A/N: The stage is set! Have I been teasing all you hopeless romantics long enough about the proposal? XD Well too bad because I'm having way too much fun writing all the fluff leading up to it. XD

P.S. I wouldn't normally bastardize Feron, but it needed to be done to set up this scene. He seemed like a pretty good guy, so yeah. Sorry Feron fans. Although, I just can't really imagine a universe where Shepard would be okay with someone who betrayed Liara multiple times. At least according to Liara, he betrayed her. She could be lying just to make Shepard jealous. XD

P.P.S. OMG. This chapter actually contains something other than fluff! Who knew?

Additional Warning: This chapter contains a . . . erm . . . really dirty lemon.

Chapter 14

"Wrex, I have a mission of the utmost importance for you," Shepard said conspiratorially. She had invited him to the Silver Coast Casino to join her and her "gaggle" for drinks, and he of course hadn't turned her down. She didn't know a krogan in existence who would say no to free drinks.

"You want me to distract Liara while you decorate the apartment," he said, taking a huge chug of some unknown krogan swill.

"I need you to . . . wait. What? How did you know?" Shepard demanded.

"I didn't." He belched loudly. "But who else is going to be able to keep Liara busy all day without her getting suspicious? None of these pijaks have it in 'em."

Garrus snickered into his drink, nearly choking on it. Miranda and Jack folded their arms competitively, Tali coughed politely, and Ashley pursed her lips. Shepard glanced around at her table full of powerful friends.

"Congratulations, Wrex," Shepard laughed. "You've successfully managed to rile everyone at this table with a single sentence. That has to be a gift."

"His innate ability to offend people?" Tali hazarded.

Everyone at the table chortled.

"Pyjaks, the lot of you," Wrex grunted. "I don't see Shepard asking any of you to distract the asari."

"That's because we're all doing the important stuff. Like decorating the damn apartment for Shepard's ridiculously grand romantic proposal," Ashley retorted. "Speaking of, Skipper, I'm not going to help you clean up."

"That's what Glyph is for," Shepard said.

"He can do that?" Miranda asked.

"No idea. I guess we'll just have to find out, won't we?" Shepard replied.

"What happened to your wrists?" Wrex asked with an amused twinkle in his eye.

Shepard hid her face behind her beer and took a huge chug. Her jacket wasn't quite long enough to cover her bruised wrists. "No comment," she mumbled.

"Damn!" Ashley laughed. "T'Soni will be the end of you yet, if you're not careful."

"Where the hell is Liara, anyway?" Wrex asked rather abruptly.

"Doing Broker stuff with Feron," Shepard said a bit more sourly than she intended. She couldn't help it. She didn't trust Feron. She liked to think she wasn't possessive of Liara, but there was something about that drell that rubbed her the wrong way. She wasn't threatened by him, but she didn't trust the way he looked at Liara. His gaze always lingered just a little too long.

"That pyjak is still around?" Wrex barked. "Why the hell haven't you gotten rid of him?"

"Not exactly my call to make, Wrex," Shepard said. "He's Liara's friend, not mine."

"Well let me know when you need to hide the body. Tuchanka is a great place for that."

A chuckle rippled around the table again.

"Yeah, we all got your back on this one, Shepard," Garrus said. "I never liked that guy either."

"Criminals, the lot of you," Shepard said, shaking her head in amusement.

"Hey," Wrex growled. "You mess with Shepard, you mess with me."

"Here, here," everyone at the table agreed, raising their glasses.

"A toast to Shepard," Garrus said, raising his glass the highest. "We'd die for her, we'd kill for her, and we'd hide the damn body for her. To enduring friendships, to saving the galaxy, to falling in love along the way. And to Lady Luck. For somehow, some way, she brought Shepard home to us."

O=O=O=O=O

Shepard wobbled against her cane a bit when she reached her apartment door. She'd definitely had a few too many drinks at the casino and it had finally caught up to her. Her N7 jacket was askew, though she'd been trying to straighten it all the way back to the apartment, and her hair was messy from dancing with Wrex (at his insistence). She had a feeling her intoxication would be impossible to hide from Liara, too. Not that she felt she needed to. Liara seemed to get a kick out of how alcohol affected Shepard, and she'd certainly taken advantage of Shepard on more than one occasion while intoxicated. She took a moment longer than normal to focus her eyes on her omni-tool and punch in the door code. It slid open and the first thing that greeted her eyes was a dejected looking Legion, locked in his cage. His cage was padded and very roomy, but he looked quite gloomy nonetheless.

"Aw," she she said, limping to his cage. "Why does Liara have you caged up, little guy?"

She opened the cage door and he bashed his head against her legs in cheerful greeting. She slowly lowered herself to her knees with a grimace of pain and worked the excited pup over with a vigorous belly rub. She was about to begin searching for her bondmate when she heard voices in the office. Legion rolled to his feet with a low growl, suddenly focusing a look of pure wrath toward the office.

Shepard chuckled and ruffled the scales on his head. "Yeah, I don't like him either."

She hoisted herself back to her feet and began heading toward the office. Legion followed her silently, like he was on the prowl for drell meat. Shepard stopped near the fountain when she heard her name come up in the escalating conversation. She moved behind the corner, out of sight of the office.

"You asked Garrus?" Feron growled. "Garrus? That meat-head wouldn't know the first thing about information brokering! I worked for the old Shadow Broker for Six years. Six years!"

"I know," Liara replied, the irritated strain in her voice apparent. "That's not why-."

"I was there for you, damn it. I was there for you when everyone else abandoned you. I was there when you needed help finding Shepard's body, I was there when you fell apart; I saw all those bitter tears you cried over her. How many times did I wipe them away? I helped you reclaim your strength! And no one knows the system better than I do! How could you ask Garrus and not me!"

A deep growl rumbled through Legion's throat, and the spines on his back raised threateningly. He took a menacing step forward, but Shepard held up a hand to stop him. She didn't particularly like the image in her head of Feron touching Liara, even to comfort her, but she knew there wasn't really a right time to walk in on a fight like this. She felt guilty for listening in, but she also couldn't bring herself to leave.

"Feron!" Liara snapped, silencing the drell. "This isn't up for debate. And don't ever insult Garrus in front of me again. I appreciate everything you've done, but to be honest, I don't think you're ready for the responsibility. Garrus has years of leadership experience. I want a team to replace me, not just one person."

"A team?!" Feron practically shouted. "And you didn't think it was important enough to run this by me? Are you even going to ask if I want to be on it?"

"I'm asking you now," Liara retorted. She paused to sigh in annoyance. "Look. I don't want to fight about this. Do you want to be on the team or not?"

"How could you do this to me?" Feron asked, his voice lowering. "Do you think I spent all that time helping you for no reason? Why do you think I helped you three years ago when you went looking for Shepard's body? Why do you think, Liara? Why do you think I betrayed the damn Shadow Broker for you?"

"What do you want me to say, Feron?" Liara asked, emotion lacing the edges of her voice. "What can I possibly say to that?"

"All I've ever wanted you to say is that you want me!" he replied, his candidness surprising Shepard. "I've wanted you to see that I wasn't the one who abandoned you then waltzed back into your life expecting to just pick up where you left off! I wasn't the one who always put the mission above you, who constantly put your life in peril, who turned you into a killer. And I most certainly wasn't the one who killed your mother right in front your eyes!"

Shepard heard Liara's hand make contact with Feron's face with a ferocious slap.

When Liara spoke, her voice took on a tone Shepard had never heard in her bondmate before-a dangerously quiet tone of pure liquid hate. "Get out."

Shepard took that as her cue to "see him out." She ditched her cane (though her legs protested painfully) and moved forward with Legion close on her heels.

"Liara, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like tha-," he stopped when he suddenly noticed Shepard leaning against the door frame behind him.

She fixed him with one of her looks that had a tendency to make people cower in fear. "I believe she told you to leave."

He didn't wait for a second warning. He took one look at Shepard and the snarling varren then fled. She gave him a few moments head start before signaling Legion to follow. He did so with a vengeful snarl. She turned back to Liara with a look of concern.

"You okay?"

Liara didn't look at Shepard, just tightened her grip on the back of the office chair she was leaning on. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Ten years of N7 training will do that. I haven't lost my memory, just my ability to walk properly."

"That's not what I . . . I'm sorry." Liara sighed and hung her head in frustration. Shepard could see her visibly trying to gain control of herself. "This whole day hasn't gone how I wanted it to. And that most certainly wasn't how I wanted to end it."

Shepard pushed herself off the door frame and moved behind Liara, wrapping her arms around her. "Hey," she said, softly kissing Liara's shoulder. "What can I do to make it better?"

Liara turned in Shepard's arms to look at her, those cerulean eyes piercing into her as if searching for something she herself didn't fully understand. Then without warning, Liara slammed her lips against Shepard's in a violent kiss, pushing her back toward the wall. Shepard winced at the force of Liara's advance, stumbling as her sore legs tried to keep up.

"Mmph-! Liara!" Shepard gasped in pain when her back hit the wall. "Stop!"

Liara tore her lips away and her head fell forward on Shepard's shoulder. She heard a shuddering cry escape Liara as she tightened her arms around Shepard.

"I'm sorry, Shepard," she whispered between soft sobs. "I'm sorry . . . I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Shepard closed her arms around her bondmate. She was glad she at least had the wall to support some of her weight; her legs were determined to remind her that she was still injured. She was panting and feeling slightly conflicted about her current predicament. She knew if she hadn't stopped Liara they would have had sex, but she also knew it wasn't what Liara wanted. Liara wanted reassurance, but the way she was going about it was making it difficult for Shepard to be a "gentleman." She took several slow, deep breaths, willing her arousal away. It never seemed to take much for Liara to turn her on, but in moments such as these, it wasn't exactly pleasant.

She bit into her lower lip to redirect some of the pain in her legs. She'd already walked around on them more than she should have and they were letting her know it. "It's okay," Shepard said, running a hand up behind Liara's neck. But it didn't feel okay. Feron's words were ringing in her mind. "I wasn't the one who always put the mission above you, who constantly put your life in peril, who turned you into a killer, and I certainly wasn't the one who killed your mother right in front your eyes . . ." What if Liara agreed with him? Shepard bit the side of her tongue until she tasted blood. What if he was right? Had she turned Liara into a killer?

Liara pulled back and looked at Shepard with tear-stained eyes. Concern crept over her face when she saw doubt reflected in Shepard's eyes.

"Are you all right?" Liara asked.

There was something about the way Liara was looking at her that made it impossible for Shepard to pretend it was. It wasn't. How could it be? "Feron . . . he was right, wasn't he? I . . . I made you into a killer, I killed your mother right in front of you . . ."

Liara placed her fingertips over Shepard's lips. She rested her forehead against Shepard's and closed her eyes. "No. Don't."

"Liara, I . . ." Shepard started again, but Liara shook her head.

"Don't, Shepard. I made my own choices. You didn't force me to go with you, I chose to go with you on every mission we went on. And you didn't kill my mother, I was there! She was indoctrinated! She overtaxed her body, she pushed her biotics too far. Damn it, Shepard, I shouldn't have to explain this to you!"

Shepard silenced Liara with a forceful kiss and tightened her arms around the asari. She wanted Feron's words out of her mind. She wanted that poison out of her soul. She felt emotion boiling up inside her, tainted and ugly.

Guilt.

Liara pressed her body against Shepard's, and she felt a pulse of biotic energy surround them. She didn't even pull back to ask what it was. She didn't care. All she wanted was to fuck Liara until she couldn't feel anything anymore, to lose herself, to forget everything her heart was trying to feel. "Shepard . . ." she felt more than heard Liara whisper in her mind. "Let me in."

She nodded once into the kiss, her hands traveling around Liara's body to forcefully unzip the asari's N7 hoodie. Unlike Shepard had done earlier, Liara didn't stop her. She instead deepened the kiss and moments later Shepard felt Liara flood into her mind. She didn't hear any specific words or see any images, mostly she felt Liara's need. As the meld deepened and they began sharing sensation, Shepard felt concern ripple through Liara.

"Shepard, why didn't you tell me?" she asked through the meld when she felt the pain in Shepard's legs.

"Because I don't care," she sent back, unhooking Liara's bra then threw it on the ground.

Liara's fists tightened around the fabric of Shepard's jacket. She felt Liara's concern and slight irritation at Shepard's disregard of her injuries. Then she felt herself being levitated off her feet with a biotic lift and she let out a sigh of relief to have the weight off her legs and spine. Liara encompassed them both in the lift and flew them to the couch in living room. Shepard landed on top of Liara and a moment later their lips were colliding again in another hungry kiss. Shepard felt her jacket being torn from her shoulders, followed by her shirt. The couch quickly proved to be an inadequate space for what was building between them, and Liara rolled them off of it, catching them in another lift before they hit the floor for a softer landing.

Blue hands made quick work of her cargo pants and remaining underwear, and soon Shepard lay naked next to her lover. Liara bit Shepard's lip hard when they kissed again, demanding Shepard's complete and undivided attention. She knew what Liara was doing and it was working. She was offering herself to Shepard as a battleground on which to release her emotion, and in turn, using Shepard for her own.

It was Shepard's undoing. For the first time in her life, she let go of the tight control she kept of herself. She felt Liara's slight apprehension at what she'd just unleashed, but her lust equaled Shepard's, overriding any fear she felt. Shepard tore off Liara's cargo pants and underwear together and paused for a moment to rake her eyes over her lover's naked blue skin. Liara's breath caught in her throat from the look she was receiving and her cheeks flushed dark purple.

Shepard climbed over Liara on all fours, both straddling her and trapping her beneath her. Her lips hovered over Liara's for a moment to silently demand Liara's complete surrender. Liara pulled her into another bruising kiss, her own need matching Shepard's in every way. Shepard was beyond tenderness or foreplay at this point, all she felt was a clawing want. She plunged deeper and deeper into the meld until she penetrated every thought, every inch of Liara's mind. With a thoroughness only Shepard could accomplish, she undressed every dark corner of Liara's mind until the asari felt utterly naked and exposed in front of her beautiful Commander. And in turn, Liara saw Shepard as no one else would ever see her. She too was completely naked and exposed without her ever-present veil of tight control. When Shepard was at last satisfied with her exploration into the asari's mind, she sent a powerfully vivid image to Liara that had the asari crying out as her body reacted to it.

Shepard sent a flurry of images that played out like a high definition, interactive, 3-D vid. In it, she violated Liara in every possible way with her tongue, penetrated every part of her, licked every inch of that addicting blue skin. She showed herself pushing Liara's legs open, then lowering her head down to feast on the wet blue flesh awaiting between her thighs. Liara screamed out Shepard's name as she came hard in her mouth, her fluid spilling down Shepard's chin and onto the floor beneath them. Shepard then shifted over Liara, positioning herself between Liara's thighs. She held onto Liara's leg with one hand and the couch with the other, then pressed her clitoris against Liara's. Then she began grinding against the asari, slowly at first, then more rapidly as the need for climax began pulling at them. Shepard completed the image by coming hard against Liara's azure, fluid spilling from them both, and down Liara's hips and legs.

It was too much for both of them. The imagined orgasm brought reality crashing back around them, and their bodies followed what their minds had just experienced. The scream they'd shared in their minds also carried into reality, filling the air with the sound only sex could create. They writhed against one another, clinging to whatever they could hold onto. Their fluid spread over the other's leg as they rode out the orgasm until both of them collapsed, breathless, and emotionally and physically spent.

They lay panting on the floor for sometime as they recovered, Shepard lying mostly on top of Liara. Although she felt completely drained, Liara's mind was spinning. She'd never experienced Shepard losing control like that. It was invigorating and terrifying, yet also powerfully intoxicating. The human's dominating will had completely taken her by surprise, overpowered her, and penetrated so deeply within her mind, she knew she was forever changed by it. To experience that incredible willpower so personally, so closely, and to feel Shepard inside her every thought was enthralling. She'd just been dominated by the very willpower that had ended the Reapers. She shuddered in delight at the thought.

Shepard ran her hand up Liara's arm and laced their fingers. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Liara wasn't quite sure how to reply to that. She wanted to say yes, but that wouldn't be totally truthful. So instead she said, "You first."

Shepard smiled softly at the reference. "Very fair. Am I okay? Yeah. But I meant . . . are you okay? I've never lost control like that before. I didn't . . . hurt you, did I?"

"No," Liara reassured her. "You made me feel truly naked, exposed, and perhaps violated even, but also safer than I've ever felt. You've seen me, Shepard. And I've seen you. And here I lay more in love with you now than ever before." The look of complete adoration and love the human gave her made Liara's heart ache. "Oh my sweet, beautiful Commander. Look at you . . ." she breathed, pulling Shepard in for a soft kiss.

Shepard held the kiss until Liara pulled back, and just like that, Liara knew control had been given back to her. Never had she felt more safe, more protected, or loved than in that moment. "I love you, Liara T'Soni," Shepard whispered, holding her gaze with those piercing violet eyes of hers.

Even as Shepard spoke, Liara remembered Feron's words, and why they had ended up like this. "You do know I never once blamed you for Benezia, right?"

Shepard looked away, her brow furrowing slightly. "I know. I think . . . I think he just pissed me off because he has no idea what he's talking about. He has no idea what we've been through. He has no idea what I've sacrificed just to keep you alive, what you've sacrificed just to stay by my side. Have you killed because of me? Yes. That is my burden to bear. Does that make you a killer? No, and he's a damn idiot for saying it."

"We gave everything for this war," Liara said, putting her hand on Shepard's cheek. "And somewhere along the road I lost my innocence. Stop blaming yourself for that. Everyone loses their innocence in war. If you must blame someone, blame the Reapers. Every bit of pain and guilt you've felt is on them, not you!"

She saw Shepard's shoulders and jawline relax in resignation. She knew her words hadn't completely allayed her Commander's worry, but it was a start. "Thanks, Liara," she said softly. "And thanks for standing up for me. And for letting me in, letting me lose control. I've never let go like that. Never."

Liara pulled Shepard in for another kiss, this one endlessly tender in contrast to the rest of the evening. "I know," she whispered.

With the last of her strength, Liara used a biotic lift to carry them to their bed and nestled under the covers and into her lover's arms. Despite all they'd been through, despite all they'd endured, somehow, some way they still found happiness in each other's arms. Against all odds, their love survived. Even as she drifted off to sleep, Liara's arms tightened around her beloved Commander. I'll always love you, my beloved. Always and forever.