Drunken eyelids pry themselves open, sharp pain stabbing at Shepard's head as the light graces her eyes. Blurry shades of green and black patches block the brightness, bringing temporary relief to the ache.
"I said drunk, not passing out. I can't believe my daughter is such a lightweight!" She tries to mask the worry in her voice with humor, but Thane sees-or hears, rather- right through it. Suddenly the chilled ridge of a glass pushes gently at her bottom lip. As her senses come-to, she feels the warmth of a strong arm propping her up. The contrasting coolness of the hard floor is unwelcome, they couldn't even bother to carry her to a chair? If I were in a chair right now, Thane wouldn't be holding me...
"I'll keep an eye on her, Mrs. Shepard. You need not worry." She's so close, she can almost feel the rumbling of his voice in his chest. The discomfort in her head fades, replaced by want. How was she able to fool herself for so long? Right now, upper body placed trustingly in his control, she's more content than she's been all month. "Are you alright, siha?"
"Head hurts, throat's dry, but yes." She attempts to gather her bearings, right shoulder brushing against the exposed portion of his chest right as he lets out a quiet chuckle. The resonance of his voice is felt this time. Their eyes meet as images fill her mind. He's off-guard, I could easily pin him to the floor. The Drell gives her a knowing smile, scrambling her thoughts even further. I must still be drunk.
"That's what the water is for." Mirth dances in his eyes as he offers her the glass of water. It's interesting, having feelings for someone that reads into every little shift in body language. Out loud, the conversation can be totally different than the silent one conspiring between them. Perhaps he thinks the same. Holding up a silent conversation proves that I'm pretty damn good at reading body language and facial expressions, too. Or, perhaps Thane just wants her to know what's on his mind.
"Right. I think I've recovered enough to head back to the Normandy." Lyn's mother, who had remained silent during the whole exchange, puts her hand out in invitation.
"Let me know when you're feeling better. I have a couple more days free, so I'll be waiting for your holocall." Shepard grabs her hand and rises to her feet, a little shaky at first. She's wrapped into a suffocatingly tight hug.
"Mom..." She voices her protest, but it's weak.
"I'll leave you in the care of the sweet gentleman here. And, so help me if he's not around when you do contact me, I'll hurt you." She winks at Thane, whose face shows no response.
"If he's in my cabin, dear mother, I'm certainly not going to be contacting you." Shepard doesn't miss a beat, earning a respectful laugh and squeeze from her mom.
"Afterwards, then?"
"Mom!"
"You started it, honey."
Thane clears his throat, reminding the two women of his presence. They part, and Shepard turns her attention back to him just in time to see the grin tugging at his lips before it disappears.
"Do you need help?" He holds his hand out courteously, much like Lyn's mom did, gaze fixed on his siha to watch for any signs that she may lose her balance.
"I think I'm fine..." His hand doesn't move.
"Would you like help anyway?"
"Mr. Krios, if I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to ask me permission to hold my hand." Lyn jokes, seemingly lost on him as he drops his jade-colored hand.
"No." Is his short response, earning an eye-roll from the former Spectre.
"You're no f-" He interrupts her by swiftly yanking her off the ground, one hand supporting her legs where the knee bends, and the other against her back. Shepard had already made a scene at the Citadel today, what's one more?
"Your legs seemed a little weak, siha." In the back of his mind, a little voice reminds him that she'd broken up with him. He should back off a little, tone down the friendliness. Her actions tell him that she's reached a new conclusion, however, so he eagerly lays that particular voice to rest. She'd welcomed every single one of his advances today, and had even given him that look that makes his pulse quicken. Part of him agrees with the voice, though. At this rate, as soon as he got her to her cabin, he's afraid he'd be unable to keep his hands to himself. Because her being in my arms right now isn't proof enough that I'm already struggling with that.
"Welcome back to the Normandy, Thane." She looks so comfortable in her bed, blankets raked all the way up to her chin like a child. Should I be alarmed by the amount of times I've been helped to my bed while drunk lately?
"Any orders, Commander?" Thane stands perfectly straight, hands clasped behind his back. Shepard has come to know this as his business stance. Something he usually only does in public.
"Just to sit down, relax a little. It's vacation time for the crew. At least, the ones that stayed aboard the Normandy this long." He obeys the command, smoothing out a section of blanket at the end of her bed and places himself on it.
"Who would that be?" He folds his hands neatly in his lap, appearing more tense than he was before. Now that they're alone, it's time to finally talk. He's abnormally nervous.
"The whole human crew except for Zaeed. I expect Miranda and Jacob to run off soon to do other things. Kasumi's idea of vacation is dragging me to an actual formal outing, and refuses to leave until I give in. Honestly, I think Jack is sticking around to see what happens with you. Grissom Academy is waiting, though. Mordin's still here, and we have Liara in Samara's place. Garrus won't go anywhere until I kick him off the damn ship." Thane listens silently as Shepard lists the remaining crew, waiting patiently for his turn to speak.
"And now, I'm back until you no longer want me around. We have some things to discuss." Shepard shifts on her bed, not wanting to lie down during this conversation. She wants to look him in the eyes, be able to see his face.
"It's my turn to confess to you while you listen intently. Amazing how things change." Shepard smiles to herself, thinking back on the many conversations they had before things became... complicated.
"Indeed. You bring change about everywhere you go. Tell me, what was going through your mind?" He leans forward attentively, letting Shepard know she has his attention.
"The thought of you, and Kepral's Syndrome. The fear it brought me."
"Brought?" He always picks up on the smallest detail.
"I realized, after many drinks, that Kepral's should be afraid of me, not the other way around." He chuckles at this, unfolding his hands and placing one on her left leg, right above her ankle.
"Your mind works in interesting ways."
"I want to try again. Slowly. But I need you to know one thing, and keep it in mind for the rest of our days together. I don't know when, or how, but I will find a cure." He closes his eyes momentarily, enjoying the determination in her voice. Their eyes meet, not wavering as he maneuvers on his hands and knees over her legs, bringing them face to face. She can feel his warm breath reaching her lips as he murmurs,
"Such hopeful words coming from your lips. Thank you, siha." Her mouth curves into a smile. Damn this woman. I'm beginning to think that my guess of 10 minutes was being far too generous.
"You shouldn't do that." The assassin runs a textured thumb slowly and gently over her bottom lip, eyes focused on the enticing rosiness that is her mouth. "Especially when your mouth is this close to mine."
The former Spectre responds exactly how Thane feared she would; by wetting her lips with her tongue. It barely has a chance to return into her mouth before he grasps her head in his hands, trusting his legs to hold his weight and pushing his lips to hers.
"I..." He pauses to kiss her again, rougher this time as she winds her arms around his neck. "...warned you." Suddenly Shepard's pushing her weight against his side, angling herself to get more momentum as she knocks him onto his back. He falls into the space next to her on the bed. His spot one day, hopefully. Before he has a chance to react, she straddles him, hands pushing against his shoulders, hips holding his lower body in place. She gazes into his confused eyes, smirks, and hovers her mouth dangerously close to the waiting flesh of his neck.
"This is for teasing me at the Citadel." She trails soft kisses along the ridges of his neck, biting and suckling along the way, earning a surprised hiss from the Drell underneath her. Lyn's lips ghost back up to the red folds above his jawline, giving them an experimental lick. Finally her mouth reaches his, lips parted teasingly. She plants a chaste kiss on mouth and quickly removes herself from his body, earning a sound of disapproval from his throat that falls on deaf ears. She doesn't need to be able to hear it to know he's annoyed, his quickened breathing shows it just as much.
"You're going to regret that one day, siha."
Perhaps they can wait until tomorrow to start on the 'slowly' part of Shepard's rule.
Author's Note: There's the Thane goodness that I promised. Though, a problem occurred to me while I was writing the last paragraph. I initially had her with her mouth near his ear, but then I wondered, does he even have (visible) ears? A quick google search tells me that no, he doesn't. At least, they're more reptile-like than human. What do you guys think, should I stick to Bioware's Thane or say to hell with it, my Thane has obvious ears? I never really paid much attention to that, was much too busy drooling over that sexy outfit he's always in. Please excuse typing/grammatical errors, I haven't spent nearly as much time editing this as I usually do.