Part 7: Distractions
There was a heavy silence on the shuttle as it flew back to the Normandy from Thessia's surface. Liara sat in the back of the shuttle, eyes closed, body straight and rigid, unmoving even with the slight turbulence. Shepard sat primly in the passenger seat next to Cortez, eyes staring out the window as the Reapers descended to the planet's surface. Cortez hadn't spoken a word since they had climbed onto the shuttle and he'd OK'd Shepard's order to leave. James stood near the shuttle's center, one hand wrapped in a support strap, eyes glued to the back of Shepard's seat. No one spoke until Cortez quietly informed Joker they were pulling into the Normandy. When the shuttle door opened, James walked off first. Garrus and Tali were waiting and rushed over to him, the Turian grabbing his arm and demanding to know what had happened on the planet. James quietly filled them in as his eyes drifted over to the shuttle. Liara stepped off next, and walked stiffly to the elevator without speaking to anyone. Garrus turned his head to follow her, even as James continued his report. When Cortez exited the shuttle by himself, a pained expression on his face, James cut his conversation with the Turian and Quarian off, and hurried back to the shuttle.
"Lola?" He climbed back inside and moved to the front of the shuttle, finding her still seated. "Hey, Shepard?" He jerked back as she stood up suddenly, and as he reached out to her, she pushed past him and exited the shuttle, followed soon after by the confused lieutenant. As she waited for the elevator to return, Garrus stepped up beside her.
"I think you should talk to T'Soni. She didn't look so good." Shepard sighed. She wanted to ask him why he didn't go talk to her himself, but she knew it had to be her. It always had to be her. She lifted up a weary hand and placed it on his shoulder.
"All right, Garrus. I'll go check on her." The Turian nodded and stepped back, allowing Shepard to enter the elevator by herself. James, who'd been having a quick word with Cortez, trudged up next to him.
"She say anything to you?"
"Not really. She's going to go speak with T'Soni." He let out a gravely sigh and punched the button to return the elevator. "I think I'll go check on Tali," the Turian muttered. "I could swear she mumbled something about heading to the crew lounge for some reason…." James nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he gathered his thoughts, decided he couldn't leave Shepard alone with hers. He hurried to remove his armor, and dug out an OSD from a gear bag near his work bench, which he shoved into a pocket. It was his turn to wait on the elevator, which he rode up to the loft, where he waited for Shepard to return. Several minutes passed as he leaned up against the wall outside her cabin, waiting for the elevator to open. When it finally opened about fifteen minutes later, he straightened up and worked up a smile to greet her with.
"Hey, Lola. Got something for ya." James reached into his pocket and pulled out the small OSD. "They were giving out copies of the new Blasto movie to Citadel refugees. I won a download code off someone in a poker game. I figured we could watch it together."
"James, now is really not the time…." Her face, still dusty from their quick escape, betrayed her exhaustion, and her words fell dully, as she walked past him and keyed open the cabin door. Set in his task, James followed her inside and busied himself with setting up her computer on the small table next to the couch. She ignored his presence at first as she stowed away her armor, but grew slightly annoyed when she turned to find him seated comfortably on the couch. "James, I'm really not in the mood for whatever is going on here." Unperturbed, James patted the bit of empty couch next to him.
"Well, that's really too bad, because I've heard this film is fantástico. Why don't you come over here and watch it with me?" Shepard's eyes slit in irritation. She was entirely too exhausted to play his games this time.
"What do you want? Why are you here?" She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped a foot impatiently, anxious for him to leave so she could write her report and drink enough ryncol to knock her out until the next mission. If there was even going to be a next mission. James sighed, but didn't budge.
"Look, I just…I just don't think you should be alone right now. So I thought I'd come up here and get your mind off things, maybe blow off some steam, I don't know." Shepard let out a dry, dead laugh that made him wince.
"You don't think I should be alone, huh? And why is that? You afraid I'm going to cry all alone again? Hurt myself because I fucked up? Maybe blow myself out the air lock and rid everyone of this walking disaster?" She could see his eyes darken in pain and anger, but she didn't care. She expected him to rant and rave at her. She wanted him to. Instead, he seemed to contemplate her quietly before finally speaking again.
"I don't want you to fade away, Lola. I've seen it happen. Hell, it happened to me. Anderson pulled me out. And now I'm here to make sure it doesn't happen to you." Shepard stared at him, her emotions wavering in her exhaustion, which also made it all too easy to run her mouth without thinking.
"So you're my babysitter? Well, I'm a grown woman, James. I don't need one." She turned and headed to her desk, hoping he'd give up and leave.
"What? No! Dammit…." He hurried after her, grabbed her arm, and turned her to face him. "Why can't you just shut up and let me in here?" He pressed his free hand over her heart. Shepard opened her mouth to argue, but her words were silenced as he smothered her mouth with a hard kiss. When their lips parted, she stared at him as her tired mind waged a fruitless war. She wanted to be left alone, to deal with things her own way, but she knew James wouldn't relent. And as his hand gently rubbed her arm while he waited patiently for her to respond, she realized a part of her wanted him to stay. The problem was, as usual, that she felt uncomfortable and weak asking for help, or admitting that his presence filled her lonely soul with warmth. The other problem was that she was just too drained to come up with an excuse to push him away.
"Fine," she acquiesced with a sigh. "Let's watch your damn movie. Just let me clean up a little first." James nodded and let her go, and she disappeared into the bathroom. He settled himself back down on the couch, and in a few moments she reemerged, face and hands slightly reddened from scrubbing the grime away. She begrudgingly walked over to the couch and dropped down next to him. She didn't speak, so James went ahead and started the movie. As the opening titles ran, he frowned at how stiffly she sat next to him. However, as Blasto made his entrance, he could swear she was biting back a smile, a slight crinkle at the corners of her eyes. As the movie continued, she slowly relaxed bit by bit, the corners of her mouth eventually twitching up slightly, silent laughter shaking her shoulders. Cautiously he slipped his arm around her shoulders; smiled as she leaned against him. About halfway through the movie, she began laughing out loud, and he along with her, the tension at last gone. To his surprise, she even curled her legs up onto the couch and snuggled against him, with an arm loosely wrapped around his waist. When the end credits began to roll, she tilted her head up and gave him a tired but relaxed smile. "Thanks, James."
"Anytime, Lola." He smiled back at her, then cupped her chin in his free hand and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Anything else I can do for you?" He grinned and rubbed his thumb along her jaw line.
"I wouldn't mind a few more of those..." He chuckled and obliged, placing several more kisses to her lips. When her arm tightened slightly around his waist, he grew bolder, and tilted her head to kiss along her jaw, stopping to slide the tip of his tongue along her earlobe, testing how far he'd be allowed to go. She gasped, and her body tensed, though not in the way it did when she would pull away from him the times before. This time she pressed against him, so close she was nearly in his lap. A sound of contentment rumbled through his chest as he squeezed his arm around her, his hand gripping and massaging her shoulder as he returned his lips to hers. As her breath grew hot, he slid a hand lightly down her side, brushing his fingers against her breast, and letting it come to rest on her hip. She moaned softly in response to his touch, then worked on pulling out a corner of his shirt, allowing her to slide her hand across the tight muscles of his stomach. It was his turn to let out a small moan, and he pressed his lips harder against hers.
"Careful, Lola," he mumbled against her lips. "Wouldn't want you hurting that little hand of yours on those awesome muscles of mine." He grunted as she punched his side. "Heh, hey now…." In retaliation, he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and bit down, roughly, though not enough to cause her injury. It was enough to cause her to moan and slide her tongue out to mock assess the damage, which he took advantage of by quickly clamping his mouth over hers and wrapping his tongue around her own. As he licked and sucked on her tongue, she ran her hand up his chest to trace his well formed pecs with her fingers, evoking a shiver. Wanting to feel more of her, he pulled up the undershirt she wore beneath her armor, and wrapped a large hand around the breast still hidden beneath her sports bra. She moaned against his lips, then suddenly pulled back slightly, yanking his shirt off. With a chuckle, he shifted to make it easier, but wouldn't let her press back into him until he had removed her shirt as well. As she moved in to kiss his neck, he gently held her back. "Ah, just one more thing, Lola." She grumbled, but held up her arms so he could remove the bra, letting her firm breasts hang freely. "Much better."
With a wolfish grin he pulled her back against him, relishing in the feel of her breasts pressed against his chest. She returned to her earlier purpose and pressed her lips to his neck, occasionally tracing her tongue along the lines of his tattoo. "Damn, Lola," he growled out softly, arms tightening around her, pulling her towards his lap. He was trying to be patient for her, but when she nibbled on the skin where his neck met his shoulder, he moaned and lifted her up, easily setting her to straddle his lap. "I won't be able to stop myself soon, so if you're still not sure…." She pressed a hungry kiss to his lips that surprised him.
"James, just shut that motor mouth of yours and put it to better use." He laughed and squeezed his hands around her ass.
"You got it, Lola." He immediately ducked his head down and buried it in her neck, kissing and sucking her flesh. She moaned and arched her back, causing her hips to rock forward, and she felt the heat radiating from inside his pants. James grunted, feeling her suddenly press against his erection. Sliding his hands under her thighs, he lifted her slightly so he could set his lips to her breasts, biting gently into the fatty flesh. He guided her legs around his waist and stood up carefully, his grip firm on her thighs, and carried her the few steps to the bed. He laid her out on the sheets, then knelt down on the floor between her legs. As he tugged her pants and underwear down, he kissed along her newly exposed legs, causing her to gasp and squirm on the mattress.
"James…" she panted, "get up here…." Standing up with a grin, he slowly removed his own pants and underwear, taking his sweet time, and laughing as Shepard glowered at him from the bed. When he at last climbed up onto the bed next to her, and immediately slid a thick finger inside her, she cried out in surprise. James grinned and nipped at her collarbone as he stroked her inner walls with his finger, making her breath quicken and her body grow white hot. She moved a hand down and brushed trembling fingers against his hardened shaft, causing a low moan to escape his throat. Goaded by his response, she wrapped her fingers around him and began to move them slowly up and down.
"Goddamn, girl…." Smothering her lips with a hungry kiss, he slid another finger into her and pumped them in and out. Gasping loudly, she rocked her hips against his hand, then grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him toward her.
"James…" she whined with a moan, and he took the hint, sliding his fingers out and lifting himself on top of her to slide his throbbing desire into her instead. She trembled as he entered her, groaning as she felt a feeling she had not felt in years. Being connected like one being to a person she cared for, and who cared for her. As he shared the heat of his body with her, whispered into her ear how sexy he found her, and ran his hands all along her body, her vision blurred with emotion. She lifted her head up and kissed along his shoulder, wrapped her legs around his thighs. His hands moved underneath her, lifting up her hips slightly, the new angle eliciting a cry of pleasure from her lips as he hit a sensitive spot within her. As she felt her stomach tighten, she dug her fingers into his broad shoulders, and squeezed his thighs with her legs. James thrust hard and deep into her, eager to feel her orgasm, and growled against her throat as her muscles squeezed and trembled around him. He took her lips and swallowed her moans, then pumped faster as she continued to writhe beneath him. Moments later, he let out a loud groan as he felt his own release, and very nearly collapsed against her despite his strength as his whole body trembled in pleasure. Instead, he managed to carefully shift his weight beside her, sinking into the bed with one arm and leg draped over her body. Still breathing hard, he pulled her close and covered her neck in warm, gentle kisses. She moaned softly, a smile on her face as her breathing slowed to normal. Once his heartbeat returned to normal, or as normal as it could be while lying next to Shepard's flushed and sweaty naked body, he ran a hand through her hair and whispered in her ear.
"You up for a good night's sleep, Lola?" She turned to look at him, her eyes tired, but now filled with warmth instead of the cold and distant look they'd had when she walked off the Kodiak.
"Mmm…I think I should take a shower first…." James tightened his arms around her and gave her a long kiss, smiling at the soft moan she let escape.
"We can do that in the morning, yeah?" He grinned as she blinked at him, her tired mind slowly digesting what he'd said. When it sunk in, she blushed, but nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. In the morning." He pulled the blanket up over them and she snuggled against him, hoping that the comfort of sleeping wrapped in his strong arms, and drifting off with the feelings he had awoken inside her, would indeed allow her to get a good night's sleep for once, despite the day's events. There was time enough for that tomorrow. Tonight, she would let James chase away her fears and failures, just for a little while. Just for one night of peace.