A/N: Okay so apparently I need to put an A/N in here explaining the Tali/Grunt scene. I thought it was funny that both Grunt and Tali end up on the floor of a bathroom at some point during the party in the Citadel DLC, so I thought it would be funny if they both ended up in the same bathroom in a drunken state. So, NO, Theodur, I'm not writing a romance between them LOL! Tali is engaged to Garrus! No. Just no.
Also. There's another lemon at the end of this chapter because I'm obsessed with Shep/Liara lemons.
Chapter 24
Part 5
"I know that look," Aethyta said with a chuckle. "That's the look of someone who's just embraced some pretty amazing Eternity."
"Hmm?" Liara said, looking at Aethyta with very distracted, dreamy eyes. She didn't even fully register what her father said, mostly she heard the word "eternity" and her mind immediately wandered further into what she was already thinking about. She was a little amazed the party was still in full swing, considering it was after midnight. Everyone looked like they weren't about to slow down any time soon, though, and quite a large group of people were dancing in the living room. All the furniture had been pushed to the side to make room, and the music Aria provided had a perfect dance beat. But Liara hardly noticed. She hadn't wanted to leave her and Shepard's room, but Shepard had come back down to at least try and be a good hostess. Liara reluctantly followed, mostly because she was quite serious about not letting Shepard out of her sight, especially after what they'd just experienced.
"Damn, Kid, that really must have been some really good sex," Aethyta continued.
Her attempt again fell on deaf ears as Liara responded with a "Mmm hmm," and continued to gaze adoringly at Shepard who was currently conversing with Dr. Bryson next to the fireplace.
"Well I'll be damned," Jack drawled from next to Liara at the bar. "Shepard finally fucked the conservative prude right out of you, T'Soni."
"W-what?!" Liara stammered, trying to process what just happened.
"Oh stop being a bitch and dance with me," Miranda said, grabbing Jack's hand and dragging her off to the dance floor. Liara mouthed a thank you to Miranda and the human replied with an amused wink.
"Damn, Kid. What did you and Shepard do that has you so dreamy?" Aethyta pressed.
Under any other circumstances, Liara probably would have been terribly embarrassed and would have changed the subject after much blushing. But she was so distracted looking at Shepard, she couldn't even bring herself to at least defend herself. "Have you ever . . . shared Eternity with someone?" she asked without looking at Aethyta. It wasn't really a question, it was more an excuse to think about it more. She sighed happily and rested her chin in her hand while continuing to gaze dreamily at her Commander.
"Shit, is that why you two disappeared for three hours?" Aethyta chuckled again. "Here I was thinking you were just going upstairs for a quickie. If you two went into Eternity, what the hell are you doing back down here?"
"Shepard is trying to be a good hostess," Liara said a bit wistfully. "Why do you ask?"
"I've known bondmates who've shared Eternity who refuse to see anyone for days afterward. I applaud your will."
"Not mine. Hers. If it were up to me, we wouldn't leave our room. Ever again."
"Didn't Nezzy ever warn you about Eternity?" Aethyta asked, concern suddenly lacing the edges of her voice.
"She told me never to share it with anyone who wasn't an asari. Every asari is taught that. Sharing it with someone who didn't understand it or who wouldn't appreciate it for what it is could seriously compromise the mental stability of the asari in question," Liara replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Of course she told me."
"Then why the hell did you share it with Shepard?" Aethyta demanded.
Liara tore her eyes away from Shepard for a moment to look at her father. She didn't say anything, she just gave the Matriarch an 'isn't it obvious?' look.
Aethyta shook her head with a bemused chuckle. "Yeah, you're probably right. She's the damn catch of the century, and the only human I know who could possibly understand Eternity. Did she accept it? Does she treasure my little girl after what's been given to her?"
"Oh Aethyta," Liara sighed, turning her dreamy gaze to Shepard again. "She does. Oh how she does!"
Shepard was doing everything in her considerable power to listen to Ann talk about . . . whatever she was talking about, but Liara's eyes were practically boring a hole in her head. Her bondmate had been staring at her nonstop since leaving their room (though Shepard had intentionally avoided eye-contact; she knew if she so much as glanced at Liara she'd tackle her and drag her to their room for the rest of the night and possibly the rest of her life) and Shepard was more than beginning to regret her decision to leave their room at all.
"Is everything all right, Commander?" Ann asked.
Shepard blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked you if you think Mr. Vega is available and you . . . um . . . sort of just stared. You aren't interested in him . . . are you? B-because if you are, I'm terribly sor-"
"What?!" Shepard stammered. "No! What . . .? No. Just no. Wait. Oh right. You missed the announcement because you've been at a dig sight. I'm engaged to Liara and we're having twins. Vega's all yours."
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you two were together! I mean . . . in hind sight I suppose I should have seen it. When you saved me on Namakli I noticed you two exchange a couple of interesting looks in the shuttle, but I suppose I forgot about it when you told me what happened to my father."
"Our engagement has been all over the news; was that dig sight really that isolated?" Shepard asked.
"I've actually been helping the Council set up cloaked tracking probes around the Leviathan's home world. Since I'm the closest thing to a leading expert on them, the Council asked for my help. They decided, and I agree, that we should keep an eye on a species that can control any sentient being in the galaxy. We can only hope they won't decide to rise up and try to rule the galaxy or something."
"Probably not a bad idea," Shepard agreed.
A soft smile settled on Ann's lips. "Oh Commander, congratulations! If anyone deserves some happiness after all the madness of the war, it's you. And twins? My goodness!"
"Hasn't anyone at this damn party told you the news? I'm still a little amazed you haven't heard yet. And thanks, by the way," she added with a smile.
Ann glanced around at the ruckus party then back at Shepard. "Your friends have been a bit . . . distracted. I did have a lovely conversation with Councilor Tevos about the progress of Project Leviathan. But we were interrupted when Miss T'Loak wished to talk to her in private. Is the Councilor really with . . . Aria T'Loak?"
Shepard coughed politely. "I can say without a doubt, that yes. Yes she is."
"Interesting. Do you . . . is Aria good to her? Because Councilor Tevos is just such a lovely woman, she deserves someone who will treat her right," Ann blurted out.
Shepard chuckled. "There is also no doubt in my mind that Aria is taking care of Tevos's 'needs.' Tevos is a strong woman; if she weren't happy in her relationship, she'd leave."
"I'm glad to hear you say that," Ann said with a small sigh of relief.
"Enough about that," Shepard said, slinging her arm around Ann's shoulders. "About you and Vega . . ."
After socializing a bit more, Shepard decided to make her way to the bathroom to see if one was available to drag Liara into for a possible make-out/molestation. She checked the dance floor for Miranda, Jack, Tevos, and Aria, and sighed in relief when she saw both couples were lost in each other's arms and the music pulsating in their ears. She was relieved she wouldn't have to walk in on any of them again, but she still wasn't sure where the hell Sam and Kelly were . . .
She carefully opened the bathroom door and saw an interesting sight. Tali and Grunt were both sitting on the floor with a couple bottles of quarian and krogan safe Hpnotiq clutched in their talons.
"You know -hic- Grunt," Tali said, eying her near-empty bottle of alcohol, "you're kind of -hic- awesome."
"This blue is alcohol," Grunt replied. "And I like your face."
He reached out and tapped her purple visor surprisingly gently. Tali giggled. "It's not -hic- my face, Grunt," she scolded playfully. "It's my enviro-suit."
"Puurrrple . . ." Grunt replied.
"Ennnnviiirrooooooo suuuuit . . ."
"You two doin' okay in here?" Shepard asked, trying (and failing) not to chuckle.
"We were just discussing the importance of this ennnnvirrrroooo -hic- suit," Tali explained most unhelpfully.
"I can see that," Shepard said, trying to sound serious.
"PURPLE!" Grunt bellowed, then belched loudly.
"You know, Grunt," Tali said in another mock-scolding voice, "you really -hic- don't hold your alcohol -hic- very well."
"I AM KROGAN!" he replied.
"Not really defending yourself very -hic- well," Tali said with a scrutinizing nod.
"Well I'll just leave you two to your . . . riveting conversation," Shepard said with another snicker as she wandered off to find her sneaky Shadow Broker.
Liara was somewhere between the brink of total panic and mindless rage. She was having some serious Shepard cravings, yet somehow her fiance had managed to evade her and was currently nowhere to be found. She marched into the game room to see Vega had started up a game of cards with Aethyta, Bailey, Kenneth, and Abby. Ann was sitting next to James trying to look interested as he tried to teach her the game. In the corner Zaeed and Garrus were whispering conspiratorially about goddess knew what.
"You do realize you have an extremely obvious tell, right Kid?" Aethyta asked, looking pointedly at Vega.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but did his best to present his usual confident facade. "What are you talking about? I'm as solid as a rock. See these muscles? Rock."
"Yeah, that's your tell," Aethyta drawled. "Your left pectoral flexes whenever you know you got a shit hand but go for it anyway."
Ann coughed politely, Bailey snickered around a swig of Scotch, and Kenneth flat out laughed. "The lass has go' you there, Vega. I noticed i' too," Kenneth said in his thick Scottish accent.
"Son of a . . . dang it," Vega stopped himself, casting a shy glance at Ann.
Liara was about to leave the room to continue her search for Shepard when she heard the conversation Zaeed and Garrus were having.
"You know, there's loads of potential in this bookshelf," Zaeed said. "We could hide all kinds of things in books. Grenades, rockets, ammo, provisions, and red sand for when things get really bad."
Garrus nodded, placing a thoughtful talon on his chin. "Mm hmm, I definitely like where you're going with this. Great stuff, great ideas. Keep 'em coming."
"And that chandelier thingy above the table in the other room? Perfect disguise for a auto-targeting lasers!" Zaeed continued enthusiastically.
Liara decided it was best to just walk away now while her sanity was still in tact.
Liara made it as far as the stairs when suddenly she was swept off her feet and found herself in Shepard's arms bridal style. A squeak of surprise escaped her lips, then she immediately closed her arms around her lover's neck giving her a fierce hug. She sighed with a mixture of happiness and relief just to feel her Commander's body against her own again.
"Oh Shepard, I missed you. Can we disappear for the rest of the night now? Are you satisfied that you've been a good hostess?" Liara asked, giving Shepard her best pleading look.
It seemed to work. "I don't care anymore," Shepard purred in her ear, making her way up the stairs with Liara still held firmly in her arms. "I'll make up for it tomorrow morning. The only person I care about satisfying is you, Dr. T'Soni. I need you alone right now. I want you in my mouth, I want you writhing beneath me, I want you crying out my name when I enter those silky wet walls. I want you all to myself and I don't plan to share you."
Liara couldn't help but squirm in Shepard's arms at the delicious words. Suddenly her clothes felt tight and they couldn't get to their room fast enough. As soon as they crossed the threshold into their room, Shepard kicked the door shut.
"Alone at last, Dr. T'Soni," Shepard growled, setting Liara gently on the ground, followed by her not-so gently unzipping Liara's hoodie. Their lips collided in a fervent kiss as they hurried to strip off their clothes. Shepard pushed Liara backward toward the bathroom all the while, leaving a trail of clothes on the floor behind them. Just as Liara's hands lowered to unzip Shepard's pants, she suddenly felt an unnatural bulge that made her squeak in surprise again and pull back from the kiss.
"You were wearing this downstairs?!" she asked in total disbelief of her Commander's brazen decision.
Shepard's lips curled up into a goofy grin that still somehow managed to be sexy. Her Commander answered by pushing Liara up against the bathroom wall and pulled it from her pants to press the shaft between the asari's legs. The toy pressed against Liara's already-aroused azure, causing her to inhale sharply. The sensation transmitting plate was obviously receiving some pretty strong signals from Shepard's body because the toy felt quite a lot harder than she remembered it being. Something primal (that Shepard seemed to have an uncanny knack of unleashing) boiled up inside Liara and spilled from her lips in the form of a hungry growl. She pushed Shepard backward toward the hot tub in the floor, purposefully knocking her commander off balance and catching her with a biotic lift. She used her biotics to tear Shepard's cargo pants off, then lowered her into the water before following her into the tub. She sent out another tendril of biotics to bring the bottle of lube to her hand that was awaiting use on the bathroom counter.
"Goddess you're sexy when you're aggressive . . ." Shepard breathed, latching her lips onto Liara's neck as the asari settled on her lap and began spreading the water-activated lube on her hand. Liara took great pleasure in feeling Shepard's entire body convulse in pleasure as she closed her lubed hand around the shaft of the toy. She continued stroking Shepard's firm length longer than was necessary, losing herself in all the sounds escaping her commander's lips. Her voice was always so ragged and husky in moments like these, and every sound did beautifully wicked things to Liara's body.
She was so distracted by her swimming thoughts that she didn't even notice when Shepard's hand trailed down Liara's body and settled between her legs. The contact caused her to yelp in surprise and pleasure at having some relief against her burning arousal and she felt Shepard's lips curl up into a smile against her neck. Shepard urged Liara forward with strong hands, and Liara happily obliged. The human's hand joined Liara's around the shaft of the toy, gently pushing Liara's out of the way so she could brush the fluted tip along Liara's swollen folds. Liara clung to Shepard's shoulders as she prepared for the welcome intrusion, her fingers automatically entangling in her lover's red hair.
She let out a sigh of relief and pleasure when she felt Shepard's length enter her at last, slowly, cautiously. Just knowing how very aware and careful Shepard always was with her, from the first time they'd made love, added more to her arousal than she could have ever verbalized. It left her burning inside, aching for more. She had lost all patience for tenderness; Shepard (whether intentional or not) had unleashed something wild within Liara. She suddenly ground her hips down, taking all of Shepard in, in one fluid motion. Shepard gasped and tightened her hands around Liara's waist. The sudden intrusion burned in all the right ways and Liara groaned in sheer relief to have Shepard inside her again.
"I'm not going to last long if you keep this up," Shepard growled as Liara ground her hips forward with several aggressive thrusts.
Liara ignored Shepard's warning. She was beyond giving a damn how soon they came, all she knew is, she wanted to come now. Leaving one hand firmly entangled in her lover's red hair, she moved her other hand down to grab one of Shepard's and guide it to her neglected azure. Shepard didn't hesitate to settle the pad of her thumb over the aroused bud and began working it over while Liara continued to drive her hips into Shepard's, taking all of her in with each driving thrust.
Meanwhile, beneath Liara, Shepard was feeling thoroughly and deliciously used. A strangely out of place feeling, perhaps, considering the toy she was currently sporting, but undoubtedly one of the sexiest things she'd ever witnessed Liara do. Liara's blatant desire for pleasure, to be filled, to be touched, had never been like this before. Shepard couldn't decide how she liked Liara the best - writhing beneath her and begging for more, or like this, taking what she wanted, however she wanted. Shepard snaked her free hand up along Liara's beautiful blue back, raking her fingertips into the bare skin to pull her even closer.
"So beautiful . . ." she murmured, kissing the nape of Liara's neck. "All mine. My Liara T'Soni." She felt Liara's inner walls flutter at the possessive statement and was encouraged to continue. "Am I yours, Liara?" she whispered, gently kissing her lover's chin.
"Oh Shepard . . ." Liara breathed, pulling back slightly so she could look at the human. "You're mine. You're all mine and I'm all yours. Now shut up and Embrace Eternity."
The last words were so unexpectedly sexy and surprising that Shepard almost laughed, but she was so overwhelmed with pleasure and the sudden attack of Liara's mind that she forgot all words, forgot all of everything. Between the consuming heat of the water around them, Liara's tight inner walls, and the orgasm hovering so close to the surface, Shepard was sure she would go out of her mind if denied it for a second longer.
'Liara . . . I'm gonna . . . oh goddess, make me come. Please make me come,' Shepard sent over. It wasn't fully intentional, sending over such a needy request, but she meant every word.
Liara only had to grind her hips down with two more brutal thrusts before they both shattered in each other's arms. Shepard came hard in Liara's body, emptying herself in several powerful spurts, while somehow managing to angle her hips so she could drag the head along that wonderful spot in Liara's silky inner walls. When she found it, Liara screamed in sheer ecstasy. Hearing such unbridled, unashamed (considering they were anything but alone in the apartment), wild lust escape Liara's lips made more of her arousal spill from the tip of the toy and into the asari's body. It was enough to make both of them tumble over the edge again before their first orgasm could even finish and they clung to each other, their bodies and minds writhing as one as they shuddered through powerful aftershocks. Liara at last collapsed into Shepard's arms and the human actually felt her sobbing softly into her shoulder.
Shepard might have been concerned from hearing it, were it not for Liara's mind still buried deep within her own. Liara was overwhelmed from the intensity of their experience, but she was okay. Shepard let out a small sigh of relief and tightened her arms around her lover. For as powerful and strong as her Shadow Broker was, she was also sweetly fragile in moments like these, after being so completely consumed by sensation and love. Shepard kissed away all of her feelings of vulnerability and worry, and it didn't take long before Shepard could once again feel the familiar burn of lust start to claw through Liara's mind.
Shepard couldn't help but chuckle. "So let me get this straight," she said, gently wiping away a bead of sweat from Liara's brow. "When I soothe you, it turns you on? When I comfort you? When I'm gentle with you? I think you have this whole sex thing backwards."
Liara's eyes darkened and she once again picked up the driving rhythm of her hips, causing Shepard to groan. "You turn me on, Commander. Everything you do. Now shut up and take me. However you want."
And Shepard did. She did until they both collapsed on their bed, instantly consumed by sleep once they were nestled under the blankets and deep within each other's arms. Even in her near-unconscious state, Shepard's lips curled up into a smile. A perfect ending to a perfect night.