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nothisis-ridiculous · 3 years

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Take Me Home Now: Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen: Country Roads, Take Me Home

Set after the events of ME3.

A rewrite.

FemShepxKaidan

"Hey Shepard," Kaidan smiled broadly, shuffling over to a side table, "there you are."

"In my apartment?" Mary teased. Appreciating the cable knit sweater Kaidan sported. It was a little tacky, white and covered with blue reindeer, but she loved the gaudiness.

Her obvious comment dismissed with the wave of a hand and the rolling of his eyes, "if we're done sassing, I brought you something."

"Not up for it today, Alenko?" It was no longer necessary to refer to each other by sir names, but it became a game. Once one started, the other joined in. Competition didn't deter Mary from approaching the biotic, glancing over his shoulder on tiptoes.

His jump wasn't expected, "I'm always up for it, Shepard, but you are being a little difficult." Kaidan's head tilted back and over his shoulder, leaving Mary to take the initiative.

Mary closed the distance with a chaste peck, leaving her jaw to rest on his shoulder, brushing against his back. They had forced their relationship to rebuild slowly over the months, no explosive sex, no sleepovers... just lots of talking. Sharing. Opening up about things they never had the time to talk about and the time after the Reaper War. It was a strange kind of intimacy when she let her arms encircle his waist, a test of what they would both accept.

"Difficult? I'm not sure what I've defied yet," her gaze briefly wandered to the package in his hands, "is something up?"

Kaidan chuckled, pressing his lips against her skull, "maybe I'm striking preemptively; you never know. But I have something you for- my mom made it so be nice."

She yoinked the package from him, falling ass-first onto her bed before she tore impatiently into the package. Out tumbled another sweater, a plain grey turtleneck with a doubled-up cuff. Best of all, it was huge, Kaidan likely playing a part in that. Mary grinned up at him, "this is nice."

"Well, hurry up and put it on," he urged.

Mary took her turn at the eye-rolling, "for what, Alenko? Yes, Canada is cold, but I'm inside."

"What if we're not staying inside?"

"Really, Alenko?" she half whined, but it was a show. She was excited to go outside, it was starting to snow and she felt restless.

"Come on! Let us celebrate your official release, I had to convince everyone else that breaking you out was grounds for war. Something about assaulting an Alliance Base being a terrible idea..." his grin widened, "though, Garrus had some solid plans."

"Fine," Shepard didn't fight the grin as she wrestled on the sweater. It was much bulkier than she expected, even the sleeves far too long, and the neck threatened to swallow her face. She let it rest below eye level, lumbering over to Kaidan.

The pure silliness emanating from the woman tugged at his heart; this was a much different person from the Officer that commanded the Normandy.

His hands took her face, lowering the fabric to kiss her gently, "looks good, Shepard."

"It might be a bit big."

He caught her eyes wandering to the sweater he wore and his chuckle escaped," you'll have to ask."

"You didn't," her face turned brighter under his touch, only the trace of a scar left along her jawline.

It was another game they had played aboard the Normandy- as high school as taking your lover's clothing was, Mary found simple pleasure in it. In the privacy of her cabin, it was comfortable to wear something a few sizes too large and his subtle smell on the clothing made it better. She'd pretend to steal an article of clothing here and there, or he'd forget to take something with him. Kaidan enjoyed occasionally finding her wrapped up in his shirt and her signature pooh bear PJ shorts. It was a rare human moment for the Commander- Captain, hopefully, less rare in the future.

"That's stealing," she harrumphed.

Kaidan retook her lips, she froze for a moment from the surprise but eagerly complied. God, he loved this woman.

"And I can't have you going out looking that hot," she murmured on his lips, "we'll just have to trade."

"A little possessive there-," he pulled the sweater off, revealing his shirtless form, "at least take me to dinner first."

She was a little distracted but followed suit, tearing her gaze away, "I know a place with steak."

"Heh. Now, now that is how you butter me up."

"Kaidan," Mary faltered on three beats, "this look better?"

Those weren't the three words he expected, "beautiful as ever, Mary." He carefully trained his gaze on her pretty blue eyes, watching them sparkle brighter for a second. She wouldn't acknowledge the compliment, but it was her favorite.

"Where we going?"

A classic Shepard deflection.

"You did mention steak."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

With full bellies, Kaidan guided them through the decorated square. Christmas music drifted gently from all directions mixing with the sounds of life. Deep laughter, feet on fresh snow, and the wafting smells emanating from the food stands. Mary grew a little quiet, so he gently took her hand.

"Is this too much?"

She shook her head, "I just remembered what tomorrow is."

He nodded, December eleventh, the day of the final push on the Reapers. Three years from the day, there was a lot to mourn and as much to celebrate. Mary just struggled to remember the latter, often caught in the sacrifices made to get to and on that day.

"Do we need to head back?"

Mary shook her head.

"You sure."

"It's fine," the smile was only a little forced, "just let me center."

"Sit down, and I'll be right back."

"Really-"

"Mary, please."

"I don't want to ruin-"

"You're not, but sit."

The Captain sighed heavily but parked her ass on a bench. Distracting herself as she studied a nearby pine tree all decked up in lights. The bright blue lighting of the home fabrication building. Watched the people walk by, comforted in a moment of invisibility to let the knot in her chest loosen. It was too much to expect it to disappear, but it could be made less heavy. If life could return to normal for all these people, it could for her.

The Major returned with two paper cups, steam rising from the vent, "drink."

"I'm pretty full."

"Just drink. It will help you focus on something else," his frown grew a smidge.

Her mouth was met with sudden sweetness; hot chocolate was not her jam, even when seasoned with cinnamon. Kaidan seemed satisfied, even if she grimaced.

"Mary, I just-"

"Kaidan," her interruption hinted with exasperation, "is something up?"

He reeled, forcing out a grumbling chuckle, "what do you mean?"

"You've been acting a little strange."

"I mean," he rubbed at the back of his neck, eyes pinned on the ground, "hell, Shepard. Can one part of this relationship be normal?"

"You didn't have to drag me out here just to break up with me," her voice came out small.

"No- I'm not," he suddenly turned to look at her, running a finger along a cheek and rested it on her lip, gently taking up her chin. Once his drink was in no danger of spilling her held her other hand, "that's the last thing on my mind. It's the future. Mine. Yours. "

"I feel like I am missing something."

His smile drooped, and his head turned away, staring straight into the building in front of them, "what do you want, Mary?"

Freedom was a hell of a thing. After spending so much time in duress, were forging forward for the future was the only option. That freedom was foreign, alien. Her career had also taken a lot of her choice, and she was content with that life. Now, with her field wide open, she didn't know how to run. Her family would be scattered, irrevocably. If she stayed with the Alliance, could she be with Kaidan? If she didn't retire from the Spectre life, her priorities were further in shambles. Mary didn't want to return to further solitude, making her way without companionship and connection. But the thought of returning to active duty terrified her- she had seen and caused enough bloodshed for one person. So much seemed in question. In reality, it was hard to admit what she wanted—a peaceful place to return home to more often than not.

Her time aboard the Normandy had been the closest to calling anything home since Mindoir, almost twenty years ago.

Did Kaidan want that with her? That was the biggest hurdle, deciding to start that process alone and hoping he caught up... if that is what he wanted. She knew her name wouldn't give her all the time in the world to delay a decision.

It hardly helped that the biotic didn't look at her, completely removed from her in all ways. The tangle in her heart spread into her throat, pathetically as it echoed; nowhere would really feel like home without him. Not for a long time anyway. As challenging, heartbreaking, and frustrating her time with Alenko had proven to be-, he had remained stable. A solid foundation.

"You," the word spat out, "I still love you and-"

The Shepard bravery only went so far with emotions, her hand stopping inches from his thigh. It was a boundary she was afraid to cross. She was already too bold.

Kaidan's gaze left the building, returning suddenly to her. Mary retracted only to be stopped by Kaidan yanking both of them from the bench, pulling her tightly into his arms. His nose nuzzling her cheek before moving to her ear, a hand cradling the base of her skull, "I've always loved you, through all these years, through..." his voice a whisper, "through everything. I'm the luckiest man alive. I don't know where all of this will go- our careers, our lives, but I want to be with you. No matter how slow I have to take things. If that's a no, or a not yet, I promise it won't hurt me."

Mary titled her head and furrowed her brows, a no?

Kaidan chuckled, his belly rolling as the laughter overtook him. Forcing him to step away from her, needing his forearms to counteract his balance as he crumpled inward.

"Kaidan?"

Shepard watched him compose himself with growing impatience, arms folding tightly across her chest. Whatever joke she was the butt of, it wasn't funny. Not now.

"Mary," Kaidan's voice turning to the graveled cadence that made her tummy flutter. The man closed the distance between them again, turning her body in the direction of the storefront, "you don't have to decide now. We don't have to go in, and you can even tell me to get lost."

Oh. OOH.

The home fabrication company. The home fabrication company she had been sitting in front of for the last several minutes.

"Kaidan..." it must have been the snow prickling at the corner of her eye.

"Shepard, Mary- I can't promise to know what happens next. I just- I just want a place for both of us. I have some property and I thought... hoped that it could," he took in a steadying breath, the pressure of his hands a somewhat uncomfortable, "that we could make it our own. Somewhere soft for us to land, whenever we can make the time."

"Or as much as possible?" Mary pivoted, hooking her fingers into his pockets, "we could both quit, everything! Retire and watch every sunset!"

Kaidan stole a kiss, "I'm not sure the Shepard I know could sit still that long."

"You'd have the time to teach me," Mary kept him close, practically grinning into his mouth.

"You know, I think I'd have better luck potty training Kalros," Kaidan mused, wisely knowing what Thresher Maw Mary could handle mention of, "but I think I get your meaning. You'll try to stick it out with me?"

"I can handle an outdated L2."

"Outdated!? Ouch."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"Everyone would understand if this is too much," Kaidan murmured beside her, "and if you want company, I'd rather be with you."

Mary slowly turned to look at him, the flickering of the white string lights illuminating the contours of her face and the flash of annoyance in her eyes. That was fair, it felt like the millionth time he had beat around that bush. He wanted her to feel comfortable, to not push her into anything that might trigger a reaction. Yes, she could handle herself, but he had to ask. To make sure.

Kaidan had made sure springing the party on her wasn't an utter surprise. Spilling the beans shortly after they had left Alliance Headquarters. Shepard seemed genuinely excited, and he was hopeful; her time sequestered away had chipped at the edges exposed after the war. By all means, she had been cleared by the professionals, but that didn't mean complete freedom. He knew that from experience.

"Traynor better have brought along another bottle of Serrice Ice," she grinned, "Chakwas and I have our tradition to fulfill."

Mary grabbed his hand, pulling him another few steps through the snow and closer to his parent's place. Already it was lit up, and the drifting of music wafted over the otherwise quiet plot. She paused within casual eyesight of a window, watching the figures within with a soft sigh. Kaidan slowly put an arm around her waist.

The glitter of snow in her hair was beautiful.

"You were right," she said with a snort, "I found a way."

"I never doubted you," placing his lips firmly against her temple.

Her head tilted up at him, eyes drinking him in, "I have an answer to your question."

Kaidan waited.

"Jane was me, before the Alliance. My original name... before Toombs took pity on a Batarian's slave," Mary's glance softened, "I thought you deserved to know."

"If-"

"It's long dead and gone," Kaidan believed her, even if he burned with questions, "Alenko, I want to drink. To hug my friends again- I'm looking forward to my hangover tomorrow, so I have something else to be miserable about instead of the past. Maybe, even a tad excited to further disappoint your mother."

#fshenko #shenko #kaidan alenko #mass effect fancition #uugggh #take me home

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squigglysquidd · 5 years

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#24 for the fake dating prompt, please :)

Fake Dating Prompt

24. we accidentally meet under mistletoe and share a kiss, but now everyone at this party thinks we’re dating and I feel too awkward to correct them so hold my hand

I decided to do this for a non-fic Shakarian because this prompt wouldn’t really fit into any of my current fics. In this case, I’ll keep Shepard as ‘Shepard’ instead of give her a first name so that there’s no confusion :)

Shepard never really could go all out during Christmas. She liked the holiday, perhaps better than all the others in the year, but living on ships made it very difficult to ever get into the holiday spirit with grand celebrations and decorations. Sure, sometimes the ship she was on at the time would decorate the mess or a common room for the crew, but it never had the kind of grandeur that she saw in the vids.

When Kaidan come up with the idea to decorate her recently acquired apartment, however, Shepard couldn’t help but agree. She left the actual planning and decorating for him to delegate, seeing as how he grew up in a family that apparently even dressed for the occasion. She helped and following someone else’s lead even on this little thing felt good for a change, letting her relax during their practically mandatory shore leave away from the Reaper war.

Even her non-human crew got into the seasonal spirit when they found out, agreeing to come and make merry and even some joining in on the preparations like when Tali dragged in Garrus to help decorate while she and EDI prepared Egg nog and came up with a dextro equivalent or Liara who brought along Glyph to design and hang up lights so that they flickered and shown in a special pattern throughout the apartment.

Shepard had no idea where they managed to find a tree, but it was nice silhouetted against the flashing lights that shown through the drawn blinds from the Strip. Its pine smell filled the living room where they pulled aside the piano to set it up and though there weren’t many presents, she felt like those she did manage to get for everyone held enough significance that she didn’t feel so guilty over that one particular part of the holiday not being up to par with Kaidan’s work.

She had just gone over the plans for music with Kaidan and Glyph to make sure nothing too obnoxious would be piped over the apartment’s speakers when she turned around and nearly walked right into Garrus, a man who had become a true friend and source of support throughout the entire journey with her crew. Though it took some convincing, everyone managed to hound him enough to convince him to leave the apartment long enough to return to get dressed in something besides armor before returning just in time to start the party and, looking at him, Shepard was glad she had the back up because he looked actually comfortable for perhaps the first time in a long time.

Good. Maybe he can leave the war at the door like I have and give himself a chance to breathe.

Chuckling, Garrus grabbed her shoulders when they nearly collide and smiled. “I gotta say, Shepard, though I don’t really have any sort of idea what this Christmas is about, this place definitely looks ... festive.”

She smiled back to him and looked around the apartment. “Yeah, it’s definitely like the movies I’ve seen. So, if you want to know what Christmas looks like, Kaidan did a hell of a job.”

He hummed as his gaze followed hers. “I can’t say I hate it .... Reminds me of some turian celebrations ... a little.”

Snorting, Shepard looked up at her tall friend but froze when her sight traveled above him to catch sight of something she definitely recognized. No matter how big or festive a Christmas celebration was, Shepard always found that they included one little thing meant to get people in the spirit, It didn’t take up much space and was as easily recognizable for a Christmas party as a Christmas tree.

“Something wrong, Shepard?” Garrus hummed in concern and followed her gaze before looking back down to her in confusion.

“Uh ... yeah,” she said, giving a slight huff of nervousness as her cheeks grew warm. “It’s just that that,” she explained, motioning the mistletoe above, “has a particular tradition with it.” Biting her lip, her eyes take in her best friend’s face. “A mistletoe usually means you kiss whenever two people happen to stand together beneath it.”

She wasn’t sure how he’d really react, not entirely, but his glance upwards and soft chuckle before smiling down at her wasn’t it. His mandibles fluttered slightly before he gave a slight shrug and said, “Well, we’re here to celebrate a human Christmas together, and I intended to follow all the customs even though I’m not really ... human .... So what do you say we follow this one?” He cleared his throat and finally dropped his hands from her shoulders. “If you want to, of course. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable ....”

Shepard laughed, the sound a bit breathless and nervous. Of course, she wanted to follow that particular tradition for a Christmas party ... with him anyways. And if he was offering? Well, she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Especially not on Christmas, the season of giving.

Smiling, she nodded and motioned him to get lower while she lifted onto her toes. “Well, it’s pretty simple, Garrus,” she said as she cupped his face to balance themselves in this slightly awkward stance given their height differences. He even laid his hands on her, one against her ribs while the other gently cupped her elbow, and he purred softly as he let her guide him in the act. “A kiss is when we press our lips together, but here, we’ll just have to improvise.”

“Just like we always do,” he joked, though he even sounded a bit breathless, as if in anticipation.

Shepard bit her lip for just a moment as she looked at his mouth plates, wondering how exactly it’ll work, but leaned forward anyways. When her lips touched his plates, she found a warmth there and it made up for the lack of plush lips as he slid his hand along her arm to lay over her hand.

The kiss lasted only a moment, but when she pulled away from him to let them return to their comfortable heights, she opened her eyes that she hadn’t known she’d closed. Catching sight of the others in the apartment, she saw quite a few quickly stop from staring, some even sharing whispers or giggles.

“Well, if that’s not a bad sign, I don’t know what is,” Garrus said with a rumble of amusement as his gaze takes in the others in the apartment.

Shepard chuckled. “They probably think we’re ... ya know.”

He huffed and smiled at her. “It certainly seems that way. They seem pretty happy about it too.”

Chuckling, she felt herself blush furiously. “Well, I guess we should just play along.”

“How?” He asked, raising a brow plate and she chuckled again, shrugging.

“I don’t know .... Hold hands or something?”

Smiling, he thrummed and laughed softly. “Sounds like a plan.”

#Shakarian #fake dating #non-fic shepard #female shepard #garrus vakarian #female shepard x garrus vakarian #femshep x garrus #prompt #christmas #mordinette

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queen-scribbles · 6 years

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Something Simple

Art trade fic from a few months back for @commander-sarah I found it in my google docs today and realized I hadn’t posted it yet. It’s post-trilogy Shenko fluff, so that just had to be rectified.

---

Today had been hard. Good, but hard.

“Hey, K?” Miranda began, not even bothering to open her eyes as she slouched down on the sofa until she could rest her feet on the coffee table.

“Yeah?” The sofa shifted as Kaidan sat next to her.

“Next time I suggest having friends over the same day I have PT, please slap me.” She wiggled her toes, feeling the sparks of lingering pain in her bad leg. “I love Ash and Garrus, but that was... pushing it a little.”

Kaidan chuckled. “They wear you out, Shepard?”

“Nah, Trish wore me out in fuckin’ PT,” Miranda corrected around a yawn. “They just sealed the deal.”

“Losing that much at Skyllian Five would be exhausting,” he said teasingly.

She opened one eye to glare at him, but it lacked heat. “You didn’t make out much better than I did, Alenko. You don’t really have room to talk.”

“But I did make out better,” Kaidan smirked in amusement. “So there is a little room to talk.” He reached over and tucked Miranda’s hair behind her ear before it could slide in her eyes. “But I will remind you next time.”

“Thanks. I think it’s partially this place,” she mused. “It’s a great apartment, but it feels kinda... small when we have company. So then I worry about being in the way with having my leg up and that’s tiring after a while.”

“So what’s your ideal place, then?” Kaidan asked idly, slipping his hand into hers and interlacing their fingers.

“Bigger than this, smaller than your parents’ orchard,” Miranda said after a moment’s thought. “We don’t need that much space. I don’t know what I’d do with it, honestly,” she admitted, free hand playing with her necklace. “I grew up a military brat, I’m used to small quarters. But something with enough space for me to leave out my guns when I’m working on them”--a meaningful look toward the footlockers wedged in the corner behind the Christmas tree--”multiple bedrooms in case of company. A nice kitchen, so you can make me more of your Canadian delicacies,” she teased.

“Wow, so, you want the whole deal, M?” he deadpanned. “House, dog...” he briefly lifted heir joined hands. “Ring.”

“If it’s you offering, then, yeah,” Miranda nodded. “I do.”

“And if I was, what kind would you want?” he probed, sitting back on the couch and absently rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

“Which one?” she asked, amused.

“You just did house, so.. both of the others, I guess.”

“Lots of dogs, all kinds of dogs,” Miranda smiled. “We could just go clear out some shelter, adopt every dog they have, and I’d be happy. As for ring... nothing fancy, that’s for sure. Stones are too likely to snag on shit, so just a band of some sort.” She fought the urge to smirk at his expression; focused and earnest, clearly making mental notes. “Something simple.”

“Simple, right.” Kaidan nodded. “Makes sense.” He yawned. “Damn, you got me doing it too.”

“Maybe it’s time for bed,” Miranda said glibly, making no move to get off the couch.

“Maybe it is,” Kaidan agreed easily. He kissed the back of her hand before letting go and pushed to his feet. “C’mon. It’ll be more comfortable than the couch.”

Miranda just grunted at him. He was right and she knew it, but right now she was plenty comfortable where she was.

“Oh, it’s snowing,” Kaidan commented, glancing toward the window.

Miranda swiveled to look, but her angle was wrong from the couch. “K, if you’re lying to get me up off the couch, I’m making you sleep on the floor.”

“Swear to God, Shepard,” he promised.

Miranda let out a sigh and levered herself upright, almost toppling as she tried to balance on just her good leg. She very deliberately ignored the crutches leaning against the wall and hobble-hopped until she could see out the window. It was indeed snowing. “Hope that sticks around til Tuesday.”

“Pretty sure it will,” Kaidan said, watching the fluffy white flakes drifting from the sky. “This is the kind that sticks around once it builds up, and the weather’s supposed to stay chilly between now and then.” He shot her an amused look. “You want a white Christmas, M?”

“Hell yeah, I do,” she laughed, watching the snow. “It’s my first one, I wanna hit all the fuckin’ cliches from Earth vids we can.”

“Duly noted,” Kaidan grinned. “Now, I believe you said something about bed?”

“I did,” Miranda laughed, and followed him down the hall.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Kaidan’s prediction proved correct; the snow did stick around for Christmas. Enough so, in fact, to make their neighborhood picturesque as a greeting card. Miranda was thrilled, which Kaidan promptly teased her for. She was too excited to care, curled up on the sofa in a snuggly warm sweater and mismatched Christmasy socks, her one concession to ‘holiday spirit’ wardrobe-wise.

“You can tease me later, Alenko,” she laughed, whacking the couch cushion next to her. “Sit your ass down and let’s do presents.”

Kaidan chuckled as he complied. “Impatient, are we, M?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.” Miranda grinned. “I got you the best present ever and I wanna see you open it.”

“Oh, well, we’ll see about that,” he ribbed, something serious yet mischievous in his eyes.

She almost called him on it, but the opted to instead reach over and snag the small box with his present from under the Christmas tree. “Merry Christmas, K,” she said, grinning like a kid in a candy store as she handed it over.

Kaidan was half-smiling even before he had the clumsily-done wrapping stripped off. It turned into a full smile of flat-out astonishment when he saw the small metallic case. “Alright, Shepard, who did you threaten or blackmail or whatever to get this?”

“That’s hurtful,” Miranda said with a laugh, miming a hand over her heart as she watched him pull the slim black omnitool band from its resting place. “I just reminded a couple of Saronis Applications board members of the part we both played in saving the Citadel a few years back and the damn galaxy far more recently, pointed out it would probably boost sales even more to say one of the Spectres used their latest tech, and there ya go.”

“You were diplomatic for me?” Kaidan smirked. “I’m touched.” He secured the omnitool to his wrist and tapped it to life, glancing admiringly over the readouts before closing it down. “It looks great, M. Now.” He reached down next to his side of the couch and pulled up a box, both larger and better wrapped than her gift had been. “Your turn.”

“Already trying to outdo me?” she teased, tucking back her hair before tugging on the vibrant red ribbon tied around the box. “This is almost a work of art, K. You get to wrap all the birthday present from here on out.”

“Only if you buy all the birthday presents from here on out,” he countered with a smile that belied his nervously fidgeting hands.

“Deal,” Miranda agreed promptly, tugging away the wrapping paper. She could handle brightly lit and noisy stores so he wouldn’t have to if he would handle the wrapping so she didn’t have to. She carefully opened the box-

And found another box, just as neatly wrapped as the first one. She narrowed her eyes at Kaidan. “You bastard.”

“That would sound a lot more intimidating if you weren’t laughing,” Kaidan said, grin plastered across his face. “Keep going.”

Inside that box, there was another box. Miranda balled up the paper and threw it at him before opening that box. To find another box. “Kaidan-!”

“Just one more, I promise,” he cut her off.

Miranda gave a long-suffering sigh and very dramatically opened the last box. Inside was another box. Only this one was small, velvet, and instantly recognizable. Miranda’s head snapped up and she raised an eyebrow at Kaidan. “Really?”

He nodded, grinning wide. “Really.”

“You wanna shackle yourself to this hot mess forever?” she joked, gesturing at herself and wiggling the toes of her bad foot for emphasis.

“Longer,” Kaidan said, still grinning as he reached over at took the box from her. He flicked it open to reveal--as requested--a simple platinum band, gleaming against its red velvet cushion. “Miranda, will you-”

“Yes.”

“Dammit, will you let me finish the question, Shepard?” he laughed.

“Sorry.” Miranda’s voice lacked any hint of an apology. She folded her hands in her lap and shot him a mischievously expectant look. “Ask away, Major.”

“Miranda, will you marry me?”

“Oh, hell yes!” she said fervently, pulling him into a fierce and passionate kiss before even giving him a chance to slide the ring on her finger, a fact he rectified when they broke apart for air. “‘Bout damn time,” Miranda teased softly.

“Oh, hush, you,” Kaidan laughed, and kissed her again.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

“So,” Miranda began, after several more minutes of making out that almost landed them on the floor at least twice. “For Ash’s party tonight... do we tell people, or just wait from them to notice on their own?” She held out her hand, looking at the ring again.

“Oh, definitely option B,” Kaidan said, capturing her hand to press a kiss against her palm. “It’ll be more fun that way. And we have observant friends; the cat’ll be out of the bag pretty quick.”

“I like the way you think,” she chuckled, tracing his jawline with her fingers. “I might kiss you for that.”

“Hang on, I have to check with my fiancée,” Kaidan deadpanned, barely holding back another grin. “Should make sure it’s alright with her before I kiss a war hero.”

“I think it’s okay,” Miranda whispered, moving in for the promised kiss. “Very okay.” She linked her hands against the back of his neck, the cool metal of her ring making both of them grin.

Kaidan had very clearly won this Christmas, Miranda conceded to herself as she kissed her fiance breathless, but that was alright. There was always next year.

And all the years after it.

#queens fic #art trade #miranda shepard #kaidan alenko #mass effect

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kfawkes · 6 years

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8. “If you throw that snowball you’re declaring war” - shakarian por favor

Hi! Happy Christmas! :D This is a shortie, hope you like it!!

(As always I kinda changed the words to make it more organic to the characters. Also didn’t do a ton of passes since I’m trying to do all the xmas prompts today and tomorrow

Shepard was a seasoned soldier and under her leadership the Human Alliance was no longer considered a joke. She helped progress humans in the galactic government well beyond their years, held off an entire militia of batarian invaders, and even survived a Threshermaw attack that wiped out her entire squad.

Having done all of this, and been the leader of a successful rebellion against the Reapers well, let’s just say she had some practice in dealing with near death experiences, and pretty much every time she made those experiences her bitch. But everything she’d been faced with before somehow seemed pale in comparison to the battle before her– the war that would be started with one small flick of a wrist…

Shepard leaned down pulling her scarf tighter around her bare neck hugging away the cold as she threw her eyes just barely above the ledge… looking, searching for her enemy.

“Look… it doesn’t have to go like this.” Jane voiced cautiously as she look to the white snow decorating the surface below her feet. She threw her eyes around her anxiously as she pulled a tight ball of fluffy ice into her hand.

One, two, three pats and its solid… ready to go.

“We can just go back inside… have some coco. We don’t have to do this.” Shepard cooed quietly as she snuck from behind her cover, hiding the tight ball behind her back as she tip toe out of hiding.

Nothing.

How could a big turian like that not manage to make a sound? And… where are the others?

She pursed her lips and placed her free hand to her hip as a long exhale left her lips, the white billowy cloud of her heat floating momentarily before her eyes; once again reminding her of the warm drink and fire just over the hill… Thats when she heard it: a snap of a branch, and in an instant she turned around pulling her snowball up ready for anything.

But again she saw nothing but thick white snow spanning as far as she could see.

“Garrus…? You can come out… I give up.” She lied.

A moment later he called back, playfulness lining every one of his undertones. “I don’t buy it, Shepard… You think I don’t know you by now? Drop it. We’ve got you covered.”

Guess that answers my question…

Shepard narrowed her eyes, scanning her surrounding suspiciously once more. She didn’t buy it either… but she was willing to see this one through, she was getting cold anyway… “Fine.”

She held the snow ball up in the air as she turned in place to show it off before dropping it carelessly to the side. The perfectly crafted snowball burst into a billion pieces before her eyes, blending with the surface as if it had never been disturbed in the first place.

“See? All gone… nothin’ to worry about, Vakarian…” She showed her empty mittened hands to the baron trees around her, still unsure where his voice even echoed from… but a moment later she saw as he peaked his head from behind a tree.

Jane smiled wide as she started her way towards him– almost believing the game was finished. This battle had sure been a fun one, but her fingers were numb now and all she wanted was a hot cup of coco and to be held in in front of a fire.

But once she reached him it was clear he had anything but cuddling on his mind.

Garrus looked her dead in the eye as a mischievous smile flickered across his face– mandibles dancing playfully as he raised his hand, moving his two fingers lightly in signal.

A moment later Jack, Tali, Kaidan, Wrex, Grunt AND Liara stepped out of their respective hiding places all sporting far larger snowballs than she had previously been equipped with… and she knew, she was fucked.

“Oh, come on…” Jane complained with feign exasperation lining her voice as she shrugged her arms and hands lazily at the overzealous display. “You can’t be serious… I’m one woma– is this really necessary?”

And as she spoke they all stepped closer… slowly yet surely all hiding their very satisfied smirks rather inefficiency. “If you… I swear to god, Garrus, if you do this– it’s gonna be war. War I tell you…”

They kept closing in though, and this time Garrus was too– but no one made the first move. He grabbed her by the hips, pulling her into a fervid kiss. “I think I’ll take my chances…. NOW!”

The second he yelled he jumped rather dramatically behind a nearby mound of snow as Shepard was decked by at least 10 snowballs– clearly some of them were double fisting it.

“Damn it, Vakarian!” She laughed loudly covering her face from the cold splashes pounding her as she jumped on top of him; specks of snow flying each way as she landed. “You’re gonna pay for that…”

“That a threat?”

She shook her head just once, then kissed his nose because it wasn’t… “No, that’s a promise.”

Cause if there was one thing about Commander Jane Shepard it was that she always fucking won.

*Send me a Festive Prompt (number and pairing) and I will do it TODAY or tomorrow! [ASK]

#Shakarian #Normandy #Mass Effect #Commander Shepard #Mass Effect fanfic #my writing #fawkes talks #shep files #ask #answered #prompts #christmas one shots!

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cousinslavellan-archive · 6 years

Note

Festive Prompts: Shrios 16, Rydaal 28, and Shakarian 9

Once more going to do all three, and going to say they’re from my fic ‘The Other Shepard’s’ Universe! ♥ Also going to say all of the Festive Prompts I do are somewhat connected cause why not.

1. Shrios + 16 - “Aren’t you just Santa’s Little Helper?”

Willow’s never been so happy that they have the passcode for the Vakarian household as she is Christmas Day - able to open the door and sneak in with all their gifts before either Arisa or Garrus know they’re there.

She holds the door wide while Thane carries the majority in - I am fine, Siha, I assure you. I can carry this load without a problem, I am not quite that far gone - before hurrying back out to grab the rest.

Thane already has the presents arranged pleasingly under the tree, and Willow can’t help coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his chest, humming happily when he clasps his hands over hers.

“Aren’t you just the best little Santa’s Helper?” she teases, feeling his chuckle in her own chest, grip loosening enough to allow him to turn to face her.

“Santa’s Helper?” Thane echoes, peppering small kisses over her face - forehead, cheeks, jaw, throat - before brushing his lips over hers.

“I’ll tell you later.” Willow giggles, kissing back, then pulling away and taking his hand to lead him further in, “C’mon, let’s get some coffee started before the grumps wake up.”

“Are they as addicted as you are, my Siha?” Thane teases, allowing her to lead him.

“More so. Arisa said we could sneak in this morning so long as we started the coffee.” Willow grins, enjoying his laughter, “Now c’mon, or we’ll have very grumpy hosts to deal with.”

2. Rydaal + 28 - “Please tell me you aren’t searching my room for where I’ve hidden the presents” (NOTE for anyone not familiar with my story ‘The Misadventures of Aria Ryder, Jaal and Aria have two adopted kids - Adrien, a turian, and Sayren, an Angara - as well as a biological daughter, Senri, and niece, Tela.)

“C’mon, Sayren! I know they’re in here somewhere!”

“Gonna get in twouble.”

“Only if we get caught. C’mon!”

The Angara grumbles but follows, and Adrien flicks his mandibles out in a wide grin, leading the way into their parents bedroom.

Aria and Jaal had taken Senri for a checkup with Aunt Lexi, leaving them with Grandma Ellen - who was currently taking a nap on the couch downstairs, believing the boys were doing the same.

Adrien was just to curious to not go snooping, to excited by the thought of presents - not even his own presents, but presents for Sayren and Senri. Sure, the thought of getting presents was exciting - Christmas was technically a human tradition, so he’d never celebrated it with his birth parents - but he was more excited to get to help his siblings open theirs, to play with them.

I want to see what they got Tela, too; I need to make sure it’s something she’ll like.

At seven, Adrien’s the oldest of their little group - Sayren’s about a two, now, and Senri’s just about to hit a year - and he takes his siblings happiness very seriously, okay? He loves being an older brother - and Aria and Jaal are awesome adoptive parents, which makes it even better.

Now, they just need to find where they’d stashed the presents-

A plan that’s thwarted the moment there’s heavier steps on the stairs and Sayren’s squealing “Mama!”, making Adrien freeze and look up guilty.

“Um…” he stammers, mandibles drawing in tight, “H-hi Mom, Dad.”

“Please tell me you aren’t searching our room for where we hid the presents.” Aria asks, but the lack of anger in her voice relaxes him; if anything, she looks amused.

“I’m sorry, Mom…”

“Oh, honey, it’s okay.” Aria passes Sayren over to Jaal - the Angara purring happily and reaching out to their little sister, making her giggle - before opening her arms to him. Adrien scrambles immediately to his feet and hugs her legs, face pressed into her belly as her fingers scratch at the skin beneath his fringe, “It’s your first Christmas - I’d be more worried if you weren’t curious, honestly.”

“Just wanted to check what you got Senri.” he mumbles, purring under her calming touch, “And Sayren, and Tela. So I can be ready to help put stuff together.”

“Aren’t you just the best big brother?” Jaal chuckles, heading down the stairs with the two youngest held securely in his arms, “We’ll wake Ellen up, Aria, and get some dinner going.”

“Okay, love.” Aria waits till they’ve disappeared from sight before gently pushing the little turian back and crouching to be at his eye-level. “Now, Adrien, I can’t show you everything, but if you want… I can show you the presents we got for Tela, and you can pick something to give her yourself?”

“Can I?” he chirps, embarrassed by the high noise until his mother laughs and nods.

“Let’s go look.” she takes his hand and leads him back into the room, and Adrien’s sure he’s never smiled so widely before.

3. Shakarian + 9 - “You’re kidding, right? I’m not going out in that snow storm!”

“You’re kidding, right? I’m not going out in that snow storm!”

Arisa’s lips twitch in a wide grin, brows lifted. She’s trying not to laugh, she really is, but -

“Garrus. It’s flurrying. This is like, the most calm type of snowfall there is.”

“It’s still cold. And hard to see in. And-”

“Garrus. I’m not asking you to stay outside in it all night.” Arisa steps in close to him, smoothing her hands over the warm clothes she’d talked him into, trying her best to be smooth and alluring, “Please? I just want to stand out on the balcony and watch the snow fall for a bit.”

Garrus eyes her dubiously, though his hands have settled on her hips, and she can tell he’s breaking even as he says “Are all you humans this crazy about the snow?”

Arisa whaps him on the chest for that, “Hey I am not crazy! I just want to watch the first snowfall! It’s been… years.”

That makes him soften, sighing dramatically before reaching for the scarf hanging on the rack behind her, “Alright, alright, you win - but just ten minutes, okay? Or else you’ll have a frozen turian on your hands.”

“I knew I married you for a reason.” she grins, yanking him down for a quick kiss before throwing on her own winter gear and hurrying out onto the front porch, listening to him grumble the whole time.

Garrus comes to stand behind her with his arms around her middle, bent slightly so he can rest his chin on her head, their breaths puffing out into the cold air in billows of white.

She’s more glad then ever that they rented a house on Earth, for Christmas. Room to have everyone over, to celebrate - and she gets to see the snow fall.

“Okay.” Garrus hmphs after a while, voice oddly quiet, “It is kind of pretty.”

“Told you.” Arisa laughs, turning in his arms to nuzzle at him, “Thank you. Now, what’s say we head inside, grab some coffee, then spend some… quality time together, hmm? While we have the house to ourselves?”

“Like you even have to ask.” Garrus growls, sweeping her up, and she only laughs as she’s carried back inside.

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nerdierholler · 6 years

Text

Mistletoe

Reposting my one Christmas fic to this account. Also on AO3.

At the Normandy Christmas party, Shepard tries to explain the tradition of mistletoe to Garrus. 600-ish words of pre-Shakarian flirting.

Shepard looked around the dining hall. The crew had done an admirable job of decorating with limited funds and short notice. There was a small Christmas tree on some crates in front of the med bay and strands of lights wound their way around banisters and doorways creating a rainbow of reflections on the smooth steel. Occasionally, being on civilian ship had its advantages.

Several crew members smiled at Shepard as she moved through the crowd and made her way to the galley. She found Gardner in the kitchen serving eggnog out of a large bowl.

"And some for the Commander as well," he said handing her a glass.

"Oh, thank you."

The cook watched her eagerly, "It's an old family recipe," he said with a wink.

Shepard took a sip and coughed. Had the man been raised by krogan? She was pretty sure it was mixed with ryncol, or something almost as strong. "It certainly has a kick."

"Ha!" Gardner barked and slapped his leg, "We'll show these stiff backed Alliance types how to have a party."

She smiled politely and suddenly felt very sorry for Dr. Chakwas and the line of hung over crewmen she'd have to deal with in the morning. She glanced over at Chakwas, well, provided the doctor wasn't one of them herself.

A familiar head poked above the crowd and Shepard made her way to edge of the group and found Garrus leaning against a bulkhead by Miranda's office.

"You know, I always skipped the Christmas parties at C-Sec. Now I wonder if I missed out on something, mostly the opportunity to find stuff to hold over people when I needed a favor, but still something."

She gave him a lopsided smile and stood back to watch the party. Shepard examined the now familiar faces, temporarily happy and care-free. For just one night they weren't worrying about Collectors or missions with impossible odds. Tomorrow Miranda would order the decorations taken down and it would be back to business as usual. She sipped the eggnog and let her eyes follow the twinkling lights around the room until they eventually found their way to a sprig of green taped to the ceiling above the turian's head.

"I wouldn’t stand there if I were you."

"Why?" Shepard pointed up and Garrus followed the line of her finger. "What's that?"

"Mistletoe. It’s an old human Christmas tradition. Standing under the mistletoe means you get kissed."

"Oh really?" He straightened to his full height and puffed out his chest, expectantly looking around the room.

"You know," Shepard took another sip in an effort to maintain a straight face, "when you first came on board there were a number of crew members very interested in the mysterious Archangel."

"Is that so?" Like a preaning peacock he adjusted his armor. "And now?'

"Well, now they know you’re just a boring turian who spends all his time in the main battery." Garrus slouched down again and crossed his arms. She gave him a supportive pat on the shoulder, "Sorry buddy, but the air of mystery has worn off I’m afraid."

"Well turians aren’t very good at kissing anyways."

Shepard laughed louder than she'd meant to causing some of the nearby crew to turn and look at them. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and she nervously cleared her throat. "I imagine not." As the surprise faded, the people around them returned to their conversations. Shepard stood on her toes and gave Garrus a quick peck just below the ever present bandage on his cheek. "There, tradition fulfilled and I’ve saved you from fawning fangirls."

Garrus gave her a sideways glance and ran a hand over his fringe, "So some of them are still interested."

Shepard rolled her eyes and shook her head with a chuckle.

#Garrus Vakarian #shakarian #Mass Effect #nerdy writes

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