A/N: Thank you everybody for the reviews; I loved them all! Also, thank you for the favorites. :)
A big thank you to The Red Celt for beta reading the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The restaurant was on the Presidium, its large windows showcasing a gorgeous view of the lake in the distance and a tidy park with fountains and benches adjoining the terrace that belonged to the establishment. The dining room was small and cozy, as Garrus had indicated, but it had been expanded with a bar and dance area, the two main sections separated by a short corridor and something that looked like a bead curtain. The pulsing beat of music drifted in from the bar, though the curtain did a good job at muffling it enough to make even quiet conversation possible.
Garrus and Shepard were led to a booth by an asari maitre d' with dark blue skin and violet eyes. She must had seen her fair share of curiosities in her life, for she didn't bat an eye and her smile did not fade one bit at the sight of the scarred turian accompanied by the human female.
"Your server will be with you in a moment," she said with a nod as she handed them two menus and adjusted the tablecloth before she returned to her post to assist the next set of customers.
"Wow. This is a really nice place," Shepard noted as she looked around. The lighting was low and soothing, assisted by small candle-like devices in the middle of each table, their soft glow gently illuminating their surroundings.
Garrus leaned back in his seat with a happy grin; it was good to know that he'd made the right decision by bringing her here.
"Yeah, I know the owner from my C-Sec days. Nice guy. I had to do some surveillance here once when I was investigating a volus dealing in Red Sand," he explained, folding his arms across his chest. "I came here a few times after that. The food is excellent. Well, at least it was back then," he added with some hesitation.
He picked up the menu to look through it and was relieved to find that it had not changed much since he'd last been here. Of course, he didn't really have any idea if the human dishes were any good, but he fervently hoped so. It would be more than awkward if their first date ended in disappointment, or worse, in a visit to the hospital. Shepard followed his example and started to examine the list of dishes available for human consumption. When she got to one particular item her eyes opened wide and she let out a little gasp.
"My god, they have lasagna!" she exclaimed, and Garrus's stomach sank. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
"Umm... Is that bad?" he asked, dreading her answer and hoping that whatever that thing was, it wasn't something totally disgusting.
"No, not at all! It's one of my favorites," she enthused, "and I don't even remember when I had it last. Gardner hasn't exactly been spoiling us with his cooking, you know." She winked at him then added, "I don't know how the dextro chow is on the ship, but I can't imagine that it's any better than what he's been feeding us."
"Well, it hasn't killed me yet," he smirked, relieved that his restaurant choice didn't turn out to be a disaster, "but that's about the only good thing I can say about it."
She laughed and was about to say something when the waitress, a turian female, appeared at their side.
"Good evening," she said pleasantly, her eyes appraising the human woman at the table. Though it wasn't unheard of for a turian and a human to socialize, it wasn't exactly an everyday thing either. "Have you made your choi-" She'd turned towards Garrus and froze, staring at him for a moment before a wide grin spread across her face. "Garrus! What are you doing here?!"
"Oh. Hey, Leeta," he said, dropping his arms by his side and tensing up a bit, the unconscious move setting off an alarm in Shepard and snapping her senses to full alert.
"I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been? What happened to your face?" The waitress reached out and tried to touch his scarred cheek, but he pulled away. "I can take care of that for you, you know," she said suggestively, putting her hand on her waist and jutting her hip out.
Shepard narrowed her eyes and glared at her, her stomach tightening into a hard knot. It took all her self-control not to jump up and punch her in the face, knock her down, then straddle her prone body and smash her head into the hard floor. She decided to keep her violent thoughts in check and stay quiet instead, waiting to see where all this was going. She trusted Garrus and believed him when he'd said that he didn't want anybody else, but still, she couldn't help but clench her fists at the thought that maybe a turian female was more in line with what he needed. Not a squishy human like her.
"Ah... That's okay," he said as he reached across the table to grab Shepard's hand. "I've got all the help I need. Right, honey?"
Shepard couldn't contain her grin as she squeezed his hand and answered in the sweetest voice possible, "That's right, sweetie."
Leeta stared at Garrus, then Shepard, then at Garrus again, then finally swallowed hard, withdrew her hip and managed to say in a hoarse voice, "I'm... glad to hear that. So, umm, have you decided yet what you'd like?"
"Who the hell was that?" Shepard demanded after they'd placed their orders and Leeta had scrambled back to the kitchen.
"Sorry. I totally forgot about her." Garrus let go of Shepard's hand and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "She, ah, had a thing for me... back then. But I wasn't interested," he added quickly, hoping that this would be the end of it. Of course, he couldn't be that lucky.
"So..." she raised her eyebrows in mock indignation," Is that why you brought me here? To scare away all those women who have the hots for you?"
"Well, you know..." he chuckled, "Otherwise I'd have to beat them off with a stick."
She laughed, her heart filled with affection and relief. It was nice to spend this time with him; just the two of them, far from the pressures of command, the needs of the crew and the looming danger of their mission. To pretend that there was nothing wrong in the world, and they had all the time they wanted to concentrate on the present and on each other.
When Leeta brought out their food (lasagna for her and some steak-looking big chunk of meat for Garrus) and filled their glasses with wine, she looked so heart-broken that Shepard almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
"You can still change your mind, you know," she teased Garrus, nodding towards Leeta's back after the waitress had quickly retreated from their table.
"No thanks," he grinned. "But I'm not the only one with an admirer here, you know," he added, glancing towards one of the tables in the center of the room.
She followed his gaze and her eyes were met with the drunken leer of a middle-aged, balding man, raising his glass to her.
"No fair." She pretended to pout. "Yours is at least sober."
"He's lucky he's drunk," he grumbled.
"And if he wasn't?" she goaded him, digging into her lasagna.
"I'd be forced to pick him up by his neck and throw him out right on his ass."
"I love it when you talk dirty," she chuckled, noting with a smug feeling that his eyes darkened with jealousy a little bit when he regarded the hapless drunk, who was totally oblivious to the threat of bodily harm that could come to him should he become brazen and foolish enough to approach her.
Garrus snapped his head back to look at her, his eyes boring into hers, his intense gaze setting butterflies afloat in her belly.
"I'll have to remember that," he finally said with a grin.
"Umm... How's your food?" she asked, blushing, trying to pretend that she didn't notice the undertones in his voice.
He sliced off a chunk of his meat, stuffed it in his mouth, and closed his eyes as he chewed and savored the flavor. "Excellent."
The evening was going great so far. He was a little worried when Leeta showed up, and berated himself for having forgotten all about her and her unwanted advances, but he was relieved that she didn't ruin their date. They ate, drank a few glasses of wine and talked about everyday stuff, trying to avoid any topic that would remind them that this was just a short reprieve from the constant problems and battles their lives seemed to be revolving around. After they'd finished their meal and paid the bill, there was only one thing left he still wanted to do.
"Shepard," he looked into her eyes and nodded towards the bar as they stood up from the table, "do you want to dance?"
"Garrus," she looked up at him with a self-deprecating grin, "have you seen me dance?"
"Yeah," he chuckled, "but I'm willing to take the risk."
"Ass," she laughed and punched him in the arm.
He took her hand and led her through the corridor and the bead curtain into the adjoining room. There were a number of people standing around the bar or sitting at small tables along the walls, and a few couples were dancing in a corner that was illuminated by glowing floor tiles that flashed to the beat in different colors.
"Wait a second," he said and walked up to the bartender, greeting him like they were old friends. He leaned closer and said something to him. The turian flashed a curious glance at Shepard, nodded, then went to the end of the bar and fiddled with some buttons. The music changed from an upbeat tempo to a slow song that she instantly recognized. It was "Hold Me Tonight" by The Sialla Sisters, an asari band that was universally popular for their romantic tunes.
Garrus came back and they walked to the dance floor hand in hand, and once there, he turned around to face her and pulled her close. Her cheeks were burning and her heart was racing as she put her arms around his neck and he settled his hands on her lower back. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his chest. She felt safe and content in his arms as they swayed slowly to the soothing rhythm, the room and everybody else retreating into a hazy blur around them. Their senses focused on each other: their touch, their breathing, the beat of their hearts. He inhaled the sweet scent of her hair, then bent down and nuzzled the crook of her neck. When he dragged his tongue over her skin, her knees almost buckled and her blood rushed to her lower belly.
"Garrus," she whispered, barely able to get the words out, "let's get back to the ship. I need that stress release. Right now."