I just felt it would be fun to have Shepard do some shopping with his friends. First version was funny but too cartoonish and the plot did not hold well. Had to do some major rewrite and I think it turned-out fairly OK, a little more in the style of chapter 1. Fourth and last chapter - the BIG moment - is mostly written and being tweaked. It will be... different. It will definitely be worth the M rating, but those who expect porn will be disappointed as the accent will be on the awkwardness and Xeno stuff. Stay tuned.
Chapter 3. Shepard goes shopping
It was late morning in Nos Astra, and the heat was already making things difficult for anybody unlucky enough to be stuck outside. In the old part of the city, an unusual trio was making its way down a narrow street lined by small businesses. There was something about them - or maybe it was just the armor and weapons - that encouraged the few other pedestrians to stay out of their way.
"I like the smell of justice in the morning, Shepard. Your intel was good."
Garrus had that look of intense satisfaction that the commander had learned to recognize two years ago. He knew this had been the perfect situation for his turian friend. Black and white. The bad guys had paid for their crimes and there had been no collateral damage. Well, the building had probably lost most of its value, but no innocent had been harmed. Nodding toward Tali, he replied "She's the one to thank for that, Garrus."
A smile in her voice, the quarian walking by his side replied "just doing my job, Shepard."
Making a show of it, the turian managed a bow toward her, saying "thank-you for just doing your job, Tali." His turian version of a smile disappeared however as he added "In any case, I doubt these dirtbags will be missed!"
Shepard had to agree with that. Mercs were already pretty low on his scale of respectability. But this particular group had devolved into the usual red sand trafficking and also had their hands in the slave trade. He felt absolutely no guilt in having crushed the lowlifes like insects. Tali had found a hidden back door to their hideout and this had made the job easy. "They had lots of credits though. That will come in handy."
They continued walking in silence. The street snaked ahead, colorful ads plastered on every available square centimeter of wall surface. The extraction point was still a little way off.
Shepard fiddled with his omnitool and, after a few moments, emitted a soft "Yes!" He then pointed at a small building further down the street. "I've got to stop there for supplies. You two should stay by the door. I know we're far enough from the target... well out of any reasonable police perimeter, but I'd hate to be surprised."
Garrus sighed noisily and commented "Shepard, you're the boss... I'm pretty sure you could send somebody else on this kind of errand!"
Turning to the turian, he replied "It's on our way... And there are some things I'd rather do by myself."
They had almost reached the store's blue and orange door when Shepard chuckled, pointing to the turian's left arm "Besides, if this little stop bores you, you can use that omnitool of yours and start on some paperwork... I can't believe you've got nothing for the ship's log after all your upgrading and calibrating." While Garrus was still looking at his left arm, somewhat perplexed, Shepard locked eyes with Tali and added "Won't be long anyway, just need a few personal hygiene items..." He winked at her as he finished. A slow, deliberate wink. She chuckled nervously and her eyes went round for a second, but said nothing.
Focusing his attention back on the human, Garrus said "Hygiene? The Normandy's full of soap, Shepard... Oh, I get it! Special needs! Sensitive Hero Skin Syndrome or something!" Then, with a look of resignation, he blurted "Oh, all-right! Whatever!" He motioned for him to enter. "We'll keep watch on that door while you have your little fun."
Laughing, Shepard went in, followed by his companions. Turning to them again, he said "at least you'll be out of the heat while you wait for me..." Leaving them by the door, he proceeded within, moving between well-stocked shelves.
Good thing he had found this small drugstore along their way. He'd rather go through hell and back again rather than ask Mordin for the antiseptic products he needed. One 'safe sex' talk was more than enough. On one hand, he was grateful for the information the salarian scientist had given him - however garbled his 'advice booklet' had turned-out to be - but, on the other, the episode had been rather embarrassing and he did not want a second serving. Basically, Mordin had recommended that he self-sterilize. He would see to that.
He stopped in the middle of an alley and tried to access the store's directory, but his omnitool got only garbage. A few additional fruitless attempts later, he decided to look for help.
There was a single counter at the back. An asari was behind it, busy at a terminal. Stopping in front her, he waited, feeling bizarre and out of place doing small-time shopping right after a battle, fully geared, his assault rifle still warm on his back and his adrenalin level barely starting to taper off.
The asari stopped her work and turned toward him. Their eyes met. Hers were hard, malicious even, as she sneered "Let me guess... You want the money and the drugs?"
Completely taken by surprise, Shepard had a moment of hesitation "...What?"
"Don't play with me, human! I was a commando for longer than you've been alive! You and your friends' intentions are pretty obvious" she continued, nodding toward his two companions which were standing on each side of the entrance door. "My finger is on the alarm button. Now, you can just walk out of my store like nothing happened or its lockdown and the police comes to pick you up. Choose wisely."
She was right he realized, mentally slapping his forehead. They did look like they were up to something. Classical setup, in fact. He cleared his throat "This is a misunderstanding. Look, we're back from... err... work, and I need to buy some stuff. I asked my friends to stay there because I don't want them to see what I'm buying... It's ah... personal." He had ended in a conspiratorial tone, shooting a glance back at Tali and Garrus.
The clerk was considering what he had just said. She looked again at the two armed people at the door. Lame explanation... so lame it could be true.
Shepard continued, smirking "Especially the turian - I'd never hear the end of it." He then produced a credit chit, saying "See, I'll pay for my stuff... No hold-up here."
She had made up her mind. Her gaze lost most of its hardness as she nodded to him. "Ok, but there are monitoring devices... so, no funny business!" Her hand came out from under the counter.
"You have my word. Just an ordinary customer." He raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck "And... sorry for the fright."
She had a thin smile "Oh, well... that was a little exciting, at least. You have no idea how boring this job is." She eyed the door again "You keep strange company though. A human working with a turian is already not so common, but add a quarian and it becomes... exceptional!" She had this nagging feeling of being just about to remember something. These 'costumers' were reminding her of somebody...
He shrugged. "We're a team."
"I see... Now, what can I do for you?" And as she was going through his small list, part of her was still trying to remember. Where have I seen such an odd group before?
Tali had her back against the wall, close to the store's entrance. She was busy with her omnitool, trying to review the results of a simulation on another possible shield upgrade for the ship. But she could not concentrate, her thoughts constantly drifting to John's wink. Some human ways were still confusing for her, even after so much time spent on both versions of the Normandy. The wink was one of them, maybe because its quarian signification was so different. For humans, and depending on the situation, she knew it meant something like 'what I'm saying is a lie/joke against another person' or 'what I'm saying has a special meaning just for you.' She was pretty sure he had meant the latter... And here he was, buying personal hygiene products. Her eyes got wider for a second Keelah! He's getting something for...us. Realizing this made her feel uneasy, but in a pleasant and exciting way, her feelings for the human mixing with the sensation of mild danger as a 'secret message' had been exchanged right in front of Garrus... She liked this. She also liked the fact that he was trying to do his part, however small it was.
This reminded her of the last item she needed to complete her preparations. She had already planned on slipping out of the Normandy later in the day to go shopping on her own, as this might be her last opportunity to purchase the supplements - or the plants to make them. Using her omnitool, she reviewed the map showing the two turian apothecaries nearest to where the Normandy was docked.
Moments later, interrupting her thoughts, Garrus called softly "Tali."
Tali looked at him, confused "What?"
Garrus turned, looking inside the store, and made a hand signal for her to approach.
Intrigued, Tali walked to his side and looked in the direction he was indicating. Several meters away, she could see John with an asari. The latter was pointing at a shelf filled with bottles of various shapes and colors and was talking, likely explaining something to him.
"You noticed how Shepard seems happier than usual lately?"
In a flat tone, she replied "Maybe..."
He was looking at her now "You too, by the way."
She looked back at him. Why was he talking like that? Feeling more and more uncomfortable under his gaze, she asked "...And?"
"Oh, come on Tali! You think ol' Garrus can't see this?" He was nodding toward the commander, who was busy comparing two bottles, holding one in each hand. "I always felt there was something between you two... But it changed some days ago." He looked at her again. "So, I concluded you two must have decided to... you know, get serious about it."
She was embarrassed. Of course, this had to happen eventually and there was no point now in denying. She sighed. "Well, we decided to do this... discreetly. Not to rush things." She did not want to say more than necessary. "So, I would appreciate if you could keep this to yourself..."
The turian chuckled. "What you don't realize Tali, is that everybody on the ship already knows about this. Right now, the speculation is about what exactly is happening on deck 1 near the end of second shift on most days. There are bets also on when you'll skip your turn in the sleep pod for the first time."
Tali was shocked. How could she have been blind to all of this? In her mind, she could picture them all, gossiping behind their back. "Bosh'tets! All of them!" Her hands had formed into fists. I'll make them pay for this.
"Look Tali, I'm happy for you two... Spirits know you deserve to have some happiness. It's just that..." he pointed to her "with your condition... I just hope you know what you're doing. I don't want to loose any of you to some stupid bug or other... complication." He had become very serious.
His words and his obvious concern had a calming effect on her. She sighed again, quickly loosing her anger. "Don't worry... We're being careful." This sounded false - she knew that was not entirely true; but if they waited for a clean room and a decontamination unit, they would never do anything.
"I know you're probably taking the most direct risks... but I'm sure you know also what it would do to Shepard if something happened to you..."
She looked at him. His words had struck home. He was worried. Almost as much as she was herself, deep down inside. Placing a hand on his arm, she squeezed lightly and replied "Yes, I do..." She knew that if anything bad happened to her, even if it was mostly of her own fault, John would feel responsible for it. That was why she would wait until the last moment before the final battle to share herself with him.
The turian nodded. His concern had been heard. Nothing more needed to be said.
As if to physically put an end to this intense exchange, their attention was suddenly drawn to the nearby door as a client - another asari - was coming in. The newcomer stopped abruptly, gasping at their sight. Tali slowly got out of the way, back to her initial position along the wall. Garrus tried to smile reassuringly as he took two steps back. The asari looked nervously at them for a few seconds, shook her head and continued quickly on her way inside the store.
Shepard was with them again, holding a blue and orange shopping bag. They got out of the store, back into the street and the heat.
"Phew! You don't know how close we got to causing an incident!"
Garrus and Tali both turned to him, but before any of them could voice a question, a speaker by the side of the door they had just gone through started to blare "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite drugstore."
Tali could not contain her laughter when she saw the human wincing at the sound of his voice.
Garrus snickered "You're a whore Shepard, you know that?"
Shepard smirked "The owner recognized me and she was, lets say... insistant!"
They resumed their walk toward the nearby extraction point. Along the way the commander explained why, next time he wanted to buy stuff, he would use the extranet and have his purchases delivered.