A/N: A highly anticipated installment. Indulgent and gratuitous. If you just want plot, read the first and last sections.

[ Chapter 38: A Debt Repaid ]

They were drinking again, out on the hotel room's balcony enclosed by white privacy blinds extending from the outer walls and shielding them from curious eyes and ears of neighbors occupying rooms surrounding theirs in a utilitarian but fashionable grid. There was a chill on the air, remedied by Tevos's good sense in bringing a blanket with her which they shared in garishly romantic gesture, although Aria wasn't even remotely bothered by it. She was pleased; very pleased indeed as they faced the ocean sprawling before them, framed by the coastline to the west yet only terminable in the east by the horizon itself, where darker clouds amassed to shed rainfall. It was a tremendous sight to behold. A vast expanse of mysterious might, brooding in the distance. It was her and Aria against the sea, protean and vast, inscrutable and mysterious in a way that was comforting through a promise of simple but unrestricted possibility.

There was a small party nearby. The origin of the laughter and music they heard, although scattered somewhat by the breeze, could estimably be traced to a location somewhere below and to the left of their room.

Not a single word was verbally exchanged during their hour on the balcony. Their reticence was not maintained out of preference, but out of necessity; simply for fear of being overheard by anyone who might recognize their voices or conversational matter. But it was little inconvenience to them. They could fumble their hands together beneath the blanket whenever one contained a thought worthy of voice, and it remained a perpetual treat to visit Aria's mind. Tevos felt as though it would be impossible for Aria's conscience to ever overstay its welcome, whereas her physical self strangely could, and did, on occasion.

So quickly had they absconded from the conference and fled to Tevos's hotel room. Once the councilor had checked and settled in she had turned her efforts onto smuggling Aria past her personal security, an art they had perfected together. And following that success, the evening was theirs. Tevos had retreated into the bathroom with the intention of escaping the strict tailoring of her dress and pull on a provided bathrobe in substitute, after permitting Aria to select something for them to drink from the impressively-stocked refrigerator.

She emerged prematurely when she heard Aria cursing, and saw her stepping back to avoid an overflow of pale carbonated foam spilling from the new bottle of sparkling wine she had just opened. Before too much had dribbled out onto the short hotel room carpeting Aria had snatched up a cloth napkin and attempted to mitigate the mess she was creating, wiping the sides and bottom of the bottle before briefly dabbing at the floor. After placing the wine onto the dresser she gazed into the rectangular mirror mounted above it to scan her precious attire for any stains, but was relieved to see that her appearance remained immaculate. However, when she glimpsed Tevos's reflection alongside hers, Aria averted her eyes and expressed silent contempt at the fact that she had witnessed the accident.

Begrudgingly, Aria had filled the two glasses set next to the bottle, lamenting the inevitable flatness of the drink, and passed one to Tevos. Her eyes had briefly flitted down her form upon her approach, highly interested in her state of undress and how splendidly undone she appeared with the inner belt of material once wrapped around her stomach hanging unfastened and her bare shoulder protruding from the wide offset collar—a state utterly at war with the professional poise she labored to maintain.

At the time Tevos had still been recovering from the awe of watching everything with Asari High Command that day transpire immensely in their favor. It was nearly miraculous, the way in which it seemed as though every star in the galaxy had aligned to save her and Aria; Medora's flexibility and loyalty to the concept of the greater good, the palatable contents of Shiala's report to Benezia, Persa's willingness to rectify her mistakes to the best of her ability, Nerava having been working in concert with her... It was almost enough to make her quiver with paranoia all over again. Tevos, along with Aria, had become so accustomed to the treachery of others that they'd forgotten what it felt like to be in the company of loyal allies committed to a shared ideal. The trauma of deception had calloused them, made them cynical, made Tevos feel deeply guilty for earlier allowing herself to collapse on her soft hotel bed with tears of relief welling in the corners of her eyes. It was a beautiful prospect, to think that she would have to sacrifice neither her career nor Aria to stay afloat in the turbulent sea that had become their lives.

She had said nothing about it to Aria, finding no benefit in needlessly distressing her, but before her discreet arrival Tevos had received an update from Medora. The matriarch had submitted the vial of poison to a government toxicologist for analysis, whose report had not only confirmed its deadly properties, but also additional facts that Estulius had brazenly lied about to Tevos's face. The report stated that ingestion would have brought about death quickly, but also very, very painfully. An image of Aria gasping, writhing, and perishing on the floor in agony had seared itself into Tevos's conscience upon reading the awful description, and she had banished the terrible thought from her mind as quickly as she was able to.

Tevos sipped from her glass when Aria had. "It's... good," she hesitantly said.

"It's flat," Aria encouraged her to also judge it truthfully. She set down her glass and pushed it away from herself, averse to anything falling below her dizzyingly high standards.

"Have a new one, then," advised Tevos, indicating the fridge with a nod in its direction.

"Well, well. Looks like the councilor's hotel bill will reflect quite the party."

"I'm not worried about it. I'm sure they're accustomed to clientele who open multiple bottles just to sample them. They wouldn't think twice when assuming I'm no different."

Aria took advantage of Tevos's agreeable mood and made her way over to the fridge where she carefully perused the selection of pricey labels. Meanwhile, Tevos continued to drink sparingly from her glass, feeling that the sparkling wine wasn't anywhere near unpleasant enough to discard. Aria found a red wine that could not suffer the same tragic loss of carbonation. While Aria busied herself with her second attempt at obtaining a decent drink, Tevos had finished shedding her dress and donned the bathrobe before rejoining her.

Out on the balcony where they were situated at present, Aria had been flicking through settings on a small media player with discreet speaker fixtures resting on the table also containing their drinks. A holographic prompt was projected from the box, directing the user to select a category from a vast database of media. Aria ignored the colorful advertisement banners skating across the screen and searched the listings by decade—entering a year several centuries back—and navigated additional filters that narrowed her search to a specific genre she once listened to as a maiden. For a minor fee she purchased an hour's worth of play and selected the first music file out of a list of countless others. Nostalgia flooded them at the sound of sweet synthesized melodies from a lifetime ago, preserved in a format so crisp and textured they sounded as if first recorded just the previous day. The old pop intrepidly filled the air, dated terribly by its style but refreshing nonetheless, as if having crystallized in time a pristine memory of beachside cities and their modish music culture, which was carried along by the silky, alluring vocals of the asari singer.

Satisfied with the playlist, Aria retrieved her glass from the table and relaxed in the cool light, but Tevos monitored her closely, very much amused, before reaching out to grasp Aria's free hand. She pressed upon Aria the presence of a second nervous system, climbing up the length of her arm, seeking her spine as the most direct channel into her thoughts. Aria welcomed her in, allowing their minds to mix and blend like two rivers colliding at a single estuary, where they yet again discovered the truest form of companionship.

Aria felt relaxed and stressless, perturbed by nothing in the universe. Her infectious mood soothed Tevos—nearly made her drowsy as she sampled the contentment alongside the dose of alcohol in their shared veins.

She could also sense a veneer of lust on Aria's mind. She had been thinking of sex, thrilled by both Tevos's earlier teasing and her own imagination. A sympathetic warmth delicately throbbed between Tevos's thighs when some of Aria's thoughts spilled into her notice, but she kept composed while communicating with her.

Your music taste, said Tevos with humor, is extremely eccentric.

I don't confine myself, came Aria's simple explanation. After turning down the volume a tad she drew closer to Tevos, still eager to touch and be touched if the hand she briefly placed on her leg was a reliable indication.

I remember when this first came out, reminisced Tevos. I was in the middle of an exam week, but a handful of friends convinced me to abandon our study group session to attend a house party. I was very resistant to their attempts and could not be cajoled into neglecting my education. They were forced to compromise with me.

Don't tell me you brought your books to the party...

Tevos smiled at Aria's keen insight. I brought my books to the party. And I heard this song there for the first time. I was practicing my mathematics, working out as many problems as I could before the next morning. I wasn't by any means disadvantaged at the subject, but I certainly wouldn't say I was gifted at it. There was no room for any coasting on my part. Were you decent at mathematics?

It was easy enough, Aria replied. But I rarely cared much for schooling. In fact when I first heard this song I was skipping my classes at a diner with the... undesirables I used to associate myself with. I'll give you an idea of who we were back then: pocket knives, fashion conformity, and hidden booze flasks. Aria peered into her glass of deep velvety red wine, swirled it lightly, and took a drink. For a few more pensive seconds she deliberated with herself about whether she should say more, and surprised Tevos when she did. I actually had a poster of this singer in my bedroom for a while. Do you remember her, what she looked like? I'm almost certain she was my sexual awakening.

Tevos gently and audibly laughed. I find that terribly difficult to wrap my mind around.

If you had seen her you wouldn't have thought that, Aria retorted, undeterred and unashamed of her younger self's foibles. I might have fantasized about my first time being with her. You see, I was ambitious even back then. I like to think that I didn't miss my aspirations by a large amount.

Really? Do tell, now I'm intrigued.

I've said enough to you. Anything more comes at a price.

A price? Is the act of buying you overpriced hotel wines not fungible here?

Oh, you know me, Aria said. She took one last drink from her wine glass before leaving it on the table at her side. Credits delight me only to a finite extent. Beyond them, I prefer being paid in more exotic ways. It makes things exciting.

Exotic ways? Tevos echoed. So, what would serve as an example of that?

Come closer, she told her. I'll tell you.

Tevos felt her heart squirming in her chest as she made sense of Aria's words and the alluring intent with which she had delivered them. She thought about what she'd promised her, what was mutually roasting in Aria's conscience at this moment, beckoning her closer as if it would prove her honesty. Compelled and finally in an ideal position to answer, Tevos leaned in to kiss her, fondly and meaningfully, while resting a hand on her chest.

I think you know how to pay me, Aria said after coming away from another ghost of a kiss. Their meld began to fade as their hands wandered over and into their robes, making their connection unstable. I think you've known for a long time. She hummed when Tevos pressed her lips against the side of her throat, pulling back with the taste of her perfume on her tongue. And I'm not willing to tell you anything new until you address your other outstanding fees first.

Tevos oriented herself toward Aria and slid her hands forward along her waist, looping her arms around her, and gently kissed her lips again. Aria enjoyed the unexpected ensemble of attention and Tevos enjoyed providing it, simply pleased to see Aria pleased as her lips pressed against her chin, her cheek, and collar, conveying the affection of a lover. Fingers played over her spine as she held her closely.

Hands lifted to stroke fingertips along Tevos's forearms, concurring with the way she boldly sought to possess her—in Aria's mind undoubtedly a prelude teasing at what she had ached to receive from her over a span of time that had not passed with ease, but with seething anticipation.

But there was no need to rush, no time budget to respect, no rapidly accumulating loss of sleeping hours, no sense of urgency to undermine their pleasure. Tevos savored the warmth building between them, the taste of wine bringing her back to the night they spent drinking together in her home; a pleasant and emotional memory which Tevos would always regard with near sanctity. When her hands gripped at the folds of Aria's robe, she merely parted the garb just beneath the belt, letting Tevos's hands delve past its enclosing barrier and run her fingertips along Aria's thighs where she painted sensual promises on her skin.

Aria had waited long enough, Tevos thought as she lingered at her waistband, offering pressure where she craved it. She listened obsessively to the slight strain in Aria's breathing, coaxed out by mind paid to the sensitive region between her legs, tender and responsive to her stroking through the thin layer of clothes that separated them. Her lips found Aria's again. They were soft and enticing from her prior affections, and parted to accept Tevos's advance as if it were a gift.

The cold sensation meeting her brow didn't bother Tevos the first time. She was enraptured by Aria and could not be bothered to divert her curiosity elsewhere. But when it persisted like ice against her cheek, one wet drop after another, finally she ended the deep kiss they presently shared to look outward and realize the weather hadn't approved of their union. The gray had closed in and the winds were invigorated, bearing upon them periodic sprays of rain whose intensity increased each second they spent tolerating them.

Despite her great appreciation for natural weather Tevos quickly retrieved her hands from Aria's robe and stood, but not without bringing her gorgeous companion with her. She tugged Aria by the wrists, urging her to follow her back into the room. Even when warmed and bothered Aria remained operable and competent, demonstrated in her initiative of collecting their drinks before passing through the glass doors right behind Tevos, just as a curtain of wind and rain dappled their backs.

:::

They found themselves only lightly wetted by pursuing gusts of rain the moment before the balcony door had been shut, and their narrow escape permitted them to immediately retreat to bed rather than be inconvenienced with a search for dry clothes.

Bedsheets were pulled over chilled bodies and cold flesh met as legs entangled, sharing and propagating warmth. Tevos draped her arms around Aria's waist and fitted her chin in the curve of her neck and shoulder, listening to the sheets of rain tapping wildly against the glass while resting in contentment. The door's curtains had not been completely drawn, admitting through a wide column of blue-gray light that glazed their skin, and the sight of water streaming down the glass like winding, clear serpents; so natural yet so foreign a phenomenon to Tevos, a scarce event in her life made doubly sacred by Aria's company.

She considered melding with her again, wanting to show Aria how the rain looked—like joyful tears or a fountain sprung from the heavens, cleansing and forgiving the world, and them, of dishonesty. Aria faced the opposing wall, only exposed to gently writhing shadows cast by light bent after passing through water. But Tevos's question was never posed, lost in favor of allowing them both to succumb to a period of peaceful dozing. Neither spoke and neither thought anything beyond basic comprehension and emotion, half-aware of their serene environment, and filled to the brim with simple pleasure.

Overcome by her ease, Tevos kissed the side of Aria's neck as her hands began wandering anew. Aria gladly permitted her body to be explored, welcoming it like due worship. Hushed exhalations left her lips as Tevos smoothed her hands over her chest, gently squeezing the flesh they cupped, and brushing her thumbs over delicate peaks. She captured her throat in another kiss. One hand teased just below a waistband, and soon the robe draped about Aria's shoulders was pushed down and away, baring her to cool air. It brought rigidity to her limbs, instinctually bracing against the cold.

The councilor could scarcely believe how comfortable and uncomfortable she simultaneously felt with Aria; constantly amassing the necessary confidence to enact intimate traditions, but flustering in equal proportion once the sight of excessive skin greeted her. Her gaze was inevitably drawn to the lovely breasts she had fondled without sight of, and the shallow outline of lean muscle decorating her stomach. Soon Tevos's own robe was stumbling down her shoulders as well, gathering at her waist in rolling white waves as they endeavored to unite themselves. Finally a sigh found Tevos's lips when she leaned over Aria, pressing her chest to hers while she held her by her shoulders and kissed her lips, relieved to at last have Aria, whom she loved and missed, clutched against her body after what had felt like weeks instead of several days.

When Tevos pulled away to admire her, stroking her hands down her naked skin to the robe's thin white belt, she cherished how the steely blue-gray light edged her delicious curves. Aria reminded her of some stunning magazine spread, deliberately and intelligently composed, the severe entirety of her soul stamped on glossy pages.

Beneath her, Aria took advantage of the pause to warmly muse aloud, "When was the last time you made me come, just by touching me...?" The dreamy manner in which she peered up at Tevos, still flushed from being so dotingly embraced and caressed, tugged relentlessly at her heart.

Tevos lightly squeezed her knees around Aria's hips as she straddled her and ran her hands back up along her front. "A while," she breathlessly replied.

"It was our first time," Aria supplied the true answer, sounding just as accusatory as she did relieved to finally be in a situation where that transgression could be rectified.

Tevos dismounted Aria to instead position herself between her legs, where she applied pressure with the palm and fingers of her right hand and felt Aria encouraging her by shifting her legs around her waist, attempting to sit herself up just enough to press herself onto the much-desired touch. But Tevos stopped her with a hand applied to the center of her chest, holding her down with an assertiveness that implicitly bade Aria to relax. Aria complied, simply thrilled to see Tevos taking charge, and likewise did nothing to prevent her when the councilor reached over to the nightstand to retrieve something she had removed from her suitcase earlier and discreetly hid behind the lamp fixture: a pale blue silk ribbon, easily disguised as having no consequential purpose.

The very instant Tevos captured both of Aria's wrists and pulled them in front of her chest, Aria understood her intent and made a low sound in torturous anticipation, appearing as if flooded by reactionary, luscious ideas of what Tevos had planned for her: physical favors that necessitated Aria being restrained so she could not excitedly claw at Tevos when her pleasure began to peak. Although Aria could easily escape the bind on a whim, Tevos trusted that she would respect its presence and appreciate the vow of future satisfaction it professed, and if she didn't, there were other deterrents at her disposal... but they mostly comprised of plain denial. And it was unlikely that Aria would prefer them over the minor compromise imposed by the ribbon.

With a knot tied about Aria's wrists—tight enough to stay relatively secure throughout their inevitable tousling, but loose enough to not cause her discomfort—Tevos held them above her head and kissed her chest, taking the time to admire the breathtaking contrast between the softness of her breasts against her lips and the firm surface of her stomach beneath the fingertips of her free hand. She lowered herself further, wishing to learn everything about her body, how Aria could feel so taut and strong in one area and tenderly pliant in the next. She arrived at the top of her hips, kissing the humble ridges of her pelvis before moving on to her inner thighs. By now Aria had begun subtly lifting her hips, worked up well beyond what she generally permitted from foreplay.

When Tevos pressed her lips between her legs, kissing her through the barrier of her last remaining undergarment, she heard Aria curse in a voice that seemed scarcely her own in its glaring lack of self-discipline. She kissed her again, smoothing her hands up from her thighs, to her hips, and to her waist; luxuriously touching Aria before she migrated lower and hooked her thumbs into her underwear to pull them away. This time, when she kissed her, Aria released a shaky breath and allowed Tevos to take one of her legs and raise it to her shoulder.

Tevos was barely able to comprehend just how soft, willing, and responsive Aria was to her ministrations. How her breathing faltered. How she issued a small groan when she gently pressed her tongue into her, convincing Aria to shallowly roll her hips forward, immediately wanting more from her. Tevos returned her hands to her waist, holding Aria affectionately close as she fulfilled her request to keep her tongue inside her a while longer, teasing her with its warm velvet and only occasionally retreating to kiss and tend to her elsewhere. She pressed her thumbs hard into Aria's pelvis, delighting her with the small throb of pain enhancing by contrast the pleasure blossoming between thighs that willingly fell open for her.

When Tevos brought herself away she heard Aria give an impatient exhale, left ready and yearning for additional care, which Tevos provided once she slipped one finger into her, followed by a second, and felt Aria delicately flutter around them, savoring their intrusion. Tevos withdrew and pressed forward again, each successive stroke made easier and deeper as the power coiled up in Aria's hips gradually yielded to her, persuaded into accepting her digits to the knuckles with the delicacy of pressure applied by her palm's heel as the reward of every thrust. Aria's breaths hastened, small enthused sounds left her throat, and a crease of pleasure marred her brow. But when she began rocking herself onto her hand to restlessly receive her, Tevos made the devastating decision to stop.

A new curse left Aria's lips. "W-what the hell are you stopping for?" she demanded, her voice unsteady from the sudden approach and subsequent loss of relief.

Tevos leaned over Aria and kissed her, leaving her own taste on her tongue before drawing away to state simply, "It was foreplay. Wait here. I'll only be a minute."

Without further explanation she left Aria waiting on the bed, bewildered, offended, and throbbing unbearably with pent-up desire. Foreplay, Aria thought with aggressive derision. Foreplay that almost had her there, had her expecting something she'd been due for weeks now.

She could've resolved things on her own while Tevos was gone. Her hands, though bound, still retained a decent amount of dexterity, but it was not a viable solution. Tevos owed her. Aria would not be the one to perform the recompense meant for her, even if that meant denying herself out of pure spite. So she shut her eyes, willing her burning frustration to recede while Tevos wasted her time with last-minute arrangements.

When Tevos emerged from the adjoining bathroom and returned to the bed, she ignored Aria's glare and settled between her legs again, but not without first kissing the side of her frown.

"Think you're being cute, making me wait even longer?" Aria asked her. The heat of her flesh, and the rate of her heartbeat whenever Tevos felt it thudding beneath her hands, betrayed her show of composure.

She thought it compelling, the way Aria gave what had been meant as a warning, but left her lips with a discernible waver. Tevos ran one hand down the center of Aria's torso and the other clutched her robe shut as she watched her, studying the sultry coincidence of contempt and arousal within Aria's body. Slowly her hand moved, assuaging Aria's frustration and distracting her with more pleasurable thoughts. When Tevos thought her mood adequately repaired and amenable to intimacy again, she finally unclenched the hand keeping her robe closed and parted it as discreetly as she could, but Aria was searching for her unclothed appearance and devoured every stretch of skin she could perceive, all the way down past her abdomen where her gaze fixated.

Aria laughed the instant she saw it, not caring in the slightest how her reaction made Tevos still her hands and close her eyes in exasperation. Whatever remained of Aria's frustration had utterly dissolved upon seeing how modest and covered Tevos attempted to remain despite the obvious protrusion, driving her to say from her supine position beneath her, "Trying to make biotic impotence a bit more romantic...?" She started laughing again.

Keeping her eyes shut, Tevos issued a chagrined sigh. "Please don't use that word..."

"Impotence?" Aria cannily smiled. "Honestly, Tevos... if you had shared your shopping list with me I might've dug up a discount code for you." Her laughter, even as it dwindled, still permeated her tone.

Unwilling to tolerate Aria's typical insolence, Tevos reached up to gently grasp the lower half of her face, with her palm tucked beneath her chin and her thumb and fingers pressing into Aria's cheeks. If Aria's hands were free she would've immediately swatted her away, but now her sole option was turning her head in an attempt to evade Tevos. She didn't release Aria, not until she'd made her point. "Do you know why I went through the trouble? The arrangement, the discretion, your tritely predictable reaction?"

Tevos awaited an answer, but Aria only beheld her with astute blue eyes. She was unable to resist the temptation of lowering her gaze to the juncture of Tevos's thighs, curious for another glimpse past the hem of the bathrobe. The councilor quickly recaptured her attention by squeezing her cheeks to irritate her. "Well, Aria?"

Aria refused to reply with impeded speech, and only spoke once Tevos removed her hand from her face. "Because you're impo—"

"Because," Tevos cut her off, "I'm doing this for you. This is what you wanted, is it not?"

She shrugged as much as she presently could. "Close enough, I suppose," she said.

"Close enough? Well, maybe it'd be best to postpone yet again. I know you don't prefer to settle." Tevos pulled the robe shut over her front and began tying it.

Aria raised her joined fists, meaning to halt her, but her motion stalled when she remembered her limited range of action. Seeing Tevos lift her chin in deriding question—highly amused by her reconsideration—Aria stated without obvious concern, "It isn't what I expected. But I told you, I'm flexible. I don't mind a surprise here and there."

Pleased by Aria's admission, Tevos began loosening the belt of her robe again. The sight of the robe as it slid down to pool about Tevos's waist rekindled the flame inside Aria's core, if the gauzy, lustful light in her eyes were any indication of her interest. Tevos felt Aria rubbing her knees against the sides of her hips, contenting herself by keeping her legs folded around her while the councilor kissed down the exposed column of her throat. She had Aria breathing with noticeable strain before long, her response quickened by the stiffness pressing imposingly against her thigh.

It was easy for Tevos to witness Aria's imagination running wild as she touched her. Insatiably curious and brave to know what lascivious thoughts she entertained, Tevos tenderly asked what Aria was thinking about while her hands descended along enticing curves to secretly decide how she would like to hold her in the future.

"You want to know what I'm thinking about...?" Aria repeated, then gave a small groan when Tevos slipped a pair of slender fingers back into her, slowly stroking against flesh left invitingly sensitive by prior denial. "I'm thinking about..." She sighed now as they moved deftly within her, moderately shifting the position of her legs around Tevos's waist to help her replicate the fit they'd held before she had suddenly abandoned her earlier. Aria hummed into her mouth when Tevos began to kiss her, but managed to say once they parted, "I'm thinking about... how, once you buck up the nerve... how you'll feel inside me." Quietly, roughly, and with no small amount of seductive intent, Aria added, "If you'll feel as good as you look."

Tevos felt as if the temperature of the blood in her cheeks had reached a boiling point. She struggled against the overwhelming surge of embarrassment, determined to not let Aria fluster her and regain too much control even from her arguably disadvantaged position.

She withdrew her fingers, temporarily depriving Aria and leaving her warm and wistful. After seizing her knees and adjusting her long supple legs to fit more comfortably around her waist, Tevos leaned over her again. She provided her hands a home on Aria's waist, precisely where its alluring slope melted into her hips, and very carefully angled herself toward her.

She pressed the tip against her, parting her and merely teasing at penetration but presently denying it in order to accustom herself to wielding an extension of her body she was very much unfamiliar with. For a time she merely rolled her hips forward, letting the length glide between Aria's legs to gather her excessive arousal in preparation, to practice the motions she'd employ once firmly inside her—the thought never failed to make her breath hitch—and to demonstrate what Aria could expect from her soon enough. Gradually she grew more certain in her actions, starting to apply more pressure at each forward movement. By now Aria's labored breaths were imbued with the faintest of sounds, illustrating her terrible want to proceed.

"Don't fucking tease me..." Aria swore, starting to reciprocate the motion of her hips at an angle that suggested taking her in each time Tevos pressed forward. But Tevos postponed her success, first ensuring they were both completely prepared; Tevos in her proficiency, and Aria in her amount of impatience, which reflected how easily Tevos could slide herself into her and properly assert herself, if only she would finally do so.

Her tormenting of Aria eventually came to an end when Tevos succumbed to her inclination of mercy. Affectionately she stroked the sides of Aria's waist, soothing tense muscles as she eased into her, shallowly at first, but was convinced to embolden her advances when Aria knitted her brow and offered her hips forward, letting Tevos know that she need not be overly gentle. She pressed her knee into the councilor's back, communicating her desire for Tevos to have her deeply, but Tevos had nevertheless sought explicit confirmation by asking very softly, "Is it all right...?"

Aria gave a close-lipped moan before breathlessly understating, "Yes... It feels good. Ohh, it's been a while..."

Her words invited Tevos to push more of herself into her, persuading Aria's legs to fall further open as her pelvis neared hers. Though Aria seemed to discernibly fuss, sliding her legs against the sheets as she fought to stay composed while enduring Tevos's unbearably patient style of intimacy, the councilor's profuse fondness for her inspired her to reach out with a meld, offering a way to express her anticipation. When Aria admitted her visiting conscience, Tevos gripped her tightly at the cascade of images, sensations, and urges revealed to her.

Aria wanted Tevos to fill her and treat her roughly, as the vast majority of her powerful mates usually did when she'd goad them into such an irresistible opportunity. She liked it, when those she held in high regard proved their quality throughout all of Aria's clawing, demands, and frequent abuse, surviving the terrible danger she posed while still retaining the ability to bring her a fulfilling end. And here Tevos was, lacking severely in physical constitution, but instead proving her virility through wit and manipulation of the circumstance, so much that Aria actually felt herself somewhat at her mercy as far as sex was concerned. It greatly aroused her, having someone so clever and resourceful poised to satisfy her in a manner she oftentimes didn't experience for years, always for lack of a suitable partner whom she lusted after and respected.

Tevos reflexively sympathized with Aria as she wished that her hands were free so she could carve burning trails into Tevos's back or cathartically twist fistfuls of sheets in her hands to convey the pleasure blooming within her. She was thinking about how generous Tevos had been when selecting from the diverse options available—thick enough to instill an exquisite stretch that made her breathing amorously quaver, humbly ribbed to cater specifically to her pleasure, and placing much-needed pressure on sensitive regions where the much shorter length of her fingers could not reach. Aria told Tevos to touch her, confident that she'd be able to handle all of it once spared some encouragement. Tevos complied only when she had attenuated their meld, just enough to not be distracted by Aria's raging desires, but still in a position to easily gauge her mood. A hand lowered between Aria's legs to help her along.

She withdrew, although incompletely as to not garner Aria's disdain, and upon slowly pressing forward again she was rewarded by a quieted groan escaping Aria's lips, too precious and lovely a sound to not repeat what she'd done to elicit it. Very mindful of her comfort, Tevos paced herself well as Aria relaxed and admitted her deeper, too fixated on the ministrations of the hand between her legs to mind her body's eager compliance. From their shallow meld Tevos could feel Aria squeezing around her, sending small waves of pleasure fluttering up along her spine and driving her hips instinctually forward, always seeking more.

There finally arrived a moment when Tevos reduced her prominent presence in Aria's mind for fear of decaying self-control, having incisively predicted the instant at which the sides of her pelvis touched Aria's thighs, and found the sight of her—on her back with her legs covetously wrapped around her waist, chest rising and falling as her heart pounded beneath her fingertips, with the firm shaft buried nearly to its hilt within her—utterly breathtaking. All of it; the way Aria shut her eyes, tipped her head back as she fretted in the satisfying ache, and permitted her voice to carry a heady moan before she managed to taunt, "Ohh, Councilor..." Although she obviously meant to sabotage Tevos's lasting poise, she had failed to conceal the underlying sincerity of her brief address.

After collecting herself, Tevos quietly gave a teasing rebuttal of her own, "Madam Councilor, tonight."

She nearly made Aria laugh, and she might have, had Tevos not continued to touch her and distract her agonizingly along with the thick extension inside her, its presence just as possessive as she had craved and imagined. A clever quip sufficed for the time being. "Madam Councilor," Aria gave a subdued repetition as if sampling the addition to her normal title, testing how the provocative syllables felt on her tongue. "Listen to you, saying things like that... I think you're flirting with me."

"Considering my position... it might be rude not to," said Tevos. She stroked Aria's outer thigh with her free hand, letting it roam. Her palm and fingers wrapped around her hip and held her reasonably still while she proceeded, tastefully experimenting with different rhythms and applications of force until she'd found a combination that made Aria sigh reliably.

Aria liked it steady and firm, and liked it even more when Tevos periodically smoothed her hands down her chest and stomach, appraising and admiring how her powerful body yielded to her. Soon she laid a hand on Aria's cheek and jaw where she feathered her fingertips over her lips and worked up the nerve to tenderly whisper to her on her own mildly winded voice. She let Aria know that she thought she was lovely, praised her for how well-behaved she had been when confronted by the condition of being bound, and asked her how long she had been waiting for Tevos to provide her this manner of gratification. Aria could hardly reply. She was too enraptured by the sensations enveloping her; graceful hands washing over her, soft bedsheets cradling her back as her hips were driven into them repeatedly, filled by a gratifying swell that for once was not connected to a source of incompetence.

Tevos wanted to deepen their meld to better glimpse how close she was, to distract herself from the fatigue developing in muscles infrequently used, and to assure herself that she was making Aria feel as good as she hoped. But she dismissed the impulse.

Instead of pushing Aria over the edge she was racing toward, Tevos pulled her back, slowing substantially despite Aria insistently pressing forward, still expecting to receive her and send pleasure shuddering through her nerves, yet presently only able to compensate for what Tevos no longer provided. To discourage her Tevos withdrew a bit, her denial eliciting a frustrated groan from Aria as she realized her aim. Shallow, unhurried strokes replaced her former passion as she eased Aria down.

"I knew... I knew you were a fucking tease," Aria lamented her decision to trust Tevos.

Before she could complain any further, Tevos attempted to placate her by cupping her cheek with a hand, stroking her with a thumb, and saying unsteadily, "Aria, darling... I want you to wait just a bit longer." She stilled her hips, leaving herself motionless inside her. Aria was unbearably warm everywhere she touched her, roasting in the flames of her need.

"Calling me darling doesn't make up for this," said Aria. A scowl had returned to her face, which Tevos tried to erase by kissing her. "Stop screwing around and—"

Tevos chose that moment to inquire, "Why were you flirting with Nerava earlier?"

Aria made a guttural sound. "Because... I thought maybe she'd fuck me better than you would. I was probably right."

It wasn't the truth, but merely an opportunity to fight her. Tevos responded calmly, "She's bonded. And expecting."

"And just how do I care about either of those things...?"

"Just tell me why you did it."

"Fuck you, Coun—"

"Madam Councilor?"

The wryest of smiles and breaths of laughter emerged from Aria. It was hard for Tevos to tell whether antagonizing Aria was pissing her off or getting her off, and meanwhile Aria was flailing in the exact same dilemma. So many conflicts were writhing in her mind, but whether to refrain from instantly regaining control over the situation, or to weather through the rude treatment and prove that she could handle anything Tevos imposed, was a particularly pronounced issue. But no matter her ultimate decision, Aria would not lie to herself by pretending that she wasn't absolutely wet for Tevos, the terrible Madam Councilor with the delicate hips and delicate hands that clutched her with the demeanor of someone monumentally more robust, who somehow thought it her prerogative to tell Aria what to do, who frustrated her until her inner thighs glistened and beseeched attention.

Perhaps she was being a bit cruel to her, Tevos thought, in overcompensating for her lack of physical potency. She decided not to push Aria too far, and intentionally retired her question to her.

For a time Tevos let her calm and cool down, spending the lull with her lips against her skin, often returning to her mouth, and didn't much mind how Aria's tied fists pushed into her chest whenever she held them closely together. Eventually the kindness of her touch convinced Aria to kiss her in reciprocation, indulging in both chaste and deep caresses that kept the embers of Aria's arousal glowing healthily. Only when her urgency had considerably receded did Tevos start shallowly rocking her hips into her again, leisurely sating a small portion of her desire.

When she deemed it an appropriate time, Tevos reintroduced the depth she had deprived her of, perceivably contenting Aria once she felt its thickness parting and massaging her again whenever Tevos moved her hips. With her legs wrapped around her, secure in their demand, Tevos reinstated their shallow meld. She listened to what Aria wanted from her and performed it, drawing from the stamina returned to her during their pause to find by Aria's guidance an angle that pulled fragile sounds from her throat, and discovering how much she liked it when Tevos grasped and kneaded her breasts while having her like this. In her mind Aria commanded that she not deviate from anything she was presently doing, save for employing more force, more aggression, qualities she craved to supplement her imminent release, expressing to Tevos how it always brought about a pacifying sense of gratification at having mated with someone strong and worthwhile, someone who could pose an actual challenge to her dominance, someone daring enough to hurt her like she'd hurt them—

Tevos could scarcely handle some of the thoughts swimming through her head, and not just those that made her furiously blush. Many of them posed overwhelming demands that were simply not in her nature to meet. While she could certainly be confident and officiating with her, Tevos found the specific power Aria wanted to lie outside her personal ability.

There was a solution, a workaround, a simulation of such vigor—something Aria may not easily take to—but if it had the potential to deeply satisfy her, as was the ultimate aim, it was worth proposing. It was only unfortunate that she asked her when Aria was starting to breathe hard again, tightening around the length fitted between her legs as her peak steadily approached. When Tevos stopped, a string of acidic profanities filled their shared mental space.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Aria cursed aloud. She strained against her bindings, threatening to rip free of them the instant her residual patience ran dry.

Tevos swiftly relocated her hands from her breasts to her fists, trying to hold her still. Wait, she silently told her through their connection. I need you to do something for me.

Fuck...! Aria emphatically and viciously replied. Inwardly, she was a frustrated mess; her desires inflamed but left agonizingly unfulfilled. Carnal thoughts twisted aimlessly through her head, vividly illustrating how her dancers would've never done this to her, how they would've sweetly tended to her every need and helped their Queen spend herself on their loving hands as many times as she wanted, how she could've been in the company of two passionate admirers instead of being here, tormented to her limits by a damned Citadel politician—

Turn over for me.

The restless noise of Aria's mind went silent for an instant as she processed the request. Excuse me? she thought, far more offended by the audacity of expecting Aria to adhere to propositions when she hadn't even been remotely compensated, than the actual proposition itself. Why? So you can fuck around with me some more? I know when I'm being cheated.

Tevos had anticipated the response. Without explaining in words she merely showed Aria what she intended, painting her example with semblances of sensation and meaning. She shared with her how she adored Aria's beautiful and athletic physique, how her voice roughened and lowered with sex, how she couldn't wait to see her shoulder blades shifting as she gripped at the sheets, how she'd take advantage of the new position to fill her completely and make Aria moan in earnest. Most importantly, she lavished her with promises that she'd bring Aria the end she longed for without any further interruption, so long as Aria made this small adjustment for her.

Aria swallowed stiffly while considering her offer, bleeding a volatile mixture of skepticism and aching desire into Tevos's mind. The councilor continued to caress her with more of the same promise, imploring Aria to comply. Gradually, Aria made her decision. It was extraordinarily rare for her to position herself as such for anyone. She made that quite clear. She also made it clear that she was doing this partly because waiting for satisfaction was exhausting her.

As a token of trustworthiness, Tevos untied the ribbon about her wrists and leaned down to kiss her, feeling Aria's newly-freed hands brushing against the back of her neck and shoulder as they tasted one another. When they parted, Tevos heard a hitch in Aria's breathing when she once again left her empty, gripped her waist, and helped roll her over onto her front. Aria rested the side of her face on the pillow while Tevos propped up her hips on another, then let her hands smooth down the sides of her waist as they had many times before when convincing her to relax. Her touch soon migrated to her lightly-scarred but otherwise flawless back, massaging her tenderly and sensually. She could feel Aria's arousal waxing again, pooling between her legs where new wetness gathered along with what already made her completely inviting. Unable to deny her for long, Tevos pressed at her entrance, beginning to penetrate her, and witnessed Aria's fingers curling around fistfuls of sheets in anticipation for what she hoped was the last round. And too sympathetic to stand it, Tevos receded their meld to only faint whispers of shared experience.

Appreciation permeated Tevos at how ready Aria remained for her. She slightly arched her back while eagerly receiving everything Tevos offered, finding herself able to take in a bit more than she had previously. Aria relished the minor but noticeable additional depth, and when a pair of hands returned to her hips, she moaned into her pillow. Tevos hesitantly asked if she was comfortable, to which Aria replied by giving a rough, urgent yes. Aria was fretting impatiently again, failing to still herself as she rocked her hips, trying to ride the generous attachment.

"Fuck me," Aria nearly hissed in a self-conflicted, desperate command. Tevos could see muscles in her back tensing, and heard very faintly in the back of her mind, and do it right this time.

She was rewarded by a relieved sigh from Aria when she started off slowly, searching for the best angle and most agreeable placement of limbs to maintain until the end. She rubbed her fingers into Aria's pelvis as she held her, appeasing her as her boldness grew, and she was sure to be just as thorough and assertive with Aria as before, using their position to help supplement the sense of possession and authority she exerted solely for Aria's benefit. She seemed successful by how Aria had reached beneath herself to grasp her own breast, and permitted a string of groans and sighs to stumble past her parted lips and into the muffling face of the pillow.

Tevos delved back into her thoughts again, feeling Aria welcome her in just as readily as she allowed her into her body. She was incredibly pent up, albeit luxuriating in a peculiar blend of vanity and physical pleasure. She was dwelling on how desirable she was now, how alluring she must have looked, how anyone in the universe would be viciously jealous of the privilege to propitiate and fulfill her so intimately. And how they would envy her impeccable taste, having selected a partner who filled her with such wild and untempered lust, who had the gall to postpone her satisfaction until every thought besides sex had vacated her mind, leaving her wet and willing to accommodate anything Tevos offered or imposed.

Despite her vocalized protests against being made to wait, Aria acknowledged that she had loved it, loved how skillfully Tevos had handled her, persuaded her, laid her down on her front like few others had ever managed even after tremendous effort on their part. She could hardly wait until the moment Tevos made her come, knowing she would feel the pleasure seeping into her bones. Merely thinking about her inevitable peak brought the first anticipatory contractions to her inner walls, anxiously shivering around the length consistently stroking against a spot deep within her that made her moan.

Her thoughts flattered and aroused Tevos to the point where she couldn't bear leaving Aria's mind this time. Knowing how much she wanted her to, Tevos tried coddling her with affectionate directives of, Easy, easy, easy, slow down... to prolong her swelling bliss, promising again that she'd let her unravel soon. She tightened her grip on Aria's hips as much as she could, conforming to her preference, and listened to Aria saying, "Don't stop... Ohh—Just like that, don't stop..." as the sounds she made climbed in frequency and pitch. And she did not stop this time. Tevos built her up past any hope of calming her down again, tending to Aria to the best of her ability until she pressed her hips back to force Tevos into her deeply, and let a hybrid of a moan and whimper leave her lips, only to be cut short as her release finally uncoiled in her core. The tension in Aria's body seemed to peak and recede altogether within a matter of seconds as Tevos felt her come harder than she had in recent memory, issuing sighs and lower groans while Tevos firmly held her hips forward to keep her at those heights for as long as possible.

When Aria regained her voice she again urged Tevos not to stop, and she complied as soon as she was remotely able to; continuing to apply pressure against the spot Aria liked though the aftershocks of her orgasm, following Aria's mentally-issued demands closely, unrelenting in her attention and grip on her, and determined to take exceptional care of her as she unwound. Aria was consumed by her, bathing in indulgent thoughts while highly agitated by the reality that a politician was sweetly buried inside her, dismantling her steely composure, her cold intellect, her undaunted posture into a flustered disaster of nerves, leaving her shivering and biting her lip just hard enough to silence the soft cries of pleasure yearning to escape her throat. Yet she didn't want her to stop, didn't want to feel the loss of fullness swelling within her, the dual sense of being serviced and taken beyond her jurisdiction.

Her frantic thoughts only helped fuel the moment when she approached the edge again, utterly engulfed by how smoothly the stiff extension glided into her at every persistent thrust, how it still coaxed out pacifying aftershocks frequently enough to send her stumbling over her limit a second time, drawing out another velvety moan from her lips as she squeezed her thighs around those holding hers apart. It was far less intense and lasted shorter than the first, but deemed incredibly worthwhile as they came down; Tevos remaining inside her as Aria savored the remnants of her pleasure, and both catching their breath.

Aria gave a final, subdued sigh when Tevos carefully withdrew, clutching at her pillow and resting there for a moment while basking in the afterglow. Tevos placed her hands on Aria's back, stroking her warm skin devotedly until Aria pushed herself up to a kneel. She could see marks from the folds in the pillowcase pressed onto one side of her face, considerably disheveling Aria's appearance.

"Fucking hell," Aria said, her voice still breathless with sex. She shakily secured her fingers around her underwear, but stopped to briefly touch herself; tenderly slipping a few fingers between her legs to feel how wet and sensitive Tevos had left her. "Ohh... I feel like a maiden again," she sighed, letting Tevos wrap her arms around her waist and kiss the back of her neck. She withdrew her fingers, meaning to pull her underwear over her hips, but as Tevos applied her lips to her shoulder, she flattened her hands against her stomach and let one descend until two of her digits had filled Aria again, making her exhale audibly.

Tevos enjoyed how Aria felt in her arms; terribly warm, strong, and ravishing. She continued to kiss her skin as she slowly worked her fingers into her, not quite meaning to instigate anything new, but to rather hang on to what had just passed them, unwilling to let the moment go. She curled her digits and felt Aria reflexively digging her nails into her knee.

"Can't get enough of me...?" Aria taunted her, though there was a hint of strain in her voice.

"Of course not." Tevos kissed her neck, convincing Aria to part her knees just enough to help her continue lazily thrusting into her, content with simply being inside her a while longer to reassert that Aria was unequivocally hers, at least for the day. She kissed her countless times as her free hand roamed her chest, briefly kneading and squeezing her breasts before splaying along her taut stomach. "Do you know why I made you wait?"

"Because you're a closeted sadist?" breathed Aria. She willfully accepted her unhurried rhythm, humming at how Tevos still remained inside her despite how delicate and tender she was. Aria didn't mind. At this point, she would've let Tevos touch her until it hurt to have anything within her.

A hushed breath of laughter departed Tevos. "It was because I kept tiring out."

Aria laughed in response, although it ended in a small grunt as Tevos delved deeper. "Physically underwhelming and biotically impo—" She stopped when Tevos placed her left hand over her lips, rather playfully silencing her before gently retrieving her fingers from between her thighs and kissing Aria on her cheek.

When custody of her body had suddenly been returned to her, Aria nearly appeared winded in both demeanor and action as she shakily ran a hand over her features and began gathering up her clothes. Tevos saw her turn her attention onto her robe hanging half on and half over the side of the bed, which she promptly donned once she had managed to pull on her underwear; an article that must have cost at least as much as a few blouses Tevos owned, yet treated so expendably by its owner, who roughly clutched and tugged at the fine waistband while clothing herself to basic decency. One leg slid over the edge of the bed, holding her up a bit unsteadily until the second had joined the first. When Aria pulled her arms through the sleeves of the robe Tevos watched the white flow unclosed around her waist and legs, fixating on the peculiar elegance of her stance shining through her plain dishevelment, until the moment she tied it shut.

A dull throb lingered between Tevos's legs as she reflected on reality in a slight daze, just as she had the first time they were together. Stilled by memories of Aria beneath her, moaning like velvet, arching as if she were keenly aware of how breathtakingly sexy she looked and drawing even more pleasure from her own unbridled vanity, Tevos could not be moved from her position—upright on her knees—by any force save for the subtle look of beckoning Aria sent her when she glanced back over her shoulder. Compelled as she often was by Aria, Tevos joined her at the bedside where she looped her arms around her warm waist and kissed her neck.

Aria hummed at the humble wave of pleasure the caress sent washing over her nerves, and quietly remarked, "I like it, when you do that..."

"When I do what?" Tevos asked against her throat, her tone soft and loving. "When I kiss you?" She did so again, tenderly beneath her jaw.

"Mm-hmm... Especially after you've fucked me."

At last, Tevos found herself able to resist the flush of violet trying to paint her face, and fought back with confidence. "Would you like to know what I like...?"

Aria remained still for Tevos when she kissed her lips. "Tell me," she replied with an amorous smile.

She leaned in to deliver her answer, whispering quietly beside Aria's head while one hand admiringly stroked the opposite side of her neck, and the other pressed into her lower back. The indecent words she uttered thrilled Aria divinely.

"I've been waiting to hear you say something like that," Aria purred. "I knew you had it in you, ever since you sent me that message a while back... It almost gave me chills."

Tevos sought the white belt keeping the robe's lapels together and easily slipped her hands past its presented barrier, finding Aria's skin. She ghosted her fingertips along her back and waist as if inspired by Aria's words, eager to reproduce their effect with her touch alone. Partial success was achieved when she noticed Aria subtly biting her lip as her hands rested on Tevos's forearms. Aria was still very much interested. Beside them both, the moody weather continued to beat ceaselessly against the glass door over which the pale curtains hung half-drawn in their earlier haste to reenter the room.

"Come here," Tevos softly impelled her with a pleasant smile. "You're sorely mistaken if you think I'm finished with you..."

Aria did not require further invitation. Though she returned to bed with Tevos, they considerably postponed resumption of intimacy by merely resting a while, spending time at the mercy of their own wandering hands; busy yet never overly ambitious, rather inquiring where the other wished to be touched.

At one point Aria had taken hold of what remained waiting on Tevos's hips, her grip incontrovertible and full of purpose as it often was. Tevos sent her a disarming expression until Aria bothered to explain, but by no innocent means. She conveyed her desires through speech instead of deferring to the vastly more nuanced language of thought. No, she wanted to employ the unpolished abrasion of words, it seemed to Tevos. That same uncouth poetry Tevos scolded her for, paradoxically the most effective measure she retained. Aria wanted nothing more than to see her react—even recoil—on a visceral level.

Tevos lightly ran her fingernails along Aria's back and shifted the position of her legs beneath the sheets, sliding them along the cool fabric and brushing against her companion's. She let Aria kiss and bite her however she pleased between her promises, made delightfully careless and amenable to everything she said to her.

She slowly fretted a bit beneath the attention, rubbing her legs against Aria's with more insistent request for something she couldn't ascertain herself, but knew immediately when Aria provided it. Her quieted voice caressed her as words unfurled on her skin and a hand grasped at her chest. Aria spoke of how she couldn't stop thinking about what they had done just a short while ago, how she still ached and wanted more. She was romantic and vulgar in the same sentence as she clarified what had inspired her intentions for the councilor—a quite interminable list that brought a tinge of violet to Tevos's cheeks. She felt Aria searching her hips, trying to relieve her of the obstacle she held there.

When she had, still Aria kissed her, touched her, and spoke vulgarly, offering to show Tevos precisely how she had made her feel and reminding her of what she'd gleaned while they had melded. Aria promised that it had felt even better than she thought. At that time Aria seized her waist and guided her to lie on her front before sliding her hands along Tevos's arms until they wrapped around her wrists, pinning them to the mattress. The possessive, famished words of lust spilling from her lips painted countless sultry illustrations; the sheer want of being inside her, of feeling her, as Aria reminded her of just why she was so coveted in any bed. She fit a knee between her thighs and applied savory pressure, meanwhile her hands settled acquisitively on Tevos's back, admiring how she lay concurring with her contagious ideas of intimacy. But before long she drew away and dismayed Tevos by pulling the sheets over her bare back and all its intricate white ornamentation. Aria advised her to stay still as the muffled sound of clothing being manipulated reached her notice.

While she waited, a heavy insinuation of just what Aria ached to reciprocate uncontrollably grew within Tevos's conscience. Impatience slowly burgeoned in her core in equal proportion as she faced the balcony doors and the waterfall of rain gliding down its surface. Such cold atmosphere fought to temper the hot anticipation she felt, consumed by all the notions Aria had planted in her conscience. Everything that made her squeeze her thighs together, breathe with increasing tension, and very lightly and cathartically press her hips into the mattress, simulating the treatment Aria would inevitably provide. She slid her hands comfortably beneath the pillow she rested her head upon, her mind fraught with expectations.

She hadn't anticipated that Aria would want to proceed on the course she now set them on. Aria was perfectly capable in her biotics and had little need for the help Tevos had enlisted. She didn't understand why Aria wanted this, but supposed she merely craved variety and what could possibly result in a new shared preference. Regardless, she reserved no qualm about it, and almost sighed in relief when she felt Aria pulling back the sheets and fitting strong hands on her waist, releasing her from her musings and returning her to the quivering present.

"I'm going to be a little rough with you this time," Aria said, her voice quiet and soft despite the nature of her statement. She had spoken to her so clemently, with her tone so absolutely infused with mindful care, that Tevos couldn't isolate the vaguest reason to object. "But you let me know if I'm hurting you."

Tevos merely sighed and relaxed to communicate her understanding, distracted and warmed unbearably by the way she felt a recognizable stiffness between her legs, a bit cold against her inner thighs but capturing her full interest nonetheless. She hoped Aria would not make her wait excessively as Tevos had done to her. It had been a special circumstance, something Aria had retroactively declared as precisely what she had needed, but such was not the case anymore. Tevos wanted very little aside from having Aria inside her as she'd promised, and to feel her steady grip on her body, unyielding and certain.

Placing a hand between her legs, Aria groaned with anticipation before stating, "Mmm, I can't wait to fuck you..."

"And what makes you so confident that I'll let you..?" Tevos lowly asked in response. Even so, she shallowly angled her hips to meet her. While clutching the pillow beneath her head, she gave an uneven sigh of approval when one digit, shortly followed by a second, slipped into her to find how wet she was from their prior tousling, and whether she was ready for her.

"A good hunch," said Aria, exquisitely pleased by the warm silk enveloping her fingers.

Tevos delicately hummed when Aria began working herself deeper with slow, drawn-out thrusts. "Based on what reasoning...?" she breathlessly inquired. Again she improved the placement of her legs, encouraging Aria's deft fingers to fill her to their knuckles. When Aria fulfilled her desire, Tevos unstably inhaled.

"Because you adore me." She curled her fingers, bringing a small gasp to the councilor's lips.

Though her voice terribly wavered, Tevos managed to state, "That's a bit of a hyperbole... isn't it...?"

"Not in the slightest." Aria gave a few conciliatory thrusts to tease her before she withdrew, leaving the councilor immediately anxious to feel her again.

It wasn't like biotics, when Aria held her tightly and reassuringly as she started. Whenever Aria used biotics she had always adjusted accordingly for what Tevos had been able to comfortably accommodate, but the dimensions of the attachment were constant and non-negotiable according to either of their preferences. Unused to an invariable width being eased into her, Tevos couldn't help but whimper while Aria canted her hips forward again. If this was how Aria had felt earlier, Tevos thought, she was substantially impressed by her ability to have kept relatively quiet throughout, retaining enough composure to taunt and joke. But still she wanted her, wanted Aria to have her in this manner; enduring how cold each bit of additional length felt upon initially entering her, how it faintly hurt her, and how harshly Aria pressed her fingers into her pelvis to reaffirm her dominance and how assertively she'd vowed to bed her.

A quiet sigh left her lips and bled into the pillow as Aria allowed one hand to slip beneath her where she slowly touched her, heightening Tevos's enjoyment of what might've otherwise been overwhelming. She shallowly rocked against her hand, gratified so much by her careful motions that the arresting stretch she felt within her softened to a pleasant ache. Aria's thrusts, thoroughly invited and encouraged, soon grew in vigor as she returned both hands to Tevos's hips and permitted her to keep touching herself if she so desired. But she resisted temptation for now, savoring how deeply Aria reached and how often the weighted urging of her hips would deliciously press against a spot that rarely failed to pull appreciative moans from her throat. She relished the strength of her enthusiasm, the way she gripped her hard and filled her sweetly and brutally.

She couldn't help but whine Aria's name, reach back to brace her palm against the top of her stomach, and curl her fingers against her skin when trying to secure some remnant of leverage to withstand Aria's overpowering control. Beneath her hand she could feel Aria's tensed muscles, rising and falling swiftly along with her breathing, and reflecting the strain in her voice when she asked Tevos if she was hurting her, using the endearment of sweetheart.

Although fiercely biting nails had left crescent-shaped imprints on her thighs, and although the ache edging her pleasure had torn many unbecoming whimpers from her lips, Tevos responded no, as coherently as she could. The very moment she did, Aria seized her wrist, peeled her hand away from her body, and roughly pinned it to the bed before she audibly cursed, told Tevos how sexy she thought she was, and confessed how much she wanted to have her like this very late into the night.

Aria made her feel just as sexy as her compliments described. She had a lovely way of taking her that always made her feel sensual and irresistible, bringing about a complex of confidence entwined with submissive desire. The way Aria held her down so audaciously while driving her hips into her, filling and undoing her exquisitely as if urgent to assert her quality... Invariably, it was all meant to impress her, and Tevos was indeed impressed each time Aria bedded her. It was certainly why she had allowed Aria to be so aggressive with her now; a privilege so rarely earned that she'd nearly forgotten what such unique force felt like, or how it felt to be possessed so completely.

Her quickening thrusts nearly made her seem desperate for something, in how Aria's fervor nearly slipped into inconsistency. Aria's reasons were easy enough to understand. She was compensating for earlier when they'd last been in bed together, when she had been arguably subordinate to Tevos. Now she was putting on display all her best attributes to prove viability as an ideal mate. And so lacking was Tevos in immunity to Aria's terrible charm in the bedroom, that she struggled greatly against swirling, flustered instincts which profoundly wanted to shove Aria, to pierce the flesh of her forearms with her fingernails, to harm her, even curse at her, although she didn't know why. Her best explanation, contrived in the heat of things, was because Aria was faintly hurting her and pleasing her, thus confusing her.

These urges were embarrassingly primitive. If Tevos had been unlucky enough to have been currently melding with Aria, it was extremely likely that Aria would've happily fed the fires of her strange antagonism. As of now she could only infer the cause of her agitation. Perhaps it was the conflicted sense of readily inviting someone like Aria to have her in a manner she permitted to no one else, dueling the immense pride of her office. Aria's subversive boldness perturbed her and aroused her, inflamed both indignity and pleasure within her. It was alike Aria's dilemma. She shared it with her; a disorienting contradiction of self-ascribed power and the gratification of being bedded by someone exerting the illusion of having more. Tevos had the intense urge to fight Aria, just as she had earlier noticed the same feeling in her. Yet she also adored the idea of Aria winning, so much that she'd involuntarily squeeze around her each time she entertained herself with thoughts of Aria's severe, commanding direction.

At last her oceanic volumes of patience depleted and Tevos pushed a hand beneath her own abdomen, guiding it down between her legs where she touched herself far more gently than what might've been substituted by Aria. Shortly after her delicate ministrations had fallen into the pattern Aria had prescribed did Tevos find herself hurtling past the point of no return, but rather than immediately meeting her end Aria insistently carried her higher with every powerful thrust, prolonging and building the blissful climb until Tevos inevitably failed against the steepness of it.

A weak cry left her lips when she came, the sound mostly lost to the surface of her pillow as she was consumed by the raw and arresting treatment Aria subjected her to. She could feel the muscles in Aria's thighs flexing against her skin. She could feel Aria's lithe fingers sliding into the shallow valleys that met between her legs and her thumbs pressing firmly into her backside as she held her down, and she could feel, very favorably, the delightful texture of the attachment stroking her as she fluttered around it, impractically wishing it were possible for Aria to have her deeper and harder despite how thoroughly she was already unraveling her now.

Tevos was inclined to wonder if they had broken their unofficial record of five minutes. It certainly felt that way to her, so long as they did not include the few minutes during which they'd lightly wrestled beneath the sheets as Aria whispered lewd promises against her head. Was it achievement or shortcoming? The answer wasn't obvious to her. Tevos's gratification lingered somewhere between vast appreciation for Aria's skill as a lover, and a nagging lust for more, feeling as though fulfillment had arrived and departed too swiftly to be enjoyed.

When Aria asked her if she wanted it again, Tevos breathlessly uttered her truthful answer of yes. Aria only delayed to retrieve the ribbon, seizing Tevos's wrists to tie them behind her back, though always remaining attentive for the slightest protest, but Tevos was too curious to object. Too curious to know how Aria had felt at her insinuated mercy, forced into patience and denied the privilege of control. Aria started easing herself into her again, bringing a delicate sound to the councilor's lips as she was filled with minimal resistance, still left excessively warm, relaxed, and accommodating from her first orgasm. When Aria offered her the company of a meld, Tevos accepted immediately and found herself subjected to all the licentious inventions of her mind—terrible, wonderful ideas that intensified the blush staining her cheeks as Aria found and settled into a slower rhythm.

This time, Aria prolonged their time together. She was gentler and calmer out of the satisfaction she had obtained earlier when she'd been rough with Tevos, desperate to steal away her authority and reverse the dynamic she had engendered between them. Now that she'd been successful, Aria's impatience had been assuaged. All that she broadcasted to Tevos through their meld consisted of the pleasure they shared, and the reminder that she was hers, that she liked being hers, just as she had reciprocally been possessive of Aria.

It felt more like lovemaking to Tevos. Tender, authoritative, and affectionate all at once; unhurried and considerate in the way she sometimes grasped her bound hands to remind her of their state. Aria used their meld to convey what she perceived. Visions of skin decorated by white, slender shoulders and a neck that curled into each caress Aria gave with her lips, and most prominently, whenever Aria would glimpse what occurred between them each time she offered her hips forward, while profusely complimenting how well Tevos received her.

The slow pace felt torturous, particularly with the vivid memory of how quickly Aria had made her come the first time freshly in mind and always teasing her with its contrast. Now she was given far too much ability to pay ample mind to everything Aria did to her, how she kept her from moving to suggest the quicker rhythm she craved or to prevent her from interfering with the overwhelmingly deliberate angle at which Aria consistently chose to withdraw. She felt as though Aria coaxed more wetness from between her legs each time she did so, leaving her anxiously ready for the moment when Aria firmly thrust forward again to generously fill her. She moaned into her pillow, trying to recall the last time someone else had made her feel this way, or the last time someone had reached so deeply into her, and could not.

Only after she had made her come a second time—an end that felt stumbled upon in its sudden, pacifying arrival—did Aria withdraw from her, free her hands, and guide Tevos onto her side where she lowered her head between her thighs and once again endeavored to outperform. They hadn't yet ceased fretting for an optimal position when Tevos quietly whimpered upon feeling Aria press her tongue into her, parting sensitive flesh that so easily yielded to her intrusion. Aria wrapped her arms and hands around her legs, drawing them helplessly over her shoulders as she claimed her self-issued reward. Tevos trembled beneath her, fumbling for grip to weather the profuse attention while her hips ever so gently rocked against Aria's mouth on their own, offering herself and imploring that Aria afford her more. Upon her request, Aria returned her hands to her hips, holding her steady to mitigate the building need in them, and gave a low hum to convey fondness. It brought an uneasy sigh to Tevos's lips as the vibration of her vocal cords radiated blissfully from her core.

Tevos hadn't realized her own capacity or interest in surviving much more. She had believed herself thoroughly spent before Aria had decided to continue indefinitely. Meanwhile, Aria's experience was patent. She kissed her, reached up to squeeze her breasts, and often slipped back into her to taste her with the unbearably warm and slick presence of her tongue, making Tevos instinctively try to close her thighs around her, but Aria forcefully held her open, groaning roughly with the sole purpose of sending another shudder of pleasure through Tevos.

In revenge, as Tevos had once done to her, Aria pulled away prematurely, leaving her bedmate softly panting beneath her in the absence of satisfaction. But almost immediately had Aria pulled her onto her lap, drawing her slender legs around her waist and lifting her hips to hold the tip of the attachment against her entrance. Aria reclined back against the pillows and lay comfortably while tormenting her, only guiding her down and penetrating her to a very minimal extent. She held onto Tevos's hips harshly to prevent her from taking in anything more until she allowed her to, almost bruising her the more she fought to lower herself. For now, Aria was content to watch her and ruminate about how pleasing the sight of the councilor fretting on her lap was, raking her nails down her stomach and appearing as if she were seconds away from shoving Aria for her cruelty. A frustrated exhale left Tevos's lips as Aria obstinately prolonged her wait.

She continued holding Tevos at bay to torment her, gladly enduring her fingernails. Her strength easily kept her in place even when she gave the smallest upward urge of her hips to taunt her. The way Aria denied her gratification while it palpably lingered within reach had decimated Tevos's remaining patience.

Aria guided her down when she could resist no longer, letting Tevos envelop as much as she desired and could accomodate. Tevos very softly moaned while she filled her, her hips purposely canted to find the angle of approach that pleased her the most. She curled her fingers against Aria's shoulders when she settled deeply within her, already having found and intentionally pressed upward and against a spot that forced a small whine along with a sigh Tevos gave. Swiftly she relocated her hands to the sheets, gathering and twisting fistfuls of them as she slowly rolled her hips and began to ride her, with Aria's enthusiastic help.

Aria could not contain the rough groan building in her throat while sliding her hands upward to grip her waist. Through this point of connection Aria poured into her, fervently requesting access to her mind and promptly receiving it as soon as Tevos felt her. An uneasy breath found Aria's lips when she was exposed to the raw sensation coursing them both: a glowing furnace of arousal, of sensitive flesh and trembling emotion. Aria felt so covetous of her, brimming with such profound and immense satisfaction at having made the councilor her bedmate, at being assertively within her where she took great pride in demonstrating her quality. Making her tremble and weakly clutch at her, making her endure the intemperate display of strength and authority so long as she would have her.

A hand was removed from Tevos's waist and diligently rested against her jaw while a thumb pressed into her parted lips. Aria watched her then, studying the upward draw of her brow and willfully permitting Tevos to bite or gently kiss her hand whenever she bucked hard into her.

"Mmm, just look at you," Aria said, her low satiny bedroom voice sending a shiver of dismantling pleasure up Tevos's spine when it accompanied a particularly delicious thrust. It brought a few light contractions to her inner walls, preluding the inevitable. "You like it when I'm inside you like this, don't you...?" When her voice faltered by distraction, Aria resorted to communicating mentally. You're thinking about me... how I'm the only one who fucks you right, who holds you down and gives you what you want, what you hadn't even realized you wanted... Don't I do that for you, Madam Councilor?

Her words sent Tevos over the edge, and Aria along with her through their connection. It might've been less fulfilling if Aria were not contributing her own experience to their meld, having waited and worked herself up substantially until that opportunity to share one with her. Their bliss hadn't even subsided before Aria was pushing Tevos onto her back and starting again through their dwindling aftershocks, patently frantic to have her in every position conceivable within just that single night, but only after delivering a second fierce thrust Tevos had braced a hand against Aria's chest and told her to stop.

Quite breathlessly, she informed Aria that she had exhausted her. "I'm done with you," she shakily said in good nature. She ached exquisitely, throbbed between her legs and softly whimpered whenever Aria touched the sensitive flesh there. When she withdrew she found herself a bit lonely and empty from not having Aria inside her anymore, stroking against places that made her fall apart, and enforcing her covetous affections. But she no longer burned with need of her, no longer doted desperately on the idea of taking Aria within her again, and instead now preferred to luxuriate in the presence of her sated libido. "Don't touch me," she added, garnering Aria's amusement when she placed her hands on her, flirting with the idea of stopping gradually rather than altogether.

"We'll see how long that lasts," Aria replied. She pulled back, reaching out to where they'd left a few clothing articles at the foot of the bed. She retrieved the racy underwear Tevos had worn that evening and tugged it back over her hips for her, though she held onto the waistband for emphatic effect while saying against her neck, "I bet in less than an hour from now you'll be pulling these down and begging me to touch you again." She slapped her backside with an open palm, eliciting a sudden hiss from Tevos, and her own retaliation of closing two fingers around the skin of Aria's shoulder in a harsh pinch.

:::

"Don't fall asleep," Aria nonchalantly advised, suddenly restoring Tevos to complete awareness with a start. "I'm not particularly in the mood to perform CPR right now."

Tevos recalled her surroundings over the course of a second or two, and realized that she'd been nearly lulled to sleep by the warm water enclosing her body and soothing her tired muscles. Across from her, Aria had lifted her arms from the bath, patted them dry with a nearby towel, and was selecting with utmost discretion from a platter of hors d'oeuvres brought up by room service—an item generally meant for parties, but appropriated into their dinner. Under the dim light she ate one and followed the morsel with a sip from her glass of red wine.

The councilor pinched the bridge of her nose with a pair of fingers, inhaling deeply as she shed her drowsiness. She hadn't meant to doze off. She was merely exhausted from the eventful day and very eventful evening, consistently finding her mind slipping in and out of those hazy, nonsensical thoughts of nascent dreams. And Aria was often featured in them. Visions of that brooding sneer she'd give along with an incline of her head when annoyed, in particular. The one Tevos could never take seriously despite the serious mood it conveyed. The expression only reminded Tevos of the time Aria had tripped and fallen in her living room, causing her to smile rather than afford Aria the austerity she demanded.

For a long while Tevos simply watched her drink and eat her half of the meal sitting on the stand beside the semicircular bath wedged into one corner of the bathroom, and she would occasionally accept from her pieces Aria didn't favor. Aria was rather selective, Tevos had learned. She would not go so far as to call her a fussy or picky eater, based on the fact that Aria would generally eat the vast majority of meals provided to her when alternate choices were not readily available. But when there were choices, Aria always gravitated toward the seafoods and well-spiced and well-herbed dishes. She prized complexity and presentation over economy, and preferred not to consume items whose components lacked her personal perception of harmony. Even in the most mundane of circumstances, Aria perpetually sought to be impressed.

Tevos hoped she had impressed her in bed earlier. Reasonability would've assured her that she had, given Aria's blatant delight with it all, but an inner voice strove for perfection and could not help but critically review her own performance. Had she kissed her right? Had she been self-assured enough? Had she held her well and indelibly seared her pleasure into her memory for years to come? Tevos would not be satisfied if she had achieved anything less. She currently wanted, above all other potential outcomes between them, for Aria to adore Tevos just as she adored her.

Needing to take the edge off her musings, Tevos retrieved her wine glass and took a long sip. Aria noticed.

"Apprehensive about tomorrow?" she asked. Although Aria had correctly identified Tevos's prevailing emotion as apprehension, she had chosen the incorrect source of it. No, Tevos had done her very best to shove that issue out of her conscience for as long as possible. Aria had unfortunately pulled it back to center-stage with her query, however.

"A bit," Tevos gave her divested reply.

"I wouldn't worry. Just think about our position here. With High Command on our side, and the Turian Hierarchy on Estulius's heels, he's got nowhere to run. If the matriarchs didn't have a plan by now they would've said something, and if they still saw Estulius as a threat to us they would be taking him out right now. Yes, in the classical sense."

Tevos was adequately convinced by the logic, but she had honed in on the language Aria had used and could not let go of her words until she better comprehended them. "Us?" she echoed in question.

Aria blinked once. "What about us?"

"You said 'us'. I didn't realize you considered yourself part of my personal predicament."

"Well, I consider myself involved when he's our common enemy. His strike against you is a strike against me, because you help me get shit done. And that's a valuable thing." Aria placed another bit of food in her mouth, as if to intentionally postpone giving any further explanation Tevos would attempt to pry from her.

At least for the moment, Tevos permitted Aria to abscond from the conversation without penalty or pursuit. She knew Aria cared for her behind the shallow explanation. It wasn't easy to apprehend how much she cared, but it was evident that she did to some notable degree. She wondered why Aria was reticent about it. While Aria was the sort to downplay her private life and its affiliated emotions, she was not the sort to hide it from whom it directly concerned. Aria had historically been, albeit during interesting situations, rather frank about her feelings toward Tevos. She couldn't recall her ever denying that she liked her over the course of their affair, the evidence being that Aria would regularly defend her, carry out favors for her, console her. So why shy away from the actual state of things now?

A new point of wonder invaded her thoughts. One that chilled Tevos, defeating all the water's warmth.

Aria enjoyed her company, that much was certain. But as the Estulius problem progressively receded, diminishing their need to secretly meet and strategize with one another in the smallest hours of the night, would Aria still feel compelled to see her? In the absence of tangible, capitalistic profit, would Aria still deem Tevos's company worthwhile? Abruptly Tevos experienced the urge to dismiss her thoughts as pathetic pining, but the situation was not so simple.

She loved Aria, wanted her to occupy a very long-term position in her life even if it was destined to be a highly unconventional one. There was no shame in wondering whether Aria perhaps desired something similar, for one's selection of romantic partners deserved the same treatment and consideration as major financial decisions. Invariably they influenced one another, after all. Aria was just as much an investment as the ones Tevos and her family had made in the galactic market, with very real repercussions if gone awry.

It was extremely rational of her, wanting to know their plans early.

"Aria," she said to her. Attentive blue eyes found hers, their interest piqued at once. "May I ask you something?"

"You just did," Aria pointed out. "But if you'd like to ask me something else, I'm right here." After sending her a sly look she nudged the stand holding the platter in Tevos's direction, indicating that she'd had her fill and inviting Tevos to take whatever she pleased.

Tevos did so, briefly wiping her right hand on the towel draped over the edge of the bath before arbitrarily selecting a piece. "I confess I'm rather... curious about the future. What awaits the two of us, I mean to say. I don't know if you've given this much thought, and I wouldn't fault you if you had or hadn't, but it recently occurred to me that after we resolve our issues, there will be fewer opportunities to see one another as we do now. Unless, of course, we decide to see one another independently of business. I was hoping to hear your thoughts on this."

Aria took her wine glass into her hand and sipped from it before replying. "It's an interesting dilemma," she remarked, growing pensive as she gave it consideration. "And I have thought about it before. As for my answer, I don't have one for you right now. I'd honestly prefer waiting to see how things fare from here before making any plans. But, Tevos... I know what you're getting at. You like your schedule organized in advance, and you're not overly fond of surprises or inconvenient changes in course. All I can say right now is that I am a very busy individual and cannot be expected to devote too much time to vacationing. However... I also respect you. I respect you enough to not make any promises I might decide to break."

"Well, I do appreciate you being forward with me," said Tevos. She placed the morsel she held into her mouth. It wasn't the answer she expected, and constituted more of a non-answer than an actual one, but Tevos had been honest when communicating her gratitude toward Aria for taking measures to not be in any way deceptive. It was very decent and considerate of her, to have responded as she did. They were being remarkably professional about it all, Tevos thought, privately commending them both. No matter what they ended up deciding, there would be no bad blood between them, no misunderstandings or complications. They were measured, reasonable, and intelligent people who communicated with clarity and tact. She wasn't worried, nervous, or anxious in the slightest.

"I love you, you realize."

The words had escaped Tevos seemingly of their own volition. She hadn't even realized she had been withholding them so precariously, quietly yearning to be heard by Aria who now sat frozen across from her, still holding her glass of wine near her cheek after drinking from it. Neither moved nor spoke for a few tense seconds, until finally, Aria audibly swallowed and brought herself to set her glass aside. Her eyes flitted downward, severing her gaze from Tevos's while she composed a reply.

"You shouldn't say things like that," she said, her voice tight and distant. Again she met Tevos's eyes, looking at her with a severity confessing that Aria had known for quite a while despite her aversion to hearing it. Perhaps the difference lied between knowing and experiencing, where one was directly confronted by something previously only existing within the realm of the mind, validating its truth universally and leaving no room for a semblance of doubt or objection.

"Why?" Tevos asked. As much as she regretted her declaration, there was no retreating now. The onus was on her to elaborate, to take responsibility for the new dangerous variable she had unleashed. "Does it in any way affect what you've told me?"

Aria gave a curt exhale through her nose. "No. I just don't like unnecessarily complicating things."

"So you think it's unnecessary?" Tevos repeated with a tone of disbelief. "My personal feelings are unnecessary knowledge?"

"That's not it," Aria said. "I don't appreciate people telling me things they don't mean. Especially things they don't even believe themselves."

"You don't think I meant it?"

She briefly laughed, swirling her wine glass before quickly sipping from it. "No, I don't," said Aria.

"Then tell me why not."

Aria stared at Tevos a while with a steely aspect held by her features, laboring to decipher her. As more time passed, Tevos realized that Aria was failing to devise a response and had defaulted to silence, hoping Tevos would speak again to provide her with additional information to work with.

"Actually, Aria," Tevos sighed. "Forget about what I said. I don't mean to place you in any position where you might feel obligated to respond. And maybe... maybe you're right. Maybe I don't mean it. I apologize. I won't bring it up again if you don't prefer me to."

"Tevos, listen... I try not to get tangled up in things like that. It's generally my policy. Now, I wouldn't say it alters my opinion of you, not necessarily. I just needed to inform you of certain... limitations. I don't mean you ill, Tevos. Just believe me when I say it's for the best. For us both."

"I understand," said Tevos, already wishing to be free of the topic.

"...All right," Aria quietly concluded before reclining against the wall of the bath, still carefully peering at Tevos but with less salient intent; implicitly declaring that they would speak of it no more, not when leaving their bath, not when cleaning up their food and dishes, or when they pulled on their robes and retired to bed where they lied together as if nothing at all had occurred between them.

Curiously, Aria only broke the silence when she asked Tevos through the nighttime darkness how she hoped Estulius would be embarrassed the next morning while the recording was disposed of. Tevos replied that she hoped his mic would be cut and the audio feed replaced with something humiliating. When she turned the question back onto Aria, she flatly replied, "I honestly hope he just dies."

Although Tevos knew Aria wasn't serious, she harmlessly kicked her beneath the sheets as penalty for the distasteful comment. Naturally, Aria kicked her back, but the force she employed was overestimated enough to cause Tevos moderate discomfort.

To defend herself Tevos elbowed her in the ribs, eliciting from Aria a hiss and a curse of, "Fuck!" while she recoiled. In her sudden retreat, unfortunately, Aria had found the edge of the mattress, and suddenly caught herself in the middle of her descent. Despite how her feet stumbled onto the floor and her hands clung to the sheets to immediately brake her fall, Tevos was already laughing at her, filing the sight away in her memory forever.

But Aria was soon on her feet again, swiftly and resourcefully seeking vengeance as she pulled open the refrigerator's freezer unit, fished a hand into the deposit of ice, and returned to the bed. Tevos began scrambling away the instant she saw her, protesting, "Oh no—Wait, hold on... That's not... Oh no."

Unfortunately, Tevos was too slow to escape the hand that grabbed ahold of her collar and dropped several cubes of ice down her back, pulling an unbecoming cry of panicked surprise from her lips as she abruptly twisted in revolt, struggling uselessly against the way Aria restrained her from shaking the ice from her clothes while laughing at her expense the entire time.