#FreedomFalls – September 2, 2015

Damien looks around the cafe, unable to shake the feeling of antiquity. As Halisi speaks to him, he refocuses his attention back to her as he steps into the café. "Alright, actually. I suppose I've adapted to it quite quickly." He flexes his hand for emphasis.

Halisi smiles once more. "That's great, I'm glad. You're right that you've taken to it quickly." She approaches the counter, which is manned by a friendly-looking middle-aged human woman. There is no purchase terminal in sight. "An egg sandwich, please, and..." She looks over her shoulder at Damien.

Damien hums, eyes darting around for a menu. Eventually, he settles for a classic that pops to his mind. "Sausage bap, please. With a coffee."

Halisi adds "Oh, coffee for me too" before looking around for a table. They recieve their orders momentarily, and Halisi grabs the tray, heading for the window booth in the south corner. She puts the tray down and slides into the seat on one side.

Damien slips into the seat opposite Halisi, smiling broadly at the breakfast before him. "Mmm. Thanks for this, Halisi. This beats breakfast bars anyday." He takes his plate and cup, placing them at his edge of the booth.

Halisi chuckles, taking her own food off the tray. "I think I owe you some food after I stole your bed and all..." She sips her coffee with a smile, leaning back against the padded seat of the booth, her gaze drifting from Damien to the window.

Damien takes a bite of his bap in a bread roll and chews appreciatively. After swallowing he smirks at Halisi, waving his hand dismissively. "Seriously, forgot about it. It was no trouble." He follows her gaze out the window, watching the morning rush of Fall's inhabitants. "I dunno about you, but all that is calming to me."

Halisi adjusts her position a bit and sips her coffee again with a thoughtful look on her face. "It can be nice, to just sit down and look out a window. There are so many different people here... from all over the galaxy. I often wonder what brought each of them here..."

Damien sips at his coffee, humming in agreement. "It's why I left my homeworld. It was stagnant, boring. I think I would've lost my mind if I had stayed there any longer." He smiles fondly at old memories.

Halisi turns her gaze to Damien with curiosity. "Where are you from?" she asks before putting her cup down, grabbing the sandwich and taking a bite, struggling briefly as a bit of egg tries to make its escape.

Damien smiles. "Eden Prime. Son of a shopkeeper and a bounty hunter," he says with a chuckle. He takes a bite of his bap and chews.

Halisi finishes chewing. "Figured you were a colony kid." She says with a smirk before taking another bite.

Damien laughs gently. "That easy to tell, eh? What gave it away?" He leans back in his seat, casually gesturing at her. "What about you?"

Halisi wipes some breadcrumbs from her lips before speaking. "Earth. East African Federation, to be specific. Haven't been back in a long time..."

Damien whistles low. "Ever plan on going back?" He asks, picking at a stray piece of sausage on his plate.

Halisi takes another bite of her sandwich, chewing as she thinks. Eventually she replies. "Some day, I suppose. Didn't really leave on the best of terms with my family. For now... I like it better here. More interesting people..." She finishes with another smirk and then puts what's left of the sandwich back on the table, grabbing her cup again.

Damien hums a laugh. "True enough," he says with a wink. "Fall out with parents? Siblings? Uh, that's if you don't mind me asking." He adds, taking another bite from his breakfast.

Halisi shakes her head. "No, it's fine." She sips the coffee. "Parents. They kicked me out. When I was younger I didn't have a paying job. I ran a free clinic - a lot of poor in the slums of Mombasa. They got tired of me living off the family money... which... is fair, I guess, but our family could've afforded to run the clinic easily."

Damien smiles faintly, tilting his head. "Figures you'd do something like that." He picks up his coffee mug and takes a modest sip from it. He places the cup back on the table. "Have you spoken with them since?"

Halisi nods. "Sure, once. Don't really care to do it again anytime soon. They're... not pleasant. And... they really don't understand what things are like out here in the Terminus Systems." After a brief sip of coffee she asks: "What about you? Still in touch with your parents?"

Damien snorts. "They sound wonderful," he says with a roll of his eyes. At her question, he nods, smiling. "Yeah. Mostly my mum though. She usually helps me get in contact with Adam and Cass." He sips his drink, seemingly unaware he mentioned two unknown names to Halisi.

Halisi raises an eyebrow, but doesn't speak right away. After a moment of pondering she hazards a guess. "Are those the people in the picture? I, uhm... I saw it in your room."

Damien looks up from his drink, halfway raised to his lips. "Oh!" He places the cup back down. "Sorry. Yeah, that's them. My mum was married before. They're my half-brother and sister."

Halisi smiles. "That's-... that's nice." She sips her cup - almost empty and adds with a shrug: "Only child."

Damien picks up his cup and finishes off it's contents, placing the now empty cup back on the tray. "That's a shame. Although it could also be a blessing. Siblings can be the biggest arseholes in the galaxy at the best of times," he says with a laugh.

Halisi laughs briefly as well. "So I've heard." She finishes her coffee and her smile slowly fades away. "There's... something I was wondering. Yesterday, before I, uhm... started crying..." She trails off, blushing as she thinks back to her breakdown. Her gaze goes to the window and she doesn't finish her question.

Damien leans forward, folding his arms on the table. "Yeah?" He asks, smiling disarmingly at her.

Halisi eventually returns her gaze to Damien, doing her best to shake the embarassment at her previous behavior. "I was just wondering about what Va'ynna mentioned... with Jason. What happened...?"

Damien | It is now Damien's turn to look away, more ashamed than embarrassed. "I... Hadn't been sleeping well since we got off that planet." He begins slowly. "My nerves were wearing thin and I was getting... Temperamental. I was actually meaning to see you about medication to help."

Damien looks back at her, swallowing. "Long story short, words were exchanged between Jason and I and... And I-".

Halisi leans forward on the table as well, reaching over and gently placing her hand on his organic arm. "I didn't know you were having trouble... I'd have been happy to help. What happened?" She says, silver eyes studying Damien with concern.

Damien breathes, shaking his head to clear it. "I attacked him. With the clear notion of killing him...". He hangs his head, clenching his cybernetic fist in anger. "I broke," he says quietly. "I blamed everything that happened on him and-". He grits his teeth, unable to finish.

Halisi blinks, clearly a bit taken aback by this information. She seems unsure what to say. "I-... Damien, sleep depravation and... trauma, of the kind we've been through. It affects you. Sometimes drastically. You snapped. It's not surprising. I wish you'd have come to get help..." Her voice is gentle, but it is clear she's still surprised.

Damien nods, hanging his head and keeping his gaze firmly focused on the table in front of him. "And who better to go to?" He says softly. "I know I should've. For what it's worth, I'm sorry...'.

Halisi sighs, her hand still on Damien's elbow. She lowers her head a bit to try and meet his gaze. "If you have any more trouble, promise you'll come to me, okay? Helping is what I'm here for." She smiles faintly.

Damien peers up slightly. "Yeah, but who helps you?"

Halisi 's smile starts to fade, but she quickly forces it back. "I'll be okay." It doesn't last long. "...well... guess you've kind of seen otherwise." She says as the last of her smile fades and her expression turns uneasy. She looks down at the table but remains leaned forward.

Damien very gently places his metallic hand on top of hers, a sad smile on his face. "Yeah, guess so."

Halisi looks at the hand in silence for some time before responding, her gaze once again meeting his. "I'm happy just to have a chance to talk... maybe we'll help each other." Her lips curl into a slight smile yet again.

Damien locks eyes with her, nodding once to her with a tender smile. "Yeah, maybe. Though, I think you have the advantage. What with your medical training and all." He chuckles.

Halisi smirks, giving a light shrug. "Trust me, just getting a chance to talk for a bit has been great. Really needed that. And..." She gains an awkward, but still happy look, absentmindedly stroking Damien's elbow with her thumb. "...I think the... little meltdown yesterday helped too."

Damien hums a laugh. "As I said before, indulging in self pity from time to time is healthy." The peace of the moment relaxes Damien visibly, his shoulders sagging naturally. "Though, next time, go easy on the whiskey, yeah?" He says, smirking slyly.

Halisi briefly tilts her head in acknowledgement. "Yeeah... probably a good idea. I don't really drink very often..." She can't help but laugh, blushing a bit as amusement mixes with embarassment. "I'm usually more responsible. Yesterday didn't give the best impression, maybe." She uses her free hand to brush some hair out of her face.

Damien laughs heartily, giving her hand a playful squeeze. "I've seen quarians handle their booze better," he teases, an amused smile playing on his face.

Halisi looks a bit peeved by the jab, but it is clear by the quick return of her smile that it wasn't serious. "Yeah, well... those suits with all their filters, that's cheating..." she mutters.

Damien pats her hand, nodding slowly. "You keep telling yourself that, I'm sure it'll make you feel better." He snickers, giving her a single charming wink to show he is only teasing her. Quite successfully, he would imagine.

Halisi rolls her eyes, smirking. She happens to glance down at the hand, causing her to become rather self-concious about it. She withdraws her fingers from Damien's arm, balling the hand up in a loose fist as she lets out a nervous laugh.

Damien 's cheeks redden slightly as he realises what exactly he was doing. He removes his hand from hers, chuckling awkwardly as he scratches the back of his neck. "Um, anyway, Halisi, thanks for breakfast," he says. "It was nice."

Halisi nods a few times. "Yeah. Yeah, it-... it was." Her hand withdraws to brush her hair aside, even though it isn't really needed. A genuine smile manages to push through the embarassment as she leans back a bit. "We should... do it again, yeah?"

Damien smiles warmly, nodding at her question. "Yeah, we should. My treat next time," he says, glad to see the doctor had perked up considerably during their time together.

Halisi nods as well, returning the smile. She glances out the window and lets out a faint sigh. "Guess I should get back to work..."

Damien nods, sliding out of the booth and standing, flattening out a few wrinkles in his shirt. "And I better head back. I have a feeling I have some explaining to do...".

Halisi 's smile wavers but doesn't disappear completely. "Oh. Yeah, I-... I guess so. I -..." she trails off. "You do that." She says with a nod.

Damien nods, shoving a hand into his pocket and giving her a small wave with the other. "You know where to find me," he says with wink as he exits the café and back towards Respite.

Halisi slides out of the booth. After a moment's hesitation she exits the café as well, taking a few quick steps to catch up to Damien and turn him around by grabbing the wrist of his normal hand. "Thanks. For listening." She leans in and plants a quick kiss on his lips before letting go of the wrist.

Damien is about to respond, until he is silenced by the quick kiss, his cheeks burning fiercely. "Uh, um- y-you're welcome." He stammers, clearly unprepared for what just happened.

Halisi clears her throat, taking a couple of steps back and pointing a thumb over her shoulder. "I'm-... I'm getting back to work now. Uhm... talk later. Yeah."

Damien takes a few steps back himself, nodding. "Yeah. I gotta get back to... There. Yep. See you around."

Damien waves once to her, turning on his heel and walking back towards Respite.

Halisi turns around with a smirk, heading down the street in the other direction.