This is written by the author Sunkra © 2017. 
Don't remove the author information or make any changes 
to this story. Do not redistribute this story in any way 
without the author's explicit written permission.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
This story was written as adult fiction. Any 
similarities with any real life events and/or persons 
are completely coincidental. Described characters and/or 
events are fictional. Enjoy the story!
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This story is a fan fiction about how male Ryder and his 
Angaran lover Jaal continue after the events on Meridian.
Needless to say, this contains spoilers about the base game 
for Mass Effect: Andromeda.
This story contains: gay, emotion, romance


Ryder & Jaal: Part 1.

After finding and settling Meridian with the Hyperion’s last 
resting place, the Kett have ceased most of their activity 
within the Andromeda system and a peaceful calm seems to have 
returned. Though the Kett are not defeated and will probably 
return one day, the reprieve is a much welcomed pause in the war 
and a chance to regroup and rebuild.

The next few days have been hectic and Jonathan Ryder didn’t 
have much time for his significant other, the exotic Angaran 
named Jaal Ama Darav. Shortly before embarking on what could 
have been their last mission, the two had a romantic get 
together on Aya where they professed their love for each other, 
even though their species are literally worlds apart. Sahuna, 
Jaal’s true mother, even messaged Ryder to congratulate the two 
on their relationship and warned Ryder not to heed the words of 
the Angaran people who would find this alien match offensive. 
After all the Kett have done to the Angaran people, hatred for 
aliens has been deeply ingrained in their culture and even 
though the Andromeda Initiative has proven to be a trustworthy 
ally, mistrust and anxiety don’t fade easily.

Sahuna had also messaged Ryder that she had acquired some Earth 
cookbooks and had attempted to make pie which only had a 
lukewarm reception within their family. Feeling the time is 
right to better meet his lover’s family, Jonathan had arranged 
for some off time for himself and Jaal as they head over to 
Havarl, the tropical paradise planet where Ryder’s future 
family-in-law resides. The rest of the Pathfinder team had been 
dropped off in their vacation spots of choice, everyone having 
earned a little time to themselves. The only remaining crew were 
Kallo, Suvi and Gil, whom would take up their own time at a 
later date.

Jonathan picks up the bags of ingredients he had gathered on Aya 
and the Nexus, being the pathfinder he was allowed a few favours 
and he had requested various Earth fruits to be grown for just 
this occasion. Since he has met some of Jaal’s family on a 
previous occasion, Ryder doesn’t feel as nervous, but still the 
idea of such a large family makes him uneasy. After all, not 
every one of Jaal’s family agrees with their relationship and 
some had even joined the Roekaar, a violent anti-alien movement, 
before he and Jaal convinced them to come back.

Jaal can see his significant other getting nervous as they 
prepare to disembark the Tempest, their ship. He gently takes 
hold of his boyfriend’s waist as he smiles:”Not to worry, 
darling one. My mother loves you. And so will the others, 
eventually.”
Jonathan smiles and they reach in for a kiss, their lips locking 
for a few blissful long moments before they draw apart once 
more:”Thanks, Jaal. You always know what to say.”
The handsome Angaran smiles cheekily before they gather their 
bags, the Tempest loading door opening as they step outside. 
Ryder has instructed Kallo, Suvi and Gil that he doesn’t know 
how long they’d be gone but that it could take several days. The 
crew is allowed to venture to the nearby scientist research 
station Pelaav, as long as one person remains on the Tempest at 
all times.

The humidity and warmth of Havarl immediately assaults Jonathan 
Ryder’s senses as he sets foot on the mossy forest floor, the 
sounds of wildlife all around them and the sky a beautiful 
purple and blue as the planet seems to be in a perpetual cycle 
of twilight. He and Jaal make their way over to the Pelaav 
Research Station, briefly conversing with the present Andromeda 
Initiative scientists on their findings and advances before 
taking a shuttle to Jaal’s family home. It is strange how 
battling Remnant, Kett and Roekaar doesn’t faze Ryder at all, 
but meeting Jaal’s family for the second time is somehow 
scarier. After learning Jonathan’s mother is still alive but 
terminally ill in cryo sleep, the human’s family has basically 
shrunk down to just him and his sister. He hopes Jaal’s family 
will accept him as one of them.

Sahuna is already there when the shuttle lands, immediately 
running over to her son as she is visibly elated to see 
him:”Jaal! Jaal!”
Jaal embraces his mother and hugs her as she proclaims how happy 
she is that he returned from saving the galaxy in one piece. She 
then directs her attention to Jonathan as she reaches out her 
arms once more and embraces her future son-in-law as well:”Thank 
you for looking out for each other. I was so worried.”
Ryder returns the token of affection and smiles:”The Archon 
would’ve had to walk over my cold dead body if he wanted to get 
to Jaal.”
Sahuna blinks her eyes a little but smiles, still getting 
accustomed to human expressions as she has taken a great 
interest in learning as much about Earth culture as she can. She 
wants to make the man who makes her son happy feel as welcome as 
possible:”Good. Come inside, we’ve prepared the kitchen for your 
visit.”

Jonathan and Jaal enter the house and are immediately greeted by 
dozens of Angara, some of which Ryder recognizes from before and 
most others are completely new faces. Angaran families tend to 
grow very big since children have true parents and on top of 
that other sets of parents who cluster together. It gets quite 
complicated. Sahuna leads them to the kitchen and helps unpack 
the ingredients Ryder has brought along, many of the family 
members looking on with interested eyes as the alien shows off 
his alien fruits. When Jonathan unpacks a small box of 
strawberries, Sahuna proudly proclaims:”I know these. They’re in 
the cookbooks from Earth, strawberries.”
Ryder laughs at her enthusiasm and nods:”Yeah, that’s right. Try 
one, they’re delicious. Don’t worry, we’ve checked whether all 
of these are edible for Angara and they should be okay.”

Picking a few of the plumpest specimens, Sahuna cuts up the 
strawberries into small blocks so that the others may taste them 
as well, the Angaran visibly surprised with their flavour:”These 
are quite good. Refreshing.”
Ryder smiles and puts the rest of the strawberries aside before 
unpacking watermelons, blueberries, blackberries, kiwis and 
grapes. He explains:”We have far more variants of fruits, but 
most are grown on trees and with accelerated growth they should 
be available somewhere next year.”
The Angaran nod and seem to be taken with the different flavours 
of the exotic fruits when Ryder procures one last 
surprise:”Since Jaal and I have found each other and with our 
recent victory over the Kett, I think we should celebrate in 
typical Angaran fashion. As far as I understand, paripo fruits 
are customary when doing so.”

Ryder reveals the contents of the last bag, several paripo, 
quilloa and elmohk fruits as the Angaran family smiles. Sahuna 
looks the treats over before she hugs her future son-in-law once 
more:”This is quite generous Pathfinder. Very kind of you.”
Jonathan smiles and hugs Sahuna back:”I wanted to make sure 
there was enough for the entire family, it’s my pleasure.”
Jaal had just stood by and enjoyed the looks of wonder on his 
family’s faces as they tried the alien fruits, hoping that this 
ritual of exploration would help drive away the negative notions 
some of his family members may still hold against his boyfriend. 
He steps in when Sahuna and Jonathan start preparing the tools 
and other ingredients to properly bake Earth pies like flower, 
milk, eggs and so forth.

The two lovebirds can’t restrain themselves from giving each 
other an occasional peck on the lips as they cook, Jaal having 
taken off his Rofjinn and donning some more casual attire like 
Jonathan has. Sahuna is one waterfall of words throughout the 
process, asking many questions about Earth customs as she 
observes carefully how Ryder handles the ingredients. When Jaal 
is mixing another batch of dough for the next pie, Sahuna 
suddenly drops the bomb on them:”So. When can I expect my first 
grandchildren from you two?”
Jaal almost drops the bowl of batter as he loudly 
proclaims:”Mother!”
Baranjj and Lathoul, both brothers of Jaal, stand nearby and 
laugh loudly at their brother’s obvious embarrassment, Ryder 
feeling his cheeks redden as well:”Uhm. We haven’t really 
progressed to that step in our relationship yet.”

Sahuna smirks at her son’s discomfort as well, the Angaran 
male’s eyes shooting daggers at her as she continues:”As far as 
I understand human biology, males aren’t able to birth children. 
Will you adopt or perhaps require surrogate mothers?”
Jaal steps in before Ryder can reply:”Mother, like Ryder says we 
are not having children yet. All in good time.”
His mother just smiles:”Alright, but I’ll keep you to that. Both 
of you.”

With the pies baking in the ovens, the family retreats back to 
the living room as Sahuna plants Ryder in between her and Jaal 
on the couch. She smiles broadly as she manipulates the device 
on her arm, the holographic sphere suddenly projecting an oval 
shape of light onto the nearby wall:”I hear it’s customary on 
Earth to show new partners pictures of their lover throughout 
their life. I have a vast collection of Jaal.”
Jonathan can feel his lover shrinking in the seat next to him, 
holding up his hand to his forehead as he hides his face from 
view. His brothers and sisters can barely contain their laughter 
as picture after picture appears on the wall. It seems taking 
embarrassing pictures of your kids in the bathtub isn’t just 
restricted to the Milky Way galaxy after all, the image on the 
wall showing Jaal together with three of his brothers playing in 
the bath.

When the timer for the ovens rings, Sahuna interrupts the show 
and promises to continue at another time, beckoning Ryder to 
follow her to the kitchen. Jonathan looks aside at his 
magnificent Angaran boyfriend and sees the colouration of Jaal’s 
jowls has changed, probably their equivalent of blushing. He 
pecks a kiss on the handsome Angara man’s cheek and 
whispers:”Don’t worry, handsome. Those pictures were really 
cute. Parents embarrass their children in the Milky Way too.”
Jaal nods and smiles as he sees Ryder going off to the kitchen, 
two of his brothers immediately slapping his shoulders:”Haven’t 
seen you blush in ages, Jaal. Thought you might not be serious 
about dating this alien, but here you are.”

Jaal looks back towards the kitchen, seeing Jonathan busy with 
his mother and his sisters as they chat away. His family seems 
much better at accepting this alien into their fold than he 
expected. Perhaps the victory at Meridian has something to do 
with that. He sighs and nudges his head towards the veranda 
doors, his brothers following him as they step outside. Jaal 
leans over the railing, as do Baranjj and Lathoul, the two 
looking a bit uncertain as they’re not used to their middle 
brother being so serious:”Is something the matter, brother?”
Jaal turns towards the two and gives them a weak smile:”I’m 
overwhelmed. I never thought that after Allia… Ryder came from 
another galaxy. Travelled six hundred years to get here. And he 
chose me. I’m so humbled. He… he makes my heart sing.”

The two brothers sigh a breath of relief and grin cheekily:”Six 
hundred years to put up with your scarred face. I’d travel six 
hundred more.”
Jaal’s fingers subconsciously reach up to touch the scar Akksul 
had left him with, smirking at his teasing brothers. Lathoul 
then picks up:”Can’t say I find those aliens very attractive, 
though. The blue ones are alright, but the pink and black ones 
like Ryder… they have this fur growing out of their head and 
other places. It’s weird.”
Again Jaal smirks, thinking back to the first time he had 
explicitly asked Jonathan whether he could touch the hair on his 
head, his curiosity had gotten the best of him. Ryder had 
obliged him, in return being allowed to touch Jaal’s jowls, the 
extensions growing from his head over into his torso at the 
sides of his face. It must have been quite the sight, the two 
lovers sitting on the couch and just exploring each other’s 
heads and necks all over.

The three brothers make some more small talk before heading back 
inside, Jaal joining his lover in the kitchen as he grasps the 
handsome human around the waist and embraces him briefly with a 
kiss:”My darling one. How did the pies turn out?”
Jonathan smiles and returns his lover’s affection, touching 
their foreheads together as Sahuna looks on from the corners of 
her eyes, a broad smile of joy on her lips to see her broken 
little duckling has finally found someone to heal him. Ryder 
gestures towards the pies cooling on the kitchen island 
counter:”They seem alright enough. Never was much of a cook, 
though, so we’ll have to see.”

Jaal smiles and kisses the human’s neck, squeezing Ryder extra 
tight as his beautiful feline-like eyes then wander back over to 
his mother:”Uhm. Mother. Please excuse us.”
Sahuna doesn’t say a word, just nodding and smiling as she tends 
to the rest of the pies while Jaal guides Ryder out of the 
kitchen and towards his small bedroom. After the door closes 
behind them, Jaal sits his lover down on the bed and cannot 
withhold himself from kissing Jonathan’s lips passionately. 
Slightly surprised, Jonathan returns the affection, holding the 
side of the handsome Angaran man’s face as he closes his eyes 
and kisses back.

Continuing to smile, Jaal withdraws but his face then his 
expression grows slightly more serious once more:”Did… how was 
my family? Did anyone make a remark?”
Ryder just shakes his head:”No, sweetheart. They’ve all been 
very pleasant and understanding.”
This seems to lift Jaal’s worries as he smiles again and traces 
his fingers up and down the side of Jonathan’s face, studying 
his handsome human lover’s features. He then speaks up 
softly:”Darling one. Dearest. Amazing heart. Somehow I still 
cannot believe we are made for each other. You, born in the 
Milky Way over six hundred years travel away. Me, here on 
Havarl. Finding each other by such chance. I’m so grateful.”

Jonathan smiles and returns the soft affections by stroking his 
own fingers over all the ridges and folds of Jaal’s jowls, 
following them down to his torso:”Well, I am a pathfinder. Guess 
I found a path towards the only person in the universe who could 
make me happy.”
Jaal’s mouth curls into a broader smile, his lips finding 
Ryder’s again as they passionately kiss once more, both their 
heart rates increasing as the room seemingly turns warmer and 
warmer. Ryder pulls off Jaal’s lips and looks back at the door 
with a slightly worried look, the handsome Angaran in front of 
him turning the human’s face back:”Don’t worry. We won’t be 
disturbed.”
And then Jaal embraces his lover, only to pull him down with him 
onto the mattress as they peck kisses all over each other.

A little while later the two of them emerge back from the room, 
Ryder’s cheeks turning red as several of the present Angaran 
make teasing remarks towards Jaal and himself. Dinner is about 
to be served and all of them gather in the dining area, several 
long tables fully decked as Sahuna calls Jaal and Jonathan over 
to sit with her. Several pots with various plants and sauces are 
set on the table, everyone able to put together some sort of 
salad to their liking as Sahuna immediately speaks to Ryder:”If 
the food is not to your liking, I’ll dish up something else. I 
don’t know if humans have tasted our food before.”
Jonathan shakes his head:”That won’t be necessary, this looks 
quite delicious.”

Sahuna smiles and observes closely how Ryder gathers a bit from 
every pot and scans them separately before tasting. It reminds 
the human much of how a salad would taste back on earth, down to 
the dressing as he spoons some sauce over the leafy plants on 
his plate. He and Jaal exchange several glances and little 
smiles, the Angaran man’s hand squeezing Jonathan’s thigh every 
so often as his heart can’t contain his passion. Sahuna then 
speaks up as they eat:”I’ve read the medical and life records 
you’ve sent over. I’m so sorry to hear about your mother and 
father. Such a small family and it only got smaller since you’ve 
arrived. I hope you’ll feel at home soon.”
Ryder nods and smiles back at her:”My dad died a hero, saving me 
over his own life. My sister and I miss him every day. And mom, 
well. She’s still alive in cryo sleep, but we haven’t found a 
cure for her disease yet. We can’t risk waking her before we 
do.”

Jaal’s mother listens and nods solemnly:”I have no doubt she’s a 
wonderful woman, raising such a fine young man like yourself. 
You should bring your sister along next time, introduce her to 
the family. We’d love to meet her.”
Jonathan hesitates but then speaks up again:”Then there’s SAM. I 
know he’s not technically family or even biological, but he’s 
been a great help and support for me and everyone on the Tempest 
and the Nexus. I dare say I consider him family.”
- “Ah yes, your AI. We’ve read and heard a lot about it. 
Wonderful piece of technology.”

Sahuna then lays down her cutlery and folds her hands together 
as she rests her head on top of them, smiling cheekily at both 
her son and Ryder:”So, now that you’re together, have you 
thought about where you want to settle?”
Jonathan and Jaal look at each other and grasp each other’s hand 
as they smile, turning their gaze back at Sahuna:”Well, we 
haven’t decided on a permanent location, since the worlds around 
the cluster are still being terraformed. On top of that, my work 
work as a pathfinder is still not finished as there are so many 
more worlds with vaults out there. We have to visit them all 
still. But Jaal and I have thought about it and we’d like to 
settle on Havarl in the meantime, so that we can get to know 
each other better and I can learn more about the Angaran 
culture.”

With a warm gesture, Sahuna waves her hand towards her 
family:”Our door is always open for you two. Perhaps we’ll need 
to build some additional quarters. You know, once you get 
started on expanding.”
Jaal gives his mother a knowing look, the Angaran woman smiling 
quirkily and waving away her son’s silent objections as she 
resumes eating. Eventually time for dessert arrives and Sahuna 
asks Jonathan to help her carry the various fresh pies to the 
tables, the entire family looking on as they start cutting up 
the pastries. A few family members refuse to taste the alien 
food, these Angaran gathered at the table furthest away from 
Jonathan and Jaal. Sahuna does her best not to let it bother 
Ryder and her son and she succeeds almost perfectly, distracting 
both with the family members who do love the exotic dessert.

Apparently even the family members who were lukewarm about 
Sahuna’s attempts at pie come around and admit that it tastes 
much better than before, though nothing beats traditional 
Angaran recipes, of course. After dinner everyone retreats to 
wherever they want to be and Ryder and Jaal help clean up before 
being sat down by Sahuna again, regaling them both with more 
stories, pictures and vids of Jaal’s life. The Angaran man has 
resigned himself to just let it happen, it being inevitable and 
he’d rather have it over and done with sooner than later. A few 
more times the subject of children comes up, some times more 
subtle than others but Jaal will have none of it.

Sahuna just takes her son’s comments in stride, seemingly 
getting her jollies out of teasing him when Jaal finally stands 
up:”It’s late, mother. We should all get some rest.”
The Angaran woman checks the time and nods in agreement, so many 
questions and stories visibly still burning on her tongue but 
she swallows them:”You are right, Jaal. Goodnight you two. Sweet 
dreams.”
She hugs both of them before they retreat to Jaal’s room. Both 
of them freshen up before snuggling together on the rather small 
bed, their bodies squeezed together to fit. Jaal smiles 
apologetically:”We will need to get better accommodations, 
darling one.”
Ryder nods and pecks a kiss onto his lover’s lips, laying down 
his face on top of the Angara’s chest:”Uhu.”

Jaal has set up the projector he’s tinkered on when he was 
younger, the image of a fictional constellation floating in a 
soft blue hue through the room. They lie together quietly for a 
while, exchanging a light peck every so often and looking at the 
holographic stars when Jonathan suddenly asks:”Don’t you ever 
get… exhausted, living with so many people?”
Jaal smirks and rubs his hand over his lover’s hair, still not 
used to the feel of it:”Of course. Some more than others. You’ll 
get used to it, dearest.”
Yawning, Jonathan nods and his eyes close as he feels himself 
drift off to sleep in the arms of the person he loves:”Sweet 
dreams, my amazing Jaal.”
- “Sweet dreams, my amazing heart.”