"What is wrong?" Liara murmured in soft concern, warm water still cascading around the pair. They held one another tightly, the asari's forehead resting lightly against the human's tan shoulder. Even under the water, under the fresh smell of soap so recently applied, she could still note the ghost of the woman's cigars, as if the scent was indelibly etched into her skin.
"Nothing," Shepard mumbled. Even if Liara hadn't known better, the lie was more than unconvincing.
Little was truly hidden from a meld…especially a full Joining. However, being a happy and pleasurable experience, Joinings generally only pulled the more comforting and beautiful of one's memories to the fore. Even then, the memories were a swirl of dream-like chaos, only a half-seen and half-noted backdrop, overshadowed a bit by the more intent focus of purpose.
Sometimes, though, unpleasant memories would surface…moreso if they were especially powerful. These were sensed subconsciously, and could be completely closed off if the one to whom the memory belonged wished it.
Had there been no Prothean beacon, Liara would not have been privy to a lot of Del's darker memories when their relationship had evolved. The human's super-ego would have closed them off, sealed them away defensively. Liara would have been able to sense the barrier there, but both politeness and propriety would have prevented her attempting to penetrate it against Shepard's will.
With the beacon, however, the chaotic alien knowledge had forcefully pulled the memories to the surface, entwining them with the programmed visions until it was nearly impossible to view one without the other. Liara had been thrust starkly into the most painful corners of Shepard's past, the experiences ripped to the surface and laid bare.
Because of this, Shepard did not seal these off when they Joined. If one grew too close to the surface she would mentally bat it away again, preventing it from becoming too strongly focused, but she did not actively hide them.
This was how Liara had learned of the kidnapping, the meat-hooks. The faintest, briefest glimpse of it before it was urged away again had been enough. Unconsciously registered, it had not moved to Liara's conscious mind until after they had separated from the Joining, and even then, it was only a vague knowledge, a shadow of realization...like the memory of a story once told in childhood.
This time, however…there had been a definitive barrier.
She had sensed it the night before, as well. She had vaguely touched it and felt the firm resistance. It had troubled and puzzled her but she had swiftly (and most expertly) been distracted from it moments later.
Now, she had sensed it again, an unyielding wall that masked what lurked behind. Only the most uncouth of asari would have even attempted to pry behind that barrier…an act that could be likened to rape for a human being…so Liara had naturally not pressed the issue mentally.
That did not, however, stop her from asking. In light of her past, the memory had to be most unpleasant indeed if Del sought to protect her from it. As well, Shepard's emotions had seemed hesitant, tentative, touched with guilt, even at the heights of their Joining.
All together, it left for a troubled and understandably concerned Liara.
"What has happened you do not wish me to know?" she asked gently, sliding her arms from around the human woman and lifting her hands to cup her face. Blue eyes looked into brown, a silent plea for trust, a reflection of love.
Shepard met that gaze only for a moment, before her own slipped away to the side. Ducking her head, she firmly kissed Liara's cheek before stepping past her and out of the shower.
Now Liara was frightened.
Emerging herself, she dried and gathered her clothing, stepping into the bedroom proper. Shepard was standing near the bed, her back to the bathroom as she almost mechanically dressed in fresh clothes.
"Del…" Liara murmured, her voice soft worry.
"It's nothing, Liara-"
"If it were nothing, you would not feel the need to keep it from me," the asari replied quietly, pulling her clothing on.
"It's…done with, it's not important," Shepard said tersely, tugging her t-shirt on with a snap of her hand.
Wounded, Liara's brows knit as she looked at her. "You do not trust me…"
"You know that's not true," Shepard replied, turning and looking at her.
Moving forward, Liara cupped her cheeks again, searching her face before resting her forehead against Shepard's. "Let me help you, Shepard," Liara whispered. "You have so many burdens already…you do not have to bear them alone."
Shepard closed her eyes, her hands resting on Liara's shoulders as she waged an internal war. No matter how much they had shared, no matter how much Liara might know or understand about her, Shepard had spent so long closing everyone and everything else out that this was a true struggle. She knew that Liara would be upset, perhaps even furious…but to not tell her would hurt her, and she would only be more upset and angry when she eventually, inevitably, found out on her own.
Shepard had already been the cause of so much pain in Liara's life. The guilt of that weighed on her more heavily than the guilt of what she hadn't yet confessed.
Releasing the asari, she stepped back, turning around as she lifted one hand, raking her short nails over her scalp and fluffing her still damp hair a little.
"There…was an accident," she said at last, keeping her voice low and even and not even daring to look at Liara at first. She could feel the weight of the woman's gaze, could almost feel the acceptance in it. Liara truly thought there was nothing Shepard could tell her that would possibly change her feelings toward her.
How long will that last? How far into this will I get before that turns into disbelief, into fury?
She dared not pause too long. If she did she'd never get through this.
"He's just a boy," she defended, speaking almost to herself more than Liara. "Hotheaded, eager…he thought it was the right thing to do. He just didn't think."
"Are you talking about Grunt?" Liara asked softly. Shepard bobbed her head once, then felt her gut tighten even more. Her worries had been so wrapped up in telling Liara about Grunt's careless mishap, and about what had happened on Omega, that she had completely forgotten how Grunt's error had occurred…more specifically, that it had been while they were fleeing their lives from a trap the Illusive Man had let them stroll right into.
This is going to be so bad…
Forcing herself to turn she looked at Liara. Shepard was many things, but she was not now nor had she ever been a coward. Even so, facing that one small asari scientist was harder than facing all the geth, Collectors, and Reapers the galaxy could throw at her.
"We…were lured onto a Collector ship," she said in a low voice. "We thought it was disabled. We had to take the chance that we could get valuable intel, maybe even find some of our people that had been taken. It was too good a chance to pass up…too good to be true."
Her tone turned bitter, and she made a helpless gesture. "It was a trap, of course. Got in easily enough but ended up in a hot run trying to get out again, Collectors and husks dumping out of every goddamn crack…"
Her jaw tensed, her eyes going to flint as she glanced at a shifting wall screen that was displaying random works of art, as if the answers to the universe would appear on its surface. "The Illusive Man knew it was a trap," she confessed. "He knew from the get-go and he let us waltz in anyway."
Liara straightened a little, eyes widening slightly. "He risked your life and the lives of your crew for…for some intel? I…" she broke off, shaking her head sharply. "I thought I would no longer be surprised by the depths to which that man is willing to sink."
"Yeah," Shepard scrubbed at her hair again, rubbing her neck before letting her hand drop to her side. "I was…well. To say I was a little unhappy with him would be an understatement. We were so hard-pressed…Kasumi nearly died-"
"And Grunt?" Liara pressed lightly, meeting her eyes.
Shepard shifted back toward a nearby chair, sitting with a sigh and a weak slap of her hands on her thighs, a surrendering motion. "He…he just wasn't thinking. We were nearly to the shuttle when I was grabbed by one of the drones. Adrenaline was high, he just reacted…put a shot through the hostile's head. Unfortunately, my head was in the fire line."
Liara's eyes widened again, and she went pale. "H-he shot you?"
As if it were unimportant Shepard flicked a finger at her forehead. "It just skipped off my helmet is all. Cracked the casing, dented it a bit…he'll never admit it but it scared the shit out of him when he realized what he'd done."
Liara put a hand over her mouth, still staring at her human love. An accident, yes…but mere fortune Shepard had not been killed. Her eyes closed and Del shook her head.
"I'm all right," she reassured intently. "Honestly, if he hadn't taken the shot we probably wouldn't have gotten out of there in time."
Liara paused a moment, eyes still closed, before she finally lowered her hand and opened them, stoic. "This is what you did not want to tell me?" she asked quietly.
Brown eyes shifted to the floor again. Del's palm stroked over her lips, rubbing with an agitated motion before she clasped her hands between her knees. "Some of it," she admitted.
"Some of it?" Liara pressed. Her tone was still soft, but Shepard could hear the woman's upset hidden within it. Grunt's little accident was one thing…a mistake that Del had fortunately survived intact. The Illusive Man being involved in a Collector trap would be slightly more stinging, adding to the already simmering cauldron of anger toward the man hidden deep within Liara's chest. Alone, what Shepard had already told her was enough to make the asari angry. What she was about to say would undoubtedly push it over the brink.
Del took a deep breath, once more forcing herself to meet Liara's eyes. "The Justicar-…Samara. Don't…no one else knows this. She was reluctant enough to even tell me. She informed me that she had been pursuing her daughter for a few centuries, and had finally tracked her to Omega. She, ah…asked for my help to stop her and I…uh…helped."
Confusion shone plain in Liara's bright blue eyes. "I do not understand. Her daughter…was a fugitive? A criminal? And you helped her to apprehend her? Why would this be something to trouble you? It is sad that she was forced to track her own daughter, but-"
"She was an Ardat-Yakshi," Shepard said quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Liara could only blink a moment before the word registered.
"A-an Ardat-Yakshi?" Her tone was a gasping blend of horror and disbelief. "Shepard!"
"I know…"
"Do you?" Liara gaped. "You helped a Justicar track down an Ardat-Yakshi? The most dangerous predator in the entire galaxy? Wh-why would you do such a thing?"
At Liara's horror and budding fury Shepard automatically went on the defensive, resorting to her own one tried and true weapon…anger.
"The woman was a murderer, Liara! She had to be stopped-"
"So naturally you had to be the one to stop her," Liara retorted bitterly, folding her arms. "The mighty Shepard, rushing to the rescue once again without thought-"
"Hey, now that's not fair," Shepard glared, getting to her feet.
"Not fair?" Liara gasped. "Shepard, do you know what an Ardat-Yakshi can do? What she could have done to you had she managed to touch your mind-"
The asari broke off at the expression on Shepard's face. After a tense moment of silence, Liara made a faintly strangled sound. "Shepard…"
"Li-"
"Tell me she did not actually touch your mind," Liara said in a thick, quiet voice, her face stone. "Tell me you were not so close to her that she was able to do so…"
Shepard said nothing. She didn't have to. Liara lowered her arms, a strange expression passing over her face before she turned away from the human woman. Shepard could see her hand trembling as she rest it on the back of a chair, as if to steady herself.
"Liara…" she murmured, taking a step forward.
"Get out."
The asari's voice was low and husky, tinged with ice. Shepard had never heard her speak that way before, and it chilled her.
"Tianl-"
"Get. Out." Liara repeated, through grit teeth, her voice now heat instead of ice. Her skin began to glimmer with biotics, faint traces of blue fire writhing over her flesh like snakes.
Jaw steeling, Shepard closed her mouth and wordlessly turned, striding out the door.
"Shepard, are you all right?"
"Aren't you supposed to be pretending to be a VI?" Shepard asked. She was sitting at a work bench in the armory, disassembling the new-gen assault rifle that Conroy had provided. She had taken it apart and put it back together four times already, her brown eyes focused with almost feverish intensity on her task. A half empty bottle of Jack sat nearby, remains of some half-dozen cigars overflowing a tiny tray. "What if someone hears you?"
"It is 0112, Shepard," EDI replied evenly. "The only work crews still on task are down in Engineering. There is no risk that we will be overheard. I repeat my inquiry…are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Shepard murmured, continuing about her task.
"Evidence suggest otherwise. Your alcohol consumption over the last forty-eight hours has more than quadrupled from your normal average. Though we are in dry-dock you have not left the ship at all in those two days. Liara has not entered the ship to visit-"
"This is none of your goddamn business, EDI," Shepard growled. The small blue globe hovering over the pad nearby fell silent, seeming to pulse in thought a moment before responding.
"Your mental and emotional well-being are necessary for the stability of the ship and crew. I am both. Logic dictates that it is, in fact, 'my business.'"
Shepard all but slammed the pieces of the rifle down on the work bench before planting her elbows, raking her fingers back through her dark hair. After a long moment she mumbled, "Liara is angry with me."
"You should purchase her some flowers," EDI stated matter-of-factly. Shepard lifted her head, blinking at the blue orb.
"I should what?"
"It is a human custom to purchase flowers as an appeasement in such a situation," EDI told her. "Until you do, I believe you are in what is termed as 'the dog house'."
Shepard stared at the orb, then sat back a little. "I'm familiar with human custom," she said bitterly. "I think this is a bit too serious to be appeased with just flowers."
"Some chocolate, perhaps-"
"EDI…" Shepard warned.
"Is it serious enough to cause an end to your relationship?" EDI asked.
"God, I hope not," Shepard murmured with a heavy sigh.
"Logic would dictate that this needs to be discussed with Dr. T'Soni, and a solution to the problem formulated."
"It's not so cut and dried, EDI," Shepard told her.
"What is the cause of Dr. T'Soni's upset?"
"It's…it's just fucking complicated, all right?"
"I am sorry, Shepard. I am still trying to understand the subtleties of organic emotions. If you would like, I can attempt to change your emotional state through humor."
Shepard stared at the orb, and taking her silence as an affirmative, EDI said, "A turian, a salarian, and an asari walk into a bar-"
"Don't…just…just don't…" Shepard groaned, waving a dismissive hand.
"Joker has used this anecdote on numerous occasions," EDI replied. "It seems to serve quite well in improving his emotional state. So much so that he feels the need to share it with numerous crew members. Oddly enough, the recipient's emotional state does not seem nearly as improved as a result. Perhaps it is the act of telling the joke rather than receiving it that causes the positive response…"
"Jokes aren't going to fix this any more than goddamn flowers," Shepard snapped. Rising to her feet, she snatched hold of the neck of the bottle of Jack, and turned to leave the Armory.
"I am…sorry, Shepard," EDI stated. The commander drew to a halt, half looking over her shoulder.
"Thank you, EDI," Shepard murmured after a moment. "Thank you for…at least trying to help."
Despite being on the Folly, Liara was not completely cut off from her information network. With Feron's help, she had uncovered a great deal of information about the Ardat-Yakshi that had infiltrated Omega, including video surveillance footage.
She had no media that captured the actual confrontation, of course. Morinth, as she called herself, was much too clever for that. She'd even altered the consoles in her rented apartment to prevent eavesdropping through a force-reverse feed.
However she could not control the public vid-cams that lined Omega's streets…nor could she control Aria's private security network.
T'Loak would probably not be happy to know that Liara had access to her security. In fact, her unhappiness, were she to discover it, would prompt a reaction likely to be in the realm of 'murderous'. The original Broker had protected himself well, however, and Liara held little fear that the connections, bugs, and program implants would suddenly be discovered now…let alone traced back to her.
However they proved invaluable to the asari in pulling up the recorded security information from the night Shepard had gone to hunt the most vicious of prey.
Liara watched in grim-faced silence as she followed the human woman's path off the Normandy and into the VIP lounge. She watched her bribe her way into the lounge, bluff her way up onto the stage. Switching camera angles, she briefly caught sight of the Ardat-Yakshi. She hid herself very cleverly, remaining all but invisible not only to those around her but to the camera feeds. Liara only got a glimpse now and again no matter what angle she switched to.
It wasn't until Morinth approached Del as she played pool that she became clear. Liara tried to force herself to remain detached, nothing but an observer, but it was more difficult than she imagined it would be as Shepard and the deadly asari interacted, flirting with one another. The closer Morinth drew to the human woman, increasing the rate of casual contact and all but exuding sex, the grimmer Liara's expression became.
Shepard had not merely been involved with aiding Samara to confront her daughter…she had actively acted as bait. Not content with hunting the Ardat-Yakshi, a dangerous enough prospect by itself, Shepard had put herself willingly right into her grasp.
Liara was trembling as she watched the bar fight unfold, Morinth disappearing from the scene. Following the cameras as Del left the club she watched the 'reunion' at the base of the stairs. Her hand clenched into a fist when Morinth slipped intimately close to Shepard, murmuring in her ear before taking her hand and leading her away.
Once they went into the apartment Liara was only left to imagine what went on inside. Watching the front of the building, however, revealed that the justicar did not enter for several minutes…much longer than was safe.
Not that there is any such thing as 'safe' when even seconds are being spent in the company of an Ardat-Yakshi.
When Samara and Shepard emerged shortly afterward, Liara could see from the unsteady, half-drunk way Shepard was walking that she had not escaped the incident even remotely unscathed.
With a sharp jab of her finger, Liara switched off the feed. Sweeping to her feet, her biotics lit unconsciously. Every fiber of her being wanted to lash out, to release this fury and pain. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, instead, she struggled herself back under control.
The blue light surrounding her slowly faded. Only when it had completely vanished did she turn and walk out of the room.
Sydney swiped her golden hair back, gathering the mass into a tail and tying it back to keep it out of her face. As she finished, she heard the door slide open and turned, her eyes landing upon the brunette that entered.
Walking over, the taller blonde reached out and lightly rested her hands on Del's shoulders, amber eyes meeting dark brown. Shepard's face was slightly flush, and Syd could smell the Jack on her breath.
"You are absolutely sure you want to do this?" Sydney asked gently. "You look drunk. You might end up regretting it…"
"I'm not that drunk," Shepard replied. "I'm…I'm sure. Just…well. Sorry I woke you up for this-"
"Are you kidding me?" Sydney smiled faintly. "After how long I've waited? You know how much I've wanted to do this."
"Yeah," Del half smirked, then gave a faint shrug. "I figured if I waited I'd just end up talking myself out of it."
"Just so long as you promise not to hate me in the morning."
"I already hate you, Rasler," Shepard replied, her tone amused but so weary the inflection was almost lost.
"Oh. Good then," Sydney teased back gently, then winked. "Then have I got something for you."
Turning away, she strode back over to where she had set a heavy case. Snapping it open as Shepard followed her and peered over her shoulder, Sydney smirked.
"You should feel honored. I haven't even done this on myself yet."
"I take it this is something special then?"
"New tech. Li secured the schematic through her network and gave it to me as a thank-you. You'll be the first in the galaxy to try it out, Del. It'll be at least six more months before this hits the common market so you'll be way ahead of the curve."
"It's…safe though, right? Tested?"
"No, it'll kill you on contact," Sydney said with dry sarcasm. "Of course I tested it!"
"All right. So…how is it different then?"
"Well, most kits nowadays have the same laser and computer guidance, though I always prefer to do the color work by hand, as you know. Letting the VI do it is like…well, like a guitar with an HI interface instead of real strings."
"I get you."
"This, however…it doesn't use ink. You see this?"
She lifted a rather large bottle from the case. Clear, it looked like it held water, though it shimmered slightly. Sydney's grin grew as Shepard regarded it. "Hideously crude when compared to your nanites, but cutting edge as far as the galaxy is concerned," the blonde touted. "This bottle holds a trillion tiny little microscopic holographic projectors suspended in a neutral medium. Each projector is color-coded via the needle interface as its injected."
"So…it'll be holographic?" Shepard asked, eyes widening.
"Yes," Sydney beamed. "The projectors send their individual little images through the lower layer of the skin and form the image one infinitesimal dot at a time…the final product will look like its hovering just a millimeter below the surface."
As Shepard plucked the bottle from her hand, looking at it in wonder, Sydney continued to grin. "Del, you are about to have the galaxy's first official holographic tattoo."
Very few people were up and about at this hour, and those that were remained hard at work on the Normandy. It felt to Liara almost as if the entire station were deserted, leaving her with a lonely melancholy beneath the uncomfortable warmth of her anger and hurt.
One of the engineers that emerged from the Normandy just as Liara approached it, informed her that Shepard was not on board and had not been for a few hours. The station's bland VI directed her to a small rec room off of the mess, and as she entered, Liara found Shepard was not alone.
A chair had been set up in the middle of the room…a strange sort of chair that allowed the seater to straddle it and lean forward over an inclined platform. Del was seated in this chair with her back toward the door, naked from the waist up, her arms folded under her head as her torso rested against the incline. Her yoga pants had been worked down low on her hips.
Sydney was planted on a stool beside her, her blonde hair pulled back and an intent look upon her face as she leaned close over Shepard's back, painstakingly passing a laser wand the size of a stylus over the other woman's skin.
Distracted by motion as Liara moved closer, Sydney half glanced at her with a squint, before she blinked and straightened, lowering the stylus.
"Oh, Li…hey. Didn't think you were still up," she greeted. "I'm nearly done. Just the perfectionist in me being picky about the shading."
Though she could not see Shepard's face from this vantage, the sudden tension that corded Shepard's shoulders was unmistakable. Despite this, the asari's attention was fixed with wonder, even her anger momentarily forgotten as she approached close enough to see Sydney's handiwork.
Liara, of course, knew what a tattoo was. Asari indulged them as well from time to time though not in quite the same manner as humans did. They were less apt to put cohesive 'pictures' upon their skin and leaned more toward abstract or even tribal designs that followed the natural flow of their bodies.
Even had the concept been utterly foreign to her, meeting Sydney and Jack both would have enlightened her to the practice long before now. It was not so much that Del was receiving one that rendered her momentarily speechless, but the tattoo itself that stole her tongue.
Not luminescent in and of itself, the image still seemed to somehow glimmer with light, shifting and flowing along the muscles, giving the impression that it was not imprinted on the skin but somehow suspended just beneath it, emanating from deeper within.
It was some kind of an avian. Beautifully rendered, the image swept from Shepard's shoulder down the right half of her back. Caught as if it were just taking off in flight, its wings were curved in graceful sweeps toward the right, the pinion feathers following the slope of Shepard's outer shoulder and slightly onto her arm. Its tail began as the form reached the lower curve of her spine, several long and delicate feathers spreading on each side to the outer curve of her hips.
Each feather was incredibly detailed, not only in light and shadow but in color. Crimson and gold gave the impression almost of flames, each nuance of shade rippling and changing with every subtle shift of Shepard's body. The bird's eye was black and gleaming and alive somehow, its beak open in a cry.
She had never seen a tattoo like this, and the beauty of it took her breath away a moment. It was only by the strongest of will that she did not reach out and trace her fingers over it.
"I take it by your face you approve," Sydney said after a moment of awkward silence, popping open a small pack of medi-gel. As she began to carefully slather the clear gel over the tattoo, the slightly angry flesh at its edges began to visibly soothe.
"It is beyond lovely, Sydney," Liara complimented. "How…how was this effect accomplished? It looks almost holographic-"
"It is," Sydney said, then caught sight of Shepard's face as the woman turned her head to peer at her. "Um…I can explain the nuances to you later if you want. For right now, I think you two probably need to talk. Ten minutes before you move or put your shirt back on, Del, all right? Otherwise it's going to be tender as all hell."
The brunette only half nodded, her hooded eyes watching as Sydney quickly powered her equipment down before beating a strategic retreat.
Shepard made no move to rise, remaining as she was save to shift her face up a little so she would not mumble into her upper arm. "Did you need something, Liara?" she asked neutrally.
"Yes," Liara replied, taking her eyes from the image on Del's back as the purpose of her visit returned to her. "I need to speak with you."
She carefully took up residence on the stool that Sydney had abandoned, folding her hands demurely in her lap. Unsure where to begin but knowing she had to speak before her emotions got the best of her again, Liara cleared her throat. "I am…words cannot express how…how furious I am with you right now, Shepard."
"I know-"
"No. You do not." Liara stated, more fire in her voice than either of them had expected. "I…before we met, I had never truly been close to anyone, Shepard. I had no real friends before coming aboard the Normandy, only colleagues, vague acquaintances. Perhaps that is reason that I feel so helpless now. I…I cling to you so tightly because you were the first hint of that closeness, that kinship, that I had ever felt. Now my grip is so tight it is tearing my heart apart, and I…I cannot continue this way, Shepard."
"Liara-"
"You left me, Shepard," Liara breathed, misery and accusation both clear in the words. "You left me, and since the moment that you have come back, it only seems as if you are trying your hardest to leave me again."
Ignoring what Sydney had said, Shepard pushed herself up, grabbing her shirt where it was hanging on the edge of the chair. Sitting back she hauled it on, ignoring the faint irritating burn as the cloth rubbed over still tender skin. In her emotion, Liara didn't even notice the odd leather cuff over Shepard's left wrist.
"Is that what you think?" Del demanded hotly as she got to her feet. "That I'm indifferent to your feelings or just…just goddamn suicidal?"
"What am I to do, Shepard?" Liara retorted just as hotly, her blue eyes simmering. "Sit helpless in my hidden little fortress, worrying that somewhere out among the stars you are throwing yourself into a fist-fight with a krogan, charging head-long into a bullet, or entertaining an Ardat-Yakshi?"
"Hey, you're the one that wanted to be the Shadow Broker!"
"You are the one that wanted me safe!" Liara snapped back. "Is it wrong of me to want you safe as well? Or am I to mourn you again so soon?"
Shepard's jaw flexed and she looked away, lips pressed into a thin line. Lowering her head a little, Liara spoke in a voice that was lower, softer, but no less upset. "I understand that you are a marine. That you must take risks. I understand that you have survived so much, Shepard…so much that would have destroyed anyone else. I understand all of that, but…but this. I do not know if I am strong enough to handle this anymore. I…I close my eyes and all I can see is you falling toward the mouth of a thresher maw, or collapsing against the rachni tank on Noveria…"
Her eyes shimmered with tears as she lowered her head, hugging herself as if the temperature had just plummeted to freezing. "Your broken body in that statis pod…" she finished softly, her voice thick.
Shepard lowered her eyes, only half-looking at her. "Are you leaving me?" she asked at last, her voice barely audible.
Arms still folded, Liara gripped her elbows as she took half a step backward, ignoring the warm damp that tumbled down her cheeks. She closed her eyes a moment, lower lip trembling faintly before she stilled it.
"I do not know," she whispered back just as softly, before she turned and walked away. It was the hardest thing she had ever done…forcing herself not to look back.