Ok so I'm working on getting something BIG and VERY AU into the story right now. Don't say I didn't warn you. I have a whole pile of chapters written during ME3 that I'm super proud of and can't wait to share with you all. Now I've just got to figure out how to fill in the gaps. So apologies if this is the last chapter for a while!
In the interim, please enjoy this serving of Shenko fluffiness :)
8. Holiday
The house is quiet.
Kaidan blinks awake, his mind groggily shaking off the fog of sleep. He is lying face down on the bed, sheets tangled around his shoulders, the heavy blankets tucked around his waist. The climate control unit is whirring softly in the corner, the false fire flickering merrily. He frowns at the empty space next to him and finds himself thinking that one of these days he's going to wake up before she does.
He rolls slowly onto his back, rubbing two hands over his eyes, before turning his head to one side to check the time. He can't help but smile at the thermo mug sitting on the bedside table, steam pouring out of the top.
"Arianna, you are my absolute favourite." He mutters, sitting up and cradling the cup of coffee between both hands, inhaling the heady aroma of the real coffee Ari has somehow managed to track down.
"I drink that sludge on the ship to stay alert," She had said, her nose crinkling in disgust as she expertly maneuvered her way around the small espresso machine they had discovered in the kitchen, "this stuff I drink because it's like liquid gold."
She wasn't wrong, he thinks, taking a sip of the coffee and smiling contentedly. He lowers the cup and blinks; there's music drifting in through the doorway that she's left open just a crack. Still holding the cup, he shuffles out of the bed, pulling on a large, black sweater, and moves towards the door, his pajama bottoms rustling around his legs.
The cabin they've hired for the month of shore leave they have left is quite frankly stunningly beautiful. They've been there for a few days and Kaidan still catches himself holding his breath at the view from the small living area. Tucked into one of the more remote mountain ranges of the wintery planet, Paradiso, the balcony looks out over a frozen lake, surrounded by green pine trees covered in snow.
He remembers Arianna telling him about it on the Normandy before they were dropped unceremoniously on the citadel and told to "take some mandatory leave" or else. Regardless of the fact that the crew, Captain Anderson and, Kaidan suspects, most of the Alliance Military know about their less-than-regulation-relationship, they still take unspoken care in their movements off the ship. They had taken separate shuttles to the near-deserted exo-planet, so far away from any form of civilization, it's barely even on the map. Kaidan had arrived about half a day before her, taking in the sights of the small tourist destination's major city. It's barely more than a village, and he had found himself back in the shuttle station lounge with a book not even an hour later.
He had barely recognized her when she stepped through the gate into the airport, he remembers slightly sheepishly. But then, he had never seen her in civvies before. While his sense of "fashion" was staid and plain, not entirely different to his shipboard attire, she looks like a completely different person, which, he muses, she really is when not in what he calls "military mode". Arianna had practically skipped through the doors to the waiting lounge, her characteristic enthusiasm and excitement seeming like it was bubbling under the surface of her jeans and red, fitted jumper. There was a mustard-coloured scarf clinging loosely to her neck and a bottle green, knitted cap resting in her black hair. She carried a small duffel bag over one shoulder and what was unmistakably a guitar case over the other. The heels of her brown boots clicked against the tiles of the floor as she walked towards him, a brilliant smile splitting her pale, freckled face in two.
"Well you look different." He'd said after scooping her up in his arms and kissing her in greeting.
"I'm incognito." She had replied, tapping the side of her nose, her bright green eyes dancing merrily.
She looks ten years younger, he notices, smiling. A great and terrible weight had been forcibly lifted from her slender shoulders and she had been turned about on her heel, back to life before… well Mindoir, he imagined. She had told him about it the night before, told him the reason for her sudden career change. He swallowed, his mouth going dry at the thought of losing everything, everyone he had ever cared for, all in one night. He probably would have been driven mad.
But she hadn't been. She had abandoned her musical ambitions, trading her beloved guitar for a pistol and an amp jack, driven by a mindless need to protect the innocent, to make sure there was never another Mindoir. But here, in the quiet of the mountains, she has shed her single-minded militant persona and is herself.
Kaidan finds himself wishing they could stay here forever.
He pads quietly to the door to the balcony, which, to all intents and purposes, appears to be completely open to the elements. A shimmer out of the corner of his eye says otherwise, the climate-field is keeping the warm air of the cabin from escaping to the alpine atmosphere. Arianna Shepard is reclining idly on one of the long daybeds, her back against the cabin, facing out towards the stunning view. One leg is dangling over the edge of the cushions, the other is propping up her guitar. Her fingers are lazily strumming, picking out a melody and counter harmony, each chord seems like it hangs in the still air before shimmering into nothingness.
Kaidan watches her, hidden from her view in the doorway, coffee mug cradled in his hands. Her face is far away, her green eyes unfocused and her head tilted to one side, listening critically to each combination of notes. The guitar is old, he notices suddenly, really old. Its wood is chipped in places and there are what appear to be scorch marks around the neck underneath her fingers. There are letters engraved into the wood where the neck joins the body of the instrument in a curiously beautiful, cursive and looping script. "NG"
"Good morning."
Kaidan blinks, eyes snapping up from the guitar to her face. He smiles slowly. "Morning. Thankyou for this." He says waving the cup carefully.
"No problem."
He moves over to the couch, sitting down next to her. She rearranges herself so her bare legs are draped over his lap, continuing to pluck away at the guitar strings lazily. She's wearing one of his sweaters, he notices with an oddly warm feeling. He's struck suddenly by how easy this is, how right it all feels. To be here with her by themselves, without the crew. There's no trace of awkwardness or uncertainty, which, he supposes, is due in part to the friendship they've built up over the last year on board the ship. He doubts either of them can pinpoint when their relationship shifted so significantly. He finds he doesn't really care.
"What do the letters stand for?" He asks, idly trailing circles on one of her pale legs.
The music stops briefly then begins again, "It belonged to my mother." She says softly.
"Oh." He replies, frowning, "N, G." he wonders, not realizing he's wondered out loud.
"Nerida Grace."
Arianna smiles into the guitar as the fingers on her leg still suddenly and Kaidan's mouth opens and closes in surprise. "The Nerida Grace?"
"Yep."
Kaidan is fairly gobsmacked given that he has practically grown up with the famous singer's vids playing in the background of his family's home. She had been unbelievably popular, her voice like rich velvet, her face flawlessly beautiful. She had been portrayed as perfect, unflappable, aloof and supremely talented; hers was a voice, the likes of which critics said would never be heard again.
And then she had disappeared.
"Well that solves one of life's mysteries." He breathes, smiling crookedly over at Arianna, "What happened?"
She laughed, her eyes crinkling around the edges, "She met my Dad." She said simply, a fond smile gracing her features, "It's your average fairy-tale, horrifically romantic story. Back-world engineer meets famous singer, famous singer decides fame isn't all it's cracked up to be, back world engineer whisks her away to his colonial home, they live happily ever after."
Kaidan laughs in spite of his shock; he doubts she will ever cease to surprise him. "Now that I know, I can kind of see the resemblance." He notes, tilting his head to one side. "Except for your hair."
She sighs, "No I inherited that as well." She says, referring to the flaming true-red locks her mother was famous for. "I dye it black." She grins again, "I'm a ginger through and through. Surely you've heard me audibly crackling in the sun."
"Ah, so that's what that was." He grins, "I wondered."
She shoves him playfully with one foot in his side. He smiles, his fingers returning to idly tracing patterns on her legs, hers returning to her guitar. It's moments like these that they've missed. Extended periods of just… nothing. After the stress of the last few months it's almost jarringly, achingly wonderful to just sit and stare out over the frozen forest below them.
"So how did you find this place Ari?" He asks around his coffee mug.
"Having a famous parent has its advantages." She says, her voice almost smug. "Not least of which is a fairly sizeable trust fund."
He frowns, "So, you're paying for this?"
The guitar stops and she lays it to one side with a sigh. She's been waiting with almost baited breath for this, knowing his deep-seated and counter-cultural sense of chivalry was going to have to be dealt with at some point.
"No," she says slowly and carefully, "my mother is paying for all of this. Has paid for it." She adds as an afterthought. "It was her house after all. Well, I suppose it's mine now."
Arianna smiles as Kaidan relaxes visibly, "Right. Well that makes me feel better."
"Good." She says, shifting so she is curled up next to him, her knees drawn up to her chest. "Oh and don't think I didn't notice you slipping the guy at the grocery store your credit chit." She tells him, as he drapes his arm around her shoulders. "Sneak."
"Oh you saw that did you?" He asks mildly, taking a sip from his apparently never-ending coffee mug. "What a shame."
She's silent for a moment, thinking, and then in a voice that's softer than usual says "You're a very rare man Kaidan Alenko. I really do love you."
She feels lips press very softly to the top of her head, "I love you too."
It's the first time they've said it to each other, and it comes and goes with no fanfare, no soaring string music.
Just them, in the quiet.
Nawwwwwwww. Right. Now that I've died amongst fluffiness... time to head back to the real world :)