The door slid open, but no sounds greeted Garrus as he crossed the threshold into the apartment. He took a cautious few steps forward, his eyes darting around with suspicious. A quiet sniffle drew his attention upstairs. His mandible flared when he heard it again, concern darkening his gaze as he trotted in that direction.
Up the stairs, across the short hall and he saw Shepard sitting on the floor at the foot of her bed. Her knees were pulled up close to her chest, one arm wrapped around as she stubbornly tried to rub tears away from her eyes.
"Shepard."
His sub vocals hummed as he cooed her name, concern hanging over his tone. She gasped, her whole body convulsing in her surprise. Garrus felt his heart twist as he quickly crossed the remaining distance between them.
"Garrus," she whispered behind a sniffle. "Did you need something?"
He huffed at her, kneeling down at her side. Tentatively, he reached one hand up to place gently on her shoulder. "I need to know you're all right."
"I'm fine," she lied. The tears had begun to fade away, the calm and collected face of the Commander returning once more.
Garrus shook his head disapprovingly. "I know you better than that."
She sighed, finally dragging her gaze up to him. A weak smile splayed across her lips. "Too well sometimes," she murmured.
"I wanted to, uh, try something." He stood abruptly then, holding out a hand to help her up. Shepard took his hand and hoisted herself up, using her other to rub away any remaining tears.
"I was… talking to Traynor," he started. His mandible twitched as he glanced over his shoulder toward the bathroom. "She suggested some, uh, other ways humans like to… uh, unwind. Relieve stress?" He shuffled his feet slightly, his sub vocals offering an awkward hitch to his words.
Shepard arched a brow at him, tipping her head in curiosity.
"There's no easy way to ask this," Garrus finally managed. "Do you want me to wash your hair? Traynor said it's very relaxing…"