It's been a week, and Lily was starting to worry.

She hadn't seen Kato since their first meeting. The dextro food in their fridge was missing, and there were dishes in the drying rack, so he must have been eating while she was asleep. While she was hoping to talk to him, being alone in a house by herself wasn't anything new to her. She mostly spent the week out of the house, exploring the market district and learning where everything was.

She was contemplating going shopping for groceries when the doorbell rang. Curious, she walked over to the door and checked the door camera. Standing outside was a turian with similar markings to Kato. She quickly opened the door and greeted the turian with a smile.

"Hi there, can I help you?"

"Oh wow, Kato didn't tell me you'd be so cute."

Lily flushed at the compliment, not expecting the comment from this stranger.

"E-excuse me?"

"Sorry! I guess he didn't tell you about me, did he? I'm Filix, Kato's brother."

His mandibles twitched, and Lily guessed that he was giving her a turian version of a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm lily. Come in; I didn't know you were coming, or I would have made tea. Or, whatever the turian equivalent is." She stepped aside to let him in and watched as Filix looked around the living room. She could tell he was impressed with the place the council set them up with.

"He wasn't kidding; this place is excellent. Have you guys watched any movies on this tv?" Filix asked, checking out the tv.

"To be honest, I haven't seen him out of his room since he first arrived," Lily admitted, looking over at the stairs. "I've mostly spent the week wandering around the Citadel."

Filix sighed as if he knew this would happen and made his way over to the stairs.

"I should have known this would happen. Hang on; I'll drag him out."

She could hear him walking upstairs and a door opening followed by muffled arguing. Soon enough, Filix was coming downstairs, followed by Kato, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment.

"Alright, we're going out today because you," he pointed to Lily, "need to see the sights properly, and you," he turned to Kato, "need to go outside and see the sun."

"Isn't the sun here artificial?" Lily and Kato asked simultaneously.

"Doesn't matter, let's go," Filix replied, pushing them both out of the house.

"So Lily, ever been in a combat sim?" Filix asked, draping an arm over Lily's shoulders. She had to admit; hanging out with Filix was fun. He had brought her and Kato to well-known locations like the embassies, the market district, and, to Lily's excitement, the theater district. Filix was in the middle of showing her the Silversun Strip, a place that almost reminded Lily of the Las Vegas Strip when he asked his question.

"Not really, my sister would train with them, but she used to be in the military. I've never even shot a gun."

"Well, we're gonna change that! Come on." Filix led them to a building called Armax Arsenal Arena. The inside reminded Lily of the paintball stadiums she would watch her brother and his friends play in. As Filix walked away to register for a game, Kato stepped closer to Lily.

"Come with me; there's a firing range in the next room."

She followed Kato into the next room, where a few turians and humans were firing at targets. Kato led her over to an open booth.

"Here, show me how you would hold a gun." He passed her a pistol and stepped back to let her aim down the lane. It had been a while since she saw her dad at a firing range, but she took a stance that she thought was correct.

"Close, relax your arms a bit, and widen your legs."

Lily jumped when Kato stepped up behind her and adjusted her arm position. In this position, she couldn't help but notice how different their figures were. While her skin was pale and soft, his was rougher and more of a dark tan. His arms were toned with slight muscle definition, while hers would be considered skinny and dainty. Even his hands, while three-fingered and ended in sharp talons, covered her smaller hands as he helped her aim at the target.

"Try to relax, or you'll hurt yourself."

Lily hadn't realized she was tensing until she recognized she was pressing her back against his chest. She forced herself to relax as he stepped back and allowed her to aim at the target on her own.

She couldn't help but yelp when she fired as the gun let out a loud pop. A couple of turians that were watching them laughed at her reaction. It was apparent she had missed when she saw the paper target was still in pristine condition. She looked back at Kato, glaring at the turians until he noticed her staring at him. He gave her a nod and gestured to her to keep going.

This time she was prepared for the noise and didn't jump. The bullet nicked the corner of the paper, and she smiled, adjusting her aim and firing another shot. This time she almost hit the outer ring of the target.

"Nice job. You'll get the hang of it with practice," Kato said as he walked over and took the pistol from her. She backed up to let him aim, and he fired three quick shots. They hit close together near the bullseye.

"Wow," Lily said as Kato returned the pistol and led Lily out of the firing range. "So, are we going to be playing against each other?" She didn't think she'd last long against Kato, and she didn't like the idea of more people laughing at her poor aiming.

"We'll be playing as a team against simulated enemies, so don't worry," he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "The first time we played here, Filix tried impressing a girl by playing a group level by himself and got destroyed on the first wave. The staff here still call him "one-shot Filix" whenever he comes here."

She had to cover her mouth to stifle her giggles as Filix returned with a ticket for their game.

"What's so funny?" He asked, looking between the two.

"Nothing," Kato replied, subvocals betraying his attempt at sounding casual.

"Yeah," Lily agreed, smiling innocently. "I was just telling Kato I hope I don't get out in the first round."

She couldn't contain her giggles as she watched Filix slowly realize what she meant and turn to punch Kato's arm.

"You told her the one-shot story?!"

"Of course," Kato laughed, blocking Filix's punches. Not only was it Lily's first time hearing a turian laugh, but it was also the first time she saw Kato smile. He looked so relaxed compared to the rugged and stoic look he had through most of their day out.

Once Filix stopped pouting, he showed Lily where people could watch other people playing while waiting for their turn. As she watched, she became more excited for when their turn arrived. Kato stood by her side, explaining the different tactics most people used. She was interested in the shotgun users. She could probably use that since it looked easier to aim.

A tap on her shoulder from Filix let her know their turn was coming up. After dressing in the appropriate armor, she picked the shotgun and a pistol from her weapon select screen. She was bouncing in place as they waited for their turn to enter the arena. She could hear Filix chuckling behind her and turned to smile at him.

"Kato and I are using rifles, so you're going to be making sure nothing gets close to us. The loser between the two of us is buying lunch," Filix explained, smirking while Kato rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I'll be sure to keep Kato safe."

"Hey!"

Kato and Lily laughed as the doors to the arena opened. Lily could feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she saw the crowd surrounding the arena.

iIt's just like performing on a stage. They're here for a show./i

An alarm signaled them to take their places. Filix and Kato positioned themselves on high ground while Lily stood between their positions. As the first wave started to flood in, Filix scored the first point taking down a turian hologram. Kato made sure that lead was short by taking out two human holograms. While Lily wasn't part of the bet, she could get a few shots on two humans before the guys could take them down.

"I think Lily is scoring more than you, Filix," Kato taunted as he took an opening between the second and third wave to move positions. From this angle, he could watch as Lily ran around a pillar to shoot a turian hologram before ducking away to avoid a human hologram shooting at her. He couldn't help but notice how smoothly she moved and flowed around the arena like it was a dance.

"I think you should keep your eyes off Lily and pay attention," he said as he sniped a hologram that was approaching Kato from behind. Kato cursed and turned around to take out another hologram before focusing on the approaching wave.

"Hey, if I win, does that mean one of you pays for lunch and the other dinner?" Lily teased, running over to cover Filix.

"If you win, I'll personally take you out to dinner," Filix said with a wink. Even from his spot, Kato could see Lily blush from his comment.

"Can you stop flirting with my roommate," Kato groaned, shooting a pair of holograms that had pinned Lily down behind a pillar.

Another alarm sounded, signaling their time was up. Three drones flew down and showed their scores. Lily came in third with twenty points. In second was Filix with thirty-five, and Kato came in first with thirty-six.

"Damn it; I guess I'm paying for lunch." Filix sighed as they left the arena. He soon perked up as he pulled Lily into a side hug, making her laugh as she tried to keep her balance.

"So, not bad for your first time. You looked like you were having fun."

"I did," Lily agreed. "My older brother would have loved this. On Earth, there's this game called paintball that he used to love playing."

Kato couldn't hear Lily as she explained what paintball was. Physically he was there, but his mind was in the past.

"He needs to be taken out."

"Sir, but he-."

"If you won't do it, I'll do it myself!"

"It's alright, Kato."

"Kato."

"Kato?"

Kato felt like he was violently pulled out of the past, and the first thing he saw was Lily looking at him, concerned. Behind her stood Filix, who immediately knew what happened and tried to calm him down by humming soothing words with his subvocals. Looking back at Lily, he froze when he noticed her green eyes.

iShe has the same eyes as him./i

"I'm sorry, I just remembered I have something to do."

He didn't wait to hear Lily's reply as he quickly left her and his brother. His heart was beginning to race, and his breathing was becoming unsteady. He needed to get home before he completely broke down.

Lily watched Kato as he ran off. She was about to follow him to make sure he was alright when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright. He has moments like this sometimes. He'll be fine after some time alone," Filix explained, leading her to a nearby cafe.

"Did I say something to upset him?" She asked, sitting down at a table. Filix shrugged as he sat down across from her.

"Sometimes something triggers it, and other times it just happens out of nowhere. It's become a regular thing for him since the end of the war."

"He was in the First Contact War?"

"Yeah, I was on a Salarian diplomat guard team when the war broke out. But Kato's unit was part of the group that occupied Shanxi."

"Oh," Lily said, looking down at her menu. "My older brother and one of my sisters were part of the Shanxi liberation unit. Only my sister came back after it ended."

"I'm sorry," Filix said. Lily could hear a sound almost like humming as he talked.

"What's that sound you're making?"

"What? My subvocals?"

"Is that what it's called?"

Filix nodded and gestured for her to sit next to him. She moved to sit next to him, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, so she was right against his side. He made the noise again; it was a mix between a purr and a hum. She could feel herself relax as she listened.

"The best way to describe it is that it's used to convey subtle emotions. They're used to calm someone down, show anger, and say how much you love a partner."

"I think I understand," Lily said as Filix let her go.

"If you hang out with turians enough, you'll probably catch on to what each one means. I have this friend who is dating an asari, and he swears she knows when he's lying because of his subvocals."

Lily laughed as Filix recounted a story about his friend and her girlfriend. While the mood had lightened up, the pained look Kato had as he left still lingered in Lily's mind.