Dear Mom,
I miss you. How is life on the Berlin? I hope everyone is well. I hope Benny and Drew are behaving themselves. I know how restless being on a star ship can make a child. Of course I've always found solace in my books. I hope you're well. How am I? Well, I'm doing alright on my first command. I'm honored to be given such an opportunity.
There's a man I'm seeing. I think I'd like for you to meet him. He's this handsome rogue cop I picked up from the Citadel. You'd love him. He has an obsession with solving mysteries. He's my best guy. I can depend on him for anything. He takes good care of me, so you don't have anything to worry about me, not that it will stop you.
We'll be in Argos Rho, the Hydra system if you want to bring the ship by. I'm sending a team down to survey Metgos. I'll be staying aboard with my guy friend if you want to come have lunch or something.
Much love, Belial XOXO
I sent out the transmission. It was on my second draft when I realized I didn't know how to break to her that the man I was seeing was an alien. I feared she would be hurt by it. I was beginning to see why everyone tried to warn me away from this. I didn't want to hurt my mother. My highest hope was that she would be understanding.
I alerted Garrus of my plans to have mom stop by. We were excited to have time off together. We sat in the Mess hall as we waited to hear back from my mom, discussing our books so far.
"So far the Grimager crew is enduring a plasma storm and they've lost their way. I haven't had a lot of time to get much further than that," I mentioned.
"It's a true story. The Grimager is one of the greatest ship lost at space stories. The survivors reciliations were heartbreaking," he revealed how the story touched him.
"Why would you recommend something so sad to me?" I pondered curiously.
"Because no matter what happened the crew tried to find a way out of it. It's inspiring," he argued.
"It sounds hopeless to me," I expressed my lack of interest.
"That book was my favorite, growing up. It means a lot to me that you're giving it a go," he voiced his appreciation towards me.
"You must have had a depressing childhood," I accused him.
He laughed at my accusation. "I just think it's normal where I'm from. The book you got me, from what I can tell is very whimsical and light hearted. It suggests that Earth children grow up sheltered. Is that a good determination to draw?" he asked.
"I never really thought of it like that. I thought all children needed protecting," I voiced my opinion on the matter.
"I'd say this has been an interesting exchange. So far I've been introduced the main character. She's a migrant citizen who feels out of place. Her and her father left the city for a smaller town with a small way of thinking. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me," he looked to me for guidance.
"It's incredibly common for Humans to move all around the world."
"What exactly are they looking for?" he interrupted.
"We're all looking for something, peace, happiness, or a simple change of scenery," I pointed out.
"When Turians settle somewhere they settle their family for generations. They only move where their work takes them," he brought up.
"I guess we're more different than we initially thought," I admitted.
"It's not too late to quit while you're ahead," he encouraged me to leave.
"Are you kidding? My mom is on her way over here to meet you," I trailed off.
"I guess there's no getting out of it then," he kidded with me. "What's the matter? You seem uncertain about this," he observed my face.
I shook my head. "I'm sure it will be fine. My mom has always been accepting of my decisions," I tried to reassure him.
"You don't know how she will react. The concept of dating alien races is fresh to your people. I imagine she doesn't even know what she'd think about it. That has to have you pretty nervous," he pressed me.
"I just hope she doesn't say anything embarrassing," the idea did indeed rack my nerves.
"Don't worry about it. I won't be offended," he took my tiny hands into his large claws.
"You've been so mature about all of this. I can't thank you enough for that," I looked into his eyes.
He smiled and said, "We're in this together." I was full of anticipation until my mother's ship arrived.
"Mrs. Sheppard is here, Commander," Joker called me over the comn system.
"You ready?" I asked Garrus.
"I think I should be the one asking you that," he joked about my transparent emotions.
I took a deep breath and led the way to the cockpit. "Are you taking him with you?" Joker made light of my situation. "Oh shit. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall," he teased me.
"Moreau, you're not helping," I took a breath before entering sanitation.
"Good luck," he encouraged us. We stepped through sanitation for a brief moment of privacy.
"Belial, you know this woman, right?" Gurrus made light.
"Of course I know her. She's my mother," I attempted to convince myself.
"Maybe you should try relaxing a little," he suggested.
"I know, I know," him telling me didn't make it any easier. The sanitation doors opened and allowed us access to the Berlin cockpit. To my great horror, mom was standing at the door waiting for us.
"Surprise!" despite my apprehension, she was elated to see me. She threw her arms around me so tight. It was like I was a child again and that's all it took to calm my nerves. Her perfume was as I always remembered. If this was the same person from my childhood why was I so nervous? I thought about the letters I tried to write and how they each excluded one very important detail about the man in question. She probably had no idea who he even was or what he was doing here.
Garrus made note of the various similarities. She had brown eyes instead of green. Her hair was as obsidian as mine, but with hints of silver in it. I had her nose and lips. He thought maybe in her prime she might have been as vibrant as me. He was braver than I was. "Mrs. Sheppard, it's nice to meet you," he said as a finance would to his mother in law.
It dawned on me to introduce the two of them, "Mom this is Garrus, he is my weapons officer," I introduced him in a foolishly formal fashion.
"It's nice to meet you. I understand my daughter works closely with other humanoid races. That must be awfully interesting. For you especially, serving on a Human vessel. You are?-" she allowed him to fill in the blank.
"Turian, ma'am. Our people fought in a war decades ago," he reminded her.
"Ah, yes. Your people's diplomacy leaves a lot to be desired," she said frankly.
"I think we could agree on that," he gave her the upper-hand.
"Well you guys must be hungry. I have lunch prepared in my quarters. Maybe later we could show Garrus what life is like on a generation ship of Humans. My daughter's past is all right here on this ship. All of her friends and family. There's a lot of people to get to know and plenty of recreation if you have the time," she invited him to stay a while. She walked us back to her quarters. "When was your new friend planning on showing up?" she attempted to be modest in Garrus' presence. She was obviously confused about why he was here to my absolute horror.
"Mom, Garrus is my new friend," I put into her words.
"Oh?" she looked him up and down a few times before she fainted on the floor.
"Mom!" I rushed to pick her up off the floor.
"You didn't tell her," Garrus found the whole thing amusing. "It wasn't as easy as you thought it would be, was it?" he rubbed it in.
"I was afraid. I didn't know what to say or what to expect," I admitted to him with my mother limp in my arms.
"Being afraid of what she'll think doesn't mean you're ashamed of me. I'm close to my mother and sister in a similar fashion. I'm also afraid of what they'll think. Do you understand now? Why I haven't said anything to them. Please say you understand, so I know I didn't hurt you," he pleaded with me.
"I'm not hurt by it," I let him help me get my mom inside of her room. We set her down on her bed. "This doesn't mean I want to stop trying," I looked to him for reassurance.
"Of course. I don't think anything can stop you. I just hope you've learned not to have high expectations. Our families, the crew they're all just people. You can't expect for them to go along perfectly with your choices. Something I've learned from doing as I pleased," I digested what he was saying in pause. "Don't worry, Belial. I'll make this right," he volunteered to sit with her. I stayed at first. When he insisted he could watch her I left in search of some old friends of mine.
"Demon girl," a familiar voice approached me from behind in the Mess hall.
"That can't be, Levi?" I turned around and there he was like an old friend.
"I heard you was the Commander of a ship called the Normandy and we were docking in the afternoon. It's not like you to just have us over," he set down across from me.
"There was someone special I wanted her to meet, and it didn't go very well," I filled him in.
"I'm confused. Girl friend, boy friend?" he fished for context.
"Boy friend."
"I don't get it. So what's the problem then?" he was perplexed.
"He's Turian," I admitted.
"You mean like one of those dinosaur looking fellas who used to shoot at us for going too far in space? Girl, I knew you were always a little freak, but this takes the cake," he teased me.
"Shut up! Don't you have somewhere else to be," I tried to get him to leave.
"So how did the Captain react?" he tried to get me to finish my story.
"She fainted," I was reluctant to disclose.
"You brought an alien boyfriend home and your mom fainted," he laughed at me.
"Please go away," I turned my body around to ignore him.
"You know, I'm not even surprised. You were always strange, growing up," he just smiled, the same Levi I've always known.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" I joked with him, but it was nice to earn the approval of an old friend.
Garrus sat patiently waiting for my mother to stir. When she slept she looked a lot like me. It made him feel especially protective of her. He thought about what he'd say to her when she woke up. He gave me his word that he'd smooth things over, but what if he couldn't? He had become engrossed in his thoughts when she began to stir.
"Can I get you anything?" he offered.
"Ugh. There's a towel by the sink. Can you wet that for me?" she asked him.
"Yes ma'am," he grabbed her little white hand towel, ran cold water over it, wrung it out, and brought it to her.
"Thank you," she sat up on her bed.
"Can I get you anything else? Some tea?"
"That'd be nice," she held her towel on the side of her head that hit the floor when she fell. When he brought her tea back she asked him, "You're still here?" she sounded impressed. He supposed Humans weren't used to Turian chivalry.
"I came here to meet you, maybe learn a little about where Belial comes from," he smiled nervously, almost forgetting to pay his matriarch the courtesy of eye contact. He sat back down in his chair.
"You want my approval," she accused him as she sipped her tea.
"That too," he admitted.
"Why do you think she didn't tell me ahead of time? She enjoys playing such cruel jokes on me. You think she was worried I would disapprove of you?" she turned to him for his opinion.
"She did mention it, but we're both apprehensive about turning ourselves into the mercy of our families," he disclosed.
"Come closer. Let me get a better look at you," she beckoned him. Garrus brought his chair over to her bedside. "You are such a strange looking creature," she took hold of his face. "My daughter always liked such strange things," she smiled as she released him.
"I've noticed she can be rather naïve about dating outside of her species. She always starts out with such high hopes for how things will turn out," he made an observation.
"You don't sound so sure yourself," she accused him.
"I try to have more realistic expectations. I am familiar with how these sorts of relationships typically end," he came off rather pessimistic.
"Don't you have any faith in yourselves?" she stung as only mothers could.
"I just know how my family is," Garrus added.
"We can't let what our families think effect our happiness. Imagine what a sad miserable place that would be. Look," she pulled up my letter to her and showed it to him.
He smiled, "she described me without giving anything away."
"She was always such a tricky child. I know if she was willing to go this far she must be serious about you," she made an observation of her own.
"You don't take issue with me seeing her?" he was surprised.
"I never would have expected a strange man from another planet, but that's my daughter for you. If that's what she wants I'll take the time to get to know you. You seem like a nice young man," she gave him the benefit of a doubt. "She mentioned you met at the Citadel. How long have the two of you been seeing each other?"
"Not all that long. Around a week," it sounded foolish to him out loud.
"Just one week and you're already so serious," there was a tone of skepticism in her voice.
"Normally I wouldn't move as fast, but our circumstances were somewhat special. I had to choose between her and my father very early on. Not much contest, but when you put that much of yourself into someone it takes a toll on you. I can't very well imagine a life without her," he recalled with a deep sense of sentimentality.
"It sounds like you love her," she made an observation.
"Love her? Belial," he thought about it.
"Have you told her?" she asked.
"I don't think we've really been together long enough for that," he tried to remain sensible.
"I hope you don't plan on waiting too long. The two of you are on a very dangerous mission. She said you were after the man responsible for attacking our colonies," she brought up.
"Saren. Yeah, his offenses are rather personal to me. He used his influence to take advantage of the council and C-sec. He's the whole reason I left," Garrus recalled.
"Belial mentioned you were a renegade cop into solving mysteries," she said.
"That's how she likes to summarize me. We may not have been together very long, but we've already been through a lot together. I almost lost her. She almost lost me. I had to rescue her from a puritan gang on the Citadel. I can't see things getting any easier for us," he lamented.
"Knowing Belial, that wouldn't deter her one bit," mom laughed. "Nothing worthwhile is made simple," she comforted him.
"There's a Human man on the Normandy who is infatuated with her. I almost wish she had fallen for him instead. I'll just cause her more problems," he dreaded the idea, but thought it inevitable.
"You would see her happy with another man?" she sounded intrigued by the sentiment.
"There's nothing I wouldn't endure for her," he admitted.
"Well, thankfully she chooses her agonies," mother sipped her tea.
"What can you tell me about her military career?" he took advantage of her reception.
"Broke my heart the day she signed up. Her father wanted her to grow up a pilot like him. She lost her way when he died. The military offered her a purpose. Unfortunately structure came in the form of fighting. I probably know more about that than she thinks I do. I spoke to her senior officers at the time. She had gotten herself into underground blood sports. She would take part in these fights that were so brutal. You would have to tap out for anyone to interfere. That isn't how I raised her. I don't know where the violence comes from. Once we tour the ship, you'll see that I've provided a kind, caring environment for the whole crew. We're a family here. There's just this darkness in her. I've been startled by the woman she's become. At least your relationship with her means she isn't as lost as I thought she was. Perhaps your culture is the harbor she's been looking for," she wondered about it herself.
"She can be pretty brutal. I've come to know a gentler side to her. Each day I see more of it," he paid me credit.
"But you do know of her violent tendencies. I'm surprised that didn't in itself deter you," she applauded him.
"She approached me with a secret gentility she didn't want to show anyone else. I'm honored to get to know her as I have," he admitted rather boldly. "What was she like as a young woman?" he changed the subject.
"A young woman? That was when she enlisted. You mean her teenaged years?" he confused her.
"Yeah, I'm sorry," he apologized.
"You must be young to refer to her like that," she accused him.
"Her age doesn't bother me," he confessed.
"When she was a young girl she was a hopeless romantic. She got that from her father. He used to recommend books and movies for her to watch. Bless her heart. Being raised on a generation class ship didn't offer many suitors for her to choose from. She tried to make things work with a boy she grew up with, but he knew her too well. Everyone in basic was scared of her. As far as I know that was the last she had dated anyone," she recalled.
"She's still like that," he confirmed.
"My little girl is still there after all these years," she attempted to convince herself.
"Did something happen between the two of you, if you don't mind my asking?" he politely pressed.
"It's just as I've said. Over the years I've began to feel like I didn't know her anymore. Here you are for example. She said nothing to me about forming an adoration for another species. I don't know the woman who gets into brutal street fights, and I have no idea who this woman who loves aliens is. I'd like to know her. And I'd like to get to know you," she smiled at him. "What do you think about her darker side? Have you come to know that part of her? As her mother I have to love that side of her," she sounded as though it had been whittling away at her.
"Like you said, it's a part of her I've come to accept. There are things she does I disagree with. I think I owe a debt of gratitude to that aspect of her. It may be responsible for her fascination with me. I think I can reason with her. I might be just a little more lenient. I'll make sure she doesn't go too far," he promised her.
"I appreciate that. Now that I've gotten my bearings, would you like to see the Berlin?" she offered him a tour.
"Yeah, I wonder where Belial got off to," he moved his chair back over to the wall. He followed her out. The both of them found their way to the Mess hall where me and Levi had lost track of time, getting caught up on each other's lives.
"You're alive!" I teased mom.
"You're attention to detail leaves a lot to be desired," she scolded me.
"Garrus this is Levi," I introduced him.
"Hey," Levi waved like a dork.
"He's my childhood sweetheart, but it's okay. We hate each other now," I joked
"Yeah, I realized she was more like a sister to me. Then kissing her got weird," he came back at me.
"Shut up!" I hit him. "You wanna see the ship?" I offered Garrus a tour.
"I'd like that," he agreed.
"You guys getting along?" I asked them.
"I haven't shot him out the airlock yet," mother teased.
"Did you really make her faint?" Levi asked Garrus. "Can you imagine if I could make your mother faint just with my presence alone," he turned to tell me how amusing he'd find it.
"I'll throw you out the airlock," mother grabbed Levi's ear. "This one here makes my life a living Hell every day with his pranks. Always pulling tricks. He hasn't changed since the two of you were kids," she teased him. After our affectionately awkward spell mom and I showed Garrus around the ship.
Like most generation ships there's a caste system in place for each field of study. We visited the Aeroponics bay and I showed him Earth flowers for the first time. Mom let me put together a bouquet for him. We observed a class session on classifying various plant life. We had enough time for one movie before mom had to head back out. I showed him a cowboy movie and explained what horses were. When we left the Berlin we each departed with a hug from mom. She asked me to write more and headed back into Alliance space.
It wasn't an hour after the Berlin left when we received a transmission from a Turian science ship. "Surprise! Hey big brother!" a bubbly Turian girl appeared on the comn channel.
"Arel. What are you doing here?" he attempted to mask his shock in front of her.
"I followed your signal from our call yesterday and I convinced the Captain to head this way for supplies. Prepare to be boarded," she playfully warned us ahead of time. She hangup on us, leaving Garrus in shock and horror.
"This must be payback for surprising your mom," he gave me a concerned look
"Big brother!" she threw her arms around him the moment she came out of sanitation.
"Arel, it's good to see you," he said stiffly.
"You're lying. I could always tell when you were lying to me. I knew if father wouldn't tell me what was wrong I'd have to pay you a little visit and find out for myself," she insisted. Garrus looked over her shoulder and found Moreau's prying eyes. He looked back at me for support. He knew this was important to me. I gave him a little nod that I was prepared to go in with him.
"Sure, I'll find a place for us to talk," he agreed.
"We can use my office," I delicately referred to my room in front of Joker.
"Arel Vakarian, it's nice to meet you. I'm Commander Belial Shepard. Welcome to the Normandy," I acted formally by default.
"Thank you Commander," her and Garrus followed me through Navigation. "This is a Human vessel? It looks Turian," she made an astute observation. "It has a Human name," she looked puzzled.
"The Normandy was a collaboration project. She's the first Turian and Human galaxy class star ship," Garrus couldn't help himself when he spoke pridefully about it.
"Huh," she said simply. She didn't come off as easily impressed. She didn't speak again until we reached the elevator. "What exactly is the nature of your mission?" She seemed to be asking anyone.
"We're tracking an enemy of the Citadel," Garrus attempted to make it sound impressive.
"What, so you left the Citadel to be a bounty hunter?" she scoffed.
"Saren is an official enemy of the Alliance and the Council as well. Stopping him is a matter of security for all Citadel races," I set the record straight.
"This is what you chose to meddle with?" she teased Garrus.
"Commander Shepard is a Spectre. We have the authorization to use any means necissary," he bragged on my behalf.
"I could see where father would take issue in you being here, but to not speak to you. That seems a little drastic. There must be more to it than that. He's never been this mad at you," she dropped like a ten ton bomb. All of a sudden Garrus' unease at the situation had become contagious. No one said anything more. We exited the elevator and crossed the Mess hall to my quarters.
There was an awkward silence. Garrus walked across the room, rather familiar with his surroundings. He boldly grabbed the scotch from my liquor cabinet. All of his motions filled the silence. The thud of his glass on my table was as loud as a trampling elephant. Me and Arel listened silently at the loud sound of the drink pouring into the glass. We waited on baited breath for him to say something. He burred himself in his scotch like he wished he could bury this whole situation. After he finished his drink Arel interjected.
"Brother," she sounded concerned.
"No. You came all the way out here. The least I can do is tell you," he worked his courage up. "Me and Belial are more than colleagues," he hesitated.
"Meaning?" she pressed him.
"We're involved," he put very modestly. "I wouldn't have went to father. There were complications and I had no one else to turn to. It's his problem, not mine," he shook it off.
"Wow. A Human girl. No wonder father is so furious with you. Does she know you're a puritan?" she brought up.
"A puritan?" I asked Garrus to explain for me. Whatever it was didn't sound good.
"Puritans are Turian families who only breed with other Turians. It's an old custom and it certainly doesn't reflect any beliefs of my own," there was a spiteful tone in his voice.
"Garrus, that's how you were raised. How could you hurt father like that? What about Celeste?" she grilled him.
"Celeste?" I was confused by the presence of a woman's name.
"His fiancé," she happily elaborated.
"You're engaged!" I burst out in astonishment.
"I was engaged to a woman my father selected for me. Arel, I broke that off years ago. You're just making her upset," he argued, clearly losing patience with her.
"Alright, well you've abandoned your duties to your family. I guess that leaves what I think about it. I don't care," she caught us both off-guard.
"You what?" Garrus was confused.
"You're my big brother. I'll love you no matter what you do. Believe it or not father feels the same way. We spend most of our lives away from home anyway. But Garrus, when you go back home you'll have nowhere left to hide," she placed her claws over his in a comforting way.
"I thought you might say something along those lines," he admitted.
"I'm hurt that you didn't say anything to me yesterday, but I guess I understand why you did it. Try not to take any of this personally, Commander. Turians hold great value in our customs. You'll come to learn that in time. His actions as a puritan, the first of his house are extremely taboo," she attempted to justify all of this to me. "I should really get going. If you don't mind, I'd like for my brother to escort me out," she held herself so dignified. I waited for them to leave, so I could pour a glass of scotch myself.
Arel waited until they were in the Mess hall. "I don't understand. How could this happen?" she searched him for the answers to make it make sense.
"You don't think I can control my actions?" he was really hating the way this visit was going and his voice reflected his irritation.
"Of course not. I didn't mean it like that. I just can't see you going out of your way for a Human woman," she tried to put two and two together.
"I'm attracted to her. You don't have to worry about that," he assured her. They stepped inside the elevator and Garrus took them up to Navigation.
"You do seem like you're happy here," she tried to look on the bright side.
"I am very happy," he embellished.
"Garrus, do you love that girl?" she pleaded with him.
"You're the second person today to ask me that," he dismissed her.
"Garrus, please. It'll make me feel better," she insisted.
He silently chewed on the idea of loving me. He thought about his first encounter with me in the mako and the time he's spent with me since. He thought about me lying sick on the medical bed and what lengths he was willing to go to save me. He didn't say anything, but something in his face betrayed him.
"Never mind. You don't have to say anything," she could almost laugh at how transparent he was. She let him walk her back to the cockpit in silence. "Well, brother it was great as always to see you. Please take care of yourself," she hugged him before leaving through sanitation.
"Man, you look like you have the whole world on your shoulders right now," Joker paid his sympathy. Garrus headed back to my room.
"Well, that certainly was a lot to swallow," I broke the silence, already pouring myself another drink.
"Belial, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have found out that way," he kneeled beside me. "Can you ever forgive me?"
"Was I wrong for throwing myself at you? Was that a bad thing to do? Did I estrange you from your family," I was sloshed.
"Belial, I adored that little game you came up with. I was just as curious about you. You remember that, don't you?" he graciously reminded me. "I put my past behind me years ago. They're the ones who keep bringing it up. They can't tell me who I can or can't-" he stopped himself. "You're my whole world now," he put even more eloquently.
"Garrus," I was moved. He climbed up on the couch with me.
"I couldn't live without being able to touch you," he caressed my wrist up to my arm, giving me chills.
"What you were going to say," I brought up as he attempted to distract me by kissing my neck.
"You're drunk. It'd be easier to make love than it would be to talk. Wouldn't you say?" he coaxed me into a kiss. I was rather subjectable to him despite my curiosity. He had to prove his point that I was the one he truly wanted. After he got me out of my shirt I wasn't thinking about it any more. My head was swimming and he was all around me, kissing my neck, my collarbone. His claws wrapped around me and searched every inch of me. "Can't no one take you away from me," he kissed me with this new passion I had yet to know. He kissed back down to my neck.
"Garrus?" I moaned. He simply groaned back at me. "What's going on? Why is the room spinning?" I held on to his fringe and he was all about it.
"Lay down and it will stop," he kissed my shoulder.
"What are you doing?" I attempted to make sense of what was happening.
"I'm going to make you feel good," he warned me ahead of time.
"You do make me feel so good," I laughed. I moaned softly as he kissed down my stomach.
Tali Zorah went down to Metgos with Kaiden and Ashley to answer a distress call. They came back with a new Turian insignia and a crashed probe Tali intended to salvage. Ashley went on her own to the Mess hall. She was surprised to find Garrus there by himself. She had forgotten how late it was. He seemed to be in a book. She replicated herself some fettuccini and took her tray over to his table.
"This seat taken?" she asked his permission to sit.
"No, go ahead," he looked up briefly from his book.
"What are you reading? Some Earth book?" she tried to engage him with small talk.
"The Commander recommended this to me," he disclosed.
"Oh, she has you ready Miss Lovely. That's cute," she thought of a way to turn it around on him. "You know he's a prince?"
"Huh?" he paid her attention.
"The monster she falls in love with. He turns back into a Human prince at the end. He was a handsome prince the whole time," she attempted to arouse a reaction.
"I'm not that far yet," he brushed her off once he saw through what she was playing at.
"You don't belong together," she put very bluntly.
"You come up with that by yourself?" he was done entertaining her. "You're not the only person who thinks that," he validated her opinion.
"Who?" she wondered curiously.
"My family," he put his book away in an attempt to get away from her. She stopped him from picking his book up. "Some of the greater pleasures in life doesn't require any sort of permission," he argued with her. "I didn't ask for your opinion," he stood his ground.
"There's no prince charming at the end of your story," she stared daggers into his eyes. She gave him his book back so he could leave.
"I'm sure the entire Mess hall could hear what I was doing to her earlier," he stung back.
"Get out," she wasn't amused.
Garrus headed back to the barracks with his book. From the comfort of his top bunk, he thought about all that happened. It had been such an exhausting day. He had dreaded what his sister would say about him seeing me. He could handle the scorn of his father, but seeing the disappointment on his little sister's face was hard. He couldn't imagine being happy in the world his family prepared for him. He was so full of his own thoughts, always in search of something more.
He attempted to fathom and gentler world where all were so accepting. What if everything had went perfectly, and there had been no problems? He wished he didn't have to fight so hard to be with me. It was making him feel so much in such a little amount of time. He was completely at my mercy. He wasn't going to be able to sleep with his mind so busy.
He headed down to Engineering to help Tali out with her probe. If his memory served him correctly she was typically a night owl and rarely seen. He thought it might be nice to have any sort of friendly company after his encounter with Ashley. He took the elevator down. When it came to a stop he could hear the silent hum of the engine. The silence was broken by Tali cursing in Quarian. When he found her she was engrossed in what she was doing.
"Hey there, Tali," he struggled to remember her name
"Oh! You startled me. You didn't hear me just now?" she encouraged him to tell her what she had wanted to hear.
"Not a thing," he played along.
"That's a relief. I definitely don't talk to myself," she denied.
"I'm here to help with the probe," he offered.
"Yes. Are you any good with computers? This one has confounded me," she fainted ignorance.
"I'll take a look at it," he came over and started interacting with the probe's interface. "You're locked out. It's a decryption problem. It won't take me a minute to figure it out," he flaunted subconsciously.
"Sounds like you're pretty good at it," she flattered him.
"One of my finer qualities. Algorithms and code just make sense to me. It's a great way to keep my mind busy. See, there it is. I already figured it out. This one is a simple passcode. It isn't meant to protect anything aside from probe access," he explained to her.
"How are you liking the Normandy? I don't know about you, but I get pretty lonely being the only non Human in Engineering," she hovered over him.
"I like it fine. I don't mind the Humans. I think they're kind of nice," he put rather lightly.
"You could come down here and work with me," she offered rather boldly.
"I have you in here. What did you want to do with it?" he brought her attention back to the task at hand. Her hovering was begining to make him uncomfortable.
"I want to reset it so we can use it," she helped him decide where to go from there.
"Everything you need is all right here. Set your command codes and specifications," he gravitated towards the exit.
"You're leaving?" she sounded displeased.
"Yeah, I should probably get back to bed," he attempted to dismiss himself.
"Wait. Find a leak for me and I'll let you go," she worded rather curiously. Garrus thought about what she had said about being lonely. It was probably lonely to be the only soul up in engineering. She clearly wanted some sort of company from him. He let her lead him to a removable panel that kept the hoses to the mass reactor safe. Inside was just tall enough to walk through a forest of tightly clustered hoses.
Garrus climbed inside and began searching for traces of a leak. He swept through row by row, passing through, and crouching down to see if he could find anything. When he crouched down in the back he found an awkward tangle of hoses. The leak was so far underneath he'd have to climb under to get to it. He dreaded such messy work.
"Hey, Tali. I found it. Can you grab me a three inch hose and a waste pan," he called out to her. He just knew the moment he took that hose off oil was going to go everywhere. Tali left and came back with everything he asked for.
"I really appreciate this. It's eluded me ever since we were making repairs on Noveria," she stuck around to chat.
"Glad to be of assistance," he climbed under the hoses with his spare and pan. He set the hose closely and prepared to catch what he could with the waste pan. Just as he thought, the very moment he disconnected the injured hose oil spilled out. It went all over the pan, all over his face. "God damn it!" he cursed.
Tali thought her view of him was a rather enjoyable one. "Hey Garrus," she worked up her nerve.
"Yes? What is it? Another leak?" he was thoroughly irritated by his situation.
"Is there a girl your seeing?" she pried.
"You waited until I was vulnerable. That's why you trapped me down here. So I can't get away from you. Why are women such wicked creatures?" he rubbed his brow. He couldn't just leave this job for someone else to endure now that he was already covered in oil. "Yes, why? Were you interested?"
"Yes, but that's alright. The good ones are usually taken," she said rather pessimistically.
"I break a lot of hearts these days. Tali Zorah, I'm sorry yours was one of them," as slick as it was he fussed about to get the replacement hose to stay in place.
"Now I feel kind of silly for keeping you here," she adverted her eyes.
"It's alright. I came down here to find something to work on, clear my head. It's been a rough day," he admitted.
"I take it you're dating a Human girl?" she wondered curiously.
"Yeah, my family is not a fan. I try not to care, but that's my family. I want them to approve of me," he admitted. "Thing is, I doubt I could ever make them happy. I've never really filled their mold. I don't want the life they want for me," he vented to her.
"That's very sad. I'm sorry you have to go through that," she offered him her sympathy.
He crawled back out of the hoses and shook his head. "I make things hard for myself," Tali thought he looked adorable covered in oil.
"Are Humans compatible?" she pondered skeptically.
"No, they're really not. It seems like there's always something trying to tear us apart, but that just makes me want to fight harder," there was a look of determination on his face.
"That's so romantic. I haven't met many Humans on the ship yet. I'd like to get to know the Commander. I rarely see her around," she brought up.
"You won't get anywhere fast with her if you flirt with me," he laughed.
"You mean you two are-" there was an obvious shock in her voice.
"She came up with the idea for an intimate cultural exchange," he relished in his xenophilia.
"You must fight hard to be with her," Tali mentioned.
"I do. It's pretty ironic. I probably wouldn't have had as hard a time if it were us, but I do like to make things hard for myself. I'll tell her the next time we go out to bring you along. "Next time I can't sleep I'll come by and check on you," he smiled.
"I'd like that," she watched him leave until she was on her own again.