As a heads up, there's some smut in this chapter!

A quiet night

Shepard threw her datapad onto the sofa in annoyance and let out a huff. Folding her arms over her chest, she leaned back against the leather and glared at her lamp, as if it was the root to all of her problems.

Hackett had told her that the quarians were willing to talk, but she hadn't been able to get in touch with any of the admirals, or Tali. The rumours that floated around of something going on at Perseus Veil wasn't exactly helping either. For all she knew, the reapers could already be there and the quarians could have been wiped out. But she shook her head, forcing the thought out of her mind. She shouldn't think like that.

"What bothers you, siha?" Thane's calm voice came from the left of her.

He was standing in the middle of the room, bare chested and was moving his limbs in a slow, controlled way. It reminded her a bit of the videos she had seen of Ashtanga yoga. His skin shimmered in the light from the fish tank as he moved through the exercises. She knew that it was harder than it looked. Shepard remembered how a roommate of hers tried to teach her the finer points of yoga, but Shepard hadn't even gotten through one session before giving up. She didn't have the patience.

"I can't raise the quarians." She said, unable to take his eyes off him. "What are you doing?"

"It's something the hanars taught me." He said, not stopping with his exercises. "The purpose is to keep your body and mind limber, flexible, adaptive and calm. It is not something that can be rushed."

It occurred to Shepard that she had never asked Thane how it was to be trained by the hanar. She was suddenly overcome with curiosity.

"If it's okay to ask..." She folded her legs beneath her. "How was it like to be trained by the hanar?"

The answer didn't come immediately. Either it was because Thane was thinking about what to say or it was because he was going through a series of exercises that looked extremely hard.

"It was difficult." He said eventually and let out a long breath as he straightened up a bit. "There wasn't a day when I didn't fall into bed with my muscles aching and with my head pounding from unbroken focus for hours. Much was expected of me. Failures and mistakes were not tolerated. One wrong step, one missed shot and there were consequences."

"What do you mean?" Shepard frowned. "Did they hurt you?"

"I've given you the wrong idea. I was never hurt, physically or mentally, by my instructors. They simply had me start from the beginning of whatever it was I failed at." He bent over and placed his hands on his calves, his forehead nearly touching his shins. "Imagine writing a book. But with every misspelled word, you had to start over."

"Damn." Shepard muttered. "Sounds rough."

Thane straightened up and stretched out his slender body. He bent backwards a bit, his arms outstretched. After holding that position for nearly a minute, he relaxed and allowed his arms to fall by his sides. He seemed as calm as ever as he walked over to sit next to Shepard.

"It was, in the beginning." He continued. "But as my body and mind crew stronger, the exercises became easier to master in a shorter time."

Shepard leaned against him and traced a finger over one of the dark stripes on his arm. The texture of his skin always surprised her. It was rough, but not unpleasantly so. She couldn't think of anything to compare it to. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

"What kind of things did you have to do?"

"A wide variety of tasks." The back of his hand brushed against her cheek. "For example, I had to stand on one foot and bare chested on a thin pole while the waves crashed around me."

At this, Shepard frowned. She knew that Thane started his training at six and the image that flashed before her eyes of a very young Thane standing in the middle of a storming sea made her heart clench a bit. It must have been difficult for him and for his parents. How could his parents agree to doing that to their son?

"What did your parents think?" She asked and tilted her head.

His eyes fluttered away from hers for a bit and fixed on the fish in the tank. Ouch, bad subject. She had never heard him mention his parents, apart from when he told her about the compact. It never occurred to her that it could be a sensitive subject and she felt a bit guilty about that. Sometimes, she wondered how the hell she had friends. She was very good at shoving her foot into her mouth. She was just about to apologise when Thane spoke.

"They didn't know. When they turned me into the hanar's care, all contact between us seized. I'm unsure if they knew what the hanar needed me for. I-"

A familiar, vacant expression appeared on his face as he slipped into solipsism.

" 'I love you, Thane.' she says as she holds me close, her silver scales glistening from the rain. As she lets me go, father approaches, his eyes serious. 'Make us proud.' His large hand pats my shoulder. 'Come, little one.' A voice sings from behind me. 'This one will take care of you now.' They start to leave. 'Mother!' I cry out."

Shepard squeezed Thane's hand, forcing him back to the present. There's a strange look on his face and he shook his head.

"You okay?" Shepard asked and ran her finger over his cheek.

"Erm, yes." He looked down at their linked hands. "I haven't thought about that for a long time."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you remember that."

There was a small, sad smile on Thane's face as he scooted closer to Shepard and placed his head on her shoulder. His free hand traced over the faint, blue lines on the back of her hand and then over one of the many scars on her arms. The particular one he was touching now came from her N7 training. She laughed silently, which caused him to look up with a raised an eyebrow.

"And I thought N7 training was hard." She shook her head.

"From what I've heard, it's quite intense."

"Well, yeah. But I never had to stand in the middle of the sea on one foot." She thought back to the tasks she'd gone through during the N7 training. "One of the firsts tasks I had to do was navigate my way back to civilisation just using the stars after having been dropped in the middle of nowhere on Mars. I had limited amounts of food, water and oxygen. There are also frequent storms on Mars that you don't want to be trapped in."

He looked up at her with a sceptical look on his face.

"And how many soldiers lost their lives during this exercise?"

"None. They monitored our vitals and our reserves. If anyone would run out of oxygen, food or water, they'd be extracted, but kicked out of the program."

A short laugh came from Shepard.

"You're probably going to think I'm insane, but I liked the training. It was exciting, challenging."

"In that case, I am as insane as you are." He smiled at her and moved up to press a kiss on her lips.

Shepard chuckled and ran her tongue over his bottom lip. He quickly parted his lips and allowed her tongue to entry. The kiss quickly turned passionate and intense. His hands went to her hips and he tugged her closer to him. Her hands went to the sensitive folds on his neck and she trailed her fingers over them, drawing a low moan from him. With surprising strength, he lifted her into his lap before standing up, a secure grip on her thighs. Shepard wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

They hadn't had time to be intimate yet. Sure, there had been kisses, hand holding, killing reapers, and other romantic gestures, but there hadn't been any sex. She wanted to feel his alien skin against her own, to hear him whisper her name into her ear, to feel him moving with her.

"I need you." She whispered against his lips as he let her come up for air.

Without answering, Thane gently placed her on the bed and hovered above her. He cocked his head to the side and just looked at her, smiling. His hand brushed against her hair and he dipped his head down to press a short kiss on her lips. Shepard moaned happily against the warm lips that she could never get enough of. The familiar tingling appeared around her mouth, but she didn't care. Sure, she'd have a rash tomorrow, but she didn't give a flying fuck.

Shepard ran her hands over Thane's bare chest and her fingers ghosted over the large scar. It rose above his skin and was such a strange texture compared to the rest of his body. She moved her fingers away from it and continued caressing him. But to her disappointment, Thane pulled away and sat back on his haunches. He glanced down at his own chest, at the scar.

"Does it bother you?" His voice was quiet and almost sad.

"No, no." Shepard placed her hands on his forearms and attempted to tug him back down. "It doesn't bother me. I'm sorry if I made it seem like that."

"Hm." Thane allowed her to pull him down. "It's not terribly attractive, I know."

"You know..." Shepard raked her nails over his back. "I don't care how many scars you have or how unattractive they are. I love you anyway."

"I'm glad to hear it." He hummed as he pressed his lips against hers.

They kissed deeply once again and Shepard snaked her hands in under his loose cotton trousers. She splayed her hands over his hips before moving her hand down to caress his hardness. A low rumble came from him, making his whole body vibrate as she did this. A smile appeared on her lips and she nipped at his bottom lip. She had forgotten all the wonderful, exotic noises he made. The hyoid bone, she recalled that she had read somewhere. That was the source of the noises. And that wonderful voice.

"Siha..." Thane purred in her ear. "I need more than your hand."

For some reason, this caused Shepard to let out a low moan. How did he have this effect on her?! The voice, thick with lust and the eyes, as mysterious and beautiful as space itself. She loved him.

"I love you." She breathed as she withdrew her hands and rested them on his hips instead.

"I love you too." He bent down to kiss her neck. "My siha..."

"Mm." Shepard started fiddling with the hem of his trousers. "Off."

A chuckle that she felt rather than heard came from him. Just like with turians, drell communicated with the help of sounds humans couldn't hear. However, this had never been an issue for Shepard. She could understand both Garrus and Thane just fine.

Thane somehow managed to wriggle out of his trousers without lifting himself of off Shepard. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks when she realised that she was still completely dressed. It seemed like Thane had noticed the same thing and started working at undressing her. Her t-shirt soon joined his trousers on the floor and she glanced down at herself, at the grey sports bra she was wearing. Very sexy, Shep.

"I should have worn something sexier." She muttered as his hands slid under the compressing fabric.

"It isn't my intention to leave you in your underwear, siha." His eyes twinkled. Once again, she found herself wondering how the black orbs could express such emotion.

As Thane worked with removing her bra, Shepard started removing her trousers and panties. She grunted in annoyance as the stupid garments got stuck by her knees. Since her drell was busy with her breasts, she didn't want to sit up to remove the stupid clothes.

"Are you having some issues?" He said and ran his thumb over the soft skin of her breast.

"Perhaps." She admitted.

Whining as Thane's rough hands left her breasts, Shepard looked down at him with a hard glance as he moved to tug her trousers down the last way and drop them on the floor. Normally, he would take time to fold the clothes, but it seemed even he was too eager for that.

Once he was done, he pressed a warm kiss against the inside of her thigh. He gently nipped at the sensitive skin before moving his way upwards. Much to Shepard's disappointment, he avoided her sex and moved instead to kiss her lower stomach. Slowly, he worked his way upwards, leaving hot kisses in his wake. Shepard moaned in a mixture between pleasure and frustration.

"Patience, siha." He whispered as he reached her collarbones. "Sharing this with you... It's not something that should be rushed. I want to take my time, to once more feel every single curve beneath my fingers, hear every sound you make. And I wish to make it last for as long as possible."

While he talked, Thane sometimes stopped to kiss her several times. He moved upwards and by the time he had finished talking, he was hovering over her lips again. This time, the kiss was sweet and tender.

"Please." She said against his lips. "I want you. I want to feel you. It's been so long, Thane..."

He finally seemed to understand her intense need for him and he placed his head in the crook of her neck. His hand snaked down towards his hips and he positioned himself for entry. He was bigger than Shepard had remembered. And the bumps and ridges felt a lot better than she had remembered. As he slowly pushed into her, Shepard couldn't help but let out a rather embarrassing sound of pleasure.

Eventually, he was completely sheathed in Shepard and he stopped to look at her. She placed her hands on the sides of his face and brought him in for a deep kiss. This was just... Perfect. Everything was perfect now. She was with Thane and they were currently safe. And as he started to move, everything got even better.

The only sounds that could be heard for the next few minutes were moans of pleasure, along with whispered versions of their names. They had been away from each other for so long, too long.

Shepard began to feel the familiar coiling in the pit of her stomach when Thane suddenly stopped. His jaws were clenched, his eyes were closed and his breaths came in huffs. She knew that face, he was on the edge, but seemed unwilling to finish.

"Come for me, Thane." She ran her hands over the red folds on his neck. "Let go..."

And he did just that. He buried his face in her neck and let out a low, deep growl. His hips twitched a few times and the growl grew in intensity until his whole body stiffened. Shepard caressed his back and kissed his shoulder as he climaxed. The growl died down and every muscle in his body seemed to go limp at once. He collapsed on top of her, crushing her with his weight. Shepard didn't say anything, she just ran her hands over his back as she felt his heart beat along with hers. Yes, this was perfect.

All too soon, Thane rolled off her and onto the empty space next to her. He hid his face in his hands and didn't react as Shepard reached out to touch his chest.

"You okay?" She scooted over to him.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, his voice muffled by his hands. "I should have been able to restrain myself."

"What?" She said dumbly.

"My goal tonight was to pleasure you." He sighed. "Not the other way around."

"Hey, hey..." Shepard sat up and pulled his hands from his face. "Sex doesn't always have to end in an orgasm. You can enjoy it anyway. I did certainly enjoy it."

Thane sat up as well and looked at her with disbelief in his eyes.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, humla." She kissed the tip of his green nose.

"Humla?" He frowned.

"Hah!" Shepard poked him in the chest. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end, Mr. 'Someday I'll tell you what it means'?"

Her attempt at humour worked and Thane's face softened into a smile. He leaned over to place his head against her shoulder and he ran a long, green finger over the pale skin on her thigh, where a few red bumps started appearing.

"What does it mean?" He asked eventually.

"It's the Swedish word for an insect on Earth." She grabbed her omni-tool and flipped it on. After opening the extranet, she pulled up an image of a bumblebee and showed it to him. "It's a bit like you. Stripey and cute, but if you piss it off, it stings."

"I'm not yellow, though." He pointed out as he squinted at the picture. "Nor am I fluffy."

"Meh, close enough."

A low chuckle came from him and he placed his hands on her cheeks, pulling her towards him. They kissed softly as Thane ran one of his hands through Shepard's hair and she stroke over his chest. She just couldn't get enough of the feeling of his skin against hers.

And that was when the door to the cabin opened.

"Hey, Shepard." Garrus said as he walked into the room, his eyes fixed on his omni-tool. "I wanted to talk with you about something before-"

He looked up and immediately fell silent, his eyes going wide. Two of his best friends were naked on the bed, completely uncovered, and had been kissing as he walked in. Shepard felt her cheeks heat up from embarrassment. Garrus took a few steps back towards the door.

"I'll, erm, I'll be in the main battery when you have a moment." And then he was gone.

Shepard placed her head in her hands with a groan and Thane just sat completely frozen in place, still looking at the door with a panicked look in his eyes.