AN: From a tumblr prompt. Athena becomes a Tooth Hustler.

"Athena? Diana? What in the Goddess's name are you doing?"

Liara stared at her daughters in disbelief, trying to make sense of the bizarre sight before her. Diana stood ramrod straight, holding her arms stiff against her sides. Her eyes were scrunched up tight, and she looked as though she were preparing for a blow. Athena hovered nearby, tying a piece of string to the nightstand drawer. Inexplicably, the other end of the same string disappeared into Diana's wide open mouth.

At the sound of her voice, both girls whipped around, identical expressions of shock on their faces. "Mom!" Athena stammered, dropping the string and stepping away with what Liara could only assume was guilt.

"Mommeh," Diana said, smiling wide. The string still hung down from her chin, swaying along with a considerable amount of drool.

Liara folded her arms across her chest, giving her eldest daughter a stern stare. She had a strong suspicion about what she had stumbled in on, but she wanted to hear it from Athena herself. "Would you care to explain why you're pulling out one of your sister's teeth? That is what you're trying to do, isn't it?"

Athena didn't reply, averting her eyes, but Diana piped up immediately. "We're getting teef for the toof fairy," she said, still drooling and smiling.

Liara heaved a sigh of exasperation. Pieces were coming together in her head, and they didn't tell a pretty story. Well, I suppose that explains the strange texts from Shepard. Her bondmate had sent her several interesting tidbits earlier, including but not limited to: 'How many baby teeth do asari usually have?', and 'Which My Little Varren doll did Athena say she wanted again?'

At first, she had considered the human tradition harmless. It had been almost sweet to sneak into Athena's room in the middle of the night and watch Shepard slip a small present or a credit chit beneath her pillow. Unfortunately, Athena seemed to possess an enterprising spirit. She had seen the potential for profit in such an exchange, and had apparently decided her own teeth weren't sufficient to meet her needs.

"Diana saw me getting presents, and she wanted one too," Athena said, swaying with her hands behind her back. "I'm helping her."

"Helping?" Liara repeated, placing a hand on her hip.

Diana nodded. "We're getting a My Little Varren doll!"

Liara took Athena's place in front of her, crouching down to remove the string from her mouth. "We? What do you mean?"

Athena's eyes slid left, toward the far wall. "I get it every other day. For helping."

Liara glanced once more at the drawer. Yanking out Diana's teeth with the nightstand drawer definitely wasn't 'helping', and Athena knew it too, judging by the guilty expression on her face. "You know, your father told me that the tooth fairy doesn't bring dolls or credits for teeth that aren't your own. She doesn't appreciate being fooled."

"Yes, she does!" Athena protested. "She gave me a hundred credits when I used Corrie's tooth..." Her voice trailed off, and Liara saw the exact moment she realized her mistake. Her green eyes grew very wide, and her mouth fell open in a surprised 'O'. "...Oops."

Liara straightened back up, resisting the temptation to cradle her forehead in her hand. Wonderful. Shepard and I were fooled by a sixteen year old. "You mean you've been using Lycoris's teeth too? Please tell me you didn't pull them out for her."

Athena shook her head. "No, but it made sense for her to give me her teeth. Her parents are both asari. The tooth fairy only comes if your dad's a human. At least this way we were getting something for them..." Liara gave her a look, and Athena hung her head. "I gave her half the credits," she mumbled, as if that made it better.

Liara sighed. She wanted Shepard's help to deal with this particular infraction, and her bondmate wasn't due home for another hour. In the meantime, it probably wouldn't hurt to let Athena stew over her sins. "Diana, come with me. We're going downstairs to get you cleaned up. Athena, stay in your room until your father gets home. The three of us need to have a talk."

"Okay," Athena said in a small voice. She climbed into her bed, wiggling beneath the covers and reaching for the datapad on her nightstand.

"And no asteroid basher," Liara said, taking the pad from her and tucking it beneath one arm. "You are being punished."

"But Mom!"

"But nothing. You could have hurt your sister by trying to pull a tooth that wasn't ready to come out. We don't hurt each other in this family. I'll bring your game back later, after your father and I have had a chance to discuss this with you."

Athena stuck out her lower lip, and her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't protest any further. She flopped back on her pillow, staring forlornly at the model spaceship hanging from the ceiling.

With one last look at her sulking eldest daughter, Liara took Diana's hand, leading her out of the room and into the hallway. As soon as she closed the door, however, her wrist buzzed. Shepard's name flashed across her Omnitool, and she opened the message, studying the picture her bondmate had sent. It was a pink My Little Varren doll, along with the caption, 'Is this the one?'

Liara paused at the top of the stairs, dropping Diana's hand to send a reply: 'Get the red and white one. We're giving the toy to Diana instead. Athena is currently being punished for tooth fraud.' After a moment's deliberation, she shifted to her contacts list, searching for Aria's number as well. She supposed Lycoris's parents would need to be informed about Athena's scheme, since their daughter's teeth were involved.

On second thought, I'd better call Tevos. If anything, Aria will probably approve of Athena's business model.