This had been a huge mistake. Kaidan could see that now. He was sitting outside a dressing room down in the Lower Wards of the Citadel, waiting impatiently for Nora to show herself. He'd been there for well over an hour now, and impatience was beginning to gnaw at him.
After they'd received their invitation to Dr. T'Soni's gala, Nora had been strangely excited by the prospect of dressing up and taking part in some great espionage intrigue. Kaidan hadn't expected her to be quite so… gung-ho about the whole thing. Luckily, he already had a suit that was still reasonably within fashion, but Nora had insisted that he accompany her to find a dress for the evening. He had to admit, the idea of spending an afternoon with her while she was mostly nude only a few feet away was rather inviting.
So he sat, on the cushioned chair outside the dressing room, feeling more than a little awkward. Men shared sympathetic stares with him as they trailed after girlfriends and wives, and all the female employees of the boutique had utterly fawned over him as he sat down. They talked with him, flirted with him, laughed a little too hard at his dry humor, and one even offered to run and grab him a coffee. He suspected Nora was somehow punishing him for their attention by making him wait forever for her to reappear.
"I think this is the one," called Nora, and Kaidan perked up a little.
She pushed open the door and stepped out a little from the doorway. The dress was a rich navy blue, made of a shiny kind of leather or plastic, and practically skin tight. She looked like she had been poured into it. It also ended somewhere just above her mid-thigh, showing generous amounts of her long legs. She turned – and for God's sake, it was backless as well. Kaidan swallowed hard.
"Zip me up, would you?"
He virtually leapt from the chair. He found the zipper, just below her lower back, and zipped it up as fast as he dared. It fit her snugly, like a glove. His fingers lingered a little on the skin just above the zipper. The tattoo he had only glimpsed before was more visible now, teasing him just above the material of the dress. It was intricate, all curves of blacks and reds, spiraling around a central design that was covered by material. He'd have given his left arm to see it in its entirety. He took a moment to collect his wits enough to speak.
"It's uh… a little short, don't you think?" he croaked, and cleared his throat. There was that blush again, heating his cheeks and making him entirely convinced he was going mad.
Nora turned and smiled up at him mischievously. "It's making you blush. That's good enough for me! Do you like it?" She stepped back and turned again on the spot.
Kaidan nodded dazedly, and was rewarded with that bright smile he'd come to know very well.
"Alright, let me go change and we can leave. I know you're desperate to get out of here." She was pushing him out the door now, and for a brief moment he hesitated – the impulse to push her into the changing room and cause a scandal amongst the boutique employees was unbelievably strong.
But then he was outside the room somehow, and he looked around in confusion. Wait, how had that happened? He looked back at the door and caught a glimpse of Nora's smiling, impish face as she closed it with a click.
Shameless minx, thought Kaidan. He sat back down on the chair and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to calm the hot flush that was spreading across his neck and ears. It had been a long time since anyone had him flustered like this. At the back of his mind, he remembered that she had killed Ashley. She had murdered his best friend in cold blood, but there had been more to the story. Extenuating circumstances. But was that enough to justify it?
Nora had reappeared now, dressed in her normal jeans and t-shirt, the dress draped over one arm. Kaidan didn't seem to notice until she approached and nudged him. He jerked a little and looked up sharply to see her standing there, that damn smirk on her damn face.
"A credit for your thoughts?" she asked as he stood and followed her to the queue forming at the register.
Kaidan hesitated, considering in a brief moment of insanity of telling her. "Nah, my thoughts aren't even worth a credit."
She nudged him gently with her elbow and looked at him, a more serious expression in her eyes. "Come on. You looked like you were going through some pretty significant shit."
Kaidan shrugged one shoulder, suddenly embarrassed by the whole conversation. "It was nothing. Don't worry about it."
She pursed her lips, obviously disliking this answer, but she allowed the subject to drop. When it was finally their turn at the register, Nora pulled out a credit chit. Wait, since when did she have credits? Kaidan stared at her with narrowed eyes.
"Where did you get that chit?" he asked as they left the store moments later, Nora carrying the bag with her dress and the black patent leather pumps she'd purchased to match.
Nora gave him another impish grin. "Vega wasn't the only one with wandering hands," she said, and wiggled her fingers at him for emphasis. Kaidan's eyebrows pinched together, but there was a small smile on his lips regardless.
"You stole that from him?"
She tried to look a little bit remorseful, but the playful glint in her eyes gave her away. "Well, he was being a prick! So if I drain his bank account, it's the least he deserves. Besides, half of this money is mine, anyway."
"What, were you two divorced or something?" Why the hell did you say that, you stupid shit?
Nora snorted. "No. We worked together." Kaidan waited for more, but she didn't continue.
"Doing?" he prompted and she became visibly uncomfortable.
"We were… mercenaries for a while. Worked for this one krogan. Tough son of a bitch. All scarred on one side of his face." She pretended to scratch over her eye and cheekbone with three fingers. She shrugged, and trailed off, hoping he wouldn't press the subject.
"That's it?"
"No, not exactly. We… worked for a man named Darner Vosque for a few years, selling red sand." She shoved her hands into her pockets and her fingers closed around the small packets of red sand that Vega had given her. Ugh, I'm such a piece of shit. She took a deep breath and finally looked at Kaidan. There was no judgment in his eyes when he regarded her and that made her stomach do a strange, but agreeable, flip.
"Let's get some food," she muttered and pushed past him. He noted that this was the first time he'd ever seen her blush.
Hours later they returned home, both pleasantly full of Thai food. Tomorrow night was the gala. They wasted time watching the last half of a biotiball game on Kaidan's couch, enjoying another four beers between them. When she passed out in his lap, Kaidan carried her to the guest bed and covered her with blankets. He returned to his own bed, collapsed onto his mattress and fell instantly into a deep sleep, filled with dreams of biotiball and beer, and of her wriggling out of that little leather dress.
Kaidan awoke late in the afternoon and was surprised to find his bed empty. Nora had made a habit of slipping into his room in the middle of the night. He didn't know why. Nightmares? He sat up and got dressed before venturing out in search of her. He found her seated at the piano, still dressed in her jeans and t-shirt from yesterday. She looked like she'd been awake for hours.
She had her hand lightly resting on the keys, stroking the ivory slowly. He saw her tilt her head to one side and mutter something that sounded like a lullaby.
"Everything alright?" he said softly from the door, when his curiosity couldn't keep quiet any longer.
She turned and looked at him with a shy smile and scooted over on the bench. She patted the empty space invitingly and he joined her.
"Do you play?" she asked and pressed a single key with her index finger. The tone resonated clear and strong through his house. The piano was in good repair.
"I used to. My mother taught me." His hands came over the keys and he played a chord, another, a third, all in harmony. He smiled at her modestly as the notes echoed across the house and dissipated. "What were you doing? Looked like you were trying to remember something."
She put her fingers over the keys again. "I was trying to remember a song my brother taught me. It's about 150 years old, but it's a nice one." She pressed a few keys hesitantly, and Kaidan winced as horrible off-note chords assaulted his ears.
She groaned in frustration and her hand fell back to her lap. A pause. She glanced at him, and started to sing, clear and slow and soft.
"Carry on my wayward son.
There'll be peace when you are done.
Lay your weary head to rest.
Don't you cry no more."
She trailed off, and looked at him with that same embarrassed modesty he had afforded her after playing. She cleared her throat a little.
"Well, my singing is a little rusty. Just about as bad as my dancing," she joked with a shy chuckle, but Kaidan nudged her with his elbow.
"Would you finish it? Please?"
She looked at him timidly, and the earnestness of his face disarmed her and left her a little disoriented. She sighed overdramatically and looked away, trying to recall the lyrics. She began singing again, more confident now, and Kaidan didn't think there had ever been a sweeter sound.
"Once I rose above the noise and confusion.
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion.
I was soaring ever higher…
But I flew too high.
Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man.
Though my mind could think, I still was a mad man.
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming…
I can hear them say…
Carry on my wayward son.
There'll be peace when you are done.
Lay your weary head to rest.
Don't you cry no more…"
When the song ended and the last notes of her soft voice had finally died away, Kaidan could only stare at her as if he'd never seen her before. And for a moment, he felt as if he truly never had. She was a different creature now, all shy and reserved and –
"Beautiful." He said the last word out loud, he realized too late, and she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. That damn smirk had returned to her lips again and he never wanted to kiss it off her as badly as he did now. But instead, he scooted off the end of the bench and started backing away, down the hallway.
"Uh, I better go and do… something else."
And like a coward, he disappeared into his bedroom and shut the door.
She didn't follow him, and he didn't know if he was disappointed or not. He took another cold shower and dressed. This barely ate up half an hour. They still had about 4 hours to kill until the gala. He knew it'd only take him about 2 hours to get ready, and that was if he dawdled. Maybe she would need more time? He didn't know anything about female grooming practices, but from what sitcoms told him, it was lengthy.
He opened the door and walked down the hallway to find her. He heard the sound of the shower running in the guest bathroom. He rapped his knuckles against the wood gently before entering. He didn't want a repeat of the first time she'd come to his house. Well, he did, but that was neither here nor there at the moment.
"Hey. Are you getting ready for the gala already?" he asked, peeking in his head with eyes closed tightly.
"It takes a long time to achieve this level of perfection," she said with a coy laugh that echoed across the bathroom tiles and he smiled, turning his head blindly in the direction of her voice.
"I just wanted to see if you were okay…" It was frustrating not being able to see her.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Kaidan didn't know how to answer that. He opted for a simple shrug. And then he heard the sound of the water turning off and then her fingers were on his cheekbones, wet and hot and perfect against his stubbled jaw. He simultaneously loved and hated that she was always finding new ways to touch him.
"I should… go." And he quickly pulled his head out of the bathroom and shut the door with a click. He swallowed hard and glanced down at the suddenly very tight crotch of his jeans. He really didn't have time for another cold shower right now… Not that it would help anyway. With a quiet growl of frustration he retreated back to his bedroom to take care of the problem.
When he had finally finished, he stepped out to find her standing in the hallway, looking at herself critically in the mirror hanging from the guest bedroom door. She had wrapped a towel around herself, at least. A bead of water trickled down the back of her neck. He tamped down the urge to swoop over and remove it with his tongue. Down, boy.
"Um, you hungry?"
"Sure. What are you in the mood for?"
You. "I think there's still some Thai leftovers in the fridge?"
She smiled and nodded. "You go get it warmed up."
He rolled his eyes playfully at her. "You're such a slave driver." But he headed into the kitchen to prepare some leftovers.
After they'd eaten (she did this while still wearing only the towel and he swore it was deliberate), she slipped into the bedroom to get dressed. He hesitated for a moment outside her door, fighting the desire to follow her. Not now, man. He unenthusiastically turned away from the closed door and entered his bedroom to dress.
Another hour later and he emerged, dressed in the slim-fitting black tux. It had been years since he'd worn it last, but it still fit, tapered to accentuate all the right curves of his body. And as he stepped out of his bedroom, she was exiting hers and the breath was knocked out of him again. He'd somehow forgotten just how tight and slinky that dress was, just how perfectly it fit every curve. And those shoes made her legs look fantastic.
She had done her makeup and her hair was styled a bit more than average, and that dress was so short. She looked up at him with a smile.
"I'm going to assume from your blush and your stare that you approve?"
Kaidan could only nod with a little half grin stupidly glued to his face.
Nora checked the time on her omni-tool. "Ooh, I think we're running a bit late. We should go." There was a mad dash to collect jackets and then they were off.
They arrived at the ballroom indicated by the invitation a little later than was considered fashionable, but Dr. T'Soni still had not shown up yet. They mingled with the other guests, but neither of them really had anything to say to anyone else. Kaidan was bombarded by paparazzi upon arriving, who threw questions about Ashley's murder in his face. He was saved by Bailey, who didn't seem at all pleased to be there. But he was wearing a tux and not his C-Sec uniform, so he had to be invited. Nora spent her time actively avoiding him.
After they'd had a few drinks and the crowd was milling about and the chatter had become a dull roar, the emcee came onto the stage and introduced the band. A group of turians, a quarian, and a vorcha playing the trumpet, of all things, came onto the stage and began playing music. The crowd started to pair off. This gave Kaidan an idea that he just couldn't shake.
"Do you want to dance?"
Nora choked on her sip of wine and stared at him incredulously.
"You... really don't want to see me dance."
Kaidan arched a brow at her, and then chuckled so hard he almost snorted when he realized what she was saying. "You mean you can't dance? You? The most graceful woman I've ever-" He cut himself off because she was staring at him with that little smirk on her lips and he was acutely aware of what exactly he was saying. Damn wine had made his lips a little loose. He cleared his throat and looked away to hide his blush. "Forget it."
But she had snuck her hand into his, and was now pulling him towards the dance floor. He could only follow, a strange mixture of wishing to impress her and sheer nervousness clawing at his insides.
"So you can cook, play piano, and dance?" commented Nora teasingly, as he pressed a hand against the small of her back and drew her chest flush against his. Her arm coiled around his shoulders and they were very close now. She tried to hide her nervousness, but there was a definite twitchiness to her lips when she smiled up at him, and he could feel her heart hammering in her chest.
"Yeah, it's all pretty much mandatory teaching for all Canadians, along with etiquette lessons and learning ways to properly apologize," he replied and chuckled against her ear, deep and husky. He could barely contain his prideful grin as he felt her shiver against him. They'd both had too much to drink, and the pleasant buzzing at the back of his skull was making him giddy. He suddenly wanted to dip his head and press a kiss against her throat. The look in her eyes said that she would let him, too.
But too late, because then the music had begun, and Kaidan started moving, guiding her through the steps that came to him as easily as breathing. To her credit, she only faltered a few times, and Kaidan had a sudden suspicion that she wasn't being entirely truthful about her dancing skills. Her guilty, playful smile did nothing to change his mind. He spun her and she seemed to know which way to turn, he turned and she followed, and she only trod on his foot once.
As the song drew to a close, his hand tightened around her waist, while the other hooked the back of her knee and brought it up alongside his hips and he leaned forward to dip her. His fingers lingered on her silken calf. Her hand combed through the hair just above his ear, and drew him in, until their lips were millimeters away. And God, did he want it. He could almost taste the sweet wine still on her tongue…
And then the sound of applause broke the spell. The other partygoers had apparently been watching them dance the whole time, and once the song had ended, they had gathered to applaud.
Kaidan drew back with a rueful smile and straightened. She slipped away from his grasp and the moment was lost.
Damn it. He stood there, awkwardly smiling at the crowd and giving little waves as the paparazzi snapped holos of him. They all seemed interested in only him, and Nora was quickly pushed to the side as they crowded around. It took him a moment to find her in the throngs of people, but when he did, he saw her backing away with a sad smile, and retreating away from the crowd.
When he finally managed to excuse himself and push through the crowd, he had lost her. He looked around, feeling pathetic.
When he found her again, she was engrossed in a conversation with a male turian and a female quarian. When she saw him approaching, she closed the distance and dragged him over by the elbow to meet the couple.
"Kaidan Alenko, I'd like to introduce you to Primarch Garrus Vakarian and his wife, Tali'Zorah vas Neema! O-or is it 'Vas Citadel' now?"
The quarian smiled – at least, Kaidan assumed she smiled. It was impossible to tell because of the helmet. She certainly laughed.
"It's alright. Either works."
"Primarch, Miss vas Neema, this is Spectre Kaidan Alenko."
The Primarch held out his hand to shake Kaidan's, and Tali'Zorah did the same.
"Tali was just telling me a little about Dr. T'Soni. They're apparently friends."
Tali nodded with another laugh. "Very old friends. She's very excited about this new discovery."
While Nora and Tali gossiped, Kaidan took this opportunity to look at the turian. He was a pale slate gray in color, with blue markings – or were they face paint? Kaidan could never tell – over the bridge of his nose and a majority of one side of his face. The other side was scarred along his mouth and mandible. Kaidan wasn't sure, but it looked like it was a burn from an explosion.
"She's what?"
"There are rumors," Tali was saying covertly to Nora, "That our friend Dr. T'Soni is involved with the Shadow Broker!"
Now the conversation had Kaidan's full attention. He and Nora exchanged furtive glances. "Is there any validity to it?"
Tali shrugged one shoulder. Kaidan imagined her expression to be mysterious. "She always seemed a bit secretive to me." She picked up a drink with a bendy straw in it and the Primarch leaned forward to help her get the straw into the slot of her mask. Kaidan tried his hardest not to laugh. He had to look away for a minute, pretending to be very interested in finding the restrooms, to compose himself.
The exchanged a few more pleasantries before excusing themselves to a quiet corner to talk.
"If Dr. T'Soni is involved with Shadow Broker, she could really help us out."
Nora nodded thoughtfully, glancing over her shoulder at the guests. She gasped and pulled at Kaidan's elbow, gesturing toward the center of a large crowd.
"There she is!"
Kaidan followed where she was pointing and could barely make out a young asari standing amidst the guests, wearing a deep purple dress that flowed around her ankles. She was followed closely by a circular drone that appeared to be wearing a tiny bowtie beneath its oculus. Dr. T'Soni seemed to be the only asari in attendance, and her light blue skin stood out starkly against the backdrop of the champagne-colored walls and dresses.
"I don't even know if we can get close enough to her to talk."
"Well, we have to try, don't we?" Her hand was in his again, and she was pulling him towards the swarm that surrounded the Doctor.
"How? Why would she talk to us?" he said as they approached the outer ring of guests. A guest pushed him into Nora and they were absorbed by crowd of people.
"You're a Spectre, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah, but I'm no one important."
"She might recognize you, too. You said you were here for her previous galas. Just lay on the charm!"
Kaidan came up behind her as the crowd shifted its collective attention. Dr. T'Soni had moved up onto the stage to make a speech. The crowd fell silent as she spoke into her drone like a microphone. Kaidan leaned forward to whisper into Nora's ear.
"I'm not that damn charming."
"We both know that's a lie," she whispered playfully and shushed him before he could respond.
"Thank you, Glyph," Dr. T'Soni was saying to the drone, her voice magnified to fill the room.
"Well, I am sure we're all excited about this new discovery! I would like to thank my excavation team for assisting me on Eden Prime with the recovery of the first working Prothean beacon!"
The crowd erupted into applause as Glyph the drone projected a large holo of the recovered beacon. Dr. T'Soni beamed at them and when they fell silent, she spoke again.
"I know I am eager to unlock its secrets! And the faster I get this party over with, the faster I can get back to researching!" A laugh rippled through the crowd. Dr. T'Soni said a few more words and then the crowd dispersed. Kaidan and Nora made their way through the people to the stage, where Dr. T'Soni was speaking with her drone excitedly.
Kaidan hesitated at the foot of the stairs leading up to the stage and glanced back at Nora. She nudged him forward.
What the hell am I going to say to this woman? Kaidan cleared his throat and this seemed to get Dr. T'Soni's attention. She looked away from her drone and recognition lit up her eyes as she saw Kaidan standing there.
"Kaidan, right?" she said as she descended the staircase and extended a hand towards Kaidan. He took it in his and pressed a polite kiss to her knuckles. He was pleased to see she flushed a rich blue, but he knew that Nora would punish him for it later.
"Excellent memory, Dr. T'Soni," he commented with a flirtatious smile. Her flush deepened to violet.
"Oh, you can call me Liara."
"Liara." Another flirtatious grin. He was better at this than he thought.
"Is there something you needed, Kaidan?"
"Yes, my associate and I have heard rumors that you are," he cast a furtive glance in either direction, "Involved, with the Shadow Broker, and we wondered if you would do business with us."
If Liara was surprised by the mention of the Shadow Broker, she hid it well. She smiled an easy smile and glanced at Nora mistrustfully.
"I see. Well, you should know the Shadow Broker's information comes at a price."
Kaidan nodded. "We can handle it. We need any information you might have on Harbinger, or his lieutenant, Sovereign."
This seemed to give Liara pause. She stared at Kaidan, a glass of champagne halfway to her lips.
"Well, you cut right to the chase, don't you?" She cast Nora another glance that was entirely unreadable. She opened her omni-tool with a sigh and began looking through some information. They waited.
After a moment, she spoke. "It seems this Sovereign had a bit of a record. Gambling debts, a few restraining orders, and then it's all wiped clean in a matter of days." She glanced at her drone, who bobbed about, the little bowtie sparkling. "I can give you everything I have prior to the wipe." Liara typed a few keystrokes. Kaidan's 'tool bleeped on his wrist and he opened it.
"Here's your price."
Kaidan stared at the interface with furrowing eyebrows and glanced at Nora. She couldn't catch a glimpse of the price before he closed the screen with a few keystrokes. "Done."
Liara smiled and Nora felt like she was missing something. She forwarded the information to Kaidan's 'tool with the flick of her wrist, and finally closed her omni-tool.
"Now payment."
Kaidan sighed heavily. Before Nora could give voice to her questions, he had stepped forward and was kissing Liara. Full-blown dipping and everything. Nora could only stare, open-mouthed, as the kiss dragged on for several seconds, before Kaidan stood upright and placed Liara back on her feet. Both looked embarrassed and flushed and distinctly disheveled. Liara cleared her throat and adjusted her gown.
"A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Alenko."
"Likewise."
And Liara left, her little drone bobbing merrily after her. Kaidan didn't speak, but there was a familiar blush crawling up the back of his neck. Nora's mouth still hung open.
"Wow."
"We'll talk about it later."
"Wow."
"We'll talk about it later."
"You looked like you enjoyed that."
"You got your info, okay?"
"Oh, so that was done for my benefit?" She was teasing, he knew, but there was a hard, hurt edge to her voice and he finally looked at her.
Kaidan turned and shot her an embarrassed glower. He snatched up a glass of champagne from the table nearby and downed in one gulp. He lifted another.
"Trying to wash the taste out of your mouth?"
"Can we go home now?"
She gave him a reproachful look, but she was drunk and he was wasted and it was late. "Let's go."
They were both still ridiculously drunk when they stumbled through the door. Kaidan wasted no time in removing some of the more uncomfortable articles of clothing. He toed off his shoes at the door while his fingers loosened the bow tie knot at his throat. He watched her slink past him, his eyes following her as she settled on the couch with a sigh, tossing her high heels to the floor. Her damn dress had been teasing him all night. It was irresponsibly short, and the back was cut low enough to turn a priest to sin. He swallowed as she stretched, catlike and languid, across the couch. She practically melted onto the leather cushions, curling up and staring at nothing in particular. Kaidan removed the tux jacket, vest and the crisp dress shirt, leaving him in only the slacks and a tank-top.
He sank onto the couch beside her. He turned on the vidscreen, mindlessly channel surfing. She hummed softly to herself. And then she sat up and leaned against him, nestling her head against his shoulder. Maybe it was the drink lowering his inhibitions, or their familiarity after weeks spent together, but his arm came around her automatically. His fingers grazed over the exposed skin of her lower back slowly. The noise that escaped her momentarily disoriented him. He looked down at her, abruptly aware that her face was very close to his.
The wine had made her cheeks rosy, her lips smiling more freely, her eyes were lidded and glassy. He wanted to reclaim that kiss that had been stolen out from under them. As if reading his thoughts, her small pink tongue darted out to sweep across her lips, and that was it. He dipped his head a fraction and captured her lips in a heated kiss, his arm pulling her close fiercely. She leaned into it with a moan, her fingers raking through his dark hair, and then they were shifting, moving to lie down on the couch, Kaidan atop her.
They broke apart to breathe. He pulled his tank top off, but she was rolling over onto her hands and knees, moving away. His arm came around her waist to stop her, pulling her hips flush against his. She arched against his chest, clearly torn. "Hey hey hey, where are you going?" he said huskily into her ear, leaning his head down to kiss her bare shoulder. She sighed, but wriggled a little in his grasp. He kissed her shoulder again and she stilled, tilting her head to one side to allow him better access.
"You're drunk, Kaidan."
"So are you."
"Yes, but I won't regret waking up next to you tomorrow morning." He lifted his head to look at her, but she turned away. She pulled herself free from his grasp, and disappeared down the hallway without a backward glance. He sat back on his heels, staring after her in complete and utter confusion.