Garrus' Song

by keita52

Summary:

The story of Song Shepard and Garrus Vakarian’s relationship throughout the Mass Effect series, with the song “M4, Part 2” as the inspiration.

Notes:

This idea has been in my head for quite some time. I thought that the credits song for Mass Effect was fantastic and it quickly became one I was willing to listen to over and over again. At some point I realized how many of the lyrics could be interpreted as describing a Shepard/Vakarian relationship (if you’re already shipping them). Right before I started this I was feeling an itch to write something purely shippy, a love story if you will. Then I started a playthrough of Mass Effect 2, got to Omega, and the story finally started coming together.

Song Shepard was inspired by the character Wei Song from Guy Gavriel Kay’s Under Heaven. I highly recommend all of Kay’s work.

This is your final warning. This is an ode to Shakarian. There’s no original plot, no nuanced exploration of Mass Effect themes. This is a love story in vignettes.

Chapter 1

I
Have wondered about you
Where will you be
When this is through

2183
Normandy SR-1

“So, what’s on your mind?” Garrus asked lightly, leaning against the side of the Mako. He wondered when he had started looking forward to these talks he was having with Song Shepard. Probably about the time that he realized she was making a habit of coming to talk to him.

Song also leaned against the Mako and met his gaze. “What will you do when this is over?” she asked. “Go back to C-Sec? Somehow I can’t see you being happy there again.”

“I wasn’t happy there,” Garrus replied. Of course, she knew that already. He’d told her all about it - more than he would have expected he’d confess to anyone, much less this small, quiet human. “But I - you know, I hadn’t really thought about it.” He laughed softly. “Maybe I’ve been avoiding thinking about it, because there’s no obvious answer. I can’t go back to C-Sec, but there aren’t a lot of other things that I would want to do.”

“What about trying to become a Spectre again?” Song asked. “You were considered once. And you’ve got someone willing to sponsor you for them.” Her smile was somewhat shy. “Seems backwards, though. You taught me more about being a Spectre than Nihlus did.”

“Well, that’s only because he died.” Garrus was warmed by the thought that he had taught her anything of significance, much less how to be a Spectre. “If we go by that standard, pretty much everyone on the Normandy had something worth teaching you.”

“Yes.” Song’s voice held a quiet intensity. He knew that tone by now. It was her don’t-mess-with-me-I-mean-it tone. It gave him a moment’s pause, but only a moment. He didn’t think that she was mad at him, he just hadn’t expected her to be so insistent about - whatever was on her mind. “But you taught me the most. About striving to do what’s right. When this all started, I was this close to becoming a cold, ruthless killer. You gave me something I’d been missing for years - a connection to people as a whole. Your stories about C-Sec and the good you did there - they made a difference, Garrus. A large one.”

“I -” Garrus stopped, uncertain how to respond to that. “I’m glad,” he finally said. “And honored.”

Song smiled and reached out her hand to take his and squeeze it gently. “The honor has been mine,” she said. They stood in silence for a too-short moment before one of the crew called for Commander Shepard, leaving Garrus alone with his thoughts.