***Author's Note***

I'm sorry this has taken so long! I am trying to get back to updating regularly 3

WARNING!

This chapter contains adult content from the start including: sex, gore, and violence. NSFW. Read at your own discretion and be aware of possible triggers.

Chapter 37 - Alone and Blue

Garrus had taken to being alone and finding he preferred it. Since coming back to the Normandy, certain things had begun to grate on his nerves, and since the prothean, Javik, had boarded, things had gotten a little worse.

Javik had a habit of calling people primitive, regardless of what species they were from. The prothean especially seemed to enjoy referring to salarians as "lizard people" to then be corrected by Liara who glared at Garrus when he let out a little laugh.

It was like a drama that would have taken place at the academy when he was training. A female would look for certain attentions from a desired mate and would get overly defensive when a possible threat was presented. Liara had been acting this way since he mission on Eden Prime and it had only gotten worse since Javik had arrived. It was as though she admired the prothean and found Garrus to be threat to her advances.

He laughed a little at his wandering thoughts. Not only was he mated to one of the most powerful and influential humans in the galaxy, he was quite sort after himself and If things hadn't have worked out with Shepard, then it wouldn't have been hard for him to find a mate, though he probably wouldn't have been half as happy with them. Also, what would he want with a fifty thousand year old prothean? Especially with one so annoying and self-righteous.

Garrus knew he wasn't being fair to Javik, but it wasn't as if the man could hear him. Maybe it was just the way he dealt with the shock of waking up after so long?

Either way, the combination of new faces clamoring to be noticed, Liara's cold shoulder, Diana begging for interviews, and Javik being Javik, had beaten Garrus into his room and locked the door after him. The only people allowed entry were Shepard, the maintenance crew if they needed to, and EDI who he found he enjoyed the company of.

And so, just as he was about to sit on the cot the barely used, the door to his hide away opened one more time. He was about to growl out a protest but then the door locked and he knew who it was a moment before their scent filed the air around him.

Shepard, drowsy and sluggish, hobbled over to the cot. His foot hadn't quite healed yet from the fight on Eden Prime where a mech had stood on him, dislodging bones and tech beneath the skin.

His commander and mate collapse on the cot beside him, lifting his legs so that they draped over one of his and so his toes brushed the tip of the spur on the other. His eyes were squinted and dreamy as he looked up at him from where his head was nestled into a pillow.

"You okay?" He asked with a tiny murmur, barely moving his lips.

"Hmm, just enjoying the time being alone…" Garrus shifted Shepard to the edge of the cot so he could squeeze between the commander and the wall, hugging Shepard's waist and hooking a foot between his, careful that the injured one rested on top.

"I could go if you want?" The grip on Shepard's waist tightened a little, blunted talons gripping at the thin shirt.

"I can be alone with you."

They were quiet for a while then. Thoughts spun thick webs around their already cluttered minds; the war, death, fighting loved ones, missing loved ones, and in the center of it were they, laying on a cramped cot blissfully trying to be alone. Thoughts wouldn't let a person be alone.

Garrus nestled his face into Shepard's long loose hair, breathing in the scent of sweat, metal, and mint. The commander's breath was slow, almost sleeping, as he tilted his head forward so Garrus could rest his face against the nape of his neck. It made him purr, the smell and feel of Shepard against him, deep rumblings of that pleasure that it caused vibrated through him, he knew Shepard could feel them too as he let out a little sigh of contentment. Not true contentment that came with peace, but more happiness than either had felt in a while. Contentment stemming from the simplicity of a hug.

Shepard moved then, a very slight but definite movement of hips rolling gently backwards and into Garrus' groin. The contentment quickly shifted into something more. A hunger and a need for the one in front of him, for dangerous hips, gripping nimble fingers, and a bared neck all bent and ready for him.

Spirits…how long had it been? Seven months? 8? He didn't know, but now the time spent apart pressed down on him like a heavy weight. Time spent apart that could have been spent doing other things. A very many other things. One of those things was now making slow gentle circles that made certain areas become uncomfortable.

Garrus moved his hand and slipped it beneath Shepard's shirt, the feel of the warm skin beneath his palm was enough to make his breath come deeper and heavier. His hand climbed higher, tracing the patterns of Shepard's muscled abdomen and chest, the small raised lines of the faded glowing red marks left a spider web on the left where his heart was. Even higher were his clavicles, the enticing bones that jutted out slightly and teased Garrus when they sparred together, just above the left one again was another mark. This one wasn't web like or indecisive like the rest, this one was controlled and uniform. Little pinpricks that formed an angular crescent were framed by thin lines. The marks of Garrus mouth when they had decided to be bonded together forever.

He gripped Shepard's neck lightly and bent it to one side and pulled the hair away from the revealed flesh with his mouth before dragging his rough tongue over it. It was warm and tasted like the sweetest of fruits, though the taste dimmed in comparison to the sound that tongue elicited from Shepard's mouth, a breathy groan that made Garrus shiver and writhe, friction of the two of them making his groin plates part and expose himself, pressing into Shepard's lower back. The hardness there made Shepard press back and reach a hand behind him and between them, nimble fingers cupping Garrus through fabric.

Fabric that was quickly becoming as annoying as it was confining.

Garrus sat up and allowed Shepard to roll over onto his back, his eyes were dilated and his skin had a creeping flush climbing up his neck and cheeks. An obvious hardness pressed against the fabric of his sweat pants making Garrus wish he had lips to lick. Instead, he settled on removing his under armour and freeing his constrained member. It was hard and ready, even if Shepard wasn't.

The human's clothes were removed quickly and without fuss and Garrus stood over him just to look. Those nimble fingers wrapped around their masters cock, keeping him hard and wanting as lust dark eyes watched Garrus' body move before resting on his face. Garrus purred again and Shepard's ministrations to himself became quicker, Garrus wouldn't allow him to please himself without getting in on some of it.

He lifted Shepard off the cot, biting gently at his neck and reveling in the gasping sounds the commander made, chests collided as Garrus pressed them up against a wall. Shepards thighs found the angles of Garrus' hips and supported him there even as Garrus let his hands wander down and cup his ass. One blunted talon finding the puckered muscle there and pressing gently into it.

Shepard's back arched, the feeling uncomfortable after so long with no attention, the new angle making their cocks brush against one another. Groans filled the air around them as it heated up from their panting breaths. Garrus let his head fall forward against the wall with his mouth against Shepard's shoulder; his talon rotating gently inside the commander and making him quake.

Nearly there.

Shepard grasped at Garrus' shoulders and rocked his hips with the motions of Garrus' talon. The rocking adding more friction to their hard and weeping members, making Shepard moan as electric shocks of pleasure climbed his spine and fogged his brain. Sharp teeth dragged along his neck as Garrus moved his face and opened his mouth, he pressed harder with his nails at the soft skin on Garrus' neck. The turian groaned and withdrew his talon from Shepard.

He lifted the commander slightly with one hand and positioned himself with another, his weeping tip pressing hard and begging for entrance. He didn't wait for the commander to nod, he simply thrust his hips upward and bit down on the soft skin beneath his teeth. Shepard cried out and for a second, Garrus didn't care is it was because of pain or pleasure, his hips rocked gently as Shepard's cry developed into panting and Garrus stilled.

The feeling of being inside him again was intense. Warm and tight and quivering. Neither of them would last long, not this time. Shepard was already panting and desperately trying the get friction on his cock as Garrus gently and casually began to rock his hips again. The feeling of Shepard falling apart around him, the weight of him, and the smell, had him sinking his teeth a little deeper into Shepard's shoulder. He groaned and a hand fell between them, wrapping around Shepard and pumping frantically. The human's hips mimicked the motion of the hand and sped up making Garrus thrust deeper and harder and faster.

Frustrations that had been bottled up for months spilled out all at once. Orgasms, that came on too fast for either one of them to stop and revel in the feeling, spilled into Shepard and between them, leaving them both shaking and panting against one another.

Garrus pulled out and set Shepard's feet on the floor, both of them resorted to staring at each other, not bothering to clean up as they collapsed into Garrus' nest.

The cold was getting unbearable, biting at toes and fingers, turning them blue. The warmth of the body that shared her cage had become a small comfort now, it was nice or as nice as it could be given the situation, but it didn't stop the cold. It was as though they were making it colder on purpose to make them even more uncomfortable and miserable, more likely to break. Or maybe it was the deaths of some of the weaker captives? Their slight body heat no longer adding to the collective warmth.

She had already broken. Days of unbearable thirst and hunger, little to no contact that wasn't a fist colliding with her head, cracking words as they tried to escape raw throats and then cracking words that were like whips from their captors. She knew she wouldn't be able to take anymore abuse.

She stuffed her toes beneath the sleeping man, his soft warm belly pressed on them but it didn't stop the cold from the floor seeping into them. Her fingers were beneath her armpits; her own body heat just a touch too low for any real respite.

Her toes must have woken him as he muttered something sleepy under his breath before sliding his hand under him and to her feet, wrapping them in an extra layer.

He took a breath to speak but was cut off by a scream from the other end of the warehouse. High pitched and frightened, hysterics laced in with sobs. There was scuffling as she put up a weak attempt at fighting back in the dark. Grunts and deep laughter as the screams got to be more frantic, piercing the air and making Marie's eardrums ache. It wouldn't be long before the screams would stop and the heavy silence would fall over them again.

But then, a louder grunt, one of actual pain, escaped one of the few harassing the captive. Light footsteps, slow with fatigue, ran past the cage, with heavy breaths of hope punctuating each step. An order was given to turn on the lights, and for the first time in days Marie could see.

It hurt, her eyes fragile from the darkness, but the relief outweighed the pain and she kept them open wide to take in as much as she could.

The warehouse was large, almost excessively so, and full of cages. Cages of all sizes full of people. Humans, salarians, asari, turian, krogan, it didn't seem to matter where they were from or their culture, just that they were there. Men, women and children all huddled together, regardless of race, squinting against the light. Everyone was dirty and those at the bottom of some of the stacked cages were worse off than others after having to survive in their own waste as well as those above them. The smell got worse when she could see where it was coming from and she was sure that she looked just the same as them.

Her cage was like a dog cage, a mesh of metal grill and hard floor, too small to stand up in or stretch out when lay down. The man she shared it with was bigger than she was and so took more space. She looked at him.

Pale from malnourishment and black haired, he had hairs on his chest and stomach, large black eyes framed with darker lashes and eyebrows, a full mouth with black stubble on his cheeks. Knowing what he looked like didn't make her feel any better.

Feet, strong and fast, ran past their cage and she turned her head to look at her captors as they searched for their missing victim. Their armour was red and black, well-worn and with heavy weapons and pistols strapped to it.

There was a struggle and a whimper as they found their prey, dragging them out to the center of the warehouse from behind a crate. An asari of dark blue; green markings framed her fearful eyes and open, screaming lips. The skin on her legs tore over the rough ground leaving streaks of light blue that followed her. The streaks were hypnotising, forcing Marie's eyes to watch them slowly even when the group in the middle had stopped. Her eyes slowly climbed her grazed legs to her panting stomach and chest, and then finally her face.

One of her holders lifted an arm, an orange omni-blade appeared, and he dropped his arm quickly and heavily, without the finesse she would have seen from her friends.

The asari's fear-wide eyes became slack, the lid relaxing even as her body tensed. An orange streak stopped at her forehead, a small trickle of blue escaping before it turned into a flood as the orange was retracted back to its owner. Her open mouth was filled with thick blue blood as it poured down her face, clumps of something more than blood fell with the current, coating her front with brain and stickiness.

The body was dropped and finally Marie looked at her captors faces.

Four black eyes on distorted bull dog like faces. The faces were grinning down at the mess they had made before turning to look at their captives, huddled in their cages, they laughed and walked away. The lights went out, and they were left in the dark with the dead.

Batarians.

Two more hours, two more hours, and then we might get somewhere. Thane had determined that whoever had Marie, had been taking people for a long time. They knew how to hide and how to move without drawing attention to themselves, and they knew to bide their time before leaving the Citadel, if they planned to leave the Citadel in the first place.

He stood on the docking bay of the Normandy and waited. Security watched him warily, not sure if they should get him to leave or not, especially with a ship like the Normandy coming in. He could have been a protestor or an extremist fan that had it in their heads that if they didn't attempt to kill Commander Shepard then he'd never notice and love them. But he just stood there, feet slightly apart with his hands clasped behind his back. There was no sign of budding excitement or growing anger at impatience, just a steady calm or perhaps sternness.

Simply put, he did not appear to be a threat. Besides, his passes and paperwork checked out.

It was a small victory for Thane just to be able to stand there with no hassle. To just be allowed to wait in a relatively quiet place and watch people live out their lives. There were some civilians; family members of the miss-matched crew of the Normandy that had managed to make it to the Citadel, a few who must have lived there in the first place judging by their attire, a small film crew who claimed to work for a woman called Diana Allers who was apparently on the ship, and a small team of medical professionals, either there to check on someone on the ship or a team of Chakwas'. Ships passed by going to and from the different wards of the Citadel and some leaving the Citadel all together.

And then, finally, the tell-tale shape of the Normandy appeared from amidst the traffic, slowly approaching him and the dock. A docking crew began to bustle around him, bringing cargo that had been ordered by Shepard at some point, empty boxes for cargo the ship will be relieving, a woman stood nearby with a data-pad, checking things off with her fingers and watching the progress of those around her, someone else stood by a console that would control the anchors for the Normandy once she docked. The medical crew brought forward a gurney. So someone had been injured.

A great hissing started and a loud bang echoed around him as the Normandy finally stopped at the bay and was anchored, crews got to work immediately as the doors began to open, fuel had to be administered, the hull had to be repaired and cleaned, food had to be restocked along with medical supplies.

And then people began leaving the ship. Chakwas with her stern face and icy eyes as she watched a small man be moved from one medical team to another, she glanced over at Thane and nodded before following the new team of medics toward an elevator that would take them to Huerta. Crew began to file out for their shore leave, beaming faces lit up as they spotted family and friends, running past Thane and leaping into arms and gripping into tight hugs. The film crew met with a woman who had dark straight hair and a body wrapped in a clingy white dress that left nothing to the imagination. A small dark woman avoided the crowds, keeping her nose to her data-pad, and met with the woman who controlled the docking crew. And then Shepard's team began to emerge.

The asari, Liara, stepped out and left the docking bay quickly. A dark man and a large loud man strutted past him, the larger one seemingly excited about "…letting loose with a chica…" Joker hobbled out with a streamlined robot in the shape of a woman, she did surprise Thane his brow rising slightly at the sight, they were talking, the robots face was malleable it seemed. Then a creature that Thane had never seen before; dressed in well worn, oddly designed, red armour, four yellow eyes hooded by a crested head, and blue silvery skin. Well, Shepard did say he had surprises. And then Shepard and Garrus emerged, tired looking and Shepard with a slight limp, but no worse for wear than he had imagined. The commanders brown eyes swept the dock, mentally noting that everything was running smoothly before they landed on Thane and he began to make his way over to the still stationary drell.

"Thane!" He gripped his shoulder with an affectionate squeeze as Garrus nodded and hummed a hello, "you're good?"

Thane nodded at Garrus before turning to the commander, "Commander, I am well yes, though the situation…"

"Yep! We're on it." He waved over the dark woman with the data-pad, "This is Traynor, she's been monitoring communications from dodgy sources whilst we've been making our way here. She's very good. Knows her stuff."

"Oh, thank you Commander, though really EDI has-"

"Nonsense! You're doing great." Shepard bumped her arm with an elbow making the woman smile, "She thinks she might have a lead to find our wayward engineer."

"Yes, I believe…"

Thane zoned out.

This woman…her voice…His solipsism led him to place where he could hear Marie when they had decided to hear each other without translators. She spoke in a language called English, like Shepard did, though her accent was very different. British, she had called it, whereas Shepard had an unusual accent through not being from Earth. Thane had heard the human language raw before, though never with an accent like Marie's, and now this woman had one so alike. Marie had said he sounded chirrupy, like two small birds or frogs trying to speak at the same time.

"Thane? You okay with that?" Shepard nudged him gently.

Reporting to the council before beginning the search, yes. He nodded and together the four of them began to make their way to the elevators. Traynor began speaking about her method with finding the communications within the Citadel and that how they were here now, it would be much easier filtering out what they did and didn't need. He couldn't listen properly, her accent coupled with the relief of finally having proper help with his search made his thoughts swim.

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