Shepard and Vakarian, retired at last.
In the months following the Reaper war, the pair had settled into Shepard's apartment with a significant pension to boot. Destroying the Reapers had been a necessary move, but the violent destruction that followed had ultimately cost Shepard months of repeated surgeries and physical therapy that they both would have rather spent doing much more exciting things - such as enjoying their free time.
Regardless of the circumstances they were in they greatly appreciated having some semblance of a home life together. Garrus had swooped on the perfect opportunity to move in with his girlfriend, taking over the everyday workings of their shared space while in turn making sure Shepard wouldn't overexert herself like she was prone to doing. Waking up in each other's arms each morning was certainly a benefit neither of them would scoff at, either.
Despite all its amenities, their home felt lonely whenever Shepard wasn't present. Garrus' favorite spot to wait for her was on the couch, situated by an outspread window that faced a calm stretch of Presidium skyway, a pleasant backdrop for thinking about his future with her. It was his chosen place to browse the extranet, allowing for a great vantage of the foyer that let him keep an eye on things as well as greet his partner the moment she got in the door. He was ecstatic when her doctor announced that the replacement cybernetics in her spine were healing well enough that she could finally complete the remainder of her recovery at home.
Across the apartment Shepard's footsteps approached softly from the guest bedroom, where they kept their home gym.
"Time for a quick walk?" Garrus asked expectantly,
"Mm-hmm."
She rested behind his spot on the couch, warm arms wrapped loosely around his shoulders, sighing to herself. She gently pecked his scar-crossed cheek and he leaned into her, feeling his heart beat a little quicker at the soft touch of her skin on his. He put a hand gently over one of hers.
Reaching up high, she stretched her well-muscled upper body. "I've spent all morning working with the exercise ball, and I could really use a walk right about now. Do you think we should finally get a treadmill in there?"
Garrus hummed contemplatively for a moment, the notes of his vocals told her he was all but sold on the idea, but she could tell he was still being a little overly cautious about their finances.
"Maybe. But a treadmill doesn't come with that refreshing feeling of recycled air on your face. I know you love that." His mandibles twitched humorously, trying to convey a human smile.
"You aren't entirely wrong there," her voice had a contemplative tone and Garrus could tell she was still planning the day, "Do you think we could walk the Presidium today? I heard they finally finished rebuilding the park outside the Embassies."
"The Presidium would take more walking than you've done since your surgery, are you sure you're up for it?" A cautious note in his voice betrayed him when thoughts of complications briefly entered his mind, but he stowed them away. "Why don't we do Zakera Ward this time and I can treat you to lunch at that ramen place, I've always wondered what made humans like it so much."
Laika exhaled softly. "I'd like to hang out on the daylight level for once. You don't have to worry about me, I'm not frail."
"Oh, Shepard. You know we're getting old," he shot back playfully, grinning at her, "Being retired is going to make us soft."
She laughed, imagining what their lives could be like in a decade or so.
Garrus closed his laptop and moved for the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cupboard, and filling it with cold water. Out of the side of his vision he watched Shepard slip a light jacket over her tank top that concealed most of her tattoos – one feature of hers that he had become increasingly fond of during their relationship, though it seemed as though she didn't like people seeing them. When his gaze wandered to her completely, she knowingly gave him a sly look that made him feel positively electric.
Understanding that he'd been caught, he cleared his throat, "Well, out of the two of us I'd say you're most likely to keep that remarkable figure."
"Smooth, babe."
She shook her head, amused, and turned her attention to the delicate task of lacing up her walking shoes. Garrus returned to idle gazing, taking note of the muscle definition in Shepard's legs, how the leggings she was wearing fit her rather nicely… 'Incredible. You've got it bad, Vakarian.'
The way he looked at her, Laika loved it more than she could express with words. In all her years repressing her wants and desires in favor of her military performance, she never realized how good it felt for her presence to not only be wanted, but for her to be loved so intently by someone. Someone like Garrus, especially. She fixed her eyes on the window to the skyway, taking in the sensuous red glow of brightly lit livery casting through it and feeling lightyears away from ambient noises around her. A familiar sensation of Garrus' muscular arm gently looping with hers drew her attention back,
"Ready to go?"
She nodded.
The temperate climate on the Presidium paired with welcoming sunlight made Laika feel more alive than she had felt in months. She admitted to herself that a posh apartment certainly took the edge off just of how much her injuries had altered her life, but both she and Garrus knew they were inexplicably wanting for more than a calm or domesticated existence. What they truly desired, maybe even needed, could be summed up simply: an authentic, tropical home with real sun, fresh air, perhaps even a little bit of trouble to get into when they could stand it. All of it might be just one conscious admission away. It was positively tantalizing. Her mind wandered to beautiful places for but a moment, ready to coalesce into a firm destination when her partner quietly interrupted, a warm hand grasping for hers,
"Do you want to sit down?" he hummed politely, steering them towards a neatly shaded bench situated between the wards access and an elevator to the citadel tower with a particularly intimate view of the water below, as well as a glimpse of the Conduit still proudly stationed close by. Laika paused. 'Whose idea was it to keep that thing…' Even at this distance she could feel a faint thrum coming from its core that brought with it unpleasant memories of before.
"Sure…" She released her held breath, instantly feeling better when the shade engulfed her. An all too familiar soreness suddenly evident in her lower back told her that her that her partner's intuition was correct: only twenty minutes on foot had already begun to tire her out. "Hey," the tension in her body softened as Garrus' hands made gentle circles on her back, and she leaned into him affectionately, "what do you want to do… About us?"
Her awkward tone was not lost on the turian, who already had a contemplative note rising from his throat. "You mean…?" Looking bashfully at his mate, his left mandible twitched. A thousand detours inundated him when he leaned in close, "Can I admit something to you, Shepard?"
"Of course."
"Now don't laugh, but I think all this free time has me thinking about us both going soft. Sure, the civilian life is boring." he chuckled at his own half-joke, "I think I can survive it with you around."
"You're not implying that living with me is boring, are you?" Laika laughed softly, her bright green eyes catching the light in a way that made him feel warm. "I want to get married, Garrus."
"Honey, I am absolutely all for it…" His casual tone broke. There came a low timbre in his voice that sounded dismayed.
"Why do I get the feeling there's about to be a 'but'?"
"N-no, there's no 'but,' I just—" Garrus stumbled verbally. Flustered with the catastrophic derailing of his train of thought, he covered his face with his free hand. "I don't know anything about humans, culturally, and I do know that some turians might take what we have way too seriously."
"You could have fooled me." Laika kissed the large scar on his mandible. "How exactly do turians deal with pair bonds?"
"Well, for my family… It's... I don't want you to think I don't want this!"
"Buuuut…?" the expectant tone in her voice elevated. She knew she had him sweating.
"Turians are way more casual about dating and get pretty serious about bondmates- like human marriage." He slowly ran his free hand over his crest, pondering. "My dad especially so. You know how I've told you he expects a lot from me. There's a fair amount of baggage that comes with my father's family name."
"You're worried your family won't approve, Vakarian?" The air between them was still except for the perturbed hum in the turian's chest. Laika squeezed his right hand, "I bet that's a yes."
"You don't play fair, Shepard." he shook his head.
"Honey. We're both adults."
"Yes."
"Whatever anyone else might think, you and I are more or less directly responsible for everyone's continued existence. I'm confident that no matter what your dad throws at you, we will get by. Together."
"I suppose." Garrus sighed, resting his head on his left hand while she soothingly rubbed circles into the back of his right. "My relationship with my dad is complicated."
"I understand."
"Maybe I'm just anxious because I want him to think I'm doing well for myself. I just don't know how he'll react when I tell him my wife is also my commanding officer."
"You said wife~"
"I did. You know, it's growing on me." He laughed.
His mate stood to tow him off the bench with both hands, and he followed by embracing her. When their eyes met, Garrus' knees felt weak at the sight of her green eyes sparkling in the leaf-dappled artificial sun, compelling him to kiss her deeply. She hummed pleasantly in reply against his mouthplates. The pair lingered for a few moments, lost in each other's attention before breaking away.
Linking an arm with Shepard's, he guided her towards the wards access with a self-assuring hum, "How about we take a break from walking, and I'll treat you to lunch like I promised?"
The two headed off for the rapid transit terminal nearest to them, hand firmly in hand with Garrus taking the lead this time. Within moments of getting into a skycar the mildly smoky, camphoraceous musk of his cologne – a recent trait he had picked up from reading about human courtship and personal grooming habits on the extranet – had Shepard sneaking into in his lap, and he soon had his mouth at her neck, trailing flirtatious kisses over her skin. With her blonde hair ever so slightly ticking his face, he gingerly pulled her to his chest.
"Mmm…" Laika mused in agreement with his touch, her face already flushed pink. The thought of getting up to antics when they might be seen by others traveling the citadel skyway sent a shiver through her whole body. She reciprocated with hands firmly on the front of his carapace, hips grinding slowly on her partner's lap while he ran his hands down her back, then groped at her muscular thighs in one smooth and tantalizing gesture.
Following some minutes' worth of leisurely affection, the console of their vehicle pinged as GPS indicated they were soon arriving to the mid-wards level of Zakera ward.
"Continue this after lunch?" the turian's voice had an amused bass to it that Laika could feel in her core.
She kissed him firmly on his mouthplates, a hand gliding absent-mindedly across his fringe. "Of course, handsome." The silky tone of her voice made Garrus' heart leap at the word.
Shepard followed her mate out of the skycar looking a bit flustered. Garrus in his infinitely roguish charm seemed outwardly unbothered by their heavy petting session.
Getting a seat at the far end of the Stand right before noon was a well-timed choice, as business picked up practically as soon as they were seated. Various citizens of the wards recognized Shepard, savior of the galaxy, and a minor commotion began with people of all walks clamoring for a look at the legendary Commander. He could tell right away that she didn't feel comfortable. Utilizing his size advantage, Garrus motioned the crowd of nosy fans away from their corner and laid his arm beside his setting protectively until there was breathing room for Shepard once more.
"You should get into body guarding." Laika joked, poking her tongue out at him. Her nerves evaporated as he planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Actually, I've been thinking about starting a private security firm." in that moment he realized that he had spoken very earnestly. "Wait."
She locked eyes with him intently. "You've been dreaming about work?"
The turian rubbed the back of his neck, somewhat discomposed. "Sort of. Nothing like C-Sec or, spirits forbid, re-joining the military."
"I'm just surprised, baby," his girlfriend spoke between mouthfuls of noodles, "Back in London you sounded determined to spend the rest of your days relaxing with drink in hand. I was starting to like the idea myself if I'm being honest."
"True." Garrus agreed. "Though you basically asked me what I want to do for the rest of our lives, and now that I'm thinking about it, I really do want to have a real, authentic civilian life together."
"Okay."
"Though hanging out on the beach all day does sound wonderful."
Laika smiled. "Of course! We're just incapable of sitting still."
"In my experience, sitting still tends to make us target practice."
They snickered knowingly at one another. Years of fire fights had shown them both each other's strengths, and his partner's high-powered biotics had made her very inclined to break cover during battle. Shepard knew this was a foolish tactic, but Garrus suspected that the way it made him balk at times likely only encouraged her to do it more.
The turian looked at his bowl of dextro ramen. Reminiscing on their operations together gave him a sense of odd ambivalence about their current direction. Would he be able to accept the calm? Possibly not. Would Shepard…? He lifted a bundle of noodles to his mouth and turned his gaze back to his mate. 'That remains to be seen.' he noted.
Satisfied with lunch, Shepard and Vakarian quietly finished up their food and paid their tab and hailed a skycar home. Garrus' mouth opened faster than he could think, "So… When would we get married?"
"Married, huh?" Laika turned to him with a dreamy look on her face.
Realizing what he had implied, he tried to salvage his point. "Uhm. I… Is there a certain time of year that humans do that?"
She thought for a few moments, trying to calculate exactly how specific to be. Personally, she had never given much thought to those details herself. Every shitty, old, campy rom-com from the pre-2100's she had ever been made to sit through painted a very specific image: lavish, expensive springtime weddings befitting a couple of painfully regular people. 'Historical fiction…' Laika mentally rolled her eyes at that thought, then turned her gaze to the sparkling neon and glass whizzing past them. Her face cracked a smile when she caught Garrus' intense eyes in the reflection, "I'm pretty sure it's an all-seasons kind of affair."
"Does next week work for you, Commander?" He smiled when he heard Shepard chuckle. "If that's a yes, I'll start making the invites now~"
"Slow down, shouldn't you introduce me to your father before you and I go eloping together?" She turned back to him with an earnest, bubbling smile.
"Geez Shepard, going for the throat as usual."
"Like you weren't earlier~?"
"Oh no question about it. But you're right." The console pinged softly. Garrus shifted his gaze to the bright Tiberius Towers signage up ahead and he suddenly realized he hadn't been relaxed ever since they left the house that morning. "I want you to meet my dad. And my Sister, of course. She's going to love you, I guarantee it."
"Hoping that's in earnest." She quipped back.
"Trust me."
"I do."
Garrus courteously helped his girlfriend out of the car and with both of her hands still in his, gently danced them both through the front door of their apartment despite Shepard's objections. He couldn't help the way he felt inspired to twirl and sway when he had her in his arms, and she knew it very well. She kissed him, broke free of his spontaneous tango-ing and made a beeline for the huge couch by their in-home bar.
Laika had the large screen on and was already putting a movie on by the time he made it to the kitchen. Retrieving his water glass, he filled it with fresh ice water and wandered to the couch beside her.
"Which one are we watching tonight?"
She browsed through her movie library for a few moments before declaring: "Ok I think we already finished Blasto 9 so we're on… Blasto 10: The Biotic Awakens!"
Garrus raised a sardonic brow plate at the screen as the title card flashed on the screen, and his mate took the initiative to mix drinks for them both before settling back down on the couch beside him. From there, she was thoroughly engrossed in the film as she had been with every Blasto production before, with which they had to catch up thanks to the time she had spent comatose in the hospital. Despite the series not being to his taste, it posed a much-welcomed excuse to just sit back and do nothing with Shepard.
That was good enough for him.