Peace, while difficult in its own way, promised them a beautiful future. The memories would be enough until then.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The days after the war passed in a dreamlike trance.
No sooner had they released Steve from the field hospital, he was back to work - despite Thane's protests. Even Thane couldn't deny that ‘light duty' meant very little to either of them when so much needed doing. Today’s task was setting up more temporary shelters.
“You should rest,” he said softly to the man leaning against him, breathing heavily after staking a tent with his one good arm. The other hung in a sling made of little more than torn fabric. “Your arm will trouble you further if you continue to strain it.”
“I'm not letting these guys sleep in the rain because of a bad arm.” Steve's smile, although tired, brought him some measure of comfort.
After the reapers had fallen, one thing was clear: things could not be as they were. Not for a long time; perhaps not even in his lifetime. Surrounded by humans and a smattering of other species, Thane hadn't felt this alien in a long time. Illium, despite its myriad travelers and their questioning eyes, had felt more like home than Earth. There were humans here who had never even heard of drell before, much less seen one. Visiting travelers and refugees regarded him with blatant, uncomfortable stares.
But stranded though he may be, Steve Cortez was still by his side; the man who had brought color back to his life after ten long years.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
News of his son reached him early. Kolyat had helped organize an emergency evacuation from the Citadel, together with his partner Feron, and the pair were busy attempting everything they could to restore communications with the Shadow Broker and the wayward Normandy. Steve's arm healed before long, and Shepard, although grievously injured, was expected to make a full recovery.
The Alliance swiftly inducted any alien volunteers into their ranks. The designation was as official as a verbal agreement could be, but it allowed him a sense of belonging amid London's decimated infrastructure. So much of their life was focused on the necessities of survival. ‘Home’ became little more than whatever ground they could find to sleep on.
In the early days, it had been a creaky chair beside Steve's hospital bed, and then a cot in an Alliance field tent. One night it would be a threadbare bedroll, and another it would be a dusty floor beneath a creaky roof. But as he had for years, Thane began each morning with prayer and meditation. Precious minutes were spared to thank the gods - to beseech and implore his patrons to protect, nourish, and calm the minds of himself and his beloved, his son, and all of the unusual but remarkable people who now surrounded him. In this way, he slowly found peace.
Steve sat before him amid the many other Alliance soldiers sharing their current encampment, hands warm on his palms. Together, they spoke their morning ritual on hushed breaths, finding space to shut out the noise of tens of soldiers beginning the day's work.
“May Arashu protect and hold my beloved in the days to come, and may Kalahira watch over the lovers who have gone where we can not yet follow.”
Thane stood in silence, helping Steve to his feet in turn. They held one another for a brief moment - long enough for Thane to breathe a single word against his partner’s cheek.
“Melithas.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Many had asked him to define the word, but Steve was the only person to whom he had granted such a meaning.
“A shooting star,” he said one autumn evening, tracing his fingertips through Steve's hair, now grown out just slightly longer, as more important things needed doing. “A brilliant streak across the night’s darkness, fast and fleeting. My mother used to say that such stars choose who may witness them.”
“That’s beautiful. Anyone ever tell you you’re a hopeless romantic?”
Despite his words, the smile that lit Steve's eyes may as well have had the power to cure the afflictions of every person in their barracks.
“Only for you,” Thane whispered, kissing his palm. He allowed him to touch the sensitive ruby frills on his cheek, a desirous sound leaving him. “It suits you. You belong to the sky.”
“Now you're just buttering me up. Keep going like that and I'll follow you forever.”
“I think it may be too late,” he chuckled. “It's certainly too late for me.”
Steve tucked his head against Thane's shoulder, leaving a single, soft kiss against his throat. The warmth that spread through him ached in a distinct melancholic way.
“I want you,” Steve whispered.
“And I, you, Melithas.”
They sat in silence, desire glowing like coals in a dying fire. Outside, the rain poured over cold, muddy ground. Surrounded by dozens of displaced alliance soldiers with not even a curtain to separate them, there would be no sating their need tonight.
Thane pulled the blanket around them.
“Sleep now,” he whispered. “May we find each other in the world of dreams.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Space was cold, but London's winters felt colder. Though they had managed to find work under a sturdy roof, helping Steve repair shuttles for service, his scales ached in ambient temperatures his body was not made to endure.
“I found some new gloves for you to try,” Steve said one evening as he returned from a supply run, handing him a scrunched-up bundle of yellow material.
Thane frowned. Human gloves were, in the simplest terms, not made for drell hands. But closer inspection revealed that these were different. Thick fibers encased the outside of a hand-shaped object that had space for one thumb and what appeared to be four fingers inside one space.
“They're called mittens. The requisitions officer made them special for you. Not my favorite color, but she said it's what they had.”
Thane turned the object over in his hand, examining its construction. Already, he could tell that the loose weave would catch on his scales, but as he turned the cuff over he was surprised to find a tightly woven, pale-colored lining within. The material moved effortlessly against his fingertips. As he slipped his hand inside, it felt positively luxurious compared to every other garment he’d worn since arriving on Earth.
“She said if you like them, she'll try to knit you something with individual fingers.”
Never mind the implied lack of dexterity - the mittens were warm. So blessedly warm. At a loss for words, he wound his arms around his lover and pulled him tight.
“Thank you. Thank you, Melithas.”
“Don't thank me yet - I have one more surprise for you.”
Thane met Steve's eyes with curiosity.
“I got your flight assessment results. You're cleared for training,” Steve grinned.
Thane’s face split into a wide smile. He hadn't thought he would qualify.
“When will we start?”
“Tomorrow, 6am sharp. Don't be late, cadet. If you’re lucky, I’ll take you to the mile-high club.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Steve was strict about the Alliance SOP for flight training. As strict as he could be, at least.
As an entry-level trainee, Thane's primary task should have been to observe, learn his instruments, and assist his pilot. The difficulty was that he should have been doing it in a flight simulator - something they simply didn’t have access to.
“This is a little unorthodox, but we live in strange times,” Steve began. “Going up is easier than getting back down, so you'll pilot takeoff, I'll pilot landing. Shuttles like the Kodiak are typically only flown by one pilot, but assuming we fixed everything up right, I should be able to take control if something goes wrong.”
He clapped the back of Thane's seat, leaning over his shoulder as he settled in. It wasn’t his first tour of this particular shuttle’s cockpit, but he listened attentively as Steve recapped what they had gone over in the weeks before.
"Keep your eye on your instrument panel. This is your altimeter, here's your speed, artificial horizon and all that. Vertical stabilizers are to your left, horizontal to your right.” He indicated a set of controls adjacent to each armrest. “And here, this is your thrust lever.” The dual-handled lever was situated between them, well within reach.
Thane settled into the seat, touching each control and instrument one by one to commit the tour to memory.
"When this is green, we're on autopilot. For routine stuff like this, she’ll mostly fly herself. Things can be a little overwhelming initially, so focus on getting used to your instruments. We can move on to more advanced flying once you’ve mastered this."
Thane nodded, buckling himself into the seat as Steve did the same beside him.
Thane tapped the inputs as directed, felt the feedback in the haptic implants he’d gotten many years before. The shuttle hummed as they lifted off the ground, rumbling steady and even beneath them.
Steve opened his comm to their local traffic controller.
“Alliance Command, this is Steve Cortez with FRT requesting escape trajectory for UT-47 Kodiak test flight in vacuum.”
“FRT Cortez, you’re cleared for escape trajectory on heading two-four-zero to orbital station Triton. Fly safe out there.”
“Acknowledged.” Steve tapped the screen and met Thane’s eyes. "Set your heading here. And go easy on the gas,” he said with a lopsided grin.
The heading dial ticked up as they pivoted toward their given takeoff direction. Thane’s hand settled around the cold steel of the thrust lever.
“Take us up, babe.”
He breathed deep, set his shoulders, and pushed forward.
That first burst of speed was electric. They sailed forward, and he watched their altimeter tick up - slowly at first, and then faster and faster until their backs were glued to their seats at escape velocity. The engines roared beneath them like twin dragons, freed after months of confinement.
The ride was exhilarating. The shuttle shot through the clouds, the sun bursting into view like a fireball. And higher still they went, up and up and up. The digital windscreen cleaned up the distortion from the heat of their climb, but Thane could feel it - a corona of fire wreathed around them as they rocketed through the atmosphere until darkness overtook them at the final barrier between sky and stars.
And gods, the stars. He could never forget, as was his nature, but the stars were even more numerous than his memory. Their majesty commanded his reverence.
“Never gets old,” Steve said under a hushed breath.
Just how long had it been since he'd left the atmosphere? Thane counted back the months, long since accustomed to Earth's standard timescale - nearly one Solar year. Thane had never really considered himself a sailor, in a spacefaring sense, but perhaps he'd missed this more than he realized.
"Goddess of Oceans,” he whispered.
His teachers had said the cosmos was just an ocean by another name. An endless sea of stars, each created by Kalahira to guide the lost across her abyssal depths. He gazed upon them now, hand in hand with the wayward human he had come to cherish, and thanked the gods for smiling upon them. Steve's hand brushed his own, fingers slipping into his grip. The expanse of stars filled him with a warm, vibrant sensation, brighter than the rare sun of Kahje. He dared to call it hope.
"You're a natural, babe. You sure you've never flown before?" Steve kissed the back of his hand and gave it a tender squeeze. Thane’s cheek frills darkened.
"I suppose this means I’ve made it to the Mile High Club?”
Steve let loose a real, genuine belly laugh.
"Not quite," he said with a smile. Steve rose from his seat, twined his arms around Thane’s neck and brought his mouth to his aural ridge. “You're not in the mile-high club till you've made love at 5280 feet above sea level.”
There was a sultry edge to his voice that Thane hadn't expected, and he raised a brow (both brows, actually). He didn't dare hope for truth among those tempting words, but despite himself, they slithered with decadent heat beneath his skin.
“My altimeter says we're much higher than 5280 feet,” he said evenly.
“Your discipline never fails to amaze, but I’m putting this baby in standby.” Thane couldn't parse what ‘standby’ had to do with the situation at hand, but Steve quickly undid his safety belts and spun his chair around. “C’mere.”
The look in Steve’s eyes was telling.
“Do not tease me, Melithas.”
Warm breath washed over his throat, and Thane arched his neck on impulse. “Never, kitten.” And then Steve was on his knees before him, pulling their bodies tight, hands warm on his back.
The realization touched his mind as they drew close. Drifting among the stars, they were finally, blessedly alone. And in moments, their lips met as effortlessly as sea meets sand.
The kiss was everything they yearned for since the invasion began. Steve’s hunger for him parted the clouds of his mind, burned away the death and destruction of the war, and seeded life within his heart anew. Months. It had been months. The kiss flowed between them like a virile wine that slaked their long-buried thirst for one another that only the war could have put on hold.
With one hand on the back of his neck, Steve worked his other hand against the fasteners of his flight suit.
"Christ, Thane. If I have to go another night without you, I'm liable to fuck you silly in front of the entire barracks."
Thane hummed against his lips. "At this point, I don't believe I'd have the willpower to stop you.”
"I'll share a lot of things, babe. But you? Those sounds you make? Those are just for me. Only me."
Steve's mouth moved against his neck, licking a hot line along the most sensitive part of his throat. The cockpit, small as it was, quickly became their temple as they stripped each other bare by the low light of the haptic console.
"You're lucky," Steve said. "You have all those memories to fall back on." He dug his fingertips into Thane's pectoral frills, flooding him with need.
"Memories are far from sufficient," Thane groaned, wresting Steve's flight suit open, "Imagine yourself roused from a dream with naught more than your hand to satisfy you.”
"You poor thing," Steve whispered, gripping his chin as he drew their lips together. “Why don't you let me take care of you?"
"Please, Melithas," Thane whispered, his voice breaking on the knife edge of his need. "Whatever you wish of me is yours."
Steve’s answering murmur was low and laced with wanting. "I love it when you call me that."
Moments later, Thane found himself extricated from his suit, a warm hand sliding down along his shaft to his opening below, weeping with desire. Seeking fingers pushed inside him, collecting his wetness, massaging his walls. They emerged coated, smearing along the length of his cock, helping Steve's warm palm glide effortlessly along the length of him. Thane swore under his breath as he squeezed. Thank the gods for the well-placed perks of interspecies contrasts - he was beyond ready, aching and eager to be filled.
As quickly as he’d started, Steve suddenly pulled back. Thane met his gaze with concern.
"Hey,” he said quietly. “I'm sorry I haven't been as attentive as I should be."
There was a genuine apology in his eyes, reflecting the orange lights of the console. Thane scooched forward, thumb running along Steve’s jaw.
"You needn't apologize,” he said softly. “People are depending on us. We hardly have time for such indulgences."
"Yeah, but I just want you to know how special you are to me. I love you so god damn much. Some nights I want you so bad I can't sleep." To illustrate his point, Steve drew their bodies flush, making evident his own hardness beneath his shorts.
"I never doubted you,” Thane smiled, kissing him gently.
Steve’s answer was another kiss. On his lips, Thane could taste everything. All the love, the heartache, the frustration and desire and feeling that they’d been forced to set aside for the sake of rebuilding the basic pillars of survival. Steve’s hand gripped his waist, pulled him forward until they were both clumsily standing and stepping out of their clothes, neither of them willing to break this kiss they’d pined for all these months. The hard line of Steve’s cock pressed against his thigh as the man leaned against him, driving him backward one step at a time. Before long, he bumped the console and swore, reaching blind behind himself to lock the controls.
"Up," Steve ordered, and Thane was quick to comply. The instrument panel bit into his backside, but it didn’t matter as Steve reached between them, closing a fist around both of their cocks and stroking long and slow. “Let me make love to you,” he whispered.
“Please,” he said. “Gods above, please.”
He felt the way Steve’s lips curled into a smile against his mouth.
"Never done this in the cockpit before. But we'll make it work," he said as he lined himself up. He didn't hesitate, didn't tease - Steve's cock slid home, stretching him with the fullness he’d been denied for far too long. Warmth bloomed along his spine, crawling through his limbs and soul.
“Gods,” he panted. With some effort, he managed to raise one leg and splay his knee, altering the angle to an exquisite depth that made his dual eyelids flutter as Steve began to rock into him.
“That feel good, babe? You're so damn wet for me.”
There weren’t words for how fucking good it felt. Thane groaned incoherently, nipping Steve’s jaw, breath fleeing his lungs as another plunging thrust sent a wave of fire surging through him.
"You'll be good for me and wait to come till I’m ready, won't you?"
Steve’s fingers wrapped tight around his cock, pumping him in time with each deep, slow thrust. Thane's fingernails dug into the console, and he nodded.
"I know you can do it. Controlled guy like yourself, I gotta make it good for you. Make it worth the wait."
You were always worth the wait, Thane thought, unable to form the words. One hand gripped him by the hip, Steve's thumb slotting perfectly into his pelvic frill.
In the dim lighting, Steve's eyes reflected the myriad points of light from the windscreen and dashboard, twinkling as he moved with barely restrained purpose. His brows came together as he panted and leaned in, setting a pace that Thane felt would set them both aflame - long, plunging thrusts that hilted on every stroke, taking him to the stars and back as the seconds divided and multiplied into fathomless ecstasy.
“God, you are so damn beautiful,” Steve said, teeth scraping his lower lip. “I’d have you like this every day if I could.”
Thane returned the gesture, cradling Steve’s jaw as they kissed. "You'll just have to find more excuses to take the shuttle into orbit, then."
"I think I could swing that,” Steve panted. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of fucking you in front of a field of stars.”
A strangled, nearly pained gasp escaped him as Steve abruptly squeezed along his cock in a gesture he knew was meant to take him to the brink.
"Not yet," Steve leaned down to whisper. "Just a little longer, babe. You get so hot inside when you're close. Feels so damn good.”
"Melithas-"
He gasped when he pulled out, readjusted, and drove back home again, gaining speed until he was being well and truly railed into the dashboard. His ruined cries of desperation were lost to the frantic kiss they shared as Thane held on with what remained of his fraying control, wanting what they both needed - the visceral ecstasy of mutual release. And between them, the sweetest torture - Steve’s fist pumping him raggedly as his body was taken, filled again and again in the throes of bottled-up lust.
He couldn’t take it a moment longer. He never wanted it to end.
"Come for me, Thane."
His vision went white. Steve hilted one final time, swollen cock lodged deep inside his slick channel, dousing him from the inside out with thick, pulsing spend that warmed him within and without. Thane crested with him, gasping as his release poured into his lover's hand, rolling down over Steve's fingers and further still to the scorching heat of their joining. Steve pulled their bodies flush as they came, grinding out their mutual climax until they were both sated, panting, and spent.
Lucidity returned to him with the crawling chill of space and the silence of idle engines as they drifted in orbit. In contrast with the warmth of Steve’s body, he felt the instrument panel digging into his backside and began to stretch his limbs. Neither man wanted to separate.
“Melithas,” he murmured, palms pressed flat against Steve’s back, face tucked against his neck. “From the depths of my soul, I love you.”
Thane could hear the smile on Steve’s face as he held him tight and whispered back, “I love you, too, Thane.”
They dressed each other slowly, taking care to clean up as they went. Steve’s pupils were wide in the low light, his mind no doubt swimming with drell venom. Thane winced. In his haste, he hadn’t considered the logistics of returning to Earth in such a state.
“Plot a course for the Triton waypoint,” Steve said as they settled back into their seats. “We need their controllers to give us groundside status before re-entry.” He tossed Thane a wink. “I’ll be fine by then.”
Their hands met as the thrusters kicked on and they sailed forward. In the vacuum of space, they couldn’t feel their acceleration. If he closed his eyes, it felt like being aboard the Normandy again. Like home.
In the silence, Thane quietly wondered when he’d next have the opportunity to hold him, love him, worship him as they had in the months before the war. But peace, while difficult in its own way, promised them a beautiful future.
Valentines day request:
I would melt into a puddle of goo for Thane Krios and Steve Cortez with any of these prompts; cheek kiss, thumb brushing the cheek or chin, blushing, giggling, soft smiles, butterflies in the tummy, excited mutual crush energy
No pressure at all of course! Happy valentines <3
I'm gonna melt into goo at this rate too. I wanted to do so many of these but settled on soft smiles! 🥰
...
It had been so long since Thane simply enjoyed the company of another.
It felt so familiar yet so new to him, all at once.
While they waited for Kolyat to message about where to meet for lunch, they browsed the greatest selections that the Citadel had to offer. It was almost strange. Thane, in typical Thane fashion, would note every entrance and exit. He'd account for every single security flaw within eyesight, keeping tabs on anyone amongst the crowds who proved too suspicious for his tastes.
He had an exit plan mapped out for every store they entered, should he need it, but the strangest thing was that he didn't need it.
The day was peaceful. Everyone went on about their business.
Every store they visited, they weren't worried about shopping for armor or weapons.
It felt unusual, different, but not in a bad way.
Steve's fingers brushed against his, a silent prod.
Thane could hear him, even without speaking, clear as day.
Relax.
Their eyes met, and Steve smiled at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
Thane felt his heart skip a beat.
He ducked his head, unable to resist as he spared him a small smile in return.
They laced their fingers together, and Thane melted, his attention centered only on him as they continued forward, hand-in-hand.
For the rarepair bingo:
I mean I have to go with my own 2 rarepairs of choice here: Kriortez (Thane x Steve Cortez) and KolFer (Kolyat x Feron)
And then as a bonus: tell me your ultimate rarepair of choice and gush about them as much or as little as you would like
I saw both of these for the first time thanks to you 😄
I think Thane and Steve could help each other heal from their respective losses and they'd be so good for each other.
I dont think about the drell bois as much as I should, but I fully support them getting together :)
And as to my utimate ME rarepair, I'm going to cheat a little cause I cant choose between my 2 favourites, Kaidan x Steve and Jack x Kahlee.
I think Steve and Kaidan would be such a wholesome and nice couple and would compliment each other so nicely. They would nerd out so much over tech and they could both support and help each other a lot, Steve supporting Kaidan with his migraines and Kaidan helping Steve move on from losing Robert.
And Jack and Kahlee, at first I just thought of it as merely smutty ship, but then I began to see it more deeply and I love the idea of them getting close over their time working at Grissom academy, and Kahlee helping Jack slowly and at her own pace, letting her open up only as far as she wants to go and Jack finally feeling she has someone to trust and eventually love makes me 😍
ME Ships week: Date night for Kriortez
If you are intriuged by this rarepair you can find all my Kriortez posts under their tag here <3
I have drawn E artwork of them on my ao3 here
And @zet-sway wrote just the most beautiful, hot, gorgeous fic of the pairing as a secret santa present for me here
Happy Mass Effect Ships Week!
Timelapse under the cut, flashing images warning.
I had just updated procreate and was testing out the new brushes, hence the outline and colouring changing a few times! The watercolours are nice
You were already extremely galaxy brained for coming up with Kriortez in the first place, but Thane as Shep for Kriortez purposes is incredible. I can't get over his fucking '🥺 face trying to save the galaxy
I am fully back in the Kriortez pits my anonymous friend. Here is hastily put together post war love eyes wip of them I've been drawing between playing🥺🥰
My hashed together headcanons for this run is that Blaise Shepard (my Tali romancing shep), who wasn't put under full arrest because arrival went better than canon, tried to convince the council a good way to unify the races and prepare for the reapers was to create more spectres from all the species including non council races. They of course laughed them out the room. But they did reluctantly make a token deputy role that spectres could choose to create small teams directly under them. Deputy spectre Thane, Liara (who of course is way more powerful as broker but might as well), Garrus and Kal Reegar are Blaises team (Tali too busy at first being admiral! The fleet deicded Reegar would be a great fit and Blaise agreed.)
So while i'm playing, sometimes i'm absolutely imagining this is Specter Thane on mission with squad, and sometimes this is Thane, squadmate of Shepard, whomst we just can't see right now but is absolutely there for sure yep 😂
It's been a blast so far. And oh the Kriortez of it all. This only reaffirms, they are so fucking perfect for each other.
Chapters: 3/?
Fandom: Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect - All Media Types
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Thane Krios/Shepard, Thane Krios/Male Shepard, Steve Cortez/Thane Krios
Characters: Thane Krios, Shepard (Mass Effect), Steve Cortez
Additional Tags: Fanart, Bondage, Rope Bondage, Cloaca, Alien Biology, Shrios
Summary:
All of my NSFW art pieces featuring Thane Krios. So far featuring solo Thane's/ off camera insert partner of choice, Shrios (Thane x Shepard) and Kriortez (Thane x Steve). Will be updated as and when new pieces are created. We have bondage, sex toys, Thane's happy subspace, Thane getting railed, Thane's great gushing cloaca and ever changing designs of peens.
