Love's Last Embrace
To say Garrus was scared was the understatement of the millennium. He hadn't felt this sick to his stomach since he found out the Reapers had hit Earth. Those short days before Shepard made it to Menae felt like light years to the Turian who loved and cared for her so much. Seeing Jane on the moon of his planet, blonde hair glistening in the soft azure light, bright blue eyes vivid against the pale white of her face, Garrus felt like he could finally breathe again, like the large hand of uncertainty that had wrapped itself around him had finally loosened its grip. Despite everything that was happening around them, Garrus couldn't help but note how good Jane had looked that day. Although there was tiredness to her eyes, she was still strong. It felt good to be back aboard the Normandy once again, and when Jane came to see him, Garrus was overjoyed at the fact that she still wanted to be with him…
But doubt began to cloud his mind once Kaidan joined the squad again.
Garrus was no fool, he noticed all the sidelong glances, how close Kaidan liked to stand next to Shepard…although these were little things it ate him up inside. Garrus knew how much Shepard had loved Kaidan, she'd told him all of her feelings, so he couldn't help but fear that she'd fall back into the biotic's arms…
Thankfully though, this was not the case. Jane declared her love for Garrus atop of the tallest tower in the Presidium…and while Garrus pulled the ever cheesy 'dip and kiss' move, Shepard didn't seem to mind. From that moment on things were good; despite the fact that the Reapers were destroying the galaxy around them.
Now, however, the grim reality was setting in. It was the night before the final mission, the night before the Normandy would travel to Earth, the night before each of the crew would face the Reapers and would hopefully drive them back. Garrus found himself unable to breathe again. While he had full faith in the Alliance and all the men and women Jane had recruited…a small voice in the back of his head just wouldn't leave him alone. Shepard must have felt the same because when he went to see her she voiced the very thought that kept playing through his mind.
"What if it's not enough?"
Jane looked up at Garrus, her crystal blue eyes searching his. Garrus saw something he never saw in Jane's eyes before: fear. There was nothing he could say to comfort her. Instead, Garrus took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. He breathed in the fruity scent of her hair…what had she called it…strawberries? Whatever it was, it always set his mouth watering. He ran his talons through her short locks.
"You've done everything you could do, Jane. Anybody else would've just given up…but you, you never did. We'll beat them, Shepard. We'll beat them."
Jane shook her head and closed her eyes.
"You have meant more to me than anything in this galaxy, Garrus. I'm fighting them for you…for us. I'm not ready to die…not yet."
Garrus closed his eyes and tightened his hold around the commander.
"You're the strongest woman I've ever known, Jane. It's been a privilege to serve with you…and an even greater one to love you. Out of everything I've done, C-Sec, my attempts to clean up Omega…you are the only thing that's gone right for me. So don't talk of dying…you're going to kick Harbringer's ass back into deep space…they'll think twice before angering Commander Shepard again."
Garrus pulled away to look at Shepard. He noticed the wetness of her cheeks and bent down to kiss her tears away, first on the left side of her face, then the right. Garrus stepped back only slightly to look into Jane's eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly. Shepard closed her eyes and placed her hand atop Garrus'. When the kiss broke for a brief second, Jane wrapped her arms around Garrus' shoulders and kissed him deeply. She must've surprised him, as he stood still for a moment before he snaked his arms around her waist and held her in a tight embrace. Their tongues touched briefly before the kiss broke again. Short, little, yet deep kisses ensued as Jane took a few steps back before stopping at her bed. Garrus lifted her in his arms and moved forward, laying her against the mattress. He moved over her, but knew he wouldn't keep that position for very long, and wasn't surprised when he felt Jane's leg hook between the bend in his leg and flip them over. She pulled her shirt over her head and bent down to kiss Garrus once more.
Garrus closed his eyes as he ran his hands over Shepard's skin. The contrast between the rough edges of his hands and the smoothness of her skin was a feeling Garrus could never tire of. Knowing that this night could be their last night, he took the time to ravish in each little thing that Shepard did. The way she kissed him, the way she would slowly stroke his tongue, the way she would dance her hands down his chest and grip his shoulders. As Garrus was relieved of his shirt and he found Jane beneath him, he drew out his brief window of time of being in control. He studied every nook and groove her body carried, ran the tips of his fingers and his tongue against every battle scar forever etched into her perfect, silky skin. He closed his eyes and listened to every bated breath, every soft sigh that escaped her lips and removed another piece of her clothing bit by bit. He kissed her deeply after paying close attention to her breasts and sighed into her mouth as he felt her legs encircle his hips. Garrus buried his face in Jane's neck as he searched for her hand. He pinned it to the mattress and clasped it with his own as the two joined beneath the twinkling stars of the galaxy. Shepard's soft sighs and cries only pushed Garrus to go faster, but he did not. He made love to Jane slowly, deeply, and as gently as he could. All other thought vanished from his mind. For the moment, nothing mattered but Jane. As he moved to his knees, Jane only tightened her hold around him, rocking her hips against his at a steady pace. Garrus closed his eyes as her soft moans filled the room.
As her head lolled back, he graced her neck and clavicle with soft kisses and gentle nibbles. She whispered his name softly, which caused Garrus to make a deep rumbling sound in his chest. As the minutes ticked by, his constraint thinned. He could tell by the flush of Jane's skin and the slight sheen of sweat on her brow that she too, was close. The moment came when neither of them could stand it any longer and both dived head first into the pool of ecstasy that was waiting for them. Garrus leaned forward and laid himself and Jane against the mattress, where neither of them bothered to untangle their limbs. Garrus looked at the brave commander who had stolen his heart and took comfort in the small smile gracing her lips. For this brief moment, all worry of the impending battle had vanished. Jane opened her eyes and rested her forehead against Garrus'.
"I love you, more than anything else." She whispered softly.
Garrus held the side of her face and kissed her softly.
"When this is all over…let's retire to a warm and sunny place? Who knows…maybe we'll even find out what a Turian-human baby looks like."
Something flashed behind Jane's eyes…and Garrus wasn't sure what it was, as it happened so quickly. He noticed that Jane swallowed and nodded.
"I think I'd like that. Can you picture us as parents? That would be one badass kid…"
Garrus chuckled, but noticed that tears were forming in Jane's eyes again. Before he could do anything, she sat up and moved towards her end table. Garrus propped himself up on his arm and watched her intently.
"In case things don't work out tomorrow…I want you to keep these." Jane said as she turned back to him. She held her dog tags in her hand.
Garrus shook his head.
"But Jane I…"
Shepard placed them into his hand and closed his fingers around it, resting her hand atop his.
"Please Garrus…for me? Wear them tomorrow."
Garrus looked at her before pulling her into a tight hug. He knew what she was thinking…that this was her last night…possibly their last night. How he wished he could reassure her.
"We're going to be fine…we're going to be fine." He whispered in her ear, but his words were hollow. Garrus didn't have the answers; he had no way of knowing what the next day would bring. He could only hope that he would get to hold Shepard in his arms once again. Jane pulled back only slightly to kiss him again…and the two proceeded to make love again and again throughout the long hours of the night. As Garrus held Jane against his chest once she had finally fallen asleep, he gently touched her dog tags with the tips of his talons and closed his eyes tightly as he clasped them in his hands. A single tear released itself from his eyes and rolled down the roughened skin of his cheek. He turned his head to look at Jane, noting how peaceful she looked as she slept and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"Don't die on me Jane. Cerberus isn't going to bring you back this time…so don't you dare die. I…I'm not strong enough to make it without you." He whispered
As Garrus watched her run towards the crashed Citadel the next day, dodging body parts and debris, shooting at Marauders and Cannibals, he could do nothing but pray that he'd get to embrace his love one more time after all this was over and the sky wasn't dark red with the Reaper's beams…
Hope and prayer, that was all he had…and as Garrus gripped her dog tags in his hand, he wanted to believe that that was enough, and that he would indeed get to hold Shepard once more…
But he did not know what was to come, what he had yet to face. The Reapers were only the first obstacle that would stand in the way of his and Shepard's happiness…