Human rituals

Chapter 2

The turian had passed all morning trying to keep his mind busy without being able to. Calibrating the Normandy’s weapons had become a regular activity, so his expertise on the topic allowed him to do it without paying much attention. Rambling was inevitable. Although his wound wasn’t really serious, Dr. Chakwas suggested that he take at least one day to fully recover before going to another mission. Suggesting that, unfortunately, Shepard took very seriously. In that moment she was who knows where, fighting the enemy while he pointlessly tried to contribute in the ship. He hated not being able to go with her on the missions, not being able to protect her at all. But he felt even worst every time he remembered his attitude during the last trip. Acting like her babysitter put the whole team in danger, and even risked the success of the mission. He couldn’t allow his emotions to have power over him. He needed to control his instincts.

Finally giving up, he stopped what he was doing and went to the kitchen to eat something. But once there, he noticed he wasn’t the only one with that in mind.

“Hey, Garrus. How’s your arm?” Asked the quarian when she saw him enter the place, interrupting her previous conversation with Liara.

“Fine, I wasn’t a big deal.”  He answered doing his best to avoid talking about the reason he was on the ship that morning. He walked towards the kitchen shelf and grabbed the first dextro-based food he found, not feeling too picky.

“I would be more careful if I were you. People don’t usually get hit with a missile and live to tell the story.”

“Then surely you don’t remember who you’re talking with.” He teased, feeling his mood getting a little lighter. He ate some of the food he had on his plate, but suddenly he started feeling uncomfortable under the persistent stare that Liara laid on him.

“Is everything alright, Garrus?.” She finally asked, getting Tali’s attention as well.

“Right, you did seem a little distracted during the mission yesterday.” Unfortunately she added, like he needed someone to remind him about that. He took a moment before answering, but just before he opened his mouth, a robotic voice got ahead.

“It probably has something to do with his sudden interest in human’s mating rituals.”

Garrus felt like he almost dropped his plate, and for the first time he felt like using that mute button that EDI used to have.

“You know EDI, most people appreciate their privacy.”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you about that”.  Said Liara this time, not making him feel really surprised. Of course there was a reason why she had been staring at him since he got in the kitchen.

“Anyone would think that the Shadow Broker would at least have a different protocol when it comes to close friends.”

Liara smiled before answering. “In that case, I would be a very bad Shadow Broker. Business is business. “

“Remind me that the next time I want to talk to you about an attempt against another species.”

“So, you got a thing for human females, Garrus? Or is it just Shepard?” Tali mocked without bothering to hide the amusement on her voice.

“Are you done laughing yet? Because if I recall correctly, there are a few things more important to do than talk about my personal life.”

“Hey, Garrus, I thought you would like to know that the commander is back from the mission. Should I go down and kiss her, or should I just leave that to you?” Joker intervened this time, as if not enough people knew it already.

“Thank you all for your conceal and discretion.” Said the turian aloud, just wanting to end his lunch as soon as possible to get away from there. Blessed the moment he decided to get out.