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Shepard lay on her back, staring up on the ceiling of her cabin. Glancing to her left, the clock read that it was early morning. It had been a week since Cerberus attempted their coup on the Citadel. A week since she had killed Ambassador Udina. A week since Kaidan Alenko returned to the Normandy; to her. A year since they had seen each other on Horizon. A year since that fight. There was some on and off chit-chat between them and Kaidan had invited her to a meal with him.
I wonder about us. Shepard swallowed hard and slowly brushed her upper arms with the palms of her hands. I love you Shepard. I always have.
“Then why have you been ignoring me?” Shepard asked out-loud and sat up in bed. She hadn’t once stopped thinking about him. Even after the altercation on Horizon, where his words had hurt her, where her existence had hurt him, everything she did was with him in mind. On the other hand, she had spent two years dead. He had mourned her death and grieved and slowly he had been moving on. Had he viewed her short association with Cerberus as such a deep-rooted act of betrayal? Had he really forgiven her?
Shepard rubbed her feet together and brought her knees to her chest. Three years since that night on the old Normandy. Suddenly the room felt warmer than usual. Falling back on her pillow, Shepard grumbled. Three years since… anything. She hadn’t chosen the go to the arms of anyone else in the few hours that the Normandy prepped to go through the Omega 4 Relay. Muscles twitched across her body as temperature of the room increased. Her head rolled to the thermostat on the wall to her right. Nothing had changed. And yet she was sweating. Her heart rate was increasing. Every muscle in her wanted to move. No, her body wanted Kaidan. His touch, his smell, what made him well, him.
And he was only two floors down. For seven days he had been right below her, and Shepard couldn’t stand it anymore.
Shepard looked back at her clock. The majority of the crew should be asleep by now. There might be a skeleton crew running the flight deck and engineering. But crew quarters, should be empty. Conflicted, she let out a small whimper and rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palms. Maybe a little restless… He would be awake and in the port observation.
Shepard bit her lip. It was now or never. Pushing herself out of bed she grabbed her omni-tool and maneuvered towards her bathroom. Stripping herself of panties and camisole, she wrapped a towel around her body. Toes drumming on the floor, she inhaled deeply. Opening the door to her cabin, Shepard tip-toed into the elevator and pressed the button for deck three.
While the chance of running into someone else was low, the chance was still there, so she pushed her body against the front walls of the elevator. As the ride came to a stop and the doors slide open, Shepard squat down. Commander or not, she had a reputation uphold, and being caught in the crew quarters in nothing but a towel would not help that reputation. Peering around the elevator door reviled a clear coast. Pulling the towel tighter around her, Shepard pushed off the outer wall of the elevator and padded left towards the port observation.
Pushing herself into the frame of the observation door, Shepard blipped on her Omni-Tool.
“Hey, Alenko, are you by any chance in the Port Observation? Got a minute to talk?” She whispered. Her voice never trembled, but her heart was beating with anxiety. There was a moment where the only thing that responded.
“Uh… yeah, I am, but… maybe later. I gotta finish up this report.”
“But Kaidan. I’m already here….” She paused, “And I’m naked.”