Halfway through the Normandy's three-day-journey back to the Citadel, with the intention of resupply and touching base with their allies, Liara had come to a single, incontrovertible conclusion: that Tali'zorah nar Rayya and Ashley Williams had sizeable crushes on her lover. Very sizeable. Ashley more than Tali, she was quite sure, but that really only made sense. Ashley was a human soldier, a marine whose family was intimately related to Shanxi as Cassie's was, and like many human marines -especially the young women- saw Cassandra as the pinnacle, an idol to admire and aspire to. She had likely already had a crush on Cassandra -indeed, the handful of brief conversation she'd had with the girl, where Ashley had tentatively asked questions about Cassandra from a more personal perspective than a news reel could give, had certainly given her that impression- that had bloomed spectacularly since they had met.
And, again, that only made sense.
Liara had already loved Cassandra before Mindoir, but -as much as she hated what the fiery-haired human had endured- being saved by her had only made those feeling all the more intense. And Ashley had experienced the same thing, more than once, on top of her profound admiration. So there could hardly be any question of how that would end.
Tali was…more complicated, for both good and ill. For one, her feelings were -to Liara's intuition- less firmly established than those of Ashley, lacking quite the same initial foundation of appreciation that the human had possessed. For another, she had an unfortunate complex, as many quarians did, about how genuine she could believe those around her were behaving. But, and this was perhaps the most important thing, she also had the instinctual, nearly resigned acceptance that it didn't matter of she liked Cassandra, because she was trapped inside of her suit. There was a barrier there that could never be removed, and Tali'zorah knew it.
Of course, it was at this point that many women would have begun plotting to make sure that any potential 'rivals' knew full well to keep their eyes, hands, and thoughts to themselves. Or, quite frankly, they would have already gone to work putting any such plan into action. Liara T'soni, however, was not most women. For one thing, she knew that Cassandra wouldn't ever dream of cheating on her, they were too devoted to one another for that. For another, Liara didn't have an issue with people desiring her love, nor with Cassandra desiring them in turn. And not just because she was an asari, and not just because she was pretty sure all three of their surviving parents were setting a fine example with each other, either!
No, Liara had realized a long time ago that Cassandra was just…more than a single person could handle. Not necessarily in bed, though she fully admitted that even she, of the race and age most famous for their sexual appetites and stamina, could not keep up with Cassie if the other woman was on a roll. It didn't have anything to do with Cassandra's sheer force of personality being overwhelming either, though that was certainly a factor, and Liara felt no shame in admitting that either. Her lover was intense, even when she wasn't trying to be, even when she was at rest and relaxed. Magnetic, larger than life, like a hero out of the stories that both their peoples were so fond of.
Simply put, Cassandra was too big, too grand, too beautiful and great for a single woman to be enough to support her. And she did need support, needed gentle and loving hands to wipe away her tears and give her comfort, to show her love and affection, willing ears to hear her as she unburdened her heart. Her heart that was, Liara firmly believed, too large, too passionate, for any single person to hold absolute dominion over.
The fact that Cassandra was, slowly and implacable, growing more and more powerful, bound as she was to an entity as old as the universe itself, was immaterial. No, that wasn't true. The fact that Cassandra would someday be able to shape the fates and lives of entire galaxies was all the more reason that her beloved needed more support than Liara alone could give. The foolish, the ignorant and shallow and short-sighted, would see the power that her bond with the Phoenix gave her and believe her a goddess that needed no one and nothing. Separate and aloof, above and beyond such 'petty concerns' as love, and family, and quiet nights curled up on the couch watching ancient films.
But Liara knew better. Liara knew that the greater Cassandra's power grew, the greater her responsibilities would grow. The greater her obligations, the pressures, the weights on her shoulder, until she would be in danger of being crushed beneath it all…or being forced to give up her humanity in order to endure it.
And Liara T'soni would tolerate neither such thing to come to pass.
Which meant she would happily allow other women to earn a part of Cassie's love for themselves.
Especially if they were gorgeous marines like Ashley or cute braniacs like Tali.
Just like her love, Liara had a type, and rough-but-sweet marines and soft sweet 'cinnamon rolls' were very much a matter of interest to her. And Goddess knew that listening to Tali talk was helping her understand why Cassie got so turned on by listening to her ramble about the Protheans. Of course, convincing either of them to go along with joining their family might not be easy. Ashley clearly had some pretty large esteem issues to go along with her hero-worship, and would reject an honest approach instinctively as a result whereas Tali…well, again, that brought them back to the suit and the cultural esteem issues.
She'd figure it out, she was a smart girl, and when it came to doing things for her domme, she wasn't inclined to let things get in her way. And that meant getting closer to the two girls, which meant becoming friends with them, which meant approaching them. Which she was going to do right now, by approaching first Ashley, then Tali, and inviting them to join her in the mess hall for lunch.
She found Ashley first, in the gym area of the Normandy's cargo bay, working through a series of pull-ups that made the muscles in her arms stand out impressively, earning an appreciative examination and an approving, sub-vocal hum. She waited until the marine dropped back to her feet before approaching, not wanting to break her concentration. It would hardly be a good start to things if she got the human woman hurt by distracting her during her workout, after all.
"Chief Williams, hello." she said with a smile. "I was wondering if you'd care to join me for lunch in the mess? I've been meaning to get to know the crew better, you and Tali in particular, and so I thought we might chat."
Ashley looked surprised, a slight flush rising to her cheeks as she reached for a towel to wipe away the sweat on her brow, and Liara couldn't help but notice the sheen on her skin. She really did have a type, and seemed to be jumping into things with both feet -mentally speaking- even faster than she had expected to. Did that say something about her, she wondered? "Dr. T'soni? I, uh, sure. Let me grab a quick shower first?"
"Of course. I still need to find Tali as well."
Finding the quarian proved slightly more challenging, despite the fact that she was almost always in Engineering, but it turned out that that her small and slender build made her ideal to go into pipes and crawlspaces that the rest of the crew struggled to reach…if they could at all. Adams certainly couldn't, and as he'd guided her to the particular nook Tali had wiggled herself into, he'd sung the small girl's praises.
"She's been incredible, just incredible." Adams explained as they approached where Tali half-buried in a maintenance shaft, her omni-tool casting an orange glow around her as she worked on something Liara couldn't identify, or even see, really. Only her legs and the lower half of her torso were visible, wiggling slightly as she maneuvered in the tight space. "I've never seen someone pick up our systems so fast, and that includes me and the rest of the crew, and we were specifically trained for this ship."
Liara smiled, finding she was genuinely pleased by the praise the man was heaping on Tali. "She's quite brilliant, from what I've seen. Would you mind terribly if I borrower her for some lunch? Do you still need her for the time being, or…?"
Adams waved his hand dismissively. "Take her now if you want. She's been at it for five hours straight. Girl needs to eat."
"I did eat!" Tali, who apparently could hear their conversation, gave a squawk of protest was distinctly muffled, for all that it echoed a bit in the shaft, and Adams snorted in response before prodding her foot with one of his own.
"You ate something eight hours ago, kiddo. And it was the quarian equivalent of a power bar. That shit ran out ages ago. And the pretty doctor wants to have lunch with you and Williams, so get yourself out of there and make yourself presentable."
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Tali grumbled, the sound of metal tools being put away echoing from inside the shaft before she began wiggling her way backwards out of it. "And I wasn't going to stay in there all day, I just wanted to finish calibrating the power regulators. The starboard ones are running at 98.7% efficiency but the port ones are only at 97.4%. It's a difference of barely more than one percent, but it's been bothering me."
Liara smiled as the quarian emerged, dust and a bit of what looked like engine grease smeared across her suit. "You're a perfectionist, I see."
"No, I'm..." Tali paused, then gave a small laugh. "Okay, yes, I am. But in engineering, that one percent can be the difference between getting home and not. Besides, the Normandy relies on speed and maneuverability, not armor, so it's really important that her engines never suffer from any issues…wait, what was that about lunch? You…you wanted to have lunch with me and Ash?"
The way that Tali's glowing eyes focused on her and blinked rapidly several times did a fine job of portraying her surprise and tentativeness. Frankly, it was quite cute, and Liara's smile was wide and genuine as she nodded.
"Yes, if you're available. I thought it would be nice to get to know you both better."
"Oh! Um, yes, I'd like that." Tali's voice brightened noticeably, her posture straigtening, before she looked down at herself and grimaced. "I'm something of a mess right now, though…"
"Ashley is showering right now, perhaps you ought to do the same? Clean your suit up a bit? I certainly don't mind either way, but if it would make you feel better…?" Liara let herself trail off invitingly, and Tali paused for a moment before nodding. Her suit was waterproof, of course, so all she would have to do was rinse and then use the high-pressure blower to dry herself off.
"Okay. I'll do that, then meet you and Ashley in the Mess Hall." she agreed, and Liara beamed in pleasure.
"Excellent. I will see you there, Tali."
###############################################################################################
Ashley washed her hair with the monotonous, absent-minded familiarity of a woman who had done the same things a thousand times before…and whose thoughts had nothing to do with her current actions and everything to do with a weighty topic. The topic in question? Liara T'soni, one of the most famous asari in Alliance space -not to mention the daughter of the only two asari more famous than herself!-, apparently-brilliant archaeologist, and lover of one Cassandra Shepard. That last had been the most important feature about her, but now it sat tied with just how deadly the good doctor apparently was. If it hadn't been for the Commander and Battlemaster Wrex being as familiar with T'soni as they had been, she and the rest of the squad would probably be dead. If not from the booby-traps themselves, or the effects of the injuries, than from the other geth and krogan that they had encountered on their way out.
Of course, in hindsight, it made sense that she wouldn't be the shy, quiet, bookish nerd that Ashley had kind of been expecting. Like Shepard had explained, with the parents she had and the background life experiences that she had lived through, Liara was a very different girl from the stereotype. And she was so damn friendly, too. Polite, and kind, and sociable, and despite herself Ashley hadn't been able to almost immediately think of her as 'Liara' instead of 'Doctor T'soni', especially after the maiden had invited her to be on a first name basis.
What had really made an impact on her, though, a one-two punch that left Ashley shaken, was just how attractive she had found Liara…and the freshly reunited couple promptly locking themselves in Shepard's cabin for several hours, only to emerge looking like they'd reached heaven and returned. More than once, at that, and God help her, but she hadn't been able to stop imagining the two of them having sex together since. She hadn't been able to stop enjoying the mental images of that either, as guilty and as strange as it made her feel. And it did make her feel strange. She had never spent much time thinking about sex and romance, certainly not compared to most girls -or boys, to be fair- her own age. Other things had been much more important in her life, like her sisters and her career and proving to the world that her grandfather, her family, didn't deserve how the Alliance treated them.
But she seemed to be making up for that lack of interest now. It was almost frightening, and was certainly startling, how quickly she was losing her ability to deceive herself about her attraction to Shepard. To Cassandra, whom she was quickly learning to see as a person rather than an idea. Whom, if Liara was to be believed, she already was seeing as a person rather than an ideal, and Ashley had to admit that she found the confidence that the asari had in that fact both flattering and reassuring. It was hardly in Liara's best interest to lie about this, after all, unless she had some sort of cunning, malicious plan to make Ashley get too familiar and relaxed around Shepard and humiliate herself while ruining her career.
Ashley didn't believe that was the case.
That was what really had her worried, if she was being honest with herself, and as she rinsed off the soap, Ashley wondered what would happen if she couldn't keep her feelings in check. It was one thing to have a crush on her CO, and an entirely different thing to let that crush become obvious to said CO. She could already imagine the embarrassment, the awkwardness, the potential reprimand. The Williams name didn't need another black mark against it, especially for something so unprofessional.
But Liara had invited her to lunch, along with Tali. And while part of her was nervous about spending time with the Commander's girlfriend -especially given her inappropriate thoughts - another part was genuinely curious. Liara seemed...well, like Ashley had thought not minutes before, kind and polite and (quite obviously, given the imminent circumstances) sociable. It would be nice to be around women her own age -in a manner of speaking- again, the ship not exactly overflowing with them, and it would be nice to have some good company for a meal for once. Not that there was anything wrong with Alenko or the rest of the crew, per se. It's just that Alenko wasn't a particularly exciting or interesting guy to hang out with, and the rest of the crew didn't mix too much with the ground team. Not to say that there wasn't some sort of caste divide, nor any active avoidance or dislike or anything like that, it's just that people tended to hang out with those that had similar interests and day-to-day activities, which most of the strike team and most of the ship crew didn't.
The only thing that they all had in common was a burning desire to see the mission fulfilled and an admiration for their commanding officer. Which certainly wasn't nothing, but duty-enhanced desire for revenge could only carry a conversation just so far, and none of the crew could give Ashley the same insight, the same level of intimate familiarity, with Shepard that Liara could. Which, yeah, was probably cheating a little bit, talking to her hero's girlfriend to find out more about her as a person, but if you weren't cheating you weren't trying. And Liara had approved of Ashley trying to know Cassandra as a person more than an ideal, so Ashley was really only doing the logical and reasonable thing by following up with Liara herself.
Satisfied with her self-directed argument and the reasoning therein, Ashley nodded firmly to herself, rinsed the last of the shampoo, lavender scented body-wash, and soap from her hair and skin, and stepped out of the shower. Wherein she promptly spotted a wide-eyed Tali, tried to slam on the breaks to avoid running her over, slipped on the wet floor, and ended up plowing directly into her instead. Despite the surprise of the whole situation, though, she wasn't entirely helpless or hopeless, and she wrapped the smaller, more slender girl in her arms and twisted. They hit the floor, hard, and Ashley grunted explosively as her back slammed into the metal -fortunately not corrugated- and Tali's masked face slammed into her breasts.
"Oof!" Tali exclaimed, her external speaker making the sound as muffled against Ashley's bare chest as it would have been if the mask didn't exist at all.
Ashley froze, mortified by her current situation. Here she was, naked as the day she was born, with Tali's face pressed against her breasts in perhaps the most intimate any person has ever been with her in her life. The cool air of the shower room raised goosebumps across her exposed skin and had her nipples pebbling, making her even more aware of her nakedness as she shivered.
"I'm so sorry!" Tali squeaked a moment later, practically throwing herself off of Ashley and scrambling backward, her hands slipping on the wet floor as she tried to put distance between them. "I didn't realize— I thought you'd be finished by now—must have come in after you had already turned the water off!"
Ashley sat up, one arm crossed over her chest in a belated attempt at modesty. Her face burned hot enough that she probably could have turned the water still clinging to her face into steam if she tried, and she held up her free hand to halt the babbling stream of apologies and explanations that were stilling tumbling from Tali's lips. "Tali…Tali, stop, it's fine. We're both girls, and as far as I know we've got pretty much the same stuff to us. So please just…get me my towel so I can dry off and dress?"
Tali fumbled for the towel hanging on a hook nearby, her fingers clumsy with embarrassment as she passed it to Ashley. "I'm so sorry," she repeated, staring fixedly at a point somewhere above Ashley's left shoulder. "Liara invited me to lunch too, and suggested I clean up, and I just... I didn't think to check if anyone else was in here."
"It's fine," Ashley repeated, wrapping the towel around herself and standing. "Just a little accident. No harm done." She tried to sound casual, but her voice came out higher than usual. She cleared her throat. "So, you're joining me and Liara for lunch, then?"
"Yes." Tali fidgeted with her hands, still not looking directly at Ashley, but not looking away from her either, her eyes flicking back and forth slightly as if she was fighting the urge to do one or the other. "She said she wanted to get to know us both better. I was just going to clean my suit up a bit?"
"Yeah, right, got it." Ashley nodded, trying not to let her embarrassment show too much. This whole situation was awkward enough already, the last thing either of them needed was for attention to be drawn to it. "I was just about to get dressed myself. I'll, uh, wait outside for you if you need privacy to...do whatever it is you do to clean up."
"Oh, I don't need privacy really." Tali hastened to assure her, gesturing to herself vaguely. "The suit is sealed, so I just need to wash it externally, really. But, uhm, I…would you like some privacy to…?"
"It's…it's fine. You've already seen everything, and like I said, we have all the same bits anyway. More or less." Ashley said after a long, painful moment of consideration. Trying to be too modest at this point would just make things feel even weirder for the both of them, frankly, and the only way to improve this situation was to bull their way forward until it was over with. That in mind, she rose -holding the towel in place firmly with one hand- and padded over to the small bag holding her change of clothes. She dressed quickly, pulling on her underwear beneath the towel before dropping it to finish dressing in her casual uniform. She wasn't on duty, but she wasn't about to walk around the ship in her civvies either. It just wasn't professional, and she had her dignity and her pride, no matter what Joker might say. Not to mention, him seeing her 'dressed down' might bring about exactly the sort of commentary the pilot seemed so fond of. Which would be flattering, if she was remotely interested and if he was less of a pain in the ass.
"So, um, do you know why Liara wanted to have lunch with us? Like, really wants to?" Tali asked, having moved to one of the sinks and begun to scrub at a particularly stubborn grease stain on her suit's forearm.
Ashley shrugged as she pulled her shirt over her head and straightened to properly. "All she said to me was that she wanted to get to know the crew better, you and I in particular, and I guess I believe her. And I'm sure Shepard told her all about our last couple of missions together, so I bet she'll ask loads of questions about the Prothean thrall things that we fought with her and Wrex."
Tali nodded thoughtfully, her glowing eyes blinking behind her mask as she kept scrubbing. "That makes sense. I suppose I'm just not used to people wanting to get to know me better. Especially not..." She trailed off, gesturing vaguely with her free hand.
"Especially not what?" Ashley prompted, running her fingers through her damp hair to smooth it back. Marine or not, she cared when it came to her appearance. Particularly in circumstances like these.
"Especially not someone like Liara." Tali admitted quietly. "She's brilliant and beautiful and the daughter of two of the most famous asari in the galaxy, and is dating the second-most famous human in the galaxy. Who happens to be the daughter of the most famous. And I'm just... well, me."
Ashley felt a pang of sympathy, feeling very much like she was talking to one of her little sisters in this moment. "Hey, don't sell yourself short. You're pretty damn impressive yourself. Adams can't stop singing your praises when it comes to Engineering, your tech stuff has done alot for the team, and you fight pretty good. Not to mention you're the one that brought us the evidence we needed to know what was going on." She hesitated, then added with a smile. "Besides, she just…seems to be a friendly, sociable person. Probably doesn't get to chat with too many people during all those digs. She's probably dying for some quality company."
Tali looked down at herself, hands still working at the stain on her suit. "Thanks, Ash. That's... that's really nice of you to say." She paused, tilting her head slightly. "So you think Shepard talks about us to Liara? About the missions and everything?"
"Are you kidding?" Ashley laughed, tucking her towel into a hamper. "I bet Shepard tells Liara everything, even the stuff that's classified. You've seen how they look at each other. Like they've got this... I don't know, this connection that goes beyond just dating, beyond childhood friendship and romance. I've never seen anything like it, out of a bad romance novel anyway."
The quarian's shoulders rose and fell slightly in a small shrug. "They do seem very close, that's for sure."
"Yeah, they do." Ashley agreed, trying not to think about just how 'close' they'd quite obviously been in Shepard's cabin. Her cheeks flushed again as she pushed the rapidly forming images away. "Anyway, I'll see you in the mess in a little bit?"
"Yeah, I'll be there shortly." Tali replied, her voice sounding a bit steadier now. "Just need to finish getting this stain off."
Ashley gave her a quick smile and headed out, wondering if she should've said more…or less. The way she'd talked about Shepard and Liara had been... well, maybe a bit too revealing of her own fascination with their relationship, and the people in it. But Tali hadn't seemed to notice anything odd about it, thankfully, and had seemed just as curious as she herself was.
As she made her way to the mess hall, Ashley found herself mentally rehearsing conversation topics. What did one talk about with an asari archaeologist who happened to be dating your commanding officer? Especially found the both of them rather more attractive than you probably ought to? Work seemed safe enough. Missions, training, the situation that they had no found themselves in as a galaxy, that sort of thing. Or maybe ask about Liara's research? That might be interesting, and it would give the doctor a chance to talk about something she was clearly passionate about, which was always a good way to ingratiate oneself or to make friends. Or maybe she could ask about Liara's experiences on the dig sites? That would be cool, and it would give Liara a chance to share some of her adventures. Ashley had always been a bit curious about archaeology, in the way most people were, not that she'd ever had much chance to indulge that curiosity. Military life didn't exactly lend itself to digging around in the dirt for ancient artifacts, and she wasn't curious enough -or willing to let her family's detractors have the satisfaction- to give up soldiering for archaeology either.
Didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy chatting about it with an expert, though. Especially not from a woman whose race was so long lived, her mother had probably been alive or about to be born around the same time mankind was working on landing on their own damn moon.
As Ashley entered the mess hall, she spotted Liara already sitting at one of the tables, three trays of food in front of her. The asari looked up and smiled warmly, waving her over. The brunette hesitated for only a moment, recognizing both the invitation and the implication for what they were, before making her way across the room.
"Ashley! I'm glad you could make it. I got you some food already, I hope that's alright? I asked the mess sergeant what you typically preferred and he was more than happy to give it to me. For Tali as well, when she gets here." Liara greeted her with a smile once she was within a foot or three of the table, and Ashley couldn't restrain the small, pleased smile that creased her lips.
"That's... really thoughtful, thank you Doctor." Ashley said, surprised by the gesture as she slid into the seat opposite Liara and inspecting the food on offer. Liara was right, it was exactly what she ordered every single time she ate, and while it wasn't the most exciting food, it was her favorite amongst what the Normandy had on offer. Which was, admittedly, better than most military food.
"Liara, please! We'll soon be friends, I should hope, and squad mates regardless. And you're very welcome. It seemed a simple thing to do." Liara's smile brightened as Ashley responded by obediently murmuring her name, and Ashley felt a flutter in her chest at how genuinely pleased the asari seemed at the simple correction. "Besides, I've found that the most simple knowledge of another person can help you grow closer to them. Favorite food, for example, or hobbies."
"Mmh. I actually wanted to ask you about your archeological digs. Especially the Prothean stuff. Did the Commander tell you about Feros?" Ashley asked, getting a confirming bob of the head from her table-mate, who gave a complicated expression of pleasure and aggravation.
"She did, though I haven't watched any of the footage from the armor cameras yet. To think that there was a creature as old, older even, than the Protheans themselves living beneath Feros the entire time. And with four live Protheans in it's grasp!" she exclaimed, and Ashley grimaced with a mutter that she wasn't sure just how 'alive' they could consider the four thralls, or even how Prothean they were any longer at that point. Liara hummed softly in acknowledgement, nodding again. "I don't disagree with you, but it's more than anyone has ever had before. Though you had best believe that I was furious -spitting mad, as they would have said back on Mindoir- at the idea of what the Thorian had done to them. To the rest of the colonists as well, of course, but to think that the last Protheans in the galaxy were slaves kept alive for fifty millennia just to be used as weapons by such a being as the Thorian…"
Liara's voice trailed off, her eyes flashing with a fury that was both easy to admire and rather attractive, and Ashley found herself nodding in agreement. Even though she wasn't an archaeologist, the thought of ancient beings kept as slaves for thousands of years was disturbing on a fundamental level. Slavery was bad enough, of course, like Liara had said, but being enslaved for so long was…unfathomable. She was a religious woman, she fully believed that a part of every thrall still held their immortal soul, and that meant that those four Protheans had witnessed their entire civilization being eradicated, helpless and trapped inside their own puppeted bodies all the while.
Conversation paused for a moment as Tali was spotted and waved over, and paused longer still as the younger woman went through the same -though rather more effusive, verging on babbling- expression of gratitude that Ashley had, as well as the same agreement to stick to first names, before continuing.
"Honestly, watching her fight was incredible. I knew that she was amazing, of course I did. Everyone has seen the footage that made it off of Akuze and Elysium, but those were in large, wide-open spaces where she had plenty of room to move. But down in those tunnels…" Tali remarked once she found out the subject of their conversation before she'd caught up to them. Shaking her head and gesturing vaguely with one hand, she laughed a bit breathlessly. "I don't think that they slowed her down at all. Those four Prothean thralls would have killed all of us, except maybe Wrex, but she took them apart like it was nothing."
"She is truly exceptional, yes." Liara agreed promptly, her voice warm with affection, smiling softly. "Cassandra has always had a natural talent for stressful, important situations. Even before she became a Marine, even before Anhur and Akuze and Elysium, she was extraordinary."
Ashley took a bite of her food, studying Liara's expression carefully and thoughtfully alike. There was such pride there, such open admiration. It made Ashley wonder what it would be like to have someone look that way when speaking about her.
"What was she like? Before, I mean?" she asked a moment later, curiosity getting the better of her. "Before she became... well, The Dragon."
Liara's smile softened, her eyes taking on a distant quality as she stirred her food absently. "She was much the same in many ways, she actually hasn't changed all that much. Determined, protective, with that same fierce sense of justice. But also... lighter, perhaps? Less burdened." She paused, seeming to choose her words carefully, and Ashley wondered why. "Hmm. Perhaps that's not quite right, she's always had a weight resting on her shoulders. Regardless, she's always been much like this. You've not yet had the opportunity to see much of her private side, but it is there, and deeply enjoyable."
"Oh, I don't know that we've not seen it. She certainly had a good time freaking me out over the Mako…" Tali muttered under her breath, seemingly forgetting that she was with an audience, and Liara gave a startled bark of laughter, arching an eyebrow in query. Grinning slightly despite herself and her own memories of that particular event -funnier in hindsight, she had to admit, than it had been in the moment- Ashley explained what, exactly, Tali was referring to. By the time she was halfway through, Liara was shaking her head, and by the time the story was over she was giggling softly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, girls, but that really actually is wonderful, even if it didn't seem so at the time." she explained, taking in the bemused, and mildly offended, look that her two table-mates were giving her at her amusement. Shaking her head, she continued. "If she is willing to joke around with you and tease you like that, especially during a mission -quiet moment or not-, than she is quite fond of you and trusts you. I'm afraid that means that you'll be dealing with her dubious sense of humor regularly from now on."
"That's..." Tali paused, glancing at Ashley, whether for reassurance or to gauge her reaction, Ashley wasn't sure. Both, maybe. "Actually a good thing?"
"Oh, absolutely, yes." Liara assured her, taking a delicate bite of her food, seemingly with no care for it's less than spectacular taste. Well, she'd probably had worse at digsites, those probably weren't famous for their quality cuisine. "Cassandra is very selective about who she lets see that side of her. It's a defense mechanism of sorts, keeping people at a professional distance unless she's certain she can trust them."
Ashley pushed her food around her plate, mulling this over, more interested in the conversation than what passed for a meal. "So what you're saying is that she's already comfortable enough with us to let her guard down a little?"
"Precisely, Ashley." Liara nodded, looking distinctly pleased. "Cassandra has had to be careful about who she lets close, ever since we were children. The more famous she became, the more people wanted something from her rather than simply wanting to know her. And, of course, it wasn't like that only became a problem when she became a hero herself, given her parents and how close her family is to mine."
Well, that certainly made sense. Ashley was more than familiar with how people could act when it came to the famous and notorious. And the Shepard/T'soni families certainly qualified as both, galaxy wide. So the idea that people would try to cozy up to them, especially through Cassandra when she was a child, was almost painfully easy to see. Infuriating, of course, and disgusting and thoroughly deserving of contempt, but easy to see all the same. But behind all of that, growing ever-stronger, was the pride and the pleasure at the implication -no, the statement of fact- that lay in Liara's words.
Shepard trusted her, liked her, enjoyed being with her enough to treat her in the same way she only treated those that she could be closest to. That was…an amazing feeling, and wasn't going to help her keep her steadily intensifying feelings for the other woman under control, but if given the option between knowing what she knew now and making it a bit harder, or going back to being ignorant and having it be easier, she would pick the later every time. Selfish of her, perhaps, but what harm could some quiet selfishness do here?
After all, an attraction to Shepard and Liara in the privacy of her own heart couldn't bring anyone any kind of harm, especially not if she was able to remain professional and do her duty. Which she could, and would, and so everything was just fine.