Part 1
"This is going to hurt, Shepard."
Her face was twisted in a grimace of pain and she panted heavily, biting back a moan. Her eyes flew open and she locked her eyes on him.
"I know, just do it."
Kaidan grabbed her shoulder and jolted it back into position, his movement fast and confident and intent on easing the pain she was feeling. He watched her bite back a scream of agony and he reached out for her as she staggered forward. He caught her with an arm around her waist and pulled her a few steps backwards, guiding them both back against a pile of nearby rubble and gently lowering them to the ground. They were protected in this small area for the moment, and behind them, they could hear Vega hollering as he took down yet another Cannibal and yet another husk. Dust and debris filled the atmosphere, and the air was heavy with smoke and the stench of decay.
Cushioned in his arms, the Commander's head lolled against his chest as she gulped in huge shuddering breaths of air, trying to steady her ragged breathing after the burst of adrenaline and pain that had flooded her system. It only took a few seconds for her to get her breathing under control and for the trembling to stop but she didn't seem like she was in a hurry to move. Kaidan wasn't complaining, not really. He mentally shut out the sounds of the nearby firefight and savoured this rare moment. He couldn't remember the last time they were this physically close. It reminded him of the days of the SR-1, when he had first fallen for her and took any opportunity to get close. Before he had realised she felt the same. It was ironic that three years later, he was doing the same thing again.
Her forehead pressed against the side of his neck and he felt the silky strands of her hair tickling his skin. He caught a whiff of her customary shampoo, a sweet scent in all the decay and blood, and felt a small lurch in his chest at the familiarity of it. Even after all these years, she still loved her vanilla. He looked down at her pale face, unconsciously lifting a gloved hand and smoothing back her dark choppy hair from her cheeks in a comfortable well practiced move that belied their past history. "Are you okay, Shepard?"
With her eyes squeezed shut, she nodded once, a sharp little movement of her head. Her breathing slowed and her luminous eyes opened to bore into his. "I seem to recall you having to do the same thing on Noveria," she said with a crooked smile.
He chuckled at the shared memory and warm flooded him. He pulled her closer.
"Yeah, you should have got Cerberus to take a better look at that for you. Fix that faulty joint."
It was a weak joke, but the first time since he had re-joined the Normandy that he had made mention of her resurrection without the accusations behind it. He hoped she noticed. He felt her warm breath as she huffed into his neck. He liked to imagine she was smiling.
When her fingers curled around a portion of his uniform and gripped hard, it caught him by surprise. She gave a small tug and he was pulled closer to her, his face almost level with hers. For a wild moment, he thought she was going to kiss him and his heart thundered in anticipation but she positioned her cheek next to his. She lifted her mouth to his ear and he could feel her warm breath, an unexpected shiver trailing down his spine as his body unwittingly responded to her closeness.
"I'm so glad to have you back, Kaidan."
Before the words had even registered, she had released him. She turned away and reached for her weapon, pulling herself up and vaulting over the rubble in one smooth athletic movement that never failed to make his breath hitch in his chest. He heard the customary whine of her shields activating and her yell as she rolled into cover behind James.
And instant later, he followed, and fell into position beside her. She flashed him a grin over one shoulder as she lobbed a warp grenade into a huddle of husks and he couldn't help but to respond with an answering smile. Her words played over in his head.
I'm so glad to have you back, Kaidan.
When they got back to the Citadel, the first thing he was going to do was take her on a date. It was time to make it real. He would never leave her again.