Author's Note: This story is now rated M. I repeat: this is now rated M, for 'mature' (or at least 16-year-old) readers. If you're not OK with that, please run away now.

The reason for this is mostly because Jack soon enters the story, and she usually can't utter a single sentence without using the f-word. So, consider yourself warned.

Shepard rubbed his temples as he walked down the steps after his meeting with the council. He'd been there for almost three and a half hours, and he was feeling the usual after-effects of such a meeting: a headache, intense frustration, and a desire to punch someone.

He stopped at the foot of the steps, ignoring a glance from a passing turian C-Sec officer, his mind momentarily too fatigued to remember where he was supposed to be going. After a moment, it came to him.

Dark Star. Tali.

A weary smile crept onto his face, and he felt the tension drain away.

They had watched Blasto without a single break the previous evening, and had often been incapacitated with laughter. Not always at points that were intended to be humorous, admittedly, but it had been an entertaining experience.

Enkindle this, he thought, and his grin grew wider.

They had once again slept together in his bed, and this time she'd brought her wash kit with her, so she didn't have to leave immediately in the morning. They'd even left his cabin together, after discreetly ensuring via EDI that there was no-one else in the elevator to notice them both arriving from deck 1.

Garrus had given them a knowing look and the turian version of a smirk when they got to the mess area, but no-one else had even noticed. With the shift system employed on the ship, the dedicated sleeping pods for those specialists who didn't have a cot near their preferred work area, and Tali's quarian body-clock, she hadn't even had any questions about her whereabouts in the evening.

It won't be long til someone realizes, though, he thought, rubbing the back of his neck to work the tension out of it. I don't even mind.

He really needed to see her, and he sure as hell needed a drink. To the surprise of the C-Sec officer who was still nearby, he broke into a jog towards the rapid transit system terminal.

Tali fidgeted with her glass, swirling the vivid green liquid within and then glanced over towards the entrance of the bar.

"Will you quit that?" Garrus said, his tone gentle despite the words.

Chambers, who was sitting between him and Tali, gave him a pointed look, and he shrugged.

"He'll be here soon," Chambers said to Tali, in a kind voice, and Tali nodded in response. She had no idea whether Garrus had told Chambers about her and Shepard, but she didn't want to say anything to confirm it anyway.

What are they saying to you, John? she wondered. Those bosh'tets always make him so frustrated.

She sighed, and glanced around the two large tables that were occupied by crewmembers of the Normandy. She sat with Kelly Chambers and Garrus, Mordin, Miranda and Jacob. She also kept a vacant seat for Shepard, which thankfully had been requested by Chambers. At the adjacent table were Grunt, Jack, Samara, Thane, Kasumi and Zaeed.

They had been there for more than half an hour, and whilst Tali was just just starting on her second drink, some of them were already working on their third.

Tali glanced around the bar, noticing a few disapproving glares directed towards her. It was nothing new; people had preconceptions and prejudices about quarians. She looked back down at her drink, and hoped that Shepard would arrive soon.

And then she heard it, even over the music. A sudden lull in conversations, over towards the door. She smiled even before she looked around, and sure enough, through a gap in the crowd, there he was.

Shepard's eyes scanned the bar, easily spotting her distinctive purple visor at a table towards the back. He smiled, and headed in that direction.

He made it almost three quarters of the way there before a young asari (she was certainly not a day over two hundred and fifty) stepped towards him.

"Commander Shepard?" she said, smiling brightly and tilting her head to one side.

Shepard came to a stop, and shot a reassuring smile at Tali before replying to the young woman.

"Yes?" he said.

"I couldn't believe it, but I thought it was you," she exclaimed, brushing a hand across his forearm. "The hero of the citadel! It's wonderful to meet you."

She held out her hand, and he glanced bemusedly at it for a moment before tentatively shaking it. "Pleased to meet you," he said, uncomfortably and with another quick glance towards Tali. The asari was effusive, and he was certain that their conversation was readily audible from Tali's table.

"I can't tell you how grateful we all are to you," the asari said, once again touching his arm. "What you did was just... incredible."

Tali's eyes narrowed, and she let go of her glass to avoid possibly breaking it. The asari was flirting mercilessly, and it was all she could do to stop herself walking over there. She briefly glanced around the table, seeing that almost everyone was watching the scene just as she was. Miranda wore a look of particular distaste. Tali frowned, once again focusing on the asari.

"Could I buy you a drink, Commander?" she said, fluttering her eyelashes - Or what passes for them, Tali thought cattily - and nodding towards the bar. "I have a table. I'd love to get to know you a little better..."

Shepard gave a small, bashful smile, and scratched his chin. "That's a very kind offer, miss, but I'm actually here to unwind a little with my crew." He pointed towards the table, and to his astonishment, Tali actually waved at him.

"Have a good evening," he finished, and continued walking without waiting for the woman to respond.

Upon reaching the table, he saw the barest sideways movement of Tali's helmet, and he knew that she was raising an eyebrow. "Hi," he said, making no effort to hide that he was talking directly to her.

"The hero of the citadel, talking to me?" she said, playfully, and he grinned in embarrassment. Garrus gave a throaty laugh, and even Jacob chuckled before catching himself and sitting up straighter.

Shepard glanced around the table, nodding in general greeting, and saw that Miranda was looking at Tali with a slightly suspicious expression on her face. He cleared his throat.

"Well, I need a drink," he said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the bar. "Anyone else?"

A few of the specialists gave their orders, and Tali stood up.

"I'll help you carry," she said, and he nodded, turning towards the bar.

As they walked away, Miranda watched carefully. Tali was different somehow. Was she... swaying her hips ever so slightly more than usual?

Interesting, she thought, taking another sip of her drink.

Shepard and Tali reached the bar, and he quickly placed his order.

"How bad was it?" she asked, gently, looking up at him.

"Ugh," he replied, but his face bore the barest hint of a smile.

She nodded sympathetically, briefly reaching out to touch his arm.

"To be honest, I spent the last hour or so mostly just thinking about you," he said, and she blushed. "I'm still amazed I managed to get through it without calling Councillor Valern 'sweetheart'."

She laughed out loud, a beautiful sound that rung out like a silver bell even over the bar's bass-heavy music.

"As if they didn't already question your motives," she joked, and he laughed.

Miranda watched them silently. She saw the touch of his arm, their shared laughter, and particularly the smile he gave her. She'd never seen that smile before.

I had no idea, she thought. I guess that explains his reaction the other day.

She felt a stab of jealousy, but dismissed it. In a bizarre way, she actually felt a little better. Shepard and Tali had known each other for a long time, and if there had been feelings there already then it was understandable that he'd not thought of Miranda herself as anything other than a colleague.

Shepard and Tali returned to the table, handing out drinks appropriately, and sat down. Shepard took a long pull from his glass of something very similar to beer, nodding an acknowledgement to Garrus, who raised his glass in turn.

Tali wasn't sure whether she was on her fourth or fifth drink, but it didn't seem to matter. Shepard had more than caught up with her, and the rest of the table (and the next) was looking decidedly relaxed too.

He was recounting a fairly embellished and exaggerated version of his meeting with the council, which (in her entirely unbiased opinion) was hilarious. Garrus had slapped the table several times as he laughed, and even Mordin was chuckling in his odd, rapid-fire way - which tended to set the rest of the team off even more.

Shepard finished his story, grinning, and reached for his drink which was less than an inch from where Tali's hand rested on the table. He glanced at her, offering a shameless smile, and she returned the smile, knowing that he was aware of it even if he couldn't see it. When he returned the glass to the table, she allowed her third finger to very deliberately brush across his hand.

He turned to her and was about to speak when he felt a touch on his shoulder.

"Commander Shepard?"

He looked around to see a blonde human woman, provocatively dressed, standing behind him with her hand on his shoulder.

"Yes?" he replied, tensing up slightly, and the woman blushed slightly as she smiled at him.

"I was wondering... if you'd like to dance?" she said, nodding in the direction of the nearby dancefloor.

He opened his mouth to reply, still wondering how he could politely say no, when Tali suddenly stood up beside him, taking his hand.

"Actually," Tali said pointedly to the blonde woman, "he had just asked me to dance. Isn't that right, Commander?"

Shepard looked at her, then down at her hand holding his, then at the blonde woman, his mouth still hanging open. He then nodded, quickly.

"Uh, yes," he said, offering an apologetic smile, "that's... right. We were just about to... dance. I'm sorry, miss."

The blonde shot an icy look at Tali, but quickly recovered her composure. "Oh. I see. Well, maybe later, then," she said, giving Shepard a small smile before turning and walking away.

"Aw," said Garrus, somewhat drunkenly, "and I was hoping for a fight." Chambers immediately poked him in the ribs, having clearly forgotten that turians have rigid plating protecting them from that very thing.

Shepard shot him an amused if pained glance, and then noted that Miranda had raised an eyebrow at the fact that Tali still held his hand tightly.

"So how about that dance," he said, clearing his throat again as he stood up, and Tali finally released his hand. They set off towards the dancefloor, feeling the eyes of most of their crewmates on them, and without even thinking about it he placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked.

"Well fuck me," said Jack from over Mordin's shoulder, startling him. "I think our bad-ass Commander is sweet on Princess Bucket-Head."

"Signs positive. Body language, tentative, familiar. Speech, hesitant," Mordin replied in his usual staccato delivery. "And reciprocated by Tali'Zorah. Behavior, jealous, territorial. Interest mutual."

Jack looked at the Salarian with a combination of amusement and contempt.

"You need to cut back on the fucking caffeine, doc," she said.

Mordin blinked twice, and reached for his drink.

Shepard led Tali to an area of the dancefloor which was mostly out of sight of their crewmates, and sighed. "That was a close one; thanks," he said.

"No problem," she replied. "I thought this would be easier than me having to get my shotgun."

He laughed, and stepped slightly closer to her as they began to dance.

More than ten minutes had passed when Shepard leaned down and said "Maybe we should put in another appearance at the table."

Tali nodded, reluctantly. They'd all probably be suspicious enough already. "Let's go," she said, and he once again put his hand on her lower back as they walked.

Several sets of eyes caught sight of them as they returned, but Shepard didn't remove his hand. He was pleasantly drunk, he'd had a hard day, and he was feeling defiant.

Tali saw the others looking at them, and wondered if he would withdraw his hand, but the comforting pressure and warmth at the back of her waist didn't waver. She smiled, already feeling bolder.

"Time for another drink, Shepard?" asked Garrus, getting up from his chair ever so slightly unsteadily, and Shepard nodded before glancing at Tali. She gave a small nod too, indicating she'd also like another, and the two men wandered off to the bar.

Tali sat down, noting that Jack and Mordin had swapped places, so there were now three other women at the table. All of them were looking at her; Kelly with a friendly smile, Jack with a smirk, and Miranda with a carefully neutral expression.

"So, bucket-head," began Jack, her voice reasonably friendly despite her habitual insult, "what's going on with you and Shepard?"

Tali carefully folded her hands together on the table. "What do you mean?" she said, innocently, and Jack snorted.

"Well I'm pretty sure he had his hand on you all the way from here to the dancefloor and all the way back," Jack replied. "And who knows where his hands were while you two were over there."

Miranda and Kelly both shot Jack a distasteful look, but didn't comment. Tali blushed inside her helmet, but the feeling of boldness hadn't gone away.

"You would have to ask him about that," she said simply, and Jack grinned.

"Oh I fucking plan to," the biotic replied.

At the bar, Shepard and Garrus were waiting for their drinks order to be prepared.

"So, you and Kelly," Shepard said, and Garrus nodded at him, somewhat bleary-eyed.

"Yeah," the turian replied. "Any objections?"

"Of course not," Shepard replied, "I'm glad it's going well. Though she must be blind."

Garrus smirked at the familiar jibe, nodding in agreement as he rocked on his feet slightly. His eyes cleared momentarily, as he experienced a flash of drunken clarity.

"I think the others are suspicious about you and Tali, you know," he said, and Shepard shrugged.

"Let them think what they like," he replied.

Garrus pointed at him as if to say Damn right, then picked up two of the glasses which had just arrived. Shepard carefully gathered the rest, and they returned to the table.

As soon as Shepard sat down, Jack got up and walked around behind his chair, putting her hands on his shoulders and leaning down so her head was between his and Tali's.

"So Commander, sir," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Me and the girls here have been wondering if all the ladies on the Normandy are on your dance card, or are you just hot for quarians?"

Tali squirmed beside him, clearly both embarrassed and slightly jealous that Jack's hands were on him, but Shepard just laughed.

"I wouldn't dare dance with you, Jack," he replied. "As a rule I try to avoid situations where stepping on someone's foot could be lethal."

Jack grinned, slapping him lightly on the back of the head. She looked at Tali for a moment then tapped the young woman's visor. "Remember to practise safe sex," she said, then strode off towards the dancefloor by herself.

Tali was mortified, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap, and Shepard could feel waves of embarrassment radiating from her. He looked up and saw that all eyes at the table were on him, and decided to defuse the situation.

Her jerked his thumb in the direction Jack had gone, and said "I pity the guy who tries to cop a feel."

The tension was broken, and everyone at the table laughed loudly. When their various conversations resumed, he leaned slightly towards Tali and spoke in a quiet voice.

"You alright?" he asked, and she looked up at him and nodded slowly.

"Yes," she said, "I just wish she wouldn't be so... direct all the time."

He smiled. "I know what you mean. But she was actually looking out for you, you know. Warning me to behave myself."

Tali was taken-aback. "She... she was?"

Shepard nodded. "In her own way, yeah."

Tali tilted her head to one side, considering it. "Then... she was being... nice?"

Shepard shrugged. "If you could ever call Jack's actions nice, yes."

Tali smiled at that, and he sensed it. Below the table, he reached for her hand and gave it a brief squeeze before picking up his drink.

Shepard was unsure what time it was, but he didn't really care. He was too amused at the scene which surrounded him.

Grunt and Zaeed had long since wandered off, and Samara and Thane had left to return to the Normandy about an hour earlier. Jacob and Kasumi seemed to be getting very friendly at the next table, and the thief's face bore a seemingly permanent blush. Three seats away from them, Mordin sat with his eyes closed, singing to himself and waving one finger in the air.

Garrus was looking earnestly into Chambers' eyes as she recounted a story she obviously found very poignant, and most incredible of all, Jack and Miranda sat nearby, seemingly engaged in a conversation (about biotics, in this case) that wasn't an argument.

Tali sat contentedly, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and the buzz of the alcohol. She was unaware that Shepard was even looking at her until she felt his arm settle across her shoulders.

She looked around at him immediately, tensing slightly.

"John," she whispered, "everyone can see us!"

"Nobody's looking right now," he said. "But if you'd rather I didn't..."

"No, it's not that," she said, quickly glancing around the table to ensure everyone was still oblivious, "You know it's not that. I just... I didn't know when you wanted..."

He turned towards her, keeping his arm around her shoulders. "It's not just about me," he said, looking at her earnestly. "There are two people in this relationship. What do you want, Tali?"

Her eyes searched his face, and she saw the truth of what he was saying. It wasn't just the lateness of the hour, or the drinks, or the difficulty of his day. Those things were catalysts, yes, but not the reason.

"I... want everyone to know that I am yours, of course," she said, in a small voice. "But only if you want that too."

He smiled at her. "What I want is to be able to put my arm around my girlfriend when I'm out in public."

Girlfriend, she thought, feeling a warm glow fill her chest. It sounded wonderful. It sounded so... what was the correct word? Official, she thought, with a jolt of happy excitement.

"And how could I deny my boyfriend such a simple thing?" she replied, seeing a wide smile spring onto his face.

She leaned in towards him and rested her head on his shoulder.