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Red.
So much red.
That was one of the few things which passed through Kaidan’s numb mind as he laid there, slouched against the bomb.The activated bomb, he thought dryly. He looked down at his body, and he could see his grey armour was splattered with dark blotches of his blood. Kaidan could feel his strength rapidly depleting, as he struggled to maintain his barrier. Flickering once, twice, then... gone. Fuck.
One trembling hand was gripping his pistol tightly; even raising it now was a chore. He fired off a few shots, his unsteady hand preventing those shots from actually being much accurate - he wondered how many shots made a hit. His other hand was alternating between clutching his side in pain (and fuck did it hurt, Shepard was gonna be pissed), and glowing blue, attempting to fling his enemies away from him. It was too much. Blood trickled down his nose, dripping a little into his mouth, staining his teeth as it ran over his parted lips and down his chin.
The effort drained him. Kaidan slid further down into the water, like it was quicksand, pulling him in. He felt cold, and... airy. Like he was floating. Looking down, the red turned as the water rose past his waist. Lightish red. Wait, what was that? Yes. Pink, his brain supplied helpfully.
So much pink.
Licking his lips, Kaidan cringed at the metallic taste, trying to control his breathing. Wheezing, more like. His breaths were fast and shallow, his heart rate way too high. How hilarious would it be right now if his cause of death was a heart attack? This is it, he thought. He wished he had talked to his parents recently. Guess he was too busy trying to save the galaxy.
Trying, and failing.
His head landed against the bomb with a dull thud, the pain from his heroic biotics (pfft, heroic) spiked from his amp port, travelling up from the base of his neck and round his temples. Squeezing his eyes shut, he fired off a few more shots blindly around the bomb. His hand was shaking so much. I’m so sorry...
‘’Alenko!’’
Kaidan’s eyes snapped open at the familiar sound. He could hear footsteps splashing towards him, more weapons fire, and Shepard, glorious Shepard, came into view. Sprinting towards his lieutenant. The next thing Kaidan knew, Shepard was looming (did Shepard become bigger?) over him, crouching down and prying away Kaidan’s pistol from uncoordinated hands.
‘’Commander?’’
‘’Time to go, Lieutenant.’’
Kaidan squinted, reaching within the depths of his inner strength to focus on those bright blue eyes. He couldn’t. Unshed tears of pain made everything blurry, his head refusing to remain upright. Wait.. if Shepard was here, then...
‘’.. What’s.. Ash... ‘’
‘’Stay alive, Alenko.’’
Shepard slapped him across the cheek (which - ‘’Ow!’’) and gripped his shoulders, raising him on his feet. Kaidan blinked rapidly, adjusting to the sudden change of balance. Swaying for a moment before his legs gave out, he sagged against Shepard, who caught him with a soft grunt, his stubble grazing a pleasant burn on Kaidan’s forehead. And oh, Kaidan could get used to this. He was aware of his shivering - when did he become so cold? Shepard felt warm. Warm and powerful, and... safe. He just wanted to sleep right now.
‘’Shit, Kaidan.’’
A soft whimper escaped from Kaidan’s lips before he could control it as Shepard threw him over his shoulders, the pressure on his injured side increasing. The ground beneath him moved fast, rolling away and making him dizzy, his neck straining from the jolts. And then it was dim.
The Normandy. He had been saved. Shepard had saved him. At the cost of...
‘’Shepard.. but, Ash... how...’’
The bright lights of the med bay assaulted his vision, causing him to groan. Kaidan wasn’t too sure what was happening. His throat felt closed off, and the biotic winced as be swallowed his own blood in a futile manner to clear it. Some part of him chastised himself for the action. The world felt hazy, like swimming through fog. Someone (Doc?) was unclasping his armour, pressing something cool over his body (fuck he was really freezing), wiping away the blood and grime on his face, sweeping his messy hair backwards. The air on his bare arms and neck made him shudder violently, while his head felt heavy, lolling about on his shoulders as the adrenaline slowly faded away, agony finally settling in.
Kaidan caught a flash of blue eyes and a shaved head, scar easily visible... Shepard was holding his head. He wanted to smile, say thank you, say something, but suddenly felt like someone slammed a nail through his skull. Instinctively he jerked back, lashing and kicking out at whoever was around him, hands fumbling and going to his head as he let out one strangled cry, before people were holding him again.
The Sentinel felt something sharp prick his arm, and almost instantly, he was whisked away from the crippling pain, into nothingness, his last memory the heavy and musky scent of the sweat of his saviour.
-
End.