your case, I could...keep you off the docks for today, maybe call in and request some time to deal with the report. We can't stay bunked in here all day, of course, might need to take some time and explore the Citadel for a bit," he said, offering to play hooky and show her around the Wards. She needed it.
 
Tamsin hugged him as long as seemed appropriate, letting him go when he pulled back a bit to speak to her. Her arms dropped to her sides and her head tilted slightly, listening to him as he proposed not going in to work and showing her around the Citadel instead, making her laugh softly and give him a smile, sniffling a little. “If you don't think they'll mind...” she told him, nodding a little. “I guess I should get ready then,” she sighed, giving a soft yawn as she slid out of bed.

She remembered a bit too late that she wasn't wearing any pants, long pale legs on display, and her face turned a little red. “Oh... uh, sorry,” she muttered, all but scurrying out of his room to grab her bag, which was still by the couch. Tamsin pulled on her pants and went back, glancing at his bathroom. “I'm going to take a quick shower... I know you don't have shampoo or anything but it's better than nothing,” she shrugged before she disappeared. The sound of the shower running would follow after a moment.

Tamsin found the hot water refreshing and comforting, and liked that she was able to take a moment. The showers at the docks were small and cramped, water was rationed so you only had a few moments to get as clean as you could before the water was shut off. She felt leagues better afterward, brushing her hair out and putting on a clean pair of clothes before she went to find Vexus, looking like she felt ten times better. “Alright, ready when you are, what's the plan?”
 
"No, of course not," he said, shaking his head. Well, maybe a little, since it was still obviously busy down there. Vexus was a hard worker though, and they should have enough help for the day. Tomorrow he could catch up on his reports, and it would all be fine. He did have a 'legitimate' reason to not come in, following up on her case did actually need to be done, even with the culprits already in custody.

"Sure thing," he said, smiling as she got up and moved away. The realization hit him just as it did her, seeing her slender legs right up to her underwear as she moved from the bed to the door. He did look away, giving an embarrassed chuckle. "It's, uh, yeah," he said, realizing he could have looked away a bit sooner. "Yeah! Of course, take as long as you need. Towels are right in the closet there," he said, giving the offer and glad to be off the subject.

He got up and quickly changed after hearing the water start. Vexus got out of his C-Sec uniform, getting into a more casual outfit. A sort of red and blue suit like clothing, it was the turian equivalent of a human wearing a hoodie and some jeans. Their unique bodies didn't offer that as an option, basically always covering up most of their metallic exterior. While she showered he made a call to the office, telling them he was going to work on her case today, apologizing for not helping at the docks. They were a bit upset, but did understand. He couldn't exactly get things done last night, having just happened, and they could bring in some extra help. Vexus was glad he had kept his toes in line since starting there, allowing a bit of leniency. With that taken care of, he brought up a screen on his omni-tool to check for things to do. There was a sort of shopping area close by, with some cafes and restaurants for them to eat, and stores and such for them to spend time at. He thought it might be interesting for her to see, probably lots of stuff that one could get here that couldn't be found on her colony. Another thing he thought of was the Taralos Theatre in this ward, there was probably a show or concert or something going on.

His gaze moved up as she came into the room, a smile crossing his face as he saw her. "You look nice, I mean better. Not that you didn't...Want to get some breakfast?" he said, looking down and standing from his seat. His mandibles fluttered a bit, the turian blush. "There's a stand that has some decent breakfast stuff on the way to the cab station, I stop there pretty often. Most places here have dextro and levo food, so no worries," he said, recovering, moving to the door and opening it for them to head out.
 
Tamsin laughed softly as the turian tried to compliment her, but just gave up and asked about breakfast instead. “Breakfast sounds great,” she told him with a smile, not teasing him about his attempt at a compliment since she could tell he was little embarrassed. She followed along after him as they left, honestly a little excited about actually getting to see some of the Citadel, it was a good distraction from the less than happy thoughts about her parents.

She stuck close to Vexus as they walked, it was early but the Citadel was already packed full of people going about their daily lives. More so than usual thanks to the high volume of incoming refugees being given places to stay. She eventually just looped her arm through one of the turians after being bumped into hard enough to almost make her fall behind him. At least this way she had something to hold onto, or maybe she was just looking for an excuse to keep touching him. Tamsin didn't question it too hard, a little wary of the real answer.

It was too loud for any real conversation, the dull roar of a thousand voices drowning out anything but a shout, even with how close she was having to walk to Vexus. It was a little overwhelming, she'd never seen crowds like this, not even on the docks, where most people were generally just sitting around. She looked a little tense as she walked, but she kept calm, reassuring herself with the turian officer's close proximity. Still though, Tamsin was relieved when they reached the stall, once again staring at the menu in confusion. They just asked the vender to give her whatever it was that most humans ordered.

“Is there somewhere a little quieter to eat?” She asked him, having to shout to be heard.
 
Vexus wasn't usually awkward, not typically having trouble talking to people. He could interrogate a suspect, present security plans to a high ranking official, talking was a huge part of his job and he was fine at it. The problem was when he really started to like someone, when turian babbled a bit, doing things like that with the compliment. He lost his composure. It was something he could get over, force himself past it. What didn't help was that he kept pushing the thoughts and feelings back, ignoring it, which just made them fester more. He was worried about that, forcing himself to just think of her as a friend, someone that he was helping out in a rough spot. Just a turian doing his duty, maybe a little more.

The officer led her through the crowds, trained eyes and feet finding a path through and leading her along against the rush. It was morning, everyone heading to get food and then get to work for the day. Of course, the inbound of refugees just added to the fire, making more crowds everywhere from those lucky enough to get in. His gaze looked down as she hooked her arm around his, quickly moving it back up and forcing away a light smile. It was just to help get them through the crowds, so they didn't lose each other, of course.

Vexus finally got them to the stand, waiting in line until they got to the front. His order was similar to what Tamsin ended up getting, slight differences from the dextro and levo based things. It was basically a breakfast sandwich: egg, cheese, a meat, on a sort of bagel-like pastry. The sandwiches came with coffee, Vexus paid and took the items, leading them from the line.

"Yeah, hold the line and follow me," he said, moving once more through the crowd. He had a place in mind and headed towards it, sometimes moving against the crowd, sometimes with them. Eventually they got away from the main walkway, out of the path to the travel area. That was where most people were headed, once out of the commuters way it wasn't so bad. Vexus had taken them part of the way to the shopping area, to a small sitting spot nearby. Still some people around, at least here they could have a conversation without shouting. "There," he said with a content sigh, sitting down and taking out their breakfast. "I guess I should have checked, do you like coffee?" he asked, handing her sandwich and cup over.
 
Tamsin would maybe admit to herself that perhaps she had a bit of a crush on the turian, if she had to really think about it, but nothing more than that. She told herself it was nothing to take seriously though. It was understandable that she might have some feelings of admiration for him, he'd been very kind to her, he'd saved her and been there for her. She tried to tell herself that any feelings of affection were to be expected, but that to try and make something of it would be... well, silly. Just a bad idea really, because what in the world would he ever see in her? She was just a kid, and they weren't even the same species. She knew that there were a lot of human and asari couples out there yeah, but turian and human? Tamsin supposed it happened, but she hadn't thought that it would be something she would she would ever consider.

She wasn't though, of course.

The girl followed Vexus after they got their food, breathing in deeply and realizing how hungry she was at how good it smell. She went along as he maneuvered them through the crowd until they were in a sitting area with various chairs and tables arranged out of the way of the flow of people. Tamsin sat down when he did, taking the sandwich and cup from him, her stomach starting to growl. She laughed a little though when he asked about if she even liked coffee. “I'm from a farming colony, coffee is our life's blood,” she assured him, looking in the bag that had the napkins and such in it to find some sugar and cream to put in her coffee.

Tamsin doctored her coffee how she liked and let it sit to cool down a little while she turned to her sandwich, eyeing it a little before she took a bit, chewing slowly. She nodded and smiled, swallowing before she spoke, “Not bad.” She ate quietly for a moment, trying to fill her stomach a bit, before she took her coffee and sipped at it, glancing around curiously before she looked back to Vexus. “So what's on the agenda?” She asked him, a little excited that she was going to get to see a bit more of the Citadel before had to head back to the docks.
 
Vexus chuckled. "Good, here's a transfusion," he said, setting her things down and getting his own out. He blew a bit at the hot drink, taking a small sip to enjoy the taste. Maybe it was the years of gritty, crap dirt water they'd been given in the military, but nowadays he enjoyed pretty much any coffee, just black. It had a good flavor, the stand was a sort of chain thing on the Citadel, big for their coffee and their breakfast things. Most weren't even open into the afternoon.

He got into his own sandwich, taking bites and chewing, realizing now he was pretty hungry as it hit him. The fruit and snack from last night didn't really do much for him, surprising as that was. He dug into the food a bit quickly, stopping himself before he just inhaled it. Setting it down and picking up the coffee, he took a couple sips.

"Well, there's stuff to do here on the ward, we're close to a shopping, hang out area if you'd like to see that. There's a theater not too far, thought there might be a show or something we could catch. We could just walk around, there's a nice garden on the ward, and Kithoi Point. It's got a great view of the whole Citadel and the galaxy. So, lots of stuff we could do," he said, explaining all the things he'd thought of earlier.
 
Tamsin didn't like as much sugar and creamer as the people she'd seen outside her own community and her family. Her father always complained about people ruining good coffee, and even gave her a hard time for adding even as little of the products as she did. But she thought he mostly did it to be funny, her father had a very weird sense of humor. She drew her mind away from her parents as quickly as she could though, finding it only made her miss them more to think about them. Instead she focused on Vexus, listening as he told her some prospective activities that they could do.

She sipped her coffee and made a thoughtful noise, “That all sounds pretty interesting,” she nodded, “I guess the shopping not so much, you have to have money to shop, and you're already spending too much on me.” Tamsin told him with a soft laugh before she ate some more of her sandwich, chewing contently for a moment before she mused aloud, “A garden sounds nice though, it feels like forever since I saw anything green.”

Tamsin missed being surrounding by growing things, whether it was livestock or plants, she'd always liked watching things flourish, having some part in it. She didn't think there was much in life that was more rewarding than helping something grow.
 
"Fair point, buying things takes money. Don't worry, I expect to be paid back in full, plus interest for everything," Vexus said, faking a stern gaze. It wasn't for long, he gave a chuckle and took another sip of coffee. "Kidding, of course. The garden can be our first stop then. It's not as fancy as the ones on the Presidium, since they have to make it all pretty for the politicians, but it's nice. Something to look and and walk through when you've had a little too much of looking at metal all around you," he said, giving a bit of a wave for emphasis.

He was happy to see her excited about the potential ideas he had. It meant, as far as he could tell, she was keeping her mind off the crappy stuff. Back on the docks she might just dwell on it, at least for today he could give her some good memories of the Citadel rather than the crapstorm from the last few days. After a bit he finished up the sandwich, putting the paper and napkins back into the bag, sipping at the coffee as he waited for her to finish. "Shall we?" he offered once she was done, taking their trash to a receptacle. Gotta love the keepers for tending to stuff like that. "To Lanaya Memorial Gardens," he said, pointing forward and leading them on.
 
Tamsin started to smile and nod in agreement at first when the turian spoke, chewing on a mouthful of sandwich, but she froze a bit when he mentioned being paid back for everything plus interest. The girl's face visibly paled a little and her eyes went a little wide, staring at him a little in mid chew. Granted, she really had been hoping to pay him back one day, it wasn't in her to just owe some one like this, but it was something else to have it sprung on her like that. But then Vexus was laughing and assured her he was kidding. Tamsin swallowed her food with a roll of her eyes, “Very funny,” she told him sarcastically, while trying not to laugh herself, a bit of a grin breaking onto her face anyway.

She finished eating a bit after he did, putting her trash away but still sipping at her coffee as she stood to follow him. Tamsin was eager to see the gardens, but she was secretly a little disappointed that this time, as they set off, she didn't have an excuse to hang onto his arm. She tried not to dwell on it though, silly, childish impulses weren't something she should be putting much thought into. Instead she tried to enjoy herself, which she found to be easy with Vexus for company.

As they went through the things that he had thought of for them to do though, Tamsin found herself increasingly aware of the fact that they only had a couple more things to do, then just one, and then nothing else. Which she knew meant that it was probably time for her to go back to the docks. She tried not to feel too down about it, after all, Vexus had done a lot for her, even just getting her out of there for one day had helped her a great deal. She could go back feeling a little more at ease now, but still, she had been enjoying herself, and wasn't exactly looking forward to going back, or to saying goodbye to Vexus.

“Well,” Teagan said as they exited the theater, “I had a lot of fun today.” The girl gave him as bright a smile as she could, trying to hide the fact that she wasn't exactly thrilled to be heading back to the docks already. She didn't want to seem so ungrateful to him. Vexus had done more for her than anyone who wasn't related to her.
 
The feeling was definitely mutual. Vexus found that as they walked, first through the gardens to look at the sights, he would throw a random glance down to the girl, hoping she might take his arm again, do something just to make them closer. It was a cycle of looking, telling himself to stop, making himself forget about it, then wonder once more. At one point he tried forcing himself just to not look at her, get it completely out of his mind. One might guess how fast that lasted.

He had a fantastic time with her though, showing her all around the Citadel. First the gardens, seeing the greens and plants that were surely unusual to her. They went out to Kithoi Point, taking in the view of the five arms of the citadel and the swirl of the galaxy beyond. Some time just walking and hanging out together on the ward, and eventually it got late and they found themselves walking out of the theater, walking slowly as the crowd funneled around them, leaving the building. There were plenty of couples that had seen the play with them, majority of the same race, but a couple mixes. With their unique biology, asari was the most common to find someone out of their race, it was encouraged, from what he'd learned about their culture. The large absence of turian and human couples only confirmed Vexus's thoughts, he should try to forget about it. He didn't want to, and it wasn't impossible of course, just...Probably wouldn't happen.

"Me too, it was a blast. Thanks for giving me the chance to have a real break," he said, looking to her and flashing a wide, sharp-toothed grin. His mind also trailed to the fact that she should be getting back to the docks. On the other hand, she was already out, as long as she came back, they shouldn't look too deep into it if she'd been out for just one more night, especially after what had happened to her. "I don't know if you're interested, but I've been notified the room you stayed has a vacancy for the night, should you wish to extend your stay until tomorrow," he offered, hoping she might accept.
 
Tamsin couldn't seem to find the guts to actually touch Vexus, and as the night wore on, she'd felt the need to do so only grow with that sense of impending closure. The hardest had been in the theater, to be honest she had only paid attention half the time, the other half she'd been watching Vexus out of the corner of her eye, trying to think of some excuse to just lean against him a little. She hadn't though, he'd shown no interest in her, only kindness that she assumed he might show to much anyone who needed it. By now maybe it was more of a friendship, and she was likely getting some preferential treatment, but she still didn't see that as any indication of something more. So she kept to herself on that front.

Even despite that she had enjoyed herself, she couldn't say she'd even seen anything quite as awe inspiring as the view from Kithoi Point. The Citadel was so huge, and the galaxy beyond provided an amazing backdrop. She'd had the most fun just walking around with Vexus though, talking with him, or not talking, since she'd found that neither of them required constant conversation to be content. She was going to miss talking with him. Tamsin supposed she would be seeing him again at the docks, but it wasn't quite the same.

The girl smiled when he thanked her, laughing a bit, “I think it's I who should be thanking you really. Though I suppose I already have, multiple times.” They lapsed into a bit of silence, though this time it wasn't as comfortable as the ones earlier. Tamsin felt the weight of goodbye settling heavily on her shoulders, but before she could voice it, Vexus was offering her another night at his place, in his own way. She chuckled softly, “Oh? Well then, I'd definitely be interested in booking another night.” She knew she shouldn't, that he was really stretching his luck a bit now, but she couldn't say no, she just didn't have the will power to do that.
 
"Perfect, they'd be delighted to have you!" Vexus said happily, glad the proud girl had decided to stay again. He started to move them again, rather than going to a transport that might take them to the docks, he went to grab them a cab to get them back to his apartment. "You're very welcome, by the way. I've enjoyed having you here," he said, deciding not to dwell on the fact that such a bad incident was the catalyst for her really coming to the Citadel. It was the good memories he would keep, and his mind particularly focused on their closer moments, sitting together in the theater, her latching onto his arm in the morning, resting her head against him just before they got to sleep.

It didn't take very long for a cab to show up, the turian leading them in and directing it to his building. Sitting next to each other was an encore of the seemingly choreographed dance between them, stealing glances as the other wasn't watching, hands inching close but pulling away, hoping the other might do something to show interest because they both thought it was impossible. Being on the same ward, the cab ride wasn't very long, Vexus paid and his apartment was in sight for them to walk to.

"Hungry at all? We could order something in. I'd cook, but one, I'm not very good, and two, anything I have, at best, wouldn't help your hunger or give any nutritional value," he said, smirking as they walked slowly back to his door.
 
Tamsin couldn't help but grin when he told her that he'd enjoyed having her with him, feeling a giffy excitement that reminded her of the couple of times she'd actually been interested in one of the boys who lived in her town. They'd been brief, but intense, more crushes or infatuations than anything else. Much to her father's relief she had never developed a very serious interest in any of them, and she half hoped that this would be just as brief, though maybe not as intense, as she'd found that they had had a dual effect on her emotions, extreme highs and crushing lows. It had been emotionally exhausting, and it had always ended in what had felt like heartache at the time. Surely this would too, considering how different they were, though she found more and more that their differences were more superficial than anything, but still, like him she had yet to see a human and turian together during their day on the Citadel. Surely there was a reason for that?

Unfortunately for her, as she had found out in her previous attempts at relationships, the heart was rarely interested in the opinions of the mind. She could tell herself in as many ways as she liked that Vexus wasn't interested in her, and that acting on the near constant impulses was a bad idea, but that didn't make it go away. Agreeing to stay another night with him felt like half blessing and half torture, unable to pull herself away but continuing to dangle him in front of herself.

Thankfully the cab ride was relatively short, so she only had to sit next to him for a few moments, once again just wanting to reach over and touch him, take his hand, something, but she didn't. Instead she stared resolutely out the window, only glancing at him occasionally, before forcing herself to look away. She was wondering if this was a god idea after all as they landed, but Tamsin didn't have the heart to back out of now, so she smiled at the turian when he asked her if she was hungry. “Yeah, I could eat,” she told him, following him back to his apartment, “I like to cook, but I have no clue how to cook turian food.”
 
Soon enough they were back in his apartment, Vexus bringing up a screen to find a local place to bring them some food. Something pretty amazing that the humans had brought to the galaxy, besides their smarts, military, bravado, and courage, was pizza. Several places from Earth had gotten a foothold, and even adapted it for the dextro-amino races to enjoy, using what they could to emulate the dish for them. Vexus got an order placed for them, getting two smaller dishes, one for each.

The two weren't tired, and as they waited for food, Vexus offered to get some movies for them. It took a bit but they eventually found something, finding quite a lot of things she hadn't seen involving the various races of the galaxy. Some sort of big budget, action, comedy, romance, mix-up flick, involving some spectres chasing after a villain. It was pretty decent, and it was nice to relax on the couch with her, watching the movie, eating now that the food had been brought. He got them some water and they sat, food being eaten up a little ways into the movie, now just leaving them to watch. Vexus couldn't help himself as they sat there next to each other. He barely watched the movie, often finding himself looking at her until he thought she might look back. Long fingers resting on the top of the couch, often sliding closer to her, and just before he might put his arm around her shoulders, it would retreat back to his side. Squads of pirates were easy, vorcha terrorists were no problem. Who would have thought this cute, young, human girl would get to him.

Eventually the movie was over, and it had gotten pretty late. His mind was heavy with the awkwardness of the night, on his end at least, oblivious to anything she thought or was feeling about it. "It's kind of campy, but I'd recommend Blasto too. Picture that, just with a hanar. Pretty decent to watch if you know what you're getting into," he said with a laugh, standing from the couch. "Well, should I make up the couch again?" he said, wondering if she thought she could handle it, and of course not saying where he'd like her to sleep.
 
Tamsin was honestly kind of excited to get to eat pizza, it was familiar to her, the first thing really familiar to her in days. This was the most normal she'd felt since she'd had to leave her home, sitting on the couch with Nexus watching a movie and eating pizza. Of course once the pizza was gone and it was just the two of them sitting there, no distractions, it didn't feel so normal. She sank into that same tense awkwardness, stealing glances, nervous and hesitant. She could see the turian's arm along the back of the couch and she kept wishing Vexus would put it around her shoulders, sometimes she thought he was about to, but he never did.

And she never managed to do anything herself either, too convinced that the attention would be unwelcome. Like him though, she watched very little of the movie, and by the end she honestly couldn't recall much except some of the main plot points. Details though, yeah, she really couldn't tell you anything about those. The entire movie was spent bouncing back and forth between trying to think of how she could touch him, and berating herself for wanting to touch him. Tamsin almost wanted to try something just so he could reject her and she could get it out of her head for good. But she didn't have the courage.

She was tired by the time the movie was over, more from the emotional toll of being around Vexus like this than anything else. The girl smiled when he spoke of a movie with a hanar, “I think I've heard of that one,” she told him, standing from the cough. Tamsin managed to hide how her heart dropped when he offered to make up the couch for her, keeping the smile fixed on her face. “Yeah, I think I'll be fine in here,” she told him with a nod, not speaking her mind either about where she really wanted to sleep. He had offered to make up the couch, so she assumed that that was where he wanted her to stay for the night.
 
"All right, sounds good," he said, repeating what he'd done last night with the sheet and blankets. Vexus held his tongue, wanting to offer her to sleep in there with him, in case she wasn't ready or felt she might freak out again. She'd accepted it though, so maybe she didn't even want to sleep in the bed, or just felt like she needed to sleep out here to get over her nightmares. Whatever the reason, the couch was ready for her fairly quickly.

"I hope you sleep well. Uh, if it happens again, you, if you want, could come in there. I should be getting to sleep, since I skipped today I'll need to get in at a good time and get right to it tomorrow, explain everything. Good night," he said, giving a light smile and a nod, then heading into the bedroom. He'd decided to say something, just put the offer out there. He knew he'd lay there thinking about it, not able to sleep, making up excuses or berating himself if he'd said nothing, so might as well do it and get to sleep.

Finishing his nightly rituals, he got back into bed. He shut his eyes and tried to get to sleep, but it wasn't coming so easily. Even though he'd said something, it seemed his mind still wanted him to think about it, what he hadn't said, what he wanted to tell her. It was crazy though, it wouldn't happen. That line repeated in his head as the random thoughts of her kept trying to come back up, just so he could get himself to sleep. Eventually it came, but you can't control your dreams, and they were plenty happy to torment him.
 
Tamsin wouldn't be able to help herself from laughing if she knew that the both of them were essentially thinking and doing the same thing, it would just be too funny for her not to laugh. She said nothing because she assumed that if he really wanted her to sleep back in his bed again, he would have said so, and he assumed that if she wanted to sleep in his room, she would have said so. Assuming really wasn't the best way to go about things, but Tamsin was hesitant to find out otherwise herself, and also felt that the obstacles of race and age were hurdles too large for her to jump. Not to mention, she perhaps had a slightly rose tinted view of Vexus, thinking him certainly brave and confident to do or say something if he were so inclined. What reason would he have no to? Tamsin was a bit too naïve to truly realize that the fear of rejection was universal.

She watched him make up the couch, but looked at Vexus as he started talking quickly, blinking a little as it took her a moment to really process what he said. “O-okay,” she told him, “Goodnight.” He left and she sighed, taking off her shoes and pants again to get under the blanket on the couch. Laying down, she found it just as difficult as him to fall asleep. Tamsin kept thinking about the turian, wondering about what he'd said before he went to bed. What had he meant? After many sighs and tossing and turnings and fragmented thoughts that she never let fully form, she finally fell asleep.

Tamsin woke after only an hour, sitting up with a strangled cry and panting heavily. Her skin was flushed and starting to sweat, but she felt cold and clammy rather than hot. She sighed as her heart began to calm down, running hand over her face and pushing strands of blonde hair off her cheeks and forehead. She couldn't remember exactly what her dream had been about, but she wasn't surprised by this point that she had had a nightmare. The girl wondered if she would ever be free of them. The only time she seemed able to sleep peacefully was... She frowned and bit her lip before standing from the couch and walking quietly to Vexus' room. He'd told her that she could sleep in there if she had another nightmare.

She was still nervous though, entering his room cautiously, not wanting to want him up especially if she had misunderstood his offer. Or maybe he had just been trying to be nice. “Vexus?” She called very softly, almost whispering, trying to see if he was awake. He didn't seem to be, so Tamsin tip toed over to the other side of the bed and crawled under the covers, cautiously edging closer to him until she once again was able to rest her head against his shoulder, one of her hands resting on his bicep.
 
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