Prompt: F!Shepard/Liara: Speaking Without Words
Warning! ME3 spoilers ahead!
Pairings Mentioned: Shepard/Kaidan, Shepard/Liara(friendship)
An inside look after what happened after the Normandy left Mars and before they got to the Citadel, mostly Liara's point of view.
Disclaimer: Bioware/EA owns the Mass Effect series and the characters within it.
The Normandy shook slightly as the ship left Mars' atmosphere, evading Reapers as they plummeted down to the surface of the red planet. Shepard didn't seem to care about the Reapers at this point, didn't seem to care that they had just barely made it off of Mars and Liara couldn't help but watch with a pang of guilt as Shepard rushed to the medical bay with no hesitation, Kaidan slung over her shoulders. He had been helping her when Eva Core had forced herself, itself, out of the Cerberus shuttle. She remembered him pushing her out of the way, firing his pistol at the machine as it grabbed him, could still hear Shepard's screams as Core slammed his head against the unforgiving metal.
As Shepard carefully laid him onto the medical berth, Liara moved to his other side, vaguely aware of James on the other side of the room throwing the Cerberus machine onto one of the other berths. But she wasn't paying attention to that, she looked down at Kaidan, feeling yet another sharp pang of guilt at the man's broken body. She looked up from him to look at Shepard, who didn't even seem to notice her presence, so focused she was on Kaidan.
To Liara she seemed, broken. Hurt. Afraid. Focused on nothing except for Kaidan.
The asari leaned down so that she could look into her friend's face. She needed to snap her out of this mental lockdown she seemed to be having. "Kaidan needs medical attention Shepard!"
Her friend looked up, and in that one single look, Liara saw everything. She was afraid, she was hurting. The woman that Liara had always looked up to, that she had always envied with her ability to be able to keep such a handle on everything, to be able to turn her emotions off until the mission was complete, was completely and utterly vulnerable. She was raw, open, and Liara could see the glimpse of the woman beneath the Commander mask she always wore. It was the only time that Liara had ever been able to see exactly what Shepard was thinking with just a look.
She moved herself closer so that she could try look her friend right in the eyes, praying that she would be able to get through to her. "We have to leave the Sol system!"
With that said she watched the Commander mask snap right back into place. Her dark eyebrows knitted together but she didn't look Liara in the eye. "I know."
Her expression softened and she moved away. "The Citadel is our best chance, we can find help there."
Shepard tore her gaze away from Kaidan to glance up at the intercom, snapping a "Get us to the Citadel Joker!" before she returned her gaze back down to her lover.
Liara prayed silently to the goddess that they would reach the Citadel in time.
A/N: Yeah I know, it's short. But it could be worse right? I had to get at least one fanfiction out of my system, since it's been a really long time and I'm brimming with inspiration for one-shots right about now. This is going to be a series of prompts, set in Chapter format, but not necessarily in order chronologically. So like it? Hate it? Should I never write fanfiction again? Let me know!