A/N: So this kinda happened by accident. I've been trying for the past two days to put together a filler chapter before shit gets real. This really wasn't part of the plan, but I ran with it anyways. Also, the image of Garrus in pj's made me giggle, so I had to put it in here. I'm going to give this chapter a warning just to cover my bases. If sexual innuendos and hot make out sessions between two ladies isn't your cup of tea, you might want to skip this one :)
A persistent knocking, and eventual call to his omni-tool, wakes Garrus up from a particularly pleasant sleep. Grabbing a blanket to throw over his pajamas, he walks to his door, eyes half closed and his brain still half asleep. He opens the door to see the last person in the galaxy he'd expect.
"Miranda. What are you doing here?"
"Do you mind if I come in? It's rather chilly here at night."
Garrus blinks a few times to confirm that he is, in fact, standing in front of Miranda Lawson and not just dreaming. After he sees her shiver, he comes to his senses and lets her in.
"How did you know I live here? I only just got the place."
"Old habits die hard." Comes the calm response from the former Cerberus operative as she sways her way into Garrus' apartment. Watching her walk past, Garrus notes a particular change from the Ice Queen he knew only five and a half months ago. Gone was the superiority; it was now replaced with humility. Wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie, she doesn't even look the same. She looks smaller, more vulnerable. Garrus momentarily wonders why he never noticed that about her before.
Once he has closed his door, Miranda brings the hood down from her face. "Sorry to just drop in. Things got a bit… chaotic on Omega, and I had to leave. I knew you had come to Palaven, and it didn't take long to establish where you were. I actually had to do a bit of leg work, instead of just sifting through computer files." Miranda provides with a small smile.
A brief silence passes. Garrus isn't used to visitors, not to mention human women, and isn't exactly sure how to proceed.
"Would you like something to drink? Actually, I probably don't have much that you could drink without dying, but I might have a bottle of wine kicking around." Miranda nods her assent, and after a few moments, he returns with a bottle of Thessian Red and a wine glass.
"So… what do you mean things got a bit chaotic on Omega? Do I need to swoop in and save the day again? I've still got one good side that doesn't have any scars on it." Garrus quips as he pours a glass of wine. Sitting on his couch, Miranda doesn't respond for a few moments. Looking at her to confirm she had heard him, he sees a strange look on her face. For all his dealings with humans in the last few years, he's not seen that look before. It appears to be a mix of anxiety and loss.
"Miranda? What happened?"
"Omega was attacked by Cerberus. They have control of the entire station, and Aria has fled the system. I barely made it out with my life. There were signs and vid screens everywhere with my face on them. I knew the Illusive Man would come for me, but I didn't think it would be to this extent. Not only that, but there are now reports coming in from the Exodus cluster that thousands of batarian refugees are pouring through the relay, stating that their home world is being attacked by an unknown enemy. And to top it all off, they've got Shepard in lock down and the Shadow Broker's ship has been destroyed. Everything is literally falling apart." She responds quietly, disbelief colouring her voice.
Garrus can feel his heart drop at the mention of the Broker's ship. "Spirits, do we even know if Liara is alive?"
"She sent me a communication in reply to a data packet I had sent. She sent the ship down on purpose; the Illusive Man had tracked her down. She couldn't say where she is now, but I imagine she's safe. In little more than five months, everything has gone to hell." She replies despondently. Garrus can see tears forming in her eyes, but she quickly regains some semblance of her self control. Pushing back an errant strand of hair from her face, she looks Garrus in the eye.
"We need to break Shepard out."
"Excuse me?"
"We need to get her out of there, Garrus. The one person holding this galaxy together is sitting on Earth unable to do anything."
"I suspect she feels equally frustrated at the situation. She probably hasn't been allowed to have a drink since she got there." Garrus says, attempting to lighten the mood with humour. The mention of alcohol makes Miranda blush slightly. His mandibles flick faintly with the turian equivalent of frown as he tries to figure out why that comment would have made Miranda do that.
Miranda is sitting at her desk in the XO office, finalizing a report to send to the Illusive Man. Her hair pinned up and in pj pants and a tank top, her next objective is to sleep. That is, until she hears her door chime with a requested entry.
"EDI, who is it?"
"Commander Shepard."
Miranda sighs. The near miss she experienced earlier on the crew deck rattled her for a bit. She'd never seen Shepard that angry before. As painful as it was to watch, she was glad that Joker had provided a distraction. Shepard's anger at the events on Illium had been neatly diverted from her to Joker. Once Shepard had walked away with Garrus, Miranda had finally exhaled. Realizing though that the source of that anger was now at her door had Miranda on edge again.
"Open the door please EDI."
Shepard hesitantly steps inside Miranda's office. Looking around briefly, her eyes land on Miranda but she quickly diverts them.
"Sorry, I didn't think you'd be… not dressed." Shepard states. Miranda stands up and crosses her arms in front of her, the desk providing a decent barrier.
"It's all right. I didn't think you'd be coming here at 02:00. So I suppose we're both unknowns." She replies, her tone softening once she realizes there's no anger left in Shepard. Her stance and posture are indicating remorse, not rage.
Shepard smiles slightly and catches Miranda's eyes. "Look, I just wanted to apologize for before. I was really fucking pissed off, and the only one I could think to blame was you. Joker only half deserved what he got, but you didn't deserve that at all." Miranda tilts her head to the side, half smiling at the admission.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Miranda walks out from behind her desk and approaches Shepard. The Commander tenses for a moment at the unexpected movement, but watches as Miranda moves to stand in front of her.
"You've been through a lot. You don't need to apologize for being angry. Your entire life was blown up, you can't expect to just walk away from that unscathed."
"I didn't. Remember how you spent two years rebuilding me? Because I died?" comes the sarcastic reply.
"I do. But I meant mentally. Horizon, Illium... even your own mother doesn't know what happened. I'm sorry I couldn't stop this from happening." Miranda replies with a sadness in her voice and looks down to avoid Shepard's stare. Shepard raises an eyebrow and steps forward slightly, and without even thinking, reaches out to touch Miranda's chin, raising her head up.
"Hey, you don't need to feel sorry for that. What you did, what you gave me back, I can never repay. The fact that I need to deal with my own fucked up emotions is not a reflection of you."
Miranda closes her eyes, and catches the scent of whiskey on Shepard's breath, and realizes suddenly how close they are. Miranda became aware a long time ago that she had developed a harmless little crush on the Commander. Never acted upon, never broached. Miranda retained the professionalism that was expected of her. But her exhaustion and the proximity of Shepard was making it hard for her to focus on anything other than the feel of Shepard's hand on her chin, the warmth emanating from her, and what those lips would taste like. She tried to push the thoughts aside, and return to the façade of the Ice Queen she was so famous for, but suddenly Shepard's thumb was ghosting along Miranda's jawline, her fingers moving towards the back of her neck.
Looking at Shepard again, she sees a puzzled look cross Shepard's face, and her brilliant green eyes are reflecting something Miranda hadn't seen before. She can feel her heart rate increasing, and works to calm her breathing down. She wants to uncross her arms and just feel, but she doesn't want to cross a line. It's been made clear that Shepard isn't exactly fair game.
Or, perhaps, the game has changed.
Miranda bites her lower lip and raises an eyebrow. The signal is not lost on Shepard, and a breath hitches in her throat. Miranda realizes she isn't exactly playing fair; Shepard is emotionally exhausted, and has been drinking with Garrus which meant that she has been drinking quite a bit. She is about to withdraw as her conscience gets the better of her, but Shepard's hand is undoing the clip at the back of her head, and as Miranda's dark hair tumbles down, Shepard twines her fingers through it and pulls her head closer. Miranda slowly uncrosses her arms and places her shaking hands on Shepard's stomach. The shiver that goes through Shepard's body is instantaneous, and Miranda desperately wants to know what Shepard's lips feel like against her own.
Moments later, she finds out. Shepard had hesitated as if contemplating something, but appeared to have made up her mind as she lowers her head to kiss Miranda. It was gentle, and soft, and not at all what Miranda wanted it to be. She wanted harder, and rougher. She snakes her arms around Shepard's torso as her tongue moves to find Shepard's, tasting whiskey and heat. The dual contact sends electricity up Shepard's spine as she grabs another fistful of Miranda's hair. Pulling her head back and breaking the kiss, Shepard looks at Miranda. The haunted look those green eyes posses is heartbreaking, and Miranda can see tears forming there.
"Fuck, Miranda, I shouldn't have done that. I wanted to… I still want to… but I can't… I shouldn't assume." Shepard stutters as she releases her hand from Miranda's hair.
"No, you didn't assume. I'm sorry, Shepard." She replies as she slowly removes her hands from Shepard's back.
"I like your hair better like this." Shepard says as she brushes a lock of hair away from Miranda's face. The sadness is evident in her voice, and it almost breaks Miranda's heart.
"I should go."
Miranda nods, and watches the Commander slowly leave her room.
"Sometimes the solution isn't always alcohol, Garrus." Miranda replies shortly.
"Miranda, you know as well as I do that we can't just waltz into Alliance HQ, walk up to Shepard's cell and say 'Come on Shepard, lets get out of here.' It doesn't work like that."
A frustrated sigh escapes Miranda as she realizes the logic behind the comment. Breaking Shepard out is great in theory, but in practice, it would be nearly impossible.
"Listen, I've got a spare room. Why don't you stay here tonight and in the morning, when we have a more rational idea, we can try and figure something out. Maybe talk to Anderson. I've got this shiny new task force now, and I have the authority to communicate with Alliance admirals."
Miranda smiles at Garrus. "No wonder Shepard speaks so highly of you. Are you always talking her out of crazy ideas as well?"
"Most of the time. But usually she doesn't listen."
"She is a stubborn one indeed."