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Before Shepard was “relieved of duty,” she hated running. But now that she was under house arrest, there was no chance for weapons training or anything remotely combat related. So she ran. At first it was on the treadmills in the gym. But there were no windows there, only mirrors; and she was tired of her reflection staring back at her. After weeks of what amounted to begging, she was finally granted access to the outdoor training facilities.
So three to four times each week (always at different times and distances), Shepard and Vega ran around the grounds. Vega was a fit marine; there was no denying it, but his endurance was absolute crap. He’d keep 50 meters or so behind her for the first mile, but the longer she ran, the more and more distance she put between them. On the days where she’d run 7 miles or more, Vega would just wait near the entrance for her to finish. He knew she’d never just up and run away.
Regardless of how ridiculous her incarceration was, she never once considered breaking out. But she could understand why people seemed to think she would seeing as how she once stole the Alliance’s most advance naval ship. Though people seem to forget that Anderson helped with that…
Shepard looked down at the watch on her wrist to check her vitals, time, and distance. 5.3 miles so far, heart rate steady, and just over an hour run. She was well over her normal pace, which meant it would be time to increase her distance. At this rate, she’d be at half marathon distance in just a few weeks.
When she looked up, she found herself barreling into an oncoming runner. They collided with such force that they toppled over each other and rolled over on the track; a tangle of limbs and grunts.
“I’m sorry,” Shepard spoke first. “Didn’t even see you. Are you alright?”
“That hurt a lot more than I expected,” said the female marine. “There’s not much time, Commander,” the girl continued as she shoved something into Shepard’s palm. “This will only work when you’re outside the building. Scanners will pick up its frequency inside, and they’ll take it from you,” the girl said, hurried.
“What is this? Who are you?” Shepard asked while still trying to catch her breath.
“The Shadow Broker owes you a great debt, Commander, and this is one way to repay it.” As the girl helped Shepard to her feet, she looked around and noticed a large marine jogging toward them. “You can’t take it back inside, and it’s on an automatic timer for eight minutes so as to avoid Alliance detection. Today, they run a frequency scan every 10 minutes staring…” she checked her omni-tool, “now,” she finished. The scans last 30 seconds, good luck, Commander,” the girl said before dusting herself off and yelling an apology at Shepard loud enough for Vega to hear.
Shepard quickly turned her back to Vega, checked the time and looked at what was in her hand: an earpiece. She slipped it beneath the wrist band of her watch just before Vega reached her.
“That looked like a bad fall, Commander. Are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” she took a step and felt pain shoot through her ankle. “Well, maybe not,” she said just as she lost her balance and fell into his grip. Vega helped her limp over to a bench just off the track and under some trees.
“I could throw you over my shoulder and carry you to the med bay, Commander,” Vega teased.
“Yea,” Shepard huffed. “And give you an excuse to treat me like a damsel in distress?”
“Aww, c’mon, I just want to lend a helping hand.”
“…to cop a feel,” she teased him. They sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds, but Shepard was dying to know the story behind the earpiece. “You know,” she began, “I think I’m done running for today.”
“Good, I’m tired of pretending to like running,” Vega said as he stood.
“Could you give me some time to just sit here?” The “alone” implication was unspoken, but Vega knew what she meant even though he hesitated. “Seriously? Where could I possibly limp off to if you leave me alone for 30 minutes?”
Vega checked his watch (he wasn’t allowed an omni-tool while watching Shepard, just in case) and said, “7 minutes, Commander.”
When he was far enough away, Shepard stood and limped over to one of the bigger shade trees near the bench. She sat down and leaned against the tree as she put the earpiece in. Completely unsure of what to do, she just started talking, “Uh, hello?”
There was what sounded like a sigh of relief before he breathed her name, “Shepard. It’s damn good to hear your voice.”
She immediately looked back to make sure no one was near her before she responded. “Garrus Vakarian,” she said and couldn’t help the face splitting grin that made her cheeks hurt.
“That’s it? Three months without any contact outside your cell and that’s all I get? Prison has changed you, Shepard.”
“I’m not in a prison cell,” she corrected. “And since when do you get favors from The Shadow Broker? If Liara ever finds out, she’ll kick your ass.”
Garrus laughed, and it was a sound she didn’t know she missed until that moment. “I doubt that,” was all he said before changing the subject. “So how are you, really?”
“Bored to death, most of the time. But at least no one is shooting at me on a regular basis. A girl could get used to that.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Shepard,” Garrus said. “You miss being shot at, admit it.”
“That’s not all I miss,” she said as she looked around again to make sure there was no one near. “Where are you? Are you OK?”
“Well after you abandoned me…”
“I didn’t abandon you!”
“I guess in prison they don’t tell you it’s rude to interrupt people,” he said, sarcastically.
She laughed, but quickly put a hand over her mouth to stop the sound. “Don’t make me laugh or I might get caught.”
“To answer your question, I’m back on Palaven. And I’m fine, for now.”
“Palaven?” she sounded disappointed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, picking up her tone.
“Nothing, I just,” she paused to shake her head even though he couldn’t see her. “I guess I sorta hoped that you had gone back to vigilante mode and were waiting with a renegade crew to break me out of prison.”
“I thought you weren’t in a prison,” he teased. They both laughed after a moment. “I’m actually an advisor to the Palaven military.”
“Oh?”
“It’s a long story,” he sighed, “And I’d rather not waste our time talking about diplomatic bullshit. So, what are you wearing?”
Shepard practically snorted at the question. “I’m a sweaty mess after running over 5 miles before taking a fall thanks to the person who gave me this earpiece.”
“Prison has made you soft, Shepard. Getting knocked down by marines while on a leisurely stroll? Maybe I do need to pool some resources and break you out. This is worse than I thought.”
“Oh shut up, Garrus,” she said through a smile. There was so much she wanted to say, wanted to ask; but the words wouldn’t unjumble themselves. “I miss you,” she managed, hoping it didn’t sound too desperate.
“Not nearly as much as I miss you,” was his immediate response. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing out here,” he sighed.
“What do you mean?”
“I finally got Palaven Command to take me seriously about the reapers, but I don’t know if it’s going to do any good.”
“They’re actually listening to you about the threat? That’s more than anyone has ever done with my warnings,” she said. “So whatever you’re doing, Garrus, keep it up. Stay on them and raise as much hell as you can.”
Garrus laughed, but it was mirthless. “I’m supposed to be the one reassuring you while you’re locked up, yet here you are telling me that things are going to work out. How do you always do that, Shepard? Spirits, I wish you were here with me.”
“I wish I was too, but not for those reasons,” she joked. Garrus hummed his agreement. And that was all it took for her to close her eyes and let the memories of them together wash over her. “Especially when you make that noise,” she said, breathily.
Snapping herself out of the memories, she checked her watch, “Damn, I haven’t got much time before my escort comes back.” She looked around the tree and saw Vega checking his watch as well.
“Can we talk again tomorrow?”
“I can’t make that promise, Garrus. I’m only allowed outside a few days a week, and it’s never on a set schedule. They don’t like to let me have a routine.”
“A military that doesn’t like routine?” he questioned.
“Yes, they are worried that I’ll find a way to communicate with my old crew. Can’t for the life of me figure how they came to that conclusion,” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I see,” Garrus laughed. “Well, can you hang on to the comm and just try me when you can? It’s patched directly to my omni-tool.”
“I’ll try to hide it outside somewhere,” she said, looking around the trunk of the tree she was leaning on.
“Oh, and Shepard?”
“Yea, Garrus?”
“I really miss that thing you do with that flexible mouth of yours.”
Shepard practically choked at the comment and could feel the flush rush to her cheeks. “I bet you do,” she replied. She finally found a notch in one of the exposed roots that looked like it could hide her earpiece.
“For what it’s worth, Garrus,” she began to speak faster as she saw Vega walking toward her, “I really, really miss the reach of your tongue.” Now it was Garrus’ turn to cough. “Since you’re all alone where you are, why not let your own hand prove how inadequate it is compared to my mouth.”
“You are a terrible human, Shepard.”
“Time’s up, Commander.”
“Who is that?” Garrus asked. Was that a hint of jealously?
“Gotta go, really needed this, thanks a lot, love you, bye.” She pulled the earpiece out, not waiting for his response. She put it into the tree and found a stray leaf and some grass to place on top.
“What are you doing back here, Commander?” Vega asked, stepping up next to her.
“Killing bugs,” she replied with a shrug. When Vega looked at her wide eyed she added, “What? This is the only time I get to put my combat skills to good use.”
“Te has desmoronado…” Vega muttered under his breath.
“Mira quién fue a hablar, soldado,” she replied with a wink.
Vega looked shocked, “You speak Spanish, Lola?!”
“There was a time when people had to communicate without translators, Vega.” It wasn’t until they began to walk back to the track when Shepard realized that was the first time she told Garrus she loved him.