p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"emOne year after the destruction of the Reapers./em/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;" /p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""You don't have to do this."/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""I know."/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""It's a human custom."/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""I understand that."/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""Mom will completely accept it-"/p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Sparatus turned on the woman standing next to him, behind the closed double doors that led out into the main Council chamber on the Citadel. He grabbed her hand and forcefully wound it around his own, ignoring her indignant, unShepard-like squeak as he tugged her close./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""Your mother would flay me alive, skin me, and then deny me the rights to her body for several more decades if I didn't do this. That being said," he continued, clearing his throat, "I would personally kill anyone who was my place right now. You asked me. I said yes. And given that the groom is Turian, this isn't so far out of the realm of acceptance. I do expect you to follow a few of emour/em customs in this ceremony, in return." His mandibles flicked with amusement./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"The Commander looked up at him, bristling with pride and looking for all the world like a nervous bride to be. She looked beautiful, blushing and nervous with flowers in her hair. Sparatus couldn't help but think yet again of how much like her mother she looked. He squeezed her fingers and leaned down to kiss her cheek./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""Are you ready, my dear?" he murmured./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;"Shepard looked ahead and straightened her shoulders, taking a long, deep breath./p
p style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium;""Yeah, Dad. Let's do this."/p