Garrus made himself at home next to the mako, helping himself with the calibrations of it's performance. He was content, finally content, despite being on a mostly human vessel. It did not take much time when they left the citadel to go after Benezia's daughter, Liara, and Garrus could see the annoyance on Shepards face the moment the girl opened her mouth. They were on course to Feros, a human colony that supposedly had some geth related issues.
Garrus didn't realize how long he was working on the mako until something large collided with his leg, making him look down to see Caneo wagging his tail up at him and panting like he just ran a mile. Looking closer at the varren, Garrus took note of the ball now between his feet, his head tilting as he picked it up and stared as Caneo started bounding back and forth.
"He wants you to throw it."
Garrus almost just out of his plates at the sound of the voice next to him, placing a hand on his chest as he looked over at Shepard who was now grinning and laughing quietly at his reaction.
"Spirits, don't do that."
She laughed more now, shaking her head.
"Sorry."
Garrus stared over at Shepard a moment longer then he had intended too, staring at her lips. When she motioned back at Caneo, he finally tore his eyes form her.
"The ball. He wants you to throw it."
Garrus's brow plate lifted but he did as instructed, tossing the ball across the bay and watched as Caneo tore after the now bouncing projectile, tripping over his feet as he chased it around the room.
"What in the…?"
Garrus watched, his mandibles flared.
"It's called fetch. Humans do it with a lot of pets on earth."
Garrus glanced over at Shepard again then back t Caneo as he had finally caught the ball and charged back towards Garrus, putting the ball at his feet again.
"So… Throw it and he brings it back?"
Shepard laughed and nodded.
"Pretty much. Not all pets are a fan of it. But Caneo loves it. Good for me, cause it wears him out."
Garrus chuckled quietly at her words, picking the ball up again and throws it just a little bit harder this time to give the ball more bounce. Caneo chasing after it as Garrus looked back at Shepard.
"I haven't had a chance to say this, Commander. But thank you, for bringing me with you."
Shepard looked from Garrus and watched as Caneo tripped over himself, almost catching the ball, then chased after it again.
"It's good to have you here, Garrus. I missed having a turian on board."
Garrus's brow plated lifted.
"Missed it? You've worked with a turian before?"
Shepard laughed and looked towards Garrus.
"I worked on a couple turian warships the past couple years."
Garrus's mandibles flared wide as his jaw gaped, his brow plates lifting.
"Really? I never guessed you one to volunteer for that kind of experience, Commander."
Shepard laughed again, leaning up against the mako as she watched Caneo run back over with the ball for Garrus to throw again.
"Really. After Akuze, I found myself needing a break from humanity."
Garrus threw the ball again before looking back at Shepard, his head tilting slightly.
"I read the file C-sec had of Akuze. The reports anyways. They seemed to conflict each other."
Shepard smiled lightly.
"Which report did you believe was more correct?"
Garrus watched her for a moment, folding his arms across his chest as he closed his eyes and thought back for a moment.
"I believed more in your report, then I did the captains."
When he opened his eyes, he watched as Shepard smiled wide and closed her eyes as she rested the back of her head against the mako.
"I mean, your report was complete and consistent. His was not, it had holes, gaps that did not make sense."
He watched as she opened her eyes and stared above her, licking her lips before speaking.
"This is why I like you turians… You actually think on things, instead offeet first jumping with your emotions."
Garrus's mandibles flared as he smiled at Shepard, chuckling quietly.
"You make it sound like you would prefer a turian mate, over a human."
Shepard tensed and Garrus knew he had said something wrong. His brow plates lifting.
"It's a joke, Commander. I don't mean to offend."
Shepard closed her eyes and smiled lightly, shaking her head.
"None taken, Garrus."
She smiled over at him as she pushed off the mako and clapped her hand against her thigh, Caneo running to her side with his ball in his mouth and they both stepped into the elevator, Garrus's eyes never leaving her until the door finally closed.
The next morning, Garrus felt extremely awkward as he found himself staring at Shepard more then he had before, a soft grumble leaving his throat as he looked down at his dextro meal in front of him as he took a seat in the mess.
"Commander, a word?"
Garrus lifted his head slightly, hearing Ashley's voice, and watched as the chief ran up to Shepard.
"What can I do for you, chief?"
Garrus leaned back in his seat, folding his arms over his chest as he couldn't help but watch this.
"I wanted to ask you, about what happened on the citadel."
Shepard's brow lifted slightly, folding her hands behind her back.
"I'm afraid you will have to be more specific, Williams. A lot happened on the citadel."
Ashley sighed and closed her eyes for a long moment before looking back at Shepard.
"You know what I mean. I mean what happened with Harkin."
Shepard's face went ridged, her body getting tense.
"Oh."
Garrus's brow plate lifted as he watched Shepards reaction, his head tilting slightly to get a better angle for hearing them.
"Is what he said true?"
Shepard shifted on her feet, nodding.
"Part of it, yes."
It was Ashley's turn to go ridged, her stance becoming slightly more aggressive.
"How? Why? You are one of the best soldiers in the alliance. How can you… Pick that over your own people?"
Shepard smiled, almost too sweetly as she took a step close to Ashley.
"You want to be careful what you say, Ashley. My personal life, my partners, are none of your business, nor your concern. I felt better connected to that man then any human ever since Akuze. So, you can shove your view on interspecies relations and shove it right up your ass."
Garus's mandibles flared hearing Shepards words, looking down at his food and picking at it as Shepard stormed past him after shoving Ashley out of her face.
"It's hard to have a privet conversation with aliens who have extremely good hearing, isn't it?"
Garrus looked up to see Wrex sitting down in front of him, a light nervous chuckle leaving him as he picked at his food again.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
Wrex barked out a laugh, shaking his head.
"I know damn well you could hear that conversation just as well as I could."
Garrus looked up from his food and stared at the large krogan, his brow plated pushing together as he leaned forwards in his seat.
"Tell me… What is Shepards secret? Does she have an alien fetish or something?"
Wrex barked out in laughter again, shaking his head.
"More like a turian fetish."
Garrus's brow plated lifted as high as they could go, leaning back in his seat.
"How do you think she knows about the better dextro foods? Dumb luck?"
Garrus looked back down at his plate of food, a humming sound coming from his throat as he finally realized the quality of the food.
"Interesting. But she seems to not like the topic, why?"
Wrex leaned forward on the table, tapping one of his talons on its surface.
"You didn't hear this from me… But Shepard used to be in a relationship with a turian specture, Nihlus Kryik. The relationship was very hush, well, until recently when he boasted about wanting to ask a female to be his bond mate."
Garrus felt his mandibles flare so far out it hurt, his jaw dropping slightly.
"The turian even went through the trouble of making sure his family and clan accepted her. Got her some fancy stone and everything."
Garrus sat frozen, staring at Wrex as the krogan spoke.
"You heard none of this from me, turian. Shepard would shove my ass into the air lock if she knew I said anything."
Garrus nodded hurriedly as he snapped back into reality.
"Of course. I will not say anything and let her when she is ready."
Wrex nodded and stood up, leaving Garrus to finish his food. Garrus finished his plate and went back to the mako console once he had disposed of the remains, his mind whirling with the new information. He hands hovered over the console when he heard Shepards voice coming from the engine room, watching as Caneo came into the bay and ran around like an excited pup.
He chuckled quietly as he watched the varren make himself dizzy and drop to the floor. His eyes trailing over to see Shepard walking to the elevator, his eyes catching the glint of a silvery metal around her neck. His mandibles pressing tight to his face as he inhaled sharply. He found himself growing more and more curious about her, what she did in her spare time when she had it, what her life was like, what makes her smile, what makes her sad.
She was apparently a type of women to make even the most respectable of turian spectre's go through the hardships of having her accepted in turian cultures, even recognized as a turian bond mate. His mandibles flicked as Caneo had run up to his feet and rested his head against Garrus' thigh, his brilliant blue eyes staring down at the silver striped varren as the beast huffed and dropped to it belly and fell asleep next to him.
"Garrus, Wrex! We hit Feros in under an hour, suit up and get ready."
Garrus tilted his head as Shepards voice rang out over the intercom, chuckling as Caneo lifted his head for a split second before falling asleep again.
