Chapter 6

Give An Inch...

The mission on Menae had been a little more complicated than expected but they'd gotten there in the end. Fedorian was already dead by the time Shepard arrived so she'd been sent on a wild goose chase, almost, to find General Victus - the new Primarch. The war summit itself wasn't for two days, the Normandy was on course to arrive at the rendezvous in a day so now that Garrus had once again joined their group, Johanna figured they had a night to let loose and let everyone catch up. Even in war times, everyone needed to let their hair down, if only to forget.

Gathered in the lounge, Vega, Garrus and Cortez had gotten to know each other over various drinks from the bar, all getting louder as the evening went on. Joker was missing, instead opting to spend his time at the helm. The women, Shepard, Traynor, Liara and Chakwas, had spent some time catching up over wine and brandy, that was until Johanna grew bored with the small talk of wine and had swapped the more civilised conversation for beer and poker with the boys.

"Two pair," Vega slammed his cards down on the table triumphantly as Garrus shook his head. James was well on his way to cleaning the Turian out. "Looks like these are all mine." He laughed and reached to collect his winnings but was stopped by Shepard's hand on his arm.

"Not so fast, big guy," she took another swig from her beer and revealed her own cards. "Royal flush," she smirked and swatted his hands away from the chips on the table. "So these," she laughed, "Are all mine."

"Aww, shit," James laughed, "You bluffed me!" James was used to being the one bluffing everyone else, his poker face had very few tells. "No worries, I'll get you back for that one, Commander." He turned his attention firstly to his drink and then to dealing the next hand. Garrus, with very few chips left, decided not to play another hand, leaving James and Johanna to get on with it.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Lieutenant," Johanna's eyes twinkled with mischief as she cracked another bottle open on the side of the table.

They played on until the beer ran out and then they switched to the last of the wine, everyone eventually ending up gathered around the poker table. Shepard wasn't sure who had turned the music up and she didn't really care, the beat coursed through her. "Come on, Vega," Johanna drawled, her words beginning to slur, "I thought this was your game, I heard you were a master bluffer." She discarded one of her cards and took another from the pile. "But here I am taking all your money, if you lose any more, I might have to take that shirt right off your back, too."

"Hey," James downed the last of his whiskey, "If you wanna see what's underneath, all you gotta do is ask." He glanced at his cards, tossed one aside and took another from the pile, "I know the ladies can't get enough of the guns." Satisfied with his hand, he placed his cards down on the table. "Maybe I'll be the one taking the shirt off your back," he kept a straight face, despite the urge to smile, and nodded toward her hand. "Let's see 'em."

"Shit," Shepard cursed as she threw her hand on the table, "Shit, shit, shit. You win." She stood from the table, took a second to find her balance, the alcohol made her head swim just a little. "Screw poker," she turned around, again needing a split second to regain her balance, "I wanna dance. C'mon, Liara, dance with me!" She grabbed the asari's hand and pulled her into the middle of the room and began to move with the music, drawing a laugh from Garrus.

"Watch it, Vakarian," Johanna laughed as she stumbled slightly, "Maybe I can't dance but you- wow, I'm drunk, my feet don't wanna work." Liara steadied her and she went right back to dancing. "Jimmy!" she continued, temporarily forgetting all about Garrus as she held her hand out in James' direction. "Come dance with me!" He didn't move until he'd downed another whiskey. Part of him wanted to tell the Commander off for drinking too much, a drunk biotic could be quite a handful, but the man in him was more interested in how hot she looked dancing with Liara. She couldn't dance, seemed to move against the music rather than with it, but that didn't matter. She had fun, and fun was hot.

He slammed his glass back down onto the surface of the table, crossed the room and took her hand. Immediately, she pulled him close to her, slowing her movement for a moment. "Hi, you," her eyes twinkled with that same mischief from before she whirled herself around so she stood with her back to him. James took a second to enjoy the view and boy, what a view it was. He'd always found her attractive, never had the balls to say it, he valued his life too much, but as she danced against him, her back to him, it was a tough task not to appreciate how pretty she was. His eyes scanned downward, from where her black hair fell across her shoulders to the feminine curves of her waist and hips - he couldn't tear his eyes away, not even when he began moving with her.

"You're checking out my ass again," Johanna glanced over her shoulder and then spun around again, her hand finding a place on his chest. "I told you before, this uniform does it no justice."

James reluctantly pulled his gaze upward as his hands fell to her hips. "Damn, Shepard," he shook his head with a laugh, "If the uniform does it no justice, it must be something else in something that does." He looked around and noticed that people had started leaving - Garrus, Cortez, Chakwas and Liara had all left, leaving the two of them with only Traynor for company. "Looks damn good from where I'm standing."

Shepard didn't respond, instead she just kept dancing. Any other man would've had at least a broken nose by now but she didn't mind James' hands on her and for the amount she'd had to drink, the beers, whiskey and wine, she was still managing to keep her biotics in check surprisingly well. Eventually she noticed Traynor stumbling out of the door and she couldn't help but laugh. "She's drunk," Johanna pointed toward the door and then stumbled toward the sound system.

"So are we," he watched as she changed the mix, replacing the club beats with loud guitars and drums. Rock music. "Aaah," he laughed his approval at the change in music and then poured them both another whiskey, "You like the old school stuff too?" James downed his drink in one gulp and watched Johanna do the same. "Twenty-first century riffs," he couldn't believe she was into the old stuff, "They just don't do riffs like that now. It's all dancy, nightclub bullshit. Don't get me wrong, you look damn good dancing to it but shit, sometimes you just need a big, meaty guitar riff, y'know?"

"Yup, my jaaaaams" Johanna turned the volume up another notch and pulled James back to the middle of the room just as the next song kicked in. "I love this one," she pulled him close again, not bound by protocol or inhibition, "Have you seen the movie?"

"Jo, everyone has seen this movie," Vega laughed, his hands falling back to her hips just like they had before, "Everyone knows this fucking song." He knew it off by heart, it was a classic in his book. Maybe it was the drink talking but in a split second, he had an arm around her waist, holding her back flush against his body. When she didn't immediately pull away, he went with it, moved with her, half willing her to keep grinding against him but half wishing she'd stop. In for a penny, he thought, and dipped his head so he could whisper in her ear.

I've been meanin' to tell ya
I've got this feelin' that won't subside
I look at you and I fantasise
You're mine tonight
Now I've got you in my sights
With these hungry eyes..

He whispered the words into her ear along with the music, all inhibition gone. What's the point in half-assing? She had started it after all! It only spurred her on, she pushed herself back against him as though she wanted closer. He skipped the chorus, opting instead to tighten his grip at her waist - give him half of an inch and he'd take a light year.

Come the middle of the song, Johanna had turned herself around. "That's hot," she grinned, she wasn't the wordiest of drunks, it was taking most of her concentration to make her feet do what she wanted them to. Reaching up, he trailed her finger tips down his cheek and around his jaw, her index finger coming to rest on his chin. It was all the chance James needed to walk her backward toward the poker table.

"Ow," Johanna glanced back at the table as she hit it, "Table."

"Screw the table," his voice was a low growl, "Or on it, that'd be hotter." Now that was an idea. She hopped to sit on the edge as he leaned down, quickly capturing her lips in a kiss. Not his best work, not by a mile, he'd had a drink or two too many for his best but it was good enough. He let his tongue tease along her bottom lip until she relaxed and tangled her own tongue with his. He felt her hand trailing down his front and then a tugging at his shirt before she pulled back from him, that look in her eyes again.

"Not here," she grinned and pushed him back, "Not here." Shepard stood quickly, hit the stereo control to turn the music off and grabbed Vega's arm again, this time tugging him toward the door. She didn't stop to check the deck for onlookers before she pulled him back in for another kiss as they waited for the elevator. Fraternisation had never bothered her before, why should she start caring now, of all times? The elevator pinged and she pulled back again, letting him step in beside her. She thumped the button marked as "Captain's Quarters" with her fist and this time took James' hand, marvelling at how small her own hand looked in his as their fingers intertwined.

"So I guess it's your place after all," James pulled her in again, trailing lighter kisses down her neck.

"You bet," Johanna sighed as the elevator doors opened at her cabin. "EDI," she kicked her shoes off and almost fell over again. "Damnit," he steadied her, "My feet really don't work. EDI," she tried again, "No visitors, no messages, nothing." She couldn't hear the AI respond thanks to the feel of James' lips on her neck again.

A long time coming, this was going to be fun...

A/N :: The song they dance to in this chapter is New Found Glory's cover of Hungry Eyes. The chapter didn't exactly turn out as I'd originally planned but I think I like this version better than what I'd planned! I hope you enjoy readind about drunken James and Johanna as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

As always, thank you to "GothicGirl," "eboncat," "Aubrey1207," "Katschaba," and "Zee," for all the reviews on the last chapter - I love hearing feedback. :)