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Shepard was on her side next to him, breathing low and steady. Even if she wasn't asleep, it was by far the most relaxed he'd seen her in a good number of years. He could easily count back -- before her house arrest, before Cerberus, before that mission on Virmire. Long before they knew the truth behind what they were getting themselves into.
Kaidan himself was on his back, hands hooked behind his head and staring out at the stars as the Normandy breezed through space. He'd always been one for stargazing, spending endless hours just watching and imagining. What was out there; who was out there.
Well, his questions were answered pretty solidly when he was about six and a half years old. Protheans? A relic of the last cycle. Humanity found itself to be one of a dozen races in the galaxy. And they picked one hell of a way to introduce themselves.
Shepard turned over, now facing away from Kaidan. He heard a soft sigh, a quick exhale of breath, and she turned her head to look back around at him. Kaidan looked at her, and her eyes opened slowly, the glow of the empty fishtank at her back keeping her almost completely in shadow.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Her voice was low, slightly crackly and croaky.
"Why aren't you?"
Shepard didn't answer, and Kaidan looked back up at the viewport. The stars zoomed by, too quick for him to pinpoint any sector that he might have visited. Shepard would have known -- she had perfect recall for that sort of thing. Give her current coordinates and point to a sector and she'd be able to name some of the known planets in that area.
"I can't."
Shepard sat up, her hair falling to the side. Kaidan pushed down the urge to tuck it behind her ear; a moment later, she did it herself.
"I can't," she repeated. She sat up completely, scooting to the edge of the bed, throwing the covers off as she moved. "I keep going through it all, every single little detail. Krogan forces over here, no, over there. Keeping the salarians back for subterfuge work or setting some as front-line soldiers." Kaidan saw her hold her head in her hands. "Are we going to make it, Kaidan?"
Kaidan shuffled up behind Shepard, resting his chin on her left shoulder. "Everyone has their orders. Everyone knows what they need to do. We're ready."
"Yeah." Shepard sighed. "I guess we are."
"Come here." Kaidan moved his head away before placing his hands gently against Shepard's shoulders. The slightest pressure and she leaned back, resting against his bare chest. Kaidan began running one of his hands up and down Shepard's arm and felt her beginning to relax. Her eyes closed and she let her weight rest against him.
A stray thought crossed his mind -- one he'd normally swipe to the side, bury until he could dig it back up and analyse it properly.
Normally.
But both the day and the events of were far from normal.
A grin appeared on Kaidan's face. "Let's get married."
Shepard snorted, a smile appearing on her own face that Kaidan could just about see. "Unconventional proposal, but sure. When?"
Kaidan moved away from Shepard, she catching herself before she fell backwards into the bed. He moved to the edge of the bed and stood up, in his pyjamas, and held out a hand to Shepard. She cocked her head, raising her eyebrows as she looked at him.
"How about right now."
"Now?" Shepard's confusion became even greater.
Kaidan nodded. "Now. Well, in...EDI, how long would it take for someone to become an officiant?"
EDI's blue orb blipped into existence beside the door to the cabin. "I cannot say for certain, but I would presume under half an hour."
Kaidan turned back to grin at Shepard. "EDI, find someone to officiate. Shepard? Any objections?"
Shepard shook her head slowly before a small smile appeared on her face. "No. None."
"I'll see you in the shuttle bay in thirty minutes, then."
[-]
A little under thirty minutes later, Shepard stepped out from the elevator onto the floor of the shuttle bay. Joker sat at the aft, uniform looking rather hastily thrown on, cap not present and hair dishevelled. Other crew members were scattered around, though the only one Shepard kept watch on was Kaidan as he made his way over to her.
"I'm getting married in my ACUs, in a cleared-out section of the shuttle bay of my ship, with my pilot a hastily-arrange officiate." Shepard snorted a laugh. "My mother's going to kill me."
Kaidan smiled at her, offering the crook of his arm. Shepard slipped her hand in and he held tight as they walked back towards Joker. She kept her gaze focused in front of her, the closing distance, keeping her attention away from the people all around her. All of her ground team and near-almost all of the rest of the crew. Engineer Adams was up close to the front, near enough to the aisle to catch Shepard's attention as she went by.
"For the record, Commander?" Adams said. "Your father is going to be extremely annoyed when he finds out."
"Not as annoyed as my mother," Shepard managed to whisper back just before Joker moved to stand in front of her and Kaidan.
"Well, we're all here because I got pinged an urgent message from EDI that I had to answer. Immediately." Joker looked over at Shepard; with her free hand she tried to point subtly at Kaidan to indicate it wasn't her fault. Kaidan caught the motion out of the corner of his eyes and chuckled. "Turns out the urgent situation was the Major here deciding he wanted to marry Shepard. Now."
Joker leaned over and grabbed a datapad, quickly swiping through it. "Emergency officiation, by authority of who cares, I am now allowed to marry people." Joker looked back up, this time at Kaidan. "So, Kaidan, do you swear to love Shepard and not to fuck everything up?"
"I do."
"Great. I would say I'll kill you if you do, but Shepard can take care of herself." Joker turned to Shepard. "And you?"
"I do."
"Okay. Then that's done and done, electronic signatures." Joker passed the datapad over to Kaidan, then Shepard, for them both to sign. "Congratulations. You two are now married." Joker looked over at the assembled guests. "While I'm here, anyone else want to get married? Liara and Prothy?"
Shepard held back a laugh unsuccessfully, turning it into a snort.
"How about you and EDI, Joker?" Kaidan said.
"Can't. Can't officiate myself."
"Uh-huh." Kaidan had a grin on his face, faltering only when Shepard nudged him in the ribs.
"That's my story and it's true. Now hurry out of here so I can get back to sleep. We've got a busy battle ahead of us tomorrow."