Chapter 6 - Reunion pt. 1

Amelia
November 21st, 2186

"Don't push yourself, Shepard!" Miranda warned me as I tried to stand up out of my wheelchair. Ignoring her warnings, I did exactly that and immediately crumpled. Miranda quickly caught me, however, and guided me back into the chair. In the end, only my pride was damaged.

"Dammit!" I shouted frustratedly, smacking my good arm on the chair. "I don't get it… Why can't I stand!"

"Two weeks ago, your legs looked more like powder than bone, be happy you've progressed this far. The Osseous Generator can only do so much! And your muscles have atrophied. Even when your bones heal, it will take time before you can walk normally again."

I did my best to pout, crossing my good arm over the one in the sling and sinking deeper into the wheelchair, "Why didn't this happen at Lazarus station then?"

"Your legs weren't broken in seventeen places each! Your recovery will take time. Hell, I'm surprised you've progressed this far in such little time. Normally it'd take months for your body to heal."

I just let out a huff in response, blowing a wayward strand of hair from in front of my eye.

-0-

After leaving my checkup with Miranda, I wheeled to Jason's office. As I rolled through the door, the Prime Minister looked up and gave me a warm smile. "Amelia! How are you today? How is the recovery going?"

"Slow… But we're getting there. I hope I can be out of this chair by the time we head to Palaven." Jason told me about the upcoming summit on Palaven and asked me to come along.

"We? So you've decided to come?"

"Yes, but there is one thing… I came here today to resign."

That caused Jason to stop typing at his terminal and look up at her, "Why? The Alliance is your career, your life…."

I swallowed past the lump that was forming in my throat and took a deep breath, "I know… But… Anderson gave me a few things to think about before he died. He said his only regret was not spending more time with those he loved. I'm not gonna make the same mistake… And you can only take so much death before you've reached your limit."

Jason sighed before saying, "I understand. I can't say no if that is what you want. But, if you ever want to return, there will always be a spot for you, Amelia."

"Thanks, Jace."

-0-

December 5th, 2186

I rolled over in my bunk, unable to sleep, my mind racing with scenarios of what happened when I reached Palaven. I had been sick to my stomach for the last four weeks about meeting with Garrus again. Our relationship since hunting Saren had been great, and I loved him more than anything else in the galaxy, but I didn't know if he felt the same way. Even though our relationship had started three years before, we had only spent a handful of nights together, and they weren't exactly romantic, more like stress-relieving rendezvous—more time spent in the sheets than talking.

Of course, 'I love yous' and other affectionate words were exchanged, but did those really mean anything? God dammit, I thought, breaking free of that chain of thought. I was always one to overthink and get anxious, so I had always tried to be quick and decisive, but now there was no problem to solve, no spot in the galaxy imploding to distract me. It was just me and my thoughts. I decided to be with Garrus, but I'd give him ample escape routes.

After a few more minutes of sleeplessness, I gave up and went to walk around the ship. We had left Earth three days prior, had just entered the Trebia system a few hours earlier, and were making our final approach to Palaven.

I made her way to the observation deck to watch as they flew closer. Out of the window, I saw a dormant Reaper floating just above the planet, still menacing even without any life inside. I shuddered, looking at it; even if they were all destroyed, they were still dangerous. Quickly it faded from my view as we entered the atmosphere proper.

Palaven was a sight to behold. I gazed at the blueish silver of the sky as steel grey storm clouds rumbled in the distance. Large raptors flew in the wind, swooping around the sky, their small plates gleaming in the light of Trebia. The ground was a uniform clay color, baked into a solid surface by the star, with little silvery green plants sprouting from it. I scanned the ground until it met the water, where the hard clay turned more sandy as the water lazily lapped the shore. A palm tree-like fauna was near the water, towering above the ground.

As we flew towards the city, I could see clear scars of the War. The once uniform city was decimated. Piles of rubble stood where once proud, angular skyscrapers stood. Debris was scattered everywhere, from pieces of Hierarchy Navy vessels to Reaper destroyers lying flat on their belly, to the leg of one Reaper dreadnought, buried deep into the concrete sidewalk. From what was left, I could see how it represented the turian mindset. Everything was squared off, perfectly spaced, and immaculately organized. The streets all ran in a perfect grid fashion. Even the citizens below all walked in the same direction down the sidewalks. It definitely wasn't the chaos of a city on Earth or a lazy sprawl of a colony world, that's for sure. A few moments later, they cleared the far edge of the city and began their final descent to the spaceport, where I could see ships of all models coming and leaving.

As soon as the ship touched down, I quickly exited the observation lounge and made my way to the gangway, eager to disembark.

Garrus

A cold hand closed around my heart as I walked to greet the delegation from Earth. Standing there, next to Prime Minister Stone, was Amelia. Was it really her, or had my nightmares decided they needed to haunt my waking hours too? She stood beside the other humans, chatting amicably, unaware of my presence. The hand squeezed tighter, and my heart started beating so fast I feared it might escape my chest. I stopped walking, causing Victus to pause to see what was wrong. The aging General followed my sightline. "Is she really there, Victus?" I questioned, mandibles rattling.

Victus just raised a brow plate at me, clearly conveying that he wanted an explanation later, but said, "Yes, she is really there." All the weight suddenly lifted from my chest, and I continued to meet the group.

"Prime Minister, good to see you again!" Garrus said boisterously, offering the man my hand. "Let me show you to your rooms." I turned to Shepard, who gave me a light smile. It was meek, as if she was afraid. The icy hand came back, squeezing my heart even harder than before. Spirits… Something is wrong, I thought, but I shoved it into the back of my mind. Let me take care of my duty first; then, I can figure out why.

It took a few minutes to lead Stone and his advisors into their rooms in the Hierarchy government building nearest the spaceport. Ok, now I can figure out what is going on… I looked around for Shepard, spotting her on the balcony, leaning over the railing. "Excuse me for a moment," I said politely before walking out onto the balcony. "Hey."

Amelia

"Hey." A dual-toned voice washed over me from behind, and Garrus walked up to stand next to me, leaning on the railing beside me.

"Hey," I said back. We stood in companionable silence for a moment before turning towards each other and speaking simultaneously.

"I wanted to…."

"Why didn't you…."

"Go ahead, you first," I said, my eyes looking down and away from him, finding a spot on the ground became very interesting. I crossed one ankle over the other, rubbing the toe of my boot into the balcony nervously.

"Why didn't you call me?" The hurt was evident in his voice, making me feel guilty instantly.

"I… I wanted to… I needed to see you again so we could have this conversation in person."

Garrus trilled in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"I know we said things to each other when we were together, but…." I started, and Garrus looked like the entire planet had just entered a new Ice Age. "I wanted to tell you that I don't hold you to any of them. I want to give you an escape route."

Garrus just regarded me while his mandibles hung limply out to either side. The look panicked me, so I started stammering, "Look… I love you and… and... I know what I want… but… I won't hold you to what you said in the moment, during stress relief." Tears threatened to start spilling out of my eyes, but I forced them back, putting on my Commander mask, and my face became devoid of emotion. "So if you want to go back to just a professional relationship, I understand..."

Garrus interrupted me with his hand, "Amelia… You're an idiot." My head snapped up, my face holding a look of utter surprise mixed with a little anger. "I have loved you since we met. First, as the force-of-nature soldier who didn't take shit from anyone, and then, as the compassionate person who always held a hand out for whatever friend was in need, and after, as the person who saved my life more times than I can count."

He paused just long enough to close the distance between us, taking my hands into his, and resting his forehead against mine, "I meant every word I said to you and so much more. There isn't one damned person in the whole galaxy that I would rather spend the rest of my life with than you."

I kissed him, long and deep, not breaking from it until I was out of breath, "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I've thought about every waking moment of the last month and how you'd say you wanted something closer to home…"

Garrus cut me off again, "Amelia… You are my home. I'd happily lose all of this," He motioned his hands around, "To be with you."

He released my hands to reach into his pocket. When it reemerged, he was holding a small slate ring that looked as if it was made out of carbon fiber and platinum, with a tiny sapphire of Vakarian blue in the jewel enclosure. "I meant to do this on the Normandy but never had the courage." He backed up half a step and dropped onto one knee, "Amelia Shepard, will you marry me?"

I clapped my hands over my mouth and nose, letting out a few half-sob half-laughs, and a few tears streamed out of my eyes and down my fingers. "Yes!" I shouted, throwing my arms around his neck.

Garrus

Amelia whistled as she stepped out of the aircar I had just landed, "Wow… this is a nice house." The house in question was built into the side of the rocky cliff overlooking the water on the outskirts of Cipritine, with the entire side that faced the ocean made of glass. We made our way into the house, and Amelia walked up the marble staircase to look out at the water, illuminated by the dual moons of Palaven, Manae and Nanus. "Helluva view…," She said as I joined her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

"Yea… but only when you're here."

Amelia shuddered, her breath becoming deeper and quicker. "Bedroom. Where?" I merely laughed and led her by the hand into my, no- our bedroom. As soon as we entered the room, she pushed me back onto the bed. She took off her pants and shirt before removing mine and then moved over me, kneeling between my knees. She kissed each plate on my legs, slowly working her way up.

It wasn't long before I felt my plates retracting, and the object of Amelia's mission revealed itself, standing tall, throbbing, and ready. She drew her body up to sit on her legs, biting her lower lip with a smirk on her face. Without a word, she bent back over, placing one of her hands on my cock, drawing her tongue along the bottom. I could only let out a strangled sound as she did it. "Oh? Does that feel good?" She said, trying to sound surprised, but it was overwhelmed by the need and arousal in her voice. She smiled at my appearance, lying back on the bed, arms straight along my sides, talons gripping the bed, my mandibles as far apart as they could be, and a high-pitched groan coming from my open mouth.

Once again, she lowered her mouth over me, her tongue doing a lap around my tip. She placed her other hand on top of the first and grabbed, each hand applying a slight amount of pressure while they moved up and down, rotating as they went. More choked moans came from my mouth.

She placed her mouth back over the tip, wrapping her lips over the top. As she worked, the moans got progressively louder until finally, I regained enough sense to say, "If you don't stop, I'm gonna…." She cut him off with a quick flick of her tongue over my most sensitive part, immediately causing me to release.

I laid there, hands clenching and unclenching the sheets, breathing quickly. Amelia sat back on her knees again and exaggeratedly licked her lips. "You're bad, Ame…."

"Yea. But you like it this way." She scooted her body farther up, so now her entrance was directly over me, but there was still a traitorous piece of cloth separating them. She grabbed my hand and placed a finger inside her underwear, showing me how wet she was. The scent of her arousal washed over my nostrils, bringing a sense of home.

"These have to go," I stated matter-of-factly before unceremoniously cutting away the cloth with my talons. Amelia feigned anger and pounded on my chest lightly before raising herself above me. She used one of her deft hands to position me below her before sinking slowly, and I was finally in her.

At the same time, I shouted, "Oh spirits!" and she moaned. She inched down slowly, her muscles clenching me tightly as she went. At first, it seemed as if her channel was too tight, but eventually, she fully sheathed me. She leaned forward over me, her hands going behind my head to press on the sensitive spot below my fringe while she started to move up and down. I could feel another orgasm building as her walls clenched and unclenched more frequently.

As she was about to release, she yelled, "Mark me, Garrus!" Without a second thought, I leaned my head forward and bit down on the soft tissue at the base of her neck. The sudden shock of pain caused her to orgasm, and she squeezed very tightly on me, which caused me to spill in turn.

In the aftershock of our bonding, Shepard lay on my chest and placed her head on my shoulder. My mandible slowly moved back and forth through her hair as we drifted off to a nightmare-free sleep.