#Miner'sRespite – September 29, 2015

Vasquez remains quiet for the ride, a content look on her face and her gaze alternating between the window and Jason. When they touch down outside the Respite she lets go of his hand and makes to pay, but stops upon realizing she doesn't actually have a credit chit on her.

Jason retrieves his chit from his pocket to pay for the ride, pulling his hand away from Vasquez for the first time since they got in the skycar. With a nod of appreciation, he hops out of the skycar and waits for Vasquez to join him. "Home sweet home." he says with a smirk, "...For a couple more days."

Vasquez gets out of the car and waists no time heading for the door - after reuniting her hand with Jason's. "It'll be nice to have our own place again..."

Jason moves alongside Vasquez, nodding along. "Absolutely. An actual place of our own. Start of our life together." he says with pride.

Vasquez glances at him with a raised eyebrow after they walk through the door and start towards the stairs. "It's... not the first we've had..."

Jason gives a shake of his head. "That shit hole back on Earth? Yeeeeah, no." he says with a smirk. "Illium? An apartment in a building with thousands of other people? Here it's our place on our land, ya know? That-... that's something." he says with a nod, "Something good."

Vasquez smiles, giving a faint nod. "Guess you're right..." She heads up the stairs with no attention to anyone in the bar, stopping by their door and hesitating for a brief moment before keying in a code. The interface flashes red and she mutters a curse under her breath, kicking it.

Jason cocks an eyebrow at her and gives a shake of his head, leaning over and keying in the proper code, once again leaving room for her to watch. "You'll get it-..." he starts before shaking his head, "Guess it actually doesn't really matter either way. Not much longer, anyway."

Vasquez grunts when she's through the door, immediately pulling the borrowed Phalanx from its holster magnet and putting it on the desk.

Jason taps the interface once inside, causing the door to close, and gives Vasquez a goofy grin. After a few moments pass, he repeats himself, "We're getting married!" His eyes go wide and he wraps his arms around the woman.

Vasquez chuckles slightly, wrapping her left arm around Jason's back while her right goes to his cheek and then up to the side of his head, her thumb running along his ear as her joy-filled brown eyes study the details of his face. "Yes we are." she says, unable to contain a wide grin.

Jason 's hands slide down Vasquez' sides as he tilts his head to the side. "Mmhmm." he hums, pulling her in close. He shifts his weight from one side to the other as he looks back and forth between each of her eyes.

Vasquez leans in to kiss Jason, at the same time yanking him further into the room as she backsteps. Her right hand once again moves to his neck as they lock lips. Her left hand slides in beneath his shirt, fingers trailing across the skin of his back, a light touch that hopefully slides over the medigel without causing pain.

Jason presses against Vasquez, his hands sliding further down her sides until they reach the sides of her pants. As they maneuver around to her backside, he lifts her up as he continues to return the kiss with little concern over his wounds. He stumbles towards the bed, cradling his arms beneath her to support her.

Vasquez can't hold back a "whoop!" as she's lifted up, the kiss briefly interrupted, but she eagerly returns to it, both arms now around his neck, and her legs wrapping around him. After a few attempts she manages to pry her boots off with her feet, largely thanks to the unusually casual clothes she's wearing. When they reach the bed she breaks the kiss, a mischievous grin on her face

Jason narrows his eyes on her and feigns resisting her pull but falls forwards onto the bed with a chuckle, burying his face into the side of her neck. His hands slide under the bottom of her shirt as he presses his lips to her neck. His attention seems split between wrestling with her shirt and kissing the side of her neck.

Vasquez lets out a pleased "Mmh", her left hand moving to the back of Jason's head, fingers running through his hair, while her right hand tugs at his t-shirt. The krogan that adorns her old concert t-shirt seems to scowl at Jason as the shirt is pulled up. She gives up her efforts temporarily, to lift her arms and allow it to be pulled off, but her legs remain wrapped around the man,

Jason isn't one to deterred by an angry krogan. He pulls the shirt free and gives it a playful swing around over his head before tossing it with little concern to where it lands as his own shirt is pulled upward, giving a little resistance as the surface change of his cybernetics run interference. He gives Vasquez a sheepish, somewhat embarrassed smirk as he moves to help her with

Vasquez pulls of the shirt with Jason's help, tossing it haphazardly further up the bed. She then shifts her weight, using the grip of her legs around Jason to roll the two of them around until she's on top, straddling him. She leans over him, hovering her face a few inches from his as her hands slowly slide up his now exposed chest, and then down her shoulders. But upon reaching the

Jason keeps his hands on Vasquez' hips, struggling against her weight to lean up and kiss her, his lips barely grazing across hers before he lays back against the bed with a big ol' lopsided smirk on his face. He glances down as her fingertips near his cybernetics, suddenly becoming more self conscious. His eyes dart between her hands and her face, studying her expression. Shutting

Vasquez is left staring down at the bedsheets as Jason moves to the edge of the bed to sit. She remains there in silence for a moment, hands in her lap. She eventually scoots over towards Jason, sitting herself down behind him, crossing her legs. She reaches around his waist, holding him loosely as she leans her forehead against his back between his synthetic shoulderblades. "I'm

Jason shuts his eyes and places his hands over hers. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I don't blame you for this." he assures her, "And you shouldn't blame yourself. Unless-..." he trails off. He takes a deep breath, running a finger along the top of her arm, "Unless seeing them is-... Halisi said I can add some sort of synthetic skin over the top. Maybe-... Maybe it wouldn't be so

Vasquez lets out a quiet sob, she starts to repeatedly kiss his back, working her way up to the neck. She hugs him again, and Jason would feel her cheek wet from tears as she turns her head and presses close to him during the hug. "Jason... I-... no, it wouldn't make a difference. I know what I did. I'm-..." Another sob. "I'm so sorry..."

Jason shuts his eyes again, the sound of Vasquez crying cutting right through him. He keeps his head lowered. "It's okay, Linda. I'm alive. And you're alive. And we're together now. And-... and that's all that matters." he says, his voice barely more than a whisper, "I don't know what you want me to say. I can't give you forgiveness for something that wasn't your fault..."

Vasquez fails to respond, crying audible now. Her hold of Jason tightens as her sobs fill the small room, and he would soon feel the tears rolling down his back, her face still buried against. She can be felt shaking faintly as the intensity grows, and faint mumbles are all the response that materializes amid the crying.

Jason lifts his right leg up onto the bed, turning 90 degrees to his right so he can look at Vasquez. "Hey..." he begins, reaching out to press a hand against her cheek and wiping at the trail of tears. "It's gonna be fine." he continues, attempting to be reassuring but his own voice is beginning to crack in reaction to her crying, "All of this is going to be fine." He struggles as

Vasquez just keeps crying, sitting there with her legs crossed, leaning against Jason. When he turns, her head moves to his chest, once again pressing against him. Her embrace slowly loosens until she eventually lets go, pulling her arms in close to herself and lying down, laying her head down on Jason's leg. It's all washing over her - the guilt over Jason, and all the others, the

Jason does his best to hold himself together as he watches her unravel, but he's unable to keep his own tears from escaping. Her simply remains in place, gently stroking her back as she lets it all out. He tries to speak on more than one occasion, but is unable to catch the right words. What would the right words even be? He brings his other hand over and runs it through her hair,

Vasquez just lies there, curled up in the bed, crying and crying as minutes go by. She cries until there are no more tears. Then she lies in silence. But eventually she sits up, wiping her face against her arm and looking to Jason. Her eyes and nose are red, some tears still remain, and she looks utterly drained, empty. The pain is not in her eyes - they look only tired and concerned.

Jason bites his lower lip, looking pretty emotionally drained himself. He sucks in a deep breath and leans his head against Vasquez' hand as she presses it to his cheek to wipe away his tears. He lazily sways back and forth slightly, studying her face for a few moments as a somber smile crosses his lips. "No matter what." he says with a nod as his eyes meet hers, "I'm always going

Vasquez 's lips curl into a weak smile as she nods, keeping her hand on his cheek. "I know." After staying like that for a moment, looking at him, she pulls her hand away, unbuckling her pants and pulling them off before reaching for Jason's wrist, crawling up the bed and trying to pull him with. Her expression is still much the same - drained, but not exactly unhappy. If he follows

Jason allows himself to be lead, kicking his boots off in the process. As he crawls up behind Vasquez, he wraps his arm loosely over her waist and presses his forehead against the back of her head, maneuvering to follow the contours of her body with his own. He takes a deep breath, tired and worn down, but mostly just happy to have that empty spot beside him filled once again.

Vasquez lets out a heavy sigh, her body relaxing. She intertwines the fingers of her hand with his and guiding the arm up to her chest, keeping it close and staring ahead at the wall. The synthetic limb is little comfort, but it's more for his sake than her own. She is happy just to feel his presence and his warmth against her as she closes her eyes. "Just hold me..." she says quietly,

Jason presses a kiss against the base of Vasquez' neck as he presses his entire body against hers. His forehead pushes against her hair, eager to be as close to her as possible. "Careful what you wish for." he says, giving her hand a light squeeze, "I might never let go." He gives a quick, tired snicker.