Country

Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: FemShep/Ashley

In which Shepard needs a break and Ashley has just the thing to help.

Italics indicate thoughts
Bold indicates song lyrics

Shepard sighed as she stepped onto the elevator and punched the button for the cargo bay a little harder than absolutely necessary. They were docked at the Citadel to get some upgrades and repairs for the Mako, after a rather unfortunate incident involving lava and Wrex driving. Everyone, minus the Commander and a certain Gunnery Chief, taking advantage of the rare chance to get off of the ship for a few days.

After having spent the last three hours finishing a stack of reports, and enduring yet another stressful conversation with the Council, whose sole purpose in the galaxy seemed to be to second guess and criticize every decision she made, she was eager for a break. Meanwhile, Ashley had been busy making sure everyone’s equipment was in order and prepared for the missions to come.

The Commander glared at the gate to the elevator, the tension in her neck and shoulders giving her a throbbing headache.

Why can’t this thing go any faster? Most advance ship in the Alliance Fleet and it has the slowest elevator in the galaxy… figures.

After what had seemed like an eternity, the elevator stopped and, as the gate rolled up, a type of music Shepard had never heard before came from the far side of the Cargo Bay.

My Maria don't you know I've come a long, long way
I been longin' to see her
When she's around she takes my blues away
Sweet Maria the sunlight surely hurts my eyes
I'm a lonely dreamer on a highway in the skies

A smile spread across Shepard’s face, her headache forgotten, as she walked over to Ash. The smile getting wider as the Chief was too busy swaying and singing to the song coming from the console on the table as she continued cleaning the assault rifle in her hands to notice her girlfriend sneaking up behind her. The Commander waited until she stood directly behind the Chief before whispering in her ear, “What is that?”

Ash jumped, the rifle falling to the table with a clatter as she spun around, “Jesus Commander, you scared me!”

She shoved Shepard playfully as one hand covered her still racing heart, “I didn’t even hear the elevator come down.”

Shepard chuckled, “I noticed. Back to my question,” she waved at the still playing computer, “what is that?”

The Chief leaned an elbow on the table, a serious look on her face, and raised one eyebrow, “That, Shepard, is a computer console. The human race has had them for centuries now.”

They just looked at each other, both women trying valiantly not to smile, until Shepard spoke, “You just couldn’t resist could you?”

The smile finally broke free and spread across Ash’s face and she laughed, “No I couldn’t, you set yourself up for that one Skipper.”

Shepard nodded as she chuckled as well, “Yeah I did. Let me rephrase, what is that playing on the computer?”

Ash smirked. “Country music,” she said simply.

“Country music?”

“Yep.”

The Commander sighed, “Why are you listening to country music?”

The Chief shrugged, “I like it. My dad listened to it, said it was from Earth before the Alliance was formed,” she looked Shepard up and down, “Besides, it’s fun to dance to.”

By that time the first song had ended, and another had begun.

Out in the country past the city limit sign
Well there's a honky tonk near the county line
The joint starts jumpin’ every night when the sun goes down
They got whiskey, women music & smoke
It's where all the country folk go to boot scootin' boogie

Shepard stepped back, “Oh no, I am not dancing to that!”

“Come on Skipper! You danced with me in Flux, and no one is even here.” Ash argued.

She shook her head, “I was drunk at the time, and I don’t think what I was doing could be called dancing.”

Ash looked smug, “I can teach you, and,” her expression softened as she took one of Shepard’s calloused hands in hers, “you need to relax for a while.”

The Commander placed a soft kiss on the Chief’s hand, “Ok, what do I do?”

Trying hard to hide the gleeful look on her face, but failing miserably, Ash pulled the other woman away from the workbench and started teaching Shepard the basics of how to Two-Step.  She was a quick learner, but her eyes seemed to be glued to her feet.

The Chief chuckled, “Your feet aren’t going to go anywhere without you if you look away, Skipper.”

Shepard jerked her head up and smiled at Ash sheepishly, making a conscious effort to keep her blue eyes focused on Ash’s brown as they moved. The Commander could feel all of the tension in her body draining away as they danced around the cargo bay. Countless songs passed as time lost all meaning for the two women, their only awareness was of each other as they moved together to the country beat.

As yet another song came to an end, a slower one took its place. Instinctively they moved closer together, Ash’s arms circling the Commander’s neck, while Shepard’s wrapped around her back. Ash rested her head on Shepard’s strong shoulder and pulled her closer. As they rocked to the slow tempo, thoughts of their all-important mission to save the galaxy faded away and allowed them to just revel in the moment.

Our love is unconditional, we knew it from the start.
I see it in your eyes, you can feel it from my heart.
From here on after let's stay the way we are right now,
And share all the love and laughter
That a lifetime will allow.

I cross my heart and promise to
Give all I've got to give to make all your dreams come true.
In all the world you'll never find a love as true as mine.

The song was coming to a close when Ash lifted her head, one hand cupping Shepard’s cheek while the other gripped the back of her neck gently, and just stared into her Skipper’s eyes. Her thumb made gentle strokes along the length of the Commander’s cheekbone, as the song came to a close. Pulling Shepard’s head down, Ash met her in a tender kiss.

One kiss turned into two, then three until a small cough of surprise made them look towards the elevator.

Garrus stood frozen just outside the elevator, his mandibles flaring in embarrassment, “I left something in my locker and came to retrieve it….”

They just watched, still wrapped in each other’s arms, as the Turian quickly walked to his locker and pulled out a small data pad then all but ran back to the elevator.

Just before he pressed the button to go up, Ash called out, “Hey Garrus want to learn to dance?”

He shook his head vigorously, “Uh no, thank you.” With that, the door to the elevator closed and started its slow climb upwards.

They waited until the elevator had reached the deck above before breaking in laughter.

They had started to quiet down when Ash spoke, “Guess he didn’t want to two-step,” which sent them into another round of laughter.

When they had finally stopped chuckling, Ash walked over to the table and turned off the music. When she turned, Shepard was right next to her and promptly pushed her back until her back was pressed into the bulkhead, her hands gripping Ashley’s hips possessively. The Chief gasped as the Commander kissed her hard before breaking away and growled into the trapped woman’s ear:

“Now where were we?”