Mass Effect: Interlude
Written by Humbleguy
Edited by Silverrose208
(Takes place between the destruction of sovereign and the death of commander John Shepard. This is my first fan fiction, but please be open with any criticisms.)
He had won. He had beaten Saren, Sovereign, and the geth. Yet John Shepard still was still on the move. He still had one enemy to face. One that was just as dangerous if not more so. He had been stalking it from a distance. He needed it to become separated. His only chance was to corner it and even then it would not be an easy fight. After several minutes the figure began to make it's way to an elevator on the far side of the room.
He moved quickly and silently on his prey. His timing was perfect. They both entered the elevator at the same time. She didn't noticed him until it was too late.
"Skipper" Ash stated plainly.
"Chief" He responded in the same tone.
They both stepped onto opposite sides of the elevator. The sluggish elevator door was taking its sweet time closing. His eyes wandered to her. He couldn't help but admire her hips, her tan skin(a rarity when serving in space), and her delicate face. She raised an eyebrow. Shit, he inwardly cursed himself. She had caught him staring.
When they got about halfway to the CIC he hit the emergency stop button and positioned himself on the elevator wall across from her. Ash didn't move, she didn't flinch, for a second it didn't even look like she was breathing.
"We need to talk." He finally broke the silence, looking at the ground to avoid her gaze.
"Oh? What about?" She said smirking. He sighed to himself. She wasn't going to take him seriously, not after she caught his lingering eyes.
"I can't do this Willia-" he started
"You can stop a rogue spectre, an army of geth, and a genocidal warship, but you can't be with me?" she cut him off mid-sentence. It was a fair point. One that he had considered before coming to talk to her.
He changed the subject. "Ash, we're back with the alliance now. And the alliance has rules about this shit."
She stared at the ground for a few moments then returned her gaze at him. His eyes were glued on the floor trying not to acknowledge her. But she took a step forward and his resolve wavered. His eyes betrayed him and channeled all his affection for her into her own eyes. Look away he cursed himself. But each step she took seemed to further lock his eyes to her. She stood inches from him, when she finally stopped her advance. It took every fiber of his being to restrain himself from her. She let out a small laugh at his effort, and a smirk spread across her face. Before he could stop her, Ash's arms shot around the back of his head and pulled her lips to his. He lingered before pushing her back towards the other side of the elevator. "Skipper you're not getting rid of me that easy." She said determined to stand her ground.
He knew she wouldn't be deterred by something as small as regs. But this wasn't about her feelings for him, or his for her.
"Williams, you know as well as I do that if the alliance get wind of this. Your military career will be over!" His tone was harsh and desperate. "You're throwing away everything you've worked for! Everything your father worked for!"
"I know the risks, Shepard! and I sure as hell don't need you to protect me." She barked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. He sighed, he shouldn't have mentioned her father. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.
"I know that, Williams. But I'll be damned if I don't want to." He spoke softly and she seemed to forgive him for what he said. she placed a hand on his shoulder. But he shook it off.
"Williams, you're going to get hurt. There isn't any other way this is going to end. I wish I could do this, I honestly do. But I've only come this far by having nothing to lose." He tried not to look at her as he spoke.
"Then let me give you something to fight for." She said reaching for his face. She tried to kiss him again but he caught her and slammed her into the wall on his left.
"God damn it, this isn't a game, Ash!" He hissed, fighting, and failing, to keep his frustration in check. He watched helplessly as Ashley winced, her gaze returning to the floor between them. They were both quiet for several seconds. He rubbed his forehead, his chest tightening at the realization that those were the exact words he'd said to her before they last made love. He cursed under his breath, unnerved by the obvious hurt he had caused her, and further unnerved that she would so plainly allow him to see it.
At the prompt, she quietly looked up at him again, her brown eyes full of a gentle pleading. Something had changed.
"This isn't an act, Shepard-" she replied simply, her voice assuming the soft tone she often favored when reciting poetry. As her lips began to close the gap between them, she added, "-but you'll learn."