#Mavic Virim

[crassussativum]

Day 5: Peace

(  @bronzeagelove told you I was gonna wiggle in a bathhouse somewhere. Didn’t go into as much detail as I’d have liked but I’ve never been to a bathhouse, it’s just not a thing here, and didn’t know how to describe it, so it’s kind of more a set piece than anything else) 

Typically being ordered to enjoy a mandatory shore-leave would have gotten on Crassus’ nerves. Being ordered to spend his free time getting to know his new partner in an off-duty setting would have annoyed him. It still did to a lesser degree but it was hard to feel anything negative when in one of Palaven’s more private bathhouses and sitting in chest deep water of the perfect temperature. Just... perfect.

Crassus almost couldn’t see Mavic through all the steam rising off the water but he knew the smaller turian was there across from him. Likely sitting as he was with his head leaned back on the edge of the low pool in all his naked glory. Water up to his chin, little thing that he was. Crassus had peaked when the clothes had come off, just curious about the physicality of the small agent with the big and deadly reputation. He wouldn’t call all the honed muscles on those ropey limbs impressive, not compared to himself, but he could still appreciate how they looked. Especially framed by Mavic’s extensive colony tattoos that covered nearly every inch of him in artful fashion.

Alright so he’d done more than just peak. He’d actively looked. Checked out. Whatever the current nomenclature was, he’d done it. And caught Mavic looking in return. Crassus knew what he looked like. He stood head and shoulders over most other turians and towered over Mavic. His muscles were bulky but honed in the same deadly way as his partner’s and he wasn’t near as decorated. Crassus only had half his colony tattoos thanks to his missing mandible and a fight that had gotten out of hand fast. 

Compared to Mavic, he wasn’t good-looking, but compared to him, Mavic wasn’t strong. That was all just surface shit and didn’t deserve more focus than Crassus had already given it when Commander Voynik wanted them to get to know each other. So here they were. Sharing shore-leave in an expensive, privately owned Palavenian bathhouse paid for out of pocket by their CO.

And Mavic, sunken into the water up to his mandibles, was purring. Crassus let himself sink a little deeper, legs stretched out comfortably. He wasn’t purring, not yet, but the feeling was there. He didn’t often get to come to bathhouses like this one. They were usually more functionality than decadence and he’d certainly never gotten into one of the private rooms before. He wondered what their CO had had in mind, exactly, with this outing. He stared at Mavic a little more and found one bright eye peaking back at him.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Crassus answered immediately. It wasn’t that Mavic made him nervous, not when he could easily -probably- snap him in half. It was that any agent that had survived being stationed on the edge of Terminus space for years and had outlived more than a few partners deserved a wary approach. Rumor- very quietly whispered -that Mavic had weeded them out one by one.

Mavic hummed and closed his eyes again, head back on the edge of the pool and exposing his throat. Crassus could just barely make out a line of scarring there. He had almost as much of that as he had tattoos.

“You just gonna keep starin’?”

Crassus blinked slowly at him. “You’re in my line of sight.”

“Turn your head then.”

His mandibles flared along his jaw and he bit his teeth together. Crassus shifted his head slightly and his gaze with it. He wouldn’t be the fourth partner Mavic lost in as many years. He wasn’t going to give the man any reason to leave him dying on some no-name rock. 

#august 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 5 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Crassus Sativum #Mavic Virim

[crassussativum]

Day 21: Overgrown

By the Spirits, he was arm-pit deep in neon-yellow grass, the pillowy and fuzzy baubles at the tips swinging back to wack him in the face every time he pushed one aside. They tasted bitter and sour at the same time and Mavic wished he didn’t know that. Crassus wasn’t having near the same issue, the grass only as tall as his waist and easily parting around the bulk of him. He wished he was half as big as his stoic partner. It was just like it had been wading through that river last week, only he wasn’t soaked to the bone too. Overgrown bastard. Mavic ground his teeth together. Usually being so short didn’t bother him, he was used to being shorter than the majority of his peers, but at least he was as tall as most folk’s shoulders. He barely came up to Crassus’ chest and he was always having to hustle to keep up with him. It was varrenshit-

Another fuzzy bulb swung backwards to invade his mouth and Mavic sputtered as the damn thing burst open into hundreds of tiny fluffs on his tongue. It was a real fight to spit it all out before it clogged his throat and a struggle to get the canteen open to help with that process. Crassus at least had the decency to wait for him while he picked cottony seeds or whatever they were off his tongue and teeth. 

“It could be worse.” Crassus said over his shoulder as he continued forward again. “We could be on Invictus. Those thousands of microscopic seeds you just inadvertently swallowed could be poisonous or otherwise toxic. You should induce vomiting just to be on the safe side.”

Mavic stared at his back with his mandibles tucked in, unsure if he was joking or not. He sure as shit wasn’t going to make himself throw up just for kicks. “I really doubt a plant is gonna be what kills me.” He hissed instead, trying to catch up to the giant. More and more of the grasses smacked at him and soon he had bits of their fluff clinging to his fringe as well as everywhere else. It was going to be a real pain to clean his armor later.

“I’m sure a fair few people have thought the same thing.” He murmured.

“Not like you have to worry ‘bout it. Fuckin’ giant.” Mavic said, batting away more of the bulbs as he stomped after his partner. A few burst open as his hand connected with them and he let out a string of colorful curses.

“By the Spirits, will you quit whining?” Crassus demanded, shooting him a glare.

“I’ve got plant seeds exactly everywhere!”

“You could have worn your helmet.”

 Mavic ripped one of the bulbs from the stem and threw it at him. He was beyond surprised to hear Crassus laugh. 

#august 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 21 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum

[crassussativum]

Day 4: Medicine

(Desolas isn’t mine)

@oc-growth-and-development

Mav gagged and nearly spat out the medicine on reflex alone. “Spirits!” And the dry heave hurt, putting a twisting sort of pull in what remained of his stomach. “Fuck, why’s it gotta taste like that?”

Desolas handed him a cup of ice chips and precious little water. “It’s to teach you not to be as careless with yourself a second time.”

He dumped some of the ice chips in his mouth before he said something snappy. His adoptive father didn’t deserve that on a good day and he sure as shit didn’t need it now. “I ain’t sayin’ it’s gotta taste good, but it still ain’t gotta taste like literal ass.”

The shift of Desolas’ mandibles told Mav he hadn’t found that amusing at all. But really, when was the last time he’d laughed at anything? Fuck, when had he? Not in a damned good long while. Mav sighed.

“I’m sorry.” Desolas reached to lay a hand over his.

“Nah, I’m sorry.” He sighed again and rubbed at his eyes with his free hand. “Not feelin’ like myself at all, y’know? Stuck sittin’ here, can’t move, can’t eat, can’t even go to the bathroom on my own. It’s agitatin’ me bein’ like this. And I know what you’re gonna say, yeah? All this shit pales compared to bein’ dead.”

“That’s not quite how I would have worded it.” Desolas murmured.

“I know that too.”

His mandibles flicked. It was almost a smile.

“You remember the last time I was this fucked up?” Mav asked after a few minutes of just sitting there. “When I got spaced?”

Desolas nodded and those finely arched mandibles of his pulled in tight.

Mav squeezed his hand. “I thought of you before my parents.” He murmured. “Lotta reasons why but I got a chance to say my piece to you. I didn’t this time. I... really regret not takin’ more time after that to be ‘round more.”

“You have your own life, Mavic, I know that.”

“Yeah, but it’s still got you in it, y’know?”

Desolas squeezed his hand. “I only ask that it’s a long one.”

“Yeah, honestly? I really want the same.” 

#oc-tober 2021 #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #mercenary!au #day 4 #Mavic Virim #Desolas Arterius

[crassussativum]

Day 24: Survival

“I dunno if I can do this anymore.” Mavic said. His mandibles hung limp and he had that far away stare in place.

Crassus glanced back over his shoulder to the outpost they had both just cleaned out. Smoke spilled from the front door. There had been a group of slavers inside and Mavic had done what he always did whenever they came across slavers. He’d toed his own personal deep end until he’d slipped over the edge. His face was streaked with blood and his gun was empty. Crassus had already taken it from his hand.

“Clean up?” He asked.

Mavic shook his head. “Blackwatch.” 

He didn’t know what to say to that, so surprised to even hear the words leave Mavic’s mouth. Crassus shifted on his feet and then showed the smaller turian his palms. Mavic’s stare shifted and locked onto them. Crassus saw him swallow hard.

“I’m afraid I’m gonna go too far.” He muttered. “That I’ll cross a line I forgot I put there.”

Crassus inclined his head in understanding. It was something he worried about too after every brush with some Terminus scum. Or one of their few survivors like Mavic. He seemed to take finding them more personally. “What do you think you should do about it?” He asked. “Before you do cross that line.”

Mavic swallowed hard again and tore his eyes away from Crassus’ hands to meet his own eyes. “I think I should leave.” He blinked a few times. “But... but I can’t do that without you.”

“You could.” Crassus said at length.

“I can’t. I don’t wanna. Not even to try it.”

Crassus inclined his head again and Mavic slipped his hand into his. 

#September 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 24 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Crassus Sativum #Mavic Virim

[crassussativum]

Day 19: Trick

“...so stupid. Sometimes I find myself wishin’ you’d hold me down and-”

Crassus’ mandibles jerked in tightly. “I’m not like that.”

“I know. I’m glad, yeah? I just wish I was gettin’ over this shit as fast as I wanna.”

“There’s no trick to getting over this.”

In the dark, Mavic sighed. Crassus felt his chest rise high and fall flat against his arm.

“I know there’s not.” He murmured. “I know. I wish there was. I’m so... tired of strugglin’ with this. It. Whatever.”

Crassus rubbed their fingers together in return, gently, carefully. “I know.”

“It’s not even bein’ naked with someone, y’know?” His voice was quiet. “Naked I can do. Touch, I can do. Took me forever to kiss you, but I can do that now no problem.”

He smiled wanly. “You’ve already accomplished so much.”

“Thanks...” Mavic said at length. “It don’t feel like much.”

“I don’t think it ever does.”

Mavic rubbed his chin against Crassus’ shoulder. The silence between them stretched for long minutes before he spoke again. “I don’t get why it’s so hard when it’s somethin’ I wanna do. I want to and then we’re half way there, y’know,? And I can’t. It’s like a switch flips in my head and I can’t.”

He rubbed their fingers together again. “What’s your therapist say?”

Mavic snorted. “To be patient with myself.”

“She’s not wrong.”

“No shit.” He sighed heavily again. “Crass, I don’t have a third of your patience. I dunno how you put up with me. With the stop and start, stop and start over and over. I must frustrate the fuck outta you. I frustrate the fuck outta me.”

He chuckled quietly. “You don’t. For the record.”

“How? Really, how?”

Crassus slid his fingers between Mavic’s and rubbed circles along his palm. “I don’t know. You just don’t. I mean, I do get frustrated with you, yes, but not about the big things. You need time to process all that happened. That’s understandable and it will take as long as it takes and I understand that. I’m here for as long as it takes and as long as you want me here.” He squeezed Mavic’s hand. “I don’t understand, however, why you think it’s perfectly acceptable to put the toilet paper on the back of the toilet and not the holder. That’s frustrating. I know you were raised in a barn but come on.”

Mavic laughed and squeezed his hand back. “Asshole.”

He chuckled and rubbed his eyes with his opposite hand. “I love you, too.”

“Spirits know why,” He murmured and kissed his shoulder. 

#September 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 19 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum

[crassussativum]

Sentinel: Chapter 7

Eros:

It smelled of smoke and rain inside the Temple. Scents associated with grief and sadness for most turians, for Eros they brought forth a feeling of spiritual safety and order. It was the smell of Palavenian pine when it burned on the pyres for the dead. The smoke guided the recently freed Spirit from the mortal coil to the less tangible afterlife and to the collective Spirit of Palaven where all things became whole. 

He loosened his grip on Ignatius’ hand as they passed together over the stone threshold and the smoke stung his eyes. But inside the Temple the weight of his grief eased, the burden lifted by the Spirits that always lingered here. Past Valluvian priests like himself, those that had witnessed Spirits or simply felt them more strongly than the average turian, they stayed within the Temple to help the transition of new Spirits and to bring what comfort they could to the living. Eros had always felt weightless here, like he was floating, like he was a Spirit himself. It was foolish, Eros knew, but it made him smile.

Ignatius smiled softly down at him. His mate wasn’t as religious a man as he was but he understood the soul’s call for it and for that Eros was grateful. He was grateful the Spirits had led Ignatius to him. If the Blackwatch hadn’t arrived on that colony when they had, Eros was certain he would have perished with the rest of his unit. He had been dying after an incendiary round had pierced his hardsuit. After it had burned through all the man-made material and begun to burn through him, Eros had begged the Spirits for any mercy from the agony. Even death if it meant the pain would stop. They had sent him a giant in matte black armor.

That Ignatius had stayed for more than just his rescue had been surprising but throughout his recovery, Eros had realized the Spirits had brought him into Ignatius’ life as much as the other way around. Blackwatch assignments had turned him world weary and cynical and finding Eros had restored his purpose to something more than just that of a skilled combatant. Support, companionship and then love had followed close behind.

Eros gave his hand a squeeze and returned that warm smile. Together they found Terronos’ alter and knelt before it. Eros folded his dark blue robes beneath himself and into his lap, then he lowered his head and closed his eyes. He didn’t need the image projected on the wall to see the face of his fallen friend, it was still clear in his mind’s eye. Square features and green star-burst markings that framed sharp golden eyes above a slow smile that had begun to droop on one side as the corpalis syndrome had arrived with its first signs... Shaking hands had followed and when Terronos had been unable to hold things without noticeable difficulty, they had known something was wrong. Loss of dexterity wasn’t uncommon with advancing age, nor were fading memories, but the inability to form new memories, to lose entire conversations the moment they left the mouth...

Eros didn’t want to remember Terronos that way and he struggled not to but the memory was persistent. He wished he could forget those final weeks of losing his friend piece by piece as corpalis had begun to ravage him. The disease had acted much the same as its chosen victims, it had been an overwhelming force of warfare on the body and mind, unstoppable and without mercy. As much as it hurt, Eros knew Terronos had made the correct choice to join the Spirits when he had, before he had lost even the ability to blink.

Ignatius squeezed his hand again tightly, their fingers laced together. Eros heard him clear his throat and swallow. His voice was quiet and cracked at the edges as he spoke to the Spirit of the former Primarch. It was a while before Eros found his own voice beneath the lump of emotion and joined him. 

The Primarch:

The twins were sleeping as they always did, snuggled together with tangled limbs and foreplates just barely touching. Vesimir was positive they had spent their time in the womb much the same way, sharing space and breath and Spirit. It brought him endless comfort to know they would always have each other, and Cato, once he was gone. Cicero, he knew would struggle to fit in with his inability to vocalize in an audible range heard by species other than turians, but Marcian would help him. Together they would find a way to adapt as he had taught them to. 

Vesimir pressed a kiss to each little fringe and tucked the blanket around them both. Their night-light was on and projecting ocean waves on the ceiling. If he thought hard enough he could almost hear them crashing against the shores. He yearned for the ocean as he had for few things in his life and no facsimile of sound or image compared but he was pleased the little toy gave the ocean back to his boys. 

Vesimir re-activated the security console as he left their room, trusting it to alert him and the Sentinels should the door be opened before the morning. He still wasn’t used to having their room so far away from his own but Cicero and Marcian had made a big to-do out of getting to pick their own room and he only wanted to make them happy. Where their room on Parthia had faced the ocean and the rising sun of the south, the room here faced the main garden and the northern setting sun. It was an old superstition, but Vesimir would have been more comfortable had they chosen a southern facing room as he had. 

Cato had chosen an eastern facing room with large windows and a balcony for better natural lighting. For his art, Vesimir knew, so he could see color as it was meant to be seen. He smiled for himself, some day he fully expected Cato to ask for ocular implants to see every spectrum of color. He would allow it, of course. There was serenity in art and Cato had as turbulent a nature as Parthia’s seas.

His mother would be proud of him. She had been wild too, a wandering Spirit full of wonder and joy at every new experience whatever it might be. Vesimir ached at her memory. The twins couldn’t remember her and in truth, they hadn’t even gotten the chance to meet her, it had all happened so fast. There were moments, shameful moments, when Vesimir envied them that. More often, he felt a crushing sorrow for what they had lost, what he and Cato had lost. He still remembered the struggle of explaining to Cato the arrival home of the two infants without their mother. So overcome to the point of numbness with grief that he had done nothing but stand there as his first son had collapsed into tears. Vesimir thanked the Spirits daily for the family next door -Philia and her parents- that had supported them through Marcilinaes’ death.

He wondered if she and Cato had made up yet, not seeing her when they’d boarded the shuttle to leave Parthia had been a shock and his son hadn’t mentioned her since. Vesimir sighed to himself and ran a hand back over his long fringe. He shouldn’t worry, children often had spats that seemed big in the moment and were later proven quite small. The two would make up and before long Cato would be asking for Philia to visit Palaven.

#ooc #Mass Effect #fanfiction #Sentinel #Chapter 7 #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum #Primarch Fedorian #Cato Fedorian #Cicero Fedorian #Marcian Fedorian #Ignatius Voynik #Eros Voynik #(I feel like this took forever #and idk how often I'll do chapters in Eros' pov or in Vesimir's #they're both very difficult to write and idk why #Guardian!AU

[crassussativum]

🌾 Describe your OC through the eyes of someone absolutely head-over-heels in love with them

For Mav/Crassus

He'd been through so much, and Crassus was one of few people that knew exactly how much. The first time Mavic had reached for his hand, he'd been so surprised that his fingers had spasmed on the way to closing around his. That first hug, Crassus had felt his heart stop as Mavic's thinner arms wrapped around his middle and he'd held so tightly... His own arms had been gentle, careful, like grasping the petal of a flower. Mavic was no flower. He was sunset colored eyes and a crooked smile, he was a quick trigger finger and a moral compass. He was still healing but he knew the importance of small steps, of far placed foot prints that were hard to see at a distance but there nonetheless. They slept beside each other nightly, Mavic's hand clasped securely in his own.

#ooc #blindfaithnisha #originalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum #(thaaaaank yoooouuu

[crassussativum]

Day 10: Camp

Mavic let the pack slide from his shoulders with a long groan. He’d let himself get out of shape, somehow, if carrying it for a few hours had already stiffened his shoulders and put a rod where his spine had been. Ridiculous, what a little time off and without routine could do to a body. Aggravating too considering how winded he was. Crassus seemed barely touched by the long trek and he had already gathered wood for the fire they would need to stay warm tonight. Hell, he’d already gotten the thing lit. 

Mavic fluttered his mandibles and dropped down beside him.

“You doing alright?” Crassus asked softly.

“Outta breath.” He muttered. “But okay. Been a long time since I’ve been campin’.”

The giant Invictian inclined his head once. “I try to go once a year while not on assignment.” He said. “My sister loves this.”

Mavic leaned back on his hands like stretching out his torso would help him breathe easier. “I... don’t get why folks do this for fun.”

Crassus flicked him a single mandible smile. “What part of this isn’t fun? There’s clear skies and fresh air. We’ll cook over an open fire. Maybe I’ll catch us a fish for dinner.”

He arched a brow. “You fish?”

“With a spear and a net.” He answered. “The village elders taught us all how to do it.” 

“Huh.” He flicked his mandibles back. “I reckon doin’ it that way could be fun.” 

Crassus smiled at him and it made his green eyes so bright. “I’ll teach you how.”

#September 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 10 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum

[crassussativum]

Day 2: Frayed

Kneeling uncomfortably on gravel, Crassus said his name again to no reaction. Mavic simply stared vacantly ahead with his mandibles hanging loose along the line of his jaw. Crassus had seen the behavior a few times in the handful of months they’d been partners but they had been episodes of sleep walking and waking nightmares. Never had Mavic done this in the field and he couldn’t figure out what had caused it.

“Mavic.” Crassus didn’t dare touch him, never entirely sure how the smaller turian would react, and his hands twitched uselessly. His instinct was to reach out, to put his hands on Mavic’s shoulders and shake him back to awareness but he still held his gun and his finger rested along the trigger. Crassus flexed his single mandible and opened a comm channel to the Commander.

“Sir.” He wasn’t certain what he should say about the situation and he was even less sure about what he should do. Mavic wasn’t a defenseless civilian he could just haul to safety, he was a skilled combatant same as Crassus was and he had a big thing about being touched. He was dangerous and in the right moments, he was deadly.

“I’m listening, Sativum.”

“Virim isn’t responding.”

“Do you have eyes on him?”

“He’s sitting on the ground here in front of me.” Crassus answered.

The Commander was silent for a long moment. “Mission status?”

“Incomplete, Sir.”

“Shit.” Commander Voynik sighed. “I’ll send another team. Get Virim out of the area however you need to. The medics will be waiting for him.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He cut communication and stared at Mavic as the smaller turian stared through him. However he got Mavic out of here, he’d have to take his gun away first. Crassus rubbed a hand over his fringe and shifted his weight. The only way to safely take the gun away was quickly and he could envision how that might go.

“Remember I’m your friend, alright?” He muttered and struck, shoved Mavic to the ground with one hand and his longer reach while grabbing the gun with the other. 

It got the predicable reaction. Mavic came back to himself with a snarl, his teeth bared and his omniblade-

“Mavic!”

Crassus could feel the heat of the omniblade centimetres from his throat and Mavic’s weight on his chest. He had no idea how he’d been able to get the upper hand so quickly when he’d been all but catatonic sitting flat on his ass seconds before.

“Mavic!” He showed the smaller turian his empty hands, the gun tossed away from them in the mad scramble and he’d never drawn his own. “I’m not going to hurt you. Just relax, please.”

He growled but pulled the omniblade away. “What the fuck Crassus.”

“By the Spirits.” Crassus let himself flop back on the ground with an expulsion of air. “You scared me, alright?” 

“Scared you? You scared me, you bastard.” Mavic climbed off him, the omniblade fading away as he paced a tight circle around his prone form. “The fuck you thinkin’ jumpin’ me like that? I coulda taken your head clean off.”

But he hadn’t, he’d stopped in the last crucial second and Crassus was beyond thankful for that. He pushed himself up to sitting, leaned back on his hands. “You went all...” He didn’t know how to explain when he didn’t know what had caused the episode or even what it was. “Distant. You were just sitting there staring off into space and you didn’t respond to me at all. I thought... I don’t know what I thought. I called the Commander and he said bring you back.”

“You called the Commander?” Mavic hissed. “Fuck, Crassus.”

“I didn’t know what else to do!” He scoffed back at him, rising to his feet. “By the Spirits, Mavic. It was like when I found you wandering the compound. You were completely gone and I have no idea why.”

“Fuck.” He hissed again, running both hands over his fringe repeatedly. “Fuck I... I dunno what happened either.”

“Clearly.” Crassus retrieved their guns and faltered on giving Mavic’s back. He didn’t think that was a good idea. “The Commander ordered us both back. He’s got the medics waiting for you and another team coming in.”

Mavic gaped at him. “The medics? Nah, fuck nah.”

“Yes.” He stared back. “What would you have had me do, Mavic? If you had found me like that, what would you have done?”

“Slapped some damn sense into you and dragged you to your feet.”

Crassus flared his mandible. “You would have taken my head off if I had done that to you.”

“I...” Mavic’s mandibles fluttered and he looked away. “...okay probably.”

“No probably about it. Mavic,” He heaved a sigh. “I know what you’ve been through, alright, and not that long ago. I don’t think reactions like that are abnormal but they are dangerous when my whole job is to keep you covered in the field. I can’t have you resisting me when it puts us both in danger.”

“I know.”

“Look at me.”

Mavic lifted his head and Spirits, his completely open expression had Crassus swallowing hard. What had happened to him in the Terminus lay unspoken between them, all the damage it had caused that was starting to show itself in force. Crassus felt an almost overwhelming urge to reach for him, but again, he didn’t dare.

“I’ll give you a signal.” He said and pointedly showed Mavic his opened hands, watched his eyes zero in on them. “Whatever you need in those moments, I’m receptive to. If you need me to listen, I will. If you just need me to be there, I will be. Whatever helps you, alright?”

“Why?” His voice wavered and cracked with suspicion and something else buried in the tones.

“Spirits Mavic, you’re both my partner and my friend.” 

#September 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 2 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum #Ignatius Voynik

[crassussativum]

Day 31: Impress

Iryx ran a hand back over his fringe with a laugh. He couldn’t believe it. Ten minutes. It had taken the trainee ten-Spirits-damned-minutes to clear the simulation with only a basic pistol and an omniblade. He’d thought for sure that the tiny little Carthaan would have gotten his ass handed to him in under three minutes. By the Spirits, he’d served his last posting as a field engineer and all around mechanic. That mess on Pheiros had been a stroke of the stars aligning luck and that he’d impressed his CO was the only reason Virim was here.

And then he’d completed the simulation in record time without loss of civilian life. Iryx pinched the bridge of his nose and let the General know through his ear piece as the small turian came striding out of the sim chamber with a grin on his face. 

“How’d I do, Sir?” He panted. The orange of his colony markings ran with his sweat, his eyes were wide and bright with adrenaline.

Iryx listened to the reply from the General, his mandibles flaring. He still couldn’t believe it. A few strokes of luck did not a special agent make. “You’ll begin Blackwatch training in twenty-four hours.”

#august 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 31 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #why does my last entry for the month always feel like it sucks?!

[crassussativum]

Day 28: Collect

They were on every visible surface the second he stepped into the apartment. Potted plants of various sizes and shapes, a few were flowering while others were spiky and vaguely rounded. Still more of them were vine-like and spilling out of their pots. Of all the things Mavic had expected of Crassus’ apartment, a veritable garden hadn’t been it. 

“Really?” He drawled, smirking over his shoulder at his giant. “I’d’ve thought bein’ from Invictus would make you never wanna look at another plant.”

Crassus flicked his mandible. “These ones are perfectly safe as long as you don’t try to eat them.” 

“And as long as you remember to feed them, too, right?” He teased in return.

Crassus chuckled. “They’re all succulents. They only need to be watered every few weeks and occasionally re-potted as they grow.” He explained as he took both their bags through the apartment. 

Mavic followed him, hands in his pockets, looking around as he did. There were of course more plants but now he saw the things had had expected from Crassus’ home. Armor lockers, weapons’ racks and the like, as well as certificates and medals. The usual things besides that like being sparsely furnished but all the chairs and little couches he saw looked comfortable. He didn’t have any artwork but there were pictures of him and a young woman here and there. Mavic peered at her image. In most of them, she was a child and Crassus looked a decade or two younger as well. She was always smiling. Crassus, it seemed, had worn that disinterested look of his most his life. It was weird to see him with both mandibles. 

“My sister, Taren.” He said when he’d dropped their bags in the bedroom. 

“Oh.” Mavic hummed, stuck staring at the bed and the implications it carried. Of thoughts of sleeping next to Crassus. Of maybe more than sleeping. More than holding his hand. Of maybe kissing him. Mavic wanted to kiss him but he still hadn’t worked up the nerve to. His chest was abruptly tight.

“Mavic.” Crassus stood next to him and pointedly showed his palms. 

He ran with the signal of safety. How many times had that simple gesture from the giant gotten him to open up in ways he hadn’t been able to before? There was no one left in his life he was closer to. Just Crassus. His best friend, confidant in all things, his protector. The only person he felt truly safe with. Mavic swallowed. “I can do this.”

Crassus smiled at him and even with only a single mandible, it was warm. “I know you can.” 

#august 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 28 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum

[crassussativum]

Day 22: Triumph

Cadmus was a Blackwatch agent posing as a Terminus slave trader. Mavic would happily argue it was the other way around. His dossier, in the first few years of his military career, was littered with decorations. Jobs-well-done and other blatant praises for his ability to infiltrate all kinds of organizations, criminal and otherwise. In later years, the reprimands started to appear one by one in a clear pattern. Excessive force, drug use, on duty while under the influence and harassment too. Mavic would bet real money it had been the sexual kind and that was why he was rotting away in the Terminus. He wondered if Cadmus’ COs knew all he’d gotten up to since they’d sent him off. Realistically, they must not or the piece of shit would have already faced the firing squad. Sometimes the Hierarchy was a little slow on the uptake.

It hadn’t been easy to track down the miscreant but finally Crassus had and then they’d scheduled a leave together and a small trip. It had been child’s play to find the man after that. A bar, a back room, and a fuckton of money later, they waited in full matte black armor. Mavic’s hand clenched around a gun he didn’t want to use. It was too quick and too clean when Cadmus deserved something slow and messy just for what he’d done to him. His other hand trembled and inside his helmet, his mandibles were doing the same. He felt like running.

Crassus stood beside the door. Too far away for the safety of his larger hand. Mavic took deep breaths. He could hold his giant’s hand later. Once Cadmus was dead and he’d taken care of the last loose thread. Once the last Wanderer of his nightmares had been exercised.

When the door opened, Crassus moved lightning fast to trap the other turian in his arms and wrestle him into a chair where Mavic was able to secure his limbs. Then they both backed off. Mavic watched something like understanding dawn in Cadmus’ pale eyes as he took in their armor and what that alone meant. Or so he thought. Mavic watched him visibly relax in his bindings before he lifted the gun to aim at Cadmus’ head.

“What’s going on here?” The rogue agent demanded.

“I reckon I didn’t really expect you to recognize me.” Mavic said and slipped his helmet off with his free hand. Surprised, almost, to find it steady. “It’s been more than a year now.”

Cadmus narrowed his eyes as their gazes met. “I don’t recognize you.” He said at length.

“I’d washed my color off before I came to see you.” Mavic murmured. “Can’t do that anymore. I had it tattoo’d when I got back.”

Cadmus turned his head a little but Crassus was standing by the door again. Silent, his arms crossed over his chest.

Mavic’s thumb twitched at the safety on his gun. “I almost didn’t make it back.” He murmured. “But I reckon you really didn’t expect me to. I can only imagine how many agents you’ve sold to slavers under the pretense of an undercover op. We must all look the same after a while.”

“Fiver other agents.” Crassus said from his spot beside the door. “That I found with a cursory look. If I dug deeper, I could find more.”

Recognition still hadn’t blossomed in Cadmus’ eyes but he wasn’t denying his wrong-doings. Mavic felt a pit in his Spirit open up and show its teeth. He let his helmet fall and gripped the gun with both hands. “At least five other agents,” He hissed. “Did you tell them they were young and good-lookin’ too? Tell them their best bet was to pretend to be a meek lil’ pet? You show them what slavers do to pets? Fuck them and choke them and sell them on knowin’ they’ll die before they can tell command what you did to them?”

There it was. The recognition. Cadmus’ eyes widened the slightest bit but still he said nothing in his defense. Mavic’s Spirit gnawed at him. He clicked off the safety. Let his finger rest over the trigger. His hands were still steady.

“I survived. I killed that slaver you sold me to. I killed him and all his people and I survived.” He found himself breathing hard. Cadmus had narrowed his eyes again. “I thought ‘bout goin’ to command and tellin’ them what you did. I thought ‘bout due process and justice and the right thing. But I know the right thing changes with perspective and from where I’m standin’...” Mavic swallowed. His hands had started to tremble. “From where I’m standin’ after everythin’ you caused, I don’t care ‘bout justice.”

“Then what do you care about?” Cadmus asked him, his gaze cold and his voice devoid of any emotions. No fear, no bravado, no acceptance of the inevitable. He had to know what was going to happen here, had to sense it.

“Nothin’ you need to know ‘bout.” He looked up at Crassus and got a slow but clear nod. Crassus understood, he’d helped this moment come to be. Mavic squeezed the trigger. 

#august 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 22 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum #tw: murder #mentions of #tw: rape #tw: slavery

[crassussativum]

Day 7: Scanner

Sentinel: The Estate of the Primarch, Palaven

Bent forward over the hood of the car with his omnitool up and scanning the engine, Mavic playfully ignored Cicero trying to climb up his back and onto his shoulders. The little boy was squirming like a fish on a hook, digging his talons and toes into every spot they fit. All the damn sensitive spots and a few ticklish ones until Mavic couldn’t pretend he didn’t know he was there anymore.

“Okay, okay now.” He laughed and pulled the little thing off his shoulders, set him down on the floor. “Whatcha buggin’ me for, lil’ prince?”

Cicero gave him a big toothy smile and happy chirp. Wanna play with you.

“With me, huh?” He scratched a little at one of his mandibles. All three kids had really seemed to take to him in the last few months, but they didn’t usually come to him for play time. It made him a little nervous when they did, he didn’t know how to play with kids, and he typically sent them in search of their father. “Well, I’m workin’ on your dad’s car right this sec.”

Those little -but too big for his face- mandibles fell loose. Everyone’s busy, he trilled. 

Yeah, Mavic could see that. Crass and Cato were getting ready to head to the Citadel for a couple days for an art thing that kid was real interested in. He figured Ignatius and the Primarch were organizing things for that to go down safely. Eros was probably at the Temple again and Marcian was-

“Where’s your other half?” Mavic asked.

He’s in the garden. Cicero sounded, scuffing one of his feet on the floor.

“Ah,” He hummed, nodding his head. “And you still can’t be in the garden ‘til you stop diggin’ up the flowers, huh?”

The little boy huffed and flared his mandibles at him.

Mavic snorted a laugh. He used to dig up his mom’s garden too, of course her’s hadn’t been near as expensive or extensive or important as the estate gardens. He couldn’t blame the groundskeeper or the Primarch being upset about the whole thing, his mom likely would’ve shat a brick if he’d brought her a fistful of six-thousand-credit flowers. “Looks like you are stuck with me then, lil’ prince.”

Yeah?��Cicero tested a smile.

“Reckon so,” Mavic gave him a long, exaggerated sigh. “But I can’t play just yet. I’m almost done though.”

What were you doing? The boy stood on his toes to peak under the car’s hood.

Mavic picked him up and sat him comfortably across his shoulders since he’d been trying to get up there anyway. Thank the Spirits the boy was so small and light or he’d never be able to. “I was checkin’ out the engine,” He said, pointing to it and showing Cicero the scans on his omnitool. “It was runnin’ a lil’ hot the last time we went out. Chuggin’ some. I could feel it when we hit the speed limit.”

Cicero wiggled about some and held on to his fringe. Okay? What’s that mean?

“Means there might be a problem.” He said. “Means I should fix it. I like to fix things. That’s how I have some fun, y’know?”

The boy patted at his fringe and kicked his feet a little. Can you teach me how, too?

Mavic grinned, excited and proud. “I’d love to teach you.”

#July 2021 Writing Prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #guardian!au #Sentinel #day 7 #Mavic Virim #Cicero Fedorian #so it's mentioned in Sentinel but Cicero is verbally mute and only has use of his subvocals for communication

[crassussativum]

Day 19: Exhausted

Crassus ran his hand feather-light down Mavic’s back, stilling when the smaller turian made a sound in his sleep and resuming when he’d settled again. He couldn’t believe he was getting the opportunity to do so after months of dancing around Mavic’s well-deserved issues, of patiently waiting for him to be comfortable with more than just holding his hand... And Spirits, the first time Mavic had linked their fingers had felt huge but even then Crassus had worried the smaller turian was pushing for more than he was truly ready for. All the same, he’d been so proud of Mavic, was still proud of him and how far he’d come since what had happened in the Terminus.

He was in awe of Mavic sleeping next to him now. Calm and quiet and trusting. Even if exhaustion on his part had brought this moment on, Crassus didn’t want to squander a single second of it. He could lie awake all night and just enjoy that Mavic felt safe enough to sleep beside him. That his gun was holstered on the nightstand and not waiting under the pillow. That his back rose and fell with each breath of peaceful sleep free of nightmares. Crassus continued petting at him, hoping the careful contact was helping. And, he could admit to himself, it felt so good to be allowed to touch him freely. To feel the warmth of him through his clothes. To know Mavic was so comfortable with him doing so that he didn’t flinch anymore when Crassus reached for his hand first. 

#august 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 19 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Crassus Sativum #Mavic Virim

[crassussativum]

Day 7: Fierce

When he was little, Cato had lost his best friend to the oceans of his homeworld. It hadn’t mattered to him that Remmy was only a stuffed animal or that there were a dozen more exactly the same at the shop on the pier, they weren’t Remmy. He’d cried for days while his parents had argued. They’d argued a lot, he remembered, he’d just been the subject that time. The headaches had started when he was thirteen and the seizures had followed shortly after. His parents had argued about what that meant. Parthia, his homeworld, had a lot of eezo refineries and sometimes the stuff leeched into the drinking water. Cato had hoped there was anything else wrong with him. Something like a brain tumor. Something that could be fixed with the right doctors. Anything was better than being biotic. At fourteen he’d manifested and his parents hadn’t waited for a real diagnosis before dropping him outside the compound in the middle of the night. They hadn’t even argued about it. The soldiers hadn’t been kind to him. One had hit him when he’d started to spark. Cato hadn’t understood. Bad shit wasn’t supposed to happen to kids.

The Cabal had come for him first thing the next morning. Two scary agents in blood-blue armor, both wearing the scariest smile he’d ever seen. And Septimus but somehow he hadn’t been as scary, maybe because he hadn’t worn armor. Cato had still hidden from them all. Had wedged himself between stacked tires and other equipment he didn’t know what it was. He’d hissed and growled and bitten two separate hands that had reached for him. Cato remembered it was Septimus’ patience and kindness that had lured him out when all everyone else did was yell at him. He’d been adopted that day. Kind of. Cato knew it was complicated but Septimus had made an oath and he had too. It had been a good thing and he liked those.

But the bad kept happening. 

Septimus was hot to the touch, his eyes rolled back in his head and he was unresponsive even though Cato kept shaking him. His amp had shorted out. That happened sometimes when a biotic used too much of their power too quickly. He’d be alright, Cato knew, but they weren’t safe here. Agent Virim was bleeding heavily and he wouldn’t be still, popping out of cover to return fire every few moments. But Cato could see him tiring. He couldn’t get his breathing under control, scared and sparking uselessly. He was still just a kid and bad things weren’t supposed to happen to kids.

“Dad please...” Cato didn’t want them to die here.

Agent Virim swore and dropped into cover again. “Cato!” He barked. “Keep your fuckin’ head down!”

Cato hunched over Septimus, biotics arcing between them. He wished he was half as powerful as his mentor was, he wished he was good at anything other than barriers. He wished he was as brave as Agent Virim, still trying to protect them even though he was bleeding badly. And panting now, sitting down against their cover with a resigned look on his face like-

“Dad!” Cato shook Septimus wildly. “Wake up! Wake up!”

“You can run, kid.” The agent told him as he reloaded his gun. “Don’t think they saw you. Just keep low and run. You could make it to the car and call in an evac.”

He couldn’t. He couldn’t! He wasn’t fast or sneaky and he was so scared now that he wasn’t sure he could stand.

Virim flashed his teeth. “Then I need you to get your shit together, kid.” He snarled. “You’re biotic. Fuckin’ do somethin’!”

Do something... do something...

...

“Shoulda seen the kid.” Mavic muttered as Crassus popped the seals of his armor one by one in the medbay. “Fierce lil’ thing. Snarlin’ and growlin’ like he was...”

Crassus yanked the chest-piece off and he groaned at the rush of fresh blood down his torso. The docs hovered restlessly but a sharp gesture from the giant kept them from swarming. Mavic’s head spun.

“Dunno where he pulled all that power from. Never seen nothin’ like it.” He continued, watching dully as Crassus cut open his undersuit to expose the wounds. His armor was ruined, the undersuit too, but he was alive thanks to the Cabal kid.

“He’s biotic.” Crassus said and pushed gently at his shoulders. “Lie down.”

Mavic resisted only a moment, his heart pounding, glancing at the docs before back up at Crassus. Spirits he was tired. Lying flat on his back felt good. “They gonna be okay?”

“Far as I know.” Crassus pressed the hypo-syringe against his throat. “Ready?”

It was hard to breathe. Mavic clutched at his arm. “No.”

“I’ll be here when you wake up.” Crassus promised him and injected the sedative. “I’ll be right here.” 

#august 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 7 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Cato #Septimus #Mavic Virim #Crassus Sativum

[crassussativum]

Day 6: Mysterious

Strictly speaking, Mavic didn’t like the Cabal folks. Glorified shock troops. In, out and boom. No finesse needed with that sort of approach. Not that he wasn’t known for it himself. From time to time you had to scorch the earth to make a point. No, it wasn’t their tactics that got under his plating, it was that every Cabal he’d ever met had the same smile.

An uneven minuscule tilt to the mandibles, a slight show of teeth and a back-lit glow to the eyes. A smile that said I know all the secrets of the universe and I won’t share them with you. Superior ass fucks. He wanted to punch that smile off every one of their faces.

The kid next to him hadn’t quite mastered that smile yet. Or the look. But hell, he was maybe sixteen and that shit took practice. The other Cabal with him, that one had the shit down to an art-form and Mavic was sorely tempted to take him to the mats and beat it off. Suicide. Everyone knew the Cabal cheated in the ring and he had no desire to have his molecules scattered to the winds.

Mavic ground his teeth and flexed his hands to keep himself in check. Voynik would shit a brick if he caused another incident and a diplomatic one at that. And Crassus would scold his ear off and then he’d actually feel... bad. It wasn’t worth it to lose his cool. Transport, escort and cover fire, that was all these particular Cabal folks needed from him and he could do that no problem. Probably without incident too. He’d find out. But Mavic could feel Septimus giving him that smile from the backseat and it made his plating itch something awful.

Cato though, the kid, lacked the same mysterious aloofness, that same annoying superiority. He was perched in the passenger seat, eyes wide and mandibles hanging in awe as Mavic drove them across the frozen landscape full of swirling snow and jutting ice spires. Shit, he could almost forget the boy was a biotic for the way he acted like any excited kid on a road trip. Asking all kinds of questions and telling little stories... The boy was almost normal.

“We don’t have all this where I grew up.” He shared in a chirpy voice. “Or on Digeris.”

Mavic glanced at him, curious despite himself, and it wasn’t like the boy wore any color. “Where you from that ain’t got snow?”

The boy’s mandibles fluttered and he looked over his shoulder at the other Cabal. “Um... Parthia.” He mumbled. “It’s-”

“Yeah, I’ve been there.” Mavic interrupted him and then snorted a short laugh. “Islander.” 

Cato giggled nervously. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s called me in a long time.”

Yeah, he bet it was. Right. He knew some of those slurs too. Wasn’t gonna say them with a kid in the car.  “You been Cabal long?”

The boy looked to the backseat again, quiet this time until he’d gotten a nod from Septimus. “No... no... they... I manifested right before basic. My... my family just... gave me up. And then so much changed so fast. If Septimus hadn’t taken me under his wing, I’d really be lost.” 

Mavic sent his own look to the backseat and got that damned smile in return. There was no Spirit in that stare, just the faint blue glow of eezo. He had to fuckin’ fight not to shiver. “Can’t do much worse for role-models, I reckon.” He muttered.

Cato flashed his teeth. “You don’t understand.” His voice wavered but there was real heat to it. “One day I was normal and my parents loved me and then the next they left me outside a Hierarchy base without even a goodbye. They just abandoned me, they didn’t explain anything to me, they just threw me away.”

“Nah, I don’t understand.” He said tightly, keeping one eye on the boy. You never knew when a biotic was gonna blow. And fuck, he was just a kid, they routinely went boom. “You were mine, I wouldn’t have left you like that. I’d have at least explained shit to you. Waited ‘til the authorities came and got you. Wouldn’t have just left you standin’ out front.”

From the backseat, Septimus chuckled. “I expected more out of a man like you.”

Mavic couldn’t help but grind his teeth. “Yeah, Sparkles? You think I was gonna say his parents did the right thing? Just cuz he’s biotic? Fuck you. Not like he had any control over it. And even if he did, you still don’t just abandon your kid.”

The biotic laughed again.

“Septimus.” Cato squeaked, his eyes darting between both of them like they were both live grenades. “Agent Virim... Thank you for what you would have done.”

He tightened his hands on the controls of the vehicle and tried to bring himself back. “You’re just a kid.” He muttered. “Bad shit ain’t supposed to happen to kids.” 

#august 2021 writing prompts #single word prompts #writing #fanfiction #Mass Effect #day 6 #OriginalBlackwatch!Au #Mavic Virim #Septimus #Cato