Category: Mass Effect
Rating: PG13
Genre: General
Summary: Regs say you can't date superior officers. But there's no harm in just looking, is there?

AN: This short came to me while listening to the song Short Skirt/Long Jacket, and whenever I hear that song I get the idea that Kaidan would be a really big Cake fan. Kaidan and Ashley just might be my OTP because I imagine them driving each other completely nuts. As they say, opposites attract. Besides, the tragedy and angst is built-in. Gotta love that.

Pull

There's something different about Lieutenant Alenko.

Ashley has had plenty of time to mull this over since becomming an official member of the Normandy crew. The commander likes to keep his marines close while groundside so it gives her plenty of time to study her compatriot's mannerisms. But on-duty behavior in front of the CO only tells so much about a person's character, so Ashley has to pick apart whatever little scraps Kaidan gives up about himself in their less-formal conversations to get a handle on where he stands. Thus she's a little torn on what to make of him: Ashley has long since decided that Kaidan's kind of weird, but she's not entirely sure if he's good-weird or just weird-weird.

The biotics are really something. Ashley has seen vids about biotics but has never been in the presence of one, human or otherwise. She knows Alenko is supposed to be one of those ticking time bomb L2's who could blow up the ship with his brain in a fit of insanity, but she doesn't get that vibe from the LT. He's too collected to snap. On Eden Prime when it came down to disarming three high-powered demolition charges he was so casual about it that Ashley realized that she hadn't thought for a moment he wouldn't be able to get them offline before the big bang. They hadn't said more than five words to each other up until that point and she had easily entrusted him with her life. …Not that there were many options at the time, of course. He was their only tech guy.

Regardless, Ashley doesn't see Alenko as the type of person to break down under pressure even with an implant. The biotics do take some getting used to because she has never worked with somebody who possesses magic powers, but after only a few gun runs the blue hazing of the air that proceeds a Lift or Throw has become as familiar and reassuring as Shepard's rifle rapport. There's a silly sense of pride being in a squad with an actual human biotic: it's like Ashley is part of an elite troop and that Sentinel gives them an edge over any merc or pirate band they might come across. Usually hostiles are so surprised by Alenko's powers that they can't react until it's too late, and sometimes Ashley will catch a glimpse of shock or fear in the eyes of Alenko's target. This makes her grin a little, even if it is kind of sadistic. She's Ashley Williams, after all. Not Jesus.

But for all of his abilities and talents the lieutenant isn't big headed. In fact, he comes off as embarrassed about his powers when in a non-combat setting. Ashley has learned through a number of awkward silences and clumsy attempts to change the subject that Kaidan doesn't like to talk about the biotics, and when he does it's often in a scientific and impersonal sense. He tends to lose Ashley in the abstract concepts and medical explanations which may have been his intent all along, and he's only too happy to get off topic at the first available opportunity. She suspects Kaidan is at odds with the part of him that can throw a 180 pound man flying across the room with a swing of an arm. It's his stigma. It's what separates him from everyone else and makes it so that he'll never fully be part of the group. In a way, his being a biotic is the same as Ashley's being a Williams.

Speaking of the Williams mantel, that's another manner in which Alenko is different from most officers Ashley has served with. She's not sure if Shepard just hasn't put two and two together yet or just doesn't want to bring it up, but the lieutenant obviously knew all about her blood ties from the get-go. What's more, he still treats Ashley as an equal – commendable, given that he's a superior officer. Normally a Williams has to dog to earn every ounce of respect they get but Kaidan is always level. He seems genuinely offended at the prospect that she still gets punished for Shanxi, and though she is over blaming the Alliance for her hardships a small part of Ashley appreciates the sentiment.

Other than that Kaidan keeps to himself. Engaging Alenko in an in-depth conversation takes a lot of finesse, which unfortunately Ashley is short of by nature. She's bullheaded and straightforward while he's guarded and reserved, so getting him to open up is a tactical ordeal. Kaidan never brings up his family, his religion or his politics unless directly prompted, and he'll shut down if not kept talking. However, there are two exceptions to this rule. Through trial and error Ashley has found out that Kaidan will talk himself blue in the face about his home planet, Earth, and tech stuff.

Kaidan is a true computer geek at heart. Rather than just dump omni-gel on a locked door he will always attempt to hack the terminal first. He very rarely fails, and in those instances where he can't override a system he'll use omni-gel for expediency but he won't like it. Ashley is impressed when he manages to salvage her armor after multiple breaches. When she offhandedly remarks that the HUD is all backwards to what she's used to Kaidan sits down with the suit for ten minutes and entirely reconfigures it to mimic her old Phoenix display. He can go on and on and on about the unique manufacturing of some turian weapons manufacturers and how he has outfitted his pistol with an advanced VI for stability. After the mission is complete he dismantles their recovered goods and reassembles them just to see how they work. Ashley thinks it's funny that buff bod belongs to a total nerd who blushes when called on his fascination with deadly toys. But when he chuckles, and he looks down to the floor with a shy grin, Ashley has to admit… Kaidan's pretty cute.

...In a Forbidden Fruit, hands-off way. Besides, he's a lifer. He wouldn't break regs and jeopardize the mission, let alone his career.

When Ashley finishes up "dinner" in the mess and comes back down to check her vidmail one last time before bed Kaidan is in the cargo bay, working on the Mako. Usually it's Vakarian crawling over the rover obsessively but after their assault on a pirate base the tank is in sorry shape. The turian and a couple of the engineers worked on it almost an entire day and still the Mako is in pieces. Shepard had called them off and sent them to bed, but there is Alenko, sitting up on the turret, elbow deep in the rover's guts.

His back is to the elevator and he doesn't hear her come down. It's probably because the same omni-tool he is using to fabricate damaged parts is projecting some indie-rock song at max volume. It's got a good melody but there's a slight hitch to the music: Kaidan is a little less conscientious with the harmony than the lead singer and his vocals don't quite measure up. Ashley smiles because this is prime material for blackmail. She'd never use it on the LT for anything more than comedic value of course, but this is just too good to ignore. Ashley decides to make her presence known at that point.

"Nice tunes!" she shouts once she's leaning against the tank. Alenko jumps at her intrusion. For a satisfying instant he looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

He shakes it off quickly though, and all of a sudden Ashley feels herself losing the upper hand. "Like it? I can upload the playlist to your suit's mainframe if you want!"

He waits until the next verse before jumping back in, singing along with the chorus even louder and more off-key than before. Laughing at him and conceding that the situation isn't going as planned, Ashley just listens to the lyrics. The song itself is kind of goofy and lists off the things the singer wants in a woman – some things humorous, some things legitimate – and a part of Ashley can't help but wonder if Kaidan isn't so much singing at her as he is really singing to her. That, of course, is being generous by assuming Alenko's pitch could be called singing in the first place.

Ashley quickly dismisses the notion. The lieutenant was prone to giving off weird signals that could be misinterpreted and she wasn't eager to read into something that wasn't there. And anyway, there's the mission to think about. The last thing Shepard needs is to have his officers brought up on charges of fraternization in the middle of the hunt for Saren. That would be a serious blow to the operation. When the song comes to an end so does Kaidan's backup lines. They share a friendly laughter until the omni-tool starts up with the next track, and just like that the moment is over. They're both still chuckling when Ashley shrugs off her failed attempt to embarrass Alenko. She meanders over to her work station, coming to lean on the table where her personal PC is situated.

She's waiting for the vidmail application to load when a strange knot starts to amass in her stomach. Ashley knows disappointment when she feels it. Maybe in a different time, in a different place something could have sparked between them. Kaidan was geeky but it was a smart geeky, and he was good-natured and attractive. But that doesn't change the fact that he is a superior officer. It's not as though Ashley needs to give people an excuse to question her integrity: she already has a last name to do that.

Out of impulse and no regard for subtlety whatsoever Ashley looks back over her shoulder towards the crippled Mako. Kaidan's music is still way loud but somehow he catches on to the fact her attention is on him. He and Ashley make eye contact for the briefest of instants. Neither of them are prepared to be caught looking, as is obvious from how they unsuccessfully try to play it off. Ashley waits a few seconds before braving another quick glance to gauge Alenko's reaction to the awkward moment.

Their eyes meet again.

Damn it. Alright, there's no way its coincidence. But no. No, no, no. Ashley tries to ditch all the girly feelings before they get her into trouble but she's realizing that she's too stubborn to be deterred with simple words. She can't even pay attention to Sarah's chattering in the new vidmail because Ashley is too busy trying to tell herself that the Normandy is a military outfit, not a dating service. Kaidan is off-limits. Just forget it, Williams, because he wouldn't cross the Alliance anyway.

…Would he?

Was he even interested?

Would he risk his pristine service record for the sake of a date?

Would Ashley?

"Oh, before I go," Sarah's coy voice pulls Ashley back to the vidmail. She'll have to replay it later. "I saw Kaidan in a newsvid about the Normandy. He's cute. Later, sis."

Ashley stares at the terminal for several long seconds. She abruptly becomes aware that the music from Kaidan's omni-tool has been off for a while now, leaving Sarah's comment to resonate throughout the silent cargo bay. When she hears Kaidan laughing from his perch on the far side of the garage Ashley feels her cheeks flush.

Wonderful.