"See you, Shepard."
Vega finally left after his "workout session." Shepard could hardly breathe from the attempt of beating Vega's record of 182 pull-ups. Damned youthful vigor.
That beeping-sound was annoying. Not as annoying as getting your ship and identity taken away from you, but it was still annoying. Shepard walked across the kitchen to check her private terminal sitting on the desk. The green light was flashing, indicating a new message. A few in fact. Scrolling down the list of messages, Shepard scanned through the subjects. Always looked for the most interesting one first.
Subject: Let's go out and be normal people. Huh.
She assumed it was probably the LT. She clicked on it. Priorities.
From: Kaidan
You know what you need, Shepard? You need a night where you get to just hang out and try to be normal for a few hours. Let's get something to eat. After that, we could go down the strip or whatever you want. Let me know.
Shepard sighed relaxing her shoulders and held her head up. A smile brushed across her face.
A night of relaxation? Could use one of those. Especially with...him.
Ignoring the rest of the messages, she exited out of her Inbox and immediately called his Omnitool. Connection loading...connection successful.
"Shepard, hey!"
"Hey! Got your message. You want to come up? I'm free."
"Oh yeah! I'll be up."
"Cool. See you in a-"
Connection lost. He had never been so quick to respond or end a call before. It left Shepard in an awkward silence and all she could do was giggle.
"Hey Shepard! I'm starving! What do you got?"
He started walking towards her in the kitchen.
"We're heading out, Kaidan."
"We'll just end up back here anyway. Am I right?"
Shepard rolled her eyes and before she could respond, Kaidan leaned forward and grabbed her by the waist. His lips gently pressed against hers. She felt a warm energy flow through her body but its intensity died when he let go. Redness crept up subtly onto her cheeks but she looked at the ground to try and hide it. Kaidan walked passed her and brushed his shoulder against hers, making her lose balance a little bit. He walked to the fridge on the left but turned around and rested his elbows on the island in the middle of the kitchen.
"Trust me. Let me impress you."
"Oh no, really?"
"C'mon!"
He lightly laughed. A smile slowly formed on Shepard's face.
"So you just want me to sit here and watch you cook?"
"You're not watching me cook. You're helping me drink beer. Now sit your ass down!"
That's when Shepard couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Kaidan had never made her dinner before. Wasn't even aware that he was capable of cooking; at least to the extent of him impressing her. He was scrambling with the pots and pans in the cabinet of the island. All of the loud clanking noises made Shepard cup her hand to her face and giggle.
"So, what are we having? Canadian delicacy of some sort?"
He laughed, opening two bottles of beer from the fridge.
"Uhh...sure. Exactly. We've got uh beef, we have bacon, and uh beer. The foods of my people."
They clinked bottles.
"Wish me luck."
"Uhuh."
Kaidan took out a sharp knife and started smashing garlic using the flat sides. His hands seemed to be gracefully flying over the cutting board. In a way, it was mesmerizing. Shepard's eyes followed wherever his hands flew, occasionally sneaking a peek at his face and smiling.
She had wished there were more moments like this. Moments of being...together. Happy. Normal.
"You like to cook Shepard?"
"I'm no chef. But I can cook food. And I usually enjoy it when I do."
"Ha. Is there anything you're not good at?"
A smirk smeared across his face when he looked up at Shepard. It seemed like a read-between-the-lines moment to her. She laughed. Kaidan's unique humor always made her smile even in the worst of times. No one has ever made her smile and laugh like he does.
"Is there anything I can do for you...Chef?"
"Hehe. Well there is...one thing."
She walked around the island to where he was standing and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hmm?"
"You can relax and look beautiful for me over there."
He pointed to a barstool pulled up next to the end of the island.
"C'mon!"
"Okay. If you want to do something, why don't you go upstairs, clean yourself up, put on something nice, and fulfill my assignment for you?"
She glared at him jokingly as she unraveled her arms from his neck slowly. With an attitude, she replied, "Fine."
Shepard stomped dramatically out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom. The closet wasn't filled with much. Being part of the Alliance didn't require you to be very fashionable but she did have a few suitable dresses to wear. She grabbed the red dress and walked out of the closet to change. As she was leaving, she noticed a pair of black stilettos on the floor.
Where the hell did those come from? she thought. Oh whatever.
She grabbed them and started unzipping her hoodie. It was a relief to take those clothes off. She didn't like wearing dresses but the one thing she hated more was wearing the same outfit every day. She climbed into the tight-fit dress and put on the mysterious shoes that came from nowhere. Somehow they were a perfect fit. Weird.
She walked into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. Her make-up was still simple. Just the way she always had it and her hair was still in a bun. Kaidan had always told her to wear her hair down for once, although she never had the opportunity to do so. Shepard moved her hands on her head softly to find the pins that held it up, pulling them all out which let her hair fell down her back. The long, brown locks of hair were perfectly waved and lustrous. She grabbed a brush out of the top drawer and stroked her hair until she could run her fingers through it with ease.
Along with her own physical appearance apparent in the mirror, she felt herself staring into her past. The decisions, the regrets...everything that she had done to get to where she was: standing in front of a mirror, smelling the aroma of herbs, and pampering for her night with Kaidan. She always thought about those two years she was dead; how heartbroken Kaidan must've been. Hell, she could hardly last without him during the few weeks he was out before the coup attempt. She couldn't help but think: Why the hell would I allow all of this to happen?
Catching onto reality and nodding her head in approval of herself, she walked out of the room and down the stairs. One thing's for sure: Kaidan was making steak and potatoes. Shepard could smell the pepper and potatoes from upstairs. She held onto the railing of the staircase so she wouldn't trip on her high-heels. As she walked down the second flight of stairs, Kaidan looked up. He was holding a pan in his hand and a spoon in the other. His mouth was opened but no sound was uttering passed his lips. Shepard walked carefully into the kitchen and smiled. Kaidan's mouth: still opened.
"Hi."
"What? Never seen a girl in a dress before, lieutenant?"
"Well of course but my C.O.?"
"How formal."
"My...commander-girlfriend?"
"Haha. I took you with me to the Casino Party."
"Yeah but you didn't- your hair wasn't- where'd those shoes- Wow."
There was a second of pause before Kaidan said something.
"You look...um..."
He carefully laid down the pan and spoon on the stove and grabbed a towel to wipe his hands as she walked closer towards him. He grabbed her hands dangling at her sides and held them in his. Her hands escaped his grasp and rested on his chest as she looked up into his eyes.
"How'd I do?" she asked.
"My god...you're beautiful."
He ran his fingers through her long hair for the first time. She got lost into his dark eyes. All she could see was the first time he came up to her room on the SR-1. He had a similar look in his eyes that night. "Uh...you're burning the garlic."
He jumped and turned back to face the stove.
"Damn it! Sorry...something was distracting me."
"What?"
Shepard imitated his same smirk.
"I wonder..."
He looked up at her and winked. She rolled her eyes.
"Ha. Go sit down. I'll serve you."
"Okay but first where's my beer?"
"Oh no. I understand you like beer, Shepard, but with our dinner...we'll be drinking wine."
"How classy."
She sat down at the table.
"And don't worry. I've got chocolates."