She is just about to go to sleep when the call comes, making her frown. Why would Tali call her in the middle of the night?
"Tali?"
"Liarrraa!" Her voice is slurred and Liara blinks.
"Are you drunk?"
"Nooo? Okay, I... might be. A little."
"Why are you calling?"
"I just wanted to tell you that Javik cares about you! So go hit that thing!"
Tali bursts into giggles.
"Goddess..." Liara pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Oh come on! You want to. You want to join with him. Tell me in all honesty that you aren't curious about it."
"I am not. My interest is purely academic."
"Then do it for science!"
Another fit of giggles.
"I am not having that conversation with you."
"Oh, then I'll just have to call him again..."
"What? Okay, that's enough, Tali. Where are you?"
"How come the Shadow Broker doesn't know where I am?"
Liara narrows her eyes.
"Since you're drinking, I assume you're in the lounge."
"You've always been so smart..."
When she enters, Tali has her head on the table.
"Get up, you're coming with me," she orders lowly and takes Tali by the arm.
"What? Why? Where are we..."
"There's a lot you're going to regret tomorrow unless I stop you drinking right now."
Liara expects her to protest, but Tali comes quietly. She's surprisingly steady on her feet as they walk back to Liara's office.
"That used to be the Cerberus cheerleader bosh'tet's office, you know?" she mutters as Liara pulls her along.
"Hand over your omni-tool," Liara demands in a no-nonsense voice that is completely lost on the quarian.
Tali lets herself sink onto the edge of Liara's bed, then lifts her head to Liara standing before her, hands on her hips.
"Do you know what you're asking? I'm virtually naked without my omni-tool. "Virtually naked". Get it?" Then she sighs. "Just kidding. I'm never naked. Not that anyone wants to see me naked. This is the first time anyone's taken me to their bedroom in years. Literally. Do you want to see me naked, Liara?" Tali's voice is heavy with irony, and Liara sits down next to her and pats her shoulder.
"Do you have any idea who you're complaining to? At least someone has taken you to their bedroom at some point in your life. We might all die tomorrow and here I am, the rarest creature in the galaxy – an adult asari virgin."
Tali sniggers.
"You never got over Shepard, did you?" she asks eventually, slyly, watching a light purple blush creep over Liara's cheeks.
"I... It's not like that. There just wasn't the time. When you're an asari, you assume you'll always have so much more time left to do things..."
Tali gives her a sideways glance, then leans back on her elbows, staring at the ceiling, thinking.
"Wanna fool around?" she asks eventually, nonchalantly.
"Funny, Tali." Liara turns to her, rolling her eyes.
"I am not joking. Just offering a consolation prize."
Liara shakes her head.
"You're drunk, sweetie. You don't mean any of it."
"Don't tell me what I mean. I'm not that drunk anymore. Quarians process alcohol faster than any other species. You know that, you've probably had lots of xenostudies courses."
Liara stares at her.
"I..."
"Wanna do some practical xenostudies? I'll let you fool around with my nerve-stim." There's a wryness in her voice that makes Liara blush even more than the words. "I've always wondered what melding feels like..."
"I didn't realise you had an interest in asari," Liara mutters.
"I have tonight. And I trust you, Liara." Her voice is soft now, serious.
"Huh." Liara leans back slowly, mirroring Tali's position on the bed. "I've never thought about you that way. But... I trust you, too. And I am a bit intrigued." She feels a nervous kind of excitement bubble up inside her. "I'll admit, I've been curious about those suit applications since I first heard about them."
Tali turns to her.
"Show me your omni-tool and I'll give you access."
It only takes a minute or so to install it.
"Can I do anything wrong?" Liara asks nervously, studying the technology. It has more functions than she expected, but it all seems easy enough.
"I don't think so. I have a few favourites..."
"Yes, I can see that." Liara clicks her tongue. "You like that?" she asks with a grin, and Tali peeks at the omni-tool, feeling her face grow hot.
"Yeah, I do," she says defensively, then gasps at the sudden pulse between her legs.
"Kinky, Ms vas Normandy. I might want to try that later, but for now I think this has the desired effect, doesn't it?"
She can see Tali's eyes closing behind the visor and inches toward her. The program appears to be running smoothly, gently, and she focusses her attention on the body next to her. She hesitates for a moment, then trails her fingertips over Tali's stomach, soft circling motions against the smooth fabric of the suit. Tali's fingers brush against her side, then wander up her arm, to her neck, pull her closer. Her hips are moving ever so gently in time with the pulse of the nerve-stim and she takes a sharp breath when Liara cups her right breast in her hand, squeezing firmly, before running her thumb over the barely palpable nub beneath.
"I wish I could kiss you," Tali whispers, giving voice to a thought Liara has tried to subpress for the last minutes.
"Maybe someday..." Liara replies, brushing her lips against Tali's shoulder.
"You know, just because I can't undress, doesn't mean you shouldn't."
There is a moment of hesitation, then Liara sits up and quickly sheds her clothes. Asari usually don't have a problem with nudity, but she has always been different. It makes her feel vulnerable, and she averts her eyes.
"It's sweet that you're so shy." Tali sits up, too, and Liara shivers at the gentle touch of gloved fingers against her naked back, trailing up and down her spine, before Tali leans against her, spooning her, head resting on Liara's shoulder. "You're beautiful. Let me look at you." She pulls Liara back against her, hands running down her naked arms. She squeezes Liara's hand reassuringly for a moment, then caresses her waist, her hip, starts stroking along the outside of a smooth, blue thigh, forcing herself to focus on Liara even as the stim throbs against her sex with maddeningly light pulses. Her other hand slowly trails a line from Liara's stomach to her breasts, fuller than her own, dark, purplish peaks hardening even though she hasn't so much as grazed them.
"Please, Tali, I..."
"What?"
It is the strangest sensation, something nudging at the edges of her consciousness, gentle, tentative.
"May I?" Liara's voice has become low and breathy.
"What do I do?"
"Relax."
Tali takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
"Alright... I think."
"Embrace eternity."
At first, she can hardly tell that they're not her feelings. They are similar to her own, arousal, excitement, nervousness, but something about them is different. There are other feelings that are more decidedly not hers, below the surface. Emotions, ideas, memories, nothing she can really grasp at the moment. She twitches at a sudden new sensation between her legs, just to realise that she can feel what Liara feels – her own hand slipping between Liara's thighs, skimming sensitive, naked skin. So very naked. And she can tell, without needing any verbal affirmation, that Liara wants more, they both want more, need more. Liara's legs spread and Tali's fingers slip deeper, rubbing between her slick, warm folds, hitting the small bundle of nerves that makes them both gasp.
'Goddess, please, turn it up!'
It's a very distinct thought, suddenly, and Tali can't help a chuckle, withdraws her hand reluctantly, just to crank up the volume of the stim. They both spasm as one, and her fingers quickly slip back between Liara's legs. Her own legs. There is hardly a distinction anymore, and she does what has been denied to her so many times before, when she felt the stim just wasn't enough, and pushes a finger into the soft, wet heat that is Liara. She moves in and out, slowly at first, the palm of her hand deliberately pressing against Liara's clit, then picks up speed, force, feels them both nearing an edge, not sure anymore which cries are whose, the distinction between giving and receiving completely erased. They come, hard, clenching down on Tali's fingers inside Liara, backs arching, then collapse onto the mattress.
Tali turns the stim off after another moment, and they share their content, hazy, sated state of mind for a few minutes, before Tali feels Liara's consciousness retreating. The emptiness that follows is almost as strange as the initial meld. To compensate, she tightens her hold on Liara's physical form and the asari snuggles against her.
"If that's the consolation prize, I'm so glad I didn't hit the jackpot. That was amazing."
Tali smiles.
"In large part thanks to you. I think I will keep having a thing for asari. Joining was..."
She has no words.
"I know."
They make no move to disentangle, though at some point Liara pats around for the blanket and pulls it over them. Tali is already half asleep and Liara closes her eyes, a little confused, but happy, and for once sleep comes without hours of troubled thoughts running back and forth in her mind.