Fire on the Horizon

Chapter 6: Wasted Chances

Garrus was sitting in a bunker, sniper rifle draped over his legs, and his head laid back resting against the wall. They had been fighting all day, all night the night before, and probably days before that. The days were running into the next. General Victus was held up in the bunker with him along with two other soldiers. It was Victus who broke the silence.

"Who is she?" it was a simple question. Personal too. It was also the kind of question a General asks when he is trying to not think about the loss of life or the choices he will have to make. Ruthless calculus.

Any other time Garrus would have brushed it off, but at this point why not be honest. "We were friends for years. About a year ago, we... well we blew off some steam together. "

Victus kept his eyes shut and his head leaned against the all behind him mirroring Garrus. Victus took a breath and stretched out a leg. "Ever tell her how you feel?"

Garrus sighed and moved a finger over his sniper rifle absently. "No, I wanted to. Time and again. Something always got in the way. Fuck it. Honestly I can fight through reapears. I can take out anything and take on anything. I fought through the slums of Omega, took down a collector base, and never blinked. Telling her how I feel not knowing how she feels? I'd rather cut my eyes out than face that rejection. Stupid huh?"

Victus laughed and stood stretching. He looked out the small slits in the bunker to see what was going on outside. "Twenty-five years ago I was brought into a makeshift hospital. I had been injured, leg cut open by an angry Krogan that blamed me for the genophage because you know...Turian."

Garrus had opened his eyes and was listening as he allowed a small smile to creep along his face. Victus continued his story.

"There was a nurse there. She had the bedside manner of a vorcha. She was mending my leg and I tried to flirt with her. She was having none of it. We became friends. She was always there with the med units when we fought. One day I asked her out. Finally. She told me that she could never go out with a Turian that couldn't even tell her he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her."

Garrus looked at Victus puzzled. "Had you ever gone that route with her?"

Victus laughed. "Spirits no. I was, what do the humans call it? Too much of a pussy to do that. When she said that to me, I finally took the risk and told her how I felt. She took four days to return the favor."

Garrus smiled. "So, what happened to the nurse?"

Victus moved his collar and showed the top of a bond mark. "She even marked me first. The only thing I've ever submitted to. And Vakarian? It was the best thing I ever did. If you get the chance, don't waste it again."

Garrus was about to respond when an alarm went off. The coms opened and a voice spoke into Victus' earbud.

"Vakarian? There's an Alliance shuttle landing at the main bunker point. Get up there and find out what's going on."

Garrus stood and moved to the door. They opened the bunker and began firing. The other two soldiers tried following Victus but kept getting hit by husks.

"Get those things the hell of my men!" Victus shouted over his soldier.

Garrus took out the husks and fought his way through before heading to the main bunker.

It took him about half an hour to get there. As he walked up he heard her voice. He stopped and took it in for a minute, took her in. She looked amazing. Her hair looked like black silk. It was pulled back like she normally kept it. He hoped for a moment that he would be able to run his talons through it again. He shook himself out of it when he heard a crash nearby.

"I'm on it Shepard. We'll find the primarch for you."

She turned and her eyes said everything he hoped they would. Relief. "Garrus! You're alive. What are you doing here? I'd thought you'd be on Palavan."

He reached his hand out to shake hers. "I'm hard to kill. You should know that." As he took her hand he cupped his other over hers and looked her in the eye. Their eyes locked for a minute before he pulled back.

They took a few minutes to try and locate the primarch. Once they battled through and found Victus, Shepard did her magic. Convincing him to help. When she asked Garrus if he was with her, he almost laughed. Of course he was.

They boarded the shuttle to the Normandy and settled in. Cortez announced it would be an ETA of 1 hour to the Normandy. Shepard stood and moved to the back area of the shuttle. Garrus slowly followed her.

They both knew they didn't have real privacy on this small shuttle, but it didn't matter. Garrus took a seat on the shuttle floor across from Shepard. The sat in silence for a few moments as Cortez got the shuttle stabilized and out of the atmosphere.

Garrus cleared his throat and glanced back into the main area of the shuttle. Victus had his head leaned back likely contemplating everything that had just happened. Vega was standing near Cortez talking in a hushed voice.

"I saw the vids of Earth. Spirits Shepard. My first thought was just getting off Palaven to get to you. Then we got hit. I was in a transport shuttle when the Reapers landed. The shuttle was rerouted to Menae, and now you know." He finished on an almost whisper and looked up at her. He didn't really know what he expected her to say.

She looked at him and shook her head. "I thought you were dead. I saw that blaze of orange. My only thought was to find you, one way or another."

They both smiled and began laughing. Garrus was the first to say the truth. "We are terrible people. Here it is. The end of the world out there and we only care about one other soul. What does that say about us?"

Shepard had opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the Primarch.

"It says you two should save it for a private room!"

The both blushed, well as much as Garrus could, and smiled."

They spent the rest of the trip to the Normandy talking about the past few months, filling each other in, and trying to act like nothing had changed. Which, for them, it hadn't.