It was raining.
Liara looked outside her window and watched as the population Illium was caught in the oncoming storm. She was glad that today she decided to work from home. She could still hear the surprise in Nexeris' voice when she was told she had the day off.
Liara gently touched the cold glass tracing the path of a raindrop as it slowly crept to the bottom of the window pane.
"Today marks a year..."
Her voice was soft as she spoke out in her empty home. She spent another minute before she turned around and headed to her closet her bare feet padding gently across the room. When she reached the closet she hesitated, hand outstretched and lip held firmly in between her teeth. She contemplated for a moment before she felt a chill pass through her barely clothed body.
Making up her mind she grabbed the handle and opened the walk in closet. Ignoring the row of jackets that was right in front of her she made her way inside and walked to the back where there was a box stashed in the corner. Bending down her fingers ghosted over the faded text that read 'Yours, Mine, Ours' in a rushed scrawl that made her heart clench in want.
Gently opening the worn flap she let's a smile grace her lips as she looked over the little momentum's of a life that seemed like it was hundreds of years ago. She reaches toward the bottom and pulls out red and black N7 hoodie. Standing up again she caresses the N7 stitching before slipping the sweater over her head. She makes her way back out the closet and stands at the edge of her bed.
She pulls the sweater tighter around her and buries her nose in it inhaling, imagining that the scent of evergreens and peppermints was still present. And for a moment she fools herself into thinking she actually smells it, she thinks she can actually feel strong arms wrap around her waist and a deep feminine laugh tickle her ears.
Her heart thuds. Her eyes begin to sting. She gnaws on her lip almost drawing blood as she rapidly blinks. She falls forward on the bed and curls up into a ball.
"Goddess..." She whimpers as tears start to fall down her checks.
It's been a year but it feels like it was just yesterday that Shepard was here, and they were on the Normandy laying down in Shepard's bed smiling like idiots at each other as they enjoyed the peace that was created after Saren was defeated and the imminent threat to the universe was stopped.
It's been a year but Liara feels like she's aged a century, and she's so tired of pretending to be all right, tired of waking up alone, tired of mourning. She just wants Shepard back! But Shepard is dead, she reminds herself, not daring to hope that Cerberus' promises of bringing her back to be true. So she swallows past the lump in her throat and wraps her arms around herself and the sweater and tells herself this is the last time she'll break down like this.
And as she drifts off to sleep she dreams that Shepard is there holding her and whispering that she'll see her soon.
MC: Yo, this is actually the first thing I've written in months. You see I was in a bit of a slump but then I dragged my friend into the mass effect fandom and got her to ship Shiara, and she sent me a little ficlet she wrote on FB so I sent her one back and I was shocked that I just wrote an (albeit very short) story, and at how easily the words came and now I'm out of my slump (I think) so yay! Also This this the first time I've written for the ME fandom, double yay!