It was easy for Shepard to feel invincible in daylight, where the objectives were in sight and all that could be seen was achievable; in the dark, quiet hours between night and morning, with cold, stale recycled air at her back and warmth radiating from Garrus in her arms, she thought of the Collector base ahead - unable to visualise its shape, unable to formulate a plan - and she felt her heart waver in her chest.

In a whisper so soft it hardly left her chest, she murmured, "What if this is it?"

Garrus' electric blue eyes fluttered as he reached up to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, his voice rumbling low as he replied, "Then I'm glad we went out together."

ao3