#specrecs 2018

[spectre-requisitions-exchange]

The collection is LIVE!

We have 133 glorious rare pair works for you all to go enjoy! 

Go HERE! We’re so excited to dive in to what everyone has done :D

[alyssalenko]

Confession

Written for Spec Recs 2018 for the Prompt: Relaxing after a long battle for @turquoistar.

After the Battle with the Archon, Kandros and Ryder find themselves with some unexpected and much-needed downtime to relax and confirm that she really did make it out. Kandros surprises her with something, but she couldn’t be happier…

She smiled as she leaned against the doorframe to her room, hands in the pocket of her large hoodie that covered her shorts and making it look like she didn’t have any bottoms on, watching Kandros playing with her pyjak, Perry while her chubby space hamster, Hamlet, squeaked from his perch on the nightstand, munching on crumbs of cereal. It was weird to see him with a grin on his face, her usually stoic soldier boyfriend playing tug of war with a monkey. She cleared her throat, causing him to glance up, a sheepish blue blush creeping across his cheeks, wondering how long she’d been there watching him. She pushed off the wall and approached him, taking Perry’s toy from his hand, and tossing it on her bed, Perry jumping up after it.

Her hand found his, guiding him over to the couch and pushing him down onto the cushions throwing her leg over his lap, straddling him where he sat. His talons wound their way into her hair as he brought his mouth to hers, nipping at her lower lip. Lorelei smiled down at him, fingers tracing his fringe, stroking down along his jawline, his mandibles and the plates of his carapace. He didn’t say anything; her hands were two travelers that had crossed oceans and lands and galaxies but they were so small of the continent that was his body, but that didn’t stop their journey.

He stroked his talons up and down her bare legs, from hip to knee, drawing a shudder from her as she kissed him again, her hands on either side of his face, basking in his touch. After what she’d just been through she needed confirmation that they were both here and that they were alive, but they were both just relieved that the battle with the Archon was over, and everyone was in one piece, Wyatt recovering from his stint with SAM in his head. They’d re-bonded over the fact that the AI had been forced into each of them without any proper training. Lorelei stifled a yawn, his lover tired after her ordeal. Kandros smiled and dislodged her from his lap, nestling her against his side, as she draped her legs across his lap, arms hugging his torso as they sat there, and eyelids drooping as she snuggled into him, his arm glowing orange as he tried to find a movie she could fall asleep to. He may have been on the Tempest a little too much, having his omni tool synced to her screen and Liam’s movie library.

“Tiran, I’m glad you’re here.” She mumbled sleepily, as he stroked her blonde hair, pulling it away from her forehead, mandible pressed against the top of her head.

“Lore, I’m glad you’re here. I was so worried when APEX told me what happened to the Hyperion…and Wyatt. Then I hear from Liam that the Archon severed you from SAM, the AI so deeply embedded in you that without him, you almost died. I almost lost it. Broke down right in the middle of the Security Center on the Nexus.”

“I wouldn’t have expected that from you. You always seem so cool and collected.”

“When the woman I love is in danger? No Lorelei, no one can be calm in that situation.” Kandros sighed.

Lorelei sat bolt upright, no longer tired in the slightest as ‘Valerian: The City of a Thousand Planets’–her favorite movie–started to play in the background. “The woman you what?”

He snorted with laughter. “You heard me; the woman I love. I love you Lorelei Ryder.”

She smacked his shoulder playfully, before leaning into kiss him toward, their bodies curling into one another, pressed together, kissing again as one of his hands gently cupped her chin, talons caressing her cheek and her arms wrapping around his torso, bringing him closer. Tiran wrapped his arms around her waist and held her closer, his breath mingling with hers, kissing her back, deeply. He tilted her head slightly to the right, baring more of her neck, breaking the kiss to lavish her jaw and neck with attention. She sighed contentedly as he felt her pulse fluttering under his tongue—an excited shiver running up and down her spine. Every inch of her body was pressed up against his, begging for his caress and so much more as he two of them struggled to breathe.

“I love you too, Tiran Kandros.”

[venatohru]

Blue Rose

Spec Recs 2018 fic: some fluffy Cora/fRyder for @sumilong (read it on ao3)

“The term "blue rose" in English signified "the impossible (a non-existent object)" because nobody could produce blue roses by hybridization breeding no matter how much they were desired.” (x)

Cora set down her watering can. She had to think about her answer, and she didn’t want to overwater the orchid. Again.

She glanced at Sara, smiling at the small clumps of soil she’d managed to get in her hair when she’d stopped to tuck it behind her ear. The Pathfinder’s sister had become a regular visitor to the bio lab since the Archon’s defeat, and Cora couldn’t complain. Something about Sara reminded her of Janae. She’d laughed over drinks in the Vortex Lounge, when Vederia had joked that it was probably the shock of blue hair, but she couldn’t help but puzzle at the comparison she’d drawn - the two women had very little in common.

“Blue,” she said, and watched as Sara raised an eyebrow.

“A symbol of impossibility. That’s really rather...romantic. You know, in some cultures people believed that whoever beheld one would have their every wish granted.” She paused for a moment, and Cora recognised the look she’d seen in Alec’s eyes whenever he was on the verge of a revelation. “I wonder if any of the Andromeda plant life would be compatible...SAM, could you get me a list of the known non-toxic flowering plants? Oh, and I need to ask Suvi about-”

“Care to let me in on what you’re planning?” Sara laughed, finally noticing and brushing out the crumbs of soil caught in her hair.

“Cora, I’ve got us a new project. We’re going to create the first real blue rose hybrid.”

Sara’s passion for gardening had bloomed well before she’d prepared for the long journey to Andromeda. But there was something infectious about Cora’s enthusiasm and her wonder at each new botanical experience - about Cora herself, if she was honest.

Since their conversation in the bio lab, Sara had convinced her brother to let the two of them borrow the Nomad to drive over to one of the sites SAM had marked on her map. The potentially viable wildflowers on Eos had proved not to be so viable after all, but she’d make sure this wouldn’t be a wasted trip.

“Scott tells me your garden isn’t far from here,” she said, checking the map once they were back in the Nomad. “Wouldn’t mind a look, if that’s okay with you. I’m interested in how this soil converter of yours works.”

“There’s not exactly much to see yet.”

“Trying to put me off?” She gave Cora a gentle nudge with her elbow, earning a playful biotic push in return. “Not fair.”

“Okay, but I’m driving.”

“What’s wrong with my driving?”

“Where do I start?” Cora smirked, even as Sara’s elbow made contact for a second time.

“Fine, fine. Now sit still while I climb over to the passenger seat.” Cora began to open her mouth, as if to object, but said nothing, still as a statue as Sara clambered over her. Perhaps it was just an inevitable effect of Eos’s desert climate, but Sara could have sworn Cora’s cheeks were a little flushed as she shuffled across to the driver’s seat.

“I’ve still got some water in my canteen if-”

“I’m fine,” Cora replied, a little too quickly. “But thanks.”

Other than Scott, she hadn’t shown anyone her garden on Eos (a rather grandiose term for what was essentially a patch of sand with a scattering of hidden seeds), let alone someone with the knowledge of a seasoned gardener. Yes, that must be why Cora was feeling a tad flustered. That and the heat...even if the AC was cranked up as far as it would go.

As she hit the brakes, Sara moved to pass a pair of goggles.

“I’m alright thanks - can barely see a thing out of those.”

“SAM says the wind’s picking up out there. You’ll see better without sand in your eyes,” Sara grinned. “Or are you that sick of seeing me?”

“Okay, I’ll take the damn goggles,” she laughed, “if it’ll help your self-esteem.”

“Compliments work, too. Sadly they don’t keep the sand outta your eyes. I mean, as far as I know. Feel free to give it a try.” Sara winked at Cora before securing her own goggles, and there it was again - that strange fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Your...hair,” Cora fumbled for the right words, now glad of the goggles that obscured her micro-expressions - and Sara’s perceptions. “How do you keep it so, um, vibrant?” In all the months she’d known Sara, she didn’t ever recall seeing her roots, or any telltale streaks of blonde peeking out amongst the blue.

“Why? Considering a new look?” She could still hear, rather than observe, Sara’s amusement. “It’s a secret. Besides...on you, hot pink would look, well, hot.” In fact, hot was a good indicator of how Cora felt right now, and she was beginning to suspect that perhaps it wasn’t just Eos’s heat.

Despite the wind whipping about her face, Sara was still grinning to herself as they approached Cora’s garden. She hadn’t needed SAM’s input to sense that Cora’s pulse had quickened during the short walk from the Nomad, and had gently chided him (her, them? - she still wasn’t entirely sure whether SAM identified with any of those human-centric pronouns).

“I only need to know if Cora is in danger,” she’d said softly. “Anything else feels...invasive.” Even if it did feel good.

“Acknowledged, Ryder.”

“Okay, here we are - and I did warn you there’s not much to see.” Sara pulled her goggles up, and shook some of the sand out of her hair, glancing around before kneeling to rustle through her satchel.

“You sure about that?” She pulled out a small but thick book, carefully leafing through the pages. “I don’t have a real one - not yet, but…” She thrust the book upwards towards Cora, who, after removing her own goggles, plucked out a single, pressed rose. The colour might not be real, but Cora’s smile was.

“Just like your hair,” she remarked, fingers dancing across the petals. “It’s beautiful.”

“I...don’t get me wrong, we’re still going to find a way to make a real hybrid, but-” She stopped to take a swig from her canteen, mouth suddenly dry. “Make a wish?” Cora smiled, and extended her hand, still cupping the rose.

“Together?”

“Together.”

“But we can’t tell each other what we wish for,” Cora teased, “or it won’t come true.” Sara rolled her eyes. Yet somehow, with Cora’s hand still in hers as they walked back to the Nomad, the sand covering seconds-old footprints behind them, she knew.

[spectre-requisitions-exchange]

WE’RE BACK! Ladies and gentleman, for the third year in a row, we are back and ready for hot rare pair action. You just can't keep a good pairing down, and we know you all are already coming up with new ones.

For those just joining us or who need a refresher: Hi! We're an exchange for Mass Effect rare pairings. A rare pairing/moresome has 200 or less completed works on AO3.  All pairings - slash, femslash, het, multi, and more - are welcome.

There are changes from last year:

Mod K, our spreadsheet goddess, is joining us as a co-mod and godly ruler of spreadsheets. All Hail Mod K!

Andromeda pairings are now set at 200 completed fics or less, same as Trilogy pairings. 

We will be instituting special tags for your whitelisting/blacklisting pleasure - specrecsannouncements for important announcements, specrecsquestions for answers to questions we've gotten in our inbox, and specrecstrophies for any and all posts on trophies.

We will be starting a bit earlier this year (and henceforth) in order to make it easier for Azzy and those in the MEBB, so those who want to do both will feel able to do both without taking on both at once.

Here is the new schedule for 2018:

Nominations begin: January 1st Nominations end: January 6th Signup begins: January 7th Signup ends: January 17th Assignments: January 18th Assignments due: March 1st Fanwork reveal: March 8th   Author reveal: March 15th

Look for the start of nominations in just a few days! We’re super excited to get started!

[alyssalenko]

Coping

Written for Spec Recs 2018 for @vorchagirl

Marlo can’t handle everything after Habitat 7 and seeks solace in the arms of her favorite doctor, unbeknownst to both of them, there’s a confession lurking on the tip of his tongue…

And I have a serious problem with inappropriate doctor puns, somebody stop me…

For someone who’s been super supportive of my writing for the longest time and these two are her current OTP. Under a cut due to slight smut and NSFW content.

“Look at you, medigel in one hand, omnitool research on the other–I’ve never been more turned on in my entire life.” Marlo fanned herself with her hand, winking at Harry as he glanced up at her, smiling. “Hot enough to stop my heart, but skilled enough to restart it.”

His face fell–the joke wasn’t funny not after she was clinically dead for twenty-two seconds after Habitat 7…the longest twenty-two seconds of his life. She was trying to put up a brave front, her smile at her completely inappropriate doctor pun not reaching her eyes. Harry had known Marlo long enough to read the concern and worry that flashed behind her teal eyes…concern for her brother, and worry that if she slept she’d have nightmares about what had happened planetside to her father. The fact that she was here, in the medbay, instead of Alec’s quarters was far too telling. She chewed on her lower lip, fingers nervously tugging on the hem of her large t-shirt that hung off one shoulder which she wore over plain black skin tight leggings her face haunted as he turned off his omnitool, and set down the medigel. He motioned her forward, embracing her gently.

She buried her face in his chest…it was nice to not be alone.

“Harry I can’t be there by myself; there are too many memories…do you mind if I stay with you?”

He shook his head, as he smoothed her blonde hair away from her face, kissing her forehead as he held her close.

“I’ve only got one patient at the moment, and he’s in a coma. Come on.” He took her hand in his, lacing his fingers with hers as he led her into his office behind the med bay.

His room reminded her of him, neat and put together, barely any furniture, aside from a desk and a bed that looked like it was barely slept in. She shot him a look when she saw the paperbacks littered across his desk; he’d been holding out on her, knowing how much she loved the feel of paper under her fingertips–but when he tugged her across the room and held one up, she scrunched her nose at the medical titles for research about comas. Nevermind then. He was trying so hard to give her brother back to her at least, and he would never know how grateful she was to have him in her corner–even when she doubted herself and her new position as Pathfinder. He’d let her into his space, into his world, and she’d never be able to tell him how much that meant to her, his unwavering support, no questions asked.

“Harry, thank you for this. After everything, I think I just needed a shoulder.”

“Marlo, I’m here for you, whatever you need. You know that, right?”

“I’m beginning to.” She whispered, vulnerability lurking behind her teal eyes.

She stood on her tiptoes, brushing her lips against his, his stubble rough against her fingers that stroked down his jawline. There was the sensation of movement as she backed him towards his bed, her lips never leaving his, not even to draw breath until he felt the edge of the cot behind his knees, falling onto the bed, and glancing up at her, as she swung her leg over his, straddling him. A different emotion lurked behind her eyes now, lust–gone was the sadness from before, her mind and body ready to replace that with something else entirely instead of letting her dwell in her sorrows. He didn’t want to deny her anything, but neither did he want her burying her pain in sex; as a medical professional, that didn’t sit right with him.

“Marlo, love, think about this for just a second.”

Her hands stilled on the zipper of his pants. “What did you call me?”

“Marlo?”

She took her hands away, ignoring how they suddenly shook as she rubbed her palms up and down her thighs. “After that. Did you–did you mean it?”

Harry flushed. “I did.”

She threw her arms around him, bowling him over onto the mattress, his hands wrapping in her hair as she fervently brought her lips to his, his mouth teasing hers open on a groan, Marlo feeling a response where she was straddling him. Harry Carlyle basically telling her he loved her was not where she’d expected her evening to be headed, but God, if he hadn’t lightened her heart by a ton when he’d said it, not realizing how much impact those words had on her, and now she never wanted to let go. She couldn’t imagine what her father would say if he was here right now, his friend and his daughter, in love and shacking up. Gentle, eager hands pushed his shirt up his stomach and over his chest, her lips leaving his to kiss every inch of newly exposed skin as he pulled his shirt the rest of the way off, helping her remove her own clothes and the rest of his. Marlo’s lips came back to his as she rolled her hips against his.

“I love you, too.”

Harry surged into her, swallowing her sigh as he thrust his hips upwards.

The mattress was suddenly at her back, Harry’s chest brushing against her breasts his warm skin rubbing against hers, hips rocking into hers again as he braced his palms flat against the mattress on either side of her head. His lips left hers, eyes tracing the curves of her body, but his attention was only captivated for a moment before he found himself watching her, several different emotions flickering across her face, lost in the pleasure and sensations.  She pressed every inch of her body up against his, hardened nipples brushing his chest. He sighed contentedly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, the fingers of his free hand caressing her chest, sides and her hips. She arched up into him.

His mouth left hers as he kissed his way down her body, his stubble grazing the underside of her breast before taking a nipple between his teeth gently scraping the tip making her come apart on a shudder, Harry right behind. He kissed her shoulder and rolled off of her, tucking her body against his side. She drew a hand down his chest, draping a leg over his, as Harry smiled leaning over to claim her lips with his own. Pulling away he rested his cheek against her forehead relishing in her body heat from just that little touch, fingers drawing circles on his bare chest as she snuggled closer. His heart palpitated.

“You know we never really talked about it…how long did you know my dad?”

“Seven years. Heard quite a bit about Ellen, SAM you and Desmond. When we met four years later, I couldn’t even connect the dots, you acted so much different than what I’d heard, cool and confident in what you wanted, not the sweet little princess Alec had made you out to be, when you weren’t being dragged home by C-Sec.” Harry relaxed as Marlo laughed, the first one since she’d set foot in his medical bay. “Which is why once I knew who you were, I tried so hard to push you away, wanting you felt like a betrayal of trust.”

“Okay, to be fair, pretty sure Garrus only dragged us home on principle, since our dads worked together. D and I never actually did awful stuff, just hung out after curfew–there’s this view from the top of the highest building on the Presidium, completely off limits, that at night you can see all the lights…” She trailed off. “Okay, I get it now–”

Harry chuckled, kissing the top of her head and rubbing his hand up and down her arm as he hugged her closer, basking in the aftermath of their lovemaking

[alyssalenko]

Gently

Written for Spec Recs 2018 for the_wrote. I ship these two like burning and finding this request was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Shepard plays matchmaker and before she knows it, Tali and Kal'Reegar, have quite the spark going, heading towards their own happy ending…

“And if the Admirals have a problem with it, they can go to Hell. I just watched the rest of my team die.” Tali growled.  

“Maybe not the whole rest of your team, Ma’am.” Kal limped into the building, Tali’s eyes behind her mask going wide.  

“Reegar! You made it!” Tali heaved a sigh of relief as she rushed to him, embracing him tightly.  

“Gently!” He half-chuckled, half-groaned, Tali backing off with a mumbled apology. “Your old captain’s as good as you said. Damn Colossus never stood a chance.”

“Hey, Tali–you have a letter, Reegar sent it to me in hopes that I could pass it along…and I may have peeked; sounds like he carries quite the torch for you.” Taye grinned, handing Tali the datapad. “And maybe the feeling’s mutual? You were so happy when you found out he was alive after Haestrom.”

“Shep, I know you love to play matchmaker, and you do it well, but let this one go.”

“Only if you agree to consider it.”

Tali laughed, smacking Taye on the shoulder with the datapad, turning heel as she read through the letter. Shepard had been her best friend and confidant, the only person Tali trusted with her life–or so she’d thought, but then Kal’Reegar had been assigned to her team by the admiralty board. He still called her ma’am despite all they’d been through, but the undertones of the letter had her reminiscing. Reegar had always been soft spoken when they were alone together; sweet, gentle, and he never pushed her, letting her warm up to him on her own terms. Maybe Taye was right and there could be something there; it hadn’t been her imagination all those times she’d found him watching her.

And yet when it came down to it, she was scared; they’d been friends first and if this didn’t work out, they wouldn’t be able to go back…things would never be the same between them and she didn’t want to ruin their friendship over misplaced feelings.

They’d been writing back and forth for the longest time since Haestrom, Pen Pals, Taye called it, and feelings had been bubbling to the surface since the whole thing started. She constantly found herself wandering through the ship, reading and re-reading his latest correspondence hunting for hidden meanings, as she figured out how to respond. He was the only person besides her Auntie Raan and Taye that she trusted implicitly, and there was absolutely no one Kal’Reegar respected more than Tali, though actually getting him to call her Tali was like trying to turn one piece of scrap metal into a ship. Once Taye had gotten in her head, Tali couldn’t stop thinking about linking suits with Kal…though she wasn’t even sure when she’d started referring to him as Kal instead of Reegar in her head.

And then he’d written to her about his suicide run because reaper ground forces had punched a hole in his suit, her heart was in her throat, as she pulled up her omnitool. He was low on antibiotics, even with the seals on his suit sectioning off the rupture. The little bosh’tet had gotten it in his head to ram the Reaper blockade. She couldn’t let him throw his life away, not when Taye could pick him up…they had plenty of antibiotics on the Normandy. The command to hack his heads-up display pinged as it went through, Tali running through the ship finding Taye leaning over the galaxy map. Tali and Kal needed to talk, in person and in private, for what she needed to say, but she didn’t have the time.

Taye cocked her head to the side as Kal’Reegar’s visage appeared on Tali’s HUD.

“Tali?”

It was the first time she’d heard him call her by her name, and that made everything easier.

“Keelah Kal, please don’t be a hero! I love you and I need you to come back to me!”

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll last…”

“Kal please, we’re on our way.” She shot Taye a pleading look, her best friend just nodding. “Don’t throw your life away!”

There was a pause. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Joker, I need you to put those years of flight school to the test…I just put a set of coordinates into the galaxy map, and we need to be there yesterday.” Taye told him. “And Karin, we have injured quarians incoming, I need you prepared.”

“Aye, Aye, Shepard.” Joker and Chakwas said in unison.

Tali felt her knees buckle underneath her, collapsing against Taye, who guided her to the mess hall, filling a glass with water, and putting a straw in it and sliding it to Tali as she sat beside her, draping an arm around her shoulders. They sat in companionable silence, waiting as Tali brought the emergency induction port up to her mask. It felt like a lifetime passed before someone limped around the corner, Tali turning her head at the hint of movement to her right, multiple quarians making their way to the medbay. But a familiar suit of red armor with a blue visor wasn’t among them, and Taye didn’t need to be a quarian to read the disappointment behind Tali’s mask, her shoulders slumping in defeat, her head falling onto the table top. Taye laughed and excused herself, as someone cleared their throat off to the left of the mess, Tali’s chair grating across the floor as she launched herself into Kal’s arms, happy sobs racking her slender frame as his arms closed around her, stroking her back.

“Gently.” Kal chuckled as Tali squeezed him.

It was only a matter of time before they linked suit environments, but he had to get his antibiotics first…

[alyssalenko]

Obsession

Written for spec recs 2018 for @joufancyhuh Cassandra finds herself dwelling on her past fling with Sloane as she sees Sloane and Kaetus together, making her seethe with jealousy. She never realized how much like her brother she was…under a cut due to smut and NSFW content

Sloane always had to be in control. That was one of the things that had drawn Cassandra to her in the first place, and she used it to her advantage whenever she could. It was the same when she took someone to her bed, never letting anyone else gain the upper hand, but Cassandra was okay with that. She didn’t want to be in charge, wanted to be dominated–it meant she was the object of her idol’s focus. Rough, calloused fingers swept down her body, her curves molding to her hand as Sloane cupped one naked breast and massaged it slowly. Her other hand traipsed down her chest, grazing her stomach and disappearing between her thighs at the same moment her lips clamped down on her skin where her neck met her shoulder.

She gasped.

Sloane drew a finger through her dripping folds, Cassandra writhing in pleasure and panting quietly, irrevocably lost. Her lover looked rather pleased with herself, dipping two fingers inside her as her thumb sought her clit, teasing her mercilessly. Sloane circled the swollen bud roughly, rubbing it fast and hard, Cassandra’s breathing growing ragged as rough fingers caressed her with long, languid strokes, savoring the feel of her walls clamping down around her lover’s fingers, as she pushed her fingers deeper inside her warm, wet center.

When she spread her fingers, opening her more, she held her breath for a moment, lost in the sensations Sloane was giving her. Cassandra rolled her pelvis against her palm, shaking with pent-up need and desire. Sloane’s mouth left Cassandra’s pulse point, grinning at the deep red hickey she’d left there–a mark of ownership and proof that she was in charge, as she took her time, kissing her jaw under her earlobe, as her two fingers plunged deeper inside Cassandra. One hand widened her thighs, opening her to Sloane’s devouring gaze, feeling Cassandra relax and soften, a shiver skittering across her body as Sloane removed her glistening fingers slick with arousal to her mouth and sucking them clean.   Sloane was panting heavily, just as aroused as her lover was. She could tell by the way Cassandra’s toes curled and her back arched that she was close to orgasm. She lifted her hips to her mouth, placing a gentle kiss on her clit and eliciting a broken, pleading gasp from her. Cassandra’s hands knotted in Sloane’s hair, tugging at her scalp as she writhed in pleasure under her attentions. The tip of her tongue traced her slit, wet with her arousal, gathering her flavors into her mouth as she moaned. Her tongue dipped inside her, making her gasp and arch her hips invitingly. Her juices coated Sloane’s lips and chin, but Cassandra didn’t have time to be embarrassed as she closed his mouth over her dripping sex and sucked hard, tongue flicking at her clit. When she sucked the little nub between her lips and tugged it gently, she came apart at the seams.

They hadn’t had much time together before Sloane moved on, found someone new to devote her time to, and forgotten all about Cassandra.

Cassandra felt a familiar tug of jealousy as she watched Sloane and Kaetus across the room. Longing for the woman who had made her feel like she was important, like she could rise above whatever obsessive craziness lurked in her family…her brother to be more precise. He was why she’d left the Milky Way, his love of and obsession with Commander Shepard had made him crazy and she had to get away. Unaware she’d followed the same path, worshiping her idol and feeding the flames of her obsession. Sloane had her wrapped around her finger with just a touch, a look, and when they’d kissed she realized she was in deep, hoping what they had was something special.

She let herself wallow, remembering the feel of Sloane’s skin as she made love to Cassandra with her mouth, dark braids between Cassandra’s fingers as she came undone. After all that, Sloane had chosen Kaetus, tossing Cassandra aside like a rag-doll, a toy she’d grown bored of, sending her lover spiraling into despair and unfortunately for her–the crazy that was the Verner family legacy. The turian could never love Sloane like Cassandra did, and she’d show her that, even if it took a lifetime

[alyssalenko]

Open Book

Written for Spec Recs 2018 for Forlorn_Melody

Exploring their relationship at the beginning of Mass Effect two, has Joker grappling with all his feelings, a little nagging voice saying he should have checked more thoroughly that it was, in fact, his Shepard...the same one he'd slept with the night before Ilos, and the one he'd been planning forever with before she got spaced.

Abigail found him watching her carefully as she pulled her blonde hair up into a ponytail, scrutinizing her...maybe something he should have done before coaxing her to have sex in his chair. People didn’t come back from the dead, not usually, but she was one hell of a soldier, and the galaxy was a poorer without her. Together they’d taken big steps--meeting each other’s families, and then she’d gotten spaced, slamming the breaks on whatever plans they’d had and it was all his fault...it was something they couldn’t just step back from. There were things he needed to know. Joker’s eyes followed her movements as she collected their clothes and dropped them in a heap by his chair, so far her body--aside from the cracked red scars in her skin, biotics and her attitude were as familiar as if he’d just seen her yesterday instead of two years, three months and seventeen days ago, and he was sure Cerberus had performed their own checks to make sure her mind was in tact. But he needed to know for sure.

He’d told her he was sure after they kissed in the docking bay--but a tiny voice at the back of his mind was nagging him to be absolutely certain, that if he wasn’t correct, he’d just had sex with someone who wasn’t his Abigail.

“Go ahead.”

Joker’s eyes met hers, startled as she climbed onto his lap and curled into his chest, amusement lurking behind her blue eyes.

“What?”

“Ask me all those questions you’re dying to ask, to make sure I’m really me--though why you didn’t do it before I kissed you, stole your hat, and rode you into your chair can be questioned.” She laughed, the sound stirring him up--she sounded just like herself. “Make them as personal as you like; for you, Jeff, I’m an open book.”

“The first time you called me by my real name.

“Before or after you knew who I really was? Because Abigail Adams only knew you as Jeff Moreau.” She teased, a knowing smile forming on his lips. “But for Abigail Shepard, it was after I’d kissed you in the cockpit when we’d stolen the Normandy to head to Ilos; you’d come to my room to rock my world, and I’d ripped your shirt apart at the seams in my impatience to get you naked...you seemed content to take your time, but I wasn’t having it. We’d waited long enough. Did you know I wanted to tell my mom you were my pilot who fucked the stress out of me on a near daily basis after that? But it didn’t feel like something one should say to their mother...”

Joker snorted, wrapping his arms around her and tugging her close; they really should get dressed, but he needed to have her this close. He didn’t need to ask anymore, her answer holding every detail he needed, the little nagging part of his brain, silent as she nuzzled her face into his neck, Joker inhaling the familiar scent of her hair. He fought the urge to release it from the ponytail she’d so carefully crafted, and break in his chair a little more. Two years was a long time, and while he wanted to make up for lost time, just cuddling with her in his chair was relaxing and reassuring--he'd wanted to believe; they'd been planning forever before the Collector attack. He didn’t get why she hadn’t pushed the issue of her death, brushing it aside like everything was fine...but it wasn’t fine; now and forever he had to live with the fact that he’d caused her death, his inaction and trying to save the Normandy had gotten her killed. He had to watch her suffocate in space, alone, and know that he’d been the reason her light was extinguished, and that was going to haunt him.

She ran a gentle hand through his beard, nails softly scraping the skin underneath and drawing a sigh from him, as she leaned forward and kissed him softly, before pulling up her omnitool, opening a manual on their new ship, both of them reading about the AI housed within. How was it possible she was still so into ships? One would think that dying in space would’ve dulled her interest, but no, her crystal blue eyes shone with unbridled enthusiasm as they scrolled through the lines of tech and code flitting across the orange screen. Some things never changed, and Joker wouldn’t have it any other way...until a blue orb appeared in front of them: the aforementioned AI, EDI, Abigail grabbing his shirt from the floor and using it to shield herself from the AI, even if it was far too late, considering. The old Normandy had gotten along fine with just a VI, this new piece like ship cancer.

“Shit!” Abigail muttered under her breath, tucking his shirt around her body.

“Commander, I have locked the door to the cockpit, until you instruct me further.” EDI informed them.

She sighed, twirling a blonde ringlet curl around her finger. "Um...Thank you..."