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fandomweekly2017-03-31 07:33 am
toffeecat) wrote in fandomweekly2017-03-31 07:33 am
Entry tags:
[#037] Darling One (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
Theme Prompt: #037 – Opposites Attract
Title: Darling One
Fandom: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Rating/Warnings: G / minor spoilers for the Jaal romance (I guess?), and references to the events of the main questline
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 877
Summary: takes place before Jaal Ama Darav: Angaran Affection
But gradually it dawned on him. Jaal was nervous.
His hand hovered over his omnitool, hesitant to send his message. And it was not because he still had to familiarise himself with the piece of alien technology, not this time.
Did he really dare to go this far? Jaal had, in the end, never thought to find his mate in an alien.
She was more than that, of course, and he would fight to the end of his days to make his people see it. Ryder was astounding. A fierce, wonderful woman, standing upright and proud and strong, despite her losses. Maybe even because of them. She was a leader, a hero to her people and her crew, the Pathfinder, a title uttered with a reverance he had heard before only when his kind addressed the Moshae; with respect-laced voices and hopeful gleams in their eyes, and so much more. All that she had achieved at such a young age...
But he? What did he have to show for? The least successful child of his family; he was no fighter like his siblings were, nor as wise as the Moshae's other students. He was the drop-out, the drifter, the lost cause.
Where she was bright, he was dull, strong when he was indecisive; he was a mere moon to her sun, a rock to her diamond... There was so little he had to offer her.
And yet, she sought him out before the others after each mission, she offered him comfort after they had learnt of the kett, and the origin of his people. She shared her concerns and fears with him, and it was her who had asked to spend more time together.
Jaal had obliged, naturally; at first, because she fascinated him, and he could not quite place it. The whole crew did, but she had caught his interest the moment they had met on Aya. He had taught her about the ways of the angara, and in turn she would tell tales about the Milky Way, as she called her home.
At some point, they stopped talking about their people, and talked about themselves instead. About their families, their hopes and dreams, and slowly he realised they were not so different from each other after all.
Maybe that was the moment he fell for her.
He began to key in the sending sequence but stopped short before entering the last digit. It took him a while to figure out why; he was sending a mail to her, as he had done numerous times before. A simple invite to Aya, where they had been numerous times before. That should not be that complicated to do, should it? But gradually it dawned on him.
Jaal was nervous.
He had never had a problem with his emotions, and he had told her as much; it was nothing else but the way of his people to embrace one's feelings freely. Travelling with the crew of the Tempest for a while though, he had noticed that it was no common trait. The others were confused at his openness, to say the least, and brushed off his attempts to coax them to open themselves a bit more. Everyone, that was, except Ryder.
How he yearned for her, in all the imaginable ways. Still, sometimes he feared that what was natural to him, was too much for her. It was silly, in a way, and he knew; she had never shown any sign of rejection, or none he could interpret that way, no matter how closely he watched her. Then again, he did not know her long enough to catch all of her more nuanced tells...
She had cradled him in her arms and shared his sorrow when he was sick of worry for his siblings; she had endured the visit to his family gracefully, even though they must have overwhelmed her; she had marvelled at the overly inaccurate modell of the cluster he had created when he had been a child... Did that not mean she cared for him, too?
He had asked her, once, when their relationship was a mere bud to blossom, if the differences between them troubled her. Because despite his attempts to dismiss it, to hide it from himself, he did.
She had only smiled, and caressed his cheek where he now sported a scar. Her eyes had softened, and in that moment she seemed to have dropped the persona of the leader. He had never before seen her this vulnerable. His heart skipped a beat when she shook her head and lightly squeezed his hand in hers.
She had taught him some of her people's idioms before, and while he did not understand most of them, some stuck in his mind, all but ingrained into his being. About being attracted to someone so differently from oneself, just like magnets were; about soul mates and meant-to-be and true love and it made him feel... hopeful.
With a sigh, Jaal finished up the sequence and closed his eyes; his tool confirmed his message was sent with a beeping chime. All he could do now was wait for her to reply. Wait and hope.
In the meantime, he would arrange for his favourite place to be quiet. Just in case.
Just in case she would say yes.
Title: Darling One
Fandom: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Rating/Warnings: G / minor spoilers for the Jaal romance (I guess?), and references to the events of the main questline
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 877
Summary: takes place before Jaal Ama Darav: Angaran Affection
But gradually it dawned on him. Jaal was nervous.
His hand hovered over his omnitool, hesitant to send his message. And it was not because he still had to familiarise himself with the piece of alien technology, not this time.
Did he really dare to go this far? Jaal had, in the end, never thought to find his mate in an alien.
She was more than that, of course, and he would fight to the end of his days to make his people see it. Ryder was astounding. A fierce, wonderful woman, standing upright and proud and strong, despite her losses. Maybe even because of them. She was a leader, a hero to her people and her crew, the Pathfinder, a title uttered with a reverance he had heard before only when his kind addressed the Moshae; with respect-laced voices and hopeful gleams in their eyes, and so much more. All that she had achieved at such a young age...
But he? What did he have to show for? The least successful child of his family; he was no fighter like his siblings were, nor as wise as the Moshae's other students. He was the drop-out, the drifter, the lost cause.
Where she was bright, he was dull, strong when he was indecisive; he was a mere moon to her sun, a rock to her diamond... There was so little he had to offer her.
And yet, she sought him out before the others after each mission, she offered him comfort after they had learnt of the kett, and the origin of his people. She shared her concerns and fears with him, and it was her who had asked to spend more time together.
Jaal had obliged, naturally; at first, because she fascinated him, and he could not quite place it. The whole crew did, but she had caught his interest the moment they had met on Aya. He had taught her about the ways of the angara, and in turn she would tell tales about the Milky Way, as she called her home.
At some point, they stopped talking about their people, and talked about themselves instead. About their families, their hopes and dreams, and slowly he realised they were not so different from each other after all.
Maybe that was the moment he fell for her.
He began to key in the sending sequence but stopped short before entering the last digit. It took him a while to figure out why; he was sending a mail to her, as he had done numerous times before. A simple invite to Aya, where they had been numerous times before. That should not be that complicated to do, should it? But gradually it dawned on him.
Jaal was nervous.
He had never had a problem with his emotions, and he had told her as much; it was nothing else but the way of his people to embrace one's feelings freely. Travelling with the crew of the Tempest for a while though, he had noticed that it was no common trait. The others were confused at his openness, to say the least, and brushed off his attempts to coax them to open themselves a bit more. Everyone, that was, except Ryder.
How he yearned for her, in all the imaginable ways. Still, sometimes he feared that what was natural to him, was too much for her. It was silly, in a way, and he knew; she had never shown any sign of rejection, or none he could interpret that way, no matter how closely he watched her. Then again, he did not know her long enough to catch all of her more nuanced tells...
She had cradled him in her arms and shared his sorrow when he was sick of worry for his siblings; she had endured the visit to his family gracefully, even though they must have overwhelmed her; she had marvelled at the overly inaccurate modell of the cluster he had created when he had been a child... Did that not mean she cared for him, too?
He had asked her, once, when their relationship was a mere bud to blossom, if the differences between them troubled her. Because despite his attempts to dismiss it, to hide it from himself, he did.
She had only smiled, and caressed his cheek where he now sported a scar. Her eyes had softened, and in that moment she seemed to have dropped the persona of the leader. He had never before seen her this vulnerable. His heart skipped a beat when she shook her head and lightly squeezed his hand in hers.
She had taught him some of her people's idioms before, and while he did not understand most of them, some stuck in his mind, all but ingrained into his being. About being attracted to someone so differently from oneself, just like magnets were; about soul mates and meant-to-be and true love and it made him feel... hopeful.
With a sigh, Jaal finished up the sequence and closed his eyes; his tool confirmed his message was sent with a beeping chime. All he could do now was wait for her to reply. Wait and hope.
In the meantime, he would arrange for his favourite place to be quiet. Just in case.
Just in case she would say yes.
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And while I can't speak for all the Ryders out there, this one in particular definitely will ;) !
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