#concilliabule

A sure thing.  A smile curves at his lips, a particular face coming to mind.  Yeah, if there is one label he can put on Lieutenant Lachlan Shepard, Alliance Navy, it’s that the man is most definitely a ‘sure thing,’ despite his occasional squirrelly methods of getting himself there.  At least, that’s what the rumors say; to hear tell it from the man himself, it’s a whole other story that rumor has blown way out of proportion.  Personally, Kaidan believes it’s somewhere in between.  He knows the man well, has for nearly a decade now, and if there is one word he would associate with Lachlan, it’s ‘unique.’

He tilts the glass back for a sip when a blur of movement slides into his peripheral vision and ends with a tall, ginger-haired, lanky body in Alliance fatigues dropping onto the bench across from him and bouncing to a stop.  His face is bright, excited, but there’s also a hint of reservation and apology in them. “Sorry,” he murmurs with a lopsided smile.  “Didn’t think we were ever going to be let off that bloody ship!”  He reaches across toward the glass, one brow arched in question.

Kaidan relents, pushing the glass with one hand while signaling the server for two more.  With a hint of a teasing grin and a wink, he replies, “And here I thought you were standing me up.  Guess I was worrying for nothing.”

Lachlan chuckles as he tosses back the alcohol and sets the glass aside.  Two more drinks arrive by the time he turns back and after a quick toast, both men drink again.  “Oh, that hits the spot.  When did you get here?”

“Two hours ago.”  Kaidan waves off the apologies he knows are coming – that’s his job after all, he’s the Canadian – and instead adds, “If nothing else, it’s given me time to think.”

“Oh?”  A sudden tension fills the space between them, and for a moment, Lachlan’s eyes widen in concern.  “About?”

“Us.”

Lachlan’s glass hits the table surface with a dull thud. As Kaidan watches, he notices the slight tremor in his hand.  “You …?  All right. What about … us?”

Kaidan leans over the table and lowers his voice.  “I’m tired, Lach.”

Lachlan’s fingers, tapping an incoherent rhythm on the table, stop suddenly as if frozen and his gaze drops, but not before Kaidan sees them widen further, a hint of fear in the sky blue.  “I … I don’t know what to say to that.”  His voice is barely above a whisper and difficult for Kaidan to hear.  

Lifting his drink to his lips with one hand, Kaidan mentally sighs and uses the other to slide across the table.  Two and a half hours late, after eight months apart, there’s bound to be misunderstandings, and Murph’s is not the place he wants to have that discussion.  Bringing his hand to a stop next to Lachlan’s, he waits a moment, then uses his index finger to shift the passkey from beneath his palm over to his companion.  Only then does he set his glass aside, rise to his feet.  He’s done with this place; the rest is up to his companion.  “Don’t be too long.”  Without further word, he exits.

There are any number of accommodations available on Arcturus Station, of course, ranging from apartments on loan by friends out on deployment, to hotels or the general barracks.  This visit it’s his choice, and he opted for one that would provide the least chance of interruption by unconcerned parties.  Fifteen minutes later, he arrives at the hotel and heads up to the room where he opens the door with a second passkey and turns on the light. Wandering inside, he waits a couple of minutes until he hears the door open behind him.  

With a kick of his foot, Lachlan shuts the door using a bit more force than necessary and crosses the space between them in three long, angry strides.  “Bloody eejit!”  

Kaidan laughs even as Lachlan’s hand wraps around the back of his head and pulls him close.  Their lips lock, desperation fueling the fiery temper of his companion, but Kaidan returns it gladly and easily, his arms sliding around Lachlan’s waist to hold him still.  When they break free, both heaving in air, he grins.  “Don’t tell me you fell for that?” he teases, reaching up to run a finger along the other man’s jaw.  “You know me better!”

Lachlan combs a hand through his hair, now on the longer side of regulation and dropping almost into his eyes as it did when he was younger.  The same hand eventually comes to rest on Kaidan’s chest, palm flat for a moment over his heart, then tightens around the material there.   “I’m the one who’s tired,” he murmurs.  “Third watch last night.  I should’ve realized you were toying with me.”

“And I was irritated at losing nearly three hours with you,” Kaidan admits.  He coaxes the hand free of his uniform and Lachlan over to the bed.  It doesn’t take much effort to get him to lie down. Sliding onto the mattress beside him, Kaidan watches quietly as Lachlan settles in.  He reaches out a hand and runs from shoulder to wrist until he can take Lachlan’s hand in his.  “Go to sleep if you want.  We can talk later.”

“I don’t want to sleep.  We’ve already missed three hours.”  

The tone is petulant and Kaidan can’t help but laugh softly.  Lachlan glares up at him, but he effect of it is lost when he cracks a yawn.  Leaning over, Kaidan presses a gentle kiss to his brow. “Rest.  Just a nap, if you like.  We’ve still got plenty of time, right?”

Lachlan’s eyes close as he nods.

Though Kaidan isn’t as tired, he snuggles close enough he can slide an arm around his waist and hold him close.  It is frustrating; they have so little time together as is, and now they’ve lost even more of it.  But it’s the way it has to be if they want to serve in the Alliance.  It only makes the short time they do get together that much more precious.  And the need for a decent shore leave that much more important.  Only once since enlisting have they managed actual shore leave together.  That needs to change.  

At some point, Kaidan falls asleep as well, because next he is aware, his eyes are opening to a pair of sky blue orbs framed by a pale freckled face looking back at him, a grin curling his lips.  Kaidan blinks and rubs his eyes.  Neither says anything for a moment, and they simply spend the time looking at one another.  When Lachlan pushes himself up, he murmurs, “Just lie there, ‘kay?”

Kaidan rolls onto his back but doesn’t break eye contact.  “Something on your mind?”

The grin softens into a warm smile.  “You; always you.”  

Lachlan’s finger traces a lightly down Kaidan’s nose to his lips, all the while staring intently.  The tips of his fingers have changed over the years; different callouses marking his hands in different ways than the cello, but the touch itself is the same light, feathery sensation.  When they reach his lips, Kaidan gently bows his lips to kiss them and notices the way Lachlan’s smile wavers just a bit.  Quickly, Kaidan reaches over to lace his fingers through the other man’s. “I was thinking.”

Lachlan’s eyes brighten.  “Yeah?”

Tugging gently, Kaidan pulls him close enough until Lachlan hovers right over his lips.  “Yeah.”

“What about?”

Kaidan slides his other hand up to Lachlan’s shoulder, just over it enough tickle the hair at the base of his neck with his fingers. “I was thinking … what if we got married?”

A soft gasp escapes Lachlan’s lips and he starts to pull back, but stops.  “Are you … are you serious?”

Kaidan huffs softly.  “Aren’t you the one who always accuses me of being too serious?” He waits patiently, because he’s good at that too, even better at it than being serious most of the time.  Lachlan, on the other hand …

“You did just … suggest …  I mean, I’m not dreaming this, right?”  He runs a hand roughly over his face, pulling the other up and scrubbing hard.  “I’m not asleep in my bunk back on the London?”

Chuckling, Kaidan pulls himself up and pushes his pillow behind his back for comfort.  “You are most definitely not asleep.  Sorry I sprung it on you like that, but –.”

Lachlan just stares, bewildered.  “You’re apologizing?”

“I am Canadian, remember?”

The blue eyes narrow and darken.  “I’m going to ignore that this once, I swear, but don’t you make me hurt you when you’ve just proposed, ‘kay?”  

Still snickering softly, Kaidan nods.  It drives Lachlan crazy when he falls back on that excuse, but sometimes it’s just too damned amusing to watch him react.  “So, about that proposal …?”

“What about it?”  He speaks almost too quickly, as if afraid the words will be taken back.

But he isn’t the only one a little nervous.  “Well, you never did say yes … or no.”

Lachlan groans, eyes closing briefly and his cheeks darkening a bit.  Moving a hand to Kaidan’s cheek, he brings their foreheads together and just rests there for a moment.  “You are an eejit, Kaidan Matthew, but I do love you, so yes, yes, a thousand times yes,” he murmurs while ghosting light kisses over Kaidan’s face until he lands on his lips with something much more satisfying, enough so that as he pulls back after a moment, he cannot hide a groan when he asks, “Satisfied?”

Kaidan swallows tightly, manages a half nod, then grins.  “It’ll do.”

They sit like that for a few minutes, staring at one another, the whole world around them now changed yet still the same, until Lachlan asks, “But when?  How?  We haven’t been able to get shore leave together for years!”

“Been thinking about that.”  The nice thing about this moment, Kaidan decides, is that they’re here, together, alone together for the first time in months, and even though they have less than forty-eight hours now, they still have all the time in the world.  His eyes fall to Lachlan’s lips and he can tell that Lachlan notices because of the grin that slides into place.  Returning the look is far too easy.  It also means that Lachlan is distracted which gives Kaidan the opportunity to reach out, wrap his hand around his shirt and tug him in close again for another thoroughly satisfying kiss.  “Mmm. Where was I?”

Lachlan chuckles.  “Dunno, you were the one with the ideas.  You tell me.”

Kaidan’s lips are about numb after that last kiss and he runs his tongue over them lightly.  Again, Lachlan follows the movement; Kaidan’s breath hitches slightly. “Elysium.  Six months from now?”

Lachlan reaches over and starts toying with the button on Kaidan’s shirt until it pops open.  Kaidan arches a brow at him, but Lachlan ignores his knowing look and moves to the next one.  “Six more months on my deployment,” he murmurs.  “Let’s say seven.  Maybe I can get leave right after.  What about you?”

“I’ve already put in a request but I can amend it. Should be able to work it out easily enough.”  Within minutes, he sits up and the shirt falls loosely off his shoulders.  “Elysium okay with you?  Or would you rather we do this back at the orchard with our families?”

Lachlan’s hands, now working on his own shirt, hesitate. He looks away for a minute; from experience, Kaidan can guess the direction of Lachlan’s thoughts and reaches over, taking one hand in his.  “Lach, You still have Iain.”

“I know.”  Turning back, Lachlan shakes his head.  “Let’s just do us.  Something small, private.  It’ll be too complicated to plan around them right now anyway, and I don’t want to dump all of that onto them.”

“Mom would – .”

“Do it in a heartbeat, I know.”  Lachlan reaches for Kaidan again, pulls him in for a quick kiss of thanks this time.  “Just us.”

Kaidan nods.  “All right, just us.  Elysium. Seven months.  Anything else?”  Their eyes meet again and Kaidan notices a hint of trepidation in Lachlan’s.  “What is it?”

“So, there’s this custom …”

He nods when Lachlan goes silent again.  “Yeah?”

“In Scotland, when two people get married, there’s a tradition of having white heather involved – it’s supposed to bring good fortune to the marriage, that sort of thing.”  

Something still holds him back, and Kaidan cradles his face with one hand.  “Whatever you want,” he promises.

“I was thinking … tattoos.  Each of us.  Nothing garish, nothing too big; some place that’ll be hidden under clothing and we can have the date added once we sort that out.”  He takes a deep breath.  “You may not have noticed, but Mom used to always have white heather in the flowers on the kitchen table back on Mindoir.”

Kaidan thinks back to his time there, to the meals they all shared together.  And in the middle of it all …  “I remember, and I don’t have a problem with that.”

“You don’t?”

Kaidan shakes his head this time.  “It’s important to you, isn’t it?”  Lachlan nods.  “Then it’s important to me.”  He lowers his hand to finish the buttons on Lachlan’s shirt then pushes it down his arms until his right bicep is bare.  Using his finger, he traces the Celtic design of the Rowan tree he finds there.  “I like the idea that we’ll have something to share like you and Iain do.”

Lachlan huffs softly.  “I don’t deserve you,” he mumbles, leaning in for another kiss.  

Kaidan returns it, gently at first, but that doesn’t last.  “Mmm.  I’d say you have that backwards, but I don’t want to start an argument right now.”  He nuzzles his nose along the side if Lachlan’s.  “I have a far better idea.”

“Yeah?”  Lachlan pushes Kaidan back onto the bed, following him.  “What might that be, I wonder?”