Gonna write you as a new light, apologies my God-slaying siblings
News of the Pyramids over Europa reaches far and wide, as does stasis
With this discovery, relayed by a veteran guardian, also reveals news of the Eliksni who instigated the riot at the Prison of Elders
Being freshly revived, there’s not much you can make out of the hostility the other Guardians offer the alien
Curious about him, you make a bold request to be stationed on Europa to “monitor” him
Of course, Zavala denies your request and speaks of how important your guns would be here at home
While you say you understand, you’re secretly trying to find your way around it
The Drifter
You heard about his escapades to the frozen planet, reasons unknown, but still able to slip through Vanguard sanctions
As usual, a Guardian siding with the Vanguard approaching you with a purpose usually isn’t a good thing
“Somethin’ you want, kid?”
His tone is carefully jovial, bordering neutral, but you’re not foolish enough to think he actually trusts you
“I need to get to Europa.”
He stares at you for a solid minute before sizing you up, an inquisitive glare settling on his face
“What’s in it for me?”
Having been on Strike detail for months on end, you’ve got a sweet heap of glimmer and nothing to use it on; you know he doesn’t care a lot for the currency, so you offer up your weapons alongside it
He gives you a lopsided grin as he takes the arsenal, waving off the glimmer and taking you to his ramshackle ship
Unsurprisingly, it’s a quiet ride, your own Ghost unsure of your actions
Drifter gives you little warning before transmitting you off the ship, leaving you to fall flat on your ass in the deep snow
Despite being a little upset about this, you finally see your goal, the very Eliskni that brought new questions to the ice planet
Every step you take lands your foot in a fluffy sheet of snow, sounding out with a crunch you had never heard before
Soon enough, you’ve completely deviated from the reason you came to the planet, completely obsessed with the snow under you
The entire time, Variks has been watching you from the window of his base making a fool of yourself
Distantly, he realizes that he thinks you’re cute like that
“Here to help, yes?”
You are COMPLETELY caught off guard, turning quickly on your heel before slipping on the ice and landing flat on your ass
A shadow falls over you as you look up to see the well spoken Eliksni towering over you, and you’re immensely thankful for the helmet hiding your blush
He offers you one of his real hands, helping you up and you can’t help but notice how his hunched form is hiding a solid 8" from his height
Bringing you inside, you slowly decompress from the outside chill and Variks formally introduces himself
You quickly take note of how each of his sentences are punctuated by insect noises, which are quite fun to hear
You explain your circumstances and even though you can only see his eyes, you can feel the confusion in the air
“You left the Tower.. to see me? Variks does not know who you are; you do not know Variks, yes?”
You’re slightly disappointed but not surprised by his suspicious behavior, after seeing how other Guardians harped about him
You then remember something very important
“I don’t have a ship to get back.”
Your ship still sat in the Hangar, locked down until it was needed for use
Variks stood in front of you quietly before also noticing something unusual about you; your weapons were missing
“Stay. I will contact your Commander.”
You immediately spring from your seated position, grabbing at his shoulder before he can reach the comms
He seems to understand your plead
You spend the next few days eating freeze dried food, along with MRE’s supplied by another curious party on Europa
Variks doesn’t join you until he’s finished eating in another room, and the conversations you can strike up are limited
You ask him to teach you Eliksni
He appears shocked at first but eagerly obliges, now showing up to eat with you
It’s been a good couple of weeks, and you’ve got a few phrases and words under your belt
Nothing translates directly, everything is interpreted based on the small word choice
Variks didn’t know, but you had spent the last 3 days trying to figure out what the closest thing to “I love you” was in Eliksni
That night, when you both settle down to eat, you eye Variks with a renewed purpose
The fuzz in your brain dissipates as, astoundingly, he moves to take off his mouth cover
You can’t help but stare at his revealed face not noticing how he fidgets a bit under your intense stare
“Apologies, (y/n). I did not mean to ruin your appetite.”
It was now or never
Moving over to sit next to him, you shyly looked up to see he had yet to put the mask back on, instead looking at you with uncertainty
“Yu ne ze.” You are my gift. I love you.
The Eliksni’s eyes widen and his body stiffens and you worry for a second that you’ve made a mistake before he turns fully and leans into your face
“Ma yun ne.”
His mandibles are often used to caress your face
You find yourself with gifts and trinkets waiting in your small room in the base
He has you spot check his weapons, testing them out and generally having a blast with them
Other Guardians have seen you on occasion, but very few have approached you to ask questions about the mysterious Eliksni
Variks loves it when you hold his hands, even more so when you pet his face
When you find out he can purr, it’s one of the most sought after sounds during your intimate moments, and sometimes he will purr simply to indulge you
Even if you’re an undead warrior, Variks still piles furs on to your shoulders to make sure you don’t get cold during outings
You have had to fend off assassins, often at the cost of your life
This pushes you to accept the deceptive whispers of the Pyramid, carrying you all the way to the Exo Stranger’s den
She reluctantly agrees to teach you because of your inexperience, and although neither of you say anything, you and Drifter make quick eye contact
Variks can smell the Darkness on you and is very disappointed, but he doesn’t tip off that he knows
Instead, he uses it as an excuse to put you under house arrest
He catalogues every single symptom you have that could barely begin to resemble a sickness, encouraging you to stay inside until you’re better
During the nights, you notice he holds you much more tightly against his body
You apologize for your zealousness regarding his safety
Your lessons in Eliksni continue, and soon enough you can hold your own in small conversations with him
Whenever you or Variks look at each other trying to figure something out, you both always ask about the question in your mind
Whoever is asked ends up sitting in the other’s lap, but you’ve found that it’s much more convenient to sit in his own
This exploration leads to daily petting or grooming sessions, giving way for more risque activity to take place
Nsfw 👁👄👁
Variks orients himself as a switch, but you can tell he enjoys being on the bottom a little more if his rapid breaths are anything to go by
Brushing and lightly scratching segments on his exoskeleton are immense green lights for him, especially adding just enough force to push into the seams between his limbs
He’s very gentle with his teeth, but the red marks he leaves on your body are generous from the amount of fondling he carries out
He’s perfectly fine with both of you being bare, so long as a heat source is nearby
This level of exposure allows you to feel every rumble, trill, and moan straight from his chest and you can’t deny just how hot it is to have an entire alien making these noises because of you
He delivers plenty of foreplay, always giving you the option to back out of it
With your size difference, you have to work to move up and down his body when you’re both laying down
One of his favorite things is when you drag your teeth along his neck or chest, no real threat of harm but an undeniable thrill for him
He may start slow, but towards the end? You’re better off simply letting him take care of you the next day
Fluff
After particularly tedious days, you will pull him into your shared room and pepper his face with kisses
Whenever he wants to nap, he selectively chooses your lap so you can massage his back or his forehead
Following the official announcement of your relationship, Zavala finally submits and gives you full permission to stay stationed on Europa, at the price of lengthy field reports at the beginning of every month
Variks, of course, teases you while writing these papers
He’ll correct a mistake you made way back in the paper, laughing quietly in the back of his throat as you fume at the obvious inaccuracy
Besides Vanguard papers, you’ve taken it upon yourself to make him a new arm
You decide to gift it to him once the Dawning starts
Note: I leave some of my handcanons open ended for more ideas, and yes, I am aware they are more like one shot/hc hybrids, but hey, take it as an invitation to ask me to actually write out the whole thing. I will not write out explicit nsfw unless asked, and if I am asked, it will always be gratuitous and extremely detailed ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Finals are eating my timbs tho, so I’m currently attempting to study for these hellspawn
