A/N: Just a thought about who told Kaidan the scuttlebutt on Liara and Shepard.

Disclaimer: I disclaim.

Hots

"so, you've got the hots for Commander Shepard, huh, Alenko?" Joker grinned at the Sentinel from his seat, chuckling as the man glared back at him.

"Commander Shepard is our commanding officer. I respect her, and I trust her leadership capabilities. I do not have the 'hots' for her," Kaidan said, over enunciating every word of the last sentence.

Joker made a humming noise, turning back to his monitors. A minute later, he glanced at Kaidan, and grinned at the frustrated look on his friend's face. The boy is in deep. Shepard makes him stutter like a pimply high school kid talking to the prom queen. Good thing he's got me here to keep him on his toes, or he might never make a move.

"scuttlebutt says that she and Dr. T'soni have been getting...close," Joker mentioned casually, after a few more minutes of silence. He smirked as Kaidan's jaw tightened, and the lieutenant's hands formed fists for a moment. Alenko glared at Joker, a shimmer of dark energy running across his body.

"I'm not sure if the doctor is Shepard's type," Kaidan replied, fighting his biotics back into control.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure that Asaris are everybody's type, LT. Might want to make a move before your girl gets poached," Joker said, continuing to enter data into his terminal. His mouth twisted into a satisfied grin as Kaidan stalked off the bridge. Yeah, he'll be a bit livelier after our little chat. Shepard had better appreciate it.

A/N: Review if you like.