Silence.

Well...not exactly.

The sound of bubbling water from the tanks where fluorescent fish darted about. The low, steady hum of the engines from deep within the ship. The whirring of life support vents above them. Garrus was highly aware of it all. Shepard was next to him, her leg lightly touching his, as she drew a full swallow from her glass but otherwise stared directly ahead. Awkward.

He wanted to say something. Anything to break the uncomfortable stillness. But she'd effectively forbidden it after his regrettable Ilos comment. Come to think of it, it was really for the best. After his remark she'd gone straight for the wine, and now the bottle was nearly gone. His one glass was barely half-empty.

Dammit.

He glanced sidelong at her face. Being around Shepard so much had given him a fairly good grasp on human facial expressions. Her eyes were fixed and intense, focused. Her jaw was rigid and tight. Her breathing was slow and deep. Something...grave was on her mind, and he had a good idea of exactly what. He sighed, finishing his drink and resigning himself to his blundering.

"I'll go," he offered, breaking the quiet. He normally liked 'quiet', but this stalemate was becoming intolerable.

Expecting her to agree that he had hit on a good idea, he started to rise. He was stopped mid-movement by her hand suddenly touching his upper leg, which he stared at for a brief moment before looking at her again. Her eyes were doing something else now, something he wasn't familiar with.

"No, Garrus. Please."

He finished standing despite her hoarse whisper and shook his head.

"You don't have to feel obligated to me, Shepard. This was never really...going to..."

Before he could finish, she stood. And without any warning, she began shedding her clothing. It left him frozen, half in shock and half in fascination as her deft hands undid fastenings, peeled off layers in graceful motions until she stood bare before him. Humans were so smooth, so...spongy? Was that the word....? No. Soft outside, but with a firmness underneath. The opposite of a turian.

He'd been concerned that he wouldn't feel physically attracted to her. Biologically, there was no reason he should. He'd never even found asari incredibly appealing at a base level like some others of his kind. However, something stirred in him as he observed her. Maybe it was that she was simply a naked female, despite her smooth, unfamiliar curves, and knowing what she was inviting...

"You going to join me, or just stand there and gawk all night?"

Garrus almost laughed, clearing his throat instead.

"Ah. Right, sorry."

Now the real test. It was a bit more tricky for a turian to disrobe, but Shepard was kind enough to step in and help. He felt a wash of relief as the general atmosphere changed. She became serene, tender. As he exposed himself to her, her hands started carefully exploring his neck, his carapace, his waist. A little shudder went through him as her fingers probed the softer skin of his stomach.

That way half of her mouth lifted up. A...smirk, was it called? He liked it. It always indicated something good. She reached up and slid his scanner from his face. He'd become so used to it he'd neglected to remove it. Now he saw her entirely natural for the first time as his eyes adjusted. She tossed the scanner onto the heap of his discarded clothing.

"Let's take our time. I want us both to enjoy this as much as possible."

He didn't need to be told. The two of them, naked, vulnerable to one another in the dim blue light. He realized his arms were wrapped securely around her midsection, and he squeezed gently, testing her build. She was, fortunately, more solid than she looked, though at this point he knew better than to tell her so. Saying nothing was better than saying the wrong thing, as he found himself doing a lot of around her.

"We could do some hand-to-hand first, if turians are into that. Loosen up a little."

"I think you're plenty loose, commander," Garrus chuckled his acknowledgment that the alcohol was setting in.

"...You really need to read up on human colloq...coll....sayings."

He blinked. "What did I say?"

"Nothing that matters right now, Garrus," Shepard sighed with a grin. He realized she was moving backwards now, pulling him along towards the bed.

The two of them moved in clumsy tandem. Shepard reached over to turn the music player back on. It was slow, quiet. Peaceful. He was going to ask about it, but she was pulling him down to the mattress and that took preference over his inquiries.

They explored. He investigated the texture of her hair, something he'd always wanted to do but would have been highly invasive of her personal space before. Then her relatively unadorned torso. He tried to enjoy her physiology for what it was, but he couldn't help recalling the articles about human females, that they were mammals, and what the protrusions on her chest were all about. In any case, she definitely seemed to like it when he handled them. Her head tilted back, exposing her slender neck, and she made the most titillating noise. It incited the appropriate reaction in himself, combined with her continuing attention to his abdomen.

"Shepard," he murmured huskily into her neck. He instinctively wanted to bite her, gently, but feared it would do more damage than it was worth.

She chuckled softly. "You could call me by my first name, you know."

"I...I never even thought about it," Garrus mused. "You've always been Commander Shepard to me."

Shepard did the smirk again as she lightly touched his neck. "Whatever you're comfortable with. I didn't want you to feel like we had to be formal."

"Of course," he replied, mulling it over as she searched his face. Again, she moved past the subject, and before he could react she moved her mouth up close to him, and he shuddered again as she brushed her lips against his mandibles. He pulled back reactively, her safety rushing to the forefront of his mind.

"Don't," he urged, but she was pulling him close again.

"Garrus, I wouldn't be here if I didn't accept there were some risks. Trust me."

"I trust you implicitly. But you're not all here right now."

"I am entirely here," she rebuffed. She went back to her not-unpleasant actions, and after a moment passed and she didn't lapse into a fit of suffocation, he began to settle in again. She pressed her lips against his mandibles a few more times, and after a bit of this he could feel her tongue (different, but similar enough) brush against his mouth. Tentatively, he extended his tongue out to meet hers, gentle brushing strokes. It was something turians did sometimes, and is was something he particularly liked. He was pleased to find it had an analogue in humans.

Despite her earlier admonition, they hadn't been at it long when her hands started groping around down between his hips. His previous inhibitions disintegrated as she zeroed in on her target, and a low rumble of encouragement emitted from his throat.

She moved again, downward this time, and it took him a moment to shake off his trance. It was a sudden shock to realize what she was doing as she began to use her mouth on his length. It wasn't something turians did, for practical reasons. His mind rushed with bewilderment and captivation as she used her mouth in this creative and, honestly, amazing capacity. However, reason won out, and before he became too lost in the moment, he pushed her away, panting.

"No...we have to draw a line. We- you can't-"

She moved back, sitting up and glaring at him. "God, Garrus, are you going to relax or are you going to just question everything I do?"

Her voice was grumpy, disappointed. The alcohol seemed to be making her especially emotional. And it wasn't like he hadn't become momentarily enthralled with her...very interesting technique. It had been a long time since he'd enjoyed female company, and it was becoming more evident to him all the time how much he'd missed it. He felt a twinge of doubt for his resistance. He lifted himself into a sitting position next to her.

"I'm not going to risk your health for a few moments of gratification. Spirits, I want this. I want you. But we have to do it right."

Her brushed her hair affectionately, which had the desired effect. She lifted her eyes to his. Her voice was a silky, sincere whisper full of meaning.

"I want you too."

Soon they were moving past the break in their escalating activities. He wrapped his arms about her, lifting her as he moved the both of them towards the headboard. He was careful, restraining his instinctive desire to be rough with her. They began a fumbling, careful process of positioning, improvising with what they had to work with. Before long, he found himself there at the threshold. It was a heady feeling, and an inexplicable sensation of anxiety rose in him. His partner noticed his hesitation and smirked again.

"Something the matter, cowboy?"

He understood the tone, if not the wording. "If I hurt you, you need to tell me."

"I'm tougher than I look. Let's not give ourselves any more reason to back out of this."

Garrus nodded slowly, and in one fluid movement pressed himself into her. She gasped, and her fingernails dug into his plating. It was invigorating to him but still, he paused, unsure how to translate her response. It was then her back arched, her hips ground against him, and he understood. He lost himself in a jerky, rocking motion as her inner muscles gripped him rhythmically. He planted a hand against the wall, using his arm to brace her shoulder and keep her in place. He gripped her thigh with his other hand, quickly losing his resolve to take it slow.

After several moments she was breathing his name, which triggered the end for him. Before he even though about it, he was sinking his teeth into her shoulder as he shuddered to a finish within her. Her fingernails dug deeper into him and he could hear her teeth grinding even as he moaned his satisfaction.

Garrus released her quickly, starting to gather a string of apologies that never materialized as Shepard pressed her hand over his mouth. They sank together down onto the bed, Garrus in his mortification pressing a wad of blanket against the area where red teethmarks were beginning to ooze with red. They lay together for a while in silence once again, contemplating. Several minutes passed, but it felt less than a heartbeat.

"You're not the first, Garrus."

He was met with bemusement at her thought. "I never thought I was. You're obviously experienced, commander. It doesn't bother me."

"No. I mean- this isn't the first time I've felt something like this for someone."

"Felt...what, exactly?"

Her eyes stared deeply into him, and he felt his chest clench a bit. "Terror."

Garrus wavered. "I- what?"

"The last time I opened myself up like this to someone, it came back to bite me in the ass."

Garrus sighed, knowing exactly who she meant. "Why are you worrying about this?"

Shepard touched one of his mandibles. It twitched in response. "This wasn't just about the sex, was it?"

"...No. Maybe at first, but...I don't know. I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. And there's nowhere else I can see myself than by your side. It's...we're up against something impossible. But if you're there, I feel like we have a chance."

A chime rang over the com, and EDI's cool voice alerted Shepard that they were within a half an hour of their target. She slid from the bed towards her clothes.

"We can't let this change things, Garrus. No matter what happens, we can't let this influence what we do. If anything happens, you don't play the hero, understand? You get the hell out."

Garrus moved to her side, taking her by the shoulders. She stopped, her rigid frame losing some of its tension in his grasp.

"You'll get us through this. I know you will," he insisted. "And when we get back here, we're going to spend some time. Just...us."

His thumb brushed her wounded shoulder, which she responded to by pulling on her undershirt.

"I'd like that."

Her smirk returned, and Garrus leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers.

"We better get going, Shepard."