Hopelessly Blue: Yeah, I agree with you; sometimes, the regular day can be a lot more fun and interesting to read than the action and angst. I'm glad you liked. ^.^ I just didn't think I was good at it. Or am good at it. Oh well.
*chuckles to self* I wasn't expecting that either, B. I feel like being an Ulaeviel would be quite the experience though, don't you think? Being so large and loveable you could get away with a lot of things. It might be harder to eat cookie dough ice cream without opposable thumbs though. XD I wrote them so much in that chapter because their lack of love has been bothering me. I mean, they're always there but I seem to habitually fail at mentioning them. And other crew members.
In so doing, I've decided to take more time to develop people and various relationships instead of just lunging into the action and angst. If I don't the feelings and emotions meant to be conveyed would suffer. Right? Well… uh… I just wanted to tell you that. *smiles* I appreciate the sharing of cookie dough ice cream immensely, Marceline. But don't worry: if you ever turned into an Ulaeviel I would feed it to you instead of taking it for myself. Only because I love you so much.

A/N: Here's a Liara centered (mostly) fic, everyone. Hope you enjoy!

I scratched the back of my head absently as I walked along the corridor of the fourth deck, looking toward the ground. I had just left the CC after fixing Shepard's armor. Again. She was so reckless and 'followed her instinct' so much that I had to repair one thing or another after almost every mission. How she managed without me before I would never know. Wrex wasn't much better either. He waited until there were too many dents and he was more harried than helped by his armor though. This, in my mind, was worse.

I walked into the crew showers shaking my head at the absurdity. If something was wrong then fix it. Waiting for it to break down on you to repair it was potentially just as damaging. And irritating because the job it took to fix it was so lengthy and frustrating I considered murdering the Krogan in his sleep several times already.

"Well if it isn't the lone alpha!" I glanced up long enough to see Crewman Valerie Rodriguez with her usual smug grin. I had hoped no one would be in the showers so late at night. It seems I had forgotten the shift changes again.

"Hey Val!" there goes her sidekick, Jen Westar. "You forgot the wolf part." She grinned, getting an 'Aah!' from Rodriguez as she clapped from the humor. Just finished with undressing myself, I regarded them plainly.

"Yes, I'm sure my lack of humanity is apparent by now." I quipped. They turned their grinning faces to me and stopped. Their grins dropped though I had little idea why, and I turned to activate my own shower head.
"Is there something on my body more interesting than your jokes, Rodriguez?" I frowned. Westar was blushing almost as much as she was. Of course, it didn't take long for their gazes to get low enough to see the markings over my stomach.

"Yo man, what is that?" Rodriguez demanded, hurrying over for a closer look (A/N: it's my profile pic). I rolled my eyes at the question but let her feel it. She even scratched it to make sure it wasn't fake. Westar came over as well and leaned over like Rodriguez with wide eyes.

"Is it a tattoo?" Westar asked. I swear, there was some kind of subtext here.

"No." I just wanted to take a shower. But then, they wouldn't leave me alone would they? Not until they got their answer.

"Then what is it?" Rodriguez questioned, her face now a mask of something akin to concentration. I sighed. "Is it some Vertoak thing?" At least she remembered what we were called for once. Might as well.

"Yes. Think of it as a birthmark." I answered, tucking my wet hair behind my ears.

"So all of your people have this?" Westar's gaze turned up in curiosity. A moment later though, it transformed into shock. "Whoa! Val, look here!" she burst, standing straight again to examine my ears. I sighed again when the woman leaned up again to see what Westar was freaking out over.

"Shit man! I didn't know you were an elf!" she almost shouted. Her hands went up and pulled at my ears. Why I was so patient with these two idiots I would never know. Maybe it was because they treated me the same as everyone else. I mean to say that they teased everyone on the ship, Joker especially and Shepard included.

"No." I said to Westar, referring to her earlier question. "No two marks are the same, nor are they always on the stomach; they can be anywhere on the body. And no, Rodriguez, I am not an elf." I grumped.

"Says you. You're hot and you have pointy ears. In my book that means you're an elf." She replied smirking, still playing with my ears.

"Fine!" I huffed. "Now leave me be!" I ordered, pushing them back to their own shower heads. Rodriguez was laughing like a goofball and Westar smiled to herself quietly but they didn't resist all the same.

"Oh look what we got here! It's the mysterious blue wonder." Rodriguez grinned, referring to Liara. I glanced over, just finished with clamping my boot straps, seeing the poor asari act like she was a lamb to slaughter.

"I didn't know you took showers, loving dirt an all." Westar actually looked serious, that dork. I frowned at them and myself, feeling the protective urge. It must've been because Liara was so innocent and… well, not fragile, but you know what I mean.

"Get out of the shower before you prune up Rodriguez. We all know you're full up already." I shot back, gripping Liara's shoulder. I ignored the fact that she jumped and turned her toward the door.

"You would know, huh?" she challenged, leaning at me. I smirked, leaning in as well.

"Westar would." At their instant looks of shock I couldn't hold in the small laugh that erupted up my throat. It sounded a little evil as it echoed in the room and I led Liar out. I knew she'd be teased by the two trouble-makers endlessly and she wouldn't be comfortable.

So instead I came up with an idea.

It was kind of an uncomfortable ride up in the elevator for Liara. I didn't really know for sure but I was drying my hair idly with a towel and she had no idea where I was taking her since she originally intended to take a shower. I knew she took them at night because there was less chance of people being there and she was shy. We often ran into each other when on was on their way out or in.

"Where are we going…?" she asked quietly, as the doors opened. I wrapped an arm over her shoulders to steer her in the right direction, hoping no one would notice. After all, what I was doing was… well I didn't actually know if it was against the rules. For me, anyway.

Ah well, Shepard wouldn't mind.

"You want a shower, right? So don't ask." I said under my breath. As Shepard's quarters came closer and closer, Liara began freaking out and tensing up.

"R-Raegas, I do not believe Shepard's q-quarters are-" she floundered, resisting me. I pushed harder and got her into the room, heading straight for the shower.

"Don't worry about it, all you have to do is take a quick shower and get out. Nothing to it." I smiled, all too amused with the situation.

"N-nothing to-? Raegas, there is everything to it!" she squeaked, getting more stubborn. The poor girl would rather be bullied than invade someone else's space. The thought alone got me to mile in sympathy at what I was doing to her.

"Liara that doesn't make sense." I said apologetically, forcing her into the private bathroom of our one and only Commander Shepard. I briefly wondered over the toilet being magical, given Crewman Johnson mentioned it but shrugged it off in the face of the adorably flustered Liara.

"I do not c-care if it makes sense! I cannot just walk in h-here and-"

"You can and you did, Liara." I smiled. "Now hurry up, take your shower and let me guard the door." I closed the bathroom door in her face, effectively cutting off anything she was going to say. I then stood there for five minutes waiting for the sound of the shower head, feeling excited over the probability of having had broken a few regulations.

Once the shower was on, I grinned and strut outside to close Shepard's quarter's door.

There was a flaw with my plan. If Shepard did in fact come I would have to do something drastic just to distract her from Liara being in her quarters, let alone leaving them. She was due to get back from her mission soon but hopefully Liara was a fast cleaner. Or whatever.

The hissing sound of the elevator descending to this floor caught my attention and I looked up to see…

Oh… shit…

I watched with a sinking stomach as Shepard walked over, helmet hanging from her hand. She seemed to be pretty tired from her hanging head and not-so-straight walking pattern. Maybe I could use it to me advantage. If everything went according to my new plan, Shepard would never know Liara was there. I was such a good person for doing this just to make sure the resident shy one didn't have to deal with the teasers of the Normandy.

"Hey, Shepard!" I smiled. Dammit. Too cheerful. Tone it down or she'll notice something's off.

Shepard's head came up and she regarded me with blank, tired eyes. Wow, she looked even worse up close. She probably had another rough one.

"Raegas?" she muttered, blinking slowly.

"You look tired. Hard mission?" I asked, still sounding too upbeat. She shrugged, giving off a heavy sigh. Her head went down again.

"Yeah…" she replied.

"Come on then." Better. "I guess I can help you out of the armor."

With that I guided her into her room, filling the sound of the shower in the background with one of speaking.

"Tell me about the mission." I said. She grunted, barely even lucid enough to notice I had her back to the door and facing me. The shower was in the wall at the end of her bed so it made sense right? I don't know why they skipped those details in the game.

"A bunch of scientists were turned into husks. We had to kill them." She murmured sadly, letting me take of her shoulder guards and gauntlets/gloves. "Then some Geth came. Makes sense. Assholes." I hummed an agreement and removed her torso armor to reveal the lack of a shirt. I still kicked myself over having had failed to compensate for clothes. At least she had a bra on.

"Was anyone hurt?" I asked.

"No…" her voice tapered off quietly and I glanced up to see her brows her drawn together tightly. "Oh… I almost got blown up. But your special armor protected me." her toothy grin was, admittedly, the sexiest most adorable thing I'd ever seen.

Well, it would've been if Liara didn't open the door of the shower.

Shepard blinked and Liara poked her head out. Instantly, her eyes grew to the size of plates and her hands clapped over her mouth. An enormous blush made its way to her cheeks, turning her whole face violet-blue. Shepard began to turn slowly, confused.

"Did you hear something?" she asked. I looked between them several times, feeling time slow down.

Before Shepard could turn all the way and see Liara I threw my arms around the Commander and pulled her in for a tight hug, effectively turning her back around toward me. She paused and I looked frantically at Liara, telling her silently to get out of there before she was caught.

"Raegas…?" Shepard wondered, not moving.

"Sh-Shepard I… I a-appreciate you!" I said, a little loudly. Great excuse Raegas you idiot!

"Oh…" Shepard drawled. Surprisingly, her arms came up and returned my hug. It was actually quite comfortable. "I appreciate you too, Raegas." The faint smile in her voice made me feel a little guilty on the inside, even as I threw one of my arms around at Liara. She was like a deer in the headlights!

"And…" I began, getting the flustered blue mouse to scurry toward the door. "And I-" BAM! Liara cut me off by slipping on her own feet and falling to the ground like a log. Shepard twitched in my arms and pulled herself from my embrace.

"What was that?" she asked, more lucid from the loud noise. Liara couldn't escape fast enough! Dammit!

"Shepard." I tried.

"Wait Raegas, I heard something…" just an instant before her eyes met with Liara on the ground, I grabbed her face and forced her gaze back to me. She looked at me confusedly and I swallowed hard.

With nothing left to do, I pulled her in and pressed my lips to hers. All of the blood in my body was rushing in my head, making it harder to hear over the thundering sound of my heart. It beat against my chest as if struggling to escape, making me panic even more on the inside. But Shepard relaxed into it, thank the gods. This should give Liara time to get out quietly and-

What is Shepard doing?

Her hands snaked around my waist and pulled me into her as her body melted against mine, a groan vibrating in her chest and against mine. I felt a deep blush take my cheeks, the sound of the door to Shepard's room opening barely audible over my inner floundering. I had no idea what to do. The door closed then, leaving me with the Commander. My hands tried to push her away but she had an all-too-tight hold on me. I was trapped in my own trap.

"Mmph!" I groaned, inwardly hating myself. Especially since my knees felt shaky.

Shepard pulled back for air and I gasped, having had forgotten I had a nose. She smiled at me, even as sleepy as she was and teetered over to the bed. I let out a small grunt when she thrust me onto the bed, looking too happy. She descended on me but not before I rolled to the side, dodging her. She grinned and crawled toward me on the bed. I tried to keep a distance between us but my beck ended up pressed against the metal wall.

"No need to get shy now, Raegas. You know I like you." she was scary when she was tired and that was a fact!

"Sh-Shepard, this is a dream! You don't know what you're doing!" I warbled, pressing my back against the wall as much as I could. She only kept approaching, getting closer and closer until her eyes and that smile were less than a foot away.

"Then I should make the most of this while I can." Her hips nestled between my legs and her lips got dangerously close to making me scream.

"She- mm!" she cut me off again and pressed her lips to mine. Taking advantage of my parted mouth she thrust her tongue forward to meet mine. I tensed and froze for only an instant before forcing all of my tattered willpower to push her away. My hands pushed her shoulders back and broke the kiss. I had to ignore the groan that came from Shepard and regain myself before I could think straight.

Getting another brilliant idea, I moved forward until we were both on our knees on the bed. Then, I pushed Shepard onto her back, soon following with my own body. She grinned, beckoning me closer, obviously still in her own world. Even so, I moved down until I hovered over her, needing the closeness if my idea would pull through. Lowering my mouth to her ear, I summoned all the power I had, feeling it spike.

"This is a dream…" I muttered, utilizing my brain powers to alter my sound waves. They rang and vibrated even my own mind, threatening to control me just as well. "You must rest... and forget this occurred…" I finished, feeling her body relax.

With a sigh, I leaned back up and climbed off of the bed. I would never live this down even if I was the only one who knew about it.

I picked up Shepard's armor and put it in her locker properly, moving slowly. I was in a state of both disbelief and shock at what had just transpired.

Shepard liked me? No… No, it must've just been the exhaustion talking. Right. That had to be it. With a huff to force the idea to solidify in my mind I removed her leg armor and added it to the locker, along with the dirty boots. I was not going to clean those.

I threw the blanket over her haphazardly and glanced to her face, hoping I didn't inflict pain on her. I wasn't sure if humans could take such a strong push of energy. Her small smile and slow breathing told me she was just fine though. She did have a strong mind after all, even if she got a little rape-ish when she was tired. Evidently. Seeing she was fine, I ignored my small pang of guilt and hurried out of the room.

Liara was going to pay for this.

Shepard awoke to the sound of her alarm, announcing the time of seven o'clock. She groaned, feeling too comfortable and content to shut it off. Her arms tightened around whatever she was holding on their own, causing another groan. But not one from her. Her eyes slid down from the wall and to what she was holding only to see her favorite person in the galaxy. Raegas.

Her heart melted at the mere thought that this amazing woman was hers and hers alone. After hearing her poem the day before she found herself shocked, realizing just how she felt and how much she reciprocated it. Magical was a word to use if one tried to put a description to their relationship and how Shepard felt. But everyone who's ever felt like this knew there were no words good enough to describe it.

Said woman's arm stretched from its spot holding Shepard close to slap the offending alarm. It took more than three slaps and another irritated groan before it shut off. Shepard smiled to herself and watched the beautiful woman lying half on top of her draw herself up. Her hair was everywhere and her bangs curved more than usual, showing some evidence of the wonderful night they'd shared. The Commander's smile widened and she brushed the woman's bangs from her face in order to see it properly. Raegas' sleepy eyes alone were cute enough to convince her that the Vertoakan could beat even kittens in a contest.

"Good morning beautiful." Shepard grinned quietly. Raegas immediately groaned and dropped back to lying on top of Shepard.

"I turned the alarm off for a reason." She grumped, part of her voice muffled. Shepard chuckled and held her closer, feeling those familiar butterflies in her stomach and that fluttering in her chest.

"I had the strangest dream last night." The Commander began, smiling.

"I'm sure." Raega muttered sarcastically, the habit of hers only natural. "What was it?" as was her curiosity.

"I was you…" Raegas paused at her words. "… and I was going to take a shower… but Rodriguez and Westar were there… and after that Liara came…"

Raegas drew up once more, regarding Shepard through squinting eyes.

"I, or you, took her here to take a shower so she wouldn't get bullied… and then while you were guarding the door I came. You led me inside, distracted me, and let Liara escape by kissing me." Shepard grinned at the crazy memory of the dream. But why was Raegas blushing?
"I tried to show you my love but you wouldn't have it. After putting me to sleep you put my armor away, tucked me in and ran off into the night." Shepard gave her blushing, wide-eyed, companion a pout.
"But it was just a dream, huh?" she asked, more rhetorically than anything. Even still, Raegas blushed and glanced away. She scratched the back of her head and cleared her throat, looking all too uncomfortable.

"Um…" she murmured, causing Shepard's eyes to widen.

"It didn't happen." She stated, as if to convince herself. "Right?"

"Well you see… I was going to… tell you… but uh…" at her words Shepard's mouth gaped open.

"We made out and you erased my memory of it?" she demanded, rising on her elbows. Raegas blushed harder and sat up, looking away.

"It was before I realized I-… I'm sorry…" she looked down, ashamed. "I just thought…" she stopped herself as her eyes watered, shocking Shepard. She sniffed, clenching her hands together tightly as if to keep herself from doing something.
"I didn't think this would ever happen. I was too afraid of what would happen if I gave in and if I would be able to live with knowing you knew I manipulated you like that…" her voice tapered off and she silently wiped away her tears.

Shepard felt her chest clench painfully at the sight, understanding. She sat up and cupped Raegas' face in her hands, wiping at the tears with her thumbs. She landed soft kisses over her cheeks and face, trying to take away the guilt. Raegas leaned forward and planted a solid kiss to Shepard's lips. She could taste the salt in her tears and pushed back, knowing she was more fragile than she seemed. She knew Raegas needed contact to understand that her emotions were real. Both of them were still healing.

Once they pulled back, Raegas gave her a half-hearted smiled. One which Shepard returned with a grin.

"I could've lived with it if you let me remember. I would've liked fantasizing over our awkward kiss scene." She smirked. Raegas laughed under breath.

"Well I'm glad you do remember now. I don't think I could have explained what happened very well." She said, a light blush covering her cheeks. Shepard laughed, knowing it was all too true. Her shyness was one of the things the Commander found so interesting about her. For one so strong and smart and dependable she still had inhibitions about the smallest of things.

"Did you really get Liara back for being clumsy though?" Shepard had to know. And judging from Raega's mischievous smile it was true.

"I may have." She conceded. Shepard shook her head, even as her smile widened.

"What did you do?" she tried the voice mothers used when expecting the worst but it failed miserably.

"I told Jasin that Liara needed her because someone was bullying her. Naturally, my little sister went running." She replied.

"What happened?" Shepard inquired.

"Liara may or may not have been in the bathroom when Jasin barged in with Waru." At the statement Shepard smacked her on the arm even though she mirrored the grin.

"You set that up!" she declared. Raegas looked away innocently.

"I don't know what you're referring to." She replied. Shepard laughed and pulled her back down to lie in the bed. Raegas made no sound of protest and instead snuggled close, holding Shepard close. The Commander did so as well, amazed at such an event.

They would need to apologize for that later. Poor Liara…

A/N: I… don't even know what to say. I never meant for it to happen like this. The original idea was to have Raegas do something nice for Liara. Protect her from bullies, namely. But then, this happened… Ah well, I give up.