Hello my dears. I guess I got so cought up in the last chapter that I went ahead and wrote the next... So here you go, chapter 3. My next chapter I work on will be for Hanging All Her Hopes On The Stars.. Then I should be back here. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that I could actually make money off of...
To say that his mind raced would have been a large understatement. It flew through so many thoughts in those few seconds that it was almost painful. Luna, a mother? If her timeline held any water, the oldest a child of hers could be was only around five. And unless human children aged different, then a child of five would not sound like the voice he had just heard. The voice. That was another thing. It did not sound human. In fact it sounded...
His eyes followed Luna as she rose to her feet and moved up the stairs to the figure that stood behind him. It was as his eyes landed on said figure that he became even more confused.
Standing in front of Luna was a young turian boy. He could have been no older than 10 years old by the look in the development of his plates. The parts that had already started to form were the same color of his flesh. A gray with red tint, almost a burnt gray. His face was bare of any colony markings, which surprised Garrus because of how he was dressed. He wore a Citadel Academy uniform, the school for children on the Citadel where they received amazing schooling, if their parents had enough money. As he looked him over, he could feel the boys pale green eyes staring into him, studying him in return.
"Taluke, this is my friend, Garrus. He knew Uncle Nihlus." As she spoke Luna placed her hand on his shoulder to gently turn him towards Garrus, moving to stand behind him as her other hand found his other shoulder. Garrus rose to shake his hand as he stepped out of the pillow pit.
"Nice to meet you, Taluke..." The boy looked at his hand for a moment before looking up to Luna who offered him a smile and a nod. He reached up and out to shake Garrus's offered hand.
"I've heard of you... Uncle Nihlus said a few things but Uncle Saren really doesn't like you..." Luna gave a sigh as her eyes meet Garrus. Uncle Saren, huh? What an odd combination of words. Luna moved so that she could bend down to look at the boy.
"Alright young man, out with it... Why were you late?" Her fingers moved up to tilt his chin slightly. As she did Garrus saw faint claw marks on the soft plate towards the back of his head. Luna let out another soft sigh. "Really Taluke? You were fighting again?"
The boy seemed to puff up in a defensive manner. "I didn't start it this time, I swear. It was the same group of guys again... The anti-human ones. They started to bad mouth you again. I couldn't stand by and watch."
Her face spread in a sad smile as her thumb rose to caress his cheek. As she began to rise to her feet she gave his forehead a light kiss. "Do you have homework?" The boy offered up a nod as he looked to her. She gave him a light push towards the stairs. "Then go ahead and get started. I'll call you down when food is ready."
Garrus watched as the boy ran off towards the stairs. Even though it was clear that he was not Luna's biological child, he still thought of her as a mother, which Garrus could still not quite get his mind around. Of course she made a wonderful mother figure. She was always so kind and caring. But it was still a shock nonetheless. Finally her eyes moved to his with a slightly guilty expression. Her arms were crossed timidly in front of her chest. One hand rose to tame a few pieces of hairs behind her ear.
"Right so more explaining to do..." The raised hand pointed over her shoulder. "Join me in the kitchen? If you're hungry I can make enough for both of you."
He gave a nod as he watched her, still not quite sure what to say. As she turned and moved towards the kitchen behind her, he bent down to pick up his glass. He was going to need it. On a second thought he moved over to pick up her glass too.
He found her in the kitchen pulling out a variety of pots and pans, some blue, some black. A few of the blue ones he noticed to be Palaven pans while a few of the black ones he was completely unfamiliar with. He noticed with a start that her kitchen was color coded for dextro and levo to keep foods safe for the two different races in her home. It had to be quite a lot to maintain. As she moved over towards the fridge she began to speak.
"Nihlus brought him to me... Right after the Alliance released me. Even with someone being my shadow, Nihlus didn't care. He had been keeping the boy on the ship for almost a year. Said he knew Taluke's mother for a long while, that his father died in the war. He said that she died of an illness, one she knew was coming and called out for Nihlus's help."
At this point she was placing a pan on the stove and heating it up. From the looks of it, she was about to make quair, a fish found in the waters of Palaven. It had already been de-plated and stripped of its poison centers. His feet moved him over towards the bar counter, where he sat in one of the bar chairs. Doing so gave him a perfect view as she pulled out a blade and began to cut the meat into strips.
"So why didn't Nihlus just take the boy to an orphanage. I mean, I understand that there were a lot of orphans from the war, but its not like the kid would be in bad hands." His mouth began to water slightly as she moved to the pan, laying strips of the fish out to sizzle on the hot metal.
Luna's eyes moved up to his before looking over her shoulder to the landing above. More specifically to the door Taluke had disappeared behind. After a second her eyes found his again as she leaned closer to him over the bar. The light from above reflecting off her glasses as he could feel her breath on the side of his face.
"I believe that they are related. Either a nephew or a cousin. Something of that sort. I have never seen him as defensive as the day we suggested that he put Taluke up in a foster home." With that she pulled back so that she could move back over to the eye of the stove, pushing the meat around in the pan.
He offered a nod as he understood what she was saying, then as all the words came to his mind he had to retrace them. "Wait a minute... We? Who is we?" He watched as a faint blush spread across her cheeks, right under the frame of her glasses.
"That would be Saren and I. He was here when Nihlus brought Taluke to me." A flare of jealousy rose up inside of him. Saren, the turian that told him he could not trust Luna. The one that said she would shoot him in the back if she got a chance. The same turian that was here just moments ago. His face turned away as he prepared to ask a question, one he was slightly afraid to ask.
"Luna, just what is Saren to you now? Last I knew, he hated all humans and felt that they were the scum of the galaxy. Why was he even here? Why was he helping you find me?"
She gave a soft sigh as she turned to lean on the bar counter with her elbows, arms crossed. "That is a good question. I would not exactly call him a close friend. But he is here often. I think his idea of me changed the day I took Taluke in. I believe at first he stopped in to make sure the boy was being taken care of, getting the right foods, learning what he needed to learn, not being taught too many human customs. But as time moved on, it sort of became a habit, every time he docked on the Citadel to re-supply and talk to the council he would come and stay here. One of my spare rooms simply became his spare room, since he didn't really have a house or a place to stay on the Citadel. After the first few visits I began to ask about you, see if there was any way he might have heard something about you. Might have heard some little piece of information about you that might lead me to you. It was about two years ago that he finally heard something. A confirmed death on some backwater planet in a fight against a group of Blue Suns."
Garrus gave a nod as he felt a small weight rise off his chest. There had been a small panic, a worry, that she had been in some sort of relationship with the cold turian. Bringing his mind back to their conversation he raised his fingers to tap the part of his fringe that was missing. "This was their 'confirmed kill.' Just barely made it out of the way of their little gun ship. Bought me some time to get the hell out of there while they searched through the rubble trying to find me. I heard they found a large amount of blood and part of my fringe and stated they had killed me. Decided to lay low for a bit after that."
As he spoke her eyes had been on him, watching him as he explained parts of his missing life. He realized then that had not really told her anything that happened to him. Any of the adventures that he had been on. Her hand reached out over the bar to run up along the crest of his fringe, her fingers dancing over missing plates.
"Does it still hurt? The missing part of your fringe?" He gave a general chuckle that turned into a deep growl of a purr as her fingers began to press into the plates.
"Not anymore. Been slightly numb since it happened. Though now that you are doing that, I do feel something." She joined him in a slight chuckle as she brought her hand away from the fringe to move back to the stove. She removed the fish from the eye of the stove before moving to gather two plates from a cabinet. Placing them to the side she opened a little fridge that was sitting on the counter. As she did, a sweet aroma hit his nose. He almost had to laugh. Palaven fruit. She seemed to have a whole collection inside that small cool box.
As she was arranging them on the plate, she called out over her shoulder. "Taluke! Time to eat." The sound of a door opening brought Garrus's attention up to the landing where the young turian boy was coming out of one of the rooms. He had changed out of his uniform and into more civil like clothing. As he moved down the stairs, his light green eyes never left Garrus. Garrus watched the boy in return as he made his way over to sit in the stool one over from him. Not far enough to be avoiding but not close enough to show he was comfortable. As he took the seat, Luna placed the plates in front of them.
"Enjoy, boys." Luna send a smile their way as she turned towards the stove and began to clean up the pans. Garrus smiled down to the food before he began to eat. After the first bite he had to look back up at Luna. "This is amazing, Luna..." She smiled to him as she looked over to Taluke. She was about to say something when her omni-tool began to ping. Her eyes moved down to the screen before she gave a small smile.
"Please excuse, me.." Garrus offered a nod as he watched her move away from the kitchen and into the lounge area where he could not clearly hear her as she answered the call. His eyes lingered at where she had disappeared until he heard a voice beside him. "You know, she won't let anyone call her Luna anymore.."
He looked back at the boy as he worked at the food on his plate. It was odd to hear the boy speak so softly when he had spoke so clearly to Luna just a while ago. He waited for the boy to finish his bite and continue. "I heard her tell Nihlus, that whenever anyone said it she could only think about how it sounded when you said it.. and it made her sad..."
Garrus gave a small nod as he looked down to the plate in front of him. He began to cut a piece of the fish and was ready to take a bite before he spoke. "Does your mother talk about me a lot?" He was slightly worried as to what the boy would say. So he placed the meat in his mouth and chewed as he listened to the reply.
"Not any time that she would want me to hear... I guess because I'm adopted she didn't want me to see her face sad... But I hear things, when she doesn't think I can. Sometimes she talks in her sleep. Sometimes she says your name in a very good way..." He looked up towards Garrus and he couldn't help but meet the pale green gaze. "Other times she is crying, crying very hard when she says your name. But I don't think that she is sad that you're here. In fact I think this is the happiest that I have seen her in a long time..."
Garrus had to smile at the boy as he finished his own bite. "It's the happiest I have been as well. And I don't plan to be far from her for quite a while now... Well that is if she lets me." He shared a small smile with the boy, who seemed to understand he was there for good and not to cause harm.
It was then that Luna came back with a scowl on her face. Garrus felt slightly put off and he could see the concerned look on Taluke's face. It was as Luna was pacing slightly that Taluke spoke up.
"Another call?" Luna's eyes moved up to the boy as a warm smile moved over her face. "Yeah, they just called it in. Another human - turian fight resulting in a few deaths. I have to head out there now." Her eyes moved towards Garrus, then back to Taluke. It was clear she didn't want to go. But it was her job. Garrus smiled to show he understood.
"If you don't mind I could do with a nice long shower and maybe a vid. I haven't had those sort of pleasures in quite a while... As well as a nice warm bed..." His eyes meet Luna's who then turned to look at Taluke.
"Well, I don't mind if you stay at all... But I know a certain turian boy who is a fan of the Blasto movies." She echoed the large smile that appeared on his face. Slowly a thoughtful look spread over her face as a finger rose to tap her lip and her eyes moved to him. "Now I don't think you have seen any of the Blasto movies, have you Garrus?" She was over exaggerating for the boy but Garrus didn't mind. He shook his head and relaxed his shoulders.
"Can't say that I have, Luna. Running all over the galaxy has made me a little behind on the last hit vids... I haven't seen a movie in almost five years." He looked over to Taluke who sat with his jaw slightly agape. It seemed like he could not imagine a week without a movie, let alone five whole years. His eyes seemed to widen as he looked back towards his mother. Luna let out a small laugh.
"Alright, but homework first, and I'm going to double check it when I get home to make sure it is all done. And then once that is done and you have cleaned your teeth and are ready for bed, then you can watch the first two."
The boy made a slight face. "Awww man... Only the first two?" Luna laughed as she leaned to look at the boy. "Garrus needs to start from the beginning so he can understand. And even though you want to watch them all, you still have school in the morning. Besides," she reached out a hand to tap his nose, "I don't plan on Garrus leaving anytime soon, so you can make it a week long thing maybe?" Her eyes shifted up towards him, and he couldn't help but smile.
This was a side he had never seen on Luna. The loving and caring mother figure. One that seemed so maternal as well as fun and happy. She had really grown into this mother role and it was quite adorable. He offered them both a simple nod. "I'll definitely stick around for a week if it means a Blasto marathon."
Luna's eyes moved up to meet with his as she gave him a warm smile. "Hopefully longer than that..." He reached out a hand to place on top of hers on the bar as he returned the smile. Her eyes then moved towards Taluke as he finished his food.
"Alright, upstairs young man. Homework, shower, teeth, dressed, then movie." Taluke gave a long nod before turning to run up the stairs. It was as he reaching the balcony, he stopped to lean over to yell down at them.
"Be safe mother! Don't forget to eat something." With that they heard his door open and close. Luna smiled as she shook her head. Moving over to the far closet she opened the door and began to search for something. She soon returned holding up two nutra bars. He smiled at her as he turned to walk her to the door. As he did she began to explain the house.
"If you get hungry again, you are welcome to anything inside the kitchen. Of the rooms, mine is the far left one. Then there is Taluke's. You can take the next one. It is the spare between Taluke's and Saren's guest bed. Last thing we need is for him to show up and you be sleeping in his bed. Though I doubt he will be returning tonight, what with his pissy mood. But there is a bathroom connecting your room with Saren's, feel free to use it as you see fit... Let's see what am I forgetting..." At this point they had made it to the front door. Luna seemed to be stalling for time, making sure everything was alright.
He chuckled as his fingers slipped around her chin, tilting it up while he brought his lip plates to meet her lips. He could hear her slightly moan at the action, usually an easy way for him to gain access to the rest of her mouth. But he was pretty sure if he let himself fall into that pleasure, there would be quite a bit of effort needed to get him to stop, what with him already being interrupted twice today. The next time he dove into her warm embrace he did not plan to leave it until he had had his fill of her.
Pulling away, he let his thumb slide up the side of her face, around her glass frames and into her hair. "I will be alright here. Because I know that you will be coming back..." He could tell that she didn't even try to fight the smile that rose to her lips. Her arm moved back to grab her jacket off the hanging mounts on the wall. As she slipped it on, she managed to stand on her tip toes so that she could kiss the side of his face.
"I will be back soon, cowboy..." He laughed at the use of the very old nickname. Two of her fingers rose to her brow as she waved a small salute. With that she turned and moved down the stairs, but instead of going straight out to the street she turned to the small area beside the house. There he noticed a slim hover bike. It revved to life as she took her seat. And with a gust of wind and flash of light she was off to her crime scene.
Garrus stood for a moment, watching her taillights disappear before he turned back into the house. He still had to finish his plate before he took his own shower. Then maybe catch up on the news he had been missing out on, some of it he had already been looking into while he waited for Luna to get off work. It felt a little odd, suddenly settling into this domestic lifestyle. Part of him was still expecting some merc gang to barge in at any moment. But there was a part of him, a part that he was really clinging to, that was saying this is how life should have been these past six years and how it should be from this point on. With that thought, he moved back into the kitchen to finish his Palaven dish.