When She Knew

She had always loved the color blue.

It reminded her of the deep oceans of Earth, their tranquility and peace. It reminded her of the Alliance, full of security and strength. It reminded her of him, his stormy blue eyes and markings. He had branded himself upon her skin as clearly as the Palaven Colony that sat upon his cheeks.

She had never intended for it to happen that way, but Garrus Vakarian had a way of getting under Jane Shepard's skin. She could pinpoint the very moment it happened, but not the journey to that moment. The moment that Shepard realized how deeply she cared for Vakarian. The moment Shepard knew that he would forever be stuck beneath her skin, her cybernetics, within her very soul.

In the midst of a firefight, Jane was caught in the crossfire. There had been a surprise air attack by a gunship controlled by some well-funded mercs. She had been running to her next point of cover when the aircraft came into view. Shepard was nearly to the crates, but her feet couldn't carry her quick enough.

Those few precious seconds ticked away.

She could hear the gunship's cannons begin to load.

Adrenaline rushed through Shepard's veins, time slowed.

High Explosive, dual-purpose rounds fell into the chambers.

She was only a three steps away from safe cover.

The first shot went off, kinetic barriers down.

The next moment was laced with fear and desperation.

Shepard felt something powerful hit her full force, knocking her down behind her intended cover.

The air was pushed from her lungs, her vision blurred for an instant.

Had they thrown a rocket at her? There was an immense weight on her chest. It was hard to breathe.

Opening her eyes, Shepard had been expecting to be overwhelmed with a burst of pain before the medi-gel would have time to disperse throughout her suit. However, hot Emeralds met cool Sapphires as Shepard realized she was face-to-face with Vakarian.

So that was the large amount of weight on her. Garrus had managed to act swiftly and reached her in time to push her into cover. Bully for her.

"You know, Shepard, you really shouldn't try to take a gunship down by yourself. I know from experience," Garrus joked.

"I thought I might try having a missile for a snack, a guy told me they're incredibly filling," Her retort was light and quick, and Garrus chuckled.

"You've got to stop putting yourself in danger like this, Shep. I can't occupy all of my time watching your six, I do have mercs to kill," His tone implied that he had been worried those few seconds before he was able to reach her. His right talon instinctively squeezed her shoulder in comfort.

Her eyes roved over Garrus' face, taking in the sharp angles of blue tattoos and sharper eyes, one hidden behind a cerulean Kuwashii visor. She had a matching visor over her own green iris. In the distance, Shepard could hear Tali'zorah vas Normandy cursing up a storm while trying to take the ship on her own, reining in reality.

"I'll keep a lookout for hidden gunships next time," Shepard spoke, and then Garrus helped her up quickly. They took cover behind the crates and took on the gunship together, Shepard and Vakarian.

That moment was stuck in Shepard's mind for months after she had woken from a coma. London was in ruins, but the people were alive, the fleets were active, there was hope for a new future without Reapers. As Earth was rebuilt, so was Shepard.

The one, singular regret that Jane Shepard harbored, was ordering Garrus Vakarian back onto the Normandy. At least then she would know what would've happened to him. That moment with the gunship had made her realize exactly how Jane felt about Garrus.

He was willing to put his life in danger to keep her safe. After being dead for two years, after sabotaging his plan for Sidonis, after taking him through hell and back –twice, now–, he would still take a hit to make sure she was safe. Garrus trusted her implicitly, and she did the same with him. On the Normandy SR-1, they had become close friends. On the Normandy SR-2, they had become inseparable companions.

Currently, the Normany was incognito. It was not responding to any communications sent out, the ship was nowhere to be found. Shepard fueled her rehabilitation by remembering what she had fought for, a future with a certain Turian Vigilante.

To remind herself exactly what her purpose was, her reason for pushing past the pain, Shepard had done given herself a reminder. It was something she could look upon and grasp exactly who she was fighting for.

Azure geometrics colored her cheeks and jawline. The swath of bright blue intensified how green her eyes looked, and Shepard found that she liked the markings more than she thought she would. She had gotten them only two weeks before hearing that the Alliance fleet had been able to make contact with the Normandy. The tattoos were no longer puffy or rough, but smooth and permanent after the few weeks of healing.

Shepard only hoped Garrus liked it as much as she did.

I haven't yet decided if this will be expanded upon, I'm still working on Life and Times of Jane Shepard, but I'm doing a weekly writing challenge, and this week it happened to be some Shakarian.