Chapter Eight:
The first sensation that Tevos distinguished on her own was a warm hand rubbing between her shoulderblades. It was Aria's hand, and her touch was surprisingly gentle. 'You're sore.'
'Very sore,' Tevos thought, swinging one leg back over Aria's thigh as she dismounted. Despite the slight pain, her inner muscles still clasped weakly at nothing, remembering the presence of Aria's cock. 'It's not... bigger than usual?'
"Not longer," Aria said out loud, opening one arm so that Tevos's head could rest against her shoulder. After scenes like this, Tevos usually needed to be held. The meld was fading, but Aria could tell that her lover was still feeling vulnerable. "You bottom out if it's past five and a half inches. No point."
"That's... disturbingly intimate knowledge you have about my body."
Aria pressed a kiss on top of Tevos's crest. "We're disturbingly intimate on a regular basis."
"You didn't answer my question."
"I may have made it thicker than usual."
"And that would explain why my jaw hurts."
Aria cupped the jaw in question, running a thumb over Tevos's cheek as the councilor's head rested on her chest. "So, what was bothering you when you came in? I was expecting a whole bunch of flashbacks during the meld, but your mind seemed pretty quiet."
"My mind was far from quiet. You drowned out everything else... which is exactly what I needed. Thank you."
"You never have to thank me for fucking you, but you're welcome. So, you want to talk about it, or forget it?"
"Here's the abridged version – Amytis had fun speculating about our sex life and apparently had a one night stand with Benezia, Jacinth is still angry at me over the Prothean beacon, Velana wants to embrace eternity with Grizz, Irissa admitted to our prior relationship in front of everyone, and Aethyta is crazy. Oh, and I'm up for a confidence vote."
Aria snorted. "Well, we already know Velana likes turians, Aethyta is crazy, and Amytis is a bitch, so we haven't learned much. Were you disappointed to find out your old crush screwed her, of all people?" Even though it was a long time ago, Aria still took the opportunity to tease Tevos about her crush on Matriarch Benezia whenever she got the chance.
"Really, Aria?" Tevos asked, not quite believing what she was hearing. "That's what you took from my summary?"
To Tevos's surprise, Aria gently cupped both of her hands and brought them to her lips, kissing each of her knuckles. "The confidence vote is nothing. You'll keep your seat and make everyone who tried to oust you look like fools."
"How can you say that with such certainty?" Tevos asked. The pleasant fog of lust that had filled her head was beginning to clear, and the familiar weight of responsibility and fear was pressing in again.
Aria was silent for a moment, weighing her response. She settled deeper into the couch with Tevos wrapped in her arms. "I don't put my faith in many things. Not religion, or an altruistic view of the world. But I do have faith in your abilities. You're good at what you do. Everyone can see that."
"And if they don't?"
"Then we make them. So... do you want to cuddle, eat, sleep, or fuck some more?" Aria asked, unable to resist pressing the shaft of the cock against Tevos's lower back.
Tevos sighed. "All of those things sound perfect, but I promised I'd meet with –"
An unfortunately timed knock at the door made Tevos drop the last word of her sentence. She and Aria looked at each other, then in the direction of the sound. Knocks on the door were rare – Neota and Aria had their retinal scans uploaded to Tevos's security system, and no one else visited her private quarters regularly.
"Khalisah," Tevos finished with a sigh.
"Why is it that whenever we try to have sex, someone interrupts us?" Aria asked aloud, tucking the toy back in her pants and doing up her zipper.
"At least we got to finish this time."
"I wasn't finished with you. And really, babe? Khalisah? Because if you don't want to talk to her, I'd be more than happy to get rid of her myself."
"That's a terrible idea. Don't worry, I can handle this."
"I know you can handle it. I just hate her."
Tevos rolled her eyes and stood on slightly shaky legs, searching for her dress. Unfortunately, bending over to pick it up put her in a very vulnerable position. She wasn't surprised to feel Aria's hand come down against her exposed backside with a loud crack. The blow was noisy rather than painful, and Tevos automatically held the position for a moment before remembering that they had company. "Aria, now really isn't the time..." she murmured, even as Aria's hands returned to her hips.
"You bent at the waist instead of the knee. You were asking for it," Aria said as she pulled their pelvises together. Tevos gasped as she felt the outline of Aria's cock through her pants. "But I'll let you have your little meeting. Afterwards, though, you're coming right back into the bedroom. While the rest of you may be thoroughly used, I still haven't worn out that tight little ass of yours." Aria's hand trailed down to her backside and squeezed, giving an extra push with her hips for emphasis. "And I intend to rectify that."
Tevos nearly considered sending Khalisah away and joining Aria in the bedroom, but she knew that she couldn't continue putting off her responsibilities in order to have sex. She had her career to think about, and this was the first step. Besides, her brief respite with Aria had taken the edge off her nerves, and she felt much more confident about her situation. "Fair enough," Tevos said, standing and slipping her dress over her head. "You haven't seen my panties, have you?" she asked as she turned around.
Aria just smirked and patted her left front pocket. "You can have them back when you're done." Then, in a surprising gesture of tenderness, she took Tevos in her arms and gave her one last, lingering kiss. "I love you." The words were still a little surprising to hear, but Tevos had to admit that she liked it when Aria said them. "And by the way, you might want to wipe your face." With a final kiss on the cheek, Aria strutted back to the bedroom with an obvious sway in her hips.
Trying not to stare at Aria's retreating form, Tevos blushed and raised her hand to swipe at her cheek. Then, she remembered the human custom of shaking hands and thought better of it. Apologizing silently to her dress, she used the upper part of her left sleeve instead just as a second knock echoed through the front room. This time, it was accompanied by a voice.
"Councilor? You requested that I bring Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani to speak with you..."
Reluctant to shout inside – partially thanks to her mother's constant lectures – Tevos hurried to answer the door. She probably still smelled like sex, but hopefully only Neota would recognize Aria's scent. The hickey would be impossible to hide, and so she resolved to ignore it. She wasn't planning on allowing Khalisah to take any photographs, and the press had already gotten a few good shots earlier in the day as she disembarked the ship.
With a sigh, Tevos approached the door and put her palm against the handprint reader to unlock it. Normally, it would open automatically if someone passed through from inside, but she had possessed enough foresight to lock it when she arrived. Soon, a harried looking Neota and an impatient al-Jilani were staring at her.
Upon seeing Tevos, Khalisah's facial expression shifted from slight annoyance to surprise, and then hunger. Apparently, Tevos thought, she wasn't fooling anyone. It was completely obvious why she had been delayed. Still, she wasn't the asari councilor for nothing – even if the position might not be hers for much longer. She managed to keep her composure. "Good afternoon, Khalisah," she said with false cheerfulness. "I hope Melanthe and little Thalia are doing well."
The human looked slightly taken aback at the personal inquiry and the use of her first name, but didn't seem to take it as a threat. "Councilor. I'm... impressed that you know about my bondmate and my daughter." Khalisah suddenly seemed to realize that she was not supposed to be the subject of this interview. "Councilor, humanity needs to know –"
"In a moment. Neota? Thank you very much. You're dismissed, and please tell the pilot to head for the Estate. Afterwards, have someone drop Khalisah off wherever she likes. Outside the front gate with the others, if she prefers."
Ever the professional assistant, Neota deliberately avoided staring at the various marks above the neck of Tevos's dress. "Of course, Councilor." She inclined her head slightly and backed out of the doorway, obviously relieved at the chance to escape.
That left Tevos alone with Khalisah.
"Why did you let me in here?" the human asked, as brash as ever. "In fact, why did you let me board your ship in the first place? Seems kind of counterintuitive for someone in your position."
"In my position?" Tevos repeated, her voice slightly cold even though her expression remained blank.
"I didn't mean – I wasn't trying to imply..."
Tevos was pleased that she could still inspire a little fear in someone as bullheaded as Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani. It was strangely satisfying. "I'm going to offer you a deal, off the record. I'll give you details – a few insignificant details – about my relationship with Aria. You make it look like you uncovered these details yourself instead of quoting me. In return, I want a sympathetic portrayal."
"And by sympathetic portrayal, you mean..."
"You refrain from speculating about what top secret Council information I may have passed on to my bondmate. Spin some kind of dramatic, forbidden love story instead. Asari and human readers love that."
Khalisah frowned. "I can't do that, Councilor. The public needs to know –"
"The public needs to know the truth. I'm willing to give you a piece of that, but if you aren't interested..."
"I'm interested," Khalisah blurted out, a little too eagerly.
"I'm not asking you to lie for me. If you find any solid proof that I've abused my position for Aria, go ahead and print it. All I want is your promise not to make anything up. I assure you that you won't regret it."
The reporter was silent for a moment, thinking it over.
"When I'm ready to speak on the record, who do you want me to call?"
That did it. Khalisah extended her hand, and Tevos was incredibly glad that she hadn't wiped her face with it as she shook. "Madam Councilor, you've got yourself a deal."
"Then we're agreed." As a polite host, Tevos's first instinct was to ask Khalisah to sit down on the couch, but considering what had just happened on that particular piece of furniture mere minutes before, she decided that wasn't a good idea. The kitchenette was a much better option. "Are you fond of brandy? Because I've got an open bottle of Serrice Ice..."
A minute later, both of them were sitting at the breakfast bar with a glass of brandy each. It was actually Aria's brandy, but Tevos was one of the few people she was willing to share with, and what Aria didn't know about Khalisah wouldn't hurt her. Although she took a perfunctory sip, Tevos left her drink mostly untouched. She had just wanted an excuse to get Khalisah out of the living room.
"So, you actually married her?" Khalisah asked after a much longer pull from her own glass. "I mean, there are photos of the bondmate bracelets all over the extranet, but I didn't really think..."
"Aria doesn't strike many people as the bonding type, I know. Sometimes I still have trouble believing it myself. It's difficult, particularly since she lives on Omega the majority of the time, and I have to remain on the Citadel, but it's just a relay jump away." Khalisah made a mental note to find out which corporations were responsible for maintaining that particular relay. They would probably be worth investing in. "Technically, she is our ally now, and since the Terminus systems aren't officially under Council jurisdiction, our relationship hasn't caused any professional conflict yet. Officially, there isn't much the Council can say about it. Unofficially..."
"Unofficially, they're all terrified," Khalisah said flatly, incredibly disappointed that most of this conversation was off the record.
"I wouldn't say that. Sparatus doesn't seem particularly bothered. Then again, the old bird has plenty of skeletons in his own closet. Valern is only concerned because the balance of power is shifting. Salarians don't like unknowns."
"And the matriarchy? I got an extranet message about an hour ago from another source saying that you're up for a confidence vote..."
"It's true. I have three weeks to make my case for retention." Tevos's smile was more than a little intimidating, and Khalisah took another long drink. "You see why I need some good press."
"I can help with that. You scratch my back... why me, though?"
"I know this wasn't always the case, but you're currently on reasonable terms with Commander Shepard. She's a personal friend of mine. I thought it would keep things neat." Khalisah suddenly realized just how beneficial – or how dangerous – working with Tevos could be for her career. If she played her cards right, she would be able to ride the headlines during Tevos's confidence vote, build even more goodwill with Commander Shepard, and perhaps even secure a member of the Council as a permanent source, assuming Tevos kept her job. If she screwed it up... she didn't even want to think about it.
"Commander Shepard and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but I respect what she did. We all owe her our lives." Khalisah's smile was slightly sheepish. "I also might have been upset that I could never get a rise out of her. That woman has the patience of a matriarch."
Tevos rolled her eyes as she thought back on her exhausting day. "Obviously, you haven't met many matriarchs in person," she said, her tone a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "And some of us never lose the elitist attitude that so often accompanies plentiful resources and long life." The look on Khalisah's face made her pause for a moment. "Anyway, you're not here to listen to my gripes, and I certainly don't want them printed. You want to hear about Aria."
"Well, if you're offering... "
"She proposed to me. In my office, while I was trying to work, actually. The only schedule Aria ever cares about is her own. Fortunately, she is considerate in other ways."
Khalisah's eyebrows lifted in mild surprise. "Considerate?" she parroted in disbelief before remembering that she had more important questions. "Never mind. How long were you together before that? When did your relationship begin?"
"That depends on your definition of relationship. We expressed a mutual interest during the war, but there was... resistance on both our parts. Besides, we had other priorities. Aria was obsessed with reclaiming Omega, and I was doing everything I could to minimize casualties on Thessia. I suppose the formal start of our relationship was at the Shepard-T'Soni wedding. You could even say they encouraged us."
"Commander Shepard and Liara T'Soni seem to be coming up pretty frequently in this conversation," Khalisah said, her voice laced with an edge of suspicion. "Wait a minute..." Tevos could practically see the puzzle pieces fitting together behind Khalisah's eyes. "When Liara called to tell me she was pregnant, she was trying to help you, wasn't she? Get your names out of the papers? Oh God, the blackout at Westerlund! That was you, too?"
Khalisah groaned and covered her face with her hand as she remembered the stress of that particular day. Her bosses had been furious that they couldn't post her 'exclusive' story about Liara's pregnancy immediately. Eventually, they had been forced to cave and sell it to other networks before one of them got the scoop on their own. Fortunately for Khalisah, the other networks had purchased her time along with the story, and Westerlund had been only too happy to loan her out for the publicity and the credits.
Tevos felt a small pang of sympathy for the reporter, and also reminded herself to send Admiral Tali'Zorah a non-incriminating thank you note. "I didn't take down Westerlund's servers. It was an unsolicited favor."
"Pretty damn big favor," Khalisah muttered, but she decided to drop the subject. If anything, it reminded her exactly who she was dealing with. "So, how do you want me to frame this article? Bad girl gone good?"
For a moment, Tevos was tempted to take a second sip of her brandy. "You could, if you want to be partially responsible for several deaths. I suspect you'll see several infamous names in the obituaries if your article makes other criminals think Aria's gone soft."
"How do you deal with that? The fact that she's killed so many people?"
Tevos could tell that the question was completely genuine, and suspected al-Jilani wouldn't be printing her response. "The ones that try to kill her or steal from her don't particularly bother me. Anyone stupid enough to challenge her has signed their own death warrant. The fact that she didn't seem to care for the citizens of Omega upset me, though. I became a member of the Council to help my people, and I thought Aria was callous for not helping hers. Then I realized that our definitions of helping people were different."
Khalisah still looked surprised that hearing the words 'Aria' and 'helping people' in the same sentence, but seemed interested in Tevos's response. "So, what's her definition, then?"
"Freedom. Preserving the freedom to succeed or fail on your own merits. She isn't Commander Shepard, she doesn't ride around on a white horse and fix other people's problems, but she has created an environment where everyone can live their lives however they want. And she has spilled her own blood to keep it that way. Even if it doesn't align perfectly with my own personal moral philosophy, I admire her for that."
Tevos sighed and folded both hands around her glass of brandy, although she didn't lift it. "I've been inside her head, and I still don't completely understand why we work. I know how strange it must seem, looking at us from an outside perspective. She is basically an anarchist, and my entire life has been devoted to a system of government with endless rules. But we have more in common than you'd think besides mutual attraction, and when we don't agree, we compromise."
"Why do I find that difficult to believe?" Khalisah said with a low, slightly strained laugh. "The compromise part, I mean." Fortunately, Tevos offered a smile in return and didn't seem offended. "All right. Give me something I can print, then. What salacious details have you got for me?"
"Well, the pictures you saw are from our honeymoon on Nevos. We bound wrists the first night in a private ceremony, and stayed there for the rest of the week." Tevos didn't mention just how much it had cost to keep the ceremony private. She had agreed to pay for all the wedding expenses, bribes included, while Aria had footed the bill for the honeymoon itself. "It was my first vacation in over three years. I felt a little guilty, lounging around on a beach while so many others were rebuilding their homes. The war ended over a year ago, but there is still so much that needs to be done..."
"When was this, exactly?"
"Oh, almost a month ago. I'm surprised it took everyone so long to find out. I haven't taken off my bracelet since Aria gave it to me. We knew that we would be discovered eventually, but it was a little surprising to see those beach holos on the front page of every extranet site."
"That is pretty strange," Khalisah said with a slight frown. "I would never keep holos that juicy to myself for such a long time." She cleared her throat. "You know. Hypothetically, of course."
"Of course. By the way, I'm still not sure where those holos came from. I don't suppose you have any theories?"
Even though she hadn't done anything wrong – this time, anyway – Khalisah's expression was sufficiently guilty. "I'm sorry, Councilor. I have no idea."
"If you should happen to come across any information, I would be willing to pay you. Just make sure you tell me instead of Aria. She has a tendency to... overreact when she perceives a threat."
Khalisah suddenly felt sorry for whichever reporter had leaked those holos. "Well, the pictures can be used to your advantage now. Readers love secret weddings. What about the start of your relationship? You said it was during the war? I'm thinking a torrid affair. One last tragic fling before the end of the universe."
"That's not so very far from the truth," Tevos admitted. "I can give you a timeline. We started seeing each other during Shepard's first visit to the Citadel after the Reaper invasion of Earth. Later, when Aria reclaimed Omega, I went to visit her on behalf of the Council..."
Khalisah was impressed despite herself as Tevos continued listing dates and places, sketching an outline of her relationship with Aria. She couldn't help but wonder how they kept this a secret for so long. It seemed completely implausible that the story hadn't leaked until now. Surely Tevos's assistant and Aria's bodyguards had seen evidence of their relationship over past three years, but none of them had gone to the press.
"And now we've been bonded for over a month," Tevos finished. "I probably should have introduced her to my mother before now, but there never seemed to be time... No, that's not true. I was avoiding it."
"Three years is a long time to keep someone like Aria a secret from your family, not to mention the rest of the galaxy."
"Three years is actually a remarkably short courtship when both partners are asari, but seeing so much death puts things in perspective. There is no way of knowing how much time we have left." After a moment's pause, Tevos stood up from the table. "Do you have everything you need, Ms. al-Jilani?" For some reason, being addressed by her last name felt more natural and friendly than Tevos's slightly intimidating use of her first name earlier. Khalisah decided to take it as a positive sign.
"I got more than I hoped for. I never thought I'd be writing an article about how the asari Councilor and the Pirate Queen of Omega went from friends with benefits to bondmates. Either way, I have a feeling the number of hits will be astronomical."
Once again, Tevos offered her hand for Khalisah to shake, and was pleasantly surprised when the reporter touched their palms together instead. Although it made sense, since Khalisah had an asari bondmate and a young asari daughter, she was still unused to exchanging such a gesture with humans. "I hope so. By the way, I will probably be holding a press conference in the next day or two. I'll make sure you receive an invitation."
"Looking forward to it." Khalisah began to step out into the hall, but hesitated in the doorway. "So, about earlier..."
"I'll thank you not to mention that in your article." Tevos rested one hand on her hip. "Besides, 'Councilor Embraces Eternity In The Privacy Of Her Own Quarters' isn't exactly a scandalous headline. But you might as well get some use out of those annoying beach holos, perhaps next to an image of me disembarking the ship this morning. Sometimes speculation can be far more entertaining than the truth."
Khalisah knew better than to inquire further about the truth, but she suspected it was every bit as tawdry and scandalous as everyone imagined. "All right. You can probably expect something tonight, tomorrow at the earliest. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go write down everything you just said before I forget. Your assistant was very adamant that I leave my Omnitool with her."
"Neota is extraordinarily capable in addition to being trustworthy. I should probably give her another raise, now that I think about it. By the way, she can arrange transportation for you if you don't feel like joining the other photographers outside the front gates of the Estate. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."
The words were clearly a dismissal, but Khalisah couldn't resist watching Tevos's retreating form as she headed back into her suite. She took a deep breath that was thankfully covered by the whoosh of the automatic doors. After leaning against the wall for a moment, Khalisah hurried off to find Neota and retrieve her Omni-tool. Once she jotted down a few notes and found accommodations for the evening, she had every intention of calling her bondmate. Mel was usually more than happy to provide her with phone sex during her assignments as long as she returned the favor, and the orgasms, when she got home.
