Title: Artemisia Shepard, War Hero
By: Midnight Unicorn
Disclaimer: Main character semi-mine, others and places are not.

I've been dying to get these next chapters out, I held out as long as I could T_T

The whole way back from Zorya Garrus brooded on an inner conflict: it was her decision, he respected that, but it wasn't the kind of decision he'd ever seen her make, and that worried him. No one else had anything pressing to discuss, Zaeed seemed to be savoring the victory twenty years in the making and he couldn't exactly blame the man for that, but it made him angry. Jealous, even.

Shame burdened his emotions before they got heated, but for the shuttle ride back to the Normandy he couldn't bring himself to even look at Shepard. He was so focused on his own thoughts he didn't realize she'd followed him to the Main Battery until the door closed behind them.

"Commander, I'm not really in a good mood right now." He'd been hoping to have the quiet and familiarity of working with the ship's weapons to calm down and get a grip on his thoughts. "Perhaps we should talk later."

She crossed her arms and braced one leg. He knew that stance; she wasn't going anywhere. "What's on your mind, Garrus?" He wondered where she'd learned that trick, keeping her voice so soft and calm but her gaze was flinty and unyielding.

Garrus did not have that same skill; the agitation he's been fighting to keep hidden won out and he paced restlessly in the confined space, dark gaze fixed on Shepard. "I don't know which is worse, that you let all those factory workers die, or that you let Zaeed kill Vido." He paused after that out burst, waiting for her to say something, but her lips were pressed shut. "You don't even look the least bit upset about it! I don't understand, you…you never let civilians die like that, not if you can help it, and we could have saved them, or at least some, I know we could. And you…" he smacked one fist against the other palm, struggling to control his anger and failing. "You let Zaeed kil…Vido. Why?" He stopped moving, staring at her intently. "Why?"

In the silence that followed he thought she wasn't going to answer; rage prickled beneath his mandibles, his scars ached. "Vido had to die."

"So did Sidonis!" She did not flinch when he shouted and stepped towards her, but her purple eyes narrowed. "You let a batarian pirate go free to save a handful of people. Sidonis led ten men and women, good people, to their deaths and you convinced me to let him live. Then you turn around and let a factory of people burn—"

"And every Blue Sun merc in there with them." Garrus couldn't think of a time she'd ever sounded so cold and ruthless. The confusion and anger overtook him and he seized her shoulders, unsure of his own intent.

He had the reach, but she had speed. Before he could do anything more, she thrust her hands up, breaking his grip. Her right elbow smashed into the undamaged side of his face and she used the twisting momentum of her torso to add power to her open-palmed, double-handed blow to his chest, forcing him back without harming him. It might have hurt more if he hadn't still been wearing his armor, but his back still didn't appreciate him slamming into the controls.

"I accept that you do not agree with my decision," she snapped, finally looking upset with a flush in her cheeks and fire in her eyes. "That does not give you permission to assault your commanding officer."

Humiliated, Garrus dropped his gaze, clenching his fists in frustration. "Commander, I didn't—"

He looked up quickly when the doors opened, but when he called her name she did not stop or turn and the doors shut her from view. Uncurling his fists, he realized his talons were tipped in blood.

A/N: Immediately after I did Zaeed's loyalty mission and made this choice, this came to mind.

Thank you Adams7 for faving my story~ If you don't do any romantic dialogue with any other character, Mordin will give you medical advice on your given relationship. But I agree, I wish there'd been more comments and jibing about the relationships.

Scorcese: Given the way the romance scene plays out it always seemed clear to me it wasn't just 'blowing off steam' in the end, that it actually meant something to both of them, but the game doesn't really give you these insights to see a relationship blooming. That's what fanfic is for ^_^