. . .
Tomorrow Can Wait
. . .
"Come on, Liara, where are you taking me?" Shepard laughed as they stumbled up the stairs. Both of them were giddily drunk, buzzed enough to feel the weight of the Galaxy's problems lift for a few precious minutes. The throb of the bass was still audible from downstairs, and they could hear loud, cheerful voices floating up from the kitchen and the living room.
"Somewhere we can be alone." Liara ran one hand through Shepard's already messy red hair, feeling the strands slide through her fingers. She used the grip to draw their faces close. "You did promise to steal me away, Commander." The low, throaty quality to Liara's voice caused Shepard to lose her footing on one of the steps. "Careful," Liara said, catching Shepard's arm and using the opportunity to her advantage. She pulled Shepard even closer, until their noses were almost touching, and her lips curved up in a smile that was full of promise. "I need you in working condition for what I have planned."
Unable to resist, Shepard leaned forward to taste the lips that she had been staring at all night. She had imagined kissing them as Liara sipped from her glass, as she laughed at Tali's impressions, as she leaned forward to murmur that she wouldn't object if Shepard decided to steal her away. She was a little surprised when Liara's tongue pressed forward to stroke against hers, tasting the sweetness and burn of alcohol.
They only pulled away from each other when they heard approaching footsteps, and Shepard had to reach out and catch the banister in order to keep their balance. Liara stayed pressed against her, one hand cupping Shepard's hip. It was only Zaeed, talking with Garrus on his Omnitool, and he hardly saw them as he hurried down the other side of the stairs.
"Think anyone would notice if we slipped away for a while?" Shepard asked, a shiver running down her spine when she saw that darkness that had already begun to swallow Liara's eyes.
"I don't care if they do. I want you all to myself." The obvious need in Liara's voice made Shepard whimper slightly, and she grabbed her lover's hand, dragging her the rest of the way up the stairs.
They passed Ashley and Vega on the second floor, but fortunately, the two soldiers were tucked away in a nearby corner, too preoccupied with each other to notice. Samara did nod as they hurried by the small upstairs garden, but thankfully, she made no attempt to speak with the two of them as they stumbled into the bedroom.
Liara kicked the door shut with her foot, and then pushed herself off the wall, sauntering toward Shepard with a hungry expression. "It looks like you did manage to steal me away after all, Commander," she purred, reaching out to grip the collar of Shepard's shirt. Shepard's hands instinctively wrapped around her waist, pulling her close enough to share body heat. "Now that you've caught me, what are you going to do with me?"
"I think you're the one who caught me, Dr. T'Soni," Shepard teased, although her voice wavered slightly when she realized how close Liara's mouth was.
Liara leaned forward, taking Shepard's lips with hers, and both of them groaned into the kiss, fisting fabric as they clutched tighter at each other's clothes. One of Shepard's hands wrapped around the back of Liara's neck, fingers running through the rippled folds of her crest as her tongue pressed forward. It was a constant give and take as they explored the familiar heat of each other's mouths.
Finally, Liara pulled away, putting a hand on Shepard's chest and gently walking the human backwards. "I so rarely manage to get you all to myself," she said, only stopping when the backs of Shepard's knees hit the side of the bed. She gave one last push, sending her Commander falling onto the mattress.
Shepard noticed a small trace of sadness in Liara's voice, and a crease wrinkled her forehead as she stared up at her bondmate. Liara was right – with so many demands on their time, they had to rely on a few stolen moments here and there. It simply wasn't enough.
"Then let's not waste the opportunity." Shepard sat up, grabbing the hem of her shirt and lifting it over her head as Liara began shrugging off her labcoat. Her compression shirt followed, and she gasped when Liara straddled her, warm hands running over her bare arms. They wandered across her broad shoulders, stroking her upper chest before reaching down to thumb her nipples to hardness.
"Goddess, Shepard, you are exquisite," Liara breathed, letting her fingers explore the streaky, slightly discolored scar above Shepard's left breast. It was right over her bondmate's heart, and she could feel the throb beneath her palm. The reminder of Shepard's death and subsequent rebuilding did not bother her anymore. In fact, she had grown to love the proof that Shepard had survived. She had to believe that their luck would continue, no matter what obstacles they faced.
Liara's hands continued to wander, running down Shepard's sides as the Commander busied herself with undoing the fastenings to Liara's pants. Shepard had other scars, as well as a few freckles, and Liara wanted to relearn all of them with her hands and lips.
"Lift your hips," Shepard urged her, and Liara obliged, somehow managing to wriggle out of her pants without completely leaving Shepard's lap. Her breath hitched when sharp nails raked up along her newly bared legs, stopping just short of their goal before trailing back down.
Reluctantly, Liara pulled away, desperate to feel Shepard's naked body against hers without any barriers between them. "Yours too," she pleaded, watching the muscles in Shepard's stomach work as she reclined on the bed, kicking off her boots and hurrying to shove her own pants down over her hips.
Liara helped as best she could, but she soon found herself distracted by Shepard's stomach, unable to resist running a tongue through her navel as she kissed over the flat plane. She worked her way up, kissing and nipping along the line that bisected Shepard's firm abdominal muscles until she was hovering just above her breasts.
Shepard lifted herself on her elbows, arching her spine and clearly offering herself up for Liara's mouth. She took the invitation, pulling a tight brown nipple between her lips and lashing the bud with her tongue. Shepard's low groan sent a pulse directly between her legs, and she straddled one of the human's knees, unable to resist grinding down. The pressure was a small relief at first, but after a few slow pushes of her hips, she found that the ache had doubled, and she was painting Shepard's skin with wetness.
"So wet for me," Shepard murmured, gripping Liara's hips and urging her bondmate to continue rubbing against the firm muscle of her thigh. "I love feeling you." She continued guiding Liara in a steady grind as teeth grazed her nipple, letting go with a pop to kiss across to the other side.
Although she couldn't speak, Liara responded to Shepard's words by settling her hands on her Commander's strong shoulders, running her thumbs along her collarbone as she continued rocking above her knee. She gasped when she felt one of Shepard's strong hands let go of her waist and slip between her legs, forcing her to lift her hips. She let go of Shepard's breast and cried out, throwing her head back as her lover's fingers found the hard ridge of her clitoris, tweaking it expertly.
"I want to make you come like this," Shepard panted, picking up a quick, light circular motion.
"I'm going to come for you like this," Liara said breathlessly, bucking into Shepard's hand. Shepard felt a surge of pride and arousal when she felt Liara begin rocking into her touch. All of Liara's sadness and worry had melted into ecstasy, and the expression on her face was pure bliss. Shepard wanted to keep her like this forever. For now, at least, their problems didn't matter.
Shepard leaned forward, kissing her way along the gorgeous slope of Liara's blue shoulder as her fingers left the asari's ridge, sliding further back to trace around her entrance. Liara willingly sank onto her fingers, enveloping two of them in slickness and heat, and both of them groaned at the new shared sensation. "Love being inside you," Shepard whispered into her slick skin, which seemed to burn against her lips. Her thumb drifted back to toy with Liara, teasing the ridge out of its hood and running across the tip as she began to curl her fingers forward.
Liara reacted instantly, letting out a cry that was probably too loud as she began to rise and fall in Shepard's lap, eager to take as much of her as possible. Her grip on Shepard's shoulders tightened, and the muscles in her thighs tensed when she felt teeth sink into the cord of muscle just beneath her throat. "Oh, yes," she sighed, her inner walls shivering. "More..."
Slightly surprised by the request, but undeniably pleased, Shepard withdrew and pushed back in with a third finger, watching as Liara's eyes flashed completely black at the new stretch. Shepard loved that Liara was confident enough to give voice to what she wanted now, asking for pleasure without shame or embarrassment. Wetness spilled over her hand, covering the side of her thumb and running down her palm, and the proof of Liara's arousal only made the pressure between her own legs grow.
"Shepard," Liara gasped before leaning down to take her Commander's lips again. They kissed until they couldn't breathe, but finally, Liara tore her mouth away. "Embrace Eternity!"
Before she could respond, Shepard felt herself being gathered up, folded in the presence of a familiar mind. Being within Liara and having Liara within her was comforting, and she felt her own need double as her bondmate's unmistakable arousal began to course through her. Her heartbeat hammered in her chest, tripping along faster before falling in sync with Liara's. 'We are...'
'So close...'
Somehow, despite the nearly overwhelming shared sensation of the meld, Shepard managed to continue moving her hand, and Liara kept up the desperate motion of her hips. They shared the same rhythm, perfectly aligned, shifting together as one being. Shepard felt love, overwhelming need, and a tiny current of sadness and worry flooding from Liara's soul, and she did her best to soothe all three, finding the swollen, ridged spot against Liara's front wall and pushing as her thumb continued grinding in circles.
'It's just the two of us,' she said, sensing that Liara needed a little more reassurance to find release. 'Just the two of us, together, for the rest of the night. Come for me.'
Finally, Liara let go, clenching down around the fingers inside of her and riding through a wave of pulsing contractions. The room flared with blue light as her biotics crawled over her heated skin. Her muscles shivered, pulling tight and then fluttering, and she let go of Shepard's shoulder with one hand, forcing it between their bodies and grinding her palm between Shepard's legs. She wanted to share everything with Shepard – her pleasure, her release, this perfect moment in time.
Shepard bucked against Liara's hand. Even though they were not quite hitting the right spot, the pressure was a welcome relief as she rode through their shared orgasm. The feelings pouring from Liara were enough to make her come on their own. Finally, when the ripples turned into aftershocks, Shepard pulled her fingers out, although Liara remained buried deep inside her mind, unwilling to give up that connection as well.
'Lie back,' Liara thought as she felt Shepard grip her thigh with sticky fingers.
'Huh?'
Indulging Shepard's curiosity, Liara sent her a vivid mental image – the two of them, with Shepard reclined against the pillows, hips rising and falling as Liara's tongue worked diligently between her legs. 'I want you... I want to taste... I want...' Even though her thoughts were a little disjointed, the meld made them abundantly clear, and Shepard obeyed, dragging herself out from between Liara's knees and turning to lie on the bed.
Liara did not waste any time. She settled eagerly between Shepard's legs, draping one of her Commander's knees over her shoulder as she dipped her head. The first swipe of her tongue through Shepard's folds drew out a long, low groan, and the second made both of their hips push forward – Shepard's against Liara's mouth, and Liara's into the mattress. A hand clutched the back of Liara's crest, perhaps a little tighter than necessary. "Fuck, Liara," Shepard said aloud, her toes curling as Liara's tongue pressed against her entrance, trying to push inside. She spread her legs wider, giving Liara more access as she pulled her head forward.
'Goddess, you're so ready,' Liara thought as she worked her tongue past Shepard's opening, savoring the taste, trying to coax even more wetness directly from the source. 'So warm... I need you.'
Shepard's back bowed as she tried to ride Liara's mouth, but fortunately, the meld allowed Liara to predict most of her movements, and she followed the motion of Shepard's hips effortlessly, unwilling to pull back even for a moment. The slick pressure of Liara's tongue inside of her was blissful, but it only made the pounding ache in her lower belly worse, and so Shepard guided Liara higher. 'My clit, sweetheart. I need your lips around – oh God...'
Liara pulled the hard bud of Shepard's clit between her lips, suckling it greedily as she lashed the tip with her tongue. Using her thumbs to spread Shepard's outer lips and pull back the soft hood, Liara lavished attention on the sensitive bundle. She could feel it swell in her mouth, and each tug coaxed an answering shiver from her own inner muscles.
Shepard knew that she would not be able to last long like this, but Liara seemed determined to drive her over the edge. She was relentless, following Shepard's every motion as she shifted wildly on the bed, unsure whether to pull away from Liara's touch so that she could stretch out her torment or to push closer. Through the meld, she could feel Liara's emotions filling her, and she tried to give her own back, to share her own love, desire, her desperate need for emotional and physical release.
Overwhelmed, Liara sped up the swirling motion of her tongue and eased two of her fingers inside of Shepard, curling them forward the same way her bondmate had a few minutes earlier. She found what she was looking for almost immediately, and Shepard's muscles tightened, her heel digging behind Liara's shoulder as she arched into the touch.
'I love you...' Liara thought through the thread that connected their minds, and for tonight, Shepard was able to accept those words without the fear and worry that usually accompanied them.
'Love you,' Shepard's thoughts echoed back, but the emotion behind them was no reflection. It was a warmth that came from deep inside her, joining with Liara's to make something even stronger.
For an endless second, they froze, experiencing a moment that was so full of love and pleasure that it couldn't possibly hold anything else. They came at the same time – slick muscles bearing down, fluttering contractions, a release of pressure and a mess of staggered breathing.
It was not enough. They wanted to stay like this, minds filled with nothing but each other, for as long as possible. Liara kissed her way frantically up Shepard's body, shifting on top of her, nipping the side of her stomach, pausing to kiss her breasts. Her fingers remained inside, still thrusting through their aftershocks, knowing they could find at least one more release together. Shepard's hand joined hers, sliding between her legs, causing both of them to cry out as she pressed deeper.
They alternated thrusts at first, but after a few moments, their rhythms aligned automatically. Liara caught Shepard's lips, and they shared a kiss that tasted like both of them, stifling each other's cries. Their minds were not silent, either. 'I need –'
'We need...'
'With you –'
'Together.'
This time, their climax was shattering. The tinge of bittersweetness at the beginning of the evening, the fears of goodbye, were all torn down, completely destroyed. They would not return for the rest of the night, banished by love and the affirmation of being alive. Together. Connected.
Finally, the two of them collapsed, reluctantly parting as they drifted back into 'Shepard' and 'Liara'. It took at least a minute to sort through the shared remnants of the meld, and as always, they weren't entirely sure that they had come away with all the right parts when it was finished. But it didn't matter. In fact, Shepard and Liara preferred it that way. There was something healing about carrying around pieces of each other.
"This was perfect," Liara finally said, rolling off of Shepard and tracing wet fingers along her lover's firm stomach. Shepard allowed it, wrapping a strong arm around Liara and letting her bondmate's head rest in the crook of her shoulder.
"A perfect end to a perfect night."
"What if I don't want it to end?" Liara's voice was strangely soft, in need of just a little more comfort after the end of something beautiful.
"It's not over," Shepard said, smiling down at Liara. "We're going to spend the rest of the night together. We're going to fall asleep together. Maybe we'll wake up in a few hours and keep going. But you aren't leaving this bed, or my arms." She bent her head to kiss the top of Liara's crest.
"And when morning comes?"
"Then we're going to wake up together, and we're going to smile at each other because that hardly ever happens. And I'm going to bring you breakfast."
Liara sighed and pulled closer to Shepard. "Breakfast? Are you sure you can manage?"
"Never said I'd be cooking it," Shepard said.
Both of them stared at each other, expecting to feel a sense of loss and longing. This peace would not last. They would have to give it up in the morning in order to fight for the chance to keep it forever. But for now, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the two of them, together, falling asleep in each other's arms so that they could wake up the same way. And right now, in this moment, they could only be happy.