Silence, the Normandy was in total silence as it flew away from Virmire. Shepard and his squad along with Kirrahe and his survivors were all in the cargo bay of the ship. It had been a few minutes since they took off, they had felt the detonation just as they were leaving the atmosphere of Virmire.
Feral was slumped down next a crate, his head in one of his hands and the recon hood hanging limply in his grip. The rest of Shepard's team wasn't fairing any better, no one knew what to do or what to say. They just sat in silence, mourning in their own way. Until finally Kaidan spoke up his voice a mixture of sadness and anger.
"What the hell happened down there?" his question was directed towards Feral, who just let his arms rest on his knees and pushed his head back against the metal box.
"I couldn't reach her…." He sighed, shaking his head as he pushed a hand into his eye. "I tried but I couldn't get to her"
Kaidan suddenly lunged forward and picked the man up by the sides of his armour "What do you mean you couldn't reach her? Shepard told me that you sure you could do it!" he shouted at Feral, who just proceeded to look down at the floor.
Feral closed his eyes and just breathed deeply "I tried Kaidan…..there was nothing I could do without getting myself killed as well" he was trying to justify leaving her, in any way he could.
Suddenly Feral felt a fist hit the side of his cheek, it sent him reeling back into the crate and knocked it over. "So you just gave up? Is that is?" Kaidan was shouting louder and louder, he'd been so relieved to hear Feral was going after Ashley. Knowing that not even Feral had could have made a difference….they should've gone after her. He should've stopped them and sent them off to Ash.
Shepard and Garrus grabbed the man and pulled him back away from Feral who just lay on the ground next to the crate, wiping his lip clean with the side of his hand. He didn't even bother getting up until Tali came over and gently pulled him onto his feet. His eyes had always been able to clearly voice his emotions for him, and seeing his eyes this time was heart breaking. She'd seen them before when he told her all about the failed mission that cost his team mates their lives.
Failure. Feral had tried so hard and he still couldn't save Ashley. His eyes were downcast and his face was blank. Shepard and Garrus had dragged Kaidan off to help him calm down. The cargo bay was once again returned to silence as the two men were separated. Shepard sighed, he really didn't want to ask this next question but he had to know.
"Feral…what actually happened?" he asked quietly
Feral just looked up at the Commander, Tali was still at his side with a single hand on his shoulder. He sighed and looked down, gritting his teeth as the right words just couldn't come to mind. He remembered it all in perfect detail, why couldn't he just say it? His final words to Ashley were ringing through his head
'I'm so sorry' he could do so much, but he couldn't save Ashley's life. He was about to speak until a voice started before him.
"I believe I can answer for him Commander" Kirrahe had stepped forward; the rest of his team was huddled into one corner. So few of them had survived, Shepard just nodded and Feral looked down again, he wished he didn't have to hear this all again.
Kirrahe told Shepard exactly what had happened. Ashley had been with a small group of his STG members taking down the AA gun. The moment they had they came under fire from the Geth, at first it had been manageable, but the reinforcements just kept on coming. It made sense; Saren himself had told Shepard the Geth believed the Salarians were the real threat. Eventually Ashley's team had all been killed except her, and she was pinned behind small amounts of cover.
They had been trying to reach her, over and over the main team would open fire with everything they had and try to manoeuvre towards Ashley so she could make a break for the door they were near. But there were just too many Geth, several STG members had been killed in the rescue attempts. That was when Feral had shown up, even with the super soldier's abilities. The Geth's rate and weight of fire was just too great, he'd barely been able to poke his out before his shields went down.
Kirrahe then told Shepard how it'd been him who had called for the retreat, not Feral. Feral was the last one to the Normandy simply because he had been the last one to abandon the position. The salarians had expected to be cut down in the midst of the retreat, whatever Feral had done between leaving Ashley and running for the Normandy. It had saved all of their lives.
That was when Tali noticed Feral's eyes light up slightly, only barely though. He must not have considered that, it didn't help take away the knowledge that he couldn't save Ashley but knowing he had probably saved the lives of almost 15 STG operatives.
Shepard looked towards Feral "What did you do after the Salarians had retreated?" he watched Feral take a deep breath before he replied.
"I spoke to Ashley briefly over the short wave…..then I retreated as well. I….hacked the door and put an encryption on it. Personalised lock, the Geth would've taken ages to get through it and with Ashley giving them trouble…..it gave me time to get back" he slowly said, keeping his last words to Ashley to himself.
Shepard decided to leave it at that, whatever was left, Feral had to deal with it first. Maybe then he could find out more. "Ok listen up everyone, take some time. Get your equipment off and do whatever you need to do. I know it's a bad time but we need to debrief. We'll reconvene in the comm room in 30 minutes" Shepard just ordered, now was not the time to mourn. They could mourn when Saren and Sovereign were dead.
The squad slowly moved removing whatever equipment they had one and stuffing it into their lockers. For Tali that was pretty simple, just putting her weapons away was nowhere near as much as anyone else. Kaidan had entered the elevator with Shepard, both of their lockers were on the upper deck. She sighed as she glanced over at Ashley's locker, what were they going to do with all of her belongings? The Alliance would probably take care of that for them though.
She was about to turn to leave, the Normandy's wash facilities weren't meant for Quarians but she'd managed to fit a small sterilisation beam into the door function. She wouldn't take her suit off but it helped stay clean underneath it, she mainly just took her helmet off to wash her hair and let water run down into the suit. The suit could take care of the excess water and dry her off as well. But before she managed to do anything she saw Feral, still sitting on the crate she'd left him at. He was struggling with his armour, clearly his mind was elsewhere.
She stepped over to him and put a hand on his as he tried to undo the straps that held the pieces in place. Feral just looked up at her as she took his hand and moved it out of the way, watching the woman as she started to help him take off the layers of his armour.
"Thank you Tali….." Feral quietly said as he watched her hands at work. Tali didn't blush or smile this time, she really was just helping her friend get through this. The significance of the act wasn't lost on either of them. Even if they were only friends, even if that's all they were ever capable of being. They cared deeply for one another. They just stood together in silence as Tali took off the pieces of armour Feral couldn't manage.
- Normandy's Communication room –
The team was sitting circular room, Ash's empty seat wasn't lost on any of them. The missing presence of the strong woman was blaringly obvious. Everyone except Kaidan and Shepard were in the communications room, they were just sitting in their seats with their eyes on the ground.
Wrex finally spoke up "She died a warrior's death. She went taking that entire base with her. You should all be proud of her, not moping because she's gone." In typical Krogan fashion he was incredibly blunt, but he was still right. Again the Krogan was showing off his stoic wisdom, even if it was a little insensitive.
Tali was about to shout at Wrex for being so harsh about it but Feral spoke up before she could. "We are proud of her Wrex, but that doesn't mean we're not going to miss her. She was a damn good soldier but she was our friend first" he just spoke as he looked down. "Don't worry about us Wrex, we're all itching to get our hands on that bastard" he growled out loudly
Wrex just smiled and chuckled softly, Feral had looked up at the end of that statement and the fire in his eyes was back. Not fury, but determined. Saren was going down and everyone in the room was sharing the same sentiment. Even Liara was looking ready for the final fight, the once naïve and timid woman was getting more and more used to the combat. Losing a friend was the last straw and she was up for it more than ever.
Finally Shepard and Kaidan stepped into the room, everyone had gone from slouching to sitting upright. Shepard had to wonder what had given them this sudden determination but he could guess, it was the same thing that had gotten him back in the fight. Saren and Sovereign dead.
Shepard stepped forward and turned around in his usual spot, but he waited for Kaidan to sit down. The biotic had gone up to Feral and was offering his hand.
"I'm sorry for punching you earlier I was just…" Feral cut him off by taking his hand and shaking it firmly.
"We're good Kaidan, I understand why you did it….besides I bet it hurt you more than it hurt me" Feral smiled playfully as Kaidan went over to sit down.
"Yeah well…not all of us have metal jaws Feral" the biotic managed to smile, Ash may have been gone, but they were damn well sure her sacrifice wasn't going to be in vain.
Shepard smiled at the new found determination in the rest of his squad, they were all ready for the fight. With Liara's help maybe they could discover where Saren was ultimately heading to.
"I know we're all dealing with Ash's death in our own ways, but right now all that matters is stopping Saren." Everyone just nodded firmly in agreement "By now I've sure you've all heard about what transpired in Saren's base, what we discovered. The Prothean beacon and Sovereigns true identity. Liara I was hoping you could help me piece together the final piece of the vision." Shepard looked over at her, and the Asari smiled happily as she stood up
"Of course Shepard, I'd gladly help you" she said as she walked into the middle of the room. Feral just watched in slight surprise at what happened next. Clearly he'd missed all the other times this had happened because no one else looked shocked at the process of joining minds. He smiled inwardly at the fact he'd called this process "mind fucking" back on Virmire, the fact that he was well aware of Shepard and Liara's relationship made the situation just that more amusing to him. He just managed to stop himself from grinning when they pulled away from the event panting slightly by biting down on the inside of his cheek.
'No no no this is a serious thing, I can't think of it like that…Shepard you dog' he sat back and looked over to his side briefly. Tali must have seen him looking a little weird in his attempt not to laugh, one of her eyebrows was raised. Feral instantly straightened up and stopped what he was doing before looking forward when Liara finally spoke.
"Oh wow….all that information. Those images….Ilos. It's Ilos Shepard" she was looking wide eyed at the commander "Whatever the conduit is, it's on Ilos"
"Are you sure Liara?" Shepard asked slowly, everyone had sat forward now. If she was certain then that was their next destination.
"Yes I'd recognise it anywhere, Ilos was an important Prothean find and…." She stumbled slightly "Sorry Shepard…I guess that still takes a lot out of me"
Shepard just pulled her back so she was steady, before giving her the all clear to go to the med bay to rest up. He was just about to radio joker when the pilot's voice came through the intercom.
"Commander I've just received word from the Council, they have received the mission report and they want you back at the Citadel now" he sounded a little confused and he was joined by the rest of the team. Why did the council want to see them? And why now? They'd just found out where Saren was going and now they had to go in the other direction entirely.
Everyone returned to their posts for the journey back to the citadel, no one was entirely sure why the council wanted to see them and what they were going to say. They'd been half in favour of Shepard's actions and half against them. Feral doubted it was going to be anything good, during his talks with Shepard they'd talked about how the council seemed incredibly unwilling to help in the long term.
Feral stepped into the Normandy's engine room, a few of the crew where in there and so was Tali. He sighed, despite the few things that had happened between them on Virmire she was still more or less avoiding him. They'd barely said more than two sentences to each other since that night in the med bay. He stood in the door way for a brief second, tapping on his omni-tool. Just a little something in case she tried to run off again, they had time now and they were going to talk.
Feral stepped down towards the two engineers, luckily for him they were both close to the doors.
"Hey you two, we've got a few hours until we get to the citadel. Go get some rest, Tali and I can handle things in here until then. You must have had your work cut out for you on Virmire" He said quietly to the two, who just thanked him and quickly walked out. Feral just rolled his eyes as he smiled, give them the chance for a break and they'd jump through a ring of fire.
Slowly he walked over to Tali, she was turned away from him and she didn't even realise he was there until he spoke up.
"Hey Tali, got time to talk?" Feral just said loudly enough to grab her attention. He was worried by her reaction, she'd jumped around and looked shocked by the sudden words. There was a time she'd practically start bouncing when she heard him coming.
"Oh err….hey Feral" Tali was stammering her words out, instantly rubbing her hands as the nerves hit her "Sure…I guess…..wait where did everyone else go?" she looked at Feral, cocking her head slightly to the side.
"I gave them time off, until we hit the Citadel it's just you and me in here" Feral smirked playfully 'Gotcha now'
Tali looked down at the floor, her eyes darting from side to side before finally she started stepping towards the doors "Well in that case I should get…this…..report to…Adams! Yes I have to report to Adams" Feral just rolled his eyes at that and pulled open his omni-tool, tapping a few buttons and started to follow the Quarian quietly enough so she didn't hear him.
Tali was panicking as she stepped up to the doors but she had managed to get out of speaking to Feral, she would always have a plan in her head but then the moment she heard his voice or saw him coming. The plan just went completely wrong and the only thing that came to mind was run. She was so confused, Feral had been so kind to her this whole time. He'd complemented her and called her things she'd never been called before. But she was Quarian, she couldn't admit her feelings to him, it just wouldn't work.
She walked up to the door and tapped the holographic switch….nothing happened. She tapped it again and still nothing happened, she started hitting it more rapidly before she just sighed. 'Great last thing I need is a malfunction' she pulled up her omni-tool and started scanning the mechanism. She'd have this fixed in no time, but she froze when she saw a line of code she recognised.
Feral's line of code, it was the same encryption that had kept her busy outside the Cerberus base he'd been found in. She quickly snapped around only to find him standing at the bottom of the walkway, looking up at her.
"Yeaah….so I thought you might run and…" he started walking towards her "just a little precaution to give us all this time together" his smirk turned into a frown, he put a hand over her shoulder and onto the door. Trapping her between him and the door, leaving her nowhere to go.
"Tali….what's going on? You've been pretty much avoiding me since the night in the med bay" he sighed sadly "What did I do?"
Tali's jaw dropped at that, he thought he was to blame? Her head dropped as she snapped her eyes shut, she couldn't believe it. In trying to not be selfish and push herself on Feral she'd done exactly the opposite. She'd pushed herself away from him and now he was worrying he'd done something to her?
"Feral no…no you didn't do anything wrong….oh Keelah" she managed to squeak out, he was so close to her again and his burning eyes were staring straight into hers. "It's just I…I um….." stumbling over her words more and more as she held her hands into her chest.
"What?...what could it possibly be Tali? After everything I said to you that night, what could make you distance yourself from me?" Feral was trying to make sense of it, he didn't blame the woman but he just wanted to know why. He wanted to be able to make this better so his friend would talk to him again.
Tali's face blushed as she remembered what she said and why she had said it. "….It wasn't what you said….more….." she started fidgeting more and more "It's hot in here right? Keelah it's so hot all of a sudden"
"Tali. More?...Feral grabbed her attention again and put her mind back on track.
"More….what I said…to you…." Tali looked down in defeat, she'd finally said it. She'd been cryptic but there's no way Feral wouldn't get it.
Feral just blinked for a second before his eyes opened wide "Oh…oh you mean when….." a red tint appeared on his cheeks as he stared at the woman in surprise
"Feral I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I didn't mean too really I didn't it just slipped out you'd said such a nice thing to me and then I just forgot myself and now I'm talking too much I do that when I'm nervous and….." she finally stopped to breath when Feral grabbed her shoulders and stared into her eyes.
Her heart sank when his head just dropped and she was about to talk more when she noticed his shoulders shaking. "Feral I'm so sorry please don't be upset with me…" she felt like she was about to start crying too when she realised…..he was laughing.
Feral's head came back up and he had a big smile on his face and he was laughing. Tali didn't know what to think, of all the reactions she'd imagined he'd have…this wasn't one of them.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry" Feral bit his lip and took deep breaths in and out through his nose. Looking straight into her eyes "Tali you accidentally let slip that you'd been checking me out and….you thought I'd be mad? You are just…just so adorable" he smiled gently at the Quarian.
That was the moment when Tali's face exploded, the blush she had gotten so many times in the past erupted onto her face at Feral's words. "But…but I…What?" she practically shrieked the last one "I was taking advantage of you when you were injured! You're shirt had been cut off because you'd been blown up saving my life! Why aren't you mad-"
"Tali stop" Feral tried to stop her from rambling on
Tali either hadn't heard him or she just ignored him " -with me? Not only did I take advantage of you but I said something that I shouldn't have. You were still recovering and oh Keelah please don't be mad with me. I'm so sorry that I thought we could be anything more than friends I just couldn't help myself" in her rambling she failed to notice the smile on Feral's face.
Suddenly she squeaked as one of Feral's arms coiled around her side and tugged her into his body, his other hand cupping her helmet gently. "Feral what are you…" she stopped talking as Feral leant forward and placed his lips gently onto her mouth piece. It wasn't really a kiss but Feral knew exactly where her lips were and he'd kissed in the exact spot. Once again in their relationship, the significance of the action was enormous.
Tali froze in Feral's arms, watching his face as he gently 'kissed' her. Her arms were trapped up against his chest and she turned them towards his body, placing them gently on top of his shirt. It didn't last for long but for Tali it could've lasted forever. She watched his eyes slowly open and she just gulped at the image, his emotions being perfectly amplified by the deep red orbs.
Tali just stood in his embrace, leaning into his arms and chest as he squeezed her to him. She just watched him lean back, wishing that it had been real. Wishing that her damn visor could come off. "Maybe you weren't the only one who thought that Tali" his words were soft and precise, and her heart just soared as he spoke them.
She squeezed her hands gently against his shirt, just holding onto him as tightly as she could. "B-but…why? I'm just a quarian and you could have so much more" she jumped slightly as Feral growled
"What have I told you from the first day we met? To me you are not just some Quarian" Feral growled softly before his face turned back into a small smile, pushing his forehead into the visor and looking into her eyes "You've only ever been Tali to me and what more could I possibly want? You're the best friend I've ever had, you make me smile and…Tali you make everything that happened to me…all the torture all the pain and agony and….just everything I went through." He sighed, stroking the side of her helmet gently and squeezing his hand into her side.
"Tali if I had to choose between that never happening and meeting you. I'd choose meeting you every single time…..even with everything that brings because….you are worth it" Feral just held her as tightly as he could. Shepard, Garrus and Kaidan, they had all helped him cope. Hell even Wrex had helped him cope, but Tali. She'd made those 4 hellish years seem worthwhile.
Tali was speechless, everything he'd just said. The realisation that he was reciprocating her feelings. It was getting too much to handle. Her vision was locked onto Feral's eyes and the look he was giving her was one she'd never seen, it was so gentle and caring. "Do you really mean all that?" she slowly said, biting her lip gently as a tear ran down her cheek.
Again Feral just smiled, leaning forward and kissing her visor gently. Leaving a very small visible print on the screen before the automated systems cleaned the screen. Once again gazing straight into her eyes as he uttered a single word that made Tali cling onto him as tightly as she could.
"Yes" Feral hadn't even finished saying the word when Tali's arms launched around his neck and tugged herself into him as tightly as she could. Feral just smiled and responded by wrapping both of his arms around her as tightly as she could handle. The two standing in the blue shimmering light before Feral finally spoke again.
"Listen we still have a long time until we reach the Citadel, why don't I grab our cots and we can sit down? If you want we can just cuddle more or we can talk…or both….." Feral smiled gently as he leaned back to look down at Tali
"Bosh'tet, we were having a moment" She wiggled in his arms teasingly
Feral feigned hurt "Oh I'm sorry for spoiling the moment by offering to have another moment with you" he just stuck his tongue out and the small woman giggled softly "No, spoiling the moment would've been if I'd taken off your visor and you got sick or if I suddenly grabbed your butt" he raised his eyebrows before laughing again when Tali playfully smacking his shoulders.
"Keelah Feral!...wait….so this whole time you've been…what's the human phrase?"
"Checking you out?" Feral offered as he grinned playfully
"Yes thank you" Tali smiled back before coughing and acting like she had been again "So this whole time you've been 'checking me out' too?" she purred that last bit out, Tali was trying to be mad but she found herself liking the thought of him looking at her like she had looked at him
"Mhm" Feral just nodded, a slight purr in his voice as well "Why? Do you really mind?" he leant in again and nuzzled his cheek into the side of her helmet.
"Not even slightly" again the purr rolled the words off her tongue "But!" she pushed her arms out so Feral had to step back "You can get the cots and I'll wait here for you. I'd hate for you to check me out again when I walk ahead of you"
Feral just blinked at the sound of her voice "Ok….I'll go get them but before I do. That….that sounded so sexy" he just walked towards the door, using his omni-tool to override the encryption and stepped out into the hallway. Completely unaware that Tali had been using the time to stare at him happily. She sighed as the door shut, it'd only be a brief moment but she had this to herself.
"Yes! Yes Yes Yes!" she practically squealed as she hopped on the spot before standing still again as Feral stepped back into the room with the two cots, encrypting the door again. For the first time in two days, Tali was looking forward to talking to Feral again.
She did nothing but watch him walk back down with a huge smile on her face until he folded both cots out into the middle of the room. They could only have one person on each but they were placed next to each other, so they'd be able to lie close together. They both laid down on their respective cots, looking over at each other before they pushed their foreheads together and smiled, their fingers intertwining as they lay together.
"So…what does this make us?" Tali finally asked "Are we…..together?" she had no idea on the protocol on these types of things.
Feral looked up to the ceiling before looking back at her "I guess so" he grinned happily at the woman, squeezing her hand gently in his. "To be honest I've never done this before either…..but yeah…..I'd like that a lot"
The two just smiled back at each other, twirling their fingers around each other's gently. Tali couldn't believe the outcome of their talk, she'd imagined Feral just accepting her apology and then the two could be friends again. That was her best case scenario and she'd never even imagined this, all those ideas of her being selfish were being thrown away. She was happy and if anyone didn't like that she'd have to introduce them to her shotgun. She was happy and more importantly Feral was happy, nothing else mattered to her.
Eventually she was shook out of her thoughts by Feral "So…..how does this work? With the environmental suit and all?...don't get me wrong I'm not having second thoughts I'm just curious"
Tali sighed gently in her helmet, it was a fair question. If they were going to have a relationship it was a question that needed discussing. "Well…as you know we wear these because our immune systems aren't strong enough. Obviously that doesn't stop Quarians from…..reproducing" she blushed at that word as the thought entered her mind before she shook it out again "or erm….any other physical contact of course" she coughed slightly at that trying to hide her embarrassment
"Of course" Feral just grinned back playfully "I remember you mentioning that Quarians take time to adapt to foreign particles though, for an environment that makes sense but…..how does that happen between people?" he was still squeezing her hand, Feral could tell that she was getting flushed by this line of questioning. "Before you answer though…reproducing wasn't exactly why I was asking….right now I'd just like to focus on being able to actually kiss you Tali."
Tali blushed even more at that "No no of course! I didn't mean that I wanted…I mean….I was just telling you how Quarians handle it because obviously…yes I'd like that" she stopped herself from going on too much. Feral had just raised an eyebrow and waited for her to regain control over her speech. She was blushing because of the thought of her and Feral…..and then from the thought of him taking her visor off and finally being able to feel his lips against hers.
"Keelah I'd love that Feral. I'm sorry if you thought I was….well trying to get you" she slowly spoke, trying to control her smile and blush
"Get me what?...into bed with you?" he smirked playfully "Have you not noticed where we are already?" he looked down at the cots
Tali just glared at him as the blush on her face grew more "Bosh'tet you know what I meant" she grumbled as she looked away from him, begging him not to make her say it
Feral just laughed and pulled her hand up with his before he kissed her fingers gently "I'm sorry I was only teasing but really. How do we…get you adapted to..well…me? and how sick will you get?" Feral didn't know huge amounts of Quarian physiology but he knew enough to know that. Foreign contaminants would make her sick, no matter what they came from.
Tali just fidgeted slightly, she knew how it all worked. They'd been taught all about their immune systems and how Quarians overcame that. "Well…because Quarians are always in their suits usually what happens is they link their suit environments…..as for how sick we get? At first it can be pretty bad but as we adapt….eventually we don't. We can take antibiotics to lessen the sickness" she just shrugged as they both lay back on the cots.
Feral just sat in thought gently "So….at the moment we can't do a lot but…after this is done…..I suppose we could start working on that then" he smiled gently before looking back over at Tali, she was just staring up at the ceiling "….Tali? is everything ok?"
"You really believe we'll survive this?...and even if we do….I need to go back to the migrant fleet I can't just abandon them" she sighed and just kept looking up at the ceiling. "How are we going to do any of that?"
Feral rolled onto his side and turned her head towards him, he forced her to look into his eyes as he softly spoke "I don't know Tali, but like you said…I only just got you too. I'll think of something don't you worry. Just trust me" he smiled again and Tali couldn't help but smile back gently
Tali gently cupped Feral's cheek, stroking her thumb gently along his skin "I do trust you, how could I not when you have eyes like that?" her words purring out happily
"Wait…..my eyes?" he looked confused, he'd heard many things about his eyes but most people were scared of the deep red colour "What about my eyes?"
"Your eyes seem to change according to how you feel, I've seen them look so angry and full of fury" Feral's face dropped slightly but Tali kept her hand on his cheek as she carried on speaking "but I've also seen them filled with kindness and sadness. I've always thought your eyes were attractive Feral" Tali smiled happily when his lips curled back up into a smile, one of his enlarged canines showing slightly before Tali realised she'd never asked.
"Feral….what colour were your eyes before you were kidnapped?" she couldn't imagine the man without the deep red eyes, but she also knew they weren't natural.
Feral chuckled slightly "You really want to know?" he laughed when Tali just nodded happily "Why don't I show you then? have you still got my dog tags?" He sat up and edged to the bottom of the cot, sitting over the end of it as Tali moved down with him, rummaging through her pockets before she pulled out the pieces of metal.
"What do your dog tags have to do with this?" she just watched as he took the metal and ran his fingers along the back of both of them.
"Ahhh good, it is still here" Feral smiled at the pieces of metal "Can I borrow your knife please?" he held out his hand and Tali slowly reached down to her boot, pulling out the sharp blade before handing it to him. "Thank you very much" he pushed the bottom of the knife into the base of one of the dog tags and a little piece of metal was pushed up.
Feral then handed Tali's knife back as she watched him slowly pick off a small rectangular piece of metal, one side was the same colour as the dog tags and the other revealed its true nature. It was a small chip. "It's a small trick some Alliance soldiers use, we put a chip on the back of our tags so if we ever get killed…..more than just metal gets sent home. Something for our families to remember us by" he smiled slightly as he pushed the chip into his omni-tool, tapping at the glowing computer until a small holographic screen came up.
Tali sat forward as Feral held his arm out, she gasped slightly when an image came into view. It was a group of Alliance soldiers, men and woman all dressed in their combat gear. They were in a field somewhere and they were all posed for the camera. "This was my old platoon, before I was drafted into special ops….before I was made an operations chief. That's not why I'm really showing you though because if you look just….there" he pointed at the image and then zoomed in on the figure in question.
Tali watched as the image got bigger, it was Feral or perhaps it'd be correct to say that was Alex. Before he'd been kidnapped, she noted that he really didn't look all that different. Obviously he was older, his hair was slightly longer and he was much more muscular….but the big difference was his eyes. Instead of the deep, red eyes she'd grown to love she found ocean blue eyes in their place. There was a darker ring around the blue orbs and the irises were round instead of slits but they were still his eyes.
"Keelah…..what is it with you and having gorgeous eyes?" she was staring back and forth between the two. Alex and Feral, they were so different and yet exactly the same. In the picture he had his big smile on his face, that same infectious smile that shined through in the worst of situations.
"Yh well look who's talking" Feral stuck his tongue out her playfully "Your eyes practically shine through that visor like stars Tali"
Tali just looked down and rubbed her fingers together "My eyes aren't all that special, they're pretty typical amongst Quarians actually" she kept looking down at her hands until she saw Feral's fingers get in the way of her nervous twiddling.
"Tali your eyes are beautiful, don't ever think differently. If you haven't noticed whenever we used to talk I would always be looking at your eyes" Feral smiled as she slowly started to look up again "Not because that's the 'polite thing to do' though…..they are just so…..pretty" his words tapered off as her eyes looked back into his again
He just stared happily back into her glowing orbs before shaking his head "…..what was I saying? I'm sorry something magical just looked at me and I can't remember what I was doing"
Tali couldn't help but giggle, even when he was being sweet Feral just couldn't resist the temptation to make her laugh. She wiggled at the end of the cot as she looked over to him, leaning forward and pushing her visor into his forehead. Nuzzling the screen against his skin gently "Thank you Feral. Thank you for making me feel so…wonderful" she smiled happily as Feral cupped the side of her head again and kissed the top of her visor gently.
"Always Tali" He smiled as he sat back slightly "That's what boyfriends are for right?" smirking as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her tightly into his side. "Now this photo isn't all that I have on here if you're interested" he grinned playfully down at Tali before she nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.
She would've said something but she was too busy biting her tongue and trying not to squeal from his words. 'Boyfriend….my boyfriend…Keelah my father will hate him' she smiled slightly to herself as she watched as Feral brought up more images and videos from his past.
The two just sat in the engine room's shimmering light, cuddled up together as they laughed at the ridiculous things Feral had put on his chip. A poker game between him and his friends where someone had worn reflective sunglasses by accident. He and his friends singing a rendition of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' which according to Feral was a classic. There were some less silly things though, videos of Feral training and playing sports for his unit. Tali was wincing the entire time she watched small clips of the rugby match, and it was weird to see Feral with a cut that didn't heal in seconds.
Tali couldn't help but smile more and more as she watched, wrapping her arms around Feral's as she lay against his shoulder. Of all the memories he could've chosen, he showed the ones that made her smile. The new couple just sat and watched videos on the chip until the Normandy docked in the citadel, their fingers constantly tangled as they held each other.