With Carmine and EDI:
"So you're an artificial intelligence that runs through most if not all of the ship? That's pretty impressive EDI." Carmine was genuinely impressed with her.
He was never much of a tech guy. That was more Baird's angle, "You are correct. Thank you Carmine." EDI's sultry female voice replied.
They continue down the hall toward the elevator. Carmine passes a few of the Normandy's crew causing the women to stare at the massive man as he lumbers by. Carmine heard their murmuring and he was surprised to find they weren't scared of him. Rather the opposite actually.
"Holy shit that guy is big." One of the women says.
"Did you see those arms?" The other asks.
"I wonder what he looks like under that armor." The first woman fires back.
A slew of inappropriate comments follow, and Carmine felt his neck getting hot, he wasn't used to all this attention.
Carmine, with the help of EDI, managed to make it to the Med Bay. As the doors opened to reveal who he could only assume was a doctor, EDI spoke up.
"Welcome to the Normandy's medical station, ran by credited doctor Karen Chakwas." Carmine looked down at the older, yet beautiful, silver haired woman as she shot him a smile.
"Ah you must be Clayton Carmine. EDI gave me the details but she forgot to mention just how incredibly tall you are." She chuckles and reaches her hand out to him.
Carmine shook it, "Nice to meet you doc, you can just call me Carmine. I'm a little confused I thought I was talking to EDI on my way over here?"
Dr. Chakwas furrowed her brow for a few second before smiling brightly at Carmine, "Ah I almost forgot you aren't from here and probably aren't used to things yet. EDI is an A.I. and she can manifest herself wherever she is needed. She's able to hold multiple different conversations at once."
Carmine let out an, "Ooooooooh." Followed by a scratch to the back of his helmet.
"Please come in, we should get started as soon as possible." The doctor insists. Shooing him inside. He lets her do so and makes his way into the spacious room. The heavy scent of rubbing alcohol makes him snicker as he recalls taking a shot of vodka with his team. More specifically the reaction Cole gave.
By now a small crowd had gathered at the window looking into the med bay, "If it's not a bother could you strip down to your underwear Carmine?"
Carmine froze and looked toward to window then back to Chakwas, "Now why would I need to do that Doc?"
Without looking away from her work she responded, "I need to conduct a physical in order to confirm you're ready for the field." Looking down from the chart she pulled up via her omni-tool she continued.
"It most likely won't be necessary to go any further than your undergarments if that's what you're worried about." She says reassuringly.
Carmine shook his head slightly and let out a sigh, "I know I'm ready for the field, but if it's necessary I guess I should get to stripping."
He stopped for a moment and heard the doctor let out a laugh, "You'd be the largest stripper I've ever had Carmine."
His chest rustled with a laugh as he began shedding himself of his armor. First went his gauntlets which he held unsure of what to do with them, "Ah yes, you can place your smaller bits and pieces on this table as well as your clothing." She pointed to a nearby table and Carmine shrugged placing his gauntlets down.
Carmine removed all his smaller pieces of armor and his weapons, placing them on the table. He was left in his boots, pants, chest armor, helmet, and his sleeveless shirt. He unfastened the straps on his chest armor and pulled the bulky piece of protection up and over his head. He drops it next to the table. A large bang grabbed the attention of the doctor.
"Are you alright Carmine?" She turns and her eyes widen as she notices his chest armor was sunken into the floor.
"Shit I'm really sorry doc." Carmine said while moving his armor and revealing the caved in section of metal floor where his armor landed.
"Now now Carmine, something that heavy isn't very good to be wearing all the time. You'll mess up your back." She scolds, gently waggling a finger at him.
He chuckled and stretched out, cracking his back, "You're tellin' me doc."
It was then that she noticed the open wounds on Carmine as well as the trail of blood going down his neck, "My my, I've been shirking my duties. I'm sorry Carmine I've been very distracted with my other work. Come, let me get those wounds in order." Carmine shrugged and walked over to her, taking a seat on one of the med bay beds.
As Chakwas patched his wounds Carmine tuned his hearing to try and get what some of the crew were saying about him, he almost immediately regretted it.
"Holy shit that's our newest crew member!?" One asks.
"Is he even human? I heard from Garrus he took on a Krogan in hand to hand combat and won." Carmine hummed and shifted his attention to a different conversation.
"There's just no way, look at the size of him, that guy is ripped." Carmine's ears perked curiously.
"Since he's so big I wonder if all of him is that big."
"Look at him and tell me he doesn't have a massive co-"
Carmine's eyes widened at the profane discussion happening in front of him. There were few things that bothered him, but talking about a man's private bits in front of him was downright dirty.
His eyes trained to a group of three women whom he could only assume were responsible and the blush on his face burned with a new intensity.
"Alright Carmine I'll need to you remove your helmet now. Carmine. Carmine!" The doctor shook his massive shoulder, snapping Carmine out of his embarrassed trance.
"Huh? Sorry doc I kind of spaced out for few there. So am I good to go?" He asks, clearly having no idea what she'd just requested of him.
She shook her head no, and Carmine slumped his shoulders, "I asked if you could remove your helmet, and even after I finish with your wounds we still have quite a bit to do Carmine."
Carmine let out a sigh, "If you say so doc." The veteran gear reaches up and pulls his helmet off. His black locks stuck out in random places as he does his best to pat it down, "Ah damn, the only thing I don't like about this thing. The helmet hair is just terrible."
Chakwas let out a laugh before she looks up from omni-tool to him, her eyes widening, "Dear god..."
The blood flow had stopped during his walk to the Med Bay but even with dried blood streaking down his face Carmine had completely shocked the good doctor. A blush found its way to the aging doctor's face, which only worked to surprise her further.
'He's got to be the best looking man I've ever seen...Even with all that blood on him. Holy Mother of God.' Chakwas felt an avalanche of returning emotions and hormones she believed were long gone. She hadn't swooned over a man in god knows how long.
Carmine looks down to the doctor, she looks completely starstruck. He really didn't like being exposed like this for long, so he snapped his fingers in front of her a few times, "Hey doc! You in there?" He furrowed his brow and was instantly met by a biting pain.
"Ah mother bitch!" Carmine instinctively reached his hand up to his forehead cut and poked around. The man sucks in air through his teeth as his fingers dig around in the open wound. Surprisingly it was still held together slightly by Sam's stitch work.
"Ah that's not good." he said rather nonchalantly as he jabs at his raw, torn flesh.
Chakwas shook her head a few times as Carmine was starting to fuck around with his wound, "M-my apologies Carmine. I-I just haven't ever seen someone like you before."
Carmine was more than oblivious to the red tint on the doctor's cheeks, "It's all good doc. Seems a lot of people haven't seen someone like me before."
Thankfully for her Carmine was almost fully sobered up, back to being entirely clueless when it comes to female behavior. Chakwas clears her throat, "Would you mind bending down a bit Carmine? I need to fix up that head wound of yours, unfortunately it will leave a nasty scar due to the damage you've taken. How'd you manage such a grizzly wound?"
Carmine complies and bends himself down so he was eye level with the doctor, his steel eyes penetrating her soul. Her blush deepened as she began to close his head wound. The process is normally extremely painful but Carmine didn't seem to be showing any signs of discomfort even. So the doctor decided to omit any pain relievers.
"I crashed a helicopter. Well I personally didn't, but I was present as it got shot out of the sky." He says rather calmly.
Chakwas looked into his eyes with bewilderment, "This is the only wound you sustained after your crash?"
Amusement twinkled in Carmine's eyes, "Yep, us gears are built to last." He said proudly, cracking a small smile.
Chakwas smiles in return, getting a better grasp of her emotions the longer she worked on Carmine's wound, "Or perhaps you're a lucky man?"
Carmine laughed, any other man in his spot would've felt the same way. For him, he felt nothing. If anything he would've preferred death. The more he thought about it the further his smile fell until a grim line took its place on his lips, "Unfortunately you're probably right about that," He muttered as Chakwas finished up.
She noticed the turn in his expression, without his helmet it was much easier to read the very expressive gear, "Alright Carmine can you finish removing your clothes?"
Carmine's head snaps to her and he rubs the back of his neck, "Ah, yeah, almost forgot again, sorry doc." If Chakwas didn't know any better she could've sworn she saw a tint of pink on his cheeks. She resisted the urge to keep a hand on Carmine's cheek as she cleaned the blood from his face.
Carmine stood and began removing his bloody sleeveless shirt, rubbing the remaining dried remnants of blood from his arms and head. His eyes widen slightly as he passes over the new scar on his dome, 'Damn, the meds here are crazy effective. Those wounds are practically nonexistent now. Sweet.' Carmine thinks as he places the blood soaked shirt onto the table.
Chakwas, and another member of the Normandy's crew audibly gasp from within the Med Bay when he turned and revealed a grizzly sight. Carmine's back was covered in long, horizontally streaking, thick, scars. Carmine's eyes flick to an empty space of the room, "Did you hear that?"
He heard light foot steps, barely audibly to even his enhanced ears. The cloaked figure locks eyes with him. She wasn't sure he knew where she was or if he was just guessing, thankfully the doctor took his attention, "Carmine...those scars on your back...I-"
Carmine turns back to the doctor, her eyes then traveled down his frame. Saying Carmine was muscular wouldn't even be the half of it. Surprisingly he had very little hair on his upper body, his large chest was littered with battle scars. The bullet and stab scars only added to his masculine appeal. Her mouth falls slightly agape, and she finds herself not in control.
He felt her eyes on him, running down his upper body. Trailing each scar and each extremely defined muscle. His eyes met hers and it made him a bit uneasy, but not necessarily in a bad way. He just wasn't used to the attention.
'Jesus, only times we've ever seen that look was Amy on prom night, and Sam.' Carmine gulps nervously, the voice in his head spoke made him nervous.
Chakwas presses a few buttons on her omni-tool and shutters come down over the med bay's windows. Carmine's head turns to the side, 'Sucks for them, peep show is over.' The voice echoes.
He turns his sights back to the doctor, she met his eyes and Carmine let out a small laugh at her starstruck look. She walks up to him, having closed her mouth to avoid drooling and looking like a fool. His eyes held a question that his lips would not speak. He froze as she hesitantly reaches a hand out and began trailing the defined muscles near his collar bone. Moving her hand to the center of his chest, she flattens out her palm on him.
Even with her hand fully stretched out, she was just barely touching both his pecs, "Fascinating.." He heard her mutter. Her hand rakes down his rock solid abdomen, tracing his six pack down to his belt. Carmine shuddered under her touch, and she found a smirk on her lips.
He grabbed her hand before she could proceed any further, "I-I'm not sure this is a part of the physical doc."
She looked up to his face and saw the uncertainty in his steel eyes. She moved her hand out of his light grasp and moved it to his face, rubbing her thumb along his cheek, "You let me worry about that."
Carmine's eyes widened, and his blush spread to his neck. Chakwas let out a small laugh and stepped back, "I'm sorry Carmine, it seems this old lady has made a fool of herself. We should continue with the normal physical."
Carmine noticed she seemed embarrassed, but was confused 'Old? Is that what old looks like around here? I could get used to that.' Clay nods in agreement with his thought.
"Now about those back scars Carmine?" She motioned back to the examination table, where she previously patched him up. Chakwas mentally scolded herself for letting her hands wander over his body. For all she knew he could have a wife and kids, but here she was groping him.
Hell she'd seen men with muscles similar to his before, but his seemed to be harder, larger, more defined. He even seemed to have enjoyed it. Carmine wasn't one for physical contact but he had to admit having her small hands on him was a good feeling. Even if he had only known her for about an hour, she seemed like a good person to him.
He had a sort of sixth sense when it came to reading people and trusted his instinct. Carmine shook his head slightly, his thick black hair flung back and forth, "Oh, those...I uhhh...was captured by the enemy. They tortured me, stuck hooks in my back and ripped me up real good." She could tell by the look on his face he was at least partially lying.
He hated liars, but technically he wasn't lying about the source of his wounds. The scars technically were from the hooks the grubs used when they tortured people. He remembered talking with Marcus about it when the Seargant accidentally saw them. Marcus told him that kind of torture broke a lot of good men, including Tai, 'Too bad for the grubs, it only made us stronger.'
Chakwas squinted her eyes at him and marked a few things off on the data pad. Her eyes traveled back to his body, and she had to bite her tongue to focus herself. Carmine took a seat on the table, "Ah ah ah, I'm going to need those pants off Carmine."
Carmine gave her a sheepish look, "Was afraid you'd ask again."
Chakwas gave Carmine a smile, "Don't worry big guy I'm sure you've got nothing to be ashamed of." She teases him and manages to wrench a chuckle from his lungs as he met her eyes
"Now that's something you've got to find out for yourself there doc."
It was going to be a long physical for the both of them, Carmine was nervous about the possibility of her questioning more of his scars. Chakwas on the other hand was fighting for her life, trying to suppress hormones she didn't realize she still had to worry about. Carmine's hands traveled to his belt and Chakwas let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in, licking her lips in anticipation.
After snagging an omni-tool wristband for Carmine from one of the engineers on the lower deck, Shepard made her way toward the medical wing of the Normandy. It took her a bit of time seeing as she went up to her room to store her armor and get changed. She wore a tight fitting black t-shirt with an N7 logo printed above her right breast, a pair of black jeans, and sneakers.
It has been roughly two hours since she let Carmine go off on his own, well technically with EDI's help but you get it. She wondered how the physical was going. Carmine was a mystery to her, she couldn't get him out of her brain, and not just the thoughts of his big strong arms wrapping around her. Although they were present as well.
She let out a sigh and muttered to herself, "Come on Jane get your head straight, he's just a man. You've had sex before. Seen hot guys before. You can do this." Her little pep talk would have been useful if she actually believed herself. Key words, would have. She found herself frozen at the entrance of the med bay. A figure de-cloaked behind her, chuckling slightly at the hesitant commander.
"Quite the man you've recruited in there Shepard. Is he for personal use or-" Shepard was snapped out of her daze by the master thief, "Jesus Kasumi! I hate when you do that." Kasumi laughs a bit at the scared commander.
Shepard recovered from her scare and continued "Carmine is quite the soldier, I think he'll be more than useful against the collectors. As for your second comment, I'll just assume you didn't say that."
The hacker grinned, her smile barely shown past her hood, "I was going to introduce myself in there but he seemed a bit preoccupied with the good doctor. She just couldn't keep her hands off of him, quite the lucky lady." Kasumi was loving this, she could tell Shepard was getting irritated.
"Have you seen him without his helmet yet?" Shepard crossed her arms over her chest. Slightly confused by the question.
"No I haven't, why? Anything I need to know?" Shepard's annoyed tone only fed the flames of Kasumi's teasing.
"You'll just have to figure that out yourself. He's got quite the array of scars on him though. That one's been through a lot. Quite the looker too."
Shepard pinches the bridge of her nose, "Yes he has, apparently he's fought in a war for the past ten years against a genocidal race of aliens. If there's any info you have on him from your snooping, I'd advise giving it up now."
Kasumi shook her head slightly and waggled a finger, "Don't worry Shepard, I doubt Chakwas will keep her discoveries to herself. Well, most of them anyway." With another chuckle Kasumi disappeared into thin air.
Shepard hated when she'd do stuff like that. 'What did she mean personal use? I mean it's not like I wouldn't be interested in him, but I still don't even know what he looks like.' Shepard let out a groan and turned back to the med bay doors and opened them.
Shepard let out a small gasp, Carmine was standing in the middle of the room facing away from her, re-buckling his pants. Apart from the long gander she took at his rear end, her eyes trailed up the long, ugly scars that marred his incredibly muscular back. They completely shocked her, "Holy shit.." Shepard barely whispered.
But as soon as the words came from her mouth Carmine turned to her, his helmet still off, thick black hair whipping into view.
There was a fierce blush on his face and he looked grateful that she was there, but Shepard on the other hand was blushing up a storm. He was easily the most handsome man she'd ever seen. He shot her a nervous grin and her heart pumped faster, 'There is no possible way thats Carmine.' She thinks.
"Hey Shepard." With her name spoken she was dumbstruck. The handsome giant in front of her was indeed Carmine. Shepard shakes her head, wiping a stray bit of drool that managed to slip from her mouth with the back of her hand as she locks eyes with him. Her eyes tore away from his beautiful gray orbs and raked down his muscular form.
'Oh goddamnit he's hot!' She internally yells.
If she wasn't already attracted to him, this certainly did it for her. His entire body seemed to be hardened, chiseled muscle. From a broad, scarred chest to his perfectly sculpted, equally scarred abdomen.
Carmine felt her eyes on him, similar to how Chakwas was staring him down, and a blush quickly rose to his cheeks as he grabbed a hold of his blood stained shirt and tossed in on. He effectively broke Shepard out of her horny stupor.
She took a moment to admire his features. A strong jaw littered with scars, steel gray eyes, a slice through his right eyebrow, and a streaking bullet scar close to his left temple that disappeared behind his hair as it ran back toward his ear. Shepard noticed the obvious new scar as well, no doubt the wound that had been causing blood to leak from under his helmet.
Even his lips had a small set of scars, they appeared to be scratch marks. Shepard felt her own lips tingle, wanting to feel them pressed against her skin. His messy black hair which no doubt was a sweat soaked, oily mess, was captivating for Shepard. She felt her hands twitch upon looking at it, 'Fuck I want to rake my nails through that mane.' Shepard bit her lip, trying to quell her urges. She cleared her throat and calmed down a bit.
"Hey Carmine, hope Karen's been treating you well. How's he doing doc, anything I should know?" Shepard turned her attention to the doctor, who was pulling up her notes on a data pad.
"Nothing too noteworthy Shepard. He's extremely healthy. Although being that healthy while also practically being 8 feet tall, and weighing 350 pounds is quite the anomaly. It seems Carmine here has an increased rate of healing, though I will have to do more analysis on his blood samples to give a definitive answer. Thank you again Carmine, I'm sure I'll be seeing you again at some point."
Shepard looked quite surprised, 'No wonder he seems so damn tall, he is that tall. And that weight. Jesus he's all muscle too.' Shepard lightly shook her thoughts free and continued.
"Ah come on Karen, he's only going to be the largest target on the battlefield. I doubt you'll see him that often." She joked, almost unable to believe her eyes when she saw the red tint on Carmine's cheeks. Or the shy smile on his face. The massive gear was bashful.
"Yeah, sorry in advance. I've got quite the tendency for getting wounded. If anything it'll keep you on your toes doc." Carmine joked with a smile.
Chakwas let out a small laugh and rested her hand on Carmine's left bicep, "Don't worry Carmine, I'll make sure to keep a spot open for you at all times." She shot him a wink, getting a chuckle from the large man.
Shepard smiled 'This is going better than I'd hoped. He seems easy to get along with.'
"Doc, may I put my armor back on?" Clay asks.
Chakwas chuckled and nodded her head, "Of course you can Carmine, you don't need to ask permission." Carmine nods sheepishly and goes over to put his gear back on. While he was getting his things the doctor and Shepard shared, or at least tried to share, a private conversation.
"Give me the rundown Karen." Chakwas nodded and sent the collected data to Shepard.
Pulling up her omni-tool she began reading Carmine's newly opened file, "This is just basic info, not much more than you said a few minutes ago. I'm going to need more. Not for his file, for...personal reasons." Chakwas sent a Shepard a knowing look causing the commander to look away and cough.
"His mental health is relatively stable considering what he's been through. We had a chat after the physical was done. That man has seen terrible things. His brainwaves show signs of PTSD. But other than that he's abnormally healthy. He's showing no signs of brain degradation. On top of that he has no permanent damage either other than his scars, and from what I know he doesn't exactly hang back during combat. He's an anomaly Shepard, a truly fascinating person. With your permission I'd like to arrange testing, purely off the books if that's quite alright. Only with his permission of course."
Shepard ran a hand under her chin pondering the information, "If he's alright with it, I don't see why not. Anything else, maybe basic things, like his age or-"
"I didn't see his privates if that's something you're interested in knowing about." Chakwas had seen Carmine in his underwear but didn't look out of respect for him. He'd been so well mannered it would've been disrespectful. However she did unintentionally catch a glance, and she was not disappointed.
Shepard looked mortified and whisper shouted, "Karen! I did not mean that." A fierce blush rose to her cheeks.
"Oh Shepard come now, don't be shy. I could see it in your face when you opened that door. Those prying eyes want to see the whole picture. I know mine do. Oh and that face, such a handsome devil."
Shepard's face was as red as a tomato "I-I don't k-know what you mean." Chakwas gave her a knowing smile.
"From the scans I was able to deduce he's 26 years old. Something I also noted was his surprising lack of body hair. He had reasoned it by saying he was burned so many goddamn times. All of his gear weighs much more than you'd think with how easily he carries himself. He has a rather impressive set of senses too. To be honest he's probably heard all of our conversation Shepard. Sorry in advance Carmine I know you're probably horrified."
The two looked over to the massive man and he was just finishing slipping his gauntlets on and sliding his boltok in its holster. His other weapons remained on the table.
He shrugged his shoulders "Eh, just glad you were honest. And it's kind of flattering honestly. In a weird, I just met you sort of way."
Carmine walks over to them, helmet gripped in one hand at his side, "Is there a way I can get a patch job done on my helmet. My right lens got cracked before I got here. I think I'll keep this though."
He trailed his finger along the deep claw marks on his faceplate, "One of those grubs back on omega scratched her up real nice, maybe it'll send a message to who we're fighting."
Shepard was just barely eye level with the Grub Killer painted on his torso and had to crane her neck to get a look at his face with how much closer he was. She had managed to compose herself enough to get words out.
"Y-yeah of course Carmine. We can take it to Garrus on our way to your room. He's pretty good with repairing equipment. Also I'm sorry for wanting to pry, I just needed some additional info if we're going to be fighting together." Shepard's breath hitched in her throat as Carmine tilted his head down to get a good look into her blue eyes. Which were slightly widened with mild panic.
Carmine gave her a knee destroying smile, flashing his white teeth to her, "Thank you Shepard. I'll gladly answer some more of your questions, in time of course."
Shepard wasn't one to back down, her blue eyes dilated slightly and she whispered to herself, "Don't threaten me with a good time there, big guy." Her smile widened as she looked deep into his steel eyes.
His smile grew less confident and his head dipped, shaking loose some black locks of hair to cover his eyes a bit. Shepard reached a hand up toward his face and he froze. His pupils dilated, his smile filing into a neutral line as his orbs lock onto the hand that stretched toward his head.
"It's alright Carmine." She whispered once again as she brushed the hair from his face, tucking some strands behind his ear. Her simple touch felt amazing. His slight shiver indicated as much. But he was still stone faced.
"My my Shepard, how naughty." He heard just ever so slightly.
His heart raced, hearing words yet seeing nothing to match them too. The only thing that could be responsible was long gone wasn't it?
"Hostiiiiiles."
Clay stood straight, pulling Shepard's hand from his hair gently, the look of embarrassment on her face was nothing shy of adorable.
But then he couldn't hear anything.
"Weeeak homoniiiiids."
"No..." Shepard and Chakwas shared a confused look. As his voice comes out deep and gravely.
"Carmine?" Shepard felt his lingering hand tighten slightly on her wrist.
"Grouuuuuund Wallllllkerrrrs."
He heard it again, just barely. A Theron guard. And then he saw it, cloaked in the dark. He could smell it now, the familiar stink of grub mixed with their leathery garb. It was a reeking smell he was too familiar with.
Chakwas notices the look in his eyes and panic fills her. It was a look she's seen so many soldiers adorn on too many occasion.
"Shepard he's having an episode." Shepard met the doctor's eyes and was suddenly ripped behind Carmine as he pulls his Boltok from his side, pointing it in the direction of a more poorly lit corner of the med bay.
Carmine protectively pushes the two women behind him "Carmine what are you-"
In a flash he sprung forward and was pinning a figure to the wall, Boltok hovering underneath where his left hand was gripped. Kasumi's figure appeared as Carmine wedged his revolver further into her chest. "Carmine don't!"
"You think you could hide from me Theron." His voice is cold, unrecognizable to the lighthearted one Shepard had just heard moments ago.
"Shepard he's reliving his past. Kasumi's cloaking tech must have triggered a response in his memories." The doctor said frantically as the two women tried to pry Carmine from Kasumi. His left hand gripping tight against her throat and his armor pressed firm against her body. If she didn't have a large gun pointed at her Kasumi probably would've been enjoying herself.
"Carmine put the gun down and move away from her!" Shepard barked a command but it didn't budge the gear.
She had no choice, she pulled her sidearm pointing it at the side of his head, "Carmine I won't tell you again. Stand down!"
He didn't budge, "You took everything, everyone from me. You won't take anyone else!" He ground out through his clenched teeth, practically snarling. Shepard presses a finger to the trigger, fully prepared to put down the wild dog Clayton had become.
Suddenly his breaths became ragged and sharp as his hand unclenched from Kasumi's trapped throat, dropping her to the floor with a small thud. He backed away from her slowly. His face etched with pain, and the muscles in his jaw working overtime.
'What are you doing?! That girl wasn't a Theron. There's no Locust here! The grubs are fucking dead!' He drops to his knee as his mind grows cloudy.
'Oh they're alive alright. And they're hungry.' The voice whispers to him.
He starts pawing at his head, "H-Helmet. Where's my helmet?" Shepard, with her gun still drawn, went and picked up the discarded head protection and carried it over to him.
He snatched it greedily from her and slipped it on. His breathing returned to normal shortly afterward. Shepard went to check on the master thief, "Fuck I'm really sorry. Shepard I- that's never happened before. Not like that at least..." She looked to him for a moment, helmet-covered head pointed toward the ground. Chakwas hovered behind him, steadily keeping track of his brainwave.
"He's evening back out Shepard." Shepard was glaring at him, of course it wasn't necessarily all his fault, Kasumi always makes a habit of being where she shouldn't. He did try and protect her and Chakwas as well. She didn't feel like she could scold him for having a PTSD episode. She's seen glimpses of that rage when he fought. It may have seemed like he was slipping at some points but he was far more lucid than what had just transpired.
"I...I'm real sorry...miss" Carmine spoke in between deep breaths as he raised his helmeted head to meet Kasumi. Shepard helped the master thief back to her feet, even on one knee and slouching Carmine was almost as tall as the pair in front of him.
"This isn't exactly the perfect meeting but Carmine, this is Kasumi Goto. A master thief and hacker, here for the same reason as you. To help stop the collectors." Carmine raises himself up, grunting slightly as he pushed off his knee.
Kasumi extends her hand to him, "Pleasure to meet you Carmine. I apologize if my cloaking was what provoked you." Carmine tentatively reached his massive hand out and shook her hand.
"It's alright miss Kasumi, just instinct getting the better of me. I'm sorry I almost shot you, and almost crushed your windpipe." Carmine recalled his hand and scratched the back of his helmet.
Kasumi let out a small giggle, "Oh it's quite alright Carmine. I didn't mind the choking." She raised her hooded head to expose her eyes and winked at him. Carmine let out a short, slightly uncomfortable laugh and scratched at his helmet again.
Meanwhile Shepard watched them, still amped up from possibly having to shoot her new companion. Noticing ever so slightly that Kasumi's eyes were traveling up and down the giant man. A spike of jealousy hit her, 'Hmph. She got a hand wrapped around her throat and now she's acting all buddy buddy with him. Jesus is every woman on the ship attracted to Carmine?'
She was pulled from her thoughts as Carmine stretched himself out, releasing a low groan. The present women shudder slightly from the noise.
"Shepard if it's not too much of a bother I haven't eaten in a day or two. Is there somewhere I can grab some fuel?"
Shepard smiled, "Of course Carmine, we can hit the mess hall before we get to your room." Shepard opens the door as Carmine is saying his goodbyes to the doctor.
"Until next time Carmine." Chakwas smiled warmly at the giant as he finished attaching his weapons.
"I'm sure of it doc. Oh and I'll have no problem with your tests. I just want to get settled in first." Carmine smiles back at the doctor, his helmet shielding his expression. They shared a final wave as Shepard waited patiently at the now opened door.
As Carmine made his way over he gave Kasumi a small wave and she returned it, cloaking in front of him and disappearing. He could hear the light steps of her feet as she snuck away. He chuckled to himself as he made it out of the Med Bay, "Follow me Carmine. I'm pretty sure they're serving breakfast around this time. If that's ok." Shepard pulled her omni-tool up and noticed it was 9:30 AM. The previous operation ran a little late it seems.
Carmine visibly perked up, standing up straighter while he walked next to Shepard, 'Please if there's a god, let there be bacon!'
He settled down and answered, "Of course Shepard. I haven't had a cooked meal in ages."
As they walked, Shepard decided to try and strike up some conversation, "So Carmine, how are you feeling? Everything alright up there big guy?" She taps her temple with two fingers from her right hand and smirks as she hears a small chuckle come from the giant.
"Yeah Shepard I'm alright. I'm really sorry I lost my shit back there. I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen." Carmine replied, his voice dipping slightly. Shepard could tell he was feeling remorseful for his attack.
"Hey, it wasn't entirely your fault Carmine. Kasumi is fine, and you've already apologized. Everything is alright." She reassured him, a slight frown finding her face as she notices his shoulders slumping. She shot a jab into his left arm trying to cheer him up a little.
It seems she punched way too hard, wincing slightly, "Jesus Carmine what are you made of?" Shepard stopped to rub her possibly bruised knuckles.
Carmine's helmet snapped over to her, she was nursing the knuckles that connected with his muscled arm. He gently reached his gauntleted hand out and took hold of her hand. Gently massaging her knuckles and chuckled.
"You have watch yourself there Shepard, can't be gettin injured beating your own crew. Doesn't feel like there's any damage, you should be alright."
Shepard on the other hand was going slightly haywire. The methodical kneading of her now completely painless knuckles shot her brain into overdrive. With a blush on her face she pulled her hand back, "T-Thank you Carmine, I'll keep that in mind. Now let's go get you some food."
He nodded and they proceed in silence to the mess hall. As they approached the door it shot open, and out walked the veteran merc Zaeed.
Both the commander and Carmine stop as Zaeed keeps walking, he was fiddling with his Omni-tool. Carmine heard a, "Come on you piece of rubbish." Mutter from him as he groaned and walked closer.
He smashes into Carmine, recoiling as it was about the same as walking into a metal wall. Shepard let a sigh go from her lips as she took a step back, Zaeed was very quick to anger.
Carmine was immediately apologizing, "Hey sorry about that pal, just thought you'd notice me before you smacked into me." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, but before he could say more he notices a large vein protruding from the smaller man's forehead.
"Who the fuck do you think you are smashing into me?!Way to go Shepard. You picked up a mindless brute. Hah wonderful, now I have to deal with him and the rest of these Cerberus whelps." Carmine's hands clenched at his sides.
"Who are you calling mindless you manlet!" Carmine's voice boomed out, but Zaeed isn't one to back down.
"What did you call me you twat!?"
"Oh you heard me! I've stepped on landmines taller than you pal."
As the two men got closer to each other Shepard stepped between them. Placing a hand on both of them to keep from fighting. She began yelling, "Both of you shut up! I will not have my crew fighting amongst themselves over a misunderstanding!" Carmine's hands unclench and he scoffs. Zaeed was staring daggers into Carmine's helmeted eyes, and he swats Shepard's hand away.
"You, me, sparring ring, 20 minutes. Don't keep me waiting boy."
As Zaeed began walking away Shepard let out another sigh and grasped the bridge of her nose, her other hand still on Carmine. She was unconsciously clenching on the unarmored section of his abdomen, causing the gear to tense slightly.
"Sorry about all that Shepard. I'm not one to back down to anyone, especially not that douche." Carmine apologized as his muscles relaxed against Shepard's hand.
Her head turns up to her tall companion, she gave him a small smile and patted his solid mid section with the flat of her hand, "Don't sweat it Carmine. I'll have to have a talk with Zaeed. He most likely planned that whole encounter to get a fight out of you."
Carmine let out a low rumbling hum. Shepard retracted her hand and motioned toward to cafeteria, "After you." Carmine chuckled and shook his helmeted head slightly, walking through the doors.
"Why thank you." Carmine shot back with a smirk.
Shepard smiled and led them over to a large table, "This is usually where crew members who accompany me on my missions eat. It's not officially our table but most other people don't sit here."
Shepard motions for Carmine to sit down as she went to grab some food for them. Turns out they were serving breakfast, but no bacon. From what his nose told him, it seems pancakes were on the menu today, 'Oh god they have syrup too!? This place is starting to grow on me.'
Clayton makes a last ditch effort with his nose, inhaling deeply to try and catch even a hint of bacon. His shoulders slump slightly as he realizes there truly was no bacon, 'Shit, guess it was kind of a long shot. Hmm I wonder if they could get bacon. Does bacon even exist in this dimension?' A slight panic shot through Carmine's spine. A world without bacon would be almost as bad as the one he came from.
Carmine shook his head as he heard the familiar pitter of Kasumi's cloaked form. He turned his attention to Shepard who was returning with a small and large set of pancakes, "Hey I don't know how much you wanted so I just grabbed you 20. Also feel free at any point to come here and recuperate between assignments."
"Holy Fuck! Thanks Shepard!" Carmine's booming excitement got the attention of the rather large population of the Normandy's crew within the mess hall.
Shepard smiles at Carmine and chuckles, "Anytime big guy."
Carmine pulls off his helmet and sets it down next to the plate in front of him. Shepard took her seat to his left and began eating, casually sneaking looks at good looking gear.
'God he's the full package. Tall, strong, messy hair, easy to get along with, and handsome.' Shepard was caught in her thoughts, and was rather blind to the growing crowd of females at the table. Carmine was also rather dull at noticing the rather large group of ogling women gathering around him. To be fair he was absolutely enthralled by fluffy, syrup-coated goodness.
Carmine destroys the pancakes in record time. He ate surprisingly neat, considering he's not had pancakes in over 10 years. As he unhooks his canteen from his belt to drink from, Kasumi materializes in the seat in front of him, swiping his helmet.
"Wow big guy, quite the appetite you have." She says while admiring the battered head armor as it sits in her lap.
Carmine screws the cap back on his canteen and smiles back, "Oh this is nothing, should have seen me when I was younger." He joked while reaching for his helmet.
His hand smacked down on the table where he'd left it. Shepard noticed Kasumi was grinning rather wide and rolls her eyes, 'Here we go.'
Kasumi lifted the rather heavy headwear up ever so slightly, "Hey! How'd you snag that?" Carmine asks rather flabbergasted as he reaches out to try and take his helmet back. Kasumi quickly snuck it back behind her.
Carmine desperately looked to Shepard, "Can't you make her give it back?"
"Nope, my crew answer to me on the battlefield not over helmet thievery." Shepard replied with a giggle. She had to admit, he was great to be around. When he wasn't crushing heads he was well mannered, and spoke with a mutual respect for his fellow soldier. Unless you pissed him off of course. Carmine blew a raspberry and turned back to Kasumi.
"I think you owe me some answers to a couple questions first, considering that little Med Bay incident." Carmine hums, biting the inside of his cheek.
His eyes drop to look at his hands as they were now intertwined on the table top, "That's fair."
"What would you like to know?" He spoke rather low, his tone not gravely but he wasn't excited to have to explain more of himself. A sharp contrast to his tone a moment ago. Shepard watched idly as Kasumi extorted answers from the gear, waiting until Kasumi stepped over a boundary to butt in.
"I've heard talks of you being from another dimension. Is that true?" Kasumi asks.
Carmine's hands tighten slightly, "That's true, I don't know how, or why. But I know I'm here, and I know none of you have ever seen someone like me before. To be fair I haven't seen anyone like you bunch either."
Kasumi grins, "Hmm, so do you have anyone to go back to? A wife? Children?"
Carmine's eyes widened before breaking into a laugh, "Hahaaa, me!? Wife and kids? Thats a good one. Oooh boy, haven't laughed this much in a while." Kasumi's stare was enough to get Carmine back on track.
He raked a hand through his hair, "Oh...you're serious. Well no. To be frank I think I might be the last Carmine. I'm not exactly sure."
Shepard was shocked, her mouth slightly opened, 'Does that mean...his whole family was killed? I'll have to talk with him about it later.'
"I'm sorry to hear that Carmine." Shepard offered her condolences to her new companion. He looked over to her and nodded with a small smile.
"You say the term grub a lot. Where does that come from?" Carmine visibly tenses at the question, his muscles tighten and his hands clench tight against each other. Shepard could hear the bones in his hands cracking from the pressure.
"You know how I'm from another dimension." Carmine spoke low and Kasumi nodded. Before he could continue though one of the nearby eavesdropping women interjected.
"Oh wow! An inter-dimensional member of the crew, that explains his rather strange equipment ." A short, nerdy blonde haired girl spoke.
"How tall are you?" A brown haired woman asked to Carmine's right.
"Uhh, apparently 8 feet tall." He answers with a confused tone. Not knowing when he got surrounded by so many people.
A flurry of questions followed his answer.
"What's your home world called?"
"Did you really kill a krogan bare handed!?"
"Can I touch your arms?"
"How'd you get all those sexy scars?"
Carmine was rather overwhelmed with all the questions so he stood up and tried his best to answer most of the questions.
"I'm from a place called Sera. I did kill one of those big toad grubs with my hands. You can not touch me. The scars aren't sexy, but I got them during and after a war. Now if you'll excuse me I have a sparring match to get to. Shepard if you'd be so inclined to, get me the fuck out of here?" He whispered the last bit and Shepard stood, nodding to him.
"I know you lot have your questions, you can ask them later. Carmine hasn't even been settled in on the ship yet. When he's properly settled you may approach him on your own. You are all dismissed!" The commander adresses the small crowd.
The rabble begrudgingly dissipated away from the massive man with sighs and groans. Kasumi remained, still holding Carmine's helmet. He held his hand out to her and she shook her hood-covered head, "Oh I don't think so cutie, maybe you'll get it back after your sparring match."
A shy look hits his face before shifting to slightly annoyed, "You're lucky I have manners little lady." He grumbles as he then looks to Shepard.
"Could you bring me to where that Zebra douche is so I can punch him in the face?" Shepard chuckled and nodded to him.
"We can settle you in first if you'd like, I still have to give you your omni-tool." Shepard offers.
Carmine shook his head, "We'll deal with that after, I have about 3 minutes before I gotta deal with Zed or whatever his name is. I'm not one for being late to a fight." He winks at Shepard, and as the heat rose to her cheeks so did a smile.
"You've got some excellent time management. Come on Kasumi." Shepard beckons the hacker. However Kasumi didn't budge.
"Oh no, don't think so. I'll meet you there, can't risk the big guy getting his hands on his helmet too early. Oh and you still owe me a few answers to some questions I was going to ask before those hussies rudely interrupted."
Before either of them could react she was gone again. Even Carmine's helmet was cloaked along with her.
Carmine shrugged and motioned for the door, "If I really wanted it back I could've taken it. I can basically still see her. That little thief." He let out a comically dramatic sigh and set off for the door.
Shepard followed with a chuckle, slipping back into the lead as she led the newest member of the Normandy. A blush still on her face as she turned back ever so slightly to catch sight of his steel orbs. His messy, black hair bouncing slightly as he walks.
She was happy to see that he was able to keep himself cool even if he was being a little overwhelmed. She liked Carmine already, he seemed like a good man. She had to admit Carmine was panning out to be a powerful ally.
She knew from what Chakwas said that he'd suffered from PTSD, but she knew very little of what caused it. Shepard continued to ponder what it was Clayton could've seen to cause such violent reactions, and behavior on and off the battlefield. Little did she know, the absolute unit behind her with his goofy smirk had seen, and been through hell itself three times over.
"Glad I found you out there Clay." Shepard said, barely above a whisper.
"I'm glad you found me too Shepard." Her blush grew even hotter, completely forgetting how powerful Carmine's hearing was, and her head snapped forward.
Carmine let out a low rumble of a laugh and smiled, 'How long has it been since we've enjoyed the company of other people besides our squad. Since we smiled like this. I think this'll be a good thing for us. Not that we deserve it.'
"Yeah, I think so too." Carmine muttered as he got lost in the sea of red hair in front of him.
Author's Note:
Howdy everyone who's been following Cursed. Thank you for everything from comments, to likes and follows. It means a lot that so many people are enjoying my silly story.
I hope you've enjoyed the re-work of this chapter. I'm having a bit of fun adding to, and fixing these older chapters. And I really hope you folks are enjoying them too.
Adios