When Fate Summons (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Hazy Shade of Winter

Thora was lying on her side in the blankets, finally warm enough to sleep, when the tent flaps opened and Alistair came in.

"It's cold enough out there to freeze the Maker's blood," he groused, unstrapping his armor. "Remind me what I did to deserve third watch?"

"I seem to recall someone putting snow down the back of my armor," she said slowly.

"And for that I had to go out in the middle of the night to stand watch?" He dropped a piece of armor to the tent floor, hearing it clank. "I think it's your obligation to warm me up," he sulked.

Thora heaved a noisy sigh. "Well, I suppose. If I have to ..."

Alistair grinned into the darkness, but couldn't shake the strange sense of something being wrong. Should it be this cold?

"Alistair? Still there?"

"Yes, still here," he said. "It's just ... I have the oddest feeling that it's supposed to be spring."

"Really?" she said. "The mind can play funny tricks when it's half-frozen. Come to bed."

Alistair shook his head, pushing the nagging feeling aside. "Don't have to ask me twice," he said. He moved the blankets aside, relishing the warmth underneath them and her soft body against his. She gave a blissful sigh, rolling toward him to get even closer. "Hmm," he said, nuzzling her ear. "Someone missed me."

"You have no idea."

"Show me," he whispered, and her mouth sought his. Alistair felt his passion rising, and with it an odd sense of urgency, as though he hadn't touched her in a long time. Which was crazy, since it had only been a couple of hours. Still, he thought, they'd been a long couple of hours, and in the cold. He held her more tightly, one hand finding her breast. She moaned, leaning back to give him better access. He rubbed his thumb across her nipple, feeling the tremor that went through her. Bending his head, he took the nipple in his mouth and swirled his tongue around it. Thora gasped, her hands reaching up to hold on to his shoulders. "You did miss me," he murmured against her. She gave a strangled whimper as his hand stroked down over her hip, finding the heat and wetness between her legs. "For a welcome like this, I might take third watch more often."

"C-consider it a permanent assignment," she said breathlessly. She reached up, pushing him over onto his back, and then climbed on top of him. There was a sense of desperation in her movements that distracted him momentarily. Then his breath caught in his throat as he felt the first contact of her heat against his erection, grinding just the slightest bit as she gave the most delightful little cry. He pushed up against her, but she slid away, her mouth nipping at his neck in just the right spot.

Alistair closed his eyes, giving himself up to the pleasure of her mouth and hands working their way lovingly down his body. As her breasts brushed over his length, he moaned, reaching down to cup the back of her head in his hands, feeling the two smooth coils of braid—Wait, what? That was wrong. He knew that was wrong. Suddenly against the darkness the images flashed forward—the Archdemon, the coronation, Anawyn, Dorothea, little Duncan, Morrigan. "Oh, no. No no no," he groaned, and his voice was sharp with all the years of disappointment he had somehow forgotten and with the agony of unslaked desire.

Unwillingly, he pushed her head away from him, sitting up. "Maker's blood, we're in the Fade. And I really, really don't want to wake up," he said. She didn't say anything. "I suppose you're going to be pretty mad about this," he began, then something struck him. "Wait, you're a dwarf. You shouldn't even be here."

"No." She sighed heavily, clasping her arms over her chest to keep from reaching for him.

"You knew, didn't you?" he said. He didn't know whether to be angry that she played along with the vision without telling him or happy that she missed him so much she was willing to pretend.

"No," Thora said. "At least, I thought something was wrong, but ..." She hadn't wanted to pursue the idea. Not with him in her arms, making those sounds he made. A soft whimper escaped her.

Alistair shuddered. That sound, her scent, her nearness, all so intoxicating. He wanted to drag her back to him, kiss her until they both forgot this wasn't real. "So," he said instead, "trapped here by a demon, you think?"

"Probably. Most likely a desire demon." She muttered something under her breath that sounded like "easy targets".

"You think it was watching us last night?" Heat rushed through his body all over again at the memory of her frenzied kisses—and in the real world, too. He was going to be in so much trouble if they didn't find Anawyn soon.

"Yes," Thora sighed, getting up. She searched the tent for her armor. "Well, are you just going to sit there, or are you going to come and help me fight this thing?"

"I was thinking maybe you could come back here," he said huskily, staying put. "We're in the Fade, after all. No one would know."

"We would know."

"It's no different than it would have been a few minutes ago," Alistair said.

"Yes, it is. Because now it would be a ... choice. The wrong choice." Thora bit her lip. Her body ached for him so badly it was painful, and she wanted nothing more than his arms around her, his body against—inside—hers. But it wouldn't end here, not if they were both in their right minds, and she just couldn't ... if she gave in, just once, she'd never be able to resist him again.

"You are the most infuriating woman in all of Thedas, do you know that?" But Alistair got up, searching for the armor he had just taken off. He bumped into her in the darkness, and caught her arm, pulling her to him. He bent, his mouth close to her ear, his breath wafting over the sensitive shell. She shivered against him. "You're fooling yourself if you think this isn't going to happen. You and I both need it too much," he whispered. "If it's not now, it'll just be some other time." She was leaning in to him, letting his mouth get closer. Then she pulled away.

"Well, it's not going to be now," she said, her voice getting stronger as she spoke. "And the future will have to take care of itself." He heard the scrape of steel as she picked up her blades. "Let's go kill us a Stone-damned demon."