Chapter Text
Every time he feels like his amp's about to fry him and his skin feels too tight for his skull, the light blinding him in the med bay, he finds a KroganBoost! bottle and something hideous but calorie-rich in bar form pressed into his hands. A nod, a hint of a small, hurried smile - then Shepard's gone, and Kaidan's left standing there, slightly perplexed.
After. Every. Fight.
That's the thing about Shepard; the man's so damn conscientious. It's like he single-handedly wants to save every member of this crew from the universe.
Kaidan pretends not to notice the protein paste that mysteriously appears in the mess hall, knowing that Tali goes down for breakfast every morning. Or the way that the good doctor received a bottle of excellent, expensive as hell brandy after she'd been serving on the Normandy a year.
Kaidan doesn't think Anderson's noticed yet; or maybe he has, and he's playing it cool.
He spreads another inch of the pain gel round his gums, praying it'll actually touch the sides of the migraine this time - even though it never does, he can hope, right? He lays it on the work surface at his side, looking up at footsteps, and before he has time to react, there's a KroganBoost! and a bar, a nod.
He finally catches himself just as Shepard's turning to leave. "Sir..."
Shepard turns, visibly surprised.
"Thanks."
The smile is larger this time, something conscious and truly friendly. "Not a problem, Alenko."
And Kaidan thinks that maybe he ought to talk to his C.O. more.