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Chapter 4: Prothean Blue

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Lakota and Liara stood, side by side, holding hands and looking out upon the ethereal abyss of the Serpent Nebula that surrounded the Citadel. The view port was more like a panoramic window displaying the infinite reaches of galaxy – the silent landscape of star clusters, solar systems and gas nebulas that lay out beyond the gaseous barrier like unobtainable treasures found upon the gilded vastness of the ocean floor. There was something peaceful about watching freighters and frigates painted on the blue tinted backdrop as they lazily navigated their way through the transcendental pathways of Citadel space. Sublime and utterly quiet space.

"I found this nook while hunting down the keepers for Chorban." Lakota stole an adoring glance at Liara before continuing. "Keep watching. Every now and again you catch an exquisite sight."

With the suddenness of lightning, undulating ribbons of light shimmered in the blue expanse like a glowing kaleidoscope alternating between dancing curtains of green, yellow, white, orange and crimson. The second incantation was a combination of magnificent veils woven within a full-spectrum of colors that twisted, turned, and then ultimately whirled into a giant green corona from which the rays appeared to flare in all directions, only to finally fade away like a sunlit glow upon the horizon at the end of the day.

These auroras were luminous glimmers caused by energetic particles that had been carried astride solar winds. The winds eventually flowed across the atmosphere within the nebula and then combined with molecules of gas and dust creating the mesmerizing natural phenomenon.

The next emission was a majestic, multi-hued halo with a dark violet edge at the bottom. The rippling whitish-green brilliance seemed to fuse with the light yellows around it and finally meld with the blue and red emissions creating a dramatic purple border.

"Oh…my… By the Goddess, Shepard, it's beautiful."

Lakota- who was staring at Liara from a sideways angle- agreed, "Yes… and the view out the space port is nice, too."

From her periphery, the asari noticed the commander's focused attentions and turned to envelope her in a warm embrace. Liara kept her eye upon the breathtaking celestial view, but the smile tugging at her lips had its origins woven around the Spectre.

Tightening her arms around her lover's waist, Lakota commented, "Our luck is holding out."

The asari looked around the dimly lit room in an attempt to decipher her lover's reference. The space wasn't much bigger than the commander's quarters on the Normandy and even the rectangle shape was almost identical. A few glaring differences did exist though. In the place of furniture, a few storage crates were strewn about and some blankets piled haphazardly on the floor. Also, while the commander's quarters didn't have an outside view port, the massive observation window in this alcove encompassed nearly the entire outer wall. For a storage room, the space was surprising empty and very clean. Like all areas of the Citadel, the air recirculation system filtered out dust, allergens and microscopic particles, so every surface within the niche looked pristine. Unable to deduce what fell under the parameters of luck, Liara's scientific method followed the most logical course of action - she asked the commander a prudent question. "What do you mean?"

The Spectre remained silent, but pointed to a reinforced metal storage box in the corner of the small storeroom. The solid amber light illuminating from the keypad reflected off the interior metal wall giving that recess of the room a warm, soft glow. The colored light revealed that the crate was sealed and would need a security code to open.

Liara furrowed her brows in puzzlement, and then inquired, "A locked container is a good thing?"

Chuckling at her lover's bewilderment, the Spectre explained, "I'm a planner. Once I ran across this cool little view, I knew I wanted to share it with you." A radiant, mirthful smile donned her lips as she continued, "So on the off-chance that we'd have an opportunity to see it sometime in the future, I stashed various 'essential' rations in the room. Most of them are in that lock box."

Liara was enamored by her lover's thoughtfulness, but couldn't pass up an opportunity to tease. "I do believe I have stumbled upon the romantic side of the first human Spectre. The Council will be very surprised."

"Don't even think about it, T'Soni!"

"Ahhhh… this must be what Joker calls 'leverage'."

Lakota's eyes, dark as an emerald forest, blazed with a devilish mischievousness. With the speed of predator descending upon prey, she boldly seized Liara wrapping both arms around her in a tight embrace. Pushing her lover's back firmly against the wall, Lakota kindly informed, "This, my dear, is leverage." Emphasizing her statement, the commander's mouth captured her lover's in sensuous, unhurried kiss- delicate woven within robust, reverent yet bound in wicked- an attentive kiss full of quietly expressive emotion. Lakota's left hand snaked around the back of Liara's neck, gently tugging the asari further into the kiss as their soft, pliable lips parted and inquisitive tongues snuck out to coax and taste. The beginning tentative caresses were imbued with an innate heated tension, but need and desire rose quickly and threatened to become an unquenchable, tempestuous storm.

Shaken by the fierceness of her longing, Liara drew back and her wanton blue eyes burrowed into Lakota's which were heavy-lidded in their arousal, smoldering green in their fervor. Seeing her lover's frenzied state, the inferno engulfed Liara's senses once again and she returned to that mouth- licking, kissing, nibbling, and ravenously devouring every inch touched.

Lakota inhaled deeply through her nose, taken aback by the fiery return to her lips, and then attempted to match the fierce attack, wanting to consume her lover whole, leaving nothing overlooked or shamefully neglected. Drunk upon the enthralling sensations raging through her body, the Spectre's right hand captured the small of her lover's back and pulled her tight so their hips met. The unexpected contact lit fire to a primal urge which sent shivers through them both provoking their hips to dance in seductive union.

Abruptly, Lakota pulled her lips back, but leaned in so their foreheads lightly brushed upon each other in a tranquil pose. Breathing raggedly, she revealed, "Sometimes it feels as though I am remembering you… like I've known you for ages and we're just being reintroduced."

Liara softly nodded as her eyes closed and an exquisitely serene expression graced her face. Smiling shyly, she confessed, "I fell without jumping and without seeing the goal. When I knew it had happened, I was already lost in you."

"Oh…" With an impish gleam in her eyes, Lakota razzed, "so the biotic goddess can fall."

"Only for you, Shepard." Taking in a deep breath, Liara repeated her heartfelt murmur, "Only for you."

Lakota's hand reached out- her forefinger touching under the asari's chin and her thumb casually brushing the top. Gently, she lifted her hand up until their eyes met in passionate recognition. Contemplating her lover admiringly, Lakota whispered, "Doctor, I would cheat destiny just to be near you."

"No need for that, Commander, no need at all…" Liara moved in and her warm, pliant lips met Lakota's bestowing a hauntingly sweet kiss that conveyed waves of tenderness and longing which swayed like ocean tides beneath the surface.

Their mouths fell upon each other again and the rising need and hunger between them was etched deeply within their pairing. What had been a gentle caress of supple lips was now a crushingly sweet dance of lustful intent. What had been a tender weaving of tongues was now a delightfully ardent battle of heated dominance. A steady ache was now propelled into a furious desire to devour each other.

Whispering amidst their kisses, Lakota breathily professed, "You make me feel …such fire within. Sometimes tender. Sometimes…raw, lustful. Sometimes… woven in soft, lyrical music… beautiful, moving… able to carry me beyond the moment…and into the infinite."

"See, Commander…" murmured Liara between stolen breaths, "you are a romantic."

"Only for you, Doctor." Gazing into her lover's hypnotic blue eyes, Lakota repeated her loving reply, "Only for you."

Lakota's hands instinctively captured Liara's hips and drew her in once again. Body to body, they continued to slowly stoke the fire raging between them. Hands roamed freely. Lips and tongues entwined. Neither wanted to hurry, but rather forced themselves to maintain a deliberately painful pace until their lust threatened to swallow them whole.

Clothing fell indiscriminately from their forms as they made their way to a nest of blankets upon the floor. Desire overrode speech, instinct overrode thought, and reckless abandon overrode practical physics. Their longing overwhelmed all but each other as it swelled out to rich and glorious harmonies, touching upon the zenith of each nerve ending and electrifying their dizzying need.

Lying down upon the impromptu bedding, Liara straddled atop the Spectre, and then her inquisitive lips burned an intrepid path along Lakota's neck. Grazing upon the pulse point, the scientist's tongue felt the throbbing beneath her lover's flesh, tasted the salty-sweetness of her skin and then captured the point- suckling as if it nourished her being. Her teeth lightly grazed the honey colored skin - teasingly, tenderly -and then her lips left a parting, lingering kiss before continuing their journey down the slender neckline. The beguiling fragrance of sandalwood and sage breathed in from the nook of her lover's neck was like ambrosia to the asari - heady and alluring- and she nuzzled in closer as if to lose herself within the beguiling scent.

A predatory zeal assailed Lakota as a low, throaty growl escaped and she rolled on top of Liara with the nimbleness of a tiger. Like a trail of breadcrumbs, she was led by the subtle nuances of her lover's melodic writhing and the collection of exotically provocative sounds of gasps, moans and murmurs which bore an intensity that burned through the Spectre like a steadily rising flame. As their mouths vied to quench their ardent thirst, Lakota's hand began its journey over the asari's deliciously naked, blue-hued body. The intrepid fingers slid down her neck, across her chest, over her belly, hovering around her hip, and then aimlessly forged a salacious return path as if mapping every appetizing nuance of her lover's lissome form for the first time.

All the while their mutual reverence played upon the blankets, the lover's lips and tongues continued to ravage each other in deep, hungry kisses that sought to partake and luxuriate in the primeval essence born of their intrinsic beings. When the rise to no return was galvanized, Liara rolled on top, and pulled her mouth from Lakota's. Time seemed at a standstill as eyes deeply blue as the ocean depths hovered above smoldering, sea-green ones in a communion of adoration and trust. The asari leaned in so her soft, ruddy lips caressed the lobe of her lover's ear and murmured familiar but potent words of exquisite intent like the intimate melody of a siren's call.

"Embrace eternity."

The reverberations of those words sent chills down Lakota's spine, settling between her legs and further igniting the fire that quietly raged. The lovers held their intense gaze as Liara blue eyes shifted to an obsidian depth rivaled only by a starless night sky. They remained frozen - statuesque - allowing the moment to build. The depth their feeling became boundless and the ache of their unfulfilled passion intensified until the rise of their mutual languishing hunger careened into the abyss like madness and they fell into each other once again.

The asari race had a unique ability to merge with their partner's nervous system. This joining transcended a simple surface blending of colors, but was instead a deep union resonating within the primordial fabric of genesis. It was an energetic melding of mind, body and spirit. A place where thoughts, memories and emotions become one: a unified consciousness bound together by the wants, needs and willful desire of two individual entities.

In perfect emulation of their merging energies, Liara's mouth descended and lured Lakota's into a slow, passionate kiss that deepened with each subtle movement of the asari's body. Lips pressed together - hard, long, intense – attempting to convey the unbridled fervor brewing within and searching for the tempo upon which their vigorous release was bound.

Lips upon lips- swirling, exploring- the lover's longing sought refuge within the rhythm their mouths created while ferocity was building upon the precipice of their scalding kisses. Tongues entwined together again diving into the abyss of lascivious seduction and losing time to the cadence their joined hips created.

Body upon body - pressed tightly as if attempting to merge their physical beings like incandescent hues of a prism. Hands roamed freely, wildly as they searched, grasped, clawed their way to sensual ecstasy. Their hips, moving of their own volition, twisted in pleasurable discomfort as each intake of breath demanded that their unified consciousness – their blended form- find an outlet. Each gyration signaled a deepening immersion of their now melded essence which spiraled blissfully toward a rapturous climax.

Lips and tongues, hands and fingers all followed the feral rhythm of their hips while the rising crescendo of their lustful, ardent energy set the pace. They were bound by their mutual need, their love, their longing. Within the giving and the taking the primal thrill and raw erotic rise threatened to consume them both for they were each bound in the other's pleasurable euphoria. The need between them was great and when they sensed the mindless, frenzied edge approaching they pursued that edge with revitalized vigor. Over and over and over again until the peak of ecstasy was reached and they gasped in unison as the tumultuous sensations consumed their merged form, touched upon their melded souls, burned into the very core of their existence. When they tightened their physical embrace another electric arc swept through their bodies which hastened their fall - ever deeper, ever faster into the vast space within.

As the lovers continued to ride the fading waves of pleasurable bliss, their foreheads –anointed with lust-induced perspiration - touched lightly, their breathing- still heavy and labored – started to slow, and their thundering pulse began to calm. When their breathing had finally softened, Liara, whose eyes had returned to their jewel-like blue, placed a reverent, unhurried kiss upon Lakota's lips.

In the serene wake of their joining, an euphoric delirium languorously invaded every fiber of their being like a tide washing over a sun rent beach; and just as tidewater rises quickly, so did their insatiable, ravenous craving for each other surge again.

Fervor not sated, the couple began anew…

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Much, much later…

"We will have a proper date someday."

"I do not think people like us have dates, Shepard."

"Oh no…you mark my words: we will go on a date. Soon. Just not now. Probably sometime after I piss the Council off again." Lakota's voice stammered for moment before finishing, "So…you know …maybe tomorrow."

The asari giggled at her lover's amusing ramble. "I have made a mental note."

"Good. I'm serious."

"I believe you, Commander."

"Okay. Good."

Lying amidst the tangled blankets, nestled in each other's arms, Lakota and Liara enjoyed the peaceful aftermath of their joining. Their rhythmic breathing matched the quiet mood that had settled between them, and neither moved for fear of disrupting the serenity. Even the resonate hum of the Citadel added to the tranquility of the moment, as the station held its orbit in space. Instinctively tightened her left arm around the lithe body enveloping her, Lakota let her right hand traced a leisurely, nondescript path over the scientist's sensual curves and smooth skin. Soft starlight, emanating from the observation window, bathed the room in a faint celestial aura and allowed for Liara's blue hued form to be highlighted in an enchanting luminance.

Sighing contentedly, Liara broke the silence by asking, "What was that smooth, nutty substance…?"

"The peanut butter…?"

"Yes, it was very good."

"It's a personal favorite of mine as well. The chocolate and dried fruit weren't bad either."

"Next time, forget the varren jerky."

Lakota scrunched her face in disgust. "Agreed. I'm still not sure how that got in there."

"Also," the asari playfully nudged her lover, "you owe me a dress."

"What?"

"And some shoes."

"Hey, you didn't lose your shoes and if you ask me, I think your dress looks better now." Lakota's fingers traced the asari's well-toned thigh. "You should show these more often."

"You would never get any work done which means that I would never get any work done, either."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"I have no good answer at this time."

"Good. Then it's settled, Doctor. You'll wear more leggy outfits."

"Yes, Commander. Just as soon as you wear more fashionable footwear."

"Damn."

Liara rolled in order to lay her head on Lakota's chest and drape her right arm and leg across her lover's naked form. Warmth emanated from the bare skin on skin contact while the rhythmic heartbeat pulsed in her ear and tingled across her face lulling her into a sedentary, peaceful contentment. "Goddess…I love this sound," she murmured.

"I wonder how someone goes about registering a newly discovered word."

"Commander?"

Lakota's fingertips drew an imperceptible route along the landscape of graceful curves and flawless plains of smooth azure skin. Bathed in the nebula's delicate luminance, the asari's flesh was richly enhanced by the flattering harmonies of shifting brilliance- a sight that neither went unnoticed nor was taken for granted. Unhurriedly, the commander's fingers followed various pathways of freckled trails which were woven upon the scientist's naked body in misbegotten patterns. She was spellbound by the intricate, yet spontaneous detail to Liara's adorable freckles and vowed to become intimately familiar with each and every salacious marking. Amid her explorations, tender fingertips soothingly traced the outline of her lover's face- across her forehead, over her eyebrows, upon her cheeks, brushing over the length of her nose and eventually coming to rest upon her chin.

Taking a deep breath, Lakota sighed affectionately. "I have become enchanted with a new shade of blue."

Liara smiled, a coy lilt woven in her tone. "Is that so?"

"Oh, yes," said Lakota. "It has all the characteristics I've been pining for my whole life: easy on the eyes, soothing tones, warmth of character and a depth that rivals an ocean's expanse. It's the blue of my oblivion. Blissful. Seductive. Intoxicating."

Liara innocently jested, "I understand why it caught your eye."

"You want to know the best part?"

The asari's head lifted up to watch the commander's facial expressions; this new subject had her both entertained and intrigued. "Please continue."

Lakota's eyes locked onto her lover's before admitting, "Every time I see it, I feel as though I've come home."

As the commander leaned in, Liara met her halfway. In the fervent splendor of their unhurried, hauntingly sensual kiss, time melted away- much like an ethereal touch of a dream that faded upon waking, and as impossible to count as the stars of unlimited space- for a moment and a lifetime they were suspended in an enchanted paradise of their own beautiful creation.

Eventually, their lips parted and their foreheads leaned forward- tenderly brushing upon each other. Liara's right hand reached up to caress her lover's cheek adoringly before she asked, "And what have you decided to name this mesmerizing color?"

In the cadence of an alluring mystery- soft, soothing and gentle like the whisper of winds blowing through the trees, Lakota answered…

"Prothean blue."

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The End

[At least until they try this again…]

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Author's End Note:
I hope you enjoy the conclusion to Liara and Lakota's date of frolicsome adventure! I also wanted to this moment thank those who read, Fav, Alert and/or Review this tale! Your interest in this story (one of my favs) and feedback are greatly appreciated. And for those who have taken the time to review- reading about what you liked or (gasp!) what you didn't like continues to be both helpful and motivating. Not to mention, barring the rare exception, who doesn't like to get reviews? Hmmmm…? That's what I thought! *big grin* Thanks again!