Shepard couldn't find it in her to care about the wondering looks the crew shot their way as she and Garrus barreled through the airlock, already in the elevator before most had the time to realize they were back.

She really should call an end to this, but it had been awhile since they had simply played; there was always something else to do or somewhere else to be. It was nice, being able to relax like this.

With a mischievous glance up at Garrus, Shepard began to play with the clasps of his armor suggestively, grinning unrepentantly when he shot her a quelling look.

"Wait, Shepard."

Shepard pursed her lips, "No."

Garrus tightened his grip, pinning her arm to his chest and clamping the other firmly to her side. Thrash as she might she just couldn't seem to pull free.

"Damn it, you win. Now let me go."

"Not good enough."

"My word's not good enough for you?"

"I believe it was you that taught me a promise given to a foe is no promise at all."

"I am not your foe!"

"And marriage is a battle where the first to speak loses."

"You lost." Shepard stuck her tongue out childishly, this was good. Garrus was back to his customary good mood and the alcohol had taken the edge from her frustration, leaving her at peace. Vaguely she knew there were other duties to attend to, and Qui'in's business was urgent, but there could be no harm in taking a couple hours for themselves in all this madness.

Her head spun when Garrus strode from the elevator; thinking to catch him in a moment of distraction she tugged at her arms, his talons tightened and Shepard winced at the bruising grip.

"Wanna ease up there, big guy?"

"No."

Shepard scowled, "Garrus, you are going to get it."

The door to her cabin hissed open and Shepard redoubled her efforts, kicking out and twisting until Garrus had no choice but to release her or risk doing her an injury. Strange moods aside, she knew he wouldn't.

"You've been pissed off all day; what's the issue, Vakarian?"

Garrus didn't respond verbally, his talons hooked in her shirt and tugged, tearing it like tissue paper. What the hell, she loved it when he pulled out all the stops and showed her the full measure of that aggression he typically kept in check. She tried to reach for his armor but Garrus hands batted hers away before tearing at her pants.

Shepard stumbled back, struggling to kick off her boots while Garrus battled the stuck zipper. She laughed wildly. reveling in Garrus' answering growl; he tugged and the pants finally came free. She was going to have to take new clothing into account for this month's expenditures. It didn't matter.

The back of her knees bumped into the edge of the bed, folding her legs beneath her so that she landed on the soft surface. She reached out to catch Garrus and pull him to her, but there was no need. He had followed her down, teeth clamping into her shoulder viciously. Shepard turned her head to catch the skin at the base of his neck; she could feel pinpricks of hot blood at her neck and ground her own teeth in retaliation.

Garrus snarled, rocking against her until she locked her legs around his waist, her fingers flying once more to his armor. Fuck! She'd forgotten to take the damn panties off; Garrus beat her to it, his talons shredded through the cotton like knives through wet paper. Garrus pulled away from her, catching her eyes as he lowered himself between her legs, tongue darting out suggestively.

"Garrus, don't-" He wasn't listening to her. She hadn't managed to get more than a couple words out before that talented tongue was lapping roughly over her center, just catching her clit with the tip, pushing into her insistently to gather every stray bit of wetness.

She'd get him for this, later; now, she arched against him, uncaring if his rough skin abraded the pale flesh of her thighs. Garrus nipped softly at the skin and Shepard started, surprised at the roughness of the gesture. Not that she was complaining if that was the way he wanted to play it.

Shepard tried to push up from the bed, but Garrus hooked her leg over his shoulder and pinned the other firmly to the coverlet.

"Bossy." Shepard gasped out, he didn't seem to be paying her any heed. That talented tongue worked her expertly, his free hand rising to trace a talon over her slit while he focused his attentions on the hard nub just above. Shepard's eyes rolled back at the feel of his mandibles flickering against her intimate flesh teasingly.

"Garrus." Her fingers dug into the flesh behind his cowl forcefully, trying to pull him to her. He rose briefly to nip at the flesh of her stomach, talons pushing into her. Shepard gasped softly, it seemed Garrus had no patience for gentleness tonight, thank all the gods.

Her heel dug into his armor and Shepard spared a moment to glare at him. Not only would she strip him of the armor, she was going to cuff him with his precious C-Sec issue restraints and have her slow and wicked way with him while he pleaded for release. That thought sent her tumbling over the edge, and Garrus' clever tongue darted out quickly to catch the wetness that escaped her.

Garrus rested his head against her stomach once again, drawing deep and even breaths. He couldn't think that after all that she was simply going to let him off free.

"Garrus, bring me your cuffs."

No time like the present, after all. She would have preferred to take her sweet time with him, but she'd take whatever she could get, and he had this coming.

Garrus chuckled softly, stretching as he rose and moved toward the nightstand. Shepard smirked as he stalked back over to her, cuffs held out to present them; there was a look on his face she couldn't quite define, it looked almost like-

The cuffs clapped over her wrists before she had time to jerk away. Shepard kicked and snarled as he drew her toward him, holding her against him until her struggles ceased.

When she spoke her voice was low and dangerous, edged with an undertone of arousal. "You're only making this worse for yourself. Vengeance will be sweet."

Garrus pushed his mouth to her ear, his warm breath sending tingles through her, "I look forward to it."

Her knees were still shaky from her recent release, and that suggestive whisper certainly hadn't done her sense of equilibrium any good; she knelt unresisting at his urging, knowing full well what he asked of her and all too eager to give it.

Now her fingers worked at his armor, steady and sure despite the excitement coursing through her veins. It wasn't often Garrus took the lead in their lovemaking, but she was intrigued to see how long this mood could last.

The armor fell away, leaving him bared to her; his plates had parted with excitement and Shepard grinned up at him as she slid a hand carefully inside, running down his length. Shepard licked her lips as he fully extended.

"Take me in your mouth."

"Just because I'm wearing the cuffs does not mean you are giving the orders." Shepard ran her tongue tauntingly along his length, tracing the vein there with the blunt tip of her tongue. Garrus shuddered and growled.

On second thought, what would it take to bring him to his knees? Liara would be so proud of her, exercising the scientific method. Garrus talons locked in her hair as she pulled him deep, tongue swirling over his tip until he cried out. She looked up and met his striking blue gaze, refusing to break her line of sight even as she worked him thoroughly. He tugged at her hair and Shepard rose higher, one hand rising to wrap about his base while she took him as deep as he could go.

She chuckled softly as he threw his head back, fighting not to make a sound, but she would win this battle. She always did. Her fingers found his testicles, running her nails over them until a desperate trill escaped him. He pulled her back quickly when he came, some painting her skin.

"I think we'll be needing that shower again." Shepard licked her lips suggestively.

"Temptress."

"You started this, I only played along. Now, would you care to take these cuffs off?" She held her wrists out pleadingly.

Garrus addressed the air over her head. "Very good shower you have, very sturdy."

Shepard frowned. "Yeah? Sturdy isn't really the word that comes to mind for showers." She smiled brightly, "I was thinking more hot and wet and steamy."

Garrus yanked her forward and Shepard caught herself against him as she tried to rise unsteadily.

"In fact, I'll bet we could hook the cuffs right over the shower-head."

Shepard's eyes widened in comprehension, "You are not going to break my shower. I do not want to explain this to Gardiner, the answer is no."

Garrus talons glided down her hips, playing in the crease of skin at her legs, "Are you sure? I could show you C-Sec body-search procedures."

"Always a good thing to know." Shepard murmured, "I concede the point." She allowed him to lead her to the bathroom, still a little dazed and confused. Where had all this come from? If this was Garrus' typical reaction to a bit of alcohol and her chatting with other turians then she really needed to stock up on the Serrice ice brandy and make a few more friends.

!

!

!

Washed, dried and impeccably groomed, Shepard and Garrus made their slow way through the CIC, pointedly ignoring the knowing winks and smothered smiles. Such was the disadvantage of living shipboard- everyone knew everything and had no problem admitting to it. Joker would be the worst, Shepard was rather looking forward to sparring with him again.

Kelly greeted her as she approached the terminal, Garrus only reluctantly unwinding a possessive arm from her waist. Shepard twitched her hips slightly, still teasing; Garrus tapped her ass lightly and Shepard glared at him before turning back to her assistant all smiles.

"Lorik Qui'in has sent you a message, Commander. It's waiting in your inbox."

"No need, it's on my omnitool. Joker! Set course for the Amun system in the Eagle nebula."

"On it!"

Kelly was glancing between her and Garrus, taking in their stance and movements.

"I assume Tali made it back?"

"She's down in engineering again. A little the worse for wear but fit for duty." Kelly responded absently.

What the hell was wrong with her crew today? Tali didn't want to follow orders, Kelly didn't want to chat and Garrus… well. Complaining might jinx it.

"Do you have something more to say?"

Kelly snapped to attention, throwing off an uncharacteristically sharp salute, "No, Ma'am. If you need to speak with me, I'm always available."

"That's good to know." Shepard muttered, nudging Garrus away to make her way to the cockpit. No sooner had she left than Garrus and Kelly were deep in conversation, her head tilted to catch every nuance of his tone and he leaning close so that those near could not listen in.

Alright, so it was fine for him to cut up all jealous when she so much as spoke to another turian on business, but it was just fine for him to speak with the pretty shrink that had once expressed an interest in holding him close and whispering sweet nothings in his ear? They were going to have to talk about that.

"Joker, you noticing anything weird with the crew today? Anything funny in our breakfast, you think?"

Joker snorted, "Breakfast always tastes funny, Commander. I'm sure it's somewhere in the rule-book. I could find it for you if you hadn't tossed it out years ago."

EDI chimed in mockingly, "I have found no record of this rule, neither a copy of a rule-book for Shepard to throw out. Preliminary scans suggest that-"

"I get it, I get it. No need to beat the dead horse."

"I'm serious." Shepard cast a searching glance over her shoulder, "Tali's mouthing off and Kelly isn't giggly and Garrus is growly and I swear everyone's staring."

"You're the only one that's getting any, it's bound to make them a little jealous."

"I don't want to hear any more of that thought, Joker." Shepard's tone turned sharp.

"No, ma'am. But you might want to bear in mind that Tali is drunk, not tipsy, drunk. I think there's enough in her system to knock out a krogan. She was giggling like mad and falling all over the equipment when she came aboard. She and Kelly talked for a bit, I may or may not have been watching-"

"He was." EDI chirped.

"But the gist seemed to be you and Garrus, and that's not exactly news so I tuned it out."

Shepard nodded, "Thanks, Joker. You'll let me know if you hear anything." It wasn't a question, and Joker didn't bother to answer.

Joker listened until the thump of her boots had faded into the background.

"You know, when she finds out we have a betting pool on how long it takes for her to figure this out, we're as good as spaced."

"I cannot be spaced, Jeff."

"Spaced or deleted."

"I am intrinsic to the operating core of this ship; I cannot be deleted."

Joker sighed, "Y'ever heard of a hyperbole? Descriptive language? It can add layers to a conversation." Joker rolled his eyes.

"I will look into it."

EDI's avatar blinked out, leaving Joker to stew in thoughts of his impending demise.

!

!

!

Shepard hurried away from the cockpit, determined to catch Garrus and Kelly before their little tete-a-tete drew to a close. Joker was certainly more defensive than usual, but then Joker was usually a sarcastic ass, she couldn't really hold it against him. On any other day she would have been happy to join in on the games, but today she was just so twitchy and that spot between her shoulder blades was itching with all the curious glanced directed at her back and-

She was going to go insane if this kept up, she could talk with Garrus later about the Kelly affair.

Affair. She didn't like the sound of that at all; she'd have heard some hint of it… nothing stayed secret for long on the Normandy. Garrus was that type of man… turian. Kelly was- Well, Kelly was a little distracted trying to hide her crush on Jacob anyway.

Maybe she should take Kelly up on that offer of conversation; it might do some good to nudge her just a little more firmly in that direction.

When Shepard approached they fell silent, Garrus was smiling winningly but Kelly had an intriguing blush on her cheeks. If he'd been cracking jokes about reach and flexibility with her damn assistant shit was going to hit the fan. He had to know that. Shepard slanted a suspicious look between them.

"Is everything alright here?"

"Fine, Commander. Garrus and I were discussing courting rituals."

Ah. That explained it. Shepard smiled fondly, leave it to Garrus to pick up on Kelly's schoolgirl crush and give her a little push in the right direction.

"I'm glad you've cleared that up."

Kelly's blush deepened, "You're fine with this, Shepard? I told Garrus that he shouldn't-"

"It's only a problem when it interferes with duty. Don't worry about it."

"Of course." Kelly's voice was choked and she looked ready to melt into the floor. It would be cruel to keep her any longer.

"You ready for this, Vakarian? I'll be taking you and Krios as a ground-team."

Garrus shook his head, "Take Tali, we don't know what sort of defenses they'll have in place."

"Tali is drunk."

"Then take Miranda or Jack. Jack's good with hacking."

"Thane's good with head-shots."

"So am I." Garrus growled, "Or had you forgotten?"

Shepard debated the point, sooner or later she and Garrus were going to have to have a talk about not challenging her before the crew, but there was a point to be made there. She didn't strictly need two snipers on one team.

Then again, Jack was a menace to friend and foe alike; she wasn't always the most discriminating. But Tali was drunk.

"Fine. We'll take Jack, but if I end up killed by friendly fire I will haunt your ass."

"Done." Garrus grinned, mercurial mood shifting once more.

Kelly gaped at her disbelievingly, you would think she had sprouted a tail from the open shock on the yeoman's face.

"I'll leave you to arm up, Garrus. We should be there in a couple hours, I'll meet you then. You want to be the one to tell Jack or shall I?"

"I'll take care of it." Garrus rumbled; he hurried off, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

"I don't mean to question your decision, but is that strictly wise, Commander?"

"Jack can get a little out of hand, but Garrus has a point. No need to keep the snipers together."

"As you say, ma'am. I'll be here if you need anything."

Shepard could hear the underlying concern in her tone, "Kelly, there's nothing to worry about. I'm sure everything will go fine with him."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Sometimes Shepard thought she and Kelly would never be on the same wavelength.