"We probably should get married you know," Shepard says abruptly one morning. They're sitting in the living room of their temporary living quarters in Vancouver. Everything was still mostly a wreck from the war, most notably Alliance HQ and they were staying on Earth to better coordinate the rebuilding effort. No one had said anything to them directly when they'd requested single bedroom accommodations, but the rumor mill was in full swing.
"What?" Kaidan nearly chokes on his coffee. She couldn't know he'd been planning on proposing to her ever since he got back to Earth. Or that he'd already bought her a ring. Nothing fancy, just a simple gold band she could put on her dog tags. He knew she wouldn't have found it because he'd hidden it in the kitchen behind their growing collection of whisky. (He still didn't understand why so many people thought that was such a great get well gift.) She wouldn't have found it there because she never touched the stuff. Interestingly for as much of a hard-ass Bennet Shepard could be, she barely ever drank anything that didn't come with a fruit garnish and a tiny umbrella.
"Yeah we should. I mean you don't plan on going anywhere right? And I know Hackett would probably have our backs, but fraternization between officers is still technically against Alliance regulations," she states matter-of-factly. "Wouldn't want to save the galaxy just to get a court martial now.
A smile slowly creeps across Kaidan's features. She was approaching this like it was a mission. She was all cool determination: presenting her argument with logical reasoning and practiced statements. And she definitely didn't know.
"Wow, way to win a guy over," he teases with a slight chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Bennet's brow furrows in confusion.
"No big romantic gestures, no ring? I don't know Ben, a guy's gotta have certain expectations." She smiles, eyes narrowing in challenge.
"Oh?" Bennet sets down her mug to move closer to him, so that they're sitting face to face on the couch. She takes his mug from him to clasp his hands in hers.
"Kaidan, dearest," she says teasing him with dramatic flair, "I would love nothing more than to spend my life with you. Would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?"
"That's the best you got?"
"You could do better?"
"Oh, I know I can."
"All right then." She pulls back from him, crossing her arms across her chest. "Let's see what you've got."
Kaidan scrunches his face at her and then stands up and crosses over to the kitchen. He quickly finds the small velvet box tucked between the oldest bottle of Seagram's he'd ever seen from his mother and some strangely colored asari brand Liara had given them and put it in his pocket. Taking a deep breath, he strides back over to the couch where Shepard is grinning expectantly.
"Shepard. Ben. Sweetheart." She chuckles a little at the pet name but quickly recovers her full attention as he kneels in front of her, grabbing her hand and placing a quick kiss on her palm.
"I have known I loved you ever since Ilos. A lot of things happened between then and now and I'm certainly not proud of most of them, but we made it. You and me." Bennet's smirk quickly fades from her face and is replaced by a look Kaidan can't quite describe. It's almost bittersweet, but there's a tinge of hope as well. She reaches out to touch his cheek.
"We did didn't we?" she says. Kaidan places his hand over her heart, something he's taken to doing ever since they were reunited. Just a small reassurance that she's real and alive and there in front of him. His fingers find her dog tags and he deftly pulls them up and over her head, his other hand finding the ring in his pocket. Shepard's hand falls back to her lap as she watches him.
"We did. We made it past dying and almost dying and almost dying again and geth and Cerberus and the Reapers and even a crazy clone. You forgave me for doubting you and I will never stop being grateful and awed at everything you've accomplished." He unclasps the fastener on her dog tags and strings the gold band onto the chain. "I want to build a life with you."
"Kaidan. You are a brave, stong, and loyal man. With a great ass to boot," she says with a wink, clasping her hands over his. "I love you. There is no one else I'd rather share my life with." Shepard takes her dog tags from him and places them back over her head, running her fingers over the new addition. Kaidan grins widely and places a kiss on her cheek.
"Does this mean I win?"
"Win what?" Shepard crosses her arms again.
"My proposal. It was pretty romantic right?" She tsks at him.
"Fine. Yes, you got me there. Did you want a prize?"
"I think my prize is I get you forever. And you get me."
Shepard smiles and wraps her arms around him, pulling him into her on the couch and they spend the rest of the day lost in each other.