Mass Effect - Fragments

Chapter 7 - Congressional Theory

The next morning had come with the smell of roasting bacon (probably vat grown) and coffee (dragged from the pits of hell). Shepard had emerged from his room more rested than he had felt in several weeks. The message had been short, to the point. But. But. She had signed it without honorific, without formality of naming. That, for some reason, allowed a kernel of something to sit in his chest. He wondered if he might just be hungry. And whilst he was rested, he was also restless.

Four days. Probably three now, factoring in comm buoy delays. And quite a bit to do before that: first, breakfast. Then, the Council. He hadn't received an official missive from them, other than from the interim human Councillor, a survivor of the Systems Alliance parliament, some wet behind the ears politico named Davies Charlestown. Shepard made a mental not to have Liara do some digging.

As he descended the stairs he couldn't supress the smile as he caught a glimpse of Garrus, lying on his front, snoring, arm hanging over the edge of the sofa. Miranda was likewise draped, her sculpted form a tangle of sheets and bed hair. The part of human he recognised as human did a swift appraisal.

"I saw that," grumbled Miranda, yanking the sheet up over her head, eyes still shut, "What the hell time is this Shepard?"

"07:30 Galaxy standard time."

"I hate you and regret the day I fired several billion credits into you."

"Could be worse, I could be the Harbinger of your awakening."

She groaned at his abysmal impression and tried to bury herself deeper into the couch. Garrus snored on. Rounding the corner he found Kasumi operating the stove. She grinned at him and in the clear light he was able to make out the face paint clearly - a mirror of Garrus'. She was wearing a robe - he decided to refrain from asking where she'd found it. Probably rifling through a storage room. Or another apartment.

"Morning Shep. You look perkier today."

"Oh it's bound to go downhill. May as well make sure I don't end up with a deficit."

"Good plan. I take it the Major and Liara won't be joining us yet."

"Yeah, I don't want to be next door to their room when they wake up. I can only take so much cute."

Kasumi grinned and fished a pot from the sit, pouring him a mug. He frowned around the kitchen and arched an eyebrow at her. She grinned brightly.

"Turns out I'm quite the homebody. Garry's a mean cook, too, but I find it helps set the day up."

Shepard leaned backwards and took a moment to just enjoy the normalcy of this. He eyed Kasumi for a moment, a question forming in his head.

"I'll be honest, never really saw you two as the ones to do the deed first. He's my best friend and I can't believe I utterly missed it," He held up a hand placatingly as she turned to point a spatula at him, one hand on her hip. She tilted her head to one side and grinned.

"Yeah, as I said last night - you were distracted. And Garrus and I were… well, it was about friendship. We have a lot in common, albeit on different sides of the fence. He's kind, he's awkward, he pulled me out of the fire so many times… how could I not love him?" She tilted her head to one side and offered a shrug, "When some Turian wounded were all set to tear down a camp of children, to get some material for a fire, he shouted them down, shamed them. He was rubbish at getting to the point though. Luckily, I wasn't."

She hummed cheerfully, briefly turning back to the stove to serve up a plate of bacon and eggs, before flicking a few items over in a second pan: dextro food, he realised. Shepard shook his head.