Normandy SR2: Two days later

He waited outside of the door, which had stubbornly refused to open for a full thirty seconds after he had signaled a request to enter. The past few days, since returning to the Normandy, he had started to feel restless. It was almost the same sensation he had felt before taking his Right, but more focused around Jack, his time with her, and the reactions of other members of the crew when they were in her vicinity. Even now, he clenched, and unclenched his fists to tightly that his knuckles ground together. The pain helped, a little. But the fact that…

He all but charged through the door when the light turned green, and he heard Shepard's voice through the com, giving him leave to enter. He stopped just pasted the door, silver blue eyes darting around to take in the interior of the cabin for a moment. He had never been in Shepard's cabin before, and found it surprisingly… Decorative. Ship models, plants, fish. A brief moment of wondering if the fish were for eating passed through his mind before he turned his gaze on the dark haired woman and her Turian mate. They were reclining on the couch, the Turian sitting upright against one arm while the surprisingly small human female leaded back against him, looking comfortable in the robe that covered her from head to toe.

Somehow, she never failed to surprise him simply by existing. His Angel was amazing in her own ways. Her violence, her strength, her attitude. But Shepard… She was an unstoppable force on a galactic scale, who had defeated a foe that had come close to devastating all life in the galaxy. And yet every instinct told him that he could simply pick her up, and break her like a child's toy. He knew that it wasn't true, somehow. Especially not now, with her Turian mate glaring daggers at him. Grunt could smell that they had been mating, or about to mate before he had requested entry, but he raised his broad shoulders in a shrug towards Garrus even as Shepard spoke.

"What is it, Grunt? Is something wrong?"

"Yes," he grumbled as he started to pace suddenly. The reminder of the reason he had actually come caused his agitation to rise again, and started the clench, clench, clench of his fists again. "What is love?"

Grunt could immediately tell that the subject had been the last thing they had expected him to question them about. Garrus, after taking a moment to process the words shuffled a bit in his seat as his human mate sat up from her comfortable lean against him. He had spent enough time with them in battle, and other soldiers of both species on Earth, to know what their signals meant. The flutter of Garrus' mandibles was a sign of unease, or uncertainty. While the wrinkle that appeared between Shepard's brows meant… What was it again? Confusion seemed the most likely answer. "Grunt," she began, her eyes focused on his as she leaned towards him slightly. "Why do you ask?"

His pacing stopped, which made the room seem suddenly very silent without the heavy 'thump thump thump' of his boots being driven into the carpet. "I think… I think I might be in love." His two battle masters could not have looked more flabbergasted if he had broken into cheerful song and dance in the middle of the room. "But then I looked it up, and it confuses me, because it doesn't seem right to what I feel. Poetry, and songs, and little hearts. The hearts gave me hope for a minute, but then I looked them up and realized that they were just stupid little drawings that don't even look like real hearts. And everywhere I looked for human love, because Jack is human, love was about feelings, and tenderness, and being kind to each other, and more songs and poetry. And when I looked for Krogan ideas about loves it makes a little more since, but there is so little information on it since the Genophage. Now all I see if how to mate, how to prolong our species, how to murder your genetic rivals so that the strongest can produce offspring. And Turians are just as bad."

"Whoa there, Grunt," Garrus interrupted suddenly, the low growl in the older male's chest causing grunt to pause his ramblings. "How are Turians just as bad as Krogans when it comes to love?"

Seeing the insult that radiated from Shepard's mate made grunt snort slightly before he answered in a voice that was mockingly amused. "Turian love is duty to family, honoring code, sacrificing for the greater good of the Hierarchy."

Leaning back with a huff, his mandibles twitching in annoyance, Garrus muttered, "When you put it that way… We are as bad as Krogans."

"It makes no sense that it is love," Grunt continued as his pacing started again. He could feel the annoyance tighten his muscles, and the desire to head-butt something had become a undeniable taste in his mouth. "But still, I feel like it is. I want to be with her. She fires my blood, and makes me hard…"

"Grunt…"

"…Every time I see another male looking at her, I want to crush them under my boot…"

"Grunt...?"

"…But there is no songs, or tenderness, or poetry, or duty, or chance of breeding. When we are together, we're either mating, or talking about mating. Or talking about fighting, and then mating. Or talking about past battles, and then mating…"

"Grunt!"

Blue eyes blinked once, and he came to a stop again at the bark of his name from Shepard; who, once she had his attention, lowered her head into her hands for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking up at him. "How exactly do you think Garrus and I met? We were chasing a rogue specter when we met, and Collectors when we met again, and always Reapers…"

"And Cerberus." Garrus added helpfully, and with a glint of amusement in his eyes. "And Batarian terrorists. And psychopathic AIs. And Thresher Maws. And Cerberus again. Oh, and Asari Matriarchs that worked for the rogue Spector that worked for the Reapers..."

"Yes!" Shepard cut him off with a wave of her hand, turning a sweet smile that only looked sweet on the outside to her mate. "Thank you for clarifying that, Garrus."

"You're welcome," he quipped, his mandibles quivering just a bit in amusement even under the exasperated glare from Shepard.

"The point is," she continued as she turned her eyes back to Grunt, "we did not meet under what anyone would consider to be romantic circumstances. All we talked about was battle, or past battles. We got to know and trust each other under fire. We didn't date. He didn't give me love songs, or poetry, or little paper hearts…"

"Do you want some little paper hearts? I am sure I could manage."

"Keep talking Vakarian," she said, shoving a finger into the center of his chest. A finger which he looked down at without losing his amused grin. "And you'll find yourself snuggling up to the main cannon tonight."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather snuggle up to it?" came the Turian's cocky chuckle as he rolled his shoulders. "I mean if you kick me out, it would be the only thing you might find to compare…"

Grunt watched as Shepard's mouth dropped open in shock, and then laughter bubbled in her throat as she grabbed one of the small pillows from the couch and smacked the grinning Turian across the face with a few times. After a few seconds of the assault, Grunt watched as a three fingered hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her across the couch onto his chest, pinning her there with the other hand at the small of her back. As their mouths met, one tiny feminine mewl of protest escaping Shepard and a throaty resonate growl coming from her mate (both sounds which fully understood) Grunt absorbed her words, and their actions.

Yes. This is their 'love,' and they do not try to define is as more. I think I understand.

While it did not fully ease his mind, nor did it clarify what love should have meant to him, it did make the young warrior understand that he needed to stop looking to someone else to help him define it. It was not perfect.

But it would do.

A little "mmmfh" was all Shepard could manage for the first few moments of the kiss with her mate. She wanted so badly to just melt into him. God, he had gotten so much better at kissing, and she had never had a reason to complain before. But this… The twine of his long tongue sliding wetly along hers made her will almost crumble before she remember that Grunt was still there. Even as his chest rumbled in light protest, he didn't stop her when she placed both hands on his chest and gently pulled away. Turning, she faced Grunt. "Anyway… Oh."

She wasn't facing Grunt; she was facing a closing door.

"Maybe he got what he needed," she heard Garrus mutter. Serious conversation may have been a moot point very soon she quickly realized, mostly because the deep timber of his voice trickled down the back of her neck like a warm rain before he nuzzled there. A delicious shiver ran the length of her body as she surrendered to him as she surrendered to no one else, leaning back against him and letting him take away any iota of stress with his mouth. And his hands. And that sexy, sexy voice. "Do you think Jack loves him?"

"I don't know," she managed to say without sounding like the puddle of lusty human she was about to becoming. That little trick of will was going to fail her very soon. Not that it mattered. She was certain that he could smell the liquid heat blooming between her thighs already. "Before I saw her with those biotic kids, I would have said no. But… I think they changed her for the better. And stranger things have happened."

A soft, delighted laugh left her as she found herself swept up into his arms, and she loved him for making the savior of the galaxy feel like the normal woman that she so desperately wanted to be now. There followed a few silent moments where he laid her down on their bed, and smooth talons drew the belt of her robe away before parting it reverently. The loving Turian nuzzled and nipped as his mates neck with all of the tenderness of someone who had never expected to be where he was again. Then, after a nip, and a heartbeat passed, he replied. "No... I really don't think they have."

So I changed my mind. I thought this little blurb was cute enough to post all by itself, before I post the actual final chapter.

R&R!