Chapter 16: The Boulder's Blanket

≤Normandy's back on the ground. Those on standby, please exit through the hangar bay's ramp and report to Commander Shepard now.≥

Liara exchanged surprised looks with Tali. As soon as the AA guns were shut down and the rest of the teams could move in, they had surmised that it would probably be a few hours longer until the operation was over. Instead, it was barely past 15 minutes.

"Did the slavers surrender?" Tali asked aloud.

"Guess so," one of the humans replied with a shrug. "Faster than usual."

"Faster than usual?" Liara mulled somewhat dreadfully. "Just how many slave raids has Lucy stopped, exactly?"

They followed the other technicians out of the mako, watching a new horde of personnel exit through the hangar bay's ramp. Liara could see a lone figure perched atop a destroyed vehicle, and she pointed at the other teams surrounding that vehicle.

"That must be her, in the distance."

"Looks like it, with how the others are gathering," Tali agreed.

They carefully climbed down the ramp and stuck to the sidelines so as not to be pushed along by others, where Liara took extra time to examine their surroundings. Her heart sank at the sight of tall buildings toppled over, thick clouds of smoke blotting the sky, vehicles deserted on roads. The batarian slavers must have employed EMP charges to prevent escape, just like... Mindoir.

Cheers contrasted tears, groups of - what appeared to be - rescued civilians had remained on the sidelines, where some hugged each other, and others yelled in distress as they sought out their loved ones. A few marines had formed a border and seemed to be on standby.

"Aren't we going to help them?" Liara wondered. She looked when Tali tugged on her elbow, settling in with her 'standby' group as she looked up upon the Commander. "She looks..." A closer look. A mental shrug. "The same. She doesn't look the least bit weary, despite lacking decent sleep and what must have been a harrowing and emotional mission for her."

It was almost insane to witness this of Lucy, to have knowledge of what was going on behind closed doors with her. She was settled in her usual military stance, her head moving side to side in the tiniest increments as she had seemingly observed how many were flocking for her orders. She took off her helmet and squinted, as if in pain, padding herself down until she had retrieved sunglasses from an armour compartment. She slipped them on, and soon her voice thundered across as if she was speaking into a megaphone. The sheer command in her volume must have given her lungs quite the workout.

"Good work, all of you! Without all of your efforts, we would not have had the success we had on this mission."

It was hard to gauge how much of a success it truly was, with the sounds of uncontrollable sobbing in the distance. Liara quietly sucked in a breath and held it, as she held her reservations. She once was in a somewhat similar position, distressed and traumatized, hearing how the deadly skirmish in mother's mansion could still be somehow construed as 'success' as well.

"That's not fair... Lucy risked herself and I'm sure she did everything she could to help as many as she could. That she put an end to the slavers' operation is a success. Hopefully... Not at a cost, though."

"The remaining slavers have surrendered and will be boarding Alliance shuttles for trial, as soon as they arrive," Lucy continued her speech. "Strike teams, see to it that your injuries are treated accordingly and surrender your weapons for maintenance to the officer in charge of our armoury, Chief Williams. Nothing further is required of you. Those here that were on standby, do everything within your capabilities to assist the civilians here. I have already contacted the Colonial Affairs bureau and they will be sending relief, in which we will then be able to pack up and proceed to our next destination and operation as soon as they arrive. Dismissed!"

Boots thundered in a chorus as heels smacked together in salutes to the Commander. Lucy hopped down onto the hood of the vehicle and Liara immediately set off, abandoning the quarian as she pushed through the groups to find Lucy before she disappeared in solitude.

As soon as Liara finally broke free from the confinement of battle-weary bodies, she was smacked with an utterly heart-warming sight: Lucy had her arm stretched out, her hand on a child's forehead.

Unfortunately, assumptions could only survive for so long in the harrowing face of reality. With the way the child stretched out his arms towards the Commander, and the way she was so obviously keeping him away, the crux of the matter exposed itself. Liara had to cover her mouth to stifle her smile and closed her eyes as she sucked a steadying breath in, reigning in professionalism before it flew away on her. She decoded the issue long before it was revealed in Lucy's statement.

"Go hug a boulder. That's what hugging me is like."

"Oh, Goddess. It seems I've made her self-conscious, and that I have an apology to make in private," Liara thought with amusement.

Lucy seemed to notice her presence with the way that head snapped squarely on the archaeologist, who soon felt self-conscious herself. She triumphantly suffocated her laughter when the child was suddenly thrust towards her.

"Here, this one is really good at hugging." Oh? Interesting point. "Hug her."

"B-but..." The dirt-smeared boy looked over his shoulder in panic, trying to dig his heels in the earth as Lucy stubbornly pushed him along. "You're the one who saved us!"

"Yeah that's great kid, and she's about to save you from a horrible hug from me. Trust me."

Lucy sucked an audible breath in when she noticed a group of civilians were working their way over to her, shouting 'Commander Shepard' and 'wait' and now the sunglasses were off and pleading eyes were shot at Liara. This was impossible. She was impossible. How could this possibly be her greatest issue?

"Save me," Lucy mouthed, and she actually took off running with preposterous words shouted over her shoulder. "Hug them all for me, okay?!"

At that point, Liara could no longer hold back. Her eyes burned with unshed tears and the collective emotions in the air crashed down, along with the utter sense of relief that Lucy was okay. Well. Physically speaking. It was wildly amusing and Liara ensured she committed every frame of this moment to memory, watching what terrified and panicked the stoic soldier so as Lucy sprinted for the safety of the Normandy - and consequentially military property that was off-limits to anyone who wasn't personnel.

Little arms endearingly wound around her hips and she looked down at the boy. Instincts took over for her as she had stroked his hair in comfort and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Thankfully, the group of civilians earlier had diverted in their bid to meet their hero. Liara observed and soaked in the overwhelming experiences of everyone working together, watching how Tali had assisted with injuries as she had used her omni-tool to freeze improvised bandages to help reduce swelling, or Garrus assisting injured soldiers seeking treatment.

It was a lot to take in all at once. Liara was secretly grateful that the boy's parents had come and found him, and soon some marine had showed up to escort them to where the Alliance will be landing with their shuttles. Even though she had her 'orders', however vague, she didn't quite have a clue how to contribute. There were so many people, so many that looked haggard and injured and bleeding and crying. She spotted the emergency triage Dr. Chakwas had already set up near the ship, issuing orders of her own to volunteers as they assisted those with more serious injuries. Liara had her own internal panic and, selfishly, desired to ensure that the hero of them all was actually truly okay.

With that, she snuck back onto the Normandy to save the saviour.

Shepard dimmed the lights in her room and dumped herself in her chair with a sigh, relieving herself of her sunglasses and gauntlets before she buried her face in her hands. Never before had she been so confident to say she was absolutely terrified, emotions spent and muscles slumping in exhaustion now that the adrenaline has faded.

She would much rather face down a platoon of slavers than civilians.

Panic set in again and the irrational fear that she'd been stalked arose when she heard her doors slide open. She had to force her hands to stay on her face rather than go for a gun before she made it even more traumatic for an already-traumatized civilian. For a second, her muscles stiffened on lockdown when arms wound around her head, and she had a baffling sensation to contend with: this felt familiar.

{One time, I fought a Hanar.}

"Dr. T'Soni?" Shepard guessed aloud.

Her answer came in the form of more strange sensations, ones that she eventually labelled 'pleasant', when fingertips carefully wove into her hair and scraped her scalp. The one certain fact of this all was that she wasn't repulsed by the presence nor felt the urge to run away or react in self-defense, so it had to be none other than Liara.

"You are not hurt, are you?" Liara finally asked.

Shepard shook her head.

"Good... Good."

"Did you already hug the entire populace?" Shepard inquired incredulously, and was stumped to hear a gentle laugh.

Yet another thing she attributed as 'pleasant', though.

"No, I escaped."

A brief pause, and then it sounded as though the words... Danced?

"Like you."

Shepard huffed quietly under her breath. "I have duties I need to square away."

"Like hiding - sorry, tactically retreating - in your room?"

"Precisely. They don't have to know that. It's classified information, in fact."

"Mm."

Yes, that singular syllable was more than indicative that Liara hadn't bought it. She hugged a little firmer.

"Still... Not unpleasant."

"How are you feeling after that mission, Shepard?"

What a peculiar question. Shepard pulled a little back to break free and look up at the archaeologist, perplexed to observe there were obvious notes of worry hidden in every nook and cranny of that soft complexion. That did not bode well. The soldier wasn't well-equipped with solutions to deal with that.

"I'm fine?" Shepard answered honestly. "I really am not injured, Dr. T'Soni. This mission was easy, as the batarians were not at all coordinated. It was actually a very sloppy operation on their part. When I had subjected myself to be held hostage, I-"

"You what? You volunteered to be kidnapped?!"

"Oh. She looks even more worried now. How have I made it worse?" Shepard fell silent and tried to choose her words in order to provide some kind of comfort - or at least stop this from escalating. She didn't know what to say, though, for the truth seemed to be the cause of Liara's anxieties. But maybe there was a more particular truth to focus on for relief.

"I'm uninjured and I am right here before you, Liara. The mission was a success. The slavers have surrendered and all civilians have been freed, the populace largely unharmed. Again, as I am as well."

Instinct compelled Shepard's hands to rise and cup the ones that lingered loosely on her shoulders. She gave a slight squeeze as she searched the archaeologist's eyes for a more indicative answer, getting lost at sea instead as she studied all the calming blue hues. Something slowly swelled in her chest and worked its way to the surface, her lips tugging increment by increment in a smile as she squeezed T'Soni's hands again.

"I will always be here. I assure you I am in peak condition and am assuredly fine. Are you worried I may not be?"

Liara's eyes darted off to the wall. "Well... When you volunteer to be kidnapped on an already-dangerous mission, then yes, I do worry that these kinds of reckless plans will not be... Successful, someday."

"They are not reckless, they're calculated," Shepard stoutly reassured. "Remember? I am cautious in uncharted territory and I always analyze before I strike. Pretending to be kidnapped is actually a tactic that has always worked for me. I offer myself up as a hostage so that I can see where they are keeping the other civilians, and while they debate whether to murder me, enslave me or ransom-"

"I don't actually need all the details," Liara chuckled nervously, her finger on the soldier's lips to stop her short. "It's better if I don't."

Not perturbed by the finger on her mouth, the soldier muffled on. "Would you like to read my report after I send it to the Alliance then?"

"No no, I'm quite fine, but thank you."

Shepard shrugged. Silence fell back between them and it was actually quite disturbing, for once. She felt as though she needed to fill it, or do something to distract them. Instead she resorted to ushering that responsibility on the archaeologist's shoulders as she collected and squeezed Liara's hands again. The soldier mustered her best smile before she rose and proceeded to her worktable, beginning the slovenly process of releasing the pieces of her armour off her suit. She stiffened when she felt slight pressure wound around her thighs, looking down to see Liara kneeling as she worked on the tassets.

"The sooner you can have these off, the sooner you can catch up on sleep, right?" T'Soni murmured, shooting a small smile up.

"Actually, I need to begin writing my report and then head back up to the CiC to monitor the ground's efforts, as well as handle Colonial Affairs when they arrive here, and then-"

"So it'll be a few hours before you can sleep?"

"I estimate roughly 7 to 8 hours, yes. Any vessels they may possess will undoubtedly be slower than the Normandy as our ship is cutting-edge technology, and they will likely also need some time to prepare supplies in their shuttles, as well as determine where they will be housing all these civilians in the mean time as they begin repairing and rebuilding here."

For some reason, Liara looked disheartened and worried again. Shepard tried not to frown.

"I'm not very good at comforting her at all. I seem to be discovering a new talent in compiling and organizing a list of things for her to fret over instead."

Thus, she mused on ideas as she continued to disengage her armour plates. Was Liara's newfound worry based on not having a concrete agenda herself? Truthfully, Shepard didn't know how to organize and command relief operations. Those things usually sorted themselves out, or Alliance wouldn't be too far behind to respond, swoop in, and take everybody away before anyone had the chance to threaten Shepard with - shudder, the horrifying nightmare of it all - wretched, space-invading hugs. She couldn't very well say that she had placed Liara on standby for not having military training though. What if she got harmed? What if she accidentally harmed a civilian, or someone on their team?

Worse yet: what if she showed the batarians compassion?

The thought deeply unsettled Shepard, making it feel like bugs were skittering under her skin. She stalled for time by slowing down her own removal of her armour, but her alibi was stolen away from her when the archaeologist seemed to quicken herself. Soon enough, hands were on her shoulders to encourage her to turn around, and she reluctantly did so. She had trouble meeting the deep blue sea eyes that she could feel washing over her.

Arms relinquished her of words as they wound around her. They had to be infected with some kind of paralytic agent, for every muscle had frozen and it'd gotten impossible to breathe. Instead of thawing, she had grown even more rigid when Liara's chuckle danced softly.

"It's still like hugging a boulder."

Shepard huffed. "That's why I recommended you for the job."

She swore she felt lips brush against her neck, and every thought that had actually conjured in her mind had now screamed 'mission' abort. The lilt in the archaeologist's tone made it all worse.

"So what does that say about my hugging?"

At a loss for words, all Shepard could think of was to nod. She barely mustered enough to be able to look over when Liara chuckled again, until that face was tucked in the crevice of the soldier's shoulder. Time seemed frozen. She was sure it was. It had to be, with the way it felt - because it was completely possible to feel time.

"I must be insane. That's the only logical explanation left."

She was adamant about that, or at the very least in agreement that that was what this hug was doing to her. But eventually time flowed again. Slowly, but surely, little by little... A second ticked by. The warmth radiating from the body pressed against hers was pleasant. It was contradicting itself by helping her thaw instead. She closed her eyes as she sucked in a small breath to focus herself, to take notes of what sensations coursed through her in order to compile an adequate report as to what kind of hugger Liara was.

"Who am I kidding? I don't know the first thing about how to describe this."

Shepard frowned, but that frustration turned into fuel for determination. She couldn't bring herself to reciprocate, not yet. After all, she couldn't insert herself as a factor that could change the formula and facets of how Liara hugged.

That was the story the soldier was going to go with.

It was a struggle, but she tried to think of familiar things to attribute. The problem was, some of those things felt distant and hazy, lost to time. She lowered her head until she could smell soap faintly clinging to skin, the world darkening even more beyond closed eyes. Before they were in this position, Liara would have had to establish trust so that instinct wouldn't have kicked in to harm her if she so much as touched Shepard.

"So this is a... Trustworthy hug?" Shepard's frown deepened. "No, that's not it."

"You're finally starting to relax," Liara murmured.

"I'm trying to think of what kind of hugger you are," the soldier confessed back. She oddly shrunk in her skin when that soft chuckle hit her neck again. Out on a limb, Shepard decided to blurt the first image that came to mind. "Blanket. You're like a blanket."

There was a small sharp inhale on T'Soni's end, but ultimately, she stayed quiet, and the soldier took that as encouragement to continue.

"I'm sure she'll tell me to shut up if I get way too stupid for her to handle."

"You're like a warm blanket over someone who's shaking, cold and wet. And you're uh... You're a very... Affectionate blanket. And very warm." A brief pause as Shepard focused on that. She nodded. "Yes. Quite literally very, very warm." She pulled away with concern. "Your temperature is very unusual, Dr. T'Soni. I firmly believe that Dr. Chakwas should-"

"I'm fine."

Liara smiled in a way that provoked something the way her hugs did, and it sent Shepard in for another loop as to how to even begin to describe something that felt like it transcended analogies and explanations. Even more so when T'Soni felt like being cheeky on top of it all.

"I assure you I am in peak condition and am assuredly fine."

"Using my own words against me, hm? I'll remember that. And give her more ammunition than she can handle, someday."

Tragically unaware of the next revenge plot in the works, Liara forcibly drew the soldier back in and tucked her face more firmly in the crevice, her words muffled in Shepard's thermal suit.

"Thank you, Boulder."

A small laugh surprised the soldier as it skipped out her chest, as did the way her cheeks ached with a smile more plainly evident than ever before. She played along.

"You're very welcome, Blanket."

Shepard monitored the situation from a safe distance. A very safe distance. Perhaps not exactly a by-the-book safe manner, employing the scope of a sniper rifle, but she ensured the safety was on and the rifle would overheat were it to accidentally discharge a shot. She even went the extra mile and dismantled the rifle to remove the trigger so there would be absolutely nothing to press it.

Granted, she could have just taken off the scope and held that in her hands, but holding onto the rifle was far more comforting to her, and a much more believable excuse to passing marines to say she was just on the lookout for any slavers that may be hiding.

The truth of the matter?

She was spying on the archaeologist.

Liara looked like an absolute natural despite admitting she had no clue what to do to contribute to the relief efforts. She navigated the crowds of - shudder - hugging civilians with ease and grace. She appeared to comfort some, or tried to, sitting down beside crying children.

"What a nightmare," Shepard safely reflected to the privacy and mental zone of politically extremely incorrect statements.

The scope lost focus, and the soldier adjusted it without missing a beat as she tailed T'Soni's next movements to another small group. A family. Peculiarly, Shepard felt a small stab and looked down to check herself, padding down her chest to ensure she hadn't actually sustained some minor injury during her tenure as a fake-hostage. Reassured it was a figment of her imagination, she immediately delved back into the scope and watched as Liara knelt in front of - shudder - a hugging and crying girl.

"When does the nightmare end?"

Protective parents inched a little closer behind the girl, or so Shepard assumed were the parents. Perhaps it wasn't really a family - not bound by blood, anyways, but now bound by trauma. The soldier's lips tugged in a slight reminiscent smile upon remembering her first encounter with Captain Anderson.

"That was a good day. He helped me find my new purpose. I hope that girl does too..."

She watched as the archaeologist had taken out one of the small glass boxes of the minerals Shepard had gifted her. There was another sensation poking her chest now. It wasn't stabbing, but it felt like it was swelling, and she immediately made a mental note to get an X-Ray and MRI to ensure she wasn't infected with some kind of inflammatory agent dwelling in her lungs.

No matter what, Liara could not know, or she would certainly give herself an aneurysm from her penchant to fret intensely.

The only time that strange swelling sensation happened was when Shepard had focused on the archaeologist, though. Was it some kind of asari telepathic thing? More crazy biotics? Had T'Soni figured out she was being observed? The soldier never experienced these things before during her inconspicuous study sessions though. There was no fathomable way she was found out with how she had squeezed herself in between the mako's roof and railgun.

It wasn't long before her foolishness was obliterated by the growing pattern that she'd feel this strange sensation - strangely pleasant - whenever Liara was doing something the soldier learned to categorize as amiable and benevolent. The little girl's tears had stopped and she appeared to be very engaged with what she was being told. Shepard blinked in surprise when it then seemed like the girl was... Was laughing? What was she told? Did T'Soni tell a joke? It seemed to be related to the mineral box, of which the second one was taken out and both rested in the girl's palms.

Somewhat selfishly, Shepard hoped those minerals weren't being given away - at least not until Liara found out the meaning. Or maybe that's why she was giving them away, because she learned the meaning, and that did not bode well, and now there was that stabbing pain, and what was the soldier supposed to do now and how was she supposed to move forward in their relationship if this was a very clear rejection? Dr. T'Soni would undoubtedly believe that such a foolish gesture was mundane and beneath someone of her intelligence.

"I really couldn't think of anything else to give her, but... But rocks? Who the hell would want a rock as a gift? You can't utilize it for anything except to bash somebody's head in. Maybe it's better that she's giving it to the kid, but now I gotta pretend I don't know. Or haven't noticed. She'll be suspicious and mad if she finds out why I'd know, too. Why did I give her something so stupid? There has to be something else I can do to get it across to her - and make it up to her now."

A frustrated sigh tumbled out of her and she decided to call it quits on the spying. She crawled forward until she had more space to get up and walk down the nose of the mako before she hopped off, ignoring some of the startled yelps nearby of a couple technicians. She despondently relinquished her rifle to the armoury without a note as to what she had done to it, her brain stuck on a depressing loop as it replayed her defeat in a series of images she chewed herself over.

"I was an idiot to think I'd ever have a chance. Took me a bit to figure out that I just thought it was pleasant, what she was doing, not some stupid infection in my lungs..."

Another gruelling sigh. Shepard shook her hair free from it's standard military confinement of a bun, her work for the day completed. All she had to do now was wait a couple more hours until the Alliance arrived to the rescue. She meandered to the hangar bay's elevator with the intent to steal a nap, taking one last look over her shoulder to try and spot her sea-blue blanket in the thick mass, helpless to the nudging of the severe lapse of judgment that optimism wrought.

"I hope Dr. T'Soni will inspire that little girl to take a better path than I took."

Shepard smiled to herself.

"Just as she's inspiring me to take a better one now."

Liara had never felt so unequivocally cretinous and witless, being struck with a most embarrassing epiphany of how wooden-headed she was. She buzzed about and clumsily climbed on vehicles to see if she could spot the Commander in this mass of people, once again struck with another instance of her foolishness.

"Lucy wouldn't dare come back out here. I'm certain she's still hiding on the Normandy."

She begun her charge for the ship, issuing apologies for those she bumped into along the way. She needed to get this out of her system. She needed to hear the words for herself and prayed to the Goddess that this was confirmation and validation to what was growing between her and Lucy. She needed to apologize and then shake that unbearably sweet human for being so... So...!

"I cannot believe I missed this! How have I actually missed this? Lucy is going to change her mind as soon as she finds out how incredibly ignorant I am. Oh... Maybe this isn't a good idea?"

The Normandy was right there. All she needed was to take one step after another and climb this ramp. Her stomach was thrown into chaos and she swore that she was ready to vomit with all the glitterwings beating fiercely inside of her, her palms growing clammy with anxiety. Did she have the courage to reveal she remembered? To reveal that the feelings were mutual?

"I mean, am I getting too far ahead? She could have just been complimenting me and making a joke since, well, geology is still within my field. What if I will be making an even larger fool of myself by confessing how I feel, and scaring her in the process if she isn't ready to process them, or if she is just being... Just being nice to me? What if?"

This wasn't a good idea. She should turn around, continue to help however she could help, and just pretend she has never found out the meaning behind the minerals.

"Oh... But the meld... She promised she'd meld with me, and I'd get to see the Prothean visions, and if I don't tell her the meaning then she won't let me see the visions, and..."

Liara sighed.

She was stuck in between a rock and a hard place and the boulder was both the rock and the hard place and why must this be so terribly complicated and confusing?!

A few days ago, just the prospect of validation would have been absolutely heavenly. She had a very real chance to confirm it now, and to discover what working Prothean technology was like, so long as Shepard upheld her end of the bargain. Would she? Immediately, anyways? Or would it be a torturous week of waiting for the turtle to come back out of her shell, after she ran off to be a lone wolf?

This was madness.

A voice broke her out of her reverie and she jumped, startled in her skin.

"Do you need assistance, ma'am?"

She looked over to a marine who wore a strained polite smile that seemed to veil something. "N-no, why?"

"Well, you've been standing in the middle of the ramp for a while."

"What?"

Liara glanced over her shoulder and saw how she'd climbed halfway. Yes. The veil was off. She was certain that he was thinking she was crazy. She laughed nervously and had no words, waving him off before breaking out in an all-out speed-walk for the elevator as she fought to ignore the flush of humiliation searing her cheeks. She couldn't bring herself to lift her eyes and see if that marine was still standing there, pressing the elevator button with far more force than necessary. The ride up was unarguably the longest of her life, and she most definitely had been on her share of extremely slow elevators in Prothean ruins.

"Cutting edge technology, and this elevator moves as slow as me getting out of bed."

It just needed to get stuck a few times on it's way out to truly fit the likeness metaphor of her. She herself was stuck upon reaching the main floor, forced to clear out with some other soldiers waiting to board. She tensely reciprocated their smiles and went around to the mess hall, dumping herself in a chair before she proceeded to blatantly stare at Shepard's door.

This was it. This could be it. Just a few more steps, ask for permission if it was okay to come in, and talk. Just talk. Who cares about minerals and compliments and mutual feelings? That's small game. Nothing to it. She would much rather engage with Shepard on a more wholesome topic. Life-shattering... Large... Topics.

"I can do this."

She pushed herself up into standing.

"What should I say when I enter?"

She sat back down. It was necessary and vital to the brainstorming and integration of a plan she had yet to plan.

"Forget it, I will think about it once I am in there."

She stood up.

"But what should I say if she doesn't allow me to enter? What will I do then?"

She sat back down.

"Are... Are you feeling unwell, Dr. T'Soni?"

Oh no no no, no no, no no no no.

"Are you experiencing vertigo? Do you need me to carry you to Dr. Chakwas? Dizzy spells can be very dangerous-"

"Oh... Tides take it all."

This was absolutely the worst possible scenario that could ever exist. Liara didn't even have time to take a steadying breath in, her nervous smile full-on display as she reluctantly turned her head, forced to come to terms with the fact that Lucy was sitting at the other end of the mess hall's table.

"I'm not dizzy," she reassured as confidently as she couldn't. "Thank you though, Commander."

"You should still get some rest. Things out there were a little hectic, huh?" Lucy almost seemed to scramble out of her seat, a complete contrast to her usually smooth collective movements. Her toe had even bumped into one of the chair legs, and that was the surest hint the archaeologist was given that perhaps, currently, their feelings were much more mutual than either would like.

"But why would she be nervous? It must be because of all the 'civilians' out there. She still hasn't calmed down?"

"Here, take my hand." Lucy extended her organic hand. "I'll escort you to my quarters. Your accommodations have been delayed, sorry, but I promise you I will work on it as soon as we take off from here."

"N-no need to apologize." T'Soni couldn't take the offer, utterly frozen, fighting just to get these croaking words out her dry and constricted throat. "That's perfectly understandable."

"...Good. Now come on."

Liara was just about lifted right out of her seat, her doom fast approaching as firm hands cupped her shoulders and pushed her towards the quarters. This was it. It was happening. Her anxiety escalated to a whole new level when they were back in the privacy of these quarters, ordinarily heavenly solitude, but now she was confined with the very person she did and didn't want to be with right now.

How long would she last before she'd blurt and humiliate herself over her newfound knowledge?

"Here, I've recently discovered trying to sleep in the robe is a very bad idea. I do not recommend it." Lucy left and marched to her bed, peeling the blanket at the corner. "Not unless you sleep without the blanket, in which case, I would recommend sleeping in the robe."

"You slept?" Liara's head cocked in confusion. "When?"

"I woke up not too long ago. 30 minutes is fine for me to last for the rest of today."

Yes, not what her eyes were saying with those colours coming back with a vengeance. Lucy seemed to figure out the cause of the scrutiny and smoothly retrieved her sunglasses, sliding them on with a slight sly smile.

"No one will know if they can't see."

Liara sighed. "But I know."

"That is correct. In lieu of that: what do you want for your silence?"

Aghast, the archaeologist recoiled in a mixture of horrific surprise.

"You'd bribe me?"

"It's a tribute," Lucy nonchalantly corrected. "The only way I'll be prosecuted by law is if I fail to bribe the right person, which I don't have to worry about because I'm not bribing anyone."

But... But she was...

Oh, how miserably Liara had failed to analyze this one's character. A by-the-book stoic and dutiful soldier was now proving to be a devious criminal who knew which loopholes to traverse. Granted, it's not like Lucy could truly be prosecuted for lying to people that she was fine - when she seriously visually evidently was not - but still! That she was not above bribery-

Suddenly, Lucy chuckled. Laughter was rare from her, and so too was it when she smiled a little more obviously. She approached and grabbed Liara's shoulders, squeezing.

"You need to see your face."

And so, off on a new adventure. The archaeologist was thrust in front of a mirror soon enough, and her blasted ugly-pink robe settled on her shoulders not long after. Her expression fell as she stared deadpan in the mirror, watching Lucy's reflection as the soldier saddled up behind her.

"Oh, you're not making it anymore," Lucy deflated. "Well, it was a good one. I wouldn't bribe you, you know."

"I am having a very difficult time trusting you on that right now."

Lucy's soft chuckle danced in the air again. She took off her sunglasses, where her tired eyes lit up. "I know the right thing I should be doing is to comfort you, but you make it more fun to worry you instead. I don't have that often. Fun, I mean. It's quite dangerous, easy to be addicted to it. I'm blaming you if I get addicted to it."

"I'm touched," Liara sassed, smirking. "Is it fun, or is it cute?"

That seemed to make Lucy freeze, and surprisingly enough, the archaeologist felt emboldened rather than nervous over her subtle confession. It was time to turn the tables. She turned around as she daintily donned the robe, tying it as innocently as smiled at the paralyzed soldier.

"The periodic table. The symbol for copper is Cu, and the symbol for tellurium is Te. Their atomic numbers are 29 and 52, respectively. Ah, but you weren't talking about the atomic numbers, were you?" Liara's smile grew, cautious not to fall in too deep in audacious territory. It was hard not to smile like a fool right now though, especially when she had circled behind Shepard and cheekily pushed towards the mirror. "You need to see your face."

"Th-that... How...? How did you figure it out?"

Goddess, Lucy looked absolutely terrified out her mind right now.

"A little girl helped me when I showed her the minerals. I distracted her and asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she said a geologist. She was very smart and recognized the minerals right away."

"I fucking hate kids, Liara. They're demons. Behemoths."

Liara laughed. "I do believe I'm owed some visions now, Commander, as I've deciphered your meaning behind the minerals. Though, I do hope you didn't intend to pass along a different meaning with them."

"What-" Lucy swallowed thickly, and the pitiful croaky whisper that came out her mouth was too much. "What do you mean?"

"Well, both minerals are toxic. And copper is the most common of Earth's metals, the others being silver and gold, and thus is the least valued. Are you trying to say-"

"No!" Lucy whirled around, shaking her head adamantly. "No, no, no. No. I didn't mean - I mean, I did mean? I didn't..." Desperately, she cupped Liara's hands. "You're not toxic! I wasn't saying - I mean I was, not that, I just - ah... Fuck it."

Lucy closed her eyes. Liara stared at them up close, frozen. It hit her only after Lucy withdrew, eyes fluttering open again.

Dumbfounded, Liara tried to consolidate the split-second experience. She couldn't. Her brain short-circuited. She stared and stared and stared, to which Lucy stared back, looking confused. Her brow was pinched endearingly in that way where she expressed her worries usually through chastising, but it never came. Instead, as if she was testing it again on a limb, she leaned forward. Their lips touched a second time.

Their lips touched - were touching - doing it for a second time, and Lucy pulled away, staring again. Liara still couldn't comprehend.

"Did you... Just..." Liara's eyes fell to Lucy's lips for answers. "Was that a kiss? Or do you suspect that I am dying and are trying breathing resuscitation? That's more believable, coming from you, so-"

Their lips touched a third time.

"I mean, I am talking, Shepard, so I am not deceased nor-"

A fourth time.

This time, Lucy stayed glued to her lips, her words slightly muffled, the stickiness of their mouths gripping slightly. "I am not doing breathing resuscitation, Dr. T'Soni."

This just wasn't right.

"This has to be a dream," Liara mumbled, "There is no other fathomable explanation that would warrant you-"

"I like you, Dr. T'Soni."

"Yes, that, and above all, you are actually engaging in kissing with me and-"

Fifth time.

"How on Thessia do you know about kissing if hugging is-"

Sixth time.

This time, Lucy was smiling uncontrollably, her chuckles passing through in a kiss that they both couldn't quite figure out beyond the simple touch of lips - and that itself was still insanity.

"I looked it up on the ethernet when I deduced that is what I would like to try with you," Lucy confessed. "Did you know? Kissing is a very functional gesture. I have learned that touching lips can be a sign of love, sexual desire, reverence, or greeting. Anthropologists believe that it is instinctual and intuitive, having evolved from activities like suckling or premastication, which is pre-chewing - or 'kiss feeding' - by breaking down food in your own mouth before you pass it on to another's mouth in the event they are incapable of masticating the food themselves. Other anthropologists believe that kissing evolved from checking the health of a potential mate via inspecting their saliva. So, essentially, the history of kissing is unknown to humans. And cultural connotations vary widely."

Yes, this? This part couldn't be a dream. This fit the shape of Lucy Fair Shepard far more than any other insanity such as kissing because... Just because. This had to be a greeting of hers. An experiment. Perhaps she was even checking and inspecting saliva, with how she's always on Liara's case about her well-being.

Yes, that all made more sense.

"Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, sexual activity, sexual arousal, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, peace, and good luck, among many others." There was a lot of the 's' word thrown about very casually. "In some situations, a kiss is a ritual, a formal or symbolic gesture indicating devotion, respect, or sacrament. Would you like to know what rituals exist, Dr. T'Soni?"

Liara couldn't take this anymore. She leaned back and stared hard into Lucy's eyes, trying to get to the root of this and discover the truth herself. But she couldn't. All that she thought she knew of Commander Shepard has been obliterated. But this... This research of hers... This trivia... It's just like when she had shared the facts she knew about human anatomy and caterpillars and revealed pictures that her favourite insect is a fuzzy caterpillar.

Granted, she had kind of hoped it would be a little bit less technical and a little bit more intimate, but right now? She really wasn't going to complain. She still needed a definitive answer though.

"I want to know which ritual you are partaking in, Shepard. I want the context of this gesture and what purpose you are doing this for."

Lucy seemed surprised, for some reason. "You really don't know?"

"No."

"Hm..." She glanced over at her terminal, then broke away completely. "One moment, I need to reference this again. I don't think I'm doing this right. It said they should know immediately."

T'Soni didn't exactly give total privacy as she walked over as quietly as she could, and she nearly needed to physically cup her jaw before it dropped on her. The title of the website Lucy was on had made it clear, and yet the archaeologist couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"All this time... Just how long has she been referencing this?" Hoping she could believe what she was hearing, Liara read aloud. "How to Flirt." It didn't escape her notice when the soldier's shoulders seem to hunch, her head slightly bowed. "Is she embarrassed?" She tentatively settled a hand on Lucy's back. "You've been flirting with me all this time?"

"Incompetently. But yes." Lucy scrolled down the long list of bullet-form points. Then she minimized the window and turned around. "Alright, let me try this again." She grabbed Liara's shoulders and pulled in for another kiss, muffling words against lips. "How about now? I am moving my lips now."

Well, yes, but she was moving them because she was talking.

Realization finally crashed down on T'Soni. She broke the kiss and instinct overwhelmed her, drawing the soldier in a fierce hug. She laughed when Lucy groaned.

"Those behemoths were contagious. They-"

She didn't get a chance to finish.

Eighth time.