Series Title: After the Reapers
Pairing: Garrus/Shepard

Author: Knights-Honour
Disclaimer: Mass Effect universe © BioWare
Any character you haven't heard of © me

Author's Notes:
Thanks go to my Beta; Blueglaceon, who despite having little knowledge of the Mass Effect universe, agreed to edit the series anyway. Thanks, Blue!

This takes place the day after Mark of Honour – Decisions and starts around about lunch-time.

Mark of Honour – One of the Clan

"Commander?" EDI's voice floated through the Loft and Shepard looked up from the report she was compiling to send to the Alliance brass before they left the Citadel in two days time.

"Yes, EDI?"

"I apologise for interrupting you. However, a situation has arisen in the Hanger."

"What kind of situation?" she questioned, gently stroking the dressing that covered her new face tattoo, she'd be able to take it off in a few hours, but for now she had to put up with the itching sensation it was causing. "Not between Garrus and Grunt surely?" She knew that the two had been planning to have a wrestling match down there sometime today.

"No, Commander. It's between Staff Commander Alenko and Officer Vakarian." EDI corrected.

Shepard sighed as she cradled her face in her hands; she'd thought that this might happen. When she'd returned this morning, she'd bumped into Kaidan as she'd been heading to the elevator. He'd seen the pristine white dressing on her face and had instantly asked her what had happened to her. She'd told him that she was fine and to not worry about it, but it seemed that he had done exactly the opposite, and had gone to challenge Garrus.

"How bad are things down there, EDI?"

"At the moment they're only having a shouting match. But there's a 99% chance that things will turn violent if they are not broken up shortly."

"Thanks for the heads up," Shepard told the AI as she rose from her chair. "I'll go and deal with them."

"Logging you out." EDI's orb disappeared, and with a sigh Shepard headed towards the door. 'Damn you, Kaidan, for spoiling my surprise for Garrus,' she silently seethed as she entered the elevator and sent it on its way down to the Hanger.

"-my mate! Why in the Spirit's name would I hurt her?" Garrus' furious tone of voice greeted her when the elevator doors opened.

"Then explain to me why half of her face is covered in gauze?" Kaidan fired back.

"That's enough, Kaidan!" Shepard barked as she strode over to the two bickering males. "Stand down!" she ordered. She was grateful to see that Grunt hadn't gotten involved in the argument, though the young Krogan was clearly annoyed at the new human for disrupting the wrestling match with his Battlemaster's mate. Kaidan took a few steps back as Shepard put herself between them, gripping the front of Garrus' neck ridge to hold him in place. "Now, you wanna tell me, Alenko, why the hell you came charging down here like a bull at a gate to pick a fight?"

"Who said I started the fight?" Kaidan questioned.

"I did," EDI's avatar popped up on the consol behind them. "I observed the situation for a moment before judging that it would become violent if not stopped, so I alerted the Commander as to what was happening."

"Damned AI! Can't even-"

"Don't start that crap, Alenko!" Shepard cut him off harshly. "EDI's a member of this crew whether you like it or not! And for that matter, did it ever occur to you that I might have done this," she referred to the dressing on her face, "to myself? Besides, I wasn't even on the Normandy last night, remember? So how can Garrus be responsible?"

That caused Kaidan to falter, "I…"

"I know you only had my best interests at heart, Kaidan," she spoke, her own tone of voice softening. "But it's no longer your concern. Garrus is my mate now, it's his responsibility."

"I… you're right, Kat…" Garrus growled a warning to Alenko for being so personal with Shepard and Kaidan swallowed nervously in response. Perhaps it was time for him to make a hasty retreat. "…I'm sorry. I'd better head back upstairs. Jacob said he needed some help in the Armoury," he said before he turned and headed back to the elevator

"He's right though," Garrus said softly to her as soon as Kaidan was out of earshot, and she turned to look at him as he raised a hand to gently stroke the dressing, "What did happen to you?"

Shepard sighed. "It was supposed to be a surprise for you when you returned to the Loft tonight."

Garrus tilted his head, a human gesture that he'd picked up from her, as he watched her in her moment of melancholy. "It still can be," he told her softly after a moment. "Technically, I haven't seen what's under the dressing yet," she brightened at that, and reached out to stroke his waist, which earned an aroused purr from him in return.

"Stupid human," Grunt rumbled after a moment, breaking Garrus and Shepard from their embrace, still watching Kaidan as he waited for the elevator to arrive. "Clan Leader Wrex was right about him."

Letting go of Garrus, Shepard looked to Grunt. "Right about what?" she questioned curiously.

"That he treats you like you're a defenceless varren pup, unable to defend yourself, instead of a great warrior!"

Shepard didn't know whether to be bemused or proud about the whole thing. "You've been speaking to Wrex about me?" she questioned the young krogan.

"I asked the Clan Leader to tell me of his adventures with you," Grunt replied. "So that I could learn about your many battles before we met. My words to the Shaman after my Rite on Tuchanka were right; you are unmatched in your prowess, Shepard, and I am proud to serve under you."

Shepard chuckled. "And on that note, I'll leave you two boys to your wrestling match." She patted Garrus' chest. "Don't get too badly hurt, okay?"

"I'll try not to."

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Hours later found Garrus on his way back up to the Loft, feeling slightly nervous.

True, he'd said to Shepard that he hadn't seen under the dressing. But he wouldn't be much of a Turian if he couldn't recognise when someone had tattooed their face with his clan's mark.

And therein lay the problem; while a part of him was thrilled by what she had done, another part was just as equally worried. There was still a lot of underlying tension between their two races from the First Contact War. How would his people react to him taking a human as his life partner? Or for that matter, how would her people respond? With a sigh, he cleared his head as the elevator door opened. As the human saying went; what's done is done. They'd just have to deal with the consequences when they arose.

Leaving the elevator car he entered their quarters, his predatory blues seeking out the whereabouts of his mate. She was at her desk, her officer's jacket draped over the back of the chair, reading something off of a data pad. As he drew nearer, his keen sight picked up the damp patches on the straps of the white singlet top she was wearing. She'd had a shower recently, which meant that she'd likely taken the dressing off of-

She turned to face him then, and he stilled as his eyes roved her face. Her markings weren't an exact replica of his, lacking a few details, but in all honesty, the design that she'd chosen made her look unique. Each and every line was sharp and precise. Not to mention the cobalt ink contrasted nicely with her chocolate coloured skin and green eyes.

He gently slipped his fingers under her chin then and tilted her head upwards so that he could see the tattoo more clearly.

"I… I know that they're not exactly the same as yours," Shepard began to speak as he turned her head to see the marks in their entirety. "But seeing as a human face is smaller than a Turians, I had to compromise. I tried to keep the majority of the main design, though-"

Any further speech was halted when Garrus pressed his forehead tenderly to hers and began to purr. "They're fine, Kat. More than fine," he murmured softly to her, and she smiled at him.

"Good, because they're only one part of my surprise," she said as she pulled away, taking his hand as she walked over to her armour locker. She let go of his hand to open the locker before stepping back, gesturing with her chin for Garrus to take a look.

"Spirits Above and Below!" he exclaimed as his eyes spotted the brand new black military-grade, blue-lit armour that rested within. "This is the new Luminox armour!" he turned back to his mate. "How did you…?"

"I called in a couple of favours."

"You didn't have to do this, Kat. I'm happy with what I've got," he referred to the battered armour he was wearing.

"I know that. But what kind of a mate would I be if I didn't try to help my man out every once in awhile? Besides, this is tit for tat; you gave me the animal totem and the dreamcatcher as my Union gift; I give you armour and my Clan mark for yours."

At her words, Garrus' eyes snapped to hers. While he knew that, physically, emotionally and spiritually, she belonged to him, and he to her. But, this was the first time that she'd spoken of that possession aloud, and he felt something stir deep inside him in response. New armour forgotten, he made his way back to her and gathered her up in his arms. "Your man, huh?" he purred against her throat, feeling himself moisten inside his armour as he exposed her bond scar and gently grazed it with his teeth.

"Mmmhmm," she purred back, furthering his excitement, as she reached up to remove his visor.

"Well then, your man had better show you how grateful he is," he rumbled as he scooped up her small frame and made his way over to the bed.

Fin.