Everything was set. She had swiped a large glass container of dextro slurry from the mess while no one was around and had brought it upstairs. There was a bunch of clean towels ready in a teetering pile just outside her bathroom.

Readying herself the best she could she took the pills Chakwas had given her, put on a bit of light makeup, and fixed her bun so that when she took it out, well, she hoped it would do the trick.

"EDI?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Where's the Major?"

"Major Alenko is in the Port Lounge. He is playing poker."

She felt herself smirk, "Perfect."

I

The group was loud and rowdy. She could hear them before she even entered the room

"C'mon, Vega, you're full of shit!" Kaidan called out as she walked in.

"Nope, no, no, no, hombre, I am not," James gloated as he laid down a full house.

Tali threw her hands up in disgust, "Bosh'tet! Remind me to never play this with you again!"

The chips clacked against each other as James gathered the pot and pulled it to his side of the table. Kaidan was chuckling noticeably as she walked up behind him and laid her hand on his shoulder. He didn't even turn around, just moved his hand to hers and squeezed. If anyone noticed, they didn't say anything.

"Shepard, I think you let a card shark onto your ship," Garrus quipped, amused by James' glee at the win.

"No, Garrus, I just think you're bad at cards," she retorted, stoking the fire.

"That is entirely untrue," Kaidan's voice came up from below her, "Garrus is a fine card player. As a matter of fact, both he and Tali are very hard to read. I have no idea what either of their tells are. James just had the luck tonight."

"Not luck, Major, skill," James grinned as he stacked his chips.

"Sure. Fine, tell yourself that," Kaidan laughed and stood.

"You're done?" she asked as he turned around.

"Yep, that was my last hand, bet it all and lost, but-" he paused as he noticed how she looked, "I think it wasn't such a bad thing that I did."

Smiling, she pulled him over to the small bar to make a drink. Garrus began dealing the next hand and James continued to run his mouth.

"You look nice," he said, settling down on one of the tall stools opposite her.

"Thank you. I actually have an ulterior motive for coming down here."

"Oh?"

"Mmm hmm."

She set the drink down at his elbow. When he raised an eyebrow at her, she set 2 pills down next to the glass.

"How adventurous are you feeling tonight?"

He sipped at the whiskey and contemplated his answer.

"Considering you came all the way down here, look like that, and smell so nice, I'm guessing that the best answer would be pretty adventurous. However, the sight of these," he poked the pills with his finger, "make me just a tad worried."

"I asked, and I was told that you'd be fine if you took them. I don't want to ruin anything though by saying more than that."

She grabbed the glass from him and took a deep drink, the whiskey burning her throat pleasantly. Licking her lips suggestively, she continued on, "So Major, just how adventurous?"

He picked up the meds and snagged the glass back from her, downing the rest of the booze and pills in one gulp.

"Pretty fucking adventurous," his voice was suddenly hoarse.

Her temperature rose and she glanced over his shoulder to the game in progress. None of the current players seemed to be paying attention to them.

"Then let's get out of here."

He had followed her readily enough into the elevator, but they stood apart as it slowly ascended to her quarters.

The wall was firm and cool at her back and she was trying her damndest to look nonchalant as he appraised her from across the small space. His gaze was boring into her and she desperately wanted to touch him, but the growing tension between them kept her at bay. It was palpable, a manifestation of how she had felt all alone in her room for weeks. She could tell he was fighting it as much as she was.

Slowly, she reached up to take the pins out of her hair. Her auburn locks spilled down over her shoulders and he sighed as she ran her hands through it, fluffing it to frame her face. Smirking, she ran her hands slowly over her breasts and down her stomach to her hips.

"I hope that there's a good reason for all of this," his hands gripped the railing behind him, knuckles white.

She just chuckled, low in her throat, as she tugged at the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head.

"Oh, there is," she smiled, biting her lip as his eyes traveled to her chest, "I have to wait for those pills to kick in before we start."

He wasn't expecting that and it broke the tension a bit as he leaned back and smiled.

"I have no idea what I'm getting into, do I?"

"Hell no, but that's what I wanted," the doors opened silently next to them and he let her walk out first, probably to ogle her ass, which, she thought, didn't look all that great in fatigues, but to each their own.

Turning to watch him as he entered her quarters, she was amused by his confusion. He wouldn't be able to see any of her preparations from where he stood.

"I was half expecting a lineup of all the most famous dextro delicacies up here at first, but since you're already half naked, I think this might be something else."

"Yep," she pointed a finger at him, "You mister, are going to strip for me."

The color rose in his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck, "You can't be serious, Io. Are you ok?"

"Hells yeah," she threw her shirt on the bed and grabbed the remote to her stereo, clicking it on. One of the extranet's most popular songs played. It was an electro track with a deep bass line.

Sitting down on the bed, she reclined back on her elbows, "take it off."

He stood, flabbergasted next to her fish tank, arms at his sides.

"I am serious, if you want this tonight," she sat up and unclasped her bra and slowly let it fall off of her shoulders, "you'll tease me right now."

He hungrily eyed her breasts, which she had, by now, started to grope in earnest, squeezing and pinching, all the while looking up at him, daring him to do what she was asking.

Slowly, he moved his arms in time with the music, a question in his eyes. When she nodded at him, he began to let go. Raising the volume a few notches she let herself get lost in the sight playing out in front of her.

He wasn't elegant or smooth, but it was amusing how hard he was trying.

She hadn't been lying though. She needed to take some time before they got down to it. There was no way she'd take the risk of the slurry crippling either one of them and this was the best thing she had come up with to ensure that it was working.

First came the shirt with a little bit of hip wiggle. He threw it on her desk and made finger guns at her which just made her giggle. Shaking his ass, he turned around and undid his belt, dropping it on the floor with a thunk.

She lost it though when he decided to drop trou, failing to remember that he still had his combat boots on. The embarrassment on his face when he had to pull his pants back up hurt her too much. Going over to him, she kneeled and untied the boots, allowing him to be close to her for the first time. When she stood, he pulled her close, kissing her with a fervor she wasn't expecting, one hand at the nape of her neck, just below her amp port. His free hand brushed along her exposed back and reached into her pants to cup her bottom.

She moaned and reluctantly pushed herself away from him, "No, not yet."

"God dammit," he bent to kiss her again and she stood her ground.

"You haven't finished my show yet."

He growled as she backed away, touching her body once again.

By now he was getting frustrated, but it was heightening the feeling in the room. She could tell he wasn't going to be shy about the tease any more.

He kicked the loose boots off, one by one, and they clattered to the floor. Then he moved to his pants, slowly pulling them down over his hips this time.

She was shameless in the way she watched him, the pants sliding over the round planes of his bottom, catching slightly on the fabric of his boxer briefs. His ass was divine and he knew it.

Stepping out of his fatigues, he kicked them on top of the boots and moved his hands to the waist of his underwear.

"Stop."

He quirked an eyebrow at her and snapped the elastic against his hips, "Ok what now?"

"My turn," was all she said, untying and pushing off her boots before standing up.

She spun slowly, letting the music determine her movement. Looking over her shoulder, she could see that he was aroused and confused, but that was fine. She unbuttoned her pants and let them fall off of her hips much like he had.

"Now we're ready," she stated, turning to him, moving away from her discarded clothing.

"Yes, we are," his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

"Uh uh, not so fast," she switched his grip in one fluid motion. Instead of pulling him to the bed like he expected, she pulled him into her bathroom.

"Now the fun begins."

"Seriously, Io," he came close to her, his skin hot, his body clearly ready, "what is this all about?"

"I'm sorry, but I really had to make sure that the meds were working before…"

"Before what?"

"This," she handed him the bottle that she had left on the bathroom counter.

"Is this?"

"Dextro slurry? Yes."

"What the hell?"

"Listen! I couldn't stop thinking about it, I don't know if it's because we haven't been able to be together that much or the way that this stuff moves, but all I've been thinking about is-"

"Io…"

She quickly went on, "is you pouring it all over yourself and me licking it off you."

That threw him for a loop. She watched as the expression on his face when from shock to surprise to acceptance and finally intrigue.

"I," he swallowed slowly and appraised her body, his imagination filling in the blanks, "I think I would like that very much."

The feeling between them quickly changed. He was no longer worried or annoyed. Boosting herself up onto the counter space she let her legs dangle over the edge. He stepped back to the shower area and raised the bottle to his chest.

She held her breath as their eyes met, she nodded slightly and waited for him to start.

The top of the bottle dropped and the liquid hit his chest with a languid splash. He poured it sparingly and she watched as it made a slow trail down and over his pecs and abs, finally catching and spreading along the fabric of his underwear.

"Don't stop," she whispered, entranced by the way it flowed over him.

He did it again, moving his hand over slightly so that the path the slurry traced was different than the first. She fought the urge to go to him now, to run her hands through the thick liquid and all over his well-muscled body. Turning around, he poured another trail over his shoulder so that it ran down his back and onto his ass. She could feel by the state of his biotics, and the sight of his growing erection, that he was becoming more aroused. His skin had also taken on it's tell-tale blue hue.

The slurry dripped off of him with a plop, plop, plop on to the shower floor.

He continued to pour, sometimes higher than others and the liquid would splash against his skin, creating new and different trails down his chest and back.

The counter was her anchor. She gripped it tightly as she forced herself to look, but not touch.

The slurry was stark against his blue skin and he turned once again, locking eyes with her. He slowly dipped his finger into the liquid and licked it off of his finger, teasing, daring her to come to him.

With that, she caved.

The slurry squished between her toes as she approached. Waiting, the bottle hung at his side as he eyed her hungrily, trying to anticipate what she'd do first.

Her bathroom was full of a slight nutty smell and when she got closer to him, the odor mixed with the acrid eezo burn of his biotics. Splaying her fingers, she ran them along his broad chest, smearing the liquid across his body. A satisfied sigh escaped her and she leaned forward, slowly licking along his ribs and up his chest. She finished by circling her tongue around one of his nipples, lapping it up.

Groaning, he pulled her chin up and bent down to kiss her, licking along her lip to catch some of it that settled there. It was an eager thing, his tongue delving in to meet hers. Her hands were slippery as they ran up his back pull him closer. He was hard against her stomach, and oh god, she wanted him so bad, the way her own biotics were pulsing against his was evidence enough of that.

Kissing and licking down his chest and stomach wasn't going to be enough though. While she was reveling in the feel of the slurry squishing between her fingers, her own arousal was starting to overpower her thoughts about the liquid itself.

He could feel her she knew it. Their biotics were too in tune for him to ignore it. He growled low in his throat as she neared the elastic on his boxer briefs. She nipped his skin there with her teeth, indicating where she was going next. She didn't get the chance though as he pulled her up quickly, grabbing her upper arms to force her to stand.

Grinning, he pushed her against the wall and took the bottle and upended what was left over her chest. It was cool and had the consistency of medi-gel. She shivered and shut her eyes, relishing the feeling of it coating her skin. It was better than she had imagined.

He pinned her arms above her head and she gasped as he ran his fingers through the liquid, tracing delicate lines down her breastbone, circling her belly button, barely touching her erect nipples. The biotic zaps from his fingers were quieted in the fluid. She could feel them zap against her sensitive skin, but it was nowhere near as electric as it normally was. It was more like a ghost of a feeling a light tickle. She pushed her shoulders against the wall in an attempt to get closer to him. She watched as he bent instead and fixed his lips on one hard pebble, sucking the slurry away from her body.

It was almost too much, "Kaidan," she whimpered weakly trying to extricate herself from his grip. She wanted to touch him some more, wanted to fill her hands with him. He just rested his forehead against her own and peered into her eyes. Then his grip loosened just enough to let her hands fall.

She wasted no time as she pulled him in roughly around the neck, forcing him down to her level for a kiss. His hands went to her waist and then to her hips, his fingers hooking under the elastic of her panties to pull them down.

"Yes," she whispered into his mouth and he chuckled as she pressed her hips against his hard body. His hands went to his own pair next and he free himself quickly, not caring as they fell into the large puddle of slurry at his feet.

His mouth met hers again and he let her hang on to his neck raising her up as he stood. Rough, callused hands held her hips, his body weight pressed her against the wall, and she wrapped her legs around him, sliding them through the remaining slurry that clung to his body.

He teased her a bit, pressing the tip of his cock against her body. She whimpered and he smirked. It was too much.

"Please," she whispered, desperate to have him inside her.

A moan escaped from her as he slid himself in to her with one smooth thrust. He bit her lip affectionately and she closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling of him and nothing else. They were slippery from the dextro and it made it all the more precarious as he built his rhythm, but it didn't matter to her. The wall was solid at her back and he was stalwart at her front, firm and strong, moving inside her with purpose.

"Oh god," she moaned, running her nails down his chest, the friction of the action gone in the slurry. Her biotics sought his, reaching for his familiar power as heat built between her legs.

"Io," he whispered her name and she opened her eyes.

Her heart fluttered, he was examining her face, watching her for signs of how she was feeling. His hips kept hitting the back of her legs in a welcome pace and she moaned.

There. She felt it, her biotics locked into his and he grinned as he felt it too, knowing what was coming next.

"Fuck me harder, Kaidan." It was a statement, not a request.

It had been long, so long, since she'd said those words to him. It was a release of sorts and she gave in as he braced himself against the wall above her head, hammering into her just the way she liked it.

Her breath came rapidly as she felt the familiar tightening in her core. Their biotics were like a fine line, strung out between them, ready to snap.

"Kaidan," his name was exhaled, barely above a whisper and he bit her neck as he came, the connection breaking between them in a spark of blue, driving her over the edge.

She cried out loudly as she clung to him.

"Goddess," she breathed, her hands winding through his hair, pulling him close as he thrust into her a few more times.

They were both unsteady as they relaxed. Kaidan took special care to set her down where she wouldn't slip and fall.

He placed a hand on her cheek and she smiled, "You ready to get cleaned up?"

Glancing around, he laughed a bit. The bathroom was a mess. Dextro slurry was splattered over the floor and on the wall in places. Their undergarments lay in soggy piles at their feet.

"Yeah, I guess we should."

She spun the tap, and a hot jet of water sputtered out of the shower head, "Benefits of having my own bathroom, you see?"

"Hmm, yeah, among other things," he murmured as he nuzzled her neck right over the spot where he had bitten her.

I

When Karin made her way into the mess the next morning, she watched as both Garrus and Tali took measure of the slurry left in the bag. They each noted how there was quite a bit less than there should be. There would be no reason for anyone to consume it, especially after Shepard's incident a few days prior. For the moment, it was a mystery.

Things got more interesting as Shepard entered the mess, her face fresher and fuller than it had been in days, with the Major following a few moments later.

Shepard reached on tip toe for a mug like always and Karin observed as Alenko ran a hand along her back before he reached above her to pull two, one for each of them, down.

It was charming to see the Commander and Major finally showing a bit of affection in front of everyone else. They thought that they were discreet, but everyone knew that they had reconciled not too long ago and were eager to see them happy.

While the interaction between the two was amusing, the best part was actually the way Tali and Garrus had paused when the two of them had walked in.

She hadn't mentioned it to Io when she came to her for the meds, but to turians and to some extent quarians, the smell of the slurry was also quite pungent, just as was the taste. There was no doubt in her mind that both individuals knew exactly where the missing slurry had gone and that they knew exactly what had been done with it. Even if the Commander and Major had showered and washed themselves, they would reek of it for a few days before it faded. Well, they'd reek to the only two on the ship who could smell it.

If she had any doubt that her assumption was correct, she was justified watching Garrus. His mandibles were stuck in what she had come to call his shocked face while his nose plating moved up and down furiously against the smell.

"Shepard, did you?" Karin's breath caught. Tali was daring to ask?

"Did I what?"

"Did you and Kaidan, did you do something with our slurry?"

"No!" Her answer was vehement, but it was clear from her reaction that they had.

Io's color went from the rosey glow to an embarrassed red in seconds. Kaidan, standing behind her, had a look of smug satisfaction on his face.

Karin turned and walked into the med-bay, happy to have done her part.