A/N- I wanted to do something a little different from Advent Children, so I came up with this short and simple fluff fic for my FemShep Phaedra (A Sentinel Paragon) and my second most favorite character to romance, Thane Krios (because I have and I will always be a diehard Siha. May the wrath of a thousand sihas forever fall upon BioWare for killing off the most perfect male character.). It's not much else other than pure unadulterated fluff. Because I can never forgive BioWare for killing him off and never giving us a Shepherd/Thane vacation in the desert. So hell with the idea that Shepherd was immediately taken into custody! They're getting that vacation.
Oh, and I'm also craving brownies like you wouldn't believe right now.
I do not own either Mass Effect or Thane Krios. Hell, I can't even own FemShep other than my own version of her.
Please enjoy!
It had been a good day, one which had been a long time coming since Phaedra Shepherd and her crew had defeated the Collectors. Sure, a triumphant moment had been sullied thanks to a heads up message she'd gotten from Councilor Anderson about a potential treason charge for her, but despite it, Phaedra refused to let her concern show. There was much to do now; preparations for the inevitable Reaper invasion and repairs for the Normandy among them. Despite being called back to the Citadel, for once in her life, Phaedra decided to do something else instead- defy an order, all for the sake of the man who held her heart: the drell assassin, Thane Krios.
'I'd very much like to see a desert," he'd confessed to her mere hours before their suicide mission as they shared a stolen moment in Life Support, cradling her hands in his own and smiling at her with those alluring eyes of his staring straight into her deep browns, indeed into her very soul it seemed. Since that discussion, Phaedra had tried to think of possible desert locales that they could visit together. Luck, however, intervened that very night: in the last few moments before the mission, Phaedra had been messaging her older brother Haydn Shepherd, who'd been living on Earth after an injury made him retire from the Alliance. Two years had been far too long to have remained out of contact with him, and Phaedra longed to see the elder Shepherd so badly her heart hurt just thinking about him. As per his loving nature, Haydn extended an invitation for Phaedra to come see him and his daughter in Colorado.
She'd been unable to give him an answer because of the suicidal odds she faced, but once Phaedra and her team survived with no casualties, she happened upon the message once again, believing that now was as good a time as ever to have Thane meet the only other person who held her heart.
'I'd like for us to visit my brother Haydn on Earth if you'd like to accompany me," she said after they'd awoken from the previous night's pleasurable activities. 'He lives in Colorado, in the desert." Thane's eyes had lit up at the very mention of a desert, a smile gracing his lips.
'I'd be honored, siha," the drell had agreed. Phaedra had smiled in return, kissing him gently before sending a message to her brother informing him that she would indeed be coming to see him along with a special friend. Haydn had replied with excitement, more than happy to accommodate two people. One thing led to another, and before Phaedra knew it, she and her drell were standing right beside a large sign which read Welcome to Colorful Colorado.
Two weeks later, they were still there.
Phaedra smiled at this recollection as she stood out on the patio of her brother's home, looking out at the spectacular horizon; the mountain ridge in the background, rocks scattered over the terrain with trees spread out sporadically, and the warm summer sun shining down on her in a cornflower blue sky without a single cloud to obscure it. It was so very peaceful here, filling her with a sense of relaxation. She could definitely understand why Haydn chose this place to live in.
Haydn, she thought, looking down into the backyard where little Annalise was running around, playing with her favorite dolls. Not far away were her brother and Thane, both talking over drinks. Her smile grew bigger, her heart swelling at the sight. Thank God Haydn had approved of her relationship with the drell, accepting him right away as though he'd known Thane all his life, showing him and his sister all there was to see in the great desert state.
Thane had been nothing short of blown away by the desert, staring in awe at the beautiful land around them. If possible, his eyes had widened more so as they'd stood upon a ridge overlooking a valley. Phaedra lost track of time as they'd admired the view, her hand grasped within Thane's. She didn't think she'd ever forget sharing such a moment with him, both sporting a wide smile.
'I've seen many beautiful places, siha," Thane had said. 'But this is the most beautiful of them all."
'What about me?" She'd asked playfully, looking up at him with a cheeky grin on her face. Thane looked back down at her, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead.
'The desert will always pale in comparison to you, Phaedra," He'd admitted, causing Phaedra to blush fiercely, something which intensified when he'd leaned down to kiss her softly, stealing her wits with his passion. She smirked at that; indeed, it had taken some time to convince Haydn that Annalise was probably in need of a nap, something which her brother agreed upon. But once he was out of sight, Thane and Phaedra had stolen away to a hiding place behind a rock, passionately and tenderly making love in the glow of the sunset. Truly, there had been no other moment more pleasurable and romantic than that.
Sensing her staring at him, Thane glanced up at Phaedra, flashing her a smile before looking back to her brother, continuing their discussion. She almost wanted to know what it was they were discussing, but knew it would be just rude to snoop. With a sigh, Phaedra pushed herself away from the railing and went back inside, the door leading into the spacious kitchen where the cool air caused her skin to break out in goosebumps. They'd finished a light lunch not too long ago, as evident by the pans and plates in the sink. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to do those right quick. She moved to start washing them.
All at once, a craving hit Phaedra like a brick. Not just any craving, but a chocolate craving. Brownies sound absolutely amazing right now, she thought. How long had it been since she'd had such sweet treats? She'd almost forgotten what they tasted like. Growing up on space stations, Haydn and Phaedra never had an actual home in one place, but the one time that they were in an actual human settlement, their mother had baked the most divine brownies for them; cakey on the outside, fudgy in the middle. She could still smell the chocolate delicacies like they were baking…
'That's it, I'm doing it." Phaedra said aloud, sauntering further into the kitchen and proceeding to dig out a mixing bowl along with a spoon before raiding the fridge and cabinets of the necessary ingredients.
'2 eggs; baking powder; cocoa powder; vanilla; flour; sugar; salt; and butter," Phaedra said, still remembering the family recipe even to this day. Her memory wasn't near as perfect as Thane's (though she would prefer it to be so sometimes, Phaedra thought enviously), but she wouldn't forget something like this for the world.
So caught up in what she was doing, Phaedra never heard the approach of another into the kitchen until a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, taking her by surprise.
'What are you doing, siha?" Thane asked, leaning his head against hers. Phaedra smiled and leaned her own head against his in response, placing her hands on his as they rested on her hips.
'It's been forever since we've had something sweet to eat," Phaedra began. 'I thought it would be nice for all of us if I baked some of my mother's brownies." Thane's interest was piqued, having never heard of such a thing.
'And what might those be?" he innocently asked.
'They are the most amazing thing you'll ever eat," Phaedra explained. 'They are made of chocolate and the perfect blend of sweetness provided someone makes them the right way. You could say they are a delicacy to humans."
Whoever would have thought that the great Commander Phaedra Shepherd would ever speak so domestically about brownies?
Needless to say, Thane was intrigued.
'They sound interesting," he commented, watching as Phaedra measured out the ingredients into the bowl and set about mixing them together. Soon enough, the smell of chocolate began to fill the kitchen. Once she was sure they were combined perfectly, Phaedra transferred the batter into the pan and placed it into the preheated oven.
'Now we play the waiting game," she said, setting the timer to go off in thirty minutes. 'What should we do in the meantime?"
'Whatever you like, siha," Thane began. 'If you would prefer, we can remain indoors if the sun is too much for you." He was referring to the time that she got lightheaded after being in the heat for too long. Despite her enhancements thanks to Cerberus, Phaedra was still a human and susceptible to heat. Even though she'd assured Thane that she was alright, she'd still given the drell quite the scare when she'd nearly fainted. He'd insisted on caring for her while she recuperated by taking a couple of days to relax.
'I don't want to keep you indoors if you'd rather be outside," Phaedra said. Lord knew that he was in almost better health being in this arid environment…
'Later perhaps," Thane insisted, taking her hand and leading her to the nearby dining table. 'I'd like to spend some quiet moments alone with you."
'We get that at night, you know," Phaedra laughed as Thane sat down and pulled her into his lap. 'Though quiet isn't what I would use to describe them."
'Indeed," the drell agreed, tucking her short black hair behind her ear before his hand dropped to her waist. 'We owe ourselves a reprieve from such activities, even for a short period of time." Something tells me that we won't get many of those, she thought but never voiced for fear that it would come out the wrong way.
'Well, now that we have a quiet moment, what would you like to do?" Phaedra asking, linking both of her hands behind Thane's head.
'Talking would seem appropriate to pass the time," Thane offered. 'I'd like to know more about this recipe you mentioned."
'Oh, my mother's," Phaedra began. 'She used to tell me that it was given to her by her own mother, so I guess you could say it's been in my family for three generations now. More than likely, I'll end up giving it to Annalise." She stopped for a moment. 'You might be curious as to why I never mentioned her before."
'I could wait, siha, for when you were ready to tell me." Thane added. Phaedra gave him an appreciative smile.
'I didn't grow up on Earth," she explained. 'Haydn and I both were born on space stations since both Mom and Dad were in the Alliance military; my father was a flight engineer and my mother was a medical assistant. We were almost always on the move from one station to another, but there were times when we would dock on planets with human settlements for a vacation.
'While we were there, it was almost like a transformation from how they usually were; Dad would take Haydn out to the shuttles and ships, and Mom would show me how to paint with her watercolor sets. But her favorite thing to do was bake." Phaedra's smile grew. 'She always told me that if she'd never joined the Alliance, she would have become a pastry chef instead. It seemed like no matter what I asked her to make, she was always able to pull it off without any problems. Mom was absolutely amazing at it."
'She sounds like an incredible woman," Thane commented. 'Where is she now?" Phaedra's smile faded slowly.
'She was sick too," she admitted after a moment of silence. 'Only instead of having trouble with her red blood cells, it was her white blood cells. We never knew that something was wrong until she finally admitted to me when I was twenty-one that she'd been diagnosed with leukemia just after I turned sixteen. I don't know how she managed to hide it for so long, but I guess she didn't want us to worry about her." Phaedra hesitated for a moment. 'She died not long after I became the first human Specter, just a couple of days before I left to hunt down Saren." I didn't even have time to mourn her loss. A solemn silence befell them both.
'My apologies, siha," Thane broke the silence. Phaedra smiled reassuringly, hugging her drell close to her for a long moment.
'It's perfectly fine," she said. 'You didn't know. You're actually the first person that I've told about my mother." Phaedra buried her face into his neck, content to be held against him. One of his hands reached up and tangled itself in her hair, the other tightening around her waist just enough to be snug without restricting her movement. No more words passed between them as they remained like this, both content to just enjoy one another's company.
Too soon, however, they were snapped out of their moment of peace by the beeping of the timer on the oven. Reluctantly, Phaedra pulled herself away from Thane who released all but her hand which he held as they walked into the kitchen together, finally letting go so that she could take out the pan. The second the door of the oven opened, the wonderful smell of freshly baked brownies filled the air making both Phaedra and Thane smile. Placing the pan on top of the oven, Phaedra retrieved a knife and proceeded to cut a generously large square for her and Thane to share before turning around to face him. Thane took this opportunity to trap her against the counter by putting both arms on either side of her, looking at the brownie in her hand curiously.
'This is going to blow you away, so I hope you're ready for it," Phaedra informed him, tearing off a piece and putting it up to Thane's lips, which opened and closed gently around her fingers, his teeth barely grazing against her digits and taking away the bit of brownie before withdrawing to chew it. Phaedra looked up at him expectantly, waiting to hear what he had to say about it.
'Is it good?" She asked when he remained silent, swallowing what he had in his mouth. The drell's dark eyes had closed seemingly in pleasure only to open at the sound of her voice, a reassuring smile coming to his face.
'Siha, it is the most amazing thing that I've ever tried." Thane said, causing her to produce a grin that would have put the Cheshire Cat's to shame.
'Good," she said, breaking off what remained in her hand to pop it into her mouth before Thane took it from her hand and fed it to her as she had to him. Phaedra accepted it, her own eyes closing as she chewed it. Sweet tap dancing Jesus… it was better than she remembered! A small moan came from her as she enjoyed the sweet chocolatey taste; indeed, there was nothing better than enjoying a freshly baked brownie. So caught up in this, Phaedra didn't hear Thane soft laughter until she finally opened her brown eyes.
'What's so funny?" She asked curiously.
'You, my siha," Thane remarked. 'The face you make when you enjoy something is beautiful to behold and see." Phaedra smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
'Even when I'm shooting mercenaries and rogue varren?" she asked, laughing along with Thane.
'Yes, even when you are shooting mercenaries and varren." He agreed, leaning his forehead against her own.
'I can say much the same about you," Phaedra added, kissing him lightly on the lips teasingly. A brief bit of silence came over them.
'I love you, Phaedra Shepherd," he murmured against her lips. Phaedra smiled.
'How strange, I love you too Thane Krios." She reciprocated, her heart warming with the words. Nothing else needed to be said; without hesitation, they kissed again, sparks flying all around, through, and between them. No matter what happened in the coming months, this simply shared moment would forever be her favorite memory.
Indeed, it was more than a good day.
It was a perfect day.
Especially with the brownies.
A/N- Always the brownies.
So, since I know eventually it's going to get asked, I might (Just MIGHT) write a one shot with these two in the desert if I'm asked nicely. Then again, I might just do it because I can. We'll see. =)
Also, the recipe that Phaedra is using is a legit recipe that's been given to me by my own mother. It's seriously good!