In the dark of the lounge where Kaidan had apparently fallen asleep while reading his omni-tool's news updates for the previous week, a blinking light appeared along with the ding of a message notification. Coming back to consciousness, his eyes blinked repeatedly to the harsh light while he stumbled to open the message.
NEW MESSAGE
Can...I meaannnnd botl. wwwwwieesky tto me tonnidfht?Pldssksaaadin?
CDR A. Shepard
END TRANSMISSION
Still riddled with sleep, Kaidan shook his head hoping that it was just his brain that was misreading the message. After he forced himself out of the chair, he reread it and found that it was indeed Shepard's poor typing skills that lead to his misunderstanding. Though he had only been back on the Normandy for a few weeks, he knew this was her 'beyond drunk' message, and from the looks of it, she wanted whiskey to top it all off.
NEW MESSAGE
Shep,
I only have the one bottle and if you really want it, I'll see if Vakarian will take it to you.
Spectre Alenko
SSV Normandy
END TRANSMISSION
Not a few moments later, his omni-tool starts ringing. Reluctantly, he answers it to see a very inebriated Shepard on the other end. "Damn, you don't look like you're doing too well, Shep. How much have you had to drink?"
She shakes her head slightly, eyes half closed and bloodshot, "I don't know and...I don't really care. I needssomethin strong..stronger. Please come up and bring...the wwwhhh..whiskey."
"I can't, I'm not adding to your advanced state of drunkenness. I'm going to send Garrus to check on.."
"NO." Shepard clearly said to him before he could finish his sentence. "I don't want to see him nor...nor do I think he would come. Please..just bring it to me or I'll come get it myself."
Click.
It was a rare sight to have the Commander hang up on anyone so suddenly, other than the council that is. She always tried to make sure she made amends before ending a call even with an enemy. Whether the other person was willing to listen is usually another problem in and of itself. He would know. He got up and walked over to the bar, grabbing an empty bottle from the trash and cleaning it out before he filled it with water. At this stage, she wouldn't be able to tell what it was and at least it'll get water back into her system.
Kaidan always had a certain difficulty dealing with Shepard after he had found out about her and Garrus; whether it was on the battlefield or not, he couldn't leave her unattended. His heart wouldn't let her go even if hers had let him go. She was still important to him even if he knew it was only going to be on a friendship level. After all, they both suffered through Ashley's death together, which made them close regardless of the events that have since occurred.
He made his way to the elevator with his fake whiskey and pushed the button. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Garrus didn't catch him, he stepped on and quickly closed the door. "Why am I even worrying about this? I'm helping a friend, nothing more. I have no reason to feel guilty, I am not doing anything wrong" he assured himself before arriving at the top floor. He knocked on the door gently, as to not startle her and quickly saw the red lock turn green. He took a deep breath before stepping inside and seeing the mess that was Shepard's quarters.
"Heeeeey, you brought it!" a weak voice trailed from near the bed. "Um..yeah, where are you?" he said trying to make his way through the random stuff that looked like they were hurled in anger from across the room. "Under..here" she said again, not being able to move much. Kaidan saw two feet coming out from under the bed. "How could you see me from under there?" he asked while he got down onto the floor to see her.
"I hacked into my own cameras! I wanted to make sure it was you, duh."
He crawled under as far as he could to see her laying on her back and turning off the omni-tool's video feed. "So, let me have it?" He shook his head, "You can have it when you come out from under the bed and lay down in bed, you need some rest." "I can't get out...I've tried" she mumbled, looking kind of ashamed of herself.
Kaidan sighed, getting back up to his knees and grabbing a hold of her ankles. He pulled her out and picked her up gently, placing her on the bed. Once she was laying still, he handed her the bottle. Ayete took it from his hand and gulped half of it down. "You should take it easy, you're going to have one hell of a hangover, you know" he told her as he put a blanket over her. She shook her head, "It doesn't matter to me, I just want to pass out already. And this better do the trick!" Her eyes were starting to close more often as she kept drinking the water. "You know Kaidan, this whiskey tastes like shit" she said as she curled up into a little ball of laughter. "It's not too bad, maybe you just have different tastes. Like a lot of things.." The last part Kaidan intended to be more toward himself that to be said to her. She shook her head and smiled, "I remember you liking my tastes not so long ago.." He looked at her in surprise, "Yes but things have changed and you have Garrus to do all the tasting instead."
"Yeah but it's different. I could see the pleasure in your eyes, but with Garrus it's hard to tell. I miss that..."
"Don't say that Ayete, just..don't. You're not going to get anything out of being sweet to me. You're going to make him even angrier than it seems he is. What happened anyway?"
She crawled over toward him and reached out, grabbing his leg and forcing him to sit on the bed. She then laid her head on his thigh and smiled up at him, "I don't remember anymore but it.." she let out a big yawn, "it made me very upset. I just want to forget forever.."
He bit his lip and looked down at her as she started to finally fall asleep. His mind trailing off to dark places and the only thing keeping him sane was the thought of a very angry turian shoving his claw through his chest. After he was sure that she was asleep, he got up slowly, replacing his lap with a pillow and leaving a note on the table. He quietly made his way back to his bunk and fell asleep for real this time.