It didn't take long for even someone like James Vega to figure out the two of them had a huge thing for each other. All the sidelong glances, the offhand comments. The way Alenko had casually asked him how Shepard was doing back at the Alliance base in Vancouver, without ever mentioning he knew her personally. The way Shepard's usually brisk speech softened when she called him Major, but mostly when she called him Kaidan. And the way they had argued on Mars, like they didn't notice he was there. Like right now.

Most of the crew were either on the command deck or on the Citadel, since they were docking there before heading off to the Far Rim. Vega wasn't surprised to see the mess deserted but for Shepard and Alenko, talking in low voices.

"You look different, Shepard."

"In a good way or a bad way?"

"In a good way, definitely, yeah."

Vega cleared his throat to announce his presence.

"Oh. Hey, James. I made coffee," Shepard greeted, immediately pouring Vega a mug with ill-disguised pride. "It's really good."

"Sure, Lola."

"Shepard's coffee is out of this world," Alenko added, propping up a datapad on his lap. He was saddled with the task of writing reports on most of their missions because Shepard often fell asleep at her desk a few paragraphs in. Shepard, on the other hand, was more than happy to be rid of digital paperwork.

"Thank you, Major."

"You're welcome, Commander."

As much as the two officers tried to stifle their affections for one another, they were so fucking cute it spilled out anyway.

"Major," Vega mimicked their exchange under his breath as he took his seat next to her. "Commander."

"Did you say something, Lieutenant?"

"Nnnnope." Vega drank a little and was pleasantly shocked. It was rich, tasted like burnt butterscotch and left a lingering tangy aftertaste of citrus. "Damn Lola, this is good. Normally I don't even drink the stuff."

"Freshly ground coffee beans from Mindoir." Shepard beamed at him, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Major Alenko was right. Lola was kind of ... hotter than usual. She never used to smile back in Vancouver. "I don't know how to cook anything else though."

Making coffee wasn't cooking, but he thought it was funny she considered it as such he made no glib comments.

Shepard's datapad beeped with a new message as she was sipping her drink and she choked violently. She grimaced, set her mug down and began typing out a reply furiously. Alenko chuckled and shook his head.

Okay. This was worse than Mars. Vega wondered if he should leave the two alone to their flirting when Javik came to join them. Or rather, the prothean folded his arms and sulked at a distance, squinting all four of his eyes.

"Commander."

"Hey, Javik. Coffee?"

"You and the human soldier are joined."

Shepard dropped her datapad. "Pardon?"

"Your pheromones." Javik gestured disapprovingly. "They're all over the table."

"Dios mío, Lola!" Vega shot up from his chair, rubbing his arms where they had touched the table. "On the table? You and Luciano?"

"Luciano and I haven't joined yet," Shepard said defensively.

"In my cycle, joining on the eve of battle was punishable by exile." Javik stalked off, muttering something about needing to wash his hands.

Alenko broke the silence. "I'm ... Luciano?"