A Place to Rest My Head

Summary: Varric has never told her his feelings and to see her being matched with noblemen who don't fit her at all is hard. One drunken night will change everything but will it be for better or worse? F!HawkexVarric

Rating: M+

Warnings: Sexual relations, cursing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age II nor any of the characters.

"Varric!" a familiar voice shouts across the Hanged Man as the door opens. I look up from the crowd I was telling a story to and spotted the woman walking up to me through the rather large crowd. "Oh sorry! I didn't know you were telling a story!"

I smile, why did it matter? I would always stop what I was doing for her. "That's okay, I'll finish it later," I state nodding apologetically to the people listening as they walked away. "Okay Hawke, what's on your mind?" I could tell she really needed to talk alone so I gestured for her to follow me up to my room where we could talk without people overhearing us. She was usually a very open person so this must be big for her to need privacy.

We got to the room and I could tell she was about to burst and as soon as I closed the door it just exploded. "I need your help!" she nearly shouts holding up her arms. I jerk back a bit in surprise. She was usually such a calm, patient person so to see her all frazzled was something of a shock to me.

"It's usually me who needs your help," I comment moving to sit her down in a chair so that she would stop pacing back and forth across the room. I moved a chair to sit right in front of her, our knees almost brushing, and leaned back with my hands tented in front of me. "Now, tell me what you need."

She sighed and sat back to relax in the chair running a hand through her short dark hair. I could see the flush of her cheeks and knew she had run all the way from Hightown just to talk to me; it was kind of flattering to know. It had also been a rush to get here because she wasn't wearing her armor; instead, she was wearing just the under clothing to her armor which was a special, dark leather Fenris had given her as a gift for helping him through his issues. It helped with the armor chaffing her skin and also kept a lot of warmth whenever they went up the mountain on their random missions. The fact that her mother had allowed her to walk out of the house in her form-fitting leather suit was rather scandalous for a lady of Hightown. Then again, she had never been a true lady in the sense that she liked working hard and enjoy wielding the giant sword on her back.

She finally opens her mouth to speak after a long time of silence. "Mother is setting me up with another suitor," she mutters and I watch as her face flushes darkly in embarrassment. She hated it when her mother tried to set her up with random noblemen. "He's from the estate just near Fenris' mansion and...Maker I can't do this! Not again! None of them know how to wield a sword, they don't know how to fight, and they definitely don't know how to take care of themselves!" she nearly shouts in frustration. She sighs and throws her face into her hands slumping her shoulders. I shake my head at her and stand to walk behind her.

"Come on, Hawke, it can't be that bad!" I tease kneading her shoulders to relax her a bit. Instantly, her body became like jelly under my hands. She was really tense. I smiled at how much she trusted me; I knew not many people were allowed to touch her other than family so to know that she not only allowed me to touch her but to massage her as well? I was flattered, yet again.

"Mm," she hums for a second before shaking her head. "It's just that...if I'm going to marry someone I want it to be someone that I actually care for. I don't care about status and I don't care about money. Those little boys were born into money...I fought for it with blood, sweat and tears. They will never understand how I came to money." She had a point and I knew she didn't want to marry any of the men her mother could ever set her up with but for some reason I wanted her to so that she could have a cushy life. Yet, I knew she would never be content with a life of luxury and tedium. "I want a strong, courageous, passionate, loving mate who knows how to wield a weapon and can fight with me on missions! Mother doesn't seem to understand that."

I worked out a particularly stubborn knot in her shoulder blade that I knew came from swinging her giant blade around and watched her smile softly. "Yeah, well, why don't you just beat them to a pulp?" I tease as she turns around to look at me with her unnerving silver eyes. She always got me with those eyes and there was more than one person that stopped in their tracks just by looking at her eyes. I felt my heart stop when I saw the intense thought in her face before she turned back around.

"Will you come with me?" she suddenly asks making me quirk an eyebrow. "Tonight, we're walking around Hightown at night, his idea, and I...just in case someone comes after us. I need someone to watch my back." I could see that this took a lot for her to ask. She could take care of herself, I knew this as well as she did but I also knew it wasn't for physical protection that she needed me to come with her. She needed me for mental support and a quick escape if things went badly with the suitor. "It's okay if you don't have time or-"

"Hawke, you know I will," I laugh feeling her let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Varric, I don't know what I'd do without you," she chuckles lightly running a hand through her hair again. "You can just meet me in Hightown at sunset. We will have finished dinner by then; I'll even save you some!" She smiles back at me brightly and I can't help but return the gesture. Her smile was so contagious.

I moved away from her to sit back down. "I do love Olivia's cooking!" I state rubbing the stubble on my chin lightly.

"Then it's settled! Thank you, Varric, you're the best friend a girl could ever have!" she states kissing me on the cheek before turning to leave my room.

I sit there for a long time staring after her and sigh deeply. Maker if she knew why I truly wanted to follow her then she would never speak to me again. I stand up to get ready for her date thinking of all the ways I could completely ruin it for the man. Though, Hawke seems to be able to do that on her own without my help. She hated every man that her mother ever put her together with. I knew she would never stay with any of them but I still had the urge to sabotage any attempts at her heart. All because I was too much of a coward to admit my own feelings for her.

"Maker help me," I mutter as I walk out the door towards Hightown.

I got there early to make sure nothing was going on in Hightown that night and as I crept around in my stealthy ways I saw that the way was clear, for now. Moving towards the house I came in just enough time to hide behind a pillar as the door to Hawke's estate opened up two people issuing forth into the lamp light of the street. I saw the man and he wasn't all that impressive. Actually, he was rather drab for a nobleman. He had brown hair the color of hay and honey eyes; he was barely taller than Hawke and wasn't nearly as toned as she was. He obviously had never held a sword in his life.

Then, Hawke came out.

I just glanced her way but then had to do a double take to let my brain process what she was wearing. Instead of her heavy armor she was wearing a dress, a dress! I was pretty sure I was dreaming. She was wearing a dress with a high bodice and a corset under her breasts holding them up rather nicely. Though I was sure she didn't need anything to hold up them up with how much she trained and fought. The dress was a lovely blue color that matched the sky in the spring time with gold trimming around the corset's bone inlay and her collar that went high up on her neck. She was wearing her hair perfectly parted and I could tell her mother had had a hand in dressing her up because she actually had make up. Her mother should have skipped on the make-up. Not because it didn't look good but because it brought out her eyes. She didn't need it! Her eyes were already unnerving as it was! She would frighten the poor creature off!

Then again...

Anyways, she shocked the hell out of me and looked bored to boot as she started to walk with the man through Hightown. She seemed so enthralled by the man's conversation...no that was a joke, yes a very big joke. She was so bored as the man talked about nothing but himself and it was obvious she was growing fed up with him. I shook my head. If I had a woman like that walking through Hightown with me...man, I would never let go. She wouldn't even know what hit her! I'm sure this boy had never even seen a woman's under clothing let alone knew how to handle a woman like Hawke.

And my mind was gone from there conjuring ways I could make the woman writhe under me in pleasure. God, she was probably a monster in bed. She was so calm and patient but I bet she was the complete opposite where sex was concerned. Hawke had told me that she wasn't very experienced one night when we had been drinking; she seemed more honest and open when she was under the influence. She had told me that she had had a few lovers mostly at the Blooming Rose and yes, they were good at what they did but that it didn't mean much to her. Mostly, it had been a dare from Isabella. I had always thought Isabella would convince Hawke to sleep with her. I was wrong though; Hawke wasn't interested in someone that slept with everyone like Isabella. Then again, she had gone to the Blooming Rose.

I sighed softly running a hand over my face as I tried to envision what Hawke would look like spread out on a bed, naked...flushed with arousal...begging for me to-Oh that had to stop! Oh no, that was bad. I wished I didn't have such a wonderful imagination then I couldn't create images that set my blood on fire like that. Besides, I had a job to do and if she needed me then I would be there to save her...help her because she definitely didn't need saving. Well, she did need to be saved from boredom.

I watched as they rounded a corner into an alley not too far from Fenris' mansion and I was barely to the corner when I heard my name being shouted.

"Shit," I muttered hearing the sounds of commotion as I rushed around the corner. I wasn't surprised to see Hawke holding two daggers and killing her third Coterie assassin. Her dress was already covered in blood and I could see her struggling with it.

"Fucking dress!" I hear her scream just as I took down one of the men coming at her from behind. "Thanks Varric!" She reached down to rip off the bottom of her dress right up to her mid-thighs. "Ah, much better!" Now a bit more free, and distracting, she had better range of motion and she started to fight with more fervor. I lined my sights up with another man just as a shadow dropped from a nearby rooftop to join the fight. I jerked over to aim for the shadow but saw familiar glowing lyrium veins and stopped myself as Fenris cut down another man coming up behind Hawke. "Fenris!" she laughs brightly as the man throws her one of his extra two-handed swords for her to use. She threw the daggers away and caught the sword to take on the group of people coming after her with Fenris helping her out.

I watched them fight together and was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of jealousy at how well they melded together in their battles. She usually took Fenris with her because Aveline was always busy so they were used to backing each other up. Fenris was incredibly helpful in watching blind spots and Hawke was great at taking down large groups of enemies with one swing. It was hard to see them laughing during the fight and enjoying some healthy banter while cutting down mountains of enemies until there weren't any left.

"Fenris, what are you doing here?" she laughs while trying to wipe the blood from her face with her bloodied sleeve.

"Here," I say handing over my handkerchief so that she could effectively wipe the red from her cheeks. She nods her head in thanks and turns back to Fenris who is shouldering his weapon and taking back the one he lent to the woman.

He shrugs slightly. "I heard your voice outside of my house and had seen some activity in this very alley for the past few weeks so I thought it best to follow to make sure you would be okay. Had I known Varric was your back up, I probably wouldn't have interfered," he explains sending one of those small smiles my way. Fenris was too smart for his own good; he had always known of my affections for Hawke ever since he had joined the team. When we played cards he always asked why I wouldn't admit my feelings but it was pretty obvious why we would never work out. Dwarves and humans just didn't mix.

"Well, thank you anyways!" she chuckles and I watch Fenris give her one of those looks I had often seen Anders, Isabella and Merril give her as well. It was full of interested admiration. It made my blood boil angrily to see him give that look to her but she seemed completely oblivious of it to my immense pleasure.

Fenris chuckles at her energy and turns back towards his mansion. "Why don't you two come inside and have some wine with me?" he asks suddenly glancing over his shoulder at us with his green eyes.

I expected Hawke to just answer but she actually looked at me and smiled. "What do you say?" she asked so nicely there was no way I could say no.

I shrugged. "It's better than the piss they serve at the Hanged Man," I state and follow them to the mansion.

Hawke got extremely drunk off of the wine and honestly...I could never tell where she put all of that alcohol! She was around 8 stones and was barely taller than I was but she could drink with any dwarf and nearly outdo them! She had had about two bottles of wine by herself and was still sitting around without a slur to her words until half-way through the third bottle. Fenris was gone after one bottle and I had stopped after one bottle so that I could walk the drunk Hawke home and still make it to the Hanged Man afterward.

"Elf, it's been fun but I think Hawke needs to go home or she's going to make a fool of herself!" I laugh hauling Hawke up to her feet and heading towards the door that the elf went to open for us. Hawke was extremely giggly and was pretty much useless at the moment where her legs were concerned. She was leaning on me for all of the support except for the ability to drag her feet after her. I didn't mind though because it was easier for her to wrap her arm around my shoulder than to crawl along the ground. Like I said, she was only three or four inches taller than me.

I dragged her with me the short distance to her house listening to her babble about absolutely nothing that was coherent. She wasn't even speaking the correct language at one point or another. She was just talking about how she hated dresses and how as soon as she was home she would rip it right off and put on her pants. "Just make sure you don't rip off your clothes before I leave," I chuckle though I was very much lying through my teeth. I would kill to see her completely naked in front of me; I would love to touch her skin lightly with my hands and hear what kind of noises she would make under my control.

I shook my head when she let out a peel of laughter tipping backwards with the extend of her amusement. I caught her and put her against the door frame of her house so that I could open the door for her. "What if I want you to see me naked?" she slurred before stumbling into her house giggling the whole way. "What if I want you to rip my clothes off?" She was talking crazy now and I didn't enjoy her teasing because those thoughts were still fresh in my mind. "I have to—Whoops!" she tries to walk forward but just falls back into me so that I could catch her by her shoulder blades; I push her back up to stand straight. "You have strong hands!"

Her words made me chuckle lightly. "Yes, I do," I smile feeling her shift slightly and suddenly her full breasts are pressed to the side of my face. Awkward? No, just distracting. I try to shift her back around but she just latches onto me tighter pressing my nose into the dip of her lovely flesh.

"I bet they would feel good here!" she shouts planting my palms against her supple breasts. I jerk away only to grab her when she tilts backwards unsteadily. "Mm, I was right." It came out as a breathless moan that would have even the Arishok's trousers on fire. I feel my body react instantly and distract myself by pushing her up the stairs, her giggling growing even more breathless as we went up the stairs. I gave her a push to get her over the stairs seeing the way her skirt slowly started to inch up her thighs as she stumbled towards her room.

"Come on," I tell her as I constantly remind myself that she is drunk and isn't going to remember a thing once she wakes up with the Maker-forsaken hang over in the morning. "Into bed." I say as we finally get into the room the door closed so that she doesn't wake up her mother or any of the other people living in her house.

"Come with me," she whispers in her throat tugging at the collar of my leather duster. I take her hands and try to push her away. "Don't pretend you don't want me." She leans back against the bed posturing in a way that made my blood boil with insistent need. The one time she was coming on to me and she was drunk. Great, now I would have to be the good guy.

I was finding myself wavering as her foot inched up my thigh but I backed away like a good friend. "You're drunk," I grit out as I turn away from the sight before me. Oh how I had dreamt of her laid out for me on a bed but I couldn't do this, not when she was drunk. I waited and listened for her shifting to cease before turning back around thinking she had slipped under the blankets to sleep. "Go to—" I choked on my own words when I came to find the woman hiding behind a thin strip of blanket.

Her dress was lying on the ground at my feet.

"Varric," she drawls as she holds up her bra to drop it on the ground with her dress. "Don't leave tonight. Stay with me." Oh Maker did I tense and find my pants growing so much tighter. "I can see that this is effecting you. Come here." I tried to hold back but my feet moved on their own and suddenly her hand caught my collar to pull me forward against her. Her strength, even after all of these years, still shocked the hell out of me as I found myself straddling her hips.

Her lips sought and found mine and suddenly I didn't know my own name. She was soft but passionate and took my breath away as her tongue invaded my mouth without my exact permission. I didn't mind, mind you, but it was still a shock to find her so commanding and dominant in this fight. I had only been kidding earlier when I had thought she would be like this in bed. Actually, I thought she would be more gentle and caring. But I can honestly say, I didn't care. She was just that perfect mixture of passionate and rough. And as the taste of sweet white wine and spice took over my taste buds she buried her hands in my hair tearing out my hair band. She massaged my tongue with her own and my hands moved to her shoulders to steady myself as she kept pulling me closer as if to envelop me in her kiss.

The blanket fell away and my hand brushed against her thigh as I planted it on the bed so that I wasn't leaning most of my weight on her slighter body. "Varric," she whispers when we pull away to breathe. Instead, she moves to lick my ear while whispering, "touch me."

I probably hesitated for two seconds before she plants my hands on her face. Her eyes were so bright in the flickering light of the fireplace and I wanted so badly to do this even if it was wrong to do it while she was under the influence. Honestly, as she rolled her hips up into me...I lost all control. I was trapped and I knew I wasn't getting out of this room alive unless I did as commanded. And boy was I happy to oblige! I trailed my hands down from her face feeling the soft skin covering her hard muscles. Maker it was better than I had ever imagined it. The dreams couldn't even come close to the feel of her body under mine. She was so responsive to my every touch and to see her face so relaxed and showing every emotion was something I wasn't used to. Sure, I could tell her emotions without even being told but...to see her so unguarded...I felt like I was the luckiest man on the planet.

I continued my trek down her neck gently feeling every dip and curve that made her who she was. I wanted to touch every part of her slowly and as I gently massaged her neck on my way down she sighed happily staring up at me with half-lidded eyes. Maker help me, I was never going to get this image out of my head. So unguarded. So vulnerable. So trusting. She was handing herself over to me wrapped up in satin sheets. I smirked when she gave a soft sound of impatience; I took that as my cue to move on down from her neck. My fingers memorized the dip and peak of her collar bone but I moved away before I could touch her breasts. She groaned in disappointment as I slowly traced my fingers down her strong arms. I took her hands and threw them over my shoulders and pulled her against my body to kiss her harshly.

Her hands gripped at my duster pushing it from my shoulders and back onto the ground with her dress before she was shoving her body against mine. I could feel the skin of her breasts pressing against the v-cut in my tunic. Maker, her skin was warm and supple. How was I going to last past foreplay with this much sensation going on? My pants were already constricting the flow of blood to my already aching erection and she seemed nowhere close to letting me escape. Not that I wanted to in the first place anyways. Her lips held me captive as I slowly ran my hands against the woman's sides the pads of my thumbs ghosting against the edges of her breasts. She pulled away from the kiss to moan loudly throwing her head back in a blatant show of pleasure. Maker, she didn't hold back anything!

I took the opportunity to attack her exposed neckline surprised when she jerked to a half and choked on her noises. She started to shudder as her hands gripped my tunic in a death grip as if I were torturing her. This...was more than I expected! I had thought that since she was so strong that she wouldn't have any weak or sensitive spots but...she was a woman under all of that armor...a lot of woman under the armor. It was almost like this place was a g-spot all of itself because she was panting and whimpering like she was getting closer to orgasm. I smirked and moved my hands to cup her breasts feeling the way her trembling made them jolt tantalizingly in my grasp. I massaged them with just enough pressure before pain feeling the supple flesh before rubbing the perk nipples with my thumbs. She arched her back into my hands and gasped out my name like it was a prayer. Maker, such a sound should never be uttered around me. I almost lost it right there and then! So open and sensitive and enjoyable.

Moving away from her neck reluctantly I trailed kisses and tongue down to her nipple that I lazily tasted. She was pretty much mewling with pleasure and I could tell she was impatient but I wasn't going to rush through this. She was going to have such a mind-blowing orgasm that she would never be able to forget it even if she had gone through five bottles of wine. Her fingers laced in my hair urging me on with a slight scrape of her nails to my scalp. I lathed the nipple until it was slick and pulled away to gently blow on it. She let out a throaty moan that never ceased to rock my world and I went to the other one while keeping the other one worked with my fingers. By the time I had finished with that she was incoherently begging for something. I knew what it was but seeing her spread out on the bed half-naked, nipples glistening in the firelight, made my insides light on fire. I would never forget this memory; I would keep it locked away forever.

Leaning down again I took one nipple into my mouth and draw deeply making her nearly scream with how sensitized her peaks are by that point. She writhes under me as I swirl my tongue around the perk nipple moving one hand further down her body at a lazy pace. She seemed to grow more and more tense until my hand ghosted across the outside of the cloth covering her most intimate area. Oh I wanted to just cut the foreplay and just dive in but I kept myself from jumping too soon. I had to make this unforgettable. She would be dreaming about this for years to come...well, actually, if all went according to plan she wouldn't be able to live without my touch but that was probably the romantic in me coming out.

I moved to the other nipple to worship as I used two fingers to lightly run down the woman's covered warm until I was massaging her entrance and ghosting her clit. She went rigid then let out a moan that made me moan around her nipple. Those noises were going to be the death of me, I swear. I teased her a bit more before slipping my hand under the cloth finding the clit that was enlarged because of how aroused she was. I must have been doing a good job. I wasn't going to stop there either. I rubbed her sensitive nub while I moved away from her nipples to stare down into her face. She looked like she was in absolute paradise. Her eyes were squeezed closed and her lips were parted with her soft sounds. There was a beautiful rosy tint to her cheeks and I could feel the heat radiating off of her. Maker, she was a fucking Goddess!

She opened her eyes slowly when she felt me staring at her and those silver eyes were full of pleasure and such desperate need that my insides curled sweetly. Reaching up with shaking hands, she took my face and pulled me into a kiss that set my nerves on edge to the point of coming right there. I work her nub a bit harder feeling her moan into my lips the noise being lost as I experiment to see what she liked the most. When she yelped into my mouth and her body jerked I set to alternating between pinching her clit between my index and middle finger and rubbing harshly. She was a writhing mess within a few seconds and as her noises escalated I could hear her first orgasm coming so I leaned down to bite down on the nape of her neck. My hand flies up when I feel her tense to scream and I cover her mouth. Just in time, too, because she let out a muffled scream as her orgasm crashed against her body. She arched up and grabbed at me with jerking hands. I continue my treatment bringing out as much pleasure as I can until she finally falls limp against the bed.

Her chest heaves against mine and I lean back to stare down at her body enjoying the way the firelight played across her sun-tanned skin. She was the most beautiful creation I had ever seen and I felt myself straining against my pants needing to be inside of her. I worked at my buckles desperate for a bit more freedom only to find her hand helping me with my belt then with pushing off the pants. For someone who was drunk, she had steady hands. I guess that comes from wielding a blade but it made things so much easier and I found myself shirtless just before I pushed out of the last layer of clothing revealing myself to her silver eyes. She takes a few moments to admire me leaning up to run her hand down my chest through the honey colored hair that lead all the way down to my hardened manhood. Her eyes took their time and I suddenly felt so exposed to her but it only made me more aroused.

Suddenly, I was being shoved back to lie down her body leaning over mine. "My turn," she rasps in a voice that I had never heard before tonight. She trails kisses down my chest teasing my nipples much like I had done with her and the closer she got to my aching erection the more worked up I got. When she finally licked my tip I thought I wasn't going to be able to handle it. I had to have something to distract myself.

"Come here," I say, hauling her up to my level. "Off." I jerk down the last bit of her clothing and wave my finger in a circle. "Turn around." She is confused for a second before I show her what I mean and soon she is on her hands and knees with her junction hovering over me. I can see that she had never done this before by the way she flushed brightly but it didn't take her long before she resumed by gripping my erection with her lithe fingers. I hissed in pleasure as I distracted myself by licking at her clit feeling her jerk in pleasure. She moaned around the tip of my erection making me give my own jolt. We were obviously both very sensitive so I skipped the foreplay in this position to press a finger into her entrance. Oh she liked that! I felt her pull away to gasp arching her back slightly. I smirked and started a steady rhythm suckling on her clit. She was distracted but continued to work my erection with the speed that I set. I was shocked she let me have so much control but as I sped up my thrusting she started to bob her head sending jolts of pleasure through my body. I hadn't expected her to be this good! I wasn't going to last very long and it seemed that she wasn't going to stop so I smirked and crooked my finger inside of her. She tensed and drew heavily from my erection making me hiss around her clit.

I continued to hit her spot with every other thrust of my finger to sensitize her before I felt her start to build up that release I wanted her to experience again. She reacted with a hand lightly stroking my sack making it a little hard to concentrate on what I was doing. We kept at it until I finally added another finger into the mix watching her pull away to grit her teeth in pleasure. Her hand kept working my erection until her mouth could resume and with this new pleasure she fondled my balls then searched for something under them and pressed. I jerked my hips upwards as pleasure lanced through me. That was new. What was that? I could feel her smirk and did it over and over again after every hit of the g-spot I got in on her.

We were so close by then and as I sped up she did as well. I suckled on her clit and she was working me like an expert so it took us only a few more seconds before we both fell over the edge of our orgasms. I felt her insides clench and then I came into her mouth arching my back as she did. We sat there for a few seconds before she fell to the side panting. I lay there for a long while panting alongside the woman feeling my body sated and tired. She looked about to that point as well and I had to wonder if we were even going to get to sex.

"Varric," I hear the woman whisper as she crawls up to press her head to my chest. She had a silly smile on her face that said she was completely content with what had happened. She kissed me harshly lighting the fire in my chest again. How could she have recovered so quickly? Maker help me but she was insatiable in bed as she was for battle and challenge. I return the kiss even through my haze of fatigue and wine wrapping my arms around her waist pulling her on top of me. Maker I couldn't get enough of her taste, her woodsy, spicy scent, and the way her body felt against mine. I wanted this moment to last forever.

"Lillian?"

"Shit!" I whisper as I hear her mother's voice on the other side of the door. I gently pushed Hawke aside to stand up getting my clothing from the floor. A hand grabs the back of my shirt to pull me back to the bed. "Hawke!" I hiss before her lips are on mine again.

"Leave her," she mutters but I know that I can't or Leandra will come into the room. This was not the way I wanted Leandra to see me or her daughter.

"Just give me a moment," I whisper kissing the woman gently before going to the door. I open it and slip outside with the grace of my classification. "Messere Hawke, I hope Hawke didn't wake you this late in the night!" I put on my most prize winning smile watching the woman jump at seeing me there.

"Oh, Varric! I had not expected you tonight!" she states holding a hand over her heart. I smile slightly knowing she was only worried for her daughter. "How...how did the date go?"

I think for a second on how to answer and in the end just answer with, "She's drunk."

The older woman winces. "That bad?" she whispers afraid to hear the answer.

"They were attacked by Coterie," I state dryly and I can see the question on her face even before she asks it.

"And...Darian?" she asks talking about the nobleman, I assume. I never did catch his name.

"Ran away."

"Ah," Leandra sighs knowing her daughter would never go for someone who can't even stick around to defend the woman he is trying to court. "Well, thank you for taking care of her tonight, Varric."

You have no idea, I think to myself keeping the thought off of my face. "You're welcome, Messere Hawke. I will be out of here as soon as I get Hawke to go to bed," I tell her with a soft smile.

"Thank you," she chuckles. "Well, good night then."

I watch her slip back into her room and when I know she is well out of the way I slink back into the bedroom shocked to see the woman had slipped under the blankets and had her eyes closed. I sighed gently thanking the Maker that she was finally cooling off. Walking over to the bedside she opened her eyes when I ran a hand through her hair tenderly. "Come to bed," she whispers hoarsely while pushing away the blankets for me.

Oh Maker was it hard to deny her while she was blatantly showing off her bare flesh! "I can't," I respond by leaning down to stroke her cheek.

"Next time?" she asks her lips a mere breath's hair away.

I smiled at the thought feeling the words clench in my heart. Leaning forward, I savored her lips one last time knowing that this was the only chance I'd get. She responded lazily but passionately and I had to wonder where she got all of her energy from. She wrapped her hand around the back of my neck and I could feel my own desperation to draw her in closer. I wanted to be with her in the most intimate way possible but I knew that wasn't possible at the moment. I would have to tell her sooner or later but...not yet. I would live a little while longer with my lie.

I pull away after a few minutes of the kiss. "Next time," I lie before pulling away from the woman. She falls back to the bed and closes her eyes. I watch her for a few moments before she falls asleep and then take my leave out of the estate and back to the Hanged Man to await the morning.