Standard Bioware disclaimer: yadda, yadda, yadda…
Just a little smut first, because I can….
A/N Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and signed up for story alerts. The response has been so much more than I ever hoped for. I am truly humbled and thankful to have such wonderful readers.
Also, did you know it's kinda hard to type when you have a fat cat lying across your arm every time you sit down at the computer? But he's so sweet and purrs so much I hate to move him!
~^~ME2~^~
Thane groaned as the foggy currents of the dream ebbed and flowed around his body. Sensations overloaded his brain, his heart rate accelerated, and his breaths shuttered as more and more he felt himself approaching the sun, ready to explode. He struggled to climb above the fog, to clear his head, to…
His eyes snapped open when he felt something warm, wet, and oh so hot envelope his cock. For the life of him, there was no way he could move. All he could do was fist the sheets and dig his heels into the mattress as those lips moved up and down his already rock hard length.
A way too talented tongue snaked its way around the tip, running down the sensitive underside to swirl and tease his testicles. Of their own accord, his hands fisted in hair the color or gold as she sucked first one, then the other into her warm wet mouth, that tongue roving, licking, lips sucking, kissing…
Becca knew when he finally came awake, knew when his control began to unravel. No longer content to just lie there, he fisted her hair and began moving his hips to shove his cock deeper and deeper into her throat. Moving to lie between his thighs she fisted his considerable girth in her hand and began pumping in conjunction with taking as much of his length down her throat as she could.
Coming up for air and tilting her head to face him, she let the tip hover at her lips, her tongue flicking, teasing, lips giving the barest of kisses as she finally raised her eyes to his and said, "Good morning, handsome." Smiling wickedly, she dropped her mouth back down and managed to take almost all of him, flexing her throat muscles to constrict and ripple, drawing a strangled moan that seemed to come from the depths of his being.
Sihaaaaaaaaa… He almost cried out. A kaleidoscope of colors danced behind his closed eyelids and his whole existence narrowed down to the feel of her mouth and hands on his cock. Time stopped as his siha made love to his cock, pumping, licking, nipping, sucking, kissing…
Something snapped, and almost savagely he grabbed her head and began plunging himself into her tight warmth. Her hands were gripping his hips, fingers digging into his scales as he continued to drive his hips up, over and over again.
Somewhere, a part of his brain told him to stop, that this was no way to treat her, that she deserved better than the animal he was acting like. The other more primal part of his brain growled and refused to concede, especially when he felt his balls tighten. Nothing and no one mattered except this; his cock, her mouth, and the white hot heat racing through his blood as he plowed his cock deep into her tight throat. He felt skilled fingers caressing his balls and in a split second he was cuming, his seed jetting down the back of her throat as his cock erupted in her mouth. His whole body shook and breathing was impossible as he howled with the force of a release that seemed to go on and on forever.
Head thrown back he struggled for breath as he forced his eyes open. Above him the Illium dawn was just breaking, visible through the skylight. As sanity returned he became aware of the feel of silk draped across his stomach and hips. Soft lips slowly withdrew from his prick, a warm tongue flicking out to trace the underside to the tip as she slowly raised her head to look him in the eye.
Thane knew he was damned. He'd known that for many years. He thought that at least through prayer and meditation he'd achieved some measure of control over his body, some small measure of control over the desires of the flesh… Looking at the picture poised before him he knew that to all be a lie.
Eyes darkened with desire to the color of a storm tossed sky, tawny gold hair spilling wildly over her shoulders and caressing the tops of his thight, Shepard was a dream come to life, an all consuming need he couldn't live without. Looking at him like a predator would its next tasty meal, she glanced down and then swiped her finger over the head of his dick, collecting a residual drop of his cum before sticking said finger in her mouth and sucking his seed down, all the while a crazy smile growing on her full lips, eyes locked on his, sparkling in anticipation.
He was damned and he didn't care as he moved with lightening speed and deadly purpose to flip her onto her back, his hips coming to rest between her thighs, his cock slamming home in one desperate push. Gods she was so wet, hot, and tight… It didn't help that she orgasmed almost immediately, the walls of her sex clamping down like a vice grip on his cock.
Again and again he brought her to completion, her screams absorbed into himself as he feasted on her lips, their breaths as one. Bracing himself on one hand beside her head, he let the other slide between their straining bodies and strummed her clit. Ever time she came, her cunt milking his cock, he strained to keep himself from going over the edge with her. But when she screamed his name, coming so hard she arched off the bed, fingers digging through scale to leave marks on his back, he released control and followed her over the edge into oblivion.
Unable to do little more than collapse, he managed to spoon her against his chest, using his toes to hook the spread and pull it up where he could reach it with his hand to spread over them. He smiled when she grabbed his hand in hers and kissed it before her breathing evened out and she fell back to sleep. He followed into a dreamless slumber, the smile still on his lips as the sky outside the ship brightened into day…
Shepard eased out from under the sleeping drell's arm and stumbled to the bathroom. Holy mother of God she was sore, her skin was chaffed, and everything still sparkled, but what a way to start the day…
In the shower, she switched on the cold water, just to wake up. Sputtering and shivering she emerged from the bathroom in just a towel to find Thane still sleeping, his face relaxed and peaceful as she moved silently around the room dressing. Keeping the lights dimmed, she quietly dressed in her usual ship uniform of a light t-shirt, jumpsuit and boots.
With a lingering glance, she left her quarters and proceeded down to the CIC. The drell was trouble with a capital T. In fact he was big trouble… How could she be so attached to him in so little time? She'd traveled with Kaidan for months before even entertaining the idea of a 'them'. Thane had been in her life for only days and it was like he was already a special part of her… She shook her head at the madness of the whole situation…
On the elevator ride down, she had to remind herself that it was time to be Commander Shepard. She knew she'd lost it the day before, that Liara's revelations about what had happened with her body after the attack on the first Normandy had really thrown her for a loop. But then hell, she wasn't superwoman. She was human, despite what everyone around her thought, despite what they expected…
It was just too much of a coincidence that the Collectors had been trying to recover her body. Too much of a coincidence that they were now abducting entire human colonies, colonies where every last man, woman, and child were taken and never seen again. She shook her head to clear the unwanted images of collectors and husk from her brain.
Get it together, Becca. If you don't want those images to become your reality, you better find a way to prevent it. If that happens, it won't be just you the Reapers unleash hell on, it will be everyone you care about… Garrus, Grunt, Mordin, Joker… Thane… A shudder passed through her body as the doors of the elevator opened on the CIC deck.
She had EDI gather the official XO, Miranda, and her real XO, Garrus, for a pre-departure meeting in the Communications Room.
"Commander, all crew members have returned from shore leave and all the supplies you order have been delivered and stored," Miranda curtly informed her the minute she walked through the door. Always efficient, Miranda had the day to day running of the Normandy down to a science. Shepard was sure she'd thrown the woman's entire day off by sleeping in, even if it was for just an hour. Even though she'd managed to help save Miranda's sister from being returned to their controlling father, Miranda still seemed to have a chip on her shoulder. As always, Garrus stood off to the side and waited for her to finish with the Cerberus woman before getting down to the real business with him.
Oh well, the Cerberus Operative was still exceptionally handy to have on the crew. She was meticulous about reports and the everyday business of making sure the Normandy ran smoothly, something Shepard was very grateful for. Grateful enough to put up with the woman's seemingly unlimited opinion of herself.
"Thank you Miranda. If you haven't forwarded the financial reports to Cerberus headquarters, then please send them today. I'll need a full workup on any new technology we managed to pickup on those recruitment missions, as well as an impact statement associated with each new recruits special talents and powers. I've already asked Samara to begin a training regime for all crew members with biotic powers. I want us learning from and teaching each other-"
She was immediately interrupted by the brunette. "My skills are top notch Shepard. I don't need any training-"
"We'll all need to be the best we can be when we hit the collectors," she interrupted right back, the steel in her voice immediately silencing the other woman. "Self pride doesn't have any place in this mission. We are a team. We live as a team. We train as a team. We fight as a team. You may be 'top notch' at your specialties, but there are still things you can learn. Samara has been fighting for longer than the three of us in this room have been alive. She knows things, things that just may help us defeat the collectors. I'd be a very poor leader, and an even poorer commander if I didn't at least take every opportunity to training my people, give them a fighting chance against our enemy.
"Why are you here, Miranda?" Shepard suddenly asked, a knowing look in her eyes.
"Because humanity needs us, Commander. That's why the Illusive Man brought you back. Humans are being-"
"Stop," Shepard said, holding up a hand and effectively cutting the other woman's diatribe off. "When you think about the whole galaxy and everyone that's affected or will be affected if the Reaper's return, who's the one person in all this hell that you'd give anything to save? Do anything to save?"
"I don't see what this has to do with anything, Commander. It's humanity that we're saving. Human lives are being-"
"So, Oriana is just another face in the sea of humans that stretch across the galaxy," the Commander said, eyes looking for any crack in the brunette's glossy exterior.
"I… She…" Miranda, always so sure of her beliefs and her motivations, seemed to falter.
"When it's personal, you try a little harder, train a little more, want the best people you can get on your team. That's why we'll train, train some more, and work on training each other, so that when the time comes, we are the best we can be. Not for humanity, although that is a major part. You saw the husk, Miranda. Don't let Oriana become one because you thought you were too good to accept training from an asari, from an alien. In the end, it won't matter if you're human or alien. The Reaper's won't care."
Motioning for Garrus to accompany her, Shepard left the communications room and headed to the main battery. For once, Miranda seemed lost in thought.
"You were pretty hard on her Commander," Garrus said as the door to the main battery closed behind them. Inside this room they were free to talk as they wanted. Shepard was comfortable that she'd had all the Cerberus listening devises effectively removed. That had been one of the first things she'd had Mordin do when he came on board. In one of their first conversations, he'd mentioned 'debugging' his own work space, and she'd cajoled him into doing hers and Garrus's quarters. Not that they hadn't already made sweeps on their own. She just wanted to make sure there were places onboard where she'd feel safe discussing things in private.
"Miranda needs to be just as committed to this as the rest of us. And I'm a little tired of the whole 'for the sake of humanity' spiel she's always spouting. Shit Garrus, this is bigger than humanity. It might have started with us, but if the Reapers come, they won't stop until all sentient life is extinguished."
"I know, and that's what scares me. I've still got family on Palavian. You know I don't get along with my father, but that doesn't mean I want the Reaper's to get him. And then there's my mother, sister, and lots of aunts, uncles, cousins… we're a big family," he finished, moving to sit on their usual crate just inside the door.
"So, Commander, you wanted to talk to me about something?" he asked, looking up to where she'd wandered over to the Thanix Cannon controls.
"I'm going to ask you and Thane to oversee some training classes, too. You'll be in charge of weapons, and Thane will be in charge of hand-to-hand combat. You're both obviously good at both, so I just decided to break the workload up between you.'
"OK, not surprising and certainly not something you wouldn't have cared about mentioning in front of Miranda. Come on Shepard, what's really on your mind?"
"I just… just wanted to apologize for loosing it yesterday." She looked over to where he still sat on the crate watching her intently. "It just really unnerved me. Made me begin thinking of all the 'what ifs' that could have occurred."
"I kinda figured that out. I knew it had to be something really twisted to get you so worked up. You didn't even fall apart this much when we had to leave Ashley behind on Virmire. And I know how much that tore you up inside."
"Yeah…" she replied, finally going to sit beside him on the crate. Pulling her knees up, she wrapped her arms around her legs and put her head on her knees. "I also wanted to thank you for getting Thane to come up."
"I don't really know the guy, Becca, and I don't know what's going on between you two, but seeing you together yesterday… There's something there and for some reason, you trust him. I'm just glad he was able to help you with your migraine. I know you've had episodes before where nothing short of Chakwas knocking you out with pain meds helped."
"Oh God Garrus, he does this thing with his fingers-"
"I don't want the details of your sex life, Commander!" he squawked, head rearing back, mandibles splaying wide in mock horror at her.
"Ass!" she replied with a laugh, swatting at his shoulder and only managing to make her hand hurt in the process. "But seriously, I've never had someone stop my headaches using physical touch before. That's twice he's managed to do it."
"He did mention that he's used that technique before," he replied, his voice sounding sly and knowing.
"Keep it up and I'm going to have to kick your ass."
"Considering you want everyone training in hand-to-hand with Thane, you may all be getting your asses kicked."
"True. He is really good at what he does. Maybe I'll get around to asking him about his training background. And what do you mean by you all? Think you can take him one-on-one?"
"I was the number one ranked hand-to-hand specialist on my ship when I was in the military, Commander. I'd put my skills up against anyone."
"Well hell, just let me get with my bookie and set up the odds. I'll have Gardner make popcorn and we'll sell tickets."
"Hey, do I get one of those big trophies and a huge belt buckle if I win?"
"You've been watching too many reruns of old earth WWF wrestling matches, Garrus. Hell, if you win I'll give you a pretty pink tiara and a dozen roses."
"Well… as long as they don't clash with the color of my armor. And the tiara should be blue…"
She held his eyes for a split second before they both dissolved into fits of laughter. "Oh, Oh, OK, if you win you get a big belt and a trophy. If you loose… you have to wear a tu-tu and perform I'm a Little Tea Pot in front of the whole crew…" She gave up trying to stay upright and fell sideways against him, her head landing face first in his lap, arms going around his waist to hang on as she continued to laugh.
For his part, Garrus was about to ask what a tu-tu was when the doors opened and Thane walked in. In the blink of an eye, the drell's expression became that of a cold-blooded killer, and his gaze focused solely on one big blue turian.
Garrus startled and stood up abruptly, effectively dumping the Commander on the floor.
"What the hell, Garrus?" she growled before looking up to see Thane standing there, oblivious to the death threat in his eyes as he stared at Garrus. "Oh, hi Thane…" she began, pushing herself to her feet when neither one offered her a hand up. So much for chivalry… "I was just coming to find you. I want you to begin training the other crew in…" she paused, finally looking up at the drell.
Though he looked relaxed, standing just inside the doorway in his usual uniform of tight leather pants, vest, and coat, she could tell he was so tense he was about to snap. Feet spread shoulder width apart, hands clasp behind his back, he glanced her way before returning his gaze to the turian currently leaning against the ship's weapons console.
"I…" he began, brows knit together and lips drawn tight, "apologize for interrupting Commander. Officer Vakerian," he acknowledged the turian before spinning on his heels and leaving the room.
"What the hell just happened?" she asked, too stunned to even move.
"I think your boyfriend just got invaded by a small olive ogre. That is the correct human phrase isn't it"
"Small olive ogre? What the hell?"
"You know, he's jealous. A small olive ogre."
"Good grief. A little green monster."
"That's what I said. A small olive ogre."
"Oh, never mind that right now. You really think he's jealous? We were only talking!"
"Well… your face was in my lap when he walked in…" he replied, trying his best to sound suave and totally unimpressed.
They both looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously going "Eeeewwwwwwwww!"
"OK, now I need brain bleach. I'm just going to forget that part of our conversation ever happened. Even if I have to go head butt the wall for a while."
"I'm going to find Kelly and let her help me get over the trauma of this morning," the turian said on a long suffering sigh. "And, I need to show her the new dance mix I picked up in Nor Astra yesterday. It's a compilation of all the best of Expel 10."
"Now I'm going to need ear bleach…" she sighed as she took a step towards the door, her mind already spinning a million miles a minute as she contemplated the look that had been on the drell's face. "Just bring your training schedule up to the meeting after lunch," she said, switching back to Commander mode so fast it made Garrus's head spin. "Be sure to check with Samara and Thane about scheduled workout times. The three of you will need to build your schedules together so that there is no overlap or conflict."
"I'm not going near that crazy drell until you talk to him and let him know that I do not have, have never had, and don't plan on having any inappropriate thoughts about your… person," he waved a gloved hand in her general direction to indicate her body.
"That's where I'm headed right now Garrus. Can you go tell Joker to get us on route to Rosetta Nebula? Tell him I'll be up to see him after I take care of a few things."
"You've got it Commander," he replied, then asked in all seriousness, "You'll be ok with him?" He didn't think the drell would, or could for that matter, hurt her physically. But emotionally? Those two were already so deep into each other… and they didn't even realize it!
"Yeah Garrus. I'll be ok," she said, squeezing his gloved hand as she walked past him and out the door.
"You know where to find me if you need me," he said quietly before going back to the weapons console. Touching his visor, the latest Expel 10 music filled his ears and he set another firing algorithm to run before heading up to see Joker.
He'd really like to be an airborne insect on the room divider in Life Support right about now….
A/N I think the cat is controlling what I write. This has taken on a life of its own and I'm no longer in control. He's laying on my arm as I type. MIND CONTROL! Meow…meow… Seriously, I do not know where the jealous Thane came from. He just showed up on my door step one day and well… Please leave a review if you would. Either "love it" or "hate it". Thanks for reading what the cat wrote…