FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [3/9]
anonymous
February 16 2012, 02:58:16 UTC
"I'm sorry," he blurts it and Shepard looks over, one eyebrow raised; "I was just...I can't see you wasting civilians, even for prothean tech." It's a lame finish. There's a lot he wants to say to Shepard. "Good," the man levels that little handsome-devil smile at him, the one that wrinkles his nose slightly. Kaidan's willing to bet there've been a lot of girls brought low by that smile, big blue eyes, long dusky curves of the lashes--he swallows, licks his own dry lips. Really missed him. Shepard looks him up and down, takes in his bloodied, dented hardsuit and sits up, "now, here, lemme get a look at that arm."
Shepard's hands are gentle as they unbind the limb, which has stiffened in it's strapping, and strip the armour from it, opening up the clinging undersuit to expose skin. He hisses slightly, although he's definitely had worse, fails to move his fingers at Shepard's behest. "Think my wrist is fucked," he comments helpfully, as Shepard strips to his own forearms and gently feels the swollen joint. "I'm glad all that specialising in field medicine's serving you well," comes the reply, and Shepard picks up his left gauntlet, dispenses medigel from a conduit onto the area and shapes it into a cast. It's cold and stings in a comfortingly medical way as it hardens into an effective splint around the tender injury, numbing deep into his flesh. "Want me to kiss anything else better?" He shoves Shepard's shoulder with his good hand, admittedly grateful, "Ha-ha. Help me strap it back up, though?"
The nights on Joab are cold. Shepard doesn't seem to notice, rolling his helmet idly in his hands and keeping his eyes on the sky. Occasionally, a sharp tail of light will zip across the emerging stars, debris falling through the atmosphere, and Kaidan isn't sure how, but he's been lying there with Shepard stargazing for the past hour, watching comets and the setting sun. He hasn't done something so mundane in years, and he certainly never thought he'd end up doing it side-by-side with a dead man, heads close and watching for shooting stars. "That's thirteen," Shepard says, suddenly, lifting an arm from behind his head to point at a particularly bright flare. "Unlucky for some," he replies, watching it burn out to nothing.
FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [4/9]
anonymous
February 16 2012, 03:05:04 UTC
"Thirteen in my squad right now, me included." "That so?" "Baddest dudes in the Milky Way galaxy," Shepard turns his head, raises his eyebrows. "How 'bout you? Pick up a sidekick or two?" He thinks Lila Vassati is probably still lying in the wreckage of the transport with her chest caved in, staring up at the starry sky with glassy eyes and a smear of blood on her blue lips and guilt constricts his throat. "God," it never gets easy, and not for the first time has to wonder how Shepard does it, kicks up his heels and keeps on running through all the bodies. "She was a friend of Doctor Michel, junior curator from the tech museum on Rassati Ward, gave me the damn lead on this...this." He doesn't look at Shepard, blinks the sudden blur out of his eyes. "Shit, John. I'll have to write her parents." "Well, that fucking sucks."
They're quiet for a moment. "What happened, anyway? Unless it's classified," Shepard emphasizes the last word like he's amused, but Kaidan's pretty sure he's anything but. "Like I said, we were here for Prothean tech, some kind of construct, I--Lila, her cousin gave her the information, they hadn't thought to find anything so important. We were going to quietly turn it over to the Alliance, but I guess Cerberus got wind of us." Shepard huffs, resting his cheek against his shoulder pauldron, which can't be that comfortable. "So, what, think it could help convince the Council we're about to be wiped out by massive genocidal space prawns?" "That...was the hope, yeah." "Damn. I mean, i'm pretty sure Cerberus want to exterminate the bastards as much as we do, but I don't think they like me very much right now and I bet they won't share." "What changed?" "Blew up the Collector headquarters. They wanted to keep it or something, but I was like 'yeah, nah'-- you know they were liquifying people and making some kind of weird people-reaper thing? And like i'm letting the organisation that said 'hey, let's breed some thorian creepers, husks and rachni into an army! That can't possibly go wrong. Then maybe we'll torture some kids, try to indoctrinate the geth and kill some marines, y'know, for reasons' have that kind of tech. It was like working for the bad guys from the Blasto comics." Despite himself, Kaidan laughs. "You read Blasto?" "Wh-there is no shame in reading Blasto." "Of course not. You know, if you haven't read anything else. Batman 2185 blows Blasto's ass out of the water." Shepard's mouth is gaping indignantly, like Kaidan's just insulted the man's dead mother. He's definitely not thinking when he reaches over and closes it shut with one hand. He's glad it's dark and the other man can't see his warm face because that felt like stepping over a line, but Shepard doesn't seem so bothered, letting out a chuckling laugh that makes him shake slightly, and he doesn't bother batting Kaidan's hand away. The grin on his face has gone fond and his lips are plump and slightly chapped in the half-light, now he looks closer, pouting against his armoured thumb. "Alenko, y'nerd."
FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [5/9]
anonymous
February 16 2012, 03:06:24 UTC
He pulls his hand away from Shepard's face hurriedly, and some part of him is very worried that Shepard's implanted eyes can perhaps see quite clearly in the dark. Even back when the old Normandy was new and the man was a stranger with a scary rep, he never felt quite so nervous around Shepard, who had now abandoned staring at the sky for staring at him.
"Huh," the man says, voice soft, like he's just figured something out, bites his lower lip. Quite naturally, Kaidan finds this worrying, because Shepard only gets that look on his face when he's considering something huge and insane. Last time he saw it, Shepard was flooring the Mako towards the Mass Relay on Ilos. That had been a...fun day. Then he leans up on his elbows, shifts his body until he's laying more on his side and he looks like he's about to do something ridiculous and not entirely unwelcome--
"Aw shit, the fuck is that..." his gaze shifts suddenly from where he's been pinning Kaidan with it and there's a pistol in his hand. A beam of light is making a pass over the excavation site to the north, and he doesn't have to replace his dented helmet and flick on the night-vision to know it's not friendly, not judging by the way Shepard's lips curl into a snarl. He does anyway, following the unmarked shuttle's passage over the area.
"Well, this sucks." " "Yep. Here, we should probably hide." And that is how they ended up tucked under the outcrop together, shoulders pushed together and knees bumping in the awkward space. Shepard keeps sniggering like they're ten, playing dead man's tag and hiding in the woods, which would be pretty funny if Cerberus wasn't sweeping the area. "So, hey," Shepard tilts his head toward him in the low light, and Kaidan can just make out the glint of teeth from the low red light in the scarring on his cheek and jaw, "wanna make out?" "Oh, for-- "Shepard, I swear," he gets as far as that before Shepard's got one cool, gauntleted hand on his jaw and lips pushed against his own and holy shit, John. It's not a great kiss because of the awkwardness of the angle, but it's light and not as pushy as he'd have expected from Shepard (who tastes like tobacco and toothpaste), and he finds himself responding to it, leaning briefly in and kissing back, and it's a suprisingly pleasing fit. Which makes pushing Shepard off all the harder (and not only because he's a lot heavier than Kaidan remembered), levering him back with a clatter of armour. "Look, Shepa--John, you can't just..." "Just did." Incorrigable. "Shepard! Damn it, this isn't what I--" There's a crackle from Shepard's helmet where it's wedged between his knees and they both stop to look at it sharply. The Commander shrugs and puts it on with a short "i'll patch you in," and he follows suit with his own. It's a vid feed, and the image is particularly bad but he can make out who's on the other side. "Tali?"
FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [6/9]
anonymous
February 16 2012, 03:14:10 UTC
"Is that--Kaidan!" She squeaks high enough for the fuzzy audio to glitch, and Shepard grunts and says "Hey, yeah, hugs later, we're pinned. Can you get the shuttle back down here? Hammerhead got kinda fucked." "What did you do to it, you il'otaivah? No, never mind, we've got visual on activity near the dig site. It looks like they've retrieved what they stole from those civilians, and they're going to destroy it along with whatever else is down there, since they can't get off-world without trying to get past us." "Aw, shit." "There's a mobile anti-aircraft cannon on-site, we can't land the kodiak nearby." "How long?" "One or two hours on foot, depending."
Shepard curses, wriggles out of the their hidey-hole, he assumes to take a look at the situation for himself. He follows suit after a moment, trying to ignore the clench in his stomach because he's doing the right thing, here, pushing him away because Shepard's got a reputation for being promiscuous and he knows the man's never held down anything real, never wanted to he claimed one night on the old Normandy, conspiratorial over stodgy rations and mediocre beer, and it's easier for him to blur the lines between battle-brother and lover than it is for Kaidan. "We need to save that damn artifact, Tali, so...I guess we're just gonna have to take out that AA gun. Keep in contact, get the squad together, we'll signal when it's down." She cuts the connection as he scrambles out beside Shepard, awkward without the use of his arm and dropping to a crouch. There's a buzz of activity, and they're outnumbered, sure, but he's pretty confident that (still) doesn't mean anything to Shepard. "Hey, remember Therum?" "Which part? Where you almost drowned us in lava?" "No, jackass," Shepard kicks his thigh lightly. "The ruins. They're similar, right?" Kaidan thinks for a moment. "Shepard, we are not bringing this place down, destroying what's inside might not be worth it." "Oh, you are just no fun. And also I don't think you can drown in lava, you'd like, burn first." "Just lead the damn way, smartass."
He's glad Shepard can't see the grimace he knows his face is set into inside his tech helmet as they clamber over a ridge, keeping low as they clamber up over an incline in order to get a better view. There are bruises and sore spots making themselves known in places he's sure have never felt so sore, where his kinetic barriers didn't quite absorb the impact. It's a relief to flop down beside the other man onto his side in the dust, careful to avoid jogging his splinted wrist, and Shepard, bless him, doesn't crack a joke when he has to catch his breath--he's pretty sure his ribs are bruised, too. Perfect. Instead, he's focused on the lit-up dig site, and Kaidan think he's probably contemplating something foolhardy that will involve two men against an entire Cerberus platoon.
FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [7/9]
anonymous
February 16 2012, 03:18:15 UTC
"Hey, take a look at those guys--yeah, no, no, them," Shepard slips off his helmet, grinning excitedly and points. He follows the other man's outstretched finger towards where three or so men are setting up around a large, marked container, opening it up. "Is that...that's an ATLAS." "Kaidan, I...really want it." Shepard sounds slightly breathless, and Kaidan knows this is a Weapon Thing. Like the time the man came back to the ship with his new HMWSG X, slowly unpackaging it with Wrex looming over his shoulder looking strangely excited, actually lifting it to his face and sniffing, voice low as he explained top of the goddamn line, there is literally no better shotgun than this--look at her, beautiful craftsmanship, this material, custom-fucking-weighted for me, oh, baby girl--he'd left before things had gotten too weird, but that shuddery timbre was back in the other man's voice. "Don't you dare, John." He knows he's too late, but he says it anyway. "C'mon, you know it'll make a great distraction," his grin gets wider and toothier, his cheeks dimple slightly and Kaidan goddamn well knows he's lost. "Fine, but, just...don't do anything stupid. By your standards, anyway." "Yes, sir!" Then he's sealing his helmet back into place and he's gone in a corona of biotics, slamming into the group with what looks like deadly force. There's definitely a scream. Vanguards. He sighs, wonders if Shepard knows that Kaidan does kind of outrank him now, unholsters his sidearm, and takes off at a run into the dark with the ominous whirr of the mech's huge engines in his ears.
They aren't expecting a ground assault, so much is obvious from the panic Shepard instills in mere minutes. Half of the on-site operatives aren't even armoured, and even those with it aren't expecting any action soon, which makes taking the few of them that aren't incredibly distracted out beyond easy, even one-handed. The dig site has been extended, which is probably, he thinks, why they had the mech, and there are huge piles of soil and smashed rock, some of which gleamed with polished, carved designs shunted to the sides of the entrance with carelessness shown to the ancient architecture that would make Liara swoon.
The AA gun is linked up to a mobile generator--and its operators are wide-awake and armed thanks to Shepard's antics on the eastern side of the camp, which makes a frontal assault a no-go. Instead, he uses the cover provided by the messy site and half-set-up machinery to slip around the back. Using an omni-tool one-handed is something they covered in basic, but it's so much harder when you're crouched behind a large mobile anti-aircraft gun guarded by three well-armed enemy operatives, trying to one-handedly hack and overload the generator its attached to.
FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [8/9]
anonymous
February 16 2012, 03:21:54 UTC
Its a newer model, somewhat easy to interface with and packaged with standard security that would have made him cringe a few years ago. Of course, a few years ago, he hadn't yet been assigned to the Normandy, nor had he been aquainted with an energetic, motormouthed little quarian with a real penchant for getting into supposedly-unhackable systems. The security crumbling, he fiddled with the base input/output system, enough that the resulting surge would (at the very least) fry out the gun's systems, rendering it impotent. That was when something not too-distant exploded, and a plume of flame and smoke shot upwards on the other side of the camp. The blast startled the turret's operatives, sending a seismic shudder through the ground and damaging the structure even further, the rocks over the entrance coming down in a rumble--of course, they were probably even more startled when a huge surge of energy blew out their generator and most of their systems. He wasn't there to check, he was running back the way he came, his blood running cold.
There are a lot of bodies. He's not suprised, because Shepard always was pretty much the king of the bodycount, some of them missing heads, limbs, huge parts of them, and some are hardly recognisable as human because they're so charred. The ATLAS is kneeling, one of its huge arms torn out and extensive damage patterning it's armoured hull, bullet-holes and burns. He doesn't even think about it as he flings a cautious operative, sidling up behind him with gun in hand as he takes the scene in so hard against the ground he hears bones break, shoots out the face of another as he approaches the defeated mech, it's back engines still stuttering and belching thick smoke. All he can think of is not again, not again, not again because if he's let John go off on his own to do something stupid and heroic alone and he's fucking died again he's going to--"Shepard!"
He climbs the slick metal frame inelegantly, scrambling up into the smashed-in cockpit. Shepard is limp in the harness, and oh, there's blood. Blood smeared up his hardsuit, blood splattered over the seat behind him, blood over the controls where one hand is still fixed around the steering. He's managed to take a bad hit, one that's sliced straight through the armoured bulk of his plated hardsuit on the right side of the torso under the ribcage, and his helmeted head is dangling low, bowed as Kaidan clambers in, gingerly trying to assess the damage because no no this is not a fatal wound and John can't fucking die again, not here in the cold and dark, unclasping Shepard's helmet with his good hand, fingers slipping on bloody metal. "Shepard, god damn it, please," he grips the man's chin, slaps his cheek, and John--bless his resilience-- cracks open an eye and grunts "What?"
FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [9/9]
anonymous
February 16 2012, 03:22:59 UTC
He kisses him again, teeth clacking together as he presses Shepard's stupid head back, bites at his mouth and tastes the salty sweat on his upper lip. It's hard and messy but Shepard's tangling a hand in his hair and it's so goddamn hard to pull back. He wouldn't if Shepard's side wasn't slick with lost blood. The man gives him a dopey, dimpled smile that he's never even seen before, looking for all the world like he's just had a great fuck instead of a big goddamn injury. "Sn'ot bad, dun worry," John assures him, shrugging with one shoulder and promptly grimacing when he jostles the wound, "got a lot of tech in there, shit repairs itself." "Bullshit," he replies, shifting close so he can try to stem the bleeding--the bleeding which has slowed to nothing, once he scoops the already-clotting gore away from the injury. Shepard looks pale, the dark rings below his eyes suddenly stark, but he's curling his lips easily into that fond, focused smile that keeps turning him hard to port anyway. "Told you so." Ass.
He isn't sure what he quite intends to do when he sits up again, but he ends up exactly where he wants to be, pushed up close against Shepard the cramped cockpit, clutching him tight around his neck with one arm and kissing the scrappy, stupid, handsome, ridiculous asshole full on the mouth again, mindful of his damaged arm and Shepard's injured side. "C'mon," he snorts as Shepard's hand lands cautiously on his backside, "let's get out of this thing before it explodes." Shepard makes a petulant sound against his lips, kissing the indent above them, "I promise, i'll fuck you into your mattress when we get out of here."
Shepard pulls back, bites his kiss-plumped lower lip and looks at him like he just got a banned-in-council-space-without-thirty-five-different-permits krogan-issue Battlemaster XXI for Christmas. "Yes, sir."
Re: FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [9/9]
anonymous
February 16 2012, 21:51:35 UTC
Wow. This story is THE most adorable thing. I like the fact that Shepard likes his guns and that to describe just how fantastic he though it was that Kaidan was kissing him. I like that the kisses were powerful. Kaidan panicking when he thought Shepard could be dying again. Your interpretation of Shepard. So cute. This is awesome! I'm sad it's finished.
Re: FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [9/9]
anonymous
February 18 2012, 20:22:20 UTC
Thank you so much! C: I've always been iffy over Shepard not being able to be more of a sarcastic, silly motherfucker in canon (aside from a few inappropriate puns). Glad you enjoyed it!
Re: FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [9/9]
anonymous
February 18 2012, 20:25:47 UTC
Oh man I know. Pls bioware. :C
And uh, maybe. Maaaaybeeeeee. I've got a lot of work (and a few prompts back up because I apparently hate sleep), but i'll probably do another for this pairing soonish! Perhaps this time with actual smut.
Re: FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [9/9]
anonymous
February 21 2012, 01:58:02 UTC
irl reaction
Awesome, though! Seeing how other people visualise their Shepards' personalities (and getting to share my own) is definitely my favourite part of writing for ME and reading other fills/fanfics. c:
Re: FILL: M!Shep/Kaidan, Stargazing [9/9]
anonymous
February 29 2012, 22:54:15 UTC
I have to admit, it's not how I personally picture their personalities (or Kaidan's anyway, 'cause Shep's always different depending on the player, naturally), but I liked it. Reading Shepard as being a smartass, kind of goofy and reckless was fun. I especially loved the new-gun-scene and when he and Kaidan talked about comic books :D That your story had 'silent' moments (like the stargazing) and action scenes (like the beginning or, of course, the fight against Cerberus) was just awesome. Good balance between comedy and drama, too. Just glad it all had a happy ending, bad endings just don't sit well with me. And I really loved the kissing scenes, those were intense, especially the second one when Kaidan was just relieved that Shepard's alive. And the last line makes for a great ending, left me grinning.
Thanks for writing this :) I really hope that all our gay M!Sheps will get this chance in ME3. God knows M!Shep needs his Kaidan, thanks for getting them together in your story at least (and at least for now...come on, Bioware).
Shepard's hands are gentle as they unbind the limb, which has stiffened in it's strapping, and strip the armour from it, opening up the clinging undersuit to expose skin. He hisses slightly, although he's definitely had worse, fails to move his fingers at Shepard's behest. "Think my wrist is fucked," he comments helpfully, as Shepard strips to his own forearms and gently feels the swollen joint. "I'm glad all that specialising in field medicine's serving you well," comes the reply, and Shepard picks up his left gauntlet, dispenses medigel from a conduit onto the area and shapes it into a cast. It's cold and stings in a comfortingly medical way as it hardens into an effective splint around the tender injury, numbing deep into his flesh. "Want me to kiss anything else better?" He shoves Shepard's shoulder with his good hand, admittedly grateful, "Ha-ha. Help me strap it back up, though?"
The nights on Joab are cold. Shepard doesn't seem to notice, rolling his helmet idly in his hands and keeping his eyes on the sky. Occasionally, a sharp tail of light will zip across the emerging stars, debris falling through the atmosphere, and Kaidan isn't sure how, but he's been lying there with Shepard stargazing for the past hour, watching comets and the setting sun. He hasn't done something so mundane in years, and he certainly never thought he'd end up doing it side-by-side with a dead man, heads close and watching for shooting stars.
"That's thirteen," Shepard says, suddenly, lifting an arm from behind his head to point at a particularly bright flare. "Unlucky for some," he replies, watching it burn out to nothing.
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"That so?"
"Baddest dudes in the Milky Way galaxy," Shepard turns his head, raises his eyebrows. "How 'bout you? Pick up a sidekick or two?"
He thinks Lila Vassati is probably still lying in the wreckage of the transport with her chest caved in, staring up at the starry sky with glassy eyes and a smear of blood on her blue lips and guilt constricts his throat. "God," it never gets easy, and not for the first time has to wonder how Shepard does it, kicks up his heels and keeps on running through all the bodies. "She was a friend of Doctor Michel, junior curator from the tech museum on Rassati Ward, gave me the damn lead on this...this." He doesn't look at Shepard, blinks the sudden blur out of his eyes. "Shit, John. I'll have to write her parents."
"Well, that fucking sucks."
They're quiet for a moment. "What happened, anyway? Unless it's classified," Shepard emphasizes the last word like he's amused, but Kaidan's pretty sure he's anything but. "Like I said, we were here for Prothean tech, some kind of construct, I--Lila, her cousin gave her the information, they hadn't thought to find anything so important. We were going to quietly turn it over to the Alliance, but I guess Cerberus got wind of us."
Shepard huffs, resting his cheek against his shoulder pauldron, which can't be that comfortable. "So, what, think it could help convince the Council we're about to be wiped out by massive genocidal space prawns?"
"That...was the hope, yeah."
"Damn. I mean, i'm pretty sure Cerberus want to exterminate the bastards as much as we do, but I don't think they like me very much right now and I bet they won't share."
"What changed?"
"Blew up the Collector headquarters. They wanted to keep it or something, but I was like 'yeah, nah'-- you know they were liquifying people and making some kind of weird people-reaper thing? And like i'm letting the organisation that said 'hey, let's breed some thorian creepers, husks and rachni into an army! That can't possibly go wrong. Then maybe we'll torture some kids, try to indoctrinate the geth and kill some marines, y'know, for reasons' have that kind of tech. It was like working for the bad guys from the Blasto comics." Despite himself, Kaidan laughs. "You read Blasto?"
"Wh-there is no shame in reading Blasto."
"Of course not. You know, if you haven't read anything else. Batman 2185 blows Blasto's ass out of the water."
Shepard's mouth is gaping indignantly, like Kaidan's just insulted the man's dead mother. He's definitely not thinking when he reaches over and closes it shut with one hand. He's glad it's dark and the other man can't see his warm face because that felt like stepping over a line, but Shepard doesn't seem so bothered, letting out a chuckling laugh that makes him shake slightly, and he doesn't bother batting Kaidan's hand away. The grin on his face has gone fond and his lips are plump and slightly chapped in the half-light, now he looks closer, pouting against his armoured thumb. "Alenko, y'nerd."
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"Huh," the man says, voice soft, like he's just figured something out, bites his lower lip. Quite naturally, Kaidan finds this worrying, because Shepard only gets that look on his face when he's considering something huge and insane. Last time he saw it, Shepard was flooring the Mako towards the Mass Relay on Ilos. That had been a...fun day. Then he leans up on his elbows, shifts his body until he's laying more on his side and he looks like he's about to do something ridiculous and not entirely unwelcome--
"Aw shit, the fuck is that..." his gaze shifts suddenly from where he's been pinning Kaidan with it and there's a pistol in his hand. A beam of light is making a pass over the excavation site to the north, and he doesn't have to replace his dented helmet and flick on the night-vision to know it's not friendly, not judging by the way Shepard's lips curl into a snarl. He does anyway, following the unmarked shuttle's passage over the area.
"Well, this sucks."
" "Yep. Here, we should probably hide."
And that is how they ended up tucked under the outcrop together, shoulders pushed together and knees bumping in the awkward space. Shepard keeps sniggering like they're ten, playing dead man's tag and hiding in the woods, which would be pretty funny if Cerberus wasn't sweeping the area.
"So, hey," Shepard tilts his head toward him in the low light, and Kaidan can just make out the glint of teeth from the low red light in the scarring on his cheek and jaw, "wanna make out?"
"Oh, for-- "Shepard, I swear," he gets as far as that before Shepard's got one cool, gauntleted hand on his jaw and lips pushed against his own and holy shit, John. It's not a great kiss because of the awkwardness of the angle, but it's light and not as pushy as he'd have expected from Shepard (who tastes like tobacco and toothpaste), and he finds himself responding to it, leaning briefly in and kissing back, and it's a suprisingly pleasing fit. Which makes pushing Shepard off all the harder (and not only because he's a lot heavier than Kaidan remembered), levering him back with a clatter of armour.
"Look, Shepa--John, you can't just..."
"Just did." Incorrigable. "Shepard! Damn it, this isn't what I--"
There's a crackle from Shepard's helmet where it's wedged between his knees and they both stop to look at it sharply. The Commander shrugs and puts it on with a short "i'll patch you in," and he follows suit with his own. It's a vid feed, and the image is particularly bad but he can make out who's on the other side. "Tali?"
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"What did you do to it, you il'otaivah? No, never mind, we've got visual on activity near the dig site. It looks like they've retrieved what they stole from those civilians, and they're going to destroy it along with whatever else is down there, since they can't get off-world without trying to get past us."
"Aw, shit."
"There's a mobile anti-aircraft cannon on-site, we can't land the kodiak nearby."
"How long?"
"One or two hours on foot, depending."
Shepard curses, wriggles out of the their hidey-hole, he assumes to take a look at the situation for himself. He follows suit after a moment, trying to ignore the clench in his stomach because he's doing the right thing, here, pushing him away because Shepard's got a reputation for being promiscuous and he knows the man's never held down anything real, never wanted to he claimed one night on the old Normandy, conspiratorial over stodgy rations and mediocre beer, and it's easier for him to blur the lines between battle-brother and lover than it is for Kaidan. "We need to save that damn artifact, Tali, so...I guess we're just gonna have to take out that AA gun. Keep in contact, get the squad together, we'll signal when it's down."
She cuts the connection as he scrambles out beside Shepard, awkward without the use of his arm and dropping to a crouch. There's a buzz of activity, and they're outnumbered, sure, but he's pretty confident that (still) doesn't mean anything to Shepard. "Hey, remember Therum?"
"Which part? Where you almost drowned us in lava?"
"No, jackass," Shepard kicks his thigh lightly. "The ruins. They're similar, right?" Kaidan thinks for a moment.
"Shepard, we are not bringing this place down, destroying what's inside might not be worth it."
"Oh, you are just no fun. And also I don't think you can drown in lava, you'd like, burn first."
"Just lead the damn way, smartass."
He's glad Shepard can't see the grimace he knows his face is set into inside his tech helmet as they clamber over a ridge, keeping low as they clamber up over an incline in order to get a better view. There are bruises and sore spots making themselves known in places he's sure have never felt so sore, where his kinetic barriers didn't quite absorb the impact. It's a relief to flop down beside the other man onto his side in the dust, careful to avoid jogging his splinted wrist, and Shepard, bless him, doesn't crack a joke when he has to catch his breath--he's pretty sure his ribs are bruised, too. Perfect. Instead, he's focused on the lit-up dig site, and Kaidan think he's probably contemplating something foolhardy that will involve two men against an entire Cerberus platoon.
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"Is that...that's an ATLAS."
"Kaidan, I...really want it." Shepard sounds slightly breathless, and Kaidan knows this is a Weapon Thing. Like the time the man came back to the ship with his new HMWSG X, slowly unpackaging it with Wrex looming over his shoulder looking strangely excited, actually lifting it to his face and sniffing, voice low as he explained top of the goddamn line, there is literally no better shotgun than this--look at her, beautiful craftsmanship, this material, custom-fucking-weighted for me, oh, baby girl--he'd left before things had gotten too weird, but that shuddery timbre was back in the other man's voice.
"Don't you dare, John." He knows he's too late, but he says it anyway. "C'mon, you know it'll make a great distraction," his grin gets wider and toothier, his cheeks dimple slightly and Kaidan goddamn well knows he's lost. "Fine, but, just...don't do anything stupid. By your standards, anyway."
"Yes, sir!" Then he's sealing his helmet back into place and he's gone in a corona of biotics, slamming into the group with what looks like deadly force. There's definitely a scream. Vanguards. He sighs, wonders if Shepard knows that Kaidan does kind of outrank him now, unholsters his sidearm, and takes off at a run into the dark with the ominous whirr of the mech's huge engines in his ears.
They aren't expecting a ground assault, so much is obvious from the panic Shepard instills in mere minutes. Half of the on-site operatives aren't even armoured, and even those with it aren't expecting any action soon, which makes taking the few of them that aren't incredibly distracted out beyond easy, even one-handed. The dig site has been extended, which is probably, he thinks, why they had the mech, and there are huge piles of soil and smashed rock, some of which gleamed with polished, carved designs shunted to the sides of the entrance with carelessness shown to the ancient architecture that would make Liara swoon.
The AA gun is linked up to a mobile generator--and its operators are wide-awake and armed thanks to Shepard's antics on the eastern side of the camp, which makes a frontal assault a no-go. Instead, he uses the cover provided by the messy site and half-set-up machinery to slip around the back. Using an omni-tool one-handed is something they covered in basic, but it's so much harder when you're crouched behind a large mobile anti-aircraft gun guarded by three well-armed enemy operatives, trying to one-handedly hack and overload the generator its attached to.
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There are a lot of bodies. He's not suprised, because Shepard always was pretty much the king of the bodycount, some of them missing heads, limbs, huge parts of them, and some are hardly recognisable as human because they're so charred. The ATLAS is kneeling, one of its huge arms torn out and extensive damage patterning it's armoured hull, bullet-holes and burns. He doesn't even think about it as he flings a cautious operative, sidling up behind him with gun in hand as he takes the scene in so hard against the ground he hears bones break, shoots out the face of another as he approaches the defeated mech, it's back engines still stuttering and belching thick smoke. All he can think of is not again, not again, not again because if he's let John go off on his own to do something stupid and heroic alone and he's fucking died again he's going to--"Shepard!"
He climbs the slick metal frame inelegantly, scrambling up into the smashed-in cockpit. Shepard is limp in the harness, and oh, there's blood. Blood smeared up his hardsuit, blood splattered over the seat behind him, blood over the controls where one hand is still fixed around the steering. He's managed to take a bad hit, one that's sliced straight through the armoured bulk of his plated hardsuit on the right side of the torso under the ribcage, and his helmeted head is dangling low, bowed as Kaidan clambers in, gingerly trying to assess the damage because no no this is not a fatal wound and John can't fucking die again, not here in the cold and dark, unclasping Shepard's helmet with his good hand, fingers slipping on bloody metal. "Shepard, god damn it, please," he grips the man's chin, slaps his cheek, and John--bless his resilience-- cracks open an eye and grunts "What?"
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"Bullshit," he replies, shifting close so he can try to stem the bleeding--the bleeding which has slowed to nothing, once he scoops the already-clotting gore away from the injury. Shepard looks pale, the dark rings below his eyes suddenly stark, but he's curling his lips easily into that fond, focused smile that keeps turning him hard to port anyway. "Told you so." Ass.
He isn't sure what he quite intends to do when he sits up again, but he ends up exactly where he wants to be, pushed up close against Shepard the cramped cockpit, clutching him tight around his neck with one arm and kissing the scrappy, stupid, handsome, ridiculous asshole full on the mouth again, mindful of his damaged arm and Shepard's injured side.
"C'mon," he snorts as Shepard's hand lands cautiously on his backside, "let's get out of this thing before it explodes." Shepard makes a petulant sound against his lips, kissing the indent above them, "I promise, i'll fuck you into your mattress when we get out of here."
Shepard pulls back, bites his kiss-plumped lower lip and looks at him like he just got a banned-in-council-space-without-thirty-five-different-permits krogan-issue Battlemaster XXI for Christmas. "Yes, sir."
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A++++, would read again
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Kaidan panicking when he thought Shepard could be dying again. Your interpretation of Shepard. So cute. This is awesome! I'm sad it's finished.
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o_o ...and can we see Shepard getting fucked into the mattress? Please, A!A?
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And uh, maybe. Maaaaybeeeeee. I've got a lot of work (and a few prompts back up because I apparently hate sleep), but i'll probably do another for this pairing soonish! Perhaps this time with actual smut.
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irl reaction
Awesome, though! Seeing how other people visualise their Shepards' personalities (and getting to share my own) is definitely my favourite part of writing for ME and reading other fills/fanfics. c:
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That your story had 'silent' moments (like the stargazing) and action scenes (like the beginning or, of course, the fight against Cerberus) was just awesome. Good balance between comedy and drama, too. Just glad it all had a happy ending, bad endings just don't sit well with me. And I really loved the kissing scenes, those were intense, especially the second one when Kaidan was just relieved that Shepard's alive. And the last line makes for a great ending, left me grinning.
Thanks for writing this :) I really hope that all our gay M!Sheps will get this chance in ME3. God knows M!Shep needs his Kaidan, thanks for getting them together in your story at least (and at least for now...come on, Bioware).
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