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Back before Jane had woken up - right after Joker had gotten word she was alive after setting off the Crucible - he’d made an offhand joke about what life would be like for the war heroes of the Normandy SR-2 once the galaxy had gotten back up and running. It involved ceremonies, fame, licensing rights and royalties, and fancy mansions on everyone’s homeworlds. “But, y’know, because she’s her, Shepard’ll get two - Wrex is gonna build her one on Tuchanka and she won’t be able to say no.”
The crew had laughed along, and so did Shepard when she woke up. “Don’t give him ideas,” she’d warned him. “Wrex will, and I can’t bring myself to break his heart by saying I don’t wanna be planetbound.”
Wrex was busy raising children and leading the krogan into their bright new future on Tuchanka, and Shepard was busy being a new Admiral and working through physical therapy, so for a while, that’s all it was. A funny joke about their overprotective friend.
But things settled down with time. Shepard turned down the Council. Joker retired from the Alliance. He and Shepard went from best friends to so much more, and he watched Shepard still advocate for the krogan people even though it wasn’t her job.
And despite her not being cleared for active duty, the council still sent her, as their favorite Spectre, to Tuchanka to talk to Wrex.
Jane sat beside Joker in the cockpit, stretched out almost lazily as she flipped through messages on her omni-tool. “It’ll be good to actually see him again,” she said, a fond smile on her face as she deleted something. “And to meet the kids. I’m mostly excited about meeting the kids, y’know.”
“As long as we don’t come home with one, I’m fine with that.”
She reached out and tried to knock his hat off with a grin, and he stuck his tongue out at her as he ducked away. “I’m not going to adopt a baby krogan yet,” she clarified, and he wagged a finger at her as he adjusted their course a bit.
“Don’t pretend like I didn’t hear that yet. I did. I know what you’re up to, Shepard, and I won’t let you do it.” He glanced over his shoulder at her just to see her smile, and he melted a little, even though he was supposed to be acting tough.
Her comeback was cut off by a call on comms, and she patched it through quickly. “Hey Wrex, we’re a little ways out from the relay - is everything okay?”
“Shepard!” The happiness in Wrex’s voice made Joker smile even more - he’d changed a lot since the first time he stomped onto the Normandy, and he’d become a genuinely good friend. “Everything’s great. Your house is all set up and all the clan leaders are ready to gather in peace - but I hope you don’t think this is gonna be easy, Shepard. They’re a bunch of stubborn pyjaks.”
“I know, Wrex,” she said, and Joker could hear the way she rolled her eyes, even as he adjusted their trajectory and slowed down; the relay was in sight, but he didn’t want to hit it until the call ended - it was the polite thing to do. “I’m used to dealing with the Council. I can handle whatever they throw at me.”
“Good. Just make sure you keep your schedule clear. You’ll be here a while. And I hope you brought Joker with you - he and I need to talk.”
The call ended there, but Joker was too shocked to keep them flying.
“Wait, did he say my house?”
“He wants to talk to me?”
Joker and Jane looked at each other, matching expressions of confusion on their face.
“Well, shit.”
***
Tuchanka looked amazing now - the planet, like its people, seemed to be healing, and verdant gardens surrounded the landing area they’d been directed to. The ruins he’d become familiar with during the war had been replaced and rebuilt - well-paved roads spread out from the landing bay, and angular buildings rose in the distance along them. They could hear the rustle of pyjacks in the grass as the hangar door opened; the smell of plant life was thick in the humid air, and Joker looked over at Jane with a smile. She was too busy leaning forward and trying to take in the new Tuchanka to notice how much love was in his eyes.
That was probably a good thing.
The hangar door hit the ground with a gentle thunk and Shepard stood up a bit straighter - she wasn’t Jane here, not quite yet. She was the diplomat who saved the galaxy again. It’d been a while since he’d seen it, and it didn’t look quite as good on her as his relaxed partner in crime did.
He let her exit first, cane at her side steadying her, before he followed with his hat pulled low.
“Shepard!”
Wrex, shockingly, let Shepard fully get off the Normandy before he approached, laughing in that gravelly voice of his as he clapped her on the shoulder hard enough to make Joker wince. She just smiled and wrapped her arms around him the best she could. “Hey, Wrex. I missed you.”
“It’s been too long, Shepard.”
“You can say that again. Tuchanka looks incredible.”
Wrex smiled at that, stepping back to motion at the plant life around them. “It’s amazing what we can do when we’re not being held down by the Salarians, isn’t it? She’s even more beautiful than I remembered, and it’s all thanks to you, Shepard.”
Shepard blushed, and Joker chuckled a little. “Most of the good things in this galaxy are thanks to her, Wrex.”
He watched Shepard’s blush deepen as he and Wrex laughed. “That’s true enough,” Wrex said, offering Shepard his arm. “We’re meeting on neutral ground.” Shepard took his arm and Joker trailed behind them, feeling a little like a third wheel to their politicking. “It’s the only way I could make this work, so we’ve got a bit of a drive.”
Shepard perked up. “Oh, are we—”
“You are not driving,” Wrex said sternly. “Don’t even think about it.”
***
The meeting of the Clans was big - bigger than Joker had expected, considering how the Council was treating this as important, but not important enough for them to show up in person. Hundreds of krogan were having heated discussions, gesturing wildly as they did, but even then… it was almost peaceful. He’d only heard stories of how brutal the krogan were before Shepard hired Wrex to join them on the Citadel; now he was calling into question just how much propaganda the Alliance had been fed.
“Everyone, please,” Shepard said, using her Commander voice and getting the room to fall silent. “I’ve been sent as an envoy of the Council to help you elect a temporary Council ambassador - which, in five years, will become a permanent position.”
The uproar was deafening; Joker almost covered his ears, but he fought the urge just to prevent any diplomatic incidents. This was important to Shepard - jeopardizing it was not an option.
“The Council has treated your people terribly in the past,” she continued. “I’m not supposed to say this, but this is not something you should think of as fixing things. It’s a position to leverage into getting payment for the wrongs done to the krogan, and to getting better treatment for the future and your children. Who you elect today will not be permanent - the Council position will come up in five years, and will be selected by the Council themselves.”
The crowd of krogan grumbled, and Joker agreed - he didn’t trust the Council to choose well either. Neither did Shepard, but she couldn’t say that outright in front of everyone. In front of Wrex, though? She would, and he’d relay it quietly. They were a good team when it came to combatting bullshit.
“This choice is up to you all, so put forth your candidates and make your cases. I’m just here to bring a name back.”
With that, Shepard stepped aside, making room for Wrex to take her place in leading the clans and managing the chaos that unfolded.
***
“Bakara is a perfect choice,” Shepard told Wrex a few days later as they walked in the gardens behind his house. It was a beautiful day, still, and there were flowers of some sort blooming in a bush across from them. They smelled like apples and were the brightest blue Joker had ever seen in the natural world, and it was still miraculous that this was Tuchanka of all places. “If anything can make the Council realize they’re idiots, it’s gonna be her.”
Bakara laughed as she picked up baby Mordin from where he was getting in her way. “I hope I have the patience to deal with them, Shepard, that’s all.”
“Just do what I used to,” she said with a smile. “I’d have Joker hang up on ‘em whenever they were pissing me off.”
Joker laughed. “Yup. Didn’t make them realize they were idiots, but it was satisfying, at least.”
Mordin started fussing as they passed a bench, and Bakara let him down to join his sister Shepard - and immediately they were running around in the sun, playful and happy and proof that actual Mordin’s sacrifice was worth it. You did good, man, he thought, sending it out into the ether. You’d be proud.
Bakara took Shepard’s arm. “You wanted to see how we keep this place free of pyjacks?”
Shepard blinked and nodded. “I remember having to shoot them back when I first visited Tuchanka. Show me what you’re doing now, since I’m assuming that’s not an option anymore.”
They were out of earshot when Wrex spoke. “Joker.” His tone was commanding but not unfriendly, and Joker suddenly remembered the way he’d ended the call on the way here.
“You wanted to talk to me?”
Wrex patted the bench next to him with a three-fingered hand, and Joker settled down beside him; for the first time, he understood why Shepard considered Wrex a father figure in her life. Parenthood - and Shepard - seemed to have softened him just a bit.
“I heard about you and Shepard,” he said gruffly. He didn’t bother looking over at Joker, and Joker was glad - he knew there was fear on his face, and that would probably piss Wrex off more. He couldn’t take out an angry krogan on his own, and his backup was across the yard playing with Mordin and Shepard while Bakara pointed at things behind the bushes.
“Oh.”
“Don’t sound so terrified, boy. She’s a smart woman. If she thinks you’re a good mate, I’m not about to question her. She’s got her reasons.”
Relief washed over him as baby Mordin hugged Shepard’s bad leg; Shepard fell over laughing as Bakara tried to chastise her child to no avail. It was cute - seeing her this happy would never, ever get old, he was pretty sure. “Yeah. She does. They make sense, I swear - I know I’m not what people probably expected, but I’m the best fit for her and I’ll stand by that.”
Wrex sighed. “I told you I wasn’t going to question it and yet you’re still trying to convince me.”
“Sorry.” Joker adjusted his hat and shrugged. “I’m just used to people asking a lot of questions about it. It’s shitty.”
“It’s because people don’t understand her beyond the hero they watched save us all. She’s a concept to them, not a person.” Wrex sat back a bit. “Which is fine by me - if people thought of her as a person more often, they’d be even more annoying to her. And she deserves a break.”
“Yeah.” Joker nodded a few times. “She does.”
They sat in silence, watching Shepard and Bakara and the kids play - it felt surreal, almost. This is what Shepard had fought for so hard, ever since she’d discovered what was in that lab on Virmire. The rage that had radiated off of her and Wrex after that had been scary, but this? This made it worth it. A future for a planet that deserved one, and a people that could finally thrive.
He needed to get back on the Normandy - this planet was making him philosophical.
“We built her a house,” Wrex told him. “I asked the clan and they supported it. We don’t expect her to stay here forever, but I’m telling you as her pilot we do expect to see her more often. The kids will miss her when she’s gone.”
Baby Shepard was currently chewing on her hair, and Jane was cooing at her while she did.
“Oh, definitely. Look at her - if I don’t bring her back here at least four times a year, she’ll do it herself. No offense to her, but I watched what she did with the Mako. I’m not giving her control of the whole damn ship.”
Wrex laughed, big and booming, and Jane looked up with so much warmth in her eyes it nearly made Joker melt. “Smart man. For your own safety and hers.”
There was a brief moment, then, of silence - but Wrex was trying to find his words, Joker could tell. His face was stern and determined, and Joker tried to brace himself for whatever he was about to say.
“Shepard is strong. She can take care of herself. She chose you, and it makes sense. But.” Wrex fixed him with a glare that made him want to wither away - he wasn’t a good friend anymore, he was a krogan warlord and mercenary who had killed and would kill again. Joker swallowed hard. “Shepard is part of Clan Urdnot, so I’ll tell you this: if you hurt her, you won’t be able to hide.”
“Right.” Joker nodded. “Yeah. Makes sense. I get it.”
“Good.” For a brief moment, Wrex’s eyes narrowed and Joker was terrified - but then he smiled and clapped him on the back jovially. All of the air rushed out of Joker’s lungs, but he was grateful Wrex held back enough to not break any of his ribs. “You’re good for her, Joker. Look after her for us.”