This was originally written in response to a prompt which asked for a Kaidan/Shepard reconciliation. The catch? No words could be spoke.
Many thanks to my ever patient and supportive beta Shenzi and to Night and Sesh the fun we have brainstorming and talking. :)
Sign Language
Kaidan thought the meeting would go on forever. Or perhaps it just felt like forever given the level of heat and the lack of air in the conference room. The man must be part-lizard, he thought, for he'd noticed that the Ambassador always seemed to keep the temperature at an even 8o degrees F. The thought, aided by his current boredom, brought him the unfortunate mental image of Ambassador Udina-as-lizard wearing little more than a bright pink budgie smuggler and an overabundance of rouge sunning himself on a rock in the middle of the lake below his office window. Where the hell did that come from? Revolted, Kaidan tried to erase the picture by focusing on the topic at hand, but the speaker was dull and his topic - Use of Pseudoarchaeology for the Validation and Dating of Albolithical Structures - full of uninteresting facts and figures making it hard for Kaidan to pay attention much less focus. He didn't see the relevance of the subject to the protection of the Galaxy from Reaper threat although he was becoming increasingly clear on why Councilor Anderson, when asked for a representative, had volunteered him to attend rather than coming to the meeting himself. Bored, another random thought popped into his head. Now if it were Shepard were sunning herself...
Shepard. He drew his breath in sharply as he thought of her and then looked around, hoping no one had noticed. He found it hard to think of her, or more precisely, to think of how he'd left things when he last saw her. He'd been angry and disbelieving when he'd heard the rumors of her resurrection, sharing his skepticism with her rather vehemently when he'd actually seen her on Horizon only to have his doubts blown out of the water a few weeks later after a private communication from his former colleague, Liara T'Soni.
If only there was a way to apologize. To make it right. But he knew that was unlikely. Hell, he didn't even know where she was at the moment although he'd heard that Anderson had sent her a message, inviting her to the Citadel. Sighing, he turned his attention back to the speaker, trying to make sense of a topic that seemed to be more about witchcraft than science.
Just then a door at the side of the room swung open and an aide came through, making his way to where Kaidan was seated, beckoning to him. Kaidan got up, grateful for the interruption and followed the aide into a small anteroom but before he could ask why he'd been called out the aide abruptly put a finger over his lips then pointed to several spots across the ceiling. Kaidan knew the room was probably bugged but although somewhat puzzled by the aide's behavior, he remained silent.
The room contained a couple of chairs and a small table. Motioning for him to sit, the aide let himself out of a door at the opposite side of the room. Confused, Kaidan looked around and then started to get up, preparing to follow only to have the outer door open again and a figure in bright pink camo armor step inside.
She came towards him; the woman of his dreams, now in the flesh. For a moment he wondered wildly whether he was hallucinating; whether the dullness of the lecture had triggered some sort of rare biotic psychosis but the glare she gave him along with a hard right punch to his chin that connected quite solidly, couldn't be anything less than real.
He sprang to his feet, reaching out to grab her wrists, both to ensure her continued presence as well as maintain his own safety for he was pretty sure that he'd lose to her in a fair fight, regardless of the pink armor's subliminal message of weakness and frailty. She struggled but he held her firmly, drawing her close. Catching her eyes he jerked his head towards the outer room full of people then upwards, his eyes moving to the spots the aide had noted previously. She understood the implications at once and didn't attempt to speak although she continued to stare fiercely at him.
Her gaze clearly communicated her displeasure with him and quite honestly, he couldn't blame her. He'd been an idiot when he'd last seen her. After losing her so suddenly in the destruction of the SR1 and already throwing away one chance for reunification, he wasn't about to let it happen again even if he wasn't in a position to speak. He pulled her closer, but her body remained stiff and resistant in his arms. It was difficult to hold, much less hug a woman in full battle gear but he managed it, one arm going around her waist, while the other continued to pin her hands to his own unarmored chest. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with anger and he stared back, catching and holding her gaze with his own for a few seconds as he looked at her longingly, trying to communicate his love, his regret for his previous behavior and his happiness at her safe return.
His attempt however seemed all for naught as she jerked her head around with an expression of disgust and began struggling to free herself. I was called out of the meeting specifically, so why the hell did she come here if she didn't want to see me? he wondered. I'll never understand women. Stepping back he released her from his embrace, retaining possession of her left hand which he raised to his lips, his eyes never leaving her face. She looked at him, her face softening slightly into a confused and slightly quizzical expression before returning to its state of rigid disapproval a moment later as she snatched her hand away.
Kaidan shook his head, sighing to himself at her stubbornness although he knew he really couldn't fault her for it. After all, he'd been the one rejecting her all those months ago on Horizon. His right hand made a circular motion on the center of his chest – sorry, I'm so sorry for what I said – then moved to his heart as he looked at her pleadingly. She pouted slightly; her foot tapping impatiently looked up at him, as she raised a brow.
It was then that he knew he had her. Sweeping her into his arms, he pressed his mouth to hers. For a moment she continued to resist, her body taut and rigid, then something seemed to give and she melted into his embrace, returning his kiss enthusiastically and he found himself close to tears. Get a grip, Alenko. But he understood the rush of emotion and what it signaled. Forgiveness. If not complete, at least it was a start.