A.N: The story takes place during LotSH, after Shepard and Liara have drink's but before Liara leaves the Normandy. This First chapter is from Liara's POV. Hope yall like it. constructive criticism and reviews are encouraged.

Chapter 1: A Lover's Requim

I never could get used to the Normandy's silence…back when we were hunting down Saren, that is. You'd think with such a huge FTL drive, there'd be, at least, a constant smooth humming resonating throughout the entire Ship. Instead, there is only silence. This silence, most of the time, was the root of my inability to fall asleep. But now, as I lay here in the Captain's quarters of the Normandy SR-2, the silence is very soothing…like a lullaby. I guess this change of heart comes from 2 years of deadly espionage and constant paranoia suddenly having come to an end, giving me the chance to finally relax. Wow…I still can't believe all of this. It's finally over. The Shadow Broker's dead, Feron is safe and now, I'M the Shadow Broker. And it's all thanks to….her.

She's actually…alive

I hear the sound of rushing water coming from the bathroom. I guess she woke up before me to take a shower. Heh. I can't help but giggle at this, for it reminds me of the time when Shepard and I first took a shower together…the night after Sovereign's destruction.

When Shepard first suggested the idea, I shyly declined. But she calmly kept the pressure on until I finally gave in. It was an astounding experience.

I was the first to step in the shower. Even though I agreed to it, I still couldn't help but feel a little…reserved. Sure, we had scene each other naked once before, while melding the night prior to landing on Iilos, but the shadows enveloped most of our frames, concealing even our most…sensitive areas. But the shower was well lit, leaving no shadows.

I turned my back to the shower's entrance, that way all that Shepard would be able to see was by bare backside, and nothing more. Afterward, I heard the shower door open and shut. She stood there behind me in silence. Aside from the fact I was still nervous, I wanted badly to see how she truly looked unclothed. So I swiftly turned my head to catch a quick, unnoticeable glance. Bad thinking on my part, because once I caught a glimpse, I couldn't get myself to turn away. The water trickled down her body, causing her creamy colored skin to glisten under the bathroom light, making her defined muscles transparent throughout. Adorning her chest are a pair of aesthetically beautiful, round, succulent breast, leading down to a chiseled set of abdominals and a slender waist. She epitomized magnificence.

I was abstracted from my enthralled trance when Shepard suddenly said, "I take that from that look on your face, you like what you see…correct?"

My cheeks reddened in response to Shepard's sudden query. In the end, all I could force from my lips was a quiet, simple…

"Yes."

I didn't know what to expect. I had learned that in many human culture's, staring is considered to be quite rude. So with that in thought, I feared I might of accidentally offended Shepard. Instead she just looked at me and smiled. It was a soft compassionate smile… but with a mischievous twist. She then said…

"That's nice to know…'cause I like what I see too."

That must have been the hardest I had ever blushed in my life. And before I could even come up with any word's to say, my lips and mind were sealed…with one amorous kiss. The rest is history.

Deep down inside, when Shepard first made the offer, I knew I wanted to accept. It was just my timid nature that hindered my desire to accept. I think Shepard knew this and that's why she insisted so much. I know it sounds strange but…Shepard just has this aura to her. An aura that draw's you to her and make's you wanna follow her anywhere…perhaps even into the depths of hell itself. This feeling…I can't really explain it…then again, when it really comes down to it, there's a lot of things the heart and soul know that the brain can never comprehend. It's quite fascinating.

I look over next to me, to the small table beside the bed. On top of it sits her Kuwashii visor and, of course, her old Alliance dog tags. I reach to grab the tags, letting them dangle and jingle between my fingers. Whilst doing so, my mind goes back to when I retrieved them. Less than a month after the…incident, I set out to find Shepard…or at least all that remained of her. I began my quest in the Terminus Systems. While venturing on one of the system's planets, I came across the dog-tags…but they were around the neck of another, an old krogan warlord to be exact. He told me that he discovered them on Alchera and was keeping them as a souvenir. It took time, but after some negotiating…and helping him kill a huge thresher maw, he acknowledged my plea and respectfully gave the tags over. After that I met a batarian freighter captain, whose ship was heading to Omega, and paid my way aboard.

While battling that thresher maw, I knew then and even now that I could've died, but it was worth it…even more now after seeing the look on their Shepard's face whilst returning her tags. I rub the tags through my hands. They are badly scarred, but I can still make out the words engraved in them:

Name: Shepard, Matoko A.

Social Sec: 867-53-099

Blood Type: B

Religion: Non denominational

After my observation, I leave the tags to rest on the small table and turn my attention to the visor. When picking it up I notice how light it is. But what really captures my attention is the faded and dried up blood stains covering it, serving as an eerie testament to the many trials and tribulations Shepard has had to face, just to insure the galaxies safety…along with mine. The sight of it invokes a numb pain down within me. I wonder what it's like for her…to be her I try to somewhat appease my curiosity by putting the visor on and looking through it. It doesn't fit as well as I expected. This might be due to the fact that we asari lack ears…but then again, so do Turians and Garrus' visor seems to fit him like a glove.

Suddenly, I hear the bathroom door open. I immediately put the visor back in place and lay down, hopefully before she can notice. Her footsteps were silent, but I'm almost certain that she's now standing over the other side of the bed…watching me. I can't tell whether or not she knows I'm awake but I get the feeling she doesn't. I lay here, and start to wonder if she's really there. I choose to be the first to speak and say,

"Matoko…are you there?"

For a minute, there is no answer. But the silence is abruptly broken with…

"Yea…I'm right here, Liara?" Her voice is gentle but still manages to shatter the air, like broken glass and send shivers down my spine every time she says my name. I turn over on my side to face Shepard, only to see that she has concealed herself in the dark shadows, hovering over the opposite side of the bed.

"What are you doing just standing there?" Part of me knew what the answer was going to be

"…Watching you… It's quite a lovely view." I retort with light chuckle and an inviting tone…

"You know Shepard, the views even better with you in it."

"I beg to differ…but if you say so…" As soon as Shepard says this, I fell the opposite side of the bed dip to her body weight.

"How was your shower?"

"It was okay. Did I wake you?"

"No. I just woke up less than twenty minutes ago. While sleeping, I reached over to embrace you but you were gone…that's when I awoken."

"I'm sorry. I actually thought about asking you to join me but you looked so peaceful while sleeping. I couldn't bring myself to wake you up from your dreams."

"It's okay. You're here now…that's all I need." Shepard roles on to her side to face me. Thanks to the blue glow illuminating from the fish tanks across the cabin, I am now able to behold her entire bare body. While my eyes study her wondrous anatomy, they take discern of the scars covering her…including her face. The scars adorning her body appear to have healed completely but the ones on her face are jagged and glow a dark orange. I am compelled to ask…

"Do they hurt?"

"…no…Cerberus wasn't quite done with my reconstruction when I woke up. So, it left me with facial scaring. The biosynthetic alignments are what make them glow. The scaring wasn't as apparent as it is now…Miranda say's that it's due to high amounts of stress while possibly due to certain decisions I make."

"Interesting…are they correctable?"

"Yeah. Dr. Chawkwas and I have chatted frequently over the matter. Turn's out there's a surgical procedure available for the med-bay that can help to completely heal the scars…but…"

I raise an eyebrow in slight bemusement "But..?…"

"But, the tools and chemicals mandatory for the procedure chemically nullify all of the Doc's anesthetics, possibly making this-"

"A very painful procedure…"

"Exactly…How was your dream?" The sudden change in subject's came after stiff pause in Shepard's voice. Talk of the surgery, must've of made her very uncomfortable. Inside, I begin to loathe over my sheer stupidity and carelessness of asking about her scars. But proceed to answering with

"It was wonderful but …very saddening."

"What exactly was it that you dreamt of?"

"There was an ocean. It seemed to go on forever. In it, there were no signs of any life…all except one fish. From the bright colours apparent on it's scales, I'm guessing it was a tropical fish hence it was suited more to shallow clear water's of the shore. Instead, it swam out in the deepest depths of the far ocean. It was as if it was searching for something."

"What happened?"

"I knew that if it swam any deeper, the water pressure would prove too much for it's delicate structure and crush it completely, killing it. I wanted to reach out and stop it, but I couldn't. It just kept swimming deeper and deeper until…it disappeared into the darkness….then I woke up. It was all so strange. I know it was probably just a meaningless dream but when I woke up…something inside made me want to just break down and…cry."

Although I had described my dream exactly as I saw it, I tried to keep my personal interpretation of it cryptic, so as to not worry Shepard even more. Shepard must have been aware of this, which most likely served as the reason for her subsequent set of actions.

She minimizes the bed space between us and caresses my cheek. Amidst this sudden act of affection, Shepard leans in, locks her eye with mine whispers, "Please…don't worry. One day, perhaps real soon, It'll come back out of the darkness of the deep fray…and return to the shallow tropical waters that it loves so much…I promise…"

"Damn it, Liara ,don't cry. DO NOT CRY", is all I'm able to tell myself, as tears begin to fill my eyes, ready to stream down my face once more. My mental cries for restraint prove successful, as the swelling of tears in my eyes gradually descends until not a trace of water is apparent in them. Even so, I still find our eyes locked on one another. To many, Shepard is seen as this deadly, fearless and insuperable soldier of great galactic importance. But her eyes, are of a soft and delicate demeanor, and tell the story of a tragic past, a bleeding heart…and a lonesome soul.

It's at times like this, where I wish I could just…save her from all this chaos and protect her, just as she's always done for me. In the end, it's all just wishful thinking...and wishes, just like dreams rarely ever come true.

Phew i finally finished it. Hope you guys and girls like the first chapter of my fanfic. I worked real hard to make sure everything was clear in precise. The next chapter will be from Shepard's POV and will contain more details of their little rendevous than in this chapter. Hope to have it one really soon.