Chapter Text
The guest waiting at the apartment door wasn't who Miranda was expecting.
“Where's Shepard?”
“He's having lunch with Kaidan. I wanted to catch you in private. Can I come in? There's a salarian here giving me some very dirty looks.”
Miranda opened the door, after first stepping to one side and hiding her pistol in the small of her back. The fact that the current Shadow Broker lacked the obvious brashness of an Aria T'loak just made her more dangerous. And here she was, her sweet little face noticing the gun and looking shocked, then sad, then understanding in the space of a couple of seconds.
“Doctor T'Soni. A pleasure, as always.”
Liara looked around at the sparse apartment. Miranda had always struck her as the kind of person who genuinely liked minimalist décor, but this was less minimalist and more brutalist. Liara sympathised – the data she had on Henry Lawson did indicate that he was worse than Miranda was willing to discuss, even with Shepard.
“I brought you something. I thought you might need it.” Liara held out a small black box, the size of a single shotgun cartridge.
Miranda took it, slowly. She had no reason to think Liara was up to anything, but being on the run had turned her already well-developed caution to paranoia. After all, she had thought the Illusive Man was on her side, right up until she discovered that he had her father back on the Cerberus payroll. The package weighed almost nothing. She opened the end flap and peered into the box. Squinting, not quite believing her eyes, she pulled out the bullet-shaped object.
“Lipstick?”
Miranda stared at the little object as Liara clasped her hands and shifted from foot to foot.
“I'm being hunted by my father and Cerberus and my home planet is being consumed by Reapers and you thought I needed fucking lipstick??!” Liara met her eyes steadily.
“Yes. Lipstick is exactly what I thought you needed.”
Miranda slumped onto the bed, holding the lipstick like a talisman. Tears formed in her eyes and she opened them extra wide in the vain hope of preventing them falling. Liara didn't know where to look, so she went to the window and stared out over the Citadel, shoppers and strollers still oblivious to the creatures ripping up entire planets only a relay or two away.
Finally, Liara heard Miranda say “Thank you. It’s my favourite brand.” As she turned around, the human was smiling, albeit with wet eyes. “And look. It’s called Head Bitch In Charge. Cute.”
“Do you need anything? Any information, I mean. I probably shouldn’t load you up with toiletries.”
“I do… but I need Alliance resources. That’s why I need to see Shepard. If you hear anything, though… I’ll accept anything you can give me.”
Liara nodded. She looked at her hands, then her feet, then out the window. Miranda was now looking at her expectantly.
“I… didn’t come here to give you a present. I … have a proposition for you.”
Miranda tucked the lipstick away somewhere. “I’m not sure I can do much for you in the current circumstances, but go ahead.”
Liara had thought carefully about what she was about to say, and was still not certain that what she had done and was about to do was right. She took a deep breath and braced her stomach.
“The Shadow Broker had extensive files on you - on all of Shepard’s companions. He didn’t get to be the galaxy’s most notorious information broker by being a slouch.” Miranda’s face hardened. “And I didn’t get to replace him by being queasy about my sources. So, uh, I know quite a lot about you. And your personal history.”
Coolly, Miranda replied “You have a doctorate in Prothean History from the University of Serrice. You were uni champion of Serrice’s pistol shooting squad and your dump subject was Research Methods and Accountability. Your first car was a pink Elkoss Boro R2 which you named Amalia. You like weepy human dramas, retro acoustic music and you have a thing for males with green eyes. You made advances on Shepard and he knocked you back.” She raised her eyebrows and smiled stiffly. “Your turn.”
Liara gasped a little bit, then frowned. “I’m not here to threaten you! It’s just that… the Broker had your medical records.”
The room gained a layer of frost. “Your point?”
Liara took a deep breath. “In 2180 you approached a fertility centre on Ilium in the hope of conceiving a child. They advised you would not be successful.”
Miranda’s face warned of terrible consequences if Liara were to continue.
“Miranda, I – I’ve rehearsed this a hundred times and it always sounds terrible. I want you to father my child.”
Whatever Miranda had been expecting, that wasn’t it. Liara began to explain further, just a bit too quickly.
“I know it seems like dreadful timing but there may be no other time! I’m currently working on the most high tech ship in the galaxy, probably the safest place in the galaxy. ” She began pacing, waving her arms in huge circles, so unlike her normal self. “I have Reapers looming over my home planet, I don't have my own home, I don't have time to date anyone, even if I wasn't so inexperienced. And it's not as if birthrates don't go up in wartime, they just rise more slowly. We're going to need - “
“You looked at my fertility records?!” snarled Miranda, tears pricking at her eyes. It wasn't entirely logical – as Miranda had just demonstrated, they probably had about the same amount of dirt on each other – but Miranda needed an excuse for bloodrage, and here was a perfect one. “Did you miss the part of my history where everything I've done, everything I've ever achieved was to advance humanity?”
Liara blinked. “No, but - “
“I've worked my whole life to ensure that humanity doesn't become a client race to a bunch of strippers and mercs.” Liara flinched. This was grossly unfair, and Miranda knew it, but blue mist was starting to shimmer around her, and the rush felt so, so good. “Even if Udina turned out to be a prick, we earned our place in the galaxy when we saved your miserable fucking Council. And you fucking waltz in here all high and mighty like I should be honoured to help you breed more Asari - “
“It's not like that!” protested Liara. “You see the vids coming from Earth, they're awful! The child would be Asari, yes, but she'd have human DNA! She'd - “
“She'd have my father's DNA.” With that, Miranda unleashed the throw she'd been building up ever since Liara gave her the lipstick. Liara was ready, and countered with her own barrier. They pushed furiously against each other, the human glistening with sweat, until finally the biotics burst, throwing them both to opposite sides of the room.
Liara rolled onto her front to push herself upright, and staggered to her feet. “Fine. I shouldn't have pried. I'm sorry.” She limped to the door and pressed the button. As she stepped out, she turned.
“I'm not the only one Shepard knocked back.”
With that, the door closed smoothly behind her. As Miranda hurled herself at the door, banging her fists on it as it locked against her, she could hear Liara break into a run down the hall.