It Came from Outer Space

Five years after defeating the Reapers, Shepard bursts through the door of her Citadel apartment, shouting, "Liara! Liara!"

Slowly, the Shadowbroker walks halfway down the stairs and turns to face her wife. Shepard kicks the door shut behind her and holds out something furry in her arms. Liara squints at the strange creature before figuring out what it is.

Liara narrows her eyes and takes a few moments to identify the alien creature. It comes to her at last and she exclaims, "That's an Earth fauna. A… felis catus?"

"A cat. Well, a kitten. It's a kitten. I found her in a basket at the gym this morning. She was the last one left of her sisters and brothers." Shepard rubs the kitten behind its ears and it contentedly mewls. "I had to save her. It wasn't a choice."

Liara warmly smiles, although she gives Shepard a concerned glance. She always does when it comes to matters involving Earth. "Of course. It shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps Benezia would like to meet…?"

"I am proud to announce the name of this cute little furball…" With great bravado, she declares, "Commander Mittens."

Liara purses her lips but swiftly erases the doubt about the new pet from her mind. "Perhaps Benezia would like to meet Commander Mittens."

Speak of the Devil, thinks Shepard when her first and only child comes bounding out of her dad's study and begins to greet Shepard with a screech and a hug before she jumps back from fright. She swiftly wraps herself around Liara's legs.

Shepard kneels and gently sets Commander Mittens down.

"What is that thing?" squeals Benezia in utter horror. Shepard cringes and Commander Mittens begins to retreat. She frantically clings tighter to the Shadowbroker. "Momma, save me!"

Liara chuckles and Shepard sighs, wrangling the kitten once more.

"Well," says Liara before Shepard can explain, "it's a furry monster from Earth. It probably wants to play with you, but you should avoid the claws and fangs."

Benezia's sapphire eyes widen, her lips parted from shock and fear.

"Does it have a name?" Benezia hesitantly inquires, twitching towards the kitten but then yanking herself away.

"Commander Mittens," calmly replies Shepard, offering an encouraging smile to her daughter.

"Commander what? Did my translator glitch, daddy?" asks Benezia, befuddled.

"Do you…" Shepard blanches and locks eyes with Liara. "Do Asari not have a word for mittens?"

Benezia, befuddled, inquires, "Is it what this monster is? A… mittens?"

Shepard collects her thoughts and explains, "That adorable monster is a cat, and mittens are these soft, fluffy things you put on your hands in winter."

"Are they made from cats?" Benezia asks.

"No." Pause. "I hope not, at least."

Benezia curiously inquires, "Then why do you call the cat Mittens?"

Shepard has never before thought about that. She finds from time to time that explaining Earth to her Asari family challenging, but she always manages.

"Because mittens are soft and cats are soft." Shepard then realizes how ridiculous that sounds. It makes perfect sense on Earth. She scratches her head and adds, "I think that's why."

Liara watches Benezia hesitantly touch Mittens and realizes that Shepard does not have many items from her homeworld. Since the last banquet in her honor, they have not entered Earth's atmosphere, and Benezia was too young to remember it. Liara's wife even locked away the objects of Anderson's and keeps them in her closet.

The thought makes the Asari furrow her brow and faintly frown.

"When you hold her," says Shepard, kneeling and taking Mittens onto her lap, "you have to hold her like a baby. Don't strain her back."

"I-I don't want to hold her, dad!" Benezia exclaims as Shepard holds out the fuzzy beast. "What if she scratches me?"

"Then you take that scratch like a little soldier and show off that scar," fiercely says Shepard. "But if anybody asks about it, you better lie and say you got it fighting a giant varren."

Benezia keeps shaking her head. Shepard scowls. That stern look from her father makes Benezia hastily accept the kitten. She cradles Mittens like a baby and tries to avoid the strict ire of a stubborn military official.

Liara laughs behind her blue hand.

Shepard winks at her.

Benezia shrieks from fear as Mittens stirs restlessly in her arms and breaks free of her grasp.

[X]

Once Benezia settles with Mittens, Shepard goes into the master bathroom and gets ready for bed. The afternoon was blissful by all accounts. She should not feel that familiar sinking in her chest that torments her whenever she thinks of the war against the Reapers.

Mittens has nothing to do with that battle. But memories of the planet Shepard fought tooth and nail for always make her crumble internally. She keeps herself brave and stoic at all times; not even the Shadowbroker should ever know that the war pained her.

Yet, when Liara walks in on her washing up, she wears a concerned expression.

"Do you miss Earth, Shepard?" asks Liara, still thinking about Benezia's cluelessness when it came to something as simple as a cat.

"Honestly," Shepard says, drying her face. "No. It's just another bad memory for me and I keep away from those. None of it bothers me too much. Don't worry."

Liara protests, "The Citadel isn't different in that aspect but you live here happily. You still avoid half of the Presidium and the entire Zakera Wards, so I know that this place must trouble you at least as much as Earth."

Shepard sighs and gives the same cold speech that she always gives when Liara asks her about her post-war mental state. "This apartment was Anderson's and it's where we celebrated the end of the war. The only happy one of those. Earth's parties for me had a lot more coffins and a lot less alcohol."

Liara strides sleekly to their bed and sits down. Shepard follows her but remains standing.

The Shadowbroker sweetly says, "Well, I was only thinking we could go on a vacation and take Benezia to a zoo. She would love to know more about half her heritage."

Shepard inhales sharply. She hates the idea of ever setting foot on Earth again and thinking about every single person she could not save, but she hears Benezia crooning at Mittens in the hallway.

The Commander hisses from frustration but caves in. "For her, I guess we could have a weekend away. But zoos are boring. I'd suggest a safari. They are much more dangerous."

"Mittens could not have a better father," Liara says, proudly smiling. "And Benezia couldn't either."

She stands in one smooth, elegant motion and presses her lips passionately against those of a somber Shepard.

Despite the daunting thoughts of Earth dancing mockingly in her head, the half-broken Commander cannot help but smile into the kiss.