Disclaimer: Bioware owns Garrus Vakarian, Liara T'Soni, Cerberus, Illium, Akuze, Kahoku, and any other events/persons/locations in this fic. They also own my soul.
- - - - - Eyes - - - - -
- - - - - Chapter 1 : Liara - - - - -
"My, but isn't this unusual."
"In my opinion, this entire situation is unusual, Dr. T'soni."
"You are correct in that respect, Officer Vakarian. If I may say so, congratulations on your team's recent defeat of the Collectors. Now, what brings you to my office unaccompanied?"
"Thank you. But, please, just Garrus. I haven't truly been Officer Vakarian since I left C-Sec chasing after rogue Specters. As for why I'm here, I was hoping we could talk."
With an open hand, Liara gestured smoothly to one of the chairs in front of her desk. Her office door closed behind Garrus with a metallic click. The Turian gritted his sharp teeth. Damn his sense of honor. It wasn't going to let him back out until this situation was addressed. Liara laced her fingers together, noting the tenseness in Garrus's form as he took a seat.
"I believe that, despite roughly two years out of contact, we are on well enough terms to be on a first-name basis. So, if you would, simply Liara. What is it that you want to talk about, Garrus?"
Straight to the point, then. Garrus eyed the Asari warily.
Distance: 1.5 meters
Heart Rate: Slightly Elevated
Warning: Exceptional Biotic Abilities Detected
No Weapon Signatures Detected in Possession
Weapon Signatures Detected in Immediate Area
His tactical readout only told him what he already knew. He ignored it. The ghost of a smile hung about her lips, but her eyes were sharp and storm-gray. She was obviously on her guard. Most likely, she suspected something. He was a fool. An honest, honorable fool, but still a fool. How could someone, especially one of the long-lived Asari, have changed so drastically in the span of two years? This needed to be addressed. He was a fool.
"Liara... I want you to know... it isn't easy for me to say this..." Garrus trailed off, his mandibles flaring in agitation. Damn his sense of honor. Sad excuse of a Turian that he was, why did he retain that?
A memory of his talons flowing through her hair, the roll of her shoulders as her body absorbed the kick of her sniper rifle, her eyes full of laughter, and then full of loneliness. Shepard. He was doing this for her sake, and for the sake of the one who cared for her before he did.
And eyes of a clear sky-blue met those of storm-gray.
"Shepard and I are... together, Liara. If you understand what I mean. I didn't want to go behind your back. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here telling you this.
He wasn't apologizing. He wasn't taking back his actions. He wasn't giving Shepard back to her. Her hands trembled, the light of her biotics playing over her knuckles. His eyes never left her's. It was a credit to Garrus that he didn't so much as flinch. It was maddening. She wanted to kill him. To hurt him until those sky-blue eyes clouded over in pain and shadows of death encroached upon them.
Seconds ticked by. Both of them sat frozen, eyes locked in a strange stare-down.
"Where is the benefit in killing an ally?" the cool, logical part of her mind whispered, "A rival, true. But, both he and Shepard aided in the matter of the observer. Even if he is not a friend, old ties could persuade him to offer more assistance, should it be needed. He is guilty. That is plain. But, killing Garrus Vakarian will not return Shepard to me."
The purple-blue glow of her biotics receded into her skin. Liara rose to her feet, turning toward the windows overlooking the city, turning her back to Garrus. She focused her gaze on Illium's setting sun. The rays of deep-red sunlight lovingly embraced the skyscrapers within their reach, paying warm attention to the metal and glass, making the skyline glitter like broken shards of ruby. But, Liara's eyes were blind to the beauty.
"Why did Shepard not come to tell me this herself?" she asked, striving in vain to keep the tremor from her voice, "Also, if you did not wish to 'go behind my back', as you say, then why did you pursue a relationship with her at all?"
She did not turn to face him. Her arms were crossed protectively over her chest, and she continued to stare into nothing.
"Shepard didn't come because I asked her not to." Garrus murmured plainly, a growl in the lower register of his voice, "She has enough weight on her without all of this. Shepard approached me first. I admit, at the time, you weren't in my thoughts at all. She needed someone, Liara. You wouldn't believe how lonely she was... With that brush-off you gave her when we first came to see you, combined with the flat-out rejection Williams gave her, are you really going to blame her for running to me? She took the message that you were finished with her to heart."
Liara whirled around, her eyes filled with fury, pain, and regret. The threat of her biotics hadn't fazed him, but with the full face of her emotions directed at him, Garrus cringed. This wasn't quite going as planned. True, he had been displeased with Liara for her treatment of Shepard, but he had never meant to voice that fact. Never meant to sound so accusing.
"Don't you understand?! I must focus on the Shadow Broker! If I had gone with Shepard, he would have slipped through my fingers! He would have escaped from the punishment he justly deserves! But, even so, I wanted very much to go with Shepard! I wanted the be at her side once more... I wanted to be the one she came to when she was lonely, to the be the one she relied upon! And I did not wish to surrender that position to anyone, including you, Garrus!" Liara's voice was choked with emotion, and she fought to continue, "But, I could not go with her. I need to find the Shadow Broker. Find him and kill him in retribution for every life he has taken, and for the lives he has ruined!"
She tried to say more, but managed nothing beyond a strangled sob, one hand gripping the back of her chair, the other pressed tightly to her chest.
Garrus struggled to maintain an impassive expression. He was, after all, no stranger to the all-consuming burn of hatred, the way one's mind refused to work toward any goal but revenge, the need for retribution. Dr. Saleon. Sidonis. Thankfully for him, Shepard had been there both times, guiding him to make the correct choice, not just the one that felt best. If she had not been with him, who knew how warped he would have become?
"Liara..." Garrus's voice was low now, a calming rumble, "Why do you need revenge so badly?"
Her hand gripped her chair so tightly he could see the tendons and bone strain. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. Definitely not as planned.
"Shepard's body... Were you ever told how Cerberus obtained her?"
"I wasn't."
"I... gave her to them. But, the Shadow Broker wanted her body as well. They wanted to sell her to the Collectors. The Shadow Broker killed a dear friend of mine, and nearly took my life as well."
"You were the one who gave Shepard to Cerberus?" His mandibles flared, eyes widening in surprise, "Liara, you know the kinds of things they've done. Their work with the Rachnai, Husks, Thorian Creepers, killing Admiral Kahoku and his entire unit? Not to mention that they were the ones responsible for what Shepard went through on Akuze! Now she's been forced to work with them, the people who are the reason she has flashbacks every time we come across a Thresher Maw!"
"You have no right to condemn my actions!" Liara cried, throwing her chair aside, half with her biotics and half with her own strength, "I gave her to them because they gave me hope! They told me they could resurrect her! And they were able to! If not for my actions, none of us would have a single hope in the face of the Reaper fleet!" She slammed her hands down on her desk, purple-blue light swirling over her arms, "I knew they would most likely use her for their own purposes! I knew she would be angry at working with them! But I could not... I could not give up on her second chance at life!"
And the tears fell from her eyes, biotics dissipating. "I... wanted to see her smile once more... Garrus, the time that Shepard and I spent together... in Asari terms, it was barely longer than an exhale of breath. And, even now, I am hardly more than a child. Shepard was my first love, and I was selfish. I couldn't stand... and I still can't stand... the thought of losing her. Not to you, not to another, and certainly not to death. It may be a cliche, but she is truly our only hope..."
They would both follow Shepard into hell without a second thought, that understanding passed between them. They two had been at Shepard's back in the final battle with Saren on the Citadel, and Garrus had been with her in the final fight against the Collectors. But, he knew that Liara would have been there in a heartbeat, if she were able. Though she had not said so outright, Liara must believe that her business with the Shadow Broker was for Shepard's sake as well.
"I understand, Liara." Garrus's voice rumbled in his chest, "I didn't mean to sound so accusing."
She dashed the tears from her face with a deft hand, and fixed her gaze upon him once more. Her eyes were piercing, full of pain and sadness.
"Garrus... you understand Shepard's mentality as a soldier. You always have. Better than I ever could. You have followed her to the end twice. Should she need it, hold her close. I am unable to. It is enough for me to know that you are with her, keeping her alive. Don't you dare let her die again."
"I was called Archangel on Omega for a reason. I will protect Shepard, Liara, even if it costs me my own life."
"Then, for that, and for your sense of honor, I thank you."
- - - - - Chapter 1 : Liara : End - - - - -
A/N: I'll admit, I'm far better with drawing than I am with writing. But, all the same, thank you for taking time to read this. ^^ If I could ask, please drop a review to let me know how I'm doing? Thank you! =3
Add-On A/N: In response to a couple of people asking if I neglected to mark "Complete" for this fic, the answer is no. This fic is not (*shock and amazement*) a one shot, as is my norm. I can assure you that there will be at least one more chapter to this fic, possibly two more. (Hence, my naming of this chapter.) ^^ So, please look forward to it, and thank you for reading!
Yet another A/N: Please note, the reasons given here for Liara's actions can be found in the comic Mass Effect: Redemptions and also in a one-time dialog option in the game. Here is a YouTube link to the conversation: .com/watch?v=rjFMPaSjAuo (This site kills links, so just add the usual YouTube link beginning to the front of it.) This conversation, as I said, is a one-time only thing, only available after finishing the Observer assignment for Liara, and then it disappears from the conversation wheel after you end that conversation. If you're like me, you probably missed it completely in the first playthrough of ME2, and were left wondering why Liara was acting so out of character.