A/N: Ok so I finally got to play Mass Effect 3 and I loved every moment of it... right until i reached the ending. Thats when I blew a fuse... But anyway I'm not going to rant on about that right now. -deep breath-
My main M!Shep that I've been preparing for ME3 romanced Liara in the 1st one and stayed faithful to her in the 2nd one but when I reached the 3rd one something odd happened. The whole flirty thing going on between Kaidan and Shepard really grabbed my attention so in my second play-through I dumped Liara and romanced Kaidan and it was pretty cool.
Anyway, to the point.
An idea for a fic started to form in my mind where Shepard is faced with an affection for Kaidan but has a hard time showing it because Kaiden is all broody and professional in ME 1. Then after Kaidan's asshole move on Horizon, Shepard finally decides to move on and starts something with Liara during their time together hunting the Shadow Broker. (YES, my Shepard is bi-sexual...)
This is bad news for Kaidan as he finally decides to confess his love for the Commander in ME3, but is basically rejected because of Shepards growing feelings for Liara. So cue sexual tension! (I think you can safely assume that there will be some SLASH in the future)
Soon after this EDI picks up an interesting communication from Cerberus and things get complicated from there on in. You'll have to read the fic to find out ;P
-bleh- sorry for blabbing so much...
Enjoy (hopefully) the fic and feel free to comment (constructive please...) or praise (if you liked it :D ).
Kaidan chuckled as he shook his head.
"Glad to see you haven't changed that much, Joker." He said as he turned to leave.
"See you, Major." The pilot called as he walked away. It was nice to be around friends again, Kaidan thought. He walked down the corridor lined with monitors and control systems, his eyes following the tiny lights that flickered on the walkway. Slowly his smile faded and his mind drifted to a faraway place filled with recent memories. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice where he was going and walked straight into Specialist Traynor. He grunted loudly as they collided.
"Oh, Major Alenko! I'm so sorr-" she began but Kaiden cut her off with a smile.
"Hey, don't worry about it. It was totally my fault." He said with a grin, "Should pay more attention to where I'm going."
Traynor gave him a small smile in return.
"You seem troubled, Major. Everything ok?"
Kaidan hesitated a moment. Traynor caught this and tilted her head, narrowing her eyes slightly. When he seemed at a loss for words she reached out and touched his shoulder.
"Hey, it's ok if you don't want to talk about it. I understand."
Kaidan, who had been staring at the floor, raised his head and grinned apologetically. "Thanks, Samantha. For understanding." She smiled and squeezed his shoulder before dropping her arm.
Kaidan smiled one last time before making his way to the elevator. He was just about to step inside when Samantha called out to him.
"Major? Can I ask you a favour?"
Kaidan turned. "Sure. What is it?"
She turned back to her console and picked up something that lay next to it. She walked over to him briskly and held out data pad.
"This is a summary of recent Cerberus comm chatter that EDI picked up. I've been meaning to take it to the Commander but he has been up in his cabin all day and I don't want to intrude. You're good friends with him so I was hoping you'd rather go up there to pass this along."
Kaidan was momentarily surprised, but reached out to take the data pad.
"I hope it's not too much trouble?"
Kaidan smiled at her reassuringly, though the smile never reached his eyes.
"It's not a problem. I'll take it to him right away."
"Thank you, Major."
Kaidan nodded and stepped back into the lift. Traynor watched him as the doors slid shut and at the last moment she could swear she caught a glimmer of pain in his eyes.
The steady humming of the elevator came to a sudden stop and with a slight hiss the doors slid open. Kaidan slowly stepped out onto the top level of the Normandy. He slowly made his way to the door of Shepard's cabin but stopped just before it. He hadn't spoken to the Commander since their talk on the Citadel. Kaidan winced as he recalled Shepard's conflicted expression when he had confessed his feelings for the Commander. He shook his head as he recalled the way Shepard had struggled to find the words to let him down as softly as possible.
"I... I don't know what to say... Kaidan, I- It's just that... I think I've found someone..."
He let out a pent up breath before reaching forward to open the door. He looked up as it opened to find Shepard and Liara in a tender embrace. His heart sank even lower.
Startled by the sudden noise, the two broke apart. Liara straightened her outfit and Shepard wiped off the lipstick on his cheek with the back of his hand. It left a faint mark there.
Kaiden coughed awkwardly and looked at the floor. He was about to turn away when he remembered the actual reason for his visit and held up the data pad.
"Um, Samantha, Specialist Traynor, asked me to bring you this. It's about Cerberus activities." He walked forward briskly and passed the pad to the Commander.
"I- I'm sorry for just barging in." He said and made to leave but a hand on his arm held him back.
"It's quite alright, Kaidan. I was just leaving anyway." Liara said and moved to walk past him. She turned briefly to glance back at Shepard before stepping out of the cabin. The door hissed shut after her.
"Commander, I-" Kaidan began but Shepard stopped him with a raised hand.
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Kaiden." He said and smiled warmly. He then looked down at the data pad and started scanning through the report, his blue eyes darting from side to side as he did so.
"Project Gemini?" he thought out loud.
"Yes, it's a research project that Cerberus has been working on for the past two and a half years. It's apparently very high priority and top secret. Even EDI had a hard time picking up any intel."
"So what happened? Why has she suddenly caught something on it now?"
"The facility want dark a few days ago. Every recon team Cerberus has sent in hasn't made it out. EDI intercepted a transmission about it this morning. She, along with Specialist Traynor, has been decoding it all day and they have come up with a location."
Shepard thought it over for a while before putting the data pad down.
"Tell Joker to plot a course. Grab your gear and tell EDI to get ready too. She'll be a big help in a Cerberus facility."
"Aye, Commander." Kaidan said and made his way to the door. He stopped however when Shepard said his name very softly.
He looked back at the Commander to find the man looking at him in an odd way.
"Kaidan, I'm sorry you had to see that..."
Kaidan grinned slightly and And looked over at the Commander. The smudge on his cheek was still quite visible and it made Kaidan look away.
"Commander..."
Shepard gave him a sad smile.
"You took too long, you know. I waited a long time but you never made any moves, never sent any signals... And after Horizon... I moved on. And Liara..." Shepard grew silent as he ran out of words to say. He looked at his shoes instead.
"Then why have you been sending me signals now? I've seen the way you look at me sometimes before quickly glancing away. I just thought that-" Kaidan stopped himself. "Just forget about it, Shepard. It wasn't meant to be." Kaidan said with a smile even though he was wincing on the inside. All he wanted to do now was to get as far away from this cabin as possible. He looked up to see Shepard looking at him in a truly confused and conflicted way.
He exhaled deeply and turned, making his way out the door. He heard footsteps following him but he didn't stop. He reached the lift and pressed the button that would take him down to the CIC. He turned around to find Shepard blocking the elevator door. The lift beeped with annoyance at the obstruction.
"What do you want, Commander?" Kaidan asked in an exasperated tone.
Shepard stared at him a moment longer before stepping forward into the elevator and pulling the Major closer.
"I-I honestly don't know." He whispered before leaning down slowly.
Kaidan tensed as the Commander's lips drew closer. He was about to lean into the kiss when his eyes caught the smudge on Shepards cheek. He pulled away swiftly.
"Shepard..." he whispered and shut his eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath. After a moment he looked up again and softly pushed Shepard backwards out of the lift. He reached up with his other hand to wipe the remaining lipstick of the Commander's face. His touch lingered a bit longer that he had planned though. When Shepard reached up to take his hand he pulled away and stepped back into the lift.
Their eyes met just before the doors closed. Kaidan saw a flicker of hurt in those bright blue eyes, the same hurt that he imagined was flickering in his own.
"I'm detecting an absence of life on the station, Shepard. There is nothing here." EDI said as they turned yet another corner. So far nothing had seemed out of place in the station, except obviously for the lack of personnel or any form of security. EDI did however pick up an unusual amount of Element Zero present in the air. Shepard had to admit that the atmosphere inside the station did seem a bit hazy.
"I would suggest keeping your helmets on for the duration of our investigation." EDI advised. Kaidan nodded his agreement, as did Shepard.
After another 20 minutes of searching for a hint as to what had happened here, Shepard finally stopped.
"EDI, are you sure there is nothing here?"
EDI nodded. "I have scanned the security systems multiple times and I detect no faults. There is effectively no evidence to suggest what took place here. All information pertaining to the nature of Project Gemini has been scrubbed from the system as well."
Shepard sighed. "Scan one more time. Just to be sure."
"Very well." EDI said before taking on a blank look and standing completely still. After a few moments she tilted her head slightly to the side as if she was confused.
"What is it, EDI?"
"I'm detecting a faint heat signature coming from up ahead. I believe it is located directly in the centre of the station. Shepard... It wasn't there a moment ago."
"It's the first lead we've found in this place so let's go take a look." Shepard said and raised his gun. "If there's trouble, we'll be ready."
EDI nodded and took the lead. After heading up a few levels and taking a couple of turns they finally reached a large door. It was locked.
"EDI, see if you can get that door open."
"Right away, Shepard." The AI said and proceeded to hack the door.
"Hey Kaidan? Does the air feel denser to you?" Shepard asked as they waited.
"It feels a little tight, yes." Kaidan agreed.
"And your biotics? Feel anything odd?"
Kaidan hesitated. "I have been feeling... I don't know, stronger? Since we came here."
Shepard nodded. "I feel it too... Something strange is going on here."
The door suddenly beeped and slid open to reveal a spacious laboratory. The group moved forward with caution, weapons raised. EDI made her way to a console on the other side of the room, Shepard and Kaidan watching for trouble.
"There is no one here." EDI stated as she worked. Neither of the men let down their guard though.
"Better safe than sorry, EDI." Kaidan said as he walked further into the room.
Shepard crossed over to the AI to see what she was doing. She paid him no notice as she tapped away at the console. Files flew across the screen so fast Shepard could barely read what they said. He did however catch his name a few times as well as mention of a Subject Alpha.
"This console has not been completely scrubbed. I am accessing the data remaining on Project Gemini and downloading it directly to the Normandy. "
"I see my name in these files. What's going on here EDI?" Shepard asked the humanoid AI but before she could respond they were interrupted by a loud gasp coming from the other side of the room.
"Shepard!" Kaidan called. "Shepard, you have to see this!"
The Commander left the AI to finish her work while he swiftly made his way to the side of the room where Kaidan was standing in front of a large glass tank. It was filled with a strange blue fluid and glowed with a soft light.
"What is it, Kaidan? Did you find anything?" he asked as he came to a stop next to the Major.
Kaidan turned to face him, his eyes wide but he said nothing.
"Kaidan? What-" he began but stopped when he caught movement in the tank. He turned to look at it more clearly.
"Did you see something in there?" he asked.
Kaidan nodded slowly. "Yeah..."
"What?" Shepard asked loudly, growing frustrated. He leaned in close to the tank to try and see through the hazy blue liquid.
"It- It's... You, Commander..." Kaidan said softly and glanced back into the tank.
"What the fuck are you talking abou-" Shepard began but stopped as he finally caught sight of what had the Major so spooked. There, right in front of him in the hazy tank, floated Commander John Shepard.
A/N: Keep in mind this is my first Mass Effect fic, so don't kill me if it sucks...
If you have any questions, please ask in a review or PM me if you like.
Thanx for reading. xx
