Kaidan loved Shepard. Of course he did. It was hard to go through as many things as they did together and not feel close with each other. He’d never been able to deny that their bond was strong, that their relationship — platonic, as he was sure it was — was special. But it was platonic. He had been sure of that, even when their hands brushed, when their eyes lingered. The fondness he felt was surely that of close friends. He’d been so sure of that… for a while, at least.

It didn’t happen all at once. It wasn’t some sudden realization that the love he felt wasn’t just platonic. It happened slowly. Bit by bit, he found himself falling for the other man. It was… strange. He’d never really found himself to be queer before. But something in the way his breathing felt easier when Shepard was around, something in the way they excited and calmed him at the same time… it was nothing like how he’d loved his fellow soldiers before. He didn’t just love this guy — he was in love.