#Why is half my fictober Mass Effect Actor AU lol

[ramblinganthropologist]

Fictober 5 and 6 - “I’m not saying I told you so” and “Didn’t we just have this conversation?”

Fanfiction

Fandom: Mass Effect (Actor AU)

Summary: Well... this was bound to happen eventually. Now it’s time for Alex and Macen to face the music - and more importantly, their feelings. What’s gong to happen... and is someone going to win the pool about them dating or what? It’s getting up there...

---

“I’m not saying I told you so…”

“Then don’t.”

Right then, that couch cushion was Alex’s only salvation. Face down in it, he could block out the world and his burning face. It protected him from the strange reality he had found himself in the middle of, at least until he needed to breathe. So… a minute of peace and quiet before he had to face the music.

Maybe he should work on learning to hold his breath?

Much to his displeasure, he was suddenly airborne and face-to-face with Beau. She had taken his lack of movement to get behind and pull him up by the back of his shirt. Now he was dangling there like a newborn kitten, unable to do much except groan.

He should’ve just gone home… but no, he’d gone with his costar to her place to deal with the fucked-up reality that was his life.

“Nope, it’s talking time.” She placed him down on the couch, sitting up this time. Then Beau shoved a mug of coffee in his hands, full of sugar and cream. Someone was clearly trying to bribe him – or this was the hope the sugar would make him talk. “Drink up and tell me just what the fuck happened.”

Alex sighed as he looked down at the mug. “I mean… shit…”

And as he took his first sip, his mind wandered back to that afternoon and what had gone down. Just thinking about it made his face boil with heat, but it needed to be done. All that lay in his path right then was endless embarrassment, but it needed to be done. If he didn’t tell her, somebody would.

But man, he was going to hate this… she was so smug about this kind of shit.

“Huh… wonder where Beau got off to…”

Lunchtime had finally come, and all Alex wanted to do was sit down and rest his tired bones. Thanks to last night’s… activities… he was pretty sore and even all the action scenes hadn’t been enough to rid him of the dull aching completely. In a day or two, he would be ok – until then, he would just have to work through it.

He supposed that was the downside of having sex with a turian – stretching to fit your legs around a carapace was demanding work. Good thing he was flexible.

Not only that, but he had fairly good eyesight. Off in the distance, he spotted a familiar mop of pink hair paired with black armor. Beau stuck out in a crowd to say the least, and he was glad for it as he started to walk over. However, he realized she was standing in front of someone as soon as she moved away, heading off to who knew where.

And lucky him… there was Macen.

The turian looked vaguely uncomfortable to say the least. Alex had been around him long enough to pick out some of his tells. His mandibles were twitching, and the way he was standing reminded him of those old school puppets you stuck your hand into. If he started speaking in a squeaky voice about the alphabet, he was out of there…

Ok, he was a little tired. It had been a long morning of filming, ok?

At the very least, he slowed down as he approached. “Sorry, did I break up a conversation?”

Macen’s mandibles twitched again as he met Alex’s gaze. “No, she was just leaving…”

He glanced to the side. “Do you mind following me? We need to talk about something…”

Now, for some people this could go down a road where somebody would have to pee on a stick. Lucky for them, they didn’t have the right equipment – or species, for that matter. Still, Alex felt a lump form in his throat as he managed a nod. Oh, how he had wished that had been from his stupid costume armor…

Fuck. He knew a breakup when he heard one.

“Yeah… lead the way I guess.”

Without another word, Macen was soon leading him away from where the crew was gathered. He eventually ducked into a small room, closing the door behind them once Alex stepped through. There was no other way in, so he was stuck there waiting for the sky to collapse on him.

But yeah… no big deal.

He did his best to stay casual as he took a seat – the armor was uncomfortable, especially when standing. Macen mirrored him, and they were soon seated with a small table separating them. It wasn’t particularly cozy, but maybe it was better he didn’t feel comfortable. If he needed to make a quick retreat, this was for the best.

Sweat trickled down the back of his neck as he looked over at the turian. “So, what did you want to talk about? I didn’t hurt you last night, did I?”

Doubtful – Macen was built tougher than he was. Still, a human could put a hurting on a turian if they moved in the right way, or so the internet had told him during a late night frantic search. He didn’t see any of the telltale signs, but it wasn’t like he was a medic – he just played one on TV.

Man, if only Alistair Shepard was here now to save his ass…

Macen shifted in his seat, mandibles twitching. “No, I’m fine. I wanted to talk… about things between us I guess.”

Yep… here it came. Alex had to wonder how it was going to end; was Macen a ‘it’s not you it’s me’ guy, or did he prefer to cut and run? The tabloids had made suggestions back when he had been more active in the dating scene, but nothing had ever been concrete. Now he was about to get the real scoop – if only it didn’t come at the expense of his… well, if he was going to get dumped should he even call it a relationship?

Shit, he was no good at this sort of thing… it was why he didn’t date much.

At least being an actor made it easy to play things off as neutral as he felt sweat trickle down the back of his neck. Turians couldn’t smell that, right? He forgot if they had strong noses or not some days. Honestly, since they didn’t really have visible nose structures…

Yeah, he was trying to avoid reality. So sue him.

“Do you not like how things have been going lately?”

Maybe they had been a bit too forward. They had both originally agreed that this was just a fuck and run thing. They had never discussed spending the night or anything else that had been happening with increasing frequency. It would be fair to say they had thrown the agreement out altogether and had been ad-libbing for quite some time. Maybe Macen didn’t like that… it was hard to read his face then.

Damn turians and their lack of eyebrows…

Macen laced his talons together as he took a breath. “I… find myself uncomfortable with it, yes.”

Alex felt something break inside him, but he did his best to keep it off his face. Oh. Well, if you want to stop…”

“No!”

The sudden outburst caught the human off guard. He blinked as he realized Macen looked almost frantic now. That definitely raised some new emotions as he waited for the other shoe to drop. At the very least, he was confused – confused and not getting broken up with. What was actually going to go down, though, he couldn’t see. All he could do was just live through it and hope for the best.

He had never been good at that, but there was a first time for everything.

It took Macen a few moments to calm down, and even then, he was a little twitchy and his frame looked rigid. Yet when they met gazes after he had, Alex felt almost embarrassed to catch his attention. His expression was just so painfully honest that it hurt to look at him.

“That’s the exact opposite of what I want.” The turian took a deep breath, prop armor creaking a little as he moved. “I… think we both know this has gone a lot further than just sex.”

Alex managed a nod. “Yeah… that probably happened after the first time you stayed the night.”

That had been months ago. Ever since, they had wavered between colleagues and… well, he didn’t want to name it. Naming it made it real. And right then, that was terrifying. He couldn’t even form the words yet – it had been far too long.

“And it’s only gotten…” he flexed his hands uselessly. “Well, stronger. After I saw you looking so passionate when you danced…”

He took another breath and held it for what must have been a painfully long time. What Alex would’ve given to see what was going on underneath his fringe. Maybe it would have settled the sensation of sitting on a pile of pins, hoping Macen was going to offer him a magnet to get them out and not another round of them. Right then, he just had to wait.

“I think I’ve fallen for you, Alex.”

Now, if he had been in a sober state of mind, he would’ve registered this was one of the few times the turian had used his first name. However, he was way past sober thanks to the beginning of the statement. His stomach had gone from bubbling in distaste to fluttering like a flock of butterflies had gotten stuck in there. Forget rational thought – he wasn’t thinking at all.

Was this actually real?

Macen’s mandibles twitched slowly as he looked away. “Of course, I understand if you don’t feel the same. We can forget this ever happened and just end things before it gets awkward. I think we’re both mature enough to be able to work together, right?”

While Alex wasn’t a military man in truth, he knew the sounds of a retreat sounding when he heard it. Right then, Macen was trying to get back from the no man’s land he had found himself in before he got his head shot off. Of course, that meant he assumed that someone was aiming a gun at him and had their finger on the trigger.

And honestly? His finger hurt too much from his prop rifle to even think about pulling a real one. Fuck that.

The turian took his silence as a yes and started to rise. Alex felt panic take over as he jumped to his feet, reaching out to grab him. He found purchase on Macen’s wrist, tugging him back with such force that both fell onto the floor with a hearty thump thanks to gravity and the differences in their weights.

This was a great reminder of why he didn’t enjoy being on the bottom. Macen was too fucking heavy and bulky for this.

“Oww…” the turian groaned above him as he rubbed his mandible. “You didn’t have to grab me.”

Alex groaned as well, but mostly because Macen’s knee was close to a sensitive area. “Could you move please? I only like your dick there…”

With a clatter, his costar and part-time lover jumped off with the speed of his character. Even better, he offered out a hand to help him get to his feet. Normally he wouldn’t have gone for it, but given he’d had a turian knee to the crotch, Alex needed all the help he could get to return to a standing position. For not the first time, he was glad he had been wearing armor. Even if it was fake, it had protected him from some real pain.

Had he ever mentioned he was glad he didn’t have testicles? Because, man, he was feeling that now.

“Sorry.” Macen wasn’t letting go of his hand, even though they were both standing. “But… you still didn’t answer me. What do you think about… well… us?”

There was a hopeful note to his voice as he cocked his head to the side in an adorable way that made Alex’s insides flutter once more. If that didn’t tell him what he wanted, nothing would. So, the human decided to go with his gut.

Carefully, he leaned up on tiptoe and planted a quick peck on Macen’s left mandible. “I think we may have to change our agreement to include the clause about catching feelings for each other.”

That would’ve been so much cooler if he hadn’t lost his balance immediately after. Lucky for him, the turian was quick to make sure he didn’t fall flat on his face. Surprisingly strong arms held him close enough that he could hear Macen’s heart beating its strange, frenetic pace. It was faster than usual – someone was nervous.

He was too. But it was ok.

“I mean, I knew you were falling for me…”

And Macen chuckled when Alex groaned. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“Oh great, you like dumb puns.” Still, he chuckled too as he leaned in close. “But I’d say that makes us even. Dare I even say it, but I think you’re my boyfriend now.”

Did turians have a word for that? He had never really studied alien languages in school beyond the basic shit to get you around on the Citadel if the translators went out. Maybe he should get Duolingo in turian if this was going to be a thing.

Damn, he hated that owl… but it was for the best.

“I think that would be a fair assessment.” Macen’s voice was soft with those words. “It’s going to get around… are you ready for that kind of thing?”

Of course he wasn’t – nobody was ever ready for their relationship being front page news. Given their previous animosity and their roles, this was going to drive the tabloids insane. Yet even though he knew that Alex found that he didn’t really care. Maybe he would later, when cooler heads prevailed, but in the moment, he was fine with whatever came at him.

Dumb, maybe. But no one had ever claimed he was smart.

“I think we can make it work.” He would have leaned in for another peck, but the sound of motion on the other side of the door drew his attention. From the sound of things, they needed to get back to set. “Damn, talk about awful timing.”

Macen helped him get steady on his feet as they left the room behind. “We can talk more later. It’s not like I need to ask for your number or anything.”

“Ah, the benefits of fucking beforehand.” Alex chuckled as they made their way back to the set. “Well, I think the director will applaud our new chemistry at the very least.”

The turian stuck out his strange tongue at that. “Always the professional, I see.”

Someone had to be. If Macen was giving up the role of resident stick up his ass perfectionist, it needed to go to someone. And his ass was smaller anyway…

But he could think about his boyfriend’s ass later. They had a scene to shoot first. Afterwards… noodles, maybe?

---

“And… yeah, so I guess we’re a thing now.”

Alex’s mug was empty now, and he was craving another. However, he would have needed to go through Beau, and she was currently staring at him as if he had two heads. As far as he knew he didn’t, but he touched his neck anyway just to check. Nope – just one.

His costar shook her head as she came back to reality. “I mean… I’m not saying I told you so…”

“Didn’t we just have that conversation?” He frowned as he felt his face heat up. “But… yeah I guess you’re right. The just sex thing folded like a house of cards.”

Beau smirked as she picked up his empty mug, heading off to refill it. “Took y’all long enough, but I knew it would happen eventually. So, any bets on who is going to leak it first? Citadel Weekly usually gets the hot gossip first, but the head editor over at Daily Drama has had it out for you since you started fucking…”

Anyone but Daily Drama. He still wanted to punch that asshole in the face…

“I don’t know. I’m half debating doing it myself to some unknown paper so they all hate the fact they didn’t get it first.” He shrugged. “But that’s a conversation for me and Macen to have later. Right now, it’s just… weird.”

Weird was good word for it. It wasn’t bad, just… odd. Sex was one thing; an actual relationship was something else entirely. Yet as he thought about it, he didn’t really mind. There were worse positions to be in – like having a turian knee in his crotch.

Had he mentioned that really hurt? He was lucky he wasn’t bruised…

Beau returned, coffee in hand. “Well, as long as nobody finds out until next week, I still win the pot.”

All Alex could do was shake his head and accept the mug. “Dare I ask what your winnings are going to be?”

“Oh, just a low five figures. All the human crewmates were going hard as hell. I’m pretty sure Rili is going to be just crushed about it, mind you.”

Ah, yes. Because Beau would totally be worried about the quarian member of the cast. She wasn’t subtle.

“Well, I can recommend a place to take her for a consolation dinner. They have both levo and dextro.” He sipped from the mug, sighing in relief. It was good to have things off his chest. “Shit, it’s been so long since I’ve dated someone that I forgot how it feels.”

“Something, something, getting back on the horse?”

Something, something, indeed. Still, Alex was glad to be back on the old-fashioned mode of transportation as he sat there, drinking his coffee and planning his costar’s date with the woman who played Tali. Like he had said, there were worse positions to be in.

And… well, the heart he had added next to Macen’s name in his contact list was a nice touch. Maybe he should have done this sooner…

Nah. It would’ve been a shame to cost Beau money. Rili deserved a nice date spot. It was the least he could do as her unofficial wingman.