#stolen memory

So when Kasumi mentioned the black tie requirement of her ‘perfectly planned’ heist job on Bekenstein, she couldn’t help but be a little inconvenienced. She’d have to shave her legs… Put on makeup. A bunch of shit she really didn’t want to do. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help Kasumi. Actually, she really liked the thief. But… A dress? really? How was she supposed to even fight in the thing? Apparently Kasumi had a plan for that too. As much as she hated it, it was part of her cover. Allison Gunn, mercenary leader, cold hard bitch. That should be a fun role to play while being forced to mingle with the other ‘highlords’, she would sure enjoy making shit up about her fictional criminal empire. 

Aside from the obvious annoyance and discomfort, she wasn’t permitted to bring anyone aside from Kasumi. The invitation for Alison Gunn was very specific and she knew how important this job was to her, so this time it would be just the two of them. Which meant Garrus had to sit this one out. Neither of them were too keen on the idea of a solo mission but what could they do? Garrus would just have to trust in her abilities to take care of herself. She knew he didn’t doubt her, he just didn’t like the idea of them being separated. To be fair, she wasn’t a big fan of it either, but she didn’t have to let him know that.

“Listen here, big guy. I’ve been doing this a long time. I’m a strong independent woman and I don’t need no man.” She said with a big smile, nudging him as she noticed his eyes scanning her up and down.

“What about a turian? You need one of those?” Garrus purred softly, leaning to the side on his console, eyeing her up and down. Noticing her legs… Those collarbones, and her chest. Let’s just say Shepard in a dress was more than a little distracting.

“I’ll tell you what. If anything bad happens, you can tell me ‘I told you so’ okay? You know how much I hate that.” She crossed her arms, leaning into a hip. “Duty calls-” Stopping for a second she noticed the skepticism in his eyes. “I’ll be fine.” 

As she walked to the shuttle she thought about their conversation. She had to admit it was nice to have him worrying about her so much. They had grown considerably close again after she found him a few weeks back on Omega. She felt herself thinking about him a bit too much since then… Okay, a lot too much. But given their history her attraction was to be expected, wasn’t it? Only a few months ago they had drunkenly kissed… If you could really call it just a kiss. No, a few years ago, she reminded herself. Did things change for him while she was dead, or did he still want her? Maybe she couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss because to her it had just happened. She wondered if he ever thought about that night too, deciding he probably did; If for no other reason than the look he was wearing when they talked moments ago. She saw the way his eyes slid over her… As much as she hated wearing the thing, she could get used to the way he looked at her in it.

During the shuttle to the party Kasumi promised the mission would be easy in the sweetest voice she could muster. Everything would be fine; The alias she  had established was very credible and would be was sure to fool Donovan Hock, or any other curious guest. She had even given Miss Gunn a very menacing reputation over the last couple weeks, oh and even a small article in a mercenary magazine. Accompanied by a very old photo from her earlier days… That one was the most confusing for Shepard, but she didn’t want to think about it. Kasumi was known as the best thief in the galaxy for a reason, she shouldn’t have been surprised she had tracked that dinosaur of a photo down. 

The party was average, and the conversation was repetitive. She never was very good at mingling, put her in the corner with a varren and call her happy. She much more enjoyed eavesdropping on the guests. And boy, had the rumors about her been pretty extreme to say the least. She’d also have to tell Garrus that the great Archangel had even been mentioned a few times. He would love that. 

Getting into the vault hadn’t been easy, but it hadn’t exactly been hard either. The worst part was having to listen to Donovan talk long enough to get a usable sound bit. But eventually, they got every piece needed to enter the vault with ease. Inside his vault was incredible. She had never seen so many pieces of priceless art before, and the look she saw in Kasumi’s eyes was rather adorable honestly, just like a kid in a candy shop. 

“Alright! Keiji’s graybox is over here… Oh! And look, I’m sure Hock wouldn’t notice if we were to hang onto these…” Kasumi smiled holding the graybox closely to her chest as she pointed to two the machine guns. “I told you. In and out. No trouble.”

But as she spoke Donovan Hock’s huge arrogant face projected before them, promising death and destruction. Quite the theatrics with this one. He really did love hearing himself talk. Luckily they had successfully smuggled her armor in through that creepy statue of Saren, ‘just in case’. Whose idea was that anyway? It was a good thing they had, because the fight ahead was going to be difficult. You don’t just steal from a man like Mr. Hock. 

“Damn it, Kasumi. I told you never to say that. You do realize you jinxed us right? You just had to say something. Don’t you know the rules?” And just like that they were shooting their way through his personal museum.

“What can I say? I like trouble. But this is why I usually work alone… too much complaining.” Kasumi said coyly with a smile before she used shadow strike to take down an unsuspecting guard. 

“We gotta get out of here… Normandy do you copy. We need immediate extraction.” Paging Joker, they pushed their way forward.

As they make their way through the base, she couldn’t help but think of the big fat ‘I told you so’ Garrus was going to give her. Maybe she deserved it a little, okay she definitely deserved it. She should have known better than to tell him it would be okay. A simple party- nothing big. Easy. She should have known better, nothing was ever that simple. At least the Normandy was en route, and she wasn’t in that damn dress anymore. The mech’s and men alike had been difficult, but the worst of it all had been having to take down Donovan’s helicopter. That son of a bitch had an impressive shielding mechanism, and anytime they’d make any dent in it, the thing would fully recharge. Kasumi insisted she could handle it, if Shepard would just keep the guards off her.

She couldn’t exactly describe what Kasumi had done, but it was also quite dramatic. Theatrics aside, her plan had worked and they were able to take down that damn helicopter once and for all. A ping in her ear let them know the shuttle was steadily approaching, and they were minutes from extraction. Unfortunately though, just because Donovan Hock was dead didn’t mean that his men were done fighting. As they wait for the shuttle they took out each guard and mech that approach. 

“Shepard!” She heard from behind her, turning to see the Normandy’s shuttle as Garrus walk swiftly toward her. Each step he took she could see the intensity growing in his eyes. Not breaking eye contact with her he shot each guard standing in his way. Not blinking, steadfast, and unwavering… point, click, shoot. 

Oh, boy. Here it comes…

“Garrus…” Shepard started, noticing the guards approaching, putting them down around her. He was only about 3 meters away from her now and he was walking quickly… There as something determined and predatory about his stride toward her. “Okay, before you say any-” 

Before she could finish he reached a long taloned hand out toward her neck grabbing it. Stepping into her he lightly lifted her face to his, kissing her hard in one solid motion. His other hand sliding to her lower back, pulling her closer to him. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t that. Easing into the way he felt, she slid one hand to the side of his face, kissing him back just as intently. 

“Do you think that could wait a bit? I don’t really want to have to kill all of these guys myself.” Kasumi cleared her throat beside them, popping into view a little closer than either of them had expected. They watched the flicker of her tactical cloak as she disappeared again, reappearing behind one of the guards. 

“That’s… not what I expected.” Shepard barely knew what to say. She was still pressed close against him, not believing what had happened. Was this real? Had he seriously just done what she thought he just did? She wasn’t sure if she should be pissed off or turned on…

“Oh, there’s something else.” He grabbed her face kissing her again, softer than before. Pulling his gun off his back, he threw her a smile. “I told you so.”