Second Chances(A Mass Effect Fan fiction)

Emotions of The Heart, And of The Head

~Garrus~

'What did you just do? She's not gonna like you like that......'
'Don't be insane. She said it herself that she likes you.'
'To be nice......she just nicely told you no, you dumbass.' Garrus thought to himself, almost not getting off the elevator in time before the doors closed.

Garrus went into the Main Battery and sat on his cot with his head in his hands, thinking about the conversation that he just had with Shelby. What was said, and if it could be taken as good, bad or indifferent. It was all a lot to take in, and he knew it had to be worse on Shelby. He just sprung it on her out of the blue, at least to him he did. Did she maybe feel the same? If she did, why wouldn't she have come to say something sooner? He was thinking too many things at once, overloading his brain. He finally settled for going back to his calibrations, having something to take his mind away from it all.

~Shelby~

Shelby was on her bed reading a data pad as she let Cesar run around her cabin in his little hamster ball. She wasn't sure why, but there was something calming about the consistent almost humming of the plastic ball against the metal floor of her cabin.

She knew that she had a lot to think about right now. What to do about Kaidan, how to figure out what to tell Garrus, how she and her team were eventually going to handle taking on the Collectors, and that's just the tip of an iceberg. But for the next few moments, she wasn't going to worry about any of it.

Usually, if Shelby can clear her mind, take it off of work for just a little bit, the logical decisions tend to shine through brighter than the others for her. It helps her find her way out of complicated situations, or shots in the dark. Although, right now she was having none such luck.

Suddenly, Shelby's omni tool lit up with an incoming video call and she smiled at the caller ID as she set down her data pad and answered the call.

"Didn't want to walk to the elevator and come see me?" Shelby teased Tali with a smile.

"Actually I'm in the middle of crunching some numbers. But I had a random thought. You and I haven't had a chance to hang out outside of the Normandy since I came aboard. How do you feel about a lunch date in the near future?" Tali asked as she continued to work at her station.

Shelby smiled and rolled her eyes a bit in amusement. "That sounds great, Tali. What are ya thinking?"

" What about around noon on the Zakera wards next time we dock at the Citadel? We can try that new place you heard about."

"That sounds great. I can't wait." Shelby said with a little smile and a nod.

"Oh! And what's going on with you and Garrus lately? You two have been practically inseperable." Tali asked with a nosey curiosity to her tone.

Shelby sighed. "That is one of many layers I have going right now."

"Well, I want to hear all about it all while we're out. Clear your day, we have a lot of catching up to do."

"Yes, ma'am." Shelby said with a chuckle.

"Shelby. I love you, but please don't call me that. EVER again. It's too backwards." Tali requested with slight amusement.

Shelby couldn't help the little laugh that escaped her. "Fair enough. I'll make note of that."

"Thank you."

Shelby turned her head to the nearest com. "Joker, take us to the Citadel."

"Sure thing, Commander. I'll let you know when we're approaching dock." He confirmed.

"You don't have other things to take care of first?" Tali asked and diverted her attention to Shelby.

Shelby shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing THAT important. Besides. My space sister requested a girl's day, and it's been way too long since the last one." She pointed out.

Tali looked up from her station for a moment. "You're excited, aren't you?"

"Yes, Tali. I'm excited to have time with just you around. I also called you my space sister, and you didn't even flinch."

"Why would I flinch at the obvious?" She asked with a smile.

"Fair enough." Shelby said with a chuckle. "I suppose I'll let you get back to work. I'll see you later, Tali."

"I'll see you later, Shelby." Tali happily said and they hung up the call.

Shelby went over to where Cesar had stopped rolling around and picked him up in the ball. She went back over to his cage and put him back in his home before putting away his ball and heading down to the CIC to do some work on their way to the Citadel.