iDisconnect

Six

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As the reapers lay waste to the galaxy, Commander Shepard rushes to rescue his sister from war-torn Earth. But is there a place on the Normandy for a civilian, and does she even want one at all? AU Shepard/Garrus.

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Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to Bioware.

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Being around Garrus had become… distracting.

Jane's new awareness had made every interaction feel sexually charged. Sparring felt like foreplay. His arms around her as he adjusted her aim was almost a lover's embrace. Things that had seemed innocent weren't innocent anymore. She wasn't sure they ever really had been, even if it had taken her so long to realize it.

Well, he is turian, she thought—which was probably the reason she hadn't realized what she'd been feeling. She had never really imagined herself falling for an alien, especially not the race they had fought a war with thirty years ago. Yet, here she was. And there was nothing wrong with that.

What was wrong was that she couldn't imagine him ever feeling the same way about her. She'd begun reading about turians in her spare time. They prized strength and valor above nearly everything. Garrus had seen her at some of her lowest moments in recent memory. There was no way he could want her after showing so much weakness. Besides… how likely was it that he would be into humans, anyway?

…

"Are you okay?" Garrus asked, eyeing Jane carefully.

"Fine, why?" she asked, trying to hide how flustered she felt as they climbed up from the sparring mat.

"Your face is, um… heating up. I heard that a high temperature was a sign of illness in humans. And your heart rate seems fast, too. That's been happening a lot lately. I think you might be getting sick."

She stared at him in shock. "How do you know all that?"

He tapped his visor sheepishly. "It keeps track of vitals around me. Maybe you should get some rest?" he suggested, the perfect picture of concern.

"Um, yeah," Jane said faintly. "Maybe I should. We'll pick this up again later?" She backed into the elevator quickly. She could hardly get out of there fast enough! How on Earth was she supposed to manage with Garrus getting a technical readout of every blush?

Once she reached her quarters, she let out a breath of relief, sagging back against the door. In a split second decision, she typed off a quick message to Tali. There was only one person on the ship she felt comfortable discussing this with.

"You were right," she told the quarian once Tali had joined her in her quarters. "I'm completely in love with him."

Tali squealed. "This is so great! You'll make such a sweet couple!"

Jane shook her head. "This is not great. In fact, this is all your fault!" she accused. "You are the one who put these ideas in my head! He hasn't shown any interest in me. And why would he?"

Tali tilted her head to the side. "Why wouldn't he? You're a beautiful, intelligent woman. What could he possibly object to?"

Jane slammed her hands down on her desk in frustration. "Oh, come off it! Garrus wants an equal partner, not some damsel in distress that can barely hold a gun."

The two stared at each other for a long moment before Tali spoke again. "I don't know," she said slowly. "I've known Garrus for a few years now, and I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you."

…

It was only two days later when her brother brought it up as well.

They were eating a private dinner in his quarters, when John spoke up. "Janie… if you want to be with Garrus, that's alright with me."

Jane's eyes shot up, staring at her brother in disbelief. She threw her fork down. "Why does everyone think we're going to be a couple? I wish people would stop bringing it up!"

Her brother's eyes widened at her violent reaction. He blinked. "I'm sorry, Jane. I guess I read you wrong."

She looked down, taking a few more bites before she spoke up again. "You didn't read me wrong," she admitted, a defeated tone in her voice. "But it isn't going to happen. He would never be with someone like me."

John frowned, attention drawn away from his own meal. "If you mean human, I don't think he has anything against it…"

"I mean, not a soldier," she clarified. "He's a fighter, like you. And I'm just a teacher."

He stared at her, a pained but familiar look in his eyes. "You're not just anything, Jane. And I know he sees that as well as I do."

She looked back at her plate. "Please don't bring it up again, John."

He leaned back, unwilling to disturb her further. "If you don't want me to, I won't. But I'm here for you if you want to talk."

She gave him a small half-smile. "I know."

…

Jane was shooting at Cerberus troops through the snow when she heard a reverberating slam behind her. She glanced back only to see an atlas mech had dropped in. She swore inside her helmet before tapping her comm. "I'm pinned between an atlas mech and a squad of troops!" she called out, hoping her brother would hear her.

She swore again as all she got in return was static. The storm had been screwing with their comms the entire mission. Glancing around, she slipped between a crate and a metal wall, praying that the crate would hold up under fire. She popped her head out around the wall, aiming her rifle at the troops, which she figured for the softer target. As she did so, her shields underwent a barrage of heavy machine gun fire from the mech. She hurriedly slipped back down behind the crate, but heard it creaking ominously.

She commed again for assistance, praying that someone would hear her, yet hating herself for needing the help. She managed a few shots at the soldiers, but every time she leaned out of cover, her kinetic shield took a beating.

She flinched as a hole appeared in the crate she hid behind, and another hole, and another. Fear began to set in.

Then the crate exploded. Her ears were ringing and her shield was shorted out, thanks to the mech's rocket. She turned, shakily aiming her rifle at the mech's glass dome.

Suddenly, crackling electricity seemed to overtake the mech, stopping it in its tracks. She watched it for a moment, open-mouthed, before a shot rang out, shattering the dome she had been aiming at a moment before.

She blinked as Garrus leaped over the wall to slide into cover next to her. "You okay?" he asked, looking her up and down before peeping over the wall.

"Yeah," she said, even though it didn't entirely ring true.

He nodded at her before taking aim at the troops over the wall. She joined him, but hadn't quite stopped trembling. He made two shots to each of hers, but before long, the soldiers were down and John had come running from a far end of the complex.

"What the hell happened here?" her brother asked, looking at the carnage and the destroyed mech.

"What does it look like?" Jane snapped, storming off towards the shuttle. The two men glanced at each other behind her back, but Garrus only shrugged. He didn't know what had set her off.

The atmosphere in the shuttle was thick and silent, and Jane wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

When they reached the Normandy cargo bay, Jane began to put her weapons away with surprising violence. Cortez and Vega stared at her with wide eyes as John and Garrus tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, stowing their own gear. As she finished up, slamming her locker closed, Garrus finally spoke.

"Jane…? Are you okay?"

John looked up in alarm. With one glance at Jane's face, he ushered James and Cortez into the elevator. In a moment, Jane and Garrus were alone.

"No, I'm not okay," Jane spat out. She paced around the room, but Garrus said nothing, watching and waiting for her to continue.

"I'm so sick of needing to be saved," she said angrily, swiping at her eyes. "Why did you waste your time training me?"

Garrus stared at her, uncomprehending. "It wasn't a waste, Jane. I—"

Jane slashed her hand in front of her, cutting him off. "I'm dead weight. You should be sick at the sight of me, I'm so far below you. I must seem pathetic to you!"

"Spirits, you really think that?" he asked, distressed. "Jane, you're more than my equal in so many ways. Not everything is about the battlefield. You've taught me so much!"

"You're a turian! I know how weak I must seem in your eyes. The only people in your society that don't know how to fight are children."

"Yes, every one of my people is trained for war. But Jane… you weren't, and you went out there anyway when you didn't have to. Do you have any idea how strong that makes you seem in my eyes?"

She stopped in her tracks, meeting his eyes with her watery ones. She looked utterly bewildered. "I… never thought of it that way."

Garrus reached out to take her hand. "It always takes courage to go out there and face death, but I can take comfort in the fact that I have trained my entire life for this. I always have that to fall back on. When I see you, I see someone that's brave enough to go out there without that experience. It's why I wanted to help teach you. It's why I wanted to learn from you. And it's why I…" He paused, swallowing.

She stared at him, eyes wide. "Why you… what?"

He pulled her in gently, pressing her forehead against his own.

She gazed up into his blue eyes, eyes that stared into her soul. "You love me?" she whispered, wondering.

"Yes," he said.

Her lips crashed upon his mouth, bruisingly hard.

"I—" he gasped out. "I don't know how to kiss."

"Don't worry," she said, barely pulling her lips away. "I'll teach you everything you need to know." And she dove upon him again, with no intention of releasing him.

…