A/N: Inspired by a prompt on the kmeme about Shepard singing silly pop songs in the shower. Since I can't write smut, I thought I'd write this.

Disclaimer: Bioware owns all. Except the Whitney.

Virtuosa

There is just so much to do.

Granted, there's a damn galactic war on, but Liara wouldn't mind a break. She trudged up to the captain's cabin, arms overflowing with data pads, her mind reeling with all that still needs to be done. Reports to Hackett. More resources to the Crucible. Broker operations updates. How she managed to juggle it all remained a mystery even to her.

Despite her own pressures, she was the most worried about Shepard. The commander had barely stepped back on board the Normandy, and already she was deluged with responsibilities. Readiness analyses. Council meetings. The Alliance's ever-demanding situation reports. And since Liara was viewed by nearly everyone as the de facto XO - whether by virtue of her relationship with Shepard, or her innate organizational skills - it was her job to ensure the commander is aware of each and every one of her obligations.

But Liara could tell the war was wearing on her bondmate, even though she would never admit to such a thing. The commander couldn't hide the dark circles beneath her dulled eyes, or the gauntness of her cheeks. She never sleeps. Barely eats. Liara carried the weight of her own burdens, but that was different somehow. No one was untouched by the war, but no one has been asked to do more than Shepard.

All Liara can do is pray that Shepard will not break.

She entered the spacious cabin and deposited the pads on Shepard's desk, adding to the already voluminous stack in threat of toppling over. The commander's armor was tossed carelessly in a corner near the ostentatious but empty fishtank, and Liara sighed. Shepard was meticulous to a fault when it came to her equipment, and the callous way her armor had been treated meant she tore the pieces off and flung them across the room in a fit of frustration.

Liara heard the shower running, and decided to wait. The thought of joining her bondmate briefly flashed through her mind, but is quickly discarded despite the hum of pleasure it brought. There is no time for that now. Perhaps later, after the debriefings...

She suddenly noticed another sound, one she hadn't heard when she first arrived. An upbeat, energetic song began to drift through the cabin, and Liara allowed herself a small smile. The asari knew about Shepard's peculiar musical tastes, but was the only one who didn't tease her mercilessly about it. Ashley had somehow gotten her hands on one of Shepard's playlists, and the selections she found apparently were not considered to be the finer of humanity's musical offerings. Of course, her discovery had been made public immediately, which ultimately culminated in Ashley, Lieutenant Vega, and Specialist Traynor welcoming the commander back from a particularly difficult mission with a choreographed dance performance in the shuttle bay.

Liara had heard about the display but didn't understand its significance until later that evening, during their joining, when a stray thought from Shepard passed through the meld. Liara felt her bondmate's anxiety and embarrassment during the entire event, which had been just been heightened by the fact that Shepard was not only familiar with the song and the routine, but knew it well enough to recognize that they had performed half the steps incorrectly. All Liara could do was laugh gently and shake her head, pulling Shepard into a deep kiss as she marveled yet again at the surprising complexity of her human's mind.

Their joinings were actually how Liara came to know most random facts about her bondmate - like that Shepard absolutely hated tomatoes, or how she tried to avoid the Keepers at the Citadel because they reminded her of giant, mechanized spiders. Liara had never joined with anyone before Shepard, and was unsure if such random exchanges were a normal part of the process, but she preferred to think that it was more a reflection of their relationship than anything else. Shepard let the asari in more and more each time they were together, and Liara loved how she always came away with a new, unique piece of knowledge about her bondmate that only she was privy to. The asari was certain that, given enough time, she could peel away the remaining layers and tear down the walls that Shepard slowly and steadily erected since her early childhood. Liara had never wanted to know someone so completely before, and she knew Shepard echoed that same desire.

If only they had enough time.

Yet another sound drifted through the cabin, and the asari cocked her head quizzically. It was something she was not familiar with, and she instinctively moved to investigate. It was emanating from the shower, and Liara pressed her head closer to the door in an attempt to discern what exactly she was hearing. After a moment, a wicked little smile spread across her flawless features.

She knew she should just wait for the commander, knew there would be repercussions for what she was about to do, but this...this was just too damn good to pass up.

She stepped back and slapped the door controls, and was greeted with an unholy blast of steam from the shower. As the vapor dissipated, she could see the form of her bondmate standing under the pulsing stream of water, the hard muscles in her back flexing as she ran her hands through her hair. The water was so scalding that Shepard didn't notice the sudden intrusion of cold air.

Also, she was too busy singing.

The commander danced back and forth as she sang along loudly to the ridiculous song, her clear, surprisingly competent vocals echoing off the shower walls. Shepard poured cleanser into one hand and began recklessly lathering it through her hair, flinging suds throughout the bathroom as she pretended to use the container as a microphone. She spun around dramatically, and brought the chorus home with a gusto Liara had never seen before.

Oh, I wanna dance with somebody...I wanna feel the heat with somebody...

Liara tried gamely to suppress a laugh, demurely covering her mouth with a slender hand, but was unable to contain herself. Shepard froze at the sound, her eyes widening in horror as she realized she was not alone. The container clattered to the floor. The commander glanced around frantically, as if there was something in the tiny room that could explain her behavior. Liara felt a pang of guilt at the embarrassed look on her bondmate's face, and was about to apologize profusely when she was interrupted.

The small biotic field caught her off guard and she was suddenly yanked into the shower. Liara squealed in protest as she was doused with water, all while Shepard just laughed uproariously. The asari playfully shoved her bondmate's head under the stream, rinsing the thick suds from her head. Shepard ran her hands through her hair exaggeratedly and flung water back at Liara, earning more shrieks from the asari, which just made her laugh even harder.

Shepard's bright, full laugh was infectious, and soon Liara was laughing as well. She couldn't remember the last time she heard Shepard laugh like that. Liara's smile widened at how ridiculous the commander looked - squinting under the water running down her face, her short hair sticking out at wild angles, the goofy, crooked grin that was reserved for her and her alone. The same smile Shepard had worn when she swaggered up to that Prothean force field on Therum. The same smile that had become rarer and rarer as each day passed.

Liara's chest swelled with a burst of emotion so intense she could barely breathe. She suddenly lunged forward and pulled Shepard into a deep, forceful kiss. Her clothes were completely drenched and she was covered in soap, but none of that mattered. Because in this moment, Liara could pretend there wasn't a war. That they could have the future they so desperately craved. How they would have a home, on some remote world, where she would make sure there were no tomatoes in Shepard's food and guard against threatening arachnids, and Shepard would dance wildly around the living room and sing silly pop songs to all those little blue children she had promised.

The kiss broke, and Shepard pulled away just enough for Liara to see that she was still smiling. The human's long, lean fingers trailed over her lab jacket and began tugging at the zippers and buckles. The song changed, and another equally sugary selection began playing. Shepard sang along to this one, too, even as she impatiently undressed her bondmate. Liara shrugged out of the last of her soaked garments, throwing them on the floor in a sopping heap and laughing at the absurdity of it all. Their lips met again, more insistently this time, and Liara wrapped her arms tightly around Shepard's neck as she was pressed against the shower wall.

For the first time in months, Liara was full of hope.

Maybe they could win.

That was how Liara chose to remember her bondmate. The lopsided grin, twinkling eyes, playful laugh. Not the hollowed shell of a woman gutted after Thessia fell. Not the grimy, exhausted soldier that pulled her into a last, desperate kiss before their final push against Harbinger. And certainly not the broken, bloodied form that staggered into the Citadel beam, ascending to finish a job she never wanted in the first place.

Their daughter was old enough now to ask questions about her father, but she was still at the age where Liara could dance around some of the more intense details. She knew one day Aliyah's questions would become more direct, more pointed, but that was far enough away so that Liara did not have to relive the more painful memories. One day they would discuss it, eventually. But not now.

In the meantime, Liara wished there was something more tangible of Shepard she could give Aliyah. Shepard, unsurprisingly, had few personal effects and most of what she did own were decidedly unfit for a child. However, there were several important items that Liara was able to set aside. The N7 sweatshirt was tucked away for when Aliyah was big enough, although Liara suspected it would always be a size too large, just as it was for her. Liara also had Shepard's dogtags, gifted to her from Admiral Hackett personally after they were recovered from her bondmate's remains. While she would always keep the set she had received from Miranda Lawson after the success of Project Lazarus, she would give to second set to Aliyah once she was old enough to appreciate their significance. The custom-modded Carnifax, though, would wait until she was much, much older. For now, the only actual concrete possession of her father's that Aliyah had were the model ships she constantly played with, and, of course, the music.

Liara had downloaded Shepard's collection onto an OSD, surprised that it all managed to fit on one device, and presented it to her daughter as soon as she had learned how to run her own terminal. Music now flooded the modest home at all hours as Aliyah insisted upon playing her father's favorites over and over again. Liara especially loved it when she would dash into the living room, arms outstretched and wearing a grin that looked so much like Shepard's, and breathlessly ask to dance to her favorite song. Liara always agreed with a smile, sweeping Aliyah into her arms dramatically as she squealed in delight. Her voice wasn't as good as Shepard's, but it was passable. She sang anyway as she spun their daughter about the room.

Oh, I wanna dance with somebody...