Re: Finding the Past part 2
anonymous
May 7 2013, 16:26:08 UTC
The docking bay was busy, but Garrus bypassed the crowd easily, Shepard discreet in his wake in her civilian clothes. Sigur flagged them down from across the corridor and led them back into a nearby office. A little turian, smaller and skinnier than a human a six-year-old stood next to the desk, obviously fuming with anger. His feet were spread and his arms were crossed and his little mandibles were clicking and clacking in a way that didn’t even need translation. He bore, in Shepard’s opinion, an uncanny resemblance to Garrus. His silvery skin and sharp ice-blue eyes gave her a picture of what Garrus might have looked like as a child. Of course he lacked the bold blue facial tattoos that would be given as a right of passage on his twelfth birthday, and his crest would finish growing out during puberty, but to Shepard the resemblance was obvious.
Garrus, who was more attuned to turian differences, noted that the boy’s mandibles were shorter, and his stature would be stockier than Garrus’ when he grew up, but he also noted the strong resemblance to himself. As for the mother, he couldn’t even begin to guess who it was. Gina the Ambassador’s daughter? Henla the C-Sec Lieutenant? Yori the dancer?
Sigur handed Garrus a datapad. “These are the files he arrived with. Otherwise he was alone. And this…” Sigur motioned to the turian boy, “Is Quinton.”
“Are you my father?” The boy demanded of Garrus. Shepard stepped away and crossed her arms, content to let this play out between father and son without her interference. Garrus scanned the data, looking for a hint as to the boy’s parentage…yes, these genetic tests looked to be legit. And there was the mother’s signature. Vyla Hinagra…the mercenary.
Garrus took a deep breath and approached the boy. “It appears that I am. My name is Garrus Vakarian. What brings you to the citadel, Quinton?”
“My mother sent me to find you. She said that you would take care of me.”
Garrus took a knee so that he was eye-level with the child. “Where is your mother, Quinton?” he asked seriously.
“I don’t know,” he said, blinking as if that was a dumb question. “When the bad men killed her they didn’t let me stay with her.” His arms were still crossed.
Shepard put a hand over her eyes to hide the pain she felt. She’d seen her own parents murdered in front of her when she was sixteen and it had never quite left her whole. To have watched your only parent die at six…She shivered. Garrus, however, remained steady.
“Do you know who the bad men were?”
“Blood Pack.” The boy said simply. Garrus nodded and stood.
“Vyla was a Blue Suns mercenary,” he said to Sigur and Shepard.” I knew her briefly when I was working for C-Sec before the war. How did you get to the citadel Quinton?”
“Mama had a bag packed for me special in case she is killed. I took it and came here. The recording said to find my father and everything would be okay. But this man-” Quinton pointed at Sigur, “-says that Mama isn’t here!”
Garrus and Sigur exchanged a pained look. Garrus bent back down to Quinton’s level.
“Quinton, if your mother was killed, she isn’t here-or anywhere. I’m sorry.”
“But she said it would be okay! I did everything she said!” The boy’s voice rose, and then fell into choking sobs. “I did what I was supposed to do! I want my mama!”
Shepard had to turn away and wipe the tears from her eyes. Garrus wasn’t sure whether to give the kid his space or go in for a hug to comfort him. The boy’s whole body shook with emotion. Finally Garrus touched the boy’s shoulder, and to his surprise, Quinton melted into Garrus’s arms, his little head on Garrus’s broad shoulder, his skinny arms circling Garrus’s back. The small office was filled with the sound of the boy’s mournful wails.
It was a long time before the boy’s sobs quieted and he pulled away from Garrus.
Re: Finding the Past part 3
anonymous
May 7 2013, 16:28:13 UTC
“She never broke a promise before.” The boy lamented. Snot was running out of his nose and he looked utterly exhausted.
“I’m sorry. I know she didn’t mean to. Things will be different for you now, but I’ll do my best to take care of you like she did.” Garrus looked up and met Shepard’s gaze. She felt drained emotionally too, just from watching the boy’s grief.
“And this is Commander Shepard. She’s my life-mate.” Shepard raised an eyebrow at the term, but she knew that explaining their long-term dating thing to a kid was not something that either of them wanted to do at the moment. The boy looked curiously at Shepard, his eyes boring into her. She smiled and nodded at him nonchalantly.
“I don’t like humans,” he said grouchily, moving so that Garrus was between him and Shepard.
“Shepard is a hero, she fought in the Reaper wars and fired the Crucible that killed all of the bad guys.” Garrus explained. “She saved my life many times.”
The boy watched Shepard closely, but he didn’t say anything. “Nice to meet you Quinton,” Shepard replied. “I’m sorry about your mother. My mom and dad both died when I was young.”
“Did Blood Pack kill them?”
“No. Batarian Slavers.”
“I don’t like Batarians either,” the boy said. He still looked wary of Shepard, but this common bond did help him warm up to her. Garrus stood back up. “We’ll take Quinton with us to settle in at our apartment. Thanks for handling this Sigur. If you find any other information on Vyla or Quinton, please forward it to me immediately.”
“Of course Garrus,” Sigur said. He looked visibly relieved to be handing off care of the child to Garrus and Shepard. Garrus took the boy’s hand and led him out.
#
Back at the apartment, Shepard made a bowl of forvi-a type of dextro comfort food that Garrus often ate as a savory dessert-while Garrus settled Quinton into the extra upstairs bedroom. The boy didn’t have much stuff by way of possessions. His little suitcase had only a change of clothes and a piece of blue suns armor that he liked to sleep with. When Shepard arrived with the bowl, Garrus was helping Quinton into the too-big bed, arranging pillows and blankets in a pleasing way. Quinton lit up at the sight of the forvi and dug in hungrily for several minutes.
“Mama never let me eat in bed,” he said guiltily.
“Just for tonight it’s okay.” Garrus said. Quinton nodded and continued to eat more slowly.
“Am I going to live here?” he asked. “Forever?”
“You’ll live wherever I live,” Garrus answered. “For now it’s here.”
“There’s a waterfall downstairs.” He told Garrus. “Is it for drinking from or bathing in?”
“No, it’s just decoration.”
“Why?”
“It’s Shepard’s apartment, you’ll have to ask her.” Garrus said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“What happened to your face?” Quinton asked.
“Gunship rocket hit me during a battle.”
Quinton reached out a single talon and touched the scar tissue gingerly, and then he pulled back and went back to eating. When he finished his food Garrus took the bowl. “You should try and get some sleep. Shepard and I are in the room just on the other side of the sitting room if you need anything. Goodnight Quinton.”
“Goodnight.” The boy said. He lay back on the bed and rolled away so that his back was too Garrus. He still looked tense. Garrus and Shepard retreated back down to the kitchen to clean up and finish their own dinner.
Re: Finding the Past part 4
anonymous
May 7 2013, 16:30:38 UTC
“So. What do you know about Vyla?” Shepard asked. She poured herself a cup of decaf coffee and held it between her palms. Just the smell of it was enough to calm her. She didn’t want to make Garrus uncomfortable, but the more they knew about Vyla, the more they knew about Quinton. And they needed all the information that they could get on him at this point.
“We met when I was working a C-sec case in the wards. I’d only been on the job for a few months, my father was breathing down my back…and Vyla...” he trailed off.
“Yes?” Shepard asked expectantly. “She was the perp. Of course, I didn’t know that when I slept with her. She was a suspect sure, but she was so nice, and so smart, and so sexy. After the fact, I realize that she was just getting close to me in order to learn more about my investigation. But I was such a sucker for a pretty face. Still am, really.”
Shepard sipped her coffee with raised brows, refraining from comment.
“We were supposed to meet up again, and when she didn’t show, something clicked in my brain finally. She got away clean, my investigation was ruined, and my father was furious.”
“He found out?”
“Not about me sleeping with her, though I’m sure it’s only a matter of time now, what with Quinton.” He shook his head tiredly.
“What am I going to do, Shepard?”
“Hey, it’s not what you’re going to do, it’s what we’re going to do. Just think of it like any other mission. We have a problem: what to do with a traumatized six year old boy who now lives with us. First step is to gather intel. We’ll get Liara to put out feelers on Vyla’s involvement with the Blood Pack for background. We’ll figure out what most normal people do with traumatized six year olds.”
“Therapy? School?” Garrus volunteered. “Daycare?”
“Don’t ask me, I have no idea!” Shepard held up her hands, smiling. “I’ve only ever raised adolescent Krogan!”
“When he hits puberty, it might not be that different actually,” Garrus mumbled. Shepard laughed out loud at that.
“The citadel isn’t a horrible place to grow up, I guess. Whatever happens, he’s in for an exciting life with us.” Shepard mused.
Garrus called up the apartment’s surveillance camera system on his omni-tool and keyed up the feed for Quinton’s room. There he was, in grainy orange video, splayed across the bed, eyes closed. The piece of Blue Sun armor which had presumably belonged to Vyla was clutched in one outstretched hand. His jaw worked in his sleep as if he was talking, but they couldn’t hear it, whatever he was saying.
“Wow.” Shepard breathed. “You sure make ‘em cute Vakarian.”
“Yeah…” Garrus felt an unnatural warmth in his chest, similar but slightly different from the feeling he got when he was with Shepard. A fondness for the boy he’d only met a few hours ago was already starting to grow in something like love.
Re: Finding the Past (Notes from a/a)
anonymous
May 7 2013, 16:42:18 UTC
Hey this is the end of ch.1. I have more written but I'm not super happy with it. :( I kinda meander around and Garrus has the same conversations with like every single person he introduces Quinton to so I'm probably going to do some rewriting. I just wanted to share what I have so far and let you know that I haven't abandoned this fill!
A!A here. Still floundering with my next few chapters. I'd love some help if someone is willing to beta what I have and help me pick one of my possible endings. >.< not sure how it works with the anonymity thing, but my ff.net account name is Kodiak Sage if someone wants to send me a message on there I'll send the doc. Thanks!
Re: Finding the Past part 4
anonymous
May 7 2013, 22:16:52 UTC
OP here, and this is so cute so far! Poor little Quinton though. Making his mom a mercenary was interesting. Seeing this filled has made my day, it was the perfect thing to come home to after I finished classes.
Garrus, who was more attuned to turian differences, noted that the boy’s mandibles were shorter, and his stature would be stockier than Garrus’ when he grew up, but he also noted the strong resemblance to himself. As for the mother, he couldn’t even begin to guess who it was. Gina the Ambassador’s daughter? Henla the C-Sec Lieutenant? Yori the dancer?
Sigur handed Garrus a datapad. “These are the files he arrived with. Otherwise he was alone. And this…” Sigur motioned to the turian boy, “Is Quinton.”
“Are you my father?” The boy demanded of Garrus.
Shepard stepped away and crossed her arms, content to let this play out between father and son without her interference. Garrus scanned the data, looking for a hint as to the boy’s parentage…yes, these genetic tests looked to be legit. And there was the mother’s signature. Vyla Hinagra…the mercenary.
Garrus took a deep breath and approached the boy. “It appears that I am. My name is Garrus Vakarian. What brings you to the citadel, Quinton?”
“My mother sent me to find you. She said that you would take care of me.”
Garrus took a knee so that he was eye-level with the child. “Where is your mother, Quinton?” he asked seriously.
“I don’t know,” he said, blinking as if that was a dumb question. “When the bad men killed her they didn’t let me stay with her.” His arms were still crossed.
Shepard put a hand over her eyes to hide the pain she felt. She’d seen her own parents murdered in front of her when she was sixteen and it had never quite left her whole. To have watched your only parent die at six…She shivered. Garrus, however, remained steady.
“Do you know who the bad men were?”
“Blood Pack.” The boy said simply. Garrus nodded and stood.
“Vyla was a Blue Suns mercenary,” he said to Sigur and Shepard.” I knew her briefly when I was working for C-Sec before the war. How did you get to the citadel Quinton?”
“Mama had a bag packed for me special in case she is killed. I took it and came here. The recording said to find my father and everything would be okay. But this man-” Quinton pointed at Sigur, “-says that Mama isn’t here!”
Garrus and Sigur exchanged a pained look. Garrus bent back down to Quinton’s level.
“Quinton, if your mother was killed, she isn’t here-or anywhere. I’m sorry.”
“But she said it would be okay! I did everything she said!” The boy’s voice rose, and then fell into choking sobs. “I did what I was supposed to do! I want my mama!”
Shepard had to turn away and wipe the tears from her eyes. Garrus wasn’t sure whether to give the kid his space or go in for a hug to comfort him. The boy’s whole body shook with emotion. Finally Garrus touched the boy’s shoulder, and to his surprise, Quinton melted into Garrus’s arms, his little head on Garrus’s broad shoulder, his skinny arms circling Garrus’s back. The small office was filled with the sound of the boy’s mournful wails.
It was a long time before the boy’s sobs quieted and he pulled away from Garrus.
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“I’m sorry. I know she didn’t mean to. Things will be different for you now, but I’ll do my best to take care of you like she did.” Garrus looked up and met Shepard’s gaze. She felt drained emotionally too, just from watching the boy’s grief.
“And this is Commander Shepard. She’s my life-mate.” Shepard raised an eyebrow at the term, but she knew that explaining their long-term dating thing to a kid was not something that either of them wanted to do at the moment.
The boy looked curiously at Shepard, his eyes boring into her. She smiled and nodded at him nonchalantly.
“I don’t like humans,” he said grouchily, moving so that Garrus was between him and Shepard.
“Shepard is a hero, she fought in the Reaper wars and fired the Crucible that killed all of the bad guys.” Garrus explained. “She saved my life many times.”
The boy watched Shepard closely, but he didn’t say anything. “Nice to meet you Quinton,” Shepard replied. “I’m sorry about your mother. My mom and dad both died when I was young.”
“Did Blood Pack kill them?”
“No. Batarian Slavers.”
“I don’t like Batarians either,” the boy said. He still looked wary of Shepard, but this common bond did help him warm up to her.
Garrus stood back up. “We’ll take Quinton with us to settle in at our apartment. Thanks for handling this Sigur. If you find any other information on Vyla or Quinton, please forward it to me immediately.”
“Of course Garrus,” Sigur said. He looked visibly relieved to be handing off care of the child to Garrus and Shepard. Garrus took the boy’s hand and led him out.
#
Back at the apartment, Shepard made a bowl of forvi-a type of dextro comfort food that Garrus often ate as a savory dessert-while Garrus settled Quinton into the extra upstairs bedroom. The boy didn’t have much stuff by way of possessions. His little suitcase had only a change of clothes and a piece of blue suns armor that he liked to sleep with. When Shepard arrived with the bowl, Garrus was helping Quinton into the too-big bed, arranging pillows and blankets in a pleasing way. Quinton lit up at the sight of the forvi and dug in hungrily for several minutes.
“Mama never let me eat in bed,” he said guiltily.
“Just for tonight it’s okay.” Garrus said. Quinton nodded and continued to eat more slowly.
“Am I going to live here?” he asked. “Forever?”
“You’ll live wherever I live,” Garrus answered. “For now it’s here.”
“There’s a waterfall downstairs.” He told Garrus. “Is it for drinking from or bathing in?”
“No, it’s just decoration.”
“Why?”
“It’s Shepard’s apartment, you’ll have to ask her.” Garrus said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“What happened to your face?” Quinton asked.
“Gunship rocket hit me during a battle.”
Quinton reached out a single talon and touched the scar tissue gingerly, and then he pulled back and went back to eating. When he finished his food Garrus took the bowl. “You should try and get some sleep. Shepard and I are in the room just on the other side of the sitting room if you need anything. Goodnight Quinton.”
“Goodnight.” The boy said. He lay back on the bed and rolled away so that his back was too Garrus. He still looked tense. Garrus and Shepard retreated back down to the kitchen to clean up and finish their own dinner.
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“We met when I was working a C-sec case in the wards. I’d only been on the job for a few months, my father was breathing down my back…and Vyla...” he trailed off.
“Yes?” Shepard asked expectantly.
“She was the perp. Of course, I didn’t know that when I slept with her. She was a suspect sure, but she was so nice, and so smart, and so sexy. After the fact, I realize that she was just getting close to me in order to learn more about my investigation. But I was such a sucker for a pretty face. Still am, really.”
Shepard sipped her coffee with raised brows, refraining from comment.
“We were supposed to meet up again, and when she didn’t show, something clicked in my brain finally. She got away clean, my investigation was ruined, and my father was furious.”
“He found out?”
“Not about me sleeping with her, though I’m sure it’s only a matter of time now, what with Quinton.” He shook his head tiredly.
“What am I going to do, Shepard?”
“Hey, it’s not what you’re going to do, it’s what we’re going to do. Just think of it like any other mission. We have a problem: what to do with a traumatized six year old boy who now lives with us. First step is to gather intel. We’ll get Liara to put out feelers on Vyla’s involvement with the Blood Pack for background. We’ll figure out what most normal people do with traumatized six year olds.”
“Therapy? School?” Garrus volunteered. “Daycare?”
“Don’t ask me, I have no idea!” Shepard held up her hands, smiling. “I’ve only ever raised adolescent Krogan!”
“When he hits puberty, it might not be that different actually,” Garrus mumbled. Shepard laughed out loud at that.
“The citadel isn’t a horrible place to grow up, I guess. Whatever happens, he’s in for an exciting life with us.” Shepard mused.
Garrus called up the apartment’s surveillance camera system on his omni-tool and keyed up the feed for Quinton’s room. There he was, in grainy orange video, splayed across the bed, eyes closed. The piece of Blue Sun armor which had presumably belonged to Vyla was clutched in one outstretched hand. His jaw worked in his sleep as if he was talking, but they couldn’t hear it, whatever he was saying.
“Wow.” Shepard breathed. “You sure make ‘em cute Vakarian.”
“Yeah…” Garrus felt an unnatural warmth in his chest, similar but slightly different from the feeling he got when he was with Shepard. A fondness for the boy he’d only met a few hours ago was already starting to grow in something like love.
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You are doing a great job A!A, hope to see an update soon.
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