[[Alright! This is another cute scene before we deal with the events of Mass Effect 2. Once again, I don't own the Bioware characters. My friend owns Claire, and I own this version of Veronica. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave a review]]
Veronica was grateful that her crew had all made it through the battle the Citadel. There had been too much loss for her liking, despite her efforts to save those that she could. In the resulting quiet, she knew what she needed; to see her sister and have a bit of shore leave with her favorite crew. It had taken a bit convincing them to come with her to Earth, but ultimately she had won. Who could deny the Hero of the Citadel? Likely only Claire could have.
She had told Claire that she was bringing a friend, and Claire's own relief she was okay had smoothed any possible argument. V had woven in one little lie, however. She'd told her sister she would be home a day later than she would, which made sure the apartment was empty when she walked in. Following after her were her squad mates, her pilot, and her ship doctor. A few of them would be staying here at the apartment, but she was hard pressed to make sure that a certain clingy lieutenant didn't spend the night.
V darted up the stairs two at a time ahead of everyone, her bag thrown over her shoulder. A smaller bag for Joker was over her left arm and sliding down as she unlocked the door. The apartment was clean and empty, meaning Claire was on a job. The idea made her stomach tie into knots, as it always did when her sister went into the dangerous underbelly of the docks to smuggle stolen goods and illegal parts. She tried to make herself relax as she ushered everyone in.
"Alright. So...I kinda want to surprise her. She should be home any minute. Joker, sit on the couch. Everyone else, go find a room to hide in. Wrex...you likely need to be on the balcony." Veronica grinned as she darted ahead, placing Joker's bag on the couch and going into her room to drop her bag.
"Why can't I hide?" Joker complained as he carefully moved over to the couch.
"Aren't you fragile? Well, more than most humans?" Wrex commented with a smirk as he moved past Joker to the balcony.
"Point taken." He grumbled back.
Everyone laughed a bit and V could hear people starting to scramble to find places to hide. Garrus leaned against the doorframe of her room, looking it over. It was rather bare, like she'd never really found her place there. It had been painted with a mural by some artist that Claire had gotten for them, but there were pictures on the walls. The bed was neat and done in darker colors, her pack dumped at the foot of her bed for now. They didn't have much shore leave, so she didn't bother getting too unpacked. Anderson understood that she needed to see Claire, that the blonde needed to verify Veronica was safe, before she went back out to hunt down more geth and the Reapers.
"You don't spend much time here, do you Commander?" He rumbled as he watched her.
"Not really. And come on, Vakarian. We aren't working. Shepard or Veronica is fine." She jokingly chastised as she left the room. The light got turned off behind her, but she could see him sitting on the bed over her shoulder.
Something about that image sent the light flutter of butterflies in her stomach, but she said nothing and went to join Joker on the couch. She leaned back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other, holding back a yawn. It looked like everyone had found a hiding place. From where she was sitting, she couldn't see any of them.
Claire had been out all damn day, and she was grumpy about it. First the boy at the docks had tried to run off with her cargo of high end weapons mods, then just after she'd gotten them back she'd been subject to a "random" police check.
She'd batted her lashes and stayed polite, despite wanting to throw the entire squad out an airlock. Any. Airlock, really. Luckily, she didn't have anything illegal on her this time, and they'd need a warrant to look into her omnitool.
She pushed open the door grumpily, but immediately perked up when she saw Veronica sitting on the couch. "V!"
The redhead grinned brightly. "Hey there, squirt. Forget I was coming home?" her quick emerald eyes scanned the blonde. She looked tired, her leather jacket getting more worn, and there was a new half healed scar across her right knuckles.
Claire groaned. "I thought that was tomorrow…."
"Nope. Here I am." She pointed to the guy sitting next to her. "This is my pilot, Joker."
Claire smiled, holding out a hand to shake. "I think I've seen you in some of the pictures V sent. Nice to meet you, I'm the obnoxious sister."
"He's got Vrollicks, Claire. Shake gently." Veronica cautioned.
The blonde playfully shook her hips, but her grip stayed soft on Jokers hand. "I'm gonna go put this coat up. Y'all want takeout? I'll buy." She walked to the hall closet.
A yelp followed and the door was slammed shut. "V! There's a quarian in the closet!"
"That's Tali." Veronica giggled.
Claire opened the closet door again. "Hi, nice to meet you. Sorry for slamming the door on you."
The shine of Tali's eyes in her mask gave away that she was smiling. "It's nice to meet you too."
The blonde girl chuckled, putting her coat up and walking to the bathroom to run a comb through her curls. "V, there's an asari in the bathroom!" She glanced back into another open door. "And a turian sitting on your bed!"
"That's Liara and Garrus." Veronica snickered.
"Where else are you hiding people!?" Claire demanded, opening all the doors. While the aliens had been well received, Veronica heard Kaiden yelp and come flying down the hallway. "Who the hell are you and why are you in my workroom?"
"I didn't… touch anything…" he groaned
"That's Lieutenant Alenko, Claire. Don't throw marines."
"Hmmf. He bounced. Nice ass, though." Her smirk returned. An older woman behind her laughed.
"I'm Dr. Chakwas."
"My pleasure, Dr. I'm gonna step onto the porch a minute, why don't you make yourself comfortable?" Claire smiled. Veronica was proud of her manners…. At least until she'd been outside for a few minutes.
"I thought Wrex would scare her more than us." Garrus chuckled.
Veronica got up and yanked the door open, finding Claire sitting on the balcony railing and smoking a cigarette. She was laughing along with something Wrex had said, and the big krogan was chuckling too. "So a turian and asari make you yelp, but not a krogan?" Veronica grumbled, trying to get the cigarette from the younger woman's hand. Claire held her off with some creative contortionism.
"I'm used to krogan. My buddy Arcx is over all the time lately." She took another long drag and flicked the butt into a mason jar she used as an ashtray."I've never met a turian or quarian, and I haven't seen an asari in almost a year."
"Why? What happened to Mahria?" Veronica frowned. She'd been running around for such a long time, had she missed something important?
Claire flicked her lighter impatiently. "Her mother is making a bid for a high position on Thessia. It…. Didn't suit her to have a daughter dating a two-bit smuggler. She went to the Citadel and got a "respectable" job with the asari Consort. It doesn't bother me too much anymore." She shrugged. "Anyway. Pizza? There's a place near the docks that makes a kind turians and quarians can eat."
"Claire." Veronica frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you'd make that face you're making right now, that I can't stand. Come on, pizza. I can make a booze run. Let's make it a party!"
"Are you sure that you're alright?"
"Yes, V. Yes. I'm fine. Pizza? Booze? Party tray? Come on! You saved the galaxy, that doesn't happen every day, right?"
Veronica sighed but gave a nod of her head. "Alright, alright. Go talk to Garrus and Tali and see what they want. No one else has such tight diet restrictions."
"Aye, aye!" She cheered before she rushed back in from the balcony and over to two dextro DNA members of her crew.
"She's a spitfire, huh, Shepard?" Wrex chuckled as they both watched her through the glass of the balcony doors since she had pulled the curtains open.
"Oh yeah. Sometimes too much of one." She answered with a grin and gestured for him to go in ahead of her.
Wrex shrugged and did so, finding Claire with a pen and sticky note, writing down pizza toppings for everyone.
"Okay, so one dextro pizza, half meat lover half veggie, and in a sterile seal box to prevent contamination during delivery. One stuffed crust supreme, one ham and bacon, and one pepperoni. Two extra bacon meat lovers because Wrex asked nicely. Chakwas wants cheesy bread. Joker wants hot wings. Alenko gets thrown out a window for suggesting pineapple, and everyone else gets extra. Sound right?"
Everyone was cracking up and Claire playfully batted her lashes at Kaiden, who looked flustered and uncomfortable.
"I'll swing out and pick up alcohol." She offered. "Can you handle them?"
Claire grinned wickedly. "You know me. Great at man-handling. The girls usually have to handle me."
Tali and Chakwas laughed. Liara blushed purple, and Joker started snorting.
"What am I going to do with you?" Veronica groaned
"Build me a weapons lab and let me blow a crater into a uninhabited planet?"
"No!"
"Pick up liquor and watch me try to teach you how to dance?" Claire sounded more hopeful this time.
"That I can do. But I'll need a partner to help me carry all of this. I know I'm going to need a ton of different stuff. Garrus, you game?"
"Alcohol to celebrate nearly dying? Of course I am. Anyone want anything specific?" He rumbled as he moved towards the door to wait for Shepard.
"Ryncol!" Wrex shouted.
"Mixers? I don't drink much." Tali admitted shyly as she took a seat next to Joker.
"Anything strong!" Claire cheered as she started plugging in the pizza order into her omni-tool and pulled Liara and Dr. Chakwas down onto the couch next to the others that were sitting.
"Beer?" Kaiden asked timidly, half expecting to be made fun of for his choices again.
"Aye, aye." Veronica murmured with a mock salute as she and Garrus disappeared out the door to head to the local liquor store.
By the time the two of them got back with their bags of liquor, their twelve pack of beer, and a few soda mixers for Tali, there was already pulsing music coming from the apartment. She could hear it as she unlocked the door and slipped inside with her current partner in crime. Claire and Tali were dancing while Dr. Chakwas was talking with Kaiden and Joker. Despite the conversation, Kaiden's gaze was following Claire's hips move as they danced.
"Uh...Shepard? Is he?" Garrus started.
"Yeah. He is. She can handle it." V laughed as she set up the bottles on the counter and pulled down cups. She got out tape and put some on each glass and labeled it with someone's name so that there wouldn't cross contamination. The last thing that she needed to happen while they celebrated was a hospital trip.
Dr. Chakwas came over and leaned against the counter with a smile. "Commander, I think I'll let you kids enjoy the party. I'm going to go and meet up with a friend of mine. Stay out of trouble. And if anyone needs anything," She paused and glanced at Kaiden and Joker before looking back at her. "Let me know. Have a good evening, Garrus."
The good doctor left with a smile, humming along to the music that Claire continued to blare from the speakers around the apartment. Veronica grabbed her glass and mixed a few different alcohols for her, the bottles for dextro DNA on the opposite counter, and added sprite. The newly minted human Specter downed half of the drink just as Claire danced over and started mixing a drink for herself.
"Hey! Could you bring me a beer? I'd rather not move. Just in case." Joker called over and leaned back on the couch, swaying back and forth some in his seat. He didn't see a reason to risk a broken leg. Not yet anyway.
"Can you bring one over me too, ma'am?" Kaiden asked, turning back to continue a new conversation with Wrex.
Veronica smiled at Claire and gave a roll of her eyes. "Men." She half grumbled as she balanced her cup in the crook of her arm, grabbed a beer, and then grabbed the bottle of Ryncol and handed it off to Wrex as she went by. The krogan rumbled a laugh as he popped open the liquor and took a swig right as Veronica passed a beer to Kaiden.
"Is it a human thing to expect the women to bring you drinks?" Garrus questioned with a twinkling grin in his eyes.
"Some of them." Claire and V said in unison before laughing.
Veronica perched herself on the arm of the couch, mouthing the words of the song to herself. She didn't need her crew knowing her secret just yet. Rather than chugging the rest, she sipped at it and looked around the room. Liara had a glass with some of the blueberry vodka with sprite, Tali had some citrus like drink, Garrus was drinking the turian brandy, Wrex has already put a dent in his bottle, the boys were drinking their beer, and Claire had whatever she had mixed. This was what she fought more. Everyone in this room, just laughing and enjoying themselves.
"Commander? You got this weird look on your face." Joker commented and then made a zoned out face that caused Veronica to nudge his shoulder.
"If you won't so breakable, Joker, you'd have been punched." She laughed as she took another sip and then put the drink down on the side table before she moved out into free space of the living room.
Claire grinned and put down her own drink and moved over to her sister. "So? Dancing lesson?"
"You know I can dance if it's formal." Veronica grumbled to herself, half tempted to nudge her sister the same way that she had nudged Joker.
"Well, we aren't doing a tango. But follow my lead."
She held back a groan as her little sister started dancing, a rolling of hips and a smoothness of motion. Claire always had a stronger amount of rhythm in her body than Veronica did, and she envied her sister that. The older woman watched her sister move and then attempted to mimic it, laughing some. Liara and Tali were dancing as well, giggling and talking about the foolishness of V trying to dance.
Joker was snorting as he tried to hold back his laugh, and Wrex just rumbled a chuckle but went back to talking guns with Garrus. The turian was listening to him, but his gaze kept moving over to the dancing ladies and he gave a shake of his head with a look of amusement on his face. He knew he couldn't dance well, and he wasn't sure he would have been brave enough to dance in front of his comrades.
Kaiden's gaze moved between the two human women, not settling on one for very long. While he thought he was being discreet, no one was fooled.
"So, he still barking up the wrong tree V?" Claire asked as she moved closer to her sister.
"Yeah. He won't stop. He keeps thinking I'm going to sleep with him because I'm nice. It's driving me crazy." She complained with a roll of her eyes and glanced over at Kaiden. His gaze was on her and he smiled but she spun back around to look at her sister. "Help me."
"Oh, I got this. Operation Snatch and Drop is a go." She cackled.
Claire walked over and grabbed a bottle off the counter. "Alenko, come here." she grinned, with a tempting wiggle of her hips. That got the lieutenants attention, and he was on his feet in a second. Joker snickered as he walked over to join the blonde. He could quickly see a trap forming.
Claire poured a couple shots. "I wanted to make up for tossing you like a ragdoll, so here. Take a couple with me, and I'll teach you how to dance." she fiddled with her omnitool for a minute before slamming one back.
"Sure." Kaiden grinned, underestimating just how strong the whiskey she was doling out really was. She shot gunned a couple shots with him, giggles getting progressively louder. Kaiden was blinking in slow motion too, clearly getting hit hard. "This is… tough stuff."
"The liver is evil and must be punished." She giggled. "Now come dance with me. Tali, put something on with a beat."
The music amped up to something night club like, Claire's hips rocking and Kaiden's eyes following with an almost hypnotized expression. The heat from the whiskey and his own rushing blood was melting his inhibitions.
Veronica smirked as Claire let him dance all over her, his hands on her hips and leaning in close. She playfully batted those long lashes again. "Hey, come take a walk with me." she was slurring a little, but looked devious.
"Okay…" he followed her out the front door.
"Commander, should we be concerned?" Joker raised an eyebrow. "She was looking pretty drunk, and Kaiden had the bad decisions vibe going on."
"Give it a minute." Veronica chuckled.
About five minutes later, Claire walked back in with a steady smirk. "Done."
"I thought you were drunk?" Garrus blinked at her.
"Nah, but I'm a good actress, don't you think? Kaiden, on the other hand…" She started laughing. "His face! I leaned in like I was going to kiss him, then shoved him into an open taxi door and slammed it. He looked like he just realized he had a laser sight on his chest." she sat back down in a stool at the counter and poured another shot. "That was fun, V. Let me know the next time you need a convenient slutty distraction."
"Will do." She laughed, knocking back a shot herself as she flopped onto the couch next to Joker. Garrus joined the two of them while Claire, Tali, and Liara continued to dance to the flowing music.
"That was terrible, Shepard. I love it." Garrus chuckled as he sipped at his second glass of brandy while Joker worked on his third beer.
"Oh, Alenko is going to be so confused in the morning." Joker laughed.
Veronica just smirked, watching her sister dance with two of her best friends. Liara was turning bright purple and Tali was just giggling up a storm. It seemed like she was ending her Pilgrimage with a bang. Everything was falling perfectly into place.
"Alright. Gotta see my cousin. The Ryncol is mine to take, right Shepard?" The krogan rumbled.
"Yeah. Get it out of here. We drink it and we'll end up with an ulcer." She laughed and got up to mix herself another drink.
"Anyone need to go or do we have people hanging out?" Claire asked with a grin.
"I don't have to be anywhere. I claim the couch though." Joker chimed as he opened another beer.
"If you have space, I'll stay Shepard. I'll explore Earth later." Garrus chuckled, leaving room for Veronica to sit on the couch.
"We'll stay!" Liara and Tali chimed in together.
"I'll stay in your room then, V. The girls can take my room. And Garrus? You can get the futon in the workroom." Claire planned as she pulled Liara in with a grin. "Unless you'd like to share a bed with me?" She teased.
Liara turned a bright shade of purple and shook her head. "I...I think I'll stay with Tali. Get to know each other better. We didn't talk much on the Normandy with everything going on."
"Spoilsport," Claire teased before she knocked back another shot.