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They had an agreement. Don’t telegraph it. Don’t let our respective militaries now. We don’t need the scrutiny. We don’t need the stress. And yet…
When Shepard sees Garrus on Menae she hugs him. She just can’t stop herself. And there's only Liara there to see them anyway. For a moment she thinks he is not going to hug her back or even push her away, but Garrus wraps his arms around her and gives her the tiniest hidden kiss on the top of the head.
-
“I saw what you did there.”
She’s in the main battery, leaning against the wall. It’s good to be back here. Good to have him back here too.
“What I did where?”, Garrus asks innocently.
“On Menae, sneaky kiss on the top of my head. Very smooth. Very cute.”
He gives her the Turian equivalent of a grin, a flare of the mandibles she has learned to notice over time. “I am sure to anyone else it just looked like I was leaning into the hug my dearest friend Commander Shepard was giving me.”
-
It wasn’t though.
Shepard stops by Liara next and the Asari seems barely able to hide a big smile. Shepard raises an eyebrow in return. “What?”
“Did you just come out of the main battery?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s where Garrus works, right?”
Shepard thinks she knows where Liara is going with this and she does not like it. “What are you implying?”
“I am implying nothing. I am asking outright. I have a bet with Tali on this.”
“You people have bets on my dating life?!”
“Tali and I do. Although Joker and Wrex probably do too. I am pretty sure Kaidan kept out of it.”
Shepard sighs. “At least one of you manages to stay professional.”
“Oh, there was absolutely NOTHING professional about Kaidan keeping out of it.”, Liara laughs. “So did I win?”
“Depends”, Shepard crosses her arms. “What outcome were you betting on?”
“Only that you and Garrus would start dating at some point.”
She only barely manages to hold back another sigh. “Yes, you won your bet.”
“Ya-””But,” Shepard cuts Liara off before she can cheer. “I would appreciate you not talking about it. We are trying to keep it under wraps.”
Liara snorts. “He'll have to stop kissing you in the middle of ground missions then.”
-
They get subtler about it, no one except Liara seems to catch on. The kiss on the top of the head becomes a bit of a...thing though.
Garrus keeps sneaking them. When they are on their way to a ground mission. When no one is looking. Even when it’s just them. Shepard loves it. It’s their little ritual. A tiny thing just between them.
“It’s a bit sad you know”, she says one time. “That I can’t give the tiny kisses back. You are just too tall.”
Garrus laughs. “Actually Turians have the same reflex as humans, if you were to punch me in the stomach.”, he pats his armour to indicate the spot “I would fold. You could reach my head then. But I think that would defeat the purpose of sneaky kisses.”
“Yeah it would, wouldn’t it.”, she sighs. “One day”
-
They decide to tell the crew on shore leave. They deserve to know. And Shepard trusts all of them not to spill it to the Alliance, the Turian Military or god forbid some war reporter.
So once everyone is gathered she raises her arm. “Hey everyone?”
It takes a moment to get her crew's attention but she manages it. She’s still the Commander, no matter how drunk they all are.
“I’ve got to tell you all something. Well we do. Well…”, she hesitates “Garrus and I are dating. Have been since the Cerberus days.”
Her crew, her friends, stare back at her blankly. Joker, naturally, is the first one to speak. “Are we supposed, to be surprised?”
Shepard accusingly turns toward Liara, but the Asari raises her hands in defence. “I said nothing.”
“She didn’t have to”, Vega chimes in.
“Yeah”, Tali sounds almost confused. “You keep disappearing into the main battery, Garrus keeps disappearing into the elevator, both of you stare at each other all the time and he KEEPS KISSING THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD.”
Shepard’s mouth is hanging open at this point. “And none of you said anything?!”
Kaidan shrugs. “Figured it was none of our business.”
“Speak for yourself”, Wrex laughs. “Some of us had bets.”
“Right, yeah, I knew about those…”, Shepard turns to Garrus who has been suspiciously quiet. He catches her eye and just shrugs. “Seems we shouldn’t have bothered with all the secrecy.”
A grin starts to spread across her face and Garrus smiles back at first before he notices the malice and knows what she is about to do “Oh no no no. Don’t…”
Shepard punches him in the stomach, hard enough to make him fold and plants a soft kiss on the top of his head.