You're right in front of me, James...

"Well, can I be presumptuous and give you come advice?" James learned on the bar and put his drink down near Shepard's, the side of his hand brushing against hers in a move that was so casual it could have been by accident.

She glanced at his hand, but didn't move hers away and something flashed deep in her eyes as she looked back at him, a lazy smile on her face. "Sure James, dazzle me with your wisdom."

"Hey, don't knock it until you hear it." He gave her a mock-serious glare, but his stomach was turning nervously. "Someone once told me that if you keep looking backwards you're going to miss what's right in front of you."

Shepard stared at him for a long moment, her violet eyes looking into his so intently that James felt sure she could see his soul. He could see her thinking the words over as she held his gaze, never wavering or flinching as the music pulsed around them. Other patrons, mostly Alliance soldiers and asari dancing girls, moved around them in a haze of sound and light.

Slowly, she leaned forward until her face was only inches away from his, and then her eyes dropped to his mouth and back up again, the hint of a smile on her own lips as she watched him.

"You're right in front of me, James."


  Screen cap edited with Photoshop and snippet from my Shepard/Vega fic Lights in the Sky