Shepard walked briskly through the Citadel, making a beeline for the Normandy. A million thoughts running through her head, feeling a million emotions at once. Anger, resentment, guilt. Why did Kaidan have to say anything? Why couldn't he have just left it alone? Did he think they were just going to go back to the way it was? Was she supposed to just forget everything he'd said, everything that had happened? There was no way. She wasn't going to forgive and forget, bury everything and put a band aid on it. The elevator doors opened on Bay D24, and she was so deep in thought she that she didn't see James Vega standing in the hallway and walked straight into him. She rebounded slightly, shocked into reality.
James grabbed her arm to steady her, "whoa, Lola. In a hurry?"
"Sorry, Lieutenant. I just…I have a lot on my mind."
"Yeah, no kidding." He smiled warmly at her, but it faded quickly as he registered the look on her face, "You okay?"
Shepard opened her mouth, intending to tell him she was fine, that she was just tired. But the words caught in her throat. She clenched her jaw as her eyes watered dangerously. 'Don't do it,' she told herself, 'there's no time for this.' Despite her best efforts, a molten tear slid down her cheek. James looked alarmed by her uncharacteristic display of emotion. Then he put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed.
"Hey," he said quietly, "what is it?"
Shepard leaned her head against James' chest, allowing herself just a moment of weakness. The smell of aftershave and cologne filled her nose as her tears soaked into his shirt. James remained silent and rubbed her back lightly as she cried into his chest. After a minute she straightened up, took a deep, steadying breath and broke away from him. "Sorry, Lieutenant," she said as she wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. "I just, uh, had a difficult conversation with someone."
"Major Alenko?"
She looked at him, surprised. How did he know? "What makes you say that?"
"Come on, now. There are no secrets on the Normandy. The Shepard, Garrus, Kaidan love triangle is the hottest topic on the ship right now."
Shepard laughed, "wow. Well, I guess there's no point in lying about it, then."
James smirked, "none at all." He turned and began walking towards the ship, and Shepard followed. "So, talk to me, Lola."
"Thanks, Lieutenant, but no thanks. Speculation is one thing, but I won't go spreading details about my love life to crew members."
They reached the door to the Normandy, and stood inside while the decontamination took place. "You know, everyone talks to you about everything. I'm sure you know more about the crew than you care to. You have your own shit going on, and I'm sure that it doesn't help to have everyone leaning on you constantly, whining about their problems."
"What's your point, Lieutenant?" Shepard asked with a sigh.
"Just that you carry the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders, and you should stop trying to take everything on yourself. If you ever need someone to talk to, to lay all that shit on, even if it's just for one night, you know where to find me."