#piper shepard

Ashley sprawled across the length of their bed, feet towards the top and head at the bottom. The sheets below were soft and she inhaled deeply, taking in their freshly-laundered scent, huffing a satisfied sigh as a cool breeze swept through from the open window not ten paces away. City noise filtered in, the ever-present thrum of traffic and voices, of life being lived, and though it always took her a few days to acclimate to the constant sound of New Queens she found she didn't mind it as much as she used to, didn't let it keep her up at night, tossing and turning cocooned in the cacophonies outside. 

Or maybe I'm just better at getting distracted. 

Her smile widened as she turned her head away from the window, gaze falling on the doorway that led to their en suite bathroom. Warm light spilled out from beyond it, and she let her eyes flutter shut, focusing beyond every day noises to fixate instead on the soft humming emanating from just past the doorway. 

"What song is that?" she murmured as the humming drew louder, closer, light steps on the hardwood floor and she cracked an eye open as that humming lost its rhythm, replaced with a considering tone instead.

"You know, I'm not actually sure." The bed dipped beside her and she shifted to better look up at Piper as the other woman settled with one leg folded beneath her, the other dangling off the edge of the bed. "Something Shawn kept listening to when he visited last week."

"Is it weird that I'm still thrown off by the fact that Evvy essentially adopted his own clone?"

Piper's lips twitched, eyes glinting. "The fact that it was Evvy makes it decidedly not weird, I think."

Ashley huffed a laugh. "Guess that's true. He did kind of adopt the rest of us, huh?"

"Always was a sucker for sweethearts and lost puppies."

Ashley cocked an eyebrow. "Which am I?"

"Sweetheart," Piper replied without hesitation. She grinned, leaning down to kiss Ash's scrunched nose. "Being tough doesn’t negate how sweet you are, love." 

Ashley scrunched her nose further, eyes narrowing, though the overall effect was undermined by the fact that she was trying not to laugh. "And James?"

"Lost puppy who is also a sweetheart."

"That tracks." 

"Speaking of," Piper went on, readjusting her position. She dipped out of Ash's immediate view and Ashley resettled her head on her crossed arms, letting loose a soft sigh as Piper straddled her hips. "He should be here by the end of the week."

"He got the approval? Ah…" Ashley instinctively tensed as Piper's fingers found a knot in her back. 

"Breathe," the other woman reminded her, slowly working out the knot. "And he did. I'll finally have both of you in one place." This was punctuated by a kiss to the back of Ashley's neck, and she let herself relax fully under Piper's knowing touch. It was hard not to, really, after all these years. Familiarity bred over the time they'd gotten to know one another, a deep friendship blossoming into something more, and maybe their love didn't look the way people expected it to, maybe they expressed their affection a little differently, but Ashley wouldn't have traded it for anything. 

"So, wait. What kind of relationship is this?"

"Queer-what? Platonic? So like… you're just really good friends?" 

"…you guys don't have sex?" 

Questions prompted by the social pressure of knowing, of categorizing, and Ashley had learned early on that she didn't owe anyone a deeper explanation for her and her partners. Felt better trying not to explain, since it inevitably led to frustration and irritation on her part, others' surprise -- or, fuck, even pity -- chafing and belittling something that meant the world to her. As if their way of being together was lesser, somehow. 

"I don't worry about it, honestly. I know who I am, and I know what I want. Some things really are that simple." Piper's words lived like a mantra in her heart even all these years later. "So long as you know the answers to those questions, that's all that really matters, right?"

And it wasn't as if Ash hadn't had her fair share of doubts in the beginning. 

She'd dated before. Mostly men, a few women, nothing particularly serious given her career choice. Knew what she liked in a partner, and knew Piper and James had all those qualities and then some. Confidence. Kindness. Compassion. Passion. People who gave as good as they got, who stood their ground but weren't so stubborn as to never consider change. 

But those were broad categories, really. The sorts of things you put on a dating app profile amidst all the more personal tidbits for added flavor and interest. They were starting points, statistics factored into taking a chance, at opening the door to discover what else lie beneath the surface. 

And in Piper and James? Ashley had discovered so much more than she ever could have imagined. 

"Ahh, right there…" Piper's fingers sought out a new knot, working it loose and dispersing the tension, running her hands firmly along the expanse of Ash's back. Her hands were some kind of magic -- surprisingly strong for how delicate the other woman appeared, and Ashley had been delighted to discover her girlfriend wouldn't hesitate to go deep when she needed to. Delighted all the more when she'd learned how much the other woman loved touch in general -- back massages expanded to include hands, wrists, feet. Cuddling on the couch with a bottle of wine and some cheesy action flick. Baths and showers and the warm intimacy of washing each other's hair, of drawing soap across one another's skin. 

Maybe Piper was disinterested in sex, but that didn't mean she couldn't express her affections through touch all the same. Soft kisses and sweet caresses, a penchant for being the big spoon despite being all of five feet tall -- Ashley's lips twitched at the memory of James's discovery, at the way he'd blinked at her from where he and Piper had already settled into bed, their smaller girlfriend bossing her way behind him and curling around him like a determined koala-- and it wasn't like Piper avoided the topic of sex entirely, though Ashley wouldn't have minded either way. 

"You don't have to stay in here if you don't want, you know." An assurance even as Piper brushed sweaty hair from Ash's face, tucking it behind her ear as the other woman came down from her orgasm. A new toy she'd been eager to try out rested on her other side, waiting to be cleaned. 

"I know." Simple and steady, a prelude to what Ashley would learn very soon about Piper Shepard: the woman did not do things she did not want to. If she was there, she wanted to be.

"But…"

"Just because I don't want to participate in the main event doesn't mean I don't enjoy being with you in the afterglow." A smile that was equal parts mischief and affection stole Ash's breath away. Piper's fingers carded gently through her hair. "You're beautiful like this, you know."

A disinterest in sex did not equate to a sense of shame for it, and Ashley had been looking at things differently ever since. Considered intimacy in its truest sense, and the myriad ways it could be explored.

"What are you thinking about?" Piper's words a warm whisper against her skin, and she felt the other woman's lips press gossamer kisses along her spine. "You're a million miles away."

"Just thinking," Ashley began after a moment, shaking off the memories in favor of the here and now.

"Yeah?"

"…can you paint on me again?" 

She felt the curve of Piper's smile, laughed at the little love tap Piper planted on her ass as she rolled off her, and turned to watch as her girlfriend made her way to the chest of drawers that held the various equipment and toys and accessories they liked to utilize in the bedroom. Out of the top drawer Piper took out a small box containing brushes and body-safe paint, and Ash found herself wiggling into a more comfortable position -- eager to float away under the strokes of Piper's brushes as her partner turned her back into a canvas for yet another work of art. Glanced up at the photos lining a corkboard next to the dresser, smiling at the memories of past works wrought on her and James's backs. 

"I was thinking of a new tattoo design," Piper mused as she rejoined her, taking up her place straddling Ash's hips once again. 

"Yeah?" 

"Something inspired by Sur'Kesh's jungles." 

Ashley smiled, letting her eyes fall shut once more. She'd never been to the Salarian homeworld, but she'd heard the place was beautiful.

"Can't wait to see what you come up with, babe," she murmured, and she could feel herself already drifting away into that space that was all affection and sensation. Another kind of intimacy, another way to connect, to explore and relish the trust they found in each other, and with each carefully drawn line of paint Piper applied to her skin, she knew:

By the time Ashley Williams reached the portion of Zakera Ward given over to a group of Earth teachers and their students her patience had more or less evaporated. 

Hours of delays just trying to get ships docked and cycled through to let off their plethora of refugees only to immediately be beset upon by a very insistent, pushy aide from the Embassies had left her irritated. The drawn out conversation with Udina, then the rest of the Council as they discussed the finer points of an unexpected invitation to join the Spectres left her downright grumpy. An honor to be sure but Ash had never been a fan of politics -- at least not the sort Udina espoused. It was hard to look at him and not remember the two-faced little weasel he'd been back during the Saren mission, and her general impression hadn't improved much over time. 

Slippery bastard, she thought, palming at the door controls. They cycled open, her identity confirmed and permitted, and the room beyond was blessedly quiet as she crossed over the threshold. 

"Back already -- oh!" 

A short woman had appeared in the doorway across from her, one of several lining the opposite wall leading to bedrooms connected to the main suite. A pair of startled brown eyes blinked at her a moment and Ash felt herself grinning, her bad mood lifting with each step she and the blonde took to close the distance between them. 

"You're here -- are you okay? Have you spoken to Evvy, or Kaidan…?" A pair of slender hands cupped Ash's cheeks, the taller woman having leaned down enough to help the shorter woman's reach, and before Ashley could even formulate a response to the rapid fire questions warm, familiar lips were pressing firmly to hers. 

Ashley sighed, feeling that last bit of tension lift as she opened herself to the kiss, smiling at the taste of Piper's peppermint tea on her tongue. 

"I've been so worried about you," the blonde murmured when they finally parted for air. "I heard Benning was a mess…"

"It wasn't pretty, but Evvy cut us a good path and threw Cerberus into enough disarray to leave us plenty of openings," Ash reassured. "Didn't get to see him yet, but last I heard he was trying to broker an agreement between the Turians and Krogan?"

Piper nodded, her hands coming to rest on Ash's shoulders. Serious brown eyes were searching her face, as if she needed that additional confirmation that Ashley was okay and in one piece, and Ash was content to give her the time she needed. Her own hands landed on the woman's waist, thumbs running against her hips, reveling in being close to this person who had come to mean so much to her in the past few years. 

"Kaidan's with him now," Piper said after a moment, and the relief was one Ash felt echoed in her own thoughts. 

"Yeah, I finally got some messages through," Ash admitted. "Enough for him to kinda warn me about the surprise waiting for me here."

Piper cocked an eyebrow. 

"We both got invited to join the Spectres," she explained. "I accepted, and the posting has me on the Citadel to help shore up security for the time being." 

Piper blinked again.

"So…wait. You get to stay here?"

"For the immediate future, yes," Ash replied with a grin. She laughed as Piper promptly tugged her down into another searing kiss. 

Intimacy with Piper Shepard had been a lesson in discovering what Ash herself liked beyond sex. She'd never had a sexually repulsed partner before, had admitted a reluctance to start a relationship with that on the table, but her affections for Piper overruled in the end. Piper's bluntness helped, the other woman clarifying what she did and did not enjoy in no uncertain terms, and having that once hazy sense of boundaries so firmly solidified had done wonders for their relationship right from the get go. 

Piper liked kissing; Ashley liked being kissed. Ashley liked holding; Piper liked being held. Desire culminating in ways Ashley would never have expected, touch satisfactory in other arenas, and maybe Ash still needed more sexual stimulation now and again but Piper never begrudged or took issue with it. Would curl up with her after a session of self-pleasuring, admiration in the afterglow no less tender and loving for her own lack of direct participation. 

Ash had grown up tangling the concepts of sex and love together, and while sex could certainly be an expression of loving intimacy, it wasn't the only means of affection.

Piper loved her -- and Ashley loved her right back.

--

After the Commander collects all companions on Citadel:

“Damn, our ship is loaded.” She grins at you, leaning her hip on the console behind her. “A krogan merc working with you for free, Commander? Damn, if Saren had any chances of getting away scot free before this, I’d reckon Wrex just blew them away. Nice going, sir/ma’am.”

Post Therum:

“I sure hope she knows how to fight.” She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “Cause we sure didn’t bring her on for her history class notes.”

Letting the Rachni Queen go:

“Do bugs keep promises? Are bugs known for keeping their promises?” She muses out loud, raising an eyebrow at you. “I guess we’re going to find out.”

Killing the Rachni Queen:

“That went...well.” She shrugs, folding her arms over her chest. “They do have a history of nearly wiping out all sentient life in the galaxy. Better safe than sorry.”

Saving all Colonists on Feros + Convincing Exo-Geni to keep the Colony:

“That was nice.” She grins when you step up to her. “Punching brainwashed people never feels good, but the way you talked that little yapping Exo-Geni dog down made up for it. Good trick you have there, with all that fancy talk. Mind giving me a few tips? Just in case.”

Killing all Colonists on Feros:

“I really hate killing innocents.” She spits, arms crossed over her chest. “Maybe it couldn’t be helped, what with the Thorian infection and all, but I had hoped...” She shakes her head and uncrosses her arms, standing at ease. “At least we killed it.”

Wrex convinced:

“Wow, Commander. Remind me never to start an argument with you.”

“Talking down Wrex like that…boy, you sure have a quad.”

“Do you think we could just talk every krogan into submission? No? Aww.”

Sacrificing Ashley at Virmire:

“Shame about Ashley.” She comments quietly. “She was a good soldier. Knew what had to be done.” A pause as she glances away, and you notice her fists are clenched so tightly, her knuckles are white. “We’re going to make Saren answer for this.”

Sacrificing Kaidan at Virmire:

“Shame about Kaidan.” She comments quietly. “He was a good soldier. Amazing biotic, held up despite all the bad rep about us.” A pause as she glances away, and you notice her fists are clenched so tightly, her knuckles are white. “ We’re going to make Saren answer for this.”

Killing Balak in Bring Down the Sky:

“If it’s one thing I hate more than batarian slavers, it’s a power-crazed batarian. Best that we stopped him here instead of risking more lives with him out there.”

Saving hostages in Bring Down the Sky: