Jealous?

Jason Vakarian sighed in annoyance. He normally didn't do interviews. He hated interviews. But Emily Wong was the unofficial reporter of the Shepard-Vakarian family, and it was a courtesy he allowed every few years. But it was still a little odd answering these very personal questions posed by a woman who was basically his mother's age.

"We're here with our favorite up-and-coming human Spectre, Jason Vakarian, for an exclusive interview."

Jason couldn't help make a face at this introduction. Not even a minute in and Wong had already dropped the word "Spectre" and the name "Vakarian." He suspected "Shepard" and "Reapers" wouldn't be far behind. And Ms. Wong didn't disappoint. She asked the usual questions about how it felt to be one of the youngest Spectres, how much his mother had influenced his career choices, what it was like having two Spectres for parents, blah blah blah.

He'd heard all the questions before, but grinned slightly to himself when he noticed that she - unlike so many other reporters - carefully sidestepped the word "adopted." He knew that probably had to do with his mother, who might have actually shot Emily Wong had she decided to bring it up or even allude to it. Or, as his brother had said during their vid chat last week, "Mom would eat Wong's face." Even though it was completely obvious that both he and his brother were adopted (I mean, really obvious), she always got angry whenever other people brought it up. The rest of them didn't really understand her defensiveness about it.

"They're my sons. Biology has nothing to do with it." A slight pause. Just long enough for Garrus to roll his eyes. "It's none of their damn business, anyway."

There was only one question she asked that really surprised him. But it wasn't really the question itself that bothered him. He'd been asked it before. Lots of times. He just hadn't expected it from her. He'd done interviews with her as a kid - the very few interviews his parents allowed him to do - and she'd never asked questions that actually made him think and had never tried to get a rise out of him.

"Your younger brother, Remus Shepard, has matched you medal for medal, commendation for commendation in his exemplary military career with the Alliance. It's even rumored that he's being considered for the Spectres. Even though you have very similar records, he's had to achieve all this with the stigma of being a Turian in the Alliance, which has lead several of his supporters to claim him to be the superior son of your parents. Any comment on this? Has this created any tension between you two? Any hostility or jealousy?"

Wong knew her shit, that was for sure. A heated outburst got higher ratings, and she seemed skilled at knowing which buttons to push. Unfortunately, she missed all of Jason's.

He just laughed, genuinely amused. "Jealousy? You know, there's only one thing I'm jealous of him about. Wanna know what it is?" Wong leaned in close, surprised by the congenial reaction and tone but intrigued. She nodded, barely able to mask her curiosity. He leaned in slightly himself like he was telling some big secret. "The bastard isn't allergic to anything."

Emily Wong just stared at him dumbfounded as Jason laughed again. "What?" she managed. She was so rarely at a loss for words.

"Dextro- and levo-based. He can eat pretty much anything you put in front of you. He grew up eating what Mom and I did, though he always had to supplement nutrient content. You know what I happened when I once tried some of Dad's dextro-based food?" She shook her head weakly. This interview had not gone the way she had expected. "I went into anaphylactic shock. Almost died. And all I did was take two lousy bites! And that asshole goes to dinner with us all the time at human restaurants and nothing."

Ms Wong's bemused expression said it all.


AN: Really short chapter exploring Jason Shepard a little more. This directly references my story "Shepard's Son". I really like the idea of Garrus and Shepard adopting, particularly the idea of them adopting a human and a turian son. But again, the idea wasn't mine. It's just something that I saw in "The Hundred Year Distance" (which is really good and I highly recommend you read it if you haven't already) and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. As for the name Remus, it in no way foreshadows any sort of problems between the brothers. I just like the name Remus. Also, Romulus was kind of a dick.