To See You Again
Author: Golddragon85/Tovaras
Game: Mass Effect
Characters/pairing: Male John Shepard/Kaidan Alenko, former Kaidan Alenko/Rahna (kinda)
Disclaimer: I own nothing besides my own play through of the games. ... Sadly, I don't make money out of it.
This was a request by a friend of mine on Deviantart and Tumblr, who really wanted to write, and I quote:
a "one shot of Kaidan, age 36, meeting Rahna again?
Plus, he's engaged to John Shepard now who's still in the hospital and does not know about the meeting because of unconsciousness.
I'd like to read Rahna's reaction. On Kaidan being a freaking war hero now.
Being the lover and future husband of the fucking savior of the citadel and whole galaxy.
Being with a GUY.
Really, I'd love to see her dealing with those three things she might never had expected.
Oh, besides meeting him again. "
This is an old request and it took me -forever- due to work and real life being a bit of a bitch, but I finished it.
I hope I did it justice and... better late than never?
xoxoxox
She was the last one Kaidan had expected to meet again after so many years, let alone after a Reaper-war that had killed more humans and claimed more lives than any other war he had heard of.
Truth be told, he hadn't really been thinking that much about her in between all the fighting and travelling.
If he had been a man of faith, he would have guessed that the meeting was meant to be, in a way. That what happened all those years ago was coming around to this very meeting.
If he had been a lesser man, he would have gloated at how far he had come or act like he was still hurt by what had gone down when they were just teenagers, but it was for that very reason that he wasn't mad.
They had been teenagers. Special teenagers.
It was kind of funny when he thought about it.
That had been a long time ago. Years.
He was a different man now. He was braver, older, smarter. At least he liked to think he was smarter. More experienced at least.
He had seen so much. Seen so many worlds, talked to so many people.
He had experienced hardship, but also good things that made him so damn happy that he had survived the war.
Said war had been over for almost a year now.
It was almost hard to believe it, even now.
One year ago they had been smack in the middle of the Reaper war. The fate of earth, of the galaxy was resting in the hands on one man, one very spectacular man, and they had made it. They had pulled through, they had survived.
Even at the darkest, there had been this one little light at the end of the tunnel and now… Now they could finally enjoy the fruits of their labour.
At least that's what Kaidan hoped.
He had, after all, gotten the greatest reward that any person could ever have hoped to receive in their lifetime.
There were a few things he did have to get used to though and he doubted that would happen anytime soon.
He still wasn't used to people recognising him on the street. He almost felt a little awkward every time someone called out "Major Alenko" or "Spectre Alenko", but seeing results of what he had done, being thanked personally by people who's life he had helped save… It was worth every little bit of discomfort that his new-found fame brought with it.
Besides, the only decoration he needed was a silver-coloured band that decorated his right ring-finger. In time, he hoped he could shift it over to his left one.
But when heard a somewhat familiar voice gasp out "Kaidan" instead of the other two titles though, now that made him freeze up.
Kaidan had just finished up a small assignment in a small city near Vancouver. Nothing big, just overseeing the erection and cleanup of some of the more worn-down and battle-scarred areas that were currently being rebuilt.
Without proper technology, the rebuilding had been slow and hard, but people had truly come together and where helping each other out. It was downright beautiful to watch. Even when they got things running again, they never stopped helping one another.
He had been sitting at a small coffee-shop, waiting for his shuttle to pick him up, when a woman had carefully approached his table.
Upon hearing his name, Kaidan had looked up and almost frozen in place.
Even after so many years, after so many people, there were still a few people he could never forget, even if he wanted to.
"Rahna..?"
"Oh my god, it is you," the woman said, the surprised look turning more happy. "I… I cannot believe that… That it's you. Kaidan Alenko."
"Wow, I…" Kaidan stood up from his chair, honestly not sure how he was supposed to react. Was he to hug her, shake her hand..?
They hadn't exactly parted as friends, but he wouldn't say that he had ever carried any ill will towards her either.
One thing was for certain though; Rahna was as beautiful as he remembered her.
Her hair was long, reaching half-way down her back, braided up loosely. Her eyes were still a warm, brown colour and her body had grown from a slender girl to that of a beautiful woman with healthy curves: not to skinny, not too big. Natural, like she had always been.
As Rahna stepped closer, Kaidan gave her a small smile, reaching out his hand to her.
"I… Wow, I didn't expect to see you here, I…"
Rahna just smiled and took Kaidan's hand, giving it a shake before she gave him a one-armed hug, her hand still in his.
"It's so good to see you again, Kaidan," she murmured, pulling away with a coy look on her face.
"I… It's good to see you too, Rahna," Kaidan managed to get out, feeling a little awkward from the hug. He hadn't really expected that from her, even if he himself had considered giving her one.
"How have you been?"
"I've been good. Lucky. Very, very lucky," Rahna said, smiling some as she brushed some of her long, black hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
"Me and my family were off-planet when the Reapers struck. Visiting some friends of the family on the Citadel. Just glad we all got away from Cerberus when we were there, it… it was terrifying. All of it."
She looked around for a moment, just taking in the reconstruction of the city. "I can't believe it's been almost a year already…"
"It is hard to believe," he agreed, looking towards the construction area before glancing back at Rahna. He gave her a small, awkward smile before gesturing to his table.
"Listen, I… I have a shuttle to catch, but I got an hour or so of waiting. Want to take a coffee with me?"
Rahna smiled at Kaidan and nodded. "I would like that a lot, Kaidan. Thank you."
They sat down and Kaidan handed his menu over to Rahna. While they weren't all up to date with technology, the digital menus were back in most café's and restaurants, making ordering something easy. You merely selecting what you wanted on the menu, and sent it to the computer by the register.
Kaidan guessed that small luxury things like that just helped keep spirits up for everyone. The wounds left by the war were still fresh after all.
"You look good, Kaidan," Rahna murmured after a minute or so of silence, giving the biotic a small smile, looking down shyly.
"A lot better than when we were at BaAT."
"Well, that doesn't say much," Kaidan replied, letting his own lips tug into a smile.
"Everybody looked like shit there. But glad to hear that I've managed to loose that look."
Rahna chuckled softly, making Kaidan smile more. He had missed that laugh, but he could feel that the warm, tingly feeling he had once felt when hearing it had been replaced with a more gentle and calm feeling.
There was only one chuckle for him now that could bring out that warm and tingly feeling. One he hoped he would be able to hear again very soon.
"You look good too, Rahna. The years and the war has been very kind with you."
Rahna smiled, glancing up from the menu after selecting something to drink. "Always the gentleman."
"I do try," Kaidan mused before accepting the menu as Rahna handed it back, picking out another coffee for himself.
"On me," he murmured while putting the menu aside when Rahna reached for her purse.
"For old times sakes."
"If we are going by that logic then I think I owe you a coffee and then some," Rahna replied, looking down at her hands for a moment.
"I am surprised that… You accepted my suggestion. You have every reason to be mad at me."
"Water under the bridge," Kaidan replied, waving his hand dismissingly.
"We were young and we were not exactly in a safe place. I was just as scared of me as you seemed to be."
"It was still an over-reaction," Rahna murmured, fixing her brown eyes on Kaidan.
"You obviously did it to protect me and I shut you down… If anything, I should have understood."
Then she smiled some as she let her eyes roam over the Biotic, taking in the fit body, the more official Alliance uniform, the signet showing his rank that was embroidered onto his collar.
"Though I see that my reaction has not stopped you from getting up in life. Spectre Major Kaidan Alenko. War-hero and the second human Spectre. Quite the titles. Almost make me afraid to talk to someone as high up as you."
Kaidan chuckled some, a small blush covering his cheek. "I keep forgetting that I'm somewhat known now… I certainly haven't done anything to earn it. This entire success was riding on the joined forces of our galaxy."
"Do not sell yourself short, Kaidan," Rahna murmured, smiling gently at the biotic.
"I always knew you were made of good stuff. A… Knight in shining armour, so to speak. Reliable, brave, honest… Handsome."
She looked to the side, a small blush covering her sun-kissed cheeks.
"Something that I see time has only made… Better."
Kaidan raised an eyebrow before something slid into place in his brain. He had a very strange sense of déjà vu except it had been him saying some very similar words to someone else.
… Oh, no she wasn't…
"I… Thank you, Rahna. It's… It's very nice of you to say that." He cleared his throat some, hoping that this wouldn't get too awkward.
Rahna seemed to sense that Kaidan was getting a little uncomfortable and quickly changed the subject.
"So, I heard you served with the legendary Commander Shepard."
Kaidan chuckled a little. "Yeah, I did. Been with Shepard since the beginning, more or less."
The two years they were apart were still a little painful to think about, but Shepard held no grudge about it and Kaidan was trying his very best to get over his guilt.
"What was it like, serving with the first human spectre and saviour of the galaxy?"
"It was… Something else," Kaidan started, smiling some. "It's… Something that has to be experienced. Words cannot describe the honour I feel from having been part of the damn best crew in the galaxy."
"And Shepard?"
"Shepard was… Human. Just like you and me."
Kaidan smiled some and nodded at the waitress as she came with their coffees, taking his own and sipping at it before he continued talking, not able to prevent a certain softness from entering his voice.
"He took his pants on one leg at a time, just like anyone else. A genius on the battle-field. Crazy as well. But he knew his limits and he knew how far he could push his crew in order to get results. Everything he did was calculated and whatever risks he took… Well. He always made sure that only he was the one that would suffer the consequences for whatever mistakes he made. Or at least tried to."
"Sounds like quite the man. And like you got to know him quite well."
'Better than you think,' Kaidan thought to himself while nodding his head.
"Yeah. I was his Staff Lieutenant for a year during the first attack on the Citadel, four years ago. After everything the Normandy went through, it's impossible not to get to know each other, for better and for worse."
"For worse?" Rahna rose an eyebrow while Kaidan just chuckled.
"Yeah. Like… I know that I should not have more than one cup of coffee in the morning or I turn hyper. And loud apparently. Amazing, I know. And we had a Gunnery Chief, Ashley Williams, that used to sing in the shower, horribly off key. And a Krogan that liked to head-butt people, but I suppose that was part of his charm."
"And Shepard?"
"Shepard…" Kaidan smiled some. "Shepard would fall asleep in the most random places. And he put hot-sauce on everything. And he couldn't dance even if his life depended on it. And his humour was… very dry."
Rahna smiled. "Sounds very human indeed."
"He was. And I think that's why he was able to do all the things he did. He knew his limits and he knew how to use his strengths. He knew he wasn't perfect and that…"
Kaidan's smile turned more soft and he looked down at the band decorating his finger, letting his thumb rub over it.
"That made him perfect."
Rahna's eyes followed Kaidan's and for a moment, they widened as she slowly pieced together what was going on.
"… Wait… You..? And Shepard?"
Kaidan nodded his head and looked up again, letting his eyes meet with Rahna's.
"Yeah. Me and Shepard. We… Found one another, four years ago. Went a little back and forward because off… Well. There were many reasons. But during the Reaper-war we found out that we didn't want to "wait and see". We had everything to loose and we did not want to loose the chance of being together."
He rubbed his thumb over the band again, feeling the slightly heated steel against his skin.
"He proposed to me, in London, before we made our last stand. Said that when he came back, we'd get married. It looked dark for a little while, was afraid that I would be a widower before I could even tie the knot with him, but they found him and he was still alive and… I like to think that that's got to mean something, you know?"
He smiled softly. "Now, I am just waiting for him to wake up. Been waiting for almost a year now, but I feel I got the time."
"Why so long..? Why haven't you moved on?"
There was no resentment in her voice, only curiosity, which Kaidan could understand. At the start, the doctors had tried to warn him, to make him prepare for the very worse, but Kaidan had refused to give up.
"Because I don't want to move on," he finally said, looking back down to his ring. It was like a good-luck charm these days. A small beacon of hope.
"Shepard… He is the one I want. He is everything I want and need, so to speak. And I am willing to wait for as long as it takes for him to return to my arms. Besides, I feel he has a legit excuse."
"Yeah?"
Kaidan nodded and reached his hand towards his cup of coffee, bringing it to his lips and nipping at the cooling liquid.
"Yeah. They are keeping him in a controlled comatose state while they work on his body. When they found him… It wasn't looking good. I suppose blowing up and falling from the universe will do that. It's a miracle that he was in one piece. But the prognosis is looking good now, at least health-wise. It was uncertain for a long time, the trauma to his body…"
He shook his head, not wanting to return to those thoughts. It had been a hard time and there were still uncertainly ahead.
"How he will be mentally though…" he murmured, voicing that last train of thought. "
Well. I'll just have to wait and see. But, as said, I am willing to wait and I will be there for him. As his friend, lover or his husband, whatever he needs of me. Because I love him."
Rahna just nodded, looking a little shell-shocked by the new information.
They sat like that for a little while, in a silence that Kaidan wasn't able to describe. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't a comfortable silence either. It was hanging in between, waiting for a shift from one of them.
Then Rahna started laughing.
"… Rahna? You okay..?"
Kaidan leaned a little forward, reaching his hand towards her, but not quite touching her. Just what had he done that was so funny..?
Rahna just lifted her hand and shook her head, taking a few deep breaths as she calmed down.
"Sorry, Kaidan, I just… I don't know what's more surprising. That I actually thought that you were single or that a man managed to steal your heart."
"… Pardon..?"
Rahna gave Kaidan a bright smile.
"Sorry, I don't mean anything bad with it. But when I met you and got to know you, you were the knight all the girls were dreaming off. The one that would save the damsel in distress, the good guy."
The smile turned a little more teasing. "You still are, don't get me wrong, but it seemed like you managed to swoop the other knight of his feet instead of getting the princess."
Kaidan chuckled a little and smiled. "Well, there never was a damsel in distress, but I suppose I can see what you mean. I did use to read all those books," he mused, earning another chuckle from Rahna.
The mood had shifted again and he felt a bit more comfortable sitting there, drinking his coffee and enjoying the company of an old friend.
Rahna seemed to be more relaxed as well, like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Yes, I remember those. All those space-stories about heroes going to space, proving himself to the woman he loves."
She winked at him and lifted her mug of coffee in a silent toast. "I guess you got to prove yourself to the hero of the galaxy instead. Though knowing you, you probably didn't have to try hard doing that, seeing as you give it your all, all the damn time."
"You flatter me," Kaidan smirked before letting himself enjoy Rahna's company, letting the subjects turn to more everyday chatter, learning more about what Rahna herself had done since BaAT.
Rahna revealed that after BaAT, she had been drifting around like so many others had, struggling to find a place where she belonged. In time, she had found a calling in education and she had been working as a teacher for the last ten years. She was not married yet, nor did she have children either, but she said she wasn't in a rush.
"I should have plenty of time to look around now, eh?" she had said, making Kaidan chuckle a little.
All to soon Kaidan's hour was gone and his omnitool started beeping, alerting him of the time.
"I'm sorry," he said, quickly drinking the last of his coffee as he got up from his chair. "I need to catch this shuttle, I'm needed back with the Alliance in Vancouver."
"Of course," Rahna said, getting up from her chair as well before holding her hand out, smiling warmly.
Kaidan smiled back, taking the offered hand and giving it a firm shake.
"It was good talking to you, Kaidan," she murmured, squeezing the hand before releasing it. "And good seeing you again. I hope we can repeat this in the future."
"Me too, Rahna," Kaidan replied as he walked over to the bar to pay for their coffees.
"It was really good seeing you again. A very nice surprise."
"It really was," Rahna agreed, the smile as warm and soothing as the coffee had been.
"And I am happy for you, Kaidan. Happy and so proud. You deserve this, you really do, and I will keep you and John in my prayers. I hope he will recover soon."
"That makes two of us," Kaidan admitted.
"But I appreciate your concern."
"Just keep me in mind when the time for a wedding comes," Rahna winked before giving Kaidan a quick, but warm, friendly hug.
"I will, I promise."
After a quick exchange of numbers they separated by the cafe, Kaidan had to hurry in order to make his shuttle-flight, but as soon as he sat down, he allowed himself to digest and truly think about what had just happened.
The meeting with Rahna had been a positive surprise in between all the crazy that was currently his life.
He was glad to see that Rahna had not only survived, but seemed to be doing well. She had always been a smart girl so he was not at all surprised that she had found her calling as a teacher.
He just hoped she would find someone that would make her happy, just as Kaidan had.
And she was right.
Now that the Reaper-threat was over and there was actually a joined peace in the galaxy, Rahna would have time to find someone of her own to love.
Just like Kaidan had.
Kaidan smiled and lifted his hand, eyeing the golden band around his finger with fond look in his eyes.
Back home on earth there was a handsome, wonderful, though unconscious man waiting for him to come home.
Just like Kaidan was waiting for him to wake up.
Inhaling deeply, Kaidan closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair, mentally preparing himself for the long trip back home.
It wouldn't take long for him to be back in Vancouver thankfully, even if the shuttle-rides were a little slower than they had been before the war. They had to conserve a little energy wherever they could.
Still, he had time for a little nap before he was back home and he had to take them whenever he could.
When his omnitool rang, just moments before he was falling asleep, Kaidan let out an involuntary whine, fumbling with the buttons before he managed to answer it.
"Major Alenko," he grunted out, rubbing a hand over his face as he tried to wake up.
"Major? This is Chakwas," Chakwas familiar voice rang out from the omnitool, making Kaidan wake up a little more.
"He is awake."
If Chakwas voice had managed to wake him up a little, her words were enough to jumpstart his entire system.
"... What?" he whispered as he sat up on his seat, staring wide-eyed at the omnitool.
"... Can you say that again?"
"He is awake," Chakwas repeated and Kaidan could hear the smile in her voice.
"He is awake, alert and he is asking for you."
Kaidan couldn't help the huge grin that spread over his face.
Shepard was awake.