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Garrus was standing by the fish tank, watching as they darted back and forth. They seemed busy, as if they thought their little fishy errands were important. Maybe, to them, they were. As important as the Normandy. It was a sobering thought, making him feel uncomfortable about his place in the chain of life.

The door slid open and Shepard came in. She smiled to see him standing there. "When you weren't calibrating, I thought I might find you here. Brooding."

"I'm not brooding."

"Don't worry, big guy, it's a good look for you." She gave him a sidelong glance as she went to her personal terminal. "To a limited degree."

"Still not brooding."

"Yeah? Then what's on your mind?"

"Our place in the universe."

"Shall I get you a map that has a small dot and an arrow pointing to it, saying 'you are here'?"

Garrus sighed. "You know what I mean."

"I … suppose? What's brought this on?"

He wasn't even certain himself. He only knew that he had felt increasingly unsettled since the attack on the Citadel. The presence of Kaidan Alenko on board was something new to adjust to, hard as Garrus might try to forget what had been between Kaidan and Shepard once upon a time. And they had just dropped off a team of ex-Cerberus scientists that they had rescued from Gellix at the Crucible research station.

"Just … there were a lot of people on board."

Shepard chuckled, leaning back in the chair and loosening her jacket. "There were, indeed. I admit I like my ship a bit more peaceful than that. Still, what a great asset to have on our side."

"Jacob seemed like cock of the walk, didn't he?" Jacob Taylor had been half-leading, half-protecting the scientists and their families; it had been the first time they'd seen him since the mission through the Omega 4.

"Yes, he did. Probably good for him." Shepard stretched, arching her back. "He needed some responsibility. Maybe he needed his relationship with Dr. Cole, too, to give him something human to care about."

"Do you ever think about that?" The question rushed out of him before he even knew he was thinking it.

"About what?"

"Having something—someone—human to care about."

Shepard's eyebrows flew up. "This again? Garrus."

"No, but …" He didn't know how to explain it. "Shepard, I can't … I can't give you children, and my food makes you sick, and—"

She got up and came toward him. "I can't give you children, either, and my food makes you sick, too, and you don't see me worrying all the time about whether you want to run off with some turian woman." Shepard paused, frowning up at him. "You don't, do you?"

"Not a chance."

"Well, then, why do you think I do?"

"You're Commander Shepard," he said simply. "Is there anyone in the galaxy who would be good enough for you?"

She smiled at that. "There is, actually."

"I know. The Normandy."

"I'm not about to run off with EDI, Garrus. Besides, Joker would kill me if I tried."

"Not EDI—the Normandy. Jacob said— He said you were in love with the Normandy."

Shepard barked an irritated laugh. "And you took that to heart? These fish know me better than Jacob Taylor does."

It was hard to explain. The way Jacob had glanced at him as though he didn't matter, had dismissed Shepard's update on their relationship status as uninteresting … Garrus had felt like—an alien. The way Jacob no doubt thought of him. He stammered through half an explanation, stopped by Shepard's small hand closing on his fingers.

"Jacob joined Cerberus in the first place for a reason, Garrus. He's human-centric. Always has been, probably always will be. And let's not forget that there are turians out there who would think the same about me, Vakarian, sir. There will always be people who frown on cross-species relationships." She squeezed his fingers harder and stood up on her tiptoes, her free hand slipping around the back of his neck. "Let them. As long as I have you, I don't care what anyone thinks."

Garrus kissed her. "I don't deserve you."

"Debatable. You do brood a lot, that's true, and it gets a little tiresome sometimes … but you do a hell of a good job calibrating my guns." She chuckled soft and low in the back of her throat.

"Is that a euphemism?"

She stepped back, shrugging her jacket off and letting it drop to the floor. "Maybe. You see anything that needs calibrating?"

He shook his head, clearing his throat as she continued stripping off her clothes. "It all looks pretty perfect to me."

Shepard smiled, her brown eyes warm. "I bet you wouldn't have said that about my weird, squishy human body when you first came on board."

She was right, he probably wouldn't have. It was hard to remember what it had been like not to love her, need her, desire her—especially with her lying naked in bed waiting for him.

"What's it going to be, big guy?"

Hastily, he stripped off his own clothes and joined her on the bed, kissing her long and hard.

When the kiss broke, Shepard took his head in her hands and looked up into his eyes. "You didn't let me finish before, when you asked if anyone in the galaxy was good enough for me. There is someone, and he's perfect for me, and I am the luckiest being in all of outer space, Garrus Vakarian. So don't make me remind you again."

In answer, he kissed her again, and again, and again. She was wrong—he was the luckiest being in outer space, and he intended from here on out to enjoy every minute of it and stop wasting time by worrying.