A/N: I give total credit to the cold gripping my area as my inspiration. I find myself relating to Garrus and his complaints about the cold the longer the winter goes on. For those waiting on an update of Doppelgänger, I'm working on it and hope to have it out soon!
"C'mon, Garrus, it won't be that bad."
Shepard was sitting on the living room chair, finishing the last buckles on her boots, trying to convince the turian across from her to go against typical turian convention and embrace going out into the snowy landscape outside their windows for fun. She only wanted to go out for a little bit, she assured; it wasn't as if she was asking him to camp out in it all day.
Her attempts to convince her mate had so far fallen on deaf ears. "There's a reason turians don't settle on frigid planets, Jane."
"As you keep reminding me." Shepard grabbed the scarf -a black one with red strip in homage of her N7 training- hanging over the chair arm. "Wasn't coming out here your idea?"
An impromptu stay in the Alps after she finished meeting with Alliance forces in Europe, checking in on re-building progress and security structures at Admiral Hackett's request. Or at least Garrus claimed it was impromptu. Her eyes fell on the small Christmas tree tucked away in the corner, unwrapped presents still underneath from the day before. She suspected her prior comments about wanting a white Christmas, something she had only experienced once in her life, stuck in his memory.
"To stay here. Not leave the warmth of the cabin."
"But that's part of the fun!"
He sent her a look, head tilt and raised browplates and all, completely doubtful that the words "cold" or "snow" could go together with the word "fun." In fact, with the thermal under-suit, bulky black pants, a hoodie made to accommodate a turian cowl and crest, fleece-layered boots and gloves, he looked ready to do battle with the elements. He had been this close to putting on his armor and helmet before Shepard stopped him.
Shepard finished looping the scarf securely around her neck, testing it with a tug. All she needed were her gloves to complete the ensemble. Her eyes suited for spotting targets through a sniper scope were now scouring the room for her black gloves without much success. Until a familiar hand extended itself to her, holding the gloves in question.
"Thanks, big guy," she said with a soft smile, grabbing the gloves and slipping them on. "You ready?"
Garrus reached for his own scarf, a deep blue that Shepard had gotten for him since it matched the color of his old C-Sec armor. He held the two ends in his hand, eyes darting back and forth like it was some foreign object, trying to determine what to do with them and how to tie it in the same manner Shepard had. In the end, he roped it around himself until one end covered his mouth while the other was draped over his browplate, this close to covering his eyes.
Shepard bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing at the sight of her battle-hardened turian looking like the child from that 20th century vid she had recently caught -she thought it was called A Christmas Story- but she couldn't stop her lips from twitching. Or finally taking pity on him and fixing his scarf.
"The things I do for you." His attempt to sound exacerbated at making such a self-sacrifice failed. She knew he didn't mean a word of it.
"I'll make this worth your while later," she promised once she finished, her hand finding itself drifting up to his face, running her fingertips over the ridges of his scarred mandible teasingly.
He answered by brushing her cheek with the backs of his talons in the same manner. "Looking forward to it." He then reached for his own gloves, slipping them on and nodding for Shepard to lead the way.
The crisp air kissed her exposed cheeks once they opened the door, snow flakes already finding their way into her auburn strands. A breath of wind tried to cut through her clothing as they began their walk, but the thick layers were doing their job. As were her leg braces, keeping her from having any spills onto the snow. During the early stages of her healing process, she resisted the use of them for quite some time, until it became obvious she needed something to help bear her weight. She still wouldn't be doing sprints anytime soon, but her mobility had improved with them on.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, taking in the snow that lightly coated the branches of trees, the mountain peaks in the distance.
"Yes, it is." He looked ready to continue on another cold temperature diatribe, but decided to spare her from listening to it for the millionth time. "So what do you humans typically do in the snow that's so much fun?"
"Depends." She lowered herself down onto the snow, positioning herself so she was flat on her back. Garrus was staring down at her like she had completely lost any ounce of sanity left in her for laying down on the snow. "Some people like to make snow angels."
She moved her arms and legs in a flying motion to demonstrate a snow angel's creation, feeling the snow tickling the minuscule part of her neck her scarf failed to cover. She lifted herself back up once she felt the snow angel was done, trying to figure out the best way to get herself back up without disturbing any part of the snow angel when Garrus offered his hand. She willingly took it, allowing him to pull her up. She looked down at her angel, which appeared more like a huge circle than anything resembling an angel, but she wasn't about to spend her time outside only perfecting the art of snow angel making.
They continued a little further down the path, Shepard still holding onto Garrus's hand and occasionally swinging their joined hands to and from. He hardly seemed to mind, showing no inclination of pulling away either.
"So besides these "snow angels," what else?"
"Kids typically go sledding if they are any hills around, build snowmen...those are made with mounds of snow piled on top of the other then putting things like sticks and stones for the eyes, nose, mouth and arms. Oh, and forts."
"Can't imagine they'd be that durable."
"They're usually not. Just tall enough to duck when snowballs are flying."
She finally released Garrus's hand to grab some snow with both hands to mold into a perfect ball. Or at least try to when it wasn't crumbling away in her hands, having picked up a drier pile.
"Should have known things deteriorated that quickly out in the cold."
"It's mostly all in good fun. But some competitions can get fierce."
She allowed the snow to tumble back down to the ground, bending down for a fresh batch despite the momentary twinge in her knees at the action, which she chose to ignore.
"During basic there was this huge blizzard out in Vancouver, shut the facility down for two days. But that didn't stop our drill sergeant. She still had us doing weight training and conditioning out in the snow. I don't remember who threw the first snowball, but all the recruits in our unit got roped into it. I think we all just wanted to blow off some steam. Whole thing probably lasted about an hour. We all thought our drill sergeant would chew us out for wasting the time -she was a real hard-ass about that- but she didn't. Said it was a good exercise in using limited resources to fight in adverse conditions. Or something like that."
After everything she had been through, looking back at the eighteen year-old recruit she had been, hopeful for the future despite the pain and hardship she had known since her parents died, that snowball fight had seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago.
She had better luck with this batch, carefully patting and molding the snow into a semi-functional snowball. "So you really never had snow on Palaven?"
"Nope. Intense solar radiation due to a weak magnetic field isn't really conducive for it. Cipritine wasn't right in the sun's bulls-eye, but it was pretty close. The coolest it ever got during the winter was in the 60s at night. The average temperature during the day in the winter was in the 80s."
"Mindoir wasn't that bad, but any snow we got was a dusting. Maybe two or three inches and it had to be a really cold winter. Nothing like this." Her time in Vancouver during basic was the first time she ever got to experience snow on such a large scale and she had been surprised by how much she enjoyed seeing it, being in it.
She led them further down the path while she continued forming her snowball, Garrus still following close beside her. Guess she had to consider it a success when he hadn't bolted back to the cabin yet.
She glanced down at her ball, holding it in her palm. As circular as she would ever get it. Shame she'd have to waste it...
"All those layers still keeping you warm?" Shepard asked innocently. Least she hoped it sounded like that. Any hint of her true intent and he'd pick up on it, ruining her fun.
"Mostly." He brushed at the snow settling on top of his covered crest with his over-sized gloves. He pulled at his hoodie, noticing the snow that was also settling on the area of his cowl, shaking that away as well. "Why?"
She gave the ball a tentative small toss in the air. A few bits of snow crumbled apart from the ball, but it was still relatively intact. "No reason."
He looked over at her, then. His gaze fell to the snowball in her hand, then back to her face, eyes narrowing as he quickly began to realize what she was intending. "Don't you even think about..."
Before he could even finish, she stepped away from him and quickly threw the ball, a direct impact on his chest. She sent him a challenging look, silently questioning if he was up to playing this game. To her delight, he scooped some snow off the ground, cobalt eyes glinting with determination. He was never one to back down from a challenge.
"You're gonna pay for that, Shepard."
He didn't take the time to carefully craft his ball, knowing Shepard wouldn't waste time stocking up on her own ammunition. It fell apart in the air, but still Shepard got hit with what was left of it in the chest.
"That all you got, Vakarian? You'll have to do better than that!" Shepard retrieved more snow, but began making her way to the trees, trying to get some cover instead of being out in the open.
"I'm saving my best moves for last. Just like a certain sniping contest."
Shepard tossed another his way, but he managed to step away in time. Since when did he learn to be so agile? "And I keep on telling you I let you win. I could have easily beat your ass!"
"You keep telling yourself that."
Shepard stepped behind a large oak, only darting her head out after another ball sped past her. After a moment or two, crunching footsteps had died down until only the whistle of the wind through the trees could be heard. She cautiously poked her head around the tree, not seeing him in the open space. The snow was starting to pick up again, attempting to cover the footprints left behind, but she could still make out the faint imprint heading towards the patch of trees to her left.
A snapping of a twig and the mumbled curse that followed nearby had her side stepping to another tree, just in time for Garrus to appear, hand raised with snowball poised to strike. She thought about throwing her snowball right then and there, but she didn't want to give away her location just yet. She could have easily activated her cloak since her omni-tool was still on her, but she wanted to give him somewhat of a fair shot.
When she looked back, Garrus had disappeared from her previous hiding spot, with tracks leading right to...
A strangled yelp erupted from her throat as a ball struck the back of her head, the cold snow sliding down the back of her neck and between her jacket and shirt.
"Scoped and dropped!" came the nearby cry, sounding oh-so-pleased with having caught her off guard.
She glared in his general direction. She refused to allow him such an easy victory. "You'll have to catch me first."
In truth, she was making it all the easier for him to win, given her limited speed of motion, even with the braces on. But he humored her, whether by choice or whether cause he also had difficulty moving quickly in the snow (even if it wasn't that deep).
They exchanged fire back and forth, Shepard nailing him once in the arm and another time on his browplate, slowing his movements so he could wipe away the snow. But he got some lucky shots in too in her chest and face. Though she noticed he never aimed for her legs. She liked to think they were at least sturdy enough they wouldn't buckle when a barely held-together ball of snow hit them, but she appreciated he was being mindful of it, as he always was.
She was able to hold him off until the fourth snowball when it missed her target completely and he was able to reach her unimpeded. He wrapped his arms around her waist, her arms pinned at her sides, her body pressed against his bulky clothing.
"Give up yet?" His breath was warm in her ear.
She craned her head backward, taking in his turian mandible to mandible smirk. He thought he won. But she wasn't an infiltrator for nothing.
She inched her face forward, so her lips were barely touching his plates. "Never." And then she threw herself against him.
She was unable to be so flexible as to wrap her legs around his waist, but she did curl them around his spurs and wrap her arms around his cowl. Her unexpected weight against his body forced him down to the ground, her draped on top of him. She reached for his wrists, trying to keep him pinned down.
"Damn that's cold!" he exclaimed, trying to push his head from the ground so his neck scales were in as little contact with the snow as possible.
"Give up yet?"
With a reluctant sigh, he ceased his resistance, allowing his arms to fall to the ground. She waited a moment to release his wrists, in case he tried to trick her.
Turned out she needed to wait a little longer, as no sooner did she let go of him did he circle his arms around her waist and with a careful flip (seriously, when had he learned to be so quick, she thought mid-flip) and a surprised squeak from her, he was on top of her instead. Before she could finish her protest at how he was such a cheater, he leaned down and pressed his cooler-than-usual plates to her lips, swallowing it mid-sentence and leaving her completely breathless once he pulled away.
"Never," he answered, mandibles flaring in another of his satisfied grins. She hadn't seen him look so pleased with himself since the day he dragged her into that tango at the casino.
"I'll get you for this later," she promised, though it lacked any power behind it considering the ball was in his court with him on top of her.
"Is that a yield?"
"Yield. Delay in your inevitable beat-down. Whatever you want to call it." A shiver then ran through her. Hardly surprising considering all the snow thrown at her, even with her many layers. She was pretty sure the snow and wind were picking up too.
"What do you say about heading in?" Though he appeared surprised at her suggestion to go in earlier than planned, he didn't seem as if he'd fight her on it either. "Then we can get to the best part of being out in the snow."
A heated look replaced the surprise in his eyes, flooding her with a rush of warmth in her own body to combat the chill. He clearly hadn't forgotten her earlier promise. "Oh, really? And what does that entail?"
"Typically stripping each other of wet clothes. Warming up in front of the fireplace. Curling together under a blanket. You know, for extra warmth." Her breathing was coming out in faster puffs, a throb beginning in her body, a telltale sign of arousal.
"Does anything else happen in between?" His voice was low, rough, sub-vocals practically humming with desire.
"Not usually," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in for a quick kiss. "But I'm all about new ideas."
Later, basking in the afterglow on the living room floor, situated in front of the roaring fireplace underneath a blanket that had been originally draped over the couch, she felt Garrus's voice rumble through his chestplate, where she had been resting her head.
"That wasn't so bad, you know."
She opened her eyes, close to having drifted off. "Which? The going outside part or the taking me on the living room rug part?"
She felt his talons lightly stroke the sensitive skin of her waist. "Certainly can't complain about that part. I meant going out. It wasn't as bad as I thought."
Her lips curled into an amused smile. "Only cause you had multiple layers on. And you weren't out there for long. And you got laid afterwards."
"Details," he said, squeezing her waist. Though he didn't continue, Shepard could sense there was something else he wanted to say by how he trailed off.
She rested her chin on the edge of his cowl. "Something else on your mind?"
"Nothing important. Just remembered you never did tell me why you wanted a white Christmas, why the snow is so important to you."
She was silent for a moment after he raised the question. She knew the answer, but she was trying to figure out the best to say it without sounding like a complete sap. Finally, she pulled away from him, propping herself up so she could look at him properly.
"It was after basic. Our class had just graduated and most of us were still waiting to go on our assignments. We were allowed to go home until then and celebrate the holidays with our families, but those of us who didn't have anyone chose to stay in Vancouver, where it snowed another couple of inches the night before Christmas. From our barracks, we could see out to the water, the mountains, and it was such a beautiful sight."
The mistress of words could feel herself beginning to babble, not something she was used to feeling, not since she was a small child who stuttered over herself.
"That time...it was a time of new beginnings, a new chapter in my life." She felt around underneath the blanket for one of his hands, taking it gently in hers, a need growing for that additional contact. "I...I guess I kinda wanted to recapture that as we begin ours."
Garrus didn't say anything, but squeezed her hand back and used his other arm to press her body closer to his in response.
They rested in comfortable silence for a few moments, listening to the crackle of the fire, before Shepard broke it again, giving his cheek a quick peck. "Thanks for going outside for me."
He answered with a gentle nuzzle of her forehead, his external temperature back to normal after their latest physical exertion and their close proximity in front of the fire. "It made you happy. That's always enough for me."
She lowered her head, smiling contentedly against his shoulder, as they both drank in the presence and warmth of the other while taking in the peaceful scene outside. Both feeling a sense of serenity they had fought so hard to achieve.