Sidelong Looks
Sideways glances. From Liara. Tinged with jealousy and a touch of confusion. She had been told that humans chose partners of the opposite gender. So Kaidan's attachment to Shepard makes no sense – even less sense than the concept of gender in the first place. And that Shepard returns that attachment? Liara licks her wounds in private, so perhaps they will never know how she really feels. But she fights just as hard. Maybe even harder. Unleashes biotic storms to destroy their enemies and ensure the Commander returns safely at the end of each mission. She is young. But also old, beyond her years. That is the effect that war has on all of them.
Sidelong looks. From Garrus. He's been wondering about the changes in Shepard lately, the eagerness to return to his quarters at the end of a mission, rather than hanging out in a bar on the citadel, or shoot the breeze in the cargo bay. And he knows Kaidan has something to do with it, but turians don't do same-sex relationships – the concept simply hasn't occurred to them, so he is intrigued, but mystified. Camaraderie, perhaps? Some human-human bond he has yet to learn about? Of course, there are rumours of something more intimate, but the descriptions make no sense to a turian. Two males just can't do that. Can they?
Smirks, caught just in the corner of his eye, from Joker. He knows, of course he does. He knows everything that goes on in this ship, from when the meals are served, to who's taking a shower longer than the regulation 3 minutes, to why Wrex had that collection of dried pyjack feet stuffed in his locker. But he's too busy being privately amused about the resident boy-couple to bother saying anything in public. Watching them trip over themselves around each other and try to stop sticking their feet in their mouths. Or perhaps he's finally developed a sense of decorum. No. That would be too much to ask for.
Complete indifference from Wrex. He's got bigger things on his mind. And human relationships are of no interest to him.
It's hard to know what Tali thinks. Behind that colored face-plate, she is silent on the topic. But she makes time to talk to Shepard, private conversations in the corner of the engineering room. And perhaps she has some good advice. After all, she's entirely too familiar with the desire for intimacy, while practical limits prevent it. And Shepard comes to him, afterwards, that heart-breaking almost-smile bleeding through the worry lines and battle scars. God, he loves Tali.
Consternation, tinged with disapproval from Pressly. Breaking regulations, compromising squad moral, the barely acknowledged question of whether Ashley's death had anything to do with this. It didn't, but since the question is never voiced, it can never be answered. Kaidan spends his free time in the mess. It's easier than avoiding the non-questions that Pressly refuses to ask, as bound by regulations and the chain of command as Kaidan once was.
Anderson seems oblivious when he checks in with Shepard. Assigns them to a new task, now that Saren is defeated. Investigate disappearing ships. Rumors of geth involvement. A tough assignment. Uncertainty. More questions. More confusion. No clear answers. Remains oblivious, when Shepard's eyes slide sideways to meet Kaidan's, to express forbidden doubts and seek comfort for swiftly-denied fears.
Tonight, they will comfort each other with words and touches and emotions, locked in the safety of Shepard's cabin. But for now, they make do with sidelong looks, much to the amusement and the confusion of a motley, courageous, and heart-wrenchingly loyal crew.