Miranda slowly walked alongside Shepard through the Presidium, weaving in and out of the people they passed. The bright light of the artificial sun shone vividly on the pair – and even though she couldn't feel the warmth of it, she soaked up its brilliance as much as she could. Her gaze turned to Shepard – and she found that he had been staring at the entire time as they walked. He smiled cautiously before speaking;

"You almost forget what daylight is like, don't you?" He asked.

"It's not daylight, not really anyways," she responded automatically. Her eyes traced the artificial skyline as they paused on the bridge between the embassies and consort's chamber, "But yes," she continued, "It's nice to see the sunlight again. It makes me miss Earth, in a way. Being able to step outside and just feel its heat envelop you, comfort you."

Shepard tentatively put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, "I'm glad you agreed to this," he said, lifting his right hand up to brush a stray hair away from her forehead, his eyes smoldering as they stared into hers.

"Shepard, I wanted this just as much as you," she replied, her brows furrowed in a slight frustration, "But this… it's hard for me."

Her frustration at the situation grew more evident with each word, as did her fear of pushing away the one thing that she truly cared about. Unable to push him away any longer, the last of her barriers finally shattered. She turned and embraced him, resting her head against his chest – listening to his heart as she strained to finally let out the words she wanted to scream everyday;

"I love you, Shepard."

His heart jumped.

"And that scares me more than anything else I've ever faced," she felt Shepard's hand comb its way through her hair as she spoke, "I've never failed at anything, but things with us haven't been going well and… I can't think of any reason for that other than some failure on my part.."

Shepard brought his hand up to her chin, pulling her head away from his chest and turning it towards him. He shook his head slightly, a pained expression on his face, "Miranda, what's been going on between us is not your fault. We have both made mistakes – but that's how these things work. They're hard and sometimes you have to fight like hell to keep what you love," he brought his face closer to hers, "But I do love you – and I will do whatever it takes to keep you."

Miranda dug her fingers into Shepard's chest, trying her hardest to keep her composure, but it was no use. This man, this human who was thrusted into her life because of his importance to the galaxy – became the most important thing in her galaxy. She finally let go of everything that was separating herself from him as she drew his lips to hers in a heated and passionate moment. Shepard, briefly caught off guard, wasted no time in reciprocating. He pulled her body into his and kissed her like he'd never wanted anything more.

They were still kissing when, on the 20th hour, the artificial sun set on the Presidium, and the glow of the moon appeared in the skyline. They pulled away from one another slowly, a smile on their faces. Shepard was breathless as he gazed over Miranda, the moon amplifying her beauty. Her eyes glimmered in its light.

Miranda turned her head briefly to catch a glimpse of the night sky, and as her gaze returned to Shepard, he caught her in another kiss – his enthusiasm unmistakable. Neither of them could contain their smiles as they embraced – and neither of them wanted to. Finally tearing themselves away from one another, Shepard took her hand and motioned his head towards the Consort's Chambers.

"Are you ready to see your surprise?" He asked, the spark that was once missing in his eyes returning.

Miranda nodded excitedly, giving Shepard's hand a little squeeze as they turned and walked towards the Consort's Chambers. They didn't speak any words as they climbed the steps towards the room – their subtle glances and gestures they shared were saying more about their feelings then any word ever could.

As they stood in front of the Chamber doors, Shepard turned to Miranda, "Okay, I'm going to ask you to do something really old-fashioned and cliché… but close your eyes."

An inquisitive look filled her face, but she acquiesced without a word. Shepard stood behind her, placed his hands on her hips, and guided her into the room. The second Miranda heard the doors hiss open – music entered her ears, but not just any music;

"Is this…?"

"Nielsen's Fifth? Yes, it is," Shepard responded.

"My favorite song… how did y-"

He brought his mouth up to her ear and interrupted, whispering, "Open your eyes."

Miranda opened her eyes slowly, unsure of what she would see. But as she took in the room – a bright smile came to her face, and she covered her mouth with her hands.

The main floor of the room was covered in red and pearl rose petals. The once circular bed that used to be in the chambers was replaced by a four-poster bed, draped in red and white silk. The only light given off was from the candles that sat on the top off the steps that led down to the floor.

'How much planning did he put in this?' she thought with a smile, knowing full-well that this many roses were hard to come by on any planet but Earth.

He took her hand, and giving it a small squeeze, led her to the half-circle couch. Sitting on the small table in front of it, she noticed, sat a wine bottle in a bucket of us – flanked by two wine glasses, and an opaque container. Following her gaze, Shepard gestured at the bottle;

"Cabernet Sauvignon, for the lady," he said with a smirk.

Completely overwhelmed with the quality of the evening, Miranda found herself at a loss for words. She followed Shepard's lead as he sat on the couch, her mouth still agape in the pleasant surprise. Shepard leaned towards the table, removing the bottle from the bucket it was chilling in.

"And not just ANY Cabernet," he began, the sound of personal triumph obvious in his voice, "but the only remaining bottle from the 21st century," he uncorked the bottle as he continued, "Had to call in a few favors to find it but…"

He turned to Miranda, "I know you settle for nothing," he winked, "but the best."

Miranda let out a small laugh, "You certainly do know how to please, Shepard."

He poured a glass and handed it to her before filling his own. Once he had returned the bottle to the ice bucket, he settled back and put his arm on the couch behind Miranda, holding his glass up to toast;

"To us."

"To us," she echoed as she brought the glass up to her lips. She savored its rich scent, and not wanting to waste a single molecule of it, she let the glass linger at her lips a few seconds before finally taking a sip. She couldn't remember the last time she had tasted a wine so delicious and robust.

"Mmm," she murmured, "This is incredible."

'And not just the wine,' the thought passing quickly through her head.

Shepared flashed her a smile before leaning forward and grabbing the opaque container from the table. Curious of its contents, Miranda leaned closer to him as he removed the lid, revealing the most brilliant red strawberries she had ever seen. Miranda smiled in surprise – and aw – at what a truly romantic man her lover was.

"Will you ever cease to amaze me?" She asked deviously.

He let out a laugh, "I hope not."

Slowly, he took out a single strawberry and held it by the stem. Looking at him coyly, she took another ship of her wine. Shepard lifted the strawberry to her lips, absolutely captivated by her as she took a bite, not keeping her eyes off of him. He let out a small laugh and took a sip of his own wine as she chewed.

Miranda fished another strawberry from the container and reversed the roles, feeding it to him this time. She laughed to herself as she flashed him a flirtatious look.

"This is amazing, Shepard," she said softly, sitting herself closer to the man and cuddling next to him.

"I wanted to do something special for you," he answered, "I wanted to do something worthy of you. It still falls short… but…"

"No," she shook her head and gazed up at him, "It's perfect – nothing you do could ever fall short." She brought her hand up and stroked the side of his face.

They looked at each other, not uttering a single word – but letting their eyes do all the talking needed. When they finally broke their trance, they leaned into one another, their lips meeting as their hands found each other and interlaced.

After a moment, their hands unlocked, and Shepard ran his hands slowly down her body, picking her up as she slowly stood. She wrapped her arms around his neck, still kissing him as he effortlessly carried her to the bed and laid her gently on top of the silk sheets.

Shepard laid down next to her, propping himself up on his elbow as he pushed her hair behind her ear. She kicked off her heels, closing her eyes as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, running his fingertips down her arm and sending shivers up her spine. She brought her left hand up to his face, moving itself to the back of his head and brought it closer to her's, forcing him to position himself on top of her. She drug her lips across his eyebrows, his eyes, his nose – leaving a trail of kissing – before finally touching her lips to his once more. As they kissed, she slowly removed his jacket and undid his tie, before moving on to the task of unbuttoning his shirt. Never once pausing in their embrace, her nimble fingers unfastened each button and seconds later, she slipped the shirt off of Shepard's chiseled shoulders and onto the floor.

She cooed at him as her hands explored his exposed skin. With a smile, he carefully rolled so that she was positioned on top of him. As she straddled him, he sat up – kissing her once again, before bringing his right hand on the back of her head and tangling his hand in her hair. His thumb traced small circles in her thigh, squeezing it gently – sending more shivers to course through Miranda's body.

Her body burned with desire for this man, but she kept her actions slow and deliberate, not wanting to rush a single moment of intimacy with him. She broke their kiss and leaned back, resting her hands on his chest. He kicked off his shoes as he tried to sit up, but Miranda kept him down – and instead grabbed his hand and brought it to her chest. Without needing to speak a word, he knew exactly what she wanted from him and calmed himself, feeling each beat of her heart rush down his arm like an electric pulse.

She gradually leaned in and kissed him again, but this time all expedience was gone and they fell into their own rhythm. He slowly dragged the straps of her dress down her shoulders as his lips gradually drifted to her neck. He unfastened the zipper on her back and pulled her dress down to her waist, moving his lips to her clavicle. They turned so that they were side by side and Miranda's hand slid down his ribs, tracing the faint scars left by his injury from months ago.

Eventually, jockeying for position a final time, Shepard hovered just above her nearly naked form. As her hands journeyed to the button of his pants, she began to kiss his chest. Easily sliding the slacks from his waist, she brought her face to his and they both inhaled in anticipation.

They spent the entire night making up for the months they lost. Not even their first night together in the engine room could compare to the level of intimacy they reached. Their relationship wasn't perfect, but no relationship was - and as hard as that fact might be for Miranda to get used to – she could live with it. She realized on the bridge that she never really had a choice. She could live without Shepard – but she didn't want to. And she never would.

When the holographic sky brightened 6 hours later and they finally started drifting off to sleep, Shepard took Miranda's hand as she lay nestled against him. She couldn't remember any other moment in her life that had been more perfect and she couldn't imagine it getting any better.

As sleep started to take them away, she realized she had been wrong to think that when he said, "I love you, Miranda Lawson – and I always will."

Because this time she had no hesitation about answering him.