Garrus strode up the boulevard, stepped over a small piece of rubble, and caught sight of their usual table.

She was sitting there, early as usual, ignoring her food and fiddling with her omni-tool. Garrus smirked as he crossed the street over to her, hopped over the little metal railing separating the cafe from the sidewalk, and took his seat.

"You're late," Tali said, not looking up.

"You're early," he retorted, picking up the kava she'd already ordered for him. It was still warm, so she hadn't gotten her quite as early as she'd like - she always ordered for him, and he always drank it, regardless of how cold it had gotten. It was their way.

"How's the Flotilla?" He asked, conversationally, savoring his tiny victory of a decent cup of kava.

"Still flying," she said mildly, finally shutting down her damned omni-tool. "Liveships are doing their best to provide for the turians as well, but it's difficult. We've farmed the same way for so many years, having to figure out how to cram in more crops into the same space is... problematic."

"Least you'll have some extra food for the trip home." He set down his cup. "Won't be much longer before the first new relay is assembled."

"You keep saying that, but you don't know the first thing about how they're even building it." She crossed her arms and he could hear the mild irritation in her voice.

"No," he admitted. "But I do know that we've got all the smartest people in the galaxy, along with the largest work force in the galaxy, and we just assembled and deployed the most complicated machine in the galaxy." He shrugged. "Building a relay can't be so hard."

Tali tapped her finger against her bicep. "And what about the other systems?"

Garrus gestured dismissively. "FTL comm buoys are being redeployed all over. Once we've built one relay, we spread around the knowledge and the whole network will be back up in a matter of years."

"Years spent here," she retorted, "on a devastated planet that can barely support it's own population."

He grinned. "That's what ration packs and Liveships are for."

Tali huffed and it sounded strange in her helmet. There was a pregnant pause, and for once she dropped the argumentative nature of their friendship.

"I just want to go home," she said wistfully. "I know it's stupid, I've lived this way my whole life, but now-"

"I know," he said. "You don't have to explain."

She gave him a look, silvery eyes shining through the purple visor. "What about you? Don't you want to go back to Palaven?"

Garrus sighed and looked across the street. London was coming along nicely, he noticed. What remained of Alliance command had relocated back to Vancouver, along with the representatives of the other major fleets still in orbit around Earth or other planets in the Sol system. What was left was most of the ground troops, who set to work immediately on reconstruction. It had taken a while, but apart from the occasional rubble and most of the flattened buildings, it almost looked like this had been a city once.

"I don't know," he said. Big Ben loomed ominously in the distance, half it's faces gone. "There wasn't much left."

Tali didn't say anything. Garrus stared out at the street. A krogan stomped by, Urdnot clan by his armor, heading who knows where.

"You've got family," she said, finally. "That's something."

He smiled sadly. "Yeah. I guess it is."

"Do they know you're alive?"

He turned back to her. She'd uncrossed her arms and was leaning on the table, picking at her food. This was the one place in London that had bothered to learn how to prepare and serve a limited dextro menu, even sterilizing it for quarian customers. It was popular, as much as a restaurant in the middle of a bombed out war zone could be. Shepard had talked about something called 'World War Two' and how a place called France had been much the same afterward. He doubted that it was quite the same.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Got a message through a while back. They're on a ship in turian space."

"And... your mother?"

He felt his mandibles tighten against his face. "Still don't know."

Tali reached over and put her hand on his. She didn't say anything. Garrus appreciated that. She patted lightly - he wondered if she could actually feel his hand through her suit - and pulled away. He forced a smile and he could tell she did the same, even if he couldn't see it clearly through the helmet.

"Well," she said, reaching for her glass. "How's the Primarch?"

"Busy. He's committed to aiding in the reconstruction, but he's got a lot of people and ships to manage. And most of them want to go home, where ever 'home' is for them. Colony worlds, you know."

"And the Reapers?"

"Still small pockets all over the place. Disorganized, but dangerous." He scratched at his fringe. "All I get to do these days is organize and coordinate strike teams. The Primarch won't let me fight."

"Since when did you listen to an authority figure?" She said wryly, sipping at her drink.

He crossed his arms. "Since when did you start drinking through 'emergency induction ports?'"

Tali choked on her drink. Garrus grinned.

"I can't believe she told you about that."

"Just sorry I missed it." He grinned wider, if that was possible. "I can only imagine how much fun you'd be drunk. Trying to describe the inner workings of a mass effect drive core while giggling to yourself."

She threw a piece of food at him. He took it in stride.

"How is Shepard?" Tali said, effortlessly changing the subject.

"Well." He said curtly.

"Restless yet?"

Garrus gave a sort of half-shrug and nodded vaguely, looking at the street again. "Reconstruction isn't exactly what she was trained for, even if Hackett wants her out of the line of fire for a while."

Tali fiddled with her food. "She's not one for a desk job."

He smiled. "No she's not. But she finds ways to keep herself occupied."

"What sort of ways?"

Garrus glanced at her, found only an impassive helmet, then turned away again, not bothering to dignify that with a response.

There was a nice, long pause. When Garrus looked back, she was leaning forward, elbows on the table and holding her helmeted head in her hands.

"When's the ceremony?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Garrus." She tilted her head, accented voice taking on a thoroughly amused tone. "We're friends with the Shadow Broker."

Garrus glowered at her. "That good-for-nothing gossip."

"Why are you so upset?" Tali removed one hand from her chin and ran a finger along the edge of her glass. "I would figure you'd be shouting it from the rooftops."

His mandibles flexed back and forth, over and over, clearly uncomfortable. "It's not that we're... I mean, we don't care what people think-"

"Obviously."

He shot her a look. "It's a personal thing between two people. It's not a big deal."

"On Palaven, maybe." She leaned back and crossed her arms triumphantly. "On Earth, these sorts of ceremonies are big deals. There's guests, and photographers, and rituals, and fancy clothes-"

"She doesn't care about any of those things." He leaned back and crossed his own arms, regarding her sternly. "You know Shepard."

"Are you sure?" She said, drawing out the last word.

Garrus hesitated. "Positive," he said, but Tali just smirked. He knew she was, even if he couldn't see it.

"I think you should have it on Rannoch," she said. "Nice climate, no bugs."

"There's no relays."

"You said yourself it won't be long." Her head tilted again and Garrus could not remember how this conversation had gotten away from him. "Or are you impatient to 'tie the knot?'" She held up her hands and flexed her fingers.

"It's just a matter of convenience. Ship will be repaired in a few months, and then there won't be any time."

"Suuuure." She said skeptically. "Well, just don't be surprised when Wrex offers to have it on Tuchanka."

Garrus scoffed. "As if Shepard would really consider that."

"They are close friends. She might be honored."

He considered the barren, dust filled wasteland of Tuchanka, and the particulars of whatever krogan ceremony they would have to endure.

"I think I've lost my appetite," he said, pushing himself to his feet.

"Really? I was just starting to enjoy myself." She giggled and rubbed her hands together. "We should really do this more often."

"We do it every week."

"We do?"

"I said I was sorry about missing last week," he said, leaving a credit chit on the table. "That's why I'm paying this week. And that is the only reason."

"A true gentleman," Tali said, sipping at her straw through the small slit on her helmet. "See you next week?"

"Of course," he said. "Take care."

"Of course." She replied.

Garrus left the same way he came, up and over the ornate metal railing and down the street. He waited until he was well out of eyeshot before he brought up his omni-tool.

"Shepard."

"Hey, it's me."

"Hey," she said pleasantly. "What's up?"

"Did Wrex call at all?"

"No, not today." She sounded puzzled. "Why?"

He sighed quietly. "No reason."