Incoherent moans were coming from behind the door. They pierced the silence of the apartment with the occasional scratching sounds and ruffling of clothes. There were voices coming from the room occasionally, between the moans. A conversation, spoken in soft, hushed tones. Quick and desperate the banter went back and forth.

"Like this?" a woman's voice asked, uncertainty tainting her otherwise calm voice.

"Yes! That's great!" said another with glee.

Another moan hung in the air and then silence, with furious shuffling about. The desperate cry only grew louder as time passed, and the sound of discarded clothing hitting the floor was all that was left.

"Let me give it a go."

"What are you doing? No, wait… stop! Don't!"

"Why?"

"Because that's… that's my…!"

A surprised cry, more like a yelp than anything interrupted the first speaker.

"Shiala…!" the second woman finally broke the awkward silence.

The green asari was so embarrassed she didn't even bother answering.

With a hand on her left hip, the other woman held out a black dress which was distressingly revealing. It was long, hanging slightly above the knees, but all along the sides there was no cloth leaving little to the imagination. The front too revealed much; a very low cut that would show ample amount of skin even on women with not as generous a chest as Shiala.

"It is too daring, and I am much too… too…" Shiala started, her voice trailing off as blood rushed to her cheeks.

Her friend's eyebrows shot up.

"I don't think she'd mind much, to be honest," her friend said looking back and forth between the asari and the dress. "In fact, you could use a little daring. Change. Now."

Shiala had the dress dropped onto her lap and she shyly stood and made her way to the bathroom to try on the dress. Shiala remembered buying the dress, it was so long ago. It was during her wilder years. They seemed so far away now, buried beneath all that military training.

"Come now, let's see!"

The asari carefully stood behind the door, opening it a crack to peer at her friend.

"Oh, yes, daring will do," her friend flashed her foxy grin and Shiala failed miserably to return it.

Shepard was waiting patiently by the restaurant door. She was quite proud of herself. Not only was she punctual, but she was early. Early is always good she mentally pat herself on the back.

She was happy that she found the time to do this. It had been months since she had last seen Shiala. Shepard had been very scared that having waited so long would have ruined any hope for success. But she had gotten caught up in her mission against the Collectors. She had somehow made it back alive. Surviving the Collectors had been one thing, but surviving Cerberus' wrath in the process was another. Shepard felt her mood instantly sour as she thought back on those happenings. It wasn't until she heard her name that she snapped out of her reverie.

"I pray that I did not make you wait long," the woman in front of her said. Shepard had been, however, too busy staring with her mouth hung open to properly answer, and could only muster a half-hearted sound of acknowledgement that was neither a yes or no.

"I am sorry?" Shiala asked, obviously uncomfortable with how Shepard was looking at her.

"We should get inside!" Shepard almost yelled quickly turning round and opening the door, holding it open for Shiala to pass first.

The restaurant was classy, to say the least, and quite a throwback to the past, but all the while maintaining a modern look. Tall, glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling, shining a warm orange light, setting the ambience wonderfully. Shepard was glad for the lighting. It hid her sure to be constant blush nicely she hoped. She wasn't sure what she expected when she invited Shiala for dinner. But what her asari companion was wearing definitely made Shepard uncomfortable in a pleasurable sense.

It took no time at all for them to be seated. Shepard let out a long sigh in attempt to regain composure. She hoped that her fame wouldn't get in the way of this outing she had planned. Giant advertisements with her face all over the Citadel weren't helping with her covert intentions during downtime. But thankfully they weren't bothered, saved for their hanar waiter who could hardly contain his joy upon first meeting the commander.

"This is one is honored and unworthy!" it almost shouted. Shepard had to beg the hanar to keep quiet; though promising to speak with it later in private seemed only to agitate the hanar further. Finally Shepard gave up on the idea of calming the hanar down, opting for it to come to terms with everything on its own instead.

The dinner was awkward to say the least. Whenever Shiala would try to strike up conversation, Shepard would look at her for but a split second before averting her gaze. The human commander did her best to answer the questions as shortly as possible, not wanting to let her discomfort show in her voice. Seeing how it seemed to be upsetting Shiala however, Shepard opted to ask her about Zhu's Hope. It seemed to have a mixed, if somewhat positive, effect.

"They are well, all things considered."

"I take it that your differences with…" For the life of her, the commander couldn't remember the name of the company that had taken advantage of the colony's misfortunes.

"Barrier Frontiers," Shiala supplied.

"Barrier Frontiers is all sorted then?" Shepard finished her question, downing the entirety of her wine glass in one gulp, trying to drown out her embarrassment.

"Yes, for now," Shiala was being curt. Obviously something was gnawing at her. It took a while before she finally set down her utensils, looking intently at Shepard. "Have I done something to offend you commander?"

Shepard stopped dead in her tracks.

"No, of course not!"

Shiala's stare only intensified.

"Shiala, listen… it's simply…"

"Yes?"

Shepard looked up from her reflection in the glass she was holding, daring to look at Shiala.

"You're very, very attractive tonight. And… I haven't been exactly… how to say it…"

Shiala's shoulders slumped a little. She could tell where this was going. This was the part where Shepard tells her that she had simply read too much into Shepard's invitation.

"I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable commander. If you'll excuse me…"

The asari got to her feet briskly, but was surprised to have Shepard stand up just as quickly, blocking her way. As the woman was about to ask her to step aside, she was silenced by Shepard's fierce stare. There was something stirring in her eyes. She could see it, but it hadn't been there before now. At least, she hadn't noticed as Shepard had been looking at anything but her until now.

"Let's go somewhere," Shepard said finally. "Anywhere."

The scent of sweat was in the air. The violent pulsing of the nightclub's music shook her to the bone. She'd never been one for clubs. Even during her earlier years, before she enlisted. She could tell it was the same for Shiala, at least, at first she thought she could. But the way the asari moved with her now, on the dance floor, gave her doubts.

Shepard's hands were at Shiala's waist, hugging her close. She felt beyond out of place in the club, but with her date in her arms like this, she felt much more at ease. Shiala had been taken aback by Shepard's brazen approach, but didn't say object.

As the music intensified, Shiala turned to face the commander. She draped her arms over Shepard's shoulders, behind her neck, pulling her closer. She looked deep into the commander's eyes. They were a brilliant green color, and they glowed in the dimly lit club. But reflecting off of them weren't the lights. It was lust. Pure, unconcealed and untamed lust.

Whatever doubts Shiala had vanished in that moment. She felt Shepard's lips press against hers and an explosion of feelings took place. Time stopped. Her eyes fluttered closed. The kiss was powerful. It seemed so natural even though they'd never done it before. Shepard was exerting a confidence, a dominance that reminded her of why she was infatuated with her in the first place. The commander's strength of character was her true beauty. There was nothing around them; the scent of sweat overshadowed by Shepard's perfume, the throbbing she was experiencing was her own heart about to burst, the drumming in her ears, the blood rushing to her brain. It was the most beautiful feeling in the world. With a gasp Shiala broke the kiss. Her eyes remained closed, and she rested her forehead against Shepard's for a moment.

"I think we need to change the scenery," Shepard breathed just loud enough for her to hear.

Weak in the knees, Shiala opened her eyes a crack, softly nodding in agreement.

The two women couldn't keep their hands off each other the entire way to Shepard's apartment. Between kisses, Shepard fumbled with her keys. When the door finally opened, she turned to kiss Shiala, dragging her into the apartment with her. She furiously fought with her dress shirt, uncaring if she damaged the buttons. She had plenty of others, she thought as she discarded it quickly.

Shiala broke their series of kisses, her lips instead feathering along Shepard's jawline, and then down her now revealed neck, ever going lower, and lower. She pinned the commander's arms above her head on the nearest wall in the hallway, continuing to lavish the woman's skin. She couldn't stand it anymore. That inseparable distance that seemed forever between them.

Shepard wriggled free of Shiala's grasp, taking her by the hand and leading her up the flight of stairs to her room. Once there, Shiala pushed Shepard onto the large bed. She unclipped the few clasps keeping her dress on her body, letting it pool at her feet. She stepped out of the puddle, still in her high heels. Shepard took it all in, her supple breasts –not that they were really hid– her slightly oily skin, the perfect curves and dips. She was perfect.

Before Shepard could react, she was pinned against her mattress, Shiala's lips on her collarbone. Shepard arched off the bed with a soft moan; she'd always had a weak spot there. She hadn't even noticed in her pleasure that Shiala had unclasped her bra. The asari didn't even break the kiss when taking it completely off, and she began playing with the commander's breasts.

Despite her best efforts, Shepard was spiraling out of control. It had been so long. She had wanted this so badly. The one person she'd ever wanted had no time for her anymore. But there was someone else who wanted her instead. And this someone was here, now. And this someone was one hell of a kisser.

Shepard wrestled against Shiala gently, trying to free herself of her pants. She quickly undid her belt. Shiala broke their kissing, gasping frantically for air and tore off the commander's pants.

"Finally," she laughed softly. "You are wearing far too much clothing for much too long."

It was Shepard's turn to laugh. She smirked at Shiala, sliding off her panties before pulling the asari in for more. They hugged, and kissed, their hands wildly tracing every inch of the other's body. Whenever they found a more sensitive spot, they would gently scratch each other in pleasure. It wasn't long before Shepard felt the first finger enter her roughly. With a small moan, Shepard bucked her hips into the intruding digit.

She grabbed a hold of Shiala's wrist, and then her hand, and her fingers, easing more of the asari's fingers inside. With a hot moan, Shepard threw her head backwards. Shiala was teasing her with her thumb, all while slowly pulling out and pushing back in. It was incredible. She hadn't realized how much she had missed. And then it dawned on her.

"Hey," Shiala looked at her in the eyes. "Join with me."

Shepard had stilled her breathing, waiting.

"Okay," the largest smile formed on Shepard's lips in the longest time. "Embrace eternity."

The asari was lying in bed. She had this lost look on her face, like she didn't know what to say, or what to do. She had never expected it would turn out it like that.

"Don't worry about it," Shepard said comfortingly, planting a soft kiss on her forehead before looking in Shiala's eyes again.

"This has never happened to me before," Shiala whispered, still shocked.

"You said it yourself, your biotics…" the commander started.

"I never thought that it would interfere with this as well."

"Like I said, don't worry about it. There're other ways to have fun," the human replied with a mischievous grin.

Shiala giggled at that. Shepard loved that sound.

"I guess there are," she answered before kissing Shepard.

"And we're just getting started," the commander said and returned the kiss.

Shiala broke the kiss, looking at Shepard again.

"If only…"

Shepard shushed her. She didn't need to be joined with the asari to know what she was thinking.

"I know."

"But how do I show you?"

"The human way."