A/N: I felt nice, and decided to not make you guys wait for what happens between Liara and Isabelle. Again, don't hate me :s Enjoy! Thanks to Rae!
Liara pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep her cool. The human she was working with was increasingly agitating her, and she already had a torrent of emotions going on within her because Shepard was supposedly arriving today. Deciding that she had reached her patience's end, Liara switched to a different tactic. "Have you ever face an asari commando unit before? Few humans have. I'll make it simple, either you pay me, or I flay you alive. With my mind," and abruptly cut off the call. She lowered her head back down, but quickly snapped it back up as she heard movement in her office. Whirling around, Liara was stunned to find that Shepard was standing right in front of her. She wasn't sure whether she was seeing things until Shepard spoke to her.
"Liara?!" Shepard called out, just as surprised.
Liara didn't need to hear any more as a small cry found its way out of her, rushing towards Shepard. "Isabelle!" she yelled out as she grabbed Shepard in her arms and hugged her like she was holding onto Shepard's very life. Bringing her face to Shepard's, she pulled her into an enrapturing kiss, one that melted Liara away and soothed her soul. All her worries and doubts evaporated into thin air in that single moment, and all came crashing back down in a tidal wave the next. Liara removed herself from Shepard, shaking her head. She retreated back to her desk and sat down, needing to keep a distance from Shepard. "What are you doing here, Shepard?" Liara asked, not wanting to let Shepard know that she was expecting her.
Shepard looked hurt from Liara's sudden withdrawal. She moved over to the desk and took up residence on one of the chairs. "I should be asking you the same thing. What was with you telling that man you were going to 'flay him with your mind'?" she asked, not wanting to push the issue and ask why Liara had broken their embrace so suddenly.
Liara was grateful that Shepard didn't press her. "It was an... idle threat. I do not make a habit out of threatening my clients, but I do so when necessary. It is part of the reason I became a very good information broker," she replied, trying to keep the subject strictly on business. "Did you need some information?"
Shepard gave Liara a long, piercing look and decided to wait until later to talk about personal things, as much as she hated to do so. "I need information on the location of two people I'm trying to recruit, an asari justicar named Samara and a drell assassin named Thane Krios."
Liara powered on her terminal and turned her attention to it, instead of Shepard. She pretended to sift through her information banks to pass the time. She didn't want Shepard to know that she already knew from Miranda what she needed. Faking that she had found the information, she let out a slight hum. "Here we are, I've got what information I can. I apologize that it isn't more," Liara said as she pulled out the OSD from her desk and 'copied' the information onto it. "Is there anything else you need, Shepard?" Liara said as dismissively as possible. She needed Shepard out of her presence as soon as she could, her composure was rapidly evaporating and she wasn't ready to let the emotions out.
Shepard grew visibly upset, eyes starting to go watery. "Yes, Liara. I want to reconnect with my future bondmate," she said bluntly. Shepard didn't understand why she was acting the way she was.
The word 'bondmate' brought all of Liara's emotions to the forefront, and she broke down in tears. Sensing Shepard moving to the desk to comfort her, Liara stood up from her chair and backed away. "I...I can't..." she sobbed, hands holding her head. This is all wrong, I wasn't supposed to feel this way, Liara thought to herself.
"You can't what, Liara?" Shepard asked, this time not even masking the hurt in her voice.
"You died, Isabelle!" Liara yelled, emotion completely overtaking her. "Goddess, you were dead. I was all alone, haunted by visions of you in my dreams." Liara's face was covered in tears, eyes already red. Liara didn't know how much more of this she could take right now. She wasn't ready to see Shepard, and needed more time.
"Liara, I... don't know what to say. I'm here now," Shepard said softly, moving closer to Liara and attempting to console her. Instead of welcoming the embrace, Liara backed away from her, further increasing the amount of hurt Shepard was feeling.
"For how long!?" Liara shot back. "For how long are you here? No doubt you are on some mission to stop the Reapers. It's only a matter of time before they catch up to you again. Am I expected to just take you back without a question and mourn you again so soon?" Liara was completely overwhelmed, her filter now leaving her.
Shepard backed away slightly at the intensity of Liara's voice. "Liara, it's not going to be like that. I promis-"
"Don't you dare make that promise!" Liara cut Shepard off. "Don't you dare make me a promise you can't keep. You thought you would never die the first time, and look how that turned out." Liara knew she was being harsh, but the amount of pain she was feeling silenced the voice telling her to stop.
"Liara, baby, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you like this, and its tearing me up," Shepard said. "You're right that I can't promise you that I won't die, but you should have known that when I told you that I was a soldier. All I know is without you, my life feels empty."
"I just... I just... need... time. I need... to be away from you," Liara said, fresh tears coming after speaking words she thought she'd never speak.
Tears now fell from Shepard's eyes. "Li..." Shepard pleaded.
"Goodbye, Shepard," Liara said, turning away and looking out of the window overlooking Nos Astra.
Shepard wandered the streets of Nos Astra for a long amount of time, not really caring where she went. She had been in a daze ever since her encounter with Liara. Shepard understood that Liara had been hurt by her death, but she thought it was unfair. For Shepard, it felt like only a short amount of time had passed, almost like her death had never happened.
She eventually found her way to a bar and sat down at the main counter. She groaned as an asari bartender came up to her.
"What can I get ya?" the asari said in a husky voice.
"I'll take the strongest you got," Shepard replied. Right now, Shepard just wanted to forget everything. For all she knew, things with her and Liara were all but over. Just the thought alone made her body ache for the numbing relief of alcohol.
The bartender raised her eyebrow and pulled out a bottle from under the table. She took out a glass and filled it in front of the human commander. "This baby should do the trick. Thessian Warp, that'll put some hair on your chest."
Shepard eyed the glass, picking it up and swirling it around. With one swift motion, she brought the drink to her lips and downed it in one gulp. She felt nothing for a moment, then suddenly it felt like her body was being dipped in a hot spring. Her skin felt like fire. She instantly felt the pain of what happened with Liara begin to fade, and desperately held up the cup for more.
"Ha ha! You've got some balls on you, human. Don't know many asari that can down that puppy like that. You must got some serious problems going on if you want more of this stuff," the bartender said even as she poured another drink and handed it to Shepard.
"It's complicated," Shepard replied, not wanting to discuss what was going on.
The bartender let out a hearty laugh and began cleaning out glasses. "If there's one thing I learned about you humans is that your story is always complicated, and it's your polite way of telling me to fuck off," she said. "Whatever it is, you should deal with it soon. Wallowing is really not a look that suits you. Perhaps I could cheer you up a bit?" the bartender said suggestively, leaning forward to give Shepard a good view of her cleavage.
Shepard was instantly reminded of Liara and closed her eyes, downing the glass desperately. "No thanks, I'd just prefer to sit here and get drunk," she replied.
"Ah well, coulda made it worth your time," the bartender said with a shrug. "I'm Aethyta, by the way, if you ever change your mind."
"Keep giving me that stuff, and I think you and I will be good friends, Aethyta," Shepard said as she downed another shot of the drink. Her plan to forget was slowly working.
Shepard left the bar some hours later, staggering a bit. She was impressed with how well her implants worked, it had taken her some effort to get this drunk. She made her way back to the Normandy and down to Miranda's room. She opened the door to find Miranda not present. Undeterred, Shepard made her way over to Miranda's bed and leaned back against it, waiting for Miranda to show.
She didn't have to wait long as the Cerberus operative entered the room moments later. "Shepard, what are you doing here?" she asked. Upon further inspection, her eyes widened a bit. "Are you drunk?"
"Ya know, those implants of yours really do work wonders. I really had to try to get drunk. Found this lovely drink called the Thessian Warp, does wonders for the body. You look beautiful," Shepard said unabashedly.
Miranda felt herself blush slightly, but then caught herself. She knew that Shepard was just drunk. "Thank you, but you are drunk and I doubt that you mean it."
"I'm not that drunk, Miranda. And I do mean it, you are fucking gorgeous. I wish I was half as good looking as you are," Shepard said flirtatiously.
"Well, thank you, but you severely underestimate yourself, Commander. You are stunning as well," Miranda replied back. Something seems off about her. "You should be careful. I might start to think you're flirting with me," Miranda said, taking her chances. She was completely caught off guard when Shepard left the bed and pulled Miranda close.
"What if I am?" Shepard said in a seductive whisper.
Miranda felt a jolt of electricity flash its way through her body at Shepard's words, her body already beginning to desire Shepard's touch. Though she wanted Shepard badly, she didn't want to seal the deal when Shepard wasn't thinking straight. "What about Miss T'Soni?" she asked, immediately regretting her decision to even bring it up.
"She made it clear that she couldn't be with me anymore, and I find myself needing to forget," Shepard replied curtly. "Care to help me?" she whispered into Miranda's ear.
Miranda pressed her lips to Shepard's, drawing a deep breath from both of them. She pushed Shepard down onto her bed and crawled over her, dipping down to nibble her ear. "With pleasure."