In spite of the meld, or perhaps because of it, Shepard and Liara had fallen asleep together, a tangle of limbs and bodies on an oversized couch. It was, Liara reflected upon waking, the best night's sleep she'd gotten in two years. For a while, she simply lay there, unwilling to move and rouse her bondmate. Instead, Liara watched the gentle rise and fall of Shepard's chest as she breathed, and a smile curved her lips up when the occasional soft snore escaped the commander's mouth.

The peace was shattered when the gravelly voice of a krogan blared from Shepard's omni-tool, startling the commander awake. "Shepard! We found the armory!"

Shepard groaned groggily, reaching up to rub her eyes before slapping at the glowing interface on her arm. "That's great, Grunt."

"There are rocket launchers!" Even Liara could hear the unbridled enthusiasm in the krogan's voice.

That same enthusiasm had Shepard bolting upright, suddenly fully awake. "Grunt, NOT ON THE SHIP!"

"Awww, but-"

"No. You can take one with us and use it on Collectors."

"Fiiiine." Liara had never heard a krogan manage to sound like a petulant teenager before, and she chuckled as Grunt cut the connection and Shepard's omni-tool winked away.

The commander sighed in exasperation and flopped back down onto the couch, wrapping her arms around Liara and pulling her along. "I'm glad you think it's funny," she grumbled. "I swear half of my time is spent keeping him from eating or destroying things."

Liara stretched up to press a kiss to Shepard's jaw and was rewarded when her bondmate tilted her head down to capture her mouth with her own. "He's definitely… different," Liara offered, remembering his laughter while he had charged straight at the Shadow Broker.

"Mhm," Shepard agreed. "He was bred and grown in a tank, learned almost everything from flash memories. We had been trying to recruit the warlord that bred him, but ended up only being able to recover Grunt's pod. So I let him out." She looked down at Liara, suddenly uncertain. "I, uhm… Wrex was kinda vague on the details, and I'm pretty sure he thought it was hilarious, but... I think I accidentally adopted him."

Truth be told, Liara found it amusing as well. It seemed some things truly never changed, and Shepard still managed to pull all sorts of beings into her orbit in the strangest ways. Still, Liara couldn't resist the opportunity to tease. She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at the human. "Shepard," she said, deadpan. "You mean you only just proposed to me and we already have a son?"

Shepard just grinned as she felt Liara's amusement trickle through their freshly reformed bond, the lopsided one that had always left Liara ready to melt into her bondmate. "I fucking love you so much," she whispered, and pulled the asari back down to her, their lips coming together.

Liara lost herself in the kiss, in the feel of Shepard's mouth on hers, in the pair of strong arms wrapped around her torso, in the warm, living body pressed against hers, in the feelings of joy spilling from Shepard across their bond. The flame of desire spread through her veins, and she reached up to push her hands into Shepard's hair, enjoying the sensation as silky smooth strands swept across her fingers. She tugged lightly, deepening the kiss, rewarded when Shepard's tongue swept into her mouth. At the same time, Shepard's hands moved to Liara's hips, grasping possessively, pulling the asari snugly against her.

The threat of oxygen deprivation was the only thing that forced them apart, gasping for breath even as they rested their foreheads against each other. "Hey," Shepard whispered. "As much as I want this, I think we could both do with a hot shower and some real food first. Come up to the Normandy with me for a bit?"

Liara couldn't deny the appeal of the idea, but… "Do we have enough time?"

Shepard chuckled, kissing her chastely one more time before sitting up with Liara still in her arms. "I'm making time. I'm not going anywhere until I make sure everything's settled here. And that includes us." She shifted Liara from her lap and onto the couch, nuzzling along her jawline with gentle kisses.

"Well, in that case… How can I refuse?" Shepard's grin was infectious, and Liara found herself returning it as the commander regarded the pile of armor on the floor and then unceremoniously shoved her feet into her boots and left the rest.

"We'll be back for all that. But we do need these," Shepard said, picking up the worn blue box, "and you need these," she continued, snagging her dog tags by the chain and slipping them back around Liara's neck.

The pieces of metal settled into their familiar spot, cool and comforting. "Are you sure you don't want them back?" Liara asked softly, slipping her hand into Shepard's.

"Eh. I can get new ones. You've kept them safe this long, I think you should hold onto them for me. Besides," the human said with a wink, "they look good on you."

"...and that's everything except Shepard's cabin," Garrus finished as they walked back into the mess from the forward battery, where he had been going into great detail of recalibrating the Normandy's main cannon. Shepard had asked him to give Liara a tour of the ship while she made food for the two of them, and Liara had to admit she was impressed at the trouble that Cerberus had gone to to rebuild and upgrade the ship.

Now, though, there was no sign of the human, and Garrus motioned toward the elevator. "She's waiting for you upstairs, she pinged me a few minutes ago and told me to shut up about the cannon," he said good-naturedly. "Top floor. And it's been good to see you again, T'Soni."

"You too, Garrus." Liara gave the turian a smile and stepped into the elevator to go find Shepard.

And they upgraded the elevator speed, too, Liara thought in amusement as the elevator surged upward. The door to Shepard's cabin slid open at the same time the elevator did, and the commander looked up with a smile.

"There you are," she murmured, crossing the room to pull Liara into a hug before turning back and gesturing at the room. "How'd you like the tour?"

"It's a beautiful ship." Liara pulled back to survey the room, taking in the giant aquarium on the wall, the case of model ships above Shepard's desk, and the living and sleeping area down the small set of steps. "Upgrades all around, I see." She smirked up at her bondmate. "Never took you for the fish type."

"That's the third set," Shepard grumbled, letting Liara slip from her arms to look around the room some more. "Damn things aren't nearly as easy to keep alive as the hamster is." She leaned against the model case as Liara looked up at the skylight above the bed. "So. Food or shower? I brought up the warming case so the food'll stay warm for a bit."

Liara looked back down from the skylight. "Did they upgrade the shower too?"

Her bondmate grinned at her. "They did." She jerked a thumb back over her shoulder at the bathroom door. "You wanna go first?" An emotion flashed across Shepard's face, too fast for Liara to catch what it was. No one else would have even noticed.

Liara raised an eyebrow marking inquisitively, crossing the room and slipping back into Shepard's arms. She drew the human's head down to hers, blue lips capturing red ones. "What happened to the person who used to sulk at me when I didn't want to shower with her?" she teased, tugging at the zipper on Shepard's hoodie.

Shepard covered Liara's hand with her own, eyes suddenly uncertain. "Liara, I'm not…" she paused and blew out a shaky breath. "My body isn't… the one you remember." Green eyes met blue ones, full of pain and self-doubt. "They had to rebuild so much of me…" Shepard's voice was barely a whisper. "So many of the scars that I had are gone, and now I don't even recognize myself…"

"Krae." Liara rocked up onto her toes, pressing a kiss to Shepard's chin and slipping her arms around the commander's neck. "Your mind is the same." Another kiss, this one to the corner of Shepard's mouth. "Your heart." Her cheek. "Your soul." She trailed her lips across Shepard's jaw, to the spot on her bondmate's neck that she knew always set Shepard's nerves on fire. She smiled when she heard the sharp intake of breath that proved her right. "And even if it doesn't look the same as it did, your body still remembers me." She fastened her lips over the spot, sucking lightly, and was rewarded with another gasp of pleasure and Shepard's arms tightening around her. "The rest I'll learn again." This time Shepard didn't stop her when she reached for the hoodie's zipper, instead letting Liara push the garment off of her shoulders after she'd unzipped it, leaving her in the tank top she wore underneath. Liara pulled back to look up into her bondmate's eyes, gratified to see the fire she'd ignited there, and slipped both of her hands into Shepard's and pulled her toward the bathroom. The rest of their clothes followed the hoodie, and Shepard dipped her head down to meet Liara's, capturing her mouth even as they stumbled through the door and into the shower together.

The water was cleansing in more than one way. Soap washed off the blood, grime, and sweat, applied gently by hands seeking reassurance that this was real, that they were together again. Shepard's fingers slipped to the underside of Liara's crest, remapping the sensitive ridges, finding the spots that elicited quiet moans of desire. Liara's hands roamed Shepard's torso, discovering smooth skin where scars had once been, new scars where there had been none, committing them to memory all over again. The process was an ablution for both of them, washing away doubts and fears that had lingered in their souls for too long, replacing them with peace and faith in one another.

It was a fitting way to reclaim each other, Liara thought in some distant part of her mind, given that the first time they'd fully bonded had begun in a manner much the same. She wasn't sure how long they stood under the water, unwilling to let the other slip from their grasp, didn't know how they made it to the bed, mostly dry. She did know that Shepard was above her, eyes dark with passion and alight with love at the same time, and then the Spectre's mouth was forging a slow, meandering trail down Liara's body. Her lips traced a route from her neck, to her shoulder, and then her collarbone, before continuing down. Shepard lavished attention on one nipple and then the other, tongue teasing them into taut peaks as Liara arched her back, needing more of her bondmate's touch. Shepard obliged, lingering there for a few moments before resuming her journey downward. Liara clutched at the sheets as her bondmate dragged her tongue down her stomach, to her hip, and then over, lingering for a moment at the junction of thigh and pelvis before…

"Krae!" Shepard's name fell from Liara's lips in a strangle cry as the human closed her mouth over the asari's azure and sucked lightly. Blue hands tangled into crimson hair, and Liara couldn't hold back any longer. She nudged at Shepard's mind, feeling it open to her with a feeling akin to welcome home, and then they were one.

I love you, Liara thought at her bondmate, and Shepard hummed in appreciation but didn't pull her mouth away. Instead, she slipped one finger, then a second into Liara, curling them gently forward, and Liara could feel the commander smile against her as her hips bucked. In response, Liara pulled them deeper into the meld, binding their nerves together until the pleasure that Liara was feeling was cycling through both of them over and over again. And when Liara finally reached the edge, Shepard fell right along with her.

Liara was dimly aware of Shepard flopping over on the bed next to her and wrapping one arm possessively around her waist. She didn't release the meld, though, and together they just simply existed in their private universe. Shepard's mind reached out for hers, cradling it in love, and Liara felt the hot sting of tears threatening again, though she wasn't entirely sure which one of them it came from.

Her bondmate spoke then, without words. My first thought when they brought me back was of you. The first word on my lips was your name. They wouldn't tell me where you were, and it terrified me. And then Miranda finally told me, and the only thing I could think of was having you in my arms again. But even from what I saw before… I can't even imagine the pain you went through.

There was an unspoken question there, one that Liara understood. She knew what Shepard was asking. She let Shepard feel her uncertainty, her worry, but her bondmate just wrapped her in reassurance and acceptance.

So with a soft sigh, she pulled down the wall that she'd hidden so many of her memories behind and let Shepard see.

Liara had thought she'd drown in sorrow reliving these memories again, even knowing that her bondmate was alive and with her again. But Shepard was her anchor in the storm, experiencing Liara's emotions herself, shielding her from the worst of them. She felt the commander weep as she experienced Alchera, felt her despair as she witnessed Liara check the stasis pod for life signs and see none, felt her heart break on the second anniversary of her death. But they walked through the memories together and came out whole on the other side of them.

Only then did Liara let the meld slowly dissolve, and they came back to themselves with foreheads pressed together, arms wrapped around each other.

"I am so… sorry," Shepard whispered hoarsely, voice thick with unshed tears. "But you…" She leaned in and kissed Liara softly. "You were so strong. You are strong. You still absolutely amaze me, and I love you so much."

"I love you too," Liara whispered back, reaching up to wipe the tears away as Shepard did the same for her. "We're both here. We might not be able to get everything back that we had, but we have this…"

Shepard smiled then, and kissed her bondmate again. "All I need is you. The rest doesn't matter. All I've ever wanted is marriage, old age, and a lot of little blue children… with you."

Without even thinking about it, Liara blurted the first thing that popped into her mind even as her heart swelled with joy. "Grunt isn't blue."

Shepard gaped at her for a moment, and then burst into laughter that washed over Liara's soul and eased the rest of her pain away. This… this was what she had been missing.

Liara awoke, Shepard snoring next to her, and smiled as she remembered the night before. Despite the warmer, the food had gotten cold before they'd gotten around to eating it, but neither of them had minded. They'd spent the rest of the night in bed, in and out of their meld, constantly touching one another, reaffirming their relationship until sleep had taken both of them.

She smiled and slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake her sleeping bondmate, pulling on her leggings and Shepard's hoodie before slipping from the room and taking the elevator down to the mess to gather some breakfast for them.

It must still be early, she mused as she surveyed the empty room before moving to the cabinets. Quickly, she gathered some basics- coffee for Shepard, tea for herself, breakfast biscuits, a few pieces of fruit-

A heavy hand landed on her shoulder, and Liara reacted without thinking. She spun, biotics flying from her hand, enveloping her assailant in a lift field before she saw who it was.

"Ha ha ha!" Grunt cackled, craning his head back and forth at the blue field that held him suspended. "Shepard said you were strong! Neither of the humans can do that."

Eyes wide, Liara dropped the field, and Grunt fell back to the floor with a thump. "I'm sorry!" she apologized. "You… surprised me."

Grunt didn't seem phased by it, though, and took a step closer to her. "You smell like Shepard," he said, still grinning. "You're her mate?"

Liara nodded. "I am." She tilted her head to one side, remembering what Shepard had told her earlier. "Would you tell me what she is to you?"

"She is my battlemaster," the krogan rumbled. "Part of my krantt. Her strength is unmatched."

Liara stifled the giggle that threatened her, not wanting to offend the krogan with misread humor. "You'll take care of her for me when I'm not here, then?" she asked instead.

Grunt just nodded at that, giving Liara one more appraising look before hmphing in approval and stalking back off to wherever he'd appeared from. Liara watched him go before gathering up the drinks and food and stepping back into the elevator.

The bed was empty when the door to Shepard's cabin slid open, and Liara frowned as she walked into the room and didn't see her bondmate. But a pair of arms slid around her from behind as she set breakfast down on Shepard's desk, and she leaned back into the embrace.

"If there's coffee for me in one of those cups I will love you forever," Shepard whispered jokingly into her aural.

Liara turned in the commander's arms, smiling. "You'll love me forever anyway," she teased, "but yes, there is."

"You," Shepard declared, dropping a kiss on Liara's forehead, "are the best." They settled onto the couch with breakfast, eating in companionable silence. When they'd finished, Shepard took Liara by the hand and led her back over to the bed, but instead of lying down she took all of the pillows and piled them at the top of the bed into a small nest. She sat down and leaned back into them, patting the spot next to her. Liara needed no further invitation and sat down with her bondmate, who slipped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Together, they looked up through the skylight at the stars.

A soft click brought Liara's gaze back down, and her eyes fell on the now-open jewelry box in Shepard's hand. Without speaking, the commander set the box down on her leg and pulled the ring out, holding it up in a silent question. Liara smiled and held her left hand out, and with a radiant grin Shepard slid it onto her finger before pulling her in for a kiss.

"My turn," Liara said softly, reaching for one of the bracelets and gently removing it from where it sat.

"Which hand?" Shepard asked, voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Left again," Liara answered, and her bondmate lifted her arm so the asari could fasten the bracelet around it. Shepard copied her actions with the bracelet's twin, and for a moment the two of them just stared at jewelry now adorning their hands. Liara broke the silence first. "I love you, Shepard."

"I love you too," the human answered, pulling Liara back into her embrace and leaning back into the pillows again so they could watch the stars again.

Liara didn't think the smile would ever leave her face. Still, though, she couldn't resist one more opportunity to tease her bondmate. "Shepard?" she murmured.

"Yeah?" Shepard's voice was full of contentment, and she kissed the top of Liara's crest.

"You definitely adopted a krogan." And Liara laughed as Shepard groaned.