ME2 Garrus

Shepard moved out of the med-bay and turned around the corner, heading directly to the main battery. So maybe there was a bit more speed to her step, and maybe she was a bit more excited to see him than anyone else on her ship. Maybe he was the only person who she always went to visit when doing her rounds. That didn't mean anything. Well, maybe it did, and maybe the crew was talking, but she didn't really care much. If she was going to go on a suicide mission, she could have a little affection. She moved up the walkway to the door and it slid back.

His back was facing to her, the blue of his armor the same as what she'd chosen for her own armor. Not so much to match him, although she always took him into the field with her, it was more because she liked the color. He stood where he always did, where for so long he'd fed her lines about calibration and she'd been forced to hold back snappy comments that at the time she wasn't sure he'd approve of. Shepard moved a bit around him and raised an eyebrow as she looked at the datapad on in his hand.

"Doing some reading?" The truian nearly jumped when she spoke. She smirked a bit as he tried to hide the device from her view, keep her from seeing what he was looking up.

Finally he calmed down, realized it was her, and relaxed a bit. "Oh, Shepard, I thought you were someone else." He still kept the screen away from her view. So it was something he didn't even want her to see.

"Hey there, Garrus. What ya reading?" She took a step toward him and Garrus seemed nervous. He wasn't super skilled with human advances. He just didn't know what to do. He had agreed to their little plan to 'blow off steam' but he still seemed so nervous around her.

"I was just…doing some reading." Garrus shifted a bit nervously. So likely whatever he was reading had to do with their relations. Well future relations. They hadn't done anything yet. Garrus had insisted on waiting for the right time, before everything went to hell. Hopefully this time she'd know when things were going to go to hell. She hadn't expected after Ilos to be sent through the relay to the Citadel, though she was so glad she'd brought Garrus with her for that fight. "Shepard?"

Shepard snapped out her thoughts and shook her head. "Sorry, Garrus, I was just thinking. Thinking about the fight with Saren. I was glad that you were there by my side when I faced him."

"It was my pleasure, Commander." Garrus' features fell a bit, a sad look for a Turian, thought it wasn't easy to tell. Shepard had just gotten a lot of practice reading Garrus' face. "You know, when that debris fell toward us, when it hit and then we couldn't find you." Garrus shook his head. "I thought you were gone." There was a tone to his voice, one that spoke of something Shepard hoped was there. He cared, and she could tell that he would have been hurt if she wasn't there, if she'd died that day.

"Well, it was a close call. It nearly did get me, but I was just glad to see that you and Liara were all right." Shepard moved to lean against the terminal that Garrus was usually working on. "That wasn't my day to die."

"But two years ago was." There was a sorrow in Garrus' voice, and Shepard reached over, placing a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, I know that it's not as big of a deal to you, but…well that day you died. For many of us, it was like losing the thing that had made us, losing a family member." He paused for a moment and stared at her. "Losing someone we cared about. I can understand why Kaidan was upset, but I can also understand why it's not as big of a deal to you. You weren't alive, just woke up two years later."

"Yeah I woke up after two years, everything having changed, the Collectors attacking humans, a new Normandy, two of my former team, an AI on my ship, a new crew, and a list of people that might be able to help me. I'm just glad that they had sense enough to had the Archangel on the list." Shepard let her hand fall from his arm, though she missed the contact.

Garrus tried to regain some of his professional demeanor, though it was pointless. That was for combat, and here, alone in the main battery, she thought of him as anything but professional. "You know that is partially your fault?" Shepard raised an eyebrow and waited for Garrus to explain. "You showed me that rules and regulations were standing in my way. My place was working where those wouldn't hold me back. That was how I could truly make a difference. You showed me how much one person could do."

"I didn't beat Saren on my own, or did you forget all the other fun times we had together. Fighting the Thresher Maws, beating mercenary groups, fighting the Geth, and fighting Cerberus?"

"Given any other Commander and we couldn't have done all of that. We would have failed long ago. Besides, it's not about the things we've done, it's about the way you inspire others. Look at Wrex. He's uniting the Krogan clans, and even if he won't admit it, you inspired him to try. You're an amazing woman, Shepard, and one I'm honored to know." Garrus let out a slight laugh. "I mean, what other woman could be killed by the Collectors, be revived by Cerburus, who is her enemy, and then use that enemy to save more human lives? All of this after already having taken down a rogue Specter and a Reaper." Garrus chuckled a bit. "My point is, you inspire people to do great things. When you were lost, the rest of us realized that we no longer had you to guide us. I for one, wanted to honor what you taught me, and tried to make a difference in the one place in the universe that needed it the most."

"So you're saying that my death spurred you to eventually become the Turian Batman?" Shepard found that a bit hard to believe, but then again people did see to trust her, believe in her, even if at times she had trouble believing in herself.

"Well, I'm not sure what Batman is, so I can't exactly agree or disagree with that statement." Garrus shook his head a bit. "I'm a bit rusty on human culture."

"Batman is a sexy crime fighter who's considered vengeance in the night, stopping crime wherever he finds it. He's a vigilante, beating up gangs and mopping up crime. He's cleaning up a city that's neck deep in crime and the cops just can't get the job, so he uses his intelligence and fighting skills to do what they can't." Shepard explained.

"Well, there are several things that aren't exactly right in that, but I can tell that you find the idea of me being this Batman…attractive, so I'll agree." Garrus smiled a bit.

"Excellent, you can be Batman, and I'll be Catwoman." Shepard smirked, though Garrus just looked confused. "She's Batman's...on and off partner. She sometimes helps him stop the bad guys, and sometimes she's a lot more than just a friend to him."

Understanding seemed to cross Garrus' face. "Well as long as she's an attractive, smart, strong, trustworthy woman, then I'm sure that she's the perfect description of you."

"Well, she's not exactly trustworthy. She's a thief by trade," Shepard explained.

"Well then, that's what separates you from her. Though I'd have to say cat doesn't seem good enough. Maybe I can call you, Patherwoman, or…Lionwoman or something?" Garrus grumbled a bit. "I can't think of a brown feline."

"I don't know if there are any, Garrus. Are there any on the Turian home world?" Shepard asked.

"You mean on Palaven? Not that I can think of, though maybe a cat isn't even enough for you. Or maybe it's right. Doesn't your species believe that cat's have many lives?" Garrus had obviously been studying a bit of human culture and beliefs.

"That's an old saying. Cats have nine lives, but it's not actually true." Shepard glanced a bit to the side and saw that the screen was now loosely held at Garrus' side. Maybe she could grab it from him. She was about to make a reach for it when Garrus spoke again.

"Maybe then a cat is right for you. Maybe you did die when that stuff hit after Saren, but you came back to me. You died when the Collectors attacked us, and you came back to me then." Garrus' hand moved out slowly and gently touched her arm. "I can only hope I survive this upcoming mission, so when you come back, you can come back to me."

Shepard couldn't help but smile a bit. "It would be nice to have something to come back to. Something truly worth fighting for." She smiled up at him and her hand slowly moved up to his face, fingers gently running over the scars on his face. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Garrus."

"You are the one person I will always trust, Shepard. Even after everything that happened, I'm willing to throw myself through a relay that destroys every ship that goes through it as long as I'm at your side." Garrus hesitated for a moment, then put the screen on the terminal and wrapped his arms around Shepard in a hug.

Shepard hugged him back, resting her head against his armored chest as her arms moved around his neck. "You know, hugging seems like a very un-Turian sort of thing to do."

"It is, but I understand that it is a show of affection, friendship, and the bond between people for humans." Garrus released her hesitantly. "It was…nicer than I expected."

"Well, glad to know that contact with me doesn't disgust you." Garrus was stunned and Shepard took her chance, she grabbed the screen off o f the terminal before he could stop her. The Turian tried to grab her but she held the screen away from them, turning her back to him and putting her body between Garrus and the device so she could see what he'd been reading. Garrus grabbed her around the waist with one arm, the other reaching out for the datapad to try to stop her from seeing. Shepard blushed a bit as she saw the screen. "You're looking at Turian/Human porn?"

Garrus groaned and she felt him relax against her back. "It's not like that. Mordin sent me those messages about…well about the information he had, and somehow Joker got a hold of information and sent me those." Shepard had to twist her head around at a sort of uncomfortable angle in order to see him. "I just want to make sure that…I don't mess up. I told you I was going to do some research."

Shepard relaxed in his arms, which had both wrapped around her waist. He moved the screen back and put a hand on one of his around her. "Well then, I guess that means that you'll have to take the lead, cause I don't have the slightest idea of how it does." Garrus relaxed his grip around her waist. Shepard turned in his arms and reached over, placing the screen back on the terminal.

They stood together for a few seconds and Shepard just looked up at him. Garrus Vakarian, the former C-Sec agent turned Turian rebel. How much he'd changed since she met him. No, that wasn't true. This was always the Turian inside him, but now he wasn't restricted by rules and regulations. He'd found the strength inside to be more than most Turians could ever even hope to be.

His arms slipped from around her and Garrus took a step away. She sighed, understanding. The time wasn't right, and even though she was starting to hate waiting, as she was finding more and more that she would like some comfort from someone she trusted, she understood. "Well, I should…continue my rounds."

"Right." Garrus' voice held a bit of disappointment. "I've…I've got some…"

"Calibrating to do?" Shapard teased, hoping to ease away some of the disappointment.

"Very funny, Commander. You know I am very skilled in hand-to-hand combat." Garrus was back to his cocky self, which was good. They'd eased back into the way things usually were.

Shepard moved to the door and it opened up. "Yeah, yeah Vakarian. You may have the reach, but I promise you, I have the flexibility." She smirked at him and let the doors close between them, leaving the amused Turian to himself. Good, she'd left with a positive note. That might make her next stop a bit more bearable.