Author's Note: Rated M for sexual content and language. You've been warned! I've mostly used those separation marks to indicate a change in POV. Please let me know if this is working or if it is distracting. Please enjoy and review:

A Date with Garrus

Shifting in her seat, Shepard tried not to think about the day's events. Which was kind of like telling someone a secret that they have to keep from themselves. Damned impossible. Still docked at the Citadel, Shepard absently wondered if they should have left after Garrus busted a cap in the crown of that backstabbing turian. Sidonis. That's what was eating her. She knew Garrus had killed before, but those were usually life and death situations. Ya know. Where the other guy had a gun and wasn't running away. She could have stood in the way of Garrus' shot. Coulda. Shoulda. Woulda. Hell, she could have even warned Sidonis and told him to haul ass out of there. But no. She stared at him, chocolate eyes hard as granite, and told him, "This will only take a minute." Or something like that. And then he turned around and died.

Sonja Shepard wasn't in the habit of killing the defenseless, or being an accomplice to such acts of violence. Unless you hurt those she loves. Then you'll fucking pay. That was what was keeping her up at night. Garrus always held a special place in her heart, as a friend. A friend. When she died—the first time—she felt proud. Proud that she was able to save Joker, and help humanity…blah, blah, blah. She was content. Right now she felt anything but content. Her stomach did somersaults, her heart ached, and her skin itched. For one particular turian. For weeks, she told herself it was puppy love. An infatuation. Something she would get over—really, all she needed was to have some sex. Quick trip to Dark Star Lounge, find a willing partner and that would be that. Except she tried that, got the guy—he was even turian, in case she was just interested in Garrus because of his exotic appeal—and took him to a private room. That's when it went all FUBAR on her. She closed her eyes and saw him. Garrus. God, she desperately wanted to feel him too. Feeling cheated, she quietly told replacement-Garrus that this would be a no-go. Shit, she even teared up. So, yeah. Sticking to self-love, and trying desperately to hide her embarrassing feelings. Until he told her about Sidonis.

"I'd really like your help on this, Shepard," he said, his avian eyes trying to hold back the pain and fury, but failing miserably.

Someone had hurt him. To his core, and for the first time she felt like that thing Thane called her. What did he say?

"Siha. One of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu. Fierce in wrath. A tenacious protector."

Yeah, she would help him, and God forgive her, she would enjoy it. But now, as she tried to focus on these never ending mission reports, she wondered if she did the right thing. Fucking Illusive Man and his stupid reports, she thought idly. And what type of name is Illusive Man? I mean, really? Disgusted, she through the datapad across the room, satisfied at the thump it made against the wall.

"EDI, where is Garrus Vakarian?"

"Commander, Garrus is in the main Battery."

Of course, she thought, where else would he be? Confident he would be there, for like, forever, Shepard jumped in the shower, changed into some casuals and hopped into the elevator. She'd talk to him, and he would soothe her active mind. He had a knack for that sort of thing, and unfortunately that was one thing that made her absolutely crazy in love with him. Except she wasn't in love with him. Couldn't be.

When Shepard entered the battery, her heart sped up as she saw him. Silently scolding her body, she walked up silently, looking at the work he was doing at the terminal. Calibrations.

"Shepard," he said, apparently startled by her appearance, "Need me for something?"

Her body volunteered a very sexual reply to that question. Shepard inwardly cringed at the automatic response, trying desperately to remember why she was here.

"Yeah," she said slowly, "Just wondering if you were ok with how everything went down on the Citadel."

He paused and looked thoughtfully at her, "Yeah, I think so. I know you would have liked me to spare him, Shepard, but I just couldn't."

"I could have stopped you," she said quietly.

"I'm glad you didn't."

She nodded, and turned to leave when he interrupted, "So…we'll be at Illium in a few hours."

"Yeah," she said, although it came out as more of a question, wondering where he was going with this. She also congratulated herself on remembering to tell EDI to get the hell out of Citadel space for a while, just in case the Illusive Man couldn't cover up their blatant assassination of Sidonis.

"A few of us are going to get a drink—Tali, Jacob, Thane, and Jack—maybe even Grunt. Jack's still trying to convince him. Want to come along?"

Drinks. Alcohol was like a truth serum for her, so she really shouldn't get drunk in front of the fascinating turian that, unbeknownst to him, held her affection.

"Sure I'd love to," she heard herself saying. What. The. Fuck. She really couldn't say no to this man. She would be totally screwed if he found this out. Well, that's what Shepard hoped.

"Great," he said, shifting his weight unconsciously in a nervous gesture, "We're all meet at the airlock at 21:00 hours."

Dressed in a small black dress that Kasumi had given her, Shepard felt surprisingly relaxed. It's been a long time since she actually had a drink. But she wouldn't get shit-faced, not with Garrus around. Who knew what she might "confess" to him. Garrus showed up at the airlock first, which wasn't a surprise. Punctual turian. He looked good in casuals. Oh, god, this was going to be a long night.

"Shepard," Garrus called, surprise evident in his voice as he studied her.

"Good Lord, Garrus," she finally said, "I don't look that different."

For the evening she finally let her ebony hair down out of its efficient bun. It fell past her shoulders, framing her slightly tan face. She actually had put on make-up, so that was probably what was so different.

"You look…nice," he finally said.

She gave him a good frown and headed toward the bar. She felt him follow, and silently wondered if he was still studying her appearance. What did he think when he looked at her? Alien, most likely. Probably thought she was odd looking. And she was, by Turian standards. Too soft, too many fingers…the list went on. They walked in comfortable silence until they got the bar. She quickly saw that Jacob, Jack, Tali, Thane…and even Grunt were already well into the bottle. Or bottles, as it were. Silently shaking her head as she heard Grunt yell something about being Krogan, she bellied up to the bar and asked for a Thessian Sunrise. A delicious asari potable, but not terribly strong.

"I'll have a beer," Garrus said to the bartender, joining her at the bar.

She turned around and looked at her crewmates, obviously having a good time. Quickly downing her drink, she paid and glanced over at Garrus.

"Don't suppose you dance?" she asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"Not a step," he quipped back.

"Well," she said, trying to hide her disappointment, "I do. See you on the flip side."

With that she sauntered over to the dance floor. Sonja Shepard was graceful on the battlefield. No doubt about it. And that didn't stop on the dance floor. However, the type of dancing that she did would make an asari blush, and caught the eyes of more than a few males. She glanced over to see Garrus sipping his beer, eyes following her. For a moment she closed her eyes and pretended that this dance was for him. Suddenly, she felt someone join her. Turning, she saw a turian face and was hopeful for a moment before she noticed that the facial markings were all wrong. Oh, well. Another replacement-Garrus. She continued to dance.

What the hell, Garrus thought. He asks Shepard out on a date—because apparently this is how you show a human female that you are interested—and she is dancing with another guy. A turian. Apparently he didn't read the right material or watch the right vid. Because this was seriously fucked up. Spirit, she was sexy. He had to admit that, even while fuming over the way she backed her hips into the turian's groin. He had been pretty hopeful when he saw how she had dressed, and then felt terribly awkward as they were walking to the bar, and now this looked like a total disaster. Garrus was about to leave when he saw the turian bend down and nip at Shepard's neck. Oh. Hell. No.