#gilbrodieweek

[life-is-no-sugarlicking]

Busy Gil is busy.

[fal3r3]

♠  Gil Brodie Appreciation Week  ♠

[mahariela]

I tend to live the way I work, kinda "feel it, do it." Not a lot of close ties, no real sense of purpose. Figured maybe I’d find my true calling in Andromeda. Then I got here and . . . oops. I just made a decision there’s no turning back from.

[gilbroody]

What’s the story? Well, Gil Brodie Appreciation Week is coming soon to a galaxy near you so get ready to celebrate our favourite tech officer and engineer!

When: July 3-July 9

How: Create and share all of your Gil Brodie content- art, fic, playlists, aesthetics, edits, gifs, manips, renders, metas- if it’s got Gil, we want to see it!

Where: Post your content using the #gilbrodieweek tag and everything will be rounded up to this blog hopefully! Make sure to use the event tag within your first 5 tags in order for tumblr to track it! You can also submit directly to this blog if you so wish!

At the end of the week a masterpost will be made of all the content made for the week. If it’s been a day or two and your post still hasn’t made it’s way onto this blog, send a message and I’ll see if I can track it down.

Ground Rules:

For the sake of all of our sanity, let’s keep the Discourse™ at the door, and we can leave Jill with it just to not open old wounds, please

No discussion of Gil engaging in romantic or sexual activities with women or femmes

No whitewashing

Be respectful and considerate

Some ideas for inspiration:

What was Gil doing during the Nexus Uprising? How did he react? What was he feeling?

What did Gil do in the Milky Way? All we really know is that he ended up with a job despite living on the street as a kid and did cool enough stuff to attract Vetra’s attention- but what?

Andromeda’s a big place- what are his plans and aspirations going forward?

There’s a lot of time stuck on the Tempest where we don’t get to see what Gil’s doing, so what are his relationships like with the crew? What antics does he get up to? 

Ryder’s got a lot of unknowns attached to them- what are Gil’s first impressions?

How is he dealing with his insomnia? Does Lexi know about it?

Have fun with Reyes this week and hope to see some great content in the next!

Special thanks to @life-is-no-sugarlicking for letting me use one of her many amazing screenshots for this banner!

[omegastation]

Some Gil headcanons for Gil Brodie Appreciation Week: (note: I hope this is lore-compliant because at this stage I'm not sure) -Gil repaired the local scrapyard's VI so it would help him during his repairs. Since he was ten and without a family, he grew attached to it and gave it his own nickname. -One of the older workers there figured out what he was up to but instead of denouncing him, the old man brought him food from time to time. Gil never forgot his generosity. -It was a relief when he was caught, he figured it was only a matter of time. But leaving the scrapyard was bittersweet. And from time to time, he thinks fondly about the VI he left behind - especially when he talks to SAM. -He could hustle everyone in every colony he went to, but he figured in time it was perhaps better to have the locals on his side. -One of his first lovers called him a "mischevious little shit" and it always pleased him. He knew it gave him an edge. It just made it hard to connect with some people because not everyone appreciates that side of him. -He once won a poker game against Admiral Hackett. -He was bored a lot during the year the Nexus was stranded before Ark Hyperion arrived, but he still made a friend or two. Not "true" friends like he would say, but people he liked well enough. They died during the Nexus Uprising. -Vetra sometimes takes him on her secret trading rounds in Kadara. He always comes back with all the tech he wants and more. He tells her he loves her for this and she always replies with something sarcastic but deep down she loves how enthusiastic he gets. -One day he was in the cockpit talking to Suvi and Kallo. They were joking about doing some Tempest manoeuver that no one should ever attempt. Gil said he could make the engines make it work without killing everyone. He was making the calculatings in his head, expecting Kallo and Suvi to tell him he had a serious problem considering this, when Suvi said quietly that they trusted him. They knew he could do it. "But let's not try it until we absolutely have to," Kallo added. Gil was so touched he let them win at poker the next time.

[justatiredghost]

AO3

There was nothing but a horrible metallic banging, sending bursts of agony through Luke’s skull. He thought it was just in his head, he’d had plenty of migraines before, but this felt different, although the nausea was certainly familiar. Then of course there was the agony in his left leg. But then he heard a frustrated grunt of, “Come on, damn it,” and Luke realized the pounding had to be something else.

Luke forced his eyes open and, through the dim light, he recognized the inside of the shuttle. While he was thankful it wasn’t any brighter in here for the sake of his headache, the fact that the emergency lights were all that seemed to be working didn’t exactly put him at ease. He tried to sit up, but nearly blacked out again, the world spinning dangerously. He heard someone speaking, the voice soft and full of concern, and then he felt someone there, supporting him, arms wrapping around him. It took Luke a moment to focus and actually hear the words.

“--hit your head pretty hard, so try not to move too much.”

Hearing Gil’s voice, as unsteady as it was, definitely put Luke at ease. He brought an unsteady hand up to cover Gil’s, feeling infinitely better just from the contact.

“Yeah, I got that,” Luke said with a shaky laugh that he immediately regretted as it sent more pain through his skull. “I missed that first part though, what exactly happened?”

“We were shot down, crash-landed,” Gil explained, more slowly this time.

“Any idea who? And where are the others?”

“Most likely kett given the damage. Reinforcements are on the way,” SAM chimed in.

“How is he?” Gil asked SAM.

“Concussion, broken leg--”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Luke cut SAM off dismissively, not wanting Gil to worry when they had more important things to deal with. “What do we need to do to get out of here?”

“Swim,” Gil said, “which you obviously can’t do.”

“Swim?” Luke tried to sit up, wincing against the pain as he jostled his leg, but then he saw the water slowly gathering at the nose of the shuttle. “Ah. We landed in a lake or something, did we?”

“And, with how everything seems to have jammed on impact, we’re kind of in a sinking coffin.”

“As inaccurate as the comparison is, the metaphor is apt,” SAM said.

“Well, isn’t that cheery. Help me up, will you?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Gil asked, but assisted as Luke ignored him and began climbing to his feet anyway.

Everything spun dangerously and Luke had to shut his eyes tightly for a long moment, leaning heavily on Gil as well as the wall of the shuttle, but eventually things settled. He scanned the room, saw where Gil had tore panels up trying to get at least something to work.

“I see you’ve already tried pretty much everything,” Luke said, nodding towards the bit of paneling he’d been using to pound against the door, doing little more than scratching it.

“Yeah, well, I thought I’d try a page out of your book and try brute force.”

They were holding hands and Luke could feel the tension in Gil. He couldn't help but wonder how long he’d been out, how long Gil had scrambled alone, trying to do this all on his own. Luke squeezed his hand and gave him a smile, hoping to be somewhat reassuring. He didn’t exactly know what they were going to do, but at least they would do it together now.

“Well, then, shall I show you how it’s actually done with a little biotics? Maybe between the two of us we can shake something loose.”

“While I know you’re always looking for opportunities to impress me, maybe hold off a bit. We’re underwater, remember? I don’t think I can swim us both up to the surface.”

“The others have almost arrived. If you can hold out a little longer,” SAM said.

“I can always use biotics to hold back the water, give us some more breathing room.”

“You sure you’re up for it?” Gil asked, obviously still concerned as he squeezed Luke’s fingers.

“Hey, you got a better plan?” Luke asked, giving him a crooked grin.

Before he could respond, there was a horrible creak, water rushing in and rapidly filling the shuttle, taking the choice out of their hands. Luke pulled up a barrier as the water crashed forward, pushing back against it, but he could feel the agony spiking through his skull at the exertion. He took a step forward, trying to brace himself, and nearly collapsed when he put weight on his broken leg. Gil was there to help support him, but it disrupted his concentration enough that he almost lost the barrier entirely and they had to back up gainst the wall.

“I’m sorry, I can’t--” Luke gasped, trying to focus. He needed to keep the barrier up, he had to.

“It’s fine,” Gil said. “You’ve bought us some time. Don’t pass out on met, we just have to hold our breath long enough for the others to get here.”

As Luke strained against the barrier, Gil had his arm his waist. Luke couldn’t help but lean into him, trying to catch his breath. He made eye contact with Gil and took a deep breath. After a moment they both nodded to each other, braced themselves, and he let the barrier fall.

He tried to lower the barrier slowly, but he sagged against the strain and lost it, the cold water rushing in so violently it threw them back against the wall. Gil’s arms around him sagged and in horror Luke realized he’d taken the brunt of the impact. Luke turned and wrapped his arms around Gil, trying to swim to the top of the shuttle, to get to whatever air was left in here. His leg screamed in agony but he had to keep pushing. He was relieved to find a pocket of air and hauled Gil up above the surface, grabbing onto some paneling to steady them both. He tried not to think about how limp Gil felt in his arm.

Luke panicked, looking around desperately for something, anything, as the water slowly rose, splashing in his face. They had to get out of here. The water was rising fast, Gil was going to die if they didn’t get out of here. There was less and less air and he did his best to hold Gil up, even as his own head dipped below the surface. In his panic, he used whatever strength he could to rip the door out with his biotics. If they were going to drown anyway, there weren't really any other choices.

The rush of water nearly caused him to lose his grip on Gil but he held on tightly, his vision blacking out briefly from the strain. As soon as he was able, he used whatever handholds were within reach to pull them both towards the exit. It was obvious he wasn’t going to make is far, his leg was already in agony and he could barely see which way was up but he kept going anyway.

It felt like an eternity until he finally pulled himself out of the ship. His lungs were already burning and it took everything he had not to breathe in water. He squinted, trying to focus, trying to figure out what to do next, and he nearly cried out in relief as he saw Liam swimming towards them. Liam reached for his arm, but he shook his head, passing him Gil. Liam wrapped his arms around him, but he grabbed Luke as well, pulling them both up. Cora and Jaal were close behind, ready to assist.

Luke must have blacked out after that. The next thing he knew he was gasping for air on the surface, feeling himself dragged onto land. Coughing and greedily breathing in air, he tried to focus, his eyes straining against the sunlight as his headache pounded in his skull. His first coherent thought was of Gil and he sat up so quickly, desperate to find him, that pain shot through him again, dizziness and overwhelming nausea forcing him to pause. He could see the others kneeling beside Gil nearby, but he still wasn’t moving and Luke felt like he was drowning all over again. He dragged himself over, waving Cora away when she tried to examine his injuries.

“He’s not breathing,” Liam said and Luke froze in horror.

This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. He couldn’t lose Gil! He wanted to reach out, to at least hold his hand as he felt his eyes burning with tears, but as Liam began giving Gil CPR, he knew he’d only be in the way. He felt paralyzed, helpless as he held his breath and waited. It felt like an eternity, but then Gil coughed up water, gasping for air as Liam rolled him onto his side, and Luke nearly sobbed in relief. He dragged himself the rest of the way over and took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

“See?” Gil said, voice rough from strain. “Told you we’d get out fine.”

“Sure, no problem,” Luke said with a breathy laugh. “Let’s do this again next week then, shall we?

“I’m up for it,” Gil said, groaning as Lexi arrived and began prodding and examining him.

“Yeah, good, do him first so I have time to run away,” Luke joked.

“Nah, it’s my job to get your leg splinted,” Liam said, kneeling down beside him.

“Damn, and here I thought I was in the clear.” More earnestly, though, he added, “Thanks Liam.”

They were pretty banged up, but at least they were alive. They were lying on Luke’s bed, cuddled up to each other as best they could without bumping any of their injuries, just waiting for the painkillers to kick in.

“I am never getting up out of this bed again,” Gil said, groaning as he shifted a little.

“Good, ‘cause I could use the company since I live here now,” Luke said. After a moment, he added, “Just don’t ever scare me like that again, okay?”

“Hey, you were the one unconscious for most of it, remember?”

“Fine, I’ll stop getting knocked out if you will too,” Luke said, scooting a little closer so he could nuzzle against his neck, tucking his head under Gil’s chin.

“Deal,” Gil said, placing a kiss to the top of Luke’s head.

“Hey, Gil?” Luke said after a pause.

“Yeah?”

“I thought I lost you. I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared,” Luke said, holding onto Gil a little tighter, doing his best not to hit any bruises.

“Yeah, me to,” Gil said solemnly.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. I’d kiss you, but I’m worried one of us might break something else.”

“Hilarious,” Luke said, chuckling. “Seriously, though, if you try to get up out of this bed I am tackling you.”

“What if I gotta pee?” Gil asked, sounding concerned.

“Too bad.”

They were quiet for a long moment before Gil spoke again.

“Now I can’t stop thinking about it and I think that’s making me need to pee,” he said, shifting uncomfortably.

“No,” Luke whined, drawing out the word and holding onto Gil more tightly. “Okay fine, but then you definitely owe me a kiss.”

“What a burden,” Gil said, pulling away enough to kiss Luke properly. “There’ll be more where that came from when I get back.”

“There better be.”

Luke couldn’t help but smile at Gil’s exaggerated groan as he dragged himself up out of bed. He just felt so relieved and worn out from everything that had happened. He’d come so close to losing Gil and there was no way he was going to waste a second of their time together. Even just bedridden and too tired and sore to really move, he’d make the most of it. When Gil came back, Luke held him tightly again, kissing him, reassuring both of them that they were here, they were alive.

[juleshawke]

Notice Me

Saw this post - heard this song - came up with this seeing as how it’s Gil Brodie week.

He knew it was a bad idea but Scott asked.

“Hey, Gil, you’re coming to movie night, right?” Scott had caught him in the cargo bay.

“Nah, got things to do.” He buried his head inside the Nomad engine, hoping the Pathfinder would walk away. No such luck.

“Hey,” Scott tapped the back of his leg and he’d had to turn and face him. “You need time off too.” When he’d gone to reply Scott interrupted, “do it for me, please.”

How could he refuse those gorgeous blue eyes? “Okay.” He’d nodded, planning not to go even then.

“Great,” Scott beamed at him and his heart flip-flopped. “I’ll save you a seat.”

Walking into the Pathfinder’s quarters had to be the hardest thing he’d ever done. His hands trembled, no amount of swallowing produced moisture for his dry throat and his heart pounded in his ears. Maybe he’d been wrong about Scott, if he wanted to save him a seat then maybe those looks he thought were just passing glances meant more.

Laughter greeted him as the door slid open and the movie had already started. His heart hit the floor. Scott sat in the middle of the couch, Cora on one side and Peebee on the other, both of them leaning against his shoulders.

Tears burned his eyes and he planted his foot to turn when Scott looked over his shoulder and smiled at him. He glanced from Cora to Peebee and shrugged. Gil didn’t know if the look he gave him was pleading for rescue or smug satisfaction. Pulling up a chair Gil settled in the shadows at the back of the room, not seeing the puzzled frown on Scott’s face.

Cora and Peebee pulled Scott’s attention back to the movie but Gil only had eyes for the Pathfinder. The movie held no attraction, not like the man sitting between two powerful, beautiful women. Gil’s eyes were drawn to him, his laughter a symphony, his smile the sun in Gil’s sky and it hurt so badly that he was so far out of his league.

The torture became worse when Scott go up to prove he could act. Gil found it hard to laugh when Cora got up and pulled Scott to his feet, offering to help him get over his grief as Kallo played dead on the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. As everyone else laughed and joked Gil quietly left the room.

He’d tried, he really had, to control his feelings for Scott, but seeing him every day caused him devastating pain. In all the plans he made for Andromeda falling in love with the Pathfinder hadn’t been among them. Hiding his feelings became a challenge and he knew he was failing.

It has started out so well, they talked, became friends, even played poker but Scott had never shown interest beyond friendship. He listened when he needed to talk about Jill’s suggestion to have a baby, although he had looked a little hurt Gil realised as he looked back. He’d walked away, telling Gil that whatever he decided he’d be there to help if he wanted it.

He needed to leave, maybe he should leave the Tempest altogether. Every day got harder. He kept to himself in engineering but Scott came to visit. He buried himself in working on the Nomad but Scott offered to help. Every time he tried to hide Scott found him.

“Gil.”

Like now. He’d made it as far as the med bay door. He stopped. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself, forcing down the urge to cry.

“I just remembered I left a diagnostic running and need to check on it.” He didn’t turn because if he did he knew his feelings would show on his face. “I’ll be back in a minute, go enjoy the rest of the movie.”

“Gil.”

A trembling hand grabbed his arm and Gil glanced down at the fingers that wrapped around his bicep. He couldn’t do this any more. He loved his job, hated the thought of leaving, but he loved Scott more and he couldn’t be around him. The pain became too much.

“Scott,” he heard and felt the shake in his voice. “Seriously, I’ll be right back.”

“Look at me, Gil.”

He closed his eyes and drew in a breath before lifting his eyes to meet the blue pools he wanted to drown in. Blue pools that shone with the glint of tears. He blinked then thought about it. Scott had been laughing so they were tears of mirth.

“Gil -.”

“Where’s the Pathfinder?” Liam’s voice carried through the closed door of Scott’s quarters.

Gil jumped as Scott grabbed his arm harder and pulled him into the med bay. “Sam, lock the door.”

“Scott.” Gil gaped as the lock turned red. “Lexi won’t be happy you’ve - .”

“I don’t care.” Scott turned towards him, “What’s going on Gil?”

“What do you mean?” Gil stepped back and watched as Scott paced and ran a hand through his hair.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Scott stopped pacing and looked at him, waiting for an answer.

“I’m leaving.” Gil almost sobbed on the words and he turned away so the tears that pooled in his eyes wouldn’t give him away.

A thud behind him made him spin back. Scott leant against a bed, holding himself up, his chest heaving and his eyes closed.

“Why?” A trembling whisper he barely heard. “Are you leaving to be with Jill?”

“What? No.” Gil stepped towards him and the painful look Scott gave him stabbed him straight in the heart.

“Then why?”

He didn’t know what to say, how to say the words he’d buried for so long. Turning away from the disappointment on Scott’s face he stared at the medical screen on the wall. This was it, the moment he’d wanted for so long but now that it had arrived, he felt like a fool as he laid his heart bare.

“Because I can’t stand to be here every day, see you every day and know I can’t have you.” Tears rolled down his cheeks and he let them. “It hurts to see you with Cora and Peebee. It hurts so damn much and … I need to leave.”

He didn’t hear the footsteps that crossed the room, didn’t see the joy on Scott’s face or the tears on his cheeks. He did feel the hand that spun him before two hands grabbed his face and soft, pliant lips met his. He did feel the heat that pooled in his groin as Scott’s tongue asked for entry and he let him in. He did feel his hands in Scott’s hair and the cold against his back as Scott’s body pushed him against the wall and moulded to his. And he definitely felt Scott’s rock hard erection rubbing against his own.

They came up for air, foreheads touching, hands cupping each other’s heads and their chest’s heaving.

“Why the fuck did you wait so long?” Scott lifted his eyes and the happiness in them made Gil’s heart soar.

“I didn’t know you were interested,” he said, his eyes wide and his mouth open. “I thought you and Cora - .”

“Not my type.” Scott shrugged, “did you think I kept finding you because I was bored.”

“Once or twice I thought you might be interested but then I’d see you with Cora … I thought I was imagining things.” He placed his palm against Scott’s cheek and grinned when he leaned into his touch. “I never dared to hope – well, that’s not entirely true.”

“So you and Jill and the baby?”

“Not happening, she’s not the one I want to have a baby with if that ever happens.”

Scott ran his fingers along his jaw and he couldn’t stop the shiver that passed through him. The satisfied smile on Scott’s face made him lean forward and find his lips for a kiss that started out tender but grew into something deep and passionate. Spinning them around he pushed Scott against the wall, his reward a deep groan that had him tingling from his toes to his head.

“I love you,” he said, hoping he wasn’t jumping too soon.

“Good,” Scott laughed and pulled him in tight, wrapping his arms around him. “I’ve loved you pretty much since we first met.”

“So you’re not good at this romance thing then?” He laughed and pulled back, kissing the scowl from Scott’s lips.

“Says he who was about to leave.”

“Yeah,” he dropped his head but Scott lifted his chin with his finger. “I was a bit of an idiot.”

“We both were.”

“So two of a kind then.”

“Matched set.”

The sound of voices in the corridor made them look at the door and they chuckled.

“Guess we’d better give Lexi her med bay back.” Scott cupped his head and pulled him in for another kiss. “I think I have a bed that needs breaking in.”

He moaned and dropped his head onto Scott’s shoulder before stepping back and grinning. “Lead the way.”

[imaginaryalex]

Adventures in Parenthood

A fic featuring Gil and my Ryder, Seth, and their kids, several years after the events of Mass Effect Andromeda. Getting this in right at the tail end of Gil Week and just in time for my birthday, woo! 

Gil was noting down final thoughts on a scout vehicle blueprint when Seth stomped into their Prodromos quarters and threw himself onto the bed.

“Ow,” he said, his voice only slightly muffled by pillows and blankets. And then, “You daughter is a menace.”

Gil raised a skeptical eyebrow, but since Seth still had his head buried in linens there wasn’t much point.

“She’s just mine now, is she?”

Seth turned his head just slightly and waved a little turn-wrist dismissal in Gil’s general direction. “They both are. They are entirely yours now, I am tagging out, this is your baton hand-off, please go enjoy dad-hood without me.”

Gil closed out the blueprint and started shutting down the rest of his memos and open projects. Work time was clearly over for the moment.

“You know I’d be more likely to believe you if Sid hadn’t messaged me about your, and I’m quoting this ‘overbearing and embarrassingly repetitive list of childcare instructions,’ right?” he asked. “Pretty sure she has things covered for a little bit. I think they’re making a fort.”

Seth flopped onto his back, frustration writ large in stiff movements. There was a rather impressive bruise spreading over his cheekbone.

“Did you know there’s a tire swing at the park now?”

“Is that what hit your face?” Gil asked, already edging out from behind his desk and making his way to the bed. “Do you want that looked at, by the way? I can get you an ice pack or some omni-gel—”

“No, no, I’m fine.” Seth scowled, then winced, then pushed Gil’s hands away impatiently, fingers and thumbs encircling his wrists. “Seriously, it was just a bad angle, I got worse just walking around last time we were on Voeld.”

“Not on your face you didn’t,” Gil said, but he let Seth move his hands. The swelling really wasn’t terrible, up close. Just awkward and blooming faintly purple. He started rubbing Seth’s leg instead, kneading up his thigh and down around his calf with motions more habit than conscious effort. The knee injury was history these days, but the look of utter bliss on Seth’s face was usually more than enough reward for the effort.

This time though, his visible irritation merely dimmed to ‘faintly pissed.’

“Stop with the bootlicking,” he said. “You sent me off to wrangle your children by myself for nine hours, a leg massage is not going to make up for that.”

“Oh yeah?” Gil grinned at him. “So budge up and give me your feet then.”

Seth managed to hold his sullen look for a record six seconds before he shifted up the bed and plopped his feet into Gil’s lap.

“This isn’t surrender,” he said.

“Uh huh.” Gil dragged his thumbs along Seth’s arches and tugged on his toes.

“I’m still—nnnhm, yes, that—still...”

“Still learning when to shut up and enjoy the moment?” Gil offered. He dug into Seth’s ankles and watched his whole frame go loose, arms limp and eyelids half-lowered.

Seth flapped one arm at him—yeah, yeah, show-off—and closed his eyes as Gil worked his way up one calf and dragged his hands back down with just the right amount of pressure. Then he started in on Seth’s heel and the ball of his foot, prodding at the sole and stroking lightly over his instep. For a while the only sounds were Seth’s half-moaned-sighs, the whir of the fans and the faint murmur of conversation from the other room.

“I love you,” Seth said as Gil started on his other leg. “Have I told you that yet today?”

“I think you made a similar claim over breakfast,” Gil said. “Though maybe I should make sure: does this mean you’re not leaving me to take care of the kids while you lead a life of epic adventure on the other side of the cluster?”

A smile twitched at Seth’s lips.

“You’re certainly making some compelling arguments,” he allowed. “I don’t know though, I might need more convincing.”

“I can do that,” Gil assured him. He kneaded at Seth’s calf. “Tell me what happened to your face.”

“Stupidity, that’s what. And poor reflexes.” Seth rolled his eyes. “Dian reprogrammed one of the playspace Assemblers and tried to ride it. It conked me pretty good when I caught him.” Seth pressed his fingers to his forehead, then his chest, a gesture they’d both picked up from the angaran parents in the playgroups: stars give me strength. Then he sighed. “He’s currently banned from unsupervised time with PeeBee, by the way. At least until I have a chance to talk to her.”

“How big a fit did he pitch when you delivered that news?”

“Total limp noodle pout. Just dropped. I had to carry him most of the way back.”

Gil snorted. “I’m surprised you carried him at all. I wouldn’t have.”

“Oh, by then I was in full-on retreat. The archon had nothing on Ilesha T’loran’s glower. You’ve met her, right? Niria’s mom? Former commando of the Citadel Fleet?”

Gil grinned. “You’re telling me an asari matron ran off the great human pathfinder by glaring?”

“Hey, this pathfinder values his skin,” Seth shot back. “I’m good, but my biotics and hers are like—like comparing an A-61 Mantis engine to the ark drive cores. Just—no contest. Pretty sure she could kill me with a twitch of her pinky.”

“And we wouldn’t want that.” Gil smoothed his hands over Seth’s ankle and rolled the joint gently. “I’m guessing Meri was the reason you feared for you life?”

Seth sighed, part relaxation, part exasperation. “She taught half the other kids there how to shift their weight to keep the swing going longer and longer. Then she stood up, and of course some of the others tried that too—”

Shit. “How many broken bones—” Gil started, but Seth waved him off, still talking.

“—and to cut an excruciatingly long story short, turians are not gifted with exceptional balance, biotics do not mix well with gravity-based playground equipment, and we are quite probably on the shit list of every parent on this planet now.”

“Especially if Ilesha has her way.” Gil noted.

“Especially if.” Seth agreed. “I think she might be head of the PTA now too.”

“There’s no head to the PTA, Seth.”

“There is, and you would know that if you ever attended any meetings.”

“I go to the ones on Elaaden. It’s very cooperative.”

“Yeah,” Seth drawled, “that’s definitely what I’d call eight turians, fifteen korgan and a few dozen ex-mercenary humans. ‘Cooperative’ is the always the first word that comes to mind there.”

“It works,” Gil insisted, and Seth just looked at him. Which was nice enough, but any second he was going to bring up the “how early is too early to introduce a firearms proficiency module” debate and they’d talked about that one enough. Gil refocused on the massage, rubbing at Seth’s ankles a little more.

Seth made a face that said he knew exactly what Gil was doing, but instead of saying anything he sat up and grabbed Gil’s hands and pulled him closer.

“What—”

“Just come—up here and—“

Gil let himself be pulled up the bed and pushed and prodded until he lay flat on his back on the blankets. Seth curled into his shoulder and twined their legs together.

“You could’ve just asked, you know,” Gil said.

“Too much effort,” Seth muttered into his chest. “You feel good.”

“I try,” Gil said through his smile. He stroked vaguely at Seth’s back and ran his fingers through the short hair at the nape of Seth’s neck.

“Talk to me?” Seth asked. “Just, adult conversation of any variety. How was your day?”

“Well it didn’t involve any remnant bots or murder-glare asari, so I’m pretty sure I got the better end of our deal.”

“Did you get stuff done?”

“Had a few loud arguments, tweaked some inefficiencies, argued some more. We’re getting there.”

“Good.”

“Taleek wanted to ask if you’d be a test pilot when the prototype’s ready.”

Seth looked up, like maybe he was trying to decide if Gil was serious or not. “What’d you tell him?”

“Up to you. I’m double-checking everyone’s calculations already as it is, but the simulations look good. And there’ll be unmanned runs and safety checks. Honestly I think he’s hoping you’ll crash it. It’s going to be a lot more responsive than the Nomad.”

Seth snorted a laugh that vibrated through Gil’s chest.

“He’s doing the materials checks, right?”

“And fabrication, yeah.”

“Mmm. Voeld or Elaaden. I’ll do it if it’s on Voeld or Elaaden.”

“What, no cliff diving in your future?” Gil teased, and Seth poked him in the ribs until he found the ticklish spot and Gil was forced—forced—to roll on top of him and pin his hands to the bed to avert the attack. And then, of course, he had to kiss the grin off Seth’s face.

It was supposed to be a quick peck on the lips but he ended up lingering, just relaxing into the feel of Seth’s lips against his, and Seth’s warmth underneath him. Long, slow kisses, each one deeper and more heated than the last until he felt like he was falling into them, until his hands were cupping Seth’s face and Seth’s palms were sliding up his thighs.

He pulled back just far enough to meet Seth’s eyes and stayed there for a moment, drinking in the closeness and the hot press of hips and legs and hardening cocks. Even on days they didn’t spend most hours a few miles or more apart, time to just be together was pretty scarce.

Seth ran his fingers along the line of Gil’s belt and shifted underneath him.

“How long do you think we have?” he murmured.

“Not long enough,” Gil answered, and even as he spoke there came a chiming of omnitools and blinking message notifications.

Seth groaned. “They probably want dinner. Do we even have anything ready?”

“I’ll deal with it,” Gil assured him, opening the messages: One email from Sid and a few jumbled texts that probably meant Dian had found a stray datapad. “Sid has range practice with Vetra to get to, but we’ve got leftovers. It’ll be easy. You rest.”

“Rest, pfft.” Seth propped himself up on his elbows and rolled his hips a little. “Right. Because resting is totally what I’m going to do if you leave me here right now.”

“You’d rather come spend more time with the spawn?”

“I’d rather have date night,” Seth said. “But since that doesn’t look likely...”

“I’ll see if Jill or Suvi’s available for tomorrow,” Gil said, setting a reminder to make sure he actually did send that message. “For tonight...Bed time’s in two hours?”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Seth said with a smile that implied something more physical than figurative.

Gil grinned. “I hope you do.”

There was a faint crash from the general direction of the kitchen, and they winced in unison. Gil stood to a chorus of Dian’s wails (more panic than pain), Meri’s yelling (almost entirely focused on absolving herself of any possible blame) and Sid’s increasingly high-pitched attempts to get a word in.

“Once more unto the breach,” Seth sighed, hauling himself upright.

“You really can just take a break,” Gil offered again from the door. “They day you had, I probably deserve whatever this is.”

“Nah.” Seth hooked one arm over Gil’s shoulder and leaned into him, steering them both into the hall. “We’re in this together, right?”

“If you say so,” Gil said as they stepped into chaos of the kitchen. Sid had Dian (sobbing out his best, utterly tearless wail) bracketed between her hands on the countertop, three feet away from a toppled step-stool and what looked like the remains of one of Seth’s old model spaceships. Meri was hovering just behind her elbow, shouting something about dad’s gonna be so mad you broke another thing today.

“Trust me,” Seth said. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”