Mountain Climbing: a Mass Effect fanfic 1/3
Title: Mountain Climbing, 1/3
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: F!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko
Spoilers (if any): Mass Effect 3
Summary:
A/N: A fill for a prompt on the Mass Effect Kink Meme, so it contains explicit sex and a slight hint of biotic play. This Shepard is not related to Anla Shepard in my other Mass Effect stories.
The original prompt: After replaying all three games I've noticed how different each version of Shepard's body looks: in ME3 I think she looks really willowy and stick-thin, whereas in ME2 -- at least in armour -- she looks big and intimidating in her armour, and the same in ME1.
So this got me thinking: I've read a lot of fics where Shepard is described as thin, or small, or petite, or just littler than people expect. Being thin, small and waifish myself, I really like reading about someone of my build taking down Reapers and headbutting krogan.
But now I'd really like to read something where Shepard is just strong: not fussed on context -- battle, smut, towering over the Councillors, anything. I;d like to see FemShepard as big, well-muscled, intimidating to stand next to simply because of her height/width: pretty much the equivalent of Vega. Also, would love to see that her LI (preferably Kaidan if there is a love interest, but wouldn't say no to Thane or Vega) really likes it and doesn't feel threatened or intimidated by her strength.
Gimme something fun and light-hearted!
It had started, Kaidan supposed, with that sparring session in the hangar. He and Shepard had been having an amiable discussion about weapon modifications that had lasted all the way from starboard observation to the shuttle bay.
"I prefer the precision and efficiency of a pistol," Kaidan said. "Put a decent scope on something with real stopping power, like a Paladin or a Carnifex, and it's practically as good as a sniper rifle."
"But can you take out a Cerberus engineer all the way across the field, far enough away that his turret can't detect you?" Shepard retorted as she led the way to the weapons locker. "Maybe the Widow can only fire a single shot before I have to pop the heatsink, but it packs enough of a punch that it'll tear through that engineer's skull, kinetic shields and all."
"Well, not everyone can fire that thing without it nearly breaking their arm," he shot back, watching as she took out her favorite shotgun. "Sure, it might take me a little bit longer, having to take out his shields first -"
Shepard waited until he had gotten his own assault rifle before walking towards the weapons bench. "Meanwhile, he's ducking back in cover, shooting back, putting down another turret, or repairing an Atlas."
"But once I've got his shields down, I can use my biotics," Kaidan pointed out.
"Well, not everyone has biotics," Shepard shot back, mimicking his words, but smiled to take the sting out of them. As always, he was struck by how bright her teeth were against her dark skin.
"What if a bunch of them managed to sneak up on you? Or one of those damned phantoms? You won't have time to reload before they're right on top of you. At least a pistol has several shots in a magazine -"
"That's what frag grenades are for." She started to disassemble the Claymore with practiced ease. "With the right mods and a little luck, I can even shoot through one enemy and kill another."
He leaned against the bench. "You think the tradeoff is worth doing less damage? Especially since you need to make each shot count."
Shepard shrugged. "The guns I tend to use are so powerful, it doesn't really matter."
His lips quirked in a rueful smile as she made room for him at the bench. "That's true."
He'd asked her once, when they were both at the Spectre office, if she'd let him try out that heavy shotgun; she'd hesitated for a moment before she smiled and said, Only 'cause you're special. Then he'd damned near broken his arm when he pulled the trigger, and the recoil did knock him on his ass; the blast had been deafening. Shepard was so built and solid that she'd just absorbed the force. The ache in his shoulder and the bruise on his ass had deterred him from asking if he could try out her sniper rifle.
A companionable silence descended as they worked; he didn't know about Shepard, but he enjoyed these moments of quiet, surrounded by the scents of metal, gun oil, her fragrance, and the warmth of her body. His fingers brushed hers when they reached for the tools scattered on the bench, not quite unintentional touches; when he glanced up, she was smiling. The sound of the elevator doors opening broke into his thoughts, and he turned to see James walking out.
"Hey, Commander, Major," James called. "You two tryin' to take my job?"
Shepard looked up from her gun. "Just adjusting some mods for the next mission."
"Oh yeah? Where we headed?" The younger marine walked over and leaned on the console, watching them work.
"Noveria," Kaidan answered, glancing up from his rifle. "Hackett wants us to take out a Cerberus fighter base."
James perked up. "Huh. Any chance I'll get in on the action this time?"
"Sorry, James," the commander said, shaking her head. "I'm taking Kaidan and Garrus - I need tech experts. Hackett wants the base intact, not in ruins."
The other man's face fell. "Awww, man!"
Kaidan suppressed a smile; the other marine sounded just like a boy who'd been told he couldn't go out to play with the other kids.
The commander reached out to give James's shoulder a friendly slap. "Sorry, James, but you're a walking insurance liability."
James looked outraged at the accusation. "With all due respect, ma'am - so are you!"
Shepard laughed. "Right, and having just one wrecker in the party is enough! Tell you what - I'll take you with me on the next mission if no one cares about collateral damage."
"I'm holdin' you to that." James cracked his knuckles. "In the meantime... how 'bout another dance?"
Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "'Dance'?"
Shepard rolled her eyes as she put her shotgun back together. "James's fancy term for sparring."
The other brow joined the first at Kaidan's hairline; he wasn't sure whether to be impressed by James's courage or shake his head at the foolishness of the challenge. The commander was a head taller than James, with much the same muscular physique, and there were very few who would be willing to challenge her to a physical contest. Unless they were krogan.
"Oh? That's a relief - I've actually seen you dance," Kaidan teased, bumping his shoulder against hers, though she was so tall, he was more bumping her arm.
The commander bumped him back, hard enough to nearly stagger him. "Shut up, you. As if your dance moves were any better." To James she said, "Gimme a minute."
James brightened. "All right!"
After collapsing the reassembled shotgun, she pushed it into Kaidan's hands and said, "Here, put this back when you're finished with your rifle." After cleaning the grease off her hands, she went off to a clear space to do warm-up exercises.
This time it was James's eyebrows that rose. "Well, aren't you special, Major - I didn't think she'd let anyone else touch that shotgun."
Kaidan smirked as he finished putting his rifle back together and wiped his hands on a rag, aware of Shepard's amusement like sunlight on his skin. "Jealous?"
"Me? Nah. Well, okay, maybe a little," the other man admitted. "That's a damn fine piece."
"Uh-huh," Kaidan said, suppressing a grin at the unintentional ambiguity of that statement. This was James, after all - he didn't do subtle.
"Are you just all talk, James?" Shepard called from the wide aisle between the two shuttles, hands propped on her hips. "Get your ass in gear, I haven't got all day."
James grinned and called back, "You got time for a quickie, though, right?" Turning back to Kaidan, he said, "Excuse me, sir, but I gotta go defend my reputation."
"Your reputation for mouthing off to your superior officers, or your reputation for brawling?" Kaidan asked in a dry voice, collapsing his rifle and tucking it under his arm, then picked up Shepard's heavy shotgun.
"Both!" With that, the other man gave Kaidan a cocky grin before he turned and swaggered forward a few strides to meet the commander.
Kaidan hurried over to the weapons locker to stow the guns away, so he'd have time to watch and not miss anything; he'd never had the leisure to see Shepard in motion after her reinstatement, and certainly not in the heat of battle. With a small pang of sorrow, he remembered how she used to spar with him, Ashley and the other marines in the cargo bay on the SR-1, while Wrex and Garrus watched with a mix of bemusement and amusement. They'd all bonded during those sessions - and over the betting pools.
The two marines were circling each other now, throwing feints to probe each other's defenses; James must've learned caution the first time around, and Kaidan wished he could've been there to see it. That, or the younger man was finally learning that just charging into an unknown situation could get him killed in a messy way.
James might be more wary of Shepard, but he still hadn't learned patience; he began attacking in earnest, opening with a fast flurry of punches, trying to get past the commander's blocking arms. The commander seemed determined to stay on the defensive, letting the other marine waste his energy on an aggressive attack, but then she crouched and rammed her shoulder against his chest hard enough for Kaidan to hear the impact, slamming James right off his feet and onto his ass. Kaidan winced; that had to have hurt - and he suspected James was going to have a pretty spectacular bruise there. She stepped forward and offered James her hand.
James took her hand with a wince, and rubbed at his chest after she pulled him to his feet, a rueful expression on his face. Breathing hard, he said, "Damn, Commander, didja have to hit me that hard?"
The commander was unsympathetic. "Better you learn here than out in the field - I'm more forgiving than a brute."
"I wouldn't try to punch a brute in the first place!" James said, indignant.
Shepard looked skeptical. "That's not what I saw on Menae."
"Wait, what? You tried to punch one of those big monsters?" Kaidan said with disbelief.
"I was in the middle of reloading, okay?" James said, sounding defensive. "It was after it knocked us off that firing platform - and there wasn't any goddamned cover except for that one itty bitty rock."
"Cover won't help you with one of those things, anyway," Kaidan pointed out.
Shepard intervened. "Well, to be fair, we didn't know that - it was the first time any of us had ever seen one, Garrus included."
"Anyway," James continued, "I just barely managed to dodge in time - otherwise I'd be a big red smear on that moon - and I stuck it with my omni-blade." He scowled at their expressions. "What? It seemed like a good idea at the time!"
Shepard vocalized what Kaidan was thinking. "I'm surprised you haven't died in the kind of horrible and messy ways Darwin would've approved of, with ideas like that."
James grinned, undaunted by their disapproval, and said, "I'm not that easy to kill." He bounced a little on his toes. "So, how 'bout best two outta three?"
"Aren't you tired of me knocking you on your ass by now?" Shepard asked, her voice dry. "Or are you a closet masochist?"
Kaidan did his best to put out of his mind a sudden image of Shepard in a tight leather dominitrix outfit; some dark corner of his self he didn't even know existed went hnngh before he squashed it. Now was not the right time to reveal his secret fantasies - not that there was ever a right time.
"I figure maybe I'll get to win one day - and it might be today." James made a little beckoning motion with his hand. "Come on, Commander - you're not chicken, are you?"
Shepard just gave the other marine a dry look, while Kaidan hid a wince at the taunt; you just couldn't say something like that to the commander and expect to get away with it, and especially not to someone who was known as the Butcher of Torfan. Not that anyone had the courage to say that to her face, not even angry, suicidal batarians.
The commander said nothing, just stepped forward with her fists held loosely in front of her, but her expression promised payback of one sort or another - and likely to be painful. James was smart enough to look uncertain for a moment, then his face cleared, his usual cocky grin firmly back in place.
This time Shepard was the one who opened with an aggressive attack; James's eyes widened as she forced him back and further back, his arms moving fast in frantic attempts to block her black fists as they descended like the wrath of God, too fast and furious for him to even get a punch of his own in. Kaidan heard the meaty thuds as not a few of her blows got past James's defenses to land on his torso, a target she seemed entirely too happy to devote all her attention to.
"Come on, Vega, my grandma can hit harder than that - and she's dead," the commander taunted. She didn't sound winded at all.
Stung, James began hitting back instead of just defending himself, grunting as her blows got through; few of his punches landed, though, given Shepard's extra reach.
"Oh yeah? I bet my abuela can kick your abuela's ass!" James shot back.
Shepard's grin flashed white. "I very much doubt that."
It didn't seem fair that someone as large as the commander could move with such grace and speed. Kaidan could see that she was just toying with the younger marine, now that she'd proven her point; she was ducking James's fists or slapping them aside with almost contemptuous ease. They were both sweating by now; it made her dark skin glow under the hangar bay lights like ebony. He was watching the two soldiers fight so attentively, he almost missed the sounds of the elevator doors opening and footsteps approaching.
"With all due respect, sir... maybe you should put your tongue back in your mouth."
Kaidan smiled as he glanced aside at the shuttle pilot, who had come up to lean on the console next to him, before his gaze was drawn back to the sparring marines; Cortez's expression was neutral, but his blue eyes were dancing with laughter. "Was I that obvious?"
"Thought maybe I'd have to break out the vac unit - it was a near thing."
"Like you don't look at James the same way I look at Shepard?" Kaidan retorted in a low whisper, so that Shepard and James couldn't hear them, though with all the grunting and smacks of fist against flesh, he doubted they could overhear his conversation with Steve.
There was amused agreement in Cortez's voice. "Touche. You've got me there, sir."
"So," Kaidan began, slanting a sly glance at the pilot. "The usual?"
"You're on," was Cortez's confident answer.
Kaidan just shook his head. "I'm starting to feel guilty, it's like stealing money from you."
A sudden flurry distracted them both; Kaidan swallowed as the prominent muscles of the commander's bare arms flexed under dark skin that glowed under the lights. Her form reminded him of the big cats he'd seen once at the zoo: dangerous, sleek, powerful, moving with sinuous grace and speed despite their size.
He'd never figured himself for a mountain climber, preferring slim women, or handsome, lithe men, but Shepard had always had a way of defying expectations. She was big in every sense of the word, with a big laugh, a big presence, a big temper - and God help anyone who ever got in her way. He couldn't help but be drawn to all that energy and power.
James stepped up his attack, changing his tactics from traditional marine fisticuffs to grab hold of Shepard's hand as she threw a punch, wrapped his other arm around her waist, and used her own momentum to throw her. She managed to somehow twist in midair and landed heavily on her feet, but what could be seen of her expression through the sweat was one of surprise and grudging respect.
"Almost got me with that one," Shepard conceded as she circled James.
"Yanno, I bet you could take on a brute with your bare hands, Commander - you're almost as big as one. Hell, you're almost as heavy as one!" James added with a laugh.
"Oh, man," Cortez said with a soft groan.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Kaidan agreed with a wince.
"Almost threw out my back," James had the gall to say, adding insult to injury. Or, more like throwing oil onto the flames, or digging a deeper hole, Kaidan thought. The carnage was going to be terrible.
There was the sound of a slap as Cortez clapped his hand against his forehead. "Mr. Vega, what're you thinking?" He sighed. "Even I know not to say something like that to a woman - and I prefer men."
"Are you calling me fat, Vega?" Shepard's voice was cold, and low with menace.
"Uh-oh," Kaidan murmured.
Even James finally realized the danger he was in; he backpedaled with amazing speed. "No, no!" he said with a nervous laugh. "Whoa, now, I'm not saying you're fat, I'm just saying you're a big girl!"
All of the amusement and good humor had drained out of the commander's face by now, leaving it as hard and unyielding as granite; Kaidan would rather face a Reaper with a dull spoon than Shepard in that sort of mood, biotics be damned.
James was impulsive, not stupid, and, seeing the danger signs himself, immediately abandoned his attack to drop into a defensive crouch. It was, as Kaidan predicted, too little, too late; Shepard simply grabbed one of his hands, pivoted on her heel, and flipped the younger marine over her shoulder. Kaidan flinched in sympathy; he felt the impact as James's body crashed onto the deck through his boots even at that distance.
Cortez was concerned enough that he took a step forward, as if he wanted to see if James was all right, but then they heard him groaning; the pilot relaxed. Shepard straightened, dusting off her hands, but instead of looking satisfied at her victory, she still looked angry.
"I'm... going to hit the showers," the commander said, not meeting Kaidan's eyes as she walked past him, her long strides taking her to the elevator before he could say anything.
"Shepard! I'll talk to you... later?" Kaidan said to the closing elevator doors; there was only the faint scent of her sweat and fragrance in the air to mark her passage. He scratched his head, puzzled by the commander's behavior.
"Well, I guess I'd better get Mr. Vega up to see the doc," the pilot said, straightening up from where he was leaning on the console.
"I don't think Dr. Chakwas has anything that can patch up a broken ego," Kaidan remarked, then pressed his hand against the other man's chest, halting Cortez in his tracks. "Aren't you forgetting something, Lieutenant?"
The pilot snorted a laugh. "I can see nothing gets by you, Major." He waved his omni-tool. "There, paid in full. I should've known better than to bet against the commander."
Kaidan didn't bother to check his account; he trusted Steve's word. "Well, you don't know her like I do. I have a good rule of thumb: never bet against Shepard in a fight."
"I'll remember that," Cortez said. With a vague salute, he turned and walked towards James, who was still flat on his back.
Kaidan had intended to follow after Shepard, but decided he'd better stay long enough to make sure James was all right as he hit the button to summon the elevator.
"Wuh, w-was it something I said, Esteban?" James said in a shaky voice as Cortez pulled him into a sitting position.
"I think it was everything you said, Mr. Vega," the pilot retorted as he slung James's arm over his shoulder and hauled him up. "Come on, on your feet - we'd better have Chakwas take a look at you."
"Anyone get the transponder of the ship that hit me?" James mumbled as Cortez dragged his fellow lieutenant's ass towards the elevator, where Kaidan was holding the doors open for them.
Kaidan chuckled, though part of him was not at ease with the way the commander was acting. "Yeah, the SSV Shepard."
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: F!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko
Spoilers (if any): Mass Effect 3
Summary:
A/N: A fill for a prompt on the Mass Effect Kink Meme, so it contains explicit sex and a slight hint of biotic play. This Shepard is not related to Anla Shepard in my other Mass Effect stories.
The original prompt: After replaying all three games I've noticed how different each version of Shepard's body looks: in ME3 I think she looks really willowy and stick-thin, whereas in ME2 -- at least in armour -- she looks big and intimidating in her armour, and the same in ME1.
So this got me thinking: I've read a lot of fics where Shepard is described as thin, or small, or petite, or just littler than people expect. Being thin, small and waifish myself, I really like reading about someone of my build taking down Reapers and headbutting krogan.
But now I'd really like to read something where Shepard is just strong: not fussed on context -- battle, smut, towering over the Councillors, anything. I;d like to see FemShepard as big, well-muscled, intimidating to stand next to simply because of her height/width: pretty much the equivalent of Vega. Also, would love to see that her LI (preferably Kaidan if there is a love interest, but wouldn't say no to Thane or Vega) really likes it and doesn't feel threatened or intimidated by her strength.
Gimme something fun and light-hearted!
It had started, Kaidan supposed, with that sparring session in the hangar. He and Shepard had been having an amiable discussion about weapon modifications that had lasted all the way from starboard observation to the shuttle bay.
"I prefer the precision and efficiency of a pistol," Kaidan said. "Put a decent scope on something with real stopping power, like a Paladin or a Carnifex, and it's practically as good as a sniper rifle."
"But can you take out a Cerberus engineer all the way across the field, far enough away that his turret can't detect you?" Shepard retorted as she led the way to the weapons locker. "Maybe the Widow can only fire a single shot before I have to pop the heatsink, but it packs enough of a punch that it'll tear through that engineer's skull, kinetic shields and all."
"Well, not everyone can fire that thing without it nearly breaking their arm," he shot back, watching as she took out her favorite shotgun. "Sure, it might take me a little bit longer, having to take out his shields first -"
Shepard waited until he had gotten his own assault rifle before walking towards the weapons bench. "Meanwhile, he's ducking back in cover, shooting back, putting down another turret, or repairing an Atlas."
"But once I've got his shields down, I can use my biotics," Kaidan pointed out.
"Well, not everyone has biotics," Shepard shot back, mimicking his words, but smiled to take the sting out of them. As always, he was struck by how bright her teeth were against her dark skin.
"What if a bunch of them managed to sneak up on you? Or one of those damned phantoms? You won't have time to reload before they're right on top of you. At least a pistol has several shots in a magazine -"
"That's what frag grenades are for." She started to disassemble the Claymore with practiced ease. "With the right mods and a little luck, I can even shoot through one enemy and kill another."
He leaned against the bench. "You think the tradeoff is worth doing less damage? Especially since you need to make each shot count."
Shepard shrugged. "The guns I tend to use are so powerful, it doesn't really matter."
His lips quirked in a rueful smile as she made room for him at the bench. "That's true."
He'd asked her once, when they were both at the Spectre office, if she'd let him try out that heavy shotgun; she'd hesitated for a moment before she smiled and said, Only 'cause you're special. Then he'd damned near broken his arm when he pulled the trigger, and the recoil did knock him on his ass; the blast had been deafening. Shepard was so built and solid that she'd just absorbed the force. The ache in his shoulder and the bruise on his ass had deterred him from asking if he could try out her sniper rifle.
A companionable silence descended as they worked; he didn't know about Shepard, but he enjoyed these moments of quiet, surrounded by the scents of metal, gun oil, her fragrance, and the warmth of her body. His fingers brushed hers when they reached for the tools scattered on the bench, not quite unintentional touches; when he glanced up, she was smiling. The sound of the elevator doors opening broke into his thoughts, and he turned to see James walking out.
"Hey, Commander, Major," James called. "You two tryin' to take my job?"
Shepard looked up from her gun. "Just adjusting some mods for the next mission."
"Oh yeah? Where we headed?" The younger marine walked over and leaned on the console, watching them work.
"Noveria," Kaidan answered, glancing up from his rifle. "Hackett wants us to take out a Cerberus fighter base."
James perked up. "Huh. Any chance I'll get in on the action this time?"
"Sorry, James," the commander said, shaking her head. "I'm taking Kaidan and Garrus - I need tech experts. Hackett wants the base intact, not in ruins."
The other man's face fell. "Awww, man!"
Kaidan suppressed a smile; the other marine sounded just like a boy who'd been told he couldn't go out to play with the other kids.
The commander reached out to give James's shoulder a friendly slap. "Sorry, James, but you're a walking insurance liability."
James looked outraged at the accusation. "With all due respect, ma'am - so are you!"
Shepard laughed. "Right, and having just one wrecker in the party is enough! Tell you what - I'll take you with me on the next mission if no one cares about collateral damage."
"I'm holdin' you to that." James cracked his knuckles. "In the meantime... how 'bout another dance?"
Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "'Dance'?"
Shepard rolled her eyes as she put her shotgun back together. "James's fancy term for sparring."
The other brow joined the first at Kaidan's hairline; he wasn't sure whether to be impressed by James's courage or shake his head at the foolishness of the challenge. The commander was a head taller than James, with much the same muscular physique, and there were very few who would be willing to challenge her to a physical contest. Unless they were krogan.
"Oh? That's a relief - I've actually seen you dance," Kaidan teased, bumping his shoulder against hers, though she was so tall, he was more bumping her arm.
The commander bumped him back, hard enough to nearly stagger him. "Shut up, you. As if your dance moves were any better." To James she said, "Gimme a minute."
James brightened. "All right!"
After collapsing the reassembled shotgun, she pushed it into Kaidan's hands and said, "Here, put this back when you're finished with your rifle." After cleaning the grease off her hands, she went off to a clear space to do warm-up exercises.
This time it was James's eyebrows that rose. "Well, aren't you special, Major - I didn't think she'd let anyone else touch that shotgun."
Kaidan smirked as he finished putting his rifle back together and wiped his hands on a rag, aware of Shepard's amusement like sunlight on his skin. "Jealous?"
"Me? Nah. Well, okay, maybe a little," the other man admitted. "That's a damn fine piece."
"Uh-huh," Kaidan said, suppressing a grin at the unintentional ambiguity of that statement. This was James, after all - he didn't do subtle.
"Are you just all talk, James?" Shepard called from the wide aisle between the two shuttles, hands propped on her hips. "Get your ass in gear, I haven't got all day."
James grinned and called back, "You got time for a quickie, though, right?" Turning back to Kaidan, he said, "Excuse me, sir, but I gotta go defend my reputation."
"Your reputation for mouthing off to your superior officers, or your reputation for brawling?" Kaidan asked in a dry voice, collapsing his rifle and tucking it under his arm, then picked up Shepard's heavy shotgun.
"Both!" With that, the other man gave Kaidan a cocky grin before he turned and swaggered forward a few strides to meet the commander.
Kaidan hurried over to the weapons locker to stow the guns away, so he'd have time to watch and not miss anything; he'd never had the leisure to see Shepard in motion after her reinstatement, and certainly not in the heat of battle. With a small pang of sorrow, he remembered how she used to spar with him, Ashley and the other marines in the cargo bay on the SR-1, while Wrex and Garrus watched with a mix of bemusement and amusement. They'd all bonded during those sessions - and over the betting pools.
The two marines were circling each other now, throwing feints to probe each other's defenses; James must've learned caution the first time around, and Kaidan wished he could've been there to see it. That, or the younger man was finally learning that just charging into an unknown situation could get him killed in a messy way.
James might be more wary of Shepard, but he still hadn't learned patience; he began attacking in earnest, opening with a fast flurry of punches, trying to get past the commander's blocking arms. The commander seemed determined to stay on the defensive, letting the other marine waste his energy on an aggressive attack, but then she crouched and rammed her shoulder against his chest hard enough for Kaidan to hear the impact, slamming James right off his feet and onto his ass. Kaidan winced; that had to have hurt - and he suspected James was going to have a pretty spectacular bruise there. She stepped forward and offered James her hand.
James took her hand with a wince, and rubbed at his chest after she pulled him to his feet, a rueful expression on his face. Breathing hard, he said, "Damn, Commander, didja have to hit me that hard?"
The commander was unsympathetic. "Better you learn here than out in the field - I'm more forgiving than a brute."
"I wouldn't try to punch a brute in the first place!" James said, indignant.
Shepard looked skeptical. "That's not what I saw on Menae."
"Wait, what? You tried to punch one of those big monsters?" Kaidan said with disbelief.
"I was in the middle of reloading, okay?" James said, sounding defensive. "It was after it knocked us off that firing platform - and there wasn't any goddamned cover except for that one itty bitty rock."
"Cover won't help you with one of those things, anyway," Kaidan pointed out.
Shepard intervened. "Well, to be fair, we didn't know that - it was the first time any of us had ever seen one, Garrus included."
"Anyway," James continued, "I just barely managed to dodge in time - otherwise I'd be a big red smear on that moon - and I stuck it with my omni-blade." He scowled at their expressions. "What? It seemed like a good idea at the time!"
Shepard vocalized what Kaidan was thinking. "I'm surprised you haven't died in the kind of horrible and messy ways Darwin would've approved of, with ideas like that."
James grinned, undaunted by their disapproval, and said, "I'm not that easy to kill." He bounced a little on his toes. "So, how 'bout best two outta three?"
"Aren't you tired of me knocking you on your ass by now?" Shepard asked, her voice dry. "Or are you a closet masochist?"
Kaidan did his best to put out of his mind a sudden image of Shepard in a tight leather dominitrix outfit; some dark corner of his self he didn't even know existed went hnngh before he squashed it. Now was not the right time to reveal his secret fantasies - not that there was ever a right time.
"I figure maybe I'll get to win one day - and it might be today." James made a little beckoning motion with his hand. "Come on, Commander - you're not chicken, are you?"
Shepard just gave the other marine a dry look, while Kaidan hid a wince at the taunt; you just couldn't say something like that to the commander and expect to get away with it, and especially not to someone who was known as the Butcher of Torfan. Not that anyone had the courage to say that to her face, not even angry, suicidal batarians.
The commander said nothing, just stepped forward with her fists held loosely in front of her, but her expression promised payback of one sort or another - and likely to be painful. James was smart enough to look uncertain for a moment, then his face cleared, his usual cocky grin firmly back in place.
This time Shepard was the one who opened with an aggressive attack; James's eyes widened as she forced him back and further back, his arms moving fast in frantic attempts to block her black fists as they descended like the wrath of God, too fast and furious for him to even get a punch of his own in. Kaidan heard the meaty thuds as not a few of her blows got past James's defenses to land on his torso, a target she seemed entirely too happy to devote all her attention to.
"Come on, Vega, my grandma can hit harder than that - and she's dead," the commander taunted. She didn't sound winded at all.
Stung, James began hitting back instead of just defending himself, grunting as her blows got through; few of his punches landed, though, given Shepard's extra reach.
"Oh yeah? I bet my abuela can kick your abuela's ass!" James shot back.
Shepard's grin flashed white. "I very much doubt that."
It didn't seem fair that someone as large as the commander could move with such grace and speed. Kaidan could see that she was just toying with the younger marine, now that she'd proven her point; she was ducking James's fists or slapping them aside with almost contemptuous ease. They were both sweating by now; it made her dark skin glow under the hangar bay lights like ebony. He was watching the two soldiers fight so attentively, he almost missed the sounds of the elevator doors opening and footsteps approaching.
"With all due respect, sir... maybe you should put your tongue back in your mouth."
Kaidan smiled as he glanced aside at the shuttle pilot, who had come up to lean on the console next to him, before his gaze was drawn back to the sparring marines; Cortez's expression was neutral, but his blue eyes were dancing with laughter. "Was I that obvious?"
"Thought maybe I'd have to break out the vac unit - it was a near thing."
"Like you don't look at James the same way I look at Shepard?" Kaidan retorted in a low whisper, so that Shepard and James couldn't hear them, though with all the grunting and smacks of fist against flesh, he doubted they could overhear his conversation with Steve.
There was amused agreement in Cortez's voice. "Touche. You've got me there, sir."
"So," Kaidan began, slanting a sly glance at the pilot. "The usual?"
"You're on," was Cortez's confident answer.
Kaidan just shook his head. "I'm starting to feel guilty, it's like stealing money from you."
A sudden flurry distracted them both; Kaidan swallowed as the prominent muscles of the commander's bare arms flexed under dark skin that glowed under the lights. Her form reminded him of the big cats he'd seen once at the zoo: dangerous, sleek, powerful, moving with sinuous grace and speed despite their size.
He'd never figured himself for a mountain climber, preferring slim women, or handsome, lithe men, but Shepard had always had a way of defying expectations. She was big in every sense of the word, with a big laugh, a big presence, a big temper - and God help anyone who ever got in her way. He couldn't help but be drawn to all that energy and power.
James stepped up his attack, changing his tactics from traditional marine fisticuffs to grab hold of Shepard's hand as she threw a punch, wrapped his other arm around her waist, and used her own momentum to throw her. She managed to somehow twist in midair and landed heavily on her feet, but what could be seen of her expression through the sweat was one of surprise and grudging respect.
"Almost got me with that one," Shepard conceded as she circled James.
"Yanno, I bet you could take on a brute with your bare hands, Commander - you're almost as big as one. Hell, you're almost as heavy as one!" James added with a laugh.
"Oh, man," Cortez said with a soft groan.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Kaidan agreed with a wince.
"Almost threw out my back," James had the gall to say, adding insult to injury. Or, more like throwing oil onto the flames, or digging a deeper hole, Kaidan thought. The carnage was going to be terrible.
There was the sound of a slap as Cortez clapped his hand against his forehead. "Mr. Vega, what're you thinking?" He sighed. "Even I know not to say something like that to a woman - and I prefer men."
"Are you calling me fat, Vega?" Shepard's voice was cold, and low with menace.
"Uh-oh," Kaidan murmured.
Even James finally realized the danger he was in; he backpedaled with amazing speed. "No, no!" he said with a nervous laugh. "Whoa, now, I'm not saying you're fat, I'm just saying you're a big girl!"
All of the amusement and good humor had drained out of the commander's face by now, leaving it as hard and unyielding as granite; Kaidan would rather face a Reaper with a dull spoon than Shepard in that sort of mood, biotics be damned.
James was impulsive, not stupid, and, seeing the danger signs himself, immediately abandoned his attack to drop into a defensive crouch. It was, as Kaidan predicted, too little, too late; Shepard simply grabbed one of his hands, pivoted on her heel, and flipped the younger marine over her shoulder. Kaidan flinched in sympathy; he felt the impact as James's body crashed onto the deck through his boots even at that distance.
Cortez was concerned enough that he took a step forward, as if he wanted to see if James was all right, but then they heard him groaning; the pilot relaxed. Shepard straightened, dusting off her hands, but instead of looking satisfied at her victory, she still looked angry.
"I'm... going to hit the showers," the commander said, not meeting Kaidan's eyes as she walked past him, her long strides taking her to the elevator before he could say anything.
"Shepard! I'll talk to you... later?" Kaidan said to the closing elevator doors; there was only the faint scent of her sweat and fragrance in the air to mark her passage. He scratched his head, puzzled by the commander's behavior.
"Well, I guess I'd better get Mr. Vega up to see the doc," the pilot said, straightening up from where he was leaning on the console.
"I don't think Dr. Chakwas has anything that can patch up a broken ego," Kaidan remarked, then pressed his hand against the other man's chest, halting Cortez in his tracks. "Aren't you forgetting something, Lieutenant?"
The pilot snorted a laugh. "I can see nothing gets by you, Major." He waved his omni-tool. "There, paid in full. I should've known better than to bet against the commander."
Kaidan didn't bother to check his account; he trusted Steve's word. "Well, you don't know her like I do. I have a good rule of thumb: never bet against Shepard in a fight."
"I'll remember that," Cortez said. With a vague salute, he turned and walked towards James, who was still flat on his back.
Kaidan had intended to follow after Shepard, but decided he'd better stay long enough to make sure James was all right as he hit the button to summon the elevator.
"Wuh, w-was it something I said, Esteban?" James said in a shaky voice as Cortez pulled him into a sitting position.
"I think it was everything you said, Mr. Vega," the pilot retorted as he slung James's arm over his shoulder and hauled him up. "Come on, on your feet - we'd better have Chakwas take a look at you."
"Anyone get the transponder of the ship that hit me?" James mumbled as Cortez dragged his fellow lieutenant's ass towards the elevator, where Kaidan was holding the doors open for them.
Kaidan chuckled, though part of him was not at ease with the way the commander was acting. "Yeah, the SSV Shepard."