Shepard sat at her desk, delicately assembling the model Normandy SR-1 she had picked up at their last stop by the Citadel. She heard the ding of the elevator and knew she was about to have a visitor. Still, she maintained concentration as the familiar steps of her battle buddy Garrus stepped in.
He crossed his arms, leaned heavily against the door frame, and looked around. He glanced up at the hamster happily running in its wheel. The blue aquarium bubbles spun dances around Shepard's tropical fish. Her iPod was playing some noisy human song featuring exotic rhythms that he found quite distracting. How could Shepard relax to something so loud and energetic?
He tilted his head to watch her work progress. He could smell the faint yet sweet fragrance that always made an appearance when she was near. She had tucked her short red hair behind her ears but a strand was falling loose as she fiddled with the tiny pieces on the desk.
"I think I'm missing a piece..." Shepard said to Garrus. "Right here," she pointed at a particularly bare spot on the model ship. She put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. The loose strand finally fell in front of her face.
Garrus straightened up his stance and walked over beside her. It only took moments for him to find the piece she needed. He picked it up between two fingers and dropped it in her hand. "No, here it is. You had it the whole time."
"Thanks," she smiled and secured the piece in place with glue.
"Looks just like her," Garrus sighed. "I miss the old Normandy."
"Me too," Shepard agreed. "But y'know? This new one's pretty good too." She pushed her chair back and stood up. "And we still have Joker!"
"Oh, Joker..." Garrus laughed. "Good to have Liara back too! And don't forget, there's still Shepard and Vakarian."
"Shepard and Vakarian," she echoed with a wistful grin. They looked at each other and smiled.
"How you holding up? You've been up here for quite a while," he asked.
"Hey," she defended herself, "You spend days in the battery 'calibrating' or whatever it is you do in there, and I don't whine at you for locking yourself away for 'quite a while.'"
"Actually, yes you do. I think you're jealous," he playfully commented.
Shepard scoffed, "Jealous? Of what?"
"The time I spend calibrating your precious ship."
She sighed. "Well, it couldn't kill you to get out once in a while. Take shore leave. Go for a run. Eat lunch. Turians do eat lunch, don't they?"
He rolled his eyes. "You were there when we met the Turian ambassadors at the Citadel and had that elaborate midday meal. I practically ate my weight in steaks and sandwiches."
"Midday meals are called 'lunch,' and yes, you were an absolute pig."
"So were you!"
She walked over to her iPod and turned it off. "To answer your original question, I'm fine," she told him. "I'm doing really well, actually. I'm feeling confident about this!" She made a fist and punched her other hand with it. "We're going to find those Reapers and kick their shiny metal butts!"
Garrus chuckled and shook his head.
She continued. "Really, it's so nice to be back, looking for the old crew... Tali, Liara, and I stopped at the theater last week to see this vid and it was just like old times, like we had never left." Shepard smiled contentedly.
Garrus smiled back. Well, the corners of his weird pointy mouth didn't turn up, but she could see it in his eyes: he was as happy as she was. He pulled her in for a hug.
"I don't want this to end," she said quietly into his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his small waist.
He buried his nose in her hair and breathed in. "I don't either," came his muffled reply. He let go of her and stepped back. "But you have to assume that an affiliation with Cerberus, the extent of the galaxy-wide damage, fighting the Reapers head-on... Not everything is the same." His voice was low and somber.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said looking past him.
"But you know one thing that will never change?" his inflection becoming more light-hearted.
She looked up at him, hopefully.
"I've always got your back." His words resonated in her skull. "I've never really said it out loud because, well, I don't know, but... You do know we're best friends, right?"
Shepard grinned and looked down at his feet for an instant before bringing them back up to his scarred face. He elicited from her a smile in which she could not resist revealing her new and perfect teeth.
"Yeah," she replied. "I know."
"Okay. Good."
A silence lingered for longer than Garrus was comfortable with. He clapped his hands together and said, "Well, glad you're doing alright. That's all I came for." He turned toward the door and continued as he walked: "Just making sure you're not going crazy in here playing with toy ships by yourself. Looking for pieces that are right under your nose." She shook her head and walked with him.
She knew they had a friendship so close that many mistook them for a couple, although neither of them could imagine being more than friends. Best friends. Shepard had wondered if she would ever meet someone with whom she would like to be more than friends. And if she even could get closer to anyone else than she already was to Garrus. The thought bothered her.
"Hey," she said quietly as they approached the door. Her brows were furrowed and her lips pursed tight.
"Yeah?"
She paused a moment. "What if," she began slowly, "what if someday... eventually... I - or you, or one of us - falls in love?" Then quickly added, "...With someone else! What if I find someone I love romantically and I spend time with them? Because I know I spend a lot of time with you, and I wouldn't want you to feel like I didn't like you as much any more just because of him. You know?"
Garrus crossed his arms. He was delightfully humored by her loss for words. "What's this?" He teased. Our dear Commander Shepard has fallen for some mysterious lover? Please, tell me more!"
She punched him in the arm.
He pulled his arm back and laughed before assuming a more serious tone. "Hey, you and me? We're good. Always. You need to find a man, settle down? I'll still be there to walk you down the aisle and to teach your kids how to shoot guns. You don't need to worry about me."
He slapped her arm hard and turned to go. She smiled as the elevator door closed behind him, comforted that she could never lose his loyalty.
Shepard returned to her desk and looked at her half-finished model ship. But what if Garrus were wrong? What if she found someone to love and it did challenge their friendship?
Never mind that negative talk now. It was time to jump back in and get her head in the next mission. The Illusive Man had advised that she recruit an assassin who would supposedly be an invaluable assistance against the Reapers. She opened the dossier and read it again. Something about this assassin really captivated her, and she was eager to find out why.