No Shepard Without Vakarian

AN: This is my first attempt at fan fiction (don't run away, please!), so reviews and constructive criticism are most welcome. The story is imagined as my take on the Garrus/FemShep romance throughout ME3, so expect it to follow the game with an alternate path here and there. Shepard's colonist/war hero/(mostly)paragon/sentinel.

Chapter 1: Reunion

The shuttle rocked slightly as it approached Menae, one of Palaven's moons. Commander Shepard stared in front of herself, trying to wrestle with her conflicted feelings. Leaving Earth to save it was just part of it. Playing politics in the middle of a war that could very well be the end of days was another one. However, for her and her alone, there was a special reason for confusion in getting close to Palaven. There was someone down there, someone who-

"Oh, no, no! Palaven!" Liara cried out, shock and desperation in both her voice and face, as the shuttle's video feed displayed the view of the burning planet. Shepard stared at the screen, wordless for a moment. She was quite sure the shock was registering on her face, too. A question rang like a bell inside her mind: My God, is he even alive!

James shifted weight uncomfortably, and turning at him she noticed a quizzical look in his eyes. Shepard felt obliged to explain: "We have an old friend there". Yeah. I guess you could call him that. Her gaze returned to the screen, unable to tear away from the devastation. It looked just like-

"Was it like this on Earth?" It was Liara again.

"Yes." She replied shortly. You could tell things were bad when Commander Teresa Shepard, the illustrious leader who could talk down an enraged krogan, an indoctrinated turian, and a geth and a quarian at each other's throats, couldn't find words to say. The final arrival of the Reapers was taking its toll already, and it was only the beginning.

Garrus Vakarian was fighting since morning, desperately trying to hold back the Reaper forces. It was only occasionally that he had a moment like this one, to rest for a bit, and be left with his thoughts. He wasn't so sure it was a good thing. There was something he was trying to shield from the conscious part of his mind, ever since the Reapers had arrived, but it kept bubbling inside him, occasionally bursting to the surface. It was exactly as she had said. The Reapers came, brought hell with them, and now everyone was turning to him for help. Him! A former C-Sec officer and a former vigilante, now bearer of the "expert Reaper advisor" title. But that wasn't what was bothering him; it was in fact what he expected to happen.

What was bothering him were the other memories of her. Commander Shepard, his former CO, the hero who stopped Saren and the Collectors, together with him. There were some other people involved, of course, but he fancied himself to be one of her closest, most trusted friends and a reliable ally on the battlefield. They've also been lovers for a single night, right before they hit the Collector base. In the upcoming chaos, their run from the Illusive Man, her trial and locking up by the Alliance and his own return to Palaven, there was no time for discussing feelings. Well, he corrected himself, there was, but he had been actively avoiding it. As was she, he was almost certain, although he wasn't entirely good with human facial expressions and body language yet. As the events pulled them apart, Garrus tried to forget about her, to convince himself it was all just a fling, but was unable to. His feelings for her grew way past that, and the arrival of the Reapers put a nagging question in his mind. It rose to the surface again right this moment: Will I ever see her again?

"-ral Corinthus here, come in, Advisor Vakarian." The beginning of the message buzzing through his comlink was lost to the reverie.

"Vakarian here." Garrus replied, shaking his head. Focus, Vakarian, he ordered himself, you're not dying to a Reaper because of heartache.

"What's the status of General Victus? We can't raise him." The general's voice sounded urgent.

"Haven't seen him since we got separated several hours ago." Garrus wondered what the urgency was for.

General Corinthus spoke again:"The comm tower is out. We're down to short range communication only. We're working on it, but we need a hand in keeping the Reapers at bay. Since you're receiving this you must be close."

"On my way." Garrus replied immediately, happy for a chance to take his mind off Teresa, pardon, Commander Shepard.

It took him longer than he expected to get to the base because he ran into another group of Reaper troops, and he had to fight his way through. When he finally arrived, he approached Corinthus immediately, feeling a tingle of pride when the general saluted him. There was something oddly satisfying in saying: "At ease, general". His title had some perks, some material, some pampering his ego.

"What's our status?" Garrus asked. He didn't anticipate the answer in the slightest.

"Commander Shepard and her companions went to fix the comm tower just a couple minutes ago. She needs the Primarch for a little diplomatic summit of hers, and since Fedorian is dead, Victus is next in the line of succession. That's why it's important to raise him." The general paused for a moment. "Other than that, the base seems to be quiet. We pushed the Reapers back for a while."

After the first two words, the rest of Corinthus' answer sounded a little muffled. A torrent of various emotions ran through him, the most dominant one being relief. If Shepard was here... then there might be some hope left for Palaven.

"Shepard will get the tower fixed and find Victus." Garrus replied resolutely. "I served under her, and she's the type of person who gets things done without too much collateral damage."

"I hope your trust in her is well placed." There was hope and worry in the general's eyes.

"It is, believe me." Garrus said simply.

He needed some time to process the other implications of Shepard being here. "I'll go check on the perimeter until the commander gets back." That would give him an excuse to take a walk and collect his thoughts before meeting her.

As he walked, Garrus couldn't shake off the sense of wonder, even awe. What was it with her and her perfect timing? The last time he was as happy as now to see her was on Omega, in one of the most memorable moments of his life, for both good and bad. He saw her face through the scope of his rifle, right behind the merc he had shot in the head. He had to check again, not believing his eyes completely, even taking her shields out with a concussion round, so the others won't get suspicious. She showed up to save his ass from an impossible situation, like a spirit of salvation in a human body (he couldn't help but feel this is slightly sacrilegious), fighting three armies of mercs to help him. That night left a mark, both on his face, but also on his heart, even though he wouldn't admit the second one to himself until recently. And now, she appeared again to save the collective turian ass, not just his. He half expected her to tear the Reapers to pieces with bare hands.

Suddenly, she was at the entrance to the base. He took in her familiar blonde pony tail hopping behind her - a sight he never expected to like as a turian - her determined face and expressive blue-grey eyes. Yes, that was the woman he loved. A shudder ran down his spine as the last word echoed in his mind. It was time he started to be honest with his feelings for her, first to himself, then to her and everybody else.

Garrus' eyes were glued to Shepard's figure as she hurried across the base to speak with Corinthus. She didn't seem to know or notice he was there. When he caught up with her, they were already talking.

"-fixed the tower, we haven't been able to contact General Victus." Corinthus was saying as he approached. Although her back was turned on him, he could tell her frustration was increasing.

"Don't worry Shepard, we'll find your Primarch." Garrus said, moving into her field of vision as casually as he could. She flinched at the sound of his voice, and turned to face him. He met her gaze, and read the same torrent of emotions he experienced earlier in her eyes.

"Garrus!" Shepard exclaimed, but that single word seemed to mean so much more. Her arm extended towards him, as if she's initiating a handshake. Without quite knowing what he's doing, his gaze still fixed on hers, Garrus took her hand between both of his and squeezed it tightly. Her hand squeezed back and they stood like that for only a moment, but to both of them it was eternity.

Finally, her hand pulled away, and she found some words to say: "You're alive!" It came out with a sigh of relief.

"I'm hard to kill. You should know that." He said, trying to pull himself back to reality with his usual attitude.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that I always appear in the end to get your skinny turian ass out of trouble." She cracked a small smile, trying to match his tone. He felt his world returning to normal slowly.

"Shepard, please. Will you stop mentioning Omega? That was just once… How many times did I pull your ass out of fire?" It felt like ages since he grinned at someone.

Behind them, someone was clearing throat. "Ahem, I don't mean to interrupt… but we have a Primarch to find." He recognized Liara's voice. Until now he didn't even notice her and Shepard's other companion, an unfamiliar human male. Shepard was quick to introduce him as Lieutenant James Vega.

"Good to see you, Liara. Pleased to meet you, Lieutenant Vega." Garrus greeted with the most pleased voice he could muster. Shepard. Two more friends. Himself. A whole mess of Reapers around, waiting to be sent to hell. It was beginning to look promising.

"I was with General Victus this morning." Garrus continued. "I was fighting alongside him, but we got separated. Haven't seen him since. He could be anywhere, but if we can't raise him although the tower is working again, I think our best bet would be to go look for him on f-"

Garrus stopped suddenly as Shepard brought a finger to her ear, and held up her hand. "Joker calls. Says it's urgent. Just a sec, I'll patch you to the Normandy's comm system… There!"

"-like she's possessed, shutting down systems and powering up weapons. I don't know what's going on." Garrus was pleased to hear Joker's voice again. Being able to hear the Normandy's comm… it was getting more and more like good old days.

Shepard shook her head, frustrated. "I don't have time to deal with this now. Liara, go back to ship and take a look. I'll go search for Victus with Vega and Garrus." Liara just nodded and hurried back to the shuttle. "Garrus, take me to the place where you last saw General Victus."

"It won't take long, unless we run into troub- whoa!" He spotted a huge Reaper, unlike any he saw before, flying overhead. "It looks like… what do you humans call it?"

"A dragon." Shepard jumped in. "What's this, a fairytale from hell?"

"More like a living nightmare." James added, grabbing his assault rifle.

The dragon-Reaper hovered over an open field just outside the base, dropping off more of the smaller Reaper forces.

"Let's go kill whatever that thing dropped off. Coming, Garrus?" Shepard smiled at him.

"Right behind you, Shepard." He smiled back.

By now he was determined to follow her to the Reapers' lair in dark space if need be. Now that he found her, he'll never let her go again. Ever.

It's been one hell of a day for Shepard. All she wanted to do now was rest in her cabin for a while, maybe take a shower, but there was something she needed to do. Now that destiny, Lady Luck, God, or whatever higher power there is has given her another chance she wouldn't squander it.

Primarch Victus said Garrus went into the main battery to do some calibrations. She knew him well enough by now to understand what it meant: he needed some time alone. This time, however, she would disturb his privacy with a very important conversation. One that was long, long overdue.

From what she saw of him on Menae, he felt more for her than friendship. His retreat to the battery once on the ship didn't surprise her much - that was just Garrus. Brave and deadly on the battlefield, shy and awkward in romance. Also, Shepard reminded herself dryly, seeing his homeworld set ablaze might have made him seeking solitude.

What he needed was a little encouragement and with hell breaking loose around them she wouldn't delay anymore in giving him some.

The door to the battery opened with a hiss. Sure enough, Garrus was leaned over the gun with his omni-tool lit. Usually, calibrating would make him completely absorbed, but now he straightened and turned around the instant she was through the door.

"Shepard… I was hoping… you'd come by." He stammered, and if it was possible for turians, she'd swear he was blushing.

Before she was able to say anything she saw a flicker of determination in his sky-blue eyes. "I'm sorry I… ran into the battery right away. I was gathering courage to talk about us… " His mandibles were close to his chin and twitching. From what she has learned about turian facial expressions that meant he was very anxious. He added quietly: "Because… I couldn't bear the thought there's no more us. Is there still us?"

"Garrus…" Shepard whispered, moved by his awkward honesty. She felt her lips shaking slightly. "Garrus." She repeated, louder. "I was never happier in my life than when I saw you were alive." She crossed the room to stand right in front of him. "I saw Earth burning, and all I could think about was you: Were you safe? Will I ever get to see you again? The main reason I was able to leave was hope I'd hold you again." She reached for his hands, holding them tight. "So, yes, there's still us."

"So…" Garrus let out a confused grumble. "What's the human protocol on couple reunions? I did some research, but I'm not su-" Shepard interrupted him with a quick kiss on his rigid, plated mouth. Then she brushed her cheek against his scarred mandible and finally touched her forehead to his - the turian version of kissing.

"We're not such sticklers for protocol, you silly turian." Shepard murmured. "Relax and be spontaneous."

Garrus let go of her hands, but only to wrap his arms around her. He pressed his mouth against her lips, this time using his tongue to kiss her. Her fingers found their way to under his fringe, tickling the soft skin down there. She was pleased with the grunt he was unable to hold in. They kissed for a while, absorbed in each other, completely forgetting about the galaxy on fire around them.

Finally, Garrus pulled away a bit, still holding her in his arms. He shot an approving glance up and down her figure, and Shepard just couldn't resist teasing him: "Is my waist adequately supportive?"

Garrus sighed: "I'll never live that one down, will I?"

"Nope." She giggled as she spoke. Then they both burst out laughing at the same time.

All was good. They kissed. They laughed. The Reapers hadn't broken them yet.