Sorry this one's a bit late in the day! Real life decided to intrude upon my writing time. Please excuse the bits of in-game dialogue; I couldn't completely cut them out. Me and my strict adherence to canon again. Enjoy!
Thane was standing by the window of the hospital, looking out over the Presidium, when an alert pinged his Omni-tool. The Normandy had docked at the Citadel. If Shepard had gotten his message, and if she wished to see him, she would be there soon. Although the average, unschooled person watching him would not have seen a difference, there was a near-imperceptible shift in how he held himself. His shoulders were a little straighter, his stance more tense. Waiting was something that he was good at, something that came to him naturally after so many years, but this waiting for someone he wasn't even sure was coming was hell.
He fell into a series of exercises that he had been prescribed in an attempt to hold back the rising tide of symptoms from late-stage Kepral's Syndrome. It was no longer simply a matter of his lungs not performing well. His very cells weren't replicating correctly, and the protein in his blood responsible for carrying oxygen throughout his body no longer formed properly. No matter how much he breathed in, he always felt short of breath. He didn't fear death, however, as he had that night before the suicide mission. Whether because of the time he'd had with Shepard, or the happiness brought to him by reconnecting with Kolyat, he felt truly at peace with himself.
He was still working through the exercises when Shepard entered the door of the hospital. He was facing away from the door, separated from the entrance by a row of seating, but he knew that it was her without needing to turn around. He could taste her scent in the air, gun oil and warmth and sweetness from her shampoo, and he could feel the charge of vitality that radiated off of her in waves. He didn't pause his exercising though. As much as he wanted to turn, to grab her and hold her and assure himself that she was safe, he held himself back, and waited for her to make the first move. She didn't disappoint.
Their first words were awkward, not really shy, but it was obvious that neither was sure where their relationship stood. Shepard explained who Kaidan was, what he had been to her before the first Normandy was destroyed. Thane had already known this, but it made him happier than it should have that she was willing to tell him the truth. He swore to her that, as far as he was able, he would watch out for Major Alenko as the young man recovered.
"I appreciate it, Thane," she said, placing a hand on his arm for a moment. Her words didn't betray any real emotion, and the touch was brief, as though she wasn't willing to maintain any prolonged contact with him. He shouldn't have been surprised. It had been months, and it was selfish of him to hold hope that she would feel for him the same way he felt for her. He spoke to cover the pain he knew must be evident in his eyes.
"I am near the end of my life. It is a good time to be generous." He paused, but knew that he had to speak what was in his heart. He had little time left, and regrets were not something that he wanted to accrue more of, so he continued, "I have only a few loves left, and you are my last. Let me do what I can-" He was cut off by Shepard's lips against his. The kiss was brief, but it was like sunlight again after so long in the dark. Joy unfurled in the pit of his stomach, and he found himself smiling back into Shepard's playfully glinting eyes. "Well," he said, still grinning like an idiot, and not even caring, "I see you want to make up for lost time." He did, however, warn her that his last days would likely not be pleasant, wanting to give her an out, in case he misread the intention behind her kiss. She didn't respond, but instead walked with him to sit in the chairs facing the large window.
In the brighter light from the artificial sunlight filtering in through the glass, Thane could see the faint lines around her eyes that hadn't been there before. Worry was taking its toll on Shepard, and while she may not have seemed different from when he had last seen her, he knew that Earth's invasion must have hit her hard. They spoke, for a time, about him, about Kepral's Syndrome, and she even extended the invitation for him to join the Normandy's crew again, an invitation he turned down. He was dying, and would serve only as an anchor to drag her down were he to go with her. Then, she did something he had not been expecting.
"I've got a few free moments," she said, mischief alight in her eyes, a small turning up one side of her mouth, "Do you wanna spend a little time together?" He recognised the innuendo in her tone, and his heart leapt, but he knew that he would not be able to be the lover that she remembered. He could no longer lift her in his arms and carry her across the bedroom, or spend endless time bringing her to the peak of orgasm again and again as they had done in the weeks after the suicide mission. He also couldn't say no.
"I'd like that," he said, then stood to face the window, wanting to explain his limitations, to ensure that her expectations would not be too high for him to reach. "You should understand that my cardiovascular system is not what it wa-" Again she silenced him with a kiss, but this one was more. He could feel the need in himself answered by the one in her, and desire that had been dormant for weeks flared to life with a moan. For a brief moment, he forgot himself, forgot where he was, and there was only the woman in his arms, warm and soft and perfect. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, wanting her, but he couldn't completely abandon himself, not in a hospital waiting room, so he pulled back to see her smiling at him again.
"You were saying?" she said, humor evident in her tone. It did him good to hear her voice again.
"I've missed you, Shepard," he said softly, and she leaned forward, embracing him, her breath on his neck.
"I've missed you too," she whispered, "now, let's go find some privacy."