James leaned on the railing next to Elara, looking out at the windows. He let out a long, low whistle.
"Nice view. But this place…" he shook his head. Gripping the rail, he leaned back and looked over at his commander. "It is not what I'm used to."
She quirked a brow at him, still leaning over the rail. "What are you used to, then?"
He shrugged. "I grew up on the beach on the Pacific. So, you know: water, sand… real air."
A brief moment of quiet settled, Elara merely nodding a moment as she looked back out the window. James watched her, studied her as her eyes flicked back and forth over the vibrant moves of life going on outside the apartment. When she moved to look back at him, he quickly averted his gaze.
"You miss it?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "And the people…"
The sudden giggle at his side caused his focus to slip; eyes snapping back to Elara.
"So what's her name?"
"What? No!" He shook his head, looking away again. "No… I stopped…" he hesitated, sucking in a deep breath. "Fraternizing when I joined the military. The two don't seem to go well together." Where the hell did that come from? James stifled a groan at his own stupidity. Too late, time to go with it.
Elara shifted beside him, pushing off the rail and folding her arms across her chest.
"Is that so? Sure hasn't stopped you from being a shameless flirt."
He coughed, trying to hide his knee-jerk reaction of a odd choking sound. A moment later, he shrugged.
"That's just my way. I don't mean anything by it, Lola."
He chanced a look at her out of the corner of his eye. She hadn't budged, but her eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Uh-huh."
He swallowed, shifting back away from the rail. Time for a different strategy.
"Why?" he asked, finding more strength in his voice than he expected. "Am I making this hard for you and Garrus?" A smirk twinged his lips now, satisfied with his deflection. At first.
Elara began to laugh, relaxing and shaking her head. "Not even remotely."
And that was not even remotely the answer he had been hoping for. He felt something in his gut flutter as he looked down and away. Then, as per seemed the norm anymore around Elara, his brain wandered off without him.
"Hey," he drawled out. "How do you two... I mean, is he-" he hesitated, waving his hands around. "You know… do turians have all the same...?"
Unable to stop the train wreck now, James just began to gesture vaguely as he watched Elara and hoped for her reply. Something, anything to derail this growing problem of embarrassment.
"James?" she asked. He stopped, looking up at her and trying not to look sheepish. One brow of hers tipped upward. "Are you trying to invite yourself to watch?"
All color drained from his face then, no matter how much he wished to keep his cool. "What!" He could swear his hands were beginning to shake. "No… no, don't be… why would you? I mean…"
"Relax, James, I'm just teasing."
He let out one long, relieved breath. Not that he disliked the idea of being with Elara, hell it bothered him every damn day, but add Garrus to that mix? He'd have to be completely loco to seriously consider that.
Elara cleared her throat gently, shifting in place. "So did you really come up here to talk about my personal life?"
His eyes snapped open wide. "Oh, shit. Right! I wanted to you…"
All awkwardness suddenly washed away, James stepped back and spun as he whisked his shirt over his head. He looked over his shoulder at her, a grin on his face to finally show off the tattoo she'd seen him getting.
"What do you think?"
Silence pervaded, the awkwardness returning. Twisting around with mild surprise and concern on his face, he saw Elara averting her gaze aside. There was a light rosy color to her cheeks and a smug grin spread rapidly across his face. James crossed his arms across his chest, rocking back and forth from his heels to his toes, suddenly far more confident.
"See something you like, Lola?"
Her brow furrowed as she placed her hands on her hips. "I liked that tattoo," she answered. Her tone far calmer than he'd anticipated. Shame. "Looks good," she added with a nod. "And you've earned it."
Elara's hands dropped as she turned and put one on the railing. Her eyes skimmed past him and out to the windows. "Now the real work begins, right?"
Swallowing his disappointment, James nodded. "Exactly." He tugged his shirt over his head, tucking it back in as he continued. "And I heard what you said before, and I'm in. Cien por ciento."
She was smiling at him when he looked back at her. A warm, genuine smile. One of those rare treasures anymore. His heart skipped a beat at the sight.
"Glad to hear it." Her voice was soft, distant almost. She rubbed at her forearm, looking down at his feet.
Giving his shirt one final tug to straighten it out, James nodded slowly. "That was it. Just wanted to show you that bad boy." His grin returned, a quick flash as he started to turn away. "I gotta get back to the Normandy. Esteban wants my help working on the shuttle."
Elara's eyes drifted up, that smile still on her lips. "Thanks for coming by, James."
"Any time, Lola." He turned to head down the steps. Reaching the bottom of the steps he looked up at where she leaned over the railing. "Hasta la vista, Shepard."
A/N: This one, while I liked it on a whole, it really didn't end up being what I was going for in the vibe of the story. Sure there's fun awkwardness... it just didn't end up sitting the way I had hoped by the time I finished it. But, it's still relevant to the overall story of Elara and James and I thought it deserved to be shared c: