#masseffectsecretsanta

MASS EFFECT SECRET SANTA 2016

Sheperd ducks and rolls, immediately slamming her shoulder against cover. Her suit takes the brunt of the impact but she knows that it will bruise. She spares half a second to regain her breath before she takes aim again at the Vorcha that are jumping over crates and reaching for arms.

They’d had the advantage with a surprise drop but damn these guys move fast. She thinks they must have had some kind of drill for this because they seem far too organised for the usual black market arms dealers.

The fighting feels messy but strangely relaxed. There isn’t enough desperation in it and Shepard wonders if they’re missing something.

“Keep an eye out,” she tells Garrus, talking into their private line.

“On you? Always.”

She laughs as she reloads her gun.

“Flirt.”

“Tease.”

There is a moment where she hears his intake of breath and she whirls around just in time to see a Vorcha descending on her, teeth glinting.

She slams her elbow into his chest and fires two shots in succession at close range. He falls instantly and she is on top of him, her knees pressing into his shoulders.

“You are too late…” He laughs, wet and bloody at the mouth.

“Too late for what?” Shepard asks, a strange sort of panic filling her throat.

“Too late,” he repeats and Shepard thinks she does not have time for this shit, but his eyes give him away. A quick flicker to the left and Shepard follows his gaze. She catches the blinking red light hidden beneath the crates in the centre of the room and a deadly calm falls over her. They missed it. They fucking missed it. They got sent into a suicide mission, a warehouse in the middle of the city, surrounded by shoppers buying gifts for Yuletide and their best military power here to handle this situation - if it exploded it would be carnage. Not to mention it would really ruin Christmas.

A bullet bounces off her shield and she receives the warning that she has only 10% remaining. They have to finish this soon. A half formed idea lurks at the back of her mind and she tries not to look at it too much because all of her best ideas are the not really there ones. At least, that is how she prefers to think about it.

She presses down on her comm, the scatter filling her ears.

“This is Commander Shepard. Ordering immediate evacuation of the facility and proximity in a 5 mile radius.”

Garrus’ voice fills her ears through the comm.

“What are you planning?”

“Just cover me.”

Trusting that Garrus is going to cover her ass she takes a deep breath, calculates the distance she has to jump to get to that middle platform and gets ready to run.

She takes off and hears Garrus shout her name and curse. The impact shakes through her feet and nearly knocks her knees out. A Vorcha that was spinning round to take her out receives a bullet between the eyes. She doesn’t give him a second glance as she races past, her shield flickers out. She’s completely vulnerable out here but she can see enemies dropping around her and she slides into position underneath the mass of crates.

The bomb blinks red at her. Taunting.

“Hello my pretty.”

Tech training flashes before her eyes and her fingers know what to do before her brain does. There is not much time left and no room for slip ups.

“Shepard what the hell is happening?”

10…9…8…7…

She shuts off the comm, ripping her earpiece out as she frees herself from her helmet to see better. Out of the corner of her eye she has seen Garrus making his way towards her, trying to keep her safe from the Vorcha that have noticed what she is doing.

Just a little bit more time.

6…5…4…

She feels a clawed hand grab at her shoulder, the rush of air on her cheek makes move a split second before a rifle butt slams into her shoulder.

She curses loudly, jabbing a swift elbow into whatever is behind her before the body falls limp next to her anyway. A bullet through the neck. She returns her attention to the bomb, so nearly there…

3…2…1…

–

“Holy shit Shepard, you know you’re the only one that can get away with that kind of shit?”

Shepard brushes off the remark from Vega, peeling off her armour and hanging it up. Her entire body aches and she can feel the adrenaline leave her body.

Garrus storms into the changing rooms as Shepard is examining her bruised shoulder. He’s still fully suited and there is a quivering of his mandibles that Shepard has not seen before.

“Shepard, a word please?”

It is unlike him to be so formal, so she acquiesces. She is surprised but pleased because she wants to have a minute alone with him too. They have been secretly dating for a few months now, ever since that first time which was all new learning experiences and awkward questions.

It started as a way to blow off steam and boy was he good at helping her do that. She fights a blush rising as she thinks of what he did with his tongue last time. But recently she’s been feeling like it has turned into something more, something…different.

She follows him into the engineering room, having to speed up to match his pace.

“What did you want to discuss -”

The door has barely closed behind her when he has wheeled around and is pressing her against him. It is tender and fierce all at once with the intensity of it. His talons move feather light over her waist and he rests his forehead against hers, eyes closed.

“Uh, Garrus?”

His voice is low when he does speak. A soft fluttering of his mandibles.

“That was too close”

She softens, bringing one hand up to his cheek, fingertips resting on a stripe of Valerian blue. This is new from him.

“It’s always too close,” she says but is touched by his concern. She knows as well as he does that particular fear that they have all felt too many times. It’s why she puts herself in the firing line more often than not. It can be too hard to bear otherwise.

“Not like this,” he replies. He gives her a quick human kiss, pressing his mouth against hers.

“I knew you would have my back.”

He laughs. It is a gruff, soft, helpless kind of laugh that makes Shepard’s heart break a little but she doesn’t know why.

“I’ve always got your back.”

“Garrus there are going to be more times like this you know. We’re not exactly in the safest line of work.”

She feels his talons scratch against her waist again, a nervous tick like a cat looking for attention.

“I just didn’t want it to be the end before…”

Her breath hitches.

“Before what?”

“Before I told you how I felt.”

God his voice always goes straight through her. She is amazed at how level her voice comes out after hearing something like that from him.

“Are you telling me you want this to be more than just about blowing off steam?”

“As long as you want it to be. It is for me.”

He is sincere. Of course he is sincere because Garrus wouldn’t joke about this kind of thing and her heart stutters in her chest.

She kisses him again and presses herself against him, she wraps her arms around him pulling him tight against her.

“It always kind of has been for me, Garrus.”

“Really?” He whispers, sounding kind of amazed.

“Well who wouldn’t want to date the galaxy’s favourite Turian bad boy?” Shepard laughs as Garrus lifts her off her feet and deposits her on the bed.

“Merry Christmas to me,” Shepard thinks.