"Alright! After a mission like that, we all deserve to get steamin'," Shepard announced as if her mouth was already watering at the thought, whatever that thought even entailed. She led them off the accursed mako and into the hangar bay, down to the armoury to shed their suits. "'Lenko and I are gonna chow down the Normandy first, then I'll see what bevvies we've got hiding 'round."
Liara was seriously considering to install a translator within her translator.
"There must be some kind of instalment that would help me put things in more sensible context? I do not think she means to take us to a sauna, or that her and Kaidan will literally eat the ship."
Though it brooked amusing images in her head.
"I just gotta write up my report and we're good to start," Shepard reached her arms up in the air, interlacing her fingers as she pushed out to crack her knuckles.
"What report?" Wrex chuckled. "Found idiots. Killed idiots. End of report."
Hearty laughter nearly filled the entirety of the hangar bay, drawing several eyes and smiles wrought from the infectious sounds - up until the other humans seemed to remember they couldn't. A peculiar rule indeed. Shepard seemed oblivious to it all, or hadn't cared, her contagious energy a torch she carried all the time. They came up to their lockers and Liara stalled incredibly slow until the others had taken off their armour and suits first, pretending that she was always so slovenly and clumsy with removing her pieces.
Varren eyes were on her every single time, though Shepard never said anything about it - perhaps she already knew. She hastened her own removal every time she noticed. As soon as the team was gone, Liara challenged to break her record of doffing her thermal suit and exchanging it with the clothes in her locker.
What always rattled her nerves, however, was that the Commander seemed to wait behind at the elevator every time they went on missions together. She wouldn't even pretend that it wasn't what she was doing, either, no chatting up the nearby marines unless it was something she needed to get from the requisitions officer. Liara felt a little unsteady in her approach this time, a sense of awkwardness slowly returning, for some reason. She usually enjoyed these tiny moments between them, for it was paving a bridge where information about the Protheans and how the beacon functioned became just a little bit more attainable.
Upon seeing her, Shepard stepped inside the elevator and waited by the button, her hands clasped behind her back as she wore a thin smirk.
Soon enough, Liara was made to consider uninstalling her translator.
"Just wanted to let y'know personally, doc, that after our R an' R... We're runnin' your favourite drill."
Liara groaned.
"Run drunk, she thought. What could go wrong? I bet she thought. Has anyone ever told the Commander she has horrible ideas sometimes?"
Liara was not going to be taken down so easily, especially since she didn't drink much either - but she hadn't drank in a long time, period, and her tolerance was shot for it, clearly. Or perhaps the Commander gave her a beverage that had a strong alcoholic percentage just to torture her further like this. That was beginning to seem far more believable than anything else.
There was no other explanation that she could see in her addled mind. This was a personal vendetta against Liara, she was certain.
Music filled the gym from an innocently planted portable speaker, the innocence in fact widely suspicious. But it provided a wonderful cover for the occasional curse muttered under the asari's breath. Perhaps this was a training session to see how she could and would perform even under the influence, to conjure confidence that even were they ever to get caught off-guard someday, they would still be prepared. But she saw the way Wrex was running, outright toppling over into things. Kaidan had more poise and control, having not indulged whatever the Commander offered him.
"He was smart. Now I know why he didn't indulge. I really should have known better when Shepard warned me herself."
Oh, but did consequences have to be so brutal? Liara couldn't bear to feel that heartbroken disappointment from Tali, either, after the quarian had found out her and Garrus were forced to sit out with no dextro-amino options on the ship.
"Something I am sure the Commander is going to rectify immediately, so as to drag more casualties into this blasted drill."
Meanwhile, that hearty laughter was being cursed with every spare breath Liara had. Shepard was having far too much fun with this, and her own subdued stumbling served as proof for Liara that the human ensured to be careful and lucid enough to remember this mischievous moment. A hand slipped along the small of Liara's back, unknowingly over a sensitive bundle of nerves, and she quickly backpedalled away with a breathy yelp.
Wide eyes blinked with wide eyes, the damned beep cutting in the air had been all but ignored with half the participants no longer indulging Shepard's devious plan. The human's grin sparked to life and she waved the guilty hand with innocence. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya. Y'don't hav'ta run no more. I had my fun."
"This was better when I was speculating all my accusations, not her just confessing it!"
"It real bad for ya? I already let Chakwas know that Wrex might need IV if he don't sober up by the time we reach our next destination." Shepard glanced over her shoulder, at one of the other humans. "Ah... I think Ash'll be alright." Her head turned back, her slippery smile crooking up another hitch. "You're lookin' a bit peely-wally, love, how 'bout we get you some of those fluids?"
Cheers interrupted them and Liara glanced over, chuckling softly when the quarian decided to cut her lap short in favour of dancing to the music. It was both amazing to see, but it garnered a melancholic thought that dampened her mood. She remembered when Tali explained that dancing was a form of communication for her people, a means to encourage social growth and build those connections that nearly every species in this universe was so instinctively hungry for. It was a wonder, truly, to see how this need was attained by others. Her wobbly gaze panned over to the Commander, the dulled and dizzied world evidence that fluids would indeed be heavenly to have.
"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya? More like Tali'Zorah vas Dance Floor!" Shepard grinned, more so when the quarian laughed.
Mischief didn't need much encouragement to continue, unfortunately, and it snowballed into a new level of catastrophic when the Commander somehow interpreted that encouragement as the very reason she needed to join in on the dancing. The group groaned and begged her to stop, and it only seemed to fuel that cheeky smile of hers as she delightfully fed off the collective horror.
Music died, despite the vehement protests from their executioner, and Garrus slithered out of the gym with a shake of a head and his chuckles tailing him. He stole away the portable speaker. Tali seemed torn between relief and disappointment that she wouldn't get her own fun anymore, sharing a moment with Ashley when the human had come up from behind with a pat on the shoulder and a quick compliment fired off.
Despite the devious ideas, one thing Liara noted was how much more the group would bond every little time. It was a wonderful thing to witness, the way they used to tip-toe around each other, unused to other cultures... To this, where they could bond together against their shared nemesis of a Commander who still tried to dance out of her vindictive righteousness that her music was taken away from her. Her smirk never left her face, despite nobody fuelling her anymore now. Then a realization dawned.
Her smirk never left her face, because her eyes never left Liara's.
"Here love, made ya some tea." Shepard surprisingly innocently offered, setting a mug down on the small table beside Liara's plinth.
"Thank you," Liara wormed her way up into sitting. She was momentarily stumped by which to reach with, with the IV tube threaded into the back of her hand.
"Ash, you okay over there?"
A groan, a dismissive wave with a human face planted in her pillow. Dr. Chakwas shook her head at her terminal with a soft chuckle. They all grimaced when Wrex's snores rang strong and clear in the infirmary and Shepard shot an apologetic look over at the asari.
"So sorry y'have to go through this. I'll make it up to you all."
"May I advise without the help of alcohol next time, Commander?" Chakwas offhandedly mentioned over her shoulder, plugging away notes in her terminal.
Shepard laughed. It wasn't a promising answer.
Another snore. Another cringe. Ashley's yell was muffled in her pillow. "Someone suffocate him before I do!"
"Think of this as a deterrent to gettin' smashed next time." Shepard cheekily offered, her smirk instinctively beaming when a furious head came up to glare at her. "Want some tea too, Ash? You'll feel less like death inside."
"Just want less drumming inside," Ashley huffed as she planted her face back in her pillow, her hand slothfully tapping her head. She drew another pillow over her head at the next ear-piercing snore, rumbling in the air as if an earthquake was about to split the very ship apart.
Liara couldn't wait until she felt well enough, setting her mug down in favour of covering her aurals with her hands. She inched her way back into lying down and closed her eyes as she wished for this all to be over already. A hand tentatively wrapped over her shoulder and squeezed. She managed a meagre smile and opened her eyes to a guilty look scrawled on the Commander's face.
"It's okay," she murmured, her words muffled to herself. "I will be fine soon."
"Well... When you are, ping me on my omni-tool. I got somethin' for ya - unless you want revenge of your own, yeah?" Shepard squeezed her shoulder again, then turned to leave the med-bay. "Hang in there, everyone. Try not to kill Wrex."
Ashley grunted. "No promises."
Dr. Chakwas chuckled away at her terminal. Also not a promising answer.
Liara relinquished her defence against the onslaught with a quick small wave, before the next snore had her hand slapping viciously against her aural. She sighed when the Commander left and nestled deeper against the plinth, hoping it would just swallow her and embrace her with silent peace. It felt like hours crawled by until she felt a different hand upon her shoulder, softer, but skilled nonetheless in it's own routine. She reluctantly took her hands away so that Dr. Chakwas could work on turning off the machines, gently pulling out the IV line and applying pressure on the back of Liara's hand with gauze. A simple line of tape fixed the gauze down.
Embarrassment began to trickle in as Liara watched, her cheeks warming as she mumbled. "I am not usually like this. I am sorry for causing you trouble, Dr. Chakwas."
"No trouble," the human doctor reassured firmly as she continued to work away. "And no judgment." There was a slight light in her eyes, then. "You're not the first to fall for the Commander's tricks." She subtly bounced her head in Ashley's direction. "Chief Williams, on the other hand..."
Liara smiled halfheartedly. "I take it it's not her first time?"
"Not by a long shot."
"Mm. Not a promising sign that this will be the last time the Commander does things like this, then." Liara shifted her way up into sitting, eyeing into her mug of tea and how much she'd left. She inwardly grimaced when it was a good half full, still, but didn't tempt to drink it cold. She suffered enough for the day.
"In any case, there wasn't much in your system so you're free to go now. Take it easy nonetheless, get some food in you, and don't strain yourself for the next six hours. If the Commander tries, tell her this is doctor's orders and she can't dispute it."
"Ah, not a promising sign that the Commander's mischief dies so easily as well, then."
"Thank you, Dr. Chakwas," Liara slung her legs over the side of the plinth when the doctor lowered the railings. She tentatively slid down until her feet were firmly planted on the ground - ground that did not sway or buck beneath her, thank the Goddess. She left the infirmary and went straight for the mess hall upon the hunger pangs that gripped her stomach with the reminder that she'd not eaten in a while. She shot off a quick message to Shepard, her curiosity provoked as to what innocence actually existed, and what this 'something' was. Her heart thundered hard against her rib cage and her mind raced with exciting ideas, all promising Prothean discoveries.
Some familiar faces sat at the mess hall table, and she waved at Kaidan when their eyes met. The endearing human almost scrambled in his haste to reciprocate the gesture, before he'd accidentally choked on his food. A hearty laugh and pat on the back made it all worse. Shepard slung her arm around the poor man's shoulders, not in the least helpful to save him - or his now decimated pride. Liara did her best to pretend she hadn't seen anything and walked faster to flee the scene.
Heavenly smells enticed her and her knees nearly buckled on her when she'd seen that the kitchen chef had already prepared a few fresh meals, and she was not above using her biotics to navigate what utensils she needed as she took one of the plates off the counter. She slowed in her pace when she could still hear Kaidan's choking echo down the halls, chuckling to herself when Shepard's form of assistance had changed to asking the poor human why he wasn't done yet.
"He could actually be choking to death, Commander," Liara inwardly sighed. Duty compelled her to quicken and avert a more worrisome fate than awkwardness so that she could assist Kaidan in this wonderful thing called living.
Fortunately, by the time she arrived back in the mess hall, Kaidan had himself composed. His gaze flickered to her for but a split second before it delved back into his plate, his posture slightly hunching. She could relate to that feeling of wanting to find a rock to hide under all too well, and decided to spare himself further mortification as she sat at the end of the table. Shepard looked confused, for some reason - it seemed she needed a translator and interpreter for her own species. Her cheeky smile made it's debut soon enough and she eagerly took her several plates of food, balancing them on her forearms and utilizing her biotics for the rest.
Liara's eyes widened upon counting seven floating down her way.
"Where does she fit all that food? Kaidan used his biotics almost as much as her on that mission."
Apart from the end of it, anyways. Perhaps the manner and force of which Shepard had used hers had expelled more calories that needed to be replenished to... This degree... Though upon learning of the Commander's antics, Liara began to have other kinds of speculations that ventured further than logic.
"So, doc," Shepard nonchalantly travelled around the corner of the table and sat directly beside the asari, brazenly brushing shoulders. "Feelin' better?"
Mischief oddly struck up in her and she smirked at the Commander. "Do I want to answer that truthfully?"
Laughter barked and Shepard cheekily stabbed her fork on the asari's plate, her body twisting more towards Liara. "Promise I ain't gonna mess with you, love. Honest."
"Mm-hm." Liara gently tapped her fork against the Commander's to regain control of her own plate - the human had seven of hers, she shouldn't be so greedy. "And how long does this promise last?"
That devilish grin always made the emerald eyes dance. A strange sight, surely, with how feral they otherwise appeared. It made Liara think of rabid varrens. The intense look always contradicted so greatly to the Commander's flighty and carefree ways. Shepard twisted back in her chair, though leaned over to bump shoulders as she dove into her food, the silence screaming a much more clearer answer than words ever could.
Poor Kaidan seemed to be suffering down at his end, a suffering that Liara noted when the human seemed lifeless when he had finished his food, collected his plates, and quietly left the mess hall. She didn't seem the only one observing, and Shepard's demeanour shifted - took on a more serious aura, shockingly enough.
"'Lenko likes ya, y'know."
Liara's gaze shifted over to the Commander, who solemnly worked on her own food. "Was Lieutenant Alenko uncomfortable around me the way Ashley was, in the start?"
A brief chuckle. "Not in that way, doc. He likes ya. Y'know? Digs ya. I dunno how asari say they got a crush on someone. He doesn't know how to tell you, either."
Admittedly, Liara was not enthused about the idea of being crushed, but she somewhat had an idea of what the Commander was trying to get across to her. And she blushed. A new awkwardness seized her, and she suddenly sought solace in her food as she poked away at it. She subtly cleared her throat, but her voice failed her. She could feel that intense gaze combing her.
Life injected itself, a little, with a more playful - yet somehow sympathetic - brush of shoulders. "Don't sweat it, love, yeah? Us, uh, humans, our crushes come an' go. If y'don't like him back, I won't put ya two together on missions. It'll go away for him, no hard feelings, once he sees y'don't share 'em and has some distance from ya."
Squeamish, Liara buckled down on her food a little more. Her mind was in a race to find the right words that encompassed her emotions, or rather, her confusion. She swirled her fork around uselessly, her brow knitted in concentration. Finally, she lamented. "That seems cruel. I should talk to him."
"Up to you how y'want to handle it," Shepard shrugged, "Not really any of my business, honest. But it's been going on for a while. He's not gonna do or say anythin', so as his friend, could y'figure out how to square this away with him? Mate's like a kicked puppy."
Thoughts circulated, muddled by the murkiness of emotion as Liara asked herself how she felt about the matter. She... Didn't, really. Kaidan has been kind to her, but she didn't think anything more beyond that. The way humans seemed to engage in courtship was so strange, so subtle, apparently. With what she had learned of this species thus far, she had expected them to be as straightforward as they were in every other matter, leaving nothing to misinterpretation with how they could be so hasty in their approach.
Curiosity brought forth another question: what would human courtship look like? Feel like? There was an opportunity here to explore, a door opened in her mind that was more socially acceptable to engage in more intimate relations with a human, and a kind human that did not judge her for her moments where she found her foot in her mouth.
Though... She did not find herself gravitating to Kaidan, truly. She watched the human beside her from the side of her eye. That cloudiness returned, addling her emotions. She was more compelled by curiosity that was waged by all the questions surrounding the nature of the Prothean beacon. It was only natural to wonder, especially with her spending most of her time with Shepard, due to the nature of their missions. Perhaps these curiosities would extend to Kaidan if they spent more time together too?
"This is confounding..."
Liara did not expect to be exploring this on a military ship. She honestly preferred the simplicity that followed scientific exploration, the questions that confounded her with instead.
"Anyway," Shepard abruptly said, "Interested in that gift?"
"Hm?" Liara stared, having forgotten. And then she burned in her seat. "Oh yes. Did you-"
"Ah ah, you'll just have to wait 'til I get it," Shepard grinned. "It's in my quarters. I'm bettin' you'll shoot right off your trolley once y'see it, and it'll be a sight to see, I'm sure."
Oh, how heartbreaking.
"And I have to wait until you finish eating?" Liara was already lamenting in despair, her gaze trailing over all the wretched plates the human had yet to devour. This had to be planned, too, this had to just be another strike of mischief in a trap the Commander had planted in order to still have her blasted fun. "So much for that promise," she mumbled.
Rich laughter skipped along and threatened to make her lips betray her in a smile, one she valiantly fought off so as not to encourage the devil beside her. Shepard leaned over and bumped shoulders, before she rose and started to collect her plates, taking the lead to her quarters.
"Aye, jesus, love. You're like a kicked puppy too, now. C'mon then."
Liara didn't bother taking her food with her in her eagerness to see what this gift was. Her smile and heart swelled when the vanguard looked back and used her biotics to bring it all along. It was an amusing sight, surely, to see all this food just floating about. The tendrils and smells she had picked up on were different though, in a way, at least it didn't bear the aggressive energy and mark that it had in combat.
Intrigued, she lingered a bit behind to tune in to the energies surrounding her own plate of food, before comparing it to one of the vanguard's. It bloomed a warm sensation in her veins, like sitting by a comforting hearth as she indulged in articles of research. Shepard's plates were just... There. There were no sensations.
Upon entering the Commander's quarters, the food cluttered the small table on the side. Shepard went over to her terminal and picked up a small disc, turning somewhat dramatically with a cheeky smile as she held up the disc in between the tips of her fingers.
Liara was at a loss for guesses.
"An OSD?"
"Not just any OSD, doc." Shepard approached and held it out. "Tali already cracked the encryption on it, but it seemed like a lot of the data's corrupted since the disc is so old an' banged up. She's workin' on another one that I found back when we were on Eletania."
"But what is it?"
"Dunno," Shepard shrugged, "All I know is that it's Prothean, from the bits an' pieces I could understand. Not really sure how. Guess the visions taught me some stuff 'bout their language?"
Oh, stab an archaeologist in the heart! Liara went from being confused and subdued in her reaction to absolute elation, reaching to get grabby with a disc that was playfully bouncing out of her reach every time. She nearly cried out 'Shepard', though the air kicked in her chest and it came out as a pitiful squeak instead. Her blood burned when that laughter embraced the room. She grew indignant and desperate, going so far as to have a mini-biotic sparring match with the cheeky human who's promise proved to have a significantly short lifespan. Liara had all but charged to tackle the vanguard, pinning her wrists up against the wall. The determined archaeologist finally stole away her victory and had gone so far as to lean over to the hand that held the OSD, pinching the disc in between her lips with a triumphant look.
Emerald orbs bore into her with a heat that sent a shiver through her instead. She was frozen, sheepish from her rash and immature action, but something in that stare tethered her feet down the way that fear had during the mission. Something other than fear thrummed strong in her veins, though.
Feral varren eyes observed her, but Shepard never made any moves to break free. Her demeanour abruptly shifted and that carefree mischief was back, where she leaned forward and gently pinched the other end of the OSD in between her lips. It sent Liara sprawling back, jerking free from their heart-pounding proximity, impulse swallowing her.
Without a word - not that she had a voice left nor a thought encapsulated within her mind - she escaped the quarters. She couldn't remember when she had plucked the data disc in her fingers instead, and hoped she had not gone so far as to rip it out of Shepard's mouth. She pinched the end of her suit's top and used it to gently clean the... Moisture... Off, refusing to let her mind venture beyond the origin of that 'moisture'.
War was waged once more as she was thrown into the chaos of her heart, where it still thundered and roared in her chest. She knew very well her cheeks were aflame with how searing they felt. This was the kind of straightforwardness that she expected from humans in regards to intimacy, but wouldn't Shepard have confessed if she harboured anything like that, the way she said Kaidan did?
Worse yet, it was troubling Liara on how she was supposed to approach such a confession herself, or navigate it with the knowledge of how Kaidan felt about her. At least this was as clear as any confirmation that she could ask for, these curiosities that were swirling around the Commander.
One other question: where was she even going right now? She stopped when she'd realized she was heading in the direction of the cursed gym, a place she immediately beelined away from. She didn't quite desire to go to her makeshift quarters adjoined to the infirmary, for fear of Wrex's snores would surely penetrate even the thickest walls. She wouldn't be able to focus and study on the OSD, then.
Oh, who was she kidding?
She wasn't going to be able to focus at all, with those varren eyes burrowed in her mind.