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Mass Effect: Traynor and Williams (Javorcek X MellowYellow)

Javorcek

Javorcek

Supernova
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Location
United Sates - NY
ashley_williams_by_donabruja-d4xfgz5.jpg




Ashley Williams of the Alliance Marine Corps had thought her promotion to 2nd Lieutenant would finally get her assigned to a ship. She preferred the constant hustle and bustle of running around the galaxy with Shepard on the Normandy as opposed to the many boring ground operations she had been assigned to. Despite her impeccable service record, she had been more or less stuck on the ground: part of lingering punishment for her grandfather’s surrender of the Shanxi garrison during the First Contact War. After almost two years of patrolling terrain that hardly ever saw any action, she was finally up for reassignment. Imagine her excitement when she found out that she was indeed going to be assigned to a ship!

Though imagine her disappointment when she found out the ship was the Normandy SR-2; which had been grounded for the retrofit. Great…now she got to play ‘Consultant’ rather than ‘Soldier’. Brass had insisted that she would be a necessary part of the retrofit team, due to her time spent on the original Normandy. Didn’t they keep schematics for things like that? Why the hell did she need to waste her time on a ship that was going to be kept in the docking bay for the next 6 months?! But…Ahsley was a good soldier and always did as she was told. So here she was, trying her best not to complain as she meandered about the new Normandy.

It was little consolation that Joker was around, he was the only person that the AI seemed to respond to and was part of the retrofit team as well. The pilot was fairly friendly; he and Ashley would often reminisce about their time served on the original Normandy. It was good to have a fellow soldier around, albeit one that could barely hold a gun; but at the end of the day he was still a marine like her. It wasn’t like he was one of these eggheads she was surrounded by that constantly came around to ask her questions: ‘Was the Weapons Bench 3 meters from the wall or 4 meters?’ Hell if she remembered something so trivial!

With a sigh, Ashley made her way upwards towards the CIC to check on how they were coming along with the Galaxy Map. Perhaps the only nice thing about being stationed on a grounded ship was that she no longer had to keep her long, brown hair pulled back into a tight, regulation bun. It gave her a little more of a feminine appearance, which she secretly enjoyed. And she felt like all these Alliance nerds appreciated it as well; it seemed to make her less intimidating to them and more approachable.

Maybe if she put her hair back up, they’d stop asking her so many stupid questions. Hmm…

“Specialist Traynor. How’re you coming along with fixing the private message terminal?” Ashley tried to offer the Specialist a friendly smile. She could get so shy at times, the Lieutenant could never understand why.
 
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Eating a slice of strawberry cheesecake on the GIC was certainly a practice frowned upon by the Alliance's rules and conventions. Eating was to be restricted to the mess, and even then you were only allowed to eat gruel or glue or whatever slop they were given as rations.

But, specialist Samantha Traynor was familiar with all the ins and outs of protocol. It was part of her job after all, and she knew every loophole in the book. Eating what and where she pleased was a-okay as long as the craft wasn't in active service, and the Normandy wouldn't be ready for months at this rate.

And thank god there was a confections shop not too far from where the Normandy was docked.

Samantha's fork took out another bite of cake and she promptly popped it into her mouth. It was one of the pleasures that this job brought her. The other great benefit was getting to work with-

“Specialist Traynor. How’re you coming along with fixing the private message terminal?”

Ashley's voice almost made her choke on what she'd been eating, and the dark-skinned woman fumbled to keep hold of her fork. She turned and smiled nervously at her superior officer "A-ah, y-yes. I finished re-um-reestablishing the extra-net connection an hour ago, s-so it should work brand spanking new." Samantha said. She quickly realised she forgot to salute and promptly pressed a hand to her forehead...accidentally stabbing her forehead with her plastic spork. "Ow..." she grumbled as she awkwardly pulled her hand back.

There was a good reason she was so nervous around Ashley Williams, and it could be summed up with the thoughts running through the specialist's head right now. 'Ass ass ass ass. I would use your ass as a pillow. Ass.'
 
Ashley had to admit, although she wasn’t really attracted to women, the Specialist was kind of cute. Perhaps it was because she was soft and delicate…like an adorable fuzzy bunny that was innocent and incapable of hurting anything. Or maybe it was because of her refined, British accent that coated her words in something that was just outright sexy.

Did she really just think that the Specialist’s voice was sexy? Maybe she needed to go out on a date…if it had been that long that she was finding another woman attractive, it was definitely time for some much needed bar hopping. Perhaps she'd go out after her shift ended...a couple of drinks would certainly loosen her up enough to have a little fun.

Though not -too- much fun...she was a good Catholic girl after all.

“Traynor…is that a piece of cake you’re eating by tech that probably cost the Alliance millions of credits to research and build?” There was a bemused smirk on Ashley’s full, pouty lips. She wasn’t particularly angry, her voice didn’t reflect any notes of irritation; though it was in the same sort of clipped, professional, leadership tone she had adopted once joining the military. It was just so odd to her to see a soldier eating a slice of strawberry cheesecake on a military vessel that she couldn’t resist saying –something- about it. “Keep it to the Mess Hall, eh? I know we’re on an out of service vessel…but I’d hate for whoever is going to be the new Skipper of this ship to have to deal with a CIC covered in crumbs.”

She tried her best not to laugh as the Specialist gave her a rather sloppy salute and a rundown of the changes that had been made. Good, it was nice to know that maybe Ashley could finally check her e-mails. She knew she’d probably have a ton from her little sisters, asking her how she was holding up with her new position. Part of her was surprised that Traynor had gotten it fixed so fast; the last guy who had been working on it had spend almost 3 weeks dealing with the issue and the stupid terminal had done nothing but get spammed with a zillion advertisements for several sexual enhancement drugs.

“Traynor…you have cheesecake in your hair.” Ashley snickered a little bit as brown eyes caught a piece of white and pink crumb in the Specialist’s dark hair. “Hold still please.” She reached up, strong, calloused fingers running through the silken locks to get rid of it. “There you go, good as new.”
 
Having a darker complexion certainly had its advantages. For example, Ashley wouldn't be able to see that Samantha was blushing like a virgin on her wedding night. "Th-thank you, s-sir." she replied awkwardly, watching as her superior officer pulled her hand back from her hair. "Aha...sorry...not very dignified of me..."

Was her commander a lesbian? It wouldn't be THAT surprising if she was, with half the stories on the extra-net of her interactions with Jane Shepard. Then again you could hardly believe stories out there, just the other day she heard some nonsense about Turian's making sandwiches out of ground up Volus meat. Why would anyone ever want to eat a Volus? And, while 'Don't ask don't tell' was hardly relevant in this day and age, Specialist Traynor wasn't about to risk this job by asking a stupid question to Ashley.

"I ah...I usually prefer a little bit of privacy when I eat. Not really a fan of eating in the mess hall." As she spoke she lifted the small plastic lid that came with her cake, safely placing it on the paper plate where the cake sat. "But I'll be more careful where I eat in the future. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked, a nervous smile tugging at her full lips.

She'd hope not. A large portion of her work had been done for the day, and she'd rather not get saddled with an extra metric ton of things to do. Well, Lieutenant Williams was a kind enough woman, she wouldn't screw anybody over like that...
 
"-Ma'am- Traynor...-Ma'am-. You will address your female commanding officers as Ma'am." Ashley gently chided. Good Lord, that was the problem with most of these Alliance nerds, they didn't quite understand the etiquette of addressing their superiors. Most of them just looked to be like civilians wearing Alliance colors and Ashley wondered how half of them had even made it through boot camp.

"Understandable, Specialist. Thank you for being more careful. And no Traynor, that will be all. Carry on." Ashley managed a gentle smile for Traynor's benefit. It was something Shepard would do...give you a little smile so that you knew she wasn't going to space you for something stupid you had done. Sometimes Ashley really did miss the Commander...Shepard had done so much for her: like make it possible for her to finally get out of the more gruntish rank of Gunnery Chief and achieve an officer's rank of Lietenant. The brunette did like to be a leader after all...but no one will follow you if your rank is so low.

Ashley gave the other woman a quick nod before heading towards the elevator. She needed to see the progress of her beloved Armory that was finally being put back where it should be: in the hangar bay. Why Cerberus had put it up next to the tech lab, she never would really know. Probably just some lazy design so that they didn't have to carry prototypes downstairs to the Armory for storage.

It should almost be time for her shift to be over. Which she was glad for. All she needed was a quick shower and then maybe she'd get out of this uniform and go to the bar. While many soldiers liked to drink in uniform, Ashley did not. She didn't need to be in her Alliance colors to get the attention of men. And truth be told...sometimes she acted in a manner unbefitting of an officer if she got -too- drunk. It was best for her to distance herself from her military life when trying to have a personal one.


(OOC: Left it open so you can decide if you'd like an awkward shower scene or an accidental meet up at the bar ^^)
 
Well that had been...dreadful. Ever since her university days, Samantha had a way to make a complete fool of herself in front of any woman she found attractive, and it just grew worse the more attractive that woman was. And with Ashley Williams, she fell just short of melting into a puddle of nervous goop.

Bah...she was fooling herself with this childish little crush. Lieutenant Williams was probably straighter than an arrow. Even if she was gay, what hope did a nerd like Traynor have of getting under that tight blue suit? She didn't view herself as unnatractive or anything, but if her CO wasn't a soldier then she could have easily been a supermodel.

The thoughts niggled at her head for some time, even after she finished she lunch and her shift, but she couldn't get over what an absolute fool she had been earlier. Nobody could have been that stupid, she just had to be more socially awkward than a Quarian with intimacy issues.

She washed herself when back in her modest quarters, changing into something a little more free. A short-sleeved black blouse and tight fitting blue jeans that complimented her figure quite nicely.

Samantha headed out to the nearest club on the Citadel, a place frequented by Alliance troopers nowadays, to get a drink andget over what a fool she had been. She took a vacant seat at the bar when she got there and ordered herself a Screwdriver.
 
Ashley was positive she was going to scream. How could something as simple as a retrofit be so stressful? First she had to deal with the issue that there was all this excess space on the new Normandy. So she had suggested that they add an exercise area in the hangar bay. Simple, right? WRONG! Now she had to do about 10 pages of paperwork just to put in a work order for a heavy bag and a pull up bar to be installed. Plus Shepard’s stupid space hamster was on the loose and the girls working in the Armory were terrified of it. It was just a little hammy! What was the big deal?!?!

So with a sigh, she finally dragged her butt up to the Captain’s quarters on the top deck. It was the one small luxury that came with being the highest ranking officer during the retrofit: she got a pretty sweet pad. After a quick shower, she changed into a white tank top that showed off her ample breasts and toned arms. A pair of dark black slacks completed the ensemble. For a moment she checked herself out in the mirror, ruffling her long brown locks up a little bit to get herself looking a little more wild and little less uptight. There, perfect.

She had lit her plans to try to find a nice civilian guy on fire, unsure if she could be patient enough to deal with one. But still, there was this problem that she was entirely too sober. She took the rapid transit over to the closest club on the Citadel and was immediately greeted by a throbbing bass and darkened atmosphere. Few people ever recognized the young Lieutenant when she was out of uniform which she was thankful for. This made her able to make her way towards the bar without drawing any attention…well…she drew attention, Ashley was quite a pretty little thing after all, the type of girl men liked because she might just hand their ass to them. And the type that drew the eyes of women because she dressed just tomboyish enough to –maybe- be a lesbian.

“Oh…hey Traynor, didn’t know you’d be out tonight too.” Ashley offered a little smile as she came up to the last open spot by the bar that just happened to be right next to the Specialist. The Lieutenant hopped up onto the barstool and waved the tender over, ordering herself a Gin and Tonic.
 
'Oh come on! How does something like this only happen to me?!' Samantha thought to herself once her Lieutenant approached the bar. She herself wasn't exactly a regular here, after all she couldn't do much in her line of work of she had a hangover, so for all she knew Ashley likely frequented here whenever she could.

"Greetings si-Ma'am." Samantha replied, quickly collecting herself before her commander could correct her. She needed to try and appear a little more confident. After all it would be hard to believe she was the most qualified for this job if she couldn't string a proper sentence together.

"I was just trying to unwind after a stressful day. The ah...trying to work on a ship's systems that already contain an AI makes everything thrice as difficult as it should." she had decided not to divulge too much information on that. Ashley seemed more of a shooter than a computer nerd.

She took a sip of her second Screwdriver once Ashley got her Gin and Tonic, ignoring the heat in her throat. Ashley looked dressed to kill to say the least, her more casual attire complimenting her figure in a wonderful way. Samantha preferred the blue catsuit personally, but then again that Lieutenant could make anything look good "So...what brings you out here, ma'am?"
 
“Just Ashley…or Ash or Williams if you prefer, Traynor. We’re not in uniform, you don’t have to be so formal.” Ashley gave the other girl a light nudge to the arm and a more genuine smile. After a couple of sips from her Gin and Tonic she was feeling a bit better already. It wasn’t often that she went out to the bars anymore; the very alcoholic gin was already making her tongue buzz a little bit.

She nodded a little bit as Traynor talked about the systems. Truth be told, Ash was definitely not a tech girl in the slightest. She wasn’t dumb, just more of a hand's on learning. She did read quite a bit of literature after all…just none of it was anymore technical other than manual for her assault rifle.

“Stressful day here as well. Shepard’s old space hamster must’ve gotten out of it’s cage somehow and now it’s running around in the Hangar Bay, scaring some of the techs and chewing their equipment.” Ashley couldn’t help but giggle a little bit. It was a little more amusing now that she was off duty. Imagine that: grown women that were afraid of a cute and fuzzy rodent! How ridiculous!

“But, let’s not talk about work right now Traynor. Tell me more about yourself, I like to know about my crew.” Ashley relaxed a little bit more on her barstool, elbows up on the bar's top as she got comfortable. Of course this position inadvertently put her breasts a little more on display. She idly stirred around her glass, letting the lime mix with her alcohol before looking up over to the Specialist with big brown eyes.
 
"That fucking hamster. I found it scurrying out from under my bed, chewed off the corner of my pillow." Samantha grumbled, crossing her arms onto the bar. The specialist downed another sip of her screwdriver and smacked her lips afterward, the taste lingering on her full lips for a moment. It was a little hard to hear Ashley over the thumping music, but she did her best to focus on her.

"Anyway...Mi-Si-Lieute...um...Ashley. You really want to know more about me?" she asked, certainly curious. Getting to know your crewmembers, well that was hardly an unusual thing. After all if the stories were true, Shepard had been particularly 'knowledgeable' about some of her crewmates. Traynor was quick to shake the perverse thought from her head.

"I was...originally born in London, and I was there with my parents until I was about one year old. But after that my parents decided that they wanted to experience the freedom of colony life, so they moved out toward Horizon." Samantha explained, before downing another bit of her screwdriver. "And ah...I grew up there for some time...and I was there when the Collectors attacked. It was a horrific experience, trapped like that...thank god they didn't take me or my parents."

Samantha lazily scratched at her chin, trying not to think too hard on her memory of the invasion. Those bugs were horrific to say the least. "A I had been visiting, time off from university. See I had been studying at Oxford, got a scholarship from the Alliance...after that incident I redoubled my efforts on my studies, I was determined to join the Alliance and help with the war effort however I could."
 
“Of course I’d like to know, Traynor. Hard to lead people you don’t know anything about.” It was one of the things she’d picked up while working with Shepard. Sure, soldiers would work for you and follow you into battle…but they fought so much harder when they were loyal and trusted you. Besides, Ashley was a curious creature, she liked to know about the things and people around her.

The Lieutenant nodded a bit as Traynor gave her a more in depth run down of what was already listed in her service file. Of course Ashley actually read the files! She had nothing else to do. But what sparked her interest was that the Specialist had been on Horizon during her personal time. She leaned in a little bit closer, a muscled arm resting lightly against Traynor’s as she inched closer just to hear the other girl.

“You were on Horizon too when the Collectors attacked? I was stationed there…trying to upgrade their defense systems when they hit.” Ashley shuddered a bit at the memory. She had been paralyzed by a seeker swarm. But thankfully she had been found before getting hauled away. It was a terrible thing having all your senses working but not being able to move a damn muscle. “Awful things… I’m hoping Shepard’s not right about the whole Reaper and Collector thing.”

Ashley downed the rest of her Gin and Tonic and ordered another one. “Another screwdriver Traynor? It’s on me.”
 
"Believe me I know. I was scared out of my wits...It's that sort of thing that you'd experience in a nightmare, but you'd never dare think that it could actually happen." Samantha replied, visibly shuddering. She could her CO pressing in closer, the intimacy of the moment sending the heat racing to her cheeks, and she was left wondering if she was reading too much into it.

"Oh ah, sure another one couldn't hurt. Thank you. It might be my last one for the night though." Samantha replied "Thank you." She began sipping away once her next drink while watching Ashley down her drink with much more gusto. She was something special alright...

That wasn't Samantha's last drink of the night. Nor was the one that came after it...or the one after that. The specialist was gradually grew more tipsy, and with that tipsiness came a degree of freedom and more confidence, and she was conversing with Ashley more and more openly about her life. A few drinks and she seemed a completely different woman.

"O-okay okay, mind if I tell you a secret?" Samantha asked, in between bouts of drunken giggling "It's...fairly embarrassing, and something I'd like to keep a secret to everyone else...think we can keep it off the record?"
 
"That's the spirit Traynor!" Ashley grinned as she got them another round. Oh God...when was the last time she had drank so much? Two years ago, maybe? Probably the last time she was with Shepard...the Commander always liked to take them out to the bars and force them to dance like fools. Ashley didn't really dance. There was just something so...feminine about it and she could never find a guy who could get her to break from her stubborn and slightly aggressive nature that made her a better lead than a follow.

Jesus Christ...Shepard used to always dance like an idiot. How she missed the Commander, always made her laugh.

Kinda like how Traynor was doing right now. Or maybe it was the 4 gin and tonics...5 gin and tonics? Nah it was probably Traynor's silly stories that were making her giggle, not the alcohol. The girl was quite quirky, Ashley actually really liked that. And the more the Specialist drank, the more confident she became. Of course the Lieutenant really liked that too. Confidence was sexy. Just like British accents.

Hey...can you stop thinking Traynor is sexy for like 5 minutes?

It wasn't really her fault anymore for thinking that way. Alcohol always did make her a little...handsy. A little bit of a flirt too. But she was doing a pretty good job of keeping both of her hands wrapped around her glass of liquor. Okay...this was the last gin and tonic. Then maybe she'd switch to water and then go to the dance floor to sweat out all the booze so that she didn't stumble around on the ship when she tried to make her way back to her cabin. Yeah...good plan!

"Hmm? Of course Traynor!" Ashley smiled and rubbed her back soothingly. Hey! Hands to yourself soldier! Alright...soothing over, she returned her hand back to her glass and took another sip. "Anything out of uniform is off the record!" Because if anyone knew Lieutenant Ashley Williams was a lightweight at the bar, she'd probably never live it down.
 
Damn, her boss was a lightweight. Rather shocking considering what a badass she was...but since this was all off the record, nobody would need to be told about that. Ashley would likely not live it down if it became public knowledge. But Samantha was not the type to just give that kind of information away.

"Well um...Okay, goodness this is so embarrassing. Hehe, you are such a flirt when you get drunk." Samantha remarked, chuckling softly. God she was eager to just grab Ashley by the collar and kiss her silly. She was definitely in the mood, but she had just enough restraint to stop herself from doing that.

"Okay okay..." Samantha trailed off and managed to smile her most charming smile, the taste of alcohol mingling in the air. "The thing is, Ash, I happen to have a bit of a crush on you. You're a very beautiful woman, after all..." she added.

Samantha just hoped that news would blow over well.
 
"I'm not a flirt! Just...very friendly when I'm drunk." Ashley giggled. Flirting was for girly girls! And Ashley was definitely -not- a girly girl. She was a woman after all and...a...beautiful woman? WHAT?!

Ashley blinked, mouth slightly ajar in surprise as she looked at Traynor. Did she hear her right? Traynor had a crush on her? Thought she was beautiful? She tried to blink some of the drunkenness from her half-lidded eyes so that she could -really- look at Traynor; studying the other woman carefully as though she were an opponent that Ashley had to spar with. Was this girl a lesbian? Traynor didn't -look- like a lesbian. She was dressed rather femme after all...lesbians wear plaid or something all the time, right? And they keep their hair cut short...yeah? Okay...so maybe that was a little stereotypical; but it was the only reasoning her alcohol dazed mind could come up with right now.

Traynor was too pretty to be a lesbian, she could probably have any guy in this bar that she wanted. The Specialist was definitely trying to just play a prank on her!

"You're pulling my chain Traynor. No way you're into me." Ashley couldn't help but laugh a little bit. It was such a silly thought after all: that Samantha was gay, that she secretly had a crush on her, hah! The next thing she'd be hearing was that Cortez the fighter pilot was gay! Now -that- was just plain ol' silly.

The Lieutenant was more of an 'actions speak louder than words' sort of girl. So Traynor was going to have to either put up or shut up. "You got a crush on me, then prove it." Her face lit up in a confident grin, absolutely positive that Traynor was either 1) Not a lesbian and trying to embarrass her or 2) Was indeed a lesbian and too much of a nerdy chicken to do anything about it.
 
"Whaat? How could I not be into you? You put 99% of Asari to shame." Samantha said, a smirk on her face. Well that was a much better reaction than what she had expected. At least Ash wasn't going to have her court marshaled for fraternization, or punch her in the face. She didn't know which outcome would be worse...

"Prove it? Prroooove it...now how on earth will I prove it...?" Samantha said teasingly, sweeping some raven hair behind her ear. Now tha answer to that was obvious, and if she was reading the room right then Ash would be okay with it.

Okay, she could do this. She had made out with plenty of girls in the past. She was a big LGBT figure back in her Oxford days...well she was a figure, in that she attended the meetings and all. Samantha was so skilled with women that back in college they called her the cherry popper...well, one girl did, that one time. It still counted.

Mustering up her courage, Samantha's hands gripped Ashley by the collar, and she quickly swallowed her nerves and the saliva resting in her mouth. Then in one fell swoop she had yanked Ashley closer, their lips crashing together. She held them there for several seconds, letting her tongue explore Ashley's mouth, and then she pulled back to catch her breath. "That good enugh for you, ma'am?"
 
Well this was...different. Traynor was soft, delicate...so unlike kissing a man. And her hands were demanding, confident, unafraid to apply a little more force. Guys definitely didn't do things like that, as sturdy as Ashley was built, most were afraid they would break her. Heh...as if she could be broken.

Maybe her brain was sluggish, maybe that's why she didn't recoil from Sam's touch as the girl grabbed her collar. And maybe she was a little horny and handsy from all the alcohol...and that's why she had reciprocated with the kiss. Or maybe it was because Ashley didn't do anything half assed, even if she didn't know what the fuck she was doing. But her strong arms slid around Samantha, holding her closer, mashing their breasts together as their lips locked and tongues played. She could taste the sweetness of the other woman's screwdrivers and if the gin and tonics hadn't gotten her drunk, that certainly did.

Flushed, slightly out of breath and looking very, -very- confused, Ash was at a total loss for words as Traynor pulled away and ended the kiss. She had -kissed- another -woman-. She hadn't just sat there and taken it, but she had actually kissed back!! She wasn't into girls!

At least...she thought she wasn't into girls.

"Y-yeah... I-I...need to go..." The Lieutenant stammered, cheeks red with embarrassment as she waved the bartender over so that she could close out her tab that included the majority of Traynor's drinks. Had this turned into a date?! GAH! She was reading too much into this...she needed to get back to her cabin and just...take a nap or something. Maybe a nice cold shower would help.
 
"Ooookay bye bye!" Samantha said whimsically, blissfully unaware of how screwed she was tomorrow. As far as she was concerned she just had the best kiss of her life, and to hell with anything else. None of that mattered, all that mattered was that she finally got to live out a dream, with a very attractive woman.

She stayed at the bar for a few more minutes, sipping down some water to wash the taste of mixed alcohol from her mouth. Then as soon as she was done with that she returned to the Normandy and into her modest quarters. She flopped face first onto her bunk and drifted off into a merry drunken sleep.

Good god if only waking up was half as pleasant.

It felt as if Sovereign was tap dancing inside her skull, the most godawful hangover of all time. She usually drank less, but she got really into it with Williams around. They talked and laughed and drank and...well that was it wasn't it? She could swear she was missing something, forgetting an important incident.

Begrudgingly she got out of bed and dressed herself, popping some mints into her mouth to drown out last nights stink. Then she headed up the elevator to the CIC. Well, last night was fun, but she doubted anything important happened then.
 
Ashley was having a sliiigghhhtt identity crisis as she dragged her drunk, stumbling ass back to the Normandy. The Lieutenant had always seen herself as straight and had envisioned herself settling down with a man one day when she was finished cracking skulls across the galaxy. But kissing Sam had sort of thrown a wrench into the works. Was she gay? Had she -liked- kissing Traynor. Yes...yes I did. Oh fuck...what would her very Catholic grandmother say if she found out?!?! She'd probably have a heart attack and die!!! What would her little sisters think?! Sure, being a homosexual wasn't a big deal like it had been almost 200 years ago...at least...it wasn't a big deal if you weren't religious. While Ashley didn't pray every single night before bed; she still sort of prayed a lot more than the average person.

"GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Okay so maybe she was just having a major melt down in her sound-proof cabin. "Okay...it's fine...you're not gay. You were just really drunk and did something really stupid." Yeah...something really stupid with one of the soldiers under her command.

"SON OF A BITCH!" She roared. This just kept getting worse and worse the more she thought about it, she needed a shower. A cold one.

Ashley repeated her washing regimen several times over in the shower. She just felt so...dirty? Ashamed? Embarassed? Turned on by someone of the same gender? She didn't know... But what she -did- know was that her mouth had -never- been so clean in her entire life. She had even brushed under her tongue and the roof of her mouth! Traynor had kissed her! And she had kissed her back! Ah fucking damnit now she had to wash her mouth out again. Even though the taste of orange juice and vodka was long gone, the memory of Sam's tongue darting so playfully around her mouth wasn't.

Truth be told...that may have been the best kiss of her entire life.

So she washed up until her skin was bright red from being scoured clean. Brushed out her mouth until she was sure she had annihilated most of the tastebuds on her tongue, and then climbed out of her shower and went straight to bed.

----

Ashley didn't really get hang overs. Courtesy of her waking up about one thousand times throughout the night to drink water. She didn't really sleep well...had lots of nightmares. Typical bit of PTSD many marines got, but it didn't interfere with her work so she just kept on going rather than take psyche leave. But that morning she felt pretty refreshed and ready! At least...until she remembered last night and the thought of Traynor kissing her made a wave of heat radiate out between her legs.

Ugh...should she take a sick day? She wasn't really sick...or nauseous...but the thought of having to face Traynor today after what had happened last night was certainly getting her there. 'Williams! You can rest when you're dead!' the voice of her old Drill Sargent echoed around in her head. Fine...she wouldn't take a sick day. Maybe she'd just try her best to avoid the Specialist. Yeah...that sounded like a good plan! Traynor was a good worker, she didn't need Ashley's supervision and she very rarely asked the Lieutenant any questions about what the old Normandy had looked like.

So with her ingenious plan to just avoid Traynor all day in her mind, she got dressed in a clean new cerulean blue cat suit that hugged every single curve of her body and headed downstairs for a bit of breakfast and then to make her rounds.
 
Throughout her workday there was that niggling sense that Samantha was forgetting something. She felt as if SOMETHING important had happened while out drinking with Ashley, but for the life of her the memories were so foggy that she could barely remember the name of the bar from last night. At the very least her hangover was gradually clearing up.

She tinkered on the computer consoles, worked on the uplink again, helped with the CCTV systems on the ship, but no matter what she was working on she was certain there was something important she needed to member. She thought and thought and thought some more to no avail.

Maybe Ashley knew the burial place of some secret Nazi gold and wanted to go on an adventure with her. Or perhaps the Lieutenant mentioned elopement or something else. She challenged her at one point...to a fight? No no that was silly, if that had happened Traynor would be in the medbay right now.

Samantha browsed through her datapad while walking the CIC, checking off her workload for the day. She saw Ashley pass from the corner of her eye and politely greeted her with "Ma'am." And then it came flooding back when she glimpsed Ashley's face. "Oh...bollocks..." she whispered, raising the pad to hide her face entirely.
 
So far her plan was going pretty good. She had managed to get some breakfast and sneak her way to the bridge to check on Joker and one of the techs that was trying to replace the comfy pilot's chair with something standard issue, much to Joker's disapproval. After wasting almost two hours of her life talking about a goddamn chair, Ashley was finally free to go mosey about the rest of the ship. Well...was almost free. Why did the elevator have to be -right- behind the CIC where Samantha was standing. It's okay...she could just sneak right by her. So as quietly as she could without changing her stride, Ashley made her way around the Galaxy Map.

Stupid combat boots! They always thudded against the metal floors no matter what she did. Okay...it's fine...Traynor didn't notice her yet, still busy looking at her datapad, good. Ashley was a Soldier, not an Infiltrator...her sneaking around abilities definitely needed some work. Apparently more work than she realized because Traynor had looked up from her datapad and was now looking straight at her! Crap...

Ashley looked mildly horrified when their eyes met, the poor Lieutenant turning absolutely scarlet as she remembered just how close those eyes had been to her own last night. Gah! Ashley didn't do feelings! "Er...Good afternoon Sam-, I mean...Specialist Traynor." Run! RUN!!!

Usually much more calm, cool and collected, the Lieutenant was definitely not liking how awkward she felt around the Specialist. So, brown eyes shooting forward, she marched off towards the elevator, face bright red, heart hammering in her chest, and stomach all tied in knots.
 
"Oh dear...oh dear oh dear..." Samantha murmured, quickly moving from the galaxy map to one available chair once Ashley had left. 'Oh you stupid, stupid idiot!' she thought to herself, wanting to just break her datapad over her face if it would just knock her out of this damn nightmare.

Kissing Ashley was supposed to be...a triumph! A victory! Something to be proud of...At least, it seemed that way when she was drunk off her ass.

Now though that she was without liquid courage, she could see quite clearly how fucked she was. It was entirely possible that Ashley would kick her off the ship or get her transferred, or, or just kick her in the cunt for her stupidity...or both of those things. Life was just gonna suck now. She thrashed a good frienship and likely wouldn't be able to salvage it.

Samantha sighed and rose to her feet. She was in no mood to work, in between the headache and the overwhelming feeling of dejection. She boarded the free elevator and headed down to the crew quarters, going to her registered bunk. Right now she was seriously not in any mood to work...
 
Ashley went down to the Shuttle Bay where they had finally managed to install a heavy bag. A couple more things like a pull up bar and a wrestling mat would need to be added later...but at least the bag was a start. Cortez was busy working on one of the shuttles and the techs were still making some modifications to the procurement terminal. Heh...she remembered having to actually deal with a Requisitions Officer, now they could just order whatever they wanted via the terminal. That would be useful...when it finally was up and running anyways.

But, since she had nothing to do today, she figured she'd hit the bag and train a little bit...or a lot a bit. Working out always helped her clear her mind. She wriggled her way out of the top half of her uniform, leaving herself in just a black sport's bra. And then she went to work pounding away at the bag to help relieve a little stress. Most of the crew knew that they could find her down here, either tinkering with guns or sparring with Cortez when neither of them had anything to do. Like Joker, he was a real marine; unlike Joker, his bones weren't made of glass and Ashley didn't feel bad handing his ass to him.

As she wailed on the bag, her mind began to wander and process the events from last night. She wasn't mad at Traynor...she had been the one that was stupid enough to dare her to kiss her in the first place after all. This whole thing was mostly her own damn fault and she'd deal with the consequences. She should go apologize... Unfortunately the consequences meant she had to go talk to the other girl. Maybe she'd wait until after her shift was over...this was a personal problem, no reason to do things like pull rank.
 
Well this was...unpleasant. Samantha found herself unable to fall asleep with all the thoughts abuzz in her brain. Was this really such a big deal? Should Ashley really be acting as rash as she was? If she was straight and drunk, then kissing another girl should have just been silly fun, right? Unless...well, maybe her CO was bi, or at least bi-curious now. That or she was just freaking out over kissing one of the people under her command.

Maybe she was just imagining it. Ashley had always been a distant type of woman, maybe Samantha was just expecting too much out of her. It was probably nothing to worry about, she was totally in the clear. Or she hoped as much at least.

When she felt her stomach rumble, Samantha sat up awkwardly in her bunk and pressed a hand to her gut. Well, there went her plan to hide in her bed for the rest of her life. Sighing she stood up and stretched herself out before heading out toward the mess hall. She'd be fine. Totally.
 
Ashley was in a rush to talk to Traynor...mostly because she was incredibly hungry after hitting the heavy bag for what seemed like forever. Her knuckles had little pinpricks of blood on them from where they had split open from the force of impact; but she'd worry about that later. At least she felt a little more clear-headed, though was still pretty stressed out. Unfortunately since she was still soooo stressed out about this entire situation, she couldn't eat. Eating would make her nauseous and then her nerves may act up a little more, decide to revolt, and then she'd be sick. Ashley didn't like to get sick.

So she needed to talk to Traynor, -right now- since her shift was over and she just wanted some dinner. In her hurry though, as she was rounding the corner out of the elevator, she ran smack right into the very person she was looking for! Good! Now she didn't have to go on a wild goose chase looking for her.

"Uh...sorry about that Traynor. Was in a little rush. You okay?" Well at least she hadn't knocked the smaller girl onto her ass when they ran into one another. That was something. Probably shouldn't assault nerds she was developing a tiny, awkward crush on. As her eyes wandered over the Specialist's body just to make sure she wasn't injured, Ashley decided she was kind of cute. Samantha was like a little innocent doe. With big brown eyes and a cute smile and-

Hey! Stop! No! Bad Williams!! No fraternizing with other soldiers!! ...Even if they are sort of adorable and not really a -soldier- per se.

"Erm...do you have time to talk? In private? Off the record?"
 
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