Disclaimer: Mass Effect doesn't belong to me, nor do I intend to profit from this work of fiction.


"Shepard, I really think we should have brought Ash or Garrus with us," Kaidan mumbled, and felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as she flew over yet another deep valley, and hit the thrusters to soften their landing.

"Why?" she purred, and shot him a sidelong glance. "This is just a mining expedition, anything we come across, we're more than capable of handling. She pulled the tank to a stop, and jumped out into the swirling snow.

Kaidan rolled his eyes, but climbed out after her, shivering in the brisk wind. "Reminds me of home," he mumbled, his eyes alert as he scanned the area.

"Vancouver?" she asked, casting an appraising glance his way. "Do you get a lot of snow there?" She cupped her hands together to catch a few frozen flakes, a soft smile on her lips.

He shrugged, and only just resisted the urge to brush the snowflakes from her hair. "Our fair share," he replied, sidling up to her as she scanned the lump of minerals sticking out if the ground.

She stretched her back after she finished and to his surprise, she flopped down in the snow with a delighted laugh. "I love snow," she told him, patting the ground next to her as he just gaped at her.

"Typical spacer kid," he grinned, and scooped up a ball of snow, packing it into a ball. She watched him curiously, and sputtered with indignation when he lobbed the snowball directly into her face.

"War, Alenko!" she cried, and soon the air was filled with the sound of her shrieks of laughter, and his deeper guffaws as they chased each other, tossing snowballs back and forth.

He tumbled her into a snowy drift, his breath catching in his throat at the unbridled joy and amusement written there, her cheeks flushed from exertion and cold. "Shepard," he murmured, and without another thought, lowered his lips to hers. He felt her fingers grasping at the edges of his armor plating, desperately pulling him closer.

"Kaidan," she groaned against his lips, feeling his hand sneak up to cup her breast through her armor. "We should, ah, head back to the truck." She nuzzled her face into his neck, and laughed as he hauled her up in his arms, and gently deposited her into the passengers seat.

"You've got snow in your hair," she murmured, lifting a head to brush it away. He caught her hand as it grazed over his cheek, and leaned his face into her gloved palm. "I want you," she sighed, her blue eyes boring into his, her pupils dilated with desire.

"Ah, Shepard, why do you say things like that?" he groaned, and crushed his lips to hers. He felt her fingers fumbling in the cold, groping for the release of his armor, even as he was scrambling for the lever that would lay her seat back flat. He climbed into the truck after her, pulling the door shut behind him to block out the cold. He watched avidly as she pulled off her gloves with her teeth, and swallowed hard when he felt her warm hand wrap around his swollen erection.

"Tell me you don't want me to," she whispered, and he surged forward, burying his hand in her dark curls, sending hair pins scattering as it tumbled down her back. He panted as her thumb brushed over the silky head of his arousal, and her grip shifted slightly, and she pumped her hand up and down his length.

He pressed his forehead into the hard cushion beside her head; he'd been in a bad way for several days, since their interlude in the mess, and all the cold showers in the world couldn't help him. To feel her hand on him, stroking him, urging him on, it was almost more than he could take.

"Shepard," he moaned with a sharp jerk of his hips, his words a warning. She shifted in the seat, pushing him across to sit in the driver's seat, her hand never leaving him, and she licked her lips before she lowered her head, taking him into her hot mouth. Her hand still wrapped around his shaft, her tongue swirled around the smooth tip, making him moan deep in his throat. He gripped the steering column, felt his orgasm rapidly building within him, and suddenly the suction her lips created was too much, and he fisted a hand in her hair as his hips jerked involuntarily, and his climax exploded through him.

She swirled her tongue over him one last time to make sure she'd missed nothing, and a sensual smile curved her lips as her eyes met his. "Now we're even, Lieutenant," she murmured.

He gave her a lopsided smile and winked at her, "I'm not so sure, Commander," he pulled her up to sprawl across his chest, "But whatever this is, we need to…"

"Be very careful," she agreed, and pressed her lips to his. She pulled away from him reluctantly, and attempted to locate her missing hairpins while he put his armor back on.

"Here, let me," he murmured, and took the pins from her hand, and with deft movements, scraped her hair back, and twisted it into the bun she preferred, securing it with the pins.

"You are a singular man, Alenko," she smiled.

"There was a girl when I was in boot camp…" he blushed, and heard her delighted laughter.

"What happened to her?"

He shrugged, "We were stationed on separate posts and fell out of touch. It wasn't serious, but I learned a thing or two."

"Well, maybe I can teach you a thing or two more," she purred against his throat, and felt the familiar stiffening in his loins in spite of himself.

"I look forward to it," he replied, and growled low in his throat when he heard Joker's voice crackle over the comm. They were being called back to the ship.

When they were on board, Shepard quickly stowed her gear in order to take the priority transmission from Admiral Hackett. Kaidan moved more slowly, carefully storing his gear in his locker, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The krogan, Wrex, ambled over, and leered at the human male. "You stink, Alenko," he rumbled, keeping his voice low so the others in the armory couldn't hear them. "What were you and the Commander doing planetside? Because you smell like sex."

Kaidan grit his teeth, he'd forgotten how keen krogan noses were, "That how you know you're doing it right, Wrex."

Wrex gave a booming laugh, and slapped Kaidan on the shoulder, making his knees buckle beneath him and he went down on one knee from the force of the blow. "I like this human!" Wrex declared, and strolled away, still chuckling to himself.

Ashley gave Kaidan a concerned look, and rushed to his side to help him up, "What was that about, LT?" she asked, confusion evident on her features.

"Nothing, Chief. Go back to your station," Kaidan replied, and grimaced when he tried to rotate his shoulder and felt it pop back into place with a low hiss of pain. A trip to see the ship's doctor was in his very near future.