Garrus watched his father wave Shepard into the room where he, Garrus, and Victus were coordinating.
"Garrus, you're practically out of uniform," Shepard observed bemusedly.
"Pay up," Garrus grinned,
"It shouldn't count," Antilles grumbled. "I didn't have my helmet on." But he paid promptly, to Victus' amusement.
"Are we getting close?" Victus asked.
Shepard nodded. "Yeah. Mr. Vakarian, why are you wearing Garrus' armor?"
"Because where you go, Garrus goes, and if he doesn't show up for an operation like this, awkward questions might be raised," Antilles answered simply.
Shepard looked as if someone had just hit her in the face. "…that's an excellent point."
"Don't forget me, now." With that, Antilles and Victus tactfully withdrew, giving Garrus and Shepard a moment to talk, one old friend to another.
"They're right," Shepard admitted.
"Yeah. I missed that one, too," Garrus sighed. "So, I guess this is…"
"…just like old times?" Shepard finished gently.
"…might be our last chance to say that."
"You think we're gonna lose?"
Garrus thought back to the day they'd talked about the ruthless calculus of war, his own optimism now that the galaxy had finally been behind them to push this war effort forward. Now, seeing members of so many species on Earth, ready for the coming fight… "I think we're about to kick the Reapers back into whatever black hole they crawled out of. And I hope it's the same place the Leviathans slunk off to. They can keep each other company," he concluded.
Shepard's grin had something of a razorblade to it. "I like that idea."
"Then we'll retire somewhere warm and tropical, and live off the royalties from the books and vids."
"Sounds fun. For a couple weeks anyway; then you and Tali will go nuts not having enough to do."
Garrus grinned at her. She was right. "And she's got a shotgun," he sighed.
"You two happy?" Shepard asked, as he knew she eventually would. He and Tali were two of her oldest teammates, certainly two of the longest-serving teammates she had. She took a particular interest in their wellbeing and happiness, having taken a hand in helping with their sorrows and burdens.
"It's not exactly a conventional whatever but…yeah. I think so. I'm happy. Happier," he corrected. He didn't think he could have discussed his relationship with Tali with anyone but Shepard. He certainly hadn't mentioned it to his father yet…and wasn't sure he was ready to. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, he simply wasn't sure of some of the specifics about this relationship, and his father would probably want more than 'I'm kind of in a thing with this quarian girl, Tali.' That explanation raised more questions than it answered.
"Any word on your sister?"
The question pulled Garrus out of his contemplations. "Yeah. She's alright. Leg's healing well. She's safer than we are. Much safer than we're about to be." Magnitude of safety mattered when there were no safe places left.
Shepard winced in sympathy, knowing about turians and leg injuries, but she looked encouraged by the overall answer.
"Look, Shepard…stay close to my dad, okay?"
"Why?" Shepard frowned.
"It's just—if I'm not there, at least he is. I'll just feel better if there's a Vakarian looking out for you," Garrus answered, not sure he could really explain why it felt so important to keep the two of them together. Maybe that was why it was important: both of them were important to him, and important things should stay together for safety reasons.
"There's no Shepard without Vakarian—specifically Garrus Vakarian," Shepard declared in a tone that made Garrus want to change the plan and stick with her. "But I'll do what I can to sell that he's you. And bring him back safe."
Garrus nodded. "He can look after himself."
"So can I. But it never hurts to have backup."
Garrus nodded again, wishing there was a way to lighten the conversation. For two people who felt their chances of victory were good, they did seem a bit…lower-key than he would have expected. "I talked to Vega earlier. He says there's this saying, 'may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.' I'm not sure if turian 'heaven' is the same as yours, but if this thing goes sideways and we end up there…meet me at the bar."
"We're a team, Garrus. I meant it when I said there's no Shepard without Vakarian. So keep your damn head down." Then, more seriously and more quietly, "And if I'm up in that bar and you're not, I'll be keeping a close eye on you. Root for you when you in tough patches, cheer for you when you're in good ones. I'll always have your back."
Garrus smiled at her, knowing they were speculating as all sapients had about what came after death. But he appreciated the thoughts more than he could say. "Thanks."
Shepard held out a hand, which Garrus took. Turians weren't big into public displays of affection, but he pulled her into one of those marine-shoulder-hug things, which she returned.
"It's gonna be okay, Garrus," Shepard said softly, as if as much for her benefit as his own.
"It's gonna be okay, Shepard," he echoed, letting her go.
"I'll see you when this is over." Shepard waited a moment for him to indicate if he had anything else he wanted to say, but he hadn't. The important things had already been said. Shepard took the silence for what it was, turned on her heel and strode out.
As soon as she was gone, Victus and Antilles came back into the room. "Humanity could use more like Shepard," Victus mused, casting a sidelong amused glance at Antilles.
"More Spectres?" Antilles scrunched his nose. "No, thank you."
"Stay close to Shepard, Dad," Garrus said, forcing himself to return focus to the upcoming mission.
If Shepard was doing the rounds, saying goodbye, they had to be really close. Shepard didn't do goodbyes well.