A/N: Written for a prompt over at masseffectkink meme saying:

Thane invites f!shepard to his quarters for quiet tea time.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, just my own cup of tea. Yum!

Tea for Two

If anything, after all those months of non-stop activity ever since her awakening, Shepard had been tired to the very marrow of her bones. Well, that's it if her bones actually still had any marrow in them – she never was perfectly sure, and she was rather afraid of truly looking into the files she downloaded about Project Lazarus when escaping Lazarus station.

The constant arguing with everyone that she is still she and not some kind of monster (well, she wasn't entirely sure on that front – due to lack of knowledge of the specifics of Project Lazarus) certainly didn't help her state of mind either. While Garrus had no problems with accepting her, and hakwas and Joker had been there even before she woke up, Tali still seemed to harbour some doubts about her being completely her, but if nothing else, she didn't voice them aloud.

That was when her private terminal beeped an incoming message, soft melody accompanying the beep.

"EDI, read the message aloud," she said, not rising from where she whopped herself on the bed facedown. The Normandy AI immediately went to fulfil the request, actually reading the mail in Thane's voice.

'Siha, come to the Life Support when you have time, Thane.'

Hm, Shepard thought. It was always curious to speak to the drell assassin, something about him always calming her down. And now, piece of calm was something rather desperately needed. So, although the bed seemed really inviting, she drug herself out, opening her omnitool to type a quick answer as she went to the bathroom to at least wash her face.

Be there in five.

Thane had been waiting for Shepard when the door opened with a soft whoosh behind his back, and the woman slowly walked to join him by the table. Almost on their own accord, their hands went and joined on the table, fingers intertwining together in gesture the now familiar gesture of comfort and (as Thane has to came to understand it) gentle affection.

"Something on your mind?" she asked lightly, but his eyes saw the barely hidden tension. If I asked her to do something for me, no matter how exhausted she would be, she would have done it, came to his mind. But he didn't want her to be there for him. This time, he wanted to be here for her.

"I noticed we didn't talk much lately," he responded, chastising himself for the way her face showed shame. This was not how he wanted things to proceed.

"I'm sorry, Thane…" she started, but he did not allow her to continue. "I wanted to offer you tea, siha."

That made her stop in her tracks and blink in surprise. She was silent as he carefully poured two cups of tea, the brand Chakwas told him was Shepard's favourite, and then pushed one of the cups towards her.

It was very satisfying to watch her reverently take the cup from the saucer and slowly bring it to her mouth. The aroma of the tea, distinctly jasmine, swirling to her nose, as she took a small sip of the hot beverage before she lifted her eyes to him and smiled at him.

"EDI?" she called, calling the attention of the ship's AI. "Play the song number 8 from my quarter's playlist on the loop."

"Of course, Shepard," replied the computer, and soft instrumental music started to flow from the speakers. The volume had been set on low, so it wouldn't interfere if they had spoken; only underlining their voices. The song played over and over, and they slowly sipped their tea, before Shepard set her cup down and looked calmly at Thane.

That was when the song ended and started playing again, the soft melody now accentuated with Shepard's voice.

"Oh honey, picture me upon your knee, with tea for two and two for tea…"

His siha was full of surprises, Thane thought. 'This will be a good memory,' he decided, as he watched Shepard dance around the life support, stopping only to hold her hands to him, head tipped in clear, if unvoiced, question. Dance with me?

Even with his memory he couldn't quite put together how long exactly they circled around the room, moving together after the few unsure steps, their bodies pressed closely together, looking into each other's eyes.

When he was left alone in the room once again, happily humming Shepard leaving to grab some well-deserved sleep in her quarters he let his thoughts drift back.

I watch her as she sips her tea, her movements precise and controlled as her head is tilted to the side as she listens to the music she instructed the ship's computer to play, her foot tapping the rhythm. Her eyes lift to meet mine. Her lips create a gentle smile and then she starts singing. As she finished the song, I let my thoughts wander to how happy we will be…

A/N: If this one can suggest something, try to listen to Tea for Two, played by Andre Rieu and his orchestra, while drinking a tea. Believe me, worth doing. Also, Tea for Two was sang by beautiful Doris Day.