Jane took the child away from the bar. Jared could only assume that she'll come back again to join this little reunion of Shepards.
Tension filled the space between the two old comrade, but this left Traynor standing awkwardly in front of them. She was playing bartender for the party, but things are looking personal and the specialist does not feel the need stick around.
"I guess... I'll be leaving now" she announced, placing the mixer down. As she was about to leave however, Jared stopped her.
"Stay," He said, his voice filled with authority. The specialist froze at the admiral's tone. Jared than turn slightly towards Traynor, his expression soften, "I think we need a drink after this and your Traynor Special is doing wonders" he said, gesturing at the glass half-filled with green liquid.
Unsure whether that was an order or a suggestion, she looked to her CO. Shepard nodded. Traynor reluctantly accepted her role as the bartender and went back to mixing the drinks.
"Don't tell me it's nothing, Blue," Jared turned his attention back to Shepard, "2 years.. TWO FUCKING YEARS we thought you were dead. Then suddenly, you came back from the dead leading the charge on this damn war and when I asked what's wrong, you said it's NOTHING! Do you know how Jane felt when you were gone. Did you know how I felt!?"
Jared stared hard at the commander. It was finally time to let out all the grief and pent-up anger he held against John. Not for dying, but for not asking help. For not even making an effort to contact the two who he believed to be his family.
"2 years, John. Don't say it's nothing. I know you."
"Do you? Do you really know what's going on in this head of mine?" Shepard challenged.
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to, Blue."
"Most of the times, I don't really know." Shepard answered solemnly.
"One: That was rhetorical, you damn robot; Two," Jared started, " We've known each way back at the academy. I know what makes you tick, John. After all, we're no different you and I. We've survived hell, together and otherwise."
Jared referred to the massacre on Akuze. Shepard remembered it all too well. How hopeless he felt. The fear he experienced when they saw the Thresher Maw. All the training did and experience turned to nothing before the inevitable disaster. Shepard remembered waking up after the incident, heavily wounded and broken, feeling useless and wanting to die. He felt like he had failed his comrades. The trauma left him incapable of using his biotics during the time he was chasing Saren.
"But you've managed to bounce back from that, or at the very least recovered a portion of yourself. You made hell of an effort to move on, but that one trauma will never go away. At the very least though it helped build the man today. It helped make you who are. A hero. A leader."
Shepard smiled at his fellow N7 graduate. "Thanks...Red".
"No problem, Blue. That's just what I'm here for." he said with a smile. or at least the closest he could make. "But if you ever do that again, I will find you and beat the shit out of you."
"Ha, you'd wish, Red. If memory served, you were the one getting the shit beat out of you the last time we fought."
"Sucker punch don't count, you damn cheat. If it we were matching in biotics, you wouldn't know right from up. Speaking of which...how did you get your biotics back?"
Shepard flinched. All the time he was going around shooting bad guys and accessing his biotics, he never once stopped and asked that,"Well..that.. is.. I'm not exactly sure how it came back."
"You're not sure how it came back?"
"Yeah. I just... got it back."
Jared face-palmed himself while Traynor let snicker escape her lips, "I had expected a proper answer from you, my friend. I am thoroughly disappointed."
"Don't be, Admiral," Traynor said, "I've heard from our friends about the Vault incident. He literally interrogating the crew about his I should go phrase."
Jared turned to Shepard. The commander looked away while sipping his drink, "You started interrogated them!?"
"It wasn't an interrogation!" Shepard spoke up.
"Of course, not. Interrogation would have been much...much more preferable than answering to you about your own damn complex." Jared turned to Sam, "Could you believe this guy. The last time he was this self-conscious was back at the academy when he asked the recruits whether his biotic aura was too blue."
Traynor laughed. The moments when Shepard would display his hidden clumsy personality were rare.
"Damn it, Jared," I wanted to keep that a secre-"
Something caught Shepard's attention. Jared could only a slight enter his friend's eyes.
"What are you lookin' at-" He too saw the same thing.
Jane spoke animatedly with Tali, The words could not be heard clearly, but from the way the two were enjoying themselves, it does not smell good for the two. Especially when it comes to their reputation.
"Oh, this is not good." The phrase escaped Jared's lips. Shepard stood up, took a shot of Traynor's mix lwnd started headed towards to two girls.
"And here I was, hoping for a peaceful, non-confrontational reunion between us three. This is what I get for being greedy I guess."
"Why is that a bad thing?" Traynor asked.
Jared took his glass and drank the shot. "Let me tell you something about us three. No matter how resilient we are, no matter how strong or tough we could or stubborn we may be, outside the battlefield, we are no different from any other average joe out there. We still have our faults and the side of our selves that shows we are more than just our uniforms or our affiliation. We are imperfect, organic with flaws that separates us from what the Reapers are trying to exterminate. That is why we fight. For our imperfection, to retain our flaws and remain individual. It sounds pretty ironic, if you think about it. All the Reapers wanted was to retain order by exterminating us but we fight back because we want to keep the chaos we've created..."
"OK, but what does that have to do with those two?" Traynor managed to cut the admiral off his dabbling.
"Oh, them? They just hate each other's guts."
AN: OLA GUYZZZZZ, I'm somewhat back~ I'm sorry to yous peeps for not updating this or any of my other stories (For those that were following me). I'm not so sure if I went OOC with me shepards, but i guess everyone has their own perception on Shepard. I'm not gonna take too much of yer time typing this, but please comment or criticize~ Every review will help~
Till next time~