Note: this chapter contains a moderate amount of raunchy humor and general sauciness. Non-explicit, but even so, I felt compelled to add this as a preface
Even above the sound of the crowds milling about the Silversun Strip, Tali's exclamatory gasp was clearly audible to Shepard's ears as they got their first look at it all.
"Keelah!" she cried, in awe at the panoply of lights and colors put off by the vibrant neon signs, at the booming music from some distant club, at the lavish garb draped over every person in sight. "It's…amazing!"
He gave an understanding chuckle at her wonder, finding it unendingly endearing.
"Forgot you never had a moment to take it all in. Too busy coming to my heroic rescue in its underbelly, I suppose."
Her eyes fell from his a second.
"It…was the only thing on my mind. Nothing else mattered."
Something in his tone touched him, and he regretted bringing them both back to that moment, giving a squeeze of their joined hands.
"Hey…" he said soothingly, bringing her gaze back up. "I made it. I did."
"I know." She whispered with a respondent squeeze of his hand. "It's just…it felt so different than when you're usually put in danger. During battle, there's never a moment where you're completely safe, but at least. I'm there. Always. To watch out for you like you do for me. But this time…for there to be nothing for me to do but hope I got there in time, I just felt so…helpless."
"I know." He echoed her. "But you're here now, aren't you? And I'm all the safer for it."
"Mm. You are." She cooed, relinquishing his hand to set it atop the pistol at her hip. "I'd love to see them try anything with me here."
"So would I." he chuckled. "Your ire is rare to show, but when it does…there's not a force in the world to stop you. 'Hell hath no fury like a quarian scorned, her lover assailed.'" He ended ponderously, earning a confused little cock of her head at the reference.
"It's, uh…from a human play. I think." He explained, before an idea came to his mind. "One of these days, we really should go and see one. I'm hardly a literary scholar, so it'd be a new experience for both of us, really."
She gave a little giggle before reclaiming his hand and tugging on it, pulling him along the way down the strip itself.
"I would love to." She chirped. "But it would take too long…so not tonight. Tonight I want sushi!"
"Patience, love. Patience." He said through his chuckles, letting her drag him along. "You'll get your sushi sometime. Let's see what we see before then, shall we?"
With that, they set off down the strip, hand in hand, eyes roaming all around at the many sights before them.
Everywhere they looked was something new.
A group of salarian paparazzi stood before a fountain, each shoving each other aside in their desperation to land the best picture of a fawning asari model sitting at its edge, veiled in a shifting mass of glowing orange omni-plates in the shape of a dress, similar to the tech armor Kaidan used.
As over-indulgent choices of regalia by the high-society types went, it was not the most inventive he'd seen, that spot being occupied firmly by some balcony party he'd seen on Ilium, where he'd spotted a dress woven entirely of the leaves of some asari plant, pale yellow, capped with a massive pink flower for a hat.
Though not so pretentious as that, he had to admit her appeal, though not half so lovely as the woman at his side, no matter what the world would say, what non-existent paparazzi would ever hound her.
They both stopped to watch the scene for a while before continuing on, quickly coming across a group of rowdy turian drunks in loose formation, swaying in their stiff steps and bumbling in their attempt to keep one of their number steady atop their shoulders as they carried him along.
As they got closer, the sloppy, cacophonous attempt at singing they'd been squawking became clear to him as "Die for the Cause," the imperial anthem of the Hierarchy he'd heard playing down at Garrus's station in the main battery a hundred times.
He could not keep down his chuckle as he realized what the man being carried along was supposed to be, sitting atop the throng like a royal atop his palanquin, paraded like a triumphant general at his victory march.
As they passed, the quality of the music seemed to become too annoying to the man, and he yelled in condemnation, sloshing around the bottle in his hand.
"No, no, no! Shpiritsh, that was awful! Entirely off key, and It's s'possed to be 'We'll never lose,' not 'Bring out more booze.' Again, frum th'top!" he slurred.
The night's chosen primarch had his request quickly heeded by his retinue, and they began the song anew, no closer to its actual sound than they had been before.
Tali spoke up at his right.
"You know, in spite of their…inebriation, I still think they sing it better than Garrus does." She said deviously, nudging his side with a hip.
He scoffed out a laugh, looking back over at her from where he had been stuck staring at the party, finding that mischievous glint in her eyes he liked so well.
"Don't tell him you said that."
"I won't. It would be cruel. You know how he dreams of being a singer some day."
"He most certainly does not."
"Really? With all that noise he's always spouting out from the main battery, I assumed he must just be practicing for his first concert."
He nudged her back with his own hip.
"C'mon, be nice. It's unsporting to speak ill of someone who isn't here to defend himself."
She rolled her eyes at the chiding.
"Oh, please…he probably does the same thing to me when you two are alone."
Though the remark was an obvious joke, he could not help but exploit the angle she'd provided him, averting his eyes to the ground, as if in concealment of some scathing secret.
She noticed immediately, that playfulness falling away from her in an instant.
"Yeah…about that." He said lowly.
She stood staring for a while, almost fearful of what it would be. Eventually, the tension he'd let build became too much for her.
"What is it?" she prodded.
He did not respond, and she actually stopped them in their tracks to ask again.
"John?" she asked meekly. "What did he tell you about me?"
He met her eyes, but kept down the smile if only for a moment. Even after this long, she was nearly as easy to bait responses out of as she'd been at the start, a vulnerability he was ever-eager to exploit.
He at last let the smile show, devious as could be.
"He told me you're gullible, and that you'd believe anything."
Recognition was swift to find her, and her pleading eyes narrowed in a scowl.
He did not dodge the indignant slap at his chest, the blow doing nothing to tarnish his little victory.
"Bosh'tet." She grumbled, pulling her hand from his and crossing her arms in adorable anger. "It's a special sort of evil that exploits someone so trusting."
"It's a special kind of stupid not to learn from that exploitation, especially when it happens so often."
She harumphed a mighty harumph, then, but was apparently not in any mood for further argument, shifting angles to one more favorable.
"You are so going to rub my shoulders later. And I'm going to love it." She gloated, apparently already deciding that she was going to win their earlier bet.
"Remains to be seen." He chuckled. "Besides, we haven't even found anywhere good to stop yet."
They continued walking a while longer, her hand reluctantly finding his once more, her anger as fleeting as a dream.
This time, instead of preoccupying him with the admittedly amusing goings-on along the strip itself, he cast his eyes to its sides, to the many shops and clubs and restaurants that lined them.
To his relief, none of them were sushi places, as he at least wished to find something interesting before their journey's goal was fulfilled.
A sign caught his eye, much subtler and less bombastic than most of its brethren along the walls, a simple sign of glowing, muted purple bearing a title printed in precise, fine lettering.
Human Fashions, New and Old.
He stopped them both to look at it, suddenly reminded of the fact that his attire for the casino charity gala tonight was…insufficient, and would continue to be insufficient, given that the suit he had once owned had not been returned to him during the haste of the Normandy's seizure.
Tali pulled him from his thoughts after a second, leaning in close to try and follow his sightline.
"What do you see?" she asked after a moment, thumb ghosting across the top of his palm.
"Just thinking…I don't actually have a suit of my own anymore. But I'm gonna need one for tonight."
"You have your Alliance blues, don't you?" she asked before immediately seeing the issue. "But then…such specific formal wear might draw too much attention, which is the opposite of what you'd want."
"Exactly. And with a name like that, shop's gotta have one that will work."
"Let's go clothes shopping, then." She chirped. "But then…isn't it usually the female who wants to do that in human couples?"
"Usually, yes, but I like to think that it's usually for vanity's sake. Here, though, it's a necessity."
"Well…maybe I'd like you to be vain tonight. The vainer you are, the more there is for me to appreciate."
He could not help but smile at how she practically purred the last.
"Like to think you appreciate me even when I'm not trying so hard."
"I do." She assured him warmly. "But what's the harm in there being more?"
"None, I suppose. Let's just see what they have."
The twin glass doors at its front slid open for them automatically as the sensor registered their presence, revealing a sprawling room whose size neither had guessed at before entry.
It stretched back a long ways, and was packed to the brim with orderly shelves containing every sort of clothing imaginable, even old kinds he'd only seen in books or vids set during those periods. Lavish festival attire from every culture on Earth was arrayed upon every rack, alongside smarter, more grandiose formal wear like the sort he was looking for. All in all, it was a truly impressive collection.
He could only let out an awe-filled whistle at the sheer variety of raiment on display, certainly not expecting the amount of options he'd have to choose from, genuinely excited at the potential fun of it all, when usually shopping for clothes was a chore in the few times he'd had to do it.
Before either he or Tali could say anything, or make their way any further into the veritable emporium ahead of them, a voice piped up to their left, a dull, flat, droning monotone.
"Friendly. Good evening to you. Welcome to 'Human Fashions, New and Old.'"
They both jumped at the sound, as neither had noticed the clerk for how still he had sat. Once they'd turned to face the sound, Shepard's jaw almost dropped.
The voice had marked its speaker as an elcor, unmistakable in its dullness and in the emotional clarification that prefaced all of its sentences.
Elcor were admittedly a rarity on the Citadel, but what few interactions he'd had with the slow, hulking species were rather amicable, their characteristic demeanor of caution and conservatism lending its way to a careful consideration of each interaction, how best to phrase their thoughts in order to ensure their counterpart's understanding. Elcor rarely mis-stepped, either on the ground or in conversation.
But the fact that he was an elcor was not the thing which surprised Shepard, not the gargantuan, titanic stature, not the ashy grey skin, not the bulbous, slitted mouth.
No, what distinguished this particular elcor from all the others he'd seen was the fact that, as opposed to the colorful leather drapings and bracers they typically wore, this elcor was draped all in black. And though it was stretched from its original shape in order to accommodate his form, the garment he wore was unmistakably a tuxedo.
The coloration of the fabric, the sharp collar at the neckline, the white undershirt, even the smart little bowtie just beneath his head, it all certainly came together like a tuxedo would.
Through his surprise, Shepard had to admit he pulled it off well. He supposed that would only make sense, as the obviously custom-tailored outfit would cost far too much not to look good.
If there was every a snazzy elcor…he thought to himself …this is it.
After his stunned silence grew just a little too long to be impolite, he found his voice.
"Um…hello." He stammered. "Good evening to you, as well."
"Introductory. I am Nuuna Nakarot, the proprietor of this establishment. Helpfully insistent. If the gentleman requires assistance in finding any specific attire, he should not hesitate to ask." He boomed.
"Right…I'll do that." He finished, and was about to just go on their way when his curiosity overcame him, thinking the shop owner seemed friendly enough not to take the question as a slight.
"Forgive me if this is impolite, but I have to ask…what is an elcor doing running a human clothing shop?"
Nuuna gave a deep nod, slow as his speech.
"Bemusedly understanding. The question is not impolite, as the situation is admittedly unusual. My ownership of this establishment has to do with my extreme passion for and fascination with human fashions. For the first three-hundred and seventy-one years of my life, my efforts were directed toward many lucrative ventures, though they stoked no fire within me."
The elcor's beady eyes flitted away a moment, as though lost in memory, but he could not truly tell, flat as his affectations always were by merit of his birth.
"Fondly reminiscent. When the gentleman's species first made contact with the galactic community, its culture was as interesting to me as to everyone else. I took special interest in its many choices of attire, whereas the area interested me little beforehand. This fascination only grew with time, and my previous ventures were set aside almost immediately, in order to dedicate all of my time to its exploration. I have run this store ever since, and never tired of it."
Shepard could only blink a few times, the entire situation understandable and yet bewildering, still, a novelty he never thought he'd encounter.
"…I see." Was all he could say. "What is it about human fashions that intrigues you so deeply? Is it something you can put into words?"
"Ponderously. Only one word is necessary. Variety. The human propensity toward individualism and cultural disunity lends a great deal of variety toward their choices in clothing. Each piece has its place, its social context. Addition of smaller accessories can entirely redefine an outfit and its appearance, so there is always something new to see."
The elcor's slitted mouth curled up into something that, while not all that different from its baseline, seemed almost a smile.
"Blatantly flattering. Human clothing is varied, creative, and impassioned, like the species that wears it."
Shepard could only chuckle at that, Tali joining in a moment later, and he decided then that he liked this elcor, comedian and proprietor and fashion aficionado all rolled up into one.
Tali piped up at his side, now a good deal less shocked at the whole situation thanks to the joke, as he was.
"Flattery will get you everywhere where he's concerned, trust me. But does it work so well on your other customers? How is your business?"
He guessed she was asking around the question of potential prejudice, of humans being unwilling to trust an elcor merchant selling human goods, which made sense, given her track record, her experience with it, rarer as it was becoming.
"Explanatory. During earlier hours, my human customers are eager to peruse my wares and explore this aspect of their culture. With sly fondness. However…at this time of day, they are far more interested in exploring the…asari culture…on display in the nightclubs."
Laughter came over the two of them once more, the joke made funnier by the manner of its delivery, flat and yet containing so much more than that flatness implied.
Shepard spoke up once again once he'd collected himself.
"You are quite the comedian, Mr. Nakarot." He mused.
The besuited elcor once again inclined his massive head in a nod.
"Flattered. The gentleman is kind to say so. I have had many years to hone this aspect of the mercantile craft. Redirecting. Now, is there any specific sort of clothing the gentleman is seeking this evening?"
"If I'm honest, there is. In the market for some formal wear, got a gala with the high-society types to attend tonight. But with a collection this large…" he accentuated his words with a sweeping arm around the vast array of garments the elcor had curated for them.
"I'd feel guilty not giving it the appreciation it deserves. I think my…companion and I are just gonna explore it a little bit, but I'll be sure to let you know if we need help."
"With helpful humility. I am at the gentleman's service; he needs only ask."
With that, Shepard turned away from the counter and walked further into the store, Tali at his side.
As they walked, he could not resist a little jab.
"Wouldn't have ever gotten to see an elcor in a tuxedo if we'd taken a cab."
She gave a little giggle.
"I can admit that, at least. He's certainly…interesting, but I like him."
"Me too. Quite the character."
"There's only one issue with it, though." She teased, letting on some joke he let himself blunder right into anyway.
"Yeah? What's that?"
"You'll have to go the rest of the night knowing you'll never pull off a tuxedo as well as him." She teased.
He gave a laugh, half a scoff at the insult.
"I probably won't, but that doesn't mean I can't try. Need your feminine intuition to help me out."
"My feminine intuition? But I have no mind for fashion. I've been wearing the same suit for…" she seemed to calculate how long it had been since her change in her head.
"Three years, right? Since you got your new one? Which I like a lot better, by the way. Not sure if I ever told you." He said with genuine honesty.
"Thank you, John. I…like it better, too. I designed it myself."
"Well, you made a good job of it." He praised, and she positively beamed to hear the words.
They had arrived at the largest area of the store, containing racks filled to the brim with shirts, pants, shoes, and a truly massive assortment of hats, enough to make any milliner's mouth water.
He and Tali both just let their eyes wander, taking it all in and wondering just how much time and effort had to be put in to acquire such an immensely varied collection.
Out of a sea of grey jackets, a flash of color caught his eye, and his hand extended on instinct to grab it, pulling it free from the rack to reveal a Hawaiian shirt, rich pink floral patterns across a faint cerulean and sunset-orange background. All in all, a garish bit of work he could not see himself ever wearing, not even on a beach.
Images flashed through his mind a moment, a little daydream playing out of him and Tali going to some seaside resort somewhere, lounging beneath the sun, floating atop the cresting waters like leaves, and it was then he decided it would definitely be happening. Someday. It was too blissful a thought not to see it through. Her suit was waterproof, but then he wondered a moment if she could even swim at all. If not, he'd teach her, anything to see such a lovely dream fulfilled.
Shaking the dream away to return himself to reality, though no less sweet, he turned, holding up the utterly tacky shirt under his neck, to see how it might fit him.
"How's this, love? Too much?" he joked.
She did not meet his gaze, faced away as she was, staring interestedly down at a wide-rimmed black hat with an ornament on its side, a purple lily wrought of aluminum, the color sinking deep into the metal, catching the light above enticingly.
"Tali?" he prompted her after a few seconds.
"Hm?" she responded, turning to face him. "Oh…sorry, I was just…looking at this hat."
"Do you wanna buy it?" he offered her.
"What? No, no…we're here to get a suit for you." She deflected, selfless, undesirous as she ever was, and charming as it always was to him, he would not abide it.
"We're here to have a good time, first and foremost. This night is ours. So if you want that hat, we're getting you that hat."
She paused a few seconds, wrestling with temptation.
"Well…maybe, but…what is it you were going to ask me?" she redirected, but he was pleased to have at least gotten her to consider buying something for herself.
He brought the shirt back from where it had hung at his side, splaying it out across his torso by holding it at its shoulders.
"I was gonna ask you what you thought of this. Too much?" he repeated.
She seemed to take the question far more seriously than it was asked, cocking a hip and bringing up a finger to tap thoughtfully at her modulator's indicator light in that adorable way she did.
"It's…very colorful." She managed after a time, not nearly so scathing a remark as he might have expected for such an in-your-face garment.
"I do have eyes, you know." He quipped. "Yes, it's colorful, but is it too colorful?"
"Well…maybe a little. But it…would have its own charm on you, I think."
He could not keep down the chuckle he'd been holding back.
"I wasn't actually gonna buy it, love. Do you truly think so little of me that you'd expect me not to see this for what it is? Too tacky by half."
"Not to me!" she asserted, seeming to genuinely have become attached to the notion of it, if his guess was right. "I don't think it's so bad. Really."
"Really?" he echoed, incredulous.
"Really!" she insisted. "It doesn't matter to me what you're wearing. I always…think you look good."
She said the last a little sheepishly, even after all this time a part of her never quite seemed to believe they were together, a feeling which he both reciprocated and was grateful for, knowing the impossibility that they would ever take each for granted, the sense of awe that dwelt in their hearts to have found each other at all.
"Even in this?"
"Even in that." She affirmed, a little smile on her lips, finding her eyes as easily as it always did.
"That's about as high of praise as I've ever heard. If you like me in this, you'd like me in anything."
"I would!" she insisted, before something shifted in her argent eyes, glimmering with an impassioned hunger he recognized all too well. "I would like you in anything…"
She stepped in close to him, resting her hands on his pectorals as his own found her waist on instinct.
"…but not half so well as I like you in nothing."
He scoffed out a disbelieving laugh at that, at the seductive tone of her voice, the luminous little stars blazing through the visor, the goofy waggle of her eyebrows he could just make out, though he was more than a little flustered at her insistence on being a flirt, here of all places.
"Behave." He chided her, heat and color finding his cheeks. "We're in public, love."
"Mm. We are…for now." She purred, brushing a foot against his lower leg. "I'm just getting us both ready for when we're not."
"Oh, so it's gonna be one of those nights, is it?" he growled, his hands skirting just below the small of her back to the firm plushness of her upper thighs, earning a pleased shiver at the little squeeze he left there.
"Maybe." She chirped, entirely too pleased with herself. "Let's see where it takes us. That's what you keep saying."
"Seems you've already decided where it's gonna take us." He chuckled with a roll of his eyes.
"And maybe I have. Do you object?" she teased, pressing her body closer to his in a way which never failed to entice.
"How could I when what you have planned is so very alluring? Not that my protests would be likely to dissuade you, anyway."
"No, they wouldn't." she gloated, before something shifted in her demeanor, softening her features from their playfulness until she just leaned in, her arms finding his back in an embrace he could only reciprocate, setting his chin atop her veiled head.
He remained quiet, just letting the closeness of the hug set in so that she could find it in her to tell him what had brought on such a swift shift.
"I…I like this. This is nice." She whispered into his chest after a time, squeezing him tightly and tenderly.
"It is." He agreed, knowing what she meant, even as she gave it voice.
"Being out here with you, shopping for clothes, joking around…it's just like we're a normal couple."
"Thought you preferred the parts of us that were unique, that were our own." He questioned.
"I do! More than the parts that make us like everyone else. We wouldn't be each other if we weren't our own people, but…it's just nice to be normal every now and then, isn't it?
"It is." He repeated, easing her gently away from him lest they get too caught up in the bliss of their embrace, time always seeming to speed up and bleed away when they were joined, the rest of the world a mere afterthought to the feeling of the other in their arms.
He did at least crook an arm her way, though, turning so that they might go after their visit's true goal.
She accepted the invitation eagerly, looping her arm through his and pressing herself as close as she could manage without it tripping them both up, head pressed snugly into his shoulder.
They passed through decades' worth of casual wear, sports jerseys of long-forgotten teams and their long-forgotten all-stars, the ubiquitous blue jeans that remained popular even today, past bathrobes and slippers, past overalls and work boots, past swimsuits and sandals.
Though the variety called out to him, he kept them both firmly on their course, to the sea of blacks, whites, and greys near the back of the store that seemed to comprise its formal wear section.
Before that, though, there lay the undergarments section, and though it would only be a few steps more until they were past it, past the implications, he could not resist himself, stopping them both in their tracks and reaching out with his free arm to grab up a lacy black brassiere, dangling it by his hangar between the two of them.
"You know, while we're here, we really ought to get you something to wear under there."
She took the offered hangar, looking down at the garment with something approaching derision, before gazing back up at him, that fire having quickly reignited from the embers just a moment before.
"And just why would I want to wear that? It'd only get in the way." She breathed.
"Only for a moment, let me assure you." He chuckled, half a growl which earned a shiver from her. "Besides, it's seen as scandalous for humans not to wear undergarments beneath their usual clothing. It's got…implications."
"Well…you don't ever wear undergarments." She reminded him playfully.
"Yeah, guess I don't. Heh, Commando Shepard, indeed." He teased, before realizing its significance would be lost on her.
"What?" she asked with a cock of her head.
"It's nothing." He smirked. "Now, that's usually a comfort thing, I just prefer going without them, but now that you mention it, it just might be my subconscious trying to project the impression that I'm always…open for business."
She gave an exasperated giggle, rolling her eyes, but beneath it he could practically see the violet flush spreading its way across her cheeks, the renewed heat radiating off her like starlight.
"You're awful." Was all she said, in a small voice that betrayed how fully both their teasing had riled her up.
"You enable me." He deflected, earning yet another roll of her eyes.
"I suppose I do. You're lucky I find it so endearing when you act this way."
"I am. I am lucky." He affirmed, his voice falling from his playfulness and growing just a touch tender, a fact she picked up on, eyes scrunching up behind the visor in that way they always did when her smile grew wide enough.
"Let's just get you your suit, John. It wouldn't be safe for me here."
He could only give a little laugh at that before acquiescing, taking them the final few steps into the formal wear section, a comparatively colorless area of the stores but containing some truly high-quality suits and tuxes, he had to admit.
They disentangled themselves from each other, each going in opposite directions to cover more ground, running their eyes all along the arranged raiment.
Nearly all of it would have worked, and he knew it, but part of him indulged his rare streak for vanity, in keeping with their earlier conversation. His love would be at his arm in the casino, after all, and it would not do to look shabby, to sully her image, irrelevant to her as it was.
He had just found one which caught his eye when a little pleased gasp from behind him pulled him from his perusal.
"Oooo!" Tali cried in excitement. "What about this one?"
He turned to face her, finding her running her fingers gently across the fabric of what else but a sumptuous linen suit, died a rich Tyrian purple that made it truly pop. He had to admit its appeal, even aside from the uncanny association with purple she'd made in his mind as a pleasing color, one to be appreciated.
Aside from his own aesthetic sensibilities, there was still the matter of going under the radar, a trait with which the sumptuous garment would do little to assist, and in fact would likely only hinder him in those efforts.
Even despite these things, he could not resist the obvious joke.
"C'mon, love, can't let your personal biases get in the way of my selection. You only want it 'cause it's purple."
She looked down in some muted mild dejection, sheepish in her being caught.
"Well…maybe that's part of it." She admitted before finding renewed defiance, pointing down at where the two halves would be joined. "But that's not all! See the buttons! They've got silver etchings! And these…things…up here!" she gushed, pointing at the upper arm sections where the fabric was designed to broaden the armspan.
"I really think they would accentuate your shoulders. You know how I like those!"
Setting aside the adorable reflexive comment, he quipped back.
"And you said you had no feminine intuition." He chuckled. "Probably just waiting to reveal your knack for fashion at the right moment."
"No, really, I've never…wait…why are you getting on me for liking it for its purple…ness? You like purple, you've told me so!"
"I do. A great deal." He admitted. "How could I not when it's got you to wear it around all the time?"
He relished the little flush forming on her cheeks that she gave away with her body language as surely as by the color itself, before continuing.
"Unfortunately, I don't think this is the one for me. Same deal as with the Alliance blues, I think. We need something more inconspicuous, something that's not gonna draw the whole room's gaze our way. You'll be doing a good enough job of that already." He finished warmly, deepening that flush but stoking that ever-present resistance to compliments she'd never shed.
"But that's on-" she began, but he shushed her with a finger to the faceplate.
"And not just because you're a quarian." He insisted, bringing his shushing arm down to take her hand instead. "Your suit's beautiful, love. Your suit's beautiful, and so's the woman underneath. Don't' need to see what you look like to get that. God knows I didn't." he ended, tender honesty heavy in his tone, eyes half-begging her just to believe him on this.
She looked as though she might say something else before just giving in, as she always did under his barrage of affirmation, his ever-ready praise.
"I…thank you, John. That's very sweet." She whispered with a squeeze of their joined hands, then gave a little muted sniffle, as though his words had brought a few tears to her eyes.
"See what you've done?" she joked with a little giggle, her voice catching a moment on her emotions. "If you praise me any more I might just break down, right here in the store. Do you intend to compliment me all evening?"
"I intend to say what I think. If my thoughts should lead me to one of your many virtues…why, I would be remiss not to give it voice." He said, ponderously and with a grin. "But I could tone it down a little, if that's what you want."
"It isn't." she said immediately, back to tender. "I…never feel better than when I'm with you. About everything…but about myself, especially."
"Means I'm doing my job right, then." He said back with a yet wider grin. "That's all I want for you to feel around me."
"You are doing your job right. Really, you are, but…surely it's not just a job for you?" she teased, brushing a firm thumb across his knuckles. "It's not all selfless?"
"I'd be lying if I said it was." He chuckled. "Goes both ways, love. Believe that."
"I do."
"Well…good."
They stood in comfortable silence for a time, warm and close, until their eyes shifted in unison back to the suit.
He gave a pleased sigh.
"Still, even though I can't wear it tonight, it would still be nice to have. We'd pair excellently together, I think."
The tag, pinned to the side of the suit, was turned around, and he extended his fingers forward to rotate it.
What he saw drew a gasp from his throat and set his eyes wide as saucers.
"What is it?" Tali asked at his side. "What's the matter?"
In lieu of words, he merely dragged the tag further out, close enough for her to read.
She promptly joined him in both reactions, a high gasp escaping her lips and the little stars that were her eyes going full supernova at the positively ludicrous price that was being asked for the suit.
"Keelah!" she cried, letting the tag fall from her fingers in shock. "My whole suit doesn't even cost that much. And there's highly advanced technologies in it, not just fabric!"
"Think we might need to have a little chat with Mr. Nakarot about price-gouging." He mused, before he averted his eyes further down, to the bottom of the stand in which the suit sat, where a descriptive panel sat, precise words etched into a metallic golden surface.
After reading what it said, he let out a knowing "ohh."
"What is it? Why's it so expensive?" she pressed him after a time.
"Well, it's two hundred years old, so there is the antique side of things, but apart from that…it's made from genuine murex snail dye."
"Myu…myoorex? You've never said that word before." She said, eyes voicing a question.
"Haven't had cause to. It's an old word, at least too old for anyone to say it commonly outside of history books, or zoology books, I guess. So far as I understand it, a few thousand years ago, in one of humanity's oldest civilizations, it was discovered that the shells of murex snails could be crushed up to produce this rich purple dye for use in textiles."
"And it was…expensive?" she surmised with a little gesture at the relinquished price tag.
"Very much so, on account of the rarity of the snails. A great number of them were required to get a purple this deep, too, and the expense that went into its production meant that only royalty from the area the snails lived could afford to wear it. Over time, the color purple came to be directly associated with royalty, even thousands of years later, in places that had no real connection to that original civilization. Part of the reason I always teased you for being like a princess was that you wore so much purple, that and the fact you were a princess by our standards."
She gave a roll of her eyes, then extended a longing hand out to brush the rich fabric of the suit one last time before letting go.
"So…purple clothing was frequently worn by human kings?"
"It was." He confirmed.
"Then…it really is a shame you can't buy it for yourself. It would fit you well. I think you act like a king in a lot of ways." She whispered, gazing pointedly at him, voice a good deal more tender and honest than he might have expected for the situation.
"That a jab at my lack of humility, love?"
"Not at all." She assured him gently, taking a hand in hers. "You carry yourself with this…dignity, this confidence. There's something…noble about you. Something honorable. Like a king."
He only blinked her way a few times, touched at the compliments but still expecting some jape to foil it.
"Is…that it?" he chuckled. "I know you better than that. There's not a rose you offer me which doesn't have its thorns."
And that was true. He was well aware of her adoration of him. In the quiet, soft moments they so adored sharing with each other, Tali never failed in making him understand just how deep that went, how powerful her feelings truly were, but out here in public, especially given the lightness, the playfulness of their previous conversations, he was almost certain there was some barb lying in wait, some trap to be sprung.
She gave a wide smile.
"I do still love you, you know." She giggled. "Not every compliment I give you has to have its strings."
He gave a little touched smile at the genuine truth in her voice, before reaching out an arm to wrap about her shoulders, pulling her close to him in a side-hug, her own arm quickly finding the small of his back.
"The fact they usually do only makes ones like these all the sweeter. Thank you, love. Really…thank you." He said lowly, watching her eyes flicker in delight that he did not attempt to fight her on the truth of the praise.
"I only hope you'll keep up that earnestness when I show you the one I actually did pick out."
Arm still about her shoulder, he steered them back over to where he'd been before Tali had called him over, until at last they stood before a rack holding a smart, stylish two-piece tuxedo, dyed a deep charcoal black contrasted wonderfully with a stark white dress shirt underneath. Glimmering silver cufflinks and ashy grey buttons completed the look.
Though it was old enough to differ from current styles, he imagined it would be similar enough for him not to stand out overmuch.
"I like it. You'll look great." She said immediately. "And I take back what I said. In this…you might just beat Mr. Nakarot in style."
He rolled her eyes at how quickly she had shifted back to barbs, though this one was not as sharp, so he supposed that was worth appreciating.
"Not my aim. Just aim to look good enough to blend in. And I haven't really seen any others here that would suit me for tonight, so it looks like this is the one I'm going with."
Reaching up, he grabbed the ensemble by its hangar, inspecting it for any damage before, satisfied, he slung it over his shoulder and cast his eyes around the store, finding a green neon sign further back which indicated the location of the dressing rooms.
"Should probably go try it on first."
She gave a hum in agreement, and he continued the short distance the rest of the way back into the store, until they reached a set of black wooden doors, spaced uniformly apart and numbered one through five.
Reluctantly relinquishing his hold on her shoulder, he gestured with his empty hand toward a bench off to the side, thinking bemusedly a moment back to Tali's earlier joke and surmising it to be a rarity for the women to wait for their men to get dressed.
"Wanna take a seat there while you wait?" he offered, but she didn't seem in the mood for it, turning to face him and letting a three-fingered hand fall down to the grip of her pistol.
"I must remain vigilant. Now would be the perfect time for those assassins to strike again. 'Catch you with your pants down?'" she teased, using a phrase he'd said more times than he can count, a possibility for which she was grateful not to exist in her case, given that she did not wear pants.
"You're right. If I'm to die, I'd like it to be with at least a little dignity, so I appreciate you looking out for me." He chuckled. "Say, you're really taking this whole bodyguard thing seriously. Should get you formally entered into the ship's registry as my head of security."
She gave a wide smile and a little giggle.
"I could see myself liking that. All these titles, I won't know what to do with them." She said with mock arrogance. "One of the Heroes of the Citadel, the Chief Engineer of the Normandy, Head of Security for the Commander John Shepard…"
"And keeper of his heart?" he offered as a fourth, a dumb wide grin plastered across his face at how much he knew she adored sappiness.
She matched the smile after a moment, reaching out to take his hand a second, squeezing tightly.
"That, too. It's one we share." She breathed, warm and tender.
"Like Hero of the Citadel?" he teased.
"That one means nothing compared to the first. Nothing at all." She insisted affectionately, before letting go of his hand and gesturing toward the door with a twitch of her head.
"Don't be long. Please?"
"I won't." he assured her, closing the distance to the dressing room and pulling open the handle, letting it slide shut behind him.
Examining himself in the full-body mirror positioned against the far wall, he was not at all surprised to find the hint of a smile still lingering at his lips, even now, when alone. He was in a profoundly good mood, even more so than time with his lover usually left him in.
And there was yet more ahead, he knew, more fun between them and their fishy prize.. He truly did not have any plans for how the night would go, but if something so typically banal as shopping for a suit could be fun, then there would be nothing that could possibly bore him.
But he'd already noted that tendency long ago. It never really mattered to him what the two of them did. With her at his side, everything seemed its own sort of bliss, not just tolerable but enjoyable in her presence. He'd told her that once, and joked that they ought to go watch a paint-drying show to test how far that feeling went, if they could somehow make it a good time merely for the fact that they were there together. She had seemed open to the notion, eager even, already claiming to have ideas for how that goal might be accomplished.
It had mostly just been a joke, but after tonight…he was not so sure.
Pulling himself from his musings, he reached up to the zipper of the N7 hooded jacket Tali'd leant him back, making a big show of her graciousness as she always did, pulling it down and shrugging the familiar garment off of his shoulders, setting it on the small bench within the room.
He was just beginning to undo the top button of his casual long-sleeved shirt, when, to his surprise, the door creaked open.
He whirled on the sound, thinking that it was perhaps some newly-arrived guest at the store mistakenly trying his door.
His jaw dropped to find Tali standing there, shutting the door gently behind her with a hip as her fingers wringed nervously against each other at her waist, as though she'd only barely worked up the confidence for this apparent bit of spontaneity.
"What are you doing in here, love?" he half-hissed in surprise.
"You were taking too long." She quipped.
"I've been in here for three minutes, if that! Haven't even gotten my shirt off, yet!" He exclaimed incredulously.
"Which brings me on to my reason for coming in here." She teased, smug as he'd ever seen her, before just a hint of hesitance came across her.
"I…thought you might like some help."
He could only laugh at that, at the silliness of the situation, watching that mischievous fire glimmer bright as diamonds in her eyes and deciding to play along for both their sakes.
"You know what? I actually think I would." He allowed her, seeing pep return to her form at his giving in to her raunchy little game.
He merely extended his arms, then, gesturing for her to come near.
She did so with a slight caution, even as this had been her idea.
When she was close enough, he brought one of his arms to her waist, pulling her quickly the rest of the way until she was near flush against him, earning a pleased squeak from her throat.
Her hands fell between them to the bottom button of the shirt, rendered clumsy by her flustered state. After a few tries, though, she managed the task, popping the steel stud free of the fabric and beginning to work her way up, leaving gentle, shiver-inducing brushes of her hands across his abdomen, a notable heat radiating from every inch of her, and from him, he guessed
As they reached the top few buttons, her fingers, usually so deft, were even clumsier than they had been, fumbling through the motions and failing. Unable to resist the opportunity, he spoke up in a low growl.
"Those last ones are always the hardest. Let me help."
Before she could reply, he pushed the two of them firmly back until they met the wall, pressing himself up against her and using his height to his advantage, looming over her.
Her eyes were wide by the time he'd made his move, shocked at first, then flustered at his proximity, and lastly hungry, rendered that way by the unabashed reciprocation of the heat she'd brought in with her.
He thought for a moment she just might jump him, tear her visor from her helmet, damn the consequences, but that fire in her eyes cooled after a second or two to a low, smoldering ember, and she returned to her task, doing away with the last few buttons and peeling the shirt off him at the shoulders.
He helped her with that much, at least, pulling back from his smothering closeness to sway his arms a bit, until it was off, balling it up carelessly and tossing it to join the jacket.
His chest, arms, and abdomen now bared, Tali gave him the predictable once-over, eyes running over every inch of him in that awed, appreciative way he never tired of, just as the sight of him never seemed to get old for her, as she'd told him.
As they made their way up, though, they lingered a moment on his shoulder, where a recent wound lay, the flesh still tender from the mending process.
Worry came over her, and she extended a finger to poke at it ever so gently.
"Is it healing okay?"
He could not help but smile, more at the suddenness of the shift from heat and hunger to concern and caring than at her concern itself.
"It's fine, love. Closed up a day ago."
"Good. I'm glad." She said in relief, pulling back her hand.
He gave a devious smirk.
"But…if you'll recall, I also got shot in my thigh. Any chance you could take a look at that one, as well?"
"I would love to." She purred, her hands coming down to the waistband of his trousers, hooking her fingers into it and tugging them down until they pooled on the floor.
He stepped out of them, and then stood fully naked before her, relishing in the renewed hunger in her eyes, locked firmly on a part of him which was most definitely not his thigh.
Slowly, they rose, running back along each detail of his form before meeting his, and there was a desperation that bade him speak, more serious than before, cautionary in the face of what this unfamiliar environment might do to her.
"You'd get sick. Really sick."
She met his gaze a moment longer, that fire undying, as though weighing that illness against her present objective, before it all came out of her in an instant, in a sigh of pure frustration.
"I know. I just…really wish I wouldn't."
"I know." He echoed her. "There'll be time for it. Promise. Though I could've sworn you were trying to see where the night takes us, without expectation for where it would go."
"I…I lied." She admitted bluntly, only a little sheepish.
"Well…alright, then." Was all he could manage back, before grabbing up the hangar, pulling free the dress pants and beginning the process of sliding them on, buttoning them up and deciding he liked the fit.
Next came the dress shirt, which fit equally well, then the jacket, and lastly came the tie. It'd been a long time since he'd ever had to tie one of his own, so the fact that it was already tied for him was a welcome convenience, slipping it over him like a necklace and tightening it in place, centering it down his chest.
Tali had merely watched as he did this, knowing well how too many hands could hinder the completion of a simple task, but now that it was done she stepped forward, straightening a fold of cloth here, picking free a bit of lint there, seeming to be quite diligently invested in his appearance, more invested than he'd likely ever been.
"How do I look?" he said after a time, already expecting her answer.
She pondered the question a few seconds before a little sly smile came to her lips.
"Worse."
He could not keep the chuckles down, wracking his shoulders in that lovely way that laughter does.
"You have a bias. 'Sides, no one at the party will have seen me naked, so they won't have that image to compare me to."
"I feel sorry for them." She purred, setting her hands atop his shoulders.
"How very flattering." He said dryly. "But seriously, how do I look?"
"As far as you in clothes goes…you look wonderful, John. Truly. Handsome, a-and imposing." He could hear the flush in her cheeks as she said the words, even in spite of all she'd just seen.
"We really need to find more excuses for you to wear a suit."
His smile widened at the compliment.
"Certainly does make me feel distinguished. But does it make me look distinguished is the question. Really don't want to stand out while I'm in that casino, so how am I on that front? Do I stand out?"
"More than anyone else I know." She gushed, apparently eager to make up for her earlier teasing with genuine, heartfelt praise.
He gave a mock-irritated roll of his eyes. "I'm serious."
"Well, apart from your, hm…natural allure…" she chirped. "The suit shouldn't do much to distinguish you from the rest of the people there."
"Good. That's all it needs to do." He said, satisfied, shrugging off the jacket and doing away with the rest of the ensemble.
In keeping with her earlier restraint, Tali managed to find it in herself to behave as his nude form was once again bared before his eyes, proffering him bits of his previous outfit as they were donned, and it was only a minute later that they were ready to leave.
Slinging the suit over his shoulder, he turned, bidding her to open the door for them.
She did, stepping through first.
Immediately, a shocked little squeak met his ears, and he quickly stepped the rest of the way through, realizing the reason for it just as immediately.
There, before them, stood Nuuna Nakarot, expressionless and unreadable as was to expected of his species, but surely flustered underneath.
The elcor spoke first, a mercy to his eyes.
"Indescribably embarrassed. Forgive me. It was not my intention to intrude. I only wished to offer the gentleman assistance in making his selection, as formal wear is my personal specialty." He droned from his slit mouth, flat as before, raising a thickly muscled arm to gesture at his snappy attire.
Shepard could only blink dumbly his way a few times. Getting caught like that in a public place, and the storeowner was apologizing to them.
He glanced over to Tali, frozen as he was, before flitting her eyes sheepishly over to him and giving a minute shrug of her shoulders.
He looked back to the clerk, meeting his gaze.
"I, uh…think we should be the ones apologizing. I know it's not the right place for it, but I swear we didn't, uh…ruin your dressing room. It didn't…progress…that far?" He offered, entirely flustered, heat smoldering pink in his cheeks.
Silence fell for a time, uncomfortable from the lack of perceptible reaction from the hulking man across from them.
It was broken by a slow, deep nod, as welcome as a smile for the pair.
"Bemusedly understanding. The gentleman needs not apologize, either. So long as no damage was done to my facilities, it was only a bit of harmless fun. I recently gained four hundred human years, quite old among my people, and so my youth is only a distant memory, but even I can remember certain things. My Levozi and I were caught in many such situations as this, and several far more embarrassing ones, as well. Sagely. Young love is adventurous and free. It may not always be contained."
He breathed an audible sigh of relief to hear their fears discounted, that C-Sec would not have to be called to misdemeanor them for their bit of carelessness.
"God, that's…well, it's a relief to hear. Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Nakarot."
"Relieved. I am pleased that this is past us. Now, would the gentleman like my opinion on his choice of attire?" he droned dispassionately.
"Sure, why not? Got some, uh…input from her about it." He said with a gesturing hand to Tali at his side, still not able to speak, only a little more relaxed in posture than she had been. "But it couldn't hurt to get a professional's opinion. I keep telling her that hers is good enough, but she won't believe me."
The elcor turned its head to look at Tali, holding it for a few seconds before gazing back at him.
"Feminine intuition should not be diminished."
He only barely kept down the laugh enough for him to look smugly over at her, now even more embarrassed than she had been.
"Yeah…think I might have mentioned that a time or two. Can't be sure, though." He gloated before handing over the hangar containing the suit.
Nuuna took it gently in his massive hands, holding it out before his sight, running all along the fabric, before holding it directly in front of Shepard's body to gauge how it might look on him.
After a time, the elcor's massive head descended in a nod.
"Pleasantly surprised. The gentleman's eye for style is adept. This garment should suit him splendidly. Honest, strong, beautifully simple."
Shepard was not entirely sure whether to take that as praise or not, but he thanked the man regardless.
"Thank you, Mr. Nakarot. Inspired by you, if you hadn't guessed." He said with a little smile, as apart from a few small differences, like the different ties, their choices in suit were identical.
"Flattered. The gentleman does me great honor with his words." Came his reply.
The proprietor's gaze once again shifted over to Tali.
"With genuine praise. The lady's environment suit is as lovely as she is, but may I suggest an evening dress for the sake of complementarity with the gentleman's suit? I recently received a sublime piece of lavender silk that would accent her hips marvelously."
Normally a comment of that sort would discomfort her, but it didn't seem to here, genuinely flattering from a person they'd both come to like in such a short time, already.
"I…thank you, Mr. Nakarot." She said back, finding her voice at last. "You are kind to offer, but I am going to wear my suit alone, tonight."
Shepard could not resist the opportunity.
"Yeah. Besides, she already told me she picked out her sexiest belts to wear tonight. A dress would only serve to cover them up."
Tali's neck snapped over to look at him quick as lightning, only a little quicker than it was for her hand to swiftly connect with his bicep in a slap.
"John!" she hissed in horror as his chuckles overcame him, shaking his shoulders in mirth.
The elcor interrupted their little scuffle.
"With fond amusement. The lady has fire. I would advise the gentleman not to test her ire, lest he get more than he intended."
"So would I!" she immediately agreed, shooting him another acrid glare.
"You left it wide open." Shepard defended himself. "Couldn't just let that chance slip by."
"Prudently. Not all opportunities ought to be capitalized upon. What one can do is not always what one should do. Wisdom lies in understanding this distinction." Nuuna interjected, pure monkly zen.
"I've been trying to get that into his thick head for longer than you can imagine!" Tali concurred.
Suddenly feeling quite outnumbered, Shepard endeavored to get himself out of this situation.
"Right, we've got a busy night ahead of us, I'm afraid. Shall we see to the financial end of things?" he offered in desperation, hoping the proprietor got the hint.
He did, giving a deep nod before turning toward the front of the store.
"We shall. Friendly. Follow me, please."
When they reached the store counter, he placed the hangar containing the suit atop it, extending the tag out so that the elcor could scan it with his omni-tool, linking it up with the store's central computer system and tabulating out the price, far more modest compared to the purple suit from earlier.
As Shepard was fishing in his pocket for his credit chit, Nuuna spoke up once more.
"Good-naturedly. I value all of my customers and their patronage, but may I say that the gentleman and the lady have made for exceedingly good company?"
Shepard flashed him a friendly smile.
"Feeling's mutual, believe me. I'm just glad you were able to look past our little…incident. If you hadn't, well…wouldn't that be a headline? 'The Commander Shepard and Tali'Zorah, heroes of the Citadel, booted from the Citadel for public indedency.' The scandal!"
He joked, bringing up the credit chit to press against the screen to complete the transfer, but he found the screen turn red, instead of green, as though the payment had been declined.
"What?" he frowned to himself. "Could've sworn I had enough on here."
His question was answered when the man across from him spoke up.
"With incredible surprise. You are Commander Shepard?" he said as blankly as ever, before turning his gaze over to Tali. "And you are Tali'Zorah?"
He and Tali both looked at each other a second, confused, before looking back to the elcor, speaking in unison.
"Yeah…"
Nuuna paused for a long moment, his species' characteristic caution amplified tenfold by his apparent ignorance of who they were.
"Immeasurably grateful. Your exploits have saved millions, and the tales of those exploits have saved millions more through the hope it has brought them. I may not describe how deeply your patronage would honor me, but I must insist that you accept this suit as a gift."
He could not abide it. The store owner had been courteous in the face of their little slip-up, and generally kind besides, even apart from the general principle that one ought to pay for their goods.
"I'm, uh…thank you. For the esteem you hold us in. But I can't accept it for free. This suit isn't cheap." He excused.
"It wouldn't be fair!" Tali added at his side.
"Obstinate. You can accept it, and you will. I will not allow you to pay for it, not under any circumstances. And, I hope I may be pardoned for my overhearing, but I believe that one of my hats was of interest to you? I must insist that you accept it as a gift, as well."
"Are…are you sure?" Tali asked him.
"With great earnestness. Absolutely. The galaxy owes you much. Some nice clothing is a pittance compared to what remains unpaid." Nuuna replied.
"…alright." She said, a little uncomfortable with all this praise, as he was, and went off to fetch it.
Shepard at least wanted to offer something in return, so he went back to his old, reliable warhorse for navigating shops.
"You giving us these gifts is very kind, and I appreciate it more than I can say, but I want to give something back. So if you won't accept credits, maybe I could leave you with an endorsement? Won't take more than a few seconds. This way, you get more business, more attention…and I get to feel like I didn't rob you of a nice suit. What do you say?"
"Eagerly. I accept this compromise." Said the elcor, tapping away at the central computer to ready the recording device.
"You may speak." He said after a moment, and Shepard leaned his mouth close to the speaker, speaking in his flashiest, most austere "commander" voice.
"I'm Commander Shepard…and this truly is my favorite store on the Citadel."
A few more taps on the elcor's omni-tool were all it took for the recording to be saved.
It was then that Tali returned, clutching the black hat with its purple floral ornament in her hands, held down between her waist in that way her hands sat when she was uncomfortable.
"I want to thank you again, Mr. Nakarot. I've never…well, I've never had a hat before, so thank you."
The storeowner inclined his head in another nod before speaking once more.
"Cautiously optimistic. If it is not too far to reach, may I ask for an endorsement from you, as well?"
Tali's eyes went a little wide in surprise.
"Me? But…why me? John is the one who's famous. He's the hero, not me. My endorsement would not be likely to draw in any new customers." She said sheepishly, to which the elcor actually shook his head in condemnation.
"Indignantly insistent. You have been by the Commander's side through each one of the deeds for which he is renowned, famous. You are as much a hero as he is."
"You are." He insisted at her side. "If you never believe me when I tell you that, surely you'll trust Mr. Nakarot here."
"Well…okay. If you really want me to…" She said to the elcor.
"Overjoyed. I would. For sentimental value alone, I would cherish it greatly." Nuuna boomed, tapping at his omni-tool a few more times before giving the go.
"Speak, if you would."
Tali leaned in close to the speaker, as he had, before giving her endorsement, speaking in a high, melodic tone.
"My name is Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, and there is no better clothing store in the whole galaxy."
She paused a second before turning uncertain eyes back at him.
"Was…that alright?"
"Reassuring. It was, and I thank you greatly for it. Allow me to fetch a bag for your suit, Commander, and our business will be concluded."
With that, he stalked slowly away into some back room, leaving the pair momentarily alone.
"In the whole galaxy, huh? Trying to one up me, love?" he teased, nudging her with a hip.
"I just…wanted to say thank you. For his kindness." She excused herself.
"Hopefully our words bring in a whole mess of people for him to show kindness, as well, and to buy his wares as a result. He's earned it, I'd say."
"He has." She agreed happily.
Nuuna returned shortly after, carrying a plastic bag which he filled with the suit immediately, extending a tentative hand to Tali in case she wanted to put her new hat in there.
"Thank you, but I'd like to wear it, actually." She declined politely.
Another nod from the elcor's titanic head.
"I understand, and approve. Such a lovely lady deserves a lovely hat to crown her."
"She certainly does." He concurred to Tali's great embarrassment, taking the proffered bag in his hand and dangling it down at his side.
"Shall we go, love?" he offered, crooking his free arm.
"Yes, I believe we shall." She accepted happily, looping her own through it and squeezing herself tight against him.
Nuuna spoke up once more in a booming farewell.
"Well-wishing. I bid you both a wonderful evening. You shall be welcome within my establishment at any time."
"Good evening to you, as well." He said behind him, crossing the last few steps for the door to open for them, sliding shut once they got a little further.
He gave a pleased sigh, a wide smile coming to his lips.
"Well…so much for being normal, huh?" he quipped in reference to her earlier statement.
"So much for being normal." She agreed, spinning the hat around in her fingers before bringing her eyes back up to meet his, shimmering with that easy bliss he liked so well.
"But being abnormal…does have its perks." She allowed with a smile as wide as his.
"That it does." He said in reply, extending his hands for her to offer him the hat, which she did without hesitation.
Taking it gently in his grip, he brought it up past her neck, centering it above her head before lowering it down over top her veil, the snug fit molding around her helmet seamlessly.
Pulling back to look down on her, he assessed the hat and what it added to her look.
Quite a lot, he found. The black and purple of its fabric and metal blended perfectly with the colors of her suit, and the novelty of seeing her in a fine hat was just adorable in his adorative eyes.
She spoke softly up after a few seconds, almost a little worried, fingers fidgeting at the rim of it.
"How does it look? How do I look?"
"Perfect." He assured her. "Just perfect."