Adventures Continue.
It happened again. And then a few more times as Wrex and Garrus fought alongside Commander Shepard and their ragtag crew against Saren and the Geth. The two warriors becoming akin to krogan brood brothers or turian hunting partners. Each there to satisfy the needs of the other when the time came.
It was a quiet arrangement, neither speaking of it to anyone and each time they engaged they were careful to avoid confrontation with shipmates. There were times where they came close to discovery, a day when Ashley forgot her book in her locker and another when Tali crawled out of the engine room late in the night cycle. But for the most part it was easy.
The Commander might have been catching on though as he noticed a shift in their teamwork on missions. More often than not he'd bring the dynamic duo with him groundside. He needed Wrex as a heavy hitter and Garrus as his tech expert and long range sniper. The three of them made an amazing strike team. The only way the trio could have gotten closer is if the human joined them in their night excursions; although that didn't happen.
But it was that same team that Shepard took with him to the final fight on Illos. The krogan and turian stood with him on the Citadel as they watched Sovereign burn. The celebration afterwards had been one for the record books. Enough Ryncol passed between the men to even rattle Wrex's old bones.
Later Garrus had been able to rattle one more old bone... but that was the end of their arrangement.
Garrus went back to C-Sec with a recommendation for the Spectres and Wrex went back to Tuchanka to rally for his species. As a brother in arms the Commander's opinion carried a lot of weight, so much so that they both tried to change themselves for the better after leaving the crew. They kept in infrequent contact, more through Shepard's influence than anything as he often messaged them.
When news hit that the Normandy had been destroyed they saw each other at the funeral on the Citadel. Garrus had taken the news hard and blamed himself for leaving. Wrex grieved as well but as krogan did, silently. An argument ensued and that was the last they saw of each other.
Or it was...
"Shepard my friend!" Wrex exclaimed, all but ignoring the krogan who had been making an appeal. He quickly moved from his towering throne to greet the trio before him. A young krogan and a turian in full armour braced on either side of the Commander.
"Wrex! It's good to see you," He allowed the krogan to grasp his arm and he returned the gesture in kind
"You look well for dead, Shepard. Should have known the void couldn't hold you."
"Looks like helping me destroy Saren and the Geth has worked out for you. Glad we didn't have to kill each other back on Virmire."
He choked out a laugh, "Ha! You made the rise of the Urdnot possible. Virmire was a turning point for the krogan, though not everyone was happy about it." The krogan that had been in talks with Wrex glared as he stomped away but the battlemaster ignored him. "Destroying Saren's genophage cure freed us from his manipulation. I used that to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot."
The other krogan tried to butt back into the conversation, he got into Wrex's personal space which set the Commander's team on edge, "You abandoned many traditions to get your way. Dangerous."
Wrex paid him no mind, only pausing long enough to heabutt him back into his place, "Speak when spoken to Uvenik. I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not." Wrex caught the slide of the turian's hand away from his weapon, he'd been prepared to shoot Uvenik, ballsy considering he was a turian on a Tuchanka. Although, even coming here was a risk. It was no wonder that he was still wearing his helmet.
Shepard and Wrex passed a few minutes after that with a quick back and forth. Talking of what he'd been doing. What happened to the Normandy. And finally what was going on with Grunt. The Battlemaster had eyed the mystery turian but so far he didn't address him. It might be Garrus but the armour was wrong, it was a heavy set with a significant amount of damage to the right side. Expertly patched mind you, but still it didn't seem like something his turian would wear.
The situation with the youngling was easy enough to piece together, "There's nothing wrong with him. He's becoming a full adult."
The turian couldn't resist the bait, "Adolescence?" he drawled in that familiar flanging tone that could only be Vakarian. "Can't we just take him to Omega and buy him a few dances?"
The wry quip left Wrex laughing, "Garrus? Is that you under that helmet, whelp?" He stood back up from his throne, he hoped he'd masked his relief well enough.
Garrus gave a single armed shrug, "Thought you'd never guess."
"This should make for an interesting fight then, too bad I can't join you. I'm not this youngling's krantt, not yet. Shepard, if you'll stand with him he can take the rite."
The Commander agreed to his challenge, "We'll catch up later."
Wrex nodded, "Go speak to the Shaman when you're ready." His eyes moved from Shepard to Garrus and back again, "You've both got some explaining to do. I'll get the Ryncol ready."
And so they left, the Battlemaster's eyes not leaving the turian's back until the trio was out of sight. He hadn't expected to ever see Garrus again, let alone Shepard. He'd had his doubts that the turian was even alive and they hadn't parted on good terms. Later he would hear the story, later he'd figure out why the turian hadn't removed his helmet.
He finished his business and made arrangements for dinner and alcohol to celebrate the young krogan's entry into Urdnot. It was customary to have a party and considering it was Shepard's adoptive youngling? It warranted something grand.
...
News of their exploits came not long after the maw hammer went silent. Grunt and his krantt had killed the thresher maw. The blue-eyed krogan came barrelling into the hall with all the gusto he'd had himself many, many years ago when he had killed a thresher. Blood still spilled freely from under his shoulder pauldron, part of the metal and ceramic plate burned away by acid.
"Urdnot Grunt!" he greeted the newly minted man. "Figures Shepard would bring me the first krogan to kill a thresher maw in a few centuries."
"Hehehe… my battlemaster is the strongest. He brings me strong enemies and I will destroy them all!"
"Good boy, now quit bleeding all over the place and meet your new brothers," he patted his clean shoulder and gestured to the group of Urdnot warriors behind him. Grunt passed Wrex as directed and was greeted warmly by the others, if you could call a headbutt warmly that is. The battlemaster turned his attention to the Commander, "Shepard! Figures you'd take one out on foot too, killed enough of the damn things in the Mako all those years ago. Probably easier without your erratic driving."
"Hey! My driving…"
Garrus cut him off as he appeared in the doorway behind him, this time his helmet clasped under his arm, "Driving?" he asked with a laugh. "That's what you call it?"
Shepard shot some quip back but Wrex's attention was on the turian. It was on the bandage that covered half his face, the burns that spilled out from under it and the crack in his opposite cheek that bisected his colonial markings. Without thinking he had closed the distance and shoved Garrus' head to the side to get a better look at the scars, they weren't new. "Thresher didn't do that," he said a little stupidly.
"Wrex, get off." Garrus hissed quiet enough that only the battlemaster heard it. "They'll see…" he glanced at the younger krogan behind him before dragging his eyes back to Wrex's.
"Let them," he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Shepard looked back at his friends, taking a moment to realise exactly what was going on between them before he left them be. "Grunt!" he called out loud enough that he pulled the attention back to himself, "Why don't you tell your new pals about that time we broke Jack out of prison?" He was more than happy to comply as he immediately dropped into the tale, occupying the other's attention long enough for Wrex to shove Garrus back out the doors and towards an empty room down the hall.
No sooner did the door close and lock behind them did the krogan all but jump the turian. He shoved him hard against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. Garrus was tired from Grunt's rite and didn't fight him, not just yet. "What the hell happened to you?"
The turian looked away, ashamed, "I tried to catch a rocket with my teeth, it didn't go well."
"Obviously, this is recent though. What about this?" he ran a bare hand across the split in his opposing facial plate, when he had the time to drop his glove Garrus would never know. "It takes a shit ton of power to crack a turian plate."
He huffed a laugh, "Yeah. It's my face remember?" The turian pushed his aggressor back, "Get off me Wrex."
"No," he replied indignant. Stepping back in he reached for the clasps of the turian's armour, getting through a few clips and dropping a few pieces before Garrus managed to get distance between them again. "Where were you? You let me think you were dead too then storm back in here as though no time passed, as though nothing passed between us."
"I was busy," he crossed his arms over his half armoured chest. "Where do you get off lecturing me? You were the one who said he needed space after Shepard died. Fuck Wrex."
"Needing space doesn't mean you needed to drop into the void! Shepard was our brother," Wrex moved forwards again, a hand grabbing onto Garrus' forearm hard. "After all these centuries, all the deaths, you think I'd be able to handle it."
"Wrex…" the turian started.
"Let me finish," he growled in response. "Shepard wanted me to create a better future for the krogan, I couldn't do that with you…"
Vakarian scoffed and pulled away once more, "And that's why I left, damn it. You're ashamed of me. Ashamed of what we had. You call me brother then spit on it with your krogan pride."
"Garrus, just shut up and listen! Now that I've got the clans uniting we don't need to hide us anymore. With Shepard back it can be as it was." The taller man took a step forwards and as gently as possible he took the turian's face in his hands, removing his visor carefully before adding, "You took down a thresher maw on foot, they won't say anything. They can't."
The turian relaxed a fraction, enough for Wrex to lean into him and press their foreheads together. "It's been a long time…" he said quietly, if they hadn't been so close together Wrex might even have heard it.
"I know," he replied, a hand sliding down to his armour again. "I need to see them. See what the years have done to you." And Garrus let his hands work, slowly but surely each piece of armour came off, each making a small clang as it hit the concrete floor. It wasn't until he was down to his undersuit that he began to fidget.
Garrus pulled away, "Maybe this isn't a good idea."
The krogan started to shrug off his own armour, the red pieces quickly joining the blue ones already on the floor. "It was never a good idea, but your blood demands it as much as my own." Wrex grabbed Garrus' arm and quickly found himself with a face full of wall. Garrus had gotten faster and a hell of a lot stronger. The old Garrus would never have been able to throw him around like that. More to himself than the turian he asked, "What the hell?"
Wrex struggled lightly for a moment and Garrus didn't let him go, "What makes you think I want to go back down that road? I wouldn't even have come planetside if Shepard hadn't needed me." The krogan shoved backwards and the turian released him, they stood facing eachother for a moment before he rushed forwards. Garrus dodged, "Wrex. Stop."
"No," came his reply as again he moved forwards. Faster this time around. The Battlemaster was able to grab the ex C-Sec officer but after a nasty swipe to his solar plexus he released his quarry again. "Dammit that actually hurt," he complained surprised.
Vakarian shook his head, "It was meant to." His right leg slid behind his left as he solidified his base, protecting his injured side. He was ready for a fight now, tired as he was from fighting in Grunt's rite he wasn't about to give in easily.
Wrex took in his posture before adopting his own fighting stance. "I want to see those scars. Show me!" he demanded as he move again. He met the turian head on, blows were exchanged but this wasn't the friendly spar that he was used to. No. Garrus was pissed off and had apparently learned a few tricks. Enough tricks it seemed as Wrex was the first to hit the floor..
"Stay down…" Garrus ground out through panted breaths. He knelt over Wrex with his left arm pressing the older man's head into the concrete floor.
"You've gotten better whelp, but that doesn't mean you can win." Wrex thrust his hips upwards in an attempt to dislodge Garrus but only succeeding in allowing him a better perch over his chest. "Are you just going to sit there?" he asked after a few more minutes of struggling.
"Yeah. I am."
Wrex laughed, "Grew a fucking quad too over the years." He relaxed back into the ground and waited for Garrus to let up a little before he asked, "What the hell happened to you?"
The turian's eyes grew sad. "I let my feelings get in the way of my better judgement. It's a long story." He shook his head and pulled back a little further from Wrex. He was still sitting over the larger man's waist but the fact he had put more space between them didn't go unnoticed.
"Why didn't you call me? I could have helped."
He laughed, bitter, "Omega's a long way from Tuchanka. I didn't think I'd last a few hours let alone the three days it would have taken you to get there." At the questioning look he elaborated, "Got cornered after my squad was killed. Spent three days picking off witless idiots funneling into my scope."
"Omega?"
"Yeah." He dragged a hand across his face, the weariness settling in, "That's where I spent the last two years, doing what I could to make life a little better for the locals. Making sure people thought twice before murdering someone in the streets."
Realisation struck like a maw hammer, "You weren't…."
He nodded, "I was."
Without warning Wrex thrust his hips upwards and threw Garrus off. A sharp clang echoed in the storage room as the turian's head impacted a metal crate. He was stunned long enough for the Urdnot leader to reverse their positions. Just as quickly he pinned Vakarian's wrists above his head and used his weight to ensure the man stayed down. "You are Archangel?" he asked incredulously.
"Ow. Fuck Wrex, that hurt."
"Answer me!" he growled in the younger man's face.
"Yes. Damn it. I'm Archangel." He struggled slightly against the krogan but found the hold sufficient to keep him pinned for now. "What the hell's your problem?"
Wrex looked away a moment, his hold still firm. When he finally turned back the serious look on his face gave Garrus pause. "The new Urdnot does not condone Blood Pack activities. But for a time it did. We cut ties with them completely about six months ago. No member of Urdnot does business with Blood Pack now." He hesitated, "But... we did Garrus. I met with Garm a year ago and gave him pointers for dealing with his vigilante problem."
Garrus said nothing. It was worse than getting yelled at in Wrex's humble opinion. A solid minute later he finally spoke up, "Well… aren't you going to say anything?"
He drew in a slow breath, "You didn't know."
The krogan scoffed, "No. But it could have killed you."
"But it didn't," he said softly. "It took all three gangs and a traitor to take us down. You couldn't have known Wrex." He turned his head to the side and brushed his forehead against the krogan's arm, not the most intimate location but it would have to do seeing as he was still pinned tightly.
Wrex's free hand began working off the smaller man's undersuit. The clasps easily parting under his experienced hands. He paused before pulling the fabric out of the way, "Let me see what they did to you." Garrus nodded slightly, his head still turned to the side exposing the burned side of his face.
Wrex took his time peeling back the layers of cloth, Garrus indulging him by sitting up so it could fall to his waist before he was laid back down. The krogan's dark eyes traced every scar and pucker before his hands and mouth gave him similar treatment. The cultural significance wasn't lost on Garrus, he knew krogan found scars attractive and they thought they were lasting impressions of their victories and survival. But he couldn't help his self consciousness, turian opinion on scars wasn't so kind. Marks of failure. Defeat.
"I want you," Wrex said suddenly. He leaned in and pressed his forehead against the turian's. "Let me have you." All it took was a slight nod before Garrus found himself pulled off the ground and thrust, face first, onto the crate he'd smashed into earlier.
Moments later his pants were pulled down to his knees and he felt Wrex's damp fingers begin to probe at his entrance. The man's mouth clamped down on his injured shoulder and he teased the tender flesh with his tongue and teeth. The discomfort lessened over the course of a few minutes, especially after Wrex added some real lube into the equation instead of saliva slicked digits.
All Garrus could do was hold firm to the crate and allow himself to be prepared. Wrex would attend to his needs, of that he was certain, the other man wasn't a selfish lover. Maybe he had a bit of a one track mind, but that didn't stop him from caring. The turian was too tired to fight him anymore and if he was honest with himself he missed this too.
"Fuck you're tight," the battlemaster said eventually.
Garrus chuckled, "It's been a long time." Wrex forced a third finger into him and he hissed. "Yeah… fuck… too long."
The fingers slowed down to a crawl even as the older man pressed them deeper into the younger. "Don't tell me you've been celibate all this time."
"I may not have been getting breeding requests like you," he huffed, "Doesn't mean I haven't been getting any. Just not like this..." he couldn't stifle the moan as Wrex passed over the sweet spot deliberately slow.
"Actually, you got three breeding requests today. After your showing in the rite." Wrex replied casually, as though he was discussing the weather over kava instead of finger fucking his partner in a storage room. "Your sniper rifle got four," he punctuated the number with a hard thrust that made Garrus cry out.
"Damn it…" he panted. "Fuck… Wrex… I need..."
"Tell me."
"I need you. Fuck me please."
Without delay he pulled his fingers out and soon after he pressed his cock against the smaller man's entrance. He covered Garrus' mouth with and hand and before he could protest he sheathed himself with one hard stroke. The muffled scream was covered mostly by the groan of pleasure. Garrus was shaking like a leaf, his claws dug nasty gashes into the metal crate under him. Wrex drew in deep breaths trying to regain his composure.
"You're mine…" he said when he was back under control. "Fuck, you're mine." He drew back and thrust in again, hard. "You're so hot… dammit Garrus." He let go of Garrus' mouth to hold onto his hip instead. He stood up fully and used his other hand to help his partner along. His free hand closed in a fist around Garrus' member, pumping it a few times to bring him back to attention.
The turian was at a loss for words, his pants and groans filled the empty spaces between the sound of hide slamming into plate. It hurt. Two years since he'd taken Wrex and the bastard barely prepared him before slamming home. He knew it would get better but for those first few moments it had been nearly unbearable. He'd nearly retreated into his plates before his partner had noticed his discomfort and began to help ease the pain.
"Breathe turian," Wrex growled into his ear just like the first time they'd been together. His thrusts slowed down to a steady rocking motion. Gradually he complied, tension seeping from him as he sagged into his arms. "Better, just breathe Garrus. Let me take care of you."
At his small nod Wrex began to stroke him in time with his own thrusts. Alternating the pressure as he slid his hand up and down the younger man's ridges, pressing his thumb into the more sensitive flesh at the tip before working down to his base again.
"Nhng… that's good…" Garrus moaned finally. He rocked his hips back into his aggressor's, wanting it a little rougher now he was accustomed again. "Fuck Wrex, fuck me please."
Urdnot Wrex was never one to disappoint so he complied. The thrusts sped back up to the earlier pace but he put a little more strength behind them, hitting home each time. He started to reach the edge quicker than he'd planned but he wasn't nearly done with his turian yet. No… he wanted to drag their long overdue encounter out. The whine of displeasure as he pulled out was worth the immediate chill of the room.
"What the hell?" Garrus asked turning to look over his shoulder even as Wrex continued pleasuring his painfully hard cock with a steady hand. Instead of responding verbally the krogan ripped his pants in two and pulled him off the crate to flip him over and slam his back into it. Before the vigilante understood what was happening his booted feet were on the krogan's shoulders and Wrex had entered him again. "Oh… oh shit…" he moaned as his head fell back in bliss.
Their sexual position had never varied much back on the old Normandy, it had always been Garrus' back to Wrex's chest. They may have alternated between the wall, the workbench, the showers and the floor among other things... but it had always been some variant of rear-entry. Well either that or it had been one of them on their knees servicing the other. But this, face to face, it was different.
Here Garrus could watch the expression on Wrex's face as he slammed home. The shear loss of control as he grabbed hold of both his hips and rammed him. It was fucking hot.
The turian's hands scrambled for purchase on the crate but found nothing to hang on to. Instead he put them under his fringe to support his head. His body elongated for his partner in a, for a turian at least, very erotic pose. Here he could also use the leverage to press his hips into the krogan's and roll them as he clenched his ass hard enough to make Wrex moan. Loudly.
In retaliation Wrex roughly began stroking Garrus' cock again. Slowing his pace just enough to ensure he had the precision to hit his prostate on every thrust. It wasn't long before Garrus couldn't handle the pressure anymore, his body went stiff as a board as he came. Swearing worse than most of the criminals he'd taken down over the years.
The krogan didn't take long after that. The heat and the tight ass getting the best of him faster than most krogan women would have been able to. His partner's legs slid down to land on either side of his hips, allowing him to collapse onto Vakarian's chest. He was breathing hard and uncaring of the mess he made between them.
"That was… wow…" Garrus said finally.
Wrex chuckled, "What can I say?" he asked. "I missed you pup."
The admission took him back a little, he looked away embarrassed. For Wrex to admit that… maybe he did actually care for more than just the sex. Hell, he'd been having sex. By the sound of it a lot. The Battlemaster didn't need him for stress relief anymore, this had been a meeting of want rather than need. The realisation hit him hard.
"I missed you too," he replied quietly.
Things would never be the same. And for once? That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
