When Garrus awoke in the morning, Shepard was no longer next to him. They had fallen asleep some time not long before the Presidium's scheduled sunrise, but he had no clue how long they'd slept or how late it was. He turned his head and saw her standing in front of the window, the blinds half opened, staring out at the view of the Presidium from his room. She was still naked, her silhouette outlined by the fake sunlight shining in from outside. He took a moment to admire her shape, so different from a turian and yet still so lithe and muscular, not as soft as other humans.

"Shepard," he said softly. "What are you doing?"

She turned around to face him. "I didn't want to wake you." She smiled.

"After the night we had? I was dead to the world."

She crossed the room and climbed onto the bed, draping herself over his chest. "I know. I feel like I could sleep for the next two years. It's already noon."

Garrus' hand idly stroked her back. "Maybe we should just stay in bed all day," he suggested. "Personally, I think we've earned it."

"That sounds great," she said. "But I've got to eat something first and you don't have any food I can eat. You barely have any food period."

He sighed and sat up. "You're right. We need to eat. So we have energy for…other things," his subharmonics vibrated.

"Well, if we're going to go out somewhere, I should shower first," Shepard told him. "You do have a shower, don't you?"

"What am I, a krogan? Of course I have a shower. It's just through the door there," he pointed to a door on the opposite wall.

She hesitated for a moment, staring at him, then walked into the bathroom and started up the shower. A few moments later, she poked her head out of the bathroom door.

"Garrus, we have to teach you about double meanings or this isn't going to work," she said.

"What do you mean, Shepard?" he asked, genuinely oblivious.

"You should join me in the shower," she said.

"I don't really need to." He shrugged. "Turians don't sweat like humans do. It's less of an issue."

Shepard sighed. "Maybe you could help me get clean."

"Is that customary for humans?"

"Garrus!" she cried. "Come get in the shower with me so we can have sex again before we go eat."

"Oh." It seemed obvious as soon as she said it. He jumped out of bed and hurried to join her.

After they were done in the shower and had dressed, Garrus in his casual civilian attire and Shepard still sporting her dress pants with her tank top, they left his apartment to get some breakfast at a café on the Presidium commons.

It struck Garrus, as they walked through the commons, past dozens of other people going about their day, how very normal everything felt. Despite the destruction caused by the battle, many parts of the Citadel had escaped unscathed and people found a way to stick with their routines through any situation. He wasn't used to normal; he'd spent so much of his time lately living a very abnormal life. It felt strange to be walking around the Citadel with his friend like they hadn't just saved the entire station.

Plenty of people stopped to stare at them as they went. Garrus knew the stares were because of Shepard. He braced himself for someone to stop them for an autograph, but, at least on the Presidium, people were content just to look, or snap a discreet photo with their comm links or omni-tools.

"How long do you think this will last?" Shepard asked. "Because all this staring has me thinking staying in your apartment for a few days doesn't sound like a bad idea. Even if I wasn't getting laid."

They sat down across from each other at a table that overlooked the water streaming through the Presidium down below.

"I'm sure eventually it will blow over." Garrus tried to assure her. "Don't your people already recognize you for your work in the Alliance?"

"Yeah, I guess," she tapped her fingers distractedly on the table.

"Is something bothering you, Shepard?"

"Do you think if any of the squad saw me they'd know we slept together?" She asked.

"What?" Garrus blinked at her.

"Well, I'm wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday. It could be suspicious. I don't know what their plans are. We might run into them," she said.

"It's a pretty big station, Shepard…" he replied slowly. "Anyway, we can just say you slept on my couch because you were too drunk to get a shuttle back to the docks. It's not like you've never done that before."

She relaxed a little. "You're right."

They ordered their food from an asari waitress and sat for a while in silence, watching the people and cars passing by all around. One thing Garrus had come to appreciate most about Shepard's presence was that the two of them could sit in silence comfortably, never feeling the need to talk just to make conversation. There were few people he'd met in his life that he felt that comfortable around; it was nice just to enjoy each other's presence.

"Hey, Garrus?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Is it possible…for a human…to consciously stop releasing pheromones?" Her face tinged pink as she asked. He liked how humans and asari blushed when they were embarrassed.

"I don't think so. Why do you want to? I like the way you smell."

"When I was visiting you in the hospital the other day, you fell asleep because of all the meds they had you on and your dad kept talking to me. He…uh…" Her face grew redder as she spoke. "He knows we're sleeping together."

"Excuse me?" Garrus' mandibles flared. He could think of nothing he would have preferred less than for his father to know he was sleeping with a human.

"He said I reeked of pheromones when I came in. Then he got a little angry with me. I'm pretty positive if he didn't already dislike me because I was a Spectre, he really hates me now."

"It's not his business!" Garrus complained. "Humans release pheromones for plenty of reasons. What right does he have to pry…?"

"Look, I don't want to drive a wedge…it's just casual se-"

"It doesn't matter. Spirits, Shepard. I'm almost twenty-seven years old. The fact that my dad thinks he has a say in what I do and who I do it with. It's because of the First Contact war, you know. My father wanted to fight in the war but he'd joined C-sec and he had two young children. When the war was over and humans came to the Citadel he was bitter about it. He took the loss of the war very personally," Garrus shrugged. "He didn't have any right to say anything to you. By all accounts if you weren't a human or a Spectre, he'd think you were worthy of respect."

"So…if I wasn't…me…?" Shepard asked.

"No, that's not what I mean," Garrus interrupted. "I mean you're a skilled soldier and an excellent, level-headed commander. Most turians would love to serve under someone like you. He's just being…dad," he crossed his arms and sighed. "I'm sorry he did that," he added, more softly.

"This may surprise you, Garrus, but I'm a big girl. I can deal with it. I just…wanted to talk about it with you. I don't want to alert every turian in a hundred-mile radius that we're having sex just because I can't control whatever chemicals I'm releasing."

"Oh, we smell so many things, unless it's clear or impacts us personally, we shut it out. Like background noise," he assured her.

"Well that's a relief."

Their food came and they dug in with voracious appetites. Shepard's food looked wholly unappealing: eggs and bacon. Garrus was familiar with the food items, as popular as they were among humans, but the color of them was off-putting. Turians ate mostly meat, cooked only slightly. He couldn't imagine eating the eggs of any creature he was familiar with.

Shepard shoveled the food into her mouth unattractively, belching when she ate too fast. They were certainly comfortable around each other.

"Are you really twenty-seven?" she asked him, though some time had passed since he'd mentioned it.

"Why? Did you think I was older?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," she shrugged. "Like my age."

"The difference is hardly notable. Still, only two years on me and you're a commander and a Spectre. What am I? I don't even technically have a job," he shrugged. It didn't bother him. He would take running missions on the Normandy over C-sec any day of the week.

"You're my sidekick," she said through a mouthful of bacon.

"Your sidekick?" he crossed his arms. "All right, next time a geth is shooting at you, I'm letting it take out your shields before I jump in to help."

"Okay, okay maybe not my sidekick. We're partners," she shrugged. "Anyway, who cares about titles? You helped bring down a rogue Spectre and stop a Reaper invasion. That definitely trumps being 'Garrus Vakarian, C-sec officer'."

He nodded. "You're right."

They sat in silence again as they finished their food. The meal over, Garrus sipped at his water and watched Shepard as she observed a group of children being led through the Presidium by a daycare supervisor.

"How long do you think it will take them to rebuild all this?" she asked him without moving her gaze.

Some of the damage looked substantial, but much of it was superficial, at least on the Presidium. The keepers were already hard at work restoring order with the citizens.

"I don't know. Not long, I would imagine. A few months at the most."

She nodded. "Maybe I'll get an apartment here. I've always just kind of lived aboard whatever vessel I was on. I don't have much to my name…it would be nice to have a home away from home."

"We should get some food," Garrus suggested.

"We just ate," she laughed.

"I mean for my apartment. If we really want to spend the next day or so in bed, we should have plenty of food to keep our energy up," he winked at her.

"I like your logic," she nodded and stood up. "Let's go raid the grocery store. And we should stop by the Normandy so I can get some clothes. It should be pretty empty, so I can get in and out without anyone asking why I've got a bag full of clothes with me."

"Good plan. I know the perfect store a few districts over. They have a good mix of dextro and levo foods. Some of my favorite chocolate too."

Shepard rubbed her stomach. "I won't be sampling that again." She nudged him. "But maybe I can feed you some."

"Do, uh…humans incorporate food into their sex acts?" he asked, starting to catching on to the voice she made when she was hinting at a 'double meaning'.

"Sometimes. Whipped cream. Chocolate sauce. To be honest, it just risks getting in places you really don't want that to get in."

"Sounds…messy."

"We have so much to discuss this weekend," she told him, grinning.

"Ideally, we won't be doing too much talking," he replied, subharmonics purring.

"I knew I was friends with you for a reason."

Shepard and Garrus had purchased entirely too much food from the grocery store in the 5th district, but it had been hard to resist. They had spent months predominantly relegated to the bland military-grade ship food provided by the Normandy, and they had been awarded a not-insignificant sum of credits for their bravery in battle, so they had cash to burn.

When the stores of food had been dropped off at Garrus' apartment, they made their way to the docks, where the Normandy was undergoing some repairs and upgrades. Garrus suggested purchasing a decent shuttle to replace the mako, but the Alliance would have to make that call.

The ship was almost unsettlingly empty. A few stray crewmen were leaving with bags in tow, stopping to salute Shepard as they left, but otherwise no one was around. Everyone had been eager for the shore leave following the missions they'd had over the past few months.

They took the stairs down to the crew deck and Shepard went to search her cabin for clothes while Garrus stood around waiting for her near the table at the center of the room. Shepard threw clothes indiscriminately into a duffel bag she'd had stuffed under her bed. It didn't really matter what she took, she figured, she wouldn't be wearing much of anything while she was there.

Before her first night with Garrus, it had been so long since Shepard had even had sex; far too long. It had been even longer still since she'd spent an entire weekend in bed with someone; she felt her body brimming with excitement at the prospect. It was always fun to explore unknown territory with a new lover, but Garrus was especially unknown territory. There was plenty Shepard didn't know about turian anatomy, despite her military training. She knew the basics, and had learned a bit since sleeping with Garrus, but they didn't teach you turian erogenous zones in military academy.

She emerged from her cabin after a few minutes, bag full of clothes and a few toiletries, to find Garrus having a discussion with Karin.

"Karin," Shepard greeted her. "What are you doing here? You should be out having a good time on the Citadel."

"I appreciate the concern, commander," the doctor smiled. "I was actually just coming to grab a few things I forgot when I left. I see you're here for similar reasons." She eyed Shepard's duffel bag.

"I'm uh…" Shepard shuffled uncomfortably. The doctor already knew they had slept together, it wasn't like they had to hide it from her. "Well, I'm staying with Garrus for a few days. He has an apartment on the Presidium."

"Yes, so he was telling me. You two have fun," she winked and then said, "Oh, commander, a quick word before you go. Just you and me."

"I'll just…er…wait up by the airlock. Here, I'll take your bag." Garrus grabbed the duffel bag from Shepard's arms and hurried up the stairs.

"What did you want to talk about, Karin?" Shepard asked.

"Forgive the insubordination, commander, but I'm speaking from experience here. You'll want to go and buy some Nos-Astran skin-restoring cream. You spend too much time with a turian between your legs and there's going to be a lot of chafing."

Shepard was mortified, but did her best to hide it from the doctor. She managed a very weak smile. "Uh…I'll take that into consideration, Karin."

"I know it may not be something you want to discuss, but I'm simply giving you the practicality of it. Human skin was not built for handling something like a turian. You'll adjust, though, given enough time."

Despite her horror, Shepard was intensely curious about the doctor's former turian love affair.

"Karin? What happened with you and the turian soldier?"

She sighed wistfully. "It was a long time ago, commander. During the war, as I said. We couldn't be together, it was too dangerous then. But you and Garrus…"

"It's just a friends with benefits kind of situation for us," Shepard assured her.

"If you insist, commander. Go on now. Have fun. I'll be taking my leave for a bit."

Shepard left to rejoin Garrus, eager to return to his apartment and finally enjoy some much-deserved rest and relaxation.

For nearly two days, Shepard and Garrus had not left his apartment on the Presidium. They hadn't let go of each other except to eat, and even that they often did on the couch, resting against one another. They spent the entire weekend exploring each other's bodies: bodies that were so different than the lovers they had known in the past, so new and exciting, unexplored terrain to be discovered with fingers and lips and tongues.

Shepard learned that a small gap existed in the plating of Garrus' chest, barely the width of a human finger, running directly across his waist, and when she ghosted her fingers over it, it made his lower plating open partially. When she licked it, sometimes he would pop right out of his sheath.

The plating had been a surprise at first, one she viewed as a puzzle she was determined to solve. Touching the little gap in his chest plating was the starting point, and, with his help, she experimented from there. His cock was hidden in a sheath beneath the plating; when it was partially opened, she could slide her fingers inside like she was, for all intents and purposes, fingering him. His skin was incredibly sensitive beneath the plating, so she had to move slowly and carefully, but once she did, she could brush her hand against his cock and coax it out easily enough.

That had been another surprise altogether. First, it was blue, which made sense considering that turian blood was also blue, but it had been entirely unexpected. In addition, when she'd brought her hand between his legs on that first night together, she'd been surprised to find he was already lubricated. In retrospect, that also made sense, protected as it was inside the body cavity beneath the plating, and it had been a tremendous help considering the size of him compared to what she was used to. He wasn't too big to take, proportionate to his height by all means, but he was certainly the biggest she'd ever had.

He had learned things about her as well: the exact pressure to apply between her legs to get her screaming his name, the angle at which he could move his fingers inside of her without catching her with his talons. His favorite finding had been when he'd gone down on her while his subharmonics were rumbling, sending a vibration up through his lips that made her legs shake; he'd done it endlessly since he'd discovered it and it had become her favorite finding as well.

Karin's warning about chafing hadn't been without reason. By the end of those two days together, as Shepard lay naked next to Garrus on the bed, both of them catching their breath after another roll between the sheets, she realized just how raw her body looked. It was like a pink war zone leading directly between her legs, skin chafed around her thighs and stomach and anywhere Garrus had been rubbing against it repeatedly. It stung too. She should have bought the damn lotion.

She sat up slightly and tenderly touched the raw skin. "Ugh," she groaned. "I don't suppose you have any lotion, Garrus?"

He observed her skin. "I thought it seemed unusual, but I wasn't sure if that's just what humans look like after this much sex."

"No," Shepard groaned. "This is what humans look like after rubbing against a turian for two days straight."

"I'm sorry," he said sheepishly. "I do have some lotion, though. I'll grab it for you."

He crossed the room to the bathroom on the other side to retrieve the lotion. She admired his body as he walked. Now that she'd had ample time to explore it, she had a newfound appreciation for it: the toned muscles of his back and shoulders; his tiny, firm little butt.

He stood with his back to her as he rummaged through a cabinet in the bathroom.

"I gotta say, Garrus, I'm liking the view from here."

"Yes, I've been told my backside is my most attractive angle. Of course, I've been told that by both turian women and human men. The latter usually followed it with 'not that you can tell a turian's backside from their front'."

He returned with the lotion and, instead of handing it to her, he sat down next to her and dabbed some onto his hand, rubbing it with a surprisingly gentle touch into the skin on her legs and stomach. The cooling effect it had was instantaneous, to her relief.

Tossing the lotion aside when he was done, he delicately lifted her leg and ran his hands along her calves.

"I still can't get over how…smooth your legs are. No spurs. No plating. Just soft."

"You should feel them after I've shaved," she laughed.

"You shave your legs?" he looked aghast.

"Well, women do, usually. And under their arms. I don't do it often, because I'm on the ship and I'm in battle and it just doesn't make sense to waste the time, but…if I'm going out on a date or I'm getting dressed up then sometimes I'll shave."

He rubbed his hand up and down her legs, feeling the fine red hairs. "I like the hair."

"There's where you differ from most human men."

"Yes, I think that's the only way we differ, though," he replied sarcastically.

He let go of her leg and leaned over her, tracing the fingers of one hand across her chest and stomach while the other moved through her hair. She closed her eyes and sighed, completely and utterly content. She hadn't felt so calm or happy in ages, certainly not since before Eden Prime.

When she opened her eyes again, several minutes later, Garrus was staring at her, his mandibles twitching, mouth moved into the slightest hint of a smile, though his smile really came through in his eyes.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, running her hands along his fringe and rubbing the soft skin behind it.

"I was just thinking, I don't think there's anyone in this galaxy I respect more than you. You really led us through hell, Shepard, and you pulled us back out again. I've never trusted anyone more."

She smiled. "I don't know, Garrus. Some of the things you did to me this weekend would be considered pretty disrespectful in most systems."

He nuzzled her cheek, his subharmonics purring. "Yes, but you liked them."

"I did," she agreed.

They lay in silence for a while, him on his side with one arm draped across her chest, his face nestled against hers; her on her back with one arm wrapped around his shoulder, stroking the back of his head. They had spent plenty of time in that comfortable silence over the past few days. Whenever they came up for air, they might talk for a bit, or they might just lay in silence, holding each other; neither felt wrong.

After some time, she spoke again.

"Garrus?" She asked.

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something kind of personal?"

"Shepard, after the things we did to each other thing weekend, you can ask me anything," he said.

"How many women have you slept with?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Twenty-five? Thirty? I never kept count."

"Thirty!?" She cried.

"What? Is that a lot? You have to remember, Shepard, turians approach sex very differently than humans. It's not taboo or frowned upon. Even in the military, they expect troops to do it. It helps blow off steam so troops are more focused in the long run. So, if you meet someone, and there's any sort of attraction, usually you just go for it. There doesn't need to be any long-term connection. I've only really dated a couple of women. Once I took my job at C-sec, I didn't have time for a relationship," Garrus explained.

"Still, thirty…" Shepard sighed. "For a human, that seems like a lot."

"Well how many men have you been with?" he asked.

She thought for a moment, "I've been with…six men…seven now I guess. And three women."

"Oh yes, you did tell us about your little tryst with an asari," he kissed her shoulder. "Why does it matter how many people someone's been with anyway?"

"I don't really know. It's just something humans seem to care about," she said.

"Well, I don't care about it. Besides, you're the only human I've slept with."

"Gee," Shepard laughed.

"I've never found humans attractive until you," his lips and tongue moved against her neck. She liked the way his mandibles brushed her skin as he kissed her, twitching as he moved.

"What are we going to do when we're back on the Normandy?" She asked, changing the subject. "It's going to be hard to sneak around on a regular basis."

"I'll just sneak up to your cabin," he said. "Tali will think I'm going up to the observation deck, if she sees me."

"We'll just need to be careful. I don't want people to think I'm giving you special treatment."

"Of course not," he said, mouth still glued to her neck.

His hand drifted up to her breast, squeezing it. For someone who had been baffled by breasts when they'd first slept together, he'd spent a lot of time touching them over the past two days. He liked how they felt, he had told her as much, so he didn't mind incorporating them into foreplay if she liked having them touched.

"Ready again already?" she asked.

"When you are."

He moved to climb on top of her, but she pushed him gently onto his back and climbed on top of him instead. "My turn." She kissed him.

"Oh, commander."