Post Thessia
My first sheply piece! Yay! Do go easy on me because as I said i’ve never written this paring before ^^;
“Hey there skipper.” Ashley said gently as she entered his cabin.
Aiden sat up as if the bed had just spontaneously caught on fire “Ash! I was just uh napping.” he said as he fixed his hair and she could tell he was trying to pretend there was nothing wrong. He didn’t have to, of all the people to pretend around she wasn’t one of them.
“You can talk to me you know, there isn’t much I can do to help but I can at least listen.” She offered, approaching where Aiden sat on the bed with his head hung.
“I appreciate that Ash...I really do.” he extended his hand to her and she happily accepted it, giving it a gentle squeeze as she sat down next to him. Aiden rested his head on her shoulder and she ran her free hand through his long black hair.
“And before you ask Lily didn’t ask me to come.”
Aiden chuckled “Oh and you’re a mind reader too.” he joked.
Ashley laughed with him “I’m upset she beat me to it but I’m not surprised.”
Aiden fell back on the bed “I feel bad, she came in to talk and I just brushed her off, I know she doesn’t care but…”
Ashley laid next to him, staring at the stars through the skylight in his cabin “She’s just worried about you, we all are.”
Aiden sighed “I know…but it’s not my home that was destroyed and instead of having a pity party I should be-”
“You’re allowed to be upset you know, especially since you’re the one taking the fall for all this.” she interrupted.
“But it doesn’t feel that way!” He said, standing up, it came as a shock, for someone as naturally calm like Aiden to suddenly raise his voice.
“What do you mean?” She asked, sitting up.
“I mean….I mean... ugh!” his biotics flared causing the contents of the coffee table to fall and shatter onto the ground but he wasn’t phased by it and neither was she. Her main concern right now was Aiden, not a pair of cheap wine glasses he never even used.
“I’m the great Commander Shepard!” he said in a mocking tone “i’m not allowed to have bad days, or make mistakes or screw up, everything I do has to be so goddamn perfect!” he exclaimed, starting into a rant as he paced around the room. “But i’m not perfect, no matter how much I pretend to be i’m fucking not….I wish I was, everything would be so much easier if I was the super solider they all thought I was.”
Ashley nodded “I know…” she said softly.
“All it takes is one little thing to go wrong and that’s it!” he threw his arms up into the air “all this respect and trust they claim to have evaporates into absolutely nothing.” he laughed but there was no joy that Ashley could hear in it “maybe I should just let the reapers win, just give up completely!”
“You won’t.” she told him matter of factly.
“I know!” He snapped “I know...it just sounds really damn good sometimes, to just give up.”
Ashley stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders from behind, kissing him on the cheek, thankful for the bit of extra height her boots granted her “That’s what’s so amazing about you though Aiden, do you know how many people would’ve thrown in the towel after today?”
“Too many.”
“Exactly, I understand self doubt, believe me Aiden but no one here is expecting you to be perfect, it’s all the politicians and leaders that are putting all this pressure on you and you can’t worry about them.”
“But-”
Ashley shook her head “If they have a problem with the way you’re doing something then they should just do the job themselves but they aren’t going to so what they think of you shouldn’t matter.”
Aiden’s shoulders relaxed “yeah…” he placed his hand over hers “thanks Ash.”
She smiled “Of course...I love you skipper.”
Aiden’s eyes widened, it’s not that he didn’t feel the same he just wasn’t good at expressing it, he got easily flustered and honestly it was both embarrassing and sad for everyone involved “I...I love you too.” but much to his surprise it came so easy, as if he’s been waiting to say those words and...maybe he has. It’s not that he didn’t care about Liara he did at the time but Ashley was a different story. The more time they spent together the more he regretted not picking her from the start. It took him dying and the world ending for him to finally face his feelings head on and by some miracle she felt the same.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to but...could maybe stay, just a little while longer?” He asked shyly.
Ashley nuzzled the side of his neck “As long as you want.”
