The friendship really starts with a message Kelly sends after work one week later. The work was repetitive and it felt like she wasn't doing anything truly productive. It was boring, waving through a couple good recruits and sending them off to jobs on luxurious, tropical planets she'd probably never see at this rate. The redhead needed someone to vent to, or even just get a drink with, and the only person she'd managed to trade contact info with was Harsin. She typed out a short block of text on her omnitool, then sent it. Are you doing anything tonight?
As the psychologist headed out of the building, she was nervous with anticipation. She always felt this way after sending a message that required quick response – anxious, and impatient. Not much to her surprise, he hadn't sent her anything in response after a handful of minutes had passed. Thinking back to the previous week's meal with the standoffish salarian, he had been impressed by her persistence. Double checking the time, Kelly figured he had to be getting off work soon, and she headed for the C-Sec office.
Approaching the doors, she nearly ran into just the person she was looking for. Harsin was speaking to a younger, salarian C-Sec officer, who wore a similar uniform with heavier armor.
"Harsin!" Kelly exclaimed as she approached the alien. He pursed his lips a little, but didn't seem displeased to have seen her.
"Miss Chambers," he greeted, and gestured toward the younger officer. "This is Officer Cepol, a friend from back on my home planet. Is there something you need?"
Kelly realized her quest to convince Harsin to go out for a meal with her might be overstepping her bounds a bit, and she glanced at the floor for a moment. "I was wondering if you might want to get a meal together again?" she asked, a bit quietly, her confidence clearly faltering. She glanced up at him, wishing her hair weren't in a bun so she might hide her face behind it. "I had a hard day at work, and I wouldn't mind some company."
Harsin's face hardened a bit, and he responded, "Cepol and I were actually going out, Miss Chambers, so I don't think –"
"She can come with us!" Cepol interrupted, a grin spreading across his grey face. Taking a glance at Harsin, he nudged him in the ribs. "Aw, come on Harsin, it was just going to be a few drinks at Flux anyway. It looks like Miss Chambers here needs some intoxication."
"You can call me Kelly," the psychologist chuckled politely, smiling a bit. She wondered how such an outgoing soul had befriended the apparently unsociable Harsin.
"So what do you do around here, Kelly?" the younger salarian asked, allowing her to fall into step beside him as they walked together. The redhead glanced at Harsin, but he was looking straight ahead, almost refusing to make eye contact.
"I work at recruitment for Cerberus," she responded, deciding to focus on this new face.
Cepol's expression faltered at the mention of Cerberus, and he briefly glanced at Harsin. "Cerberus, huh? What's a girl like you doing with a group of people like them?"
"It's really not that bad," Kelly defended, looking at him with disbelief. "I mean, some of my coworkers are irritating and the work is monotonous, sure, but otherwise it's alright."
"Hmm. Alright then!" Cepol resumed his previously cheerful attitude, but she began to wonder if this was simply a mask to hide his real emotions.
"How long have you been on the Citadel?" Kelly inquired, wondering if this younger officer was a newcomer.
"Only a couple weeks. I came to work under Harsin, to be honest! He's a great boss so far. And I'm sure he thinks I'm an equally great employee, right, Captain?" He looked at Harsin expectantly.
The Captain responded with a snort. "Maybe if you work hard, Cepol."
"Oh, he's just being grumpy," the grey salarian waved his hand at his elder, and the three of them entered an elevator to lead to the Upper Wards. "How long have you two been friends?"
"We're only acquaintances," Harsin snapped coldly, looking at Kelly with an ounce of venom. The human girl couldn't help but feel like she was really stepping in on something she couldn't understand, and his attitude wasn't making her feel any more comfortable.
"We met a few weeks back," Kelly explained shakily, trying to keep the air of the conversation positive. "He helped me out with my job, and we had lunch together last week." She directed a feeble smile at the green-skinned alien, who frowned and turned his face away from her. What had she done?
"Oh, then I guess he hasn't warmed up to you quite yet, which is what all this is about," Cepol said with a wink, gesturing to all of Harsin. "He's really a nice guy. Pretty sensitive. He loves poetry and dance and that sort of thing, don't you, buddy?"
As the elevator reached their destination, the three of them stepped out and began walking towards the club. "Dance?" Kelly gasped, suddenly excited. "I actually used to be a professional dancer back on Earth!"
Harsin turned his attention to her, giving her a curious look. "Really?"
"Yeah! I mean, it wasn't exactly ballet or anything, but I worked as a dancer in a club."
"So, like those asari girls!" Cepol said, his eyes lighting up excitedly. Kelly giggled a little.
"Yeah, kind of like that. Do you dance at all, Harsin?"
"Nah, he just appreciates the art form," Cepol answered for him, "but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a show some time." Again, the younger salarian winked, but the psychologist could tell he was really trying to be friendly and break the ice. She was suddenly significantly more interested in getting to know Harsin as a person, and not just as a salarian. In fact, talking to Cepol, their psychology didn't seem to be all that different from human psychology. Each individual had his or her own personality, something a bit different and quirky. She wasn't sure why she was surprised at this realization, as it made sense. Kelly began to realize that perhaps she had been looking at Harsin the wrong way – that it might be worth it to really get to know him as a person.
When they entered Flux, the pounding bass music filled Kelly's chest with a familiar twang. She had missed the sound of a club, and she wondered why she hadn't bothered going to one since she first arrived on the Citadel. The murmur of people trying to talk over the music, the clinking of glasses, all of it made her smile a little. They found a small table to sit at, and Cepol wandered to the bar to order a few drinks.
Harsin sat still, uninterestedly looking away and drumming his fingers on the table. Kelly gave a small frown.
"I can leave if you want me to," the redhead half-yelled, trying to be heard over the music. Harsin's vision snapped to her as if he had forgotten she was here, and for a few moments he just stared at her before responding.
"Don't worry about it," he remarked emotionlessly, shrugging a shoulder. Kelly's mouth twisted downwards, still feeling a little awkward tagging along. They sat in silence, waiting for Cepol to return.
The grey salarian came back with a grin on his face, bearing a handful of tall glasses of cocktails. "Hope humans like these things," he flirted, winking at Kelly and placing the drinks on the table.
The psychologist was excited – she had yet to actually try alien food. Something about the unfamiliarity of it had intimidated her. She had never been very adventurous with food, always a little scared of food from cultures other than her own. Now that a salarian had actually placed a drink from his culture in front of her, she couldn't decline.
In the tall glass, it was a gradient from clear at the bottom, to a murky green at the top. She wondered if that was vodka at the bottom. Since the salarians weren't dextro, their composition of alcohol had to be very similar to humans'. She took a swig of it, crinkling her nose at the bitter taste, but she relaxed when a tropically sweet aftertaste touched the sides of her tongue and a shiver of warmth went through her body. She gasped and grinned, thanking Cepol while he engaged her in conversation.
The human wouldn't have ever predicted that her first night getting drunk on the citadel would be with a couple of near-stranger aliens, but she couldn't say she was arguing against it. For the first time since she arrived, Kelly was finally made to feel like she was welcome in this conglomeration of cultures and people.
As the unlikely trio went through their second, and then third round of drinks, Cepol was finally able to rope Harsin into conversation. They talked about their home planet, about where they met.
"Harsin used to really want to be a pet groomer," Cepol giggled, swirling his drink around his Collins glass. "He swore it was the only job for him for years." Kelly couldn't help but grin at the salarian across the table, who was stifling a chuckle himself.
"It's a commendable job," she reassured him, "someone has to keep that pet hair in order."
"That's the thing," Harsin responded, "Animals native to Sur'Kesh – they don't really have hair! There's no market for it!" The three of them laughed together, and Cepol smiled contentedly, glancing back and forth between the two of them.
"Well, now that you two have warmed up a little, I think I'll be taking my leave," the grey alien said, knocking back the rest of his glass. "There's an asari over there that's been catching my eye, and I'd like to become acquainted with her, if you get what I mean." With a final wink, the officer hopped out of the chair he was in and wandered off into the dark club.
Kelly smiled at Harsin across the table, suddenly feeling a little sheepish again. "I thought salarians didn't… you know, have sexual attraction," she questioned, her voice louder than the whisper it might have been if they were in a quieter setting.
The salarian Captain shook his head. "Cepol might be the exception to that rule," he joked, sipping delicately at his cocktail. "Anyway, how can you blame him? Asari look just like bright blue salarians!"
Kelly squinted at the nearest dancer, and then gave Harsin an incredulous look. "I'm really not seeing it," she said, choking on a giggle.
"You see, it's with the eyes, the uh…" Harsin gestured at the body. "Anyway, you get what I'm saying."
"I really don't!" the psychologist laughed, pushing her hair back with one hand. She wondered if this was something salarians thought often, and she made a mental note to check up on that. Was it a part of Asari's mind manipulation abilities? She knew they had mental powers which allowed them to reproduce, but that would be much more invasive, and much more widespread.
Harsin leaned over the table, and Kelly leaned in likewise to listen to him.
"Would you like to dance?" he said, and the redhead felt her cheeks grow a little pinker than they already were. Kelly nodded vehemently, sipping the last of her drink and hopping up from the table. Harsin didn't bother to finish his, leaving the glass half full, and he followed her to the dance floor, ushering her with a gentle hand on the small of her back.
"What kind of dancing do you like?" Kelly asked, her face close to his, already moving her body along to the music. She snapped her fingers and shifted her feet, the rhythm making her feel at home.
"Whatever dancing you like to do," Harsin murmured back, a smile playing on his thin lips. The young dancer grinned, twirling away from him as if she were a ballerina, and then tiptoeing back, flipping her hair over her shoulders and giving the salarian a smoldering expression. Harsin shifted awkwardly, looking almost completely out of place on the dance floor. Feeling a moment of pity, Kelly grabbed his hands, placing them gingerly on her waist and draping her own arms around his shoulders.
"Just have fun with it!" she said, fluttering her eyes as if they were lights. The two of them seemed to almost melt together they were so close, and they twisted along with the rhythm. Kelly lead the dance, pulling Harsin along to the beat, showing him where each sway and movement was placed. Kelly turned around, her luxuriously rippling hair cascading against Harsin's front, and she felt him press his face into her mane. The experience was not sexual, but instead an exchange of enjoyment and trust, a push and pull of passion, and yet understanding. They swirled over the floor in voluptuous curves, gliding past other couples and patrons as if they didn't exist. The woman felt as if her chest were blooming with emotion, with tender caring that she hadn't felt since she last danced. She melded with the music, straining against each beat and pulling it to her will, and Harsin was only along for the ride.
When the finally finished dancing, they stumbled, hand in hand, out of the club. They leaned against a railing side-by-side, looking over the wards, and caught their breath. The pounding of the bass from the club could still be heard in the background, but the open air was refreshing. Kelly pulled her hair up into a ponytail, feeling the wet hair on the back of her neck, but also feeling the soft wind of the artificial air cooling her off.
"I haven't had this much fun since I got here," she admitted, looking down at her clasped hands.
"Me neither," Harsin responded, and he fixed his enormous gaze on her. A heartbeat of a moment passed before Kelly turned her head to meet his deep black eyes as well. They sheepishly smiled at each other, and the psychologist thought to herself, she felt content with just this. Unlike how it might have been with a human, there was no pressure to push anything romantically or sexually after such an encounter. There was only friendship, only good feelings flowing between them like an electrical current. It had only taken a few drinks and one good dance to break down that wall between them.
"Kelly," Harsin began, interrupting her thoughts. She turned away from the railing, leaning back against it with her elbows. "Get dinner with me tomorrow night. I was cold before, I…" he sighed. "I didn't give you a chance, with Cerberus."
"What do you mean?" she asked, but he only shook his head. A beat passed, then, "Alright, I'll get dinner with you tomorrow."
"I'll take you somewhere you've never been," he said, grinning. "A salarian restaurant, somewhere I can show you something you've never tried." The psychologist nodded in response, grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together.
"I'd love to."
They went out at least once weekly, oten going to a different place every week. Harsin showed Kelly slices of his culture, and she opened up his tastes to something a little more human. They were kindred spirits, able to talk about their own interests. Kelly learned about the wildlife of Sur'Kesh, and the dance and entertainment styles of the planet as well. She taught Harsin about her own culture, showing him the compositions and dances of musical theatre, and they often sat on benches in the Presidium watching holographic vids on their omnitools together. The friendship was calm, it was blissful, and it was peaceful. While Harsin had held up a wall for those first couple weeks, it was almost completely broken down. Only every so often did he change the subject, or look uncomfortable when they talked about Cerberus.
One day in particular, Kelly complained endlessly about Naomi and her endless flirtation with Lieutenant Bishop. The psychologist was convinced her coworker must be trying to sleep her way through the ranks. She whined about the girl's sharp words and sharper looks. "We're going on a trip in a few days to Bekenstein, to be monitored for promotion," she said in frustration. "It's my goal to have that promotion secured before she can even approach it with the Lieutenant. In fact-" She was cut short by Harsin.
"You should leave Cerberus," he said gravely, looking her straight in the face. Kelly paused, furrowing her brows.
"What?"
"It's not good for you, you should leave."
"Harsin, it's my only job here," she scoffed, holding out a hand in exasperation. "They're the reason I'm on the Citadel in the first place. I can't just quit." She thought back to her very first day here, the muffled screams of the boy she and Harsin had tracked down for Cerberus. Something told her quitting wasn't even an option.
"It doesn't matter. You can move in with me. We could leave the Citadel, find something off-planet. It's not safe for you." Harsin's tone had become urgent, almost panicky. Kelly stood up, giving him an incredulous look.
"I can't just leave Cerberus," she said, a flash of fear glinting in her eyes. "I have a contract with them."
"When was the last time you heard from your family?"
"W-what?" the psychologist stammered, taking a step back from him. She thought about it. Her mom hadn't bothered to contact her, let alone respond to any of her messages. She hadn't really thought it might have anything to do with Cerberus, she figured it was a slow connection, or her mother was busy. "This is absurd, Harsin. You can't just order me to uproot my whole life."
"I don't want you to get hurt, Kelly," he argued, beginning to raise his voice with frustration. She frowned.
"I… I have to go," the redhead said, even though she didn't. She didn't want to even think about what might happen to her if she tried to leave Cerberus. She didn't disagree that she might get hurt, but she didn't want to personally put her life in even more danger than it already was. As she turned to walk away, she found herself choking back tears. Something told her that Harsin meant more than he was saying.