Notes: For a prompt, "A kiss out of habit." Honestly, I just enjoyed writing it.
Shepard turned the corner and checked her watch. Eight minutes and thirty seconds on the last mile. Not good, but her earlier fractions had a more acceptable pace and she'd added distance this morning. Really, a better performance than she'd had in a long time. If she was sucking wind a little, she could live with it. For today at least.
There was a little part of her that wanted to push for another mile. This was adequate. She was never satisfied with adequate. If she pushed herself harder, she'd make progress faster. She could handle a little more of a challenge. A year ago, this run would have been a warm up. She wanted to get back into the field. The remaining Cerberus cells wouldn't dismantle themselves. It wasn't going to happen if she coddled herself.
She shook her head and slowed to cool down. She knew better than to get stuck in that spiral. Even if she was frustrated and felt cooped up, she was making remarkably good progress. She didn't want to set herself back by doing too much.
When she was within eyesight of the apartment, she came back down to a brisk walk. Her shirt was sweaty and her heart raced, but she was mostly satisfied with her run. She took a moment to lean on a railing and take in the view.
Sometimes when she needed a change of pace from the seemingly endless Cerberus datafiles and things she had to do to assist in reconstruction, she liked to come out here and watch the work crews. Remind herself that things were getting better. Maybe when she met up with Miranda later, they'd do this for a while. Her friend probably needed to see it too.
She watched the machines until she caught her breath, then she kept on towards home. With her high fading, her leg was beginning to pinch. Perhaps she'd rushed putting it on this morning.
When she reached the apartment, she was greeted at the door with the smell of warm coffee. She poured herself a cup, took an experimental sip, and was suddenly grateful she hadn't pushed for that last mile. Perfect timing. Warm, strong, a little bitter. No better way to start her morning than with a good run and a perfect cup of coffee.
She set aside her coffee for a moment and set about making breakfast. Her box of instant oatmeal was already on the counter. Kaidan tried to make her oatmeal from scratch once. While she appreciated the gesture, it wasn't the same.
While she rifled through the variety pack, she heard the sound of soft footsteps behind her and the smell of her own peppermint shampoo wafted towards her. Kaidan's steps had a catch now. More so in the morning.
"Hey." Kaidan rested his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist. He still felt feather light as he settled against her back, but he didn't feel so brittle or lean on her like he had when he first stepped off the Normandy. "Have a good run?"
"Urgh," she said, wrinkling her nose and picking a packet of strawberry oatmeal. "You're still wet." She glanced at the cabinet again and decided that she could afford to spend a little of the week's salt ration on a treat.
"You're sweaty," he countered. He held her a little closer and nuzzled her neck.
"Added another half mile today," she said, flipping the water heater on and taking one of his hands. "You should come with me sometime." She liked her routines, and this was a good one. Wake up. Leave a note. Run. Come home to fresh coffee. She'd like this kind of disruption though.
"Not sure I can keep up," he said.
"Give yourself a little more credit Alenko," she said, leaning back on him slightly. "Besides, I'm a lot slower now and we've got one good set of legs between us."
"I'll see how I feel," he said. "I think I'll join you though." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Shepard smiled. She liked this routine very much.