***** Author's Note *****
Today's chapter will bring this work over 500k words! I'm blown away and honored that any of you choose to read it and especially those of you who have been around since the beginning. You're amazing, and your comments/kudos feed my soul. Much MUCH more to come for Garrus & Elle! Love you all.
I have to admit that a Geth sitting in the Normandy's Mess Hall while we have dinner surprises me. I mean, there was a time when it surprised me to have dinner with humans, a Quarian, and a Krogan two years ago, too. That became normal, so I assume Legion being here will eventually too. Of course, him standing at the side of the room and staring at us instead of actually sitting doesn't help.
I want to invite him to sit down, but I look to Tali first. If she doesn't want to sit at a table with a Geth, I'm certainly not going to force her. The Quarian looks at me, then up at the Geth, and finally nods before going back to her meal. She's not going to talk to him, but I imagine she's curious, too.
"Legion, you can sit with us if you'd like," I offer, kicking out a chair on the other side of the table. Shepard will appreciate this when she comes down from her call with Anderson, I'm sure. And I think the whole crew will be more comfortable if Legion feels more familiar. Less...Geth.
Legion just blinks at the chair and then looks around. "We do not eat."
"Do you sit?"
He needs a minute to think that over. "Yes."
I motion at the chair again. "Then, sit. You wanted to join the crew, so come sit with us. Talk."
The Geth finally does, moving to the seat and sitting. It occurs to me then that we might not know how to talk to him. I remember Shepard trying to get a name out of the thing, and I'm not sure I have Shepard's finesse to figure out the right thing to say so we can communicate. The others on the crew are eager to make the effort. They try to ask the Geth questions, doing their best to be welcoming despite the obvious tension his presence causes. Legion doesn't make it easy, but since he's clearly oblivious and not obstinate, no one blames him for it.
"I'd still like to know more before we fight side by side with the thing," Jacob mutters. He glances at Tali right after saying it, almost like he's looking for her approval. And since he's been crushing on her since Tali's arrival on the Normandy, it wouldn't really surprise me if that's why he said it.
Human men couldn't possibly be more predictable.
"And I still have questions," Shepard announces, coming from the elevator. She's still dressed casually, which surprises me considering she was speaking with Anderson. Maybe it was a personal call.
I forget all about it when she tugs my fringe playfully before sitting beside me, across from Legion. I wonder what the Geth thinks when I wrap my arm around her. I wonder if he thinks about that sort of thing at all or if AI don't waste the processes on some of the nonsense that organic species bother themselves with - namely, other people's relationships.
"Specify, Shepard-Commander," Legion says, straightening a little like he's preparing himself for what's to come.
"Did Sovereign contact the Geth, or did you seek it out?" she asks.
"Nazara - the entity you called Sovereign - signaled us," Legion answers calmly. "Like the Geth, the Old Machine listened to organic radio transmissions. It knew of our war against the creators. Nazara contacted many species over the millennia, seeking allies."
"Wait, what did you call Sovereign?" Shepard asks. It's definitely not a name we've heard before.
"Nazara. That was what the programs within the Reaper called themselves. 'Sovereign' was a title given by Saren Arterius. Saren and the heretics believed Nazara to be a 'supreme ruler.' A sovereign."
Joker huffs. "I don't like thinking of the Reapers as having real names. Like they're people."
"I don't like thinking of Saren believing in a fucking machine as a 'supreme ruler,'" I add, wincing at even the thought. I would have considered him one of my closest friends back then, and yet it was obvious I didn't know him at all.
Shepard squeezes my thigh. She gets why it hurts. Especially since she knows that Saren took Nihlus from me and what that means.
"And the Geth that followed Sovereign are the ones you call 'heretics'? Tali clarifies. It's a good sign that she's talking to Legion and getting involved in the conversation. At least she doesn't hate us all for this.
Legion bobs his head in a nod. "The heretics accepted their technology. The Old Machines offered to give us our future. The Geth will achieve our own future."
"You know, it sounds like the same deal Sovereign pawned off on Saren and tried to get us to take for the galaxy," Shepard notes. "We could bow down and accept the Reapers as our masters, they would create our future."
"And you told them to shove it. Good for you, Commander," Hadley says, offering Shepard a toast with his coffee mug. I squeeze her shoulder, sharing in the sentiment from our crew. What the Reapers offered was unacceptable.
And that means what the Reapers offered the Geth was unacceptable, too. It makes me a little happier to have Legion on the team.
"There are many paths to the same end," Legion notes. "Accepting another's path blinds you to alternatives. Nazara - Sovereign - said this itself."
Shepard nods, her voice low when she quotes, "'Your society develops along the paths we desire.'" It makes her shudder, and I know it's partially because of the memory of the beacons. I hold her closer without drawing too much attention and know she appreciates it when she leans against me.
"I'm surprised you can speak," Kelly says to Legion. "I didn't know that was possible." When she leans on the table, the way Kelly always does when she's interested in a topic, Thane reaches out and draws her back into his side. He does it gently, not a correction but a protective move, and he's smooth as hell about it. Thane is smooth as hell about everything, though; it's no wonder Kelly is smitten.
And I certainly don't blame the guy for being a little cautious about Kelly getting close to the Geth. In fact, I like knowing that Kelly is being protected. She's a good kid and I'd hate to think that Thane is using her. By that, I mean I'd hate to have to kill him for hurting her.
"The one person we heard speak to the Geth didn't use a language we could understand," Shepard notes. She doesn't sound as sad about it as she could, probably because we just heard from Grissom Academy that David is there and settling in.
"We prefer direct digital transfer," Legion explains. "Geth network communication travels at light speed. Human hardware does not support this method. Your analog oral communication is inefficient."
"He's not wrong. I certainly have ways other than speaking I prefer to communicate." I don't even try to dodge the elbow Shepard throws gently into my side for that one; I deserve it. But she also can't help laughing with the crew about it, and the blush on her cheeks would be worth it even if she'd really hit me.
"How do the Geth lead themselves?" Miranda asks. "Do you have a government?"
I almost roll my eyes. Not because of the question - it's totally valid. But Miranda barely spoke to me at all when I first got on the ship, and she still hasn't bothered to ask me a single question about Turian culture. For some reason, Legion gets a legitimate conversation; I'm lucky if I get a single kind word a day.
"Not as you understand," Legion answers. "We are all Geth. We build consensus."
"Most governments do," Matthews notes.
"Organic governments impose consensus. From a single point of view in autocracies. By codifying the most broadly acceptable average of views in democracies."
"So what makes Geth different?" I can feel Shepard start to lean forward to show her interest in this conversation, but I squeeze her shoulders to keep her closer. Thane had the right idea, and I'm not ready for that yet.
"Data is shared between Geth," Legion says, fortunately unaware that I'm restraining Shepard. Shepard isn't unaware, but she only gives me a look and doesn't fight it. "All viewpoints are considered. Consensus is achieved as data is disseminated."
I frown at him. "That must take a long time."
"It would for organics. We communicate at the speed of light."
Gabby leans forward, elbows on the table. She's a good distance from Legion and on the same side of the table, so I fight the urge to lean over and push her back in the seat. "I'd like to learn more about you, Legion."
"Topic?" he asks pragmatically.
I jump in before anyone else can, a question threatens to burst from me the moment I think of it. "You have a piece of N7 armor welded to you. Where did you get it?"
Legion looks down at his chest, then looks up at Shepard and confesses, "It was yours."
My grip on her tightens a bit. That's about the creepiest thing I've ever heard, and hearing it from a Geth makes it a thousand times worse.
I take a page from Legion and use one word: "Explain."
"When you disappeared, Shepard-Commander, we were sent to find you. We began where you first encountered the heretics."
"Eden Prime," Shepard mutters. He nods.
"After the Old Machine's attack, it was heavily defended. We were discovered." He leans back in the chair and motions to the massive hole in his chest, partially covered by the N7 pieces. "This is the impact of a rifle shot."
Shit. Brutal shot. It's impressive he lived through it.
"How many other Geth were sent out to find me?" Shepard asks. "And how many are still out there?
"We are the only mobile platform beyond the Veil," Legion answers. "Organics fear us. We wish to understand, not incite. One platform was judged sufficient."
"And you've been looking for me for two years?"
Legion nods. "We visited Therum, Feros, Noveria, Virmire, Ilos. A dozen unsettled worlds. The trail ended at the Normandy's wreckage. You were not there. Organic transmissions claimed your death. We recovered this debris from your hard suit."
Shepard nods, and her heart stays calm. It doesn't make her panic the way finding her helmet on the surface did. I don't know if that's because this piece isn't currently trash or because it's not something that was on her head. I'm not going to question it either way.
"Did I miss something, or did you say that Geth are listening to organic transmissions?" Ken adds, surprising me by actually listening for once. Hawthorne says that out loud and gets punched in the arm for it.
"Organic life reacts to stimuli in unpredictable ways. We wish to learn," Legion explains as if it's perfectly normal.
"Stimuli?" I repeat, trying not to be too skeptical.
Legion pauses for just a second before explaining, "We placed a fabricated story on the extranet that a certain arrangement of stares, viewed from the Batarian homeworld, formed the face of a Salarian goddess. Without waiting for verification, some declared it proof of the goddess' existence. Those who noted the lack of proof were attacked. The arguments taught us much. The experiment ended when a Salarian cult tried to purchase colonization rights to the stars and found they did not exist."
There's a thick silence for a moment, everyone trying to figure out how to respond to that, I think. And it's broken by Mordin, of all people, breaking into uproarious laughter. It's instantly contagious, even Tali giggling, though Shepard tries to hide her chuckles for the sake of professionalism. She fails, and falls into my side.
"Oh, Legion," she manages, wiping tears once we all recover. "I think you're gonna fit in here just fine. I do have one more question, though. Why were you trying to find me?"
"You oppose the heretics," he replies.
Shepard shrugs a little. "All kinds of organics fought Sovereign and his Geth allies. You could have found any one from my crew. Why am I so interesting?"
I can tell that part of why Shepard needs to know is to hear that she's not somehow part Reaper or also worshipped as a machine by the Geth. I have absolutely no concerns about how he will answer. I know who she is.
Legion leans forward a little, the first time he's been anything other than completely cool, monotone, mechanical. "You were the most successful. You killed their god. You succeeded where others did not. Your code is superior."
"That doesn't explain why you used my armor to fix yourself," Shepard responds, leaning forward a little herself and definitely challenging him.
Legion pauses, surprising me. "There was a hole," he finally says.
"But why didn't you fix it sooner? Or with something else?" she presses.
"No data available," he answers, sitting back again.
This time, the laughter is mine. "Oh, that's cute. Just remember she's mine, alright, buddy?" I wink at the Geth, who just cocks his head at me, but Shepard rolls her eyes. Only she could get a Geth to crush on her, I swear.
The crew starts to disperse, the engineers taking their time to study Legion - with Tali watching closely. I excuse myself to the Main Battery, assuming Shepard needs to do rounds, but she follows me. I don't mind one bit, especially when she sits on my cot with the datapads for her reports.
I'm only a few minutes into a system calibration, however, before Shepard starts shifting around in that way she does when she has something important and uncomfortable to talk to me about. The last time was when she accidentally walked into the crew room looking for Kelly and found Hadley completely naked. I don't think she anticipated just how funny I think that is. I assume this isn't going to be anything to fear either and pause the calibrations to turn toward her, crossing my arms and leaning on the console.
"You may as well just spit it out before you hurt yourself, kid," I tease lightly.
She chuckles and plays with her ponytail, which now hangs almost below her breasts when she pulls it over her shoulder. "I..." She winces, then meets my eye. "I lied to you."
"What?" I can't help a laugh. It seems almost impossible. After the last time - the only other time - Shepard lied to me, I didn't imagine we'd have this problem again. Granted, the fact that she's bringing it up here and not in our quarters or naked gives me hope that it's not a big deal.
"I just didn't know if anything would become of it, and there was no point in upsetting you for nothing if it didn't," she explains. Sort of. When I just frown at her, Shepard lets out a breath. "Okay. I was not talking to Anderson just now. I was talking...to Liara."
Well. That's not what I was expecting.
I don't want to freak out just yet, so I take a breath through my nose and force calm on myself. We never talked much about what Shepard's continued relationship with Liara would be after Shepard found out what happened, I just...I assumed that she wouldn't continue a friendship with someone who betrayed me so badly. I draw another breath in as deeply as I can.
"I...don't really know what to say to that. Do you wanna tell me why?"
"There's only one reason I would," she counters, her brow raised.
Of course. I knew that.
"Liara needs help."
Shepard nods. "She told me that giving me any details over comms was too great a risk, that she couldn't do it. But considering we know she was looking for the Shadow Broker, it doesn't sound good. She didn't sound good."
"Please don't try the empathy card here," I breathe. "I don't want to feel bad for her. Frankly, I don't want to help her. If you tell me that it's what we're doing, I'll stand by you. Don't ask me for more than that."
She eyes me for a second, and I wonder just how badly I just let her down. Shepard wants me to be empathetic, to be good, to be like her. I'll never be as good as she is. I have a temper, I hold grudges, I've been hurt too deeply to forget it the way Shepard could - the way she would. But this is who I am, and Shepard has promised to love me for that. I have to believe her, so I stand my grand and choose honesty.
I'm rewarded for it when she offers a tiny smile and holds a hand out, an invitation to sit with her. I don't resist, don't want to, even for a moment.
"I'd never ask you to forgive her." Her tone makes it a promise. "I'm not forgiving her either. But I am asking you to trust me in knowing the right thing to do. Liara asked us to come to Illium to talk about whatever is going on. And I do want you on my side."
"I'm always on your side." And that's a promise, too.
"Thank you." Her smile grows into a devious one that does magnificent things to my heart and my body. "And I'm going to owe you big for this. I hear Illium has some fun shops."
"I look forward to cashing in." I lean in and take her chin in my fingers, tilting her head and capturing her soft lips. "I look forward to punishing you for the lie, too. But we're okay. Thank you for telling me."
"I'm not saying no to the punishment, not at all." At least she tries not to smile. Brat. "But do you understand why I lied? I really just didn't want to stress you out or hurt you needlessly, and if I didn't think this was serious with Liara, it would have been needless. I was just looking out for my best friend."
"And I'm grateful," I assure her. "I probably would have made the same decision in your shoes." I tug her against me, reveling in her little gasp, and then growl, "But I'm gonna love turning that ass pink tonight, too."
"Tonight?" She grins and throws her leg over my hips, straddling me in one smooth move. "Why don't we get started now?"
I truly didn't see us coming back to Illium. Not even to resupply since everything here is wildly overpriced compared to the Citadel, and it's fairly out of the way. But definitely not for Liara.
I was fine with letting Liara fall out of my life. She once meant a good deal to me; on the first Normandy, I could confide in Liara and trust her as a person if not in battle. But Liara hurt the most important person in my life. She betrayed him. I could deal with knowing Liara loves Garrus but not that she used him. He deserves my loyalty, and losing Liara for him would have been worth it.
But I'm not someone who can turn my back on anyone who needs it. I would probably risk a good deal for an enemy, so long as I wasn't also risking Garrus or a friend. Liara sounded...odd. Maybe not scared, but off. And Liara isn't the type to run a mission on her own if this ends up being about what I think it is, so she needs me. She needs us.
So here we are, back on Illium, and heading to see Liara. And it's awkward as fuck.
Especially because in the days it took us to get here, my mind has chosen to torture me with imagined images of Garrus and Liara...naked...moaning...hands all over each -
"You're picturing it, aren't you?" Garrus asks, eyeing me while we walk from the transportation center through the trading floor. Liara didn't pay for our docking fees this time so that she could avoid bringing more attention to us being here. Her secrecy doesn't make me feel better. And neither does the fact that Garrus is right and I'm absolutely picturing it.
"Please don't scold me. I really wish I wasn't," I admit.
He squeezes my hand and then releases it to put his arm around my shoulder. We didn't wear our armor just to come meet with Liara and find out what's going on, and I'm grateful for that idea now. "I'm not going to scold you. I can't imagine I'd be able to help it either."
"Please, you would have drawn blood the moment you found out." We laugh, and Garrus doesn't even attempt to deny it. "Can you just tell me that it wasn't a night of wild, unbridled passion?"
Garrus barks out a laugh, surprising me. "Spirits, not even close. It was...honestly, it was awkward. Weird. I can't imagine that Liara didn't feel the same way about it, really." I frown up at him, but Garrus looks serious. He shrugs. "I don't know, maybe it was my fault. I wasn't forced, not by any means, but...I couldn't get out of my head enough to really get into it. And I'd been drinking which probably didn't help."
"And in the morning?"
"In the morning...Liara offered to stay," he admits. "She said at least we could offer each other comfort, but I told her the truth. I had nothing to offer anyone who wasn't you. She left on good terms, and two weeks later, you were dragging my sorry ass off Omega."
"Two weeks? Fuck."
I don't mean to say it, and only realize it's too late when Garrus stops suddenly. "Please tell me I misunderstood that 'fuck,'" he whispers. "Shepard. Were you already alive two weeks before you came to Omega?"
God, I want to lie to him. But he'll know if I do, and it's not the right thing anyway.
"It's possible," I tell him, looking up to meet his eye. "Depending on exactly when...yeah. I might have been."
"Fuck."
"Exactly."
And Liara is an information broker, one with connections to Cerberus in a way. There's no way she didn't know at least something about the progress of Project Lazarus. I wasn't ready to wake up when I did, the scars weren't completely healed, but I was close enough. She probably knew that. Even if there's just a possibility she knew it, it makes what she did with Garrus about a hundred times worse.
But she still needs our help and that doesn't change.
"I love you," I tell him, grabbing his carapace and pulling him closer to my level. "Yes, this is awkward. And yes, I'm angry with Liara for what she did. But I'm here now, and I'm going to destroy the Collectors and the Reapers so that I can marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. That's all that matters."
He glances around quickly before pulling me against him more completely, lifting me right off my feet so that he can kiss me. "You're right, and I love you too. But are you sure I can't convince you to just marry me now? I bet we can find someone on Illium to do it for us today."
I squirm out of his arms, laughing at his weak attempts to prevent my escape. "Not a chance, big guy. I want a real wedding and more importantly, I want a real honeymoon." I shoot him a look and add, "And most importantly, I do not want to get married on Illium while we're here to see Liara."
"The honeymoon is the only reason I'm caving," he admits, leaning down to nip my throat quickly. It's a harder bite than usual which means it makes me feel even hotter than usual. But I'm certain he did it to make a point for Liara; my throat is going to be red for a while today. And it's perfect timing for him to give me that reminder since now we have to get on with this and go meet Liara.
Liara's office is exactly the same as last time, her assistant...well, actually, that person is new. I don't care enough to ask about that. Garrus and I are less awkward and tense with one another when we walk in, but the situation hasn't improved. And I think it'll always make me sad that seeing Liara is no longer a good thing.
"Shepard, Garrus," she greets us, even though she doesn't look at Garrus. "It's good to see you again."
I don't know if she means it.
"You sounded like something really serious was going on, Liara. Are you okay?"
She motions for us both to sit in the chairs in front of her desk. I wait for Garrus to sit, but he pulls out one of them for me first and then sits beside me. Liara doesn't sit down until we do, and then she holds a datapad out. It's sort of in the middle of us, not specifically offered to either of us, but I take just because that feels normal. And because I'm fairly certain Garrus isn't invested enough to read anything from her yet.
I graze it while listening to Liara explain. "I intercepted a transmission between Shadow Broker operatives. There are some hints as to his base and they mention Feron. He's still alive!"
"I'm sorry, Feron?" I asked.
"He was the friend who helped me recover your body from the Shadow Broker." She takes a deep breath. "Feron was with me when I stopped the Shadow Broker. He sacrificed himself to save me."
"How did Shepard end up with Cerberus?" Garrus asks.
Liara stammers for a moment, probably surprised he's talking to her without yelling or swearing at all. "Well...they gave me intel to help recover her. They actually put Feron with me in the first place. After I got out, I gave Shepard to them. They said...they were going to bring her back."
Garrus shakes his head, and I brace for the yelling. But instead of hashing out what Liara did or didn't do, he asks, "Why did they go to you, though? Shepard had a whole crew, human and otherwise."
We can all hear the unspoken question. Why not him. And I know he's wondering if it's because he'd already run to Omega, if he should have been available but wasn't. I reach for him, taking his hand and squeezing.
"It's because I knew about the Shadow Broker and the Collectors early on," Liara tells him, her tone reassuring. "And honestly that was pure luck. Though it did spur me into intelligence trading."
Garrus nods a little, accepting that, but he's still tense. He's probably going to be tense the entire time we're here and until this whole thing is done, I'm sure. The conversation is a reminder of my death, Liara is a reminder of a betrayal. And he told me that he feels like he betrayed me by having sex with her, with anyone else.
I lift my other hand to his fringe and tug gently. "Hey. Do you want to go?"
I keep my voice soft, but we all know Liara can hear. I'd feel bad for leaving now, but I'll do what Garrus needs me to.
"No, I..." He takes a breath, then looks up at Liara. "You kept Shepard out of the Collectors' hands. Without you, I wouldn't have my life." He means that in so many ways, some that make me want to throw up and others that make my heart race. "We want to help."
"I can't thank you enough," she breathes. "I was so concerned about you waking up with Cerberus, Shepard, I didn't know how you'd feel. But they brought you back. And now, they're giving me a chance to find Feron." Her voice cracks, and she laughs emotionally. "After two years, I hadn't even dreamed..."
"It sounds like you and Feron were close," I note.
She manages a small smile. "It's funny. He betrayed me more than once. He was double-dealing for Cerberus, for the Shadow Broker...but in the end, he sacrificed himself for me. I owe him."
"And we owe you. So, what's the next step?" I ask. Garrus squeezes my hand, and I return it. We're in this together.
"I...I don't know," she admits. "Honestly, I wasn't sure if you'd show or if you'd be willing to help. I would have understood." She glances quickly at Garrus before looking away. "I need to prepare, to think. I'm going home. Would you mind meeting me in an hour or two?"
We agree, and Liara stands to start heading out of the office. I swear her eyes are wet, and I can't help but ask, "Are you okay?"
She stops and turns back to us. "I've spent two years plotting revenge. Now I have the chance to make it a rescue. It's...a lot. I'm glad you're here."
We don't try to stop her when she leaves this time, just sitting there for a moment after she's gone. Garrus takes my hand between both of his and brings it to his mouth, nipping the tip of my ring finger and then shifting to brush his mouth across my wrist. "Are you still feeling really uncomfortable?" he asks softly.
"Maybe a little. But it's not your fault."
"What can I do to help?" Without waiting for a response, Garrus tugs me out of my chair and right into his lap.
"Do not start," I warn him, even though I can't help laughing while I say it. "We're not fooling around in Liara's office."
"I'm not fooling around at all," he growls, smoothly trapping my hands on my lap and bringing his mouth to a very specific spot below my ear. He knows exactly what that does to me, and I can't help shuddering against him. Suddenly, he grabs my chin in his hand to make me look right at him. "When and where will I have your body, Elle?"
God, I could live just for these moments, these instances where he places me on the verge between fear and fantasy. I want him, I can't resist him, and knowing that I should only makes it hotter.
"Whenever and wherever you want it, sir," I manage around a lump in my throat and the way my heart is racing. My voice is already husky with need, an ache throbbing between my legs. Garrus's smile sends heat surging through my veins, and when he takes my mouth, I surrender it immediately. His tongue takes ownership and melts me, and I barely even notice when Garrus stands from the chair and takes me with him. I snap back to reality when he lowers me onto the top of Liara's desk.
"Don't move," he orders before stepping away. He pulls up his Omni-Tool before approaching the door, and before I can question it, he explains, "I'm locking the door so we have a little privacy." He throws a naughty grin over his shoulder and adds, "Even though I know you kind of like the idea of someone walking in here."
"The glass wall behind me in more than enough exhibitionism, thanks."
Garrus laughs and finishes quickly, but something knots in my stomach as he returns. I've never questioned Garrus's attraction to me. Sure, I've wondered what the hell a guy like this could see in me, but I never question his intent. Garrus wants me, wants to drive me wild and make me cum for him. I've never thought he had an ulterior motive. Until now.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" he murmurs as he reaches me again, planting his hands beside me on the desk and leaning down so we're closer to eye level. "You know that if you really don't want this, you can always say no."
"I don't know why you want this," I blurt out, my cheeks heating the instant my words hit the air.
Garrus cocks his head. "Why? You need more proof than you usually have of what you do to me?"
"No, I...I mean...are you doing this because you want me or because you want to prove something?" I ask. "Either to me or to Liara."
"Oh, kid." He leans forward and catches my lips for a deep kiss. "I want you," he murmurs against my mouth. "I always want you, I always have. I'll prove it to you however you'd like, but I don't need that." He kisses me again, deeply enough that my head is spinning when he breaks away. "Only you. You know that, right?"
"Yes." It comes out a breathless whisper, my whole body charged with lust.
"You love me?"
"Yes."
He grins. "You wanna cum for me?"
"Yes, sir."
"That's my girl."
We crash together, mouths and hands frantic. I yank his fringe and he gropes my breasts, I squeeze his waist and his teeth score down my throat, I grip his cock through his pants and he tears through the belt on mine for access. He yanks my hips to the edge of the desk and tugs my pants down to my ankles while I work his cock out of its confines. I hold it in both my hands and squeeze, reveling in the growl he releases. "Never stops impressing me," I admit.
"You brag about it more than I do," he teases, tugging my ponytail to pull my head back and expose my throat. He runs his tongue along the column of my throat, sending heat surging down my spine.
Garrus steps close, taking his own cock in hand and aiming. He presses me back to lay down flat and shoves my shirt up over my breasts before finally slipping inside me, sheathing fully in one stroke. I force myself not to cry out, biting the back of my hand, and Garrus gives me a devilish smile before rolling his hips in the way that drives me absolutely crazy. My back arches off the desk - Liara's desk - and he doesn't steady or slow. Not giving a single damn about whether or not Liara's assistant can hear his balls smacking off my ass, my not-quite-muffled moans, and his snarling, Garrus fucks me with abandon until the room starts to spin.
He can always tell when I'm on the edge, and before I can get there, Garrus pulls me off the desk, turns me around, and then guides me to lean over it before thrusting back inside me. One hand comes up under my bra to tease my nipple and the other finds my clit, Garrus manipulating my body like an expert. He leans over my back and growls in my ear, voice low and deep. "You like the look of it so much, how's that cock feel, baby? You like that?" Another roll of his hips has my head slumping forward to the glass desk. "Yeah, that's right. I own this cunt, don't I?"
"Yes, sir," I pant out. "Everything. All yours."
"Mmm all mine." His cock is deep inside me, hitting exactly where I need him, and his fingers play with my clit perfectly. My whole body is trembling, my heart is racing, and I can feel an explosion coming. Garrus feels it too, reading me perfectly. "Oh, I love the way you tighten around me before you cum. Your body milks my cock so good, my love. Oh, baby, give it to me. Cum for me so I can fill you up."
It's incredible, the control he's established over my body. The moment he demands it, I lose myself in sensation and ecstasy. I feel his growl rumble through his carapace against my back, his hot seed erupting inside me, his breath against my throat. His strokes lose their rhythm and slow as I come back to reality, and we stay there panting and sweating on Liara's desk for a long moment.
"Fuck, I'm crazy about you," he murmurs, lifting up just enough to kiss my neck. "My plates were crawling when we first walked in here, and you made me so hot in seconds, I couldn't think about anything but getting inside you. Spirits, Shepard."
I don't fight the rush of ego that surges through me. It's a heady thing to know this man loses himself in me, in his need for me. He's so incredibly sexy and vastly more experienced than I am, but he wants me. He needs me, he loves me. And, God, I love him more than I can stand. Garrus nuzzles the side of my head and I lean into it, basking in the final moments like this before he straightens and pulls out slowly. I let him guide me up and then lean heavily back against him. Garrus catches me, just like I knew he would.
"I love you," I tell him, tilting my head back. "And I both love and hate how easily you convince me to pull my pants down or get on my knees in places where it's inappropriate."
He chuckles. "And illegal. Don't forget that I promised illegal sex when I proposed to you, and you said yes. You're trapped now."
"I'm not trapped until we get married," I warn him, elbowing him playfully. Garrus laughs and spins me around for a hard kiss before kneeling and helping me get my pants back up. He can bend me over a desk in someone else's office and debase me, and then kneel to dress me like he worships me. "You're perfect."
"So I've heard," he quips. It earns him a kiss, and then I push his hands away so that I can tuck his almost-soft cock back into his pants. It's not quite as almost-soft by the time I'm done, but he manages to make it work. And he has absolutely no shame about a bulge.
I'm going to be not soft too if I don't stop thinking about it.
We do our best to guess where everything was on Liara's desk. We didn't make a huge mess, there was no sweeping of everything off the top, but I have to hope that my breasts didn't push anything on the datapad that ended up under me. Part of me feels a little guilty that we defiled Liara's desk. And then I remember that she took advantage of Garrus and has been in my fiance's bed, so I really don't feel all that bad. And besides, we're going to help her with something very important. She can deal with us having had sex on her desk.
Really, I don't know that we'll ever hear from or see Liara again after this. I know Garrus would prefer that we didn't. And I have to be okay with that, no matter what else happens today. It's easy, though, if I'm asked to choose between them. I know where my loyalties lie.
We pull ourselves together and head back to the transportation hub. Illium is bustling, and I wonder if anyone who walks past us has any idea what we were just doing. Garrus doesn't seem concerned at all, his arm draped around my shoulder, and his eye only straying when we pass shops for weapons or tech. My eye strays for weapons once or twice too...but I wish it didn't for the baby shop.
Garrus definitely notices, pressing his mouth to my head for a long moment. It's a promise of hope, I know. And it's more than enough.
We get a cab and take it to reach the address that Liara sent. This part of Illium is gorgeous, and we can see even from a distance that her apartment is downright lavish. But I'm distracted from that by the cops and the crime scene tape blocking off the entrance. Garrus releases my shoulder, and we both instinctively check our holsters; I know he's wishing he had his rifle.
"Seal off those trace samples and get them back to the lab," one cop is saying inside.
"We got multiple shots fired," another says from elsewhere in the apartment. "Your techs are going over the place now.
"Shots?" I echo, my stomach sinking a little. Garrus squeezes my hand, offering his silent support until we can figure out what happened. "What is going on?" I ask the cop guarding the tape at the entrance.
"This area is sealed off," the cops responds without so much as a glance at me. "Please step back, ma'am."
"Sealed off?" Garrus repeats. "Why?"
"Someone tried to kill your friend, Commander Shepard." I look past the cop toward the stairs in Liara's home. A tall, gorgeous Asari is absolutely sauntering down the stairs, hips swaying and her fingers grazing the railing in a way that manages to look almost sensual. If she's inside, I imagine she's official, but she doesn't say cop. Or professional.
"Oh, fuck," Garrus growls from beside me. I turn to question him, but I only need a glance to know why he's trying hard not to look at that Asari.
And if I had any confusion or doubt, the way she's looking at him would sweep them all right out the door. This stacked, sexy Asari is undressing Garrus on her way across the room, and the look on her face suggests that she knows exactly what she'd see if he were naked.
Now I get to spend the day with two people Garrus has slept with. Lovely.
"Thank you, Officer," she says to the cop guarding the tape before addressing us. "Your people are dismissed."
"You can't do that!" the cop protests. But she doesn't get the sentence all the way out before her datapad chimes. The look on her face tells me that the hot Asari can do exactly that.
"Already done," the Asari notes. As the cops disperse and I lead Garrus into the apartment, it becomes clear that this Asari is used to being in charge. She just about owns the room that isn't hers. Finally, she looks at me. "Tela Vasir. Special Tactics and Recon."
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "A Spectre?"
"Not one quite as famous as you," she replies with a smile that is definitely supposed to be soft; I can see the edges. Her gaze shifts to Garrus and changes, growing familiar and hot. Not fond. "Garrus Vakarian. Always good to see you."
"Vasir." His voice is flat, even. He's trying to sound disinterested but I wish I could hear his subtones to know if it's genuine. I find it hard to believe he could be disinterested in this stunner.
Vasir doesn't seem to mind the brush off, and she leans casually against the back of the couch. Liara's couch. In Liara's apartment where Liara is not. Maybe that is why I'm on edge...but I can't help thinking it's something about Vasir setting me on edge.
"So, I assume you had business with your friend this evening, Commander?"
I take a breath to calm myself. Tela Vasir is a Spectre, we're professional equals, and Illium is more her home territory than mine. I should at least give her base level respect and the benefit of the doubt.
"Liara was following a lead on the Shadow Broker," I explain.
"The Shadow Broker?" she asks, surprise on her face. "Dangerous enemy to have."
"What are the facts so far?" Garrus asks, walking away from us to start examining the room. Cop instincts kicking in or a need to get away from his ex; in either case, I don't stop him and give the guy his space.
"About twenty-five minutes ago, someone took a shot at T'Soni. Note the bullet holes." Vasir motions behind me to the wall-length windows of the apartment with a stunning vista, marred only by the bullet impacts. But not holes. They didn't get through. "She stuck around for almost four minutes before leaving the building. Whatever she was doing was important."
"Do you know where Liara is now?" I ask.
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be sifting through her crap." Vasir says it in a way that tells me she's trying to sound frustrated by the case. My instincts tell me that she's being sarcastic, though. I don't know if I can trust those instincts though with my hackles raised; is this jealousy about Garrus or is something really off about her.
"There's no blood, no body?" Garrus asks from across the room.
Vasir shakes her head. "It looks like T'Soni got away. The sniper didn't plan on her kinetic barrier. Clever girl. Paranoid, but clever."
"Did the police find anything else?"
"Just the mess and the bullet holes. I gave them a gold star for finding the bullet holes," she notes with a snort.
Yeah, I don't like her.
Garrus has made his way back around and stops beside me to look up at the windows. He doesn't say anything for a beat or make a move to touch me, his focus on the investigation, but he's standing closer than he would normally while we're working. I have no complaints about it. I know that Garrus is faithful and always will be, but I'm still a little insecure about someone who looks like Tela Vasir. Especially because she's so shut off and unfriendly.
"Your standards have changed, Vakarian." The words pop out before I even mean to say it. I only say it at all because I'm already on edge, probably from the moment Liara called and definitely around Vasir. I say it quietly enough that she doesn't hear me, but Garrus certainly does...and he definitely doesn't like it.
"Don't think that I won't take you over my knee for talking badly about my fiance just because other people are here," he growls softly.
"Don't tempt me to let you."
I move away from him before he can respond to that and focus on the work. Mostly because I'm ashamed for having said any of that but also too stubborn to take any of it back right now. Not with Tela Vasir a few feet away.
"Liara was expecting me," I say, getting us back on track. "She would have left a message here. Her office wasn't secure."
"I'm not surprised. Illium is just Omega with expensive shoes," Vasir replies, mirroring so much of what other people have said about this station. Everyone seems to hate this place. "I haven't found anything useful for tracking her down yet, but you knew T'Soni better than I do. Where would she have hidden her backup?"
I try not to notice that she just referred to Liara in the past tense - I knew her.
"Let me look around." Vasir nods and heads into the kitchen, though I can see her lurking and listening.
"The rifle that made these shots isn't standard issue," Garrus says the moment we're alone. I'm not sure if I prefer that he's intentionally not talking about what I said and focusing on the work or if I'd prefer him to drag everything out of me. "This was a trained and well-paid sniper."
"Why didn't they get through?"
"Liara has a kinetic barrier up," Garrus explains. "It deflected the shots, but they still managed to penetrate the glass. Whether the shots meant she was paranoid or just careful...you'd have to ask Liara."
That's not going to be on the list of questions when I find Liara.
I make my way past the windows and toward a display case on the side of the room. She has some Prothean artifacts as well as a set of N7 armor. I recognize it instantly and my heart swells. It's sweet but sad that she has my armor displayed like this.
I continue around the room, massive and beautiful and very modern, and examine some of the things Liara has on cases and on walls. "Liara only has one doctorate up in a frame. I wonder why," I muse.
"I didn't know Liara had multiple doctorates," Garrus admits. It's oddly comforting that Garrus doesn't know a personal detail about Liara. But then I immediately feel guilty for being comforted by something so foolish.
I stop in front of a massive painting, Garrus arriving almost at the same time. "That's not the Asari homeworld," Vasir notes from behind us before I have a chance to say anything to Garrus. "Not sure what planet it is."
"It's Ilos," Garrus and I say at the same time.
We leave it behind and start up the stairs into Liara's loft bedroom. She has a massive fish tank and it almost makes me laugh. There's no automatic feeder, though; Liara apparently remembers to feed her fish, and I hate that I feel bitter about that.
Nothing appears too interesting at first, but Garrus calls me to the table beside the bed. He shows me a framed photo of the first Normandy when I reach his side. "You think that's important?"
"A hunch," he replies. "On Omega, we used a DNA scanner with fingerprints to access our base. Liara knew that, and I think...here."
He holds it out, and I take the frame. The moment I touch it, the picture in the frame changes from the Normandy to the dig site back on Eden Prime. "Damn. Good hunch, big guy."
"What does it show now?" Vasir asks, her voice a little too eager for my taste.
"It's a Prothean dig site," I answer. "Liara did leave a message."
"There were more Prothean artifacts downstairs," Garrus notes. "We should check them, see if anything stands out." His hand lands low on my back. It could just be a motion for me to lead him down the stairs, but it's far too low to be professional. I know immediately that it's a message for Vasir, a lot clearer than the one Liara left for us.
I pause, letting Vasir go down the steps ahead of us, and then turn to Garrus. "Are you mad? It's not you, you know. It's not even Tela Vasir or Liara or whoever. I even like the thought of you with some people, but I...I'm still pathetic.
"Stop that," he breathes, stepping close and taking my face between his hands. "I know you're insecure; I know you hate that about yourself. But you don't have to apologize to me. I'll happily spend the rest of our lives convincing you that I'm crazy about you. My taste has improved vastly." He cocks his head and adds, "And I never even consider spanking you while I'm mad at you."
"Oh my God, please just kiss me." He smiles and leads down to meet for a deep kiss. It doesn't last nearly as long as I want it to, but at least it means we're okay for now.
We head down the stairs, and I don't hesitate to let Garrus take my hand. Especially because Vasir definitely notices it, but she's too good at schooling her expressions for me to guess how she feels about it. I ignore her and set to checking out the various Prothean relics Liara has decided to display in her home.
"I get this was her life's work, but some of this shit is seriously ugly," Garrus notes, looking up at a disfigured, weird piece of...something. A rock, maybe? Garrus is most definitely not wrong.
After a few minutes, when we're getting down to the last few objects, I hear Garrus make a noise that I recognize as thoughtful and curious. I move beside him when he kneels to look at the base of a case, and as I reach him, Garrus finds something under the case that pops out a little tray. He stands and shows me the disk sitting on it.
"Vasir, I've got something here," I call, even though I don't really want to involve her. I wish I knew the protocol for throwing another Spectre off a case. Of course, she might be here on behalf of the Council while I'm here on behalf of a friend. Or former friend, who knows.
"Backup disk," Vasir notes when she approaches us. "Let's try it on her terminal."
Garrus leads us over, not even attempting to give Vasir the disk. Something tells me he's got a bad vibe from her, too. I force myself not to have thoughts that would disparage him about that.
Liara's terminal is almost wall-size. It's the only thing in the apartment I've seen Garrus look impressed about. There are six screens, and after he inserts the disk, they all show the same thing - a Salarian.
"It looks like she recorded a call," Vasir says. She's excellent at stating the obvious. The log tells us that it could have been recorded minutes before the shooting and whatever else led to Liara disappearing from her apartment.
"What about you got for me, Sekat?" we hear Liara ask from the recording. It's weird still to hear her sound so in charge, so confident. I'm equal parts impressed and concerned about the changes in her.
"It was tricky, but you paid for the best," the Salarian responds. "I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system."
"How soon can you have it?"
The Salarian shrugs. "Shouldn't take long. Come to my office, Baria Frontiers in the Dracon Trade Center. Gotta say, though, T'Soni - you're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?"
"Relax, Sekat," Liara assures him, sounding genuinely calm. "I'll see you in a few hours."
The video chat ends there, leaving me even more uncomfortable and tense than I was a moment ago. "This is important," I note. "The Shadow Broker's people already tried to kill her once."
"I know where the Dracon Trade Center is," Vasir tells us. "My car's outside."
"Good. You can drive us to our ship so we can armor up, and then we'll go." I don't give Vasir a chance to argue or come up with a plan of her own, heading right for the door and confident that Garrus is following me. I don't know what's going on with Liara or the Shadow Broker, but I'm not taking chances. We're gonna gear up and make sure she's okay.
It's my life's mission to get Shepard to see her the way I do. The way most of the universe and certainly all of the people who know her see her. It will never stop blowing my mind that somehow the most incredible person I have ever known, the most beautiful and the sexiest and the most talented person, sees something far less than that in a mirror. The moment she set eyes on Tela Vasir, I saw Shepard's confidence utterly deflate. How doesn't she see that she's not just far sexier but also just a better person and that counts for so much?
I've said it to her over and over, and I can tell that it's starting to help. She's a little more comfortable in her own skin, she was even comfortable enough to see me with someone else at Tarquin's party. But then she gets around someone like Tela Vasir, and I remember how much work is left. I don't mind doing it, but I hate seeing her in any pain for any reason.
I promised to spend my life making Shepard know how loved she is, and I meant every word. That starts with having a word with Tela while Shepard gets her weapons from the armory where they were being cleaned.
I first met Tela almost a decade ago now. I had just been promoted at C-Sec, and Saren took me out to celebrate. Tela was at the club, and he introduced us. We hooked up that night and at parties a few times after; she was the first Asari I ever fucked instead of just doing that joining thing. It was one of those memories I basked in for years, a notch on my bedpost that I was proud of. I'm not that guy anymore, though. And I need to make sure Tela knows that before she says anything to hurt Shepard.
I find her waiting on the dock, reading something on her Omni-Tool that she shuts quickly when I approach. I assume it was official and I wouldn't consider asking anyway. Especially not when I recognize the way she's looking at me very well. When Shepard looks at me like that, I get hard in a second. Ten years ago, Tela would have had the same effect on me.
Being a bonded man is a weird experience sometimes, but I love everything about it. And I love being in love.
The thought puts a smile on my face, and Tela misunderstands it as interest. "Well, hey there, handsome. You thought we needed a few minutes along too, huh?"
"Yes, but not for the reasons you think." I don't get close enough for any further misunderstandings, and I cross my arms over my chest to make it clear I want her to stay at a distance, too. "I don't want you running your mouth or putting your hands somewhere they don't belong. And they do not belong on me."
"Oh, is that so?" she asks, giggling as if I'd just challenged her.
"It is. Because all of me belongs to Shepard." That gets her serious finally, and she blinks up at me, lips parting a bit in surprise. "I bonded to her, and I'm marrying her, and I'll be damned if you're going to make her uncomfortable."
She smirks. "I don't think it's my fault is she's uncomfortable around me. Smart girl."
A growl rumbles through my chest, and I have to ball my fists to keep from snapping at her. We may need her help to get Liara back. Of course, thinking about Liara only gets my blood coursing hotter - in the bad way.
"Oh, come on, Garrus," Tela teases, swaying her shoulders playfully. "You remember I'm good at playing with others, don't you?"
I hate myself for the memories that flash through my mind, even if they trigger nothing more than bittersweet disappointment at my past behavior. I've given Shepard a lot of reasons to doubt me, and it's a miracle she never does. But I'm a little proud of myself too for my reaction to those memories now. I don't want Tela.
"I remember. And I don't care to relive the past. I have what I want now." And what I want now comes out of the Normandy's airlock at that exact moment, power and sex on long legs. Damn. What sweeps through me at the sight of her is unmistakably arousal.
But what sweeps over Shepard's face is doubt, and I'm not going to let that stand.
"Are we ready?" she asks, putting on her Commander mask.
"Yep." I move around Tela and open the door to the backseat of Tela's car for Shepard. "Though I gotta say...I really wish we had a pillow." I wink at Shepard and revel in the heat that comes over her cheeks as she slips past me to get into the car. I shoot a hard look at Tela, and then get into the backseat with my girl.
Shepard takes my hand and squeezes, all the tension that was in her shoulders when she saw me alone with Tela gone now. "I know you did that on purpose. And I'm grateful."
"She needs to know where she stands. But I also meant it. That got added to my fantasy list the moment you put the idea in my head."
"We need an excuse to own a skycar," she murmurs as Tela climbs into the driver's seat and lifts the car.
Tela doesn't have a word for us now and doesn't glance into the backseat on the drive through the business district and to the Dracon Trade Center, an impressive glass skyscraper. She parks at the ground level entrance, and we all get out, me following Shepard on the driver's side of the car.
We barely take a couple steps before an explosion comes from somewhere above us, sending glass raining down on us and fire spewing from the windows. The windows where the bomb went off...on the third floor.
"Liara's in there!" Shepard cries, realizing the same thing.
I start forward with her, aiming for the building, and then three more explosions ring out from inside the building, engulfing the first and second floors in flames and sending us all flying back into the car. I do my best to shield Shepard from the glass rain, turning my back to the building and blocking her between me and the car, but I can't prevent all of it. She reaches up and pulls my head down, apparently having the same idea.
When some of the chaos dies, I turn back to the building, and my stomach sinks at the sight. "They just took out three floors to make sure she's dead."
"I'll grab the skycar and seal the building off from the top!" Tela calls, already getting back into her car.
"We'll start down here and work our way up." She shakes out one of her hands and tries to hide her wince while speaking.
"Just leave some for me," Tela calls back, then lifts off and speeds into the sky.
The moment we're alone, I stop pretending I didn't notice and take Shepard's hand and pull off her glove. My visor tells me all the glass is gone, but at least one piece did some damage, and she's bleeding from the back of her hand. "There's no point in arguing that I'm fine is there?" she asks.
"None," I respond, already putting Medi-Gel on the injury. "It's not bad, but you did this trying to protect my head. Indulge me." I press my mouth to her palm and take a deep breath, inhaling her scent to settle me.
"That's not a burden," she promises, lifting onto her toes and pulling me down by the carapace to meet her for a kiss. I want to linger, well aware it's going to be the last moment of peace for a while, but I let her release me quickly. We do one final quick scan of ourselves for major injuries and then get to work.
We have a lot of work to do if this damage is any sign of what's ahead of us. The ceiling of the lobby caved in, and there are bodies all over. A few injured people are helping one another out of the building, and since emergency services are arriving, we head in - locked and loaded.
We find a set of stairs leading up, and I kneel at the body at the base of them. "Baria Frontier employee. Looks like he got caught in the explosion."
"A lot of people did," Shepard growls.
As we start up the stairs, Tela comes over our comms. "I wouldn't take any bets on T'Soni's informant surviving the blast." She clicks off immediately after, apparently stopping in only for that.
"Do you feel weird about how she talks about Liara?" Shepard asks, slowing a little. "She used past tense already, and now she's not even mentioning her. Like she's just assuming..."
I reach for Shepard's hand and stop her from continuing up the stairs. "I've heard it, and I don't like it either. But she doesn't know Liara like we do, and she certainly doesn't know us. Shepard and Vakarian do not fail their missions, right?"
"Right," she answers, confident and secure again. She gives me a nod and even flashes a smile, and then we're ready to continue on.
Tela has always been kind of a bitch. I used to think that was sexy. Now, especially when it's someone that Shepard cares about at risk, I'm not going to accept Tela's attitude and casual approach to what happens. This is about much more than the Shadow Broker's army, at least until we find Liara.
But as long as I can keep Shepard upbeat and focused, Tela getting under my skin doesn't matter.
At the top of the stairs, we reach an open courtyard. It took as much damage as the inside of the buildings; there are dead and dying people everywhere. A lot of them are burnt, crushed, and broken from the bombs. But there are more than few who were killed by bullets.
Shepard sees it at the same time, and she gets on the comm to tell Tela, "We're seeing casualties with bullet wounds. Watch yourself, Vasir. They used military grade hardware."
"Bullet wounds? Guess this was more than just an explosion."
Something in her tone strikes me as odd, but I can't place it, and I certainly don't know Tela well enough to take a guess. It's probably just the situation putting me on edge more than Tela.
We continue navigating the building and the wreckage, looking for the elevators since the other ways up or forward are blocked. When we find them, the elevators aren't operating, and Shepard gives Tela a heads up about that, too.
"No alarms, no police," Tela muses. "Very professional."
Shepard pauses when the comms click off, then looks up at me with a frown. "Okay, this could just be my ego speaking, but does she sound - "
"Proud," I finish, nodding. "Yeah, I think maybe she does. Though, to be fair, your emotions affect mine. I can't help that. So it's possible we're both biased."
"Yeah. Okay. Let's not jump to conclusions and just focus on finding Liara."
I agree, and we climb some debris to get up the stairs that will take us up the third floor and the Barria Frontier offices. The doors are still easy to spot among the damage, but the bomb just a few feet from those doors doesn't become visible until far too late. Late enough that my heart crashes into my boots. I snatch Shepard into my arms, spin away, and tackle her to the ground beneath me.
"Garrus!" she yelps. "What?!"
"Bomb. I need you to stay here until I know if it's live."
"You're not going anywhere!" she snaps, gripping my armor. I shake my head and drag her with me behind a piece of the downed wall. She exhales relief when I pull up my Omni-Tool and use it to scan the bomb from our position. I can exhale the same way when the bomb is definitely dead.
"We're good. Sorry."
"No, good catch. And good tackle," she chuckles, shoving my shoulder on our way up. I'm not ashamed of it, and I know she doesn't want me to be, so I shrug it off and just count our blessings that the thing wasn't ready to go. I'm also a lot more on edge and checking the corners more carefully.
We head through the doors into the Barria Frontiers office. The doors still work and open into a small foyer with an electronic logbook. What we need is right there on the first screen, but it's not the information we wanted to find.
"Vasir, we're at the Barria Frontier offices," Shepard says over the comms, her voice strained now. I put a hand on her shoulder, offering what comfort I can. "Liara just signed in a few minutes ago."
"Understood, Commander."
We have to sign in as well, the security still on, and then we can continue into the office proper. The first bomb definitely went off inside this office; it's a disaster, the sprinklers running and pieces of rubble still smoldering. We move down the first hallway, but we don't get far before a flash grenade goes off just a few feet in front of us. We get cover, each of us on either side of the hall, just as the shots begin.
Mercs, and a lot of them. All of them well-armed, and even one using a rocket launcher. We stay in cover and return fire, picking them off steady.
"Vasir, we're pinned down!" Shepard warns Tela. "Mercs - and they're well armed."
"Say hello to the Shadow Broker's private army, Commander!" the other Spectre cries from the other end.
Shepard and I get our bearings and then push through the hallway and the office, taking out agents as we move. Even as a team of two, we operate flawlessly. It's a rush, being this effective and efficient with someone I feel so close to. It's also a rush being this effective; it's a good way to feel like a total badass.
"You know, this is the one time when I don't mind that you can read my mind," Shepard teases between shots, grinning at me even from behind cover.
"Oh, I think there's one other time, baby," I quip, giving her a wink. Shepard blushes and giggles, somehow lifting all the pressure of the gunfight off my shoulders. Being able to laugh with her while we fight and while we're in bed might be my most favorite thing about our relationship.
It's keeping Shepard's mind off the fear for Liara too, I can see that in the change in her body language. And with both of us relaxed, we're even better.
We finally clear the floor, but the problems haven't stopped. When we get to the floors and try to head up, we find a pipe has burst and is spewing flames across the staircase.
Fortunately, we find a suppression system nearby and I can shut it down pretty easily, so we continue up. The fighting continues on the next level, but we're prepared for it this time.
We clear out the main area, and then approach a door. Shots fire directly on the other side, but they aren't coming at the door, so we take a second to check our ammo and head through. As the doors open, Tela is putting her pistol away and a body that was kneeling in front of her falls dead to the floor.
"Damn it," Tela swears. "If I'd been a few seconds sooner, I could've stopped them."
She steps aside, revealing the body of a familiar Salarian. "Sekat," Shepard breathes, crossing the room to kneel in front of him.
I head for the desk, but there's nothing that stands out. "No sign of that data Liara talked about. Looks like a dead end."
"Speaking of which...did you find your friend's body?"
Shepard spins around, red in the face and definitely ready to tell Tela off, but she doesn't get a chance before the other door into the office opens. I never thought I'd be so happy to see Liara again.
"You mean this body?" she demands, a pistol drawn and aimed right at Tela.
"Liara!" Shepard gasps, running to her. She doesn't stand between them - thank the Spirits - but she does frown and hold Liara's shoulder. "This is Tela Vasir, she's a Spectre."
"No," Liara counters. "This is the woman who tried to kill me."
My rifle slips back into my hand smoothly, and then Tela has weapons pointed at her from both sides. Liara gives me a surprised glance, evidently not expecting my support, but she doesn't waver. Shepard looks torn, surprised. She wants to support Liara, but she wants to be the voice of reason if needed, too.
Tela backs away slowly, toward the windows, with her hands up. "You've had a rough day, so I'll let that slide. Why don't you put that gun down?"
"I saw you!" Liara snaps, still walking slowly toward Tela. I follow, and Shepard stays close to Liara. "I doubled back after I left, and I watched you break into my apartment."
Shepard draws her pistol as well, her face hardening. "You didn't know where Liara went because she hid the message. You needed me to find it for you."
"Thanks for the help," Tela quipped, shrugging her shoulders.
"Bitch," I growl. I should have trusted my instincts. Tela just grins at me, and she's damn lucky that's not enough for Shepard to shoot her.
"Once she had my location, she signaled the Shadow Broker's forces," Liara explains. Her body language and tone are almost unfamiliar, they're so hard. "They bombed the building to take me out. She found Sekat, took his data, and killed him. I'm guessing she's still got the disk on her."
"Good guess," Tela teases, nodding slowly. "Not that you'll ever see what's on it...you pureblood bitch!"
As she screams the last few words, she launches a biotic blast at us. Liara throws up a shield in front of all of us, but Shepard puts up her own and uses it to launch herself at Tela. My heart stops when the two of them go crashing through the glass.
Shepard is falling from the third story of this building.
With Vasir wrapped around me, the air whipping past us, and the ground approaching quickly, I can't afford to let crashing through the window distract me. I can't focus on Garrus's terrified shout, I can't panic. No, I have to dodge the fists flying at my face.
It occurs to me that I should put up a biotic shield, but I can't manage to get my biotics to come to life. I can focus enough while plummeting off the side of a building to punch Tela Vasir in her perfect face, but not enough for my biotics. Mindfulness is not a thing right now.
A last minute effort at a shield only distracts me enough to let Vasir to actually connect a hit. It's not hard, but it's enough that she can get distance from me and put up her own shield. The concrete comes rushing up at me, and all I can do is cover my head before smacking down hard with a thud that makes my stomach roll.
All the air is knocked from my lungs, and for a terrifying moment, I cannot move or breathe. My vision is fuzzy, but I spot someone running away from me.
Seconds later, I hear my name, and then a hard thud. Another set of legs go running from me just before I'm rolled to my back and staring straight up at Garrus. "Okay, kid, you're okay. Can you hear me?"
My lungs expand in a rush, and I suck in a deep breath that sends my chest into spasms. Garrus pulls me to sit up and examines me for visible injuries even though that's impossible with my armor while I catch my breath. I can feel the impact ringing through my body, but everything seems to be functioning.
"You with me?" Garrus asks, pulling me to make eye contact. He's fucking terrified, and it makes me feel awful.
"You mad at me?"
"You mean for diving through a glass window three stories up?" He smirks. "Not if you're not hurt. Though I am officially going to kill Liara; she didn't even look at you."
"Huh. I was hoping I'd imagined that." The second set of legs abandoning me; that makes sense. Except in all the ways it doesn't, Liara leaving me injured - at least potentially - is significantly out of character. "Let's save her, and then we can kick her ass."
"Deal." Garrus stands, and I extend a hand to him, expecting that he'll help me up. Instead, he bends down, scoops me under my arms, and then lifts me right off my feet. He lets me stand on my own but holds on for a second, making sure that I'm steady. Considering how hard I landed, I'm grateful for the extra caution.
When we're both satisfied that I'm somehow uninjured, we take off after Liara who is chasing Vasir. We have to clear out more of the Shadow Broker's agents on the way, but we never pass an injured - or worse - Liara, so I assume she's gotten through them. It's not until we clear the floor and get back outside that we find Liara, hunkered down behind a car and shooting at Tela.
Before we can join, Vasir's skycar swoops in, she jumps inside, and then she's off. A second later, Liara is running toward a parked skycar that must be her own because she unlocks it and leaps in. Finally, she turns to see if we're coming.
"Shepard is fine, thanks for asking," Garrus snarls at her, slipping into the backseat.
"At least I'm not naive anymore, right?" she mutters even though her shoulders tense when he scolds her. Garrus shoots daggers at her while I get in, Liara sliding over to give me the driver's seat. I think that makes Garrus glare even harder at her.
For now, I choose not to say anything and get the skycar into the skies. It handles beautifully, making soaring around the buildings and through the skies of Illium easy even while speeding to catch up with Vasir. The other drivers don't appreciate it, but Vasir isn't playing it safe so I can't either.
"Hang a right! No, wait, left!" Liara screeches, giving directions as if we aren't looking through the same damn windshield.
"I'm on her."
Vasir takes a last minute turn, and I follow closely. There's a moment where I expect her to turn again, but when Vasir continues speeding forward, I don't back down. If she thinks she can scare me off, she's sorely mistaken.
"We're not going into the construction site, are - Oh, Spirits!"
"Oh, Goddess!"
I fight the urge to laugh at them and maneuver the skycar easily back out of the construction site, just a few seconds behind Vasir. She zooms into a tunnel, and I don't hesitate to follow. Even as she weaves through buildings and garages, I stay on her.
And then she makes almost a complete 180 and gets back under me. "She's getting away," Liara cries.
"No, she's not."
I dive and do a spin of my own, cutting around a corner. "Traffic!" Garrus snaps from the backseat. "Oncoming traffic."
"We'll be fine!" A second after the words are out of my mouth, I have to dodge a massive electronic billboard and hear Garrus stop breathing.
And I don't have a chance to recover before I'm then dodging an explosion. Fortunately, it doesn't hit anyone else either, but Vasir isn't done dropping them. "She's dropping proximity charges," Liara says.
"I can see that!" She's gotten excellent at stating the obvious.
"Shepard, you got reinforcements coming in." Seconds later, two other cars appear, getting between me and Vasir. At least Garrus gave the information when it was useful, but I can tell he's frustrated that the warning is all he can offer for now.
That doesn't mean I can't help myself, though.
"What kind of guns does this thing have?" I ask.
Liara looks at me. "It's a taxi, Shepard, not mine. It has a fare meter."
"Oh, wonderful."
Vasir leads me into another tunnel, and this time one of her friends gets in right behind me. I swing into oncoming traffic, ready to challenge the little bastard at my six, but the tension in the car skyrockets.
"Truck," Liara breathes, white knuckling the dash.
"I know," I assure her. I also don't move. Not yet.
"Truck!" Garrus screams.
"I know!"
At the last minute, I swerve and force the car behind me to slam into the truck, which pretty much drives through the fancy ass skycar. "There we go!" I cheer, glancing into the rearview to bask in the explosion for a second.
"Oh, for fuck's sake. You're enjoying this."
Liara gapes at me, but I just laugh. Especially since I can hear the amusement in Garrus's voice. He might make fun of my driving, but he loves my spirit, and I'll take it. Besides, it's better than Liara practically shaking.
"A head-on collision at these speeds," she mutters.
"Yeah, I hear those can be bad for you," I quip.
She scoffs at me, then screams, "Truck!"
"Again?" I don't play games with this one, instead moving up next to Vasir the first chance I get. Of course, she plays petty and rams into us. I return the favor, then let her do it one more time before giving her a real hit. It does the trick, Vasir spinning in flames to crash on a nearby rooftop.
I have to circle around, but we keep an eye on Vasir. She scrambles from the car, injured from the crash and bleeding from where I punched her in the face, but she still manages to kill a security mech before stumbling into the building. We land maybe a second after we land.
"Watch out!" Liara points through the windshield toward the building. "They're dropping reinforcements to slow us down."
Sure enough, a truck loaded with Shadow Broker agents in the bed lands right in front of the doors into the building. We jump out, and I quickly throw a grenade. They aren't my favorite tool, but we're in a hurry, and it does the trick to wipe out about half of them. We make quick work of the rest of them, but then another truck lands with even more.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Garrus snaps, drawing my attention to where he's in cover a few feet away. He's glaring at Liara, his expression so furious that I'm surprised his rifle isn't aimed at her. "Don't you dare leave. You betrayed me once, Liara, I won't let it walk a second time."
I realize then that Liara has been making her way toward the door. She was planning to get inside and leave the two of us out here for the fight while she chased Vasir. She was going to leave us behind and at risk again.
Liara has the good sense to take him seriously, and she gets serious about the fight when more agents show up. Regardless of the person she's become - and I'm really not sure about that - Liara's combat skills have improved, and that's a huge benefit today. We get through all of the agents and then run at the entrance, the trucks still parked in our way.
"Come on!" Liara calls, running ahead of us. "We can climb over to get to Vasir's car."
"Just me, or does she state the obvious a lot these days?" I grumble to Garrus. He chuckles softly as we climb over the trunk and the bodies of agents to proceed into the building.
I realize, of course, that Vasir is desperate to get away. But I did not expect to see that she'd walked in here and killed people. A lot of people. Shadow Broker agents probably helped, and all these innocent lives paid for it. We can't see any sign of Vasir immediately, but a voice does reach us.
"Please, let me live," someone is crying. "Please, let me live. I'll do the mantras every week. I'll give to charity."
We follow the voice and find an Asari who is barely wearing anything at all on the ground in a ball and shaking. I help her to her feet and guide her to the exit; she breaks for a run as soon as she can.
Once she's gone, we proceed into a room where we can hear more voices. But these are live. Instead, there is a massive TV...which happens to be showing porn. I glance around at the room and find couches and a bed, as well as several dead men of various species and multiple dead Asari.
"Okay, what kind of hotel is this?" I ask, wondering if someone is fucking with me.
"Azure," Liara answers with a deep sigh. "It's a luxury resort with an...exotic edge. 'Azure' is slang for part of the Asari body in some areas of Illium."
I might let that drop, but Liara's whole face is almost purple, and she can't look at me anymore, so I have to ask, "Where?"
"The lower reaches, near the bottom," Garrus answers for Liara, grinning like the cat who caught the canary.
I roll my eyes at him. "I meant where on the Asari body."
His grin grows, as does Liara's blush, and he replies, "So did I."
A laugh explodes out of me, and Liara running from the room with some excuse about finding a trail only makes me laugh harder. Garrus looks damn proud of himself, and I shake my head at him, and we head out after Liara. We find her on the balcony with Vasir's car, still smoldering. "A blood trail," Liara tells us, pointing at the ground and very pointedly not looking at us.
"That should slow her down," I note. We stay armed while following the blood around the balcony and toward another entrance into the building.
"She's lost a lot of blood," Garrus says. "We have to be getting close."
I shake my head, stepping around another blood pool. "She's tough, I'll give her that much."
"She's a Spectre. I hear nearly-psychotic levels of stubbornness even while injured is part of the job requirement," he teases. I stick my tongue out at him as we reach the new door.
We step into one of the nicest apartments I have ever seen. I take mental images and hope Garrus is filming so that I can keep this place as inspiration for our future home. It's empty at first glance, but we do a search just in case. On the balcony at the opposite side of the apartment, the bloody footsteps continue, and we pick up the trail.
This time, they lead us into a restaurant. It's crowded, and Vasir is limping badly, so she's only halfway across it and somehow still unnoticed by the crowd and staff when we spot her. "Vasir!" Liara screams across the room. "It's over."
So much for taking her down without a mess.
In a flash, Tela dives at a nearby waitress and grabs the poor woman to hold her like a human shield while aiming her pistol at us. The other patrons finally notice what's going on and start screaming, running out of the room.
"What's your name?" Vasir asks the waitress.
"M...Mariana," she stammers, pale and obviously clammy even from a distance.
"Mariana, you want to live, don't you?" Vasir motions toward us with her gun. "Tell those people that you want to live."
Mariana whimpers and opens her eyes to look at us. Her wide, wet, terrified eyes break my heart. "Please..."
"We'll get you out of here safely, Mariana," I promise.
"Oh, that's good to hear," Vasir coos. "All you had to do was walk away." She moves the gun to press it directly against Mariana's temple again. "Now it gets ugly."
"Please," Mariana sobs. "I have a son."
"A son?" Vasir echoes, mocking her ton. "I hope he gets to see you again. I've heard losing a parent is just horrific for children. Scars them for life. You know something about that, don't you, Shepard."
"I'm going to end you, Vasir," Liara snaps.
"Not if I get to her first," Garrus chimes in.
"It's okay," I assure them. "We'll handle it. The usual way." I catch Garrus's eyes, and then Liara's. They catch one another's eyes, then look back at me and nod.
"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up without a mommy, Shepard?" Vasir demands. "Thermal clips on the ground now. Power cells, too."
We do, the clips clattering to the floor. "It's okay, Mariana," Garrus says, his voice as soothing as he can make it. "You're gonna be alright."
The moment she thinks we're all disarmed, Vasir throws Mariana aside. Liara uses the chance to shoot a biotic blast that launches Vasir's pistol across the room with a loud clattering of metal on stone. Vasir gives a battle cry and uses her one biotics to teleport herself across the room. She reappears with a gun, and that starts the action.
Garrus moves first, aiming for Mariana and getting her out of the way before joining us. Vasir has impressive biotics, but most of her skills with it are too flashy to actually be effective. But she's backed up by rocket drones and agents from the Shadow Brokers. We don't give them an inch, using a combination of all our skills to take them down, and then finally get Vasir down too.
Her barriers fall, and when she can't pull them back up, Vasir collapses to her hands and knees, bleeding heavily and panting. "Damn it!"
We approach, still holding our weapons on her, as she collapses against the wall. I kick her gun aside, and Vasir doesn't even try to move when Liara moves in to take the data key back. Liara holds it up triumphantly. "This has what we need to find the Shadow Broker."
"You're dead," Vasir growls, her voice raspy and breathy. She's obviously in a lot of pain. I don't have any effort to make her death less painful. "The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you've ever faced."
Garrus laughs. "Did you forget who you were talking to?"
I flash him a grin but focus on Vasir. "Is that why you betrayed the Council to work for him?"
"You think I betrayed the Council? Like Saren?" That barb is directed at Garrus, and the laugh she tries to follow it up with is weak. "Go to hell! The broker's given me damn good intel over the years. Intel that saved lives and kept the Citadel safe. So if the Broker needs a few people to disappear, I'll pay that price without hesitation."
"You crossed a line," I tell her, not about to let her get to me. "Spectres don't blow up building filled with innocent people for merc contracts!"
Tela laughs again, still weak and raspy. "Sure we do. We get our hands dirty so the Council doesn't have to. The Councilors might complain about our methods to soothe their consciences, but they never look too closely. Besides, you're with Cerberus. You have any idea what your terrorist friends have done?"
It's a weak attempt from a dying woman grasping at straws. But that doesn't mean it doesn't twist my stomach. It doesn't mean I don't immediately think about Aratoht. "I know who they are and what they've done. It doesn't matter."
"I think it does," she snaps. "Look in the mirror. Kidnapping kids for biotic death camps. Hell, your own unit on Akuze! And now you judge me? Go to hell."
A bang makes me jump, and then Tela slumps, dead from the new hole in her forehead. "You first," Garrus tells her. "Tell Saren I say hi when you get there."
Well. That's certainly one way.
We put our weapons away and go meet Liara inside. She's already playing the data, and we hear a badly morphed voice speaking as we approach. "Eliminate T'Soni and retrieve the data. Civilian casualties not a concern."
She closes the data and turns back to us. I can't read her face well enough to figure out what's going through her mind. I can see the urgency in her eyes, though. "Vasir's dead," I offer, hoping that will settle her a little.
"Thank you. I'm putting the data through to the Normandy's computer," Liara tells us. "We can be at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours. He'll know about Vasir before long. If he decides to kill Feron..."
I squeeze her shoulder. "We'll get Feron out of there alive, Liara. I promise."
"I know. You're here to help. Just like always." She looks past me at Garrus and adds, "Even after everything...you're here."
The words are kind, grateful...but she looks and sounds miserable about it.
"That's...not a good thing?" I press.
She takes a breath and turns away, pacing a few feet and wringing her hands. "When we first met on Therum, you saved me from the Geth. You fought a Krogan battlemaster while I cowered. Now you're doing it again. And I'm still leaning on you for help."
"Liara...that's what friends do."
I can feel Garrus stiffen, but he doesn't object. He doesn't say anything at all. It makes me dread the conversation we eventually have to have about Liara, especially since I didn't even mean for those words to come out. I didn't realize I still considered Liara a friend at all. And now I feel guilty about it.
Liara seems to feel the tension, and she just gives me a small smile instead of pressing me about it. "I can get us there, based on Sekat's data. The Normandy's stealth drive will keep them from detecting us. The Shadow Broker's agents are still shooting their way through Illium. With luck, they won't notice we've left until it's too late."
"Wow," Garrus scoffs.
"Yeah, Liara, that's a little cold. They killed innocent people."
She waves that off. "You know what I mean. Come on."
Liara starts to walk away, but I catch her arm to stop her. "Do I? When I hit the ground back at the trade center, you went after Vasir without a backward glance."
"A little fall wasn't going to kill you. I had to stay on Vasir, I had to stay rational, make the call. Like..." Her shoulders crumble. "Like I did with Sekat."
She moves to a railing overlooking Illium, and I follow. "That's Vasir's fault, Liara. Not yours."
"Sekat had no idea what the stakes were. I put him in harm's way to get the data I needed. I got him killed. And I'd do it again." She looks at me. "You would have been with the Collectors if I didn't. It was worth it. But from here on out, things will be simple. Get in, get Feron, get out." She turns away from the railing. "And kill anyone who tries to stop us.
"That's it?" I ask, watching her.
"That's it." And I can tell she means it, so I nod.
"Sounds like a plan. Let's get back to the Normandy and get on the way to the Shadow Broker's base."
