Rubbing her eyes, Tani considered Lorik's words as she left the vid-com room. The whole concept of multiple partners with an emotional connection just... wasn't something she'd ever considered. She wasn't joking when she'd told him that it felt like he was pushing her into the arms of another lover, but knowing Lorik... for some reason, it was easier to understand when she stopped trying to stuff this whole scenario in the 'casual sex' catagory. Him pointing it out made her aware that he was right; this wasn't just about a fling or blowing off steam. She cared for Garrus, and now she really understood how much he cared about her.

I mean, come on. He contacted my boyfriend knowing full well that Lorik knew he was courting me, because he was worried about me.

And there were the other little things. How he always grinned at her before he boarded the shuttle on the way to a mission, how he sought her out if she wasn't in the shuttle bay when he came back. Since he figured out her unfortunate sleep pattern, he was almost always in the mess hall before she was, and on more mornings than once, she often found a cup of hot coffee at her elbow right after she realized she'd forgotten to get herself one.

He never brought up how stressed and tired she looked. He never questioned her or offered advice she didn't ask for. He never hid how attractive he thought she was.

He also had no problem communicating with Lorik, and for some reason, this was one of the sexiest things about Garrus Vakarian. The man was fearless and unashamed. But then, he'd also met Lorik before, having lined things up for his coup of the Port Hanshan laboratories, so there was at least a foundation for friendship there.

Lost in thought, her feet found their way to her work station automatically, fingers queuing up her inventory lists and setting up her manifests for the day. It was the beginning of her shift; Garrus had a mission he was heading out on today so he wasn't around to spar with her in the wee hours. It was just as well; her talk with Lorik had helped untangle her brain.

Exhausted though she was, she drowned herself in her work and lost track of time. Before she knew it, there was a flurry of activity as Commander Shepard came down to select her gear and brief her team. Tani had barely registered all this when a familiar voice cleared his throat behind her.

"Ahem."

She smiled, truly smiled, and turned around.

"Good morning, Vakarian."

He seemed surprised, mandibles flaring wide in a deep smile. "Specialist Delano." He was already geared up and ready to go while Shepard and Vega finished with their preparations. "Have a good night?"

She shrugged, her smile fading a little. "Eh. I got my usual three hours, and then gave Lorik a call." She furrowed her brow but couldn't make her grin completely go away. "Turns out someone's been ratting me out to him. Any ideas as to who?"

His eyes went comically wide, pressing a hand to his chest. "Whaaat? Why would I know anything about that?" he crooned, mandibles flaring wide again. "That's a level of betrayal I am-"

"-completely capable of, as you are concerned for me and care about my well-being." Tani blamed her exhaustion for her lack of inhibitions. She took a step towards him, well into his personal space. His playful expression disappeared, surprised.

She put her hands on his waist. He visibly swallowed. She stood on her toes so that only he would hear her.

"Because you like me," she murmured, and squeezed.

That delicious shade of blue radiated up his neck and into his cheeks, mandibles slack, eyes dark with emotion. His own hands settled on her waist, pulling her closer tentatively. "Tani..." he breathed, uncertainty, desire, affection, and fear making his subvocals resonant and reverberate to her toes.

She let her smile fade away, letting him see her own vulnerability. It hardened something in his eyes, making him grip her a little harder and pull her into him. "That's the first time you've said my name," she commented.

"Heh."

She let him go to grip his armored cowl, pulling him down and planting a soft kiss to his mouth, tasting his gasp, tracing the underside of his upper lip-plate with the curve of her bottom lip when he opened his mouth. His eyes watched her, going wide at the affection.

"Come back in one piece, Garrus Vakarian," she whispered. "Find me, and we'll talk. Copy?"

He nodded, still without words. Both of them jumped, however, when Urdnot Wrex strode past them, laughing loudly.

"Seems humans have a thing for scars too, eh Shepard?" he cackled, grinning lewdly at the embracing pair.

Tanith felt her face burn as she dropped back to her heels, Garrus chuckling softly, both of them embarassed but far from regretful. He gave her one more squeeze before making his way to the shuttle, where the Commander, Steve, and Vega stood gaping at the both of them.

The Krogan was already inside, seated, impatient, and ready to go. "Come on, Shepard, we have a genophage to cure. You can watch your crew hump like varren later."

0o0o0o0o00oo0oo0oo0o0oo0o0o

Tanith turned off the update feature on her omni-tool. She'd been just fine until she watched the team dodge Reaper appendages intent on grinding them into the ground, not to mention the half dozen Brutes that showed up out of no-where. But then there was the mother of all thresher maws, and at that point, she'd decided she'd had enough heart attacks for one day.

She couldn't sleep. Sitting in the observation lounge, staring out into the stars beyond the Krogan homeworld, she couldn't stop thinking about her timing, and her desires, or Garrus's beautiful voice, his blue eyes, the way his hands had felt around her waist...

Thinking about such things kept all the other crap at bay, the images and dreams and thoughts that were coming much too easily now, her defenses worn through and worn out. It was silly, fantasizing, but it worked for now.

It actually worked a little too well. Her head lolled back and she figured hey, she could close her eyes for a minute, couldn't she? It's not like she could actually fall... asleep...

She was huddled behind the crates, shaking, like she always seemed to be. It was hard to remember to breathe, she was terrified they'd hear her, find her, even amidst the panic and the shouting and the screaming.

She told herself to get a grip, to do what Kelly told her to and run, but she couldn't. She was immobilized by fear, helpless, needing to help but completely unable to.

And then she heard something that made her blood run cold.

"I know you," came the filtered voice of a Cerberus soldier. "On your feet."

Tani peeked over the edge of her hiding place, shaking. Oh no.

"Are you willing to die for these people, Archangel?"

Garrus Vakarian glared down at the man holding the weapon. He lifted his chin, mandibles pulled in tight, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back, defiant.

"Yes, I am," he grit out.

The human pulled the trigger.

Blue blood and shattered Turian skin and bone exploded-