James knocked back three shots to the beat of the music and slammed each glass down on Purgatory's bar counter. He shook his head violently, trying to subdue the burn of alcohol in his throat. He'd had a rough couple of days. He still couldn't believe some of the things he had seen at Grissom Academy. If Garrus hadn't hit that Phantom with a concussive shot on time, he would probably be dead. Shore leave came like a gift from God. Although it had actually been Shepard who told him to take a night off and have some fun.

So he came here, as usual. Purgatory. Tame by Omega-standards, but there was plenty of action here that could make him forget the horrors he had faced. At least for a couple of hours. He ordered another drink. His fitness and high tolerance made it difficult for him to get wasted. And that had been his main reason for coming here.

James leaned against the counter as he had another shot of tequila. The lower bar wasn't as vibrant as the dance floor above, but there was still some action going on. Next to him, a batarian was getting drunk, likely also trying to forget. James understood all too well. His race was nearly annihilated, and mutated into cannibalistic Reaper shock troops. His family was most likely dead; his home destroyed. Three female turians and one lucky volus were getting their groove on near the steps, while some Alliance marines were talking about their latest missions. A couple of human diplomats were seated at the tables on the right, each of them an asari Maiden on their lap. James grinned. Even with the prospect of total annihilation, the galaxy's oldest profession thrived. He couldn't blame the diplomats. It was Valentine's Day after all. And true romance was harder to come by than credits.

People came and went at the bar. The batarian passed out and was carried away by a krogan bouncer. A hanar came, to preach about the Enkindlers. James had half a mind to tell him they had one on board the Normandy, but the hanar was scared away by the salarian barkeeper before he could do so. He noticed a human girl and an asari making out a couple of feet away from him. James watched the spectacle for a while, when he suddenly heard a voice next to him shouting in an omni-tool.

"And tell Prangley that if he dies before I get back, I'll make sure his corpse will serve as a cannibal's right arm!" She had a firm voice, one that immediately struck his attention. He eyed her.

Pretty, James thought. She had a rough look. Her skull was shaved on the sides and at the back, but she sported a long, black ponytail that went down her scarred, tattooed neck. At second glance, her revealing clothing showed tattoo's all over her body, which was a work of art. Her small leather jacket was wrapped tightly around her shoulders. It probably couldn't even close, despite her small breasts which were barely covered up with a deep-cut half t-shirt. Her lips were dark red, and her eyes... James didn't even know how to describe them.
Scratch that. This girl is smokin'! Don't I know her from somewhere?

Then he remembered. The punch to Shepard's face, which he had laughed heartily at. The shattered glass. Cerberus troops flying everywhere. This was the woman from Grissom Academy. Jack. Subject Zero.

When he had first seen her on Grissom Academy, James thought she was hot. When she punched Shepard, he had developed a little crush. He hadn't expected to see her again, though. For some reason he felt like Cupid had just shot an arrow in his ass. He looked at her as she leaned against the counter a couple of feet away from him. He subtly inched closer, until she eventually noticed him. She threw him a dirty look, but James didn't let that discourage him. He had gotten his fair share of those back in San Diego. And those nights didn't always end bad.

"Hey, aren't you the chick from Grissom Academy?" He said. She looked at him as if he was a turd. "The badass bitch with all the crazy biotics?" She took a couple of seconds to think. When her eyes lit up a bit, James knew she recognized him too. For some reason, that made him happy.

"I most definitely am. And you're the meathead that Shepard brought along." Meathead. Well, he could scarcely deny it. James was a bit of an iron pusher. His body was his temple. And he was proud of it.

"You got that right," he answered, playing along. "So what are you doing here?" He leaned casually against the counter. Jack did the same, feeling very much at ease.

"Paperwork shit. I hate it." She looked at him as she continued. "22nd century and you still can't do everything over the extranet. Goddamn pencil pushers always getting in the way of soldiers."

She's eyeing my pecs,James noticed.

"But I'm getting shipped back to my kids tomorrow." James thought of the biotic strike squad that she had trained at the Academy. Prangley, Rodriguez and the others... Good kids. Shepard had sent them to war as support, which was probably for the best.
"So," she said, completely switching topics, "you gonna buy me a drink, or do I have to get on my knees?"

"Can't we do both?" He said it jokingly. Banter was often the quickest way to get a woman to like you. His uncle had taught him that.

"Not while I'm sober, that's for sure," she retorted, raising her eyebrows while looking at him from head to toe.

James grinned. "As if you're not enjoying the show right now..." He flexed his pecs, which was visible through his shirt. He held up two fingers for the salarian bartender, who nodded and grabbed a pair of glasses and a bottle.

Jack snorted, but kept a straight face. "You're quite full of yourself, for a douche who's got bigger boobs than me."

"Hey, I haven't heard complaints yet."

"You look like you could start lactating any second now."

"Only one way to find out. Who knows, you may find these to be something... right up your alley." He patted himself on the chest. Jack rolled her eyes, but he could swear he saw the slightest of grins on the edge of her mouth. James took the two shots the bartender had put on the counter, and offered one to her. When she took it, he noticed the letters on her right-hand fingers spelled out D-E-A-T-H. Nice.

"Here you go, you look like you need a... stiff one."

The pun wasn't lost on her. "Fuck you, retard." She gulped it down, and slammed it down on the table, just like James did. This was his sixth drink by now and he finally started to feel the effects. Earth-brewn, best in the galaxy. Jack didn't look like she was about to slow down, though.

"So you're the famous Subject Zero, huh?" James said as he motioned for the bartender keep their glasses full. "After the stories I heard, I always thought you were bigger."

"Yeah, I bet you get that a lot too, from women. After you've taken your pants off."

Well, that was quick.

"Let's not even go there."

"What's the matter, mister roidrage? You wanna talk tough or not? I'm just getting started."

Mister roidrage. Funny. Normally, it was him who came up with the nicknames.

"Words are cheap. One look is worth a thousand of them." He intentionally looked at her breasts, so she would surely notice.

"Wow, you're a chivalrous white knight, aren't you?"

"More like the destrier underneath. But that's okay, you're not exactly a damsel in distress either. I've seen the way you kick ass." Jack grinned at that and picked up her shot, knocking it back. James did the same. His vision was getting blurrier, but he wasn't drunk just yet.

"What happened to buying a girl a drink, then taking her for dinner, going to see a movie, meet the parents and all that shit?" She kept looking at him. Very personal. James was in awe. He had known many girls. Some shy ones, some with balls. But this one was on a whole other level.

"Do you wanna?"

"Are you retarded?"

"I must be, for wanting to hook up with Subject Zero, baddest bitch in the known galaxy."

"Many before you have tried." She looked at James' massive frame, from shoulder to shoulder. She raised an eyebrow. "Suppose you get lucky tonight. Are you sure you could keep up with me? You don't look very mobile."

"Hey, with a gun like mine, who needs to move?" Just like a Mako.

"I thought you didn't even want to go there."

"I didn't want to spoil the surprise. Besides, you look rather frail. "

"Looks can be deceiving. I could crush that thick neck of yours with a flick of my wrist."

She wasn't wrong, James knew. He rubbed the traps on his upper back with his hand. "What, and destroy this thing of beauty? That would be a shame."

Jack snorted and had another shot of tequila. "Your alpha male act isn't going to work on me, moron. You're not even close to the top of the food chain."

"I know."

"Then why are you acting like bull on testosterone?"

"Because it's Valentine's Day, and I've seen enough death and violence to last a lifetime. And you're by far the hottest chick in this joint." All true.

Jack rolled her eyes again, and nodded over his right shoulder, in the direction of the club's asari Maidens. "No fan of the little blue dancers?"

"Nah. I prefer someone who could... crush my neck with a flick of her wrist." Usually, James had always been the physically dominant in any kind of relationship. But muscle mass meant little next to biotics. And this one was supposed to be as powerful as any asari matriarch.

Jack grinned at his remark. "Oh, you want me to be your dom? I could do that. Never took you for the submissive type, though. But spending too much time with Shepard does that to you, I guess." Visions of Jack in a latex bodysuit and him on a cross getting whipped flashed through his mind. It didn't repulse him as much as he had thought it would.

"Maybe," he answered. "But I like Shepard. He's a great soldier." He meant it. He looked up to the man, always had. If he ever had any hero, Shepard would be it.

"Pfsh," Jack let out, taking another shot of tequila in her hands. "A naive goody two-shoes who gets lucky from time to time." She drank it. James had another one as well. He had to be careful, or he was going to have a serious hangover come morning. "Is he still crying over that gunnery chief he left behind when he got the Normandy blown up, died and joined Cerberus?"

James grinned. "You mean Lieutenant-commander Williams? She's back aboard the Normandy."

"That must make him soooo happy." Jack rolled her eyes. For the first time, not at him. "When I was there, every time the topic of sex came up, he started acting like a douche gone sour. Didn't stop him from ogling that Cerberus bitch. Hypocrite."

"I'd rather ogle you." Smooth, Vega. Real smooth.

"You're just trying to get into my pants, dickhead."

"You're already talking to him?" He looked down at his pants. "You're gonna be the best of friends before the night is through, I just know it."

Jack laughed, and gave him a playful shove on the shoulder. "You do know how to chat up the ladies, don't you?"

"Hey, years of practice." James shrugged, as if it was his second nature.

"Did your mom like it when you spoke to her like that?"

My mom... James didn't know what to say. Too many painful memories of his family. Jack grinned. "Hit a snare there, did I? We all got those."

James felt a bit of anger in his gut. "You get off on that? Toying with people?" He noticed his tone was icy. The alcohol was making it difficult to control his emotions. But much to his surprise, Jack leaned in closer, and whispered in his ear. Her hot breath made the hairs on his neck stand up in revived excitement.

"I just might."

James felt a hot rush surge through his entire body. "Well, I wouldn't mind looking for your snare."

Jack grinned devilishly. Those eyes...

"Then let's get the fuck out of here, why don't we?" She took him by the hand, pulling him along. This night had just gotten a lot more interesting.

XXX_XXX_XXX

When Shepard's call came, James woke up. He blinked, and the first thing he saw was Jack standing next to the bed, watching him. She was still naked. Nothing but skin and ink. James reveled at the sight. He tried to get up as well, but felt a stiff pain in his lower back and shoulders. Grunting, he finally managed to get to his feet. The motel's mattresses were thin, but that wasn't the cause of his back-ache this morning.

Jack seemed to be amused by this. "Sore, pretty boy?" she asked, crossing her arms and covering up her chest.

"Holy crap, yeah." He rubbed his lower back and took his pants off the floor. "I thought I was in good shape, but you... Those mass effect fields, I..." Thinking back of it, he was out of breath all over again. He had never encountered someone who could do that!

"Yeah, yeah." She waved her arm, dismissing his statement. "Don't flatter me too much. You did good, kid. You did good. Now get the fuck out of here, duty's calling. For the both of us."

James' heart sunk for a bit, but he knew she was right. He put on his clothes, and read Shepard's message again, telling them that the Normandy was all ready to go. He walked to the door, but stopped and turned back. Jack was inspecting her fingernails and looked up as she saw him standing in front of the door.

"So, we gonna see each other again before...?" He couldn't finish his sentence.

"Before what?" Jack seemed to have little patience this morning. Maybe she was always like this. Or maybe she was just scared of relationships.

"The end of the world?"

Jack seemed to consider it for a moment, but then simply shrugged. "Maybe. If it's saved. That'll be up to you and the King of the Boy Scouts, I guess."

"Not just us..." James thought of all the allies they still had to find. Of all the people that still had to be saved. Of Jack and her students. "Suppose it's saved, though," he wondered out loud. "What are you gonna do? Settle down?"

"I don't wanna talk about that," she said immediately. James' comment had visibly upset her. She avoided his eyes and slightly pursed her lips. He grinned.

"Seems like I found your snare." It was meant as a playful remark, in the spirit of last night, but it simply upset Jack further. She flared up in a blue-ish hue and knocked James off of his feet with the greatest of ease, shouting at him.

"Screw you, asshole. Now you're just starting to piss me off. Don't push your luck, or I'll push you out of the goddamn window." She gave a pull with her biotics, and the door opened. "Now get out of here!"

Disheartened, James stepped through the door, which was closed immediately behind him. He sighed deeply, shaking his head. All of a sudden, he noticed he had a bit of a headache.

Come on, Vega, you should've seen this coming. She's bad news. You're a soldier. Married to your Mattock and Claymore.

He started walking. But from there right until Esteban greeted him in the shuttle bay, he couldn't stop thinking about little Blue Meanie.

A/N: Many thanks to the wonderful Osage, for beta-reading this one-shot; and to you, the reader. I hope you enjoyed it.