New Surroundings

Shepard awoke with a start as hands shook him from his deep sleep, making him wince at the bright light covering the room. He groaned a protest before he snatched what covers he could from around him and pulled them up over his head.

"Oh no you don't, get up John!" He heard Tali's voice outside the sheets and sighed heavily as she ripped them back off of him.

"Why?" he croaked pathetically.

"Because it's morning. And because I was hoping you would take me to breakfast." She jumped on the bed and laid next to him, doing her morning ritual of tracing the lines of his face with her slender fingers. He did his best to open his eyes and look at her, noting she had her mask off as he did. Giving her the best smile he could muster, he reached out to touch her face as well.

"Of course, Beautiful. What kind of breakfast did you have in mind?"

leaning her face into his hand, she closed her eyes as if to savor the feeling. "I was thinking we could grab some food from the Normandy's stores and explore our new plot of land. Which reminds me, how did you get Jo'Hasha to approve our request?"

Shepard smiled even more broadly as he thought about the Elder. "He asked why we wanted the land, so I told him." Tali looked at him skeptically for his short and vague answer, but left it alone as he continued. "Why don't we get you some real food today? Jo said the village wasn't too far away from our spot, and I'm sure quarians have something akin to a diner." He threw the blankets the rest of the way off of him and stood up from his bed to stretch.

"A diner? Shepard please, that will probably be expensive, let's just eat from our-"

"No Tali, I don't care if it's expensive. You're going to have a full quarian breakfast and you're going to like It." he gave her an exaggerated admonishing finger wag as he moved off to take a shower, earning himself a snort from her as she too left the bed.

He entered the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth from the rack before sliding the shower door aside, only to have Tali pluck the wash cloth from his hands and shove him into the shower.

"Something I can help you with, Tali?" he grinned at her as she gave him a sultry smile, then began taking off her suit in what was possibly the most erotic way he'd ever seen. Hypnotized, he watched her finish with the suit and get in the shower with him, still holding the washcloth.

"Why don't you let me get that for you?"

Zaeed stood outside her door, his hand hovering as if about to knock, but for one of the few times in his life, he hesitated. His hand dropped to his side as he remembered the fight they'd had last night, and he cringed as he saw again in his mind the look of what almost amounted to pity she'd given him before shutting the door in his face. He walked a few steps over and leaned against the wall, putting his head in his hands as he thought desperately on what to do.

Guddam women's gonna be the end of me, I swear it. Why can't she just stay with me? I know I won't live much longer in her eyes, or maybe it's because she thinks she'll get bored?

His thoughts swirled around in his head in maelstrom-like fashion, but failed to give him any ideas. His thoughts were interrupted by her door opening, revealing his walking heart attack herself, Aria. She stopped in the doorway, looking at him as he leaned against the wall with a curiously blank expression. She looked down at the floor for a moment, almost as if gathering her thoughts before she looked back at him and jerked her head to indicate her room. She moved back to allow him to pass as he pushed off the wall and went inside, closing the door behind them. Aria kept moving as the door closed though, and made her way to the chairs he'd originally brought for her when she'd first come aboard. She threw one for him to catch and slid the other underneath herself.

Snatching the lightweight chair from the air, he slowly set it down, but stood standing. The two stared at each other for a time, each waiting for the other to speak, until finally Aria gave a heavy sigh.

I wanted to apologize Zaeed." His eyes bulged for a moment as he processed her words, making her laugh. "Don't look at me like I just grew another head you ass. I am capable of feelings from time to time."

He brought his facial features back under control and snapped back. "Feelings? Ha! Ain't that a joke."

Aria raised an eyebrow and smiled at him before she picked up again. "I was thinking about last night, and since you were standing outside my door for who knows how long, I think I can safely assume you were too." She watched for his nod before proceeding.

"So I was thinking and… I don't know if… Why is this so hard?" she ran a hand over her face in exasperation, but Zaeed decided to speak up first.

"If you want to go I wont blame you, this planet looks to be boring as all hell and gone, and I won't try and keep you here. But if you ever want to visit, you know where I'll be." He got up to leave, but stopped when he saw her face scrunched up in an expression he'd never seen on her before. Is she… crying?

"Aria? You alright my little blue squid?" She choked out a laugh but she definitely had tears running down her cheeks. He moved towards her and sat on one knee next to her chair, taking one hand in his in an attempt to comfort her. She looked down at him, still with that incredibly foreign expression and spoke so quietly he almost missed it.

"If you tell anyone about this, I swear to the goddess I'll murder you." He threw back his head and laughed, and after a moment's confusion, she too laughed at the absurdity of the whole situation. When he finally brought his laughter under control, he had to join her in wiping away tears.

"Jesus, it's been years since I laughed that hard." his smile faded as he saw her watch him, her gaze and slight smile turning his insides hot as a furnace.

"I want to stay, Zaeed."

He scanned her face for a second, not really registering what she had said, but once he did, he squeezed her hand and grew a small smile.

"You are just full of surprises. I was so sure you would leave..." he looked down for a minute, reliving the crushing depression that had come over him as he'd resigned himself to a life alone. A blue hand reached down in front of him and cupped his chin, making him look back up into her eyes.

"Make me." Her challenge made him smirk, his depression already forgotten as she locked her lips on his.

"Shepard? I thought we were going to the shuttle?" Tali looked at him in confusion as they exited the elevator to the crew deck.

"Well, it just so happens that there is someone else here who might enjoy a dextro amino meal." He smiled at her as he turned to enter the mess hall, while she stifled a complaint from her subconscious.

This was supposed to be for us. But then, I suppose Garrus does deserve to eat some real food too. Her stomach burned as she thought about it, but she managed to maintain composure as they made their way to Garrus' room. Pounding on the door a few times, they only had to wait a few seconds before a familiar grinning turian stood in the doorway.

"Well well! What a surprise, and what might I do for the lovely couple this morning?" he took his usual pose by leaning on the wall with his feet crossed as he waited.

"We thought you might enjoy some food from an actual restaurant for once, as opposed to the prepackaged dextro foods you've been forced into eating for a year."

"A year and a half, actually." Garrus corrected him, somehow managing to keep his smile in check.

"Right. Well are you coming or what?"

"Oh I don't know, Shepard. Anything not prepackaged might taste like crap now, after being "force fed" all those rations." He put his hands up to make the quotation marks in the air with his fingers, and then pushed himself off the wall and motioned for them to lead on. She shook her head and followed Shepard and Garrus to the elevator, shuffling inside and feeling very small compared to the other two. Tali fidgeted with the jewelry she'd received at their bonding party, idly rubbing the ring and necklace that she still thought were absolutely beautiful while the elevator made its usual slow pace to the cargo bay.

"So, how are we carrying her this time, Shepard? Over your shoulder, or in your arms?" Garrus shied away from her and held up his arms in defense as she slapped him on the shoulder.

"Bosh'tet." Her remark got a chuckle from the turian before he responded.

"Who? Me or him?"

"Both of you." They were saved from having to give a response by the elevator door pinging open, allowing them entry into the now nearly empty cargo bay.

Stepping out into the large open space once filled with crates upon crates of food and supplies, they made their way to the shuttle. It had a faint layer of dust on it from yesterdays exit from the Conclave meeting, but other than that it was immaculate. As Shepard got closer, she watched him run a hand over the Alliance emblem stenciled into its side. His face turned almost melancholy for a brief moment, but in a flash it was gone and he popped the hatch to leap in.

"Well? You coming or not?" he grabbed a snack from one of the remaining nearby crates and plopped down in the nearest seat. She exchanged glances with Garrus, who shrugged and followed Shepard up. Once she was aboard, she took a seat next to Shepard and insured the safety harness was snug before activating her Omni-tool and turning on the autopilot.

The engines sparked to life with a low hum as she gave the computer the coordinates for the only restaurant in the town that they would soon be living next to, lifting them off the deck and out of the Normandy's cargo bay, into a slowly brightening morning sunrise. She found herself staring, transfixed at the beauty of it while they flew out over the desert below, still covered in shadows until the sun reached out over the mountains. After a minute or so she finally looked back around the cabin, noticing the other two were watching her with almost identical grins despite their different species.

"What?"

Garrus looked down at her arm, apparently she had been so caught up in watching the countryside she forgotten to switch off her Omni-tool as it still glowed around her arm and lit up the small space. Shutting it off, she looked back out through the view port to watch the sunrise.

"It is beautiful, Tali." She felt his hand on her shoulder and placed her hand on top of his, still watching outside.

"It is. Thank you, Shepard."

"For what?"

she smiled under her helmet and closed her eyes. "For everything." She rested her head on their intertwined hands and just enjoyed the feel of him near her for the remainder of the trip. When the shuttle finally began to decelerate, she felt him pull his hand back, making her let out a heavy sigh as she sat up straight to undo her safety harness.

"I gotta say, I am really looking forward to having my food cooked with actual ingredients again instead of military gruel." Garrus undid his harness and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Well you'll have to hold on just a little longer, Garrus. I had the autopilot put us down just outside the town limits. We have a bit more walking to do before we get there." Tali made no attempts to hide her amusement as the large turian groaned and grabbed his stomach.

"Are we sure this place is even open yet? This must be pretty early for everybody else." She watched Shepard look around skeptically as they all piled out and looked at the small town.

"It is fairly early still, but I'm pretty sure they're open."

"Pretty sure? That's comforting."

"Can it Garrus, can't you see I'm trying to eat?" Shepard shook his still wrapped meal in his friends face with a grin as Garrus cringed at whatever it was.

"You're going to eat before we do? Here I was thinking our Commander had some manners." He shook his head as if deeply disappointed, earning himself a snort from Shepard.

"Well, maybe I should. We wouldn't want you to lose your appetite from watching me eat." He waved his wrapped bundle of… whatever it was in front of Garrus again.

"What is that even supposed to be?" Tali's question made both men turn to face her as she pointed at his food.

"This? This is a precooked and, as of now, unpackaged M.R.E. Looks like… Sloppy Joes." He looked down at his meal and took a deep breath, then exhaled with a smile. "Heated in the package and ready to eat. So lets hurry up and get there already, shall we?" Following his own instructions he trudged on ahead towards the town with her and Garrus making derogatory comments on his, "M.R.E." the whole way there. As they entered the town the two men looked at her expectantly.

"So, where to Tali?" Garrus looked around as if he could read the Keelish signs above the brand new shops and locate it himself.

"Hmm... It says on the map it's the next left, then at the end of the street." Following her as she took the indicated path, the other two decided to be quiet for once while she read the signs for the restaurant.

"Ah ha! "The Captains Prize". There it is!" She moved toward the door but Shepard beat her there, opening it for her with a slight bow. Noticing their confused looks, he tried to explain.

"It's considered polite to open doors for women."

"Oh. Well then thank you." She stepped through and had to laugh as she heard Shepard jab Garrus behind her.

"You're welcome ma'm. And may I say your face paint looks amazing today."

"Spirits, the man never lets up." Garrus grumbled as they all entered the small building and looked around.

There was a distinct 'old fashioned' look about the business, she noticed. It had wood from what might be a ple'a tree for the walls, making it a mixture of dark brown and black streaks with a background of tan. There were many paintings along the walls and the odors coming from the kitchen were intoxicating, but what got her attention most was the view. Towards the center of the wall, facing the now rising sun were large windows, allowing a spectacular view on the sunrise as people ate. Tali tore her attention away from the windows to see the waitress moving toward them from the kitchen area.

"Hi there! You're our first customers of the day!" The woman was definitely young, and by her stance she had no idea who they were. Though she must've found it odd that a human and a turian were with her as she gave an almost hesitant glance at them both before continuing.

"Only three of you? Ok, then follow me and I'll seat you." The waitress started to turn but Tali caught her arm.

"Ah. Excuse me, but could we please take one of the seats near the windows?"

"Oh of course! Right this way." Tali took a glance at Shepard over her shoulder, seeing him looking around the establishment instead of watching her or the waitress walk was surprising. Once the waitress seated them and left for the menus, it became apparent Garrus had noticed it too.

"You know, Shepard, I must say I'm surprised you weren't watching the waitress, what with your thing for quarians and all." Garrus smile grew exponentially as Shepard slowly turned to face him.

"Maybe you failed to notice, Garrus, but I happen to be bonded already. And besides, she doesn't have the hips that my Tali does." He said it to Garrus, but was looking at her with a smile. She blushed furiously as the waitress came back with their menus, and instantly propped hers up to cover her mask.

"Uh, miss? I don't suppose it's too much of a stretch for you to have Levo amino foods here?" Shepard's hopeful tone died as the girl shook her head apologetically.

"No, I'm sorry, we weren't expecting any humans to visit Rannoch… are, are you Commander Shepard?"

Garrus threw up his hands in exasperation. "How? How does this happen everywhere we go?" Shepard gave him a quizzical look.

"Are you really surprised? We're heroes now Garrus."

"No, not that. How do they always recognize you and not me? I'm the one with the huge scar on his face!" The girl looked a little taken aback, but decided to risk interfering.

"U- uh, I'll just come back when you're ready to order." She scurried away as if she'd offended them and retreated to the kitchen area.

"Well, you two better hurry up and pick, because I'm tempted to eat this Sloppy-Joe right here and now."

"Please no." Garrus put a hand over his eyes to avoid looking at the red and brown goop on Shepard's plate, while she smiled and looked out the window at the ever-brightening landscape outside. She leaned into Shepard's shoulder, unable to think of a time when she had felt more relaxed.

"Ah… see here Shepard? Dextro cheese burgers."

"Go to hell, Vakarian." Shepard groaned.