Foreword

This story is based on "Salvation", which you can read here : archiveofourown dot org /works/387434/chapters/634868

(sorry for the url format, the editor here disallows links).

Alternately, google : mass effect salvation archiveofourown

"Salvation" is a great story, very well written, which leverages Mass Effect universe and characters to examine a very difficult subject. But it was unfinished !

"In a universe under the gentle control of the Asari Empire, a chance meeting of two kindred spirits and their part in the salvation of the galaxy is simply fated to happen."

Summary of original story : In an alternate universe ruled by the asari empire, Liara buys a young Shepard as a slave and brings her home to be her servant. She gently brainwashes her... It is a cute/horror story, which made me feel really bad. OK, go read it...

Anyway. This is my nice/cute/fluffy take on what happens next.

I'm ignoring last chapter of the original, because Shiala needs to be not dead here, also I do not want to introduce the overarching plot, as this is just a quick write-up about the evolution of Shepard and Liara's twisted relationship. They will save the galaxy someday, just not right now.

So, we meet those two after some time. Shepard is 18 today. She is very obedient and Stockholm'd... much more like the original Salvation seemed to hint at. In fact, Liara's training seems to have been a resounding success.

.

Chapter 1

[ Soundtrack : Trentemoller: Moan ]

Shepard was looking at herself in the bathroom mirror wearing her gift. Headphones ! They plugged into her omni-tool player. That was so thoughtful of Liara, after she'd told her how she'd loved to listen to music to fill the lonely, boring moments of her past life aboard Cerberus ships. She was impatient to rediscover her huge song collection.

She'd thought Liara would offer her something like a dress, so she'd look good to please her mistress, but that was much better... Liara had taken her to the shop to make sure they fit her human morphology. She let her choose. A personal gift, just for her. That meant a lot to a slave.

Shepard giggled in front of the mirror, still having trouble believing that she used to be this awkward, shy, skinny, nerdy girl with "issues". Daily commando training got rid of most of that. Now, she looked beautifully tough. Still a bit shy, though... No more ugly ! Proud of her body now...

If only Liara would give it more attention...

Shepard, eyes closed, naked in front of the mirror, lost in her song, was waiting for it to end before heading into the shower. She did not hear the door slide. When she opened her eyes, she saw Liara in the mirror, a wave of violet slowly creeping up from her cheeks, to her forehead, to her scalp. Liara's gaze was fixed on her butt, then flicked to her own eyes.

Before Shepard had a chance to say anything, Liara put out a very embarrassed, quick mumble, and disappeared as fast as she could.

Shepard was also extremely embarrassed, and somehow, disappointed. Although... she loved these fleeting moments when Mistress showed the real Liara. These seemed to happen more often of late, which felt... good.

.

Dream.

[ Soundtrack : Keith Jarrett, Dark Intervals, Track 2 : Hymn ]

Liara was a bit perplexed. She was pretty sure there wasn't supposed to be a concert hall on the Destiny Ascension. Especially not with a … piano, and Shepard playing it. Although she had no idea why she knew this instrument was a piano, in her dream logic, it seemed to make sense.

And Shepard was playing like a Goddess.

People came in, dressed in military fatigues, froze, and listened. No-one spoke. Liara stood there, motionless, one hand on her heart, raptured.

At the end of the song, she slowly returned to reality, and woke up in her own bed. She coughed a little... Damn flu...

It was benign, only lasted a couple days, but it was very tiring. She'd gone to bed early, and almost had to push a very worried Shepard out of the room, promising "You'll pamper me up tomorrow morning when I feel better."

Hair in her hand... She moved silently, and discovered Shepard, asleep in an awkward position, sitting on the carpeted floor, reclining on a few pillows set against the bed, her head resting on the mattress. She still had her headphones on, playing music at very low volume. Somehow, Liara's hand had ended up touching her head, and they had melded in their sleep, sharing a dream.

Maybe I should make it more... explicit she should not be here ? But she was only worrying about me... and she dreams of making me proud...

Liara propped a few extra pillows under Shepard's head, careful not to wake her up.

And this music... so beautiful... what was that ? Was that human ?

Liara overthought herself into sleep.

.

Code

Liara was working, as always. She had been checking her companies' tax records for hours, her flu was not completely cured, her head ached, and she really needed a distraction.

She was pleased at how well Shepard responded to her training. She did not even seem bored, as she stood still, at the side of her desk, with eyes closed, waiting for her wishes.

One of Shepard's fingers was twitching, though. Liara seemed to grow more curious about her servant lately, perhaps because of that dream. On a whim, she wondered what Shepard was thinking.

She approached her hand from Shepard's and discreetly melded, only with a very light touch, trying to get a peek at her thoughts without being detected. Shepard was thinking about her omni-tool cloak program. She visualized it as an enormous graph, bringing portions of it into focus to examine them. She was thinking ferociously, trying to optimize and streamline her code.

Shepard had an idea. On a hunch, she wiped out a large portion of her program and started rebuilding it using completely different algorithms. Liara marveled at how she combined intuition, knowledge, hard work and a bit of genius to build this abstract representation of a very complex working program, entirely in her mind. Shepard decided her idea had potential, and saved it for later when she would have time.

Once her attention was free, Shepard noticed Liara, and sent a welcome thought. Liara smiled to her and got out of the meld.

Shepard had not been patiently waiting for her orders, at all. She'd been extremely busy.

Liara would need to give her useful work to do... Using her to serve drinks would be such a waste.

She tried to say it as matter-of-factly as possible : "Shepard, I would like a list of your skills. Try to think about what you could do, what you'd like to do for me... technical or otherwise. I'm open to suggestions."

Later, Shepard sent her a... resume. Liara chuckled when she saw her own name on top of Shepard's preferred activities list.

.

Lounge

Liara was mulling over her thoughts. Her new job as a young matriarch was difficult. She had no real, close friends to help share the emotional load. She could count on her family, of course, but her authority meant that others would refrain from legitimate criticism and complaints. Her family relations were becoming politics. This was dangerous.

She needed someone she could fully trust and who was ready to tell her the truth, not what she wanted to hear. On the couch in front of her, sat a girl who chose to save Liara's life instead of escaping, perhaps to her freedom. Who would kill her own kind rather than Liara. Who cooked her delicious meals. A little slave whom she'd trust with... anything. Her life. How strange is that.

Her gaze met Shepard's, who interpreted it as an interrogation.

"Mistress, pardon me, about this music..."

Liara had set the playlist without thinking too much about it.

"Be honest, Shepard".

"Sorry. Asari music... doesn't do the trick for me. It is just boring. "

Liara smiled. She knew Shepard had meant to say it was crap, but refrained. Why not.

"Shepard, if you feel something important needs to be said, even if I may not like it... when we are alone, you have my permission. Sincerity over politeness, in a way. Remember this."

"Thank you, Mistress."

"For now, you're in charge of the playlist."

[ Soundtrack : Portishead - Roads (Roseland NYC) ]

As Shepard's choices started to play, Liara got in the mood. "I need a backrub."

Liara sat on the couch between Shepard's legs and started the meld. Shepard slowly massaged her back, shoulders and neck as they shared this marvelous sensation... then a tear fell on her shoulder. She motioned for Shepard to stop, and extended the meld to inquire about her feelings. Shepard was simply sinking into the music. She had cued Portishead for the first time since she left Noveria. One of her favorites, but not to be listened to alone. They held each other, staring into an abyss of beauty and sadness, until the end of the recording.

"Why do you listen to something that will make you cry ? Is it a human thing ?"

"It is beautiful."

Liara agreed on that... that woman, singing, just a simple woman, having lived and died one and a half centuries ago, had moved her to tears with her voice. Perhaps those humans had a culture she could get interested into, after all...

"Also... I got that song from Maya... I wonder where she is now. Either dead, or a slave..."

Liara clutched her hand.

Shepard sobbed "I... I know it is not your personal fault, Liara. I have no grudge against you... It's weird, with me being your slave, but... I feel great with you. You're really the one for me. But please don't ask me to speak sincerely of the asari empire."

Empathizing with a human... even just a bit... what a strange feeling...

.

Shiala

Shiala knocked, entered the living room, and gave her report to Liara. Then... she stopped mid-sentence, and her eyes widened.

The song coming out of the stereo had English lyrics. Liara seemed embarrassed, blushed a little, and was about to start a cumbersome explanation, when Shiala turned towards Shepard, and said in a grin :

"What is this ? I like it... So, you finally got some musical taste into her. I mean, who needs maiden girls bands."

She turned back towards an even more embarrassed Liara.

"With all due respect, Lady T'Soni."

Shepard, relieved, smiled back at Shiala, and cued Wagner.

Shiala listened for a while, then enthusiastically said "Yeah !... this makes me feel like burning things up. You know, I like batarian grindcore for exercising. Next training session, bring a datastick with your favorites, I'll do the same. Surprise me."

.

Therum

They went back to Therum to further investigate the dig site. This time, no-one tried to rob, murder, or rape them. They had installed alarms, a turret in the entrance, and Shepard kept her rifle close, just in case.

Working together was wonderful. The work itself was interesting, it made Shepard feel useful, but more importantly, Liara encouraged and acknowledged her, and she sincerely thought Shepard was getting good at it. This made Shepard... glow.

Shepard had insisted that they take a portable holo and hifi. The cavern was filled with music as they worked, and Liara could even find a few asari artists that Shepard liked. They also, finally, could spend time talking together, about themselves and their cultures. Some evenings, they watched human or asari movies. Liara realized she was studying human as much as prothean culture, and liked to make comparisons between the two and her own. Liara was interested. Shepard loved their discussions... Always eager to please... and the more interested Liara was, the more passionate Shepard was.

One night, she realized she was relativizing. Asari superiority could be a concept open for debate. She almost slapped herself in the face for thinking that, but it made sense.

.

Shepard's imagination

Liara was so curious about studying her little Shepard that she had made a habit of discreetly melding to peek at her thoughts. She could do it with only a light touch. It was much blurrier and dimmer than a full meld, but it was alright for a peek. This reminded her of her young years at school, as she used it to exchange bits of knowledge with her friends...

Shepard did complain a bit about the privacy invasion, but privacy was not part of her rights. And... she actually liked the attention.

Most of the times, Shepard did not notice, and Liara observed her restless mind at work. Shepard's imagination had kept her company through a lonely life with few friends. She was always thinking, whether it was about a problem to solve, something new she wanted to create, her future, her memories, imagined stories, or very often, Liara herself. She no longer despised her little "filthy human". Shepard was fascinating.

When she did notice Liara trying to peek, or when Liara came closer inside her mind, she sent her a welcome thought, or soft romantic fantasies like a quick kiss on her cheek, which usually made Liara blush. This amused Shepard a lot. Then she took her through her daydreams, imagined worlds and magnificent alien landscapes for her. It usually ended up with the two holding each other in a meld.

Shepard wished so dearly that Liara would give more, but... she knew she was already giving a lot. She had not lied. She truly was the nicest possible owner Shepard could have asked for.

Then, they went back to Thessia.

.

The hug

Late at night, as Liara went back to her chambers after yet another evening spent working too much, she heard a noise coming from Shepard's bedroom. Some kind of muffled moan. She went to inquire, careful not to make a sound. She opened the door very slowly and snuck in.

The bedroom was of course very dark, Shepard was in bed, eyes closed, breathing a bit too fast and mumbling softly. Liara, thinking she was having a nightmare, carefully entered her mind.

She came in just at the right time for the grand finale. Shepard had been playing with herself since she went to bed, fantasizing about her mistress and about all the naughty things she would do to her one day. The girl had such high hopes, lots of imagination, and she was desperately asking for it. She was a sexually frustrated engineer. Orders of magnitudes kinkier than her wannabe mistress. What came from Shepard's mind set Liara on fire. Then, Shepard put her own hand on her mouth to muffle her moans, and Liara instinctively did the same. Shepard pictured Liara whispering in her ear "Yes, you may cum now"... At this point, Liara's mind got sucked in and she enjoyed the full experience.

Liara regained her chambers walking very slowly, bent forward, her crotch on fire, and feeling quite dizzy. She had something very urgent to do. "Did Shepard notice ? How could she not notice, we never melded this deep before, it was... aahhh..."

"Pleasing me, pleases you"... Right. Damn backrubs. Damn asari patience. Take it slow. Right. Mistress T'Soni, you need to learn to read people, especially Shepard, instead of old rocks ! Shepard has probably been ready for months, I want her, and I'm waiting for her to get bored. And I still have no idea how her stuff works. Well. At least we have something in common.

While Liara was lecturing herself, her body had turned around and made it all the way back to Shepard's door. Even her light nightgown was getting way too hot to wear.

I'm gonna regret this. But I'm gonna regret even more not doing this.

Ah, Fine.

She entered quietly. Shepard was nowhere to be found, but the shower at the end of the corridor sounded like there was someone in it.

Liara pouted all the way back to her chambers. She had to... she had to... Read up on how this stuff works, or something.

She entered her bedroom in a rush, opened her wardrobe, and stood in front of the motivational poster hidden inside. It said "You overthink too much". A note in the corner said "You read too much, too." Countless notes peppered around, saying "Do it", "Stop waiting", "You trust her", "Make a step"... Liara spitefully grabbed a blank note, wrote "SHE FINGERS TO YOU EVERY NIGHT", underlined four times, and slapped it next to one which said "What else do you need".

She sat in her bed, arms crossed, hugging a pillow, no longer in the mood, feeling alone and sad like almost every night. Her days were always so busy, yet her life empty. No close friends, Mother was still missing... her family was reluctantly taking orders from her, and Shepard seemed to be the only person who really, sincerely cared about her. Whether this was a result of a particularly successful training or just... Shepard's nature... she couldn't know.

She's a just human, so short-lived, very soon she will be gone... Damn, that thought hurts.

Most of her laughs and good times in the last few months were due to Shepard, and almost every time, she didn't even need to ask for anything. Shepard just gave these moments to her. Their second time alone together on Therum could be... the best time in her life...

She loves me. Not her Mistress... me. With all my quirks and weaknesses. I know she sees through. Whenever I'm in distress or about to crack, she's here for me.

And I'm starting to seriously think of her as a person instead of a slave.

Liara had no idea how love for a bondmate was supposed to feel. She had never had any. However, she knew full well what Shepard was feeling for her. She'd seen it inside her mind. She'd be terrified to feel that. She'd be at her mercy...

While she was wondering whether leaving herself at Shepard's mercy would be right, or too humiliating, she decided to simplify the question.

What would I risk for her ? My life ?

Liara tried to rationalize, to bury it under plenty of if's and but's... all the while being too smart to not see the truth. I would. Well, not blindly, not rashly, but... I would.

What would I give to save her if I had no other choice ? What risks would I take ?

I got much more than the loyal servant I wanted... and the price to pay for her, was myself. I'm a shame.

Liara threw the pillow she was hugging against her motivational poster / secret Shepard shrine, hugged her knees, and let her head slump on top of them.

What she felt in Shepard's bedroom... She needed more of her. And she knew once they got serious, there would be no turning back, Mistress would end up falling for Shepard. "No, I must not show weakness in front of her"

Then, replying to herself "She's the only one you can trust with your weaknesses, head of house T'Soni."

As she was about to lecture herself about over-thinking things again, there was a knock, then the door opened to Shepard, in her long-sleeve pajamas, with the front unbuttoned. She was carrying a... large plank under her left arm.

Liara was too surprised to say anything. Shepard seeing her Mistress as romantic, vulnerable, almost crying, alone in her bed. It was totally inappropriate. Something inside Liara squirmed in anticipation, though.

Shepard shyly said : "Mistress, you told me that you preferred sincerity over politeness, if I felt it was justified, right ?"

Liara uncertainly nodded, blushing, still extremely embarrassed.

What shepard was carrying was actually the door to her own wardrobe. She turned it around, so Liara could see the side which had a photo of her in the center, surrounded by countless notes. Shepard set it against the wall, right next to Liara's secret shrine.

Shepard was looking at Liara's notes, running her finger through them. Liara was horrified at Shepard's complete lack of surprise. She was simply checking for new notes, and blushed when seeing the last one.

"You... knew ?"

Shepard kept looking at Liara's notes. "Sometimes I sneak in just to watch you sleep... you are so beautiful when you sleep... and you always leave that thing open. I wrote this one", she said pointing at a note, "and this one too." It said "She loves you" and was carefully hidden below one of Liara's notes.

"If you want, I... I could really use a hug right now."

Liara accepted, and before she could get up from the bed, Shepard was already lying next to her and hugging her, letting out a cute moan of satisfaction.

As they simply held each other and enjoyed the moment, Liara noticed something weird, besides the fact Shepard had done her hair, put on a bit of makeup, perfume, and one of her breasts was staring at her from her open top... she felt her way around Shepard's arms...

"Shepard, are you wearing wrist cuffs under your pajama ?..."

"I am yours. Sometimes, you seem to forget."

.

Next morning.

Liara had been right. They were past the point of no return. She remembered... begging... to Shepard. What kind of Mistress does that. Me, I guess. I ordered my slave to take it slow and make me beg. That seems a legitimate thing to do, I think...

She was still very ashamed, but somehow, without regrets. She felt like she had made a once-in-a-lifetime discovery that shattered some of her age-old beliefs. Shepard was the one to fill her once empty life. So be it.

Shepard herself was just... glowing with love.

They were sitting cross-legged on the bed, face to face, checking out each other's sticky notes, unraveling their diary of frustration from the past months. Most of them were rather generic, but some warranted further investigation. One of Liara's notes read "sexy when wet". Shepard guessed.

"I tried to stand in the center of the frame. I scanned the shower, you know."

"You knew I... put a camera inside your shower ?"

"I always hoped you were watching. Were you ?"

Liara answered quite explicitly by blushing, looking at her toes, crumbling the note and throwing it away.

Shepard grabbed one from Liara's stack. It read "I should make shorter sentences, but sometimes more words are needed to convey the meanings". The handwriting went really tiny at the end, due to lack of space. This one gave them both a good laughing fit.

...

Then, Liara grabbed about twenty notes, all of them reading "You need her", and as she was about to throw them away, informed : "Shepard... you know we cannot... climax without melding with someone, right ?"

The implications raced in Shepard's mind.

"You mean, at eighty years old, you never had an... orgasm ?"

Shepard's eyes nearly came out. Her mouth gaped. That explained so much about the asari attitude... It might not have been such a good idea to mention it right now, though. She fought hard not to laugh.

"My first was in your bedroom, Shepard. Inside your mind. Then my second, third, and... Goddess knows how many, here. That was... beautiful. I will need more of your... services, and very soon, by the way. Most likely after breakfast, and possibly a bit before, too."

She pounced on Liara, gave her the tightest hug, covered her in kisses, while feeling so very sorry for her, and promising "Anywhere, any time, just say the word. I love you."

Then, "But... When you watched me in the shower..."

Liara sobbed "That was sooooo frustrating, Shepard ! Believe me, I tried so hard, so many times..."

Damn.

"I'm so... relieved now. Thank you, Shepard..."

Liara remembered mercilessly fucking her Shepard to enjoy her feelings through the meld. Wasn't it supposed to be "pleasing your mistress pleases you"... Ah... it is appropriate. I was on top, most of the time.

.

Epilogue : two hundred years later

The Reapers came, and were defeated, although this is a story for another day.

Shepard and Liara's children were asari, of course, although the tip of their crests was freckled in Shepard's fiery hair color, which was as unique as their personalities. Shepard and Liara really showed through.

Often, Liara, still head of House T'Soni, would sit at her desk reminiscing the past, and pull out a small glass frame from one of the drawers. She would gaze at it at length, run her finger on it, lost in her memories, and sometimes burst into tears. It contained a lock of red hair, and a small, faded note, which read "She loves you".