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Matthias walked up to the man after eyeing him up for quite some time from afar. After all, it may not be bad to know who’s all aboard on this ship he’s just happened to have gotten on to. He whistled, crossing his arms. “Nice guns. I get that you’re quite the soldier, huh?”

  “Well – I like to pretend that you help out with it. But let’s be honest, you don’t even put your clothes away. You just wait for me to crack and hang them up or put them in the drawers.” Kas continued to fold the laundry before quickly returning the quick kiss to James, a giggle surfacing shortly after. “Really? No other girl made that comment? Interesting.. Very interesting, James.” With a huff of exhaustion, Kasumi leaned her back onto the couch almost proud to have finally finished such a minute chore. “We may have to conduct an investigation of this claim of yours.”

     Steady hands quickly snatched the folded shirt to reassemble it the way she feels is correct, knowing all too well how to fit everything in the drawers. However, him pressing onto her comment only was responded with a soft snort. “Really? Is your ego that big that you need validation over your size?” Kasumi shot him a playful gaze all the while continuing to fold their laundry, “It was a dick comment. Ya happy, Vega? Make you get warm and fuzzy?” Of course her words seemed to be more hurtful than anything, she was sure he knew she was just pressing his buttons. “I’m sure I’m not the first girl to tell you, but I sure as hell better be the last.”

The moment James sprung up was enough to send her heart pounding having realized this mistake. There was a reason he left this in the past and here she was, digging up old wounds and making things worse all the while having hoped that somehow this was going to be for the best. Her small lithe body quickly scrambled to his side, attempting to capture his hands into her own in fear he would take anger out upon himself. Once his large hands were confined into her much smaller ones, she held their eyes embrace with a frown upon her features. Multiple times she attempted to shush his bursts of anger but then it hit her – maybe allowing him to release these pent up feelings that have been only multiplying in size for all this time. However, his whisper is what drove a sharp pain through her heart. “James, you listen to me.. Pain is something that you can’t escape. And rather than ignoring it, you face it head on. I mean, you have faced Collectors, Reapers, Ceberus – don’t let this be the thing that scares you the most. And look at me, James, look at me.” One small hand captured his chin, forcing him to hold their eye contact. “You are here on this world for a reason. And I like to think that you’re here to save ME from myself after all these years of darkness I have had to face. Nothing as similar as yours, but I always felt so alone until you came into my life. Is that not a reason enough to be here? To be by my side?” There was a pause in her words, something she never imagined coming to say. Especially to James. “April was the little girl, no?” Lips purse together, trying to find the right thing to say. “You can always have her live on in spirit. If, y’know, we ever had a daughter..? I don’t know. James, main point, wasn’t your fault. You can’t just ignore this.”

“Cheers.” She said, tapping hers against his before taking a drink. “So, what’s an Alliance Marine doing in this pit?” She asked, keeping her tone friendly and conversational, “Don’t you guys normally haunt Afterlife or the upper levels?” The fact that he was Alliance was evident for all to see, the man was practically in uniform. Sarah had thought about joining when she was a kid, but the raid on Mindoir killed that dream. Her shoulder still gave her issues from time to time.

She had caught the appraising look he had given her, but also noticed how he had become slightly guarded. Not surprising, she was a stranger and in this place not being on your guard could mean a shiv in your back.

“Cheers.” he replied knocking the glass with hers. His brow raised at the question, but answered anyway. “Its my home away from home. A great place to come and drown everything away.” He spoke wrapping his lips around the neck of the bottle. Omega was his home. He didn’t have one back on Earth, and didn’t belong anywhere else. So why not here where the nobodies all live together. “Ha, only those who want to get their asses kicked out by Aria.” he added. No he didn’t care for Afterlife. Down where no one wanted to be bothered by the loud music and stupidity, this is where he wanted to be. 

“Someone who thought was lost returns-pffpft.” Her arms moved down to her lap while she laughed. The bottle in her hand clinked against the seat of the chair. “I fucking hate that. It’s so bloody selfish. Wha I miss my Dad. Yeah I do fuckin too.”