Curious Jealousy- a F!Shenko Fic

Chapter Fifty-One: Love

Kaidan had decided, while on their “shore leave” that, maybe, Hope was right. Maybe shore leave was just something that never went well with her. He didn’t end up getting to help her take off her dress and underwear, but went on a trek into the Citadel Archives only to be met face-to-face with Shepard’s clone.

The entire time they were dealing with said clone, Kaidan had noticed that she was intentionally not looking at him. Hadn’t he once accused her of being a Cerberus clone?

However, he had come to realize, the clone was nothing like the woman that he had known and loved. No, one might be able to perfectly clone the physical shell, but personality was made from experience.

Once they had secured the Normandy, killed the clone (something that had bothered him, not that he mourned her death, but because of the near-perfect likeness to his Hope), and turned in Brooks, Kaidan and Hope made their way slowly back to her new apartment.

Hope and Kaidan had both changed into their civvies on the Normandy (they didn’t really want to frighten civilians while on their way back to the apartment) and were curled together on the couch- Kaidan with a beer and Hope with a glass of red wine.

“Better be careful,” Kaidan murmured, pressing a kiss into her hair.

She raised her face up to look at him and raised an eyebrow. “Can I ask why?” she asked cautiously.

“You’re completely relaxed- something else might blow up…or you might end up going through another fish tank.”

Shepard didn’t say anything, just gave a small smile that was as fake as the clone. “D’you want to talk about it, Kaidan?”

It was his turn to look at her with a confused expression. “About what?”

Nothing was said for a few minutes as Shepard lowered her face to watch the fire that was burning in front of them. “About the clone,” she said finally, her tone completely neutral.

“She sure was a looker- if I do say so,” Kaidan joked, pressing a little closer against her. “Attitude sucked, but she was pretty good looking.”

Hope didn’t even chuckle. “Doesn’t it bother you- even a little? I mean, you once said that I could just be a Cerberus clone and then, all of a sudden, there’s a clone of me”

It was more than a little apparent that it was something that really bothered her. Nodding his head, Kaidan untangled himself from her and sat on the coffee table in front of her. Taking her hands in his own, he stared down at them. “D’you want to know how I know that you’re not a clone programmed to think that she’s Hope Shepard?”

A shrug and nod was his only answer.

“Who’s your best friend?”

After a pause, she murmured, “Garrus.”

“And your surrogate son?”

“Grunt.”

“Your little sister?”

“Tali.”

“What happened with Wrex on Virmire?”

“I had to talk him out of abandoning our cause and taking up Saren’s.”

He smiled and lifted their entwined hands to kiss hers. “Don’t you get it? The clone, being made by Cerberus, hated aliens. She also didn’t have your memories.

“Hope, you are the original Shepard- a little more tech and a few more experiences- and you should never doubt that.”

She smiled at him with a look of pure adoration before leaning forward and kissing him passionately. When she suddenly pulled back, she had a wide grin on her face that confounded him.

“What?” he asked.

“There’s no one here,” she murmured, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth.

“I know,” he said, still not quite catching her drift.

Standing up, she pulled on his hands until he stood too. “I think we’re past due to have some us time- don’t you think?”

With a grin, he nodded and followed her up the stairs.

There was nothing like waking up with a beautiful woman in your arms.

 At least not according to Kaidan.

It was even better when that woman was someone that was absolutely perfect in her own rights. Not to mention waking up after a long bout of passionate love-making.

No, he was the luckiest man in the galaxy.

With that thought in mind, he carefully untangled himself from the woman he had loved for years and began getting dressed.

Shepard rolled over and promptly hit a cold spot on the bed that shocked her awake. Frowning, she opened her eyes and struggled to figure out why said bed would be cold. She distinctly remembered not falling asleep alone. In fact, a certain Major had definitely been beside her once exhaustion from their activities (and multiple orgasms) had taken her.

With a disappointed sigh, she looked around the room and realized that his clothes, too were gone. Something akin to hurt blossomed in her heart as she made her way to the closet and got dressed.

Padding her way downstairs and to the kitchen, she was instantly halted by the sight of Kaidan standing in front of the stove scrambling eggs. She leaned against the doorway and just watched him with a small smile playing on her lips.

It wasn’t until he turned did he even notice her standing there. “Hey, you,” he murmured, walking away from the stove to engulf her in a hug.

Once he stepped away from her and back to the stove, she leaned against the counter. “The bed was cold,” she informed him, matter-of-factly.

“I woke up first and decided to make you breakfast. I was going to bring it up to you for a breakfast in bed. But, since you’re up, we’ll just down at the table and eat.”

Taking her seat at the bar instead, she leaned her chin into her hands. “I love you, you know?” she asked.

He leaned over the bar and kissed her. “I do now.”