We Can Never Go Home, We No Longer Have One

"Commander, I have bad news," Garrus hear Admiral Hackett's voice as he approaches the alcove off the war room. "The Reapers attacked Cuba. The death toll is astronomical. I'm sorry."

He knows what it's like to know your home is burning, and steels himself until he can't hear the Admiral any more. When he enters, Shepard is leaning her hands on the console, looking at a news report on Cuba - the text flickers, the signal poor, and she doesn't react at first to his footfalls on the metal floor.

"I'm fine," she says as she straightens, even though he hasn't asked. She turns and looks at him without emoting. "I'm fine."

She takes three steps to leave the alcove, and her knees buckle. Garrus is quick, grabbing her around the waist, pulling at a shoulder to stop her going to the floor completely as she shakes, a low whine at the back of her throat. Her legs are uncooperative, so he holds her, listening to the sound of her ragged breathing, waiting for her to give up the last of her composure and let him support her.

"I'm fine," she says again, this time her voice is stretched thin and the sound is heartbreaking to her friend. They both know this is personal, that flattening Cuba served no purpose from an invasion stand point, when there were whole cities better armed than that island nation. The Reapers are sending a message.

"Shepard, they're scared of you," he tells her, desperate to give her anything to cling to. He never expected Shepard to be strong all the time, but he also never expected to be the one to witness the crack in her façade. "They did this to get to you, because they're scared that you're going to beat them."

"That's my home," she says in a small voice, and Garrus holds her more tightly as she trembles.

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Because this friendship is so important to me and I need to write/render more for it.

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Shepard by me
Garrus by The-JoeBlack
Lyrics: Editors - No Sound But The Wind
 Background by AlienFodder

_{Mass Effect and all its assets belong to EA/Bioware. No copyright infringement intended; this is fan-created work for non-commercial use.}