Misc: So first off... you readers are awesome with your reaction and response to the last chapter. Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. And I'm hoping that the rest of the story will either be as enjoyable or more so.
With that said, I did want to point out that I did get around to posting a Garrus/Shepard fanart. The link is in my profile, so check it out. I started a color WIP and I'm working on it as time allows. But with own own art projects for school... time doesn't allow much.
Anyhow... I don't have much to say about this chapter except it's in Tali's POV again because I like writing in her POV and after the last chapter... I thought it'd be fun to see her thoughts as she observes the two.
Chapter Seven
"That bosh'tet! Leading us into a trap like that and tries to say he didn't betray us?! Bullshit! And I don't care what anyone else says… risking your life is the most insane and stupidest thing someone could do if he wants you, Comannder Shepard, to defeat the Collectors."
Despite how the mission to the 'derelict' Collector ship was in no way a failure, Tali could not help but react to the aftermath of the mission as if it was. She just could not sit there and ignore the fact that the Illusive Man had led them into a trap or use half-assed logic to justify what the man had done.
She was just glad that at least she wasn't the only one to feel this way.
"It is rather annoying to get my ass thrown on the line so often just because people think I'm invulnerable," Shepard muttered as she drank a little of the wine cooler in her hand.
Both of the women and Garrus were sitting around the center table in her cabin. The turian and human sat on the couch, within arm's reach but far enough that there was nothing peculiar about the distance between them –neither too close or too far. Tali sat across from them in the lounge chair. They all had drinks in their hands, drinks that Shepard always kept in supply for moments like this, sessions of private debriefs or bull… much like those days on the original Normandy. Except Tali felt that the three of them had grown closer since that first jaunt, both from the danger they were always getting thrown into as well as how – aside from Dr. Chakwas and Joker – they were the only ones here that were part of the original crew.
And everyone on the Normandy knew that Shepard trusted the turian and quarian more than anyone else here.
"That's what happens when you're the great Commander Shepard," Garrus teased, sounding rather amused.
"Hey. What did I tell you about calling me that?" the infiltrator grumbled, shifting to kick a foot against his leg. But Tali knew better than to believe the woman was only annoyed. Not with the smirk on her face, which honestly agitated the quarian. It had nothing to do with wishing that the human wouldn't stare at the man with obvious interest; just that it had been nearly a day now since their time on the Citadel and Tali had yet to hear anything about what had happened.
It was annoying that they had to run off after that Collector ship so soon after going after Harkin and Sidonis.
Especially knowing that something happened between the two. That had been blatantly obvious throughout the mission and while they sat amongst each other.
"You're never going to live it down, Shepard," he returned, obviously amused. "You'll just have to deal with it…"
"Not from you," the Spectre groaned before quickly leaning forward and snatching his beer from his hand, a mischievous smirk plastered on her lips. "Keep it up and this isn't all I'll be taking back. And this stays with me until I get an apology."
Tali gave a low groan. Blatantly obvious. And if Garrus tried to deny anything this time, she was hitting him over the head with her shotgun.
"Empty threats are unbecoming, Commander," the turian countered with a rather cocky tone, emphasized by how he leaned back easily, not attempting to take back his drink. "Besides… I thought you said that you didn't enjoy cruel tastes. I should have known better…"
"What?! I… you… this is nothing like that!" Shepard cried out after stumbling over her words, sounding rather aghast and making Tali wonder what the hell was going on now. It was only making it more frustrating that she and the human had yet to talk about what had happened. Especially as she watched the woman frustratingly give in, shoving the bottle back in the turian's hands. Unless there was something she was trying to avoid speaking of, Tali didn't see why Shepard didn't continue to press Garrus.
"Stop pushing your luck, Turian," the Spectre muttered, returning to her drink. "I swear… you will have to deal with more than you can handle if you keep it up."
"It's an interesting proposition…"
Or annoying, for the one who was left in the dark.
"Keelah! What the hell is going on now?!" Tali finally interrupted, unable to take it anymore. Her cry was loud and abruptly, at least enough to have them acknowledge her presence once more. "What happened on the Citadel while I was gone? And don't say nothing happened. The both of you are flirting worse than usual! And don't you dare try to deny anything, Garrus," she snapped, pointing a threatening finger his way.
The turian gave a few double blinks before turning his shocked look over to Shepard, who only sighed, touching her free hand to her forehead and shaking her head. Then slowly, the human turned her gaze over to the man, murmuring, "Garrus… just to let you know, Tali's known for some time about… well, how I feel about you. So it would be pointless to deny anything to her."
"Great… so the one person that does know has already threatened me with a shotgun," he groaned before taking a swift gulp of his drink.
"Everyone 'knows,' if you're going to get technical, Garrus," Tali pointed out, a smile spreading over her lips, glad she could do so and no one would know. "Everyone has thoughts about the rumor. I heard some of Donnelly's speculations the other day. Doesn't help that you two constantly flirt with each other…"
"Thanks for the encouragement, Tali," he grumbled back, quickly finishing his alcohol and staring at the empty bottle with morose eyes as his mandibles gave an irritated twitch. Just before his gaze turned to Shepard's…
"Oh, go ahead," the woman sighed, waving a hand towards her 'office space,' where she had a small refrigeration unit to hold the drinks. She watched Garrus as he walked over to grab himself another of the beers she kept in supply for him before she looked over to the quarian. "It would have been nice if you could have just waited for me to mention something to you in private. Garrus isn't looking to cause a spectacle with this…"
"Even if you try to hide this from everyone else, problem is the rumor's already put the notion in the minds of the crew and it's obvious that you both have an interest in each other. It's not going to take long for people to start figuring out about the two of you," Tali countered, sipping on her own dextro wine cooler. The first time she was served with Shepard, she hadn't joined the human, turian, and krogan in drinking alcoholic beverages, given that on the Fleet she rarely had such chances to indulge and could not find it within her still youthful mind to partake of a habit that seemed overly indulgent and irrational. But after Shepard's death, she felt like saying 'damn it all'; after Haestrom and no longer worried about constrains on the Fleet, Tali took the opportunity to indulge… although she had no idea what to partake of and was baffled by the various choices.
If it hadn't been for Garrus, she probably would have never figured where to start. While she could find the turian's teasing agravating, she was also grateful that he was willing to help her out every so often; he had suggested installing a phasic module to her shotgun and even helped with the process.
Even if he could be a cocky bosh'tet, Garrus did have a good heart, something Shepard deserved to have in a lover, no matter the race.
"Is there some unmentioned rule that everything in my life has to be problematic and in the spotlight?" Shepard scoffed before sighing and slumping back against the seat just as Garrus returned. This time the turian sat much closer to her and she took the initiative to lean in against him, resting her head against his shoulder. Garrus made no negative reaction on his part, instead only seemed to approve as he let his arm slip around her waist. If it wasn't for Shepard's sullen mood and the former C-Sec agent's own distress, Tali would have let out a small laugh; though as she didn't want to seem to demeaning, she only smiled behind her visor, taking in how cute the two of them did look together.
"I did say you are Commander Shepard," the turian murmured, a little tentative, but the amusement was still clear in his voice and became only more apparent as he chuckled after the woman nudged her elbow against him.
Definitely cute together.
"Shepard. Garrus… I don't think it's something you need to worry about though," the quarian spoke up, hoping the ease whatever tension the two before her were feeling. Especially as she had long grown to disdain seeing the commander troubled, which happened too often. She tried to convince Shepard to say something to Garrus because she thought they'd be good together, that Shepard could be happy. She wanted to see that. "From the people I've heard speak about the rumor about you two, they seem more surprised or amused than judgmental. I think a lot of them also think they should have seen coming. Chakwas mentioned such the last time I had to visit her after my suit had a breach.
"And most people here joined up with Cerberus because they are frustrated that the Council and the Alliance aren't doing a thing against the Collectors and the Reapers. They know of Cerberus's shady history but they don't seem to care. Not that I enjoy that or agree with them, but…
"You think they're going to have qualms about a commander who's in a relationship with a turian when said commander is the woman who brought down Saren and Sovereign? And also has the best chance against the Collectors and the Reapers? I think survival is a more important issue over disregarding social norms…"
"Doesn't mean people aren't going to nitpick the stupid things as tension rise and makes it more likely that they'll act more on emotion than logic," Garrus muttered, his arm seeming to draw tighter around Shepard's waist, almost apprehensively. "Whether or not these people hold to any of Cerberus's 'ideals,' the fact is they are human. There's still tension between the humans and turians. And for the greatest that humanity has to offer…"
"I think that's enough worrying for today," Shepard suddenly cut in, moving to place a light kiss on the turian's scarred mandible, an action that caused him to jerk and the two women to give light chuckles. Gradually the slight shock that came over the man faded away as he leaned down and touched his forehead to the woman in his arms. Then it was his turn to surprise the two females as a gentle rumbling akin to a purr sounded from within his chest. Shepard certainly gave a few blinks before a smile spread across her lips and she reached a hand up to softly slide her fingers against his chin. "And you purr now? Garrus, you really are an intriguing creature."
"So are you, Shepard. Being such a squishy human…" he murmured, shifting as he spoke so that his mouth was near the woman's ear… and now Shepard jerked with a gasp while the former C-Sec officer gave a deep laugh.
"My god! Garrus! Stop teasing me like that! And get your ass back to your bunk before we end up doing something very awkward in front of Tali," she cried out, moving to stand but was quickly pulled back down onto the couch, her waist, secure in the turian's hold. "Turian… you are so frustrating…"
"And you like it that way," he countered before giving a sigh. "And you deserve to be frustrated… kicking me out."
"I'm gonna have to kick both of you out soon anyhow. Not one of us has gotten much sleep after having two consecutive missions so soon after the other," she reminded, rapping her knuckles against Garrus's chest. "And for now, I'm declaring that we have some good old R and R. Which reminds me…
"EDI… tell Joker to set a course for Illium."
"Certainly Shepard," the AI chimed so abruptly and shortly, making Tali feel a cold shiver travel up her spine. She still had yet to get used to the fact that EDI could watch and speak to them anywhere and at anytime… even the restrooms. Not a comforting thought… in addition to the unnerving sense the quarian got from being around synthetics.
She wasn't the only one to think so.
"Hmm. You know the fact that EDI can watch whatever is going on in here… that's not a comforting thought…" Garrus murmured, finishing his beer before setting the empty bottle next to the one from earlier.
"Oh… you have a point," Shepard returned, sounding just as discomfited as she bit her lip. But whatever thought was on their mind, they didn't elaborate as the former Alliance soldier gave Garrus another nudge with her elbow. "Hey, didn't I tell you to get out of here before we end up embarrassing Tali? Why don't you actually try to be a good turian and do as you're told… for once…"
"Cruel human females," was all the turian returned, a chuckle beneath his breath even as Shepard starred at him appalled. His laughter lingered a little longer, but not without him moving out of the range of the commander's feet. "And I suppose I'll be seeing you tomorrow then…"
"You won't want to if you keep trying to annoy me," the woman threatened, but then gave a soft smile as she stood and moved closer to the turian. As she stood before him, she rose up on her toes and gave Garrus another light kiss, this time on the lips. "Try to get some rest, Garrus…"
"If it's at all possible," he returned with a nod before looking towards Tali, seeming rather surprised as his mandibles have an irritated twitch. "Are you women going to end up gossiping now once I leave?"
"What? No. Never. What gave you that idea?" Tali mocked, glad that he couldn't see the wide smirk on her lips.
Though the laugh was clearly audible as Shepard gave him a shove towards the door.
"Every girl needs some girl talk and refusing to let us have any is very bad, Garrus," the woman laughed, practically shoving the turian all the way to and out the door. But despite how insistent the woman was about his departure, the farewells at the door still took a long time before they concluded. Tali couldn't hear the soft words between the two. She could only see how they couldn't take their hands off of each other and how Shepard kept grating a demure kiss now and then… until they reluctantly parted and the commander returned to her seat, beckoning Tali over to sit nearer. The quarian did so. "Sorry if that was awkward at all. I think we've been dying for a chance just to touch each other similar to how we had the other day…"
"So long as I don't have to witness anything seriously intimate and intense, it's okay. I was for the two of you getting together, after all," the quarian reminded, still feeling the smile on her lips. After what she just saw, how could she not be a little delighted herself? If there were two people she knew that deserved someone, they were Shepard and Garrus and to see them developing into sweet lovers… it was just nice to know that even with all the problems within this galaxy, there were some happy moments to be found.
she just hoped that the future only held happiness for the two…
"Yeah… and thanks. My god… I don't think I've felt this… feverish around a guy for a long time," the infiltrator returned, wearing something of an utterly blissful smile on her lips, staring at the floor as if lost in thought before giving a sudden giggle. Something she silence quickly. "Oh. Sorry about that…"
But Tali could only laugh, enjoying the chance to see this side of the commander. "You really do like him, don't you? I've never seen you this… delighted."
"Well, that trap we had to deal with a few hours ago almost put a damper on thing," Shepard scoffed even as the smile remained on her lips, as though it were a permanent feature now. "But… god! I can't stop thinking of that damn turian! He just… oh, I don't know how to put it…"
"So what did happen the other day? You were gone for some time," Tali had to say, so eager to hear. She knew the aftermath, certainly. But that wasn't enough.
"Well… I can't remember everything. I know we talked about a lot of things. Sidonis, the Collectors, Garrus's life in the military… and of course all the teasing and flirting that goes in-between," the human murmured, laying her head back, relaxing and seeming to be lost in idyllic thoughts. "I can't really remember what exactly was said, but I did eventually let him know that I was interested in him… in that way. And Tali… he practically jumped at the opportunity. He was surprised, but he didn't seem at all hesitant and then… I just want to go back to the time I spent with him in the shuttle afterwards. He just… he was so enthralling. I'm never going to want to forget what that time with him felt like.
"But dammit… it only makes the anticipation for something more into a wait that's pure torture. And today wasn't even enough of an appetizer. I just… I want to drag him back in here and…" The commander swiftly caught herself, giving a laugh as she shook her head before sighing, looking back at the quarian with both apologies and delight. "Sorry… I just can't stop thinking about him."
"That's clearly evident," Tali gave an amused laugh before reaching a hand over to grasp Shepard's, unable to convey her delight by visible expressions but wanting something other than her words and tone to express how much she hoped for the best and was delighted for her friend. Her best friend. Shepard didn't deal her with the prejudice most others held against her people. Not only did she accept Tali's offer to help, but she tried to make her feel a part of the crew, evident by how she'd spend her off-duty time with her, Garrus, and Wrex, even Ashley, who eventually warmed up to the alien presence before those last days preceding Virmire; Liara had been too embarrassed to join them, part being social inept as well as being rejected by Shepard while Kaiden never seemed to relax enough to join. And Shepard had proved herself to be a greater friend that Tali could have ever expected to ever have when the commander gave her the geth data she requested. That data had completed her pilgrimage and allowed the young quarian to live up to the expectations her people had for her… and even impress her father. While she could never say that she was close to her father, she did seem to gain his respect and trust, so much more than Tali could have ever hoped for.
It was only because of everything Shepard did.
And that was what seemed to make up Shepard's life, in the time that Tali knew the woman. How often did the woman think about the people around her, those that relying on her, how to help them and make their lives better… while ignoring whatever needs she had? She imagined that the commander understood life in a way the quarians did as well. That survival truly depended on helping everyone, not oneself and seeing the improvements one made was so much more gratifying than focusing on oneself; the quarian people would be amazed to find such within a soul outside of their culture, just as Tali had been amazed. She had thought that was how Shepard thought of herself, because it was a genuine desire to help those around her.
Maybe it was, but after the defeat of Saren and Sovereign, Tali also noticed something else from the commander.
There was a sense of weariness and pessimism that came over the woman.
The quarian couldn't blame her. After everything the Spectre had done, the Council still did not take the Reaper threat seriously. Even the Alliance hadn't. And the woman had grown frustrated to only be sent after speculated geth activity when they all knew they needed to look for more into how to stop the Reapers themselves.
Not only that, but while Tali had always had misgivings about the commander's relationship with Kaidan, she had always hoped that it might have helped Shepard. Realizing the soldiers' romantic involvement, the engineering genius was certain that Shepard did need someone tending to her own needs and desires as she aided others and thought Kaidan might be able to fulfill such for the woman. She never knew what to think though as Shepard never appeared to be any better after some time spent with the biotic. But now she knew of the fights and the supposed jealousy.
And all of it made Tali feel horrible.
Shepard lost a friend on Virmire, had no lover to give her solace, and the lives that had been saved by her did not trust her. Shepard did so much and it seemed like she got nothing back. It had seemed that the only thing the soldier had aside from the company of friends that did bring laughter to her, was the woman's family, but only had a few days to visit during the trip she had made to share her condolences with Ashley's family. Tali had not gone on that trip – Shepard had gone alone – but she did see how relieved, though a little sad the woman had been on her return. It was good to know that at least Shepard had a loving family, one that even now were constantly reminding her commander to tell them when they could see her again.
But Tali wanted to see Shepard have everything she could want. She deserved it.
And she hoped that Garrus would be the lover that Kaidan could not. She was at least certain that the turian would do a better job at making Shepard happy; the two had always seemed to enjoy each other's company.
"Shepard… I hope this works out. I really do. I've never seen you this happy, but I hope you can stay this happy from now on… despite everything that's going on."
The human granted her a delighted smile, her hand taking a firm hold of the quarian's. "Thanks Tali. I thought that I was lucky enough to have you and Garrus traveling with me to hell again. I didn't think I could hope for more," she murmured before setting her bottle down on the table then throwing her arms around the younger's frame, embracing her tightly. "Thanks, Tali. For everything. Being here, trusting me… and trying to get me to go after Garrus. Thanks.
"I don't know if things are going to be any better from here on out, but… at least I've had a chance to be happier than I have been for a long time. And it's only because of you and Garrus both…"
"You've done a lot for us, Shepard," Tali whispered, her arms around the older woman and hugging her tightly as well. "I want to help you any way I can and I want to try to do for you what you've done for me… especially after everything that's happened to you…"
"Thanks," Shepard nodded, her voice still quiet and both women lingering in the embrace until the commander slowly began to pry away, her brow eyes glistening even as a small smile crept onto her lips. "Now we just need to find you a nice man. I've been thinking that Kal'Reeger guy with you Haestrom might be a cute match for you…"
All Tali could think was how she didn't know whether or not she was glad Shepard could not see the utter disbelief that had crossed the quarian's face.
Endnote: So, I just wanted another chapter a bit more on focus with Tali and Janelle's friendship and... eh, that's all I have to say about that aspect.
Anyhow, I know I said that Garrus is drinking beer in this and honestly, I have no idea how accurate that is. I'm not sure what is the galactic equal of beer is since, if what I read is correct, beer is a human thing (Yay to the greatness of lager! I don't drink beer. I'm a Yuengling gal. XP Totally different). Anyhow... so if you have a better idea of what Garrus might be having, let me know. I'm not even very knowledgeable when it comes to real life alcohol. All I know is I can drink Yuengling, not beer and I love Mudslides because it's chocolate, milkshake, and alcohol... how can you get better? That and I like trying out different cocktails. Other than that... I suck in the world of alcohol. (I have no real clue what this has in relation to the story...)
R&R ... and enjoy. ^_^