Chapter 2
Four months later, she felt like a rat in a cage. Albeit a golden one. She had a pretty view of the grounds, she had to admit the greenery was very soothing. She hadn't been back to Earth in years; it was just as beautiful as she remembered. But she was still stuck, the council still wasn't doing anything, nor the tribunal that would be hearing her case, which still hadn't happened. She wanted to scream, instead she walked to the window and looked out.
She thought about her muscle bound body guard, he was always a nice distraction. He'd taken to coming in and checking on her almost every evening. He had a shift for guard duty but was always a full time body guard so he was never far. It was surprisingly nice that she could rely on him; having one constant when everything else was shit.
Her friends had not been able to visit, Liara managed to have the Lt smuggle an electronic file into to her. It was frustratingly undetailed, but being the new Shadow Broker it had to be. Liara could never appear to have too much information. So the letter was very general about the state of some of her crew, but anything was better than nothing. She opened up the datapad to read it again.
S,
I am sorry I have not been able to visit. I cannot explain why right now but I have a feeling you know. Do not worry Shepard, you will be out soon. Hopefully before the reapers are at their front door. I cannot give you enough details about your crew over such an unsecure channel but know the ones I'm in contact with are all alright. I have also checked out your prison detail, they are commendable soldiers each with exemplary records. Your bodyguard in particular, who was kind enough to give this to you, is the highest ranking one of the bunch but ran into some trouble not too long ago. I do not believe it is anything to worry about though. As soon as you get out I will find you.
All the best,
L
She was glad Liara persuaded James to get the note to her, or more that James allowed Liara to persuade him. From what she'd been gathering about him her first assessment of him was right. He was a good solider and if he didn't want something to happen, it didn't and vice versa. He was formidable. And it sent a shiver up her spine. The way he wore his shirts should be outlawed.
Breaking her out of her thoughts was the standard three knocks on the door but instead of the minute wait to allow her to cover up or get presentable, it was immediately opened. She hid the datapad behind her back angry that someone would shirk protocol, she could have been getting dressed. When she saw it was James she waited until he had closed and locked the door behind him before relaxing and putting the datapad back on her desk, not hiding her smile.
"Are you trying to catch me in a state of undress Mr. Vega?" Their back and forth had grown on her and she looked forward to their little banter.
He smiled back at her. "Actually no, but now that you mention it..." He raked his gaze over her body, shook his head once. "I think anyone would be crazy if they didn't want to gatito." He winked at her, then gestured for her to sit at the small table on the opposite wall of the small apartment. As she sat down she realized that she had been waiting for him. She waved it off though, of course she was he was her only visitor and helped break up the boredom. Something she appreciated to no end. He was the sole reason she was not crazy or having stress induced panic attacks. The reapers were always on her mind, all the shit that she and her crew went through, all the people she'd lost, always on her mind. The fact that she died but was brought back, always worrying that she was not whole, less a woman and more a machine.
She knew she was still human but, when James was around it bothered her more than she cared to admit, there were a lot of cybernetics running through her. She only ever thought about it when he left and she was again alone with her thoughts.
"What's that shit eating grin for Vega?" She asked suspiciously. Not even bothering to try and ask him what gatito meant. She'd tried every time he visited for a month after he started calling her that, but he always refused to tell her so she took another stance. She made him promise, under punishment of death, he would not call her that in front of another soul. He smiled at her and promised, then crossed his heart, making her laugh.
He produced a small deck of cards in his hand. "I figured tonight would be a great night to see how good you really are at poker."
She had played before, but she never thought of herself as proficient, something James had been rubbing in as soon as she told him.
As James watched her sit down then join her, he thought to himself that he enjoyed himself way too much in Shepard's company. If he wasn't careful he'd be visiting her every night until his assignment was done. He remembered when he was first assigned to guard her. He thought why would the most dangerous person in the galaxy need a bodyguard? Then he got to know her, she was a powerhouse and smart, but she was wasn't at all dangerous, except to her enemies, and keeping his mind focused on other things besides her pert breasts. But she was vulnerable now and it was his job to make sure no on exploited that.
Looking at her expectant grin now reminded him, she was a person just like everyone else, breakable. And he'd be damned if anyone broke her on his watch.
He hadn't realized it but several hours passed and they were still playing. He had thoroughly lost track of time because he was having fun playing poker with her. He could read her ticks pretty well, but she caught on quick and she'd started bluffing him successfully. As he shuffled the cards for their last hand he decided to try and press his luck before he left for the night. "How about we raise the stakes?" He asked as he dealt the last hand.
"Are you allowed to change rules before the game has ended?" She asked as he dealt the hand.
"Only if I can get you to agree, and I can be very persuasive." He said suggestively.
She smirked at him. "Alright, what are you proposing?" She asked as she looked at her cards.
"If I win you kiss me, and, if you win I kiss you." She shocked him by laughing out loud. He'd been expecting her to say no not laugh, he liked the way it sounded.
"So," she said, "either way we kiss?" And gave him the most bullshit innocent grin he'd ever seen, it felt like a challenege.
"I'm fairly good, it'd be worth your while." He said wiggling his eyebrows.
Outside she was laughing at his boldness inside she was squirming. She wanted nothing more than to be kissed senseless by him, but she just couldn't take that next step. "James... I can't." She said, sad that she had to break the mood. It seemed though that he was prepared for this response, which helped keep the mood light and she was eternally grateful.
"How about this then, if I win you kiss me," He held a hand up as she was about to say something, "and if you win we get to do anything you want."
That got her attention. "Anything I want?" She verified.
"Anything that's in my power to give." The way he said that and the way he was looking at her made her heart involuntarily skip a beat.
She cleared her throat she definitely couldn't ask for the first thing that popped into her head but there was a close second, so she jumped in. "Alright." At the end of the hand before they both laid down their cards they started talking shit to each other. She made sure he didn't want to fold and give in, and he did the exact same thing trying to entice her with his charm.
He smugly laid down three fives, to which she laid down three ten's. She felt a little elated and just a tiny twinge of disappointment. She still grinned at him, she won and she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
"So, aren't you going to ask?" Her right ankle was underneath her left thigh and she was leaning on her elbow, hand under her chin just grinning at him. It made her eyes sparkle he thought. Light green with flecks of gold.
He responded jokingly. "Don't get too excited about winning, you'll hurt my manly sensibilities." That made her laugh again and her face lit up, she was beautiful he thought. He decided his goal would be to draw this out as long as he could, to torment her and pretend to be hurt. So he stacked all the cards by suit then in numerical order before finally placing them back in the pack. His Madre always told him that everyone, no matter who they were or who they thought they were, put their pants on the same as everyone else, one leg at a time. So teasing her was natural; he did it to pretty much everyone, it always helped break the ice. And he definitely enjoyed teasing her.
When he looked back up at her she rolled her eyes in exasperation and he finally asked. "What would the great Commander Shepard ask of me?"
"James, I told you to stop calling me that." She admonished. He really liked hearing his name from her lips. He was about to protest her rule, as he always did, but she pressed on. "I want to go to the firing range, I'm dying in here, I'm going to get soft." She said. "Well, exercising aside... can you do that?" She looked so earnest he was struck with a thought; how the hell did she do her job before? She was just so honest and wore it on her sleeves. How weren't people constantly taking advantage of that? Or, maybe it was because she was so honest? Maybe they didn't even see her coming. Moving back to the topic at hand he could respect that request.
He knew she was a soldier just like him, he'd probably go crazy too if he had to stay locked up. Somehow it hadn't happened yet, something that irked him. With what happened on his last mission he should have been thrown in the brig and never let out.
He stood up to leave and she followed. At the door he turned around abruptly almost causing her to bump into him, which had been the goal, he loved throwing her off. He looked into her eyes, tucked a stray hair behind her ear and said, "It won't happen tomorrow but I will get you range time. Goodnight gatito." He said quietly, and left.
After he closed the door, she waited to hear the lock slide home and slowly let out the breath she'd been holding. When he looked at her and then so gently tucked her hair behind her ear; the contact caused her stomach to flip a few times. Just like the only other time he touched her to take the manacles off, he was surprisingly gentle. He was controlled and knew his strength, it was sexy. She sighed heavily, she was in trouble, the sooner she got back to the Normandy and out of here the better.