Mass Effect: Jeff "Joker" Moreau/Ashley Williams
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: Joker/Ashley
Theme set: Epsilon
Title: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May
Rating: M (for language and references to sex)
Warning[s]: sexual situations, character death, spoilers for ME1 and ME2
01 - Motion
He can’t imagine only serving groundside (he’d claw his own eyeballs out); he asks, “You get motion sick or something?” and she just gives him a funny look and changes the subject.
02 - Cool
She’s standing in the cockpit, covered in ash and dirt and sweating like a pig, and he’s just grinning his smug I-saved-you-from-a-volcano grin, not a single drop beneath that damn ballcap.
03 - Young
She asks, “So you never played baseball or rode a bike or anything like that?” and his glare makes her wish she’d brought her rifle so she could shoot herself in the face.
04 - Last
He hears, “Suppressing fire! Cover your flank! Cover your-” and then static.
05 - Wrong
He’ll never say out loud that Shepard made the wrong choice.
06 - Gentle
She’s lounging in the gunner’s seat next to him, one leg dangling over the armrest, when she raises an eyebrow and asks, “So how do you… you know… without breaking something?”
07 - One
Most of the women he’s been with have called out “Jeff!” like they know him, so when she cries, “Oh, fuck yeah!” he knows he’s got a keeper.
08 - Thousand
After she gives him thousand-to-one odds, he grins, announces, “You’re on,” and slams the first shot of tequila.
09 - King
She’s only got one chance at beating his hand, and she smirks at him as she flips over the wild card.
10 - Learn
“If we get busted, we’ll just tell them Shepard and Alenko were bad role models,” he says, and she only remembers not to smack him in the shoulder at the last second.
11 - Blur
Virmire, Ilos, the Citadel, Alchera… and everything that gives his life meaning is gone, 1, 2, 3.
12 - Wait
They were going to wait until shore leave, but then warm breath against his ear murmurs, “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.”
13 - Change
Losing Jenkins was hard enough without replacing him with a loudmouth gunnery chief with opinions way above her pay grade.
14 - Command
He only ever pulls rank on her once, on a private channel that’s a too-goddamn-thin thread to that fucking AA tower, but she just says, “Sorry, Joker. I don’t take orders from you.”
15 - Hold
She stands next to the pilot’s seat, one hip leaning against the armrest, and he checks the security monitors in the CIC before slipping an arm around her waist.
16 - Need
She gasps, “I swear to God if I get court-martialed for this, I’ll-” but then he moves his hand and she trails off in a barely stifled moan.
17 - Vision
A strange voice lights up the comm, saying the commander’s unconscious and they need evac; he sets the coordinates, then asks, “Who the hell are you?”
18 - Attention
Chairs line the gravesite, but he stands with the rest of the crew despite the way his hands cramp on his crutches as the politicians drone on and on.
19 - Soul
The first time they make out in the cockpit, all he can think about is what she said about her dad still watching her.
20 - Picture
She’s looking at him from the corner of her eye when she brings up his clean-shaven academy graduation picture; he shields his chin with one hand and says, “Forget it.”
21 - Fool
When he hears about what happened on Horizon, how Alenko walked away from his dead lover come back to life, he’s never wanted to kick someone’s ass more.
22 - Mad
The whole cockpit fills with the nasty smell wafting off her, and he covers his nose with his arm as she asks him to kindly get them the hell away from the crazy zombie planet.
23 - Child
When she reminds him her little sister could kick his ass, he reminds her that’s not really saying much.
24 - Now
Sometimes he catches sight of the Cerberus patch on his uniform, and he wonders what she’d think of it.
25 - Shadow
That night, whenever he closes his eyes, he sees a page straight from the academy history textbook-a woman’s silhouette burned into the granite in front of a bank in Hiroshima.
26 - Goodbye
Shepard doesn’t know he’s tapped in, so she doesn’t know that when Ash says, “I don’t regret a thing,” she’s talking to him.
27 - Hide
By the time they find a place secluded enough that no one will stumble across them and comfortable enough that he can find a position that won’t break anything, he feels like his skin is going to split open with the need to touch her.
28 - Fortune
As they lie panting, covered in sweat, he asks her what made her change her mind, but she shakes her head and asks, “You know anything about this planet the salarian team is on?”
29 - Safe
Over the sound of gunfire and shouted salarian commands, she says, “At least you won’t get court-martialed.”
30 - Ghost
The new Normandy has almost everything.
31 - Book
Shepard lays a volume of poetry on his console and says, “I thought you might want to have that.”
32 - Eye
She’s never met anyone with eyes that color before.
33 - Never
She snorts a laugh as she walks away, hips swaying, and says, “I’ve got two words for you, pal: regs and fraternization.”
34 - Sing
She asks him if he’s ever thought about what music they should play at his funeral, and he calls her a morbid psycho.
35 - Sudden
That shift is the same as any other until warm fingers slide down his neck, burrow into his shirt, and come to rest against his chest.
36 - Stop
During yet another religious argument, she gestures out the viewport and snaps, “Don’t you ever stop and look at what’s in front of you?”-so he does.
37 - Time
As they sit in the comm room of the Kiev, orbiting Alchera and waiting for the Alliance brass to patch in, a shadow-eyed Alenko says, “I don’t have time to think about it right now,” and Joker nods his understanding.
38 - Wash
When she dismisses his favorite old show as ancient, he shakes his head and says, “Whatever, the pilot guy’s hilarious.”
39 - Torn
“That was my favorite shirt, you ass,” she murmurs, her voice low so no one passing the storage compartment will hear; “Bitch, bitch, bitch,” he whispers back.
40 - History
He tells her nobody cares about Shanxi anymore, but they both know it’s bullshit.
41 - Power
They can bring back the dead, but only the dead they think are worth four billion credits.
42 - Bother
One night, somewhere between Therum and Feros, she doesn’t come to the cockpit, and as he glances over his shoulder for the dozenth time, he rubs a hand over his eyes and mutters, “Aw, crap.”
43 - God
She’s quiet for a long time after he says he’s an atheist.
44 - Wall
Green blood and white goo spatter the concrete in front of her, and she whispers, “Please, God, I know he’s an ass, but keep him safe.”
45 - Naked
He hates the moment when someone sees his bare legs for the first time, how thin they are, the criss-crossing scars, but her hands don’t even hesitate before skimming down the pale skin of his thigh.
46 - Drive
She says she’s had to work her ass off to prove she’s just as good as everyone else, and even though he doesn’t look up from the console, his lips quirk in a smile that for once doesn’t seem sarcastic.
47 - Harm
After she steps on his foot with her goddamn combat boot, after he finally catches his breath and can talk again, he grits out, “At least we’re not naked.”
48 - Precious
He didn’t think there was anything he’d risk getting grounded for.
49 - Hunger
When he complains that she’s brought him ham and cheese again, she chucks the sandwich at his head and stalks out of the cockpit.
50 - Believe
For a while, she almost had him thinking there was something more, but now he’s back to staring out at the void.
Pairing: Joker/Ashley
Theme set: Epsilon
Title: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May
Rating: M (for language and references to sex)
Warning[s]: sexual situations, character death, spoilers for ME1 and ME2
01 - Motion
He can’t imagine only serving groundside (he’d claw his own eyeballs out); he asks, “You get motion sick or something?” and she just gives him a funny look and changes the subject.
02 - Cool
She’s standing in the cockpit, covered in ash and dirt and sweating like a pig, and he’s just grinning his smug I-saved-you-from-a-volcano grin, not a single drop beneath that damn ballcap.
03 - Young
She asks, “So you never played baseball or rode a bike or anything like that?” and his glare makes her wish she’d brought her rifle so she could shoot herself in the face.
04 - Last
He hears, “Suppressing fire! Cover your flank! Cover your-” and then static.
05 - Wrong
He’ll never say out loud that Shepard made the wrong choice.
06 - Gentle
She’s lounging in the gunner’s seat next to him, one leg dangling over the armrest, when she raises an eyebrow and asks, “So how do you… you know… without breaking something?”
07 - One
Most of the women he’s been with have called out “Jeff!” like they know him, so when she cries, “Oh, fuck yeah!” he knows he’s got a keeper.
08 - Thousand
After she gives him thousand-to-one odds, he grins, announces, “You’re on,” and slams the first shot of tequila.
09 - King
She’s only got one chance at beating his hand, and she smirks at him as she flips over the wild card.
10 - Learn
“If we get busted, we’ll just tell them Shepard and Alenko were bad role models,” he says, and she only remembers not to smack him in the shoulder at the last second.
11 - Blur
Virmire, Ilos, the Citadel, Alchera… and everything that gives his life meaning is gone, 1, 2, 3.
12 - Wait
They were going to wait until shore leave, but then warm breath against his ear murmurs, “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.”
13 - Change
Losing Jenkins was hard enough without replacing him with a loudmouth gunnery chief with opinions way above her pay grade.
14 - Command
He only ever pulls rank on her once, on a private channel that’s a too-goddamn-thin thread to that fucking AA tower, but she just says, “Sorry, Joker. I don’t take orders from you.”
15 - Hold
She stands next to the pilot’s seat, one hip leaning against the armrest, and he checks the security monitors in the CIC before slipping an arm around her waist.
16 - Need
She gasps, “I swear to God if I get court-martialed for this, I’ll-” but then he moves his hand and she trails off in a barely stifled moan.
17 - Vision
A strange voice lights up the comm, saying the commander’s unconscious and they need evac; he sets the coordinates, then asks, “Who the hell are you?”
18 - Attention
Chairs line the gravesite, but he stands with the rest of the crew despite the way his hands cramp on his crutches as the politicians drone on and on.
19 - Soul
The first time they make out in the cockpit, all he can think about is what she said about her dad still watching her.
20 - Picture
She’s looking at him from the corner of her eye when she brings up his clean-shaven academy graduation picture; he shields his chin with one hand and says, “Forget it.”
21 - Fool
When he hears about what happened on Horizon, how Alenko walked away from his dead lover come back to life, he’s never wanted to kick someone’s ass more.
22 - Mad
The whole cockpit fills with the nasty smell wafting off her, and he covers his nose with his arm as she asks him to kindly get them the hell away from the crazy zombie planet.
23 - Child
When she reminds him her little sister could kick his ass, he reminds her that’s not really saying much.
24 - Now
Sometimes he catches sight of the Cerberus patch on his uniform, and he wonders what she’d think of it.
25 - Shadow
That night, whenever he closes his eyes, he sees a page straight from the academy history textbook-a woman’s silhouette burned into the granite in front of a bank in Hiroshima.
26 - Goodbye
Shepard doesn’t know he’s tapped in, so she doesn’t know that when Ash says, “I don’t regret a thing,” she’s talking to him.
27 - Hide
By the time they find a place secluded enough that no one will stumble across them and comfortable enough that he can find a position that won’t break anything, he feels like his skin is going to split open with the need to touch her.
28 - Fortune
As they lie panting, covered in sweat, he asks her what made her change her mind, but she shakes her head and asks, “You know anything about this planet the salarian team is on?”
29 - Safe
Over the sound of gunfire and shouted salarian commands, she says, “At least you won’t get court-martialed.”
30 - Ghost
The new Normandy has almost everything.
31 - Book
Shepard lays a volume of poetry on his console and says, “I thought you might want to have that.”
32 - Eye
She’s never met anyone with eyes that color before.
33 - Never
She snorts a laugh as she walks away, hips swaying, and says, “I’ve got two words for you, pal: regs and fraternization.”
34 - Sing
She asks him if he’s ever thought about what music they should play at his funeral, and he calls her a morbid psycho.
35 - Sudden
That shift is the same as any other until warm fingers slide down his neck, burrow into his shirt, and come to rest against his chest.
36 - Stop
During yet another religious argument, she gestures out the viewport and snaps, “Don’t you ever stop and look at what’s in front of you?”-so he does.
37 - Time
As they sit in the comm room of the Kiev, orbiting Alchera and waiting for the Alliance brass to patch in, a shadow-eyed Alenko says, “I don’t have time to think about it right now,” and Joker nods his understanding.
38 - Wash
When she dismisses his favorite old show as ancient, he shakes his head and says, “Whatever, the pilot guy’s hilarious.”
39 - Torn
“That was my favorite shirt, you ass,” she murmurs, her voice low so no one passing the storage compartment will hear; “Bitch, bitch, bitch,” he whispers back.
40 - History
He tells her nobody cares about Shanxi anymore, but they both know it’s bullshit.
41 - Power
They can bring back the dead, but only the dead they think are worth four billion credits.
42 - Bother
One night, somewhere between Therum and Feros, she doesn’t come to the cockpit, and as he glances over his shoulder for the dozenth time, he rubs a hand over his eyes and mutters, “Aw, crap.”
43 - God
She’s quiet for a long time after he says he’s an atheist.
44 - Wall
Green blood and white goo spatter the concrete in front of her, and she whispers, “Please, God, I know he’s an ass, but keep him safe.”
45 - Naked
He hates the moment when someone sees his bare legs for the first time, how thin they are, the criss-crossing scars, but her hands don’t even hesitate before skimming down the pale skin of his thigh.
46 - Drive
She says she’s had to work her ass off to prove she’s just as good as everyone else, and even though he doesn’t look up from the console, his lips quirk in a smile that for once doesn’t seem sarcastic.
47 - Harm
After she steps on his foot with her goddamn combat boot, after he finally catches his breath and can talk again, he grits out, “At least we’re not naked.”
48 - Precious
He didn’t think there was anything he’d risk getting grounded for.
49 - Hunger
When he complains that she’s brought him ham and cheese again, she chucks the sandwich at his head and stalks out of the cockpit.
50 - Believe
For a while, she almost had him thinking there was something more, but now he’s back to staring out at the void.