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A Promise is a Promise (Atroxa & OstrichFromJoust)

Tamsin looked rather disheartened by the time the judge was asking his next question. He was clearly unimpressed by them, and she couldn't decide if it was because they were just doing that poor of a job at pretending to be a couple, or if they had been doomed from the start, since she was starting to draw the same conclusion as Vexus. If this old turian harbored prejudice against humans, he would no doubt be particularly offended by a turian choosing to be with one. Tamsin was beginning to wonder if she would have to go back to the docks after all when Vexus answered.

She listened, a little taken aback by his tone, only just starting to catch the building tension between the two turians. They were a passionate people she was learning, calm and disciplined on the outside, but just as full of emotions as humans on the inside. She listened though as Vexus answered, her face turning a little red again, and she couldn't help but hope that maybe he meant what he said, even if just a fraction of it was true. If it were, maybe, just maybe they actually stood a chance. Maybe her feelings for him weren't as futile as they seemed. Tamsin wasn't sure, and now wasn't the time to figure it out.

Instead she gave Vexus a warm smile and squeezed his hand gently, though she was trouble by the hostility in his voice, casting a worried glance at the judge. Hopefully though it only helped them, he wouldn't get offended by the implications if he didn't care about her after all. Tamsin watched the judge as he considered everything they'd just told him, her expression still worried, but a little hopeful too. She thought that they had done well, very well actually, considering that they were really a couple. So her face fell when he denied their request, swallowing hard and looking up at Vexus, eyes a bit wide.

She didn't seem as angry or offended as him, mostly because her primary concern was honestly a rather selfish one, she didn't want to go back to the docks. She of course did want to spend more time with Vexus, and she didn't like being insulted, but the girl had honestly always been very slow to anger. She didn't know what to do though, could they appeal the judge's decision? Vexus seemed to have his own plan of action in mind, and Tamsin gasped a bit when he suddenly pulled away from her, advancing on the judge's desk. “Vexus!”

She followed him, grabbing the turian's arm gently to tug at him a bit, knowing she couldn't restrain him if he got it in his head that he would just beat the judge into submission, but maybe she could keep his anger grounded enough from getting to that point. She listened, wide-eyed, as Vexus threatened the judge, unsure of what to do or say. Here he was again, putting himself on the line for her, though maybe it wasn't so simple as that. Why would he go through so much trouble just to keep her safe? Tamsin didn't understand. Well, she did, she'd do anything for him too, but she... well, she cared about him, a lot, as more than a friend. Did that mean...

The girl didn't have time to dwell on it as the judge printed out a small datapad and shoved it at Vexus, telling them to get out. Tamsin blinked, but left with the younger turian, her hand clasped in his as they left the court house. She continued to hold onto it, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as they walked back to Bailey's office. She was at a loss as to what to say; yet again Vexus had gone above and beyond what she would expect of anyone, for her. Her hand tightened a little in his grasp, an affectionate squeeze. She supposed she was married now... it was very strange to think about. She couldn't think of anyone other than Vexus that she would rather be married to though... and that was equally strange to think about.
 
Vexus was silent as well as they left the courthouse and continued on back to Bailey's office. Mostly because he was coming down from the adrenaline that had pumped through him upon threatening a judge. That was certainly something you didn't hear about everyday, and he was still a bit tense from the situation. Honestly though, it was mostly because of how the older turian had spoken to them, to her, how he just held such disdain for the two of them without knowing them at all. Not even the great way they'd answered the questions had gotten past his views on humans, but he supposed it didn't matter. He held the datapad that said they were married, and once Bailey saw it he could do his part, allowing her to stay on the Citadel.

The turian realized they'd been silent for a while, just walking briskly through the Presidium. Vexus forced himself to slow down some, taking a breath to calm himself. "Well I hope he got our names right, or we're going to have an awkward visit with him again," he said, giving a chuckle. Doing as he usually did, humor to try to ease the tension. "With this Bailey can do what he needs to do quickly. We'll be back to the Wards in no time," he said with a light smile as they got back to his office soon enough, Vexus giving a knock before they entered.

The human looked up from his terminal as they entered, giving somewhat of a frown. "The full hammer of C-Sec? Did you have to go that far?" he said, eyebrow up as he looked to the turian. Vexus paused in his step, giving a nervous chuckle. Bailey laughed though, shaking his head. "Word travels fast. Don't worry, he's not pushing it any, if he did his bias would get out to the media and makes things worse. Now let's see that license," he said, hand held out for Vexus to give it to him. Bailey took the datapad and looked at it, typing for a few moments on his terminal.

"All right, Mr and Mrs Borin. Or is it Darrow, did you decide which name you're taking?" he said with a chuckle, handing the datapad back. "She's clear, a full legal citizen of the Citadel, and you're all set. Mazel tov to both of you," he finished. Vexus nodded, not able to help but give a smile. "Thank you, sir," he said, the commander nodding and waving them off. "Don't mention it, now if you'll excuse me, I have Council business to attend to. Bet you can't wait to get to my level, eh?" he said, Vexus giving a chuckle and leading them out of the office.

"So I guess we should head back to my apartment? Our apartment? Not sure which adjectives to use now," he said as they walked, calmer now that it was over. It hadn't quite hit him yet, that they were married. The two of them were husband and wife, he could barely believe it. What was mostly in his head was the meeting, and what they'd said about each other. How much of that was just to convince the judge, and how much was how they truly felt? After thinking, he was sure most, if not all, of what he'd said was his true feelings, but had not idea for her, how could he? He led them back to hail a cab, once in having it take them to Kithoi Ward.
 
Tamsin had to walk pretty quickly to keep up with him, but she said nothing, she knew he was angry so she'd just let him work out some of that excess energy. Still though, he was significantly taller than her, so she had to really stretch her legs. When Vexus finally slowed down the girl was a little winded, but not bad, and managed to laugh at his joke as he tried to ease the tension, “Then I definitely hope he got our names right.” She'd be happy to never see that Turian again. She nodded when he spoke of going to see Bailey and then going back to the wards, “Sounds good.”

In Bailey's office, she was a little surprised to hear that the judge had already put out the word on what had happened. She blinked and glanced between Vexus and Bailey, nervous that something was going to come of it. It didn't seem that it would though and she relaxed again. Tamsin blinked again though when he referred to her as 'Mrs. Borin'. That was strange. “We... hadn't really talked about it...” she admitted quietly. Then it was done, she was a Citadel citizen, and she didn't have to go back to the docks. She was also now a married woman, it hadn't really sunk in yet.

She left with Vexus when Bailey was done, laughing when the turian seemed unsure about how to refer to the apartment. “Ours I guess?” It was all very strange, and like him, she was thinking about their interview with the judge. In the cab ride on the way to... their apartment, she kept thinking about the things she'd said and the things he'd said, wondering how much of it was true and how much of it had been for the interview. Tamsin was still figuring out exactly she felt about him, but she supposed that things she'd said were true. She felt far more for Vexus than just as a friend. And now he was her husband, it was all rather surreal. How he felt though, she wasn't sure. How much of the things he'd said were true?

Back in their apartment, Tamsin just stood there for a moment, looking around and trying to let it sink in that this was her home now. It didn't full take, but enough, and she looked at Vexus, biting her lip a little. “I... I guess we should actually talk about this now huh?” she asked, they hadn't had the chance to really talk about any of this, having to get it all done as quickly as possible and then pretend like it had been their plan all along. The girl sighed and ran a hand through her short blonde hair, “This is very strange...” she laughed softly, then blinked, “Not bad or anything, just... strange.” She went and sat on the couch, her hands clasped in her lap. “How is this going to work? What do we do now?” Tamsin sighed, frowning to herself.
 
"Heh, ours it is, then," he said, watching as the cab flew, going from the Presidium, down one of the arms of the Citadel to the ward. Soon enough they were back at his apartment, Vexus letting them inside. He made a mental note to allow her to unlock the door without him, now that she was living there he might not always be there to open it up. That was just another fact piling on to all the happenings of the day, they lived together, they were married.

He walked in with her, standing in front of her as she spoke. "Yeah, talking is probably a good idea," he said, reaching a hand to scratch at his head in a bit of nervousness, talons on his long fingers scratching the softer part of his head behind the face plates. It had just all sort of happened, right after Bailey suggested it, they had left to get married, then went back and were done. No chance at all to even discuss it. So much had happened today and it was just after noon.

"I know, it's odd," he said, moving and sitting on the couch next to her, leaning against the arm rest and looking to her. "I, I guess I don't really know. We're technically married, so you're able to stay here, and I'm happy to have you. I'm glad we were able to get it to work at least, after that asshole denied us. If it had been anyone else I think we would have convinced them, you did a good job," he said with a smirk. He wondered if he should ask what had been on his mind since their interview, about how true their words had been. "Was it hard to come up with things to say? I don't know about you, but...I wasn't completely lying about what I said."
 
There were a lot of things they needed to figure out, things that most married couples had time to get into order before they actually got married. They were small things that just fell into place over time, and she supposed they would just have to do that too. This was going to take time, just like any other relationship. They had just skipped some very crucial steps, they'd gone from friends to married in a matter of days. There had been no transitional stages, no time to figure out their feelings for one another. And now they were husband and wife, and they were just going to have adjust the best they could.

Tamsin looked up at him as he sat down next to her, listening as he talked a little about her staying here and what had happened with the judge. Then he sort of dropped a bomb shell on her or that was how it felt. Her face paled a little and she swallowed down a lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. She just stared at Vexus for a moment then looked away, considering what he was telling her, that he had actually meant what he'd said to the judge. She had only just started to figure out how she felt about him herself, but she knew that what she'd said was true.

“I...” she cleared her throat a little, looking at him again, “I wasn't lying either...” She admitted to him quietly, shyly, her face going a little red. “I just... I mean,” Tamsin sighed, she had hardly been prepared for this kind of conversation, she'd thought they'd be talking about far more simple matters, but now was as good a time as any she supposed. “I do... care about you,” she told him, “it just seemed a little... silly I guess, I barely know you, and we're not even the same species and things have been so crazy and I didn't know if it was real or if I was just being... ridiculous,” the girl was babbling a little, obviously nervous, glancing at Vexus at every other word, then looking away, her face red and her hands fidgeting in her lap.
 
Vexus sat with his eyes on her, a bit anxious as she didn't answer right away. It was always a nerve wracking experience to reveal your feelings to someone, and everything that was happening just amplified it. They were discussing how they felt about each other, but were married. It was so backwards, it was crazy. You figured all of this out, got together, then if it worked out you were supposed to do the marriage thing. It was starting to really hit him now, they were husband and wife, and they lived together. It was like he just hit a wall, but he had to just keep going, still waiting for her to speak.

He couldn't help but give a slight sigh in relief as she answered, telling him that she'd been telling the truth as well, a bit of happiness filling him and causing him to blather on a bit. "I know, I, it was the same way for me, I didn't know what was going on, but the thoughts just kept coming back no matter what I did. I...I kept telling myself that you wouldn't even consider it, that I was just crazy for thinking it. It just kind of happened, we were friends, then I realized I felt more than that. Gah, I'm sorry, I'm just dropping all of this without thinking, we were just going to talk about living together and I'm taking it to another level."
 
Tamsin gave him a shy smile as he started babbling on on himself, feeling a little better about all of this now that she wasn't the only one having this reaction. And that she hadn't been alone in being so unsure about their feelings, but had felt them none the less. It was a relief to know he felt the same way about her as she did for him. “No, it's okay, we should talk about this stuff too...” she told him, glancing at him nervously before she reached over, her hand finding one of his. It was very strange to think that Vexus was now her husband, that they were married and now they'd be living together, as a couple. And not just on paper, but actually together on an emotional level.

She held onto his hand, not looking him in the eye, “This is just so strange,” she laughed softly and shook her head, “we're doing this seriously out of order you know?” Tamsin sighed and glanced at him, “I definitely never thought that this was how I would get married... but, thank you, I guess now I owe you again.” Yet again, Vexus had pulled her ass out of the fire. “I don't know what I'd have done without you, I probably wouldn't be doing as well as I am...” Her thumb rubbed over the back of his hand, finding the texture of his scales interesting.
 
Vexus nodded. Yeah, it made sense, he supposed, that the conversation would veer this way. His gaze moved down, feeling her hand grip his. He gave a light smile, glad that they could really air everything out and see how the other felt. It had been hard, mainly when they were alone, just sitting there thinking without really knowing. Living together as a couple would be nice, but definitely different, just odd since they were skipping past so much.

He chuckled as she basically said what he'd been thinking. "Yeah, I know, it's weird, like we're cutting right to the end," he said. All that relationship stuff, finding out you like each other, going out, becoming a couple, being together a while...all of that skipped and condensed into the short time they'd known each other and now they were married. He gave a smile as he felt her rubbing his hand, fingers wrapping around her hand to take it, giving a squeeze. "You don't owe me anything, you're here and safe, and that's plenty. Without me, you'd probably end up with other dock worker and married to him within a week of knowing him, it's actually pretty common," he said with a chuckle. "So, I don't know what you're thinking about becoming a couple or anything, but I guess I'm willing to give it a shot. Might as well since we're married."
 
Tamsin laughed a little more loudly than she'd meant to when he joked about how she'd probably have just ended up marrying some other dock worker within a week if she hadn't met him. “I see, so then is C-Sec just secretly a dating service for lonely men?” She teased, finding the tension she'd been feeling for days now draining out of her, now that they had gotten everything out in the open. Her hand curled into his a little more as Vecus took it more actively, happy to finally be able to show him some form of affection without worrying about how he'd take it. “I'm glad it wasn't some other dock worker though,” she admitted to him quietly, her face turning a little red as she just looked at their hands and not meeting his eyes shyly. It was strange to just even look at their entwined hands, pale soft flesh and dark hard scales, even the way their hands were built were different, three fingers versus five.

She looked back up at Vexus when he spoke of the two of them actually trying to be a couple, laughing softly. “Yeah, no good reason not to try I suppose... we're already married,” she murmured, giving him a small smile, then shook her head. “That is so strange to say,” the girl laughed softly, grinning and looking back down at their hands again. Tamsin looked at the turian after a moment though, brow furrowing, “Should you check in with work? We kind of left in a hurry...” her head tilted to the side slightly.
 
"Pretty much. The whole 'protecting the Citadel' thing is just a side-effect," he said with a laugh. It was good to see her laugh, good to do it himself. Even with the enormous change that had just happened, they were able to just be themselves, try to keep things as they were. "Yeah, me too," he responded with a smile, following her gaze to her hand in his. It probably felt strange, there was a large difference between a turian hand and a human one. It was nice though, it didn't matter to him that she had a weird number of fingers.

"It is weird, can't say that I don't like it, but it's definitely weird," he said, mind trailing as he wondered how it would all work. He worked and could handle things, but now that she was here, what would happen? Her plans before included her parents, but now that things had went sideways, any plans from before were moot. "Oh, yeah. It's been a while now, I hope things have calmed down. I doubt I'll be in trouble at all, most of the officers I worked with probably got out of there pretty fast after things got out of hand. We weren't equipped to handle something like that, at all. I get that they're angry, but still...Just sucks that they had to direct it on us when we're the ones trying to help," he said, touching the remote pad to the TV, figuring the best way at the moment would be just to check the news.

"This is Una L'Rohik, reporting live from the Citadel docks. Just a few hours ago, chaos swept the area as the refugees from the Reaper attacks, frustrated and fed up with C-Sec policy, staged a riot. Fortunately, from what we can tell, there are no deaths off C-Sec officials or civilians, but there are some injuries, into the double digits. We've been unable to get a representative from C-Sec to comment, all they've said is they are too busy to speak to us. Stay tuned to CNS for the latest on this tragic event." The asari reporter stood in front of lots of people on the docks, cops and riot squad behind her in the background. Lots of people were in handcuffs, but most of the refugees were back, blocked by C-Sec, keeping them detained. Vexus gave a deep sigh. "Yeah, I'm probably going to be very busy for a while."

Reluctantly he let go of Tamsin's hand, standing from the couch and bringing up his omni-tool to make a call. "I should check in," he said, bringing the tool to his head, walking away a bit to the kitchen. From the moment someone answered it was loud on the other end, basically amounting to whoever it was yelling for him to come back in, Vexus explaining that he'd been helping an innocent get to safety and would get there as soon as he could. With another sigh he hung up, moving to the bedroom. "Yeah, I've got to head back in, and I'll probably be late," he said to her out in the living room, coming back a few moments later with a small device. "Here's a credit chit, should have enough for when you get hungry. I'll have to get you put on the door's security to unlock it, so I'd go with delivery for now," he explained, setting it on the small table in front of her. "Sorry we couldn't talk more, promise we'll do it later," he said, his body sort of moving on its own and leaning down to give her a quick hug before moving back to the door, hoping that hadn't been too weird. "See you when I get back," he said as he went through the door, moving quickly to get a cab to the office.

It had reached the late evening by the time the door slid open, the tired turian walking inside. His long fingers rubbed at his eyes, face plates drooped a bit from the mental exhaustion of the day. "Just in case you didn't know, riots suck. Avoid them if you can," he said, moving into the kitchen to grab something, anything. They hadn't had a break from when he'd got there in the afternoon, only reason he'd left his terminal was to use the restroom.
 
Tamsin watched with him as he turned on the news, frowning a little and glancing at the turian next to her occasionally as she listened. Things didn't sound very pleasant, but at least no one had been seriously injured or killed. Things could have been a lot worse. She had a personal stake in things either way, if she had stayed, it would have been in her best interest if things hadn't gotten too out of control. Now that she was... well, married to an officer and off the docks, it was still in her best interest because it meant that Vexus wouldn't be in too much danger, and he wouldn't have to deal with so much crap.

She sighed as the report ended, looking at him as he let go of her hand, frowning a little. Tamsin didn't want him to go, but she knew he needed to, sitting quietly as he tapped at his omni-tool and went to go check in. She looked back to the tv, seeing some sort of update on the Reaper advance, which made her frown and tap at the panel on the coffee table, turning it off. She was tired of hearing about the Reapers. When Vexus returned she looked up at him, nodding when he told her that he had to leave and wouldn't be back until late. “It's alright,” she told him with a smile as he apologized for not being able to spend much time with her, leaning up as he came down to give her a hug, returning the gesture.

Tamsin watched him go, smiling at him still, “Okay, see you late then.” Then he was gone. It felt very strange, being there by herself. It wasn't really home yet after all, it felt like she was still a visitor, so she still felt a little out of place, awkward without him here. She made due though, ordering food a few hours later and keeping herself entertained watching a couple of movies, avoiding the news.

When Vexus returned, she was curled up on the couch, bare foot and still practically where she'd been when he'd left, looking comfortable. She smiled at him when he came though the door, but looked a bit concerned when she saw how exhausted he was. Tamsin stood and followed him into the kitchen, lingering near the entrance though, not going to him. There was still a lot she didn't know about him, and one thing she wasn't sure of was if he actually appreciated being bothered much when he was tired or stressed. These things she was going to have to learn as they went.

The girl leaned her hip against the counter, watching him with her head tilted to the side slightly and her arms crossed. “Yeah, I can imagine they're not much fun,” she told him, trying to sound somewhat light-hearted, trying to cheer him up a bit, “Hopefully it'll be better tomorrow though.” She'd follow him back into the living room whenever he fixed himself something to eat, staying close, but keeping her distance until she was more sure of how to act towards him.
 
Vexus was just glad to be back here with her. From the moment he'd gotten back to the moment he'd left, it was just constant work, whether he was on the phone, dealing with other officials, or something else. It would probably continue into tomorrow, and be a few days before things got back to how they were on the docks, if they did at all. Tension would be high for a while after something like this, and C-Sec presence would be higher. The processing of refugee applications had essentially froze for the time being, so in hindsight, Bailey had been smart to not just bump hers along. The marriage had been a perfect way to get hers along without raising any suspicion.

He got some water and heated up a meal in the microwave, figuring she'd already ate so he could just take from his stash of dextro-food. "Yeah, hopefully. It'll still be busy, but I might not be late. Things are pretty screwy now," he said, leaning against the wall as the food spun and heated in the microwave. He gave another sigh as he calmed down, more of a content than frustrated noise, happy to be back and relax some. He looked up to her, giving a smile. "Hope you weren't too bored here, I hate that I had to just run off like that," he said, a dinging calling him to grab his food. He walked to the couch with it and the water, looking to her as she followed, though back a bit.

"Were you able to keep yourself busy while I was gone?" he asked, starting to eat at the dish, chewing as he motioned to the space next to him for her to sit. He was a bit tired, unaware that she wasn't sure if he would like to be left alone after a long, rough day.
 
Tamsin sat down next to him when he motioned for her to, nodding at his question, “Yeah, I ordered some food and watched some movies. We don't really get movies very quickly at my town. Extra net band width was a bit limited, official stuff took priority. If you wanted to see a movie any time around when it came out you had to go to one of the cities and they were a bit away.” She shrugged a bit as she finished explained, “So I'm a bit behind on movies, especially ones that aren't more human-centric.” Movies made for or by aliens tended to take longer to filter down into the smaller colonies like her own, the things that were going to reach them first were movies more popular among humans.

She leaned forward then and touched the credit chit she'd put back on the coffee table, “Here's that back. I tried to keep the food cheap.” Leaning back into the couch again she pulled her legs up, tucking her feet under her, “I think I'd like to find a job around here somewhere, I doubt I'll be able to find anything that pays much, but enough that you're not having to pay for everything for me.” Even if Vexus was happy to do so, the girl was proud and preferred some form of independence, being able to support herself even in the smallest way would buy her peace of mind.
 
Vexus nodded, continuing to eat as she went through her day. He was glad she'd been able to keep herself entertained, it was probably weird to just be stuck here, confined to whatever was in the apartment. "Yeah, that's something nice about the Citadel, really good extranet speed," he said in between bites. The meal was disappearing quickly as he dug into it, gnawing hunger from the day finally being sated.

His eyes brightened when she mentioned getting a job. He'd been wondering about that, what they might do now, plans she might have. "Yeah, that sounds great. There's a ton of places on the Citadel, I'm sure you'll be able to find something," he said, tipping the bowl to get the last of the meal before setting it down, sipping now at the rest of the water. A job would be good for her, something to fill the days since he'd be working as well. Maybe a step towards a normal life too, something steady to hold onto. "I'm a bit later than I would have been, I stopped by the apartment office to grab this," he said, reaching into a pocket, pulling out a small datapad and handing it to her. "I didn't think you had an omni-tool, so this is your key to the apartment. I added your name as a resident, so if there's any issues you can stop there and get it sorted out."

Now that the food was in him and he was settling down, the tiredness started to set in. Vexus gave a flanged yawn, head tipping down a bit to not yawn at her. "I think I'm going to get to bed, right back at it tomorrow. Since you live here, and we're married, if you want, we could just sleep together, and not bother setting up the couch," he said, getting up, grabbing his trash and taking it to the kitchen to throw it away. It wasn't until he was on his way back to the living room when he realized exactly what he'd said. "Oh! I meant just sleeping in the same bed, not the other meaning of 'sleep together.' I mean, I know married people usually do that on the wedding night, but...I'm making it worse. The offer stands if you want to sleep in the bed," he said, giving an awkward chuckle at the end, starting to move back to the bedroom after he finished talking and embarrassing himself.
 
Tamsin smiled when he seemed to agree with her about finding a job. She'd definitely grow bored sitting around here for very long, “I just hope I don't get lost looking around. The Citadel is bigger than what I'm used to...” She laughed softly, a little embarrassed really. She knew she shouldn't be, she was from a small settlement, it was hardly fair to expect her to be in any way prepared for life on the Citadel right off the bat, but she didn't really like admitting that. “I'll probably take it slow, learn the area around here bit by bit,” she nodded to herself, liking that plan.

She looked at Vexus curiously though when he handed her a data pad, glancing over it as he explained that it was her key to the apartment. “Thanks, this will be make coming and going much easier,” she nodded, setting the data pad aside for now. When he was done eating he definitely looked rather worn out, and Tamsin herself felt more than ready for bed. So when he suggested that very thing, she was more than in agreement with him. She blinked a little when he suggested they just sleep together and not bother with an attempt at her sleeping on the couch. She knew what he meant, but it had still given her a moment of pause.

So she just laughed when he seemed to realize how it had sounded, “It's alright, I knew what you meant,” Tamsin assured him warmly with a smile. She knew that he wouldn't try anything on her, not right now, later... well, she'd think about that when they time came she supposed. Thinking about it admittedly made her nervous, she wasn't very experienced, and it would be even more unnerving with the fact that he wasn't even human. But later, she'd handle it later. Right now, she was tired, and so was he, so she stood and yawned, partially buying herself time as she really made up her mind about where to sleep. She had slept in his bed both nights she'd been here before, but it was different, actively deciding to join him rather than going to him after a nightmare. There was really no good reason not too with the fact that she'd sleptin there already so she just gave him a small, slightly timid smile, and followed after him. “Yeah, I guess I'll just sleep in there... since I'll just end up in there anyway,” she laughed softly, “Save you the trouble of making up the couch.”

The girl lingered awkwardly just inside for a moment before she moved to the side of the bed she supposed was 'hers' now, quickly slipping out of her pants and under the covers.
 
Vexus laughed a bit, glad she had understood what he meant. His slight awkwardness around people he was getting close with coupled with his exhaustion wasn't a good combination. At least she saw that. He moved through to the bedroom, getting ready for bed as she came in. "Glad to hear it. I should get the couch looked at, if it's causing nightmares like that," he said, getting into the bed on his side, lights coming off. His alarm was set, a bit earlier than usual. Another long day awaited him, but hopefully it wouldn't be as stressful. He'd have to wait and see. "G'night," he said, looking to her with a smile, then shifting to get comfortable, closing his eyes.

Being in the bed seemed to do her well, as the night went by peacefully with the two sleeping through it until his alarm sounded. As it went off Vexus stretched some, slipping away from her and turning it off, then standing up from the bed. With a slight yawn, he grabbed his things and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. It was strange, things were so different now, he was living with a girl, his wife, but here he was, just showering and going through the morning rituals like any other day. It was just odd to think about as it hit him again that they were married.

As he finished, Vexus figured he would do what he'd done yesterday, leave for a bit to get coffee and bring it back. He needed to get in early again, otherwise he'd suggest eating together. The turian left the apartment, returing a little while later with two cups and some additives for hers, setting them on the counter again and taking a spot on the couch to sip at his as he waited for her, taking a moment to configure the credit chit from yesterday.
 
Tamsin curled up close to him like she usually did, feeling the awkwardness that had been lingering since he suggested she sleep in bed with him dissipate. After all, she'd done this before, she'd just never started out in bed with him. She had always come to him later in the night while Vexus slept, when he wasn't awake to question or watch her. It was different having him aware of her coming into bed with him and curling up close by. Her blue eyes closed as she relaxed, yawning softly and smiling a little as he told her good night. “Night,” she murmured back to him, and drifted off to sleep a few moments later.

When the alarm went off in the morning, the blonde girl made a soft noise of protest and rolled over, falling back asleep quickly once he'd turned it off and gotten up. Tamsin hadn't slept so soundly since she'd had to leave her home, it was the first time she'd slept the whole night through since then. She didn't wake until he returned from getting them coffee, the smell wafting into their bedroom to tempt her out of sleep. She rolled out of bed, looking and feeling rather groggy, pulling on her pants, and shuffled into the living room, giving Vexus a tired smile on her way to the kitchen.

Tamsin gave a wide yawn as she fixed her coffee how she liked then went to sit on the couch next to him, ending up curled up and leaning against him a little, sipping her coffee with a sleepy expression on her face. This was a little strange for sure, waking up with... well, her husband, but she liked it. Vexus was a good man... er, turian, whatever, she knew she was lucky. After drinking a little coffee she seemed to wake up enough to actually speak. “Thanks for the coffee,” she told him quietly, her head leaning against his shoulder a little, not possessing the energy to hold it up herself.
 
He looked up as the sound of her steps came, seeing her emerge and head towards the cup. "Morning," he said, watching as she came over to the couch next to him. Vexus couldn't help but give a smile as she leaned against him, head ending up on his shoulder. The turian slipped an arm around her, he liked that they could have nice moments like this. After admitting that they had feelings for each other, it wasn't so awkward to be close like this. They could just be together and enjoy it, drinking coffee together before he headed off to work. He felt like he was the lucky one here, finding someone like her, circumstances of everything aside, of course.

"Seems like you slept well," he said with a chuckle, no interruptions through the night was a good sign. He set the credit chit on the coffee table in front of her after he was finished with it. "I added some more to that, when you're out today feel free to pick up some stuff, like some extra clothes, food that won't make you sick, anything really that would help you feel at home here," he said. Though she'd stayed here three days, he realized it was probably still strange to her, still a new place that might not feel right. Getting some things might help with that transition.

After a little while he'd finished his coffee, seeing the time and realizing he should get going. "Time for me to head out, I hopefully won't be late, but we'll see how that goes," he said with a smile, giving a hug before slipping away, tossing his cup in the trash and moving to the door. "See you when I get back," he said, giving a slight wave before heading out the door.
 
It was a surprisingly domestic moment, sitting on the couch together, watching tv and drinking coffee before he had to head off to work. Tamsin enjoyed it. She'd missed quiet moments like this, she'd taken them for granted back home, she wouldn't do that anymore. And now that they had been honest with one another about how they felt, she didn't feel the need to with hold the urge to touch him or just be near him. So she leaned against Vexus, drawing comfort from their contact. She felt like she'd been isolated for months, not just alone for a few days. Finally being able to just have a close moment with another living being made her feel secure and comforted.

She smiled a little when he commented on how she'd slept, yawning softly and nodding, “Yeah, I did actually.” Tamsin kept sipping at her coffee, waking up a little more, bit by bit, and glanced at the credit chit but didn't think much of it till he spoke. She blinked a little then nodded, “Oh, thank you.” She did need a few things, so she supposed she'd go out and shop a little, try to familiarize herself with the area a little and maybe ask around about work. She was just happy to have something to do, some kind of plan and purpose, sitting around the docks waiting had driven her crazy.

She was finishing up her coffee when Vexus told her it was time for him to go, a little sorry he had to leave, but hiding it. She smiled and nodded instead, returning his hug, “Alright, see you tonight then.” And he left. Tamsin sighed, settling into the couch a little to watch the morning news and finish her coffee before she got up and got as ready as she could before she grabbed the credit chit and headed out as well.

Tamsin had bought herself some clothes, nothing fancy since she had tried not to spend too much of Vexus' money, but nice enough, as well as toiletries and other little things she needed, and some groceries. She hadn't done much in the way of splurging really, the only thing she'd done was buy a turian cook book on a whim. Tamsin liked to cook, and while she knew people might think her kind of silly for wanting to cook food she couldn't even eat, she wanted to cook for Vexus. He ate out far too much, it wasn't good for him. That was her upbringing talking mostly, she'd been raised in a farming community after all, and her parents had both preached the benefits of fresh food.

She knew that things at work had start to calm down, but they'd been rough there for a bit, and she still hadn't found any work, so she felt useless around the apartment and in his life. She knew that wasn't true, but she was used to being able to contribute, having a job. In this day and age, Tamsin knew that the concept of a house wife was more for the rich, and the almost radically conservative, women weren't expected to cook and have dinner ready when their husbands got home anymore. But she wanted to do something for him, so she picked a simple recipe and just prayed it was something he liked.

Having never eaten turian food, she could only guess as to how it was supposed to taste, and she wasn't even that sure what it was, some sort of rice and chicken dish she thought. Though it wasn't chicken, or rice, but they looked about the same, and had a similar consistency. Tamsin fixed something along the same lines for herself, and just hoped she'd have it ready by the time Vexus got home.
 
If it wasn't obvious before, it certainly became so in the next few days that the refugees had screwed themselves over with the riot. Processing and applications were still frozen as C-Sec dealt with the aftermath, meaning they'd have to find some kind of loophole like Tamsin had if they wanted in anytime soon. Of course, more of them kept coming as the Reapers continued their sweep of the galaxy, taking system after system. It was truly packed on the docks now, and most of C-Sec's efforts were focused on security, and making sure everyone would stay alive while they tried to get things back to normal.

Even with the long days, Vexus seemed to be taking them in stride. Coming home to someone that was happy to see them certainly helped, having someone there to talk to, to just be there. He was particularly happy that they could be close now, now that the feelings were mutual he felt less awkward. That didn't mean his foot wouldn't end up in his mouth a few times, more like internally he felt better. He kept the whole marriage thing quiet with the people he talked to at work, not wanting to cause any sort of stir with everything that was happening, and with the unusual way it had all happened.

Finally though, things seemed to get back to normal. C-Sec was back to processing the requests and getting people off the docks, and had actually made some changes with how they dealt with the refugees, trying to do more with understanding their situation. The people were still upset, but it seemed to help, as did the extra safety measures C-Sec had implemented on the docks to help prevent incidents rather than just deal with them afterward.

Even with things getting better, Vexus was uneasy as he came home that night. He'd found out from some officers that there had been a few incidents around Kithoi, a few muggings and assaults. C-Sec was dealing with it, but it put the fact in his mind that something could happen anywhere. It hadn't really crossed his mind before, but now that Tamsin lived with him, things like this occurred to him more. She would be going out during the day and doing things, who knows what could happen? If she had to work late or got lost and ended up in a bad area...but he could help with that.

Some confusion took over his concern as he came to the door, finding out that the smell he'd caught as he got near was coming from their apartment. Unlocking the door and walking inside, he gave a big grin as he saw her in the kitchen. "Hey, I'm home," he said, walking in and seeing things being made. "You're cooking? That's awesome."
 
Tamsin knew things at work were stressful for him, she'd ask about it a bit, trying to see if he wanted to talk about it. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't, she talked about it as much as he was comfortable. And when he didn't want to talk about it, she talked about something else to distract him. Often they were both content to curl up on the couch and watch TV or a movie, and now that there wasn't that barrier between them, she often ended up leaning on or against Vexus, or with her legs over his lap or some other sort of cuddling or affectionate contact.

She looked up when Vexus walked in the door, smiling at him and laughing a little at his reaction to her cooking. “Yeah, I actually like to cook,” she shrugged, “I hope this tastes good, I mean it tastes fine to me but I don't eat turian food.” Tamsin put the eyes she had their food sitting on on low to simmer and cool down enough to be eaten without scalding their mouths. “Figured you'd probably be hungry, and you need to stop eating take out so much,” she teased him a little, “After all, if you die of a heart attack then my citizenship gets revoked.”

Tamsin brushed her hands off on her pants and walked over to him, her hand touching his arm briefly, and thinking of leaning up to kiss his cheek, but she didn't. They were definitely improving on how comfortable they were with one another, but there was still some shyness and awkwardness. They were still getting to know one another, figuring out one another's boundaries. “It still needs to cool down a bit, why don't you go get out of that uniform?” She blinked a little then, realizing that that might sound a bit suggestive, “I'll, uh, stay here and finish up.”
 
It was another thing that showed how great she was, not only was she wanting to cook something for him, she'd taken the effort to learn how to make something she couldn't even eat. He was lucky to have her here, it had definitely helped the last few days to have someone to talk to, to just be with after the long days of work. It was really nice now that they had come clean to each other, able to be close now when they were together, but keeping it slow. They had jumped ahead with the marriage, but other than that they were just starting out.

"I'm sure it will, it smells great. I thought it was another place when I was coming in," he said, stepping forward to the stove to take a peek at it. He recognized the meat and ingredients, and it seemed like she'd done a good job of it. He chuckled at her joke, smiling as she moved close and touched him. "Of course, wouldn't want that to happen, it would just be awkward to have to go through the process again."

Even though they were closer and on deeper things they knew each other well, something like this told him they had a lot to learn still. He didn't know she'd liked to cook, really there wasn't a lot they did. Now that she was here a lot it helped with getting to know each other, but there was plenty to keep finding out. As she suggested he change, his plates shifted to widen his eyes, not able to help but smirk. "Sure, sounds good," he said, moving from the kitchen back to the bedroom to change. At least he wasn't the only one that still made awkward remarks.

After getting into some more comfortable clothes, he came back out to the living room, looking to her as his mind went back to what he'd thought about earlier. "So, now that things have calmed down some and I'll have some more time, I had something I wanted to do," he said, leaning on a wall on the kitchen as she finished up preparing the food. "Some officers were telling me about some incidents, the details aren't important, but basically, I was thinking I could show you some stuff for defending yourself, just in case."
 
Tamsin pulled out some plates and utensils while Vexus changed, she was finally starting to settle in, figuring out where things were without having to think for five minutes. She moved around the kitchen much more comfortable, like she belonged there, now that she'd been here for a few days. It still wasn't quite home, but it was getting there, she knew it was just a matter of time before she felt comfortable here to consider it to be that to her. Having Vexus around helped, he did his best to try and make her feel comfortable.

When he came back she was fixing them both a plate of food, she didn't plan on making it a habit to really wait on him like this, but he did a lot for her, so she didn't mind returning the favor. She though paused to look at Vexus as he brought up something he'd apparently been thinking about. Her head tilted to the side when he told her that he wanted to teach her some self defense, brows arching. “Oh? Sounds interesting,” She told him, seeming agreeable to the idea, “Like what?”

Tamsin set their plates down on the small table in the small area adjacent to the also small kitchen, chuckling at a thought, “When was the last time you actually ate at this table?” She usually saw him either eating in the kitchen or on the couch, to be fair he seemed to do it because he always seemed in a bit of a rush. Not having a lot of time made it difficult to actually sit down and enjoy a meal. Tamsin was looking forward to it. It was another thing she'd always taken advantage of with her family, being able to sit and eat with them, just talk. It would be nice to do that now with Vexus.
 
Vexus moved with her from the kitchen as she took the food, helping to carry what she couldn't. He filled some cups with water and grabbed the utensils, setting the things down with the plates. He took a seat, mandibles pulling back as he smiled, catching the scent again. It was a good job for being the first time she'd made a turian dish, not really having a reference to go on with how it should look or smell. He was looking forward to it.

He laughed as she questioned him on the table, having a fair point. He barely used it, not being much of a cook himself. His knowledge of food preparation was limited to very basic dishes, never really taking time to learn anything more complicated. So, it was typically quick things from the microwave or take out, eaten on the couch after he got back from work. "Didn't even know it was here, this is all a surprise," he joked, taking a fork he'd brought in and picking up some, bringing it up to try it. Chewing for a few moments, he swallowed and looked to her with a smile. "It's great, thank you for making it."

He took a few more bites, washing it down with some water before remembering the thing from before. "Right, self defense. I was thinking some basic hand to hand training, disarming an opponent, and how to shoot, just in case," he said, looking to her. She seemed to be for it by her reaction, he was glad to hear it. He wouldn't always be able to appear whenever something bad happened.
 
Tamsin laughed softly as he joked about actually eating at the table for once, sitting down and smiling at him. She got a forkful of food, blowing on it gently to cool it off, and watching him out of the corner of her eye. She was curious what he thought, waiting for him to take a bite and give his verdict. So she beamed at him when Vexus told her that it was good, starting to eat her own food now that she knew his was acceptable. “Glad you like it,” she cooed and ate happily for a few moments.

She sipped at some water as he started talking about what exactly he wanted to start working with her own, nodding slightly. “Well... I know absolutely nothing about any of that, so as long as you don't mind working with a total beginner,” she shrugged a little, looking a little unsure now. It wasn't what he was wanting to teach her that had Tamsin hesitant, but more somehow letting him down or embarrassing herself. She wasn't a violent person at all and she'd never had any reason to learn anything in the way of self defense in her town, so she had no idea what she'd be doing.

Honestly, Tamsin didn't even know if she'd be capable of any of the things he wanted to teach her. She figured shooting a gun would be pretty easy to learn, though actually shooting some one if she needed to was another matter. But would she even be physically able to do any sort of hand to hand? She wasn't physically weak by any means, but she wasn't a soldier, it just seemed like an unnatural thing for her to do. Tamsin couldn't wrap her head around the image of herself disarming some one who attacked her. It just seemed rather far-fetched, and even silly.
 
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