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“Okay, we need a break.”
Kaidan exits the head, dressed in his briefs and a towel over his head as he rubs the excess moisture from his hair. Rhys, leaning against the wall next to the fish tank, dares an appreciative smile while the other man cannot see him. Arms folded across his chest, hat tipped slightly forward and ankles crossed with the boot tip resting on the floor – it is almost like being home.
Home. He sighs softly, thinking about Evelyn and Callum Shepard, wondering how things are going for them. He really needs to send them a message soon, maybe even call, just to let them know he is safe.
Kaidan interrupts his thoughts with a reply, but it’s impossible to understand him with the towel over his head. Rhys laughs mostly to himself, before advising, “Try it without the filter this time.”
The towel comes down and Rhys’ grin widens. “Kaidan Mikhail Alenko,” he drawls in poorly hidden amusement while his lips twitch at both corners, “how on Earth do you keep that mane of yours tamed?”
Kaidan snorts and glares daggers in Rhys’ direction. “First of all, you aren’t my mother, so stop with the middle name.”
He says nothing, but the grin remains in place as he lifts the front of his hat just enough off his head to be noticed. Kaidan rolls his eyes as he walks by, descending to the lower level and digging a t-shirt out of his storage. Rhys turns, keeping his eyes on him. “First of all?”
“Second,” Kaidan continues, pulling the t-shirt over his head then reaching for his pants, “what I said was, ‘Who is we?’”
It is the break Rhys hoped for when he began this conversation. Sauntering down the steps, he stops beside one of the chairs and leans his hip against it. Kaidan continues dressing; the last mission out was a messy one for everyone involved. Rhys is thankful he was not a part of it. “You. Me. The crew. We’ve had a couple of rough missions of late – we’d all do better with a break.”
Kaidan looks over, a bewildered expression on his face. It even reaches his voice as he asks, “After everything they’ve done to harass you, you’d go to bat for the crew?”
Rhys shrugs. “I’m not in this for the crew, I’m here on behalf of your squaddies,” he clarifies. “If it benefits the rest, so be it. My concern is for those who are helping you, directly.”
Kaidan yanks on a boot and laces it up out of habit rather than by any particular attention to what he is doing. “Sounds like you have something specific in mind.” He reaches for the other and repeats the process.
Rhys nods. “I do. It’ll require shore leave, though.”
One brow arches at him. “Really? How long?”
He shrugs. “A day, maybe two, no more.”
Kaidan sighs, rising to his feet and returning to his desk on the upper level. Rhys recognizes the sound; a hint of exasperation mixed with a healthy dose of ‘I know I’m going to regret this,’ and sprinkled with a bit of ‘just how many people will I have to convince to make this happen.’ Kaidan Alenko, soldier, Spectre, over-thinker. If Rhys ever needed proof that this is the man he’s always known, he has it right here. “Where?”
Rhys waits patiently for Kaidan to turn so he can watch his expression when he finally answers. It takes a minute before Kaidan peeks around the edge of the wall at him. “Mindoir.”
Kaidan blinks, eyes widening when full recognition sets in. “Mindoir? Why there?”
A grin streaks across his lips without conscious thought or effort. Really, the man is making this too easy. “Two words – The Barn.”
Kaidan’s full focus remains leveled on Rhys for the next minute or so of silence. “Why do I … get the feeling it’s more than just a place for animals?”
Rhys’ lips twitch at one corner. “You could say that.”
Eyes closing briefly, Kaidan inhales deeply through his nose. Rhys recognizes the reaction and his lips twitch again. Almost. “I’m going to regret this, but … tell me more?”
Gotcha! The grin slides into a full-fledged smirk. “Remember our visit to the Silver Dollar Saloon a decade or so ago?”
The man’s brows shoot up so high, Rhys wonders how they stay on his face. “Oh, hell! No!” He darts back around the corner into his office. “Absolutely not!”
Unable to hold in his laughter, Rhys almost doubles over. “Hey,” he protests, “we had a damned good time that night!”
“You did, maybe,” Kaidan counters. “I seem to recall –!”
While he is talking, Rhys climbs the stairs until the two of them are separated by less than ten feet. And though Kaidan stands in the office where the lighting is horrible, Rhys notices the hint of color on the man’s neck and cheeks. That … is an interesting development. You really do remember, don’t you? “Are you blushing?” he asks, unable to mask his surprise.
The glare returns in full force and is aimed directly at him. “You are a fucking menace!”
Rhys snorts. “You had fun, Alenko, admit it. At least until the brawl broke out.”
“Like I said, you had fun. It was awkward as hell, and …”
Rhys hooks his thumbs in his belt, does a little hop, shuffles his feet, and spins around on his heel, ending with a flourish as he removes his hat and winks at Kaidan. He knows the man remembers when his breath hitches softly and his eyes widen further. “You haven’t forgotten.” It’s a statement, spoken with certainty, rather than a question.
Kaidan averts his gaze and swallows tightly. “Ah … no?” Grabbing his towel, he mutters beneath his breath and ducks back into the bathroom. When he returns a minute later, he appears a bit more composed. Or, maybe it is simply the power of the hair, because it is now neatly combed in place. Rhys is about to question him on that little trick when he notices something in the man’s eyes and instead remains silent. “If – and this is a big IF – I agree to this insanity … are you willing to give me a refresher course?”
It is Rhys’ turn to stare blankly, awkwardly. The agreement, he expects, just not quite this quickly or easily. “You’re serious?” Kaidan nods. “Of course! Absolutely.”
“All right, let me see if I can convince Miranda to –.”
Rhys groans. So, there is a caveat. “She isn’t your boss, you know?” She made that more than abundantly clear when he came on board after Joab. I am Alenko’s second in command …
“We can’t afford to have the Illusive Man yank our funds at this point in the game.”
“He won’t.” Rhys places his hat back on the top of his head. From the conversations they have had since joining the crew, if there is one thing predictable about the man in charge of this mission, it is that he wants everyone in their best frame of mind in order to achieve success. Rhys doubts it is out of the goodness of his heart, but if it works to his advantage, he’ll use it. And his concern is for one particular person …
~
Finding a place to make himself useful among the crew has been a challenge at times, but Rhys is content enough to assist with the planet scanning. If nothing else, he can make notes of any anomalies that could, theoretically, produce new locations for prothean digs. That’s me, always thinking ahead. There aren’t many locations he has found, however, but the current scan is promising. He is so intently focused on the information in front of him, in fact, it takes Rhys a moment to realize someone is speaking to him and not the Cerberus crewman next to him.
“When did you want to do this?”
Glancing up over his shoulder, he finds the man standing on the deck staring back. His face is a neutral mask, no clues to assist in helping figure out what the hell he is talking about. “Sorry?”
Kaidan’s lips twitch. “That’s my line, remember?”
Huffing, Rhys grins. “So it is. Doesn’t change the fact I am a bit … preoccupied at the moment. When do I want to do what?”
Kaidan’s eyes flick over to Hadley sitting to Rhys’ right before shifting completely to the left toward the main portion of the CIC. And the lift. The silent communication takes him back years, well over a decade, to their time at BAaT. After a moment spent logging out of the terminal, Rhys hops onto the deck beside him and follows. They make their way through the CIC side by side, Kaidan rambling on about some discovery or another made on one of the other planets in this system. Rhys pays little mind to it; is a ruse, nothing more, nothing less, to keep Chambers from interrupting them, but he nods in appropriate places and hmms in others to keep up the act. They make it as far as the lift before they are interrupted by Chambers who calls over, “Commander, you have a new message at your terminal.”
Rhys rolls his eyes and steps inside the lift. Kaidan follows, replying over his shoulder, “I’ll take it in my cabin, thanks.” The door closes and separates them from the rest of the ship.
Up top, Kaidan keys in the security code and they head inside. While he heads over to his terminal, Rhys descends to the lower level. Kaidan has always been a cagey one, quite often leaving Rhys dumbfounded with the things he thinks up, but he always has a purpose for everything he says and does and how he goes about it. Patiently biding his time, Rhys wanders over to the fish tank, watching as they meander back and forth inside, but it hides his own whirling thoughts. When did you want to do this? Do what? Running a hand over his face, he thinks back over the last few days and the conversations they’ve had …
“Well, shit!”
Kaidan glances around the corner at him. “What’s that?”
“You were asking about Mindoir?”
Kaidan grins. “You’re much quicker when you don’t have your head buried in dinosaur bones, you know?”
Snorting, Rhys climbs back to the upper level. “Think you’re funny, don’t you?”
The grin remains in place even as Kaidan redirects the conversation. “So, when do you want to do this?”
Rubbing his chin, Rhys glances around Kaidan to the miniature version of the galaxy map which allows him the ability to change their destination at any given time should he need to. For now, Rhys uses it to establish their exact location, the distance to Mindoir, and potential travel routes to get there. Far enough we can make a side trip on the way over ... “Can we swing by the Citadel on the way?”
Kaidan does not appear fazed by the request and shrugs. “I don’t see why not. We could use a supply run anyway.” As he looks over at Rhys, one brow lifts in delayed suspicion. “Why?”
Rhys grins. “You need to see a man.”
“I do?”
Nodding, he clarifies, “Let me put it this way, you need to see a man about a hat …”
~
As always, the Citadel is a bustle of activity among a mass of species of every kind. This is most easily seen in the Wards, and as they exit Paernan’s, Kaidan slides to his left to avoid a group of turians while muttering, “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this!”
Rhys’s snickers softly from his left. “You have a pattern, you know?”
“Oh, shut up.”
Still chuckling, Rhys increases his pace to keep up with him. “What? You do.” He bumps his shoulder to Kaidan’s for added emphasis. “And I seem to recall, I talked you into it pretty easily the last time, too.”
The two men find their way to the station in time to catch the next transport back to the docks. Kaidan hefts the two bags containing his new boots, jeans and a more appropriate shirt, while Rhys carries the hat.
“We are not in Wyoming!”
An inelegant snort escapes Rhys’ lips this time. “Close enough.” A knowing grin spreads across his face immediately afterward. “Could be worse, you know.”
Kaidan shudders, enough of a response to let Rhys knows his thoughts are probably drifting back to that incident, too. “Don’t.”
Rhys ignores the plea and instead savors the bubbling laughter building in his chest. “Paernan could’ve had that Wrangler sign.”
“Rhys!” There is more than just a hint of warning in the hiss.
But Rhys isn’t buying it. After nearly a decade and a half now, he knows where the lines are; this is not one of them just yet. That, plus he’s more than a little prepared for any retribution that might come if he pushes a little too hard. Kaidan has always been the more difficult of the two of them to get to relax, and this time around Rhys is bound and determined to make it happen, no matter what. The man needs a break, it is obvious to him and most of the crew. So, grin remaining in place, he leans in and in a voice just loud enough for Kaidan to hear, he recites, “Wrangler butts drive me nuts!”
Kaidan’s head snaps around, their eyes meeting and holding. His hands filled with bags, Kaidan reaches out to retaliate in the only way he can – by toying with their biotic fields. It is rough, dirty, and leaves Rhys just a bit dizzy in the end because it is such an unexpected move for someone like Kaidan who is a stickler for rules and integrity … but Rhys just keeps grinning. At the same time, he notices a slight darkening of the man’s cheeks; Kaidan can protest all he likes, but Rhys knows one thing, deep down; he enjoys the teasing. A hint of a twitch at the corner of his lips only reinforces that.
Beneath all that, hiding, lurking, Rhys also sees something else … hints of the man Kaidan used to be, and he’ll be damned if he is going to let that go again. His mission this time around is to get Kaidan to realize that, too.
~
The journey to Mindoir takes a little over a day, and during that time Rhys fulfills his promise for a quick refresher course on line dancing. Unfortunately, promising a thing and actually achieving it are two completely different goals.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Rhys observes, soft strains of a song filling the room.
They’ve cleared a small area in Kaidan’s cabin on the lower level to practice. He originally suggested they take it down to one of the lounges on the crew deck, but Kaidan insisted he didn’t want an audience. Rhys cannot help but think having a larger space to practice is worth the chance of an audience, however. What space they have is barely large enough for Kaidan, let alone the two of them, so after yet another demonstration of the basic steps, Rhys sits on the end of the bed to watch Kaidan’s progress.
“I’m trying to remember what you told me,” Kaidan replies while staring down at his feet as he repeats them again.
Rolling his eyes, Rhys jumps up and moves over next to him. Fuck their limited space, he knows Kaidan can do this. “Like I said, you are thinking too hard about it. Just relax your hips, feel the rhythm of the music and move to it.” Hooking his thumbs into his belt, he executes a quick little crossover, hop, and heel dig, somehow managing not to fall over even when his hip bumps awkwardly into his friend’s.
Kaidan moves out of the way to watch as Rhys repeats the moves again several times in a row. Frustrated, he sighs, removes his hat and tosses it onto the bed before turning back to Rhys, hands on his hips. “How did I let you talk me into this?”
“We had this discussion already, remember?” Rhys winks. “Now, c’mon and stop being as stiff as a board.”
“Easy for you to say.”
The song changes to something a little more upbeat. Grabbing Kaidan by the shoulders, Rhys changes his mind and pushes him toward the bed. “Okay, let me try this. Just sit and watch for a minute,” he suggests.
He inhales deeply as he returns to their small dance floor. At the same time, he shoves all outside distractions from his mind and reaches out for the music, letting it flow over him, through him. It’s like … it’s like a bubbling beneath his skin, a flutter in his heart, the flow of blood through his veins. He has never been able to describe it – not even back in BAaT, the first time he tried to teach Kaidan and some of the other biotic students how to dance like this.
Starting simply, he focuses on the basic steps he has been demonstrating for Kaidan for the past half hour. But with each cross over, hop and jump, every heel-dig or shuffle change step, the pull of the music drags him deeper. The angle of his step turns sharper, the twist of his hip more suggestive, even the swing of his shoulder swivels just a bit more until he is all but the music personified in human form.
“How are you doing that?”
There is a hint of wonder and amazement in Kaidan’s voice that does nothing to stop the grin at Rhys’ lips as his words finally register. “C’mon, I taught you guys this back at BAaT!”
Rising to his feet, Kaidan shakes his head. “Not like that, you didn’t!”
“You’ve just … you have to feel the music and move with … enthusiasm. Don’t know what else to tell you.” Shrugging in beat with the song, Rhys does another quick shuffle of his booted feet, including a heel-toe-heel tap that leaves Kaidan wide-eyed. “Oh, for the love of …” Sighing, he stops, takes a moment to catch his breath, then waves Kaidan over. “Come here, we’ll try again.”
“Look, I just need some time to practice –.”
Chuckling, Rhys nods. “Yeah, you definitely need that.” He glances at the chronometer across the room. “And you’ve got about four hours in which to do it.” Shifting to stand behind Kaidan, he settles his hands at his hips. “Now, set your hands here.”
Kaidan glances over his shoulder at him. “What are you doing?”
“Do you want to learn this or not?” Rhys counters. Kaidan turns back around with a mildly frustrated grunt while Rhys presses a button on his omni-tool and the music changes up again. “Now, let’s try this again. The steps are easy enough, there’s no real ‘precision’ necessary with them, ‘kay?”
While Kaidan starts to move, Rhys keeps his hands at his hips, gently guiding him. Everything goes well for the first few steps, until Kaidan suddenly seems to remember Rhys’ hands are there and he trips as he attempts a cross over. “Shit!”
Rhys tries to hold back a laugh, but does a poor job of it. When Kaidan flashes an accusatory look at him, he let’s go of him and doubles over, giving in. “Sorry!”
“Just … I can do this.”
Rhys takes a step backward forgetting the sofa is there and topples onto the cushions. When Kaidan turns around, startled by the sound, Rhys simply shakes his head and waves him off. “Look, you’re thinking too hard about it!” he insists through a soft giggle. “I’ve seen you dance before, and you aren’t half bad –.”
“Half bad?”
Rhys tips his hat back out of his eyes and stares up at him. “How many different ways do I have to say it, Alenko? You think too much. Get out of your damned head! Dancing is about feeling. The music. The moves. It’s like … like melting ice cream.”
Kaidan snorts. “You want me to melt like ice cream? That has to be the weirdest comparison I’ve ever heard.”
Jumping to his feet, Rhys nods – it was bad, he’s willing to own it. Of course, there’s another comparison he can make, but … Lifting his gaze to Kaidan’s, he searches for any sign in his face, any clue that he’d be open or receptive to the memory. There’s a tension in his shoulders that Rhys thinks has more to do with his attempts at dancing than anything else, so, maybe …
Hell, they’ve been dancing around each other since he came back on board. That tension is driving him crazy, dammit. Does it really matter if it does the same to Kaidan? He tosses his hat to the sofa and runs a hand through his hair in frustration before clearing his throat. Without thinking, his voice drops low, rough, and vibrates with need. “Kaidan, do you remember that night up at the cabin?”
Kaidan inhales sharply, eyes widening … but he nods. Their eyes meet and neither looks away, and for just a moment, Rhys is back in that moment. Leaning in toward him, Rhys stops just before their lips touch. His breath is slightly unsteady as he breathes and his eyes drop to focus solely on Kaidan’s lips. He is surprised at the overwhelming sense of loss that runs through him when he realizes the scars from Vyrnnus’ attack are no longer present. Running his tongue over dry lips, he rasps out, “Think about that night. About how it felt when you and I –.”
Kaidan’s arms slide around his waist, tucking into his pockets and tugging him the rest of the way before Rhys can finish speaking. Their lips tangle together for the first time in, well, years, literally. Heat shoots through Rhys at the brief contact, a jolt that is a combination of their biotic fields connecting as much as it is their natural chemistry with one another, but it only lasts for a moment as Kaidan retreats just as quickly. That doesn’t change the fact Rhys finds it just as sensual and delicious as he did back in Wyoming or later on the SR1.
His next breath is rough, jagged, but Rhys won’t trade it for anything. Though he broke the kiss, Kaidan still stands in his personal space, his arms around Rhys’ waist. An idea hits Rhys then and results in a small curl of his lips. Tossing his hat to the side, Rhys tips his forehead until it touches Kaidan’s. “Close your eyes,” he says softly.
Kaidan does without hesitation.
Rhys changes the song to another with a similar beat but with less of a country feel to it. Kaidan can dance – he’s seen it in past. Perhaps it’s just the idea that’s getting to him. The song starts softly, slowly, but the tempo increases quickly. Keeping their heads touching, Rhys sets his hands on Kaidan’s hips again. “Try again, only instead of the steps, think about what that night was like. Spontaneous, fluid, relaxed.”
The first couple of steps are halting, jerky even, but by the second repeat the motion is a bit smoother. With Rhys’ help, Kaidan’s tight stance relaxes and he swings his hips a bit more. For at least a dozen repeats, Kaidan keeps his eyes shut, but when they do open, they lock onto Rhys’ with an intensity that does little to calm and everything to stir up old memories.
Releasing his hold, Rhys pulls back a step, then two. He drops his gaze to watch Kaidan’s feet, a smile widening across his face as he finally seems to fall into the rhythm. “Keep … keep that going,” he rasps, mouth dry. He switches back to one of the songs he played earlier and moves over to Kaidan’s left.
This time, when Rhys slides into the beat of the song, Kaidan moves with him, adjusting his footsteps without incident. Rhys tosses a grin over at him and nods and keeps going. About halfway through the song, encouraged as Kaidan makes his first attempts to imitate Rhys’ shoulder and hip moves, Rhys adds a bit more flourish to the steps. Some claps. A whoop here and there. Kaidan, while a bit more reserved than Rhys, follows suit.
When the song comes to an end, they both drop onto the sofa side by side, laughing contentedly. A few minutes pass in companionable silence. “Now that is what I remember,” Rhys murmurs, a smirk on his lips as he glances over at Kaidan. “Think you’re good now?”
Something raw and open flutters deep in Kaidan’s amber gaze and it sends an echoing flutter through Rhys in return. “Might … need you to kiss me like that again before we head out?”
Rhys’ breath catches again as his eyes flare. “That was you kissing me.”
“Yeah.”
Half rising, he leans over to hover right over Kaidan’s lips. “Just to be clear, I don’t have a problem with that …”
Kaidan’s hand slides up into his hair tugging Rhys closer until their lips touch again. “Good…”
~
Getting permission to dock on Mindoir comes easily. Far too easily in some respects, so that Kaidan delays their departure off the Normandy until he can look into it. While trust between him and the Illusive Man has been a challenge the entire mission, it soon becomes clear arrangements for their visit were made ahead of their arrival. That settles a bit uneasily in Rhys’ mind as well as Kaidan’s if the tension in his shoulders is any indication, but in the end their shore leave is only delayed by an hour and those members of the crew who opt to partake, soon head out.
Rhys knows a little about the colony of Mindoir except for its recent past. He has traveled through here on three separate occasions and knows the good places, the okay places, and the ones to avoid. Right now, all he wants is to get them off the Normandy and groundside.
He ducks his head into the bridge for a moment. “You sure you won’t join us, Joker?”
The pilot snorts and laughs as he spins around in his leather seat. “Do I look like I have a death wish? No thanks. I’ll stay here where it’s nice and safe and … you know, safe.”
Rhys tips his hat to the man. “Fair enough. Catch you later.”
“I want video of Alenko dancing!” Joker shouts after him.
Exiting the bridge, Rhys spies their fearless leader walking their way. “I’ll see what I can do,” Rhys calls back, the closest thing to a promise he is willing to make. “Ready to go?” he asks when Kaidan joins him. Behind him are Grunt and Jack. In the distance, Zaeed and Garrus are exiting the elevator.
Kaidan reaches up to adjust his hat, holding it just a half second longer than necessary before setting it back on his head. “Yeah, guess so.”
Rhys grins at him while throwing a pointed look over at a not-so-softly snickering Jack. “Let’s go.”
The main entertainment district in the heart of the colony isn’t too far from the docks, so the walk to The Barn takes maybe fifteen minutes.
“What the hell kind of place is this?” Jack asks.
Rhys shrugs. “The closest thing to a good ol’ western bar you’ll find outside of Earth.” He grins over at Kaidan who does not meet his gaze. “Not quite the Silver Dollar Saloon back home, but close enough. Good music –.”
Music that is loud enough to be heard quite a distance from the open-doored establishment still a good hundred meters away or so. Jack scoffs and cuts him off. “Shit! This is what you’ve been all excited about? Fuck you if you think I’m doing any of that dancing shit!”
Rhys laughs, dropping back to walk beside her for several steps. “They’ve got other things,” he assures her. “Aside from alcohol. Darts, pool –.”
Her head cocks slightly toward him, but her eyes narrow threateningly. “You’d better not be shitting me.”
“Me?” Ahead of him, Kaidan chuckles, though it still sounds a bit uneasy. Rhys gives the man’s shoulder a friendly shove.
Before he can say anything else, music gears up and a low, sultry, feminine voice sings, “Well I'm an eight ball shooting double-fisted drinking son of a gun.”**
Jack rolls her eyes, but Rhys grins and bumps her shoulder with his. “Hey, Jack, they’re singin’ your song!” With a whoop, he hops three steps sideways to avoid the fist she throws out at him. There’s definitely force behind it; with his grin still in place, he returns to Kaidan’s side after she barely misses contact.
“I wear my jeans a little tight Just to watch the little boys come undone.”
“I thought we were drinking?” the krogan rumbles.
“They’ll have alcohol,” Kaidan assures him.
“They do,” Rhys adds, shifting to Kaidan’s other side so Jack can’t reach him as easily. “It’s actually split into two bars – a lightweight version to the left when we go in, and a heavy-duty side to the right.” He winks over at Grunt. “That’s the side we want.”
“They gonna have Ryncol?”
Kaidan and Rhys both chuckle. “Not likely,” Kaidan replies. “Mindoir is a human colony, remember?”
“But they’ll no doubt have something you’ll like,” Rhys reassures him.
“I'm here for the beer and the ball busting band Gonna get a little crazy just because I can.”
“Okay, maybe it is my song …,” Jack mutters. Rhys hears though he doesn’t look in her direction, suspecting she might just hurt him in response. The night’s barely begun and he really wants to hang around for a while.
There is a crowd outside the doors as they walk up, mostly human, but it moves quickly once they are in line. They enter to the right to find a wide-open space with rafters framing the ceiling, much of which is decorated with thematic decorations including numerous saddles, cattle skulls and coiled up lassos. On the far side is a large dance floor separated from the rest of the room by wooden fence-like railings. Beyond that is a stage where a band is already set up and playing. To the back right and beneath an overhang are several pool tables and at least three different dart set-ups. On the left side is a large bar that opens to both sides of the building. Numerous tables and booths are scattered throughout the room away from the dance floor. The song they heard on the way in ends as they enter, and the dance floor is already filled with number of people, but there is still plenty of room.
Almost as soon as they are inside, Grunt and Jack head off on their own. Jack makes a beeline for the pool tables – not a surprise, really – and Grunt heads for the bar. Rhys wonders briefly if he should worry, or at the very least warn Jack not to shake down the locals too hard, but a moment later he is pulled from his thoughts when Kaidan asks, “Where are we going?”
The music is loud, thrumming bass and percussion through the floors where he can feel it up through his boots. Add in the stomping, whooping, and clapping from the dancers, and he can barely hear him. Eyeing the man closely, he practically shouts, “Drink first?”
A look of relief passes over Kaidan’s face and he nods. “Yeah. Gonna need it, I think.”
Rhys leads the way to the bar and orders a beer for each of them, tilting his bottle neck against Kaidan’s before downing half in one gulp. They walk over to a space where they have a good view of the dance floor. “So, what d’you think?”
It isn’t necessary for him to look at Kaidan to feel the ripple of nerves rolling off him. His biotic field ripples as well, nudging awkwardly against Rhys’. Leaning in just close enough for Kaidan to hear him, and for his biotics to offer a semblance of calm, Rhys uses his bottle to point to a group of people dancing within easy sight. “Just watch them. Feel the music, remember? Don’t think about it, feel it.” His right foot, the leg brushing lightly against Kaidan’s, is already tapping to the rhythm of the song.
They stand there watching and nursing their drinks for another fifteen minutes or so before Rhys grabs the empty bottle from Kaidan’s fingers and sets both on a table nearby. “C’mon,” he says with a nod at the dance floor which is currently clearing out somewhat between songs. “Our turn.”
“Rhys, maybe we ought to –?”
Expecting the hesitation, Rhys puts his hand to Kaidan’s back and gently nudges him toward the floor. “Relax, ‘kay? You can do this.”
They find a place about three rows in just as the band starts up with their next song – not too lively, but not too slow, either. It starts easy enough, just like back in the cabin, gradually building, growing along with the song. Rhys falls into the natural rhythm of the music without even thinking about it while occasionally darting an encouraging look or nod over at Kaidan. By the end of the first song, he seems to be relaxing a little, if not completely. That’s something at least.
The next song picks up almost immediately, not giving Kaidan time to think about what comes next or start worrying before his first steps. He seems a bit bewildered at first, but slowly that fades, as note by note he relaxes further. When that song ends, he’s clapping along with the rest of the dancers and smiling. Rhys considers that a definite success. Grabbing his sleeve, he tugs. “C’mon, let’s get another drink.”
This time, Kaidan buys their drinks – another pair of beers. Rhys accepts the one he hands over and drinks like a man dying of thirst, which, really, he is at this point. Next round he buys another couple beers and adds a couple of shots of whiskey to go along with it knowing Kaidan prefers that, even if it isn’t Canadian lager. Rhys knows it works a minute later when Kaidan giggles. Giggles. When is the last time he has heard that? Not since … well, maybe never? Deciding it is definitely time to take advantage of that, he drags the man back out onto the dance floor.
When the music starts to pick up tempo, Rhys is pleased to see Kaidan does not panic. There is a moment of worry behind his eyes, a hint of concern as his brows dip slightly, but he drops his gaze to focus on Rhys’ feet for a few steps, and it eases away almost instantly. Within seconds, a relaxed smile replaces the concern as he moves along to the rhythm of the song as easily as the rest of the dancers.
Loosening up, Rhys ups the ante, digging a bit deeper, exaggerating his hip and shoulder swings, stomping and clapping just a bit louder. When their eyes meet again, Rhys notices a sparkle of adventure in Kaidan’s. Rhys’ grin widens, he nods, and in less time than it takes to blink and with the cheers of encouragement of the other dancers around them, they literally face off against one another. Rhys lets up just a bit – he’s been doing this most of his life, Kaidan’s only had a few opportunities by comparison – but by the end of the song, he’s grinning and laughing just as much as Kaidan and the rest of the dancers around them. They make it through a couple more songs before taking another breather.
Walking back to the bar, Rhys playfully shoves Kaidan’s shoulder before ordering. He hands him another beer, asking, “Feeling a bit more relaxed now?”
Kaidan nods. “Yeah.” His eyes close a moment, but when they open again, all tension and worry is gone. “You were right,” he admits as they find a table with a view of the floor so they can watch.
Rhys gives him a skeptical look. “Oh?” He reaches for his omni-tool, threatening to press the record button. “Should I make an official record of this?”
Kaidan huffs. “We needed the break,” he says. “Things have been … rough.”
Sighing, Rhys nods. He is only half watching the dance floor, the rest of his attention split between looking around the bar and what Kaidan is saying. He spots Jack at the pool tables in the middle of a game with several onlookers. It doesn’t appear contentious at the moment, though the look on Jack’s face isn’t promising for that to remain the case. Their eyes meet briefly as she looks up, and his brow arches when she sneers … then winks at him. Snorting softly to himself, Rhys moves on. Grunt, he discovers, sits at a larger table across the room, a mix of older and younger people sitting and standing near him. It’s impossible to hear the krogan over the band playing, but if reading his body language means anything, he is in the middle of telling a story. The wide eyes and occasional gaping mouth suggest it’s a good one – probably the thresher maw on Tuchanka, if he had to guess. Rhys shudders. Yeah, he doesn’t need to hear about that one again.
Taking a sip of his beer, Rhys turns his attention back to Kaidan when a soft blur of movement to his left pulls him around instead. He isn’t sure why, or even what it is at first, but as his gaze settles back onto the dance floor, he chokes and spits out half the mouthful of beer. “What the …?”
Kaidan glances over at him, reaching over to pound his back. “You okay?”
Unable to speak, eyes widening in disbelief, Rhys uses his bottle to point. “L-look!” he rasps after several attempts.
Kaidan does, but it takes him a minute to narrow down the location. “Wait … is that …?”
Slamming his bottle onto the table, Rhys rises to his feet, nodding. “Oh, yeah!”
The band prepares another song – the title of which Rhys is familiar with and knows it’ll pick up soon enough – and reaches over to grab Kaidan by his sleeve, tugging him to his feet. “C’mon, we’re joinin’ in on this one.”
“What?” Kaidan rises, but he doesn’t follow just yet.
“Oh, c’mon, the song is slow enough, you’ll be fine.”
“But – what if she doesn’t want us recognizing her?”
Rhys snorts. “She knew damned well we were coming here. I’m more curious about how she got that getup!” Without another word, he heads out to the floor, Kaidan’s more reluctant steps echoing behind him.
Sliding into position nearby, Rhys tips his hat in greeting. “Hey, doc. Surprised to see you here tonight. Thought you had a ‘consultation’ to attend?”
With a Cheshire cat grin and dressed in well-worn boots, comfortable jeans, a bright red and white western-style shirt, and a beautiful ivory cowboy hat, Dr. Karin Chakwas looks up at him. “I don’t believe I mentioned what type of consultation it was, Dr. Shepard.”
Kaidan snickers softly from Rhys right. Rhys ignores him.
The band starts playing and Chakwas grins at her companion, a gentleman dressed similarly standing to her right. “Shall we, doctor?”
The man grins back at her. “Indeed.”
Rhys and Kaidan fall into step as well, and for the next three songs, Rhys wonders just when his life shifted so hard to port …
~
Rhys stumbles out of The Barn laughing so hard he almost falls on his face. In the end, he only keeps what little balance he has when Kaidan, who is in nearly as bad condition as he is, leans into him and links his arm through Rhys’. “Can you –,” Rhys rasps between wheezes and attempts to draw a deeper breath only to devolve back into peals of laughter, “can you … believe that?”
The earlier cloudy sky has given way to steady rain. As they stumble down the steps onto the main road leading back to the docks, Rhys tips his head back, allowing the rain to cool off his face. After a moment, he hauls Kaidan more upright and they continue on.
“How … can she be so good?”
Rhys snorts, leaning heavily against the man as they walk. “She doesn’t overthink things.”
Kaidan huffs, pushing Rhys off a foot or so. “Hey, I didn’t do so bad in the end,” he protests, reaching up to work his hat more securely onto his head. The rain is steady, but the wind is a greater worry.
“You were better back in Wyoming, before you learned how to overthink so much,” Rhys challenges. He starts humming that last song softly, hooking his thumbs into his belt.
After a few measures, his steps morph into the dance steps from earlier. He flashes a grin over at Kaidan who is just tipsy enough to slide into step next to him, and for a couple of minutes they manage to navigate the street in synchronized rhythm toward the Normandy, ignoring the amused chuckles and stares of onlookers.
They’re about a block from the docks when they finally fall back into a normal walking pace, giggling over the ridiculousness of it all.
“Okay,” Kaidan says, glancing over with a somewhat pointed and far more sober look than when they left the bar, “are you ever going to tell me what this was really all about?”
“What do you mean?” Rhys frowns over at him, but he’s more concerned about not losing his balance and falling over. His feet are a bit blurry from this high up and the road isn’t quite evened out as much as he’d like. Kind of reminds him of the back roads back home in Wyoming.
“This whole side-trip.” Kaidan reaches over, grabs Rhys by the upper arm, and yanks him over into a recessed doorway of a nearby building to get them out of the rain. “You said it was for the crew, but …?”
Snorting softly, Rhys stares at him in disbelief. “You really are slow at times, aren’t you?”
That apparently isn’t what he expects because Kaidan’s dark brows dip into a low V-shape. “What?”
Removing his hat and shaking off the rain, Rhys sobers up quickly and averts his gaze. “This was for you, you ass.”
Kaidan clears his throat. “Me?”
“Yeah.” Rhys combs his fingers through his soaked hair to get it out of his eyes before replacing the hat. Leaning in, he pokes Kaidan in the chest. “You. You know, the guy who is leading this whole ‘damned fool crusade’?”
Kaidan pushes his hand away. “I appreciate the … concern, but I’m fine –.”
Rhys twists his arm back around, catching Kaidan’s wrist and holding tight. Barely a foot separates them, and he can see his reflection in Kaidan’s eyes, the intensity of his eyes in the moment. “You know you talk in your sleep, right?”
Kaidan inhales sharply and tries to pull back as his eyes widen. “I … I do?”
Rhys nods then laughs. “Don’t worry, not about us,” he adds, noting the relief that passes behind the whiskey-amber eyes. “And it isn’t often, but you do.”
“Wh-what did I say?”
Rhys shrugs. “Enough that I know you’re worried.”
Snorting softly, Kaidan pushes by him and steps back out beneath the curtain of rain. “I’d say I have good cause, wouldn’t you?”
“I’m not arguing you don’t,” Rhys insists as he follows. “However, you needed a break from all that. A way to … to just cut loose.”
“And embarrassing myself in public is ‘cutting lose’?”
Slowing to a halt with his hands settled on his hips, Rhys stares at him. “Embarrassing? Hell, Kaidan, you had all kind of people watching you back there – and not because you didn’t know what you were doing,” he adds emphatically. “Guys and gals, I might add. If we hadn’t been distracted by Karin, I might have had to do something about it!”
With a roll of his eyes, Kaidan turns away towards the Normandy.
Darting forward, Rhys nearly slips in a puddle, but manages to catch the fabric of Kaidan’s shirt between his fingers and tugs on it. Hard. Kaidan stumbles, falling backward a step just as Rhys slides up behind him. Using his momentum, Rhys pushes him against the wall of the building, tips his hat back out of the way, and kisses the man for all he’s worth. Kaidan pushes against Rhys’ chest for all of about a half second before giving in to the contact, lowering them around his waist instead while groaning softly.
Rhys breaks off the kiss and straightens his hat to keep the rain out of his eyes as he stares back at the only man who has ever had this sort of effect on him, heaving softly to catch his breath. “You think I don’t know what it’s like to be nervous going into a situation like this? Knowing what all is on the line?” he demands. “You’ve always been able to do things like that no matter what the circumstances. Face your fears. It’s why you were able to deal with Vyrnnus when I couldn’t, because I can’t. I freeze up.”
Stunned, Kaidan simply shakes his head back and forth.
A rueful chuckle escapes Rhys’ lips. “You don’t see it, do you? So, okay, what happened at BAaT was rough – the guy deserved it, no doubt there, but you didn’t. Still, you were the only one willing to stand up to him! And after that? You pulled yourself back together and enlisted. Didn’t let it define you! Hell, coming back from the dead at the hands of one of your avowed enemies and actually working with them to take care of a greater threat? If that’s not the best damned example, I don’t know what is!”
“Rhys …”
“You faced all of that, still face it and you keep moving forward.” Tossing his hands in the air, he backs up a couple of steps to give him some space. “Do you know how much I admire you for that? All I wanted was a chance for you to unwind from all that, to take a moment and breathe. And then what do you do? The same god-damned thing! I know it’s out of your comfort zone, but you –!”
Kaidan lunges forward, grabs a fistful of Rhys’ shirt and tugs him back, locking their lips together. Rhys grunts softly in surprise as the move is unexpected, but it isn’t unwelcome, and it only takes a heartbeat or two before he relaxes into it again. This time with they break apart, he is more than just a little bit breathless.
“Admiration, huh?”
Rhys huffs, ignoring the heat filling his cheeks. “Yeah.”
“That all?”
Brow arching, he loses himself in Kaidan’s amber gaze. “Is it ever?”
Kaidan releases him, but captures his hand before he backs up too far, keeping it securely in his. “I was thinking.”
Sighing, because he knows he’s about to get grief in some form or fashion, Rhys scuffs the heel of his boot against the ground as he looks away. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
“I was thinking,” Kaidan tries again, a low rumble of laughter framing his tone, “how about some more of those dance lessons?”
Jerking his head around, Rhys stares at him. “Seriously?”
Kaidan shrugs. “Figure we’ve got to give Karin a run for her money one of these days. Can’t do that if I don’t know how to dance, right?”
“All right.” Rhys nods in the direction of the docks, a slow, steady grin curving his lips before he winks. “Might need a bit of a pick-me-up before we get started, though. Just to loosen things up a bit.”
Kaidan grins back at him, chuckling. “Is that what you call it now?”
Tugging on Kaidan’s hand, Rhys laughs along with him. “I’m just talking about that bottle of whiskey you’ve got stashed away and don’t think I know about.” Another wink. “No idea what you’re thinkin’!”
“Snooping around my cabin when I’m not there, are you?”
“Me? You all but forced me to move in!” He bumps his shoulder into Kaidan’s easy-like, and just like that they’re back on even keel. As he slides into another round of dance steps – because damn it’s fun to cut loose, whether Kaidan admits it or not, and he’s going to enjoy every moment he can – he leans over and murmurs, “What d’you say we dance our way past Joker, hmm? We’ll make his night.”
Kaidan sighs heavily, but as they enter the docking bay area, he nods. “All right. Got a song in mind?”
Grinning, Rhys pulls up his omni-tool. “Do I ever …”