Chapter Thirteen:

As beautiful as it was, something so intense couldn't last forever. After several more hard spasms from both of them, they collapsed onto the mattress, sticky and spent. Nothing remained but the constant, wordless, purely emotive expression of love through the meld. Neither of them made any move to break the connection, even after their words returned. Suddenly, Aria realized that Tevos was crying. Her own cheeks were also wet, although she convinced herself that they had only leaked because of the union, or maybe really good sex.

"Liar," Tevos laughed, reading Aria's mind and smiling like a fool even as more tears spilled from her eyes.

"Damn it, stop that. You've got me doing it too, and I don't cry."

"You didn't cry with me when I was sucking you off earlier. It's not the meld."

"Fuck you," Aria mumbled, stubbornly wiping the tears away and ignoring them the same way she ignored Tevos's logic. She didn't, however, ignore Tevos this time, and gave her a soft kiss on the nose.

"Didn't we just do that?" Tevos trailed her hands up and down Aria's bare back, exploring the warm expanse of soft skin.

Aria bent her head ever so slightly, pressing her lips to the points of Tevos's purple-flushed cheeks and each of her eyelids. "No... We just did that thing I always said was horrible."

"Is making love with me really so horrible, Aria?" Tevos whispered, stroking the back of Aria's crest and massaging her neckfolds.

"I never said I was right. After hundreds of years, I'm allowed to be wrong about one fucking thing." Their bodies satisfied and their souls mostly at peace, Aria reluctantly pulled out of Tevos with a few lingering twitches and aftershocks and rolled onto her side, panting slightly and smirking. "Look, I know I thought it to you already, but I have something I need to say, and if I don't do it now, I might fuck it up again. I care about you, and stuff."

Tevos's forehead wrinkled as she gave Aria a fake reproachful look. "And stuff?"

"Shut up. I love you, okay?"

"We're completely wrong for each other, you know," Tevos said lightly, even as she felt her heart swell at Aria's confession.

"Terrible," Aria agreed.

"Completely mismatched."

"And it would be fucking stupid for us to try anything like a relationship–"

"Because we're such different people, and–"

"Thea, we're finishing each other's sentences. We're already screwed." Both of them burst out laughing.

"I don't know, Aria. Maybe if you talk less and stop being insufferable..."

"And maybe if you pull the stick out of your prissy ass and let me fuck it instead..."

"We can make this work. Goddess, we're doing it again, aren't we? This is bad. We might as well put down the deposits for those bracelets now."

Aria's face faltered, but only for a moment. "Hey, one step at a time, okay? For now, just know that... I love you. And that I promise to – damn it, what did Liara say? – to be there the next morning instead of running away. I might not always literally be there, because we both have our lives, but I'll be there in spirit, thinking about you, and working for some kind of future with us in it. Together."

"That's more than I ever imagined you would offer me." Tevos's face shone with her bright smile, and she threw a leg over Aria's hip, scooting closer to share warmth since they had been too lazy to pull the covers down. "I love you too. But–"

Aria felt a twinge of uncertainty and guilt through the remnants of the meld, and she reached up to cup Tevos's cheek. "This is the talk, isn't it? The one you thought would piss me off or scare me away."

"It is," Tevos said with a sigh. "I'm not sure how an open relationship would work, really... I guess just the same way we've already been carrying on."

"Wait, you want an open relationship?" Aria blurted out, sounding a little upset instead of excited.

"No, I don't. But I thought you wanted one. And if it's the only way to keep you..."

Aria shook her head. "Don't compromise yourself like that, especially for me. Besides, the thought of you being with someone else makes me..."

"Irrationally jealous?" Tevos said wryly, remembering the way Aria's hand had cupped the small of her back in full view of Sha'ira.

"Yeah, that." Aria sighed. "Since we're being honest with each other, you're the only sex partner I've had lately. Everyone else just kind of fell off the map."

"Maybe we can reach some sort of compromise," Tevos said. "I might need some time to get used to the idea, but a threesome on your birthday wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility. I understand how suddenly going from several lovers to just one for the foreseeable future might seem stifling."

Aria snorted. "You politicians and your fucking compromises. Decade birthdays or annual birthdays?" Since they lived for so long, many asari moved to celebrating every decade or quarter-century once they hit the hundred-year mark.

"Somehow, I knew you would ask that. Maybe if you're good, we can have them even more frequently. We'll have to wait and see, but I'll give the idea some consideration. I would definitely be uncomfortable with a male of any species, so the third would have to be another asari."

"That doesn't surprise me," Aria drawled, remembering Tevos's very large collection of asari bondage porn.

"Let me finish... or maybe a female human if you wanted something more exotic."

'Or both. And a couple would probably be less threatening than a single friend...' Aria thought, glad that the meld had faded and Tevos couldn't read her mind anymore. Their fledgling relationship definitely wasn't ready for something like that.

"I'm okay with pushing your limits a little, but I don't want to completely ignore them. Let's table the threesome discussion for a few months. How about we start by inviting a guest," – or guests – "just to watch us instead. That's something I know you'd be interested in trying."

Tevos's green eyes darkened for a moment at the idea, and Aria knew she had hit her mark. "Deal," she said, more than a little relieved that the conversation had wandered back into territory she was more comfortable with. "But not for a little while. I just want to enjoy... this. Us. Okay?"

"Okay." Aria paused, and then suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Since we're officially a couple now…"

"We've probably been a couple since the Reapers invaded, you know," Tevos interrupted. "We just never admitted it. I've been in love with you at least that long."

Aria's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Wait, don't try and distract me! Anyway, since we've actually admitted that we're a couple now, does that mean I can finally fuck your ass?"

Tevos gave Aria an exasperated, loving smile and shook her head. "Not yet, but someday. I'm still waiting on that bracelet."

Aria did not seem too put out by her refusal. "Hey, the answer was 'no' before. I'll take 'not yet'."

Before Tevos could respond, several loud, thumping sounds from beneath the floor made both of them sit up in bed and stare at each other with wide eyes.

"What was that?"

"Not sure. Do you think –"

"Put me down you deranged lunatic! No, Jack! Jack, no! I said put me down! Oh no, you didn't really just... You don't want to know how much I paid for that dress..." Several more muffled thuds followed. "Oh God, don't stop – I mean... stop! No, you're going to break – Oh Christ, not again... That's going to leave a mark... Wait, that doesn't give you permission to – Jack! Don't you dare..."

Aria burst out laughing, while Tevos just looked confused. "Maybe we should have tried a room further down the hall," she suggested, lying back down against the pillows while Tevos remained sitting. When the shouting changed to moaning, Aria grinned. "Looks like Ms. Lawson has lost her fight for now."

"That was Miranda Lawson?" Tevos had never met the woman in person until today, but she had signed her pardon papers personally just before the end of the Reaper war. "I hope they have a safe word like we do, because Miranda just said 'no', 'don't', and 'stop' at least a dozen times."

"Oh, she's consenting. I think she mostly just wanted to preserve the furniture..."

"Preserve the furniture?" A confused crease appeared in the middle of Tevos's forehead, and Aria reached over to smooth it away with her thumb.

"I'll explain later. How about we share a shower in the en suite?" Her thumb moved down to Tevos's lip, flicking the white stripe that bisected it, and the councilor gave the tip of her wandering finger a teasing nip. "Hey, you be good. As I was saying, we don't have anywhere to be, so it won't matter if we get messy again or take too long."

"There's a difference between pressing someone against the wall and throwing them into it, Jack! You insane, psychotic... And you broke the mirror! Again..."

"The water might help drown out some of the noise," Tevos suggested, getting out of bed and collecting their clothes to toss down the automatic laundry chute.

"I think it's hilarious. Probably means most of the wedding guests have left, though. Wait, don't toss my tie in there... I need it!"

. . .

"When I said I needed the tie, this wasn't what I had in mind," Aria said, raising her voice slightly so that Tevos could hear her over the hiss of the shower. "You've completely ruined it now... I hope you're satisfied. Sadist." Tevos's smirk told her that she was completely satisfied with what she had done. She continued washing Aria's body with sudsy hands, spending extra time on all of the ticklish places and enjoying the way her lover squirmed.

"Stop pretending you don't enjoy it. We both know better."

"My arms hurt."

"I don't care." If Aria's arms had actually been bothering her, it would have been easy for her to remove the wet, ruined tie from her wrists, blast the silver bar she was bound to out of the wall with her biotics, or, for a less dramatic option, use her safe word. "You know, that's probably what this bar is for, actually... There's no other reason for it to be here."

Aria would have shrugged if her arms hadn't been upstretched. "Liara's a kinky bitch. How much you wanna bet the master bath has a whole bunch of these at different heights?"

"I'll keep my credits, thank you all the same," Tevos said. She latched on to the soapy skin just above Aria's left breast and sucking there until she had left a dark purple bruise. Just before she let go, she tweaked Aria's extended nipple with her fingertips, laughing at the way her lover's hips jerked forward in response.

"And with my gift, they can probably set themselves up with an entire dungeon..."

Tevos groaned. "Oh Goddess... dare I ask what you got them?"

"Well, the fifty percent off item code I included in the gift basket for the St. Andrew's cross was supposed to be a joke..."

"St. Andrew's cross?" Tevos asked, frowning in confusion and wiping water from her brow so that it wouldn't trickle down into her eyes. She had a vague idea of what a human 'saint' was, but didn't see how they could possibly relate to BDSM equipment.

Without thinking, Aria tried to move her hands into an 'X' shape, but met obvious resistance. She pouted for a moment before explaining, "The human name for a Nos Astra Doublebar."

"Oh!" And then a much softer, "Oh..." as Tevos finally understood. "Well, since we don't have a Nos Astra Doublebar, you'll just have to stay tied up the way you are." She smirked, raking her nails up along Aria's inner thigh, enjoying the not-at-all-subtle twitches she caused.

"Come on, sweetheart. If you untie me like a good girl, maybe I'll let you ride me once we get back in bed. After I fuck you senseless in the shower, obviously."

"No thanks. I'm busy right now." Tevos grinned and poured some more gel into her hands, rubbing them together and working up a thick white lather. "Besides, I haven't washed you everywhere yet." She started at Aria's shoulders, which were bunched up beside her neck because of her position, briefly massaging the tense muscles as best she could while her hands were still slick with soap. As she worked, she whispered beside Aria's crest in a low voice. "You put up a good act, Aria, but I know you want this. I can feel your body thrumming, wondering where I'm going to touch next..."

Aria started squirming as slick fingertips ran up and down the undersides of her bound arms. "Fuck," she blurted out, closing her eyes and grinding her teeth together. Tevos wasn't touching her anywhere particularly sensitive yet, but her entire body seemed alive with sensation. But it was Tevos's voice that really did her in. Something about the way she annunciated... it was like her lips caressed every word that passed through them.

"I adore your arms, you know. I'm not sure if I've ever told you. Strong. Confident when they hold me, wrap me up... pin me down... thrust inside of me..." Her thumbs pressed into Aria's palms, massaging them briefly and checking the binding she had made with the ruined blue tie. It was a shame to waste such an attractive garment, but she would buy Aria a new one eventually. Maybe several. Tevos had a feeling that none of Aria's ties would last for very long.

"Then untie me, and I'll do all those things," Aria said hastily, her head lolling forward.

Tevos kissed the top of her crest and laughed. "No. Let me have my fun. Now, about the rest of your body..." Aria chewed on her lip as Tevos's hands left her for a moment, and actually bit down harshly when they began squeezing her breasts. "I love these, too. Love how sensitive they are. Especially here," she murmured, rolling both of Aria's nipples between her slippery fingertips. Aria groaned. The lack of friction was maddening.

Just as she started getting used to having Tevos's hands on her breasts, they moved lower, swirling white film across her stomach and painting lines from hipbone to hipbone. "And your hips. I definitely appreciate them when you fuck me." She pressed a quick kiss to the ball of Aria's shoulder before reaching around and sliding her hands lower, not caring when her knuckles pressed into the shower wall. "Of course, your ass does most of the hard work," she said, firmly massaging both cheeks at the same time. "It also looks fantastic in your leather pants. And even better out of them."

"Goddess, Thea... stop being such a fucking cocktease and get me off already!"

Tevos clicked her tongue, backing away so that the lines of their bodies no longer touched. "You aren't wearing your cock, and you need to learn some patience."

Aria snorted at that and rolled her eyes. "Please, Aria! Join with me, use me, fuck me harder! Spank me, let me suck you off, anything! I need to come!" she said in a breathless, high-pitched voice. It was a fairly realistic impression. "That's what you sound like," she added in her own voice. "So don't fucking tell me to be patient."

Tevos laughed. For all of Aria's complaining, she knew she had the edge this time. "You don't have a choice right now," she said, giving Aria's ass a firm pinch that made her yelp in surprise. "That was for being an ass. Literally." She planted a soft, lingering kiss on Aria's lips for good measure. "That was... just because."

Somehow, Tevos's gentle gesture of affection broke Aria when orders couldn't. With a sigh, she surrendered herself, letting her muscles soften and lowering her head slightly. "Go ahead. Play as much as you want."

With a smile so big that it made her facial tattoos stretch, Tevos began a very thorough exploration of Aria's body. She already knew every inch of it, of course, but the rediscovery was still exquisite. Tevos spread her fingers across Aria's upper chest, feeling her heartbeat and toying with her breasts again for a little while before sliding her hands up and down the curve of her waist. She even knelt briefly to wash Aria's legs, rubbing the soles of her feet and tickling behind her knees.

Soon, every inch of Aria had been caressed, washed, or kissed in some way except for the throbbing space between her legs. "Not that I'm complaining," Aria said, struggling to keep her breathing steady as Tevos got back to her feet and began tracing patterns over her inner thighs, "but you might have missed a spot."

"Oh, did I?" Tevos licked her lips, more for the visual than anything since they were still wet from the hot water raining down on both of them. "Where?" she asked, pressing her body flush against Aria's, enjoying the glide of their soap-slicked skin.

Since Aria's hands were still strung up above her head, she started to grind against the convenient knee that Tevos had slid between her legs. "You're smart. Figure it out."

Tevos decided that she was tired of Aria's attitude, and only knew of one way to shut her up. After rinsing her fingers under the spray to make sure that all of the soap was gone, she reached between Aria's legs and began rubbing slightly below her clit. Frustratingly close, but not enough.

"Here?" she mumbled against Aria's neck, nibbling the proud line of her jaw.

"Keep trying."

"Here?"

This time, her approach was purposefully too high, and Aria huffed in frustration. After swearing under her breath, she tried to adjust the angle of her hips, but Tevos wouldn't allow it. "You will be paying for this later. Your ass is going to be so sore you won't be able to sit at all tomorrow."

Tevos''s fingers began circling the sensitive bud that she had been deliberately avoiding, twirling around and around, but just... not... quite...

"Please," Aria said, breaking down and letting her body slump against its bindings.

"You know," Tevos said, kissing the corner of Aria's mouth, "it's awfully nice to hear that word from you for a change instead of saying it myself. I think you deserve a reward." This time, she hit the right spot and made Aria gasp beside her head. Her finger flew over the slick tip she had been toying with as she started the meld, reaching out and linking their minds.

Tevos moaned as she felt Aria's desire slam into her like a physical force, and she was suddenly much more sympathetic to her lover's plight. She also felt the ache in Aria's shoulders and neck, privately resolving to end this encounter soon so that she wouldn't have to remain tied up for much longer.

Aria was too needy to offer any demands or snarky comments, not even a 'serve's you right'. Instead, she stared into Tevos's swirling black eyes and spread her legs as best she could, asking for a quicker, firmer touch with her body language.

'You're lucky I can't resist you, love.' Aria stiffened for a moment, surprised by what Tevos had called her, but she didn't pull back from the meld. Once the initial shock passed, she responded positively, weaving love and happiness into the thread that connected them. Giddy with Aria's feelings, Tevos gathered up some of the biotic energy her body was releasing and concentrated it in the pad of her thumb, holding it directly against the hard, smooth ridge of Aria's clit. She felt Aria's mind explode with bright colors, her hips bucking and her arms and legs shuddering at the intense vibrations. 'You know, it's kind of a power trip to have the Queen of Omega under my thumb. Literally.'

'You – have no... idea...' Aria thought brokenly. 'Watching the asari councilor beg to suck me off? That's a power trip – Oh Goddess, just a little... a little harder... Mmm. And that's not even counting the times I've tied you up, spanked you, called you a whore...'

'So, an average weekend for us.'

'Pretty much. Ah, fuck, I'm – I'm gonna...' Aria's thighs squeezed shut around Tevos's hand, trapping it in place as she writhed against her lover's rapidly vibrating thumb. They came together, their twin gasps echoing against the shower walls.

Once the pulses had faded to pleasurable aftershocks, Tevos removed her hand and began trying to undo the wet, knotted tie binding Aria's wrists to the metal bar. After only a few futile tugs, she grew impatient enough to use her biotics, tearing through the fabric easily and letting the ruined garment fall to the bottom of the tub with a wet smack. She watched as Aria rotated her wrists and rolled her shoulders, testing the stiff muscles, and found herself copying the motion even though she hadn't been the one tied to the bar.

"I'm going to miss that tie," Aria said, sounding only a little disappointed.

"Miss it? You only wore it once."

"Yeah, but it helped me seduce you."

Tevos smirked and stepped out of the shower, sighing as she felt the meld fade. She grabbed the nearest towel and tucked it beneath her arm, pulling down a second one for Aria. "I think you would have been able to seduce me without it, but I won't lie. The tie helped. Maybe there is something to be said for human fashion."

"I think I saw a picture of Liara's mother in a suit once," Aria said, turning off the water and catching the towel Tevos launched at her head in a cloud of blue wisps. She draped it over her shoulders and shook water droplets from both legs before climbing out of the shower.

"Matriarch Benezia? I always worried about making a fool of myself whenever I talked to her. I was very young when I started my career in politics, and she was a prominent figure at the time."

"A prominent figure, huh?" Aria gave Tevos a pointed leer. "Did you have a bit of a crush?"

"Maybe," Tevos said shyly.

"Did you..?" Aria asked, wiggling her hand suggestively.

"Once or twice. And I didn't have anyone to help me at the end, so it was more painful than pleasurable. That little infatuation did help me get over my first serious girlfriend, though. She dumped me when my mother started complaining that a pureblood daughter would ruin my image. Of course, she really meant that it would ruin her image."

Even without the meld, Aria could feel the presence of an old wound there, but she ignored it for the moment. "And now everyone in the galaxy owes their lives to a pureblood. Your dad was a turian, right?"

"Right. What species was your father, by the way? I can't tell by looking."

"Well, I was conceived during a huge interspecies orgy, so I don't really know," she said after a long pause, eyes shifting back and forth.

Tevos finished drying herself off with her towel and tossed it carelessly over her shoulder, taking a few steps closer to Aria and caressing her bare hips. "You're the prettiest liar I've ever known. Come on," she said, pressing her lips to Aria's neck, "tell me. You know I'll try and find out the next time we join if you don't."

Aria heaved an exasperated, overly dramatic sigh. "My father was a hanar."

Just as she had feared, Tevos burst out laughing and took a step back, leaning against the bathroom counter. "A hanar? So..."

"So..."

"So, what's your soul name? Swears Profusely During Multiple Orgasms?"

"I don't have a soul name," Aria said flatly. "Asari reproduction doesn't work like that."

"Enjoys the Texture of Leather in Various Intimate Circumstances?"

Aria deliberately dropped her towel in the middle of the floor and stomped back into the bedroom. "Oh, come on! That was a good one! What about Employs Violence to Solve Even Minor Annoyances?"

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to employ violence against you."