Stormy-B wrote...
Didn't Pacifien specifically request more sharing of fanmade material?
Go ahead Lizard. Show it already! 
Oh okay! If you insist!
DISCLAIMER: This is my first fanfic ever, so it's quality might be questionable. Also please respect the fact that english isn't my primary language and therefor there might be some grammatic errors. Also I did my best to make the "romance" lines be as little George-Lucas-y as possible.
Also the story is after the suicide mission but before LOTSB.
Here goes nothing.
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-----Elevator, Normandy SR-2.--------
There had been a certain atmosphere on the Normandy for the past 4 days. A mixture of doubt and lack of direction had spread among the remaining crewmembers. It’s been a week since Commander Shepard and his team had launched their attack on the Collector base. While they were successful in completely destroying the facility, even going against the illusive man’s orders. It wouldn’t change the fact that they still lost people there, and without any real support from Cerberus, had they perhaps also lost one of their few allies?
It was these thoughts that made the captain of the Normandy feel completely helpless. The Collectors had been destroyed but so what? The Reapers were still out there, getting nearer with every second. It felt unreal that despite all the trouble that he and his team went through, they were still not any closer to defeating the Reapers.
Shepard let out a heavy sigh. He was tired, having just been to another meeting with Miranda regarding possible leads or clues on the Reapers. They had already visited one the planets Miranda had suggested, only to end up empty handed. And then it was back to the ship, to find a new possible lead, in what seemed to be nothing more than a wild goose chase.
“Why won’t this damn thing move faster? Seems like the elevators have a thing for always moving in what seems like the slowest pace possible.” He muttered to himself. Fortunely, by the time he had just stopped ranting. The elevator was at his private quarters.
--------Captain’s quarters, Normandy SR-2.---------
It felt relieving to be in what could closest be called home for him. It was good to be away from everything, if only so the crew couldn’t see how worn out he truly were. Even then, how many had started to notice? Miranda and Garrus certainly had, maybe Samara and Tali too? They must have seen how he always withdrew himself to his own room earlier than usual, how he barely spoke to anyone, how he barely ate anything. He sat down at his desk and looked around at some of the things he had. The fish were swimming around as always, happy in their own little world. His collection of ship models.
Finally there was a picture which had been turned down for what seems like ages now.
It hurt him to even think about it. He had almost forbid himself from doing so. The memories of their reunion on Illium was like a gaping wound in his heart, a wound that would never heal completely. He remembered when he first landed on Illium, still bitter on how his former friends had betrayed him. Anderson wouldn’t talk with him, and the meeting with the council wasn’t exactly better. And then Alenko went as far as accusing him of being a traitor on Horizon, betraying everything they both once stood for. But despite these things, there were still hope in him. There were still one important person from his old life he hadn’t seen yet, Liara T’soni.
He had rushed through the busy crowds of Nos Astra, eager to see her again. He wondered how she would react, he was dead for two years. Did she even know that he was alive? She must have, the illusive man had told him that she was working as an information broker now, she must have heard something. He was shocked when he entered her office for the first time. Seeing her threatening someone he assumed must have been a client of hers with a line that when spoken from her lips, seemed like a wicked parody. When she turned around to face him, things seem revert back to how they once were.
But he was wrong.
The kiss they had, ended when she pulled away from him. She seemed to regret that they just kissed. At first he was understanding, it’s been two years after all. He would just have to take it slow, but before he could ask about anything, he was sent off on some trivial task to hack some terminals. Even when he had returned from his task, he tried to talk about them. She shut off and changed the topic to the task at hand. Something about a lost friend and the shadow broker. Even after helping her get rid of the traitor Nyxeris, he was finally free to talk about them, but he didn’t wish to. The evidence seemed clear enough. He had died and she moved on and found someone else that loved her, her “friend” apparently being that someone now. Leaving the office before he could no longer hide his grief, he stormed back to the Normandy, going faster than before where he had rushed towards the office, Garrus and Miranda not able to keep up. They were both silent, they were not in the room but they knew what had happened. The two people on the dossier was recruited, nothing was left on Illium to do.
The time following Illium was busy, something he was thankful for. The crew had to prepare for the suicide mission and everyone had a loose end they wish to tie up before journeying through the Omega-4 relay. It was good in a way, focusing on everyone around him allowed him forget his own problems. Weeks after Illium, he turned the picture down. Liara had moved on and so should he, no amount of mourning would change that. He had been selfish, to leave her for two years and then expect her to welcome him back like nothing had happened. And for a while, he was slowly starting to come to terms with that.
He remember the last moments before they would hit the Omega-4 relay. It felt strange to be alone before embarking on a mission that could very well be their death, last time, Liara was there. Instead of finishing some report which might be pointless at this point. He decided to turn the picture of Liara up, if only for a moment. Despite what he had told himself over the past days, he would not deny that he still loved her, still cared for her. It pained him to think that perhaps they were never destined to be together, that fate had something else in store for both of them. But perhaps everything was not lost yet? Perhaps there was still a chance? The bond they once shared would never disappear, not as long one of them lived. Liara said that once. But no, it was too much to hope for. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by a distant dream. He had to turn down the picture again, and focus on the mission there were before him.
So many things were running through his head. Suddenly the voice of EDI, the ship’s AI. Snapped him out of his line of thought.
“Shepard. You have just received a message from Cerberus command, I suggest you take a look at it.”
“Cerberus command?” He snapped at the AI, he wondered what kind of task they had in store for him, he had a feeling that it was just another screw up like project-Overlord.
He opened his private terminal and got access to the message. Apparently they had found a lead on the shadow broker, a lead that could in turn with Liara’s two year long search, finally track down the mysterious information broker.
“EDI. Tell Joker to set a course for Illium now!”
“Shepard are you sure? We have already established a cou--” The AI was however interrupted before it could finish the sentence.
“I don’t care, set a course now!” He barked at the blue orb behind him.
“Very well Shepard.” And with that, EDI’s avatar disappeared.
It seemed like fate have finally given him the chance to deal with his greatest conflict, to come to terms with something which had plagued him for so long. In a matter of hours, he would finally be able rest easily. Perhaps this bleeding wound inside him could then heal, or heal as much as it ever will be able to.
He raised the picture again, and a single thought came to his mind.
Perhaps there was still a chance?
------------THE END---------