Mass Effect 1
Rating: K
Shenko
Elizabeth Shepard 'verse (same as Snapshots, Approaching Normal, Oligo, and Compromise)
Prompt: "Green", from the me_challenge community at Live Journal, Insanity Round
Summary: Ashley chastises Kaidan for not knowing what his favorite color is...

Green

Ashley Williams turned her helmeted head to stare at him in disbelief and Kaidan shifted on his feet, the Normandy's airlock suddenly seeming a trifle claustrophobic.

"Seriously?" the woman burst out. "How can you not know what your favorite color is?"

He shrugged his armored shoulders, pretending to double-check the heat sink of the pistol in his hands. "I don't know… I guess it just never really seemed all that important of a decision. Not one of those life-changing moments, you know?"

Ashley snorted. "Really? So you never listed your favorite color as an answer to a security question or something?"

He frowned at her. "No. I always picked questions that most people wouldn't know the answer to. And if you're going around telling everyone your favorite color, why would you choose that as a security question?"

The helmet did little to hide her expression of amusement. "You're such a nerd, LT."

"And a good thing, too," he quipped. "Otherwise who would save your ass when you get pinned down by a Geth Prime and have a shorted-out shield modulator?"

"Hrm," Ashley conceded.

"My favorite color is blue," Garrus said abruptly from his spot near the airlock's door, and Kaidan rolled his eyes. So the turian had to be in on this now too, did he?

Ashley lifted a hand to gesture meaningfully. "See! Even Garrus knows his favorite color! I'm telling you, LT, you're just weird for not knowing."

Kaidan sighed heavily. He wasn't going to hear the end of it until he decided on a color, apparently.

"Studies have shown that your favorite color actually reflects your personality," the chief continued matter-of-factly. "If you don't know what you're favorite color is… it's like not knowing your own self!"

Kaidan dropped his head, closing his eyes and wishing for a minute that he wasn't wearing his helmet so he could massage his temples. They hadn't even left the Normandy yet and Williams was already giving him a headache. "Is that so?" he asked wearily. "So orange pretty accurately describes you, then, does it?"

"It sure does."

He could see that, actually, in an abstract kind of way. Looking at orange made his eyes hurt, and a lot of orange for a long time gave him headaches. Just like now…

There was a crackle through his hardsuit's comms and Joker's voice sounded over the party channel. "Okay, we're on approach to Zhu's Hope. Still no answer to our hails, Commander. Looks like their communications are down… or worse. ETA to dock one minute."

"Roger that," Shepard acknowledged, her shotgun whirring open as she pulled it from its holster at her waist. "Okay people, stay sharp," she said, and effortlessly moved into a defensive combat stance.

Kaidan readied his own weapon, adopting a similar stance, and saw Williams and Vakarian do the same. A moment of tense silence fell over them as they mentally ticked down the seconds of what was always the longest minute of any mission.

The calm before the storm.

There was a thump as the Normandy settled into the docking clamps, then a strange and eerie silence as Joker powered down the engines. The airlock began to cycle through its pressurizing protocol, and Kaidan felt the familiar wave of nervous anxiety crash over him. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and focused on his job.

Focused on Shepard's back. He would always have her back… probably even if it didn't happen to be his job.

Shepard cleared her throat. "By the way, my favorite color is red." She looked over her shoulder at him, teeth flashing beneath her visor as she grinned, her brilliant green eyes alive with humor. And looking right at him.

His breath caught in his throat. He hardly noticed Ashley's chuckles from beside him.

"That fits you just perfect, Commander," Williams exclaimed. "Naturally!"

The airlock opened and Shepard turned back to the front, snapping Kaidan back into reality. He shook himself, unnerved by how much he suddenly wished she would look at him like that again, and forced his attention back to the mission.

But as the four of them piled out of the airlock into the muggy, stale air of Zhu's Hope, it struck him with all the force of an epiphany. He knew, right then and there.

Green. Green is my favorite color.