InsaneJournal

Who: Beth and Wrex.
What: Shooting things.
When: The start of Balloon Plot Day.
Where: The Ranch.
Rating: PG-13 for Wrex being a dirty old man in his mind.
Status: Complete!



The gym was quicker than he’d expected, and Dani wasn’t here yet, so Wrex was more than happy to shoot things in the metaphysical face until she got to the ranch. It helped him put Kasumi from his mind, and firmly in the place of all the good things that he tended to end up screwed over in life. He was pretty sure things had been on a downward spiral ever since the miscarriage.

Beth had shown up right after practice, which meant she was still in shorts that were probably too short for public viewing and a sports bra. But hell, it was her ex-almost-father-in-law. Nothing was going to happen, even if he was adorable.

“Hey,” she called out, jogging over when she saw Wrex.

It reminded him a bit of something Kasumi would wear to tease him. Which both made his heart ache and turned him on. Which was weird. He half expected a long distance lobotomy for thinking those thoughts. “Hey.”

“Sorry I’m late, I had to drill the other freshmen on back tucks. You’d think they’d learn that in fucking high school, but apparently not.” Beth shook her head, grinning at Wrex and shaking her head. “So. You’re gonna let a girl beat you up like this. You could punch a fucking planet in the face, but you decide to get your panties in a wad over a lady? We’re a dime a dozen, Pops.”

“Just figured the first one I’d had in years ends up crashing and burning,” he replied, shrugging a shoulder. And that wasn’t a lie, Kasumi had been the first time he’d had sex in years. His body was still in shock that she’d wanted him.

“And that’s half her fault.” Beth folded her arms. “At least. How many people were in the relationship, anyway? Unless you beat her up, which you wouldn’t. So stop. It’s not all you. You’re awesome and kinda hot in a rough way.”

“Hot enough to have two women decide they want nothing to do with me,” Wrex pointed out. It wasn’t really so much Kasumi, but his ex-wife who still got under his skin. Mostly.

“There’s eight billion of us. Two out of eight billion is decent odds, Pops.” Beth shook her head. “I’m oh-for-one too, so boo hoo.” She stretched her arms up a little, trying to pop her lower back.

Wrex held up a shotgun, then blew a watermelon to bits. “Sometimes I feel a lot older than 40.”

“I didn’t even think you were forty.” Beth looked around, found a spare shotgun, and checked to make sure it was loaded.

“Flatterer,” Wrex replied, rolling his eyes. “You just want the whole set.” See? He could joke. Badly.

“Har har. I haven’t fucked Shepard, you know.” Beth rolled her own eyes in return before standing up and shooting her own watermelon.

“Shepard and Dani are kind of a thing,” Wrex pointed out. Hell, even he could see that. “Which is good, she needs someone.”

“Yeah, who do you think told her to talk to Dani about it?” Beth pumped the gun, taking another shot. “It’s annoying when people hit on you while they’re taken.”

Wrex snorted. “Shepard hits on any woman that moves. Doesn’t mean she’s not the most loyal woman you’ll ever meet. Even when Liara was giving her the cold shoulder, she still wouldn’t stray. I’m actually kinda surprised she let herself love someone else here.”

“And guess who else could too,” Beth glared.

“Love isn’t everything, kid. Isn’t like the future of the species depends on me. Good thing too, considering I can’t have kids.” Another watermelon bit the dust. “Maybe I’ll meet someone, but I’m not going to look.”

Beth got quiet, deathly so. “You already have kids, Wrex. Lots of them. Shut up.”

“I mean biological ones.” He rested the shotgun on his shoulder and leveled a look at her. “That’s what I mean. And I can concentrate on the ones here if my head isn’t on the moon.”

“Blood doesn’t mean shit. I can’t remember the last time I had a meaningful talk with my father. You’re more my father than he’s ever been.” She sighed, reloading the gun.

"It's easy enough to say," Wrex replied. "But hard enough to feel. To want something that you made yourself, with the help of another human being."

“I know that feeling,” Beth muttered. “I miss Elise every single fucking day, and I just - look. I just don’t want you to be so hopeless. I’m a piece of shit, Wrex, a fucking horrible human being, and I’m still trying.”

He put a hand on Beth’s shoulder. “I’m not hopeless. I’ve just been there, and done that. It’s time for me to move on and accept the family I made for myself. There’s no room for a woman in that. Things were strained before, anyway. I think I might have pulled her away from the life she wanted to lead.”

“Oh, bullshit. You say there’s no room for a woman because you’re busy licking your wounds. You’ll heal up some and you’ll meet someone.” Beth shrugged the shoulder off. “Trust me. I know.”

Wrex sighed. When he opened his mouth, instead of sound, a bubble appeared over his head, exactly like one from a comic book, complete with a wobbly sound, “I spent years licking my wounds the last time. I can be patient.”

Beth blinked. “Huh. That’s new.”

“What? What’s new? Where’s my voice?”

“Uh, above you. You’re sort of ... you read many comics?” Beth tried to bite her lower lip to keep from giggling, but one snuck out.

He craned his neck around, but the bubble stayed behind his head. “This is fucked up.”

“Language, old man.” Beth grinned, sitting down and smiling. “You really need to be more child safe.” She leaned back and giggled at him.

Wrex looked up again. “Fuck.” Only the bubble now spelled out “@!!%$!”

That made Beth roll a little with laughter. “Oh, god, that’s fantastic.”

It could be worse. It could be his private thoughts, which would have been embarrassing earlier. “This %@#& sucks.” Thinking about his thoughts made them come back, and he grunted, picking up the shotgun again to distract himself. Unfortunately for him, instead of a bang, there was a comic-sans “bang!”

Beth giggled at the ‘bang!’, but then she blinked. “Why are you - woah, uh. Wrex? Are you thinking about sex?”

“No.” Wrex tried to think about something besides Sex. Which ended up being a vivid example of a Krogan rite of passage. Which generally meant killing a gigantic worm. It was better than sex. Oops. There it was again.

“Are you thinking about - is that me?” Beth blinked and then raised an eyebrow. “Oh, huh. I really am that bendy.”

“Not helping.” Wrex looked ashamed.

“Don’t think about a giraffe standing in the middle of a lemon pie.” Beth chuckled, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to not think about that.

He gave her a look, but mercifully, the previous mental image was replaced. Though if she really was that bendy, then...damn it!

Beth facepalmed again. “Really, Wrex? I know thirty girls who can do that.”

He gave her that look again, while reloading, and thinking very strongly on the act of reloading, and then pumping that shotgun.

Beth just did the same thing, shooting two watermelons in a row and sighing a little to herself. This was weird.

It was better than thinking about Kasumi, which only made him sadder, and angrier. Now that was a bendy, enthusiastic woman….

And that was when the tiny girl next to him high kicked Wrex and smacked him in the head. “Stop that.”

“Try that again,” the chat bubble warned aggressively.

“Do you want me to? It got you to stop thinking,” she giggled.

Wrex made a ‘come at me’ motion with two fingers.

“Hell no, old man, you’ll kick my ass.” Beth wrapped her arms around his waist instead.

He grunted and with a sigh wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Always knew you were smart.”

“Don’t grunt like that, it’s kinda hot.” Beth let her head rest against Wrex’s chest. “I have a crush on a boy,” she murmured. “It’s ... weird. He’s like, the only one in the world I’d ever date.”

That was a little confusing to Wrex, but he didn’t say anything, just rubbed at her back.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Beth murmured. She always knew what she was doing.

Wrex pointed up at his bubble, which was telling her that the only thing she could do was her best. He still felt for Alma, but he cared about them both. “You’ll do okay, if you don’t let yourself get psyched out.”

“I’m going to try,” she sighed. “I just don’t - I never wanted to hurt Alma.” Her voice was small, tired, and she wished that things had worked out better in general.

“I know. I think she knows too.” Wrex’s bubble had a rough edge around it. “You have to do what you need to to be happy. It’s why I don’t hate Kasumi.”

“And why you shouldn’t hate yourself.” Beth still hadn’t let go.

“Difference between hating yourself and accepting the way things are. You’re still young, you’ll have a lot of time to make mistakes and fix them.”

“What, and you’re a wizened old man?” Beth lightly bit Wrex on the arm.

“Maybe I’ll grow out a beard,” he replied, grinning down at her. Damn it. Guys like biting.

“Please don’t, you’ll look like one of those weird hobos who lives under the bridge and complains about the government putting fluoride in the water.” Beth wrinkled her nose.

That made Wrex laugh, and it was a raucous sort of visible ‘HA HA HAHA HA HA’ that bounced soundlessly around them.

“Holy crap, you’re halfway there with those bubbles.” Beth giggled to herself, hugging him yet again.

“It makes me look like a psychopath….” He rubbed her back again.

“Well, yes.” Beth let go and laughed. “Maybe you should stick close to home.”

“That’s probably a good idea. Even my damn shotgun is silent.”

“Which is a little creepy, just so you know.” Beth was glad this wasn’t affecting her, especially after everything she’d been through in her life.

“Just what I need. Being creepy.” He mussed up her hair.

“Same shit different day, right?” She blew a raspberry at him before redoing her hair.

Wrex nodded his head in agreement. “Same shit different day.”