Work Text:
Six months can be a long time. Garrus’ last six months have been hell.
His home planet is in flames, fighting on Menae is taking everything he’s got and Shepard...he hasn’t heard from her since the Normandy dropped him off on Palaven. He knows she’s under house arrest, but the total lack of news is still at least a little disquieting.
He tries to keep his mind off it, off her, as best he can. Wondering about his relationship status isn’t gonna help him, or his squad or anyone.
But then she’s there, she’s back. With the same wit and strength and attitude and even less interested in taking anyone’s shit.
Shepard smiles at him when she shakes his hand and that is all it takes for him to fall in love all over again. The next second he is covering her back while she is running around a wreaking havoc again and when she asks him to join her on the Normandy he accepts in a heartbeat.
She doesn’t come to visit him in the main battery like she used to, though. Not the first day. Not the second. Not the third. Any of his attempts to come up to her and talk she brushes off. It’s like she wants nothing to do with him.
When, after a week, she finally shows up he has pretty much given up.
“Hey”
“Hey”, he doesn’t even look up from his console.
She moves into his peripheral vision and he just knows she is questioningly tilting her head at him. “How are you?”
He has to do his best not to laugh at the question. What does she think? “On edge, worried about my planet and my family, I’m probably gonna die in the next months. So pretty much like everyone else.”
Shepard tenses up, he knows her body language well enough to know that his response caught her off guard and he resents the instant impulse to comfort her. “I’m sorry, Garrus.”
“For what? Bringing me on the ship again and then ignoring me for a week?”
“I-”
“Honestly Shepard, If you don’t love me any more you could have just…”, he stops when he turns around and sees her face. She looks like hell. Pale, with big shadows under her eyes, her hair sticking out from what used to be a meticulously maintained bowl cut. Her arms are wrapped around her like she is hugging herself.
When she speaks there is genuine hurt in her voice. “Of course I do. Of course I still love you. It’s just that everything’s been fucking awful and…” Shepard raises her arms, sighs and puts them down again. “I know you’ve got all that on your plate. You didn’t need my mess too.”
“Hey”, he rests his talons on her arms and leans down until they are eye to eye. “I really missed your mess.”
Shepard laughs and Garrus pulls her into a hug. “Don’t ever doubt that I love you, Vakarian. Okay?”
“Okay okay”, he buries his face in her hair. “I love you too.”