KMeme prompt asked for a Shepard with an undeserved bad rap for being a bad dancer, because their secret hobby is ballroom dancing. LI finds out in the middle of a ball and is flabbergasted. Set in some postME3 happy ending AU. Reviews are my addiction of choice, please help out.
"Fuck you Shepard. I'm not going, and I'm not wearing a dress." Jack snarled out at him. Shepard grinned, like he always did. She glared at him some more. He was enjoying this. He had to have known how she'd react when he brought up the invite. He looked like a naughty boy, green eyes dancing, russet red hair a little longer than usual now that he was on leave. He walked over, pulled her into a light kiss. She felt that warm glow settle into the pit of her stomach. Only he could make her feel like that. Like nothing else mattered but them being together.
"You don't have to wear a dress. Wear a suit, wear your jeans, wear a sack for all I care. I have to go, its the inaugration of the new Councillors. Big political shindig. Listen, if its boring, we'll ditch it and go joyriding in skycars or something. I just want you by my side. Always." Her heart leapt. Treacherous little organ. She locked her arms around his neck and pulled him down towards, into a deeper kiss. She would go. He'd known she would go, but she had to put some resistance. At first anyway. He pulled away from the kiss, picked her up in his arms, and headed towards the bedroom. She tried to capture his mouth again, but he eluded her, nibbling on her ear instead. She instantly started feeling the heat rise between her legs. He always knew which button to press with her. She smiled. With Shepard, it no longer felt strange. Happiness no longer felt strange.
"At least I won't have to dance. Not with you right, Shepard? Not in public?"
Shepard growled, and bore her to bed and that was the end of that conversation.
That's how she found herself a few weeks later on his arm walking into the most gorgeous ballroom in the Citadel, struggling with grey pantsuit with a purple shirt that matched the colour of her hair. She'd even given up the combat boots. Shepard on her arm, looking tall and soldierly in his uniform. Medals gleaming, hair back to regulation length. The inaugral ball for the new council was an old asari tradition- they even had some word for it Liara had once told her, but Jack just knew party translated pretty similarly across cultures. They were seated at the table next to where the new councillors sat, and even as Shepard walked in with her they were mobbed. Jack glared at everyone who tried to strike up meaningless conversations with her. Being nice was Shepard's thing. All part of the galactic hero package. Let him deal with it. Instead she stalked over to their table, where a few familiar faces stood catching up,
"Jack, you made it! You look great." Tali leaned in to give her a hug. Next to her Garrus quirked his mandibles in a greeting of his own, raising his drink in that universal gesture. Jack grabbed a cold beer off a passing waiter and clinked her bottle against his.
"Shepard wasn't going to come if I didn't, the sonofabitch guilted me." Jack smiled as she grumbled halfheartedly, taking the sting out of her words. "I thought you two were back on Rannoch or Palaven. What are you doing here?"
"Representing the Hierarchy and quarian-geth Alliance," Garrus nodded at Tali's words, and she quickly spun around leaned into him. "Plus it gives us a chance to catch up. I'm dragging him off to a hotel for a few days after this."
"Tali!" Garrus almost choked on his drink, and Jack couldn't help but chuckle. Watching these two crazy kids do their dance on the Normandy back in the old days had been one of the highlights of her time on it, and even though Shepard had talked about walking in on them the night before the final assault, Jack was still annoyed she had missed it.
"Quarian-geth Alliance huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"Well, I mean after everything Shepard did on Rannoch...Keelah, it seemed like the right thing to do. We'll be busy rebuilding and re-acclimatising to living on a planet again, but maybe one day we'll join the Council." Tali's voice was hopeful, and Jack nodded along in agreement.
"Yeah. Council needs more balance or something. Less fuckers like that Udina rat."
"What about you Jack? What are you upto these days?" Garrus coolly steered the conversation back to more politically safe ground, Jack noticed. She let him.
"Well my biotic kids are enjoying a well-earned holiday after helping save the galaxy. When the Grissom Academy is up and running again, I'll go back to teaching there. I convinced Shepard to come along for a semester or two, take some time off. Saviour of the galaxy earned that." Jack turned to look fondly at him as she spoke. He stood there in the middle of a pack, surrounded by worldly asari matriarchs, grizzled turian generals, the salarian delegation, even a volus and hanar in his orbit as he held court. Large hands gestured in a restrained manner as he made his point. Jack's eyes drifted down from broad, relaxed shoulders to the strong back to that taut rear end. She let her eyes linger there for a moment, then move down to the strong and muscular legs and the polished dress shoes. The uniform hung on him perfectly. Maybe he could keep parts of it on later tonight.
"Yes, that he certainly has." A new voice joined them, her dark brunette hair tied back. Jack had never been too sure what to make of Ashley Williams. She was definitely a tough, independent woman, and Jack respected that. Her Spectre status demanded its own respect. They'd only met briefly, but she was old friends with Tali and Garrus. She halfheartedly participated in their conversation while making sure she had Shepard's back. It had almost torn her apart not rejoining him after he'd shown up on Grissom.
"Say what's the plan for tonight anyway? If its boring, Shepard said we could fuck off and go do our own thing."
"Well, asari tradition has the initial meet-and-greet phase. Then there's some general music and dancing. Later on there are few short speeches. Then more music and dancing. Apparently they'll have lots of music from all the different species- asari, turian, salarian, human." Garrus smiled down at Tali. "Maybe they'll even play something quarian if you ask them nice."
"Only if you dance with me when they do, Garrus," she teased back.
"Can't be worse than Shepard, can I?" Garrus shot back.
All four of them snorted with laughter as they remembered Shepard's best efforts at dancing, arms and legs moving in an uncoordinated mess, awkward hangdog expression on his face as he tried his hardest to have some fun.
Shortly, the orchestra launched into some brisk asari music, and the dance floor filled up with mostly elegant blue beauties. Shepard drifted back to their table, and started catching up with Garrus and Tali, while Jack tuned out of the conversation to watch the dancing asari. A few of them had partners from others species. In one corner a young maiden was showing her human partner the moves, but he was just interested in getting as close to her as possible, not the steps. Near them a salarian was improbably showing more grace than his partner, while she could just about see a hanar bobbing up and down in the middle of the dance floor somewhere.
The drinks flowed, food came, people came by to chat with Shepard. He bore it with far more grace than she would have. They held hands under the table, just luxuriating in the chance to spend time together again. The music changed to something from Earth. Something old. Waltz maybe? Jack didn't know because she had never cared to find out. Across the room, Tali had dragged Garrus to the bar do dextro-shots (she took hers through her straw), and Ash was being animatedly talking shop with a salarian Spectre that had dropped by the table. Jack was debating joining Tali and Garrus at the bar when she saw something that made her eyes narrow.
She was picking her away through the human couples now dotting the dance floor, looking stunning as ever in a deep blue evening gown that highlighted her creamy skin. Black hair was styled beautifully to frame that genetically perfect face, and neckline of her dress dropped just enough to show off a generous scoop of her stunning cleavage. Even now that she'd left Cerberus, she still looked like a bloody cheerleader. They'd not crossed paths after they'd both left the Normandy just before Shepard turned himself in. He had told her about running into Miranda a couple of times since, especially at the clusterfuck that was Sanctuary. She was just about at their table.
"Shepard. I heard you might be ere tonight." That husky voice, with that accent. Eyes honed in on her Shepard. Jack gritted her teeth.
"Miranda, you look lovely." Jack's eyes narrowed even more, this time switching to Shepard. "What are you doing here?"
"Alliance gave me a job. Forgave my past after I helped out back on Earth. Trade negotiations keeping me busy. Jack." Miranda nodded at her stiffly.
"Cheerleader. Heard you and Cerberus had a few differences in opinion. Glad you came around." Jack drawled the word out, testing the other woman. Let the bitch squirm.
"And I heard you were doing very well at Grissom Academy, and were there on Earth too. Congrats and well done." Miranda's tone was a little frosty but generally still polite. Shepard's grin had become a little glassy. Probably remembering the chewing out he'd had to deliver the last them they'd had a bit of verbal sparring, and the possibility he might have to deliver another one in a room full of the most powerful people in the galaxy. Jack mused it probably wouldn't looked that good if she knocked Miranda halfway across the room biotically.
"Should've just listened to me when I told you about Cerberus the first time around." Jack couldn't help herself, needling Miranda about this was a long time coming. Miranda's face went from cool to icy. Shepard kicked Jack under the table. She kicked him back. This was just far too much fun.
The orchestra struck up a new piece of music. Miranda's eyes went from frosty to almost gleeful, and Jack narrowed hers in concern.
"Shepard, care to join me for a dance?" Miranda stuck out a palm, and Shepard blushed red. Jack chuckled.
"Shepard doesn't dance Cheerleader. You know that."
"Oh? I think the Mindoir Under-15s Ballroom Dancing runner-up still knows his way through a waltz. Don't you Shepard?"
Jack's jaw dropped. Shepard looked at her with an embarrassed grin, scratched his head, shrugged in a why-not gesture and took Miranda's proffered palm. Jack struggled to make sense of exactly what the fuck had just transpired. She glanced over to see Ashley's brows furrowed as she too struggled to make sense of the scene in front of her. Jack raised inquisitive eyebrow, but the Spectre just shook her head, claiming no knowledge of Shepard's past.
Garrus and Tali were making their way back to the table, and spotted Shepard and Miranda weaving their way directly to the dance floor.
"Is that…Shepard? Going to dance? Did you get him drunk already Jack?" Tali giggled while she accused, and Garrus grinned too. Jack held up her hands in the universal gesture of it-wasn't-me. Shepard and Miranda reached the dance floor. And then it happened.
Jack couldn't believe her eyes. Initially they were rusty, moving at slightly different times, in slightly different directions. Slowly they harmonised, Shepard shaking off his rustiness almost visibly. Then once their confidence picked up, Shepard moved like he was on the battlefield, graceful, decisive, every step perfect. Every movement perfect. Miranda moved in unison with him, but somehow in his shadow. They seemed to float out there, and the space around them opened up as admirers close by chose to stop dancing and watch the show.
"That's not…I mean, am I really seeing this? How much did we drink?" Garrus voiced the disbelief coursing through them. Jack felt like she had to pick her jaw up off the floor. Even now he managed to surprise her in ways she could never have imagined.
"Keelah'selai, I must be dreaming."
"You're not the only one Tali. I'm going to film this on my omni-tool, and send it to my sisters. This is amazing."
Jack tuned them out. Now most of the audience was watching them move fluently around, Shepard leading, smiling, looking at home out there. When the music soared, they soared and when it dipped, they did too. He led them from end of the floor to the other, adding a little flair with his customary showmanship. An ugly little shard of jealousy spiked inside her, which she studiously ignored because it was exactly what the Cheerleader had intended. She looked smug out there, flowing around inside his arms. Time receded as Jack just took in the scene, alternating between the death glare she shot at Miranda and heated looks she shot at Shepard (because she was fucking sure if there was one way for Shepard to get even hotter, it was to show a so far secret talent at fucking ballroom dancing, of all things).
Then Jack's eyes narrowed again, watching one of the Cheerleader's hands drop ever so slightly on Shepard's back, and then ever so slightly again. Ballroom or no fucking ballroom, if that bitch dropped her hands down to Shepard's ass…Jack started stalking furiously towards the dance floor, ignoring the startled yelp from Tali and Garrus trailing uselessly behind her. She reached the circle around Shepard and Miranda and came straight through, the Cheerleader spotting her first. Jack's biotically charged fist grasped Miranda's hand inches short of Shepard's ass as the orchestra came to a halt and Shepard himself half-whirled around to look at the disruption.
"Hands off, Cheerleader! You can dance with him, but hands off his ass." She grabbed Shepard by the front of his shirt as she spoke, dragging him down, his green eyes still high on adrenalin, sweat-slicked hair looking adorably mussed, till his lips touched hers, till they were locked in a kiss that went deeper straight away, tongues exploring, neither of them caring about their audience. She knew that he knew that she was staking out her territory, and fervent nature of his assent told her how much he loved her for it. One of her hands went straight to his ass, squeezing the tight muscle straight way and he pulled back to chuckle.
"His ass is mine." She gave it an extra squeeze for good measure, before slapping it. "Now finish off your dance, and bring him back." Haughtily she turned and strode back to their table, daring anyone at all to meet her eyes. No one did. The waltz picked back up, the hubbub in the room quadrupled and Ashley and Tali were doubled over with laughter at their table. Even Garrus was having trouble keeping himself to a smirk.
"Oh come on, that bitch is lucky I didn't punch her across the Citadel."
"Keelah! This ball gets better and better. Shepard dancing, now this. Going to be tough to top this, ever. Tell me you got it on vid, Ashley?"
"Every single detail, down to the last ass grab." Ashley sniggered as she replayed the vid for Tali and Garrus, while Jack shrugged and took a drink of her beer. Infamy was what she did best. Shepard could hardly start complaining about it now. She turned to watch Shepard and Miranda take one last turn around the floor, and then as music came to an end, take bow to a round of applause (and wolf-whistles from Ashley and Garrus).
Prudently, by the time Shepard came back to their table, the Cheerleader had made herself scarce. Garrus, Tali and Ashley went to find her, leaving her with Shepard. He picked her up, brought her in for a kiss, but she nipped his lips instead.
"You bastard. Keeping secrets eh?"
She leaned into the kiss, a longer version of the one on the dance floor, tongues duelling, running her hands through that sweaty red hair, enjoying the feel of him against her, the warmth coursing through them both.
"Shepard," she licked his neck as she spoke, then bit it, firmly enough to cause a little pain. He liked that.
"Hmm?" He was nibbling on her ear again. He never played fair.
"Tomorrow. You. Me. Dancing lessons. This is not a request."