Shepard wiped her sweating palms on her pants for what seemed to be the hundredth time. She willed her heart to slow its frantic beating as she threw the contents of her whiskey glass down her throat and pushed the glass back into the corner of her desk. She knew Liara was on board the Normandy, Chambers had pinged her terminal when she'd arrived like Shepard had requested… What the fuck was taking the asari so long?
She chuckled in sudden self-deprecating humor as she pulled two wine glasses and a bottle of Liara's favorite wine from the cabinet. She could handle Geth, Reapers, Collectors, and so much more without so much as a blink, but facing the prospect of a hopeful reunion with her lover she was a nervous, impatient teenager again. She crossed the room to the coffee table, ruminating on the few kisses that she and Liara had shared since Shepard's resurrection. Nothing compared to everything they'd shared before, of course, but it still gave Shepard a glimmer of hope that even after mourning for two years, Liara still had feelings for her.
Liara. The asari had matured so much in two years. She was no longer the stammering, naive woman that Shepard had rescued from Therum. At least that wasn't the persona she showed to the rest of the galaxy. But Shepard had seen that facade drop- once when she surprised Liara by walking into her office, and then again after they'd defeated the Shadow Broker. She chuckled as she opened the bottle of wine, remembering how those two simple kisses had left her love pliant in her arms, even if only for a moment. Liara's body remembered her, even if she was trying to keep herself at arm's length.
Shepard sombered at that thought. Her own body was… not as Liara had known it. Miranda's Lazarus project had worked nothing short of a miracle bringing her back from the dead, but even Cerberus technology had its limits. Surgical scars covered her body, leaving criss-crossing designs across her torso that all the medi-gel in the galaxy couldn't erase. Her breasts had been artificially reconstructed, and making sure the implants in her face didn't go into rejection was a daily battle. Liara wouldn't recognize the body that she had once known so well.
If we even get that far.
The marine's line of thought was abruptly halted as the door to her quarters finally slid open and Liara casually strolled in, some kind of package tucked under her arm. Shepard felt her heart rate soar and her breath catch in her throat as she took in the outfit the asari was wearing. The dress itself was gorgeous, but on Liara it was just… breathtaking. It made Shepard want to throw her on the bed and strip it slowly from her body. It made her ache for all the nights she had done just that while their minds were joined. She drank in the sight as Liara inspected her quarters, then ducked her head and poured the wine before she was accused of ogling.
"Did you enjoy the tour?" Shepard asked after finally managing to find her voice, breaking Liara's attention away from the fish tank. The object of her affections smiled at her- a real smile, one that stole Shepard's breath away all over again. Saying a silent prayer for luck, she recapped the bottle of wine and crossed the room to meet the asari.
"Yes. It's a beautiful ship. And I ran into Joker. He seemed happy to see me, though he did ask if you and I would be acting out scenes from some vid called Vaenia…?" Liara's voice trailed off inquisitively, as though she wanted to ask the question but didn't quite have the courage.
Shepard rubbed the back of her neck and ducked her head a little, groaning. "Ugh, of course he did." She didn't elaborate on the vid to which Joker had referred, and thankfully Liara didn't press the issue any further.
"I also spoke with Dr. Chakwas. I'm glad she's doing well. Garrus, too." Liara suddenly seemed to remember about the object tucked under her arm, and she offered it to Shepard. " I brought you something. It took some digging, but… I recovered your tags."
Shepard felt a lump forming in her throat as she ran her fingers down the glass in which Liara had had the tags encased. "I thought I'd never see these again," she murmured quietly, finding a sort of symbolism in the metal objects. Damaged, yes, but intact. Not unlike herself. And Liara still cared about her enough to give her this gift. She gave Liara a quiet look of gratitude before setting them down next to her terminal. She stood there for a minute, back to her love, trying to gather her thoughts.
"You can't get back everything you lose, but... sometimes you get lucky," Liara said quietly. Was that hope in her voice, Shepard wondered?
"Yeah, that was the plan," Shepard said wryly, turning back to face Liara, itching suddenly to pull her into her arms and kiss her senseless. It had been… so long…
She lost her opportunity when Liara moved away from her again, back toward the fish tank. "How are you actually doing, Shepard? I mean really. Not what you tell your squad to keep morale up." The asari's eyes examined her face intently, waiting for the telltale clues of Shepard hiding the whole truth.
She needn't have worried, though. Shepard had lost the ability to keep anything from her after their first meld. And if that hadn't removed it fully, the dozens of times after it had. The commander heaved a heavy sigh, looking down at the floor. "Between you and me, I have no idea how we're gonna do this. I'm doing everything I can, but…" Her voice faltered.
Liara spoke before she could recover. "You've done more than most. There wouldn't be a man, woman or child left on Horizon, if not for you."
Shepard snorted derisively. "You know the worst part of it? Cerberus planted intel to lure the Collector's there. Horizon was bait." She turned away, afraid of how Liara would look at her for continuing to work with Cerberus, unable to bear the thought of her love looking at her in horror.
"Those bastards," Liara said softly.
Shepard didn't wait for her to say anything else."They'd have hit another world if we hadn't lured them there, but that doesn't justify…" She stopped suddenly, realizing that the asari was just standing there in silence. "Aren't you gonna tell me not to work with them?" she asked.
"I gave them your body, remember?" The hesitancy in Liara's voice nearly broke Shepard's heart. Apparently she wasn't the only one afraid of the other passing judgment. "What should I say? And I trust you, you'll stick to your beliefs no matter what Cerberus wants." The commander's heart swelled at those words, the hope inside growing from a spark to a kindling flame. "So tell me what you want. If this all ends tomorrow, what happens to us?" Liara said the words almost casually, trying not to betray the emotions behind them.
Two could play at that game, Shepard decided, and offered Liara a smirk. "Oh, I don't know. Marriage, old age, and a lot of little blue children?" The thought of those things made her heart start racing again.
A laugh burbled from Liara's lips, and she gently pushed Shepard's shoulder. "You just… say these things." Shepard watched in fascination as a range of emotions crossed Liara's face one after another, but before she could respond the asari had turned away from her again to lean over the desk. "Goddess," she gasped, and Shepard could hear the sudden tears in her voice. "You were dead!" The tone of despair ripped at Shepard's heart.
"I got better." Even to her own ears, the words sounded flat. Inadequate. She pressed on. "And Cerberus might footed the bill for that but you're the one that found me and made it possible." Shepard reached out to lay a hand on Liara's shoulder in comfort, but the asari whirled back around to face her.
"This time!" Liara exclaimed. "But you're going to leave again." Shepard opened her mouth to reply- with what? She wasn't wrong. This had to be done. Liara's face softened as she continued. "When your team is ready, you'll leap through the Omega 4 relay." Blue eyes gazed up at the viewport above Shepard's bed, watching space pass by. After a moment, she turned back around, reaching for Shepard's hands. "I spent two years mourning you, so if we're going to try this... I need to know you're always coming back."
The tiny flame of hope surged into a full-fledged conflagration in Shepard's chest and she struggled to breathe. Liara hadn't given up on her. She flashed the cocky smile that she knew the asari loved so well and laced her fingers through blue ones. "I don't know... That's a pretty big promise to make," she teased.
Two could play that game, though, and Liara teased her right back. "Oh, is it?"
Shepard pulled her hands free and slipped them around Liara's waist, unable to stand the space between them any longer. She ghosted her lips across the asari's cheek to whisper in her ear. "I'd have to have something special to come back to."
"I'm… open to suggestions," Liara gasped, one hand tangling itself into Shepard's hair while the other arm wrapped itself around her waist, pulling the two of them against each other.
Shepard felt the tingling in the back of her skull that told her Liara was reaching out to meld with her and grinned against her love's skin. "How about… this?" She said breathlessly, her lips finding the sensitive spot just below the asari's crest ridges that she knew drove Liara crazy. She breathed in the unique scent that was all Liara and took a few stumbling steps toward the bed, falling into it with her lover still wrapped up in her arms. At the same time she opened her mind, welcoming the meld that Liara offered her, desperate to be close to her in every way again.
Two frantic sets of hands divested Shepard and Liara of their clothing until finally skin met skin. Liara kept the meld shallow, for the moment, knowing that both of them needed the physical aspect of this as much as the mental. With a flare of her biotics, she rolled the two of them over so she was on top, straddling Shepard. After a slow, languorous kiss, she pulled back, gazing down at her lover's body.
Shepard took a ragged breath and closed her eyes, suddenly nervous despite herself. What if Liara was repulsed by her scars, by the proof of what Cerberus had done to her? What if she changed her mind and didn't want this any-
Krae.
Shepard's eyes shot open as Liara's use of her first name echoed through her head, bringing that line of thought to a screeching halt. There was always something so intimate about her use of it- the marine was so used to being called Shepard or Commander that sometimes she almost forgot she had a first name. She met Liara's gaze and her heart skipped a beat or five when she saw the love there, and she reached up to gently cup Liara's face in her hands before pulling her down to kiss her again. Liara gladly obliged, then her lips began a journey designed to drive Shepard crazy. First her earlobe, then the spot just below her jaw that always made Shepard drag her nails down the asari's back. Shepard swore she could feel Liara smiling as she moved lower- her collarbone, then each breast. Her breath hitched in her chest as Liara's fingers roamed over her chest and stomach, feeling each scar, gently stroking away both of their worries.
You're perfect, Shepard. You're MINE. They may have done this to you but I'm the one that recovered your body. Because I love you. And if there was any chance at all that they could succeed I had to take it.
Hot tears burned their way down Shepard's face at the tender possessiveness she could feel in Liara's words. They chased away her doubts, and as the asari continued her quest down Shepard's body the marine reached down and gently caressed Liara's crest ridges, nimble fingers remembering all of the spots that she loved best. Liara gasped against her stomach, and then moved lower. It was Shepard's turn to gasp as she kissed the inside of one thigh, then the other, before gently spreading apart Shepard's lips with her fingers and licking up her opening with an agonizing slowness. She saw stars when Liara's tongue finally reached her clit, flicking over it a few times before the asari sucked the small bead into her mouth.
Goddess… Liara! Shepard begged, unable even mentally to form the words for what she wanted. Her lover understood though, and their meld changed, deepened, until the lines between their consciousnesses blurred and melted together. Together, they washed each others' fears and insecurities away- how much they had both changed, Shepard's death and resurrection, Liara's hurt at being alone for two very long years. Slowly, they both reclaimed what had once been theirs.
I love you, Liara. I will ALWAYS find my way back to you. You mean everything to me.
Shepard… I love you too. I'm yours.
Somehow- neither of them was sure whose idea it was- Liara got flipped around on top of Shepard, who took the opportunity to give the asari some attention of her own. She grasped Liara's hips, pulling her down onto her face, pushing her tongue into her opening. Liara moaned, the vibrations carrying onto Shepard's clit and making her hips buck. Unsatisfied with that reaction, Liara slipped one finger, then two inside of Shepard, curling them just so against the front wall of her pussy in a motion she knew the marine couldn't resist. The meld flowed between the two of them, allowing them to feel what the other was feeling, amplifying the pleasure and feeding it back to them over and over again.
Shepard groaned into Liara's azure, knowing she was close, wanting the release but wanting to prolong it all at the same time. She worked a hand in between them, rubbing a finger across the hard ridge of the asari's clit as she savored the taste of her lover. She could feel the orgasm coiling inside her but struggled to hold it back, struggling to keep control.
Krae… Liara's mind wrapped around hers, pulling her in even more deeply, though Shepard hadn't thought that possible. Trust me. Let go.
The use of her name and the adoration laced through Liara's mental voice was Shepard's undoing. She unravelled, her orgasm starting at her core and moving outward, and all she knew was that she was floating, untethered to reality. The only things that existed were her and Liara, and she knew the asari was experiencing the same thing.
Slowly, reluctantly, the two of them came down from their shared ecstasy, bodies trembling against each other. Sweat coated both of them, but neither of them cared. With some effort, Shepard maneuvered Liara back around and nestled her into her shoulder before pulling a sheet up over them both, shielding them from the rest of the world. She kissed the asari tenderly on the forehead, and Liara made a soft, satisfied sound. They lay there together, not quite awake but not really asleep, either, basking in each other's presence as Liara slowly withdrew the meld between them.
"Stay here tonight?" Shepard's voice was husky with emotion as she pulled Liara closer to her. "I could use a good night's sleep for once."
"Yes," Liara said simply. "I was hoping you'd want me to."
Shepard chuckled, kissing her on the forehead again before letting her eyes drift shut. "Always," she whispered tenderly, and then let sleep claim her.
Shepard woke to an empty bed and felt the panic rise up in her momentarily, wondering if she'd imagined last night out of desperation. But then she heard water running in the bathroom and the door slid open to reveal Liara… Wearing nothing but her N7 t-shirt. She crooked an eyebrow at the asari as she sauntered back across the room to rejoin Shepard in bed, nuzzling up to her and nipping at her earlobe. "Did you sleep well?" Liara whispered softly into her ear.
"Better than I have in a long time," Shepard answered breathlessly before rolling Liara over onto her back and kissing her senseless. "What time is it?"
"Almost 0700." Liara reached up to toy with her hair. "I… need to get back," she said reluctantly. "I'd love to stay, but…"
"Duty calls," Shepard finished wryly, offering her a half smile. "I get it. Honestly, I'm surprised we got this long without one of the crew needing me for one thing or another."
Liara ducked her head, suddenly bashful as a purple blush spread across her cheeks. "I… may have asked Garrus to run interference for us before I came up last night. I wasn't sure if…"
Shepard silenced her with a kiss, amused and loving her even more for it. "I'm glad you did. I might have shot someone if they'd tried to interrupt us. You're right, though. I'd love to stay here all day and ravish you over and over again, but it'll have to wait until next time."
Together, they retrieved their clothes from the floor and dressed, but when Liara started to hand her t-shirt back to her Shepard gently folded it and placed it back in her hands. "Keep it. I'll come back for it," she promised softly. Besides," she teased with a wink, "It looks good on you."
Liara smiled then, the smile that she reserved just for Shepard. She drew the commander in for one last kiss. "Thank you, Shepard. For the drinks, and… everything." Her eyes conveyed everything that her words didn't. Shepard pulled her in for one last embrace, memorizing the feel of the asari's body against hers before finally letting her go. Liara crossed to the elevator, and their eyes met one last time before the door slid shut.
"Come back soon, Liara," Shepard whispered to the empty air. "I don't think I can live without you."