A/N: This story is a special NSAS Sekrit Santa gift for Rapt0rix. Merry Christmas, Rappy!

Thanks to my beta-ers, MyFix and silentstephi!

A Valued Gift

Thane and Kasumi walked through the upper level of Zakera Ward at a slow and casual pace. They were fascinated by the amazing new views in the familiar space. Everywhere they looked there were new stores that outshined the old stores they replaced, and passing denizens whose looks and demeanor reflected the constantly changing world of high fashion and standards. But even with the glimmer and glam of the high class shopping district, they still felt right at home. They both took comfort at the familiar corners and walkways that still remained unchanged despite the years and troubled history.

Thane stopped his pace at a small observation platform in the hallway towards the next set of shops. Underneath him was a lit glass floor that partially illuminated the dark, metallic atmosphere of the massive space station. Out towards the view were the nebular clouds and stars that backed the bright city lights and a bird's eye view of the middle class business district of the wards.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the view hadn't changed at all after so many years. The view was the most powerful memory and vision he had of the Citadel.

Kasumi joined him and admired the view. This was also a familiar vista for her, although she was much more fascinated with what happened below than what was up above her.

"This platform reminds me so much of the old Citadel. I'm almost getting homesick," Kasumi said softly with her eyes still locked on the lights below.

"Before I ever visited the Citadel, I had never seen the beauty that the darkness of space could hold." Thane said in an equally gentle tone. "It wasn't until ten years ago that I was to finally see this for myself."

"Boy, were you unlucky. I saw this everyday as a kid, back when I was down there. I remember how I would stress my neck out every time I tried to look up." Kasumi smiled at the thought of all the soreness and nostalgia.

"Now that I think of it, it's a little funny for me now to look across towards the sky, when I'm so used to looking straight up. This almost feels empowering." Kasumi added.

"For you perhaps, I no longer have the right to feel empowered over anything. It was my pride that caused me to separate myself from everything that I loved. It caused more damage to myself and to my family than I thought it would." Thane folded his hands over the railing of the platform, as though he was using the view to silently brood over his past. "Now that time has passed, I still have everything to lose. Everything is still more fragile than it seems. I wouldn't want to lose any more of it before my time to go is up."

Kasumi turned to focus at Thane with concern and curiosity in her eyes.

"You have Shepard in mind, don't you?"

Thane smiled. "Isn't she the reason why I'm here?"

Kasumi's grin widened into a full smile. She pushed Thane softly on the shoulder to silently say to him, 'Oh, you.' "It's nothing like that. I just thought you had a good sense of fashion."

From her side, she brought up the hanger and lifted the cover to reveal a black dress. The dress was made of a fine and durable leather material that felt smooth at the touch. The neckline had a unique cut that was elegant and luscious, with the bottom part of the cut dipping down slightly to further accentuate the chest. It was a very simple dress, but it was more than enough to impress and to get the job done.

"I'm glad you didn't prove me wrong." Kasumi said as she felt a small uplifting feeling in her chest. She managed to hit two birds with one stone by bringing Thane along. Not only did he pick out the perfect dress that suited Shepard's strong and statuesque figure, he also showed Kasumi a little something that proved of something even greater.

She reached down on her side again to pick up an object from her bag. It was a necklace, made from the finest ivory of the most pampered tusked animal from a far off planet. Its matte bone was as plain as bone could ever be, with a wide angled shape that had a solid feel to it. The necklace was very strong, with no extra materials needed to give it more structure or to pollute the integrity of the pure substance. She was careful enough to dance it around her fingers without letting the weight of it get off balance until she secured the choker behind her neck.

"Now this. This is the best part." She rubbed on the surface of the choker as though it was a lucky charm. "It's beautiful, Thane. I never would've expected something like this for Shepard."

Thane smiled back and rubbed the surface of the necklace on Kasumi's throat with a fingertip. "This is nothing compared to everything that my Siha deserves."

"Of course. She's the one who saved the whole galaxy twice over. She deserves the whole Milky Way and everything in it, in my opinion. But you know, things just never work that way. Not even for her. The politicians are still going to chew her out for the littlest things even after this Reaper business is taken care of."

She quickly unhooked the necklace and put it back into its box before tying a green ribbon around the red prism.

"I don't mean to discredit this though. This is still a wonderful gift. She'll be glad to know that while she can't always get what she needs, she can still have you."

Thane's smile fell into a soft frown from the sight of the box. "That's not what the gift means."

Kasumi stood up straight from the shock of surprise that trickled up her spine. "It's not? Why?"

Thane took in a deep breath of air. "She won't have me for long. In a few months, I'll be dead."

Kasumi with another spontaneous shock, one that was much bigger than before. "What? Thane, you shouldn't say such a thing! You can't be sure on something like that!"

"I'm afraid I'm more than sure of my death. I've been preparing for it for months now." Thane spoke in the same singular tone as though none of it ever affected him, when the truth was that the words were tearing him up on the inside. He felt dread for each day he believed that there was no real escape or reconciliation for all of the crimes and injustices that he had committed. He didn't see death as a release; only as an unwelcome blank slate.

Kasumi looked on and developed a sense of slight understanding. She realized as much, as the fate of his life was not completely in his control."Preparing? What's going on? You're not talking about the upcoming mission, are you?"

"No. Not at all. I'm not so unsure of myself as to believe that I'll die on this mission because of incompetence. We all know that it won't be an issue. What I speak of is my disease. I'm slowly dying from Kepral's. Shepard already knows of it." Thane turned his head away from the view and slowly walked away to continue on their path out of the Citadel.

Kasumi went to follow him without question, although this time she paced herself slowly behind him as opposed to next to him.

"I'm... sorry to hear that, Thane. But I still don't know what this gift means. And I already know that this isn't a simple accessory."

Thane didn't slow down his pace back to the ship. He didn't even look back towards Kasumi who walked behind him.

"Remembrance. I want her to remember me."

…

Shepard stood in front of her bedroom mirror and looked into her unusual image. She wasn't used to seeing herself as feminine, or even as sexy. All of those years with the Alliance in her tight fitting armor and military slacks had affected her perception of her own body. Throughout all of those years, she saw herself as masculine and muscular, and not at all attractive. It was strange then to see her body as the exact opposite after being content with her imagined imperfections for so long. At the same time, she was glad to see her beautiful human beauty in this way for the first time in ages.

However, as much as she liked what she saw, she also spent a good amount of that time complaining about the unusual lift of her breasts and the impracticality of her heels.

"You need to relax, Shep. You look great in that dress." Kasumi said with a great amount of patience.

Shepard groaned in disapproval. "What the hell do you want me in this dress for? I'm not going to charm anyone thinking about how damn uncomfortable this thing is."

"That's nothing to worry about. A simple little dress shouldn't be enough to get in Allison Gunn's way."

"Oh, I think it will. Leather and cleavage aren't going to save me in a firefight."

"It's a formal event, Ms. Gunn. You aren't suppose to break out into firefights at a party." Kasumi nudged her. "And besides, I'll have you covered when you need to. That's what the Saren statue is for."

Shepard responded back silently with an "Oh" shaped mouth before looking back down on her dress.

Kasumi took the time Shepard spent looking down to sneak around the armor closet and grab the small present.

"Hey, Shep. Look." Shepard promptly turned around. Her eyes immediately lit up to the enticing colors of the green and red package.

"Someone got you a special gift. You should go ahead and open it." She handed it to Shepard, who then got her hands off her dress and onto the gift.

She ripped through the ribbon and wrapping with no regard of the effort it took to prepare the gift. She took slightly more care when she reached the cream colored suede box by opening it slowly to match the tightness of the hinge.

She was speechless when she saw the exquisitely shaped choker inside.

Without a word, Kasumi swiped the necklace from the box and clasped it behind Shepard's neck. Shepard remained motionless and breathless until she was able to look up to see her new reflection. A simple gasp escaped from her lips as she promptly set the box down and then caressed the band of the necklace.

"Isn't it beautiful? Doesn't it remind you of a certain someone?" Kasumi said softly near her shoulder.

Shepard's eyes opened up at the suggestion. She looked at her image again and saw how her choker was similar to another. The material felt alike and she was able to recall the general shape and pattern, although hers was more smooth and petite.

"Thane?"

Kasumi responded back with a nod and a simple Mmm. Her lips slowly widened into a smile when she saw Shepard's cheeks blush into different shades of red. She wanted to open her mouth to say something flattering or congratulatory, but instead she kept herself quiet and allowed herself to embrace the moment the same way Shepard had. She rested her head on the edge of the bed and continued to stare deeply into the mirror.

"Why did he get me this?" Shepard asked after a short period of silence.

"That's a good question." Kasumi answered back. "I had the most wonderful conversation with Thane a while back..."