Title: Lean On Me
Fandom: Mass Effect
Rating: PG
Length: 434
Pairing: Kaidan Alenko/male Shepard
Content notes: This is post-canon Mass Effect 3 - Destroy ending.
Author notes: This takes place at Kaidan's London flat, seven months after the end of the Reaper War. The title and summary are from "Lean On Me" - Bill Withers. Please note that the narrator is an inanimate object.
Summary: We all need somebody to lean on

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Commander Shepard has had turbulent relationships with my predecessors.

His flat in London is littered with those cast-offs and their remains. Hospital-issued canes – dull metallic sticks with no character – are utilitarian reminders of his weakness. A wooden walking stick with a curved handle, perhaps a gift from a well-wisher, rests in pieces in a corner, snapped in a moment of frustration with the leg that failed him.

"John, are you packed for Vancouver?"

"Yes, ready when you are."

The dark-haired man who asks takes a look around the flat and notices me propped beside the nightstand.

"You should bring the cane. We'll be doing a lot of walking around Vancouver and even more when we go out to my parents' orchard."

Shepard turns to his partner and starts to say something, but breaks it off as amber eyes catch his gaze and hold it.

"I know you don't need it much, John, but it's good to have along in case we misjudge our distances or the terrain gets rough."

He pauses, picking me up, running his fingertips along my curved handgrip - custom cast in a resin the color of those amber eyes. "I thought you'd like this one better, since it was made to fit your hand... and it doesn't like a medical accessory."

Shepard looks away, chewing at his lower lip, before crossing the short distance to his lover. Hooking an arm around Kaidan's neck, he kisses him lightly and reaches for me with his good hand. It's a perfect fit and the resin quickly matches his body temperature.

"You're right, Kaidan. I appreciate the gift. I just hate needing it, you know?"

"I know. We'll both be glad when you don't. I just wanted you to have something that might make you think about me when you use it... you could go on walks without me and I wouldn't worry. Too much."

Shepard nods, thumbing the small indentation on the grip that collapses me into what resembles a small tool or weapon that he can clip to his belt.

"I don't know. This hip might never be right. I don't want more surgery though." He reaches for Kaidan's face with both hands, searching his eyes again. "I appreciate the thought, and I get why you want me to have it. But know this, Alenko. I'd rather lean on your arm to get me over the rough spots than any cane in the galaxy. I trust you."

They kiss for what seems like a long time before Shepard speaks again, so softly that it's hard to catch the words.

"You've always been my strength."

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