Miranda watched in confusion when Shepard darted through the doors, making a beeline for the elevator without so much as a word about the mission. The operative had noticed a number of changes in Shepard over the prior weeks, starting off subtle enough to overlook, before becoming far too difficult to ignore.
Never being the one to pry into the personal lives of others, Miranda made a conscious decision to keep her observations to herself, not wanting to risk upsetting the balance of command by subjecting the commander the third degree. As long as her behaviour didn't in any way risk compromising her effectiveness as the mission leader, Miranda considered it best to allow Shepard to work out the issue in her own way, free from judgment.
"What's gotten into her?" Grunt rumbled, watching the commander disappear when the elevator doors closed over. "Shepard's been getting jittery these last few weeks."
"I don't know, and I don't want to know," Miranda shrugged, "as long as she keeps her nerve in a firefight then it isn't my place to question her."
"Maybe she's got someone waiting for her," Grunt countered with a suggestive lift in his baritone voice, "you humans aren't any different to the asari when you're in heat."
"Humans don't experience heat, we're not mindless animals," Miranda corrected him, preparing to make her own departure, only to be stopped mid-stride by Grunt's hand when it collided with her perfect rear.
"Is that right? Maybe you won't mind putting that to the test," Grunt said, squeezing Miranda's cheek tightly with his thick fingers, "let a krogan see whether or not you're just waiting to get fucked an inch within your life."
"You'll do well to keep your hands to yourself!" Miranda warned him, with her icy blue eyes flaring at the presumptuous krogan, shaking his hand away. She took a brief moment to look around, relieved to see that Grunt's unwanted touch had gone unnoticed by the crew. "If you're looking to get yourself off, then go and drag Chambers off for a rut. But you'll be wise to stay clear of me."
"If you say so," Grunt chuckled, closely observing the way of Miranda's hips as she departed from the decontamination chamber, "but I have a feeling that you'll be changing your mind soon, Lawson."
Miranda disregarded Grunt's cocky promise, storming across the CIC with a thunderous expression on her face, one that always ensured that she wouldn't be bothered by any crew members wanting to bring any minor nuisances to her attention. She made the descent down to the crew quarters, walking at a brisk pace as she made the short journey to her personal quarters.
Only when she heard the heavy clunking sound of her doors sealing behind her did Miranda finally let her shoulders sag, feeling the stresses that consistently followed skirmishes with the Collectors catching up to her. Miranda took a moment to herself to close her eyes and roll her head, hoping to rid herself of as much as the tension as she could.
Deciding she couldn't stay in her grime smothered suit any longer, Miranda unsealed the seam that allowed the suit to stick to her body, feeling it growing slack as she opened the front section. She dropped into her office chair, taking a moment or so to peer at the messages filling up her inbox, lifting her legs up to unzip her black thigh high boots, setting them down next to her desk.
As expected, aside from a few priority messages originating from the Illusive Man's disguised channel, most of the messages she had received were spam. Whilst working her limbs out of her bodysuit, Miranda went through the tedious task of deleting messages and blocking those responsible for sending them. A number claimed to be associates of the Shadow Broker, promising the possibility of handing over dirt on friends and partners for extortionate prices. One alleged that he was a Salarian prince offering vast sums of credits if she agreed to send him a small payment to help release his funds from a C-Sec vault.
Although most of the mail was quickly deleted, Miranda did decide to save a few to her secure account, including a discount on the latest range of lingerie from After Dark Fashions, along with a trial with Nerve-Stim's newest pleasure devices.
By the time she had cleared her inbox, Miranda had managed to free herself from her suit. Her lace bra and panties soon followed, finding themselves deposited in the growing pile on the floor, destined for the Normandy's deep cleaning facility. She crossed over to the shower that had been discreetly built behind one of the steel wall panels, hidden to prevent any sense of resentment from the crew who were forced to use the communal showers.
The shower itself was by no means extravagant, constructed to serve a very basic purpose, nothing more. But Miranda didn't care how limited it was, she just appreciated having it at her personal disposal, especially after missions that left her in a haggard condition. She leaned across to the valves and twisted them, avoiding the powerful spray of water that shot from the shower head as she tried to find the perfect balance in temperature, smiling when a comfortable amount of steam began to fill the cubicle.
Just as she planted her foot inside of the shower, a sharp chime emanating from the door's control panel stopped her short. With a frustrated growl, Miranda slid the shower door shut and wandered back towards her wardrobe, producing a short purple silk robe that barely covered her thighs and threw it over her naked body, tying the thin belt as tightly as she could to prevent any undesired accidents. Fully prepared to scold the person waiting on the other side.
Miranda released the lock and let the door separate, revealing the ever determined Grunt, still covered in a layer of Collector blood. His maw curled into a predatory grin when his eyes dropped down on Miranda's significantly smaller frame, letting them roam across her long, silky smooth legs.
"Oh for God's sake, what are you doing here?" Miranda demanded, crossing her arms, glaring at Grunt with a ferocity that would have sent anyone else fleeing.
"Tried to get this crap off me, but my room doesn't have any running water. And the EDI won't let me use the crew showers, not after I accidentally broke the drainage system," Grunt answered, letting his eyes drift towards Miranda's room. "I was wondering if I could use yours?"
"Mine?" Miranda did her best to appear innocent, hoping to get rid of the krogan as soon as feasibly possible, desperate to cleanse the dirt from her raven hair. "What on earth gave you the idea that I have a shower for you to use?"
"No offense, but you don't strike me as the type to use a public shower to clean yourself off."
