AN: Thank you for all the support you've shown me the past few days! Helps get me through the work day when I keep getting awesome reviews in the mail! :3
Sister Complex
Chapter 11
"Extranet says you're Alliance Military. Take care of yourself out there, Officer."
Jane stared at the holographic image of her older brother with a mixture of mortification and gleeful delight. It was an amusing distraction after the past few days of chaos, no thanks to Cerberus and their attack on the Citadel. She knew, as his younger sister, that it was her sworn duty to bring this his attention in the most embarrassing way possible, but she knew now was not the time, seeing as how he had just been at the bedside of a dying friend and former crew mate.
"Got any pets? You look like a varren person."
She brought a fist up to her mouth to hold in a giggle that threatened to overwhelm her, and she glanced around at the turian refugees. Not one seemed to notice or give a damn, so she returned her attention to the computerized John Shepard.
"Anyone ever tell you you're one hell of a looker, Soldier?"
"As deeply disturbing it is to hear him say that about his sister, it doesn't really mean its not true." She spun around to see none other than Garrus Vakarian walking toward her with most of his usual swagger. True to their word, they'd continued their clandestine sparring matches a few times a week, though it'd never gone as... far as it had the first time, even if there usually was some (mostly) harmless flirting now and then. But they found a measure of release of stress and easy camaraderie that they both needed, and she was surprised how much she looked forward to their sessions together. She'd had some training regarding turian culture in her N classes, but in the end they'd always had a focus on military and politics, and she'd definitely never had a lesson on what to do if you found yourself oddly attracted to one.
Garrus stopped in front of her, and glanced around, his mandibles drooping slightly as his posture lost some of its confidence. "I-er..." He stumbled over his words, "Sorry, I'm not entirely sure how humans generally give compliments. I mean, your hair looks, uh, good. And you waist is... very supportive." His voice was closer to a whisper now, mindful of possible on lookers, which made the entire situation even more ridiculous, and oddly endearing. He must have seen some evidence of her amusement on her face, because he started rubbing the back of his neck again (which she'd learned was a human gesture he'd picked up for when he was uncomfortable), and sighed. "Crap, that all sounded a lot better in my head." She chuckled placed a hand on her hip as she raised an eyebrow.
"Ha, well, consider me seduced, smooth talker." He seemed to perk up a bit, and some of his confidence returned. A little, at least.
"Look, I... Well, I know we've all been busy for the past few days, and no one's really been able to enjoy shore leave what with the aftermath of..." He gestured to the damage and injured around them, "Anyway, I was thinking we might finally get around to that date I promised you. - If you still want to, that is." A surprising jolt of excitement coursed through her.
"Hell yeah. What did you have planned?"
"Well, I thought we might go somewhere we're not supposed to." She grinned at that.
"Now you're talkin'."
"Whoa." Jane leaned over the edge just far enough to see the sparkling water far below them. She stepped back to a safer distance and Garrus paused next to her.
"Be careful," He started, his voice only half teasing, "Falling to your death on the Presidium during a date seems like an anti-climatic way to go, after everything we've been through. Not to mention, your brother would kill me."
"Don't remind me. But geez, its beautiful up here. I'd never really thought about it before."
"I used to, back when I worked for C-Sec. Always wanted to do this." They stood there for awhile, just enjoying the sight together as the wind lightly buffeted them and the fake sunlight warmed their faces. Jane's hair danced around her face, and she struggled to keep it tucked behind her ears. She glanced at Garrus, and found him smiling contentedly. Who would have thought that a turian would have such a sentimental side.
"This is nice, but I hope you have something more planned than staring at cars and clouds." He jerked out of whatever sort of trance he was in, and looked surprised.
"Oh! Yeah, of course." He walked back to where the car was parked, grabbing something from the back seat. When he turned around, she couldn't help but laugh out loud as she saw him holding a picnic basket and two sniper rifles. While the weapons would have seemed out of place on a date between any two other people, it seemed nothing but perfect for the two of them. He lifted the basket, and handed it to her, which she took hesitantly. "I wasn't really sure what to get for you, but the store keeper claimed that I couldn't go wrong with those." She took a peak, and along with whatever his lunch was, there sat a turkey sandwich, a chocolate bar, and a soda.
"In comparison to Normandy's food, this will be heaven." She replied, and he looked pleased.
"First though..." She put down the basket and he handed her one of the rifles.
And that was how Jane found herself neck in neck in a sniping contest with the Normandy's other expert sharpshooter. So far, neither of them had missed a single bottle, and they were going to start running out soon. But neither of them seemed willing to give up. She wasn't above fighting dirty though, and had a plan which included an adventurous hand during his next shot. But next it was her turn, and she lifted her rifle as Garrus readied his next throw. Taking a deep breath, she was the embodiment of calm. His arm snapped forward, and the bottle went sailing through the air.
"Nothing more sexy than a woman with a sniper rifle." The offhanded comment was just surprising enough to disrupt her breathing as she took her shot and the bottle plummeted toward the ground, unharmed.
"Fuck!" She cured, sending him a glare which was spoiled slightly by the smile she was unable to prevent. Apparently he wasn't above playing dirty either, because he flung his arms in the air in a victory pose.
"I'm Garrus Vakarian and this is my favorite place on the Citadel!" The random exclamation made her laugh, though mostly in amused confusion. He noticed, and added "Long story, you should ask your brother about it some time."
"That was cheap, by the way. And you're a turian. You probably don't even know what sexy is in regard to humans." He shrugged, packing away the empty wrappers from the lunch they'd nibbled at during their contest, a turian grin clear on his face.
"That's besides the point." He stood up, taking the rifle from her and returning everything to the car. "So, I remember a wager being made when we started this thing, and the loser was going to buy the drinks?