After.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Please
"You do sleep in that hat," Shepard observed as Joker entered her room.
"I told you wasn't sleeping."
"Maybe if you take it off you'll instantly fall asleep," Gaz ventured, watching as the kitten batted at fish within her tank.
"I'd be over dramatic and demonstrate, but falling on this floor would break a good number of my bones..." he observed, carefully walking further in to the room.
Shepard patted the bed beside her and shot him a smile.
She was sitting up, yet under the covers – as if she had attempted to sleep but had given up without wanting to lose the warmth she had gathered under the sheets.
"Name him yet? You never answered that message," Joker questioned, setting himself at the foot of her bed, "Holy shit this really is clouds and marshmallows."
"I told you," she smiled, as the kitten spotted Joker and made his way over. The pilot helped him on to the bed, causing the little ball of fur to burst into a rather noisy purr.
"I'm leaning on Batman," Shepard idly stated, "Or Saren as a joke."
Joker snorted, "Okay I get why Saren would be funny. But Batman?"
"To your Joker," she shrugged.
"So he and I," the Helmsman lifted the kitten gently within his hands, "are mortal enemies and I spend my time mocking him and coming up with strange and unusual ways to nearly kill him?"
"I'm sensing a Batman fan."
"Nah. He's a rich fucker who just goes off the deep end. I'm a Spiderman sort of guy."
"Spiderman?"
"You know. Socially awkward nerd who has enough bad luck to get bitten by a radioactive spider. Surprise he gets stronger and can climb walls."
"And shoot webs."
"No – he can't. Many movies had him do that, but in reality Stan Lee wrote him not as a powerful superhero – but as a smart one. Peter built the web-shooter for himself and in the comics often used his mind over brute-force in order to get the job done."
Gaz simply smiled at Joker.
"Oh...shut up. I spent a lot of time at home as a kid," Joker frowned, his cheeks growing a bit hot.
Gaz reached forward and grabbed his hand. The pilot glanced down at the action, and smiled, squeezing her hand slightly.
The Commander released his hand and encouraged him to sit closer to her. Joker silently agreed, carefully sliding his own back against her headboard. With one swift motion, Shepard slid him under the sheets with her.
"How the hell did you just do that?"
"N7 training."
Joker laughed under his breath, and took her hand, which currently rested on his thigh over the sheets.
"Okay Gaz – why did you reacted with exclamation points when I said I wanted to play with your cat?"
Shepard snorted, laughing for a bit under her breath, "You are such a virgin it's cute."
"Actually I'm not a virgin," Joker's words slow – knowing he had told her all about his previous situation and his various run-ins with Kelly, "What does this have to do wi-"
"Another name for a vagina is a pussy. Pussy is another word for cat. So..." she shrugged, still smiling in amusement.
Joker's face turned a deep red – his eyes suddenly glued to his lap, "I'm sorry...I didn't..."
"I know," she squeeze his shoulder with her free hand, "I know – it's fine. I realized my own error while typing the reply."
"I'm sorry..." he repeated, face still red.
"It's no worry...aw...Joker, look at me."
His gaze slowly turned towards the Commander. She gently raised her free hand from his shoulder to his bearded jaw, "It's fine. Scout's Honor."
"You are no girl-scout."
"Neither are you."
"You wound me."
Shepard laughed under her breath, lowering her hand from his jaw, as her vision slid to the fish-tank.
"Scared about the trial, Gaz?" Joker asked, as she sighed.
"It's the end."
"So...having the trial will cause Reapers to erupt from the center of the Earth and destroy the entire galaxy?"
Gaz couldn't contain her smile, "Exactly. Those idiots just don't understand," she laughed, shaking her head.
"Nah – you'll be fine, Gaz."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. You're Commander Motherfucking Shepard. You saved the galaxy twice. You told death to go fuck itself. So what if some batarians died?"
"A war on humans?"
"Right...that. Well, we just have to not let the information leak to them on what happened. Say their Mass Relay was naturally hit by a giant rock, and blow it over."
"Jeff Moreau for human Counselor."
"I would have humanity ruined so quickly it isn't funny."
Gaz laughed, sliding so her head rested on her pillow, before she lowered her voice and raised her hands, "From the makers of Blasto – the hanar Spectre comes a new hit! Jeff Moreau – human Counselor!"
Joker shook his head and mirrored her action of laying down, before watching her. He secretly wondered how they got her skin perfectly the same. Both before and after she died, Gaz had a small cluster of freckles that lay under her eyes and across the bridge of her nose. Somehow, every freckle was in-tact. They were a bit lighter – as was her skin – but the pattern looked the same.
"Ever find out if you could have sex with a hanar?" Joker asked – the sheer comfort of her bed nearly overwhelming. He wasn't sure he had the willpower to ever leave. Ever.
"Mordin said sex between two species is always possible though not always what a species considers sex."
"...You actually asked him?"
"Of course."
Joker smiled over at her – causing his hat to slide in front of his eyes from the movement rubbing against the pillow. Gaz reached over and stole his hat, causing the man to flinch at the sudden movement.
"Joker without his hat. Huh...you're still awake."
"You can't tell, but I'm slowly deflating."
Gaz hovered her hand over his head – as if feeling for a leak, as she propped herself up on one elbow – throwing his hat haphazardly on her head.
"Nah – I think you're good."
Joker smiled at her.
"What? No witty come-back?" Gaz asked, as he watched her.
"I think you pull off the 'hat' look better than I do," he idly commented, propping himself up on his own elbow – leaning towards her slightly.
"Oh really?" she asked, leaning towards him with a smile.
With one swift motion, Joker closed the gap between them – pressing his lips against hers. His hat fell off her head – falling somewhere out of sight. Gaz didn't resist the man's actions – initially a bit surprised, but quickly recovered, running her hand through his hair.
After a moment, Shepard paused – leaning her forehead against his – a smile spread across her features.
"Hi," she greeted, as Joker studied her at the close proximity.
"Hey there," he replied – his voice low, before leaning back onto his pillow. Gaz mirrored the action – noticing Joker still watching her.
"Hmm?" she asked without opening her mouth. The tiredness she had been fighting off to enjoy his company was starting to catch up with her, making this whole 'concentration' thing a bit harder.
"I should probably get out of your hair so you can sleep. We'll be hitting Earth by late tomorrow."
Her eyes dropped to her feet, before drifting to her kitten who was happily munching on his food.
"You'll kick in the door, tell them to fuck off, then we can see about stopping this eminent Reaper threat. Sound like a plan?"
Gaz rolled toward Joker, setting her head on his shoulder – arm around his torso. Joker jumped slightly at the sudden contact, before sliding his arm around her shoulder.
The Helmsman fell silent, and watched as her light brown eyes stared blankly at the wall opposite to her.
"You can sleep here," her voice was quiet though not small.
"Really?"
"Please."
–
AN: I told you I'd get this chapter up! Anyway, OH MY GOD MORE JOKER AND SHEP LOVE. I love it. I didn't want to force it – thus the slowness. I find their relationship very...sweet, and I don't want to spoil it with going over the top with kissing and touching. There's a huge difference between what Kelly and Joker "had" and what Shepard and Joker have. I've read many 'Shoker' fanfics where they kiss once then sex everywhere. While everyone has their own ideas on how these two would work, I chose a slower route. I also made Shepard really vulnerable near the end of the chapter – which I can see some people disagreeing with. Here's how I see it – Shepard has worked her entire life. This is an Earth-orphan Shepard, so her life has never been "easy". She has worked her ass off to earn her status within the Alliance, and honestly it is what she identifies as most. Hell – she's always showing off her N7 status proudly. With the trial, it's coming into question and that scares the shit out of her. With other things, the only 'side effect' is death. With this – she would be left alive, without the one thing that has kept her going.
Rated M for: Language, sexual situations, future violence, and so I can have freedom without fear of scarring a teen for life.
Oh – and I don't own anything ever.