Only By A Few Seconds

A/n: Stuff here. This is posted on ff.net, so I suppose that's why it hasn't gotten many hits yet on here. There WILL be explicit content, though. When I get this story caught up with ff.net (by the end of this week), there ought to be some m/f of some variety going on in here :D



“Oh, before I go, I saw Commander Shepard and Kaidan in a news vid about the Normandy. You’re right; they’re super cute. Try not to drool too much. Later sis!”

Shepard quirked an eyebrow at Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, waiting for her to explain what he had just heard.

“Let’s pretend we didn’t just hear that,” she laughed nervously and crossed her arms, unwilling to look the Commander in the eye.

“Oh-ho, I’m afraid I can’t,” he replied and leaned against Ash’s workbench.

“Shoot me now,” she mumbled, “That was my sister, Sarah. She’s the youngest.” Ash was ready to crawl into a hole and die. She definitely did not want her superior officers thinking she wanted to bunk up with them. They were both damn fine looking men, but it would take a lot more than good looks for her to complicate the chain of command.

“So, you like older men? Or is it the man in charge thing you like? Or is it because we’re unique? You know, because I’m a Spectre and he’s biotic,” Shepard leaned in, a wolfish grin on his face. He knew Ash’s type; she’d flirt and drive a man crazy, but she was difficult to win over. He wasn’t about to put his time and energy into pursuing a woman when he was responsible for too many lives. But, this certainly didn’t mean he couldn’t screw with her head. William’s face was currently a lovely shade of crimson; her cute expression made pestering her all the more worthwhile.

“There isn’t anything Freudian about it, Sir,” Ash quipped, her ire rising. “You’re both attractive men, that’s all.” How dare he assume those things about her! She made her way up the chain because she worked her ass off and she’d be damned if she let someone get away with accusing her of wanting to sleep her way to the top.

“So you like pale blondes with blue eyes and tan brunettes with brown eyes?” Shepard smiled. He had her cornered. She looked really cute, flustered the way she was.

“Just brunettes at the moment,” she ground out and nearly slammed the gun she was working on back onto the table.

“Hm, well I think Alenko needs to get laid. He’s probably too quiet to just ask for some. So, I guess if you want him, I’ll put in a good word,” Shepard’s eyes traveled around the engineering level, making sure he wasn’t being overheard. So she preferred Kaidan over himself. He guessed that made sense; Kaidan was an alright looking guy. Shepard wasn’t quite sure where he fell on the attractiveness scale. After all, women had really convoluted ways of measuring attractiveness. He never understood the whole ‘sensitivity’ thing.

Shepard blinked as a wrench was thrown onto the table. Ash was being rather forceful with her equipment. Was she mad at him? What did he do? Couldn’t she take a joke?

“How old is your sister?” he asked, hoping to change the subject to smooth things over.

“She’s sixteen and very underage,” Ash clenched her jaw. She wrung the hapless cleaning cloth in her hands as if she was trying to choke the life out of it.

“Oh, okay then,” Shepard backed slowly away from the seething woman, “uh, thanks for the talk, Chief.” She didn’t reply as he slinked back to the elevator. The Commander begged the door to close faster; he felt Ash’s eyes bearing down upon him with an intensity he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Finally, the door sealed him in and slowly trekked to the engineering level of the ship.

Shepard sighed. He was joking around with Ash but she didn’t seem to get it. This was why he found it hard to keep a relationship; he liked to tease people and always seemed to either piss women off or make them cry. Shepard wasn’t sure which was worse. Both had him well acquainted with the couch.

The elevator door seemed to open quicker when it arrived at its destination. A light whoosh of air announced its opening, sending the distinct smell of the new ship to the Commander’s nose. He inhaled deeply; the Normandy was absolutely wonderful.

Shepard rounded the corner to the common room, his mood slightly lightened. He glanced around at the sparse crew that busied themselves with one thing or another. Frigates like these were always an interesting environment. Because of the smaller number of personnel, everyone knew each other’s business. He cringed, realizing that in a short amount of time, a large portion of the crew would think he was a womanizing jackass. Shepard looked at the crew again, his mood souring quickly.

Alenko.

The Commander looked at the Lieutenant in thought. He was alright and Shepard was pretty sure that the other man could provide a nice distraction for a moment. Nodding to himself, he approached the working sentinel.

“So, I fucked up,” Shepard said as he sat down in a chair behind the Lieutenant’s station. His hands moved to smooth back his extremely short hair; it was an unnecessary action.

“Commander?” Kaidan turned around, confused.

“I mean, I fucked up really bad,” Shepard chuckled and looked down at the floor.

Kaidan put his work on pause and sat down next to Shepard. This had to have been serious for the normally cheerful Commander to look so upset. He sighed, knowing he’d probably not want to get involved in what was going on but realizing that he must.

“Who does this involve?” he asked, making sure that he took a proactive step in protecting himself from what was about to be dumped on his lap.

“Ah… it’s Ash,” Shepard mumbled, “I was trying to joke around with her and she didn’t really get the joke.”

“What did you say to her?” the Lieutenant replied, this time genuinely interested in the problem. An unhappy Ashley Williams meant an unhappy crew. Though he appreciated the hard work that Williams put in to everything she did, she was rather vocal at times.

“I may have joked with her about wanting to sleep with me,” he grinned uncomfortably and chuckled.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Kaidan’s jaw dropped. Shepard was a really nice guy but talking to Williams like that was beyond dumb. What the hell was he thinking?

“I know what you’re thinking, Alenko: ‘What the hell was Shepard thinking?’ Right now, I’m asking myself the same question,” Shepard shook his head.

“I think what you need to start thinking is, ‘what am I going to do about it?’” the Lieutenant replied, his hands propped up against each other in a sagely manner.

“Hm,” Shepard’s eyes unfocused as he lost himself in thought, “so do you think I should let her drive the Mako?” Perhaps he’d take Williams down on the next mission. She liked shooting things and it’d probably help her unwind.

Either that or she’d shoot him herself…

At any rate, women liked flowers and gifts. What better gift could he give to a marine than a day of frolicking on an uncharted planet in a rover with a large gun?

“Can’t you just pull out an, ‘I’m sorry’ with her?” Kaidan interrupted the Commander’s thoughts.

“Like right now?” Shepard looked at the man next to him in disbelief.

“No,” the Lieutenant sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “you’re supposed to wait a few hours for them to calm down first.” He paused for a moment. Kaidan hated getting involved in people’s messes, but he always seemed to be the one to fix things. His eyes traveled over to the hapless Shepard and considered him for a moment. Here was one of the most powerful men in the galaxy. He was a trained N7 Commando, the Hero of Elysium, and the first human Spectre. It was very likely that he would be one of the most famous humans of all time.

But Commander Shepard clearly was socially inept.

Kaidan supposed it was the way nature balanced things out. The Commander was a good guy though, and he had good intentions. Keeping that in mind, the Lieutenant decided that he would do his best to help remedy the situation. He didn’t claim to be an expert on women, but he sure knew when to keep his mouth shut and what words to say at what time. The only time he choked around a woman was when he was in love, and the Lieutenant had only been in love once. Everything would be fine so long as he kept his guard up.

“I’ll go talk to her and see if I can get her to calm down, but the apology is up to you,” Kaidan said and clapped Shepard on the back.

“That might be awkward,” Shepard replied, unwilling to look the other man in the eye.

“Why’s that?” the Lieutenant’s forehead creased in confusion.

“Just, um… because she’s mad and all,” he mumbled. There was no way that Shepard was going to tell Kaidan that Ash had a crush on him. He didn’t want to get castrated in his sleep, that was for damn sure.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine, sir,” he said. Kaidan had the sneaking suspicion that there was something Shepard wasn’t telling him, but he was sure he’d find out soon enough.

The Commander stared at Alenko and waited for him to get going to talk to Ash. For some reason, the Lieutenant was giving him an expectant look. Didn’t he know he could go?

“Uh, dismissed?” Shepard ventured a guess at why the Lieutenant hadn’t left yet. His suspicions were confirmed when Alenko nodded and left. The Commander shook his head; they were going to have to work on that one. Shepard didn’t like being formal with his officers, especially those who would be on his ground teams. After all, the best way to have a reliable team was to make sure there was a kinship between them.

His blue eyes shut as he lowered his head into his hands. He needed a team that got along well and he had personally screwed up the team dynamic. The weary Commander stood up and trudged to his quarters. His steps led him to his console where he sat down with a plunk, the new seat squeaking in protest at the sudden introduction of Shepard’s considerable weight. He sat there, bathed in blue light and thought. If Alenko could somehow smooth this over, he’d be more than alright in Shepard’s books. All he had to do was wait.

Shepard hated waiting.

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Kaidan sighed as the elevator opened to reveal the engineering level. He was halfway across the ship and he could already tell that Ash was pissed. Slowly the Lieutenant approached the seething Gunnery Chief, each step rewarding him with the sounds of equipment being abused and muttered curses. When he was within two feet of her, Kaidan stopped and leaned against the nearby lockers. She still hadn’t noticed him.

“So, what should I tell requisitions when they ask about what happened to destroy our industrial grade equipment?” he asked, his expression that of genuine concern.

Ashley swiveled around to meet the gaze of the sentinel that sneaked up on her. She closed her eyes and lowered her tools, reminding herself that the man in front of her was not the one she was angry at. Attempting to muster up a cheerful demeanor, Ash wondered why the LT was there in the first place. The answer hit her and the cheerful demeanor that she had carefully tried to regain shattered in an instant.

“He told you, didn’t he?” she asked, her voice full of fear and hatred. Oh God, she was in big trouble now. Kaidan would think that she wanted to sleep with him.

“I don’t know any details. I just know that Shepard feels really bad about what he said,” the Lieutenant replied, his hands held up in defense. Absently, he wondered what Shepard knew that he didn’t share.

“Oh, does he now?” Ash spat.

“Yes, he really does. I wouldn’t bother to help patch things up if he didn’t,” Kaidan nodded. It was the truth. Assholes didn’t deserve to prosper, but Shepard wasn’t an asshole. With that in mind, Kaidan would go out of his way to help keep peace in the small ship.

Ash sighed in relief, thankful that her secret was safe. She guessed Shepard wasn’t a complete ass; he didn’t tell Kaidan that she was interested in him. Still, he owed her an apology. Until then, she refused to drop the matter.

“So, would you like some help with this?” the Lieutenant gestured to the vast array of dirty weapons occupying the workbench.

“Um…” she hesitated, “with all due respect, sir…” the Gunnery Chief trailed off, unsure of how to tell her superior officer that she didn’t trust him with cleaning the guns. He was a sentinel; he couldn’t possibly know much about what she was doing as she did.

“Oh, come on,” he smiled, “there’s no such thing as a marine that can’t clean a gun.”

Ash smiled back and handed a pistol to the Lieutenant. He was right. There was no such thing as a marine that couldn’t clean a gun. Together, they made quick work of the dirty weapons. All the while, the Gunnery Chief stole glances at her handsome and kind superior officer. When he left, she sighed.

Superior officer was the operating phrase; following it came the phrase ‘not going to happen’. Ashley Williams found herself accepting of this. There certainly weren’t regs against looking.


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A chime sounded and Shepard jolted from his work. Someone was at the door. Shepard reached over to disengage the lock, hoping that his visitor was Alenko.

Thankfully it was.

Shepard gave him a casual nod and motioned for him to come in. After the doors closed, the Commander exhaled, ready to hear the damage.

“Sitrep,” he told the Lieutenant. Shepard was ready for the worst; one never knew when a woman would go to war.

“She’s fine, sir,” Kaidan replied, “I mean, she wants an apology but other than that, she’s smiling again. So, I’d assume it would be fine if you talked with her now.” The Lieutenant crossed his arms, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Commander,” he said, “I think she’s got a thing for me.”

Shepard broke out into a sly grin and looked around the room.

“Perhaps,” he replied, unwilling to look the Lieutenant in the eye.

Kaidan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. This wouldn’t be the first time a subordinate had gotten a crush on him. It sure made things awkward. He just hoped Ash got the hint; he didn’t want to hurt her or cause any more drama in the already tense atmosphere of the small ship.

“Well, I guess I’ll just ignore it and hope it goes away,” the Lieutenant nodded, his mind made up.

“If you want to go for it with her, I won’t mind. I just want you to know that,” Shepard interjected into Kaidan’s thoughts. He smiled at the other man and waited for his response.

“No, relationships with subordinates are a very bad idea,” the Lieutenant shook his head, “besides, I’m not interested. She’s too…” He trailed off, unsure of what to say.

“Much?” Shepard supplied, a smirk on his face.

“Yeah, much is one way to describe it. I just know it wouldn’t work,” Kaidan laughed. There was a seven year difference between them. Sure, it worked for some couples, but the much younger Chief sometimes left him exasperated. As a marine, she was fabulous, but he couldn’t picture her in a light different from the soldier he knew.

“Her sister thinks we’re super cute,” Shepard supplied and waggled his eyebrows.

“Oh?” the Lieutenant perked up in mild interest.

“Mhm,” the Commander nodded, his grin growing, “she’s sixteen.”

Kaidan blinked. It had been a long time since he’d had a Commanding officer that joked around with him. All too often, they over emphasized discipline and deemphasized a personal relationship of any sort. The Lieutenant was of the belief that being friendly to one’s subordinates was crucial to team building. No, he didn’t go out of his way to be buddies with any of them, but he always kept an open door policy with those under his command. It was good to see that Shepard seemed to hold similar values. Kaidan chuckled. Oh, he’d play along with Shepard’s game.

“Hey, it’s only illegal if you get caught,” the Lieutenant said, his expression completely deadpan.

“Dude…” Shepard found himself at a loss for words. Was that a joke? Was it not a joke? He couldn’t really tell; Alenko’s expression was so serious. Shepard stared at the man in front of him, unsure of whether to be horrified or to laugh. The Commander settled for a horrified, awkward laugh, his voice cracking in indecision.

“You know I’m screwing with you, right?” Kaidan chuckled.

“I was seriously hoping that you were,” Shepard replied, glad that the joke was on him. The Commander laughed and walked over to the Lieutenant to clap him on the back. Alenko sure had a sick sense of humor; Shepard liked that.

They looked at each other then burst out laughing. After what the Lieutenant had done for Shepard, he could easily consider the other man a friend. Yes, Kaidan Alenko was going to be Shepard’s friend whether he liked it or not.