Let the World Burn
"Don't do this Shepard… please!" Kaidan pleaded. Barely able to stand, he pulled her towards him, her face clutched in his hands, their foreheads pressed together. The blood on his hands smeared her face. "Please." He choked out as tears trailed down his cheeks.
Shepard's lips parted but no words came out. She closed her eyes and sunk closer to him, her lips next to his ear. She pulled his hands down from her face and clutched them to her chest. She inhaled sharply, the words dying before they could pass her lips.
"You've done enough Shepard. Isn't it time to let someone else-"
She pulled back and wiped the tears from his face, managing to supress her own. She sighed deeply, locking their eyes with fierce determination.
Kaidan took a step back and grabbed the railing behind him for support. He nodded curtly and cleared his throat. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you Shepard."
She closed the gap between them, her head on his chest, finding solace in his familiar scent. She captured his mouth with her own, his tears trickling on their lips. After a moment she stepped back. The kiss had felt like goodbye for the both of them.
Kaidan brought his hands to his own face, scrubbing his hands over his eyes before gripping his hair tightly in anger. His hands dropped to his sides.
An explosion rocked the Normandy's docking bay, and sent Kaidan to the floor. He did not make the effort to get back up. Shepard's gaze focused on the world outside the docking ramp, to the chaos that raged only steps away. She wrenched her focus back to the man in front of her and shook her head, mouth open as if to speak. He held up his hand to silence her.
"Go." He choked out.
She held his gaze only a moment longer before she seized a singular moment of courage and turned away, desperate to no let Kaidan see the tears pooling in her eyes. She felt the familiar warmth of his biotics surround her as she stepped off the docking ramp. His sobs clawed at her soul as the ramp closed and the Normandy lifted off behind her.
Panic rose in her chest as she became aware of the world around her but she steeled herself and pushed it down.
She would have stayed if he'd asked.
She would have let the world burn for that man.
Now she would let herself burn to save him.
She focused on the beam in front of her and took a deep breath…
… and she ran.