Mass Effect: Little Black Dress

[camalyng]

Title: Little Black Dress
What: Mass Effect fanfiction - short story
Words: ~950
Rating: G
Summary: Shepard needs a little talking into dressing up for Liara.
Notes: I was totally surprised when Shep turned up alone and in Normandy casualwear on the Shadow Broker's Base at the end of the mission - and in my case, Normandy casualwear is the dress from "Stolen Memory".

Maybe Tali was a bad choice to bring along to the Shadow Broker's ship.

You'd thought there would be systems she could hack better than you can (Liara's faith in you to hack those on Ilium had seemed oddly misplaced when Tali was always better than you), and really, part of you just missed the good old days, when Liara and Tali were your go-to squad on assignments. Liara brought the biotics, Tali brought the tech, you brought the sniper rifles and the medigel. You were a well balanced team.

Well balanced in battle and you'd made an effort to be well balanced socially, but in retrospect, Tali probably realized she was becoming a third wheel. Right now, she's absolutely realized that the spark between you and Liara is still there.

"Don't go back there in your armor, Shepard," she says, as you pace nervously through decontamination. "Wear that nice dress Kasumi bought you for her party."

"One, I'm not so sure Kasumi bought it," you say. As much as you like and respect Kasumi, you're fairly certain she's not in the habit of legal purchases. "Two, Liara's seen me in armor, fatigues, and PT uniform. That dress is way too formal."

At your side, Kasumi decloaks, and you feel proud of yourself for only jumping about a foot, and then you wonder if she's been waiting in the airlock since you left. "Shepard, she's never seen you in anything pretty? That's exactly why you should dress up."

Kasumi was definitely a bad choice to bring along chasing Vasir. She wouldn't have recognized your banter with Liara in the taxi from similar conversations in the Mako, but she's far too observant for your own good.

"Have you been here the whole time?" asks Tali.

The decontamination finally finishes, and Kasumi skips ahead into the Normandy, beaming at you from under her hood. "Would you like me to do your make up, Shep? I picked up some hair pins on Ilium that would look lovely in your hair."

Resisting the urge to ask if she paid for those hair pins, you shake your head. "Liara's used to me like this. She'll think I've been indoctrinated."

Tali laughs and immediately looks away, but still sounds amused when she says, "I don't think the Reapers would indoctrinate someone into cleaning up for a change."

"This would all be so much easier if the Reapers just wanted everyone to look better," Kasumi muses, getting a laugh from Kelly as the three of you walk past.

You're not going to dignify that with a response. Instead, you head into the armory to put your guns away. Thank god Jacob's not in for once.

"If you're going to pretend there's nothing there, you can at least respect her position as the new Shadow Broker," Tali says serenely. "I always shine the visible parts of my suit before big Admiral meetings."

You pause partway through opening the weapons locker, and when you look up to find Tali and Kasumi both smirking at you from either side (at least, you assume Tali's smirking), you know she's got you. Worse, they know it. Hastily, you open the locker properly and start shoving your guns inside, only hitting their correct positions out of habit.

"The Council hasn't sent my new dress blues yet," you murmur. Cerberus has rather comfortable officer dress uniforms, but you hate wearing anything that marks you as part of their group.

"I know an Asari Spectre about your size, but you shouldn't keep the Shadow Broker waiting," says Kasumi.

You glance at her, wondering whether she's proposing robbing her Spectre friend or borrowing from her, then turn to Tali.

"What are you wearing?" you try to deflect, only realizing what a stupid question that is to a quarian after it comes out of your mouth. You hurry on: "It's been a while since we had the old team together - I'm going to ask Garrus, Joker, and Chakwas to check out the base too."

"Oh, no, Shepard, you and Liara need some time to catch up alone," she says.

"We already did," you say. "Don't think I didn't notice how you and Feron left us alone."

"That was hardly enough time," she says; you can hear the smile in her voice. "The rest of us can drop by when she's more settled in."

You move away to give Tali room to put her own guns away. "I should go."

"Offer's still open, Shep," Kasumi calls as you walk away.

With a sigh, you head up to your cabin. Once you're there, you feed your fish and start removing your armor. Tali does have a point about respecting Liara's position, and you don't want to go in looking like you're representing Cerberus when you're really going for yourself and for Liara.

"Eveningwear it is," you tell your space hamster, who just squeaks back at you and then retreats into his box.

After a shower, you put the dress and heels on, and with a glance at Liara's portrait on your desk (you don't even want to know where Cerberus got it), add the necklace too. Kelly whistles when you get back onto the main deck, and Kasumi and Tali give approving nods as you walk to the airlock still pinning loose strands of hair into your bun (might as well leave one part of your get up recognizable).

"You're sure this isn't too much?" you ask, though you're sure you know their answers.

"Perfect," says Tali, opening the airlock for you.

"She's right," Kasumi says. "Hair and make up - now that would be too much."

You take a deep breath, let it go, smooth out your dress unnecessarily, and open the door to the Shadow Broker base. "Wish me luck."

"Go get 'em," says Kasumi, and just before the doors close entirely, you're pretty sure you hear her high-fiving Tali.