Perfect

I was still throwing my t-shirt on when I found Tali, suit and all, in the living room. How she got decontaminated and into that thing in less time than it took me to shower was still a mystery. But she was stretched out and relaxed on the couch. I could see the faintest outline of her closed eyes as I crept up behind her.

Inches away, I readied my hands to spook her. Instead, I got a face full of pillow. I staggered back, surprised as she giggled. "Gotcha!"

I managed to get the pillow from her and toss it across the living room before she could use it again. "Damn, I thought I had you that time… stupid helmet helps you hear or something."

"Or maybe my ears are just better than yours." Laughing quietly, she rotated to lean over the couch and press a masked kiss to my cheek. "You have prettier eyes. It makes us even."

"Sweet talker. You're lucky it works… do my magnificent eyes deceive me, or did you pull a guitar out for me?" The old acoustic lays across the couch next to her. It looks like the new air filtration system's doing its job: there's not a speck of dust on something that's been on a display shelf for three or four months, rather than being played like it should be.

"Maybe." She draped her arms over my shoulders and leaned her visor against my forehead. "We don't have time for a movie… but you have time for a few songs. I think I've earned that."

I chuckled, scooting the acoustic to safety so I could climb over the couch. And not end the hug I was enjoying. "Oh, you're being greedy now? After everything else you've gotten tonight?"

There was a second of warning when one of her arms left my shoulder. I was able to get my elbow up this time and shield my head from the second pillow she swung at me. Her giggling showed she wasn't too upset she missed. "I'm allowed to be selfish on date night, you bosh'tet."

"Alright, you win..." I raised my hand up in defeat, a feint to get her to lower her guard. Enough that I could grab that pillow and throw it out of her reach. "There. You're out of ammo."

"I'll just call Urz for back up. He likes me more, anyway," Tali laughed and pouted simultaneously.

I just shook my head and sat down beside her, draping an arm over her shoulder. I gave another quick kiss on the side of her mask, smiling. "I will happily play for you, Mrs Vas Rannoch."

She made a tiny laugh under her breath. I could see her smile clear as day through the visor. "Thank you. I can't think of a better way to end tonight."

"Any requests come to mind?" As I picked up the guitar, I considered the best way to sit. The usual way was to have her back against my chest, instrument in her lap, but that didn't seem fitting for tonight… "Fold your right leg up."

She made a small hum in thought while adjusting as requested. "Mmm… You pick. I'm sure you can come up with something romantic."

I laid across the couch, setting my head in the crook of her knee. It took a beat of adjusting to find where I could strum the guitar and still be comfy. But it was worth it when I could look up at her while playing. "Give me a second, let me see what I can remember."

"Take all the time you need." I could see and hear her smile as she said that quietly. She set her hand in my hair and began lightly running her fingers across my scalp. A tiny part of me wished it was just her skin, not this suit again, but that was just me being greedy. I had spent all evening with her in a dress or an over-sized pajama shirt. I could live with the suit for now. Especially if I could still lay on her like this.

After maybe a minute of thought, I came up with something fitting. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the opening strums. Not a hard song, and if I got the beginning, I could get back in the groove. Even if I was out of practice, it was like driving a Mako. Just had to get it started and let the hands remember what they need to do.

I tried one chord that was close, but not quite there. Then another. Seven or eight slow strums and one tweak of the tuning later, I finally found the chord. I must have been frowning, because when I opened my eyes, Tali was watching me worriedly.

For a second, I considered saying something reassuring, but my mind was fixated on that song. So I went with it. I took one breath to relax and smile at her before I started singing softly.

I found a love for me… and baby, just dive right in and follow my lead...I found a girl, beautiful and sweet… I never knew you were that someone waiting for me…

That did the trick. After the first few slow strums, my fingers finally remembered what they were doing. I didn't have to focus on the individual movements for every note. As soon as I quit overthinking and forcing it, everything fell into place.

It let me focus on what was important. Tali's face softened almost instantly as I unwound for her. Her frown faded away, a smile replacing it a second later. Her eyes grew brighter with each measure in the air. I hadn't noticed the new tension in her body, but I could feel it leaving as she relaxed again. She began running her fingers through my hair again. Her eyes stayed on mine, watching me as I played and sang for her.

I slowly realized I had gotten just as on edge as her. Was it worry or frustration? Or just my bad attitude, the same damn problem that had made things so hard lately? Probably the latter… but it seemed to finally fade away. The magic of a good song, I suppose. A good song and the love of an even better woman. That was something I needed to keep working to earn. Because I did love her… she was worth the effort. More than worth a couple of old cheesy songs. Worth more than me, honestly.

Baby I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms… barefoot in the grass, listening to our favorite song… When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath. But you heard it… "baby girl, you look perfect tonight…"

I continued to meander through the song, melting further into Tali's lap. She seemed intent on doing the same, slowly but surely. Her bright eyes closed behind the visor, but her smile didn't fade. If anything, it grew. I could hear her hum along as she figured out the rhythm. I kept expecting her to sing the chorus with me, but no. She was content to hum and scratch my scalp to the beat. And I wasn't going ask for anything different.

The song ended too quickly. For a moment, I was upset that it was over. But it didn't change anything. I could still lay in her lap, and she could stay there with me. We both seemed content right where we were. I let the guitar rest against my chest as Tali's fingers absently scratched at my head. I closed my eyes and listened to her breathing, focused on her stomach's slow rhythm as I nuzzled into it.

After a few minutes, I think, she made a tiny laugh under her breath. "You promised me more than one song… but this might be better."

"Me too." I sighed and smiled up at her. "Think I'm biased though."

"That's not a bad thing. I am too."

We shared a quiet chuckle. I didn't open my eyes to see if hers were watching me. I could hear her smile, feel her fingers in my hair. That was plenty.

A bitter thought, one that had been in the back of my mind for a while now, came back to the forefront. Closer to sadness than being upset. But one I hadn't been able to shake. I felt it gnawing at me again and hoped saying it aloud would finally put it to rest.

"I'm sorry."

She stopped scratching. I opened my eyes to confirm what I expected. She was staring straight at me. Her wonderful smile was gone again. I felt my heart seize for a moment in regret. Anger at myself for ruining the moment. Even if it felt like it needed to be done.

"For everything. For-"

She silenced me with a finger to my lips. The smile she had a second ago reappeared. It was softer now, gentler. But even more loving than the one before it.

"I know," she whispered, staring down at me.

Everything else I wanted to say disappeared. I had a thousand things to apologize for in the last month alone. All the times I was distant, angry, frustrated at anything and took it out on her. All the times I didn't put in the work to be the husband she deserved. There were a million mistakes I needed to say I was sorry for. But her two words seemed to make them vanish.

"I know, Aaron… you don't need to say it." Smiling, she leaned down and set another masked kiss on my forehead. "I love you. And we're working to make things better. That's enough."

I moved my hand from the guitar and gently grasped Tali's. I pulled it to my mouth and kissed the back of it. After a second of searching for the words, I found something that worked. I smiled up at her. "Tonight was a good first step. And I won't let it be the last one." I kissed her again. "I love you too, baby girl."

"I know. And I'll hold you to that. You're giving me at least one more date night this month."

"You'll have to find the next sitter, then." I chuckled. "Pretty sure after tonight, we can't pay Garrus enough to-"

Both of our omni-tools dinged. The notifications on them matched: vehicle on direct course to the house, ID'd as Vakarian's personal vehicle.

"You jinxed it," Tali laughed quietly, leaning back against the couch again. She made no indication of getting up, only opening her tool to deactivate the defense system. Last thing we needed was an overzealous security mech shooting him out of the sky.

I nestled myself further into her lap. "I'm not that unlucky… he had to come back eventually."

She just made another tiny giggle, letting her fingers run across my scalp again. I gripped her hand to plant another soft kiss on it. And we just stayed there. Quietly watching each other, smiling. Not saying anything that didn't need to be said.

A few minutes later, there was the sound of chaos outside the front door. Urz came bolting into the living room, sliding across the stone floor as he tried to make a turn his bulk couldn't manage. He skittered past us, into the wall, and then dashed down the entryway around the corner. There was a yelp from the Turian when he opened the door.

"SHEPARD! CAL HIM OFF!" Vakarian shouted, a chorus of laughter and playful growling almost drowning him out. "HE'S TRYING TO EAT MY VISOR!"

Tali snickered while I laughed out loud. Neither one of us bothered getting up. I just gave a quick whistle and moved the guitar to the other end of the couch. "Let him in, Urz!"

The varren came running back instantly. He slid to a stop in front of us, smiling expectantly and waiting for a treat. Then he was knocked to the ground by a giggling flame haired child. "Gotcha!"

The two started rolling across the floor, wrestling for dominance as one growled and the other laughed. A second later, a slender Quarian in a bright green suit joined the fray. The children started to work together, one trying to take the varren's legs out from under him while the other got him in a headlock. Urz held back, but only slightly as he mouthed their arms and pushed them across the floor. He knew how rough he could be with his playmates.

"Hey, hey, take it to the carpet, before someone gets a concussion." I pushed Urz by his flank toward the other side of the living room. He got the hint… kind of. He grabbed the human by the belt and began dragging him to the carpeted play area. The quarian was carried along for the ride as she tried to get a proper choke on her pet.

"You said laser tag would wear them out… do you really call that tired?" Tali joked at the last of the arrivals finally bringing up the rear.

Garrus put his hands up defensively. "Hey, I tried. It's not my fault they had energy drinks."

"When you ordered their drinks with dinner, yes it is." Nyreen gave him a playful shove with her free arm. Her dominant hand was full with another small Quarian girl.

Vakarian rubbed his shoulder where she hit him, grinning. "Semantics." His eyes came back to me and Tali. "At least this one knew how to behave herself. You need to teach other other two not to shoot people in the back."

"They know if they fought fair, they'd lose." I sat upright finally, staying at Tali's hip. I watched the wrestling match out of the corner of my eye, just in case.

Tali finally stood and walked up to Nyreen. It became clear why the little one was still being held: she was asleep. Tali made a tiny cooing noise as she took her daughter in her arms. "Come here, Mila. Did you have fun with your bosh'tet uncle?"

Nyreen carefully handed the child off, making sure Tali had a good grip before letting go. "She was asleep the second the car started. Laser tag wasn't her favorite, not like the boys. But those flying games we almost couldn't get her out of." She gave a quiet laugh, patting the child's head.

"Maybe we'll have a pilot on our hands, then. As long as she's a better driver than her father." Tali smirked at me as she walked past, carrying the little one to her bedroom down the hall. Nyreen followed behind, still quietly talking. The click of her prosthetic legs on the stone floor drowned out anything she said to my wife from here.

Garrus let them go without saying anything, content to stay with me in the living room. His eyes gravitated toward the chaos of two siblings fighting a varren. "How much coffee do you drink to keep up with them? I feel like I need a nap after just one night.."

"It's all tea, strategic naps, and tricking stupid best friends into taking them off my hands occasionally." I chuckled, rubbing my eyes slightly. "Nick's on human time like me, so we still take cat naps. The other two settle pretty quick when he's not instigating things."

"Spirits, you're not wrong. He was definitely the ringleader during laser tag. He has an instinct for tactics though… that something you're teaching, or is it proximity-based learning?"

"Think it's a little of the games he plays. The books he reads help too. He's got to burn off some energy to really focus, but you see what he does when he applies himself."

"No kidding, he figured out the blind corners and choke points faster than Nyreen did. I think Jeeli's the better shot though." Garrus gave a little chuckle at that last bit, looking over to make sure neither of the kids heard that.

I glanced over again as well. Jeeli had turned Urz into a horse and was trying to ride him while Nick led him around the living room. The varren looked happy to be getting attention, even if he had to carry one kid around and follow another.

"Probably. She's got a little more coordination than her big brother." I watched the chaos for another few seconds, smiling, before looking back to Vakarian. "Thanks again for taking them tonight. I really appreciate it. And you better tell Nyreen that too."

Garrus gave his own grin. "It was fun, don't worry. Did you two enjoy your break?"

"Yeah, we did. It was nice to get a quiet dinner in, a shower without worrying about them for a bit. They weren't too crazy, were they?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle. Especially once they started working together to beat us at the games. I can't promise you can convince Nyreen to do it again, though."

I shook my head. "Next time'll just be just us. I'm not going to make your whole trip work and kid sitting. Besides, Raan's been dying for another chance to steal them. I'll give her that chance and we can get an evening to ourselves. Gotta make the flight out here worth it, right?"

"The scenery made it worth it. Having to tolerate you is just the cost of the view." Garrus added just enough of a smirk to the comment to make sure it didn't sting too bad.

"Bitch all you want, Vakarian. You know you'd get bored without us."

"… True."

Finally, Nyreen and Tali returned from Mila's bedroom. "Out like a light," the Turian reports proudly. "Mission accomplished on one of them, at least."

"Only two left to go," Tali snickered under her breath, looking at the pandemonium on the far side of the room.

Jeeli got Urz onto his back, and Nick took the opportunity to jump on the pet. Urz tucked his back legs in, put them to the human's chest, and launched him about four feet across the carpet. Nicky rolled with it and immediately went back in for another tackle.

"I give it twenty minutes before they finally run out of steam. As long as you didn't give them too much caffeine." I turned to Nyreen and offered my hand. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

She accepted. Her prosthetic arm was a lot higher tech than her legs. If it wasn't slightly cold, it would be impossible to tell from her natural one. "You're welcome. It was… more fun than I expected."

Tali slipped past her to pat Garrus' shoulder. "Don't say that too loud. You'll make him nervous."

He seemed like he was debating for a moment before he let the statement just hang in the air with a smirk and a shrug.

"Come here." Tali pulled him in for a hug. "We're getting one more night together before you go. I promise."

Garrus reciprocated, smiling as he lifted her slightly off the ground. "You've got a week to pick from. Just let us know when."

"We'll ask Raan if she has a night she prefers, make plans from there." I waited for the two dextros to get done being affectionate before I slipped in for my own quick hug. "Stay safe in those training exercises. Alright?"

"I will." Vakarian granted me the honor of hugging me with both arms for a few seconds before letting go. "You too."

Nyreen waited behind him semi-awkwardly while this went on, the proverbial third wheel even if she was the fourth. But when everything was said and done, Garrus moved back to join her. "We'll send you a message when we get back to the hotel."

"Appreciate it you two." I started to say something else when there was another crash in the living room.

We turned around to see Urz finally winning his wrestling match by literally sitting on both of the children. Everyone was laughing, so no one seemed too hurt.

"You should probably get them to bed before someone breaks something," Garrus chuckled, walking towards the door. "Good luck with that!"

"Just wait until you have your own to deal with, Vakarian!" I shouted after them.

"All the tiny chirping and late nights in your future. It's getting closer!" Tali added.

Both of the turians were laughing as they walked away. They were safe from getting chased by the varren this time as he was too busy pinning his playmates.

I leaned over and gave Tali a little kiss on the visor, slipping my hand into hers. "Let's at least try to get them in bed…. They'll probably settle right down after a shower and a decontamination. We'll put on a boring movie to motivate them."

"And then you can play the songs you still owe me." She grinned and nuzzled her head into my neck with a happy sigh. "This was a good night, wasn't it?"

"Pretty much perfect. But so are most nights with you."

She giggled under her breath. "Sweet talker."

Just a bit of post-trilogy fluff I've been wanting to get out for a while, encouraged a lot by getting some adorable art from the wonderful Palavenmoons. I'm putting this one about... five or six years post-war? Long enough for them to get settled, and to have a chaotic little family of fun on their own. For them to realize retirement is difficult after a life of constant war and chaos, that it took some work to even remotely adjust. But also far enough out they were working through it. Just some cute, fun fluff I wanted to get out of my system. Hope you all enjoy.

The song mentioned is "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran, but the cover version by Boyce Avenue is the one I consider closest to here.

For those who were curious, yes, the kids all did get names and ages. I just didn't want to shoe horn those into the story unnecessarily.

Nicholas Zorah Shepard. 12 years old, human boy, Caucasian with bright red hair. Adopted at about age 6, orphaned during the Reaper war.
Jeeli'Zorah vas Rannoch. 11 years old, Quarian girl, wears a dark green suit. Adopted about age 4, also orphaned during the Reaper war. Adopted within a month of her older brother.
Mila'Zorah vas Rannoch. 5 years old, Quarian girl, typically in a dark purple or pink suit. Tali's biological daughter from clinical fertilization.

My reasoning for the Quarians still being in their suits in this? Garrus. Even if the Quarians have their immune systems pretty much corrected across the board by now, they still run into issues when other species get involved. Usually really mild reactions, but just to be on the safe side, they still wear suits around their crazy uncle.

And yes, I threw BS to say Nyreen's still alive. Because that death STILL feels cheap. So her bubble failed partially when she took the adjutants out with the grenades, launching her over the railing of the platform she was on. She was found by the Talons, who kept her alive and in secret, while they tried to put her back together. She ended up losing both legs above the knee, her entire right arm, and one of her fingers off her left hand, as well as some serious burns everywhere. She still has aches and a little trouble getting around, but her mind and biotics were always her greatest strengths. She wasn't going to let a few missing limbs keep her down. So she got some prosthetics, pushed herself through the physical therapy, and came out even stronger than before. Eventually she met Garrus and they clicked. Not exactly ready to get married or anything, not by a long shot, but they are happy and cute together.

Hope everyone enjoyed it! Now onto my next writing project! As soon as I decide which one it is!