While I'll forever be disappointed, I could not see the reaction of my wife's face, the radiation of love coming from my violet life partner more than makes up for it, and I have footage of the proposal. I can't wait to show my kids this, wait I'll be a quarian then. We'll have to recreate it. As many times as we have to. As many times. We should return to the apartment, Tali's wearing her brothel necklace, however her entire focus is on the ring. It's safe to say she loves it. Tali forgets her surroundings multiple times as we walk back to the apartment. It's a long walk, over an hour, but it's fine. We both want to enjoy this as long as possible. When we finally arrive, we let ourselves in. The sounds of laughter are heard. I can feel Liara is getting really irritated for some reason. She should be recovering, not whatever is happening in the living room. When I can see the full party in view, my peripheral vision catches Wrex browsing the extranet for a new arm. Grunt appears to be helping him.

I ask "what's all the commotion?"

Taylor says "I'm trying to extract the truth from Liara. I believe the asari used their biotics to move the stone blocks for building the pyramids."

Liara, under a blanket, snuggling close to the commander says "we didn't even know your people existed 200 years ago."

Taylor says "well there's a lot being released from the hidden files. Who knows."

I shut this argument down "For the love of… they tilted the stones on top of one another. They used wedges allowing them to slid logs underneath, with the help of rope at the end and a lot of people, they were able to move them onto their sides and upwards to the next level."

Liara says "see I told you. I'm an archaeologist by training and she wouldn't listen."

Taylor's spirit is crushed "Ahh! That removes all the mysticism."

I say "If we are done arguing about those oversized impromptu rice containers, Tali and I have an announcement."

I hold my sweetheart's hand, allowing the silence to build. Taylor comments Tali's necklace looks so pretty. We say nothing will I have the biggest grin on my face. My corners of my cheeks hurt so good. The crowd remains silent until our pilot attains realization.

Joker smiles "wait a minute.. Did you?"

I'm so happy I can't even speak. Tali announces we're married. Rounds of applause. Wrex congratulatory spanks me. I hate it but will let it slide this one time. I correct her "in Tali's culture we're permanent bond mates, but my wife needs a wedding and of course everyone is invited."

Liara says "maybe we can make it a double" pulls her left hand out of the cover, showing off a platinum band on her ring finger.

I get mad at the apartment owner "Shepard! How could you? This was our moment."

Shepard says "*********, this is my house."

Liara reminds him "not for long. Once Admiral Anderson and Cynthia are married, aren't they moving back in here?"

Shepard says "Believe me, once their emotional high of winning the war is over, they'll get separated again, get back together three months later. Rinse and repeat. There divorce lawyer must make a fortune."

Taylor ask "where's the wedding going to be?"

I say "we never talked about it. We are going to have to figure that out."

Tali glees, unable to contain herself, she clenches her fists and does adorable little hops "I can't believe I'm bonded!"

Edi asks "do you feel different?"

Tali says "I'm feeling so much I can't describe it. I have to call Father and auntie Rann."

She can't wait. Tali immediately requests a video call for her family. Unsurprisingly, Rael answers first, He's first reaction is concern for his beloved daughter's safety "Tali are you alright? Did the Reapers hurt you?"

Tali tells him "No Father. I do have important news. I want to wait for auntie to hear it too."

Rael gets up from his chair "she's right over here. Rann, Tali is calling."

Rann's visor fills the entire screen, asking Tali "what has happened? Are you safe? What happened to your Commander?"

Tali says "everything is fine. In fact, I have something to show you." She tilts the omnitool camera, showing off her bling. Rann screams SO LOUD, I thought Jack's varren had gotten loose. Rann says "I am so happy for you."

Tali replies "I KNOW! I'm so happy right now."

Rael tells me "You better keep her that happy. My daughter deserves no less."

I reply "I promise. I'll take good care of her and give her as much love as she wants."

Rann says "Tali, I am so excited for you. If your mother were here, she'd pass out."

Tali says "I was told my mother fainted quite a bit."

I ask "Did she have health issues?"

Tali says "yes but I didn't inherit it. Father, auntie, we are going to have a human style wedding to cement our bond and you both are invited. Father, you will have to walk me down an aisle."

Rael says "anything for my little girl."

Rann says "let us know where you decide to have the ceremony as soon as you know. That's an admiral's orders."

Tali says "We will come up with something and let you know. Bye auntie. Bye Dad."

Rael and Rann tell Tali how much they love her. Tali closes her omnitool.

I comment "I think I'll have good in-laws."

Tali wraps her arms around me neck, her strong hold nearly chokes me. An engagement noose around my neck. A peice of metal from her necklace pokes me, it hurts badly I thought she accidentally drew blood. I'm happy Tali is so ecstatic, but she needs to ease off a little.

Liara asks to see the ring. Tali proudly shows it off. Liara notices she is wearing it over her glove. Liara says "you'll have to get it resized once you no longer need to wear the suit on your homeworld."

I tell her "I made it with an adjuster underneath."

Tali says "you always think of everything."

I reply "only the best for my wife."

Tali screeches "I'll never tire of hearing that."

I say "I love seeing you so ecstatic being called my wife."

Tali asks "do you want me to call you husband from now on?"

I answer "that sounds weird, and I love it when you call me cherished."

Taylor awws "that is so cute."

Shepard says "I'm happy for you both. Truly. You both deserve it."

I thank my Commander.

Tali asks "how did you propose Shepard?"

Shepard blushes, unable to maintain eye contact.

Liara explains "he waited until my family and his mom was in the room. I was recovering from my injury, and he proposed in front of everybody. I was so embarrassed."

I say "Shepard, taking advantage of her mental state AND familial social pressure? Right on dude."

Shepard says "I was not going to take no for an answer."

Liara says "you know I wouldn't have declined, although I wish you would have asked sooner."

Shepard says "I tried working up the courage so many times I couldn't do it. I felt more fear from the thought of you saying no than fighting the Reapers. Once I realized how close I was to losing you, I wasn't going to let you go. I love my little bluebird."

Liara uses her biotic pull to steal a kiss.

Wrex says "we should celebrate! Good news all around. Let's drink!"

Grunt says "The doctor said you shouldn't."

Wrex says "It will be fine. We got two livers. One for the drugs and one for the booze."

Grunt says "you told me it didn't work that way."

Wrex says "and you fell for it."

I tell Wrex "I need you alive so you can be the ring bear. Well dressed you up in a giant fuzzy teddy suit and it will be hilarious."

Wrex says "Now I definitely need to drink."

Tali joins the hyena pack and immediately starts discussing wedding stuff. Locations, the bridal shower, registration, which websites to look at. The hole shebang. I watch my dear from afar. She is so happy. I'm more happy she's happy then I am of finally being married, or will be. I waited far too long for this day. The boys invade my personal bubble. Congratulating me for finding the best woman in the galaxy. Tali and I sneak away to take a picture. I transform into my quarian form. Tali's drone takes a snapshot and proceeds to upload it onto the extra net for all of Tali's quarian friends to see.

Once we had taken enough, I return to being human. That's when I get an idea "now that we are officially bonded in your culture, does that mean we can you know?"

Tali says "I thought humans were supposed to wait until after the wedding."

I transform back into a quarian.

Tali says "nice try."

Transform into a krogan. Please black seduction powers help me out. I'm desperate.

Tali says "save that for my birthday."

"WHOA! You like krogans?"

Tali says "I meant that as a joke, but since I know it's really you, I suppose I would be willing to try. I heard how big they are and how much they spray. You behind me, painting my entire back. Oh I didn't realize how much I would turn myself on."

$#%#$#$%#%#$^#^#^^##$%^#%#

Tali giggles at my brain's programming crashing. She says "I'm so lucky I have a man like you. I have so many combinations and positions I want to try out. You're never going to get bored with me as your wife."

My legs become wet paper, the weight of my massive krogan physique creates a small earthquake. The shock reverts me back to human. Tali teases "that can be the first one." I nearly exploded right there. I NEED to get married as soon as fucking possible! Tali pulls me off the ground. We wait for my tent to sink down before heading back inside.

Shepard tells us while we were outside, everyone is coming back for another party. While we wait, we put on the galaxy news. All the channels are reporting on the defeat of the Reapers and how we have to thank the great Commander Shepard of Earth for our lives. I didn't even get a shoutout. Do they not know how much I contributed to this whole thing! Oh, the price of keeping out of the public eye. It's worth it. I hated the celebrity treatment.

The rest of the night is a blur. I ride the euphoria until very late. Tali gives me a shoulder rub then it lights out. We laid together on the couch and I think I feel asleep around midnight based on the vibes I was getting. My sleep wasn't great as four hours later, we wake up to hear Zaeed cursing "god fucking damn it. I forgot to set up the traps for geth."

I wish I was dreaming this; it takes all my will power to leave the loving arms of my half-asleep wife to deal with the morning robot. It requests entry. Zaeed takes initiative and allows it in, making his good shooting hand on his "casual pistol." The geth unit looks like a rocket variant. Deep blood red, the unit walks in, stares directly at us and says, "I extend greetings to the happy couple and present a gift to celebrate your pairing."

I'm confused. I don't know this geth, but I don't turn down free stuff.

I said "Uhh Thank you. You can leave it by the door. Why are giving us a gift?"

The red geth unit explains "geth collective has been maintaining your present for some time. Our bestower you given the name Legion requested the geth collective to give you this key as his last request. I am honored to hand this to you."

My blurry eyes make out a yellow piece of metal "A key to a city or something. Cool. Give it to Zaheed and he'll hand it to me."

Zaeed, suspicious of the home entry metal device, asks "how do we know it won't blow up?"

The geth unit explains "it is a key to your new house on Rannoch."

Tali and I jump awake, we shout in unison "what!"

The geth confirms and messages us the coordinates.

Tali says "I can't believe Legion actually did it."

I ask her "you had a hand in this?"

Tali said "On Cerberus Normandy, I told Legional offhandedly I would love one day to have home one day in Rannoch like that one in your favorite movie. I didn't think he'd actually build one."

I ask myself "Is this real?

Tali confirms it's real.

"Wow! I still can't believe this. Geth unit I appreciate this tremendous gift, what about the log cabin we were going to build?"

Geth offers "we will build you a log cabin instead."

"No no no. have the fun is designing and building it."

Tali is excited "I can't wait to see our new home. I just hope it doesn't have a coal chute."

I ask "why would it have a coal chute? The Rannochians have electricity."

Tali says "I don't want to walk down there and think of that scene with the alien hand grabbing the little boy."

"Right! That scared the crap out of me. Good call."

Geth says it has transport ready when we decide to leave. Tali and I both look to each other. We really want to go see our new home, but would it be really appropriate to leave in the early morning? Going back to sleep is not an option, too much excitement in both of our systems. Zaeed says "you two kids should go. Leaves more food for me to eat."

Tali and I really want to go, but our conscience won't allow it. I wish we could turn it off. Once again we thank the geth unit and asks if it is ok to wait. It says yes and will be waiting for us at the docks. As soon as it arrived, it left. This still feels so much like a dream. I'm engaged AND getting a new house on the planet Tali's people dreamed of returning but never thought they will? Legion… I will search all the heavens and give you a big kiss on the lips wherever you are! You have no idea how happy you made us. I sent a message throughout the multiverse. I won't know if he receives it, but I hope he does.

Tali and I could not wait to see our new home. The ride from the Citadel took about a day with the geth's transport ship, but it felt like a month. There are so many things I can't wait to see. Our yard, the kitchen, my mancave, Tali's sheshed and my workshop. We came up with so many ideas watching the home improvement shows, now we actually get a chance to use them. The building location is in an isolated area, but with skycar we are only 15 minutes away from town. I'm uncomfortable people driving them, but I suppose the cowboys felt the same when cars were invented. Tali, out of curiosity searched and found we are a little over an hour away from Roan and Kara's place. Wherever the house is must be in their country. We'll have to assimilate into the culture, but it's worth it for a free home.

Our shuttle lands in front of the house. The rear doors slowly open to reveal our home. It looks beautiful. The structure is similar to the one from my favorite movie with some alterations. The color changed from blue to green and has accents that must be the unique Rannoch style. Also, the porched is screened to keep insects away. I can see Tali waking up in the morning to sip tea out here. There are large trees around the property perimeter. Thankfully no corn field. I'd love to start a garden, but knowing what film this house was basically used in, I don't want to give Tali nightmares. Maybe a watermelon farm.

We walk to the front door of our new home. Tali's hand clutches my forearm so hard, I physically can't use my fingers. Tali releases. I unlock the door and we enter our new home. I ask Tali to remove her suit soles. She asks why. I remind her dirt exists and we don't want that inside. I'm going to have to teach her how to live on a planet. A space station doesn't have things like rain or snow… oh I should ask Roan or Kara about the weather here. Do I have to worry about hail, earthquakes, or sharknados? I don't know! There will be time for that later. Legion's people didn't skip out on anything. The place come fully furnished. There are even empty picture frames on the walls for Tali and I to make memories and fill. I'll have to change some things around. In the corner I'll put a extra large faux fur beanbag. Install shelves on that wall for my waterfall collection, and I love having a sisyphus table. It's a large round coffee table with a glass top and inside is a circle of sand with a marble that is pulled around by a magnet underneath forming beautiful geometric patterns. It was crazy expensive but looks so cool! The problem is, it's designed for north american outlets and not what they use here. The power of electricity might be different. Maybe Tali or one of her friends can make an adaptor.

The kitchen is a dream come true. It has a 6 burner stovetop with double oven, griddle, and boiler with a giant three door commercial kitchen refrigerator made of stainless steel. It's excessive and I love it. Legion you are the best! The floor is a beautiful white brick in a zigzag pattern. It's going to show dirt, but I love the look. The cabinets are a matching white with frosted glass. Tali thinks it's beautiful, but she wants me to change the handles to be brass. I don't like it, but this is going to be our home. We'll look into it later. The backsplash is a hypnotic iridescent blue over granite countertops. It's so pretty to look at. The steel, white, and blue kind of clash but I love it.

The kitchen island is huge! Must be 6'x8'. Oh yeah, this will hold alot of dishes. I rub my hand along the cool granite surface. I Lean on the island, feeling the marble sink down a bit. That feels funny. Did it not set properly? I look underneath and find a handle and hinges. Oh this must be some kind of storage. I do have alot of cooking gadgets. Bamboos steaming basket, stovetop smoker, sous vide machine, my grandma's air popcorn popper. I assumed I'd keep everything in the pantry we have. I Lift up and find something to bring me to tears.

Tali whose exploring the house, rushes when she hears me crying "Husband, I mean cherished, what's wrong?"

I show Tali the largest chest freezer ever. My hoarding instincts have never been so satisfied. Tali says "you could fit two krogans in there." I don't think it's that big. Maybe one and half. This house is perfect. The bathrooms have overhead rain showers, there is so much storage space. The water is pumped from a well, filtered before entering the house, power is solar which is crazy productive with the future solar panels, So many bedrooms. I counted seven! My younger self would have been happy with just two. I ask "what are we going to put in here?" Then Tali rattles off her Dad and Aunt can move in, Of course, after the honeymoon in a year. But then Tali lists several of her quarian friends which forces me to stop her. "Tali, I love you, but this is going to be OUR home. Only family. Your friends can visit and stay for a bit, but this is our space."

Tali says "right I got carried away. Let's check out the master bedroom!'

Our room is huge! It's longer than it is wide. The bed is to the right against the wall. There is a space at the very end with large rectangular windows to allow the morning sunlight in. It's far away enough that the light won't wake us up, the bathroom is nice. There's another overhead rain shower and a jet tub. Tali and I are going to love soaking in it together. I hope it's made of cast iron. Those things retain the heat so well. My wife is more focused on the walk-in closet. This feels fancy. There's ANOTHER island here, which has so many drawers to hold shoes, jewelry, and more.

I sit on the bed, I still can't believe this is real. Tali, my angel removes her visor and headpiece. She has a smile a goddess would envy. Tali says "I can't wait to start our life together."

I pat the bed. Tali comes over and sits next to me. "I can't wait either, but before we do, I think we should discuss what marriage means to both of us since we come from very different cultures."

Tali gets a little nervous "I guess that is a smart idea. For quarians, being bonded means we are each other's only. We promise to love each other forever."

"I want that. What I am talking about is our duties to each other and our home. Now I know you don't need me to say this but I'm going to say it anyway. I do not expect you to do all the housework. I'm a grown man who's more than capable of taking out the trash. It won't even take 5 minutes."

Tali says "we have to do that?"

"Yes, a truck comes and hauls it away every week. There is no recycle chute here. Anyways, what I was getting at is I'd like to come up with a system where we split the chores to make it fair. I like cooking so that's mine but I do not like doing the dishes after I have eaten. I'd like you to do it."

Tali says "DEAL! It takes way less time to wash dishes anyways."

"As long as it is fair. When we both get jobs, we'll split the chores up. If we make around the same amount, chores are 50-50. If one of us spends more time at work, the other does more chores HOWEVER, I waited a long time to find my perfect wife, and I want to spend time with her. I do not want you working 60-hour weeks, because I know how much you love your job and you would lose track of time on the fleet. I want to spend time with my sweetheart."

Tali says "Actually, I'm glad you brought this up. I was thinking of retiring from engineering. With how much time I want to be with you and our kids, I'd want to stay home."

"But you love engineering."

Tali says "I'll love you and our babies more."

My heart strings are yet again plucked. I must be the luckiest guy ever to have such an amazing wife who would be willing to give up her dream job for our family. I ride the wave of euphoria as long as I can. Over a week, I didn't get the least bit upset when Tali couldn't go four days without working on a machine. Although I was a bit peeved when she broke the dishwasher. She tried giving it more power like she was Tim Allen. She's never going to stop being a workaholic. Back to the present.

"Whatever happens, I want us to be able to communicate with each other. I hate fighting with the people I love, but I will not be taken advantage of as I would never do that to you. I hate the power play game. I want us to be equals. When things get hard, and they will, I wish we can talk things out and compromise. Let's make life as easy as possible for us. We both had it hard. Don't we deserve that?"

Tali says "This all sounds very reasonable."

"Then we should be capable of doing that. This bed here is going to be our safespot. This is for relaxing and sleeping in. The rule is we won't ever go to bed angry or bring work here. One last thing is what we'd like from each other. I really love affection, it feels weird to say this as a man but touch is my love language, and want to connect with you, but only if you want to. But I'd love it if I came home to a hug and a kiss. Now, what would you like from me?"

Tali crawls over my lap. My heart races. My dear pushes me down on the bed. The cool down comforter cradling my back and neck provides contrast for the heat building up inside me. Source, is this really happening? Her seductive looks is overcharging my lowest chakra. All blood flowing to my head is being redirected. Tali comes inches away from my lips, her warm breath softly blowing against my cheeks makes me blush. My adorable angel has brought out the sexy tigress.

"You won't have to worry about a thing my love. I promise to be the best wife you deserve. I love you too much to make you upset. I won't ever hurt you… intentionally. But I should warn you, quarians have strong grips and I might accidentally leave bruises on your hips. You said we should not bring work to bed, but I've kept a mentally tally of all the times you said such wonderful things that made me want to take you right then… I have a large debt that I'm now going to start to pay back."

Gulps.

"A-a-are we…"

"I see that look. We are saving that for after the wedding, but my girls want to get a sense of their man. Lie down and enjoy this my cherished husband."