Sound Advice

She was going to finally ask him the question.

Tali wasn't exactly a good romancer. In fact, she had trouble speaking to people she had feelings for, the word 'trouble' being a huge understatement. "Ah, Shepard!" she said, her voice softening as Shepard looked up. "Do you have a…?"

"Sorry Tali, I'm busy right now," he casually stated as he walked right past her. "Can I talk to you later?"

Rejected. "Oh, of course!" she quickly replied, her tone still light and chipper. "Later! Yes! That's when we'll talk! Um, alright! Goodby-…" By the time she was finished with her sentence, he was already through the doors on the other end of the room. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she put a hand to her mask and hushed, "Oh Keelah…"

It was back to the engineering deck for her.

Again.

Tali spent most of her time on the fourth floor of the Normandy, always busily adjusting the Tantalus Drive Core to ensure that it remained in peak condition. Even though other people lived and worked on the same level, she was hesitant to speak with them. Heck, she was hesitant to speak to most of the Normandy crew in general, other than Shepard, Joker and Jack. And even then, she couldn't speak two words to Shepard without stuttering, and she hardly ever saw Joker unless it was before a mission. That just left Jack, who was probably off doing her own thing that involved better things than wasting time with a quarian. As usual, Tali was by herself and the ever familiar hum of the Tantalus Core.

The deck was as quiet and soulless as a graveyard. Tali stared blankly at her console, not caring much for its calibrations at the moment, and let out a hefty sigh. She murmured to herself, "What's the use? I can't even talk to him, let alone get his attention. Keelah, I hardly know anything about him. Maybe it would be for the best if I simply let him be..."

"Who's him."

She gasped and twitched ever-so-slightly. The voice caught her by surprise. Turning around, she saw a certain squad mate leaning against the entrance to the room, a barely interested look bracing her countenance. "Ah, Jack! I-I didn't see you there. I was just um… talking to myself." She paused to clear her throat, the awkwardness of her words setting in. "It's sort of a habit."

Jack simply raised a brow and said, "That's weird."

"Ah… sorry." Jack was blunt, that was for sure. But she was good company. Despite a hard shell of an appearance and attitude, Tali began to warm up to her, finding that she wasn't quite as cold as the other members of the crew made her out to be. That she had more feelings than just hate and spite and rage – that deep down, she hurt just like everyone else.

Jack examined Tali's face, seeing right past the guise of her mask, then smirked. "Don't worry about it."

Tali fiddled with her thumbs, the topic of Shepard still fresh on her mind. Reluctantly, she broke the silence by forcing herself to ask, "So… um, you are a girl, right?" Jack just raised her eyebrow higher. Tali gulped and quietly mumbled, "Ah… that was a stupid question. Sorry."

Standing straight, Jack sauntered towards Tali, a confidence to her step. She tilted her head at an angle and planted a hand on her hip, then said, "You looked worked up. What's the problem?"

"O-oh, no problem," Tali lied. "I'm perfectly fine, but thanks for asking."

She snorted. "B.S."

"No no, really, I'm fine."

"Yeah, and I'm not a bitch." Jack tried her best not to come on too strong and sighed, "Listen, if you don't want to talk to me, just tell me. I'd rather you be straight with me than lie to my face."

"N-no, it's not that," Tali reassured, shaking her head and putting up her hands, her palms facing Jack. "I do want to talk to you, it's just… well…"

"Yeah?"

"It's sort of a… touchy subject."

"That means Shepard." If only she could see through Tali's mask. The quarian's shoulders rose and her gaze turned to the ground. She was visibly embarrassed. "Ha-ha, don't worry, I won't tell him about your little crush," Jack teased, nudging her with her elbow. "Besides, the guy's as blind as a vorcha. He's got enough foresight to predict a Reaper invasion but can't see what's two feet in front of him." Turning around so that her lower back was pressed against the console counter, she coiled her arms over her chest and asked, "So, what? You want me to help you get in his pants?"

Tali gasped, "W-what? No! Nothing like that! That's… you have a very perverse mind!" Jack snickered. "I just, um, want to… I just want to talk to him, that's all. Maybe even spend some time with him to get to know him better."

"Hmph, getting to know him? That's dumb." She shrugged. "Well whatever, I'll lend you a hand anyways."

"You will?" Tali asked, a mix of surprise, happiness, and incredulity in her voice. "Why?"

She flexed her right cheek and raised her shoulders, leaning backwards on her hands, which were pushed against the surface of the console. "Eh, I've got nothing better to do. Besides, if Shepard's busy with you, he won't be such a Scrooge to me. Can't even put a hole in a part of the hull without him getting up in arms about it. Sheesh. Talk about a buzz kill."

Tali smiled slightly. "Shepard can be a little by the book at times, but it's all for a good reason."

"Whatever." Jack snapped upright and dusted her hands, ready to get to work. "So, what's your problem with just going up to him and talking to him?"

"Well…" Tali began anxiously. "He's always busy, and I don't want to interrupt…"

"Why not?" she interrupted.

"Because he's…"

"Just do it."

"I…"

"But stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"That thing where your voice trails off when you're not sure of yourself. Don't act so nervous. Guys hate that. You have to be confident, assertive, commanding. Tell it to him straight. Tell him that you want to talk to him."

There was a certain confidence and vigor about Jack that made Tali happy that she was on her good side. "I… alright, I understand."

"Good. Now, try it on me."

She blinked. "W-what?"

"Pretend I'm Shepard and tell me what you want."

"Um, a-alright," Tali stuttered, clearing her throat before continuing, "Ahem. Ah, Shepard, could you…?"

"Shut up, I don't have time for you. I'm too busy staring at Miranda's butt," Jack said, tightening her throat so she could imitate Shepard's voice.

"Jack!" cried Tali.

"What?" she asked coolly, as if she didn't understand what was wrong with what she said.

"That's not something that Shepard would say!"

"Well that's why I'm pretending. Duh." Jack rolled her eyes and complied, "Alright, fine, let's do it again. But be more assertive this time. Tell me what you want."

"Alright…" She gathered herself once more and said, "Um… Shepard, I want to talk to…"

"What was that? Speak up Tali, I can't hear you."

"Shepard, I want to…"

"I don't have time for this right now."

"Shepard…"

"Why don't you just head on back to engineering? We need another person watching the…"

"Enough!" Tali shouted, stomping her foot against the floor. "Shepard, I want to talk to you right now! Now stop interrupting me and let me speak!"

There was a silence, followed by Tali cupping her hands over the mouth half of her face.

Jack's eyes widened slightly. "Wow. Not bad," she said, rubbing the inside of her ear with her pinkie finger. "Nice and loud."

"Keelah, I didn't think I had it in me…" Tali replied, half out of breath, half exhilarated.

"Well I think you've got this part covered. Now let's try something else. Here's a tip: guys love it when you're rough with them. You've got to be aggressive, pushy. Tell him you want him, but do it confidently. Guys also like it when you brush them off and act nonchalant. Something about being uninterested gets them all hot and bothered."

"A-are you sure that's will work? It's just the opposite with quarian males but…"

"I'm positive, human males love this kind of stuff," she said with utter confidence. "They like getting hard and rough."

"Okay, what should I say to him?"

Jack mused carefully, lifting up her bottom lip and staring at the ceiling as she did. "Hm… Something along the lines of, 'I like it rough, but I don't think you're enough of a man for this. Think you can handle me?' Like that. Guys like it rough. They like it real rough."

"Ah… okay."

"Your turn. Try saying something to me."

"Um… I uh…"

"Go on, say it."

"I…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not so sure this will work…"

"Hmph, well you don't have to say exactly what I told you. You could also say something like, 'You idiot, just give it to me.' That'd work just as well."

"… Perhaps we should move onto something else," Tali said, sensing she would keep this tip in the back of her mind.

"Alright. How about getting close to him?"

"W-What!" Tali blurted out.

"What?"

"I just want to talk to Shepard right now! Not necessarily…!" Her voice trailed off as she stared at her hands, her digits curling around one another. She always did that when she was lying.

Jack chuckled, "Oh shut up. I see the way you look at him. Every time he passes by it's like you're literally swooning. Don't lie to me, or yourself. You have feelings for him. Much more than friends."

"I… do have feelings for him…" Tali admitted, her voice soft, yet lovely. "I have for a while now. He's an incredible man and I'm just… I'm just scared to tell him how I feel."

Jack's eyes thinned on Tali, as if she was annoyed with her. With a voice full of confidence she lectured, "Don't be. A girl like you has nothing to worry about. You're smart, you're strong, you're funny, and behind that mask of yours… you're beautiful." And for the first time, Tali saw Jack offer a real, affectionate smile. It sat calmly over her countenance as she soothed, "Just tell him how you feel. Be straight with him. Don't just back down. Don't let this turn into 'what could have been'. You'll regret it for the rest of your life."

She had no words to reply with. "Jack I…" Tali whispered. "Thank you."

Jack's smile was sweet, a little crooked because she wasn't used to it, but still sweet. "Heh, it's no problem. Just tell him how you feel, that's all."

Tali chuckled, "Ha-ha. Hopefully he feels the same way about me as I feel about him..."

"If he doesn't it's his loss, not yours." She paused, her deep eyes looking over the quarian, seeing through her nervousness, her stutter, her flaws, and gazing straight into the essence of the incredible woman in front of her, before finally murmuring to herself, "I sure do…"

"Hm?" Tali blinked.

"Nothing," Jack dismissed, her smile fading with the friendliness of her voice. "Just do your best. And try to restrict your 'Keelah's to twice a conversation." She gave Tali a light punch to the upper arm and smirked.

Tali giggled, "Ha-ha, thank…" Her body went stiff and her back straightened, as if she was being called to attention. "S-Shepard… I – what are you doing down here?" she asked, turning back into that same nervous wreck from before.

Shepard gestured a quick nod to the two. "Tali, Jack. I'm sorry about before, I was caught up with something. You wanted to talk?"

"No, don't be sorry. It's perfectly fine, I…" Tali paused, then looked at Jack for support.

The ex-convict shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm out. Later Shepard."

"I'll talk to you later, Jack. Don't break anything in the lower deck."

She exhaled, "Feh. Whatever."

After Jack left, the only sound that filled the gap between their conversation was the hum of the Tantalus Core. "So…" Shepard finally began, sounding a little apprehensive. "What was it you wanted to talk about, Tali?"

"Um… I…" Oh no, not again. She couldn't choke now, not after all that!

"Er, Tali?"

"Um…" Her mind raced through all the words that Jack had planted. "Be aggressive, tell him what you want, be rough, don't back down."

"Is there something wrong?" Shepard asked, a level of concern in his voice. "What's the matter? Are you feeling…?"

"Uh… s-shut up, you bosh'tet!" Tali shouted, remembering the first thing on her mind – insult him. Shepard's eyes widened as he stared at her speechlessly. She stared back at him, almost unable to believe the words that came out of her mouth. Quickly following up on capturing his attention, she continued, "N-now listen here! Um! I-I am going to speak to you and tell you what is on my mind, and you will listen!"

"… Okay," Shepard agreed, still stunned by her sudden outburst.

"Um… ah…" Tali stammered, struggling to properly segway off the last comment she made. "S-so I heard that you like to do things rough, Shepard. Well I like to play rough too! Sometimes…" "Oh Keelah…"

"Tali…?"

She continued, "You um… you probably are not enough of a man to be rough with me! You human males are all soft and weak! B-but if you'd like, um, we could try to be rough together? I mean, I-I could punch you in the face, if you'd like me to, and then maybe you could punch me back? But only if you're interested! Um… you bosh'tet…"

Another awkward silence.

"Tali, are you alright…?"

She could tell she was losing him. But she still had one more piece of advice up her sleeve: tell him how she felt. Releasing a heavy sigh, Tali finally replied, "Wait, Shepard… I'm sorry, I've just been – it's been hard for me to…"

"Just tell him how you feel."

Summing up her nerve, she stated, "Shepard, the truth is… I was wondering whether or not you would like to maybe go out and see a movie or something… together…?" She made a full stop, then quickly spat out on the end of it, "W-whenever you're available, of course! I mean… if that's alright with you…"

And for the first time, it looked like Shepard was on the receiving end. The Commander couldn't quite respond to her question immediately. "I uh… I'd love to," he eventually replied in a somewhat shaky tone. "What time is okay for you?"

Tali's heart skipped a beat. "R-really? Oh wow, I didn't think you would say yes…! I mean!" She swallowed hard and put a hand to her mask. "Oh Keelah, now I'm rambling… You should just ignore this. And whatever I said earlier. Keelah se'lai… it's so hard to… I was just trying to…"

"Tali, you don't have to explain yourself," Shepard said with a smile. "I uh… I feel the same way… about you." He rubbed the nape of his neck and looked away. "Yeah…"

"Y-you do?" Her starry eyes seemed to twinkle behind that purple visor of hers.

"Yeah."

Jack watched the lovebirds awkwardly confessing their feelings, a small, somber smirk drawn by her lips. "Works every time," she thought to herself before silently wisping away into the night.

Shepard realized he was staring stupidly into her eyes for the past few moments and snapped out of his trance. "Ahem. Uh. Right. So, the movie."

His voice seemed to snap her out of her own trance. "Oh! Oh the movie! Yes, um, whenever you're free."

"Uh, yeah, great. Great, yeah. Uh… I think I can fit time in this weekend when we stop by Illium." He added in, "If that's good with you."

She smiled. "It's perfectly fine with me."

He smiled back. "That's good."

"Great."

"Nice."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Yep, sounds good."

"Sounds good."

Another awkward silence.

"I'll uh… yeah. I'll be heading up now," Shepard announced, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

"Oh, that's fine. I've got to get back to work anyways." She offered another smile, one that he could see despite not being able to see her face. "I'll talk to you later."

He grinned. "You too, Tali. You too."

Jack lay supine on her makeshift bed, her back pressing squarely against sixty eight inches of cold steel. Her hands were gathered at the back of her head, her vacant gaze up at the ceiling. The biotic counted the individual screws on the pipes, silently mouthing each of the numbers. The red illumination of the hull painted the room in a pallet of dark crimson, her face included. Because of that, it was hard to tell the emotion behind those irises of hers. Happiness? Regret?

Loneliness?

She kept her gaze on the ceiling, a smile eventually creeping over her complexion. "It's better this way," she reasoned, shutting her eyes and letting out a deep sigh. She felt a tightness grow in her chest, but ignored it. "It's better for the both of us."

She brought her arms to her chest and turned on her side, her knees buckling towards her chest as she curled into a ball and surrendered herself to sleep.