Perfectly Aligned - Milo Greene
Shepard woke screaming.
She had the same night terror as always, but this time, Sovereign killed Garrus.
You will love him. We will destroy him.
She shook her head over and over, trying to clear the image of holding Garrus dead in her arms, but it wouldn't pass. She needed to see him alive, now.
She picked up her omni-tool, surprised to find that he had already sent her a message. She was even more surprised to see that it was 0800 hours already, meaning that the night terrors had at least given her a decent night's sleep before they hit.
Z,
Good morning sunshine. Breakfast is in the fridge for you. Come see me before we land on Tuchanka.
G.
She smiled widely and jumped out of bed. The message had only been sent out fifteen minutes prior, and it was the perfect reminder to her that not only was Garrus alive and well, but everything that had happened last night was real.
Teeth brushed, hair thrown in a bun, and sweat-proof civvies equipped, she headed down to the mess. She gasped when she opened the fridge: there was a plate full of brightly coloured, fresh fruit with her name on it. Strawberries, grapes, raspberries, pineapple, apple... Real fruit, not the genmod crap with which she was so familiar.
She wrapped her mouth around a strawberry and took a slow bite, savouring the juicy sweetness. Spending most of her life on spaceships, Shepard rarely ate real fruit, and it was incredible. Not caring where Garrus acquired it, she savoured the whole plate, enjoying every sweet and tangy bite.
After she regretfully ate the last raspberry and put her plate in the sink, she made her way to the battery, trying to look as casual as possible while wanting to run the whole way.
Garrus was at work at the console, as usual.
"Shepard, what can I do for you?"
As soon as the door closed behind her, with a wicked grin on her face Shepard grabbed tight onto his armoured cowl and pulled him in for a kiss, reveling in his salty taste.
He pressed against her lips with his tongue, so she let out a soft sigh and allowed his tongue to meet with hers and they danced together, rough and narrow with thick and smooth. He grabbed onto her lower back and pulled her in tighter, a bit roughly, and she felt something stirring between her hips that had been dormant for as long as she could remember.
She wanted him. She craved him. She never wanted to let him go.
But eventually she did, knowing that suspicions would rise if they stayed alone in the battery for too long. She was very aware that things between them were young and fresh, and she wasn't prepared for dealing with a very friendly crew's questions.
So she placed her hands on his hard chest and pushed him gently away before looking up into his eyes and smiling.
"I was hoping we could spend some time together before Tuchanka," she said.
He looked her up and down, his eyes hungry. "Well, you seem to be suited up for exercise, which wasn't exactly what I had in mind..."
She held a finger to his mouth. "Not now. We have to be normal people for now. I was hoping to get some exercising in, but I have to check the thrusters on the transport before we head down, the right one keeps cutting out and I almost crash landed on Aratoht."
"Is that just because you're a terrible driver?"
She turned to face the door. "See this ass? You ever want it, you stop calling me a bad driver."
He raised a brow plate at her. "So you want me to lie?"
"Get your ass in the cargo bay, soldier, before I make you do fifty pushups in punishment."
"Yes ma'am!"
Taking a deep breath, Shepard composed herself to hide the wide grin on her face before they walked past Miranda, Grunt, Engineer Donnelly, and Mordin, who were having a very quiet breakfast together in the mess.
As soon as the elevators closed, discretion was forfeit, and they were kissing again.
"No need to be concerned, your secret is safe with me."
"EDI!" Shepard growled, pulling away from Garrus. "Have you been watching us?"
"I am the ship; I cannot change what I see."
"AIs are nothing but trouble."
The two spent an hour exercising, but Garrus couldn't help but watch her the whole time. The fluidity of the muscles in her body working in unison, the sheer strength that came out of such a small body... her whole form was incredible.
Although there were no overweight turians, he had seen overweight humans before, and it was a highly unattractive sight. But Zoey worked to the exact opposite, her muscles gently defined beneath her porcelain skin, not an ounce of fat to be found on her body. The only parts of her that moved when she jogged were the two perfect, round bundles on her chest, and the smaller lumps below her back. He didn't know the human word for them, but he liked them already.
Taylor entered the cargo bay halfway through their workout, and after he and Shepard made polite small talk, she excused herself to work on the transport. To prevent questions, Garrus continued to weight lift, pretending to be enthralled in the vid playing before him but with his mind entirely on Zoey Shepard.
He snuck a glance over at her, and felt his heart rate increase. She was in her most natural habitat: on a creeper, with her hair pulled up out of the way, grease covering her hands and a streak of oil on her face. He heard her curse faintly and switch out her ratchet for a hammer, her brow furrowed in frustration as she smacked the thruster. He had never seen a woman look so perfect, and she was his.
He found himself needing a cold shower, so he bid goodbye to Jacob and left the cargo bay, wanting time to go as quickly as possible so he could be on the ground with Shepard again.
"Shepard," Wrex's deep voice resonated through the chamber, though he kept it low. "I just heard from the shaman that he received a breeding request for you from our mechanic. You know anything about this?"
Shepard emitted a pealing laugh. "He thought he needed a combustion manifold to fix the Tomkah. All he needed to do was a little bit of electrical work! Just reroute the port exhaust through to the secondary crankshaft and you can bypass the need for a combustion manifold entirely."
Wrex grunted. "I knew that I should have made you a member of Clan Urdnot long ago, Shepard. You'd make a better mechanic than that pyjak."
"Oh please, Wrex, how would I be able to have such fun taking down Collectors if I was stuck here taking on thresher maws all the time?" She cocked her head sideways. "You sure you can't come with me, Wrex?"
"I need to be with my people, Shepard. Clan Urdnot is on the way to doing great things. Accepting Urdnot Grunt into it is one of them."
"See you soon then, Wrex. Keep in touch."
It had been a highly productive day. Finding Maelon, saving both him and his research, and completing Grunt's rite was tiring business, and Shepard was dreaming of a warm shower and a soft bed.
Grunt stayed back to exchange a few last words with the shaman. As they walked back to the ship, Garrus whispered into Shepard's ear, "You looked incredibly sexy fixing that Tomkah."
She looked behind her to catch him staring at her ass. "Didn't know fixing tanks was so sexy."
"To me it is."
"Well, scars are sexy to me." She smiled at him wryly before leaning in so her mouth was as close to his ear as possible. She whispered in her most husky voice, "Come up to my quarters at 0030 hours, after everyone has gone to bed."
His eyes went wide and he stared into space, nodding faintly. Shepard left him standing and turned to grab Grunt and head back to the ship.
"EDI, what's our ETA to Pragia?"
"We're expected to arrive at 0715 hours ship time, Commander."
"Thank you, EDI."
"Logging you out, Shepard."
Shepard sat at her desk, reviewing her messages at her private terminal while eating a pasta dinner. But regardless of the importance of the messages, only one thing was consistently passing through her mind: sex.
Her sex experience was limited, and she had never been with anyone but humans. The turian form and mating ritual was different from humans: rawer and primal, more dutiful in a fashion.
She wanted Garrus, it was undeniable. When he touched her, when he kissed her, it awoke an absolute desire for him within her. But humans and turians were very different. When she and Garrus were together, completely exposed, what would happen? Would they still be attracted to each other? Should it even matter, if they cared about each other?
She sighed, tentatively closed her messages and began to research turian-human relationships; however, the extranet was surprisingly uninformative on that particular topic. She suddenly felt incredibly foolish for her complete lack of knowledge. Human-turian relationships were uncommon, but not unheard of. More and more humans were engaging in interspecies relationships, yet she knew no one in one who would be able to provide her some guidance.
Help was needed. But who?
She began pacing. Could she talk to Miranda? No, that woman had love problems of her own. Tali? Seemed like a sensible option, since she trusted her, but she was in no rush to remind her how far away from Kal that she was. Jack? If she wanted to learn how to tie him up she would be perfect. Samara? As a justicar, Shepard didn't know if she even engaged in romantic endeavours. She needed someone who wouldn't look at it emotionally, but strictly medically. Someone who would have a patient confidentiality agreement.
Mordin.
Scientific Log of Doctor Mordin Solus
Entry 15,942 - Normandy time 2215 hours August 4, 2185
Shepard was in lab today. Confirmed suspicions of relationship with Vakarian.
Starting new study: interspecies relationships. Advised Shepard to take dose of Dextromoxicillian to prevent infection. Interested in sociological ramifications of relationship. Will cause interesting reaction among hierarchy. Concerned about Shepard due to Garrus mortality and upcoming suicide mission. Will do best to keep Garrus safe.
Happy for Shepard and Garrus. Good couple. Would not want to come between them for risk of serious injury or death.
Scientific Log of Doctor Mordin Solus
Entry 15,945 - Normandy time 2330 hours August 4, 2185
Vakarian came into lab today. Requesting same assistance as Shepard. Sent appropriate vids to terminal.
Curious similarities between two. Both strong-willed, eager, compassionate, showing leadership capabilities. Will continue to monitor.
How on Earth does she have the flexibility to do that?
Shepard was watching one of the vids that Mordin sent to her terminal, and it was both enlightening and quite scary. She was grateful for the glimpse for what was coming, but she was coming to realize that she didn't know if she was ready.
Well, she would have to be ready at some point, or at least before they jumped through the Omega-4 relay. She wasn't going to risk losing her chance to make love to the first man she had cared about so deeply, but she wanted to make sure she was absolutely prepared so the whole experience wasn't a disaster.
So she pulled out her omni-tool and began taking notes.
Turian sensitive spots are at their fringe and their waist... Due to hard plates, 90 degree angles of entry are most recommended... Turian mating rituals often have the pair facing away from each other... Lubrication will be required to prevent chafing and friction burn... Sexual organs between two species are similar and compatible, as long as the correct positions are used...
She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, envisioning Garrus and herself in place of the turian and the human in the vid. She had never seen a naked turian before that vid, but the turian form had a certain beauty to it. It looked harder and more yielding than the human form, but the way that his corded muscles rippled and the feral growl that had escaped his lips as he mated with the human was incredibly sexy.
To her, Garrus's voice was one of his sexiest features. She had grown to love the dual-toned flange in his voice and the way that he expressed himself through his subharmonics. Turians seemed to be more primal in their urges, and she focused her mind on the thought of Garrus slamming her against the bed, his subharmonics purring as he tore apart her clothes with his talons...
She jumped out of her seat when the door to her cabin buzzed. Her face was hot, and she felt embarrassed to realize that she was wet. Shaking her head to clear it, she opened the door to find the turian from her fantasy leaning against the door nonchalantly, a highly devious expression on his face.
"Shepard," he growled, his voice taking her breath away.
She composed herself as well as she could. If Garrus was going to use these turian seduction techniques on her, she would use human seduction techniques on him.
Straightening her posture, she used her sexiest voice possible. "Vakarian." Disposing of formalities, she turned and walked into the apartment, swinging her hips as much as possible. She pulled her hair out of the elastic to let it fall down her back, causing Garrus to let out an audible growl.
As soon as she turned to face him to let out a wisecrack remark, his hands were on her hips and he was pulling her to him closely, kissing her hungrily. She let out a soft moan and parted her lips, craving the feeling of his rough tongue against her own. She reached up to softly stroke his fringe and felt his body shiver and his breath quickly escape his lips.
Fuck, he was sexy.
Regardless of how badly she wanted him, she wanted even more to wait. So after a long period of kissing, she gently rested her hands on his chest again to push him away.
"I enjoy kissing you very much," she began, gazing at him with smoldering eyes. "But I don't want to rush this. I want to savour every moment of this. And there are so many things I don't know about you yet, Garrus, which I'd like to learn. Do you mind if we just stay up and talk for a while tonight?"
His mandibles flickered into a smile. "Of course." He parted from her and took a seat on her couch, but patted his legs to indicate for her to sit on his lap, which she happily obliged to do. She nestled her head into the spot between his cowl and his mandible, surprised to find that it was a perfect fit.
The two stayed awake for hours. He gave her a brief history of his early life, from causing trouble in his early years to his poor grades in his language classes, while she discussed her own youth. They were so absorbed in their conversation that they completely lost track of time, and when 0230 hit Shepard forced him to go to bed so that she could rest for Pragia tomorrow.
"I hope you don't mind that I want to take Tali along on the mission with me," she said, as they approached the door to her cabin. "It'll be refreshing to have her back on my team."
"I don't mind at all. It just means I get to sleep in tomorrow." He laughed gently before turning around to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Take care of those two; I'll see you tomorrow after this mission."
As he walked away, she grabbed his arm to pull him back to give him another long, slow kiss. "Sleep well."
"Sweet dreams."
A/N: Happy Monday everyone! Just a little notification that this upcoming weekend is a bizarre Canadian long weekend by the name of Family Day (for those who aren't familiar with Canadian holidays: they made it up to have a long weekend in February. I kid you not!). Therefore, the schedule for the next two weeks will be changing: this week will be Monday-Wednesday-Thursday, next week will be Tuesday-Wednesday-Friday. Thank you for reading and love you all 3