AN: Again, this story is a fill for the masskink meme, meaning that the chapter that follows very much falls into the lemon category and earns this story the M rating it has. If that's not your thing, I would not recommend continuing. That being said, please keep in mind that I haven't written anything with this much citrus in perhaps eight years, and even when I did it, I was never particularly good at it. But as they say, practice makes perfect. Please let me know if there are things you felt could be improved. As always, thanks for reading!

Arrived

She felt defeated. Completely drained. Exhausted. Which was particularly ridiculous given the fact that she'd been unconscious the last two days.

Two days. Great. More of my life missing, she thought sourly. But really, that was the least of her problems.

Shepard had always tried to do what was best for the most people possible. To save as many and not accept collateral damage as something that was "necessary" or "unavoidable." But she didn't think that assessment of herself could really apply anymore. She had chosen to let three hundred thousand people die. She had knowingly and purposefully destroyed an entire star system. Sure, she was trying to save dozens more systems, billions more lives. But when had she ever let the ends justify the means?

She sighed. No doubt she'd have far too much time to think about it. But that could wait. She had more pressing concerns. Something that couldn't be put off anymore.

Almost reluctantly, she pushed away from the galaxy map and went to the elevator. She had assumed he'd be in the Main Battery – no doubt locked in. And furious. Not that she could blame him for that. If he'd done to her what she just did, she'd ripe him a new one.

She wasn't looking forward to this. But really, who does want to deal with an enraged Turian? She was tempted to take a shower first and change. Anything to put this off, really. Hell, she'd rather debrief the entire crew. Naked. Then chew broken glass and drink battery acid.

Engulfed in her thoughts as she was, she was completely taken off guard when the elevator door opened and there he was. Her heart dropped to her feet and her blood rushed to her ears. She stumbled into the elevator, feeling dizzy. The door whooshed shut behind her. "Garrus?"

He couldn't explain to her how good it had felt to hear her voice again. It was like a drowning man's first breath after breaking the surface. Painful and ragged but life giving. But the relief he felt did nothing to put out the fire burning inside of him. The primal anger at his mate for putting him through hell for no damn good reason.

His body was tense, like a predator about to spring. His talons twitched slightly as if itching to tear into something. He wouldn't look at her. Goddamnit, why wouldn't he look at her? She needed him and the only acknowledgement she got from him was the fucking tension in the elevator as it slowly made its way to her quarters.

He didn't trust himself to speak yet. Hell, he hadn't opened his eyes since the elevator door opened and she'd walked in. She'd break through all his defenses and have him weeping if he let her. So he shut her out as he tried to regain control. Tried to keep himself angry. It was his only defense against her.

Shepard stared at the Turian as the elevator moved at its glacial pace. He looked like shit. Probably looked worse than she did. Her heart was breaking just seeing how much she had hurt him with her absence, breaking even more than from his silence.

She swallowed. Her mouth was dry. God was she nervous. He won't even look at me… "Garrus?" she tried again, hearing for the first time how hoarse she sounded. His muscles visibly tightened. She'd thought it wasn't even possible for him to look more tense than he already was. She may not know a lot about Turians or their body language, but everything she did now told her that he was pissed.

That's good, right? If he's reacting than that at least means he cares, right? But the fear was there. She was afraid he'd break things off with her. Maybe he'd decided she wasn't worth the stress. Honestly, she wouldn't hold it against him if he did.

The elevator finally reached the top floor of the ship. The doors opening was the only sound besides the beating of their hearts in their heads. Each was sure that the other could hear it, that it would give them away.

Shepard stood there awkwardly, wondering what to do. He had yet to really acknowledge her, but she didn't want to stay there in the elevator. Finally, after a few painful minutes, she decided to move towards her cabin. If he followed her, well… maybe they could still work this out. Salvage something.

Her hand was shaking as she started to input the code for her room, worse than when she was on the asteroid. She was listening so intently for sounds of him following her that she typed the wrong number in. Three times. And when she finally did hear him stop about a foot behind her, it didn't help her concentration.

Garrus was going crazy. He was close enough now that he could catch her scent. Damn her for smelling so good. Finally looking at her – at least looking at her back – he allowed himself to be pleased that she didn't appear injured. At least she wasn't limping, bleeding or missing any limbs. Yet.

When she finally got the door open, she turned her head slightly. Just enough to see the edge of him. She gestured for him to follow and made her way inside. He still hadn't said a word and that scared her more than anything else. He'd never been one to hold his tongue if he had something to say to her.

"Garrus-" she started, still not quite sure how to approach this. She was interrupted by the sound of metal hitting glass.

It had happened so quickly it took her a minute to get her bearings. He had her pinned against the fish tank, tightly keeping her in place with his entire body. His forehead was pressed against hers. Usually he did this to show affection, but he was using far too much force now. His rough skin was hurting her and making her head pound. As she felt the sting in her back from being slammed against the tank, the words "apex predator" came to mind before disappearing behind the heat of their bodies and the close proximity.

He'd had so much time to plan this out. He'd spent hours rehearsing the curses and accusations. He wasn't quite sure when the plan had changed. Didn't matter anymore. He could yell at her later. Right now every predatory instinct in him told him to dominate her. To show her she was his. That she would not leave him like that again. Ever. Ever.

Garrus knew he'd stunned her. He didn't know what she'd expected. Frankly, he didn't care. He was more than willing to take advantage. Keeping her pinned with his forehead – a feat in and of itself – he started undoing her armor. He wasn't ready to look her in the eyes yet, and this provided the necessary distraction.

It took her longer than it should have to realize what he was doing, what he was going to do. Her face paled and then flushed, surprise now keeping her pinned more than her confusion. He'd gotten most of her armor off already – he'd gotten surprisingly good at taking it off over the past few weeks. Her hands slowly moved to remove the pieces he hadn't gotten to yet, but he growled and swatted them away.

She was shaking a little in nervous anticipation. Oh god she wanted him, but this unusual display of dominance was throwing her off. So she let him finish pulling off her under armor, no longer worried about helping or hindering his progress. She just watched and noticed how he still hadn't looked her in the eye. Their eyes were inches apart and he seemed almost unaware that she was actually there.

Satisfied that she was completely undressed, he took a step back. He looked her over quickly. He'd never been one to admire the human form. It hadn't been until Shepard came into his life that he admitted that there was something appealing about their bodies. Her body. And he knew it really was only hers that he cared about.

He took another second to ravish her with his eyes. He thought he could see her blush under his scrutiny. He wanted to enjoy making her uncomfortable after what she'd put him through. But his growing arousal was making his own armor painful. So he hurriedly started removing it piece by piece, throwing it spirits know where.

Shepard watched as he undressed like a madman, just trying to get out of the damn armor and under armor. Then, finally, the only thing keeping them apart was a measly five feet. She couldn't help the smirk that played on the corner of her lips when she saw his swollen length. He might pretend he was angry, but god, even if he was, he still wanted her.

Garrus had tried to avoid her eyes. Knew he'd lose himself in them if he looked up, but he didn't have an excuse not to right now. So slowly, his eyes trailed up her toned legs, up her delectable curves, up her beautiful pert breasts, finally resting on that intoxicating smirk and her smoldering eyes.

It barely took two strides to have her against the tank again.

His arms were at her hips, pulling her to him and securing his erection against her inner thigh. Her hands flew to his cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. Admittedly, his experience with kissing was limited to Shepard, but he was sure she'd never kissed him like this before. He could taste her passion, her desire. He moaned as her hands explored his fringe, his neck, his mandibles – her hands were everywhere at once, leaving hot trails of fire in their wake.

But he wasn't in the mood for this. This was too slow, too loving. He needed her now.

He grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head, never breaking their kiss. She didn't offer any resistance.

Normally he would tease her entrance first, make her moan and beg. He didn't bother this time. After being so tightly wound the past two days, his body was screaming for a release. This wasn't the time to be gentle and tender. He spread her legs rather forcefully, still keeping her pinned with his arms, and thrust as hard as he could. His guttural moan was echoed by hers.

Spirits damn her, she wasn't supposed to be enjoying this. But he was still thrilled that he could have that affect on her. That she was already so wet. Keeping her pinned as best he could, he pulled both of her legs up and wrapped them around his waist. He didn't want her to be able to use them as leverage to try and take control.

He was aggressive. Rough. Unforgiving. She didn't care. She needed to feel his body against hers, feel him inside of her. She moaned wordlessly as he ground into her again and again. She did her best to meet his vigorous pace, but couldn't match his intensity. And for a few minutes she felt guilty for winding him up like this because it felt so good she was almost glad she hadn't told him.

He bit her ear harder than he should have. He had enough presence of mind not to bite any harder – he was sure he'd take a chunk off. He left her ear and made his way down her neck, to her shoulders, up her chin. He nipped as he went, reveling in the excited moans he received each time. He was in control up until she started to cry his name. He tried to go faster, felt her body becoming tense around him.

Their eyes locked and he couldn't help the possessive growl he made. That was enough to set her over the edge. She arched into him, nails digging into his wrists and eyes rolling back as she came around him, her muscles clenching so much it almost hurt him. He groaned as he felt himself about to follow her, one talon clenching her wrists and the other digging into her thigh. A few more strokes and he was there, burying himself as deep as he could into her warm core and calling her name.

They remained silent for a moment, riding their ecstasy as long as they could.

He let go of her hands so that he could take some of his weight off of her. Her arms immediately found their way around him. Their breathing was heavy as they tried to compose themselves.

He felt so much better. Relief washed through him and his thoughts were much clearer. He'd spent the last of his anger doing his best to fuck her brains out, but he found his desire hadn't been sated in the least.

"I want to fill every part of you," he whispered huskily into her ear.

She shuddered at his words.

They somehow found their way to the bed, Garrus intent on remaining inside of her and Shepard not wanting to disentangle their limbs. It wasn't until a few rounds later (thank god for Turian stamina) that the intensity of their lovemaking changed. His pace slowed and his talons lingered in gentle caresses. Her nails didn't dig in as deeply and her kisses were less demanding. Their climaxes weren't reached with frenzied cries or screams of pleasure. Instead it was tender words and blissful sighs.

It wasn't until hours later that they finally reached their last peak together, each mumbling "I love you" against the other's lips.

They didn't set out looking for love. That had never been their goal or destination.

But they found they had just arrived.