Summary: Reyes Vidal has always taken pride in his ability to keep his personal and professional lives separate, but all that changes when he meets the new Pathfinder. Cerys Ryder isn't what he expected and she isn't like anyone he's ever met before, and Reyes finds it impossible to keep away from her - even when he knows its the right thing to do in order to protect his true identity.
Oh my god I just saw someone tag you in a DA fic post and I thought “wait I know that name!!” And lo and behold YOURE THE ONE WHO WROTE SANTA SARITA!!! That fic series was my fucking favorite! The literal first fanfic I ever wrote was loosely inspired by The Sacrament. This ask is just me rambling but I’m such a fan I am fangirling okay goodbye
No, wait, come back!!!!
This is quite possibly the BEST notification to wake up to?!? I genuinely believe there is no greater compliment than to hear that my writing inspired someone else to write! Like, what???? Do you mean??? My words were so impactful that a reader felt the urge to write their own words???? So now we're both doing the gorgeous human magic thing called self-expression???? Called ART?!?!?
Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing this with me. Santa Sarita is so so dear to my heart and I'm so glad that all these years later people still think about it and are still reading it.
Anyway, my heart is full right now. Thank you so so much!
"I will only slow you down" with F!Ryder/Reyes Vidal for the Bad Things Happen Bingo
Thank you so much for the prompt!!
Bad things happening prompts by @badthingshappenbingo
Story Summary:
When Ryder and Reyes decides to take a break and takes a romantic trip their shuttle crash. But is an accident? Were they betrayed perhaps? Only time will tell.
A Trip Down
"Are you sure about this?" Ryder asked after hearing about his plans for them.
"C'mon Ryder it will be fun." Reyes was cocky. Believing he had the most romantic plans for them.
It was weeks since Meridian was found. Thankfully, Scott was recovering. That didn't stop his screams in her nightmares and Reyes knew about it. Which is probably why he planned a romantic giveaway.
"No comms." That was her demand. For the last few days she has been on Kadara they were bothered by people needing the Charlatan. The truth was they didn't have a whole lot of privacy.
"Ryder you wound me." But she could see the playfulness shining in his eyes.
"Okay, so tell me where we are going." This was where she finally gave in. Though it wouldn't take much if she was honest with herself.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Sara can’t bear the faces of her teammates any longer. Her angry outburst is followed by a long silence as she storms out of the research area in a whirlwind. Before any of her friends can make a move, she’s already halfway down the ladder to the lower deck. She soon disappears out of sight, her furious footsteps echoing through the room.
Reyes is the first to react. He runs after her, shortly followed by the rest of the team. A desperate cry escapes his lips. “Sara, wait!”
She doesn’t, of course.
Tears are pricking her eyelids, but she refuses to let them out. Endless waves of pain and anger are rising and breaking inside her chest, out of control, and the knot in her stomach tightens convulsively every time she hears Tann’s voice in her head all over again. She presses her hands over her ears, but the feeling doesn’t go away.
She stops and bends down in half in the middle of the corridor, as if she were about to puke. A terrible, heartbreaking scream roars out of her throat, and she wonders if that scream really came from her. She couldn’t help it.
Summary: When the fight for Meridian is won, Reyes is left wondering what Sara’s plans for the future are, and whether he has a place in them.
Read it on AO3
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Sara huffed out a sigh of relief, glad to be done with the Nexus leaders. It had only been a few weeks since landing on Meridian, and yet they were still hounding her about something every chance they got. The most recent of which, was probably the most aggravating. They wanted her to choose a council member that would represent all of Andromeda. At least she could understand the importance of that, but she was more than a little upset that they were making the decision fall solely on her shoulders.
With that burden finally behind her, still a little perturbed by the interaction, she walked out into the habitation deck of the Hyperion. She could hear people celebrating, and she figured that might be just the distraction she needed.
As she walked further out into the opening, her eyes met with someone she least expected to be there. Reyes Vidal. Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t contain the smile that formed on her lips. In all honesty, he was the only person she’d been thinking about for the last few weeks while she was shuffled between the medbay and meeting rooms, recovering from being detached from SAM and trying to figure out what the next steps were to settling here. That moment after winning Meridian where he smiled at her and disappeared into the crowd played in her mind over and over again, wondering where he went off to. She knew he was a busy man with a lot of priorities, so she figured he must have gone back to Kadara a long time ago now. It meant everything to her that he’d come to Meridian to help with the battle, but to find out that he stayed was something else entirely.
She walked over to him, excited to note that he looked as happy as she felt.
“Ryder,” he said by way of greeting. “Want to slip away? Found a great storage room. Sturdy crates, secluded, no interruptions.”
Sara had to laugh at that. “A storage room? You spoil me.”
“It’ll be like our first date… but better,” he said with a cheeky grin, referring to Sloane’s party. It was more of a sentimental offer than it implied considering their history. His smile suddenly began to falter, and it made Sara wonder what must be going through his mind. At any rate, it was clear that it was an offer that he wouldn’t actually be following through with. “Guess you’ll be heading out soon?” he questioned.
It looked like he was trying hard to seem indifferent to the idea, but she could see the disappointment in his face. Unfortunately, he was right. They likely wouldn’t have much time together. Sure, Meridian was won, but in a lot of ways, her job was only just beginning.
“Still a lot to do. Meridian’s just one step towards making Heleus our home,” she replied, her words laced with her own subtle disappointment. Their work was important, but it would have been nice to take a week off, especially if it could be with him. They wouldn’t get many opportunities like that. Perhaps it was the one downfall of being with him, not getting the chance to spend any substantial time together.
“Yeah, but a damn big one,” he said, proud of her achievement in finding everyone a place to live. “You deserve to celebrate. And I… deserve another drink. Cheers, Pathfinder,” he said, beginning to walk away.
She stood there momentarily, baffled by his choice of words, wondering what went wrong. She could hear the disappointment in his voice. And ‘Cheers, Pathfinder?’ Really? Why the formalities all of a sudden? Hopefully it was just for show, being on the Initiative’s turf. She figured he must be feeling pretty uncomfortable considering his history with the uprising, and it was yet another reason she wondered why he stayed here this long. She was hoping it was to see her, but now he was suddenly being so dismissive and trying to leave her to her own devices. She didn’t even care about the party going on, though, so after she regained her senses, she turned and ran after him.
“Reyes, wait,” she called out.
He stopped and turned to her, but didn’t say anything.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
He let out a sigh. “This is your party, Sara. You should be enjoying it.”
“I’ve already made my appearances. Besides, I barely get to see you. I’d rather spend this time with you while you’re here.” she said, reaching out for his hand.
He hung his head low, as though he knew he wasn’t going to win this fight. She also noticed the glowing smile on his face, that let her know he didn’t particularly mind that fact.
“Are you not worried about being seen with an outcast?” Reyes asked with hushed tones.
“Never,” she said with a grin.
“All right. What exactly did you have in mind?”
“How about a quiet evening in? You still haven’t seen the Tempest. We could have a drink. I could show you around. I think we’ll even have our privacy since everyone else is here celebrating.”
“How can I say no to that?” he said, his own grin matching hers.
“Good,” she said, tugging on his hand as she led him through the crowd of people towards the exit.
The tempest was parked outside, so it took them awhile to reach it. When they finally did, Sara opened the doors to the cargo bay, and bypassed the general pleasantries of giving him a tour in favour of taking him straight to her cabin.
“So, this is it. Home sweet home,” she said with a smile, walking through the doors to her room.
Reyes followed her in, taking a look around. “And a good one at that. I see there are some perks to staying with the Initiative,” he said, impressed with her living situation.
“I guess you could say that,” she said with a smile.
“You’ve got a good thing going, here, Ryder,” he said, with a tinge of disappointment still lacing his words.
“I do,” she said, upset that there was clearly something bothering him. “Hang on. I’ve got something I want you to see.”
She went over to her desk and pulled out a bottle from one of the larger drawers, grabbing some glasses along the way, and bringing everything over to the small table by the seating area. She left the glasses on the table and handed Reyes the bottle. He turned it over in his hand, looking surprised.
“Mount Milgram? And a full bottle?” he questioned, eyeing her in disbelief. Sara maintained a large smile on her face, not giving anything away. “How did you manage that? I was certain that we had the only one in all of Andromeda, and I should know. Maybe I’m not as good at my job as I thought,” he said with a chuckle.
Sara let out a small laugh at that, too. “No, I think you’re plenty good at your job.”
He looked at her, still confused.
“I saw that bottle mixed in with your other drinks one of the times I came to visit you on Kadara. It was almost empty, so hopefully you didn’t miss it too much. I took it when you weren’t looking. I figured it would be a nice memory to have and I wanted to keep it.”
He looked at her with a genuine smile. “Hmm. Well, that certainly explains a lot. I figured one of my cleaning crew came in and threw it out,” he said, before opening it to pour some into the glasses on the table, and handed one to Sara.
She took the glass from him, and took a sip. “Hopefully I didn’t get anyone in trouble.”
“I’ll admit, I was disappointed, but it’s not worth losing someone that I trust and whose work I value.”
“Good. I’m glad no one had to suffer your wrath thanks to something I did.”
Reyes nodded with a smile and took a sip from his own glass and nearly choked on it.
Sara burst out laughing. “I refilled it with whatever whiskey I could find. It’s definitely not as good,” she said, her smile turning more serious, “but every time I pour myself a glass, I look at that bottle and at least get to remember sitting on that rooftop at sunset. With you.”
“Is that night not just a reminder of everything I’ve kept from you?” he asked after a pause.
She took his whiskey and put their glasses on the coffee table next to the bottle before she moved in front of him, leaning against the back of the couch.
“Of course I wasn’t happy with you keeping things from me, but I think you showed me more about who you really are that night than you might think. In fact, I’m willing to bet you showed me more about who you truly are than you’ve ever shown anyone before.”
“I suppose you might be right about that,” he said with a smile.
She nodded, already knowing she had him pegged. “Besides, I didn’t actually steal the bottle until after I already knew the truth about you. I wanted a reminder of that time on the roof.”
“Ha. And why is that?” he said, crossing his arms in front of him. His mood finally changing to a happier one at least. He seemed to enjoy being read so well.
“After I already knew the truth about you, I could better understand how vulnerable you were really being with me up on that roof, letting me know your deepest desires. You were already trying to tell me who you were, just not in so many words.”
“Hmm,” he said as he brought out his omni-tool. He toyed with it for a minute. Suddenly, music came on over the speakers. The same song that played the first time they danced together. Sara eyed him curiously.
“Hacking into my audio system? Reyes Vidal,” she said, sounding scandalized.
“Only when it’s for a good reason,” he said, holding his hand out to her as a way of asking her to dance. She graciously accepted, holding each other close, slowly moving to the music. He paused for a moment before continuing, knowing the conversation was getting serious. “And now that you know who I am?”
“Haven’t we already had this conversation?” Sara asked. “Sure, I see you differently, but that’s because I understand you more now that everything’s out in the open.”
“Well, that is very reassuring,” he said in his regular confident tone. “But what will the initiative think?”
“Ah,” Sara said, starting to understand his concern. “I suppose we really are a modern day Romeo and Juliet, aren’t we? A forbidden love?”
“You could say that,” he said with a chuckle.
“Is that something you’re really worried about? That you’re a bad influence on me or something?”
“Tann seems to know about us. He has already expressed his displeasure with me. I suppose I’m starting to wonder if there’s a ticking clock on this relationship.”
Sara rested her cheek against Reyes’ shoulder. “I don’t really care what Tann thinks.”
“Aren’t you worried that you could lose your position. Your reputation? You’re sleeping with the enemy, after all.”
“Tann likes to think he’s in control and has a say over these matters, but the truth is, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of me even if he tried. Especially not now. Not after finding Meridian. So screw him and whatever he thinks.”
Reyes laughed at that as they continued to dance slowly, holding each other closely. “Well, Tann is only one person. Do you really not care about what anyone will think of us?”
Sara lifted her head from his shoulder so she could look him in the eye, concerned as to why he would be thinking this way. “I really don’t,” she said with such conviction that it should have been enough for him to believe her, but there was still doubt in his eyes. “What is this really about?” she asked, with a softness in her voice, knowing that there was something more going on.
He let out a sigh, and looked away from her for a moment. “Look, Sara, you’ve managed to do something here that not many people will ever achieve. You’ve truly made a name for yourself.”
‘Ah, so that’s what this is about.’ Reyes’ deepest desire was to be someone. He’d managed to do that for himself, but now the fact that she had become a powerful name for the other side, she could see how he might think that their relationship would present some issues. Especially now that he was seeing the true scope of her work first-hand.
“You’re worried about my reputation? That people won’t trust me if I’m with you?”
“You’re a woman of the people, Ryder. I haven’t done much to instill confidence on that front, being part of the uprising. People don’t trust me,” he said, finally getting to the truth of the matter.
“I think you’re missing a big part of the point, and you give yourself too little credit. Even though no one else knows who you really are, you’re a strong presence with the outpost on Kadara. You’ve always showed your support for both sides working together. And you said it yourself, I’m a woman of the people. All people in Heleus,” she emphasized. “That includes the outcasts. My job is to find a home for everyone, not just the people still aligned with the Initiative. Just think of what kind of symbol we could be to everyone? I think they’ll look up to us more than you know.”
Reyes let out a sigh. “How are you always so positive.”
Sara chuckled at that. “I’m not really sure.”
“Then how is it that you always see the best in me?”
She rested her cheek against his shoulder again. “You make it easy when you show who you really are. You’ve always had the people’s best interests at heart. Even though your methods of dealing with Sloane were underhanded, ultimately, you did it to avoid a war, and you did it in a way that put your own life at risk. You stand up for what you believe in. You may like to deny it, but you care. We have the same goals, you and I. We’re just trying to make the best out of what we have so everyone can call this place home.”
Reyes let out a soft, solitary laugh. “Maybe you’re a better judge of character than I gave you credit for,” he said teasingly, looking at her with a smile.
“Is that your way of saying that I’m right?” Sara looked up to him again, with her own cheeky grin.
“Maybe,” was all he was willing to admit to.
Sara got more serious with her tone. “Besides, I think we’ve both managed to become someone here, but there’s still something missing.”
“And what’s that?”
“You know what I was thinking about the entire time we were pushing for Meridian?”
He stared at her, waiting for her to answer, knowing it was more of a rhetorical question than anything.
“You. Being someone means nothing if I can’t be someone with you.”
Reyes stopped dead in his tracks, looking more serious than she had seen him in a long time. He moved the hand that was at her back up to her neck to pull her closer. He brushed her lips with hers gently before resting their foreheads together, both of them keeping their eyes closed.
