Siha

The word flowed out of his mouth the moment he saw her. He had no idea if she still felt the same way as he did. But calling her "Siha" still felt natural, as natural as "Shepard" or "Mona." Regardless of how they stood, the way that her eyes lit up when she saw him filled him with joy.

They chatted comfortably, though she looked troubled at his worsening condition. When Thane was explaining how he was nearing the end of his life and that she was his last love, she silenced him with a light kiss that calmed all of his doubts about her feelings.

She whispered that she wanted to "spend a little time together." Memories of tentative caresses and sighs of ecstasy flashed in front of his eyes, and he smiled fondly at the woman in front of him. "You must understand," he told her, "that my cardiovascular system is not what it wa- mmm," he ended as she cut him off again with a kiss as fiery as her personality.

She moaned and gasped against his lips. When he opened his eyes, she was smirking mischievously. "You were saying something?" she murmured suggestively, clutching his back and rubbing against him.

Thane dropped his head down and gazed into her eyes. "I've missed you Shepard," he said and pushed his hips against hers, causing a faint whimper to escape her.

"We need to find a bed," she breathed. "Now."

Clutched hands, sweating bodies, lustful sighs. Their bodies hadn't missed a beat, for they fit together effortlessly. Thane always loved these moments together. It was here where he saw Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy crumble into something raw and vulnerable. It was a side of her that no one else would ever see.

She writhed beneath him and called out his name in a gentle voice. Her face contorted into a helpless bliss as he touched her in the way that she loved. She then began to beg. Please - more, harder, faster. No one would ever believe that the brutal Shepard would beg. But she did for him. Only him.

Commander Mona Shepard was a ruthless leader. Thane had watched her threaten, terrify, and injure anyone that would get in her way. She knew what needed to be done, at any cost. Though she cared for her teammates, she would treat them in the same hardened way.

But Thane, Thane was different. She smiled around him. She laughed around him. Her words to him were sweet and tender and her touch was calming, not hurtful. The life in her eyes that was so often hidden by anger resurfaced whenever he held her.

It was with him that she could remove the tough exterior that she constantly wore and breathe the fresh air. He was her sunlight.

And she was his Siha, his protector, his savior.

He had told her many times that he loved her. It was mostly in moments like these, where he leaned down to her ear and whispered it in the pleasurable haze. It was also when they were sleeping, and he murmured it to her latent form. He had never told her when she was fully aware; he was afraid of the significance of the meaning.

Conversely, Shepard had never told him how she felt; it never seemed necessary when she could show him how she felt. But now that his days were lessening, so was their time with each other.

Wherever he went when he died, he would be happy. He would be reunited with her one day, and his soul would be at peace. But she would be left alone. The fact that he was leaving her pained him more than he could bear.

They continued to move together, rocking, pace quickening. Thane leaned his head against her soft, bronzed skin. He loved the way it felt on his smooth scales. He would miss that sensation.

They both were close. He dug his hands into her dark, long hair and burrowed his face into her neck. Every emotion flooded his senses and tears flowed down his face and onto her body.

Then it happened. Together they came; names yelled, lips connected, breath hollowed. They both shuddered and collapsed onto each other. Mona shifted and curled into Thane's open embrace.

Tears continued to slide down his face. When she looked up at him, she saw the glistening trails and gasped in surprise. He knew she didn't like it when people cried. He willed himself to stop, but his body wouldn't listen. Sobs wracked his body and he clutched her like a lifeline.

Instead of cringing away, Mona held him tightly and stroked his back lovingly. "Shh," she whispered quietly. "It's alright," she comforted. "I'm here."

He let her soothe him as the sobs diminished. "I love you," he told her.

Mona smiled against his skin. She replied, "I love you, too," not because she felt obligated, but because she truly did.

"I'm sorry I'm putting you through this," he apologized.

"I'm not," she said. "I cherish every second I have with you."

"I just don't want to leave you here alone."

She laughed into his skin and kissed him softly. "We'll meet each other across the sea."