Cmdr J. "Hot Stuff" Shepard:
Where are you? I thought you were off-duty.
.
Chief Gunnery Officer G. "Sugar Woogie Snuggle Cakes" Vakarian:
I am. On my way now.
.
Cmdr J. "Hot Stuff" Shepard:
Good. It's lonely up here. And cold.
.
Chief Gunnery Officer G. "Sugar Woogie Snuggle Cakes" Vakarian:
Cold?
.
Cmdr J. "Hot Stuff" Shepard:
Tee hee. Silly me, I seem to have lost my clothes. All of them.
.
Garrus couldn't help chuckling as he made his way towards the elevator.
.
Chief Gunnery Officer G. "Sugar Woogie Snuggle Cakes" Vakarian:
Let me just stop by Miranda's office on my way up and requisition a new set for you.
.
Cmdr J. "Hot Stuff" Shepard:
Never mind. Found them. *sigh* Guess I'd better put them back on then.
After I take care of things myself.
Since you're so busy and all.
.
The elevator doors opened and Garrus stepped inside, swiping the selection for the Commander's quarters.
.
Chief Gunnery Officer G. "Sugar Woogie Snuggle Cakes" Vakarian:
Never too busy for you. Leave them off. Please.
.
Cmdr J. "Hot Stuff" Shepard:
Still cold.
Freezing.
Hypothermia setting in.
.
Chief Gunnery Officer G. "Sugar Woogie Snuggle Cakes" Vakarian:
Almost there. Try to restrain yourself.
.
The elevator doors slid open once more and Garrus tapped off the messaging program on his omni-tool just as the doors to Shepard's cabin hissed open for him. The overhead cabin lights were turned off, but the ambient light from the fish tank and the orange glow from her omni-tool were more than enough for him to see by.
Shepard was mostly underneath the covers on her bed, with the top part of the blanket tucked under her arms, leaving her shoulders deliciously bare. She looked up and smiled as he approached, switching off her own omni-tool. With a deliberate stretch of her arms, she let the blanket fall.
He didn't say a word, keeping his eyes locked on hers, as he stripped off his own clothing; finally setting the new visor she'd given him just a few days ago gently down on the table on his side of the bed. It was hard to control his breathing, hard to keep the growling rumble that was growing in his chest from escaping… especially with the hungry way her eyes were raking over his body. When he'd finished undressing, he crawled slowly over top of her on the bed.
"Took you long enough," she whispered, pulling his forehead down to press against hers.
"What if I promise to make it up to you?" He nuzzled her neck, nipping very lightly under her jaw where he now knew it made her shiver.
Shepard nudged him away enough to meet his eyes. "Then I'd say that I'm extraordinarily lucky to have you."
"I know exactly what you mean."
This was all worth it; worth fighting for, worth being brave for, worth risking everything for. Her mouth found his as he pulled her close, happy to be reminded, yet again, of just how lucky he was.
"Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."
~ Erica Jong
A/N: And it's over (apologies for the very short last chapter)... *sniffle* *sob* Thank you all so very much for reading, and for all your kind reviews and comments. I was blown away by the amount of support I've received, and I'm so, so, so grateful. *gives a group hug and passes out cookies*
A super special thank you to my wonderful beta and friend, Josie Lange, for her advice and suggestions that made this story far better than it would have been. I'm also incredibly thankful for all the time she took out of her busy schedule to beta this for me. Don't know what I'd do without you!
Another super special thank you to my NaNoWriMo support system - my good friend, karebear - for all her support and cheerleading while I was writing this... especially since I twisted her arm into doing NaNoWriMo with me mere hours before November 1st. :)
Thank you!