Mass Effect 1. Day 01: Midnight Snack

**Midnight Snack**

**Summary:** Biotics tend to run hot. A high metabolism, paired with heavy exertion can leave a person ravenous. *Smut and fluff ahead, consider yourself warned*

**a/n**: Welcome to Kaidan Porn Week! This will be the first in a series of at least nine fictions that wound up all being Shenko focused. Pardon my obsession with my OTP: Nyx Shepard and Kaidan Alenko. They range from ME1 to ME3, though most are based in ME3. I will caution that many of these were inspired by plotting ideas and work on Nyx's WIP, so there might be a few that could reappear in similar or highly edited forms. For those that did stem from plotted ideas, they were fleshed out and I present them here-for this occasion-for your reading pleasure. I'll be posting at least one fiction every day of the 14th of March through the 22nd. Some are _friskier_ than others, but I hope you enjoy them all. Almost forgot, thanks to Chyrstis who allowed me to spam her with short-notice fiction that needed eyes. She is amazing. 3s

**-1-**

The shifting was minute. There was no sound. The gentle slide of the slick fabric merely a whisper of a caress, at least until she was gone. The new awkward position of his arm combined with the missing warmth that had been tightly snuggled against his chest caused Kaidan to shift and stretch. By the time his eyes finally opened and focused in the darkness, Shepard was out of sight. He could guess why. Leaning up, he rubbed at the back of his neck. The kids at BAaT would trade off midnight runs to the mess hall and the snack machines. Some of the biotics Alenko had met in the service called the increased metabolism running hot, because even when they were not actively using their biotics their metabolism would still skyrocket. It was the primary reason he always had something to snack on in his pocket. But sometimes it felt more random, like the hunger would just spike even in the calm times. He knew he was as guilty as Shepard when it came to stealing away to the kitchen in the middle of the night.

The commander, his commanding officer, he let himself remember for a moment as he sat up, easily became one of those decadent things that he knew was probably bad for him, but he did it anyway. Nyx was a temptation he could not break the taste for. Even when it was nothing more than good conversation laced with feeling like a complete idiot, which their first cruise together brimmed over with. All too often it was accidentally intentional. Kaidan knew the regs, better than anyone. Despite this, the lieutenant still sought her out, still allowed himself to fall prey to the unintended meetings, still let himself linger in her presence when he could justify it and too often when he could not. No matter the reasons he should not have, Alenko kept allowing himself to slake that thirst to be with her. She became an oasis; and mirage or not, he was perfectly content, at least for now.

The combination of clatter from the kitchen and indiscernible muttering made him grin. Tugging his boxers back on, he crossed the utilitarian apartment. The light from above the cook top cast a strange peachy glow to the room and created weird shadows. Shepard was crouched awkwardly, trying to keep the contents of the cabinet from spilling out onto the floor before she could get them back in.

"You know-"

Her distraction let the flood fall. She leaned there for a moment and stared at the dozen or so pans that littered the floor around her.

"Sorry," she said, shaking her head. "Wasn't planning on disturbing you."

"You do realize that all the food is in pantry, right?"

"Yeah. Couldn't find anything that struck my fancy." The grin was sly and the sparkle in her eyes danced, making him smile in return. "I was going to boil an egg, but then…"

He laughed lightly as she gestured to the cabinet and the pans she was carefully restacking to return to their rightful place.

**-2-**

Shepard realized when she created a stack of like six saucepans, that Kaidan's cabinets were way too well stocked for someone who lived alone. It reminded her of the cabinets at her grandmother's and that woman regularly cooked for an army of children and grandchildren.

"How does a single man even have this much cookware? Seriously. Especially one that's on cruise six to eighteen months at a time." She glanced over her shoulder at him and he merely shook his head, laughing softly.

"I have a mother and two sisters who are concerned about my ability to survive on my own," he explained as he grabbed the last two pots from the floor, putting one away and setting the other on the counter. "Plus this was my first cruise where I was actually on the duty roster. My other experience out in the fleet has been highly limited and usually reserved to temporary postings."

Kaidan winced with the revelation. Shepard could guess why; he had told her why, but she was not about to bring that up. Her hand found his wrist quickly and pulled at it gently, encouraging him to turn toward her rather than away.

Meeting his warm amber eyes in the awkward light of his kitchen, she knew she had been right that first night she met him-he was a monkey wrench. Lieutenant Alenko managed to squirrel up the smooth running mechanism that was her life. He made her reexamine some factors Shepard took as givens for someone like her; Kaidan made Nyx want things she had long ago cast away hope for. Although she was still glad she had not with the stupid idea that raced through her mind that night, she would not change anything about the way they met or what happened after, no matter how trying it had been.

"So," she crooned, her hand tracing light patterns across his chest, "Normandy was your first."

He grinned at her clear implication and stepped closer to her. "Yes, she was. For so many things."

When his mouth met hers, all thought of the reason she had come to the kitchen faded completely. In the past seventy-two hours, the two of them had fluctuated across the spectrum burying the needle in delicate romance before crossing the chasm to pure lustful passion, as well as several spots in between. In the limbic space of this collection of walls, they mostly left concerns or rank and regulations beyond the threshold.

In a flash, the tenor changed, but they were becoming used to that. In this place, innocent could become heated in a blink, with no fear of consequences. His hands were strong on her waist when he lifted her onto the counter. Shepard knocked the pot off the island and ignored it as it clattered off the opposite wall and danced on the floor noisily before coming to rest. His mouth was moving up her belly, chasing the soft fabric his hands were busily gathering in an effort to uncover her. The blue Canucks jersey quickly joined the pot, somewhere in the darkness. Hands on his shoulder and his neck, Nyx could feel his body shifting as he stepped out of his boxers.

His desire for her thrilled Shepard, mainly because she chose to believe him when he claimed that he wanted all of it-all of her. Alenko did not distinguish between the woman and the soldier, somehow he found a way to be fine with both. The barest spark lit her skin as his hands moved over her thighs. Combined with the slightest hint of his field, she could not help but recall the first time he had projected it. The intent, meant to be wholly innocent that time, had not turned out that way at all.

Nyx was learning quickly that there were great rewards to Kaidan's control and precision, and when his heated gaze met hers, she knew that the calculating engineer finally overcame the initial stroke of frenzy. Kissing his way down her body, her eyes never left his. They told her all she needed to know-not only did they hint at the depth of his feelings, but the shock of silver blue rimming the iris preceded an intense sensation produced by the crackle of his biotics against her skin.

It was something Nyx did not feel comfortable reciprocating. She knew her issues with control in that arena, and she had always tried to control her body's responses when it came to sex for fear her biotics could flare uncontrollably during. Kaidan was the first biotic Nyx had been with and he did not hold back. With him, she felt like he could at least protect himself if something untoward did happen, so that first night, when he asked her to let go, not to fight her reactions, she gave in-to all of it-him, their feeling, the illogical passion of it all. Just as she much more easily relaxed and simply let herself react to him that night in his kitchen. Leaning back against the counter with her thigh draped over his shoulder, his tongue combined with his sharp tingling touch to push her into that shuddering moment where everything disappears.

**-3-**

That deep, unmuffled, shuddering moan preceded by his name was a sound Alenko was quickly finding himself addicted to. Her hand, which she had fisted in his hair, loosened and began to lightly caress his scalp. It was the sign that prompted him to plant long, slow, wet kisses on her hip, along the edge of her rib cage, across her breasts, to her shoulders. Her body was languid, softer and slower than it had been a few minutes earlier. There was decadence in the way she kissed him. It was greedy and wanton, like him, but unhurried.

Kaidan knew days like these were numbered. His apartment was a place where the real world did not factor, where they chose to ignore everything beyond themselves and each other. It was selfish. And maybe a little foolish, but he wanted nothing more than to steal every free moment he could get with Nyx. As she started to giggle, he kissed her belly and leaned over her as best he could.

"What's so funny?" he asked, kissing her again along the rib cage.

"This was not quite what I was thinking when the urge for a midnight snack hit," she replied, sitting forward. Her eyes searched his for a long moment and Kaidan waited. Without a word, her lips met his and she wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.

A part of him thought he understood it-the look, the kiss, the embrace. But it was the silence that was the hardest part with Nyx. The promise, the possibility, was something she shied away from, she said, because in her life few things were certain. Kaidan held her as tightly as she held him, wishing in the back of his mind that the words would come.


	2. Day 02: Little Black Dress

**Summary**: Muscle memory and stepping out of one's comfort zone combined with a decision a long time coming tinted with a little acquiescence make for a revealing night out on the Citadel for the Normandy crew. *Smut and Fluff ahead, you have been warned.*

**a/n**: Welcome to Kaidan Porn Week! This is the another of the nine. I'll be posting at least one fiction every day from 3/14 to 3/22. Some are _friskier_ than others, but I hope you enjoy them all. And I will totally own it. This piece is based on the plotting for Nyx's master WIP, as you might be able to tell. Almost forgot, thanks to Chyrstis who allowed me to spam her with short-notice fiction that needed eyes. She is amazing. 3s

**Day 02: Little Black Dress**

**1**

The box sitting on the bed was a surprise. At first she thought it was from Kaidan, but when she read the card she could not help but laugh. "Heard you found something you lost. Thought you could use a little motivation." The note was signed with a decorative K and a red rose. _Kasumi_. Shepard, uncertain why, recognized that the theif had an overwhelming desire to see the commander embrace her feminine side, at least in terms of fashion. When the reinstated officer opened the box she initially dismissed it. It was shorter than she was comfortable with and shimmered in a way that seemed a little over the top. As she set the box aside, suddenly it was as if Kasumi was sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. _Come on. He'll __**love**__ it. _

Nyx chewed on the inside of her lip for a moment then finally sighed at the box. Kaidan would enjoy it, immensely, she thought as she lifted the garment out of the box and studied at it again. On Arcturus he had been inspired by something much more chaste, and the elegant dress she had worn to dinner on the Citadel had made him practically speechless. Shepard was not sure what this dress was going to do, but she knew Kasumi had picked the right word-it was going to motivate something. The cowled neck pooled at the small of her back and the skirt, if it could be called that, accentuated the fact that even for a shorter woman, Shepard had longish legs, the smooth shape of which the heels only served to accentuate.

The stroll to Purgatory was punctuated by lingering stares, whistles, and several offers. Shepard was surprised she made it to the club without a permanent blush. When she finally arrived, Shepard easily spotted some of the women from the ship and her old friends who had managed to make it. Her own arrival was punctuated by a sharp lingering whistle from Jack whistled from across the room.

"Damn, Shepard. I didn't think you had it in you," she offered with a wide grin as her eyes ran over the commander in an overly familiar way. "Let me guess, Kasumi?"

Shepard's laugh was all the answer anyone needed.

"That girl has some connections."

Shepard was surprised that Jack went for something other than her trademark baggy low-slung jeans; tonight she was wearing a pair of tight little jean shorts that showed off even more of the biotic's trademark ink. The teacher paired them with a similarly scant top, and she had shed her studded jacket already, abandoning it on the back of a chair.

**2**

Upon entering the club it was fairly easy to spot the group from the Normandy. There were not a lot of quarian admirals wandering the Citadel with statuesque asari or heavily tattooed biotic Alliance instructors. There was a group of four tables in the corner the ladies had staked out and the major pointed them out to the group he had arrived with. The officer moved through the crowd with the handful of gentleman that left the ship around the time he had. Garrus made a hole, while Joker, James, Adams, Cortez, and the second human Spectre trailed along in his wake.

"Where's Shepard?" the turian asked once they got through the throng.

Kaidan's eyes swept the crowd they had just shimmied through, but did not catch sight of her. The hollow sound resounded through the din and drew his attention from the crowd. James had clapped Cortez on the chest and was now leaning over the other man's shoulders pointing at the bar. It was obvious what had caught his attention. And it seemed Kaidan and Garrus had been the only two whose eyes needed directing toward the sight of the leggy blonde at the bar. The black dress had a shimmer to it that caught the sparse light in the club in such a way as to accentuate her curves. Even the major's eyes lingered a little longer than they should have on the shapely ass of the woman leaning on the bar.

Surprisingly the usually stoic Engineer Adams was not resistant to the sight before them, "Can you even call that a skirt?"

When the blonde rubbed one calf with the ankle of her other leg while she waited, several of the guys verbally approved.

"Ex…" EDI's voice barely broke through the pulse of the music and the crowd. Alenko glanced toward her and noticed all the females smiling widely. Tali leaned toward the AI, her hand moving animatedly as EDI nodded.

"Holy…!" Joker said. Startled, the pilot smacked Kaidan on the chest, when the blonde turned. It pulled the major's attention back to the woman at the bar; he had to bite his bottom lip to cull the grin that threatened to give him away entirely.

"That's… that's..." Adams stammered for a moment. Before Shepard reached them, the engineer crossed to an empty table and sat down quickly, hiding his face with his hand as he blushed furiously.

"I never thought all that was under that uniform," Joker admitted as the other men followed Adams. The women's laughter competed with the music as Joker turned to his friend and whispered conspiratorially, "If I had, I might have given you a run for your money."

Kaidan smiled widely as he watched Shepard return to the table carrying four glasses. She winked at the major as she handed a glass to Tali. Though many of the guys tried to avoid looking at the commander, it was easier in theory than in reality, which was something the major had learned a long time ago. She had told Kaidan once that for her there was body memory associated with certain "uniforms"; that night he realized how true that statement might be. And she was putting on a show-to a larger audience than one rapt major, though he knew he was the target she was aiming for. Most of the commentary he ignored. Joker and Garrus added remarks mainly to yank Alenko's chain. They were the only ones at the table that Kaidan was certain knew about he and Shepard. But as the night went on the comments came more easily, plied from the lips with copious amounts of alcohol.

**3**

The music seemed to separate the groups whose tables were only a few feet apart. Neither group could hear the conversations at the other table. Though at one point about midway through the night the guys did notice that several of the ladies at the other table were all staring at Kaidan, which resulted in a bit of teasing. But it was nothing compared to what was coming.

Shepard's head fell back in a laugh, while Jack's grin widened. Joker leaned toward him, "I think you're in trouble, man."

Kaidan just shook his head, but then realized the pilot's assessment might, in fact, be correct. He only knew a little bit about Jack. He had read Shepard's log as well as some independent intelligence on the woman and the "official" file. He could not help but need a drink as he watched her take long exaggerated steps toward him while she stared at him in a way that made him feel decidedly like prey.

"Yeah, you're fucked," Joker reasserted with the realization that Shepard, Tali, and Liara were also watching the exchange with great interest.

Jack poured herself into the major's lap, and let one arm fall over his shoulder as she ran one finger of her other hand down his temple to his neck and to the first buttoned button on his shirt. "So, _Kaidan_? Nice shirt." Her eyes traced down his arms and back up to his face. "Very … professional. I thought tonight was supposed to be about relaxing? You seem a little stiff."

"Nah. I'm good."

"I guess when you spend half your time in uniform and the other half in armor, a button down would seem a comfortable alternative."

Kaidan tilted his head slightly as one shoulder raised. "You would suggest something different?"

She unbuttoned the button her finger had hooked on and slid her hand into his shirt and across his chest, the muscles of which tensed reflexively. "Mmm. With the kind of work you've put in. Oh yeah. You might not be as thick as the lieutenant there," she trilled with a sidelong glance at James, who leaned away slightly as if trying to put more distance between himself and the conversation they were all party to. "But you could definitely benefit from leaving a little _less_ to the imagination."

"I don't know that I would agree. I mean you are sitting in my lap. It must have done the trick," he countered with a little smirk. That drew an amused response from the population of the table.

Jack laughed loudly, casting her head back and shaking it for a moment. When her eyes met his again, there was a seriousness, a dangerousness behind the playful grin. "What_ is_ your secret?" she asked in a voice much lower than the raucous laugh. Her hand was still moving across his skin, warm fingertips countered by sharp nails as she alternated her movements.

The major kept his hands on the arms of his chair. "Secret for what?" he asked calmly, looking up at her coolly.

She leaned toward his ear, her breath light and ticklish as she whispered, "For keeping a woman's interest so keen? I mean, look around this bar, there are at least ten women cursing me for being perched in your lap. Why could that possibly be?"

"You tell me," he replied in a low husky tone when she leaned away from him.

She bit her lip and cocked her head at him. This time she spoke a little more loudly for the benefit of the table. "See. I don't get it. You're not even a bad boy. Vega there, he's cut from marble and letting everyone know it. Joker has this cutesy geek thing going, if you're into that funny guy type. Garrus has the scars and the bad ass rep. I mean who wouldn't want to fuck Archangel. Then Adams, here. He has that calculating look about him-like he'd know precisely how many licks it takes to get to the center of a woman. But you. You look like a boy scout, someone's big brother. The guy people call when they need to be bailed out after a really good night. No one goes for the nice guy. So there has to be more to you. There has to be a secret."

Her hand slipped up his neck and toyed with the hair at the back of his neck. Several of the mouths at the table were hanging slack. But Jack ignored them; she was staring at Alenko, as if she was trying to read his mind. The corners of her eyes crinkled slightly as she wiggled her hips against him.

It was his turn to chuckle, when she cocked an eyebrow up at him. "Well?" he asked with a slight smirk.

Jack grinned in a way that made him nervous then leaned toward him again, her mouth at his ear. "That's quite the secret, Major." The way she said his rank made him more than slightly uncomfortable. "If you ever get bored with the Queen of the Girl Scouts, give me a call."

As she started to retreat, Kaidan slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her ear to his mouth. "I appreciate the offer. But I'm rather partial to the Girl Scout."

The tattooed woman slipped off his lap with a laugh and kissed him on the cheek before she slinked back over to her friend. She slid an arm around Shepard and said something that caused the commander to smile and laugh.

He was pretty sure he could guess what was said, or at least the gist of it, but he was being pestered about what the hell had just happened. "I don't know, Major. She's kind of hot," Vega acknowledged.

"And a whole lot of crazy," Joker added over the rim of his glass.

"Go for it, Adams," Kaidan suggested with a glance at the engineer who had watched Jack cross to the other table.

"Unless you don't know how many licks, that is?" Garrus added.

Adams choked violently at the suggestion. "Goddamn, Vakarian," Greg managed, still coughing.

The table erupted in raucous laughter. Alenko was mainly glad that the attention was off him for a while. Though he would love to know what prompted that strange little display, and he had to admit that it was a more than odd that Jack had gone through all that just to determine what the major was working with.

**4**

Shepard's movements were lithe, feminine, and seductive-and for him, he was certain, even though her attention was directed to the women she was sitting with. As she tilted her head and ran one finger down her long neck, Kaidan couldn't help but smile. He watched as she slowly crossed her legs, and let one hand slide down her calf. When she walked to the bar, her hips moved in a seductive motion that made him reflexively swallow and shift slightly.

"How can a woman who can walk like that not dance?" Vega asked. "I mean really, look at that." He held out his hand gesturing to draw everyone's attention to Shepard's hips. "There is rhythm there."

Kaidan smiled knowingly. The lieutenant was right, there was a lot of rhythm in those hips. But the major stayed silent. Vega stood and everyone turned their attention to him.

Joker looked over at Kaidan with a question, the major shrugged a shoulder and picked up his beer. They all watched the lieutenant stroll toward the commander. Shepard laughed, Kaidan did not need to hear it to appreciate it; the din of her laughter was a sound very familiar to him, but too absent of late. Nyx shook her head at the younger man. Then Vega slid his arm around her and spun her around. The younger man's hand on the small of Shepard's bare back made Kaidan's jaw clench reflexively. She patted James on the chest and slipped out of the soldier's grip.

Kaidan smirked at the dejected look that Vega returned to the table with.

"What? You couldn't get her to dance with you here?" Cortez chided.

Vega slid into his seat next to Joker, who was precariously located between the burly marine and the newest Spectre.

"You know, regs suck."

That comment caught Alenko's attention and he glanced at the younger man with trace of a furrow in his minutely arched brow.

"What I wouldn't give for one hour with those legs wrapped around me," James admitted too easily.

Joker choked on his drink and coughed violently for a moment. Garrus glanced over at his old friend to determine if intervention might soon be required, but the major merely smiled. He had been there once, though it was a wholly different situation, Alenko knew.

"I don't know, Vega. Figure you ought to stick to bloody noses and black eyes," Kaidan noted with a trace of a laugh in his voice as his eyes sought out the blonde that had become the topic of conversation. "I don't think you stand a chance with that one," he gibed with a tip of his chin in her direction.

"What makes you so sure?" the lieutenant asked with a note of challenge in his tone.

As the soldier leaned forward toward Joker, Alenko noticed the pilot's eyes widen with the sudden realization that one or both of the men he was seated between would and could go through him to get to the other if it came down to it.

The major grinned at the lieutenant and finished off his whiskey before he stood. He took a few steps then set his hands on Vega's shoulders. Leaning forward the major simply said, "Because I don't like to share."

Vega stared up at the man who was rounding the table with one clear target. Kaidan did not need to glance back to know that all the men at the table were watching as he walked up behind the seductively clad commander. He set his hand low on the curve of Shepard's hip, prompting her to turn. Nyx seemed taken aback when he placed a chaste peck on her lips. Then her red-stained lips curved into a bright smile that advertised her receptiveness. Kaidan touched her cheek lightly pulling her lips to his. This kiss, a declaration he decided to make before he arrived. His tongue slipped between her parted lips, thrusting deeply into her mouth as her arms wrapped around his shoulders. His other hand splayed across her back, holding her close, fitting their bodies to one another in an intimately familiar way. The major's hand on her ass was certain to chase away anyone's lingering doubts, if any remained after the rest of the display.

Most of the men and women at the tables were cheering and cat calling the two amorous Spectres. Vega, however, like some of the others, had missed the signs that the two officers were a couple before that moment and from the way the lieutenant slouched back in his chair with his hand shielding his forehead, he seemed to be a little embarrassed after offering up a challenge to the man that already had a relationship with the commander.

Kaidan looked down at her with a slight look of triumph.

"Staking a claim, Major?" she asked sweetly, pressing herself against him.

"You wear a dress like that and expect me not to?" he whispered in her ear.

She bit her bottom lip and laughed coyly, letting her head fall back slightly.

"You're lucky I didn't go complete cavemen and drag you out of here slung over my shoulder."

"Threaten me with a good time," she replied as he nipped her on the neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet by a few inches.

"Hold on there, Major. I'm not ready to leave yet." Her voice rang with light traces of her pleased smile.

He looked down at her again and kissed her tenderly-her look told him she was so not done teasing him from afar. Kaidan shook his head and turned back toward the table he vacated. "Sorry, Vega," Alenko replied patting him on the shoulder again as he returned to his seat.

**5**

Alenko's mouth was on her neck and his hands on her hips as he walked behind her into the loft. Shepard had been keying them up for four hours and there was nothing left to say. He held her tight against him, her back to his chest, as his nipped his way across her shoulder. With a soft sigh, she rested her head back against him when his teeth captured her earlobe.

"This is a great dress," he all but growled, huskily, in her ear.

Her hands scratched up his thighs, while his trailed down her arms, sliding the dress off slowly and all too easily.

"Kasumi," she muttered, glancing back at him over her shoulder.

Sliding her hand behind his head, the commander directed his lips to hers. Kaidan let go of the silky fabric and let the dress pool at her feet. He pressed his hands up her body, touching, teasing, scratching lightly, and even placing a few well timed pinches. The sharp little gasp those earned made his mouth curve upward as she looked at him in surprise.

As she stepped out of the dress, she moved to slip off the heels; he held her chin and gazed into her eyes. "Leave them on," he whispered, biting her bottom lip gently.

As Kaidan's hands moved over her breasts, she moaned deeply. Her other hand moved up his thigh, but he pressed his hips flush to hers to thwart her access. In response Nyx slithered her body against him, prompting the major to bite her shoulder in tender reprisal. It was moving toward one-upmanship, but he clearly had the upper hand in the situation and Shepard let him keep it. As his field slipped over her, she sighed, pressing her head back against him. Kaidan rested his face against her neck as hands slid over her hips and down her thighs, pushing her panties over the curve of her hip before letting them fall as well.

He breathed heavily against her skin, sighing when his hand moved toward her center, he had not anticipated that her performance had done a number on her as well. Feeling her slick warmth made him ache and he was sure she could hear it in the hitch in his breathing as he sucked at her neck. Her hands slid between them and quickly released him with a heavy moan. Her warm hands stroked him expertly, teasing him to perfection. It pushed him much more quickly than he anticipated, making him ravenous. Kaidan's movements were quick and belied his impatience and desire. His entrance was swift, his strokes long, and his pace quick. Massaging her breasts fervently with firm hands, his mouth and teeth moved across the sensitive skin of her shoulder and neck.

When he gripped one of her hips to better facilitate his strong movements into her, Nyx grabbed his wrist to steady herself. Alenko smiled against her neck as he let his fingers glide across her belly to the apex of her thighs, toward her heat. Her strangled moan encouraged the soft strokes of his fingers. Shepard was closer than he realized and when she tightened around him, moaning his name loudly he pushed her past the edge. Kaidan held her to him tightly as she quivered in his arms and kissed him hungrily. As he slowed, holding her face toward him to keep her mouth on his, everything seemed to still for a moment.

In an unexpected response, Shepard turned in his arms. The starkness of it stunned the major a moment as she quickly unbuttoned his shirt. Her kiss was insistent, her tongue pushing into his mouth. He kicked off his shoes. And after she pushed his slacks and boxers over his hips, he stepped out of his remaining clothing. Nyx steered him a few steps until Kaidan's back crashed against the cool glass of the fish tank. She clasped his hand in hers and locked it above his head as she pressed her body against his. The heat in her eyes blazed anew and he wanted to claim it again.

In the back of his head he could hear some of the comments of the night, most notably Vega's desire for an hour with no consequences. She had guessed right when she asked Alenko if he was staking a claim. And as he pressed her back against the chilled glass, pulling her legs around him so he could resume his advances on her, he knew that was precisely what he was doing. The major was claiming her body, claiming her pleasure. As he hilted himself within her she cried out, her hands gripping his neck and shoulders tightly as her hips moved with his as best they could.

**6**

Kissing, touching, biting, licking-Kaidan lavished his attention on every inch of her he could as he physically pronounced his desire for her with fierce deep thrusts that rocked them both. It was rare that he beat her to the finish, and Shepard savored the novelty of it. Only rarely was she completely aware of the way he swelled within her before he came; typically because she was already riding waves that distracted from such sensations. But the feeling of him stretching her as he reached his own apex lit her fuse and the twitching pulse of him led her to her own orgasm.

Nyx was aware of the passivity he had taken advantage of and she was determined that he would not be the only one to lay a claim that night. When he set her on her feet, her attentions on his body were light and gentle, at least until she pushed him onto the bed. He chuckled at her as she slipped the heels off and crept over him, dotting his chest with warm kisses and soft nibbles. She leaned above him, her breasts grazing his skin as her lips met his. He ran his hands lightly over her hips and up her back. He did not usually place her in a purely passive position when they made love. His response to her smirk confirmed that he knew she was about to stake a claim of her own.

Her ankles slid over his thighs and he smiled against her lips. She knew he had enough time to recover and her hand slid over him. Her body moved slightly with the motion of her hand. Kaidan leaned forward and captured a nipple in his mouth. She sighed deeply at his touch, as he responded to hers with a shallow groan. Shepard's mischievious smile spoke volumes. He nipped at her bottom lip then sighed when she barely teased her entrance with the head of his cock.

"Evil," he groaned.

Her smile widened then she kissed him deeply. Her hips swivled around just the tip and she was relentless in not allowing him to deepen the stroke even by a miniscule amount. She pulled his hands away from her hips and pressed them into the bed above his shoulders as she licked at his lips playfully.

Entwining his fingers in hers, the major leaned up to capture her mouth more fully. Before his lips met hers, he gasped sharply when she slid down the length of him. Shepard bit her bottom lip as she looked down at him, her movements were painstakingly slow. When she finally slipped her ankles off his thighs, he eagerly lifted his hips to more fully meet hers.

**7**

Like earlier at the club, Shepard's teasing was extensive and she seemed to have some sort of plan. She pressed away from him, leaning back as her hips moved. Alenko watched her, eyes roaming over her blushing body as she controlled their passion. He ran his hands up her thighs, his eye drawn to their apex. He bit his lip and grumbled loudly at the sight of himself disappearing within her. Kaidan leaned up, wrapping his arm around Nyx's waist and trading their positions quickly. He knew it was intentional, even before he felt her smile against his lips. Since the beginning, watching her while they made love had driven him wild, but watching himself move in her clouded his brain and made him ravenous. Covering her body with his own, Kaidan kissed her savagely.

Shepard held his face in her hands as she whispered, "I want you to watch. You like to see."

The thought of it prompted the growl in his throat.

"Watch," she moaned as she pressed her palm against his chest. Her hands slid up her torso, grazing her breasts, then slid slowly back down across her belly. It was something he knew she did mainly for his gratification. Nyx grabbed his hand from her hip and moved it. "Touch me. Make me scream for you."

Kaidan complied, his thumb moved into the slick heat between her legs, rubbing softly, as he thrust into her deeply. He watched their bodies meet as her sighs and moans surrounded him. As her body tightened around his cock, her voice was a warm and thick with desire as she loudly called out his name. Her waves rolled across him as he leaned over her capturing her mouth with his own. Her hands twisted in his thick hair as he continued to thrust within her. As he came, Kaidan groaned her name against her lips. Feeling her legs wrap around his waist, he kissed her, the final quakes of his orgasm pressing him deeper within her.

The couple lay there engulfed in one another, trading kisses and caresses for quite some time before Kaidan finally laid back on the bed with her cuddled against him. He would not be returning to the crew deck that or any other night. When he walked across the bar earlier and kissed her it was because he decided that he wanted to be here-with her-more than anything else. They had been together-personally and professionally-for more than a month and had no issue keeping the separation. While he had no intention of distracting her from her work and since it seemed he clearly was not, there was no reason he should not take her up on the offer of sharing her cabin with her. Sharing just one life with her rather than hiding that shared part of their existences, like they had on their first cruise.

**8**

Kaidan Alenko hated waking up alone. Cool sheets and the missing warmth of her were something he had gotten used to after the crash, but he was quickly reacquainting himself with that thing he had found he missed immensely during that span when he had thought her lost. The shifting sound of the water running assured him she had not left yet. So, he padded across the ample space, for a ship the loft was downright luxurious. He slipped into the shower with her and wrapped her soapy body in his arms.

"Good morning," he drawled playfully.

She turned slightly in his arms and kissed him. "Morning."

Practically, he understood her attraction to unscented soaps, but it sometimes he found it strange that there were so few scents he could associate with her. Kaidan grabbed a wash cloth from the other side of the bathroom and returned to the sheath of warm water just as she finished rinsing off.

"What was that with Jack last night?" he asked as he ducked under the stream.

"She figured there had to be some other reason why I didn't stray, other than love that is. She doesn't believe in it," she replied. "Or so she claims."

He laughed lightly as Nyx slipped on a thick terry cloth robe and tossled her hair with a towel. "You mean it's not just because I'm good in bed?"

"Well," she shrugged as she checked her private console, "that is most of it. But there might be a little something more to it. Of course, she's convinced it's because of that." Her eyes dropped for a moment, and he knew he had to be blushing. Her smile was even present in her voice as she leaned against the desk waiting for him. The sight of her was comforting and enticing-leaning there, legs crossed at the ankles, robe untied and open just enough to tease-even if her attention was directed toward the datapad in her hand more so than him.

Once he turned off the water she looked up at him and discarded the device. "So, now it's your turn to spill. What happened last night?" she asked quickly. He blushed slightly as he toweled dry. She raised her eyebrows at him.

He tucked his towel around his waist and walked toward her; slipping his hands into her robe and around her waist, Kaidan slid her onto the desk. "Well, there was this sexy blonde in a tiny skirt," he whispered against her neck.

She shifted back a little and swatted him on the chest. "Seriously. What brought that on?"

Kaidan ran his hands along the outside of her thighs and up to her waist. "I wasn't the only member of your audience last night. Your little show…"

"Wasn't meant to make you jealous," she replied quickly laying her hands on either side of his neck.

"I know. But it inspired some interesting commentary, especially the more people drank. But no one really said anything I wasn't already thinking."

"Oh, really?"

He shook his head and smiled down at her sweetly. "That dress was something else. And that's one uniform I can honestly say I won't get tired of seeing you in." He gazed at her for a moment, trying to read her-most times it was easy, but sometimes she did present a challenge. "So I was thinking about what you mentioned the other day."

"Mmmhmm." Shepard clasped her hands behind his neck and looked up at him. She had asked him to stop leaving in the middle of the night and let go of the idea of keeping up appearances.

"I was thinking that maybe you were right. And after what I did last night, there's no appearance to keep up."

She smiled and laughed softly.

"I want every second I can get with you, regardless of how things play out with the Reapers. I'm not willing to waste anymore time. I love you, Nyx," he said as his lips moved toward hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he kissed her. Kaidan leaned over her as one hand slid up her side, over her breast, and around the back of her neck. Shepard wrapped her legs around him, pulling his body toward her, as she held onto his neck with both her hands.

"Commander Shepard," EDI said with a stark chipperness that separated them. "Admiral Hackett for you on the QEC."

"Tell him I'll be down in five minutes," she said extricating herself from Kaidan's grip. He followed her as she crossed the room, but Kaidan stopped at the sofa and perched on the arm as she shed the robe. He watched her as she quickly pulled on her clothing and ran her fingers through her still wet hair. That was one of the changes he was rather fond of, she never wore her hair down before and even when they were alone together she rarely left it down. She wore it much shorter now, but he could put his hands in it whenever he wanted, and just the thought of it made him smile.

As she walked by him, she stopped. Shepard ran her hand along his jawline then kissed him warmly. "Tá grá agam duit, mo chuislei," she confided before she left, pressing her lips tenderly to his temple.

Kaidan could not help but grin. He shifted onto the sofa and leaned back with his hands laced behind his head. He basked in it for a moment, the fact that he had her back, that she still loved him, and that he knew he was more important to her than anything else. There was security in her arms, the questions and concerns that had plagued their relationship from the start seemed to have faded finally. Nyx fully invested herself in their relationship. Alenko had been the one still balking for some of the old reasons. Yet again, she was the patient one, even waiting for him to forego appearances. Shepard merely told him what she wanted, what she needed, and let him take his time in coming to it on his own.

**9**

The major slid into the clothing he had worn the night before and made his way to the crew quarters to change again. He slid on his t-shirt and fatigues then pulled on his boots. Stopping in the mess area to grab a cup of coffee, Alenko was ambushed.

"About damn time you two put it out there," Garrus opined, taking a sip from his mug.

"Yeah, yeah," Kaidan said mockingly as he picked up his own cup. He looked over at his friend, their friend, and decided to confide in him. "I guess I just really wanted to give her something she wanted."

"What? A public tonsil swabbing?" Joker dared as he approached the little kitchen.

Alenko smiled and shook his head. "She just didn't want to hide it anymore. Didn't want to have to be two people again."

"Yeah, I've been trying to figure out why you were still bunking down here." Joker's tone was serious for once as he filled his own mug with coffee then cream and sugar. "I mean shit, you're not even in the same chain of command anymore. I figured it was just some guilt thing you were running with."

"Thank you for your analysis, Dr. Freud."

The three of them laughed. "Look, man." Joker said stoicly, "Seriously, the shit you two have been through. You both deserve as much normal as you can get. Or steal."

"What the hell was that?" Garrus asked Joker. "When did you grow a romantic streak?"

"Fuck you, Garrus."

"Appreciate the offer. But I have more discriminating tastes," the turian replied.

The three of them laughed raucously and quickly found another topic for the few minutes Joker had before he returned to the bridge. The turian made a quick gesture with his head that turned all their attention to the man approaching.

"Major." The voice wavered a bit. "Do you have a minute?"

Joker and Garrus made their way out of the mess in opposite directions, as the Spectre waved the other officer toward the observation room that was typically empty. "What can I do for you Lieutenant?" Kaidan asked as they entered.

"I… um…"

Alenko glanced over at him. "Vega." The burly marine looked up at him. "You don't need to say anything."

"No. I was an ass." James shrugged.

"We've all been there, Lieutenant. I kind of acted like an ass myself."

"With cause."

"Vega. It's a non-issue. Let it lie."

The door opened and they both turned. "Morning, gentlemen," Shepard said her eyes moving between them.

"Morning, Commander," Vega greeted much more professionally than was typical between them. As he stepped toward the door, he stopped and leaned toward her. "I'm sorry," he said quietly before he left.

Shepard glanced over at Kaidan when the door closed. "What the hell was that?"

"Guilty conscience," Alenko offered by way of explanation as he took a seat near the bookcases.

She looked back at the door then at him. "What about?"

"Nothing of import."

"Mmm. That's the reason for the green-eyed monster treatment I got last night, was it? Drunk, flirtatious marine. And I was too fixated on driving you up a tree that I over did it."

"Come here a minute," Kaidan ordered, patting the chair as he swung his feet over the side of the reclining piece of furniture. "Yeah, he said something and I reacted. But how I reacted was predetermined before I got there last night. You could have shown up in fatigues. I knew before any of us went out last night that I was…"

"Going to make a grand gesture?" Shepard touched his cheek and Alenko turned into her caress.

He smiled and pulled her into his lap. "You're right. I was still playing the blame game. Still beating myself up over Horizon and for not being strong enough to be there for you after, then abandoning you on Earth." When she started to argue with him, Kaidan pressed his fingers to her lips. She needed to know how he saw it then maybe she could understand where exactly he was coming from. "I felt like I didn't deserve another chance, that you deserved someone who didn't doubt you. But I still love you."

"And that's all I need. I don't want anything else. Just you, Kaidan."

He pulled her hands off his face and kissed her palms before holding them tightly in his hands. "I know that. Now. And I kissed you last night in front of most of the crew because I wanted to give you something you deserve, something you asked for. The chance to just be us-all the time. No more double play."

Nyx held his hands tightly as she leaned forward and kissed him. "Thank you."

"A Thaisce.ii" The term of endearment inspired a passionate response in her. She smiled against his mouth as her lips met his. As his hands slid up her side, she hopped out of the chair. "Hey. Hey, where are you going?" he asked still holding onto her hands.

"I have work to do. You want to come along?"

Kaidan leaned up and kissed her as he got to his feet. The major grabbed the commander's hand and held onto it as they strolled toward the elevator. "So, where to?" he asked, tagging the call button for the elevator.

i I love you, my pulse. Nyx refers to him as A chuisle mo chroí, pulse of my heart, in Irish-Gaelic.

ii My treasure. A response he learned from Nyx's grandmother.


	3. Day 03: Watch Your Back

**Day : Watch Your Back**

**Summary**: Vega sparks Kaidan to make an unexpected revelation about the rough and tumble Commander Shepard.

**a/n**: Welcome to Kaidan Porn Week! This is the another of the nine. I'll be posting at least one fiction every day from 3/14 to 3/22. Some are _friskier_ than others, but I hope you enjoy them all. Almost forgot, thanks to Chyrstis who allowed me to spam her with short-notice fiction that needed eyes. She is amazing. 3s

**-1-**

"Yo, Major. Might want to watch yourself," James said with a grin that made Garrus cringe.

"Oh, yeah? And why is that Mr. Vega?" Alenko dropped a small kit on the table the other two men were gathered around.

"Scars, here, has some pretty sweet moves. Had Shepard all flushed at the club last night."

The familiar hand on the turian's shoulder, combined with the revelation, made Garrus groan lowly. Something told him that when he saw Vega at the casino the night before that there was no way the kid would keep his mouth shut about what he witnessed.

Kaidan raised an eyebrow at his old friend.

"She was my wingman," the turian explained with an innocent shrug.

"I've had plenty of wingmen and never left any of them blushing and breathless on the dance floor," Vega countered.

The turian shook his head. He knew Vega was just giving him a hard time, but the last thing Garrus wanted was any kind of row with Alenko. Better than most, Vakarian knew just how deep the major's feelings for the commander ran; he also knew that Kaidan had a trace of a jealous streak that only rarely cropped up. Honestly, he wondered if a rather steamy tango might be a reason to make said streak rear its green-eyed head.

"Then you're doing it wrong, Mr. Vega," Cortez cautioned from his console.

Garrus looked at Kaidan, facing his friend as he attempted to redress the situation. "I watched some vids. She let me try something out on her."

The slight smirk, paired with the raised brow, made Garrus realize precisely how poorly phrased the admission was. "It was just the tango," the turian corrected. "Hell, it got me three offers," he added as an aside.

"I knew Shepard could dance," Vega said to the weapon he was reassembling.

"Yep. She can. It's just very rare," Kaidan noted with a trace of what Garrus suspected might be longing.

"Wonder where she learned?" Cortez injected.

"Etiquette classes."

"Wait! What?" the shuttle pilot choked as he rounded the column and joined the other three near the weapons locker.

Kaidan laughed.

"Like which fork goes where and how to drink tea properly," Vega asked, all progress on the weapon stopped. He leaned forward with both hands pressed on the table, staring at the major like he had just revealed one of the great secrets of the universe, or at least one of the more entertaining ones.

Kaidan nodded with a lazy grin. His hands were still preoccupied with the pistol he was working on, though his eyes scanned the faces of the men around him. "In order to learn to shoot, she had to take etiquette classes. Saw this picture of her once-"

"Stop right there!" Shepard called from near the elevator. Garrus was not sure how long she had been standing there, but it could not have been more than a few minutes.

Kaidan smiled widely as he glanced over his shoulder to see her glaring at him. There was something in the major's eyes, that playful glint that Shepard always seemed to spark, along with the thing Garrus had seen for the first time years ago.

"I will hurt you," she cautioned at her still silent lover. The tone suggested seriousness, but the look held too much mischievousness to make it a real threat.

"Yeah, but something tells me he might be totally fine with that," Vakarian noted as he turned back to the rifle scope he had been trying to tweak.

**-2-**

Kaidan's gaze moved back to the group, completely unperturbed. As the interface of his omnitool slid open, Shepard closed the distance quickly, lightly placing her hand over his mouth before he said anything else.

With a nod from the commander, the others dispersed quickly. The two lieutenants and the lanky turian ducked into James' little alcove to give the pair some space and so as not to intrude.

"What?" Kaidan asked with feigned innocence as he glanced down at her when she removed her hand.

"I can't believe you were going to tell them about that," she replied quietly.

"Tell them. Hell, I was going to show them. Besides, it's cute."

The major could still recall the first time he saw the photo of her all dolled up in ruffles and lace, holding a handgun. She blamed it was a timing issue; one class ran into the usual buffer she had, so she wore the outfit her grandmother provided for her carriage classes to the range. A sweet little ten-year-old in lace gloves, with her hair all curled up, tightly gripping a heavy pistol which looked massive in comparison to the delicacy of everything else.

"It's stupid."

"It's damn well adorable," he repeated, reinforcing his opinion with a lingering kiss. Then he straightened, narrowing his eyes at her. "And why didn't you tell me about last night?"

"Goddamnit Vega!" she yelled past Kaidan's shoulder.

The lieutenant just chuckled loudly. "You're welcome, Lola."

Kaidan smiled at her. It widened slightly when he noticed the little tell tale shift in her shoulders that confirmed that he had hit the right chord with the grin. He seized the moment and leaned a little closer to her as he let his voice drop just a touch. "I might have liked the chance to one up the turian myself."

She rolled her eyes, and shook her head for a moment before placing her hands on his chest. The playful exasperation in her face gave way to a softness that she held out for him alone. "You're already at the top of the list. You don't have to one up anyone."

Leaning forward, Kaidan pressed a long slow kiss on her cheek, before setting his mouth near her ear. "But still. I do a mean tango. You should let me show you some time." He could not be certain what produced the shiver that waved through her body-his voice, his breath on her ear, or the idea of a passionate dance-in the end it did not really matter what caused it. Kaidan was just pleased to have achieved that moment of revelation. With a satisfied smile, the major pressed a warm lazy kiss just below her ear.


	4. Day 04: It Ain't Easy Bein' Green

**Summary:** Shepard manages to inspire a happy-go-lucky feeling on the Normandy by replacing the fear and uncertainty with playful concern over the Normandy's resident leprechaun. Much of the crew fall victim to the petite trickster, including the major who had actually prepared for Nyx's menacing this time around. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! *Fluff, smut, and shenanigans ensue.*

**a/n**: Welcome to Kaidan Porn Week! This is the another of the nine. I'll be posting at least one fiction every day from 3/14 to 3/22. Some are _friskier_ than others, but I hope you enjoy them all. As usual, thank to Chyrstis who allowed me to spam her on short notice.

**It Ain't Easy Bein' Green**

①

The crew that called the Normandy home must have missed or ignored, or more likely forgotten Joker's little suggestion at the beginning of the month. On March first, he had casually mentioned that the commander was a little too into St. Patrick's Day and that people should invest in something green before they put out of port again. Shepard had seen some of the fruits of his warning and been told about others-a few bags with green ribbons and Murphy had a damn crateful of buttons, pins, even a few hats. The commander knew he would likely not be among her victims.

She had started early. 0300 to be exact. She planned on torturing all the shifts, though it was likely that by about 1400 people would be better prepared for the onslaught. She detoured to the loft and refilled her pocket with the little shamrock pins she had just for the occasion. It was then she noticed the box Kaidan had told her was off-limits. He had bragged about being ready for her this year, but when she kicked it out from under the desk it was clear that the seal was unbroken.

The laughter was involuntary, and her grin was wide. When she entered the elevator, Nyx had EDI connect her to Joker. "I can't believe you didn't tell me," she said with a little too much glee in her admonishment.

"Give me a break. I was hoping he might remember. But damned if he and Garrus and Cortez aren't still tied up with that engine maintenance on the shuttle."

"For shame Joker. For shame. And you call yourself a leprechaun. What kind of trickster are you?"

"Hey, my malevolent streak is not nearly as well-developed as yours," the pilot replied.

"Bullshit!"

Joker just laughed as the lift reached the lower decks. Engineering was first. It was a calculated choice. Deep down she really wanted to give Kaidan a chance to not be among the pinched. Adams and Gabby were leaned over the console nearest her when she entered. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Donnelly grin too widely.

"Attention on deck!" he called, completely out of character for him.

The other two turned quickly and snapped to. Gabby shot a quick glare at her partner, while Adams tried not to react.

"Seriously? You hang out with Lucky the damn Leprechaun, how could you guys not remember? Or notice?" Shepard asked. Then she took a long look at Kevin. "You, Mr. Donnelly, seem to be suffering the same malady as your crew mates here."

"Oh I don' think so, Commander," he said in that thick lilt of his.

Pursing her lips she did not say anything when he tugged at his belt, and produced a bright swath of Kelly green with orange and white shamrocks.

"That's quite … patriotic," Shepard said carefully.

Kevin laughed raucously as he turned back to his panel.

"You know the drill." Shepard quickly pinched her crewmates' shoulders and tagged them each with little glittery green shamrocks. As she was leaving, Tali entered, wearing her typical purple vestiges. "Happy St. Patrick's Day, Admiral," Nyx chided with a chesire-cat grin.

Tali tapped her wrist which was instantly swathed in green. For good measure she even called Chatika, which glowed bright green for the occasion.

"That is cheating," Shepard grumbled.

"You're just mad that I outsmarted you, Commander."

"Cheat-_ing_." The commanding officer of the ship walked backward out of the engineering compartment, shaking her finger at her giggling friend.

_Count on Tali to make it interesting. Ten bucks says she has that thing programmed with its own countdown._ Nyx shook her head. "Damn," she whispered when the thought that the quarian could have sent it to Kaidan or Garrus crossed her mind.

When the elevator opened onto the cargo deck, she could not hide the grin. There was no green that she could pick out. Vakarian noticed her first, and if a turian could show panic, he had in that instant. She started toward him as he scanned the weapons table. Successful, he straightened and narrowed his eyes at her, holding a three-inch sliver of wire, encased in green. _Lucky bastard_. The last two St. Patrick's Days she had caught him unawares.

Garrus turned and pointed at the major and shook his head. She knew Kaidan was not wearing any green, even though Joker, who was more than happy to inform her of each and every crewman she could go after, had not told her that the major had forgotten the date. To her credit, though, she had not sought him out first in order to give Kaidan a little bit of a cushion to discover or remember the date before she reminded him. After they left the Citadel last, he had proudly and playfully announced to Shepard that he was completely prepared for March 17th this year. Kaidan had also suggested she would thoroughly appreciate the way in which he planned to thwart her assault on the crew. Part of her was hoping that even after she nabbed him he might still show her what was in the box.

"Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!i" Shepard said brightly when she stopped behind him. The major reacted a little more than she expected when she pinched him on the ass, but then again, she usually did not pinch him quite that hard.

"Goddamnit, Nyx," Alenko growled at her, rubbing at this site. Turning, his shoulders slumped slightly when he noticed the green button pinned near her shoulder, which read _Kiss Me I'm Irish!_

Of course, the fact that she was speaking Gaelic at all should have tipped Alenko off. "Happy Saint Patrick's Day," she translated with a sly smile before she kissed him lightly. "Seamrógii?" She spun the little green four-leaf clover between her fingers. When he nodded reticently, she pinned it to his chest carefully. "That should keep you safe from any other vengeful little leprechauns running around the ship."

"Something tells me you're the only such creature on this boat."

With a shrug Nyx looked up at him with as much innocence as she could muster. "Our pilot does have a little red in his beard. There's also Murphy and Donnelly, who are surprisingly sly. So, I'm not the only trickster on the ship today. "

The major held her face in both his hands. "Maybe, but you're certainly the most dangerous."

Even after Kaidan's display she had managed to catch a few more folks in the bay, including Cortez, who had insisted that she take nine minutes out of her menacing to teach him to pronounce the greeting she had given him correctly. After which he joined her in stalking the maintenance crew. She gave him a handful of her shamrocks and sent him forth to create havoc. Shepard figured he might catch people more off guard than she would, plus it was kind of nice to see him smiling and carefree if only for a few moments.

②

Kaidan knew it was only in his head, but he could swear he felt the bruise forming as he walked out of the elevator on the crew deck. There were a few others rubbing gingerly at their upper arms and one medic had an already discoloring little mark on his forearm. A slight smile crossed the major's face when he noticed Vega, one hand on clutching his arm just above the elbow as he talked to Garrus. On sight Alenko knew the people Shepard had caught wandering the ship without a trace of green. All of Nyx's victims sported vibrant green glittering shamrocks.

A fair number of the crew had heeded Joker's warnings and some went farther than others. Murphy, with his flaming red hair, looked the part-wearing a green bowler hat and a massive green tie adorned with blinking green shamrocks on it. Most folks, however, had gone for impromptu green. A few of the bridge crew sported roughly drawn shamrocks on their hands or cheeks. One of the pilots had a huge four-leaf clover drawn on his forehead, with black outlining and detailing-whoever had drawn it was pretty good, or so the major thought.

Alenko had no idea why Nyx enjoyed this day quite so much. It seemed kind of frivolous to torture the crew just for some luck ritual, which was all he could chalk it up to. One of the MPs had joined a few of the enlisted females in trading roughly drawn shamrocks on their cheeks at one of the tables, where there were several green pens and markers strewn across the surface among scattered lengths of emerald ribbon, as if left by some little leprechaun. With their bright laughter it suddenly struck him. Right now, in this moment, no one was thinking about the Reapers, the war, or anything more than trying to keep Shepard from pinching the hell out of them. The deck felt more relaxed that he remembered it being since they left Earth, though he admittedly had only been back on the ship for a handful months. But there was a lightness in the chatter, comparing rising bruises, ribbing the overzealous, and preparing for any possible future onslaught.

"Shepard got you too, huh, Major?" Vega greeted with a nod to the little shamrock she had stuck to Kaidan's chest.

"Yeah, but good money says you don't want to compare bruises," Garrus chided, sipping at a cup of water.

Vega held up his hands in mock surrender. He and Garrus had been below in the cargo bay when Shepard caught the major unawares. And the turian had bailed after Shepard greened Kaidan. The senior officer shook his head. Alenko should have remembered the date; hell, he had gone so far as to prepare for this the last time they were in port. There was a little human shop in the lower wards that was brimming with green in preparation, as if all humans were as crazy about this holiday as Shepard.

Tali joined the three of them and chuckled as she inspected Kaidan's little trinket that marked him as one of the forgetful. "Next year, just program your omnitool to glow green then you can keep her at bay even if you forget," the quarian advised with a quick tap at her wrist.

_How did I not think of that?_ It was a damn sight better than trying to remember the silly green armband with the stylized leprechaun he was now sporting along with Shepard's Shamrock.

"That's an amazing idea. You wouldn't forward that program to me, would you?"

"She most certainly will not," Shepard stated from the other side of the counter. "It's one thing that she managed to find a way to cheat, but unless you program it yourself you'll have to remember just like everyone else."

"How is this kind of torture not covered under Council regulations, Commander," Vega said in a fairly serious tone.

Nyx just cocked one eyebrow at him. "Spectres are allowed to operate as they see fit, remember? And if you really want torture, I can make that happen, L-T. But today is for the leprechauns."

"So just because you're short, we all get bruises?" James replied playfully.

Shepard was nose-to-nose with him in a second. The posture was intimidating even if she was on her tiptoes and had to lean her head quite far back to meet the gaze of the looming marine. Then the look switched in a second, from commanding officer back to playful exemplar of one of her Irish tricksters. "Hell, yes."

Vega swallowed audibly then found it in him to laugh as he shook his head.

"How much longer until this is over, C-O?" one of the green-shaded MPs called from the table.

Shepard tapped open her omnitool. "About three hours, Sergeant."

"Seriously?"

"Yep," the commander replied.

There was a chorus of _damn_ dotted with mixed expressions of exasperation. Most of the crew wore the little sparkling _seamr__ó__gaiii _the commander had been handing out after she pinched them, despite this they still joined the few who had managed to avoid that surprise in tying green ribbons on their uniforms or drawing temporary decorations and sayings on their flesh-all done in an attempt to thwart the Normandy's petite blonde leprechaun.

Nyx winked in Kaidan's general direction. "Three more hours, boys and girls. I'll see you later."

With that the SR2's commanding trickster pushed away from the counter offering a quick little wink to the four of her squad gathered there. Her departure was noticed by several people and punctuated by an uncharacteristic yowl, which drew everyone's attention and cast a curious silence over the deck. The warm and familiar cackle that sprang from it announced yet another victim. The entire crew deck fell out into raucous laughter when Javik rounded the lift column rubbing at his abdomen and wearing one of Nyx's adornments.

The Prothean looked back over his shoulder once then shook his head. Kaidan could almost hear the alien thinking, _humans and their strange little customs_, which made the major smile. Yes, this was odd. Yes, he thought Shepard was a little too into the day, but he could not argue with the effect of it. The result was clear in the smiles and carefree distraction he saw in the faces and heard in the voices. Shepard managed to take a holiday which commonly celebrated the heritage and culture of Celtic peoples on earth and use it to give her crew a much needed day off from the heavy reality around them, especially after the past few months where holidays just reminded them all of the missing, the loss, and in ordinate destruction they were facing.

③

Shepard leaned over her console, forehead resting against a balled up fist as she skimmed yet another reminder that Cerberus and the Illusive Man was still making waves. She sighed at the screen and glanced at the clock on her desk; she leaned back and sent Joker a quick message informing him to set course in three hours. Nyx took the chance that she would be able to keep up the relaxed guise of her being the most dangerous thing in the Normandy's reality until St. Patrick's Day was over. The little ring as the door opened, drew her attention from the reports.

Kaidan stood there, leaning one shoulder on the corner of the wall. Nyx turned in her chair, hands clasped loosely in her lap, and gazed up at him.

"I thought you had a few more hours to play trickster?"

Nyx smiled, looking away. "Yes, but, alas, even leipreachainiv must work from time to time."

"You know there are an awful lot of green markers and ribbons all over the tables in the mess hall and in a few other key locations around the ship."

The commander merely shrugged.

"Is that part of your trickster kit?"

Nyx laughed, and turned back to the console. Her eyes skimmed over the titles of a few other documents for a moment.

"Anything I should know?" Alenko asked, with a too serious tone in his voice.

She thought about it a moment, but even for him, hell, especially for him, she wanted to keep up this illusion of a blithe, untroubled moment even if they both knew it was nothing more than a mirage in the desert. With renewed determination she sat up and flicked off the display of the console. The major cast that sweet smile on her, the one that made his eyes warm and inviting, as she crossed to him.

"Yes."

Laying her hands on his chest she looked up at him. She could see the stress etching his features-the worry, concern, fear, feelings that they all felt too heavily since the attacks began. They all had people they worried for, but Nyx knew that she, herself, added to the weight Kaidan felt. With a pang of guilt, the commander let her left hand glide up his chest and snake to the back of his neck. No pressure needed to be applied; Alenko complied with the silent suggestion and closed the distance.

"Tá a fhios go mo chroí istigh ionat,v" she vowed in the foreign words that had become so familiar to him. "I love you, Kaidan."

The kiss was warm and tender, at least until he pinched her.

"Ow. What was that for?" she asked, her hand still on her rear.

"You're no longer wearing green," Kaidan replied with a wolfish little grin.

"So you think," she challenged. He cocked an eyebrow at her and Shepard revealed the completeness of her own preparations. Tugging off her black t-shirt revealed green silk and black lace.

The little rumble in his throat clearly pronounced that her hours as the Normandy's solo leprechaun were coming to a sudden close. Her lover stalked toward her with a tempting fire kindling in his gaze. When he reached her, Kaidan's fingers glided across her cheek, down her neck, then over her shoulder. Both hands traced over the tops of her breasts, at the edge of the cups. When his fingers found the little charm dangling from the bow, his eyes left hers. He smiled at the bejeweled shamrock, hanging there between her breasts.

"Very nice," he drawled, that deep voice clouding her mind and echoing along her nerves. "And very clever. So is there some kind of punishment for pinching someone who was wearing green?"

Nyx shrugged one shoulder. "I get to pinch you back ten times."

Kaidan laughed, the deep reverberation of it intensifying what his enticing little growl had started. "Pinch away then."

Shepard kissed him then set to unbuttoning his shirt. He held her face gently in his hands, his lips mirroring his careful touch at least until she pinched him just below the ribs, where she knew he was sensitive. He groaned and bit her bottom lip in retaliation. The ten payback pinches took longer to deliver than even she imagined. With the last they were both bare-chested, each had tugged off their boots before they fell onto the sofa, and Kaidan had held her down at one point to get the green, orange, and white striped socks off Shepard in an attempt to even the playing field.

Pinning him against the sofa, Nyx straddled his hips. Her kisses were teasing, taunting him with the suggestion of more before she would pull away. Then she would kiss a clever trail over his chest or shoulders, and along his neck until brushing his lips again, raising an expectation she would ultimately deny again. All the while her hips shifted deliberately against him, inciting his appetite.

Familiarity in this case bred great payoffs. Shepard knew that pushing her lover would inspire him to lose himself. It would clear his mind of practically everything except replying in kind. And that was precisely what she had been trying to achieve for everyone that day.

When she leaned back again, she released his wrists, trailing her fingertips ethereally over his arms and down his chest. She leaned forward again, this time kissing him deeply. It ended with a sharp groan when she pinched his nipples with both hands.

His laughter was warm and laced with that intoxicating vibration. "Gotcha," he chimed, holding her face in his hands and pecking her lightly.

"I removed your green," she replied, knowing full well that was not actually the case. She had noticed the hint of green at his waistband when he pulled off his t-shirt. Deep down a part of her was looking forward to the recompense.

"Not all of it."

Shifting back a few inches, when his hands went to his waist, Nyx watched as he undid his BDU pants and revealed a scant pair of emerald colored briefs with _Kiss Me I'm Irish_ scrawled across the front.

"See?" he crowed rather proudly as he lay there showing them proud smile changed slightly when he seemed to notice her look.

"Indeed," she crooned, her fingertip dotting the little orange shamrock over the second _I_ in Irish. Pressing her hand lightly up the length of him, Nyx leaned forward and kissed Kaidan. The kiss deepened as she continued to run her hand along the smooth fabric.

His breaths quickened in anticipation, as she kissed her way down his chest. She moved to kneel between his legs and her hand still moved tenderly over the field of green that strained to contain her prize.

"Kiss me I'm Irish, huh?" she cooed, with a smirk. "That sounds like a striking idea."

Whatever he planned to say fell away in an inarticulate moan when Nyx peeled back the stretchy smooth fabric and ran her tongue up the length of his cock. Light nips and wet kisses teased his sensitive flesh as she tugged at the waistbands in an attempt to allow herself more access to him. Kaidan distractedly assisted, but when she gripped him and slipped the head of his cock into her mouth, he fell back against the sofa with a satisfied groan.

④

Before when they had literally stolen time with one another like thieves in the night, keeping to the shadows to keep up appearances, the two of them had literally explored one another's bodies and reactions with an ease that felt so far away. Since the major's return to the Normandy they had scavenged time for one another, like vultures they pecked away grains of sand from the shattered hourglass of this cycle.

With a downward glance, Alenko found those steel blue eyes staring back up at him with great attention. The tightness coiling through his body made his hand reflexively tighten in her hair.

"Nyx," he managed to mutter.

Kaidan always still told her when he was close, though it never seemed to matter to Shepard. And once again the warning merely brought that little glint to her eye as she continued that tempting rhythm that made his hips match it. As he came, her nails dug into his ass as she pulled his hips toward her, taking him deeper with each little thrust of his orgasm. She always made his head spin; for Alenko, Nyx Shepard was the most intoxicating addiction. Watching her crawl up his body, he knew he did not want a cure. He merely wanted to feel her warm flesh on his, wanted to taste himself on her tongue, wanted to make her cum with his name on her tempting lips.

When she loomed over him, the major kissed her lips lightly. With the gasp prompted by him claiming one of his retaliation pinches, Kaidan claimed her mouth completely, thrusting his tongue deeply as his other hand fumbled with the buttons of her pants. She welcomed his teasing touch as his fingers found her already wet. He soon had his lover panting; her hips moving against his touch in a demanding way. Despite it being her last vestige of green, once she had Alenko hard again, Nyx helped him strip her completely.

Letting the clothing fall where it may, Alenko ran his hands over the curve of her ass. The commander seemed impatient as she canted her hips along the length of him. As she shifted, poising the tip of his cock just so, Kaidan, claiming one of his retaliation pinches, prompted her hips to engulf him quickly. With a gloriously potent laugh, Shepard looked down at him.

"Nine more," he said with a grin. "Maybe more since you don't have any green left."

"I beg to differ."

"Do tell."

"Technically, since you still have green on." She wiggled her hips against him.

It was Alenko's turn to laugh. "I think your logic is flawed, but I'll let you have it for now."

"Why thank you, Major." Her voice dripped with an overwhelming sense of desire, and there was something about the way she pronounced his rank combined with the way her body moved along his in a deliberately languid way that just made the officer grumble in wholehearted approval.

Kaidan moved them, awkwardly, as he stubbornly refused to intentionally break the bodily connection between them. But once it did break, he decided the date no longer mattered. She could pinch him all she wanted as long as he gained the outcome he was now intent on.

"Scoot," he ordered as she grinned up from her back.

Lying beside her on the sofa, facing her, he knew this would have been easier if they moved the handful of feet to the bed; but now that he had her where he wanted her, Kaidan was content with the less conducive location. Shepard knew as well as he did, exactly what the major intended. Placing her leg high over his hip, Kaidan guided himself into her. The pace was slow, attentive, as they kissed and caressed.

"A chuisle mo chroí," she murmured against his lips at one point.

Kaidan just smiled, continuing the deliberate pace. Her grip tightened on his shoulder and she pressed her forehead against his. Her breathing was hurried despite the lazy movements they made together. As her body responded in that rocking quake, he smiled against her shoulder as he nipped her flesh lightly. While his holiday requital went unachieved, the major was perfectly satisfied to trade nine pinches for several hours spent drowning in the passion of the woman he loved, the woman who loved him.

i Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!

ii Shamrock

iii Shamrocks

iv Leprechauns, singular for leprechaun is leipreachán

v Know that my heart is within you.


	5. Day 05: Patterns

**Summary: **The little things are sometimes the things people count on most. When everything around them is in chaos, Shepard and Kaidan find little ways to create their own sense of normalcy, set their own expectations, and find comfort where and how they can.

**a/n**: Welcome to Kaidan Porn Week! This is the another of the nine. I'll be posting at least one fiction every day from 3/14 to 3/22. Some are _friskier_ than others, but I hope you enjoy them all. Almost forgot, thanks to Chyrstis who allowed me to spam her with short-notice fiction that needed eyes. She is amazing. 3s

**Day 05: Patterns **

The deep thrum resonated through her entire body, it felt like a claxon signaling danger, signaling their demise. She could feel their fear, hear their cries, sense the hopelessness of it all. Her blood boiled as she felt her flesh sear. Then came the shocks that tensed her muscles to the point of tearing. As the blaring sounded again, Shepard sat bolt upright in the bed, she was out of breath and dripping with sweat; her entire body ached worse than after any PT in any training. Nyx Shepard leaned forward and cradled her throbbing head in her hands.

The palm on her back was warm, calmly so, and followed by a pair of familiar lips. Kaidan did not ask anymore. He knew there was no need. Shepard would tell him eventually. They both knew that. The warmth of sleep still permeated his flesh, where she felt cold and clammy-still shivering from the dream that could only be classified as a night terror. At least that was how the psychologist for her defense team back on Earth had characterized what she merely thought of as nightmares and bad dreams. The doctor had explained the difference, but it was just one of a dozen things she had forgotten over the last several months.

Sometimes it felt like her brain had a finite amount of memory and when something became obsolete it was removed. Though there was one subject that always held space in her ever overfilling mind.

Kaidan engulfed her. It was merely the habit they developed over the past several months. She always woke and leaned over herself at the edge of the bed, while he would scoot behind her. One of his thick legs on either side of hers, he rubbed and kissed her back lightly until Shepard would finally lean back against him. Then he would wrap her in his arms, rest his chin on her shoulder, and just hold onto her until she either told him what images had woken her or until she merely kissed his temple.

It was the pattern. Their pattern. When the terrors came, so did comfort. More so than Shepard admitted or Alenko claimed, Nyx depended on him, and just like he promised when he returned to the Normandy, he had her back.

She hugged his arms tighter around her body, lacing her fingers in one of his hands and pulling it to her lips. "Let's go back to sleep," she whispered against his temple finally.

He looked at her, a trace of worry crinkling his brow. Nyx knew precisely how many times this exact scene had played out. It had been at least two weeks since the last time she told him about the dreams. But in all honesty they were really starting to get to her. Out of her own concern, for herself and him, she kept the reality of them, and their dark suggestions, to herself.

Her hand guided his lips to hers. She wanted to tell him. Kaidan would try to understand; he always did. No matter what it was about Nyx, her life, all of it. He always tried to be understanding, even accommodating. But this was not her tendency to live out of her duffle; this was not even the haunted memories of her friends, her family. This was something darker, more dangerous, hinting at the fact that even if they did survive this, she might not.

That was the thing she did not want to think about, not now. She cuddled against his chest; her head easily finding that dip in his shoulder that he claimed must have been formed for that exact purpose. Shepard held onto Kaidan tightly, breathing in the warm comforting scent of him as her mind raced with the fears and darkness that seemed to be surrounding her like the black sea of space always had. His lips pressed to the edge of her forehead and his arms wrapped around her. There, in his embrace, she could merely be for a time. She could breathe in his fortitude, his resolve, when her own was lacking.


	6. Bonus A: Dirty Dishes

**Summary:** Shenko-an unexpected stolen moment. Music can inspire the most random and wonderful things. This is what happened when I came across a trio of songs with just the right feel.

**a/n: **Decided to throw this in the mix as a KPW bonus, since you are enjoying the randomness I've been tossing your direction. Inspired by Tab Benoit's Dirty Dishes, Louisiana Style, and Bring it on Home to Me. Hope you enjoy it. Also, you'll see one of my muses little random slaps with a goldfish found a home at the conclusion of this piece.

[ watch?v=qA_0zvdkND4&amp;list=RDOXAH3WVhhwg, watch?v=PZvZIwucHVY&amp;list=RDOXAH3WVhhwg, &amp; watch?v=1G2dfYqHTyE&amp;list=RDOXAH3WVhhwg]

**KPW Bonus A: Dirty Dishes**

The volume of soulful bass and the bluesy licks of the guitar grew subtly. The major followed the music, up the stairs as the volume increased every so often. The singer crooned, "There's too many dirty dishes in sink. For just us two." He shook his head with a smile. It did not sound like Shepard's usual flavor of jazz or blues. When he peeked into the bedroom, he was unable to contain the smile. She stood on the other side of the room dancing as she folded clothes from the basket. It was so sweetly domestic that Kaidan just leaned against the doorjamb and watched as the singer continued, "I wonder, baby, who's been makin' those dirty dishes with you?"

The lyrics made his smile widen and the headiness of the music seemed to have surrounded her. Shepard's head shifted from side to side with the drummer's vibrant response as he set the introduction to the improvisation sections of the song. When the guitarist took the lead and the sharp movements melted into a liquid shift that started in her shoulders and dripped down to her hips.

Alenko swallowed hard and tried to remain silent as he watched the enticing serpentine motions her body had in reaction to the music as the syncopation stuttered in her hips. While he or anyone else might call her actions dancing, Nyx never would. She would only call it enjoying the music. He was rather glad for that personal definition. She felt the rhythm inside her-the shimmer of the cymbals, the pulse of the drums, the chorded movement of the bass, and the emotion of the guitar.

In that instant it became more than Kaidan could bear to merely watch. Crossing the room with silent footsteps, he knew he managed to surprise her when her head snapped to her right as his hand touched her waist. The smile was warm and sweet-entirely too enticing when combined with the appetizer Kaidan sampled in the doorway. Nyx's hand moved over his and encouraged his intention to wrap her in his arms, letting his body meld to hers. Her hips guided his while also working against him. The first song flowed into another with a more deliberate pace and a traditional walking bass line.

Neither of them said a word; they were unnecessary in that moment. Kaidan buried his face in her neck, his arms around her as he moved with Shepard while her fingers ghosted over his arms. One hand detoured, brushing his forehead lightly before weaving into his thick hair, which encouraged him to lift his lips from the soft flesh at the nape of her neck. The sigh that caught in his throat when her lips met his made her smile against his mouth.

Nyx turned in his arms and whispered, "Dance with me, Major," against his lips.

Kaidan kissed her gently at her as she blinked up at him. It stunned him still for a moment. She never asked him that; he usually asked her. He recovered quickly, though, pulling her close again and placing his hand against the small of her back.

The feeling of her body against his was one of those sensations the major could not get enough of. He savored the rarity of a dance with her, the way her body moved in strange and familiar ways against his as he guided her across the floor. There was an intimacy in the way they could read one another by the subtle signs like a squeeze of a hand or movement of the eye. Nyx knew there was no way Alenko would turn down a dance, just as he knew what she wanted when she asked, it was the only thing that fit the music she had chosen that afternoon. Finally ignoring the typical hold, he set his hands low on her waist as their steps stuttered together with the music. The motions of their Cajun Two-Step were small, perfunctory, as he continued to kiss her leisurely, little teasing and appreciate pecks on her full lips. The gentle smile that lit her eyes only encouraged him, while her fingertips played at the base of his neck.

The beat was palpable, almost as solid as the woman he loved. Her smile widened when Kaidan slipped a hand beneath her shirt, caressing slowly up her back, pressing her body more tightly to his. Their slow little dance inched them towards the bed. In that moment there was nothing more than her for him. He growled low in his chest when she sank her teeth into his neck, following the greedier bite with a comparatively gentle nip at his jugular. Any response he might have been forming was interrupted by her warm chuckle as she pushed him unceremoniously onto the bed.

She was looking down at him, with that unmistakable passion blazing in her eyes and a playful grin on her lips. They both pulled off clothing as quickly as they could, her standing there nude like the epitome of temptation while he fought with his boots. Finally freed, Kaidan tugged her onto the bed and covered her body with his. Deep, probing kisses, punctuated with searing enticing touches, prompted visceral and vocal responses from each of them; their bodies still moving with the languid rhythm of the rich blues.

These were the moments Alenko craved. Moments where it felt like they were the only ones left in the universe. For the next few hours he thought he might have her all to himself, or at least that's what he hoped as she hummed in response to him pressing into her. She held his face lightly, her leg draping over him while her hips still shifted in a more subtle version of the serpentine movement that had drawn him across the room initially.

"I love you, Kaidan," she murmured between long lush kisses.

He knew it. Saw it every time she looked at him. But every time she said it, it made his heart soar. Alenko snaked his arm beneath her cradling her body to his, while his other hand grazed her cheek. "How did I get so lucky?" he breathed.

She leaned back slightly then smiled wickedly. "It was those tight-ass jeans," she said with a little laugh that Kaidan mirrored.

He seized her mouth, his tongue darting between her lips eliciting a moan that reverberated through him.


	7. Day 06: Reunions

**Summary:** Separation. It was something Nyx Shepard did not particularly care for. But it was a necessity of life in the service. The Normandy had spoiled her, it kept most of those most important to her near her. But after several weeks spent at the ass end of the galaxy, she needed to feel home again.

**a/n**: Welcome to Kaidan Porn Week! This is the another of the nine. I'll be posting at least one fiction every day from 3/14 to 3/22. Some are _friskier_ than others, but I hope you enjoy them all. Almost forgot, thanks to Chyrstis who allowed me to spam her with short-notice fiction that needed eyes. She is amazing. 3s

**Day 06: Reunions**

***1***

Alenko did not have to say it. Shepard knew he missed her. And she knew the same.

Her transmission had been short and sweet-totally one-sided, just a quick burst that had come over a secure channel with no hope of sending a response in return. "Coming home. Meet you at the Citadel in four days."

Kaidan figured she wouldn't be back until late and had laid out preparations. But he had promised to spend the morning helping Cortez with maintenance on the shuttle long before the message came through. Though the major knew, the lieutenant would have let him slide, Alenko knew the distraction could be helpful.

***2***

Steve Cortez hopped out of the passenger area of the shuttle and went straight to the chest full of tools. The hand on his arm scared the hell out of him.

"Shh," Shepard cautioned before he could say anything. "Where is he?" she mouthed silently.

He poked his thumb at the shuttle.

When Shepard winked at him with a sweet smile, Cortez couldn't help but blush. The major was about to get one hell of a surprise. In some ways he envied the man, well, both of them. While a part of him felt the sting of what he had lost, he was happy for the two of them. From what he overheard here and there, it had taken a long time for them both to find that place. While he did not know what Shepard had planned for her fellow Spectre, Steve was not about to stand in the way; he would play along.

Upon entering the lift, the lieutenant waited for the door to close. "EDI."

"Yes, Mr. Cortez."

"When I get off the elevator, no one gets access to the cargo deck until you receive orders from the commander or the major. And close the bay windows on the Engineering level."

"Yes, Lieutenant."

He grinned at himself when he stepped out of the elevator. He was glad to have Shepard back, they all were. But no one more so than Alenko. The major worried almost non-stop for the last seventeen days.

***3***

Shepard pulled off her BDU blouse and tossed it on table near the weapons locker then she took off her boots. Nyx did not want him to hear her coming in the slightest. Creeping across the bay she leaned into the shuttle and watched him for a few seconds, he was halfway beneath the panel, growling at some wiring or circuitry that was misbehaving.

He gave no sign that he heard her approach, nor did he notice her movement through the shuttle's cabin. But when her hand slid up his inner thigh, his body jerked up quickly and her lover cracked his forehead on the panel.

"Oh my God! Kaidan!" She climbed over him touching his face as she looked at him horrified. "Are you okay?"

He pulled her lips to his, and she let her body cover his. He kissed her until they were both breathless, not wanting to end it, as if he wanted to make up for the last three weeks in that one moment. "I'm fine, now."

She smiled down at him for a moment. Her joy at finally being right back where she wanted to be was palpable. Her fingers grazed his brow as the grimace turned her smile downward. "I'm sorry," she said, inspecting his forehead carefully. "Chakwas is going to kill me. You might actually need stitches."

His fingertips touched his forehead and he shrugged at the blood. "Like Garrus says, the ladies love scars," he joked as he seized her lips again.

She broke the kiss much sooner than he would have preferred; much sooner than she herself cared for. But head trauma was not something she had been counting on in her spur of the moment plan. "Come on." She climbed off of him, much to both their disappointment. She had sought him out with the intention of thoroughly debauching him wherever she found him. Of course, that idea had not included a three-inch gash or a possible concussion caused by her scaring the hell out of him.

"You're serious?"

"And if I were the one bleeding from the head you wouldn't drag me to medical?"

He raised his eyebrows at her, challenging her assertion silently.

She narrowed her eyes at him. He, of course, would not; Alenko would treat it himself. He had done so more times than she wanted to recall. "Well, I'm not rescue trained. So, medbay it is. Then I can continue with my plan."

He slid out from under the panel and followed her. "And what was that plan?"

She pulled on her blouse and slipped into her boots before she glanced at him over her shoulder. "To make you scream my name until you lost your voice."

"Threaten me with a dream come true," he whispered against the shell of her ear before he planted a soft kiss there. He added another on the back of her neck for good measure and was rewarded with a quick shiver that made him smile.

"You know, I had a plan of my own," Kaidan offered as she called the elevator.

"Do tell," she replied, taking a few steps backward into it as the door opened.

"Nothing too special," he shrugged. "Just figured we could get of this bird for several hours."

"That's all."

"Maybe."

She laughed lightly, slipping her hand into his and resting her head against his shoulder. She had missed this more than she thought she could-him, just being there. When the door opened again she pressed her lips to his shoulder and led him out.

Kaidan pressed a cloth to his forehead as they crossed the crew deck. Shepard noticed the look Cortez shot her. He clearly did not expect to see her quite so soon.

***4***

After her own plan failed, Shepard seemed satisfied that there was a backup in place, even if she did not know what it entailed; Nyx latched onto the major's suggestion and dragged him off the ship without a word to anyone other than EDI, who insisted. Alenko revealed the simplicity of his plan by admitting that they would be at the apartment Anderson had offered her the use of. Nyx, relieved Kaidan's injury was mainly just superficial, checked the gash when they reached the towers. He batted her hands away playfully reminding her that Chakwas gave him a clean bill of health. When they reached the apartment, the major chewed at the inside of his cheek hoping that when the door opened the two of them would not be face-to-face with his accomplices. The stillness suggested that the trio had managed to escape before the couple arrived.

The apartment was lit by hundreds of candles. It was like their last night on Arcturus before… Kaidan shook his head. He did not want to think about that. Clamping down on that memory, he pushed it back with a squeeze of her hand.

"This certainly is familiar," she drawled with crooked smile.

Kaidan walked backward slowly, tugging her along with him. He grinned and let his voice drop just a touch. "Glad you remembered."

The combination paid off. Nyx closed the scant distance between them quickly, her free hand brushing his thigh as it moved to his hip. "You really think I could forget any of it?" There was a stark seriousness hiding just below the sultry timbre of her voice.

Holding her face softly, Alenko held her gaze. "Not for a moment," he admitted. He knew her memory was a sharp and bitter as his own. Tempered with myth of the easiness of those few stolen weeks peppered with little moments like the one he was trying to recapture.

Closing his eyes against the thoughts that seemed hell bent to rush to the surface after the stress of not knowing, anything really, for the last three weeks, Kaidan teased her gently. The smile on her lips was delicate until the pecks became more insistent. The kiss heated, emboldened by the combination of pent up passions and absence. He halted. She countered. Alenko smiled against her mouth when her hand moved just enough to cup his ass, offering a playful squeeze.

Quick to respond, the major scooped her up into his arms. Shepard threw her head back with what could only be classified as a giggle. Shepard caressed his cheek softly and nuzzled his neck as he carried her up the stairs. Light kisses and playful nips along his neck prompted him to bite his bottom lip. Every touch, every bite, every brush of her lips against his skin made him want to just strip her and show her precisely how desperately he missed her while she trapsing all over Omega and back. But deep down he needed to show Nyx precisely that same thing by savoring her, by doing all the little things that drove her wild. Kaidan paid attention. He remembered the little things, and he knew that was one of the ways he could showcase precisely how important she was to him.

"You had elves," she purred when they reached the bedroom, stopping just inside the door. The scent of vanilla and honeysuckle pervaded the room.

He grinned. She was right of course. Kaidan had called in a few favors. There was no chance that one person would have been able to light the path and cover ever hard surface in the bedroom with small candles on their own. "There are no rules about not employing all our options."

Sealing the admission with another deep kiss, he let his fingertips graze across her amp. The sighing shiver made her look at him admonishingly for a moment before her gaze softened. Shepard hated that she had such easy tells, but she knew all of his soft spots as well. So the major took advantage of them when he could.

Kaidan knelt at her feet and untied her boots, then slipped off each, along with the fluorescent pink socks she had on. Still kneeling, he unbuttoned her shirt and coaxed it off her. As his attention turned to her belt, Nyx voluntarily pulled her t-shirt over her head. The smile was involuntary as he noticed the lacy blue bra. Instantly certain he would find the matching panties beneath her fatigues when he pulled them over her hips, Alenko forced himself to take a deep breath in an effort to calm his excitement.

Practical. That was the word anyone would use to describe Shepard's wardrobe. But this pairing was one he had given her on a whim. Once. She had only worn them one other time, and that had been the night he gave the lingerie to her. She had informed him when they went to dinner that she was wearing his gift, and it had preoccupied him in a manner very similar to now.

As she stepped out of her BDUs, he placed warm kisses on her thighs, moving toward her hips as his fingers skimmed the waistband of the silky blue bottoms. Planting a kiss on her hip, above the fabric, he followed the curve up her up to her waist. Nipping her softly, Kaidan then rose to his feet, letting his nose skim her body lightly. At first she merely watched him, her lips parted, and bright blue eyes filled with desire. Until he kissed her.

Nyx held onto his neck as they kissed, exchanging deep teasing kisses while his hands moved across the familiar landscape of her body. Unconsciously his fingertips glided lightly over new scars that had not completely been smoothed by the skin weave that covered her body. It was one of the things that reminded him of just how much they had been through. Her scars were still there, just not visible anymore, whereas he wore his on his flesh as well as his soul.

Breaking the kiss, Kaidan kept enough distance between them so he could watch her reaction. Watching her was something he never tired of. It did not matter when or where, or what she was doing; although he did have a soft spot for watching her when they made love. Silvery blue eyes met his as one hand moved slowly tracing a curving trail up her thigh. Led by fingertips, his hand soon pressed against the cobalt silk. Entranced by watching the fire build, the major just stared, his own breathing getting heavier as Nyx leaned against the wall while he loomed over her. With the gasp that accompanied his teasing finger dipping into her, his body tightened in response. Diving for her mouth, he kissed her hard, swallowing the little moans, savoring the scant gasps while he teased her with great intricacy.

Her hands threaded in his thick hair, as he dropped kisses down her neck. But when her fingers converged at the collar of his uniform, he grabbed her wrists in both his hands. Pinning them above her head, his mouth returned to hers. "I'm not done yet," he insisted in a throaty growl.

Both knew, that any semblance of control in him holding her hands together was merely allowed, there was little power in his grip. In fact most of the power, lay with Shepard permitting it. There was no question in his mind that it was totally her decision for him to keep her hands occupied as he kissed her and bit at her lips. The fingers of his right hand ghosted over her skin, raising a trail of goose bumps down her arm. The wispy touch glided down her chest, along the curve of her ribcage causing her body to shift in a meager attempt to evade it.

The major was well versed in her mannerisms, responses, and the things that made her moan so deliciously. Pressing his thigh between hers, he ensured two things. One, she would not be so able to elude his ethereal teasing strokes, and, two, he could add precisely the right pressure to make her squirm just that much more.

***5***

Nyx, as well read as her lover in the language that his body spoke, knew by the gentle squeezing his hand made around hers that she was not the only one suffering under his languorous caresses. The hunger in his eyes seemed quenched slightly when his hand slipped between the tight intersection of their thighs. Touching her seemed to only sate for a moment, she presumed when his hand moved farther, a fingertip teasing at her entrance. Kaidan's gaze was unwavering, his lips parted desperately as he watched, waiting for what he sought. Shepard's hips shifted against the slow movement, the bare gasp brought a ravenous groan to his lips.

In his eyes, she found a mirrored intoxication. As much as he enjoyed strumming the pleasure from her body, she enjoyed the satisfaction it brought him. They both did. His breathing deepened as her sharp breaths gave way to more vocal moans, as if each sound were vital to his very survival. Her orgasm centered not merely in his ministrations against her body, but in that rousing look he cast upon her. In the erotic way he consumed her passion completely. His lips curled when the shuddering began, his eyes moved over her for a moment, before his lips fit to hers. Kaidan held her there playing out every minute reaction he could before he loosed her hands. Resting his forehead against hers, his hand caressed her cheek in a slow sweeping rhythm that bespoke his own sense of gratification.

"I think your plan was much better thought out than mine," Nyx acquiesced, still trying to catch her breath.

He chuckled and gazed at her. "Well to your credit, you were a little distracted with taking back an asteroid. I, however, had most of the last twenty some odd days to think about nothing but what I was going to do to you when you got back."

She touched his face, a soft laugh tinting her voice. "Makes me think I should do things like that more often."

"Never again," he corrected, leaning back and looking at her sternly. She could read his seriousness, recognize the trace of fear, in his whiskey brown eyes. He looked away for a moment, his voice holding significantly less forcefulness when his gaze returned to hers. "I've spent the last three weeks scared out of my mind."

She pressed her lips to his, kissing him tenderly several times, as if making amends. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"I know. And I understand why you went along with it. But from now on-"

"I won't go it alone," Shepard swore, holding his face in her hands.

A slight smile, curled his lips. It was only a tiny relief. Major Alenko knew that with the woman he had fallen in love with a little bit of relief was all he was destined to get. Fervently, he seized her mouth again. That venerate moment broke when his hands slipped over her hips and lifted her off the ground, pulling her legs around his waist. The smile she returned suggested his plan was much more elaborate than she initially realized. He placed her gently on the bed then knelt between her legs as he unbuttoned his shirt. Nyx leaned up and unfastened his belt, before he had her hands in his again.

"Patience is a virtue," he muttered against her lips.

Shepard nipped at his lip in response, but he evaded her. "I'm not a particularly virtuous woman."

"Liar."

"See?"

Kaidan tugged off his shirts, catching her hands again before she got more than one button undone. Nyx could not help the satisfied sound that escaped her when his body covered hers. The weight of him against her had become an anchor for her, even if it was merely his arm draped over her waist as they slept, it was something she craved. But like this, his entire body pressed against hers, this always made her head spin with desire.

His mouth moved down her neck, his hands clasping hers as his body moved against hers. Pressing his hips against her, the man she loved more than she thought herself capable of leaned over her. The mischievous smirk and the glint in his eye curved her lips into a smile. Her chest arched against his and as much as she tried not to, her eyes closed as the sensation washed over her.

The intense desire the weight of him inspired, paled in comparison to the warmth and pressure of his field surrounding her, pulling at every part of her. There was something safe about it, comforting. The pull of it made her body seek complete physical connection to him. Once the initial intensity settled into the familiar glow of the sensation, her eyes met his. Kaidan wore a wolfish grin that suggested he was incredibly pleased with her reaction, and himself.

Though his hands released hers, and his body retreated, Nyx could still feel him surrounding her. Kaidan smoothly slid her panties off, and she removed her bra unhurriedly as she watched him shed the last of his clothing. His skin, more than warm against hers, set a spark along her nerves. The longer he projected his normally highly-controlled field the more that bare sparking would intensify. He knew just how she reacted to this type of display, and the careful time he took told her he aiming to drive her completely wild and possibly to the brink of exhaustion, which was fine with her.

Shepard would steal every moment she could, regardless of the intensity. Nyx held out her hand to him. He kissed her palm before she clasped Kaidan's hand and him back toward her. After Omega, she needed to feel connected again. Needed to be home, in his embrace.


	8. Day 07: One Thing

**Day 07: One Thing**

As his lips moved up her body, one of Nyx's arms snaked over his shoulders while the other hand pulled at the back of his neck guiding his lips to hers. When he plunged into her kiss, one leg slipped over his hip, the calf of her other leg resting against the back of his thigh.

Guiding himself into her, the embrace tightened in response. All of her grabbed at him.

The husky growl rose in his throat.

This was merely one of the many little things he loved about her-the way she wrapped herself around him when they made love. The way their bodies entwined as they tried to get just that much closer, hold on that much longer to this thing that felt so tenuous in the reality beyond that single moment.


	9. Day 08: Just For You

**Summary:** One image, one thought, one feeling. That's all it takes to spark something special.

**a/n**: Welcome to Kaidan Porn Week! This is the another of the nine. I'll be posting at least one fiction every day from 3/14 to 3/22. Some are _friskier_ than others, but I hope you enjoy them all. Almost forgot, thanks to Chyrstis who allowed me to spam her with short-notice fiction that needed eyes. She is amazing. 3s

**Day 08: Just for You**

**-1-**

Liara and Tali waited on the sofa. The commander, who had been so gung ho about this idea, was now wavering in that trademark confidence. Tali seemed to be taking in the luxurious nature of the set, while Liara eyed the photographer. The fidgety salarian came highly recommended, but she was still uncertain about him.

"Why am I doing this again?" Nyx Shepard asked from the other side of a fabric-screened divider.

"Because you love him," Liara noted disinterestedly, her voice holding a trace of a question.

"More like because you want to shock him into a stupor," Tali opined over her shoulder toward the nook the officer was huddled behind.

The shimmering sound caught all their attention. The salarian, to his credit, looked aghast. "C'mon Shep. Live a little," Kasumi suggested as her cloak lowered. "It'll be fun. Maybe even a little liberating."

**-2-**

_It almost felt like old times_, or so Joker allowed himself to think for a moment as he and Alenko teased Garrus about the state of his Thannix.

"You know I'm not sure what you're people did to her, but she's still not up to snuff. You should have told them to keep their damn hands off my gun," Garrus told Kaidan, pointing a talon at him.

The major just shook his head. "You know engineers, you can't tell them anything."

"Watch it. Those are fighting words," Tali noted from the doorway. "Major. A moment?"

"Sure thing, Admiral," the human replied with a grin. They were all still chiding her about out ranking them.

Joker leaned toward Garrus slightly. "What's that all about?"

"Damned if I know," the turian said too quickly, as if he was reading the pilot's mind.

The two just watched the quarian hand Alenko a box-flat a tad bit larger than a datapad, quite a bit thicker. Joker was not sure what it might be, or why Tali would be giving the Spectre a gift. She shook a finger at him as if sternly trying to reinforce something, like Joker's fourth grade English teacher. He shuddered at the thought of the old biddy who had tried to drill good grammar into his head, sometimes forcibly.

Kaidan nodded and walked back toward the bridge reading a little slip of paper. The taller man laughed playfullly as he reached the threshold.

"What's so funny?" Garrus managed to ask first.

"Read for yourself," Alenko replied, passing the note to the alien, who handed it to Joker after a quick glance.

"Just for you. Literally! Your eyes only!" Joker quoted. "I'm entirely serious! If I hear about this from Joker or Garrus, I'll string the three of you up in the cargo bay for all to see."

The pilot laughed and passed it back to Kaidan who tucked it in his breast pocket. Jeff had no idea Shepard was quite that big a fan of exclamation points.

"You think she's serious?" Joker said flatly.

Alenko shrugged as he pulled the lid off the box. After casting back the paper that covered whatever Shepard had sent, the officer blushed bright scarlet and quickly resealed the box.

"What is it?"

Looking from one of his friends to the other, Alenko's mouth moved wordlessly. "You don't want to know. And she's completely serious."

"Major, forwarding a message, marked urgent, from the commander to your omnitool," EDI's voice stated over the intercom in the bridge.

"I'm …" Kaidan stammered, thumbing in the direction of the bridge behind him. He got halfway down the gangway before he turned and stalked right out the airlock, looking like a man on a mission.

**-3-**

Still unconvinced that any of this had been a good idea. Nyx paced the width of the bedroom. He had not responded to the message. Tali and EDI both confirmed he had gotten and opened the gift. Her hands tightened in the silk belt of the wispy robe she was wearing. This was so out of character for her.

"You are not this type of girl, Nyx," she told her reflection when she caught sight of the thick waves that had been set in her hair and the bright red lips.

It was all an act. This was totally not her, but then maybe it was like Liara said. Sometimes it could be good to go a little too far. Shepard just hoped Kaidan agreed.

The ping of the door gave her the warning she was hoping for. Her attention was focused on shedding the robe and making the scene perfect, though the resounding footfalls on the stairs did not go unnoticed. Her attempt at sultry surely failed, because she could not help but grin, rather foolishly she thought, at the breathless man that landed against the doorjamb. Kaidan did not move for a long time. His stillness made Nyx feel even more nervous.

**-4-**

The sight before him was even better than the tempting photograph the commander had sent him. Those stunning blue eyes locked on him, dancing with glee as she smiled at him. The major took long deliberate breath and a moment before he did anything. Then he straightened himself up, tugged his shirt back into place, smoothing it slightly. After tucking the box under one arm, he tried to become the embodiment of calm, despite his raging pulse and the desire thudding through his veins like a drug.

"I got your package," he stated with more control than he imagined possible.

"I see that." Her eyes never left his. "And what did you think?"

He glanced down at the box now in his hands again. "Quite … enticing."

She tilted her head as an amused smile tugged at her ruby lips. "Not quite what I was aiming for, but I guess it's close enough."

"And what were you striving for?" He slipped one hand in his pocket, aiming for nonchalant, as he crossed the room gradually.

"Sultry, I think is the word Tali suggested."

"Just so we're clear, I just ran the length of this ward because the traffic was thicker than syrup in winter. And I'm fairly certain this image is permanently etched in my brain," Kaidan said, setting the box on the end table.

Shepard was perched there, kneeling in the center of the bed, in a pose dangerously similar to the one that reddened his cheeks on the bridge. It was not that she was nude, here or in the shot. What struck him hardest felt almost cliché, in that, for him, it was the thought that counted. The thought that she trusted him with something like that, trusted him enough to bear herself body and soul, in a sense.

The barest movement of her fingertips along her collarbone drew his attention as he tugged off his boots.

"I was on the bridge when I opened that. You could've warned me."

"I did," she replied with a gentle laugh, her hand resting at the base of her throat, as she looked up at him through those impossibly long lashes.

"_Your eyes only_ is not really a warning, Shepard."

"The warning was farther down."

"I realized that after the fact." Kaidan tugged off his uniform shirt and the t-shirt beneath it in quick succession before he knelt on the bed and closed the distance between them. "What inspired that?" he asked with a glance back toward the box.

**-5-**

Cradling her face in both his hands Kaidan leaned close, the tip of his nose brushing her cheekbone as he whispered light kisses along the hollow of her cheeks.

"I remembered how attached you were to that one of the two of us," she answered finally. Her hands lay splayed on his thighs, unpleased by the fact that he deigned to climb across the bed with his pants still on. But if there was one thing Shepard had discovered in the past several years-there is nothing fair in love and war.

"It's an amazing shot."

"It was by far, the best one of the group."

Kaidan leaned back slightly and looked down into her face. "There are more." The twinge of jealousy surprised even him.

"About half a dozen. But they were confiscated by the Shadow Broker. And very likely destroyed. Though there might be _a_ copy lying around."

"Around?"

Shepard laughed at the concern tingeing his heady voice.

"On the end table there, actually," she revealed. "I figured they'd be safest in your hands."

There was a trace of relief in his smile as he kissed her deeply; his tongue sliding between her lips in a tender yet claiming way. Shepard could hardly believe it herself. She was not the kind of woman to pose nude, for any reason, but something arose in her when she saw that old pinup from the World War II era. So, Nyx decided that if she was going to be the one to send her lover off to an unwinnable war, she might as well give him a most shocking reminder of precisely what was waiting for him on the other side of that fight.


	10. Day 09: Beyond the Essentials

**Summary:** Reassignment can be a good thing, but relocation usually can be trying. After the destruction of the Normandy, the promise of moving on looms. Having to determine what to do with the handful of items that Shepard left in his apartment makes packing the spartan quarters much more involved than the officer imagined. *Fluff, Smut, and, yes, a healthy dose of feels*

**a/n:** The final installment of Kaidan Porn Week. I hope you all enjoyed the playful little jaunt. Thanks again to Chyrstis for the read and catching that major miss. *whew*

**Day 09: Beyond the Essentials**

**-1-**

Beyond the essentials, very little remained in the spartan apartment Lieutenant Alenko kept on Arcturus Station after the first day of packing. Somehow it still took him three days to get everything ready to ship back to Earth, to his new duty station. Though, admittedly, the last day had been taken up packing the shelf full of items Shepard had left in his apartment. After the attack on the Normandy, part of him had been glad she requested to stow the few things she left on the upper most shelf. For the most part, after returning here, he had been able to overlook them. Until he started packing, that was.

He saved it for last knowing that there was no chance that he would be able to merely transfer the items easily into a box. He set the case with the sword in the box first. When Kaidan tried to give it to her father after the memorial, Taranis Shepard had refused. After that the Lieutenant toyed with the idea of giving it to Anderson, but when he opened it and found her strand of service tokens, Kaidan realized Nyx claimed it. He did not feel that it was his place to keep it, but for the moment it felt the most right, like he was taking care of her memories for her.

The two stacks of civilian clothing came off the shelf next. Sitting chiefly atop the stack, neatly folded was his red hockey jersey from high school. Sliding his hand across the slick fabric, a pained smile curled his lips. It seemed Shepard has done more than borrow it; she had completely laid claim to it. The smile turned as his throat tightened. She had teased him mercilessly when trying to choose between the few he still had. In the end she wound up wearing them all at some point, but the red by far was her favorite.

The little hint of laughter seemed like it echoed through his head, as he shook his head softly at the well-worn jersey.

**-2-**

"Come on, which one?" Shepard trilled playfully.

"It doesn't matter. I promise you, I'll have you out of it in five minutes or less," Kaidan replied, leaning against the headboard.

Nyx narrowed her eyes at him. Kaidan knew she was teasing him. Four jerseys laid neatly along the foot of the bed as she paced the width of it, looking at them thoughtfully. Her blonde hair coiled down her back and over her shoulder, and while the Lieutenant allowed his attention to be drawn by the slope of her collarbone, Nyx bent and lifted the blue.

"How about this one?" She held it in front of her, covering her bare chest and hiding the little white boy shorts she was partial to. "You're from Vancouver, right?" she asked turning the jersey back toward her and looking at the logo on the front. The Canucks jersey did not seem to interest her much, nor had the white jersey. "So this would be the home team, right?"

"Yeah."

Alenko just watched her. The description seemed to have no weight for her whatsoever. She lifted an eyebrow at the red and black.

"Your signature colors," Kaidan chided. It earned him a sultry little smirk that made him even more impatient for her to choose one or not. He, of course, preferred not, which would mean all he had to contend with would be the bottoms.

Surprisingly she did not even lift it up to ask his opinion. Her eyes lingered on the red jersey. The lieutenant leaned forward, curious if she noticed how the hem was a little more worn or if she saw the patching it had undergone or if the fading of the stark white number eight went overlooked. He caught himself chewing at the inside of his lip when her fingertips glided over the field of crimson. Holding his breath he watched her slip it on.

Seeing his own smile mirrored in hers seemed to cinch the decision. "You like?" she asked, resting one knee against the edge of the bed.

Even though the question was completely rhetorical, Alenko answered it. "It looks better on you than it ever did on me."

"Yeah, I doubt that. With that dark hair and those eyes, I bet you look absolutely irresistible in red."

"So I'm resistable, huh?" He leaned back against the headboard, lacing his fingers behind his head. It was a struggle not to just lurch forward and drag her onto the bed. She liked the game, and if he were completely honest, he did as well. Watching her fingertips trace down her neck, moving lithely over the exposed skin which he had an increasing desire to nibble on.

"Hardly," she scoffed.

Shepard turned and grabbed up the unclaimed tops. She stood in front of the dresser, back to him, as she folded them quickly and put them away. In that moment he hated the way it fell loosely over her, tenting the curve of her hip and the supple roundness of her ass. Though it did still allow his eyes to freely wander the taut power of her shapely legs, which she caught him inspecting fully.

"Like was you see, Lieutenant?"

"Asked, and answered a dozen times over, ma'am."

His throat seemed to tighten up on him when she leaned onto the bed. It was a moment he started to think highly of the choice again as the loose neck allowed him a striking sight. Once she was within arm's reach, Kaidan sat up, meeting her halfway so to speak. His hands moved across the fabric, over her body-hard muscle, gentle sweeping curves, and softness, all covered in a well-worn synthetic fiber.

**-3-**

Kaidan dropped it into the box quickly, hoping that the loss of sensation could clear his mind, but he knew better. That night was as clear to him as every other moment they had spent in this apartment. It was the clearest recollection of such a short span of time he had of any period in his life. And he knew why. Losing her… Alenko swallowed at the tightness choking him as he tried to even just think the words … _her death_. Her death had sharpened every moment to a razor's edge.

The officer wielded those razors often-purposefully and without intention. Sometimes he craved the memory of the joy so keenly that he would suffer through the sharpness of the cut in order to just feel the warmth for a moment. Then came the ache after; the ache that made him foolish at least until he heard her words again. The words she offered after Jenkins' death on Eden Prime, and he knew she was right. He would not get over it, but he would do what he could. He would do better, for everyone they lost on that ship, but mostly for her.

Staring at the handful of items left on the shelf he thought about just swiping them into the box with his eyes closed. It would be easier. Alenko sat on the edge of the bed, clasping his hands loosely in his lap as his eyes moved from the mostly empty box, to the shelf. A few times his eyes lingered on that case, which held the sword that commemorated her first fleet command. Early on in their association, Shepard had revealed to him that she got her assignment to the Normandy a little over twelve hours before the ship put out. She had been scrounging on some moon in the ass end of the traverse when word came down about Eden Prime. Command of a ship, appointment as a Spectre-none of it had been on Commander Shepard's to-do list, but she wore the mantles well once they were laid upon her. She did what she had a reputation for, she got the job done. _All the way_, he thought with a trace of bitterness.

With a trace of anger and a little more resolve, the lieutenant pushed to his feet and convinced himself he just needed to finish it. He needed to pack the last of it away.

This stack of items seemed easier than the last. The black BDU blouse, folded just so in order to showcase the N7 patch, gave him pause. The memory of first noticing her on the bridge just before they put out, floated toward the surface of his memory, but he dropped it quickly in an attempt to keep it at bay. He still saw her face, that look of shock when she recognized him.

Alenko shook his head clear, but it clouded almost instantly when his fingers clutched the fine silk of the nightgown he bought her on a whim. Slowly dragging it off the shelf, it was the one item he wished to hell she had taken with her, if only so he would not have to deal with it now.

The fabric unfurled of its own accord, but Kaidan was the one that brought it to his face. It was simple, unadorned. Inhaling deeply, he swore he could still smell the light traces of her like spice and citrus. The softness and the warmth of the memory tugged him easily into the memory.

**-4-**

The giggle seemed so out of character for Nyx, but Kaidan had surprised her. He had been proud of that. Perhaps she expected that he would give her something practical. This gift was not practical in the least, in fact, Kaidan, knew it was more than a little selfish on his part. It was not as blatantly so as some other tinier piece of lingerie might have been, but the Lieutenant bought with the sole hopes of seeing her in it.

And he got his wish, the next morning, in fact. He was skimming the newsfeed on his console when she finished her shower. The warm of the fabric against his back was almost as soothing as the _good morning_ that she whispered against his ear before she kissed him.

After grabbing two datapads, which held the project she was working on, the commander retreated and the lieutenant watched the way the garment moved around her as she walked across the room. It reached mid-calf, a modest length that Kaidan thought considerate but now found himself reviling. But the spaghetti straps and the low cut nearly made up for the length.

Shepard spent the entire day teasing him-running her fingers along the low neckline as she glanced at him in a way that told him precisely what she was thinking. She would brush up against him, letting him savor the warm softness of the thin fabric. At one point she gathered it slowly as she walked toward him, then slid onto his lap, kissing him and teasing his lips with her teeth and tongue. Kaidan had run his hands up her thighs to confirm the reason the fabric moved so freely against her skin. And with his discovery she returned to the sofa to the guise of working on the training drafts she was crafting.

At this point Kaidan chose to abandon the book he had been ignoring and followed her. It began with him lounging across the couch, kissing her arms lightly as his hands moved over the sheath of silk covering her legs. Nyx looked over at him with a scolding glance and he retreated slightly watching her, considering his next move.

Shifting, Shepard crossed her legs demurely as her attention fixed on what she had written. Then Alenko tried another approach. Slipping off the couch, he knelt near her, lightly folding the fabric onto her knee until the long hem finally exposed the length of her calf. His touch was ethereal and started at her ankle. Slow, lingering caresses were punctuated with warm kisses. When he finally reached her knee he continued up her thigh, inching the fabric back as he proceeded.

Shepard smiled down at him, finally uncrossing her legs as she lifted his lips to hers. Kaidan repositioned himself between her thighs as they kissed longingly. His lips left hers only to lavish the rest of her body in his attentions. He caressed and kissed her arms, her neck, shoulders, and her chest before he dared uncover another inch of her flesh. It had been a slow torture for them both.

He too easy recalled the deep sighing moan Nyx made when the silk finally slid over her breasts. It only intensified when he'd turned his attention the newly exposed flesh-first by barely flicking the nipple with the tip of his tongue, then drawing a moist circled around it. She shuddered when he took her breast into his mouth and sucked gently, before licking and biting at the sensitive flesh.

After the hours he spent worshipping every inch of her flesh, they whiled away the rest of the day wallowing in one another as they slowly and painstakingly made love repeatedly. They languished in one another that day in a way that they both had cherished. Later that night, she giggled again as he rested his head on her chest. Her hands combed through his hair, whispering across his brow from time to time, while his finger ghosted over her chest, shoulder, and neck. When he asked her what was so funny, she told him that she'd never be able to wear that gown again.

"And why's that?" he asked looming over her so he could meet her eyes.

She bit her lip as she threaded her fingers through his hair. "If I do, I'll have expectations."

"That's fine with me." Nyx had gasped lightly when his thumb grazed her nipple. "And I'll be more than happy to deliver on them," he guaranteed in a whisper against her mouth, before he plunged his tongue between her parted lips.

**-5-**

His response to the vivid recollection was visceral, though it was nothing anything new. The nightmares had eased up, but there had not been a night since the attack on the Normandy that he did not dream about her. Some of those dreams left him waking in a state of preparedness for something that was gone. Alenko ran his thumbs over the fabric balled up in his fists. Loosening his hands he folded it again, as neatly and precisely as Shepard had before she placed it on that shelf. Laying his hand over it, the ache he felt was not just in his groin. He could feel the emptiness that seemed to overwhelm him since her loss. Nyx had come to mean so much to him, becoming such a major part of his life in what felt like no time at all. He had fought against it so long, and now it seemed like a waste. If he had just given in sooner, he would have had a little more time.

As he set the last of her things in the box and sealed it he knew that despite it all he had to keep going. It was what she wanted. Nyx had told him as much. He pulled the crumpled envelope out of his pocket and looked at it, tracing his name in her economical script. Kaidan memorized the text long ago, now he just carried it as a reminder. A reminder that she loved him and that she knew he was strong enough to get through the hurt and the loss, even if he doubted himself. Shepard told him that he had to keep his eyes looking forward. He had to continue the mission even though she had fallen. He had to go on. With a deep cleansing breath, Kaidan refolded the letter and slipped it back into his shirt pocket. He knew he would always carry her with him.


End file.
