AN: Yay! They're making progress! Baby steps, amiright? This chapter doesn't have a whole lot of plot to it... It's mostly taking care of things (either resolving issues from the last update or setting up things for later chapters). I suspect there is some talk and feelings coming up soon, though. Both of which are much needed.
And guys, say thanks to mordinette for helping me edit :)
Shepard opens the door and scans the hallway. She's not exactly subtle about it, either, but Garrus refrains from commenting. Pleased that it's all clear, she gestures for him to follow. He hesitates, automatically moving to take point, before he remembers that this is a damn hospital, not a battlefield. So he speeds up and then matches strides with her.
Walk anywhere with enough confidence and no one stops to question you. The same apparently applies to escaping from hospitals. All he has to do is follow Shepard's lead and assume she knows the fastest (or at least least crowded) way out.
"Don't look so damn pleased with yourself," she hisses at him as they round a corner. "They're swamped with patients and probably didn't think you'd be able to walk out of here on your own yet."
"You kidding? I am escaping unnecessary captivity just by walking past people. I'm allowed to be a little smug." They have to stop briefly as two doctors rush down the hallway past them. Once they're clear, they keep moving. He considers a moment before asking, "Why are you here?"
"I told you, felt like my head was being split open-"
"Yes, you did mention that. That's how you knew, but I want to know why you came."
She looks at him incredulously. Like he's the biggest idiot she's ever had to deal with in her extensive career of dealing with idiots. She opens her mouth to answer, and the way her eyes gleam in the light makes him think she's about to tear him a new one, when he's saved (ironically) by a doctor.
"Commander?" There's both a demand and a question in the salarian's tone.
The fact that she's calling over Shepard and not him is pretty telling that they haven't noticed him missing yet. Garrus forces himself to not look as Shepard pushes him aside to go talk to the doctor. The last thing he needs is for someone to recognize him and send him back to the nightmarish purgatory that is being a healthy patient waiting for hospital bureaucracy to catch up to that fact.
"Just leave," she mutters as she gestures left down the next hallway. "I'll meet you by C-Sec."
He doesn't slow down as she breaks off to handle the doctor. With a confidence that he doesn't usually feel but has gotten damn good at faking over the years, he walks right past the front desk and out into the Citadel proper. C-Sec isn't actually all that close, so he wonders at Shepard's choice. And then wonders if he should bother meeting her there - he has other things he needs to take care of (and yeah, maybe there's a bit of avoidance at play too).
Weighing his options, he figures he may as well meet up with her. Which is good, considering his feet have carried him to C-Sec all on their own.
"Traitors," he grumbles.
Garrus leans against a wall, rests his weight heavily on his left leg so that his still tender right side doesn't hiss in protest. Not much, anyway. There's part of him that should probably feel a little guilty about ditching the hospital, but the galaxy's going to shit and there's got to be someone out there who needs that room more than him.
He spends a good couple minutes slowly making his way through his body, just to make sure that's true. His right side isn't great, he'll admit that much. Getting impaled will do that to you. His right leg is a bit sore too. Must've fallen on that side when he jumped. But everything else seems in order, if not a bit stiff from being laid up in bed for a couple days.
Before he can follow that thought too far (just how long was he out), he catches a familiar looking gait approaching.
"Well," and Shepard somehow manages to sound both annoyed and amused. "Turns out you're not dying, and they plan on keeping you for observation for another couple days before releasing you."
"I'm sure that'll go well."
She makes a non-committal noise at that. "Why'd you want out of there so bad, anyway?"
"I hate hospitals." They remind him of weakness. Not from being sick or injured, that's just an unavoidable nuisance in his line of work. No, it reminds him of the impotence he's felt all his life in the wake of his mother's illness.
"You never seem to take issue with Chakwas-"
"Not a hospital, it's a medbay. And I'm not overly fond of it either, I just know how to keep my mouth shut unlike some people."
"Alright." She bites her bottom lip as though she wants to say more. He waits, long enough that the pause is starting to become awkward, but nothing.
Finally, just barely holding back a sigh, it falls on him to break the silence. "So I'll be heading to the turian consulate-"
"Why?"
He starts a bit because why? Why not? "Because I work for the Hierarchy...?"
Shepard's hands rest on her hips and she chews the inside of her cheek. She's not quite glaring but there's a hard look to her eyes that he doesn't think the situation warrants. They're habits he associates with aggravation, things she's done when talking to Udina and al-Jilani. Perhaps it shouldn't surprise him to see it turned on him, given their recent circumstances.
Doesn't mean he understands the cause of this particular annoyance.
"Thought you'd be coming back on the Normandy."
"Oh. Oh- I hadn't really... Well, if the system was invaded, they probably moved... But I don't know if I was technically dismissed... I mean, I might-"
"Vakarian?"
"Yes?"
"You're babbling."
"Right." His mandibles twitch. "I'll just... shut up then."
"Look, I don't know if I've made it clear that I want you back on the Normandy. That I would very much like having you back on board. But," and there's a slightly pained look in her eyes, "if the Hierarchy wants you and you want to keep working with them..." She lets the thought and implications trail off between them.
He's dumbfounded for a bit. So much so that he kinda just blurts out, "This is the first time you've actually taken into consideration what I want." A few weeks ago, he's pretty sure those would have been fighting words.
Apparently not today.
"Yeah." There's self-deprecating little laugh that rings false. "I'm working on that."
"Oh." He's a little suspicious, but hopefully hides it well enough behind a terse, "Thanks."
Spirits, this is awkward.
"So, I should go... Let you find out what's going on with," she gestures vaguely in random directions, "everything." She turns away and avoids looking at him as she adds, "I'd love to see you on the Normandy though, even if you're not staying. Just to..." She shrugs, and he wonders if he's actually managed to get Commander Shepard to babble. "And I'm sure the crew would love to see you. Tali won't shut up about you, and you know Liara's been asking, and I think Joker-
"Shepard?"
"Yeah?"
"I'll stop by."
"Okay. Good. Right, I'll uh- I'll see you in a bit, then." There's a sigh of relief in there, somewhere, before she turns and walks off.
Had it always been this hard between them? Was it always this dance, trying not to upset the other while in turn not getting upset?
No, unfortunately it had once been easy. So fucking easy that it was just second nature. The SR-1 held its share of awkwardness, no doubt, but once they got used to one another, learned the other's quirks... Ugh, it'd been the easiest relationship he'd ever had. So easy to be friends and colleagues. The transition to lovers so seamless it felt like no change at all. Fuck, he'd fallen in love so fast he didn't even notice it happening until it was too late.
Spirits help him, he hopes to get that feeling of "home" he knew with Shepard back.
He's shuffled around for a bit by some secretaries, not sure what to do with him. That is of course until the turian councilor spots him and does a double take. Then there's a bit of yelling that Garrus' concerns, whatever they might be etc. etc., should have been handled immediately.
"Uh," he's almost hesitant to interrupt, but there's a war going on and all that, there's no time to waste on this kind of crap. "How about we focus on getting it fixed now instead of how it hasn't already been dealt with?"
To his surprise - and really, at this point in his career maybe he should stop underestimating himself - he's put on a comm link with the Primarch. Which is a damn relief, because if there's anyone who's going to cut the crap and get shit done, it's Victus.
"I heard you'd been shot."
"Impaled, actually. Maybe shot too, I'm a little fuzzy on the details."
"I was also informed not twenty minutes ago that you'd gone missing from the hospital they'd moved you to."
"Well, I'm not missing anymore."
"Clearly." Although he has every right to be annoyed, Victus is more amused by the proceedings than anything else. "And I suppose you haven't had a chance for a debriefing?"
"No, hadn't gotten around to that."
While Victus gives a brief overview of the failed assault and the subsequent evacuation of that system, someone hands him a datapad. It's a list of names - trainees from the facility he was working at, each name marked either MIA or KIA. Although at the bottom there's a summary listing numbers, he forces himself to read each name one by one. To feel the losses individually instead of writing them off as some statistic.
"Garrus?"
Shit, he was too busy reading that he's missed something. "Sorry, could you repeat-"
"There's nothing you could have done for them. This is war, there are casualties. Our job, as leaders, is to make note of their efforts, to honor their sacrifices, and keep going for the greater good of those left behind."
"I know." His throat is dry, and when'd it get so damn hot in here? "But knowing and doing are a bit different."
"That they are."
"I'd like to get back to work."
For the first time since they opened the channel, Victus pauses. "And when you say that, what do you envision yourself doing?"
"I could move to another training site, I know you had a couple-"
"We've already re-arranged the survivors from your facility - instructors and recruits alike - and we simply don't have the need for another instructor at the moment."
There's an elephant in the room and they both know it. Victus is being decent enough to let Garrus bring it up first, but if he keeps being stubborn he has no doubt the older turian will force the topic anyway.
"Do I have leave to return to my post on the Normandy?"
It's what he wants, anyway.
Sort of.
There's approval in Victus' subvocals when he answers, "Of course, Garrus. I'll have your personal effects sent there immediately. And I'll take care of the hospital."
Garrus nods his thanks, both to Victus and the staff in the room, then turns and heads out. His stomach is turning in knots that he wishes he could blame on hunger, but it's got everything to do with where he's going and who he's going to be seeing again. At least he has the walk back to the ship to collect himself.
Needless to say, when he arrives at the Normandy and requests permission to board, he can hear Joker's balking. "Garrus Vakarian? The Garrus Vakarian, on our doorstep? Wanting to come aboard? I just don't know if you're allowed given how you abandoned your post-"
"Joker," EDI's electronic voice rings out, "Commander Shepard specifically stated that Garrus was allowed entry onto the ship. Would it not be an act of insubordination to ignore that order? Although the brig has been converted into extra storage space, I'm sure we could find another area to re-purpose for the task."
"Oh my god, EDI-" But the comm cuts out as the doors open to start the decontamination process.
"Thanks EDI. And good job on the teasing, Joker needs someone like you to keep him in line."
"Bite me, Vakarian."
He bypasses the CIC as much as possible and heads directly to Engineering. The beginnings of panic try to make itself known (Where's Shepard? Should he go talk to her now? Or are they just going to ignore the- the thing? Shit, what is he doing here?), but he narrows everything down to a type of tunnel vision that allows him to focus on nothing but making it down to see Tali.
The great thing about tunnel vision is that it lets you focus on the problem at hand. The bad thing is, you walk out of the elevator and into the brick wall that is another person.
He's not two steps out of the elevator, going over in his head how much he's willing to tell Tali and plans for diverting the conversation to the Normandy's recent missions, when he collides with Liara and someone else.
"Garrus-" He automatically reaches out to help her regain her balance, but other hands steady her first. And that's when he actually looks at the other person.
With all the finesse that he's obviously come to be known for, Garrus just outright stares and asks, "What the fuck are you?"
The being stands up to his full height, which is decently tall, and practically screams, "How dare you!" What it says is much more dignified.
"I am Prothean."
Garrus opens his mouth to say something but snaps it shut, because what the hell do you say to that. But etiquette seems to dictate he say something, so he tries again. "Oh. Yes. You are."
Liara's eyes are wide as she looks between them, stopping on Garrus only long enough to indicate how completely idiotic she thinks he's being. He's inclined to agree with her.
"You are the turian that is mated with the commander, are you not?"
"What?"
"Javik-"
"You said the commander was mated to a turian. This is a turian-"
"We're not mated-"
"I- I didn't- This is not the time-"
The Prothean - Javik, apparently - looks completely unimpressed with both of them. The words "inferior species" are written in the way he blinks at them before saying, "I am returning to the cargo hold."
Garrus can do nothing more than watch him walk away and hope his gaping isn't as obvious as it feels. When he regains higher brain power again, he rounds on Liara and drawls out, "You'd think saying we have a live Prothean on board would have been worthy of note."
"If I thought it would've been relevant - or that you'd make an absolute fool of yourself - I would have mentioned it. As it is..." Liara shrugs and rolls her eyes, though he's pretty sure her exasperation is at least in part directed at the Prothean in question.
"Yeah, I'm going to need an actual explanation because, well, you know. Prothean. On board. What the hell? And don't think I didn't notice that you didn't tell me about him, but apparently have no issue talking about my private affairs with him."
She winces a bit. "I apologize, but he's very... curious about Shepard. It seems she's the only specimen worthy of note that he's come across." Her expression is tight and he gathers this is a matter of annoyance to her. Huh, he'll have to bug her about that later (after consulting with Tali first). "Don't worry I'll- I'll fill you in. But come on, let's get you settled back in first."