Meet the New Guy (TK)

Tali would never be able to understate how much of a miracle worker Shepard was. He'd stopped Sovereign and the Collectors, got her acquitted at her trial, made peace between the geth and the quarians, and- and this might be the capper- even with the Reapers crawling all over the galaxy, he still found time for shore leave on the Citadel.
Of course, it hadn't felt much like shore leave for her- being part of the Admiralty meant she had spent the better part of five hours running herself ragged to get the quarians on the same page as the rest of the war effort, loaning out whatever resources, personnel, and ships she could. (For awhile, she hoped Han'Gerrel wouldn't mind giving up the battleship Haadoruk. Then she remembered she didn't really care about hurting his feelings anymore.) Returning to the Normandy, in comparison, was like being in the eye of a hurricane- the one calm spot in the middle of tumult and turmoil. She wasn't sure how exactly it was possible, but just stepping through the airlock took a load off her shoulders, and it felt wonderful to have her old room back again- a little bubble of quiet on a ship that was already a haven of calm.
And then the door buzzed just as she was starting to unwind, because of course it would.
The door slid open to reveal a turian, but most definitely not the one she was expecting- this newcomer was almost as tall, but leaner of build, suggesting he hadn't fully matured yet. On first glance, she'd thought his plates were bone-white, but that was only his markings; his skin and plates were actually somewhere closer to dark sand in color. She almost mistook him for some official she'd forgotten to meet with, but the condition of his red-and-black fatigues would suggest he was just another grunt. But what would really stick in Tali's memory were his eyes- they were a very deep green, and for whatever reason, they were full of some kind of dull sadness.
"I don't believe I've had the pleasure," she said carefully.
"Tarquin Victus," he replied. His hand jerked upwards momentarily; probably an aborted salute. "I'm... being kept aboard the Normandy until further notice."
"Oh, sorry- I didn't even know you were part of the crew!" Tali reached out and shook his hand. "I guess I don't need to introduce myself."
"No, Admiral. And don't worry about it- I make it a point to stay out of the way. Don't want to keep anyone from doing their jobs right." He clasped his hands behind his back stiffly. "May I, er... come in?"
"Of course." She stepped aside and let him enter. "I could use a few housewarming guests, anyway- the Alliance turned my room upside down when they took the ship apart."
Tarquin padded to the center of the room, taking a look around before putting himself into a  chair in the corner. "At least they put it back together," he replied carefully.
Tali hummed in affirmation, sitting down on the corner of her bed. "So where do you come from? I only ask because the last turian we picked up was a disgruntled cop, and somehow I can't see you as anything like that."
Victus stiffened noticeably, looking down at an armrest. "No, nothing like that."
"Something wrong?"
"I... don't like talking about it." He swallowed at her perplexed expression. "...I made a bad call."
"How bad?"
He sighed. "Three-quarters of the platoon died during insertion. The rest died on mission."
"Keelah." Tali shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Tarquin said quickly. "If I hadn't tried being clever, they'd still be alive."
"I know how you feel- it's your fault they're dead, you should've been better, and everything. Trust me, I've been there."
"You've lost soldiers before?"
"Almost two contingents of Flotilla Marines," she said with a nod. "The first time, I couldn't keep them on a leash. The second, we were just overwhelmed- pure numbers."
"...Spirits, I'm sorry."
She shrugged. "It happens," she sighed. "It's awful, and it never goes away, but it happens."
Tarquin's mouth opened like he was going to argue the point, but he stopped himself, shoulders slumping just slightly.

"Anyway, what exactly did you want to see me for?" Tali asked curiously. "Unless you really just wanted to introduce yourself."
"Well- It's mostly that, but..." Tarquin shrugged awkwardly, fidgeting in his chair. "I was hoping that we could, er... get to know each other a little better. For, uh, cohesion and... you know." He put his head in his hand and chuckled nervously. "You know, this all sounded better in my head..."
"If it helps, I wasn't very good at making friends the first time I was on the Normandy."
"Well, it's, uh..." He swallowed hard. "I've heard you have this... hobby..."
Tali stared at him, motioning for him to continue. "Use more words, Tarquin."
Unfortunately, the younger turian seemed well and truly tongue-tied; he hemmed and hawed for a few seconds longer before making little scratching motions in the air, raising his browplates meaningfully.
"...Oh! Oh, you mean-" Tali threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, Keelah, who told you? Was it Garrus? It was Garrus, wasn't it? I'll get him good for this-"
"I know it's kind of bold of me to bring it up, but I just, er..." Tarquin rubbed the back of his neck anxiously before shaking his head and standing up. "Nevermind, just forget it- it was a stupid idea anyway-"
"No, no, it's fine!" Tali reached out and put a hand on his arm. "It's actually kind of funny- you know, I'm usually the one asking."
"You are?"
"Yeah. It's a little hard, isn't it?"
"...Yeah, it is." Tarquin looked away and coughed into his hand. "So, um, do you want to..."
"Of course- Just lie down on the bed and I'll get you all set up."
"I-I'm going first?!"
"Well, yeah. I can't just take my suit off whenever I want, and besides..." Tali grinned and pointed downwards. "You did come here without your boots on."
Tarquin blinked before looking down, blushing at the sight of his bare feet. "Oh... uh, yeah, I... yeah."

---

"Okay, we're all set," Tali reported as she finished up tying Tarquin down. "You ready?"
Victus tried to look back over his shoulder from where he was laid across the bed on his stomach. "It's- it's a little tight," he said uneasily.
"It's supposed to be, don't worry." She gave the rope fastening his ankles to the bedframe a few tugs, watching his outer toes curl in anticipation. His inner pair weren't afforded that luxury; they had been secured to the anchoring rope with a small length of thinner rope that was no less durable. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't know what I was doing."
"Yeah, I guess not." Tarquin laced his fingers together, swaying back and forth on his elbows. "Any chance you'll go easy on me?"
"Well, on one hand, this is your first time... on the other, you're the first turian since Garrus that I've been able to get my hands on." Tali brushed her fingers over the tendons of his heels and down along the outer edges of his arches. "And there's something about all your stammering that I really like..."
"N-now, wait-! Let's not forget I came to you about this! I should have some say in what happens!"
"Maybe you should've thought of saying that before I tied you down." Tali laughed as Tarquin moaned in horror. "Calm down, I'm only teasing. I'll be gentle, I promise!"
"I hope so," he mumbled. He took one of her pillows and hugged it close to him, like a drowning man to a life preserver, and shuddered as he felt a finger ghost down his arches.
Tali made sure to ease Tarquin into it, scraping lightly at his soles at a pace that wasn't too slow nor too fast. Even so, it was enough to make him tense up, curling his toes as much as he could given his restraints. "I know it's kind of weird starting off, but you get used to it, trust me."
Tarquin grunted noncommittally. He wasn't prepared to take any chances keeping up a conversation, lest he lose control and dissolve into laughter- which seemed a little more likely than he was prepared to admit.
She started scraping gently under his toes for awhile before jumping back up to dust at his heels and slide back down his arches. It was still tickling, of course, but she was really playing softball with him- so far, all it had worked out of him were a few sharp, hiccupy breaths. It was a good start, but at some point, she had to start moving things along. Preferably sooner, rather than later.
So she took one hand off Tarquin's feet for a moment, called up her omni-nails, and drew a long, serpentine trail into his sole. The turian gasped audibly, arms curling a little tighter around the pillow. "What was that?" he hissed.
"It's just one of my tools. Don't worry about it."
"Y-you never said anything about tools-!"
"Well, you didn't think I'd just use my fingers, did you? I can't do much with these gloves on-"
"You still can't just do that-!" Tarquin grit his teeth as a nail slid down the middle of his arches. 
"Why not? The surprise is half the fun!"
"I-it's dishonest! You're supposed to tell me you're going- ghkeek-!"
"I think, technically, I can do whatever I want." Tali dragged her nails around the outside of one foot while sliding up and down the sole of the other. "I mean, I am an Admiral- you're only an... uh..."
"L-lieutenant." Court martial pending, he thought wryly. "But I'm a-also the Primarch's son!"
Tali hummed contemplatively. "So does that make you like a prince or something?"
"W-what?! No-hoho-!" Tarquin realized what she was doing and clammed up immediately. He couldn't afford to be drawn out in conversation like that again- his composure was fraying way too quickly.
"Well, I'm still the senior officer here, so there." Tali poked into the slim pads of his toes for emphasis. "And again, I'm not the one with my feet tied together."
Tarquin groaned and pressed his face into the pillow. Partly, it was out of frustration, but mostly, it was because his laughter was starting to overwhelm him.

Of course, deciding to use her tools meant Tali also had to decide which of those in her arsenal she was going to use, and that proved to be a little tricky- with the exception of the omni-nails, which she'd already greenlit. Oils? No, that was a little too intimate for his first time... Hand brush? Yes, that seemed fine... Electric scrubber? It seemed a little cruel of her, but... why not?
Deliberations aside, almost anything she tried proved effective- for the past couple minutes, Tarquin had been giggling steadily as she worked over his soles, the sound muffled by her pillow. His feet wriggled as much as they were able, but with the ropes around his ankles he couldn't lift them any higher than a few centimeters off the mattress, so it was ultimately a futile gesture of resistance. Curling and splaying his talons was a little more effective at fending off the tickly sensations, but not by much. Not for the first time, he wondered why he'd ever approached her in the first place.
"It might just be the pillow, but you're definitely the quietest person I've ever tickled," Tali mused. She ran the scrubber up and down one sole in time with the hand brush she was grazing over the other. "And that's not a bad thing, really- it's just that I'm more used to hearing people laughing their heads off by now." She eased the scrubber between his toes, watching them wiggle as he rocked from side to side on the bed. "It's kind of cute, actually."
Tarquin didn't say anything, but a low, long whimper seeped out between his giggling.
"What's that, Tarquin? I couldn't hear you." The brush dusted up around the tendon and slope of his heel. "You'll have to speak up!"
The turian shook his head pleadingly, paddling with his feet helplessly.
"Not much of a talker, huh? That's okay- it's nice to have a change every so often." She scrubbed at the inside edges of his arches. "Although I do kind of want to hear you laugh..."
He whined again, louder, his whole body shuddering.
"Okay, how about this- Give me one laugh, okay? Just one good, long laugh, and I'll stop. How's that?"
Tarquin squirmed, turning the matter over in his head. His nerves were screaming at him to just give in and let go already, but there was a burning in his cheeks that somehow made the idea detestable. He decided to risk a few words, turning his face out of the pillow long enough to whisper a 'no'.
"'No'? So you want to keep going...?"
"N-no!" Tarquin sucked in a breath and tried to keep his voice steady. "...I can't take it, Admiral, p-please, just let me go!"
"Call me 'Tali', please."
"Tali, then! Just-" His eyes bugged out of his head, mandibles flaring, as the brush hit a sensitive patch of skin. "Please, please, let me go!"
"You know the terms," she said expectantly.
"I- No! No, I never-" He bit down on a laugh before it started, grunting with the effort. "That's not fair!"
"Just for a few seconds, Tarquin. Please? For me?"
Tarquin tried to hold on a little longer. Tali's brush and scrubber convinced him to do otherwise.
"Ehah-ahahahaha! Woho-wahaha! K-KehehehahaHAHAhaha-! There! I did it, okahahahay? I laughed! Now- Now-!"
Tali hummed and shook her head. "A little longer, please."
"B-but I did what you wanted!" he whined.
"You did- just do it a little more, okay?"
"Okay! Okay!" he cried, lacing his hands over his crest. "I-hihihaahahaHAHA! KaHAhahaHAHAHAAA! OhohoOHOHAHAHAAAHAHAA-! Please!- Pleeheheheahaha! Lemme go now! Lemme GO!"

Just like that, it all went away- the brush, the scrubber, her fingers, everything. In a few seconds, even the rope around his ankles and toes had been removed. Tarquin drew his legs in close and sat up on his side as he caught his breath, keeping the pillow under one arm out of instinct. After a moment of keeping her distance, Tali sat down on the bed next to him, looking at him uncertainly.
"I wasn't too hard on you, was I?" she asked worriedly.
"I... no," he replied quietly, rubbing the heel of one foot. "I just... got in a little over my head." As usual.
"Well, that's my bad," she returned. "I should've told you what I was doing."
"No, it's- I'll be better next time." He paused awkwardly. "I-if there is a next time."
"If you want to, let me know. In the meantime, it's my turn."
"Your turn-?" Anything else died in Tarquin's throat as he watched Tali strip off one boot, then the other.
She twisted around where she sat so her feet were within his reach, eyes twinkling. "Don't you want a little payback?" she asked playfully.
He hesitated for a moment, but his decision was obvious. "Yes."