The shopping plaza in the 2nd district of the Presidium was home to so many storefronts it could make a person's head spin: weapons suppliers, armories, book stores, pet stores, a whole store just for hand creams. It was here that Garrus and Shepard decided to pay a visit after two and a half days holed up in his apartment.
Shepard, to Garrus' eternal embarrassment, was looking worse for the wear for the time they had spent together: her body was chafed where he'd rubbed against it and his lotion seemed to help only temporarily; he had, in the heat of things, dragged his talons across her back, which she had claimed felt good in the moment, but he remained skeptical; she also sported a few bruises on her neck and shoulders where he'd nipped too hard with his lips, which she claimed was not any different than something humans called a 'hickey'. She'd covered the bruises with some sort of powder she'd brought in her bag, but she couldn't hide the way she walked, an almost imperceptible limp. Maybe they had overdone it; Shepard was a strong woman, but she was still a human and Garrus was still a turian. They would have to figure out a workaround to some of the biological barriers they were slowly discovering. It certainly seemed worth it, but Garrus wasn't the one limping through the Presidium.
"You're sure you're okay?" he asked her as they browsed through the shops.
"Garrus, I'm fine," Shepard growled. "I'll get some of the lotion Karin recommended for me. And it's not like a guy's never dragged his nails across my back. Yours are just a little sharper…"
"Maybe I can file them down," Garrus suggested. "Or…wear my gloves…"
"Don't wear your gloves. We'll figure it out. It's still new." She patted his shoulder reassuringly.
They moved along down the row of shops until they heard a low, rumbling voice calling out to them.
"Shepard! You're walking like you rode a thresher maw." Wrex approached them from the other side of the shops. He turned to Garrus, grinning. "Is this your handiwork?"
Garrus sighed, "Hello, Wrex."
"Where have you two been? Not that I really need to ask," Wrex chuckled. "Liara's been asking after you. Have you checked your extranet messages at all?"
"I've barely touched my omni-tool," Shepard sighed. She brought up her messages quickly. Garrus had been ignoring his as well, though he'd seen the blinking light indicating he had new ones. He figured if it was urgent enough, whoever was trying to reach him would call.
"I'm headed out of here tomorrow," Wrex told them. "Picking up a few supplies. There's a cargo ship heading past Tuchanka, so they agreed to send me down in a shuttle when they pass. Didn't come cheap though."
"Good luck on Tuchanka, Wrex. I think if anyone can bring a group as bull-headed as the krogan together, it would be you," Garrus said.
"Bull-headed? This coming from a turian," Wrex laughed.
Shepard groaned next to them, not paying attention. "I've got about twenty messages from Udina about possible geth sightings in the traverse. Liara messaged twice to see what we were up to. I have one very incomprehensible message from Tali the night we went to Purgatory…I think she was misspelling a lot because the translator can't pick up half of it. Kaidan also messaged that night to ask if quarians could throw up inside their suits and what he should do if Tali did that…followed by a message ten minutes later that just says 'never mind'. And finally, a message from Anderson marked from today saying the Alliance wants the Normandy to pursue and eliminate any remaining geth. What a waste of time. We should be looking for Reapers!"
"They're probably just trying to keep you busy while they figure out what to do about the reapers," Garrus suggested. "I'm sure the Council will send down orders when they're ready." He doubted it even as he said it.
"You'll make quick work of the geth," Wrex said.
"Yeah, I know." Shepard folded her arms. "But it seems like busywork. A lot of wasted travel time and short missions."
"Well, you've got this one to keep you busy during the travel." Wrex nodded to Garrus.
"Yeah," Shepard laughed. "But he's not touching me for at least a week. I need to recover from this weekend."
"If you need to recover, you were doing things right. That's what the krogan say, anyway. Well, Shepard, I've got to pick up more supplies before I leave." Wrex grabbed her head and bumped his against it, leaving her with a dazed look. "You take care of yourself. And keep the turian alive. Not many turians out there I can call my friend."
"Shepard keep me alive?" Garrus asked. "I think it'll be the other way around."
"Either way. You take care of yourself too, Garrus." He smashed his head against Garrus' skull, which made his ears ring. "So long. Don't be afraid to stop in and visit me in Tuchanka. But you might want to wait a while. I don't think the krogan would be too welcoming to a turian or a human just yet."
"Bye, Wrex," Garrus said. "Take care of yourself too."
He waved a hand as he walked away.
"Now who are we going to send plowing into geth?" Shepard laughed.
"You know what? I might even miss him when he's gone."
They continued on past the shops until Shepard stopped at an armory to investigate some chest plating. Garrus leaned against the wall and read through his extranet messages while she inspected the armor.
There were a few messages from friends back home and in C-sec who'd seen him on the news, and a message from Chellick asking if Garrus was interested in returning to C-sec. He opened a message from his sister saying that their mother had been in good enough spirits to watch the ceremony when it aired, that she'd 'never been prouder of her son', and asking Garrus to visit if he could. He wasn't sure when a trip to Palaven would be feasible; it was the opposite direction from where they were headed next, but he guessed that Shepard wouldn't mind an unscheduled stop on the way back. He would visit then, perhaps.
The last message he had was from his father; a bid to get him to join C-sec again, though he acknowledged that Garrus would likely want to stay on with the Normandy, followed by a three-paragraph rant about the 'dangerous lure' of Spectres, the futility of romantic relationships with humans, and his desire to see his son 'settle down into a respectable job with a respectable family'.
Garrus was too irritated to respond, so he closed the message and crossed his arms. Shepard walked away from the armory looking as annoyed as Garrus felt.
"Price gouging. He wanted twenty-thousand credits for that chest plate. I told him where he could stick it…what's wrong?" She seemed to suddenly notice that he was upset.
"It's nothing," he shrugged. "My dad sent me a message about C-sec. He wants me to go back, but I'd rather stay with the Normandy."
"Is that all it said?"
"There may have been some choice words about you. It doesn't matter. Why don't we go and find Liara?" he suggested.
"Garrus, do you want to talk about it?"
"I really don't."
She nodded. "Okay. But I'm here if you change your mind. I'll call Liara and see where she's at."
Garrus was grateful that Shepard didn't press the issue. He didn't want to talk about his family problems. It was one of the few things he'd rarely discussed with her; he'd never once told her about how sick his mother was. All other topics of conversation seemed fair game up on the observation deck, but he felt like his personal issues would only be a burden on the already busy commander.
Shepard called Liara, who it turned out was down in Zakera ward doing some shopping of her own, but they agreed to meet later in the evening for dinner. They had the rest of the day to themselves, it seemed.
"So," Garrus asked. "How soon do they want us out fighting geth?"
"As soon as the Normandy's repairs are finished. I got word from Joker that she should be ready in another day or so and then I guess we just…explore the traverse, investigate any geth sightings. I know we're experienced in fighting with them, but I still think some other team could…"
"Maybe we'll find something on the Reapers while we're out there," Garrus suggested. "The geth seem to revere them. It can't hurt."
"Yeah, maybe you're right. So what should we do with the rest of our day?"
Garrus thought for a moment. "Well, going back to my apartment is out, I guess."
"Sorry, but yes," she winced.
"Have you ever been to the park in the 8th district?"
"No," she shook her head. "There's a lot of the Citadel I haven't seen."
He smiled. "Well then follow me."
The 8th district park was not as stunning in its beauty as the hanging gardens had been, but it was a quaint green space for people to enjoy, as though they were really on a planet rather than a massive space station. Families sat having picnics together, children ran around shouting and playing, lovers lay cuddling together beneath trees; the whole place felt like a warm summer afternoon back on Mindoir. It made Shepard feel calm.
She and Garrus took a seat at the base of a tree and sat for a while, observing the people around them. It was nice to be able to enjoy the silence and just observe the life of the Citadel, still flourishing despite the destruction and havoc that had occurred only days before. As much as Shepard loved the peace and relaxation, though, she found she was already missing life aboard the Normandy. There was a different kind of pleasure in watching the stars fly by out in endless space. She couldn't imagine herself on shore leave for too long of a time.
After a while, two little children, not older than six or seven, came running excitedly up to Shepard and Garrus where they sat. It was a human and a turian, the human holding a small sphere that they had been playing with earlier.
"Wow!" The human boy exclaimed. "Are you…are you Commander Shepard?"
Shepard smiled. "I am."
"My dad says you saved the whole Citadel," the turian boy chimed in. He was an awkward, gangly looking thing, his mandibles almost too large for the rest of him.
"Well, I had some help," she told him. "My friend Garrus here also saved the Citadel."
"Wow!" Both boys exclaimed.
"How many geth did you shoot?"
"Do they really bleed oil?"
"My dad says when I grow up I could be an Alliance soldier like you!"
Garrus leaned forward, mandibles flaring, "Commander Shepard took out three hundred whole geth. All by herself!"
"Whoa! Really?"
"Yes, but look, there's more coming over that ridge!" Garrus pointed dramatically.
The two boys spun around, arms at the ready, pretending they were holding guns
"Where are they?"
"We'll save you, commander Shepard."
Shepard watched the scene unfold with a grin.
"Oh no!" Garrus clasped his side. "One of them got me! Oh…Shepard…I'm fading fast…" he clutched at her arm and shoulder and then slumped over into her lap, tongue lolling out of his mouth, pretending to be dead.
"We have to avenge him!" The turian boy yelled.
The two boys ran around pretending to fire on the imaginary geth. Garrus sat up with a grin and watched them. Shepard nudged him, smiling, and they sat together in silence while the boys continued playing at war. When they had defeated all of the imaginary geth, they came running back up to them.
"All the geth are destroyed, commander!" the human boy reported.
"Good job!" Shepard commended them. "You boys deserve an award. Are your parents here? I should tell them how brave you were."
"My mom is here," the turian said. "But she doesn't know I'm playing with Jake. We're not really supposed to play together."
"Why's that?" Garrus asked.
"My dad says that turians are bad…that they killed my grandpa and I'm not allow to play with any." The human boy frowned.
"Well, you can tell your dad that if he wants you to be like commander Shepard, you have to be best friends with a turian," Shepard told them. "I couldn't have saved the Citadel without Garrus. How can you save the Citadel in the future without your friend?"
The two boys smiled. "Yeah! Thanks, commander Shepard!"
"Now go have fun. Try not to run into any geth!"
They ran off, throwing their sphere back and forth, disappearing beyond the ridge. Shepard turned to Garrus.
"You're cute with kids," she told him.
"Am I?" Garrus shrugged. "I just think they deserve to have fun and be kids. It's sad they have to know about the destruction that happened here. I wish I could protect them from having to know about war. My dad would never answer my questions about the Relay 314 incident, not until I got older; he wanted to shield me from those things while I was young."
"Really? That's kind of surprising considering how military-focused turian culture seems to be."
"Well, everyone has to serve. But turians also believe that children should be allowed to grow and learn protected by society. By having to serve when you're older, you learn about war, but it also ensures that there's a large portion of the populace protecting children from ever having to know about the atrocities that happen. I know it's not as simple on other planets and in other cultures, but it's something I appreciate about mine."
"I haven't seen a lot of turian kids," Shepard said. "They're cute. All legs and mandibles."
"Human children seem evolutionarily inefficient," Garrus snorted. "They have no means of self-protection. They can't even lift their heads on their own when they're tiny. It makes no sense. A turian baby can walk after a week."
Shepard shrugged. "Obviously, we managed okay."
"You did anyway." He nudged her.
She would have liked to rest her head on his shoulder, to cuddle up with him as the other couples in the park were doing. But they weren't a couple, and it was too public a place to be affectionate, so she leaned back against the tree and watched the people around her.
She hadn't ever imagined feeling this way about a turian.
A/N: Thanks so much to all who have been reading! We're getting really close to the ME2 timeline. Not really a spoiler, but I won't be covering Garrus' time in Omega on its own, though I may eventually write a companion piece for that, so things will dive right into ME2 soon!