"I used to know a place we could all fit in… Well, that was until you fell through it." Kasumi teased as she popped into vision for a moment next to Shepard's ear between her and Garrus.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Anything else you wanna say while you have the floor, Kasumi? Go on. Get it out" Playful annoyance in her voice.
"I'm still surprised you have good taste in underwear?" Kasumi smiled as she cloaked herself disappearing from view.
"Why don't you tell the whole Citadel while you're at it?" Shaking her head as she walk forward eyeing each restaurant they passed.
"And take away all my fun? I think not." She called once more from an undisclosed location, damn that shield…
Shepard scanned her team, admiring them all fondly. Thinking back to the first time she met each of them. All their memories, and close calls. All the second chances, and the ones who couldn't be with them anymore. She was thankful for the second chance Miranda had given her. Seeing her team happy, healthy and thriving under the circumstances made it all worth it. Seeing the look Garrus' gave her every time he told her he loved her made it worth it.
She walk closely behind hand in hand with Garrus, observing them all. Javik stroll in the front of course, alongside James and Liara. She heard him complaining about how primitive they all were per usual, how much better his cycle was. Tali was showing vid's off her omni-tool to Zaeed and Cortez. Samara just stood back as she usually did, quietly observing. She even caught the slight flicker of Kasumi's tactical cloak following closely behind Kaidan and Jacob. Now that was a crush she'd never understand. And if Kasumi didn't let up with the underwear crap, she may just have to send out copies of the poem she found while on the Shadow Broker's base last year…
The crew had been walking aimlessly through the Silversun Strip in search of food for about an hour now. Finding a restaurant that could accommodate a party of that size was proving to be challenging, but they were quite the determined bunch. They had survived grand theft Normandy, her evil clone was no longer a threat, and she had thrown one hell of a party. They could sure handle the task of finding a suitable dinner… right? With one day left of a week long vacation, she couldn't think of a better excuse for a sit down dinner. This time there would be a little less alcohol and a lot more food. As perfect as the party had been, she needed to get in some better goodbyes. Some awkward family toasts and all that bullshit.
"Grunt. Where's that place you were telling me about when I was bailing your ass out of jail?" She called over her shoulder, hand still tightly entwined between those long taloned fingers.
"Wait a minute, you bailed him out of jail?" Shaking his head Joker continued. "They grow up so fast." With a smile to EDI who stand closely, having recently discovered the concept of PDA
"Noodle Land… Noodle Box… No… Noodle House. Ehh…" Ending with a frustrated moan, Grunt scratched his head in thought.
"I know the one. But it's on the complete other side of the Citadel." Miranda crossed her arms as they stroll without purpose.
"Lets go get fucked up at the casino instead then. I'll even let you buy me a drink, cheerleader." Jack swung an arm loosely around Miranda's neck pulling her close to her chest in almost too playful of a hug.
"If you wouldn't mind, Zero- I spent quite a deal of time on my hair and I don't need your filthy paws all over it." Miranda lifted the arm off, but not too quickly. They were almost friends now, and even though they'd never admit it they had grown quite fond of each other.
"Noodle… Arena. No, that doesn't make sense…" Grunt kept mumbling under his breath following the promise of food.
Watching her crew laughing, and joking around her made her smile. She felt warm, hopeful even. She knew just how lucky she was to have found such incredible companions. Ones that trusted her, that cared for her, supported her, and she even found one that loved her… She really had finally found her home hadn't she?
"Can't we just order a pizza, Lola? Or like 20, I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." James was almost whining at this point.
"What James said. We have a perfectly good apartment already."
"I'm inclined to agree with James and Steve. Although 'horse' doesn't seem like the best form of nutrition, Vega. However I suggest that we tone it down from the other night, I'm not sure I can dispose of anymore bodies, Shepard… That was a-"
"Joke." All at once their voices mixed in unison finishing EDI's sentence.
A boom of laughter and chatter erupting around them as she felt Garrus remove his hand from hers, pulling her into him closely. With a smile he kissed the top of her head lightly, reminding her why she was fighting. She was fighting for this. For them.
"Alright, fine. You broke me. But I am not buying and you assholes are helping me clean up this time." She finished with a smile shoving James lightly.
Looking around at her crew once more she realized that it didn't really matter where they went. It didn't matter what they had to eat or drink. What mattered was that they were all together. They could literally be in the garbage piles on Omega and it would still be special. It would still be perfect. It would still feel like home. What mattered was being with her family. What mattered was them, and this. It was almost 4 years ago she started this journey, now she was finally ready to finish it.