Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect

A/N - Written for Kirsah as part of my Tumblr fic giveaway! Some Armax Arena Shenko smut! :) Enjoy!

Kaidan dove for cover, the air boiling around him as he narrowly avoided the blast from the Geth Rocket Trooper. He rolled behind cover and scrambled for his weapon, the stinging heat at the base of his skull letting him know that he needed to cool his biotics before he could use them again. His Omni-tool pinged, signalling that Shepard was close by, and he kept low as an assault rifle shattered the air around him, taking out the Geth trooper.

Kris Shepard leapt over the nearby railing, landed in a crouch, and sprung forward to join him in cover. Her face was flushed and strands of her curly chestnut hair clung to her skin, but her eyes were sparkling with energy and her mouth was stretched into a wild, fierce smile. She was wonderfully and terribly beautiful and the sight of her so amped up in the middle of a fight made Kaidan's gut clench with need.

"Need a little help, Alenko?" she quipped, nudging him with her shoulder.

"I had everything under control," he muttered as gunfire started up again. "You should have stayed on higher ground."

She made a dismissive sound and rolled her eyes. "Where's the fun in that? Besides," Kris' smile widened diabolically. "We still need to find out which of us is the better Sentinel."

Kaidan could have groaned; it had started as a drunken bet over poker one night. Vega had been egging them on as usual, teasing them about both being biotics, sentinels and spectres. Then of course, unable to help himself, the lieutenant had asked which of them was better. Shepard had replied that she was, citing her N7 rank and position as the first human spectre, and Kaidan had playfully countered that he was the better sentinel, using his promotions and experience as evidence.

In retrospect he should have kept quiet instead of encouraging what he'd known would turn into a bet. After all, Vega knew he had a rampaging crush on Shepard and he'd been trying to set them up on dates since joining the Normandy. Really, he ought to have known that teaming them up against one of the hardest matches possible in the Armax Arena under the guise of seeing who would get the highest kill count, was another of the Lieutenant's crazy match making schemes.

Kris chuckled beside him, breaking him from his thoughts as she lobbed a lift grenade over the low wall and popped up to fire off a Cryo Blast at the geth troopers approaching them. There was a frosty blast as she dropped down and Kaidan used the pause in firing to use a Throw on the frozen geth, tossing them across the Arena where they hit a wall and shattered.

"Hey!" Kris gave him a dirty look. "Those were my geth!"

Kaidan grinned in response and shrugged easily, loving the way she pouted when she was cranky. "You should have finished them off then!"

"Why you!" She swatted him on the arm and narrowed her eyes, a small smirk playing around her lips and ruining her appearance of being annoyed. "I thought you were a good guy!"

He chuckled and smirked at her. "Only some of the time."

She looked intrigued and her gaze locked with his. "How interesting."

Her purring tone sent shivers down his spine and it was with great difficulty that Kaidan tore his eyes from hers. His heart thumped a little harder in his chest and he tightened his hold on his pistol as he wondered what exactly she meant by that comment. The thought of her liking him as a bad boy made his body tighten with need; had he been hiding his feelings for nothing? Was she attracted to him too?

He'd always been good old dependable Kaidan – a friend she could rely on, someone who doled out advice and stayed quietly respectful. He didn't flirt with her the way Vega did, and he wasn't her battle buddy like Garrus was, but she had always sought out his company. Whether it was for a game of poker or quietly taking meals together, he couldn't think of a night on the Normandy when they hadn't spent at least a little time together.

He snuck a look at her to find Shepard still watching him, her eyes gleaming in the neon lighting.

"What?" She asked softly as she counted her remaining grenades. "See something you want, Alenko?"

He flashed her a lopsided grin, suddenly feeling brave. "Maybe."

With that cryptic statement he launched himself over the barricade and Threw two of the approaching geth across the arena. He fired on the others and dodged into a nearby shelter, keeping them at bay as he fired from the doorway. Shepard came out of cover with a look of determination on her face. She caught three of the geth in a Lift and lobbed a grenade in after them, cackling as it exploded and rained geth parts down around her.

The other geth continued to advance and Kaidan cursed as he realised they were almost upon Shepard. She wasn't even trying to take cover – whether it was because she thought she could take them or she was showing off, he didn't know. But he didn't think twice as he sent an Overload at them and followed it up with a Cryoblast, freezing them solid so he could shoot them to pieces.

They fell to the ground and for a moment, just a moment, her eyes locked with his. Then the Arena blazed to life around them as the match came to an end and the neon signs proclaimed them as winners. The moment was broken and Shepard slung her gun over her shoulder and walked up to him, her gaze appraising.

"I totally had them, you know," she told him haughtily. "I didn't need you to ride to my rescue."

Kaidan snorted. "Bullshit, you were about to get taken down and you know it."

"Nope," Kris denied, a small smirk playing around her mouth. "Anyway, I still won."

She nodded towards the scoreboard which proclaimed she had scored one more victory point that he had, and Kaidan shrugged nonchalantly. If the geth had taken Shepard out he would have had an automatic victory, but the urge to protect her had been too strong. He couldn't stand to see her brought down in battle, even in the Armax Arena.

It was stupid, but he didn't want her hurt.

"I guess you're lucky I saved your bacon, aren't you?" he said as they walked back to the change rooms. "Even if you don't want to admit it."

Shepard shrugged and didn't respond as she walked beside him in a thoughtful silence. More than once his skin prickled as though she were watching him, but each time he looked she was glancing away. To his surprise, when they reached the change rooms and he peeled off to use the men's room to shower, Shepard followed and planted herself in front of him in the empty room, her blue eyes catching his.

"Why did you save me?" she asked suddenly. "You would have won if you'd let them take me out."

Kaidan shrugged and met her eyes. "Force of habit."

She stared back unflinchingly and stepped into his personal space so that their chests bumped lightly together and their armour clinked. It reminded him of their time on the first Normandy when the council had locked them down and he'd accidentally pulled her into his arms. There was an intensity to Kris' gaze that reminded him of that moment, and when her eyes dropped to his lips and then shot back up again, Kaidan knew she was thinking the same thing he was.

They'd almost kissed that day, he was sure of it. If Joker hadn't interrupted them … .

"So, no other reason?" she drawled, resting one hand lightly on his hip. He shivered under her touch. "No ulterior motives to letting your Commander win?"

Kaidan held his breath and let his own hands move to her waist, barely able to believe this was happening. "Maybe I didn't want to see you get hurt?" he offered.

Kris smiled. "Always the hero, aren't you, Alenko? I thought you were a bad boy?"

The words were soft and when she didn't pull away Kaidan tilted his head and flashed her a slow burning smile. "Stealing your kills was my bad boy act for the day, I think I'd rather be the hero most of the time."

"My hero?" The words were slightly mocking, but the way she was looking at him took the sting out.

Hungry. She looked hungry.

He leaned closer and she trembled as his lips hovered over hers. She still didn't pull away and he smirked.

"If you want me to be."

She nodded slightly and even that small motion was enough to graze her mouth against his. "Yes."

Yes.

His lips crashed against hers as finally, finally, their mouths came together. So many times they'd almost kissed. So many times he'd almost given in and told her how he felt. The burning hunger he'd denied for so long had built up over weeks and months and years and now it raged inside of him, fed by the answering desire he felt from her. Greedily, Kaidan slid his tongue against hers, pressing tightly against her body as his hands slid down the steely planes of her armour.

He growled with frustration and Kris pulled back with a chuckle, already pulling her armour off. Kaidan followed suit and made short work of his armour; stripping himself with hands that shook with a mix of nerves and desire. They came together again in their under armour, unable to stop themselves from touching and feeling as they gave into the inferno that was their desire.

Kris pulled him to her almost aggressively and Kaidan grunted as her hand slid down the waistband of his pants and she took his member in his hand. His retaliated by kissing her hard, thrusting his tongue into her mouth as she pumped her hand up and down his shaft. Dizzily he wondered if this was actually happening. Not fifteen minutes ago they'd been fighting geth and he'd simply been an idiot with a crush.

And now?

"I want you," she murmured against his lips. "Right here. Right now."

Kaidan's eyes opened in shock and he glanced around, a blush creeping across his cheeks as he realised they were in the change room and not in a private place.

"What if someone comes in?"

She laughed. "No one will come in, Alenko. You know they only let competitors down here, and until we come out they won't let the next lot down." She retracted her hand from his pants and kissed him persuasively. "But, we can always stop if you're scared-"

"Shut up," he ground out and kissed her again, bristling at the thought of her thinking he was scared. "If someone comes in and catches us, I'm blaming you."

She laughed with delight and Kaidan knew he'd been manipulated but didn't care. He wanted her so badly. The need to be inside of her, to be one with her, beat inside of him, spreading through his body like wildfire. He kissed her deeply and ground his body against hers, enjoying the feel of her curves pressing against the throbbing hardness between his legs. She chuckled, a joyous sound that made him swell with pride as she clutched him tightly and returned the kiss with equal fervour.

Kaidan backed Kris against the wall and kissed a trail down her throat as his hands tugged impatiently on her under armour. They shed their remaining clothes quickly, pulling the form fitting garments from their bodies and dropping them on the floor. Shepard was glorious as she exposed long creamy limbs and pink tipped breasts, her lithely muscled form gleaming with sweat under the change room lights.

Her hair was a mess, tussled and wild, but it matched the predatory look in her eyes as she pulled him to her and lowered her mouth to his chest, kissing and licking her way across his collarbone and along his shoulder. Kaidan sighed and tightened his grip on her, his body throbbing painfully as she drove him wild with every touch and kiss. He fastened his mouth on one breast and swirled his tongue around the tip, then lavished equal attention on her other, loving how Shepard moaned and trembled against him.

She was wet when his fingers found her core, and with a final lingering kiss he braced her against the tiled wall and lifted her up. Shepard wound her legs around his waist and held onto his shoulders to keep herself steady as he guided the tip of his erection to her entrance and slid inside. Both of them groaned, twin sounds of relief, as he sheathed himself inside of her. Her nails scratched against his skin, pleasurably painful, and she leaned forward until her lips were pressed against his ear.

"Fuck me, Kaidan," she gasped as he moved with a roll of his hips, her biotics flaring and tingling along his skin. "Please! I've wanted this for so long."

Her words were music to his ears, and he happily gave her what she wanted. He drove himself into her again and again, cupping her ass in his hands and shaping her flesh as he slammed against her. His muscles burned pleasurably and his own biotics sang in tune with hers, flaring and crackling through the air around them. They danced along his skin, tingling and curling around them both as they hungrily moved together.

Shepard arched towards him, rolling her hips and meeting each of his thrusts with her body. He could feel her tense, her muscles tightening around him as her fingernails dugs into his back again and she cried out. He had a glimpse of her face, thrown back in ecstasy with her eyes closed and her hair loose, and then his own release took him and he shuddered and thrust deeply into her as he came.

They sank to the floor together in a trembling heap, the tiles cool against their flushed skin. Kaidan's heart hammered in his chest as though he'd run a marathon, and his body shuddered occasionally from the force of his release. Shepard cuddled close, her small frame fitting perfectly against his as she placed gentle kisses along his neck.

"I've been wishing you'd make a move on me for so long," she told him breathlessly. "I could never tell if you felt the same was as me, or if you just wanted to be friends."

He tightened his arms around her. "I've had a bit of a crush on you for a while now."

Shepard glanced up at him, her lips curving into a smile. "A while, huh?"

"Pretty much from the first moment I met you," Kaidan confessed.

She laughed and kissed him again, swirling her tongue against his and pushing her body close. It was a beautiful kiss, a kiss that left him feeling fulfilled and happy as she drew back and looked into his eyes, her blue orbs dancing with happiness.

A surge of pure happiness flashed though Kaidan; he made her happy.

"You're such a dork, Alenko. You should have jumped me years ago instead of making us both wait so long." Shepard tapped him on the nose. "I would have been putty in your hands."

He returned her grin and pushed himself to his feet, easily pulling her up alongside him. "If I'd known you had a thing for bad boy biotics, I might have."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "I thought you were going to be my hero?"

Kaidan raised an eyebrow and smirked, enjoying the freedom of flirting with the woman he adored. "Why can't I be both, hmm? Your hero and your bad boy?"

She laughed and it made his heart sing. "Why not indeed? I do seem to have quite a thing for both of them."

"Quite a thing, huh?" He caught her to him for another kiss, holding her face in his hands and staring down into her eyes, wondering how in the world he'd managed to catch her attention. "I like the sound of that."

"Good." Shepard rubbed her cheek against his hands and kissed his palm. "Because I'm not sure I'm going to be able to let you get away after this. In fact," she slipped past him and retrieved her clothing from the floor. "Why don't you come back to my apartment after you shower? We could get dinner and see where the night takes us."

Kaidan was pretty sure he knew where the night would take them, but he grinned and tried to look like a gentleman as he agreed. "Sure," he said easily, squeezing her hand in his and stepping away. "That sounds like fun."

And it was.