So, I did a bit of drinking and decided it would be a good time to write. The result? A fluffy Post-Reapers Shakarian oneshot. =3

Greenyoda987 is awesome for interpreting my drunken keyboard-slamming for me. (Seriously, thank you)

Something soft and cool brushed his plates and Garrus stirred, a purr rumbling from his chest as he tightened his arms around the soft body nestled against him. A quiet laugh reached him—such a beautiful sound—and he opened one eye, surveying the human woman draped across his carapace as she gazed down at him. Her eyes were bright and he could tell she'd been awake for a while, but she didn't say anything, a smile pulling at her plush lips. His mandibles quirked in a small grin and he let his hands wander, running up and down her back before slipping one up into her hair and she leaned into her touch.

"Good morning," she purred, bright green eyes finding his as her hands wandered over the soft skin of his neck, up to his fringe and he let out a quiet moan.

"Were you waiting long?" he finally asked, giving her waist a light squeeze.

"I don't know. I like watching you sleep." She leaned down and brushed her lips over the plates of his brow, then his mandibles, and finally his mouth. He crushed her against him and snuck his tongue into her mouth, pulling a surprised squeak from her before she melted into his embrace. When they pulled apart she grinned. "And I knew it would be worth it to let you sleep."

He chuckled and ran his talons through her hair, eliciting a groan of approval. The years had threaded strands of silver through the still-brilliant red—a fact that she had lamented, but he found equally attractive—but there was little else betraying at she'd aged. Her cybernetics had managed to keep her young, despite the brief hiccup after the Reapers were destroyed, but she insisted that her grey hairs were a terrible thing. He said they were a badge of wisdom and made her look sexy. "Should I be worried that you watch me sleep?"

"No," she said quickly and he raised a brow, dragging his talons lightly down the skin of her back, making her arch. "You're just so peaceful."

"Hm." He nuzzled her neck, flicking his tongue out to taste her skin, and dragged his other hand down to her ass, giving it a tender squeeze. Her bare skin was cool against his plates, but undeniably soft. He'd known from the first time they had been together that he could never go back to turian women. Hell, he couldn't have gone back to anyone other than the woman in his arms right now.

Jane Shepard was the only woman for him.

Well, Jane Shepard-Vakarian if you were being technical. He smiled at the thought and nipped at the underside of her jaw, making her gasp. Oh, he loved her. Everything about her.

"I see you woke up in a good mood," she whispered huskily, wrapping her arms around his cowl and straddling his waist. She sat back and he growled when it put her out of his reach but she gave him a playfully stern look and he couldn't help but chuckle, settling back against the pillows to appreciate the view.

Retiring from the Alliance had given her body a chance to go soft, but she somehow managed to maintain a toned physique without lugging around weapons and armor every day. But there was now a smoothness to her, a softness that she complained of but he found beautiful and never hesitated to tell her so. Her scars had faded, faint silver trails on her pale skin, and he thanked the spirits every day that she'd come back to him.

No matter what happens here… You know I love you. I always will.

He felt his heart ache remembering that moment of uncertainty—would he ever see her again?—but flexed his hands against the flesh of her hips to reassure himself that she was there. Her gaze asked him a question but he shook his head, banishing the thought. She was here. She had come back. Nothing could keep them apart. He looked back up at her and smiled; he loved her more than anything in the galaxy.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips along the faded blue of his colony marks and he closed his eyes, savoring the intimate gesture as her fingers found the gaps in his plates and stroked the skin there. Oh, she was an expert on his body by now, but it was a mutual knowledge. He slid his palms over her skin, stopping to trace circles over the bottom of her ribs and earned an appreciative hum as she ran her tongue down his throat.

"You never forget anything, do you?" she asked, leaning back to meet his eyes and he scoffed.

"Not when it's about you," he replied, quickly rolling them over and burying his face in her neck. She giggled—oh, he would never tire of that sound—and hitched her legs up around his waist, making his breath catch. His hands found her breasts and she arched her back, pushing them further into his hands. The rough skin of his palms grazed her nipples and her mouth fell open and he purred against her neck as the smell of her arousal reached his nose. She mewled something as his hands continued to work her breasts and he nipped a trail down the column of her throat to her shoulder, tracing his tongue over the crescent of her bondmark and smiled in spite of himself. She was his. And he was hers, forever.

"Please, Garrus," she breathed, tossing her head to one side and rolling her hips against him. He growled against her skin, trying to resist the urge to grind back against her, and removed his hands from her chest. She whined at the loss of contact, but he silenced it with a very human kiss—after ten years, he'd gotten very good at it—slipping his tongue past her lips to tangle with her own and she brought her hands up to cradle his face. He loved the feel of her numerous fingers and purred against her neck as she pressed her fingertips into the sensitive flesh below his fringe. He plates had parted and his erection pressed against her stomach, but he didn't want to give in just yet. No, he wanted to enjoy her.

He pulled back from her neck and she whimpered, trying to pull him back down, but he gave her nipples a light pinch and she gasped, letting her grip on his fringe slacken, and he licked a trail from her collar bones down, between her breasts, to the flat plane of her stomach. She let out a low moan as he circled her navel with his tongue and dragged his talons lightly down her sides to the tops of her thighs.

"Garrus…" The plea fell from her lips as his fingers trekked closer and closer to her center and he shifted so his face was inches from hers again, pressing their foreheads together. Her eyes flickered open and he nuzzled her cheek, pressing one finger into her folds. She bit her lip to stifle a moan and he shifted so his knuckle rubbed the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her sex, making her gasp and writhe beneath him. The high pitched keen that escaped her made his pride swell and he watched her face flush, playing her body with practiced skill until she forced her gaze to lock with his. He felt his heart flutter, seeing there a glow of affection tempered with desperate need, and tucked his face against her shoulder.

"I love you, Jane," he rumbled, breathing in her scent as it radiated off her skin. Her fingers traced down his back as he positioned himself at her entrance, habitually-shortened nails expertly finding the gaps in his natural armor. She opened her mouth to reply but he thrust in, the words dying on her lips as she arched against him and he clenched his jaw to keep from pounding into her right then and there. Even after ten years together, he was never ready for the absolute bliss that awaited him within the love of his life. She felt like silk around him, warm and wet, but her body held him tight and even after all the years he'd had to become used to it, he never did. It always surprised him and forced him to hold himself back, else it would be over too quickly. She shifted her hips and he looked down at her, appreciating the flush that had spread down her neck. Every time he looked at her, it was like the first time and he always found himself wondering how he had gotten so lucky; who was he that the savior of the galaxy would love him? He traced a talon lightly over her cheek, across her nose and over the other where his marks would be painted on her face when they eventually left their bed and his heart warmed, knowing she was his. Her hands reached up to his face, cradling his jaw in her palms and tracing her fingers along the edges of his mandibles and he gave a contented sigh. Slowly, he pulled out before sheathing himself completely within her again and she moaned, throwing her head back.

They savored every second, taking their time to explore and enjoy each other, but every motion was weighted. His desperate hold on her waist said "I can never let you go". Her hands, cradling his face as her eyes met his, said "I will never leave you again". The slowness with which they drove each other toward ecstasy told of an insatiable thirst for one another, a tender give and take and had them both gasping. Her breath hitched and her body bowed against his, a quiet cry giving way to a moan signaling that she was being undone. Her most intimate muscles tightened, squeezing him in an almost unbearably delicious way, and her eyes misted over, her orgasm crashing over her in blissful waves. A growl rose in his chest as his own release crept up on him until he finally forced out a shuddering groan as her expert fingers massaged the underside of his fringe.

"I love you too," she whispered, pressing her lips to his brow as his member retreated back into his plates. He twitched a mandible in a tired grin and nuzzled her cheek, rolling off of her and tugging her against him. She chuckled and nestled her face against his carapace, tingling in a blissful afterglow that left her pleasantly warm. They both sighed, settling back to doze again when a high-pitched cry startled them both.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Garrus huffed out a breath and looked pointedly down at her, making her roll her eyes.

"Fine, fine," she groused, snatching a tee shirt from the floor beside their bed and tugging it on. It fell to her mid-thigh and she padded toward the door. It opened silently and a tiny ball of energy slammed into her legs, arms wrapping around her knees. "Kaius Shepard-Vakarian, what has gotten into you!" she laughed, scooping up the small turian in her arms and the young boy giggled.

"It's Saturday, Mommy. You said we could go see Uncle James and Aunt Liara!" Bright blue eyes looked up at her hopefully and she smiled, pressing her forehead to his.

"Of course, sweetie, but it's still early. How about you convince Daddy to make us all breakfast, hm? Then we can talk about seeing Uncle James and Aunt Liara." She gave Garrus a mischievous glance over her shoulder and he shook his head, grinning. Watching her with their adopted son seemed almost surreal. He had never imagined that they would have a family, yet there they were; mother, father, and son. Kaius nodded frantically and squirmed to be put down, bolting toward the bed as soon as his feet had reached the ground. Jane watched with a smile as the smaller turian scrambled up to sit atop her husband's chest.

"Daddy Daddy!" He bounced excitedly, mandibles twitching erratically. His colony markings were bright against his light plates, still temporarily painted until his tenth birthday, and she couldn't help but wonder at how similar father and son looked.

"Yes, Kaius?" Garrus replied casually, intentionally oblivious to his son's impatience.

"We gotta make breakfast so we can go see Uncle James and Aunt Liara! Come on, you gotta get up!" Tiny hands reached for one large one and the young boy started tugging his father toward the edge of the bed. Garrus chuckled and swung his legs off the bed, hoisting Kaius up onto his shoulder, and strode toward the door.

"Alright, alright," he laughed, stopping beside Jane to nuzzle her cheek, "But you've got to help me."

"Yessir!" their son chirped, leaning over to bump foreheads with his mother. She smiled, watching them head toward the kitchen before following.

These were the mornings she had fought for, the moments she had risked everything to have. Garrus looked back and gave her a tender smile, the softness of his eyes speaking volumes and she blew him a kiss as she settled on the couch to watch father and son take on the next big challenge: flipping pancakes.