A/N: For squigglysquid, because pfffttt, who says turians can't kiss?
The Whole Kissing Thing
Shepard leaned against Garrus' weapon's bench, crossing her arms over her chest and smirked. She'd been down there with him for a half-hour, mostly just making idle conversation out of boredom while he fought to calibrate the Normandy's weapons just so. She snorted, pushing away from the table when he growled at the system for the third time. "Alright, Vakarian. Step away from the console."
He glanced over his shoulder at her, flicking his mandibles. "I've almost got it, I swear."
She chuckled, closing the few feet between them and shook her head. "Nope. Come on, it's time for you to take a break before you end up emptying your heat sink into the battery out of frustration."
He chuffed but smiled. "That would be a terrible waste of perfectly good ammo."
"And it'd hurt my ship," she said with a snort. Reaching up, she locked her fingers around the yoke of his armor and tugged. "Come up stairs and have a drink with me. Learn how to relax a little."
His brow ridge twitched, mandibles fluttering softly. "Hmmm. Do you actually have something up there I can drink?"
She grinned, giving his yoke another tug, doing nothing to move his weight. "I do. I always keep something dextro on hand, never know when I'll have to play nice with a turian or quarian dignitary. Turian brandy work for you?"
He took a step forward, humming. "You mean to tell me the entire time we were on the old Normandy, you were holding out on me?"
She let go of his amor with a smirk and turned. "Yep." She started walking, smiling to herself at the sound of his footsteps behind her.
Garrus poured himself another drink before leaning back against the couch, lifting one foot up to rest on the opposite knee. He chuckled, mandibles flaring. "It was good having Wrex around, though. Of course, I'd never tell him that, but he isn't so bad."
"Yeah … I miss the grumpy old man." Shepard lifted her glass to her lips, taking a swallow. "The others, too." She tilted her head, smiling at Garrus. "Although … having you here makes an otherwise unbearable situation somehow not so bad. I can't tell you how happy I felt when you took your helmet off back on Omega." Chuckling, she took another drink. "You don't know how close you came to being tackled with hugs and kisses."
He laughed, mandibles fluttering. "I'm pretty sure I could've handled the hugging thing, but I would've been lost with the kissing."
She huffed a laugh. "Yeah, I don't suppose turians are really into the whole kissing thing, are they?"
He hummed. "I've never been kissed, so I can't really say." He flicked his mandibles, smirking at her. "But no, turians don't really kiss. You might've noticed, we don't really have those thick, fleshy lips humans do."
Chuckling, she turned a little, propping an elbow on the back of the couch and pushed her fingers into her hair, resting her head on her palm. "You don't need to have lips like ours to kiss. I mean, I'm sure it makes it easier, but you still could if you wanted to."
He flicked his mandibles, tilting his head back to take a drink. "I'll keep it in mind, you know, if anyone ever, hmmm, offers."
Shepard scraped her teeth over her lip. Admittedly, she carried a torch for Garrus since the old Normandy, but he was also her best friend—and a turian with probably no romantic interest in her whatsoever. He'd watched her six since the day they met, gave her more support than anyone else. Stood by her side when … others … accused her of being a traitor and pushed her aside. She never wanted to do anything to jeopardize what they had, so she kept her feelings to herself. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but it suddenly didn't seem like such a bad idea to give it a shot. She leaned over, putting her glass down on the table before meeting his gaze again. She hesitated, losing her nerve when he fluttered his mandibles, confusion filling his eyes.
"Are you done drinking already? Lightweight. I was just starting to relax." He chuffed, but smiled, leaning forward to set his glass down as he started to push himself to the edge of the couch. "I guess I'll go finish those calibrations."
She reached out, putting her hand on his knee to keep him from standing. He froze a second before glancing down at her hand, so she pulled it away, tucking it into her own lap. Mandibles fluttering lightly, he met her gaze again, curiosity flashing over his eyes, restoring her courage. She glanced down at the empty seat separating them and moved a little closer, glancing up again. He watched her in silence, mandibles and brow plates twitching.
"I'm offering." She pinched the corner of her lip between her teeth and lifted an eyebrow in question.
He let out a short, surprised laugh before it shifted into a deep, resonate hum. "And here I thought the only women who'd find me attractive now would be krogan."
She chuckled, lifting a hand to his scarred, bandaged mandible, jumping off the deep end as she gently trailed her fingers over the curve before meeting his gaze. "I like you, Garrus. I always have, and I find you very attractive." She brought her hand back to her lap when he flared his undamaged mandible and lifted a brow plate. "And I don't think there are enough rockets around to change my mind."
He tilted his head a little, the iris on his visor contracting. "You're serious?"
She pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear and smiled. "Yeah … so … now you know my big secret," she said with a chuckle, feeling a blush spread over her cheeks.
"I—I had no idea," he said, giving his head a slow shake.
She snorted. "I'm really good at keeping secrets."
"Hmmm." He brought his hand up, hesitating a moment before brushing the back of a talon along her jawline, mimicking her gesture. "So … how does this kissing thing work?"
Grinning, she moved a little closer and grabbed the yoke of his armor, tugging him down a little. She pressed her lips to his mouth plates, bringing her other hand up to slide around behind his head. He hummed, and she brushed her tongue over the curve of his flat lips, coaxing them apart. Her tongue swept over his, savoring the sweet taste of turian brandy left behind before retreating a little, pleased when he took up the motion, following after. She made another pass, meeting his tongue again before pulling back.
She glanced up at him, licking her lips, smiling. "So, what do you think?"
He hummed, gaze fixed on her mouth. "I'm not sure, I might need you to show me again," he said, the flanging of his voice heavy and raspy.
Chuckling, she pressed her lips to his mouth in a quick peck. "Yeah?"
"Definitely. Maybe even a few more times, just to be sure." He leaned in closer, nudging her mouth with his.
She smiled and kissed him, his mouth opening easily to hers. Pushing herself up a little, she tucked her leg beneath her and urged him back against the couch, kneeling on the cushion next to him. He brought a hand up, pressing his palm gently against her jaw and neck, urging her on. God, why did she wait so long to kiss him? He felt so … right. Her heart pounded against her ribs, heat flooding her with each caress of his tongue against hers.
She let out a light, approving groan deep in her throat when his hand settled on her hip, kneading gently before moving down her thigh. Hooking his hand behind her knee, he lifted her leg, pulling her over to straddle his lap. Inwardly cursing his heavy armor being in her way, she shifted, situating herself around his breastplate the best she could. It didn't seem to matter what position she took, though, the sharp, center edge of his armor dug into her and kept her from getting the angle she wanted.
Letting out a frustrated growl, she pulled back and put a hand against his chest. "Take your armor off?"
He hummed, mandibles fluttering. "Is this … are we …." He chuffed, letting out a soft chuckle and shaking his head. "Hmmm. What exactly are we doing here, Shepard?"
She traced the curve of his mandible again, trailing her fingers over his mouth plates. "We are … two really good friends exploring the possibility of something more. And if we decide more isn't for us … then we don't let it get in the way of our friendship. Deal?"
He smiled, and she swore she saw relief in his eyes. "Deal."
"Good … now take your damn armor off," she said, tugging at his yoke, "it's uncomfortable and in my way."
He chuckled. "Yes, Commander."
She stood next to her bed, looking up into his crystal blue eyes. Her hands trembled, hell, her whole body trembled, with an exhilarating mix of nerves and desire. He seemed pretty nervous, too, but she hoped some of it was arousal, otherwise … she was about to be really disappointed.
He brushed hair out of her face, his bare hands warm and rough against her skin. "I'm not really sure … how this is supposed to work between a turian and a human."
"Neither am I, but I think we can figure it out." She smiled, but then a thought occurred to her, and her smile faltered. "Unless you've changed your mind?"
"No, I haven't." Garrus' mandibles drooped a little. "Why, have you?"
"Not even a little." She grinned, pushing up on her toes to kiss him.
"This isn't too fast for you?" He rested his forehead against hers, breath a little ragged.
"Not for me. You?" She stroked the hide beneath his crest.
He shuddered at her touch, letting out a soft purr. "No, I want this. Shepard, there's no one in this galaxy I respect more than you, no one I'd rather be right here with right now. I've just, hmmm, I've had so many things go wrong …."
"Garrus, you mean the world to me. No matter what happens here—or doesn't—it's not going to change that fact." She caressed the back of his head again. "If that much is true for you, too, then there isn't anyway this can go wrong."
"You're kind of amazing, you know?" He cupped her face, tilting her head back to kiss her.
She brought her hands down, working her fingertips beneath the hem of the stretchy, fitted shirt he wore beneath his armor. His tongue delved into her mouth, hands moving down to pull at her waist, tugging her closer. She splayed her hands out against the plates and hide of his back, amazed the sheer level of his warmth, reveling in the feel of defined muscles shifting beneath his hide. When he broke the kiss, she tugged at his shirt, and he pulled it up over his head, letting it drop to the floor.
She let her gaze roam over his chest, lifting her hand to trace the lines of his keel and cowl. He hummed, sliding his fingers under her shirt, easing it up, talons scraping ever so gently over her ribs and making her breath catch in her throat. She raised her arms, letting him pull her shirt off before bringing her hands back to his chest. He dropped the shirt and ran his hands over her shoulders, tracing the lines of her clavicles.
She trailed her hands down to his waist, lingering there when he let out a throaty purr. Tightening her grip, she glanced up, watching his mandibles flutter. "Here?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"Spirits, yes." He flicked a mandible and then added, "Pretty much anywhere my plates don't cover." Chuffing, he smiled down at her. "I could use a few pointers, too, if you don't mind."
She grinned, reaching behind her to unsnap her bra. Taking his hands in hers, she brought them up to press against her breasts, squeezing her hands around his. "Here." She pulled his hands back enough to close his thumb and finger around her nipple, sucking in a ragged breath. "Here." She moved his hands down to her hips. "Here." Moving his hands to her ass, she squeezed again. "And here. To start."
Tugging at his waist, she rolled her hips, pulling him in deeper. She moaned, head pushing back into the pillows. She didn't know what she'd expected, bringing a turian into her bed, but Garrus felt so much better than anything she anticipated. He kept most of his weight off of her, having realized relatively quick the sharp edge of his keel dug in painfully between her breasts, against her sternum. It was her only regret, at least in their current position, she couldn't feel his warmth pressed against her chest.
Reaching out for him, she caressed his mandible, and he opened his eyes, meeting her gaze with a smile. He hummed, hips working their magic as he rocked in and out of her. Then, as if reading her mind, he worked a hand under her back, lifting her from the mattress as he rolled off of her, dragging her along with him. She chuckled, pushing up to her knees as he situated himself in a reclined position.
"Come here," he said, voice low and throaty, heavily flanged as he wrapped his hands around her hips.
Straddling him, she lowered herself down, using her hand to guide him back inside of her. She savored the way his mandibles flared, mouth opening in a silent gasp as a deep, resonate hum escaped his throat. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his cowl, resting her chest against his, soaking in his heat as she brought her mouth to his. Tongue meeting hers, he let out a low growl when she began rocking her hips. He brought a hand up, fingers threading through her hair as he cradled the back of her head, deepening the kiss. He'd taken to the concept like a pro, tongue dancing over hers before retreating. Breaking the kiss a moment later, he ducked his head, trailing his tongue down over her jaw and throat, pulling a moan and shiver from her.
He hummed in that way of his, the same sound he made when he'd discovered some intriguing new piece of tech or a mod to improve sighting speed for his sniper rifle. She smiled, knowing the hum meant he'd explore the new avenue of her arousal to the fullest. Tilting her head back, she exposed her throat to him, moving her hand to the back of his head, kneading the softer hide just under his crest. He licked her again, bringing his other hand to her breast, trapping her nipple between his thumb and finger. She moved a little faster, pushing herself down on him a little harder, feeling her insides tighten as she started to build toward another orgasm. He nipped at her skin with his mouth plates, and she moaned, urging him on.
"Yes," she whispered when she felt him open his mouth, pointed teeth pressing gently against the skin at the curve of her neck and shoulder, as if he were testing her response.
He bit down, a little harder than she anticipated, but the sensation felt glorious, throwing her over the edge. She bucked her hips, rhythm becoming jerky and uneven as the dam broke inside of her, a strained, half-yell-half-moan catching in her spasming throat. Moving his hand from her head, he wrapped his arm around her waist, taking over as he bodily lifted her up and down, thrusting into her. Removing his teeth from her skin, he ran his tongue over the bitemark. Her hands clutched at him, fingernails digging into his hide, and his grip tightened on her. He let out a low growl, pressing his forehead against her shoulder as he buried himself inside of her one last time, holding her there as he found his own release.
Sucking in deep gasps of air, she felt her heart slamming against her ribs as she brought her mouth back to his, tasting the faint trace of blood on his tongue. He hummed, splaying his palm out over her back as he rubbed along her spine. She brought a hand to his face, tracing the curve of his undamaged mandible, savoring the feel of his mouth against hers until her need for air forced her away.
He rested his forehead against hers, taking in rapid, shallow breaths. "I'm definitely into the whole kissing thing."