Disclaimer: Bioware owns Garrus... Lucky schmucks... I wonder if they'd consider selling him to me? (As if I had money.)

A/N: Wow! I definitely want to start out my author note thanking all the wonderful people who have read, faved, subscribed, and/or reviewed my work. ^^ It makes me incredibly happy, knowing that something I did can be enjoyed by so many people! Thank you, all of you! I'd love to give all of you something in return, but I suppose the only thing I can really give is my own hard work on the fics I write. So, you, sitting there in front of your computer reading this? Yeah. This one's for you. =3 Thank you!

- - - - - Father and Son - - - - -

- - - - - Chapter 2 : Age 15 - - - - -

The young turian stepped off the military transport onto the hot Palaven sand. He had grown a great deal since leaving for basic training. It was strange to be home. Overall, it was good thing, but there was a hollow echo in his return. It seemed none of his peers felt that way, however. They followed him out of the military transport, calling to the families that waited for them on the beach.

Garrus called to no one, but his gaze was focused on an older turian waiting on the beach. The bits of clear blue sky that had entered his eyes at his birth had been replaced with shards of ice and glass instead. Even though he was still young, he was a child no longer. The simple joy of being alive had turned dim in his heart.

Vakarian Sr. watched impassively as his son made his way toward him. Families crowded around them, each group reuniting with their own son or daughter, celebrating and praising the graduates. Laughter and happy chattering dimly registered in his mind, but he paid it no mind. Between he and his son, there was only silence.

Garrus stood before his father and saluted. Vakarian Sr. couldn't help but size up his son. Garrus's height almost matched his own now, but his gait and manner of holding himself betrayed his youth. His eyes, sharper and colder than his mother's, but they were still the same color as her's. His plating also resembled his mother's, as did his face. Vakarian Sr. also noted the standard-issue sniper rifle and pistol now in his son's possession. So, he had taken after his old man in at least one way.

"Congratulations, Garrus. You've finally earned your citizenship as a turian."

"Thank you, father."

Silence between the two of them. They were cut off from the laughing, happy families around them as if they were in a completely separate universe. Words that could be said hovered around them like mist. They had only to decide to say them.

I'm proud of you, Garrus. Your mother would also have been proud of you, had she lived to see this day.

Thank you, father. I miss her so much.

As do I, my son. But, we can rejoice in her memory, can we not?

The words went unsaid. Silence prevailed. Though she had been weak, she had been the only bridge between the two of them. Her absence made itself known to the two of them, different to each.

* * *

His father's talon grazed lightly over his cheek. Garrus kept his eyes closed, breathing calm. This was his initiation and recognition as an adult. A full turian.

A wondering flickered briefly through his mind. Audacia. How would her parents perform this ceremony for her? She would be praised lovingly, to be sure. Her mother would make Audacia's favorite meal, all of them would eat it together, and her parents would tell stories of their own basic training. Laughing, happy, warm. Like the families on the beach had been. But, she had moved to one of the colonies, and their friendship had faded with the distance. He pushed the thought from his head. Things would never be that way for him. He had to learn to accept it.

Talon on his mandible now, tracing the forms of the markings he knew so well. As a child, he had run his talon over the ones on his mother's face, memorizing the shapes. His favorite color. A beautiful blue. He had told her that once. She had laughed and replied that the blue of his eyes was much better.

A final touch high at the bridge of his nose, and Garrus felt that his father had finished. He opened his eyes, finding a strange expression on his father's face. Regret? Longing? But, it had vanished before he could identify it.

"Don't touch your new markings for a few days. After that, you can wash them off. The stain will have set in by then."

He studied his son without expression.

"It's good to see you finally looking like a proper turian."

- - - - - Chapter 2 : Age 15 : End - - - - -

A/N: I know... it was a big jump in his age... I wanted to keep Garrus as a little kid for a bit longer, but, as all children must, he grew up before I really wanted him to. *sigh* Garrus lost a lot of his simple happiness when his mother died. Losing her made him grow up a great deal. Don't worry, though. Garrus won't stay unhappy forever. It's simply not built into his personality. ^^ (This fic has been from Garrus's point of view for the majority, so either with the next chapter of the chapter after that one, I'm aiming to see things through Vakarian Sr.'s eyes more.)

I'm sorry it's a short chapter, but I feel that it's exactly the length it needed to be to communicate its message.

By the way, if you're curious, I'm taking the majority of my information on Palaven, turians, and Garrus from the Mass Effect Wiki. Feel fee to check my facts!

If you so wish, please drop a note to let me know what you think of this fic? Feedback is extremely important to me! =3