Pairing: Aria/Tevos, Liara T'Soni/FemShep

Warning: strap-on use, blowjobs, humiliation/dirty talk, spanking, one anal sex scene at the end (but it's fluffy).

AN: Well, it's been almost two years since I wrote MMIP, and after finishing 'The Only Thing', I've realized it just doesn't fit the universe I created for Aria and Tevos anymore. In hindsight, there was also one sex scene that needed a clearer moment of connection and consent before it started. However, I still love this story, and it's special enough to deserve a rewrite! So, please enjoy the new and improved Match Made In Purgatory. I edited for spelling errors, dialogue tags, etc., added a few paragraphs of content here and there to make references to TOT, and changed the tone of a few parts. Also, if you haven't ordered the Dark Horizons e-book yet, go ahead and pick it up by clicking the links in my profile! Save some of your cash, though, because my other book (and first solo novel), The Second Sister, is coming out April 1st.

. . .

Match Made In Purgatory

. . .

Chapter One:

Aria knew that the invitation was coming before she got it. The news had hit the extranet ten standard hours ago, but her informants had managed to warn her in advance. She suspected that somewhere far away, Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani was creaming her panties. Not sure whether to be amused or annoyed by the drama – Aria had an intense dislike for drama that she wasn't personally involved in – she opened the envelope with a slender finger and read the card.

DR. LIARA T'SONI

& CDR. JANE SHEPARD

REQUEST THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY

AT THE CELEBRATION OF THEIR UNION

AT 14:00 HRS (G.S.) 4 . 12 . 2188

THE T'SONI ESTATE

ARMALI, THESSIA

RECEPTION TO FOLLOW

What surprised her wasn't the embossed letters, the smooth paper, or the fact that she had been invited. Well, perhaps she was a little surprised that she had made the guest list, but Liara hadn't ordered any agents to kill her in the past month and a half, so they were currently on good terms. Instead, it was the hastily scribbled note on the back that made her do a double-take: 'Feel free to bring a Plus One.'

It was clearly Liara's handwriting. Aria's stomach dropped. Damn Liara. Damn her for knowing everything. And Goddess damn her for trying to force her own biases on poor, unsuspecting wedding guests.

Grumbling under her breath, Aria keyed a familiar number into her Omni-tool. She deliberately ignored Grizz, who had handed her the invitation in the first place, and did not hear the turian's soft sigh of relief when her call went through on the second beep. She pressed her lips into a thin, angry line as her Omnitool projected a full-sized image of Liara T'Soni in front of her couch. To her great disappointment, Liara did not react to her angry expression, and she also did not seem surprised by her call. "Aria. This is... well, not unexpected, to be honest."

Aria frowned, brandishing her invitation. "Care to explain this, Ms. Shadow Broker?"

"Ah. You're calling to RSVP to the wedding, then."

"Don't get cute with me, T'Soni. I want to know about this." She pointed at the 'plus one' message on the back of the card. "I should throw a couple of translators at your head until you learn the meaning of the word 'subtle' in about fifty or sixty languages."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. The 'plus one' offer was extended to other guests as well. You aren't that special."

"Bullshit." Aria's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Liara's image. "You're trying to set me up."

"You hardly need my assistance to find company, Aria. I'll just mark you down as a 'yes' for the wedding. Anything else? I'm still deciding on the menu..."

"Alcohol," she muttered. "Lots of alcohol. But it doesn't matter, because I'm not going. And I'm not bringing anyone, either."

The holo of Liara assumed a steely, unforgiving look. To her credit, Aria didn't twitch, but she couldn't remember the last time someone had actually made her feel a little uncomfortable just by glaring at her. That was usually one of her tricks, and having someone else use it on her for a change was unsettling. "You are coming to my wedding, Aria T'Loak, and you aren't going to complain about it. Or else."

Aria's frown shifted into a lazy smirk. "Oh, that's adorable. You actually think you can blackmail me."

"I'm the Shadow Broker. Blackmail is my business, and you know for a fact that I have ample material. You gave it to me, after all."

Aria knew what Liara was referring to immediately: the vid footage that had started her strange, confusing relationship with Tevos. Sometimes she still regretted making it, even though Tevos had long since forgiven her for her crime. She rolled her eyes, trying her best to look bored. "Really? You think an amateur sex vid will scare me into coming to your wedding?"

"Yes."

"It will probably help my infamous reputation, actually."

"I know."

With a terrifying bolt of clarity, Aria realized what Liara wasn't saying. Liara knew that, under normal circumstances, a leaked sex vid wouldn't bother her. She also knew that this time, it did. And worst of all, she probably knew why.

Aria didn't actually believe that Liara would do anything to hurt Tevos, professionally or personally. She would never release the private footage she had recorded. Her threat was far subtler. Somehow, she had picked up on the change in tone that her relationship with Tevos had undergone, and this was her way of making it clear. Apparently, awkward little Liara was all grown up, and had discovered one of her few, carefully-hidden weaknesses.

It wasn't fair. Aria wasn't normally the type to avoid problems, and the fact that Liara was aware of her private struggle bothered her. "I hate you," she grumbled. The Liara-holo stared at her, waiting expectantly, actually having the gall to tap her foot. "I'll come." She forced that last part out through gritted teeth. The agents Liara currently had stationed on Omega were going to pay for this.

"Good." Liara simply nodded and turned away, ending the connection while Aria seethed.

Slowly, Aria lowered her Omnitool in her lap. Then, she leapt up from her divan and folded her hands behind her back, staring out over the smoky floor of Afterlife. "Grizz?" She did not even bother turning around to make sure that her faithful bodyguard was listening. "Give the kill orders for all of the Shadow Broker agents we've been gathering intel on. All of them. Now."

. . .

"No no no no no... don't stop – don't stop..." Normally, hearing that cracked, pleading, desperate note in Tevos's voice was enough to convince Aria to do just about anything. This time, it was ineffective. The constant beep from the nightstand was a bigger distraction. She stilled the motion of her hips, shuddering a little as left the tight, clinging heat of Tevos's azure and turned toward the nightstand. Tevos gave her an incredulous, slightly hurt look. "Aria, I can't believe you! I'm going to throw your Omni-tool out of the airlock, I swear..."

"Oh, stop complaining," Aria muttered, trying to ignore the way her body was shaking. "So you have to wait two minutes for your fifth orgasm. Not the most horrible fate in the world."

She watched from the corner of her eye as Tevos slipped two fingers between her legs to take the place of her cock, probably to comfort the jarring sensation of emptiness. Tevos gave her a disapproving glare, and she had the decency to feel a little guilty. "You're terrible. I don't understand why I put up with you."

Aria didn't respond. Instead, she silently promised to make it up to Tevos once she finished her call and touched the flashing screen of the Omnitool with her clean hand. "Yes? – What? They left? What do you mean they left? I think what you mean is that you're taking one of my ships to catch that transport! Yes, now!" In a fit of rage, she threw her Omni-tool against the wall, too angry to be grateful for the expensive, protective outer coating. "The next time I see that little pureblood, she's getting a warp right in her arrogant fucking face!"

Tevos rolled her eyes at the derogatory term. "Stop swearing and back here," she said, patting the empty space beside her on the mattress. "You look ridiculous stomping around with that thing attached anyway."

Aria ignored her and continued pacing, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable way the cock shifted between her legs. "She pulled her agents! She knew I was angry at her, so she – ugh! And the worst part is, if she left anyone behind that I missed and I don't kill them, she'll know for sure that their cover is good."

"Stop throwing a tantrum and come back to bed, Aria. I'm only here for another two days."

A year and a half had passed since the official start of their "arrangement", and the rules weren't very complicated. Tevos never asked who or what Aria did while she wasn't there, and Aria didn't tell. There were no long, serious discussions about commitment. They didn't even know what to call each other or their relationship. But Aria did make an effort to give Tevos her undivided attention when they were together, and she treated her with a little more care and reverence than most of her other casual sex partners.

Whose numbers had seemed to dwindle lately, now that she thought about it…

But that wasn't because of Tevos. Definitely not. It was just a bother to go out seeking new sexual adventures when she had a warm, willing body ready to accommodate her whenever she wanted.

She sighed and turned back to Tevos, who was watching her with dark, unreadable eyes. The ache along her shaft suddenly returned, and she regretted answering her Omnitool before she had finished. Still, now that the mood was ruined, she knew that there was a very good chance Tevos might not want to continue. "Are you sure you want to have sex with me when I'm this pissed?" she asked, walking back toward the bed at a slower, calmer pace. "It probably won't be gentle."

"What kind of question is that? I'm not going to turn down more sex. Make up your mind and either put that back in me, or take it off before I start laughing at it."

Aria let out an aggravated sigh, feeling some of her anger shift to less-destructive annoyance. "I'll never understand your problem with dicks, Thea. You like it just fine when it's inside of you." All of Tevos's previous partners had been asari, which explained part of her hesitance, but Aria had to concede that Tevos had been enthusiastic when it came to accommodating her admittedly more exotic needs.

"I like it because it's attached to someone I'm attracted to. When I look at it too long while we're not having sex, I stop associating it with you and start thinking about how ridiculous it looks..."

"They look even more ridiculous in person," Aria said casually, noticing the flinch that Tevos tried gallantly to hide. She was almost too perfect sometimes. It was kind of annoying. And a bit of an unintentional guilt trip. Aria knew Tevos didn't like being reminded of her other sexual partners, past and sort-of present, but never said a word of complaint or tried to renegotiate the terms of their friends-with-benefits arrangement. Still, there were times when Aria wondered if Tevos would make those sorts of demands, given the chance...

Putting the uncomfortable moment aside, Aria glanced briefly at the Omni-tool that she had thrown against the wall. She decided that retrieving it wasn't worth the effort, especially when there was a beautiful, naked asari waiting for her in bed and she was still wearing her cock.

"All right. Flip over. All fours. You've waited long enough." Aria let the order hang between them, waiting for Tevos's response. Usually when she was in charge, which was a large percentage of the time, it went one of two ways. Sometimes Tevos liked being difficult, needling her with sarcasm and deliberately disobeying her orders. Other times, she threw herself wholeheartedly into the submissive role, letting Aria pose her, use her, and occasionally even debase her - all at her own request. It all ended the same, though, with Tevos lying beneath her or bent over something and screaming out her pleasure.

Aria was only a little surprised when Tevos immediately obeyed her, but it was undeniably arousing. She loved it when Tevos fought her, made her struggle and work to be the dominant one, but it was satisfying to see her roll over and spread her legs once in a while... or, in this case, offer herself up on her hands and knees. She perched casually on the edge of the mattress, dragging two fingers through her lover's exposed wetness. She slipped inside briefly, just long enough to make Tevos whimper, but pulled back as soon as the sound escaped.

"Ah ah. I'll give you that fifth orgasm when I feel like it. And when I do, it's going to be around my cock, not in my hand." Aria half expected Tevos to back away with a sarcastic quip or laughter, but she only shivered, not even pushing her hips back to seek the deeper penetration she had lost. "That was your last chance to laugh or make a smart remark. If you disobey me now, there will be serious consequences."