Kole and Ori's Infinite Playlist: For You I Will

The sound of his fingers tapping on the desk was the only one in the room as he stared blankly at the private terminal in front of him. Kolyat leaned back in his seat with a sigh as his mind returned to the petite human with the short, dark brown hair. Shaking his head, he tried for the hundredth time to push the stubborn set of her features from his mind, but she always managed to wheedle her way back to the forefront of his thoughts.

His encounter with Oriana Lawson was branded to the backs of his eyes, and every encounter since had only ensured the stronghold she had over his every waking moment. Since saving her from the turian bully in an alleyway on his way to Flux, he and Oriana had met up a few times to grab drinks.

Kolyat rubbed his eyes as he remembered the embarrassment he always managed to cause himself in her presence. He didn’t know what it was about Oriana that made him so nervous, making him too flustered to articulate a proper sentence. The way she would smile at him when he got like that didn’t help any. She’d rest her cheek in her palm and watched him as he tripped over his words, a soft smile on her lips as she regarded him like he was a cute furry creature from her homeworld.

There was just something about her that drew him in. Whenever he was with her Kolyat found himself enraptured by the sound of her buoyant laughter, the depth of her dark blue eyes, how her intelligence was rivaled only by her beauty. Her beauty! She was a human, Kolyat had never been attracted to females of other races before. Sure, asari were beautiful, but that was just how their race was. They were meant to be attractive to all those around them, as where humans should’ve only been attractive to their own kind. Yet here sat Kolyat, living proof that the heart wants what it wants and all he could do was strap himself in for the ride. A human... he was his father’s son.

“Kolyat?” The vibrating sound of Burnek’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. Kolyat turned in his seat to see a fellow C-Sec officer leaning into the room, his mandibles flaring as he gave Kolyat a curious look. “What are you still doing here? You punched out an hour ago.”

Kolyat turned back to his terminal and quickly reread the file that had been pulled onto his screen before shutting it off and pushing himself out of his seat. “I was just reading up on a case.” he explained as he strode up to Burnek and gave him a polite nod of his head.

Burnek’s mandible’s flared again as he chuckled at Kolyat. “A case?” he asked, “Last I checked you just made officer. You hoping to get promoted to detective already, kid?”

Setting his jaw, Kolyat didn’t bother humoring the turian’s provocation. Throwing a departing wave over his shoulder, he grumbled, “See you tomorrow, Burnek.”

“Hey, Krios, wait up.” Kolyat struggled to not roll his eyes when Burnek kept up pace beside him. He was one of the youngest C-Sec officers on the Citadel, and Burnek loved to remind him of it any chance he got. Despite Kolyat’s distinct inability to make friends, Burnek seemed to actually want to play nice with him. “You headed home?”

He could have lied and said yes just to get the turian off his tail, but he couldn’t give voice to the lie. Kolyat’s only friends were Shepard and Garrus, maybe Oriana too but he wanted her to become more than his friend. It couldn’t hurt for him to at least try to be nice.

Giving Burnek a sidelong glance, he answered, “No, actually I was going to grab a drink at Purgatory.”

“Purgatory,” Burnek repeated, his enthusiasm growing with the thought. “Looking to have some fun tonight, I see. Any chance you need a wingman?”

No, was the answer that struggled against his grit teeth to be voiced. Swallowing back the biting answer, Kolyat shrugged, “Sure, I can’t promise that it’ll be any fun though.”

Burnek shrugged too, unconcerned by the warning. “It’s Purgatory,” he observed. “I’m sure I’ll be able to find someway to entertain myself.”

“Alright,” Kolyat nodded curtly and redirected his attention straight ahead. He really wasn’t any good at this whole being friendly thing.

He and Burnek strode to the nearby rapid transit terminal and summoned a taxi that would take them from this arm of the Citadel to the other. To the turian’s credit, Burnek wasn’t terrible company. He made casual conversation when Kolyat allowed the silence between them grow too awkward, and he had a story or two that were mildly entertaining. As it turned out, bringing Burnek was better than going to Purgatory by himself.

The lively house music escaped from Purgatory in pulsating waves that vibrated the taxi as it descended onto the platform. Kolyat paid the fare and stepped out of the vehicle, staring up at the nightclub and the cocktail of people that were dancing, and stumbling, in and out of the front doors.

As Kolyat stepped up beside his fellow C-Sec officer, Burnek whistled and glanced to where Kolyat was standing at his side. “It’s busy tonight.”

His disappointment spilled out of him with a sigh. Oriana had mentioned that she sometimes liked to come to Purgatory to dance; but she’d also mentioned that she wasn’t crazy about being boxed in by a crowd. Purgatory was crowded, which meant that Oriana probably wouldn’t be found inside tonight. Kolyat sighed again. This was the fourth night this week that he’d come hoping to run into her again, and apparently it was going to be the fourth night that he went without seeing her.

Since he’d already paid the cab fare, they might as well try and enjoy themselves while they were here. Taking the lead, Kolyat walked toward the entrance and found a space at the back of the line. After an hour of waiting they were granted entrance to the nightclub. The stench of cologne, perfume, and sweat was choked up in his throat as he wove his way through the sea of swaying bodies toward the bar.

Waving for the bartender’s attention, Kolyat ordered them both a round of drinks and turned toward the crowd to people watch as he waited for his beer. Burnek’s gaze was also on the dancers flooding the club’s floors, his mandibles flaring as he obviously desired to join them.

When the bartender returned with their drinks, Burnek lifted his bottle and knocked it against Kolyat’s, nodding in wordless gratitude for the drink and the company. They both took a swing of their drinks and returned their attention to the dancers. A few minutes passed like that, they shared a few words of conversation before the music’s volume became too tiresome to speak over. Burnek tapped his foot to the music as he drank from his beer.

Turning toward Kolyat, Burnek wondered, “So, did you just come here to watch?”

Kolyat glanced at Burnek and took a swig from his beer before answering. “Sometimes it’s more fun to watch.” he said with a shrug.

“More fun than that?” Using the bottle to point Kolyat’s gaze to the dancefloor, Burnek brought the nearby group of young asari women to his attention.

He watched the women dance, the seductive sway of their hips as they moved and dipped to the music. Kolyat allowed a smirk twist the corner of his mouth as he replied, “They’re not really my type.”

Burnek nodded as if he understood. Taking another sip from his drink, he inquired, “Don’t have a thing for asari, huh?” When Kolyat’s response was a noncommittal shrug, his line of questioning continued. “What about human?”

Kolyat froze in place. Boring his surprised gaze into the side of the turian’s head, he waited for Burnek to meet his eyes before he asked, “What?” There was no way that he could have known about Kolyat’s growing fascination with at least one human in particular.

Giving Kolyat a sidelong glance, Burnek casually pointed towards a couple of women at the other side of the bar. Following the turian’s tallon, Kolyat felt his heart rate pick up and his chest tighten. He’d been so focused on the dancing crowd in front of them that he hadn’t noticed the people at the other end of the bar.

She was here after all. Oriana was seated in the corner with an asari, her dark hair was styled back and her makeup gave her a smoky seductive look. In the poorly lit club lights, she looked like a huntress awaiting her desired prey. Kolyat couldn’t look away.

“She’s been eyeing you since we walked through the door,” Burnek informed him. When Kolyat glanced back the turian nodded in assurance that he was speaking the truth. Looking over Kolyat’s shoulder he observed, “Her friend’s pretty attractive too. Maybe we should go say hello.”

Kolyat looked back at where Oriana was seated and when their eyes met an inviting smile curled the corners of her lips. His heart started to accelerate at the quirk of her darkly painted lips, all confidence fleeing from his body.

He couldn’t talk to her. What would he say? ‘Hey, you finally came. I’ve been stalking this club every night hoping to run into you’ or, better yet, ‘Oriana, fancy meeting you here. Are you tired? ‘Casue you’ve been running through my mind all day.’ Turning away from her, Kolyat leaned his elbows on the bar and ran a hand down his face. Whatever this was that was going on between them, he couldn’t pursue it anyway. She probably didn’t even like him that way.

“Well,” Burnek wondered as he rested an elbow on the bar and raised his glass to the asari girl beside Oriana he was currently undressing with his eyes. “What’ll it be, Krios?”

Glancing up at the turian beside him, Kolyat shook his head as he returned his attention to the beer in his hands. Nerves coiled and slithered along the inside of his stomach, snaking its way into his bloodstream and carving its way down his spine. No woman had ever had this kind of paralyzing effect on him before, but everything about Oriana made his mind so clouded that he couldn’t think straight. It was the way she stared at him, as though he were the most interesting person in the galaxy. Him, he laughed at the thought. There was nothing interesting about him, yet when they were together she’d stare at him and twirl her soft looking hair around her finger with that soft smile of hers on her plush lips.

Kolyat sucked in a deep breath and looked briefly at Burnek before returning his attention to Oriana. Straightening his shoulders, he forced himself to exude some sort of pseudo confidence. Without looking back at Burnek, he said, “Let’s go say hello.”

“Alright!” Burnek cheered and they stepped back into the masses to find a way to the other end of the bar.

Swallowing hard against the uncertainty massing in his throat, Kolyat pulled his lips back into a smile as he and the turian approached Oriana and her friend. When they were within shouting distance Oriana slid off of her bar stool, causing the hem of her short dress to ride up a touch and showing Kolyat some more of her jaw dropping legs.

“Kolyat,” she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace and Kolyat couldn’t pretend like he didn’t enjoy the feeling of her pressed against him. He swallowed hard again when she released him and when he couldn’t make his mouth work to form a proper greeting her smile grew.

“Fancy meeting you here!” she said, a playful light in her dark blue eyes. “Have you been following me, Kolyat Krios?”

“No!” He said a bit too quickly. Glancing back at Burnek he cleared his throat and tried again. “Burnek and I just got out of work and decided to grab a few drinks.”

Smiling politely at the turian beside him, Oriana offered him her hand in a human greeting and her smile grew when he shook it. “You must be Burnek. Oriana Lawson, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine.” Burnek replied when she released his hand.

Gesturing back to her friend who was watching the encounter from the bar, Oriana stated, “That’s Mau, it’s her eightieth birthday tonight. I promised to show her a good time.”

Burnek looked from Kolyat to Oriana then back to Kolyat. His mandibles flared a bit as he addressed the petite human standing in front of them. “Maybe I can help you on that front.” In response to the inquisitive quirk to Oriana’s eyebrow, he explained, “I’m a fantastic dancer.”

An amused smile spread across her lips and she moved her body out of his path with a sweeping gesture, “She’s been begging me to dance all night. Have at it, Burny.”

“I think I will.” Burnek nodded towards Kolyat, a wingman gesture indicating that he was separating the prey from the pack in order for Kolyat to make the kill. Striding past Oriana towards the curious asari at the bar, Burnek gave Kolyat a thumbs up and went to seduce the birthday girl.

Oriana watched Burnek and Mau’s interactions as the turian asked for a dance and the asari happily agreed. When Mau gave Oriana an excited smile Oriana waved her friend off and returned her attention to Kolyat.

Smiling up at him, she commented, “Well that was very nice of him.”

“Yeah,” Kolyat replied weakly. Nervously rubbing the back of his neck, he shifted from one foot to the other as his discomfort grew. When an expectant expression settled on Oriana’s porcelain features, he cleared his throat and mustered that false confidence he’d used to get him over here. “S-so, do you want to dance?”

Her smile grew and Oriana shook her head. Placing a hand on Kolyat’s shoulder, she stood on the tips of her toes and brought her lips beside his ear. “How about we find somewhere more quiet?”

When she returned to the flat of her feet her hand was still on his shoulder and her proximity was disorienting. Clearing his throat again, Kolyat tried to force his lead tongue to work but when it refused he just nodded his consent to the idea. Oriana grinned happily at his gesture and grabbed his hand in hers to lead him through the horde of dancers back out of the club.

Kolyat breathed in the fresh air and welcomed the cool breeze that swept down, lightly blowing Oriana’s beautifully dark brown hair. She didn’t release his hand when they were outside, but still tugged him along until they were standing at the railing that looked out onto the Presidium and the Commons.

He felt her absence the moment she released his hand to wrap her fingers around the railing and lean into the flowing breeze. A contented smile fell over her features and Kolyat was trapped by her beauty as he stared at her. This human, so foreign from himself, was a lovely little thing and Kolyat wondered not for the first time what it would be like to kiss her.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” asked Oriana as she stared out at the Citadel, the light’s shining in the space station's false night.

Kolyat’s gaze was on her when he replied, “Yeah.”

She glanced up at him and her smile turned teasing as she wondered, “So, Kolyat Krios, did you perform any more heroics on your way here?”

“Well, Oriana Lawson,” he smirked at her, grateful that she’d taken such a confrontational mode of conversation. For some reason he found it easier to talk to her when they joked like this. “If you consider paying the taxi an act of heroism, then yes, I did.”

“They will write songs about your valor,” she replied with a laugh. Without looking away from him, she said, “I’m glad we ran into each other tonight.”

“You are?” He couldn’t stop the surprise that melded into the undertones of his voice.

She nodded. “Whenever I go to visit Shepard I always just miss you.”

Kolyat lifted an eyebrow and allowed the teasing smirk to return to his lips. “So you’re the one that’s been following me.”

“No,” she argued half heartedly, the laugh in her voice indicating that she didn’t believe herself either. "I was just hoping to run into you again."

"So was I," the words were out before he knew he'd said them. Glancing to where Oriana stood beside him, surprise coloring her features, Kolyat pushed himself off of the railing and turned to face Oriana. Rolling his shoulders, he summoned every ounce of confidence he had. He was done fantasizing what could be. Kolyat wanted to pursue this ever growing interest in this beautiful human girl, and he knew that he was going to have to get over his insecurities in order to deserve the chance.

Here goes nothing, he thought as he breathed in deeply. "Oriana, there's something I want to tell you." When she silently held his gaze, Kolyat swallowed against the nerves in his throat and forced himself to continue. "I like you, a lot, and I was hoping that you might let me take you out on a real date. I'd like to get to know you."

Her features turned surprised again as she stared up at him before a happy grin crawled across her lips. "How about tomorrow night? Pick me up at seven?"

Kolyat blinked, taken aback by her easy and eager agreement. "Uh..." Her response had him flustered. Shaking himself back into focus, he stammered, "Yeah, t-tomorrow works for me."

"Good," she grinned at him, her dark blue eyes shining brightly under the Citadel's street lights. "Now I should probably go make sure that Burny hasn't run off with my friend. We have a recital tomorrow."

Oriana turned to leave him at the railing but before she was out of arm's reach, Kolyat grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her back to him. Her agreeing to the date might have made him a bit over confident, but Kolyat didn't care. Right now all he wanted was to find out if those plump lips were as soft as they looked.