Jane smiled and presented the tuning fork with flourish to the amused asari. Clamped on one side of a wooden box was another tuning fork that was secured upright, on the other end was a rubber coated poll. Jane was rather happy to have found this little experiment to show her students, for some of them grasping the way sound waves moved was tantamount to demanding they explain quantum mechanics beyond the popular version thrown around the extranet. And if they were stuck on this, it was only problems down the line. Hilariously it was mostly her salarian students who struggled, while they grasped the larger concepts this simple thing just made them stumble. She found it oddly adorable and wanted to let them use the tuning forks as well, but first she had wanted to do a dry run of the lesson. Sure she could have asked a number of people to sit here and pretend to be interested, or she could ask Liara who always seemed to genuinely light up when she watched Shepard teach.

Not with coaching. Liara still lit up, but more in the "Thanix cannon gonna mess up your face" way than the "you are cute and I like you" way. Jane was trying to encourage the "I like you" variety and desperately wanted to avoid feeling like she needed biotic suppressive grenades.

So here she was, having given her opening lecture of acoustic dynamics and having only fumbled a few times. She felt herself grin like a complete idiot as Liara had reached to take the tuning fork out of her hand, and then freeze up as their fingers touched. Time slowed for a split second, Liara's eyes seemed like endless skies, Jane became horrifyingly aware that she hadn't brushed her teeth that morning, and then the moment was over. Liara turned the metal fork over a few times before obligingly hitting it on the rubber rod and holding it still. After a moment the other tuning fork began to ring as if someone had struck it. Liara's smile grew just a bit as they listened to the two high F tuning forks ring. Liara's left elbow rested on the desk and her jaw was practically cradled in her hand, she held the fork perfect still with her right hand. Was she wearing eye shadow?

Jane's heart provided the off kilter drum to the single note hanging in the air. She eventually managed to squeeze out, "Yeah, just like that."

Liara looked back at her and nodded. "I think this is wonderful Jane, you're students will love it."

Shepard was pretty sure the room had gone up in temperature even as she tried to warm up her fingers by clamping them under her arms. "Yeah? Well, I mean, yeah. Anything besides doing more math right?"

Liara chuckled and struck the tuning fork again. "Or critical thinking, Athame shield them if they must think during class."

Jane sarcastically crossed herself and belatedly wondered if Liara knew the gesture. Was there an asari equivalent? "Well, anyways, thank you for making sure I don't make a fool out of myself in front of the class next week."

"Always a pleasure to make sure you aren't more of a fool than usual." Liara managed to somehow even look alluring while insulting her.

"Yeah, well, that was given." Jane nervously grabbed her soda and took a pull even as Liara frowned slightly. "I swear this is only my third can today, two less than usual!"

Liara rolled her eyes and took a very purposeful sip or her mineral water.

So friggin classy! Jane Shepard figure your life out and don't drink more soda.

Jane tried to put her soda down without looking like she was over thinking it. Her life had pretty much come down to how much she could overthink "not overthinking it" while trying to impress Liara. I would have been pathetic is Liara wasn't Liara, because Jane was pretty sure everyone understood why you should try to impress Liara. Jane was suspicious and a little paranoid that a few people even understood why you should try to get Liara to like you, like, like like you. Jane felt oddly like at 32 she herself was back in high school, pining over Jeremy Wanders and his stupidly perfect face again. This time around she didn't have the excuse of raging hormones or her dad coaching her on what to say. Instead she had a pack of friends who teased her mercilessly and students who would accidently submit homework with doodles of her and Liara in the corner. Who did that? Besides Amala and Tavo, because honestly Shepard couldn't fault them when she awarded points here and there for the doodles of Tali and Garrus, so now she couldn't dock them. But was she that obvious? Was her infatuation so stupidly obvious that even her teenage students noticed before she had a chance to do anything? Oh god, what if Liara knows and is avoiding that territory on purpose?

Jane grabbed Liara's mineral water and took a swig in desperation to not consume more soda, be classy and be likable but in desperation. Choking on the flavor she cough and spluttered. To her horror, bubbling water sprayed across the table in a fine mist hitting Liara in the face. As Jane turned shades between the coughing, embarrassment for spitting on her crush, and terror wondering what new medical implants she would need after the biotic pile drive; Liara was up and pumping furiously on the paper towel dispenser next to Shepard's desk. Jane suddenly found a soda can pressed to her lips and chugged desperately as a blue fist pounded on her back. Finally getting control of herself, Jane found her face getting wiped off with course brown paper towels and looked at Liara who had yet to wipe her own face off.

"I am so sorry, I should, should I go?" Jane felt miserable. Way to prove how cool and smart you are by spitting up like a baby. Suave!

"It's your classroom?" Liara paused and sounded confused. Then a look of embarrassment crossed her face before her hands dropped back to her sides. "Sorry! I should not have assumed—I can leave if you want."

"No!" Jane cleared her throat. "No, it's fine. I just, sorry about the spit." Although, now that she'd said it out loud and was looking at Liara, she couldn't see even a sheen of water. Sure that she couldn't turn any further shades of red Jane snatched the paper towels away and scrubbed at the chipped black desk top.

Liara's laughter was really a consolation prize, but it still felt pretty good too. Be cool Jane, be cool.