Chapter 7 - Reunion pt. 2

Amelia
December 6th, 2186

I awoke to sunlight streaming through the window, casting the reflection of the waves onto the ceiling of Garrus's bedroom. Under me was a very naked, very asleep turian who snored softly, his chest rising and falling and moving me as if I was a feather. Outside, I could hear the call of the bird-like creatures I saw yesterday as they prowled over the water for their next meal.

I raised my head, trying to gauge my surroundings without disturbing Garrus. On the slightest movement, I felt something between my legs. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that he was still out of his plates and inside me, not retracting after we fell asleep. Memories of our shared pleasure washed over me.

An idea popped into my head, and I lowered myself back onto Garrus's chest before slowly nibbling my way up to his mandible and biting lightly on the end of it. "Mmmmm…" The dual-toned voice sleepily said, "Morning already?" He raised his head, looking into my eyes, his navy blue meeting my emerald green.

I smirked at him, "Hey, big guy? You never retracted last night." I accompanied the statement with a little clench, alerting him to the fact.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…." He let out an embarrassed trill, trying to get up before I pushed him back down.

"Nuh-uh. You're staying right there. Consider this your... punishment." I raised myself back up before starting to move again rhythmically. Soft, contented sounds left my throat, matched by his equally content growls.

"Mmmmm," Garrus hummed, "I might have to be bad again soon."

Once Garrus shook off his grogginess and afterglow from the morning sex, he noticed the angry red bite mark on my shoulder, still weeping a small amount of blood down onto my bra. "Oh… Amelia… I am so sorry… I didn't mean to…."

I held a finger to his lip plates and slipped off of him, standing at the edge of the bed in naked glory, "I asked for it. I wanted it."

"Do you know what it means?"

"Of course I do. I'm not the only one capable of doing an extranet search on other species' customs. I know I'm bad with technology, but not that bad." I gave him a soft smile, "After I take a shower, I want your clan markings, if you'll let me."

After a pause, I gathered my clothes from the floor, "I would invite you into the shower with me, but I don't think we'd ever leave then." I sauntered away from him towards the bathroom, exaggerating my hip movements as I walked.

-0-

I stood under the shower spray, watching the steam rise around me. The shower was both higher pressure and higher temperature than I was used to, obviously suited for turian biology. The shower was on the coldest possible setting but was still pretty warm by my standards.

I inspect the damage from last night's conquests. The skin between my thighs was rubbed pretty raw, but not to the point of bleeding, the water revealed small scrapes on my back from where his talons gripped, and then there was the bite mark. I washed the dried blood off to inspect it; it was everything I wanted. Two rows of needle-like punctures sat in an oblong shape on my trapezius. I smiled to myself while running a hand over it.

Garrus

I headed downstairs and hopped into the other shower, standing under the hot spray for a few moments, marveling how well the last day had gone. I was reunited with my mate, had a wedding to plan, and all my work thus far as Primarch would soon bear fruit.

I finished and returned upstairs, catching Amelia as she emerged, fully naked in all her glory, save the towel wrapped around her forehead. I stared for a moment at the medley of blue and black bruises that ran up her chest, marring the otherwise fair skin tone. In her hand, she held a small object that looked like a clump of steel wool with a handle and regarded it with a confused look. "Garrus, what the hell is this?"

"Oh, it's a plate scrubber."

"Huh… I guess I never considered what bathing practices other species had." She moved to place it back in the shower before coming back, now using her hands to massage the towel in her hair. I stared at her, jaw and mandibles slack, drinking in her beautiful form. When she noticed him looking, she smirked at me and said, "Later big guy, you have to go be all responsible."

I hummed in disappointment before producing a small clay pot and a brush, motioning her to the chair in the corner of the room with a smile. She sat perfectly still on the chair as I dragged the brush along her cheeks and nose, tracing the familiar lines. Once I finished, she dropped the soldier persona, saying, "That tickles." She walked into the bathroom to inspect my work, calling, "Ok, I admit I didn't do as much research as I should've; what is next on the turian side of ceremonies?"

"Paperwork, and then some more paperwork."

"Man, you guys just love your paperwork, don't you." She teased.

Amelia

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face the entire ride to the Hierarchy building, and I kept reaching up and touching the paint on my cheek. I was giddy and had butterflies in my stomach, a feeling I hadn't felt since I was fourteen, going on my first date with my boyfriend. Contrary to what others might think, I wasn't made of steel. I didn't always stand on the pedestal of leadership and command through sheer force of will. I was just a human girl, and what human girl didn't dream of getting married? For the first time in a long time, I looked to the future with hope and happiness, not despair.

Once we walked into the building, my omnitool buzzed. I patted Garrus's hand, "I'll be right back; Jace wants to see me."

Jason smiled as I walked into his small office in the back of the main room, "Ame. I see you got the answers you came here for."

I pulled out a chair at the front of the desk and sat down, "Yes. And I am very happy with the answers."

"I met him before, you know? On Earth, a few days after the battle. He seems like a good man. I'm glad you found him again. If anyone deserves to be happy, it is you. But…," He cleared his throat, "That's not why I asked you to come. You said you wanted to retire from the military, but I had another option for you. Would you like to be the Alliance Ambassador to the Hierarchy? I'd be hard-pressed to find another human who understands them as you do or is willing to work with them so freely, but all that is just noise. I'm asking because I trust you."

"I need to talk with my husband about it," She smiled. Husband… I like the sound of that.

"Of course. I'd like your decision before I head back to Earth in a few days. I assume you won't be accompanying us?"

"No, I'll be staying here, but I'll be coming back soon. I have to get a wedding dress."

-0-

I walked back into the atrium of the building and spotted Garrus conversing with a young female turian wearing what looked like business attire, a tight white dress with a black jacket that ended above her waist. As she approached, the female turned and left, carrying a handful of datapads. "Who was that?" I asked, a bit of jealousy creeping into my words. I regretted it immediately, knowing that Garrus would never do something like that, "Sorry."

"My secretary." Garrus answered innocently, "Don't worry, Ame, you are the only one for me." He leaned over from his height, almost half a meter taller, to bring his forehead to mine. "Now, do you want to come to greet the other delegates with me?" I nodded, accepting his hand when he offered.

We proceeded outside, walking up to the landing area where a quarian frigate was landing. When the docking ramp lowered, three quarians followed by a geth unit walked down it, but two of the quarians weren't wearing their masks. As I studied the group further, I recognized two of the quarians. The first stood in a simple black suit, with purple wraps around her waist and one shoulder and a gold necklace. The other stood in a bright red suit with a white cloth draped around her shoulders and down to his chest, a white belt securing it. "Tali?"

The purple-suited quarian turned towards me, "Shepard!" As I reached my old friend, we embraced. For the first time, I saw what a quarian looked like. Tali's face was almost human in appearance, save for a few small details. Her skin was just as fair as mine, but there was a light violet hue instead of the pink glow. She had a similar nose and mouth as well. Her irises glowed an iridescent gold color and were surrounded by a blue ring. I could see black hair from under the suit hood. As our hug ended, Tali looked at Garrus, studying him from behind me, "Keelah, Garrus!" She walked past me to embrace him as well.

I now regarded the other unmasked quarian. Kal just gave me a quick nod and said, "Ma'am." He had a very similar appearance to Tali, except his hair was more white and was shorn very short. He also had a deeper purple ring surrounding his irises.

"Kal." I offered him a hand to shake, which he took gratefully. "Good to see you're still alive and kicking. Garrus and Tali walked up next to me and Kal, and I turned my attention back to Tali, "No mask?"

"Oh, no, I took it off on Rannoch a week ago, thanks to the Geth's help to bolster our immune systems. According to my doctor, any diseases I'm likely to catch on Palaven wouldn't like my body. Too cold." The young quarian beamed at them, "Speaking of the geth, I'd like you to meet Emissary." Tali gestured to the geth unit, who hadn't moved a synthetic muscle after reaching the bottom of the ramp.

Emissary's eye flap adjusted a few times before it spoke, "Vakarian-Primarch, Shepard-Commander, I am known as Emissary. I am the unit designated to represent the Geth Collective at this summit. Pleased to meet you." We both nod at the geth.

"Tali, I take it you're the representative for the quarians?" Garrus asked.

"Yes. When the Migrant Fleet returned to Rannoch after Earth, the Conclave voted to abolish the admiralty system. They decided to elect one Keelai, and it was me."

Garrus

Over the next few hours, I played usher as representatives from every species, including the Krogan, with Wrex and Bakara arriving on a Geth dropship of all things. Throughout the whole process, Amelia stood by my side with a contented smile on her face. Spirits, I love this woman, I thought as we made our way back to the assembly hall.

As we walked into the room, Amelia told him she was headed over to the human delegates. I continued to the stage to stand before the podium. The room fell silent, waiting to hear what I had to say.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming. The war is over, and the Reapers have been defeated. Against all odds and in the face of the greatest threat we have ever faced, we survived. We suffered many losses, and the scars left on the galaxy will take generations to heal, but we won. This victory belongs to each of us. Every man, every woman, every child. Every civilization, on every world."

I looked around the room at the nodding heads. "Now, as we take our first steps to restore what was lost, we must remember what it took to win. This wasn't a victory by a single fleet, a single army, or even a single species. If this war has taught us anything, it is that no matter how strong we are alone, it pales in comparison to how strong we are together, and if we can discard our grievances long enough to stop something as powerful as the Reapers, imagine what we can achieve now. It will take time, but the scars can be healed. Together we can build a future greater than any of us could imagine. That future is owed to those who fought and died alongside us, a future that many won't see."

"A month ago, I outlined the future of the Hierarchy, and out of the spirit of cooperation, I have invited you all today. Power was too homogenized, and that homogenization led to our leaders ignoring the threat until it was too late. That cannot happen again. Every race can and should be free to work with any other of their own volition. Today, the Hierarchy opens its arms in cooperation so that each of you may build an embassy here in Cipritine, and in turn, we build one on your homeworlds to link these strong bonds the war created. Thank you."

Amelia walked over as I left the stage, interlacing her fingers with mine. "How'd I do?" I asked quietly.

"I'd vote for you." She replied with a smile.