Sweet Nothings

Tali collapsed breathlessly on top of Shepard, her head coming to rest upon his chest. She could feel the rhythmic rising and falling from his breathing and the rapid beating of his heart through her bare cheek.

"That… was incredible" Shepard said between breaths. Tali gave a contented sigh in agreement.

"Keelah Shepard. I've… I've never felt anything like that before…" she gasped, realizing that she too was a bit winded. The literal nature of her comment might have been lost on someone else, but Shepard caught the gravity of it. He knew that this may have been the first time she had ever actually touched another person, let alone done all the other 'intimate' things they had just performed together.

Shepard adjusted his position so that he could look at the girl lying on top of him. "So, I take it you enjoyed that then?" He asked with a grin.

Tali blushed a little at the question as she met his gaze. "Of-of course" she responded quickly, then her eyes darted down nervously. "I just hope… well, I mean, I've never done anything like this before, so I just hope that you…". Shepard stopped her before she could finish the question.

He cupped her chin and lifted her head so that her glowing eyes once again met his. "Hey, you were amazing" he said reassuringly. Then he gave a wry smile and added "And the way you used those legs of yours…"

Tali's blush turned even darker at the compliment. "We-well, I… just improvised" she admitted. She then gave a smirk of her own. "Speaking of differing biology" she began saucily. "The way you used your fingers… well, let's just say I never gave much thought to the whole five-digit thing until now".

Shepard laughed. "Well I'm glad you approve".

"Honestly, I don't know how you and Liara keep track of them all" Tali continued as she put her hand in his and idly played with the five fingers in question. Shepard allowed her to fiddle with his digits for a while until what she'd said earlier crossed his mind and a question began to form itself in his head.

"So… before this, you never…?" Shepard asked delicately.

Tali immediately began to blush again, a reaction that seemed all to easy to coax from the easily flustered Quarian. "W-well, n-no, I…" she stuttered, then took a deep breath to attempt to compose herself. "Shepard, I think you know I'm not the most… sociable of people sometimes" she explained slowly, looking down and starting to ring her hands. Tali was clearly a little embarrassed by the turn of the conversation. "Besides, most Quarians don't… erm, find a mate until after they've returned from pilgrimage, and I guess I was jut too much of a romantic for a casual fling". She looked up at Shepard again with curious eyes. "So… what about you? Did you ever…?" she asked.

Shepard hesitated a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. He now almost felt a little guilty after her admission of innocence. "There was… a few times" he admitted. "When I was in boot camp back on Earth, there was this girl in my squad, and we… fooled around a couple times. It was never anything serious though. After that, I was too focused on my career to really think about stuff like that. Some of the guys in the N7 training program would sneak off and find an Asari at a club somewhere, but I never went". Tali smiled inwardly at that last part, knowing Shepard wasn't the type to just go out and pick up an Asari prostitute. Still, she had to admit she felt a small pang of jealousy towards this boot camp girl Shepard had talked about.

"What… was her name?" she asked curiously, with maybe a bit more sass in her voice than she intended.

"Maria" Shepard answered. "But don't worry, she couldn't hold a candle to you" he said as he gently stroked her cheek.

Shepard noticed her give a small shiver as the life support fan blew a gust of cool air onto their exposed bodies. He reached down pulled the covers of the bed overtop of them. "Are you alright?" he asked, aware of the possible reaction she could have to their union.

Tali nodded. "I feel fine. More than fine" she answered. "I'm just… not used to, you know, feeling stuff on my skin". She snuggled a little closer to him, relishing the feeling of his skin against hers and the soft sheet sliding across her back. She knew that she had very little time to enjoy these sensations before the medications wore off and she'd have to return to her suit. As the thought entered Tali's mind, she grew slightly sullen and whispered, "I wish we had more time together".

Shepard shifted again so he could see her better. "What do you mean?" he asked with concern for her sudden shift in demeanor, and wondered whether the upcoming attack on the Collector base was worrying her. "I'm not going anywhere Tali. We're going to survive this mission together. I promise".

The Quarian shook her head. "That's not what I mean" she said sadly. "Soon I'll have to get back into that suit, and then it could be weeks, maybe months before my body is ready to do this again". She shifted her gaze away from Shepard, the melancholy of her situation taking over. "I'm sorry Shepard" she said softly, her voice almost a whisper. "I wish I could give you more that this, but…". Tears began to well up in her eyes.

With her last statement, Shepard sat up and gently pulled her face up in front of his own. "Hey, don't say that" he scolded calmly. "You've given me more than most people ever could. You even put your own health at risk just to be with me" he said in a serious tone. "And if I wanted a normal girl, don't you think I could've had one? Miranda, Ashley, hell even Liara made a pass at me once. But I didn't choose them. I chose you, because I care about you Tali". He pulled her in for a deep kiss and the Quarian relented, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be taken over by the ecstasy of feeling his lips against hers.

When they separated, Shepard cupped her cheek with his hand. "Tali, I love you, and I don't care if you're in a suit. It's part of what makes you unique, and it makes the time we have together like this even more special. And now I've seen the face that's underneath all of it. You putting your suit back on can't take that away" he finished, his voice full of the love he had for her.

Tali smiled sweetly as she wiped some residual tears from her eyes. Shepard always seemed to know just what to say when she started to doubt herself. "I love you too Shepard" she said with emotion in her voice. "Thank you" and she pulled him close for a tight hug. The two held the embrace for several moments before laying back onto the bed, Tali's head coming to rest on Shepard's shoulder as he gently stroked her dark hair.

"You really are beautiful, you know that?" He asked amorously.

Tali smiled, relishing the words. "Thank you, Shepard. That means a lot" she said softly. "Besides my parents, you're the only person to ever see my face".

"Well I mean it, you really are" he insisted.

Tali sighed happily and snuggled closer to her human boyfriend. She was beginning to ponder how she wouldn't mind lying like that forever, just listening to Shepard whisper sweet words into her ear, when a feminine voice abruptly interrupted her thoughts.

"We will be arriving at the Omega-4 Relay in 25 minutes commander" came EDI's synthetic voice. "Mr. Taylor wished for me to inform you so that you had ample time to prepare. Also, Ms. Tali'Zorah's presence was requested in engineering by Mr. Donnelly and Ms. Daniels". Shepard and Tali both sighed, their time together coming to a screeching halt.

"Thank you, EDI. Just, tell them I'll… let Tali know" Shepard responded, some annoyance present in his voice.

"So… how long were you in here EDI?" Tali asked nervously.

"I am located in the main AI core of the ship Tali, not this room. Do not worry, my sensors only indicated that yours and Shepard's bio-signatures were present in his cabin. I am willing to apply discretion if privacy is an issue" EDI said in a tone that one could almost mistake for coy.

"Thank's… EDI. That would be… great" Tali responded flatly.

"What, embarrassed by your human boyfriend?" Shepard asked jokingly.

Tali sighed "Let's just take things one step at a time" she said in an exhausted voice. "I don't think anyone needs any more distractions right now. Besides, Mordin and Chakwas already know".

"Fair enough" answered Shepard. "Although sooner or later people are going to notice you've stopped sleeping in engineering".

"Keelah, I can hear Garrus' jokes already" she groaned. "He always thinks he's so damned funny". Shepard chuckled, knowing it was inevitable that Garrus make a clever quip at some point.

As the two got dressed and ready for their mission, Tali couldn't help but notice how much quicker he was able to dress than she was. Of course, that only meant he was easier to undress as well she thought with a blush. A new surge of hope rose through the young Quarian. They were going to make it back from this mission, they had to. Their relationship had only just started, and Tali would be damned if the creatures that had taken Shepard from her the first time would do it again.

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Thanks for reading everybody! Had one last idea in my head to get out and here it is. Not sure if I'll be writing anymore after this one, but who knows. Mass Effect will always be my favorite sci-fi game series of all time, and I'm glad that there's a community of people being creative and giving the characters from the series new life. Keelah Se'lai.