Huh. I've been putting out a lot of fics lately - woo hoo :D Hope you guys like this, gonna be some regular old FemShepxLiara :) My 'real' love (I have way more than one, honestly ;D) is actually Shenko, but lately I've been showing the other ME pairings I adore. Got a couple other ME fics, ranging from comedy to stuff like this, all angsty and h/c, and quite a few others in the plans right now, so check out my profile. :)

Anyway...Have some angsty deliciousness! :3

DISCLAIMER: As we all know, I do not own any part of the Mass Effect universe. I am just a sad little person playing around with the characters in a childish little puppet show for my own amusement 'v'

Standing before her, Shepard gave Liara a scrutinising study.

The look was one she had been masterfully dissected with by the woman many times before, when things were growing to an intensity and harrowing terror that eradicated the boundaries of both human and alien capabilities - which was normal happenstance for them, regularly facing against danger that would reduce the most hardened veteran to a shaking, gasping mess of fear. It was almost always accompanied with a soft but firm 'Keep it steady, Liara', an easy 'Don't worry about it' or a confident 'I'll take care of it.' This time, however, there was only unbroken, tense silence.

From where she sat, stooped over her desk, a forgotten pile of papers serving as a mere distraction laying numbly in her hands, Liara remained quiet, unsure of what to say. Her eyes flickered away for a moment to the window, where an approaching galaxy brought dread bubbling up in her stomach, clenching and gripping, an instinctual need to run tightening her muscles in anticipation.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Shepard spoke, her normally charismatic and booming voice softening to a gentle verbal prod, unoffensive and calming, "We land on Thessia in ten."

Liara looked away to the floor. A pause passed. Then, she replied, fingers distractedly, gently fumbling over each other, "Yes." She hesitated, throat suddenly clogging with air that was unable to escape, finding herself mute for a few seconds before she continued, "Yes, I know." Throughout her stunted response, Shepard hadn't shifted her steadfastly even gaze an inch, remaining in front of her at the desk, Liara's maintenance and filing robot, a run-on from her young career as the Shadow Broker, quitely whirring in the corner, seeming to understand not to interrupt with an inference of 'Shepard, that data you recovered has been quite useful', silently observing as his master conversed.

The silence was becoming unbareable - something which never happened when Shepard and Liara talked, finding it easy to lull into comfortable periods of wordlessness - before Shepard spoke again, moving slightly closer, voice softening all the more, "You know," she broke eye-contact for a moment to silently breathe out a quiet whoosh of air, nipping at her chapped lip, "I want to say I understand." Liara looked up, hesitant and unsure of how to reply, finding herself wordless when Shepard continued, "I do. I want to. I want to say I understand, because of Mindoir, because of what happened to my family," she paused, "but I can't. I can't understand what you're feeling, Liara, I can't hear your thoughts or discern your complex emotions because I'm not blessed with superhuman powers of telepathy."

Again, she paused. Liara looked on, indefinite, eyes glazing as she took in Shepard's probing eyes, dazed mind suddenly reeling back to when her mother had been killed by her own hand, her mother's babbling of indoctrination and how she cared for Liara echoing round her bruised head as she stumbled back and fell into Shepard's reliable arms, stunned, tears trailing down her blood-splattered cheeks, saturating her dented breastplate with the pain of unspoken affection and love. The memory of Shepard's grim expression looking upon her as she silently sobbed spurred her back to the present, kicking away the remaining agony of words left unsaid, clawing at any approaching tide of anguish and taking a quaking grasp at the life-line that Shepard had always been.

There was a long, painful silence before Shepard continued, firmer and more intense, eyes finding Liara's wide blue gaze, steady as a rock and brimming with strength, "But I understand one thing: if we're going to save Thessia, everything we've ever known, everyone in existence - we have to push on." She moved closer, voice marching on with an unshakeable belief permeating her entire being, "We can't break down. We can't falter." She took Liara's shoulder in her firm yet gentle grasp, "We have to stay strong."

Neither of them spoke for a minute. Liara looked on, frozen under Shepard's gaze, brimming with an emotion she couldn't express nor really handle, eyebrows shaking with the effort she was making to stay calm. Then, without pomp or ceremony, Shepard let go of her, stood up straight, and walked out of the door, her abruptly neutral voice calling after her, "Suit up. We hit the ground in five."

Hope you enjoyed that, guys! :) Think I'm gonna make this a three-shot cause two-shot seems too little to put in everything I want - but, then, again, depending on the response I get for this, it could be a two-shot.

Gimme your thoughts and leave a review - big or small, I eat 'em up like they're caviar (EWWWW MAKE THAT CHOCOLATE) and swell up with Squuuueeees when I see them turn up :D So, if you wanna make a slightly needy Scottish gal sob with joy, CLICK DAT BAT-OWNNNN :3