Chapter Two

by Palaven Blues

Tali watched as Shepard staggered out of her cabin into an argument. Tali stopped fighting and tried to get Mordin and Liara's attention. They were both talking very quickly, very loudly, and very much over each other's words.

"Enough! What's going on?" Shepard roared.

Tali looked to Liara; should I explain it, or will you? Liara's face was flushed a deep blue and she looked angry; Tali was just about to tell Shepard what was going on when Mordin started, handing the commander a bottle of water. Liara barely let him get two words in before she was shouting over him again, the discordant jumble of sound no more comprehensible than before. Tali sighed. Somehow, she knew just how this was going to end up.

"One at a time," Shepard begged. "Solus."

"Not quite … as ready as I had thought. Thought, plenty of time. Thought, could synthesize enough anti-allergen before humans needed. Thought –"

Shep leaned against the smooth metal wall, then slid down. Tali felt a thrill of fear, mixed with … something else. He really exhausted her, didn't he? Keelah ….

"I swear to God, Mordin, if you don't get to the point –"

"He says it has to be one of us," Liara broke in. "Until he has enough testing kits and medication to make sure any other humans would be safe."

Tali tapped her foot, anxious. She was dextro. The only other person on the ship who was dextro, as a matter of fact. Alone of anyone else, I would be perfectly safe from any reaction to –" Inside her helmet, Tali blushed, grateful that no one could see. And besides, Dr. Solus has already explained about the immune-booster he gave me …. She looked up to see Shepard still working through all the implications.

"Wait a minute, you sent me in there without testing!" Shepard protested.

Mordin did not look in the least embarrassed by this. "Great Commander Shepard. Back from dead. Rebuilt with Cerberus technology. Did you get sniffles and rash?"

Shep's eyes narrowed. "I think it's a little more serious than that."

Mordin rolled his eyes. "Insulting. Checked for compatibility issues before Collector base, when Commander and Vakarian making googly eyes at each other for weeks."

"I most certainly did not –"

Mordin argued back at her with Liara again fighting to be heard. A muffled groan floated out of the closed door behind Shepard.

"Aright, aright, quit. We don't have time for this. Look," she told the girls, "it doesn't have to be either of you –"

Liara stormed off without waiting to hear the rest. Shep continued, talking solely to Tali.

"It doesn't have to be you. No one has to do this. Mordin, does anyone else know if they've been tested for reaction to dextro?"

"Not among volunteers, no. Have identified certain individuals less likely to have issue, but still risky. If unlucky, may have a death."

Tali felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. No one was going to make her do this; Shepard has been quite clear that it was a volunteer assignment. And judging by the way Shepard was still flushed and out of breath, it didn't seem like an awful assignment, did it …?

"I'll have to go back in," Shepard decided. Her legs were shaking but Tali noticed she didn't look exactly displeased. In fact, she looked almost … smug.

"I will do it," Tali said. Shepard gaped at her.

"Are … are you sure? I mean, I'm sure I can manage …."

"No, no. You've done enough, Commander."

"It's less risky for me to take another turn."

"You don't want to tire yourself out," Tali responded.

"If both need it so badly, can go in together?" Mordin suggested.

Shepard blushed crimson and Tali was certain she herself was dark purple under the mask.

"No, that's –" Shepard coughed, then shook her head. "I probably have some duties or something to attend to. He, ah, already jumped through the shower, so. Uh. Should be good."

Mordin turned to Tali and started explaining the safety procedures one more time. She already had the immune-booster, she wouldn't stay out of her suit more than an hour, she would go immediately into quarantine and be monitored carefully … Tali wasn't listening. Inside Shepard's cabin, Garrus was waiting.

#

The door slid open silently and Tali stepped inside. For just a second, she saw Garrus laying on the bed, then he had picked her up and was carrying her to the bed. He fell with her, rumbling deep in the throat as his hands ran over her –

"Keelah!"

"Get this suit off," Garrus pleaded, tugging on the fabric. He couldn't seem to find the seals.

"Garrus, wait," Tali said. She bit her lip, suddenly unsure. It's not like she'd ever done this before. She'd never even really been out of her suit. And Garrus had those talons …. "Garrus, I … I'm not sure. I haven't … I haven't ever …."

Distracted as he was, it took a minute before Garrus understood and his mandibles dropped. "You're a virgin?"

Tali nodded and Garrus groaned, rolling off of her.

"Can't … take advantage of innocent …" The rest of his words were lost in another piteous moan. The sound shouldn't have done anything, but with the dual tones in his voice, there was always something deeper in his words when he spoke. Animal.

Sexy, Tali decided. She took off her faceplate first, and finally looked at him.

He was already slick with his own lubrication again but Tali wondered if it would even fit. She didn't know any quarians who had bonded to a turian.

But then she'd already promised to help ….

I wonder what it tastes like …? She dipped her head to find out and Garrus gave a strangled scream as she licked just a bit of moisture from the tip to find out.

"It tastes like metal!" she exclaimed.

"Tali, leave. Go now. Don't want –" Another guttural growl was torn out of him as she sucked the tip experimentally. "Don't want to hurt you."

"Then let me take lead. Put your hands on the headboard and don't move until I say." Garrus complied, whimpering. The headboard made an ominous creaking sound as he grasped it; Tali was sure he would end up breaking it eventually. She dismissed the concern and continued to explore him with her tongue. She had known the basics for years. Magazines with advice columns had found their way onto the fleet as they found their way to any place with young women anxious to know how it all worked. She plied him with her tongue and mouth, listening to his reactions to see which advice was good and which was worthless.

Tali couldn't seem to take the whole thing into her mouth, so she undid some of the seals on her suit to remove her gloves. Garrus was panting by now and she was starting to feel quite proud of herself and more than a little excited. She wrapped one hand around the shaft and stroked while she continued to swirl her tongue around the tip. Her other hand worked at the seals, trying to get out her suit without having to stop. Eventually she got stuck; she needed two hands to get fully undressed.

Garrus whimpered again when her hands and mouth left him.

"Do not worry, I will be right back." Her suit was soaked when she pulled it away from her thighs.

"Tali, please."

Once fully naked, she looked down at herself, wondering if he would like what he saw. Dusky lavender skin, with darker violet nipples and … other places, she thought. And at her crown a heavy mass of violet hair that fell to her shoulders when she let it loose.

Garrus still had a death-grip on the headboard. He was breathing deeply and Tali was embarrass to realize he was smelling her. His eyes were still closed.

"Garrus, look at me," she said. He opened his blue eyes and his arms shook as he tried not to move. "Garrus, if you don't … if you don't want me, I can still go get Shepard."

"Tali, please. I want you, I just don't want to hurt you."

Tali nodded. "Can you … can you at least start slow?"

Garrus nodded frantically. His cock was twitching lightly, almost seeming to seek out its place to be. Tali returned to the bed. At least she didn't have a physical barrier in place, like the humans did. That sounded painful. She ran her fingers lightly over him again, tracing delicate swirls and loops on him like the patterns in her hood.

"Garrus … you can let go of the headboard now."

In an instant, he had her pinned under him. True to his word, he started slow. He first entered her at such a deliberate pace that even Tali was getting frustrated with it. She was starting to ache from need, as if her body could sense that Garrus's was the perfect foil for her.

"Keelah, Garrus, just fuck me!"

Once again, the turian complied.