Parallax

A/n: Fair warning for everyone: this fic is winding down to completion. After it's complete, I do have plans for this story arc. The first of these plans is a prequel named “Apparent Magnitude”. It'll explore ME1 and how Kaidan and Shepard met, became friends, and fell in love without realizing it.


I apologize for the short chapter, but I had to get something out there. About 300+ words of it are censored for the FF people, but it was either put out what I had or try to stuff more in here and have the quality suffer.


AFF folks: After this chapter, I will start putting warnings on the chapters that I post so those who don't want to read particular subjects can read the edited version on ff.net if they desire. Any chapter that I add to this fic that doesn't have a regular sex scene will have a warning on it that will say what is in the chapter. It is up to the reader to read the warnings and decide if they are comfortable with the content in the chapter. But I promise that I'll clearly label any deviant sex chapters for everyone.

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Urdnot Wrex felt restless.


It was an unsettling feeling for the ancient Krogan. For centuries he'd wandered the galaxy, living off of the greed and fear of others by taking contracts as a hired gun. He'd severed his ties with his people and had abandoned them to their fate. Among the Krogan, he was both feared and reviled as an outcast who had been betrayed by his own father.


Wrex snorted and glanced at the heaping mess of his family's armor that lay against the vacant gun cleaning station. Both the armor and station stood for times past; they were small monuments to once great warriors. Yet they were both entirely different. Williams' station was new and barely used while the armor of the Krogan was old, battered and useless.


He chuckled darkly as the scent and sounds of humans rutting above him started again. Humans were fertile and genetically diverse; perhaps the Council would eventually create a genophage for the ambitious newcomers when they overstepped their bounds. But humans weren't merely a race of warriors. They were musicians, artisans, scientists and business-savvy. In some ways, they were much more formidable than the Krogan. And they were so numerous that they didn't have to worry about when their next generation would come. The act of mating had become less about procreation and more of a pastime or bonding exercise.


Wrex eyed his family's armor again. Was there any way he could restore it to its former glory?


A loud moan sounded above, causing the Krogan to growl in frustration. He could either mope about his lot in life, or he could give a damn about what was going on around him and do something. Perhaps he'd have a talk with Shepard when she left her quarters.


That was, if she left her quarters.


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A sultry voice drifted from reddened lips, asking, “Where to next?” Following the voice came a pink tongue which slowly caressed an ear lobe. As soon as it made contact, it withdrew, a set of teeth coming forward to nip a nearby neck.


Kaidan grunted in reply, his head lolling to the side to give Shepard better access to his neck. His hands ran down her sides to grasp her hips as he ground against her.


“Here, now, in this chair,” he hissed.


Shepard rested her chin on his shoulder while they shifted positions. Her hand reached between them to help guide him as she slowly impaled herself on his cock. Groaning as he filled her again, Kaidan gripped her hips and began to slowly rock in time with her.


Their lips met, tongues tangling as they savored another moment of togetherness. Shepard's hands wove themselves through his hair. Her legs tightened around his hips as she rode him hard and slow, her back bowing as an intense shiver of pleasure shot down her spine.


Kaidan was everywhere at once. His hot, gasping breath shot across her ear to land in her hair. His hands roamed her back, leaving tingling trails of goosebumps. He was inside her, hot, throbbing and filling her to capacity.


A moan tore from her throat as his manhood hit a delicious spot deep inside her aching tunnel. Shepard barely had time to prepare herself for the sudden wave of ecstasy that washed over her. Time stopped in an instant as her body slowly throbbed. With sparks dancing across her vision, Shepard collapsed forward, her energy drained.


She planted a quick kiss of encouragement on Kaidan's cheek before resting her chin across his shoulder. He shuddered and moaned beneath her, his thrusts becoming erratic. And as he throbbed between her legs, Shepard found herself becoming turned on again. His entire body tensed and his manhood pulsed, spurting deep inside her womb.


Shepard's hand traced slow, sensuous circles on his back while he regained his breath and softened inside her. With her chest against his, she could feel his hammering heart slowing to a normal rate.


“Is it always going to be this incredible?” Kaidan murmured, his hoarse voice dancing across her ear.


“It better be, mister,” Shepard chuckled.


“Nothing but the best for you,” he replied, giving her a small peck on the mouth.


Kaidan picked her up and placed her on the bed. The couple snuggled beneath the sheets, happy to finally have private time together.


“So, now what?” Shepard asked, turning in his arms to face him.


“Uhm, as much as I want to,” he chuckled, “I don't think I'll be able to have another go for a bit. We've been at it for quite a while.”


She rolled her eyes and huffed; clearly he'd said something wrong.


“No, I meant us,” Shepard murmured, “Now what?”


He paused for a moment before kissing her on the forehead.


“We get this reaper business done,” he replied, “Then we'll retire and get married.”


Kaidan said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. And as Shepard snuggled closer to him, she came to the startling realization that it felt natural to her as well. She'd never considered marriage before; she'd never thought beyond the next day.


Planning outside of military operations was foreign to the Commander.


But they'd known each other for the better part of a year and had trusted each other with their deepest secrets. Kaidan had become everything to her.


“My home is with you, Kaidan,” she smiled, “I can't imagine being anywhere else.”


“I feel the same way, Shepard,” he replied.


An unbidden, horrifying thought came to her mind.


“What if something happens to one of us?” Shepard mumbled, “What if I get spaced or something?”


Kaidan sighed and ran his hands through her hair.


“I don't know,” he replied, “but without you, my life would be miserable. We run some high risk operations, but when the mission is over, it'll be different. I'll be glad that you'll be with me when it's over.”


“So, we'll kick the Reaper's asses then retire and get married,” Shepard chuckled, “sounds like a plan.”


She scooted closer to him and inhaled deeply, reveling in his comforting scent. Shepard found herself wondering how in the hell she'd gotten to where she was. She was happy and for all intents and purposes, she was engaged.


Did she truly deserve this?


Shepard had been a terrible person all of her life. As a Red, she stole from anyone she could, slept around and harmed others, all while under the influence of any substance she could get her hands on. Even after she'd sobered up and joined the Alliance, she reveled in the violence, clawing her way to the top of the pack by any means necessary.


But it didn't matter to him. This was something that Shepard found difficult to process. She sighed, unable to figure the whole thing out. Perhaps if he could overlook it, then she ought to learn to do the same.


Kaidan planted a soft kiss on her forehead, quietly reaffirming Shepard's thoughts. She closed her eyes, glad that she had his comforting presence in her life. They snuggled closer and fell blissfully asleep.

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A pair of large, shiny eyes stared at the Commander's door in confusion. Small primate hands attempted to push the portal open, only to find a cold, unyielding slab of steel. A mournful hoot sounded throughout the empty mess area.


Simon had been forgotten.


The worst part was that the colony leaders were mating and the rest of the colony was completely isolated from them. It was like they didn't want to be protected while they mated; like they didn't want to be watched. Everything inside his little pyjack body told him that this was wrong.


He could hear that they were done for the moment, the stale smell of previous matings wafting through the air. But something was off with the scent as well; the colony female was infertile. And yet they were mating. The whole thing didn't make sense.


“So you feel left out as well?” a voice came from above.


Simon turned to see the blue female towering behind him. He cocked his head to the side, wondering what she'd do.


A pair of soft, feminine hands gently wrapped around him as he felt himself being lifted up to a soft chest. Simon rested his head on the blue one's shoulder, tucking his hands in close to his body.


“It's okay,” she murmured, “I'm left out too. But I know they're happy.”


The woman turned to walk toward the med bay, a frown marring her pretty features. They passed the nervous one known as 'Murray'. And as the doors of the med bay closed behind them, Simon spotted a tray of food on the desk. His large eyes remained transfixed on the food as Liara sat.


“I figured you were hungry,” the asari murmured. How long had the poor thing gone without food?


Liara looked at the clock on her terminal and drew a sigh of relief when she saw that the pyjack wouldn't have missed a meal. Her eyes traveled to the blank metal wall of the ship in guilt.


She'd thought that Shepard had forgotten Simon altogether; this was an ungracious thought. The Commander probably had an alarm set to remind herself to feed her new pet.


Liara sent a quick message to Shepard's terminal as to the location and status of Simon. It wouldn't do to have their time interrupted by having to leave the room to feed him. Perhaps they'd like to have a nice breakfast brought to them in a few hours. Both of them needed to keep their energy up, especially Kaidan, who required an extremely large amount of calories.


This brought another turn to her line of thought. Why did she feel the need to be nice to both of them? Was she truly in love, or was she merely attracted to Shepard?


Since she'd joined Shepard's team, Liara had felt like a bumbling fool. She didn't know military protocol and had been much too weak to join in fights for over a week. By then, they'd defeated Saren and stopped his invasion.


But what of Shepard?


She knew many things about the Commander, but she didn't know the woman too personally. There was instant attraction, but perhaps she had misconstrued this as love.


A sour feeling settled into the pit of Liara's stomach as she considered this answer. Had she been lying to herself all along?


As Simon helped himself to his meal, her hands found their way to his glossy fur. It was strangely comforting to find companionship in the small creature, though it did little to ease her confused heart.