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Jack walked through the front door of their apartment and spotted Amelia right away, a sight that immediately lifted his spirits. He took off his jacket and laid it carefully over the back of a chair before rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt.
Amelia was sitting cross legged in front of the coffee table, model ship parts scattered in front of her, and the scent of modeling cement in the air. He took a second look at her.
"Are you… wearing my shirt?"
She looked up, her hands holding ship parts together while the adhesive set. Her eyes sparkled as she grinned at him. "I missed you. It's late," she replied.
He arched an eyebrow at her and smiled before settling down onto the couch behind her. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
"Long day?"
"Mm. And frustrating." He took a drag of his cigarette and closed his eyes. He listened to the sounds of Amelia at work, the tiny sounds of pieces sliding together, the snaps as she freed the little bits from their trays.
"Must've been if you're smoking," she commented after a moment, and there was no judgment in her tone, only concern.
Jack sighed heavily. "Damages from the war, Oleg thinks we should expand our investment opportunities so that we can finance more facilities faster."
Amelia set down her model work and moved to sit alongside Jack. He'd been lying down and she plopped herself partly in his lap. "Let me guess, you gave him the 'Dodge Brothers v Ford was a disaster and it's better to go alone than invite shareholders in' speech?"
Jack ran a hand up her thigh until he reached the hem of the shirt she wore. "How did you guess?" he asked dryly. He twisted the shirt's hem between his fingers.
Amelia laughed. "Probably because you've given it to me so many times I have it memorized." She leaned down and kissed him before settling in more or less atop him, resting her head on his chest.
He stroked her back as he relaxed under her weight, letting his eyes drift shut again. "New model?"
She laughed lightly. "I couldn't resist."
"Of course not."
They lay there, together. Jack ran his hand through Amelia's hair and she sighed contently. At least until she raised her head. "You know, I've always wondered… how did you know I could actually put those display cases to use for model ships in my quarters?"
He chuckled and took a drag of his cigarette again. As he exhaled, he replied, "Does that really matter now?"
Amelia sat up and plucked the cigarette from his fingers. He reached up again, deciding that perhaps he needed more late night meetings if they meant coming home to her like this.
"That tickles," she complained before attempting to take her own drag of his cigarette. As she broke into coughs he grabbed it back.
"And yes, it does matter," she added with a mild glare.
Jack grinned lazily at her. "Well…" he began.
Jack Harper paced anxiously back and forth as David Anderson stood beside him, double checking his weapons. Oleg Petrovsky leaned against the nearby building, watching them both with amusement glinting in his dark eyes.
"Jack," Oleg said. "We're early."
Jack shot him a glare. "We're on time, which means we're about to be late. And Hackett's very conspicuously not here."
"He'll be here," David interjected. "He always is."
"He's always with us. He pretty much never goes off on his own," Jack replied.
"It'll be fine," David said.
Jack glared at him, thoroughly unconvinced.
David finished checking over his weapons and looked up, about to offer another bit of reassurance when Steven Hackett jogged up to them. "I'm here," he said, "stop pacing, Harper. It makes you stand out."
Jack stopped short and shifted his glare onto Steven as he crossed his arms angrily. "Where were you?"
"Shopping," Steven explained unrepentantly.
Jack's glare had cooled so significantly it was in danger of bringing molecules to a stop. "Shopping."
"Look, someday you'll meet Amelia Shepard, and when you do, you'll understand this moment."
"I doubt that very much," Jack grumbled. He sighed. "What could possibly have taken so long to buy for a seven-year old girl?"
Steven grinned again. "She absolutely adores model ships. The stores here had some Asari models she's never seen before, but I only had room for one."
Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Come on, let's get out of here. We'll miss our targets."
"Ready whenever you are," Steven replied.
Amelia laughed when he finished the story. "I remember that ship!" she exclaimed. "Still have it, too."
"Well, I hope you were properly appreciative," Jack replied with a grumble. "Nearly cost us more than Steven paid in credits for it."
She giggled at his annoyance. "So you remembered? From just that?"
His hand slid up her back as he gently nudged her downwards. "It was very memorable," he replied. "And here you are now. Still causing chaos with your models." He waved in the general direction of the coffee table.
Amelia rolled her eyes even as she gave him a fond smile. She took the cigarette from his hand and placed it in the ash tray behind Jack. "But you love me anyway," she murmured as she allowed him to guide her head into a kiss.
"Oddly, yes," he said dryly just before her lips met his.