#fealty fic

[xoxunhinged]

[dwarrowdams]

7 Snippets, 7 Mutuals

Thanks to @otemporanerys for the tag!

I'm tagging @angry-jager, @sinelaborenihilsr2, @serendipitys-teapot, @kalliesa, @dispatchwithlove, @diaphanouso, and @westernlarch

1. Measurements - romantic walk in the Presidium

This was their last night together, and she wanted to drink in as much of him as she possibly could.  She was staring, but she was leaving tomorrow, and it wasn’t worth bothering to hide it.  Besides, Garrus Vakarian deserved to be admired, especially in his current attire.

He caught her gaze, his mandibles flaring in a smile.  “See something you like?”

“A lot,” Liv said, hoping he didn’t notice the quaver of emotion in her voice.  “I wasn’t kidding when I told you you’ve got great proportions. I’m just lucky I got to design for you.”

Garrus chuckled.  “Thought I was in for a miserable time when I got chosen for one of the gala outfits, but these have been some of the best months of my life.”

“Mine too,” Liv said, surprised by the veracity of the words.  “Not just because of the career opportunity, but because I got to know you and spend time with you.”

2. Measurements - closed-off sitting room tryst

She undid the first couple buttons of his shirt, sliding her hands beneath to feel the vibration of his subvocals. "You feel so good," she said. "It's almost a shame you can't undress all the way."

Garrus made an amused sound. "For someone who worked so hard to design this, you're awfully eager to get me out of it."

"I'm not vain enough to think my designs are the only things worth admiring," she said as she ran a hand over his keel. "Your body deserves attention all by itself."

3. Alterations (sequel to Measurements) - my beloved fertility cycles headcanon

“You know about turian fertility cycles?” he asked.

Liv nodded.  She’d done her research, which Garrus had supplemented in some of their previous conversations.  “Is there something else I should know about them?”

He shifted uncomfortably.  “Sort of.  There’s usually one time of year where things are…more intense.  There’s not as much daylight on Palaven, so it’s safer to, ah, procreate, so everything’s escalated.  Sensitivity, stamina, attraction…”

He paused, shaking his head.  “Spirits, I know how ridiculous this must sound, Shepard,” he said.

“Not at all,” she replied.  “Lots of humans go through the same thing, or at least something like it. It’s not a coincidence that I’m most easily aroused when it’s theoretically most likely I’ll get pregnant: it’s evolutionary.  Sounds like something similar happens with turians.”

4. Fealty (squire!Garrus fic) - squire oath

“Do you, Garrus Vakarian of Palaven, pledge yourself to serve as a squire of Fenghuang, undergoing the training and duties required to serve and protect the royal family to the best of your ability?”

“I do.”

The queen nodded to the princess, who stepped towards Garrus and pressed her mouth briefly to each of his mandibles.  Her lips had barely brushed him, but they felt impossibly soft, and he yearned to feel them again, only if for a moment.  He took half a step towards her, ducking slightly as he pressed his mouth to each side of her face, fluttering his mandibles gently against her skin.  He could’ve lingered there for hours, his mouth pressed to her skin, her body less than a hand’s breadth away from his, but he stepped back, facing the queen again.

She nodded in acknowledgment.  “The oath is sealed with the royal ambassador as witness.  By the power vested in me as the sole ruler of Fenghuang, I am pleased to be the first to address you as Squire Garrus Vakarian.”

5. Fealty - sparring that totally doesn't awaken anything in Garrus

 She pushed him against the wall, her body pressing into his to pin him into place.  He hesitated for a moment, struck by the way she was holding him down, the way her body felt against his, before gripping her wrists and flipping their positions.  She tried to duck out, but he stopped her, planting his knees on either side of her hips.  He counted—one, two—but she struggled free, crouching beside him.  He bent towards her, ready to tackle her to the ground, but before he could move, she swept her leg out, knocking his feet out from beneath him, and he fell to the ground.  He tried to sit up, but she was already on top of him: her shin holding down his thighs, her torso pressed flush against him.  Even if he had a chance of moving, he didn’t want to, not now that he felt both the power and the softness of her body, pressed against him with only a few layers of fabric between them.

The tap of her hand on the mat pulled him from his thoughts: one, two, three.

She’d beaten him, and had done so admirably.

6. Fealty - Princess Liv gets emotionally vulnerable

“I wanted to talk about last night,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I wish it had gone differently, but it meant so much that you were there for me when I was upset. I’m not great at trusting people, but after last night, I feel like I can trust you.”

He reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You can, Princess,” he said. “With anything.”

“Thank you,” she said.  “For showing me that it’s safe to let other people know how I feel.”

“Princess,” he began, but he didn’t have an end to the sentence.  What could he possibly say to this incredible, vibrant human who cared so deeply about others but didn’t feel safe when expressing her own feelings?

7. steampunk AU - Garrus catches a thief, but oh no she's hot

“You don’t need to bother with that [sign language],” she said, turning so that he could see the metal device curling around her ear.  “Don’t think I could keep up for very long anyways, not with these [candlesticks] in my hand.”

Her voice was sharper than that of the human nobles he’d spoken to, but somehow, it suited her.

“What are you doing with those?” he asked.

She chuckled, her mouth curving into a grin.  “It’s the middle of the night and I’ve just climbed in through your window,” she said.  “D’you think I’m here to polish the silver?”

Garrus’s eyes lingered on her mouth, pink and full and practically begging for attention.  If he took half a step closer, he could touch them, run his finger over the seam and—

No, he couldn’t, not when she was in the process of stealing from him.

[dwarrowdams]

Garrus wrapped his cloak more tightly around him as he made his way out to the gardens. He’d planned to spend the morning in his room, studying up on tactics before practicing them in the training area, but a message from the princess had swiftly changed his plans. Princess Liv Astrea Shepard: First snow of the season!  Meet me in the gardens so we can see it together. It was a welcome change in plans: Garrus had only ever seen snow in vids and holos, and he wasn’t about to pass up the chance to see it with the princess, so he’d dug his cloak out from the back of his closet and rushed downstairs. 

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[dwarrowdams]

Incorrect Quotes

Thanks to @angry-jager for the tag!

Rules: use this generator to make up some incorrect quotes for characters in your fics/stories.

Tagging @aeriamamaduck, @kalliesa, and anyone else who wants to play!

Quotes are from Fealty, Devotion (sequel to Fealty) and Measurements.

Fealty

Garrus: Liv, you do remember when we agreed we were better off as friends, right? Liv, naked in Garrus's bed: No, I absolutely do not. Garrus, already taking off his clothes: Fuck… Me neither. Liv: Okay, but what if we went to dinner not as friends this time? Garrus: AS ENEMIES?! Liv: Garrus: *casually taking four stairs at a time* Liv, falling behind, taking two stairs at a time: Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fu- Liv: Know why I called you in here? Garrus: Because I accidentally sent you a dick pic. Liv: *Stops pouring two glasses of wine.* Accidentally? Garrus: Everyone has a toxic trait. Except Taria, she's perfect. Taria: Wrong! My toxic trait is how badly I want to domesticate a raccoon. Liv: So, what’s Garrus's type? Taria: Blue eyes, kind, oblivious, good sense of humor, fashion lover. Liv: Sounds kind of like me. Too bad we’re just friends. Taria: Did I mention oblivious? Liv: Yeah, why? Taria: Okay, just making sure. Taria: Why is everyone so obsessed with top or bottom? Honestly, I’d just be excited to have a bunk bed. Garrus: Garrus: I'm gonna tell her. Liv: Don't you dare.

(note: in this 'verse, Mila [queen of Fenghuang, Liv's adoptive mom] and Nihlus [knight-errant, basically the space fantasy equivalent of a Spectre] have an ongoing queerplatonic-type relationship)

Nihlus: As top in this relationship, I think we should- Mila: I can't believe you're pulling rank on me. Mila: What's your body count? Nihlus: Do you mean sex or murder?

Devotion

Garrus: What are you in the mood for? Liv: World domination. Garrus: That's a bit ambitious. Liv: You are my world. Garrus: Aww... Liv: Garrus: Liv: Garrus: OH. Garrus: Go fuck yourself. Liv, smugly: Sure, but only if you watch Garrus: I didn't drink that much last night. Taria: You were flirting with Liv. Garrus: So what? She's my partner. Taria: You asked if she was single. Taria: And then you cried when she said she wasn't. Taria, bursting into the room: You two are having sex! Liv, not looking up from her datapad: Really? Garrus, why didn’t you tell me? I would have put my datapad down. Liv: We need a diversion. I say Garrus gets naked. Taria: No. Liv: I could get naked. The Knights of Fenghuang: NO!!!

Measurements

Garrus: We should get you to a doctor for a check up immediately. What if it happens again, and there isn’t anyone around to help you? What if it’s congenital? Oh my God! Was it me? Did I hurt you? Liv: …You realize any other person that made their partner pass out in bed would simply feel really proud of themselves, right? Liv: Hey, I’m getting in the shower. Wanna help me out? Garrus: ...Have you never taken a shower before? Liv: Did Garrus just tell me he loved me for the first time? Mila: Yeah, he did. Liv: And did I just do finger guns back? Mila: Yeah, you did. *Garrus and Liv are flirting with each other yet again* C-Sec Employee: And you two are sure you're not dating? Garrus: 100%. Liv: Of course not! Why would you think that? C-Sec Employee: I wonder why that possibility would even cross my mind, Liv. I fucking wonder. Liv: *is wearing silk pants* How does this look? Garrus: Like its slips on and off really easily. Liv: Garrus: No, I didn't mean it like that-

[dwarrowdams]

26. I want you to ruin me

Shakarian style babyyyyy!

I promise I didn't forget about you! I just wanted to find the right place for this and it took a while.

Note: this is set in my princess/bodyguard AU, hence Garrus referring to Liv as "Princess"

After years of waiting for Liv, of pining after her with little hope of reciprocation, Garrus had expected a few hours of waiting to be much more manageable.

In his defense, those few hours had been filled with teasing looks and all-too innocent touches from Liv, all while her earlier statement echoed through his mind.

You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined sucking you off.

He managed to make it through the luncheon and up to their chambers, but only barely: as soon as the door locked behind them, he pulled her close, sliding a hand up her shirt.

“I hope you don’t plan on teasing me like that every day, Princess.”

Liv blinked innocently.  “Of course not,” she said.  “Some days, I’m gonna tease you a lot more.”

Garrus was working on a response to that when Liv deftly unfastened his trousers and began teasing his slit, her fingers working with the same easy finesse that he’d seen in other contexts.  He leaned against the wall to steady himself as she touched him, one hand on his slit as the other slid up to tease his waist.  He reached for her again, tugging gently at the hem of her shirt.

“Princess, this feels incredible, but I want to see you,” he said, the request coming out with more desperation than he’d intended.

“You too,” she said as she moved away, pulling off her top with the same fluid motion.  “Undress and sit on the bed for me.”

He’d heard her give commands in her official capacity dozens of times, but this felt wholly different: softer, with the slightest hint of vulnerability.  He complied, watching as she shed her clothes and made her way to the bed.

She sank to her knees before him, flicking her hair out of her eyes.  “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” she murmured as she nudged his legs further apart.  “I’ll go easy on you this time.”

He groaned as she leaned forward to press her mouth to his inner thigh.  “I don’t want you to go easy on me, Princess,” he said.  “I want you to ruin me.”

She grinned up at him, sliding a hand oh-so-slowly up to his hip.  “I think I can manage that.”

[dwarrowdams]

✨, 🤩, and 🤲 for the fanfic writer emoji ask, if you’re in the mood

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

I'm good at characterization.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

For Mass Effect, I really love writing Garrus because his character is complex enough to keep me on my toes. He's an absolute sweetheart, but he can also be ruthless and violent; he can be smooth but is also hella awkward at other times, and so on. Balancing extremes like that in a character keeps me on my toes.

Of my OCs, I love writing Liv because of her brazenness (and her softer side that is sometimes buried deep), and Frida (my Adventures in Middle-earth OC) because she's very different from me (extroverted, charismatic, wants a big family, loves new experiences/places) and she has a cool narrative that allows me to explore a lot of different ideas/themes.

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

Gladly! Here's a bit from Fealty, my squire!Garrus fic, where he finds out that Princess Liv does archery.

“Just let me set a reminder,” she said as she tapped at her omni-tool.  “I have archery training later this morning and I don’t want to miss it.”

Garrus made an amused sound.  “Archery?” he said, disbelieving, before he remembered to whom he was speaking.  His face heated as he began to stammer out an apology, but the princess gestured for him to stop.

“It’s fine—that’s the reaction I usually get,” she said.  “Not my first choice when it comes to combat, but if someone messes around and jams all the guns, it’s good to have as backup.  Besides, it’s helped my accuracy a ton and it’s done godsdamned wonders for my muscles.”

She flexed her bicep, and Garrus’s subvocals purred with appreciation, although thankfully at a register the princess couldn’t hear.

“That…definitely makes sense,” he said, still staring at her bicep.

[dwarrowdams]

For the WIP ask game:

Pseudo-medieval Spain monster story 👀👀👀

and Fealty interlude?? ❤️

Thank you for asking!

Pseudo-medieval Spain monster story

This was based on a surprisingly coherent dream I had in which a princess (or equivalent) in a fantasy version of Muslim-ruled Spain befriended and eventually fell in love with her father's chief "diplomat" (actually a spy). The diplomat loves her too but is all "I can't be with you, I have no family and you're a princess."

Then while on a mission for the king, he ends up getting turned into some sort of shifting monster (similar mechanics to a werewolf, but a different type of creature) and goes to a different kingdom to find out what the hell to do with this and if he can even go back to his old position like that. Eventually he does, but at the behest of another nobleman, expecting no one to recognize him because he had a dramatic haircut and is growing a beard now.

The princess does, and she's pissed that he left her and went through this extremely difficult time in his life alone. He apologizes and is like "the one thing I realized while I was away is that I was wrong to push you away. You wanted me even though I didn't deserve you, and I ignored that. Now I'm a monster, and I can't expect you to want me like this."

Of course the princess is like "are you kidding that makes you like a million times hotter, let's have the sex we've both been dying to have for years now." And they do.

While this dude has been having his monster identity crisis, there have been Things going on in the princess's kingdom, and now that he's back, he's ready to help fix them using his new monster powers.

I'm still fine-tuning details, and pulling in touchstones from actual medieval Spanish history (surprisingly easy task--my cousin has her PhD in medieval Spanish history), but that's the gist of it!

Fealty Interlude

A short-ish work that'll go between Fealty (squire!Garrus fic) and the longer Shakarian princess/bodyguard AU. It's mostly scenes that'll be important to set the stage for the princess/bodyguard fic, but also some more pining. It'll be from several different perspectives (Taria [my turian OC], Liv, Mila, and Garrus for sure so far) and highlight the major changes that happen in between Fealty and the princess/bodyguard part of the story.

[dwarrowdams]

Tonight is apparently the night for thinking Thots about squire Garrus in my space fantasy AU winning a tournament for Princess Liv.