Scars
Xandi Sue Shepard hesitated at the base of the stairs. Her mind was full of doubt and worry. At the top of the stairs was the one person in the galaxy with power over her. What if she didn't remember her? It was a daft thought after all the docking fees wouldn't' have been paid otherwise. A more terrible thought, what if her feelings had changed? This mere idea terrified the woman who had stopped the Skyllian blitz, faced down armies of geth and once had a conversation with a creature responsible for wiping out civilizations that spanned the galaxy. Eventually desire and need won out and she marched up towards the office door. She scowled at the receptionist guarding it. Xandi wanted to tell her companions to wait outside, but she knew Garrus would gossip no matter what and Jack. Well maybe it would do the tattooed woman some good to see there could be more to life than causing mischief to the assholes of the universe.
The door opened up. Xandi's breath caught at the beautiful blue sight before her. But the words she overheard her love speak were disturbing. She last heard those words uttered from the mouth of an indoctrinated Matriarch Benezia. For a brief moment a look of worry crossed Shepard's face but was replaced by a genuine smile when the young asari turned to greet her visitors.
"Shepard," Liara said. "It's good to see you again."
Soon blue lips were pressed against pale pink. Xandi felt a tingling sensation around the scars that marred her visage. It was strange but not unpleasant. In fact the sensation was kind of enjoyable.
"What the fuck!" Jack shouted.
"Nothing wrong with a soldier kissing her sweet heart," Shepard shot back, her fingers still intertwined with Liara's.
"It's not that," Garrus explained. "Your scars just disappeared."
Shepard reached her hand up and felt for the now familiar scars. Her face felt smooth but as she stroked her own check she felt a dull pain. Soon her fingertips were once again tracing the familiar lines of her facial scars. With an air of disappointment Shepard began asking Liara about the individuals Cerberus had pointed her towards. But while Liara as talking Xandi noticed a look of worry in the asari's eyes.
"What do you need me to do Liara?" Shepard asked.
"It's nothing," Liara insisted. "Especially when you compare it to the missing colonists and…"
"Liara sweetie," Shepard shot a look at Jack as the bald woman snorted. "You know all you have to do is ask and I'll always drop what I'm doing."
"Really?"
"For you anything," Shepard admitted. "Always."
"The boss is acting weird," Jack said quietly to Garrus.
"Not at all," Garrus explained. "Liara just the one person in the galaxy that can always bring out this side of the commander."
Shepard turned and glared at both of them for a moment.
"Understood," Garrus said. "It's not really my business Shepard."
Liara continued for a while longer but soon Shepard stood up and faced her two friends.
"We have some hacking to do," she stated.
It was with a sigh of relief that Xandi Shepard re-entered of Liara T'soni later that day. It had been revealed that the shadow broker's agent was much closer than expected, much too close. But Shepard's actions had help eliminate that threat and Liara was now relatively safe.
"Care to give me the whole story now?" Shepard asked as she sat down.
"I'm sorry Shepard," Liara replied. "One day, but I can't right now, not while the galaxy needs you."
"But can't we just talk?" Shepard pleaded. "Pretend the galaxy is capable of looking after itself for half an hour."
"I was just about to take a break for a meal," Liara admitted. "I suppose the rest of civilization can wait that long for both of us."
"You want us to leave commander?" Garrus asked.
"Yeah," Xandi replied. "Can you go to the bar that we saw earlier, Miranda has some personal crap to deal with, and I want you guys to check the place out before we meet her contact there tomorrow."
"Why should we…" Jack began but was quickly cut of by Shepard.
"Help her?" Shepard asked. "Because she ran to Cerberus to escape the people who may be sending mercenaries to shot at us Jack, she ran to them from something worse."
"Stupid bitch," Jack said just loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Just go Jack," Shepard wondering if Jack would ever concede that she and Miranda were more similar than they cared to admit.
Garrus chuckled to himself as he led Jack out the door.
Shepard remained silent for a while as Liara took a few bites of her meal that had apparently been delivered from a take away place a few towers away. In fact Shepard could almost believe that they were the only two people in the universe as she observed the most important person in her life, the best thing that had ever happened to her. But something had been bothering her ever since she had first stepped into that office earlier.
"Do your eyes still light up at the mention of protheans?" Shepard asked. The reply she received was a brightening of Liara's face.
"Do you have a data disk for me?" Liara asked.
"No but I did encounter another artefact that gave me a vision," Shepard said sighing in relief. "I need some extra verification but it seems the protheans' fate was worse may have been far worse than extinction."
"You were worried about me threatening that human I was talking to when?" Liara asked setting her food aside.
"Yes," Xandi admitted. "I was scared I had destroyed the wonderful, sweet young woman I fell in love with. Scared that I had changed you scarred you."
"Some days it is hard," Liara admitted. "So I try to see how this business is like archaeology or I day dream about living on a back water world that's only known for prothean ruins. Just you, me and a habitation module."
"Sounds wonderful," Xandi said enjoying the idea of it being only herself and the love of her life, with every other jerk in existence being more than several light years away.
"But unfortunately we are both needed elsewhere at the moment," Liara said sadly. "How I wish I could at least come with you right now."
"Even though I might not be the woman you fell for any more?" Xandi asked.
"Whatever do you mean Xandi?" Liara asked.
"I'm not sure if I can even be referred to as an organic life form anymore," Shepard explained. " When Cerberus gave me all this upgrades and…"
"And you are still you," Liara said. "I don't need to join our minds to see that."
"But these scars," Xandi said. "Every decision I make changes how I look, I had a particularly bad day recently were it seems I met every prick in the terminus systems, I looked in the mirror and I couldn't even recognise myself anymore, thankfully I had to help Tali with something a few days later and my face returned to normal."
"But Xandi I've always found your scars incredible sexy," Liara said.
"I know," Shepard said. "But every time they get worse it's because I've done something you wouldn't be proud of, something that makes me hate myself because I can't help but think you'd be disgusted by my actions. Doctor Chakwas informs me that there is a process to stop this from happening but I needed to talk to you before I did anything."
Liara got up from her chair, walked around the desk and sat in Xandi Shepard's lap. Her blue arms snaked around the spectre's neck.
"Keep the scars, don't have the surgery," Liara stated in almost a whisper. "I know that you occasionally you have to make tough choices these scars will always be proof of that, proof that you did what needed to be done."
Liara ran her hand along the scars again and they slowly began to fade away. When they disappeared completely she kissed Xandi softly and slowly.
"Besides it gives me a thrill to know that I'm the only one capable of calming your sometimes troubled heart," Liara admitted as her lips finally left Xandi's.
"I love you Liara," Xandi breathed out. "Can you forgive me for being a bit of an idiot about this?"
"Of course."
They stayed like that quietly watching the darking Illium skies through the office window until Miranda eventual commed Shepard to ask if they were going to track down either of the potential recruits before the collectors wiped out every human colony. Shepard sighed as she stood to leave and apologised to Liara about not being able to stay longer. Xandi swore that one day she and Liara would go to that world were it could just be the two of them but for now they both had their duties that would unfortunately keep them apart much longer than either of them wanted. Then again the second after the door closed between would already have been too long.