lieutenant-commander-williams

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

    Well. There are ways to kill a mood, and there are ways to kill a mood-- and this is definitely one of the latter. Her fingers quickly disentangle themselves from Alice's hair when, fucking ow, her nose smashes right against her forehead. Her free hand reflexively snaps up to her forehead, though actually it doesn't hurt too bad.

It hurts so little, in fact, that she's ready to dive back into it-- till she hears that very distinct 'fuck!' and sees the little trail of blood coming out of the commander's nose.

"Oh hell," she mutters, her first thought being something along the lines of I am way too horny to deal with this right now. Still, the dutiful, caring side of her takes over pretty quickly, and soon she's gently nudged Alice's hand aside and replaced it with her own, the flat of her palm resting below both nostrils to staunch the blood flow. She tries not to laugh-- really, honestly tries-- but she still manages to chuckle a bit.

For which she promptly admonishes herself.

"... sorry. Uh. Yeah, can we fix this like pronto? Because I was not even close to done," as her head moves about on a swivel, her body scooting back towards the headboard as her one hand remains in place and the other gently tugs Shepard along for the ride.

"OK, uh. Think. What's really, really good at absorbing a lot of blood that almost everyone has on hand for just such a hilarious-- I mean, embarrassing situation as this?" 

I Was Lost Without You [Closed]

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "I'd say so. After the whole 'typical Alliance attitude' thing you threw at me on Horizon, we're not exactly standing on the most level ground here, operative Lawson."

“Since you sound so interested - even if only on Shepard’s behalf - I can’t say no. Looks as though reintroductions might be in order.”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   The words sting like a blast of dry ice against exposed flesh. And it's not even the words themselves so much, but the meaning hidden being the thin veneer of situational causality behind them. She's not upset that Shepard's asking for her help-- no, she's upset because Shepard seems to think she should be ashamed of asking her-- her!-- for help.

That she could, for one minute, possibly think the answer might be 'no.'

And she's mad at that. Furious, even. But it only shows in a gradual narrowing of her brow, which she tries oh-so-very hard to rein in. She sucks in a deep breath before she continues, because she knows she'll need it to avoid sounding angry. Anger isn't what Alice needs right now. She needs acceptance, and she needs help.

"Look. You don't have to tell me that, OK? I know you need me.  And you need to stop being so damn ashamed about admitting it. And I know that's just as much my fault as it is yours..." Horizon. "... but we need to move past that now. All right?"

Sighing, she lets Shepard grab hold of her hand between the two of hers, unable to meet her gaze for a moment. After turning her head slightly to one side, battling the tears that want to fall out, she nods. "And I say we need to, because you're the best damn thing to ever happen to me, too. Now... Let's get you some damn water, all right? Or else thanks to that--"

A thumb over her shoulder indicates the empty bottle.

"--you're gonna have one hell of a hangover tomorrow. Don't worry, though." A soft, light, somewhat sassy smile. "I won't threaten to have Joker sing to you over the comms, because I'm not a sadist."

Bottom of the Bottle.

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "I really, really don't think we can-- but I'm willing to put up with a bit of a visual height difference for Shepard's sake. If you are, I mean."

lieutenant-commander-williams

“Pleasure to meet you once again, Williams. I hope this time we can see eye to eye.”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "You know what they say, ma'am. Talented hands can build a wagon and aim a gun-- but a talented tongue can topple an army."

   ”It’s a good start, but I can multitask Which, you’ve seen and felt the proof of that.”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   Ashley inclines her head forward just enough to gently press her forehead against Alice's when the other woman does the same, each of her breaths ragged and coarse as though she's struggling through a losing battle to keep them regular. She soldiers on, though-- she has to. Right now, the normally-tough-and-imposing commander is little more than a crumpled, drunken mess, as likely to be scattered about like dry leaves in a wind storm.

"Look. I don't wanna say I wouldn't have been pissed off. I would have been, and you know I would have been. But I'd have been a lot less pissed off if you just told me. Trying to hide it like this, it's just-- I--"

Her throat clenches a bit, the words hitching inside and choking her with uncertainty for a moment.

"You're supposed to trust me, is the thing. When you do things like this, I don't get upset because I think you're weak. I get upset because I think you don't trust me. And hey, maybe I even deserve that. I blew you off my fair share of times in the past." Here, she pulls her head away, gently easing the commander back down onto the bed and making sure her head rests atop a nascently-fluffed pillow.

"But back on the Citadel. when you asked me to put my gun down? And I listened to you? I did that because I trust you, ma'am. And because you're," as a set of fingers traces over Alice's cheeks, her own eyes round, shiny, and glassy as though each one is about to expel a solitary tear. "... the best damn thing that ever happened to me, too."

Bottom of the Bottle.

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "Ha. Now you're getting the hang of it. Though in this case, it probably wouldn't be just hands, ma'am."

  “Once I’m on board with all these metaphors, I’m good. And hey, you know I won’t mind. Hell, I learn better when it’s hands on.”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "Okay, one: I don't need to explain myself. And two, I've always had game. You've just been too jealous of how much I have to notice."

  “Okay, so when the hell were you into women?  And two, since when did you have so much game?”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "Yeah, you're a sharp one, ma'am. Here I was getting worried I'd have to show you what I meant by demonstration. ... which I still might to do just to make sure you really get it."

 ”I don’t even remember the last time I had a taco to be honest with —

  ” — … so what you’re saying is… you wanna eat my 'taco?'”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "Seriously? We're really gonna make me explain this? All right, uh. Picture what a taco looks like. Now imagine you're looking at it from the top down. ... Now just think about that for a while."

  “Hey! I didn’t get a chance to finish high school. So don’t blame me if your food metaphors go right over my head. But seriously, tacos? Why tacos?”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "And we're calling me a nerd? Ha. Well, if I help you sleep so well, why not get your ass back here?"

  “It’s nerdy, Ash. Cute. But nerdy. And hey, what helps me sleep at night happens to be sitting right beside me.”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "Bingo, skipper. You know all those people you probably had in English class who told you how learning about things like metaphors was a waste of time? Yeah, they were wrong. And here's a good example of why."

 ”Did you put in a requisition order or —”

  " — wait a minute. You don’t mean actual tacos, do you?”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "Trust me. Between the two of us? Yes. Yes we do."

  “Uh-huh. I… didn’t think we had the supplies to make tacos on board, LC.”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "So I'm a nerd because I'm well-educated and I appreciate good writing? Uh huh. Telling yourself that help you sleep at night, Skipper?"

  “And I wonder how many people know that the so-called ‘glamorous and beautiful superstar Spectre agent’ is actually, in reality, a nerd who can recite poetry older than the Systems Alliance.”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "I penciled that into the itinerary, ma'am. I'll give you a few more seconds to figure out why."

  “Apparently, it’s ‘taco night’?”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "You know, I wonder how many people actually know that the hard-assed Commander Shepard is, in reality, lamer than an argyle sweater vest."

  “Well, glad you’re not lactose intolerant either because you seem to eat it up just fine.”

[lieutenant-commander-williams]

   "You are so lucky you're not lactose intolerant, Skipper. You'd be dead half a dozen times over from all that cheese by now."

  “Is it hot in here or is it just you?”