AN:- And the Lair of the Shadow Broker finally comes to an end.
Epilogue
It took one full solar day before Liara requested permission to board the Normandy. Shepard had managed to get some decent sleep, which was still a minor miracle. Chakwas had done the usual rounds but beyond some bruises and scrapes there was nothing too bad. Shepard had returned to her room to keep working through the several thousand messages she had received. Mostly it was just well-wishers or spam, but she had come across a couple of interesting reports about missing supplies or potential excavation sites.
As the hours dragged on it was getting more and more difficult to convince herself she was actually working instead of trying to pass the time. She showered and dressed, then changed her outfit twice before giving up and dressing in something comfortable instead of the more formal suits. She made the bed, then unmade it so it didn't look like a military bunk. Finally she sat on her sofa and pretended to read, checking the door every ten seconds and rereading the same sentence at least a dozen times.
Finally the door chimed and she activated it, putting the book aside as Liara walked in.
She was wearing the silver dress she had bought from the Citadel, nearly three years before. It was sleek and shimmery and brought out the blue in her skin, making the contrast even more pronounced. It had a square neckline and left the shoulders exposed while long sleeves covered down to her wrists, tapering to a point on the back of her hands. The faint light from the fish tank illuminated her from behind, making her glow.
Shepard got up from the sofa, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. She felt suddenly very underdressed. She fought to find something to say.
"Did you enjoy the tour?"
Liara smiled, and the dimple succeeded in taking away the mystical look she had. "Yes. It's a beautiful ship. And I ran into Joker. He seemed happy to see me." She raised an eyebrow and walked to the top of the stairs. "Although he did ask if you and I would be embracing eternity later."
Shepard rubbed the bridge of her nose, climbing the stairs to stand across from her, leaning on her desk. "Of course he did."
"It is good to see the old crew again. And the mission reminded me of the old days as well. For the most part at least."
Shepard grinned. "We've been in a couple of scrapes. But it's not been the same." She shook her head. "What even was that hotel?"
Liara's smile turned a little embarrassed. "Azure. It's a luxury resort with an exotic edge." That was a euphemism Shepard had heard before. "Azure is slang for a part of the asari body, in some places on Ilium"
"Where?" She twitched her eyebrow up but Liara didn't react.
"The lower reaches, near the bottom."
"I meant where on the asari body."
"So did I."
Oh my Doctor T'soni. She cleared her throat as Liara looked away, blushing dark blue.
"I uh, I also spoke with Dr Chakwas. I'm glad she's doing well."
"Well she has crew to stitch up and a top of the line facility. She's happy."
Liara brought her arm out from behind her back, holding a small box with a hinged lid. It reminded Shepard of a necklace case. "I brought you something. It took some digging, but…" She opened the case to reveal two small metal squares attached to a chain. They were burned almost beyond recognition but Shepard still recognised them. "I recovered your tags."
Shepard took the box with a shaking hand. "I thought I'd never see these again."
"You can't get back everything you lose." Liara stepped next to her, examining the dogtags. "But sometimes you get lucky."
"Yeah." Shepard looked up to see Liara watching her. "That was the plan."
They split apart again, Shepard going to put the box on her desk while Liara went to examine the fish tank. "How are you actually doing Maia?" She asked. "I mean for real, not what you tell your squad to keep morale up."
"Between you and me?" She meant to make a joke. She meant to brush it off. But something made her shoulders sag for a moment and she closed her eyes. "I have no idea how I'm still standing. I'm doing everything I can, but…"
Liara's hands were on her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. "You've done more than most. You and your team destroyed the Collectors and walked out alive."
"Not everyone made it. And Zaeed's betrayal."
"It wasn't a betrayal. I've seen the reports. He wasn't one of yours. Not in the way the others are. He was a mercenary. And as for Thane and Samara…" She stepped back, her hands still on Shepard's shoulders. "Thane was dying anyway. Sacrificing himself was as noble a cause as any. And there are things about Samara which make me wonder if she may have welcomed death in many ways."
"How do you know?"
"I'm the Shadow Broker now. I have access to a lot of files. I've tried not to pry but it's a little difficult."
"Do you think I should know about Samara?"
"It's your decision. But I've got the files if you want to read them." She let go and walked back to the fish tank. "And I need to talk to Miranda before I leave. There are some things she might want to talk with you about."
"More personal missions to go on for my crew?"
Liara chuckled. "You might complain, but we both know you prefer doing things like this. Particularly instead of fighting the Collectors."
Shepard came over to stand by her. There were no fish in the tank, but it was still peaceful to look at. "We fought them in their own base and we won. They can't call us young or primitive anymore."
"Young? You know I'm a hundred and nine. A hundred and ten in a few months."
Shepard ran the dates through her head, converting them to Thessian standard. "Of course. I should get you something nice."
Liara's hand found hers and their fingers intertwined. "You're alive again. I've got everything I want." She turned to take Shepard's other hand. "So tell me what you want. If this all ends tomorrow, what happens to us?"
"I don't know. Marriage, old age, and a lot of little blue children?"
"You just say these things. Goddess, you were dead."
"I was." She shook her head and blinked back tears. "Jesus I was dead. And now I'm not. I still can't believe it sometimes."
"When the Reapers finally arrive you're going to dive into the fray." Liara pulled herself a step closer. "I spent two years mourning you. So if we're going to try this, I need to know you're always coming back."
"That's a big promise to make." She couldn't help but smile. "I'd have to have something special to come back to."
"Oh really?" Liara dropped her hands and stepped back, cocking her hip and raising an eyebrow. "You have some suggestions?"
Shepard shrugged. "I'm sure I could think of something."
"I'm sure you could." Liara turned and walked down the stairs, heading for the bed. "But I might have a few suggestions of my own."
"Why Doctor T'soni, you surprise me."
She came down the stairs but before they reached the bed Liara turned and put a hand on her chest, stopping her in place. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when Liara held up a finger. She stayed rooted to the spot as Liara sashayed closer, gripping the collar of the leather jacket and pulling it off her in one swift motion.
Shepard was left standing in the middle of the room while Liara held the jacket up to examine it. "This is very nice. You bought it on Omega?"
"How could you possibly know-" Liara cut her off with a look.
"It's my job to know. I am the Shadow Broker." She threw the jacket to the sofa. "Now sit."
This was not the shy and retiring Liara she had known. Part of Shepard wondered where exactly she had picked up the new moves while the other half was busy panting as Liara stepped up to her and bent low to grip the hem of her shirt.
"I've never seen trousers like these," she said. "They are remarkably tight."
Shepard struggled to find actual words as Liara pulled her shirt over her head.
"Well now." Liara stepped back, examining Shepard's body. "Everything's just about where I remember it being."
Shepard finally found something to say. "Are you sure?"
"Well." She threw the shirt away and reached up to undo the straps of her own dress. "I might have to conduct further experiments."
"There's the Doctor T'soni I know and-" Liara dropped the dress and Shepard shut up immediately. She would have expected regular underwear. She could have handled lingerie. But beneath the dress Liara was wearing nothing but her high heeled shoes. "I, buh, muh."
Liara didn't show even a hint of embarrassment. "I thought this might save some time."
Shepard nodded, her mouth hanging open as Liara reached down to her belt buckle.
Liara spared one final moment to smile at her. "Now that's the reaction I waited two years to see."
/|\
It was nearly a full twelve hours later when Shepard finally woke up. She hadn't slept so soundly since she was brought back. Of course they hadn't spent the whole time asleep, but she still felt more rested and relaxed than she had felt in a long time. She rolled over to find Liara's side of the bed empty.
She sat, the rush of panic dissipating when she saw Liara sitting on the sofa, scrolling through a datapad. She looked up with a smile as Shepard relaxed back onto the pillow.
"I didn't want to wake you," she said, setting the pad down. She was wearing Shepard's leather jacket, but apparently nothing else. "I hope you don't mind," she said, tugging the lapel. "I needed something to wear."
"It is totally fine." Shepard sat properly, wrapping herself in the sheet. "Totally fine by me."
"So are we okay?"
Shepard nodded. "We are more than okay. Especially if you keep wearing that jacket."
"I wasn't sure, after what just-"
"There was nothing wrong with what just happened," Shepard said quickly. "I guess you had some tension to get rid of."
Liara nodded. "Definitely. But I wasn't just talking about that. The way I acted, what I said to you…"
Shepard shook her head. "You were under surveillance constantly. That would be bound to drive anyone a little crazy."
"I had to keep up the act. I had to be cold. I had to be an information broker."
"You don't have to be that person anymore Liara. At least not with me."
"Thank you Shepard. But will you do something for me?"
"Anything."
"Promise to do the same. You don't have to be the Commander in here Maia."
Shepard smiled. "Thank you Liara."
Liara stood and walked over, leaning down to kiss her before climbing back under the sheets. The jacket was cold against Shepard's skin, but quickly warmed up as Liara rested against her.
"There's something you're avoiding," she said.
"I suppose." Liara looked up. "But you're avoiding it too."
"Then we both know what it is."
"I think so."
"Do we need to say it?"
Liara shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't know if you still, you know."
"Well I didn't know if you still."
"If we keep avoiding this it could end very badly." Liara sat up properly and looked her in the eye. "I love you Maia Shepard."
"I love you Liara T'soni."
"Good." Liara settled back down against her chest. "I don't think this would work any other way."
/|\
She left a few hours later, dressed in her white dress again. It made Shepard smile to think of her walking through the ship with no one any the wiser about what was beneath it. Of course it made her smile more to remember the shower they had taken before she put the dress on. And the mess they had made of the desk right after the dress was on. And the second shower to clean up that. But mostly it was the thought of Liara T'soni of all people going commando.
At the airlock she stopped and kissed Shepard gently on the lips. "Thank you Maia. For the drinks and… everything."
Shepard kissed her right back. "We'll be back soon."
"Any thoughts on your next location?"
"Just before we left Cerberus Miranda received a notification about a project of theirs that supposedly went offline. If we can dig up some dirt on them then it might help me come back to the Alliance. I'm sure Hackett and Anderson would back me."
"You sure you want to go back?"
"Well I'd like to take the ship and go off and be a pirate on the Terminus but I'd need a Pirate Queen to come with me. Kind of traditional that way."
Liara smiled. "I made my choice Shepard, and I think it's the right choice. If I can be the Shadow Broker, if I can make this organisation better. That's a noble purpose."
"Then it's decided. I'm going back to the Alliance, you're going to be my shadowy informant, and we're going to save the galaxy together."
"I like the sound of that." Liara nodded to Joker, who was making very little effort to hide his eavesdropping. "I'll see you again soon." She brushed Shepard's cheek and smiled. "No more waiting around."
The End
AN:- That uh, that got a little more heated than I meant it to.
I brought back the Lara Croft biker outfit from Samara's loyalty mission. I kind of imagine the jacket to look like the male Commander Shepard's leather jacket casual outfit from ME3.
I did a lot of moving around and adding to the dialogue to really fit in with the way that I've written the story so far. But nothing much else to say about this one. I hope you enjoyed it and thought it was an appropriate ending for this fun little DLC.
Please read and review. Overlord next!
