Author's Note: Some readers had a few complaints regarding last chapter, so I thought I'd try resolve them in case anyone else felt the same way. First, I was trying to show just how emotional Tali was when she caught Liara kissing Shepard. Emotions easily cloud people's judgement, and Tali's emotions definitely got the best of her. Second, Tali wasn't so much mad at Shepard, she was mad at Liara and herself. But since her emotions and insecurities were running rampant, she unfortunately took out her anger on Shepard. The lines from Tali's self-doubt show that she believed it was either her suit, her being a quarian, or something she did that drove Shepard to Liara. When she sees how she reacted in Glpyh's recording, she instantly knew what she did was wrong. Third, Shepard knew better than to try to fight back against Tali's anger. When emotions are clouding a person's judgement, they won't see reason, no matter how obvious it is. If anyone else had any complaints regarding last chapter, please PM me and I'd be more than happy to explain my reasoning. Also, shout out to everyone who has reviewed Unbreakable Bond! Super shout out to lambo105, who faithfully reviews every chapter. You're the MVP!
Shepard sighed, and put his face into the palms of his hands. He rubbed his temples, trying to reduce the stress that was building into a headache.
This is going to be difficult. Shepard thought.
He had just got off the comms with Liara, who was on her way over to the apartment. It had been two days since the 'incident', and neither Shepard nor Tali had heard anything from her since. That had probably been for the best, considering the couple was still fuming mad at her. However, for the sake of crew unity, this had to be done. Tali had suggested the just kick her off the Normandy. While unwanted sexual advances were sufficient grounds for removal from any ship's crew, Shepard knew Liara's Shadow Broker connections had been invaluable over the past year. They needed to resolve this issue now, before it got worse or anyone else found out.
"Tali, I just called Liara. She's on her way over." Shepard announced.
Tali came over from the kitchen and joined him on the couch, sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck for support. She had her suit off, and was wearing one of the tank tops and sweatpants that she bought earlier that week.
"Do we have to do this?" Tali asked.
She was still concerned about the prospects of seeing Liara again so soon. Tali was slightly afraid she'd go feral and try to attack Liara again, though to be honest she probably wouldn't mind if she did.
"I don't want to do this either, but we have to." Shepard answered. "If we don't settle this problem now, it'll just get worse."
Tali sighed, "I guess you're right. Why does it seem like you're always right?"
Shepard chuckled softly, "Because most of the time I am."
He winked at Tali, who gave him a playful punch in the arm in return.
"Bosh'tet." she retorted, failing to stifle a giggle.
Tali's mood suddenly changed for the worse, she slid off Shepard and onto the couch. She found herself staring at her lap, her hands wringing together.
Tali spoke in a quiet voice, "John, I'm… I'm so sorry about the other night. When I saw how I reacted, I…"
Her apology was interrupted by Shepard's hand on her cheek, gently turning her head so she faced him. His lips met hers, a sensation Tali knew she would never tire of. When they parted, Shepard looked deep into her glowing eyes.
"Tali, it's okay, I already told you I forgive you." he said with a smile.
Tali stood up and started pacing nervously.
"No, John, it's not okay. It wasn't your fault at all, and I yelled at you like it was." she said, her voice quivering. "Keelah, I hit you. I hit you over and over, what kind of a bondmate does that? And you just took it, and never retaliated."
Shepard stood up, and pulled her in for a hug to stop her rambling.
"Do you remember what happened on the Normandy after the geth dreadnaught? Between me and Gerrel?" he asked.
"Of course, I'll never forget. I thought you were going to rip his head off, I wanted to rip his head off." Tali answered.
"I wanted to kick his ass. I knew I was in the right, and what he did was wrong." Shepard explained. "But I knew that no good would come from hurting him. I knew that if I let my emotions get the better of me, it would make the situation worse."
They parted just enough so Shepard could see Tali's face. He gently brushed aside a lock of her hair that had fallen in front of her face.
"The same applied to the other night. I knew I did nothing wrong, but I also knew how it looked to you." Shepard continued. "If I got mad and started yelling back at you, our fight would've been much worse. I knew I had to wait until you calmed down to prove to you what really happened."
"Still, I shouldn't have hit you. Or thrown that datapad at you." Tali stated.
Shepard took her hands in his, and gently rubbed them with his thumbs.
"You're right, you shouldn't have." Shepard agreed. "But, I forgive you, because I love you. And I always will."
Tali kissed him passionately. When they parted, she had a beaming smile on her face.
"How did I get so lucky?" Tali wondered aloud.
"You? How did I get so lucky?" he countered. "The most kind, caring, and beautiful woman in the galaxy is going to be my lifemate."
Tali blushed, and kissed him again.
"Liara is going to be here soon." she observed with a sigh. "I'm going to put my suit back on."
Shepard watched, with a grin on his face, as Tali left and disappeared from view upstairs. Unbeknownst to the other, each of them said a silent prayer. Tali thanked the Ancestors for bringing Shepard into her life, and Shepard thanked God for the same reason.
A few minutes later, Tali reemerged with her suit on. She snuggled up close to Shepard on the couch, and waited for Liara to arrive. When the doorbell rang about 10 minutes later, Shepard glanced down at Tali.
"You ready?" he asked.
Tali sighed again, "No, but like you said, we have to do this."
Shepard gave her a light squeeze on her thigh, and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he saw Liara on the other side, her head hung low. She quickly glanced up at him.
"Hello, Shepard." Liara greeted, her voice just above a whisper.
"Come in, Liara. We have a lot to talk about." Shepard stated.
He stepped aside to let her in, and closed the door behind her. Liara slowly walked inside, obviously very uncomfortable being in this situation. She looked up and saw Tali sitting on the couch, but her shame prevented Liara from greeting her. Tali's rage prevented her from greeting Liara. As Shepard walked back and took a seat next to Tali, he said another silent prayer asking for the strength to forgive Liara.
Shepard was the first to talk, "So, Liara, it was pretty clear to me that you were very drunk two nights ago. How much do you remember?"
"Not very much, honestly. I don't remember anything before Tali's… reaction." Liara responded. "Tali, I completely understand why you tried to attack me. You don't have to feel sorry about it."
"I don't." Tali replied harshly.
Shepard waved Glyph over, "Well, since you don't remember what happened, we're going to refresh your memory. Glyph, play the recording."
Glyph's hologram projection flickered to life on the coffee table, and the events of that night began playing in front of them. Liara's hand covered her mouth in shock when she saw herself lie to Shepard about Tali, sit unnecessarily close to him, and ask him why he picked Tali over her.
"Come on, Shepard, just one more time." she proposed. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, "And Tali will never know."
Tears began to well in Liara's eyes when she fully realized how severe her betrayal of Tali, her friend, had been. Shepard felt Tali tense up at Liara's words. Liara gasped when she saw herself pull Shepard down, straddle him, and kiss him.
"That's enough, Glyph." Shepard ordered.
There was an awkward, silent pause before Liara took a deep breath and released it.
"Before anything else, I have to know one thing. Are you two still together?" she asked.
Tali spoke before Shepard could.
"Yes, and we intend to keep it that way." she hissed.
Liara let out a breath the couple hadn't realized she was holding in.
"Thank the Goddess, I was so worried that my actions would cause you two to end your relationship." she said, sounding very relieved. "Shepard, Tali, I am so ashamed of what I did. I promise, it will never happen again."
"It better not." Tali responded, venom dripping from her words.
Shepard took Tali's hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"Liara, it's obvious that you have feelings for me. I can't stress this enough, we will never be together." he stated. "Tali and I are fully bonded, and are going to become lifemates after this war is over. We both love each other, and that will never change."
"I understand, Shepard. What I did was incredibly foolish and selfish, and I promise you that before that night I had never planned on acting on my feelings." Liara replied. "I never intended to split you two apart, and I swear to the Goddess it will never happen again."
Liara paused again, and she stared at the ground.
"I'll understand if you kick me off the Normandy." she said.
"Liara, I'm not going to kick you off the Normandy, but let me be very clear with you. The only reason I'm still allowing you to serve onboard is because your Shadow Broker services have been invaluable." Shepard stated firmly. "However, if I so much as catch you looking at me the wrong way, I'll drop your ass off at the nearest spaceport. Am I understood?"
Liara had to hide her excitement at still being allowed on the Normandy.
"Understood, Shepard." Liara answered.
"Good." Shepard paused before continuing. "Liara, I know you're a good person, and I hope this was just a horrible lapse of judgement on your part. So, because of that, I forgive you."
Liara perked up, "Really? Thank you, Shep…"
She was interrupted by Shepard holding his hand up, a signal for her to stop.
"However, everything I said before is still true. I forgive you, but I'll be keeping you on a very short leash until I can trust you again." Shepard stated.
He looked at Tali, hoping to hear her say she forgave Liara too. She didn't say a word, instead kept looking daggers at Liara.
Shepard sighed internally, but he couldn't blame Tali for not forgiving Liara.
"Okay, Liara, you can go. Just so you know, Garrus knows everything that happened." Shepard said. "I don't want anyone else hearing a word of any of this, clear?"
"Of course, Shepard. And I'm so sorry, you two." Liara answered, making her way towards the door. "Thanks again for forgiving me, Shepard. I'll see you two around."
Tali felt a gnawing deep down in her stomach. A feeling that she should forgive Liara. She wanted so badly to just hate Liara. However, in her soul, Tali knew that was no way to live. Liara had been her friend, and aside from this incident, she was a good person. Finally, Tali relented and gave in to the gnawing feeling.
"Liara, wait." she said, just as the asari was about to walk through the door.
Liara spun around, "Yes, Tali?"
Tali slowly walked over to Liara.
"It's going to take some time to trust you again, but I… forgive you." she said.
"Thank you, Tali." Liara replied, sounding relieved. "I promise you, nothing like this will ever happen again."
Tali leaned in close, and whispered into Liara's ear, "Good, because if it does, I can't promise I won't kill you."
She pulled away, and glared at Liara, making sure her words had the desired effect. Liara nervously nodded and hurried out the door.
Tali turned back to see Shepard smiling at her.
"I'm glad you forgave her, Tali. Hating someone is easy, forgiving them is hard." he commended her.
"Honestly, John, the only reason I did was because of you. Keelah, I wanted so bad to just hate her." Tali admitted. "But you forgave me, even after the terrible things I did, and you forgave Liara too. I figured that if you could forgive both of us, I could forgive Liara."
Shepard's smile grew even wider, and he wrapped his arms around Tali, which she happily reciprocated.
"Now that all that mess is behind us, got any plans for the evening?" he asked.
"None, I'm all yours." Tali answered before pausing. "I'm as free as the dust in the solar wind."
Shepard pulled back slightly and gave her a puzzled look.
"You remember that line? From Fleet and Flotilla?" she asked. "Shalei and Bellicus on the balcony?"
"I've never seen Fleet and Flotilla." Shepard admitted.
"What? You've never… how could you not have?" Tali questioned, incredulously. "Well, I know what we're doing tonight!"
An hour and a half later, the couple was halfway into Fleet and Flotilla. Tali had changed back into her previous outfit of a tank top and sweatpants, and was gleefully snuggled up close to Shepard. Her head was resting on his chest, and he was gently stroking her arm with his fingertips, sending tingling sensations throughout her body.
When Tali saw Shalei meet Bellicus on the balcony, she exclaimed, "John, this is the part I was talking about!"
Shepard paid even closer attention to the vid than before. He actually was thoroughly enjoying it, which he would never admit to anyone, besides Tali. He normally hated romance vids, but for some reason he liked this one. Perhaps because it was Tali's favorite.
"But Shalei, we can never be together. I have my duty, and you have your people." Bellicus reluctantly stated.
Shalei shook her head, "Not tonight. Tonight, I'm as free as the dust in the solar wind."
Shepard glanced down the see Tali silently mouthing every single word, as if she had it memorized.
And I thought she couldn't get any cuter. he thought, smiling.
Tali did, in fact, have all the lines memorized. She perked up when she remembered what was coming next.
She quickly got up, and pulled Shepard up with her.
"Tali, what are you doing?" he asked, softly chuckling.
Tali beamed, "Something I've wanted to do for awhile."
Music began to play from the vid, and she did something he didn't expect, she started singing.
"Let the moon's shining light hide two lovers with it's rays. Though I know that dawn will set us on course for separate ways." Tali sang beautifully. "I will hold this night in memory for all my living days. Now unmasked, I feel your skin on mine!"
She then pulled Shepard in for a long, passionate kiss.
When they finally parted for air, Tali revealed, "I've wanted to do that ever since I first saw this vid."
"That was beautiful, Tali. And I know I've said it before, but your voice is incredible." he complimented. "I had no idea you loved this vid so much."
"It FTL-jumped me into puberty, and who doesn't love a good cross-species romance?" Tali responded.
Shepard grinned, "No argument here."
"I want you to see behind this mask. I want you to see who I truly am." Shalei said.
"I already have." Bellicus stated.
"Works for me." Tali added, and pulled Shepard in for another passionate kiss.
When the vid was over, seeing that it was late, Shepard and Tali decided to go to bed.
"Thanks for suggesting we watch that, I actually enjoyed it. Though, based on how much you love it, I'm surprised you didn't have a thing for Garrus." Shepard joked.
Tali laughed, "Are you serious, that bosh'tet? Don't get me wrong, he's a great friend, but… no, just no."
As the couple walked hand in hand up the stairs to the bedroom, Tali shuddered at the idea of her with Garrus.
Never in a million years. she thought.
Author's Note: Apparently, some people don't like the scene in ME3 where Tali sings to Shepard. Well, those people are wrong. The beauty of that scene is that Tali holds nothing back when she sings. She is completely vulnerable, sharing something that has a deep meaning behind it with Shep. Who doesn't like that?