alnifolia | OPEN POST;

[The pause doesn't escape Garrus' notice. Neither does the almost surprising positivity. Not that Kasumi isn't an optimistic individual; Garrus had found her to be one of the more chirpier members of the Normandy Crew back in the day, but she also had some kind of quip hidden up her sleeve, and boot, and hoot, and so on and so forth. It's not something that needs notice called to it just yet, and Garrus' detective tendencies pushed him towards worming his way down to the source rather than demanding it outright. Sometimes. Other times he preferred to try and force the answer another way, but Kasumi never did anything to earn any such treatment.]

Glad to hear it. It's good to see you, too.

I hear Shepard's been putting you to work. Find anything interesting?

[ She tilts a head at him and, shrouded as her expression may be, quirks a brow. ]

Garrus, please. Nothing I ever do produces uninteresting results. But I've been hitting Cerberus bases and such here and there to... curate some pieces for the Crucible.

[ By "curate," she means steal, of course. ]

So, a lot of rare tech. And I still do my own jobs on the side, of course.

[ And then she shrugs. It wouldn't do to delve into too much detail about things like her running heists to help refugees (because how awful would it be if anyone found out she was being altruistic) or about her team-ups with a rather peculiar group of misfits from another quadrant of the galaxy, one of whom she may or may not be intimately involved with...?

Even so, even through her shop talk, there's a general... difference about Kasumi. Where her playfulness and chipper personality usually has that undertone of melancholy beneath, today she seems... genuinely happy? What? ]

Of course.

[The galaxy's elevators had a shared habit of grinding along at an almost painfully slow pace, so there's plenty of time for Garrus to narrow his eyes and analyze Kasumi a bit more, because hey, that's what paranoid ex-cop turned vigilante turned advisers do. He leans against the elevator wall and crosses his arms across his barrel shaped chest, his mandibles flicking with each thought.

Then it hits.]

So, does one of those jobs have a name, or am I gonna have to do an extranet search for him?

[ --Wait, what?

Shit, Kasumi. Were you being that obvious? It's time to revisit that "cool and collected" demeanor you thought you'd perfected to a tee, because apparently Garrus can see right through it now.

Well, she could give the turian some credit, too.

Which is absolutely why she's going to deflect, and make Garrus really work to confirm his (rather correct) assumption. Gosh. ]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[ Smooth. ]

Oh please, Kasumi. I grew up with a younger sister and a father who would polish his whole damn gun collection whenever she brought a guy home. I know when someone's hiding a boyfriend.

[He tilts his head down and just kind of stares at her, waiting for her to break. His arms stay crossed and he otherwise stays silent. Just like he'd seen Papa Vakarian do so many times before.

Goddammit Kasumi you're making him act like his dad.]

[ She chuckles and shakes her head. Hard to argue against that, and although Kasumi has more than enough reasons to not talk about her relationship out in the open--this is Garrus we're talking about, here. If there's anyone from her time on the Normandy that she'd trust with her personal details after Shep, it would be him.

Still, that doesn't mean she won't be cheeky about this. ]

Uh-huh. Good to know that I make your big brother instincts kick in, Garrus.

[ Her lips curl into a smile for a moment before she continues on. ]

And what makes you think you could do an extranet search for something like that? It's not like "who is Kasumi Goto seeing" would produce any results.

Or I can use my almost unlimited access to Turian Hierarchy intel to find the guy, because knowing you, he's either Alliance muscle, or another [cue turian air quotes] entrepreneur, like yourself.

[He takes a look at his claws, as if they'd suddenly grown so much more interesting before he adds:]

And since you stopped denying it really quick, I'm gonna assume I'm on point somewhere.

[ She splays a hand across her chest and affects a scandalized tone. How dare you be so correct, Garrus? ]

Look at you, hotshot. Abusing your authority in the Turian Hierarchy to find out whose heart I've stolen? Don't worry. I won't tell on you.

[ Her small smile breaks into a full-fledged grin and, finally, she steps in a little closer and speaks in a hushed tone. ]

Peter Quill. He goes by Star-Lord. [ And she says that with a touch of something very close to affection and maybe she's a little proud of his call sign, too. ]

[When Kasumi steps in a little closer, Garrus leans in to listen, like a high schooler about to have a juicy secret dished at them.

But then he blinks.

Blinks again.

And in an unmistakably confused tone complete with an arched forehead plate, asks:]

Who?

[ ... She has to bite back a smile at his response, and--

Well. She can't say that she didn't expect it to be something like that. (Sorry, Peter.)

All the same, she sighs, feigning her disappointment that the call sign wasn't recognized, and shakes her head. ]

He--tends to stomp around parts of the galaxy the Normandy doesn't usually find herself in.

[ Because as much as Shepard of the Normandy go to a lot of places across the galaxy, it's still an unimaginably vast place. ]

Anyway, like you guessed, he's an entrepreneur, just like I am.

[ A beat. ]

I'm better, though.

Of course you are. If you weren't, Shepard would've gone for Star-Dork instead.

[That most certainly is Garrus crossing his arms across his chest like a five-year-old. While also avoiding eye contact with Kasumi.]

How'd you come across him?

This guy Taneleer Tivan--he also goes by the Collector, which is truly unfortunate--hired both of us to steal an artifact from a remote planet sometime ago. He must have thought one of us would just run off with the thing so he hired us both to keep us straight. We sort of hit it off, and...

[ She shrugs. ]

The rest is history.

[ So, hey, that elevator ride? Finally coming to a long, excruciating end. But Kasumi's glad for running into Garrus, so she doesn't make any indication of pulling a disappearing act as the doors (slowly) open. ]

You have time for a drink or two, Garrus? We have quite a bit to catch up on, as you've noticed.

Yeah, I got time.

[He holds the door open for her, like a TRUE gentleman, and follows her on the way out.

It's not like him to pry to far into the lives of crewmates, former or current, but with Kasumi's status as both Most Mysterious and By Far The Youngest, he can't help wanting to hear more. It's a matter of getting to take part, even if only vicariously, in her capers, and also to find out more about this guy so he can provide ample pressure on him later. For his thieving ways, of course, and definitely not for dating everybody else's little sister.]

After what you just told me, I've gotta feeling I'm gonna need a few of them.

And no, I'm not buying for both of us.

[ Excuse you, Garrus, but Jack and Tali are both younger than her! ...Not that Jack would ever be in a littler sister role, but Tali would, at least...

In any case, she nods over in the direction of the bar in question--his cue to follow her. ]

Oh, come on. You should be happy for me, not drowning your shock in liquor. Jeez.

Edited 2015-05-10 03:31 (UTC)

[But they don't act younger!!!

And don't even get him started about Tali. She's lucky she doesn't have a porch for him to sit on while polishing a small mountain of shotguns every time a guy even so much as looks at her.

But he'll follow Kasumi like a good boy, engrossed in hearing about this Star Jar guy.]

Who said I can't do both?

I can even listen to you pine over him at the same time. I'm that good at multitasking.

[ Kasumi actually turns her head at the last bit--just enough for him to see that she frowns. ]

I don't pine.

[ Except yes, you do, Kasumi, you pined over Jacob when ~~senpai~~ he wouldn't notice you (partially her fault for being invisible) back on the SR-2 and you pine after Peter Quill whenever you two have to spend time apart--which, sadly, is quite often, because she's something of a free spirit and he's a Guardian of the Galaxy. With capital G's. ]

But if you so insist on hearing more, I don't mind talking about it. If only so you don't end up digging up dirt on your own.

[ Although there's nothing stopping him from doing so anyway. ]

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OPEN RP POST ① Pick a character ② Pick a prompt (or DIY) (shamelessly and selectively pilfered from bakerstreet's Random Scenario Meme) ③ Do the thing!. table code by betterdolphin