"Need help looking over your reports tonight...again?"
They're alone in the shuttle bay, for once, but Steve keeps his voice low anyway; he's learned over the past few weeks just how well Shepard responds to this particular tone. It has the desired effect. Shepard's mouth curls up in a delighted smirk and he takes a couple of steps closer.
"You know, I think I just might. Lot of big words in the last one. Wouldn't want to send Hackett a badly-spelled report, would we?"
"No, sir."
Shepard's smile widens, becoming the mischievous grin Steve rarely sees outside the privacy of the captain's cabin. "Then I'll see you after shift change, Lieutenant." he murmurs, leaning in to press a kiss to Steve's lips. This close, Steve can smell the ozone that clings to Shepard like permanent cologne-a side effect of near constant use of biotics. Before all this, he associated that scent with fried electronics and hours of extra work on his Trident; if someone had told him that one day he'd actually find it arousing, he'd have laughed in their face.
He slides his arms around Shepard's waist and deepens the kiss, drawing a pleased rumble from his lover and a light nip to his lower lip. Shepard brings a hand up to cup Steve's jaw , stroking callused fingers along his cheek.
The familiar sound of the descending elevator breaks the moment; Steve pulls away reluctantly, letting his hands linger on Shepard's waist for a few more teasing moments before releasing him and taking a few steps back. The heavy-lidded, half-dazed expression on Shepard's face (something Steve treasures whenever he manages to induce it) vanishes in the instant before the elevator doors slide open to reveal James Vega, yawning hugely and stretching.
Vega isn't dumb, no matter how hard he likes to pretend otherwise. Steve can practically see the gears turning in his head as he takes in the scene in the shuttle bay and a broad smile slowly spreads across his face.
"I'm not, uh, interrupting anything, am I?" Vega's smile says I know exactly what I'm interrupting, and Steve knows he'll probably never hear the last of this.
Funnily enough, he doesn't really care.