Okay, so here's the thing. This story takes place in the ME3 universe, after the mission on Mars and Palaven. It starts when Shepard visits Kaidan in the hospital when Miranda sends her an email she wants to see her. That's where we start. Feedback is appreciated of course! And one more thing; this story is co-written with the talented ElCapitan18. You can find her on Deviantart.
-X-
James Vega usually wasn't the type to complain, especially not to his superior officer. He understood obedience and could appreciate the importance of self-discipline. He liked to believe he was a good soldier, skilled, brave, maybe even a little reckless. He could remember his former Captain telling him, "There's a thin line between bravery and idiocy." He and that line went way back.
Yet, all of the obedience and self-discipline in the world couldn't have stopped him from voicing his outrage; and at his superior officer, the legendary Commander Shepard, no less.
Something had snapped inside of him when she told him they had to leave Earth to gather the galaxy's forces. He couldn't stay silent and be the good, obedient marine, not at that moment; so he yelled and demanded they go back to save whatever could be saved.
Before that, he'd never really understood why people were intimidated by Jane Shepard. He had spent the last six months babysitting the woman, and it was more than enough time for him to realize that his idol was human, nothing less and nothing more.
And then she whipped around to face him, her angry, glaring eyes burning the skin off his bones. Suddenly he understood her intimidation. She roughly jabbed her finger into his chest, almost making him stumble back. That was the first time she'd ever yelled at him, and the first time he let a matter drop so quickly. Now it clicked with him why people feared the Commander. Hell, even the Major fell silent at the sound of her biting tone.
That had been a few days ago, and to say that he was feeling bad was an understatement. He'd had time to cool off, and had thought a lot about apologizing for his informal behavior; but whenever he found the courage to go to the Commander and speak, she would be holed up in in her cabin, going over reports, or discussing some mission related with the crew. It was never the right time and with every hour that passed he felt more and more like crap.
He followed Shepard through the docking area until they parted ways. She had business to attend to, and he had an apology to formulate. Strolling toward the docking bay facing windows, James leaned forward onto the railing and sighed. He'd never been great at apologies; a trait he must have inherited from his absentee father.
Shifting awkwardly, boredom and frustration distracted him from finding the words he'd use to let Shepard know he was sorry. He turned around, leaning his weight back on the railing to watch the people as time passed. He saw her then, the incredibly hot woman standing alone by the door.
Dios mio, James found himself gawking at the black haired beauty, and quickly averted his gaze when she caught him staring. She was a sight like he had never seen; not in real life at least, and her unexpected beauty was making him feel uncharacteristically bashful.
Swallowing the nervous lump from his throat, James peered past his brow and tried to get a better look at the woman. He started at her feet, admiring her heeled boots and the extra length they added to her already long legs. And those thighs, that ass. The temperature became unbearably hot as James' appreciative gaze lingered there for a while, taking in the shape and imagining how it might feel in his grasp. Then his eyes traveled up her narrow waist, to her perfect breasts.
Damn, James thought and swallowed hard again. He quickly lifted his eyes to study her face. Never had he been more grateful to have a woman not looking at him; both for the fact that it gave him a moment to take in more than what base male instinct filtered, and because he doubted that the superior purse of her lips ever left her face. If she knew the effect she had on him, he knew that she'd draw the sidearm holstered at her waist without any hesitation.
She had pale skin that was so smooth and flawless that it reminded him of the fragile porcelain dolls his abeula used to collect back home. Her eyes were blue, the cold deep kind that warned the dullest of men to keep their distance. And her pitch black hair was long, cascading down her shoulders in glossy raven.
That woman was, James blinked at a loss of words, incredible. To say that she was attractive was an insult against God and nature, he thought with a smile on his face; a smile that immediately vanished when she felt him watching her and locked their gazes.
James was frozen into place by the sub-zero temperature of her glare. Impossibly, he felt as though he was suffering from hyperthermia and hypothermia all at once; the heat of his embarrassment and the chill of her cold blue eyes were combating over who got to kill him first.
Straightening his shoulders, James mustered his courage and forced himself forward. He ignored how her eyes narrowed with every step of his approach, and breathed deeply to keep his stomach from fluttering nervously. After the longest walk of his life, he found himself standing toe to toe with who had to be the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.
"Hi," he started nervously, then almost slapped himself upside the head at the complete idiocy of that opening line. He was James-mother-fuckin'-Vega, and he had moves. Never had he been this intimidated by a woman, not even Commander Shepard could put him in such a speechless state.
Clearing his throat he tried again, "So, I see you're the type of woman who likes something powerful in her grasp." When the woman arched an eyebrow, crossing her arms and jutting her hip to the side, he gestured to the gun holstered at her waist. "Your M-6 Carnifex. I'm more of a M-15 Vindicator kind of guy, myself. The thing's a beast; the kickback alone might break your arms."
Her glare stopped him from following up with a subtle, yet seductive, arm flex. The discrete way her expression changed was enough for him to know that he had said exactly the wrong thing. Her eyebrows pinched ever so slightly, and the corners of her mouth dipped just enough for him to tell that she was unimpressed, and maybe even a little offended. He remembered being better with women than this.
Before he had a chance to redeem himself, or bury himself deeper into a hole he'd never be able to crawl out of, Commander Shepard stepped back into the docking area. She noticed the two standing together and an indiscernible expression cloaked her features.
Descending the few steps to where they were standing, she joined their one sided conversation with a question. "Miranda, what are you doing here?"
"Miranda," James moved his attention from Shepard to the black haired beauty ignoring him. The name suited her; it was beautiful and strong.
Offering the commander a smile Miranda spoke for the first time, and James was immediately enchanted by her accent. "Commander, it's so good to see you."
"You too, Miranda." Shepard returned her smile with one of her own. She glanced at James who was watching their interaction intently. Her smile turned teasing as she said, "I see you've met my lieutenant, James Vega."
"Unfortunately," replied Miranda, her disinterested sneer returning as she gave James a judgemental look. "I believe we were discussing his physical superiority and my inability to handle an assault rifle without breaking my arms."
James scoffed. "Discussing implies a conversation with two participants," he rebutted. The smile he gave Miranda was apologetic. Rubbing the back of his neck he continued, "It was more me making an ass of myself."
"At least we can agree on that," stated Miranda, though the chill of her glare warmed by a degree or two.
Shepard watched the both of them for a moment, the corner of her lips twitching with something James didn't quite recognize before it was gone completely. Addressing James she said, "Vega, if you could please give me and Miss Lawson a moment."
"Sure thing, Commander," James nodded. He gave Miranda a departing smile and reached out his hand to her. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lawson."
Her eyes remained cold on his. Without saying anything or taking his hand she turned her head back to Shepard. "I couldn't get anywhere near you when the Alliance had you locked up."
It was a clear dismissal. Retracting his hand, James stared at Miranda for a moment longer before sighing in defeat and turning tail for the Normandy. His sense of male pride was more wounded in the aftermath of that woman than it had ever been by all of his past conquests combined. Those cold blue eyes of hers just had a way of tearing down all his bulk and charm and making him feel so tiny she could easily crush him under her heel.
He could hear her and the Commander talking as he left, Miranda's sensuous voice easing into his ears and resonating deep inside of him. James sighed and shook his head. He made a real mess out of that one. Beautiful, he glowered, just beautiful.
-X-
Stepping out on the docking area, Miranda carefully scoped her surroundings, locating the exits and any possible threats as she waited for the Commander to cross her path. She knew that Shepard was on the Citadel, the Normandy could be seen through the expansive windows.
She was risking much by being at such a public place alone with no one to back her up. Cerberus could jump out of any corner any second and threaten her; but she was always prepared for a fight. Comforted by her favourite M-6 Carnifex holstered at her waist and her ready biotics, she would face whatever was stupid enough to attack her.
Leaning her weight on a hip, Miranda inspected the perimeter again, this time noticing the bulky man in Alliance fatigues staring at her from across the way. With a roll of her eyes, she went back to watching her surroundings. Miranda was used to this kind of attention; having the perfect body, she understood why men (and some women) craved her. Unfortunately for them, she wasn't the type of woman who would pick just anyone. The man across the room could be the most attractive man in the room, but if he had no brains, he could do them both a favor and just leave her alone.
With a sigh she turned her gaze towards the hallway that led to the Huerta Memorial hospital. Shepard could be visiting the Major now, she thought knowing that he was recovering from some serious injuries obtained on a mission a few days ago. So she decided to wait for a few more moments before she would take her leave.
Something made her turn her head back and she froze when she spotted the same muscular marine walking towards her. His features were warm with what she guessed was a smirk on his face.
Their eyes locked and with every step he took she became more and more tense. She tried to warn him with her glare, to tell him to stop and ignore her. But instead he ignored her warnings and only stopped when he was toe to toe with her. At this proximity Miranda could clearly see how tall and bulky he actually was.
"Hi," he said, as if greeting an old friend.
She almost raised her eyebrows, but managed to hold her cold expression. Silently she watched as he seemed to fight an inner battle he was destined to lose. Miranda had always prided herself on how easily she could read people, and he was an open book.
Already the man was struggling and Miranda found it highly amusing to see such a tall, masculine man so uncertain and shifting nervously under her cold gaze.
"So, I see you're the type of woman who likes something powerful in her grasp." His comment caught her so completely off guard that she couldn't fight her reaction from reaching her features. She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms, before he gestured to the gun holstered at her waist.
"Your M-6 Carnifex. I'm more of a M-15 Vindicator kind of guy, myself. The thing's a beast; the kickback alone might break your arms."
Miranda kept her almost angry expression in place, hoping to scare him off before another word made it out of his mouth. Normally her expression was signal enough that she wasn't impressed, but surprisingly enough he stood his ground.
Honestly, she could almost sense his nervousness and could guess that she had hurt his manly pride, which he desperately tried to hide. Miranda could guess that he was a womanizer; the ease of his approach and how quickly he had turned to insulting her could attest to that.
Before the conversation could take another turn though her attention was swept up by the sound of someone walking down the nearby stairs. She almost sighed in relief when she spotted Shepard. Finally, she thought as her friend stopped and joined them, glancing at the heavily muscled man standing with her, before she fixed her gaze on Miranda.
"Miranda, what are you doing here?" asked Shepard while crossing her arms before her chest. She could see the man out of the corner of her eye looking back at her, his expression unfamiliar to her.
"Miranda," the way he said her name made her flinch slightly. His tone was almost adoring, and it made her chest tighten with an emotion she couldn't identify.
Tearing her attention away from him, she quickly offered Shepard a smile before she spoke. "Commander, it's so good to see you."
"You too, Miranda," Shepard glanced from her to the man before settling back on her. Miranda didn't miss the slight smirk on Shepard's face as she spoke, "I see you've met my lieutenant, James Vega."
James, she almost repeated aloud. It was a good name, a strong name. Setting her jaw, she allowed her eyes to narrow before glancing at the marine.
"Unfortunately," replied Miranda, her disinterested sneer returning as she gave James a judgemental look once over. "I believe we were discussing his physical superiority and my inability to handle an assault rifle without breaking my arms."
James scoffed and admitted after a moment that he was making an ass of himself. That made the corners of her lips twitch into a smile she didn't allow to appear. "At least we can agree on that."
There was something changing on his face, something that Miranda guessed was a smirk, again. Yes, definitely a smirk, she thought, somehow finding it harder and harder not to smile. That simper showed her that he wasn't offended by her observation; far from it. It seemed to her that he had a sense of humor that wouldn't allow his manly pride to be hurt so easily.
"Vega, if you could give me and Miss Lawson a moment."
James nodded, "Sure thing, Commander." He gave Miranda a departing smile and reached out his hand to her. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lawson."
She kept her cold gaze on him, fighting back the urge to take his hand and feel if he was as warm as he looked. Instead she raised her chin, implying that she was unimpressed by his behavior, and hoping to dissuade him from ever flirting with her again. There was something in his eyes though, something that showed her the raw determination of a marine that wouldn't give up that easily.
Miranda could guess that he'd probably never experienced such a rejection before. But the stubborn set to his brown eyes made her afraid that this wasn't going to be the last time that she saw him.
Letting out a sigh of defeat, he finally turned around and strode towards the Normandy. Once he was out of earshot, Miranda turned to Shepard in time to catch the smirk on her face; a smirk that Miranda decided to ignore, for now.
"Before I say anything...Shepard, where do you pick up these people?"
Shepard let out a laugh before she shifted slightly. Miranda could sense her amusement and it made her slightly angry.
Waving off Miranda's glare, the Commander explained, "You can't be mad at James, he doesn't mean it. He's just flirting for fun."
For fun, she thought with a pout. He thought it was fun to mess with her head and play with her emotions? He had another thing coming. "Whatever the matter, he should leave it be. The first thing you talk to a woman about should not be how she's weak and defenceless. The man said that I was incapable of wielding an assault rifle. Me, the nerve of him."
Shepard's smirk never left her lips, which Miranda found more and more annoying. "The next time I see him I'll let him know that you are Miranda Lawson, and assault rifles aren't the biggest, most powerful thing you can handle. Far from it," she assured her, her smirk growing into a grin.
Miranda approved of that with a smile of her own before she gestured for Shepard to follow her where she was sure no one could eavesdrop.