Shepard lounged lazily across the bed, encircled in his arms and head resting on his chest, as Kaidan held a book over his stomach tilted at just the right angle for the two of them to read together in comfortable silence. The quiet serenity was only broken by the soft rustle of a turning page, his even breath slightly tousling the strands of hair on the top of her head. He ran his fingers through her hair continuously, combing the silken strands into thick ropes, then scattering them again with a light flick of his wrist as he dropped a gentle kiss to the hollow of her throat. They were reading Sherlock Holmes, a gift from Kasumi before her departing to work on the Crucible.
She propped herself up, hands flat on the warm pool of cotton t-shirt stretched over his chest. Pressing their forheads together she smiled warmly at him, the tips of their noses grazing.
"Mmmh. Stop it Shepard this is a good part and you're being distracting." he smiled in return, catching the corner of her mouth with his. She deepened the contact, drawing it out into a slow, lazy kiss.
"We've read this several times now. I know what happens… I think it's time for a short break…" she lost her train of thought as he trailed kisses down the soft swoop of her neckline.
"Quit it Kaidan." She laughed affectionately, "Who's being the distraction now?"
"You're cute when you're at a loss for words." he smirked, "The great Commander Shepard finally has a weakness."
She gave him a playful glare and rolled onto her back beside him, elbows splayed outward and head resting on top of her hands, "You know what I miss?"
"Hmm?"
"Stars."
He pushed himself onto his side, resting on his elbow and facing her with a puzzled expression and a small pucker between his eyebrows, "What? Wait a minute that's sort of… why? We just happen… oh I don't know… to see them all. the. time."
She exhaled, amused, "I meant before mass relay space travel and before we explored 'the final frontier'." She held up her arms and leaned over so that they were both looking through a small rectangle she'd formed with her hands, "You know, when space was only everything in this little box to me lying in the tall grass at night looking up."
He did the same with his hands and placed them beside hers, trying to envision a young Shepard looking at the stars, "Did you ever make a wish?"
She thought for a moment, "Well, being a colony kid it didn't seem like putting all my hopes and dreams into something that was already understood would make them possible. Just like, ever seeing Earth was something not probable. You know… before I even knew leaving Mindoir was a possibility."
She readjusted, curling into a ball and burying her face in his chest.
She'd never spoken about her past before, and it was both surprising and heartening to hear.
"What did you wish for?"
"You're going to laugh."
"No I won't."
"I wanted to meet a nice alien and talk about space and biotics." He cringed at the patheticness of the thought now, "I was six okay?"
He felt her supress a snicker, "Well, you're more than living the dream huh?"
"Heh yeah." they lapsed into a warm lull in the conversation, his face pressed into her hair and arm draped over her waist as they just remained still. Breathing one another in.
"Make a wish now."
"What?"
"Go on, look at all the stars you have to choose from."
She was quiet for a little bit, "I want to come home to an Earth with no war… With you."
He felt his ears get red.
"Gotcha Alenko. I know you're blushing."
"Well looks like we found out my weakness."
"Overly emotional proclamations?"
"No. You."
She laughed with strain tinging the sound, "You think that's possible?"
"Going home together after its all over?"
"Mm."
"Yeah, Shepard we'll be okay. I promise you this time. We'll be on Earth and we'll look up at those stars after all this and make a new wish."