Friendly Competition [Mass Effect]

Title: Friendly Competition
Author: Fang
Beta: n/a
Rating: PG
Pairing: Garrus x OC
Word Count: 2,266
Warnings: n/a
Inspiration: 'Citadel' DLC for Mass Effect 3
Summary: "There wasn’t always time for some R&R on the Normandy. With Collectors to defeat and enemies around every corner it left little room to just hang around, enjoy each other’s company and to get closer to each other. Vex liked to take every chance she could to do just that when it did arise.”
Author's Notes: n/a
Mass Effect is the sole property of EA. Vex LeChance is property of WanderingLeo.

With the mission at hand - saving the colonies and fighting previously-thought of rumors - it was rare that there was much free time to be had on the Normandy. Vex was always surprised when it arose while traveling in a new cluster. With the relays it shortened what would have been years of travel to just a day or so between clusters and only then was there any relaxation time. Inside the clusters? Commander Shepard had them all working on everything they could so as to save time and not have to come back if they didn't have to.

So, when there was time between missions or when Shepard took only a select group with him to get something done Vex took advantage of it. It wasn't always the same thing every time. Sometimes she'd talk to someone around the Normandy or just take a nap, maybe play a game on her omni-tool when things got a little quiet. Vex was particularly fond of some of the old games, from a century or so ago, re-mastered for the masses now-a-days.

For now Vex glanced out the large window in the lounge, docked at Omega for the time being. Aside from the twinkling stars in the distance there wasn't much to look at, just a few floating chunks of rock. Time had gone by without her paying much mind to it.

A hum escaped her as she thought about the journey so far. She never would have thought that so many people would be willing to go on a suicide mission and yet here they all were, following after Commander Shepard. Whatever charisma that man had certainly was paying off now.

The sound of the door sliding open drew Vex back into reality. She turned, blinking at Garrus as he stepped inside. At his appearance Vex found herself smiling, raising a hand in greeting. “What brings you here, Garrus?”

He shrugged, moving closer to the couch she was seated at. “Well,” he began, his voice as lovely to her ears as it had always been, “I suppose there’s only so much calibrating one can do before there’s nothing more to be done.”

Vex’s eyebrows rose at that, seemingly disappearing behind her bangs. “You’ve got everything calibrated?”

Garrus shrugged again - still kind of a weird thing to see a turian do - as he sat himself down on the other end of the couch, arm slung over the back of it. “It helps when no one goes to mess with what’s already been done.”

An indulgent chuckle escaped Vex at that and she ducked her head a little at the questionable look that crossed Garrus’ face. While it was difficult to read turian expressions sometimes, Vex was getting better. She waved her hand dismissively at the look, fishing for a reason for the laughter. “Maybe it’s your face that scared them all away!”

The amused scoff that escaped Garrus relaxed Vex. She had been irrationally worried that he might take offense, despite the banter that she always heard between Garrus and Shepard. He seemed to be willing to take the joke a step further, gesturing to the scarred half of his face.

“Well, at least something comes from all of this, hmm?”

Despite the situation that had led to those scars Vex couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her. She couldn't help it, not when it came to Garrus. His voice just always had that snarky drawl to it that made anything he said sound like some witty joke.

"You could say that," she stated. Vex was sure that she had a stupid-looking grin on her face but she just couldn't wipe it off. It wasn't often that she got to hang out with Garrus without someone else interrupting. Vex kind of hoped that today would be different, that someone wouldn't come intruding in on this time.

The silence that stretched between them was rather comfortable, at least for Vex it was. She still worried that Garrus had grown bored when she caught him glance around the lounge from the corner of her eye. Biting her lip she attempted to think of something to say, something captivating or charming to keep his attention. Vex wasn't entirely sure just how long he would be here before he might find some excuse to leave again.

"I heard you saying once that you're amazed humans can even dance," she blurted out. Vex fought not to slap her hands over her mouth, well aware that that was the least clever and witty thing that she could have ever said. Sparing a glance at Garrus her heart leaped into her throat. He looked rather amused and if she didn't know any better Vex would say that he was smirking.

"What can I say? The way your legs bend can't be natural for dancing," answered Garrus easily. "I'm surprised you don't just tip right over when you try!"

Vex could feel her eyebrow take its spot up near her hairline at that. As if of their own accord her hands found their way to her hips and a look of mock offense crossed her face. "Our legs?" she echoed. "Oh, I do believe that is a challenge, Mr. Vakarian!"

She could swear there was a gleam in his eye now. "And if it is?" he goaded, already rolling his shoulders to limber them up before some great dance-off that may or may not occur.

"I might just have to take you up on that challenge, LeChance," he chuckled, already sounding confident. Why wouldn't he? Of course he figured turians were the better dancer. Vex would just have to show him otherwise!

She stood, hands still planted on her hips and entirely too amused by this entire situation. She couldn’t just let him get away with that kind of a statement and not show him a thing or two from the Vex LeChance School of Dance! If nothing else making a fool of herself could help ease into more conversation with Garrus, something she always looked for an excuse for.

“Well then, let’s find some music and start the great dance off!” she grinned.

Without waiting for a response she began to fiddle with her omni-tool, seeking out her music folders. Vex had quite a few stored up over the years and she figured they would be put to good use now. After searching for several minutes she smiled rather triumphantly as the opening lyrics to “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen began to float out from her omni-tool. It was totally worth it to see the baffled look on Garrus’ face. Even most humans now-a-day gave Vex that look when hearing such an old song. Vex couldn’t help that she loved the old rock classics.

“This is what you choose to throw down, LeChance?” he taunted after a second or two, finally picking up on the beat and swaying and turning to the oldie. “Come on now! I thought you’d have something more challenging up your sleeve!”

Vex wasted no time in joining him, making up the moves as she went and well aware that she was probably looking quite foolish in the process. The faster beat made it a little easier to get away with a freelanced dance. It helped that she knew what to expect of this song, as well.

It didn’t take long for the song to draw to a close. Unlike a lot of music now it was only a few minutes long. Vex had to wonder when the trend of seven to ten minute long songs had become the norm in recent years but it was shoved to the side when Garrus began to tinker around with his omni-tool as her choice began to fade into silence.

“I think it’s my turn to throw something down, don’t you think?” he mentioned, still swaying his hips with the beat that was no longer there. Despite the difference in species Vex couldn’t help that her eyes traveled to his rocking hips for a very long moment. The funky tunes that blared from his omni-tool were the only thing that drew her attention back up and her face grew arm when she caught the amused smirk at catching her staring.

“House music?” she groaned, trying to keep the focus off her staring.

“I’ve got to start out easy, don’t I? Don’t want to discourage you or anything,” he teased.

“Oh, what a gentleman!”

Vex found it far easier to dance to the house music - she thought it was asari but she couldn’t be sure - with its faster beat. Any Tom, Dick or Harry could dance to this sort of thing! Spinning around and laughing she could have sworn she spotted Garrus watching her, even as he worked to outmatch her in improvised dance. Song after song was provided as they went back and forth trying to outdo the other in not only dancing but with the song chosen as well. It didn’t help that each thought that their own dancing and music was the best and thus no clear winner could be decided from that alone.

Time seemed to pass without the two noticing, despite the fact that Vex was beginning to breath heavily and Garrus looked as if he was ready to just call it even - or so she thought. She heard him scoff over the music and she had to remind herself not to stop dancing or else unintentionally declare defeat as she tossed him a curious look. “What’s with that look, Mr. Vakarian?” she called out, brow raised.

“Just having to admit that maybe I may have underestimated you,” he relented in that lovely voice of his.

Vex chuckled, sticking her tongue out at him. “That’ll teach you, hmm?”

“Perhaps.”

Well, at least that was a start. Vex wouldn’t push him further, even if it was a playful answer. Vex had been about ready to call a truce, even as she scrolled through her playlists yet again before the door sliding open caught her attention. Almost at once she froze though Garrus didn’t seem to mind the intrusion, in fact, he just kept on dancing. Vex must have looked very much like a deer in the headlights as she caught sight of Tali standing there, frozen in place. Vex was grateful that she couldn’t make out what kind of an expression was behind that mask of Tali’s.

“Am I interfering in something...?” she ventured slowly, glancing between the two.

Vex swallowed, suddenly bashful and began to wave her hands before her. “N-No! Of course not!”

“Just a friendly little dance off is all,” Garrus chuckled, tossing a taunting look Vex’s way. “And thanks to your arrival it looks as if I’ve won this little challenge.”

With that said he finally stopped swaying and twisting to the tune of what Vex would have guessed classified as turian rock. She could only stand there, stock-still, as the realization kicked in. Her mouth fell open and for a moment she couldn’t think of what to say for quite some time.

“Well, then,” she started, fishing for some sort of a loophole to their unwritten rules. “I suppose it would take a distraction for you to win, huh, Mr. Vakarian?”

“Oh, don’t be so bitter about it,” joked Garrus, tossing a smile Vex’s way. He still looked far too amused about ‘winning’ their little dance off than Vex felt he should. “You put up a good fight there... for a human.”

Vex chuckled, hand on her hip as she shook a finger at Garrus. “Now, now! I think we need to have a re-match!”

“I... think I’ll just go,” Tali interrupted, holding up her hands as if to make sure neither roped her into their playful argument. “I didn’t mean to barge into your... competition.”

And just like that Tali was gone, spinning around and exiting as quickly as she had come. Vex couldn’t help but to laugh at the rather awkward way Tali had left in. She supposed it must have been quite a sight to come in and see two of her squad mates dancing wildly for no reason other than they could. Only a second or so passed before Garrus coughed, catching her attention. He seemed to be a little awkward himself, now that the fun was over. Vex worried that it might have been something she had said or did and immediately began to gnaw on her lip at that.

“You know,” Garrus began, noticeably not looking at her. “You didn’t, uh... move half bad there....”

A stretch of silence passed as Vex’s brow rose and her worry disappeared. Was he seriously trying to flirt with her? At that thought a smile stretched over her lips, and she began to rock on her heels delighted at this kind of attention from him.

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” she answered, smiling shyly at him. “Maybe we can have another dance off after all this is over.”

Vex delighted in the smile that spread over Garrus’ face at that offer. He seemed to look her over again, his gaze growing softer. She could feel her heart thump a little faster in response to it even as he nodded.

“Yes, when this is all over I’ll be sure to show you again just how good turians can dance,” he chuckled. He gestured to her, that soft gaze still present and affecting Vex in a very pleasant way. “Perhaps I can teach you a thing or two in the process.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Garrus.”