pluggedintheoverlord

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.

[Shepard frowned sympathetically.]

Let's hope for a speedy recovery, hm?

[She shifts forward and twists off the cap of the infamous bottle of brandy. With her other hand she motions towards one of the glasses he still had and reached over to take it from him a moment later, her fingers brushing against his hand.]

Yeah. It's not going to be a problem.

[He'd definitely had worse before.]

[Joker handed over the glasses and tried to ignore her touch. That brandy was starting to look better and better by the minute.]

If you say so.

[Shepard takes the glass and fills it before handing it back to Joker. After giving him the full glass, she's going to fill hers and take a sip from it.]

[Yeah, this drink definitely was looking like a good idea and she had no thoughts of even leaving the Normandy tonight. Not after what happened today, especially back at the apartment with Garrus.]

[She was trying to keep her emotions in check, but a long sigh did escape her.]

[He took the glass and sipped it, watching her as she poured her own. Maybe it was just him, but there seemed something... off about her. That long sigh didn't do anything to convince him otherwise, either.]

Chakwas' stash isn't gonna last too long at this rate.

[Shepard gazed down at the contents of the glass, wanting to chug it all but she thought against it.

At least for now.]

No, it's not. I'll keep an eye out for any Earth liquor the next time I'm out and about.

[He knew something was definitely wrong when she started giving her glass the old thousand-yard stare.]

Yeah, you do that.

[He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.] So this is the part where you tell me why you really came up here to talk with me, right?

[Shepard's going to stall by taking a nice swig from the glass, then glancing over to Joker.]

Is there something wrong with inviting you up for a drink?

I don't think I need a reason, Joker.

[She's dodging it like a pro.]

You know I wouldn't turn down a drink, Commander. But judging from how you're staring at yours, I'd say you've got more than just alcohol on your mind.

[He took a thoughtful sip. Joker wasn't the best helmsman in the Alliance just because he was a great pilot-- it was also because he was good at reading his COs. Knowing how his commanders worked meant that he could do his job better.] Not that you have to tell me about it or anything.

[Shepard clenched her jaw at his words. Was she really losing her touch that much? She thought she was doing a good job with concealing her emotions.]

[Leave it to her pilot to close in on her and sense a problem.]

Joker, I'm fine.

[She's definitely not fine.]

Commander, I've been working with you way too long to believe that.

[Her poker face just didn't work on him anymore. Either she was going to have to get a lot better at it, or she'd just have to live with the fact that Joker could read her moods. ~~Maybe he should teach Garrus about it.~~]

[She's line facing SO hard right now.]

Fine, you win.

[Shepard's going to shift against the couch, sighing once again. Dammit Joker and reading her like an open book. No use keeping up this charade.]

What do you want to hear?

Who pissed you off would probably be a good place to start.

[If he had to take a guess, he would've said it was something to do with Garrus-- the turian was close to her and if anyone could get under her skin quick, it'd be him. When a girl was pissed, you usually didn't have to look much further than the boyfriend.]

[It wasn't exactly pissed- more like hurt. Still though, it was a shitty feeling.]

Garrus and I got into an argument earlier.

[Shepard took another drink from her glass before setting it down in front of her onto the table. Her arms crossed over her chest and she looked over at Joker.]

So I left.

[Saying 'pissed' made it sound a little less vulnerable than 'upset'.]

What'd he say to you?

It's nothing worth mentioning.

[~~HE'S A BIG STUPID TURIAN~~]

That bad, huh?

[Garrus, you stupid, stupid birdman.]

No... no, it wasn't that bad.

[Now she's going to fiddle with the hem of her shirt. OH BOY, A DISTRACTION!]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]

Re: [action]