Durxa wanted to know how long I plan for this to go. Honestly I do not know. I haven't thought that far ahead as this story has just sprung from my imagination. So we shall see where it leads. Thanks for the positive reviews on my last chapter. I was worried the romantic scene would of come across badly.
Shepard told Tali to wait on the ship for him after he left with Garrus and Mordin in tow. Garrus would be there for narration of the video feed from the assault on the collector base. Shepard had Garrus lead the distraction team as well as holding off the final wave while Shepard, Tali and Mordin destroyed the Human Reaper larva. Mordin would then present the data they where able to collect and download before the base was destroyed in the blast. Shepard was hoping that this data would be evidence enough of the coming Reaper threat and would force the Council to take action. Tali had to admit that it would be nearly impossible to dismiss all the data they acquired as fabricated.
Shepard would also present evidence that he was no longer working for Cerberus. He would be requesting that the Normandy be repainted and flagged as a Spectre ship under his command. Since he "liberated" the ship he wanted sole ownership of it.
"This may take a few hours Tali, hopefully the meeting will not interfere with our plans later tonight. I'll send you a message once we are done." Shepard told Tali as he put on his armor and weapons. He pulled her gloved hand to his lips and planted a kiss on them, then turned and left Tali in his cabin.
That had been 2 hours ago, and still no message from Shepard. Tali tried to keep herself occupied by checking and rechecking Ken and Gabby's work on the Terminal at Shepard's desk. That only kept her busy for a short while. I should of gone with him. This waiting is so nerve wracking! Keelah I hope he sends me that message soon before I decide to just barge into Anderson's office and drag Shepard out of the meeting. Tali smirked at the thought and drummed her fingers on the desk absentmindedly. Finally after another 30 minutes her omnitool pinged.
To: Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy
From: Commander Shepard
We are finally done with the debriefing and it was more or less a win for us. They do want to have some time to go over the data we handed to them, but the Asari and Salarian Councilor's sound very convinced that this evidence is worthy of note. Of course the Turian councilor wants time to verify the "Reaper Threat" is real or not. What an ass, but I expected as much from him.
Sorry I had you wait so damned long, but we should be back in about 15 minutes. Going to need to change into something more civilized than armor and weapons for our date.
See you soon!
Shepard
Tali just about did a little happy dance as she read the message and quickly replied that she would be waiting. She then moved from the desk and sat at the couch to wait for Shepard to arrive.
At exactly 15 minutes later the door opened and Shepard stepped in. Tali had to squash the urge to pounce him as soon as he entered. Plenty of time for that later. She thought as Shepard began to unbuckle his armor and stow it in his locker near the bed.
"Glad that crap is finally over, for now. I gave the crew a few days leave in the meantime while the ship is being repainted and any final repairs to the hull are being made. Also it will take time for the ship's registry to be changed from Cerberus to me. So you ready for our first date?" He smiled as he stowed the last of his armor away and was now pulling on his civies.
Tali nodded happily. "I must admit that I do feel a little nervous about it. I..I mean I have never been on a date before." she said nervously. Shepard chuckled and finished pulling on a dark navy blue shirt.
"First dates tend to be like that. We did do things a bit out of order in regards to dating." he said knowingly. Tali caught the hint as that their relationship did have a jump start due to the impending suicide mission, and first dates where the last thing on either of their minds.
She placed her hands on her hips and replied teasingly. "John, when was the last time you did anything in the correct order?"
Shepard screwed up his face in an exaggerated thoughtful pose. "Ah let's see. Removing your suit! I did start by removing your visor then worked my way down." He then eyed Tali up and down slowly and the corner's of his mouth twitched upwards.
Tali suddenly felt as if Shepard was undressing her with his eyes and shuddered involuntarily. "S..Stop that!" she stammered. She quickly turned around and felt his hands slide around her waist. She sighed and slowly turned her head toward him. "Shouldn't we be, you know, going out for dinner? It looks like you're...distracted by something?" she teased playfully.
"Oh I was just admiring the view, it can be very distracting by I'll do my best not to fall to temptation again." He poked back. Shepard then offered Tali his arm and she slipped her own around his. The excitement of their first date on the station coming over her causing her to bounce a little on her feet. Shepard chuckled and led the way to the elevator and pressed for the CIC deck that would allow them to get off the ship.
Soon they found themselves at the transit station and Tali uploaded the location of the restaurant to it. Soon a cab landed and whisked them away. After a short ride the cab touched down near the location and Shepard opened the door and turned to offer Tali a hand out. It is very strange to see Shepard outside of his armor and acting like this. So proper and good mannered. I'll have to ask him where he learned such manners. She thought as she took Shepards hand and stepped out of the cab.
This was a very busy section of Zakera ward. Dozens of shops lined the path they where on and Shepard suddenly felt very exposed without his armor and weapons. "You know I have never been on the station without my gear on before. I feel very exposed out here." he eyed the crowd warily, as if looking for threats.
Tali then reached out and laced her fingers in his and squeezed his hand reassuringly. She saw how calm the contact made him feel. "Don't worry Shepard, I'll protect you from the crowds of tourists and sightseers." she said mockingly at Shepard.
"Heh, Thanks Tali. I can count on you and Chiktikka to watch my back. So where is this place from here?" he asked looking at the blazing signs and advertisements that stretched across the walls. Tali brought up her omnitool and pointed just past a Tech Shop. "It should be just around the corner from that Solaris Tech Shop." and they began to navigate through the crowds. They reached the alleyway besides the shop and saw a small restaurant with bright red letters over it. "The Red Lotus" it read.
"Did you ask Kasumi for help in finding a restaurant?" Shepard asked as he looked at the place with mild amusement. Tali nodded, "I needed the help, and she said this place would be perfect for us, um. You like it?" she asked with some trepidation.
"Tali, anything you pick will be fine with me. Just don't ask me to translate the menu for you. I don't know Japanese at all. I don't think I even loaded it into my VI translator." Shepard chuckled as he led them to the doors. A large fish tank greeted them as they walked through the doorway. It was filled with various fish and other strange creatures Tali had never seen before. A hostess greeted them there. An Asari wearing a sleek black dress with white trimmings. She smiled politely and bowed curtly before them.
"Greetings, Welcome to the Red Lotus. We pride ourselves in being able to serve to both dextro and levo species. How can I assist you?" she asked warmly.
"We would like a booth if you have one available." Shepard replied with a smile. The hostess nodded and beckoned them to follow her as she led them to a secluded booth. "Just touch the table here to order what you want." she indicated to a red lotus pattern in the middle of the table. "Your food will be brought to you when you have finished ordering. Thank you for choosing us for your dinner tonight." and she turned and left. The booth was set in the corner of the restaurant and had a red paper lantern hung over the table. It was not very crowded with only a few other patron's tucked away in their own booths quietly discussing among themselves. It was a perfect setting to have some privacy from anyone wanting to listen in on their conversation. Unlike that one bar in Illium where that one Turian and Quarian couple talked openly about some personal matters. Funny to think they thought I was eavesdropping in on them. It was not like they kept it quiet. Got a bit awkward when she was about to show him her nerve stim program I do admit. Shepard chuckled to himself as he thought about that moment.
Tali took a seat across from Shepard and immediately tapped on the red lotus symbol and watched it open up into an areogel screen. She then began flipping through the menus and found the dextro portion. "This is amazing, they have nutrient paste versions of their dextro dishes in here!" Tali began scrolling through the various options. Shepard had his screen up and was glad that the menu had its own translator built is so he could understand what he was ordering.
After they had made their choices, they ordered some drinks while they waited for their food to be brought to them. "So, um. What do we do while we wait John?" Tali asked as she played with a pair of strange black sticks.
Shepard leaned back and replied, "Well, what usually first happens is we start asking questions of one another, trying to get to know each other better. So we can start with that. Got something to ask me?" He flashed a smile at Tali and watched her play with the sticks. "Those sticks you are playing with by the way are called Chopsticks, they are used as eating utensils."
Tali stopped playing with the chopsticks and looked at them with interest. "You use these to eat your food with? How does that work?" she asked curiously.
Shepard chuckled and picked up his own pair of chopsticks and demonstrated how to hold them and use them to pinch food off your plate. It was very fascinating for Tali and she was delighted to figure out her own way to use the chopsticks. Not that it mattered when she could not even take her visor off to use them properly.
"So, have you thought of something to ask me? You can ask me anything. I'll do my best to answer." Shepard teased.
Tali thought about it for a few seconds. There are quite a few things I would like to know, and this is kinda fun to ask Shepard these questions and possibly get some answers to them. Oh I got it! Tali cocked her head to one side and smiled. "When did you first start having feelings for me?" she asked.
Shepard's eyebrows rose up and he scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm, a good question." He paused and thought for a moment. "I would say back on the original Normandy. You seemed so innocent and cheerful. So open to talk about yourself and your own people. I really admired that. I became fascinated with you after a while. I think my feelings for you started then." he said after a while.
"Why didn't you tell me back then?" Tali was amazed that John had feelings for her from so long ago.
Shepard laughed, "Well at the time you were on your Pilgrimage and I also felt it would have been very selfish of me to put you in a position like that. Also you seemed so very young and I felt a little like a creep if I took advantage of you."
Tali scoffed, "I was not a child back then. That was only about 2 years ago John." she then grew serious. "If I had known, I could have been there for you after Virmire." she said delicately. "I remember coming out of the elevator. I needed to take my mind off what happened to Chief Williams. Then I heard you banging on the lockers. I peeked around the corner and saw you slumped against them with your head in your hands." she sighed at the mental image at that moment. "I never seen you so defeated in my life. I wanted to reach out to you and offer you some comfort." Tali whispered softly and looked down at her hands.
"I didn't even knew you where that close to me Tali. Why did you hold back?" Shepard asked seriously. God that was the worst day of my life. I had to make the choice, but damn it. I did not want to lose anyone on my team. Ash was a good soldier and her sacrifice lifted the Williams family name out of the dishonor it held for so many years. It shouldn't of been that way. It should not have cost her life! Shepard rarely thought of that day, he felt it was the one of the few times he failed as commander for his team.
Tali glanced up at Shepard and saw the pain in his eyes. Keelah! I should not have mentioned that. What a stupid thing to say, this was to be a happy moment between us and I had to drag up something so painful in his past like that. "I'm sorry John, I should not have brought up something like that." Tali mumbled to her hands, looking away not daring to look Shepard in the eye right now.
"Tali, you did not answer my question." Shepard stated evenly.
"Oh, well um I would have then. But as I decided to get the courage to step toward you I heard Joker's voice come over the intercom and I jumped back. I..I convinced myself you wouldn't have wanted me to comfort you and went back to engineering. Adams thought I was very quiet when I returned to my station. He even asked if I was ok or needed someone to talk to. It made it hurt more that I couldn't be there for you and Adam's was trying to help me instead." Tali blurted out quickly. Falling back to her rambling speech whenever she got nervous.
"Well it could have been worse Tali. If we had been together then, how would of you felt after the destruction of the Normandy and my death?" That statement shocked Tali, she had been devastated when Shepard was killed, but the thought of losing him now that they where together was even worse.
Shepard continued. "Besides, you need to stop beating yourself up every time you feel you made me upset. It was a very troubling time for all of us who survived Virmire. Hell you should have been there when I ran into Kaiden on Horizon. Never thought a friend like him could turn around and flat out accuse me of treason to the Alliance." he spat out in distaste.
"I remember Garrus telling me about that when I got on board. He was there with you on Horizon when Kadien was letting his feelings blind him. Garrus was pissed that he would say such things to you." Tali's anger rose at those statements that Kadien directed to Shepard. Of everyone on the original team that still lived only herself and Garrus understood the commanded and followed him. Sure Wrex would have been there but had his own problems to deal with on his home planet. And Liara was so obsessed with tracking down the Shadow Broker that she only used Shepard's help when she was able to finally find the illusive information broker. Now Liara was set up as the new Shadow Broker and offered her help to Shepard in that way. Liara has certainly changed more quickly than I would of imagined her.
"I'm sure it will bite him in the ass sooner or later. Probably sooner now that we are officially back working with the council." Shepard replied with a shrug.
Soon their food arrived and Shepard never realized how actually hungry he was until his nose was assaulted by the various dishes in front of him. Tali herself was enthralled by the scents as well that she turned up her olfactory sensors as high as they would go so she could take in the various aromas. She watched as Shepard began to eat and envied him. She looked down at her various tubes of nutrient paste and sighed.
"Something wrong Tali?" Shepard asked between mouthfuls of ramen.
"Nothing wrong, I just envy that you are able to eat solid food. I'm used to eating food as a paste, but watching you eat gives me the urge to just yank off my visor so I can eat solid foods." she said wistfully.
"Ya I don't think the restaurant manager would look too kindly on that. He would probably assume you are attempting suicide by taking your visor off in the middle of dinner." Shepard smirked but understood Tali's desire.
"Oh I wouldn't do that, it is just wishful thinking on my part." Tali replied idly as she picked up her food.
May have to think of something I can do for her where she could eat solid foods. I'll store that thought for later. Shepard thought as he watched Tali attach the first tube to a suction plate just under the "chin" portion of her mask and ate her food. "This paste isn't half bad actually. I can make out a few different flavors that I have yet to taste before." Tali smacked her lips which she was quite sure Shepard was able to hear through the mask.
They finished their meals and relaxed in their booth. Now Shepard felt it was his turn to ask a question. "So, what part of me do you like the most?" Shepard grinned as he watched Tali's reaction.
Tali just remembered what she had learned about human males in regards to their thought processes and their ego. They really do think that much about that sort of thing? Then again, since bonding with him, I do find my thoughts drifting to those pleasurable moments myself. Tali coughed and looked at Shepard quizzically, "Do you mean physically or something else?" she teased. Oh I know what you where thinking about but let me see if I can make you say it directly. She thought humorously.
Shepard brought his voice down a pitch and leaned across the table toward her. "Oh you know exactly what I'm talking about Tali." with husky tones.
Oh you little bosh'tet! Going to play it that way? She loved the challenge. "I'm afraid I don't understand you fully, John." she replied silkily.
Shepard gave in and replied. "What part of my body do you find most pleasing?" Grinning broadly as Tali giggled.
"Oh there is so much of you that I find pleasing John, but maybe I tell you in...ah more private settings?" Tali said flirtatiously.
Shepard agreed with that as he pulled out his credit chit, payed the bill with a large tip. They quickly found their way back to the transit station and where quickly brought back to the Normandy where Tali went over in loving detail all the parts of Shepard she loved the most.
