Thank you The Read Celt for beta reading the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
"That's how you proposed?" Don stared at Nalik in disbelief when he'd heard the big news.
"What do you mean?" Nalik asked back, confused.
"That's not very romantic. You're lucky she's such a nice girl—a saint, actually, to put up with you. Still, it's a miracle that she said yes. You didn't even give her a ring, did you?"
"Why would I have given her a ring? Do humans bribe their potential mates with jewelry so that they will marry them?"
"Nalik," Don sighed, sounding like it took him all the effort he could muster to remain patient, "when you propose to a human girl, you should do something romantic, like buy her an engagement ring, take her out to a fancy dinner and hide the ring in her food or drink and let her find it as a surprise!"
"That sounds dangerous. What if she chokes on it? I want to marry her, not kill her."
"The point is," Don sighed again, "that you should do something to show her that you love her."
"She knows that already."
"Okay, fine. And how about a bachelor party? We could go to this asari bar, hire a stripper, get drunk..."
"Why would I want to do that?" Nalik's eyes widened in surprise. Humans were so weird.
"It's a human custom. It's to... celebrate your last night of freedom."
"That makes no sense. It's not like I'll be locked up for the rest of my life. Besides, I don't drink and I'm not interested in strippers."
"Well, I am." Don's patience was getting really thin now.
"I thought it was for the person getting married."
"So, no bachelor party?"
"No."
"You're insufferable."
"Good thing that you're not the one I'm marrying then." Nalik shrugged, ignoring Don's glare.
"No kidding. So, the wedding will be in two weeks here, on the Citadel? Are your people coming?"
"Just the closest family. We want to keep it small."
"Mom, why are you crying?" Alice sighed, trying to keep her voice calm.
"You have to ask?" Her mother sniffed, staring at her accusingly through the holo-projector's screen. "My little girl, getting married, so far from home! And why so quickly? He's not even human, so it's not like you're pregnant—are you?"
"Of course not!" She rolled her eyes. "We have to do it quickly to prevent the dalatrass from finding out about our plans and ruining them. And we have to do it here because Nalik's mother is coming and it would be suspicious if she traveled to Earth. Not to mention that having a Citadel administrator conduct the ceremony will make it more official for both sides. I really hope that you guys can make it. I'm sorry that you have to come so far for this."
"You know we'd go to the end of the world for you, but... are you sure that this is what you want? Mike has been asking about you, you know."
"Mom! Do not tell him anything!" Alice narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, trying to emphasize her point as much as she could. "I know you still think he's a good guy, but he's not! Trust me about this! Just wait until you meet Nalik; you'll love him."
"Fine. I know that once you've made up your mind there's nothing I can say to convince you otherwise. She sighed resignedly and said, "Have you made a list of who you want to invite to the wedding?"
"We want to make it a small family affair." Alice leaned back, a bit more relaxed now, glad that the conversation had veered off into a more pleasant direction. "Especially since it's so far. So just you, dad, Jackie and Sam."
"We can't leave out Aunt Lara and Cousin Bo!" her mother exclaimed, shaking her head. "And there might be a few other people who would want to come."
"Whatever. Just write a list of people you think we should invite and let me know. I'll have to reserve some room for this."
"And how about the dinner?"
"What about it?"
"You're going to have a nice wedding dinner, right?"
"I guess..."
"You guess?!" Mrs. Thompson raised her eyebrows, then brought a hand up with a sigh. "You know what, I'll make the arrangements from here. I'm not leaving this to you and end up having a snack in your school's cafeteria."
"Actually, that's not a bad idea."
"Alice!"
"Relax, I was just joking. If it makes you happy, you can do all that stuff."
"I will, don't worry."
"Hey. Do you have Slavers' Lair? ... Hello?"
"Hmm? Sorry?" Nalik looked up with an apologetic smile. Ever since their talk in the morning, he'd been deep in thought, unable to stop mulling over what Don had said about his proposal—or lack thereof. Did he disappoint Alice by not giving her a ring and doing something romantic? She surely knew that he loved her—but maybe that wasn't enough. When he'd asked her if she wanted to get married, she gave him a happy smile and said yes without hesitation, but did she wish he had done it the proper human way?
"Slavers' Lair. Do you have it?' the turian asked again.
"Oh. Yes, of course. Do you have an account with us?"
"Yes. Here's my ID."
Nalik scanned the turian's outstretched arm, then arranged for the credit transfer and the download.
"Here you go. Thank you for shopping with us."
As soon as the customer was gone, he started up his omni-tool and searched for a jewelry shop on the Citadel. There were several, but none of them human-specific. He did find an asari store, however, which claimed to cater to all the resident species. It wasn't too far, so he decided to pay them a visit during his lunch break.
Satisfied with the results of the first part of his investigation, he widened his search to the extranet and entered "Human romantic marriage proposals" and was astonished to find lists after lists of ideas. He never would have thought that there were so many different ways human males came up with to surprise their girlfriends.
...
ooo Send her on a treasure hunt. Leave her hints at your favorite spots, the last one leading to you on one knee.
How long would that take? Would I have to be on my knee the whole time?
...
ooo Go out dancing and ask the band or the DJ for the microphone and propose to her on the dance floor.
Dancing? Never tried. Not going to try now. The results wouldn't be very romantic.
...
ooo Turn off the light in the apartment and make a trail with lit candles that end in a circle, with the ring in the middle.
Hmm... Wouldn't that be a fire hazard?
...
ooo Have a cake made with "Will you marry me?" written in chocolate on top.
This one might be good.
...
ooo Cook a romantic dinner and propose at the end.
'Maybe this could work along with the cake...'
...
His choice made, he started to look for some special recipe that he could try to make for her. He settled on caesar salad and filet mignon with mushroom-wine sauce. He'd need to talk to the turian chef at Zakera Café to get the ingredients and maybe some advice about how to prepare the meal.
He shut his omni-tool off with a satisfied smile, ready for the next customer, but looking forward to lunch time.
"Can I help you?" the saleswoman asked with a pleasant smile when he entered the jewelry shop.
"I'm looking for an engagement ring."
"An engagement ring?" her eyes widened. "For whom?"
"For my girlfriend... I mean... fiancé. She's human."
"Really?" She'd never heard of a salarian marrying a human before. As far as she knew, they just entered into reproduction contracts with each other, or sometimes bonded with asari. In fact, her father was a salarian. But marrying a human? This was something new.
She took a good look at this young man with the eager eyes, wondering how all this had happened, but tried to conceal her shock and curiosity and graciously gestured towards the display at the far end of the store.
"We have a nice selection of engagement rings for humans. All very high quality, with different stones."
She followed him to the indicated area and watched his reaction as he examined the merchandise. He looked at all the different items with a puzzled expression on his face—it was quite obvious that he was new to all this.
"This is one of the most popular ones." She pointed at a gold ring with a nice stone in the middle. "The gem in that one is diamond. Human females seem to like that."
"Oh?" Nalik asked, his interest piqued. "Can I get that one then?"
"What is her size?"
"Umm... Her size?"
"Yes. I need to know her measurement, so the ring will fit. You do know her size, right?"
"Actually... no." He had not anticipated this obstacle. How was he supposed to know all this?
"No problem." The saleswoman smiled patiently. "Does she wear rings?"
"Yes."
"Well, then, here's what you can do: If you want to keep this a secret, sneak out one that she doesn't have on at the moment, bring it here, and I will determine the number. Then put it back without her noticing, and surprise her with this beautiful, well-fitting diamond ring."
"Sounds like a good idea. I'll be back tomorrow," Nalik said, relieved that there was a solution and his plan was going to work after all.
"So, when are you going to propose?" She couldn't resist digging for some details after all.
"I already did... in a way."
"You did?" She frowned, confused. "And... you're giving her the ring now?"
"Yes. I, ah, didn't know about that custom before." He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Well, it's nice of you to do it now. I'm sure she'll appreciate it."
"I hope so."
"She will, don't worry. She'll love that ring. And later you two can come in and get a set of wedding bands."
"A set of what?" Nalik gaped at her, wondering how many more things he had been oblivious about.
"Oh, you don't know? Most humans give a ring to each other on the day of the wedding, and they wear it from that day on. It symbolizes the fact that they belong to each other. I think it's quite a nice custom."
"How many rings do humans give to each other?" This was getting more and more complicated.
"Only the ones we've talked about," the asari laughed. "I mean, of course, they can give more later if they want, but these are the ones they usually present to each other when they get married.
"Oh. Okay. Lots to learn when you love somebody outside your own race," Nalik muttered, mostly to himself.
"Tell me about it. My father was a salarian. There were some... misunderstandings between him and my mother a few times." She smiled, her eyes distant for a moment as the memory of him flooded every part of her being. Her chest swelled with warmth and pain at the same time. She missed him. She missed him so much.
"Well, see you tomorrow," she said quietly and quickly turned away, hiding the tears welling up in her eyes.
"Hey. How have you been?" the turian chef greeted him with a jovial smile when Nalik entered Zakera Café. Ever since he'd helped with the selection of wine for that wonderful first date, he was the one Nalik and Alice turned to when they needed some special ingredient for a human or salarian dish or when they wanted to have a nice dinner at his restaurant.
"Good. Good. I proposed to Alice but I might not have done it the proper way, so I want to make this special meal and cake and—"
"Stop right there!" Silus raised his hands with an astonished look on his face. "What did you just say? You proposed marriage to her?"
"Yes."
"And did she accept?
"Yes."
"I'll be damned. Then what is the problem?"
"Well, I've found out that that's not how humans do this. Apparently they prefer to do something romantic and then present the female with an engagement ring. I... don't want to disappoint her." Nalik sighed, staring at the floor. "So I searched the extranet, found some ideas and decided to prepare a romantic dinner and a cake that says 'Will you marry me?' and then give her the ring. Do you think she'll like that?" He finally raised his eyes, searching for the turian's reaction. He also had a human girlfriend, after all, so he was probably well qualified to give him an opinion on the matter.
Silus regarded him for a while, pondering the issue, before he answered. A marriage proposal from a salarian to a human. He did not expect this. But then again, why not? Judging by their interactions, they got along great. He might even say that there was love between them. Maybe even as much as between himself and Claire. Maybe this salarian had the right idea: if you love somebody, why not make it official? Why not spend the rest of your lives together? Maybe... maybe he should propose to Claire—
"Well?" Nalik interrupted his thoughts, anxiously waiting for his answer.
"Oh. Sorry. Yes, I think she'll like that. So, what do you need from me?"
"Great," Nalik let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, so I found these recipes," he fired up his omni-tool and shoved his outstretched arm under the nose of the chef to show him the screen with the saved links, "and I wondered if you have the ingredients. Also, could you make that cake?"
"The cake is not a problem, but are you sure you have the skills to make the filet mignon? Anyone can make a salad, but many amateurs are mistaken when they think they can make a dish that requires special skills and training. Have you gone to a good cooking school?"
"Umm... No..."
"Well, I have. So, if you really want to impress her, you need my help. I'll get the ingredients, come to your place and we can prepare the meal together."
"Wow. I did not expect this. I don't even know how to thank you!"
"Just invite us to your wedding." Silus flared his mandibles in a grin. "So, when do you need these?"
"I'll get the ring tomorrow, so it should be tomorrow night."
"Good. I'll be there tomorrow then."
"And the cake?"
"The cake, too."
The next day went by in a blur: he got the ring, sent a message to Alice's friend, asking her to hold Alice up for a while after school, left work early, then met the chef at the apartment for their cooking session. Silus complained about the lack of proper kitchen equipment, but they managed, and by the time Alice arrived home, everything was ready: the food cooked, the table set (Silus insisted on lighting some candles against Nalik's protests and lectures about fire hazards), the cake hidden in the food storage unit, romantic music playing in the background.
"Mmm... Something smells good." Alice sniffed the air when she entered.
She gave the happily grinning Nalik a kiss then froze as she noticed the beautifully laid out plates and bowls and glasses, softly illuminated by the dancing flames of a couple of tall candles. "What's this?"
"A surprise. I hope you'll like it." Nalik led her to the table, and when she sat down he brought the food in.
"Wow. This is absolutely delicious! When did you learn to make something like this?" Alice enthused between two bites.
"Actually, the chef from Zakera Café helped. He didn't think my skills were good enough to tackle this."
"So it was him! I thought I saw him leave the building when I got home. I'll have to thank him for doing this— this is wonderful. And, of course, thank you, too!"
If she was surprised by the meal, she was shocked by what came next. After they'd finished eating, he cleared the table, insisting on doing it alone, then he brought in the cake and put it in front of her. She stared at the words written in chocolate on top, her mouth open, and when she looked up there was Nalik in front of her, down on one knee, holding a little box with a diamond ring nestled inside.
"Alice. I love you. Will you marry me?"
"I... Of course!" she blurted out as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "But—I said yes already."
"I know. But I was told that I didn't do it the proper way."
"Who said that? Oh... wait. It was Don, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"That meddling jerk," she laughed. "I really didn't expect anything like this, but I do love the special dinner and the cake—and the ring. Thank you. I love you."
"I love you, too."
The ring fit perfectly, and she couldn't stop looking at it. She wiggled her fingers to let the light shine on the diamond from different angles, making it refract through the stone in beautiful patterns and reflect in glistening sparkles. She couldn't have been happier; she thanked fate for bringing him to her, this wonderful, loving, romantic creature who, in spite of being a member of a different species, with different biology, culture, and background, was The One she'd waited for all her life. She loved him with all her heart, and she knew that he felt the same way about her.
They tried to play Asari Justicar that night, sitting side by side on the couch, but couldn't keep their hands off of each other, so after the third 'Game Over' they gave up and turned the whole thing off. They made love on the couch, then in the shower, and again in bed, before they drifted off to sleep, cuddling and dreaming of their future life together.