Chapter Text
It wasn't that Thane disliked people; he had just been so used to being by himself for so long that he was thankful for his space in life support. Earlier in the day he had slipped into a memory about his wife when Kelly had asked him about his personal life during his debrief after joining the Normandy. She had raised her bushy eyebrows so high that Thane thought it surely had to hurt her fragile human skin. He didn't feel particularly awkward about the encounter, but he did wish that he had complete control over when they appeared. He didn't enjoy being looked like he was so.. well, alien. He was at least glad that there were other aliens on the ship; a turian, a krogan, a salarian, an asari, and a quarian. Thane was impressed at her ability to unite numerous races with minimal incidents. He leant back in his chair, allowing his brain to sift through the memories of meeting Shepard the day before.
Human female in armour, N7 logo, elite soldier, moves in front of her alien team mates, her movements graceful and careful as she watches me pray, her face still, her eyes slightly narrowed in concentration, in patience, red hair the colour of a Kahje sunset pulled into a tight bun, her green eyes the colour of my skin, she slowly moves closer to me, intrigued.
Thane's eyes snapped shut as the memory ended. He could picture her perfectly inside his eyelids. He had heard many things over the last about Commander Shepard, and tales of her athleticism, bravery and beauty were certainly not exaggerated. He had surprised himself with the admission that he had found beauty when he had looked at Shepard. Drell and human standards of beauty were similar in some ways; full lips, big eyes and strong, slender figures were considered the socially acceptable standard of beauty between both races. Commander Shepard had very full lips, the colour of his favourite fruit from Kahje, and her eyes were big and bright and full of emotions that shifted so quickly and so subtly that Thane had a difficult time deciding what exactly it was she was thinking and feeling when she set her gaze upon his. She had not shied away from him like the other crew members had. She wasn't intimidated or frightened by him, and had in fact almost stood too close to him.
Her body was slender and toned and for a relatively short human, but she had held her assault rifle against her like it weighed nothing. Thane leant his elbows on the table in front of him, curling his fists to rest his chin on his hands. He contemplated what exactly it was he thought of this human.
****
"Fuck!" Garrus and Thane both turned around at lightning fast speed when they heard Shepard's grunt through their helmet comms. She was staggering backwards, away from the Blue Sun merc who had just hit her with a concussive shot. Thane raised his gun, and in three quick bursts, the merc fell. Garrus had already started sprinting towards Shepard as Thane holstered his gun.
"He came out of nowhere! Ah.. don't touch it!" Shepard said, panic in her voice as she lay on the ground swatting a kneeling Garrus' hands away from her abdomen. Thane peered over Garrus' shoulder, inspecting the damage. There was a giant hole in Shepard's armour over her abdomen, and blood seeped out of a long and jagged gash across her, eagerly spilling down onto the dirt below her.
"We need an evac Miranda, now!" Garrus barked through his helmet as he ripped off his gloves. His talons grabbed the deep gash on either side, and in a quick movement, he pierced his nails either side of the gash, pulling her skin together like a stitch would. There was a sick slopping sound as the raw pieces of skin pushed back together.
"You asshole!" Shepard said through gritted teeth, her back arching slightly as Garrus pressed his hands together, stopping the bleeding.
"Your suit can't dispense the medi gel if there's no suit over the wound, Shepard! I'm not letting you bleed out!" Garrus snapped at her, casting a quick glance back to her wound. Thane understood the subharmonics in his voice, and he wondered if Shepard knew how much concern riddled Garrus' voice.
"Do you need me to do anything, Vakarian?" Thane asked, feeling useless.
"Just stay alert for any more mercs, I can't hold you shut too!" Garrus replied, looking around wildly. Thane nodded.
"What the hell was that guy packing? That was more than a concussive shot, fuck!" Shepard groaned again as she tried to stay still. Her eyes moved to Thane, and he held her gaze until the familiar whirring of the shuttle's engine above them made them all glance up. It landed and Miranda and Mordin jumped out, holding a small stretcher between them. Miranda furrowed her brows in concern at Garrus' makeshift medical stitching, but said nothing as she helped Mordin place the stretcher next to Shepard. She was beginning to pale, and her eyes darted around lazily. Garrus kept his talons in her wound as Thane stepped forward to help Mordin gently lift her sideways onto the stretcher. Thane lifted Shepard's head, and she looked up at him, her jaw clenched tight. She howled as they started running with her on the stretcher, Miranda running by their side as Mordin held the bottom handle of the stretcher and Thane held the top. Garrus stayed in the middle, his hand and forearm completely covered in her bright red blood.
"It's going to have to be strictly one-pieces for my swimwear modelling career now." Shepard said quietly, her laugh turning into a cough as the shuttle took off. Garrus rolled his eyes. It never ceased to amaze Thane that she could always joke in situations like these. His lips turned up slightly at the corners. He had never been very good at making jokes.
Mordin readied a small tray of tools from the shuttle's medical kit, and Miranda placed her hand over Shepard's forehead after swiftly removing Shepard's helmet.
"She's burning up, Mordin. Do it now!" Miranda nodded to Garrus and he quickly pulled his talons out, and moved his hands across her skin to hold the wound shut as Mordin's hands shot out, replacing Garrus' hands with a needle so thick it made Shepard feel even fainter. Miranda took one last look at Shepard's wound, and left to take the seat up front next to Jacob.
"No time for anaesthetic Shepard, need you to hold still. No internal damage, large cut stretching across the abdomen's dermis." He didn't wait for her reply before he pierced her skin. Thane was kneeling behind Shepard's head, and she looked up at him with damp eyes, a pleading look in her face.
"Can't you.." She stopped as she gasped, ".. can't you knock me out, Thane? Come on, just a little punch!" She forced herself to grin at him, her brows twitching every time Mordin pierced her skin. He had been on the Normandy for two weeks now, and this was the first time she had used that husky tone and that feline grin that seemed to work on every single Normandy crew member. He was surprised to find that it worked equally as well on him.
"I can do one better, siha." Thane replied as he pulled off his gloves. He gently pushed her wild red hair back, and placed both of his hands on either side of her face; his palms beside her eyes and his fingers curling around her jaw to touch at her chin. She looked up at him, confused as to his intentions as his cool scales brushed against her overheated skin. It took quicker than Thane expected for her eyes to get lazy, and drop away from him.
"Yes, drell and human skin to skin contact an excellent idea in place of anaesthetic, Krios." Mordin nodded and kept his hands steady, pleased that the giant wound was almost stitched up. Thane looked up to see Garrus watching, his mandibles pulled tightly against his leathery skin. His talons were still holding Shepard's flesh together as Mordin worked around them.
Thane looked back down to Shepard, and she slowly rolled her eyes back up to him, her pupils severely dilated. There was no trace of pain in her expression; no trace of worry.
"Are you.. melding with her?" Garrus asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
"You may remove your hands now, Vakarian. Thank you for assistance." Mordin interjected.
"No. Drell do not meld. Our skin can have hallucinogenic properties when touched by most other species. We can also excrete the venom on command. In this situation, it would serve as a natural painkiller for Shepard." Thane said calmly, his hands still clasped around Shepard's small face. He had never touched a human this way before; his hands had only grasped human skin to break bones. It was oddly comforting to be able to o easily feel the blood pulsing through her skin. It was a reminder that she was still very much alive.
"So you're saying.. she's high?" Garrus' tone was incredulous as he stayed next to Shepard's side. He narrowed his eyes as Shepard mumbled something.
"Yes. That would be an accurate description of how she would be feeling." Thane replied simply. Garrus let out a small chuckle, relaxing as Mordin finished his work, shooting quick smiles at both of them before reaching for a clean cloth from the medical kit.
"She is going to just love that."