Shepard looked at the half-finished report in front of her and sighed. It needed to be done though, and the Normandy would be far quieter with her crew gone enjoying their evening of shore-leave. A little R&R would be good for all of them, especially Liara. The asari woman had put on a brave face on the way from Noveria, but they all knew that Benezia's death had been hard for her. Shepard hoped that she'd be able to find a way to grieve a little once she could be away from the ship. It was hard to have any kind of privacy in such close quarters and the doctor clearly did not want to worry her shipmates.
The intercom crackled to life with Williams' voice. "Commander?"
Shepard hit the button to unlock the door, which opened to reveal Williams and Alenko, both dressed in civilians. The two seemed to be getting along well. Sometimes she wondered if they might not have a little thing going, in spite of the rules against fraternization. She wouldn't really mind, things were a bit more relaxed on the Normandy now that she was in part a Council vessel. Right now, they looked somewhat surprised to see her. "Um, Commander?" ventured the lieutenant. "You're not going on-shore?"
She shook her head. "Instead of places to go I've got reports to write." She shrugged and smiled ruefully. "You know how it is."
"Come on, Commander!" Ashley implored. "You deserve a day off too!"
"You could come with us," Kaidan suggested. "It could be fun."
"I really shouldn't…" she began.
"Please, Commander?" Ashley entreated.
Both her subordinates shot her simultaneous hopeful looks and Shepard caved with a laugh. "Okay, okay. You win, I'll come." She pushed away from her desk and stood. "Shall we go then?"
"We can wait while you get changed," Kaidan offered.
"No need, Alenko," Shepard replied. "I'm fine as it."
Ashley frowned. "You don't really want to go out in uniform, do you?"
Shepard shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I don't really have much else," she replied, a little self-consciously. "I went from the streets to the academy and straight to duty. Not much time for clothes shopping in between."
Ashley traded glances with Kaidan. "Change of plans, L-T. Go find something to do for a few hours. The commander and I will meet you later."
"What?" Shepard and Kaidan asked simultaneously.
"You and I are going shopping, Commander," Ashley said brightly. Shepard forced herself not to groan out loud.
-~0~-
Kaidan checked his omni-tool again. "1800, Flux" was all the message from Ash had said. He looked around, but saw no sign of the two women yet, so he leaned back in his seat to wait. He was about to order a drink from one of the passing asari waitresses when she walked through the door.
Ashley had managed to put their commanding officer in something other than a uniform. It was nothing fancy – black skirt and a high-necked red top, finished with a black leather jacket and knee high boots. Perfectly modest, and she looked absolutely stunning. And very nervous, he noted as she paused at the entrance to the club, tucking back stray hair behind her ear the way he noticed that she did when she was frustrated or apprehensive about something. It was amusing and endearing at the same time, knowing that the woman who faced down krogan and rogue Spectres without blinking was intimidated walking into an ordinary club, something the majority of the people here did without a second thought. It was nice to know she was only human after all.
He waved to get her attention, and her face lit up with recognition when she saw him. Shepard moved through the crowd the way that only she could – people seemed to know to just get out of her way, even when she wasn't visibly armed, though he had no doubts that she had managed to find some place to conceal at least one weapon on her person. And like always a good number of eyes followed her as she passed by, though this time those eyes were almost exclusively (though not entirely) male. Kaidan had to laugh a bit to himself, Shepard really had no idea of the effect she had on people.
She slipped into the seat across from his with obvious relief. "You wouldn't believe how many stores there are here, and I think Williams dragged me through every one. Clothing, makeup, hair, the whole nine yards. I…" She cut off, a look of consternation crossed her face. "Does it look that bad?" she asked, sounding worried. Kaidan realized he must have been staring.
"Are you serious?" he blurted, before realizing that that probably wasn't very helpful either. "Take a look around, Commander. There's not a man in the room who can take his eyes off of you."
She didn't look. "And what about you, lieutenant?" she asked with a smile and a mischievous sparkle in her dark eyes. That impish look usually meant trouble for somebody, and he met it with the usual strange mixture of apprehension and exhilaration.
"I always pay attention when I'm out with a lady," he answered as glibly he could.
The sally earned him another grin. "Very smooth, Alenko," she murmured and he smiled back.
"So where is Ash anyways?" he asked curiously, looking around. He hadn't seen the gunnery chief yet.
Shepard shrugged. "She said something about making sure all our bags got back to the Normandy and she took off." At that moment both their omni-tools signaled incoming messages. Kaidan glanced down at his, Shepard mirroring the action across the table. "Things came up, you're on your own – Ash" the message read.
"You got one from Williams too?" Shepard asked wryly. He nodded in response, then glanced down again at a second flash. This was starting to feel like a conspiracy, Kaidan thought darkly to himself. The second message from Ashley confirmed his guess. "Don't just sit there, L-T, ask her to dance or something! You can thank me later. -A"
"I'll get you for this, Ashley," he muttered. The commander shot him a questioning look. "Someone's got a bad sense of humor," he said. She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing further. What could it hurt to tell her? "Ashley thinks I should ask you to dance."
To his surprise, Shepard balked immediately. "Oh no, you don't want to see that. I'm a terrible dancer."
It piqued his interest. "I have a hard time believing there's anything you can't do," he told her, to which she flashed him a wry grin.
"Hang out with me long enough, Alenko, and you'll find I have all sorts of limitations," she told him seriously.
It was bait he simply couldn't refuse. "You can't be worse than me," he said. "I'm serious, Commander," he insisted when she continued to look dubious. "I've seen you move in the field. There's no way you're a bad dancer."
She grimaced and raised a hand to flag down a waitress. "If we're going to do this, I'm going to need a few drinks first…"
They made idle small talk while waiting for their drinks, chatting about how the various marines in their command were shaping up and how the Normandy was flying. It felt inappropriate talking about work when they were technically off-duty, but he didn't know what else to say and Shepard was clearly feeling out of her element. Kaidan wasn't used to the commander being at anything other than her confident best, and he found it felt especially odd to have her being so antsy just talking to him. He'd always thought they had a fairly comfortable working relationship, and maybe something just a little bit more.
It seemed forever before the waitress returned, setting their drinks down upon the table. Shepard shot him an appreciative smile when Kaidan offered to cover the tab, then downed her two shots in rapid succession. "All right," she muttered, rising from her seat. "Let's do this before I lose my nerve." She started for the dance floor leaving Kaidan to gulp down his drink in a hurry to catch up to her.
The music seemed to be one long never-ending train of rhythm sound, so there wasn't really an opportune, or inopportune, moment to jump in. Shepard found them some space on the dance floor, and by mutual assent they started with their backs to each other. Kaidan had never been all that fond of dancing. Maybe when he was a kid…but then had come Jump Zero and really developing his biotic powers. Being a teenager was awkward enough, not to mention being a geeky teenager. Being a biotic teenager in a time when biotic abilities were just being discovered had been even worse, and the rumors had always been circulating about brain camp and the reasons it had been shut down. It had been difficult to maintain anything resembling a social life. He hadn't really minded, truthfully, since until recently he hadn't met anyone worth pursuing socially.
Of course, if anyone would understand, it would be Shepard, being a biotic herself and having as far from a normal childhood as he could imagine even though they both grew up on earth. And with that, he decided he had to know whether she was as bad as she said. He maneuvered himself around to see and she was…awful. It was one of the funniest things he'd ever seen in his life, something between a shuffle and a wiggle and like she didn't quite know how to coordinate her arms with the rest of her. Not that he was much better. She turned around shortly after him and they stared at each other for a brief few moments before doubling over in laughter at each other. And just like that, all the strange tension between them simply evaporated.
"You want to get out of here?" he asked when he managed to catch his breath again. Shepard wiped the tears of laughter out of her eyes and nodded.
The endless pulsating beat of Flux faded behind them. They grabbed dinner at one of the numerous food vendors in the wards after first checking to make sure it was safe for human consumption. They had heard enough warning from Garrus and Dr. Chakwas for that. It amused him that she packed away almost as much food as he did, but that was a biotic thing too. Sometimes he felt a little self-conscious around people who didn't get the drain that using his abilities created on his system, but not with Shepard. He'd caught her snatching late night snacks from the mess as well too often for that.
They ate walking along the waterways, enjoying the cool simulated evening air of the Presidium, though they steered clear of the mass relay monument by mutual accord. Kaidan wondered if it had something to do with being a biotic too – it made his teeth tingle to be near the monument and Shepard said it buzzed in her head and gave her headaches.
They talked for ages about…he didn't really know what. Whatever came to mind, from their next move in the search for Saren to intergalactic politics and hijinks at the academy. Talking with Shepard was like being with an old friend and he had few of those. It was nice. It was more than just nice…
He didn't realize how late it was until he cracked a yawn right in the middle of what he had been saying. Then Shepard was laughing at him again, and he liked that too. Probably too much…he reminded himself yet again that she was his commanding officer and getting drummed out for fraternization wasn't a great career option for a biotic who had few other opportunities in life.
Then again, everyone looked at Shepard like she was invincible, superhuman. Maybe she needed someone who saw her for what she was – a woman. An incredible, talented woman who accomplished things others couldn't dream of, but still human under all of that. She hadn't yet objected to his tentative flirtations, at least, and even seemed to encourage them a little. But it was probably all just his imagination. It wouldn't be appropriate anyways.
"Past your bedtime, lieutenant?" she teased.
He yawned again. "Seems like it," he conceded. "Where are you staying tonight?"
"I was supposed to be working on my reports tonight," Shepard reminded him wryly. "I was just going to stay in my quarters."
"I'll walk back with you then," he offered.
She gave him a raised eyebrow and a skeptical smile. "Appreciate the offer, but I'm a big girl, Alenko. I can take care of myself, promise. You don't have to go out of your way for me."
Kaidan shrugged. "Honestly, I was planning on bunking on board the Normandy myself. I figured there'd be room with the crew gone. So we're heading the same way, Shepard. I mean, Commander," he corrected immediately, but she waved away the apology.
"We're both off-duty, right?" she said easily. "Anyhow, I'm not the type who minds a slip of the tongue every once and awhile." Though it seemed like it happened far more than "every once and awhile" when she was concerned, he thought ruefully.
-~0~-
The walk back was pleasant enough, and they filled the time with easy chit-chat until they reached the dock where the Normandy waited. The outer door slid open for them and they stepped into the decontamination room. It always seemed like a waste of time to Shepard since they were at the Citadel, not some alien planet, but some procedures you simply couldn't bypass. It was too loud to talk over the scanners, so they waited in silence. When the interior ship door finally opened, Kaidan stood aside and motioned for her to go in ahead of him.
"Ladies first," he said, and how he managed to keep a straight face, she would never know. Then again, Kaidan really was a nice guy like that. A nice guy, down to earth and sensible, and a biotic to boot. If he hadn't been a fellow marine, not to mention one of her subordinates, he would have been perfect. But there were, again, some procedures couldn't be broken. Or shouldn't be, anyways. Right, shouldn't be. Remember that, she told herself firmly. But it had been a long time since there had been a guy she trusted enough to even think about that way. It would figure he'd be out of bounds.
A great deal of noise from the comm room drew their attention and provided a welcome distraction on the way back to their quarters. Curiously Shepard travelled down the length of the Normandy, where the sounds of a full-scale battle filled what should have been quiet space, Kaidan covering her back like he always did. If the ship hadn't been so still, she might have been more alarmed. The comm room door opened at her touch.
"Um, hey Commander, lieutenant." Joker was sprawled out on the floor atop some blankets and a number of pillows he must have taken from the crews' quarters. Some vid was playing at top volume over the comm room's screens. The flight lieutenant hit a button, and the scene froze mid-explosion.
Shepard looked down askance at him. "Um, everything okay here, Joker?"
"Oh, sure Commander," he assured her. "Just thought I'd take advantage of the crew being gone and all to watch the latest vid on the big screen, you know? What?" he protested when they continued to stare at him. "My screen's tiny. Anyways, did you two have a good date night?"
"What?" Shepard and Kaidan blurted out simultaneously, taking a step away from each other.
"We weren't on a date!" Kaidan objected, even as Shepard contended "It wasn't a date!" They were just two people, two friends, spending a nice night out together, to relax. That was all.
Joker raised an eyebrow. "So what did you two do tonight then?" he asked.
"We met up at Flux," Shepard started.
"We had a few drinks," Kaidan continued, "and we might have danced a bit."
"Dinner by the Presidium," Shepard supplied, "and that was it!"
"Just the two of you?" the pilot asked, and they had to nod. "Sounds like a date to me," Joker said with a shrug. "But whatever. I just drive this thing, what do I know?"
"Right," Kaidan said, looking quite mortified. "I think I'm just going to go to bed now."
"Right behind you, Alenko," Shepard agreed, then realized how that must have sounded when Joker started grinning again. "To my quarters. Alone," she corrected, glaring at beaming pilot. Kaidan looked suspiciously like he might be blushing as he backed away and made for the crew quarters, just barely managing to make it look like he wasn't running.
Shepard shook her head and turned away so Joker wouldn't see her smile. "You have a good night, Joker," she told him, as she walked back out the door. "Turn the volume down a bit when you start the vid back up, okay?" She headed back to her quarters with a smile. Maybe it hadn't been a date, but it certainly had been a nice night out at the Citadel.