Author's Note: This solely exists thanks to nice reviews :)
No no no no no, don't be quiet! Say something, Shepard. Say *anything*!
Liara couldn't stand the quiet. Silence only always led to the Asari saying stupid things. Like how many days it had been since they encountered a Reaper. Or how many clients she had gained since working as the Shadow Broker. Or how Glyph was the only one she talked to... sometimes for days. Or how long it had been since Shepard had last visited her cabin. Or how she felt when she was near her. Her scent. Her eyes. Her hands, roaming through the air, trying to make people understand. Or...
No. Silence was definitely *not* helping. Shepard simply *had* to say something. Silence just wouldn't do.
"Liara?"
Thank the Goddess.
"What's wrong?"
Maybe the silence hadn't been that bad after all?
"You seem... off."
Definitely. The silence hadn't been *that* bad...
"Talk to me."
What was there to talk about? Liara didn't even really know what exactly was wrong with her. Or maybe she did. It was all just too much. The pain when Shepard died, the anger when she came back, the love that replaced the anger and the pain, the unspeakable pain when she realised just how much she had hurt the one person she had loved more than anything. She still loved more than anything. Love. Did she want to talk about love? Or maybe... Maybe she should just ask forgiveness for her behaviour?
"Liara..."
Warm hands grasped hers, and a soft voice made her look into gentle eyes. Tears were threatening to enter her own eyes, she could feel them, just at the brink of her conscious mind. But crying would only make matters worse. A part of her consciousness tried to keep them at bay, but they were persistent, and she could feel her eyes watering up. She couldn't let Shepard know. She just couldn't. That would only make matters worse. Shepard. Oh Shepard.
"I..."
I love you, Shepard. That's what the Asari had wanted to say. But how could she? How could her tongue betray her like that? Love was a terrible, beautiful thing. And terrifying.! It made her act like a fool, made her thoughts go into directions she didn't want them to go, made her legs unsteady and her voice crack. It made her skin flush and her tentacles twitch, her body long for strong arms to comfort her, and her ears anticipate the voice she knew so well. Love made her crazy. Liara had no right to be crazy. She had to work. They all had to work. They needed to save the galaxy, after all! She had to...
"I... I can't."
...go.
TO BE CONTINUED.