.:: Silence ::.

In space, there was no sun to tell you when to rise, nor a moon to tell you to rest. Time was kept by clocks, and clocks alone, as space remained in the dark constantly. Right now, Shepard's alarm clock was going off, telling her to wake up. She groaned after the first few beeps woke her from a decently good rest, not wanting to move to turn it off. Slowly, she rolled onto her back, eyes shut as her hand felt around on the nightstand for the metal base of the clock, hoping to silence it for at least five more minutes. Just as she was about to find it, a familiar rough-textured hand found hers, pressing the snooze button with her. Only then did her eyes slip open, looking up to see her turian lover leaning over her. His blue hues turned down to her, the orange glow of the clock's display reflecting on them. Shepard couldn't hold back a little smile that formed on her lips as her eyes met his, her heart fluttering as they just looked at each other for a few silent moments. Looking into the eyes of the person you loved was unlike anything else, and his said so much, despite both of them saying nothing.

Her hand left the clock to go up to his face, her palm pressing to his scarred cheek. As if he knew what she was thinking right then, he dipped his head down to press his mouth to hers in a kiss. Even though he lacked plump and fleshy lips like a human male would, she still found herself loving his kisses as if he did. Just feeling that unique leathery texture against her lips was enough to send a chill down her spine, despite her best attempts to hold it back. Even after a few seconds had passed, he still lingered, as did she, neither wanting to be the one to break away first. She couldn't help but want more of him now that she'd had a little taste, her lips parting to let her tongue slip over his mouth. He made a soft hum of approval, opening his mouth to meet her tongue with his. Even here, the textures were different, a similar, but milder, roughness to his tongue versus hers. And still, she liked it.

As the kiss deepened, Garrus shifted around a little, his body now pressed up against her side. She generally slept with nothing more than underwear on, and he slept in the nude, so skin contact was immediate. Another shiver ran through her then, his skin and plates warm against her skin. Everything was different with him, different than the few lovers she'd had, and different feeling to her. The differences were what made him amazing—irreplaceable. His arm that had been outstretched towards the nightstand now came in so he could wrap his fingers around her wrist as her hand still stayed to his face. Their tongues slid against each other again and again, both of them loving the unique taste of the other. Garrus moved again, one leg moving between hers and parting them with his knee, and Shepard now realized that they were starting to be on the same page.

His hand gently grasped her wrist for another moment before he released it, wanting to touch more of her than just that. It drifted down to her bare breast, forcing out a soft moan from her into their kiss. He barely even had to touch her to make her crazy for him, and he enjoyed that fact very much. With slow short strokes, he caressed her breast, feeling her skin start to prickle beneath his palm. She wanted to break from the kiss and say something, tell him not to stop, but she couldn't bare to do it for even a second. Instead, she just let her body react to him, back arching to press her chest into his hand. He knew how to turn her on, and wasted no time in doing so. Just when she was really starting to enjoy herself, his hand slipped down, now resting just below her ribs. She stopped touching his face to reach for his shoulder, pressing her fingers into his skin in a silent attempt to encourage the touching. Garrus planned on continuing, alright, just not in that area.

His palm smoothed over her torso, going further and further south at a torturously slow pace that only made her want him more, as was the intention most likely. It snaked up under the sheet that was draped over her hips, dipping just beneath the hem of her panties before halting. Shepard groaned into their continued lip-lock, a wordless plea to go on. With his knee, he nudged her legs further apart, giving him a little more room to maneuver, and then sliding back to rest against her again. Then, finally, she felt his hand move lower, one finger slipping down in-between the start of her delicate folds, but again pausing. He wanted to see how hard he could push her before she'd have to pull away from their kiss to say something. She made another little moan, but still kept her mouth to his, her hips rising off the bed into his touch. That was enough for now, he thought. Ever so gently to keep from scratching her, he started rubbing the pad of his finger over the sensitive area, feeling her hips starting to tremble and roll into his hand to ask for more. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to please her and show her how much love he had for her, even if that meant a little teasing from time to time. No one meant nearly as much as her to him, and without her, he knew he'd most likely be dead.

Little waves of pleasure spread through her from his light touching, and the rest of the world around them started to fade away into an abyss darker than the darkest spot in the galaxy, which was exactly where she wanted to be. She loved him. She loved him long before she ever expressed it to him in words, yet, he almost acted like he knew when she finally admitted it. Shepard never imagined that she'd find happiness in the arms of a turian, especially not Garrus. He put on this hardened façade, but around her, his walls came down to reveal the most loving and caring man she'd ever met in her entire life. Knowing that she was the privileged one, the only soul to see that side of him, made her happier than anything. He wasn't a soldier, or an insubordinate, and she wasn't his commanding officer. When they were alone, they were lovers, and nothing more. Not even the war or the Reapers were on their minds right now, and they both loved how they could get that lost in each other.

One particularly quick hard stroke of his finger nearly made her move away from him to moan, but instead she just pressed her nails into a soft spot of skin near his shoulder. She wanted more of him, and she wanted him now. Almost in the same way he'd done to her, she trailed her hand over his shoulder towards his collar, fingers sweeping across it for a moment before slipping down onto his chest and to some of the plates that existed there. This part of his anatomy might have turned other women off, but she found it fascinating and interesting to the touch, tracing over the raised shapes with the tips of her fingers. He must have started to want her more too, as she felt his hand slip out of her panties and onto her hips, and this time, she did break from the kiss. She couldn't even get out a syllable before Garrus pressed his nose to hers and quietly shushed her, and she obliged. Now free from the kiss, he tilted his head and ducked down to press his mouth to her neck, making her twitch as his warm breath hit her skin.

As he started flicking his tongue out over her neck, his fingers caught the delicate material of her underwear between them, tugging them down over her hips to start to remove them. Shepard bent her knees and pulled her legs in, pushing off of the bed to raise her hips, knowing that single piece of clothing was the only thing separating them from letting their bodies connect in a way neither of them shared with another soul other than each other for a long time. Garrus removed them with ease, pulling his hand out from under the blanket to toss them blindly away from them, pressing his teeth to her neck for a second as he did it.

The cool air that circulated through her cabin hit her skin below her waist as the sheet slipped down a little, and immediately Garrus grabbed it and pulled it over them and all the way up to their shoulders, trapping the warmth from their bodies underneath it. Always so considerate, she thought, but was distracted by his teeth on her skin again. Her moan was quiet, almost breathless, but enough to where he heard it. That pleased sound from her was like a trigger for him, and the want to fill her and hear more of those noises consumed his thoughts. Again, he moved, raising up off of the mattress but still keeping his body very close to her. His knee moved between her legs again, moving them apart until he had room to fit his other leg, and then he lowered himself onto her again, his body flush to hers.

Instinctively, she lifted her legs until she could hook her ankles together behind his waist, her hips rolling against his to try and coax him a little bit. A faint chuckle left him from her attempts, muffled by his mouth still being against her neck. His tongue slipped out again, and he tilted his head to drag it up to her ear, giving it a quick nibble to hopefully elicit another sound from her. She responded not with a moan, but a continued grinding of her hips, feeling his arousal pressing against her. If he was holding out, it was only to tease her, but she didn't want to wait. He took the hint, raising his hips up a little and reaching down into the open space to angle his length towards her entrance ready to take her when she least expected.

Shepard didn't even realize that she was holding her breath until he lowered and slipped inside of her, causing her to gasp from the little jolt of pleasure she got from that. He arms went around his neck to hold him close to her as he started to rock his hips away and then back, each movement filling her with all sorts of wonderful sensations. Things weren't awkward like they had been the first time they ever slept together, both of them nervous and fearful that they'd turn the other one off in one way or another. After that, neither of them worried about a thing, and didn't hesitate to get tangled up beneath the sheets many more times. The love element was there from the beginning, at least for her, but she resisted bringing it in until they'd been together for a while. Since then, she feels like his lovemaking has improved, like he puts in more effort because there's strong feeling behind it. He was never a bad lay to begin with, but over time, she realized he was the best she'd ever had.

After a few slow movements to get things going, he established a pace that worked well from both of them, and she moved in tandem with him to increase the pleasure for both of them. She knew all he wanted was to please her, but there was no way in hell she didn't want him to experience just as much as she did, so she made an effort to reciprocate in any way she could. His hands found her shoulders, gently squeezing them with every back and forth motion of his hips. Here and there, there were faded scars from where a passionate lovemaking session had caused him to lose control of himself, his talons digging into her skin and scratching down her back. She liked the scars, liked that he marked her as his, but he wasn't looking to leave more marks on her today. No, this was about the connection he felt with her and his undying devotion to her, not about rough sex. That was reserved for some time after another mission, most likely, as he found himself oddly attracted to the way she moved on the battlefield.

Garrus caught her skin between his teeth for a moment, thus muffling a soft growl that he would have made from the pleasure flowing through him. When he resisted, she lowered her hands onto his back, finding a little skin between some plates and pressing into it with her nails, getting that sexy growl from him that she so badly wanted to hear. Really, his voice was attractive no matter what, but especially when it was painted with pleasure. Just for that, he picked up the pace a little, going deeper into her than before, and now she was the one making noise. Moans spilled from her lips and right into his ear, letting him know he was doing all the right things to her. Not that he doubted himself for even a moment. Already, sweat was starting to form on his back and forehead, making her hair stick to his face when he went to nip at her ear again. He didn't mind it, though, and it didn't distract. Her hair was one of the many features she had that he was very attracted to, despite the fact that turian women had no hair on their bodies at all. There was something…entrancing about those fiery red locks, and he'd even run his fingers through it sometimes to soothe her. Everything about her was wonderful, from the way she smiled at him, to the way she moaned his name in moments of pure ecstasy, to the freckles that danced across her nose and cheeks. Shepard was everything that he'd ever wanted in a lover, and more, and he was sure no other would fit that mould but her.

The room was totally silent, save for the soft bubbling sounds from the tank, but gradually her moans and whimpers filled that space, and some of his too. She liked hearing pleased sounds from him just as much as he liked hearing them from her, but he was a lot quieter than she was. Still, she liked what she got, having no complaints. He lifted his head and turned to her again, her mouth quickly finding his to bring him into another needy kiss. Tongues entangled and bodies trembled, both of them feeling themselves edge closer and closer to that edge, over which lied complete and total euphoria. He started thrusting into her a little harder and a little faster, the volume of her moans only being restricted by their kiss. It was right about now that she'd usually say something to him, tell him to speed up or go harder or something, but he wanted none of that. As soon as her lips left his mouth, his hand came up from her shoulder and covered it, stopping her from whatever command she was about to give. Garrus had never done this to her before, but she thought it was kind of interesting. To add to it, he did move against her a little harder, filling her deeper than he had so far.

What would have been loud moans were hushed by his hand covering her mouth, and it only made her love what he was doing to her more, for some bizarre reason. Her nails dug into the softer flesh between the plates on his back, making him groan into her ear as he pressed his face into the pillow behind her. She had left marks on him a few times as well, though they were less apparent and smaller than the ones he'd given her. Still, they were evidence of passion, and of great sex, so he loved every one of them. With nothing but a tighter grip to her shoulder with his other hand, he started pounding into her as hard as he could, having no control over the growls and moans that poured from him again and again. Even with her sounds being muffled by his palm, that last loud moan sounded like his name, and he had a feeling she was about to climax.

Sure enough, he felt her whole body quake beneath his and her nails scrape down his back hard, which was enough to make him go over that edge he'd been teetering on for a while. His movements became jerky as every muscle in his stomach and legs contracted and trembled, pure pleasure and ecstasy flowing through every inch of his body. These experiences with her paralleled nothing else, and he would gladly relive them again and again until the day she was no longer with him, and he knew she felt the same. Garrus and Shepard both rode out their orgasms, clutching onto each other as if for dear life, and then both relaxing as it ended. His hand finally left her mouth, and he could now hear her breathing heavily into his ear, gasping for breath just like he was. Even though they both were trying to catch their breath, he couldn't resist kissing her again, but only for a moment before he had to pull away and keep attempting to breathe normally. She'd taken his breath away in a literal and figurative sense on more occasions than he could count, but it still didn't seem like enough.

Her ankles unhooked from behind him and she let her legs rest on the tops of his hips, which jutted out a little, conveniently. Again, another part of his body that might have turned away other women, but she found herself liking them. She liked everything about him, no matter how alien it was to her. It was what made him unique; it was what made him Garrus. She wouldn't change a thing about him. Once more, neither of them offered each other any words, the silence that was only broken by their breathing enough to say, "I love you."