Special Events
Chapter 1 – Treasured
Moments
Commander Reblicah
(Reby) Shepard came through the door of the main battery with a large grin upon
her face. She leaned up against the wall and watched her Gunnery Chief, Garrus
Vakarian, turn away from his console. Her turian companion always seemed to
light up whenever she visited.
“Calibrations?” she asked.
“Always… you would think with all the technology we have in
this galaxy, they would at least find a way to make these damn things calibrate
themselves.”
“I completely agree. I would love to have you around more
instead of tinkering with these batteries. Which is what brings me here, do you
have any plans this weekend?”
“Just to spend time with you,” he smirked.
“Good answer,” blushing, “Because we are attending a gallery
exhibition at the Citadel.”
“A gallery event? That hardly seems like something you would
go to.”
“Typically I wouldn’t. I find most of them boring but this
one is special.”
“Special?”
“You’ll see, come to my quarters in about an hour.”
“You know as well as I do that I cannot wait an hour.”
“But waiting is half the fun.”
“Damn you.”
“Trust me. I’ll make it worth it.”
As soon as she
entered, she was gone. Garrus looked at the vacant spot Shepard left behind. He
loved it when she came down to visit him, ever since the SR1. Every time the
door opened, he secretly hoped it was her. Sometimes he was disappointed to
find other crew members attempting to distract him. But when he saw her come
through those doors, the world seemed to stop, giving them a brief moment to
themselves. He wanted nothing more than to be by her side every minute of every
day but there was always something coming between them. From fighting all over
the galaxy to avoiding impending attacks, from onboard disagreements to even
these stupid calibrations, time was always sparse so any moment they had
together became a treasured memory.
Turning back to his
console, Garrus let out a sign. He had the constant nagging that he could never
be good enough for her. Shepard could have anyone, she was a damned celebrity.
Everyone heard of the great Commander Shepard or at least of something she
accomplished. Killing thousands and saving millions, the war hero. Idolized by
soldiers and civilians, everyone wanted her or to be her. What made him special?
Most humans still
had a dislike for turians, still sore from the First Contact War. They were
making it uncomfortable for them to be seen in public. He could always feel
their eyes glaring them down. ‘I cannot believe the Commander is with a turian!’
he remembered one screaming. They wanted their savior to be with another human,
especially the Terra Firma party. But they know very little of her past. She
had an exchange with a human… her Staff Lieutenant, Kaidan Alenko. That name
burned as it left his mind. Seeing their relationship enfold, Alenko
appreciated Shepard but their dreams seemed so empty. Granted, Kaidan could
give her a life Garrus never could, a settled life with a family. He despised
Alenko after the event on Horizon, instead of being thrilled of Reblicah being
alive, he paid more attention to her working under Ceberus. Shepard found out
shortly afterwards the news of him moving on after her death. Garrus knew he
would have stayed true to the end of his life, never finding another companion.
No one could ever replace Shepard.
Garrus shared the
same view as Captain Hannah Shepard. He could only imagine how her mother felt
when she received the information about her daughter’s resurrection.
Reminiscing the day Reby dragged him out to meet Mom. Hannah opened the door
and immediately hugged her daughter tightly, tears eluding from both their
eyes. Then Hannah greeted her daughter’s companion with a hug. Garrus was
prepared for the worse but soon realized that her mother approved. He particularly
remembered the conversation he shared with the Captrain when Reby went to find
her old photo albums.
“My daughter has told me so much about you. You two have
been through so much. I just wish you two were together sooner.”
“Trust me, I think about it every day.”
“You seem like the faithful type. Even after her death, you
would have stayed loyal.”
“It must be a turian thing,” he joked.
“I want you to know,”
she looked around, making sure her daughter wasn’t near, “You have my blessing.
Call it a mother’s intuition but I can see it in both your eyes, you need each
other. I already consider you a part of the family.”
“I really appreciate
that,” he said right before Reblicah strolled back into the room wearing a cap
she found in one of her old boxes. She brought in an armful of albums donning
pictures from her younger years. They spent all night talking, mostly finding
ways of embarrassing Reby. Every time she blushed, she would pull her baseball
cap down to cover her eyes. This was enough encouragement for Garrus and Hannah
to continue. He never felt so warm and welcomed before. This is not what he was
used to.
Garrus could hear
the conversations with his father playing like a broken record. ‘Follow it by
the book,’ but if he did that, he would have never met the Commander, his
mentor, his best friend, his mate. Then there was his mother… as much as he
tried to do something for her he was always shot down. How he wished Reby could
meet her. One drunken night, when expressing his basis for feeling alone in the
world, he mentioned his mother. Shepard silently sat there staring at him.
Those vivid eyes… they could pierce through every layer of his soul. She placed
her hands on his, feeling comfort radiate from her fingertips.
Shortly after that
night, he received a personal message from a leading Corpalis Syndrome doctor.
It stated that if his mother wanted treatment, any and all expenses have been
covered by a very generous donor. Of course, Reblicah would do this while she
was away, giving plenty of time for him to dwell on it. He isolated himself in
the main battery, patiently waiting. Trying to figure out what to say, falling
short on words that accurately described the situation. The moment Reby arrived
back on the Normandy,
Garrus approached her. So many feelings ran through his veins, he didn’t know
how to respond to her contribution. No matter what he attempted to say, her
only reply was, ‘We share similar goals, Vakarian, to change the world for the
better. If an opportunity comes for me to save a life, you know I will.’
“She IS too good for me!” he cried pounding
his fist on the console. But she completed him. Garrus couldn’t deny the way
his heart felt every time he saw her. He first realized he had feelings for the
Commander shortly after leaving the Normandy
to return to C-Sec. Thinking about her day and night, remembering every time
she visited him by the Mako. The way she smiled at him, the way he felt so
welcomed in her presence, there had to be something between them. He toyed with
the idea of sending her a personal message, just to get a response, any
response, but he could never think of what to say. Then the news of her death
arose. It was too late to confess his feelings. For two years, he would talk to
himself, hoping that Shepard was listening, that her spirit was there next to
him. For two years, he felt himself die inside a little bit more with each
passing day, allowing the empty void she left to grow. He constantly visited
her memorial on Elysium, hoping to see her ghost walking around.
Feeling there was
nothing more for him, he became a vigilante. He was going to die trying to make
the world better, just as Reblicah would have wanted. For the first time in his
life, he felt proud of his accomplishments, he even received the name Archangel. He became the single threat that shook the
balance on Omega. Then things got sloppy, he bottlenecked himself, cornered
from every angle. The Eclipse, Blue Suns, and Blood Pack began working together
with one goal in mind, to take out the turian named Archangel.
This was it, all hope was gone. Garrus knew it wouldn’t be long until he joined
Shepard… but not until he made his final stand.
Every time he looked
down his scope, another body would fall. Gang members, mercenaries, rebels,
they all became victims to each chambered round. “Soon Reby,” he muttered as
his supplies slowly dwindled. Garrus saw the next wave of unlucky customers
come onto the bridge. He pulled up his sniper gun, placed the scope to his eye,
and froze. “Shepard?” He saw her ghost…
but she looked so real. Maybe he finally lost it. Garrus fired a concussive
round, hoping the ghost would disappear. It was a direct hit but the
Doppelganger remained. This could only mean… it was her! And she was… alive!
Immediately he felt every heart beat pound against his chest, his fingers
tremble upon the trigger, his eyes swelling up with tears. Trying so hard to
not to allow his emotions to blur his judgment, chanting “Deep breaths,
Vakarian.”
“Archangel?”
That was Reby’s voice, no doubting that. Just the way she said his alias sent
shockwaves through him. Garrus removed his helmet and set it aside. Sat down on
the arm rest of the closest chair and replied, “Shepard. I thought you were
dead.”
“Garrus! What are you doing here?” she came over with open
arms and hugged him, squeezing as tightly as she could. His eyes clenched shut,
breathing in every bit of her. His senses coming back to life, it felt so good
to be alive again.
“Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice.”
“You okay?”
“Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face,”
he responded. Shepard had no idea how she saved his life, in more ways than
one.
Spirits be damned,
he had difficulty in confessing his feelings. Even when she suggested testing
his reach to her flexibility, he wanted to tell her everything but instead
could only come up with bad metaphors. There were many awkward conversations,
fumbling nervously around her, but it all changed that night before they left
for the Omega 4 Relay.
It was their first
time being with another species but it felt so natural. With how many things
have gone wrong, he wanted one thing to go right, just once. He got his wish.
They were laying in her bed, facing each other, their breathing still heavy
from their encounter. Their gazes seemed locked onto each other. Knowing this
may be their only night together, it was now or never.
“Reby, I don’t know
what we will face tomorrow. But I do know that I would never forgive myself if
I don’t do this. I…” His pause dragged out longer than he expected.
“You know you can tell me anything. What are you hiding
behind those blue eyes?” Her voice was calming, welcoming him to share his
thoughts.
Garrus’s hands slid
across the sheets and took both of Reblicah’s hands into his. He squeezed them
tightly and whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Say it again… please,” he pleaded.
“I love you too, Garrus.”
“You have no idea
how long I have waited for this. I love you, Shepard. I cannot say it enough. I
didn’t know how much you meant to me until I left the Normandy. Every single day, every waking
minute, all I could think about was you. Constantly being tempted to try and
get in touch with you but I wasn’t fast enough. You were gone… leaving a
growing emptiness inside of me. I know I’m going to sound crazy but I spent two
years hoping your spirit was there by my side, I even had conversations with
your ghost. Even though you weren’t there, you were so real to me. I could hear
your voice, see you smile, feel your touch. It was the best way for me to cope.
It really felt like I lost my best friend, like I lost… my bondmate.”
The asari term
seemed so fitting. Bondmates meant you were eternal. Even when their partner
died, the other would always have their impression. Each species had their way
of bonding, like asaris would perform melding. Turians would mark their
companion by performing a mutual ritual where one would bite the other, leaving
a scar. How Shepard managed to leave her spiritual impression remained a
mystery. All Garrus knew is how he belonged to Reblicah, and hopefully, one day
she would belong to him.
“I really should
have told you sooner. And even though I said it, I still feel like I’m too
late, I’m sorry,” he shyly mentioned watching her brown eyes still gaze at him.
Water welled up in his eyes. Ashamed of his emotions, he clenched them shut,
hoping she didn’t see. Reby brought their tangled fingers to her lips and
gently placed a kiss. Triggering more tears to fight their way out.
“It’s okay Garrus,”
she assured him. She unbound their hands and placed hers along the side of his
face, thumbing away the droplets. Her soft human touch was so comforting.
“I also have a
confession,” she began, “It’s been very difficult for me to talk about my
death. I may joke about it but that’s just a defense mechanism. In reality, it
scares the hell out of me. Dying becomes burned into your memories, scarring
you permanently. I’m constantly reliving my final minutes, constantly
remembering the… pain…” Her eyes widened and stared off into an empty void.
Visions of drifting
in the dark trenches of space plagued her mind. Clawing at her suit, gasping
for air, she felt her body fighting to stay alive. The lack of oxygen tortured
her lungs, the pressure of the vacuum pounding against her chest. Everything
became blurry before slowly fading to black. Gravely remembering the echo of
hearing her heart’s last beat. She gasped, regaining her consciousness.
“It haunts me…,”
Shepard stuttered as she shook her head, hoping the image would vanish. After
taking a deep breath, she continued, “When I woke up, it only felt like a few
days had passed but it was actually two years. So much had changed, so many had
moved on with their lives… I don’t blame them… It’s just really difficult to
for me to understand. But even with everything being so different, you make me
feel like… I was never gone. You gave me a reason to accept my resurrection.
Thank you.”
Reblicah’s body
scooted closer to her turian companion. Placing her hands on his mandibles, she
brought his lips to hers. Whispering, “I love you so much, Garrus. I have
always had feelings for you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“To be honest, I never imagined finding happiness in the
arms of a turian. With all the tensions between our species, I didn’t think you
would feel the same way.”
“I do, I do feel the
same way. And now that I have you, I am never giving you up.” Garrus shifted
their bodies until he was over hers. His hand weaved through her arms to the
back of her neck and began digging his claws into her hairline. Bringing his
forehead to greet hers, he quietly purred, “I will always belong to you,
Shepard.”
Feeling her arms
wrap around his neck, her fingertips dancing around the base of his fringe.
“There is one thing dying has taught me, and that is how to live,” her words
barely left her mouth before pulling him in, locking their lips. They spent the
rest of the night passionately sharing their bodies and their thoughts to each
other. Trying desperately to catch up on all the years they missed.
Garrus stared at his
console, noticing the time was passing by too slowly. It was barely 40 minutes.
Instead of attempting to distract himself for the remaining bit, he opened the
doors and began heading towards the elevator. Suddenly, an idea flooded his
mind. It was something he thought about before. He questioned if it was too
still too early to bring it up and if it was too much to ask from her.
“I think she is
ready,” he reassured himself, remembering all their treasured moments together,
smiling as he pressed the button for the Commander’s quarters. He wondered if
she will accept it or if she will refuse. Panic, excitement, emotions raced
through his veins. This was really going to happen.
Next Chapter =>
