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Shepard watched Vega walk down the hall toward the elevators, as she waited at the door for Kaidan. She heard the two men exchange greetings, and then Kaidan came into sight, his arms filled with packages. "What's all this, then?" she asked.
"Well, I'm starving, and I thought … I've never cooked for you."
"You never have, that's true," she said cautiously, trying to remember when she'd last had a truly home-cooked meal. It might have been her mother, that last day on Mindoir. Probably she should remember what they ate. Probably it should bother her more that she didn't.
"Besides," Kaidan added in the husky tone he knew she couldn't resist, pausing by her long enough to lean in for a kiss, "we'd just end up back here anyway, right?"
"Right." Shepard smiled, dark thoughts forgotten.
"Trust me." He put his packages down and began unpacking them. "Let me impress you."
"Do you want me to sit here and watch you while you cook?" A thought struck her, and she asked with horror, "You don't want me to help you, do you?"
"Shepard, do you know the first thing about a kitchen?"
"Nope."
"Then, no. I want you to help me drink beer while I cook." He pointed at a stool next to the kitchen island with the stove thing on it. "Now sit your ass down."
"I don't usually take orders, you know."
"Variety is the spice of life." The husky tone was back in his voice again, making Shepard think of some very interesting possibilities.
Obediently, Shepard sat, accepting the beer he handed her. Her favorite brand, harder and harder to come by these days. She was touched by the gesture. "So, what are we having? Canadian delicacy of some sort?"
He lifted his head from the cupboard he was rummaging in, looking at her blankly, then grinned. "Sure. Exactly. We have beef, we have bacon, we have beer. The foods of my people."
It did sound good. And as he started tossing things in pans and pouring other things into pots, it smelled good. Shepard was impressed by how competent he seemed, every move sure and certain. It was sexy as hell, but it was also really nice to see how he had changed and matured since they had first met.
"Now that you have this beautiful kitchen, have you thought about learning to cook?"
She hadn't, but she probably should have. "A little. I had a roommate back on Arcturus who wanted to teach me. He said eating cafeteria crap 24/7 was bad for morale. At the time I thought it was a waste of time, but … he was probably right. I should learn. I'm sure I'd be good at it if I tried."
Kaidan looked up from his work, smirking a little. "The Shepard motto."
"Kind of has to be."
Shepard got up off the stool and came around to hover next to him. "Where did you learn all this?" She gestured at the complicated set of things bubbling and hissing on the stove top.
"Jump Zero, believe it or not. Young biotics who can't cook for themelves risk starving. And then when I was stationed here after you—I mean, before—I got tired of eating out and I thought, well, I should try it and see. Turns out I enjoy it, and I'm good at it."
"Really? Because it looks to me like you're burning the garlic."
Kaidan shook the pan, turning down the heat, before turning to her with a sheepish smile. "Guess I'm distracted."
"By?" Shepard purred.
"I wonder."
"Maybe I should sit back down."
His arm slid around her waist. "Don't you dare. I like you right here. I guess I'm going to have to learn to cook one-handed."
He suited the action to the words, letting go of her only when it was time to put the food on the plates. Juniper took the first bite and was amazed at how good it tasted, the steak perfectly cooked and seasoned. "Kaidan, this is wonderful."
"Thank you. That means a lot. I … I hope to be able to cook for you a lot more."
"Me, too. Just … no more talk of the future tonight, okay? Let's just—let's just enjoy the moment."
"I can do that."
As they ate, they talked a little, Shepard asking questions about spices and cooking methods, not so much because she wanted to know, but because she wanted to watch the animation in Kaidan's face as he answered.
Piling the dishes in the sink to deal with later, or tomorrow, they took brandies into the living room, sinking down on the couch together. The warmth of Kaidan's chest next to her cheek, the thump of his heartbeat in her ear … Shepard felt herself relaxing into him.
He nuzzled her hair. "This was great."
Lifting her head to look at him, she asked, "Is it over?"
Kaidan's eyes darkened. "Do you have something in mind?"
"Well … this is pretty much a perfect moment, but it occurs to me we might need to find a way to burn off these calories. Don't you think so?"
"You make a good point."
Shepard got up and moved toward the stairs, Kaidan close behind her. Just as she reached the bottom step, she felt his hands on her hips, turning her to face him, and he kissed her, hungrily, his hands on her rear holding her against him. She had already been warm from the dinner and the company and the relaxing night, and now that warmth increased, melting her slowly from the inside out. "Kaidan," she moaned as his mouth moved down the side of her neck, clutching at his arms to hold herself up.
He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, holding on as his made his way up the staircase, kissing her collarbone and the hollow of her throat. She was afraid they wouldn't make it to the bedroom, but eventually they were there and he was dropping her on the bed, reaching for her boots and stripping them off. Shepard wriggled out of her pants and underwear and sat up to remove her jacket and shirt and bra while Kaidan was hastily taking off his own clothes.
He joined her on the bed, and she moaned at the touch of his bare skin against hers, running her leg up and down the outside of his. Kaidan kissed her again, his hands moving lower and lower, finding all the places she liked. When Shepard reached to reciprocate, he murmured in the negative, gently but firmly placing her hands above her head. "Don't move."
"Mm." She lifted her hips in response to his fingers sliding between her legs, stroking and caressing her there. "Kaidan!"
"Juniper." His voice was in her ear, his eyes on her face as he brought her just to the edge of her peak. She lifted her hips again in silent plea, but he held back, letting her cool off a bit, before starting again, maddeningly slow strokes. At some point, she gave in, closing her eyes and just letting her body flow with the sensations he was creating in her, losing track of how many times he brought her to that fine edge with hands and mouth before finally, finally, moving over her. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he filled her, determined that there would be no more teasing. She wanted—she needed—she was so close—and then he gave a particularly deep thrust and she was there, floating far above the Citadel in the starry firmament.
When they could breathe again, they moved beneath the covers, her head on his shoulder, his hand stroking her hair. Turning to press a kiss against her temple, Kaidan whispered, "I love you, Shepard."
"I love you, too." She sighed in utter contentment, and was asleep in moments.