A/N: New update: Hi everyone! New chapter, back to regular length. I have absolutely no idea when the next part will be posted because it's not written yet and I have no free time at all.

I know what I want to write I just don't know when I'll do it. I hope you will like this one, this is basically the very start of the plot I had in mind when I started writing this story (yes, it only took 26 chapters and +100000 words). However, this will not get 100% romance story, there are still plots I want to develop later on.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to let me know what you think!


Chapter 27

Liara opened her cupboard and her eyes roamed rapidly over the many garments at her disposition. She already had a mountain of dresses and skirts and tops piled up on her bed but none of them seemed to fit. She took a look at the clock and cursed the absurdity of human perception of time. She only had an hour left to clean up, dress and maybe put on some make-up and she still hadn't decided what to wear. At least she had come to the conclusion that she wanted to wear a dress, which had been the most radical improvement since she had opened her drawers for the first time. Remained to chose which one. There were too many shapes, too many lengths, too many colors. Why couldn't she have just one outfit to go out on this kind of occasion just like Shepard? It would be so much easier to open the cupboard and pick up the only thing inside it. She remembered that the day she had met Willis she was wearing a dress with white sleeves and a blue body and she wondered if it'd be a good idea to put on the same colors. She thought about it for a moment and realized that Willis probably hadn't been interested in her enough to notice such a trivial thing as the color of her dress. She shrugged and finally opted for a long dress with different shades of blue – much like the one she had worn when she had went out with Shepard earlier this week.

The hardest part of her dolling up behind her, it didn't take long before she was ready to go. She was satisfied with her dress, had chosen a nice pair of white heels and she had only put a little makeup to emphasize the blue of her eyes and her well-drawn mouth. She stared into the mirror longer than necessary to make sure she looked presentable and cursed when she looked at the clock once more – though now it was because she had way too much time ahead of her. She hated waiting and she was too nervous to do anything constructive. She sighed and decided that it would be better if she just went to the place of their rendezvous and maybe take a coffee to occupy her hands and mind before Willis would arrive. She tucked a few creds in one of her pockets and headed off the ship to the elevator. Stress rose by a few grades when she stopped at the fourth Presidium level and stepped out the cabin. She knew there was nothing to be afraid of and that after all, she had been the one to invite Willis to this meeting – which she refused to call a date until anything proving that it was happened. She simply didn't know what to expect and she had no idea how she would react when Willis would come. She was positive she would never regret her decision to see her again but she wasn't so sure about how things would turn out.

She walked towards the place Willis should meet her, task made difficult by the ample hem of her dress she always missed to step on by sheer luck. Her anxiousness spiked and she stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted the blonde human clad in her white uniform as always, leaning against the guardrail with one foot casually crossed over the other. Liara remembered that she needed to breathe when a stranger pushed her on the side and cursed against all those who could afford the leisure of losing time wandering around. She clasped the soft material of her dress between her trembling fingers and swallowed hard. She didn't feel ready. She had hoped she would have the opportunity to learn what to say before Willis would arrive to furnish a conversation that was bound to be rather tensed. She took a few shy steps in her direction but stopped again when she felt as though a punch had hit her right in the stomach – just because the human had shifted a little. She was tempted to turn on her heels and leave, not believing herself strong enough to face the Admiral after having said her adieux in an impersonal and harsh way. She quickly took the reins back in her hands before the shy and unsure part of her would get the upper hand and inhaled deeply, launching her body forward before it would get the chance to retreat. The closer she got the more she realized that Willis had lost none of her charm. The human was still staring at the skyway and the hundreds of cars flying by, her short ponytail fluttering lightly because of the breeze. A few feet away, Liara was able to look at her face in detail. As she examined the round nose, a little slanted on the right side, the pale blue eyes and the pink lips drawn into a small smile, she felt as if she was meeting an old friend. All those features, she already knew by heart. She still didn't know where the scar slashing her eyebrow came from but its shape wasn't foreign. She wanted to touch it, draw its contours with the tip of her fingers and discover all those other little things that made this face Willis'.

She got closer and approached the guardrail, resting her wrists against it. Willis was barely a foot away from her, on her right side, and she already felt the thrill her simple presence procured. A pleasant warmth ran down her spine when the human hummed to herself for a few seconds and she wondered if it was normal to have missed a voice that much. Willis still seemed unaware that she was already there so Liara took her time to get used to her proximity. All her right side was tingling and a shiver coursed through her when Willis shifted again – only to switch from one foot to the other. She tried to focus on something and stared at the skycars speeding past them down on the highway. Her heels suddenly felt uncomfortable and the dress flapping in the air bothered her more than it should but it was nothing compared to her nervousness mixed with excitement. She waited for some more long, sickeningly stressful minutes before she had to do something not to break down under the pressure.

'It is quite a beautiful sight,' she said softly, surprised that her voice didn't waver.

When no answer came, she glanced quickly on the side and released a short shaky breath. Willis had heard her. The human closed her eyes as if she wanted to savor the feeling of those few words in her ears for another precious moment and bowed her head as a smile stretched her mouth. A few seconds later – or were it minutes? Hours? – Willis straightened to her feet and turned to face her. Despite her heels, Liara felt ridiculously small compared to the Admiral, and she had to raise her eyes to meet the icy blue ones that were now sparkling with joy. The woman hadn't changed a single bit and Liara felt herself fall head over heels all over again. Liara waited for her to say something because suddenly, her tongue stopped responding to her command and her jaw was clenched so tightly she started to doubt her mouth would open ever again.

'Not quite as beautiful as the one I have in front of me,' Willis finally answered with a sheepish smile. 'It is good to see you, Liara.'

Liara blushed deeply and stared at the tips of her shoes, clasping her hands in front of her. She had never quite known how to react to compliments and one coming from Willis carried so much more meaning than any other that she just stayed like this, a little dumbfounded. Her body remained still but her brains were working at thousand miles per hour, trying to find a way to compliment her back without sounding like a girl with an obvious crush. She froze when she heard Willis chuckle and the pair of white shoes disappeared from her vision. She panicked a little, thinking that Willis was getting away, and her head shot up, eyes roaming around to find the human.

'Goddess,' she breathed when she realized Willis had just taken a step back – and another blush of shame crept up her neck. 'I'm sorry. I have been quite on edge for a while.'

'This meeting scares you?' Willis asked gently, craning her neck down to try and meet Liara's eyes.

'I don't think so. I mean…'

'Because it scares me,' the human said, fiddling with her gloved fingers. 'I've barely slept for the past couple of days and I think I've written all the possible scenarios in my head. Most of them not ending that well, as a matter of fact. At least I know I can cross off the list the one where you ran away as soon as you saw me.'

Willis scratched her neck uneasily as a corner of her mouth quirked up in a diffident smile. It reassured Liara a little that she wasn't the only one uneasy and it was her turn to chuckle, rubbing her hands against her thighs. For seconds that seemed to last an eternity, they stared into each other's eyes as if none of them really knew what to do. Willis started rocking back and forth on her feet, her mouth parting as if she wanted to say something but no words were willing to go past them. She bit her cheek and turned on the side in a desperate attempt to hide how stupid she probably was looking and straighten her sleeves to occupy her hands.

'I feel like a fish out of water,' she shrugged, as her fingers went to make sure each button was properly buttoned.

'What is a fish?' Liara asked, unable to remember what kind of animal a fish was. 'I know that's what we were supposed to catch when we went fishing, but…'

'Right, well, it's just an ugly gluey smelly thing that does this a lot,' she explained as she kept opening and closing her pouted lips.

'The comparison seems inaccurate,' the young maiden noted. 'Except maybe the mouth thing, which I find rather cute.'

'Cute?' Willis laughed, thinking this particular thing looked far from enticing. 'You have very… Special tastes, Doctor T'Soni.'

'Maybe that is why I feel so attracted to you', Liara let out before she could stop it.

Willis immediately stopped laughing and gave her long, strange look that Liara was unable to identify. The Asari was sure she had committed an awful blunder and regretted her lack of self-control. Her heart had spoken faster than her mind once again and she feared that Willis had mistaken her spontaneous reaction for a lie. Usually when Liara had to lie, she spoke fast and loud and tried to change the subject of conversation as fast as she could and she was sure that was exactly what Willis had thought she was doing. Or maybe Willis had simply been hurt. Liara realized that she may have had insulted the Admiral saying that she was interested in special tastes. Goddess she had just said that she like the fish side of Willis when the human had only given her a charming compliment. No wonder Willis was shocked, or worse. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut until she was sure that the right words would fall out her mouth. She closed her eyes and waited for the final judgment. She heard Willis shuffle a bit closer and felt fingers land under her chin. Electricity coursed through her whole body and a thousand butterflies took flight in her stomach when the words tripped hesitantly on the human's tongue.

'You really are interested in me?' Willis asked softly, her thumb tracing the blue jaw lightly. 'I thought I'd need a lot more convincing than this to get you to say that.'

'I've always been, Willis,' Liara answered, her voice barely above a whisper. 'It's just that… I failed to trust my instincts. I have never been good at trusting myself and I rely on others too much. Especially on Shepard. I wish I had been strong enough to act upon my feelings. I wish I hadn't let you down.'

'Don't say that,' the human shook her head lightly, her hand dropping back on her side. 'You had every reason to listen to Shepard and every right to doubt me. I am not a model of perfection and I know it.'

'Nobody is perfect,' Liara commented wisely. 'But… Maybe we could be for each other?'

'We could try,' Willis nodded slowly. 'I care about you Liara. I… I don't know how long you had planned to stay with me, but we could talk. I mean, really talk, about whatever you want to know.'

'What could I possibly want to know that I don't already?'

'I don't know,' she shrugged. 'Things about my past. About Shora. About what I did. About me.'

'We don't have to talk about this today, Willis,' Liara said with a soft smile. 'I believe answers to my questions will come naturally as we spend time together. And I already know most of what I need to know about you. I… I fell for you, your personality, not for your history and your past. I am not stupid and I do realize you are not white as snow, as you humans put it. I like your shades of grey because they're what makes you who you are.'

'Such a talker,' she laughed heartily, suddenly feeling a little lighter. 'Okay, do you want to sit somewhere? My mouth is a bit dry and my legs feel like jelly. Too much emotion at once, I'm afraid.'

'Agreed,' Liara accepted gratefully as she had to admit, she felt exactly the same.

Willis offered a hand and Liara looked at it for a second, wondering if she really was ready to cross the line. She knew the moment she would take it things would get serious – or at least more serious than they'd ever been. She didn't know where she wanted to stand for now nor where Willis wanted to stand. Was it going to fast? They had just met after so much time spent apart, after so much tension, after so much doubt. Liara looked into the soft blue eyes and that was the only push she needed. Whatever happened, she wanted this, then and there. No more lingering and no more useless suspense, no more ifs and buts. She hadn't planned for this development when she had contacted Willis a few days before but she couldn't say it bothered her. She was tired of weighing the pros and cons, of battling with her heart and mind, of being scared of what would happen. If their relationship was taking a turn, it was happening. Liara smiled and slipped her blue fingers between the gloved ones. Willis smiled back and squeezed her hand lightly. Her skin burnt at the contact and an aggressive warmth spread in her arm, but she loved the solid hand in hers despite the awkward way they fitted. Willis' hands were thinner and her fingers longer but somehow it felt perfect. For the first time in a long time, Liara felt like she had made the right decision. Her heart was floating happily in her chest as Willis led her to the café they had shared their first drink at and her once bothering dress turned into the most comfortable piece of clothing she had ever worn.

They sat at a table on the terrace and this time there was absolutely no one to bother them. A waiter came to take their order and a few minutes later a coffee and a tea were carefully set down on their table. Liara went to pick her cup up but her movement stopped in mid-air when she noticed with a blush creeping to her cheeks that Willis had been staring at her for much too long already. The Admiral had crossed her hands on the table and was slightly bending forward, a smile tugging at her lips as her eyes remained focused on the Asari's face. Liara shifted uneasily on her chair under the persistent gaze and tried without much success to ignore it, bringing her tea to her mouth with a trembling hand. Willis made no move that indicated she even had noticed the coffee and kept looking, seemingly lost in her contemplation.

'May I know the reason of your staring?' Liara eventually asked, breaking under the weight of those eyes.

'Sorry, was I?' Willis smirked, leaning into her chair as she snapped back to reality. 'How can I not anyways? I mean, would you be able to look away if you had the most perfect sight in front of you?'

'Flatterer,' she commented with a pleased smile nonetheless. 'I believe you've already won me over, Admiral, no need to bury me under heavy compliments.'

'Oh but I'll keep complimenting you for as long as I can, sweet Doctor,' she winked as she finally reached for her cup of coffee. 'Especially today and for all the dates that are coming. I need to earn the key to your heart. And if that means buying you expensive flowers and burying you under compliments that I'm sorry to tell you actually are deserved, then I'm more than willing to oblige.'

'Are you not with me already?' Liara wondered aloud, thinking she might have taken this fact for granted when Willis still hadn't.

'No need to rush things,' the human commented wisely. 'The reasons why we're here are not… Conventional. We haven't really spent a lot of time together when you think about it. I want to get to know you better and I want you to get to know me. Like two ordinary people dating would get to know each other. I know I cannot ask you to forget about all those things you already know about but I simply wish we could have a fresh start. Try not to focus on what we already know but what we don't. I guess we can say I'm with you, or maybe we can't yet, but does it really matter? What matters is that we're together right now, that I can hold your hand without asking myself, shit, am I with her enough to do that? I've been in enough relationships to know feelings are so much more important than tags you wrap around your neck to make an impression on people. I know that you might feel proud and enthusiastic to finally be able to say that you're not single anymore, and I really don't mind. I'd just rather you give it a little more thought before you already consider us as an item.'

'I… I understand,' Liara acknowledged sheepishly. 'I must have sounded so childish.'

'Not at all,' Willis smiled, sipping thoughtfully on her coffee. 'I know how you feel, I had a first rendezvous and a first relationship too, you know?'

'I tend to forget you're my first but I'm not yours,' she shrugged as she lowered her eyes. 'Is it wrong that I'm feeling a bit jealous? I can only imagine how many relationships you've already had when I… I'm new to all of this Willis and I'm afraid your experience isn't making me any more confident. On the contrary, it makes the pressure even greater. I'm afraid I won't be able to compete with all the lovers you took, that you won't find in me what you found in others.'

'Hey, don't even bother going that way,' Willis reassured her softly, her gloved index coming to rest under her chin and lift her head back up. 'The number of the lovers I've had in the past doesn't matter. What matters now is you. Because yes, you're not my first and nothing can ever change that. But believe me when I say you'll be the last, no matter how it goes. I'll do everything I can for things to work out but if they don't, I'll stop beating myself out with love interests.'

'Is that supposed to make me feel better?' Liara grimaced slightly, tracing the edge of her cup with a finger. 'Because it doesn't at all.'

'Well that's the truth,' she said casually, seemingly not much affected by the declaration. 'I feel like I'm the end of a part of my life, even though I'm not that old, even by human standards. My body is still young but I'm emotionally tired. I just want something simple but that lasts. I'm perfectly aware that you're very young and probably don't want to get stuck in a long-term relationship yet, but I'd rather we be clear about what I want; about what I need. That's why I think we shouldn't go too fast. I want you to think about it thoroughly. I… I really like you Liara, but if you're looking for something else than the little I can offer, then it's no use to even try.'

Liara kept her mouth shut as she pondered those words, unable to withstand Willis' hopeful eyes staring at her face and obviously trying to catch an expression, a muscle twitch, a wrinkle, anything that might reveal what she was feeling. She felt like she was being confronted to a huge wall that she either had to walk away from or run head first into it with the delirious wish not to break her skull against it. She understood what the Admiral meant, what she wanted, but she simply was unable to decide what she wanted. Was she ready to engage into such a meaningful relationship for the first time in her life? She knew she was holding the fate of Willis' love life in the palm of her hand and that she could crush it in an instant, just by saying that this wasn't what she had been having in mind. She could just walk away from this and bask in her ignorance for a bit longer, until she found someone more like herself. Willis was feeling so serious about all this when Liara only wanted to discover the little joys of having a lover. She wasn't ready to fully commit herself to one person when she still had so much to find out about herself. Maybe it was unreasonable to go too fast and jump into the unknown, but somehow she trusted Willis. She was sure that she felt something for her and if she didn't take any measure to probe further into the foreign intricacies of her feelings then she was scared she'd miss all the wonderful things Willis could teach her. She wanted this, she wanted to try and she definitely wanted to give it her best shot, even if her dare wouldn't pay off in the end.

She looked up to the human before her and felt a light tug of compassion pinch her stomach. She imagined this poor being wandering around the galaxy, sad and alone, bullied and hated, and she knew it had to stop. She didn't feel pity but compassion. She didn't want Willis to be a martyr but she wanted justice. She desperately wanted her feelings to grow deeper and stronger her and show people that not only could the Admiral love but could also be loved in return. She desperately wanted to give her one last chance to redeem herself and do everything in her power for their burgeoning relationship to hatch into something beautiful. Her face split into a reassuring, though shy smile, and she reached out to lay a gentle hand upon a gloved one.

'I want to try to give you what you wish, Willis,' Liara said softly, not a trace of uncertainty tainting her words. 'I may not know much about relationships but I believe I am a fast learner. I cannot promise it will work but I truly hope it will. I want it. I want you.'

Willis felt her lips stretch into a strained smile and her vision suddenly turned blurry as tears fell from her eyes. She had forgotten what this feeling was called exactly but as it rushed through her blood and made her insides tingle, she perfectly remembered how good it felt.