Sparring

As per usual, the mess was bustling with activity. No matter the time of the day, there were always people there. The Normandy was a pretty relaxed war ship, all things considered. So, if someone felt like sleeping in and not eating breakfast until ten in the morning, so be it. Unless the post they usually manned was left vacant, of course. In that case, there was no reason for not being at your post when you were supposed to. And Shepard wasn't going to let anyone get away from doing their part

Shepard was sat with Thane, James and Garrus at one of the mess tables. James and Shepard had a large cups of coffee infront of them, Garrus had some kind of turian energy drink, and Thane had his signature cup of herbal tea. Shepard had recently learned that drell couldn't process caffeine properly, so even a small amount could make them ill, hence the herbal tea.

"-so, he jumps out of the vent and kills four guys with his hands." Garrus gestured wildly. "And then he starts praying for himself before rambling on about actions or something."

"Actually, he killed two guys with a gun." Shepard corrected while James looked at the three of them, eyes wide. "I've seen him snap a krogan's neck with his bare hands. Pretty impressive. And this was when you had, what, forty percent lung capacity?"

Thane had what could only be described as a sheepish look on his face. It was safe to assume that he wasn't used to having his actions discussed to casually. Shepard wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

"But he's actually a big ol' softie, once you get under his scales." She glanced around the room before giving Thane a quick peck on the cheek.

"Siha, I would prefer it if we didn't reveal my previous profession to the whole ship." Thane said quietly. "It might make them uncomfortable around me."

"Siha?" James interrupted before Shepard could answer. "I thought your name was Ripley."

"It's one of the warri-"

"It's a nickname." Shepard cut Thane off. She suspected James wouldn't understand the sentiment. "A drell word"

"Well, that's just too cute, Ezio."

Ezio. Shepard tried to disguise a laugh by coughing, but she was pretty sure it didn't fool anyone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thane and Garrus give each other a questioning look.

"Ezio is an assassin from an old video game." She explained when she had composed herself. "An awesome video game, I might had. Also, Thane would whoop Ezio's arse any day of the week."

James shook his head wildly.

"I doubt he could jump from a church down into a pile of hay without breaking every bone in his body."

"Yes, that's because Assassin's Creed is a video game." Shepard explained before draining her cup of coffee.

"Then how about Corvo? He has the powers the Outsider gave him."

"Once again, that's a video game. And Thane has biotics. It's about the same thing."

The two aliens at the table looked utterly bewildered as the humans discussed almost two hundred year old video games. Shepard wasn't sure if video games were as popular in turian or drell culture as they were in human culture. And the thought of Thane crouched in front of a screen, cussing out someone for killing him almost made her burst into laughter.

"Okay, lizard man." James stood up. "You, me, shuttle bay. We're going to see what's what."

A surprising number of people gathered in the shuttle bay to watch the impending sparring match between James and Thane. Shepard had to admit that she was a bit nervous. She didn't doubt Thane's abilities, but he looked positively tiny next to James' massive frame. And she was well aware the the lieutenant packed a mean punch.

"Let's not get anyone injured." She said as she sat down on a crate, next to Steve.

"Don't worry, Lola." James grinned at her. "I'll go easy on him."

"Yeah, I wasn't talking to you, James."

"Not to worry, siha. Your lieutenant will be in fighting shape once this is over." Thane said he removed his jacket to allow himself to move more freely, giving the audience a lovely view of his shaped arms.

The men got ready, positioning themselves on the soft mats they had put down in order to minimise the risk of injury. But then again, Chakwas was getting pretty bored up in the medbay, when she had nothing to do except drink Serrice Ice Brandy and chat with Adams.

"Alright, no injuries, no playing dirty as in kicks to the groin, no biotics and when I call stop, you stop." Garrus said and looked between the men.

Garrus was acting as referee for this whole thing. Shepard had been disqualified from the job because she was deemed as biased. Which was true, if she was honest.

"Understood." Thane said as he took his position and bowed towards James.

"Begin!" Garrus stepped away.

It turned out Shepard didn't need to worry. While James had pure strength behind his punches, he was no match for Thane's agility. The drell dodged every punch, landing his own in strategic places. He avoided the best places for incapacitating someone, like the solar plexus or the throat. After all, he wasn't trying to kill James.

After a few minutes of Thane dodging and James throwing punches, sweat started appearing on the human's brow. His punches were also becoming more and more frustrated. During the whole match, he had managed to only land one punch and it was a complete accident. Thane, however, had landed several punches. He was a master in the ring with his agile style. And it was clear what he was doing. He was tiring James out, waiting for him to become unable to defend himself properly.

When James let out a frustrated grunt, Thane leapt into action. Instead of keeping distance between himself and James, he was suddenly all over him. Somehow, he was still dodging the lieutenant's attacks.

Suddenly, Shepard wasn't sure how it happened, but James was on his stomach on the mat. Thane had a knee on the small of his back and held his arms down. Apart from the rising and falling of his chest, the drell looked completely composed. James, on the other hand, didn't look composed. He was squirming and letting out small sounds of frustration. A bead of sweat ran down his temple.

Thane got up from the floor, brushed off his knees and then offered James a hand up. Only Thane would beat the shit out of someone and then offer to help them up. James accepted the hand and pulled himself onto his feet.

"Are you alright?" Thane asked gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"That was more satisfying that it should have been." Steve muttered and grinned.

James sank down onto a crate and crossed his arms over his chest. This was a man who wasn't used to getting put in his place.

"Why don't you give it a go, Lola?" He asked, still looking a bit pissed. "I think Ezio would love beating the shit out of his girlfriend."

"Nah, I'm good." Shepard shook her head.

"Oh, come on!" Steve gave her back a friendly slap.

With a small smile on his lips, Thane looked at Shepard. He had his hands behind his back and looked as calm as ever. A sigh escaped Shepard and she shook her head as she got up from the crate.

"Fine." She said as she removed her hoodie.

A loud cheering broke out in the shuttle bay and bounced between the metal walls. Shepard didn't notice until now that Liara had joined the crowd as well, along with Traynor. No pressure, Shep. Shepard thought to herself as she took her place on the mat. You're the commander. You can't have your arse handed to you.

"Don't hold back." Shepard said with a wink.

"You, of all people, should know that I never hold back, siha." Thane said with a blank face, as if he just hadn't made a comment about their sex life.

Shepard felt her cheeks heat up and she cleared her throat as some snickers broke out from the crowd. What had happened to Thane while she was on Earth? He was just so... Relaxed. Happy. She certainly wasn't complaining.

"Alright, same rules." Garrus announced. "Begin!"

This match was different from the match between Thane and James. Shepard was more like Thane in her fighting style. She lacked the pure strength and relied on tactics, along with stamina. But it didn't take long before they both realised that a defensive tactic wasn't going to cut it here. They needed to go on the offensive if this match was ever going to end.

It was brutal. They were both great at hand-to-hand and while they were both unwilling to put real power behind their punches, they managed to land some pretty nasty ones. The match was a blur of dodges, punches and growls. Though, the latter mostly came from Shepard. Due to Thane's insane speed, she had started relying mostly on instinct, rather than tactics.

Shepard was the first one to crack and grow frustrated enough to turn up the heat. Her fist collided with Thane's stomach, causing him to let out a low oof as the air went out of him. She took this opportunity to throw him onto the mat, in hopes of ending this match. Her t-shirt was soaked in sweat at this point.

But Thane was back on his feet before Shepard could even react. He took her vulnerable position and used it to send her face-down into the mat.

His arms had wrapped around her chest and he kept her from colliding too harshly with the ground. But it was still hard enough to get her winded. As she was struggling to regain her breath, Thane grabbed her wrists and pinned them behind her back as he straddled her waist.

"I must admit..." He said without getting up. "I feared you had me there for a while."

"That makes me feel better about me losing!" James hollered.

"Shut up, lieutenant." She craned her neck to shoot James a hard glare. "And, Thane, you can get off me now."

However, before Thane stood up, he bent over to press a burning kiss against the nape of her neck. Much too soon, he removed his lips and jumped back onto his feet. He pulled her up and to her surprise, he pulled her against his chest.

"I have been away from you for too long, siha." His voice was low enough for the rest of the room to hear. "Every moment I get to spend with you is a blessing and I will cherish them in any way I can."

Shepard was blushing again now. His words were so sweet and he sounded so sincere.

"I love you." He whispered before letting go of her.

Shell-shocked at the public display of affection, Shepard just smiled dumbly at Thane as he retrieved his jacket. It wasn't until Donnelly let out a barely contained laugh that she was brought back into reality.