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Charlie should have known her and Kaidan's peaceful walk through the Citadel would be interrupted. Hearing her own voice sounding over the Citadel, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes finding the source of the sound from a nearby news terminal.
"Oh, for—BLEEP—sake, I came here to get help for Earth. For everyone," she watched herself say, her lips pursing as she recognized the line from her latest interview with that al-Jilani woman.
"What about all the people suffering while you play politics with the Council? What about them? How can you stand here while our families die? What are you going to do?"
"The same damn thing I've been doing for the past three years: find a way to stop the reapers, or die trying. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go save the—BLEEP—galaxy. Again."
"I despise that interview," Charlie droned, frowning at the terminal as a news anchor wasted time discussing her colorful language in the interview.
Beside her, Kaidan opened and closed his mouth, struggling for words. "It was…"
"Horrible? A failure? Painful to watch?"
"Something like that," he huffed.
"Honestly, what did she expect to get from me? It was the day we left Earth—the reapers attacked, you almost died, and I had to deal with the Council's political bullshit. And I hate the media."
"Not the best combination of events."
Sighing, Charlie shook her head and stepped up to a railing looking over the Citadel. "Nope. I'm surprised they didn't have to stick more censor beeps in there."
Kaidan joined her on the railing, a light chuckle on his lips, and she shot him a playful glare, elbowing him in the side. He shoved her back with his hips, catching her gaze with a smile as they settled next to each other, the length of their bodies comfortably pressed together, side-by-side.
"You know," Kaidan started, hesitating before continuing, "after I got back from Horizon, I saw an interview you did about coming back from the dead."
Charlie's stomach dropped, her eyes wide as she jerked her gaze to his face, trying to read his expression. The moment her eyes met his, she knew what he was thinking—the exact same thing she was thinking.
"My scars…" she breathed, swallowing hard. Kaidan nodded, and she looked back out over the Citadel, trying to process the new revelation. "I didn't know you saw those."
He was quiet a moment, before he answered softly. "I did."
"Fantastic," she drawled, turning her gaze to him once again. When she met his eyes, she looked down, taking a deep breath before returning them to him.
"I thought you said Cerberus healed all your injuries when they brought you back," he said, a statement more than a question.
"And you want to know why I glowed in the dark."
"I don't think you glowed."
"Yeah, I did, trust me," she huffed.
Slightly tilting his head to the side, he arched an eyebrow at her. "What happened?"
"Oh, you know, I just happened to wake up before my skin was finished healing, so my brand-spanking-new, glowing cybernetics shone through the remaining scars on my body. Just a normal, run of the mill, side effect of being brought back from the dead," she droned, looking out over the Citadel.
"Charlie," Kaidan berated. She rolled her eyes and reluctantly turned back to face him, leaning into his touch when he ran his hand down her arm. "You don't have to do that. It's just me."
She sighed. "I know, it's just… you weren't supposed to see me like that," she muttered. "Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I didn’t see me, I just saw some monster Cerberus took advantage of to do their bidding. Those scars were a reminder of everything that had happened to me, everything that I lost, and I hated them." Kaidan's lips pressed into a thin line as she spoke, his brows drawing together. "When Dr. Chakwas figured out how to get rid of the damn things, I was so relieved, because it was right before Horizon… I didn't want to risk you seeing them, and seeing all the same crap I saw when I looked at myself," she finished, her voice quiet. "So much for that."
"Hey," Kaidan said softly, taking her hands in his as he shot her a serious look. "It wouldn't have mattered if you still had them."
Glaring at him, Charlie pulled her hands from his and crossed her arms over her chest, quirking her eyebrow. "Kaidan, you weren't even sure I was actually me. I don't think having glowing red scars on my face would have helped with the clone-android-AI-whatever theories you were entertaining at the time."
He opened his mouth to protest, but promptly shut it. "Okay, you have a point," he admitted, and she shot him a look that said I told you so. He ignored the look, and instead lifted his hands, his fingers tracing over her jaw before settling on her face, his thumbs gently caressing her cheeks. Charlie rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he was attempting, but a small smile still tugged at the corner of her lips. "But if you had them now… it wouldn't matter. I'd still want to be with you." He paused, his eyes roving over her face.
"Kaidan," she breathed, "you don't have to—"
"I wouldn't see a monster, Charlie, I'd see you. And I love you."
"I know," she said, biting her lip to hold back a full-blown grin. "I love you, too."
"I know," he echoed, a contagious smile on his lips.
"You, Major Kaidan Alenko, are a total sweetheart," Charlie started after a brief moment. "But still, even if the scars didn't bother you, I wouldn't walk around with my face looking like a scary nightlight."
He laughed, and she flashed him a grin before pulling back, intending on continuing their walk through the Citadel. Before she could take a step, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her flush against him and into a deep kiss.
Momentarily lost in the taste of his lips and his hands holding her close, she didn't realize just what they were doing until they broke for air, and she whacked him in the shoulder. "We're in public," she hissed, glaring at him.
"I don't care," Kaidan said with a grin, and Charlie barely had time to smile before his lips were on hers again.
"If someone sees us…"
"Screw 'em."
Charlie broke the kiss, placing a hand on Kaidan's chest to keep him from leaning in once again. "Kaidan, the fucking paparazzi would flip a shit if they found out about us. It'd be the perfect distraction to the war."
Sighing, he took her hand from his chest and briefly held it in his own before dropping it. "You're right. Want to grab some food and beers to go and head back to the Normandy?"
"Tempting, but what if we head to the Spectre office instead of the ship? It's closer, and we'll still be alone there, so we can have a little fun after we eat."
"Fun?" Kaidan asked, smirking at her.
"Not that kind of fun. I'm thinking more of a shooting competition at the range. We could even turn it into a drinking game."
A bark of laughter escaped his lips. "That could be dangerous."
"And that's why it'll be fun," Charlie retorted. "Besides, you might have a chance of outshooting me if I'm tipsy."
"Someone's a little cocky."
"I'm just telling the truth."
Kaidan grinned at her, a competitive glint in his eye, and she knew she had him convinced. "Fine, you're on."