A/N: Another chapter is ready, so here we go.

Responses to reviews are as follows:

AnarionRising27: Ha, glad you liked it! We still have a way to go yet, but there's always time for more character interaction. Where is all of this going, though? :)

Chapter 23: Training

With the crates still stacked up against the walls from earlier, Rassen was satisfied there was enough room in the cargo hold for their needs. Upon entering, he walked over to the far end of the room and turned around, gesturing for Shaela to take up a position opposite him, which she did. Drawing the lightsaber at his side, Rassen ignited it, its sapphire blade bursting into existence. Shaela's emerald blade joined it a second later.

"We should start," he began, "right at the beginning. The first thing to understand about lightsaber use is that there are many different forms a Jedi or Sith can use, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. The more forms you know, the better prepared you are for every eventuality." As Shaela nodded in understanding, he continued. "The best of these forms to start with is the simplest one. Shii-Cho may be the most basic style, but if in doubt about which one to use, many consider it the best choice to go with."

Rassen slowly raised his lightsaber over his head before bringing it down in a vertical slash, taking his time so Shaela could easily follow his movements with her eyes. "Despite how many choose to move on to more advanced styles, aspects of Shii-Cho often persist in an individual's technique, given its reliability." He repeated the overhead slash again before gesturing for Shaela to try it for herself. Hesitantly, the quarian carefully raised her lightsaber before gradually bringing it down.

"Try not to look at what you are doing," Rassen said, noticing how Shaela's eyes had remained glued to her weapon throughout the entire move. "Imagine you have an enemy standing right in front of you. Your attention should always be on them and the rest of your surroundings."

Shaela repeated the technique, but he could see how difficult it was for her not to look at her lightsaber as she did so. Shaking his head slightly, he walked over to the quarian as she let out a noise of frustration. "I know what I said about a lightsaber being nearly as dangerous to the untrained as an enemy, Shaela," Rassen said gently. "But you need to trust yourself. You will not hurt yourself with it as long as you concentrate."

The quarian nodded. "It just feels really… really strange," she admitted. "To hold something as dangerous as this but having to try not to look at it, I mean."

Rassen smiled understandingly. "Perhaps this would be a little easier if you had a real target." He stepped back, leaving a small gap between them. "Now try," he said.

He could feel her reluctance as she stared at him in surprise, could tell instantly she was worried she would hurt him. "I will be fine, Shaela," he said soothingly. "Now, slowly attack me and keep your eyes looking into my own."

The quarian raised her lightsaber once more before carefully bringing it down towards him. Rassen responded just as slowly, intercepting the vertical strike with a horizontal block just above his head, the resulting clashing sound of lightsaber against lightsaber blocking out the constant humming noise of both for a moment. He smiled again as he noticed Shaela's gaze had remained fixed on him, having never so much as darted in the direction of her weapon. His smile grew as the quarian blinked in surprise before grinning back at him.

"Much better," Rassen nodded. "Now try and do it a little quicker."

"Am I interrupting?"

He turned to look as the door shut behind Kasumi. While he wasn't surprised he had failed to hear her footsteps, how she had managed to open the door without either of them noticing caused him to stare at her in disbelief for a moment. Rassen's attention returned to Shaela as the quarian addressed the newcomer, her voice friendly.

"What is it, Kasumi?" she asked.

The thief shrugged, "I'm bored."

Whatever reply he had been expecting, Rassen could honestly say it hadn't been that. "We will almost certainly be found and attacked in the next few days," he said slowly. "And you are bored?"

"Okay, maybe not bored," Kasumi admitted, "but I'm… restless. This whole calm before the storm thing doesn't feel right. Being stuck in one place just isn't me."

"So you came to us looking for what exactly?"

"Something interesting, obviously," the thief replied. "Besides, I wanted to find out if Shep was telling the truth. I've never known him to lie when it's not necessary, but I wanted to hear it from you as well."

"Hear what?"

"Well, the way he tells it, you and the floor in here got to know each other a little better," Kasumi smirked, eyes flicking over to Shaela and winking at her as Rassen heard the quarian giggle, though she abruptly cut herself off when he looked in her direction. Turning his gaze back to the thief, he tried his best to appear composed as he answered her.

"Shepard is telling the truth, he did beat me."

"Hah! I knew he probably would if the two of you decided to go at each other," Kasumi grinned. "Don't feel too bad, Ras. You really went to town on those commandoes on Watchman, but Shep's the best there is. No shame in losing to him."

"I never said there was." He turned back to Shaela and their still-locked blades. "If you wish, you can stay and watch if Shaela has no issue with it." The quarian shook her head, causing him to glance back at the thief. "Will that keep you out of trouble?"

"Probably not, but it's something," Kasumi replied, lifting a crate off the top of one of the stacks before sitting down on it and leaning forwards eagerly. Rassen opened his mouth to object when he saw a warning label with a picture of an explosion on it on the side of the container, only to close it when the thief lazily winked at him. Shaking his head, he took a moment to remember where they had been before she arrived and glanced back at Shaela.

"Again, but a bit quicker this time."

It quickly became apparent that watching Rassen teach Shaela would be much more interesting than she had first expected.

After a few minutes of them practising the same overhead attack they had been when she had entered, they had moved on to a simple block—the same one Rassen had used while Shaela had swung at him—the human now performing the occasional strike while the quarian attempted to replicate the horizontal block. Seeing two glowing energy blades collide with each other over and over again was fun, sure, but Kasumi found that what was occurring between the couple was far more interesting, though much more subtle.

Each time she attempted to copy a move Rassen had shown her, Shaela was slightly better at it than the previous time she had tried to perform the technique. Her stance might be fractionally closer to the Jedi Knight's own, or her arms more correctly positioned, or the quarian might simply execute it faster. The improvement each time was slight, but it was still there and still visible.

As the minutes passed, Kasumi stared in disbelief, trying to work out just how it was possible for Shaela to learn so quickly. Rassen was certainly being vocal about what she was doing wrong, offering plenty of encouraging words and also praise when the quarian invariably improved, and Shaela herself was definitely receptive as she listened and adjusted herself accordingly. Even so, it was only after half an hour of continuing to watch that she finally realised just what was happening.

Thinking back to Rassen and Shaela's explanation about themselves, Kasumi remembered when they had spoken about how the former had given the latter a few basic lessons about the Force on Omega. The… bond, or whatever they had called it, had enabled the quarian to learn at an astonishing pace, given that as well as simply being taught, she was also subconsciously drawing on the Jedi Knight's knowledge thanks to their connection.

Shaela's improvements became even more noticeable as Kasumi reached the conclusion the same thing was happening again when the two of them finished going over a horizontal slash and moved on to a corresponding block. When they were done with that, Rassen called for a brief halt, only for his next words to cause her interest to reach its highest point yet.

"Fantastic work so far, Shaela," he smiled, drawing an even wider one from the quarian. "While we have only covered a small number of techniques, we have enough for the moment to begin sparring freely, if you are comfortable with the idea."

Shaela thought for a moment before nodding, radiating excitement as Rassen backed away from her and she did the same, leaving them opposite one another the full length of the room apart. Kasumi couldn't help a small smile at the quarian's enthusiasm. After how unsure and nervous she had been during their conversation about Rassen while the thief had infiltrated what remained of Aratoht, it was good to see she looked a lot more content now.

Rassen did as well as Kasumi turned her attention to him, both the human and the quarian only having eyes for each other as the session continued. To be honest, by this point it was as though they had both forgotten she was still in the room. That didn't stop Kasumi from leaning even further forwards on the crate than she had been already, now perched right on its edge as she waited to see what would happen next, however.

Rassen attacked first, closing the gap between himself and Shaela before bringing his lightsaber down in the first move he had taught her, moving more quickly than he had previously, though he was still clearly holding back. The quarian raised her emerald blade into the path of the sapphire one humming towards her, positioning one leg behind her and leaning most of her weight onto the front one. As blue met green, the what was by now familiar sound of clashing lightsabers filled the room.

Rassen broke the lock, only for Shaela to attack now, swinging her weapon in a horizontal strike the more experienced human had no difficulty whatsoever in blocking. The quarian followed up with the same overhead blow he had just used, only for Rassen to intercept it just as easily as he had her first attack. Shaela began to alternate between the two striking techniques she had learned, sometimes using the same one repeatedly and other times switching back and forth as she advanced a step with each blow, quickly forcing Rassen to back away as she began to speed up.

Kasumi frowned as Rassen made no effort to counterattack, seemingly content to continue to give ground. Before long, the Jedi Knight's back was only a few inches from the wall behind him, at which point he ducked under a horizontal swing and darted around Shaela, leaving her staring in surprise at the spot where he had just been. Kasumi rolled her eyes as the quarian started to playfully accuse him of cheating while he only shrugged in response.

"Look, big guy," she called, causing both of them to turn their attention to her. "That was flashy, but stop showing off. She only knows four moves."

"Be that as it may," Rassen replied, "I said we had covered enough for a practise duel to be possible, not that I would stick to only those four myself." She watched in interest as he turned back to Shaela. "A lightsaber duel is much like a fight involving firearms, swords, or even hand-to-hand combat. Your opponent will do everything they can think of that will increase their chance of winning. As far as the real thing goes, there is no such thing as cheating."

Shaela nodded slowly before letting out a quiet cough and readying herself. "Should we keep going?" she asked, tone making it clear she very much wanted to. Rassen didn't reply verbally, simple twirling his lightsaber and waiting for the quarian to come to him, causing Kasumi to roll her eyes again.

Show off.

Rassen attacked as soon as Shaela was in range, going on the offensive with an overhead blow, a sideways one, and then a second overhead attack. He was still holding back, Kasumi noticed, but given they had been picking up speed ever since the quarian had seized the initiative, Rassen was not exactly moving slowly as he began to force Shaela back.

The quarian easily blocked the first three blows as she had been taught, form rough but much better than it had been when Kasumi had first started watching the two of them. As she continued to weather the attacks being thrown at her, though, Shaela soon coughed again, more loudly this time. Another cough followed soon after as she continued to block, causing Rassen to pause mid-swing before deactivating his lightsaber, a look of concern on his face.

"It's… I'm fine," the quarian managed, voice breaking in the middle as she let out her loudest cough yet. Shaela raised her emerald blade again, only to nearly drop it as she sneezed so violently that Kasumi slipped off her crate in surprise, landing hard on her backside. Wincing as the area protested at the hard surface of the metal floor, the thief paid it as little mind as she could as Rassen quickly but gently took the lightsaber from Shaela before switching it off, his expression regretful.

"I'm sorry, Shaela. With the excitement of you building your own lightsaber, I almost forgot you were sick."

Despite her condition, the quarian shook her head firmly. "It's not your fault, Rassen. I forgot as well for a moment." She sneezed again. "Could you… I mean, if you don't mind."

"Of course." Rassen handed Shaela's lightsaber back to her before raising his now free hand, keeping it flat at the same level as her heart as he closed his eyes. Despite having experienced the effects of Force healing first-hand, Kasumi's attention was entirely focused on the couple as perhaps half a minute or so of silence passed. The period of quiet ended when the quarian coughed again, which caused Rassen's eyes to snap open, an expression of serious concern on his face as well as considerable disbelief.

"I don't understand," he managed. "You are clearly unwell, but while I can sense you are, I cannot heal you. It… it feels strange, Shaela, almost as though you are both sick and not sick at the same time." Rassen closed his eyes and tried again, Kasumi furrowing her brow when he opened them once more, expression still one of frustration.

"No luck?" she asked, getting up from the floor to walk over to the two of them. "I know you can fix broken bones and heal cuts, but is sickness something that's more difficult for you?"

Rassen was shaking his head before she had even finished. "Healing something as simple as a cold is easy," he explained. "A life-threatening illness would be far more difficult, but Shaela does not have that." He turned back to the quarian. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Shaela took a moment to reply as she considered the question. "I'm… feeling a bit off," she admitted, "but not too bad. I still have a sore throat and a blocked nose, but I don't think I've got worse or anything. We were luckier than we could have been, the reaction wasn't as bad as I worried it might be."

"Aha!" Kasumi snapped her fingers, causing the other two to look at her. "I think I get it. Back when Shep and I were going up against the Collectors, I remember chatting to Tali about her immune system at one point. She said that when a quarian is exposed to bacteria or other microbes, it tends to result in something closer to an allergic reaction than an actual illness, since your people can't technically get sick from levo-based pathogens, Shaela."

The quarian's eyes widened. "That makes sense," she gasped. "Rassen, when you use the Force to heal people, how does it work exactly?"

The Jedi Knight frowned as he began to grasp what they were getting at. "When I fixed your ankle, Shaela, or healed your wound, Kasumi, I used the Force to accelerate the natural healing process of each of your bodies, made it more efficient. Force healing results in less scarring than relying purely on the body to repair itself with no outside help does, but it is essentially a way of speeding up what it already happening, rather than doing anything truly new."

"So," Kasumi said, hands moving about as she spoke, "curing an allergy or something similar wouldn't be possible for you, then? I mean, if anything you'd be working against the body to remove it, since it's a part of someone they either had since they were born or developed later on naturally."

"I…" Rassen trailed off in thought. "Yes, that would make sense. If Shaela's condition is the result of something very close to an allergic reaction, it would make sense that I would be unable to heal her, since I would not be enhancing her body's natural means of repairing itself." He stepped closer to the quarian, leaving them only a few inches away from one another as he took her free hand in his own. "I'm sorry," Rassen whispered. "I thought… I did not realise—"

Kasumi swallowed heavily as Shaela removed her hand from Rassen's before placing one of her fingers over his lips. "I didn't either," she said soothingly. "It's not your fault, Rassen. I should be fine soon enough anyway." She coughed again, covering her mouthpiece despite how there was no need. "I'll probably be a bit better tomorrow. Maybe we could continue then?"

As Rassen attached his lightsaber to his belt and pulled the quarian into an embrace, Kasumi began to feel unsteady. The scene in front of her was very familiar, and it was bringing back memories she didn't want to think about right now. "Of course," the Jedi replied. "You did brilliantly today, Shaela. You have more than earned some rest."

I don't know how you managed that, but you're one amazing woman.

How amazing?

Amazing enough that I fell in love with you.

She was beginning to hyperventilate. Keiji's voice was too real. It was like he was right next to her. Her mind was swimming with memories of the last job they had finished together. The last job before Hock—

Kasumi staggered away from the couple in front of her, causing them to look at her in concern. "I… I should go," she managed. "Shep… he might need help with… with whatever he's doing." She barely heard Shaela call out to her as she opened the door and ran out of the cargo hold, only just able to see where she was going her mind was so overwhelmed.

Shepard wiped his forehead before allowing himself a small smile of satisfaction. He was still a long way from being done, but he had made a lot of progress already.

He was currently sitting in the storage room where Shaela had built her lightsaber, which Kasumi had told him about, having moved a chair from the bunkroom before placing it down just in front of the workbench. He had been there for a while, a quick glance at his omni-tool told him the best part of two hours, but although his neck ached from pouring over the device and the workbench, he was still pleased with what he had accomplished so far.

In front of him, stacked neatly on top of one another on the right-hand side of the workbench, sat a small pile of steel-coloured disks. They were each the size of a small plate, and were the result of the omni-gel Rassen and Kasumi had left in the room as well as some more Shepard had produced by breaking down a couple of spare sets of Mandalorian armour he had found. Neither had looked as though they would fit either him or Rassen, Shaela had the wrong body shape on account of her being a quarian, and Kasumi would never sacrifice mobility and stealth for sheer protection. As a result, he had decided to put the suits to some use given they would otherwise have remained ignored.

They couldn't run, that had been established. Either the Mandalorians and batarians would wait for them to run out of fuel and so be forced to land… or they would get bored of following them and simply shoot them down. Even though Rassen seemed convinced that every effort would be made to take them alive, Shepard wasn't willing to take the risk it wouldn't be deemed easier to shoot them down and see if they survived if they attempted to escape. Despite that, he agreed their best option, although it didn't sit well with him, was to stay put and hold out for as long as possible when they were discovered. If they were overwhelmed, as they might well be, then he would insist on them trying to escape. A near zero chance of success was better than zero, after all.

For the moment, though, he needed to keep producing as many of the disks as he could, although his omni-tool could only work so quickly. They might well prove vital given their current situation.

He turned around as he heard a quiet cough behind him, the kind that was unmistakably that of someone trying to get his attention. The culprit, who had managed to get as close as a couple of metres to him before deciding to announce her presence, gave him a smile that seemed a little forced before approaching, the awkward expression giving way to genuine interest as she stared at the objects on the workbench before letting out a low whistle.

"Proximity mines, Shep? I didn't think that was your style."

He glanced at them before looking back at Kasumi. "There's only one way to attack us given our location. They'll have to come directly through the valley itself, on foot as well, considering they want us alive if at all possible. Mines seem like a good way to thin their numbers as well as buy us time."

Kasumi nodded appreciatively. "Good call. Either they charge through one they realise there's a minefield and take massive losses, or they slowly try and find their way through. Sneaky. What gave you the idea?"

"Personal experience." When the thief gave him an interested look, he began to elaborate.

"I think I told you this a long time ago, but back on the first Normandy when we were going after Saren, we found ourselves having to stop an asteroid from crashing into a colony world called Terra Nova. That was where I first encountered Balak, and he and the other batarians he was with had set up proximity mines in an attempt to prevent anybody from disabling the three fusion torches they were using to control the asteroid. Mines might be ancient as far as military technology goes, but they were a real headache to get past. Like you said, the best case scenario is they kill a lot of Mandalorians and batarians. The worst is they just buy us time, but—"

"We need as much time as we can get," Kasumi finished.

"Exactly."

The thief pointed at the pile of inactive mines. "Do you want some help?" she asked, causing Shepard to frown as he noticed the forced smile had returned. Realising he was staring and Kasumi was beginning to look a little uncomfortable, he rose from his chair before gesturing for her to take it, which she did.

"Sorry, I've been at it for a while," he apologised. "I'll go and get another chair. See you in a couple of minutes."

"See you," the thief replied without even glancing at him, attention already glued to her omni-tool as she activated it. Shaking his head slightly as he began to wonder just what was wrong with her, Shepard left the room, noticing with approval that he was walking at almost his normal pace without difficulty.

The door to the bunkroom soon came into view before sliding open to reveal that one of the beds was currently occupied. Making his way to the nearest chair as quietly as he could, Shepard jumped back as the lone figure rolled over before letting out a cry of shock, a blade of bright green energy hissing to life from the cylinder they had just grabbed from their side as they lurched to their feet.

Thinking quickly, he moved backwards a step, raising both hands to show he meant no harm. "Shaela, it's me," he said as calmly as he could considering the wild look in the quarian's eyes. Realisation hit as her gaze moved from where it had been focused on his chestplate to his face, causing him to silently curse. He had explained to Rassen about his choice to wear a suit of Mandalorian armour, and Kasumi had obviously seen it was him as she had approached. Shaela, in contrast, had just turned over to find what she clearly thought was a Mandalorian bearing down on her.

The quarian took deep, ragged breaths before coughing. "Keelah, don't do that!" she gasped shakily. "I thought you were, you know, one of them."

"I'm sorry," Shepard replied, genuinely meaning it. "This is the only armour we have that fits me, but I should have realised something like this could happen."

"It's… it's okay," Shaela muttered, one hand over her heart as her breathing slowed. "It's just that I was almost asleep, so seeing you dressed like that was pretty scary for a moment."

He nodded understandingly, but the tension didn't evaporate. It wasn't just the result of the last few moments, though. After all, it had only been a short while ago that Kasumi and Rassen had left the two of them alone with each other, and the quarian had clearly been uncomfortable with the situation. He could hardly blame her.

After all, while he had never considered himself such, he was well aware most of the galaxy saw him as a hero. While it had taken the efforts of both his crew and countless others to stop the Reapers, he was aware that in the eyes of many he was chiefly responsible. That unwanted fame had dogged him to an extent even before Saren had been defeated, and it had only grown since then, leaving him quite possibly the most easily recognised individual in the galaxy by now. Kasumi, well, she knew him, so no awkwardness there. As for Rassen, he didn't seem particularly bothered by who Shepard was, seeing as how he came from a different galaxy.

Shaela had probably never even expected to meet him, let alone find herself having to hide out on the same ship as him. The two of them had ended up waiting in awkward silence for the most part while Kasumi and Rassen had been producing lightsaber components, meaning it had been a relief for the both of them when the thief had cheerfully reappeared before telling the quarian to follow her.

"I'm sorry," he said again before remembering why he had come and picking up the nearest chair. Seeing Shaela look at him quizzically, he began to explain. "I've been working on some proximity mines. Kasumi wants to help, but I only moved one chair down there earlier."

The quarian's silver eyes widened slightly in understanding. "Ah, okay," she nodded, tone carrying a trace of something he couldn't identify. "You probably shouldn't keep her waiting. I don't know if Kasumi told you, but I'm a bit unwell and need to try and get some sleep anyway, so I won't take up any more of your time, Commander."

"Shepard," he replied. "I explained to Rassen earlier that it's fine to talk to me using my name."

"Shepard," she repeated, rolling his name around like it was some kind of foreign term, which—he realised after a moment—it actually was to her. Shaela made a sound of frustration. "That feels strange," she muttered.

"You'll get used to it," he smiled. "We're on the same team, Shaela, so I'd rather you call me Shepard if that's all right. If you really don't want to, though—"

"No, no, I think I'll get used to it," the quarian interrupted. "It will just take a while." She sneezed loudly before settling back down on the bed and facing away from him. "You should probably get back… Shepard. You've left Kasumi waiting for too long already."

Shepard frowned at the reappearance of the same strange element to her voice he had noticed just a moment ago, but he decided not to reflect on it as he began to head back towards the door. If he had delayed for a moment and instead walked around the bed so he could see Shaela's mask, he would have noticed the shape of her eyes as they hinted at the small smile the quarian wore.

He finished the trip back to the storage room almost as quickly as he had completed the walk in the other direction, despite the weight of the chair, entering it to find Kasumi sitting where he had left her, the thief seemingly not having moved an inch. Feeling a small amount of worry, Shepard approached before setting the chair down next to her. It was not until he gently placed a hand on her shoulder that Kasumi showed any reaction at all to his presence, flinching at the light touch before her amber eyes looked up at him in surprise, the normally incredibly observant woman seemingly having no idea he had entered the room until that moment.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gaze locked with hers, so many different emotions in her eyes he couldn't even attempt to identify them.

"Me?" Kasumi asked, making a scoffing noise. "You know me, Shep. I'm fine."

"Are you?" He sat down before turning towards her. "We've been through a lot together, Kasumi. Enough that it's obvious something is bothering you."

The thief glanced away, clearly debating whether to tell him or not before she looked back at him. "It's Rassen and Shaela," she said finally.

"What about them?" Shepard asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

"Nothing! Well, nothing bad anyway." Kasumi let out a sigh of frustration. "I was… I was watching them train together," she continued, "and after a while they had to stop because Shaela's still recovering from a little kissing session they had. Rassen tried to heal her with the Force but wasn't able to, and then things got a bit… private between them."

Shepard stared at her in disbelief. "You're not saying they—"

"No!" Kasumi laughed, but it sounded more than a little forced. "No, it was just a… a couple moment. I'm really happy for both of them, Shep, don't get me wrong, but it brought back… it brought back memories."

"Keiji," he muttered, drawing a nod from the thief. "I'm sorry, Kasumi."

"Ah, it's all right, Shep," she replied, but he noticed how she looked away before wiping her eyes so quickly he almost missed it. "It's just… I just…" her voice broke, and something stirred in the pit of Shepard's stomach. Following his instincts, he waited until Kasumi looked back at him, eyes shining, before leaning towards her, pulling the thief into his arms.

For one horrible moment he thought he had made a mistake. Kasumi stiffened in surprise, and he was about to draw back and apologise, only for her to return the embrace, holding onto him much more tightly than he did her. Shepard tightened his own hold around the thief's waist in response as Kasumi pressed her face into his shoulder, silent sobs wracking her body. He began gently rubbing circles on her back as she continued to cling to him, the black and grey material of her bodysuit softer than he had expected.

A few minutes passed before Kasumi pulled her face away from his shoulder, dried tears streaking her face as she laughed shakily. "Thanks, Shep," she smiled weakly. "I n-needed t-that. Didn't t-take you for a hugger, though."

"Anytime, Kas," he replied, eyes widening as she jumped slightly in response. In the back of his mind Shepard was suddenly aware he had never called her by a nickname before, a fact that had clearly not been lost on her either. As they continued to hold onto one another, his blue eyes staring into her amber, something imperceptible seemed to shift between them.

Kasumi's hood couldn't hide the look of nervousness on her face as Shepard realised with a start that they had begun to lean towards each other. His gaze dropped from her amber eyes with their rapidly dilating pupils to her lips as her tongue ran across them, the purple tattoo that sat on the bottom one seeming to beckon to him as the gap between their faces shrank to only a few inches. He could feel Kasumi's warm breath as it gently fanned across his face, the thief tilting her head up as he moved his own down, the gap between them less than an inch now.

When perhaps only a millimetre separated them the mood abruptly shifted. He stared in surprise as Kasumi suddenly pulled away before staggering to her feet. She didn't make eye contact as she glanced around desperately before locating the door out of the room and bolting towards it without a word, leaving him there as it closed behind her. Stunned, Shepard could only sit there in silence, reliving the moment over and over again, alone except for the pile of proximity mines in front of him.