They were on their way to Noveria, at last. There'd been some bureaucratic wrangling to get a flight plan filed (a big red flag if ever Shepard saw one), but that was behind them now, and there was some time to relax, and catch up on some paperwork.

However, Akeelah had had an idea come to her that morning, inspired by something she'd heard the previous night, and made her way down to Deck Two, where she knew she'd find a certain sentinel.

As predicted, he was immersed in his task, staring at the orange screen as if the answer to all his problems were concentrated into a tiny pixel. She cleared her throat to give an indication of her approach, pleased to see that he didn't jump. Instead, he straightened up, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand before he turned to her.

"Commander?" Kaidan asked pleasantly. "Something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, there is." Akeelah nodded. "Do you want to sing a duet with me?"

There was a long, awkward pause.

"You want me to do what?" Kaidan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to sing a duet with me." Shepard repeated, a little less confidently this time as she started to realize how foolish the question sounded.

"Uh, well, thank you for asking. But, um..." He scratched the back of his neck. "I'd probably end up ruining the song for you."

Shepard raised her eyebrow, folding her arms as she pushed through her embarrassment.

"Is this coming from the same Lieutenant who sung outside my cabin door whilst performing his duties?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "With a perfect tune."

To her delight, she noticed his olive skin start to darken with a blush high up on his cheeks.

"It...might be," he said, a shy half-smile on his lips that made her heart do a funny flip-flop motion. He clasped his hands behind his back. "May I ask why, Commander?"

Now it was her turn to blush, and she hoped he couldn't see the heat rising in her face.

"Well, singing is a passion of mine, and I get a bit tired of singing some songs on my own..." She wrung her hands. "But if-if you don't want to, to sing with me, that's fine too-"

"No!" The soldier startled slightly at his sudden outburst, and he seemed just as surprised. "I mean, I'd lo- like to join you. In singing. Definitely." He shuffled his feet and glanced out towards the mess hall.

"You're worried about people hearing us." She inferred.

Kaidan opened his mouth, paused, and then shut it again, not looking at her. The regulations loomed between them, waiting to crash down should they step too far. Akeelah had stayed on their good side, although she didn't much care for them. Kaidan, on the other hand...She couldn't risk his career on what might just be a flight of a fancy. He didn't deserve that. Oddly, it hurt to think about, like someone had tried to force her heart through a bottleneck. She pushed the thoughts away.

"I need your input on some reports anyway, Lieutenant, and my cabin is fairly well soundproofed." The soldier, smiling slightly. "I just figured it would be a good thing to do to loosen up and relax a little, you know? Kinda like what shore leave's for, except this one is between missions."

The sentinel gazed at her thoughtfully, his eyes giving nothing away. Shepard had to wonder how he could be so easy to read one moment, and utterly mysterious the next.

"Guess you're right." He replied after a moment. "Few minutes wouldn't hurt." Another half smile. "What sort of songs were you thinking of?"

The soldier laughed weakly, shifting from foot to foot. She really should have expected this question, but she still felt her face heat up in embarrassment.

"Ah, yeah, about that..." Normally she'd want to keep her secret close to her chest, but somehow she felt Kaidan would definitely keep them safe. She glanced around the hall before she narrowed her eyes at him. "Promise this goes no further than us, right?"

"Cross my heart." Kaidan pantomimed.

"Good," She felt him lower his head towards her, and she leaned close enough to mutter: "I have a...bad taste in music."

"How so?"

"I...I like old Disney songs." She admitted.

There was a pause, and Kaidan drew back to look her in the eyes, eyebrows raised high on his forehead.

"Say that again." He asked.

"I like the songs from old Disney vids." She repeated through her teeth, preparing herself for the inevitable laughter and or teasing.

But none came. Instead, Kaidan tilted his head to the side, eyes bright with what seemed to be child-like curiosity, the smile in his hazel eyes reflected on his face.

"I never would have guessed that about you," he said softly. "Which ones do you know?"

"I know a few, but I like the really, really old ones, the ones before CG, you know-" She hesitated. "You're not laughing at me."

"Should I be?" Kaidan said, an amused smile playing on his lips he couldn't fully suppress. "I didn't expect it, but it's..." He wetted his lips. "Different. In a good way." He scratched the back of his neck again. "Do you have an idea of a song? It's just...I haven't seen one in a long time, and I don't know how much use I could be."

"Well, I was thinking of going for 'Be Prepared'." Akeelah replied, shrugging. "Seemed appropriate, considering."

Kaidan's brows furrowed.

"Is that the one from the Lion King? That Scar and the hyenas' sing?"

"Yeah, it is." She nodded.

"I remember." He smiled, eyes twinkling. "I know enough, so long as you don't expect me to be Scar."

"Why not? You're the perfect voice for him." Shepard grinning as he chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

"Thank you, Commander, but I think it'd work better if I actually knew his lines." He replied. "I think I'll leave that to you."

"I don't know, Lieutenant. Maybe by the end of this tour you'll know one song off by heart." Shepard teased, turning to head to her cabin, knowing Kaidan was following her.

"Why do I have a feeling you're going to take that as a challenge?" There was a chuckle in his voice that had her looking over her shoulder properly at him.

"You've spent too much time with Ash. Not everything is a challenge. This is just two officers working together, getting to know each other a little better and relaxing. Perfectly innocent. Like a, uh...like a sanity check!"

"A sanity check." A wry smile played over Kaidan's face.

"Yeah, sanity check."

Something passed through Kaidan's brown eyes for a second before it was gone, and he smiled properly, eyes crinkling at the edges.

"I like the sound of that."

As the sentinel and soldier entered Shepard's cabin, neither realized they were being watched by a pair of blue eyes.