Work Text:
It wasn't unusual for them to work in silence. Kaidan enjoyed talking with Charlie, especially when he got her to open up and really talk, but he also enjoyed the way they could sit in comfortable silence for hours, content to simply be in each other's presence.
After they returned to the Normandy earlier that day, it didn't take long for Charlie to show up at his workstation, datapad in hand, like she did after most missions. She plopped down in her usual seat behind where he worked, grumbling about "dumb reports" before she fell silent, focused on her task. He joined her soon after, sitting beside her as he started working on his own reports.
Kaidan wasn't sure how long had passed when he suddenly felt a soft weight on his shoulder. He froze at the surprise contact, his whole body going tense until he glanced down, finding Charlie's head resting upon him. A smile spread across his lips and warmth through his chest at the sight of her asleep.
Staring at her, he noticed how relaxed she appeared, her usual scowl wiped off her face, full lips parted as she breathed. It wasn't a look often seen of their hardened commander—though he'd probably seen it more than most—and he couldn't help but watch as she slept.
He took the neglected datapad from her hands and placed it on the seat beside him to prevent it from clanging to the floor and waking her up. He caught sight of some of her hair that had fallen into her face, the blonde strands dangling in front of her nose, fluttering back and forth as she breathed in and out. Charlie obviously needed to rest, but he wasn't sure if it would be interrupted by the tickle of her hair on her nose. Debating the best course of action, Kaidan finally decided to try and carefully brush the strands of hair back away from her face.
Tentatively, he reached his fingers towards her, catching the hair with his fingertips. Charlie stirred, her nose wrinkling for a moment as she shifted her head against his shoulder. He didn't pull away fast enough, his fingers lightly brushing over her cheek, and he immediately went rigid, not daring to move another muscle. His heart thrummed rapidly in his chest as he waited for the moment she woke up and found him in such an intimate position, but it never came. With a breath of relief, he quickly moved the stray strands of hair out of her face before pulling his hand back.
He'd barely grazed Charlie's skin with his fingertips, but he longed for more than just a brief touch. He wanted to hold her face in his hands and trace the scar on her cheek as he found out what it was like to taste her lips. He wanted to hold her in his arms while she slept, to feel her body pressed close against his as he let himself fall asleep beside her.
It was times like this when he wished Alliance regs weren't an obstacle keeping them apart, but he didn't want to complicate the chain of command—or lose her as a friend. He'd come close enough by even showing interest in her in the first place.
Besides, he wasn't even sure if she was interested in him in such a way. Well, he thought she might be, but he might have been overthinking things. Charlie was… complicated.
Kaidan focused back on his work, trying not to think about the intensity of his feelings for the woman asleep on his shoulder. He'd barely gotten anything done when the sound of her breaths grew heavier and more nasal, until she was outright snoring. He never expected the first human Spectre to snore, and he pressed his lips together, trying to keep a bout of laughter at bay. Looking down at Charlie, he smiled again. The snoring was endearing.
Returning his gaze to the datapad he held, he continued working on his report to the steady sound of her snores, until he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Kaidan turned his head slightly, not wanting to jostle Charlie's head too much, his eyes catching someone moving towards the mess until they changed their path, approaching where he and Charlie sat together.
He heard Ashley's familiar snicker just as she came into full view, a smirk on her face as she crossed her arms and stared at their commander. "Is she snoring?" she asked, clearly amused by the whole situation.
"Shh," Kaidan whispered. "I don't want to wake her up."
Ashley's smile turned into a grimace. "Eew, she's drooling, too!"
Drawing his brows together as he glanced down, he saw a bit of drool dripping out of the corner of Charlie's open mouth, though he found that he didn't care much. It wasn't exactly the prettiest thing in the galaxy, but in a weird way it was almost adorable.
"It's going to get all over you," Ashley continued. "That's gross."
He gave her a pleading look. "Ash, seriously, keep it down."
Quirking an eyebrow, she studied him. "You don't even care if she drools all over you, do you?"
"What? No, I—"
"Face it, LT, you've fallen hard."
"I haven't—"
Kaidan instantly shut his mouth the moment Charlie stirred again, breathing in deeply before a rush of air and a particularly loud snore escaped her lips. Neither he nor Ashley spoke, both of them staring at Charlie with wide eyes as they waited to see if she would wake up. When Kaidan was sure Charlie was still asleep, he shot Ashley a glare, which she promptly ignored.
"Seeing the two of you like this is kind of cute… if you ignore the drool," Ashley pointed out, keeping her voice quiet. With a light laugh she left them alone, heading towards the mess. He caught her shoot another grimace over her shoulder before she disappeared out of sight.
Kaidan sighed, looking down at Charlie once again, unable to stop himself from smiling.
Ashley was right—he had fallen hard.
- . - . - . - . -
Charlie breathed in deeply and cracked open her eyes, squinting against the lights blaring into her vision as it focused. Furrowing her brow, she stared at the console in front of her—the one Kaidan usually worked at—blinking rapidly as she tried to assess her surroundings.
Had he been at the console when she fell asleep? She was writing up reports and then…
Charlie tried to think back, immediately jerking upright when it all came back to her. She glanced to her side and met Kaidan's gaze, swallowing hard as they stared at each other.
"Hey," he said quietly, offering her a small smile. "You fell asleep."
"Yeah." She opened and closed her mouth, trying to figure out what else to say when she noticed a damp spot on the shoulder of his uniform. It took her a moment to process what it meant, but when she did, her stomach instantly dropped and her eyes widened. "Oh shit," she breathed. Quickly wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Charlie stared at his uniform in horror, her heart speeding up as her cheeks warmed. "I drooled… all over you."
"Oh, yeah, that," he simply said, looking down at the little spot with a shrug. "It's fine. It'll dry."
Charlie's mouth hung open as she shot him an incredulous look—how the hell was she the only one concerned about the fact that she drooled all over him?
"I am so, so, so, sorry," she muttered. "That’s disgusting, god, I didn't mean to…" Kaidan huffed, his lips curling into a smile as she fumbled for words. "You know what?" she began, talking fast, "I obviously need sleep, so I'm just going to go… to my quarters… where I can do that." And where I can drool on my pillow and not make a fucking fool of myself, she mentally added.
Charlie stood to leave, pursing her lips as she quickly walked from where they sat, annoyed with herself for falling asleep on Kaidan in the first place—let alone actually drooling all over him, too. She was supposed to be distancing herself from him, yet the more she tried, the closer they grew. She couldn't ignore her feelings for the man, no matter how hard she tried. And if she were honest with herself, she liked spending time with him, and didn't want to give that up… even though she knew how dangerous it was.
"Shepard, wait!" Kaidan called out after her, and she stopped, taking a deep breath before she turned around to face him.
"Yeah?"
He stood and caught up to her, offering her the datapad in his hand. "I finished up the last part of your report."
Smiling at the gesture, Charlie took the datapad from him, fidgeting with it in her hands. "You didn't have to do that."
Kaidan's eyes dropped and he released a short breath before he turned his gaze upon hers again. "I wanted to," he said softly.
"Thanks, Alenko," she replied, trying to ignore the way her heart fluttered at his words. "I appreciate it." They lingered in silence for a moment, until she had to tear her gaze from his before it burned right through her. "Well… I should go. Goodnight."
"'Night, ma'am."
Charlie smiled to herself as she turned, continuing towards her room. Distracted by thoughts of her and Kaidan’s exchange, she didn't see Ashley approaching her, almost walking directly into the other woman.
"Where the hell did you come from?" she barked, startled.
"The mess," Ashley replied, trying to hide a grin. "Glad to see you're up, Commander. Nice nap?"
It took Charlie a second to understand the other woman's meaning, and she shot her a glare when it hit her. "Shut up, Williams," Charlie grumbled before continuing to her quarters, bristling at the sound of Ashley's quiet laughter as she left.
She was never going to hear the end of this.