Commander Rhylee Shepard stretched, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and yawning. It was early, she could tell. Most of the ship would be dead asleep. She groaned and rose to her feet, snatching her robe off the nightstand and making her way out into the mess hall. Slowly, she put her robe on and padded through the mess.
Sure enough she was the only one here. Even Kaidan, who often spent late nights in the mess, working on nothing in particular because his migraines kept him awake, was nowhere to be found. She made her way to the elevator, and began the slow descent to the lowest deck. Absently, she stared down at her bare feet and toenails painted blue. Wiggling her toes, she giggled. The ship's floor wasn't as cold as one might expect. Just then, the elevator doors opened to reveal a single light on by the Mako and a turian slumped against its wheel, a bottle in his hand. Rhylee made her way over as quietly as she could, unsure if he was awake or not.
"Commander, what brings you down here at this hour?" Garrus asked, looking up at her from his place on the ground.
She jabbed a thumb to the right, "I was going to the engine room."
Garrus got to his feet; rising to his full seven and a half feet, a giant compared to Rhylee. "C'mon, I'll take you," he said, putting the bottle down beside the Mako.
"Garrus, are you drunk?" she asked, curiously, looking down at the bottle he'd left behind.
Garrus chuckled, "I don't get drunk, Commander. Now, let's go."
She followed him into the engine room, struggling to keep up with his long strides. He stopped in the middle of the massive room and she moved right past him, padding her way as close to the core as she could get. Rhylee leaned against the bars that kept her from getting closer and sighed contentedly.
"Why'd you want to come down here, Commander? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Garrus inquired from just behind her. She hadn't heard him get so close.
"Can't sleep," she answered simply. "What about you? You've got a bunk of your own."
"It's complicated," he replied.
"It's alright you know. To be homesick, I mean. We all get homesick sometimes," Rhylee said, tilting her head just enough to see how he would react to her words. Not that she knew much about turian expressions.
He fumbled for words, "I'm not—Commander it's been a long time since I was home. I haven't been to Palaven in…a long time."
She watched him in the corner of her eye for some time.
"You miss being around other turians," she said, her voice full of realization.
"What gave it away?" he asked his voice quieter than normal.
"That bottle…you weren't drinking alcohol. It's Imported Palaven Pomdargent Juice. Pomdargents only grow on Palaven, during the dry season. They're hard to get a hold of unless you've got the right connections," she answered, turning to face him.
"You're well informed," he said, his mandibles flicking out and back twice.
Without thinking she blurted, "What does that mean? What you just did with your mandibles, what would that mean to a turian?" Almost instantly she regretted asking, but he did so many things she couldn't make sense of because she was human.
His hand reached up to his face; absently touching his mandibles and laughed, "It's a smile, or at least it's the equivalent. It's a bit more complicated than just smiling. Like our undertones. It's…more complex than with humans."
"Could you teach me? To understand turians, I mean," she asked, her voice so quiet she thought it might not translate for him. She could feel her cheeks heat up and turn red in embarrassment.
"You can't hear our undertones. It wouldn't be easy."
"I'm not one for easy," she said, quirking her lips at him.
His mandibles fanned out wide and came back to their place against his face before fanning out and returning a few more times. Rhylee thought to ask what it meant, but decided against it. She was tired, and although sleep might not find her again tonight, she would try. "Good night, Garrus. Try to get some sleep, won't you?" she said.
His mandibles flickered in what she now knew to be a smile, "Is that an order, Commander?"
"Do you want it to be?" she asked, teasing him.
"I'll go in a few minutes. Wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong impression, Commander," he answered, teasing her back.