'Shepard, you have first hand sexual experience. How do you know when someone else is romantically invested?'
EDI asked the question to the Commander, genuinely interested in her response. After all, Commander Freya Shepard was a woman, but more importantly to EDI at this time, she was a woman in love...or so the crew whispered about her. And from her memory recordings of the Commander's reaction to the encounter on Horizon with the then Commander Alenko, the fact Shepard had kept a small holograph of him on her desk, even after he had said terrible things to her and her high degree of concern when the Major had been seriously hurt on Mars, EDI was inclined to agree with the whispers and that was before EDI added in the physical responses she had recorded in the Commander whenever she spoke of him.
She watched as Shepard faltered at the question, a little taken aback by it. This puzzled EDI, surely the Commander had been romantically invested before, at least once. So she should be able to answer her questions about Jeff and how to make him show an emotional attachment to her.
On the Citadel she had witness an increased number of public displays of affection. From couples simply holding hands to kissing in a lustful, open mouthed fashion. There was a disproportionately high amount of such things going on. Perhaps Jeff would like to engage in them with her? She wasn't sure as his attitude towards her had changed in subtle ways since she had gained a physical platform, at least when there was no one around, but that changed when there was another present.
Shepard listed off a number of things she believed qualified as showing romantic interest in someone. EDI noticed that Shepard's cheeks flushed a little as she listed things like 'think about you', 'give gifts' and 'play music'. Did she blush because these were things she had done with Lieutenant Alenko, as he had been on the original Normandy? EDI had no data on this. However, all of the thing listed seemed rather disparate things as far as EDI was concerned and she told Shepard this much, stating that her programming required none of them. At this Shepard seemed to get a little exasperated, as if EDI had missed some point she was trying to make and switch to speaking of chemisty.
Once again, EDI's processes took Shepard's words literally and she offered the fact that there were many pharmacological substances on the market that could cause Jeff to simulate an emotional and affectionate attachment to her physical platform. But this didn't seem to meet Shepard's parameters either, her mild exasperation going up a little and Shepard seemed like she may laugh. Instead she suggested simply spending time with Jeff, doing something they shared a mutual interest in. This interest was humour.
EDI was inclined to agree with Shepard's assessment of this. Both Jeff and EDI had spent many hours during the refit of the Normandy exchanging comedic lines and verse. Although she had yet to develop a sense of timing for certain situations, Jeff had often commented that her sense of humour was a wicked one and from her research, it always seemed that those who heard the joke responded better when it was something bordering on dangerous or uncomfortable than something more light hearted. However, that response was often raising panic, until she reassured the listener that it was a joke. Then they would laugh, albeit nervously.
So it was agreed, EDI would spend time with Jeff in places of humour. But this lead to further questions. Would they always have to spend time together in a humorous environment? Would Jeff even respond to her while they were together? What if he didn't? There had to be other approaches to gain romantic commitment and she would have to understand them. But how? The extranet was only good at providing answers up to a point. It could provide her with the basics and opinion, supposition and theory, but little to no practical experience. What she needed was examples. Real, live examples of relationships.
EDI looked at Commander Freya Shepard, a woman...but more importantly a woman in love. Yes, she would watch Shepard.
She stopped, that may not be enough. The object of the Commander's affections was not aboard the Normandy, so how could she observe how Shepard showed her affection? But then again, Shepard wasn't the only person aboard the Normandy. There were others and possibly more besides, if the addition of the turian primarch was any indication. And so she would watch the crew as well and see what may develop between a group of people kept in close confines with each other. Plus, she would still watch the Commander, from what EDI had observed of Major Alenko during the brief period he had been aboard the Normandy, he has been still alive when he had been taken away. If he remained alive, this would please Shepard and make her continue to show her affection for him.
EDI nodded to herself. More investigation was clearly needed.