I always felt that the flirt scene with Tali and Shepard was a bit short. The idea has hanged in my head for a quite a while, so I finally decided to write it up. Turned out to be this.



"Wait a minute, it sounds like you are suggesting something Tali?", the Commander asked.

Tali felt her cheeks getting even warmer as she spoke.

"What could I possibly be suggesting?" she crossed her arms, took a half step backwards and tilted her head before continuing. She tried her best to look as confident as she could, but inside she felt disintegrating. Her knees buckled, her stomach rolled around, and her whole face burned.

"I mean, a young woman gets rescued by a dashing Commander who let's her join his crew and then goes off to save the galaxy?

Tali returned back to her normal position, but with head slightly lowered, her fingers fidgeting nervously against each other. She hoped that the floor of the Normandy could swallow her whole. She thought about running away and throwing herself at the drive core, but collected all of her courage, finishing the sentence.

"How could she possibly develop any kind of interest in him..."

There it was.

She had revealed her feelings for Shepard, kept hidden for so long that it felt like an eternity. Part of her wished that she could take her words back, but a larger part did not.

She wanted to know.

And there she lay; helpless, vulnerable and waiting. Waiting to hear his mocking laugh, waiting to hear some kind of dismissive remark or waiting for the worst: nothing. He could just turn away, and stay away. There were many horrible things in the galaxy, but that she feared the most: Silence.

Like now.

Complete silence.

She lifted her head slowly. Her eyes walked through his military boots, then his cargo trousers, his dark shirt and finally his face.

His mouth was a little open, brow slightly wrinkled and his eyes held a thoughtful expression.

As seconds passed, Tali feverishly tried to untangle the expression on his face, but failing miserably.

She was always considered a prodigy, a genius. Even among her technically-gifted people. She could open almost anything.

Almost.

Again, she thought about running away and throwing herself at the drive core. Since she could not slither through the floor, this seemed to be the most preferable option.

Suddenly, the left side of Shepards mouth started to rise, and formed into a slight grin.

Tali waited in horror to see if the grin turned into the mocking laughter she had feared. Drive core again entered into her mind, but Shepard started to speak.

"Well, Tali'Zorah", he chuckled, crossing his arms.

"What sort of an interest are we talking about here?" his one-sided grin became a full one, as if to illustrate his point.

"Is this a professional curiosity...", he continued, taking a step forward, shortening the distance between the two. His voice seemed to tune down at every word, and when he continued:

"Or a personal one?", the words were only a whisper. He had almost closed the space between them, standing right before her.

Oh.

She felt a wave of heat pass through her.

His face was separated from hers by only a few inches, and when she looked into his eyes, the grin had faded away, only to be replaced by a smile. His eyes were filled with something she could not recognize.

He slowly lifted his hand, palm upwards.

"Tali...", he whispered, and she took his hand.