Authors notes: Mass Effect is the property of BioWare

Chapter 9: I Promise

A thunderous banging stirred Thane from his dreams, the black void had taken him within seconds of entering his room and he found himself collapsed on his bed, lying spread eagle across the duvet. The banging on his dorm door was quickly joined by the rhythmic hammering inside his aching head as he remember the fight he had had moments before. His head felt like it had been pulled under a truck and his body ached in places he didn't know could. With a mumble Thane pulled himself out of bed and swore quietly at the pain in his legs from standing up, his head span and he felt the sensation to throw up but fought it off and composed himself. Steadily, gingerly he edged towards the door to see who had disturbed his peaceful slumber.

Thane twisted the lock on the inside of the door and it instantly burst open, staggering Thane backwards in surprise as Kat rushed into the dark room. She looked at him horrified for a second before anger's red face began to play with her expression.

"Do you know how long I was fucking knocking for?" She asked expecting no reply, Thane still opened his mouth to try and defend himself but Kat spoke straight through his objections.

"What were you even doing? Clearly it wasn't healing yourself." Kat looked Thane up and down before continuing. "There's this brilliant thing in the universe now called medi-gel! Means you don't have to suffer in pain you idiot."

Kat blew her fringe out of her face in a huff and stormed over to the sofa swinging her arms by her sides like she was on a mission. She forcefully sat down on the sofa and crossed her right leg over her left, folding her arms across her waist. Her face was easy to read, screwed up bridge, narrowed eyes, taught lips. Kat was clearly angry with Thane.

He closed the door that Kat had left ajar with her flamboyant entrance and hobbled over to the area she was sitting.

"Sorry I've pissed you off," Thane's sarcasm was met with a cutting stare from Kat. "But I'll have you know that I have been unconscious since I got in so I haven't actually had time to make my self look better for you."

Kat's face changed from pure, unbridled rage to an expression likable to a worried child who's lost their mother.

"You were passed out this whole time?" Her voice had an undertone of fear and it surprised Thane.

"Well yeah, what it's not been that long has it?" Thane realized that with the out of the ordinary wake-up call he had forgotten to check the time.

"Thane it's ten in the evening."

Thane raised an eyebrow accusingly at Kat, it couldn't be ten already, the fight had only just happened. He reached for his bedside table and grabbed his alarm, sure enough Kat had been right and it was in fact ten o'clock. Thane stood confused and speechless, he had been passed out for just under twelve hours without realizing it. That was basically a whole day.

"How can it be ten already? I swear I walked in about 10 minutes ago."

"If you've been passed out for that long then you are more badly hurt than I thought. Come on sit down. I'll go get the medi-gel." Kat spoke softly now, her voice still fraught with worry but she had clamed down. Gracefully she stood up and walked into the bathroom as Thane followed her orders and fell into the sofa. Taking the weight off Thane's left side was an instant relief to him and he relaxed once more, he would have drifted back into sleep had it not been for Kat sitting down gently next to him.

"Jesus, Mark gave you a right beating didn't he?" Kat laughed but he voice remained worried and frail as she opened the medi-gel's container.

"How do you know what happened?" Thane asked.

"You think I wouldn't find out? Rick, Steve and that Lindsey girl were all sitting outside your room, But they just sorta looked at me, smiled and then left. Vicky told me what happened."

Thane was suddenly struck with horror.

"Shit." He though. "What had Vicky told her? What if she told Kat what I'd said? I knew Vicky was a bitch." Thane quickly shook away his shocked expression and turned to face Kat who was still fumbling with the container.

"What did Vicky tell you happened?"

"She told me that Mark and some kid had a fight in the living area and that Mark was now in the academy hospital with some broken bones. She wasn't much help on the details though, apparently when the fight had finished one of Mark's friends had yelled at everyone there telling them that if word got out who it was the gossip wouldn't live long enough to regret it. It definitely worked; no one wants to talk about it and none of the teachers know who did it, you got off clean it seems."

"How do you know it was me that did it then?" Thane asked but continued to explain himself after a taunting, amused look from Kat. "Ok ignore the battle scars. Why did you come knock on my door?"

Kat looked down for a second her eyes, while still as bright blue as always, seemed to be merely a mask.

"Mark told me when he woke up." Her voice was quiet and distant, more so than before.

"He said that you two had a fight and had destroyed the living area. He remembered charging at you and then waking up in the hospital."

Thane smirked and let out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Faint wisps of anger crept back into Kats voice.

"So he doesn't remember me knocking him out then? What a surprise." Thane could have sworn he saw the briefest hint of a smile appear on Kat's face but if he did it quickly left again.

"Don't sound so smug ok, from the state of you he was pretty close to taking you down with him." Kat applied the first dollop of medi-gel to the large cut on Thane's chin which drew a sharp inhale from him.

"Point taken." Winced Thane as the medicine started its magic. The skin on his chin started to reform and join together, slowly at first but speeding up as the gel took effect. Within no time the only remnants of the wound ever being there was a thin white line across the base of Thanes chin.

"Alright now what else is wrong with you? You weren't walking right and if my biology knowledge is correct your chin doesn't have much to do with movement so where else are you hurt?"

Kat's caring and slightly sarcastic tone warmed Thanes heart, it was nice to have a good friend take care of him after the ordeal of the morning.

"Uhh yeah I am hurt but that's fine I can do it now." Thane moved to take the medi-gel from Kat's hands and she snatched it back out of his reach.

"Not a chance. You've won a fight; you've proved your manly and shit now let me help you." Kat's voice sounded determined but still Thane insisted.

"Honestly I'm fine, I can handle it, just give me the-"

"Thane." Kat's voice was now deadly serious. "You know me, how often do I back down from thing?" She paused a second for effect.

"Exactly, now stop trying to be a macho dickhead and let me help."

Thane sighed. The pink haired biotic very rarely, if ever, backed down from an argument and he could tell that today was not one of those rare occasions.

"Ok ok, if there really isn't anyway to stop you my left side is giving me some problems."

"You mean here?" Kat reached out and placed her hand on the left side of Thane's chest, bringing with it a rush of pain and a reaction to move away from Kat.

"Shit sorry. I didn't think it was that bad." Kat's voice was shocked and she looked down at her lap, retracting her hand back towards herself. She sounded shy and guilty. The worry that had been absent had returned with full force. Thane saw her reaction to his pain and felt bad; he didn't want her feeling guilty because of him so tried to put her at ease.

"No it's ok, was just shock."

Kat's eyes met Thane's and he saw the guilt flicker and then disappear from her eyes. The smallest of smiles appeared on Kat's face and her body posture relaxed again.

"Ok, I'll warn you next time. Ok take your top off."

"I- I'm sorry what now?" Thane's eyes were wide and he stumbled with his inquiry as it rushed out of his mouth.

"Well yeah I can't apply medi-gel through clothes can I? This stuffs good but not THAT good."

Kat had a good point and Thane knew she was right. Then why was he nervous? It wasn't like Thane was ashamed of his body; he had taken his top off already at UBA to go swimming but this time was different. It was just Kat now and she was definitely going to be looking at his body. Thane suddenly wished he had done more exercise and worked out more, he was nothing compared to Mark to put it kindly. Thane took one final look into Kat's brilliant blue eyes, saw that she was serious and sighed; slowly he took of his shirt. Thane winced as he raised his arms above his head and grimaced. Eventually he was able to work his way out of the tight T-shirt and threw it to the floor beside the sofa. Without meeting Kat's eyes he turned his left side to her and looked away.

Kat went to help Thane remove his top when she saw he was having trouble but something held her hand back. Her eyes looked up and down his body while he took of his t-shirt, gazing at his now bare upper body. She found herself staring at him. Thane was not covered in muscle like Mark was but his body was clearly defined. Kat was reminded of the first time she had met Thane down in the practice area and just like then, her stomach fluttered slightly at the sight of him. Now there was not piece of clothing on his upper body Kat could see his toned chest and the faint outline of abs. Her eyes grew wide and betrayed her surprise, she knew Thane wasn't unfit but she didn't expect him to have a good body. His arms took her attention next; Thane's elbows were on his knees and his hands interlocked with each other in front of him, arching his back slightly. The posture he was in tensed his arms slightly and the definite shapes of bicep muscles were present. Kat drew in breath almost silently as she stared over Thane like a schoolgirl before coming to her senses.

Kat took some of the medi-gel in her hand and cleared her throat.

"I- I'm going to touch you again now… are you ok with that?"

"Yeah sure." Was the only answer she got. Thane appeared to be far more interested in the wall on the opposite side of the room. Kat noticed Thane's face looked red and flush but she concluded that it must have been a medi-gel side effect and carried on.

She slowly and gently placed a shaking finger on the bruised side of Thane's chest. This drew an instant reaction from him as his body flinched away from her touch as if it were ice. Kat herself flinched away, surprised by the sudden movement, It dawned on her how silent the room was at that moment. She again went to touch the bruise, this time without a negative reaction from Thane; only a barely audible gasp crawled out of his mouth due to the gel. Kat now held her palm flat against Thane's side and began to slowly rub the gel into his injured chest. She had to suppress a sigh as she ran her hand over his side, from his firm pec muscles down to his toned abs. She had never expected Thane to be like this under the hoodie.

Kat caressed and massaged Thane long after the medi-gel had been rubbed in, she continued to gentle run her fingertips over his body without even thinking until Thane turned around to look at her. His blue eyes connected with Kat's crystal-ice blue ones and froze her in place.

"Thanks. That feels a lot better now." Thane spoke with a soft, relaxed voice like he had just woken up from a peaceful dream. He was smiling and it lit up his face. Kat smiled back in an almost trance like state, she was still in shock from seeing Thane's body for the first time, toned and smooth like she could never have imagined.

Thane could still feel Kat's petite fingers lingering on his chest after he thanked her. He couldn't lie to himself. He had loved Kat caressing his body. Once he took his shirt of he was nervous she would barely want to touch him or worse change her mind and give him the gel, she was used to Mark the tank after all. But she didn't she had gently, almost tenderly healed him with her slender fingers. Each time she touched him his skin would prickle as tiny biotic charged passed between them, dancing and faintly glowing in the dimly lit room.

Thane wished he could have stayed with Kat massaging him for hours but the boring, logical part of his brain stepped in and grounded his dreams.

"Remember Thane," The dull voice began. "She has a boyfriend, and she's helping you out as a friend, don't get sucked into that vortex again, you only just crawled out last time."

Thane cursed his inner self and bowed to its long term reasoning over his short term wants. Reluctantly he turned fully around so Kat's hands slid off his side and onto the sofa. His chest felt suddenly colder. Kat's expression had flicked to a shy girl and she had broken eyes contact with Thane as he turned around. Her stare followed her own hands and stopped where they rested, she refused to meet Thane's eyes again.

"Umm so yeah… thanks for doing that Kat. My chest feels a lot better now, so does my face." Thane lifted a hand and pointed to the thin line running along his chin. Kat didn't look up.

The motion of pointing to his own face made Thane winced loudly and he turned his hand around so his palm was facing away from him. He had forgotten that his hand had become injured in the fight and his knuckles were badly bruised and cut. This made Kat look up.

She held her hand over her mouth and gasped at Thanes knuckles, a slight over reaction he thought as it was just superficial. Kat quickly grabbed his hand and pulled it towards her, followed by the rest of Thane. She looked up from the injured hand and into his eyes, a faint ember of anger re-igniting in her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were still hurt?" Her voice sounded more upset than angry to Thane, her eyes and expression was just for show.

"I honestly didn't even remember till now, sorry."

"You should be." Kat mumbled as she rummaged around for the container and applied more medi-gel to his knuckles.

Her hands rubbed the gel over his wounds and carefully massaged it in to start the healing process but she didn't stop. Her fingers continued gliding their way over his hands, tracing his veins and circling his palm as she turn his hand over. She flipped his hand back so his knuckles faced up and slid her own hand under his, gently placing their palms together.

Thane was now staring wide eyes at their hands, his face was blank and he was speechless. The room was as silent as a burial ground but he had nothing to break through the grave with. Not even a thought stirred in his mind. Thane could only stare, awestruck at Kat's actions. She squeezed his hand and looked up towards him, Thane saw he ice blue eyes glint in the pale light of the room, her pink hair shimmer as her head moved and her full lips parted. She was so beautiful.

Suddenly Thane felt her free hand on the back of his neck and she brought their lips together before he could even think. Kat's lips were soft like last time and she tasted sweet. Her tongue parted Thane's lips and he returned the gesture, letting their tongues explore each other's mouths. Thane's eyes were closed but he didn't need sight, the passion in Kat was evident in the way she pulled herself into his kiss. Thane heard, no felt the tiniest of moans from Kat's throat as their kiss continued, their tongues flicking past and caressing each other. Thane could barely believe it. This is how he wanted his first kiss with Kat to be, not the one after the party where they had basically bumped lips and then Kat had cried and felt guilty over Mark.

Mark.

How could Thane have been so stupid? He had gotten caught up in the moment again, caught up in Kat's wonderful eyes. How could he do this again? No how could SHE do this again. Thane was certain Kat knew how he felt for her, was this all just some big game for her? A rising sea of anger drowned the sheer joy Thane had been feeling seconds earlier. He broke off the kiss and stood up, forcing a surprised Kat away from him.

"You can't keep doing this shit to me Kat!"

The un-usual outburst from Thane shook Kat and she lost whatever thought she had in her head. All she could do was stammer.

"Wh- What do you- What?"

"You can't keep playing with my head ok? First you come to my room crying and kiss me, and then you completely blow me off without even a second thought about my feelings. I make friends with you again and decide to force down how I feel and then you do this shit? Do you even like me Kat or do you just like the attention you get? You have a boyfriend Kat and I wont let you keep playing with my feelings anymore, I just can't take it."

Kat's mouth moved but no words came out, she looked choked up and on the verge of tears, her ice blue eyes now pooled with water but she quickly blinked it away as best she could. Her head dropped and she stared down into her lap, her words were forced and reverberated around the soundless room like a tiny echo.

"I'm sorry."

Thane was disheartened at Kat's sadness but his anger at being played like a game still burned strong. He contemplated giving in to his feelings for Kat but couldn't bring himself to get hurt by her again. He turned his back to her and walked towards the bathroom.

"I'm going to have a shower, you can let yourself out if you want."

Thane left the warm, calming embrace of the shower twenty minutes later and dried himself off in front of the bathroom mirror. He looked at his reflection and sighed. Had he been too harsh on Kat?

"No." Replied the voice in his head, ever so slightly shaken. "It's better this way. Now you can finally stop being hung up on her."

"But did you really have to be that blunt with her?" Thane knew the answer to his own question. All the anger from the morning had still been hanging around his mind like a plague and he had snapped at Kat. She didn't deserve to be treated like that but he got carried away. Thane cursed his own temper and felt a wave of guilt crash over his body. He sighed again before putting on some clothes and exiting the bathroom. What he saw shocked him to his very core.

Kat was still there.

She hadn't moved from the spot he had left her. Kat was still seated on Thane's sofa only now she held her head in her hands. Thane could hear her quiet cries and see her body shaking from across the room. Any remaining anger or malice he felt towards Kat evaporated the instant he set eyes on her. Suddenly his only thought and want was to stop Kat crying, stop what he had done. Thane felt a knot in his stomach at that thought; he hated the fact that he had made her cry.

Thane paced over to where the crying biotic sat and slowly took a seat next to her. He placed one hand on her back and slowly rubbed between Kat's shoulder blades. She was shaking like she had been out in the cold for hours and her cries that had once been quiet turned into sobs that filled the room as Thane touched her. He was lost for words for a brief second but regained his composure and tried to comfort his pink haired friend.

"Kat I'm sorry I yelled at you, you should never have be treated like that. I was just angry, I didn't mean it." Thane didn't care about his own pride at that moment, he just wanted to see Kat happy, and if sabotaging his own morals was what it took, he was going to do it.

"No. You were right." Kat managed to get out through sobs and coughs. She was clearly distraught.

"I'm so so sorry." She continued, trying to force out words through jaded cries. "You were right. Every time I was upset I would come to you because I knew that you liked me and I would feel wanted. It was selfish and cruel just using you till I felt good again. The worst part is that I actually have feelings for you too, I broke up with Mark today Thane"

Thane's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull. What? Had he just heard correct? Kat had broken up with Mark and liked him as well? And he had just yelled at her probably ruining any chance he ever had. Brilliant. Thane felt like the floor below him had fallen away into nothingness.

"Kat if I had know I-"

Kat interrupted him in a quiet, sad tone of voice.

"Please Thane, jut let me speak" Thane didn't want to complicate matters any worse so allowed her to continue.

"All this time I have had feelings for you but I… I can't let myself get close to you, I just can't. If I get close to people I get hurt. Every time I get close something happens and I end up being the one bearing the scars. It's why I was with Mark, because he didn't try to get close, but you. You found a way to get close and it scared me."

Kat paused for a few seconds to regain her strength and breath deeply. She took he head out of her hands and looked up at Thane before continuing. Her eyes were bloodshot and her checks were red from crying. Her make-up had run down her face and her once neatly kept pink pixie-cut hair was now hanging loosely in no particular style in front of her face.

"Did you ever wonder why I don't like being called Katherine? It's because that was my Mum's name, I was named after her." Kat looked away from Thane and stared at the wall in front of her, her ice blue eyes awash with tears still.

"Mum and I were so close, she was my best friend and I could always count on her for anything, Even if it seemed like the smallest thing to me she would go out of her way to make sure I was alright. Then one day, I woke up and she had just left. No note, no explanation. Nothing. Just like that I was alone and the world seemed so much darker without her."

Thane was horrified to hear about Kat's past. He didn't understand how someone so upbeat and happy could have such a skeleton hidden in their closet. His mind raced with questions for her but he could sense that Kat wasn't done, and as predicted she continued.

"Dad tried his best to fill in for her, taking me all the places I needed to go and trying to talk to me about school and stuff but he had a job to do as well. We started to get close like me and Mum had been and I started to be happy again but then everything went wrong again. Dad's business started loosing money quick and to stop it he got in with some bad people. I never found out who they were but one day banging and yelling coming from our door woke me up. They broke in and just started smashing things and demanding what dad owed them. They threatened to take me if he couldn't pay up within a few days and left."

Thane could see the pain in Kat's eyes. It hurt her re-telling this story, re-living all the memories she had no doubt buried away and tried to forget. But even through the pain and sadness in her voice, Kat carried on.

"After that Dad sent me away to live with his friends Cole and Mel; he didn't think it was safe for me to be with him. A week later I heard on the news that he had been killed in a gang attack. Within a year the two people closest to me had been ripped from me and I felt completely alone. It's odd, having that happen to you changes a person. You don't feel the same as everyone else, how can you with something like that in your past? I felt like a ghost just floating through corridors with everyone else oblivious to my existence."

Kat breathed deeply, shuddering and rasping as she inhaled and sighing as she let out the long over-due breath. She kept her gaze fixed on the wall in front of her.

"Mel and Cole. Those were the names of Dad's friends. I lived with them for two years and we became close. I still felt the loss of my parents heavily on my shoulders but they seemed to lighten the load slightly. I began to sink back into reality again, started to interact with other people."

Kat swallowed and her voice became even quieter.

"Then it happened all over again. They had their own baby and didn't want me around. Suddenly those two years we spent getting close meant nothing and they shipped me off to a boarding school and forgot about me. They never wrote or contacted me; I had ruined their perfect family. The closet thing I had to parents in the world had abandoned me."

Kat finally looked back into Thane's eyes now. Her pale blue eyes were flooded with tears and her lips were quivering.

"That's why I acted like a bitch to you and why I can't get close to you, because I can't take the heartbreak again. I can't risk getting closer to you because I wont be able to stop myself completely falling for you and if something goes wrong I'll be left alone and empty again. I'm so sorry Thane."

Kat couldn't keep going anymore, she had poured her heart out to Thane and it was clear she had nothing left to give. Thane stared down into her crystal blue eyes and silently took in all she had said. How could one individual go though so much in such a short life? Thane understood now why she had acted so strangely, why she had tried so hard to put distance between them after the party. Even with all the madness that had gone on today Thane still found himself admiring Kat's beauty. This was Kat at her very worst, the lowest of the low and she still shone in his eyes. That's when he realized that she didn't need to be scared of him leaving, because he was never going to. In Kat Thane had found an equal, someone he would happily share his worst memories with as well as his happiest moments. She understood him and he understood her. Thane was not going to let this slip through his fingers again.

"Kat." Thane readied himself to chose his words but found they came out easily. "Since I first stepped foot into this academy and saw you, I've known that you were something special. You're fucking fantastic Kat. Each day I find another reason to…" Thane lowered his voice, unsure if he could openly say what he was thinking.

"Another reason to love you. I love you Kat. You're the most beautiful, funny, smart, confident person I have ever met. I know I'm not perfect and I know you are scared but I promise you; if you let me in, I will never, ever abandon you."

Kat starred up at Thane, her eyes fixed in place with his. She opened her mouth to try and speak but no words came out, instead her eyes began to water and tears fell down her cheeks. She clamped her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around Thane, pressing her head into his chest and feeling the warmth of his body against hers. Still teary eyes and crying, she finally spoke.

"I… I want to believe you but… I don't know Thane. I can't be left empty again, I wont let that happen again and I'm not sure if you can-"

Kat was cut off by Thane's hand as he tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. Gently their lips touched, they both closed their eyes and in silence and darkness they were at peace for a brief second. Than broke the kiss and gazed down into Kat's still watery eyes.

"I promise you, as long as I can stand I will be by your side. Trust me Kat, I know that this can work."

There was silence again between to the two. Thane was the most anxious and nervous he had ever been. The universe itself ground to a halt as he awaited Kat's response with baited breath. He dared not think, he dared not breath so as to some way keep the air clear for when Kat spoke. Decades passed them by before Kat responded.

"Ok. If you believe in me then I do too. I've been running for too long from my fears and I don't want to any more. I want to be with you Thane."

Thane thought his heart actually stopped. Not like in the mushy vids he had once watched but that his heart had physically stopped beating from anxiety. Kat's words brought him back into the real world like a car being jump-started. Her words echoed in his head "I want to be with you Thane". Never had Thane ever heard those words before and he had never thought they would be coming out of Kat's mouth. He couldn't help himself; Thane arched his neck and kissed Kat again on the lips, this time more passionately. Thane was lost in the joy rushing through his body like a shot of adrenaline. He felt like leaping up and bouncing off the walls.

Kat broke their kiss and smiled up at Thane. She was smiling properly again, that smile that had hooked Thane many weeks ago and her eyes accompanied her smile showing how happy she truly was. She had finally broken through her mental wall and had allowed herself to be happy with someone again, and not just anyone, with Thane. The boy she had at first spied upon, then befriended and now she lay in his arms, happier than she had ever been.

"I love you too Thane."