The walls of the Normandy seemed to recede away from Tali's grasp as she wobbled out of the med bay. Her vision blurred every so often, giving way to a brief blackout of the world around her before she came back to her senses. She didn't feel like herself. She felt numb. Lifted. High in the air, like the birds on Rannoch.

She knew all these drugs were necessary, however. This was the only way she was going to get out of her suit safely. This was the only way she could see Shepard without the purple veil of her helmet obstructing her face from his view. She felt nervous, excited, ecstatic. But mostly worried.

What would he think of her? What would he say?

She dreaded the searing pain of rejection. She was terrified of Shepard's judgment. No matter how strong her desire to show herself to him, the feeling of overwhelming trepidation was always there to match.

Karin Chakwas' words echoed in Tali's mind. The considerate doctor had encouraged Tali the entire time she assisted her with the injection of the medicine. Tali found herself smiling at every nice thing she said. She wanted to believe that Shepard would think she was beautiful, but she wouldn't accept it until Shepard said it himself.

Tali's heart skipped a beat as she stood outside Damon's cabin door. This was it. The man who she'd saved herself for was just beyond. She'd never felt such a wild assemblage of her most powerful emotions stir to life like this. Her breaths came in erratic inhales and exhales as she punched the door controls.

Her heart raced as she saw him, leaning over his terminal in the corner. As she took her first steps inside, he turned his head in her direction, a smile illuminating his face. She thought her heart was going to burst as he stood from his chair to approach her.

"Tali.", Shepard sighed with mitigation.

Tali said nothing. She wouldn't dare to. Her gaze fell to the floor. Second thoughts raced in her mind.

What was she doing here? Did she really want this? She was in way over her head, and she knew it. She had to leave; she had to go.

Before she could turn to dash away, a strong hand pulled her closer to Shepard. His hard body abraded against her, and she released a gasp of sudden pleasure.

Finally, Tali found the courage to speak. "I-...", she began nervously. "I... wanted to... I-If we don't come out of this alive... I..."

She stopped herself, deciding to actually tell Shepard what she wanted.

"I've... taken the antibiotics, and some medicine I got from the Citadel. I should be able to efficiently fight infection if we... Well... If we..."

"I know.", Shepard announced simply.

Shepard glided his hands over her body. It felt so warm. So strong.

She was ready. But her damned conscience kept holding her back. "I just think... Maybe... Well."

Tali sputtered on and on as she pulled Damon toward her by his hand. "I might have a hard time... well... Oh, I'm sorry. I-It's like a defense mechanism which always makes me talk too much, and... i- it makes me feel so stupid and I..."

Shepard interrupted Tali, placing his fingers on the side of her helmet. Her breath froze. Her muscles froze. Her bones froze. Everything froze. Her eyes locked with his in a vice grip. It was like waiting for death, only instead of overwhelming sorrow, it was an overwhelming mix of everything. Everything she ever knew and ever felt clashed in an emotional explosion of unfathomably agonizing anticipation.

She gingerly rose her hands to guide Shepard's fingers to the latches on her helmet. Doing so required an enormous amount of willpower. She felt stunned, awaiting the judgment of her significant other.

She dared not to move as the clamps clicked open, and the synthesized oxygen from within her helmet hissed as it escaped. She squeezed her eyes shut, and bit her lip until she could feel it bleeding as Damon pulled the mask that had sheltered her for her whole life away from her face. She could feel tears stinging her eyes.

Finally, she felt the cool rush of the Normandy's air hit her face, delivering smells and scents she had never smelled before. It felt like she released from a prison she had been in all her life, and she had no logical idea of what to do now that she was free. All she could do was wait, quietly suffering as she waited for Shepard's next words.

An eternity seemed to pass. She heard nothing, felt nothing. Scraping up every tiny bit of audacity she could muster, she released her lip from the searing pain of being cut into by her teeth, and she squinted her eyes open, but not risking coming into eye contact with Shepard. She stared at his hands. Within one of them the purple screen that she had known for years and years; covering her for the entirety of her life.

Without warning, Tali forced herself to look forward.

Shepard's blue eyes enchanted her, put her under a spell. She stared, gazed, and glared into the deep ocean of his irises.

Suddenly, Shepard's mouth split open, revealing perfect rows of flawless, white teeth.

Tali smiled back, feeling bold for doing so. Shepard seemed to be just as dazzled as she was. He seemed to be in a trance as they stared back at each other with hungry eyes.

Shepard's voice surprised Tali. "May I?", he inquired softly. He rose his hand near her face with immense care.

It was the first time she'd heard Shepard's voice without the strange modification added to it by her audio transmitters. It felt so crisp, so fresh. She could listen to it for the rest of her years.

Tali spoke. "Yes."

There was no alteration of her voice. There was no awkward filter it had to pass through for it to have volume in the area around her.

Shepard's fingers met her bare skin. She gasped as the warm sensation traveled from the far side of her cheek, to right under her eye, then to the bridge of her nose. Her face went hot, almost scorching from the sensation. As his thumb touched her lips, she purred with satisfaction. Her fingers tightened into fists from the wonderful sense of finally feeling. The skin of his body, the texture of his fingertips. Her tongue slithered out from behind her lips.

She tasted his skin. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. It was delicious, soft, but rugged as well. She wanted it. She wanted to feel this all over.

Shepard advanced forward gradually, Tali's heart threatening to pump out of her chest. Shepard paused briefly just before their lips connected. He gazed into Tali's shining eyes. Was he waiting for an answer?

Tali didn't bother to verbalize it. She clasped Shepard on both sides of his face, and pulled him into her.

This time, she was taking what she wanted. What she had always wanted. And this time, there was no purple screen stopping her. There was no possessive father to intervene, and bar her from her greatest desires. There was no looming fear of falling deathly ill. It was just her and Shepard.

Their lips smacked together as they both moaned with pleasure. Their tongues wrestled together within the chamber of their conjoined lips. Shepard's breath was cool and soothing as it wafted into her mouth. They pushed themselves against each other, into each other; pure, sweet ecstasy taking her away.

Tali had never been more in love.


Shepard's body transferred a passionate warmth to Tali's bare skin. The cold air of Shepard's cabin was replaced by his body heat. Shepard's skin was so soft. Almost fragile. Tali couldn't fight back the urges to rub her exposed torso against him.

They stood in the middle of the cabin, silent in a tight embrace. Tali was fascinated with being completely naked, feeling Shepard's bare skin against her own. Her breasts were aligned almost perfectly with Shepard's pectorals, showing an interesting contrast between Shepard's tanned, nearly brown skin, and Tali's pale, somewhat grayish shade.

Shepard occasionally whispered into her ear, telling her how gorgeous she was or how good her body felt, to which Tali responded with a tiny giggle.

Tali glided her diminutive fingers over Shepard's back. There were different places here and there where the scarred tissue on his back was rough and scratchy, but other patches where it was soft and almost completely smooth.

As they stood, Shepard also ran his fingers through Tali's unkempt but neatly untangled brown hair, making soft remarks of how soft it was. Tali took delight in the loving gesture. It reminded Tali of when her mother would brush her hair, and help her keep it healthy like her mother's.

It was like her mother was tending to her hair all over again. Only it was the comforting touch of a man, with benevolence lacing every action.

Shepard steadily rocked Tali back and forth, almost lulling her to sleep. Then she heard a deep sound, like the first note of a slow song.

Lo and behold, it was. The song Shepard sang to her the night before once again filled Tali's ears. It was better than last time. She could really hear the passion in his voice, feel the strength behind every word. It was Iris. The song Shepard had dedicated to her. She sank further into his arms as his singing continued. His low voice rumbling in Tali's ear canal.

As Shepard's song drew to an end, she realized that there was nothing to stop her. There was nothing they couldn't do. She grinned as she remembered what would happen next.

Tali had grown accustomed to Shepard's touch and the feel of his skin; although she felt she might never get used to it.

The eager young quarian gestured toward Shepard's bed, and let Shepard release himself from her arms. Damon's eyes were glued to her exposed body as he pulled her closer to him, and sat down at the edge, allowing Tali to do the same.

Only Shepard's shirt had been removed. Tali had yet to see the exposed lower half of Shepard's chiseled physique. As if reading her mind, Shepard leaned back onto his elbows, sliding two thumbs into his pants. He began to pull down, making Tali's jaw drop in anticipation. However, he stopped, making a notion for her to complete the process. Tali gulped, regardless of the situation, and assisted Shepard.

What Tali saw next was not what she expected.

Of course, she knew Shepard was a healthy man, but she had no idea he was so... well- endowed. It seemed to Tali that her and Shepard's size would be, frankly, incompatible. However, Shepard gave her a small grin, and guided her on top of him. She suspended herself just above him, nervous to go any lower. However, Shepard was as patient as ever. He let her down slowly, and she gradually began to hiss with pain as he entered. But he was gentle as he could possibly be. The pain grew into pleasure, and pleasure into unmatched bliss. It was unlike any other feeling. It was unlike any experience she'd ever had in her life.

Tali let her fingers lock with Shepard's. Soon, they found each other's rhythm, and they continued their love-making in sweet solitude.


Hey, guys! I know some of you have been looking forward to Shepard's singing to Tali. However, I did some site rule revisions, and as much as I would love to put in the song lyrics as Shepard sang, the rules stated that I cannot copy a copyrighted song's lyrics into a fanfic. I attempted to be as vague as possible with it. I apologize to anyone who was disappointed, but I didn't want to jeopardize this story to be reported for rule-breaking, and deleted without warning; especially since I've worked so hard on this, and you guys enjoy it so much. Also, this chapter is ridiculously short. However, I felt like the romance scene really deserved its own chapter. After all, is making love not a sacred thing? Thanks for reading, and leave a review!

P.S.: Song is Iris by Goo Goo Dolls if you want to listen as you read.