4 reviews in one day :3 Oh my… (is flattered) they keep my muse happy, so keep writing them guys!
This chappy introduces more of the storyline, and Shoker goodness ^^, no lemon just yet…
Disclaimer: Bioware rocks my socks, and so does Harbinger.
Screaming, she felt his yellow eyes searing her skin, planting fear in the depths of her soul. The brown skin on her shaking hands, blistering and breaking as a bright golden light emanated from the cracks. She was screaming so loud, could no one hear!
It was too much to bear… the pain was too much to bear. Every bone in her body was burning while she shook her head violently, looking for release. Her screaming turned hoarse as she collapsed to the ground from the pain.
"You have only delayed the inevitable…"
Glowing yellow eyes replaced her green… the screaming stopped.
Soaked in sweat, Vera Shepard opened her eyes softly. It had been a dream. The blue light from the fish tank emanated in a soothing way as it lit up the room and she sighed, sitting up on her bed. She rubbed her temple as she pulled the sheets away gruffly with her other hand, her sleepwear being nothing but shorts and a strappy undershirt.
"Great." She mumbled to herself, looking at the time, 0400 AM. Too early…
Finally putting her feet on the floor, she stood up groggily and ran her fingers through her short brown hair. She was definitely not an early morning person, not even through all her military career. Even so, she couldn't afford the luxury of sleep once she woke up.
Out of habit, she climbed the stairs to her office and pressed the button on the fish tank to feed the fish, greeted her hamster Whiskey, checked for his food and then proceeded to enter the bathroom.
Once there, the mirror didn't do her any favors… of that she was sure.
Her eyes were puffy and her disheveled hair made her look either extremely hung-over or like one of those Earth bums she used to beat up. She stared at her reflection for a moment, her green eyes scanning her freckles on brown skin and the dark circles underneath them. Her left arm had a bandage wrapped around it and she took it off, pending the shower. The wound was clean and healing well, but it was going to leave yet another scar. Perks of the job… she thought sarcastically.
The shower however was a different story! As the warm water hit her skin, she felt rejuvenated. It ran its course through her body, hugging every tight muscle, every inch of her skin… she sighed in relief, feeling her aching muscles unwind.
Stepping out of the shower, she decided against stepping out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. Mainly because of the one time Chambers decided to "drop in" to tell her that Grunt was about to break some windows if Shepard didn't go to him and caught her by surprise. She had been stunned.
Shepard's lips formed into a tooth-pasted, foamy grin, remembering what Joker had said about it when he heard.
"Next time, Chambers, please let me know!" What an ass… she spit.
So when she came out of the bathroom, she was fully clothed in her brown civvies and ready for duty. She refused to wear anything that came from Cerberus anymore.
She stepped out of her room and called the elevator. They had been en route to Ilium, to enlist Liara T'Soni's help once again. They needed as much information as possible if they were going up against Cerberus and the Reapers as well and, if anything, she knew that at least Liara would be glad to see them. She was guessing they still had a ways to go… the journey back from the Omega-4 relay had been anything but easy.
The elevator arrived as only one thought invaded her mind: coffee. Mess hall, right now… she pressed the button. The elevator moved pretty quickly, she was thankful for that, but then it stopped in the CIC floor. She waited impatiently… half expecting Kelly to jump out and scare the crap out of her.
"Commander?" He asked groggily, with a confused expression. His hat was crooked and his eyes were puffy as he raised an eyebrow.
Vera stared and blinked, then started chuckling. "Fall asleep in the cockpit again Joker?"
"Really? Whatever gave you that idea?" He rolled his eyes and stepped in the elevator with her.
A half smirk formed in his face. She had laughed, even if it was at his expense.
"Oh lighten up Joker." She said.
"Never before coffee… or sex! Or both, y'know whichever is good."
"So true…" she agreed.
The elevator reached their destination, and just like she had predicted, it was empty.
"Well, want me to make you some coffee? " She asked as she walked ahead of him.
"Uh… what?" He wasn't sure he heard right…
Commander Shepard, making coffee for him? He shook his head. She's human…
"You aren't scared are you? Come on, take a seat." She signaled to one of the seats in the booth and then kept walking towards the kitchen.
His eyes followed her walk, starting from her feet, to her calves, up to her… he cleared his throat. "Scared? Why would I be scared?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Hell I don't know. Men naturally assume that just because I'm 'Commander Shepard', that's the only life I know… they don't care enough to find out who I really am I guess. I mean, I did live eighteen years of my life in the streets. That has to count for something, right?" She turned to look at him, coffee can in hand.
He was sitting there, hands cupping his face, elbows resting on the table. His face was scrunched up and his eyes were closed. A smile crept on her face, he looked cute asleep.
"I'm sorry you said something?" He "woke up" and was suddenly listening very intently.
She raised an eyebrow. "Now you make your own damn coffee." Asshole.
"Oh hey! Come on I was just dicking around! Don't get mad!" He stood up, flailing his hands, hobbling over to her.
Shepard was measuring coffee for herself in the coffee maker. "Nope. And that's too bad 'cause I make a mean cup of coffee!" She said, smirking to herself.
"I was just messing around! I mean, you know me commander, come on! Hey…" He reached out to grab her arm and turn her around gently to face him. "Most guys don't deserve the chance to even talk to you… let alone get to know you." He looked into her eyes with a very genuine smile.
She smiled back, feeling flattered and completely oblivious of his thoughts. "Thanks Joker. Never thought you'd be one to say something like that. I… guess that earns you some coffee." He let go of her arm and she turned around once again.
Snapping back to reality, his eyes widened. He had been that close to closing the distance between them… all he had to do was lean in and kiss her.
His mind wandered…
"Vera you have no idea how lost I've been without you… when I saw you die, I realized you're so much more to me than my commander… you're-"
A finger interrupted him mid-sentence as she closed the distance between their lips softly, her hands slowly rising to wrap around his neck. She pulled him closer, wanting to feel his body against hers as his hands came around her waist to pull her in a tight embrace. She pulled her head back, then leaned into his earlobe, her hot breath against his neck as she spoke.
"I love you too..."
He swore he could hear the sound of his own heartbeat as the blood pumped furiously into his face. It turned a pinkish shade, but he could swear it felt like scarlet red. Luckily, her back was still turned, and it had only been a few seconds but he quickly retreated back into the booth before she noticed the slight slip up. Me? A romantic? Go figure…
"Mmm! My God this smells so AWESOME!" She exclaimed gleefully, as the coffee maker started.
Shepard then proceeded to make her way to the booth, sitting across from a recovering Joker. She examined him before speaking.
"You ok there?" She asked.
"Yeah I'm fine, I'm just… sleepy." Riiight…
She yawned. "I know man, this is horrible… once we get to Ilium I promise I'll give you and the crew some shore leave. I know you guys need the rest…"
"Well what about you commander?"
She scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "What about me?"
"Don't you think you could use some shore leave too?"
"No, I… I don't think I can take shore leave, at least, not right now." She replied, looking back toward the coffee maker.
"When if not now?" He asked bluntly. "After you're done fighting Cerberus, after you're done fighting the Reapers? What if you die again? I don't think the Illusive Man is going to be happy to bring you back this time. I don't think…" his voice faded into a small whisper. "I could stand it again." He looked up at her to see if he heard that last part, she hadn't… he frowned.
She could see he was upset, and her look softened. The great Jeff "Joker" Moreau, badass helmsman of the Alliance was worried about her. So he did have a heart. She figured she could put his mind at ease, and at least try to have some fun… it would distract her from the nightmares.
"Well… if it bothers you so much, then you should take me out for a drink." She finally replied.
What the-! "Really?" He asked incredulously.
"Sure why not! I'll buy you a dance too!" She flashed a smile.
He groaned and his head hit the table with a thud.
She frowned. "What?"