This week on Jane Austen in Space:
An extra long chapter for you all.
Our heroes find ways to work with each other, love and lust return and old traditions rear their ugly heads.
()()()
"So tell me, what is the problem?"
She definitely didn't dance around the difficult topics.
Garrus didn't know what to say. He had so many problems right now, he lost count. How about that he completely lost his way as a cop and had to be reminded about justice versus vengeance? Or that he forgot to check for snipers because he was consumed by rage? Or how he questioned everything she said. And that he needed to protect her, keep her safe, his mate.
Mate?
Shepard still looked at him, waiting for his answer. They were walking back to the building that they had landed the skycar on. Around them C-Sec was taking the mercs into custody and forensic teams entered the building.
Patience was not one of Shepard's virtues. She took a breath and then spoke with confidence. "I like you Garrus, and I hope you like me too. But if we are to work together, then we can't let that distract us. And you can't go all overprotective lizard on me either. I'm not a damsel in distress, waiting to be saved by her knight. I'm a soldier, I know how to fight. But if I order you to do something I have to be sure that you will do it. "
"Yes, I understand Shepard, it won't be a problem again." He didn't know what a damsel was but he got what she meant.
"Can you work with me in command?"
"Yes, I'm sure I can!" There was a good, order abiding turian somewhere inside him doing a happy dance.
"That's... good to hear. Because I was thinking of recruiting you for - ah, I can't talk about that, not yet. And I can make no promises but if this thing works out the way I want to... " She fidgeted with her hands. "I know It's not a good idea to recruit someone for a team who you also have a personal... something - whatever we have..." She looked lost and started wringing her hands.
Garrus took her hands to keep them from doing that and stopped her. She looked up to him and he had never seen so much insecurity in her expression. "We will work it out, Shepard. Don't worry, we can make this work."
A relieved smile grew on her face and she sighed, "That's good. While we work, we keep things professional and everything else... we just take it day by day? Is that ok?"
He squeezed her hands once. "Yes, that is very much ok."
He reluctantly let go of her hands and they started walking again. Shepard seemed to be deep in thought. A C-Sec officer, a turian Garrus knew from seeing him at the academy a couple of times, approached them to ask how they had come about this case. Shepard gave a short explanation, referring any further questions to her superiors at ANIS and then excused herself. She told the C-Sec officer that Garrus would be able to answer all questions and walked over to the car where Wrex sat with the children while a turian doctor was checking on them.
Garrus watched her kneel down in a crouch so that she didn't tower over the children. She spoke to everyone of them, calming them, holding their hands. It was so very different from the ferocious warrioress he had seen before. Wrex still had the little human boy sitting on his lap, apparently the boy didn't want to let him go. The massive krogan didn't look bothered by that and held the boy gently upright as the doctor was treating his leg.
Spirits, it's another gentle krogan. Maybe it's time to get over some stereotypes.
Garrus suddenly felt very tired. That concert had been yesterday. He couldn't believe that just this morning he had seen Nihlus become a Spectre, it felt like that was days ago.
He answered a few more questions from the C-Sec officer whose name he had already forgotten and promised him an extensive report if he could just go now. The officer finally let him go and Garrus made his way over to Shepard. From a car he saw the young recruits Berdin Lerv and Katrina Peters emerge, looking at him in surprise. He waved at them and they appeared like they were about to bombard him with questions. But after looking at him they apparently decided that it could wait. He must have looked more tired than he thought.
Shepard saw him approach and smiled brilliantly at him.
That smile is going to be the death of me.
She turned back to Wrex and Garrus heard her talking to him sternly. "What the fuck are you doing, Wrex? We talked about this, you had all these plans, ambitions. And now I find you here, back at being a fucking merc, why?"
The red krogan actually looked embarrassed. "Come on, Shepard, a guy's got to make a living somehow."
"And you couldn't find anything better than this?" Under all her anger it was clear that she really cared.
Wrex snorted in annoyance, "There isn't a lot of work for a krogan that doesn't involve using a shotgun most of the time."
"I guess that's true." Shepard said and her anger disappeared. "Tell you what, Wrex. When I get the chance to put a team of my own together, and that might not be too far away, I'm getting you. Will you work for me?"
"Of course Shepard." The red krogan held out his huge hand and Shepard's disappeared inside of it. There was an amount of respect at work here that Garrus couldn't quite fathom.
Katrina Peters had watched the exchange from the side and her face was full of awe. As Shepard got up she waved the young woman over and instructed her to take care of the children for her. Peters was nodding so hard, her hair fell into her face. Wrex talked to the boy on his lap, his voice a quiet rumble and after a little while the boy nodded and let Peters take him.
Wrex nodded to Shepard and the boy and then raised his hand with a wave towards Garrus. That took Garrus by surprise and he barely managed to raise his own hand for a wave before the krogan had turned around and lumbered down the road.
Shepard came over to him, looking at him critically. "You look dead on your feet. I'm taking you home."
Garrus nodded. "It has been a long day." His whole body ached.
They took the stairs up the building where the skycar was still waiting. As they got in, Shepard looked at him and then seemed to have come to a decision.
"This team that I want to put together, well, I haven't gotten the go-ahead yet, but it's looking good. It will be an investigative group of specialists, under ANIS for now. But it will be an interspecies collaboration, not a human project. The idea is... that's a bit of a long story, want to hear it?"
Garrus stretched and spread his mandibles in a yawn. "I'd like to hear it but I can't promise I'll remember everything you tell me because I'm just so fugari tired!" He also really loved listening to her voice.
Shepard grinned, "I'll tell you everything again tomorrow if you want. After that I might be hard to reach for a few weeks."
Garrus wanted to ask what she meant but she continued talking.
"Here's the thing: The Alliance isn't exactly happy with the Spectres as the 'police-branch' of the Council."
"Why is that?"
"Because they are not regulated. They act as prosecutor, judge and executioner at the same time. A single person having so much power at their hands? That's a bad situation, just waiting to be exploited by the next power-hungry asshole with a god-complex. Humans have a lot of experience with those."
"There is a code the Spectres are supposed to follow." Garrus had heard about that one in school.
"It's not even written down!" Shepard shook her head. "If you had the volus on the council they would at least have made sure that this 'code' had some legal bearing. So far there is nothing stopping a guy like Saren Arterius from killing every human he see's."
Garrus nodded, he had thought something like that before himself. He had wondered if the famous efficiency of the best Spectre was really such a good thing. "So what does the Alliance want to do about it?"
She had a thoughtful smile. "It's a delicate subject. They can't just kick in the door and tell the Council that they should replace the Spectres. We have a bad enough reputation as it is as the power-hungry newcomers." She sniggered. "The idea is to start with these interspecies investigative groups and then sell the council on their success. Change the Spectres to a galaxy wide police-force and criminal investigators, bound by laws for all citizens of the Citadel races."
Garrus stared at her. "That's ambitious. The Council will hate the idea, they hate changing the status quo."
She laughed out once, "Oh, the Alliance knows, we know. That's why we start this small, so far we have one team already working, mostly turians and a fragile cooperation of the Alliance and the turian Hierarchy we can build upon."
He trilled questioningly, "A cooperation between humans and turians?"
She smiled in triumph, "Yes, it's happening! I can't tell you anything about it but there is something big going on. You're gonna love it, I promise!" She smiled her brilliant smile again, her eyes crinkling and her white teeth showing and Garrus felt his insides clench. He loved her smile so much.
Shepard stopped the skycar and Garrus noticed with bewilderment that they had already arrived at his apartment complex. Obviously Shepard was quite capable of driving a car without suicidal tendencies when there was no emergency. As they got out of the car, Shepard typed a message on her omni-tool. "I'm telling the armor salesman that we will clean the armor and return it in a few hours along with your endorsement."
"Spirits, I had completely forgotten about that." He dragged himself out of the elevator and as soon as he had opened his apartment door he started to undo the latches of the armor. Shepard skidded around him and caught the pieces before they could crash on the floor, giggling like a little girl. He removed every piece of clothing, not caring that Shepard saw his naked butt and fell face first on his bed.
Groaning, he rolled on his side and felt a blanket being pulled over him. Shepard smiled at him and kissed him on top of his fringe. She was about to get up but Garrus stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"Will you be here when I wake up? Right here?"
She smiled warmly and stroked his mandible. "Alright, I'll be here. Sleep well, big guy." She kissed the side of his face and then kept stroking his head. He fell asleep with her scent in his nose and her hand on his fringe.
When he woke up he couldn't see her at first. Then he felt the bed slightly dipping behind him and he turned around. Shepard was sitting on his bed, her back against the headboard. She had a gauntlet on her lap and a cleaning rag in her hand. Her head had fallen back against the headboard and she was fast asleep.
Garrus rolled himself on the other side, facing her and resting his head on his upright forearm. He wanted to look at her. She looked so peaceful. The hardened warrior had fallen away and all he saw was a woman, soft, warm, maybe even vulnerable. And he saw beauty. Despite his upbringing instilling a sense of beauty in him that involved fringes, spurs and sharp angled hip bones, he found her beautiful.
Not just attractive like an asari fringe was attractive or a human clavicle or the back of a salarian. He found her beautiful as a whole. And he admired her, the way she fought, how she assessed the battlefield and how she handled a gun. How she respected others and demanded respect towards herself. He loved her enthusiasm and her willingness to work with everyone, regardless of species and stereotypes.
He loved everything about her.
Shepard stirred as if she felt his intense stare. Suddenly her body tensed, her hand moved to her hip feeling for a gun and her eyes snapped open, quickly assessing the room. Garrus grinned, this was a soldier waking up. He made a low hum and her eyes snapped to him. He hummed again, "It's okay, you're safe. You are in my bedroom." Awareness crawled on her face. He chuckled, "You're never going to finish cleaning that armor like that!"
There it was again, that smile! A feeling he couldn't describe wanted to break free from his cowl and his subvocals were singing.
She put the piece of armor down on the floor and looked at him for a second, a predatory gleam in her eyes.
With a fluid motion her body slid next to his. Her lips were on his mouth, her tongue entwining with his, her chest pressed against him, her leg over his waist. Her softness so firm against him pulled him into a haze of desire. He pressed her even closer to him, his hands on her back, her waist, her ass. Her fingers under his fringe, on his throat, her foot stroking his legspur, every touch like fire on his oversensitive skin. It was getting hard to pull in enough air.
His genital plates shifted, his penis more than ready in seconds and the smell of her arousal was like a drug in the air. She rubbed the apex between her legs against his erection and her moaning aroused him even more. He wanted her now, right now! She kissed his mandible, then she took it in her mouth and sucked on it, her tongue twirling around it in between breaths. Garrus wanted to explode in pleasure and groaned. Her clothes needed to go.
Before he could even get under the hem of her shirt to pull it over her head, his omni-tool chimed loudly, indicating an urgent call. Garrus roared in anger. "Spirits be damned!" He knew it was a call from his family, only they had this urgency code. Shepard sighed and looked at him slightly annoyed, "Do you have to answer?"
Garrus nuzzled the top of her head and noticed for the first time how soft her hair was. "I'm sorry Shepard, really. But this is an emergency call from my family, I have to take it. Something could have happened."
Shepard sighed and rolled away from him, making him miss her immediately. "Well, then I better hide again, as I recall your dad is not supposed to see me, right?" There was hurt in her eyes, hidden under a friendly smile. He took her hand and stopped her from getting up. "No, you don't have to hide. I'm done with... hiding." Her brilliant smile warmed his gizzard again.
He thumbed his omni-tool and was greeted with the enraged face of his father. He started yelling and swearing in old Palaveni as soon as he could see Garrus's face. Suddenly he stopped and it looked like his eyes wanted to pop out of his head. He had seen Shepard and was visibly struggling for words. Then he hissed at Garrus, "Is that it? Is that the reason for your behaviour?" His eyes went back to her, full of hate. "Send it away." he growled.
Garrus was taken aback, his father was normally more restrained than that. "Father, please, what is the matter?"
"Send it away!" Aethius Vakarian growled full of aggression, his subharmonics sounding out pure hate.
Garrus didn't know what to do, he had never seen so much hate in his father. Shepard clearly sensed his distress and touched his arm, her fingers stroking him lightly. She whispered, "I'm just going to get some coffee." She dipped her head towards the face of his father on the screen who looked away, not acknowledging her.
When she had left, the older Vakarian turned back to the camera and fixed Garrus with a hard stare. "I got a call from Lartius Fedorian. Sapita has informed him that she is refusing the conveniere. Not only that, she has broken - broken! - with her family to live with an asari! What did you tell her, Garrus? Did you pitch your deviant ways to her? Introduce her to your pets for your sick games?"
"Father, shut up!" Garrus yelled and immediately froze. He had never spoken to his father like that before. Aethius stared at him, shaking in rage. Garrus decided to keep talking as long as his father wasn't saying anything. "I'm done with this. Don't arrange anymore conveniere for me, I won't go. I will find a mate on my own."
"You can not refuse the traditions." His father's subvocals were broadcasting his authority. "We have found excellent candidates for you and we will find another one. You have a duty to your family to fulfill. Affectus will grow in time."
"Really? That's what I have to expect?"
His father growled in annoyance. "That is the turian way. Your mother and I have found affectus over time and so will you. We are not asari, we don't leave these things to chance."
"Spirits, father, maybe I have another idea about my life, maybe I want to..."
Aethius interrupted him with a subvocal scream. "Have you been watching 'Fleet and Flotilla'? Do you think this is how you will find a mate? Maybe a willing alien for..."
"No father, I haven't watched that vid -"
"Then I forbid you to ever watch it! It gives the young stupid ideas -" Aethius voices were tripping over.
"Really father? I'm over 20 years old and you want to forbid me to watch a vid?"
"You are my son and I make it my decretum that you -"
Garrus stopped him before this could go any further, yelling, "Enough! This is the wrong time, the wrong everything."
"You are denying my decretum?"
Was this the moment? The moment where he had to decide whether he wanted to give up on his family or not? Still half asleep, unfulfilled sexual desire burning inside of him?
"Father, please, can we talk about this later? Please, I just woke up." He laid as much submissiveness in his subvocals as he could, to calm his father down.
"Fine." Aethius ended the call and Garrus slumped back against the headboard, letting his frustration sing out in a loud keen.
He heard the door and panicked. Had Shepard left? He got up to run after her but in that moment she stepped into the room, carrying two big cups in her hands. He let himself fall back onto the bed, relieved.
"Hey, big guy. I got you cava, I hope you like that." Her voice was soft and soothing and he felt himself relax. "I assumed that coffee is probably not a drink for turians, it is an acquired taste, even for humans." She sat down on the bed right next to him. "The turian in the bakery said that most turians drink cava in the morning." The turian word sounded strange but she pronounced it correctly.
He took the cup from her and drank from it. It was good, a little sweet but not too much. He sighed and the tension fell from his shoulders. "It's perfect, thank you Shepard."
She scooted up to him and leaned her side against his chest. For a while they just sat like that, huddled closely together, drinking from their cups. He nuzzled her hair, it smelled of some foreign fruit. He put his arm around her, holding her close. It felt so right, sitting here with her.
After a while she spoke.
"Your father doesn't like humans, I guess."
"No he doesn't. I'm sorry, he - I've never seen him behave like that before."
"Does he have a specific reason for that?" She tried to sound neutral but he could hear the hurt in her voice.
He pulled her closer. "For hating humans? No, I don't think he does. But he was very angry that the meeting with Sapita didn't go as planned."
She turned to look at his face. "So you really were supposed to marry her?"
He sighed again. "Yes, I guess that was the plan. My clan is very traditional and a bond with Sapita would have been beneficial for the clan."
She leaned over to put her cup on the table nearest his bed, next to his own cup and then settled back into the crook of his arm, her face leaning against his cowl. Her hand was gently stroking the skin and plates on his chest. "I'm sorry for making your life complicated." She said with a quiet voice.
"Don't be. This has been a long time coming. It wasn't the first time that I refused a bond offer like that. I guess I always thought I could just wait out the problem but now - I see that I have to actually make a decision."
Shepard sighed and took her hand away from his chest. She spoke, not looking at him. "You know, I had only intended to recruit you for my team, Nihlus had recommended you."
"He had?" Garrus asked in surprise, hoping that her hand would return to him.
"Yes, I spoke to him that I needed someone who could fight and investigate and he gave me your files. I looked them over, the files he made and the ones from your military service. You know, I have no idea how they could ever let someone like you go. It's no wonder that turian mercenaries are such a pain in the ass if the turian military keeps on dumping fine officer material like that."
Garrus felt pride rise up in him. He had gotten in so much trouble all the time for questioning orders and defying traditions, it was wonderful to hear something positive about that.
"As I was saying," she continued, "I definitely had not planned to... like you so much." She grinned up to him and finally her hand returned to his chest. "I don't usually kiss new recruits. And this whole business with your family is really new territory for me. I don't want you to... suffer because of me." Her hand was lightly stroking the inside of his cowl where the skin was softer and more sensitive. A rumble of pleasure left his chest.
Shepard giggled quietly. "Everybody keeps saying how turians are so tough and armored but in truth you are sensitive all over!" She moved her face closer to his cowl. Suddenly her tongue appeared and she licked along the inside of his cowl. Garrus shuddered and closed his eyes at the intensity of this sensation. She giggled again.
He tried to speak but his voice was not quite cooperating. "I'm not suffering. At least not because of you and my family. But if you keep touching me like that I might suffer from a heart attack soon." He heard and felt her laugh into his cowl.
Suddenly her body moved away from his and she sat up, kneeling on her legs, facing him. "What I'm trying to say here," she said with her voice strong and deep, "is that I don't want to complicate things. The Alliance has strict rules against fraternizations among crew but I don't really give a shit about that. I also don't really care what your family thinks about me, that is something you have to deal with, not me. What we may have to deal with are people disagreeing with turian and a human being... together and all. That is a problem we can't solve, so it's probably a good idea if we are not too open about it in public."
"So, no more kissing and humming on benches on the Presidium?" Garrus had to rumble at that. "Such a shame, I was beginning to see those benches in a new light."
She laughed and punched him lightly on his arm. "Yeah, that was probably not one of my best moves back there. We made quite the show."
Garrus moved one hand to the side of her head and carefully let her hair move through his talons. "I liked it. A lot."
Shepard leaned into the touch of his hand. "Yeah, me too."
Then she straightened again and looked at him seriously. "What I do want to make clear is that I want to work with you. I think I can teach you things and you can teach me things. But we have to separate that from the emotional... relationship we have." She looked at him seriously. "If you think you can't do that than you should probably go with Nihlus."
"Nihlus? Why would I go with him?"
"Oh, he said to me if I don't take you, he will snatch you away." Her tone suggested that this should have been obvious.
He took her hands in his and pulled her towards him until her forehead was against his. His scent released from the glands again, he just couldn't stop it. Sighing he said, "I already told you, I'm sure we can get this to work. I want to be by your side, I don't want to leave you."
He felt her smile as much as he saw it. "I'm glad to hear that but it may get a bit difficult to stay by my side in the next few weeks."
He pulled his head away to look at her. "Why is that? You have another mission for ANIS?"
"No, I'll be leaving in a few hours to an unknown location for the last part of my N7 exam. We'll have our survival run and tests, that will probably take about three weeks. Afterwards all of us are going to spend our shore leave on Elysium, at least three days either celebrating passing the N7 tests or drowning our sorrows about failing them. Still, even failing N7 is an accomplishment so we will celebrate either way. After that..." She looked down on her thumbs stroking the skin between his fingers. "I'll contact you as soon as I can."
"Do you have to go right now?" Garrus asked in panic.
"No, I still have a few hours." She let go of his hands and pushed him back against the headboard. She pressed her chest on his stomach and her one hand was stroking his waist while the other went all over his upper body stroking, feeling, testing. With her tongue she licked along his cowl ridge again.
He groaned and wrapped his arms around her. Every touch from her, that agile and surprisingly strong tongue, her breath on his skin, it all made him burn inside. He carefully raked his talons across her back, they were blunted but still sharp, and he felt her shudder with a moan. He hummed in pleasure, earning him another shudder from her as she moved further up. Finally her lips were on his mouth again, her tongue touching his.
Praise the Spirits, I love her kisses.
They kissed until they ran out of air, gasping each others breath in urgency. Then she suckled on his mouthplates again and he tried to wrap his tongue around hers and he felt like he was falling into a dream.
Suddenly she jumped off him and he wanted to keen in disappointment but then he saw that she undressed herself with lightning speed. Naked she stood before him with an unsure look on her face and he stared at her in wonder. So much soft skin, hair between her legs, muscles and sinew visible under her skin, scars and little brown spots drawing a map of some unknown universe on her body.
He reached out to her. "Come here, beautiful." Relief appeared on her face and he realized that she had been unsure whether he even found her attractive. He remembered that he had worried about the same thing. But the way she had looked at him and kissed him had chased those worries away.
He hoped she realized from his touch and his hum how much he desired her because he couldn't possibly put it into words right now. She slid over him in one fluid movement and set her knees next to his waist. Her open folds, dripping wet, rubbed against his erection, making him push against her in need. She smiled, bucking her hips and slid up and down, his penis sliding along her vagina, her labia's lips enclosing him from the sides. They both moaned, sounding like wild animals in heat and he couldn't lie still anymore.
He pushed her up and laid her on her back. He was still afraid to use his talons but he knew he could lick her. His tongue traveled over her body, licking her clavicle that he especially loved and her mounds with the little nubs on top. They turned hard and erect after a few licks which he found fascinating. He licked them again and again and he loved how it made her squirm. Slowly he moved further down with his hands, licking her mounds and ghosting over the skin of her waist with his talons. Garrus felt drunk smelling her arousal and he buried his nose in the curve of her shoulder, breathing in her wonderful scent. He began stroking her thigh and her labia lips, dipping his finger in and out of her. She was panting, trembling with each touch and her fingernails were digging into his fringe. He had avoided the magic nub, the clitoris as he had learned it was called, and when he finally gave it a tentative flick her moan turned into a scream. Just a few soft circles later her whole body tensed and with a choked "Yesss!" she arched her back and screamed her release.
A clear fluid dripped from her vagina and Garrus dipped his finger into it, looking at it curiously. She was still trembling in pleasure but suddenly he felt himself pushed back against the headboard by her hands. Unsated lust was in her eyes and she moved over him. They had to scramble a bit to find a position that was comfortable for both of them, giggling while spurs and hip bones were getting in the way. Finally she had his waist between her thighs and one squeeze had his eyes roll back in pleasure. She giggled at his reaction. "Your waist, huh?" She squeezed again and his moan was probably heard by every sentient being in the building.
Shepard angled her vagina over his penis and in one slow movement lowered herself down on him, a relieved breath coming from her throat as if she almost couldn't have waited for it any longer. She took him in, moving slowly. He had to hold his breath to not come right then and there, ending this encounter way too soon. She raised herself up and lowered herself again and again, taking him deeper each time. She felt so tight, enclosing him like a glove. Finally she had him in her completely, her pubic hair tickling his genital plates. He groaned and bucked his hips against her, unable to control the need burning in him. She gasped and her head fell forward, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
Their movements became frantic, rutting against each other. She moaned and he felt her mouth on his throat, her teeth pressing into his skin. Would she bite? Do humans bite? He felt like he lost all grasp of reality, all his senses tuned to her, all of his self feeling with her, for her, in need to be with her. He closed his eyes, overwhelmed from the sensations.
Her mouth left his throat and he heard her whisper between gasps. "Open... your eyes... Garrus! Look... look!" He snapped his eyes open, unsure why. He looked in her eyes and he saw it - he saw the intense feelings passing between them, the love neither of them would ever voice aloud. He felt himself sing in his chest.
Her movements became uncoordinated as she came closer to her climax again and little whimpering sounds left her. Garrus urgently tipped her over on her back almost poking her with his spurs in the process. She smiled about that. He felt her heels digging into his back as he thrusted into her faster. He knew she was close to her release but when it came he was still unprepared for the vice-like grip her vagina put on his penis, pressing and milking him. She screamed his name when her orgasm peaked and he climaxed with a roar, his thrusts getting harder and faster, his talons digging into her hips. He spilled his seed in several spurts, his whole body shuddering each time.
He fell to the side and she moved with him, keeping him inside of her. She draped herself over him, somehow making her soft body fit to his hard one. A content sigh from her had her breath ghost over his throat and he shuddered again. He put his arms tighter around her, holding her as close as possible without hurting her. He let his subharmonics sing freely of the love he felt for her.
Love!
I love you!
Her arms pulled herself closer to him, her face pressed against his throat. He nuzzled her head and held her tight.
They stayed like that until their breathing had normalized again. His penis slipped back behind his plates and his seed was dripping out of her. He felt it running down on his thigh. She lifted herself up, her wet hair stuck to the skin of her face and looked at the dripping fluid with amusement.
"I think I need to get into the shower." She said, already bouncing up. Garrus could hardly lift his head let alone the rest of his body. He indicated with his hand towards the general direction of the bathroom and said, "Feel free to use whatever you need. I don't think I can get up yet."
She laughed and mumbled "Men" to herself and disappeared through the door. Garrus heard the water running and decided that she was definitely capable of taking care of herself in there on her own. He rolled to his side and fell asleep again.
As soon as they had entered C-Sec academy, Garrus was practically attacked by Peters who informed them that the children were fine, that most of the mercs were already interrogated and that the Executor had been in talks with ANIS all morning and Garrus should make his way into his office quickly. "I can not repeat his exact words because my translator gave up on it but I'm sure it was something about your ass showing up on his desk with a bow." Shepard snickered at that and Garrus sighed.
She had woken him up, smelling of his soap fresh from the shower and he had wanted to take her again right away. But she convinced him that they both needed to show up at C-Sec, to give a report about the events at the warehouse.
With a nod to Shepard he turned and made his way over to Pallin's office. Bracing himself for the barrage of questions and accusations, he was surprised to find Pallin in a good mood. Apparently he liked working with ANIS and Garrus wondered who had managed to convince him. His boss wanted to hear a full recap of the events and Garrus tried to give him the most complete short version he could. He wanted to get back to Shepard, he didn't want to waste the precious little time they had left sitting in his boss's office. When he finally got out, he found her among the young recruits, telling stories, answering questions and giving advice. The young men and women of all species soaked up everything she told them like it was words from a god.
He stepped up to her, close but not too close, not touching her. Behind him he heard a commotion and somebody asked if it was 'Bring-your-girlfriend-or-boyfriend-to-work-day'. He froze, how could they tell? He hadn't even touched Shepard let alone shown any affection towards her. Her smelling of turian soap was maybe a bit weird but that didn't necessarily mean that they were together...
When he turned around he realized that it wasn't him and Shepard that the remark had been for, but Frank and Sarah. Behind them Batius and Tinlenus were standing close to each other, Tinlenus supporting Batius who leaned heavily on two crutches. He nodded towards his colleagues and everyone started to applaud. Batius stretched his throat and trilled in embarrassment. Tinlenus put his hand on his mate's shoulder and then hissed loudly to quiet everyone down.
Batius spoke with a soft voice. "I would like to thank everyone who has visited me while I was in the hospital." He turned and looked at Frank. "I especially want to thank Frank Johnson who, as the doctors told me, made sure that I was handled correctly after that bomb went off." He nodded towards Frank and the human dipped his head in return. Garrus was surprised, before today Batius had hardly acknowledged that Frank was even a member of C-Sec.
Garrus also noticed another change. Batius's markings looked different. They still indicated the colony he came from but the family lines had fainted as if he hadn't reapplied the paint in a while. Tinlenus and Batius were quite open with their affections for each other now, but Garrus was fairly certain that they had never been this obvious before. Almost dying had a way of setting priorities straight.
Shepard was suddenly standing next to him and looked up to him. "What are you thinking?"
Garrus smiled, she was really attentive. "His markings have changed. His family lines are fading."
"What does that mean?"
"If I had to guess I would say that his family didn't approve of his choice of mate and broke with him."
She looked confused. "So his family has banished him because they don't like his mate?" Garrus nodded. She scrunched up her face. "They are both male, right? Is there a stigma in turian society against having a mate of the same gender?"
Garrus shook his head. "No, it's all about the tiers in the turian Hierarchy. Tinlenus's markings show that he is from Invictus, which has been a troubled colony in turian history and the families from there have a low standing in the Hierarchy. Batius's family probably had a different mate of a higher tier chosen for him."
Shepard nodded. "Ah, that convenire thing."
Garrus stretched his throat, unpleasantly remembering the unfinished discussion with his father.
"Why was Batius in the hospital?" Shepard's voice pulled him back.
They made their way to his office and he told her of the raid in the warehouse and the cloaked bombs. She mostly listened, only asking a few questions in between. When they were inside his office, away from curious eyes, she took his hand in hers. Looking down on her fingers stroking his, she said quietly "You're lucky to be alive. You - all of you could have died."
He pulled her closer and nuzzled her hair. "But we didn't. I'll be more careful from now on, do more scanning for cloaking devices."
Noises in the hall outside his door made them step apart again. She looked around and grinned. "This looks familiar. My workplace has the same kind of organized chaos."
"This isn't chaos. This is inventive prioritising!" He picked up a datapad from the floor and stacked it on top of a rickety tower of other pads. Behind him he heard her laughing and it made a tingle run down his spine.
Frank and Sarah came into his office, holding hands. For a moment he envied how open they could be with their relationship. He introduced Shepard and she and Sarah immediately started a conversation about Sarah's work and the science involved. When they opened their omni-tools to compare schematics, Frank stepped over to Garrus, rolling his eyes.
"I think our women are too smart for us." he said.
Garrus nodded and then froze. "How do you... ? I mean, why would you think, me and Shepard...?"
"Oh, come on, birdy. I know you." Frank laughed at him. "You may act all cool and professional but I can see that you are totally smitten with each other. And I think it's awesome."
Garrus stretched his throat with a quiet hum. "Thanks man, I... this is all so new to me."
Frank sighed, "I know exactly how you feel. You go around looking at all the pretty girls and suddenly - bam! - there is only one and she has your heart in her hands."
"Spirits, yes she does." Garrus knew that humans considered the heart to be the organ where love was felt. By the way his heart was trying to jump out of his cowl whenever he looked at her, he was inclined to agree. Turians felt love in their gizzard, or as his father had always said, a turian in love was just an idiot who ate something wrong.
Garrus turned back to Frank and began sending files to his omni-tool. "I made a check on a turian liver that we found in that storage yesterday and then went with Peters and Lerv to the family to talk about his death. Guess what, we talked to him!"
Frank looked at him in disbelief. "What the fuck are you talking about? If his liver is in storage he is dead, did you find a medium or something?"
"No, he is still alive, I don't understand it either. That was one of the more embarrassing moments in my career, talking to a widow who isn't. Thankfully Peters got her senses back together fast and saved the situation." He shook his head and closed his omni-tool. "I've sent you everything I have, see if you can make sense of it. Oh, and he works at Everest Artifics, maybe Sarah knows something about him."
Frank looked dismayed. "Seriously, Garrus, something is wrong with that place. I wish Sarah wouldn't work there."
"If you think it isn't safe there anymore we'll get her out, I promise." Garrus said, putting a hand on Frank's shoulder.
"Thanks man, I'm going to hold you to that. Now go and get your woman away from my woman or else they'll be talking about shit we don't understand for the rest of the day." Frank said, pulling him over to the women.
Sarah and Shepard heard that remark and laughed. They exchanged contacts with a promise of keeping up on some technical project that Garrus had never heard about. They walked out of Garrus's office and Sarah gave Frank a small kiss on the side of his face. Shepard and Garrus exchanged a look of sorrow, this was something they would probably never do in public again.
They navigated out of C-Sec, Frank and Garrus exchanging greetings and short conversations with colleagues along the way. Shepard was quiet, deep in thought. She occasionally glanced at her omni-tool, frowning. Garrus wondered how much time they had left before she had to leave for her N7 test.
They disbanded on the Presidium, Sarah and Frank on their way to lunch, Garrus and Shepard taking a slow walk along the stores. Garrus stopped at an arms dealer, eyeing a few mods and scopes that would look great on his favourite rifle. Shepard excused herself for a few minutes and disappeared into a few stores. She came back with a little bag she wouldn't let him look into.
They ended up at a transport hub and just stopped, unsure of what to do. Garrus finally asked, "So, when do you have to leave? Should we go to the docks?"
She sighed, "No, I'm going to get a message and then I'm to give out my coordinates and they will pick me up from there and, I don't know, blindfold me maybe? It's all very secretive, unknown transport, unknown location, no contact to the outside world. That message should arrive in the next half hour, an hour max."
"So, where do you want to go to?" Garrus asked, looking at her from the side. He stood close to her, maybe a bit closer than a turian would normally stand next to a human. Not close enough though, he wanted to go somewhere where he could touch her. "How about if we just go back to my place? Would the Alliance mind if they had to pick you up from there?"
She snorted. "Fuckem. Where and how I spend my time is none of their business. If they have to pick me up in front of some apartment building they better not complain. Let's go."
A short trip with a skycar and they were back at his apartment. Garrus noticed her scent still hanging in the air as soon as he had opened the door and he loved it. Shepard flopped down on the couch and took two bottles of beer, one levo and one dextro, from the bag. Garrus trilled questioningly at that, was drinking before a mission such a good idea?
She grinned at him, "I know, I know, drinking before a mission, yada yada, bad bad. It's not like I'm drunk after one beer, and I won't get a beer for the next three weeks, probably. I hope you like the one I got for you." She handed him a bottle of turian beer from Palaven, the good kind. He trilled in appreciation and she smiled at that. He sat down next to her and they clinked their bottles together in a toast. Only after his first sip he realized that she had reacted to his subvocal trills. He turned to her, "How much do you understand of my subharmonics?"
She grinned, showing all her teeth. "A little. Working with Nihlus and the turian troops we trained together taught me some basics like annoyance, disagreement, questioning - man, the questioning." She rolled her eyes. "My hearing is pretty good, I can hear a lot of the turian range but when it get's too low I feel it rather than hear it." She took a gulp of her beer, enjoying the taste with a sigh. "I had a turian in my group once who behaved like a total ass, insubordinate, couldn't deal with my command at all. At one point he flat out refused to do something and I did this," she turned to him, stretched her neck and then made a sound that didn't sound quite turian but had a very convincing trill of 'behave yourself, child' in it.
Garrus felt himself cower his head instinctually and trilled approvingly.
"That was good, very convincing."
"Yeah, Nihlus had practised that with me and when I used it on this guy his eyes almost popped out of his head. It really worked, he did what he was told after that. Maybe you can teach me some more." She put her hand on his chest as she took their beers and set them on the table. "I would like to learn some nicer ones... affectionate ones."
Garrus pulled her close and she climbed over him to straddle his lap. He was expecting her to kiss him but she bent down and picked up the bag from the floor. She handed him the bag with a smile, "I got you something." He hummed in surprise.
The present turned out to be a scope for his favourite rifle with a red flower tied to it with a yellow bow. He stared at it, how did she know that he needed a new scope? He turned it over, it was perfect, exactly the kind he would have gotten himself.
"Thank you, Shepard," he whispered. Carefully he opened the bow and took the flower in his hand.
She smiled at him even more. "Careful, it has thorns. But maybe your skin is thick enough that it won't hurt you."
He touched one of the thorns with a tip of his finger, it pricked a little but didn't pierce his skin. Shepard looked at his finger interested, feeling the tip where the thorn had made a little dent that slowly disappeared again. "Couldn't they breed out the thorns?" he wondered.
"Oh they have, turns out without the thorns they don't smell anymore. Only the ones with thorns have that nice scent." She put her nose to the flower and breathed in. Garrus put his nose close to the flower as well and the pleasant scent of the flower mingled with hers. He breathed it in deeply, and quietly let his subharmonics hum out his feelings.
She looked at him and began to hum herself. He realized that she tried to copy his hum and after a little while came very close to the real thing. More flat than a turian hum but close enough. He felt his gizzard clench, wondering if she even realized what she hummed.
Love.
He put his hand behind her head, his talons playing with her hair and he pulled her forehead to his, holding the flower still between them. They both had their eyes closed and hummed.
Don't ever forget this.
The moment shattered as his omni-tool chimed with his familys urgency code. Garrus cursed loudly and Shepard sighed. "I was actually expecting my omni-tool to chime any minute now." She moved back onto the couch, checking her own omni-tool for messages.
He looked at his omni-tool and cringed, it was his mother. He got up and trilled apologetic at Shepard. "It's a call from my mother, I have to take this, I... I'll be heading to my bedroom for it. Not to hide you, it's just..."
"It's okay, don't worry about it. But if I get my message I have to leave right away, I can't wait for you to finish your call." Shepard said, a serious look on her face. Garrus wondered if she was nervous and felt stupid to not have asked her about it.
"Just let me know it when you get it, I'll end the call and get back to her later." He ran into his bedroom and opened the call. His mothers face greeted him with his fathers face hovering over her shoulder. Garrus groaned, his father was not holding back, he knew how much he depended on his mother and that he could never refuse her.
"Hello mother, hello father. Now is not a good time, can I call you back later?"
An angry screech came from his father and he saw his mother wince.
His father was obviously getting ready for an attack but his mother stopped him with a short trill. She turned back towards the screen. "Son, we have to talk. We can not postpone this further." She sighed, "Your meeting with Sapita Fedorian has turned into a disaster. The Fedorian family is accusing you of influencing her in breaking with her family. The clans are in conflict. This bond had been arranged by both of our clans and it was very..."
"Mother, I know that. I'm sorry that I didn't react according to plan but this bond - it never would have worked. Sapita was already bonded before. I had no influence in that, she decided herself to no longer repudiate her bondmate."
His father took a deep breath again but didn't say anything after a hiss from his mother. She hummed at Garrus and he knew the next question was going to be important. "Are you already bonded, Garrus?"
He stretched his throat. He hadn't told Shepard that he had scented her and he had not asked her to bond with him. But he knew that they felt strongly for each other and he couldn't lose her. "I am courting someone."
"An alien?" His mother asked with anxious undertones.
"She is human, yes."
His father roared in anger, screaming and cursing. "The pet? You are courting it?"
Garrus hissed "Don't call her that!"
His father was pacing behind his mother, moving in and out of the frame of the camera. "A human! Of all the species - humans! They are brash, deceiving, untrustworthy, asking for more than they deserve. You young people have forgotten the war, forgotten how..."
Garrus hissed in exasperation "Let it go, father. The galaxy is changing. I won't follow your path, I will find my own."
His fathers face returned to the camera, almost pushing his mothers face out of the frame. "You will not continue this. I forbid you! I make it my decretum that you will not see this alien ever again."
Once again Garrus wondered if this was the moment. The moment where he had to decide whether he could be without clan from now on. If he denied the decretum, he would never see his family again. Not his mother, not his sister. He could be arrested for trespassing if he ever went back to his home on Palaven.
"What do you want me to say father?" Garrus paced, staring at his omni-tool. "Oh, I know. It's nothing serious, just a fling. Don't worry about her." He turned around, thinking that he saw movement in his peripheral vision but he was still alone in his room. "I can't say that, because it's not true. I can't let her go. Don't make me choose between her and my family."
His mother keened in panic and tried to calm his father down with a hum while fighting for control over her own emotions. But his father was past the point of control, his subvocals screaming, his mandibles slammed tight.
His face filled the screen and he hissed at Garrus. "Do you deny my decretum?"
Garrus took a deep breath. No point in avoiding the unavoidable. "Yes, father, I'm denying."
He heard his mother keen loudly and then his father ended the call. Garrus felt like someone had vented the air from the room. He had to see Shepard, he needed to talk to her. He went back into the living room but he couldn't see her anywhere.
"Shepard?" he called out.
She wasn't there. Had she left? Maybe her N7-message had arrived. Why hadn't she called for him?
His eyes fell on a little object on the floor and he bent down to pick it up. It was the red flower and it looked like someone had stepped on it.
()()()
I hope everyone of you nice readers will have a few wonderful days, finding peace and happiness this Christmas. I probably won't find a lot of time to write, so the next chapter might take a while to surface. But at least this one was quite long to make up for that.
Big thanks to everyone who reviewed, makes me all warm and fuzzy everytime I see a new one.
And again thanks go to Credete for editing this chapter real fast, so that I could put it up quickly.