Chapter Text
1
It was on a frigid, obscure planet in the middle of nowhere, that his life as he knew it had changed completely. Nihlus had stopped by a small, out of the way garage on Noveria to see his acquaintance, Lilihierax, for some upgrades. That was when he heard laughter that was markedly familiar .
His gizzard twisted as he walked towards the sound, it was as though the Spirits were pulling him towards it. His eyes widened uncontrollably and he stilled, standing just outside the office. He stared in confusion as his past collided with his present.
Lilihierax and another pale turian towered beside a diminutive female human, she was short and plump. His gaze raked over her body hungrily, he salivated. The echo from his hammering heart was deafening in his ears. Suddenly, she laughed again, and that was all he heard. It was as melodious as ever, she still enthralled him. He knew it was her, he did not need to even see her face.
Nihlus' subvocals must have made a distressing sound because both turians turned towards the door at the same time. Lilihierax advanced on him and grasped his forearm, trilling happily at his presence.
The older turian exclaimed his name in pleasant surprise. Under normal circumstances, he would have given his full focus to his friend as they clasped arms; they hadn’t seen each other in a couple years; except this time they faded into the background. He was unable to pay attention to anyone other than her .
It only confirmed what he already knew . He watched her intently as she whirled on her feet and gasped, grabbing the collar of her coveralls. It was like a space faring turian, starved for the familiarity of Menae on a cloudless sky. His gaze roved over her face quickly, taking in the rouge of cheeks, her wide, chestnut eyes, her thick eyebrows, and wide forehead. He'd always loved it and had constantly rubbed his scent all over her temples.
Her hand immediately flew to her parted mouth, those plump lips drew his raptor eye and activated his predator instinct. It went into overdrive as the room became saturated with her adrenaline, he knew it had flooded her system entirely. His tongue flicked out uncontrollably, tasting her scent for the first time in fifteen years. His talons tightened against Lilihierax's arm.
"Julie," he purred her name silkily, unable to hide the familiar thrum of his subvocals. His old friend looked taken aback, and blinked at him.
"Nihlus," she whispered, his fringe flared as the blood drained from her face. He straightened, subconsciously enlarging himself just as her eyes rolled back, dropping like a stone. The other turian quickly moved to catch her before she fell to the floor.
An animalistic snarl left his chest before he could control it. The turian raised his head to look at him with wide eyes, the territorial message understood. Nihlus released Lilihierax and advanced towards the pair.
"I had no idea," the smaller male's mandibles fluttered, the tone of his subvocals were sincere.
He rumbled without saying anything further and gently grabbed Julie from his arms. Her body sunk into his armour and he purred, his harmonics trilling continuously.
"Follow me," Lilihierax chirped, leading him to a small infirmary room with a cot. Nihlus positioned her on the bed as his friend purred at him, "I thought her boyfriend was dead, I didn't know."
Nihlus leaned forward, unable to stop himself from rubbing his forehead against hers, he didn’t care that Lilihierax was standing behind him, watching them. He dragged himself across to her temple and down her cheek, marking her as though it was the most natural thing in the galaxy for him to do. Her throat was hidden from view and he couldn't verify she still bore his mark. She could have covered it up, using medi-gel to erase him from her past. She had always carried his scent, and he hers.
He reluctantly pulled away from her and watched her for a moment longer before turning back towards his companion. The flange in his subvocals betrayed his peaking emotions. He was jealous, angry, happy, excited, and confused all at the same time. The myriad of conflicting sensations knocked the wind out of him, and for the first time since he had been forced into the army all those years ago, he was uncertain. His rational mind was trying to bring him back to a semblance of normal. There was a mission that he needed to complete, his duties needed to be attended to.
He knew where she was now.
"I need upgrades," he growled matter-of-factly. The faster he finished his mission, the sooner he could come back and deal with finding Julie and all the implications that she brought with her.
Lilihierax nodded and took him back to his office. The other turian had vacated and was nowhere in sight, for which Nihlus was glad. He wanted to punch the pale male for merely touching her, it didn't matter that he hadn't known .
The palms of his hands twitched, and he stilled his subharmonics as best as he could. Never before had he wanted to break someone's fringe, it genuinely surprised him at how fast the urge had come over him.
The chief mechanic tilted his head to the side, "Prototypes or the not-so-legal kind?"
"Boosters," Nihlus showed his teeth in a grin. Lilihierax smirked and nodded.
"I got just the thing for you," he trilled, guiding the Spectre to another room attached to his office, "Come with me."
Lilihierax had exactly what Nihlus wanted. He was saddened that Julie never woke up during his transaction, it was for the best though. Undoubtedly, it would have only distracted him. His friend had mentioned that she usually closed the shop, and Nihlus would make it a point to be back for closing. They needed to talk.
He'd searched for years for her location. Every time he had given up he always thought he had caught a glimpse or a scent of her somewhere, and his obsession would start all over again. It was a never ending hell . They were bondmates, or at least, in his culture they were. The night before his mother had forced him into the military, he’d given her a turian breeding mark. They had only been fifteen, but he had known then. She was his. He suppressed the memory as soon as it tried to rear its ugly head.
He was waiting for her outside her job after his mission had finished. There was much that needed to be discussed. He was grateful that Lilihierax had told him she was closing the shop tonight. His mouth watered as his mind wandered to what she had looked like in the office. She'd been dressed in oil stained coveralls that had turned her figure into a delectable square. The natural smell that was her had been masked by her surroundings at first. Her nape had been covered, hidden from appreciative turian view by both her dark brown human hair and clothing, she hadn't been drawing attention to herself. He'd almost hardened at the sight, and his plates were already shifting at the thought.
His tongue flicked out in annoyance and anticipation, hoping to catch a taste of her through the walls. He leaned against the side of the building, hiding amongst the shadows, his eye fixated on the door.