Life in the Skies

The light of the unfamiliar holographic interface in front of Garrus puzzled him. He traced his finger along the numerous pop-ups that prompted a change in course as he tried his best to make sense of the peculiar network that he was forced to deal with. The turian was usually quick to understand the concept of any new tech he came across, but it was taking him a bit too long to adapt to the vehicle's strange global positioning system design. He couldn't help but sigh in irritation as he continued his struggle. At least he was familiar enough with the interface not to cause an accident and fly into one of the many other skycars around his own while they moved along the same path as him.

"What's wrong?" Garrus could hear a muffled sound beside him say, causing his head to turn to the right to look towards the quarian sitting on the adjacent seat, her eyes slightly glimmering through the purple helmet of her silver colored suit, which also had the occasional traces of red and violet markings along her chest and shoulders. The silhouettes of several skyscraper spires could be seen through the window over them, an impressive formation of clouds hovering even further above amid the blue sky. Controlling the vehicle was hard enough without having such fascinating sights distracting him.

"I'm trying to find a way to input the code Shepard gave me," he replied as he returned to his futile efforts, "But I can't get it to work for some reason. I bet we have picked a skycar with a faulty computer."

"You were the one who insisted on renting a skycar, Garrus," Tali commented with an amused tone, "We could have easily found transport from the spaceport to take us to Shepard and Liara's apartment instead."

"And where would be the fun in that?" Garrus retorted, twitching his mandibles into a turian smirk, "Don't worry, I'll find out how to get it to work. There are probably instructions here somewhere, but it'll be faster if I figure it out on my own."

"I didn't think I'd live to see the day where you would have trouble calibrating something," Tali said, a light chuckle escaping along with her teasing words.

"It happens even to the best, Tali," Garrus replied jokingly.

Even his careful analysis of the interface in front of him was occasionally interrupted by his musings of the scene around. Garrus admired the structural design of the many towering buildings of the city of Armali. His thoughts registered how elegant and regal they were, but his expert eye also didn't fail to notice the kinetic barrier safety systems installed on every floor of the majestic skyscrapers. There was definitely more than just beauty behind them, and it was no wonder that most weren't destroyed by the Reaper invasion. Anyone who was brave or stupid enough to launch an attack or anything of the sort would require a careful strategic plan beforehand to determine the weak spots of these mighty structures. The maneuvering paths laid out for skycars rose above the walkways connecting the buildings, which also looked as if they were built for withstanding a great deal of damage, judging by the mass effect field projectors underneath.

The cityscape was absolutely amazing, to say nothing of the ground levels below, boasting countless numbers of asymmetrical gardens, lakes and winding paths. Even though they were high above, Garrus could still notice the crowds of people crossing the walkways, and the occasional groups of asari and other aliens around the courtyards. No trace of a Reaper invasion could be seen here, as opposed to the many cities of Palaven that still wore the signs of the colossal attack they had endured. The restoration effort to bring them back to their former glory was going to take at least a few years more.

"Garrus, I can't believe you haven't noticed!" Tali exclaimed suddenly, bringing the turian back from his reverie as she read something from her own console, "It says right here that the skycar's onboard VI only accepts voice input, that's why you can't find the command in the computer console."

"Well, clearly, that was the next thing on my mind," Garrus replied with fake confidence, scratching his fringe in a horribly concealed surprise, "I was just searching for confirmation here on the screen."

"Of course you were, Garrus, I understand completely," Tali spoke mockingly, "That was why you spent the past minute looking out the window."

"You're so mean, you know that, right?" Garrus said as he let out a laugh, his mandibles once again spread apart in a smile.

"I guess I must be rubbing off on you, then. I even figured out how to use the VI before you could."

"I thought you deserve to be in the spotlight every once and a while too, Tali," Garrus replied proudly, "A sniper match, however? Now that's something I'll always beat you at."

"Do I look like I'm a trained sniper, Garrus? Of course when you challenge people who are not snipers, like Shepard back on the Citadel, you'll have no problem winning. Would you like to see who takes apart a geth and removes its memory core faster from the two of us?"

Prolonged silence followed as Garrus fumbled around with the skycar controls and cleared his throat loudly while looking through the window in front of him, avoiding eye contact with the quarian next to him.

"Set a course for Residential Module 082," he finally spoke to the VI.

"That's what I thought," Tali said with palpable delight.

Shepard held Velyria in his arms as they watched the view from the apartment together like they were used to doing every day. It was one of the few activities that Velyria always seemed to enjoy, regardless of whatever she might have been grumpy about at the time. Her blue eyes investigated the fantastic layer of clouds above while her father gently caressed her growing head crest, now a little longer than it had been a few weeks ago. The window they were looking through was enormous, running up from the ceiling right down to the floor, and there was an identical one in the apartment on the other side. Velyria had her mouth open in wonderment as she kicked excitedly with her feet, and Shepard couldn't help but smile as he looked at her, kissing her temple with affection.

"Your uncle Garrus and aunt Tali are coming for a visit today," he told her, "I hope you'll be a good girl and give them a good first impression like I know you can."

He only received an inquisitive stare in return, but that was the best he could hope for at that moment. It was a much better response than a sudden burst of tears.

Turning his head around towards the kitchen, Shepard noticed that Liara was taking a holo of him and their daughter using the device she had made a few months ago, a joyful smile on her face that he immediately returned. She was wearing one of his favorite dresses of hers. It was wavy, green in color with a white layer in the middle, as well as black straps over her bare shoulders that each had a tiny round golden piece of jewelry in the middle, and pearly, slightly twinkling shoes on her feet. As he took a step towards her, he nearly tripped over the small white drone with the shape of an oval on the floor that had been programmed to clean the floors of their apartment. It emitted a very quiet, humming sound as it went.

"That thing is going to be the death of me some day," Shepard said as he let out a laugh, "Warn me when you switch it on so that I don't topple over."

"You are right. I wouldn't want my Prothean artifacts destroyed," Liara answered teasingly as she put the device down on the counter.

"It's good to know what your priorities are," Shepard replied mirthfully as he shared a soft, tender kiss with his bondmate. Liara didn't often tease around, but when she did he found it adorable. He asked, "Are you excited about seeing Garrus and Tali again?"

"Absolutely. It's been too long since we last saw each other. I have always enjoyed their company," she said honestly, "I wonder what they will think of Velyria."

"They're going to love her," Shepard answered, looking into his daughter's eyes once more, almost identical to her mother's, "I just hope her uncle doesn't give her too many ideas to cause trouble."

"She has enough ideas already as it is," Liara spoke with a nod of her head, reaching out her arms and accepting her daughter from Shepard as she smiled at her, earning a gurgle in return.

The former Commander of the Normandy headed towards the mirror next to the bedroom door at the edge of the hall, stepping over the cleaning drone underneath. Shepard was wearing one of his old-fashioned button-up shirts, white in color with short sleeves, and black trousers and shoes to go along with it. Getting together with Garrus and Tali was something he looked forward to every time, and he wanted to make the effort to look nice, just like he always did when going out with Liara, since she always looked beautiful in whatever she wore.

The bell chimed just as he was done adjusting his collar. He nearly sprinted towards Liara, who had started walking excitedly towards the door of the apartment, their daughter still in her arms. Shepard rejoined with her and he lightly tapped on the door console, causing it to open smoothly. It revealed the two people that they were expecting – Garrus, who wore a navy blue turian shirt with brown clasps, and was almost unrecognizable because of his removed visor and almost healed scars, and Tali, who was apparently holding a gift that was wrapped in red paper.

Everybody was ecstatic to see one another again as they hugged each other. Heartfelt greetings were quickly exchanged. Garrus and Tali immediately took notice of the figure in Liara's arms. Even though it was difficult to tell when a turian and a quarian smiled, this time it was palpable that both of Shepard and Liara's guests were delighted at the sight of the newly born daughter.

"She's so beautiful!" Tali exclaimed joyfully, her hand lightly tapping Velyria's head crest, who once again offered only her confused and suspicious gaze as a response.

"She looks just like Shepard," Garrus commented, his mandibles flared into a turian grin as he looked at his best friend. Shepard gave Velyria an incredulous stare to see a resemblance there, but to no avail. A lot of people said that she looked a lot like him, including Liara, but he couldn't see it himself.

"But she has her eyes," Tali added to the turian's comment, casting a glance at Liara as she did so.

"These are your aunt and uncle, little wing. Say hello," Liara spoke while looking over the overwhelmed baby everyone had now surrounded in a circle.

"You'll have to forgive her, she's still not exactly eloquent," Shepard said in a chuckle. Velyria was usually not used to such attention, but she curiously kept her composure throughout the thorough scrutiny on her aunt and uncle's part.

Soon after the commotion of the guests' arrival and their first glimpse at Velyria ended, Tali revealed that the gift she had brought was actually a three-dimensional representation of what she called the Nassi Elah, meaning "new homeworld" in the quarian language. It was a beautiful structure shaped like a vertical cruiser that was apparently the first and largest building constructed by the quarians and the geth together and it was the seat of power for both races on Rannoch. While Tali and Liara talked about where they should put the rotating hologram, Shepard and Garrus wandered off towards one of the two bigger windows of the apartment, which offered a view towards the spires of other skyscrapers close by and the walkways right above the cloud cover that connected them.

"I like what you've done with the place," Garrus commented as he looked around the hall, his eyes landing on the scattered Prothean relics, "Compared to what you've got here, my apartment on the Citadel during my C-Sec days was like a slum on Omega. Didn't have much of a view, either."

"But you're far better off now, I'd imagine," Shepard replied.

"Of course," the turian answered, his mandibles once again spread in a smile, "Living off the royalties, Shepard. Not to mention that they're now paying me for the rights of filming a series of vids about Archangel and his heroic display of courage and valor."

"So now everyone knows you're Archangel, is that right? What if somebody wants to settle a score with you?" Shepard asked.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. Everybody who was pissed off at Archangel can't do a thing about it now. Not unless they discover the secret of reincarnation," Garrus replied with amusement. He inspected the Shepard's display case of model ships as he said, "It's a good thing you kept these, Shepard. Not a bad collection, but it's not exactly full when you don't have a turian dreadnought."

"I'm missing a turian dreadnought?" Shepard inquired incredulously as he looked over the collection once again.

"Yeah, you are. If it wasn't for that masterpiece of turian engineering, we wouldn't have been able to hold out as long as we did before the krogan gave us a hand. We would have certainly lost Palaven forever."

"How are things back there, by the way? And your family?" Shepard asked his friend with concern.

"We're still rebuilding," Garrus said, sighing as his gaze wandered off somewhere through the window towards the skyscrapers in the distance, "Slowly, but surely, we're on our way back to where things were before the war. Of course, not everything is going to be the same… That doesn't mean we won't give it our hardest, though. My father has been under a lot of stress lately. He's been helping the Primarch with organizing the recovery effort. But we're on better terms than we have ever been and we actually talk regularly."

"That's great to hear, Garrus," Shepard replied with a sincere smile, patting the turian on the back. "What about your sister?"

"She is still distraught. The war hit her especially hard, Shepard. She wasn't prepared for something like this. And she lost a lot of friends..."

"She still has you and your father," Shepard reminded, "And she survived. With your help, I'm sure she'll make a full recovery soon."

"Yeah. Things could have been a lot worse," Garrus spoke, offering his friend a smile, "Thanks, Shepard. And what about your mother? Hannah? Is she still on Earth?"

"She still is, yeah," Shepard answered, looking back to see Tali and Liara engaged in a discussion of their own while Velyria looked from one to the other with interest, "She's also still in the campaign for helping the homeless and the starving on the planet, trying to send them off to the colonies where a lot of people went to after the war. Most of Earth is a long way from being hospitable yet. If not for the help of other species, the process would have been a lot slower."

"Exactly. If the war taught us one thing, it's what we could all achieve if we work together."

Despite everything that had happened with the monstrosity that was the Reaper war, Shepard had learned to appreciate what little good came out of it. His friendship with Garrus was an example of what might have never happened if they hadn't joined up together way back during their hunt for Saren. He noticed the turian's investigative eye linger on the many buildings rising above the clouds.

"This place is a marvel, Shepard," Garrus commented, "Apart from our mission in Serrice, I've never been to Thessia before, and I never really noticed what it was really like back then. It's great to see that all this survived the war. I might be visiting you a lot more than I thought I would. I'll bring Tali along when I do, of course."

"So… you and Tali?" Shepard asked cryptically, a knowing grin on his face.

"Well, I never thought long-distance relationship would work, but… yeah. It's definitely not the fling we thought we had a year back," Garrus replied, a slight hint of joy in his voice, "There are commitments back home that we still have, but we're thinking of moving in together soon. We still haven't talked much about our plans for that."

"I'm happy things are working out," Shepard said, "We should get together more often now that things are calming down."

"Come on, guys," Tali's voice abruptly interrupted the two men's conversation, "Liara and I suggest we get going already. There's too many things worth seeing to waste our time here."

"All right, let's go then," Shepard replied as he looked and nodded along with Liara, Velyria watching the people around her slowly head towards the door of the apartment.

Locking it behind him with his omni-tool, Shepard followed the group of four and headed towards the glass capsule elevator that they all went inside of as Liara reached out her one hand that wasn't holding the baby and pressed one of the many holographic buttons that would lead them to the skyscraper's mid-air platform ten levels down. Shepard and Liara had laid out a plan together beforehand as to where they would show Garrus and Tali around. They shared a smile as they looked at their friends admiring the view around them while they descended. They were loving it already.

As they walked out of the elevator on the platform below, Tali immediately noticed the contrast between the calm and serene life in the apartments that she got to experience just before and the lively activity that took place on the slightly exposed ring on this level of the residential buildings. There were many people who walked through this open area, most of whom were asari dressed in light clothing of various colors, so elegant and glamorous and unlike anything the quarians wore even on their homeworld of Rannoch where suits were no longer needed to survive. Even the few krogan walking around looked much different than the ones Tali recalled – she could never imagine them so civil as they were now. All of them seemed to be wearing rather peculiar and oddly colorful casual krogan attire. She had never seen them in such a light before.

Everyone there seemed to be on their way towards the various walkways that led to other skyscrapers. Despite how high above the ground they were, there were still sections with planted Thessian trees on the round platform they were on now, which glimmered violet in response to the strong wind. Tali wished she could feel their scent, to truly experience what it was to be among these clouds, but it was still too dangerous for quarians to wear their suits outside their home planet. The geth have been instrumental in helping them adapt, but a good few years remained until they could remove their masks in alien planets, especially those who were so unlike Rannoch. Until then, Tali had to rely solely on the programs in her suit to simulate these sensations.

"We'd love to show you around," Liara said as she glanced towards the two visitors while she held her daughter, "Shepard and I wondered if you'd like us to take you to a beautiful restaurant we usually go to. It's on our way regardless."

"Hell yes," Garrus replied immediately with enthusiasm. Even though nobody could see it, Tali had to roll her eyes. Sometimes she got the impression that her boyfriend was only interested in the local bars and restaurants. After all, one of his first questions upon setting foot on Rannoch after the war's end was whether a quarian-geth bar had been built already. She suspected that Garrus usually did that in futile attempts to be funny, though.

Shepard and Liara started leading the way on one of the walkways towards a skyscraper on the other side which looked different than the rest. Instead of the usual residential spire that stood above most of the apartment buildings, this one consisted of two tall triangular constructions with multiple glass walls offering a view towards the many rooms inside. The two parts of the skyscraper were connected by multiple small open bridges where people could be seen walking through from one side to the other. The large transparent walls also had peculiar opaque blue and red markings spiralling down from the top of the building and spreading into multiple branches the further they went down. The cloud cover below blocked most of the lower structure.

Tali was amazed by how natural it felt to be walking so high above the ground. She remembered how dizzy she felt whenever she looked at the gaping voids beneath the tall bridges of Illium, but here, instead of one or the other, the world above and underneath the walkways connected seamlessly. She could see small patches of gardens and lakes, as well as a number of people below through small breaks in the cloud cover. While the path saw a good amount of aliens heading from one side to the other, it was not crowded and Tali never needed to fight her way through. She could simply enjoy the sights without worry of running into somebody.

The quarian couldn't help but notice how Shepard had put his arm around Liara affectionately as they led the way, both of them smiling at each other. That made Tali give Garrus a disgruntled nudge. The turian looked at her with confusion until she nodded Shepard and Liara's way. With an awkward cough on Garrus' part, he finally took hold of her hand. Tali wondered whether he'll ever get used to this without her reminding him of some basic principles in a relationship he obviously didn't have a clue about.

"This is the biggest bank in Armali," Liara explained as she turned her head around to look at her friends behind her, "It's one of the most protected buildings in the city."

"You can't see them just by looking at it, but the building is filled with defenses that trigger bursts of biotic stasis towards anyone they're targeted at," Shepard added with admiration, "Nobody in recent months has tried to rob this place, I believe."

"Impressive," Garrus commented while he analyzed the building as if he still had his visor with him, "Give the illusion that this place is defenseless, then prepare a nasty surprise for anyone who is stupid enough to get rich the easy way. C-Sec could learn a thing or two from the asari about bringing criminals to justice."

"Keelah, when are you going to stop comparing everything to C-Sec?" Tali asked with palpable annoyance, "We get it, Garrus – you hated it there. It's the worst place in the galaxy, we understand. But you're not with them anymore, are you?"

"It's all right, Tali," Liara interjected, casting a glance at her bondmate with a hint of smile on her face, "Shepard still has his occasional moments of… happy reminiscence when it comes to the hunt for Saren and specifically the Council."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Shepard replied with mock indignation, "I have nothing but good things to say about the Council now. I just wish it wasn't such a pain to convince them to believe me back then."

"Oh, yeah, Sparatus gave you a really hard time, Shepard," Garrus said, his mandibles twitching into a turian grin, "But in the end he did lead you to me when I was on one of Palaven's moons. And then I joined you and with my help, you were finally able to save the galaxy. So I guess, in hindsight, you owe him now."

"Come on, Garrus," Tali cut Shepard off with a chuckle before he had a chance to respond, "You and Shepard can decide who beat the Reapers later. Let's enjoy the sights for a change."

"Fair enough," Garrus replied in a shrug, giving his best friend a brotherly smile that Shepard immediately returned. Liara, on the other hand, gave the quarian a knowing smirk that neither of two men could see. Tali had to admit that their banter was certainly an amusement. Even Velyria had burst out into a series of gurgles, though she couldn't have possibly understood what any of them were saying.

Tali now stood on another platform that all adjacent walkways were connected by, looking up to the impressive building she had seen a few hundred metres away just minutes before. The silhouettes of people working could be seen through the glass walls above, most of them asari and volus, the latter of which were renowned for their financial prowess. A few individuals of the unusually bulbous race could be seen outside the main entrance in a heated discussion, their loud inhales and exhales deafening even the engines of skycars. Tali couldn't help but have sympathy for them – while the quarians would soon be able to live without the help of suits almost anywhere, the volus would always have to wear theirs whenever they leave their home planet of Irune and respective colonies.

There were several benches surrounding the skyscraper, almost all of which were occupied by people looking through their personal datapads. If she had to guess, most of them were employees probably on a break from work. Tali was amazed to see that one of the benches disassembled itself automatically and went into the ground when its asari occupant stood up and started walking away.

On her left, Tali could see what was possibly the most lively walkway so far, which seemed to lead to a highrise complex of several platforms and landing pads all connected in a single whole. Even with the light from the early evening sun of Parnitha touching her helmet, the quarian could make out the figures of several planted Thessian trees in a garden situated on one of the many platform rings. The ones above housed a variety of parked skycars, one of which was landing right at that moment, and others seemed to be a part of a large viewing promenade. A great number of people were leaning on the railings that surrounded it, most of them looking downward towards the gardens that the clouds were now slowly revealing, and simply enjoyed the view.

And beyond this vast complex, the horizon offered a small glimpse towards a mountain range close to this part of Armali. It was an amassment of smooth, tall hills, each sporting a variety of large plant life whose slight alien glimmer enthralled Tali. Not much else could be seen from the obstructions that stood in the way, but what was there was enough to pique her interest. Velyria had her mouth open in amazement, her tiny hands fidgeting with joy. Shepard and Liara shared a chuckle as they looked with love at their daughter.

"This is quite the view," Garrus spoke before Tali could voice her own thoughts, their hands still intertwined, "I'm amazed how well the structure of that skyscraper suits its purposes. And it's obviously well-defended with the kinetic stabilizers underneath the platforms. Your people know how to make a city, Liara."

"It must be even more beautiful from there," Tali added, "Those mountains look gorgeous."

"Actually, that building is where we are heading," Liara said as she smiled at them mirthfully, "If we are lucky, the clouds will have cleared by then and you will be able to see a large part of the Shalessian gardens and the Plains of Piares to the west."

"That is also where the restaurant we're taking you to is," Shepard continued, "It's a great place with a spectacular view and it usually plays the finest asari music people like to dance to. I love the atmosphere there."

"Sounds good to me," Garrus retorted, nodding enthusiastically. He gave Tali an excited grin, his mandibles spread apart. She thought it was adorable when he did that, and was thankful that he couldn't see the blush under the helmet.

"Hopefully they'll have good dextro food," she said, sighing as she remembered the last time she had eaten, "The one on the transport to Thessia was horrible."

"Tell me about it," Garrus added with a chuckle, "But what can you expect from an elcor cook?"

"We always see at least a couple of turians there," Liara replied hopefully, "That must a good sign."

"We'll take that," Garrus spoke, his determined gaze once again landing on the skyscraper complex on the other side of the long walkway.

"Either way, the food is only a part of the experience," Shepard said, "But you'll see for yourselves when we actually get there."

After a few more glances over the railings of the platform ring on Garrus and Tali's part, Shepard and Liara continued leading the way towards their intended destination, walking on the broad path over the scattered clouds. The slight purple nuance of the sky above had just started becoming more and more noticeable as the sun of Parnitha slowly descended down between the two spires of the skyscraper complex, meeting the group's gaze as they walked towards it. Gradually, the occasional high winds had become a bit stronger and colder, but nothing substantial enough to warrant warmer clothing.

If anybody recognized the rather famous motley group of five walking through the walkway, they were hiding it pretty well. There were always a few groups of humans that slightly raised their eyebrows in curiosity when they walked past, and rarely some even pointed towards them when they thought she wasn't looking at them. Tali couldn't help but wonder why humans were so interested and gossipy about others, or it was just that they were usually the ones who were the least subtle about it. For the most part she truly felt like she was just another visitor to the alien world, and she was thankful for that.

To her delight, Garrus seemed more relaxed than she had seen him for quite a long time. He didn't hide the fact that he was enjoying himself as he kept looking on either side of the walkway at the vast expanse of skyscrapers and gardens underneath which had already begun revealing themselves from the clouds. Each time their eyes met, Garrus offered Tali his traditional turian smile clearly indicating how happy he was, one she sincerely wished he could see her return.

"Invited or not, we need to take more breaks like this together," Garrus told her out of their friends' earshot, putting his arm around her shoulder as he did so.

"This works both ways, you know," Tali answered, "It's lovely out here, but It would be rude if we don't invite Shepard and Liara ourselves someday."

"True. We will get round to that later, though. After we decide what our plans are for the future."

"Yeah," Tali could merely reply, pleasant images of what could be awaiting her and Garrus flashing briefly in her mind. She hoped that the time they would settle on a decision was close. Shepard and Liara looked more happy than they had ever been in their lives, and she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't long for something like that in her own life, especially with Garrus.

Soon the group arrived at the other side of the walkway, setting foot on one of the many elevated platforms that the skyscraper complex comprised of. It boasted a small garden of Thessian trees surrounded by railings that a lot of people close by were leaning on in relaxation. There were many paths up and down connecting the many rings, and Shepard and Liara led the way towards one of them which was taking them down to the viewing promenade.

A gorgeous view into the whole of Armali opened itself before Tali through the clouds which had more or less cleared in that part of the city. What was remarkable was the view towards the amassment of elevated gardens all above and around a huge lake which was separated by the many asymmetrical paths that went over it. Parts of the lake glowed faintly in pink, something that was immediately explained to her and Garrus by the residing couple, who said that those hues were indicative of fish roaming about underwater. That shade was beautifully combined with the subtle mauve shimmer that the gardens trees let out every now and again. The skycars flying high above and the walkways they had just gone through were casting their shadows over the huge body of water and the many people walking over it below. And all it took was a slight upward movement of the head for this magnificent scene to merge with the many glamorous skyscrapers extending far away into the horizon, each line of highrise buildings slightly smaller than the ones in front of them, some of which were separated by the occasional feathery cloud.

The one thing that managed to distract Tali from gawking at the breath-taking scenery was Velyria's excited mirthful laugh, who must have shared the quarian's expression as her blue eyes twitched all over the view. And they were definitely not alone – several groups of asari were silently observing the city, thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Keelah, this is incredible!" Tali eventually exclaimed.

"You said it," Garrus replied in agreement, "And it's amazing how it all blends together. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for all this to be built. Everything you see now had to have been taken into consideration when different parts of Armali were designed to fit the whole of the city, keeping its style and structure."

"I have always loved Armali ever since I was a young girl," Liara said dreamily, her arms still holding Velyria, "Looking at it from here brings to mind some of my fondest memories as the wonder-struck child I was."

"And some more recent ones, as well," Shepard added, a smile forming on his lips as he looked somewhere towards the many raised platforms, "Those right there are the Shalessian gardens. That was one of the first places Liara took me to when we first settled here. I can remember it clearly as if it was yesterday. It was a wonderful night."

"It must have been an incredible experience for you, Shepard," Tali spoke as she looked at him standing right beside her. In response to her words, he turned his head around towards Liara and smiled at her affectionately and kissed her on the forehead.

"It still is."

Liara felt overjoyed in the presence of the people closest to her in this beautiful day. She was delighted to see just how excited Garrus and Tali were – not just from exploring the city, but from being together with their friends again. She knew them well enough to notice just how much of a good time they were having, something she had missed dearly. But most of all, she was glad she got to show them all of these magnificent wonders along with her bondmate, whose hand was still wrapped around her. Her heart fluttered with happiness merely at the sight of Shepard's sincere smile and his mirthful eyes, and that was more than enough for making a memorable day. After his heartfelt comment, their eyes landed on their daughter once again, another source of bliss for both. She felt a grin pull at her lips whenever she noticed Velyria's innocent expressions of awe. She couldn't possibly love her any more than she already did.

"You know what is even more incredible, little wing?" Liara whispered to her, "There is so, so much more out there for you to see. And not just here. And you will always get the chance to. I promise."

These words might not have reached her daughter at that point in time, but Liara was going to fight to fulfil her promise. And looking towards Shepard right beside them, she knew that he would do the same. He had already proven to be an amazing father, and Liara was certain that it would never change.

Eventually, the group decided to head for the restaurant Liara and Shepard led the way to. Since it was on the other side of the skyscraper they were going around, they only needed to walk back through the courtyard they had seen upon arrival and climb up the stairs towards one of the upper platforms that housed the restaurant. Liara's eyes gazed at the slowly darkening sky above, taking notice of the first tiny sparkles of light. They had spent nearly the whole afternoon walking around the city. It was only natural that their appetite was whet already, specifically that of Garrus, who had started complaining of hunger.

The very first thing that caught Liara's eye, like it always did every time she climbed the steps to her favorite restaurant in Armali, were the majestic Plains of Piares seen in the distance. The most noticeable feature was the several sparkling lakes atop the smooth hills that comprised the mountain range. Most of the water was hidden by the myriad of tall trees that covered a large part of the grass, their white trunks almost blocked by their perfectly symmetrical purple leaves. A much more open area was revealed at the foot of these plains, and Liara could make out the tiny silhouette of her favorite animal, the delicate Iellari. They didn't travel in groups, so it was common to see members of the species wandering alone.

The song in the background was what usually drew her away from the scene like it did now. The restaurant was renowned for playing only modern asari music that a lot of people could usually be seen dancing to close to the actual bar, which was where the food came from and was delivered to the customers by asari waitresses after it was ordered from the menu consoles. Since it was one of the more popular places in the area, there were a lot of clients like usual. While most were asari, one could see the occasional salarian, turian and human amidst the wonderful indescribable atmosphere that the restaurant managed to provide. People were either out there dancing with the rest or sitting next to the round tables, which were placed right by the railings of the ring and offered a view towards the mountains. Liara loved it, and judging by the smile on Shepard's face as he once again found himself here, he did too. Tali and Garrus looked as if they were still trying to take it all in, while Velyria stared curiously towards the people dancing close by.

Liara approached the console in the middle of the whole establishment in order to choose their table. There was only one available, but luckily it was one of the ones that overlooked the Plains of Piares. As soon as her finger touched the holographic interface in confirmation of their choice and the number of people their group consisted of, an oval table with four chairs came out of the floor in one of the corners of the ring, indicating where they were supposed to go. They walked towards it, passing by a waitress who greeted them on the way, and sat down as they all sighed in contentment. Everyone was quick to pull up their menu consoles and look through the food offered.

"This is my kind of place," Garrus commented as his gaze once again scanned the whole of the restaurant, "Now all that is left is for the food to be good."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be," Shepard replied, looking up from his menu, "I usually order human food here and it's fantastic. Anything from vegetable salad to pork chops and grilled salmon."

"I don't even know what those are, but I'm amazed to see just how many turian specialties are offered here. If they have all of this in stock, then call me impressed."

"They usually do," Liara answered, having difficulty controlling a slightly agitated Velyria. She deactivated the console and looked towards her bondmate as she said, "Shepard, would you order rylorias and a glass of elasa for me, please? I am worried that Velyria will press something by accident and then I will have to wonder why I am having pyjak meat for dinner."

"Of course," Shepard spoke with a chuckle, searching for Liara's meal in the console. She loved the salty taste of rylorias, a type of food made from extracting oil from a specific Thessian crop, and then encased in an artificially made rind that usually bore the color of orange. Because it was so soft, no utensils of any kind were needed to eat it, and one could do it without soiling their hands effortlessly.

"I'm getting a pash'torah," Tali announced after a while, "Meat from an animal on Rannoch that the quarians can now finally enjoy. Liquefied, obviously, so that we can eat it outside our homeworld."

"I think I know what that was," Garrus told her, "We both had it when I came to visit you that one time if I remember correctly. I'll have one, as well. With a glass of palius, that turian alcohol you liked. What about you, Shepard?"

"Like Liara, I'll also be drinking elasa, and I think I'm in the mood for a schnitzel today," Shepard informed, selecting his order and disabling the console after he did so.

"I can't even pronounce that, Shepard," Liara said, letting out an amused laugh.

"Don't worry, it was difficult for me at first as well," Shepard replied, laughing back.

After an entertaining lesson on how to pronounce the name of the traditional Austrian food, the topic of old friends and what they were now doing and where they were was inadvertently brought up. An asari waitress soon brought them the food they had all ordered while they reminisced.

One of the things Garrus mentioned was that he had gone to meet up with Wrex recently. He told them how amazed he had been by the rapid progress of bringing Tuchanka to its former glory, a much easier task when all krogan were brought together as part of a single clan, now under the leadership of their old friend. Apparently, Wrex and Bakara's son Mordin was growing up fast. Liara couldn't help but smile at the thought of a domestic Wrex, now a responsible father. Despite his occasional coldness and rigidity, Liara couldn't think of anyone better suited to lead the krogan to a new golden age.

The night slowly and unnoticeably fell around them as they continued their engrossing conversation. Even with all the noise and the music softly playing in the background, Velyria had fallen asleep, now in Shepard's arms, and paid no attention to what anyone was saying or understanding any of the jokes and happy memories they shared.

Liara occasionally looked back to see the beauty that was a Thessian forest illuminating the dark mountain in the night, a flickering violet color emerging from the blackness around it. Combined with the stars above, it was a truly gorgeous and striking sight. It was difficult for anything to distract her from enjoying the magnificent view, but Tali's accusatory and slightly raised tone of voice did.

"Come on," she was urging her boyfriend, "Why are you always so afraid when it comes to this?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that turians don't dance?" Garrus answered defensively, giving Shepard an annoyed stare that did not stop his best friend from laughing at the exchange.

"Then tell me why I see at least two of them doing exactly that there?" Tali pointed her finger towards the dance floor. Liara followed it, and she was surprised to see that there was indeed a turian and asari couple slowly dancing together, and another one with a human.

"Fine. I don't dance," Garrus replied grumpily, "Don't push this, Tali. You know as well as I do that I'm not budging."

"Keelah, you're impossible sometimes," Tali said as she waved her hand dismissively at him, purposefully avoiding eye contact with him.

Liara laughed at her friends' banter and Garrus' stubbornness, something they did not look very appreciative of. Her eyes met Shepard's as they secretly shared an amused glance. To her surprise, he suddenly stood up with Velyria in his arms and walked over to Garrus and Tali.

"Would you two watch over her for a while?" he asked them. They looked at each other in bewilderment. Liara was curious as to what he was planning herself. "Don't worry, just hold her for a few minutes," he added in response to their confusion.

"What are you up to, Shepard?" Tali inquired while she hesitatingly accepted Velyria from him.

"Asking Liara for a dance," he replied with a smile, walking towards his bondmate and extending his arm in her direction.

"Oh," Liara said shyly, taken aback as she looked up to his eyes and noticed the unmistakable sincerity behind them. She then took his hand with hers and stood up, "Of course, Shepard. I'd love to."

As Shepard started slowly leading her towards the dance floor, Liara felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the loving look on his eyes and his sudden determination. Liara did not expect something like this from him since he had never invited her to a dance when they were here before. They joined at least half a dozen couples, most of which comprised solely of asari.

A new song was just about to begin by the time they arrived. Liara then realized that Shepard wasn't likely aware of how asari usually danced to this type of romantic music. Since he was not a biotic either, she knew that they had to improvise somehow.

"Follow my lead," she whispered to him. He nodded confidently in return, his eyes still locked on hers.

As the first mellow chords of strings quietly started playing, all else was deafened. Liara wrapped her hands around Shepard's neck while he put his on her waist, their eyes locked on each other in an intense stare. In unison to the echoing strings, the soft voice of a woman started singing in the asari language in a low, resonating note. The two dancers shared a heartfelt smile as they slowly rocked back and forth with their feet in response to the sound of each chord, facing each other at all times.

And then the strings were joined by the first sounds of electronica, an energetic eclectic rhythm beating in tandem with the woman's delicate voice, which was slowly diminishing to the point of being a part of the background. Shepard's surprise on his face was evident as Liara faintly glowed and used her biotics to push him slightly away, their hands intertwining for a brief moment on their way back. In reply of the rhythmic electronic beat of the mystical music, Liara hovered her hands over her body as it lightly swayed along with the still present chords somewhere in the distance, her eyes never leaving Shepard's. He, in turn, moved in sync to the electronic pulsations, his arms hanging on either side of him. The singing woman's voice still resonated softly along with the subtle chords, adding to the romantic tone of the contemporary asari song. Sometimes Liara would feel her heart beating fast along as she continued to lose herself in these wonderful moments with the man she loved most than anything else in the whole universe.

The previously dominant rhythm of the exotic electronica was now overshadowed by the singer's slow, mellow notes, and Liara pulled Shepard back towards her again, the glow of biotics circling their joined hands. Rocking together with the hypnotic strings of the music, Liara could feel his penetrating gaze on her. The stars around them had vanished, the slightly cold air had disappeared, the other dancers beside them had faded away. Nothing else mattered but their own dance. They moved along with the song so close together that Liara could feel his breath on her skin, sending a shiver down her spine, making her heart flutter.

As the synthesized beat took precedence once again, she pushed Shepard back biotically with slight reluctance, but this time leaving him nearer to her, within her reach. When their hands parted, Liara moved her arms over her body with allure. Shepard was repeating his motion from before, remaining in sync to the distant chords and expressive voice of the singer as she emphasized the soft vowels of the melodic asari language that he probably couldn't understand.

The song was nearing its end when the sound of electronica slowly died out, the last echoes of rhythmic beats still present even when the chords of previously subtle strings took over. Shepard was already leaning towards Liara when she pulled his hands into hers, the blue nuance of her powers surrounding their intertwined fingers. Her mind asked for entrance into his own, and Shepard accepted it without hesitation, no surprise on his face as he did so.

Even as Liara explored the familiar depths of Shepard's consciousness in the warmth of their joined beings, she could still feel his arms wrapped around her in the final moments of the dance, the contact of her head buried in his chest, the feeling of his heartbeat against her in perfect harmony with her own. In light of the last few words of the song being spoken somewhere in the distance, she shared her intimate thoughts with him, thoughts only for him, to hear them again as they echoed back towards her. Who uttered the words was something that she could never be sure of, but it was also something inconsequential, something that did not matter. They were now a single whole, and their feelings for each other were as valid for her as they were for him.

Do you hear her? Truly hear her?

She sings of us. Of our love. Of my love for you and yours for me.

I love you.

A single entity pulsated amid their combined essence in response to each and every reverberation of a faraway string. It was that of their joined hearts, the union of their souls.

Even after the distant tones of music had faded away, there were three words enveloping their merged consciousness that played a perpetual song of their own, a necessary embodiment of everything that they felt for each other.

I love you.

Nothing else needed to be said. No more lyrics were necessary. Just those three words.

I love you.

The End