[Citadel- Metroplaza Apartment Complex] Raising the Steaks

The room was filled with the aroma of sizzling meat. Two prime-cut porterhouse steaks cooked on an advanced oven, with a system HUD reading holographically the internal temperature and various other points of reference about the cooking meal. Sarah fumbled with the back tie of her cooking apron and quickly checked her omnitool, Albert would be here soon enough, and these weren't done yet.

The woman let out an agitated huff, pacing back to her kitchen's dinner table. Wax candles stood in the center, surrounding a bouquet of Thessian wildflowers in a obsidian-textured jar. With her tool at her wrist, she ignited the candle wicks and paced back and forth; placing plates and silverware at opposite ends of the table and checking on the cooking meat and side-orders.

The oven beeped in a sequence, signaling the meal was finished. Sarah set out appropriate portions; A steak per person, potatoes, corn and a few rolls of bread. Admiring her work, the woman left the kitchen, making her way to her bedroom. A moment later, she left wearing a change of clothes.

Everything was ready. Everything had to be perfect, she murmured to herself, taking a seat on her living room sofa and hugging a cushion to her chest. The woman caught a glance at her reflection in a dark HV screen and pushed her hair out of the way.

The buzzer of the Apartment rang just as Sarah was ready, and the familiar face of Albert was displayed on the intercom. He was wearing a dark, bespoke suit, with an System Alliance pin on his lapel.

He was holding something big under one arm, what exactly the camera couldn't show. "Sarah," he said over the intecom, "it's Al, would you mind letting me in?"

Sarah stood up, setting the cushion aside. Giving herself a quick check-over, she cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and soldiered onto the door, which she opened with a welcoming smile. "Hey, you! It's been too long, come in, come in! Make yourself at home." She gestured off at her apartment; It was recently cleaned, the lighting was dim and the hanging ceiling lamps and corner lamps gave it a warm feeling.

She stepped carefully in her heels over towards a shelf, in which she used her best slight of hand to hide a small box behind her back. She offered Albert a smile.

"Hey, thanks," Albert agreed, "I bring bearing gifts for the future ruler of the universe."

He held up a large bag filled with stuffed toys, "it is the complete Uncle Garm Garm collection, from Uncle Garm Garm and Captain Grumpy, to Zip-Zap, Rakkity and Gaisus, they are all in there." He smiled back at her, "so how have you been?"

Sarah took the bag and stepped over to the study/nursery door, setting the bag by the doorframe. She stretched slightly and turned, planting a hand on her hip. Her hand's presence affected the coloration of her black dress, sending slight waves of blue cascading across her. "I have been ..well, frazzled. Therapy, I'm back at work, I'm trying my hand at speed dating, you name it." She slipped out of her high heels and wiggled bare toes onto carpet.

"Albie is going to go absolutely nuts over those stuffed toys." She spoke with a smirk as she approached her guest. "How have you been, hm?"

"Good to hear, as for me, the same old same old, making the Alliance look good and trying to look awesome while doing it." He said with a grin, he sniffed the air, "hmmm, and I have been practicing my precognition skills, for example, I already know that, I'll be enjoying my meal almost as much as the company with whom I'll share it." A little flattery never hurt anyone.

Sarah couldn't help but grin. "Well, my company is pretty one-of-a-kind. Stick around, I think you'll find it's one of the best things to have." She pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear and suddenly froze. With a hand still behind her back, the woman seemed to snap back to the realization. "Oh. Here's your present. I didn't know what to get you, and I know you like to dress well, so I got these made for you." She offered the box over and stepped back to the dinner table.

Inside the box was a matching pair of cufflinks; Both featured two small squares of gold with a small Systems Alliance logo forged in with silver.

Albert opened the box and he smiled, "oh these are wonderful," he undid his current cuffs and replaced them with his gift.

"Thank you very much, as for my gift," he reached into his pocket and handed her an envelope, "I can only imagine how stressful life can be for you so I got you an afternoon of pampering at a spa, they even have a babysit service."

That was not the only thing in the envelope, apart from the voucher to the SPA there was the documents to a high-yield college fund account for 'Albie', managed by volus and elcor bankers and payable on his 18th birthday.

Sarah stooped to sit on the edge of her dinner table for a moment while she looked over the contents of the envelope. "Spa treatment and a babysitting service? Why am I not there constantly?" She glanced up with a sly smile, thumbing to the next object in question. Giving it a quick read over, the woman's eyes welled with tears of shock.

"I can't believe this. You gave him a college fund?" She set the envelope down. "I .." She washed her face with her hand and wiped at her eyes. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for him, and I only wish he knew how much you've done for the both of us. The pardon, helping me out of the hostage situation, now this?" She pushed her hair back and exhaled sharply, her face turning a bright red. "I .. I think I need to sit down." She stammered, taking a seat at her place at the table.

"Think nothing of it, you should thank the volus and elcor, they will be the ones that will turn that seed money into something worth calling a fund." Albert said with a small shrug as he sat down, "well the first one was my job, the second one was just me trying to look awesome, this, this is me actually not knowing what to buy and a gift card seemed so impersonal." There was a smile on his face, "anyway, I think it's time for dinner?"

"I think it's time indeed." She still appeared flustered and her eyes were red with emotion. "I.. No, no, Albert." She shook her head, picking up her silverware. "I cannot stress this enough. You've done so much for me that I don't know how to pay you back." She looked at him through the flames of the candles before her. "I .. Maybe .. Uh. Maybe you'd like to do this again? I mean, dinner, somewhere that isn't my wrapper-strewn apartment?" Her hands had a vice grip without her knowing on the fork and steak knife.

"I mean, if you're not seeing anyone. I should get the wine.." She mumbled to herself, slowly pushing herself to a stand.

Albert let a polite cough escape as his eyes ever so slightly bulged. "Eh... we're friends," there was a smaller but noticeable stammer. Clearly it has coughed him off-guard.

"Pardon me to jump the gun here, but I feel you there might be a misinterpreted of my intentions, I'm just being friendly. I'm not seeking a repayment or a deeper relationship. I'm sorry to say but I'm not relationship material."

"I'm sorry if I lead you to believe otherwise. You have my friendship but I'm not interested in anything more serious."

Sarah jabbed a corkscrew into the end of the bottle of Merlot's cork and planted a hand on her hip, producing the same glowing effect as before. "Albert, I can't believe.. I- Okay. I've got to get this off my chest." She buried her face in her hand and took a deep breath and set the bottle down. "I'm serious. I want to pursue this. I'm hardly relationship material myself, knowing my past and what I've done." She approached him with the bottle, giving the screw a twist and wrenching the cork free with a pop.

"I - If it's about your proclivities, I don't have a problem with them. I know you've been around the block, and I've dated men and women all over the Alliance colonies. It's not something I'm against, I've been thinking about candidates for my son and I just thought you would be on there." She waved an arm off towards her study, a brow furrowing as she spoke with a more impassioned tone. "Hell, I named him after you after all that you've done for me! Chris wanted to name him fucking Carlyle!"

She curled her hands together in front of her bust, her eyes squinted. She spoke at the same passionate tone, albeit at a lower volume. "Don't you see how much you mean to me? If you really don't feel the same way, I really don't want to ruin our friendship. I really don't want to ruin what we have, but if I don't press the issue, I'm going to regret it." She poured the man a glass and brought the bottle back to her glass. She poured herself a drink and downed it. "I'm sorry I've made you uncomfortable."

"Sarah," he took the bottle out her hands and filled his glass. "my proclivities are the least of my worries, although 'been around the block' is putting it mildly. The thing is... you and especially Albert need stability, and I cannot give that, I do not have that to give. I can try to be a good friend, I might make a good uncle, but I cannot take whatever long-term role you want me to fill. You feel the need for something permanent and that is about the only thing I cannot deliver."

"Once more, sorry if I led you to believe there could be something more."

Sarah leaned back in her seat and arched her back, pressing her palms into her face. "I can't believe I .. I'm sorry, buddy. I've been out of sorts for a while. I need someone in my life. I just.." She leaned forward, sitting up straight. The woman straightened a strap on her shoulder and took a deep breath. "Of course, of course, I understand. You'll always be Uncle Al to my son. I just.."
She rubbed her biceps for a moment and stared at her steak.

"I'm sure you can imagine where I'm at right now. Six months or so divorced and no bites when I put the bait out." She cut at her steak and took a bite. "People take a look at my issues and the fact I have a son and they're out of there."

"I can imagine very well that it's hard" Albert said after taking a bite of the delicious steak. "But you can do it, I would recommend matron stage asari, krogan and turians if humans aren't working out. Matrons are wise enough to understand that people can and do change and will see that you work hard. Same for turians, they are hard but fair, some might give pause but generally if you show how you bettered yourself they'll be willing give you a chance. Krogan... krogan won't care."

He took another bite.

"And make sure you let them taste your cooking a few times before you drop any bombs, because it is good."

Sarah responded after chewing for a moment, washing down her bite with a drink of wine. She briefly stared at the steak, dripping juice on the side of the plate and melding with the potatoes. "I kind of got it off the extranet. If I didn't constantly watch it, I'd have ruined it." She cut another bite and stuffed it between her molars, finishing it off with another drink.

"That was an awkward mess. I hope the two of us can forget our earlier conversation ever happened." She adjusted a bracelet on her wrist, trying to mask her discomfort, and leaned back once more. "Albert, I appreciate your friendship. I'm sorry for trying to pry for something more." She pointed a fork at him.

"As for your suggestion, I'd never date a Krogan if my life depended on it. I'm afraid of being crushed, and I have enough trust issues with Turians that they're not a strong option. My standards are way too high. I'm unsure about Asari. I want to grow old with somebody, you know? I can't exactly move back with Chris after all she's done."

"You put in the effort and you can taste it," he said between bites, "and the wine you got is equally well chosen." and smiled.

"I'm not really the person to talk about potential mates, only thing I can say is give them a chance, they might not be exactly what you're looking for but they might surprise you in what they do bring to the table."

More flattery. Sarah finished off her steak after a couple of bites and gently pushed the plate back.
The woman rest her chin on her palm for a moment, then slowly rose to her feet. "I'm gonna go check on the baby and feed him, it's about that time, would you like to come with?"

"I've still to finish your steak, so go ahead I'll come once I'm done." Albert said.