## Preface

Language Lessons
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/56730886.

Rating:
  Mature
Archive Warning:
  No Archive Warnings Apply
Category:
  F/M
Fandom:
  Mass Effect Trilogy
Relationship:
  Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Characters:
  Female Shepard (Mass Effect), Garrus Vakarian
Additional Tags:
  Fluff, Domestic Fluff
Language:
  English
Series:
  Part 8 of The Cases of Shepard and Vakarian
Stats:
  Published: 2024-06-18 Updated: 2025-01-07 Words: 737 Chapters: 7/?

# Language Lessons

by dispatchwithlove

Summary

> Garrus and Jane learning each other's language together. Each chapter is 100 words and based on a word prompt.

Notes

> These have been posted on tumblr for a while so I thought I'd throw them up here. Hope you enjoy these little snack-sized looks at their adorable life.

## Utter

“BuTer,” Garrus said, his accent thick.

Heavy application of B there, and turian tongues just couldn’t avoid the intense tongue flicking in the roof of the mouth when saying their T’s, but it was good overall.

“Use it in a sentence,” Jane said.

Garrus shook his head, she waited patiently, he sighed.

“‘English is confusing,’ he buTtered.

She smiled, shaking her head. “Utter is speak, muttered is speak with irritation, with grouchy.” She made a grouchy face to help.

Garrus’s browplates gathered. “Cheda ve butter?”

“English.”

“ Whaat is.”

“Butter is food, you spread on bread.” She pretended to drag a knife over imaginary toast.

“Mutter, utter, butter,” he mocked.

“And stutter.”

Garrus growled, then smiled and reached for her. “Forget words. Kiss me.”

Her pulse raced. Flutter, she wanted to add, but kissed him instead.

## Squeeze

Chapter Notes

> I love writing these. If you'd like to see more you can suggest a word in the comments and maybe I'll write a chapter based on the word 😊

> Also, my apologies for the tense switching up. I naturally write in present tense, it just feels better, but this series is in past so I try to stick with it. Sometimes I don't, though 😁

Garrus has his palm cupping Jane’s ass, not patting or stroking just yet, it’s just there, savoring the weight and the curve.

“How do you say,” Garrus says in English, then in Palaveni, “exiva.” The vowels are breathy from his mouth, the very tip of his tongue almost touches his pointed teeth when he pronounces va . It’s sensual, unintentionally enticing.

Which makes saying that word in English embarrassing. “Squeeze,” she mutters.

Garrus’s mandibes flare in a mocking grin. “Sq-weeze? I preh-fur exiva.”

“Say it again.”

“Exiva,” he purrs, intentionally enticing her, and she sighs, rocking her hips against his lap.

## Trust

Chapter Summary

> Jane is a brat. No one should be surprised by now.

Chapter Notes

> Thank you to louieclouds for the word prompt! Trust is a great word to shape a little scene around. Hope you enjoy ❤️

> If you'd like to see me write more of these throw a word at me. I love writing language lesson moments for them 🥰 And, if you'd like a specific tone (teasing, sweet, sexy, etc.) you can add that and I'll see what I can do.

Jane is sitting at Garrus’ feet.

“Do you trust me?” she asks.

“Palaveni,” Garrus instructs.

“Trust? Fides?”

His eyes narrow. He shakes his head. “Nulto.”

She bats her lashes up at him and traces his bare ankle with the tip of her finger. His foot tenses.

“Nulto fides, Jane.”

Smirking, she traces her finger away from the sensitive spot on his ankle, wanders lower towards the arch of his foot.

Just as she nears the arch, his foot jumps and, laughing, she catches it in both her quick hands.

“NULTO FIDES,” he shouts, his whole body squirming. “NO TRUST, JANE!”

## Salivate

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Rounding the corner into the kitchen, Jane breathes in the delicious smell of seared meat and spices. “Mm, smells good. I’m salivating.”

Standing over a steaming pan containing two sizzling steaks, Garrus’ browplates pinch. “Saliv-ate?”

She points to her mouth. “Saliva. Wet.”

“Ahh.” He smirks, and brushes his thumb at the corner of her mouth. Her lips soften and part at his touch. “I like your wet mouth.”

“Pervert,” she says before he slips his thumb between her lips, teases it against the tip of her soft tongue.

“Lultis asha, nama mela.” Hand on her waist, he pulls her closer.

Chapter End Notes

> The last line Garrus says is "Come here, my mela."

> Mela is an endearment (it's a thick, crimson colored liquid sweetener). I particular like lultis as a turian word for come because lul reminds me of lulled or lullaby, and I can imagine the predatory turians have a word for come that conveys someone only approaching once the other person has calmed them with subvocals. It's got "you're safe with me, you can be close to me" vibes.

## Hanger

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Hanger.”

Garrus’s mandibles tightened, his eyes shifting upwards as he thought. Then, confidently, with a hard, hissing H, “Hanger is coming, bring me food.”

Bewildered, Jane’s chin cocked. “No. Hanger. You hang clothes on a hanger.”

“Mm, it has two meanings.”

“Who taught you the word hangry?”

“Nihlus.” Garrus smirked. “Careful, Jane’s got her hangry eyebrows.”

Jane scoffed. “Nihlus takes too long to make food!”

“Hangry now?” Garrus laughed and touched his finger to her brows, which were indeed scrunched.

She batted his hand away. “Yes. Get me ice cream.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Ok, hangry amar.”

Chapter End Notes

> I still have two prompts from readers that I need to post, hopefully this week! If you'd like to suggest a word prompt throw it at me in the comments.

> Writing was tough for me this year. It was a tough year honestly, my sweet cat Danny lost her fight with cancer (a year to this day actually) and I got covid for the first time, which turned into long covid and chronic fatigue syndrome. But my heart has been healing and my health has been improving. I hope to get back to my shakarian stories, and others, in 2025.

> Thanks for reading :) Every single kudo and comment I received this past year meant so much to me. They were little bright spots in a dark year.

## Shit

Chapter Summary

> Cursing is funny, okay.

Chapter Notes

> Thanks so much for the prompt GenaFlare! Hope you enjoy this one.

> Their son, Nicotus (Niccy) is a toddler here, two or three years old.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Niccy is in Garrus’s secure hold, dangling over three inches of fresh snowfall, his mandibles wide, mouth tight.

“It’s ok buddy,” Garrus soothes.

Niccy kicks and trills. He’s cocooned in four warm, thick layers. His scarf covers his mouth and nose, his beanie is pulled low. Two pairs of socks. But turians don’t like the cold.

Garrus inches him down, and as soon as Niccy’s tiny boot touches the powdery snow he tenses. “Shit!” he says with startled eyes.

Jane laughs.

Garrus gasps, then scowls. “He learned that from you.”

“Me? No he didn’t.”

“I don’t curse in English, mela.”

Chapter End Notes

> I have one more prompt from a reader (love handles) which I'll post tomorrow. If you have a word you'd like me to write a short 100 word story around throw it at me in the comments. Thanks for reading ❤️

## Love Handle

Chapter Notes

> Thanks for the prompt LongTimeReaderFirstTimeCommenter! (Great name btw). This was a fun one, and I love it so much I'd love to work it into the main story so I can do more with it, as long as that's okay with you. I wanted to write a whole scene, not just a 100 word prompt 😁

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Jane wraps her hands around Garrus’s hip spurs, traces the prominent upward curve with a greedy grip, tugs his lean frame against her soft curves. The force makes him groan.

“Best love handles in the galaxy,” she says in English, parting her lips. He can already feel her soft pink tongue on his skin.

Curious, Garrus types into his omnitool. His browplate quirks and he pinches a bit of flesh above her hip bone. “Ex-ess fat deposit?”

“Two meanings. Also handles.” Her grin is lascivious, she bites her lip. “For love.”

Jane back-steps to the bed, pulling Garrus with her.

Chapter End Notes

> For anyone who reads my detective series, I *am* still working on In Your Arms. I decided to just write the rest of the chapters before I post again, so it’ll be a bit of a wait, but once I post again there will only be a week or two between chapter updates. Hopefully this will work better than waiting months between chapter updates.

> As always, thanks for reading 😊

## Afterword

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