Ok, I know I'm skipping a bit, but I didn't feel it necessary to relive the whole dlc again. We all know what happens, and if you don't, then I'm not spoiling anything for you. I mainly just wanted to give you an idea of where we were at in the game. This part is going to be changed quite a bit, due to Koris being involved. His moment, I wanted to leave for interpretation and imagination so I did the bare minimum description. His involvement in the dlc, I will just outline for you. He was the one Shepard took to the casino for the fundraiser. He was not involved in the combat during the Archives and Normandy missions. You will see why in this chapter. And yes, it's going to be mushy for a bit, lol.

Shore Leave Part Two: The Reveal

Shepard stepped off the Normandy onto the Citadel docks. They had, successfully, fulfilled their mission and she was ready to relax. She scanned the area, searching for the rest of her crew. She saw them all pile out of the shuttle they had arrived in and walk up to her. Tali put an arm around her waist as James put one around her shoulders. "See, Lola? Told you shore leave was a good idea." Shepard rolled her eyes.

"Oh, yes James. The best idea you ever had to date. Right up there with slamming our shuttle into Cerberus'."

"Hey, that was for the good of humanity. The Illusive Man would've been proud." He teased.

"Considering it was his shuttle. I'm not so sure." She jabbed him in his side and he jumped away.

"Ow."

"Shepard, I need your help with something. Can we go to your apartment?" Tali asked.

"Sure, Tali. Let's go."

Shepard and Tali walked into the apartment with Liara close behind. "Shepard, I received information from Tria and Feron." Shepard turned to look at her, hoping to hear good news, but, simultaneously, hoping she didn't have to say goodbye to Koris again. Not yet. "She says it's still not safe. Gerrel is still upset, more so now than before." Shepard nodded her understanding then glanced between the two women.

"Speaking of Koris, where is he and where has he been? I haven't seen him since the casino." Shepard heard Tali let out a soft giggle and glanced in her direction. "Tali, where is Koris?"

"Uh uh, Shepard. You're not getting any information out of me. Come on. I need to get you ready." She grabbed Shepard's hand and headed for the stairs.

Shepard glanced back at Liara, her eyes pleading with her to help her. Liara stifled a laugh, shook her head and walked out of the apartment. When they were upstairs, Tali instructed Shepard to get in the shower. She just blinked at the quarian in stunned silence.

"Shepard, you can't be smelling like sweat, and guns when you see your man. Now go. Shower." She pointed to the open doorway of the bathroom.

Shepard stood up, pulling off pieces of her armor as she did. "He's not my man, Tali." She rolled her eyes.

"Sure and Garrus isn't the sexist Turian alive," she snorted in sarcasm.

"Uh… well…" Shepard was trying to argue that she didn't exactly know the difference between a sexy Turian and an ugly one when she realized she hadn't even seen Koris' face. "Actually, um… Tali, I have a question."

"Ask me while you shower. I have to try to find something for you to wear. No. No. No..." Tali was sifting through Shepard's clothes trying to find something, anything that would be considered sexy. Of course, Commander Shepard didn't own much in the way of sexy. She had that one dress that she wore to the casino, which Liara had to purchase for her prior to the mission. Tali had thought Koris was going to take off his helmet and take Shepard right there when he saw her in it. She had been standing next to him and could feel the heat radiating off of him, knowing exactly what that meant. But, Shepard couldn't wear the same dress twice. She needed something fresh.

"Tali," she heard Shepard call over the sound of the water. "Have you ever seen Koris?"

Tali paused, her hand in mid air as she was about to toss another tshirt away onto the floor. "Um… Yes, Shepard. Many times." She said, confused.

"No… I mean seen him… Ya know?"

"Tali peeked her head in the bathroom. "Without his helmet?" She questioned.

"Yeah."

"No. Well, not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

Tali had resumed her rummaging as she told the Commander the story. "It was right after I became Admiral. He was coming back from somewhere… I don't remember where. He ran to the quarantine lab to have his helmet and himself disinfected. I had followed him to see if he was alright. I only caught a glimpse before he put his helmet back on."

"And?"

Tali was now aware of why the Commander was asking her this. She had been so caught up in her search for an outfit, she hadn't payed much attention to the conversation. "No way, Shepard. I'm not telling you anymore," she teased.

Shepard stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her just as Tali found her prize. "Yes. This is the one." She held up a silver dress that sparkled in the light. It was short and had way too much room for skin to show, especially in the chest region.

"I don't know, Tali. I've never worn that dress."

Tali lowered the dress down. "Why not?"

"After Sovereign, Anderson had contacted me, telling me they wanted to hold a banquet in my honor. I bought that dress just before the attack on the SR1."

"Come on, Shepard. It's a new beginning. This dress," she held it up again. "Is a symbol. Old and new. Good and bad. It's perfect."

Shepard sighed in defeat. "Okay, Tali. You win."

"Shepard, you look gorgeous," Tali breathed as the Commander graced her with her presence. She had put her dark red hair up in a tight bun on top of her head and let some loose strands hang down, framing the side of her face. Her makeup was faint but noticeable as she had used more neutral colors that enhanced her features.

"Thank you, Tali," she smiled. "Been a long time since I've done this."

"Koris will be wanting to take you home and… wait I'm not finishing that," Tali shuddered and Shepard laughed.

"Okay, Tali… where am I going?"

"Come on."

Koris was sitting at a table in a fancy restaurant that Shepard had never heard of before. He had switched out from his normal suit to a black one that, somehow, seemed to hug his body even tighter than the normal one. It was very fitting for this particular setting.

Koris glanced up to see a woman smiling at him as she made her way to his table. It took him a moment to realize who it was and Keelah did she look absolutely stunning.

"Admiral," she smiled at him as she sat down across the small round table.

"Commander," he greeted back, hoping she didn't notice the nervous undertone.

"So, uh… what is all this? "She leaned closer to him and whispered.

"I ah… thought we could… spend some time together… outside of your cabin."

"I like the way you think, Admiral."

"So I've heard," he chuckled. "Among other things." He was teasing again.

"Such as?" She wasn't sure she wanted to hear his answer, but in the end of all things, her curiosity got the better of her.

"I hear you have a… what was the word?" He thought for a moment before he spoke again. "attraction? To my voice?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

"You might want to check your sources, Admiral. Seems they're feeding you misinformation." She was partly teasing and partly denying the truth for embarrassment sake.

"Is that so?" He leaned towards her and lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "I suppose I'll have to do something about that."

Shepard tried to maintain her composure, but he was making it increasingly difficult. She wasn't giving in that easily, though. "I suppose so," She smiled at him.

They continued to talk for a bit as they sat there enjoying their different foods. When they finished Koris stood up and held a hand out to her. She took it and stood with him. "Thank you, Koris. That was…" she tried to find a word good enough to describe how she was feeling. "amazing."

"The night is young, Lanae."

Shepard led Koris into the apartment and sat down on the couch. He followed her and made himself comfortable. "Koris, I've been meaning to ask you… where have you been? I haven't seen you since we came back from the casino."

Koris sat forward, avoiding her gaze by staring at the floor beneath him. "I was… ah… planning a surprise for you."

"You mean the dinner wasn't…"

"No, that was merely my way of thanking you… for everything you've done."

"Koris," she reached for his hand with one of her own, her other forcing him to look at her. "You owe me nothing."

"I owe you my life, Lanae… twice now."

Shepard smiled at him. "You. Owe. Me. Nothing." She stated again.

Koris wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. "I owe you this."

He removed his arm and brought up both his hands to his helmet. Shepard gasped as he revealed himself to her for the first time. He was beautiful. His dark hair was slightly longer than his ears. His eyes glowed a beautiful hue of green mixed with the tiniest bit of blue. His nose was slightly smaller and more pointed than a human male, but not much different. His mouth wasn't quite as wide as a human's, and his lips slightly thinner. All in all, he was breathtaking and much younger looking than she had expected. Shepard placed a palm to his cheek, feeling his skin beneath hers. He was soft to the touch and she loved it. Koris caught her by surprise when he leaned in and softly touched his lips to hers. It took her a second to realize he was kissing her. When her brain caught up to the situation, she smiled into the kiss and joined in. It was brief, but it was worth the wait.

He pulled away from the kiss, placing his forehead against hers. "I've been wanting to do that for quite sometime," he confessed.

"Yeah. Me too," Shepard breathed. She was pulled out of her trance when he moved to conceal himself inside his helmet once again.

"I hope you aren't disappointed. It's not much of a surprise." He chuckled as his nervous undertone returned.

"Koris," She reached for his hand again. "I couldn't think of anything better." She smiled.