Chapter 25

"Mom that's not- that's not the point."

The frustrated voice was muffled by the bedroom door. Kaidan stood outside it, feet covered in sand and cold water from his drenched hair dripping down his neck. He bit his lip, hesitating before sliding it open.

The first thing he saw was Rose, curled up into the corner of the bed holding her datapad with her knees. Her eyes were closed, a finger pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn't notice him come in. Before Kaidan could open his mouth, another woman spoke.

"Look, I know I'm far from the perfect mother Rose. But I've been trying-"
Rose cut her off, her eyes flashing open and her hand leaving her face. "Trying?! I was pretty much dead Mom. The last call I made was to all Alliance personal. I pretty much died on an online comm and you didn't even react to it. Didn't even ask anybody what happened."

Kaidan stood frozen in the doorway, unsure of what to do. She had never spoken of her issues with her mother with him. He knew they were there and were very real - but that was it. He wasn't sure if interrupting would be good, but he also knew eavesdropping wasn't a good idea either.

He didn't have to decide. Rose's eyes flashed over to him, her face dropping. "Oh Kaidan," she breathed, "I didn't see you there."

Kaidan's finger scratched the inside of his palm, waiting for her to tell him what to do. The water dripping down his neck from his hair sent a shiver up his spine.

"Um, have you met my mom?" She turned the datapad over in her hands, revealing the screen to Kaidan. It was filled by the face of a worried woman. She had pale skin and light eyes, but the same dark hair framed around her face.

He hesitated before waving at the screen. "Yeah, yeah I have. Captain Shepard." The name felt weird on his mouth. She gave him a sad smile, before her face disappeared. Rose had put the datapad back on her lap, her eyes on Kaidan then flicking down.

"Look mom, I'll just talk to you later." Rose started, "You're obviously busy."

Kaidan heard Captain Shepard start to say something, before letting out an exasperated breath. "Okay." And with that the screen had been clicked off, and the datapad placed on the nightstand.

Turning on his heels, Kaidan slid through the connecting bathroom door. Grabbing one of the dark towels off of the rack, he sat down on the edge of the tub and started wiping the sand off of his feet. He chewed his lip as he did it, silently listening for Rose in the other room.

"Hey."

He nearly fell off the tub when she spoke. He hadn't heard her come in. Regaining his balance, he pivoted himself on the edge to face her.

"Sorry." She attempted a smile, but it didn't sit right on her face.

Kaidan folded the towel carefully, and placed it on the floor. "So what was that about?"

Rose swallowed hard. "Just getting in touch." She was playing with her fingers - picking at her nail beds. "When did, uh, you meet my mom?"

"The service after you died." Kaidan croaked out, before biting down on his lip. She quickly moved across the floor, sitting opposite to him on the tub edge.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She grabbed onto the top of his closed fist.

"No, it wasn't like that." His caramel eyes flashed up to meet hers. "It was hard, definitely. But she was so sincere. She just came straight up to me and all she said was 'You're him aren't you?'. That's all. Then she hugged me, and told me she was glad that you had someone up there with you. Then she left." He had opened his fist, and slid his fingers into Rose's.

They both pressed their foreheads together, before kissing. Rose savored it, her mouth melting in his. She could taste the salt of sweat and the taste of the beer he had had on the beach. Just as Kaidan's tongue slide across her lips, asking for permission inside her mouth.

Even though they were vacation, these slow romantic moments hadn't happened a lot. For most of the trip, Rose and Kaidan had felt like teenagers - sneaking away for a quick, quiet moment while everyone else was distracted.

Rose pulled away from him for a moment, looking at his face. His eyes were still closed, his eyelashes flutter. His mouth was slightly open, his lips moist as he waited for her to put her lips to his again. She ran her fingers over top of his lips before tangling them into his hair and kissing him.