A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, favorites and alerts. I really appreciate the support. :)
Big thanks to KabiViolet for beta reading.
"Forget it," Garrus grunted as he watched one insane human after another leap off an outcropping on the mountainside and soar through the air, leaving a cloud of spraying snow behind. "I'm not going to hurl myself off a cliff because it's 'fun'."
Shepard huffed out an exasperated sigh. "We're not going to do any advanced jumping, Garrus. We're just going to do some... simple stuff."
She waved an arm in the general direction of a group of beginners up a gentle slope, slowly sliding down under the watchful eyes of their instructor. It didn't take more than a few seconds before one of them veered off to the side and crashed into a small pine tree; another one fell soon after, face down and unable to move while he tumbled down the path.
Garrus shot his mate a pointed look. "I think you just want to get me killed so you can marry our landlord."
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Yes. That's exactly what I want. A pudgy eighty year old with no hair and no teeth to speak of."
"I knew it."
She laughed and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "Fine, we don't have to ski. We can just do some sledding."
"Some what?"
"You'll see. It'll be fun."
She headed back to the rental place and he trudged after her, certain that he was going to hate whatever this... sledding was going to be.
"I think my toes are frozen," Garrus groaned several hours later as he stomped his feet on the rubber mat to dislodge the snow from his boots. He peeled off his padded coat, shaking off the sparkling ice crystals still clinging to the fabric, and hung it on the hook together with his gloves and hat.
Shepard had already divested herself of her outer layers and was on her way into the living room of their rented suite to turn on the fireplace. "Well," she chuckled as the flames roared to life, "it was you who didn't want to stop."
It was true. As skeptical as he had been about this whole sledding business, the moment they'd pushed off in their two-person inflatable from the top of the hill and began their exhilarating glide down the winding roller coaster of a course the resort had built for this purpose, he was hooked. Sure, he'd complained about Shepard's driving skills for old times' sake, but as soon as they'd come to a stop at the bottom, he wanted to do it again.
But now, after countless rounds, pleasantly tired and utterly cold, all he really wanted was to sit in front of the fire and huddle under the thick blanket that Shepard was holding up for him. He released the seals on his boots and pulled the heavy footwear off, then he walked up to the fireplace and lowered himself onto the armchair. She tucked in the soft fleece around him and planted a kiss on his forehead before she strolled into the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" he called after her.
She glanced back at him over her shoulder and bit into her lower lip to stifle a laugh. He looked adorable, sitting there with the colorful plaid blanket pulled all the way up to his chin, only his head sticking out from underneath the protective warmth. "I'm getting something hot for you to drink."
"Oh. Thanks."
He watched the dancing flames as he waited, and gave her a grateful smile when she handed him a mug of steaming graffa. He expected her to sit down on the armchair on the opposite side of the fireplace with a drink of her own, but instead, she knelt down on the floor in front of him.
"Give me one of your little footsies," she said.
His brow plates lifted upwards and his blue eyes blinked at her in confusion. "My what?"
"Your foot."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
He poked one of his feet out from under the blanket and she took it gently into her lap. She rubbed and massaged the clawed appendage, so different from a human's but no longer alien to her, and smiled when he let out a happy little purr.
"Better?" she asked. He nodded enthusiastically. "Good. Now give me the other one."
He complied without a word this time and she repeated the motions, kneading his flesh until it no longer felt cold underneath her touch.
"All right," she said as she stood up, careful to cover him back up. "I'll be right back."
She retreated to the bathroom and started the water for the hot tub. She set the temperature and the depth at which it was to shut off automatically, then returned to the living room for a little cuddle with Garrus while she waited for the system's ping to announce that the bath was ready.
She lifted a corner of the blanket and slid under it, curling up on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her temple with a soothing hum as she tucked her head under his chin.
"This is nice," he murmured.
She straightened up a bit to give him a satisfied grin and brush her lips against the sensitive skin on his neck. "I told you."
The thrumming rumble of his purr deepened and he squeezed her tighter against his body. "Hmm... I seem to remember a promise about showing me various ways to keep me warm," he drawled, drawing a chuckle out of her. "While this is certainly enjoyable, I wouldn't mind finding out about the other, ah, methods you had in mind."
"I'm working on it." She winked up at him, but she didn't move.
They sat in silence, Garrus utterly befuddled and Shepard smiling to herself in amusement, until the chime went off and she got off his lap.
"Come on," she said, reaching for his hand.
"Where are we going?"
"To the bathroom."
"That... wasn't exactly what I had in mind," he protested. He sounded positively disappointed.
"We have a hot tub," she pointed out with a wink. "Big enough for two."
"Oh." Memories of their time in Anderson's apartment came flooding back, and he needed no more convincing that this was, indeed, going to be a more than pleasurable way of getting his blood pumping and warming him up from his fringe to his toes.
Shepard awoke to the enticing smell of something delicious wafting into the bedroom. A quick look over her shoulder confirmed her suspicion: Garrus's side of the bed was empty.
She closed her eyes with a groan. It was still fairly early in the morning—certainly much earlier than their usual get-up time had been ever since she'd finished her physical therapy sessions at the hospital, and she wouldn't have minded a little more sleep before she'd crawl out of bed and head to the shower.
Her stomach, however, disagreed; whatever it was that Garrus was preparing, it smelled good enough to raise the dead, so she threw off the covers and sat up. She tucked her feet into her slippers, wrapped her body in her fuzzy robe, and walked out into the living area.
"Ah, you're awake," Garrus said when he saw her shuffling in, her eyes still bleary from sleep and her hair sticking up in all directions in a tousled mess. "I've made you some breakfast."
He turned off the heat under the frying pan and piled a generous amount of incredible-looking omelet onto a plate. "Sit," he motioned at the stool by the peninsula that separated the kitchen from the living room.
She settled down by the fork and knife he'd already set out on the placemat, and he slid the plate in front of her. "Thanks," she murmured as she dug into the soft peaks of eggs, ham and cheese. "This looks delicious."
She took a bite and closed her eyes as she savored the symphony of flavors on her tongue. "Mmm, you've gotten really good at this, Garrus," she said with a grateful smile. He beamed back at her as he deposited a plate of toast and a mug of hot coffee next to the omelet.
Indeed, he'd had a lot of practice preparing levo meals for her during the last few months while she was recuperating from her injuries. He'd never had much interest in cooking for himself when he'd lived alone during his C-Sec days, but once he'd started to learn how to get around the kitchen for her sake, he'd found that he actually enjoyed the satisfaction of creating something that she liked, even if he himself had no idea if his creations tasted even remotely close to what they were supposed to.
"Have you eaten yet?" Shepard asked between two bites and a sip of coffee.
"Yes. I got up early so I could get our gear ready."
She cocked a surprised eyebrow at him, which he answered with a shrug and a sweeping gesture towards the entryway. She turned around to see where he was pointing, and almost fell off her chair when she took in the sight that she had missed when she'd stumbled out of the bedroom. Their boots were cleaned and polished, her snowsuit, gloves, and hat, carelessly discarded somewhere in the room the day before, were hung tidily on the hooks by the door, and a set of underwear, warm sweatpants and shirt were laid out neatly on the couch for her.
Her lips curled into a knowing smirk as she looked back up at him. "Planning to go somewhere?"
"Well, I thought we could, if you want to, you know, try that, uh, sledding thing again."
"Hmm." She loudly slurped her coffee while she pretended to consider his proposal. "Yeah. We could."
He took a deep breath and continued, hoping that he wasn't going to regret this later. "And if you insist, we could also give that crazy skiing a go."
Her eyes opened wide and her mouth hung open for a second. "Really?"
He leaned down, resting his elbows on the counter, and took her free hand in his. His eyes glinted warmly and his mandibles flared open into a wide smile. "Really. Anything for you."
Her face split into a huge grin and she reached out to touch the unscarred side of his face. "Have I told you that I love you?"
He shook his head in mock sadness. "Not since last night. I was starting to get quite worried."
She laughed and stuffed a piece of toast into her mouth. "Well, I do."
"I love you, too." He leaned closer to brush his forehead against hers for a second, then he straightened up and walked over to the sink to rinse off the dishes.
He hoped that she was going to finish her breakfast and get ready soon—he had no intentions of admitting it, at least not for a while, but he was really looking forward to getting back on the slopes. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush of flying down the hill, or maybe it was her sparkling eyes and smiling face as they did it again and again; either way, this trip had turned out to be much more fun than he'd ever anticipated.
Besides, he still intended to collect on her promise and find out about all of her other plans for keeping him warm and cozy after a cold day on the slopes.