The entrance led them into a narrow reception area, clean and bland of any design. A cerulean VI in the center greeted them and Garrus stiffened.

Shepard stepped forward and broadened her shoulders. Garrus watched her profile for a moment and let his eyes linger on her back before he glanced up to meet Kaidan's eyes, awkwardly. They both reflexively glanced away and shifted in their armor.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance. We had an…appointment."

The VI flickered for a moment, scanning Shepard before its grin widened slightly, "Commander Shepard, we've been expecting you, but we are currently having technical difficulties and ask that you remain patient."

Shepard didn't have time to react before Steve's buzzing comm cut in, "Shepard, we just lost communication with the Normandy."

She looked exasperatedly back at the two men standing behind her, "Do we know why?"

"Not yet, but if it was a natural disruption, we would've had some sort of notice before all off-planet communication died."

Shepard turned on her heels, holding the comm to her ear before releasing it and sighing, "Has to be Cerberus. The only question is if they're here already or just joined the party."

"Is extraction even worth it now? I thought it wasn't confirmed reaper tech," Kaidan snipped, leaning back on his hips and looking towards Garrus now.

Garrus folded his arms, scoffing lightly as he shook his head, "Someone wouldn't be messing with the Alliance if this was more than likely to be a dead end."

"It doesn't matter. I wouldn't have brought both of you if I didn't think this might happen. We have the researchers to think about now," Shepard's hand returned to her comm, "Cortez, we're going in. But be ready to take us out."

"Always, Commander."

They walked past the VI and into the facility's complex of sterile hallways, Shepard using her omni-tool for navigation. A gunshot echoed through the hallway and the question about Cerberus being there yet or not was abruptly answered. They drew their weapons automatically, beginning their light jog towards the ruckus.

The first main lab they got to was locked, but easily decrypted by Garrus. When the door opened, two bodies were immediately visible; an asari strewn across a desk and a human male laying face down on the tile floor. Only the security lights on the doorways were still on, and Garrus shuddered at the suddenly chilly air.

"Kaidan, check for life signs."

Garrus went on to decrypting the next door as Kaidan bent over the bodies. The next room was the volatile materials area where the tech should be held, if it wasn't already gone. Cerberus had to be still deeper into the facility, but they couldn't have escaped that easily.

Shepard stood still, the glow from her omni tool highlighting her frustrated face as her voice became higher and faster, "Where the hell are they? How did they move so quickly?"

Kaidan stood up and shook his head, "No life signs, Commander."

Shepard cursed and turned back to the threshold, "Garrus, get that door open."

"Working on it. This one's a little more complicated."

When the door finally gave, an ambush of bullets was waiting for them. Already in position, Shepard moved hastily forward into the room, taking cover behind the stacks of lab crates.

Garrus could make out six or so Cerberus troopers, all of whom were staying in reasonable cover. Not too unreasonable of a number, though they did have the advantage of preparation on their side. Garrus stayed behind as the other two advanced, preferring to take his focused shots as the other two worked. They were a good team, the three of them together. He had to admit that to himself. Kaidan's body lit up the shadows in blue, disorienting the troopers before Shepard would spring gun fire on them.

The action moved quickly, like it almost always did. Garrus centered his scope on the head of the final trooper, and with a final blast, it was silent in the cluttered room.

Garrus relaxed and glanced at Shepard, "I think we're good…but I'm getting disruption on my combat sensor still."

Shepard stood up from her cover, and Kaidan cautiously joined her at her side as they walked to the locked box in between two of the Cerberus bodies.

Shepard picked it up, lifting it to eye level and squinting. "That's the serial code we're looking for."

Garrus stood still at the doorway, looking at the room behind them cautiously. It would be clever of Cerberus to trap them into this smaller room after coming back in through the entrance, and he wasn't about to let another ambush happen.

Kaidan's voice pierced the silence abruptly, "Grenade, Shepard!"

"Wha-?"

Garrus turned to see Kaidan wrapping his arms around Shepard's waist, pulling her to the right violently and throwing her over the crates beside them as the crate she held fell to the floor, both of them falling over hard on their sides. Garrus lowered and braced himself involuntarily as the explosion went off.

The walls shook, and Garrus fell against the doorway he was standing in. When he steadied himself, he looked up to see Kaidan wrapping Shepard's arm around his shoulders and lifting her up from the now dusted floor.

Garrus propelled himself from the wall to her, "Shepard! Are you okay?" His voice echoed and wavered like tin.

She looked up and smiled, easing her weight off of Kaidan, "I'm fine, Garrus," She turned to Kaidan, who was still examining her. Their eyes met and lingered for a moment before he let go of her waist, Shepard affording him a small smile.

Garrus watched Kaidan and felt a wave of relief, and then irritability. In the heat of the moment, it annoyed him that Kaidan looked at Shepard with any care at all, even if he was completely justified. Anyone on the Normandy should be relieved that their squad mate was okay…But this was different, somehow.

There was silence before Garrus finally ran his hand against his fringe awkwardly as he realized his faux pas, barely squeaking out, "…Kaidan, you're okay too?"

"Yeah, Garrus. I'm fine," Kaidan smirked. It was friendly sarcasm, but Garrus felt suddenly guilty.

Shepard examined her armor, and steadied her wandering breathing, "Jesus, Kaidan, if you hadn't noticed that, I'd probably have some grisly burns to attend to."

"Well, I'm good for something, aren't I, Shepard?" Kaidan laughed huskily before turning back to the now exploded crate of tech they had been searching for. He bent down, picking up the small case, "Well, we retrieved it. Do you think they'll be able to get anything from this now, Garrus?"

Garrus was still staring at Shepard, whose round cheek had a small black mark swiped up to her eye. His stomach still hurt with shock, and he felt silly for a moment. Grenades were hardly rare, and they—he—should have considered it. If the Cerberus troopers were going to die, they would take the tech out with them, of course.

It was stupid of him.

He was brought back to reality when Shepard touched his arm suddenly, "You okay?"

Kaidan looked up from the case and Garrus' face became hot with embarrassment. He straightened as he walked closer to Kaidan to examine the tech. "Of course I am."

They returned soon to the shuttle uneventfully. The partially destroyed case was placed in the back, and Shepard sat across from both men as they rode back to the Normandy. Her arms were crossed in thought and her agitation at bringing back the now mostly useless item was evident.

"We're playing to get ahead of Cerberus, Shepard. It was more of a failure to them than to us," Kaidan spoke confidently. His assurance made Shepard finally look up at both of them.

"It could have gone worse, but it can always go better," She leaned back, like she was losing some of the tension built up in her. "Thanks for the help, though. I appreciate it."

Kaidan leaned forward on his knees, "It's good to be back, Shepard." He smiled with his infallible bittersweet tone; one Garrus always seemed to notice.

"It's good to have you back. You know that." Shepard's voice was still rough from combat, but she winked at Kaidan slyly.

The taste in Garrus' mouth went from sour to bitter, and before the silence in the room overwhelmed him, he took the rifle from his back and stood up, placing it in the locker as he avoided his squad mates eye contact. They docked soon enough, and the Normandy was a welcomed place to be. Garrus sought out the solitude of the ship's cannons once more and avoided Kaidan specifically for the rest of the day.

After that assignment, the days went by quickly. Shepard was as busy as ever, even leaving the Normandy for a few days as she met with the Council. For two people who lived on the same small ship, they often found themselves literally worlds apart.

He frequently realized that he didn't have to handle the battery entirely by himself, and that he should be working on helping the turian military or strategizing and working on diplomacy. When that work was done, he found that he couldn't handle idleness anymore, and working on the Normandy's guns hands-on was the only relaxing activity he could handle when Shepard wasn't nearby.

After one long day, he finally snuck out of the battery into the kitchen to eat and read when Kaidan rounded the corner.

"Hey, Garrus."

"Alenko." He sat down, pulling his already unappetizing food closer.

"Looks like you and me both are doing the late shifts." Kaidan pulled open the refrigerator, grabbing his high-calorie meal and setting it out on the counter.

"It appears that way."

Kaidan paused, noticing his agitation, before sitting down across the table. Garrus did his best to look away, still pretending to read his data pad of news from Palaven.

"Uhh, Garrus?" God, that infuriating tone again. "Is everything alright? Between you and me?"

Humans and their obsession with talking about things. "I don't really know what you mean."

Kaidan opened the plastic on his food clumsily as he spoke in a very casual tone, "You don't seem very happy to be working around me, anymore."

Garrus stopped his fake reading, finally looking up at the biotic, "Have I insulted you?"

"No…" Kaidan shook his head, smirking already, "No, it's just… You're the one with Shepard now, it seems like you should be the happy one."

Garrus' mind went blank. What could he possibly say to that?

"I'm sorry; it's just that you—"

"Kaidan, I don't want to talk about this…"

It was silent for a moment before Kaidan leaned forward on his elbows, still ignoring his food, "Are you both happy?"

Garrus was about to open his mouth with some snappy reply. Of course we're happy, and we've been happy ever since you ditched us. He paused, though, and realized he just couldn't say that. He met eyes with Kaidan, who seemed to be looking at him with honesty and a tiny bit of pain. He couldn't just say the first thing that came to mind.

"Yes."

Kaidan leaned back in his chair, his expression as mysterious and dark as ever, "I know I fucked up before. I'm just trying to make up for it by being here now," He sat, thoughtful for a moment, before picking up his food and retreating to quarters.