The mission on Tuchanka had been too intense for him to give too much more thought to the issue. Seeing Wrex again, fighting a Thresher maw, then ribbing Grunt on the shuttle ride back about puberty had distracted them both from the events of that morning.

Back on the Normandy, Grunt thanked them both again and left them both for his quarters. In the elevator, Garrus and Shepard chuckled about the mission.

"I'm glad Turian puberty isn't so violent," Garrus said, leaning against the elevator wall.

"Oh, I know. Figures Krogans' would be like that. I'm just glad we could help him out."

"Makes us like his surrogate parents then, huh?"

Shepard cracked a smile, "I guess so. Never thought I'd have a Krogan baby." They laughed as they piled out of the elevator by the mess hall.

"I'm going to get this armor off, then get something to eat," Garrus looked down at her.

She sighed, "Yea, a long hot shower is what I need. Then I think I'll just eat in my quarters. I've got to write up the mission report."

Garrus decided to take a chance, "How about we have dinner together, in your quarters. I could meet you up there later, if you'd like."

"Oh, I would like that. That's a great idea."

"I know I'm inviting myself over-"

"No, I'm glad, yes, I'd like that."

Garrus watched her stumble over her words, smiling broadly at him. He felt encouraged, "I'll get the food together and bring it up. What time?"

"How about 30, no – 45 minutes."

"Okay, I'll see you soon then." He reached down and squeezed her hand.

She nodded and walked to the elevator. Once inside her quarters, she stripped off her armor and underarmor quickly and ran in the shower, scrubbing the dust and dirt from Tuchanka down the drain. She thought about Garrus' sudden change towards her, hoping it wasn't him joking around again, or that she was misreading his signals. As she got dressed, she replayed their recent conversations, alternating between being convinced Garrus was interested in her and then convinced he was just a friend. Weary of second-guessing, she decided to keep an open mind and just enjoy spending the evening with him. She checked the time, she had 10 minutes left. She fluffed out her drying dark curls and grabbed her makeup bag, putting on a bit more than she usually did on missions. She looked at her reflection and took a deep breath. She heard a ping at the door, and called out, "Enter."

Garrus stood in her doorway in his casuals holding two boxes of food, "I figured you'd have drinks up here."

"Yea, come in." she took one of the boxes from him, "Mm, smells delicious, what is it?"

"It's Turian. I know you have developed a taste for Turian food, now that you have no dextro allergies. Last time we were on the Citadel getting supplies I ordered more rations, remember?"

"That's right." She walked down the stairs towards her couch and put the box on the table, making her way to her cabinet to get drinks.

He watched her as he sat down. His earlier attraction to her seemed to be no longer in doubt as he admired her beauty, her grace as she walked. The juxtaposition between her strength and fragility was enthralling. How had he missed that all these years? It must be that his feelings were there all along, he just needed to recognize it. She turned with a bottle of Turian whisky and stopped, smiling at him.

"What is it?" she asked, "You're looking at me funny."

"Oh, just thinking about how pretty you are."

She shook her head, "You don't have to say that Garrus."

He sat up a little straighter, "I mean it, Jane. I'm not joking around with you."

She put the glasses on the table and opened the bottle, "So you think I'm pretty, huh?"

"Yes, very."

She poured herself a drink and put the bottle back on the table for him. She studied him over the rim of her glass as he poured himself a drink. She wanted to believe him, but he was sounding like he used to when they were out at clubs. She didn't know what to believe.

He poured himself a drink and held up his glass, "A toast,"

She leaned forward and held up her drink to his, "To what?"

"To Cerberus."

She clinked his glass, "Cerberus?" she scrunched up her face.

He took a drink, "They brought you back, and for that I'm forever grateful."

"Ah, I agree with that." She sat back and took a drink. She opened the box of food and started eating. "This is really good. Thanks for coming up and bringing it."

"Of course. I wanted to spend some time with you, too."

"We haven't watched a vid up here in a while. You want to after we eat?" She dug into her meal, it tasted so much better than human food, she couldn't get over the change since her Cerberus re-build.

"No, not tonight." He didn't want the distraction of a vid.

She was disappointed, "Oh. I guess not then. I'm pretty tired after that Thresher maw too. Plus I have to write that report. Some other time."

They continued to eat and talk about the mission that day. Garrus cleaned up the plates and Shepard leaned back on her couch, continuing to sip on her whisky. It had been a nice night, she appreciated having him as a good friend, and focused on that. She smiled as he sat back down and picked up his glass.

"This is good, Jane. When did you get it?"

"Last time on the Citadel, I had to get Dr. Chakwas some Serrice ice brandy, so I looked around for some good Turian liquor while I was there."

"Good choice. You know, you'd make a great Turian."

"You think so? I don't know. I'm not a good one for following orders from my superiors."

Garrus smirked, "Well look at me. I helped you mutiny to take the Normandy to fight Saren, left Spectre training to become a vigilante. There's more to being a Turian than just being an obedient soldier."

"Oh?" she relaxed back into the couch, absently running her hand through her hair.

"There's loyalty, honor, courage."

"You're flattering me." She protested.

"It's not flattery if it's true."

"Then you are the best example of a Turian because you embody all that better than any other Turian I've ever met." She smiled at him.

He held up his glass, "To Turians."

"To Turians." She took another drink.

Garrus felt frozen. He wanted to broach the subject with her, but didn't know how. He held his glass in his hands and stared down at his drink.

"Pretty crazy how you can eat dextro food now."

"It's weird. I actually like it better. Something the Illusive man didn't do on purpose, I'm sure." She smirked.

"You are one of the few humans I've met who don't have at least some aversion to Turians, some residual prejudice."

"I know it's hard for you serving on a Cerberus ship. If any of the crew are giving you any problems, please tell me. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable in any way."

He shook his head, "No, no. Nothing like that. Well, nothing I can't handle anyway." He took another drink. "You ah, ever think of the possibility of being with a different species?" he quickly looked down and shut his eyes, Well that was fucking subtle, he chided himself.

She gestured around the room, "We're surrounded by different species on the ship. I think the only one not represented is Vorcha. I think we're a great example of what can happen when differences are put aside. Especially unusual on a Cerberus-funded ship. We can-"

He stopped her, "I didn't mean that." He stood up and paced around. "Jane. I -," he let out a big sigh, "I'm sorry, I have no idea what I'm doing. I think I'd better go."

She stood up, alarmed. He was genuinely flustered. She walked over to him and put her hand on his chest, "What is it, Garrus? I don't want to see you upset. Have I upset you?"

He shook his head, "No, no. I'm just – I'm an idiot, that's all." He put down his glass and turned for the stairs. She let out a frustrated grunt and followed him to the door.

"You're really confusing me. We're good friends, right? Please be honest with me. What's bothering you?" She stood between him and the door.

He looked down at the floor. "You."

She was taken aback, "Me. I'm bothering you." She frowned. "Okay, what am I doing-"

He grabbed her hands, "I have to know if there's any way you might have feelings for me."

"Uh," she started.

"I'm making a mess of this, look, I like you, I'm attracted to you, and I'm trying to find out if there's a chance you might think of me as more than just a friend." He looked into her shocked eyes.

She swallowed hard, "You're saying you want to be with me, like us be together for real?"

He nodded, "I'm not good at expressing myself, but the truth is I love you Jane. First as my best friend, now for something more. I'm hoping you might feel something like that too. I know I'm a Turian and you're human, but there are other interspecies couples out there, it's possible."

"Holy shit, Garrus. You're serious?"

"I am." He suddenly felt foolish and started to pull away from her and let her hands drop. As he did she put her hands around his neck and pressed herself up against him, whispering in his ear, "I love you so much." He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He stroked her hair as she held onto him.

"Jane," he said softly. "You were here in front of me all this time."

She smiled and reveled in the feel of his warmth, his scent. Finally she pulled back and looked up at him, "I can't believe you're telling me this tonight, I thought maybe, I'd hoped, but I never really thought you might think of me that way, that you would find me attractive."

"I know, I wasn't sure if you'd think of me that way either, we're very different."

"I think you're very handsome. Plus you know I'm a sucker for a guy with scars."

He chuckled, "I've uh, looked on the internet some, and I did some reading, but I'm pretty inexperienced, well, very inexperienced actually."

"Yea, me too. That's okay, it makes it more interesting, right?"

He nodded. She hugged him and reached up and held his face in her hands. She lightly kissed his cheek and around his mouth. He tentatively returned her kiss, slightly parting his lips and snaking his tongue in her mouth, tasting her. He pulled back and licked up the side of her neck, eliciting a small moan from her lips. She leaned back as he held onto her waist. She said quietly, "Stay here with me tonight."