( One can practically hear the groan traveling all the way from Shepard's quarters. )Okay, yeah, not at my most decent, but you've seen me at my worst, so I'll allow it.
Steak? Yeah, no, you'd better pick some up, it's been a while since I've done a food run, let's put it that way.
Don't worry Commander, the Blasto briefs are a secret safe with me. [ The snort laugh is audible from the other side of the screen. ]
Yeah I figured. Alright, be there in a bit. [ And it doesn't take long at all for Kaidan to arrive at Shepard's apartment, brown bag on hand. Nostalgic as that meat market makes (and Kaidan should get his head checked for wistfully reminiscing about the time they all got shot at, during the mess with Brooks and the clone) it's more important to reassure himself Commander Shepard, hero of the galaxy, hasn't lost the battle against malnutrition.
He lets himself in, voice calling out from the entrance: ] Hey, you still in here? Got the Canadian lager on discount. Guess it pays to be a Spectre.
( It feels like ages since the galaxy was almost pushed to mass extinction. Some days are better than others, so Shepard should consider it a win that he even managed to get out of bed this morning.
Whether he advanced much further remains to be seen.
Still, Kaidan's presence is always welcome. They've been through this bullshit from the start, and the number of close calls they've both experienced is far too high for Shepard to feel comfortable. So what if he has developed a tiny clinging streak? Whatever Kaidan doesn't know won't hurt him.
Yeah, I'm alive, ( he replies, shaking his head with a hint of fondness in his crooked smile. ) Good to know the perks are still around. Didn't even have to record an endorsement?
[ Kaidan has his suspicions about Shepard's current state, but it's not until Admiral Hackett hits him with a How's Shepard? to his comm in the middle of shopping that his suspicions are confirmed. On my way to check he replies with Spectre clearance so his message will go to the top of admiral's pile. Keep me posted is the nearly immediate reply.
He's not the only one worried about Shepard. That makes Kaidan feel better, less of a mother hen and more like he's onto something here, something important. No one could survive what Shepard went through after the London FOB and come back okay—and there's no shame to it. If he has to cook Shepard a steak every day so the man remembers to eat, that's just fine.
Bittersweet to remember all this cooking takes place in Admiral Anderson's kitchen. That too must be yet another weight on Shepard's shoulders nothing but time will help heal. ] Good. Be a shame if malnutrition finished what the reapers could not. [ Kaidan's field medic training kicks in as he quietly observes Shepard while unbagging everything on the counter—a bit peaky, the sort that comes from poor sleep and mental fatigue. This man needs a hearty home-cooked meal, stat. But first. ] Nah. [ He uncaps one of the beers, handing it over to Shepard. ] We're all famous now too. Had a man from Earth thank me for saving it. Said he didn't get to pull out his family in time, was worried sick in a colony he later had to evacuate. Said when he got back to Buenos Aires he found them all, hale and hearty.
That's why we do this job, isn't it? He asked me to thank you too. [ You matter, Shepard. ]
( No one lives through what they've lived through and comes out unscathed. Shepard's just lucky that he did make it out. Period. Far too many people were lost to the reapears, a fact that would haunt Shepard for many years. He knows no amount of therapy will erase the idea that he could have saved more. At least he has accepted that despite this notion, he still managed to save a hell of a lot of people.
Kaidan's presence is enough to diminish those horrible thoughts. All of his crew got him through the war, but Kaidan? Kaidan kept his feet firmly planted on the ground. He had been with Shepard from the beginning. It's only fitting that they'd see this through to the end.
Even if it had been a close call. Even if there are some days when Shepard wonders if he really did die at the hand of the Collectors and being brought back to life by Cerberus was all just an attempt of his dying mind to make sense of it all.
Listening to Kaidan speak brings a smile to Shepard's face. He closes his eyes and lets his voice wash over him, focusing on the words, but also letting his mind drift. At least until he hears Kaidan's question - the message he's passing on from the man from Earth. )
Yeah, it is. It makes it all worth it, hearing stories like that.
( And Shepard means it. Even if there are some days that feel darker than others, hearing about those who survived, whose families survived, it makes it all the more easier for Shepard to get out of bed in the morning. )
Sounds like a miracle to me. Glad to hear you're getting as much credit, though. ( His smile falters slightly as his expression grows into a mixture of fondness and severity. ) I wouldn't have gotten far without you, you know?
[ Hard to tell if Shepard's behavior is depression, dissociation, or if Kaidan's so distracting the commander's mind is elsewhere. You wish, Alenko.
Right. Better to focus on peeling these potatoes. Like hell they lived through that only for Shepard to eat MREs. Mess hall food might not be as bad as that, but it isn't much better. That crap will ruin morale. ]
Yeah, it does. [ Kaidan would brave hell itself if it meant civilians never got to experience war. It does him proud to have been part of the team that ended the Reaper War with a decisive win for humanity and all organic life.
So why, after that monumental victory, does he feel so lost? Listless, as if there's something (someone?) missing. Amber gaze fixated on Shepard, the answer is on the tip of his tongue—then it leaves him as Shepard's question hits him, fingers now occupied seasoning their rib eyes. ] Hard to take credit. You did the hard part, Shepard. Bringing people together under a common cause, getting them to fight for each other despite their differences...don't get me wrong, I'm a hell of a biotic [ Snort. ] but compared to that? Nah. [ Sounds more deprecating than he means to. Wants to correct it, explain he's not comparing himself to Shepard because he doesn't see Shepard as competition. Sees him as a brother-in-arms, someone he'd stick his hand into a thresher maw's mouth for. A friend. A... ] Before you ask—no. I didn't bring hot sauce.
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timeasmymeasure
@𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆
Date: 2025-02-09 11:53 pm (UTC)( One can practically hear the groan traveling all the way from Shepard's quarters. ) Okay, yeah, not at my most decent, but you've seen me at my worst, so I'll allow it.
Steak? Yeah, no, you'd better pick some up, it's been a while since I've done a food run, let's put it that way.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-10 02:07 am (UTC)Yeah I figured. Alright, be there in a bit. [ And it doesn't take long at all for Kaidan to arrive at Shepard's apartment, brown bag on hand. Nostalgic as that meat market makes (and Kaidan should get his head checked for wistfully reminiscing about the time they all got shot at, during the mess with Brooks and the clone) it's more important to reassure himself Commander Shepard, hero of the galaxy, hasn't lost the battle against malnutrition.
He lets himself in, voice calling out from the entrance: ] Hey, you still in here? Got the Canadian lager on discount. Guess it pays to be a Spectre.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-11 05:17 pm (UTC)Whether he advanced much further remains to be seen.
Still, Kaidan's presence is always welcome. They've been through this bullshit from the start, and the number of close calls they've both experienced is far too high for Shepard to feel comfortable. So what if he has developed a tiny clinging streak? Whatever Kaidan doesn't know won't hurt him.
Kaidan enters, and Shepard immediately perks up, sitting bolt upright. )
Yeah, I'm alive, ( he replies, shaking his head with a hint of fondness in his crooked smile. ) Good to know the perks are still around. Didn't even have to record an endorsement?
no subject
Date: 2025-02-11 07:46 pm (UTC)He's not the only one worried about Shepard. That makes Kaidan feel better, less of a mother hen and more like he's onto something here, something important. No one could survive what Shepard went through after the London FOB and come back okay—and there's no shame to it. If he has to cook Shepard a steak every day so the man remembers to eat, that's just fine.
Bittersweet to remember all this cooking takes place in Admiral Anderson's kitchen. That too must be yet another weight on Shepard's shoulders nothing but time will help heal. ] Good. Be a shame if malnutrition finished what the reapers could not. [ Kaidan's field medic training kicks in as he quietly observes Shepard while unbagging everything on the counter—a bit peaky, the sort that comes from poor sleep and mental fatigue. This man needs a hearty home-cooked meal, stat. But first. ] Nah. [ He uncaps one of the beers, handing it over to Shepard. ] We're all famous now too. Had a man from Earth thank me for saving it. Said he didn't get to pull out his family in time, was worried sick in a colony he later had to evacuate. Said when he got back to Buenos Aires he found them all, hale and hearty.
That's why we do this job, isn't it? He asked me to thank you too. [ You matter, Shepard. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-19 05:22 pm (UTC)Kaidan's presence is enough to diminish those horrible thoughts. All of his crew got him through the war, but Kaidan? Kaidan kept his feet firmly planted on the ground. He had been with Shepard from the beginning. It's only fitting that they'd see this through to the end.
Even if it had been a close call. Even if there are some days when Shepard wonders if he really did die at the hand of the Collectors and being brought back to life by Cerberus was all just an attempt of his dying mind to make sense of it all.
Listening to Kaidan speak brings a smile to Shepard's face. He closes his eyes and lets his voice wash over him, focusing on the words, but also letting his mind drift. At least until he hears Kaidan's question - the message he's passing on from the man from Earth. )
Yeah, it is. It makes it all worth it, hearing stories like that.
( And Shepard means it. Even if there are some days that feel darker than others, hearing about those who survived, whose families survived, it makes it all the more easier for Shepard to get out of bed in the morning. )
Sounds like a miracle to me. Glad to hear you're getting as much credit, though. ( His smile falters slightly as his expression grows into a mixture of fondness and severity. ) I wouldn't have gotten far without you, you know?
no subject
Date: 2025-02-21 12:06 am (UTC)Right. Better to focus on peeling these potatoes. Like hell they lived through that only for Shepard to eat MREs. Mess hall food might not be as bad as that, but it isn't much better. That crap will ruin morale. ]
Yeah, it does. [ Kaidan would brave hell itself if it meant civilians never got to experience war. It does him proud to have been part of the team that ended the Reaper War with a decisive win for humanity and all organic life.
So why, after that monumental victory, does he feel so lost? Listless, as if there's something (someone?) missing. Amber gaze fixated on Shepard, the answer is on the tip of his tongue—then it leaves him as Shepard's question hits him, fingers now occupied seasoning their rib eyes. ] Hard to take credit. You did the hard part, Shepard. Bringing people together under a common cause, getting them to fight for each other despite their differences...don't get me wrong, I'm a hell of a biotic [ Snort. ] but compared to that? Nah. [ Sounds more deprecating than he means to. Wants to correct it, explain he's not comparing himself to Shepard because he doesn't see Shepard as competition. Sees him as a brother-in-arms, someone he'd stick his hand into a thresher maw's mouth for. A friend. A... ] Before you ask—no. I didn't bring hot sauce.