Survivor

Chapter 36

Garrus
Garrus sat at the bar in Chora's Den staring at his second glass of Turian brandy.
  He didn't feel much like drinking, but it was a way to keep distracted from what he had just left behind.
  It seemed so hard to understand Samantha sometimes, why she ran and pushed people away when she did and why she also clung to them without them or herself knowing.
  He had never seen her angry enough to try to hurt him before.
  That had been the first time she truly made an attempt to actually hit him with anything, besides playful scuffles.
  It had been shocking that she would go that far, and apparently she hadn't known that she would go that far, either.
  Then she insisted he leave still instead of offering an apology or peace. He really didn't understand that. Especially when that was what was usually done, in smaller scale fights.
  He took another drink from his brandy and stared at the glass again, until he felt someone tap his shoulder.
  He turned to see a grinning human with tousled brown hair and grey-green eyes behind him.
"You're the Turian that's been working with Commander Shepard, aren't you?"
Spirits, this must be another crazy human like the Conrad one that had been following Shepard around, Garrus thought.
He sat up a bit straighter and nodded. "Yes, I've been working with Shepard for a while now."
The human held out his hand in an offer to shake. "I'm Elias Quinn, it's great to meet you."
Garrus took his hand firmly and they shook. "Garrus Vakarian."
"Lemme buy you a drink, Garrus. After all, you did help in saving our asses!"
Garrus looked at the half drained glass in front of him, but the human ignored it. Instead, he took a seat next to Garrus and ordered a drink for each of them.
"So, Garrus. Do you still work with Shepard?"
Garrus took a swig of his drink and shook his head. "No, I work for C-Sec now. The Alliance Navy hasn't really had a reason to call her back into action, which is a good thing."
"She's not going to be down on Earth leading security or helping with repairs?"
"No. She's taking a break from the military."
"I'm surprised Sam is standing for that. She doesn't seem like the type to sit around on her ass."
Garrus paused mid-drink and set his glass down to turn and stare at Elias.
"Why are you talking about her like you know her?"
Elias grinned. "I'm kind of her big brother. It's been a while since I've seen her but she confirmed that she's going out with a Turian. There was only one Turian on her team so that was a pretty easy guess as to who. Then when you stepped in here and my guys told me? I couldn't help but meet the man who has her heart."
"Had," Garrus growled out and turned back to his drink.
He couldn't believe that Samantha never mentioned having a brother. She let him believe that she had no family growing up.
It rubbed him the wrong way, thinking that she didn't trust him enough with that information.
"Had? What's that supposed to mean? You two break up or something?"
"Something like that, I guess. Never thought it would be necessary to learn that part of human culture..."
Elias groaned. "She's on the run again."
Garrus cast a questioning look his way, which made Elias shake his head.
"She does this. She met a lot of bad guys for her when she was growing up so she had this misconception that all guys leave. Love is temporary, and it'll always be that way."
Garrus remembered Kaidan, who had left her on her own after she had been revived, offering no understanding. He had been there to see the hostile way he had acted toward her.
"She told me to leave," Garrus stated before he took another sip, feeling confused now.
"She probably did that so she wouldn't have to see you walk out on her later."
"I'm guessing that should make me forget that she threw a pan at me? Or that every time I try to help, she gets angry like I've only made things worse?"
Elias blew out a breath and shook his head. "She was a kid full of rage before she left. She didn't know why she was left to fend for herself. Why anyone would leave their child on the streets. All she knew was that I found her and I was family. It took a long time for her to let go of her resentment toward everyone. Even then, it seemed like she never fully let go of it. I was surprised when she enlisted into the military. She wasn't one for ranks and orders but she made it through right well. What did she go through after the Reapers were destroyed?"
Garrus paused. "I don't know. She never talked about what happened after Anderson died... All I knew was that the Crucible was activated and she was gone. Or that's what I thought. Miranda told Hackett and I that she had been dropped from the beam from the Citadel part of the way down and she had survived for a few days. She never talks about what happened though."
Elias shook his head. "She won't. Not unless you ask her. Push her. You may not even have to push her if she loves you the way it sounds like she does. Let her talk. Expect her to cry. I know she doesn't do it much, but if it was bad enough for her to go back into the dark days, then it's probably going to be bad enough for tears."
Elias grinned. "I have the perfect list for a crying human woman, too."
Garrus looked at the women behind Elias at a booth watching him and shook his head. "I bet you do."
Elias glanced back to see them and looked back at him with a grin. "Wrong reasons, but yeah I do. Tissues are a must. Ice cream is something you can't go wrong with. Flowers are also a must, and chocolates make the perfect thing to tie it all together. Oh, and maybe a new fluffy blanket. Those show you care."
"That sounds like something you would give to apologize, too."
Elias shrugged. "It can't hurt for it to come off that way. You did listen to her and walk out, after all."
He stood up and held out a hand for Garrus to shake again. "Go home. Get her back, because I know she's missing your sorry ass as much as you're apparently missing her."
Garrus stood and took his hand. "Who says that's what's going on?"
Elias snorted. "Come on. You don't come to a gentleman's club like this and buy only two drinks in nine hours and stare at them instead of the strippers. Not if you're not sulking, you don't. If you were gonna do that in a right mind, you would have found another bar."
Garrus grunted his agreement grudgingly, which made Elias grin as he shook his head.
Elias gave a two fingered salute and left Garrus standing on his own, considering his words.
Garrus reached back and drained his glass before he walked out, headed for the Skycar that held his luggage.
Maybe Elias was right.
He missed Samantha already, and he couldn't stand the thought of her alone at home, upset.
Now that he had a slightly better understanding, he could try to help her better.
Maybe she would even let him help her when she sees that she's stuck with him.
Garrus nodded, making up his mind for sure on the matter.
Tissues, ice cream, flowers, chocolates, and a fluffy blanket for good measure, Garrus reminded himself.

  ((A/N: Yeah yeah, can't keep them apart too long lol that's if Samantha decides to not throw shit at Garrus again... I dunno, she does her own thing!
  Anyways, I'm posting this after midnight my time so technically Sunday morning for me. It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow but I wanted to be absolutely sure you guys got this chapter as scheduled! If y'all like it, don't forget to leave a vote and a comment behind to lemme know! Thanks guys! Keelah Se'lai!))