(Warning: In my opinion, this story is suitable for a T-rating, but a couple people have mentioned they think it should be bumped up to M. Story contains some non-explicit sexual content)

Shepard's quarters looked different than it did weeks ago, before Tali first joined the Normandy. She had been sleeping his room, in his bed with him, every night since then. It wasn't just Shepard's private quarters anymore, but their private quarters. She had moved in with him, and her presence in the room was noticeable. The small desk next to the couch, for example, was now completely covered in tech parts and tools that Tali would often tinker with.

She would frequently get interrupted as she fiddled with the tech parts on the desk; Shepard found himself unable to resist pulling up a chair behind her, and putting his arms around her body, caressing her abdomen, chest, and thighs as she worked. It was always distracting to Tali, but she never minded it. Though she often longed to feel his hands directly on her skin, she still got immense joy from just feeling the pressure of his hands against her suit, as they roamed and caressed her body. Most times it led to her mask coming off, and the two of them making out on the couch.

Shepard didn't mind giving up that desk for Tali, he had his own desk in the office part of their quarters, under his many models ships. But even on it, Tali's influence was noticeable. On it was a holo of Shepard and Tali together; a reminder of a fun evening they shared not long after that night they professed their feelings for each other. She had been sitting on his lap, on the chair next to their bed, when she took the holo with her omni-tool. There were many images of Shepard in existence due to his fame, all of them could be found on the Extranet, but none of them showed a Shepard with such a happy, blissful smile on his face. The quarian girl draped in purple that was with him in it, was clearly responsible for that.

Shepard currently sat on the couch that was next to Tali's desk, his arms were spread out on the top of the couch's backrest; he was in a relaxed pose as he waited for Tali to return. She had gone to their private washroom to prepare herself—her immune system—for their first time making love; for the first time she would get out of her suit for him. Many thoughts ran through his head in anticipation. They all instantly cleared, and he felt a slight flutter of butterflies in his stomach, as he heard the door to their washroom open.

Shepard turned his head and saw Tali stepping out of their washroom, and walking around his desk as she approached. She had already taken off her metal boots; her feet were covered only by the black material of her suit. That little third toe of hers was so cute.

"Welcome back," Shepard said with a smile as Tali approached him on the couch. She just sat down next to him; his outspread arms were inviting for her to cuddle in against his chest. He closed his arm in around her and held her.

"I… took some antibiotic injections, as well as some herbal supplements…" Tali finally muttered.

"I know I've asked this a few times, but are you sure want to do this now? You had such a terrible day today... I don't know—I just want you to be sure you're ready."

"Yes Shepard… I want this. Let's not talk about today. I just want for us to be happy tonight," Tali responded. Her words were sure, but it was clear she was nervous.

Shepard just responded by giving her a gentle squeeze with his arm. He decided to change the subject.

"I've been meaning to ask since you first mentioned them earlier, but how exactly do herbal supplements help your immune system?" Shepard asked. The question served two purposes: he was genuinely curious about it, and he also knew getting her to talk about something would help her feel better. Talking always helped relieve her nervousness.

"It may sound contradictory, but these particular herbal supplements actually aid my immune system by having a 'slowing' affect on it; they make it less aggressive," Tali began to explain.

"Wait… so they actually suppress your immune system?"

"Something like that."

"You're going to have to help me here, because I don't see how that would help," Shepard said amused, but clearly wanting more information.

"Well, as you know I can't actually get a disease from your germs, since we're a different race and have opposite amino-acid chirality," Tali explained. "What I actually get is an acute allergic reaction. By suppressing my immune system, the allergic reaction is less severe."

"So, the herbal supplements pacify your immune system, so that you don't have much of a reaction to my germs, which you actually can't get a disease from? But what about the antibiotics?" Shepard asked, but he immediately figured out the answer, and answered himself. "Oh I get it. While your immune system is suppressed from the supplements, the antibiotics take care of killing the foreign bacteria you get from me?"

"Yes, that's right! So by the time the effects of the herbal supplements wear off, the antibiotics will have already killed off most of the foreign bacteria. That way when my immune system returns to normal, it won't freak out finding a lot of foreign bacteria." Tali concluded. Just as Shepard had expected, all the talking had helped relieve Tali's nervousness; she clearly had fun explaining things and talking about quarian immune systems.

"Sounds like the antibiotics and the supplements have pretty good synergy; kind of sounds like us. We make a great team, don't we?" Shepard said happily, but very sincerely; he truly valued Tali as a team member. Tali laughed quietly at his analogy, and gave him a tight squeeze. She had been looking at him as they talked, but she now just placed her head on his shoulder. She heard Shepard let out a big sigh that communicated his happy, relaxed state. There was a short period of silence.

"Um… it would be best if we waited about ten more minutes. For, you know, the supplements and antibiotics to begin taking effect," Tali said, quietly. All her nervousness returned as she informed him. Right afterwards, she felt Shepard's hand gently pushing up on the jaw part of her helmet, guiding her to look at him.

"You're nervous, aren't you Tali?" He asked in a soft, gentle voice.

"Yes… I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be, It's just…"

"No Tali… don't apologize for anything," Shepard immediately interrupted her. "It's perfectly normal for you to feel a little nervous." Shepard's hand moved away from her chin, down her torso, and eventually reached her hand. He gently squeezed it.

"Thank you, Shepard… I just, I want this to work. I want us to have a good time, but I... don't really know what… to do. You've also never even seen me out of my suit, what if you don't… I want you to be… pleased…"

Shepard let out a quiet sigh as she talked. She was adorable when she was nervous like that, but at the same time, he wanted her not to doubt herself so much.

"Tali…" Shepard began to say, caressing her thigh, "You don't really think there's any chance I'll be displeased with you, do you?" He moved his hand up and placed it on the side of her waist.

"Well, I just…" Tali mumbled, initially unsure how to respond, but the answer suddenly became clear to her. She sighed softly, "No… I, guess not…"

"Of course not… you're beautiful, Tali. You have nothing to be nervous about. I actually already have a pretty good idea of what you like under your suit…" Shepard's hand was now caressing her side. "I mean seriously, this thing is so… snug. Does that even serve a function or do you just like to show off your gorgeous curves?"

Tali giggled quietly, cuddling in a little closer. She really enjoyed hearing Shepard say things like that; being complimented on her physical appearance was still something new to her, and it just made her happy to hear Shepard was happy with how she looked. "Of course it's functional. It being snug has many advantages."

Shepard let his body slide down in the opposite direction of where Tali sat, so that he was lying on his back on the couch. He pulled Tali down with him so that she lay on top of him. His hands slowly moved up and down her back.

"Like?" He asked, with a relaxed, loving look on his face.

"Well, it being snug makes the suit comfortable for one, and prevents it from impairing movement. It also decreases the chance of an infection spreading if there's a puncture. Not to mention it—"

Shepard interrupted her explanation by suddenly placing his hands on her mask and removing it; he placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch. He lifted his head slightly and kissed Tali's lips. Both his hands were on her torso again, running up and down her body as they kissed. Quick, soft kisses followed after the long initial kiss.

Shepard lowered his head back down, and both of them just looked at each other's eyes.

"I… think it's been ten minutes…" Tali muttered quietly. Her breathing was slightly heavier than it had been before the kiss. Shepard smiled at her, and placed his hand on her cheek. Tali closed her eyes and very softly moaned as Shepard's fingers delicately caressed her face.

"I take it that means you're ready to remove that suit, Tali?" Shepard asked in a gentle, happy voice. Tali's eyes opened.

"Yes… no—I mean… I'm ready to get out of my suit, and… share myself with you, but…" Tali paused. She felt very embarrassed asking this, but it was something she really wanted. "Will you… um… remove my suit, for me…?" Ever since she first started her research, and thoughts of making love to Shepard entered her mind, she had always fantasized about him removing the suit, not her. She wanted to feel his hands moving on her body, unhooking each strap, removing each section. She had taken her suit off many times in her life to wash up and cleanse herself; there was nothing special about her removing it. But the thought of another, of Shepard, removing it was both very intimate and incredibly erotic. She bit her lip after she asked.

"Let's go to our bed..." Shepard said quietly, and gave her another quick kiss. He hadn't directly answered her, but she knew his answer. Tali got off of Shepard, and stood up in front of the couch; Shepard got up as well. Tali began to move towards the bed, when she suddenly felt Shepard's hands on each side of her waist, stopping her. He was standing right behind her, and gently pulled back so that her body pressed against his. Tali just stood there, as she felt Shepard's arms slowly wrap around her body.

"I may need some help taking of your suit…" Shepard said quietly. "I haven't undressed a female quarian in a few years…"

"What?" Tali immediately turned around and looked at Shepard. He just started to laugh.

"It was a joke." Shepard said, chuckling quietly.

"Really? I'm not so sure now. Maybe that would explain why you treated me so well back on the original Normandy…" Tali knew it was a joke, but she played along.

"I have a better explanation for that," Shepard said as his laugh ended, "It was because you were invaluable to my mission, you were an amazing team member, and above all that… you were sweet, caring, and selfless beyond anything I had ever seen."

Tali just smiled in response.

"How could I not have fallen in love with you, Tali?" Shepard asked rhetorically. He took advantage that she was facing him, and gave her a kiss. His hands roamed on her body while they kissed; his right hand stopped below her chest, and he unfastened each of the three straps that wrapped around her torso with his finger. The straps, and the harness on her back they attached to, suddenly dropped to the ground. Her purple fabric loosened.

Their kiss ended slowly, and Shepard's hands moved up above her chest. He unfastened the metal clasp that held her hood together.

"You don't need my help… you seem to know what you're doing…" She said quietly, staring at his eyes.

"I just remember a few things from that night when you almost… got carried away." Shepard smiled at her.

"Oh Keelah… must you remind me of that?" Tali blushed slightly.

Shepard chuckled quietly as he pulled back Tali's hood. He then placed his hands on each side of her helmet, pressed the unlocking mechanism, and released it. He took it off over her head lowered it, letting it drop to the ground.

The thud of her helmet hitting the ground instantly caused Tali to feel a flutter of butterflies in her stomach and chills up her back; it finally sunk in that Shepard was actually removing her suit. In just a few minutes, she'll be free of her suit and completely uncovered. In just a few minutes… she'll be in bed with Shepard, feeling his skin on hers; they'll be making love to each other.

Shepard positioned himself so that he was behind Tali again. All the straps and belts that had once wrapped around her were now on the floor; the purple fabric was completely loose. Tali felt his hands rub against her body as he tugged on it, eventually getting the beautiful purple fabric to unravel and come off; It also dropped to the ground. Shepard then detached and removed the metal part that protected her neck. Her suit was now all Tali had on her body; all the decorative cloth and accessories were on the ground.

"The suit…" Tali gulped; she was once again very nervous, "It… comes off in sections. The sleeves of each arm first… then the torso part. Then, um… the lower part…" Tali's instructions ended in a mumble.

Shepard listened to her advice, but he only responded by kissing her neck. Tali immediately gasped and felt an incredible chill of pleasure run up her back and neck. His lips kissing and gently sucking on the sensitive skin of her neck was pure ecstacy.

"Ohhh... oh Shepard..." She whispered quietly and moaned, leaning against Shepard's body. She tilted her head to the opposite side to give him better access to her neck. Feeling Shepard's warm breath gently brush against her skin as he kissed made it even more pleasurable.

Distracted by Shepard kissing her neck, she hadn't noticed that his hands had been on her shoulders, and managed to unlock the seams of her arm sleeves, detaching them from the rest of the suit. He stopped kissing her neck just long enough to tug down on each sleeve and take them off. They too, dropped to the ground. Tali's arms were now exposed.

Still standing behind her, he unlocked the torso part of the suit from the 'pants' part. He remembered that the two sections attached—from that night weeks ago when he tended to her leg injury—but he didn't know how the torso section would actually come off.

"How does the torso part come off?" Shepard asked in a quiet voice, in between the kisses he was giving her neck and shoulder. His hands were now on her arms, gently stroking and caressing them as he kissed.

"There's…. it opens… on the back…" Tali could hardly speak from the pleasure of Shepard's lips on her neck and his hands stroking her arms, stimulating skin nerves which weren't accustomed to feeling much beyond an environmental suit.

Shepard then slid his hands off Tali's arms, and stepped back. He put his hands on her back, and found the mechanism that would release the suit's seam. He got it unlocked, and the torso section unsealed, opening vertically through her back. Tali bit her lip in anticipation, knowing that the torso section was now loose, and about to come off. Her entire upper body would be uncovered and naked; her breasts would be exposed. Shepard helped guide the torso section off her arms, and it joined the various parts of her suit on the floor.

Tali just stood there, naked from the hips up. Shepard was still standing behind her so all he could see was her back, but he took a second to admire it. The upper part of her body had such petite build; her waist was so thin and her shoulders narrow. Her arms were slender; they were slightly thinner than a typical human woman's arms. Her quarian body looked incredibly feminine and beautiful.

Shepard then placed his hands on Tali's waist, and slid his hands up and around her body, finally reaching her chest. He cupped each of her breasts with his hands, and gently held them. Tali instantly arched her back and a sudden, broken-up gasp escaped her mouth, which was proceeded by a long, pleasure-filled moan.

"T-take off your shirt, Shepard… please… I, I need to feel your skin on mine…" Tali spoke in just a whisper. She was too overcome with pleasure to speak any louder.

Tali then immediately felt Shepard's hands come off her as he stepped back. He took off his shirt and tossed it aside. As he put his hands on Tali's shoulders, he noticed she was shaking slightly.

"Tali, are you okay? You're trembling…"

"I'm… very excited, but… I'm also a little cold. My skin—I'm… not use to being out of my suit… the air in here, it just… it feels cold…"

Shepard knew exactly what to do. He gently turned her around so that they faced each other, and he positioned his hands on her back. He then brought her in closely, and pressed her bare torso against his. Tali had never felt anything like it before. Her chest, her stomach, all of the skin on the front of her upper body suddenly pressed against Shepard's. It was simply incredible how soft his skin felt against hers; the way his body heat seemed to so willingly transfer off his skin to hers. She immediately put her arms around him, and held him as tightly as she could. Hugging him, bare skinned, was incomparably better than hugging him with her suit on. His hands moved up and down her back, causing her to feel chills of pleasure tingle up her spine.

"Does that help with the cold, Tali?" Shepard asked happily; he already knew the answer. Tali immediately and eagerly nodded her head.

"Oh Shepard… your skin feels so—I've never felt anything like this, ever. It's just so… so warm, and soft…" Tali answered as she began to gently nuzzled Shepard's neck, giving it several soft kisses. Even Shepard wasn't immune to the chills he got from feeling Tali's lips and warm breath on his neck.

They just stood there for a while, holding each other. She still had the lower part of her suit on, but Shepard knew she really enjoyed this moment in particular, and he didn't want to rush her. Though it's a moment they were sharing together, Shepard wanted it to be more for her than himself. She was such a wonderful person, and she had gone through so much; she shouldn't have had a day like that one. She deserved so much better.

"It's not like you to leave something unfinished…" Tali said in a slightly flirty tone, referring to her lower suit still being on. Shepard was caught off guard by her comment; by her sudden assertiveness. But it made him very happy to hear it. As cute as she was when nervous, he was glad to see her feel calm and confident with him. Her excitement was clearly winning against her nervousness.

"I think you're right, I should finish everything I start…" Shepard said as he took a step back, and let his hands slide from her back, down to her hips.

With his hands holding her hips, he gently guided her to back up. Her lower legs eventually got stopped by their bed and she sat down. Tali closed her eyes as she felt Shepard's index fingers hook over the top of the pants part of her suit, and she bit her lip as she felt what was left of her suit begin to slide down. Her lower suit slid down her thighs, then past her knees, and eventually reached her feet; with one last tug, they were off and on the floor. She sat on the bed, completely naked before Shepard. She slowly opened her eyes.

She saw Shepard smiling at her as he stood before her, but it was a very special smile. His eyes were very relaxed and his smile could only be described as warm and loving. It wasn't a smile fueled by excitement or arousal; but by love. His smile communicated it, but he felt the need to say it:

"I love you…"

With hearing it, and seeing it in his face—the last remnant of Tali's nervousness completely vanished. She was now completely ready.

"I know, Shepard… you've shown it in so many ways…" She responded with a happy look on her face. She took Shepard's hand, and pulled so that he fell on top of her. They both laughed quietly as he landed on her, lying on top of her body. She gave him a quick kiss. "There is one way you haven't shown me yet, though, or I you… it's time we change that…"

After a few kisses, Shepard removed what was left of his clothes, and the two of them finally joined together physically. Shepard was slow and very gentle with Tali as they made love together, but their strong feelings for each other greatly augmented their pleasure. Their intercourse was far beyond a mere physical activity. The two of them were sharing themselves, emotionally and physically, with the best thing either had ever found in the galaxy—each other.

Shepard stayed on top most of the time, and Tali found herself digging her nails into Shepard's upper back as they made love. He enjoyed it; the sharp stinging of her nails against his skin gave the moment some extra intensity. As time passed and their intimate experience progressed, they found themselves changing positions a few times—but they were always in a position where they could look at the other's face.

As the final moments of their intercourse approached, Tali was on top of Shepard, straddled on him as he lay on his back. Often times she would lean down so that her body was parallel with his and eagerly kissed his lips and neck in between her moans and heavy breathing. It wasn't long before they both reached the apex of their pleasure, and felt incredible bliss erupt and run through their bodies. They cuddled in closely as they finished, kissing each other repeatedly as their hands roamed on the other's body.

A while after they finished, both Tali and Shepard began to feel their eyelids get heavy as they held each other and cuddled. It had been a long and stressful day, with a multitude of strong emotions before, during, and after their intense combat on the Alarei. They were both very tired by this point, but also very relaxed and at peace; they began to doze off.

The air of the room was still cold by standards of Tali's sensitive skin. But she hadn't felt cold in a long time. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Shepard as she lay under the blanket snuggled against him. Shepard also had his arms around Tali, and held her body firmly against his.

Tali experienced warmth and comfort far beyond anything she could have ever experienced from within her suit, as she dozed off in Shepard's arms, her head resting on his chest.