The sweet scent of honeysuckle mingled with the orange blossoms carried on the wind, the familiarity of it reassuring. Shepard reached for Thane and met nothing but rumpled sheets and the lingering warmth of his presence.

It was not an unusual thing. She knew where to find him.

Moonlight bleached his vivid green skin to silver-grey and black, the baby in his arms blinking up at him with the half-focus of near-sleep. Shepard leaned in the doorway, listening to the soothing rumble of his voice for a moment before she padded up behind him, watching their daughter close her eyes, little mouth opening in a sigh as she finally drifted off.

Shepard slid a hand across Thane's back, feeling the tension there ease under her fingers, her other hand tracing a finger down the chubby curve of the baby's cheek. She did not stir, already in the bonelessly-deep sleep of the very young. "You could have woken me," Shepard murmured, leaning against him.

"Even now, you get little enough unbroken sleep, siha." He did not turn his head to look at her, but she could feel the press of his attention upon her. "And when you do, watching you so unburdened is a pleasure I find it hard to deny. I ... was not sleeping, so it was no hardship to care for this little one when I heard her stirring."

"She won't grow up overnight, Thane."

The loose cotton shirt and pants he wore shifted with him, sliding beneath her fingers as he turned towards her, then padded silently towards the crib. He set the baby within, then rested his hands upon the edge, looking down. Shepard's eyes picked out the edges of his figure in the shadows, but the bright moonlight created far too much contrast, pouring through the window. She stepped back into the shadow, following him. His quiet words were no surprise. "There was... much to be done, when Kolyat was this young. Providing for Irikah and he. My work took me away, I returned to a toddler. I left, and returned to a child. Now, there is no need, and I wish to remember these days."

He turned away from the crib and slid his hands down her sides, coming to rest on her hips, pulling her flush against him, his voice a low rasp in her ear. "You have shown me that life is too precious to miss these brief moments, siha."

Before she could reply, his mouth covered hers. Any indignation she might've felt at being cut off from arguing his past with him was lost as the gentle press turned more demanding, his hands sliding down to pull her closer to him, deepening the points of contact between them. The thin material of their sleep-wear did little to hide the heat rising between them; thigh to thigh, hip to hip, chest to chest, Shepard could feel every inch of him against her, and a soft groan of reaction was swallowed by the kiss.

Thane felt it, for he pulled back with a little smile upon his lips that Shepard could feel more than see, and she felt herself being lifted against him with an effortless grace. Startled, she linked her legs around his waist, clinging to him and burying her face in his neck, nibbling along his frill and then laving the red-streaked skin beneath, feeling the shivery response run through him.

A mewl of protest came, not from Shepard, but from the crib. Shepard closed her eyes. Thane huffed a little laugh. "There are, however, some moments I could wish for more time to savour," he murmured, hands sliding back up to rest upon her waist.

She uncoiled from him, letting her head thunk against the solidity of his shoulder before she moved to the side of the crib. "Hey, kiddo." The way to hold a baby, once such a foreign idea to a career soldier, had become second nature, a hand supporting the baby's head before Shepard cradled her in the crook of her arm, moving to the window. The moonlight was enough to see by, and the warm night seemed too delightful to break with the artificial glow of lights. Thane took up her spot at the doorway, shaking his head; she could almost hear him running through his meditations for calm.

The usual suspects for fussiness were swiftly dismissed, and Shepard smiled down at her daughter, tracing the back of a finger down her cheek. "It's a good thing you're so cute. I guess that parents trying to horrify their kids is revenge for all the interruptions," she whispered, pacing back and forth in front of the window. Her answer was a sleepy yawn.

When she looked back up, Thane was watching them. She arched an eyebrow at him. His night-vision was better than hers. She knew he'd see it. He shook his head and came back into the silvery light, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and looking down at their daughter. "The role of a siha is in battle, yes, but also in guarding the growth of the future. Of life." He turned his head, nuzzling into her hair. "/Siha./"

Spoiler space.

I deny that Thane died. My headcanon is that Mordin was, between cell cultures and other tests, working on Kepral's, and sent his data along to Maelon on Omega before he died. Even if he would've killed him if he saw him again, Maelon was still his protege. And guilt drove Maelon to arrive moments after Shepard and Kolyat left, and appropriated Thane's body and... well, fixed the problem. One last thing for Maelon's mentor, and for Shepard, who convinced Mordin to let Maelon live. All debts settled.

Involved explanations aside and a touch of 'Lalala Bioware, I'm not LISTENIIIIIING,' I hope you enjoyed. This was initially a response to a masskink prompt.