Work Text:
“Shepard, I’m more than capable of defending myself,” the Illusive man said.
Shepard snorted before she placed her ear up to the cold door. “What are you even doing here? Don’t you have to oversee the torturing of people?”
“That’s not fair,” he told her.
“What’s not fair, is my pain-in-the-ass temporary boss being drop dead sexy!” She whispered heatedly. “And you smell nice!”
“Thanks?”
“Shut up,” she replied. “Stay here.”
“Back to two word replies,” he grumbled behind her. “I thought we could move past this.”
“The day you prove you don’t torture people for the good of humanity is the day I will drop it. Now stay put.”
That fucking man. Why was he at some fancy dinner anyway? Right now it didn’t matter. Not with some dumbass mercs trying to rob these people blind.
With a growl she broke the neck of the merc in front of her. The Illusive man could say he didn’t know the extent his scientists were testing all he wanted. How could he not have known?
“Fucking bastard,” she muttered.
“You called for me?”
“I told you to stay put!”
“And miss the party?” he replied with a smirk. “Call me Jack.”
Shepard rolled her eyes before picking up the pistol the merc dropped. “Stay behind me, Nancy.” She slid along the wall until she got to the corner. “This is Commander Shepard! Drop your weapons and surrender.”
“Fuck you!”
“I’d prefer an orgasm,” she called out as she strolled out of hiding. “Not another disappointment with a tiny dick.” There really weren’t many of those with all the medical advances, but for some reason men still took it personally.
“Stupid bitch,” the leader said angrily.
“You really should’ve worn a helmet,” she said with a smile before putting a round in his head. “Anyone else?” Weapons fells and hands rose immediately. “Step forward and place your loot on the buffet table in front of you.”
Once done, they turned back to her. The group could have taken a hostage, the idiots were useless without their leader. “Excellent, now remove your armor.”
The pain in the ass she’d been trying to avoid all night stepped around her and began helping men and woman to their feet.
Just as the mercs began kneeling as per her order, C-Sec burst through the doors. Shepard nodded to Bailey before sneaking out while Jack’s back was turned.
Jack Harper: Drop dead sexy?
Shepard: Shut up.
J: You could’ve stayed to get me out of giving an interview.
S: Why?
J: Shepard, please.
S: Go away.
J: No. I’m afraid you’ll be seeing more of me since I’ll be on the Normandy.
S: NO.
J: Oh, yes.
S: Why?
J: There’s a private matter I need to deal with personally.
S: Joy, more torture.
J: Jane…
S: Go. Away.
Shepard has left the private chat.
The damn man had to wiggle his way on to her ship. So what if he paid for it, it was hers. With a growl, she hit the bag harder. Never in a million years would she had been prepared for his attractive appearance. Their QEC calls didn’t do the man any justice. Not one tiny bit.
Even his damn voice glided over her skin like silk.
No. She was absolutely not going to be attracted to that man. He ran a terrorist organization.
Firing up her omnitool, she quickly sent the man a message.
Shepard: No smoking on my ship.
Jack: Why?
S: I’ll throw you out of the fucking airlock if you smoke on my ship.
J: Fine. No walking around half naked.
S: It’s my ship, I’ll do as I please.
J: I paid for it.
S: You paid for me too, but I’ll be damned if you get control over me and my ship.
J: Fine. I’ll need a cot in your quarters.
S: Like hell you are staying in my quarters.
J: There are no other spaces available, Shepard. I already checked with Miranda.
S: Then stay with her.
J: We work well together. Outside of work, we do not get along.
S: Sleep with the crew.
J: I don’t think so.
S: Sleep in the fucking airlock.
J: No.
S: Fine! How long do I have to deal with you?
J: A month tops.
S: OMG.
J: It won’t be so bad, Shepard. I’ll even bring you coffee in thanks for sharing your space.
S: You can’t bribe me with coffee.
J: Breakfast?
S: Go. Away.
J: You messaged me…
Shepard has left private chat.
This had to be some bad joke. Or karma. Probably karma. Shepard knew she wasn’t the best person and she’d done some questionable things. But not so bad to deserve this bullshit.
She waited at the airlock, anger radiating off of her as they waited for their new passenger. Miranda stood next to her, her perfect nose buried in a datapad. The two had come to an agreement of sorts once Orianna was safely tucked away.
“Once we find and deal with Gavin Archer, he’ll return to Cronos,” Miranda told her quietly. “And I thank you for not making him sleep in my quarters. We can’t stand each other.”
“So I heard.”
Within minutes her guest was onboard. Miranda spoke to him while Shepard glared. When Miranda left, Jack turned his attention to her. God he looked just as good as he did a month ago.
“Orders, Commander” Joker called from the helm.
“Scan nearby planets for resources for the time being,” she told him before turning and walking towards the elevator.
As soon as they were inside, he spoke. “If you need resources you could have just told me.”
“I prefer honest work.” As soon as they entered her quarters, she fed her fish. “Don’t make yourself at home. I hope our…arrangement will be over quickly.”
“Shepard…”
“I honestly don’t want to hear it. No smoking.” With that, she turned and got back to work. The sooner they tracked Archer down, the sooner the tempting hunk would be off of her ship and out of her reach.
Jack: Do you really use red lace underwear?
Shepard: Get the fuck out of my underwear.
J: I need a place for mine. Purple lace too? Nice.
S: Shut. Up.
J: I see there are matching bras. These can’t be comfortable under armor.
S: Jack, I swear to God, if you don’t stop snooping in my underwear I’ll throw you out the airlock.
J: Fine, fine. Can’t blame a man for being curious.
S: Stay out of my stuff.
J: I did bring my own towels, they were expensive. I don’t like to share.
S: Seems only fair that you do since you’re touching my underwear.
J: Noted.
S: Leave me alone. I’m working.
Jack Harper has left private chat.
Was nothing sacred?
[Commander, The Illusive Man is requesting information about our training room. Shall I give it?]
“He doesn’t have access already?” Shepard asked, surprised.
[No, not until you give access to other areas of the ship.]
That was grand. “Tell him if he wants access he can speak to me when I’m not working. Oh, and I expect him to join my crew for dinner.” Her inner renegade was cackling wickedly. She was so immature sometimes.
[Commander, this is your wake-up call.]
“No,” she complained. “Ten more minutes.”
[As you wish. Logging you out.]
“Shepard, get up,” Jack said roughly.
“Go. Away.”
“You keep saying it and I still haven’t listened,” he returned. “You could’ve got me a better cot.”
She chuckled roughly. “If I have to suffer then so do you.”
“You could share your big, comfortable bed with your tired, old boss,” he said as clothes rustled behind her.
“I’d rather be tortured,” she answered cheekily. “Where’s the coffee I was promised.”
“I thought you couldn’t be bribed?”
“I can’t, but I never said no to coffee,” she replied before snuggling down further into her blanket.
-
For weeks the routine was the same. As well as the grumbling. Then there was him smoking in the men’s bathroom, like she wouldn’t know. But no one else complained so she didn’t say anything. So long as that was the only place he lit up.
The hardest part was seeing him shirtless, his pajama pants hanging dangerously low on his hips when he brought her coffee every morning. And sometimes breakfast if Gardner hadn’t been up late the night before.
But as the days dragged on, be became more and more tense. Even forgetting her coffee. A routine she’d grudgingly grown accustomed to.
“Coffee?”
His head jerked up as he folded his light blanket. “I’m sorry, I’ll go get it.”
“The crew will be roaming by now, you’ll need a shirt,” she told him.
He nodded before grabbing one out of her drawer. Their drawer for now.
When he returned with her coffee, his mind was once again elsewhere. “Give me my coffee and take my shirt off. It looks ridiculous on you,” she told him with mirth.
He groaned as he looked down. “No wonder I got odd looks.”
“What’s going on that’s got you so distracted?” Shepard hummed as she sipped her coffee, enjoying the half-naked man in front of her. He was sculpted. Almost perfect physically. Only a couple old scars showed on his lightly freckled skin.
“Where is our next stop? I need a better cot,” he said as he stacked his bedding on top of his pillow.
Damn it, she felt guilty. “Come here,” she told him as she set her coffee aside and patted the space between her legs. “Sit.” The look he gave her was filled with distrust and curiosity. But he sat with his back to her. “It’ll be a week before we dock again.”
The noise he made was torn between a moan and a groan as she sat up and kneaded the muscles that were balled up in his back. He even smelled good first thing in the morning. It was so unfair to dislike a person and crave them at the same time.
“Fine, you can sleep with me. But the second I feel your hands, or any other part of your body, it’s back to the cot with you.” His answer was leaning back against her, making her grunt as she was sandwiched between the bed and him. “Are you serious?” Before she could free her hands, the man quickly turned and lay over her before putting her arms underneath her back. “I’ll kill you,” she whispered.
“Easier to get my shoulders,” he told her as he sighed against her chest.
“Fine.” Harder to get thoughts out of her head. With a sigh, she pulled her arms free and began to work on his shoulders and neck. After twenty minutes of working his muscles, he fell asleep. On top of her. Instead of waking him, because she really did feel bad for the cot, she picked up her mostly cold coffee and drank in silence. Her finger tracing freckles on his shoulder as her mind was on the day’s work load.
As soon as she entered her cabin, she tossed a datapad to her roommate.
“What’s this?”
“What the Shadow Broker had on you. Interesting stuff, Jack.” She began pulling off her underarmor. What was left of it after dealing with the yahg. A new lover almost daily, Shepard snorted. It would seem the man got bored easily.
“Do you want to talk about this?” He asked after a few minutes.
“What’s there to talk about? We aren’t together, what you do is none of my business.”
“Shepard…”
“I’m showering then I’m sleeping,” she interrupted. Damn it, she was getting attached. She needed to contain her feelings. Even if he had shown her the more human side of himself. The softer side.
She groaned internally. She’d even let him snuggle her in his sleep. Shepard didn’t fucking snuggle. Or so she thought.
When she left the shower, mostly dressed, Jack was just entering the loft with a warm meal for her.
“You missed dinner.”
That was all he said, his only reasoning. Shepard ate at her desk while she went through her messages. The man waiting in bed had probably read them all. She supposed it didn’t matter, none of it was classified.
Jack watched her through the mostly empty ship model case, his muscular arms behind his head. She could only stall for so long, she knew. Then he’d be telling her she was working herself too hard. Again. With a sigh, she closed down her terminal before taking a drink.
When she snuggled down in bed, facing away from him, and called for lights out the movement behind her made her tense. A tentative hand splayed across her stomach, likely waiting for her to tell him to stop. When she didn’t, he pulled her closer to him and curled against her body.
“Jane,” he whispered against her ear, making her shudder as his intoxicating scent surrounded her.
“Don’t” she replied, her voice cracking. “We aren’t together. How many women you screw in a week is none of my business.”
“It was over a year ago,” he told her. “None of this information is recent.”
“It’s not my business, Jack,” she told him again.
“Okay,” he told her. His arm tightened around her waist as a tear slid free. She was definitely attached. Fucking hell.
The silence between them grew as the next few days dragged on. It was stupid. It wasn’t like her pulling away would make her care less. All it did was make her suffer more in the quiet. And make her feel guilty for cutting off any communication he tried to have with her.
When she woke up it was the middle of the night cycle. Cool air at her back had her rolling over. Jack was sitting at the side of the bed, his back to her as he rest his forearms on his knees. It was easy to reach over and let her fingers run down his spine.
The silent order was all he needed to return to his place in her bed. But instead of rolling away from him like she always did, she rested her head on his shoulder and draped herself across him.
“Everything okay?” She asked quietly.
“Better now,” he replied, his lips ghosting her forehead.
Damn it all to hell, her body relaxed against him. She was done. In love with the enemy. Kind of an enemy. That enemy part continued to be proven wrong as he personally punished those scientists that turned to using torture. He really hadn’t known.
-
A week later and she was waking to cool air at her back. Again. Jack in the same place as before. Shepard ran her fingers over the bumps of his spine, his movement immediate. Instead of laying on his shoulder, she rest her head on his arm, her fingers tracing the edge of his scruffy jaw.
He watched her as she explored his face and neck, his eyes following her movement as she scooted closer to him while he lifted the sheet with his other arm to allow her to snuggle closer.
But snuggling wasn’t what she had in mind.
Jack inhaled sharply when she grazed her lips over his. He moved slow, afraid she would back away, as he cupped her face. Her sigh all he needed to press forward.
“Love me,” she told him as he hovered near her lips, his body easily rolling her to her back.
“I already do,” he replied.
“Share it with me.”
“Gladly,” he whispered before tilting her head and pressing his mouth to hers.
Sighs and soft moans filled the loft as he took his time with her. As he worshipped her body, love and praise spilling from his lips at her whimpers.
Stars flew by as their bodies came together.
By the time she found her release, their bodies were covered in a light sheen of sweat. Grunts, moans, and cries of their pleasure soon faded leaving only harsh breathing in their wake.
“I swear, Jack, if you’re smoking in our bathroom I will kill you!” She yelled. She could hear his groan before he answered.
“I’m naked, Shepard. Don’t make me go downstairs, please?” came his muffled reply.
“Fine. But you better have the fan on!” In minutes he exited the bathroom with a small smile on his lips. “What?” She asked tiredly. It was too damn early for this. And he didn’t have her coffee.
“I’m just surprised you didn’t put up more of a fight.”
“Yeah, well, you made me soft. Bastard,” she muttered.
“Maybe another month and you’ll let me smoke next to you after we make love,” he teased as he jerked the blanket from her. ”Time to get up.”
“You want me up, you bring me coffee. That’s the deal, Jack,” she told him sternly, not bothering with trying to hide her nakedness.
“Fine,” he answered.
Shepard watched as he dressed and padded out of their cabin barefoot. She should probably tell him he was wearing her shirt again. Shepard chuckled. Nah, this was much more fun.