Movie Night

What if Shepard took a more subtle approach with Garrus?

*****Chapter 1*****

Shepard bites her lip and tries to calm her pounding heart as she waits for the main battery doors to whoosh open. As the doors finally part before her she cooly drapes a calm facade over her inner anxiousness, hoping the visor Garrus constantly wore doesn't pick up on her elevated heartrate and slightly erratic breathing. She loves and hates what his presence does to her body, it feels so good but her lack of control over it's reactions is maddening! She flashes him a friendly smile when he turns around at the sound of her entering into his territory.

"Shepard... need me for something?" She can't help chucklig to herself as she takes in his form, oh if he only knew just how badly she did need him!

"Have you got a minute?" She asks, approaching him gingerly.

He gives a quick look back at his console, "Can it wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some calibrations."

Shepard sighs and wishes that she too could be so preoccupied with her work! She leans against the console and laughs, "I won't keep you, Garrus. I just stopped by to invite you to catch up, watch a few vids... maybe enjoy some of that turian ale I picked up last time we docked at the Citadel?"

He looks down at her, cocked brow plate, arms foldd across his chest and mandibles flexing back into what she recognized as a smirk. The way he was looking at her only spurred on her nervousness and she struggles to maintain eye contact.

"Things have been so tense around here lately, since Sidonis... and I miss my friend." She says, almost in defense of her suggestion.

He rewards her with a throaty laugh and rests a large three-fingered hand on her shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Of couse I accept, Shepard. Just keeping you on your toes. I should be done with this in a few hours, should I stop by then?" He says giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Shepard instantly feels a wave of relief wash over her at his acceptance and was now wearing an easy smile as she starts toward the exit of the main battery. "Looking forward to it! See you in a bit, Garrus."

Commander Shepard visibly swells with joy, and if the mess hall wasn't currently full of her assorted crew members she may have done a happy dance all the way back to her quarters. She isn't sure how he does it, but he is the one person in the galaxy who can make the great Commander Shepard feel like a giddy school girl, and she loves him all the more for it. She goes into her cabin and starts to get ready, still feeling the warmth of his hand on her shoulder.

Garrus smiles to himself and shakes his head as the main battery doors close behind Shepard on her way out. He would never want her to know how obvious she really was, mostly because being the most naturally predatory member of the crew it was very possible that he was the only one capable of detecting her body's subtle reactions to him. He had been with her for longer than most of the crew as well and was very familiar with her body language. She is different around him than she is around the rest of the men on board, the way her eyes lazily make their way up and down his body when she thought he was unaware, how her body temperature would rise and her face flushed with a rosy glow when he was close to her and her voice faltered when he let slip one of his unintentionally suggestive comments. Oh he was well aware of her growing affection for him and was beginning to wonder what it would take for her to make a move, persay. After all, it would be rather imprudent of him to proposition his commanding officer!

Shepard flutters about her cabin, fluffing pillows, picking up here and there and checking her reflection in the mirror a few too many times. She doesn't want to look like she's trying too hard, but doesn't want to look like her usual battle-ready self either. When Garrus calls to announce he is on his way she hurriedly pulls on some form flattering jeans and a simple tank top that accentuated her athletic figure, pins back her long dark hair and layers her thick lashes with a coat of mascara before rubbing some clear gloss onto her curving lips. She can scarcely contain her excitement and gives herself a wink in the mirror, laughing at her girlishness as she goes into her bedroom area and tries to appear nonchalant when Garrus enters.

Garrus walks into her cabin to find Shepard sitting cross legged on her couch reading 'Tactical Firearms Modifications volume VI' and lets out a rich guffaw. "And you tease me for being all about work!" He says with a wide turian equivalent of a grin.

"What, this?" She asks innocently, putting down the book she had been pretending to read. "Oh, this is all pleasure." She gives him a smile as she walks over to greet him. Shepard is ecstatic that he had shown up not in his usual armor, but in his civilian clothes, giving her a generous view of his body she had seen only a few times before. "I'm glad you're dressed more comfortably than usual, we could both use to relax a bit."

Garrus nods in agreement, adding "You too, these clothes suit you. You look more like a woman than my commander... heh, that may help loosening up enough to actually enjoy that ale you promised." He lets his eyes take in her more exposed form, slowly moving up from her bare feet all the way up to her stormy gray eyes where he held her gaze for a moment before breaking the tension he had purposely caused. "So... what are we watching?"

Shepard takes a moment to form words for a few seconds, the feeling of his eyes on her like that has her reeling. "Um.. I picked a few I thought you would enjoy." She handed him two vid discs and he looked them over curiously.

"Hmm... Starship Troopers and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." He says with curiosity.

"Well," She says with a laugh, "Starship Troopers is very... Turian, and also very funny! And the star of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly reminds me a lot of you."

Garrus perks at the idea of her watching a vid and thinking of him. "He reminds you of me, huh?" He asks as she makes her way to her fridge and pulls out a bottled beverage for each of them. "He's not 'The Ugly' is he?" He says with a low chuckle.

"No!" Shepard laughs, lifting her tank top over the bottle and twisting to remove the cap before handing him his ale. Little does she know this gesture is not lost on Garrus and his eyes graze across the smooth expanse of honey colored skin she exposed while opening his bottle, his eyes snap back up to her face as she hands him his drink and continues. "No, not ugly at all! He is cool, collected, always has a plan, confident and ruggedly handsome in a striking, angular sort of way. His characters generally have a strong sense of justice, but bend the rules a bit to get the job done." She grins at him, "Just like you."

If it was possible for a turian to beam, he would have. Instead he puffed up his chest a bit with pride as she sauntered over and plopped onto her pillow-covered bed and pat the spot next to her for him to sit before scooting back to get comfortable.

"I know human furniture isn't generally all that comfortable for you, so I gathered all the pillows I could find so you can fully relax. So, what should we watch first?" She proposes as he climbs onto the bed next to her and nestles comfortably into the pillows. Her heart flutters.

***** End Chapter 1*****