"Hey, Kaidan, got a minute?" Kristen said as she rounded the corner. It was the end of her shift, and the use of his first name caught his attention quickly.

"Sure, what's up?" he said, actually looking forward to their upcoming shore leave. He was hoping to finally manage to ask Kristen on something resembling a date, but he wasn't sure how to do it, or if she'd even be interested in such a thing.

"Okay, long story but I kind of have a date tomorrow night, and this guy is bringing a friend and I'm honestly a little creeped out but I don't want to be rude and so I was wondering if maybe you'd want to tag along just in case things go wrong?" she said, her words almost flowing together in such a way that he barely kept up. Her face was also a little pink and she was rocking on her feet a bit.

"Uh… sure." he said, not entirely sure what he was getting himself into. But it was a chance to be out with her, and if there was a chance he could get her out of a bad situation, that couldn't hurt him. She sighed and thanked him.

"I'll give you the details later!" she called out before she disappeared into the medbay, no doubt going to check up on Liara again. He smiled, and then realized this was not the way he wanted his shore leave to go. He was supposed to go on a date with her not go to a date as her wingman.

"Shit." he grumbled, shutting off the console and going to lay down to get some shuteye.

KS: Feel free to swing by my apartment whenever. I'll probably take longer than you to get ready, regardless.

KA: Maybe I should help you, then.

KS: I might need it. This dress is ridiculous.

KA: So then don't wear it?

KS: How often do I get the chance to dress up? I'm wearing it.

KA: Fine. I'll drop by in an hour and just finish getting ready there, if that's okay.

KS: Totally fine with me. See you in a bit.

He sighed and tossed his omni-tool onto the other end of the couch, looking around at the small apartment. He had an hour before he'd have to leave. Kaidan didn't want to go on this double date with Kristen, but it was better than nothing. Besides, he'd get to see her in a dress - that was a rare sight on its own. But he had more than a few pictures in his mind of what she might look like. Regardless, she was beautiful, Kaidan knew that much for sure.

He pushed himself up, knowing he should probably change out of whatever he was wearing now. He hadn't gone outside the apartment all day. On that thought, Kaidan realized showering might not be such a terrible idea either. It would eat up some time. He could probably use a good shave, too. After a moment, Kaidan laughed at himself, knowing he was just coming up with excuses to prolong what he was so nervous about. At least he was going at all, and wouldn't have to be worried about what happened. And maybe he would save her from something awful or embarrassing happening.

Somehow, a half hour had passed, and Kaidan was in the middle of shaving, figuring he'd been long overdue for one. His omni-tool started chirping and he groaned, having to step out of the bathroom and into the living room to fetch it. A series of messages from Kristen had popped up.

KS: God, he's already annoying me.

KS: No, I don't want to leave early, dummy. There's a reason I said the time that I did.

KS: He won't stop asking if I'm ready.

KS: Seriously, I've been asked if I'm ready like ten times in the last three minutes.

KS: Kaidan, please tell me you aren't dead, I have a feeling I'm going to need a rescue.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the last message, replying to her.

KA: Tell him you're still trying to find the right shoes or something, I don't know.

KA: I'll be over in ten minutes.

Kaidan walked back intot he bathroom with the omni-tool, finishing his shaving quickly, but remaining clean. He threw on his clean shirt and pants, grabbing his jacket before heading out with his omni-tool, glad he still had two minutes to go up a few floors to the newer apartments where Kristen was. And they still had about 20 minutes before they needed to be anywhere.

When he got off the elevator, he immediately saw the problem Kristen was having. The man was standing right outside her door, messaging her. He stood back for a moment.

KA: He's standing outside your door.

KS: I know! It's creepy as hell… I'll try to unlock the door without him noticing, or maybe I'll tell him that I'll be out soon and meet him out in the lobby to send him away.

KA: Whatever you want to do. I'll wait by the elevator, though.

A few minutes went by, and Kaidan noticed that the man began walking over towards the elevator, looking a bit off put. Though once he was in the elevator and headed down, Kaidan walked over towards the door, gently touching the door panel to let her know he was there. The door opened after a moment, and Kristen peeked out, sighing when she saw him, and waving him in quickly.

"Thank god you're here." she said once the door locked again. "I'm honestly not even sure I want to go on this date anymore." she said, pulling at her dress. It looked older than vintage just from the style. It was a halter neck and the skirt of it flared out from her waist, making her look incredibly petite, and…

God, she was beautiful.

"I'm going to go finish putting on my makeup… Make yourself comfortable." she sighed, turning in her bare feet - painted toes matching her fingers. He hadn't seen this side of her before, but he was already falling hard for her - harder than before, at least. He shook himself from his thoughts and decided to look around the living room. There wasn't much - medals and photos from ceremonies. Nothing that was actually very personal. He might have to ask about that later.

Not five minutes later, Kristen walked out, having done amazing work for the short amount of time it took with her makeup. It was nothing fancy for a night out, but seeing her all done up for someone else made him wish that he could have talked her out of this, or asked her to go out with him, instead. She pulled up her omni-tool, and visibly cringed as a messaged popped up.

"Ugh, he's back outside… This is going to be a little awkward." she muttered, shaking herself a bit before putting that fake smile on her face before opening the door. Kaidan didn't hesitate to step over by her to see what happened.

"Kristen! It's nice to finally meet you."

"Yeah, you too, Malcom." she said, clearing her throat and turning towards Kaidan. "This is Kaidan." he stepped forward and held out his hand for Malcom. The other man only looked at his hand before turning his full attention back to Kristen.

"Are you ready to go, then?"

"That's why I'm here." she said, the tone clear to him that she wasn't excited, and incredibly sarcastic. He almost laughed, and followed them from behind.

"I hope you're in the mood for some sushi. I just found this voucher online, take a look. Free food!"

Kristen glanced at his omni-tool in the elevator, her arms crossed around her middle as she stood between the two men.

"You know this voucher only works for couples, right?" she deadpanned. If that wasn't a slap to this man's ego, Kaidan would have been impressed.

"Yeah, well…" he started, "It's… good for a few more weeks, you know."

"Let's just see how tonight goes." she sighed, quickly stepping off the elevator.

"She's playing hard to get…" Malcom laughed to Kaidan. "Bet you see her like this all the time."

"No, I don't." he murmured, too mesmerized by the way her dress flowed around her, the black pumps giving her a hint of elegance and grace - a different kind than he's grown accustomed to seeing. She looked like an angel in the royal blue dress. For the second time that night, Kaidan wished this had been their date instead of just hers. So far, he was just a third wheel. But, it was only the beginning to their night.

He followed Kristen and Malcom for a little bit before Kristen glanced back, smiling as she looped her arm through Kaidan's and quickly starting up a conversation with him that she was aware Malcom wouldn't be able to seriously contribute too. Kaidan took that as a sign that she wasn't interested anymore. But, she was polite, and would at least see the night through. Probably.

The dinner itself wasn't any less awkward, or awful. There was plenty of blanket statements from both himself and Kristen when Malcom asked about their work, and then there were straight up insensitive questions.

"Is it true biotics can throw tens of people all at once?" Malcom directed to Kaidan.

"I don't know about tens of people but I can certainly throw one person pretty far." he said as he sipped his drink. Kristen snorted, and tried to cover it up with a cough, glancing out of the corner of her eye at him with a grin.

"He's amazing." she said softly. "I've never seen any biotic have the amount of control he does over himself."

"I don't blame him, they're outright dangerous. I'm surprised you're even comfortable around him when he could kill you with a flick of his wrist."

"Excuse me," Kristen suddenly growled, her whole body seeming to grow large and intimidating even as she sat, "but there's a reason I asked him to come. To protect me from scumbags like you. Not that I couldn't handle it myself, of course, but I like to leave my options open." she paused for a moment and then shifted to stand up. "Thank you for the dinner, but I'd rather not ever see or speak to you again. Kaidan, let's go." she practically barked out to him. He smirked at Malcom before standing up to follow her out.

Though it faded when he saw how quickly she was walking, and how tight her arms were wrapped around herself. He had to jog a bit to catch up, and he pulled her aside once he saw an empty bench. They were alone for the moment, and he wanted to ask what was wrong, but he wasn't sure that she'd want to talk. Though when she leaned against him, and put her head on his shoulder with a heavy sigh, he looked down at her.

"I'm tired of going on dates like this… I know nothing is going to come of it, and I still go. I don't know why." she said quietly, crossing her ankles as she pulled them beneath the bench.

"I know how you feel." he said quietly. "I haven't gone out on an actual date in years." he chuckled, "I don't even think I remember who it was with, last."

"Remind me how old you are again?" Kristen asked with a tiny laugh.

"I'm thirty-two. My last date was well over three years ago, I know that much." he smiled, glancing down at his hands as he wrung them out of habit.

There had been one late night the two of them had sat talking like this, but it had been aboard the Normandy. He'd started wringing his hands much like he was now, but he'd been stopped after a minute when Kristen placed her small hand over his, and managed to pull one of them into her lap, tracing patterns on his palm while they struggled to stay awake.

She did that same thing just now, only she held his hand instead. He smiled and hoped he wasn't just imagining all of this, and what it could have meant. For now, they watched ships come and go, chatting quietly for some time before Kaidan felt his back growing sore.

"We should get you back home." Kaidan said, giving her hand a small squeeze.

"I have a question to ask you, before we leave." she smirked, sitting up, "Are you still hungry? That wasn't a lot of sushi and to be honest I'm not sure how I feel about it."

"I can always eat more, you know that." he laughed.

"Let's go get something else to eat and then take it back to my place. We can eat there."

"Alright."

They both stood up, and even though they dropped their hands, she did loop her arm through his again as they walked, seeming a bit unsteady. It was probably the shoes, he thought. How she could walk in them to begin with was beyond him. As she steered him through the wards, searching intently for a certain place, he got the chance to see her at her most relaxed. Then she suddenly turned with a grin and pulled him to a counter, already seeming to know what she wanted because she was suddenly ordering. It sounded good so he let her order the same for him. Not five minutes later he was carrying a bag filled with food and letting her lead the way again.

Then he was pulled from his trance as Kristen leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder while they sat on her couch in the dark. Why it was dark, he couldn't remember. But the containers of food were empty on the coffee table and he felt like he'd eaten just enough.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight. I'm sorry you had to be the third wheel." she said quietly.

"It's alright. I'm just glad no one started chasing us, or shooting at us."

"Yeah I don't know, it was kind of boring." she laughed. It wasn't her usual laugh, either, it was light, relaxed, and tired. He joined in and glanced down at her. "To be honest I had more fun leaving than I did before then."

"I was surprised you took the high road and didn't punch him, or cause a big scene."

"Wanted to." she grinned, laughing to herself and curling up some. Then she sighed, "But really, thank you for coming... And sticking with me afterwards..."

"Any time."

Things were silent, and Kaidan couldn't help but reach over and play with a bit of her hair, brushing it from her face as her eyes closed.

"Malcom was an ass, I hope he get rejected for the next five years." she muttered.

"I'd say for the next ten, myself."

"Why's that?"

"No reason."

"No, come on, tell me." she laughed, still leaning against him and seeming to enjoy what he was doing. Or at least she didn't mind.

"There's nothing to tell."

"Kaidan, if you don't tell me, I'm going to have to assume the worst."

"And what would be the worst?" he laughed at her, not ready for anything she would say next.

"I'd have to say it's because you were jealous."

He froze, and felt himself blush despite not even looking at her. Her hair dropped from his hand and he rested it on the back of the couch, looking away. Kristen lifted her head rather quick, and he could tell she was smiling.

"Kaidan..?"

"Hm?" he glanced back, out of habit.

"You're not jealous are you?" her voice was much softer, and she was turned completely towards him on her knees.

"Shepard, that's-" he started with a small laugh of his own, fully prepared to deny any feelings he had and high tail it out of her apartment.

"Yes or no."

She was persuasive.

"Okay. Maybe I am a little jealous. It's.. no big deal." he shook his head and pulled his arm back to himself. "I should get going."

"No, stay." she grinned, grabbing his hand as he stood up, pulling him back. "I don't get to spend a lot of time with you, and... you don't need to be jealous of some ass like Malcom. Honestly, Kaidan, you really think I'd ever want a guy like that? A guy that has no idea what I go through in any given day?" Kaidan found himself sinking back into the seat, watching her open up to him in the dark, the light from the window pouring in and making her nothing more than a tempting silhouette with an equally tempting voice. "I don't think I could ever settle down with a civilian to be honest. Sure, it's nice to have something reliable to come back to, but... there's nothing to talk about. I mean, Malcom was making small talk with me and I was about ready to rip off my ears because I was so bored. At least with you I can talk about things I do, and you understand. Most of the time you're there anyway..."

She went on and on, but he'd long tuned out to what she was saying. A bad idea in general, but he was fixated on how passionate emotional she was getting. He rarely saw her show anything but basic emotions - happiness, anger, sadness on one occasion. And here she was, everything pouring out. Kristen didn't seem to be the type to do anything but wear her heart on her sleeve outside of work.

"... but sometimes it's just nice to be able to... sit down with some friends and make terrible jokes about how bad you drive a military vehicle, or... poke fun at stupid little things we say too much." she sighed, pushing herself back into the couch, deflated, and then yawning.

It was silent for a few minutes, and for the first time that night, Kaidan's heart was calm. Kristen leaned against him again, and this time she reached up, grabbed his hand, and pulled his arm around her with a small hum.

"I should let you get some sleep, Kristen." he said quietly. "Maybe... we could get lunch tomorrow."

"Lunch sounds good." she grinned as she sat up and let go of his hand. "Just promise you won't harass me outside my door."

"I promise. I'll harass you through lunch." he grinned as he turned to leave, waving her goodnight.