Sequel to 'Grimm not Disney'
Shepard cursed again as the incoming fire from the Reapers forced him to once more duck behind the temporary barrier. He checked his weapon while he waited for a lull in the fire and looked over the English Bay grimly. They weren't prepared for the Reaper attack, no one was. When he next saw the Council he wasn't going to hold back when he said 'I told you so'. In fact they would be damn lucky if he didn't shoot them for their stupidity.
Satisfied that his rifle was ready he jumped up and fired into the approaching misshapen creatures; the first two fell with screeches while the third dropped down behind them and began to eat the bodies. Shepard shut down the urge to retch and watched as the Reaper began to glow red and pack on what he could only describe as armour at the disgusting action. Grimly he emptied his clip into it and reloaded quickly. God, the damn things cannibalised each other to pack on armour.
"Have you managed to get in contact with the Normandy again?" Shepard asked Anderson as he scanned the immediate area for threats as he hunkered down behind the barrier once more.
The dark man shook his head grimly. "The communications is patchy at best. We can only hope Major Alenko made it."
Shepard looked away from the Admiral at the mention of the biotic. It had been almost eight months since their altercation on Horizon, something John wanted to forget even happened. Hearing those angry words coming from Kaidan's mouth had been like a physical blow and it hurt that after all they had been through, the marine hadn't trusted him.
"Calvary is here, gentlemen!"
The two men looked up to see the Normandy fly low over a series of building and heading toward their location. The ship let loose several salvoes into the Reapers approaching their position before it spun and hovered over some fallen debris and lowered its cargo bay ramp.
Shepard shot a look toward Anderson and they both jumped to their feet and ran toward the welcome sight. John reached the ramp first and jumped across the gap only to stumble slightly on the landing. He was grabbed by a steading hand and looked up to see Kaidan's dark eyes studying him before they turned away and look toward Anderson. He felt his heart skip a beat at the contact before he forcefully shoved that thought away; now was not the time to be thinking about his attraction.
Turning he looked back down the ramp and was surprised to see Anderson still standing on the fallen debris below. "What are you waiting for?" he yelled down to the man.
Anderson shook he head and waved his hand in a dismissive motion. "I'm not going. These men need me." He called back.
Shepard frowned at the answer. "The hell you are!" he called back. As he replied he became aware of Kaidan moving up to stand beside him and glanced sideways at the biotic. His attention waivered from what Anderson was ordering him to do and studying the dark haired man beside him. He answered Anderson's comments with half a mind and when the ramp began to close he jolted with the realisation that he had effectively just abandoned Earth because he had been too busy thinking with his other brain. Shit. There was nothing he could do about it however as Joker was already heading toward the Citadel.
James wasn't happy about the decision but then again neither was Shepard. He was semi grateful when Hackett redirected them to Mars however that was relatively short lived.
Never underestimate the power of someone holding a grudge, Shepard thought morosely as Kaidan queried every move he had made while under the banner of Cerberus. He had thought that after the Reapers had attacked Earth that the Major (and wasn't that a surprise) would have at least relented a little on the Cerberus angle. Unfortunately the Illusive Man was giving the biotic loads of ammunition, the bastard.
Eventually Kaidan querying his every move proved too much and Shepard turned and snapped at the other man to just drop it. John had felt immediately guilty at the look of surprise and unfortunately the tiny hint of fear he received at his outburst and turned away to glare at some innocent inanimate object. His damned emotions were getting the better of him once again. Shepard shook his head and strode forward; the sooner this mission was over the sooner he would be able to lock himself away and sort himself out; he was going to have to if he was to continue working with the object of his affections.
The second the synthetic had picked up Kaidan and slammed his head against the side of the destroyed Cerberus Kodiak several times was a heart stopping moment. Shepard felt the world slow as he emptied his clip into the AI's head. Barely a second later and the thing dropped to the ground with a clang and John was sprinting over to Kaidan. He reached out then hesitated unsurely; he could here James yelling over the radio to Joker and the Normandy before he made the decision to gently reach out and turn the Major's head toward him.
John clenched his jaw to hold in the anguished noise as Kaidan's head lolled to the side. With his heart pounding in his ears he quickly but gently picked up the other man's body and moved toward the lowering ramp of the ship. "Get that thing." He ordered with a negligent wave toward the synthetic and James hurried to do his bidding as Liara lead the way into the shuttle bay.
Shepard tightened his grip on Kaidan as he climbed the ramp and hurried to the elevator; he could only hope and pray that the man was going to live. After directing Joker to the Citadel and reporting to Hackett he made his way up to the helm to stand behind the pilot.
The smaller man studied him for a second before turning forward once more and ordering EDI to increase the Normandy's speed, even if it meant shutting down a few other systems. John patted the man on the shoulder before he left the helm; thankful for once of the man's perception.
'Let's put Mars and Horizon behind us.'
'Are you flirting with me, Shepard? No, wait, let me live in the illusion for a while.'
Both sentences ran through Shepard's head while he sat in the Captain's cabin staring at his whiskey filled glass after talking with Kaidan in the hospital. Okay, so now they were on the same page about his history with Cerberus. But what had Kaidan meant about the second part? Did he mean what it sounded like? Shepard closed his eyes and breathed out, God he hoped so.
The image of Kaidan's near lifeless body had haunted him for weeks while he ran around like a headless chicken trying to gather a fleet to retake Earth. The thought of never seeing the biotic smile or hearing him laugh again made him feel almost physically ill. It was evidently obvious enough that even Garrus had taken notice; and after receiving love advice from a Turian John knew he was screwed.
On the bright side John thought with a smirk, at least he got to ogle Kaidan's mostly naked body in the hospital. And by God, hadn't the Major buffed up in the past few years. Leaning back into the couch, John closed his eyes and pictured the near naked body in his mind. He imagined the fading bruises gone and felt his blood rush south as he ran his tongue over suddenly dry lips. He slid his free hand down his stomach and across his inner thigh while he imagined sucking on those pouty lips and barely suppressed a groan as he pressed his palm into the growing bulge between his legs. Bucking slightly into the touch he gasped and hastily put the glass down onto the table; now would not be a good time to waste perfectly good alcohol. He had only just popped the top button of his trousers when Joker came over the radio and informed him that they were approaching the rendezvous for the summit. Shepard's earlier appreciation for the pilot was gone within a split second. Cursing, John pushed to his feet and re-buttoned his pants before adjusting himself into a less obvious and uncomfortable position; the alien's better co-operate because by God he was NOT HAPPY.
Shepard looked over the menu in his hands as he listened to Kaidan speak across from him while on their date...no, meal out….or whatever it was being called. He chewed his lip as he stared blankly at the words before him and bounced his knee nervously. He had already decided once Kaidan had invited him to the café that he was going to tell the biotic how he felt; he only hoped it was going to go smoothly and not end with a biotic punch to the face.
"What I want maybe is something deeper with someone I already care about. What do you want?" Kaidan asked before hesitantly throwing a look toward him.
John froze and slowly looked up at the other man. "You and me?" he asked in surprise. "Is that what you're saying?"
Kaidan must have taken the shock in his voice in the wrong way because he leant back and looked away shamefully and apologised.
"No." John said as he reached forward and put a hand on the other man's shoulder to hold him in place as he pushed his chair out to move. "No, I…Kaidan…you have no idea how long I have wanted you to say that." He elaborated slowly.
Kaidan shot him a wary look but sat back down in his seat. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Shepard chuckled wryly and ran a hand over his head. "Kaidan, when I first met you on the original Normandy three years ago I was hard pressed not to jump you." He explained. "I didn't act on it because I was your superior and…well…I wasn't sure how you felt. I mean there was the moment in my room before Ilos but…" he trailed off with a shrug.
Kaidan smiled and leant forward to take Shepard's hand. "Honestly Shepard, I don't think I would've minded if you had jumped me three years ago." He grinned. "We would have had more time together anyway." He added regretfully.
Shepard brushed his thumb over the back of Kaidan's hand he held in his and returned the smile. "We have each other now, Kaidan." He stated. "And that's all that matters."
Kaidan's smile widened and he leant forward and brushed his lips against John's. As he went to pull back Shepard brought up his free hand and held the back of the biotic's head to keep it in place and deepened the kiss. It looked like he had found his Prince after all.
AN:I don't think it was as well written as it's prequel but I did write it in like half an hour :p