Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect
A/N – Thank you very much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, especially to TLCinbflo, Jules Hawk, Kirsah, Jason Thursday, KirikaClyne, ela11, Simone the Reaper Hunter, Shegutz, BanaphoneBob, jediserenity82, N7xer00, bembem17, LiteratureDragon and the guests. I really, really valued your comments on the last chapter because I was a bit nervous about introducing Kaidan and Shepard's relationship dynamic! So your words meant a lot!
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Kaidan slapped at his wrist in frustration as his omni-tool lit up and sounded a wake-up alarm. He'd barely slept a wink and he suspected he was in for a rough day. Grumbling, he dragged a hand across his face and knocked the blanket off his body as he sat up. His eyes were gritty and dry, his neck was tight with tension and his body hummed with excess biotic energy.
Biotic energy? Kaidan scoffed at himself; the aching pulse in his body had little to do with his biotics and everything to do with his sexual frustration.
Gina.
He groaned again as he remembered their dinner the night before and how easily she'd responded to him once she was in his arms. His fingers flexed in memory of the silky texture of her hair in his hands, the chocolatey taste of her lips and tongue against his, and how warm she'd been when he'd lain between her legs. The physical ache to be with her again had overrun his common sense and without even realising what he was doing he'd kissed her.
Touched her.
Marked her.
Kaidan clenched his teeth at the memory of the sounds of pleasure she'd made, and forced himself up and out of his makeshift bed on the couch. He was hard and aching, and his member strained against his track pants. Frustrated he gathered up his bathroom gear and BDU's, and tried to ignore the incessant throbbing from his nether regions.
You're a grown man for heaven's sake, Kaidan chastised himself silently, not some over-sexed teenager!
His body didn't listen though, and he prayed the showers were empty as he ducked out of his room and hurried down the hall.
They were.
"EDI?" Kaidan asked as he closed the door and set the room to 'occupied'. "Can you lock the door so I can have some privacy?"
The bathrooms were designed for multiple marines to use them at once, but given the skeleton crew of the Normandy he couldn't imagine anyone would begrudge him some privacy.
"Certainly, Major Alenko."
Kaidan frowned, if he didn't know any better he'd swear that EDI sounded smug and knowing.
"Thanks."
He set his toiletries, towel and uniform on the ledge provided and activated the showers. The water poured down in a warm spray and steam began to fill the small bathroom. Kaidan stripped off and stepped under the water, letting the heat beat into muscles and ease the tension that buzzed through his body.
How had things spiralled out of control between himself and Shepard so fast last night? The dinner was supposed to be light and flirty, sure, but he hadn't been intending on letting things get so far out of hand. But when she'd kissed him for that chocolate he hadn't been able to help himself.
Three years, a small voice in the back of his head reminded himself, it's been three years since you've been with Shepard.
Kaidan soaped up his hands and began to wash his body, cleaning away a night of frustration and longing. In the three years since Shepard had died he hadn't once been physically intimate with another woman. Oh, he'd toyed with going to an asari consort like Sha'ira to see what kind of comfort they could offer him, but every woman he'd become close to had inevitably felt wrong.
Because they weren't Gina.
He let his hand slip down between his legs, slick with soap, and began to pump his hand up and down his shaft in slow motions. How had he survived without her for the last three years? How had he ever fooled himself into believing that he could move on without her? He'd missed so much about her; the way she bit her lip when she was thinking hard, the way her freckles dusted across her cheeks like a fairy had casually scattered them mid-flight, or that adorable little breathy sound she made when she kissed him.
Kaidan groaned and closed his eyes as he began to pump faster, a tingling rush spreading across his skin as he ministered to himself. He could feel something akin to a biotic tingle racing through his body; from the soles of his feet right the tip of this fingers. As though his body were alive and burning. He tightened his grip and squeezed gently, imagining Gina's hands on his body and her mouth around him.
"Oh God," Kaidan muttered as his body tensed, a vision of Gina kneeling before him dancing through his mind.
The thought of kissing her under the shower, of sliding his hands over her curves as the water gushed around them, was too tempting, and Kaidan sank into the fantasy as he touched himself. She'd kiss her way down his chest, her lips and tongue soft against his body, then she'd kneel and take him into the warm velvety depths of her mouth. At first she'd be slow and gentle, licking and sucking his head, before she drew him deeper into her mouth, sucking hard and fast as she watched him through sexy green eyes.
His orgasm took him by surprise and the room blazed blue as his biotics crackled to life around him. Kaidan closed his eyes as he spilled his release, his body shaking as he braced one hand against the wall when his legs trembled. A sense of guilt for using Shepard as some sort of fantasy material swept over him as soon as he opened his eyes and began to clean himself off, soaping and rinsing his entire body.
He let the water wash over him when he was done, and drew in a deep breath as he let his head rest against the side of the shower cubicle. The guilt still lingered around the edges of his mind and he chased it away with annoyance. He loved Gina, and after last night he was certain she felt the same way about him - or damned close to it. But as much as he loved her and wanted that emotional closeness back, it had been three years since he'd been physically intimate with a woman and the sexual frustration was making itself felt.
With a sigh he shut off the water and grabbed his towel to dry himself. Minutes later he was dressed and with a final glance in the mirror he gathered his belongings and took them back to his room. He felt a little more awake after his shower and he certainly felt less frustrated. Though whether that was because of the shower of the self-care he'd administered he wasn't sure. Either way, his body was humming pleasantly with biotics instead of with frustration.
He'd take it.
His stomach rumbled loudly, protesting it's empty state, and Kaidan headed for the mess. A few soldiers were still eating breakfast and he nodded politely at some of them as he collected a tray and helped himself to the morning's rations – some kind of cereal with milk substitute. He wrinkled his nose with distaste as he spooned it into his tray and made sure to snag extra ration bars and energy gels for himself since he doubted breakfast would be very edible.
He sat himself down at a table and was working up his courage to take a bite when Jack appeared next to him.
"Hey, soldier boy," she drawled, carelessly dropping her ration tray next to his as she planted herself on the bench. "Where's the princess this morning?"
Mystified Kaidan stared at her in confusion; her rations had slopped over the edge of the tray and were dripping on the table. The milk substitute had formed a pale white puddle and brown chunks of cereal sat marooned in the centre like islands.
"Sorry?" He dragged his attention away from the mess and looked up into her face.
She looked smugly amused.
"Don't play coy." She crammed a large spoonful of cereal into her mouth, chewing noisily and swallowing. "I know you had dinner with Shepard last night. I thought you two lovebirds would still be at it this morning."
Kaidan raised his eyebrows, reading between the lines at what she was implying. "We had dinner," he confirmed, "but I have no idea where she is this morning."
The biotic let out a bark of laughter. "What happened? Did you strike out? I thought you two hooking up was a sure thing."
Her attitude grated along Kaidan's nerves like nails on a chalk board and he swallowed his automatic reply that it was none of her business. He was going to be working with her and that would be a lot easier if they got along. Training these kids would be a million times harder if they thought he and Jack were in competition with each other.
"Not going to answer, huh?" Jack scooped up another huge spoonful of the soggy cereal. "Whatever. But I know Shepard; she had a photo of you sitting on her desk for the entire time we were working with Cerberus. She's got it bad."
The knowledge that Shepard had kept a photo of him even after his verbal tirade on Horizon sent a warm flush through his body. They'd always been passionate as a couple and after the previous night it was clear that the fire between them burned as brightly as ever. But it wasn't just a physical relationship that he wanted; he wanted Shepard to be with him again in every sense of the word, and her keeping a photo gave him hope that she still cared.
Of course she cares! He admonished himself sharply, Gina wouldn't have let things go so far last night if she wasn't still ... .
Still what? In love with him? His heart constricted and Kaidan struggled to keep his emotions from flowing across his face. He wanted her to love him every bit as much as he loved her.
"I get that this is probably just some light entertainment to you," Kaidan said quietly as he nudged his cereal with his spoon. "But it's really not your concern what we do and I'd appreciate if you cut the teasing."
She blinked, momentarily thrown, and then laughed. "Did I hit a sore point?" Her smile was almost malicious, and Kaidan wondered if she was still angry at him for catching her in a Stasis. "It's a small ship, soldier boy. Lots of gossip. You should get used to it."
The happy feeling he'd experienced at the thought of Gina being in love with him rapidly faded under Jack's needling. He set his spoon down and looked at her, recognising the smug look of satisfaction on her face; she thought she had him riled up. He'd seen the same look on Vyrnnus' face at BAaT whenever he knew he was upsetting one of the students.
He smiled, determined to stay cool, and leaned forward. "Yes it is," he agreed, "and believe me when I say that if I hear that any of the gossip about Shepard and I is coming from you, I'll change my mind about having you and the students on board and we'll drop you off at the Citadel the first chance we get."
Her smile vanished and she scowled, her eyes uncertain. "You wouldn't dare! Shepard wouldn't let you!"
"Wouldn't she?" He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Do you really want to take that risk?"
For a moment Jack glared at him and Kaidan felt her biotics pulse around her as she struggled to keep her temper in check.
Then, inexplicably, she laughed.
"You need to take that pole out of your ass and relax." Jack's biotics grated sharply against his; an uncomfortable sensation, but not an aggressive one. "Lucky for you I'm not into gossip, but I might be developing a fondness for riling up Alliance officers." She winked at him as she resumed shovelling cereal into her mouth, the tension between them draining away.
Kaidan chuckled wryly, recognising a tactical retreat when he saw one. "If you want to rile me up, you'll have to try harder than that."
"You're not the one I'm trying to rile up." Her smile widened and she nodded her head towards the medbay. "There's my real target. But you're not bad practice."
Gina was standing with Liara just outside the medbay and was watching them with an odd expression on her face. When she noticed them watching her she leaned over to say something quiet to Liara and then vanished into the medbay. Kaidan wondered what Gina had said; she'd looked embarrassed.
Something about him?
"Good morning, Jack, Kaidan." Liara nodded at them both as she sat down and folded her hands neatly on the table in front of her, smiling broadly.
Someone was in a good mood, Kaidan thought as he finished chewing and swallowed before he nodded politely and wished her a good morning.
"Liara," Jack mumbled in between spoonfuls of cereal.
"I hear your dinner with Shepard went well," the asari said conversationally, her luminous blue eyes pinning him to the spot. "Not that she shared any details with me, but she seemed happy and that's ... ." Liara seemed to struggle with words for a moment before she shrugged and added, "That's good."
Before Kaidan could respond, Jack laughed and dropped her spoon into the milk substitute, splashing more onto the table. Liara drew back with a look of distaste that Kaidan sympathised with.
"See?" Jack nudged Kaidan with an elbow. "I told you it was a small ship!"
Liara blinked, clearly curious, and Kaidan sighed and explained, "I asked Jack not to spread gossip about the Commander and I."
"And I told him that people were going to gossip. Like you just did." The biotic woman picked up her spoon and chased an elusive chunk of cereal through her milk. "Though, he and Shepard aren't the only ones being gossiped about, are they?"
Kaidan blinked as Liara's cheeks warmed to a lavender and her eyes widened.
"What is that supposed to me?" she demanded sharply.
Jack shrugged and gave up on her cereal. "Nothing, it's a small ship and people talk. Especially about you two." She indicated Liara and Kaidan with a grin. "Love Triangles are all the rage at the moment."
"Love triangles?" Liara gasped and looked horrified. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Ignore her," Kaidan advised. "She's having fun at our expense."
Jack laughed. "Am I?"
She stood up and abandoned her tray on the table, evidently happy with the mischief she'd managed, and walked away with a sexy hip-swaying saunter that Kaidan was sure had every man in the mess except for him hypnotised. Liara frowned as the biotic walked away and Kaidan struggled not to laugh. Evidently Jack did like stirring people up – the more the merrier.
"I do not like that woman," Liara bit out eventually, turning her gaze back to Kaidan. "I care for Shepard, I've never hidden that, but I'm not some petty maiden who's going to try to come between the two of you. Unless you hurt her again, that is."
Kaidan grinned and waved her concerns away; he was pretty sure she was making a joke. "I wouldn't worry about it. You and Shepard are friends and I know you just want what's best for her. As for Jack." He cast his gaze after her and shrugged. "I'm still figuring her out."
"You know Shepard recruited her from a prison ship, don't you? You should see her file." She looked at disgust at the mess Jack had left on the table, as though it was yet another crime she'd committed. "I'm still struggling to understand how the Alliance allowed her to work with children."
That he could agree with, but Jack appeared to be good with the students and her rebellious 'in your face' attitude worked with them. He'd have given anything to have been taught by someone like her when he was in training; she knew her stuff and she was someone a young person could relate to.
"I'm sure they had her reasons," he told her affably, abandoning his cereal as he saw Shepard come out of the medbay. He drew in a quick breath and looked Liara squarely in the eyes. "There's something I want to say, and I feel that I should have said it earlier but I didn't know how." Kaidan hesitated for a moment and then spat it out. "Thank you. Thank you for getting her back."
Liara jolted, surprised, and straightened in her seat.
"What I said to you on Mars, how I reacted, that wasn't fair of me. You were right; you did what nobody else could have done and you got her back, and I'm grateful for that. More than you could ever know." Kaidan watched Gina approach them, her short wavy red hair catching the light. "I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye when it comes to her, but I am grateful to you, and I wanted you to know that."
Liara glanced down and heaved a sigh, seeming to struggle with something before she looked up and nodded. "Thank you, Kaidan. I never thought I'd hear that from you."
Shepard reached them and neither one of them said anything else as their Commander paused by their table. "Am I interrupting?" she asked, glancing from one to the other.
Liara shook her head. "No, Shepard."
Kaidan nodded an affirmative.
"Good. We're coming up on Utuku now," she told them. "I want both of you on the ground team with me. This is a great chance to take some of the kids with us too and see how they go in a real combat situation."
"Is that wise?" Kaidan asked, pocketing the protein bars and gels as he stood up. "You said the rachni might be involved?"
Shepard shrugged as Liara got to her feet. "I don't think any mission we go on during the war is going to be particularly safe. At least here we're being dropped into a situation with a team of Krogan warriors to back us up."
"When you put it like that, it's an ideal situation." Kaidan agreed with a grin.
He carried his tray to the kitchen and walked with Shepard to the elevator while Liara ducked into her room to retrieve some tech. Gina looked lovely as she walked next to him and Kaidan struggled to keep his eyes off her, or to stop his thoughts from wandering back to his fantasy earlier in the day. Did she think about him like that? Touch herself while thinking of him? The thought gave him goose bumps and he shivered as he held the door to the elevator for her.
She brushed her hair to the side as she entered and his gut squeezed as he saw the bruise on her neck from his love bite. The door swished closed behind them and there was a light jolt as the elevator began to descend. Without stopping to think about what he was doing, Kaidan reached out and pressed the button to halt the elevator between floors.
Shepard looked up at him, frowning. "Kaidan, what- ?"
"EDI? Can you give us some privacy for a few minutes?" he asked, interrupting her with a small smile.
"Of course, Major."
Shepard shook her head and chuckled. "We have a mission to get to, you know!"
"I know," he told her, stepping close and brushing her hair to the side so he could look at his mark on her. It stirred things low in his body to see it there, and he cleared his throat to try and hide the effect it had on him. "But I think they can spare us for just a few minutes."
She blushed and brushed her hair back over the mark. "A few minutes huh? That's ambitious."
Kaidan raised an eyebrow, refusing to rise to her bait any more than he had Jack's. "I just wanted a moment alone with you."
"Well, you have me all to yourself." Gina stepped close and slid her hands over her shoulders. "What is it you wanted, Major?"
The way she said his rank, in that throaty purr, sent a ripple down his spine and Kaidan linked his arms loosely around her waist. "Just a question. A clarification, really."
"Go on." She went up on her tiptoes and looked into his face.
"What are we to each other?" he asked. "If people ask me, what do I say?"
Gina went still under his hands and Kaidan waited, aware that this was a sensitive question.
"I'm not pushing for anything," he clarified. "But I need to know what this is?"
Shepard swallowed hard and nodded, her green eyes suddenly unsure. "I'm not sure," she confessed. "Last night meant a lot to me." Her blush deepened and Kaidan's heart contracted at the vulnerability that danced across her face. "I want this to mean something to us both."
"It does," Kaidan reassured her. "You and me, what we are, means the world to me. That's why I need to know if this, us, is real? Are we together? Are we dating? Is this official?" He rubbed hand across the back of his neck and swallowed a nervous laugh. "I feel like a teenage boy asking his girlfriend to go steady, but dammit Shepard; I need to know."
She laughed and her hands tightened on his shoulders as she went up on her toes and kissed him, her lips teasing his apart. She slid her tongue across his lower lip and then pulled back, a lovely smile on her face.
"Going steady, huh?" she repeated softly. "I think I can agree to that. We still need to take things slowly, but I want us to be something safe and real."
Kaidan bent his head and claimed her lips as words failed him, happiness buzzing through his veins as their biotics meshed and mingled with the kiss. It was like her power reached inside and touched parts of him that her hands couldn't reach; a gentle warmth that made his knees weak. When he broke the kiss and drew back her cheeks were flushed, but she looked thrilled and incredibly happy.
"EDI, we're good to get moving again," he told the ship as Shepard took his hand and squeezed it tightly, dropping it as the door slid open.
The shuttle bay was buzzing with activity; Jack and James were with the biotic students giving Rodriguez and Prangley a pep talk. Cortez was near the shuttle, fiddling with one of the stabilizers, and several other marines were busying themselves around the shuttle bay with various repairs and duties.
"You know," Kaidan murmured in her ear as she hesitated before stepping out. "I have admit that I love seeing my mark on your neck. It's incredibly sexy."
Gina made a small noise and turned to look at him, her face a mixture of amusement and annoyance. "How on Earth am I supposed to concentrate on the mission when you go around saying things like that to me?"
He chuckled and stepped off the elevator with her. "An iron will?" he suggested.
She snorted. "You're a lot of help."
"I live to please, ma'am."
A/N – Gosh I love these two - I hope you're enjoying their story too!
