HIATUS

"You would like that wouldn’t you?" The retort came with a smirk as she leaned forward lips just resting agains the plates of his face. "Not gonna happen, Vakarian."

   The turian's eyes narrowed, his mandible twitching as her lips pressed against his plating. She knew exactly what to say to get a snarky remark out of him. But Garrus refused to bite. 

It was the sound of horror mixed with defeat that came from the Commander next as she bowed her head forward as if hoping to bury herself away in the Turian’s shoulder. “Knowing him he probably drew some sort of…crudely humorous monogram.”  

Wrapping his arms around her, Garrus let his chin rest on the top of her head, still thoroughly amused at Shepard's predicament. "Probably. You know Vega. Anything to get a laugh out of the crew." 

 ”Well that explains things”, she responded with a small huff. A smile came to her lips at the simple gesture. The gentle moment was quickly lost as she came to a realization. “James found me?” Her tone was almost horror like. “….That means he probably has at least a dozen holos before he thought to come find you.”

A mandible flicker and a mischievous glint in the crystalline optics forced Garrus to take a step back. "He might have sent them to everyone on the ship already. I can't account for his ability to reach the extrenet, but..." 

With a gentle hum, Shepard nuzzled her head against his, mind briefly wondering what this felt like with another human; it had been a long time since she’d been with one. The slight vibration of his speech coursed through her, relaxing her slightly.

The gentle sensation of Shepard's hand against his coarse plating allowed him a long, slow breath, lids shielding his electric blue eyes for a moment. Relishing in her warmth and relaxation, Garrus desperately hoped that Shepard would genuinely take him up on the offer to rest--really rest. 

     Shepard wasn’t completely obtuse. But to be frank, sometimes things just went right over her head. Garrus’ love interests tended to be one of those things… Then again… Just the way his visor locked on to her face. And, was that… a smile? Perhaps it was her lack of confidence in matters regarding attraction. After all, her face and eyes had a bit of a tendency to glow - and well, Shepard wasn’t the nicest of beings in the galaxy. So for someone as … well, as seemingly moral as Garrus to show any remote sense of interest in her, was hard to believe. That, and the clue about being human wasn’t all that helpful. There were plenty of female humans aboard the Normandy.

It was interesting and slightly amusing to see Shepard so uneasy. On the field, she was in her zone, the place where she felt completely in her element. No second guessing, no uncertainties. She lived for the thrill, the adrenaline pummeling through her. But when it came to things like this; emotions and vulnerability, Garrus felt her retreat into the deepest parts of herself. 

          They hadn’t actively avoided each other but for the last few days they also hadn’t sought out each others company as well like they would have usually. Before this… conversation… argument? Whatever it had been it had been.

Garrus hadn't expected an immediate response. Shepard was a busy woman, always on the move, dishing out orders, making sure everything ran smoothly on the Normandy. A few days ago, the turian could have sworn that their lack of interaction was due to the fact that she had more things on her plate than she could handle and that he had everything under control down in the battery. 

She remained silent for some time in contemplation. He was right, especially now, physically and emotionally. Commander Shepard was a stubborn one though, especially when it came to putting her feelings and state of being after everyone else.

"Shepard, that--that's not what I meant." Though he should have been more upset, her resilience constantly peeking through the cracks in her armor. 

"Hey Garrus. Got a minute to chat?"

+ cleanandsurgical

"It’s nothing." 

[ he smiles softly, light mandible twitch before his brow plate dips in concern ]