I.

Intai'sei was almost always beautiful.

The long stretches of deserts, bathed in the Phoenix cluster's swelteringly hot sun at almost all hours of the day was a mesmerizing sight. Staying cooped up in an air-conditioned rover, with the windows cracked, the sun roof letting that radiant light in to be enjoyed. Such was Commander Shepard and Staff Lieutenant Kaidan's time off, driving about the Earth-like planet.

Shepard had demanded a week to himself. Of course, the Reapers were coming, but he pushed aside that dark, looming cloud unexpectedly. He wanted a break. The Alliance could easily look out for themselves without his aid, for one week, at least. Anderson had reluctantly granted his leave, and immediately Shepard asked his best friend, Kaidan Alenko, to join him during the time off.

So there they were, nearly at a ninety degree angle on the side of a rocky cliff-side, Kaidan feeling like he was going to vomit, and Shepard laughing his ass off. "Do you really need to go up everything you see?" Kaidan groaned, his neck tilted up towards the cracked window, trying to drink in that fresh air.

"Come on, Alenko, where's your sense of adventure?" Shepard smiled, revving on the gas to try and get them to the top.

"I lost it after the first fifty mountains you tried to climb. Can we just go back to your place, please?" Kaidan bitched some more. They had been roaming for hours, pushing the worries of the Reaper threat to the back of their minds, enjoying each other's company. A refreshing feeling.

John Shepard drove with both hands on the wheel, shirtless, shoulders up, sturdy, and face forward. Alenko, on the other hand, kept a tight muscle shirt on, his pectoral and abdominal muscles on near full display. The silence was comfortable, the soft winds picking up were pleasurable, and the rocks and dust still managed to be interesting. Something so normal was making the two of them as happy as they could have ever dreamed, and they still had nearly an entire week left to each other.

"Oh, shit!" Shepard gasped, pulling back on the thrusters of the rover, not realizing what a mistake that was when they were slowly sliding off the side of a goddamned cliff.

"Dammit- Shepard!" Kaidan yelled, grabbing at the dashboard as the vehicle flipped in the air, falling into the sand. The older of the two, of course, hadn't been wearing a harness, and crashed right into the lap of his Spectre companion as they collided into the desert floor.

Shepard was still laughing at the situation, Kaidan's look of horror as they started flying off the rock. Neither of them were hurt, of course, making his chuckles a little more light-hearted- not that Kaidan thought highly of the reaction.

"Asshole, you could have gotten us killed!" He hit Shepard's thigh angrily as he tried to clamor his self up from the uncomfortable position; Kaidan's face pressed against his commander's sticky with sweat abdomen, his legs uncomfortably twisted underneath his startled body.

Shepard smirked in response, raising his arms to allow Kaidan to untangle himself. He shook his head, eyebrows knit, enraged at what he could only assume was the still smiling man. "And you're not even helping me up, seriously, you try and kill me and you just sit there, great to know, real gre-" Kaidan brought his face up to Shepard's as he finally freed his legs, ready to hop back into his seat, but stopped. Shepard's warm breath washed over him, and his eye seemed to sparkle in that desert sun. His breath was laboured, the heat had been getting to them both. Their gaze never broke.

"Great to know..." Kaidan finished ranting, moving his arm onto the side of Shepard's head rest, so he could push himself back on the other side of the rover, to at least pretend he hadn't seen those wandering blue eyes. Shepard wouldn't allow it, and grabbed the staff lieutenant's wrists firmly. Those wandering blue eyes. They were filled with sincere want, and Kaidan found himself becoming overtaken by the passionate gaze. "John, what... What are you doing?" He whispered, their faces now so close, one of them just had to slightly extend their lips to steal a kiss.

Shepard held Kaidan's wrists, remaining silent as he moved in, brushing his lips against his captive's cheek. "Sir..." Kaidan whispered, eyes fluttering shut at the intimacy.

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked, folding his arms gently around Kaidan's small waist, planting a kiss on his ear. He breathed heavily in response, shifting himself uncomfortably. "Yeah, I'm fine, just... Lemme' sit." He chuckled nervously, trying to escape Shepard's painfully wonderful touch.

"Yeah, sure." He responded, pulling away, putting on the same neutral expression and tone of voice he was famous for.

Kaidan grimaced as put his harness on, glancing over at Shepard. The way that sheen of perspiration covered his perfect body was making Kaidan's head swim. He was regretting pulling away now, he thought absent-mindedly as Shepard kept driving through the sand. He certainly looked like he was willing to go farther, and that was not just a friendly gesture among friends.

Kaidan's smoking hot best friend, first human Spectre, savior of the Citadel, wanted him. And while it felt completely wrong, that taboo of being in the military, of both being men that hardly knew each other over a year, of being outranked- he wanted it so bad now that it had evidently become a possibility. He knew better, though, and Shepard was younger, and more reckless. He had to keep the level head, he had to stand his ground and say "No, Shepard, we're just friends."

But he had wanted him so bad ever since he first laid eyes on him. And he feared that he would be breaking a lot of Alliance regulations if he was to spend another second with Shepard.