Shepard, followed by the others, walked into a new four-bedroom apartment he had bought.

"A four-bedroom apartment." Michael whistled. "Shep, how rich are you?"

"Very." Isabella said. "I hacked into his bank accounts."

"Steal anything?" Michael asked.

"I have money, Michael." Isabella said. "I wanted information."

"So..." Michael gestured for her to continue.

"No, I didn't steal any money from Shepard." Isabella said.

"Wasted opportunity. I bet Shepard wouldn't have shown you mercy." Michael said.

The others, excluding Shepard, who was cooking, looked at Michael until the penny dropped.

"Oh." Michael finally said. "He did show you mercy."

"He's the idiot." Haku said. "I'm Haku, the-"

"Androgynous Soldier." Michael said, and Haku playfully hit him on the arm.

"Hey! It's the truth!" Michael said. "Shepard's the cold-yet-secretly-kind Commander."

"What am I?" Isabella asked, leaning forward and putting her head on her laced-together fingers.

"Um...Ah..." Michael was struck silent by Isabella's intent eyes.

"Bad-guy-turned-good-guy." Haku said. "Mike's got a crush on you."

"Nuh-uh! She tried killing us!"

"Then why are you suddenly hiding your lower body?"

"You're a pervert!" Michael said. "And, if you're a guy, creepy!"

Shepard walked in, wearing a plain white apron over his suit, carrying four plates.

"Are you a trained chef or something?" Michael laughed.

"Yes," Shepard answered, kicking his chair over, then putting the plates on the table.

"So, Shepard, how do you know I won't betray you?" Isabella asked.

"Try it." Shepard said coldly. "I know people who could get rid of your body minutes after I call."

Everyone at the table shivered.

"What am I going to do, anyways?" Isabella asked.

"You know people." Shepard said. "People who know about the Illusive Man. After I do something for Haku, you'll help me."

"Why aren't you doing something for me?" Isabella asked.

"You're the new guy." Michael smiled. "You have to be here for a bit before getting benefits. Speaking of benefits, did Haku and Shep..."

If looks could kill, Shepard glare at Michael was overkill.

"Michael, if you finish that sentence I will strangle you over a balcony, then, a moment before you lose consciousness, I will toss you to the ground." Shepard growled.

"So," Michael said, "hear any good music lately?"

"No," Haku said. "Hey, Big Guy, are you okay?"

Shepard came back to reality, his eyes gaining clarity. "Of course."

"Hm." Haku said, not believing him.

"Duh! Haku, that's Shepard! He's invincible!" Michael said.

"Not so invincible." Isabella said. "My men beat him fairly well."

"And how are they doing?" Michael asked.

"They were all killed." Isabella admitted.

Shepard's omni-tool beeped, and he opened it under the table. A message from Garrus. It read:

'Shep, what the hell is this? This guy came from Omega with a giant bump on his head, saying 'Commander Shepard killed a whole bunch of Isabella's guys!' We can't do anything about it, though (Omega's way out of C-Sec's jurisdiction) but I'm getting a whole bunch of questions from the guys about you. Were you there?'

Shepard grimaced, and sent a quick reply.

'Of course not.'

"That's weird." Haku said, close to Shepard. "There's a survivor?"

Shepard nearly shivered, her breath right in his ear. "I must have missed him," Shepard said.

"Must have." Michael said. "So, Isabella, you doing anything this weekend, or...?"

"I'm stuck with Shepard, and aim to leave as soon as we've killed the Illusive Man." Isabella said.

Michael kept looking at her. "So...?"

Isabella smiled, shaking her head left and right. "Okay, I'll date you. I won't pay, though, and I'll lower my expectations."

"Woo! Low expectations!" Michael shouted, throwing his hands in the air.