Chapter Text
".... So as long as we get the Krogan on side, I think we should he able to hold Cipritine for another few weeks." The Primarch wrapped up and dismissed the city map from the display in the Normandy's War-room. Garrus nodded mutely. Whatever way you looked at it, the prospects for their planet were not good at all. Although he'd known of the Reaper threat for nearly three years now, it hadn't made the sheer speed of the onslaught any easier to absorb.
The pair started to move towards the CIC, both lost in thought and Victus suggested they grab some rations from the mess before heading to bed. It was already late and most of the human crew would have gone to bed hours ago.
As they approached the elevator, Garrus allowed his mind to wander... he wondered if Shepard would be waiting up. Despite his best intentions yesterday, they still hadn't exactly clarified what their relationship would look like going forward.
He'd been so relieved to see her alive, and was frankly ecstatic when she'd told him she still had feelings for him, but on reflection, Shepard had been frustratingly vague about the specifics. Was this still a casual arrangement or did she want something more serious? In principle, he'd take whatever she offered but if he was really honest with himself he was ready to go all-in if she'd have him.
Last night, on his first evening back on the Normandy, he'd paced restlessly in the battery, wondering if he should head up to Shepard's cabin or if that would be overly forward. Making a snap decision, he'd confirmed with EDI that Shepard was indeed in her quarters, alone and awake and he'd grabbed the wine and strode purposefully towards the elevator. They'd already lost enough time due to her imprisonment and he didn't want to waste anymore.
Once her bedroom door slid open, he'd been treated to the sight of her leaning against the fish tank, dressed only in a set of lacy black undergarments and she'd greeted him coyly,
"What took you so long?"
After that little display, he had naturally abandoned all thoughts of talking through their relationship, had unceremoniously dropped the wine on the desk and immediately pulled her into a crushing embrace, alternating between human and turian style kisses as he'd backed her slowly towards the bed. The next few hours were utter perfection but as Shepard drifted off to sleep curled up in his arms, he'd reluctantly realised that they still didn't get the chance to talk properly.
"Was there anything else you wished to discuss?" Victus' voice tugged Garrus back to the here and now as they stood alone in the mess, heating two portions of the disgusting dried rations that passed for dextro food on the Normandy. Garrus shook his head a little to clear his thoughts in a distinctly human manner. If Victus noticed, he didn't remark.
"Yes actually. I do have a personal matter I wanted to raise." While he and Shepard hadn't spoken much at all last night, in the morning as they'd hastily dressed, he did ask if the SR2 now being an Alliance vessel meant they should be more careful in light of fraternization rules. She'd rolled her eyes to show how little she cared but mentioned she would tell Hackett next time they spoke. The last thing she wanted was for her commanding officer to be blindsided by Khalisah al-Jilani.
"I assume this is about Commander Shepard?" Victus asked in an unreadable tone.
"Yes it is.." Garrus began, thrown off at having been pre-empted.
"You disappeared up to the Captain's room late last night and didn't return to sleep in the Crew Quarters. It wasn't exactly hard to deduce." Victus allowed himself a smirk, "Plus Castis had his suspicions. You talked about her a lot while she was grounded."
Apparantly Garrus had not been as subtle as he thought when he had been appealing for support from his father. He filed that away under problems he'd have to deal with later. Provided they all survived the next few weeks.
"Normally, I don't particularly care what my troops get up to in their own time Vakarian." Victus continued, pausing to take a bite of his meal, "But you need to consider your rank now. And hers for that matter. Commander Shepard is meant to help us reach an agreement with the Krogan. This could be the single most important negotiation of our lives. We cannot risk upsetting their representative with rumours of favouritism."
Garrus frowned, almost unable to believe what he was hearing. He'd expected resistance from the Alliance and had been relieved when Shepard had firmly started she didn't intend to take their opinion of her cross-species liaison into account. The last thing he'd anticipated was any degree of push back from his own people.
While he understood what the Primarch was saying in principle, the Krogan leader in question was Wrex. It was extremely unlikely that he would give two shits about who Shepard was sleeping with... but it was equally clear that Wrex was willing to take whatever leverage he could get in this war.
Petty politics aside, he or Shepard could easily be dead tomorrow. Whatever moments they could snatch between missions over the next couple of weeks could realistically be all they got. Was he really going to pass on this chance because a senior office told him to? After half a second's consideration he settled on a resounding definitely not.
"With all due respect, Sir, my intention tonight was to advise you that Commander Shepard and I are..." he hesitated as he tried and failed to reach for a suitable word to describe their dalliance, then settled for "Involved. I'm not asking for permission."
In the last 6 months, he had rapidly ascended the ranks in the Hierarchy. He suspected he was about to descend even quicker. His father would be disappointed, unimpressed but unfortunately not surprised.
Victus sighed heavily and pushed the remainder of his meal to one side.
"Look Vakarian, be reasonable. Plenty of others would have ordered you off this ship the second they caught wind of your relationship with the Captain. I'm not trying to separate you. All I ask is you show a degree of discretion while the Krogan representatives remain on board. If you prefer, I can explain this to Commanded Shepard."
Majorly disgruntled, Garrus stood and tossed the remainder of his food into the trash. Victus was playing dirty by that tactic and he knew it. Shepard wouldn't do anything to risk Turian support for Earth and that meant keeping Victus on side.
"I'll talk to Shepard. I can talk to Wrex too, smooth things over."
"Don't talk to the Krogan." Victus ordered firmly. " I know the three of you served together on the SR1 but I want to be clear that he is not our ally in this. Not yet. Until his troops are on Palaven, I don't want you breathing a word of this to him."
"Fine." Garrus grunted. He was suddenly embarassingly, inordinately relieved that he and Shepard had taken the opportunity to have their impromptu reunion last night before he'd spoken to Victus, "But once Shepard gets this done... Once she's secured troops for Palaven and our support for Earth... I'm staying with her on the Normandy. I can continue to coordinate our defenses from here."
"That.... Seems like a fair compromise." Victus agreed. Garrus blinked in surprise. That had been easier than he'd expected.
"EDI is Shepard awake?" Garrus asked abruptly, directing his question to the ceiling.
"Her vital signs indicate she fell asleep several hours ago." EDI replied immediately. That was good at least, she hadn't waited up for him. He'd have to break the news to her in the morning then. He expected she'd take it better than him, but he still wasn't looking forward to the conversation.
The Primarch tidied away the remainder of their meal, and the pair headed towards the Crew Quarters in an uncomfortable silence.