A/N: Smut alert.
CAPTAIN'S CABIN, NORMANDY SR2, SEPTEMBER 2
They were fourteen hours out from Cerberus HQ when Tali activated the cabin's recently installed decon protocols, placing the items she had procured on the floor. Her father had raised her with a healthy belief in the tenets of the Ancestral Scrolls, and although she had come to regard them in a more metaphorical light than most devout believers there were still several rituals and traditions she observed, one of which was the Warrior's Cleansing. There had been a time on ancient, lost Rannoch where a warrior would perform this ritual every morning and evening but in the Flotilla the lack of availability of clean rooms had meant that the ritual was only performed once, on one's induction into the Marines. On the Normandy Natasha had set up advanced decontamination protocols in several rooms, allowing the Quarians on the crew to perform maintenance on their envirosuits, eat solid food or just take off their helmets once in a while. Tali was taking full advantage of that now.
She set out the things she needed - a large, shallow dish of sterilised water, a single real-flame candle and a sharp, square blade - then removed her mask with a hiss of escaping gas, revealing the cabin without the purple tint of her visor and the barely visible lines of her HUD display, pausing for a moment to rejoice in the feeling of air across her exposed skin. Her helmet was next, then her cloth overwraps, folded neatly and put to one side as she tied her hair in a loose bun. She slowly unsealed her suit, peeling the skintight fabric away from her body until she stood naked in the centre of the cabin. She took a moment to run her hands over her body, the sensation of skin on skin alien and fascinating to her before she continued with the ritual. The last things she needed to remove were two small metal disks from her skin - her Omnitool on the back of her left wrist and her translator nestled on the back of her neck where her spine met her skull, deactivating them both and placing them on the counter where she wouldn't lose them. Then she took the ritual fabric, plain white woven with lilac ancestral prayers in Keelish characters, and wrapped it around her body, starting between her thighs then up over one breast, down her back to dip to the floor then back up, over the other shoulder and breast with the end just brushing the floor with its twin. Finally she took two lilac loops of string, used them to cinch the two strips of cloth together in front and behind her body at hip height, the end result looking something like an elegant cloth tabard. Having completed her preparations she turned around.
She was very surprised to see a second bowl, flame and knife on the floor opposite hers, with an identically clad Natasha Shepard kneeling before them. It was only then that Tali appreciated how painfully sexy the cloth covering (although it barely qualified as such) was. She wanted nothing more than to exclaim in surprise and ask her crazy human exactly what she thought she was doing but her father had drilled it into her that once she began a ritual she could not deviate in any way from it unless her life was in danger.
Kneeling, she started speaking the ritualistic prayer, momentarily surprised that Natasha joined in in perfect Keelish. Then again, her lover never did anything without ensuring she was as prepared as possible for every eventuality.
She completed the first mantra and placed her hands on the metal floor, rolling her upper body in a long slow circle from left to right, her forehead just lightly brushing the floor at the motion's apex. She started the second mantra, her voice and motions perfectly in sync with Natasha as she let her eyes rove over her scantily clad lover. Her breathing started to grow heavier as they completed the second mantra and rolled their bodies again, a quick peek upwards granting her an amazing view before she forced her eyes down again, focusing on the ritual.
After the third and fourth mantras came the part Tali had been dreading and longing for in equal measure - the cleansing itself. She had to bite her lip to stifle a moan as Natasha, looking directly at her with heavy, lidded eyes, very slowly and deliberately slid the cloth straps off her shoulders and allowed them to fall to the floor, the ritual momentarily banished from Tali's mind as her eyes locked onto her lover's perfect body. She had only ever seen Natasha naked once before in her life and she was just as exquisite as Tali remembered. Truly she had the body of a goddess.
Tali hesitantly bared her own torso, her anxiousness quickly banished by the hot, passionate gaze Natasha directed to her breasts as both women placed their hands palms up in the dishes of water, the cold liquid clinging to their fingers as they moved them upwards and slowly rubbed wet hands all over their torsos and arms, transferring the moisture to their skin, occasionally dipping their hands back into the water to replenish their supplies. As she watched Natasha slowly rubbing her left breast Tali felt a trickle of moisture down the inside of her thigh that had nothing to do with the water she was applying to her body. Every time her slick hands skated near her opening she had to fight down the lustful urge to slip a finger inside, valiantly attempting to focus on the ritual. At one point Natasha's lips quirked into a slight smile, Tali with a jolt realising she had been purring as she rubbed the inside of her thigh.
After almost fifteen minutes of unbearable arousal, it was time for the second phase of the cleansing ritual. She picked up the blade and waved it through the candle flame until it was warm, then started to gently glide it over her skin, tilted back to ensure it wouldn't pierce her epidermis as it scraped away layers of dead skin and dried sweat loosened by the slow rubbing of wet hands and the sheen of moisture on her skin. She couldn't hold back a yelp as the blade passed over her engorged nipples, nor a purr as she glided the warm metal between her legs. Finally after what seemed like forever but was in reality only twenty minutes or so they spoke the last mantra together, slipping the cloth strips back over their shoulders and slowly rolling their bodies one last time.
Less than a second after they had snuffed out their candles, completing the ritual, Tali was moving backwards towards the bed at great speed as she wrapped all four limbs around her human lover. Then she was on her back, Natasha over her, drinking in every detail of her lithe form as she writhed and ground her hips.
"I don't know how I was able to finish that. You're every bit as beautiful as I remember."
Any further words were silenced with a gasp of equal parts surprise and pleasure as an unbelievably horny Quarian girl slid a finger into her lover's slick passage, slowly pumping it in and out. They rolled so Natasha was on her back, Tali above her as she deftly untied the string binding the front of her robe together, separating the two strips to access the nectar hidden beneath, first with finger then with tongue. Natasha moaned and writhed, stroking her lover's onyx hair as she was pleasured, legs weakly shifting as her entire lower half was turned to jelly by her little Quarian. She hooked her legs over Tali's back as the pleasure built to an unbearable peak, a crushing pressure in her core as it clenched on the invading digit, her orgasm breaking over her in a wave of transcendant bliss.
When she opened her eyes again she immediately grabbed Tali, bringing her lover up to straddle her lap as she propped herself up against the bed's headboard. It was her turn to provide the love, Tali bracing herself against the wall with both hands as two Human fingers invaded her Quarian body, the other hand reaching around to caress her buttocks as a mouth latched itself over her nipple, gently grazing the engorged nib with her teeth as Tali threw her head back and screamed her pleasure to the ceiling, bouncing on her thighs and impaling herself on her lover's fingers with a feverish rhythm, her gasps and grunts building as Natasha rubbed her thumb over Tali's clitoris. Tali had tears of joy streaming down her face, matched only by the rivulets of her juices coating Natasha's hand.
"Tali ... I love you."
Tali paused in her frantic movements, the usually shy and retiring girl speaking in sultry tones that magnified the heat flooding through Natasha's core.
"I love you, Natasha. Now shut up and fuck me."
And she did.
CAPTAIN'S CABIN, NORMANDY SR2, SEPTEMBER 3
Tali had only ever been in the position she was in currently once before, about an hour before the Normandy got to Ilos. Natasha hadn't been in it many more times than that, not since she escaped Earth's slums. She had to admit, she really liked it.
Both girls were wearing nothing but button-down shirts with the fronts open, sipping at glasses of wine - a 52 Thessian red for Natasha and a very nice 47 Macedyn blue for Tali as each of them basked in the afterglow of their amorous activities. At some point they had passed midnight and were into the small hours of September 3, lustful energies spent. The intricately woven strips of cloth they had worn for the cleansing ritual were wound around their legs, the feeling of their thighs lightly rubbing together providing a sense of contented intimacy as they sipped their wine. Natasha tilted her head and blew lightly on the side of Tali's face, making her reflexively flick one long, pointed elf-like earlobe like an animal trying to dislodge a fly. Her arm was around Tali's waist, beneath her shirt, the warm smooth skin an object of fascination as she rubbed with her thumb over the curve of her lover's hip. Quarian skin was in feel very similar to seal skin yet seemed slightly more mobile on their bodies than what she was used to, allowing her to feel the shape of Tali's wide pelvis.
Tali purred contentedly and leaned her head against Natasha's shoulder.
"I missed you."
Natasha hesitated briefly before speaking.
"What was it like these past two years?"
"The galaxy was a lot emptier without you."
Subconsciously Tali hugged her a little tighter.
"The Council decided they'd rather bury their heads in the air filters than do something about the Reapers. They spent the last two years systematically slandering your name, telling everyone you were insane."
She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a little giggle.
"Wrex of all people stood up at your funeral and gave a speech that started a riot. The Council tried to downplay your ... funeral ..."
Natasha gently rubbed up and down Tali's spine, reminding her lover that she was still there.
"Sorry. They tried to downplay the ceremony but Wrex posted the address on the extranet. By the time the ceremony started there was a crowd thirty thousand strong outside the burial ground on the Presidium. Then the Council made their speeches, those bosh'tets were already trying to undermine you, and them Wrex just stood up, pushed the Alliance spokesman aside and started talking. Keelah, it was amazing! He called out the Council on their elitist bosh, talked about how you were a champion for all species, not just the ones that stood on the top of the pile. Then he warned everyone about the Reapers and said he was going back to Tuchanka to unite the Krogan. People still quite his speech on the news vids."
She deepened her voice in an approximation of Wrex's grating Krogan drawl.
"For too long my people have been selling themselves out as mercenaries. It's time us Krogan got back to what we do best - saving everyone else from giant monsters."
Both girls chuckled at that.
"Sounds like Wrex alright."
Tali leaned over and placed her now empty wine glass on the bedside table, Natasha quickly following suit as she slid down into a horizontal position. Tali rolled onto her side to face Natasha, offering her a brief kiss on the lips as the Human biotically tugged the sheets over their intertwined bodies.
"Goodnight Natasha."
"Goodnight Tali."