Even as he stepped onto the familiar metallic flooring of the cargo hold, James still felt as though he were burning alive under the heat of his embarrassment. Now he had to apologize to both Shepard and to Miranda.

Miranda...he could still hear her voice with that sexy accent in his mind, still see her flawless, pale skin that seemed to glow in the the Citadel's unnatural daylight. He tried not to think about her. Instead he tried again to word a proper apology for Shepard. His focus was fleeting. No matter how much he forced his mind to think about something else, his thoughts always seemed to return to Miranda.

"Miranda," he whispered her name to himself in the rare emptiness of the cargo hold. James just wanted to feel her name in his mouth, imagining the gorgeous woman it belonged to. Her name was feminine, strong, yet he found a sweetness in it that made his chest tighten with an unfamiliar feeling.

Sighing, he realized that thinking about her would only make him more antsy. James removed his shirt and did what he always did when he had too much pent up emotion. He was going to work out until all he could think about was the pain of his sore muscles.

He shivered as his warm skin was met with the coldness of the cargo hold, raising goose bumps all over his exposed torso; reminding him of a similar feeling when her cold gaze met his warm eyes. He smirked at the recollection of the coldness in them scaring him, while also being incredibly sensual.

Something he saw in them pulled him to her. There was obvious danger in those cold blue depths, but it wasn't enough to suppress the other part of his mind that he was trying desperately to fight even now. He tried to blink back the visual of her glowing skin under his rough hands, the taste of her lips and if they might feel as soft as they looked.

Shaking the images from his mind he tucked an arm at his back, forcing himself through a more strenuous workout in attempt to occupy his mind. His dog tags clashed with the floor whenever he went down, his muscles rippling with the effort. Fixing his gaze on the floor, James completely shut out his surroundings and allowed an emptiness to settle in his mind.

He found the perfect balance of exertion and pain to keep his mind from wandering. Soon all he could hear was his own breathing and his heartbeat racing with his effort. James focused on the floor only for blue eyes to slowly appear in front of him, piercing right into his soul, disregarding his defenses.

Then his mind's eye supplied him with the image of the rest of her face, until all he could see was her. Her features were relaxed and warm, her eyes shining with what he guessed was lust. She was writhing underneath him, her lower lip between her teeth and her low moans breathing across his skin as she brought her mouth to his shoulder and-

"James," he almost fell flat on his face when he heard Shepard calling his name, effectively breaking him from his daydreams. James stood up quickly and wiped the sweat from his brow with the crook of his also sweaty arm. When he looked up he saw her staring at him with a smirk on her face. He forced his face to return the expression, pushing the thoughts of Miranda far, far away.

"Commander," he took his shirt from the floor and put it back on before giving her his undivided attention. "You came here for the show?" he teased, Shepard just rolled her eyes.

"I came here to talk, but I think I might stay for the show." James stretched his neck muscles from side to side, feeling the tension leaving them for a bit. Then he turned around to face her, the smirk still plastered on both their faces.

"Think you can dance and talk at the same time?" he expected her expression to change, or that she would be offended and yell at him for his informal behavior, again. Instead she just smirked and nodded sharply once before turning towards the middle of the floor.

"Oh I can dance," she said while lifting her hands and taking in a fighting position. James found himself almost grinning because of her reaction; he should have already guessed that Commander Shepard was the most awesome woman in the galaxy.

Their sparring started and he received a few well placed punches while he told her about his former CO, Captain Toni. He told her of Fehl Prime, how he decided to retrieve the Intel about the Collector's, abandoning the entire colony in the process. She assured him that he did the right thing, that she would have done the same; that admission made the guilt a little easier to bear.

The Commander surprised him by flipping him onto his back, knocking the air out of James' lungs. Giving him a pointed and authoritative look, she warned him that he shouldn't pull any crazy stunts while he's under her watch, and again he could hear and see why people were afraid of her. He wiped the blood from his nose and let out a sharp breath, "Thanks for the pep talk."

She leaned her hand on her waist, smirk decorating her face, "Anytime."

He smiled, she is really awesome, he thought. "Hey, thanks for the dance, Lola."

She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest, "Lola, huh?" She quirked one of her dark red eyebrows.

James shrugged his shoulders innocently but his smirk remained, "You kinda look like a Lola."

She smiled and threw her head slightly back, laughing lightly before looking back at him. "You're cute, so I let it slide. Not that I would do anything to make Miranda jealous."

James was taken aback by her comment, the color drained from his face. For a second he let his surprise show on his features before he regained his composure. "I- I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Her eyebrow arched again, the purse of her lips letting him know that she wasn't fooled. Shepard laughed lightly again as she approached him, "Come on Vega, I saw how you practically undressed her with your eyes. Don't worry, my lips are sealed." she winked and drew her fingers across her lips as if doing up a zipper.

James blinked twice, his mouth hanging slightly open as he felt his cheeks burning with an embarrassment that was becoming unpleasantly familiar to him. "Uhm...sure...whatever."

Looking away from the Commander's knowing gaze, James scratched the back of his neck. When had he become this giggling, blushing little girl? He had game, for God's sake. He was fluent in the language of love. Except when it came to Miranda, it seemed. How was it that one woman could make him feel so embarrassed when she wasn't even there with him?

Shepard laughed lightly at his expense, reminding him again of his childhood crush. Muttering some excuse about talking to Cortez before hitting the shower, she turned to leave the room; leaving James to stand there for a moment longer. He was starting to truly realize how big of a fool he'd made of himself by staring so obviously at Miranda. He used to have tact. What was happening to him?

He dragged a hand over his face, suddenly tired from the days events, and decided to have a hot shower himself. Walking over to his workstation, he picked up some fresh clothes before he made his way to the men's restroom on crew deck.

Sighing, James welcomed the pleasant sting of hot water flowing down his shoulders and back. With so few distractions to keep his mind preoccupied, thoughts of Miranda returned to him; just like he knew they would. He knew nothing about her, other than she could kill a man from frostbite with a look alone, while also being hot enough to burn her image into the back of his eyelids. And, some men would argue that it was all that he needed to know; but it wasn't. The woman piqued his interest in a way no woman had managed to do in a very long time; since he joined the military, if he remembered correctly.

When he was showered, dried, and dressed, his stomach made a growling sound, reminding him of the hours that had passed since the last time he'd eaten. Making his way to the mess he spotted Garrus also picking up food and joined him in line.

"Hey Scars," said James in greeting as he shoveled some slop onto his plate, grabbed something to drink, and followed Garrus to one of the few available tables. He put his food down on the table opposite of Garrus, smiling softly at the turian as he took his seat.

"I heard that you challenged Shepard to a dance and got your ass handed to you," commented Garrus, an amused note to his tone.

James brought a forkful of dinner to his mouth and took a bite before asking, "Already? Damn, word travels fast."

"Small ship," Garrus said by way of explanation. "Next time ask me before doing something stupid. Shepard doesn't back down from a challenge, and she hardly ever loses. If you'd come to me you would have known that. You might actually learn something from good ol' Garrus."

"As if good ol' Garrus had something to teach me," James replied with a teasing grin.

"When it comes to her I do, after all I did follow Shepard from one suicide mission to another. Mind you, not always because I wanted to." Garrus shook his head and chuckled at a vault of memories that James didn't share. "But you know Shepard. She can be pretty persuasive."

"Yeah, she can persuade you into doing just about anything." Garrus nodded in agreement and James smiled as he worked his way through the rest of his plate. "You've been with her from the beginning." He paused as an idea started to take shape in his mind. If there was one way to find out any kind of information about Miranda, this was it. "And you stopped the Collector's with her."

"Yeah that was a hell of a time," started Garrus, reminiscing about the 'old days', "Everyone thought Shepard was dead. Then two years later she appears out of nowhere. I always knew Shepard was tough, but to cheat death...that's big, even for her."

James chewed his food as he came up with another question that would lead him to the topic he was actually interested in. "Cerberus brought her back, right? And they gave her resources to stop the Collector's?"

Garrus' mandibles twitched and James wondered if he upset him in some way. James could barely tell one turian from another, let alone read their expressions. Flaring his mandibles once more, Garrus finally answered the question.

"She did what she had to," Garrus started while leaning his elbows on the table, "She found the only ally in a terrorist organization led by a mad man. She didn't work 'for' Cerberus; she used them simply to stop the Collector's, that's it."

James raised his hands in surrender. "I never said anything against her, Scars. Hell, I would've probably done the same if- you know, I cheated death and had to seek out an ally when everyone turned their backs on me." James took a deep breath and pushed his investigation further. "Who led the experiment?"

"Operative Lawson," said Liara as she joined them at the table. "Oh, wait, it's Miss Lawson now. She quit Cerberus after Shepard destroyed the Collector's base."

"Evening, Liara," Garrus greeted the asari with what James assumed was a smile.

"Evening, gentlemen." Nodding at the turian Liara offered them both a warm smile as she settled into her seat and started poking at her plate, more interested in their conversation than in eating her food. "The Lazarus Project probably would have been a failure if not for her."

Smart and good looking, James observed to himself; as if he needed any more justification to call her the perfect woman. Returning his attention to Garrus, he wondered, "What was she like?"

Garrus made a pfft sound before answering with a shrug. "She's Miranda; she gets the job done, and she gets it done right. The Cerberus crew respected and feared her, and after a while so did Shepard's crew."

James could guess the answer to his question before he even asked it. "Why would they fear her?"

A deep rumbling chuckle sounded from Garrus then. "I don't know if you've met Miranda, but she has this look-" James knew exactly the look he was talking about. "I cannot tell you how many times Shepard has gotten that look."

As Garrus laughed at the recollection, Liara tried to explain further. "Miss Lawson is a very unique and powerful woman. She's received the most extensive weapons and combat training, and has an impressive control over her biotics. Combine that with her top level education and you have a woman that could destroy an opponent physically, mentally, and emotionally."

"All women can do that," commented Garrus, taking another bite from his plate with a snicker. "Miranda can just do it better and faster." A beeping sound came from the turian's omni-tool and as he dismissed the alarm, he explained, "Look's like the glue has set on my terminal. Now I can finally get back to my calibrations."

They said their goodbyes as Garrus gathered his dishes and brought them to the sink. When the turian was well out of hearing distance, Liara leaned in close to the table and gave James a knowing look.

"So, why all the interest in Miss Lawson?" she wondered, her big blue eyes saw right through him. James knew he couldn't hide this secret from Liara, not that he'd been doing a very good job to begin with.

Sighing, James picked at what little food remained on his plate and tried to play it cool. "I just wanted to know about the Cerberus crew," he explained with a shrug, hoping to throw her off of his trail. "They're the enemy again; but Shepard knew them when they were the good guys."

"Jacob Taylor was also part of her crew, so was Kelly Chambers, and an amusing man by the name of Rupert." Liara pointed out, resting her elbows on the table and perching her chin on a fist. The knowing look she'd given James remained on her features as she stared at him. "There were many members of the Cerberus crew, yet your focus has remained on Miranda."

He was caught and he knew it. Still James tried to deny it, "No, I was just...uh, I was getting to them."

Mhm, Liara hummed, not taking the bait. "I am the Shadow Broker, you know?" Smiling, she picked her dishes off of the table and gestured for James to follow her.

James watched her go for a second, caught between fleeing the conversation and pursuing his curiosity. After his second was up he got out of his seat and followed Liara to the kitchen where they dropped off their dishes before going to her room.

When the doors parted, revealing Liara's set up, James let out a whistle. "Must be nice being the Shadow Broker," he said as he strode towards one of the many terminal screens.

"It has it's perks," Liara replied with a small smile. She walked towards another terminal and fiddled with the screen. She worked quietly for a minute, concentrated on her task, before pulling a datapad from her desk and flicking over the screen. When she was finished she returned her attention to James and smiled at him again, bigger this time.

"One of the perks I mentioned is my unlimited database." Liara walked over to James and held the datapad out between them. As he reached out for it, she explained. "When I first became Shadow Broker I found information about Shepard's crew that my predecessor had left behind. That is Miranda's dosier."

Surprised, James gave Liara a stunned look before looking through the datapad she had provided. While he buried his nose in the information, Liara continued, "I've taken the liberty of filtering out her more personal information." To the disappointed look he gave her, she said, "There are some things she should tell you herself."

That was fair enough. The datapad in his hand suddenly felt like the most precious thing he owned. Inside it was almost everything he wanted to know about the woman he couldn't get out of his head. He ran a reverent finger along the datapad's edge before looking up to meet Liara's big blue gaze.

At a loss of words, he scavenged up what little he could. "Thanks, Liara."

The smile that inched across her lips was friendly, "It's my pleasure, James."

-X-

When she was finally sure that nobody was following her, Miranda decided to head to the room she rented under a false name. She needed the room to have a place to return to when everything started to be too much. It wasn't as luxurious as she was used to, but it would have to do for the moment; at least until Cerberus wasn't hunting her anymore.

Giving the hallway a final look, Miranda punched in the passcode and entered the unremarkable, but adequate, room. She set the food filled bag on the small kitchen counter before making her way over to the desk.

Miranda sat down with a sigh and leaned back into the chair, feeling the exhaustion, tension and paranoia she'd felt throughout the entire day finally leaving her little by little. She shut her tired eyes for a moment, taking the time to rest and gather her thoughts.

It had been nice to see Shepard again for the short time they'd gotten to talk; she had been a good friend and Miranda didn't have many of those. None, actually, she realized with a frown. At least she could take some comfort in the knowledge that she could always ask Shepard for anything.

In a flash her thoughts moved on from the commander, until all she could see was a pair of warm brown eyes staring at her. Her eyes flew open and she sat up, feeling her chest tighten again with this unknown emotion. A smile crept across her face when she remembered how her harsh words hadn't crumbled his confidence like it always did with lesser men. Far from it. It seemed to her that it only fueled something in him, and that piqued her interest.

Combing her fingers through her hair, Miranda pulled the long locks into a ponytail before she opened her terminal and used Shepard's ID to hack into the Alliance system. She picked through the familiar database, determined to find only one file. Once she found it Miranda hesitated for only a second before she clicked on the document, and James Vega's dossier appeared on the screen.

The file read that his mother had died before he joined the Alliance in 2176. Her heart tightened at the pain that loss had probably caused him. She read little bits of his life, how he lost his entire unit on Fehl Prime because of a Collector attack; Miranda tightened her jaw, a Collector attack that Cerberus had orchestrated.

She opened another window and searched for files about his father, Joshua Sanders, mostly out of curiosity as to why he'd changed his surname. Then she read the story and understood, unable to stop the anger that surfaced with the knowledge. His father had decided to sacrifice him, and had almost succeeded, only so he could continue with his dirty jobs.

At least they had one thing in common; both their father's were incredibly selfish and they were ready to use their own children for their own success. She sighed and, after reading through the rest of his file, she closed it. Miranda now knew the lieutenant's background and military record, but she still didn't know James Vega; the man behind the tough facade. Or was it any facade at all?

She rubbed her tired eyes, wondering why she was even interested. He was at least two years younger than her, plus he seemed rude and brash, and too flirty.

Yet, try though she might, there was something in that young man that lured her in, something she couldn't figure out. Maybe it was because of his young and honest demeanor; maybe she needed that type of man to show her that not everything was black and white. Maybe she needed someone who was relaxed and flirty, and who would remind her what it felt like to be alive.

Shaking her head, she banished the thoughts of him and opened the extra-net, deciding to try to reach Oriana. It had been several days since Miranda had spoken to her sister; the longest they'd ever gone without speaking. So it was to her surprise when she had to wait for only a minute before her sister answered the call. The black screen lightened and a younger, happier version of Miranda appeared on the screen. A relieved smile ran across Miranda's lips at the sight of her sister before she allowed her irritation to dampen her mood.

"Miri," Oriana's chipper tone was comfort enough to pull Miranda through the toughest of days. She glanced at the time before she grinned up at Miranda, "You're five minutes late calling me. I was starting to get worried."

"So you have been receiving my calls," Miranda observed, her annoyance growing. "And not once did you think to call me back?"

Oriana gave her an apologetic frown. "I'm sorry, Miri. But I've been busy with school and stuff; finals are coming up and I've been riding a table at the library everyday until it closes." Her frown changed into a soft smile, the kind Oriana knew even Miranda would fall victim to. "I might as well be living there."

She felt her anger give way to understanding despite herself. Miranda said, "You still should have at least called me back and let me know you were safe," before allowing the matter to drop completely.

"I know, and I'm sorry." Oriana confessed. After a second of silence she asked, "Is everything okay, Miri? You look tired. Is keeping an eye on me finally wearing you down?" She gave Miranda a smirk.

Miranda returned her sister's smile, knowing that Oriana was teasing her. Miranda always called at the same time everyday, without fail. She liked routine and organization, and Oriana liked to take advantage of anything to poke fun of her sister.

Brushing the stray hairs from her face, Miranda explained, "I got caught up reading some documents and lost track of time." She allowed a reassuring smile to curl the corners of her lips. "No need to worry."

"I've tried using that one on you before," Oriana reminded her of almost all of their previous conversations. "And what's your typical reply? Something like 'you're my sister, it's my job to worry', it works both ways, dear sister."

The difference was that she was the big sister. Miranda huffed in disagreement but didn't voice an argument; instead she decided to change the subject. "How go your studies?"

The smile that Oriana gave her showed that she knew that Miranda had purposefully changed the topic. "They're going well, though I'm sure you already knew that."

"I did," Miranda smiled, not bothering to deny it.

"You know," Oriana shook her head at her sister's shameless tone. "You keeping tabs on me takes the fun out of me telling you about my day; especially since you already know it all."

"I don't know everything," Miranda tried to argue.

Oriana quirked a challenging eyebrow. "The last time I got an average grade on a quiz you found out before I did; and then you freaked out about it."

"Average scores are beneath you," Miranda replied indignantly. To the playfully agitated expression Oriana was giving her, she said, "Just because I keep a close eye on you doesn't mean that I know everything. It just means that I care about you, and that I want you to be safe."

"Yeah, yeah," Oriana rolled her eyes a laughed. "As long as you don't call and scare any more of my professors, I guess I can live with your snooping."

Miranda grinned at her. "You say that like you have a choice in the matter, dear sister."

"Oh, ho, ho; I guess you got me there." Oriana returned her smile with a careless one of her own. "Just do me a favor."

"Anything for you."

Her grin grew. "Next time that you have your guys follow me, tell them to not be so obvious about it."

Miranda's smile vanished. Her guys? Before she could command her sister to give her all of the details about these men following her, an alarm sounded from Miranda's terminal; and from her omni-tool, and from her secured work station as well.

A concerned expression tightened Oriana's features. "What's going on, Miri?"

Not wanting to alarm her sister, Miranda lied. "I'm late for an appointment." She stood from her seat and leaned forward on the table, hurrying to finish the call. "I have to go. Call you tomorrow?"

"Don't you always?" Oriana teased without a trace of humor in her tone. Her expression was still one of concern. "Are you sure everything's alright?"

"Yes," was Miranda's curt reply. "I have to go. Love you. Bye." She ended the call and rushed to the secure workstation, hoping that it was just a false alarm. Unlocking the screen, her features tensed with irritation and distress.

It wasn't a false alarm. Miranda rushed to the drawers where she had unpacked some of her belongings. Throwing the clothes into her open duffle, she then collected her gurns; checking her ammo before holstering the Carnifex at her hip. Miranda was always ready to go a moment's notice and this was why.

Cerberus had tripped the security perimeter she had set up. They hadn't found her exact location yet, but it was only a matter of time before they kicked down her door, guns blazing and out for blood.

-X-

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