This is only a test.

[mm_lettie]

So she was vas Normandy now. It was something to be proud of, she was sure of it, but something in the pit of her stomach was still not at ease with this. It had been a slow drift away from the flotilla, she'd thought, but now perhaps it was much faster than she'd assumed. She was sure that it seemed strange, her being on the Crew deck -- but

Comments

[turiansnarker]

“That’s Shepard for you, always there when you need him most, never there when you would have preferred it. The stubborn bastard.” His tone was tenuously comic, but even as he said it, Garrus turned his palm up to touch the side of her head where the ornate fabric of her headdress framed her mask. He’d never thought about it, but the fabric of suit itself was some kind of industrial sterilization material… the color, texture, and cloth were added. An aesthetic choice over a functional necessity and for some reason the notion of Tali selecting the color, one of the few times a quarian might be allowed a moment of preference with utility… it reminded him why he and everyone were so fond of Tali’Zorah.

Why it was so important she knew that her new family on the Normandy - where she drew her new surname from - was really her family. If they were all going to die in the next few weeks or months or however long they had, Garrus would like to think that none of them were going to feel alone in that time. He nodded.

“We can do that, but listen to me.” He put his other hand on her opposite shoulder, looked her in the eye. “The spirit of the Normandy will be incomplete without your help, Tali’Zorah. And we need it to be the strongest it’s ever been right now, the strongest we’ve ever been. Not just for us but for every living thing in this galaxy. I know that your father would be proud to see you carry on. You’re part of this ship and this crew and the spirit that inhabits it.” He paused. “Don’t ever forget that.”

[gofor_theoptics]

It sounded like something Shepard might've said if she'd gone to see him about this. She'd thought about it, but again - it seemed silly to bother him when she knew he had so many other things going on. Garrus was a member of her new family who could take time out of his schedule for her. Having him tell her that they needed her here meant a lot. She knew he wasn't the sort to give his respect easily.

He'd be able to tell that she was watching him steadily as he spoke. He sounded so -- genuine. Tali couldn't help the impulse she had until it was too late to stop it -- she wrapped her arms around him as best she could with his bulky armour and held on for a moment before stepping back awkwardly, bringing a hand to tug on the edge of her headdress.

"I ... won't. Thanks, Garrus. I missed you and your horrible jokes. At least you give good advice." Like many other quarians, she'd been pressured from childhood to act more mature than her age might have suggested she could. It was necessary for the survival of the flotilla. That also meant that physical touch wasn't something her father was ... well-versed in. It didn't mean she didn't crave it.

[turiansnarker]

Hugging was a mostly humanoid species’ gesture, but Garrus was familiar enough with it that he could see it coming on even before Tali stepped forward and wrapped her arms carefully around his middle. He put an arm around her shoulders and carefully held the quarian engineer until she needed him to let go. It was a strange moment. Turian intimacies were different, manifested differently, more intensely than the subtleties of other races. He recognized and was familiar with the gestures, appreciated and could read them, but… well, he supposed he wasn’t a hugger. To put it in human terms.

Which was why he was mildly surprised that holding Tali was easier than he’d thought. She was tiny in his arms and yet one of their strongest crew. Even in the wake of the politics of it, Garrus was glad she was staying. He stepped back, tapping her affectionately on the shoulder. “And I missed you complaining about nutritional paste and then refusing to try turian food because it was beneath you.” He swept a hand over the control console and the lit up with math cascades all over again. “Let’s get this done then go say ‘hi’ to Joker. That VI is causing him all kinds of grief apparently…”

[gofor_theoptics]

"I never said that I felt it was beneath me," she stated with a frown and a shake of her head, "I said that the colour and texture reminded me of the industrial waste that we dumped from the Fleet." She was glad that Garrus hadn't been too awkward with the touches, honestly. If he'd pushed her away, she wasn't sure what she would have done - things like that always felt strange to her, and being rejected in any way was hard on a girl as young as herself.

Tali snorted. "All right, all right ... let's go save Joker from the AI. I'm not surprised it's giving him trouble." She had ... problems with an AI on the ship.