Chapter Eleven
They didn't talk about what happened in that room. Kaidan was grateful for this, but was also nervous about it. Did Shepard think he was pathetic? He thought he was. He shouldn't have been so worried about a small room. But they didn't talk about it, or any of their actions in there. Shepard growled at Sam and scolded him and then they left. He took Kaidan home and that was that, end of story.
It was Saturday now. Time for Shepard's secret plans. Kaidan had no idea what to expect so he dressed casually in a plain T-shirt and blue jeans, and a light blue jacket. Shepard arrived at the agreed upon time and Kaidan took a breath before he walked out of the house and toward the car. He noticed Sam sitting in the backseat and wasn't sure what to think of it; he hadn't spoken to him since that little room.
He climbed into the passenger seat, surprised Sam sat in the back and allowed him to have this seat.
"Hey," Shepard greeted with a grin as he pulled away from the curb.
"Hi," Kaidan said in return.
"So, I'm sorry about locking you guys in the closet," Sam sighed after Shepard tossed him a look in the rearview mirror. "It was a joke. I didn't know you were claustrophobic."
"I'm not claustrophobic," he said.
Shepard tossed him a quick glance. "Then what would you call it?"
"I don't…"
I don't know.
"I just don't like small, hot rooms. I'm fine in elevators."
Shepard shrugged. "Whatever you say, Kaidey."
Kaidan scowled. "Don't call me that. So what are these secret plans?"
"All in good time," Shepard said. "First we're going to eat. Anything in mind?"
Kaidan shrugged. "I don't care."
"Me neither," Sam said.
"Right," Shepard said, "cheeseburgers it is."
"There's more to life than cheeseburgers, Shepard," Sam said.
"If there is, I don't want to find out."
Kaidan hid a smile and looked out the window, listening to the two brothers bicker about the merit of cheeseburgers and why cheeseburgers weren't a big thing.
He realized then that maybe Shepard's favorite food was cheeseburgers. Or hotdogs. He wasn't sure which.
Maybe tonight would be okay, he decided. The knots in his stomach eased and he could breathe correctly, all his tension and nervousness over the situation ebbing away.
"No peeking," Shepard said, hands firm on Kaidan's shoulders as he led him through the parking lot.
Kaidan kept his eyes closed. "I haven't peeked the first three times you said it," he said. "But if I trip…"
"You won't trip," Shepard said certainly.
They pushed through a door, Sam trailing behind them. The scent of pizza and various foods wafted up his nostrils and he fought the urge to open his eyes, because they just ate; why were they somewhere there was food?
"Open your eyes, Kaidey."
"Don't call me that," Kaidan sighed as he opened his eyes to find himself in a large area. He couldn't bring himself to call it a 'room'. In front of him stood a laser tag area, the entrance boasting 'LASER THIS!' in large, bright letters. Dark smoke filtered through the cracks in the door just inside the entrance. He'd never played laser tag before but he assumed this was natural as no one was panicking.
Shepard moved past him toward the guy standing at the entrance, paying for their entrance fee. Kaidan swallowed because he brought money, but didn't get the chance to use it because Shepard insisted on paying for dinner and now he'd gone and paid for this before Kaidan could get a word in edgewise. Shepard hurried back toward them, then, carrying three vests and three guns.
"Strap up," he said, handing each of them a vest and a gun. "Aim for any of the lit up areas; you'll see what I mean in the room. I get the feeling you've never played this before."
Kaidan nodded, wondering how he could possibly know that.
"It's written all over your face," Shepard said as though he said that aloud. "Don't worry, it'll be fun."
Kaidan sighed and followed Shepard as he turned and walked through the entrance. The door buzzed open and they entered the thick, dark smoke, quickly suiting up, as Shepard said.
He walked next to Shepard as they entered the room beyond that, where the smoke was coming from. It lay over them like a thick blanket and he was momentarily blinded. As he was getting used to the thick fog he realized Shepard wasn't with them, and Sam was edging away with his gun. Kaidan stood there like an idiot before he moved to follow Sam, but lost him in the fog. He saw shadows moving around him, other players having fun, and he clutched his gun tighter, wrapping his finger over the trigger.
Shepard suddenly appeared next to him a few minutes later, knocking his shoulder into his, a foggy grin plastered on his face. "How are you doing?" he asked cheerfully.
"Um," Kaidan said.
Shepard chuckled and grabbed his arm, tugging him into one of the corners in the room. There were a lot, he realized. There were little things, almost like cardboard, that were up all over the room to allow people places to hide and move about unseen, even through the fog, and currently they were hiding behind one of those places.
"We're taking out Sam," Shepard declared. "Little bastard's always sneaking up on me." There was this tone to his voice that left Kaidan wondering if Shepard actually let Sam win and catch up to him, and it had nothing to do with Sam's sneakiness. "You with me, K?"
Kaidan shrugged and nodded because he didn't know what else to do.
Shepard's answering smile was contagious. "C'mon," Shepard said, snagging Kaidan's arm again, tugging him through the fog.
Kaidan didn't protest. Shepard hefted up his gun, getting ready, and then suddenly fired into the darkness. There was a loud ringing as someone's alarm went off on their vests, the laser from the gun hitting its desired location. Some random kid groaned aloud. Shepard chuckled and grabbed his arm again, hurrying them through the fog once more.
"There he is," Shepard suddenly whispered, pulling him close. Kaidan blinked, able to feel his breath against his face, their heads nearly sharing the same space. "Get ready. Follow my lead, Kaidey."
Before he could tell him 'don't call me that, dammit' Shepard stepped forward and he took a small breath, sighing as he followed suit. Sam appeared faintly through the fog and Shepard lifted his gun, aiming his laser at one of the bright places on the back of Sam's vest as the younger brother looked around, hunting down someone else. Shepard's enthusiasm was contagious; he found himself smiling as he watched Shepard march toward Sam like he was in Mission Impossible, sliding up to cover with this face set in humorous determination.
Shepard waved at him and Kaidan raised his gun as well. The two fired as one, and Kaidan had to admit, the rush of adrenaline which rushed through him, and the satisfaction of the alarms on Sam's vest going off, were rather satisfactory. Shepard grabbed his arm and hurried to the two of them out of sight, behind one of the board walls.
The two shared a small laugh as Sam's head darted each way, searching for them, before he sighed and hurried into the foggy darkness around them, away from prying eyes and trigger-happy people. Shepard threw an arm easily around Kaidan's neck and laughed breathily. By this point the movement was familiar and not entirely unwanted; it spoke of friendship and made him relax, though he'd deny it if anyone asked.
"What now?" he asked quietly.
"Now we hunt down little boys and girls."
He sounded so serious when he said that for a moment, Kaidan paused, and then released quiet laugh, shaking his head.
"That sounds creepy."
"Yes it does," Shepard agreed. "Nevertheless, you're joining me. C'mon." He moved out of the cardboard cover and spun, suddenly shooting off into the distance with, Kaidan had to admit, pinpoint accuracy. Another alarm went off and Shepard laughed, pumping a fist into the air. "Yes! I am the king."
Kaidan smirked and shook his head, hurrying after Shepard as he darted away again, in the thrill of chasing someone down.
It was… oddly fun. Not the actually shooting, he realized, but being dragged around by Shepard to hunt down unsuspecting people. And that sounded so absurd he couldn't help but laugh, which left Shepard tossing him one of those rare smiles. Not the real ones because he did that often enough, but this sincere, happy one Kaidan hadn't realized he'd missed, or even knew existed.
Like all good things, the night eventually came to an end. Shepard was smiling all the while, even as they took off the vests and turned in the gear. After that they trudged out of the building and toward Shepard's car, where they climbed in and put on their seatbelts.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Shepard glanced at him. "Have fun?"
Kaidan nodded. He really did have fun. It was, actually, one of the best times of his life, but it was coming to an end and he wasn't quite sure what to think about that. As they pulled onto the highway, heading back to town, he looked over at Shepard.
"Why did you tell me to clear tomorrow, too?"
Not that I had to clear anything. I never have plans.
"We're gonna go to the movies tomorrow, and to eat," Shepard said. "Sam might ditch us if that's okay. Right, Sammy?"
Sam scowled. "Right, Au-"
Shepard cleared his throat loudly. "Shh!" he snapped. "The first name isn't required, dammit."
Sam chuckled.
Kaidan frowned. "What is your first name, anyway? Even the teachers call you Shepard."
Shepard shrugged. "Yeah, well, maybe I'll tell you someday. If you're lucky."
Kaidan almost felt disappointed when Shepard pulled up outside his house to drop him off. He'd dropped Sam off at a friend's before driving here. The house was quiet and dark since it was after midnight, the porch light the only thing lighting the way.
"We're here," Shepard said after a minute of the two of them sitting there in silence.
"Yeah," Kaidan sighed, "I know."
"You gonna get out?"
"Yeah."
A pause.
"I can totally walk you to the door if you want."
Kaidan released a breathy laugh and shook his head. "Um, no. That won't be necessary."
"Alright. We'll just sit here in silence. The crickets have a nice beat going."
He shook his head again and took in a breath, finally reaching for the handle to open the door. He pushed it open and tossed his feet out of the car, wondering why he was so reluctant to leave and go inside. Everyone would be asleep; he wouldn't have to answer to anyone.
Except Kevin was in his room, and the couch wasn't very comfortable.
"We can go to my house," Shepard offered quietly, "if you want."
"No, that's…"
"Close your door," Shepard instructed, revving the engine. "And put your seatbelt back on."
Kaidan frowned. "I can't just… I should tell them where I'm going."
"It's fine," Shepard said. "You can call them in the morning. I'm not kidnapping you, Kaidan; if you want to stay, that's fine. Or you can come with me."
He wanted to stay here; he felt more comfortable at home, in his room. Except he didn't have a room right now, not really. And the couch was very uncomfortable, so he sighed and closed his door, putting his seatbelt back on.
They pulled away from the curb without another word.
Shepard's house wasn't anything fancy. Kaidan wasn't sure what he'd been expecting. It was smaller than his own house, and was only one-story. Shepard pulled into concrete driveway and turned the car off, pushing his door open. It was surprisingly easy to get out of the car this time, though he wasn't sure why. If anything he should be more uneasy here than at his house, but somehow that wasn't the case. The two walked silently up the small pathway toward the front door, which Shepard keyed open and they pushed their way inside.
The floorboards creaked quietly beneath them as Shepard led the way through the darkness. They walked to the end of a long, dark hallway where Shepard opened a door and gestured for him to enter. A moment later the door closed and light flooded the room.
The room wasn't anything fancy. Posters of song lyrics, people from movies, and bands lined the light gray walls. Off in the far corner sat a full sized bed much like Kaidan's own, the bed neatly made with a warm-looking red comforter and two pillows wrapped in equally red pillow cases. Shepard put his keys down on a small desk near the door, clothes and a jacket clinging to the back of his desk chair.
"You can take the bed," Shepard told him with a yawn.
Kaidan frowned. "Um. No, I'll take the floor. This is your room."
Shepard shrugged. "Guest takes the bed."
"Owner takes the bed," Kaidan argued.
Shepard tossed him a look. "I'm not sleeping in the bed."
"Neither am I."
"Well we can't both sleep on the floor and ignore the bed. That's just silly."
"So take the bed," Kaidan said, slipping out of his shoes.
Shepard released a breathy laugh. "Alright. We'll both take the bed. Satisfied?"
Kaidan froze, then, spine stiffening somewhat. "Um," he said.
"Don't worry – I'll be a good boy and stay on my side. As long as you don't kick me in the shin. I won't even hog the covers."
Kaidan took in a breath and released it slowly. "I'll sleep on the floor."
"You're sleeping in the bed one way or another," Shepard said, folding his arms across his chest. "This is not up for debate."
Kaidan swallowed, unable to think of a way out of this. He didn't want to steal Shepard's bed but he also didn't particularly want to sleep on the floor. It would be more uncomfortable than the couch. Sharing the bed with Shepard didn't seem like a good idea, either. Though he wasn't sure why. Friends shared the bed sometime. Rahna always shared the bed with her friends when they stayed the night.
If she did it, he could too. It was easier than arguing.
"Okay," he sighed. "I hog the covers."
Shepard laughed. "I might kick you off the bed if you hoard them."
"Sounds fair," Kaidan said.
"Alright, good. Now get into bed, dammit."