~Garrus~
When time came to go to Macedonia's, Garrus was unsure of how to convince his mother to let him buy her a nice dinner, so he figured he'd just take her there and not give her a chance to refuse.
Every other day he had taken her out to a lunch, she had insisted he let her buy and because she had waited until they were in public, he let her. He definitely wasn't to be the one to look like he was refusing his own mother like some disobedient child in public.
She may think he's stubborn, but she's definitely worse in terms of manipulating the situation to get what she wanted. He figures that's probably how she managed living with her husband.
She doesn't seem to recognize the restaurant when they arrive, so he figures that his dad had never brought her here. He takes her in to the small establishment and they are seated promptly at a table, the only others besides a group of older Turians in the corner.
The restaurant only offers one meal consisting of whatever the cook had prepared for the day and Garrus is about to question when he glances to his mother and her calm look. He nods to the waiter in acknowledge to the news, figuring that this is common among fancier places if his mom's lack of reaction was anything to go by.
How did Jane even find this place, let alone manage to befriend the owner? He thinks to himself as he takes a drink of the water at his table. Normally he'd order something else, but his mother was never one to drink so he decides to stick with whatever she's left to drink.
"Garrus, this place isn't what I was expecting." His mother looks around at the walls and the various depictions of various Palaven landmarks. "You can't be expecting me to let you to pay for all of this."
"Of course I'm paying. It's been years since I've seen you and I know that you miss family dinners at home." He motions to the room, "This is the closest I can get, unfortunately, so to make up for it, I'm buying."
She shifts in her seat, her harmonics with a slight hum of confusion, "But wouldn't you rather take someone else here, or to a place like it? A girl maybe – or a guy, whichever you choose…"
"Mom…" Garrus interjects, his harmonics questioning. Just what is she getting at…
"Garrus," she mirrors. "I can tell that you don't want to tell me and though I don't know why, I just think that you should know that I understand. I'm happy for you."
His brow plates raise and he emits a quick startled rumble. "You understand?"
"I meant it when I said it was good to finally see my son." Her mandible flicks and a low, sad hum makes it to his ears. "For the longest time you were so upset and I didn't know how to help you. At first I thought that it was just you conflicting with your father because you were a child and it was just typical children not getting along with their parents, but I could still see the pain as an adult. I know he's not an easy man to get along with, but something also told me that that wasn't all.
"It hurt to not know how to help my own son and not knowing what seemed to have taken away the happiness he had as a child. I missed that little boy who would get into my garden and often trample my flowers when not watching his feet." She huffs a laugh, lacking all mirth. "I may have gotten after you for destroying things in your attempt to put them together again, but I loved all those times and missed that boy whenever I saw how lost you seemed.
"I saw the change in you the moment I came out of the public dock and that meant more to me than anything I could have ever imagined. At first I thought it may have been because you and your father had come to accept each other. That maybe the strife between you two had finally cooled down after so long, but I was wrong when I could still see the tension between you.
"I had hoped beyond all hope that you two could get along," she raises a hand to stop any attempts of him to speak, "and I know you try, both of you, but you two are too much alike and too different to be able to see a compromise." She takes a drink from her glass to wet her throat and Garrus knows she still has more to say, so he waits silently to let her continue.
"I'm not disappointed in the fact that you two haven't become closer, I could never be disappointed in you, but I was disappointed that the happiness seemed to be a façade. That the Spirits hadn't granted you the peace of mind you deserve." She looks up to his eyes with a soft smile, "But then I've spent the whole evening with you so far and I see now that it isn't a façade. Whatever, or whoever, you have found has seemed to accomplished what I never could and I can finally see you as I remember, the joyous little boy who saw the potential in the galaxy.
"That is why I don't care who it is or what they are. They make you happy and that is all that matters to me." Her smile becomes less somber and starts to show true mirth, "I wish I could thank them in person, but I'll settle with this."
His mother has always been the best at reading him, even better than himself, and to know that she can see the change he actually feels from his time with Jane leaves him stunned. "Thank you, mom, that…that means more than you think."
His mother chuckles, her deep vocals purring in love. "Just know that no matter what, I approve of this person. You tell me about them when you're ready, I will not force you…though you know I would get it out of you."
He snorts at her grin, "Yeah you would. You've always been able to get me to confess to everything, every time."
He does really want to tell his mother, but if he did she would certainly hear his vocals and know the extent of his connection to Jane, which is something he hasn't even been able to explain to himself.
How would he explain to his mother that even though his heart wants to take Jane as his bondmate, he doesn't even know if she feels the same? Would his mother even understand that humans aren't as simple? With her just proclaiming how glad she is to see him in this state, would it really be best to make her question if it'll last?
Not only that, but he's unsure if telling her anything about Jane would necessarily mean that it would just stay between them. He doesn't think his mother would purposefully tell his greatest secret to just anyone, but he doesn't know the extent of his parent's relationship and if they ever keep anything from each other. It wouldn't really be fair to his mother to force her to keep his lie away from his father.
It is because of that that Garrus accepts the out she gives him when she changes the subject to more mundane topics.
Their dinners come to the table as she shares ideas of what she wants to do with her last day on the Citadel. As she talks of shops she can't stand to miss out on he promises to take her, all the while considering her earlier statement of how he should take someone to a place like this.
Mom was definitely on to something with taking someone out to a place like this…he thinks between bites of his meal, Now to figure out a way to pull it off.