Okay, before anyone worries, no I have not forgotten my other stories. No they are not on hold; not even close. I'm finishing up the next few chapters in the next few days, and I hope to post in a week's time.

Anyway, I was playing Mass Effect 3(Like you do) and this idea popped into my mind and it just wouldn't leave me alone. So I had to quickly write it up.

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The door to the Normandy's lounge hissed open on rough hydraulics. Instantly Shepard was aware the normal running lights had been dimmed and the sound system was playing some sort of jazz. It took a few heartbeats for his eyes to adjust to the darkened room. The door hissed closed behind him. It was only then the figure at the bar seemed to notice she had company. Two slanted eyes of pearl turned to face him, hidden behind a tinted plas-glass visor. Few outside the Quarian fleet knew anything at all about the body language of its people. Maybe a hand full of Asari matriarchs with memories from before the Geth uprising had an idea, but few others. But John Shepard had learned to read every nuance of Tali's movements. It was important to him that he knows everything he could about his love.

When their eyes first met, before she recognized him, Shepard saw a deep brooding in his Quarian girlfriend. But when he stepped closer in the dim light, her eyes brightened and he knew she was smiling under her visor.

"Tali." He said simply.

"Shepard!" Tail raised a glass of bright yellow liquid. Shepard raised an eyebrow; her voice was slurred and her movement was way too smooth, like liquid. Was she…drunk?

"Want a drink?" She spun in her bar stool and motioned to the stock of blue, green and brown bottles on the wall, "I'm toasting Miranda…I think…" She sipped from her glass. Shepard walked over to the bar and took his time selecting a bottle. He was aware Tail was staring longingly at his back and broad shoulders, so he stretched and flexed his back. He was rewarded with muffled gasp from Tali. Shepard grinned and selected a bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a tall glass and turned to face the Quarian at the bar.

"So…how are you getting drunk, anyway?" Shepard asked and sipped from his glass. Tali almost giggled, obviously proud.

"Very carefully." She reached out and teased her finger along his nose, "Turian brandy…tripled filtered and introduced into the suit through this…emergency induction port." She dipped her mask to the plastic tube in her glass and took swig to underline her point. Shepard grinned and suppressed a laugh.

"That's a straw, Tali." Shepard corrected. Tali placed her glass carefully on the counter and glared needles at him. Shepard winked and sipped from his glass. Tali reached out and took his arm in a vice grip.

"Emergency. Induction. Port." She said and Shepard was sure she was growling. He raised his hands as a sign of understanding. Tali dipped her head down into her drink but it took her a few tried to get it settled, "It's actually getting a little harder getting it into the slot. I think that means its working…" Tali let a silence fall between them. Only the random song she was chosen on the sound system could be heard.

Her thoughts drifted to a certain Cerberus operative. Even though Miranda had escaped with her sister, both none the worse for wear, a dark cloud hung over Tali's thoughts. She remembered her first meeting with the perfect woman. Miranda knew half the men of the Normandy would check her out when they though she wasn't looking, and she made damn sure the other women aboard knew who was at the top. Every conversation Tali had ever had with her, Miranda would fold her arms under her breasts or rest her hands on her hips. Miranda knew what she had over Tali. The Quarian glanced at Shepard; she knew what she had over Miranda.

"She was so rude." Tali said after a moment and sipped from the emergency induction port. Shepard was silent, "What did Jack call her? Cerberus cheerleader?" She took another sip and let the harsh liquid burn down her throat. Already her thoughts were becoming more unfiltered; an ironic result of a triple filtered drink.

"With her perfect genes and her attitude and…" Tali almost let slip the word 'body'. No woman from the Normandy would ever admit it, but they were all jealous of Miranda's looks; well not Jack, but most were. Miranda had been handed everything in life. She was such a spoiled boshtet.

"And still…she got it done." Tali said before she could stop herself, "She stopped her father." Tali finished her drink quickly and reached for the filtering station on the bar. She put her glass under the nozzle and pressed a button. A motor inside the device whirred and a stream of Turian brandy began to fill her glass. Shepard finished his whiskey in one gulp and poured himself another glass.

Shepard motioned to the leather couch near the bar and for Tali to follow him. The Quarian stood and took a step, and suddenly she was dizzy. It was as if the room was spinning or the gravity generators had malfunctions. Shepard was quickly at her side and let her lean on him. Tali snaked her hand over Shepard's bicep. It was rock hard and she couldn't get her entire hand around it. She inwardly sighed but shook her head clear of those thoughts.

"I didn't realize this would be so hard on you." Shepard said as the two sat down. He sipped from his glass as Tali just stared into hers, composing a reply. She played with the white plastic straw and carefully sipped again.

"I didn't like her. Keelah…" Tali chuckled as a few choice memories flashed in her mind, "she was such a bitch." She sipped again and felt pleasant warmth beginning to grow in her stomach, "But I respected her. Sometimes that's better than liking."

"She did whatever it took to stop her father." Tali's voice began to waver and Shepard placed his glass on the table, his attention fully on her. Memories of her life aboard the flotilla flashed in her mind. Tali remembered being the best in all her classes and excelling at every physical contest or feat of arms. She remembered her father's stony eyes, always unwavering and always unimpressed. Shepard had once described her eyes as pearls of light. Her father's could only be shards of hard marble.

When she spoke again, Tali's voice was angry and she hissed through her teeth, "She never gave into him. Never changed herself to please him!" Tali took a huge sip from her glass, slurping as the liquid drained into her throat. It burned but she didn't care. She just wanted the memories to stop. She just wanted her father's ghost to leave her alone.

"Ahhhh…" Shepard said with a tight grin and reached again for his glass. Tali shot him a glare and purposefully looked away.

"Don't 'ah' me, Shepard." She mumbled, "You sound like a vorcha." What did he know about how she felt? Shepard's parents had died on Mindoir years ago. Despite that tragedy, Shepard had never had to look at his father not as a parental figure, but as an equal; as flawed.

"Seeing a bit of yourself in Miranda fighting her father?" Shepard asked after a moment. Tali hissed suddenly and fought back a few hot tears. Okay, maybe he did at least understand what she meant.

"I spent my life trying to please him." She felt Shepard put a hand on her shoulder, so she turned to face him. "Then after he…I was making up for his mistakes." She laughed bitterly, "Doing what he'd have wanted…keelah, he's dead and it feels like he's still running my life. Why can't I…"

"It's never that easy." Shepard said and pulled her a little closer. Tali closed the distance between them and rested her helmet on his shoulder. She finally let a few of the tears roll. With her head buzzing with brandy it was an odd feeling.

"When do we get to stop reacting to our parents …" She looked over at Shepard and placed a gloved hand on his handsome face, "And start living for ourselves?" She whispered this last part. Part of her thought of her relationship with Shepard. Would her father ever approve of it? She grinned; never. Maybe…maybe she was starting to live for herself.

Shepard let go of her, took her glass and made his way back to the bar. He was careful not to give her too much brandy or even to breathe near the glass. Tali smiled. He was always looking out for her. Shepard held out the brandy to her. Tali took it and traced her fingers over Shepard's knuckles as she did.

"The answer to that is at the bottom of that glass." Shepard said and drank from his whiskey glass. Tali giggled.

"I may need some help with emergency induction straw…" She bit her lip to suppress a laugh from her mistake, "Port. You know what I mean." Shepard plopped down next to her, rested his boots on the table and put his arm around Tali's shoulder. She happily snuggled into him and just watched the stars fly by the window. After a moment, she looked at her glass then to Shepard's whiskey and then back to hers.

"Everything okay?" Shepard asked, noticing her movements.

"I'm having a drink with my boyfriend!" Tali couldn't keep the grin from her face and looked over at Shepard. Her commander had a tight grin on his face, but his eyes and body language spoke volumes of happiness. Tali felt giddy, "My human boyfriend." She put as much seduction as her foggy mind could allow into her voice. Shepard closed his eyes and she saw a well controlled shudder run through his body. Tali laughed.

"Keelah, my father would have hated you." The two laughed and Shepard raised his glass.

"Here's to him then." Tali clinked her glass against his.

"And to Miranda. Nice job you genetically perfect Cerberus cheerleader boshtet. Keelah se'lia!" Shepard downed his glass in one big gulp. Tali sipped vigorously from her Turian brandy and almost gagged but kept drinking. How many was this for her? Three? Four? Her body felt like it was on fire in her suit. Shepard leaned back and let out a low chuckle.

"I can't remember the last time I even got buzzed, let alone drunk." He said. Tali began to trace her fingers in aimlessly circles on Shepard's shoulder.

"Buzzed?" Tali asked. Human words were so bizarre.

"It means…I guess slightly drunk." Shepard said matter-of-factly, "Like when your head feels fuzzy and you just want to admit to something."

"I think I might be buzzed then." Tali said and overly dramatically draped herself across Shepard's lap. The commander smiled and ran a hand over her hood and down to her collar bone. Tali began to squirm a little as her body heated up and more of the brandy took its toll on her mind.

"Then why don't you tell me something?" Tali asked after a moment, "Come on Shepard. Admit to doing something wrong."

Shepard's brow furrowed as he thought. He smiled bashfully, "Well I don't know if you would consider it wrong…but…"

"Yes?" Tali asked, suddenly very interested.

"When I was in lock up, back on Earth…" He paused and his eyes glassed over for a moment, "Before the Reapers attacked…" He trailed off.

"Shepard?" Tali took his hand in hers and squeezed. He smiled sadly at her and shook his head.

"Sorry. Anyway, when I was in lock up…I created an escape plan." Shepard looked away as if ashamed, "I missed you and I wanted to see you and…and for almost two months I tracked every guard's movements and their schedule rotations. I calculated the gaps in the camera overlap fields. I even spent a week trying to guess the access code that led out of my wing of the base." Tali stood up straight.

"How far did you get?" She managed. Her voice was breaking and her chest was tightening up. Keelah, he really had been thinking about her the entire time they were apart. Tali suddenly felt like she didn't deserve him. Sure she had tried to contact Shepard at least once a week, but she had never thought of trying to break him out.

"It worked Tali." Shepard said, "I got to the shuttle pads without anyone noticing. I had a clear path to orbit and I'm sure if I contacted Joker he would have broken the Normandy out of dry-dock."

"But you didn't go through with it?" Tali asked, although she knew it was obvious he had not.

"I thought about it for a long time." Shepard smiled at her, "I couldn't do that to you."

"What? Come see me?"

"No. Put you between me and Alliance brass. I couldn't do that to the Quarian people." Shepard scratched his chin, "I mean harboring an escaped fugitive? That wouldn't do much for the Quarian reputation, would it?"

"No." Tali laughed and scooted out of his lap, "I guess not. I missed you too…during those days…"

"Hey, it all worked out in the end, didn't it?" Shepard asked and put a hand to her mask, "The Quarians and the Geth are at peace, I got my old ship back. And I got you." Tali smiled under her mask. Her body flushed at the idea and she hugged him.

"That's quite the story, Shepard." Tali teased, "Daring to go against the entire Alliance military just to see your girlfriend? I didn't realize you were the sentimental type."

"Well you know how it goes." Shepard smirked, "Don't hear anything for six months; I was worried some smooth talking Quarian marine had swept my Tali off her feet." Tali playfully punched Shepard in the shoulder.

"Never!" She laughed at the idea. Even Kal' Reeger, Keelah rest his soul, wouldn't have been able to take her away from Shepard. A silence descended between them and Tali felt the need to confess something too.

"I was worried, you know." She began slowly, awkwardly.

"When I was in lock-up?"

"No, well yes of course!" Tali stammered, the brandy making her reactions both quick and completely unfiltered, "I tried messaging you, but the Alliance firewalls kept blocking me. But I meant on the Geth Dreadnought...when the platform was collapsing."

"I remember." Shepard said with a grin, "Your reputation was at stake."

"Keelah Shepard, I thought you were going to die!" Tali exclaimed and pulled him a little closer. She ran her gloved fingers over his shoulders and took his hands in hers, "I don't want you to die…" She smiled, "I can't imagine facing down the Reapers without you as my shield."

"Of course." Shepard laughed, "What's a Quarian engineer without her human boyfriend shield?"

"I'm glad we've come to an understanding. " Tali teased and sipped the last pooled remnants of her brandy. When she pulled away, Tali quickly looked down at her hands and nodded her head several times, as if mentally preparing herself.

"I…I want to show you something." Tali hesitated for a moment before reaching for a pouch on her belt. Her hand shook slightly as she placed its contents on the table. Shepard was about to place a hand on her shoulder but he gaze was drawn to the object she had placed in front of him. It was small, smooth and the color of a desert mesa.

"The rock from Rannoch?" Shepard chuckled and picked it up, "You actually kept it?"

"It was silly, I know…but…" Tali trailed off as she rung her hands together. Shepard looked at her.

"Tali?" She didn't say anything; she just looked at her lap. Shepard looked back at the rock and noticed something. An inscription had been laser burned into the rock with an engineer's micro-torch. It was a flowing series of letters, dashes and arches. He couldn't read it at all; it must have been in Keelish. Shepard traced his finger over the inscription and heard Tali take a sudden breath.

"It's beautiful Tali…" He whispered, "But what's it say? Tali'Zorah? Rannoch? Home?"

"It…our people call them 'promise relics'." Tali began carefully, "I guess you humans would call it a 'good luck charm', although a relic is for a specific goal not just luck. Many Quarians carry them during their Pilgrimages, usually made from scrap metal and saying something like 'starship' or 'credits' or even 'food stuffs'. It's what they hope to achieve or bring back." She took the rock from his hands and ran her gloved hand over it.

"Did you carry one on your Pilgrimage?" Shepard asked. His voice was hushed; he was aware this was important to her.

"No." Tali laughed, "I always thought it was silly. Superstitious even." Tali sighed, "After…after you died I thought about carrying one in your memory. Someone to live up to. I was going to make one before the Collector's base; 'victory' or something like that…but I was…busy that night." Shepard and Tali both grinned at the memory. After a moment Tali reached to her belt to put the relic back. Shepard shot out his hand and stopped her. Tali looked at him, then at their hands as Shepard took the relic in his hand.

"Tali, what does this one say?" He asked. He reached out and ran a hand along the side of her helmet. Tali leaned into his touch and placed a hand over his.

"It says what I most want…" She looked away, "It says Tali'Shepard Nar Rayya Vas Normandy Jar Rannoch." Shepard was silent for a long moment. He put the relic down on the table and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Tali-"

"It's stupid I know." Tali interrupted, "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. Keelah, I don't even know why I made the damn thing."

"Tali, stop. It's not stupid." Shepard said with a smile, "I wish I had one to carry around." This gave Tali a start. The brandy must be making her hear things.

"What?"

"You heard me." Shepard took her hands in his, "I don't know if Quarians use the word marriage or even have an official ceremony but-"

"We call it a bonding." Tali said. The breath had been stolen from her lungs and her heart hammered so loud she couldn't hear anything else.

"Then yes." Shepard said, "When the Reapers have been destroyed, I'll take you back to Rannoch and build you a home. I'll bond with you, Tali. I'll make you Tali'Shepard Jar Rannoch. I promise." Tali felt like she was hyperventilating. She was ecstatic.

Tali crawled over Shepard and sat in his lap so that she was straddling him. She hugged him so hard she was sure a bone in one of them would break. Tears of hope and joy rolled down her face and she looked into his blue eyes. The brandy from earlier was making her suit incredibly warm and her proximity to Shepard wasn't helping. She could see the cocky grin on his beautiful, luscious lips and suddenly all she could think of was her lips on his. Tali leaned in close so that her voice-light was only a few inches from his face.

"Really Shepard?" She breathed, "You know it's not nice to play with a girl's dreams." Shepard put both hands on the small of her back and pulled her closer. Tali gasped in delight and found herself staring down at Shepard's lustful, smug grin.

"Who says I'm playing?" He asked, raising his face so that it was hovering under her mask, "I meant every word." Tali ran her hands over his scalp, feeling a slight sandy texture from his buzzed hair. Tali could see the whiskey Shepard had had was running through his veins. His eyes were hooded and he ran his hands up and down her body.

"We're going to have a home together…" Tali breathed, still finding it hard to believe Shepard wanted to bond with her. She knew he loved her but this was beyond even what she thought possible, "I'm going to have a home, Shepard. With you. You will be my bond-mate."

"Yes Tali, and you'll be my bond-mate." Shepard said solemnly. Tali ran her hands up and down Shepard's body.

"Mine." She whispered, "Mine. Mine. Mine. You're all mine, Shepard." The commander reached out and stopped both of Tali's hands. She gave him a puzzled look until he brought her gloved hands to his lips and kissed them.

"Yes. I am." Tali almost squealed but instead began running her hand up his arm. She felt pressure at her fingertips and the rubber of her suit. She could feel the iron hard muscles of Shepard's arm but she was painfully aware she couldn't feel Shepard himself.

The brandy was returning in almost full force and Tali felt as if the temperature in her suit was spiking. She began to run her hands quickly and firmly over Shepard's body in a vain attempt to feel him. Shepard reacted in kind and ran his hands over her suited body. Tali wanted to feel his warm hard hands on her bare flesh.

Tail leaned back and allowed Sheaprd to run his hand up her chest and finally to her helmet where he stroked her gently. Tali longed to have his skin on hers, but her suit. Her Keelah damned suit was in the way. Tali lunged forward and put both hands on the side of his head.

"I hate this mask." She breathed, her voice slurred and heavy and her mind thick with fog"I hate this suit. I want to feel you whenever I want. I want to be able to kiss my boyfriend. I want to kiss you all the damn time, Shepard. I want you. Now." Tali reached for the seals of her mask. The brandy was making her mind sluggish and all she could think about was kissing Shepard. Her immune system be damned!

Shepard shot out his hands to stop her, "Tali!"

"I want you Shepard." Tali hissed at him, "I don't care about this suit or this mask."

"I can't let you risk your immune system Tali. I won't let you get sick."

"Then take me to your cabin!" Tali growled and pushed her mask against his neck as if trying to bite him through the glass, "Take me to your cabin and make love with me Shepard."

"Are you sure?" Shepard asked lustfully, "Think you can handle me?" Tali slammed him back against the couch.

"I told you before; I'm not going to beg." She snarled at him and held her visor just out of reach of his lips, "I plan on making you beg." Shepard stared into her eyes with just as much fire as she surely felt inside her suit.

"Show me."

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I might do more later, if readers want me to. But I want to stress that I will update and finish my other stories before launching into a full multi-chapter Mass Effect story. Even if I did, it would probably be unrelated one-shots and re-writes of various ME3 scenes.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll be posting more soon!