Chapter 25: An Unwelcome Interruption

John fiddled around the lockers and cursed at how even his own personal items were at the mercy of the Council and back-stabbing ambassadors. He should have known that Ambassador Udina was up to something the moment he laid eyes on that lanky figure of great import. Black beady eyes held no love for him at first sight and the feeling was indeed mutual. Despite that, Commander Shepard still held unto an innate sense of honor and respect and ensured that his actions bore no ill consequences for the man. This, however, completely undid all of his effort and, in a fit of anger, the dark-haired man punched the lockers, his biotics giving his normal punch a strength that made the lockers buckle.

When that didn't work and actually made it worse for him, the man sighed heavily and sat against it, his head in his hands. He could feel a headache brewing in the back of his mind and for a moment, he contemplated on letting it take a hold of him. At least he would be in pain of his own doing and not someone else's.

In the midst of his contemplation, footsteps could be heard approaching him and if Shepard hadn't known better, he would have figured that it was Ashley coming to comfort him. When a question was asked of him in that low, whiskey-laced voice, Shepard felt rather relieved and he gifted the other man a small smile.

Kaidan sat down next to the Commander, not wishing for his lover to have to crane his neck when speaking to him. The warmth of another body certainly calmed Shepard's thoughts and apparently it was the same for Kaidan too for he crowded closer to him and let their knees rest against each other.

"We'll sort this out, Commander; once we figure out how to unlock this stalemate Udina has forced us into."

"You're quite the optimist, Kaidan," Commander Shepard blithely said, his hands still clenched into fists beside him. Another hand curled around one of the fists but it didn't try to uncurl it. Rather, slender fingers merely stroked soothingly along the knuckles and an audible sigh escaped the Commander. Of its own will did the fist unclench and relax until fingers fanned out only to intertwine with that of its paler counterpart.

"Ambassador Udina is probably going to use this to curry the Council's favor in electing him into their circle. Any action that willfully follows theirs certainly won't go unnoticed when that time finally comes for him."

Kaidan continued and Commander Shepard snorted in reply. The older biotic gently extricated his fingers from Shepard's and rose to his feet, only to extend his hand to the other man.

"And we'll show the Council how wrong they are in trusting that man," came the helpful statement and John Shepard marveled at how easily Kaidan could lift his spirits with a single statement. He took the hand and was suddenly lifted to this feet, the strength behind the grip making him lose his balance and stumble forward, closer to Kaidan's chest.

He had known of Kaidan's proclivity in keeping everything private, including their relationship, and thus it surprised him that the man's eyes slid down his body and up to his face in a blatant gesture of 'undressing' him. The two weren't alone; Dr. Chakwas settled into the Medbay, going over the medical supplies. Other soldiers could be seen patrolling around the perimeter of the floor. Thus, Kaidan's boldness rather took him aback and it aroused John immensely, especially when the other man crowded in closer to him. Dark brown eyes glittered mischeviously and John tilted his head upwards a little bit to plant a soft kiss on Kaidan's. It was as if that kiss gave Kaidan the permission needed to push Shepard back into the lockers and the bond flared between them. Sparks of blue fizzled literally between their lips and Shepard tried to stifle a small moan, so as not to alert every passer-by of their inappropriate session. Just as Kaidan was about to kiss him again, an annoying voice broke the heavy silence, with another female screeching rather angrily at it.

"Sorry, Commander," Joker's voice sounded a bit too happy to be truly remorseful of the pilot's interruption, "but Captain Anderson wants you to meet him in the Flux."

Commander Shepard let out a frustrated groan and he put his head against Kaidan's shoulder, breathing in the older man's scent of ozone and something intangibly musky underneath it. He really wanted to ask Joker if the pilot had been watching them all this time but chose not to. Instead, Shepard merely asked for the reason of the meeting, to which Joker replied in a non-helpful way, "Don't know, Commander. Just said that he had to see you. Now,"

"Damn it, Joker," another voice huffed out loud over the speaker, "it was getting to the good part."

Oh God! That was...that was Ashley speaking!

John clapped a hand over his eye and groaned again, this time out of embarrassment of getting caught making out with another officer.

"Ssshh! They can still hear us!" Joker hissed audibly and the voices went silent over the PA system, leaving two shocked Alliance officials in their wake.

"We're never going to live this down, huh?" Shepard asked Kaidan, though he already knew the answer to that question.

The older biotic's chuckle rumbled deep inside the chest he still leaned against and two arms held him at the waist, fingers teasing along the belt. "With those two having seen everything? Probably not."

"Crap."

-TBC-

A/N: Short updates for now as I'm focusing all my attentions on finishing up WOH for now. Let me know if you want this to be finished before my TLA fic. Otherwise, this will stay on the sidelines for now. Thank you for still keeping up with this story.