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Vent Art

So months ago I participated in the Shepard Summer exchange event in which I wrote about @commander-krios 's Charley Shepard and Thane!

Title: Vent Art

Summary: A reaper fragment is stranded out in the ocean, and it happened to be where Charley Shepard called home. At least she can paint about it.

Words: 1,110

Rated: G

Relationship: Female Shepard/Thane Krios

Additional tags: Painting, massage, non-sexual intimacy, alternative universe--post war, Thane Krios lives

Also available on Ao3

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Scratch scratch scratch

The scrapping of the broad brush against canvas was a sound that grew on Charley over the years. It was akin to white noise how easily it could ground her, allow her to block out the world around her and just zone in on the painting in front of her.

It would, that is, if she were perhaps not staring directly at a reaper destroyer fragment laid stranded out in the ocean far enough away to not be a bother yet close enough to be noticeable. That was what bothered Charley the most. Of all the isolated beaches for this thing to be an eyesore, it had to be the one where she and Thane called home.

When its metal glinted in the sun, she was briefly brought back to Rannoch; face-to-face with a destroyer itself with an unforgettable view of its deadly lasar. When it shifted in the ocean’s current, it sent her back to Vancouver when everything reared its ugly head. Upon first discovering the fragment Charley’s first instinct was to get rid of it immediately. That proved to be easier said than done however. Its distance and isolation in the ocean relevant to land made it difficult for Charley to do herself and the nations were still recovering from the initial attack and resources were too thin. No one was going to come pull some derelict metal out of the ocean in rural England, and so it stayed.

Scratch scratch scratch.

Happy clouds, happy little clouds. That’s what the man in the ancient internet vids would say–the man with a voice so soft it boggled her mind how someone like that once led a military career–as he blissfully worked magic on his canvas. Just focus on the underpainting.

A breeze swept past and swayed the metal.

God, it really pissed her off.

Nearly two years had passed since the war ended and she retired on Earth with Thane. Most of that time was spent in physical therapy, recuperating from what should have killed her a second time. The logistics of how she survived the aftermath of the catalyst–frankly, how any of them survived–was something she learned to let go, if for nothing else than her ability to sleep at night. In the time spent in physical therapy a lot of conversations with Thane happened, mainly the big one nobody thought they'd be able to say: what's next?

In the end they decided to live out their lives in retirement as far removed from society as possible; as husband and wife, together in spite of the odds put before them.

The reaper bobbed in the water again.

Scratch scratch scratch.

Charley took a moment to assess her work. It was a simple landscape study meant to keep her skills sharp. The area where the reaper took space was left blank on the canvas. She glanced between it and her painting. Maybe a friend needed to be added. An old, reliable frigate to blast the piece of shit to kingdom come.

With newfound inspiration Charley cleaned off the broad brush and opted for a smaller one. Her hand almost had a mind of its own as the paint slowly morphed from black and muddy gray blobs, to a ship-esque amalgamation, until finally it resembled the Normandy. Thankfully there was enough space on the canvas to fit her soaring through the air. And the Normandy had lasers. And a thanix cannon. And torpedoes. And-

"A very animated scene." The soft voice of Thane broke through the musing.

Charley paused at the sudden intrusion and blinked slowly, not realizing how zoned in she had gotten. She took a step back to admire her work with her husband. The painting still maintained the original intent of a relaxing beach scene with the added spice of a reaper destroyer being attacked in the water by the Normandy; explosions and small additions of herself and Thane shooting their guns at it gave the work extra character. "Vent art, I guess," she finally said. Thane hummed under his breath and slowly embraced Charley from behind.

"How long have you been out here?"

"Not too long, maybe…" Charley looked up. When she first started the painting the sun was just above the Earth, but now it began dipping into the horizon. "Maybe a few hours." Come to think of it, she really had been moving her arm repetitively for those hours. She was beginning to feel it in her neck and shoulder.

Thane noticed the way she rubbed her shoulder and led her to a clearing on the beach, gesturing her to sit in the sand. Once she sat he moved to sit behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Where does it hurt?" Charley assessed herself: her shoulder blade and forearm were giving her the most grief while her neck and lower back were also sore. Given the information, Thane gently urged Charley to sit straight while he placed his hands on her back. Her eyes slipped shut as he massaged her muscles, gradually moving up to her shoulders and neck.

As her aches melted by Thane’s touch Charley felt her previous frustrations melt away as well. All she could focus on was the sounds of the waves. The smell of the salt from the ocean. The gentle breeze caressing her face.

She couldn’t think of another time she felt so relaxed, so content in her present.

When she opened her eyes–Thane had shifted and taken her forearm for a massage–her eyes laid on the reaper. Maybe it was the effect of the evening sun hiding behind it but Charley found it easier to look at it.

“What colors do you think Mr. Ross would paint the sky with?” Thane asked. The sun had dipped lower at that point, the darkness of the night slowly drowning out the warm evening colors.

“Hmm,” Charley looked up at the sky with Thane. The darkness all but swallowed the offending scrap in the ocean. “I think he would use colors like crimson and cadmium yellow for where the sun is, and maybe prussian blue for the night sky.”

“I think that’s exactly what he would have done.”

“Yeah. Did you know he was in the military?”

The two fell into comfortable conversation there, Charley asked Thane how his day with Kolyat was while he asked her about the painting. When it became too dark to see the other they gathered up the painting and all the materials and walked home.

The reaper would still be there tomorrow but maybe it would be easier to deal with then.

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