"John, can I…can I show you something?"
"Of course, my love. What's up?"
John and Tali were walking along the trail that would lead them back to the camp with the rest of their friends. They'd decided to walk back – at least along this part of the journey back. Geru had happily obliged them, letting them out near the start of this stretch of trail. Of course, Ashley had insisted that they give them some kind of wedding party. So who knows what they were going to walk into. Tali was a little confused by the prospect, after all, the bonding ceremony had been wonderful enough with the treasured poem that Lano had read for them. But a party too? Well, John had assured her that he would carry her home himself if she got a little too eager with her induction port. But first, she wanted to show him something – and it was important.
"Well, it's about this necklace." She fiddled with the ring, still green and beautiful.
John's face flushed. "Is there something wrong? I know it's not…well, it's not what you -"
Tali stopped walking, bringing his hands to her chest. "John, they are perfect. And it means so much to me that they were your idea. They are uniquely ours, saera." She caressed his cheek with a gentle hand. "I mean it. But I wanted to show you something. It's…important to me that you know."
Now the man was just confused.
"Here, watch."
Tali released his hands before slipping the necklace back up over her head. She held it lovingly, seemingly in awe of it, this symbol that John had conceived of by himself. She slipped it into his hand. He held it securely in his hands, not daring to chance a drop.
Her fingers moved to a spot just above her left breast, tapping a very small area there. Immediately, a small perforation had appeared. She slipped her finger in, then slid it downward a few inches. When she extended her hand, he immediately placed the necklace securely in her palm. Tali was caught off guard by her need to fight back acute tears – she would have given nearly anything to have simply kissed his hand as she held it.
Hopefully it would be something she wouldn't have to only dream about for very long.
Transfixed, he watched her bring her hand to the little opening and tuck the whole thing – ring and necklace – neatly into the pocket that he knew sat just over her heart. Running a finger along the opening, John watched the thing seal up almost on its own.
"Tal, how did you…?"
She smiled at his question. "It's tech that's embedded in our suits. There's a very small button right there, and it only opens to a slow press, it has to be intentional."
"Wow…just wow. I had no idea. But what is that for?"
Again, she ran her fingers along his cheek. "I know you didn't. Do you remember the pal'tec vis surden?"
Fumbling with his own ring, he looked at the ground with more than a touch of…embarrassed that he'd not been able to produce one for her.
"Hey, John. Don't. You don't get to be me, you bosh'tet. You did everything right. I mean it." She caressed his cheek again.
"Thanks, Tali. I'm sorry - this is just still kinda new for me, I guess." He gave her a little smile. "I suppose it's how you might have felt on the Normandy all those years ago. Surrounded by humans and enamored with their charming, handsome…"
Tali picked up where he left off. "…obtuse, dense, yet wonderful alien commander. Who cared so much for me." She snaked her arms around him, pulling herself close. "Who saved my life - keelah, you opened with that! - who helped me at every turn, who stood by me when he didn't have to. Who loved me."
He pressed his forehead to her visor, looking into those bright eyes of hers, eventually whispering "I still do. I always will." He found the faint hint of her pupils, and he stayed there for more than a moment. When he did pull back though…
"Dense, huh?"
"Keelah John, you were so were like a…what is it called?…a singularity. It looked like light bent around you."
"Light bent around me? That hurts, Tali'Shepard."
Swoon.
Tali pressed her head to his chest. "No it doesn't John. But…could you say it again?"
He beamed at her. "Say what again, Tali'Shepard?"
She shuddered. "You know exactly what I mean, mister vas Rannoch."
"Ooh, I like the sound of that too."
Contented, she rested her head on his chest, idly running her finger in circles along it. "But anyway, the little…pocket is designed for…well, it's where I would have placed the pal'tec vis surden." There was no hint of sadness or disappointment in her voice. "It's where I will keep my ring, right over my heart. Right where you live within me."
John, for his part, was practically speechless.
"Well, Tali…you've certainly gotten a lot better at expressing yourself."
"I know. And it's all your fault, so thank you."
Releasing each other, hand-in-hand they continued on in comfortable silence.
Garrus cleared his throat as the attention of everybody was centered firmly on himself and his gravelly voice.
"I'm, uh, not one for great speeches, that was always something that Shepard handled. But, I was recently told by reliable sources that for humans, I'm the unlucky bastard that has to give one. Imagine my joy."
Chuckles rippled through the crowd, which contained nearly everyone from the ceremony itself, most notably minus admirals Gerrel and Xen. Not that they were considered to be a great loss, but Tali, John, Shala and Zaal had all noticed. It was likely that the Conclave noticed as well. Just another footnote to set aside, perhaps.
At any rate, when Tali and Shepard had arrived, they were greeted with the expected applause, given a table near the front of the gathering, and were now likely to be roasted exquisitely by Garrus Vakarian, turian comedian extraordinaire.
"I've known Shepard for a little bit longer than Tali -"
"By like 20 minutes, you twit!" John shouted to him, extracting more laughter.
Garrus clicked his tongue. "Details, Shepard. Details. But, the point is that I've known Shepard for nearly four years, plus or minus a couple, I suppose. Now, 'four years' does not seem like a very long time, and in fact, it isn't. But for those of us that know him and his jokes - which are worse than mine, I assure you - those four years might as well be four decades. Especially if you were unlucky enough to be in the Mako." He paused until the laughter died down again. "Now I've served with C-Sec, I've served…allegedly on Omega, and I've served with this Alliance asshole. He can't dance, he tells bad jokes, and he tries to see the good in everyone he meets. He expects and demands the best of you, and he always manages to extract the most from you. And we are all better for having known him." He paused. "I am better for having known him. And while he can pretend that he's the better shot, we all know the truth."
He walked a little closer toward the table, attention now on Tali. He sighed, because he knew that their relationship was likely a little strained right now.
"As for my other friend Tali, it would likely not surprise any of you to know that she didn't like me."
"I still don't, you bosh'tet!"
More laughter, but John caught that slight edge in her voice that indicated that she was still pretty pissed about how things with Kasumi had occurred.
For a moment, recognition flashed on his face - he knew what she'd meant just as well as John did.
"That's…I deserve that, Tali," he replied quietly. He raised his voice to its previous volume. "But, I also didn't like her. The difference was that she had a good reason to. You know, when you grow up on…" he cleared his throat again at the thought of his wrecked homeworld - the one that he was leaving Kasumi for. "On Palaven, you think about the greater good. We all think about what's best for the greatest number of people. In that way, I think, turians and quarians are not so different. Which can be a problem, because sometimes you can't see past the whole to see the person. It took me more time than I'd like to admit to learn that. I said some things to her that I am not proud of. But, I've never been prouder to know another person than I am to know my friend, Tali."
The "awww"s echoed around from the humans in attendance. The quarians simply nodded their heads in approval.
"And I swear, it had nothing to do with her proficiency with a shotgun."
More laughs.
"But to see you two here, now, together like this? Well, it makes me hopeful." He looked up, finding Kasumi's face for the briefest of moments before looking away again. "It makes me hopeful that the future can be better than the past, right? After everything that's happened, it had better be."
Agreement by way of applause greeted him, and after a few seconds, he waved it away.
"Okay, so apparently I'm not as much for comedy these days as I used to be. Oh well, probably for the best. Now I'm just a sappy turian, who is grateful to know these two. Congratulations, you deserve it, and each other." He looked then past the crowd. "Liara, if you would?"
From behind them, the soft notes of a song that Tali recognized all too well came bubbling forth.
Liara had managed to bring her keyboard.
And she was playing their song. She was playing "Unmasked" from "Fleet and Flotilla".
Garrus intoned from behind them, "Shepard, I believe you owe Tali a dance?"
He stood up, only slightly embarrassed, and extended his hand with a light smile.
"Might I have this dance, Miss vas Rannoch?"
A little uncertainly (Keelah, he was going to dance?), she allowed her hand to slip into his. His strength matched her grace.
Tugging her to the center of the clearing for all to see, he placed both hands confidently around Tali's thin waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Tali," he breathed, "I'm keeping this simple, because it was the most that Kasumi could teach me without me screwing it up." He pressed his face close to hers. "I'll sing it to you tonight, because we all know I have a thing for a cross-species romance," he said with a smirk.
He'd had this planned.
Sneaky bosh'tet - bosh'tets both.
She couldn't even laugh at his little joke. She knew that he must have worked hard to be able to even do this, and she could feel the little limp and the way he slightly favored the left leg in his steps.
"John…just…hold me here."
To the slow, patient piano strokes, he pressed her head to his chest before returning both hands to her back. Her arms were still looped around his neck, flowers tickling him a little as they swayed.
After a few bars of the soft piano, Geru and Shala joined them. Then Zaal and Pomii. Ken and Gabby even made their way to move with the music.
Ken clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Aye, earnin' yourself a g'night, you are."
John did not turn his head, resting his head on the top of Tali's helmet. "Ken, fuck off, please." Chuckling, the engineer did just that - to the sounds of Gabby giving him a quiet ear full.
Tali pulled her face back to gaze up to his eyes. "John…this is...I love you."
"I know you do. Now just…shhh." Again she laid her head against his chest, content to rock easily back and forth to the slow, perfect rhythm of Liara's keystrokes.
"Mmm, so guys, listen up," Ashley began as she was munching on some potato crisps that Kasumi (who was nowhere to be found) had managed to bring, "I've got something for you. In fact, it's being installed now."
Tali and Shepard gave each other a confused look before he asked the obvious question. "Installed, Ash?"
She gave Shepard a coy little grin. He was going to like this surprise, and most certainly wouldn't be telling her "no" to this one.
"You're going to love it." She opened her omnitool. "Wellington, it's Ashley. How's it coming along?"
"Oh commander, hi! It's uh…am I on speaker?"
John piped up. "That's a yes, lieutenant."
"Oh gosh! Hi admiral! Is…"
"Yes, I am."
"Hi Missus Shepard!"
Keelah what?
There was silence.
"Um…is everything…did I say something wrong?" John actually found her uncertainty a little charming - it reminded him of Tali a little bit.
The newly-minted Tali'Shepard jumped in. "Um…no…it's just that you're the first person that isn't John to call me that, and it's…well, it's taking some getting used to."
"Oh, so I didn't -"
"No, lieutenant, you didn't offend," came Ashley's reassuring reply. "So are you going to answer my question?"
"Your…oh. Oh! Of course, commander! The uh, decontamination unit is practically finished. I'm just checking the seals now. It didn't have the capacity for the whole apartment, but it has more than enough power for the uh, bedroom."
"Very good, lieutenant. That'll be all. See you soon."
Tali reacted first. "Ashley, is she installing the -"
"She is. So hopefully you and Shepard get to celebrate your…'bonding'…in style."
"Ashley," Tali began, "thank you."
She reached for and gripped Tali's hand. "Oh please! I was definitely going to make sure that you and Shepard get to fulfill your bonding properly."
Both John and Tali gave her a comically identical head tilt in mild confusion. Ashley smirked at them. "Well, I have a good rapport with Admiral Koris, and I may have asked him a few questions about it." She shrugged. "I figured it was a lot like a human wedding night, you know?"
Yes, yes they did know.
They had all returned to where the crew had been set up for these last few days, enjoying what was this last bit of time before the Normandy returned to active service. Tali, John, Ash and Liara were gathered around a small table, while the rest of the crew (as well as the admirals and Conclave members and their guests) relaxed and enjoyed what was left of this day.
Liara, for her part, had noticed two main things by way of absence. Garrus, who had not immediately joined them, was found across the open clearing. Looking past Tali, she found the turian, drink in hand, speaking to another quarian. Judging by the form of the body, and the way her realk weaved around her suit, the quarian was decidedly female. He looked over toward them and appeared to gesture toward Shepard and laugh. The woman nodded her head. Liara made note of the interaction.
Immediately, she glanced around the area, looking for her recent house guest. Kasumi was nowhere to be found.
Curious.
She hoped that the strain of her relationship with Garrus was not forcing her away. After all, she liked Kasumi, and it was a waste if the thief had felt compelled to forgo the festivities on account of any awkwardness that might crop up. Her eyes widened; she had an idea.
"- did the translators actually pick up for you?"
"Well, I don't know if it's -"
Liara leaned forward and interrupted Ashley's explanation about how the poem had sounded to her. "Excuse me, I'm going to take a walk. I will be back shortly."
All three of them responded with humorously perplexed expressions.
"Everything all right, Liara?"
"Yes, Shepard. Although, since there are two of you now I may have to start calling you by your first name."
Tali squeezed his hand at the implication. John chuckled. "Yeah, maybe so. But, uh, just message us or something if you get lost."
She caught Tali's eyes for a moment, delivered a soft, quick smile then shuffled off.
Ashley leaned forward apparently in an effort to be secretive. "So, what was that about?"
Tali shook her head. "I have no idea."
She moved slowly, gracefully. Arms over her head, then clutching her stomach before exploding outward with a well-practiced form. She balanced herself on her left foot, right leg extended. She twirled elegantly.
"Dada dada da da dadadadada…"
As Kasumi moved and spun, she was all balance, control, and beauty. Her movements were fluid and were executed without a hitch. In her heart and mind, she was focused on home, such as it was.
Such as it never will be again. The Reapers had made sure of that.
And so had old age and misfortune before that.
So had rocks and hard places.
Left foot planted this time, she spun like the antique tops she used to play with as a child under Ine-san's watchful eye. The light dust kicked up in response to her movements. Actions and reactions.
Was it then just a state of mind? Could it really be anywhere?
If home could be anywhere, and it was just a state of mind…maybe Tali was right?
Kasumi leapt into the air, still in full rotation. Gravity being what it was, she was tugged back down. This time, her toes did not find purchase on flat ground. Slipping, her balance shifted awkwardly and she was suddenly all limbs and no grace. Kasumi Goto, agile and lithe thief and infiltrator, watched helplessly as the hard Rannoch ground came hurtling toward her, ready to slap her in the face.
She closed her eyes in grim anticipation of the inevitable painful smack…but then…there was nothing.
Well, "nothing" wasn't quite correct, because she definitely felt something. She felt weightless and confused as she tentatively opened her eyes to stare at the hard Rannoch ground that remained inches below her face. But why was it blue?
Slowly, she was turned to her left and repositioned so that her feet faced the ground.
"Hello, Kasumi."
It was Liara who greeted her with a quiet smirk. She lowered the thief and recent house guest to the ground.
Comically, Kasum'si response was to "dust" herself off. She looked up at her well-timed friend.
"Liara, your timing is exquisite. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I thought I might find you out here."
Kasumi flashed a half-second of a smirk replaced just as quickly with a frown. "Did you now?"
Untying the now loosened bun that she had worn for this day, she shook out her hair. With some fascination, Liara watched it fall lazily about her shoulders. She watched further as Kasumi ran her fingers a few times through in a vain attempt to straighten the wave that ran in a single latitude around her head. In a few steps, she sat at the little cliff-like dropoff, with Tikkun's customary orange-tinted light reflecting off the river that ran at the bottom of the cliff. Kasumi had shown her the photo of Shepard's proposal, and this was the spot.
"Yes."
"Did you know that where they did the wedd…the ceremony is where they're building their house?"
Liara said nothing, she just watched Kasumi look off into the distance, which was precisely where her voice sounded like it was coming from.
"Yup. A home." There was something more behind that, Liara thought. It was obvious.
"They miss you at the party, you know."
"Yeah, I know, Liara."
"Are you…are you all right?"
When she didn't immediately respond, Liara took a chance and stepped toward the edge of the cliff. Taking off her shoes and with a soft grunt, she sat next to the human with whom she felt a strange (and likely "one-way") kinship. Their legs dangled over the edge.
"Thank you."
"For?"
"Putting up with all of this."
"If you mean 'putting up with you', you may keep your apology. You are no bother."
"Heh. Thank you for that. But this was so strange. I guess I'm still not used to the idea of other people caring so much. It's a strange way to live."
"It can be, yes."
There was a pause when they both simply looked out over the horizon.
"I envy her, Liara. Tali, I mean."
"I know. So do I."
Kasumi did not look up. She simply stared at or past her feet as they dangled over the edge. "Yeah. She has…she's happy, you know? They both are. And it's not that I'm…" She sighed and looked at Liara with a face that delivered the sadness within. "He told me he's going back to Palaven."
She had said it so matter-of-factly. Almost like she was finally coming to terms with it.
"He says that he has a 'duty', that he owes the primarch or something. And the way he told me." Her eyes lost focus for a moment, and Liara caught the quivering at the corner of her mouth that she recognized all too well as being the precursor to a loss of emotional control. In short - she was close to tears. "I just…Liara, is it ever going to be enough, do you think? Will there ever come a time when -"
She put an uncertain hand on Kasumi's shoulder. "No, I do not think so. Not in the…what's that phrase? Not in the 'cut and dry' way that you would like. That any of us would like. This recovery is going to be messy, the breaks and pain will come and go, they will not just…stop and be done." She thought again of Javik.
Liara bit her lip. How much to divulge?
To hell with it. Nothing left to lose - she'd already lost everything else. Well, almost.
Besides, keeping secrets was a trait from a former life. War changed her. Her secrets were from a different lifetime - a different woman.
"Did any of them tell you about the Prothean we found during the war?"
Kasumi shook her head.
"Yes, his name was Javik, and he did not like me."
She couldn't help but laugh at the way Liara had introduced him. Then she registered the word "prothean" and thought taht she'd misheard. "You're kidding - a real Prothean? But how?"
"We found him on Eden Prime - Goddess, everything happens on that damn planet." She scooted a little closer to the former thief. "His people had tried to preserve some of their species from the Reapers in their cycle."
"I sense a 'but' coming…"
She nodded with a sad smirk. "Yes. But, their people were betrayed. And the…well, he was the only one that made it."
Kasumi picked up enough in Liara's voice to discern that there had been more to him than simply being "a Prothean".
After a hard swallow, Kasumi stated the obvious. "You cared for him, didn't you."
Another quick nod.
"Yes."
"Did you want to…?"
Liara looked into Kasumi's face. "Yes, if you don't mind."
She huffed a short breath. "No, of course not."
"It was right after Thessia, when we, well…couldn't stop Kai Leng."
"Who?"
She remembered that Kasumi was on the Crucible for much of the war, and it was likely that she and Garrus had been dancing around the topic. "He was a…Cerberus bastard…I think that is the correct term."
It came as a surprise to both of them that neither laughed at how she had used the human insult.
"It was the only time I've ever seen Shepard…be defeated so completely. At least on Virmire, when we lost Kaidan, we'd shut down Saren's base. Here we got nothing." Her eyes took on that far away quality that Kasumi herself was becoming far too acquainted with. "Less than nothing, in fact."
Kasumi's already wide eyes grew even wider.
"Yes, I know. I could not believe it either. Nor, I suppose, could any of us. Least of all, him." Liara smiled weakly. "I felt so badly for Shepard when he came to me to apologize for his…failure. Goddess, he took responsibility for everything, even things that were not his fault. I am thankful that he had Tali with him. I do not think that we would have won without her."
Kasumi gave a somber nod in assent.
"But after Shepard left me, I expected to be alone with my thoughts. I had hoped that my work would keep me preoccupied. But I was interrupted…"
—
"Liara, if you need someone to talk to…you know my door is always open."
Liara flashed the commander the briefest hint of an appreciative smile, sad as it was.
"I…I know, Shepard. Thank you. But…" She watched him quirk an eyebrow. "I think I need…I think I need to be alone right now."
He took one step more toward the door before stopping, face full of concern and regret. It was an even mix, which was more than she would have ever required from the man. He took it as if it was his defeat, his shame. But they had all failed him.
Goddess, he looked so old.
"Are you sure?"
For a moment, she wasn't. But that moment passed, because she knew that he would not have been able to give her what she needed.
Because he was hurting, too.
"I am sure. Now, go. Find Tali. You need her now."
He opened his mouth as if to respond or argue, but nothing came forth. Instead, he closed it, lips in a tight line. With a quick nod and a mammoth fatigue in his eyes, he turned on his heel…and left.
Alone again (as requested, she was quick to add), Liara turned to her monitors and raised her hands to the holokeys, preparing to give what agents she had left new orders.
The monastery.
Gone.
"Fretton, yes. I can reassign him to-"
The Atiran Skybridge.
Gone.
"What are the supply lines like in -"
The villa on Mount Ilia.
Mother's home by the Maesion Sea…
"Gone…"
She hadn't realized that the tears streamed heavily in thick rivulets down her cheeks. They turned her blue skin a darkened azure as they rolled down. A stray droplet stopped just above her upper lip and…planted itself there. She'd meant to simply wipe it away, but instead she slipped out her tongue, catching it on the tip. She nursed the droplet into her mouth, savoring its saltiness. Its bitterness.
It tasted like defeat.
It tasted like inevitability.
"Can I assist you, Dr. T'Soni?"
It was Glyph's inquiry, of course.
"No, Glyph…thank…you…"
It was enough to have the little drone flicker and place itself into standby mode.
Trembling, she leaned heavily against her desk, weight almost fully concentrated in her hands. It was her weight, yes, but also so much more.
It was the weight of Thessia, Palaven…Earth. It was the weight of every fallen world, every lost race, every dead body that had been so full of life. She felt it all. The biggest weight she felt was that of Shepard - her friend who had come to rely on her for support. She had failed her people; she had failed him. But most of all she had failed -
"Asari? We must speak."
"Goddess, not now," she breathed. The acerbic voice could only have belonged to one person on this ship, and it was the one person that she least wished to see. The disdain in his voice was evident, as it was at all times. She could not bear this indignity, not now.
"Not now, Javik," Liara growled.
"It is…important."
That stopped her in her angry, guilt-ridden tracks. She tried to recall a time when she had heard the "Prothean Prick" (as Joker had dubbed him once) sound so…earnest. Her anger hesitated.
"Fine. Enter."
She stood up straight, wiping away what tears remained. She would not give the asshole the satisfaction of seeing her suffer this way.
During the months since he had been found on Eden Prime, Liara's feelings toward the prothean had shifted mightily. She had always held the Protheans up as being an advanced species - both technologically and culturally - but any hopes of learning more about them were dashed almost from the moment they found him. What she had found instead was a single-minded soldier, bred for and hell-bent on achieving one singular goal: vengeance for his lost people by annihilating the Reapers. "Vengeance" is precisely what he had said he was. Well, the "Avatar of Vengeance" to be precise, but the difference, if there was one, was irrelevant. And then what he had revealed about her people on the very same planet that was currently being razed by the ruthless machine bastards…
The doors slid open, and Javik entered. The first thing that Liara noticed was that he was not wearing (most) of his armor. The result was that he struck a less aggressive figure. He looked like someone who just might have -
"Where's your armor, Javik? You wear it around here constantly."
"It is in the armory. I will repair it later."
"So, what do you want?"
His four eyes bore into her two.
"I wished to see that your resolve remained worthy of the task at hand."
Liara flinched.
"My resolve is the least of your concerns, prothean."
"It is the most important concern. Especially now. The Reapers will not stop, they cannot be reasoned with. They do not feel and they do not pity. Your emotions are a -"
"A what, Javik? What are they? A weakness? A distraction? Just one more thing that makes me unworthy?"
She noticeably flinched at the last question. It was an admission that she'd not intended to make.
For a moment, it looked as if the prothean refugee was going to pounce on her unintended admission, baring his teeth in what appeared to be a malicious smirk before it…simply softened.
"Asa- Liara, it has occurred to me that I am not as alone in this cycle as I have previously thought."
Well, that was unexpected.
"Oh? Explain."
"After seeing what your…'leaders' kept from you, it occurs to me that had I lived in a time without Reapers, that I might have believed the same. Or worse."
Liara cocked her head, genuinely curious. "How so?"
"My people were not the first lost to the cycle. We were not the first to discover the relays, and we were not the first great civilization to die. Our…pride was foolish. My pride was foolish."
She had nothing to say to that.
Liara felt that this was a moment. It might have even been a pivotal one. After the months of animosity, the antagonism, the harsh words, maybe she could…help?
"Javik, would you like to know what I'm fighting for?"
The softened expression hardened into cold stone once more. "You are fighting for survival, asari. As are all of you. That should be enough."
Frustrated, she scoffed at his patented obtuse reply.
"That is not what I meant."
He opened his mouth as if to reply, but before he could, Liara lunged at him, and firmly planted her hands on his face, just below his eyes.
She was going to teach the asshole about her "resolve".
"Embrace eternity, you obstinate little shit."
Green meadows, wet with dew.
She laughs, soft eyes looking up to the loving gaze of her mother.
"Mother, are you sure there's nothing over there?" She points longingly at the top of the sloping hill.
A soft chuckle greets her. "Little Wing, I am sure that there is not."
Her face sprouts a frown. Curiously, her mother looks back to the hill, then their eyes meet again. A grin forms on mother's face.
"But it wouldn't hurt to check."
She grabs mother's hand, squeezes it involuntarily. Then she is off.
The cool grass tickles her feet as she scampers, carefree through the meadow.
The view pulls back.
Liara is watching this as a bystander.
"This is what you chose to show me?" Javik's voice meanders through her, milky in its quality in this place.
"Yes, Javik."
"Explain."
Instead, she walks forward, following herself and Benezia.
She is much older. In her forties by now. Still very much the adolescent.
"Mother, I…I do not want this life. It is too much. I am assailed at every moment, they leave me with little peace. Why must I live in your shadow?"
Benezia regards her daughter with curiosity, and empathy.
"Liara, child, you do not want this life?" It was asked rhetorically. There was more to come from this question.
"No, mother. Not like this. I…I hate it."
Liara's mother rises from the table, leaving both her drink and the datapad she was studying behind. She hugs her daughter tightly, aggressively.
"Oh, my child. You were not built for this life, were you? I did not raise you for it, and your temperament is ill-suited for it."
She beholds her daughter at arms' length. She sighs.
"You were always happier playing in the dirt. You always yearned for discovery." Liara nods in agreement, not daring to hope. She feels her mother's hand run across her cheek. "This is no life for you, Little Wing." A small smile cracks Benezia's face. "Then go, my dear. Leave, explore. Live. You have my blessing. Just do not forget to visit your mother from time to time."
"She allowed me to leave. It was very unbecoming for the daughter of a powerful asari matriarch to run off in the pursuit of idle adventure. And I had to kill her, because of the Reapers. The first one that showed up: Sovereign." Liara sighed, but it was only for a moment. Determination reclaimed her countenance. "But I discovered so much about your people, Javik."
He shook his head, almost in wonder. "She cared for you, and you killed her. Your mother."
"Yes. Because it was required that she die."
"Hmm. Perhaps there is strength in you." He closed his eyes with a face of anger and a brief bout of melancholy. "They are not my people. I never knew them."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, far more bold in this space between minds.
"Then let me show you. Perhaps you will have more to fight for than vengeance alone."
—
Kasumi was laughing - hard. "So…so you just lunged at him? That was your plan? Literally 'get him'?"
Even Liara could laugh about it now with the space of time adding perspective. She shrugged. "It seemed to be a good idea at the time. And it turned out that our ability to join minds -"
"You mean the 'mind-meld' thing?"
Liara smiled at the phrase. "Yes, the 'mind-meld' thing. It's funny. Shepard used that exact phrasing when he asked me about the joining."
Kasumi simply returned a knowing smile and a shrug. "Hmm. Did he? Must be a human thing, I guess." There was definitely a reference there that the asari woman was clearly missing.
"Anyway, it turned out that our ability to join minds was not specific to my race. The protheans could, as well. And once we had, we both gained a, shall I say, deeper understanding of the other."
The former thief simply blinked a few times before realization dawned on her as her hand went to her mouth. "You mean, you two…?"
Liara regarded her with a smirk of her own. "Yes."
"Well, Liara. I'm impressed. I wouldn't have thought -" She stopped herself mid-sentence, as realization settled into her mind. She grabbed Liara's hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't…" She almost had to know. "What happened to him?"
The corner of her mouth twitched. "It was on Earth. We were pressing toward the rendezvous point to meet with Admiral Anderson. We got split up…he got overwhelmed by enemy forces. I managed to make it back to Shepard. I was…distraught, and he protected me from prying eyes and ears. I think he somehow knew that Javik's…death had affected me more than it should have. I think he knew about us. And if he did, he never let on to the others." She swallowed hard. "I will never forget that, and I will always be thankful for Shepard…for everything."
"He has that effect on a lot of us." Nodding, Kasumi sniffed lightly. "I'm sorry for…well, for what happened. It wasn't -"
"Fair? It is all right. I have learned that things are not often that way. But I will move on eventually. I will live for a long time, and Shepard told me once that time heals wounds. I think that eventually, I will be fine."
Kasumi averted her eyes. "But why did you tell me all of that? It must have hurt you."
"It did. I told you that to give you something to think about. We may have won, yes, but time is still fleeting. It still…'flies', and I would not want you to miss out on something that you need not miss. And Garrus is not your enemy, he is caught up in this as well. An imperfect pain in the ass in an imperfect time. Just like the rest of us."
The young woman said nothing, her eyes betraying the pain and realization within.
Liara stood up, extending her hand. "Now come, join us. We all miss you."
"Liara, I…"
Without finishing the thought, she took her hand and was back on her feet again, ready to return to the others.