"Already know why you're here, Garrus. Had same talk with Shepard yesterday."

"Actually, Mordin, I just need-"

"Will tell you same thing I told her. Anaphylactic shock is biggest concern. However, only life-threatening if she ingests your tissue."

"I- …what?" Garrus stopped before approaching the counter Mordin was working at. He had definitely not come to the medical bay for the reason Mordin seemed to assume he was here for.

"Humans have various sexual acts not performed between turians, forwarding you a brochure with a general overview." The salarian pushed buttons on his omni-tool while speaking. "Also advise you to take analgesic with you, Shepard didn't think it necessary." Mordin shook his head, clearly skeptical.

It was much, much too early in the morning for this. Accepting the small vial Mordin was insistently holding out, Garrus managed to ask, "Analgesic?"

"There will be chafing." The matter-of-fact answer almost made Garrus wince. Mordin was rarely, if ever, wrong with his medical diagnoses. "Human skin particularly sensitive in the areas that will be-"

"Thank you, Mordin." Garrus broke in, stopping the talk before it went further than he felt it needed to go. "I… get the picture."

"Prepared to send oils and ointments to Shepard's cabin whenever they are needed." Mordin turned back to his work with a smile. "Just let me know."

Garrus turned towards the door intent on making a quick exit. He heard his omni-tool beep, most likely the message from Mordin.

Next time, he decided, he would deal with his headaches without seeking medicinal help from Mordin.

Garrus had been quiet.

Shepard pushed at the food that no longer looked appetizing, and stared glumly at the aquarium in her cabin.

There was no denying that. They had had dinner together in the lounge the night before, and he had answered when she spoke or asked him questions, but his usual flow of conversation was missing. He had seemed… distracted, to say the least.

Maybe she had been too forward, maybe she had read the conversation wrong and Garrus had only agreed to 'blowing off steam' in order to be polite.

Christ, only she could screw things up this badly.

Garrus was her best friend, the one she was closest to and could tell everything to. She would never forgive herself if she ruined this friendship by accidently pushing him beyond his level of comfort.

She pushed back from her desk, pulling on her hoodie as she made up her mind to go find Garrus.

Shepard found him in the main battery, for once not calibrating anything. Garrus was sitting near the wall, his eyebrow plates furrowed as he looked through something on his omni-tool. When she walked in, he looked up and closed out the hologram he was reading.

"Garrus, can we talk?"

"Sure, Shepard, have a seat." He motioned to the empty chair slightly away from his own. She scooted it to face him before sitting down. Looking intently at the turian, nothing really seemed out of place. He didn't look angry or upset. She didn't understand his sudden drawing away after their conversation about… easing tension.

"How have you been?"

"Oh, ah, fine. Just…" He motioned towards the main gun, not meeting her eyes. "Busy, you know how it is."

She nodded, watching his expression closely as he continued looking away. There were signs of discomfort, was that it? Was he uncomfortable being around her now? "What's wrong?"

He looked at her, the discomfort clearly visible. "Nothing's wrong." She didn't answer, instead continued to stare. Did he really not trust her enough to tell her how he honestly felt? Had she really misread his intentions so badly?

She stood up, she needed to move around to give herself a minute to hide the hurt that she was feeling. When she turned back to face him, he was standing as well. "Shepard, I-"

"Garrus, if you're not comfortable with this, with… us, it's okay." She took a deep breath, forcing her voice to remain steady. "I'm not trying to pressure you into anything you're not ready for."

Garrus' expression was blank, his eyes reflected her confusion. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you've acted half afraid of me for the last few days." The words rushed out faster than she meant them to, but it was too late to take them back.

His look of confusion only lasted a few seconds before it changed completely to one of understanding. He shook his head, rubbing the side of his face. "Shepard, I need to explain." He motioned towards the seats they had vacated. "Sit down, please."

She sat, and Garrus moved his chair closer. He reached his hands out and took her hands in his own. "Shepard, you're about the only friend I've got left in this screwed-up galaxy. You don't ever have to worry about making me uncomfortable." He stopped talking for a moment, and she caught sight of a smile. "Nervous, yes. But never uncomfortable."

"Then why-"

"I, ah… talked to Mordin."

Oh.

Oh.

She groaned and dropped her head forward to rest it against their hands that were clasped above her knees. "I'm sorry, Garrus, I should have warned you. I had hoped he would be content with only giving me the interspecies safe-sex speech."

Garrus chuckled, and removed a hand from hers to push on her shoulder until she sat back up. "It was... unexpected, to be sure." He joined hands with her again, rubbing a thumb absently across the back of her hand. "And he gave me several warnings. Mainly about ways you could be hurt."

Shepard felt like hitting herself, and Garrus, at the same time. Of course his reaction to Mordin's speech would be to worry about her health and safety instead of his own.

"I mean, he gave me analgesic for your pain, Shepard." Garrus looked at their hands, and then back up, his gaze meeting hers. "Is that what we're looking at, if we go through with this? Me hurting you so badly that you'll need medication?"

"I listened to the warnings, Garrus, I promise I did." She squeezed his hands in her own. "But I'm not worried, and you shouldn't be either." He looked unconvinced, so she continued, softening her voice. "We're adults, Garrus. We can do this safely."

He sat, quiet for several minutes. When he finally spoke, it sounded as if he was forcing himself to keep his voice light. "Are we crazy to even be thinking about this?" He looked up, meeting her gaze. "I'm not stupid, Shepard, I've seen the way other men in the crew look at you. I know you could find something… a little closer to home."

She reached a hand out and touched his scarred mandible, her fingers brushing along the bandage. "I don't want something closer to home." She let her hand fall to his neck, her palm feeling the rough skin and scales. "I want someone I can trust. I want you."

At the feel of the softness of her hand on his face, and then his neck, Garrus closed his eyes. At her words, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. He relished the contact, but it was broken off after only a few seconds, when Shepard angled her head sideways to press her mouth to his.

Garrus froze, unsure of what he was supposed to do. His awkwardness didn't go unnoticed, and Shepard pulled away quickly. She caught a look at his face and tried, so hard, to stop herself from laughing.

She didn't succeed.

He tried to fake indignation, but Shepard was laughing so hard that she could barely breathe so he just sat back, folded his arms, and waited for her to catch her breath.

"I'm s-sorry, Garrus, I swear. You just-"

"Were you… mashing your mouth to mine?" The laughing started again.

"It was supposed to be a kiss, Garrus. Way to make a girl feel inadequate."

He sat straight, not bothering to hide the confusion he felt. "Wait, this?" He tugged Shepard forward and pressed his mouth to hers for only a second, pulling away just as quickly. "That's how humans kiss?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, there's a bit more to it than just… that, but that's the basic movement." She studied his face, tapping her chin with a finger. "Though, since you don't actually have lips I should have realized it would be different for you. How do turians kiss?"

Garrus rubbed his neck in exasperation. Not at Shepard, of course, but at himself for not taking the time to explain his actions before… well, performing them. "You just had a turian kiss."

She looked at him, blankly. "When?"

"Right before you kissed me."

"But you just bumped my head with yours, and…" Her words trailed off. "Oh. That." She considered him for a minute, before leaning forward slightly. "Try it again, then."

Garrus obliged, leaning forward until their foreheads touched again. This time, he felt her hands come up and touch his face, her soft skin cool on his.

This time, after a long moment of bliss -and taking the time to work up his courage to try this new thing she had shown him-, he moved his mouth to hers.

Her lips were even softer than the hands that he felt gripping his neck and arm. He didn't close his eyes at first, instead he watched the look of peace that spread across Shepard's features, that smoothed the lines around her closed eyes right before he closed his own.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, but he could mimic her movements. And when her lips parted, he opened his own mouth slightly. And when her tongue found his, his hands found her hair. When his fingers worked through the fine, thin pieces, he heard a soft noise come from Shepard's throat.

He pulled his face back a bit, and Shepard's eyes opened with a grumpy expression. "Sorry, did that hurt?"

"Garrus, if you don't shut up and keep doing what you just stopped doing, I'm going to be pissed."

With a chuckle, he brought his mouth back to hers.

"If I hadn't of seen your face when I first kissed you, I would have thought that you've had human partners before me from how fast you picked up the whole human kissing action." Shepard was sitting in the chair next to him, leaning her back against his side.

"I'm a quick learner, Shepard." She laughed at his words, resting her head against his arm.

She had kissed a turian.

And thoroughly enjoyed it.

Huh.

Not how she had expected this day to end.

"Was that… alright?" He sounded unsure of himself, the same way he had sounded when mentioning her finding someone closer to home. She knew the difference in species would be a hurdle, but she had the feeling that it worried him more than it did her.

"I enjoyed it, did you?"

"Extensively." She laughed, turning her head to see his pleased expression.

"Then I would say it was alright." She stood and stretched, the stiffness in her muscles clued her in to the fact that their session in learning how to kiss other species had lasted longer than it seemed. "Well, I'm sure you have some calibrations to get to, Garrus. I'll let you get back to work."

He stood, pushing the chairs back against the wall as he watched her back out of the room. "Right. 'Cause I'm in a great place to optimize firing algorithms right now."

She smiled, giving a little wave as the doors closed between them.