Series Title: After the Reapers
Game: Mass Effect

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!

Lazy Days is set an hour or so after Morning's Glory

Previously on Reapers:

"Think the night terrors will come back?" he questioned softly after a while.

"I'm pretty sure you've chased them all away," she murmured back sleepily. "But it probably wouldn't hurt to put a dreamcatcher up."

"A dreamcatcher?" he questioned, but she was already fast asleep.

Making a mental note to do some research on the Extranet sometime tomorrow, Garrus continued to hold Shepard until he, too, drifted off.

~ o ~ o ~

"Kat?" he rumbled.

"Hmmm?" she sleepily responded, not opening her eyes.

"I love you, too," he purred back, returning her earlier sentiment, nuzzling her cheek and she reached up to stroke his face, giving him a quick peck on the muzzle, before settling back down and drifting off.

Purring contently, Garrus followed his mate's example, closing his eyes and letting his dreams claim him.

Moments of Stillness – Lazy Days

Hours later found the pair in the shower, kissing, caressing and murmuring sweet nothings to each other as they washed themselves clean.

Garrus was the first to leave the warmth of the bathroom, his body drip-dried by the time he reached the wardrobe and he quickly changed into his usual off-duty outfit before leaving the room to go and see what news had stirred up in the Citadel overnight.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Fifteen minutes later the Turian heard the bedroom door open

"Hey, you ready to g-" Garrus felt his words clog in his throat when he turned to look at her and caught sight of what she was wearing; a floor-length purple dress.

Needless to say, he was stunned.

Outside of times of absolute necessity, like the mission to Bekenstein with Kasumi (and he thanked the Spirits for the little black number that had opened his eyes to the possibility of a relationship with her), he'd never seen Shepard in a dress. So to see her in one now, he was gobsmacked, to say the very least.

Shepard could only chuckle as she approached her astonished mate. "You're going to catch flies," she teased as she closed his agape jaw.

"I'm sorry... I just..." he stammered as he found his voice, "...you look gorgeous..."

Shepard blushed as she stood on her tippy-toes to peck him on the muzzle. "Sweet-talker," she murmured as she drew back.

Chuckling, Garrus offered the crook of his arm to her. "Shall we?"

Shepard smiled as she slipped her arm in his. "We shall."

"Well, Lady Shepard, where to first?" he queried her as they left the apartment.

"Shepard-Vakarian," she corrected instantly, stopping the Turian in his tracks for the second time in as many minutes, the sudden halt causing her to wheel around to face the Turian, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"W-what did you say?" he stammered.

"I said 'Shepard-Vakarian,'" she repeated.

"Kat," he began slowly, "You do know that I never expected you to-"

"Take your name?" she finished for him. "We're life partners now, why wouldn't I?"

"Because your humanities' 'golden girl'. The outrage this will stir up..." he rumbled in a worried tone of voice. "And I know that I probably sound like a broken disc right about now. But I just don't want to see you get hurt. You mean everything to me..."

She raised an eyebrow at him "And what did I tell you about my reactions to what everyone else will say? I love you, Garrus, and no misguided opinion is going to change that."

Garrus felt his throat clog, robbing him of his ability to speak, so he responded in the only other way he knew; he lowered his head to hers and pressed his forehead to hers.

"And it's 'broken record,'" she smilingly corrected when he drew back a few minutes later before she stood on her tippy-toes to pack him on the muzzle. "So, Lord Vakarian, where to first?"

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

They wandered aimlessly for hours, just enjoying each others' company and basking in the normalcy of just being a couple in love without a galaxy-saving mission hanging over their heads, occasionally running into old friends, such as Dr. Michelle, or crewmates, they found Mordin discreetly scanning one of the Keepers whilst studying the data that Shepard had collected two years ago and passed onto the Salarian scientist.

Around noon they grabbed a bite to eat from one of the street stalls before continuing on their way.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Mid-afternoon they came across a street stall on the Wards.

The stall owner, a human male of Native American appearance, was busily whittling a block of wood into a figurine of what appeared to be a wolf, but he looked up at the couple approached. "Afternoon, folks," he greeted them.

"Afternoon," Garrus returned the greeting, but Shepard's attention was drawn to the dreamcatchers that hung at the back of the stall.

"I've been meaning to get another dreamcatcher, I had one on the original Normandy, but I haven't had a chance to find a new one. You make these?" she questioned Chase.

"Yes, ma'am. Dream catchers and the spirit animal totems. My grandfather taught me. Name's Chase, by the way."

"Shepard."

"Shepard? The Shepard? The 'Saviour of the Citadel' Shepard?"

Shepard just chuckled. "One and only."

"It's an honour to meet you. Didn't know you were of Native American descent."

"Half, on my mother's side. My father's Australian."

"Your spirit animal's a falcon, isn't it, Kat?" Garrus suddenly questioned, surprising the two humans with his knowledge of his mate's heritage.

"One of," at the Turian's curious expression the human Spectre elaborated. "Native American tradition provides that each individual is connected with nine different animals that accompany them throughout life, acting as guides. Different animal guides come and go during the course of our lives, depending on the direction that we're heading and the tasks that need to be completed along the journey. But there is one spirit animal, known as a totem animal, that remains with you for your entire life, both in the physical and the spiritual world, and acts as the main guardian spirit. My totem animal is, as you said, the falcon."

"An appropriate guardian and guide for you, from what I've read about the spirit."

"And when exactly did you do this research?"

"A couple of weeks ago, after you mentioned about dreamcatchers as you were drifting off one night."

Shepard just smiled up at her life partner, her love of him shining in her eyes for all the things that he did to try and understand her better, before returning her attention to Chase.

"I'd like to purchase that one," she pointed to one of the more ornate dreamcatchers, made up of one large disc with three smaller ones hanging off of the main hoop, and decorated with an array of purple and blue feathers and beads (her and Garrus' favourite colours) as well as mirror fragments and talismans. "And your best falcon totem."

Chase grinned as he put down the totem in his hands and stood up to attend to the order; packing the dreamcatcher into a box and then selected a detailed figurine of a falcon perched on a log and gave it to Shepard. But when the ebony-haired woman made a move to pay for her purchases, Garrus stopped her. "Consider them a Union gift from me," he murmured to her before he took care of the rest of the transaction.

When everything was done Chase shook Shepard's hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Shepard. May the Spirits guide and protect you in the coming darkness."

"Thank you."

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

After dropping the dreamcatcher and the totem off at their apartment, and freshening up a bit, the couple made their way to the Dark Star lounge for dinner.

TBC...