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Shepard let the door of her quarters slide closed behind her, and she leaned against it with a sigh, closing her eyes.
The familiar pop of the cap off a bottle of beer caused her to open them, seeing for the first time that Thane was already here, his coat neatly laid across the back of the couch, a bottle of her favorite Earth-made beer in his hand. "You must be exhausted," he said.
"So must you." She pushed herself off the door and went toward him, taking the bottle from him. "Thank you. That's very thoughtful."
"I knew you would come up only when you deemed everything settled to your satisfaction." He chuckled softly. "In fact, I thought it would be significantly later."
Shepard smiled. "You know me too well. It would have been, only Samara and Mordin told me to go to bed, that they would take care of things."
Getting the crew and the few colonists they had been able to save settled had been a difficult process. Normally, Shepard would have relied on Dr. Chakwas to handle most of the details, but the doctor had been profoundly shaken up by her experience, unsurprisingly, and as much in need of comfort and care as those who would normally have been her patients.
Mordin and the Justicar had been of immense help, and Shepard had been relieved when they both claimed to need little rest—something she had observed about them many times in the months they had traveled together—and offered to take the night watch. She had yet to have a chance to discuss the break with Cerberus with Miranda or Jacob or the rest of the crew, and she wasn't certain where EDI stood. She trusted Joker to handle the ship and whatever the AI might throw at him, were she so inclined, but she also had Garrus on stand-by in case Joker needed assistance.
"There will be a lot to do tomorrow," she said. Her knees buckled beneath her and she sank onto the couch, leaning back against the cushions and taking a fortifying sip of her beer. Thane sat near her, and lifted her feet up onto his lap, unbuckling her boots. He slid them off and began to massage her feet.
Shepard sighed in surprise and relief, not having been aware of how sore her feet were until Thane's dextrous fingers began to ease the tension and relax the muscles.
"There will be a great deal to do tomorrow," he agreed. "But for tonight—the achievements of the day are more than enough. You have defeated the Collectors. You have destroyed their base. You have lived to return through the Omega 4 relay."
"Did you think we wouldn't?" she asked, moaning softly as he found a particularly sensitive spot.
"I … was prepared for whatever might come."
She smiled without opening her eyes. "Which is Thane-speak for thinking we were going to die over there. How does it feel, having more time than you expected?"
His fingers stilled on her feet. "It is still less time than I want." After a moment, he resumed the massage. "Then again, a lifetime would be less time than I want with you."
"Hm." Shepard took another swallow of the beer, glad that he could accept, at least for now, the limitations of the future. "Take each moment as it comes; it's the only way. You get too bogged down in worrying about the future and you'll never get anything done."
"The Shepard philosophy."
"Damn right."
"So … what shall we do with this moment?" His fingers were teasing at the bare skin above her socks. Shepard had never thought of her calves and shins as being particularly sensitive, but Thane's touch was evoking all-new sensations.
"You seem to have some ideas."
"I do. Shall I show you?"
"Just a second." Shepard took a long pull from the beer bottle. Sitting up, she put it down on the table, then got to her feet and made quick work of stripping her clothes off. "Now you can show me."
"Well. That certainly will speed up the process." He chuckled, following her to the bed, shedding his own clothes as he came.
Naked, they lay together in the bed. Even though they had been with each other several times, Shepard still found the faintly rough texture of his skin surprising against hers. His fingers gently cupped her cheek even as his mouth sought hers in a long, slow kiss.
"Siha," he murmured, pulling away in order to press kisses along the line of her jaw and down the column of her neck. Shepard reached for him, but he took her hands and placed them above her head. "Let me—" The rest of the sentence was swallowed by her moan of pleasure as he reached between her legs, finding her already heated in anticipation.
Much as she wanted to touch him, she found herself too weary suddenly even to raise her arms again. It was utterly blissful to lie here as he traced her body with fingers and tongue, as he caressed her and teased her and tasted her, building the delicious tension inside her until it crested in a long rolling wave that carried her on into the depths of slumber.
Much, much later, she awoke to find him asleep next to her, and it was her pleasure then to awaken him with her own hands and mouth, to join with him in mutual celebration of having lived another day, and having uncounted more stretching before them.