Curious Jealousy- a F!Shenko Fic

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Date Pt.2

She felt her Commander demeanor take back over. Her face slid into a careful blankness and her eyes showed nothing more than sternness.

"Kaidan!" the annoyingly perky voice of Adria greeted- to Shepard, it was as cringe-worthy as fingernails on a blackboard (though she had never personally heard the sound, it was horrible on vids).

He smiled easily and gestured to Shepard. "Adria this is-"

Shepard turned around and saw Adria in a bright blue dress that was breezy, flattering, and...fun (that was the best word she could find). She had her brown hair down and it played over her bare shoulders.

Once again, Shepard hated her for her careless femininity.

For being so damn perky.

A small part of Shepard added: for being a civilian. But Shepard could no more have gone ground-side and settled down than she could have convinced her parents to get a horse when she was a child.

"Lia!" she greeted. "I haven't seen you in a while. You taking care of him?" She looked over at Kaidan and playfully smacked his arm. “You said you didn’t know her!”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kaidan mouth the name Lia confusedly. "As much as anyone can. He's changed a lot since we last served together,” Shepard said judiciously.

She laughed- more of a giggle- and nodded. "I can only imagine!" Her gaze turned to Kaidan before looking back at Shepard. "Oh my god," she whispered. "You're her."

Shepard wondered what look Kaidan had on his face that made Adria say that (whatever her statement even meant). She didn’t bother looking at Kaidan, just kept her composure.

Not letting her confusion show, Shepard simply asked, "Her who?"

"Commander Shepard."

"That's right," she confirmed, still not completely understanding, but taking guilty satisfaction from Adria's wide eyes- both fearful and disbelieving.

It was petty, and if her parents had seen, she never would have heard the end of it.

Adria looked at Kaidan and nodded. "This is her, isn't it?"

Again, Shepard felt lost at the true, vital nature of the words.

Shepard felt Kaidan's eyes on her. "Yeah, it is."

Adria looked between the two of them a couple of times before nodding- almost in acceptance. "Well, I'll let you both get back to it." She leaned forward in a conspiratorially manner. "I've got a date too."

Shepard gave her a cool smile that was as much part of her commander mode as everything else was. "Knock him dead."

Adria smiled enthusiastically. "Take care!" she practically squealed as she walked away.

Turning back to Kaidan, she kept her cool Commander face on. He was watching her studiously, almost amused, and more than a little horrified. He gave her a mocking smile. "Do you know what you want to order, Lia?"

Shepard regarded him coldly before picking up her menu and pretending to scan it. "Don't tell Liara I butchered her name," was her only response.

They fell silent when the waitress came over for their orders. They both ordered a steak each (though Shepard was sure that Adria wouldn't eat anything more than a damn salad) and he ordered an Earth whiskey and she ordered a glass of Asari honey mead- she contemplated something a little harder, but figured she'd want clarity.

After the waitress left, Kaidan cleared his throat. "So you know Adria."

Without skipping a beat, Shepard said, "Yes, I know Adria. She seems nice."