Brutus and Portia Date Night
“Sorry, sorry. I took longer in the bath than usual.” Portia said, moving slightly awkward in her heels. She hardly ever wore them, but tonight was a special night. Several months ago, Brutus had confided in her that he wanted kids of his own, but he and Steve couldn't so Portia had offered to help. On the condition that they have a period of courtship, followed by a “wedding” and then they would start trying for kids.
Since she and Shyanne had broke up, Portia had been dating Kasumi, but dating a master thief was difficult at times, so she wanted the real deal with Brutus. He had been incredibly good at it too. She hadn't received so many flowers and chocolates in her life, and each date was an incredible experience. The last date had been dinner in a new restaurant floating just above one of the wards on the Citadel. Tonight was the night Brutus was going to “propose”. Portia had always figured it would be a fake thing, but she had planned a wedding anyways. She found out from Steve that even if it wasn't one hundred percent official, Brutus truly cared about her and wanted her to be part of his life. Portia had only felt that once before and that was with Shyanne. She had been with all 6 Shepards, but never in a way as meaningful as this.
“Its ok, sweetheart. Just glad you made it, thought you might not come tonight.” Brutus said, smiling in his way, which made Portia feel warm inside.
“You know I wouldn't miss this. So what is the plan?” Portia said, wrapping her arms around Brutus’ and following his lead. She looked at his suit and thought ‘Wow that is a really nice suit. I hope my dress looks as nice as he does.’ Portia wasn’t normally self-conscious about how she dressed, but tonight she wanted everything to be perfect.
“Well first of all, let me say, you look stunning. I feel like a slob next to you.” Brutus said, almost reading Portia’s mind, “Secondly, I think tonight will be our best date yet. Thanks to certain connections we have, the Presidium Tower has been cleared for us, and I think some of our friends are planning a special show for dinner. Shall we?”
Brutus motioned Portia towards a car, and she couldn't help but laugh. Her older brother, Hirana, was the one driving. He and Brutus didn't see eye to eye, but this was obviously very important to Hirana, because all he did was smile at Portia and her date, and open the door for them to get into the car.
“Where to sir?” Hirana asked, doing his best impression of a limo driver.
“The Presidium Tower, and take the scenic route, if you don’t mind.” Brutus said, smiling at the look on Portia’s face. She knew, no matter else what happened, tonight would be unforgettable.
Hirana flew the car past several wards, and she knew who was responsible for part two of their date. The light on the wards had been lit to say, “Congrats Portia and Brutus!”
As they flew by the exclamation point, Hirana slowed down, even more, allowing Naswyn and Addison to wave to the two in the backseat, who waved back. Portia could feel herself tearing up, but wiped her eyes. She didn't want to miss anything on this amazing date.
As Hirana rounded the Presidium Tower, part three of Brutus’ plan became apparent. Standing on the outside of the tower, holding a sniper rifle, were Adriano and Garrus. Tali and Fulia were standing nearby, holding glowing canisters. As the two women tossed the canisters, the turian and Portia’s cousin fired their rifles and the canisters burst into beautiful clouds of bright, colorful dust. Hirana circled the tower several times, allowing Adriano and Garrus to bust hundreds of canisters. The mix of colors was beautiful and took Portia’s breath away. The only way the colors could have mixed more and faster was if Addison and Hirana had been shooting too.
Hirana pulled the car through the dust, and parked near the airlock into the council chamber. Adriano and Garrus fired off a few more shots, as Tali and Fulia came up and rolled out a deep purple carpet, leading to the door. Hirana hopped out of the car, and opened the door for Brutus and Portia, and Fulia rushed up and gave her cousin and brother-in-law a hug.
“This way sir, ma’am.” Garrus said, raising his arm towards the door, as Adriano also gave his cousin a hug. Hirana shook Brutus’ hand and wrapped an arm around Portia. So far, everyone she loved had shown up and been a part of this moment. Brutus was knocking it out of the park so far and Portia couldn't wait to see what awaited them inside.
Adriano opened the door and Garrus led the two down into the main area of the Tower, right between the cherry trees. Awaiting them was the most beautiful table Portia had ever seen. It was made of crystal and lit by a gentle glowing light, which simulated the soft glow of candles, in shifting colors. As they approached the table, Brutus and Portia’s older brothers, Julius and Cassius, pulled out their chairs, both hugging Brutus and Portia, with a kiss on the forehead from Cassius.
“We hope you two like the table, because it is yours. Jules and I worked extra hard on it.” Cassius said, smiling.
Portia was speechless. She just raised her hand and wiped the tears, which had been insisting since the moment she got in the skycar, almost half an hour ago. She refused to let them out until later.
“Well, Portia speechless. That is a rare thing.” came a voice from behind them. Adamina and Max came walking up to the table, Adamina carrying a basket of delicious looking fresh-made rye bread, Portia’s favorite, and Max carrying what could only be a bottle of her Uncle Fredrick’s finest and oldest wine. She knew Fredrick wasn’t there, but he knew about everything and she made a mental note to thank him later.
“Wine for the lady?” Max asked, presenting her with the bottle. Portia nodded and Max uncorked the 100 year old bottle of wine, pouring Portia and Brutus a glass. Brutus didn't drink often, but tonight was a special case.
“What would you two like to eat?” Adamina asked, presenting Portia and Brutus with a menu, which to Portia’s amusement only had 4 items on it, one for each course. And at the bottom it said, menu by Kathrine, Alexander and Oliver.
“It looks like we will have the house special.” Portia said, waving at her niece and nephews, who waved back and headed down the steps.
“Good choice ma’am. I will also bring you both some water.” Adamina said, turning towards the makeshift kitchen. As Portia and Brutus drank the exquisite wine and ate the fresh bread, music started playing around them. Portia scanned the area and saw Adriano, Ashley, Jessie, Steve and James Vega on a raised platform, performing songs Portia enjoyed. Portia was impressed, Vega had a wonderful singing voice, especially for Frank Sinatra.
A few minutes later, Adamina returned with courses one and two, a steaming bowl of bacon mac and cheese and a plate of fried mushrooms, Portia and Brutus’ favorite snack dishes.
“Enjoy.” Adamina said, as Max also sat down their water and poured each another glass of wine.
The two ate, and Portia could feel her heart swelling. Only one person was missing and she had a very good idea of where she was. A few minutes later, Adamina and Max came walking up, carrying two large plates of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and green beans.
“What a plate!” Portia said, smiling at Brutus, who looked taken aback as well. The two ate, as their band continued to play. Finally, when the two cleared their dinner plates, the last face that was missing came. Shyanne walked up to the table holding two delcious looking pieces of chocolate cake.
“I hope you two enjoyed dinner. Here is your dessert and congratulations. I am so happy for you. This cake is my special gift to you. Be careful eating it though.” Shyanne said, setting down the two plates and hugging her brother and Portia.
Portia slowly ate her way through the cake and found why she had to be careful. A beautiful diamond ring fell out as she cut the final piece in half. Finally the tears she had fought all night came out as she handed the ring to Brutus and he got down on one knee.
“Portia Jolene Martel, will you marry me?” Brutus asked.
Portia nodded and kissed his cheek after he placed the ring on her finger.
Adriano and the others began cheering and several more bottles of wine were uncorked, and at that moment the fireworks began going off over the Tower. Portia looked up in wonder, her fingers intertwined with Brutus’. Everyone else raised a toast, which Portia barely heard. Her heart was hammering, the fireworks were booming and she was getting ready for the great adventure of her life. She knew what was coming next, but she knew that Brutus was going to let her enjoy a few more hours with her family and friends before they began planning their lives together. And Portia knew these few hours would be precious.
