Ok so I'm actually slightly worried about this one. This is the AU bit - the bit that's come from my brain. It's a bit out of character for the in-game Kaidan and Shepard... but I think with the way I've been changing them to suit my own malicious purposes, this is something they would do.

Also remember they've known each other for A LOT longer than the game suggests in my version of the story :)

I own nothing.

9. Gathering

The house is quiet.

The small group from the Normandy is milling around on the balcony or in the lounge, chatter wafting on the still air through the house. The night is chillier than usual, even for the wintery planet, and Arianna can almost hear the climate engines humming in the background above the hissing of the snow as it hits the shields. If she had her way, she'd have turned the shielding off the minute the white flakes had started falling but she had a feeling their guests might have something to say about it.

"So… you and Alenko huh?"

Arianna turns from the vista below the house, leaning on the balcony, to the pilot and smiles a little half-smile. "Yeah."

Joker grins, "Way to ditch regulations Shepard. I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Arianna swirls her drink idly in one hand and laughs. "Good to know it had nothing to do with me getting you out of Ilos alive." She comments dryly.

"Well that too."

They're silent for a few minutes, listening to the noise from inside the house. Arianna smiles into the glass in her hand as the raised voices of Kaidan and the Doctor drift from the kitchen out to the balcony. It had been a pleasant surprise when she had woken up one morning early in their stay on the planet, to a heavenly smell coming from the stove. Damn that man could cook. He'd told her over a breakfast of pancakes, made from what must have been small pieces of cloud, that his Mom was a chef back on Earth and had taught him. Before he'd been shipped off to "Brain Camp".

It never ceased to amaze Arianna just how well-adjusted he was considering the hellish school system he'd been forced into. She had heard reports of Eezo kids coming out of that place completely mad and afraid of their power. She'd heard rumours of parents disowning their freakish children, denying them because of accidents that weren't even remotely their fault. She always assumed she'd been lucky; after Mindoir, the Alliance had picked her up, trained her and taken her in as one of their own. But Kaidan; he had been abandoned in that horrible place, only released after he had inadvertently killed his instructor. She supposed he hid inside his thoughts and behind his thick moral compass to avoid his past, to make sure it didn't happen again. It strikes her that they're more similar than she thinks.

"Seriously though," Arianna jumps slightly out of her reverie at Joker's voice, "do you think Brass knows?"

It takes her a second to remember what they were talking about, "Hah, I assume so. Kaidan's been transferred."

Joker whistles low, his face falling, "Damn."

"Yep." Taking a sip of her drink she smiles a little, "Although they did promote him so it's not all bad."

"Well finally." A new voice joins them at the rail and Arianna turns to smile at the Turian, "I've often wondered why he doesn't outrank you Shepard." He raises his hands in front of him and smiles, "no offence."

She laughs, "None taken. I asked him that myself last week."

"And?" Garrus is genuinely curious.

She smiles, "He said he thinks too much."

"Who thinks too much?"

They turn from where they're leaning against the railing and Arianna smiles at the man leaning against the doorway, arms folded. He's dressed in one of his many dark coloured sweaters and jeans, and his face is creased in a grin.

"That would be you." Joker says.

"Oh." He raises his eyebrows and his grin turns lop-sided in wry amusement, "Well yeah that's true."

He crosses to the railing and the group turns back to the mountains. "I thought you were cooking up a storm Alenko?" Joker notes.

"I've been banished." He says with a chuckle. "Seriously the Doctor scares me." He looks between the three of them, "So what did I miss?"

"We were just talking about you." Arianna says mildly.

"Yeah congrats Commander." Joker says, stressing the title, mock saluting with his bottle of beer.

Kaidan makes a face at that and Arianna sees a flicker of something between pride and sadness cross his face before he smiles. "Thanks. But it's Staff Commander actually. I've been reassigned to the Citadel."

The message had come in about a week ago and while Arianna could see some relief in knowing more about his new post, he was still unsure. She didn't blame him; to go from active duty to a teaching role was bound to be a little jarring, no matter how brilliantly it suited him.

And it did, Arianna thought, Kaidan had been made to teach. She remembered back to their first week on the Normandy together when she had been told by Captain Anderson to ask Kaidan about a new mnemonic she'd been struggling with. He'd explained it to her in five minutes and she'd understood exactly how it worked almost instantly. It had taken her Alliance instructors ten thousand times that long and even then she hadn't quite grasped the concept.

No, he'd be perfect in his new job, she is absolutely certain. It's just the Normandy isn't going to be the same without him, and she's pretty sure he is feeling its loss keenly.

"We'll miss you on board. Not going to be the same without you." Joker says, his voice holding none of his characteristic sarcasm as it mirrors her train of thought.

The others are still talking, she realizes with some surprise, having phased out of the conversation for a minute. Garrus excuses himself, going to get himself another drink, and Arianna takes the opportunity to move a step closer. She links her fingers through Kaidan's and squeezes his hand in what she hopes is a comforting gesture.

She notices Joker giving them an odd look, like he's uncomfortable but happy all at the same time. Arianna supposes it's the first time they've been openly together in front of anyone they know and there's an undeniable thrill to it.

And then Joker really looks at their hands.

"Ah… I have to um… I'll be back." Shepard watches him go with a frown as he swings back to the house on his crutches.

"He noticed?" Kaidan asks, his arm circling her shoulders, pulling her close.

"Oh yeah." She says, snaking a hand around his waist, smugness radiating from every pore.

"Well," he smiles, "I suppose that saves us an awkward 'we have an announcement' conversation later." He says referring to news that only Liara and Garrus have thus far been privy to.

Arianna Alenko smiles as she feels his lips press to the top of her head, running the tip of her thumb over the rings on her third finger. "Yes it does."

The house is quiet.

And BAM. There it is.

And no, I'm not going to elaborate - mainly because the Cheese-o-meter would be off the scale :)