8
"Oh hey" Was her greeting. Her violet eyes flashed to the arrow pointing up and then back to Kaidan with that half smirk. "Going up?" The doors closed and he could swear he heard Jokers laughing as the doors swished.
Shepard was standing barefoot in the elevator her shoes in one hand. Kaidan cursed his inattentiveness but also his tongue tied-ness. He had taken the elevator up instead of down. There was only one room above and they both knew it. What was he going to say to her in her quarters?
The elevator stopped and the door opened behind him. She looked at him expectantly an eyebrow quirked. He was after all blocking the door. Damn it what about her made him a tongue tied teenager?
"Want to come in?" She motioned with her free hand behind him to her room. Given the oddity of their situation her tone was one of friends causally bumping into each other on the street not a lurker getting caught in a Freudian elevator slip. He nodded and let her by, still barefoot she places her hand on the door and it opens.
This was the first he had been to her quarters on this new Normandy. Like the woman it was soldier first everything else secondary. But relics and datapads showed the various other projects that had turned Jane into the larger than life legend. One in specific caught his eye, making his body run cold. On her desk as if a normal paper weight was a N7 helmet with a huge gash down the back, the visor cracker but not broken. He knew that mask anywhere.
It was the one she had died in.
Her light footfalls behind him bring him out of the horrific memories. She is not making eye contact but she is at ease despite it all. She throws down her shoes by the door and ruffles her short hair looking around her room with a shrug.
"Listen, I stink I am gonna hit the shower. Everything is open" She gestures to the data pad filled table which also serves as a liquor cabinet. "I'll just be a minuet." And with that she is gone into the small private bathroom.
He takes another look around the small table and desk setup besides the bed. Something about the last exchange didn't sit right with him but what of all the recent events had? While not avoiding him she was not exactly an easy woman to read . Then it occurred to him. While she was not exactly throwing herself at him he had not heard the bathroom door engage. She was testing him, damn her.
Shaking his head silently he hears the water running but turns back to the living quarters. A small omiboard is set with a chess game already in progress. Two datapads and empty glasses show a scene of a night previous. The fish and music playing make the room less like an official captains quarters but Kaidan has not decided if that is better or worse given the circumstances.
"Sorry about the mess." He had forgotten how silently she could move. He cursed himself for not even hearing the water turn off, lost as he had been in his own thoughts and concerns. He turned around quickly like a kid caught in his parent's nightstand.
Her hair is longer. It suits her.
He had the sudden urge to run his hand through it still damp letting it cling to his fingers .But he was afraid she would pull away.
She was wearing sweats but water was still running down her neck. True to the navy she had taken a shower in less time than it would take most civilians to adjust the water temperature. Now she stood before him her arms crossed over her stomach in baggy clothes to hide just how small she really was. But that did nothing to blunt the calculating eyes that were fixed on him now.
Someone had once said that if Jane Shepard had been born on Earth instead of some backwater colony she could have been a model. Too short Kaidan always thought an actress would suit her better since she had a natural gift for speaking and a strong presence but she was striking none the less. She had an odd mutation that displayed as violet eyes like an old time movie actress from Earth. She also had sandy red hair that since her time in detention had grown out and darkened, tracing down her neck. But the hollows in her cheeks and bruised color under her eyes showed the effects of the past years. She was still good looking but there was harshness to her that had not been there before. How much of that had he caused he thought guiltily. With the weight of the galaxy on her lean shoulders having a sort-of boyfriend that was jerk should be the least of it.
A/N Wow! For my first real FF the responses have been amazing! The current plan is 2-3 chaps a day as time and muse permits. I have come to realize that this is actually two stories struggling to be written simultaneously and that being said I want to do them both justice separately. Reviews and Suggestions always appreciated and the outreach truly has been amazing ~Raven