Garrus perked his head at my footsteps and continued to watch the sun set and took another small sip from his glass.
I signed and swept some hair out of my face and patted my chest.
"I need another drink," I said with a laugh.
I stood on my tiptoes to reach a clean glass and arched my back for Shepard as he walked around the corner. Eyes traced the sickle-curve of my back and the way the robin's egg blue fabric lay softly on ass and sat divoted in the middle.
"This planet is truly beautiful," said Garrus dozing off into the rich sunset. "I didn't take much of it in last time I was here."
I winked at Shepard after pouring another glass and went to the back porch where Garrus stood. Shepard dropped a fresh ball of ice into his glass and leaned next to me.
"I grew up in space," Shepard started. "Grew up with an infatuation of old Westerns. I'd stay up watching vids. I've seen every single one of them. I remember seeing archival images of Rannoch and parts of the planet looked just like the settings in the vids. I never imagined I' be the one leading the charge in liberating it." He took a sip. "Stepping foot on it for the first time was emotional, for many reasons. One of those emotions was, believe it or not, nostalgia. It reminded me of vacations my parents took me on when on leave. They once brought me to the old national parks in North America." He took a sip and hissed. "Shot my first gun there," he said pointing at me. "My dad wanted me to fire something with gunpowder for the first time before handling the mass accelerated weaponry." He beat his chest and mocked his dad. "Had to understand the history. Had to understand how far we've come. Dad was history buff. He wanted me to understand and learn it and to know when things should never be repeated. Learn when we need to stand up for ourselves. Anyways, I remember I shot a lever action Henry and a Colt repeater. Ammunition was expensive. Brass casings full of cordite with a lead and copper projectile. Barely reached 300 meters per second."
"Primitive," Garrus quipped.
"Cool," he corrected.
"We left gunpower centuries before your kind."
"Ever shoot a gunpowder rifle, Garrus?"
"Negative." he took a sip. "I could probably outshoot you with one."
I knew where this was going.
Shepard took a long sip and stared into the sunset and said, "I missed on purpose."
Garrus' mandibles flared and looked away. "I always thought you did."
I had no idea what they were talking about. "Someone want to fill me in?"
"I took Garrus on top of Presidium and we got drunk and shot bottles with rifles. I let him win a stupid competition we had."
"I'll kick your ass now. I've been doing Milky Way Cleanup duty for the past year. I'm still killing reapers while you're here in your fancy glass house Liara designed for you. I'm still good behind the trigger." Garrus turned his thick chest to Shepard and and stood taller. "When was the last time you shot a rifle?"
"At her, right in the face," he said pointing to me.
"That... better not be an innuendo."
I burst out laughing.
"We had these… what do you call them, dart guns," Shepard smiled. "But yeah, it could be an innuendo if you want it to be."
Garrus looked away from us, "I didn't need to know that."
"Ah well," Shepard said leaning against the railing. "I'm tired of living on starships. It feels great to stretch my legs on a planet. Look at all of this terrain in our backyard. We go hiking and camping out there past the creek and into the mountains. Just Tali and I. Just have to be careful of the orbital debris that's landed out there from the war. The sunsets are longer than those on Earth here. The nights aren't black like on my homeworld. They are a long dark blue. Stars are bright like we used to see on the Normandy. It's hot here, but dry. Better than the cold starships. It's all just so different than what I'm used to, but at the same time, it all feels at home." Shepard grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into his hip.
While we are two different species, I was glad we shared a lot of similarities. We had EDI send us audio files of the Normandy running because we couldn't get to sleep when we first moved in to our home on Rannoch. We both missed the humm of the Tantalus Drive Core through the halls of our ship. It was comforting. It reminded me of our time together in the engine room on the Normandy when I first riled up the courage to tell him I liked him. All of us stood sipping and watching the sunset yawn and stretch and become flush. The fat red molten sun began to tuck itself behind the rust stone arches. The desert became golden.
"You're still primitive," rattled Garrus.
"Do you want to go?" asked Shepard with a grin.
Garrus slung the rest of his scotch to the back of his throat. "This needs to be settled. Right here. Right now."
"I'll show you why humanity was attacked first by the reapers. We are the most dangerous of you lot."
I could tell the alcohol was getting to Shepard. He was starting to loosen up. Good. I could feel my drink hitting me hard. I was flush and happy and incredibly happy among other things.
"Let me go get something special. I got it after the war."
Shepard stormed off inside the house. I spun to Garrus. He was still having trouble looking at me directly. I chuckled and said, "Don't kick his ass too badly." I cracked my glass against his and said, "I'm going to help him get… the stuff."
I knew where he was going. Into one of the extra bedrooms where he had his gun safe. With a hand still on his glass, he punched in the code to the holopad with a finger and swung open the safe.
"What are you pulling out?" I asked.
"The cowboy gun."
"Oh, you mean the cowman gun?"
"It's cowboy."
"It kicks like a krogan. I like to call it a cowman gun."
Shepard's deadpan gaze set me off into a fit of laughter. I touched my chest and said, "I think I'm hilarious! Maybe I should call it a cowboy gun since you two are acting like a couple."
"I'm just competitive," he said.
"I know you are."
"I like to win."
"I know you do." I bit my lip. "And it is kinda hot."
Shepard pulled out the rifle and a box of ammunition. I sat on his gunsmithing bench and stretched, arching my back and pushing my chest out. I watched him crack the gun's bolt back and check the chamber. I'd be lying if I said it didn't turn me on. Shepard met my eyes and he traced a slow line down my chest and stomach and fluttered around my hips and drip down my thighs. My nipples raised the thin fabric of my summer dress. I'm sure he could see my heart pounding in my chest-those eyes didn't miss anything.
"Keelah, I want you. I want you so badly."
He walked towards me and I grabbed his shirt and pulled him into me for a kiss. I was hungrier than he was. I felt him pause as I'm assuming he wasn't used to this and readjusted to try and match me. He jammed his rifle's stock onto the bench with a bang still holding onto it. I bit his ear and moaned. My warm breath gave him goosebumps and a small shiver. His hand slipped down my back and my thin waist and rolled over my hip and into my dress and up my stomach. I gasped and sucked in at his touch. I felt his fingertips trace the lines of my ribs and grab my breast.
"I never knew how soft quarians were until that night before the collector's base."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." He pulled back and looked at me with eyes that grew desperate, again trying to match mine. I opened my legs a little more and slid forward on the bench. I grabbed my captain's hips and pushed him into me.
"I need you," I whispered.
He nodded and undid his zipper. I frantically tried to help and pulled him out. He put his mouth on the bend of my neck and lightly bit to smother a groan.
I ran my fingers on the back of his head light enough to make him shiver and put my mouth against his ear.
"Shhhh."
I ran him between my lips once. Twice. Put a hand on the small of his back to guide him to do what I wanted. Small thrusts. No penetration.
"Feel how wet I am?"
He nodded.
We could hear Garrus come in from the porch and set is glass down on the countertop. Shepard looked over my shoulder and pulled away a little. I smirked and pushed him back into me.
"Tali, he can-"
"Shut up."
I rocked my hips and ground into him and then leaned back before he slipped in. I picked up my glass and hopped off the table.
"If you win against Garrus," I said. "You'll never forget what you're going to feel tonight."
I spun and walked to the door. "Oh, he's good. So you need to earn me." I winked and left.
