Night on the Normandy was always a peaceful affair. With the Tantalus drive core and a skeleton night crew, the ship was almost silent, aside from the background hum of the numerous systems. The lights were dimmed down to emergency lighting levels, just enough to sleep comfortably, but not so midnight wanderers kept stubbing their toes on unseen furniture.

One of these midnight wanderers was Commander Akeelah Shepard.

The Prothean visions she'd received from the beacon were a chaotic rush of death and destruction, and with the incident on Edolus, now thresher maws had been thrown into the mix, creating a nightmare that had the soldier had trouble banishing from her mind's eye. She had hoped the recent mission fighting asari mercs would change it up a bit, but her subconscious had other ideas.

She was very glad that her cabin seemed to be sound proofed.

Shepard padded out of her cabin in basic black pyjama shirt and bottoms, and towards the modest kitchen in her bare feet, the metal floor cool against her calloused soles. There had to be some warm drink that would soothe her enough to get back to sleep, hopefully without attendant nightmares. That eliminated coffee, leaving tea. Thankfully there were a few teabags remaining, which precluded the use of the God-awful synthetic 'hot beverage' machine. No wonder marines had secret coffee and tea stashes hidden all over the place, many fiercely labelled against thieves.

As the kettle quietly came to a boil, Shepard let the mundane task occupy her mind for a while, taking her tea to the mess table. Maybe she could mull over some reports for a while, and keep her mind off the horrid images her brain had conjured up. Why couldn't she dream of nice or silly things like Wrex working as a barista in a trendy Citadel cafe? That was much preferred than her darkest fears that almost got her killed.

Sitting alone in the darkened Normandy, Shepard became aware that she wasn't the only one staying up late. She glanced up from her drink, not tilting her head up, seeing a dark figure of someone walking away from the sleeping pods, probably nursing a nightmare like she was.

She said nothing and stayed still, observing the crew member amble towards the kitchen area, noting with some surprise that they were wearing thick, fluffy socks. They masked the person's footsteps, but they somehow kept their grip on the metal floor, which deeply intrigued the Commander. Socks are usually slippy...

As they passed her, Shepard slowly turned her head up to give the crew member a good look, and realized with a jolt that it was none other than Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. She felt a blush heat up her face at the thought of their conversation about a day ago. He'd told her about BAaT, and some ugly truths about biotics...and she had flirted with him. And he'd flirted back.

She wasn't sure where they stood after that. They hadn't had time to converse like that for a while, and on their previous mission they'd been nothing more than professionals. It'd been Liara's first mission with them anyway, and they were more interested in evaluating her and her combat abilities.

Shepard tore her gaze away from him to her tea, silently cursing the fact it was still too hot to drink. She needed something to distract her eyes from watching him; not only was it probably toeing the fraternization regs, but her gaze kept drifting to his admittedly impressive arse.

The biotic glanced to his side as he made up some hot drink of his own, and did a double take when he saw her, almost fumbling the sachet in his hands in his surprise.

"She-Commander!" He exclaimed. "I-I didn't expect to see you here a-at this time of night!"

Shepard chuckled, shaking her head.

"Alenko, it's the middle of the night cycle. We're off duty, so you can drop the titles." A half-hearted 'hah' noise. "To be honest, I'm barely even 'Shepard' right now."

He gave her a curious look, relaxing enough to finish his brew.

"If you're not feeling like 'Shepard' Com- ma'am, then who are you?" He asked.

"Just Akeelah." She replied.

There was a look to the sentinel's brown eyes she hadn't seen before, almost like he was considering something.

"Akeelah." He repeated, and she felt her heart jolt strangely at the way her name sounded from his mouth. "It's a beautiful name."

She ducked her head shyly, feeling heat rush into her face.

"Well, thank you. I'm glad you like it," she said, before realizing what she'd just blurted out. Thankfully Kaidan either didn't hear it, or had kindly decided to ignore it.

"Did you choose it, or was it given to you?" He asked. At her thoughtful look, he hurriedly added: "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Understand if you'd rather not remember that time in your life."

"No, it's alright. I was given the name by my...by a friend," she said.

"And your surname?"

"It's always been there." Was her answer, thinking back to her earliest, most fragmented memories. The white band around her wrist, held together with torn fabric. A woman picking her up, warm, and safe. Dark skin, silver eyes..."Don't cry little one. I've got you."

She shook her head slightly, dismissing the thoughts and looking up to see the biotic hovering nearby, the cup of steaming liquid in his hands.

"Well, I-I should probably...leave you alone." He stumbled, looking everywhere but at her. "Don't wanna disturb you, this time of night."

"Actually, I've already been disturbed." Shepard interrupted him. "The Prothean visions are keeping me up at night, and now they've decided to bring the thresher maws into it. Not the most pleasant of dreams, you understand."

Kaidan nodded, this thick eyebrows furrowing.

"You're not sleeping, ma'am?" He asked. Shepard shifted on her chair.

"Not as easily as I used to be, but I can handle it. Could handle it when it was just...whatever those visions are about, but now it's messing with Akuze..." She sighed, shaking her head. "I'd appreciate a distraction from it. Please."

The sentinel considered her request, his face giving little away, though she could almost see the gears turning in his head.

"Okay." He nodded. "My sleeping hasn't been too good tonight either." He admitted, taking the chair opposite her.

"Nightmares?" She asked, to which he replied with a nod. "Is a decent night's sleep too much to ask for?"

"Apparently so." A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Should start reading again. Works wonders to shift your mind onto something else."

"Reading?" The soldier asked, frowning. Kaidan blinked, looking at her as if she'd just asked him if his hair was black.

"Yeah. I have a book on my datapad I've been meaning to start for a while." His gaze was steady enough that it seemed to bore into her, and Shepard shifted uncomfortably, sensing he was about to uncover a secret of hers.

"Oh, reading. I see." She nodded. "Well, that's good." He said nothing, just looking at her. "I...I think I should go do some reports, or, or, something. Thanks for the talk, Alenko."

The Commander was about to stand up when the lieutenant's hand shot out, reaching for her, though he stopped short of actually touching her.

"Wait, hold on Shepard." He spoke, and she hesitated, watching him carefully as he seemed to consider his next words, retracting his hand self-consciously. "Do you...struggle to read?" He asked, softly.

Shepard pressed her lips together into a thin line, feeling the sting of the weakness that had been so easily ferreted out. He was probably going to think she was an idiot now, so she might as well tell him the truth; maybe it would shut down this issue with the regs once and for all.

"Yes, I do. I didn't go to school, and anything I learned was taught to me second-hand by friends and associates," she said bitterly. "Anderson had to give me lessons to get me through Basic, and I needed help to get through the Villa too." She fixed the biotic with a defensive glare. "I'm sorry that I'm trash that was picked up from the slums of Earth, but I can't help it."

"I think that the fact you climbed your way into a better life is admirable." Kaidan replied earnestly. "Must have taken a lot of courage to take that step."

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Anderson." Shepard grumbled.

"You still had to take his offer and go through it." Kaidan said, a faint half-smile on his lips. "It was an unknown. Was still you who made the decision to take that unknown and make key changes to your life."

She narrowed her eyes at him, unsure how exactly to take his even-keeled response. He didn't seem to be teasing her...

"You're not..." She waved her hand, searching for the right word. "You're not...You don't think I'm stupid?"

Kaidan shook his head.

"Of course not," he said. "Like you said, you didn't have a typical childhood. The fact you've come so far is achievement enough."

"But-"

"Shepard," Kaidan leaned towards her, "it doesn't matter to me. I mean, it doesn't make you any less of a person."

"Everyone can read, Kaidan." She snorted.

"Yeah, but some are better at it than others." He tilted his head to one side. "You heard of that Galaxy of Fantasy game?"

"Of course." She raised an eyebrow.

"Well," Kaidan leaned back, smiling shyly, "you're looking at the only person in the Milky Way who sucks at it. I just can't get my head around it." He chuckled. "Tried all the classes. Nothing sticks. What I mean is not everyone is perfect in everything. And that's okay. Nothing to be ashamed of."

Akeelah considered this, drinking her tea. She'd never thought of it like that. She could read, that was true. It was just difficult, like a long trek up a mountain.

"I...I think I understand," she said, looking back up at the biotic. He smiled properly, one that lit up his amber brown eyes.

"I'm glad," he said. "I don't like to see you unhappy." His eyes widened. "I-I don't like to see anyone unhappy." He hurriedly added. "Being unhappy makes it harder to get to sleep. N-Not that I was just saying that to make you happy, I mean-"

The soldier held up her hand, chuckling.

"It's alright, Kaidan. Don't worry about it."

A comfortable silence fell between them, though they focused mostly on their drinks and avoiding eye contact. Shepard couldn't resist the shy glance at the sentinel however, noticing his usually meticulously groomed black hair seemed a little dishevelled, a couple of curls having escaped.

Gosh, he really is quite the dish, she thought, trying to suppress the blush that elicited.

"You know..." Kaidan began slowly, "If you ever wanted help reading, I...I'd be happy to offer my services. Ma'am."

Hope you don't mind if I take you up on that... Heat rushed to Shepard's face again, and she ducked her face shyly at the thought.

"Well, I, um...I might take you up on that. You...won't spread it around though, will you?"

"Of course not." Kaidan smiled warmly, crow's feet crinkling at the edges of his eyes. "Anything I can do to help."

"Thank you." She smiled back, wondering why her heart felt all funny, like it hurt, but not. "Say, maybe you could try that reading thing on me, if, if we're ever together like again. Disturbed by nightmares, I mean."

He blinked, tilting his head to one side.

"Are, are you sure? I-I mean, you might not like the ones I have-" He stuttered.

"Kaidan," Shepard chuckled, leaning forward, "I've not read a paper book in my life. I don't have a preference yet. Or at all."

"Oh." Now she could definitely see there was a blush on his olive skin, and she had to resist the temptation to lean over and kiss him for being so cute. "I'll, uh...keep that in mind. Ma'am."

"Good." Shepard smiled, finishing off her tea. "Thanks for the talk, Kaidan. I think I'm gonna try to get some kip. Hopefully, hassle free."

"I should turn in soon too." The biotic admitted. "Good luck and good night, Commander," he said as she stood up.

"Good night, Lieutenant." Akeelah replied, a shy smile on her face.

She slept much better after that.