Leather & Lace ‘19 - Fic 10 of 14
Event hosted by @alyssalenko @vorchagirl and @starsandskies
“The Soft Heart of a Renegade”
Prompt - Unromantic Romance
Growing up, Commander Val Shepard was forced to create a tough exterior, one that would hide her emotions and deal with all the crap thrown her way. It was how she had to survive as an orphan on the streets, even more so due to the fact that she was a blonde – a very rare gene to find in humans these days. People in the past had tried to take advantage of her just by her hair color alone. If not for sticking with the right people, her own instincts, and hiding her emotions, Shepard would've been eaten alive a long time ago.
Those old instincts followed Shepard through her years in the Alliance. Liara T'Soni understood this when they first started their relationship. In public, Shepard was a feared soldier who was willing to seek her goals at any cost. Her actions were harsh, perhaps questionable at times, but she always got the job done.
But in private, when it was just the two of them, she was Val. Val was a woman who absolutely adored Liara. Val was a woman who grinned with happiness whenever Liara gifted her little items for no reason, especially if those items were colored pink, her favorite. Val was a woman who took her time and possessed a rare patience in order to teach Liara how to defend herself when she first came onto the Normandy. Val was a woman who only let Liara see past her tough exterior and into the heart she always hid from others. Val was a woman who held her tight whenever Liara was close to falling apart... especially after what happened to her homeworld.
In her quarters, Liara was helping to organize assistance to the asari refugees who recently lost their home on Thessia – sending her surviving agents through her networks to help, set up housing, sending out supplies... there was SO much to do with so little time. There were also the questions that ran through her mind – would it be enough? Would the refugees be safe? When will the Reapers strike again?
Liara was in near exhaustion and went to lay her head down when she suddenly noticed two objects on her desk – a stemming hot cup of coffee and a single cupcake decorated in thick blue frosting and white, star-shaped sprinkles.
Taken aback by their sudden appearance, Liara turned her head to scan the room before her eyes spotted the back section of her quarters where her bed was. There, she found Shepard lounging on the bed and reading over some datapads she likely brought with her from her own quarters. On the nightstand were her own cup of coffee and a half-eaten cupcake, also with blue frosting but no sprinkles.
By the goddess, Liara thought as she picked up the coffee she realized Shepard left for her. I've been so focused on my work that I didn't even notice her in here until now.
She took a sniff of the coffee and recognized the scent – mocha with a touch of vanilla. That made Liara smile, moved that Shepard remembered that this was her favorite of all the human-invented coffee flavors. She took a long sip, taking a moment to relish the taste before she turned her attention to her lover.
“Val,” Liara softly called out after she sipped her drink. “How long have you been in here?”
Shepard didn't look up from her datapad, but she did acknowledged her question with a smile. “Not long,” she replied. “Ten... fifteen minutes tops. You looked busy, so I figured I'd stick around and look over my own work until you were done with whatever you were doing. I’m glad Glyph understood the hand signal to stay quiet.”
Liara smiled as she felt her cheeks go warm. “And where did the cupcake come from?”
“I'd say I made them for you, buuut...”
“You wouldn't dare lie to me would you?” Liara teased. Of course she knew – everyone knew actually - that Shepard couldn't cook a meal that wasn’t instant to save her own life, let alone bake dessert from scratch.
“Me? Lie to you? Oh babe, I would never,” Shepard teased back. “Actually, Daniels down in engineering made these. A 'pick-me-up' for the crew before we head to the Iera system. I managed to confiscate the last two – one for me and one for you. I gave you the one with the star sprinkles because I thought you'd like that.”
Liara felt her heart flutter in her chest at those words. It was little gestures like this that made her love Shepard more and more with each passing day. This woman possessed a cold, stoic heart that Liara somehow managed to break through and see the love she had only for her.
If she managed to live for a thousand years and even if she did find another to give her heart to, Liara didn't think she would love anyone as much as she loved Val Shepard.
“You look tired,” Shepard pointed out. “Why don't you sit with me for a little while?”
Usually, Liara didn't want to bother Shepard when she was working, but well... not only did she invite her, but, well... she also happened to be lying on Liara's own bed.
“All right,” Liara replied. She took her coffee and cupcake in her hands and walked over to her bed. Placing them down on the other nightstand, Liara got into her bed before scooting over to get close to Shepard. Shepard promptly wrapped one arm around her while Liara rested her head on her shoulder. Neither of them said a word after that, but Liara was fine with it. Just having Shepard here, her arm around her and just being this close to her was enough.
Eventually, Liara's eyes fluttered closed and she fell into a peaceful slumber.
