Author's Note: Hello! So whilst doing yet another playthrough of the game series, I happened to giggle uncontrollably when I went to see the Consort, and brought Kaidan along. He was in the background of basically every shot just STARING at Shepard. And then I got this idea in my head, and I had to write it out. I might continue this into a multi-chapter story if there's enough interest. For now, enjoy the single chapter!

Kaidan wasn't very comfortable waiting back on the Normandy while Shepard was with the Consort.

They'd only known each other for a few months, sure, but he liked her already. A lot. He'd just spoken to her a few days ago about his time at BAaT, and he'd opened up considerably to her through that small talk. The flirting was a little rough around the edges, but it worked between them and he was pretty sure she liked him too. And when he and Ashely had been told to meet her back on the Normandy, Kaidan was anything but happy. The Gunnery Chief teased him the whole way back, though it was in good nature so he let most of it slide. Ashley was like a little sister to him, and she knew just as much about what was going on as Kaidan did. Maybe even more.

"Seriously Kaidan, she's going to flip if she finds out you haven't eaten anything when she comes back." Ashley said through a mouthful of fake hamburger. IT was pretty good for imitation, but nothing would ever beat a grilled burger for him.

"She won't flip." he dismissed, leaning against the wall near the terminal he was constantly repairing. The damn thing broke so often he made it his job to fix it.

"Alright, maybe she won't. But don't you think you're reacting a little strong to this? She's with the Consort, for all we know they could be talking about dresses or some crap like that."

"And if they weren't talking?" Kaidan eyed her, then looking away before the color on his cheeks would show. Did he just tell her? He glanced over and Ashley was trying not to choke on her food, laughing.

"Oh my god! Do you have the hots for the Commander?"

He shifted his stance just enough so that she was out of his direct line of sight.

"You do!" she spluttered, then going into a laughing fit that nearly made her cry. Kaidan shook his head and walked to- ... Where would he go? Ashley would just follow him and tease him even more. It's not like she was entirely wrong, either. Sighing in frustration he gave in and went to grab some of the mediocre food, sitting down across from Ashley in silence as she went on for the next twenty minutes about how great this was going to be to watch. She grew tired of teasing him when he gave no reaction, and eventually left to go back down to the weapons bench.

He sat there pushing around the remains of food on his plate for a good half an hour after Ashley had left. And when he heard familiar boots on the stairs he straightened up a little, suddenly feeling even more anxious. And then Shepard appeared around the corner in her uniform, looking a little frazzled. She saw Kaidan and smiled.

"Hey." she sounded cheerful.

"Hey." he returned, anything but.

"Are you still hungry?"

"A little."

"Want to go get some real food on the Citadel? I'll buy." She stood there with her hands in her pockets, and he pushed the plate back and stood up without a word, accepting her offer. They walked in relative silence the whole way.

"Where are we going?" he asked eventually.

"I don't know."

"You don't know? I thought you'd have some idea since you were offering." He tried not to look at her too much, but she was a little bit ahead of him, and the pants on her uniform really brought out the curves-

Alenko, stop that. he chided himself, snapping his eyes back to the lake on his left.

"Sometimes I just like walking." she shrugged. Clearly she'd noticed his behavior because she turned a little. "Are you feeling okay? You've been acting a little weird all day."

"I'm fine. Really."

There was silence and Shepard turned, leading them to a sushi bar. He'd never had sushi before, but he gave in to trying it. It was then he realized that unofficially, they were on a date at the moment. He cut himself some slack and tried to smile and have a nice conversation with her. It was working well until they'd finished eating and were working on finishing off their drinks.

"So you seemed a little distracted when we went into Chora's Den earlier." she said over the rim of her glass. "You're not shopping around are you?"

"What?" he smirked a little, and tried not to notice the burning sensation creeping up his neck to his face.

"I saw you looking." she grinned, leaning forward. "See anything that struck your fancy?"

"Shepard-"

"Don't try to hide it." she chuckled, pointing a finger at him as she held her glass. She then brought it to her lips again and set it down, empty. Kaidan sighed and sat back.

"Fine, I looked."

"And?"

"Nothing." he smirked, holding her gaze for what seemed like forever. Until she looked away, nodding. He thought she looked pleased with his reply. Now it was his turn. "Why, did you see something you liked in there?"

"There was this one guy that kept following me around. It was a little creepy at first." she said, looking over to the other tables, then back at him with a grin, both sharing a laugh.

"And what happened?"

"He got a little... Shall we say uncomfortable when I went to see the Consort."

The game was over and Kaidan's smile quickly disappeared, as did Shepard's. He cleared his throat and looked down at his glass, drinking the last of it.

"We should really get back-"

"Why did that make you so uncomfortable?"

He thought he'd heard someone behind them talking at first. He'd never heard her voice so soft, it almost didn't seem like her vocal chords should be capable of producing such a sweet sound. He stared at her and she repeated herself.

"I... guess I'm just not very fond of the way some Asari interact with others." he shrugged, wishing he could melt into the seat he was in.

"Specifically me."

"Yeah..."

"I can handle myself, you know."

"I'm aware of that, Shepard." he narrowed his eyes a little, noting the defensive tone in her voice. "I guess maybe I'm looking into things a little more than I should."

"What do you mean?"

"Our talk the other day... After we grabbed Liara." he didn't need to explain himself further as she nodded. They were silent.

"Let's go take a walk." she said suddenly, moving to stand up. "Easier to talk that way." he nodded and stood up, letting her pay as she promised. He'd decided he liked sushi enough to have it again, and they went to go walk along the edge of one of the lakes near the Normandy's docking bay. It was quiet until he spoke.

"It took a lot for me to tell you that stuff, you know." he was staring at their feet as they walked, a little amused that each step was perfectly in sync.

"I'm glad you told me, though. I'll have to come up with something to tell you, one of these days."

"Something that I couldn't find on the extranet?" he smiled, sparing her a glance in her eyes.

"There's a lot that doesn't get published about me."

"Well then... I'm looking forward to it."

Then there was silence again. They walked for about ten more minutes before she sighed and looked around. He watched her, aware that she was thinking of something to say.

"About earlier with the Consort," he started, realizing that he really didn't have a clue as to what he could say.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe it bothered me that you didn't seem phased at how... personal she was getting with you. And the fact that you sent Ash and I back to the Normandy."

"What, you think I had sex with her, or something?" Shepard said blatantly. He couldn't stop his eyes from widening.

"I- no! I just didn't feel comfortable leaving you."

"Why?" she stopped near the edge of the pathway and leaned against the rail, eyes trained on him. He stopped and stood in front of her. He raked a hand through his hair and sighed, throwing his hands in the air.

"I don't know, Shepard. Something just makes me want to protect you against everything. Maybe I'm too good of a soldier to leave my Commander."

"You're a terrible soldier if you can't leave your Commander." she snorted, looking over her shoulder. "I don't think that's really all there is to it, though."

"Then what did I leave out?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that you like me a lot more than a friend." she said, putting her hands in her pockets again, staring blankly as pursed her lips and pushed them to the left side of her face. It was... Cute.

"Wouldn't be the first person to tell me that." he said, putting his own hands in his pockets and deciding to stand beside her. She nudged his arm with her elbow.

"Hey. As long as we can keep it separate from our duties, I don't have a problem with seeing where this goes..."

"What?" he was a little shocked to say the least, and he stared right into her eyes. She rolled hers and threw her head back as she scoffed.

"You're so dense, Kaidan. I'm pretty sure Joker caught on before you did just now."

Kaidan couldn't help but let the heat spread through his entire body. Surely he was glowing red, but he managed to keep his voice pretty calm when he spoke.

"Well with my past experience, I guess I've just developed a habit of not paying attention to what's going on around me."

"Not anymore." she smiled, standing up. "Let's get back before that damned pilot starts any more rumors he's going to regret."

"Yes ma'am." he smiled, following her back and shamelessly keeping a few steps behind her. He could have sworn she swayed her hips a little more just for him. Kaidan could get used to this...