Survivor

Chapter 42

Garrus
  Garrus stayed on his knee as he watched Samantha in her state of shock as she stared at him.
  Worry and doubt threatened him, but he pushed them both back to stay sure faced and hopeful, waiting for her answer.
  In the back of his mind, he also wondered if he had gotten everything right and worried he may have screwed something up.
  "I..." Samantha finally said, trying to find her voice.
  She met his eyes, her own filling with tears as she began to nod. "Yes, Garrus. Yes, I'll marry you. There's no one else I would love to spend the rest of my life with but you."
  Garrus reached out and took her left hand, and he couldn't help but smile as he slid the ring onto her finger.
  He stood as she admired it and then threw her arms around his neck before she kissed his lips and all he could do was return the kiss the best he could.
  "You're catching onto these human traditions pretty quick," Samantha complimented him with a grin.
  Garrus chuckled. "I made it a priority since my girl just so happens to be human..."
  His eyes wandered back outside, where his coworkers were still displaying the holograms, drawing a chuckle from him.
  "I guess I should ping those guys a message that they can stop now..."
  Samantha turned to look out the window again and took a picture with her Omni-Tool just as he sent the message.
  "I've gotta make sure I have proof that this happened," Samantha said with her grin still pasted to her face.
  "Isn't the ring technically proof?"
  Samantha rolled her eyes. "Not of the fact that you had your friends break the law to propose to me!"
  Garrus shrugged. "It was that or drag you out up there for dinner after you already had a long day. Figured the wind wouldn't make that pleasant anyways."
  Samantha laughed. "Good call."
She turned to watch through the window again as the C-Sec officers turned off their holograms and dispersed to their own vehicles at their own pace, slowing to give each other high fives or stop for a quick chat.
Garrus smiled as he watched Samantha, joy practically radiating off of her. Probably the same way it was radiating off of him.
He knew this was the happiest day of his life. Up there with finding out she was alive- again- and finding out his family was okay.
He groaned inwardly, the thought of his family reminding him that he now had to tell his sister and father the news of their engagement.
He was sure his father wasn't going to be pleased. His sister, on the other hand would likely be ecstatic to find out he was finally going to get married.
Samantha turned back to face Garrus with a knowing grin. "You told them I said yes, didn't you?"
Garrus chuckled. "Well... It was the least I could do since they risked their jobs and took the time to help me out here."
Samantha rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, like it took so much out of you to brag to them that you got me to say yes."
"Hey, now. You're making it sound like I manipulated you or threatened you to make you say yes," Garrus said with mock hurt in his voice.
"Well... I'm not going to say it was completely voluntary... You were down on a knee making puppy dog eyes at me."
Garrus shook his head. "I don't even know what a puppy dog is, but I'm sure I wasn't looking like one."
Samantha smirked. "No, not with your whole face, you weren't. Just with your eyes."
Garrus narrowed his eyes at her. "Take it back, Sam," he growled playfully.
An evil smile crept onto her face as she moved slowly away from him, keeping her eyes locked with his.
"And if I don't?"
"Then I'll show you how I drag the answer I want out of you."
Samantha widened her eyes in mock fear. "You wouldn't, would you?"
She continued to move away as he followed her while she made her way toward the walkway to the stairs.
"Do you really doubt me?"
Samantha cast a careless shrug and a smirk. "Yep."
With that, she took off at a run toward the stairs right as Garrus lunged toward her, and he was forced to chase after her.
She grabbed onto the railing of the stairs and used it to whip her body into the tight turn she needed to get up the stairs. Garrus followed suit, only a few steps behind her, playing her game by letting her run, though they both knew he could have caught her already.
She let out a squeal of excitement as she looked over her shoulder to see how close he was and Garrus grinned.
Samantha ran into their room, hitting the control for the door to shut as she entered, and the door slid shut just behind Garrus, leaving him to feel the air of the door as a reminder that he had turned off the safety protocols.
Garrus let out a low growl. "Are you trying to kill me?"
Samantha backed up, the mischievous glint still in her eye. "No... Just maybe disable you a little bit."
Garrus edged closer until he knew he could safely tackle her, then he leapt, catching her and turning so she caught the softer landing as they both bounced onto the bed.
Samantha laughed as she writhed in his arms, struggling to get free, but Garrus held strong, keeping her locked in his arms as he rolled over to pin her under him.
"I've got you now, Commander. Surrender." His eyes bored into hers as hers gazed back, ever defiant and playful.
"Never," she enunciated clearly.
"Then I'll have to resort to brutal tactics."
For a moment, Samantha looked confused, then realization struck right as Garrus began to tickle her midsection, drawing a yelp from her, and then a scream chocked by laughter.
"Garrus... You... Cheater! I'll... Kill you... If... You don't... Stop!"
"What's that, Commander? My translator doesn't seem to be working. You're awfully hard to understand when you're making those noises."
Garrus couldn't help the smug smile that had worked its way across his face as he looked down at her, ticking her in the gaps her thrashing limbs allowed for.
"Bastard!" She squealed, laughing so hard tears had begun to spill from her eyes.
"That's not what I'm wanting to hear, Samantha! It's two words, something you humans tend to say a lot..."
Samantha lashed out at him and caught him with an open handed solid hit at his waist, which made him narrow his eyes and further his attack.
"Fine!" She squealed out, gasping for air. "Stop! Stop! You win! I surrender!"
Garrus stopped, sitting up with a smug smile on his face as he laughed. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Samantha turned to her side the best she could to catch her breath as she finished laughing, throwing him the finger as she did so.
That only caused Garrus to chuckle as he grabbed her by the waist to turn her back onto her back.
He leaned down and kissed her slowly, savoring the feeling of her soft lips against his leathery ones.
"I love you," he murmured, his sub harmonics vibrating in the space between them. "Don't ever forget that. I'll always love you."
"I love you too," Samantha whispered before she kissed him, intertwining her fingers behind his neck to hold him close as they kissed.
Garrus could only think that somehow, everything was perfect. He found the one woman he wanted to live with for the rest of his life and settle down with.
The one woman that made his heart race.

((A/N: Hey guys! So yet another fun chapter to be able to write! This one was more playful, so I hope you guys get the enjoyment out of it! Haven't done too many playful scenes like this so hopefully it's a nice change!
If you guys liked it, don't forget to let me know by tapping that little star? I would love to see some comments as to what you think of this chapter! Thanks for reading, guys! Keelah Se'lai!))