Kolyat didn't want to be here. He wasn't even sure why he'd agreed to meet his dad in the first place. He didn't owe the old man anything. He'd already listened to what he had to say after he'd stopped him from killing that politician and he felt that was more than enough.

His father had talked at length about things that Kolyat had been too young to understand at the time: his job, the Compact, his mother

In the back of his mind, he knew that his mother would want him to give his father another chance, so he was going to do it. Not for Thane, but for her, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Kolyat stepped into Dark Star after his shift at C-Sec ended, half expecting Thane not to be there. He stayed by the door, ready to make a quick exit when he spotted him. He wouldn't have recognized him, if it hadn't been for the scarcity of drell on the Citadel. This was not the man he knew. Thane was sitting at the bar, his back no longer ramrod straight, his hands moving in a flurry as he talked animatedly with his closest neighbor: Shepard.

Shepard spotted him first and Thane followed his line of sight until his gaze landed on him. His last chance to run had now drifted away.

Kolyat strode over to the duo like a man condemned. His arm stung with the memory of his encounter with Shepard. He frowned, not bothering to hide his dislike of the human and turned towards his father, the lesser of two evils. He opened his mouth to speak and was clapped hard on the back, almost knocking the wind out of him. He staggered, gripping onto the bar to keep from falling over.

"My son!" Thane said as he gripped his shoulder tightly with a laugh. The sound was loud and hearty and totally alien to Kolyat's ears.

"Are you ready to go?" Thane asked, as he beamed broadly at him. Kolyat only nodded, his mind struggling to keep up as Thane slid from the stool and drained his glass.

Who was this man and what had he done with his father?

Thane wrapped his arm around his shoulders as they made their way out of the club and into the night.

Thane had insisted that Kolyat make the plans for the evening and that would be his downfall if Kolyat had his way. He'd treat Thane to an evening so atrocious, so abhorrent that he'd think twice about contacting him again. Sure it wouldn't be a cake walk for him either, as he'd have to be there and go through the same treatment he was subjecting Thane to, but it had to be convincing. He hoped it would be worth it.

First was dinner.

Having little to no money when he'd first arrived on the Citadel, Kolyat had eaten at a lot of cheap and questionable places; all of them bad, but one of them really took the cake.

It was lauded as being able to cater to all species, but with it being in the lower wards, and for the prices it offered, Kolyat found it hard to believe. On his first visit, he'd witnessed several turian patrons become so violently ill that they need to be hospitalized.

As they stepped through the vestibule, Kolyat's nose was assaulted by a medley of putrid odors wafting from the kitchen. It was enough to make his eyes water and almost had him reconsider his plan of action.

No, he thought. Have to tough it out. Just get through tonight and he's out of my life for good.

They found a table as far from the kitchen as they could after having to shoulder their way through tables of questionable looking salarians and a group of batarians who eyed them with rapt interest. The restaurant, if you could call it that seemed stuck in the dark ages.

The tables were dirty and the menus were archaic; printed on paper, stained with various substances Kolyat didn't want to think too hard about. 'Something For Everyone' it declared in large, circular print beneath the restaurant's name: Fusion. The slogan was flanked by illustrations of an asari and a human on one side, and a turian and a volus on the other, all linking arms. The human's eyes had been scratched out and he'd never be able to look at asari the same way again. He could still see the character's crudely drawn new appendage when he closed his eyes.

Thane took in their surroundings, his expression not revealing any discomfort or distaste. When his gaze lit on Kolyat, he smiled. It was open, disarming, and didn't fit the man in his memory.

Sure, he had had good times with him, but couldn't remember seeing his father smile like this, or quite so much. He felt the skin on the back of his neck crawl, and he rubbed it absently.

"So do you come here often?" Thane asked, his smile unwavering as he rested his hands on the grubby table top.

A pang of guilt gnawed at Kolyat's stomach. He felt like a kid again, suddenly reminded of those times when his father had listened attentively to his tales of school and friends. He was all ears, just for him. He hadn't expected that. "I…um…"

"What'll it be?" the waitress said as she finally showed herself. If the smell from the kitchen or the filthy atmosphere hadn't turned Kolyat off the idea of eating, surely she would have.

The asari who stood before them was well into the matron stage; her face creased with wrinkles, her skin no longer a luminous shade of blue. She might have been very pretty when she was younger and she'd be attractive now if she was dressed properly. She leaned forward setting a few glasses of water on their table bringing Kolyat eye to eye with her mole flecked cleavage, spilling from a top that was clearly meant for someone less mature and less developed.

She straightened up, her body sliding back into place. There was a predatory glint in her eyes as she beheld them. Kolyat hated it when people stared.

"So, what'll It be?" she said again, her voice dripping with sweetness as she addressed them both, her gaze fixed on Thane.

"What do you suggest?" Thane asked calmly, his eyes flicking to her. He now had her undivided attention.

"Let's see," she began as she sashayed to his side of the table, her pants clinging too tightly to her broad hips and thighs. She stood behind Thane and leaned forward as she scanned the menu over his shoulder.

"Ah, here." She pointed to the bottom of the menu, her bosom resting on Thane's shoulders. The moles were drawing Kolyat in even as he fought to look away; it was like a transport wreck: no matter how horrible it was, you just had to stare.

"The Kahje tuna is good. We just some in, actually." She said straightening, her hands skimming Thane's shoulders, her nails dancing across the leather. "It's very fresh…"

Kolyat had seen a tuna fish before in a magazine he'd found in the lobby at C-Sec once. He'd even tasted it when Bailey had taken him to lunch and there was nothing on Kahje even remotely similar to a tuna fish, but he didn't want to bother their waitress with details while she was busy with throwing herself at his father. He huffed, tapping his fingers on the table top.

"Would you recommend this dish?" Thane asked Kolyat, as if they were the only two here and the asari was not running her nails along his neck. Kolyat was impressed, though he'd never admit it to him.

"Yeah, sure… whatever."

"Then I'll have that," Thane said politely as he handed the menu back to their server.

"And you?" She turned her attention on Kolyat, as if just now realizing he was there. She had that same hungry look in her eye and it felt worse than his father's attentions.

"I'll have the same," Kolyat said, as he thrust the menu in her direction, eager to send her on her way. She accepted it and headed off towards the kitchen, swaying her ample hips in an exaggerated fashion.

Kolyat shuddered while Thane didn't bat an eye.

"So," Thane began, picking up where he'd left off. "Do you eat here often?"

"No, not really," Kolyat admitted. His guard was down, whether it was because of his father putting in an earnest effort or because of their waitress, he couldn't say but he was going easier on him than he'd intended to. He'd have to work on that.

"There are so many places on the Citadel that I hardly ever eat at the same place twice." He laughed in a show of bluster he didn't truly feel.

"I see," Thane said simply, his face blank now, expressionless. Kolyat hated that look.

It was the same face he'd worn the times he'd left them alone, even at her funeral. Why didn't he show any expression half the time? Kolyat wasn't like that. They sat in silence for a while, his hands balled into fists atop his knees.

The waitress returned with their meals that neither of them felt in the mood to eat. The food tasted almost as bad as it looked. When they were done picking at their food, they left Fusion, much to Kolyat's relief and their waitress' disappointment.

Kolyat made a mental note to never go back there. Ever. He could still taste the "fish" when he belched, which was often, the meal not sitting well in his stomach. Thane looked a little greener than usual and Kolyat felt triumphant. Maybe they wouldn't have to go on to phase two.

"So what did you think of the place?" Kolyat asked, ready to hear his complaints so they could be done with this charade and he could hurry home to repair the damage the food had done.

Thane looked thoughtful as they walked aimlessly down one of the ward's many corridors. "I don't think the food was really tailored to a drell's palate, but at least the service was acceptable. Amaya was very attentive."

"Amaya?" Kolyat couldn't remember their waitress ever introducing herself, or displaying a name tag, though he may have been because he was too afraid to look at her long enough to find one.

"Our server," Thane said, confirming his suspicions. "She attached her name and extranet address onto our receipt." Thane said matter-of-factly. Kolyat felt a little ill.

"What's next on our agenda?"

"It's a surprise." Kolyat said, swallowing a lump in his throat. It'd be a surprise for them both.