Shepard was resting on his bed. The last mission had been exhausting. He had taken a few bumps, but nothing major. Unlike Garrus. Shepard chuckled at the thought. Garrus just couldn't catch a break. It was already the second time he got hit. Garrus' staggering through the doorway at the ambush had been pretty funny.
But it was a good thing he was all right.
Maelon.
When they found him, the rescue mission had turned into a sabotage mission. He had been trying to cure the genophage and his lab had to be destroyed, but Shepard had convinced Mordin to keep the data. It might come useful.
Shepard snorted. Maelon had been very reckless. He could not know what would happen. The krogan could attack again. The genophage may have kept the galaxy safe.
Their natural aggression was not the krogan's fault, but the salarians'. Like Mordin said, they had uplifted and used them as a blunt instrument against the rachni. Very short-sighted, but maybe necessary. The krogan had not been ready for space-travel.
Wrex, however, could change things. He was trying to unify the krogan under one banner. United krogan, cured from the genophage, would make excellent soldiers against the Reapers, and could maybe even be integrated back to the galactic society. But Wrex had a lot of resistance. This Uvenk fellow, for example. Shepard snorted again. If traditionalists like him were in charge, it would only lead to stagnation. This could be seen around the galaxy. Turians, for example, are very conservative, and so are their methods. In the First Contact War the small human fleet had given them a beating.
The door of his cabin opened. Shepard had ordered EDI to open the door automatically to Garrus and Tali, so it had to be either of them.
Shepard rose up to a sitting position, then greeted his guest.
"Tali."
She was clearly nervous. Her fingers fidgeted against each other, and her head was hanging low.
"Something wrong?" Shepard inquired, frowning.
"I, uh, I want talk to you about something..." she said, glancing around.
Shepard moved to the edge of his bed, then patted a place next to him. She sat down on it.
"You remember what I said about...intimacy?" she asked hesitatingly.
"Oh!" Shepard gasped.
He glanced at the bed. He had known that this moment would come, but hadn't expected it to come so soon. He had never been with an alien before. The thought made him nervous.
"So you,uh, want to,uh, do this now?" he asked.
She quickly turned her head towards him, shaking her head.
"What? No!" she gasped.
Her face went bright red. She hadn't expected that he took her words like that. But her gasp had sounded like that she didn't want this. Which was not true.
Her fingers fidgeted quickly against each other.
"I...I-I mean y-yes, but...I..." she babbled.
A sudden realization ran through her. What had she just said? Yes? It was even more horrible than the last one. Always the babbling. Stupid defense-mechanism.
Her head lowered down in embarrassment.
"Keelah...I can't believe I just said that..." she muttered.
Shepard chuckled in puzzlement. Yes or no?
"Then,uh, what are you doing here?"
Her fingers kept fidgeting.
"I.." she began quietly.
Her fingers slowed down.
She should just tell him.
"I don't know if I can be with you, Shepard. I want to...but...", she continued, still quietly "We are in these suits for a reason. I-I could get sick."
Shepard frowned.
"How sick?"
"It could kill me," she said quietly.
Good job Tali. That'll encourage him.
"O-or the reaction c-could be minor!" she said quickly. "I-I don't know!"
Shepard felt bad for her. Trapped inside, separated from everything she cared about. It was tragic.
"You could die?" he asked quietly.
She turned to him, shaking her head slightly.
"'I don't know..."
She lowered her head back again.
Silence.
She wanted so much to please him, but Shepard didn't need that. He only needed her.
"Tali," Shepard said quietly, moving his hand on top of hers. She squeezed his hand.
"I...I'd like to...but I don't wanna hurt you." he continued, still quietly.
He leaned closer.
"You don't have prove anything to me," he whispered.
Why did he have to be so selfless? Couldn't he just think of himself? Why did he have to make this so hard? Her eyes started to moisten.
"It's not about that," she whispered, her voice shaking "I just..."
Tears.
"I don't want to die Shepard, I just...," she said, her voice starting broke. "I just want to be good to you."
"To give you something you deserve."
"Something...".
Tears fell down on her face.
Her pain hurt Shepard terribly, buy he didn't know how to help her.
He took both of her hands and pressed his forehead on hers.
"I don't want you to die either," he said quietly.
Tear fell down on his cheek.
"I don't think I could live without you," Shepard whispered.
Her crying ended. What had he just said?
She slowly pulled away, lifting her head, watching him. Shepard's head stayed low.
Such words...
Tali moved her hand on his cheek, wiping away his tear with her thumb.
"Nobody has ever said anything like that to me," she said softly, stroking his cheek.
"It's the truth," Shepard said, not lifting his head. More tears fell.
They made her so happy...
She gently lifted his head, and their eyes met,
"I can minimize the risks. Let me be good to you," she replied, with a soft, quiet voice.
If she would die, he would die. But he couldn't deny anything from her.
"Yes."