Happy N7 Day!! - Juxtaposed Snippet
It's late.
Too late for Jane to make good on her promise of striping so that Garrus can explore and see her bare body just as she had his.
He hasn't returned to the apartment yet and her eyelids are starting to grow heavy despite every damn thing she's tried to keep them open. Even trying to draw doesn't work in keeping her mind from trying to drift into that nothingness that is sleep.
Her will is failing.
"Sorry, Garrus," she whispers aloud to the empty apartment and stands.
She leaves her sketchbook on the couch and heads for the bathroom, yawning as she walks the familiar steps through the apartment and bedroom.
She brushes her teeth and ruffles her hair with her hands to get rid of the strands that were disturbed by Garrus' fingers. Now, all of her hair is a mess so it doesn't seem so obvious in her reflection that she had someone's hand tangled in her curls.
Disappointed that she's getting undressed all alone, she removes her clothes down to just her plain panties. In her things, she finds her loose, sleeping shorts with a pattern of dancing pyjaks on them and a basic black tank top. She wears something like these every night, exchanging the pieces when they need to be washed so Garrus is familiar with her nightly attire.
This way, if he wants to continue what they had been doing before he left, she's in familiar clothing and that might make him less nervous about her getting completely naked. After all, she's pretty exposed as is so he should be used to seeing at least peeks of her thighs, stomach, and chest which could happen as her clothes move and bunch up when she tosses and turns in her sleep.
Crawling into bed, she sighs and relaxes into the pillows that make up the cushioning for this turian-styled bed frame. Normally, the cup shape wouldn't work for a human but Garrus has filled it with so many plush pillows that she can easily make a perfect indention where she's most comfortable and she even feels cradled which she's never felt with a human bed.
She hopes Garrus will be home soon and closes her eyes. She might as well get some sleep just in case he has free time tomorrow to spend with her.
It's in the odd hours of the night when she feels the shift of the bed as someone puts pressure on it. In no time, she feels that comforting, familiar, and welcomed warmth against her back. She feels the touch of his body, the hardness of his plates, and the ridge of his keel and smiles.
Shifting to get a better look at him over her shoulder, she says, "Hi."
His silhouette flicks a mandible and buzzes apologetically. "Did I wake you?"
She can't quite see his face but she knows he can see her face much clearer in the dark. Shrugging to dismiss his worries, she smiles and asks, "What time is it?"
"Late" he admits and she rolls over completely so they can face one another.
He lays his head on hers, cheek against cheek plate, and nuzzles against her with a deep purr. It's a weighty gesture and more than a simple, light caress but she doesn't mind. She enjoys this close contact after being alone all night.
"Good news?" he finally says, leaning back so they can see each other. "The case is closed," he remarks with a proud flare of his mandibles. "For now, there won't be any more long days because we're just going through the paperwork …. Bureaucracy at its finest," he adds with a huff of frustration.
She knows she can't ask him for specifics because of C-Sec regulations and although he would tell her anyway, she wants to try and keep him on his best behavior. He doesn’t have to spell it out for her because she’s already happy for him even without the details.
With their previous agreement in mind, she smiles and runs her hands against the fabric of his shirt. She can feel the grooves and ridges of his plates and slides her hand down the rise of his keel.
“Do you want to sleep?” she asks, wanting to give him the chance to stop things before they get heated. While she’s all for continuing what they started, she doesn’t want to push him into it if he’s exhausted and wants to sleep.
There’s always tomorrow.
Scoffing, he remarks, “Did you forget that you promised me something?”
Although she can’t see his expression, she’s pretty sure he has that insufferable smirk on his face.
Smug little shit.
She smirks and grabs a fistful of his shirt’s fabric, tugging him closer. “I would never dare to imagine pulling something like that on you. I don’t mess around with promises and I don’t give them out freely.”
Chuckling, he sits up and opens his omni-tool. She soon follows and smiles now that he can see her face in the cast off from his tool. When she’s in place, he nuzzles his mouth against her cheek and she hunches her shoulders at the slight tickle from his warm breath.
Unable to read turian, she doesn’t know what he’s doing but she does like to see how different the universal turian language is from humanity’s universal English. She watches, interested as he types into the interface. With a few flicks and waves of his fingers, the lights in the room brighten just enough that they seem under the cover of shadows but not complete darkness.
“I didn’t know we could just control the lights remotely from our tools because …?” She trails off as she waves a hand encouragingly, raising a brow.
He smirks back. “Because it’s not standard, so you shouldn’t normally be able to interfere with the lights. I decided to sync them up to my omni-tool one day. A few calibrations and a couple of blown fixtures later, I had it working flawlessly.” He hums and glances at her in his peripheral, adding, “It’s not really allowed under the building’s tenant agreement but what’s that saying? ‘What they don’t know won’t hurt them?”
Laughing, she playful shoves his shoulder. “Damn, aren’t you a little handyman?”
“I have no idea what that means,” he says flatly and she laughs again.
“So,” she says, calming her amusement and smiling. “I guess since I stripped you, it’s my turn, right?” Shifting to face him better, she holds up her arms to the side. “I am at your mercy, as you put it.”
“I’d like that.” He nods before letting out a hum and reaching out to her. Instead of trying to undress her, though, he guides her arms down to her sides. “But I want to do things at your speed.” He holds her hands for a moment before flaring a mandible and saying, “I know that me nude is different than you being nude because of our differing species–”
“Whoa–Hold your horses, there, cowboy,” she interrupts with a raised hand and immediately bursts into laughter when she sees his face grimace at what must be his translator’s failed attempt to understand her. “Okay,” she says when she has a chance to catch her breath. “Okay …. Never mind what I just said. It’d take way too long to make any of that make sense so I’ll just say this.” Cupping his face, she smiles encouragingly. “Don’t worry. We got this.”
“So, the thing about humans and taking off your clothes isn’t something I should worry about?” Garrus rumbles and flutters his mandibles in what she thinks are nerves. “I read ….”
“That we are a bunch of prudes who feel exposed when we get naked?” she offers with a playful smirk.
He huffs and some of the tension lifts from the air. “Well, you are ‘exposed,’ Jane. You don’t have any plates to cover anything.”
“You know what I meant,” she retorts, dropping her arms. “And, yeah. Maybe some people feel a little vulnerable naked in a more mental way but this is different.” Smiling, she pats his leg softly. “I trust this will be okay. I’m … comfortable. And I know you,” she adds as she finds his hands and brings them to the hem of her tank top without directing him to do anything further if he doesn’t intend to. “You’re even more aware of what I’m okay with even more than me sometimes.” She leaves his hands there, releasing him and giving him the silent permission to do as he pleases. “I trust you.”
Thrumming that sound she knows is just for her, he wraps his hands around her waist. When she watches his fingers overlap, she finds herself reacting the same way as when she felt his sharp teeth during their kiss.
It must be the size of them.
Or his talons.
His talons.
I’m developing some weird fetish for dangerous men, it seems.
And I like it.
It’s either the realization that she likes danger with her sex or it has more to do with this being Garrus.
That brings too many questions into the mix that she doesn’t want to get into tonight. They’re mood killers and too much for her to deal with when all she wants is to feel good, experience something new, and get even closer to her best friend.
He relaxes his hands and strokes down to her hips, settling there to stroke the curve of her hip through her clothing. Hooking the tip of his talon beneath the tank, he glances up at her with a question in his gaze.
She smiles and nods, giving him further permission as she holds her hands out so that there are no obstacles between him and getting her top off. Thankfully, they won’t have to talk about bras and how annoying they are to get on and off because that’d probably ruin the mood.
Now that she knows what he does with lights in his bedroom, she thinks he’d probably get tangled up in the engineering flaws of a human bra. If she’s not careful, he might even suggest trying to modify them.
She does not need enhanced bras. Her military-grade ones are just fine.
Although, if we’re going to keep stripping each other, maybe I should invest in some nice ones.
He slides his hands under her tank and she sighs at the sensation of his palms on her skin. It’s so different from the touch of a human’s hands but she likes it.
His hands are like a pair of leather gloves that have been used and well-worn with smoother palms and a slight roughness on his fingertips. These hands are strong, confident, and, dare she think it, caring.
Humming in delight, she closes her eyes and mindlessly lifts her arms so he can pull the tank top up and off her. Her skin feels cold where his hands once were and she opens her eyes as she lowers her arms to watch him toss the clothing away.
His gaze sweeps across her and she feels the true predatory nature of his species in the way he seems so focused on her. Her skin prickles and flushes under his scrutiny and she realizes this is the first time she’s ever blushed when someone’s seen her bare breasts and torso.
She has no idea why.
This is supposed to be an exploratory give-and-take where he strips for her and she for him. He stayed at the center of attention so diligently and composed and here she is, acting as if she’s never gotten naked in front of people before.
She just wishes she knew how to read Garrus’ facial expressions in this kind of situation. He’s so damn different from a human but, in a way, this is probably what he felt when she was undressing him.
“So?” she asks, trying for a levity that can wash away her worries and hopefully stop that insufferable blushing so she can seem more in control. “I’m not too squishy and pink for you, am I?”
She feels like such a damn fool for asking.
What does it matter if he rejects her like this? It wouldn’t change their friendship, just their views of their appearances without clothes.
They’ve already agreed on that.
If this doesn't go anywhere, that’s okay.
Even if she’s developed this weird, blind desire to see more of him.
He smiles and runs a talon across her left collarbone, responding, “I know you too well to agree with that and expect to get out alive.” Tilting his head, he smirks. “What did you say? ‘You’re gorgeous?’”
Hearing her own words thrown back at her with such honesty, she swallows heavily and nods.
Tonight is getting heavier than she thought it would.
Where is he going with this?
With a finger under her chin, he gets her attention to look at her again and out of her head. “Jane, are you sure I’m what you want? Are you sure you don’t want something a little closer to home?”
She now realizes what he must be thinking and internally slaps herself.
It isn’t her that should be nervous and uncomfortable. Not entirely.
In completing their little game of undressing each other, there comes a logical conclusion.
They’re closer now, more intimate, and there’s no going back. No matter how many times they say it, they’re each going to have to get over their own self-doubt about what the other thinks of them.
Right now, it’s his turn.
“Home was never something that brought me happiness,” she admits with a smile and closes her hand around his wrist. “You do, Garrus.”
A thunderous purr erupts from him and he flares his mandibles.
Pressing his mouth to her lips, he kisses her. His tongue slips into her mouth and he growls as she meets him with her own. She can feel the vibrations from his subvocals at their connection and along her tongue.
It trails down her throat, spreads across her chest, and blossoms in her belly and causes a rush of heat between her legs. She closes her eyes to bask in the kiss, giving as much as she takes even though her tongue is just too short to compete with his wonderfully nimble one.
She whines as he pulls away but calms when he nuzzles against her forehead and says, “Show me where to touch you.”
She can’t nod hard enough, unable to come up with anything witty to say that deep timbre of his voice. Instead, she takes his hands and lays them on her breasts. “They’re very sensitive. You can squeeze them—”
Her heart races when he shifts his hands without her lead, rubbing the callused pad of his thumb over her nipple. She has to bite her lip from trying to say something snarky that would most likely end up sounding more wanton than she wants to admit right now.
She realizes that he’s learned how to treat her breasts from somewhere else and it’s not just experience over the years. There sure as hell aren’t any on female turians and he’s repeatedly sworn he’s never slept with another species.
It’s annoyingly touching that he’d go through the effort to learn how to properly tease her instead of fumbling around and figuring it out in the moment. That’s good because she’s done herself enough stumbling and groping around during her turn to make their encounters awkward enough.
Just as she’s about to ask him what kind of kind of porn he’s been watching, he grazes her erect nipple with the edge of his talon.
She jumps as electricity runs straight to her toes. A breath comes out of her lungs in a short gasp and she grins.
“Do that again,” she greedily demands, almost panting in want. When he raises a brow plate in intrigue, eyes glancing up at her face, she says, “I know it’s weird, but just … do that again.”
He shifts his hands so that only the tips of his talons run over her skin, skimming over her nipples and leaving tingling trails of pleasure against the skin of her breasts. She knows his talons are blunted but they still have enough of an edge to pull a moan from her lips.
Fuck …. He has no idea what he’s doing to me ….
Or does he?
She isn’t of a sound enough mind to demand he do it again but she finds that she doesn't have to. Not when he leans down and sweeps his rough tongue across her right nipple.
Jerking in reaction, she moans and throws her head back. As she closes her eyes, she asks, “Fuck ….” She sighs and looks at him, a lazy smirk on her face as she tries to maintain her composure. “Good God, Garrus. Where the hell did you learn this?”