Prompt: Several Asari, and more non-asari, have taken an interest in Commander Shepard, despite the fact she's already in a relationship with Dr. T'Soni. This displeases the good doctor and decides to 'stake her claim', as it were.

Liara T'Soni was not, by any normal definition, a jealous woman. She had often been told by her mother that if she were to fall into a romance with an individual from one of the shorter lived races, that she steel herself for the possibility for heartbreak. Whether it was a philandering mate or events beyond her control, she had to accept that she would no doubt outlive anyone she would fall in love with, unless it was another asari or krogan.

However, the one she gave her heart to was at her console in the CIC of the Normandy. While she had cursed herself repeatedly for giving Shepard the, as the humans called it, the cold shoulder on Illium, her determination to keep the relationship alive after the ordeal with the Shadow Broker made her heart skip a beat. As she meticulously, and some would say obsessively, plan for the future, she would always take a moment to smile at the woman who had never stopped to earn her heart.

Best of all, Jane seemed the kind that was loyal to a fault. Liara sighed at the idea that she and she alone held the key to her love. The smile soon vanished at the sight that had become a too repeated occurrence. The worst part was that it wasn't the only time and with the only person.

Samantha Traynor. Intelligence officer. Master Chess player. Only child of Jules and Lucretia Traynor. Age 29. Oral care enthusiast.

Rival!

The last term caused Liara to bristle, her frown grown, and her biotics flicker momentarily. Jane, bless her heart, was very tactful and outgoing. Her modus operandi was the oft quoted 'Golden Rule'. However, there were things that which she could be quite oblivious to.

Case in point; Ms. Traynor would, without fail, always seem to enter Jane's space and go to her console whenever a new piece of information would come up. She was skilled, Liara had to give her that, but did she really need to stand so close to Jane to let her know about every mission that required their attention? Yes, were it not for Samantha, they wouldn't have gotten to Jack and her students in time. However, did she need to stand close enough to whisper in Jane's ear?

"NO!" the asari screamed.

"Broker," Glyph said, "shall I send messages threatening her family should she continue to intrude on Commander Shepard's space?"

Liara blinked and then turned to her VI companion, "what? No! That won't be necessary." Liara knew where and when to deliver threats. At this juncture, it would be a poor form to do so. Furthermore, she would only resort to such a drastic action if Traynor was far more blatant about it.

"I must observe, Broker," it continued, "the intrusion of Specialist Traynor seems to cause you discomfort. She is not the only one."

Liara's eyes leveled and her lips thinned. "I know, Glyph."

Garrus, James Vega, and several more individuals that Jane had encountered through her adventures had sought to claim something that, by all rights, already belonged to Liara. It was infuriating. While it was true she was rather possessive of those that were closest to her heart, it was because she had so few of them to rely upon. Why in the world did people have to be so inconsiderate?

"Might I offer a suggestion, Broker," the VI said.

"Yes, Glyph?" she turned as she turned away from her console.

"The fact that people do not see you two together often grant people the incorrect perception that Commander Shepard is, as the saying goes, available. As such, there is no visible indication that you and the Commander are an item. As a result, people march into your territory and since Commander Shepard is not the kind to turn people away, it gives incorrect signals to the intruders."

Liara looked to the ceiling in thought. It did make sense. While it was true that they all were not animals, it was easy enough for people to not, as the saying went, 'get the hint'. Her studious and thoughtful expression then turned hard. Then, she came to a decision. Something needed to be done. Now.

"Glyph," she said as she turned towards the door, "continue as though I were here. Be sure to maintain contact with the rest of the agents. I shall be returning, but after an indefinite amount of time."

The VI nodded, as much as a VI could, "Of course, Broker."

Right now, Jane Shepard was tired. She had gone through another round of difficult negotiations with races that utterly hated each other and if it wasn't bad enough the Reapers were tearing the galaxy apart. To think people would gladly fight each other instead of the giant mechanical monsters that wanted to consume them all wore down on Jane's mind.

Samantha, being the dear that she was, offered to help her relax, but she had to decline. She was afraid she'd fall asleep on her and that would be rude.

So, the only thing she wanted was a nice hot shower and a good night's sleep. She was tempted to let Samantha get a chance at her shower, but right now, she was not in the mood.

Then there as Garrus and James, both gentlemen, as they offered to show her lessons on how to relax after a grueling meeting. For some reason, both of them seemed to be interested more in one upping the other as opposed to actually helping her. But, whatever. She considered asking them more about it once she had a moment.

With a groan, she pulled her uniform off, tossed the clothes unceremoniously to the side, which left her in her undergarments as she opened the door to her stall. Right now, hot water streaming over her body sounded like the best thing in the world.

With her eyes half closed, she stumbled into the stall and turned on the water. With her eyes closed, she took off the last of her clothes and mentally scolded herself for wearing her underwear in the shower. Who would do such a thing, anyway?

When a pair of arms encircled her from behind, she gasped and was about to turn around when a familiar voice assuaged her fears.

"I'm here, Jane," Liara whispered as she nuzzled her head against Jane's neck and embraced her lover from behind. In a similar state of undress as Shepard was, eased her grip slightly as she started to lay kisses on the base of her neck.

"Liara… I'm glad to see you," Jane said as she leaned against the wall with her forehead and allowed the asari to continue kissing her way up her neck.

"Jane, can I be honest with you?" the Maiden asked between kisses.

Shepard's eyes opened for a moment, but she stood still as she answered, "of course."

Liara let go, walked to Jane's side and kissed her cheek, "I love you, Shepard. First and last, I am yours."

Jane smiled, then wrapped her arms around Liara's waist and kissed her tenderly. "I love you too, Liara. And I feel the same."

The asari smiled, then leaned into Jane, and placed her head on Jane's shoulder. "And yet, our bond has not been without its problems."

Jane looked down, almost ashamed of things beyond her control. "Yeah… me dying and leaving you alone for two years…"

Liara's smile turned sad as she nuzzled her cheek against Shepard's, "my callous disregard to you after you returned…"

"But when you told me what you did to save me. I'll always be grateful and proud of what you were able to do," the human said with a smile.

Liara's joy returned as she kissed Jane again, "and yet, it seems that fate is determined to do everything it can to separate us."

Shepard chuckled lightly as she put her forehead against the asari's. "Is there nothing we can do to stop it?"

At last, the trap had been sprung and Liara pounced! "While I cannot plan for every possibility… there is something we can do to ease the burden a bit."

The commander cocked an eyebrow. "Such as?"

The Shadow Broker's voice turned quiet. "It may sound selfish of me, but… people need to understand that you are mine… and I am yours. They don't seem to understand that. And you're far too kind a person to turn them away. I wouldn't want you to." The asari reached up and caressed Jane's cheek with her hand. "That wouldn't be the person I fell in love with."

Jane blushed when she realized that, in fact, Liara's fears about others attempting to muscle in on the asari's territory were true. She felt a little ashamed when she realized this. The human was about to apologize when the asari took the initiative and clamped her mouth over Jane's.

While initially surprised, Shepard then reciprocated and held her lover tighter. When they both had to let go of each other for air, Jane asked between breaths, "so, what do we do?"

A gentle blue field of biotics began to encase them both, and Liara whispered in a voice that was nothing less than blatantly sexual. "Let me show you…"

Half an hour later, Liara enabled Jane to have the best night's sleep until the next time they would have a chance to be intimate. That night, Jane would be smiling like an idiot as she slept, while Liara smirked all the way back to her office.

"Commander, could you take a look at this?" Samantha asked, a slightly mischievous undertone in the inquiry. It was just low enough that the Commander would suspect nothing.

"Yes, Traynor?" Jane said as she left her station and walked over to see what the specialist wanted to show her.

"This was a Cerebus transmission I was able to intercept and interpret," she said. As Jane was distracted, her free hand started to move, ever so slowly, to Jane's hind quarters. She knew she was skirting on the edge of disaster, but it would be so worth it. However, a slight jolt of dark energy burst forth and stung Samantha on the palm of her hand.

She gasped and hopped away, waving her hand to get the sudden ache out of it.

Jane turned to her yeoman and gave her a knowing smile, "Sorry, Traynor. Liara and I had a pretty heavy time of it last night. The asari call it their Spirit Brand. The closest thing we can call it is a 'biotic hickie'."

The smaller woman blinked, "Biotic… hickie?"

Shepard shrugged, "yep. When asari choose their bond-mates, they tend to be rather… territorial about it. I didn't mean to lead you on, Sam, but that's how it is."

Traynor huffed and then went back to her console as Shepard turned to the elevator to do her rounds. When she returned to her screen, she noticed a new message had been given to her.

To: Specialist Traynor

From: [REDACTED]

Subject: A Lesson Hard Learned

Message: I believe the idiom goes, "once bitten, twice shy". You, among others, would be wise to learn that.

THE END