This was a prompt on tumblr and I'm a sap for interspecies tickles oops.

"Here?"

Shepard's head quirks to the side as Garrus runs a gentle talon along her neck, just under her left jaw.

"Yes!" she protests, moving away from her boyfriend on the bed. "Anyone would be ticklish if you stroked their neck like that."

Garrus's mandibles twitch in the turian version of a smile. His hand moves to the edge of her jaw, gently drawing a line down the skin with both a finger and his gaze.

"I'd like to think it's just you anyway," he says. "Besides, it's cute."

She squirms closer to him, head resting on the pillow next to him. Her arm falls under her as she rests from her propped up position.

"The annihilator of the collectors is cute," Shepard replies with a snort. "Grunt would love that."

"Good to know you tell Grunt about our intimate moments."

She kicks him gently. "You know what I mean, you stupid bird."

"Now that just hurts."

His hand is on her clavicle now, tracing the bone carefully. She squirms under the touch.

"Before you ask, yes. That tickled."

He leans his forehead into her, plates pressed into skin. "It's so odd."

"What, do turians not have ticklish spots?"

Garrus hesitates, considering the question. As he does, her fingers find his and wrap around his hand. Sometimes he feels so much larger than her. This is one of those times.

"We have sensitive areas," he says. "Which you know."

She offers him a smirk which is in no way apologetic. "You love it."

"No, I love this."

And now he's nuzzled into her neck, mandibles twitching against soft skin. Shepard twitches back, her fingers on his cheek now. "Cute," she states.

"You giggled. That was amazing."

"I know I am," she says. "Stop trying to turn cuddles into sex."

He takes her hand, bringing it down to his mouth and miming a kiss on her fingertips. "Nothing sexual about trying to make you laugh," he corrects. "I just like hearing it."

She melts into his touch, bopping him on the nose with her pointer finger in affection. "You are too sweet," she says.

"I know," Garrus agrees. "It's why you love me."

She shifts her legs, smiling at what he's just said. "Among other things," Shepard says.

There's a comfortable silence that follows, where Shepard's toes brush lightly over the top of his foot. His forehead meets hers again, and both shut their eyes for that single moment. It's warm there, just the two of them in a quiet little room in the middle of space. It's nice to not worry about something for a few moments, even with the threat of the Reapers hanging over them. Inside this room, if just for a while, it's only Vakarian and Shepard. It's exactly what both of them need.

Shepard almost jumps as Garrus runs a hand along the curve of her clavicle again, tracing it back to the base of her skull. "Dammit, Garrus! That was a moment."

"And so is this," he replies. "Human necks are so interesting."

She rolls her eyes and shifts her head to let him have a better angle. As his touch runs over her skin, along the jugular and the tendons under the skin, she admits, "Not all humans have necks as sensitive as mine."

Garrus offers her that turian smile she loves. "I know," he replies. "Let me know if it gets uncomfortable."

She relaxes into the pillow, her shoulder and neck at an angle. Her eyes close and she breathes into the feeling, letting the moment swell around them again.

"You have such odd interests," she tells him.

Garrus snorts. "Says the one who couldn't get enough of the mandibles," he says. "I'm glad you've learned to keep your fingers out of my mouth."

"And put other things in it."

"Now who's making it sexual?"

She laughs and sinks ever further into the bed. The threat of Reapers has never been so far from her mind.

Review if that's your thing. If not, see you around!