Chapter 5 – Scars

It was the day of the gallery exhibition and the couple dressed up for the occasion, wearing the exact same outfit they had the night before the Omega 4 Relay. Garrus had Reblicah hanging on his arm, their hands clutched together tightly as they walked the Presidium. They reminisced about the times they shared back in the old days, back when they used to run around the outdoor pavilion of the Citadel for minuscule tasks. Shepard even brought up the day they first met at the Medical Clinic in the Wards, causing the turian to nervously rub the back of his neck. He couldn't believe that was already two years ago.

The Commander seemed immune to the conversations and glares surrounding her. But Garrus immediately caught his partner's name being uttered amongst the whispers. Nearly every human they passed showed displeasure in their relationship. Their sneering eyes could be seen piercing through the crowds, directed towards the interspecies couple.

"It appears many don't approve of our relationship," Garrus mentioned.

"They can get over it."

"Are you sure you don't mind being with me in public? I mean… are you sure it's okay for us to be so open about our relationship?"

"You worry too much, Garrus. I love you and I love being with you. I could care less what others think."

"I know you can go for something closer to home."

"Do we need to go over this again? I don't want someone closer to my species… I want someone I can trust, I want you. Don't allow their hostile reactions to provoke you into feeling a little awkward because I don't regret being with you, not even for a minute. Otherwise I would have never committed to being your bondmate."

"I know… I just… maybe I am letting them get to under my skin."

"In fact…" Shepard pried herself away from the Gunnery Chief, walked over to the closest bench and stood on the seat. She faced the spectators, watching as a curious audience made their way closer. When she had a good crowd, she loudly called out, "I am Commander Shepard and I have something I want to share. All the rumors you might have heard about me are true."

She pulled her long golden brown hair back and revealed the scar on her neck. Some of the group stared in shock, others whispered to each other, while a few nodded in approval. Reby continued, "If you have any issues with it, take it elsewhere because it will fall on deaf ears here. I want every single human to know that we as a whole should cease being so pro-Terra Firma. The longer we keep segregating ourselves the longer it will take for us to be accepted. That will make it difficult for me to do my job and save every single one of you."

She hopped off the bench with a victorious smirk. Her boastful attitude left her glowing, giving her a sense of being unstoppable. Reby closed in on the turian watching her every move, her grin increasing the closer she got. When she was in proximity of her companion, she took his hand and led him away from the crowd. Once the distance between them and her spectators seemed desirable, she cocked her head at him and asked, "Did that help?"

"No… but do you feel better?"

"Immensely!"

"I must admit… that was brave."

"When have I ever not been? After all, it's part of my job."

"I can list a few times."

She playfully slapped him with the back of her hand, "I love you, Garrus, and I want to scream it out to the whole world."

"You're off to a good start," he chuckled.

"I would have to agree. Although, I was hoping the event we're attending would do it for me."

"What is so special about this gallery exhibition?"

"I guess there's no harm in revealing my little secret. It's something I put…"

"SHEPARD!" A familiar voice echoed behind the couple. "COMMANDER SHEPARD!"

Reby turned around and saw Kaidan Alenko navigating his way towards them. Her smile vanished, replaced by a look of dread. Every ounce of her confidence faded away, leaving her insecurities to consume her. She clenched her eyes, hoping as hard as she could that this was just a dream. When she noticed he was still closing in, she squeezed Garrus's hand tighter… he could feel her pulse pounding through her fingertips. Never had he ever seen her so nervous. She may be the bravest soldier on the field but she was diffident when it came to personal relationships.

"I lost my bravery…" the words softly escaped her lips moments before the Alliance officer arrived.

"Shepard!"

"Hello Kaidan," her voice stuttered.

"I hear you're coming back to the Alliance. Does that mean you finished working for Cerberus?"

"I was never working for Cerberus. They just had a temporary leash on me."

"But are the rumors true about your return?"

"Possibly, I've been talking with Captain Anderson and Admiral Hackett about the reinstatement. As far as they are concerned, I never stopped wearing the blues but there are a few people that need convincing."

"That's great news. I hope to rejoin your crew on the Normandy. It'll be just like old time," he said, completely ignoring the reaction from the turian by her side.

"We can always use someone with your qualifications aboard. But it's going to be different. Some things have changed and I'm with…" Reby was trying to explain the situation but the words just weren't coming out.

Kaidan interrupted her, asking, "Actually, Shepard, can I talk to you for a moment? Alone?"

Garrus didn't want to leave Reby… alone… with her previous love interest. She could read his every thought through his blue eyes, but she gave him a reassuring nod and respected her request as he stepped away. Keeping the two in his sights, he leaned against the railing near one of the lakes in the Presidium. His gaze peered out of the corner of eye, his ear attuned to their direction, desperately hoping that he wouldn't have to interfere with whatever Kaidan was planning.

There was a pause between the two as they stood nervously in front of each other. Finally, Staff Lieutenant Alenko blurted out, "I just wanted to apologize again about what happened at Horizon. I was a jerk. It was difficult dealing with your death… and even more when I found out you were alive."

"Kaidan, what is done is done. There is nothing more you can do so please leave it at that."

"I just wanted to know why you never responded to the message I sent you. I cannot tell you how many hours I sat staring at the screen hoping your reply would come in."

"I didn't know what to say. I understand why you moved on. It's okay, I was dead."

"But you're not anymore."

"Yes, I may be alive but I'm not the same person anymore. A lot has changed."

"You seem the same to me. How about this… what are you doing later? Maybe I can take you out for drinks and we can catch up?"

"Actually, Garrus and I are attending a special exhibition together."

"What about tomorrow?"

"Kaidan, stop, please. I'm trying to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I can't be with you."

"What? Why not?"

"I'm with…" Reby just couldn't get the last words out. She could announce it to a crowd of strangers, she could share it with her crewmembers, but when it came to her old love… the words erased themselves from her vocabulary.

Garrus couldn't stand seeing his bondmate fumbling anxiously to tell Kaidan about their relationship. He could clearly see how frustrated Shepard was becoming and that she wouldn't be able to last much longer. He needed to do something - he had to step in and rescue her. But if he did Kaidan would immediately realize he was listening in to the whole conversation.

The Gunnery Chief casually walked up to the Commander's side and rested his talons on her shoulders. "Sorry to interrupt but we're going to be late."

"Thank you, Garrus." She put her hand atop of his and nuzzled it with her cheek, softly expressing how his intervention saved her. A brief flash of her scar showed through her brunette strands of hair, baring her secrets to the Alliance officer standing before her.

Kaidan cocked his head to the side as he finally put all the pieces together. "Wait, are you two…" making hand movements that suggested the next word, "together."

"Yes," Garrus growled. His piercing blue eyes locked onto Alenko, exhibiting his undying devotion to the woman at his fingertips.

"That was fast."

"It's been two years, Kaidan. You told me that you moved on… so I did too."

"But Reby, he's a turian."

Garrus's mandibles flickered at the tone Alenko used to say his species name, "I'm also her bondmate."

"Stay out of this, Vakarian," his voice was assertive, "Reblicah, answer me… why? Wasn't what we shared special? We are perfect for each other."

The Commander couldn't bring her eyes to meet him. "It was special Kaidan, back then. We may indeed be the perfect couple by any standards but you are not the right one for me. Garrus is."

"Shepard, I can give you the life you want. I can give you a family."

"Maybe I don't want a family, have you ever thought of that? Maybe I just want someone I can trust to stand by my side no matter what flag I fight under. You abandoned me at Horizon, I gave you the opportunity to rejoin my team but all you cared about was my relationship with Cerberus. For someone who fought beside me for so long, I expected more out of you than your stubbornness. Garrus will continue to stand by my side, even if I die again." She finally brought her copper eyes to meet his to further drill in, "And because of his dedication, I will do whatever it takes to show the world my gratitude for him. He is the only one that makes my life worth living."

"But Rebli…" she held her hand up and immediately stopped him mid-speech.

"Listen, Kaidan. I could still use you on my team. You are always welcome aboard the Normandy. But don't think of what we had anymore - try to work on the friendship we can have. We can never be, there will be no second chances, because I belong to Garrus."

"I just have one question Reby and please answer it honestly. If things went differently on Horizon, if I didn't say the things I did, would things be better between us?"

The question hit her harder than being rampaged by a krogan battlemaster. Her building confidence fled the scene leaving her insecure and her facial expression blank. She attempted to regain control of the situation but the word came out before she could retract it. "Yes," even though it was quietly muttered, it sounded like a loud echo to the two surrounding Reby.

"Understood, Commander. I'll, uh… let you get back to… whatever you were doing." He attempted to salute but stopped halfway. He just turned and walked away with his head held low, avoiding contact with anyone in his path.

Reby motionlessly watched as he disappeared back into the crowds in the Presidium. She turned and slinked away from the grip of her companion, shaking her head as she quietly walked away. Garrus followed in her path hoping his spunky Commander would return before they reached the exhibit.

After a few minutes of silence, Reby stopped in her tracks. Still facing away from her partner, she sighed, "Some days I wish I was never resurrected, for reasons like our encounter back there. Things change so much after two years."

Garrus felt his heart sink the moment she said those words. He attempted to lighten the air, "Hopefully some things don't."

"Thankfully, or I don't know how I would manage… I know what you want to ask me, Garrus. Why did I say yes?"

"It's definitely one of them."

"The reason why is because I believe that everything happens for a reason. Yes, if things happened differently on Horizon I would still be with Kaidan. I know we would become the ideal couple, the pinnacle of the human race. Two Alliance marines… Spectres… But I'm glad the way everything turned out because I have you. I know for a fact I am much happier with you than I could ever be with Kaidan. Even if I had to relive the whole situation on Horizon again, I wouldn't change any bit of it."

"You'd go through the heart ache all over again just to be with me?"

"Yes. Those memories are constantly knocking on the back of my skull and pulling every single one of my heart strings to the brink of breaking, but it's nothing I can't handle. Because I have you and you are my every reason for living, my will to keep fighting, my strength to succeed."

She lightly treaded towards him, her head still held low, standing injured before him and waiting for his welcoming embrace. Garrus took her chin in his hands and slowly brought it up, revealing the bloodshot eyes hidden behind her hair. He brushed away the tear crawling down her cheek and brought his forehead to hers.

"You mean everything to me and I am prepared to fight to the end to protect it," she whimpered, "Be it some random crowd of people on the Citadel or against an entire Reaper fleet, no battle will be big enough to separate me from you."

"Why me? What makes me so lucky?"

"I could ask you the same. After all, you are the one who bonded with me."

"I couldn't live without you any longer. Even my dreams seemed empty if they didn't contain you. With you, everything seems different, I no longer feel alone in this world."

"Exactly," she brought her eyes to lock onto his. Inching her lips to his mouth, feeling his warm exhales dusted across her skin the closer she became, she tenderly planted her lips against his and a surge of electricity ran down her spine. The sensation was addicting and he was the only cure.

When they parted away, her glow had returned. "Come on, we're nearly there," she said, tilting her head in the direction of their destination.

"Actually, Reby, before we continue on, I do have one other question… you mentioned there is a possibility that you didn't want a family. You're not saying that because you are with me, are you? Since we are unable to produce children together…"

"No, that's not it at all, Garrus. It's actually something I thought about before we started becoming serious, mostly because being dead really makes you think about a lot of things… If I have children, they will be under constant pressure. No matter how I raise them, everyone will have high expectations since they are the offspring of the great Commander Shepard. I don't want to force my struggles onto anyone, especially my own children."

"So it isn't because you're with a turian."

"Do I need to make another public announcement?"

"No, I don't think that would be necessary."

"Good. Maybe down the line, we'll find a way to have a family… like adopt or something. But for right now, I am more than content with it being just you and me."

"I am too."

"Hell, if we ever want to adopt, we can go back to Tuchanka and pick up Urz."

Garrus rolled his eyes at her comment. He rubbed her back and assured her, "We'll see."

When they got to the exhibit, the gallery hostess immediately noticed Reblicah. "Ah Commander Shepard, I'm glad to see you made it. And this must be your partner, Garrus Vakarian. It's an honor to have you both here."

"No problem at all Claire. How is everything running?"

"Smoothly, we have a great turnout."

"Wonderful!"

"Please, come in… enjoy yourselves," Claire joyfully suggested as she opened the door.

The two walked into the gallery, navigating their way to the center of the exhibit. Garrus immediately noticed something different about the crowd of people attending. There appeared to be a high density of just humans and turians, he couldn't see any other species walking around the halls of the art gallery. Even some of the humans bore the mark of a turian bonding. He wanted to bring it up to Shepard but she was too busy searching through the various artworks trying to find their creation.

"Look," Reby stopped and pointed at the painting highlighted in the center of the gallery, "There's ours."

"Why does ours get the special treatment?" he questioned.

"Since I was a major benefactor for this event, they decided to put ours on center stage. Plus… I'm Commander Shepard," she boasted with a playful grin.

"You helped put this together?"

"Indeed, I thought it would be nice if we did something to celebrate our union together. So I came up with the idea of putting an event together that commemorated the relationship between human and turian couples. An event to show how diverse each couple is and have it reflect in their paintings or sculptures. So I began talking to Claire, the one we met at the door, and she helped put it together."

"This is impressive."

"I know you still have your doubts as to why we're together. I'm hoping this will help rest some of them. Remember, I did say yes."

Garrus looked directly into her eyes and could read her every thought clearly. She wasn't ashamed of him, she loved being with him and loved showing the world their relationship. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his forehead against hers.

"How did I end up so lucky?"

"Well, Mr Vakarian, we share similar goals, to change the world for the better. If an opportunity comes for me to save a life, you know I will. After all, I saved yours only because you saved mine. It only seems fair."

-THE-END-