Round Two

by ninalanfer

Garrus/Thane - He promised to read up on drell anatomy, and Garrus Vakarian keeps his promises. masskink prompt. Standalone set in "Throw Me a Thermal Clip" universe (Part 02). Complete.

Summary: Garrus/Thane - He promised to read up on drell anatomy, and Garrus Vakarian keeps his promises. masskink prompt. Standalone set in "Throw Me a Thermal Clip" universe (Part 02). Complete.

Original Prompt: . ?thread=17872796#t17872796

"Shepard isn't the only one on this flying crate getting some alien booty."

Note: This is my take on the male turian anatomy. I go with the whole 'cloaca' deal, just one hole. I hope everyone is okay with that and that it not comes out confusing in the text.

.-oOo-.

There always seemed to be more people in the cargo bay when Thane decided to work out. Most of them of the female persuasion. It wasn't as though he didn't understand why. According to most species' beauty standards he was good looking. Something he had exploited several times during his years as an assassin. It was always easier to get close to a target if they wanted him around. It had never meant anything, it had just been a part of his job, and he didn't feel ashamed for the things he had to do in his duty. It was just how things were done.

But then he had always been under one cover or another. It had never been him who they looked at, who they touched. Years of living in seclusion had made him slightly self aware now that he was put in a position where spying eyes where looking at him, Thane Krios, when he stretched on one of the gym mats. When he first came down here, it had been empty as for one of the crewmen tinkering away on the Hammerhead. Thane had felt secure enough to shrug out of his shirt after warming up in an attempt to not get overheated. Now he almost regretted the decision, as one after the other the women came down to the hangar, each of them with their own convoluted and not always plausible excuse. It was like they had never seen a half naked man before. Or maybe it was just because he was drell and exotic.

Thane didn't let his unease show as he worked out, slowly going through his body to make sure every muscle got a task and every limb got a stretch. On a normal occasion he did this to relax, to unwind, much like meditating, to keep his head clear. But with an ever shifting audience if was mostly distracting. There were instincts he couldn't quite let go off. Patterns of habits that had been drilled into him ever since he started his training to serve the hanar. Keeping his surroundings in mind was one of them. He knew every good or bad escape route out of here. He knew where the hull was most likely to go first if there was an emergency. He could make his way up to the CIC in less than five minutes if the elevator broke and Shepard needed him. He was in control wherever he put his foot or whatever he did.

The coming and going of the crew should not be as distracting as it were. The eyes of strangers against his skin should not make his hand twitch for the gun as much as it did. He had been alone for too long, he concluded as he easily rolled over the mat and up in a handstand. This time on the Normandy, how short it yet may be, would do him good. He should try to talk to more people, maybe make a friend or two. If they survived this suicide mission he had decided to put his career on the shelf. Retire as I were, try to spend some time with his son, as he waited for the inevitable. A friend to spend the days with would be a welcome distraction. He knew he didn't do well with a normal life. His marriage to Irika had proven that, and even if he had told Shepard that he continued to take jobs because they needed the money and he didn't know anything else, it wasn't the whole truth.

Thane let his weight fall backwards and he braced his arms and gracefully rose to his feet again.

"Hey! Watch out!" Garrus quickly sidestepped and avoided his sudden dismount.

Thane had heard them enter, he and the Cerberus soldier Jacob, and make their way over here to were some workout equipment were gathered.

"Just keeping you on your toes, Vakarian," he said with a slight smirk as he met the turian's pensive eyes.

The other laughed and grinned back before nodding and heading over to a bench press to spot for the human. The drell folded his legs under himself and sat down, reaching behind his back to stretch out his arms and shoulders.

There was one friend he had gained during this crazy mission. Both of them snipers they had been drawn to each other during their downtime. It was only natural that they should find it most comfortable in the presence of someone who shared their interest. Being two of the few aliens on a xenophobic ship to boot. They had compared notes and experiences and Thane had even picked up a few new things from the turian. As he himself had shared a couple of new tricks.

They worked well together in the field, complementing the others skills, tech to biotic. Thane would even go so far as to say he enjoyed working with the man. He was competent and sharp, even if he could get a bit wired up at times.

Then of course that... thing had happened a few weeks ago. During a mission with Shepard they had both been locked up and cut off from the surrounding base. A trap skillfully deployed and Thane still blamed himself at times, because he should have picked up on it before they triggered it. But if they hadn't been stuck in that room for hours, Garrus wouldn't have become aggravated for being trapped. He would never have challenged him to a spar and they would never have...

He coughed to clear his throat while his eidetic memory showed him images of how the gray turian had pinned him to the floor and ground their hips together. How he had arched and screamed when he finally found his release. Thane swallowed thickly, happy he had been able to catch himself before blurting out the entire thing to a room full of people. But still the vivid memory left him warm and he felt how he started to pulse down between his legs.

"You okay there, Krios?" A flanging voice snapped him out of his reverie.

He noticed how he had been stretching the same muscle in his neck out for far too long now.

"Just a knot in the back of my neck I can't quite shake," he lied smoothly without a moments thought.

"Yeah?" Vakarian walked over to him. "Maybe I can help."

Thane tried not to stiffen as the turian unbidden stepped behind him and put his fingers across his green scales. Before he had the time to argue strong calloused fingers worked down into his neck muscles with something akin to practices ease. His entire back and shoulders just relaxed under the touch. It stung heavenly, the tension bleeding out of every muscle.

"Whoa..." He couldn't help but express his wonder. "How did you do that?"

Vakarian worked for a while longer, down to his trapezius muscle before leaning on his shoulders so he could plant his head next to Thane's.

"I told you I would study some drell anatomy, didn't I?" The drell in question swore he had lowered his voice just to really remind him of the content rumble he had given off a few weeks ago in that room.

Indeed he had told him that, but things had gone back to normal as soon as they left the room and he had almost thought Garrus forgot about it. Now he couldn't keep from imagining what else those knowledgeable hands could do to him. He hoped no one saw how his frill flashed dark red with arousal, and if they did that no one knew what it meant.

Garrus rose again and with one last squeeze on Thane's shoulders he returned to his workout. Thane swallowed thickly again while he rose to his feet. Maybe it was time to call this session to a close and go wash off.

He took the elevator up to crew deck and ducked into the showers. He met one of the cerberus men in the doorway, but when he got in it was blessedly empty. The crew were polite enough, more so than he had expected when he heard he would be living on a ship staffed with mainly xenophobic humans. He still preferred the silence only solitude could provide when he cleaned off.

A content sigh escaped him when the water hit his scales. He couldn't linger, but he could enjoy it while it lasted. Too soon he head the door open and close behind him and then footsteps clicked on the white tile floor. It didn't sound as human footsteps.

"Do you have room for one more?" Vakarian hit the shower panel next to his and the second shower turned on, water spattering down on gray scales and thick hide. A rumbling hum of approval echoed against the cold walls.

"By all means," Thane answered as he cleaned himself off while watching the turian from the corner of his eye.

He looked just as good as he remembered. Muscles rippling under thick plates as he stretched to let the water find it's way into every crevice. His skin gleamed slightly in the white light, wet and slowly softening in the heat.

Thane had never been one who saw race or gender as an obstacle. Everyone was beautiful in their own way and he could appreciate what this specific man brought to the table. He had a memory full of times of smiles shared, both in combat and on leave with him. He knew exactly how Garrus' steady and strong hands held his rifle and his eyes would glow with triumphant pride every time he hit that skillful head shot. How it would turn predatory just before a fight.

It looked kind of like the way he was eying him now. His head slightly tilted down and heat radiating from within those dark eye sockets. Thane tried to keep his temper from rising and his demeanor to remain cool.

"So what was that back there?" Garrus asked, and he couldn't be sure if it was his imagination or not, but the turian voice sounded huskier than usual.

"Hm?" Thane raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

Mandibles flared slightly in a failed hidden grin. Keeping his cool was starting to get harder.

"The splayed neck? The bending of limbs in all kinds of..." he cleared his throat and tore his eyes away from Thane, turning up in the spray of water and closing his eyes. "... flexible... directions."

A smirk crept up on green, split lips.

"Drell call it 'stretching', turians don't have an equivalent?" Thane laughed silently as he turned the shower off and walked over to the towel rack.

"Sure we do but..." He heard Garrus swallow hard behind him, so just to tease him he lowered the towel slowly over his back and behind as he dried himself. "But that... That would have gotten any turian loose and ready fast than Shepard could start a fight."

Thane laughed again.

"I doubt that, she is very skilled at stirring trouble." He had temporarily forgotten that a display of a lithe neck what nothing but erotic for the hard necked race.

He quickly got dressed and with a calm he didn't feel on the inside he walked across the bathroom and opened the door, turning to look over to the showers before he stepped outside. He was met with an eyeful of wet and naked turian, his eyes hungry as he watched the drell leave.

"I'll see you around." Thane gave a last smirk before stepping over the threshold and letting the door close behind him.

Those eyes would haunt him for the rest of the night.

And they did. Thane lay in his bed, trying to sleep, only to close his eyes and see that lust shining back at him from stark blue eyes. It made his heart speed up and his body grow warm. Last time had been so nice. His body had wanted it, had needed it. Had been able to let himself go completely because he trusted Garrus. It was almost odd how comfortable he felt in the turian's proximity. How the need for him could overshadow his deeply ingrained instincts and forget about the world around him for a while. He felt secure with those strong hands around his hips and he could relax into the pleasure the other gave him.

He remembered how the tension had just been ripped out of him, forcing sounds from his throat he hadn't done since... In a very long time. And the feeling of having him inside. Thane bit his lower lips and forced himself from falling into the memory, concentrating on the pain. The pain of the claws digging into his scales...

After an hour of twisting and turning and only making himself more and more frustrated due to the tension building in his gut, he got out of bed and dressed again. It was late, but neither drell nor turians needed as much sleep as, say, humans. Both of them came from warm climates in which the midday heat made it impossible to do anything but sleep. It gave them roughly the same hours and Thane was fairly certain that Garrus would still be awake. So he wasn't surprised when he saw the door panel to the battery shine green.

The black leather pants he wore were slowly getting tighter by the mere thought of the man behind those heavy doors and he had to take a deep breath before he chimed the doorbell.

"Krios," Vakarian greeted him and turned around from his work console.

"Getting some late night work done?" Thane asked and stepped inside the warm battery with his hands held tight behind his back.

The turian shrugged.

"I'm sure the running joke about calibrations haven't slipped you by," he smirked.

Thane laughed shortly.

"You are correct. I have heard of it. But you can't believe everything you hear," he answered diplomatic.

An awkward silence settled between the two for a moment, the only thing that could be heard was the motors of the canons humming in standby. Vakarian shifted from foot to foot and the assassin enjoyed how easy it was to make him uncomfortable.

"So... What are you doing here? I'd thought you'd be sleeping by now," the turian cracked after a while.

"Usually I would," Thane answered. "But unfortunately I couldn't get any peace tonight."

"It's not easy, a mission like this tend to make the tension rise." Vakarian crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back on the data console.

Thane took a slow step forward and started trailing his eyes up the blue armored body. It was like a riddle that hinted about the lean physic the drell knew lay underneath it. Teasing his curiosity, but refusing to let him see it.

"Actually," he started as he saw how the turian's muscles tensed under his scrutinizing gaze. "That's not the kind of tension that held me awake tonight."

"Oh yeah?" Vakarian asked, trying to sound cool, detached, but Thane could hear his dual tone rise and start to vibrate. It effected him, knowing that his look alone could turn him on. His well controlled interest started to expand and would soon make his pants almost uncomfortable.

A few more steps brought him an arm length away, but he kept his hands locked behind his back as he met the others eyes. The heat from earlier were staring to flame in them. Thane couldn't keep his smirk away.

"Unless you were doing something very important?" He lowered his voice slightly, making it rumble between them.

Vakarian dropped his arms and looked suddenly a bit unsure.

"Hm... I... no, nothing important." He gave the console a quick look.

The leather creaked as the drell quickly stepped in and leaned around the temporarily distracted soldier, his fingers rapidly finding the lock mechanism for the doors. The turian's voice hitched when he turned back around and looked down on Thane. He was a good head taller than him and they both had to bend their necks in a way that would cause discomfort if held for too long. That wouldn't be a problem, there were no plans on the horizon of staying still.

For a moment they just breathed in each others smells, their breaths picking up in speed and depth. It was a glorious thing, the tension sparking between them. It made Thane's heart flutter in anticipation of the memories to come. It built up until it was almost impossible not to move, to launch himself against the wide chest. To capture those pale lips and seek his tongue. But he wouldn't give in, not before Vakarian. He could almost see how the other man vibrated with lust to grab him. The want in his blue eyes undeniable, it caused the red sensitive frills on his neck to shift and darken. It was always such a rush, to be wanted. Thane closed his eyes and took a deep breath, just enjoying the scent of the turian's pheromones drifting off him.

Next thing he knew, strong, three fingered hands grabbed his arms and spun them around. Armored hips locked him against the console and a tongue darted past pointed teeth to dip into the crevices between his frills. It was impossible to keep in the breathy moan when the electric sensation surged through him, straight down to his lower regions. Yes, the pants would have to go, they were definitively getting too tight.

Keeping his usually so limber fingers as steady as he could make them Thane started snapping and releasing clutches and buckles around the clunky blue armor. Pressures releasing around the turian and soon left him in the body hugging under suit. Their actions had opened up a damn of lust and the heavy canons soon got to share space with low, rolling grunts and clothes rustling and clanking to the floor. They were grinding into each other, both of them equally consumed by need to press themselves against the others skin.

Thane caught Garrus' wrist when he moved to put his hands inside the black leather vest, wanting to reveal the green scales beneath.

"Careful," he hurried to say, unhooking the clasps and starting to shrug out of it. "There are sharp weapons and tools hidden away in pockets that could seriously injure you were you to nick a finger."

"Maybe it would be worth it," Garrus grinned as he hungrily ran his fingers over a muscled chest.

Thane didn't answer, only pulled the turian close again, one of his hands diving down to tease the opened pelvic plates of his partner. A deep guttural rumble escaped Garrus' in a violent huff, and his hands tore at the leather pants the drell was still wearing. They came off with a pleased sigh from their occupant, the pressure finally gone, replaced by another naked body in front of him. Firm fingers enclosed his girth, lightly tugging, letting the sensitive skin be caressed by calloused, warm hide. It made Thane squirm in pleasure, his knees buckling slightly.

Garrus noticed and grabbed both his thighs, just below his buttock and heaved the smaller man up onto his workstation. Thane captured his hard lips again, his hands going up in under the long fringe to gently massage the delicate skin under it. Garrus growled in appreciation. It was a good sound, all in all, he decided.

He lost contact with his lips when the turian decided to lick and nip his way down his cheek and in over his neck. He scraped his teeth on the tougher green scales before letting his tongue dance across red ruffles. Thane had to bite his lower lip to not call out, his eyes closing in pleasure and he stretched his neck to allow Garrus more access. What he was doing... Oh, by all gods.

When the hand returned in between his legs he grabbed the thick, gray upper arms and dug his nails in. He didn't know whether to push him away or pull him in. Wave after irregular wave pulsed through his body, making him groan and thrill and buck and twist.

The teeth lined mouth next to his neck formed a smug grin and vibrations oscillated in his massive chest, sending trembles all the way down to the lithe green body beneath. The turian was breathing heavily, movements attentive to Thane's every grunt and shudder. His tongue dipped almost bruisingly down between his frills, lapping for a while until he felt the finely shaped extremity in his hand twitch and expand even further. Then he eased up, making his touches teasingly light, forcing his plaything to really work on not shouting out in pleas for more friction.

It took him a while, but soon Thane wanted more. He wanted, needed even, to touch his pleasure giver in return, needed to hear the flanged voice hitch and waver until his knees trembled.

He pushed and sat up, Garrus retracting from his neck but still slowly stroking him up and down.

"You enjoying yourself?" he asked, and the lust and longing in the deeper tremors of his voice had Thane moving closer, grabbing his head and plunging his tongue inside his mouth. "I'll take that as... hmgh... a yes." His voice stuttered between the heated kisses.

The green skilled fingers were up under a gray fringe again, kneading and scraping his nails into the sensitive hide. Their owner pulled away a few centimeters, enough so he could look into the bright blue eyes and enjoyed the dilated pupils he found there.

"Have you ever had anyone go down on you?" Thane asked, his voice husky with need.

The hand between his legs paused suddenly, stumbled in it's movement before continuing.

"No," the turian answered with bated breath.

Thane slid down from the console, down onto his knees and Garrus stepping back half a step to give him room. He trailed his hands down the coarse scales and soft hide, dragging his nails into the crevices as he went. Paying special attention around the thin waist and hips before taking his big eyes from the sharply angled face of his friend. The look of anticipation and maybe even nervousness made his mandibles flicker from time to time. Small, sudden movements that were probably totally unconscious.

Thane's concentration settled on the blue appendage pointing proudly and waiting before him. Last time he hadn't had time to give it a proper look, everything had happened so fast. Now he lingered, studying the shape of the head, the ridges that he knew if rubbed could make this man scream. Oh, how he wanted to be the one to make Garrus scream.

The contrast between the light green finger and the stark blue skin was striking as he trailed it up over those bumps. Garrus made a low sound in his throat and his thighs jerked for a second. He grabbed it fully, gently pulling at the skin, feeling how it was already slick with the turian's own fluids. Up and down he went as Garrus leaned over him to place his hands on the console. He hissed and made another pleased hum in his throat.

"Not even an asari?" Thane asked while keeping up his administrations.

Garrus looked down at him.

"Never been with an asari," he answered. "Only ever been interested in my species."

That gave Thane pause. He stopped his hand without even thinking about it and looked up into the gray face above him.

"Never?" He creased his eyebrows in a question.

The turian shook his head.

"No, never," he said.

"Does that mean I am your first alien?"

Thane wasn't sure what he felt about that. Did this mean something to the other man? For him it was a purely physical thing. Sure, he liked Garrus well enough, but only as a friend. He wasn't even certain he could fall in love again, not after Irika. In any case it would be cruel to the turian to start something just to disappear later.

"Yes," Garrus said, his sharp, intelligent eyes studying Thane's face, looking for something. "Does that bother you?"

What should he say? No, it didn't bother him that he was the only alien Garrus had ever done it with. That was not the issue. Maybe they would have to talk about this arrangement, later, to make sure no misunderstandings occurred.

With the turian's eyes so attuned to his every shift he took the opportunity to close his eyes, slowly. His tongue reaching out and caressing up, taking his time, from the base of the blue, blood filled appendage, to the tip.

"No," he said as he opening his eyes again.

Garrus eyes glazed over for a moment and something that could only be called a turian whimper coursed through him.

It was Thane's time to smile smugly before he returned his attention to running his tongue up and down, around and all over, paying special attention to all the grooves and bumps. A metallic whine could be heard as turian talons scraped against the console surface.

"Then let me educate you in all the uses of soft lips," the drell teased before closing said lips around the tip. His tongue snaked around it inside his mouth, wetting it with saliva, getting it warm and moist.

"Holyfuckingmotherofallspirits..." the litany of curses continued into something that Thane's translator didn't know what to do with. But the meaning was clear enough as bony hips snapped forward slightly, the muscles in Garrus' thighs working overtime to keep him from shoving into Thane's mouth.

The assassin took the cue, sliding his hands, palm flat against the rough hide, around the legs and up to his clenched behind. He pressed the man forward, making him slide deeper as his heart pumped rapidly inside his chest and he felt a bead of precum drip off the tip and onto the floor between his legs. The rush of blood in his ears and the continued moaning and grunting of the turian above him made his head spin. Thane lost himself in the sensation of Garrus inside his mouth, his concentration closing in to the contact of their bodies. Focusing on keeping his teeth in check and the movement of his lips against the soft skin he was filled with surging arousal.

It was unexplainable, the incredible rush of endorphins in his system, being in this position. Giving all he could to make the other enjoy every second in bliss. When the head prodded and pushed deeper yet and bumped onto the back of his throat he couldn't keep the needy moans in any longer. He could feel Garrus' muscles tense under his fingers when the vibrations from his voice carried over to him. The turian grunted and growled savagely, speeding up the movement out and in between yellow lips.

Thane reached down between his own legs to grip around himself. The teasing was too much, he had to have some kind of friction, some touch, or he though he would go mad. He thumbed the head of it as he dug his nails into the tough hide of Garrus' buttocks, taking him in as much as he could. He held him there, forced him to remain still, tucked in the back of his throat as he moaned deeply, pumping the entirety of his own length. The gray hips wriggled in his grasp.

He let go of himself, pulled back slightly to be able to breath through his nose again, and used his free hand to stroke the soft skin at the edges of Garrus' pubic plates. He was rewarded with another curse, so he kept going. His index finger digging in, testing the give just below the base. He found warm liquid when his finger wiggled its way into his cloaca, soft flesh and pulsing heat. It made him delirious with need.

Careful to not hurt his friend Thane stretched out the elastic skin and muscles, felt them clench around his finger. He kept up a slow pace with his mouth, his tongue working around the blue length. He could hear Garrus heavy breathing above him and knew he was enjoying this. So he pushed further, sliding his finger against the base and following it in where it extended into his body.

"Shit, Thane," Garrus grunted, his voice strained and pitched higher than normal.

Thane hummed approvingly.

He massaged Garrus' insides for a while, the one soon getting replaced by his fused middle fingers. The turian's voice hitched when he felt the intrusion, his body jerking, trying to push the green digits further into him. Thane caressed the soft ceiling, feeling the long, blue appendage twitch in his mouth after every push.

But he wanted more now. He needed to feel the same pressure that currently was on his fingers squeeze around the most intimate part of his body. So he pulled back, lingering with tongue and mouth on Garrus until it bobbed out of from between his lips with a slight pop. Without moving his fingers he slowly stood up, pushing against the gray chest until they stood close, eye to eye.

Claws dug into his shoulders as Garrus grabbed him for support, trying too keep his knees from buckling. His face had a hazed and almost pained expression, like he didn't know what to do any longer. Totally dazed by the sensations the drell forced through his body.

Thanes body shook with barely restrained instinct to simply take the man, hard and rough until they both screamed. But he was more refined than that, at least he hoped.

"Can I fuck you?" His voice wavered with need and longing and he didn't know what he would do if the other man said no.

But Garrus nodded, almost insistently.

"Spirits, please, yes," he whined, his deeper harmonics telling Thane just how much he wanted it, and by all gods if that wasn't the hottest thing he had ever heard. The fire inside his stomach spiked and roared, it's hunger unrestrained.

Thane rearranged them, changed places and pushed on Garrus back to get him to bend over the console. It was a sight to savor, the usually so commandeering turian stretched out over his working station. But the drell's patience was wearing thin, his body was demanding things and he couldn't ignore it any longer.

With the bodily fluids on his still wet fingers he lubricated himself quickly, the extremity so filled with blood it felt rock solid by now. He lined himself up with Garru's opening just below his base and gently pushed in.

Thane bit his lip so hard he almost drew blood, a deep moan rumbling out of his chest. The feeling of the wet heat was on the very edge of more than he could stand. When Garrus pushed back, a wordless plea on his constant growl, asking for him to move, Thane had to grab his plated hips and hold on to not tip over into oblivion. He smoothed his hands out and caressed the thin waist and as Garrus arched his back he plunged in deeper still.

He lowered himself over the panting turian, squeezing the sensitive skin on his waist. He wasn't tall enough to be able to nibble or lick the underside of his fringe as another turian would, so he simply rested his forehead into the carapace of his back. Hips starting to move now that the soft insides had started to accommodate his girth he moaned softly.

The only sound that could be heard in the battery for a while was the slick thrusting of Thane's member pulling in and out of the spread out turian. Their grunts and moans mingled together and drove them both on, the pace quickening until they were chasing that high of completion.

When Garrus reached down in between his own legs Thane slid one hand around his stomach to join him. They braided their fingers together in a weird alien grip and pumped him in beat with Thane's hips.

He could see when his friend's mandibles flared out and his jaw clenched. He could feel it when he constricted his insides and then pulsed before expanding slightly in their joined grip. A broken cry tore out of Garrus' throat as Thane felt his fingers getting coated with hot liquid. He sped up his thrusts, the oblivion so near he could taste it. His own throat tensed together before he felt the white heated sensation of his climax overpower any other feeling. With one last, deep push he buried himself inside of the body beneath him before quickly pulling out.

His lungs burned and his abdominal muscles clenched as he spilled out onto the floor. He was only absently aware of how a ragged groan escaped him before he felt his body go limp on top of the scaly turian.

"Holy fuck, Thane," Garrus breathed in the aftermath. A soft laugh shook his chest and Thane had to rise up to not slide off his back. His knees wanted to give out and crumble beneath him so he leaned on the console next to the slack turian, his back to the canons. "I thought it was my turn to show you a good time."

Thane chuckled and wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"I'm not complaining," he said with a smile.

Garrus rose so he could look at the drell.

"Still..." he said. "I feel like I got the longer stick in this encounter."

The smile on Thane's face turned to a grin and he held it there until it went up for Garrus what he had just said. If he could have blushed, he would have. As it were his mandibles only flickered slightly in embarrassment.

"Maybe next time," Thane said smoothly, to not make them linger on the lewd double entendre.

"Next time, huh?" The turian raised an eyebrow.

He gave him a shrug as the only answer. They really should talk about this. What it meant, if it meant something at all, or if it was just blowing off some steam between rounds. But not right now. He was too relaxed and sleepy, still high on the happy feelings lingering from their activities. Going across the room he started to pick up and put on the clothes that had been thrown away in the beginning.

Garrus joined him, but didn't bother to pull on the armor, probably heading for bed himself.

"I had a great time," Thane said as he unlocked the door and opened it. The mess lay empty and quiet outside.

His friend laughed a short, sharp laugh.

"Yeah, me too."

"Sleep tight." Thane started walking down the platform, glancing over the sleeping humans in their pods on each side.

"See you," he heard just as he took the short stairs down and headed towards his own sleeping quarters.

.-oOo-.

It took her a while to notice something was up. They were on a simple recon mission. EDI had notified them about a strange signal from a beacon down on the planet. Shepard had decided to check it out as they passed. It couldn't do any harm, and it didn't take up too much of their time.

The first clue was the way her two squad mates moved as they exited the shuttle on their way there. There was an ease in their movements, their shoulders more relaxed than the day before, she could tell, even with the heavy armor on.

The second clue was the way the drell smiled more than usual. He was normally so stoic in both voice and facial expression it took her with some surprise when he laughed. Intoxicated with adrenalin after a firefight that had forced them to struggle in close quarters. Sure, he chuckled sometimes, almost outside of her hearing range. But Shepard had never heard him laugh out loud before.

The third clue was a side handed comment as they made their way back to the shuttle. The mission had gone well, considering. The small hideout of the drug dealers hadn't stood much of a chance after they managed to get through the door down into the mine. It had taken them a while. It had been somehow barricaded from the inside. It had ended with them having to blow a big hole into the base.

It hadn't been easy, and the choice of explosives had been a point of argumentation between the two snipers. An argument that they had picked up again as they sat down on the bench and the engines of the shuttle roared to life under them.

Shepard hadn't paid them much attention, the whole point was mute now, she thought. Until she caught a comment that drew her interest.

"The thing was rock solid," Thane argued.

For some reason that got Garrus to grin wickedly.

"I've heard that before," he mused and chuckled.

Shepard had to make a double take, but she thought she saw the drell smirk sinuously as his eyes lingered on the laughing turian. What was up with these two?