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the bed, their bed– “our bed,” they had said– dipped beneath his weight as he tried to climb in as gently as possible. slowly, slowly, as to not wake them–
“s’at you, garrus?”
stiff form deflated with heavy sigh, and he sunk down ungracefully beside them.
“yeah, it's me.”
he felt and heard the shuffling to his right, head following the sound. near on its own, his arm moved away from his body, making space– space they readily filled.
“missed you.”
he couldn't muffle the chuckle in his voice.
“i was a room away, shepard.”
they shook their head against his side, nuzzling their face into him much like their pet cat often does.
“too far. you took too long. missed you.”
they kissed gently at the bits of him they could reach before tucking their face back in.
“who knew the great commander shepard, the first human spectre, was so needy. can't stand not seeing their boyfriend for a few hours.”
“there isn't a soul in the galaxy who wouldn't miss your handsome face.”
garrus chuckled, low and easy.
“still trying to make me blush, huh, shep?”
“‘til it works.”
the teasing reply came as they looked up at him, cheek smushed against the side of his chest. messy hair brushed against the un-armored parts of his skin, almost ticklish. the hand from his opposite side came up to card through the strands.
hair, that was something he found himself completely enamored with even months into their relationship. the shape, the color, the softness of it all… it entranced him, especially when they moved and it bounced around. it was almost funny, sometimes, the way it sprung and shifted; almost undercutting the seriousness with which they carried out their duties.
he pulled carefully at a lock of their hair, holding it extended a moment before letting it go.
“you always play with my hair the moment it's in your reach.”
they laughed a bit as they spoke, the humor in their voice eking through to their expression.
“how could i not? i lost you once, then almost twice– maybe love has made a fool of me, or maybe i'm just obsessed, but i want to touch you all the time.”
“all the time, garrus?” they teased. “that's an awful lot of time, are you sure–”
his response was immediate.
“all the time.”
he could almost feel how warmth bloomed in their face. gently, he linked his hand with theirs; it had been awkward the first few times they tried it, but by now it was a familiar dance. their middle and ring between his two fingers, and their pointer and pinky outside of them, his thumb and then theirs. they'd been delighted the first time they figured out a comfortable way to hold hands.
“american sign language,” shepard had said. “there's a sign that's a bit uh… universally– well, planetally– known. the sign for ‘i love you,’ it's done like this!”
he squeezed their palm in his as they tucked their face against his side once more. gently he pulled their little loving hand to his mouth, placing a kiss against it.
“good-night, shep.”
his eyes lingered on their intertwined hands for a moment before they slid closed.
love you too.