Words and Fire - Sam Roberts
"Can I look yet?"
"Not yet, keep your eyes closed for just a bit longer."
Garrus's hands were resting on her shoulders as he directed her into her cabin, her eyes remaining dutifully squeezed shut. Shepard had been working non-stop for the week: they had placed the bomb in the facility on Pragia, retrieved Keiji's greybox for Kasumi on Bekenstein, found and killed Samara's daughter Morinth, and helped Liara take down the yahg Shadow Broker to become the new Shadow Broker.
"Do you want peace for Garrus?" Liara asked her.
"I've dragged him through war for too long. He deserves peace."
"You deserve peace too, Shepard."
"After everything Cerberus has done to me, Liara, I don't think I'll ever truly find it."
Both Shepard and Garrus had barely slept as they dashed across the galaxy. Tomorrow they were heading to the derelict Reaper to obtain the IFF, and Garrus had planned a relaxing evening for Zoey to help her rest and regain energy for the daunting mission ahead of them.
"Ok, Zoey, you can look."
Her hands flew to her mouth as she let out an involuntary gasp. Before her was a small bistro table, set with two lavish meals and a bottle of white wine, a row of candles set at the centre of the table. The rest of the lighting had been dimmed.
"Oh Garrus," she muttered. "How did you find all of this?"
"Liara helped me out a little." He pulled out her chair for her, and pushed it back in after she took her seat. "I've been doing my research on human chivalry and romantic gestures, I hope this is suitable."
"It's beautiful." She placed her napkin on her lap as Garrus poured her a glass of wine.
"I know how stressful that things have been for you, so I'm hoping a little relaxation will be just what you need."
His time with Zoey had been wonderful. They kissed each other at every opportunity where they were alone - even in elevators or inside the ground transport - and they often stayed up late into the night talking. He had learned so much about her, and everything she told him fascinated him even more. It was clear that she was an extraordinary woman, and deserved every bit of praise she had been given over her years. She told him stories after stories of going above and beyond her duty, and exhibiting incredible acts of heroism to save every person that she could. After her sister's death, one would have expected her to be racist against batarians, but it was the exact opposite: she believed every being to be equal, and was just as likely to save a human as a batarian or a volus. She did everything with such conviction, it only made sense that she had such a natural gravitational pull to her teammates.
He was grateful to learn so much about her, of course, but there was a constant issue nagging at the back of his mind: intimacy. They would kiss, grow close, become aroused, and then she would pull away, telling him she wanted to wait a while longer. He was in no rush - perhaps it was human custom to wait for intercourse - but he couldn't help but take cues that she wanted it but had something holding her back. His will was strong, but his sexual tension was high, and he needed release. After their nightly visits, he would retreat to his cot in the main battery to take care of himself before falling into a restless sleep, but nothing could equal the touch of another person. The touch of Zoey Shepard.
Be a gentleman, Vakarian. You've been waiting for this for a long time. Don't mess it up by being overeager.
So they ate their meal peacefully, a classical album playing on the record player. He was happy to notice that she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the meal, and he brought out a chocolate cake for her for dessert, which she devoured.
After the meal, he told her to take a long, warm shower, having purchased a new set of floral-smelling bath products and flannel pyjamas for her on Illium which were waiting for her in the bathroom. Liara had told him that human women enjoyed both rituals, which he found strange but stored in his memory banks for the future. While she was in the shower he poured her another glass of wine while setting up a vid for them to watch.
Shepard emerged from the shower, a sublime smile on her face. "That felt amazing. And these pyjamas! So warm and soft. I'll have to send my compliments to Liara."
He handed her the glass of wine and she took a long sip. "Being the Shadow Broker will have shopping advantages, I'm sure. But I'm not done with you yet. You're about to receive something few humans have: a turian massage."
She almost jogged to the bed in excitement. Non-medical massages were few and far between in her lifetime, but she always loved them. She lied face down on the bed and Garrus climbed on top of her, cautious not to rest too much of his weight on her. He gently ran his talons up and down her back several times before beginning to work out the knots along her back. It was no surprise to feel that amount of tension that accumulated in her muscles.
Although there was normally a certain amount of pain with a firm massage, Garrus had a knack for attacking each of the knots slowly and tenderly, gently working out the tension.
"Is it easier for you if my shirt is out of the way?"
He audibly swallowed the lump in his throat. "It'll make it easier for me to work the knots out, yes."
She pulled herself out from underneath him so that her back was to him and unbuttoned her top, letting it slowly slide off of her shoulders to reveal her bare back.
Garrus's breathing increased in speed, and he withheld a groan at the pressure that was developing in his plates between his legs. Her back was magnificent; simple but perfect, her skin milky and her spine carving a delicate curve down her back. As she sat, he tenderly ran his talons over every line, feeling her shoulders, ribs, spine, and lower back. Her skin was as smooth as silk and softer than anything he could have imagined. "Lie back down," he whispered. More than anything he wanted her to turn around so he could catch his first glimpse of the human - what was the word, breast? - but he was patient.
She returned to her position on her stomach and he continued to work his knuckles into her muscles. He could feel her whole body relax, and his visor showed a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure. When he reached a very tense spot she would emit a quiet moan, increasing the pressure on his plates each time until it was almost painful.
Although relaxed by the massage, Shepard's mind was reeling. Garrus wanted her, and she knew it. It was the first time he had gotten a glimpse of a new body part, and she could feel his hungry eyes on her skin when her shirt slid off. She wanted him, too, but he had a right to know what had been holding her back.
Eventually his hands slowed down and he started to simply run his talons over her skin. He took his weight away from her and she sat up, wordlessly turning to face him.
His jaw dropped at the stunning sight of her upper body. Her hips were wide and supportive, her waist thin and supple. His eyes trailed to a tiny hole at the centre of her stomach, her muscles in the area well-defined. He swallowed when his eyes rested on her breasts, two perfectly round mounds of flesh centred with tiny, pink circles.
"May I?" he muttered, pulling his gaze away from her chest to look into her eyes.
She let out a girlish giggle. "Go ahead."
He closed his eyes and reached out to touch her breasts, the skin covering them even more thin and soft than her back. He ran a thumb over a tiny pink nub, letting out a gasp and pulling away when he watched it go hard under his taloned finger.
"It's ok," she said in her most soothing tone. "It's my body's way of saying that it enjoys what you're doing."
He continued to run his fingers over her whole body, savouring the feel of her skin. He could feel her grow progressively more tense under his touch.
"Do you want me to stop?"
Full of sadness, her gaze fell. "There's something you should know, Garrus."
Despite his desires, he stopped and stared straight into her eyes to show that she had his full attention.
"I've... had a rather lonely life, Garrus. I've always had my family and my friends, but I've focused myself solely on my career and developing myself as a person." She sighed. "As a result, I've never been in a serious relationship. I've never... cared about anyone this way, and I've never been with a turian before and although I-"
Her sentence was cut off as Garrus pulled her body close to his in a tight embrace. "Zoey, I care about you very much too, and I will never pressure you. I've never been with a human either, so we're both new at this. We will take things at whatever pace that you're comfortable with."
Emotion swelled inside of him. Here was this incredibly strong-willed Commander and leader, who inspired everyone around her with her strength and persistence. Yet, he was the first person she had opened her heart to. He held her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, Zoey, and I'm damn sure you aren't either. So just make sure to point me in the right direction, and we'll be patient with each other, ok?"
She nodded, swallowing back the lump in her throat.
"Now, how about I make you a tea and we watch a vid of your choice?"
She nodded again, feeling a powerful rush of affection for her turian.
Having her office directly adjacent to the main battery, Miranda would have been a fool to not notice that something was awry.
Before the stop on Palaven, Garrus had been entirely recluse, spending all of his free time in the battery performing calibrations. But now the battery was empty the vast majority of the time, and she never found him in the mess or the cargo bay, unless he was accompanied by Shepard.
So where was he going?
She would ask EDI, who would politely refuse and cite it to 'privacy clause 13844B', which Miranda was becoming increasingly confident did not exist.
Shepard had been strange lately as well. Although EDI reported that her sleep cycles were still shorter than normal, she looked blissfully happy at all times, more happy than Miranda had seen her since meeting her. It wasn't the mission, which wasn't going extraordinarily well. Something was going on that was a secret from her and she didn't like it.
But she was going to find out what it was.
"You have a priority message at your terminal, Commander."
"Can it wait, Chambers? We're about to depart for a mission." The snarl in Miranda's voice was intentional; she grew tired of the overenthusiastic Chambers and the way she always undressed Shepard with her eyes, and was eager to have a mission where she could view both Garrus and Shepard in action.
"It's quite alright, Miranda," Shepard said warmly while flashing a smile at Kelly. "It'll only take a moment."
Shepard jogged to the terminal, her eyes darting side-to-side as she quickly scanned the message. A line developed on her brow in concern as she read the message, but she quickly closed the terminal and jogged to catch up to Miranda and Garrus.
As they were exiting the airlock, Miranda heard Garrus whisper to Shepard, "What was that?"
"I'll tell you later," Shepard growled, her eyes dancing in Miranda's direction.
No matter. Miranda would read the message when they returned to the ship. What made her more curious was why Garrus asked in the first place.
Although she expected slip-ups in both of their combat due to their strange behaviour on the ship, her expectations proved to be entirely incorrect. Their individual skills were excelling; Garrus was hitting each target with deadly precision, and he was using his concussive shots tactically to send husks plummeting over edges. Shepard was showing vast signs of improvement: her biotic skills had been honed and she was even more deadly as she danced across the field, effortlessly eliminating waves of husks and scions.
What interested Miranda much more were the interactions between them. She kept herself to the rearguard with her pistol out, observing as the two of them fought together as if their minds were linked, taking out enemies as a true team without Shepard uttering a word. It was a marvel to watch as Shepard would use pull on an enemy to have Garrus snipe it, or to have her use singularity before Garrus destroyed the incapacitated group with a proximity mine. The teamwork was phenomenal, but curious. They had always worked together well, but not this well.
When they were into their third group of enemies, Miranda noticed that either of them would shout a number at random while taking down enemies. As they swept the room, her curiosity overrode her discretion and she inquired, "Why do you keep shouting numbers?"
"We have a bet on," Shepard explained, cursing quietly when Garrus took out a faraway husk crawling up a ladder and shouted '30!'. "Whichever one of us kills more husks buys the other a beer. You want in?"
"No way, I'd lose since I haven't been counting. Next time, though, you're on. And I don't drink the cheap stuff."
The three of them jogged to the next area. The fight started out as usual, with Shepard directing Miranda to take out any husks coming up two of the ladders while her and Garrus took out the rest. However, the waves kept coming, and Garrus's shields were knocked down by four husks surrounding him. A scion loped around the corner and sent a shockwave his way, sending him flying through the air and knocking him onto his back, the husks immediately advancing on the weak prey.
"No!" Shepard shouted. She summoned a singularity right into the middle of the four husks and ran to Garrus, and the husks that she was fighting followed her. Shepard shot down the husks trapped by her singularity to slap medi-gel onto Garrus's wounds, providing him with covering fire until his shields regenerated again. It left Shepard absolutely swarmed, and she cringed as her shields went down and she began to take direct damage. But she fought through and took the wave down, falling against a wall and taking deep breaths as her wounds healed themselves.
Miranda was more than capable of fighting her own husks, and she knew that Garrus was too. So why did Shepard make such a rash, non-tactical move to sacrifice herself and protect him, unless -
A lightbulb went off as all the pieces fit together. Garrus's absence from the battery, Shepard's lack of sleep, her sacrificial and protective instincts for him.
The two of them were falling in love.
Miranda couldn't help but laugh out loud, causing Shepard to send a narrow-eyed glare in her direction. Garrus had stood and approached Shepard, offering his hand to help her stand, which she took graciously.
"Something funny, Lawson?"
Miranda's lips pursed, silenced by the Commander's harsh gaze. "Not at all, Shepard. Let's clean this place up."
"Agreed. Move out."
Other than the occasional curious glance from either Shepard or Garrus, the rest of the mission went smoothly, and they ended up with a completely intact geth to improve matters.
Back on the ship, Shepard exited on the first floor to her quarters and Miranda and Garrus were alone and silent on the elevator on their way to the third level.
"Interesting how Shepard was so eager to protect you back there, Garrus."
"I suppose she was doing her job as a Commander, Miranda."
"She seemed unusually protective."
He looked down at her, his size menacing and his expression stoic. Miranda and he never saw particularly eye-to-eye, and at that moment his harsh gaze made her fear him more than ever. Not that she couldn't take him out using her biotics, but she still wouldn't want to make him truly angry. "If you have any questions about her actions, I'd recommend taking it up with her. Now if you'll excuse me." He exited the elevator and made straight for the battery, never turning to look back at her.
"I'll do just that then," she muttered to herself, remaining in the elevator and making her way to the captain's quarters.
When she arrived, she tried to open the door but found it locked. She let out an exasperated sigh before saying, "Permission to enter?"
She heard rustling in the room, like the Commander was hiding something, before she received a response of "granted."
Shepard was sitting at her desk and closed her terminal before turning to Miranda. "Shepard, we need to discuss your actions on the derelict Reaper."
"For the record, Miranda, there is nothing we need to discuss. I'll gladly discuss anything that there is a want to discuss, but I'm more hesitant when there is a need to discuss it."
"I know what's going on with you and Garrus. I saw the way that you protected him. Just because you can regenerate doesn't mean you need to turn into a martyr and hurt yourself unnecessarily for a perfectly capable soldier."
Shepard sighed. "Sit. On the couch." Miranda obeyed, and Shepard followed her. "I'm not going to falsely justify my actions, nor will I lie to you. Garrus and I have feelings for each other, which we were hoping to keep private but which is proving to be exceedingly difficult. That being said, if any of my crew members were in danger, I wouldn't hesitate to throw myself in front of them to protect them."
"Because you're their Commander, or because you have the ability to regenerate?"
Shepard shrugged nonchalantly. "Either."
"Any crew member? Even Jack?"
"Jack, you, anyone."
"Good to hear." She stood up, eager to hit the showers and wash the smell of Reaper off of herself. "By the way... I'm happy for you and Garrus, I really am. I'm sorry for prying, but I'm sure you can understand that I wanted to know as both your friend and your XO."
A smile crossed Shepard's face that didn't reach her eyes. "I understand. You're dismissed, Lawson."
As the door closed behind Miranda, she swore that she heard an exasperated groan from Shepard.
A/N: I seem to be having some editing problems today, so if something seems out of sorts I apologize.