Author's Note: Enjoy the earlier posting. Alright, I'm going to move things along quickly. Hopefully I remember to put the reasoning down in the chapter. This one or the next.

EVEN LONGER CHAPTER! :D I'm so proud of myself. Is that weird?

...

I waved my omni-tool, unlocking the door with my access codes. Garrus, Frenze and I stepped inside. I gave Frenze a weird look but ignored it. Frenze always stayed on perimeter, although this was the first time I had anyone over so I guess this was a special occasion. Garrus froze as he looked around.

"Spirits, how did you-?" he asked. Frenze stayed by the door still on his omni-tool, waiting.

"Payment from the company. Working for a place for almost 200 years does wonders to the bank account."

The layout of the apartment was very big: 2 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, full kitchen with an island, a large living room with a small built in bar, a loft type area, and an extra room which I had yet to decide what to be. I guess it was actually considered a condo since I owned it. Garrus set down his shore bag to the side of the door and continued to look around as he walked further into the condo.

"General Vakarian" Frenze called, "The Turian Councilor has granted to temporary access to stay with Ms. O'Reilly if you wish. Have a good day." Frenze walked out the door and locked it behind him.

"General?" I asked.

"A formality really, 'Reaper Specialist'."

"Uh huh…" I stared at him for a second before shaking my head a bit. "Whatever. Is there anything you wanted to do first?" Garrus was still in his armor, which I found a bit weird but to each their own. From what I had seen on the Normandy everyone was ready to go at a moment's notice; prepared not paranoid, actually it could have been the other way around for all I knew.

Garrus smiled and went back to his bag, picking it up off the floor. "So, where is this room of mine you promised?"

"I promised nothing." I walked upstairs hearing Garrus follow after me. I passed the loft area and walked to the right, opening a door and letting him in. Inside it was simple. Large bed, with 2 nightstands, standard lighting, a table with a chair and 2 doors: One a closet, the other a personal bathroom. It was clean and inviting.

"Sorry it's not much but make yourself at home."

"It's perfect Aurora."

…

Aurora left me in the room mentioning something about 'food'. The room was simple but much better than any of the places I would have stayed in. Aurora wanted my personal take on what to decorate the room with, but that would come later when I took her out again. The food would take a while to get here if she was ordering, which I hoped she was. I removed my gloves first and continued on with the process of removing my armor; gauntlets, shoulder pieces, chest, stomach, boots, legs… I placed my armor in a semi neat pile on the edge of the bed. Walking into the bathroom, I turned on the water to as hot as it could go before I stripped out of my under suit, removing my visor and placing it on the counter space after some debate, and stepped under the shower head. I had been here a week so far, Shepard had requested a large amount of shore leave saying that the crew had been through hell. Which we had been. Plus it gave Mordin more time to work on the cure with Eve. Earlier in the week, I'd taken Aurora on part of my tour of the Citadel. We'd been down to the Wards to go to the Markets, the Presidium to see the parks, Silversun Strip and to Purgatory once. Aurora was very pushy when it came to letting me go off on my own though, saying that this place was like a hotel where I could come and go as I pleased. She wanted me to have time to myself. Truth is I very much enjoyed her company rather than spending my time alone. Talking to her over messages was great and I never thought that spending actual time with her would be this nice. Or that I would enjoy it this much.

I woke up in the middle of the night needing some water. Why I didn't think to keep a glass in my bathroom or something was beyond me. I groaned quietly, getting out of bed. Staring at my closet, I flipped it off before walking out of my room. Too lazy to go and grab a jacket from all the way over there and luckily it wasn't that cold. I quietly made my way downstairs and snuck into the kitchen; I didn't know how lite of a sleep my Turian friend was and waking him on his 2nd night here really didn't seem appealing. Garrus had taken me to the Wards today, specifically to the Markets. There were a lot of type of items being sold down there and according to him not all of it was legal. Of course there wasn't a lot to be done about it. He had purchased a new scope for his sniper rifle while I admired some of the more tourist items.

I didn't want to turn on the light, the faded light that stayed illuminated at night was just what I was willing to handle. I reached up to grab a glass of water and turned hearing something move.

"What're you doing up?" Garrus asked. I relaxed and went to fill my glass with some ice. I opened the freezer just a bit, squinting as the bright light hit my eyes.

"Scratch that, what are you wearing?" I blinked a few times, and then looked down. I was wearing a small tank top and pajama bottoms- blue with purple varren all over them.

"My pajamas?" I answered closing the freezer door. I then filled my glass with water before taking a sip. "What're you doing up?" Garrus crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, his arms flexing. Who knew Turians had muscle like that?

…

142… 143… 144… 145…

"Aurora?"

"Here!" 146… 147…

"Wanted to know if- uh I'll come back." 148…

"2 more." 149… 150. I lay back for a second before rolling up to stand. I grabbed my water bottle and towel, taking a few swigs of the beautiful liquid while a rested the towel over my shoulder.

Sprirts the Turian thought. She- LOOK AWAY. Stop staring at her hips and- Spirits again, her waist is...

"Uh, I can come back when you're dressed." Garrus had raised his head up to not look at my- well partially covered body. Sports bra, shorts and shoes.

"Workout clothes Garrus, so you're fine. Plus, sit ups are my last workout, I'm done." Garrus lowered his head to meet my eyes, very polite, and kept his gaze there.

…

We walked side by side through the Presidium in one of the larger parks. Many people were here as well; taking walks, talking to others or threw their earpieces, working, relaxing, picnics and a few that brought their kids to enjoy time together. We stepped aside as a group of Turians jogged past us in running gear then continued on.

"Is the weather always this perfect?" Aurora asked, looking around. The sky was blue with a few clouds floating around, the artificial light felt warm through the material of my clothes (used to wearing armor all the time) and a gentle breeze blew around us.

I thought for a second before I nodded my head once in response, "Yes."

"Shame," she said before smiling, "A thunderstorm once in a while would be nice, but I see the appeal of having it be like this. It's peaceful."

"What's so wonderful about being caught in the rain?" Cold, wet, and clothes sticking uncomfortably against skin; that did not sound appealing at all. We stopped walking and sat down on a bench that was unoccupied.

"Clearly you've never been caught in the rain with a girl." She, what did the humans sat it was? Human females and Asari did it, they were the only females to do so openly really. It was gurgling? No that's not right. Giggling? That sounded right. She giggled. That was cute…

"Close your eyes and imagine it Garrus," she started moving her arm in front of her in an arc, like she was moving aside the world we were in to paint the world she described. "You and a female of your choice have just finished a public activity, like a date." I rolled my eyes but humored Aurora all the same, imagining that there wasn't a war going on was sometimes a good thing. "You happen to have an umbrella and she doesn't. Being the gentleman you are Mr. Vakarian, you offer to share your umbrella to get her to a skycar, which is 2 blocks away." Why would I have an umbrella..? "You move closer to each other so both of you are sheltered under the safety of the umbrella; the rain has made it a tad chillier and as you walk she moves closer to you for warmth. Pressing her body against yours." I thought of myself and one of the Turian girls I'd taken to dinner, imagining the situation. The idea did have perks. "Or you could just blow the idea of an umbrella to hell and run through the rain together. Either way, she'll want you to keep her warm." Now that sounded better. Running through the rain sounded like a stupid idea, but once they were safe under an awning he would pull her close. My talons on her waist, guiding her against my body as her hands made her way to the back of my neck. I can definitely see the perks of getting caught in the rain… Talons- my vision switched to the imagination of blunted nails from a humans hand digging into my neck instead of the talons I was used to. I looked down and instead of the female Turian I imaginged I had a human female that I'd come to know well, her clothes sticking to her body showing off those delicious curves that Humans and Asari had. Those hands that were at the back of my neck moved up to just below my fringe and dug in-

I snapped my eyes open. My plates had shifted a bit.

"Now how you keep each other warm is up to you." Aurora chuckled and nudged me with her shoulder. "See why it has benefits?"

I cleared my throat before briefly looking at her, "Yes."

I groaned in relief at the feeling of the hot water. I went to the Armax Arsenal Arena with Shepard earlier and this felt like heaven. I stayed like that for as long as I dared. Taking the bottles I brought in earlier I stepped out from under the spray water and poured the liquid into my palms before I rubbed it over my body. Fringe to talons. It was similar to the oils that were in the Palaven Bathing Houses, only this was meant to rinse off under water not to be scraped off like usual. I let the oils sit for a while before going back to stand under the hot water once again. Spirits, this is nice.

The Normandy had hot water of course but it could never get to the temperature I preferred. This was hot to me; I could only imagine it would be scalding to another species. Aurora told me not to worry about hot water consumption and at this moment I was glad that I finally listened to her.

After the excess oil was rinsed off I stepped out and grabbed one of the fluffy towels that hung on the wall. Even the towels feel nice. After patting myself dry I placed the towel back to hang dry, placed my visor back on and walked to get my clothes. I glanced at the pistol that was next to my armor, wondering if I should just strap it to my leg. After putting my pants on I slipped on my shirt and the holster for the pistol before strapping the pistol in. Hot shower, some hot food in a bit and a hot gi- Wait, I shook my head, Stop I told myself.

I opened the door and sniffed the air. Something smelt good. Is that Turian? I followed my nose down the stairs and to the kitchen. A light brown Turian wearing a delivery uniform was walking out the door; he kept looking back at the kitchen in confusion. I rounded one of the few corners and stepped into the kitchen. That amazing smell was coming from those take out bags. Aurora was then opening a few of the boxes, staring at the contents inside before moving on. Turian food ! There was Kheelie, fresh Charra, Sradis root and Xenna… and a Turian desert covered in Dulglyci.

I rushed over smelling taking a deep breath of the feast that lay before me. My mouth watered. Rations aboard the Normady were much better than Turian Nutrient Paste, but this was actual food; Turian dishes. And good ones at that. We had ordered in food before but this was from the restaurant Palaven- prepared with the freshest ingredients, very expensive. I widened my eyes as I realized what I was doing- I took a step back and straightened up, stiff as a board. I looked over to Aurora who was covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes twinkling and her shoulders shaking a bit. I felt a small amount of heat in my neck- I knew that my neck had a nice tinge of blue to it at the moment.

Aurora removed her hand and smiled, still biting back her laughter.

"Help me take these to the living room. We can watch that new Blasto movie that's been on the Extranet." She closed a few of the takeout boxes and started walking towards the living room.

"You like Blasto?"

"I'm trying to get with the times Vakarian." She replied, bumping her hip into mine. I've seen humans do something like that before, on the rare occasion with the hip, mainly I've seen them bump shoulders with friends, or punch each other in the arm. Shepard punched me all the time like that… I looked after her, watching the sway of her hips. She bent down, placing the boxes on the table and I turned to grab the food, quickly I might add. Right.

I walked over to the table with her. She already had eating utensils out; permanent human ones and disposable Turian ones.

"Oh! What do you want to drink? I snuck in some dextro-stuff since you're here" she asked turning to me. I set the food down thinking. "I've got-" She rushed into the kitchen quickly. My eyes immediately moved to her waist and hips. She opened a cabinet first and then the fridge. "Tisane" Tea. "Canna" Turian rum. "Uklatia" Wine. "Dextro-beer" Nice. "Crumberry juice" Sweet. "And water."

"Uh, any of it sounds good." Please choose something to take my mind off the way you sway… I dragged my eyes away and looked down at the food. I don't like humans, they aren't that attractive. Turian women. Small waist. Short, smooth fringe. Shallow cowl. Aurora made her way back. Curvy hips with long legs… Smooth skin. Long hair. Flat stomach and a chest-

She set down 2 glasses filled with clear liquid and 2 bottles; the Canna and Crumberry.

"Well you're leave is almost over... So a little as a celebration of the fun week we've had." She handed me one of the glasses and took one for herself. She raised it a bit before taking a sip and I did in return, before taking a big gulp of the Turian rum. It burned the back of my throat and tingled my nose. If Aurora noticed anything she didn't say, so I poured myself some more. Aurora turned on the television and started the movie.

…

"So what exactly is this?" I asked looking at the red piece of meat Garrus was about to eat. It almost looked raw.

"Kheelie. It's game animal." Garrus shoved the food into his mouth before chewing. Watching a Turian chew was different, their mandibles moved to stay by the side of their face, like how a human's cheek worked in the sense. I looked over the array of food. "Animal that Turians hunt." He continued. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"And that?" I asked, pointing to some sliced looking object. It was a beautiful blue color with some light purple on the outside and a peach color on the inside, the very center revealing that it once had a seed type object in it, the edges where the peach touched seed a blood red. It looked like a fruit.

"Charra. It's a fruit. Very refreshing and sweet if picked at the right time. You would eat the skin and all." Garrus took another bite of Kheelie. Garrus had already consumed a large amount of the Kheelie and some of the other meat-food-thing on the table.

I grabbed one of the slices and stared at it before taking a small bite.

It was like an explosion of flavor in my mouth, very different, alien if I were say it but delicious all the same. My mouth felt cool, like it had some type of mint in it. I popped the rest of the slice in my mouth, the cooling feeling moving from my mouth to my chest when I swallowed. Like the sensation of swallowing an ice cube or ice cream and feeling the coolness in your chest, but when I breathed it didn't get colder like I thought; not like when you were chewing mint gum and sucking in air made your mouth colder. The feeling was there, but no taste to describe it. Now I knew what it was like: water, cold water on a super-hot day. Garrus said refreshing and boy he was right. The credits were definitely worth it. I licked my lips.

The movie hadn't officially started. The previews were still rolling, but I wasn't in any hurry.

"I take it you like it?" he asked. Garrus grabbed a slice of the Charra, biting it in half. He closed his eyes in appreciation before finishing the rest of his piece.

I nodded my head "Mm-hmm."

"Try some of the Xenna" he said, pointing to the other meat. I grabbed my fork, took a piece of the charred food and ate it.

After a second I nodded my head, "Tastes like…"

"If you say chicken, I swear to the Spirits."

"Beef Garrus. It tastes like beef."

"What is beef?"

"Cow. Now shush and pass me some more of the Xenna. The movie's starting!"

…

Garrus had consumed most of the food, although I had gotten enough to eat so that was fine. I poured myself another glass of the rum, mixing it with the fruit juice. It went together nicely. I was more of a fan of sweet things when it came to drinks. Garrus and I had been drinking quite a bit; the newly opened bottle #3 was almost empty. I was pretty good right now- the right kind of drunk. Garrus and I had moved to sitting next to each other, him on the left; me on the right. Garrus shifted, leaning back more and closer to me, raising his arm to rest on the back of the couch right behind me.

This movie was filled with tons of explosions and action. At first I worried that Garrus wouldn't like it after the first action scene, since this was pretty much what he did on a regular basis. But my worries washed away, especially when he made another comment on a hacking scene:

"Hacking isn't a few clicks of, of the, the omni-tool. That actor doesn't even under-understand the technical talk. It's all wrong. Wrong!"

I laughed.

He turned to look at me, his eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. "You've got a nice laugh" he commented, slightly leaning his head forward.

I smiled at this, who knew Garrus was so smooth. "Well thank you Garrus."

"I. Am pretty drunk." His voice dropped a bit to this deep resounding bass that triggered something. Holy crap I thought that was hot.