I left the CIC for the night, retiring to the elevator. I had requested dinner brought to my quarters. I wasn't particularly in the mood to tell my crew I was being potentially court-martialed and even more potentially stripped of my colors. It may have been the last time to see them all together, but I couldn't bring myself to bring it up again. One it wasn't in my nature to rely on anyone, and two, I didn't like people worrying about me.

Due to that, I turned off my communicator as well as my personal computer as soon as I entered my cabin. I had already told EDI not long ago to turn off both audio and visual to the cabin unless I used her specific terminal. With her now being rogue, I had figured she'd disobey, but she was doing well. So far as I knew. An AI can be wherever it wants to be when it wants to be. I'd have to ask Tali to see if she could remove my cabin from her visuals for good.

As promised, my rations were waiting for me on the desk in my sitting area. I prodded it with a fork, half expecting it to move. We weren't running low on rations; I had made sure we stocked up again before we left Omega last. However, Rupert had picked up an "interesting" Japanese dish when we were last at the Citadel. After seeing the Ichiban stand, I at least had to give him credit. At least this looked edible, albeit a little on the raw side for fish.

Then again, if I got food poisoning, it would at least delay our trip to the Sol System a little longer. There were a few relays we had to take, so anchoring anywhere in between would have worked in our favor. But, food poisoning or not, Rupert had once again made something a lot more than edible. I didn't even want to imagine what he would have done this entire time without the special spices and ingredients I had picked up for him.

I set the plate aside once I had my fill and prepared for bed.

My reflection caught my attention after I spit out toothpaste foam. I traced some of the cybernetic scars that created a sort of net-like shape, always expecting to feel some sort of robotic heat between the cracks. Only normal body temperature rose. My irises were starting to show again, but they were still engulfed in red fire. I found I didn't much miss the green. At least now it was much easier to intimidate someone. It saved me quite a few bullets and knee-cap shooting.

Thanks Cerberus, for doing me at least that favor.

I attempted to straighten up, but my spine apparently didn't like that idea. I had a sudden sharp pain shoot down my spinal column, rendering me immobile for a nanosecond before it spread out into my back. I'd have to remember to ask Karin for some more painkillers.

As I left the bathroom I tried stretching out, but that didn't help. If anything, I ended up worse. Not willing to risk anything more, I started for the bed.

I made it to the last step when my cabin door opened up. I frowned as I turned around, but almost instantly remembered the mission a few hours earlier.

"Sorry I'm so late. Repairs on the cannons are taking a little longer than I would like. Not that I mind the interruptions."

I let an amused huff sift through my nose. "All is forgiven. Not like you could have warned me anyway. I turned off the comms for the night."

Garrus tilted his head as he joined me in the sitting area, though for some reason we remained vertical. "Radio silence? Highly unlike you. Though given the circumstances, I suppose I'd do the same." He looked around my room. "You at least kept everything intact. A few of my belongings would be shattered by now."

I cracked a small smile. "As stupid of a call it is, I'm accepting it with as much grace as I can." I winced at another twinge in my back. "I'd say hurry up and get naked, but I'm not really in the best shape to be tossed around tonight."

He let out an amused hum and nodded to the bed. "I'm here only as a friend tonight. You've been complaining of sore muscles since we left the collector base. Even now you're in pain."

I shrugged and moved to the bed, hooking a leg under myself as I sat. "Nothing a few doses of pain medication won't fix."

He didn't join me on the bed. In fact, his eyes were trained on where we had stored the oils Mordin had made. "In between repairs, I started to look up what might be causing your pain. Stress was what added up the most."

"Which makes sense. But not much I can do about that." I pulled my other leg up, resting my chin to my knee.

He gave a light laugh. "Yes, your face is all we need to see to know that. Usually that would be an insult but…"

I smiled. "Shut up, leather-butt."

I noticed his smile as well. Turians mainly showed their smiles through their eyes, if you couldn't see beyond the mandible. It was what made his doubly attractive. "And here I was about to offer a remedy."

"If sex hasn't cured it by now, I don't know what will."

"There may be something. If you trust me, that is."

"Of course I do."

He nodded to the bed. "Take off your shirt and lay down on your chest then. Keep your eyes closed."

I quirked a brow, but didn't question his orders. I was already down to a tank top and shorts, so that wasn't very hard to follow. I flipped over and kept my eyes closed like he asked.

I heard a bit of shuffling, but held to his commands. I genuinely was curious what he would do next. Which was why I jumped when a bit of the cold oil hit my back.

"Sorry. A little colder than I thought it was."

"A little warning next time, Vakarian." He made up for it by running his strong, scaly hands through the oil, spreading it out while applying just a bit of pressure. Instantly my flesh erupted in response.

"Tell me if I'm too rough, okay?"

"Actually a bit more and you're perfect." I groaned in relief as he increased his pressure just the slightest. As his palms traveled up my back, it forced a heavy moan from my lungs. When he reached my shoulders he switched to his fingers, dragging back down. I felt him pull away for a brief moment just to apply a little more oil.

His scales didn't chafe my skin as much as we had first anticipated. At least his softer skin didn't. The plates did, which made us a little more cautious with a few positions. This though… I could get used to it.

He must have studied human muscle structure at some point. The way he followed every grain, every ache, it was almost as if I was at a professional. If I knew how that felt. Given how good of a job Garrus was doing, I wouldn't trust myself to not make the sounds I was in a professional setting.

He didn't seem to mind them. In fact, he used them to pinpoint problem spots, areas that almost felt bruised when he touched them. He used the hissing groans I let out to focus on the spot until the hiss would vanish.

When he pulled away next, I felt oil spill onto each of my legs. When he ran his hands up the backs of my thighs, I hadn't realized how much pain they were actually in. I hissed again, this time twitching almost out of his grip.

"Did I hurt you?"

I wanted to chuckle at his concern, but my head was so light I had trouble forming thoughts. I couldn't open my eyes even if I wanted to. "Yes, but in a good way. If it really hurts I'll tell you."

"Please do. I don't want to damage you. Not like this."

I purred as he kept going, following the grain of my thighs. Usually I would have a smart retort for him, but not then. I had never felt so light. I felt him shift to my left leg, keeping his focus there. His thumbs flowed over the skin due to the oil, working out knots I hadn't even known existed. I put up with the pain, since it was helping more than anything. His fingers flowed down to my calves, once again forcing me to flinch. Since I said nothing, he kept going.

I didn't know how I was going to repay him for what he was giving me. His hands were fully capable of doing this for me, but there was no way I could do this for him. His back was hard muscle, and a lot of it made of the heavy plates and thicker skin of his species. Even if the scales weren't a problem, turian muscles were thicker and ropier than human muscles.

Maybe I could buy him an hour at a professional? No, that wouldn't work. I'd just have to find something that worked. There was a rumor that turians had a secret pleasure spot under their horns, as well as more sensitivity in their sides. I wasn't sure how accurate this was, but given their species' fascination with fringes and waists, I'd at least try anything.

By then he had moved on to the right leg. This time though, he followed through to the ankle. He held my leg up, stretching it just slightly as he moved on to the heel. "Where the hell did you find the time to learn all this?" I muttered.

"Well we did have quite a bit of time in between missions. I was curious about humans, just as I'm sure you were curious about us. One search led me to human massage techniques." I heard him clear his throat as he ran his oiled hands over the arch of my foot. "One site in particular usually ended up in sex."

I snorted into my folded arms. "Welcome to the extranet, where porn runs rampant." He set my leg down and did the same to the other. "Though I wouldn't say no if that's how this ends."

He gave his amused hum again. "We'll see what happens."

I remained silent the rest of the time he worked, mirroring what he had done to the right leg. I couldn't believe how much better I felt, and I hadn't even moved. I felt his weight shift. He asked me to sit up straight, which I did with a little difficulty. Hard to do something when you can't find your head. He sat behind me, propping his legs up on either side of me. He reached for the oil again and I felt it drip down my shoulders. He spread it around, and I let out a moan as he passed over my chest, to the dip between my deltoid and pectoral muscles.

I wasn't expecting it to feel that good. Then again, having things weighing down your chest at all times can wear you down. Hell, it was actually getting me aroused it felt that good. It broke through my calm haze, making me want to purr in response. He dipped lower, running his grip over the dips of my breasts, not doing much more than that. It was all I needed, really.

He pulled away again, a little longer than before. Just as I was about to see what he was doing, he started up again, keeping attention on my sore chest. He shifted a little closer, letting me feel his bare chest against my back, his keelbone resting between my shoulder blades.

"Mmn, I thought you came up here as a friend?"

"I also said we'd see how things go." He ran his grip over the back of my neck, making my head tilt forward. "How are you feeling now?"

"Much better." I felt a few bubbles trapped between my muscles pop, letting me moan again. "Are you sure I'm the only human you've been with?"

"I just do extensive research in my spare time. Don't tell me no one's done this for you before."

I shook my head. "I didn't let anyone close enough to."

His hands glided back down my chest, over my breasts, cupping them in his grip. "I'm honored you trust me so much with this."

"I'll trust you with a lot more if you keep doing that."

He did as asked, following the slope of my chest just until he could grip my breasts, and then repeated the motion. "I'm starting to see the fascination with these… They're entertaining and pleasurable at the same time."

I couldn't stop my huff of a laugh. "Why entertaining? You know what they really are, right?"

"Yes, things to feed your offspring, full of fatty tissue and other things. Doesn't make them less entertaining."

"You could give a human man a run for his money."

He licked the side of my neck, his breath tickling my ear. "You've told me you've been ruined for human men due to me. I think I'm allowed to indulge in one of their interests during sex."

Turians didn't have much in the ways of foreplay. They had sex for pleasure, sure, but it was more sex than foreplay. Females didn't have a clit like we did. They only got their pleasure through penetration. They didn't have tits, and their sharp teeth would for sure not allow for oral. At least not to a receiving male. The fact that he was patient enough to enjoy it meant a lot. It at least meant he was still interested in keeping me in bed. At least for the time being.

I hadn't even noticed one of his hands slip down my belly, over taught muscle. His fingers slipped under the waistband of my shorts and panties, making me realize how horny he had made me.

His breath hitched in my ear. "Spirits, Shepard, you're radiating heat." His thick finger stroked my clit, keeping attention on the bud. Each pass made another gasp leave me. He had already had me so wound up.

I had to reach up, holding on to his neck. I needed to grip something to keep me stable. The other hand rested over his arm, feeling his alien muscles twitch with each stroke. Liquid fire seeped from his fingers, radiating to all my nerve endings. My core felt so tight I almost couldn't breathe. My hips started to seek out his fingers, my sighs becoming whimpers. "Fuck, Vakarian…"

"Mmm, that's right, come for me." His subharmonic growl almost did me in. The rumble of it right in my ear sent a shock right down to my clit.

My whimpers grew into heavy cries, coming faster each time. I was almost there…

"Come so I can fuck you…"

That was my trigger. I almost screamed as I came, rubbing my hips against his finger just as much as he was moving against me. My grip around his neck tightened as I shuddered, my breath leaving me in winded whimpers. We both slowed down, though I jerked every once in a while as I came back down, trying to remember how to breathe.

I didn't have time to recover completely. He used his position behind me to bend me over. I allowed it. I needed it. He almost ripped my shorts as he yanked them down. I heard his buckles jingling as he unfastened just what he needed. It didn't take long, only a few seconds, but those few seconds were torture. I begged him to fill me up.

He didn't need to be asked twice. His hands gripped my waist tight, his cock rubbing against my slit until he knew he could force himself inside my still-tight walls. We both let out a satisfied groan, instantly losing ourselves to pleasure. His thrusts were deep and quick, full of need. Each one was met with a feral grunt, and each one forced a moan from my chest. I felt him push as far as he could go, stretching me right up against his knot.

I had to reach for one of my pillows to lean on. His thrusts were pushing me into the mattress. My moans became cries as I felt my muscles start to clench up. I gripped the pillow tight, knowing if I held it any tighter it would rip. My muscles finally seized up, but he didn't stop. Instead he fucking growled. His grip on my waist increased so much I was glad he filed down his claws.

His subharmonics took over his voice. "I won't last if you do that…"

"I don't care." I felt another orgasm ripple to the surface. "Oh god, don't stop."

He was going so fast and hard, pushing as far as he could go each time. There was no slowing him down. He gently bit my ear, running his tongue over the lobe. The shock of it forced me to rock back on him, meeting his thrusts. "Fuck, Shepard… I can't—" He growled again and pushed harder than usual.

We both stopped for only a moment as his knot popped inside. And that was only to both moan at the same time. I was held down immediately as his strokes became so deep, since he was unable to pull out. He took in a sharp hiss of breath. I felt his hot ropes of seed as his body jerked slightly with each pulse.

I took the time to try and catch my breath. I rested my head against the pillow, my chest heaving.

"Shit," he breathed. I felt his grip loosen on my waist, but he still kept it there. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." He shivered again.

"So that's what it feels like."

"Mmn, yes. Just give me a minute before I can pull out. Hopefully you won't go into anaphylaxis from it."

"This is what showers are for." I had just realized that the entire time, I hadn't looked at him once. I tilted my head back, seeing him also struggling for breath. "I'll be fine."

"I'm sure." He gave a quick tug of his hips, letting him come back out with an inaudible pop. I shifted back to my knees and he tugged my shoulder, indicating I face him. He tilted my head to him. "Feeling better now?"

I nodded and kissed him, feeling him press back. "Though we do have about 72 hours before we reach Earth…"

He chuckled. "Give me an hour and maybe I can go again." He tilted his head towards the front of my cabin. "In the meantime, let's hit the showers. As much as I'd like to cover you in blue, I'd rather not risk you dying on me. Not until we see more case studies evolve."

I sighed. "Fine. I can't deny reasonable requests like that." I stood when he did, watching him retreat into the bathroom to start the showerhead. He did make me feel much better, both in muscles and in pleasure.

I'd have to get him to do it all again before I would be locked away for who knows how long?