A/N—Hello all! I decided to branch out with my chapters, and do one formatted like a story. This is a little girls night thing. I thought it might be fun to write a little fluff, but is this just fluff? Might it escalate into something bigger? Stay tuned!
Shepard sat staring at the ceiling of her cabin. 'Why is nothing ever easy?' she thought. Her world seemed smaller without him. The blue glow of the fish tanks cast a show across her tear-stained face. Nothing seemed to ever go right. Shepard had never been a woman who pitied herself, but this was in some way different. Maybe it was because Kaidan was the first person she ever let in, and he betrayed her. Like everyone else did. She didn't know how long she had stared at the ceiling when her terminal beeped, signaling a message. Shepard sighed and got up. The message on her terminal read,
FROM THE DESK OF TALI'ZORAH TO: MIRANDA LAWSON, JACK, SAMARA, COMMANDER SHEPARD
Shepard,
I heard what Kaidan did. Bosh'tet. Anyway, I told Joker plot a course to the Citadel. Should we have what I believe humans call a 'girls night'? According to Miranda, this is the human tradition after such an event (Jack came up with a different idea, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal in Council space). I'm waiting for the verdict from the other women of this crew, but at least you and I can go out.
-Tali
Shepard thought for a while. It would be nice to go out with Tali and the gang, forget her problems. Then again, a little alone time never hurt anyone. "Damnit…" she muttered as she tapped out a reply. 'Sounds good. Have Miranda, Jack, or Samara checked in yet?' Tali pinged back, explaining that Samara was going to stay back and meditate, but Jack was coming (which is why Miranda wasn't coming). Shepard sighed as she approached her mirror. She was wearing her standard Cerberus uniform, and she looked surprisingly well for having been crying (not that anyone would ever know). Now certain the she looked as pretty as she was going to get, given her current state, she exited her cabin and took the elevator to the CIC. As she passed, Kelly informed her that Tali and Jack would be along shortly, so she should just stay on deck two for the time being. Shepard looked around for a moment, nothing seemed amiss, so she visited Joker and EDI in the cockpit.
"I trust everything is well up here?" Shepard asked as she entered. "Yeah, EDI is going to start figuring out the next step of the mission while you guys are out," Joker explained. "Excellent. Thanks." As Shepard was turning around, Joker quietly said, "I know you were crying, Commander." Shepard stopped dead in her tracks. Had she missed something? "How did you know that?" She questioned. Never looking up from his controls, Joker responded, "Because I know. I noticed it when I was with you in your cabin after Horizon. You get this line in your forehead. It's a little crinkle, like, right—just come here…" he removed his left hand from the controls and placed his pointer finger in the center of her forehead. "There," he finished, returning to his controls. The sound of Jack and Tali laughing behind her made Shepard snap out of the moment. "Real mature, guys," Shepard quipped. "See you later, Joker!" Shepard called as she exited the Normandy.
The trio was barely past the C-Sec checkpoint when Jack blurted out "Who votes that our helmsman has a stupid-ass schoolboy crush on the Commander?" Tali thought for a moment. "He does seem to be interested in you," she finally stated. Shepard just rolled her eyes. "To the bar?" Tali asked, Shepard grateful for the change in topic. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it there, sugar queen. The nun over here," Jack said, gesturing to Shepard, "Needs to get a different outfit. I will not be seen in a bar with someone dressed like a pansy." "We can go to Inata's Wardrobe. It's this place out by the Presidium." Jack and Shepard both shot questioning glances at the Quarian. "You just know that off the top of your head?" Shepard asked. Tali shrugged. "I hid out in a lot of shops while I was hiding here on the Citadel." Jack groaned. "If it will get the nun out of her outfit, fine." The three set off in search of acceptable clothes for Shepard, Jack grumbling "I hate shopping…" the whole way.