Disignatus - Official who conducts traditional ceremonies.

Famila notas - The colony markings that turians wear on their faces.

Cohamentum - Dance of the elements. Performed during turian bonding ceremonies. How well the two bond-mates stay with one another and perform the dance despite never having danced it together prior is said to predict the longevity and success of their mating.

Harediarcha - The box of paraphernalia used in family ceremonies, passed down through the maternal line.

Mensacra - The short table and two stools used in traditional turian ceremonies such as the naditatem and bonding ceremonies. The wood is rough and unfinished, but soaks up so much ink and is polished through centuries of care until they become singular works of art. Passed down through the paternal line.

53 Days ASR

Garrus awoke the next morning to a very early, very pale sunrise, and crunchy-feeling eyes. Blinking rapidly to try to clear away the dry blurriness, he checked his chrono and groaned. Twenty-seven hour days were hard enough to acclimatize to without waking at 0530. He yawned, stretching out until all his joints popped and his muscles threatened to cramp. Too early. He needed to go back to sleep.

Shepard stirred, her lips smacking softly as she shifted against his side, her bare skin creating a delicious friction against his plates. Careful not to wake her, Garrus turned over, curling around her a little, his head on the pillow just behind hers, her tousled hair silky against his face. After Shepard finished her bath, Dr. Chakwas had cared for her injuries, grumbling about the fact that the captain had worn away most of the soles of her feet and broken her nose yet again. His mari then served Shepard grilled cheese and canned soup, before they disappeared upstairs to do something that they insisted on keeping a secret.

Finally, after the rest of the family and friends retired to bed, he, Shepard, and Nihlus had been able to just sprawl along one of the couches and relax. Garrus spent the time too absorbed in the silky hair and smooth, sweet-scented skin of the woman lying curled in against his side to notice much of the movie. It involved a lot of things blowing up—he heard that much—that and Nihlus needing to explain most of the jokes and turian references.

But, in the end, it amounted to a wonderful, quiet first night as a family unit. Shepard cradled in against Garrus, his arms wrapped around her, her legs draped over Nihlus's lap. A very good end to what had been a trying day.

"Why are you waking me up?" Shepard murmured, rolling over to snuggle in against him. She tucked her face in under his chin. A long, yawn interrupted her words. "It's not even really morning yet."

He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. "I'm trying to go back to sleep. Everyone else won't be up for a couple hours yet." Inhaling a long breath of her warm, floral scent, he wriggled in a little closer. "I had a dream about you," he whispered.

"Oh?" She pulled away just far enough that he could focus on her eyes, the green barely visible through her heavy lids. "Was it sexy?"

Chuckling, he reached out to brush her hair off her face. "Well, it was about you, so naturally, it was sexy, but it didn't involve sex." He let his eyes drift closed again, his hand nestling into the curve of her neck. "I dreamed that we were getting bonded in a turian ceremony, and the adventure yesterday was the great hunt. Normally it's a hideth turram match, but we were all out in our clans, hunting down the turian marauders that dared interrupt the day." Fingers drawing lazy lines over her skin, he let out a long sigh. "Naturally, your clan came back victorious, and everyone kept talking about what a great omen it was for our life together."

Shepard remained silent so long that Garrus thought she'd fallen asleep, but then she said, "Tell me a story," voice soft, tone pleading.

He smiled, chuckling when she let out a smartass cackle. "What about, Kahri?" He didn't know if he'd make it very far into a story, but neither could he resist her request.

"Turian bonding ceremonies." She burrowed back in against his neck. "What are they like? You said they can take a few days?"

"Depends on how drunk everyone gets, but yes." He wrapped himself around her, savouring her warmth and softness. "The first morning, both families and all the guests gather for a morning feast held by the female's clan. After everyone has eaten, the disignatus calls up the pair being bonded and they declare their intention to bond. The disignatus asks who will support them, and the families and friends stand behind them to show that support."

Shepard hummed low and deep. "Might be sad for those who don't have many relatives."

Garrus shook his head. "Usually their friends and family make sure that the number on both sides is pretty even. It's supposed to be a happy occasion" He paused, reaching up to rub one eye, the lid feeling dry and stuck to his eyeball. "Then there is the great hunt … a hideth turram match with both clans competing. Afterward, everyone gets cleaned up, patched up, healed up, and rested for the testimonial feast that night."

"Patched and healed?" Soft puffs of air caressed his skin. "They're drawing blood during their wedding?"

"It's supposed to be good luck for both partners to spill a little blood," he whispered, pressing his mouth against the top of her head. "That's what being bonded and having a family is about, right? It all comes back to blood." After stifling a yawn, he nuzzled her hair. "Now, shush." Grinning when she grumbled, Garrus continued, "The testimonial feast is put on by both families, symbolizing a prosperous hunt and sharing resources."

"I love that. Everything is about the combined families, not just the two bond-mates." Shepard reached around her to take his hand, then held it between them, their fingers laced. "Doesn't get much more blended than our clans." She wriggled a little. "Sorry, I'll shush."

"During the testimonial feast," Garrus said, "the guests tell stories about the bond-mates. Once the stories were meant to impress the other clan about how solid and useful a clan member they were inheriting, but these days, they're mostly just meant to embarrass everyone."

"I can just imagine the stories people would say about me," she said, and he thought her tone sounded sad. She pulled away and looked into his eyes, her brow furrowed with worry. "We have good stories, though, don't we?"

Garrus lifted himself up onto his elbow, leaning over her. "All the best stories have good and bad in them, Kahri, and we have some of the very best stories. We've fought krogan battlemasters and been trapped in exploding volcanoes, and kissed for the first time under an avalanche." He leaned in to nuzzle her lips, his heart straining against the impossibly tight bars of his ribcage. "And when you add up all those stories, you have our story, all three of us, and a love that pulled us through nearly two cycles." He paused, melting into her kiss as she pressed her soft lips against the top plate of his mouth.

Shepard pushed him away, then back onto the mattress, leaning over him to look down into his eyes. "Do you want to include some of the turian customs, Callor?" She pressed a soft kiss against the end of his nose.

Reaching up, he drew a line across the bridge of her nose with the pad of his index finger. "I have to say, watching my parents trace our familia notas on your face has a certain appeal." A slight frown dropped his mandible. "It would dye your face blue for a while, though."

And then his Kahri smiled, wide and genuine and more beautiful than the sun, and again his heart railed about the confines of his chest. "I think I'd look spectacular in blue." She kissed him then nestled in, half draped over him. "What else?"

Garrus let his eyes drift closed. "Well, there is a gifting, and dancing, and … ." He let the sentence die. The cohamentum. No, it wasn't fair to even mention it. Shepard hadn't had an entire lifetime to prepare. "And then our family and friends wish us well as we retire to take care of the private parts of the ceremony."

Shepard nuzzled under his jaw. "Are they sexy parts?" Her laugh rang brightly, filling the room with joy as he rumbled and nipped her shoulder. She pushed herself up, leaning with her forearms braced against the plates of his chest. "Let's do it. We don't have days and days, but let's bring as much of the turian ceremony in as we can."

Garrus lifted his arms up behind his head, watching her under eyelids that still insisted on another hour or two of being blessedly closed. "Well, when the rest of the house wakes up, we'll talk to Mari and Pari, and see what they can come up with. Okay?"

Shepard threw her leg over him and straddled his waist, the muscles along the insides of her thighs playing against his sides. The pressure behind his plates upped from inconvenient to maddening as she stretched out along his torso so her breasts just brushed his hide on either side of his keel. A wicked little smile played over her lips as she swayed just enough for the silk-soft skin of her hardening nipples to tease his plates.

Needing to feel the hot, wetness of that mouth on his, he leaned up to try to capture them, but she ducked back, less than a centimetre out of reach.

She grinned, the pink tip of her tongue darting out to skate across her top lip, leaving it shining. "Okay," she replied at last. Her smile broadened as he moaned with longing, his hips lifting into her as his plates loosened. "Oh, now what's this I feel?" she asked, wiggling a little so that her sex moved his plates. "I thought you were tired."

Garrus held his mandibles tight against his face, willing to play her game. "I am. It's going to be a big day, we should probably both get some more sleep." Lowering one arm, he stroked his fingers through her hair. Shepard sat up, and captured his hand in hers, lacing her fingers through his. "Yeah, we should probably sleep." Lifting his hand to her mouth, she kissed the pads of each talon, before slipping his first digit into her mouth. Brows lifted, she watched him with a predator's smirk, searching for the slightest reaction to her teasing. Immersing the talon just past the first knuckle, she stroked the digit a little with the point of her tongue before pressing it around him, soft and so damned delicious in its fleshy strength.

He swallowed a moan that settled in the center of his chest like a rock formed of molten need and clenched his teeth, determined to cling to the charade despite the fact that sleep had lost any allure.

Sucking strongly on his talon, Shepard withdrew, dragging the pad over the flats of her teeth. "That's a shame." Leaning down over him again, she reached up, tracing the pattern of his familia notas. "Do you know how much I love you, General Garrus Vakarian?"

Lifting her with his hips, her weight still as surprisingly light as it was the first time, he shifted up the bed until he reclined against his pillows. He smiled, knowing she'd be able to feel how hard his heart thundered as it shoved his blood through his veins, and answered her with a slight nod. He opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him with the soft pressure of her fingers. His eyes drank her in, the soft new light bathing her hair and skin in a creamy glow. The moment froze, suddenly seeming too perfect, too beautiful. A chill ran down his spine dragging him back to the dark, freezing prison beneath the surface of Haestrom.

"I quite literally can't imagine how I managed to exist before you," Shepard whispered, leaning in to replace her fingers with her lips. Her words and kiss pulled him back from that darkness, dispelling the chill and easing him back into the watercolour glow of morning.

As she kissed him, all floral samite and sweet, maddening suction, her lips and tongue making love to him, he pulled her in tight, trying to form the embrace into some perfect expression of his emotions. An effort doomed to fail, he'd nonetheless never stop making the attempt.

She lifted off his plates a little, and whispered against his mouth, "I want to feel you inside me."

Letting out a long, low subvocal of adoration and longing, he loosed his control. His head rolled back, entire body straining up into Shepard as her cool, gentle fingers wrapped around him, guiding him into place. As much as they had joked about 'his spot' their first night together, as he slipped into her, he knew that it was exactly that. Odd maybe, to think that someone of another species had been made to fit him perfectly. Still, as his hands skated up her sides and around her back to pull her back in and she moved around him, he just knew that he'd found the one.

Garrus helped his mother down onto the low stool on the living room floor. Trying to talk his fiercely traditional mari out of using the mensacra had proven useless. "Do you remember how to make the ink after all this time, Betru?" she teased, a smile snapping at him from her eyes.

He offered Shepard a hand to help her sit on the stool opposite his mari, then seated himself cross-legged on the floor next to the low table. "I think I recall. It hasn't been that long since I last sat where Kahri is and Pari told me how to prepare it." He turned toward Shepard's quizzical, raised eyebrows. "When we're eight, we choose whether we want to take the familia notas of our mari or pari or birthplace."

Shepard curiosity melted into a frown. "Your mari and pari both have the same."

Chuckling, he set the harediarcha on the table and opened the lid. "Made the choice nice and simple." With precision, he set out the small mortar and pestle, and the clay jar of oil that formed the base of the ink. He wrapped his talons around the cylinder of dry pigment, but turned to his mari before he whacked off a chunk and started the process. "Do we have herbs for the tables at breakfast?"

Reaching out for Shepard's hand, he wrapped his talons around her fingers, finding them cold. "It's tradition to place a centerpiece in the middle of the table at the testimonial supper. It supplies a variety of herbs."

"Mix the ink, or it'll be lunch before we get this done," his mari said, her grin stealing any sting out of the words. "I'll explain." She took Shepard's hands in hers. Garrus did as he was told, breaking off the pigment, then grinding it into a fine powder as he listened to his mari speak.

"Your guests choose from the herbs, adding to the center bowl, one pinch of the herb that they feel represents you as you are, then one that represents what they wish for your future. After the meal, the herbs are collected, crushed, and added to oil that you use in the more intimate part of the ceremony."

Shepard perked up. "Oooo, the sexy parts." A wicked chuckle escaped when Garrus arched a brow plate at her.

Instead of commenting, he added oil to the powder two drops at a time until the ink reached paintable consistency but wouldn't run.

His mother dipped a talon in it and nodded. "Very good."

Garrus placed the short-bristled outlining brush next to Trea, then looked to her in concern when she stared at it rather than picking it up. "Mari?"

When she lifted the brush, Garrus saw the reason for her concern. His heart shattered, the shards tumbling into his gut as he watched her hand jerking wildly with tremors. He braced his elbow against the table, and cupped his talons, angling them to the correct height. "Will this help?"

Trea rested her hand in his, the motion not abating entirely, but definitely enough for the task. She smiled. "Thank you, Betru." Turning to Shepard, she said, "Lean in, caris, the shorter my reach, the better."

Shepard took his mari's hand in both of hers and leaned in to press a kiss against the trembling talons before she lowered her arms to brace herself. "I can lean in as close as you need."

Dotting in the key points for the markings took his matrula less than five minutes once she started, and fell into the familiar task. Spirits, she must have redone his fifty times over the cycles. Feeling confidence reduce her tremor down to almost nothing helped piece his heart back together. Shepard had been right their last visit: the best thing for his matrula was to keep busy and feel useful.

"There," Trea said, a broad smile greeting her handiwork. "Beautiful, even if you do look as though you have a bad case of blue freckles." She leaned in to touch her brow to Shepard's. "Welcome to our family, my lovely filiam."

Garrus pushed himself up off the floor, carefully lifting his mari to her feet and holding onto her until she stood solidly balanced. Grinning, he looked down at Shepard, then nodded to the passage into the caman. Outside the doors to the garden, Lucille, Bunny, and the crews of both ships stood clustered, trying to watch.

Shepard turned, then glanced up at him. "Does it matter if they watch?"

"No." He waved them in. "Come and sit down before you break the glass." He wouldn't have wanted their presence to add more pressure for his mari, but he knew Herros wouldn't flinch having to perform for an audience.

Shepard held her hand out, snagging Nihlus's as he stepped past her. "Sit with me?"

Garrus appreciated the consideration behind the glance that his fratrin sent his way, but hated that Nihlus felt the need to seek his approval. Hopefully, once she wore both of their coillasi, Nihlus would feel just as entitled to show affection and ask for Shepard's time. Garrus nodded and then sat back in his position beside the table.

Nihlus settled so that Shepard's stool sat between his legs, then leaned in, wrapping his arms around her waist. When he rested his chin on her shoulder, she grinned and turned to kiss him. "Don't smear me dots, buster."

He just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Excellent command of your native language, there."

"Ready for me?" Herros asked, entering the room, one arm supporting Trea, holding her against his side. The hierarch sat his bond-mate down at the end of one of the couches, then assigned Joker and Kaidan to making sure everyone got fruit juice, coffee, tea, or amarceru to drink.

Satisfied his guests were taken care of, Herros seated himself across the table from Shepard. It took him only a few moments to fill in Shepard's dots, leaving outlined markings that Garrus knew he would fill in with far less assurance and skill after he and Shepard spoke their pledges that afternoon.

As Garrus watched his parents preparing his dilan for their bonding, he once again felt the strange dissonance between the life before his eyes and reality, as if something pulled them away from one another. Pressing his eyes closed, he focused on the knowledge that he'd climbed out of that darkness. He survived.

Soft fingers wrapped around his hand, squeezing tight. "Callor?" Shepard whispered. "What's wrong?"

Despite opening his mouth to answer, he couldn't bridge the distance between, the cold holding him just outside her gravity and warmth.

Then her arms slipped around his neck, her cheek pressed to his, her breath warm against his hide. "I'm here," she whispered. "We're both here. Maybe not entirely whole, but both most definitely here."

He pulled his dilan into his arms, fitting her in against him as she dispelled the cold once again, pulling him into his body and anchoring him there. Strong talons wrapped around his other hand, and he opened his eyes to see Nihlus kneeling beside him. His fratrin smiled, one brow plate cocked, a low subvocal susurrus asking if he was okay. Garrus nodded, then looked over at the empty couches.

"Did everyone go to breakfast?" he asked, keeping his voice soft.

Shepard snuggled in, letting out a loud, contented sigh. "Yes. Joker just asked which of the herbs represents cranky lunatic." She chuckled and kissed the wing of his mandible. "Should we go make sure none of them get into trouble?"

"In a minute." He leaned into her embrace. "I'm good right here for the moment."

"Sweet baby Jesus, Vakarian, if I'd known that getting hitched would turn you into such a huge sap …." She let out a deep, aggrieved sigh. "I don't know, I might not have agreed to this whole thing."

Letting out a low growl, Garrus clambered to his feet, swinging her over his shoulder once he was up and balanced. "Impossible woman." Smacking her backside to still her half-hearted, giggling protests, he hauled her out into the yard to join their guests for breakfast.

"Has anyone seen my dilan?" Garrus called from the bottom of the stairs. "And why is the door to the side garden locked?"

"Pari kidnapped her," Sol grumbled, leaning down over the armilateria board, her fist digging into the underside of her jaw as she scowled with concentration. Nihlus must have been presenting a challenge because the sleeves on her fancy copper and emerald tunic were rolled up past her elbows, a sure sign of trouble.

Nihlus made a move, then looked up and shrugged. "After lunch, Jane pulled Pari aside, they had a short, intense discussion, and then disappeared, probably into the side garden since everyone else is accounted for." He smiled. "Don't worry, they'll be back out in plenty of time. She hasn't run off again."

"Hey, senux, eyes and mind on the board," Sol snapped. "I could have cheated in twenty three separate ways while your head was turned." She cackled. "Luckily for you, I only took advantage of three."

Nihlus sorted the tiles. "Don't even try to pull that crap with me, inluvis. I'm wise to your ways, and you took advantage of five, in fact." He moved another two pieces. "I was going to let you get away with those until you lied."

Garrus looked around. "Where's Mari?" Frustration and worry tugged at him, begging him to give in. That fact that he found solace in worry and staying busy didn't bode well for things like trying to raise a family, or just find peace and rest in his relationship with Shepard.

"She's in her studio working on something top secret," Sol answered, then cussed, slapping a tile down as if she hope the sheer impact would take out some of Nihlus's units. "Go play basketball with the crew. I'm going to join in as soon as I finish obliterating Nihlus's artillery."

Nihlus chuckled. "Good luck, because it just obliterated you. Farewell fourth and fifth infantry brigades. Your sad, ignoble deaths will be remembered and used as ammunition for all occasions." He turned back to Garrus. "And don't listen to her, you don't have time to get all grimy; you need to get dressed."

Garrus checked his chrono. Forty-five minutes until Anderson was due to hear their pledges. "Yeah, I'll head up. You coming?"

"Right behind you." Nihlus stood, then bent to touch his brow to Sol's before turning and fleeing for the upstairs while Sol remained stuck in silent rage. Smart move. Garrus knew that once things got vocal, the Spectre might never escape.

Shepard met him halfway up the stairs, her hair matted to a sweat-streaked forehead, t-shirt soaked and plastered to her body. Greeting his concern with a bright smile, she stood on her toes and kissed him, the contact rushed and leaving him trying to follow her to kiss properly. Instead, she pushed him away. "Sorry, I'd hug all up on you, but I'm stinky and disgusting."

He blocked her when she attempted to squeeze past, his stare trying to capture hers. "Where have you been?" Grasping her upper arms, he managed to keep her from bolting. "What's going on?"

Letting out a soft sigh, she met his stare. "There's nothing going on, Garrus. Pari and I were just sparring, and I'm not used to the heat and humidity after climate controlled ships and space stations." He allowed her to tug free of his grip, squeezing her fingers when she took his hands in hers and smiled up into his confusion and worry. She was leaving something out, but what could it possibly be?

"I'm fine, Callor. I'm sorry if you were worried, I just wanted to talk to Pari for a bit, and then that turned into the workout from hell." She stood on tiptoe, waiting, until he bent down to kiss her. "Just ignore the fact he didn't even break a sweat." Another kiss brushed his upper mouth plate. "And now, I have forty minutes to shower and get dressed."

Garrus released her and stepped out of her path, watching as she kissed Nihlus, and then hurried across the living room to his parent's bedroom.

"Come on, let's go," Nihlus said, giving him a shove from behind. "If we don't get moving, she'll be standing there, waiting for you."

Garrus nodded, numb with the unfamiliar feeling of not knowing what Shepard had been doing. It didn't make sense. They trusted one another with everything.

"Garrus."

He stopped one step down and looked up at Herros. "Pari." He took a breath and opened his mouth, needing to know why Shepard wasn't telling him the whole truth, but his patrem shook his head, silencing him.

"Go get dressed." Herros smiled and reached out to grasp the back of Garrus's neck. "You trust the woman you're taking as your bond-mate, don't you?" His brow plates rose when Garrus choked on the answer. Of course he did, but— "If you trust her, act like it, and go get dressed, or are you going to tell me that you believe she'd do something to deliberately hurt you?" Herros pulled him into a tight, almost painful embrace. "Go get dressed before you stain what's been a perfect day, and hurt her feelings."

Put like that ... Garrus pulled back, meeting his pari's stare with a tight nod, and brushed past. Cold feet? Was that what it was? He hesitated, wanting to run down and apologize. Of course he trusted Kahri. Of course he did. The night before, Shepard had told him about her moments of panic before their husk visitor arrived. Cold feet, she called it. That's all it was: nerves.

"Keep moving, General," Nihlus said and chuckled. "You can apologize for your moment of idiocy later." He set his hands against Garrus's cowl and pushed him into his bedroom, shutting the door behind them. "You're just nervous. It'll all be fine once you look into her eyes, and the way she looks at you washes all the moron away."

Garrus chuckled and turned to embrace his fratrin. "She does seem to have done a respectable job of clearing away all your moron."

Nihlus shrugged and turned to where his suit hung on the back of the door. "Jane does her best. It's not her fault that there's just so much of it to wade through."

A half hour later, Garrus took a deep breath and nodded at the image of the two of them standing side by side. "Not bad for a couple of washouts." He gripped Nihlus's elbow. "Thank you for being here for me the last couple of cycles." A soft chuckle answered Nihlus when the Spectre shook his head, Garrus knowing they were both recalling those first, turbulent weeks on the Normandy.

"A rough start," Nihlus said, "but I couldn't ask for a better fratrin, or for a family who care more. Thank you for bringing me into the madness." He laughed, sharp and self-effacing. "Listen to us, you'd think one or both of us was dying, not taking the most incredible female in the galaxy as his bond-mate." He turned and punched Garrus in the shoulder. "When I do this in a couple of months, promise me, no heartfelt fratrin to fratrin talks."

Garrus laughed and grasped the Spectre's shoulders. "No promises. It's going to be a great day, and I might need to mark it with a speech or two."

Nihlus grinned and tipped his head toward the door. "Ready?"

They both turned toward the door as it opened. "Not quite yet," Herros said, knocking on the door even as he stuck his head through. "You're missing a key ingredient in your wardrobe." He entered and shut the door, a black robe draped over his arm that Garrus knew all too well. Turning back, their pari held up the family bonding robe. It went back more than fifty generations, the story of how each bearer had met his mate embroidered into the material.

"Both of my pahirs will wear this when they take their dilan's hand and pledge themselves to her," he said, stepping up behind Garrus. He draped it over Garrus's shoulders, settling it around his cowl, then held out his hand. "Where are your coillasi?"

Garrus fetched them out of the harediarcha and passed them over, his mandibles spreading in a ridiculously huge smile as his pari fastened the front panels of the robe with the shell-chains that he'd fasten around Shepard's wrists later that night.

Nihlus chuckled, and Garrus reached out, punching his shoulder. "Just wait until he's fastening them on you. Trust me, it's a stupid grin worthy moment."

Nihlus rumbled his subvocals, a sound of connection, and surprise, and love that turned Herros around.

Their pari embraced Nihlus, pulling him in to touch brows. "You're my pahir. Stop forgetting what that means." Herros released Nihlus when the Spectre nodded, then returned to embrace Garrus. "I'm proud of the torins you both are, and you couldn't have chosen better." He laughed, the chuckles coming out a little bit evil. "The three of you deserve each other, and I'll leave what that means to your imaginations." He bumped Garrus's brow. "All right, let's get down there. You don't want to keep your Kahri waiting."

Herros made it two steps toward the door, before he turned back. "Oh, I need Jane's coillasi as well."

Garrus took them out of the box and passed them over. A single glance at both his patrem and his fratrin, a deep breath, and he was ready. Nihlus leading the way, they descended to a chorus of whoops, compliments and well-wishes. As he passed through to the yard, he spoke to everyone, joking and snapping back with the wit, but it felt as if his entire attention was fixed on the closed door to his parent's bedroom.

He lost track of time as Martin and Kaidan stepped up to congratulate him and wish him good luck, but it couldn't have been more than five minutes before his mari appeared in the large glass door, her smile wide and bright. "She's ready. How about out here?"

Garrus just nodded, letting Nihlus guide him into his spot next to the small pond, under the canopy of massive ferns. Suddenly, the air didn't contain enough oxygen, and he reached up to unhook his collar. Nihlus caught his hand, his fratrin's warm chuckle convincing the elcor sitting on his chest to ease off a little.

A moment later, a vision appeared in the doorway, her arm threaded through Anderson's, the captain beaming with joyful pride. Garrus staggered a little as Shepard stepped toward him, loose waves of ivory tussat silk rippling around her legs; tiny, bare feet peeked out between the loose folds, a delicate anklet of rylamia hugging her ankle to match the spray in her hair.

His mari's bonding robe draped over Kahri's slight shoulders, the coillasi clasped just below her breasts. The collar stood high behind her head, the white material framing her beautiful copper hair. Spirits, he'd doubted he'd ever see anything more beautiful.

Then their eyes met, and everything else disappeared, his whole world narrowed down to that field of emerald and the love, and wonder, and delight staring back at him. When Anderson stopped next to him and held out his hand, Garrus fumbled a little, refusing to look away even for that second.

Laying Garrus's hand over Shepard's, Anderson said, "Those tied by blood and those tied by heart, be welcomed to that most blessed and sacred of occasions: the celebration of two clans joined, two lives knit together into one shared destiny." He took a deep breath. "As honorary father of the bride and disignatus, it is my honour to begin this bonding ceremony with the declaration of intentions."

Turning to Garrus, Anderson said, "Garrus Vakarian, son of Herros and Treana Vakarian, is it your intention to join your life, your family, and your clan to that of Jane Shepard?"

Garrus nodded and cleared his throat, his mandibles fluttering so hard that it felt as though they were trying to fly off his face. He sucked in a noisy breath, Shepard grinning as it whistled through his nose. And so he chuckled as he said, "It's my intention to join our lives, families, and clans. Jane Shepard will bring a beauty and depth of love and devotion that will enrich our clan in an infinite number of ways."

Anderson turned his grin to focus on Shepard. "Jane Shepard, daughter of Franklin and Lucille Shepard, is it your intention to join your life, your family, and your clan to that of Garrus Vakarian?"

Shepard smiled and nodded as she released a long breath that seemed to steady her. For a second Garrus thought she might stick with the script, but then the grin slanted to the wicked and when she spoke, her voice snapped with teasing. "By the glowing asses of the Blessed Enkindlers, you bet it's my intention to join our lives, our families, and our clans. This torin brings so much loyalty, beauty of spirit, honour, courage, and pure compassionate strength to this family that it quite frankly can't exist without him. He's my cornerstone that never shifts, bends, or cracks, and I can't do any of this without him."

Anderson cleared his throat, his voice strained, but also receding as Garrus's focus narrowed even further. "Who amongst their clans will stand by them through this union, to support them through the inevitable struggles and hardships of life? Who will help them care for one another and their children when they are ill or injured? Who will support them through times of scarcity, when they need shelter or a strong arm to protect them? For it is life's greatest truth that no bonded pair can stand alone. It needs the strength and nurturance of both clans to survive." The captain, stepped closer to Garrus and Shepard's joined hands. "So, I ask again, who amongst their clans will stand with them?"

Herros, Trea, and Solana moved to join Nihlus behind Garrus, Lucille, Bunny, and Martin behind Shepard. He gave Bunny a grateful smile and reached out to squeeze her fingers as she passed him. Then, surprising him, the members of Archangel and their crews stepped in behind them both. A heated flush of appreciation flowed over him, and he turned to give them all an honoured smile.

Anderson chuckled and shrugged. "Okay, that covers that. As both clans accept and bless this union, I declare it sound." He laid his hand over their joined ones. "Jane, speak your pledge to your bond-mond."

Shepard … his Kahri … smiled up into his eyes and squeezed his talons. "Garrus … my Callor." Untangling one hand, she reached up and pressed her palm against his cheek, the contact burning like a brand. Through her touch, he felt her trembling and reached up, wrapping his hand around hers. She smiled; spirits he never tired of seeing joy light up her face or the way her eyes seemed to snap with electricity. "They told me I should write this part down because of the pressure to remember what I wanted to tell you, but there isn't any."

She let her hand settle to his chest, pressing it over his heart, the organ lost somewhere between hammering at FTL speeds and sputtering to a stop behind his plates. "You see, I promise everything, and accept everything. I've already agreed to that. So, I'll take your good days and bad days, your grumpiness in the morning and snuggliness at night. I promise to let you drink that wretched fruit pus you love, and to try very hard not to send you into anaphylaxis when I cook for you."

"This morning you told me that family came down to blood, and every drop of mine pours through my veins for the family we're building." She glanced behind him to shoot Nihlus a quick wink, then focused back on him, lifting his talons to her lips. "I promise you every single day, regardless of what they bring or how far apart we are or how crazy you're driving me." Pressing his palm over her heart, she watched his face, her scrutiny almost too intense as he felt that heart thundering beneath his palm. "I promise to send the kids straight to you when they're being impossible, to yell at you if you leave wet towels lying around, and probably to burn dinner at least twice a week. And I promise to hold you every time you need it, and to smack you every time you need that." A long, noisy breath whistled a little as she exhaled through her nose, then she nodded. "So, yeah, that covers it."

Someone in the small cluster of their family and friends blew their nose, drawing Shepard's attention, but his remained fixed on her. He cherished every one of her expressions, imprinting them all into his memory like a puer pressing their hands into the damp sand, just for the wonder of the impression that remained.

"What?" The question came out, a little frantic and a little apologetic as she faced their guests' tears. Garrus squeezed her hands to reassure her, but still, when she looked back, he saw the worry there. "Did I do it wrong?" she whispered, leaning into him.

After swallowing the Mako parked sideways in his throat, Garrus chuckled, a talon curling under her chin to lift her eyes back to meet his. "No, Kahri, you couldn't have done it better." He sighed, letting the light of her shine through every cell of his being, then bent to nuzzle her forehead.

Glancing at Anderson, he asked, "It's my turn, now?" When Anderson nodded, Garrus withdrew, smiling as he cleared his throat. "I'm probably not going to get through this, so bear with me." He stroked her cheek with his thumb, drinking in her smile even as it blurred.

Garrus cleared his throat again, sniffing a little as the sun stung his eyes, making his nose run. Yes, it was definitely the sun. "A couple of cycles ago, a praela roared into my life on a wind of such encompassing change that within moments, everything I knew spun about, completely transforming. Through the example of her bravery and compassion, she showed me who I wanted to be."

He looked down at their tangled fingers, blinking back the sting in his eyes again. Damn sun. "And then she was gone … then you were gone, and I just sat there for three days, trying to figure out how to breathe again … how to make my heart beat … how to move. But, then I realized … a love that powerful couldn't be broken by death. You weren't really gone, you lived inside my heart, and Nihlus's heart, and so I took my first breath, my blood began to flow again, and I got up and moved forward." He sniffed back a throatful of phlegm and clasped their hands against his chest.

When he sucked in a breath to speak, it rattled thick with barely checked tears and whistled with a soft keen. "And then the universe gave you back." He tried to speak past his trembling jaw and the pressure in his flooded sinuses, then gave up and shook his head. After a couple of breaths, he managed to swallow, and continue, "So, even though I can't promise that I won't have bad days, and that you won't frustrate me and terrify me to the point where I want to scream, I promise to do my best to live up to the gift of your heart … to be the torin you make me want to be."

Leaning down to touch his brow to hers, he sucked in another wet, trembling breath. "I promise to never take this miracle for granted. I promise to love you with my every breath, to cherish you with everything I am and all I possess, to be your safe place from the monsters, to be your light in the darkness, and to hold tight to your hand with my last scrap of strength." Their audience vanished as she turned her face into his, her cheek wet where it pressed against his hide. He closed his eyes, his entire world narrowing down to the space and the breath between their bodies.

"All that I am, all I will ever be, or have, or wish for," he whispered, his mouth pressed to her ear, "is yours."

Shepard's breath caressed the side of his head as she nodded, her throat working so hard when she swallowed, that he heard the cartilage in her throat click.

Anderson cleared his throat, but neither one of them moved. "By the power vested in me by the Systems Alliance, and feeling sure in the belief that no one here has any reason why these two should not be wed, I declare Jane Gwendolyn Shepard and Garrus Alox Ramirus Vakarian bond-mates … husband and wife." Garrus felt the pressure of the captain's presence close in, but didn't open his eyes, pressing his hands as far into the damp sand of the moment as he could. He never wanted to forget the scent and feel of her skin, the honey spice of the rylamia in her hair, the gentle scent and cool wash of her tears as the breeze whispered past.

"You may kiss your wife," Anderson whispered, the width of his grin evident in his voice.

Garrus swept his wife up in his arms, their mouths pressed to one another before he even settled her into his embrace. Joy—spring-scented bliss and sun-warmed felicity—filled him until he felt as though it must radiate through his plates.

Dear spirits, let this be real. Don't let me wake up alone in my bed on Omega.

Then Shepard kissed him, shattering the fine bubble of fear. Her kiss remained soft and chaste, just a hint of teasing with her tongue before she threw her arms around his neck and pressed herself tight. "This is my very best day," she whispered next to his aural canal before kissing his neck.

He pressed her tight. "And mine. Just the first of a lifetime filled with them."

Then their guests descended on them, pulling them apart into a flurry of tears and hugs, brow bumps and kisses.

His mari waited until the tide ebbed before she stood and walked over to take his face between her hands, pulling him down to touch brows. "No matrula has ever been more blessed. I'm both proud and in awe of this torin you've become, Betru. You'll be a wonderful bond-mate and patrem." She sighed. "You and Nihlus are going to have to pour every bit of love you've got into her. She's not going to be an easy road, but she's worth it." She pulled away and grasped his hands in hers. "Jane loves you so much, and she's so afraid of hurting you or disappointing you."

Garrus straightened, turning to look over the small crowd to where Alenko held Shepard in a tight embrace. "I know, Mari. We'll take care of her." He bent to touch brows again. "Thank you for making this day so special for her … for both of us. I've seen her sad before, but last night … ." He took a deep breath. "Well, you've made it magical for her." He embraced her. "I love you."

His mari chuckled. "Ah, bonding day. Turns even the most stoic torin into a ball of embraces and emotion." She patted his cheek. "You're a wonderful pahir, and I love you. Now, go be with your bond-mate."

Garrus squeezed his mari's hand, then pushed through the crowd around his wife. He checked the sun, then chuckled at himself. As much as he loved his family and their friends, he really just couldn't wait to be alone with Shepard. His entire body ached to hold her and savour the quiet together as they had that morning. Since then, as beautiful a day as it had been, trying to fit everything into one day had proven busy. Very busy, especially with Shepard disappearing for a chunk of the afternoon.

"Excuse me, everyone," Herros called, stepping up onto the low wall around the pond. Garrus frowned, watching his pari with a growing feeling of dread. Herros making announcements didn't bode well. His pari grinned when their eyes met. "As you know, Jane and Garrus wanted to include turian bonding traditions into their day. The most important of these are the great hunt, which Jane led us on in a most spectacular fashion yesterday, and the Cohamentum."

Garrus drew himself taller and tried to catch Herros's attention again. No. No, what was his pari doing? He hadn't told Shepard about it for a reason. Herros blythely soldiered on, ignoring Garrus completely.

"For our non-turian guests, all turians grow up learning the Cohamentum, or Dance of the Elements, from their parents. It is a dance that bond-mates never perform together until the day of their bonding ceremony." Herros paused and looked over at Shepard, who— Garrus frowned as he looked down on the woman tucked in against his side. She was positively glowing. The nature of the afternoon's mystery began to take shape.

"After they have pledged themselves," Herros continued, "they perform the dance, and ancient tradition states that how well they move together, how they read one another and adapt to one another predicts the strength and longevity of their union."

He swept an arm toward the back part of the yard, where a raised dance floor had been erected to spare his mari's garden. "Garrus … Jane."

Garrus tightened his arm around his wife. "You spent the afternoon learning the dance, didn't you?" Shame heated the back of his neck. He was an idiot.

Instead of answering, she led him up the single stair to the middle of the dance floor, where she touched his cheek, then broke away to move to her starting position. Garrus's heart began to pound as he took his position, the drums and the treble and bass winds of the music drifting through the nervous, expectant silence. How well had Shepard learned it? Spirits … forget Kahri's knowledge, how well did he remember it? It had been cycles since his mother's last refresher.

Then it didn't matter, the Song of the Air whistled through the yard, picking him up and spinning him like a tussat seed, its parachute unfurled, the moves returning as if he'd performed it that morning. Two motes of dust on a cosmic breeze, they soared along separate paths. When he caught glimpses of Shepard, she'd transformed, no longer earth-bound or mortal, but a comet flaring more and more brightly as she neared the sun. Slowly, their orbits contracted until they spiraled into one another, hopelessly trapped.

She leaped into his arms, the difference in their heights elevating the movements into acts of aerial acrobatics so graceful that they stole his breath. Spirits … she truly was a praela, riding the wind as if she belonged there.

As the dance eased into the Song of Water, she landed, ebbing away from him to swirl with the tides back into his arms with the ripening moon. Unable to tear his gaze from the beauty of her flight, he savoured the appearance of her every cue. Moving to harmonize with her movements, he lengthened to make up for her shorter limbs, elevating movements meant to be fixed to ground and setting them free of gravity's harsh pull. Her dress flowed about her like a cloud, and he'd never seen anything more astonishingly beautiful.

Water flowed into the earth, settling his Kahri back into his arms and the good, rich soil. Bodies entwined, eyes locked on one another, they blossomed and grew, a tree spreading its branches out to worship the light and the rain, their roots digging down, intertwining until they became one entity. Tears rolled over his face, his subvocals singing out his wonder at the miracle who'd taken his hand to create a new life, their anchor sunk deep so that they could reach out into the broad future.

The ground nourished them, springing into bloom, ripe with promise. Their bodies melded, and he lifted her into his arms, cheeks pressed together, breath panting and heated against one another's cheeks as they swayed to the waning strains of the winds. The drums faded, growing soft as her heartbeat against his chest. They ended, brow to brow, sharing the air between them, and somehow, in those moments, everything between them had shifted, the roots sunk deep and solid.

Garrus held his Kahri tight against him, his heart pounding with both exertion and exhilaration. "Dear spirits, how come I didn't know you could dance like that?"

She smiled and shrugged, one shoulder tugged towards her ear. "I've never had a reason to dance like that before." Sighing, she kissed him, then pulled back, her one arm draped around his neck, the fingers of the other hand caressing his face. "Everything, Garrus," she said, her expression and voice so solemn that it's weight resonated in his bones. "Everything is what we promised. Not just the parts of what you want or need that are easy for me to give, or you think won't put me out or endanger me or any of that crap." She kissed him again. "You should have told me how important this is to your traditions, regardless of whether you thought I could learn it or would be okay performing it. Got it?"

He let out a long breath, the enormity of what they'd promised registering in a small, quiet way … in the form of his love sneaking away with his father to learn how to dance. "Yeah," he whispered, then kissed her back. "Yeah, I've got it."

Someone cleared their throat behind them, the utterance sounding as profoundly uncomfortable as it should. No one in their right mind would interrupt them before they stepped away. That left one suspect..

Shepard sighed and flopped against him, gentle hands rubbing the back of his neck. "I hate whoever that is so much right now."

He grumbled a wordless agreement. "Yes, Miranda?"

"I'm so very sorry," the operative said, clearing her throat again, "but, Shepard … the colony on Horizon just went dark."

Shepard pulled away. "Holy crap. Collectors have the worst timing." She caressed the length of Garrus's mandible, then kissed him before answering, "Okay, get the ships ready to go. We'll need all three. The general and I will be spending the trip on the Passch, so you have the Ypres." She turned to meet her XO's eyes. "Does Mordin have the armour mods ready to go on the ground teams?"

"I'll contact him and let you know." The operative paused. "We've got cabs on the way for everyone."

"We'll be there in a minute," Shepard replied, the absolute professionalism and distance in her tone causing a lump in Garrus's throat. Damn the Collectors, and the Reapers, and the whole fucking war. Why couldn't they allow her just one day?

Shepard leaned up and kissed him. "We'll pick up our wedding night the second we get our people sorted for the jumps. It's three jumps, even though the one in Widow is a quick one, and I intend to squeeze in every second possible for us."

He nodded and started to answer, but then opted for kissing his wife—the thought of a long, uninterrupted wedding night pushing back a little of his attitude. As she set out for the house, he reached out, snagging her wrist to pull her in against him. "I love you, Jane Shepard-Vakarian, and I don't intend for that to get lost in this war."

(A-N: This baby has been my obsession the last few days, but it hasn't all been beta'd and a lot of it was written at times as late as 4AM, so sorry about that. It's probably going to be a little rough, but I hope you feel it does these crazy kids justice. Also, there is art ... here it will have to be the cover image, but for a bigger image, check out the story on AO3. As always, I love you guys. I really do. And I wish you the very best as spring ... well, springs around us. *hugs and more mini eggs*)