A/N: A wee little foolish chapter for ya. We'll get on to the mission tomorrow, but I needed to do this first. Sorry if it's boring at all, but I needed it to get some key and subtle emotions and plot points set up for the future. I tried to add a bit of humor for you to keep it entertaining.
No hugs yet I'm afraid, Dark Shadows 01. Give me probably two more chapters after this, hopefully your patience will pay off.
They had an entire day to wait until the plan could be set in motion. Miranda's contacts needed to organize, the family needed to be convinced and prepared. It took enough time that they were forced to wait around, but not a substantial enough amount that it justified leaving the planet to set off on other ventures. And so, Shepard found herself letting the crew loose on Illium for a day of relaxation.
Most everyone went their separate ways, save for Thane, Samara, and Miranda. The asari had been meditating when Shepard had offered her shore leave, and requested not to be bothered. Shepard didn't push the subject, finding it had to be in the observation room for an extended period of time even when the ship was docked. The size of the window made her a bit nervous; it felt like a structural weakness that was just begging to take a missile. Thane had claimed it was for the best that he stayed aboard the Normandy, and Shepard had to agree. Though there had yet to be any news on an investigation involving Nassana's death, parading him around the shopping center would be a bit like tempting fate.
Miranda had no excuse to be hiding away in her cabin however, and that was why Shepard invaded the room to find her working diligently at her terminal as looked up from her desk instantly, trying to hide her unease. "Is something wrong?"
Honestly, she had been half expecting Shepard to visit all morning to let her down gently and explain that they really didn't have the time to be wasting on her personal issues. It had turned into an entire day's project once Miranda had worked out the logistics of everything, and she knew that was asking a lot. Reluctantly she glanced back down at her terminal to cut off the audio feed in her cabin, an action she had found herself doing frequently of late.
Shepard merely shrugged in response. "I was thinking it would be a good idea to check out some of the upgrades people have been mentioning since we're probably going to be grounded here until the better part of tomorrow. Even if we don't it seems kind of silly not to restock on a few necessities." She glanced about nervously for a moment, her voice dropping lower. "Plus, I figure we need some sort of story as to why we're hanging out here. I'm sure a day and a half of inactivity will have the Illusive Man scratching his head."
Miranda raised an eyebrow, more surprised at herself than Shepard. She hadn't thought of that, it really was an obvious thing. It seemed she was so wrapped up in being anxious and focusing on her sister that she had let a major detail slip past. "Right," she closed up her work and stood. "Was there something you had in mind?"
A mischievous glint sparked in Shepard's eye as she offered a grin. "Actually, Garrus mentioned something about this giant forward cannon…"
"Ah," Miranda crossed her arms, trying to hold back a smile. "I was actually looking for an answer more along the lines of reinforcing the Normandy's shielding or something else that could assist in perhaps saving our lives at some point."
"Hey," Shepard said defensively, holding up her hands, "I'm not saying building up our defenses is a waste of time. I'm just suggesting that sometimes the best solution to a problem is a really big gun." She gave Miranda a pointed look, but it seemed her XO remained unconvinced. With a heavy sigh, she let her arms fell to her sides in defeat. "Fine, if you want to be all boring and practical about it then yeah, okay. Shields first, then guns."
Miranda shifted uncomfortably from leg to leg as she watched the scene unfold before her. She should have known spending any time with Shepard in public would end like this.
"So why are the two of you on a break?" Shepard asked the asari before her sincerely, and Miranda wanted to roll her eyes in response. They were supposed to be getting work done, not catching up on Illium gossip, not to mention the krogan earnestly shouting poetry at them from a few feet away was beginning to get unbearably grating.
His words made her cringe with secondhand embarrassment. It was ridiculous, standing there, reciting those awful phrases. She could not imagine being in the asari's shoes, having to sit through that in the middle of the crowded shopping center. It must be absolutely humiliating.
Realizing she had lost herself in thought, Miranda quickly tuned back into the conversation, hoping she could steer Shepard's attention somewhere else. It was too late though, while she had been pondering Shepard had been growing increasingly more invested.
"You need to talk to him," Shepard was saying, "he's just going to keep shouting poetry until you do."
The asari let out a heavy sigh. "I know, but it's tough, I like him a lot. Hell, I love him, but I don't know if he's permanent bond material."
"Look at him, he's obviously crazy about you."
"Is he? I mean, what if he just wants to have kids? Am I just his baby making machine? He said I wasn't but-"
Miranda raised an eyebrow, clearly she had missed something vital in this conversation. Shepard took a step closer to the woman. "If he said that then you either trust him, so you have nothing to worry about, or you don't, and you've already decided."
"I guess I hadn't thought about it like that. I do trust him, if he said it. I'm going to talk to him." She beamed at Shepard. "Here, I'm giving you a discount at the terminal, thanks for the help."
Shepard said her goodbyes, and just like that, the asari was gone. Miranda sighed in relief as the discussion was finally over, and she side eyed Shepard as they moved towards the aforementioned terminal. "Please tell me you were expecting that encounter to end in a free discount from the moment you pursued it."
Shepard glanced over at her, grinning. "Would it be so wrong if I wasn't?"
Miranda bit back a groan. "You were genuinely playing matchmaker?"
"There's nothing in the rules that say I can't be a rifle wielding space commander and a romantic," Shepard defended with a grin. "And you're telling me you didn't want them to work things out?"
Giving off an air of immense disinterest, Miranda sniffed. "I was hardly listening. From what I did hear however, it seems you did the woman a disservice." Shepard gave her a look that was clearly demanding elaboration. "He was quite emotional, overly so. Clingy even, some might say."
Shepard barked out a laugh. "Clingy?" She shook her head. "He was making a bit of a fool of himself because she was breaking his heart, no harm done."
"Well, I just don't think harassing someone until they finally take you back out of irritation is the proper way to go about things."
Miranda flushed as Shepard's lips quickly split into an almost wicked smirk. "Right, I see, he should have been following proper protocol. You don't know, maybe he'll write a report about it later tonight."
Though her eyes narrowed in playful irritation, Miranda found she was smiling. "Let's just try to stay on task from here on out, agreed?"
Shepard nodded. "Agreed." Suddenly her omnitool sounded off before she could continue further. Miranda looked on with interest as Shepard read through the message she had been sent. "It's from Liara," Shepard explained after a moment. "Seems she's in need of a favor." She looked up and offered Miranda a smile. "Feeling charitable?"
Miranda hesitated, she was reluctant to agree and be caught in a potentially awkward situation by showing up to Liara's office with Shepard alone. The relationship Shepard and the asari had had in the past was common knowledge aboard the Normandy, and it appeared as though the situation between them had become…confused…of late. Shepard seemed unsure of where she stood with the doctor and if there was going to be heartfelt confessions and tearful apologies Miranda was positive she wanted to keep far away. Extraordinarily far.
On the other hand, the only reason they were even standing there in that moment was because Shepard was doing a personal favor for her. Miranda was hardly in the position to reject her requests. Eventually she nodded and Shepard flashed a grateful smile. She fiddled with her omnitool for a moment and then brought her hand up to touch the piece in her ear.
"Garrus, where are you?" She said suddenly. Miranda shifted a bit closer, unable to hear the other half of the conversation.
"Shepard? I just so happen to be crashing a Salarian's bachelor party."
Shepard glanced at Miranda questioningly, as though expecting her to have the answer. "Salarians have bachelor parties?"
"This one does." Garrus chuckled. "What do you need me for?"
"Nothing, Liara just asked me back to her office so I'm headed there with Miranda now. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up there, apparently she's got a job for me. I don't know how intensive it is, but you know me, I always-"
"Take a third, yes I know," he griped over the open line.
Shepard grinned and offered Miranda a quick wink. "There's the team spirit I love."
"Next shore leave you better leave me completely alone," he warned good naturedly before hanging up, earning a laugh from Shepard.
Miranda shook her head; she would never understand how such casual relationships with her subordinates enabled Shepard such success in their missions.
Their crewmate was already waiting for them when Shepard and Miranda reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to Liara's office space. He greeted them warmly and they headed up to where the secretary sat, waiting for admittance.
Liara was standing as soon as they entered, and Shepard offered a timid wave. "I hope you don't mind that I've brought some backup." Garrus and Liara met with a hearty handshake, both exclaiming how good it was to see one another once more. That was when Shepard turned back to Miranda who had been lingering by the doorway uncertainly. "And this is Miranda Lawson, she's-"
Liara's lips had quirked up into a smile. "We've met, yes."
Shepard's head snapped back and forth between the two of them. "Oh?"
Miranda offered the asari a stiff, but polite nod. "I'm glad to see you are doing well, Dr. T'Soni."
"Likewise," Liara offered with deceptively sweet insincerity. Miranda couldn't fault her for it; they had hardly parted on good terms. The Illusive Man had made the decision to leave Feron to his fate, and whether Miranda personally agreed with the decision or not, she had followed orders and moved on.
"How-" Shepard started to ask, but Liara quickly interrupted, moving behind her desk with haste.
"Later. For now, I need your help sorting this out as soon as possible."
Miranda watched the sour look that darkened Shepard's features. She understood the feeling, she had never done well with being left in the dark herself. An odd feeling stirred in Miranda at the scene. Shepard felt like a stranger here, there was an uncertain look in her eyes and her posture was nothing short of submissive. She clearly was hurting, pining for attention and reassurance from the asari that for some reason wasn't being offered. It almost made her angry Miranda realized suddenly, and she took a deep breath, trying to quell whatever emotion was threatening to take form inside of her.
After all, it really was none of her business.
"Sorry about dragging you here, Garrus," Shepard said sullenly as they descended the stairs just minutes later. "I didn't realize it was a glorified errand running position. You can take off if you like."
He waved her apology away. "I wasn't doing anything important, and it was good to see Liara again. Besides, I have to keep an eye on you. If anyone can manage to get shot at while hacking a few terminals, it's you."
Miranda was surprised when Shepard didn't laugh at that. Instead, her brow furrowed and a small frown graced her lips. "What did you think of her?"
"Liara?" Garrus paused, clearly caught off guard by the question. "Like I said, it was good to see her again. I'm glad she found a place here and seems to be thriving."
Shepard shook her head. "I mean like," she hesitated, "doesn't she feel…different?"
He glanced at her, clearly mystified. "Different?"
Suddenly, Shepard was laughing. She gave him a hearty pat on the back. "Sorry, forget I said anything. Come on, let's go find our access points."
"Shepard," Garrus offered quietly, "I just think she's grown up."
There was silence for a moment, and then Shepard nodded. "Yeah, I guess she has."
The terminals were easy enough to find, sure, but what they were doing wasn't strictly legal. It didn't help that all of the access point were located in crowded areas filled with nosy shoppers. Garrus ended up being useful in the end as he offered the abilities of a lookout, able to stand behind Miranda and Shepard as they worked and hiss a quick warning when someone was getting too close.
It was when they were working on the third terminal that Shepard finally broached the topic Miranda had been expecting to hear since their task had been assigned. "You never told me you and Liara had met before." Shepard looked calm, but her tone was accusatory. Despite her better judgment, she had felt as though she could trust Miranda. Finding out things like this had been kept hidden from her was not the most enjoyable revelation.
Miranda averted her eyes down towards the terminal. "It never came up," she tried lamely, busying her hands with the keypad.
Shepard pushed her hands away, perhaps more forcefully than was strictly necessary. "I've got it," she said a bit harshly, quickly putting her hacking talents to use. It seemed to be one of the few skills she possessed that were superior to Miranda's and didn't involve charging blindly into battle. "So," she drawled as she successfully pulled up the information, "what exactly was the nature of the meeting? You'll have to forgive me if I find it hard to believe that Liara had dealings with racist extremists like Cerberus and it was a friendly affair."
"Cerberus isn't-" Miranda cut herself off, biting her tongue. It wasn't a battle she could win, she would have to let it slide. She didn't have to make Shepard love Cerberus, she just had to make sure she was never a threat. Finally, she decided to simply address the question asked. "I'm afraid you'll have to discuss that with her, Shepard."
She was surprised to hear Shepard laugh at that. "God, you guys are so frustratingly cryptic."
Shepard's mood had not improved by the time their task was completed, in fact, it had actually gotten worse. She made Miranda review the data they collected once more, waiting for a magical answer that her XO didn't have.
"I'm sorry, Shepard," Miranda said once again. "It doesn't add up. None of the suspects could possibly be a match."
"You're sure?" Shepard had an almost desperate look in her eye, and Miranda knew what her response meant to the woman. She had to be right, she couldn't be wrong.
"Positive," She responded with conviction, and Shepard nodded her trust before making the call.
They returned to the top of the stairs just outside of Liara's office, all three noting Nyxeris' absence from her seat at the desk. From what they had heard over the com link, Liara was not going to be too forgiving. Shepard could only hope she had not taken things unnecessarily far in her anger at being tricked.
Miranda moved to follow Shepard as the woman stepped closer to the door but Garrus held out an arm to halt her progress. He gave her a pointed look, and reluctantly she took a step back. "We'll let you go in alone, Shepard," he said gently. "I think there are some things you need to get off your chest."
Shepard nodded her gratitude. "You two are free to take off if you like."
It was oddly upsetting to watch the doors close behind Shepard. For whatever reason, Miranda felt like she should be there too. She didn't want to leave Shepard alone with Liara, that protective urge was creeping through her again. It was quiet, but persistent and steadily growing.
She leaned against the wall as she had the first time they had found themselves in this position. It had not been all that long ago and yet it felt like so much had changed since then. Garrus stuck around for a bit, but eventually he grew impatient and left, knowing Shepard's use for him was complete. Miranda knew she would be free to leave as well, but she lingered despite how much time was passing. It was either remain or return to the Normandy and carry on working. Besides, she found herself not enjoying the idea of the conversation behind the door going poorly and Shepard stepping outside to find both of her companions gone.
When Shepard finally emerged, she was alone, and looked rather awful. She gave Miranda a curious glance, but quickly masked it with a smile. "Garrus gave up on me?" Miranda nodded in response, unsure of how she should proceed. Luckily, Shepard wasn't finished. "Come on, I need some alcohol."
Miranda shook her head. "I should really be getting back, Shepard. I can't-"
She was cut off by a meaningful glare.
They sat next to each other in a booth that lined a wall of the room. Shepard had gotten her hands on a drink, but she hardly took more than a sip or two from it, instead opting to stare broodingly at the liquid as she sloshed it around the glass distractedly.
Miranda watched her silently for a few moments. "Did you want to talk about it?" she finally asked cautiously, trying to work out the reason she had been dragged along.
"Not in the slightest," Shepard replied bitterly, though it was clear her anger was not directed at Miranda. "There's nothing to talk about." Miranda fell into silence once more, unsure of what to say. "Why didn't you tell me it was Liara who gave me to you?" Shepard asked quietly.
Miranda blinked, surprised. She hadn't expected Liara to give up the information so quickly, if at all. She had seemed dead set against Shepard knowing what happened when they had met two years ago. It didn't matter why she had chosen to reveal it now, the truth was out. "I promised I wouldn't," she said honestly.
Shepard seemed to accept that, and suddenly a smirk was spreading across her face. "Don't you hate it when you die for two years and when you finally make it back everybody either hates you, calls you a traitor, or tries to blow you up again?"
"Can't say I've ever had the experience," Miranda said with a quiet laugh.
Shepard glanced over at her, genuinely smiling now. "You know," she leaned in closer, "I have to say you've really surprised me."
Suddenly, it was far too hot and the crowd in the bar was far too loud and Shepard was far too close and more than anything Miranda wanted to be alone in her cabin far away from whatever this was. She cleared her throat, joking uncomfortably. "Pleasantly, I hope."
And then Shepard's face fell into a look of pure horror, eyes wide and mouth open, she leaned back against the booth and slowly slid down into a slouch. Miranda watched her, positively bewildered before turning to glance around the room suspiciously, looking for trouble.
"Stop that," Shepard hissed up at her frantically. "Don't move, don't draw attention to us. Just look natural."
Miranda resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was certainly difficult to look natural when Shepard insisted on acting so childishly right beside her. "What's the problem?" she asked more harshly than she had intended.
"I think Conrad is by the bar." Miranda craned her neck to see but Shepard grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Stop doing that," she hissed out again. "Don't make eye contact."
"Conrad?" Miranda questioned, gently pulling her arm out of Shepard's grasp.
"Yeah." Suddenly Shepard's voice sounded almost sheepish, and she glanced down at her drink. "He's an, uh, well," she faltered for a moment, "a fan?"
It was incredibly hard to bite back the laugh that threatened to burst forth. "You have fans?"
Shepard straightened up in her seat, coughing lightly. "Uh, well, yes." She winced, backtracking, "I mean no, not really." She let out a heavy sigh. "Just the one, really. Trust me, one of Conrad is quite enough. He seems distracted over there though, if I keep a low profile he won't even know I was ever here."
Miranda looked on at the various people mingling near the bar in amusement. "So which one is he, the man in the armor?" Shepard grumbled something, but she didn't catch it as something else caught her eye. "Was he part of your program, Shepard?" She was confused, if there was one thing she was an expert on, it was Commander Shepard's past record. She had never worked with a Conrad before.
"What?" Shepard was sitting up perfectly now, leaning past Miranda to get a good view.
Miranda's eyes narrowed as she peered through the poor lighting of the room and tried to verify what she thought she had caught a glimpse of. "He is definitely wearing N7 armor."
"No," Shepard shook her head as she spoke. "That's impossible. He was just some creepy guy from Earth with what I'm pretty sure was an imaginary wife."
"Well, it looks like he is now a member of the N7 program and," she turned to glance at Shepard with a teasing smile, "he seems to be terrorizing that poor employee behind the counter. Seems like the sort of injustice the great Commander Shepard would put a stop to."
Shepard looked positively distraught. "Don't make me go over there."
"I wasn't implying anything of the sort. I was merely making an observation."
"I hate you." Shepard glared at her while she stood, shuffling out of the booth and making her way towards her adoring fan with reluctant steps. "A lot."
Miranda looked on with amusement, watching the scene that played out before her with enjoyment even though she could not hear a word that was being said. It wasn't long before Shepard returned, exasperation clear on her face.
"Do you feel like tricking an asari into trying to claim ownership of a bar?"
Miranda failed miserably at fighting the smile that spread across her face. "Do you even have to ask?"