Okay this is actually meant to be part of a bigger story that I had envisaged for Aeryn Shepard - I have published the intro as "Intrusion of Echoes", but got side tracked with writing a little Blaze romantic fic for Garrus/Shep as part of the story. Work has been crazy so I've been spending much of my down time writing this that I thought I would put it up as a stand alone bit of fiction although really its part of a work in progress so am looking for some genuine constructive criticism.
Please be aware that it has mature content - 18+ because really why can't we enjoy some Garrus goodness?
Oh and the only thing I own about the characters is Shepards first name, the rest belongs to Bioware.
12 hours from the Omega 4 Relay.
Aeryn stepped out of the shower and towelled herself dry leaving her hair till last. It was beginning to get long and she hadn't had time to cut it, so instead she normally tied it back in a tight pony tail. Tonight she decided to let it hang loose and tried to wring as much moisture from it as she could before leaving it to trail down her back. She had spent so long in the shower that the mirror had fogged up despite the exhaust fan so she rubbed the surface with her forearm to wipe the dampness away. She took one more look at her face, the scars from the implants were now gone thanks to the med bay upgrade but the missing scar under her right eye, she just couldn't get used to it not being there. She rubbed the area with her index finger - perhaps she wasn't supposed to remember those scars now, maybe Cerberus had planned it that way.
"Maybe I am really still dead" she said aloud, "if that's true then I have no need for memories now"
Aeryn put her uniform back on – the Cerberus dress uniform seemed to be the most comfortable to wear – it wasn't too restrictive in the wrong places and she could easily wear a t-shirt underneath without it bunching up. As she stepped out of the bathroom she was startled by Garrus's figure looming in the doorway. The Turian spoke with an easy manner.
"Hey, I bought wine. Best I could afford on a vigilantes salary"
Aeryn gave him a sideways glance, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms over her chest. She'd almost forgotten all the suggestive flirting she had done with him over the last few months, it had provided some light relief but she had totally forgotten about her suggestion of "letting of steam" together. But hey she thought, why not, with that had been going on in her head lately, it could be a welcome distraction.
He suddenly looked nervous and stepped quickly over to the console turning on some music. He sauntered over to the fish tank leaning against the stair railing obviously trying to play it cool.
"If you were a Turian I would be complimenting your waist or your fringe" as she moved towards him he paused to look her up and down "So… your, uh hair looks good, and your waist is… very supportive. Hopefully that's not offensive in human culture. Oh crap I knew I should have watched the vids, throw me a line here Shepard" his voice was pleading and she interrupted him before he could stumble any further "Calm down Garrus, You're worrying too much, and talking too much." She turned the music off before facing him.
"I just…I've seen so many things go wrong Shepard. My work at C-sec, what happened with Sidonis" he shook his head almost in disappointment with himself.
"I just want something to go right. Just once…. Just…" she silenced him by putting her hand up to his scarred face and caressing it gently. He looked down at her earnestly and they locked on each others eyes, he bent down and she leaned forward and they pressed their foreheads together.
His arm came up and he gently stroked her shoulder with his talons before grabbing both her hands and folding them in his own. They stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity, keeping their eyes locked on each other. Aeryn finally broke the gaze and reached up and kissed him. His mouth, whilst not having any visible sign of lips were softer than she had imagined, and she realised in all the time she had known him she had never touched him skin on skin. It was always with a gloved hand or rubbing shoulders through thick armour plating. She stepped back from the embrace keeping his hands entwined with hers.
"You know Garrus; I don't think I've ever seen you in casual clothes before. You're always in your armour, even around the ship" She looked him up and down before adding "you, umm, look nice"
"Well, its an old habit really, on Turian ships you're supposed to be battle ready at all times. I guess when you're around Shepard, that's almost a necessity." She chuckled at this then sighed, "Its pretty dangerous to be around me lately"
"Lately?" he exclaimed "I thought mostly or always might be more appropriate adverbs."
Aeryn dropped her gaze to the ground and Garrus must have seen the troubled look in her eyes because he quickly added "But you know whatever happens, I'll…..we'll all have your back Shepard." She gave a half smile, but now she could feel her own nerves starting to creep in. Letting off steam with someone sometimes lead to a little more open ended emotional questions – and she didn't think she was quite ready for that yet.
"Maybe we should open that wine you bought Garrus" she tried to sound casual, but her voice still had an edge to it.
"Okay, I can't guarantee the quality, it was a suggestion from an old friend at C-Sec, and lets just say that he had questionable taste in a number of areas".
They relinquished each others hands and Aeryn grabbed a couple of glasses from the cupboard and Garrus uncorked the wine pouring both of them very full. She wasn't a wine specialist at all, in fact she barely got to try real human wines, but she held her glass up to the light to have a look at the colour, it had a purplish tinge, and the smell was distinctly sweet, she took a sip, then another, "Not bad Garrus" the flavour was light and fruity but what fruit she wasn't really sure.
"Not a wine person myself Shepard but you're right it's quite drinkable." They looked at each other, just staring, sipping, not saying very much, her earlier confidence having dissipated, she hoped that the alcohol would give her some proverbial Dutch courage. It didn't take long, whatever strength the wine was she was pretty sure it was a lot stronger than most human wines. Eventually Aeryn took a last gulp from the glass, Garrus looked nervous. She lent over to rest her hand on his arm and he gave her a confused look until he realised that she was leaning down to remove her boots and socks. She stood up straight again and tossed them over to the other side of the room, then she moved her hand to the top of her tunic and began to loosen the fastenings. Garrus still stood there, glass in hand looking at her.
"These things usually start by one and eventually both parties removing clothes at some point" she said raising her eyebrows at him. He took the hint, hastily putting his glass down on the coffee table before exclaiming "ah yes…. right" and in a flash he'd not only removed his boots but his tunic top as well, and he stood bare chested before her. She tried to regain some composure from his quick change and said teasingly "Would you like to give me a hand with this?" He moved swiftly not saying anything just nodding in agreement. However, his previous adeptness at removing his own clothing was replaced with clumsy fumblings. She took the time to run her hands over his bare chest, he had what looked like hardened plates, with many of them shaped like well defined muscles – almost like what you might find on moulded armour, he was thin but his arms had distinct biceps covered with small ridges, his arm was shaped much like a human males, until you saw the distinctly alien hands. Meanwhile he was still trying to undo her tunic, so she moved to assist him and within a few more seconds she threw it over a nearby chair. She had on a tight military style white t-shirt, tucked into her pants and underneath you could see the outline of her bra. At this point they embraced again and he encircled his long arms around her waist. They hugged, nuzzling each other cheek to cheek.
Aeryn could feel him slowly tugging at her t-shirt pulling it out from the waistband and then his rough hands against her bare skin. He murmured "mmmmm soft, mmmm warm" before pulling the t-shirt out completely, she raised her hands over her head and he easily pulled it over her head then tossed it to one side.
He placed one of his talons underneath her bra strap, sliding it over her shoulder and leaned down to put his mouth on her soft skin. She put her hands around his neck and let out a soft moan as he continued to kiss along her shoulder to the nape of her neck. She did the same to him before taking a playful, mocking bite. He moved his head back quickly stifling a laugh, as though not expecting her to be so mischievous.
"So that's how it's going to be" and he quickly spun her around cradling her from behind, his mouth now grazing the back of her neck. She moulded, into him, feeling dizzy from the move. His hands moved over her bare stomach one talon tracing her belly button, she felt her stomach muscles spasm at the touch. Garrus removed the clasp of her bra, quite skilfully compared to his earlier fumblings and placing his talons gently on her breasts. Aeryn bought her arm and hand up behind her head to caress the back of his head, as her torso stretched upwards he ran his talons down her side. She pulled on his fringe and he let out a low growl giving her small playful bites on her shoulder and neck.
His hands moved to unfasten the button and zip of her pants, moving his talons around the edge of the waistband. Aeryn felt her breathe deepen and become more audible. They were now full undone and she felt one of Garrus's talons nudging the top of her underwear. She moved her hands to the waist band wriggling them over her hips till they were now sitting awkwardly halfway down her thighs. Garrus's long reach urged them down further till they fell loosely to the floor and she easily stepped out of them to face him. She felt woozy as she stood before him almost naked, she moved her hands seductively up her body then moved them to his chest, she could feel the variations in his skin from hard near his shoulders and top of his chest to much softer nearing his underbelly. She moved her hands to his waist band to investigate further but Garrus quickly lifted her up in his arms like she was a rag doll. She gave a girlish squeak, something she hadn't done since… since… well since she was a girl, and at which he responded:
"Now that's something I thought I would never hear from Commander Shepard!"
"Delighted to comply" she said, her words were slightly slurred and she could feel her head swimming.
He carried her to the edge of the bed before gently placing her down. He moved to straddle her and she looked up at him unsure about what he was going to do next. His hands moved down to her underwear and quickly removed them. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes as she felt him slowly kiss down her upper body till he reached her navel moving his mouth leisurely to her outer thigh then towards her inner thighs. She opened her eyes and propped herself up leisurely on her forearms so she could now watch him intently, God how long had it been since she let someone do this?
Then she remembered, it was Kaidan, their last night together before her death, he had told her that he loved her. She immediately tensed at this, is this a betrayal? What am I doing she thought. Perhaps I should stop this, do I still care? She hesitated, damn Kaidan, after what he said to her on Horizon, his follow up email made it clear…. or did it….. She shook her head, her thoughts becoming murky she couldn't distinguish between the alcoholic fog and the emotions she was suddenly feeling, but before she could gesture for Garrus to stop, he had his head now fully between her legs and had begun to lick the inside of her sex. She gasped quietly and hesitated from stopping him, no, no it wasn't betrayal, she shook her head again, she deserved this… this….. attention.
Aeryn's body was still rigid with thoughts of Kaidan so she grabbed and twisted the sheets to try and loosen up. Garrus slowly spread her lips with his long cylindrical tongue; she relaxed and whimpered quietly as she felt the sudden warmth of pleasure creep upward. She closed her eyes allowing her hands to softly stroke her breasts. Garrus moved one hand to stroke her outer thigh, the other he let glide up her stomach grabbing both her hands and gripping them tightly in the process. She began moaning as his rhythm increased, every dip of his tongue was bringing her achingly close to climax, but then he stopped, moving his mouth slowly up her body pausing at her breasts flicking each nipple with his tongue, then to her neck before position his face above hers, he grabbed her chin and she opened her eyes to look at him "I'm guessing by the sounds you're making and the look on your face that you are enjoying this? Yes?"
Her voice was a soft hoarse reply "yes."
"And I'm also guessing that you'd like me to continue? Yes?"
She only nodded a reply this time and he kissed her roughly, sinking his tongue inside her open mouth. She could taste a mixture of her own juices and slightly sweet metallic taste of his saliva. Her hands reached downward groping at his pants but he grabbed her wrists and moved her hands aside.
Breaking from the kiss he said "I thought you had more patience than that Shepard, I haven't finished yet you'll have to wait…." Aeryn felt Garrus's mouth move down her torso again and back to between her legs. She was very wet now and she could feel his breathe cool on her. She moved her hips into him placing her hand on his head tugging at his fringe, his concentration was derailed momentarily and he looked up to her, but then continued. Aeryn's feelings suddenly began to overwhelm her as she felt her desire build and her breathe quickened to short sharp pockets like she was trapped in a confined space. Along with the bliss she began to feel something else in the pit of her stomach and her thoughts went to images of herself floating in space unable to breathe, she suddenly choked on the memory. The pleasure was still swelling in her abdomen but the images in her head were now full of death and destruction, faces appeared to her of those she knew, the crew from the old Normandy, Anderson, Pressley, Ash, Wrex, Liara and images of those she loved her mother and father, Kaidan again, all their countenances flashing before her, clouded with those of the Saren, the Collectors, Reapers and Sovereign and images of all the people who had fallen around her, all mixed with a bittersweet pleasure, her head was screaming all the while her climax building, she again grabbed at the bed sheet with both fists angrily trying to remove the negative images but Garrus's constant rhythm finally bought her to a peak before she could banish them and she let out a long and loud moan arching her back into him in the process. The images were just as hastily gone, but her mind felt hazy and she could hear her breathing was still rapid and uneasy. Garrus moved up her torso again stopping at her breasts, this time she felt numb to his caresses and when he moved up to face her, rather than kiss her he stopped and suddenly knelt up from his position, his voice sounding alarmed,
"Shepard….Aeryn, what's the matter – have I hurt you?"
Aeryn, roused from her stupor mumbled "wha… what?" before she realised that her face was saturated with tears. She sat up quickly trying to wipe away the evidence, but it was too late for that, Garrus had seen her, hell, he had seen her….. crying.
She gazed towards the beside table unable to look him in the eyes. "its… its um nothing, nothings the matter"
Garrus looked down at her with concern, "Yes there is, tell me"
Aeryn pulled her legs from between his and hugged them into a protective ball into her chest, shivering in the process.
She was thinking fast, what could she say?
"Its just the release, the ah… the release of, of ….tension, the Reapers, the Collectors I'm worried about the mission" she knew this didn't sound exactly truthful, yes it was the mission she was worried about but it was also more. The combination of alcohol and the physical release had opened a valve on her emotions. Her first thoughts were to tell Garrus now what had been going on in her mind over the last few months but she feared he would see her as weak, and that thought alone had made her baulk at opening up. But then she suddenly realised that she couldn't hide this anymore. She knew the moment Garrus had come to her that something like this would happen as it did with Kaidan before Ilos, but she had buried the thought, confident that pure lust would win out. Maybe this was a chance to share the burden she had carried since her resurrection, and she sighed at the inevitability of what was to come.
She turned her face back to his and said with a shaky voice "Everyone wants a piece of me Garrus, and I don't think there is enough of me to go round."
"What do you mean exactly?" his brow became furrowed.
She rubbed her legs vigorously like removing a chill "I mean that, that there's 2 scenarios here. The first is we go in, guns blazing all hell breaks loose but I hold it….. the team…. together and we survive" she paused to wipe the remaining tears from her face with the back of her hand moving her head down to look at the bed this time "the second is we go in all guns blazing and I…" She paused and swallowed hard "I get everyone killed because I can't keep myself in check, I'm thinking in that scenario I probably get myself killed as well in the process and all this….this…. getting a team together, forging bonds with my crew, you and I… " She stopped to look at him her voice now becoming louder "I'm looking around at this ship and I see a group of people looking to me for guidance and leadership, and I'm thinking to myself you're a god damned fraud Shepard, you can't carry this off, all this was for nothing." She felt a well of anger rising up now "Why bring me back from the dead – why not move on, surely there are others out there with skills and qualities they want, why me, why am I the icon? What makes me so damn special?"
Garrus moved himself off the bed to a standing position "Because, because you're you, your're Shepard" he seemed incredulous that she didn't get it. Aeryn snorted at this comment "You're beginning to sound like Jacob Garrus, that's not an answer". He smarted from the comment and raised his voice in response "look Shepard, I don't know of anyone, and I mean anyone in this universe who could do this job."
"I'm sure there are Garrus I'm sure there are plenty of people."
Garrus became agitated " No, no there isn't." He began to pace the room shaking his head "Look you've been to hell and back there's no denying that – the Skyllian Blitz, that crap with Saren and the Geth and the threat to the Citadel from Sovereign and the Reapers, only you had the guts to go clean that mess up, I know because I was there when some of it happened. You're the first human SPECTRE an N7 alliance soldier with skills way beyond any other human – hell Shepard no-one – I mean no-one, not even some of the other N7 marines comes even close to you, your're in a class of your own, you're a natural leader, you can command loyalty from even the most disaffected."
She snorted again "ask that loyalty question of Zaeed and Jack you might get a different answer" she said pointedly.
"Jack and Zaeed are loyal, you might think their way of operating and their motives are different to your's but there not, they have the same goal, otherwise why the hell would they still be here?"
Aeryn shrugged "Well for Zaeed its just credits, Jack she's just nuts."
"No Shepard, hell woman – why would anyone want to stay around for a suicide mission, this isn't just another mission for Zaeed, he's the type of man that any amount of credits wouldn't be worth dying for – and he's too egotistical to have a death wish, and as for Jack – she's here on this ship – a CERBERUS owned ship, the thing she hates the most, why is that? I'll tell you why and it's the same reason I'm here, the same why I'm sure everyone else is here - YOU" he shook his head and sighed rubbing his unscarred temple, "Do you really think Cerberus could command that sort of loyalty with out you?"
Aeryn started with a rebuttal "but I, I…." Garrus interrupted
Pointing his sharp talon at her "You, of all those in command I've known, know how to listen to people Shepard – so listen to me, okay as I see it you are feeling pretty vulnerable right now" she nodded in agreement "you're trying to get your head together, noone is giving you answers, well none that make any sense, its not every day you die and are resurrected, your angry confused, your understandably traumatised. Shepard…Aeryn" he fixed his gaze on her his voice softening "your only human, your allowed to feel – don't be so hard on yourself."
Her frown had softened at this, it sounded exactly like, well like something she would say, and then it hit her - she hadn't changed, not too much anyway, repressing her emotions probably had been part of the whole recovery process. From a very young age her confidence had given her a feeling of invulnerability, it had gotten her into trouble numerous times but she moved on quickly and forgot - she had been an expert at assessing peoples weaknesses and turning them into strengths – she wasn't any different, in this case she had weaknesses that she had failed to recognise perhaps now at this most crucial time she should pay attention to that. She felt shaken out of her emotional trance, it was almost a revelation of sorts - not quite remedied yet, but she felt more at ease with what she was feeling.
Garrus continued "This job can't be done without you, Cerberus, the illusive man the council all need YOU Shepard, they may not know it but you're the only one with the guts to follow through and command this rag tag group, you're the only one who can put a stop to this threat. We need…. I need ….. you." Garrus turned his back on her with this last comment.
There was quiet in the room for what seemed like a long time, only the fish tank gurgled. Finally Aeryn broke the silence her voice sounding almost like a whisper "Thankyou Garrus, I can always count on you to make sense."
Garrus turned back around "Perhaps Commander I should go, you…. you sound like you might need a rest and I have some…. some preparations to make." He went to pick up his tunic top.
She knelt up quickly tucking her knees under her "Garrus, where do you think you're going?" He looked up at her with surprise, his eye wandering up and down her body.
"I ahh err umm" he mumbled "I thought…well"
"Look here you crazy Turian – after what you just said to me, and well frankly what you just did to me….. if I wasn't feeling so wobbly on my feet I'd come over and punch you. You're not going anywhere…..take those pants off now and come back here…. you say you need me, well right now, I need you so come back to me" she wasn't pleading, that wasn't in her nature, she was opening her self up, and hoping like hell that it wouldn't end up with a kick in the guts.
Garrus eyed her intently, hell, she hoped she wasn't looking too needy, but that's exactly how she felt right now, but she couldn't read him and a moment of panic set in - that's it he's out the door, she thought.
His face then lit up with a huge grin, he flicked his talons around the edge of his pants "These pants? Is that an order Commander?"
Relief washed over her and she replied with her own huge grin "You damn well know it is you tease."
"Well us Turians are VERY good at following orders" and he removed them quickly.
She laughed aloud as he revealed underneath he was wearing another pair of pants – more long johns really.
He pretended to be affronted by her response "We're also always, ALWAYS prepared. You know we hate the cold Commander".
"Those too" she said boldly and he obediently removed them.
As he walked towards her she took in full view of his rapidly returning erection. She remembered a conversation she once overheard many years ago when she was still a Lt. Three of her crew mates (all women), were discussing what they thought Turian genatalia might look like. One thought that it might have sharp ridges, another suggested it might be spear like, the third was suggesting they go check the extranet next time they were on shore leave that would clear things up. They were guffawing heartily but stopped when they saw her walking towards them, she passed them only saying "carry on" but the smirk on her face had said it all to her junior crew, and when she moved on their barely contained laughter returned. She hadn't paid any attention to Mordins anatomical drawings or any of his suggestions, frankly she didn't think it was going to happen, but now as he moved towards her all she could remember was "watch for chaffing". In reality his genitalia was very human like except that it wasn't – the same colour, it was as expected greyish in tone with a hint of pink, like the rest of his skin, but what really surprised her were the small bumps running from the head down the shaft on the underside, she bit her bottom lip as she gazed from it back to his face. Her look which had obviously implied "oh my", hadn't gone unnoticed by him and he seemed to puff up with some sort of pride at her response. She felt herself blushing, something she rarely experienced. He was now close enough she reached out and grasped his penis with one hand, with the other she cupped and gently stroked his balls. He let out a deep growling moan and his talons reached up to gently stroke her hair and face. She wanted to put it in her mouth and return him the pleasure he had just imparted on her, but was very conscious of Mordins other advice "don't ingest" so instead she continued to stroke him, running her thumb over the tip, gently squeezing. If they survived the suicide mission there would be other times to try that out, no sense in endangering herself now, she smiled at this thought and looked up at him. His eyes were closed and she could hear is breathe increasing with every slide of her hand, she increased the pace until she realised that he might come, so to slow him down she did as she remembered what worked on human males, as she applied a decent amount of pressure on the peak like junction just below the head of his penis, it worked, Garrus yelped.
He looked quizzically down at her "What was that for?" her smile was cheeky and she replied
"Just letting you savour the moment before you pop the heat sink….."
His laugh was loud "I can't believe I said that, but now you think of it, it is a pretty accurate description for this situation" he kissed her, gently pushing her back onto the bed at the same time. Her hands still stroked him as he moved into position, their eyes remained locked on each other and he entered her so quickly she gave a sharp intake of breathe as she felt a momentary surge of pain. My god she thought did they replenish ALL of her – even there? But the pain was quickly replaced by a very familiar feeling and she could feel those little bumps rubbing inside her. She moved her hands to the back of his neck stroking it before moving to his fringe his talons moved down to stoke her thighs and he buried his head in her shoulder. She moved her legs to encircle his bony thighs, ah this IS going to chaff she thought but she dismissed it when he started to increase his tempo, the feeling was bliss. This time the dark images stayed buried and she concentrated on reacting to him. She could feel herself pulsing with every thrust and she knew she was going to orgasm again very soon, her moans getting louder, in tune with his grunts which seemed to be timed to increase the depth of every thrust. Their movements became somewhat frenzied as she reached closer to her climax, she pulled on his fringe and his talons dug deeper into her thighs, finally she felt her internal muscles tightening around his shaft and her orgasm came in shuddering waves, the intensity so great she began to shake. Sensing her release Garrus's thrusts became fewer but deeper and he too orgasmed collapsing in a solid heap on top of her. She could feel him becoming soft insider her but she remained with her legs tightly wrapped around him only lessening her grip when he relaxed his full weight on her. "Aeryn" he whispered and she moved her hands to stroke his back and shoulders kissing him on the neck. He remained buried inside her, for a little while longer before gently rolling off. She had a light film of sweat on her, but she was invigorated not exhausted, emotionally she was still feeling too exposed for her liking, but she also felt a little less burdened. It felt right telling Garrus how she felt. She knew she could count on him and she hoped that she wouldn't fail him.
They lay facing each other for a very long time gently stroking each other before EDI interrupted their post coital bliss.
"Commander, Operative Lawson would like to speak with you in her office"
"Ah thankyou EDI , let Miranda know I come speak to her in about" Garrus mouthed 30 minutes "… in about 45 minutes" she gave him a wide smile.
EDI quickly replied "Operative Lawson says it urgent Commander"
Aeryn gave a long sigh "Okay EDI tell her I'll be there as soon as I can"
"Yes Commander."
Garrus started to say something before EDI's voice piped up again "Officer Vakarian, Tali would like to talk with you down in engineering."
"Ahhh yes EDI, thanks." Garrus said sheepishly "Do you think she listens in?" he whispered. Aeryn shrugged "Joker does refer to her as the evil overlord, so I guess she has if not eyes, certainly ears everywhere". She watched Garrus stand up and get dressed. He moved back to the bed to kiss her. "If you need me Commander, you know where to find me" she grabbed his arm and squeezed as he moved away, and he looked back just once before walking out the door.
She lay back on the bed, deciding not to shower again, she could still smell him on her and she liked that. She still felt a little light headed she wasn't sure if it was from the wine or was from exposing her self so emotionally. Right at this moment it didn't seem to matter too much though and she stretched her arms and legs out wide before moving herself to a siting position, her legs felt a little sore she looked down between her thighs, it was a little red raw, mmmm yes chaffing, Mordin was right. But then she realised that her outer thighs were sore too, she looked down at her left thigh, Garrus's talons had dug in a little to deeply, she'd have to have words to him about that, she was far more squishy than he was. Her right thigh had a long nasty looking gash and there was blood still weeping from the wound "ouch that's gonna leave a scar", she tilted her head back, and grinned like a maniac "a beautiful memorable scar".