Someday
"Jeff." Edi called her co-pilots attention abruptly, "where did you get that data pad."
Joker ignored her, continuing to scroll down through the countless unorganized memos and note-to-selfs, "Hm? It's mine."
"But Jeff. It is not. That data pad is baring the N7 sticker on the back, indicating that it is not yours. It's Shepard's."
"How do you know I don't have an N7 sticker?"
"Because the stickers are only handed out upon admission into the N7 program. You have not had a chance to receive such a sticker."
"Edi, if you know so much why did you ask?" Joker responded lazily, as he tapped on a message and began reading the contents.
"I did not ask whose data pad it was. I asked where you got it from."
Joker rolled his eyes at the technicality, "Well, since you're so all knowing Edi, why do you need to ask? Don't you have footage or something you could check?"
"It is important to build trust with crew members by asking them to tell me things, rather than checking security footage."
"Alright, well I found it."
"Where did you find it?"
"In Shepard's room."
"And now it is in your possession."
"Yes."
"Jeff, I believe that is called stealing."
"IIIt's not stealing, so much as it iiiiiis- borrowing without permission."
"I do not understand how that differs."
"See, stealing implies I want to keep it forever, borrowing implies I plan on... eventually giving it back, when I can."
Edi stared at Joker.
"...Okay, relax, it's fine. I happened to be walking by his room, his door was open, I needed a data pad, and I figured he wouldn't miss his."
"You happened to be walking by the only room on the top floor?"
"I hit up instead of down when I got in the elevator."
Edi stared at Joker again
"It's fine Edi. Just relax, Shepard hardly ever uses this thing anyway. He spends like 10 minutes on it max, he won't even notice it's gone."
"That is incorrect Jeff. I have recordings of several conversations Shepard has had today, regarding a search for this data pad."
That got Joker's attention. He suddenly stopped scrolling and looked at Edi, "W-wha? Are you sure? Wha- uuum... What did he say, exactly?"
"He has sworn he never took it out of his cabin, but he has asked Garrus, Liara and James if any of them saw it when they were in his room. There is information on it he needs right away, but he cannot locate it."
"He... He said that? It's like... uh... urgent?"
"He sounded very troubled. I believe it is right to assume that this information is urgently needed."
"Great..."
"I suggest you return the data pad."
"Yeah, thanks Edi, I'll get right on that..."
"Why did you take it?"
But why had he taken it? It was actually a very complicated question that even Joker didn't quite know the answer to. There were many reasons for Joker to take the data pad, but using it wasn't one of them. No, he knew why he wanted it, he just wanted to see what was in it. Ever since Kaidan and Shepard made their relationship offical and Kaidan started spending his nights in Shepards cabin, Joker had suddenly become much more interested in everything Shepard was doing, where he was doing it and who he was doing it with. He couldn't entirely explain it. But pressing the up button instead of down in the elevator definitely wasn't an accident.
Granted, initially when he went up there it wasn't to steal-uh... borrow his data pad, it was to say hi, he just wanted to talk. But then the door was open and Kaidan was in his shower, and the data pad was just... sitting there... Hearing Kaidan's voice just made him... want to...
Grab it.
It was hard to explain. Which is why, of course, he wasn't going to.
"Edi, I- it's... I told you, I just needed to use it, I had, uh... memos to write and... I was going to send them to mine, my bones were hurting and- look it doesn't matter okay. I'll take it to Shepard later and everything will be fine."
Edi stared at Joker
"Really. It's fine."
Edi stared at Joker
"...Like 10 minutes, I'll get up"
Edi stared at Joker.
"The universe isn't going to end just because I held onto his data pad."
Edi stared at Joker
"God. Fine." Joker got up.
Edi stared at-
"I'M GOING- I'm gooooing..."
Joker scowled as he walked over to the door and opened it, he walked slowly through the hall leading towards the galaxy map, limping slightly as he did, moving wasn't really his thing. There was after all a reason he stayed plopped in his rotating chair all day. He headed around the galaxy map, waving at whoever chose to say hello to him when he suddenly heard a voice.
"I've been worried, he's been so sleep deprived"
KAIDAN! Joker gasped inwardly, the data pad hot in his hands, oooo crap. He looked straight ahead and sure enough, standing between him and the elevator was Kaidan talking to Samantha Traynor. He quickly pushed the data pad behind his back and looked nervously at the two.
If he had to pick one person to guess that this data pad was Shepards, it was Kaidan.
"Shepard has been pretty worn out lately." Traynor responded, she had her back turned to Joker and continued her conversation with Alenko.
"I know... I'm just happy I finally got him to- Joker!" Kaidan blinked in surprise as he tilted his head to look around Samantha, "What are you doing out of your den?" Kaidan smiled and Samantha turned to look at Joker.
Joker inhaled sharply as he quickly pulled the waistband of his pants back and began shoving the data pad into the back of his pants. "Uuuh- don't stop on account of me- I'm just... walking around really" Joker twitched a little as he realized anyone could see the outline of the data pad in his pants- why the hell were the alliance uniforms so tight? Would it have killed them to make baggy pants.
"I don't usually see you out of the bridge. Where are you headed?"
"Well- I... you know I was just... sitting there for a very long time, so I thought I'd... take a break in the ... Crew Quarters... Maybe the lounge."
"Ah, that's good. Stretch your legs a bit, I was actually just headed that way." Kaidan turned around to press the elevator button, "We'll go together. Good talking to you Traynor."
The woman nodded and turned back to her terminal. Kaidan walked into the elevator, holding the door open for Joker, who smiled weakly and slowly limped in after him.
"...Thanks..." Joker muttered and Kaidan hit the close button. "So... Where are you going?" Joker asked breaking the silence as the elevator began to move.
"Need to talk to Dr. Chakwas. Then I've got to see Cortez in the shuttle bay."
"Ah... sounds... official"
"It is."
Silence filled the elevator again. When the door slid open, Kaidan looked at Joker, waiting for him to exit. Joker twitched a bit, he was hoping Kaidan would leave first so he could stay and hit the up button.
"...You can go first."
"After you."
God damn Kaidan, trying to be a gentleman to the cripple. Curse his wretched soul!
Joker was about to walk out, when he remembered the data pad sticking out of his pants. He paused, flashing Kaidan an awkward smile and he turned to the side and oddly side stepped out of the elevator, front facing Kaidan the whole time. Kaidan raised an eyebrow and walked out after him, he looked him in the eyes questioningly for a second and then finally just shook it off, nodding his goodbye and turning the corner towards the med bay, "nice talking to you Joker."
"...Likewise."
Well that was awkward.
The elevator door shut and Joker waited till he saw Kaidan walk into the med bay before limping back to the elevator door and hitting the button again. Freaking douche, being nice to him and making him wait for the elevator twice. How dare he not know Joker's secret plan to go up instead of down, so inconsiderate. Joker entered the elevator, hit the top floor and pulled the data pad out of the back of his pants. Well, at least it was Kaidan and not Shepard. He was happy he hadn't seen the commander. It meant he was somewhere on the lower levels and not currently headed up towards his room. He'd have to make sure he put the data pad back fast, while he still had the time. Who knows when Shepard would suddenly decide to head up there and look at his fish. (1)
The elevator opened and Joker hopped out quickly to Shepard's door, freezing in front of the red circle in the middle of it.
It's locked... Of course it's locked, why would it be unlocked, no ones in there.
Crap.
Joker leaned against the wall in front of the door and tilted his head back, how the hell was he supposed to-
His eyes landed on the black reflective semi circle on the corner of the ceiling
Edi.
"Edi!" Joker exclaimed staring straight up into her eye, "Edi! I need your help!"
"What can I help you with, Jeff?" the robotic voice responded from the wall.
"Can you open Shepard's cabin? I need to get inside."
"You are not authorized to access this room. I am afraid I cannot allow you to enter."
"Edddiii..." Joker grit through his teeth, "I'm trrrrrying to leave the data pad in his roooom..."
"Leave it? I thought you said you were going to inform him you had it."
"I am, by... leaving it in there annd... running away."
"That is not the definition of, informing, Jeff."
"Well what am I supposed to tell him Edi, 'hey Shepard, kinda stole your data pad yesterday, sorry about that, heard you need it though! Here ya go!'"
"That sounds appropriate."
"It's not appropriate."
"Tell him you borrowed it, without permission."
Joker sighed, "very funny... look... just... come on, open the door, I'll leave it on his desk and I'll get out, it'll be- super fast, besides, you owe me! Remember that software upgrade I bought you on the citadel? You and I both know you didn't actually need it, but I convinced Traynor to authorize it, remember that?"
Edi was silent for a moment before responding, "Very well Jeff. But I advise you to hurry."
The red circle on the door turned green and the automated lock slid open. Joker smiled as he walked inside, the door shut behind him and he stopped, almost immediately. His eyes widening, "Edi!...E-" he whispered harshly to where the blue holographic ball should have been located, only to find it wasn't there. He limped to the wall and hit a button, prompting the blue holographic ball to show up. "You didn't tell me he was still in here."
Sure enough, there Shepard was, lying on the bed, fast asleep.
"You did not request that information-"
"Okay- sssshhh! Not so loud Edi, you'll wake him up..." Joker whispered again
Edi's voice lowered, "I was under the impression, that you were aware."
"Aware? It's the middle of the day, how the hell was I supposed to know he was sleeping?"
"Technically, Jeff, because we are in the middle of space, there is no night or da-"
"You know what I mean! Alright, never mind I'll just... put it down and leave"
"Logging you out, Jeff."
The blue ball vanished and Joker knew Edi wasn't watching or listening anymore.
The quarters were the only room she had a blind eye to, thus the reason why he had to press the button to call her. The crew felt increasingly uncomfortable with the lack of privacy they had, especially since Edi had manifested herself into a person. So they had altered her to only be available in the room when called. Otherwise she couldn't access the crew quarters on her own.
Joker swallowed, looking over at the bed and staring at Shepard. He guessed it made sense, Shepard had been looking really tired lately- and with everything going on with the war, he supposed he was over working and-
Gah! Never mind that, focus Joker! You need to find a place for this stupid data pad, and for God's sake- don't wake the man up!
Joker blinked out of his trance and quickly scanned the room for a place to put the data pad down. Alright, he'll just, yeah, leave it ontop of the desk- wait no, no he can't do that, he needed to leave it somewhere where it could be overlooked, but not out in the open. If he just left it on top of his desk it would just make Shepard wonder why he and no one else saw it there before, no, it had to be in a place that isn't obvious liiiike...
The drawer, Joker eyed the top drawer of the desk beside Shepard's bed.
Perfect.
Joker edged closer to the bed quickly, eyes locked on Shepard and the data pad held tightly to his chest as he moved slowly through the room
Okay, this is fine, thiiiis, is fine, Shepard isn't psychic or telepathic, he can't see you, he's only... the best soildier in like... the entire universe, it's fine, everything's fine, everything is-
THUD.
Joker held his breath and froze, he was so busy looking at Shepard that he had just walked right into the chair in front of the desk. He stared intensely at Shepard waiting for some kind of sign that he was awake and then slowly released his breath when he got no reaction to the sound. Carefully, he pushed the chair out of the way; he reached out and slowly pulled the drawer open, placing the data pad into the drawer and pushing it halfway closed. There, that way... they'll see it.
Wonderful. The data pad had been planted, now all that was left to do was to get out the hell out of there.
He was...
Totally...
Going...
To...
...Hmm...
Joker stared idly at Shepard's face, huh, it was good to see him like this. Usually when he saw him, he that overly serious look on his face that said he was incredibly stressed out and about to run to his death.
Mostly cause... well he was.
And yet despite that, he always had time to run around to every single person on the ship and say hello, well... the ones who mattered anyway, there were... countless people in the combat room that Joker didn't even know the name of, but I mean, who really cares about them, right?
He found he couldn't look away; there was ...something... about... Shepard...
It was in that moment Joker realized his heart was pounding.
Wait... did Joker... was he...
in love with...
Shepard...?
No... That... that was crazy, he wasn't... in love with him, he just... stole his data pad, invaded his privacy and was now...
staring at him like a creeper.
Lovely.
Yet, even as he was standing there attempting to think of a thousand reasons why he couldn't possibly be in love with Shepard, he just couldn't bring himself to... look... away...
And that dawning conclusion led him to the horrible realization of how attracted he was to the commander. His mind quickly went from denial to panic and finally to fear.
It was safe to say the pilot was freaking out. How could he have not have noticed this before, was that why he wanted to punch Kaidan in the face despite the fact that Kaidan hadn't done anything rude to him at all? No- that's not right, he wanted to punch him because he was an ass. Yeah. it was because he was such an ass to-
...Shepard...
And then Shepard picked... Kaidan, instead of... him...
Joker didn't have time to figure it out, he was abruptly broken from his thoughts by the sound of Shepard's cabin locks releasing- DAMN IT.
Someone's coming inside!
Joker panicked and did the only thing he could think of, he crouched down on the floor, the door sections slid apart and Kaidan walked in.
God damn it, of course it's Kaidan, speak of the damn devil. What the hell was he doing here anyway? Didn't he say he had something to do in the... shuttle bay or something, how did he finish so fast? It's only been like... Joker glanced down at his watch.
20 Minutes?!
He had been standing in here for 20 minutes?!
God- Nevermind, Joker quickly crawled under the nearby desk, slowly pulling the wheeling chair in front of him to cover himself as best he could.
Kaidan put his things down, he walked over to Shepard's bed and smiled a little. He stopped beside him, lightly touched Shepard's face with his hands and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on his forehead.
Bleh, Joker frowned.
Good to know Kaidan was a hopeless emotional bundle both in private as well as public.
Kaidan smiled warmly at Shepard and then sighed; walking towards the desk Joker was under. Joker pressed back into the wall the best he could, despite his knowledge that it wouldn't help him in the least.
He could only pray that Kaidan didn't decide to sit down at the desk.
Joker watched nervously, listening to the light sound of objects being moved around above his head and swallowed as he watched Kaidan place his hand on the back of the chair and gently start to pull it out.
No, no, no, no, no, no
Joker shut his eyes
"Huh...?"
Kaidan suddenly stopped pulling the chair and the sound of the drawer being fully pulled out filled the air.
"Aaah, theeere you are..." Kaidan chuckled to himself, pulling the data pad out and pushing the chair forward into Joker again, "John must have been really tired... thought he lost you."
Joker couldn't see his face, but judging by the angle of Kaidan's body he knew he was looking at Shepard again, Joker silently exhaled in relief as he watched Kaidan walk away and sit down on the couch by the desk with the data pad in hand. Joker waited, patiently, maybe he'd just take the info on it and then get up to leave.
But after 10 minutes of silence, it was beginning to feel like that wouldn't happen. He bit his lip and slowly peered around the desk to look at Kaidan.
He was just sitting there, on the couch, playing... games?
That's why Shepard wanted his data pad? So that Kaidan could fulfill his game fetish?!
Oh come on, the universe was just laughing at him now.
"You're shitting me..." Joker muttered under his breath as he shifted uncomfortably.
Damn it, he was going to be stuck under the freaking table forever, that was it, he was doomed, doomed to remain under the table for the rest of his-
Kaidan stood up.
Joker looked up intrigued, watching Kaidan walk to the other side of the room.
Yes. Yes!
He headed up the few steps and walked towards the door.
Joker waited hopefully, coooome oooon.
He stepped closer towards the door and-
Stopped. In front of the fish tank.
Then he crossed his arms... and stared at them.
Joker hung his head, oh freaking hell.
And they all knew how Kaidan loved to stare at nothing. He spent countless hours on end just staring out at the stars in the observation room. For all he knew Kaidan could actually end up standing there for the rest of the night.
Joker sighed in aggravation, stupid, amazing, huge, fish tank, why does Shepard need a fish tank anyway, how the hell was Joker going to get out of there now. In a room this huge, you'd think there'd be multiple ways to sneak out.
...No wait, that's right, Shepard's room is huge. Which means there's more than one button to call Edi in it- there has to be, every room has more than one button to call Edi.
He watched Kaidan carefully and slowly pushed the chair out, crawling out from under the table and kneeling up on the floor to look over the desk- if this room was anything like the crew quarters then...
Yes.
Joker smiled; there was an Edi button on the wall just above Shepard's desk. He slowly stood up and quickly hit the button, crouching down again by the table.
"Yes Shepard." The blue ball appeared beside the fish tank and Kaidan looked startled by it.
"Edi?"
"Alenko. You called?"
"No- Edi, could you keep it down? Shepard is sleeping... I didn't call; maybe you got that by mistake." Kaidan whispered.
Edi's voice lowered, "No. I received a notification from this..." Edi trailed off
Joker had now stood up behind Kaidan and was aggressively pointing at Kaidan and then towards the door, widely mouthing the words 'GET. HIM. OUT.' to her, followed by something that looked like, 'SOFTWARE.'. He then quickly crouched down again.
"It... appears you are correct, I have run a systems test while we were talking, and have corrected the malfunction, it will not happen again. Since I have you, Alenko, may I speak with you on the bridge? I have a matter I need to discuss with you."
"Now?... Can it wait? I was hoping to..." Kaidan looked over at Shepard, "...relax..."
"It cannot. Since Shepard is currently unavailable, and you are the next highest ranking officer aboard the Normandy, I am to address all current issues with you, I require your presence on the bridge."
"...Well..."
"Unless you would rather I alert Commander Shep-"
"No, no- don't do that, I'll be right down, okay?"
"Thank you, commander. Logging you out." The blue ball disappeared and Kaidan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and walking over to the door, opening it and exiting the room.
Oh thank the stars.
Joker wasted no time pushing the chair out of his way and standing up.
Man, he needed to stretch so badly. He looked over at the data pad, the game was still open on it.
"Seriously? Volus Ninja? Can't believe I risked my ass for that..."
Joker hurried across the room and stopped in front of the bed. Looking at Shepard again.
He... He wasn't jealous of Kaidan.
He was just upset because...
It wasn't fair... Joker was the one who was loyal to Shepard, Joker was the first one to rejoin the Normandy after Shepard was brought back, Joker was the one who never abandoned him... and yet somehow... Kaidan, the one who questioned him, left him, aimed a gun at him, is the one... he...he...
Why... why did Shepard love him and not...
No, he knew the answer already.
It was because Joker wasn't beside him, on the battlefield... wasn't it... because... he wasn't on the front lines with him, fighting with him, wasn't a commander like him, wasn't... a solider like... him...
Because he could never be as physically able as...
Joker hung his head, he didn't know how or when, but somehow he had ended up beside Shepard's bed.
And yet... even though he knew all of that, he still...
He still...
Joker leaned down slowly, nervously, and just lightly pressed his lips against Shepards.
He still loved him.
Joker pressed down a little more, his eyes starting to a sting a little when all of a sudden Shepard pushed back. Shepard leaned up towards him, pressing his lips firmly against his and opened his mouth slightly. Joker's eyes widened briefly, but he obliged, kissing the commander back and finally pulling away. He stared in disbelief at Shepard as his head fell back on the pillow. He looked blurrily up at Joker, smiling lazily and whispering in content.
"Kaaidan..." Shepard closed his eyes again and hummed happily and Joker took the opportunity to back away from the bed, Kaidan, Kaidan Kaidan... The name rang through his head like poison.
He quickly, but silently, hurried out of the room.
Shepard opened his sleep filled eyes again and leaned up slightly, gazing around the empty room in confusion, "...Kaidan?"
Joker wasted no time getting back to the bridge, he spent most of the walk back staring at the floor, no, he didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. He just wanted to get back to his chair so he could... Forget.
But he couldn't forget, he spent 40 minutes sitting in his pilots chair, doing nothing but remembering.
He ran the events in Shepard's room over and over again in his mind, like a corrupted data fragment. He couldn't stop thinking about the way Shepard looked, the feeling of his lips, the way he said Kaidan's name, the way he-
"Jeff, is something troubling you?" Edi asked turning towards Joker.
Joker didn't respond, he just leaned back and stared into the endless black abyss of space.
"You have been displaying signs of depression, since you returned from Shepard's cabin."
Joker sighed, "I'm... fine Edi, I'm just... kinda tired, that's all."
"You were wiping your eyes earlier and now they are red, were you crying?"
"No- uh... they... something got in them and now it's irritated, that's all..." Joker looked over at Edi's unconvinced face, "really, it's fine Edi, I rubbed my eyes earlier and I think there was something on my fingers, no big deal."
"You say that. But according to the 1000 extranet search results I have just read, you are having an emotional reaction. Did something happen in Shepard's cabin, are you experiencing pain? Were you injured while hiding from Commander Alenko?"
"I- Yeah... I was... crouched for a long time so my... body is hurting more so then usual, that's all"
"I will alert Dr. Chakwas and request she do an immediate check u-"
"Ah! Nooo! That's not necessary! I'll... visit her later, maybe on my next break- it's... not a big deal, we don't have to tell her"
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. Just-drop it...Please..."
Edi nodded and looked back at her controls, "...very well."
The next day came painfully slow, the night was long and drawn out, and there's only so many times you can listen to Edi insist on a medical check until one must finally agree to get up and head to the lower levels of the ship just to avoid the insistent question. Perhaps, talking to Dr. Chakwas, asking her pointless medical questions on the way and then hurrying to bed for some much needed shut eye.
But 'morning' had come again... Well, the closest thing to morning as you could possibly get flying in the middle of dead space, and Joker was now in the bridge, sitting in his usual chair accompanied by a trusty cup of coffee.
Yes the stuff was horrible for his bones, but at some point you just have to say... screw it. Everything was horrible for his bones and you just can't avoid everything.
Joker had been graced with Kaidan's presence on the bridge...because of course Kaidan's face was the first thing he needed to see in the morning. Turns out Edi had decided to ask Kaidan about colours yesterday when she 'urgently' called him down from Shepard's room. Apparently Kaidan left her... 'hanging' as it were and so Joker had the joy of having Edi call Kaidan down to the bridge again, he also had the pleasure of listening to his voice for the last 15 minutes. It was amazing how boring he could make colours sound.
"It is imperative that you pick." Edi insisted
"Shouldn't you be picking these, I mean technically it's for you." Kaidan protested, he had no idea there were so many shades of grey
"But I am an alliance ship, and I am not capable of colour preference."
"You know Edi, when you said this was an urgent matter... I... was under the impression it was... urgent"
"Good plating, is always urgent."
"Well I mean, I'd love to help you but... uh-Joker! Didn't you say you... needed me for something? In the crew quarters was it?"
"Nope, I solved that issue, Alenko. But thanks for being so on top of things" Joker smiled fakely and Kaidan twitched flashing him a pleading look.
Just then the bridge doors slid open.
Joker didn't really turn around, he could see Shepard's barely visible reflection in the window, "slept like the dead, commander? Heard you passed out for 12 hours"
"How did you-"
"Edi's kinda a blabbermouth."
Edi looked at Joker, but didn't say anything.
"It's... also kind of my fault. I assumed your duties yesterday, being... highest ranking officer available and all... people were asking where you were" Kaidan informed Shepard.
"Ah... Well that's alright, what are you guys doing here?"
"Edi had an... urgent issue regarding what colour plating she should order for the ship... couldn't decide between black or silver, she's been getting very technical about the details revolving around which greys are available."
"Technically, the Normandy is your ship commander, and as such, decisions such as colour should be made by you." Edi concluded.
"Well, it's really Shepard's ship."
"Shepard, was unavailable."
"I'm sure whatever you pick is fine" Shepard smiled, "Anyway, how's it going up here, what's our ETA?"
"2 more hours commander", Joker answered, pulling his hands around the holographic controls.
"2 more hours, sounds like you still have time to sleep." Kaidan smirked.
"Hardly. Hey..." Shepard lowered his voice and pulled Kaidan closer to the back of the room, "I was meaning to ask... did you... kiss me, while I was sleeping?"
Joker froze.
"Yeah."
"Oh good, cause I thought I-"
"On the forehead."
Shepard paused
"...Did it bother you?" Kaidan raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Shepard shook his head, "No, I.. I woke up at one point because I thought you kissed me...on the lips."
Kaidan chuckled to himself, leaning closer, "Dreaming about me now?"
Shepard smiled, "I guess so."
Joker glared at the reflection of Shepard and Kaidan kissing in the window and spun his chair around in annoyance, frowning at the two, "hey, come on, you have the entire top floor to do that in, think you could spare us the PDA?"
Shepard laughed lightly turning to Joker and crossing his arms, "Come on Joker, someday you'll like someone, and you'll understand how it feels."
Joker glanced at Kaidan and then looked towards Shepard, locking eyes with him for only a second. He opened his mouth to speak, wishing he could say everything, anything... but nothing came out. Feeling himself begin to falter, he turned his chair away. Determined to not let his eyes betray how he really felt, he smiled weakly, and looked hopefully up at Shepard's reflection in the window,
"Yea...Someday"
ZEE END.
(1) Who knows when Shepard would suddenly decide to head up there and look at his fish: Did anyone else randomly run up to their cabin to stare at their fish? Or was that just me. Those freaking jelly fish are awesome.
Note: I tried to avoid character descriptions on purpose, partly because I know everyone's Shepard may look different. Normally I would make minor notes and references here and there to hair style and eye colour but I try to avoid it entirely when writing Mass Effect stories. I also tried my best to avoid using Shepard's first name, for similar reasons, but I did write John one time, my apologies.
I hope that made anyone who changed Shepard's face feel better.
Anyway, thanks so much for reading!
Hope you liked it!
