A/N: So, after being here at FanFiction, reading all you brilliant stories; I finally gathered the courage to publish one of my own. I hope you will kindly overlook the fact that I'm not a native English speaker. Please review and tell me if the grammar, story or anything else sucks. Constructive critisism appreciated. :)
Rated T for safety.
Disclaimer: Bioware owns everything. Sadly.
Very soft music sounded through the room. The fish tank bubbled, but otherwise the captain's quarter on the Normandy was silent. Garrus watched the small human laying beside him, tangled in the bed sheets. Her face was relaxed and her lips slightly parted. Every once in a while a gentle snore escaped from her. Garrus' mandibles twitched into a soft smile; Jane Shepard looked so sweet while sleeping. It was hard to imagine her being the battle hardened veteran she really was. He sighed and tried to relax; he was having trouble sleeping here, in her quarters. He was constantly afraid that someone would come up here, looking for the commander and find her in bed with a turian. Not a good thing while aboard a Cerberus vessel. But she had asked him to stay, and how could he refuse her? So now here he was, awake and listening to the music and Shepard's gentle snoring.
He found himself wondering about the music that sounded through the room. It was unlike anything he ever heard. When he came to her quarter he had put on a techno beat, much like the ones played in clubs like Flux and Afterlife; mostly because he had no idea what she liked. She had smiled and switched to this. He was going to ask her about it but… they'd been busy for the rest of the evening, and then she had fallen asleep. It wasn't until after that she had fallen asleep and he started to pay real attention to the music. It was soft and slow, a raspy male human voice singing to a simple piano tune. He realized that he didn't understand the language the man was singing in. Fascinating, he decided to ask Shepard if she knew what the song was about, or if she understood the lyrics.
He rolled over on his side, gently placing his arm around Shepard's waist. This action was followed by a low happy sigh from Shepard. Garrus found himself realizing that he never wanted to let go of her again. He laid himself closer to her and breathed in her smell and taking in her features. Her short black hair was well-kept and framed her face. Although her hair was intriguing, Garrus really didn't think much of that, it was her skin tone and her eyes he found extraordinary. Her skin was pale, like ice. He had never seen another human with that skin color, and when he told her that; she laughed and said something about almost being an albino, he didn't understand what she meant. Her eyes were another thing, Garrus had observed the many different colors of human eyes, but no one except Shepard, had those violet vibrant eyes.
He rolled over again, and puffed his pillow. He sighed, looking at his omnitool. Great, now he had almost missed a whole night's sleep. He closed his eyes, tried desperately to get at least some rest. His mind wandered again and he thought about how to approach Shepard with his feelings. He didn't really know if she just wanted to blow off some steam or if she wanted something permanent. He hoped for the latter.
He must have fallen asleep, he woke when Shepard's omnitool blipped. He looked sleepily at her as she stretched and sat up in bed. She smiled. "Rise and shine!"
He stretched after her and pulled her down in bed again, she laughed and tried to get away from his grip. "Garrus, I must get up now; otherwise they will send out a search party."
Garrus laughed and hugged her tighter. "Stay with me for a few minutes. Please."
She grinned. "Alright, but just a few minutes."
He absently started to caress her arm. "Shepard, tell me. Was this a onetime thing?" His voice sounded strange to himself. He was nervous about her answer.
Her grin disappeared, instead she looked serious. "Honestly, that depends on you. You don't have to feel obligated to me. But I would very much like to continue being with you."
His mandibles twitched into a smile. "I want to stay with you too."
She still looked serious. "You know that a relationship with me can have serious repercussions if it becomes public. Are you sure you want us to keep being together? And what about your father? I bet he won't approve of this."
Garrus let out a low growl. "I honestly don't care about the public opinion. You are about the only friend I have left in this screwed up galaxy, as long as I have you I don't care what anyone else says. And that goes for my father too. It's not like he supported any of my previous choices."
Shepard smiled. "Oh, Garrus!" She dove into his arms and nuzzled his neck for a while. Garrus gave a contented sigh. The silence was comforting, but it also reminded Garrus of something else.
"Can I ask you something else Shepard?" His voice was low, and Shepard immediately lifted her head and looked at him.
"Of course Garrus, what is it?" She looked a little worried.
"The music you put on last night, what was it?" He looked very serious. Shepard started laughing. After a while she recovered. "Oh, I'm so sorry; I was prepared for something else with that look on your face. As for the music it is a very old earth recording. It's something I grew up with."
"You grew up with that? I couldn't understand it. What was it about?"
"The song is in Swedish. Sweden is the part of Earth my family is from, before we moved to the colonies. The song is about a long lost love that never worked out." She started to sing. Garrus had never heard her sing before.
Fast jag inte sett dig på så länge, tänker jag på dig ibland. Det var någonting som fastna på mig, något som aldrig helt försvann. Fan, fan, fan, det skulle vart du. Fan, fan, fan, det skulle vart du.
Garrus realized that he had been holding his breath while Shepard sang. He slowly let it out. "Wow Shepard, I didn't know you could sing. That was beautiful." A sweet pink tinge settled over her pale cheeks. "Hrm… just don't tell anyone. I would never live down the persistent nagging for me to perform something for the crew."
Garrus smiled. "Of course. I promise."
The intercom blipped. "Joker here, ETA for Pragia 15 minutes, commander. Should I inform the ground team? Neither Garrus or Jack have reported to the CIC yet."
Shepard was struggling to hold back her laughter when she answered.
"Thanks Joker, I'll inform them myself."
"Ok, Joker out."
Shepard turned towards Garrus. "Let's get ready and blow that facility to hell."
Garrus nodded. "I'm right behind you Shepard."
A/N: The song referred to in the story is Fan fan fan by Swedish artist Thåström. If you want to know the exact meaning of the song; send me a message and I'll explain it. Otherwise; please R&R!
