Asthenia - blink-182

She was perched on his lap on the couch in her quarters, running her fingers over the lines of his carapace, her expression curious.

"I remember when I first joined the Alliance," she muttered. "It was 2172, and a lot of wounds were still fresh from the First Contact War. When we were off duty from basic, all the recruits would discuss how strange they thought the turian people were. 'Bird-dinosaur' and 'mask-face' were among the kinder descriptions. But truthfully, weren't humans just misunderstanding other species from the lack of contact? To this day humans have tendencies to be xenophobic, finding the thought of fraternization with other species unappealing. But there's something about turians that's fascinatingly beautiful, and humans who say that you all look the same are crazy."

Garrus's laugh was light and carefree. "Humans are the ones who all look the same."

She snorted. "We used to all look more different. Did you know that humans used to oppress other humans? White Americans would force African-Americans to become their slaves and treat them like animals. Nazi Germany exterminated millions of Jews just for their religious beliefs and the Japanese killed millions of the Chinese. We'd engage in wars with other countries over land and egos. Meeting the turians was the best thing that ever happened to humanity: instead of fighting with each other, we dropped our barriers and united."

"Who knew that war would be such a good thing?"

"Humans will fight, one way or another, but it's a nice change to not have it within ourselves."

"Well I know that my preconceived notions of humans have been abolished. I used to think you were all self-centered, entitled, and squishy."

"What do you think now?"

"You're caring, hard-working and deserving of everything that you've accomplished, and your skin is soft and beautiful. In fact, one human in particular has shown me that humans are hard workers who can inspire people and bring them together regardless of the circumstances. That human also taught me what it feels like to care about one person more than anything in the galaxy."

A warm smile spread across her face, and without saying a word he knew that she felt the same way.

When Garrus walked up the steps to General Corinthus's command centre on Menae and met Shepard's eyes, her smile was the exact same as it was that night in his memories.

She looked just as stunning as the last time he saw her. Her expression was harder and her waist was thinner, but she was still Zoey. His Zoey. He wanted nothing more to pull her into his arms and hold her close, feeling her softness and his warmth. However, he remained aloof, unsure if her feelings were still reciprocated and wanting to remain professional in front of Corinthus.

Her hand reached out to him, remaining formal in front of the General, so he responded by clasping it in both of his. When their eyes met, both fire and relief passed between them.

His breath hitched and his mandibles squeezed tight to his face when he spotted the gun over her shoulder in its holster. "I see you brought the Mantis."

The General shot a confused expression in his direction, a warning that his subvocals were betraying his feelings. "Of course I did," she responded. "I've been practicing."

"Can't wait to see it on the battlefield."

He didn't miss the smile that touched her eyes.

Fighting at Shepard's side again was like slipping into his most comfortable pair of boots.

Armed with her sniper rifle, it was strange having her behind him instead of in front of him, having her watching his six instead of the other way around, but they fell into a comfortable pace right away. It was obvious that she had been practicing: her aim was excellent, she excelled at leading shots, and she had the natural patience required to strike at the right time.

She might even be better than him.

No, impossible. He's Garrus Vakarian, not even Shepard could out snipe him.

Lost in his thoughts, he had to turn briskly to pepper a husk to his right with bullets.

"Losing your touch, Vakarian?" Shepard jogged past him, letting out a pealing laugh in spite of the horrors they were surrounded with. "Or just distracted by the sights?"

He pulled his face into an expression of mock insult. "I've had enough of your snide insinuations!" The pure happiness at rejoining with Shepard betrayed him, and his subharmonics purred with contentment.

She read him like a book and her face lit up in response. "You'll get over it," she responded. Sparing a quick glance to make sure they were alone, she whispered into his ear, "At least, I hope you do by tonight. We have a reunion to attend to after we find Victus."

He remained silent lest he betray his excitement, shaking his head to clear it of the very distracting images which had just filled it. He jogged to catch up with Shepard and Vega, the new recruit, his spirit fulfilled for the first time in six months.

So he followed her, obeying her every commanding order. They took out every enemy in their way and successfully retrieved the Primach before heading back to the Normandy.

He closed his eyes when he stepped onto the ship and inhaled deeply, reveling in her sweet scent. Once again, it had changed: the aggressive red had been replaced with a familiar Alliance blue; wires snaked around the floor, indicating that their departure had been unexpected; and more unfamiliar faces were scattered around the ship, calling out requests to each other to prepare for takeoff. But it was still the Normandy, Shepard's Normandy, and as he stood at the helm with his hand gripping Joker's chair watching Palaven grow small as they pulled away, he had a revelation.

He was home.

A/N: I admit that my first several chapters are short and a bit slow, but things will swiftly pick up. I have created a tumblr account, strictly dedicated to Mass Effect and to fic. If you're interested in asking me any questions, hearing me discuss my writing process, or just seeing pretty Shakarian pictures, you can find it at zendelai. tumblr. com (without spaces). Thank you for reading and I'll see you on Monday!