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“Too tight?”
The question broke through the silence that previously filled the room. It was a comfortable kind of silence, the type that Sara had missed over the last few months, had found herself almost craving.
Sure, she liked action as much as the next person -- possibly more, she was a Ryder after all -- but even an adrenaline junkie needed some downtime every once in a while, didn’t they? Some time to just breathe, take a beat, have a moment to spend with someone that they cared about? Possibly loved?
Love.
It was a word that had run through her mind a few times now when it came to the woman that she wondered if it applied to -- her Turian -- though one she still hadn’t said out loud. A secret that she quietly pondered, found herself too afraid of even whispering in case she was heard.
The idea of being as afraid as she was, was... well, odd. Jumping off the edge and diving into the unknown was part of her job, was something that she did every single day, was what she practically lived for. But this? Saying a word, that was what had her so afraid?
“Ryder?”
It seemed... strange? Maybe even childish? Yes, childish felt like the better adjective to describe how she felt now. Like how when she and Scott were kids and his stories of Krogan coming to find them had her so scared that she couldn’t sleep with the lights off for three months straight. Or how when she was a teenager and spent an entire year trying to take up art because she was trying to rebel for reasons that she couldn’t even remember now.
Childish.
All so childish and unnecessary, things that she looked back on now and tried to figure out why they even happened in the first place, why she reacted that way. Of course, unlike those times, this felt different. Felt too complicated to be that simple to be something that she’d laugh at years later, say that she was being so silly over.
It was her heart on the line now, how could she just get over being childish and jump off the edge?
“Sara.”
It was a question she didn’t get the chance to wonder over any further. Not due to how irritated her girlfriend -- after having tried to get her attention for the third time, needing to know if the zipper on a stubborn dress was too tight -- but to gentle poke to her ribs that followed.
Normally the gesture wouldn’t have been enough to get a reaction out of Sara -- after years of tickle attacks from her twin she’d become all but immune to those sort of quick prods causing any noticeable response -- but between not expecting it from Vetra and being too absorbed in her own thoughts she couldn’t stop the squeak that slipped from her lips. A squeak that that she quickly tried covering up by slapping a hand over her mouth and one that a single look over her shoulder told her hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Oh no, if the smirk and the utterly devilish look in Vetra’s eye told her anything it was that everything about her reaction had been taken into account.
“Vetra -” There was supposed to be more to the sentence, a reason for her not to use her talons to play Sara’s ribs like a piano, though any other words that were to be used were cut off by a series of squeaks and giggles as just that began to happen.
“Vetra!” This time there was no intention for more words to follow, only more giggles that mingled with Vetra’s own laughter, a sound that Sara could admit she did love.
“Sorry, Ryder, this is too good to pass up.” Was the first response that the Pathfinder received, the second being her ribs given a break so that the Turian could test out her sides next. “Besides, this seems to be the only way to get your attention.”
Sara shook her head as more laughter spilled from her lips, her hands grabbing onto Vetra’s, holding on but not quite pulling them away (a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by the other, her attempts only spurred on by the observation).
“Whatever you were thinking about must’ve been really important to ignore me like that.” Vetra teased, both with her tone and her talons, her touch becoming lighter, almost maddeningly so against Sara’s sides.
Sara shook her head, “Nohohoho.” She argued, leaning back against, body now pressing against Vetra’s.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
She was tempted to argue, something that Sara figured her girlfriend could see. Or, at least she assumed she could by the fact that her hips were squeezed before she could, causing quiet giggles to turn into frantic laughter mixed in with pleas to stop.
Pleas that in reality Sara only half meant -- it wasn’t her fault that she liked having Vetra Nyx touch her, was it?
Vetra Nyx, the woman who she very well could have been in love with, who she could have said those words to if she wasn’t such a coward.
Vetra Nyx, the same woman who Sara Ryder had decided was not only a merciless tickler, but possibly a little evil too.
“Well,” As was shown by the extra squeeze given to her hips before her ribs were shown a little more attention (too much attention if the snort that was drawn from her was anything to go by), “If you promise to tell me what you were thinking about I’ll stop.”
A nod was all that Sara was able to give and the laugh, followed by a kiss to her cheek before the attack ceased, told her that the terms had been agreed upon.
Something that was confirmed when Vetra took Sara’s need to compose herself (residual giggles and deep breaths) to wrap her arms around her waist, pulling her closer, leaving her hands no where near vulnerable spots.
For now anyway.
“You owe me an answer.” Was the phrase that broke the next bout of silence. Words that had Sara smiling as she turned around in her girlfriend’s arms, tilting her head up to look at her.
She hummed in agreement before standing on her tip-toes to kiss her, savoring the moment and forcing Vetra to be the one to pull away, not wanting to rush anything.
Maybe that was a sign of what her answer should’ve been -- or maybe it was a sign that she was still a coward who couldn’t say the words aloud.
Either way, instead of telling the truth, saying what she may have really felt, Sara smiled up at Vetra and offered the response that was the equivalent of her nightlight, or of her teenage art supplies.
“I do, but you never said when I had to tell you.”