#turian facial expressions

[justice4nihlus]

Turian Behavior and Mannerisms by Oblivious-Man this is such a well thought out read

[pinkfey]

thinking about andromeda again and like why didn’t they make facial animations a prime focus when the game is 50% cutscenes 😐

[lilmissnatcat24]

never in a million years will you guess what color shepard's eyes are (regency au)

“What’s your favorite color?” she blurted out, stopping suddenly. 

Garrus stopped with her, midstride, his foot balancing comically above the pavement. She wished that in that moment, some Citadel defense laser would take pity on her and obliterate her into dust. The redness on her ears traveled down her face and to her neck, leaving behind splotches. 

“My favorite color?” he repeated, aghast, as if she had grown a second head. 

“I’m sorry,” she fumbled. “I… I meant to get to know you better. Seeing as we are to be partnered for the next few months, I figured we should not be relegated as total strangers. But then every question I could think to ask was either incredibly personal or nearly offensive, and this was…” 

“The safest option?” he finished for her. She could not tell what turian facial expressions meant. He could be smiling or grimacing or cringing, and she would be none the wiser. Although, there was a bit of humor to his voice that alleviated her concerns, if only slightly. “And here, I thought I was the one who was bad with words.” 

“You mock me,” she grumbled, clasping her hands together as she began walking again, this time with a much quicker pace. 

Garrus followed quickly behind her. And behind the two of them, she heard the familiar footsteps of Kelly as her chaperone, and a turian woman with half of her face tattooed in all red as Garrus’s. She expected them to return to her silence, and was pleasantly surprised when he initiated back the conversation. 

“I see the time for crippling self doubt has crashed upon you, Miss Shepard,” he said conversationally. “Tell me, how little sleep have you gotten since my last visit?” 

“None whatsoever,” she replied bitterly. “I fear I have made the worst mistake of my life accepting your proposal.” 

“Well, doesn’t that inspire heaps of confidence?” 

“How could you be so aloof?” she asked, turning her head to face him as they turned a corner. He stared ahead, almost as if determined not to look at her. Lord Vakarian held himself with almost an austere air, as if he were constantly posing for a sculptor to chisel his likeness into marble. “You asked for my hand in marriage. I accepted that hand! And then you shall flee from it all, as if none of it had ever happened in the first place. Yet you stand here, cool and composed. How is that possible?” 

“We are walking, not standing.” 

“My Lord--” 

“Trust me, Miss Shepard,” Garrus said. “My bout of panicked thoughts and nighttime sweats have passed. You should have seen me before I included you into my plans. Much was contingent upon you accepting my proposal, and not throwing me out on your stoop in disgrace.” 

“You have me at quite the disadvantage, then,” she grunted.

She knew it was foolish to feel such a way, but she was angry at Lord Vakarian. At the very least, if he came to their first date in a similar manner of alarm, then she would at least feel the camaraderie between the two. A partnership that he himself promised her. Now, she felt like the butt of a horrible joke, the pawn in the great schemes that she had no power nor control over. It was infuriating-- and so the only person to take it out on with any sort of satisfaction was Garrus.  

“Green,” he said after some time. 

“I beg your pardon?” 

“You asked for my favorite color,” he said. “And although I have chided you-- which was undoubtedly a fun experience for me, I promise-- I do agree with your sentiment. It would be wise if we knew each other better. So that is my answer to your question.” 

“Green, as in… grass?” Shepard asked. 

“Green as in a sprig of peppermint.” 

“Do you like peppermint, then?” 

Garrus hesitated for some odd reason. He dared a glance down at her, as if afraid to get caught. His eyes met hers, and for reasons she could neither quantify nor qualify, she felt a jolt in the pits of her stomach, as if the Citadel’s gravity lurched for a moment. The redness was back in her ears, burning so hot they nearly singed her hair. 

“Not particularly,” he replied, fixing his eyes straight ahead once more. 

[sol-consort]

I was re-reading your Turian post about what they would be attracted to with the bird comparisons and honestly for a long time I didn’t think the Turians resembled birds at all and thought it was weird they were called that but you’ve made me see it, they are in fact birds

The way the world works and information is traded is a wild thing my man, it was only through mere coincidence that I started seeing them as birds bc of some random reddit comment that stumbled my way on a flop post.

I finished ME1 not seeing the resemblance at all. Hell, even during ME2, I still didn't get the whole bird imagery everyone insisted upon so much. Turians reminded me of lizards more, beareded dragons specifically, even dragonborns dnd wise since I was coming fresh out of dnd games.

I guess little things piled up over time. The fringes on their heads reminded me of bird feathers, the sharp beak that resembled that of a bird of prey, the whole eagle symbolism overlapping with the military.

Their lack of lips to make room for a flat-ish beak. Their colourful face tattoos and how some bird species cut stripes of colourful leaves and papar to decorate their feathers with. How turians have literal claws instead of hands and feet.

Honestly, a person would only need to glance at the turian early concept art before the bird symbolism becomes crystal cleaer. They're less of "eagles soaring through the skies" birds and more of a "chicken ancestors" birds

Their vocal cords are, in fact, very capable of squeaking + their fringes flare up and puff as a form of facial expression.

The best frame of reference we have is dinosaur-esque flying reptiles from before the meteor hit the earth. They're described as bird-like yet still check the boxes in the reptile qualification just like the turians. Maybe the turians are just the dinosaurs of Pavalan that managed to out-evolve nature instead of going instinct from the radiation. Pterosaurs come to mind

So either turians never evolved wings, or they had to de-evolve the wings away in order to afford their metalic exoskeleton, having both is pretty taxing genetically. Much like humans used to have tails, and now only our tailbones remain, turians might have had wings at one point, which explains the awkward joints and sharp bends in their limbs.

Or actually, it's probably the feathers that make much more sense to have been removed from their genetic pool through natural selection since feathers = little to no metallic exoskeleton = death from the sun laser. Their fringes could either have been support structures to make their feathers appear more puff, or it could be a phenotype for the sole purpose of mimicking feathers to attract a mate? Their sharp face mandibles could also have been part of one gaint beak at some point, but got in the way of their exoskeleton, causing it to fracture and split until their front face became almost flattened down.

I mean–

If the shoe fits?

[vidra-comprehends]

Blorbo from my fanfics, a. k. a. the turian I have been painfully gay about for the past week or so.

Milo (pronounced 'me-lo') is my adaptation of Melenis, one of Garrus' team members in his Archangel days.

[ID: A scan of an A4 page filled with seven pencil and pen drawings of the same character. She is a light brown turian female from the Mass Effect universe with red facial markings. A downward-facing triangle covers the top of her nose, while two half-circles adorn her browplates, hinting at a full circle. Her eyes are yellow with green rims.

From the top, left to right:

A full-body drawing of Milo in an unusual red and white outfit. It looks like she wears it as casual clothing. The stretchy dark red and black fabric covering her arms hints at a large muscle mass. An independent text bubble next to her reads: 'That's our Milo.'

Milo from the waist up in custom-made Eclipse armour. She does not have any facial markings here. She is reading a datapad. She is asking someone: 'So, next meeting?' 'Ugh, do you not know how to read?' comes the answer. 'This is last week's schedule,' she explains in turn.

A child's drawing of Milo in her vigilante outfit, which is a set of dark blue armour with Archangel's sign on the front. The drawing itself shows exceptional understanding of dimension and form, but the writing next to it makes it clear that the author is still learning how to write. It takes them a few tries to spell 'vigilante' correctly, while the other side reads: 'I know she is a turian, but I want to be like her when I grow up.'

A full-body drawing of Milo looking back over her shoulder. She is wearing an unusual outfit, which uses dark blue, purple, green and yellow elements as well as various textures and patterns. A text bubble connected to her says: 'Is this comedy night? No? Then leave me alone.'

Another drawing from the waist up, but this one is more simple with only the red outlines of the person. It is clear that some areas of the body and the padded armour have blood smeared over them. Her eyes, her facial markings and the liquid oozing from her mouth are completely black. She is pointing towards the viewer. Over the apparition is black lettering that reads: 'What do I tell them, Shepard?'

A drawing showing Milo's upper body and part of her thighs. Her purple-red-black outfit is suitable for a night club's environment. Orange and blue lights shine on her from opposite sides. She rests an elbow on a counter or railing (which is not depicted), slightly leaning forward. Her expression is confident. A conversation between two unseen characters reads: 'I think I'm jealous…' 'She's working.' 'Still.'

In the last drawing, Milo is clothed in an outfit similar to the first one, but also covering her arms and using heavier fabrics. Her arms are raised in the process of some hand gesture. She looks up and to the side.]

[dragonflight203]

Some thoughts as I replay Mass Effect 1:

-Hackett is one of the ones to recommend Shepard as a spectre. No wonder he feels comfortable calling them up for missions through the game. He probably feels Shepard owes them a few.

-One of Joker's first lines is that he doesn't like having spectres on board. That tune changes quite quickly.

-The game eases into aliens. For the few couple of hours the player only interacts with humans and one turian. Another turian is shown in a cutscene. Geth, which are basically advanced robots, are enemies you can kill without guilt. It's not until the citadel that the game really embraces alien diversity. Bioware's wariness on how comfortable players would be about aliens shows very clearly.

-During the Eden Prime drop scene Kaidan is the one to ask about survivors. Of course he is. Kaidan, you paragon.

-Everyone learned about aliens in school. Everyone is an adult. First contact was 30 odd years ago. How exactly did the curriculum get updated so quickly that everyone learned about this in school? Bioware, your timelines make me cry.

-Manuel definitely got hit by the beacon at some point. Interesting that he also saw Saren, but his speech is so confusing no one realizes he's talking about a second turian.

-Nihlus may feel differently about humans than Saren, but he is Saren's student. He skipped all the survivors and made a beeline to the beacon. He's not cruel, but he is efficient. The beacon is the priority.

-Nihlus, we hardly knew ya. Every time I replay it's always surprising how short his screen time is. And those faces when he interacts with Saren... Bioware did a very good job on making him nonhuman but still recognizably expressive. The difference in facial expressions between ME1 and MEA are light years.

-Benezia is clearly used to Saren's tantrums. She dodged like it's something she does on a regular basis.

-Kaidan, about informing the Council about Saren: "Makes sense. They'd probably like to know he's not working for them anymore." Love this man.

-Kaidan only gets migraines. Having experienced one recently, that's a big only. And he's soldier that's frequently in combat. I hope the future has excellent pain killers.

-For this playthrough I'm planning to have Tali and Liara as companions, so I'm skipping everything on the Citadel that isn't necessary or unique to the first visit until I pick them up. It makes the game feel quite different. I usually spend hours on the Citadel during my first visit; this time I'm leaving quite quickly.

-Pallin's skepticism about humanity makes more sense when Harkin is considered. Harkin was the first human in C-Sec, he's corrupt as hell, and humanity did a lot behind the scenes to protect him. Pallin's big on following the law no matter what. No wonder he's not impressed by humanity.

-Anderson has extreme tunnel vision about Saren. From the minute he's mentioned he's convinced Saren's behind it and he's doing it solely out of hatred of humanity. He repeatedly brings this up.

Meanwhile, in the game I get the vibe that Saren doesn't care about humanity too much. He doesn't like them, he might antagonize them if the opportunity comes up, but they're not worth the bother to put actual effort into tormenting. Humanity just isn't that important to him.

-Love those silent interactions between council members where they just look at each other. Again, the difference between ME1 and MEA is stark.

-Going by the Geth core Tali retrieved, Saren considers Eden Prime a victory. The tantrum he threw indicates otherwise. Does he really consider it a victory, or is that just a speech he gave to motivate the Geth?

-At this time, I'm not convinced Anderson believes in the Reapers. He still thinks it's Saren, he just doesn't think it's worth debating Shepard on it.

-I genuinely like Udina as a character. I'd hate to be around him, but he's determined to do a good job, pragmatic, and truly devoted to humanity. Also nice to have someone around who pushes back against Shepard. ME3 wastes him.

-Garrus mentions that he rose in the ranks through C-Sec. What was his actual rank? Detective or the like, I presume. Pallin knows who he is, and that's impressive considering the number of officers there are. Even with Castis as a father.

-Tali mentions Quarian overseers to the Geth when speaking to Shepard. The game definitely pushes the slavery parallels with the Geth, even in ME1. "Overseer" is not the first term I'd use for supervising machinery. Or maybe that's the American cultural bias showing through.

-Everyone info dumps in ME1. Everyone. Enjoyable, but a bit exhausting at the start of the game when it feels continuous.

-Liara in ME1 is a completely different character than in ME2 and ME3. I'm hesitant to consider the change natural growth. It's a shame, because ME1 Liara has quite a bit of potential. They didn't need to rework her character for the later games.

-First time playing on Insanity, and I'm surprised at the lack of trouble I've had so far. Everyone says the battle with the krogan at the end of Therum is difficult, but I only died once. I might regret this later, when I get to the Uncharted worlds...

Edit: Fix spellings

[omniblades-and-stars]

✨Let's talk about OCs!✨How would you describe your OC's personality/aesthetic? What's your favourite thing about them? Tell us a fun fact(s) about your OC or their creation!

❤️Send this to at least 3 people to spread some OC appreciation!❤️

Oh wow, you can't just ask the girl with a thousand OCs to describe their OCs. I will go on forever and ever and ever. So in the spirit of trying to force myself to get back to work on PtK, I am going to answer for the girls who have shown up in the story so far!

How would you describe your OC's personality/aesthetic?

Lou: Lou is vivacious, she's bubbly but a lot of the bubbly comes out when she's burying the sadness she has even deeper. She's very confident, and doesn't know a whole lot of shame.

She loves tight clothes with rich colors. Though she frequently slinks around in her blue and gray flex armor suit, especially when she's on Omega because a person like her gets into too much trouble not to have at least the suggestion of armor on her body.

Nilea: Nilea can be stiff mannered and sometimes brash. She has a hard time connecting to people, feeling always a bit like she's just on the outside. But once she does feel like she's friends with you, she's ride or die even if she's quite certain your plans are going to get her killed. She's very neat. She's also prone to bouts of depression where she doesn't take care of herself despite how generally regimented she lives her life.

Nilea cares more about utility than style. Her most recent armor (heavy) was red, but she's not married to the color by any means. And for casual wear she's just wearing an easy and comfortable shirt and whatever the turian equivalent of cargo pants is. It's never a bad idea to have lots of pockets.

Yaeno: Yaeno is the type who can command a room without trying and without coming off as arrogant. She's charismatic and very good at people. She cares deeply about what she does for a living (rescuing people from pirates, slavers and mercenaries when authorities won't get involved). She makes fast friends when she deems those people worth her time of course.

Yaeno, being a quarian, wears an envirosuit. She wears good deep purples and oranges with white embroidered highlights and patterns. Sometimes she even ventures to wear a clear faceplate, but not always. She thinks it's nice occasionally to leave people guessing about what's really going on with her facial expressions.

What's your favorite thing about them?

Lou: She's clever and very adaptable. She makes a very unlikely sort of bounty hunter and that's because instead of brute force she plays to her own strengths.

Nilea: Her principles. She has a set of principles that she feels so strongly about that she even blew up her entire life about. Also.... tall alien woman with a gun...

Yaeno: Her determination. I don't necessarily want to call it unshakable confidence, though confidence plays a role. She's sure enough of herself and her goals to look at the impossible and terrifying odds and chuckle at them.

Fun facts about their creation!

Firstly, this story all started because I had an idea for a homebrew tabletop game I'm still trying to figure out how to make rules for.

(If you've got ideas about that please let me know.)

Lou: Lou started because I was tired of people with southern accents being the stupid one in a group and also not being represented like hardly at all in sci-fi media. Also, I dumped all of my bipolar manic episode impulses into her.

Nilea: Her name was originally going to be Ione.

Yaeno: Was originally just going to be in the game as an art for character creation pages and possibly as a named NPC but then this whole venture turned into a real story in my brain that I needed to write very badly.

Thanks for this fun little chain ask! Reminds me of the days of yore.

[serendipitys-teapot]

WIP Whenever

Thank you for the tag, @dispatchwithlove! I also got tagged for the WIP title game by @lilmissnatcat24 (thank you, too!), but sadly I only have one WIP at the moment (I really can't handle more than one thing at a time), so I figured this sort of answers both. My current WIP is as of yet unnamed, though one of its file names is Dissonance, which I'm sure is going to change a few times before I finally post it.

She took a deep breath, willing the tension of earlier to leave her body as she breathed out. There was a flash of light as they passed by an illuminated advertisement, and she looked up as the train was thrust back into darkness. The people around her were silent as they gazed at their omni-tools and datapads, or let their eyes drift shut as they found solace in the motion. There was another flash of light, red this time as they passed a glowing neon sign. Creeping unease began to return, though she couldn’t put her finger on why. She searched for a reason until finally the last line of the message replayed itself through her mind. You’re being watched. Shepard looked up, a sudden fear gripping her chest. They approached another illuminated billboard, and her eyes raked over the faces of those around her, searching for something… anything. The light faded, and she saw nothing. No one was looking at her, no one seemed in any way abnormal, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She relaxed again as she leaned into the pole, somehow infinitely more exhausted than she’d been only minutes before. Another flash of light, and she froze. Across the train car, almost entirely obscured by other passengers, stood a turian. He was tall, with pale, angular face plates that could almost be called sharp. Despite the rocking of the train, he stood utterly still, his gaze unwavering as it drilled into her with pale, icy blue eyes. They narrowed and his mandibles flared to expose a row of terrifyingly sharp teeth. Though Shepard knew very little of turian facial expressions, it conveyed a hunger that gripped her with a primal terror. She was prey. An instant later, the train left the billboard behind and they were thrust back into darkness. Shepard’s breath caught in her throat, and a moment later, a tall woman bumped into her, causing her to stumble. When she looked back up, the turian was gone.

Almost forgot to tag others! @otemporanerys, @misseffect, @kalliesa, @milkywayes, @brinnybee, @diaphanouso, @iheartgarrus, (sorry if any of you have been over tagged, I'm really spotty on tumblr lately) and anyone else who would like to participate and share!

[drelldreams]

ME Detailed Character Template 💙

It’s long, so under the cut.

[I.] Basic Data

Full name:

Alias:

Age:

Gender:

Species:

Place of birth:

Date of birth:

Occupation:

Location:

Romantic orientation:

Sexual orientation:

[II.] Physical Appearance

Basics

Height:

Weight:

Build:

Skin color:

Eye color

Hair color: (If species with hair)

Crest color: (If species with crest)

Fringe structure (If turian)

Hair length:

Hair structure:

Facial features:

Tattoos

Scars

Piercings

Fashion

Armor:

Casual attire:

Formal attire:

Overall fashion style:

Color palette:

Make up:

Accessoires:

Signature scent:

Demeanor

Speech mannerism:

Voice description:

Default facial expression:

Body language:

Presence:

[III.] Combat & Physical Abilities

Biotic abilities:

Weapon abilities:

Physical abilities: (Hand to hand combat, melee weapons, extraordinary agility, being examples)

Tech abilities:

Special skills: (Infiltration, assassination, espionage, leadership, investigation..)

Fighting style:

Threat level:

[IV.] Personality

Positive traits:

Negative traits:

Most dominant traits:

Mental disabilities/impairments:

Fears:

Goals:

Likes:

Dislikes:

[V.] Relationships

Family:

Friends:

Lover(s):

Ex(es):

[babygirlgarrus7]

Scars

Shepard wakes up to bright lights and pain. Garrus sits next to her for days as she slowly begins to function speech and movement.

Warnings: blood, mention of violance, angst, swearing, fluff

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Masterlist

Rewrite the Stars

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Garrus sat next to the white bed that covered his commander, his lover. Machines and tubes running in and out of her, beeping of the heart rate. It was chaos when he first arrived at the hospital they threw her in.

Her mother of course was the first to see her. It took hours before she came out with a sour look on her face. Garrus knew that face, even though Turian and Humans don’t have similar facial structure, they have similar expressions. He seen it when the doctor came to tell his family about his mother’s disease.

Garrus could feel his whole body start to shut down when the words left her mouth about how she still is in critical. How there is still a chance of her not surviving. Liara placed a hand on his shoulder. After all the visits and Admirl Shepard had to go meet with the council, it was just him, the machines, and his Shepard.

He would sleep on the uncomfortable chair, having the nightmares of the Reapers taking over instead of winning. Watching Mila be killed over and over again. Or his family. Garrus couldn’t sleep, let alone, nap. Joker came by about a day ago making sure she wasn’t awake yet, he was going to be gone for a couple of weeks to find his sister.

Garrus laid back as he ate the dexto food that was brought to him by the nurse that takes care of Mila. She was kind enough to ask what he particularly likes. Drink and food wise. He would watch her bathe Mila by putting a rag in a bin full of water and wash around the wounds as another would do the same.

The nurse even taught him how to change bandages (like he has never done them before.) As time went by the more and more hope had left, he felt like the coma would never leave her, that she would stay in this state. He brought her flowers that would eventually die and be thrown out but he would get new ones. So when she would wake up she would see new lively flowers.

It was night at this point, outside were commotion of vehicles taking out the rubble that the war caused. Humans to Salarian a like helping to rebuild London. A large bang echoed throughout the street, startling Garrus. He got up and looked out the window watching a Korgan getting yelled at by a tiny human woman. It was a scene to be unfold.

Garrus watched until he heard a choking gurgling sound. He snapped his over to the noise to see Mila’s eyes frantic and trying to rip the tube from her throat. Garrus ran to her and pressed the button to get the nurses to pile in.

“Shepard it’s alright,” Garrus said trying to soothe her. She was frantically trying to breathe but the tube. He held her hands down. “I know I know they are coming.”

Nurses casually pushed him out so they could get what needed out. He waited and waited until one of the nurses came out. “Mr. Vakarian,” She asked cautiously, he leaned off the wall and nodded. “She is ready for you.”

Without a pause he walked in watching her breathe little heavy. One eye closed shut, as the other piled out. Garrus waited for a moment for Mila to look over. “Vakarian,” Her voice was quiet hoarse, her hand reached out for him. He grabbed it as soon as he reached her, placing it on his lips to give small kisses. “Did we win?”

Garrus chuckled. “Yes Shepard, we won. We kicked ass.”

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Mila was starting to get frustrated, she has been awake for 2 months now. However her motor skills are improving slower than she wanted to. She had therapy that would help her get her to walk better, nurses helping her walk around. Her speech is equivalent to a 5th grader. She knew she could do better but the healing process was having her go backwards.

Her mother would reassure her that it is normal especially from what she has been through. Mila however, doesn’t remember how or even what happened after the small child. She didn’t know either though, if was a dream or it actually happened.

Garrus was always there, no matter what was happening. Which to her knowledge he was always like that. There were even memories or people she had a hard time remembering, she would go with it not wanting the concern to come from anyone. Brain damage works like that, somethings are there and some not.

After the appointment of walking in the water she sat out of breathe. “I’m sick of this,” She mumbled as Garrus handed her a bottle of water. “I do…” She paused trying to make the word, she knew what the word is but her brain froze.

Garrus waited for a moment. “You don’t like it.” He finished quietly looking away knowing she didn’t want him to look at her.

Lately when she had a hard time speaking she would get embarrassed, Garrus could feel it. Mila knew that. “Yeah.” She whispered taking a sip of her water bottle.

They sat there for a moment before Garrus sighed. “I have a spot for you,” He asked standing up to grab the small walker. “Care for an adventure?”

Mila looked at Garrus up and down before smirking. “Breaking me out Vakarian?”

“Well you know,” He helped her place her hands on the sides and grabbed her chin carefully. “Archangel never follows rules.”

Mila chuckled lightly as they walked out of the room, carefully Garrus found a wheelchair to snatch before placing her on. “How much I love to see you waddle Shepard. I think this would be a faster get away car.”

“Good thinking Garrus.” Mila said smiling.

“They should be on break as of now.” Garrus mumbled looking down the hallway. Mila looked up at him arching her brow. “Don’t look at me like that.” He chuckled his mandibles moving from amusement.

Slowly he moved the wheelchair up and checked around corners until it was clear and sprinted down the hall. Shepard giggled placing her hand over her mouth. Both Garrus and Mila started to laugh as the elevator went down.

Once leaving the hospital he wheeled her down a side street. It wasn’t a far walk, for what it was worth, Mila thought that it would be a while but it had to be at most a couple blocks away. Mila looked around, it was sunny today, no clouds in sight. The typical machines and construction happening around them from the war but there was still birds and animals coming out of places.

“I’m…surprised,” Mila paused collecting her words. “There are birds.”

Garrus nodded. “Yeah, they just showed up two days ago.”

Mila sighed as she closed her eyes hearing the sounds around her. She felt a small breeze hit her skin, it felt nice to actually feel fresh air than the air in the hospital. Just being out of there helped.

Mila felt the chair come to a slow halt. “We are here Mi.” Garrus said whispering in her ear.

Mila opened her eyes to be on a small hilltop on a street, it overlooked the sea and a small meadow. It was beautiful. There wasn’t destruction as the other places around. The sun hitting the water just right to make it feel like a painting. She sighed out and smiled up at Garrus, she reached out as he lowered his head so her hand met his cheek.

The scar that he had on the side of his face made her happy every time. Any scars that was on him, she would tell him over and over again how beautiful they were. He hummed, closing his eyes, as Mila swiped over his scar.

“I missed you.” Garrus whispered opening them back up.

Mila smiled. “Me too.”

They both sat there as he rubbed his hands on her thighs, going over the scars she has now.

[jackals-ships]

almost one am so we're back to the bouncy brain hours more than usual and it's partially me chewing on Zander Shepard an partially me seeing a post and going "I should eventually write a turian facial expression to human equivalent post-"

[spader7]

careful with his face!

[goatsorcery]

People Like Us Don't Get Eternity  (Mass Effect Fic)

After the war and the reapers, Shepard, back from the dead for a second time, struggles to find her place in a galaxy that has mourned her as a martyr.

Read complete fic on AO3: Link

Read the first chapter below:

It wasn’t the first time Shepard found herself buried under the weight of rubble after saving the galaxy, though this victory on the Citadel wasn’t one she could just walk away from. She could feel her fingers and toes barely moving as she tried to push herself off the ground. The world around her was hazy, debris still smoldering. But hope came in the form of the red emergency lights that tried to cut through the thick smoke clouding the room. The Citadel still had electricity, at least enough to power some emergency systems. To Shepard, that was all she needed. Some sign of hope that things could continue on after she chose to destroy the Reapers.

Shepard’s consciousness didn’t last long, just enough to notice the emergency lights, and keepers scuttling about. Even if no one found her, she finally felt as though she had won. Though worries about Garrus and her crew plagued her as her vision faded to black once more…

Visions of Harbinger haunted Shepard’s restless sleep. The sound of reapers as they descended on Earth. Flashes of pain in moments of awareness. Shepard instinctively moved her arms, attempting to push whatever heaviness was keeping her pinned down. When her arms felt no resistance, she opened her eyes. The carnage of the Citadel had been replaced with the sterility of a hospital, though still worse for wear. Shepard moved to stand, but felt hands push her back down. “Slow down there, Commander.”

To her left, a doctor she hadn’t noticed before. Shepard didn’t have to look twice to notice the alliance uniform and was relieved to not find herself in Cerberus’s hands again. “Where’s the Normandy? Where am I?” she asked, her voice much weaker than she expected.

The alliance doctor sighed and walked to the far wall. What Shepard had assumed was some sort of service panel was a set of mechanical blinds. The doctor pushed the controls, reveling a familiar view of the Citadel. “You’re at Huerta, commander.”

Shepard, craning her neck, could tell it was in a better state than last she saw it, but there was still much to be done. “The Citadel?”

“Surprised us too, but those keepers really know what they’re doing.”

Shepard stared over the Citadel, looking worse for wear, but clearly nothing that couldn’t be fixed. The catalyst was right about that, at least. Shepard almost feared asking again, after not getting a response the first time. “And the Normandy?”

“Helping to repair the relays. Whatever that weapon did, it knocked everything out.”

Shepard could feel a slight smile on her face, though she found facial expressions to be a bit painful to make. The doctor picked up on this. “Your implants had to be replaced. Say what you will about Cerberus, they did have the upper leg on tech like this. Turian hardware might take some getting used to.”

“Turian?”

“And Krogan as well, actually. They’re still working together, somehow. We’ll see if it lasts.”

Shepard looked out the window again, watching ships zip around as if nothing had even happened. “Are com buoys up?”

“Some have been repaired, but most are still not operational.”

Shepard continued to stare at the Citadel. The alliance doctor could tell that wasn’t actually her question. “We can get a message to the Normandy, Commander, but it’ll take some time.”

“I need to--,” Instinctively, Shepard moved to stand again, but was stopped by her own pain rather than the doctor’s interference. She groaned and leaned back slowly, white-knuckling and gritting her teeth, “I guess I can wait.”

~~~

Though Palaven was one of the first council homeworlds the reapers attacked, it did also have the advantage of being a priority on clean up. Only a handful of months after the reapers’ destruction, and there were already massive restoration projects underway. The galaxy’s unity didn’t dissolve after the end of the war, some out of respect for Shepard’s sacrifice, other’s because they saw that they only way forward was together. The threat of the reapers didn’t leave with them, memories were still fresh, and even if they never faced another reaper again, there were still other things in the galaxy that one species could never handle alone.

The Normandy was assigned to oversee the repairs of the relays, though less so “assigned” and moreso demanded by the Normandy’s new commander, Ashley. As a spectre and dedicated alliance solider, she was Admiral Hackett’s first choice when it came to the decision of replacing Shepard. Though Hackett was aware that Shepard was receiving medical treatment on the Citadel, he didn’t share the hope the doctors had for her recovery, and kept all records of her condition classified even from the Normandy crew.

Ashley was resistant at first. She never saw herself with a command of her own, and certainly couldn’t see herself replacing Shepard. But, if anyone was going to lead the Normandy crew, it wasn’t going to be some outsider. Adjusting to leading the Normandy was smooth enough, though she found herself appreciating how easy Shepard made the job look.

There was always the feeling of being in someone else’s shoes, and it didn’t help that those shoes belonged to the hero of the galaxy, their savior against the reapers. Liara was always the first to protest when Ashley would discount her own abilities, but even with constant reassurance from the rest of the squad mates she never felt like she truly made the cut.

Most days, she was just grateful the Normandy was still in one piece, with all her crew inside. She found comfort in fact the old squad stayed. When the war ended, and the dust settled, Ashley feared they’d all go back to their home worlds leaving her to lead a new crew alone. But, with travel so limited, there wasn’t much of a chance to.

Garrus got lucky that his home system was part of Normandy’s mission. The relay in Apien’s Crest was vital to the surrounding systems, and the Normandy was tasked with overseeing its repairs, along with deliveries of supplies to Palaven. Somehow, Garrus’ family had made it off Palaven alive, and saw them often as their duty as Turians dictated they help repair the relay as well. With Palaven how it was just a few short months ago, it felt surreal to see it get back on its feet so soon.

The Normandy felt the same way. Though it had been mostly spared from serious damage and its crew compliment was nearly identical, the ship still felt off. When not paying too close attention, one could mistake it for the Normandy SR1, back when everyone was comfortable believing reapers were just a myth. But Garrus felt the obvious emptiness, the elephant in every room. Long calibrations in the main battery were mostly silent and lonely, except for the occasional interruptions from Tali or Liara checking in on him.

Passing by the names of those they lost made it hard to walk to a simple elevator ride or to go to crew quarters. Shepard’s name on a plaque, the only thing that really had changed about the ship. There were more times than he wanted to admit that he’d press the button for the captain’s quarters, not thinking. Once, after doing shots with James, Garrus made it all the way to the door of the captain’s quarters before realizing his mistake. Ashley was of course understanding when she opened the door, but Garrus couldn’t help but feel like a burden.

He knew Shepard would want him to move on, to find happiness and direction without her, but a part of him was still not convinced he had to. During late night strolls around the ship, Garrus would contemplate taking the plaque down. He had regretted it since the moment he hung it up but realized that moment was more for the rest of the squad than it was for him. He worried it was his own stubbornness rather than actual chance that made him believe Shepard was still alive. There had been so many close calls before, this just didn’t feel like the end to him. Everyone else seemed to stroll around as normal, Garrus didn’t want to believe Shepard wouldn’t get that chance as well.

After getting drunker than responsible one night with Tali in the lounge, Garrus passed by the wall of names again. Something drew him to it, probably the turian ale overrunning his system, enough that all other considerations were put aside. He took the plaque and launched it out an airlock.

The next morning, the plaque’s absence was immediately noticed. Garrus swore it was a dream, but the empty space above Admiral Anderson’s name made it clear. Though, it didn’t last long. By that afternoon, another plaque had been printed and hung on the wall, identical to the last as if nothing had changed.

“You think it was one of the new recruits as some kind of joke?” Tali said as she tried and missed getting a straw in her induction port.

“Who would joke about something like that?” Liara’s serious tone overshadowed her drunken state. She leaned back and took another sip.

“Yeah, new recruit hazing is bound to happen, but I don’t know.” James took a shot and refilled his glass, then refilled for Ashley and Garrus as well.

Gathering in the lounge for drinks had become a regular recurrence, though tonight Ashley was too distracted by work on her PDA to notice. However, Garrus slammed his shot down quick, trying to avoid saying anything that might worry them. “We’re still all so caught up on this? There’s a new one up already.”

But he realized that wasn’t quite the right thing to say either, as they all turned to him, even getting Ashley to look up from her PDA.

“Sorry,” Garrus quickly caught himself. “Just seems silly.”

Liara set her glass down a bit too hard, “After everything she sacrificed, least she deserves is a plaque without it being desecrated.”

“You think I don’t know that,” Garrus stood, bumping the table and tipping some glasses, though James’ reflexes caught the bottle. “I’m just tired of acting as though some plaque is any consolation.”

He turned to leave, bumping the table again, but everyone grabbed their glasses in time. As soon as the doors shut behind Garrus, they all turned to each other. James poured himself another shot, “So, Garrus definitely took the plaque down, no?”

Tali sighed, “I’ve been worried he’s still in denial.”

“I’ve been monitoring alliance and Citadel communications since they started cleaning up debris, just in case there’s any word of…” Liara trailed off, she didn’t have to finish her sentence. “But, I haven’t heard anything yet.”

Ashley set down her PDA and took her shot, “It’d be nice for closure, at least. You catch anything about Shepard’s mom?”

Liara shook her head, “Not since she tried to reach out to Garrus.”

“He never responded?”

“He didn’t know what to say,” Tali said, “What really is there to say?”

They all stared a moment at their empty glasses. “At least there’s a Shepard still running around the galaxy,” James said as he filled his glass again.

~~~

Shepard stood at the window, staring out over the Citadel, propping herself up against the wall. Her doctors had warned about standing for extended periods of time while her new implants healed, but she was tired of laying around. It was the first time in a long time where she wasn’t off to fight some threat, or save a colony, or build an army, and all she could do was stare as the Citadel slowly became itself again.

BEEP. The telecom on the wall flashed, though Shepard didn’t turn to see it. “You have a visitor, Commander.”

Before she could ask who, Admiral Hackett stepped into the room. Shepard’s muscle memory brought her arm up to salute, though her healing implants had other ideas, sending a wave of pain through her arm, causing her to grimace. Hackett threw up his hand, “You don’t have to do all that for me, Shepard. You’re the one worth saluting here.”

Shepard tried to remain standing, but quickly grew tired without the wall to support her. Hackett moved a chair over to her, which she thanked him for as she sat. “I have to admit, I’m a bit surprised to see you on your feet at all, Shepard.”

“You really think anything can keep me down for long?” She said, a bit out of breath.

Hackett let out a short, dry laugh, “Your track record does prove otherwise.”

He moved to the window and looked out over the Citadel. “If you had told me when the reapers attacked Earth that we’d be here today, able to talk without a looming threat… actually I believe you did a few times. But I couldn’t fathom it, none of us could.”

Shepard considered telling Hackett about the true nature of the crucible and the catalyst, but she wondered if it was real anyhow. The last thing she remembered for sure was Hackett’s voice telling her to activate the weapon and pressing the button to launch. For all she knew, the catalyst and the choice was all in her head. She repeatedly went over it in her mind, but every time it felt more like a dream. She couldn’t decide which option was more comforting; that it wasn’t a choice, or that it was.

“About the Normandy…”

Hackett turned from the window, “I know you’re eager to return to the field, Shepard, but your implants are experimental, the doctors don’t know how well they’ll do under strain.”

Shepard hated this answer, and Hackett could see, which put him at in worse position to deliver more bad news. “The fact is Shepard, saying these implants are experimental was an understatement. I’m sure you’ve intimidated the doctors into telling you the origin of the implants. They’re newer than the Turian-Krogan alliance, with even more growing pains.”

“No shit.”

“Until you woke up a few days ago, no one believed you ever would, and I’m sorry to admit that included me. You’ve walked away from worse Shepard, but these implants don’t have the research or the funding that Cerberus did. That blast wiped out the reapers, but it destroyed the tech keeping you alive as well. If the keepers had delayed repairs on the section we found you in, there would’ve been no bringing you back this time.”

Shepard looked to her arms, the implants much more noticeable than her Cerberus ones, metal and glowing lights shining from beneath the skin. “This was a shot in the dark.”

“If there was a chance, we weren’t going to risk losing you, but we didn’t set our expectations high.”

“Highly classified.”

“Of course.”

“How classified?”

“Besides myself, the doctors you’ve seen, and a small team of turian and krogan scientists, everyone believes you died alongside the reapers. You’re a hero, Shepard, I want you to understand that.”

Shepard scoffed, it was like waking up in the Cerberus lab all over again, accept it was a familiar face telling her the news this time. Dead to the galaxy… again, with promises of glory as the only prize. She gestured to her implants, “They don’t expect them to work?”

“Like I said, they haven’t been field tested. They were modeled with the data we had, using your old implants as the blueprint, but our records are incomplete, and Cerberus intel is hard to come by these days. Most of their data was wiped by remaining operatives after the Illusive Man’s disappearance.”

Shepard noted another thing to probably not tell Hackett about. “When can I field test them then?”

“As soon as the doctors are assured that your condition is stable, you’ll need to be at your best when everyone finds out the galaxy’s hero survived all this.”

“No pressure.”

“That’s why I’m urging caution on this. Take things slow, Shepard. You saved the galaxy, but there’s still a place for you as we rebuild, when you’re ready.” Hackett glanced at the console on the wall. “You should get rest, Shepard. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can do about contacting the Normandy.”

“Thank you, sir.” Shepard tried to stand to salute as Hackett left, but she couldn’t muster the strength.

“At ease, solider.” he said, as the doors closed behind him.

Rest and ease weren’t words Shepard was really familiar with, and she didn’t feel like spending the time getting acquainted with them now. Every morning, she walked laps around her room, repped push-ups against the wall; baby steps to get her back in action. The doctors were impressed with her progress, but worried that her small hospital room would soon no longer be enough to contain her. Hackett had concerns launching Shepard back into action so quickly. Her loss deeply affected a galaxy that was so grateful for her sacrifice. Seeing her return now, and not be the Shepard they remember, could cause a range of problems. He doubted people would just believe Shepard suddenly came back from the dead, as a return of the Shepard VI or a clone seems more likely than supposed resurrection.

But Hackett knew keeping Shepard out of the ring could be even worse. Unity was holding, for now. As the council species rebuilt their strength, he feared they may not feel the need to rely on each other for much longer. Shepard brought them together, and she was the galaxy’s best chance of keeping it that way for the time being.

His decision to keep Shepard’s condition a secret from even those closest to her was a tough call on Hackett’s part. While he felt the Normandy deserved the truth about their commander, false hope seemed more cruel than lying. Attempts to avoid messages from Hannah Shepard were particularly difficult. With Shepard’s quick recovery, he doubted he made the right call, and worried what would happen if knowledge of her survival got out.

Hackett knew to keep things especially discreet to avoid any detection by the Shadow Broker, but knew a day would come that something would slip through the cracks.

“As I said,” Glyph’s robotic voice echoed off the walls of Liara’s room, “A complete sweep of the Citadel has been completed, based on the complied records of the council, alliance, keepers—”

“I understand that... I…” Liara typed frantically on her console, sorting through the records Glyph was referring to. “I just don’t believe they didn’t find anything.”

“Based on complied records from—”

“Thank you, Glyph.” Liara said, sharply, more of a command than a courtesy.

Glyph returned to his station, and Liara focused in on her data, bringing up all records on the Citadel’s clean-up. Every log, communication, transmission, docking, records of scavengers selling off reaper tech as souvenirs. Nothing about Shepard’s remains or even a trace of her.

“Maybe it was foolish to think there’d be anything to…” Liara said, to Glyph or herself, not able to finish the sentence without breaking into tears.

This was the second time she’d lost Shepard in this way, though the last time they were lovers. Though their relationship was different, Liara felt just as dedicated to finding Shepard now as she was then, even if it was just to lay her to rest. There was never any animosity between the two of them when they parted. Liara had changed over the two years Shepard was gone, and Shepard, back to life, was changed as well. There was the occasional jealousy when Shepard would spend her time with Garrus, but Liara was more focused on Shepard’s happiness, and Garrus really made her happy.

Digging again and again through all her compiled records, Liara just couldn’t fathom there being not a trace of Shepard left on the Citadel, not even ashes. The keepers records were very thorough as they catalogued everything they came across during the restoration. That combined with the alliance, council, and other efforts, someone had to have come across something. Liara would settle for a just a shred of Shepard’s armor.

Otherwise, Liara couldn’t shake the feeling that Shepard wasn’t really gone.

[dulcidyne]

Honestly, weird little gripe I have, but the aliens in Mass effect have translates right? But the animations sync up with English, so I'm hella curious as to what they actually sound like and look like when speaking tbh. Personally I think krogan bellow like frogs buts just me

Ugh, translators, OP you are so right, the more you think about them the less sense they make for canon and the in-game experience. I definitely understand the need to just simplify things and not commit to an alien language that is then subtitled for the player just to maintain the illusion that not everyone is just walking around speaking English. But I personally appreciate when media goes out of its way to demonstrate linguistic multiculturalism--it makes the world feel so much bigger and any game featuring aliens would benefit from that kind of world-building. In the books and the updated Bring Down the Sky codex update, there's mention of a simplified galactic trade tongue. I don't think this is what all the squadmates are using though, because I'd think it would be a bit limited for the breadth of communication used in the game. It's considered 'broad-minded and practical' to be able to speak without machine aid' so while Earth is linguistically divided, I do think that quite a few squadmates are good polyglot candidates. Liara, for one. Despite being anti-social, I see her studying all sorts of languages and probably picking up major Earth languages in her spare time just for the novelty and fun of it. I headcanon that for asari at least, the appearance of a bunch of new Earth languages spurred a whole trend of Earthophilia--everyone rushing to compare their proficiency in the various common languages. Samara (for the same reason), Mordin, Wrex (he's an experienced merc and he's ancient, I could totally see him teaming up and learning languages from humans just to know more unique insults to hurl at turians and salarians). Despite the 'translator glitch' comment from Shepard--even Thane for the same business practical reasons as Wrex? I have to think having an amazing memory would make picking up languages really easy. I think, despite his anatomical incompatibility with labial sounds, Garrus would be another polyglot--although probably less proficient than Liara. For one, turians had a military incentive to learn major Alliance languages during the First Contact War and they probably pioneered the initial translation effort. For another, he lives on the Citadel and his father works at C-Sec. I see the Citadel education system, whatever it is, highly emphasizing alien language development. It would be hugely advantageous for him to speak without translator aid to suspects and witnesses when he works at C-Sec. I also like to headcanon that Garrus is such a nuisance to Pallin, that by way of punishment and to sandbag his hothead tendencies, Pallin shoves him with every single human rookie to join the force and so Garrus has managed to pick up more human languages, turns of phrase, and gestures/facial expressions than most--even using them himself. So, it could be that Garrus is speaking an approximate variant of Shepard's native tongue and her translator is smoothing out all the missing m's p's and b's. Or maybe having the double syrinx (birds have syrinxes so that's what I think of instead of larynx) can 'fake' it pretty well. Either way, looking visually indistinct. I do like the headcanons I've seen where turian language meaning is highly pitch based with the subvocalizations conveying a lot of meaning, unbeknownst to the human ear. In the books, Omega is described as not employing any of the common trade tongue and being full of a ton of different untranslatable dialects that sound like a cacophony of squawks and grunts so the alien languages are definitely alien--we just sadly never get to hear them :( EVEN on Omega, how dare they. I love the idea that krogans bellow--they absolutely should! I also love most of the native turian language headcanons I've come across, the fandom has some really creative concepts out there! So in short, I think there is a headcanon that can fit with the game's animations--it's fun to me to think of Liara and Wrex busting out Mandarin every so often. But let's hope the next game gives us more linguistic diversity!

[dwarrowdams]

This isn't the Likarian princess/bodyguard snippet I'd planned to share, but I like it more because we get Liv being her brazen self.

Under the cut because it gets 🔥🔥

She could see the outline of his erection through his trousers, practically begging to be stroked. She rested a hand on his thigh and rubbed it gently with her thumb. “I want to make you come,” she said as she slid her hand up to his waistband and tugged at it. “Can you take these off so I can do that?”

Garrus hesitated. “You’re sure?” he asked. “Princess, you’ve been through a lot today, and I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“Guess I haven’t been clear enough about how long I’ve wanted this,” Liv said as she crossed her legs, settling across from him. “Every time we spoke when you were doing your military service, I thought about it. How I wished I could get on my knees and suck you off until you came in my mouth. How I wanted you naked so I could kiss and lick and touch every part of you, teasing you until you were begging for the feeling of my cunt sinking down onto your cock.”

She laughed softly as she adjusted the blanket around her. “Every time I got quiet all of a sudden during one of those calls, it was because I was trying to keep myself from asking if you wanted to get off together. I never did, but after half those calls, my hand was in between my thighs seconds after I hung up—or my vibrator if I needed to orgasm right away. And I always did, imagining what it’d look like to see you tease yourself, touch yourself, make yourself come for me.”

She looked up to meet his gaze and while she wasn’t an expert on turian facial expressions, she was fairly certain he was aroused by what she’d said.

“Does that convince you?” she asked innocently. “Or should I continue?”

Garrus’s breath hitched as he unfastened his trousers. “That definitely convinces me.”

[ezrisdax-archive]

krantt

for #trilogyappreciationweek, with thanks to @wlwkiranerys and @rannochs for being my sound board.

The one where Wrex doesn’t adopt Tali (except he kinda does) also here on ao3

~~

Everyone on the Normandy was young to Wrex. The thing about being a Krogan was that it gave you a different perspective on age. Excluding the Asari, all species burnt out bright and quick to him. But even Liara was just a kid to him, not even 200 yet. 

From what he knew about Quarians however Tali was young to them too. He'd met a few Quarians on pilgrimages before; their version of the Rite of Passage from what he gathered. Except with less Thrasher maws.

Well there was one on the planet they'd gotten a distress beacon from. That probably counted. 

But unlike the Rite of Passage you did it alone; not a krantt to rely on like Krogans had. Seemed lonely.

So Wrex may have decided somewhere after that mission to keep an eye on the young Quarian. She wasn't so bad. Understood all his grumbling about the Council and the bullshit they put his species through.

 Though at least his species hadn't released an intelligent robot race onto the galaxy that now worshipped some old machine.

Still Tali was okay. 

She just had to remain alive to be okay.

Wrex sighed as he watched her clean her shotgun. He rubbed a hand over his jaw, scratching lightly with his gloves. 

"Where'd you learn how to fire that anyway?" He asked.

Tali jumped at his voice, the light in her helmet that indicated she was talking lit up when she yelped. 

"Wrex! Don't sneak up on me!" Tali scolded but then her shoulders fell like she expected a scolding of her own. 

Wrex merely stared.

"I..." Tali began, her nervousness coming through her tone even without facial expressions to go off on. "My father taught me. He's an Admiral." There was a touch of reverence and regret in her voice. "As his daughter I was expected to learn. Our ship could have been boarded by Geth at any moment."

Wrex hummed, loudly enough it echoed in the quiet cargo bay. Thankfully it was late enough most of the crew was asleep. 

"Makes sense." He inclined his head a little in acknowledgement. "Guess the Quarians would have reason to know all that." 

"We may not be the Krogan but we've seen our fair share of battles. You've seen me fight, I can handle myself." Tali practically bristled from where she sat, angry and petulant. Wrex wondered idly how many times she'd been forced to prove herself to others that it was this touchy a subject.

"Didn't say you couldn't. Could use a few tricks though."

Tali paused, caught off guard. "Oh? Like what?" If she was trying to aim for casual she failed. The curiosity shone through and her leg bounced like she could hardly contain herself.

Wrex huffed in amusement and then pulled out his own shotgun.

 "Lemme show you." He said and aimed at Garrus' locker. The shot fired and he reloaded with ease, firing off another shot a second later.

Tali was up in an instant, "How did you reload so fast?" She asked in one breath, the words blending together.

Wrex chuckled, "Old trick I learned. Here, watch the wrist, keep an eye on my right finger." 

"I'm not sure Garrus would like us using his locker for practice." Tali said even as she inched closer to do what he'd asked.

"Oh no an upset Turian. I'm real broken up about that." Wrex's voice was as dry as ever and Tali snorted in amusement. "Now come on, I don't got all night."

 Tali stepped closer still and watched carefully as Wrex did the trick over again.

~~

 "Does anyone know what happened to my locker?" Garrus asked the next morning and Tali choked on her drink. 

She'd procured straws from somewhere though Wrex wasn't sure where.

"No idea." Tali said a moment after, clearing her throat.

"Maybe someone got tired of elevator conversations." Wrex suggested, leaning back in his chair with a toothy grin.

"Point taken." Garrus grumbled, "You could have just said so. Now I'll have to spend the morning replacing my locker door."

"I'll help." Tali offered and she sounded guilty. She was fidgeting again in her seat, a telling trait. 

Garrus stared at Wrex who just stared back, the grin still on his face. 

“Fine. Thanks Tali. I suppose that’s about all I can ask for.” Garrus was still looking at Wrex.

He rolled his eyes. “Look Garrus, you want a favour come right out and ask it.”

Garrus made an indignant noise. “I don’t think it’s a favour if I’m asking for help to fix something you wrecked.”

“Allegedly.” Wrex said and shifted in his seat just a little so his shotgun was in view.

Garrus took the warning and fled, muttering about Krogan as he did.

“Is that how Krogan always end a conversation? Showing off a shotgun?” Tali asked. 

“Nah, usually there’s more bloodshed.”

“And it’s not even noon.”

 “Give it time.”

 ~~

Tali was back in the cargo bay that night and while she’d set up one of the targets that was officially there for practicing she wasn’t firing at it but struggling with the reloading trick Wrex had been showing her.

“Any luck?”

Tali jumped at the sound of his voice again and turned to face him. “You know for someone so large you’re very light on your feet.”

“Large?” Wrex shot back, “Something you want to say to me, Quarian?”

“No.” Tali said quickly. “Um, just, you know. You are a Krogan and I haven’t met many but they are all large and-”

“Relax, kid.” Wrex cut off her rambling before it went on too long. “I knew what you meant.”

“Oh.” Tali sighed with relief and then her shoulders shot back up. “I’m not a kid you know.”

“Everyone’s a kid to me on here.” Wrex waved off her concern. “When you live as long as I have it happens.”

“Ah.” Tali said. “I suppose that would happen. I can’t imagine living for hundreds of years, you must be old to the Krogan though.”

“First I’m large, now I’m old?” Wrex snorted. “You sure know how to flatter someone.”

He couldn’t see it but he was willing to bet under his mask Tali was cringing.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep anyway?” Wrex asked. 

Tali shifted on her feet, “I can’t. It’s too quiet. Quarian ships are rather full, here it’s…” She trailed off but the fact that nothing could be heard around them, not even the hum of the engines, told Wrex everything.

Suddenly the ship felt empty and, he was sure from Tali’s perspective, lonely.

Wrex sighed, the weight of responsibility falling on him.

 “You know I’m not the oldest Krogan by a long shot.” Wrex finally said, sitting down on one of the crates next to them. “There’s this ancient guy, Drack. Comes from Clan Nakmor, they’re not as big as Clan Urdnot of course but there’s a lot of them. Somehow this guy survived the Krogan Rebellions.”

“Really?” Tali asked, taking the seat next to him and crossing her legs and setting her shotgun down next to her. “I didn’t think any Krogan had survived since then.”

“There’s a few still around, some of us are just hard to kill.”

“Like you?”

“Anything that can kill me deserves it. If it can get to me first.”

 “But there’s so much of you to shoot.” Tali said and her voice was teasing.

“Is this how Quarian’s live as long as they do? By being so small nothing can hit them?” Wrex asked drily.

“Hey!”

“Course one lucky shot and you’re gone. Lacking redundant systems must suck. That guy, Drack, had most of his replaced. Pretty sure he’s only still alive because Kesh would kill him otherwise.” Wrex had met Kesh a few times, once thought of her as the runt of a litter like most had. Then she’d punched him in the face and stolen his equipment from his camp. That was the thing about underestimating people, they could always surprise you. 

Wrex glanced over at Tali who was swaying a little where she sat, clearly tired.

“That and he had his krantt back in the Krogan rebellions.”

 “What’s a krantt?” Tali asked and then yawned loud enough Wrex could hear her jaw crack even through the helmet.

“Hard to explain it to outsiders.” Wrex admitted, grumbling a little that he felt the need to even explain it. “They’re your allies, ones you can rely on even more than family. They’ll be there to watch your back, like in the Rite of Passage.”

His krantt had died when his father betrayed him and had them all murdered before him. Wrex got his revenge but the wound was still there.

“So like Shepard.” Tali said sleepily, her helmet knocked against Wrex’s shoulders. “And you and the squad.”

“Not the same.” Wrex replied, shifting a little and if that was more comfortable to Tali to rest against him that was no one’s business but his own. “Though maybe Shepard might count.”

Wrex was coming around to her.

“Guess the rest of you aren’t so bad for aliens.” He admitted begrudgingly after the silence dwelled on them for too long.

Tali was out however, a soft hiss from her filter filled the air every time she breathed out.

“Some of you could get better aim though.” Wrex continued on in the dark of the cargo bay, letting his voice take up the empty space. “Don’t know how you lived this long. Not that us Krogan can talk with the genophage running around. Nothing left on Tuchanka even worth saving…”

 ~~

 “Your ancestors wore that?” Tali asked in disbelief, staring at the armor Shepard had recovered for Wrex. He couldn’t see it but was willing to bet her face was scrunched up in disgust.

“I don’t think a Quarian is allowed to give me advice on a suit.” Wrex deadpanned, moving the armor to sit at his feet.

They’d had another session of training, Tali was really coming along with the reloading trick.

Then she’d asked him about the mission he went on that day with Shepard and Liara and he’d reluctantly pulled the armor out of the box he’d set it in.

“I think a Quarian is probably the best option for that.” Tali shot back. “We do spend our lives in them after all. It doesn’t hurt to make them look good.”

“Then what happened to yours?” Wrex asked and tried not to laugh as Tali turned her head at him in what was certainly a glare.

“I have a shotgun.” Tali warned him.

“Try that excuse on the Turian, not on me.” Wrex said and let out another booming laugh.

“You’re right,” Tali said, her voice too chipper to be real, “I’d never make it past all your layers with one shot.”

Wrex broke out in a loud laugh. “You’ve got quads, Quarian.”

“I have a name.” Tali said, all hints of laughter chased from her tone.

“Yeah yeah, not bad.” He paused and inclined his head. “Tali.”

The pleased smug smile she was wearing was obvious even if it couldn’t be seen.

“Too bad you still need to practice your shots.” He couldn’t help but add.

Tali huffed and grabbed her gun and without hesitation fired it at the training dummy. She flicked her wrist and reloaded with the shell she had in her hand already and fired again in only seconds.

Wrex watched with something that might have even been pride.

~~

“What was that?” Tali asked, her voice a little high pitched as the noises continued around them like nothing they’d ever heard before.

Noveria was not a place Wrex had ever cared to visit and he doubted he’d have any better memories of it now.

“Probably debris.” He said, his eyes darting everywhere trying to find the cause of it. “Don’t have a panic attack, I’ll protect you.”

The swarmers came out from nowhere under their feet and Shepard cursed.

Wrex fired his shotgun though it might have been easier to just squish the bugs under his feet rather than fire at them.

“Keelah,” Tali swore as they encroached further towards her. She scrambled back and nearly fell but Wrex shot out an arm to grab and steady her.

“It’s not over yet.” Wrex yelled and fired off another shot as the swarmers came closer.

“I’m going to have nightmares from this.” Tali muttered, Wrex only just close enough to hear it.

“At least you’ll live through it to have them.” Wrex said and kicked a swarmer that came close. It went flying and splattered against the walls.

Next to him he heard Tali reload and fire her shotgun over and over again.

~~

Tali was fiddling with something on her omnitool when Wrex arrived that week, this time when he called her name she didn’t jump but looked up and nodded her head at him.

“Wrex.” She said, “Sorry but I’m a little busy tonight.”

Wrex shrugged. “No skin off my back, this have something to do with the data Shepard got?” He nodded at the omnitool in Tali’s hand.

Ever since she and Kaidan had come back from a mission on geth intel she’d been invested in it. Hadn’t even come up to eat with the group.

“I’m planning on taking this back to the fleet to complete my pilgrimage – when this is all over of course.” Tali said, so fast Wrex could barely make it out. Her leg was bouncing in her excitement again. “This data could help us plan against the geth! I’m trying to get a headstart into deciphering it.”

“Not bad for an Admiral’s daughter, bet he’d be proud.” Unlike his father.

Wrex never was the conventional enough Krogan for him.

Because they’d spent so many months fighting side by side Wrex had gotten good at telling Tali’s body language even if he couldn’t see her face. So he could tell it’d fallen a little at that remark.

“I hope he is.” Tali said wistfully. “I was worried about going back to the fleet with nothing much to show.”

“And now you’ll show you helped stopped an invasion and picked up some random data along the way.” Wrex sat down next to her and groaned like it was an annoyance to him. He stretched out, his foot nudging Tali’s. “Bet other Quarians can’t say the same.”

“No.” Tali brightened, her back straightening. “They can’t.”

Wrex grunted and fell back. “Wake me up when you decide it’s time to do something practical like shoot at something though.”

“This is practical!” Tali said hotly, “You saw how far the Geth have advanced, with this data we could see if there’s a pattern to where they’re coming out of the Veil and-”

Wrex let Tali’s words wash over him and shut his eyes.

~~

They lost Kaidan on Virmire and everyone was a little more withdrawn, a little angrier, and more than a little ready to end it.

“I’ve lost friends before,” Tali admitted that night. “But not like this.”

Wrex didn’t say anything. Keeping quiet even as Tali curled up at his side with the hiss of her filter staticky in her held back sobs filling the air.

Krantt weren’t supposed to die like that.

Good thing his fellow squad members weren’t krantt.

It helped him sleep that night for what little he did get.

~~

He was never one for emotional goodbyes or just goodbyes period.

Which is why when Wrex left the Normandy he did it by only telling Shepard and leaving one thing behind.

Shotguns were nice and all but if he was about to try to sit in a room and make peace with a bunch of clan idiots then it wouldn’t do him any good.

Tali would put it to better use.

~~

It took two years before he saw someone from the Normandy’s crew again but Shepard was standing right there on Tuchanka.

He clasped her arm and squeezed, trying to convey his relief at seeing Shepard again.

To Shepard’s right he heard a cough and looked over to see Tali.

“Good to see you too, Wrex.” Tali said and Wrex squinted at her. She looked roughly the same, maybe a little taller and bigger. Her suit had changed a little, looked fancier from what he could tell.

The shotgun at her hip was more than little familiar to him.

“Shepard got you caught up in her mess again, hunh?”

“Had to pick Tali up from a planet, she needed a little help.” Shepard said and grinned at the both of them.

“Always getting into trouble.” Wrex intoned.

“At least I’m getting out.” Tali said, crossing her arms. “You seemed to have gotten even bigger just sitting on your throne.”

The throne in question stung a little for Wrex. He hadn’t really wanted it, symbolically or literally. His brother put together the stones to shape that way more as a mockery and bitter anger he hadn’t gotten the title or respect Wrex had.

He grunted and Tali must have noticed she struck a nerve because she uncrossed her arms and fidgeted in the same way she used to back on the Normandy when she was feeling guilty.

Before she could say anything he slapped her on the back, making her yelp and almost stumble over her own feet. He placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her and Tali whipped her head to glare at him from under her helmet.

He laughed, unable to help himself. “Don’t be jealous just because I have somewhere to sit on my homeworld.”

Apparently two years weren’t long enough to stop him from remembering the old Normandy crew’s quirks because Wrex could tell she was rolling her eyes at him.

It seemed Tali had gotten tougher skin in the intervening years.

At least she was still standing.

“So,” Wrex said and dropped his arm away from Tali’s shoulder to take a seat back on his throne. “What brings you here?”

Shepard stepped forward and gestured at Grunt and Wrex leaned in to see what was wrong.

~~

Word traveled fast and before Shepard had even made it off the battlegrounds Wrex had heard about the fallen Thresher maw.

Granting Grunt a title in Clan Urdnot was easier after that. Though Wrex would have been lying if he’d said he wouldn’t have given Shepard and Tali a title too if they asked.

Shepard wandered off, chasing after Grunt who had decided to challenge some Krogans standing near a pit, leaving Tali alone with him.

“So that was your Pilgrimage?” Tali asked, “I’m amazed any of you make it into adulthood.”

“Right,” Wrex said drily, “Nothing like sending our young out into the galaxy without a credit to their name and just hoping they make it back.”

Tali tilted her head, a silent acknowledgment.

“You taking care of that thing?” He nodded at the shotgun at her hip.

“Yes.” She paused. “Thank you, by the way. It would have been nicer to thank you in person however.”

Wrex shrugged. “I was getting rid of it anyway.”

“Uh hunh.” Tali said, her tone one of disbelief.

“Surprised you joined the whelp there in his Rite of Passage.” Wrex glanced over at Grunt and then back at Tali. “Doesn’t seem like your kind of deal.”

“Well.” Tali shifted on her feet, looking away. “I remembered something an old Krogan told me about krantts and the importance of them in the Rite.”

Wrex blinked in surprise.

“Hm.” He leaned back in the throne. “Not bad for a Quarian.”

“Tali, come on!” Shepard called out to her and Tali straightened up at her name.

“See you later, Wrex. Take care of yourself. Though I suppose that’s easier to do if you’re doing nothing but sitting.” Her tone was cheerful as she said it.

“Don’t forget who taught you those tricks of yours.” Wrex said, there was no real hint of warning in his voice- if anything it was jovial.

Tali nodded at him and walked off.

Wrex sunk into his chair, taking the next datapad he needed to look at about Clan Weyloc with him. It seemed like Tali wasn’t so young anymore.

Two years could make a lot of differences to species who didn’t live that long.

Wrex wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

~~

“You heard from Tali?” Wrex asked Liara one day when they were sitting in the lounge. He’d pulled her away from those screens of hers, the tightness in her eyes worried him a little.

Everyone else was back on board except for Tali and Ashley but Ashley he at least had heard about. She’d recovered from her injuries and even had a Spectre status to her name. Tali though no one seemed to know anything about.

“Our last interaction was months ago.” Liara said. She dragged a hand over her face and Wrex pretended not to see the wetness on her fingers as she pulled it away. “I’ve heard very little from Quarian space. It seems they’ve just gone silent.”

His grasp around his cup tightened, the glass crinkling underneath his grip.

“I’m certain she’s fine however. I saw her when Shepard came to help me with the Shadow Broker. She was…broken up about her father still but didn’t let that interfere with the mission.”

“Her father?” Wrex asked, frowning.

“He died. Shepard says he woke up some of the Geth units that Tali had sent him. The Admiralty put her on trial for it.”

“Those idiots did what?” Wrex growled, slamming the glass on to the table. “Have they even met Tali? She’s the last person who would take chances with the geth.”

“That’s what Shepard said.” Liara replied, and when she looked up at him she was smiling. “I wouldn’t worry Wrex, Tali can take care of herself.”

“Who said anything about worry?” Wrex blustered but he knew Liara wasn’t buying it. “I just think there’s a whole lot of stupid in this world that needs to be taken care of.”

Liara hummed and let it slide, “From last I heard she’s working along with the Admiralty board.”

Wrex scoffed.

He understood it certainly, those were Tali’s people. She cared about them the same way he cared about the Krogan, probably more since she didn’t seem to hate half of them. Maybe the genophage hadn’t ravaged her people but the war with the Geth had. He was willing to bet she’d taken on more responsibility than was reasonable.

And no one was even with her to watch her back.

“So,” Liara tactfully changed the subject, “What will you do when the genophage is cured.”

Wrex grinned widely. “Finish kicking the Reaper’s ass for the rest of the galaxy.”

“How magnanimous of you.” Liara said, shaking her head but the smile she wore was genuine at least and the shadows in her eyes had receded however little it was.

“The Asari can thank us later.” Wrex took his drink back up and chugged it the rest of the way. There might have been some broken glass in there but it made little difference to him.

He put Tali out of mind for the time, he was sure they both had bigger issues to worry about.

~~

Only Shepard could get a clone that would try to take over her life.

In all honesty, Wrex had missed the chaos.

And being with the crew.

Kaidan was still a notable absence, especially whenever Ashley was standing next to Shepard and would just lean over like she was about to say something to someone and then realized they were no longer there. Old habits died hard even years later it seemed.

No one mentioned it.

Shepard opted to take Ashley and Brooks to the casino with her, leaving the rest of them to the apartment. EDI and Liara took to monitoring the channel in case Shepard needed anything, Vega had taken over the tv, Garrus and Joker were shooting jokes back and forth at each other about Turians and humans, and Javik was just standing creepily in the corner.

Wrex still didn’t know what to make of the Prothean. Shepard found the weirdest people to call squadmates.

“So I heard there’s a cure for your people.” Tali said as she took a seat next to him. Her glass was filled with something alcoholic with a straw stuck in it so she could drink it.

“And I heard you made nice with the Geth.” Wrex said, taking a gulp of his own drink.

“Who’d have thought we’d be here now.” Tali raised her glass in a toast and then took a sip.

“Probably Shepard.” Wrex grumbled though it wasn’t really critical. “She always did keep talking about making a difference.” And apparently Wrex had listened. He wasn’t sure what was worse.

At least taking a risk with her had panned out.

“You should visit Rannoch,” Tali said, “The Geth didn’t do upkeep much on the buildings they weren’t inhabiting, it might even feel like Tuchanka to you. Except greener.” Tali sounded proud and Wrex caught the twitch in her leg. This time like she was stopping herself from bouncing as she talked excitedly about her homeworld. “It’s all so new. Can I even call it new? It is technically old to us. Old like you are- wait you must have seen what it looked like before…” She shifted, looking up at him.

“I didn’t go much in Quarian space.” Wrex admitted. “Never had a reason to. Didn’t think I’d be around Quarians much.”

 He could hear the smirk in her voice. “And yet here you are.”

“Mistakes may have been made.” Wrex drawled and snorted when Tali tried to glare at him from under her helmet. “I’ll see if I can make my way out there. When all this is done. Who knows maybe the council will award us Rannoch. Then you’d have to fight us for it.” He grinned at Tali. “Good luck getting it back then.”

She was rolling her eyes, he knew it.

“We’d manage.” Tali said, sniffing indignantly. “We’re tougher than you think.”

“Yeah.” Wrex agreed, glancing over at her. “So it seems.”

“I mean. We took down a Reaper. Without using a Thresher maw even.”

Wrex threw his head back and laughed. “Only because I bet Quarian’s guard dogs would catch a cold if they went outside.”

“Speaking of dogs I heard Jack got herself a pet varren, I wonder how one of those would do on Rannoch…”

“Bad idea, kid.” Wrex said but leaned back to listen to Tali go on about it anyway.

~~

It’d been years since he’d seen Tali in a firefight. The ride down the elevator to the cargo bay had him glance over at her.

“You been practicing with that shotgun? Still remember the fast-reloading trick I showed you?” He asked.

Tali’s back straightened. “You know, I've taken care of myself for the past few years.”

Of that he had no doubt. She would have had to with everything going on the galaxy right then and even before it from what Wrex had heard of what happened to her father.

“I know. I'm old and I worry, even though my favourite Quarian's all grown up and killing Reapers.” He sighed. It wouldn’t hurt to admit that.

“You're like the crazy head butting uncle I never had.” Tali told him, a mixture of disbelief and amusement in her voice.

Whatever response he was going to have was lost when the doors opened and Shepard raced after her clone.

In the end he pulled both Tali and Shepard back up into the cargo bay before they fell to the Citadel streets below.

“Thanks, Wrex.” Shepard said, slightly out of breath. She stood up and pinged Joker on the comms.

Tali sat on the ground next to him, shaking a little.

He nudged her. 

“You okay?”

To his surprise Tali started laughing, falling onto the floor on her back and giggling.

“You ever think about how weird our lives are?” Tali asked between her laughter.

“All the time.” Wrex sighed. “I had it much easier before all of you.”

“Aw but Wrex.” Tali sat up and he was certain she was grinning. “Then you wouldn’t have met your favourite Quarian.”

Wrex rolled his eyes.

“Does that make Garrus your favourite Turian? And Liara your favourite Asari? I bet Shepard’s the favourite human, right? Can I tell them?” Tali asked, snickering.

He almost wished he could have said that she reminded him of the Tali he’d known years ago who was lighter and freer of responsibilities but even back then she bore a weight on her back. 

“No one would believe it.” He turned his head a little so Tali would miss his grin.

“I bet they would.” Tali said, leaning back on her hands. “You’re a little soft around us Wrex, I don’t think you’ve noticed it.”

“You take that back.” Wrex grumbled, looking back to frown at her.

“If it makes you feel better you’re my favourite Krogan.” Tali told him, matter of fact.

It did make him feel a little better, not that he was going to say it.

“Yeah yeah, head-butting uncle, I heard.”

“At least your hearing isn’t going in your old age then.”

~~

Wrex certainly proved the head-butting part later that week when Grunt challenged him at the party.

Laughter rang out all around them, the apartment alive as everyone who had once been a part of the Normandy crew shared stories.

Though some of them he’d never met they all shared the common bond of getting dragged into the craziest shit with Shepard.

Glancing around he noticed a certain Quarian was missing and heaved himself away from the balcony with a sigh. It didn’t take long to find Tali nearly passed out in the bathroom.

“I knew you were a lightweight.” Wrex said, looking down at Tali and huffing with a laugh.

“Wrex!” Tali yelled, too loud even over the blasting music.

“Think you can stand or you too out of it?” He asked, amused as Tali hiccuped.

“I am not too out of it.” Tali denied but still lay on the floor. “I am still looking for answers is all.”

“Answers?”

Tali nodded but then held a hand to her helmet like she regretted the movement a second later. “Shepard said the answers to my father are the bottom of the glass. I am still looking.”

Wrex rolled his eyes, “Shepard also thinks she could survive a head butting contest with a krogan. Come on,” He said and leaned down to drag Tali up right. 

“Do you think I made him proud? I am not certain he made me proud.” Tali rambled as Wrex started to drag her towards one of the many bedrooms. It wasn’t hard to guess she was still talking about her father. “I thought he had all the answers once; but they were just lies he told me.” Her voice was bitter and Wrex paused.

“Kid no one has all the answers and as for your dad, well. Parents are complicated. At least he didn’t try to kill you.”

“Oh.” Tali said, trailing out the word too long. “I suppose you have me there, Wrex.”

“Always nice to beat a Quarian at something.” Wrex kept moving then.

“Pfft, you don’t want to beat me, I am your favourite.”

“Really going to milk that one, hunh?”

Tali was beaming under her helmet, this close up he could just make out a grin. “It means a lot to me.”

Wrex made a few mock grumbling noises. “Don’t you people have the ability to flush out toxins or something.”

“I will!” Tali said brightly and then hung her head. “In a minute.”

Wrex got to the bed and dumped her on it. “There. Now you can also sleep it off.” Tali flopped around on the bed, making Wrex drag a hand over his face. “This is humiliating for the both of us, kid.”

“I’m not a kid!” Tali complained, her tone the near exact it had been three years ago in the cargo bay. “You even said I was all grown up! And and-” She swayed when she tried to sit up. “Killing Reapers!” She finished victoriously. 

Wrex chuckled and pushed her back down, “Yeah you are. I’m proud of you for it. You’re no Kalros but you can pack a punch with that bot of yours.”

“Chitika goes for the optics!” Tali said but it was slightly muffled by her turning her face into the bedsheets.

Wrex snorted when she began to do the wheezy breath with her filter that meant she was out again. 

“Your dad’s an idiot.” He told the sleeping Tali and then trudged back to the party.

~~

Tali wasn’t wrong. Rannoch was greener than Tuchanka but a lot of the land had been turned into Geth hubs that were now being dismantled to turn into homes.

Having them so near still creeped Wrex out with their flashlight heads, he wished for a moment Ashley was there to share in his commisery of it but she was still on Earth. After the last battle most of them had headed for their homeworlds while mourning the loss of Shepard. 

He’d spent a few months on Tuchanka overseeing building plans for expansion and watching the first of his children grow a little and then gotten the invitation from Tali to “see what a real planet looks like”. 

“If this is what qualifies as a real planet I’m not impressed.” Wrex intoned as Tali greeted him at the shuttle pad.

She stepped up to fling her arms around him and pulled him into a hug that he returned with a sigh.

“I’m surprised you made it off that scrap of rock you call one so quickly. I didn’t think you’d accept my invite for another year at least.” Tali stepped back and was fidgeting.

Her mask was off and Wrex squinted a little to view her face. He grunted lightly, “Thought you might be in trouble. Or in need of some good old fashioned Krogan strength to move things.”

Tali rolled her eyes, “This is just a friendly visit.” She said but was still shifting on her feet and wringing her hands. “I wanted to show you how far we’d come.”

Wrex tilted his head, trying to figure out what it was Tali was hiding. Without her mask it was easier to see her avert her eyes. “Well, I also thought I should see my krantt.” He finally said just to see her reaction.

Tali’s face shot up, her gaze meeting his and her mouth dropped in surprise. “I thought you didn’t have a krantt anymore.”

That’s what he’d thought too until three years ago. But he wasn’t about to lie to himself anymore. The Normandy crew would always be important to him.

Wrex just shrugged in response to her though.

Tali bounced on her feet and grinned up at him. “I see the end of the war really has made you soft.” She said, her voice sly. “How are raising babies?”

Wrex grunted. “Almost as annoying as watching over a baby Quarian.”

“Hey!” Tali reached out to whack his shoulder but just hurt her hand instead. She pulled it back with a pout. 

“But I’d be glad if they grew up as well as she did.” Wrex admitted a second after even as he laughed.

Her shoulders straightened at that and Tali stood a little taller. “Thanks. I’d hope my father would be able to say the same thing.” Her eyes darted away again at the comment and it clicked to Wrex.

He truly was getting old and soft because instead of dropping it he stepped closer to nudge Tali. “Guess I can be proud in his place then.”

Tali hesitated only a second before she smiled at him again. It was a little sad this time but the sincerity was there. “Come on old man, I’ll show you why we Quarians were once considered the best builders.”

“So long as it looks better than your suits.”

Tali whacked his arm again, a lesson not learnt the first time.

“You’re lucky I don’t have a shotgun right now.” She warned him.

“You couldn’t match me even with one.” Wrex said back but it had no bite. He dropped a hand to her shoulder and squeezed lightly.

She probably actually could though he’d never admit it.

After all, he’d taught her the best tricks in the books.