Curious Jealousy- a F!Shenko Fic

Chapter Forty-Two: Orders

Waking up, Shepard wondered if EDI had been messing with the environmental controls again because she was distinctly warmer than she normally was any other time.

Of course, that was better than when EDI had decided to lower the temperature to see what effect it would have on the crew's efficiency.

She rubbed her eyes and wondered if she'd need to have another talk with the AI about the power of self-control and how inconsiderate it was to experiment on people. That was when she realized that there was something large and heavy across her abdomen and something- presumably a body- pressed against her back.

Despite all of the lost time, Shepard could have recognized those hands with her eyes closed with nothing more to go on than touch. A part of her wanted to go back to sleep for a little while longer and just linger in his embrace for as long as possible.

Despite her wishes, the more logical part of her brain reminded her that they were in the middle of a galactic war that was bigger than her and a renewed romance that was still just as against Alliance protocol as it had been on the SR-1.

Of course, though she was his superior officer while they served on the Normandy, he outranked her.

So, their roles were somewhat switched from the last time- a fact that gave Shepard more than a few chuckles.

Shepard carefully eased out from under Kaidan's arm and got out of bed with more than a little regret. That was about the point she realized that she was still in the fatigues she had been wearing when she came back from her last mission.

Well, apparently, it was shower time.

Something was wrong.

Kaidan kept his eyes closed as he tried to identify the problem.

The bed- at least, he assumed that it was a bed- was too soft and spacious to be a crewman's bunk or a sleeping pod. He had been pretty positive that, if memory served, he hadn't gone asleep by himself and, yet, he could tell that he was, in fact, alone.

He really hoped that it hadn't all been a dream and he was still at Huerta with nothing to do but watch the news and twiddle his thumbs.

It was a relief when he opened his eyes and he was in Shepard's personal quarters. Alone, true, but still there. Of course, he wasn't truly alone since he heard the shower.

He stretched leisurely and looked at the glass case holding model ships and a desk with an abused looking N7 helmet on...oh. He quickly moved his eyes away from that when he realized what it was- when it was from.

How could she fall asleep and wake up with that just in eyesight?

Oh, that's right, she wasn't really sleeping.

As the shower turned off, Kaidan felt his stomach clench.

What if his staying last night was a bad decision she made from sheer stress?

What if she was horrified to see him still in her bed?

The door to her bathroom opened and she paused at her private terminal to check her messages, which produced a small frown as her eyes moved from left to right. From her clothes- her normal black cargo pants and a tank-top that she wore under her N7 jacket- and easy set of her shoulders, Kaidan could tell that she was relaxed and at ease.

He had missed seeing that over the years.

She glanced through her display case and her smile widened. "Hey there, Major," she smirked, walking around into her living area. "I thought I was going to leave you a note and sneak out of my own quarters."