pluggedintheoverlord

Nothing to forgive, Commander.

[It would take a lot more than a few strong words to change his loyalty to her-- besides, she'd had every right to be pissed. He was the one at fault here; he should have known better than to act as he did.]

I crossed a line, and what I did was stupid and unacceptable. You could've really gotten hurt, and, well... as far as jokes go, it was pretty shitty anyway. Not my finest moment.

[This whole sincerity and not being a tool thing was hard.] So... I'm sorry. And I mean it when I say it won't happen again.

Thank you, I really do appreciate you apologizing.

[Not to mention half of her crew was angry at Joker and wanted to give him a tongue lashing of their own. Lucky for Shepard she could put them in their place and stop that from even happening. Well, until she was out of earshot distance.

It's not like she wouldn't hear about it one way or another, though.]

So, do you want to get a drink?

[Nothing like settling a dispute with alcohol.]

[Pissing people off was one of Joker's many talents. He could handle the crew yelling at him, so long as it didn't get physical.]

[But if Shepard wanted to drink with him, then he knew that she wasn't pissed anymore. And that's all that really mattered to him.]

Yeah, sure. Just have to clean up down here.

I can be at the Normandy in about a half hour.

[There's a pause before she speaks again,]

And Joker? Make sure to bring out the good stuff.

You got it, Commander.

[He'll be ready with Chakwas' stash of real Earth booze when she arrives.]

[~~It's like a tradition now.~~]

[Annnnd she arrives when she said she would. Aww yis.]

[~~Chakwas would kill him if she knew that he'd turned stealing her liquor into a tradition.~~]

[He was leaning against an off-line console in the CIC when Shepard boarded. He had a bottle in one hand and a pair of glasses in the other.]

Hey, Commander.

[~~She'd make Shepard go buy her booze. Not like Shepard already doesn't do that anyways, though.~~]

[Shepard makes her way over to Joker, a faint smile present.]

Hey, Joker.

[Her mood definitely improved.]

[To his credit, his eyes didn't go any lower than her collarbone.]

Your quarters?

[Because god knew it was more comfortable up there than the mess and inviting her to his was kind of out of the question.]

[~~HOW SCANDALOUS~~]

Sure.

Want me to take the bottle?

Can't even wait until we get up there?

[He's handing it over anyway. Make sure you don't drink it all on the way up, Shepard.]

I might leave some for you.

[~~You'll be lucky if you get a drop of it, Joker.~~]

C'mon, let's go.

Right behind you.

[~~Commandeeeeeeeeer~~]

[~~Keep that up, I dare you.~~]

How're the repairs on the Normandy coming?

[~~...no, ma'am.~~]

They'd be going faster if I had the right parts, but we know how well that went.

[He gestured towards the black-and-blue side of his face.]

[~~That's what I thought. Good pilot.~~]

At least it's healing.

[She could go on about how much worse it could have been, but doesn't.]

I could go back and try to find something, but I don't think they like me all that much.

Yeah.

[He knew it could've been a hell of a lot worse than just an annoyance.]

You and me both. Tali said she'd come down with me, but I'm not too sure if that still stands.

What do you mean?

She seemed kinda pissed at me earlier.

[You know, about the breasts thing and his part in it.]

[Oh. Right. That.]

I think she's cooled down since then. I could always talk to her if you want me to, though.

[If anyone can calm down her crew, it's Shepard.]

Nah, I can handle it.

[It's not like Tali was going to break him in half or anything, like possibly certain turians that will remain unnamed.]

All right.

[~~Shepard took care of Garrus. He won't be leaving the apartment any time soon~~]

[Annnd Shepard's going to tap the holo on her door and unlock it. Lalala walking on in.]

[~~Good, Joker liked living.~~]

[He followed her in, taking a seat on the couch that he was kind of starting to think of as his own. It seemed that Shepard was inviting him up here enough, at least.]

[And it was kind of nice to sit down after a few hours on his knees with his head in the Normandy's circuitry.]

[Shepard followed and plopped down onto the couch next to Joker, sighing softly. Ah yes, comfortable couch is comfortable.]

I've been meaning to ask, How is your jaw?

[Shepard mused, looking over to Joker.]

Still busted, but it'll heal.

[He brought one hand up to rub at it; the insistent ache pretty quickly discouraged that, though.]

...Kinda stiff, too.

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