-Epilogue Part III: After The Storm-

-Planet Rannoch, Western Hemisphere
(Future) Shepard Family Home

"Man, you think they can make these things any tighter?" Aedan asked as he fixed the bow tie on his white collar. The whole tuxedo felt uncomfortable; he missed the outfit he wore at Hock's party.

"You think that's tight? Try this suit. There's a reason why we turians like our armor so much," Garrus complained, moving stiffly in the formal turian clothes he was wearing as he adjusted it in the guest bedroom's mirror.

"Hey, you'll have to wear something like this pretty soon yourself. Didn't Chloe say she wanted the wedding to be held at the end of the year?"

"Well...yeah, but it's still up in the air. Depends on how much Palaven has recovered by then. Our top priority is still helping those we can there. Not like we're going anywhere or anything with the Reapers gone."

"True," Aedan replied, trying to block out the memories from that time. One year wasn't nearly enough to forget three years' worth of nightmares, but Tali helped him ease his way through it. PTSD was a bitch, but at least it wouldn't stop him from enjoying today of all days.

"I haven't been outside yet. How many came?"

"Tons. The quarian admirals, Hackett, Victus, Wrex, Grunt, Bakara, Major Kirrahe, all of us...you know, the usual. Glad you and Tali chose a spot far away from the nearest quarian city to build your dream home."

"It's a bit of a haul to get supplies, but the view more than makes up for it," Aedan smiled. "It's peaceful here."

His Best Man nodded as the door behind them opened. Kaiden stuck his head inside. "Hey, we're about to start. You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Aedan grinned as the three of them left, heading down the hall to the backyard, where the ceremony would take place.

"I gotta hand it to you, Shepard, you sure know how to build a home," Kaiden said as they walked together.

"The geth helped," he replied. "Something about repaying me for giving them souls. I was glad for the help; it cut construction down to three months."

"Three years ago you would have been crazy if you had said that to me," Garrus grinned. "We've come a long way, Shepard."

"And you've both been there the whole time," he smiled, clapping his friends on the shoulder.

One year had seen the galaxy strengthen even more than before the Reaper War. Relations between races had never been better. The Citadel was undergoing reconstruction and was moved back to the Widow Cluster. Fortunately some survivors, led by Commander Bailey, managed to survive the Reaper purge and hid in Zakera Ward. The Council was reworked to include representatives from all races, creating a more democratic form of government than the original "salarian-asari-turian-human" power structure.

After he was released from the hospital, Aedan had been publicly awarded several medals and promoted to Admiral-status. However, he declined and though he thanked the Alliance for all it had done for him, he announced his retirement and intent to spend the rest of his life with Tali'Zorah. The media went wild.

Aedan had organized a memorial service for Admiral Anderson, which he spearheaded. But quietly after that, Tali and Aedan left Earth in the Normandy (which he had given to Kaiden since he would still be a Spectre, though Kaiden made him swear that he would take the ship back eventually since it was now free from Alliance control, thanks to Hackett) and were dropped off on Rannoch. Well, after visiting Tuchanka and Palaven first. It didn't take long to secure their land, plan the house out, propose (properly this time) at the site where he had given her that rock, and have the home constructed. Only the wedding remained after that.

The trio made their way outside, ignoring the gawking of the crowd. Aedan saw three of the quarian admirals, though only Koris gave him a true smile with his eyes. He saw several of his friends from the Normandy as well. Joker gave him a thumbs-up next to EDI. James gave him a grin along with Cortez. Traynor was smiling brightly next to Jack, who was there with Miranda. The two of them were in a relationship now, to Aedan's amusement. Since when did the Normandy turn into the "Love Boat?"

He spotted Liara and Kasumi up on the alter along with Wrex, Grunt, and Bakara. Presiding over the ceremony would be Admiral Hackett, who offered to be the minister. Though they were technically the same rank now (even if it was honorary in Aedan's case), Aedan still refused to call him "Steven." It just didn't feel right. The man gave Aedan a small smile and a nod as he approached. The two shook hands as Aedan took his place on the altar.

"Nervous Shepard?" Garrus whispered to him.

"A bit, but who wouldn't be, Vakarian? Don't worry, you'll have your chance in the spotlight in a few months. Might want to get those scars covered up first, though."

Before Garrus could retort, the music started playing. When he finally saw Tali in that white dress, completely suit-less and mask-less...he was blown away.

Geth immune system therapy could truly do wonders.

-Several Hours Later

The last of the guests finally left an hour ago. Aedan sighed contentedly as he sipped an ice-cold root beer, lounging on the deck in a simple pair of shorts and an N7 shirt. The waves gently hit the coast as he watched the clear, starry sky above. It reminded him so much of Mindoir, and when he'd stare up at the cosmos as a boy.

He smiled when two arms gently wrapped themselves around his neck. Tali kissed his cheek as she sat down on the bench, dressed in only a purple nightgown. She looked absolutely stunning.

"No allergic reaction?"

She laughed. "Perhaps a mild one tomorrow. But I don't care; as far as I'm concerned, saying our vows without that damn suit was-"

"-totally worth it?" he grinned.

"Definitely," she purred, looking up at the stars with him. "You know, we could have gone anywhere you wanted on our honeymoon. Kaiden was more than willing to give us a lift."

Aedan smiled, pulling her close. "Tali, I've done all the travelling I've ever wanted these past few years, and even before when I joined the Alliance. I'm fine with staying right here with you."

She smiled back, leaning her head into his shoulder. She wasn't sure why, but the stars seemed especially vibrant tonight.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Just looking up at the stars. They never look the same when you're in space as they do on a planet. There's just something far more beautiful about them when you're planet-side. "

She hummed, snuggling against his side. "I know what you mean. The Flotilla never had sights like this."

"Yeah...neither did Arcturus."

They stayed like that for a while, simply gazing up at the stars. That is, until a streaking light passed through it.

"Heh, a shooting star..." Aedan smiled.

"A what?" Tali asked.

"Old Earth superstition. Back before space travel, humans called meteors like that 'shooting stars.' If you saw one, you were supposed to wish on it. The wish would come true as long as you didn't tell anyone what you wished for."

"And did you wish for anything just now?"

He turned to her, kissing her on the lips. "No. I have everything I've ever wanted right here."

"So do I," she sighed as she eagerly brought him in for another kiss, this time with much more fervor. He lifted her off the bench, her thighs wrapped around his torso as he brought them both inside.

They would spend the rest of their years gazing up at that sky every night...together.

-Fin-

And that's a wrap, folks! Thank you so much for joining me on this incredible journey. I'd like to take a moment to thank you all for your patience, encouragement, criticism, and overall support for this story! It's incredibly humbling. Special thanks to The Sneaky Fox, kill-phil, Rogen80, and my other consistent reviewers. You guys are awesome!

With "Solace" complete, I'll now go back to "Heart of Steel" and finish that story. After that...we'll see what happens. Will I return to the Mass Effect universe? Perhaps down the road, but probably not for a long story like this. I did everything I wanted to here.

Anyway, please let me know what you think in a review, as I'm curious to see your thoughts. Thanks again, and take care everyone!

Keelah se'lai,

-Sheik