Chapter Text
Dear Jaal,
You could have taken me anywhere. Aya, Havarl, some random Remnant vault, Voeld...ok, maybe not Voeld. I don't find the cold very sexy. The point is, as much as I enjoyed Aya, I just want to be with you. You're the most warm, caring, attentive lover I could hope for. I'm so happy I could sing...except no one wants to hear that. All of the Ryders are pretty tone-deaf.
There are so many things I want to try with you. We should stop by the tech labs the next time we're aboard the Nexus. I have an idea, but I need a controlled environment to try out this concept. And not aboard the Tempest. Lexi always seems to find out, and she always fusses.
Love from,
Fiona
*
Darling one,
I've always admired your ingenuity, and I am genuinely curious. But please send me a copy of the schematic first. I remember what happened the first time you tried to reverse engineer a kett rifle.
Jaal
*
Oh ye of little faith. Those were only eyebrows. They grew back.
I have a much simpler trick in mind. Humans have bioelectricity, just like angara. We just lack the taon and pacemaker nucleus to control and project it. It's pretty easy to take the bioelectricity that I do generate, and amplify it to be on par with an angara's so you can feel it. I don't even need my combat armor. Omnitools have emitters of their own, and those are more than powerful enough to generate an electric field. Just need to customize the emitters and power cell settings, and voila! A synthetic taon!
Pretty cool, right? I haven't had the time to figure out a good tech solution for the pacemaker nucleus, so I won't have any conscious control over the bioelectricity. But so far, it's a solid proof of concept.
Attached file: synth_taon1c
*
Fiona, I understand that our species are different. I understand that being with you will feel different from an angara, and I do not care. I love you, and you are human. Please don't feel like you must do this for my benefit.
Your dearest,
Jaal
*
Jaal,
I don't really know how to say this, so I'll just be as straightforward as possible. I love you too, but for such a smart and sensitive guy, you...can be kinda dense. You know what that means. You've heard me say it to Liam before.
I can tell that you took the time to learn human biology. And I know you didn't do that because you felt obligated--you did it because you were curious, because you wanted to. I'm learning about angaran biology because I want to. The only difference is that I can't interact with all of your biology without a little technological assistance. Back in the Milky Way, the hanar and the drell did something similar. Some drell got implants so they could understand and see hanar bioluminescence.
I like the idea of being able to communicate with you on a different level. I want us to know one another, in as many ways as we can. Does that make sense?
-Fiona
*
Yes. Your heart and mind are united in this venture, and I see that now. Thank you for explaining.
I'll meet you on the Nexus.
*
Oh, one more thing I forgot. The synth taon will probably need a few more iterations, so I'd appreciate you sending me some feedback. So try to remember, or take notes while we're testing it out. For science!
*
My wonderful, ingenious, lovely temptress,
I am not sure how useful this will be to you. I am...almost beyond words. But since you asked "for science," I'll do my best.
You and I stood there hand in hand, with your Nexus colleagues watching, and all I could think about was how your body sang to me. Angaran bioelectricity ebbs and flows when we communicate, following the patterns of our conversation. From you, I felt a constant hum of energy--thousands of tiny rhythms and movements all at once.
It shouldn't have made any sense to me. It should have been static, chaos. But I know you well enough that every sensation, every interaction of our electric fields felt...like you. Familiar, strange, and so very dear to me.
Stars and skies, I love you. Are you busy right now?
*
I was investigating a murder. That can wait.
*
Darling Fiona,
It's late. You're still asleep. You left your prototype on. I know I should turn it off, but I don't want to. I'm also not sure how.
I've realized that the field generated by the synth taon is wider than an angara's. But don't change it. I like the sensation. You once told me that you enjoy feeling my arms around you, and now I know what you mean. I could lie here for hours, listening to your breathing, feeling your hum envelop our bodies. You look so peaceful like this. I want to see you this way every night.
I hope that was not too forward.
Yours,
Jaal
*
Morning, Jaal!
I got your message. Thanks for not waking me up. And no, what you said wasn't too forward. You even got the idiom right!
Anyway, last night was perfect, and I could fall asleep in your arms every night. Next time, though, remind me to turn the synth taon off. It doesn't adjust its own power consumption, and now my omnitool's cells are all in the red. I'll have to fix that in the next iteration.
Love from,
Fiona
*
Lovely temptress,
I know you're busy aboard the Nexus today. I also know you dislike politics nearly as much as I do. Let me give you something else to think about.
I always wanted to take you back to the Forge. You could spend weeks learning from our scientists and historians, but I have another reason for bringing you there. There is a cave system along the edge of the cliffside. The researchers lost access to it years ago when the vault malfunctioned, and vines overgrew the path. But I suspect, with the vault restored, you and I could find our way down.
Angaran poetry calls it the Lover's Path. Every morning at dawn, sunlight floods the mouths of the cave. The crystals along the ceilings and walls glitter red and gold, scattering their light over every surface. I'm smiling now, imagining how radiant you would look.
Can you picture it, my darling? The valley below still dark, and the sky outside at dawn. Your arms around my neck, my lips trailing down your throat, our hands tangled in each others' clothing. No one would disturb us. No one else could reach us. Just you and me, alone in a cave full of light. I think I would start just by touching you through your clothes. You like to move when we're intimate. You like teasing yourself, teasing both of us, until you're gasping and soaking through the cloth, and I'm half-blind with the need to make love to you.
I could talk while we undress each other, since you like my voice. I could translate everything that my body says with bioelectricity. You intoxicate me. You make me helpless with longing. You could ask for every star in the sky, the secrets within the fisher's lure, the suns from their orbits, and I would not rest until I'd laid them at your feet. The more I'm with you, the more I love you. And the more I have you, the more I crave you.
Ah, my darling, imagination drives me to distraction. Please tell me what happens next?
Your dearest,
Jaal
*
Oh my god. Wait for--just two seconds, you crazy angara.
*
Can you stop whatever you are doing?
*
Jaal, I was in a meeting. An important one. I had to pretend I was having an allergy attack, double back toward the Hyperion med bay, and hide in SAM node. You're pleased with yourself. Maybe you're even hoping I'll storm back onto the Tempest, shove you against a wall, and fuck you senseless.
But you know what? You decided to mark your message "urgent," knowing I'd open it no matter where I was. You said I could decide what happens next. So here I go.
Clothes were coming off, I think. We've gotten pretty good at that now. But since we're at the Forge, in beautiful crystal caves, I want time to just look at you. I can't get over how different we look, and I never want to. When I see you, gloriously naked in that sunrise, I remember how unlikely all of this is. I remember how many things had to happen for us to be together, and how much you mean to me.
Jaal. My dearest. You said the Forge was sacred to your people, so let me worship you there. Lie down. Relax. And while you are, let me explore every inch of you. Let me show off my extensive knowledge of biology; I promise you'll enjoy it this time around ;) I know you're sensitive all down your spine, but only when I stroke a certain way. I know licking the ridges on the side of your head makes you howl. I know you freeze, and tears flood your eyes when I kiss your palms. Because hands are symbolic for both our species, and this matters so damn much to us that we can't contain it.
I love everything about you. I love how strong you are, and how you surrender that strength to me. I love how gentle you are, with your hands framing my face even when you're gasping for air. I love the sounds you make when you move inside me, the black and star-blue in your eyes, the smell of perfume and sweat in the air. I love how you can make me feel safe and beautiful and insane all at the same time.
I've never done this for anybody else, but let me lay my feelings at your feet. Bring me to the Forge, Jaal. Make love to me until it's long past sunrise, and we've forgotten everything but each other. Promise me, my dearest.
Fiona
*
Fiona. My stars and sky.
When we first started writing letters, you said you weren't good at being romantic. Look at us now.
I promise. But you know that. You knew when you asked. So come home to me, and I will promise you all over again.
I love you.
Jaal