InsaneJournal

Current mood:	amused
Current music:	"New Kid in Town" - The Eagles
Entry tags:	fic, mass effect

Oh my God, it's CONTENT!?
I was watching finnegar play Mass Effect earlier, and I felt inspired to fic! For the first time in, like, years.


Going Soft
Short little ficbit, no spoilers, 750 words exactly. Because Garrus is a dork, and no one can convince me otherwise.

The marketplace was so crowded, so thronged with individuals of every size, shape, and description, that it took Shepherd a few moments to realize that one of her party was gone. She made a quick about-face, reaching instantly for the pistol at her hip. She didn't draw it just yet; her scarred armor and the small arsenal she carried were attracting enough attention already. Better not incite a panic by drawing weapons, too. Not unless it was necessary.

"Liara." She glanced at the asari, who had noticed her tension, as well as Garrus' absence, "Do you see him?"

"No, Commander Shepherd," Liara replied, scanning the crowd with a worried expression. "He was here just a moment ago..."

Shepherd cursed, starting to push through the crowds, retracing her steps and snapping her head from side to side. "Garrus," she barked into her comm, "You better copy right now or so help me I will tie your horns in a knot and shove them up your--"

"Commander Shepherd?" The voice came not just from her comm, but also from just a few feet ahead. Then the crowd parted and there was Garrus, kneeling in front of a market stall which that seemed to be selling an assortment of exotic pets. Shepherd was by no means an expert on the subtlety of turian facial expression, but it seemed to her that there was a rather sheepish air about him. "I'm sorry, Commander. I'm afraid I became... distracted."

Liara made a relieved noise, coming up to stand at Shepherd's side. "I'm glad it was nothing serious," she said, and she sounded so pleased that Shepherd's anger found itself dissolving. Wrex would probably call her too sentimental, but it wasn't that big a deal, right?

She straightened up and walked over to the abashed turian. "What sidetracked you so much, anyway, that you couldn't even say something before you dropped off the...” She trailed off, noticing what had so captured Garrus' attention: a wire cage at ground level, holding three furry, mewling creatures. She stared at Garrus incredulously.

"You disappear on me in the middle of an operation, without a word-- for kittens!?"

"I... apologize, Shepherd," Garrus murmured, rubbing at the tips of his backward-swept horns in an unmistakably embarrassed gesture. "I thought -- they resemble turian young." He mumbled this last bit, mandibles twitching in agitation.

Shepherd raised her eyebrows. "You thought they were baby turians?"

"O-on closer inspection I soon realized my mistake," Garrus said hastily, the skin around his eyes turning a deeper grey; he was blushing. "It was foolish of me to have made it in the first place."

Liara was crouching to investigate the kittens, one of them moving forward to sniff the fingertip she held against a gap in the wire. "They're quite sweet," she murmured, smiling, "and I can certainly see the resemblance."

"Would've thought the fuzz'd be a giveaway," Shepherd observed wryly.

"Not at all ," Garrus shook his head. "Turian infants retain their down throughout the first year of life, on average. My first thought was that this could be the work of a slave trading ring, and I felt I should investigate..."

"Wasn't just you thinking they were cute?" Shepherd raised an eyebrow, smirking, and Garrus blushed darker.

Liara coughed politely. "We should be going, Commander," she murmured, rising to her feet. "We don't want to keep our contact waiting."

"Yeah, come on, Garrus. We can get you a pet some other time..."

"Ah! You are interested in the felinoids, I see!" chirruped the volus shopkeeper, waddling over and clapping her hands together. "Can I interest you in the whole set? Buy two, get one free!"

"We're really not interested," Shepherd looked pointedly at Garrus, who was poking a finger through the bars of the cage and tapping a moist pink nose. When he noticed her look, the finger was withdrawn, and he reluctantly stood. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"You drive a hard bargain, earth-clan!" The volus was delighted. "Fifteen percent off! I promise you won't be disappointed; they taste most delicious when fried, although perhaps boiling is more to your taste? My friend across the way can set you up with the loveliest spices!"

"...Spices, huh?" Shepherd sighed, and glanced over at Garrus. The look of abject horror on his face was enough that she didn't even have to ask the question.

"Yes," she said, with a heavy air of resignation, "we'll take the whole set."

Maybe Wrex had a point, after all.

End

I'll be back in Seattle late tomorrow night, and then on Monday my final quarter of college begins. Oy vey.