"It was a great party," Tali observed, not for the first time, as she and Garrus arrived at the Normandy.
"It was. Even Miranda let her hair down."
"I'd have paid to see that," Tali observed, with less acid than usual. She still didn't like Miranda…but she didn't dislike her as much as she used to. It helped that she wasn't such a Cerberus apologist anymore.
The Illusive Man was making all sorts of stupid decisions; the Indoctrination they all felt sure he was suffering from must finally be eating his brain to the point of non-functionality. She hoped he'd stroke out in his office before anyone else could kick in the door. He wasn't worth the effort.
Garrus simply hummed amusement, having a less strong opinion about Miranda than Tali did. "Good night, Tali."
"Oh, no," Tali grinned, holding up the container with a massive piece of dextro cake in it. "I'm going to enjoy this bad boy first."
Garrus opened his mouth, then closed it.
Tali felt her face heat up; she'd meant the comment innocently, even if the cake wasn't the only bad boy she'd like to enjoy…she just didn't think Garrus was quite there yet. "…go ahead. I walked into it," she finally managed.
"No…no, I-I think I'm going to leave that one alone. Good night." With that, he headed off.
Well, at least she knew he'd thought about it.
Tali entered the d-con chamber, then the cleanroom which served as her room on the Normandy. It was glorious to peel out of her suit and climb into her pajamas. It was also going to be glorious to eat that cake, which she'd been eyeing covetously all night. It looked delicious; Tali could imagine Shepard haranguing the bakery, as only Shepard could, to make sure that she got the best-tasting dextro cake she could find, wanting to make sure that by the time Tali got it home, it would still be delicious.
It was delicious, too. Sweet, fruity, with a silky frosting…wow. Clearly, Shepard had gone all-out, which confirmed Garrus' suspicion that this whole party had been more to share the celebration of Shepard's and Alenko's wedding with their friends than for any other reason.
It's like that with turians. The ceremony is private, just family. Then there's a party for family and friends.
Tali jumped when Garrus rapped a knuckle on her window, looking so morose she had to grin. She beckoned him in, observing that he still had his own box of cake—and a fork—with him. He entered, then dropped into the chair in the corner. "I got down to my room," he said through the breather he wore, "…and apparently I now know where Donnelly and Daniels slipped off to and why."
"Not in your room?!" Tali gasped, appalled that Daniels could be so thoughtless. Donnelly…well. She wouldn't have been surprised.
"No, but close enough," Garrus sighed. "It's all I can smell."
Tali shifted where she sat. "Well…have some cake. It's really good."
"Tali, I'm not much for sweets. I bagged the extra cake for you." Garrus held out the box.
"Just a little bit?"
"Not through this breather. It's okay. I keep hoping if I kill some time, the smell will fade. I didn't want to think about either of them doing…that." he hunched forward, putting his face in his hands and shaking his head.
Well, she hadn't wanted to think about it, either.
Tali at another bite of cake. "Garrus?"
"Hm?"
"You know Horatio? My partner at the Embassy?"
"Mm-hmm. What about him?"
Tali shifted uncomfortably. "We-ell…you know how there was that pilot program. The geth interfacing with quarian suits?"
"It had something to do with stimulating your immune systems, right?" Garrus straightened up. "Yeah."
"…I'd really like to share a bit of cake with you. Without a window in the way."
Garrus shifted. "Tali, that's still risky, isn't it?"
She was the one who'd have weird gunk in her sinuses—best case scenario. She appreciated his caution, but really. "How will I ever find out if it's working if I don't try? And it's not like you didn't go through d-con first, so you're not nearly as germy and gross as you normally would be."
Garrus' mandibles twitched. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Tali beamed at him. "Please?"
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Nope!" She was glad her nerves didn't show in her tone. "Come on. It'll be educational."
"I'll remember that when you've got gunk in your nose and can't get out of bed," Garrus mumbled, though he moved to sit beside her on the bed.
"I'll tell Shepard it's my fault…that's part of the reason I want to. We've got a few days for me to recover if it gets nasty."
Garrus, with an uncharacteristic look of understanding on his face, wrapped a long arm around her shoulders and leaned into her, rumbling with a sound she couldn't hear, but which she thought might be reassurance. "I just don't want to be the one who puts you in the hospital."
"Don't think about it like that," Tali said, slipping an arm around him. "Think of it like this: you're worth the inconveniences."
Garrus took a deep breath and pulled his breather down. Then immediately leaned over and nibbled her eyebrow.
Tali giggled at the sensation, aware that Garrus was holding his breath to prolong the moment when his germs interfaced with her system. "You are so sweet sometimes."
He shrugged as if to say it happened, once in a blue moon.
Tali jabbed in the side him with a finger, causing Garrus to not only let go of his held breath, but to sputter as he shied away from her.
"Tali!"
Tali cut a piece of cake with her fork, then held it up to him. "I'm sorry."
Garrus leaned so the fork wasn't pointed quite at him. Tali lined the fork up with his mouth again. Garrus, grinning, leaned the other way.