Author's Note: As promised, this chapter did not take long to write. This story seems to have a mind of it's own, I had no intentions of it getting this complex, but I hope you all enjoy it.
Kaidan was lonely. He often felt this way whenever they stopped at the Citadel; the vastness of it and the knowledge that there were millions of others on this space station made him feel insignificant, and it had effectively ruined his good mood. He was in the Presidium (he preferred it to the Wards), sitting on a bench, staring at the lake, without another person in sight. During the day this place was booming with activity, but come nightfall basically everyone who was up here for business during the day had disappeared into the Wards for more relaxing activities. He didn't mind the solitude though, especially not now, since it gave him a good opportunity to think things over; things involving her. He hadn't spoken to the Commander since she left the med room, which he couldn't believe was less than a day ago, it seemed like an eternity, and he did not like it. He knew this would be an opportune time to make some kind of move; he didn't want to risk waiting too long and having her get swept off her feet by someone else, even if the prospects of that happening were slim to none given her position.
He never heard her coming. Maybe it was because of his deep focus on his thoughts, or maybe it was because she moved so quickly and smoothly, but even Avina's voice did not alert him of her presence.
"Having fun, Kaidan?"
In one second his face went from focused to surprised to cheerful. "Doesn't this look like fun to you, ma'am?" He hated having to call her "ma'am" or "commander."
"Oh yeah, bundles of it." Her dry wit was something he found endearing, as opposed to Joker's, which he found irritating. "What are you doing out here, besides looking lonely?"
"Just thinking; I don't care for the Wards, all the lights and sounds don't mix well with my head. What's your excuse?"
She sat down next to him with a sigh. "I had to go and meet with Udina; he wanted to discuss Feros, so I figured I would just get that out of the way before I tried to have any fun."
"So where are you going now, Commander?"
"Hmm, I think I'm going to head down to Flux, I could really use a drink. You want to come along? It'll be fun."
Kaidan knew he wanted to spend time with her, but something about the impersonality of the club turned him off. "Maybe later, Commander, there's still some stuff I need to do right now."
A disbelieving and disappointed look came over her face, but she didn't bother him any further. "Well alright then, but I'll save a seat for you."
Kaidan nodded but didn't say another word. Once she was out of sight, he hung his head, wallowing in self-loathing.
Joker was frustrated. Elevators and the rapid transit had taken him most of the way, but the walk up the stairs to Flux, which was a simple task for most people, was terribly difficult for him. His efforts gave new meaning to the term "taking your time;" he slowly ascended the mountain of stairs, crutches under his arms, going one step at a time, until he finally reached the top, with beads of sweat on his forehead. Typically Joker would not go to Flux for that very reason, and typically Chora's Den was more his kind of place anyway, but Joker had a hunch, and if he didn't follow it he was sure he would regret it. After a once over of the patrons and not noticing any faces, he made his way towards the bar.
"What can I get for you?" asked the young woman behind the bar.
Joker did not have any intentions of getting drunk quite this early. "Just a beer, something dark."
"Hello, Joker" said a voice to his right. He looked over and noticed that the Turian sitting two seats away from him was in fact Garrus.
"Oh, hey Vakarian, I didn't recognize you."
"Of course, all of us damn Turians looking alike."
"Hey, you said it, not me."
Joker thought it strange to see the hardened C-Sec officer at Flux, and maybe Garrus thought the same of him, but the two men weren't friends by any means, so no questions were asked and they drank in silence. That was until they were given a reason to talk.
"Hello boys" said Commander Shepard, as she took the seat between them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "I'll be honest; you two are the last people I would expect to catch in a place like this."
Garrus was the first to speak up. "Commander, that hurts, I thought you knew me better than that."
"You never fail to surprise me, Garrus. What's your excuse, Joker?"
The pleased look on the Turian's face only temporarily distracted him. "I'm just trying this place out; I was in the mood for a change of scenery."
After a few drinks and some small talk, Shepard stood up. "Who wants to dance?" she asked.
This time, Joker spoke first. "I would love to commander, but I'm afraid that if I tried I would have to leave this place on a stretcher." That was perhaps the most sincere thing he had ever said to her.
"Aww, yeah, sorry about that Joker, but how about you, Garrus?"
The Turian was hesitant, so she tried to convince him. "C'mon, I thought you were going to show me that Turians knew how to have a good time!"
"A-alright" said the Turian, giving in to her charm.
She grabbed Garrus' arm and pulled him towards the dance floor. The alcohol had gotten to her a little, Joker could tell, this behavior was not typical for her.
Anyone looking at him would be able to tell that he was visibly upset, but luckily for Joker no one was paying attention and no one was bothering him. He looked over once at the strange sight of the beautiful woman dancing with the awkward Turian, then paid his tab, picked up his crutches, and made his way towards the door.
Ashley was nervous. "I think you should just tell him how you feel." Tali's words kept running through Ashley Williams' mind as she looked down at Kaidan Alenko on the bench. Tali was right, she had decided, so she was going to try to tell him. She glided down the ramp towards him and sat down next to him without saying a word.
"Hey Ash"
"Hey Kaidan, something wrong?" She had intended of just coming out with it, so much for that plan.
"I've just got a lot on my mind right now."
"Like what?"
"I don't think it's appropriate to talk about."
This wasn't what she wanted to hear, considering she was going to tell him something that might also be considered very inappropriate. "Oh come on Alenko, you don't mind talking about your condition, how much worse could this be?"
Kaidan exhaled loudly, and was clearly conflicted. "Do you really want to know?"
"Maybe I could help." She doubted this, but it seemed like a good answer.
"Ok" he started and paused, "I... I have feelings for..."
"Say 'you'" she thought.
"Commander Shepard," he finished.
"Oh, and she has no idea?" If she truly believed that he was going to say her, she might've been more upset.
"Of course she doesn't, and I have no idea how to get closer to her."
She could tell he was genuinely depressed, and if she hadn't cared about him she might have tried to talk sense into him, but she wanted him to be happy, so she put her arm around him and decided to help. "Well I can guarantee you that confidence cannot hurt. Don't be too forward, that can be overwhelming, but go find her and ask her if she wants to get a drink or something like that, because sitting here isn't helping one bit."
Kaidan then stood up, and Ashley followed him.
"Alright, I'll do just that" said Kaidan, with a renewed confidence in his voice, "thanks, Ash." Then he gave her a peck on the cheek and walked past her on his way to the Wards.
She sat back down on the bench and said to herself, "no problem."
Garrus wasn't embarrassed. He wasn't a dancer by any means, and this was definitely not how he imagined the night going, but despite all that, he didn't mind at all. He had stopped noticing the looks that the others dancers on the floor gave him and now only had eyes for Jane. She was a far better dancer than he was, and she was literally dancing in circles around him. Occasionally they would touch, both intentionally and accidentally, and Garrus had gone from being jumpy when this happened to very natural, but he didn't dare touch back. To be honest, he was actually starting to tire, but he wasn't going to waste this moment in any way, so he wouldn't be done until she was.
Fortunately, she didn't persist much longer.
"Wanna take a break?" she yelled, so that Garrus could hear her over the pulsating music.
"Alright" he yelled back, and they moved towards an unoccupied table.
"Ok, Garrus, I am now convinced that Turians can be and have fun."
"Happy to prove it to you, Shepard; maybe the word will spread."
"Thanks for this, Garrus."
She never failed to confuse him. "Thanks for what, exactly?"
"Being a friend. My presence tends to intimidate people, so I don't have many people that I am close to."
"The pleasure is all mine, Commander."
"Call me Jane."
"Liara?" called out Kaidan to the blue figure in front of him.
"Oh, hello Kaidan, how are you?"
"I'm alright, where is it you're going?"
"To Flux, I'm hoping to run into someone there."
"What do you know? I happen to be going there too, for the same reason."
They walked side-by-side the rest of the way, but neither bothered to ask the other who they hoped to see. Kaidan assumed that Liara was interested in seeing Garrus, he had noticed her looking in his direction on more than one occasion, and Turian/Asari relationships weren't wholly uncommon. At one point he thought he saw the unmistakable form of Joker on his crutches moving away from them, but he did not bother to make a thorough investigation; the pilot's business was his own.
They finally arrived and upon entering the club they both paused to survey the crowd. Kaidan finally saw who he was looking for, but his joy was quickly killed. Commander Shepard was dancing with Garrus, and both of them seemed to be truly enjoying themselves. Kaidan quickly made up his mind to leave, his plans would have to wait until another time; he didn't want her to see him now. He hadn't even noticed that Liara had made the same decision that he had, and his suspicions seemed to be true.
The human and the Asari both knew what had just happened to the other, and they were doing their best to not seem heartbroken. It would be clear to Liara now, Kaidan figured, that he liked the Commander, but they seemed to have an unspoken agreement to not discuss it.
He decided to lighten the mood a little. "That was fun, where would you like to go next?"
She smiled, a very pretty smile, Kaidan noticed, and answered "Where would you like to go?"
"I know a place."
Joker was aimless. He wasn't going anywhere in particular, just away from where he last was. He found himself in the markets, with his arms aching from his travels. He saw a place to sit and took it, momentarily returning to his thoughts. He knew he was nuts to think he had a chance, but a Turian? To each his... or her own, he guessed.
"He likes Commander Shepard?" said a familiar nearby voice. How could someone know that?
He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Williams and the Quarian talking. He had to get to the bottom of this, so he picked up his crutches and went to them.
"Who likes Commander Shepard?" he asked.
Tali turned to face him. "Hello Joker; Lieutenant Alenko does" she said matter-of-factly.
Joker was relieved that they had not discovered his secret, but not pleased to learn that there was another person interested in the Commander, so he was not done with his inquisition. "And how do you know that?"
Williams answered this one. "He told me."
"She likes him" chimed in Tali, much to the dismay of the Gunnery Chief.
"Dammit Tali, that was supposed to be private!"
Joker was rather amused by this exchange, but he decided to ease Ashley's pain a little. "Well if it makes you feel any better, I just saw Shepard dancing with Garrus, so maybe you've still got a shot."
The two of them had the exact same reaction.
"Garrus?"
