It was fourteen days from the night she rushed out of his apartment until she returned to the Citadel. Fourteen days of stolen moments to message him, of laughing at the silly things he said. Of finding excuses to call him a Janiturian until he threatened to stop responding. They both knew he didn't mean it, but she did ease off a bit after that.

The mission had been brutal, and there had been a few civilian losses. She felt personally responsible for those, but she couldn't talk about it. Not even to Silus. Not over an insecure connection, anyway. Garrus... understood, but his sense of responsibility was different. He was able to look at the grand scheme and see that they had saved hundreds. All she could see were the four that had died.

Then there had been another mission, a "by the way, since you're in the area" and a diplomatic escort, and by the end of it all she and the rest of her crew were in dire need of shore leave. So Shepard put in the necessary paperwork to ensure that they would not be the first ship called, and gave everyone some R&R time.

And then she picked up some takeout, and headed to Silus' house.

She pressed the buzzer at the door, heard some movement, and then he was standing there, a look of surprise on his face.

"You're back?" He grinned, caught her hand, and tugged her into the apartment. As soon as the door shut behind them, he pulled her into an embrace. It was unexpected, and she took a moment to melt into it. He tucked her head under his chin before nuzzling the top of her head and ruffling her hair.

"I'm back." She pulled away slowly, just enough to look up at him. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

It might have been an idyllic moment, but her stomach began grumbling loudly. He let go of her then, reluctantly.

"I brought food," she said, holding up the takeout bag as an offering. He went to grab utensils as she set it on the table and flopped on the couch. "But if you want any, it's going to cost you."

"Oh?" He paused in the middle of setting the utensils down, and glanced up at her. Her stomach did flips. She was pretty sure turians were crazy if they didn't think he was attractive.

"Yes. It will cost you one human sock." She tried to say so with authority.

"Oh!" He disappeared through a door on the far side of the room, and returned shortly, a small white piece of fabric in his hand. "Here. I uh... washed it for you?"

She couldn't stop the grin that caught her then. He did her laundry for her. Sure, it was only one sock, but, he'd done that. For her. And he seemed so very uncertain about it. It was sweet.

"Thank you," She said. He smiled, and she imagined that were he human, his face would have been the vibrant red of a thorough blush. He was just so damned adorable she couldn't bear it. She reached out and took the sock, setting it down on the corner of the table. Her pistol joined it.

He hovered indecisively, still smiling at her.

"You gonna sit?" She patted the couch, and he quickly joined her.

"What did you bring?" He asked, eyeing the bag of takeout warily.

"It's this place that does its best imitation of Thai food from earth..." she said, passing him the box that was marked for him. He opened it and examined the contents.

"I can't speak for it personally, but Tali tells me it's very tasty."

"Tali?"

"A quarian friend."

"Ah." He poked at it. Brought a bite to his lips. "Hm. Yeah, that is pretty tasty."

"Good." She demolished her share. His disappeared almost as rapidly. When the food was gone, there was a pause before they looked at each other. He flipped on the vid screen, and they stared at it in silence for a moment before she spoke.

"Can we…" She hesitated, not wanting to push things too fast, but knowing what she wanted. "Can we snuggle?"

"I think I'd like that," he said, opening his arms. She scooted over, and nearly crawled into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and she tucked her head under his chin. They relaxed that way, just enjoying the moment.