Disclaimer: Mass Effect is the property of Bioware, Microsoft Game Studios, and Electronic Arts. I am none of these, and as such make no money from this venture.

Shulin was pacing, the only indication of her nervousness. She'd received word from Sarah that Alan had left C-Sec, upset at her last gift. It had been expected, but some part of her had wanted him to see her message and know she meant it. She had ruthlessly crushed her most optimistic fantasies - the ones where he came rushing back to her and declared they were golden and please could they get bonded or married or whatever now? - and grimly reminded herself that their current situation was her fault. Mostly.

Her omnitool pinged again. He'd been spotted at the bar in Purgatory. She flicked her eyes at the clock; barely 1000 Citadel wouldn't do. She sent the address of her human's new apartment to the officer who had seen him. It would be up to this... Garrus to get him home. She chafed at the thought of being unable to help, but Sarah had told her he needed distance now so distance he would get.

Shulin had only one more present for her little human. One last letter, capped with a ridiculous poem and delivered with a ring. It was going to be hard, giving up the band he'd bought for her, but she needed to send the same message he wondered if human males also wore 'engagement rings' to proclaim their promise. It wasn't as though expense were a problem and then, even if he never spoke to her again, she would always be able to keep a piece of him beside her heart.

She sent the question to Sarah and made her way to the Presidium Markets.

ooo

Garrus had thought about the logistics of drunk humans plenty of times before. It was necessary to understand all the ways they could react in order to subdue them in the event of a bar fight. The logistics of this drunk human, however, escaped him. For some reason, an asari Spectre was intensely interested in seeing that he got home alright. Normally he would rail against the appropriation of Citadel forces for personal goals, but when the human in question was a C-Sec employee and supposed to be on duty, Garrus understood that the Spectre's goals were currently perfectly in line with C-Sec's own.

That didn't mean he was comfortable having the rambling male draped across his shoulders, but it seemed the simplest way to get his alcohol-limbered body to comply was to pick him up entirely and bodily 'escort' him home. By the time they got to the man's apartment, Garrus had been treated to a complete rundown of the underlying issues in what appeared to be a soap opera of a pressed tight to his cheeks in irritation, he laid the man down on the couch, stripped him of his sidearm and boots, and coaxed him into drinking two large glasses of water. Now, staring down at the bleary-eyed human, he sighed. "Why don't you just take her back?"

"It's not that easy," Alan slurred, "You can't just 'sorry' away a betrayal like that."

"And if she truly has feelings for you?" the turian questioned shrewdly.

"Flowers and presents don't count! You can't buy love like that, Vakarian," the human snarled as best he could, even though he didn't appear to have control over all of his facial muscles.

"Flowers? I was unaware that asari courtship involved flowers."

"She gave me some damn turian plant. Caetus said it was for sorrys but it doesn't work like that in real life," he groaned, head lolling back against the cushions.

Garrus stilled. "For apologies? She gave you a kaliti?"

"Yeah, twice. Kinda."

"Caetus is an idiot."

"Huh?" Alan tried to focus, irises dilating and contracting before he gave up and closed his eyes again.

"Kaliti isn't for simple apologies," his mandibles clicked in agitation. "It's for begging forgiveness."

"How would you know?"

Ah, good. Here was the belligerence he'd expected earlier, though the effect was ruined somewhat by the human flopping ineffectually against the couch he lay upon.

"Unlike your friend, I have an older sister who greatly enjoys flower arranging."

"Oh."

Silence, then mumbling. The turian strained to pick it up. "Still... that doesn't... can't just..." Alan trailed off with a snore.

Garrus sighed and fetched a blanket, draping it over the prone human. Setting another glass of water and the wastebasket close at hand, He sent a quick message back to the Spectre before returning to his investigation. He'd done his part. They could work out the rest themselves.

ooo

Alan woke with a start, the unfamiliarity of sleeping on the couch coupled with the relative newness of his current apartment pulling him from his sleep with an adrenaline-amplified heatbeat. He checked his omnitool nervously. A message from Sarah, telling him to be careful; one from Inspector Gailin, 'recommending' that he take a few days off; and some spam from a pro-human splinter group that he deleted without reading. Not fired, then. Yet.

Groaning, he scrubbed his face with his hands. Maybe he should ask for some leave. He'd been saving it, hoping that if Shulin had agreed to his proposal he could have taken them somewhere nice to celebrate, but now... He hadn't seen his parents in a while and Demeter was sufficiently far from the Citadel; firmly in human space and an unlikely mission target for a Spectre.

He checked the time and found it just past 17.30. Rolling his neck and wincing at the pops, he stood and made his way towards the bathroom. He'd message his parents, take a shower, eat some food, and then clean up his apartment a bit. Maybe after all that he could sleep for real. He'd ask the Inspector about leave must've gotten his note off just before a batch push, because the reply from Demeter arrived just as he was drying the last of the dishes. He almost swore when he realised that maybe wanting to go home wasn't the best idea. His parents wanted to meet Shulin.

Alan slumped down onto the couch again, tipping his head back to stare blankly at the ceiling. His mum had been so excited too, even after his hesitance to admit to them that he was dating an asari. As 'exotic species' went, asari were pretty tame, but it was still outside normal and he'd been worried about their reactions. Now he wondered how to break it to them that they wouldn't ever get to meet her.

He sighed; he was making things too complicated. He'd just tell them she had to work and explain the situation once they were face to face. Decision made, he hauled himself back up, tossing the towel he'd been using back onto the counter and turning towards the bedroom. He was weary and guiltily glad that he wasn't expected in at work in the morning.

He also wasn't expecting the little black box on his nightstand, weighing down a note addressed to him. Alan stood in the doorway for a long moment, running through all the implications of being the ex to a woman who could go anywhere and, legally, do anything without repercussions. Warily, he approached the bed, tugging the folded slip of paper out and opening it slowly.

D'lasim,

I know you have no reason to trust me anymore, but please believe that I never meant for this to happen. Goddess knows I wanted to tell you everything, but doing so would have placed you in more danger than I could bear.

Unless you wish it, this will be the last communication between us. In case this is our final goodbye, I want you to know...

The ink was smudging. Alan swiped at his face distractedly, the letter crumpling in his fist as he tried to stem the flow of tears.

When Sarah checked on him the next morning, she found him curled on the floor beside his bed, the ring box and note clutched to his chest as though they were the most precious objects in the universe.