Commander Julia Shepard gazed out over the railing at the expanse of water before her. One thing she liked about the Citadel was the lake found in the Presidium. For some reason she couldn't fathom, the rich blue of the waters had always been able to help her forget about her troubles since her first visit to the station. Though the fountain-like cascades situated in the middle of the lake reminded her that it was indeed artificial like the 'sky' above, things were so close to perfection that the human woman often forgot that she was out in space rather than somewhere on Earth or one of the colony worlds.

With a barely audible sigh, Julia lowered her gaze to the edge of the lake which came close to the railing where she stood, to her reflection mirrored upon the lake's surface. Though not one for self-scrutiny, she couldn't help but wonder if she should have remained in uniform even though this was one of the all too rare times she wasn't faced with a mission other than chasing down Saren, but for the moment, even that could wait. She just needed to get out and clear her head before the rapidity of the past few months swept her away completely, and she was in no mood to deal with people wanting an interview, photo, or wot not. This moment was one where Julia could just be herself and not 'Commander Shepard', as everyone but her own family addressed her.

Rather than her uniform, she was wearing the pine green tear dress her aunt had made especially for her during the only time, a few years ago, that she had been able to visit Earth. Julia cherished the garment though she rarely ever had time to actually wear it, as it was the traditional style of clothing for the women of her tribe, and it was more comfortable and not revealing like the silly-looking dresses she'd seen other women wearing around the Citadel.

As Julia gazed down at her reflection, that belonging to another figure appeared alongside hers. It was a Turian, and Julia's eyes widened slightly when she realized that she recognized him -- the pale gold carapace that covered his face was unmistakable. Then again, she was one to talk, as most of the humans on the Citadel had lighter colored skin, making her own coppery red tone stand out.

"Hey, Garrus," she said, turning her head to look at him before she gave a nod of respect, which was returned. "I didn't expect to see you out here."

"Sorry, Commander. I saw you leave, and you seemed troubled, so I followed you..." Garrus trailed off, his silver-blue eyes glancing down for a moment before he quickly added, "But if you wish to be left alone, I... I understand."

"N-no! No, it's fine," the human replied quickly, turning to fully face him. "you're not bothering me, don't worry. I just needed to clear my head is all."

"Clear your head?" the Turian repeated, looking confused at the human expression.

"It's just an expression, Garrus," Julia explained gently before she turned back to stare out across the lake, her hands firmly set upon the railing. "I came out here to think about what happened on Noveria." She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Did I... make the right choice to release the Rachni queen? Wrex was pretty upset, and I'm afraid to talk to him about it, but I just couldn't stand to see her caged. I didn't want to kill her -- I couldn't kill her -- not after all the things she said." 'Besides, the Council probably still would've been angry with me if I had killed her..' she added bitterly as an afterthought.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Commander," he replied, his voice unusually soft. "It was your decision, not anyone else's."

The only response Shepard could find to give to that was a faint nod before the two fell into silence, Garrus setting a hand on the railing close to one of hers. The woman's eyes flicked over to look at it for a few seconds, and Julia pondered placing one of hers over it, but decided against doing so... at least for now. Julia liked Turians, and she had even flirted with a few who didn't show hostility towards her though such actions had only earned her looks of confusion. Not that she had expected anything to come of it anyway.

Then she had met Garrus.

Since the first moment she had laid eyes upon him, Julia had an overwhelming desire to be with him. Not just because he was a Turian, but there was just...something... about him that she just couldn't put her finger on. Though she had silently vowed not to make any moves toward the Turian until she had gotten to know him better, Julia still found it so difficult even after the past few months to tell him just how she felt. Not because they were of two different species, but because she was afraid of rejection. If he did accept her; however, would they be able to withstand all the animosity between Turians and humans?

"Commander, are you all right?"

"Huh?" Julia glanced down to notice that she had been drumming her fingers on the railing. "Yeah, sorry."

She drew a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before slowly releasing it, her grip on the railing tightening. Such questions concerning herself and Garrus would never be answered if she didn't try, and grasping what courage she had, the human turned her head to meet his gaze, and she couldn't help the smile that chose to play across her lips at that moment. Garrus's eyes were beautiful, reminding her of the lake she had grown so fond of, and she wished that she could just lose herself within their silver-blue depths... drown in them...

'Julia. Now.'

"Garrus, I..." the words died on her tongue, unable to get past the lump of anxiety that had chosen that moment to lodge itself in her throat. Damn it, why did this have to be so hard?

"Yes, Commander?"

"I... wanted to tell you... th-thank you... for believing in me," she finished, barely able to hold back a sigh of disappointment as she broke his gaze, turning her head back toward the lake.

"It's the least I can do, Commander, but I should be the one thanking you for allowing me to join you... and for always asking me to be part of the shore team."

"Anything for you, Garrus.." she murmured, immediately regretting letting the words slip and hoping that the Turian didn't happen to catch them. Shepard blinked when she felt something warm brushing over one of her hands, and she felt her face grow warm when she looked down to see that he had placed his hand over hers.

Perhaps... perhaps words weren't needed after all. Even so, Julia promised herself that one day, she would tell Garrus how she felt about him; however, she couldn't help but wonder if he already knew.