Goddamned Pay Rises

First and foremost: Happy N7 Day, everyone!

A/N: This has been in the back of my brain for a while and I blame someone (one of my readers) for this little gem. You know who you are ;)

"That you snoring Zaeed, or are you just breathing hard?"

"Snoring. I'm not the one who volunteered us for babysitting." He grumbled as he shoved a hand into his jacket pocket.

"Hey, I didn't volunteer us." Shepard chose that moment to glance over toward a playpen whose security barriers were up. The asari inside it was lying curled up with a blanket and a stuffed varren toy. She was sound asleep.

"Yeah, I know." Zaeed looked over at a display that was showing the time and local stock market closings. "Her mother did."

"Hey, can't tell her no."

"Maybe you can't." He remarked with a smirk while looking over the local news on his omni display. "Me on the other hand…"

"If you're looking to collect on that bonus we discussed, you'll stop right there."A voice came from the doorway. Both looked up to see its owner standing there in a sweeping, black silk gown. When her eyes landed on Shepard, she raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're wearing that."

"Wasn't aware I was going." Shepard stood and gave the newly arrived asari a once-over. "Not bad."

"You don't think I called you here to babysit, do you?"

"Do you honestly trust him to?" Shepard gave Zaeed a half glance. "He did just try to blow up a refinery on Zoya to kill one man."

"The refinery got in my way, Shepard." Zaeed corrected with a would-be-innocent look. "Come on, you were there. You saw."

"Oh I saw." Turning back, Shepard tilted her head to the side. "Still sure about this?"

"Of course." Nassana Dantius flashed a smile that could both ease tension and make blood freeze in her opponent's veins. "What could go wrong?"

"Your daughter could become a mercenary."

"As opposed to a spectre?"" Nassana countered. "At least mercenaries have limits."

"Limits, eh?" Zaeed deactivated his omni tool and crossed his arms. "Kid will be fine, Shepard." He cast a sideways look toward the sleeping toddler. "Besides," He shrugged. "Not like I've got any plans."

"Yeah, you're still on light duty after that leg snap in the Collector base." Shepard muttered. "Chakwas didn't go easy on you."

"Laid down the fucking law, she did." Zaeed tapped his leg with his knuckles. "Just as well. Expected it to be a prosthetic by now, anyway."

"You're positive?" Shepard glanced between Nassana and Zaeed again. "I could always find someone more reliable."

"Let's see," Nassana raised a hand and began ticking people off onher long fingers. "Miranda Lawson is still sorting out her own issues after leaving Cerberus, Her toadie is probably on a date with your armory, Vakarian already has plans, and there is no way I'll be having that assassin keep an eye on her."

"Still sore over the fact that he made it through this place to kill you." Zaeed remarked.

"You, I'm ignoring." Nassana didn't skip a beat at first. Then: "Well… maybe."

Shepard smirked as she shared a knowing look with Zaeed. "no, you don't hold a grudge…"

"No point in having the justicar do it." Nassana continued; her mouth twitching into an honest smile at Shepard's comment. "She can just look through the back issues of Justicar Heroes for adventure ideas. That leaves a krogan just on this side of maturity, a quarian that could easily teach her to hack most of my security or accounts, and an emotionally damaged biotic. All of which are out of the question."

"Jack isn't that bad." Shepard countered. "Who knows, she and your little troublemaker might actually have something to bond over: two kids taken from their mothers at such a young age."

"Maybe you're right…" Nassana looked as though she was actually considering it before she shook her head. "All the more reason to limit their exposure. I'll have enough issues when she hits maturity. No need to start off early."

"That leaves you with Zaeed, Kasumi, and Legion."

"Well, the geth wouldn't be a bad option…" Nassana muttered. "Can't have a thief having the run of the place. I have too many valuables."

"And what am I, chopped liver?" Zaeed offered with a casual look up.

"You I can bribe with money." Nassana said flatly.

"Fair point." Shepard finally shrugged and the young asari one last look. She was still sound asleep. "So, when is this thing?"

"In half an hour."

"That'll give me just enough time to throw something together, appearance-wise." Shepard shrugged. "Short notice?"

"I know you work best under pressure." Nassana commented in a low and provoking voice.

"Careful who you tell that to."

"She's far away, on the Citadel, Shepard." Nassana teased. "I think I'm safe."

"Since when did you care about being safe?"

"I don't."

Shepard took a maximum of fifteen minutes to freshen up and change into something more suitable for what she assumed was a formal event. Only when she returned in a form-fitting black suit with teal accent jewelry did Nassana nod n approval.

"Very good." Her eyes followed the curve of Shepard's hip all the way up to her collared shirt, which was open and revealed a fair amount of skin. "That should have heads rolling."

"Remind me," Shepard said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "What's this for?"

"A victory dinner to celebrate the successful launch of my latest line of starship weaponry." Nassana said as she nodded toward a driver. The salarian went to retrieve a skycar. "Nothing too strenuous."

"Have anything to do with the swallowing of a smaller company to take on their patent, which led to the development of a prototype thanix cannon?"

"Tip of the iceberg. As it turns out, once that became a well-known secret, I was contacted by the Citadel fleet's outfitters. They wanted the test results. Once we all saw what that thing could really do, they sent a contract over within the hour."

"So, this is your chance to show off."

"Please." Nassana waved a hand carelessly. Her skycar was approaching the landing where they stood. "I've already had my time to gloat." Once they were in the back seat and the car was moving again, she continued. "This is just a date."

"She'll be all over your ass when she finds out I've prolonged my return for a date."

"All the more fun."

"Fun is avoiding traffic laws while on a high-speed chase." Shepard quipped.

"I heard." Nassana leaned back against the seat and let her head rest against Shepard's shoulder."I also heard about the traffic violations and property damage." She didn't have to look up to know that Shepard was smiling. "Thankfully, Illium Entertainment has already chosen to recreate that little venture and use it in a new film. They have paid Azure quite a handsome amount to keep the damaged property from being repaired yet. They wanted to study it for a set."

"Think they'll include the spectre showdown that happened there?"

"Doubt it." Nassana shook her head slightly. "Council would keep that quiet, or as quiet as possible." She then kissed the expanse of Shepard's neck that she could reach easily. "You should apply for a role, you know? I hear they're looking for body double."

"You know, now that you mentioned it, I think I heard something about that." Shepard turned her head so that her chin was resting just at the top of Nassana's scalp. "I hear they're looking for a really convincing actress to portray Marianna. Interested?"

"Screw you, Shepard." Nassana murmured. "You're the one with a flair for the dramatic."

"Oh, is that what you'd call it when I infiltrated your towers, fought my way through mercenaries that your sister hired, and made sure that you weren't killed by an assassin?"

"That," Nassana paused as the skycar started its descent out of the stream of traffic. "Was you playing the hero."

"Which you enjoyed."

"Oh, very much."

The dinner was a simple affair. People, potential buyers, and jealous competitors, all found their way around to get a look at the two. It was hard to tell which one was more or less eye candy. Both women looked their best, and there were more than a few tongues wagging. This setting was different in the sense that when you mingled, you didn't discuss business. Instead, one would simply relax and make small talk. Having grown up around military, this proved slightly difficult, but Shepard managed to get a few turians laughing. When it was over, people started making their way toward the carpark, where skycars and cabs stood waiting. While Shepard and Nassana were some of the last to leave, their driver had taken to playing chess on a table outside the venue. He was in the middle of a move when the two approached.

"He's already won." Nassana remarked as they paused a few feet from the table. "That fool just doesn't know it yet."

"Kind of like your business practices?"

"I don't just apply that to my business transactions..."

"I know. How do you think I got here?"

"One sister's murder, a business transaction that benefited us both, and-" Nassana paused for effect. "The fact that I could bribe your pet mercenary with a small retirement starter."

"Careful, this might sound like an affair."

"Let me live a little, will you?" Nassana ignored the rolled eyes from her driver. "I didn't just blow up the Collectors' base of operations."

"No, but you supplied the cannon that cut through their defenses and struck down the ship that killed me."

"I did say before that you had a flare for the dramatic."

When they returned to the penthouse, it was to hear a bout of laughter coming from the sitting room. Both women paused in the doorway to see Zaeed sitting on a lounger with his bad leg stretched out. At first, they made the assumption that he had found something entertaining to watch, but a squeal of delight told them that he was not the only one enjoying himself. Zaeed's face was screwed up in concentration now. He was looking at something on the display mounted on the wall. Following his gaze, Shepard saw a string of ships ranging from fighters to dreadnoughts.

"Go on then, which one?" He asked. Apparently, he got his answer immediately. "That one? That big one there?"

"Yes!"

"Right then. Easy does it…" Zaeed raided his arm and aimed his omni tool at the display. Shepard recognized one of the games someone had been selling on Zakera ward on the Citadel. "Go on, hit it."

A ping was heard after the slow grind of a targeting laser. After a few seconds, one of the larger cruisers exploded.

"Yay!"

"Beautiful, I swear." Zaeed was laughing again. "God, I hope Vido's ship goes down like that one did."

"Having fun, Zaeed?" Shepard asked while leaning against the doorframe. His reaction was quick; looking up so fast his neck cracked loudly.

"Could've warned me you were back, Shepard."

"Why, and miss all of this?"

"She'll be a huntress by the time she is thirty." Nassana swept past Shepard and kissed her daughter on the top of the head before retiring to change. "Don't let him pollute your mind too much, darling."

"Po-loot!"

"That's right, love." Zaeed nodded approvingly. "Means filling your head with useful stuff you can use against your mum later."

"Careful." Shepard warned. "Don't teach her to be too accurate with that. Garrus might get jealous."

"Oi, Vakarian's had his time in tactical." Zaeed shot back. "Bastard blows shit up all the time. I get a turn on occasion."

"So do I." Shepard activated her own omni tool and synced it with Zaeed's game. "And it starts right now. Prepare to lose, Massani. Even with her daughter's help, I'll clear this minefield before you."

"Challenge accepted." Zaeed narrowed his eyes again. "Well then, you heard her. She says we're going to lose. What do you say to that?"

"No!"

"There's a love."

"And here I thought my night was made…" Nassana commented airily. "An engagement with a gorgeous war hero on my arm, successful business opportunities, and I come home to find my daughter blowing up ships with her babysitter. To top it all off, said war hero adds to it by joining in."

"Oh, change clothes and pick up a blaster." Shepard leaned back against the pillows. "Who knows, I might let you take a few lucky shots."

"Well, I did just have the bar restocked." Nassana thought for a second before leaving to change finally.

"Not the kind of shots I was talking about, but why not?" Shepard said this more to Zaeed, who grinned.

"Alcohol involvement? Knew there was a reason I agreed to this."

"One step over the limit, and it comes out of that bonus." Nassana raised her voice to compensate for the distance and the next round of explosions.

"Thinks of everything, she does." Zaeed shook his head. "Goddamn pay rises…"

A/N 2: So, hands up for those that think this pair is asking for trouble. Now, Hands up if you think that this kind of trouble is sexy. ;) While From Ashes is still my main priority, along with the stories that will fall under its canon umbrella, this is purely experimental. Tell me what you think, and let's see if you can figure out a little secret I have in store for From Ashes later on. It was mentioned back in chapters 32: Of Loss and Discovery, and 34: Of Spectres and Ghosts. Salute to the ones that can draw connections :)