Epilogue:

The brilliant flash of light came while Tevos was listening over a static-filled comm link.

"-red all across the sky…"

"They've stopped firing! They've-"

"...Reapers are inactive! Repeat, the Reapers are inactive!"

Although she could only make out the edges of the words pouring through the speakers, the happy shouts were enough to tell her what had happened. The cheers were so loud that they made the sound distort into a crackling roar.

Without waiting for the two commandos assigned to protect her, Tevos rushed to the upper level of the bunker where she had taken shelter, pushing past a surprised looking medical officer on the stairway. Her guards hurried after her, nearly running into her from behind as she stopped short at the nearest window.

The sky was a sea of red. Pulsing crimson light filled the horizon, surging toward them in a great wave. All of the figures outside were frozen in shock, staring up with dumbfounded expressions. Once they realized what was happening, they let out cries of joy. Several dropped their weapons and embraced. Others fell to their knees and wept. Even more continued watching the red light as it burst above them in a brilliant flash, spreading out to every corner of the sky and, Tevos would find out later, every corner of the galaxy.

"Goddess," she murmured, bracing herself against the windowsill to support her shaking body. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn't care enough to brush them aside. "She did it. Shepard actually did it…"

"Councilor!" Tevos looked up to see Neota running toward her, a smile spread across her face. "The Ascension is trying to hail you. The Reapers have shut down! They've-"

Tevos grabbed the side of Neota's arm, dragging her closer to the window and pointing up into the sky. "Look," she urged. The red wash of color above them was dotted with bursts of flame. Somehow, she knew that the distant explosions were Reaper ships and not their own. It was the first time since Saren's attack on the Citadel over three years ago that she had ever thought fire was beautiful.

When she finally tore her eyes away from the window, the room was in chaos. Everyone was laughing, sobbing, even throwing things into the air. Without thinking twice, Tevos pulled Neota into her arms and gave her a tight hug. When she felt streaks of wetness against her neck, she realized that Neota was crying, too. For a fleeting moment, she wished Aria was there to embrace her as well, but she was too overjoyed to let that thought linger for long.

The next several hours were a happy blur. More reports came in from all corners of the galaxy. First Palaven, then Tuchanka, and even Rannoch: on every single planet, the Reapers were falling to pieces in the sky. The tide of red had destroyed them. Even the sobering news that the Mass Relays would need to be repaired did little to dampen everyone's spirits. They were alive, and the war had been won.

It wasn't until Tevos was back aboard the Destiny Ascension, standing with Lidanya in the comm room and listening to the news flood in, that she finally heard the report she had been waiting for. As soon as Lidanya accepted the newest flashing connection, a familiar voice filled the room. "Athame's tits, you're not gonna believe what happened!"

Tevos's eyes flew open in surprise. Even without a solid vid connection, there was no doubt who was speaking to her. "Matriarch Aethyta? Is that you?"

"You bet your ass it's me! Who is this? Lidanya, did that big tin can of yours actually survive?"

"Yes, it did," Lidanya said, sounding more than a little indignant. "And to answer your question, you were just talking to Councilor Tevos, so you might want to watch your language."

"No shit? Well, let her tell everyone else, then. The Reapers are scrapmetal! My girls and I were hunkered down behind a temple in Serrice, trying to hold off a wave of those mutated asari. A red flash covered everything, and they just shut down. Never thought I'd be happy to see anything that color after the Reapers showed up. Damn good timing, because we were almost out of ammo, and our biotics were flagging. I've spent the last two hours trying to get our communications up and running again."

At first, Tevos could not force a response past the lump in her throat. She had to take several breaths and swallow to ease the tightness there before she could speak. "There are still survivors on Thessia?" She knew it was a ridiculous question, especially after the report Aethyta had just given, but she could scarcely believe it. When she had advised Asari High Command to send the bulk of their fleet to Earth, she thought she had all but guaranteed Thessia's destruction.

To her relief, her question did not seem to annoy Aethyta. "Not many of us, but we're here. We've already got crews pulling people out of the rubble and setting up medical tents."

For the second time that day, Tevos let tears run over her face without wiping them away. She blinked them away, smiling until her cheeks ached. "Thank you, Aethyta…"

"Bah, thank me when you bring the fleet back. By the way, have you heard anything about my kid? Shepard?"

Aethyta was not completely successful at disguising the worry in her voice, and Tevos felt a stab of empathy. She still had not heard from Aria or the band of mercs she had left with. "I'm sorry, but no one's found either of them yet. I'll send a transmission as soon as we know more."

"I'm taking that as a good sign," Aethyta said over the comm. "That human my girl runs around with never seems to stay dead for long."

Tevos let her smile spread again even though she knew Aethyta couldn't see it. "She doesn't, does she? May the Goddess watch over you, Aethyta. Take care of Thessia for us until we can come home."

"Well, you don't have to be all sappy about it. Don't worry about us, we can handle ourselves. Aethyta, out."

Lidanya ended the transmission and gave Tevos a wry look. "Some things never change, do they?"

Tevos shook her head. "If the Reapers couldn't convince Aethyta to improve her manners, nothing ever will."

Before Lidanya could respond, the doors behind them hissed open. Tevos turned at the sound, and her heart throbbed hard against the front wall of her chest as she saw a familiar finger leaning against the metal frame. "Ah, so this is where you've been hiding," Aria drawled. She had abandoned her usual trademark jacket for light black body armor, and she was still wearing her pistol at her hip. A mixture of dirt and blood was smeared along one side of her face, but otherwise, she looked unharmed.

Lidanya gave her a flirtatious smile, assuming the words were directed at her. "Aria T'Loak… nice to see all your important parts are still attached."

"It shouldn't be a surprise." She returned the smile, but Tevos noticed that Aria's eyes only lingered on Lidanya for a few moments before shifting over to her. Tevos let her look her fill. Any lingering feelings of jealousy or resentment she felt toward Lidanya were gone. Somehow, they didn't seem important anymore. "Councilor," Aria continued, "I passed that cute little assistant of yours on the way over. I think she was looking for you in your room."

Tevos caught the hint and headed for the door, only pausing long enough to murmur a brief, polite "excuse me" to Lidanya on her way out. Even though she knew it was a little risky, she couldn't resist brushing her body against Aria's as she passed by, and she swore she felt Aria's hips press into hers.

Instead of waiting for Aria to follow her, she took the elevator up to the next floor and returned to her temporary quarters. Just as she suspected, Neota was nowhere to be found. She smiled and began stripping out of her clothes, kicking off her shoes and unzipping the back of her dress. Soon, they were resting in a heap on the floor, and she draped herself across the bed, enjoying the feel of the sheets on her naked flesh.

There was a knock on the door before she even finished posing herself. A few moments later, Aria entered without bothering to wait for an invitation. The heat of her gaze made Tevos's face burn, but she tried not to look too eager as the doors closed. "That was quicker than I expected," she said, watching Aria kneel to unhook the clasps on her boots. "I thought Lidanya might keep you a little while."

Aria switched over to the other foot. "I stayed long enough to make it clear that she was a good fuck, but I had other plans tonight." Her second boot came off with a thump, and she went to work on the buckles around her thighs. "The rest is none of her business."

"Would you care to elaborate on those other plans?"

Tevos barely suppressed a shiver as Aria stood to her full height. With a quick motion of her hand, her breastplate fell away, and her gloves only lasted a few seconds longer. Aria's broad grin was a strange contrast to her unmistakably predatory movements as she strode toward the bed. "Well, I figure we've already gotten the end-of-the-world sex out of the way. Now, it's time for thank-the-goddess-we're-alive sex."

"Did you have anything specific in mind?" Tevos asked as the mattress dipped beneath Aria's weight.

Aria answered with a kiss instead of words, claiming her lips and cutting off her breath as she fell back against the pillows. Instinctively, Tevos brought her hands up to Aria's shoulders, digging her nails into the firm flesh there and pulling her closer. She kissed back as hard as she could, stroking her tongue along Aria's as it teased her lips apart and pushed forward. A soft growl vibrated between them she sank her teeth into the stripe that split Aria's lower lip, but Tevos couldn't be sure which one of them had made the sound.

Tevos pressed one of her thighs up between Aria's, and her breath hitched when she felt warmth slide over her skin. She pulled back from the kiss just in time to see Aria's eyes flutter shut at the unexpected pressure. Seizing her chance, she used her position to flip Aria over onto her back, pinning her down with the full weight of her body. It wasn't often that she was able to take the Queen of Omega by surprise, but when she did, it was always a very satisfying experience.

A look of shock crossed Aria's face, but she didn't resist as Tevos began trailing kisses along her chest, only pausing long enough to tug at the tip of her breast and circle it with her tongue. "I guess I wasn't the only one with a plan," she teased. "You want my azure that badly, huh?"

Tevos rolled her eyes and placed a sharp bite beside the dip of Aria's navel, but when she looked back up along the sleek line of her stomach, she could not hide her smile. "I stand by what I said the first time you took me in my office. You would be perfect if you'd just stop talking."

"Funny. I could say the same thing about you right now."

Refusing to be goaded any further, Tevos draped one of Aria's knees over her shoulder and used both hands to spread her thighs apart. She ran her tongue over her lips as she stared between Aria's legs, admiring the slick purple ridge of her clit and the shimmering folds just below.

"Well? I'm not just giving you something pretty to look at, you know…"

Tevos did not allow herself to be hurried. Despite her bravado, Aria clearly needed her, and she wanted to savor this moment. The Reapers were gone, Thessia would rebuild, and she was about to join with the woman she loved, even if Aria didn't quite love her back in the same way. It was more than she could have hoped for.

At last, she dipped her head and pulled the tip of Aria's clit between her lips. She circled her tongue over the stiff point, drawing it as far into her mouth as she could and grazing over the shaft with the very edges of her teeth. "Fuck!" Aria cried above her, and when Tevos felt strong hands grip the back of her crest, she decided to allow her one small victory. She had everything else she wanted.

Aria's hips began rocking against her mouth, searching for even more pressure and heat, but when Tevos saw her stomach muscles tense and begin to shiver, she released the swollen ridge between her lips with a soft pop. She hadn't survived a war only to let Aria come in less than a minute. Before the hands clutching at her head could pull her back, she dragged her tongue down to Aria's entrance and pushed inside. She was greeted with a burst of sweetness, and she took as much as she could into her mouth.

"Goddess, more of that," Aria panted, squeezing the back of her neck and grazing over the dips there with her nails. Tevos hummed and tried to force her tongue even deeper, letting Aria know the encouragement was more than welcome. She craved every touch, every taste, every moment with Aria that she could get. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that even though their arrangement wasn't perfect, she wouldn't be able to give it up. It brought her too much happiness.

Tevos spent as long as she could between Aria's thighs, drawing out every kind of sound imaginable. Sighs, growls, moans, and even a few gritted curses filtered down toward her, but she remained focused on her goal. She drank in every pulse of wetness, teased out every sharp spasm until Aria's inner muscles trembled on the edge of orgasm. Whether she had meant to or not, Aria had already given her so much. She wanted to give something of her own back.

When Aria's hips were practically levitating off of the bed, she finally kissed her way back up to the sensitive point of Aria's clit, drawing it between her lips and teasing it to throbbing hardness with firm strokes of her tongue. One shared heartbeat later, Aria was buried deep within her mind. This was the connection she craved, the closeness that had drawn her out of despair. As much as she appreciated the physical release Aria provided for her, it was what she had seen within their melds that had made her fall in love.

Before Aria could pick up on her secret thoughts, she latched onto the pleasure Aria was experiencing and redirected their shared attention to it instead. Desire ravaged her body, making all of her nerve endings sing with Aria's need. Her muscles trembled, her heart throbbed, and every time her tongue circled Aria's clit, her own hips bucked in response. Without even thinking, she shoved a hand between her legs, sliding two fingers inside of herself and grinding against the heel of her palm.

The extra pressure was enough to send Aria flying over the edge. Her low groans became a shout, and Tevos thought she heard something that sounded like her name before Aria's thighs clamped around her head. Another gush of heat poured over her chin, and the tight ridge of Aria's clit twitched in the seal of her lips. Her inner muscles shivered in time with Aria's, pulling tight around her fingers in a series of fluttering pulses. It still wasn't enough, and she drew her other hand back from Aria's thigh, sliding inside of her with one smooth thrust.

For a few breaths, the entire universe was hot, clinging muscle and a spill of silken warmth along both of her palms. She thought their shared contractions might shake her apart. But then their release faded to aftershocks, and Tevos finally felt the harsh grip on the back of her head begin to loosen. She looked up, and Aria's expression nearly brought another wave of tears to her eyes. It was one of the softest looks she had ever seen on her brooding lover's face. "Damn. I'm glad the Reapers didn't kill me. Missing out on that tongue of yours would have been a tragedy."

Tevos rested her cheek against Aria's sticky thigh and made a noise of exasperation. "I'm glad I was able to provide you with some incentive to come back."

"Keep giving me incentive like that, and you won't be able to get rid of me," Aria sighed, letting her head loll back onto the pillows.

Tevos smiled and placed one last kiss at the juncture of her thighs. "That's what I'm hoping."

The End

. . .

AN: I hope this was a satisfying ending! Be sure to tell me what you thought. It was fun exploring how and why Tevos's feelings developed while poor Aria was oblivious/still in denial. xD; I think it helps put Tevos's behavior from MMIP in more context.

In other news, I'm hoping to publish the start of a new story featuring Neota next week, and paperback copies of Dark Horizons should be available in about 2 weeks. =D I think they're beautiful, but just as a warning, they'll be kinda pricey. If you want to go cheap, the e-book is available here:

www dot amazon dot com/Dark-Horizons-ebook/dp/B00IP1EQIS/