Hello fanfic readers; I'm back!After six years I have returned to the world of fanfiction! I was inspired by Mass Effect and Cyberpunk 2077. Those are the fandoms that I will be mainly focusing on. As for the other fic I'm finishing out my Avatar series within the next 3 months. Life has been a journey and it's good to have my passion back. With that said on to the story!

The following characters are owned by Bioware but I do own my vivid dreams.

It Was in That Moment

Breeding Request

Summary

It was official; Grunt was now Urdnot; for his Battlemaster he chose Zenith Shepard because she has no equal. With her revenge exacted on an unrelated Thresher Maw, curiosity gets the better of her when she gets a breeding request.

WHY?

It was the first thing he asked himself. The quality of air on Tuchanka was almost unbearable. The esthetics of the land alone was an insult to his eyes. The harsh winds were blowing sand in between his plates. He let out a grumble from his subvocals as Shepard walked ahead of him with that determined "woman on a mission" walk.

As if he didn't have enough problems; EDI just had to mention the breeding request and he was the fool indulging her curiosity. Then again, Garrus was never surprised nowadays at the lengths that he would follow Zenith. His two weeks after getting off the operating table; he entered a plague zone, risking his life because she needed someone trustworthy. Then there was that defective mech factory they had to shut down. Of course, he couldn't forget the ship with a Rogue AI(haven't they had enough of those?) that was trying to murder them. Nothing truly tested his resolve except the smaller assignments; which were fine in of themselves, it was how they chose to reward Shepard, usually with seductive subvocals, intimate touching or flirting. Somehow, he managed to make it without breaking anyones bones.

In between missions, was field testing the new tech and that meant he had to keep closer tabs on Zenith. The heavy skin weave had Shepard become more reckless. He cursed Dr. Solus for introducing her to all of those heavy weapons. As if the Singularity Projector wasn't bad enough, she one upped herself with the Atomic M920 Cain, which resulted in the low ringing he still has in his ear. The new addition of the Collector Particle Beam mortified him the most, it brought out the sadistic side of Zenith. Don't even get him started on the Geth Plasma shotgun that she used every opportunity. Thanks to Cerberus she has new L5n implants which resulted in her charging Klixen after she used the aforementioned shotgun. Though if he was honest; that was the single most sexiest thing she's done. He sighed to himself, why couldn't he just say "NO" to her?

"We're almost there Big Guy."

…And there it was, those impossible hazel green eyes, her freckled brown skin glowing like the jewels of Trebia; her braided auburn hair like the sunset of Cipritine, that smile that did things to his heart and Zeniths intoxicating scent of what she called shea butter. Spirits, he was whipped!

He recalls that almost three years ago, famed Turian General Septimus Oraka, practically caused a diplomatic incident over Shi'ara the Asari Consort because she rejected him. He couldn't believe how someone could sink so low and be neck deep in drink. Now, he understood perfectly clearly. When they take shore leave; he owes Oraka an apology.

Garrus couldn't bear to look at her, so, he tried every firing algorithm that he could think of to distract himself. Zenith was practically bouncing with glee at the prospective mate. He rubbed his forehead exasperated. He thought that maybe after all of this time, there would be an understanding; that they would be together. Garrus touched the scarred side of his mandible recalling that day as the blue blood dripped from his maw, his vision was fading as he thought to hold her hand one last time and let out the confession; all that came from his mouth were wet gurgles and gasping air. He should have told her how he felt from the beginning. Why didn't she get it? Whoever this Krogan was he had to get them away from Zenith; she was his! He shook his head at that last thought; that was sounding like a territorial primitive. Garrus couldn't shake the feeling that he screwed up somehow. Whatever he did wrong; he wanted to rectify it immediately. Was she doing this to torture him?

She was doing this to torture him. Zenith did everything to get Garrus to make the first move short of literally jumping him. What was wrong with this guy? Was she out of practice? She mentally shrugged to herself. If this didn't convince him, she was going to give up on the man altogether. Although it did occur to her that he possibly wasn't interested anymore it has been two years for him. Garrus didn't seem like the sentimental sort. He was difficult to read. With every step toward their destination, her conviction wavered. Worst case scenario, this little adventure would bring some clarity to the mire of what exactly it is that's between them.

They arrived at the location a bit of a distance away to scout it out. It reminded Zenith of one of those lopsided sandcastles on the beaches of Maine on Earth. It was an oddly beautiful place amongst the chaos.

"This is a terrible idea Shepard," said Garrus,mandibles twitching.

"Relax it'll be fine"

Garrus looked down at her arms folded with a brow plate raised,"Really?"

"How bad could it be? I already died, what's a lovesick Krogan gonna do to me?"

"Oh I don't know; go into a blood rage when you reject him, beat you over the head with a hammer to take you back to his home, become obsessed and stalk you from cluster to cluster or even maybe you will fall in love with him and live happily ever after on this wasteland; but your right those are what, a Wednesday for you."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "You know I specifically invited you, if you don't want to help me–"

"First, I came here because Wrex is a friend and besides Grunts Rite is the perfect way to get my head together."

"You're welcome," she said with a smug grin.

"You were my voice of reason, now I'm going to be yours. Don't do this!"

"Your worry is noted"

"This is more than worrying Shepard, we are going to spirits' knows where to find a derelict Reaper ship. My instincts say it's a trap."

"Naturally"

He grabbed her gently by the shoulders looking her straight in the eyes, "Without you Zenith this whole thing falls apart and I don't…"

She looked into his ice blue eyes; she didn't remember seeing that level of fear before. She placed her palm over his, trying to level with him. "Garrus Vakarian, I give you my word that I'll be fine. Just watch my six like you always do and keep a sniper's eye view on me."

He looked at her hesitantly and nodded.

Zenith stood at the tall imposing door; it was larger than she realized. This was an impulsive decision and she knew it! Nothing in her instincts said this was dangerous but this was definitely not one of her better ideas. Too late to back out now! She knocked on the door and looked over her shoulder waving at Garrus. "Can you read me alright?"

"Loud and clear; but I dont have the best vantage point."

"Are you saying your skills aren't up to par?" she teased.

"Please; don't insult me!"

She chuckled at that. The floor vibrated with each step the anonymous Krogan took toward her direction. "I've got to go, I'll be in touch."

She didn't have to have com's on to know Garrus was nervous for her and as the door creaked open, she took a deep breath hoping this would all be a funny story. What she couldn't prepare for was the sheer amount of shock at the face staring back at her.

"Shepard," he rumbled.

She shook her head and barely had time to recover. "Wrex? I…listen you don't need to get my attention with a false request. I would have made time for you."

"I don't make mistakes," he nearly snarled at her.

Okay; this couldn't be right. Wrex never showed interest in her; Krogan weren't exactly subtle with their affections. She pushed Wrex inside; this wasn't the type of conversation she wanted to have out in the open. "Wrex your a really good friend–"

The Krogan threw his head back in riotous laughter. "Well if I were to pick a human it would be you but the request is not for me."

She let out a sigh of relief until concern overtook her. "Well, I did catch that varren pit fighter checking me out. You did let the poor guy know that I can't have his children right?"

"The request is not from anyone on Tuchanka Shepard as amusing as that would be. Have a seat; we need to talk."

She sat on a nearby comically large chair in the living area. Shepard was now officially perplexed. What was up with her friend? He wasn't normally this cryptic, quite the opposite. Wrex was taking time away from his people so it was enough to warrant her attention.

The Urdnot leader peered at Zenith carefully and sniffed the air, groaning. "I'm going to guess the Turian is watching not too far from here."

"Yeah, it was a compromise," she shifted uncomfortably.

At that statement his lips curled in disgust. "This is exactly why I made that request. You two are hopeless."

"What?"

"Krogans have a strong sense of smell. Your pheromones have gotten worse since last time; they're irritating me."

"I don't–"

"How long are you two going to do this dance? You faced a reaper and a thresher maw, yet, you are cowards when it comes to breeding."

Suddenly, it all clicked for Shepard; this was an attempt to set her and Garrus up together. She felt a heavy palm on her shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Shepard you are my friend and seeing you two together, it's the only time I've ever seen you truly happy. The only reason he hesitates is because of you."

Insecurity crept in; that could be the case but after everything he's been through, it would feel like taking advantage of her best friend "He's a good man. I couldn't do that to him," she resigned.

"This isn't like being with a human. When a Turian forms an attachment, he seeks no one else."

That was sounding too close to her mother's advice; what good did that do; the Normandy SR1 was destroyed and she was gone for two years; the man she had feelings for changed looking so depressed and worn. Shepard found herself getting a bit emotional. Her feelings bubbled up to the surface and just as quickly she shoved them away.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do but Garrus and I are complicated."

"That's a bunch of varren crap and you know it! Tell me Shepard, how many missions haven't you taken him on since reuniting?"

"Well there—" Zenith stopped herself; she explored through her mind realizing that the exceptions were Freedom's Progress and Bekenstein. It was second nature to bring him; no wonder people started rumors about them, were disgruntled or resentful of their camaraderie. Even on the original Normandy field team, it was usually Garrus and someone else, mostly Kaidan or Tali. She sighed to herself, "Look it's not favoritism, He's on my team because he's capable, he always has my back. I trust him with my life."

"And?"

"What do you mean, and?"

"Krogan noses don't lie Shepard, you two are close to being bonded."

"That's ridiculous we haven't even…anything yet!"

"Yet?" He questioned, amused.

Her body became rigid and tense, she was done with this conversation, "You know what I mean: don't twist my words!"

The old Krogan looked into her eyes seriously, "As a friend, I'm only going to tell you this bluntly. This war with the Reapers may end things soon. Us Krogan will save your humps of course. Don't waste another moment. What you have is special."

Shepard was taken aback by that,"Wrex, that's pretty romantic coming from you."

"Well when the galaxy kicks you in the quads; you learn to appreciate things. You two work like poetry and violence. It would be a shame for everything to end without you telling him how you feel. There is no Shepard without Vakarian."

Zenith really couldn't argue with the 800 year old Krogan he was right. It was time she took a chance. "Come here you old biotic lobster," she jumped into his arms for an embrace.

He caught her easily squeezing lightly. Wrex let her down gently patting her on the head. "I'll walk you out; make his mind work overtime."

As they exited the house Shepard turned on her omnitool. The Urdnot leader, feeling mischievous, looked around a bit and waved at where he knew Garrus was. Shepard slapped his arm, giggling.

"Hey Garrus, you read me?"

"Shepard, is that Wrex?"

"Yep, it's a long story. Round up Grunt; I'll meet you back at the shuttle."

There was a long uncomfortable pause and that's when Wrex nudged her soldier as if to point out the obvious. Finally, a crackle came over the coms, "Copy that!"

"Now, the next time we meet, you better have a bondmark or I will lock you two in a room together until you breed."

"Wrex!" she blushed.

At that gesture he laughed heartily. "Come on, I'll escort you, don't want the Turian to die of anticipation."

A half an hour later when she arrived on the landing pad; she was surprised to see only Garrus waiting for her. "Where's Grunt?"

"He went back to the ship; he was dissatisfied with his request and insisted on leaving to 'fight for the glory of Urdnot, in the name of his Battlemaster'," he quoted dramatically.

"That sounds like him."

"So...that breeding request, did you get more info?"

She shook her head and laughed a bit thinking of Wrex's words. "It was enlightening."

"You rejected the request, right?"

Zenith gave Garrus that characteristic smile. She caressed his scarred mandible tenderly. Her hazel green eyes bored into him with curiosity. "Hey, why does your visor look red?"

"It's the settings," he answered plainly

"Mind if I take a closer look?"

He shrugged his shoulders and bent down to her level. That's when she took the opportunity to kiss him on his lip plates. He was completely caught off guard did she just–maybe he dreamt it. She joined their foreheads and grabbed behind his fringe. "C'mon big guy; let's get back out there."

He straightened his back more confident and enamored by her boldness. "Right behind you."