Shore Leave author: willow_veiled fandom: Mass Effect pairing: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian tags: Female Shepard, Garrus Vakarian, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Jealousy, Tali is the best wingman, mild Kaidan slander
"Hey, uh, sorry to bother you."
From how nervous they're acting, Garrus thinks the Alliance soldiers standing before him must be pretty fresh. The man who's just spoken looks from Tali to Garrus and back to Tali again. The woman—taller and broader than Shepard—rolls her eyes and raises her voice so she can be heard over the club's loud music.
"We were wondering—that’s Commander Shepard with you, right? By the bar?" The woman’s head gestures to where Shepard’s been distracted by a couple of well-wishers. The other humans all tower over her diminutive frame, but she controls the space, the force of her charm pulling them into her inexorable orbit. She brushes a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear and the bulkiest marine's eyes follow the movement of her fingers as if hypnotized.
"You know that it is." Amusement dances in Tali's voice as she dares the soldiers to make their next move.
"Well, uh, we kind of meant—" the man trails off, flustered, and his bolder companion takes over.
"Does she have company already?" Two sets of speculative eyes rake over the aliens. "We’d hate to intrude." Tali looks over at Garrus, and he knows she’s arching a brow beneath her mask. His mandibles flare slightly, but he doubts the humans can tell the difference between jealousy and amusement. Shepard could, but she’s not here, is she? She’s by the bar, flirting with everything squishy in reach.
"Free and clear," he says, and if his usually sardonic tone is tinged with bitterness, Tali is the only one who can pick up on it. Read the rest here (it is my first fic in the fandom)
