UPDATE 1/17/14: In case it wasn't clear by the last chapter's narration, Eric's siblings were not dead. They were fine, very much likely heartbroken by the loss of their brother. Like Eric had told himself, it was just a nightmare.

As for this chapter, this was originally conceived by a friend of mine. He would like to write a dating scene/chapter when I asked him what he would like to do for me. However, as time went on, he was unable to write it due to focusing on other projects. So, he told me to take that chance and write it myself, and so I did.

Here you go. Enjoy the chapter, and I hope I did well writing a bit of romance, especially a same-sex couple.

Chapter Three: I'll Carry You Home Tonight

Year: 2182
Location: The Citadel

It had been days since Eric arrived at the Citadel and into a new universe. Though to be more precise, a few Earth days. Time worked somewhat differently on the Citadel, using a form of the Decimal Time system. There were 20 hours in a day, a hundred minutes in an hour, and a hundred seconds in a minute. That was before dividing the number of seconds by half. The total amount of Earth seconds was an additional 13,600, which was about four hours.

With his current state of mind, it was pretty difficult for Eric to get off the Citadel. The lack of research regarding multiple universes did not help. The most relevant information he could find was this strange Extranet article. It was about a scientist's theory about how long ago, just about after the Big Bang, this universe collided with another. The theory had some merit, but his data analysis wasn't complete enough to prove it.

Ever since coming here, he couldn't help how this universe's version of BioWare fared. He typed in 'Mass Effect Bioware' on the search bar and hit enter on the omni-tool Natalie gave him. It was a handheld device, combining a computer micro-frame, a sensor analysis pack, and a minifacturing fabricator. Essentially, it was a high-tech, wrist-bound smartphone that appeared as a bright yellow-orange glow around his arm.

The first result on the page was an article about BioWare. According to the article, it was around for 28 years, from its founding in 1995 to its closing in 2023. He looked at the list of games they made, including their collaborations with Obsidian Entertainment: Shattered Steel, MDK 2, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, and Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2. He was thrown off by the discrepancy when he noticed Baldur's Gate 3: The Black Hound among the list but quickly went along with it.

He looked through the list again. In this universe, BioWare extended both of their Dungeons and Dragons franchises and went in a different direction with their properties. Dragon Age was in development at one point, but it ended up costing too much to make. Meanwhile, Jade Empire received a sequel on the Xbox 360, which starred a different protagonist. Obviously, the Mass Effect series was never made. Instead, there was the SFX franchise, built on similar premises to Mass Effect. BioWare had also collaborated with Obsidian on modern spy RPG called Everything or Nothing.

Eric nodded. To him, it made sense in a roundabout way. He hit the back button on the browser and was about to search something else before a small news headline caught his attention.

Local game club celebrates its 15th anniversary with an influx of new members. Its founder, Mark Bren, claimed a connection between Gears of War game and modern military tactics.

Eric chuckled and clicked on the link. He had to see if this was as ridiculous as it sounded. And he was right. According to the article, Mark Bren, a librarian at the Arcturus Library, also claimed the game's creator had predicted the future and devoted his life to proving the connection. While few believed him, the uncanny similarity between the once-popular series' gameplay and the way current combat operations play out rekindled interest.

Eric gently palmed his face as he laughed in silence, amused that someone would make that leap of logic. Alfonso told him, out of spite if he remembered right, a while ago that the Mass Effect series' gameplay, especially with the latter two games, shared many similarities to Gears of War.

However, all that mirth disappeared when Natalie came into the living room with her face that read that she had some bad news for him.

"Sorry to say this, but C-Sec's putting you under surveillance for a while. If they find anything they think was suspicious about you, they'll use it against you once you apply for your documents."

"What? But why?! All I'm doing is just finding a way back home! Is there anything wrong with that?!" Eric exclaimed.

Natalie sighed, standing by him as he sat on the couch in the living room. She barely had time to get out of her C-Sec uniform. "I know it sucks, but you'll just have to bear with it, okay?"

Eric growled. Of course Natalie would say that. She meant well, but that doesn't mean it was right. The thought of being watched reminded him of Edward Snowden's NSA leak. He wondered if anyone had actually learned from that revelation.

But at least she let him stay at her place. It was a studio house, the roof slanting to the left if you go out front. The house was on the Bachjret Ward, one of the Citadel's five wards.

"Bachjret's a nice place. Peaceful and quiet for the most part," Natalie told him when she picked him up from the hospital. Natalie pitied him and asked him if he wanted to stay at her place, which he was more than happy to accept. "There are residential areas all over the station, but this ward had the most. Anyway, I'm sure you'll like Luke. Sweetest guy all 'round."

Luke was Natalie's husband. He was part of Special Forces of the 103rd Division, one of the largest groups in the Alliance. He and Natalie met up in San Francisco while he was on shore leave. They talked, hung out, and fell in love. He served and went on for five years before marrying Natalie last year. After that, he started running a restaurant on the Citadel. From what Eric heard, the food was great. He would love to try it out for himself if he was in a better mood.

Natalie decided it was enough to leave Eric alone. She walked down the hallway, leaving the young man alone.

The kitchen was moderately sized, filled with the usual appliances: the fridge, the double-sink across from the refrigerator, the oven next to it, and the stove on top of the oven. The dark counters were smooth and spotless. It looked shiny enough for someone to see their own reflection on it. The tiles, the black-and-white checkerboard pattern, looked like someone had been cleaning them 24/7.

Luke straightened his well-toned back after cleaning the countertop with a dishrag, the sleeves of his black t-shirt from washing the dishes earlier. How he managed to get his khaki shorts wet as well was beyond her.

He looked up, his dark eyes meeting her's. "Hey, sweetie," he smiled. "How's work?"

Natalie walked around the counter and gave Luke a kiss. "Nothing out of the ordinary, thankfully. You?"

Luke sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "Not well. I had to ask a favor from a friend."

"One of your old war buddies?" Natalie asked.

"Something like that. He can help me get some credits to pay for our house and the restaurant. He expects something from me in return."

"What does he want?"

Luke shrugged. "I pressed the matter, but he said he'll come up with something." He noticed she looked away with a concerned expression on her face. "Was it something I did? About the favor?"

Natalie's eyes lit up. "Oh, no! I'm pretty sure your friend won't ask you to do something illegal. That's not what I'm worried about now."

Luke turned around to face his wife and rested his right arm on the counter. "Is it about Eric?"

"Yeah," Natalie nodded and turned to see Eric in the living room, still lounging around on the sofa with his omni-tool. "He's having a rough time. Imagine being separated from your family, your friends, and your parents and there's no way to reach out to them. They'll have no idea what happens to you, let alone know where you are."

Luke hugged Natalie from behind, his arms wrapped around her chest. She always loved having that five o'clock shadow of his rubbing on her shoulder. Especially when she can rub her hand through his brown, curly hair like that whenever they had their alone time. "Sounds crazy. But do you know what would help?" he asked, whispering in her left ear.

"Lemme guess… a date?"

Luke parted from her with a toothy smile. "Yeah, a blind date!" he said excitingly.

"But doesn't he want to get back home?" Natalie asked.

Luke scoffed. "Not a chance. I don't know how he's gonna pull that off without inventing some new technology. Or pulling off a miracle, maybe." He snapped his fingers to gather his thoughts together. "Anyway, quick question: who's he attracted to? A man, woman, or any other variation? Is he into, well…" he continued with a shrug. "Human? Turian? Salarian? Asari?" He chuckled at the last word.

Natalie gave Luke the stink-eye. "You're married to me, you know," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," Luke rubbed the back of his neck.

Natalie fell into a thoughtful silence afterward. "I suppose you have a point about him finding a way back home. He told me he went to Angkor Wat before arriving here. Maybe we can arrange a trip ahead of time?"

"We'll see. Money's tight as it is," Luke said. "So… who's he into?"

"He told me he's into men. Human. He's still not used to aliens."

Luke rolled his eyes at his own ignorance. "Right. I know someone who could help."

Natalie smirked as she placed her arm on Luke. "Another friend of yours?"

"Yeah." Luke brought up his omni-tool, followed by a paper-thin screen floating above his wrist, and about as wide. "Emilie Pitt. She's still in the Alliance as a Service Chief. She has a son around Eric's age. Give or take."

A voice came out of the screen, the line in the middle suddenly vibrating in response. "Hey, Luke. What's up?"

"Hey, Emilie," Luke replied. "Listen, can you do something for us?"

At the Zakera Ward on the Citadel, there was an Italian restaurant with al fresco dining. The view was beautiful, showing much of the buildings below. The aroma wafted about in the air and the soft lighting hanging around the foundations of the patio made the place more appealing. Luke and Natalie said it was a nice place for a date. While most the restaurant's customers were human, as it was human-owned, there were asari on occasion and rarely turian, due to a lack of dextro-amino foods.

Eric sat at a table on the balcony. Not only was he waiting for his date, whoever he would be, he was also waiting for his order. He was in some good clothes: a pink collared shirt, black pants, and a pair of fancy shoes.

He frowned, more than a little impatient. He's late. To pass the time, he took upon himself to browse the Extranet on his omni-tool. Reading online articles, watching funny videos, the works.

"Hey hey, look who has hit the jackpot!" a man called out.

Eric turned his attention away from his omni-tool's screen, surprised. There was a stocky, fair-skinned man, standing about half a foot taller than him. His cropped auburn hair went along nicely with his square face and blue eyes. Wearing a pair of white shoes and dark space-age cargo pants, he swaggered in like no one's business. If he didn't know any better, Eric might have encountered the man of his dreams.

"So am I late or am I late?" The young man sat down at the small square table across Eric.

"More like showing off," Eric shot back. He turned off his omni-tool and rested his elbows on the table. "What took you so long?"

"Bad traffic. Sorry," his date answered with his hands in front of him. He looked at the datapad containing the menu and tapped on it before turning his gaze to Eric. "Oh! I'm rushing a bit ahead of myself. My name's Garrett Pitt. You Eric Grimes? Mom mentioned you after her friends called her."

Eric nodded. "Yeah. It took a bit to convince me, but all in all, I'm just glad Luke and Nat set this up. They're paying for dinner and stuff if you're wondering."

"Awesome," Garrett grinned. "First time dating?"

"Uh… no, actually. This is my second or third time."

Garrett placed the pad down on the table. "Okay, that's good to hear." He nodded along with raised eyebrows. "That'll make things easier."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Eric smiled, his cheeks blushing red. "At least I get to talk to someone else."

"Don't mention it," Garrett replied. "Looks like you've really never been around other people."

Eric nodded. That was part of it. He wasn't the outgoing type unless he was around his family. He didn't have a whole lot of friends, to be honest. Another part was that despite the progress his world—his universe—had made, there was always some people who didn't like whatever change was brought upon them. So far, it seemed like humanity and the other species in this universe don't mind. He lived in Boston in his universe up to that point in his life, so perhaps he should consider himself lucky.

"By the way, are you from Boston? There was a bit of an accent. A…" Garrett tilted his right hand. "…twang in your voice. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean. I was born and raised there."

"Oh, cool. Long ways away, if you ask me. So, what brings you to the Citadel?"

Eric hesitated, almost stuttering in his words as he bit his lips to shut himself up and lowered his head. He knew something like this would happen. Outside of Luke, Natalie, and maybe a couple other people at C-Sec, no one else knew where he came from. He didn't want to lie, make something up for everyone's convenience. Should he?

"I, uh, wanted to get out of Boston," Eric answered, not looking at Garrett. His guts twisted in knots. "I was a street kid, you know. Never knew my parents. Even though I went to school, it was pretty rough there. So I went to the Citadel to start up a new life and set my own course. I used up all my funds so I'm stuck here. I'm volunteering at the Presidium Hospital now until I can… I uh, can…" He was beginning to lose his train of thought, but he hoped it was enough.

"Put yourself back on track?" Garrett guessed.

"Yeah!" Eric nodded his head fanatically, widening his eyes. "Something like that."

Garrett gritted his teeth together. "Ouch, that's rough. I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Not your fault, but… thanks," Eric insisted. "Okay, my turn." He took a deep breath. "Where're you from?"

"Benning, in the Euler System. It's a garden world with its own automated agricultural system and everything. It's pretty nice, and it's nothing out of the ordinary, far as I can tell."

"Anything you can tell me about your parents?"

Garrett paused for a moment, curling his lips. "My mom's all right. She served in the Alliance, like my grandfather before her. Hell, my grandpa was there during the First Contact War."

If Eric remembered this right, then the First Contact War occurred in 2157, when the turians attacked a human ship en route to an inactive mass relay. The turians believed at the time what that ship would do was reckless, violating Citadel regulations after the rachni was unleashed over millennia ago. The war lasted for three months, after an orbital strike on a human colony and the turian occupation of said colony. It ended when the Council stepped in to negotiate a peace treaty before it could escalate into a full-out war.

"Okay, um…" Eric blinked, thinking up of what to say. "That's great. At this point, it seems like everyone's grandparents were there. Humans and turians, I mean."

"For a three-month war?" Garrett chuckled. "Yeah, probably. And don't forget our parents. We'll have to suffer for their sins." He bobbed his body left and right at the thought.

Eric laughed heartily. "What about your dad, then? Well, if you had a dad, that is."

His date exhaled as all mirth disappeared from his face. "Look, about my dad… I never knew him, all right? He died in an eezo accident when I was three."

Eric nodded. He rubbed the temples of his head as a headache began to settle in. Anxiety was creeping up at the back of his head, and he couldn't take it any longer. "Listen, mind if I take a walk inside? The atmosphere's a bit thin here." Before Garrett could say a single word, Eric sat up and paced around.

Garrett also sat up. "You sure it's the atmosphere?" he asked, somewhat suspicious. "It's breathable up to seven meters, and we're not even halfway up." He approached Eric from behind. "So what's eating you?"

Eric looked over his shoulder to Garrett. "Nothing. It's—" He rubbed his brow as he turned to Garrett.

"You're anxious." Garrett placed his hand on his hip. "I can tell just by looking at you. Is it because of our date?"

"Wait, what?" Eric was at first flabbergasted, but the more the thought about it, the more it made sense. "Oh. Oh!" He nodded wearily. "I get what you mean. I'm not sure if we could make this work."

Garrett curled his lips and rolled his eyes incredulously. "It's called a blind date for a reason. It's awkward. Really, really awkward. Besides…" He gently grabbed Eric's hands held it up to his chest. "I don't know how this would turn out, but we're gonna make this work. You get me? We're gonna make it work."

Eric looked up at him. "You sure?"

'Yeah, I'm sure. In fact, I'm absolutely positive!"

Eric nodded. "Okay." There was a warm feeling inside his chest. For once, he was awestruck not by the technology here, not the aliens, but another person caring for him. "Thank you. I think I needed that."

Garrett let out a small chuckle. "Don't mention it."

"So, um…" Eric smacked his lips together. "Is this the part where we kiss for the first time, like in the movies?" Eric couldn't believe he asked that stupid question. He should feel rather embarrassed.

Garrett was caught off-guard, though he brushed it off with an awkward laugh. "Well, we'll just have to wait and see. You never kissed anyone outside of your family before?"

"Nah. I get nervous."

Their conversation was interrupted when one of the restaurant's waiters walked up to the table and placed two plates, two cups full of soda, a small cup of red sauce, and a basket of breadsticks on the table. "Your orders are here." The waiter had a slight accent. "Let me or anyone of us know if you need anything else."

Both Eric and Garrett thanked the waiter, and he set off. One plate was full of ravioli while the other had a lasagna fritta. And with that, Eric and Garrett sat at their places. As they began eating, they decided to talk about other things.

Maybe this would work out just fine.

Several weeks had passed since Eric arrived on the Citadel. It was funny how time would just slip by when falling in love.

Garrett and Eric emerged from a movie theater in the Zakera Ward, the humongous post above showing an athletic man wearing a form-fitting, white-and-yellow costume leaping in a combat stance. In each of his hands were daggers, split in the middle. In the background was an intense fight going on, probably something out of a space-fantasy movie.

The two parted from the crowd leaving the theater. There was a smile on Eric's face.

"So how does it feel to be right about the movie?" Garrett asked as they turned left. Garrett would have to admit he was wrong about the film. At their right, past the railing and below, skycars zipped by, past the neon signs and almost monolithic buildings.

"Feels good," Eric answered.

"You bet. It's better than I expected. Not really into that superhero stuff, mind you."

Eric turned around as his hands were in his pockets and started walking backward. He was wearing a new set of clothes. A green-collared shirt to go with a pair of black pants and white sneakers. The way Garrett wore that skin-tight T-shirt, which showed off his abs, made it hard to avert his eyes. Some of the passersby would agree, either just as distracted or confused. "Oh, bet you'll like it. The superhero-y stuff. Fighting evil, saving the world. That sort of thing."

Eric turned back around. The stopped when they were a few meters away from a sickly-green bug-like creature to their left, across from the railing. It stood as tall as a child with an orange flap hanging around its neck like a livesaver jacket. That thing was a keeper, first discovered by the asari when they arrived on the Citadel. Docile and harmless, this species was believed to be created by the Protheans to watch over the station.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Garrett asked.

Eric raised his eyebrows, suspicious. "What?"

"I want you…" Garrett said as he pointed at the green creature. "…to poke that keeper over there."

Eric's jaw hit the ground. "What?! Are you out of your mind?" He gave his boyfriend an incredulous look.

Garrett shrugged. "Don't look at me. You made me do something I didn't want to do. Now it's my turn. Besides, kids used to do that stuff. Kinda like a game of 'let's poke the keeper'!"

"We are kids! Hell, we're barely even adults!" Eric insisted.

Garrett scoffed. "Keeper. Poke it." His eyes widened with excitement. "I dare ya!"

Eric shook his head. "No way in hell! Unlike you, I've read accident reports on what happened when someone decided it was a good idea to mess around with a keeper."

Garrett folded his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the railing behind him. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"All right. Prove it."

Eric huffed. "Uh… let me think." He snapped his fingers together, trying to come up with the right words. It was hard to think it through, being in a rather awkward and stressful, stressful situation. "Uh… when you interfere with a keeper, it sets off a self-destruct sequence. It melts into a puddle of acid. I didn't get to sleep that night."

"And?"

"There's Avina." Eric pointed his thumb at a purple holographic figure of an asari, who was standing by the keeper.

"Please do not disturb the keeper," Avina, the Citadel's VI, warned Garrett politely. There was no other intonation in her voice, nor did her face showed any expression. VI was short for virtual intelligence. Eric knew that virtual intelligence was not the same thing as artificial intelligence, as they lacked the program needed to achieve self-awareness. Instead, they were sophisticated applications, able to assist its users in a variety of ways.

Garrett could only pout in annoyance. "Okay, you're right. Again. I was joking, anyway. But…" He walked forward and pressed his lips against Eric's, catching him off guard. But he didn't mind so much if it wasn't so unexpected. It had lasted for several seconds before they parted. "That was for the movie. You owe me another thing for making me look stupid."

"So what is it?"

"Dunno. I'll come up with something," Garrett answered. "Anyway, gotta go. See ya! Love you." With that, he parted in the opposite direction from where Eric was heading.

Alone, Eric turned around and went to a terminal, planted on a stand. It was a rapid transit, doing what the name implied. Next to the transit was a small, red shuttle with the windshield encasing the front half of the roof. When he approached the vehicle, the roof opened of its own accord. Inside were four seats, two at each row.

He hopped inside, on the driver's seat. The windshield closed, and the skycar levitated as he placed his hands on a haptic screen. He then issued a command, telling the skycar's VI to go to his destination: Natalie's house. Bachjret Ward. His skycar took off and joined with the rest of the traffic, which led from the Zakera Ward to the Bachjret Ward. Traffic was heavy there, with a bunch of liners and other skycars lined up in all directions.

His thoughts turned to his encounter with the keeper, and everything relating to the Reapers. It was one thing to know the truth. To him, it was a painful thing, not being able to do a damn thing about it.

Soon, he managed to get out of traffic and onto a series of houses and apartment complexes. They were varied: some had multiple floors—at least two—while others had decks at the back. It looked more like a city than a neighborhood with a lack of vegetation, not even some grass.

He landed in front of Natalie's house. Soon as he stepped out, the skycar took off on its own accord.

What wasn't there before was a blue cab parked by where he stood, right in front of the studio house. At first, he thought Natalie was home after a long day at work. However, he realized that meant she would be here early. She would never leave the skycar like that. Did something happen?

Eric pressed his thumb on a touchscreen by the front door. It scanned and beeped soon after. "Fingerprint confirmed. Welcome home, Eric," a female and monotone voice spoke from the speaker below the screen.

The door opened, and he stepped inside, overhearing a conversation from the dining room, which was next to the kitchen ahead. It was the room with an oak table, fitted for eight people. A huge window covered an entire side of the room, showing a good view of the ward.

He went there, finding Luke and a female turian with distinctive black tattoos covering her face sitting at the table. She was wearing the turian form of a blue-and-black C-Sec uniform, though it looked to be more like armor than anything.

"Wait! Take it slow! He's not used to—" Luke protested, reaching out as he almost sat up but stopped when the turian looked over her shoulder and raised her hand.

"Are you Eric Grimes?" the turian asked. She stood up from her chair. Eric gasped, taken aback by her towering over him. She stood more than a foot taller than him.

Eric nodded, still intimidated by the turian's height. "Vanea Surtius," the female turian stated. "I'm with C-Sec. I'm here to bring you in for questioning."

Aside from appearing in this universe without any scientific explanation, he can't imagine what else they wanted from him. What could he have done wrong?