Here you go my darlings. A wonderful little Valintines gift for you. The last chapter was the idea that created the story and this is the chapter that you are all waiting for I'm sure. So enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the love from all my lovely readers.
Something was very very wrong on the Normandy, Garrus could feel it in his core. All over the ship the crew was branching off into couples, mostly a man and woman, and would giggle about something or seem to be in a romantic haze. That combined with the fact that the Normandy had been docked at the Citadel for over a week. It was very unlike John to stay in port for so long.
At first Garrus assumed that he had business here. Sure they had had their ordeal with Sidonis. Then after that John had run off to help Thane with a problem that had to do with his son. But after that it seemed all John was doing was going shopping and granting shore leave. People seemed to almost be on a vacation as they came and went off the ship. Some were even putting up ribbons and odd decorations, mostly in deep red color. It was getting to a point where Garrus felt very much out of the loop. In want for answers he went on a search for Jane.
As he moved towards her door, he passed the crew quarters where two Cerberus crewmembers were whispering to each other lost in their own little world. He fought the urge to roll his eyes at the overly romantic pair. Reaching Jane's door he took note that it was unlocked. Stepping up as it whooshed open, Garrus moved in to scan the empty room. Stepping back out he looked over to the pair that was now giggling.
"Have either of you seen Jane?" The woman looked up and shook her head as the male spoke, trying not to shift his attention from the girl to Garrus. "I saw her take the elevator about half an hour ago." And with that it was as if he was shut out of their love filled world. Realising he wasn't going to get much else from them, Garrus moved towards the elevator. If there was one person on this ship that knew where Jane was, as well as what was going on, it would be John.
As he neared the captain's door Garrus paused before he buzzed to ask for entry. When the door opened it was not quite what he was expecting. John stood there dressed in a fancy manner. He even seemed to have tamed his hair down. An assault of different scents hit Garrus, the smell of cologne coming from John, food from the table in the middle of the room, and even a sweet smell of wine that was dextro and levo friendly. The lighting in the room was definitely termed as mood lighting. Garrus could not help the trill of amusement as he watched a startled John recover.
"I mean I knew we are close man, but I don't quite think you are my type." Garrus chuckled and was soon joined by John who was slowly shaking his head. After their chuckles died, John tilted his head towards Garrus signalling him to follow as he moved back into the room. When Garrus moved down the short stairs he took note of the lovely dinner set up on the table. It was clear that John was waiting on someone, someone he had plans for wining and dining. Looking back to his friend, he watched as John seemed to fidget under his friends gaze.
"You were not who I was expecting, clearly... I asked Tali to join me..." Garrus's mandibles spread wide in a grin as he moved over to clap his friends on his back. John let out a small laugh as he looked up to Garrus. It had been apparent that the little quarian had been falling for their commander and friend but it was good to see first hand that John was taking the next step. Garrus gave a small sigh as he look over the layout once more.
"I'm glad that you two are moving along. Even if it's with the help of whatever has taken over the ship." He chanced a glance to John who was giving him a puzzled look. Garrus raised a hand to indicate everything. "You know all the giggles and loving that seems to be going on. It's like every human on this ship has been overtaken with some weird love disease."
John began to laugh as he shook his head. "You mean Valentines. I must say it could very well seem like that. But believe me, back on Earth this would be completely normal." Garrus must have looked confused because John continued explaining. "It's a holiday on Earth called Valentine's Day. Like most holidays the true meaning has been lost. Nowadays it is a day to confess love, go on dates, have crazy one night stands. Its a day completely dedicated to love and romance."
Now, finally, everything made complete sense. This was the reason for everyone's strange behavior and the odd atmosphere around the ship. Looking to John he gave a small tilt of his head. "Is this why we have been docked at the Citadel for so long? To let everyone have their little dates?" On one hand Garrus could understand giving the crew a small break but at the same time it felt very foolish to put their dire mission on hold for something so silly. John gave a small roll of his shoulders.
"Well, that was just one of the reasons. We did have a few missions. Plus I had to pick up a few things for the ship." John paused as he seemed to think about what he was going to say next. After a minute he looked up to Garrus for a second before looking away. "And I wanted to stay a little while for Jane."
That sparked Garrus's attention. After the incident with Sidonis, Garrus would be lying if he said she seemed fine. Over the past few days he had seen less and less of her. It wasn't as if she was avoiding him. Just that she was avoiding interaction with everyone all together. He had thought that it was just her coming to grips with what she had learned. Had John seen it too and given her some extra time? His head hung as he raised a hand to rub the side of his neck in a motion that showed his uncertainty.
"Yeah, I guess she does need some time... But I'm sure she should be fine in a few days..." His gaze moved to his friend who seemed to be lost for words. John looked at him as if he had said something very odd. After a few seconds John gave a tilt of his head.
"She told you about it?" Now it was Garrus's turn to give John an odd look. What was he talking about? He had been there. He had seen the whole event. If anything John would be the one to have heard from her about the events with Sidonis. Moving forward he raised a hand as if to stop the conversation. "What are you talking about?"
John raised a shoulder before turning to look at his fish tank, as if he didn't want to look at his friend when he spoke. "Today is the anniversary of Trydonis's death. They were planning on meeting on Valentine's Day to celebrate their relationship by bonding together." He paused to look back to Garrus. Realizing that the turrian was in a slight shock, he shrunk back. "That's not what you were talking about, was it?"
Garrus shook his head as he turned to sit on the couch. That made more sense than what he had been thinking. Why she seemed to be withdrawing from everyone. Why, when he did see her, she seemed sad and contemplative. His hands rose to clasp in front of his face. Slowly his icy blue orbs turned to his friend. "Where is she now?"
John gave a small wave of his hand towards the door. "No idea really. They had a few places on the Citadel that she likes to visit in memory. She could be at any of them." Garrus gave a small nod as he rose to his feet. He smiled at John as he went to move towards the door. "I think I should leave you to your date."
As he reached the stairs John reached out and grabbed his arm in a loose grip. "She is not one to shoulder away company but at the same time she may want to be alone." Garrus gave a nod before offering John another smile, this one wider and more true.
"I don't really plan on going to look for her. Just with the whole crew in a giggle fit and you on a date I would really like to get off the ship and think for a while." His words were true. It was completely uncalled for but a small twist of jealousy filled him as he heard where Jane might be. He was slowly going to have to come to grips that he was falling for her. His human commanders younger sister. And if that didn't deserve a drink he didn't know what did. Giving John's shoulder a simple pat he continued his way up the stairs and to the elevator.
As he exited the ship, Garrus felt that he was able to breath a little easier. There was something about being out in the open air of the Citadel that felt the closest thing to home after the Normandy. Which was sad, now that he thought of it. Going back to Palaven now would almost feel odd, almost foreign. Giving a shake of his head he began to walk, just letting his feet take him wherever they wanted.
Making his way down the docks his eyes traveled over the people that had gathered there. Most were humans seeming to be waiting on people to arrive. He also took note of the human couples who were holding hands or talking together closely. It seemed that this human based holiday had even spilled over here on the Citadel. There even seemed to be a few cross species relationships that were taking part of the holiday. Over by one of the benches, an asari and her human lover seemed to be exchanging gifts. Despite the fact he felt overloaded with the lovey dovey all over the place, he had to admire their relationship.
About halfway down the dock he noticed a small crowd over by an empty port. The port looked to be an old one that was hardly ever used but there was still a small gathering. As he came closer he noticed that quite a few of the onlookers were children sitting on the ground. What took him by the greatest surprise was that in the middle of the crowd, sitting in a chair, was Jane. His eyes quickly took in her state of dress. While the dress she had worn for her outing with Kasumi had been daring and sleek, this dress was soft and could almost be thought of as sweet. The front of the dress was being held up by a strip of fabric around her neck, completely covering her front from view. But where her front was covered, her shoulders and what he could see of her back was completely bare. The lower half of the dress was loose and ended at her crossed knees. It was a soft blue in color that caused her red curls to truly stand out. In her hands was a small open book that she seemed to be reading from.
As he drew near, he could hear her voice as she seemed to be near the end of the story, based on how far in the book she was and the crowd that seemed to be hanging on her every word, mostly the children. "... Beauty clutched the beast's fur in trembling hands as she felt the life leave his form. Tears began to stream down her face as a sense of defeat filled her. Slowly her head dropped down to the lifeless form in her arms. As she cried in the rain, four small words slipped out and into the air. 'But I love you.' As she spoke these words the form below her began to grow warm once more. Before Beauty knew what was happening, the beast's limp body began to rise into the air." As she spoke Jane's eyes darted up to look at the eager children around her. Garrus took note of a small salarian child as well as a few asari and even one turian. They all seemed to be quite excited about where the story was going. A few of the human adults around Jane were giving her a knowing smile. It was clear that they had heard the story before and were simply enjoying hearing the tale once more.
For a moment her beautiful gaze moved up to lock with his eyes. A smile twisted on her lips before she looked back down to the children to continue the story. "As his form began to rise into the air, lights began to shine over his body twisting it into a new form. Claws turned into hands, beast-like padded paws turned into soft fleshy feet. His furry neck and horned head quickly became slimmed and less hairy as the beast slowly became a man one more. Slowly the body began to descend once more to the ground. Beauty, now quite startled and afraid sat back, unsure of just what had happened. Slowly the man began to rise to stand up fully. He took a minute to take a look over his form before he turned to look to the Beauty. Stepping forward he held out a hand to her as if to beckon to her. Beauty, still quite unsure, searched the man's unfamiliar features. Then her eyes meet his, those all too familiar eyes that she had come to love. It was then that she realised that the curse had been lifted. Moving forward she embraced the man who was once a beast. And they lived happily ever after."
Jane offered a smile to the children as she shut the book. Quickly the children began to clap and whisper to each other about the story. As she finished Jane stood and gave a few nods to the parents as they began to usher their children away. As the last of the viewers moved away, Garrus stepped up to stand beside her as she turned to lean on the railing of the port. Her eyes moved up to him with a shy smile before looking away once more.
"It's something that I used to do. Read Trydonis his favorite story. Well his favorite Earth story." She held the book out to him as he looked it over. It was a worn book that looked to have seen quite a few tellings. He gave her a nod as he moved to lean beside her. "It sounded quite interesting, from what I heard." Jane gave a small laugh as she returned his nod.
"It was one my father use to read to me when I would get to see him. Then I read it to Trydonis when he first moved to my mother's ship." She moved the book in her hand as she studied it with a sense of longing and sorrow. "It is about a girl who outwardly is beautiful but people find her odd. She is only desired for her outward appearance. She meets a man under a curse that twisted his form into a beast. Despite that they fall in love and break the curse." She gave a small chuckle as she looked up to him. "I always thought that he was my beauty while he thought I was his. And our own races believed the other to be the beast. It was kinda like our own private story." She smiled as she looked up to him once more. He felt at a loss as to what to say to her. It seemed that she was doing far better than she had been the last few days on the ship. Maybe she just needed to be here, needed to have a sense of her lover past to bring her back to a normal state. And maybe seeing the joy on those children's faces helped her feel better. With a small smile he looked her over once more.
"I have to say that I would find you to be more the beauty in your relationship. While he did hold traits our race finds attractive he still was not as appealing..." He smiled once more as he realized just what he had let slip. When he had started his sentence he was going for being teasing as he always was. But somehow it changed in the middle and he only stated the truth. Unable to take the words back he simply let his gaze move out to watch as ships flew past to their docks.
Her gaze was on him, he knew that it was. But the damage was done and anything he might say now would most likely dig a deeper hole for him. After a minute he let his gaze move back to hers. Whatever he had expected to show on her face, thoughtful was not one of them. Slowly she turned to face him fully. "Garrus, would you mind indulging me for a moment?"
To say he wasn't taken back by her request would be a lie. Turning to face her he gave a small nod. "Of course... Indulge away..." Her step brought her close to him, so close that her sweet scent drifted to him nose. It was things like that that made his mind twist around just how much a fool he was for falling for this woman. He wasn't really sure where it began but if it went any further he could find himself in deep trouble. Especially if she did not feel the same way.
What had John said about this holiday? That is was for lovers. Well, maybe today was as good of any day to let her know just how he felt. He knew that it was a long shot but he knew it needed to be put out there just so she was aware that simple things she did, could drive him completely insane. Maybe after this little indulging he could take her for a drink. Yeah, that was a good idea. Get her a little tipsy and then tell her. Spirits, what a cowardly way to go. Shaking the thoughts from his mind he let his gaze move down to the woman who seemed to be studying him.
Ever so slowly she began to move forward. In his mind it was happening so quick that he couldn't stop it but at the same time so incredibly slow that he could see every feature in her face, feel as her fingers moved to lightly brush his arm before taking a soft grip to steady herself. Then before he knew exactly what was going on, her soft, sweet lips were on his face plates.
Shock echoed through him to his core. Here she was, the sole consumer of his thoughts for so long now and she was kissing him. He had seen humans and asari do it before, and he had once been kissed by an asari on Omega but neither could compare to actually being kissed by Jane. At first he was at a loss as to what he needed to do exactly. But as the feeling of her began to consume him, he acted on impulse. His hands moved from his side to trace up her back, one finding a nice resting spot in her lower back while the other continued its way up her back, feeling the soft flesh under his finger, to finally rest at the nape of her neck.
She slowly began to pull away as if afraid of his reaction, so throwing all caution to the wind Garrus pulled her lips back to his plates. Her body went stiff for a second then melted into his as she took a firmer hold on his arm bringing her closer. Her other hand moved over his shoulder, her book still in her fingers.
Surprise overtook him once more as her moist tongue worked its way past her lips to caress the edge of his plates. He couldn't help himself as a soft moan escaped, granting her entry to his mouth. Her wet little appendage danced around his mouth and the only thing he could think of was returning the favor. Together they fought for dominance over each others mouth. After what was an eternity but still not enough time, they pulled apart.
Jane let out a small chuckle as she moved back slowly but kept their closeness. "If I had known that that's how you would respond, I might have jumped you quite a while ago." They shared another chuckle. Turning away from him she moved to place the book in the chair beside the railing. It was then that he noticed the small plate that was dedicated to the ones lost in this port. It must have been the only dedication to Trydonis and those like him. A subharmonic chirp of worry slipped out as he watched her.
"Don't you need that?" He asked. She smiled as she moved back to him. A small shake of her head was given as she moved her hand down that had lingered on his arm so that she could take his hand. "I don't think so... I'll leave it for him. I think that it's time that I really begin to move forward..." She flashed him another warm smile that he couldn't help but mirror. All those silly thoughts he had been having were dashed from his mind. For now, everything was perfect. Turning after her, he followed as she led him down the dock, their hands comfortably locked together.