Dialogue the First

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would be mad!"
"I'm not mad, well, not really. I just.... Serenity, you're hard to handle sometimes. You know that, right?"
Serenity sighed and sank down on the floor. "What was I supposed to do, let everyone starve?"
"No, of course not." His voice was dark and sweet. "You did the right thing. It's just ... kind of emasculating." He cocked his head, regarded her curiously. "Don't you ever get tired of protecting me?"
Her head shot up at that. "No! Never!"
He smiled wryly. "That's part of the problem, isn't it? It's nice, though." He pulled off his jacket, tossed it on the chair, then joined her on the floor. "I mean, I never even thought about it. I just blissfully assumed our pay was going to keep coming. And even if I had known, I wouldn't have had enough money to help. Not the way you did."
"It's just credits," she said shyly. "They were just sitting there."
"I'm curious," he asked. "So you're currently paying the salaries for the entire crew with some weird bond from the Alliance Military?"
She nodded.
"All by yourself?"
"Not exactly," she murmured. "I have a few trust funds, and I convinced the financial groups that run them to do this for the Normandy and, er, a few other ships. It's not really important, they'll get their money back and it's good for the economy. And stuff."
"That is a lot of money." He stared at her for a moment. She continued looking down at her hands, nervously rubbing them together when she thought he wasn't watching. "I mean, I knew you were rich, but this is way out of my l-"
"Don't say that!" Her voice was sharp, and shook slightly. "Don't ever say that." She put her head down, and didn't speak for a moment.
"Serenity, I didn't mean... wow, this is coming out all wrong." He put an arm around her, hoping to reassure her with his touch and erase the sting of his words. "I'm impressed beyond words that you thought of your crew at such a time. To me, that's even more amazing than defeating Saren. You proved you're just as much a leader in peace as you are in war. And sometimes, you're as far away as the stars - but then, like right now - you're just a very beautiful woman who needs me."
"Oh, Kaidan, I'm sorry! I should have told you!" She threw her arms around him, kneeling, and buried her face in his chest. "I just didn't want you to be mad or jealous or anything!"
"Can I be impressed? Is that okay?" He leaned back a little, tilted her head up so that he could see her eyes. "I do wish you had told me. I know why you didn't, I just... you shouldn't shut me out, Serenity."
She was crying, and he hated himself for it. She was sensitive over such odd, little things. He pulled her close, held her silently. He had to tell her, he had to let her know that he really did care. She knew he didn't care about the money itself, and he knew that she knew. He needed to make her see that he cared about being included in her life, her decisions, that he wasn't going to just bask in her shadow. Being in love like this wasn't easy. It wasn't even fun most of the time.
But being in love with Serenity Shepard was the most wonderful thing in the universe.