AN: Hello hello! I've been working on the sequel to this and realized that I hadn't posted this on . The HORROR. It's been up on the kinkmeme for ages, but not here. I can't believe it. Call me scatter-brained. Anyways, hope you lot enjoy this. I had a lot of fun writing it. The sequel in fact is what is getting me back into writing Mass Effect stories. (A long hiatus plus new fandoms means stories get put on hold and that's just sad)

Anyways, you know the drill. Please read and review!

Standard disclaimers apply: I dont' own Mass Effect, Bioware or all the glorious things they have given us!

Of Makos and Missions

Garrus growled as lubricant sprayed from ruptured hose on the underside of the Mako. The undercarriage was a disaster zone, not that he was surprised. Shepard had taken it down to Nodacrux and the surface of the planet was far from ideal for driving, but it wouldn't be this bad if Shepard didn't have the need to go sky rocketing off the edges of mountains.

Driving certainly wasn't her strong point, but the woman made up for it in other ways: her skill with a gun, they way she talked down crazed biotics, the way she filled out her uniform. Oh he had noticed, it was hard not to. Shepard was a very attractive woman, made even more so by her charismatic nature.

And he wasn't the only to notice. Liara was a bumbling mess around the commander and Kaidan wasn't much better. Garrus on the other hand had hid it well, keeping his babbling to a minimum and stealing glances when no one was looking.

He didn't really hold out hope for anything. Liara could, there were plenty of human-asari couples, but there were next to no human-turian ones. A relatively recent, bitter history was not good for budding relationships. This didn't stop him from the occasional - or frequent - daydream. He had been with asari's before, and while the blue monogendered species wasn't exactly the same, he knew a sexual encounter could work and work very well.

His mandibles flared as his thoughts went down a familiar and not entirely unpleasant road. It made the tedious work on the Mako that much more bearable and him less irritated with her. Next time she banged up the tank this badly she was going to fix it herself, no matter how great her ass looked in skin-tight armor.

The elevator door opened and said commander sauntered into the cargo bay with all her usual confidence and determination.

Or right now. That worked too.

"Shepard," Garrus called out. "A moment?"

She nodded over to Ashley and walked over. "What can I do for you Garrus?"

"Here," He handed her a wrench. She looked down at it confused. It was a look that he didn't' see often on her face, he had to admit he like the way her lip curled and her eyebrow raised.

"Alright Garrus, I'll bite. Why did you hand me a tool?"

"It's a wrench and it's about time you learnt to fix the Mako since you're the one who keeps on breaking it."

Her mouth dropped open and he laughed openly at the shocked look on her face. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No. Actually I'm not."

"I'm the commander of the ship Garrus, there are other things I need to be doing," She gave the Mako a quick glance, but still held on to the wrench.

"Are you telling me you'd rather be doing paper work right now than spending time with someone as devastatingly handsome and charming as me?"

That got a laugh out of her. She wiped some of the lubricant and oil that covered his armor. "Handsome? I couldn't tell under all this dirt."

"Hmm, really? Well I'll just have to clean up for you Shepard." She laughed again, but this was a bit strained and accompanied by a tinge of red across her cheeks. Interesting.

"Is this all from the Mako?"

"This?" He gestured to his soiled armor. "Yeah. You really did a number on the poor thing this time."

She winced. "Sorry," Chewing her lip and looked back over at the tank, "So, where should I start?"

Garrus laughed and leaned in, his mandibles spread wide. "I knew I looked better than a pile of paperwork."

Her blush intensified. "Just tell me what to do."

"First off, I'll take that back," He took the wrench from her hand and handed her towel. "And give you this."

"It's a towel."

"Very good Shepard." He patted her on the head and she swatted his hand away glaring at him.

"Why did you give me a towel?"

"Baby steps. I'm not letting you touch anything until you understand the basics."

"I can bypass some of the most complicated locks in the Council space. I think I can handle the hardware of a Mako."

"We'll see," He smirked. "Now get on your back Shepard, it's time to get dirty."

That got him a full blown blush as she threw the towel in his face in an attempt to hide it.

The next few hours were going to be entertaining, and maybe, he would allow himself a bit of hope.

One of Garrus' favorite things about Shepard was her passion. There wasn't a single situation that she dove into that she didn't give her all to, and repairing the Mako was no exception. A few hours after they had started she had given up trying to stay clean, stripping down to the tank top she wore under her uniform. There was oil smeared against her cheek, her arms and part of her neck as she was elbow deep in the engine of the Mako.

"I think I found it!" She said triumphantly, her teeth nibbling on the edge of her lower lip. Garrus watched her, leaning against the side of the Mako.

"Does the lid feel hexagonal?"

"Yes."

"That's the wrong one."

Her hand withdrew quickly, "What? You're lying."

"I'm not."

She looked at him dubiously, "Are you sure."

He gave her his best innocent look, but he knew the wicked smile that snuck through didn't help. "Definitely." He pushed off the edge and came up behind her and took her hand. "Let me show you."

Together their hands plunged into the space between the engine and the coolant system. Garrus was taller than her, but to reach those depths he had to lean against her, pushing his hips into her ass. It was completely innocent. Really.

Garrus could hear her swallow, but she didn't try to leave. Not only had the Shepard learnt a lot about the Mako in the last few hours, but he had learnt a lot about her. Things he wasn't going to forget anytime soon: the way the smell of her shampoo mixed with oil, the small delicate gasps she made when his hands played over her lower back, the way her muscles tensed when his mandibles ticked her neck. It all lead to one glorious conclusion: Shepard liked him.

The last two hours had been the single greatest segment of time in his life.

"There," He said as their intertwined fingers found the part they were looking for. The cap was round. "Do you feel that?"

"Yeah," She breathed out, turning her head to so that she could glance at him out of corner of her eye.

"Sometimes," He leaned in, brushing his forehead against hers, "You can miss the most obvious things."

Her eyes fluttered close as his other hand brushed against her hip, pulling her closer than before. "I didn't-I mean, I haven't-it's been a while."

"Since you fixed a Mako? I can tell."

Shepard laughed, "You know what I mean. I don't even know where to start. I umm.." She blushed and started again. "Turians are so-"

"Pointy?" He let his talons scratch up the side of her waist, gentle enough not to mark but hard enough to pull up her shirt with it.

Her free hand went up to cover his. "I was going to go with different."

"Not that different. I promise."

"Speaking from-" Shepard was cut off by the sound of her name being called over the PA system. The two jumped away from each other in an instant and Garrus had never seen her face so red.

"Incoming message for you Shepard."

Taking a deep breath she ran a hand threw her hair. "I'll take it in the comm room Joker."

"No problem."

Casting a sad look his way, she grabbed the jacket of her uniform and beelined it for the elevator.

Garrus sighed and leaned against the edge of the Mako. It was probably a good thing that she left when she did. He had been half a heartbeat away from throwing Shepard into the back of the Mako and having his wicked way with her.

Now he needed a shower - a cold one. If he didn't wash away the smell of her he might still do that.

"I've been-," Shepard paused, blushed deeply and mumbled, "Doing some research."

Garrus blinked and stared at her across the table, the dextro-protein bar laying forgotten in his hand. It had been almost three weeks since the incident in the Mako. There hadn't been a lot of time since then to talk since then. Things had gotten intense on Virmire and they had lost Kaidan. Now on the hot on the heels of Saren, they were going to go through the Mu relay and face a crazed turian and an army full of geth.

Here they were, on a stolen ship and on the precipice of essentially a suicide mission and Garrus had been sitting in the mess hall, alone. Their chances were slim, and Garrus would be lying if said he didn't want to spend this time with Shepard. It never did anyone good to go into a mission like this with regrets.

He hadn't expected her to make the first move though. Shocking as it was, he was glad that she wanted this as much as he did.

"Oh?" Garrus asked, genuinely intrigued. "Find anything interesting?" The idea of Shepard researching any of this was both adorable and incredibly sexy. The fact that she was standing here meant what she had seen excited her.

"There were a few things that were particularly...appealing." She glanced at him from beneath her eyelashes. "I'd show you, if you'd like."

He got up and stood close to her, brushing a stray hair from her face. "Why Shepard, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were propositioning me."

She swallowed and leaned into his touch. The soft sigh and half smirk almost undid him right there. "Then I'm definitely glad you know better."

Reaching down he grabbed her hand and tugged her towards her quarters. "There is a brain under this devilishly handsome exterior you know."

"Oh trust me, I noticed."

"Flirt."

"By the way, where are we going?"

"Your quarters, unless you want to do this where the rest of the crew can watch. That's pretty kinky, but -" He was silenced by a smack on the arm, but the witty comeback was missing. Shepard was looking at her door anxiously and biting her lip. Garrus frowned and turned her head so that she was looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"I just thought we'd do this later," Her voice sounded weaker with every word, like she knew the excuse sounded pathetic the second it came out of her mouth.

"Shepard," Garrus said, cupping her cheek. "We're about to head into a battle that will determine the fate of the galaxy. There isn't any 'later'."

"I know. I just..." She took a deep breath. "Everything with the Council, Kaidan, and me stealing the Normandy...Don't get me wrong, I know this is what we have to do, but it feels like everything is going wrong these days. I just want this to go right. I need it to go right."

"Don't worry, it's going to be fine."

"What if it's some horrible awkward interspecies thing and I can't look you in the eye again?"

He laughed, "Just relax Shepard. I guarantee that tonight will be anything but awkward."

They were still ten hours away from the Mu relay, plenty of time to take things slow, and Garrus was more than happy to pace himself. This scenario occupied his thoughts often in their down time between missions. He had wanted this so long that he wasn't going to rush it. Nothing was going to stop him from seeing, touching and tasting every inch of his commander's body. Even if an army of geth invaded the Normandy, they would just have to wait until he was done.

Tonight was about more than Garrus taking his own pleasure, he wanted to give it to Shepard. She had earned it, and more. The Council treated her like shit and the Alliance thought she was their errand girl. Shepard had run herself ragged and no one even gave her a thank you.

Well here it is, Garrus thought as he slowly unbuttoned her shirt, thank you Commander Shepard for being the most amazing person in the galaxy.

She let out a shakey breath as he nibbled on her neck, reminding him of the soft breathless gasps so long ago in the cargo bay. Those were nice, but he was eager to extract every variety of moans, gasps and sighs that she could make.

"You're still too tense," He mumbled into her to neck.

"I don't even know where to start." Garrus pulled back, his fingers undoing the last button. Her underwear was very utilitarian, but he didn't mind. She wasn't going to be wearing it long.

"If I wasn't a turian, what would you do?"

Reaching up Shepard traced his mandible. "Touch you," She whispered, "Kiss you." There was a wistful look in her eyes. "But turians don't really-"

Garrus cut her off, pressing his mouth plates to hers. It was true, Turians couldn't kiss the same way humans could. There were so many things that humans could do with their faces, their lips, that turians couldn't, but there were things they could with their tongues that were just glorious.

Grasping her hair, Garrus wrenched her head back and Shepard gasped, opening her mouth to him. His tongue plunged into her warm depths, running over her teeth, the roof her mouth, along the sides of her tongue. He took all that she would give and returned it two fold. Finally he pulled back, biting her lip on the way and allowing her to breathe.

"You were saying?" His voice barely more than a rumble in his chest. Her hands uncurled from the edge of his breast plate and grabbed the back of his neck pulling him back in for another kiss. She wasn't content to be a spectator this time, returning the embrace with equal passion. Her fingers weren't idle either, probing, massaging and searching for the small bundle of nerves at the base of his finge and when they found it, Shepard attacked the sensitive area with all five of her dexterous digits

The onslaught elicited a possessive growl from Garrus as he hoisted her up, cupping her bottom as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "You have been doing some research," He murmured as she trailed kisses down his neck, her fingers still massaging diligently on his neck and he certainly didn't mind the attention

Shepard smiled against his neck, "Saw some interesting things about turian waists as well," She squeezed her legs tightly around his small waist and Garrus could feel the strength and promise in the motion even through his armor.

He laughed, low and husky as he pressed his forehead against her, enjoying the way her skin and muscle gave slightly over the hard skull, "I'm sure you did."

Tossing Shepard onto the bed, he took a moment to stare at her: lips red and swollen, shirt thrown open, chest heaving with excitement. In the low light of her cabin he could see the confidence shining in her eyes for the first time tonight. This was the Shepard he knew. This was the Shepard he loved.

She would carry this over to tomorrow, carry it into the fight with Saren, carry it to victory and he had done this; he had brought her this peace.

And if they survived tomorrow, hopefully he could bring her more.

And done! Hope everyone enjoyed it and keep a look out for the sequel: How to Steal a Commander