AN: Thanks once again for all the reviews, follows and favourites. Felt mean leaving you all hanging at the start of the fluff so got this chapter up a lot quicker than intended. Hope you enjoy it.


~*Chapter Three*~

Kaidan came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and kissed her neck, just below her ear. "Am I forgiven?" He whispered. The feel of his warm breath on her skin sent a shiver down her spine.

"You are so forgiven." She smiled as she took in the transformed bathroom.

The soft warm glow from the sea of tiny candles spilled into the cabin. They were being projected by a small device Shepard had seen in Liara's room a few days prior. The looked so real! Their tiny holo-flames flickered and danced like they were alive.

In the centre of the flickering lights, sat underneath the shower head was a storage container. It had been scrubbed and polished to within an inch of its life. The ammo and weapons previously stored within it were gone and it was now filled with sweet smelling, steaming hot water and inviting bubbles. The air was filled with soft classical music, a piece she knew like the back of her hand, 'Whisper of a Thrill'. She had played it countless times when she was younger. It was music from a really old film she had never actually seen, she just loved the composition. Something about the piece just seemed to resonate with her. It was beautiful, powerful, affecting and slightly wistful. How had he known she loved this piece? She closed her eyes briefly and sank back into his warm strong embrace as she listened.

Kaidan slowly ran his hands down her upper arms and across to her chest, where he began undoing the clasps of her shirt. He slowly pulled the zipper down, letting his thumb graze her skin from the small indent at the base of her neck to the top of her belt

Shepard closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of his touch. She loved how he made her feel. She felt alive and sensual at his touch. Hell, sometimes she felt that just by the way he looked at her. The way his eyes would dart to her mouth, making him involuntarily lick his own lips, blinking rapidly, making his thick eyelashes flutter. He looked at her with eyes full of wonder, desire and respect. Like she was his only personal saviour, his salvation, his beginning and end.

Kaidan slowly eased the fabric of her shirt out of her trousers and, grasping the material on either side, gently slid it off her shoulders and down her arms. His fingers endeavoured to maintain the sweet teasing contact as they went. He dropped her shirt neatly on to her desk chair, before bending down to plant a long kiss on her back between her shoulder blades. She sighed deeply, her head involuntarily rolling back on her shoulders. He smiled and kissed her forehead, noticing that the frown that seemed to be in permanent residence of late, had diminished.

Shepard's hands drifted to the buckle of her belt as she attempted to unbuckle it but he swatted her hands away, making her laugh. God how he loved that sound, like her smile, this was something that came around less often since the war.

Kaidan moved to stand in front of her and sank slowly to his knees. He grasped her leg behind her sculpted calf and raised it off the floor, slowly easing off her knee high combat boot and setting it down beside him. He slipped his hand up the leg of her trousers, caressing the soft skin on her shin as he went. Grasping the elastic of her sock and slowly pealed that off too. His fingertips glanced her instep and he chuckled as her entire leg tried to jerk out of his grasp. She always did have incredibly ticklish feet and he loved that he was possibly the only person who knew her intimately enough to know that.

He repeated the action on the other leg, this time taking care to avoid tickling her. He wanted her to be relaxed not twitchy.

Her second sock discarded, he fixed his gaze on her beautiful bluer than blue eyes and stood slowly sliding his hands up the outside of her legs until they came to rest on her waistband. He traced his finger over the skin just above her belt before unclasping the buckle and undoing her fly. Slipping his hands under the waistband at the side, he slid them down her thighs, pushing her trousers down in a tortuously slow move. The feel of his battle hardened hands on her skin was as heady as always. Every time he touched her was as thrilling as that first time. She sighed and worried her lip, watching him through hooded eyes. When the course fabric lay pooled at her feet she gently stepped out of it, steadying herself by grasping his forearm.

He flinched as he took in the bruises down her left side. He lent forward and gingerly pressed his lips to the large angry mark on her hip bone. She smiled down at him, knowing that he disliked any evidence of her hurting, past or present. This was why he kissed her scars, he wanted to erase the memory of pain and replace it with love and affection. She was always so touched by the gesture.

Kaidan straightened again and with confident fingers, he reached around her back to unclasp her bra.

He fumbled and she bit back a smile as a look of frustration crept over her beautiful face. On the third attempt he managed to get it undone.

He scowled at her broad grin. "Don't say a word." She shook her head and adopted her best innocent look. A look that said 'What me? ...Never!'.

He hooked his index fingers under the straps and peeled them down her arms, eyes fixed on hers.

Her bra discarded, he trailed his fingers down the side of her ribs to her underpants resting low on her hips and slide them down her long legs, never once breaking eye contact. Again, using his arms as support she stepped out of the remains of her clothes. Standing before him naked like this felt so... intimate. She was literally laid bare before him, nowhere to hide.

Finally he broke eye contact and his gentle, caramel eyes skirted down her body hungrily. She felt a thrill run through her at his appraisal, his breath hitched and he swallowed convulsively as he gazed at her. When his eyes returned to hers they had darkened slightly.

He blinked at her a moment before whispering. "Get in."

She quirked her eyebrow and opened her mouth to make some crude comment no doubt. Kaidan put his finger on her mouth to silence her. "Don't cheapen the moment baby, just get in the bath." And with that he gently urged her in to the bathroom.

The water was hot but it felt so good. She hesitantly dipped her feet into the water and let them get accustomed to the tingling warmth before sinking gracefully in to the makeshift bath.

She disappeared into the bubbles with a childlike grin, and came back up with a contented sigh, her cropped hair slicked back from her face and her cheeks pinked by the warm water.

Kaidan crouched down by her side, his arms rested on the edge of the container. "Nice?"

"It would be better if you were in here." She scooted right up to him and kissed his perfectly straight nose.

"Anything for you, m'lady." He stood lithely, and began quickly undoing his shirt clasps.

"Ok, point number one, 'm'lady'? You've been playing 'Elven Star Scrolls 2' again haven't you?" He paused, his fingers lingering on his as yet undone zip, a sheepish look on his face.

Back on the SR1, when their relationship consisted of subtle glances and long chats, Kaidan and Shepard spent a lot of time on the extranet gaming together. She always knew when he'd been playing. He'd subconsciously let slip in an old English word or phrase as they spoke.

"Actually... The series is up to 4 now, but I haven't played online since you... since the last time we played together. It didn't feel the same." Since she died, he never did like saying the 'D' word when it came to Shepard.

"Can you get me a copy?" she wanted to deflect him away from the inevitable decline in his mood that always accompanied some reference or other to her death. He smiled enthusiastically at her.

"Sure. What was point number two?"

"Your undressing way too quickly." Her smile was roguish.

His eyes sparkled with playful intent in the glow of the artificial candle light. He carefully unzipped his shirt and mischievously pulled back one side, then the other, exposing his perfect chest and rippled stomach. Shepard's eyes widened and her pupils dilated so far her eyes were almost black. Fuelled by her reaction he flexed his pecks making them twitch and smirked as her mouth formed a perfect letter 'o' as she sucked in a gulp of air.

He slid his hands across the plane of his abdomen to the buckle of his trousers, unbuckling it with a flourish and a lopsided grin. He pulled down his zipper so slowly she could almost hear each tiny notch of the zip popping free one at a time. He slowly turned round so his back was to her before easing the fabric over his hips with a slight shimmy.

Shepard licked her lips, wanting to run her tongue from the small cluster of moles between his shoulder blades down the length of his back. Kaidan slipped his trousers over the perfect curve of his arse and down his toned olive skinned thighs, before stepping out of them and kicking them to the corner of the room. He hooked his thumbs under the elastic at the back of his briefs and slid them down, wiggling his hips again.

A glance over his shoulder told him Shepard's eyes were firmly fixed on his exposed backside, as usual. He clenched his butt cheeks and watched with glee as she blinked rapidly, biting her lip.

"Like what you see Shepard?" She returned his radiant smile and threw his earlier words back at him.

"Don't cheapen the moment baby, just get in the bath." He chuckled and turned to face her. He was... well, he was just simply magnificent! The sight of him, all of him, standing there before her with those rich soulful eyes and that exquisite body, was enough to make her want to fall on her knees and praise the universe for bringing such perfection in to being.

He deftly stepped over the edge of the container and sunk down in to the bubbles in front of her. The warm water lapping at his firm chest, his strong thighs resting on the outside of her legs, which he deftly lifted so her calves nestled against his hips.

"Thank you." Her voice was soft and loaded with gratitude.

"For the striptease? Anytime, baby."

She chuckled and pinched the underside of his knee. "For everything. You know I can't even remember the last time I had a bath? I miss baths. I love serving on frigates but man do I miss water." She leaned back and closed her eyes. "Baths, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, you name it. It's the one thing I pine for when I'm not planetside. The foster family I was placed with back on Earth lived right on the ocean. I fell asleep and woke up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore, every day for two years. It's the one and only thing I miss about that time. I'd love to live by the sea, hell by any water."

Kaidan absent-mindedly ran his fingers back and forth across her knees. "You wanna know what I miss?" She nodded "I miss my mom's home made steak, ale and cheese pie. It's like... the ultimate pie. I could live on it! When you meet my mom, I'll ask her to teach you how to make it." His grin was cheeky and playful. She narrowed her eyes at him, biting her lip to try and hide her answering smile.

"And why would I need to know how to make that? You expect me to play the role of the little misses? Staying at home while my big strong man goes out to work?" She quirked her eyebrow at him and he chuckled.

"No, I just figured on birthdays and special occasions you might want to treat me."

"You know I can't cook right? But I can treat you in other ways."

"Ohh, tell me more." He leaned forward, running his hands up her thighs. It was hard to think straight when he did that. All her cleaver quips went right out the window.

"Ummmm, I can... buy you ammo mods. Help you clean your gun."

"Clean my gun eh?" He bit the tip of his tongue and winked at her.

"That's not what I meant." She looked down at her hands now resting on his legs. "So you want to take me home to meet the family huh?"

"Yeah, of course I do. They are dying to meet you, especially Larissa." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Who's Larissa?"

"Youngest sister. She's been driving me crazy about meeting you since I first mentioned you in a vid I sent back home, a few months after joining the SR1." He sighed deeply. "She gave me such a lecture about my behaviour after Horizon."

They both flinched at the word. Neither of them had handled that reunion very well at all. The memory was bitter sweet for them both. They had hashed it out afterwards over messages (Kaidan's clunky apology and Shepard's equally clunky response) and at his hospital bedside in Huerta Memorial, where they took the first tentative steps towards a reconciliation.

"I managed to get hold of her while I was laid up after Mars. When I told her that you had been in to see me a few times and we'd talked, she pretty much demanded I just shut the hell up and kiss you the next time I saw you. She was convinced that would fix everything. I tried to explain to her that we needed to talk things out but she wouldn't have it. I guess things seem a lot simpler when you're 22 huh?"

Shepard ran her fingers through the bubbles before her and smiled to herself.

"What?"Kaidan nudged her with his leg to get her attention.

"I was just thinking, sisters are all the same. Always so eager to interfere in a sibling's love life, even during a galactic war with trillions of lives hanging in the balance."

Kaidan dipped his hand in to the water between them and snapped it into a fist, sending a squirt of water straight into Shepard's face.

"Hey!" she spluttered wiping the water out of her eyes.

"Breach of executive order, mentioning the war, consider that your first warning." He jabbed his finger at her, steely faced but his eyes betrayed his amusement.

She slid herself forward, till she was practically in his lap and kissed him tenderly on the line of his jaw.

"Sorry sir, it won't happen again." Her whispered voice blew hot breath across the damp skin of his neck, and he swallowed.

"See that it doesn't. Now turn around."

After much splashing and sloshing within the confines of the container, Shepard managed to turn herself around and seated herself between Kaidan's muscular thighs. Her back rested snugly against his broad well defined chest. Kaidan reached forward and smoother a few loose tendrils of hair off of her brow and reached for her shampoo. He squeezed some in to the palm of one hand, set the bottle back down and rubbed both hands together. Ohh, he remembered this smell, fruity and sharp. She hated the standard issue crap, it made her hair feel greasy. She had always had a stash of her favourites to hand on the SR1. The smell was all her.

Inhaling deeply he began to work the shampoo through her hair, massaging her scalp, his fingers spread wide as he worked. He could feel her practically melting against him. She sighed deeply and rested her arms on is long legs, her thumbs drawing invisible circles across his skin. She felt the stresses that had been building over the past few months beginning to ease.

This was so intimate. Such a tiny gesture in the grand scheme of things, but loaded with unspoken love and devotion. Shepard was so used to looking out for herself. She had been doing so since she was 16 and had found herself alone in the galaxy, no friends or family to support her. She wondered if he knew how much it took for her to let someone take care of her to this extent. She never had before, and that had been what caused the end of most of her relationships, the significant ones anyway. It's hard to love someone who won't accept your love or even let you show it. Somehow it was different with Kaidan, she liked that he loved her and the subtle ways he showed it. As she lay back against him while he smoothly working her hair into lather, she tried to pin down why that was. What made it so different with him? It took a while to click into place; it was different because she loved him back. She had done since Ilos. She'd almost told him that in the vid she recorded for her Will before he interrupted her. She wanted to say it after Horizon, to use the words as a weapon to wound him. And again in Huerta Memorial when he rested his warm hands on hers to stop them nervously twisting and fidgeting with the bed sheets. She almost said it during their Sanity Check but that damn Salarian waiter seemed to appear every time she worked up the nerve.

Kaidan placed his sudsy hands on her slender shoulder startling her out of her reverie. He leaned in and whispered into her ear "Scoot forward a bit and lean your head back."

She did as instructed while Kaidan grabbed a tumbler from the counter with a little help from his biotics. He filled the tumbler and gently began rinsing the suds out of her rich brown hair, running his finger through it as he went.

Shepard closed her eyes and concentrated on the way his hands moved through her hair and the beautiful music that continued in the back ground. It was currently another of her favourite classical pieces, Nocturne No 1 in b flat minor. She hadn't listened to music in years, it had been an all too painful reminder for her of the future she had lost on Mindoir. She was amazed to find that now, as she lay in her make shift bath, the music was actually helping her relax and lifting her spirits. She never thought that it would ever have that effect on her again.

When her hair was rinsed, Kaidan leaned forward and tenderly kissed her head. "All done."

She was so relaxed by this point she practically purred.

"Now, let me get the rest of you all washed." Her eyes snapped open as his words penetrated her tranquil haze.


AN: gracie21, as you wished... Naked Kaidan Bum! :) you must be psychic!