Morning light slowly rolls in through the window pane, rousing Liara. She wiggles for comfort and lifts her head to look the other way, hoping to squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep in. She blows out some fuzz finding itself in her mouth—and something is waving a red flag at her. It's not the only red thing being waved. She stares dumbly, leaning her head back a little for a few inches of space between her and the fuzz.

Is this Jane's hair?

Another inch back, and she's able to make out the ear, following the slope of the jaw. Jane's facing away from her, and Liara realizes then she's laying on the marine's back. Her face flushes with heat when she lifts her head to see what pressure is between her fingers, her mind an incoherent mess upon seeing they're holding hands. She chuckles at how uncomfortable it must look, with the human's right arm squished underneath her body, her forearm lazily hooked over her shoulder to hold hands. Her left arm is free-hanging over the edge of the bed.

How they ended up like this is a mystery of the ages, but Liara isn't complaining. She's careful and slow in how she moves now, turning her head to lay on top of Jane's again. Her gaze roves down the curvature of the human's bare spine, her leg slung up that piece of the marine's anatomy, her calf nestled between thighs. She shyly slides her leg down until hers lays tucked in between Jane's.

She tells herself to close her eyes—or at least look away, but she's stuck on staring at the auburn hair, her curiosity alight. Now is the perfect time to play with it, isn't it? Jane sounds sound asleep.

Sheepishness overtakes her and she averts her gaze down the spine, studying the musculature holding this lithe frame together. She smiles and gently pries free from their hands as she slides back a bit, rolling her fingertips to trace the bumps of the spine. She glides up and down, pacing back and forth, and an amusing song ebbs from memory. Her eyes flick up when she hears Jane stir, and instinct compels her to lean down as she places her lips to kiss between the shoulder blades. She picks a random number as she trails her fingers down the spine.

"63 bottles of beer on the wall, 63 bottles of beer."

"Take it down, pass round, 42 bo'les of beer," Jane mumbles sleepily. "I'm no fuckin' hall monitor."

Glorious.

Liara laughs softly. She regrets it when Jane suddenly tenses, and her head whips up. The scientist leans her head back just in time, before she's smashed into. Disheveled hair flies about, and the marine pushes herself up on her elbow as she twists to look over at Liara. A fist comes over to wipe at the corner of the mouth. She gapes with a blank expression, her eyes still.

Unnerving.

Then that warm grin beams, and Jane rushes to scramble up on her hands and knees, falling with a huff as she's turned to face the asari. "Good morning."

Do not look down.

"So what's the plan today? Are we going to the other city?"

Jane pushes herself back up, crawling over to the edge of the bed to retrieve her sweater, as if sensing the asari's inner turmoil. It's probably as obvious as the heat that's throbbing in her cheeks. Her composure is not given any such mercy as lips find her temple along the way, a breathy whisper left in her aural.

"You're the most gorgeous view to wake up to, Doctor T'Soni."

Mm hm.

Yes.

And they are supposed to stay friends, how, again?

Laughter chases Jane before the asari has a chance to answer, the gaze aimed down at her legs for some reason. She groans, pats her thighs as she grabs hold of anything in her vicinity to pull herself off the bed, and then Liara clues in.

"Do we need to secure a wheelchair for you, Jane? We will be lucky to leave this room, at this rate."

"Ass," the marine sniggers. She pokes out her tongue over her shoulder. "I'll show you. I won't be defeated this easily."

Liara smirks, gesturing plainly with her hand. "Please do. Show me. I watch with bated breath."

Jane tumbles her way back to the bed without her sweater, crawling on hands and knees towards the scientist that's becoming very painfully aware of how unhealthy it must be to have all this blood rushing to her head so often. She freezes and stammers when lips land just beside her mouth, stilling, as if having remembered something vitally important last second.

All the human pulls away is an inch, hovering a little as she looks down with a blush herself, contrasting the vibrant eyes that have that demure hope swimming in them. Liara's paralyzed, staring at the lips right there, ready for her to just lean in to take for herself—just like last night. When Jane tilts her head to the right, the scientist exhales softly and instinct lulls her head on an angle, eyes fluttering shut as she waits.

And waits.

And waits.

"Jane, please don't tease," she whispers.

"I-I'm not, I just... Is it okay, then? I can be more than a friend?"

Liara reaches up and blindly weaves her hand in the auburn hair, leaning the last inch in. She does not know. She does not know if it is okay, but it feels so right when they do. Her eyes burn and there's a new war exploding deep in her chest, a vicious voice accusing her of being selfish, of using the marine who seems so innocently willing to offer all of herself, no matter the ramifications. A calloused hand takes her free one and guides it for fingers to splay against a stomach, muscles coiling and shuddering beneath her touch at the slightest skim of her nails.

Teeth bump and clash, little bubbles of mirth escaping between gasps for air, before the next kiss. Liara is torn into two, her arms winding around shoulders in an embrace as the kiss trails down to pay tender attention to her throat. Her head lulls back to expose more rather than putting an end to this, pro-friendship fighting a pitched battle to demand they return to their senses. A noise of approval rumbles deep in her chest when the skin over her pulse is sucked and nipped.

There's a tentativeness and uncertainty, the marine stopping often to observe the correlations between her action and Liara's reaction. A hand rolls up her spine, friction from the blanket giving great resistance. She starts to feel her shirt loosen, unzipping, nails feather-light raking down to the middle of her back. There's great caution to avoid her sensitive areas, and she musters the courage to look down at the human studying her.

Jane's face rivals the color of her hair, her anxiety apparent in her eyes, but her smile feels as warm as the beams of sunlight shattering and refracting from the glass balcony. Their staring match seems to unhinge the marine and she laughs nervously, putting an end to all of this as she lunges up to steal a chaste kiss on the nose, before hobbling off the bed.

Groans and grunts pop with her joints as she bends to fetch her sweater off the floor, and Liara rolls on her side as she works to engrave this memory in her mind as quickly as possible, an outcry reverberating in her heart as the muscled back is shielded from her.

Such a shame.

"Sorry for pushing again," Jane mumbles hoarsely, unable to turn around. She jerkily walks towards the balcony and leans on the railing to soak in the sun.

Amber light thaws Liara as she watches the omni-tool engaged, the marine supposedly engaging in messaging, and she almost flops on the bed in defeat. She forces herself to slide off on the other edge as she uses her biotics to zip her shirt, digging in her luggage to pull a fresh set of clothes before she quietly locks herself in the bathroom, drawing a bath. This turmoil is terrible. Her mind and her heart can't come to an agreement.

Pro-friendship is waning.

How are they supposed to last a week with keeping their hands off each other, if they clearly can't manage that for even half an hour? This is making the asari feel as promiscuous as the rumors, as the way she knows she isn't—or so she thought, and now she's challenged every single time her breath is robbed of her.

Horrible thoughts plague her, an idea immediately labeled as bad screaming in her mind, nearly escaping her mouth as a suggestion: come take a bath, Jane.

Because surely they can still be friends after that, right?

Knocks startle her as she jumps in the bath, her heart hammering up to her throat as she wonders if the marine possesses some kind of telepathic power. The door remains locked.

Jane clears her throat, but her voice is still husky. "I'm going to go work out. Be back soon."

"Wh-what?"

Liara hears doors hissing as her answer. She gapes up at the ceiling in disbelief. That marine is barely able to walk. At this rate, she really is going to get herself crutches. So she's stressed again. Was she stressed last night because of this, between them, then?

There's a different way to get that kind of buzzing energy out the system.

Water rushes in her aurals as Liara abruptly slouches to dive under. She's tempted to scream, submerged. It almost claws out her throat. Enough of this—she is not promiscuous. She is a respectable scientist, a professional researcher. She has poise and grace. And she's degenerated to dirty thoughts of her so-called friend. How are they both supposed to survive a week of this? It's just the stress of their situation. It's the tininess of this room. It's the knowledge of being together for a week, and knowledge of the unknown fate awaiting them beyond that.

What if this is the only time to express their feelings?

But that's just it, after this week, they could be strangers. Maybe not. Maybe they can keep it up for a few weeks, a few months, a year at best. Someone action-oriented like the marine, who's brazenly fallen so quickly, this easily... There are doubts. She'll surely find someone else in the same manner. She'll be reassigned to more watch duties, begging for someone to save her from boredom, and then fall for them next too. She'll be rude to them, they'll be rude back, and they'll be rude together in bed. They'll find others to be rude with and ask them to join in the bed, like the rumors go with... With their parties of indiscriminate sexual activities.

Wretched thoughts become Liara's undoing. She gasps for air as she breaks through the surface of the water, dumping her face in her hands. She hates these thoughts, these doubts. Stupid rumors. Maybe not all humans are unfaithful. Maybe not all humans move on from one partner to the next, in a day, or the same day.

Why is this bothering her so? It is not as though they are bondmates.

"But Jane is mine," grumbles a possessive thought.

She's been claimed, whether accidental, or purposeful. It's happened twice, thrice. She's accepted it just like that. No doubts. No concerns. She's willing to be a partner and for Liara to still be open to take other partners, if she so desires. Of course she doesn't. But that means that Jane isn't just like the human rumors too... Right?

There's a pain in her heart that won't settle, a weight on her chest that makes it hard to fill her lungs with oxygen. She hates this. She hates these thoughts, these doubts. She wants to feel the touches again. She wants to feel the hesitance, the uncertainty, of the experiments on her body. She wants to feel vulnerable with the human. She wants the hopes, the dreams, the endearments. She wants to taste Jane on her lips.

Paralysis lurks back into her muscles when she hears the doors hissing again, bringing her awareness back to reality and the water now cold upon her skin. There's an attempt to open the bathroom door, and then confusion.

"Li-Liara? Are you okay in there?" Another attempt. "Liara, open the door... Please tell me you didn't fall asleep and drown."

"I am okay," the scientist stammers, quickly draining the water. "Sorry. I lost track of time. I will get out and draw a new bath for you."

"Oh... Yeah, thanks. I'd appreciate that." Footsteps fade away from the door, the voice raising. "My arms are done. Don't think I can even turn those knobs."

A laugh bubbles out of Liara. "What did you do this time, with the gravity settings?"

"Hung on a bar. Best fucking exercise ever."

"You said that last night."

"For my legs. It's just brilliant. The Alliance needs to adopt this training; literally do nothing, and build muscle. Next time I'm going to roll up a recliner in the cubicle so I can get jacked while sitting."

Liara rolls her eyes. The best marine in the galaxy is apparently also the laziest marine in the galaxy. She wraps a towel around herself and waits for all the water to drain from the 'elephant tub', then runs a new one. She goes to unlock the door and pokes her head out the corner. "I am starting the new bath now and-" she laughs "-are you actually dying over there?"

Amusingly enough, Jane is sprawled on the bed, her chest heaving. Her head lulls over, damp hair gluing to a sweaty face, grinning tiredly. "I might need your biotics to get up, just dunk me in the tub."

That?

Too good of a chance to pass up.

Liara sticks her hand out and channels energy in her palm, smirking at the yelps as the marine flails about in the air in panic.

"Wait, wait! I was joking!"

"I am not."

Curses are hailed next. Glorious. Jane's reaching for the walls with hands and even for her feet, however she even plans to stop this that way, and Liara steps back into the bathroom as the human sashays inside, levitating over the tub. There's fear dilating those pupils, condemned to face her impending doom as she's rotated in the air to look down at the tub. Her movements have stilled. Her throat bobs in an audible swallow. Her mouth opens, as if for one last beg, until her eyes flick up to Liara.

And then her mouth hangs uselessly.

Doom is here.

Water splashes everywhere as the human hurtles down like a meteorite, her limbs flailing about to get herself up as quickly as possible. Liara laughs when a hand snatches her wrist and pulls her in, until she feels something loosening. She flushes hot and grabs the knot of her towel to keep it together with her free hand, the marine's recklessness yet to catch on. Jane is up in her face with her wicked grin, her clothes thoroughly drenched.

"Revenge," she spouts proudly.

Until her eyes fall to the hand clutching the towel.

"Oh," is all she says. Then she turns red too. "Oh, fuck. I didn't..." She smiles nervously as she looks up, swimming backwards to turn around. "Sorry."

"I-it's fine." Liara climbs out the tub, fetching a new towel to dry herself. She looks behind her to ensure the human is still looking away, making a mad dash to leave her sopping towel inside the waterfall of a bathroom and grab her clothes to change out in the hallway. Her heart faithfully chisels away at her throat, at her composure, and she swears all this blood rushing to their heads really can't be good. Their blood pressure isn't going to know what to do with itself at the end of this week.

After changing, she knocks on the door. "Is it okay to come back in?"

"Yeah," a pitiful mumble. "I'm still in my clothes."

A smirk instantly pulls Liara's mouth up a corner. She presses the button to open the door and comes around the tub to where the human is facing, chuckling when Jane immediately turns as soon as the scientist is in the corner of her vision, it appears.

"I am in my clothes now too."

She knows what she's setting herself up for. She knows. It's fine, she's sure she has... Something to wear somewhere, still.

That auburn head angles ever so slightly, the damp hair tucked behind pitch red ears. All that hesitance is gone upon confirmation of the truth, and Liara is laughing again as she pulled into the tub.

"Revenge!" Jane spouts proudly again. "Round two. Bet ya didn't think I would, huh?"

Mm. A secret to be revealed, perhaps. But for another day.

Liara plays along and shakes her head, playing the indignant card as she splashes and admonishes. She laughs at the immature antics, the grabbing of the heart and falling back into the water as if shot. The flexing of some acrobatic prowess when Jane goes upside down in the water, holding her breath as she does upside-down push ups, her legs breaking the surface to spread out in a V. The water is taking the majority of her weight. The prowess she has is that her legs do not look like jelly yet.

Suddenly, she pops up and her hand slides to comb her drenched hair back, out her face. "When we book another hotel, I'm chipping in with the credits. We'll grab ourselves a room that's actually for tourists then."

"Had enough of this swimming pool?" Liara teases. She loves being able to goad that grin so easily, so fiercely. And all she has to do is be a-

"Smartass," Jane chuckles. "But yeah. Besides, I'm curious to see their interpretation of other species. If they do have a shower and it's massive, I'm calling it right then and there. They all think we're fat as a fuckin' planet."

Liara rolls her eyes. "No."

She climbs out the tub, pinching at her shirt to release the suction from her, before pulling as much of the ends as she can to twist it and have the water dribble back into the tub. One look at the disaster around them, and guilt needles at her. She starts to take out all the spare towels and lays them about around the floor.

"Goddess, there is more water out here than in the tub," she laughs a little.

"Is that it, then? We getting ready to go?" Jane asks. "I can wash up quick and clean up here. You go pack up and get your stuff ready."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, wouldn't offer if I wasn't. Go on."

Jane starts to pull her soaked sweater off, perhaps oblivious to the reason why the asari rushes out then. She strips down her drenched clothes and quickly tosses it inside the bathroom, not wanting to trek all the water into the hotel room and see a surcharge tacked onto her credit chit later, for leaving such a mess here. She's forced to don one of her professional suits, with no leisurely clothes left, making a mental note to stop by the laundromat either before or after their departure to the other city. After she packs all her things back in her luggage, she goes through the marine's bags next to help get an extra set of clothes for Jane too, smiling when she finds the crusty elcor plush in one of the bags.

Poor thing, truly. That will have to come to the laundromat too.

"Hey, can you pick out some clothes from my bags?" Jane yells from the bathroom.

"Already have. Let me know when you are done drying and I will pass it to you."

"Ah, it's fine. Just drop it on the flo—oh. I see why not. Holy... I went ham."

An amusing mental image, another strange expression, but she thinks she has grasp on the meaning with the context. Liara comes to wait by the door and chuckles. "Yes, you did."

The door opens, but there's no human there. Liara almost damns herself by peeking in, until she realizes there's a hand jutting out from the side. The rest of the drenched clothes are making a pile in the corner. She makes the quick exchange and leaves for Jane's bags, emptying one of them so that it can be used for their wet and dirty belongings.

"Doc, do you go commando or something?" Jane groans exasperatedly, and Liara glances over her shoulder in confusion.

"I am not an asari commando, no. I do not think I would make a very good disciple." A beat. She hears titters in the bathroom. Is she being made fun of? Well, it is kind of fact. Another thought, and the list goes on. "Nor be disciplined. Or athletic. Fearless. Levelheaded. I have met commandos before, though." Mother always had a terrifying entourage of them.

Laughter confuses her. It doesn't have that raw fiery spirit, but one of those ones as if the marine is laughing at her. She crosses her arms and sulks when Jane emerges from the bathroom, clothed.

"And what is so funny? Why are you teasing me now?"

"Because you have no clue what I mean and the first part of your sentence was awesome. Wish you kept it like that. Best misunderstanding ever. Don't think I'd be coming out here with a straight face if you didn't clear it up, though." Jane heads over to her bags and shoos the asari. "Turn around, or you'll get what I mean, and something tells me you've got a reason for not bringing it to me in the first place."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Doc, just... Trust me. Don't get curious with this one. You're gonna regret it."

Reverse psychology. Liara has to know now. She peers over the marine's shoulder. There's something growing red in the corner of her eyes, and she sees that the ears are splotching again. Peculiar. Whatever Jane is retrieving seems to be something she's shy of, and it's an ominous signal. There's dread twisting in the scientist's gut too.

Doom is here.

Underwear is pulled out the bag.

"I regret it!" Liara blurts as she whirls around.

Cursed laughter skips back down to the bathroom. "I called it!"

"Why is not wearing any underwear called going commando?! Tides take you humans and your blasted expressions!"

The sounds of the raw fiery spirit returns. She refuses to smile over it.

Thank the Goddess the flight is short, the extra credits dolled out for a shuttle rather than a ground vehicle more than worth it. The level of anxiety just from the creaking of metal upon leaving the station has been a nightmare, and pure insanity that the marine is laughing her marvels over it.

Nothing marvelous about being crushed to death, Jane.

Wet season is everything the human has dreamed of, apparently. As soon as they cross the borders of a monsoon, the terrain changes with a roaring of fierce rainfall. Liara is pulled over to watch the screen on the shuttle as the pilot rolls in to the city's new station.

"Look at that?" Jane jabs a finger on the screen. "They built this city with a fucking forest. How awesome is that? Elcor technology is crazy. Dekuuna's amazing, Liara."

"Mm hm," Liara smiles softly. She watches the marine's face more than the screen, her enthusiasm enthralling and endearing. Those vibrant green eyes rival the vivid hues of the trees. The scientist's little mineral nickname for them might change, with Jane's adventurous newfound love for nature and travel. Perhaps to one having only grown up on starships, this must be a great shock to the system. A knowledge of all the things she's missed out on, locked on a ship. The scientist feels like she'd be this way for it, anyway.

"We're docking," Jane announces with boiling excitement, already waiting by the hatch with all her bags. "C'mon, c'mon. We're booking a hotel and we're exploring right after we toss our bags in the room."

"With pride. Welcome to the city of Unovasereng," the elcor pilot announces—why he's here with a VI doing the flying is a strange decision. Perhaps he is meant to be a greeter and informational guide rather than a pilot. "Please enjoy our lorebodum trees. They have pleasant aromas."

"Lorebodum trees?" Jane asks. "Which ones are those?"

"Enthused. They are wider than they are tall, have white branches and green platter-sized leaves. They are the native tree to Dekunna, and is a staple of our horticulture. We have seeds for purchase in shops."

"We're going there too then," the marine decides quickly. She looks over at Liara, her eyes lit up, impulse sweeping her away as she dips down to kiss a tender spot just under the jaw. She abruptly pulls away with a nervous chuckle and apology under her breath.

Liara is the one struggling not to scream her sorry for being the source of such conflicting chaos.

As soon as they dock, Jane sounds off her thanks and byes to the pilot as she eagerly pulls Liara along, laughing as she succumbs to her fate. Her laughter dies, her breath robbed, when they clear security and step into the beating heart of Unovasereng. There's a thunder in her chest that rivals the one roaring outside. The lightning strikes across the skies, the rain slowing to a gentle fall. A hand gets grabby with hers and she's dragged off, her mouth hitching in smiles whenever Jane laughs over her observations of how wild or crazy or 'fucking awesome' all of this is. She needs to see Thessia someday too, then, if she is coming to enjoy nature this much—at least then they will be safe to roam in it without suits or oxygen tanks, without worrying about imminent death.

"Flower shop first, then the hotel!" Jane's head zips about, and they come to a halt as they try to scout out the flower shop, but fail. She pulls and pulls, deciding to push Liara to one of the elcor guides.

"With enthusiasm. Salutations, human. Welcome to Unovasereng."

Liara freezes. She should be happy, but there's... A disappointment.

So she didn't mark Jane again, last night. Or this morning, despite things getting and feeling so much more heated. Perhaps it was just anxiety and getting caught off guard at the billiards table that attributed to Liara's loss of control, but now she doesn't know how to claim intentionally. How does she transition from friends to lovers, now?

Jane seems to be delighted to finally be recognized as her species. No more yelling, no more diplomatic incidents. They're pointed in the right direction, needing to descend stairs—something the human chuckles and mutters curses under her breath over—in order to find the main flower shop in this district. Before they set off, though, Jane turns to the scientist. She has a sheepish grin, a fierce blush. She boldly saddles up behind Liara to whisper in her aural. "Stay here. I have an idea."

Jane walks up to the elcor, rising on her toes, as if trying to be inconspicuous. The elcor looks down at her. "Confused, what is the asari doing?"

"I'm the human, bud." Jane thumbs at the scientist. "She's the asari."

What is going on? Liara's brow pinches in bewilderment. She doesn't understand why the marine takes off jogging, laughing. Something ominous brews when she notices the elcor's vertical slats flap.

"Concerned." He moves a little towards Liara. "Does this human have an identity crisis?"

Oh.

Oh.

By the Goddess...