Chapter Text
"How long?"
Shepard rolled out from under the Mako to see Kaidan standing above her. His arms were crossed and Shepard could almost swear his foot was tapping impatiently.
"How long what?" Shepard asked, still lying down on the creeper.
Kaidan chuckled. "Oh, now you're going to play coy. Colors, Shepard." He knelt down next to the Mako as Shepard sat up to wipe the sweat and oil off her face with a clean towel.
"You have access to my file, Alenko. You can check yourself," Shepard replied, retying her black hair up in a ponytail.
"I already did. That part of the file was last updated a few months ago, Shepard."
Shepard barely kept from rolling her eyes. "What's your point, Lieutenant?"
"Liara seems to think that you're meant to be soulmates because you can see colors."
Shepard paused. "Fuck."
When Liara first asked to pursue their feelings, Shepard had tried to shut her down but Liara had come onto her so strong that Shepard felt as if she had no choice except to start something with her. Lately, Liara's clinginess was affecting Shepard's ability to work effectively in the field. Liara was always worrying, letting her feelings get to her in the middle of battle. Shepard had gotten into a habit of leaving Liara behind and stuck with her reliable team of Garrus and Tali. She didn't know if that choice was for Liara's benefit or her own. Shepard wanted to put an end to all of this but she was worried about the fallout.
"You should at least let her know," Kaidan said, patting Shepard's knee.
Shepard groaned, jerking her knee to get Kaidan's hand off it. "You're making it seem like I intentionally led her on!"
Kaidan shrugged and rubbed his neck. "I'm just trying to make sure everyone on the ship are getting along. I've seen how you've been acting with Liara lately. You should let her know what you're thinking about and stop hiding down in the garage."
Shepard paused. "When did you become my therapist, Lieutenant?"
Kaidan chuckled. "You're welcome, Commander."
Shepard didn't bother watching Kaidan walk away before getting back down on the creeper and starting her work again. Her omnitool lit up the undercarriage of the Mako and she continued fixing the ripped underside of the hardy vehicle. It would be a while before it was fully recovered from the run-in with the thresher maw from yesterday.
Shepard didn't know how much time had passed before something nudged her foot. She ignored it at first, dismissing it as some kind of twitch in her foot or maybe a figment of her imagination but her foot was nudged again shortly afterwards. This time, she heard a turian clear his throat.
She rolled out to the sight of Garrus holding two steaming mugs of tea.
"Hey, Garrus," she said, pushing herself to her feet.
It had become a habit of theirs aboard the Normandy. Lately, Shepard had taken to repairing the Mako herself after she had thoroughly abused it on their outings. At first she had used it as an excuse to keep her mind and hands occupied, but lately she was using it as a way to have some time to herself. Garrus had always been in the cargo hold when she was and since turians didn't need as much sleep as humans and Shepard didn't take pride in her erratic sleep schedule, they had started keeping each other company in the early mornings when everyone else slept in their bunks.
Shepard took one of the mugs, inhaling the sweet fumes of tea. Her eyelids fluttered close and she realized how tired she was. The heat of the mug seeped into her fingers and she exhaled deeply.
"Wait," Garrus said.
Shepard opened her eyes to look at him.
Garrus took her mug and handed Shepard his. "I almost just poisoned us both. Apologies."
Shepard chuckled as she sipped from her tea. "I just survived another thresher maw attack, Garrus. I doubt I would fall easily to your dextro-tea."
Garrus's mandibles twitched in a turian smile. "You say that, Shepard, but you can't punch acids to death."
Shepard shrugged. "You've never seen me try."
They climbed into the Mako and sat in the cushioned seats, sipping their tea.
A few minutes of silence passed before Garrus cleared his throat. "Shepard, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Kaidan."
Shepard rested her head on the back of the seat, looking at the Mako's ceiling. "Yeah?"
"I've...heard about this color stuff but I've never really known the details. How does it work?"
Shepard chuckled and turned her head to look at the turian. "Why the sudden interest?"
Garrus looked at her. "Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed but my employer is a human and I have an innate sense of curiosity."
Shepard chuckled. "Like with Tali?"
"Don't you agree quarian life is fascinating?" Garrus asked. "Elevators are such a nice place to have these conversations but I guess the Mako is the next best thing."
Shepard turned in her seat so she was fully facing Garrus. "Do you really want to know?"
Garrus shrugged, watching her intently as he sipped his tea.
Shepard sighed as she gathered her thoughts. "Well, the basic idea is that we humans only see colors when we first see our soulmate."
Garrus nodded slowly. "So when did you first see colors?"
"How did you know I could see colors?"
"As I said, I overheard you and Kaidan," Garrus explained.
Shepard thought for a moment. "When I was a kid, back on the Citadel. My parents took me with them on shore leave and I got lost in the middle of a large crowd. I was only gone 15, maybe 20 minutes. Once they found me, I could see colors."
"Ah," Garrus said, his mandibles clicking. "So you don't know who exactly triggered this?"
Shepard looked down and nodded. "Could be anyone. It's a big galaxy."
"Hm."
They sat in silence for a few moments before Garrus broke the silence again. "Is this limited to only humans? What if your soulmate is an alien?"
"It used to be only humans," Shepard explained, "But once humans started getting together with aliens, it spread. I have a friend whose soulmate is an asari. The asari thought she was colorblind until she met her."
Garrus slowly nodded. "So most of the Council races have this?"
Shepard shrugged. "Impossible to know. It's a...weird thing to figure out. I'm not sure even we fully understand it now that aliens have come into the picture."
"So how does this affect...you and Liara?" Shepard noticed the last part of that sentence was forced out, almost as if Garrus was not happy with their liasion. But Shepard shrugged it off, neither was she.
"I told Liara I could see colors, but she took it as if she was the cause of it. So now I'm stuck between letting Liara believe she's my soulmate or telling here there's no way."
Sipping his tea, Garrus said, "It doesn't seem that difficult of a choice."
"Yeah, I know." Shepard looked down at her mug. "It's Liara though. Hurting her is like...kicking a puppy."
"Puppies are the dog babies, right?"
Shepard nodded, giggling into her cup.
"Isn't there a chance she could be? You didn't know who you saw on the Citadel."
Shepard sighed. "I know the species and it's not asari."
Garrus nodded and fell silent. They sat in the Mako, sipping their tea.
"It's not a volus, is it?"
Shepard grinned.
"No, Garrus. My soulmate is not a volus."