#shanfic

WIP: Dynasty • chapter 1: Inherent

TEN YEARS POST-WAR

DARREN

Darren had never been one to look for signs from the universe; he wouldn’t trust the universe as far as he could throw it. In his experience, if the universe felt strongly that he needed to know something, those omens tended to arrive wrapped in a yellow suit and green wellingtons. Darren wanted nothing to do with any of that. (The fact that he rarely had a choice in the matter was beside the point).

It had been an hour since she'd told him she'd be right over. She'd been working on that damn model for hours more on top of that. "Just this one section, K. I'll be right over." Kaidan sighed from his spot on her bed. He'd long discarded shirt and pants. The more time went by, the more hopeless the idea of doing anything but going to bed became. So, he'd made himself comfortable. Contented himself with lying on his back and gazing out the viewport on the ceiling. But his patience was running thin and he was getting cold and the losses and irritations of the day started rolling around in his noggin and all he wanted was to snuggle up with Sion and kiss her silly until she forgot what a Mako even was.

Not that she ever would. She'd loved that goddamn thing.

Groaning with the effort, Kaidan pushed himself up onto his hands to look up at Sion at her desk. He could just see her through the display case, face turned down on her work between the Turian cruiser and the Flotilla ship. The tip of her tongue peeked out between her lips, a sign of her focus that always made Kaidan smile. It was human. It was cute. It made him want to kiss her more. He glanced at the clock. It was bordering on late. She'd feel terrible if she found out he waited up on her and hadn't said anything. There was enough on her plate without something so insignificant bothering her.

There was only one thing to do then. And Kaidan was, after all, a man of action.

He was up and climbing the stairs before he could even think about feeling bad about it. But the sight of her made him draw up short. One leg drawn up under the other in her desk chair, Sion sat forward, elbows resting on her desk as she slotted one piece into another. She was lit only by her desk lamp. Her hair—just over shoulder length— mostly drawn over one shoulder. It was the longest he'd ever seen it; she'd probably cut it soon. Shame. But Kaidan's favorite part? She was wrapped in his blue hoodie and her sleep shorts, pale legs and thick thighs nearly entirely exposed. She hated that in public most days. Only Kaidan got to see her like that regularly. Not even just her casual dress, but relaxed in her work. Focused on something she loved and could control, rather than the war and people who she had to wrangle like cats to get along.

She was so beautiful. It took his breath away. He nearly forgot the purpose of his mission. Only for a moment, though. Without his boots, his uniform, she didn't hear him coming. So she was completely taken by surprise when he placed one hand on the nape of her neck as the other took her jaw in his hand. He tilted her head up and caught her mouth with his, relishing the soft shocked sound she made against his lips. After another soft sound—a little laugh this time—Sionainn melted, and kissed him back. Kaidan felt her fingers seeking out something of him to grab, but upon discovering the lack of things, she settled with resting her hand on his hip.

When they broke apart, her eyes fluttered open to find his. Her shy smile said enough. "I lost track of time." It wasn't a question. She already knew.

"Yeah," Kaidan confirmed anyway, thumb brushing over her jawline. "It's okay." It was. The thin patience the long minutes, it didn't matter now. It didn't feel right making her apologize for it. Not with her dreamy gaze on him, looking at him like he'd hung the stars just for her. "Sorry if I startled you."

Sion blinked, and her smile turned mischievous. "Oh, do not apologize, Kaidan. You're free to snap me out of it like that any time you like." Her nails teased along his waistband, and he shivered. How very like her to turn the tables on him. "I've spent enough time not kissing you."

"In that case..." Kaidan closed the distance again, and Sion happily met him halfway. They kissed until Kaidan's neck started to ache and Sion nearly fell out of the chair trying to get closer. He caught her, like he always would, and they laughed as he helped her to her feet. She pressed close, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes as she wrapped her arms around his waist. It was easy to forget how much shorter she was than he, when she was in armor or uniform. She could fit her head right under his own chin. A perfect fit. He gave her another kiss. "Permission to distract you further, Commander?" he murmured against her lips.

She hummed. "Take me to bed, Major. Consider the Mako forgotten."

Kaidan did just that, scooping her up—to a delighted peal of laughter—and carrying her to their bed. He made damn sure she didn't think about that stupid model for the rest of the night.

Pregnancy #-L 

Pregnancy M-Z 

“Cid… says you haunt this place,” she breathes, the fight in her taking a toll on her weakened body. “Waiting to see if I’m all right. But you don’t just haunt this place, Wyvern. You haunt me.” ————————————————————————————————— Jill had heard much about “Wyvern”, the man who had both tried to kill her and ultimately saved her, leaving her with too many questions, and no one to give her answers. As soon as she had the chance, she intended to ask him. She would make him answer. aka: what if Jill found out who'd saved her from the man himself, not everyone else off screen.

He hadn't meant to doze, he really hadn't. Holden didn't even know he'd fallen asleep until he was awoken by something grasping his shoulders and clambering into his lap. He groaned, and was rewarded with a warm laugh.

"I thought you were going to wait up for me."

Chuckling himself, Holden lifted his head from the back of the couch to meet Naomi's mischievous gaze. "I was. I did. How many just one mores did you do before you finally left?" She was always playful after a night of drinking and dancing on station, and he was always happy to play along.

Naomi scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Not that many. You must just be getting old. Old and boring."

"Oof," he laughed, hands lifting to rest on her waist. "Hey now—"

"That's what the 'R' in James R. Holden stands for, isn't it? 'Really Old and Boring'?" She clearly had a good night if she was picking on him like this. After everything she'd been through, it was a relief to see her relax. Even if it came as teasing blows to his ego. Holden just shook his head, smile widening. "James 'Rather Likes to Sleep' Holden?"

But clearly too buzzed to come up with good insults. "Honey, did you wake me up just to make fun of me?"

"No," she drew out, one syllable becoming four. She shifted her weight to her knees, leaned over him. Her fingers slipped into his hair. "I woke you up to do this." The fingers in his hair tightened into a fist, and she tilted his head back and pressed her lips to his.

Okay. Couldn't argue with that. So when she further deepened the kiss, he gave in, parting his lips and letting her have her way with him. He could taste the fruity mixed drink she'd thrown back before coming home. Shifting his hands to her ribs, Holden pulled her close. She melted into him. They stayed like that, kissing slow and lazy, for long minutes, until Naomi finally pulled away with a sigh. Rested her forehead against his as they caught their breath. Tough to do around her. She always left him breathless. She ran her thumb across his lower lip with a soft hum. "I'm home," she whispered, giving him another quick kiss.

Holden snorted. "I gathered. Welcome back. You had fun?"

"I did. Would have had more fun with you there." Of course she would. She'd have fun laughing at his attempts to dance when she dragged him onto the floor with her. But she'd also have fun pressed against him as they swayed to the music. So would he, even if clubs weren't his scene. Because he'd be there with Naomi.

"Maybe next time."

Her smile was brighter than the sun. "I'd like that, Jim."

"You'd like having someone as old and boring as me as your date?" He couldn't resist.

She rolled her eyes again, tugged on his hair. "I'd like having you as my date, you... cradle robbing accountant."

Holden pursed his lips in mock thought. "Am I at least a hot old accountant?"

Naomi's responding laugh was cut off with a kiss of his own. He couldn't help it. She looked so beautiful and he loved seeing her like that. Happy and free of everything that had dragged her down over the last few years. He'd take a little verbal beating just to make her smile like that. His ego could take it.

“Talk to me, Alenko. You’ve got a little black rain cloud over your head.” He snorted. Levity taken well. Good. Whatever he had to say couldn’t be more serious than what he’d said before. “I’ll try to keep the deck dry.” He searched her face, opening his mouth and closing it, pursing his lips and looking down at his hands again. She waited. When Kaidan met her eyes, he took a deep breath. “You do that often? Skip meals?” His question wasn’t one she expected, for all the hesitation. Most people didn’t hesitate to comment on her eating habits. Or… well. They didn’t comment on her missing meals. ———————————————————————————— Sionainn Shepard sneaks out for a snack after missing dinner. She runs into someone else looking for a late bite. The conversation goes far better than she could have hoped.

Kaidan spoke before she could even formulate how to ask him anything. “Been wanting to sit down with you for a few days, actually, Shepard.”

“‘Shepard’, huh? That’s the second time tonight.” Sionainn teased, tearing into her fruit snacks. “Someone’s off his game. That’s not the appropriate way to address your commanding officer Lieutenant.”

Kaidan blushed. Actually blushed. His gaze fell to the wrapper of his protein bar. She would have felt bad for calling him out like that, if not for the pounding of her own heart. What could that mean? Kaidan blushing at her teasing. 

“Sorry, ma’am. Maybe I got a bad signal.”

“You didn’t.” It came out in a rush. Kaidan’s eyes snapped back to her face, widened, and Sionainn felt her own cheeks warm. Now her gaze fell down to the spread in front of her. Diffuse. She did the first thing that came to mind: flicked a fruit snack at him. It bounced off his sternum. As Kaidan blinked, processed what she’d done, Sionainn coughed. “I was… teasing you, Alenko. Shepard is fine.” Better, even. Closer.

He was still blinking at the grape gummy she’d flung at him. By inches, the tension she’d accidentally created melted from his brow, his shoulders, and he laughed. A soft sound that could have been mistaken for a sigh. 

“Yes, ma’am—uh… Shepard. Anyway.” He picked up the gummy and tossed it back at her. Sionainn’s responding laugh was louder, and made Kaidan smile wider. She wanted to make him smile like that more often. “We just don’t have a lot of downtime these days. I like being around you, but I don’t want to take up too much of your personal time.”

“I’m not questioning any decisions you’ve made, let me be clear about that,” he assured her, raising his hands. She relaxed. She looked to Kaidan for approval more than she wanted to admit, like she did all the people serving under her who had more years in the service. She wanted to know that she was doing right by them. That she was making them proud. Something about Kaidan though—be it his experience, his level head, his observations, what have you—made her seek it out more than she had from anyone else. Kaidan barreled on. “It’s just my experience that once someone lets something slide, it tends to pick up speed. You get my meaning?”

Maybe? “Talk to me, Alenko. You’ve got a little black rain cloud over your head.”

He snorted. Levity taken well. Good. Whatever he had to say couldn’t be more serious than what he’d said before. “I’ll try to keep the deck dry.” He searched her face, opening his mouth and closing it, pursing his lips and looking down at his hands again. She waited. When Kaidan met her eyes, he took a deep breath. “You do that often? Skip meals?”

His question wasn’t one she expected, for all the hesitation. Most people didn’t hesitate to comment on her eating habits. Or… well. They didn’t comment on her missing meals. Hesitation struck her too. She shifted in her seat. “Not on purpose. I just lose track of time when I focus on a project.” Normally she’d make a crack about loving food, but something Kaidan’s gaze kept the self-deprecation at bay. “Hours go by like minutes and I catch myself sneaking out of my bunk for a snack so I don’t go to bed hungry. You know?”

“Hm.” Kaidan nodded slowly, taking a peek down at her little pile of wrappers and uneaten fruit snacks. Far from the meal she’d missed, just enough to take the edge off. Definitely not enough to sustain a biotic like him in place of a full meal. She wondered what he saw in that. “Not good for you, you know. Not eating.”

The sentiment struck her right below the ribs. For years, all she’d heard was that maybe she should eat a little less. A suggestion that stung, given her plates were rarely much bigger than anyone else’s. It always went to show how little the people around her understood her body or even really cared about her health. That they knew every ounce of food she put in her body and that it should be less. But Kaidan… there was something about him worrying that she ate at all rather than what or how much that took her by surprise. And comforted her. Other than Chakwas, no one had treated her like that. Not since her nan. 

She wasn’t sure how to explain to him how much that meant to her. How much hearing echoes of her grandmother in this man made her feel safer in his company. Not yet. So she just smiled shyly at him. “Spoken like a true Sentinel.” Always looking out for the health of his team. Even if the team member he was looking out for was another field medic.

He smiled, fingers toying with the wrapper of his vanished protein bar. He didn’t call her out on the deflection. A relief. Talking about how she’d been treated over the years was never an easy conversation. “Spoken like a friend.”

Sionainn’s heart both fluttered and dropped. A friend? It was enough, but… was that it? She tries to push the upset down, focus on the warmth his concern and care brought her. “That what we are? Friends?”

“I know I’d like us to be.” The fluttering intensified, lifting her heart back out of her stomach.

“I’m still learning how to have those.”

“Me too.”