There's a trick to beginnings. Sometimes they pass you by, cloaked in insignificance, to the point where you can never remember the what or the when, but you have a vague sense of it just was. Of course, there's the sort that, no matter how much you try – or how many things you consume – you'll never be able to forget. Every detail remains imprinted to your brain forever, and you deal with it.

But then, there are those few beginnings that you want cling to, sometimes out of nostalgia or desperation, or some fucked up mix of the two. Moments like these are rare, but sometimes you're lucky enough to know at the time exactly just how significant they are.

Kaidan knew. After all, it didn't take a great deal of foresight to know that being posted to the Alliance's newest and most advanced frigate, on the heels of a promotion, with every move and decision under the scrutiny of every type of brass imaginable, would be a pivotal moment.

Pressly, Adams, Chakwas, Moreau and Alenko, were all lined up at attention portside of the Normandy in the docking bay of the Citadel, waiting for Captain Anderson to escort the ship's hitherto-unannounced XO on board.

"Oh, shit," Joker whispered hoarsely under his breath.

Kaidan looked to his left, following Joker's eyes down the line of officers.

"It's Shepard, she's the XO." Joker turned and looked at him expectantly, probably waiting for some similar sort of reaction.

Of course Kaidan had heard the rumours about the hero of Elysium – namely that she was a humourless, no-bull taskmaster, to put it nicely – and yeah, there was a bit of trepidation there. But he wasn't about to let the Alliance rumour mill colour his opinion of someone. That didn't make her any less intimidating, though.

So he simply shrugged and put his eyes forward again. "Relax, Joker. She's meant to be your XO, not your buddy."

Kaidan heard Joker mumble something in response, and then the timbre of Anderson's voice was more audible, signalling that he and Shepard were advancing down the line.

"And this is Flight Lieutenant Moreau, helmsman of the Normandy," Anderson stated as he and Shepard stopped in front of Joker.

From the corner of his eye, he watched Joker pull a salute, but it wasn't as sharp as it could've, or should've, been – obviously, a gesture with a not-quite subtle meaning.

And not one that Shepard missed, evidently. She gave the slightest chuckle and returned an equally lazy salute.

"Helmsman," she said pointedly. "You're quite the prodigy, I've heard."

The beam of pride in Joker's voice was practically audible. "So say the commendations in my file, ma'am."

Kaidan winced. But to his surprise, Shepard simply nodded and gave Joker a light pat on the shoulder. "Good – pride in your work is an important quality to have, Lieutenant. I look forward to seeing you in action."

And then, there they stood in front of Kaidan, his commanding officers. He pulled a tight salute, feeding so much tension into the gesture that his fingers bent back slightly. He knew he'd get a rib from Joker over it later, but no one ever forgot a good first impression.

"Staff Lieutenant Alenko, Shepard."

Shepard appraised him for a moment, and then saluted back with an equal amount of precision. "Just recently promoted, correct? Well done Lieutenant," she said, giving him as much of a smile as was appropriate with the Captain beside her.

Kaidan's lip twitched, instinct telling him to return the gesture but he stopped himself. Instead, he nodded once and answered solemnly, "Thank you, ma'am."

Anderson passed behind Shepard and moved towards the airlock at Kaidan's right. As he did, Shepard gave Kaidan a quick wink and said, low under her breath, "At ease, Lieutenant," before following behind Anderson.

Kaidan let out the breath he'd been holding and fought against the urge to look after her.

Joker scoffed and shoved Kaidan in the shoulder, pushing him towards the airlock. "Damn, Alenko – you want to try smouldering a little less in front of the hot XO?"

The embarrassment burned all the way up to the tips of Kaidan's ears, but Joker couldn't be given the upper hand. "Watch yourself, Moreau – don't make me pull rank."

"Okay, you just barely outrank me, man," Joker retorted, following Kaidan into the decontamination field. "Besides, I'd like to see you get anywhere in this baby without me."

That was a point that wasn't worth arguing; not with Joker, not even simply to rile him. Kaidan had been subjected to the pilot's laundry list of achievements a few times too many from his position in the co-pilot's seat, and didn't need another rundown given to him just for spite.

Past the decon and on the bridge, Anderson was introducing Shepard to the bridge crew. She looked over her shoulder at that moment and caught Kaidan's eye, offering up another smile, but this time it was something broader, warmer.

Caught off guard, Kaidan smiled back, his instinct getting the better of him.

"Ho shit, Alenko," Joker said with a sigh, tugging on Kaidan's arm to pull him back to his post in the cockpit. "You're in for it now."

Kaidan slid into the co-pilot's seat without answering. Again, he couldn't argue; not with Joker, not with the acrobatics his stomach had just pulled over Shepard's smile.

Joker set to readying the Normandy to pull away from the dock, his fingers flying over the hologram consoles in front of him. "You've done it. You've cracked the supposedly-uncrackable Commander Shepard." He looked at Kaidan from the corner of his eye, anciticpating his reaction.

"You don't know that any of that scuttlebutt's true."

Joker shrugged. "I don't need to know if it's true, Alenko. All that matters is that smile."

"It was just a smile!" Kaidan said incredulously. He knew Joker was just trying to rile him, and frankly, it was working.

"That's all it takes, man. A smile like that is the only in that you need." Anderson's voice cut in over the comm system, giving Pressly their next destination; the coordinates popped up in front of Joker a moment later. "Mark my words, Alenko. Now stop bothering me, I have to pilot this thing."