Mass Effect: Element of Kindness

by CommanderApplejack


Admission

Chapter 67

Admission

I should talk about it with Garrus. 62%

Water flowed out of the showerhead in Archangel’s base. Fluttershy had been in there for over an hour, scrubbing her wings thoroughly. By this point there wasn’t a single bit of blood splatter left on her wings, clothes, torso, and face, but that didn’t matter to the pegasus as she kept on scrubbing.

The water also washed away the tears that were flowing from the corner of Fluttershy’s eyes as she sobbed. The pegasus couldn’t get over the things she had done during raid. She’d just killed a human in cold blood and then ran off.

Am I doing the right thing? Is any of this justified?

…Am I a monster? 

Fluttershy choked back another sob as she touched where the little chunk of ear she’d lost had been, gone because she hadn’t been careful enough. The initial medi-gel had healed the edges of where it had ripped, and if the proper treatment was given, then they could grow back the missing tissue. The only problem was that none of the supplies and expertise needed for that were available on Omega. She’d have to deal with it until the opportunity arose for them to pass the Citadel or any other planet that fell under Council jurisdiction.

“Hey Fluttershy, are you done yet? The diagnostics I ran on your stealth systems came in,” Garrus said through the intercom they had installed within the complex they now occupied.

Opening her omni-tool, the pegasus connected to the intercom as well, “A-alright I’ll *sniff* be right over.”

“What’s wrong, Fluttershy? Is your ear hurting again?” Garrus immediately asked, sounding very concerned for his girlfriend.

“N-nothing, I’m fine. I’ll be down in a bit,” Fluttershy stammered, turning off the shower and picking up a towel. However, Garrus didn’t seem to be convinced in any way shape or form.

“I’m coming up,” he simply stated before disconnecting from the intercom, walking into the bathroom less than thirty seconds later. Fluttershy was still dripping water from her soaked fur as he came in. It only took him a moment to notice Fluttershy’s red puffy eyes. “Hey, come over here,” Garrus softly said as he sat down onto the ground.

Reluctantly, Fluttershy went over to Garrus who pulled her closer and gently started drying off the pegasus. “Now tell me what you were crying about.”

“I…” Fluttershy hesitated for a moment but continued on after deciding hiding anything from Garrus wasn’t worth it. “Am I a bad pony?”

“No.” There was no hesitation in the turian’s voice as he answered. “I’m a terrible person. If there’s anyone who’s not a bad person, then you’re it.”

“Hey, you’re not terrible! You just want to help people!” Fluttershy argued, astounded at the fact Garrus thought of himself as a terrible person.

“Fluttershy, from the moment I’ve come here I’ve been threatening, maiming, and murdering criminals. I’m no good person, Shy. I’m just a bad person hurting worse people. That’s why I didn’t want you here. You shouldn’t have to deal with all of this,” Garrus calmly explained as he rubbed down Fluttershy’s mane, trying to get it as dry as possible. 

“…You shouldn’t have to deal with me,” he silently added, sadness in his voice.

“Don’t say that," Fluttershy gasped as she heard the admission. "Yes, you're far from perfect, but you’re not evil. We’ve been on this station only for a little while, but we’re making a difference. The regular people of the station whisper about you when they think they aren’t being listened to. They have hope now! Hope that things might get better!”

The pegasus continued to stare at her boyfriend opening her mouth again to berate him further only for the words to get stuck in her throat.

We’re not perfect, but we’re doing good work, giving people hope…

I am giving people hope.

A smile formed on Fluttershy’s face as she realized what she’d just said to Garrus could also apply to herself.

What I’m doing is terrible, but we’re giving people hope who haven’t had it in forever. If I give up now, I let that hope sizzle out into nothingness…

…I can’t do that… I won’t do that.

Without warning, Fluttershy pulled Garrus into a hug. Crying onto his chest for a bit, only not out of sorrow but gladness.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said quietly as she snuggled against her boyfriend.

“No Flutters, thank you. I’m pretty sure that if you hadn’t been here, I’d have broken down multiple times by this point. You keep my head on straight, and I’m glad you’ve done so. I fear the kind of turian I’d have become if you hadn’t,” Garrus said as he made sure Fluttershy could as comfortably as possible snuggle against his armored chest. “If you don’t want to continue with the work we’ve been doing, I’d understand, you know? There’s a lot of things you could do around here as well.”

Fluttershy bit down on her lower lip for a moment as she thought about what to do. She wasn’t going to stop helping, but how she was going to do so was something she wasn't completely sure of.

1. Stop going out at all. Help with jobs at the base.

2. Keep on scouting using stealth. Sniping targets from a distance if necessary.

3. Help Garrus with full on raids. The criminals won't know what hit them.

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