A/N: Just a quick and dirty one shot written in less than three hours and no beta. It was inspired by a wonderful piece of artwork by the same name of the O/S found on deviant art by Savvid. Savvid makes excellent comics and fan art of the ME world so be sure to check out her whole profile but in particular this piece of work which she kindly allowed me to use for this one shot: (all the w's) .com (forward slash) gallery (forward slash) 41186659# (forward slash) d588qvv
This one too!: (all the w's) .com (forward slash) gallery (forward slash) 41186659# (forward slash) d4plra6
(Just inscase that doesnt work, cos I suck at linking on this site, type in Savvid in deviant art's search box and then go to the pieces called Shepard, you are in love & Harrassment n.10 Learning the Alphabet)
This is her Shepard, and very different to mine but oh so fun to write. ME2 - Colonist, Sole Survivor, Renegon. Enjoy :D
BioWare owns all of this shit. I'm just taking the characters out for a spin.
Shepard, You Are In Love.
Jane shifted her weight impatiently. The urge to stamp her foot childishly against the floor was growing, but instead she just settled for smashing her thumb at the control panel. This was the sixth time she had been stuck in this stupid box. Six torturously slow elevator rides in an hour. It was unbelievable that the Normandy, the most advanced ship in the fucking galaxy, had no stairs and only one speed setting on this cursed metal prison. Obviously the Cerberus asshole who had been in charge of the elevators had a grudge against anyone who needed to be anywhere in a hurry.
"Come on," she muttered under her breath and stabbed at the button again. She was a little surprised that she hadn't broken it. It had taken a considerable battering today. It did not respond at all to her violence and continued to drone its way upwards at a snails pace.
"Future my ass! Why do elevators still exist anyway?" Jane snarled at the silver doors in front of her. They did not reply, in fact the whole carriage gave a little shudder and if possible ascended even slower. The next time she got the Illusive Man on the comm they were going to have serious words about this shit.
"I see you're feeling moody today Siha," Thane commented from her left. She felt him step closer to her, not needing to look to know he was now within touching distance. It was ridiculous just how aware of him she had become over the last few months. She knew if she shuffled back half a step she would be leaning against his chest. The temptation was there but Jane squashed it. She was too frustrated for even Thane to distract her.
"I just hate elevators," Shepard sighed, crossing her arms over her front. From now on everyone who wanted to talk to her could get off their asses and come to her, she decided. She began to tap her foot against the floor. At least there wasn't any horrible 'easy listening' music like in the elevators back on the Citadel.
"Seriously this thing is like some shitty load screen on a vid game," Jane moaned as they rose slowly from engineering to the crew deck. She sensed Thane shifting behind her and chanced taking a half step forward. Jane wanted to stay angry at the world and the distinctive smell of leather behind her was starting to make that awfully difficult.
Thane, however, had other plans.
"Hmmm." He had followed her, making the gap between them completely nonexistent. She felt the vibration of that noise through the thin cotton shirt covering her back. Jane's eyes widened as the Drell unexpectedly leant over her shoulder and pressed his full lips against her cheek. The kiss was chaste and sweet, two things that had never been used to describe Commander Shepard, and definitely two things she did not actively seek out.
Yes it was sappy, corny even, but once the shock of it had worn off, Jane found herself actually liking this impromptu romantic gesture. If anyone else ever tried to pull this crap on her she would have let her displeasure be known in increasingly painful ways. But coming from Thane it was…nice. Very nice in fact. Jane felt her shoulders relax a little; her fingers untwisted themselves from the tight balls they had been clenched into. She let loose a little sigh as his mouth left her skin.
Thane's breath tickled across the her now hyper sensitive skin, his nose skimming lightly along a cheekbone, breathing her in. He paused at her temple for a moment and her whole body was on high alert although she somehow managed to keep staring at the doors in front of her and her hands firmly across her body. Fingers brushed away a few stray strands of hair that had escaped her bun.
"I hope that makes it a little better," his voice was right in her ear and dammit he knew what that did to her. She remembered a few nights ago when she had forced him to learn a bit of English just so she could listen to him speak for hours on end. With the translators off she had even managed to trick him into learning a few swear words. That exploration hadn't lasted long though because the second the word 'fuck' had slipped out his mouth she had silenced him with a kiss and then some.
Cool fingers found their way under her shirt, touching the skin at the small of her back bringing her very much back to the present. Jane fought the absurd urge to shiver. The assassin chuckled, his lips brushing against the sensitive shell of her ear. He was fully aware of her reaction to him. Goosebumps had erupted over the skin where his fingertips traced meaningless shapes. He pulled back and shot her a smug smile. Jane's face felt so hot she was sure she could fry an egg on it if she wanted to.
At that moment the elevator pinged and the doors slid open soundlessly. The rush of cool air from the crew deck felt icy against Shepard's overheated skin. She was vaguely aware of a dopey smile on her face as Thane stepped around her. He looked as composed as ever and Jane well…didn't.
"I'll see you later, Siha," he said to her, before leaving the elevator without a backward glance.
"Sure," Jane croaked out before hastily clearing her throat. Without permission her fingers touched her cheek where his lips had just been. She could still feel the warmth there. As the Drell exited and the last thing Jane saw before the doors shut was a wonderful view of his strong back with every muscle showing through the tight leather he was so fond of. Later better be soon. That jacket would be hitting the floor of her cabin so fast, followed swiftly by pants and then-
Jane was knocked out of her fantasy by a vibration to her left. A vibration, which turned into a humming. Followed by a snort. Then a poorly disguised cough. She glanced at the Turian next to her who up until now had been completely silent through the whole elevator trip. Now he was shaking, actually shaking, with suppressed laughter.
Garrus had served with Shepard for a long time. Long enough that he knew her very well. And he had never seen her like this. Shepard didn't sigh wistfully; her voice did not come out as little more than a squeak. And she definitely did not blush.
This was Commander Fucking Shepard. The woman who had no problems tossing mercs out of windows or head butting Krogans midsentence just to shut them up. And yet here they were and Garrus was witnessing the impossible. Shepard was actually swooning over a guy.
It was nothing short of fucking hilarious.
He could see her in his peripheral vision, face bright pink, which he had learned only happened when Humans were embarrassed. Surely the result of the kiss. But then again, the way she had stared after Krios as he left the elevator…
Garrus' shaking intensified. The Turian stared straight ahead for as long as he could, knowing if he so much as looked at the small Human next to him it would all be over. He didn't last long. Garrus couldn't help but to sneak a peek at his ominously silent Commander. One glance at her still flushed cheeks and that was all it took. Garrus, for lack of a better word, exploded. His laughter was so loud it echoed inside the tiny elevator. Jane ground her teeth, hand pulling way from her still pink cheek and curling into a fist.
"What's so funny, Vakarian?" she growled, biotics flaring making her fist glow. Garrus didn't see the threat; he was too busy holding onto the wall for support, eyes screwed shut as he continued to laugh at her.
"You are blushing, Siha," he choked out, throwing Thane's pet name back at her with delight. He pushed off the wall and gave her a Turian approximation of what Jane would call a shit eating grin.
"You are so in love," he teased further. Garrus threw his head back, holding onto his sides as he continued to laugh at his Commander's expense. That was the last straw for Jane though.
"Oh yeah?" she snarled at him, summoning a kick of biotics into her fist. Garrus didn't even reply, clearly unaware he had seriously pissed off an already frustrated Spectre while trapped in an enclosed space. Jane let her fist snap forward with a huge burst of biotic power. Her blow smashed into the Turian's right mandible, snapping his head back with a cry. The noise of laughter turned into a grunt of pain was pleasantly satisfying. Not to mention the loud crunch from Garrus' jaw on impact.
"Ow!" Garrus exclaimed loudly, clutching at his face with a talon. A trickle of blue blood dripped from his mouth.
"I am not!" Shepard all but shouted at him. Her face was still red but for a completely different reason now. Thane had left her flustered and on edge, Garrus had been laughing at her and she was still stuck in this goddamn fucking elevator. All in all that didn't put the Commander in a particularly good mood.
Neither did lying to her best friend about her feelings about…whatever her and Thane were. They hadn't figured out the exact terminology yet. Regardless she was Commander Shepard, and Commander Shepard did not go all gooey and soft over a guy. At least not in front of Turians who did not know how to hold their tongues.
"That hurt my manly feelings," Garrus whined, wiping away the small smear of blood on his chin.
"Shut up!" Jane did shout this time, biotics flaring up again.
"At least you didn't hit the pretty side of my face," Garrus said as he rubbed a talon over the scar tissue that disfigured half his face. The blow had been strong, even given his natural armor. Garrus wondered weather or not it would be wise to wear his battle armor around the ship from now on instead of civvies.
"I can arrange it if you'd like," Jane threatened, eyebrow quirked. Garrus huffed out a laugh and shook his head.
"No thank you," he replied and fell silent. For about thirty seconds. Then Garrus stepped right into her personal space wrapped an arm around the waist of a very startled Jane and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Siha."
Some people never learned.
Kelly Chambers heard the commotion before the doors behind her opened. There was a loud scuffle followed by a scream of frustration and finally an extremely high-pitched yelp of pain. So when the doors did open and the Commander stormed into the CIC, still glowing with biotics followed by a hobbling Garrus, Kelly made sure to stay well out of their way. Garrus limped past the Yeoman, wincing with every step. He grabbed onto the galaxy map handrail for support as soon as it was in reach, pride be damned.
"Seriously Shepard that was below the belt. Literally," Garrus groaned, leaning against the railing. Jane didn't bother to look at her best friend as he sat down heavily on one of the steps leading up to the map. She switched on her personal terminal, feeling much better than she had two minutes ago.
"What can I say? Act like a dick Vakarian and that's where I'll kick you."