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No one ever actually told James about Kaidan’s migraines. Not that they had to. Even if he hadn’t been in the medbay getting a scratch stitched up after a ground mission (stupid shrapnel—he hadn’t even felt it, he was sure slapping some medigel on it would be fine but Chakwas insisted, and she scared him, so he wasn’t arguing) when Kaidan came in looking for pain relievers shortly after joining the crew, James wouldn’t have taken long to figure it out.
He knew those signs. Mamá had suffered from migraines as far back as James could remember. Probably not for the same reasons as the major, but hey, that wasn’t really the important thing was it? So yeah, he recognized what that particular tenseness meant, the tightening of the eyes, the shaky breaths when an imminent attack could be felt rolling in. Didn’t like seeing it on Kaidan any more than he had on his mother. He tried to tell himself that it was because Kaidan was part of the crew, part of the family, and not because for some reason he found himself much more concerned about the major than he had any right to be. It was easier that way. ‘Specially if those rumors about Kaidan and Shepard had any truth to them.
Besides, no one liked to see their friends suffer, right? Not when there might be something they could do to help, or at least offer a bit of support. So when they disembarked at the Citadel and James saw Kaidan watching after Shepard and Garrus as they left to go shopping, squinting at light that was suddenly too bright for only him, James figured he should do what he could.
“Hey, K, we’ve got a few hours free. You got any plans?”
“Huh?” Kaidan wrenched his gaze from the commander and turned to James, blinking a few times.
James frowned slightly. His thoughts are already getting muddy, not a good sign. “Come on,” he said, steering Kaidan back to the ship. “Go get some sweats on. I need a running buddy.”
“Um.” Kaidan let himself be turned but then stopped, hesitating. He drew in a deep breath and tilted his neck first one way, then the other, stretching it out. “Yeah,” he said quietly, “okay. Running’s good. I could run.”
It took a gentle push on his back from James to get him moving toward the ship again, but once he had something to focus on, he seemed to lighten a bit, and James let himself smile. Maybe he wasn’t too late. Get the major’s blood pumping a bit, get his endorphins up. Might keep the pain at bay for a bit, if it didn’t stave off the invading migraine entirely.
They managed about an hour, on a track that circled one of the Citadel’s artificial lakes. James made a habit of running here whenever he got the chance. It was one of his favorite spots on the station. Even better, there wasn’t a lot of plant life there, no heavy smells to aggravate Kaidan. The major seemed to appreciate the spot as well, helped along, James was sure, by the fact that no one else was using it at the moment. It was nice and quiet, and Kaidan seemed to be feeling a little better once they finished their run.
There was still a bit of tightness around his eyes though, so James figured it was time to pull out a few more tricks from his bag. “Peppermint?” He fished out a tin from his pocket and offered one to Kaidan as they headed back to the ship.
“You trying to tell me something, Vega?” Kaidan arched one eyebrow in amusement, but took one of the proffered mints anyway.
James grinned at him and popped one in his mouth as well. “Nah. If I thought you had bad breath, I’d tell ya.” He shrugged. “I just felt like a mint, thought I’d share.”
Kaidan accepted the explanation with a nod, breathing slowly as he sucked on the mint. James’ smile softened a little. Peppermints didn’t work for everyone, but Mamá had sworn by them. She used to joke that they helped cool her mind down when it started overheating. After some careful prodding, James found out that Kaidan didn’t dislike peppermint, so he’d invested in a stash of them at the first opportunity. He’d been carrying some in his pocket at pretty much all times since Kaidan had joined the crew. He didn’t know if Kaidan had realized why yet, or noticed that he was the only one the mints got regularly shared with. Kaidan hadn’t said anything about it, so James figured he was good to keep it up, at least.
Back on the ship, they stopped by the mess area to refill their water bottles. James noted with approval that Kaidan drank deeply, finishing off his first refill and getting another before punching James lightly on the shoulder as he headed for the showers. “Thanks for the run, Vega.”
“Any time.” Vega said with a wink. He stayed behind, puttering around the tiny kitchenette for a few minutes before following for his own shower.
James gave Kaidan space in the locker room, and he made sure to keep quiet as he cleaned up. He was in and out, just washing off the sweat, refreshing himself a bit, and Kaidan was still standing under the spray, letting the warm water beat down on his back, when James slipped back out of the room. His eyes certainly did not linger for a moment on the sight. That would be inappropriate, at the very least, he reminded himself.
He made his way back to the kitchen to finish the preparations he’d started. By the time Kaidan entered the observation deck, looking only a little bit battered around the edges, James was waiting. He held out a mug to Kaidan when he came in. “There’s more on the table,” he said, gesturing to the low table in front of the couch, where a small teapot rested, steam drifting lazily from its spout.
The tea had been a challenge to find, what with travel to Earth effectively cut off by the Reapers. But James had lucked into finding some on their last visit to the Citadel. Good, old fashioned chamomile tea. Surprisingly rare in the galaxy. Almost no caffeine in it at all, just the tiniest bit to serve as a pick-me-up while the drink soothed mind and body. Abuela had taught him how to make it for Mamá, the first thing she’d ever taught him to make in the kitchen, come to think of it.
Kaidan accepted the mug with raised eyebrows and gave it a cautious sniff. A small smile played across his face and he chuckled. “You are about as subtle as my mother, Vega.”
Something like gratitude flashed through his eyes and he carried the tea over to the couch, settling down into it with care, and putting his feet up on the table. When James remained by the door, unsure of how to reply, Kaidan shot him an expectant look and gestured for him to come sit too. James did.
Kaidan took a slow sip of the tea, eyes dropping shut as he relaxed a bit. James tried not to stare, turning his attention to the view in front of them. Ships whizzed by outside, coming and going from the busy station. Not anywhere near as relaxing as the usual vista of stars. Kaidan must have come here out of habit. A few moments passed in silence, save for the sounds of Kaidan drinking his tea. Then James felt him shift a bit on the couch and looked over to find Kaidan giving him a curious look. “Who was it?” he asked. “I’ve never seen you suffer any migraines.”
“My mother,” James answered with a shrug. “Abuela made sure I knew how to take care of her.” After a moment’s hesitation, he added, “Don’t like seeing people I care about in pain.”
“Seems like a hard thing to avoid these days,” Kaidan observed in a faraway voice.
“Yeah,” James agreed with a frown. “So when there’s something I can do to help…”
“Yeah,” Kaidan said, shooting him another small smile. “I get it.” He paused. “Thank you. Sorry it took me this long to realize you were doing it.”
“Hey, no worries,” James said. “So, uh,” he tried for a nonchalant tone, “how’re you feeling then? Better than earlier?”
“A lot, actually, yeah.” Kaidan said. “I thought this was gonna be a big one, but it’s not too bad right now.”
“Good,” James said. He took a deep breath. “I know a few more tricks, if you’re interested. They’re a bit more hands on though.” Kaidan shot him an amused look and James hastened to add, “Nothing inappropriate though!” Unless you want them to head that direction, he managed not to say. Now was not the time to be hitting on Kaidan. Really, there wasn’t any good time for that. Bad idea, James, stop circling your thoughts around the drain.
Kaidan laughed again, a low, deep sound that made James suck in a sharp breath. Damn it. He needed to get this under control. He shouldn’t have said anything.
“Such as?” Kaidan asked him.
For a moment James stared at him, afraid that Kaidan had picked up on his thoughts. Then he realized what the major meant. “Ah, well, my mother always liked it when I rubbed her temples or shoulders,” he offered.
“Hmm,” Kaidan nodded. He gave James an appraising look. He set his empty mug on the table. “Worth a try,” he said. “If you don’t mind.”
“Wouldn’t have said anything if I did,” James mumbled, pushing himself off the couch and turning quickly to hide his flushed face. This was possibly a terrible idea. Still. Kaidan was hurting, and if he could help, he should. Right?
He moved behind Kaidan and leaned down, pressing the tips of his fingers gently into Kaidan’s temples. He dug in carefully, moving his fingers in small circles. Kaidan let out a soft little sound and shifted, letting his head fall onto the back of his couch as his eyes drifted shut. James couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. “Not gonna be able to get your shoulders with you sitting like that.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Kaidan said, voice deep and rasping. “This is good. Don’t stop, please.”
“Right,” James said. He kept up what he was doing and desperately tried not to imagine those words coming out of Kaidan’s mouth in that tone in other situations.
After a while, Kaidan’s eyes opened again and he gave James a sleepy smile. James let his fingers fall away. He started to move back around the couch but Kaidan’s hand shot up, catching one of his own. “Thanks,” he said, “that helped a lot.”
“Hey, sure. Any time man. Gotta keep you in fighting shape, right?”
“I suppose so,” Kaidan sighed, sitting up. But not, James noticed, letting go of his hand. “Shepard didn’t ask me to come back to her crew just to be pretty.”
“Well, not just for that,” James quipped without even thinking. He started to wince, but Kaidan chuckled again and squeezed his hand, derailing his train of thought.
“You like steak, Vega?”
“Um, what?”
“Steak. Do you like steak? And beer?”
“Yes?” James’ brow knotted in confusion.
“Good,” Kaidan said, squeezing his hand again and letting go. He pushed himself off of the couch and clapped James on the shoulder. “Next time we have leave, I’m taking you to dinner. There’s this great place I know, makes a decent steak. Beer’s pretty good, too.”
“Dinner?” James still hadn’t caught up to the conversation.
Kaidan laughed again and dropped his hand. He walked over to the door and turned to James. “Sure. Seems the least I can do to thank you for taking such good care of me.”
“Oh.” James nodded, feeling like this was firmer ground. “Sure. Sounds good.”
“Great,” Kaidan said, opening the door. He shot a wink at James over his shoulder. “It’s a date, then!”
The door slid shut behind him, leaving James blinking in bewilderment. Did he just say date? Shit. Well, then. James walked around the couch and dropped down onto it gracelessly. He reached for the pot of tea and refilled Kaidan’s mug, not even bothering to check the temperature before taking a big gulp of it. A date. With Kaidan. He drank some more tea, then stared at it in accusation. He must have gotten a bad batch.
It wasn’t nearly as calming as advertised.