Shepard sat at the foot the bed, tapping her toes and fingers impatiently. Around her eyes was a purple swirled strip of cloth. "Come on, Tali... Just tell me what this all about."
From just outside their bedroom, Shepard heard Tali's voice. "No! It's called a surprise for a reason, bosh'tet. Just be patient."
"Is it sex? Sex is a good surprise."
"Shepard!" Tali groaned in response.
"What? I'm only being real." Shepard nodded.
"No, it's not sex. I told you that already." Shepard could practically hear Tali rolling her eyes. Still her wife remained in the other room, leaving Shepard blind and alone.
It had been just over a year since the end of the Reaper Wars. The galaxy was still a mess and Shepard and Tali's work was far from finished, but things had calmed down enough to where they could settle down at bit. A wedding and a house on Rannoch had been the first order of business for the two. Alliance brass was more than a little miffed that Shepard had not returned directly to Earth, but Shepard had to honor her late father-in-law's promise to build Tali a house on the Homeworld. Kaidan was better at the whole rebuilding business anyway- Shepard was perfectly content giving her advice from afar while lounging on a Rannochian beach. Not to mention that Tali was swamped with work on Rannoch and couldn't leave even if she had wanted to move to Earth.
Shepard stretched her arms over her head, rolling her bad right shoulder a few times. Maybe when the galaxy wasn't in pieces and Rannoch was stable enough they could build a second house on Earth, specifically on a lake in Minnesota like Shepard's childhood home. "Hm, summers in Minnesota, winters on Rannoch. Best of both climates..." Shepard thought idly of the temperate Minnesota summers and the smell of the fresh lake breeze. She cracked a grin at the thought of tossing Garrus into the lake and watching the mighty Archangel flop around like a complete fool. "Wonder if Joker is as good with a ski boat as he is with a space ship... Or maybe Cortez would be better."
Her reverie was interrupted as her now sensitive hearing picked up the sound of Tali's footsteps tapping across the floor. She sat up and looked directly in front of her, the very faintest silhouette of Tali visible through the blindfold.
Tali cleared her throat nervously. "O-Ok..."
"Is this the part where you tell me the surprise is actually sex? You can't fool me, Admiral." Shepard teased.
Shepard could perfectly picture Tali's glare and pursed lips. She felt a gentle smack ruffle her hair. "No, already! Keelah, you and Joker..."
"Hey, don't be jealous of our bromance."
"Shepard..." Tali crossed her arms.
Shepard smiled. "Alright, alright. I'm ready for this totally-not-sex surprise of yours."
Tali took an audible, deep breath, exhaled, moved forward, removed the blindfold, and stepped back once more.
The twilight sun of Rannoch blinded Shepard temporarily, her eyes blinking furiously to readjust. When her vision had finally cleared, she looked up and froze.
"H-Happy birthday, Shepard."
Tali stood before Shepard garbed in her normal lavender and violet envirosuit, her hands clasped together nervously at her waist, but with one major difference. Soft black locks of hair cascaded from beneath her hood, delicately framing lavender skin, high cheekbones, full violet lips, and glowing silver eyes. Arcing black eyebrows rose up hopefully, a sharp toothed smile nervously forming. No visor, no metal, nothing obscured Tali's face from Shepard's gaze.
"Tali..." Shepard was almost unable to speak.
"I-It's not permanent yet. I'll still need to wear the rest of the suit all the time, and my helmet when I go out or probably when we have guests. A-and at first I'll probably still get sick a little but I mean it's a step in the right direction and it's proof that the Geth suit interfacing is working and most other Quarians aren't at this level yet but-" Tali began to ramble, her face instantly looking down to her wringing hands.
Shepard stood up sharply, the blindfold sliding to the floor from her lap, and moved towards Tali. Hands shaking slightly, Shepard cupped her hands around Tali's face and lifted it to look into her own. Tali laid her own hand over Shepard's left hand, her other hand wrapping around Shepard's wrist.
"I-I hope this is an acceptable gift. We Quarians don't really have the same sort of celebration so I-I wasn't sure-" Her eyes started to look away.
"Tali." Shepard said firmly, causing the Quarian's eyes to snap back. Shepard ran the tips of her fingers across Tali's smooth skin, Tali shivering from the simple touch. "This is the best birthday present I've ever gotten." With that, Shepard leaned in and gently kissed Tali's bare forehead, lingering as she enjoyed the absence of the visor that had separated them so many times before.
As she lifted away, she looked back into Tali's face. Tears pooled around Tali's silvery eyes, her smiling lips quivering in excitement. She slid her hands from Shepard's and let them come to a rest on her shoulders. Sniffing back her tears, Tali raised an eyebrow smugly. "So better than sex?"
Shepard couldn't help but let out a laugh. Her fingers weaved into Tali's silky hair and she pulled Tali's face in until their noses and foreheads touched. "So much better."
And then, for the first time without extensive preparation ahead of time, without antibiotics, without sterilization, without barriers, without fear, Shepard and Tali kissed. No risk, no time limit, no worry haunted their minds. All the worries and thoughts that had laced each of their kisses were gone. In their place, passion, love, joy; simple observations like the cinnamon-y taste of Tali's kiss, the thickness of her hair, the way she shuddered with each touch, the pinch of her fangs on Shepard's lips replaced once consuming thoughts of post-affection maintenance, of potential illness, of how they would soon be separated by a mask once again. For the first time, Tali and Shepard simply kissed.
Tali pulled back from Shepard a bit, her face flushed. She tucked back a fallen strand of black hair. "Wish I could say that I had prepared some elaborate dinner to go along with it, but you remember the last time I tried cooking."
"I don't think I've ever seen a Geth genuinely shocked until that moment." Shepard cracked a grin at the memory of Tali's unfortunate attempt at cooking.
"I thought that instead of a repeat of that disaster we'd maybe go out? Auntie Raan told me that a good restaurant has finally opened up in the capitol."
Shepard pursed her lips coyly and raised an eyebrow. "And see you put that helmet back on already?" She shook her head. "No way. Birthday girl demands to see her wife's face as long as possible. I'm sure that restaurant can make a delivery for the saviors of the galaxy."
Tali's face glowed with happiness. Lifting her arm and activating her omnitool, she tapped a few buttons for a moment. "Seems like they're willing to make an exception. 45 minutes till dinner."
"45 minutes, eh?" Shepard turned Tali's attention from her omnitool with another deep kiss. "What to do until then?"
A sly grin appeared on Tali's face, tracing a finger along Shepard's collar-bone. "Perhaps there's a second surprise for the birthday girl..." She pushed Shepard back onto the bed with one finger and straddled herself atop Shepard's prone body.
Shepard cracked a wicked smile. "Oh boy I hope it's birthday sex."
"I love you, you big bosh'tet, you know that right?" Tali began to pull Shepard's shirt off, leaving a trail of kisses along her neck.
"I love you too, Admiral." Shepard whispered into Tali's ear before pushing in for another kiss.