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bluerose5 · 1 year

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Stargazing with shavik??? Pretty please??

Love them! Just a couple of soldiers in a post-war galaxy. 🥺

~~~

There came a time in life when the war ended.

The soldiers came home, laid down their weapons, and took a breath.

For once, the impossible seemed possible. Species all across the galaxy banded together. All of Commander Shepard’s hard work finally paid off, and that unity survived into the aftermath of the Reaper War. Recovery efforts were extensive; but for the first time in a long while, hope persevered.

There would come a time when Shepard’s help would be needed again. Of that, they were certain.

And when the call came, they would answer.

For now, however, they were going to enjoy the peace while it lasted.

Calloused fingers reached out at their side, brushing lightly along the tips of tall grass. Each blade danced in the cool, evening breeze, their color slightly washed out in the darkness of night.

Echoes of the past whispered through each individual blade of grass, the effects of the Cipher growing stronger with each passing day. Slowing to a halt, Alyx let their eyes slip closed, and they listened.

Flashes of memories played out like scenes out of a movie. Children chased flying insects native to the area. Young lovers sprinted through the fields with breathless grins. Fires roared while the geth trampled past the destruction left in their wake. Ghosts of an empire cried out as their home was annihilated.

Alyx hadn’t even realized they were holding their breath, not until they felt fingers brush against their own.

They inhaled sharply, and fresh air brought in a rush of oxygen along with it, causing their head to spin.

The memories they could sense around them were replaced with familiar ones, most of them equally as chilling, but familiar nonetheless.

Alyx opened their eyes to stare at Javik.

It was still so strange, seeing him outside of his armor, experimenting with different styles from various species. Civilian attire suited him, though, especially the looser, lighter fabrics that he seemed to prefer.

In spite of themself, Alyx smiled.

Javik spared them a glance, lips parted.

“What?” he asked.

They immediately shook their head.

“It’s nothing.” He leveled them with a curious stare, so Alyx shrugged. “I was just thinking that this is where we first met.”

"That, it is," he replied, then snorted after a second. "Don't tell me you're feeling sentimental, Commander."

"And if I was?" they countered, never one to back down around him. "Would that be so bad?"

He considered that, fingers twitching.

"No, perhaps not."

For the first time since Alyx knew him, everything about him was so gentle. His voice, his eyes, his touch.

When he reached out to take Alyx's face in his hands, Alyx surrendered to all of the emotions, thoughts, and memories exchanged between them. He traced every single detail, fascinated, and Alyx let him.

Eventually, he asked, "Tell me. What do people like us do when there is no war to be fought?"

A fair enough question. He had been born into battle. It was all he knew when he went to sleep, and it was the first thing he woke up to in a far-distant future.

Alyx knew a time "before" war, but their time on Earth sometimes felt like a battlefield in and of itself.

They placed their hands over his, stopping them in their path, and squeezed.

For that moment, he sounded so lost, and that feeling echoed through Alyx, both of them feeding into the feeling.

That didn't mean they couldn't at least try and make sense of the uncertainty.

"When the war is over, soldiers must find a new purpose," Alyx explained in a whisper. "Easier said than done, I know, but we have to keep going. We build a new life."

They glanced back over their shoulder, the lights from the colony twinkling like stars themselves.

"That's what Eden Prime has always been, right? A beginning and an end. A place where our old lives ended and our new ones began." They took a deep breath to steady the tremor in their voice. "It was where the Reapers' war on this cycle first started, so… I don't know." They gave a half-shrug. "I felt it was fitting to end the post-war victory tour here, to remember those lost."

Even then, off in the distance, they could hear celebrations in full swing. While there was still much to rebuild, scars that needed to heal, the colonists were more than happy to have a reprieve away from all the devastation that had been inflicted upon them, time and time again. They were given a chance to focus on all of the good that life had to offer, so they seized the opportunity.

They definitely earned the break, and then some.

"Figured this was our chance to put the past to rest," Alyx said. Hesitantly, they wrapped their arms around him, but Javik accepted the embrace without complaint. "Together."

Golden eyes stared down at them. For a split second, he glanced towards the colony, humming low in contemplation.

"Together," he said with a hint of finality. "But let's take a walk. You mentioned on the ride here that it's been a while since you've seen the stars from planetside."

"It has been," they stated, wrinkling their nose ever so slightly, "and Earth wasn't exactly known for its views when I grew up there. Too much pollution at the time."

Not to take into account its condition when Alyx was last there, but neither of them mentioned that.

Javik tugged them along instead.

"Then, let's go." He coaxed them away from all of the noise. "We're not going to see much this close to the settlement."

"Yeah," Alyx agreed, "although, if we want the full impact, then we have a long trip ahead of us."

"That's never stopped us before."

"You're right."

And it wasn’t going to stop them now.

They tangled their fingers together, and they set off into the night.

They lost track of time after a while, but that mattered little to them. They continued walking, hand in hand, no matter how many times they faltered.

Cybernetic scars split open Alyx's skin in little, web-like cracks, but they hardly felt as self-conscious about them now as they did when they first woke up after Project Lazarus. The violet lighting glowed, penetrating through the haze of darkness.

Each step forward revealed how Alyx favored one side while walking, a noticeable limp to their right leg that never really went away after the war.

Their right arm was completely prosthetic. Metallic at the moment, but it worked well enough for them.

There were scars from burns that never quite healed right, and pain always lingered, even if nothing more than a dull background noise.

Alyx coped with it as best as they could, took it all in stride, or so they let on.

It was their reminder of all that they had survived, the sacrifices that they made to get to where they were.

It was a reminder that they were still alive, that they got an actual chance to live.

Neither one of them said much throughout their journey, but the unspoken exchanges through touch said enough.

Once they reached the top of a hill that overlooked the main settlement, they came to a stop.

"Shall we have a seat?" Alyx asked, waving towards a spot on the ground.

Javik grumbled, but Alyx knew him long enough to know when he was about to start trolling.

"You mean you didn't bring anything for me to sit on? Unacceptable. I'll have you know that I do not need to settle for these types of condi—"

"Oh, shut up."

With a shove of their biotics, they knocked him onto his ass.

Before he could respond, they were already snuggling up to him, their back to his chest. As they squirmed their way in between his legs, they took his arms and wrapped them around themself, a smug smile upon their lips.

Javik huffed, disgruntled yet fond.

"I think you just like to push me around."

"I like to put you in your place," Alyx corrected, their expression coy. "'Pushing you around,' as you call it, is a part of that at times, but I certainly don't hear you complaining."

A lone grunt of acknowledgement, followed by a pointed silence, was answer enough.

Alyx snickered, nudging him lightly.

"Now, hush. Enjoy the view with me."

Not a difficult order to follow. Away from all the light and noise, the night sky lit up in delight. Stars came out of hiding and brightened for their audience, glittering like precious gems.

Alyx mapped out that portion of the sky in their mind, seeking out familiar constellations with the eagerness of a child.

Even the soil held onto fragmented remains of those who came before, explorers that charted their course through the vast sea of space.

Perhaps that could be their new purpose. To explore, instead of fighting. Even the Milky Way still had a lot of untouched areas, ready and waiting to be seen.

All things considered, staring up at those stars reminded Alyx how small their corner of the universe truly was.

It might make their lives seem insignificant to some in the grander scheme of things, but Alyx thought that it emphasized the importance of their home all the more, to have so many willing to fight so hard to preserve the integrity of a speck of dust that was lost amongst the sandstorm.

Parting their lips, they released a shaky breath.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" they whispered.

"Yes, you are."

A solid beat passed before they fully processed that, startling even themself by laughing aloud.

"I meant the stars."

"Oh." He sounded extremely unimpressed compared to before. "Then, yeah, they're alright."

Alyx couldn't help but to grin, even as they rolled their eyes.

To think, they had traveled all over the galaxy, met so many people, but they found their solace in the arms of a Prothean. An alien outside of his time.

And while they might not ever be the types for grand gestures or flowery words, they had something that simply worked for them, and that was all that mattered.

Understanding, familiarity, belonging.

Alyx wouldn't trade that for anything.

Turning in his arms, they captured his lips into a kiss. They knew that it was still strange to him, to show affection in such a way, but he never hesitated to kiss them back.

Roaming hands quickly sought out bared skin, so many words communicated at once yet left unsaid.

Right now, they might feel like a couple of worn-out souls, left floating adrift on their own, but Alyx had faith in them. They'd find what awaited them beyond the uncertainty.

Even those lost at sea could one day happen upon a shore.

When the time was right, they wouldn't hesitate.

They would take that first step towards solid ground, towards stability.

And they would do so together.

#mass effect #mass effect trilogy #alyx shepard #themshep #genderfluid shepard #javik #shavik #bluerose answers #bluerose writes

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