*The Last City: Five Years Ago.*
…
A hand reached up to the small black box attached to the wall. Pinched in between the fingers was a small plastic card with an image of an Exo printed onto one side. The box beeped once.
"CAYDE-6. VANGUARD LEADER, HUNTER. ACCESS GRANTED."
The doors made way to allow entry. Cayde and Jane both stepped through. They entered a rather cramped office with numerous boxes piled up high. At the opposing end of the room was a makeshift desk being tended to by a large Awoken Titan and a dark skinned human Warlock. They both turned towards the door after hearing it open. The Awoken gave off a vastly commanding, yet stoic energy, like that of a militant leader, while the Warlock had a more… knowledgeable and friendly feel to her. Regardless of either ones' presence, Cayde put on a happy grin and strolled towards them with carefree causality.
"Top a' da mornin' to ya, laddies! Gettin' settled in the new study, aren't we, Big Blue?" Cayde greeted in a poorly imitated Irish accent. "A wee bit minute for a fella such as yerself."
The Awoken bent down to pick up a heavy looking cardboard box, then carefully placed it atop the desk before shifting to face Cayde; his own expression, unamused. "What's with the accent?" He asked.
"What? I was Irish when I was human. or at least half… I think… I dunno. Moving on, I got something for ya."
Cayde's hand gently shoved Jane forward towards the other two. She looked back at Cayde with a glare. The Hunter smiled innocently. "This here is Jane. She's your newest rookie."
"This couldn't wait until I was done unpacking?" Questioned the Titan.
"I think by the time we finished that, it would be the Festival of the Lost." Replied the Warlock exaggeratedly.
He sighed heavily in defeat. The Awoken brushed himself off from any dust before approaching Jane, who was standing at attention nervously.
"Guardian." He started, voice as steady as a steel beam. "State yours and your Ghost's name."
Jane stuttered a bit, but straightened her back and saluted. "Uh- J-Jane. My name is Jane, Sir." In a shimmering flurry of light, Edith appeared. "This is Edith."
"Hi Commander!" The Ghost greated.
The Awoken did a quick examination of the young Guardian in front of him. Jane's body language showed unease, but her posture, design of her armor, and formal salute were obvious indications that she was military. Which one was a mystery, but that was irrelevant. He also took note of the strange scars across her face. They looked surgical, and there was an indescribable look in her eyes.
"Greetings to the both of you. My name is Zavala, commander of the Vanguard and leader of the Titans. With me is Warlock Vanguard, Ikora Rey."
Ikora put her hands behind her back and smiled. "Greetings, New Light." She said welcomingly.
Zavala continued. "And you've already met Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6." Jane looked back to her rear. Cayde gave her a flirty smile accompanied by a thumbs up. She turned back to Zavala. "Guardian, Jane. I welcome you to the Vanguard, and the Last City."
Later, Jane was taken to processing to have her registered into the city's Guardian database. Class, Light levels, date and of resurrection. They jotted down every detail about her, all the way to the last bits of protein in her eyelashes. To Jane, it felt like an invasion of privacy. Especially since she had to do it while dressed in nothing but a skin-tight bodysuit. After that, Jane toured the Tower with the Vanguard. She was introduced to Shaxx for registration into the Crucible if she were interested, Holiday for assigning her a ship and Sparrow, Hawthorne for possible clan applications, Tess Everis (Head of Eververse Trading Company) who helped Jane with repairing and modifying her armor. Upon meeting the head of Crypto-Archaeology, Master Rahool, Jane requested that he take a look at the strange device attached to her arm.
Over the years, Rahool has decoded countless Engrams, deciphered numerous Golden Age algorithms for data retrieval, and studied the most alien technologies from all around Sol, and yet he was left speechless when it came to her device. He even called in Future War Cult head, Lakshmi-2 for an outside consultation. Even she was unsure as to the origins of Jane's gadget. So that was a dead end.
Once all was said and done, they returned to Zavala's office where they would now tackle the issue of finding housing for her within the city. Now that part was unfortunately the tricky bit as, due to the destruction of numerous buildings courtesy of the Red Legion, not much was left to rent out. Many Guardians were left sleeping in shelters, having their homes destroyed. Some even slept in their ships and used the Tower bathroom sinks as showers. Some Guardians… decided to leave as they felt the Last City was no longer safe.
Zavala stated that no openings for Guardian housing were available for her at this time. He would recommend her to a temporary shelter until one opened up, but that could take weeks, if not months. Lucky for her, that was when Cayde stepped in.
"She can stay with me."
Jane looked at the Exo with surprise and a renewed hope. Just the mention of that idea made her heart skip.
"Absolutely out of the question, Cayde!" Denied Zavala.
"So we should just send her to some shelter where she has to sleep while huddled dozens with other people? How is that fair?" Cayde argued.
The two of them butted heads over the topic like a couple of goats in heat. Zavala was an Olympic level yeller, there was no question about that. He tried to get the Hunter to understand that he was letting guilt over failing to save her and his emotions overcome him. But Cayde stood firm by his decision to allow Jane to stay with him, claiming that it wasn't about guilt or his feelings, but because it was the right thing to do, because with what they had all just gone through, everyone needed a little kindness.
It took some doing, but Zavala finally caved and allowed it. Cayde naturally did the happy dance as a result.
Hours later, they had returned to his- their dwelling. Cayde swung the door open and swiftly hung his cloak onto a coat rack. Jane nervously walked inside after him. The Hunter slid his way towards the kitchen and was already busy taking out pots from his cupboards.
"Okay then, JD. Feel free to make yourself at home. Drop your armor on the chair over in the corner and I'll whip us up something to eat. Hope you like instant ramen, because that's all I know how to make!"
Jane tilted her head in confusion. "JD?" She asked.
"Yeah. It's short for 'Jane Doe'." Cayde answered.
She found herself snorting from laughter. Jane Doe? As in the placeholder name for women whose identities are unknown? How creative. But appropriate, if she had to admit it.
"How long did it take you to think of that name?" Jane asked with a half smile.
Cayde placed the pots down onto the counter, then stared off into the home in his wall dramatically. "It was on a fateful day, when I found a beautiful young maiden in dire need for a prince to swoop in and save her from distress."
They both bursted out into laughter. Jane sat down on a chair while Cayde resumed cooking.
"Now then, tomorrow's the start of your training. You'll be heading down to the Cosmodrome in Old Russia where you'll meet one of my ops, Shaw Han, who's gonna get you into fighting shape. Holiday will have a ship and Sparrow ready for you when you finish. Shouldn't be anything too messy down there. I mean, we cleaned up… most of the SIVA that the Fallen left behind."
A smile spread across Jane's lips. A grateful one. Cayde smiled back at her. He was blissfully unaware that his sleeve had caught fire from the stove.
"*sniff* *sniff* Hey, you smell something burning?"
The world all around him froze in place. The air was like sulfur that burned with each breath. Sounds were practically nonexistent. It were as if everything was broken.
That was how Garrus felt.
Shepard. She had gotten married to someone else while she was missing, all while he was wallowing in his own sorrow over her death. He missed her. He mourned her. He loved her. And for what?
Why was this happening to him? They were finally reunited, and now his heart was being stomped on once again by this cruel, unloving universe. She didn't remember him anymore. She didn't love him anymore. Why? What did he do to be punished like this?
"…rus! Garrus! Wake up!"
Someone was calling to him. Their voice sounded so far away, like they were echoes traveling through a long tunnel, barely audible to him. His eyes spotted a grey blue in front of him. It was unrecognizable, completely alien. Who was it? Why were they calling out?
Before he could receive his answer, or even ask at all, Garrus felt a strange sensation across his face. It felt like metal, and it hit him hard. Too hard.
Garrus got knocked off his feet. Blue blood gushed from his nose like a fountain. Harper followed up with a hard kick to his abdomen. The power behind it cracked Garrus' bones beneath his armor. He was sent flying across the Mindscape. The turian tumbled along the ground, and ended up falling over the edge, down into the void below. Jane chased after him, desperate to try and grab him. However, she wasn't fast enough. Garrus plummeted.
"NO! GARRUS!"
It wasn't long before Garrus vanished completely into the emptiness below. The only thing Jane could do was watch. She looked back at Harper, his expression beyond smug.
"Oh calm down, Commander. He's fine. Otherwise, this whole world would collapse. Garrus probably landed on a ridge."
Her temper flared. Jane let out an angered roar and summoned a new weapon. 'Hero of Ages'. In her hands came a large, gold and silver claymore sword. The weapon's blade crackled with electricity. Jane bent her legs to take a swordsman's stance, eyes locked on her opponent and her hands itching for the feeling of blood splattered onto them.
"You fucking robo-weeb!" She shouted upon charging.
A powerful jump sent Jane up into the air. She pulled her sword over her head before swinging it down hard. Harper caught the sword's blade in between his hands, just inches from his face. The ground beneath the Exo cracked and broke apart from the sheer impact force. Harper swung his arms to the left, throwing his Titan attacker in the same direction. Jane recovered and continued her assault. She swung her mighty weapon with remarkable speed despite its size. Harper was able to avoid the attack just as easily however. Whenever the edge of the sword would get too close to his neck, he would simply strike the flat of the blade with his hand and knock it away.
Jane cemented her front foot. With a twist of her whole body, she swung the sword in a circular motion. The electricity of the sword reached maximum power and generated a trail of lightning as the blade traveled. Harper dropped to his knees and leaned backwards, barely dodgin the sword as it grazed his metal face. He got back onto his feet and punched Jane straight in the face. She fell back and dropped her sword, but jumped back up immediately.
"That's domestic abuse!" She half jokingly claimed.
"We're not married. Doesn't count." Harper retorted, throwing another punch.
The fist was blocked by Jane's forearm, though it dented her armor. "You had no right to say that to Garrus!"
Harper swung his leg at her hip, but Jane caught it with her other arm. He was now locked.
"Don't you think he deserved to know what he was fighting for? It's not like you were going to tell him."
That reply was rich with spite. It made her even angrier. Jane angrily threw that wretched Exo across the Mindscape. Using his absurd acrobatics, Harper landed upright and brushed any dust from his shoulder. He grinned in delight. The combat was exhilarating.
"Why do you even care? You don't even know him."
Calling the Ace of Spades to her side once again, Jane fired off multiple shots in succession and, of course, Harper-3 avoided each one while smiling arrogantly. One he somehow managed to catch with his bare hand just to show off.
"Garrus is just a stranger to you." He stated.
"That's exactly why!" Harper's browplate cocked from curiosity. "All my second life, I've looked for Garrus. When I came back from the dead, I had no idea who I was or where I came from. Garrus was the only link to my past, the only clue that could lead me to finding out the truth about myself."
An image flashed before her eyes. An image of Garrus looking at her with a warm smile. Jane clenched her heart with her free hand, as if she were in pain.
"Now that I've found him, and learned things about myself, about him, about US, I owe it to him to make things right. I can't even begin to imagine what he went through after… After he lost me…"
She moved her fist away from her chest. Jane's Omni-Blade activated; hers was a light purple, rather than orange like Garrus'.
"You're right about one thing. I don't know Garrus. Not anymore, at least…" Jane admitted. "…but that's the exact reason why I want to know him. I want to know about everything we had, and what we went through together, and tell him about Cayde when the time was right so he could understand. So even if I have know clue as to who the fuck he is, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to protect him! That much I can do to make things right! END OF STORY!"
The Titan moved at an extraordinary charging speed towards Harper. She was like a Rhino, and was going to hit like one too. However, instead of dodging, Harper took the full force of the charge. Jane's Omni-Blade was stopped by Harper's hand grabbing hold of the tip before it could reach him; sparks flying from the energy blade slicing into the metal plating of his palm. Both parties were equal in terms of strength.
"Well, you've done a real bang up job so far, Shepard! Not sure how ranting and spouting monologues are going to help, but whatever." Harper scoffed. One of his arms was tied behind his back. A display of his uncanny physical prowess, as well as his arrogance. "Besides, where has all that bravado and righteous indignation gotten you? You're zero for two now because of your misguided sense of justice. Garrus, and your ramen slurping, gambling addiction hubby!"
Suddenly, something within Jane just… snapped. Anger couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling as of right now. It was like a volcano inside her was on the verge of an explosive eruption. Jane ground her teeth so hard that her tooth cracked.
The Ace of Spades positioned itself towards Harper's gut. Jane emptied out the entire drum. Harper gasped from the bullets pounding into his metal body. He backed away. Jane focused her Light, poured it into her right arm, where her Omni-Blade was, strengthening and empowering it with raw, unfiltered Void energy. The blade grew to triple its original size, shaped like the tip of a mighty sword. Jane pulled back her arm.
"You just dug your own grave!"
The Titan dashed and thrust forward. Harper's eyes went wide with terror. Void energy was surrounding her. It looked as though it was taking shape. The shape of a lioness on the hunt for its prey, and Harper knew just who exactly the prey was right now. Himself.
*OMNI STRIKE*
Jane's mighty weapon ripped through Harper's frame like Taken Butter. The Exo cried out as his synthetic insides were torn to shreds by the massive Void blade. Radiolaria splattered across Jane's face, which was scrunched in her rage. No one speaks ill of that Hunter.
Nobody but her.
Slowly, Garrus opened his eyes again, greeted by the familiar purple skies of the Mindscape he was trapped in. He sat upright and looked around.
He was alive? Must have landed on a cliff not too steep from where he fell or something. He would be falling forever or be a blue stain. Garrus wasnt sure if he had either really good luck… or really bad.
Shepard… She was married… Taken by another. She was stolen from him, in more ways than one. Garrus' future bondmate, the love of his life who he betrayed everything he stood for and everyone he ever cared about to follow her through a hole in the universe. Only to learn that her heart was now the home of another.
Garrus had now truly lost her.
All he had now were his memories of them together. Memories that had haunted him for the past half decade. Those small friendly chats on the original Normandy. That time they got drunk in the Mako and Shepard went on and on about Bon Jovi. When Garrus went to visit Shepard in Vancouver during her time on house arrest and surprised her with a dozen of the finest Tim Hortons donuts. All the little and big things throughout their relationship. Each one left their own scar on his heart.
Now, his heart was cleaved open completely.
Garrus stared out into the abyss in front of him. The purple void enclosing the Mindscape seemed endlessly vast. Empty, like Wrex says his head is. That would normally make Garrus let out a subtle laugh, but not now. Not after this.
"Why does this keep happening?" He muttered to himself, his voice barely a whisper. "It's like the universe is against us, doing every it can to keep us apart…"
"I wouldn't go as far as to say that."
Garrus snapped out of his depressed trance. That voice. Who was that? He didn't recognize it.
"Over here."
He turned around and found the source. It wasn't what he was expecting. A lone Ghost. Its shell was plated black with thick pieces of carbon that formed a diamond shape, with orange wiring running along the inner rims. Inside the diamond was its body that had a single white optic. (Archangel's Shell)
"Hi!" It greeted him. Its voice was male, and very friendly. "I'm sorry if it seemed like I was eavesdropping. I just wanted to see if you were okay."
The Ghost flew in closer. It did a quick examination of Garrus' body, searching for any kinds of breaks or tenderness using its optic ray. "Hmm. No broken bones, no bruising. You're one tough fella."
The Ghost flew right up in his face. Garrus leaned his head back and away from the tiny machine, uncomfortable with how much it was invading his personal space. It flew away when it realized how close it was getting to him.
"Glad to know that you're alright. Garrus, is it?"
This Ghost knew his name? "Uh… Yes?" He replied.
"Hello, Garrus. My name is Lucifer, though most people just call me 'Luci'. I'm just a friendly Ghost who wants to talk. It's nice to meet you."
Garrus finally stood up off the ground. His gaze remained focused on the Ghost, who looked right back at him. Where did this Ghost come from? Did he belong to Osiris? Thinking back, Garrus recalled seeing only five Ghosts in Zavala's office. Edith, Targe, Ophiuchus, Glint, Saint mentioned a Geppetto.
"You're probably wondering where I came from. I was actually passing by Zavala's office when I heard all the commotion, and the familiar sound of Saint's spine breaking hug. I peered in through the doorway when Caiatl's Psion dragged me in here with you guys. Just my luck, huh?"
So he wasn't in the room when it happened, just the moment of. That explained why Luci was here. Not that Garrus really cared though.
"You want to talk about luck? Walk in my shoes for a change." Garrus coldly said.
Luci blipped softly. "Well, if I had feet, then I would be more than happy to." He replied. "I heard what happened back up there, while I was in hiding. I'm really sorry."
Sorry? That's all this lightbulb had to say? Who the hell even was he, anyway? Garrus scoffed at the apology. "Save it. I don't need the pity of a stranger."
"I wasn't trying to show pity. I just got worried about you."
"Worried?" The turian questioned. "You don't even know me. Why the hell would you-"
"Garrus Vakarian, born October 15th, 2156 on Palaven. Joined the Hierarchy Military Academy at fifteen so you could follow in your dad's footsteps at C-Sec. you put in a leave of absence so you could help Jane Doe chase down Saren Arterius to stop him from unleashing the Reapers on the galaxy. You've lived quite a life."
Garrus found himself surprised, eyes blinking twice. That was an astonishingly accurate telling of his past. How did Luci…
"I… may have taken a peak at some of your memories… and by some, I mean all of them... Sorry."
Well, if that isn't an invasion of privacy. Then again, he gave the Vanguard permission. Not this ghost, however. Garrus groaned and sat back down over the edge of the ridge. Luci flew next to him, not even bothering to ask.
"I also saw the memories of you and Jane. You guys are good together. It reminds me of Osiris and Saint."
"Correction. We were good together." He replied in a deadpan tone. "Not anymore."
"Because she married Cayde?"
Garrus finally looked over at Luci with a puzzled expression. "You knew him?" He asked the Ghost.
Luci chuckled. "Are you kidding? Everybody in the city knew Cayde-6. He's a legend. Well, he was anyway…" The Ghost shone an array from his eye in front of Garrus. It generated a display of a lone Exo Hunter holding a familiar looking pistol in his hand. The Exo was most likely Cayde. He was making a winking face.
"Cayde was the leader of the Hunters, beloved by everyone in the city. He was kind, funny, had a sense of justice that puts the Iron Lords to shame. He also could be a handful, though. The guy had a major gambling problem, never took anything seriously, and was totally addicted to TV. I can't recall how many times he went to Captain Reynolds for the Festival of the Lost."
The display changed. Now Luci was showing a hologram of Cayde with Jane beside him. She had a frightened look on her face, while Cayde was facing her with a look of compassion. Seeing it made Garrus' heart hurt.
"After the Red War, Cayde was the one who brought Jane to the Last City before she was a Guardian. I heard that she died in his arms. He was devastated for not being able to save her." The heartache vanished, replaced by shock. Was that true? Luci continued, changing the hologram to one of Cayde showing Jane how to shoot. "When she came back, Cayde took her in, due to the lack of housing available to Guardians because of what Ghaul did to the city. The two became friends fast, and eventually…" The Ghost stopped, hesitant.
"Eventually, they became something more." Garrus finished for him.
The holographic display vanished, Luci turned his gaze back to the depressed turian. "I wasn't trying to rub it in. I just thought you should know that he was a good person. I'm sure if Cayde knew you were her boyfriend, he wouldn't have started something with her."
Garrus waved his hand at Luci, shooing the construct away. "Spare me your explanations. What's done is done." He rudely said. "Me and Shepard are over. You don't have to sugarcoat it."
"I wasn't saying that. I'm trying to tell you-"
"What? That I shouldn't give up?!"
The sudden snap from Garrus made Luci flinch. His nostril ridges exhaling hard from his rising temper, mandibles fluttering. Garrus sighed heavily before diverting his gaze from the Ghost.
"Listen. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but you can't. I was an idiot for even coming here with her. Shepard doesn't love me, not anymore. She doesn't even know me."
There was pain behind his words. Each one said bore a hole deeper into Vakarian's soul. He didn't want to say these things, but he had to. They were the truth. At least, he felt like they were. Garrus was determined to convince himself that it was true, but Luci begged to differ.
"Garrus, memories aren't what define us, nor do they dictate how we feel about one another."
His fists tightened and a growl rumbled from his throat. "Would you just buzz off already?! Who even are you?!" Garrus snapped.
Though the outburst was unexpected and enough to make one jump, Luci didn't seem bothered. He remained as clalm as could be, eye laser focused.
"Like I said, I'm a friendly Ghost who wants to talk."
He want's to talk? That's all? A random Ghost, the thing that made Shepard forget who she was just "want's to talk"? Garrus snorted at the gall. This Ghost had some nerve.
"What's there to even talk about?" Garrus asked impatiently. "Shepard? She's basically gone already, thanks to your 'Light'."
Luci merely nodded to show that he was listening. He wasn't overreacting to Garrus' badmouthing the Light. He just listened.
"You have every right to be upset." Hearing that surprised Vakarian as he was not expecting a response like that from the Ghost in his vision. "Being resurrected by the Light… It takes a tole on people. Both the Guardian, and the people who they were close to before they died. They look at their loved ones like they're strangers. Some can't handle the stress and go crazy. I've seen it happen a few times, back in the Dark Ages."
Luci looked away. He was perhaps thinking back to those days. Garrus could see the pain in the small construct of Light. Luci shook off his distress and refocused on the topic at hand.
"I know I probably sound like a hypocrite for talking like that. I just like to think that things in the world have both pros and cons. Nothing is ever truly good or evil. You see, I believe that there are some things that the Light can never take away. The mind is one thing, but the soul. What we have in there is forever. I'm sure for a fact that, deep down in her soul, your Jane is still in there somewhere. if she wasn't, why else would she be sticking her neck out against Zavala for you?"
"Because she's desperate to find out about her past?" Garrus argued, dead set on staying realistic.
"Maybe…" Luci flew in front of Garrus, looking him straight in the eyes. "But has she tried pulling away from you whenever you guys would have a moment?"
Garrus snickered. "Not five minutes ago."
"…Okay, you got me there." Admitted Luci. "But think of it this way. If the universe wants you guys to remain apart, why would it have brought you both back together after half a decade?"
He opened his mouth to argue again, but found no words. Garrus couldn't seem to combat this remark. All he could do was just look at Luci, taken aback.
"Don't lose hope, Garrus. She still loves you, and she's never stopped loving you.
The words of the Ghost, they reached deep down inside him, filling his void with a newfound hope. Could what Luci saying be true?
It was back then, on that day when his dreams finally came true.
*Citadel Presidium: 2186*
…
A gentle humming reverberated throughout the body of the skycar as its Mass Effect Field engine propelled it forward through the air. It was carefully sliding over from one row to another, avoiding the flow of traffic while adjusting speed. Garrus made a quick left turn into the row next to him. He was in a hurry, but also being mindful of the other drivers. Not to mention that Shepard was in the passenger's seat next to him. So no driving like a madman. Well, not today, at least.
Garrus sent a message to Shepard to meet him at the docking bay where the Normandy was parked. He was waiting for her with a rented car. She was completely unaware of what the turian needed from her, only that it didn't involve fighting Reapers. Shepard stated that they hadn't conquered the bar yet. Garrus already scoped it out. That was also when he told her that if this truly was his last day alive, he wanted to make it memorable.
"Where we going?" Shepard asked out of curiosity.
Garrus really didn't want to spoil the surprise. All he replied with was. "Somewhere we're not supposed to."
Jane smirked. "Now you're talking." She said with subtle excitement.
"Ever have that one thing you always wanted to do before you died, Shepard?"
She looked over at her avian lover. "I've woken up with a turian next to me."
She just couldn't resist. Garrus chuckled amusingly. "Still trying to make me blush, huh?" He asked, eyeing her momentarily.
"Until it works. So what's your 'one thing'?"
Garrus turned back to the view in front of him. "The whole time I worked at C-Sec, l'd stare up at the top of the Presidium and say to myself: I want to go up there. But I never did. There were 137 regulations telling me I couldn't."
"So you got them changed?"
"No." His mandibles spread slightly, allowing Garrus to mimic a human grin. "Now I just don't give a damn."
Their skycar finally made its stop. They landed on the roof of an enclosed skywalk. The doors opened with a gentle hiss. Garrus and Shepard stepped out and walked out closer to the edge.
They had to have been at the highest possible point in all of the Presidium, as they could see everything from where they stood. The shops below. The full length of the river. The Conduit that stood solemnly in the center of it all. (They had no clue as to why the Council didn't tear it down after Saren's invasion.)
"Figured it's time to do something stupid just for the hell of it. Might be the last chance we ever get."
Shepard looked at the view beyond. Such breathtaking beauty. She had seen the Citadel hundreds of times in the past, but there was just something about where they stood that gave it an even more awe inspiring feel. The high from where they stood. The fullness of the Presidium before them. The only other time Shepard saw such beauty was when she was small, taking the shuttle to Mindoir
"It's incredible." Was all she could say.
"A little busier than I imagined." Garrus commented.
Jane stepped closer to the edge and looked down. She could see the artificial river that spanned the entire Presidium. An idea suddenly popped into her head as she looked over at Garrus.
"How about a dive in the pool?"
He quickly glanced over at her, then down below. Now Garrus wasn't afraid of hights, but this was still enough to make his legs feel uneasy. Not to mention, water in general…
"You obviously haven't seen turians swim. It's a lot of flailing and splashing interrupted by occasional bouts of… drowning."
Shepard smirked. She imagine the idea of Garrus swimming, thrashing about in the water like Sonic the Hedgehog, screaming for help. If that were to ever happen, there would be no question that she take a picture and have it memorialized and send a copy to Wrex.
"You're right. I'd just have to save your ass again."
Garrus smiled. "It'd make up for all the times I pulled your ass out of the fire. Noveria, Ferros, Ilos…"
Thinking back at it all, Garrus never realized how much hell they had gone through together. Over the years, they had been shot at by murderous robots, bug people, mercs. That one time in Vancouver when he took a shortcut to Shepard's apartment through East Hastings when Kaiden specifically told him NOT to go anywhere near. That was a close one, that day.
"We've had a helluva ride. Haven't we, Shepard?" Garrus said, looking at her on his right.
Shepard looked back at him. Her hand slipping into the grasp of his. "You're a good man, Garrus. Times like these, you know who your real friends are." She replied. "They're not the ones running around and looking for an escape route. They're the ones who stand by your side through the worst of it, who never give up on you. I'm lucky I can say I know someone like that."
The turian felt his heart skip. He brought Shepard's hand to his mouth plates and gently kissed it.
"So am I."
He smiled warmly., and Jane gave him one right back. Garrus released her hand and turned to her, eyes shining bright like brilliant azure stars.
"l'd be lying if I said I didn't hope coming up here would inspire a certain… mood."
Shepard smirked playfully at her turian boyfriend. "Oh? Something on your mind?" She asked, twirling her hair with her finger.
"It seemed like you needed time to… figure us out. Are you ready to be a one-turian kind of woman?"
Shepard raised her eyebrow. Did Garrus seriously just ask her that? Especially after everything that they had endured together? How could she say no? When Shepard went off to fight Saren and save the galaxy from Sovereign, he was there.
When she went to the quarantined section of Omega to find Mordin, even though it was ravaged by a disease that kills turians, he was there.
When Kaiden turned his back on her and broke her heart just because she and her new team were being funded by Cerberus, he was there. With a few bottles of wine to boot.
That night before the assault on the Collector base, when she was secretly quaking in her boots, scared to death of facing the full force of her own killers, he was there.
When Shepard was on trial for destroying the Alpha Relay and obliterating a whole system, and the baterian colony within it to prevent the Reaper's early arrival… No matter what, he was there! So her answer couldn't be more obvious.
"The only thing that made leaving Earth bearable was knowing you were out there somewhere."
His heart skipped, jaw curling into a smile. She truly did have feelings for him. Garrus was so relieved. Deep down, he was afraid that it was all just casual fun. "I felt the same way. The worst part about the galaxy going to hell would have been never getting to see you again."
Shepard took a step closer. Her emerald gaze met his icy blue. "Well, here I am. Exactly where I want to be." She pressed her hands firmly against Garrus' carapace and finally said the words they both longed for, since their night together aboard the Normandy.
"I love you, Garrus Vakarian."
Garrus blinked. She loved him. She really loved him! The blood was rushing to his cheeks, making him blush a light blue. Looks like she finally succeeded in that! His heart was pounding so fast he was afraid he would have a heart attack, and a warm and fuzzy feeling rose up from inside him. 'Spirits, don't let this be a dream!' He thought.
"Wow. The vids Joker gave me…" The turian nervously chuckled and scratched the side. "Well, they never got this far. There was the part about sleeping together, but this… I don't exactly know what to do."
Shepard could only chuckle and smile at this silly turian. "You grab the girl and kiss her like you mean it."
"…That I can do."
"Besides…"
Before he could react, Shepard closed in and pecked at Garrus' right mandible. She playfully smirked.
"Who needs a vid when you've got me?"
Oh, she would so pay for that. Garrus took Shepard by the waist and dipped her backwards before planting his mouth plates right onto her soft lips. Shepard wrapped her arms around his armor's carapace so she could pull herself closer to him. They broke their kiss, pressing their foreheads against one another tenderly. This action was how turians show affection for one another. A 'Turian Kiss', if you will.
The world seemed to fade away in that moment. Right there. Right then. It was just the two of them. The galaxy would be burning right now and yet even that would not stop them. No matter what would happen in the future, they knew, no matter what, that they would accomplish anything so long as they had each other.
After all, there was no Shepard without Vakarian.
Happy Easter, everybody! Man, its good to have some extra days off, especially when theres chocolate... (I mean, not as much as when you're a kid.) But aside from that, it was good to see my family again. Especially my Uncle. He's... not doing well, health wise. All I'm gonna say.
I wish you guys well. Have a goodnight.