Shepard was getting sick of this.

"Would you like me to tear another hole through your uniform cheerleader?" Jack sneered at Miranda from one side of Shepard. The chaotic biotic was referring to the gaping hole that a charging krogan had managed to rip from Miranda's uniform; Shepard was still quite surprised Miranda had managed to get out of the way in time.

Miranda, aggravated at how Jack kept baiting her with insults, finally turned the side of her head to glare at the tattooed biotic. "If you hadn't been too busy showing off around the battlefield then maybe my armour wouldn't be in tatters."

Yup, she was truly getting sick of having Miranda and Jack bitch every time she tried to take them on a mission together - especially such an important one like Korlus and finding Okeer.

"Armour? You stupid Cerberus bitch?" Jack taunted once more at the Cerberus operative, grinning sadistically when Miranda's jaw locked tight. "Even the whores at Afterlife have more protection than you do!"

Miranda blinked hard and her eyes seemed to flash in anger. "That's more than hypocritical coming from you! Or do you think that your skin is hard enough for bullets as well as people?"

Shepard could sense a fight coming on when she saw Jack's curled-up fingers start to build-up a blue hue as her anger got tighter and sharper until Shepard could feel the heat radiate through her armour.

"Alright you two break it up!" Shepard commanded to them both with her hands cupping her companions shoulders, keeping them apart as she spoke. "Jack, Miranda's injured and while I do agree with you I'd like you to go ahead and get into the Hammerhead for pick-up. I'll help Lawson get back."

In return Jack shrugged her shoulder to push Shepard's hand off her, mumbling angrily about how far Shepard's tongue was up Miranda's cunt and such - it was enough to make Shepard growl after the biotic with a shake of her head.

When she turned to help Miranda limp her way faster to the Hammerhead on Korlus, she received another glare that she was sure could freeze the sun itself if it got any colder than it was now.

There was just no winning when it came to Jack and Miranda; she'd say one thing to upset the biotic and then when she turned back to Miranda she'd find her fuming as well.

She continued walking with a sigh, only stopping when she realized that Miranda would need her help to get back in case they came across anymore mercenaries or krogan that wanted to make themselves known.

"Alright Lawson what's the problem?" Shepard asked when Miranda hobbled past her, taking the chance to throw the operative's arm around her shoulder and slide her arm around Miranda's waist. "You're acting like I've kicked your puppy. What did I say?"

Miranda continued to stare coldly at her, grounding her teeth whenever Shepard had to help her down stairs or over compounds of metal and steel - trying hard not to grunt at the pain that shot through her each time her footing got a bit careless.

Miranda scowled and moved her face away when she caught Shepard looking at her, remaining cold, calm and composed under her Commander's gaze even when Shepard's hold on her got considerably tighter when she looked away.

"Get the stick from up your ass Lawson," Shepard murmured quietly a few moments after leading Miranda down another flight of stairs and up a large, narrow tunnel that would soon lead them to where the Hammerhead was waiting. "I needed to get Jack off your back long enough so you wouldn't tear each other apart, quit acting like I've mortally wounded you."

Shepard smirked when she caught Miranda's eye, hiding her surprise at seeing the operative looking taken aback; something that obviously didn't happen to Miranda a lot considering how wide her eyes were.

And then Miranda was stiff against her, nodding rather lamely. "Of course Commander. I should have known you were just trying to keep the peace but still…Jack is…" Miranda trailed off, her voice laced with disdain for the chaotic biotic.

"Not one to mess with." Shepard finished for her second-in-command with an amused shake of her head, wondering if there was ever going to be a time when she'd just be able to sit down for a few hours in her cabin without having EDI alert her that Jack was hovering towards Miranda's office and that she should go and check on them before things got out of control. It was an absolutely ridiculous thing to check on, but she knew there had to be someone who could stop both of them from tearing a hole in the hub. "Now come on, stop walking like a bloated elcor and lets get back to the Normandy."

Miranda scowled scornfully at her. "It's not really my fault you forgot the medi-gel back on the Normandy, Commander."

Shepard quirked a brow at the operative, grinning when Miranda continued to scowl at her despite looking like she was desperately trying not to look away. "Alright Lawson you win, now shut up whining before I leave you here."

"I'm fine Commander, it's just a flesh wound." Miranda said through gritted teeth, nursing the side where a slab of medi-gel was slapped onto her wound. Dr Chakwas had advised Miranda to rest for a day or so, saying things about how a being gripped by a krogan was enough to shake anyone up with any sense.

Shepard knew that Miranda wasn't shook up, instead looking seriously pissed off at the aspect of having to rest when she could be doing something productive - even if it did hurt like hell.

"I still think you should listen to Chakwas," Shepard tried to reason with the limping operative; following Miranda to her office. "Take it easy Lawson or at least try not to tackle anything while you rest up. I've already told Jack to keep a floor apart from you, just in case."

Shepard could just about see the way Miranda's eyes darkened in the dim light they were walking under to get to Miranda's office - a smirk gracing her face at the frustrated look that had crossed her operative's features; most likely feeling like a complete idiot at how Shepard was treating her like a baby who was first learning to walk.

Shepard found the glower Miranda was shooting at her quite alluring, somewhat exciting and yet so cold that the shiver up her spine quickly felt like a stab to her back rather than a cold caress of fingers.

Miranda's glower hesitantly broke down into a small frown once they had made their way to the front door of Miranda's office; the operate turning to face Shepard with her arms folded. "While I appreciate your concern for me Commander, I really don't think I'll be about of action because of a simple brush with a raging krogan."

Shepard chuckled pitifully, shaking her head when Miranda tried to meet her blue eyes. "Only you would call a grappling match with a krogan a 'brush'! God damn it Lawson, it almost crushed you! If it hadn't been for Jack then you would have been…"

Miranda turned her back on her at the mention of the chaotic biotic's name, storming her way into her office with low curses sprouting from her mouth - only turning to regard EDI with an arched brow before the AI locked Miranda's office almost immediately afterwards.

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the locked door for a moment before throwing her arms up in the air with a groan, turning her back on the locked door and storming her way down through the mess hall; bristling slightly at the attention she was receiving from Cerberus operatives all around her.

She was just about to turn a corner to head towards the elevator - off to ask Jacob if he could show her a place where she could blow up things without the Alliance OR Cerberus being on her back - when she collided with someone; stumbling backwards and only managing to balance herself by gripping onto the corner of one of the mess hall's walls.

Shepard managed to wrestle herself back up to her former position, looking around to see who she had managed to bump into and wondering if they knew how to say sorry or not considering how she had almost landed on her damn arse.

Nobody. Shepard ran a hand through her blonde locks in confusion, glancing around another corner to see who in god's name had managed to sneak past her without saying a simple sorry! But no, nobody was there at all. It was almost as if she had bumped into something invisible.

She stopped to re-think that, hands uncurling from fists and eyes narrowing as Shepard once more let herself look around more intently; this time desperately letting her eyes focus more and more on the things around her instead of overlooking things like she had done before.

At the flicker of movement near her right shoulder Shepard spun and let her fingers curl around a lithe, slightly muscular arm that she tugged back into her view; fingers tightening as her smirk grew. "Now's not the time to be playing hide-and-seek Kasumi."

A lilt of soothing laughter filled Shepard's ears and soon she found herself actually being able to see the master thief she had recruited some weeks back, shocked at seeing Kasumi staring at her with the eyes of a feline - soft and playful.

"Hey Shep! Just touring the ship again!" Kasumi gestured to the mess hall and to where the med-bay was station. Kasumi had only been with them for a few weeks and still hadn't settled in properly, choosing to stay away from the Cerberus crew apart from Miranda and Jacob; prowling the corridors with her invisibility shielding her away from prying eyes.

Although her encounter with Miranda had left her feeling annoyed and frustrated, Shepard found herself smirking at the master thief. "You know Kasumi if you really wanted everyone to stop staring at you then you need to make more appearances around the ship. So people can get used to you."

Kasumi waved Shepard's comment away with a mock sigh, choosing to lean against one of the emergency control panels with her arms crossed against her chest.

"You know me Shep…" Kasumi started with a teasing tone, gesturing to Shepard with a tilt of her head. "Shy when it comes to strangers!"

If anything, Shepard's smirk got wider. "Bullshit Kasumi, you're one of the most confident people I know."

Kasumi chuckled briefly at that, pushing off from the control panel to nod towards Miranda's locked office. "Upset Miranda have you? Looked like you wounded her pride a little."

"Lawson deserves to get it wounded now and then," Shepard snapped back all of a sudden, feeling her annoyance with Miranda start to rise again. "Besides, it was either wound her pride or get Jack up here to wound it for me."

"Now that's mean even for you Shep," Kasumi said with a quiet laugh escaping her lips. "We don't know each other that well but even I can see you don't mean that."

Shepard shrugged and without realizing she was doing so, turned to walk towards the Port Observation where Kasumi's room was.

She stopped near the sleek leather couch and without waiting for Kasumi to follow her flopped down on it with a sigh, letting herself get more comfortable around the soft leather.

After a few moments of silence with her eyes tightly closed, Shepard opened them again to see that Kasumi was at the bar at the far end of her room; opening and closing different compartments with two small glasses trapped in between her index finger and thumb.

"No scathing remarks?" Shepard asked with a faint smile, not sure on Kasumi's intent or even her own at how she had casually walked into Kasumi's personal space without permission.

Kasumi gave her a smile over her shoulder. "Like I care! It'll be nice to have some company on here that isn't Kelly. Not that I'm saying she isn't nice but y'know…"

"Kelly's been bothering you?" Shepard asked with an arched brow, not sure if she should be amused at Kelly's intrusion on Kasumi or concerned. "Something I should be worried about?"

"Worried? No I don't think so," Kasumi answered with a small smile whilst she poured the contents of a red bottle in their two glasses. "Just being friendly to the new girl I guess."

"Too friendly?" Shepard pried knowingly; remembering how Kelly had been with her the first time she had stepped on the Normandy and while it had been pleasant - Shepard just wasn't interested.

Kasumi gave her a knowing look (which in truth was hard to tell behind that hood) and placed the red bottle back into its compartment with a small laugh. "She was very friendly Shep. I can see why she stops to talk to you all the time."

Shepard pouted at the master thief's turned back, rearranging herself on Kasumi's leather couch so that she was able to kick off her working boots and shrug off her jacket - flinging it over the couch's arm with a sigh.

Kasumi doesn't spare her a glance but chuckles quietly to herself, and Shepard would be a fool not to think that the master thief is silently thinking obscenities like: what an absolute child, what a reckless leader, what a show-off, what a stuck-up…

And the list went on until Shepard felt like her head was spinning because she truly does not have time to think about such things. Being jerked back into the land of the living really does put a dampening on things, especially things like manners. It's no excuse of course, but Shepard was already sick of excuses anyhow; so she ignored them - others and her own.

And then a glass of wine that smells like cherry is placed into her hand and the weight of another on the couch's cushion is enough to make Shepard look to her right to see that Kasumi is sipping her own glass with such delicate grace that it made Shepard flush in embarrassment.

She recognized the scent just before she placed the glass to her lips and stopped to examine the contents with a small smile. "I used to drink this stuff back when I was running the streets. Cheap stuff Kasumi. Didn't think you was into this sort of alcohol?"

Before Shepard could raise the beverage to her lips again, said drink was picked out of her hand by Kasumi's cunning fingers; leaving Shepard speechless at how fast the thief had managed to snatch it off her.

"If you don't want it Shep," Kasumi teased with a prod at her shoulder, bringing the glass near her lips. "Then all you had to do was say so. I am feeling a bit thirsty, being invisible does that I'm afraid."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the thief, snatching the glass away from the laughing Kasumi with a grunt.

Once Shepard had managed to gulp down her wine she turned her head to see that Kasumi had also kicked her boots off and was lounging leisurely against the couch's cushions; the sight amusing Shepard more than it should have, though with Kasumi's bright green socks it was hard to keep her laughter from bubbling up from her chest.

"You know Kasumi…" Shepard said with a smirk, taking a swig of wine from her glass to build up her confidence. "I didn't think that you of all people would be the person sharing drinks with me."

Kasumi's lips twisted upwards and her bright green socks rubbed together; the only signal that the master thief had acknowledged her.

"You looked angry so I thought sharing a drink with you might calm you down a bit," Kasumi explained after a few moments of silence minus the sounds of glass clinking and quiet slurping on Shepard's part. "Didn't know Miranda could get you so angry Shep."

Shepard snorted into her drink. "You have no idea what Lawson does to my blood pressure. It's like wrestling with a turian and a krogan between the sheets."

"Ouch." Kasumi hissed in sympathy, eyeing Shepard with another mischievous look in her eyes and expressed by the curve of her smile. "Sounds painful."

"Exactly my point!" Shepard grumbled once she had finished her wine off; placing the delicate glass down to fold her arms across her chest and jut her lip out like a spoilt child. "It's like I've stomped on her foot on purpose!"

"Wouldn't put it past you Shep…" Kasumi responded with a murmur, meeting Shepard's glare with a defiant wink. "You and Miranda do seem to butt heads quite a lot. I'm surprised actually considering the amount of time you spend staring at a certain person's assets."

"I do not stare at Miranda's ass!" Shepard insisted almost as if it was the most simplest thing to say in the world, looking at the master thief with wide eyes. "Hell! I try my best not to stare at Lawson as it is and you…!"

Kasumi interrupted Shepard's vent with a hand, rearranging herself on the leather couch so that Shepard was staring directly into what she could see of Kasumi's dark eyes.

"You thought I was talking about Miranda?" Kasumi asked with that stupid innocent voice that Shepard groaned pathetically at; head sinking into the palms of her hands at how obviously she had managed to land herself into a hole that Kasumi had dug.

"Okay, fine! You win! Laugh it up Ms Goto, laugh it up!" Shepard growled in defeat, refusing to look at up at the master thief in case she incinerated herself into ashes. "My god I feel like a teenager…"

Kasumi just shook her head and patted the spiked, blonde hair on top of Shepard's head. "It's alright Shep, a bit of a crush is good for the soul. And it keeps the gossip here fairly interesting."

"I'm sure the Reapers wouldn't mind hearing about Commander Shepard's love-life before they wipe the galaxy…" Shepard said bitterly, though the humour wasn't far behind either.

"Aren't you ambitious? You haven't got a love-life yet Shep! Otherwise I'd hear about it!"

Shepard finally brought her head up, not to stare at Kasumi, not to stare at her feet, not to stare at the ceiling but to stare at her empty glass that looked so vacant it made her throat feel oddly parched.

She didn't even have to stare at Kasumi before she got her answer: "In the compartment on the right. The lambrini should be in there somewhere."

"Thanks. Gonna need it."

It was the start of a friendship, of sorts.

First Mass Effect fanfic, so go easy on me please. Still getting used to the whole game lore. Constructive criticism is welcome as I don't have a beta. Enjoy.