he remembers horizon like an open wound . looking back on it , garrus wishes he’d spoken differently , handled everything differently he’d said so in his last message to her , just before the normandy went through the omega 4 relay . if he hadn’t survived the collector base . if he hadn’t survived that fight . if they hadn’t escaped , that message would have been ashley’s last sign of garrus vakarian , and because of that inevitable terror , he’d filled it with confessions . buried his heart in the message and sent it away . now they’re seeing each other after so long ; he’d never had a chance to properly speak to her once they’d come back , aside from a few brief messages . and that meant that this , this meeting in huerta , the two of them side by side this is even more important , weighted down with thousands of questions and the urge to hold one another despite the injuries . garrus has so much to say , and not enough time in the world left to say it .
she touches his face , and instinct shudders a flinch from him , initially . the initial shock and fear of dislike at the sight of his scars . some are still sore most are as healed as they can possibly get . but still , ashley touches him . she touches him despite his cratered skin , his changed appearance . she had yet to kiss him in this state . their last kiss ? after the normandy’s destruction , after shepard’s death , after they all … parted . it sinks upon his memory like a weight . he’d missed her so much .
when ashley beckons him closer , garrus leans his forehead against hers , nuzzling , purring . mandibles flicker in a state of happiness , a turian’s way of smiling . ❝ more than okay , ash . ❞ garrus bumps their noses briefly . ❝ you have to get better . i can’t shoot all these reapers alone , you know . ❞ the turian chuckles . finally , though , he brushes his mouthplates against her lips , curious about her response . ❝ i’ll come back every time we dock to visit you . we have so much to talk about . ❞
THEY HAVEN’T BEEN THIS CLOSE IN – over two years now . to love is to ache , and with distance the ache had become a bleeding she learned to live with , pressed like flowers in the culmination of all her griefs . horizon had ripped open the wound of him , fresh and raw again in the cold sunlight . there had been no salve for it , not then : everything she’d buried , everything she’d sent to the grave , came forth again with a mouth full of betrayal . she’d never regretted anything more than she regretted the words exchanged on that mutilated colony when she’d received his last message , his final confession . people said hasty things when they thought they were going to die , she’d later tell herself , when she’d learned he was alive and well and the galaxy breathed again – but she’d left dozens of panicked voice messages , confessions of her own , as if her will alone could pull him back from the belly of the omega - 4 relay . god , she’d wished she’d been there .
but the past is the past , and he’s here now . winding one arm around the back of his neck , she leverages him closer still , a smile bursting at the plump of her lips . it stings a little , reminding her of the black and blue valley of her form , but who cares when he’s back in her arms . exhaling shakily , her eyes slide shut , and her voice takes on a breathy , softer pitch .
❝
okay . i promise . leave some for me , big guy . and don’t you dare die on me .
❞
all of her demands are empty , she knows — there are no guarantees , no promises of tomorrow . his mouth on hers , and it’s instinctive , the kiss she returns in full , all pretense of hesitance falling away . the monitor she’s hooked up quickens with the pound of her heart , and she pulls away only an inch , laughing against the curve of his mouth . two years to address , and a hell of a lot in between , but that doesn’t change his effect on her , it seems .
❝ yeah , no kidding . but we’ll get there — archangel .
❞
the vigilante name hooks on at the end , a minor cord of teasing , but also very much something they’ll be discussing eventually .
with her free hand , she trails her thumb across the curve of his cheekbone , tracing both old and new lines . another kiss , short and sweet , and she ducks her head into the curve of his neck .
❝
do you have to get back , or can you stay awhile ? ‘cause i’m pretty sure the hospital staff knows we’re … mmm . catching up . which is probably why they haven’t burst in yet to check my temperature for the fifteenth time today .
❞
