Commander Shepard was in the Normandy SR-2's elevator on his way to the third level of the ship, the crew's quarters, to check on Kasumi Goto.
His adrenaline was still rushing and his heart was coming down from rapidly pounding having barely escaped Donovan Hock's residence on Bekenstein with Kasumi. With the bullets of Donovan's Eclipse security at their heels, LOKI mechs walking them down with their own guns, YMIR mechs launching rockets, and Hock's gunship firing its mini-gun and missiles, they were lucky to escape in one piece.
The mission, which Kasumi promised he would love, was to infiltrate a party thrown by the wicked Hock in order to recover the graybox he stole from Kasumi's lover, Keiji, after he murdered him.
It was obviously personal for Kasumi but Shepard required her loyalty to help fight a threat that was targeting human colonies throughout the galaxy, the Collectors.
Despite the mission being all business for the commander, he empathized with the crippling pain she experienced when she watched the memories Keiji had stored in the graybox during their shuttle trip back to the Normandy. Many of the kisses Kasumi shared with Keiji and other romantic and intimate moments played like a movie before her eyes. All the while, the commander watched as she used all her might to keep the dam of her emotions from breaking and consuming her with devastation.
While watching his memories, Keiji mentioned secret files that could put Kasumi's life in danger were stored and encrypted within the graybox. Only she had the decryption key but if the wrong people discovered those files, she would be a target. It was Keiji's wish that for her own safety, she should destroy the graybox, which sadly, was the only thing in the universe left of him. He said he would always be with her and that he loved her before signing off.
She wrestled with his final wish as tears moistened her eyes beneath the darkness of her hood and sniffles stifled her words.
Shepard suggested that she should honor what Keiji wanted for her. That it was the right thing to do.
Kasumi hung her head with soft cries as she agreed but her trembling hands and crushed spirit made it impossible for her to follow through.
The commander offered to do it for her and, with a deep breath, allowed him to. She took in Keiji's holographic face one more time as she would never see it again outside her own memories.
As it faded away with Shepard's erasure of the graybox, Kasumi slid her hands into her hood and tried to cover the cries that burst forth.
The commander could do little more than watch and offer condolences. It wasn't enough but it wasn't in him to do nothing. Soon, she wiped the stream from her cheeks, took a long, lung-filling breath, and promised she would be okay and ready to go when he needed her.
Shepard genuinely cared about the wellbeing of his squad mates but also monitored their morale and mental states since they were embarking on the greatest mission humanity had ever undertaken.
After arriving at the crew's quarters, he stepped off the elevator and walked the metal floor that led to the Port Observation deck.
Before the automatic door to the deck parted for him, he could hear Kasumi crying but quietly like she was unaccustomed to allowing people to see that side of her. No one had except for Keiji and the commander.
When he entered, he spotted Kasumi with her back to him. She was on a gray, L-shaped sofa with her knees drawn into her chest. She was gazing at the shining stars dotting the endless darkness of space.
The metal floor had a chill emanating from it. The left side of the room was lit by the white light of a floor lamp and the sparkles of the stars but was cast in darkness for the most part. That side was filled with various items, many of those she had heisted. Among those were a painting and a red rose she used to leave in place of the items she stole. There was a bedside table next to a bed with white sheets. To the right of the bed was a bookcase. Not far from the bed was a potted plant.
On the right sat another pair of sofas with a full bar standing beyond them. The rear of the bar held various bottles on a trio of shelves with a bright white backlight shining behind them.
"Kasumi..." Commander Shepard said but she must have detected the concern in his voice as she cut him off.
"I'm fine, really, Shep. I appreciate you helping me with the heist. Keiji may have been right about destroying the graybox but I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt like being trampled by a raging Krogan." She had a soft voice with a slight rasp and a hint of a Japanese accent.
Shepard moved into the room and sat on the couch at Kasumi's back.
He was searching his thoughts for the right words to say but it posed quite the challenge trying to capture them. He could sense the heaviness weighing on her heart and it seemed appropriate to say
something
comforting.
He turned his neck and hoped looking at her would somehow provide the words he sought.
He'd taken note of it when they first met at the Citadel but the mysterious air about Kasumi, the petite frame she carried, and her adventurous personality intrigued the commander.
She wore a full body suit that snugged her modest, hand-sized tits and small but shapely, well-trained ass. The suit had mostly black sleeves and legs and the torso area was gray as was the back.
The commander mustered a few words. "I'm sorry. I know it's difficult for you. When I was sixteen and still living on Mindoir, I had to watch as Batarian slavers slaughtered my whole family and friends before my eyes. My world collapsed on me in what seemed to be a matter of moments. Life as I knew it was shattered to pieces. I didn't know how I was going to breathe another breath. Live another day. I never thought a smile would grace my lips ever again. I always asked myself why I was the one that survived. Why the Alliance was there to rescue me. I eventually signed up with the Alliance and wound up using that tragedy, as horrible as it was, to drive me forward. To protect those that would cause others harm. Today, I'm scarred but still standing."
Kasumi rotated towards Shepard and squeezed into the space between him and the couch's end.
A surge shot throughout him and to his nether region when her hip snuggled into his. His cock was pushing against his pants that would have formed a noticeable bulge if not covered by the long black and white shirt of his commander's uniform.
Kasumi casually dropped her hand on Shepard's leg. "I had no idea you had such a traumatic past. Instead of it destroying you, it made you into the Commander Shep we know today. Maybe I can do the same. I can continue to be the best thief that ever lived...while I save the universe, of course. Keiji would want that, I think."
The commander and Kasumi gazed upon each other during the break in the conversation. He filled with warmth and his primal urges grew more intense.
"Um, yes, I think he would like that, but enough of the moping. How about a drink?" the commander said he broke the tension by rising from the sofa and stepping towards the bar.
Kasumi slid to her feet and followed Shepard's footsteps. "I don't normally drink while I work. It screws with my concentration and that's bad for someone that tries to sneak through the shadows but..."
Shepard poured them some kind of amber colored alcohol in a pair of wide-rimmed glasses.
As she approached from his rear, he turned, handed her a glass, and brought his close to hers. "But, you sure as hell need one now. Don't worry. I won't take you on the next mission. I'll make certain you're completely sober before I take you out."
Kasumi chuckled. "Looking out for your crew, Shep? You've impressed me and that's not easy to do."
Shepard smiled. "I'm known for doing things that are hard to do. Stopping Saren, his army of geth, and Sovereign. Coming back from death..."
Kasumi silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Shh, don't get cocky, Shep. You
can
overdo it. So, we can't drink without a toast. The moment is begging for one."
Shepard lifted his glass in front of Kasumi's. "I think we should toast to using the memories of our loved ones as strength to drive us forward to accomplish all we set out to do."
"I think it works, Shep," she said as she clashed her glass with his. "This is for you, Keiji!"
They tossed their drinks back in sync like mirror images and sat the glasses on the bar. The burning sensation of the alcohol slithering down Shepard's throat was the start of a buzz for him and further loosened whatever inhibitions he may have had about pursuing wild, dirty times with the thief.
The commander, with his head cocked to the side and an elbow on the edge of the bar, had the thief in his sights. The lust and raging desire he felt for her must have been seeping through his squinted, hazel irises.
She was looking back at Shepard. Her hood was black with gray designs stitched into it to compliment her black and gray body suit. It casted a shadow over her eyes and part of the yellow skin tone of her rounded face. He could see only a gleam from her eyes and wondered what they looked like if they came to the light. Her bottom lip had a tiny squared spot in the center with some purple lipstick and a similar spot was just beneath her lip. Light appeared to reflect off the glossiness of her lips.
In that moment, time seemed to freeze. Shepard's legs and crotch tightened with arousal and he had to have her. He also hoped he could "raise her spirits."
Almost like it was as natural as breathing, he sealed his eyelids and leaned forward with puckered lips. Kasumi stood there—until the kiss came closer and she took her lips out of range. Feeling the icy breeze, he opened his eyes to find an extra step between them and her giggling nervously.
"Shep! What are you doing?" she asked.
The commander, with his heart pounding and body trembling, said, "Doing something I believe we both need right now."
"But...we just met."
"We've done quite a bit together, though."
"Yeah, but is this not a conflict of interest? Commander Shepard getting frisky with his crew could raise a few eyebrows."
Shepard was thinking that wasn't the only thing that had risen. "Jacob already mentioned his reservations about me fraternizing with the crew. I'm the commander and I do as I please. Besides, it's not something EDI is going to broadcast to everyone, right EDI?" Shepard looked upward as he spoke to the Normandy's AI.
