Overtime

"What was it you wanted to see me about, Miran-"



The last syllable in that sentence was "da". John Shepard knew that. But when the door to his quarters swung all the way open and he got a look at the woman inside, all he could manage was a trailed-off "daaahhhhh" sound, eyes wide and jaw open like a goldfish's.



How the hell could she have-



Because it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Her shoes were blinding white athletic trainers, with matching knee socks that stopped way short of the pleated skirt that swirled around her thighs. It was space-black, with a gold trim, with a matching black chevron at the bottom of her skin-tight top, above it white with a black-and-gold star shooting across her chest. The pom-poms she held were the same colors as well.



All in all it was an absolutely perfect replica of an SSV Einstein Atom Smashers cheerleading uniform. Or more accurately, what it had been, twenty years before. John stood there, mouth open, as memories he hadn't touched in decades swam back to the surface, making his chest tight and his cock swell with blood.



And she giggled. Miranda never giggled, but she did now, eyes twinkling with a mischief that somehow blended youthful innocence with satisfaction of a job well done. She posed, one pom-pom braced on a hip, and pouted.



"Who's Miranda?" John's eyes widened again. Her crisp Australian accent was gone, replaced by a familiar twang from southeastern North America. She sounded just like- "You'd better not be two-timing me again, Johnny. It's Karen. Remember?"

Oh, Christ. John felt faint, and he collapsed rather than sat into the nearest chair. His mother had been assigned to the carrier Einstein, core of a battle group large enough to have a school onboard for the group's dependents. There'd been enough other big ships nearby that somebody had decided to start a football league between the battle group schools in First Fleet. Everybody loved the idea- it was peacetime, and anything that helped them forget the fleet was doing laps in the Oort Cloud watching for nonexistent threats was instantly popular.



John Shepard had been the star running back for the Atom Smashers, helping them take the Fleet trophy and winning a handshake from Captain Hackett himself. It was a heady first taste of victory, and with it came Karen. Sweet little Karen the cheerleader, with big blue eyes and a perfect ass. She'd been a tease, in the way teenaged girls can be- never malicious, but at once enjoying her power over him and genuinely unsure about the next step. She'd kissed him until he thought his head would burst, run her fingers over his cock until it throbbed like solid steel, and when she'd taken him in her mouth eighteen year old John Shepard had been sure he was about to die, and completely ready.



And then she was gone. A week after the championship, when they were still trying to find a way to sneak off for that last big step, Karen's father had been critically injured in a fueling accident on the flight deck. He'd done the best he could for Karen in the week after that, hating the part of him that burned with frustration, and then watched her wave goodbye as she boarded a shuttle for the hospital station. They'd sent a few messages back and forth, but then her dad was discharged on a medical and it became clear she'd never come back to the Einstein. When he'd read that last message, eighteen year and six month old John Shepard had been sure he was about to die, again.



And now- Christ. He snapped half back to reality as Miranda reached over and palmed the door lock, then turned with a little twirl to grin mischievously down at him. His head was swimming with memory and old, caked-over lust, hormones hitting him in a way they hadn't since he was a teenager, still a civilian, before Basic Training and war. Miranda posed on one knee, biting her lip, and then there was that drawl again.



"Thought I'd never get you alone, Johnny. You've been the toast of the group ever since the game. But I've been waitin' for the chance to welcome you back myself." God, she even looked like her- but then, Shepard had always known where his thing for black hair, blue eyes, and curves came from. Man had to know his weaknesses. "Want to see what I've got for ya?" Yes. God yes. Okay, head, nod. Nod. Yeah, there we go.

And then she spun, holding up the pom-poms, shaking them and hoisting them over her head, chirping out words he hadn't heard in years.



Black and Gold is here to fight

Moving up to the speed of light!

We'll run so fast, that our clocks go slow

So come on team, let's go go go!



How could she know that? Only spacer kids could come up with stuff like that. Well, of course she did, she'd probably made it up, her or Fiona- no, this was Miranda, not Karen, but God was it hard to remember when she spun around on one foot and stalked towards him, poms held low-



Smashers, Smashers, we're on top,

Moving objects can't be stopped!

Secant, tangent, cosecant, sine,

Come on boys, go Smash that line!"



She'd been doing that one just as he shot across the goal line, the SSV Denali tackle grabbing his legs, too late to stop him from landing in the endzone and hearing the horn signal the touchdown. John felt his chest thump again as he remembered, rising to his feet as the crowd roared, and there she was-



Now she was inches from him, and the poms were gone, she was straddling him and her voice was in his ear, perfect, as Karen whispered,



Two bits, four bits, six bits, a buck

Come on hero- time to fuck!



John roared as he came to his feet, grabbing Miranda around the waist, pulling her to him and kissing Karen, hot, searing, his heart thudding as only a boy's can on the brink of manhood. She was eager, willing, pressing back and matching every bit of his heat, hands pulling his shirt off as his tossed the top aside. Her breasts were bigger than he remembered Karen's, nipples darker, but that didn't matter. She still groaned as he fastened his mouth onto them, fingers sliding down to open his pants and stroke him just right, teasingly rubbing and covering his shaft in sticky precum. He tossed his head, the sensation almost unbearable.



And then she was on the bed, pinned down by his weight, skirt and panties pushed down and so open, so ready as he tried to remember all the things he'd heard. Go slow, be gentle, control yourself, don't-



Karen gasped out, "Do it, Johnny, I'm ready, now, please!"

And that was it for self-control. He slid in and Miranda welcomed him, Karen's boiling-hot cunt pulling him in, clenching, her clear blue eyes looking up at him as she let her mouth fall open. A thrust, two as he fought for self-control, and then her mouth fell open and he was in both of them, Miranda coming around him as the heat closed in and he came inside Karen, like he'd always meant to.



Minutes and years later he opened his eyes, and she was still there under him. She looked the same, but something- the glow in her eyes, her smile- told him Miranda was back. And as he looked down at her, the only thing he could say was,



"How? Why?"



Her voice was back to normal, now, warm and rich with love as she turned him over, his arms instinctively folding around her as she nuzzled her head against his heart.



"I know you, love. Lot of memories. Lot of regrets. Lot to carry around." She raised her head, chin on his chest, and those sapphires gazed deep into his eyes. "I can't fix Akuze, or Kaidan, or...hell, you know the list. But I thought- maybe-" and for the first time there was a cloud of doubt there "-I thought maybe I could at least give you one-"



John lean forward and kissed her, letting her flow into it, drawing back and running a hand down her cheek, smiling lazily until she smiled back and there was nothing more to say.



As the lights went out, he cleared his throat. "So-"



"Please." Miranda laughed, husky, as she folded her body around his. "Think I went to all that effort to wear that outfit just once? I think, though...next time, I'll just be Miranda."



"That's what I want." His hand closed around her shoulder. "Just Miranda. I have my memory. But how-"



He could feel her smile.



"Why Commander Shepard. The Illusive Man ordered me to find out everything about you. And you know I never do a job halfway."