Never Have I Ever
As the days passed aboard the Normandy, those late night talks with Shepard became something of a habit. I mean, it's not like we agreed to meet and have tea in the middle of the night, it sort of just happened. Shepard suffers from insomnia, and after all she's been through – on Mindoir, on Elysium – it wasn't surprising. And me, with my migraines… although if I was really honest, I just liked her company. She is an extremely interesting woman, smart and funny.
We talked about nothing special, really – sometimes about the mission, about Saren, the council – but other times we talked of our childhoods, our parents, our time at boot camp. She was three years younger than me, so by the time she enlisted, I was already on active duty.
Shepard loved to run; she ran laps around the Normandy's cargo bay whenever she had extra time. Stress relief, she'd said. "It helps me clear my head. Just me and some music. As soon as I have some extra credits, I'm putting in a requisition for a treadmill." When she was really feeling upset though, she'd go a few rounds with the punching bag she'd set up in the cargo bay. The only time I'd seen her do so was after C – Sec asked her to help them with a slave girl from Mindoir. Shepard successfully talked her down and sedated her before she could hurt herself – or anyone else – and then had gone straight to the cargo bay. "Some times, running's not enough."
I told her more about BAaT, about my parents, about drinking my first beer with my father out on the balcony overlooking the bay. I told her more of Rahna. I even told her a little about Vyrnus. I don't know how we even got there, but at one point we're talking about cutting corners, and the next we're talking about him and I'm telling her about what an ass he was to me.
"Talk to me Kaidan, you've got a little black rain cloud sitting over your head."
It was amazing how perceptive she was. And she had this way of simply making me keep talking, without even pushing. I'd stop talking and she'd just stare at me, her piercing brown eyes locked on mine – not saying a word – until I kept talking.
After the mission in Therum, Shepard decided to report back to the Citadel personally. While Dr. T'Soni didn't have the slightest clue of what her mother was up to, she had decided to stay and help in anyway she could. Shepard welcomed her aboard immediately and let her set up in the little lab behind the medbay.
We would be docked at the Citadel for 48 hours, Shepard said, to resupply before heading to Noveria, and to give the crew some shore leave. Ash jumped at the prospect of shore leave, immediately inviting the Commander to have a couple drinks.
"Actually, I wanted to invite you all out, so we could all get to know each other. What do you say? Purgatory, 10 o'clock?"
They all agreed, even Wrex, but only after Shepard said she was buying.
"Alenko? What do you say?"
"Uh… Yeah, sure, Commander."
"Great! So, I'll see you all tonight! Dismissed."
We'd been waiting for the girls for over an hour, sitting in the mess while they got ready in Shepard's cabin.
"Shepard!" Wrex's voice boomed. "Come on!"
"In a minute, Wrex!" Her voice was bright and cheery. "We're just finishing up!"
Wrex huffed and stalked back to our table, rolling his eyes. "Females." He muttered. "They're all the same, no matter what species."
"Oh, God!" Joker laughed. "That's like the krogan equivalent of 'Women, am I right?'"
I laughed, along with Garrus and Joker, when the door suddenly opened and the girls came out.
"Finally! Now, let's get going!" Wrex stood up.
"Yeah, good thing you didn't make us hold our breaths." Garrus added.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up guys! Because you have it so easy. All you have to do is shower and put on a clean shirt, and some of you can't even be bothered to do that." Ash retorted. She was wearing a skin tight blue minidress, make up, and heels. It was weird to see her with her hair down, but she looked good.
"Hey, just so you know I did shower today!" Joker laughed.
"All right, come on guys. Let's get going." Shepard spoke up, and our eyes met across the room. She looked… beautiful. She was wearing a simple loose white top and jeans that hugged her slim frame in all the right places. Her long hair was out of its usual bun, waving softly down her back. She smiled, before turning to Ash.
"Commander – "
"Just Milla tonight, Ash. Or Shepard, if it makes you more comfortable."
"Shepard… I like it. Anyway, are you sure you don't want to borrow a dress?"
"I don't wear dresses, Ash, and before you ask again – No, I don't want eyeshadow, lipstick or ridiculously uncomfortable shoes. But thanks."
"I couldn't get her to agree to anything!" Ash looked at us, exasperated. "She doesn't wear dresses – "
"They're uncomfortable!"
"Or heels – "
"Also uncomfortable! Sometimes even painful."
"Or makeup!"
"Hey! I put on eyeliner and a little mascara!"
"That's next to nothing, Shepard."
"I don't like the feeling of all that junk on my face! Primer and foundation and concealer and blush and whatever else! I can't stand it!"
"I think you look great, Shepard." I said without thinking, and both Joker and Ash turned to stare at me.
"See?" Shepard turned to Ash and stuck her tongue out. "Thanks, Kaidan. Now let's go! Wrex needs his ryncol."
"Shepard." Garrus was looking at the girls with a puzzled look on his face. "If you don't wear any of the things she just said, Tali's still in her suit and Liara looks like she only changed her clothes, then what took you so long?"
She grinned impishly. "Girl talk, Garrus."
Wrex huffed. "Females."
We left the Normandy and took the elevator to Purgatory. There was a long line of patrons waiting to get in, but Shepard simply walked to the guard and flashed a smile and her Spectre status. He let us in right away, the people in line groaning and complaining behind us.
The bass thumping from the speakers hit us as soon as we went in, the floor vibrating in time with the beat of the music. The lights flickered and flashed, the club packed with people dancing and drinking. I could almost feel a migraine coming.
"We're going for drinks!" Shepard yelled, pointing towards Ash and herself. "You guys go find us a table!" And Ash grabbed her hand as they made their way towards the bar. The rest of us found an empty table and soon an asari waitress came to get our order. We all ordered drinks, and I ordered a couple of beers for the girls.
Before the waitress came back, Ash and Shepard came back with a huge tray of shots, all different colors.
"All right!" Shepard yelled over the music as she basically dumped the tray on the table. "The blue and pink are dextro, for Tali and Garrus. The rest are levo!"
"Let's get started!" said the Chief as she saw down between me and Garrus, leaving room for Shepard, who sat next to me. She was so close, I could smell her perfume. She reached for a shot, and we all followed suit.
"To the Normandy!" Shepard toasted, and we downed our shots. The liquid burned down my throat, giving way to a warm feeling in my stomach. Whatever this was, I could tell it top shelf. I wondered how much this must've cost Shepard, and decided I would at least pay for my own drinks for the rest of the night. I looked at Shepard, whose cheeks were already flushed, and she gave me a dazzling smile, her eyes twinkling with mischief and excitement.
I saw the waitress heading back to our table and turned to Shepard. I leaned in and placed my hand on the small of her back, pleased when she didn't shy away. "I didn't know what you wanted, so I ordered a beer for you and Ash."
"Thanks!"
"So, Shepard… you up for a little dare?"
"Hit me, Wrex!"
He slid his glass to her. She eyed it before raising it up to her nose, sniffing it.
"Oh, you're on!"
"Come on! One sip!" He laughed.
She brought the glass to her lips and gulped down its contents before setting the glass down with a thump. Her face scrunched up and she shook it, before looking at Wrex, who burst into laughter.
"Did you really think I'd never had ryncol before?"
"Keelah, Shepard!"
"If you were asari, I'd guess a krogan father." Liara commented, amused while she sipped her drink.
"So who's up for another round?" Ash began handing out more shots to everyone
"I have to tell you guys, I'm not much of a drinker." Tali said, fiddling with her 'emergency induction port'.
"Don't worry, Tali. We've got your back. Now drink!"
We all took another shot, before Ash suggested an ice breaker.
"How about we play 'Never Have I Ever'?"
"What is that?" Liara asked.
"It's a human drinking game, right?" Garrus asked.
"Yeah, you ever played it?"
"Once or twice, when I went out with a couple of guys from C – Sec."
"I never needed a game to get drunk." Wrex huffed.
"Well, you'll like this one, I promise. It's a good way to get to know each other and get drunk really fast." Shepard reassured him.
"Ok, let's do it!" Tali squealed, already starting to droop on the table, leaning heavily on her forearms.
"How do you play?" Liara asked.
"Basically, we go around in a circle, saying 'never have I ever…' and if you did do whatever the person said, you take a shot." I explained.
"Ah."
"Okay, let's do an easy one. Never have I ever shot a gun." Shepard started. It took no one by surprise when we all drank.
"Never have I ever been shot at."
We all drank.
"Never have I ever worn armor."
"Never have I ever used an omnitool."
"Never have I ever flown in a shuttle."
"Never have I ever gotten drunk."
"Never have I ever gotten in a bar fight."
The questions got bolder as the night went on, all of us laughing and sharing embarrassing stories, until…
"Never have I ever had sex."
We all took shots, and after that question, it became all about sex.
"Never have I ever had sex with someone I didn't like."
"Never have I ever said the wrong name during sex."
"Never have I ever faked an orgasm."
It made me feel kind of bad that all the women took a shot after that question.
"Never have I ever had sex in public."
Wrex took a shot. So did Joker. Shepard was also tipping back the tiny glass of liquor.
"Whoa, Commander! All right, spill." Ashley patted her on the back.
"Oh it was nothing! It was just… with my first boyfriend, back on Mindoir…"
"Where?"
"Everywhere. On his father's fields, in my father's shed… Once at school."
I choked on my beer. "At school?!"
"Once! And it was a long time ago. I was 16! We were at this lame excuse for a dance and decided to sneak off to one of the classrooms!"
I couldn't help but picture her at 16, in a skin tight dress and a come hither look in her eyes in the middle of a dark room, throwing her on top of a desk… I shook my head. No, I must be drunk, at least a little bit. I turned back to the conversation, shaking my head to clear these thoughts.
"… so she just sits on my lap and locks the doors to the cockpit!" Joker was finishing telling his story.
"Oh my god! And no one walked in on you?" Ash yelled.
"Nope, we were lucky that time."
"What about the frat regs?" she insisted.
"Oh, screw the regs! Does Alliance brass really expect us to stay celibate when you're out on a mission and could literally die the next day?"
"I never understood that particular rule of the Alliance." Garrus broke in.
"We have this saying," Shepard told him, "don't shit where you eat."
"Besides, it could get complicated." Ash added. "The mission could be jeopardized, the balance of the crew could get disrupted…"
"Not if you're disciplined enough." Garrus maintained. "If both parties agree from the beginning that this is just sex, just a way to blow off steam, then there shouldn't be any problems."
"It definitely works for the turians." Joker agreed
"Joker, if you ever do that on my ship, I'll kill you!" Shepard piped up, her speech a little slurred. I'd say the Commander was happily drunk.
"What? Have sex in the cockpit or break frat regs?"
"I don't give a shit about the regs." I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows at that. "But so help me God, if I ever come back from a mission and catch you having sex in the cockpit, I'll kill you!"
He raised his hands in a placating gesture. "All right, all right! You're the boss. Garrus, you're up."
The turian hummed. "Never have I ever had a one night stand."
He took a shot, along with Joker, Ash, and Wrex. Shepard didn't. Neither did I. I meant it when I said I don't take those kinds of things lightly.
"Really, Shepard? Kaidan? Never?"
"Nope. Not really a love 'em and leave 'em kind of gal."
"Yeah. Same."
"Never have I ever had sex in my parents bed."
Ash was the only one who drunk, looking at all of us with disbelief. "What? How is that possible?"
"I had my room, and could've broken a leg trying to get to my parents' room. Unnecessary effort." Joker said.
"Yeah, me too. I once had sex in her parents' room though…" I said.
"Shepard?"
She laughed. "My parents were… very loving. Suffice it to say, I wouldn't even go near their bed. Which brings me to… Never have I ever walked in on my parents having sex."
We all took a shot, except Wrex, Tali and Liara.
"I think we can all agree not to talk about it, though." Garrus said wryly.
"Okay, my turn. Hehe." Wrex said. "Never have I ever had sex with someone of a different species."
He took a shot. So did Joker… and Shepard.
"Holy shit!" Ash stared at her with her jaw hanging open. "Really?"
"Hey, hey?! Why's all the attention on me? Wrex, who'd you have sex with?"
"An asari. Aleena. Wicked shot."
"Joker?"
"Also an asari."
"Come on, Shepard! Stop deflecting!"
"All right! I've been with an asari and a turian."
"A turian?" Ash said increduously.
"Yeah." She was blushing, whether from the alcohol or embarrassment, I did not know.
"Who?"
"A friend."
A friend… I wondered… During one of our late night talks, we touched on the mission on Eden Prime. Shepard seemed infinitely sad. She had been upset about loosing Jenkins… and Nihlus. Could it be…? I had noticed some of the looks she gave the turian when she thought no one was looking, or how he seemed to shadow her every step as she made her rounds on the Normandy. I remembered how concerned she was, before landing on Eden Prime.
"Your team's so the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site!"
"What about survivors, Captain?"
"Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon's your top priority!"
"I'll scout ahead."
"Nihlus, don't." She said looking at him straight in the eye, before catching herself. "I mean, is that really the wisest course of action? We should stick together. We don't know what we'll find down there."
"I appreciate your concern, Commander, but I'll be fine. I work best on my own."
"A friend?" Ash prodded insistently, and her sharp tone brought me out of my reverie.
"Yes. And no, I'm not going to give you more details about this one."
"But Shep –"
"But nothing! Next question!" she ordered.
Everyone turned to me – the tension in the air palpable – and I realized it was my turn again.
"Uh… ok. Never have I ever… been walked in on while having sex."
They all laughed, before the ones who had took their shots. With that, everybody relaxed again.
"Ok… I think I'm about done here. Anyone want to dance?" Ash stood up, staring at us expectantly.
"I'll go!" Tali stood up and nearly keeled over. "I'm fine. I'll go."
"I'll stay. I'm not really one for dancing." Liara said.
Garrus stood up, looking at a couple turian females at the bar. "I'll, uh… go get a drink."
"Uh huh." Shepard grinned. "Sure. Go get 'em, stud." She patted him on the back. "Go blow off some steam! You deserve it!"
Garrus rolled his eyes, his mandibles flaring with embarrassment, before walking away.
Wrex and Joker profusely refused to dance, so Ash and Tali turned to me and Shepard.
"Come on! Let's go!"
"I don't dance!" I yelled, scooching further down the booth.
"Yeah, I don't –"
"Oh no, you don't!"
They both grabbed Shepard by her arms and practically pulled her to the dance floor. Joker and Wrex laughed wildly, both pretty drunk, while Liara grinned indulgently. Now that I think about it, I don't think she'd actually had much to drink.
I sipped my beer and watched them dance. Tali was surprisingly limber, despite her suit, moving graciously in time to the music, while Ash pumped her fists in the air. Shepard waved her arms, her hips swaying sensually, a wicked smile on her face. Her long hair shone in the myriad of flashing lights as she turned and twirled on the floor, completely lost in the moment.
"Dude!" Joker yelled from across the table. "You've got it bad!"
"What?"
"Stop staring at her! Just go ask her to dance!"
"Joker!" I gave him a warning look.
"I mean, come on!"
"Joker!"
He turned to Wrex. "Ever since we boarded the Normandy, he's been staring after her like a little lovesick puppy!"
Wrex laughed. "He he… What's a puppy?"
"It's a baby animal from Earth. Imagine a baby varren."
"Well, Shepard has a… magnetic personality. Any one who meets her immediately feels drawn to her." Liara spoke up, giving me a sympathetic smile.
"Drawn to her." Joker repeated with a snort. "Well, he definitely feels drawn to her."
"What I meant was that his admiration for the Commander isn't necessarily akin to sexual attraction."
"Thank you, Liara." I said, fighting the urge to stick my tongue out at Joker. "Some of us can manage to admire a woman for her strength and skill without… uh, you know… being attracted to her… physically."
"Yeah, maybe, but you're not one of them." Joker rebutted.
It was times like these when I cursed Joker's quick wit, or my lack of it. The only response I could think of was to tell him to shut up, like a petulant child. I decided to just ignore him, as he and Wrex continued with their teasing. I looked back to the girls and saw they were being approached by a group of humans. Shepard jumped and hugged one of the humans before introducing them to Tali and Ash.
"Uh oh. Looks like you have competition, Alenko."
I ignored Joker, rolling my eyes as I tried to pretend I wasn't at all bothered by the fact that Shepard was dancing with some random guy. He kept his distance, though every once in a while he'd lean in and whisper something in her ear, and she'd laugh before answering in the same way.
"Kaidan." Liara suddenly stood in front of me. "Would you dance with me?"
"I uh…" she extended her hand, her eyes urging me to say yes. "Sure, Liara."
She took my hand and led me to a spot on the dance floor right next to Shepard and that guy.
"Hey! I thought you didn't dance!" Shepard yelled, grinning excitedly. I wasn't sure which one of us she was talking to.
I took a closer look at the guy she was dancing with. He was huge – taller and broader than me – bald and had blue eyes. And he was staring intently at Liara.
"Shep!" I heard him say. "Introduce me?"
"Oh right! Kaidan, Liara, this is my friend John, from N School! John, this is Kaidan and Liara, my crewmates!"
John? As in John Doe, the Butcher of Torfan? Of course! He was an N7, too. How did I not recognize from the vids? He merely nodded at me, and turned to Liara.
"Liara, huh?! That's a beautiful name!" He tried to yell over the music.
"Oh." I saw a deep purple blush color Liara's cheeks. "Thank you."
"Beautiful!" He repeated.
Shepard rolled her eyes. "Oh god, dude, just ask her to dance!" She winked at Liara.
"Thanks, Shep! Way to kill my game!"
"You don't have any, Johnny!"
"Would you mind if I…?" he turned to me.
"Not at all." I grinned, and stepped to the side. He offered his hand and Liara took it hesitantly. I watched as they danced awkwardly around each other, before turning to Shep, finding her with her hands on her hips and an expectant gaze.
"Well? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to ask a me to dance?"
My hand instinctively went to the back of my neck before I realized it and I brought it back to my side. I flashed her an embarrassed grin, before I boldly went to her and placed my hands on her waist. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't push me away.
We began to move to the beat, each step bringing our bodies closer and closer. She brought her arms to my neck, her touch sending shivers down my back. She was so close now, her body almost pressed to mine, the scent of her perfume intoxicating. I dared to look her in the eyes – those beautiful, expressive brown eyes – and saw how they lingered on my mouth before shying away.
You're drunk! She's clearly drunk! It doesn't mean anything, anyway! There's no way she'd break the regs! She's your Commander! And she's drunk! You're practically taking advantage of her! The rational part of my mind yelled. But as she got closer, her body moving with mine, the fruity floral scent drifting off her skin, her lips slightly open in a sexy pout… God, it would be so easy to just lean in and–
"Shepard!" John's rumbling voice interrupted, and we both jumped away from each other. It was then I realized how truly close we'd actually been. God, if he hadn't called her, we would've… "We're going to get going!"
"I – uh… What?" she was clearly flustered, and refused to look at me.
"John offered to walk me back to the Normandy!" Liara yelled. "I'm a bit tired. Do you want to come or will you be staying a while longer?!"
Shepard glanced at John – whose face was completely serious, betraying nothing – and flashed him a grin. She recovered so quickly it almost had me thinking our… moment never happened. "No! I think I'll stay a bit longer. Thanks for coming, Liara!"
"Thank you for inviting me, Shepard. I had… fun."
"Good to hear it, Liara. I'll see you back on the Normandy." She turned to John and went for a hug. "Take care, Johnny. Don't be a stranger."
"You know that's exactly what I am." He placed a hand on her head and tousled her hair affectionately. "I'll try to keep in touch, Shep. I promise."
"Good." She let go of him almost reluctantly. "Now go!"
"Bye, Shep." He turned to me and offered his hand. "It was good to meet you, man."
I shook it. "Yeah, likewise."
"Ok, see you guys." He eyed Shepard with just a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Be good, Shep."
"Always am, Doe!"
"Goodbye, Kaidan!"
"Bye, Liara!"
They left together, arm in arm, and that left me and Shepard standing in the middle of the dance floor staring at each other. She opened her mouth to speak, when Ashley jumped in between, her arms around our necks, pulling us all in for what I could guess was a hug.
"Holy shit, Shepard! You didn't tell me you were friends with John fucking Doe!"
"Uh…" Shepard disentangled herself from Ash's grip. "Yeah, we go way back! He's great!"
"The Butcher of Torfan! Holy shit!"
Shepard gave Ash an incredulous look. "Ashley Williams, are you… fangirling over John?"
"No! It's just that, you know… He's John Doe!"
"Yeah, so?"
"Ugh, you don't get it. Why would you, you're Camilla Shepard!"
"What?!"
"You're you! The big war hero, the heroine of the Blitz! You and John are legends to us lowly grunts." She looked at me. "We might be the luckiest Marines in the Alliance. We met Camilla Shepard and John Doe!"
"Oh God! Please stop! Wait, where's Tali?"
"She wasn't feeling well and went back to the table."
"Oh, God. Okay, I'm gonna go check on her."
After she left, Ash punched me in the arm and wiggled her eyebrows. "So…"
"What?"
"You know what." She said, tossing a meaningful look in Shepard's direction.
"Ash…" I groaned. "Nothing happened."
She rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Sure, LT."
Before I could answer, Shepard came back.
"Guys. Tali's passed out on the table. I'm going to take her back to the Normandy."
"I'll go with you."
"Oh…" she said, eyes widening at my offer. "You don't have to, really! Tali weighs practically nothing and you should stay. Have fun. Relax."
"Shepard. It's okay. I want to go anyway."
"Migraine?" she asked, her eyes immediately going from awkward to concerned.
I smiled to try to ease her concern. "Not yet, but…"
"Okay, let's go. Ash?"
"I think I'm going to stay! Are Joker and Wrex still here?"
"Yeah, they're at the table."
"Ok, great. I'll just stay with them then."
We went back to the table, said our goodbyes to Joker, Ash and Wrex and carried Tali out of the club. The cool night air hit us immediately and the quiet was welcome after what I guessed were hours of mind numbing bass thumping.
"Shep – hic – I can – hic – walk."
"Okay. Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I'm going to let you go now."
Shepard slowly released her hold on the tiny quarian, and she took two steps before falling face first on the floor and breaking into a fit of giggles.
Shepard crouched down on the floor, wrapping her arms around her torso, while laughing wildly.
I immediately reached for them, thanking God for my biotic metabolism, before helping the two drunk women stand. We hailed a shuttle back to the Normandy, and before Shepard had clumsily set the coordinates, Tali was asleep in the backseat.
"God, she's completely trashed. I shouldn't have let her drink so much." Shepard slurred.
Technically, you're both equally trashed, I thought with a grin.
"Nah, don't worry about it. Worst comes to worst, she'll wake up tomorrow with a pretty bad headache and we'll get Chakwas to look at her."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
We sat in silence for couple of minutes, both unsure of what to say. Shepard stared out the window as the Citadel lights zipped by. I wondered if I should ask her about what happened at the club. I wanted to know if she felt the same way I did. And that's when it hit me. I'm attracted to her. I'm attracted to my CO.
I'd barely known her a couple of weeks, but I couldn't deny it. As I stared at her, I couldn't deny how much I wanted to just take her chin and kiss her.
Almost as if she could sense where my thoughts, she turned back to look at me with a small smile on her face.
"So…"
"So." I repeated.
"Do you…" she sighed, and before I knew it, she seemed to sober up a bit. "Are we going to talk about what happened?"
I considered playing dumb – what happened, Shepard? – to try and figure out how she felt. But no. I'm 32 goddamn it, not 16. And we're both adults. We should talk about it. Preferably when we're both sober, but since she brought it up…
"I think we should."
"Okay." She looked down, catching her lower lip between her teeth. Then she turned back to look at Tali, checking if she really was asleep. "Ok. Listen, I don't really care for games, so I'm just going to say it." She paused, bracing herself. "I'm extremely attracted to you, Kaidan."
I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at her bluntness. If it had been anybody else, I'd say this sort of blunt honesty was product of the booze, but this was Shepard. To be honest, it was something I admired her for. She always cut right to the chase, never hesitating, unlike me. I always try to leave a way out.
"I'm attracted to you, too, Milla." I saw a flicker of pleasure in her eyes when I used her first name.
"But…?"
"But what?"
"There's no but?"
"No."
"Oh. Well… good."
"Why'd you think there was going to be a but?"
"Because… I was sure you'd bring up the regs or something." She mumbled.
"Oh, well… Listen, Shepard it's not like I make a habit of complicating the chain of command."
"No, I know." She gave me a cheeky smile that made her dimples flutter to life. "You were going to kiss me."
"Yeah, I wanted to."
"I wanted you to, too. Wait, what?" She giggled. "I meant, I wanted you to kiss me, too."
Tali snored, and we burst out laughing.
"But listen, maybe it was for the best. We should take things slow." She drawled out the last word, before laughing. It was actually kind of cute, to see she was a happy drunk.
"Yeah, I don't want to distract you too much."
She huffed a laugh. "Yeah."
"So we'll take it slow. Get to know each other."
"I'd like that."
The shuttle landed on the docking bay and I gently carried Tali back to the ship. It was completely dark and silent. Shepard walked with me to the pods and helped me place Tali in hers. Or tried to, anyway. Once we made sure she was comfortable and fast asleep, I walked her to her cabin.
"So… Good night."
"Good night, Kaidan." She leaned in and gave me a kiss right on the corner of my mouth. With a coy smile, she left me standing there – my hand going to touch the corner of my lips hers had just left – and went into her cabin.