Aidan's head was throbbing when the first rays of light drifted in through the window that morning, scorching his eyes. He groaned slightly, turning his head into the pillow. He frowned against the fabric, a familiar scent filling his nose. But, not a scent he normally smelt on his pillow.

He sat up suddenly, but regretted it immediately as he felt like a hammer was pounding the inside of his skull.

"Aaghh…" he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut and clutching his head.

Dorian sat up on the couch, the noise waking him up and his eyes fell on Aidan. He smirked, glancing at the window to try and tidy his hair quickly in the reflection.

"Rough night, hmm?" he teased, turning back to Aidan who was still squeezing his head.

Aidan opened his eyes, looking across the room in shock. "Wha- Dorian?" he spluttered. He looked down at the bed and vague flashes of memories came back to him, the strongest was Dorian's arm, warm and firm around him, leading him from the tavern. "…Oh no…"

"Oh no?" smirked Dorian. "What's coming back to you then?"

Aidan looked at him quickly, "Did we-" but he broke off, "of course not…" he muttered to himself, "You're over there…"

Dorian's eyebrows slowly went up his forehead. "Did you just… assume we slept together?" he asked slowly.

"No," said Aidan quickly, "well yes, but-"

"And that made you say, 'oh no'?" frowned Dorian.

"I didn't mean it like that…" sighed Aidan.

"I'm not sure how else to take it," said Dorian a little touchily.

"Dorian," said Aidan quickly, rubbing his temples. "I just meant… If that had of happened, I would like to remember it."

"…Oh," said Dorian after a moment, that now familiar feeling tingling in his chest again.

"Anyway…" Aidan continued quickly, hoping he wasn't blushing, but he couldn't feel much past his pounding head. "What… happened? Did you… wait, you let me sleep in your bed?" he looked at Dorian astounded. "And you slept on the couch?!"

Dorian was still feeling happy from Aidan's earlier comment. He smirked, "I know; it wasn't my intention," he said lightly. "Drunk you knows what he wants and he gets it…"

Aidan let out a light laugh, "I'm not so sure about that…" he muttered. If that were the case they would have slept together. "So you sort of… took care of me last night…?" he asked slowly, a small smile forming on his lips.

"The other option was leaving you to sleep face down on the floor of the tavern…" said Dorian offhandedly. "I'm not that cruel."

Aidan's smile grew, "Well thank you…" he said to him. "I've never drunk myself that far into a stupor before…I'm now… thoroughly embarrassed. And… am very sorry for kicking you out of your own bed. You know; you could have shared."

Dorian raised an eyebrow, "You freaked out enough with me over here…" he said smiling crookedly.

"I didn't freak out," muttered Aidan, blushing again.

"Is it a little warm in here?"

Aidan frowned, "What?"

"Well you look very flushed," smirked Dorian. He also looked… adorable with his ruffled hair and sleepy eyes.

Aidan shook his head, "You are enjoying this way too much…"

"I think I'm allowed," Dorian continued, not hiding his enjoyment. "I dragged you half way across the castle to get you here."

Aidan smiled slightly, "I suppose…" he muttered, then he glanced at Dorian. "Did I… say anything that I might be terribly ashamed of this morning?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Dorian asked innocently. "What do you think you could have said that might embarrass you?"

Aidan groaned, "What did I say?" he sighed, shoving his head in his hands again.

Dorian smirked, "Nothing that I can think of worth mentioning," he said, deciding to give him a break.

Aidan looked up at him again, unsure whether to believe him or not. "So…" he said wearily. "Do you have some kind of magical hangover cure?"

Dorian stood up smiling and moved over to the bed to sit next to him. "I don't," he said apologetically.

Aidan watched him the whole way, his eyes flickering over him slowly before he looked away quickly. "Did you… just wake up?" he asked, taking Dorian a little by surprise.

"Yes…" he said slowly. "I can assure you I am not normally an early riser. But, someone kicked me out of my bed."

A small smile played around Aidan's mouth, but he seemed annoyed by something. He sighed, "You don't look like you just woke up," he said a little tersely.

Dorian's lips began to curl into a smile. "What do you mean by that?"

Aidan pursed his lips slightly. "Well, I mean… your hair isn't even out of place!" he said, throwing a hand in the air. "Is it a mage thing?" he continued, frowning suspiciously, "I can't imagine what I must look like," he added, trying to fix his own hair.

Dorian was smiling fully now, finding Aidan to be quite endearing. "How nice to know you haven't run out of compliments since sobering up," he smirked teasingly.

Aidan frowned, then shook his head. "I'm not even going to ask; I'm sure it will just lead to more self-embarrassment," he sighed. "But, really. We have to do something about this."

Dorian raised his eyebrows, "About… what, exactly?"

"You seeing me at my worst all the time," sighed Aidan, falling onto his back on the bed, he may have been saying it offhandedly, but behind it he was serious. "Although, I suppose at least you didn't see me when I first came to Skyhold," he added offhandedly. "I had a beard."

Dorian made an amused, yet abashed face. "Actually…" he began slowly.

Aidan sighed heavily, "You've got to be kidding me…" he said in disbelief. "Great," he sighed, "well then, you've seen me at my worst… in every way." He glanced up at Dorian. "And yet…" he added slowly, the smallest of smirks forming on his lips. "Here I am on your bed. You either made some kind of deal with Eve to put up with me… or you're just insane."

"Are they my only options?" quipped Dorian, watching Aidan in bemusement.

"Unless you can think of any others…" muttered Aidan. "So when's it your turn to let me see you not at your best? Or are you just always at your best?"

Dorian smirked, "I'm always at my best, clearly," he agreed.

"Well," Aidan continued, staring up at the ceiling. "I… wish you had of met me a number of years ago. That 'me' was... far less messed up."

Dorian frowned slightly, letting the smirk slide away. "Well I happen to like the person that you are today," he said simply, though his innocent words created an instant reaction in Aidan's body as his heart jolted in his chest. "And I don't think that you're 'messed up' either."

Aidan looked at Dorian for a moment, that light tingling sensation in his heart making him feel a little nervous. He sat up slowly, "And… you're not under orders from my sister to… keep me company?" he asked quietly, only half joking.

Dorian gave him a look. "Would your sister actually do that?" he said dryly.

Aidan shrugged, "I wouldn't put it passed her."

Dorian shook his head in disbelief. "I'm under no orders," he said flatly. "For some bizarre reason I seem to like your company. Even when you say absurd things like that."

Aidan's lips twitched into a playful smile again. "So insanity it is," he smirked. "But… I don't care. Bizarrely I seem to enjoy your company too…" Aidan's eyes flickered down to his lap as he said this. His mind kept thinking back to the same thing; he could not imagine Dorian doing this for anyone else. He tried to picture him taking a drunk Varric to bed… letting him sleep in his bed. Or the Iron Bull. Or Sera. Or… anyone. He couldn't. "So do you…" he said hesitantly. "Do this often for your friends…?"

Dorian's stomach fluttered with nerves all of a sudden. "Most of my friends don't get this drunk…" he said, thinking on his feet and trying to smirk casually. Truth was… he couldn't imagine himself doing this, especially giving up his bed… for anyone else.

Aidan gave a small laugh. "Right…" he muttered. "Well I suppose I should go now…" he added, "let you get some sleep in your actual bed…"

Dorian didn't care about sleeping right now. He wanted Aidan to stay. "Is that code for, 'I'm tried and I want to leave?'" he asked carefully.

"No," Aidan said too quickly. "I mean," he continued more slowly, trying to ignore the ridiculous flutter of nerves in his stomach. "For some reason, once I wake up for the first time, I can never sleep that much after… heavy drinking…" he said, he looked away for a moment, his stomach flipping, then back to Dorian. "Well then if…you're not tired… did you… want to get some breakfast?"

Dorian was tired, but he wasn't about to miss out on that. "Sure," he said with a small smile.

"When I say breakfast…" Aidan continued, a small smile forming on his lips. "I mean we should steal food from the kitchen and eat it on the walls. Away from… everyone."

Dorian's stomach flipped, but he kept his face composed. "You mean away from where your parents could be…" he said knowingly.

Aidan smiled. "Yes that," he agreed. "But… everyone else too."

Dorian raised an eyebrow, his heart skipping through every beat. "You don't like everyone else all of a sudden?"

Aidan shrugged, looking away. "I just… don't feel like seeing everyone right now," he said simply.

"Oh, I see…" said Dorian slowly, still smirking slightly. "But, I'm ok."

Aidan gave Dorian a look. "Obviously."

Dorian's smirk grew. "Well let's go then."

The mage stood up, moving to find some warmer clothes to put over his tunic. Aidan fiddled with his hair again when his back was turned, trying to feel what it looked like. Dorian turned back around, seeing him and smirking. "Your hair is fine," he said in amusement.

"I'd prefer it to be more than 'fine'," Aidan retorted sagely.

Dorian chuckled, pulling on a coat and walking back to him. Without thinking about it too much so that he couldn't talk himself out of it, Dorian reached out and ran his fingers through Aidan's hair, taking him very much by surprise.

Aidan's heart skipped wildly in his chest, his nerves blazing suddenly as Dorian fixed his hair to the way he normally had it.

"There," smirked Dorian, turning away quickly before his fluttering nerves betrayed him and showed on his would-be-casual expression.

Aidan breathed in a little quickly, hoping Dorian hadn't heard it. "Thanks…" he said as lightly as he could. "So does it look like I slept in my clothes?"

Dorian glanced at him as he stood up. "No," he said lightly. "Probably because you didn't move all night."

Aidan chuckled, picking up his boots and putting them on precariously as he stood on one foot at a time. "You even took my boots off," he observed smiling slightly, now tying the laces.

"For the sake of my bed sheets," replied Dorian impishly.

Aidan smirked, "Or you're always full of excuses," he said quietly. "And you're actually just a bit sweet behind all your… bravado…"

Dorian rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you'd like to think that," he said dryly. "But, really I just like things clean."

Aidan smiled, shaking his head. "Sure…" he muttered. "Let's go," he added, gesturing to the door, while subconsciously one hand stretched out to touch Dorian's back briefly.

Dorian followed Aidan quickly, swallowing down his speeding heart that was in his throat. Breakfast, together, by themselves, on the walls? That felt very much like a date to Dorian. Not to mention all of the flirtatious behaviour going back and forth that morning. He wondered if it could be at all possible that Eve was right. That Aidan might actually like him just as much as Dorian did him.

They headed in the direction of the kitchens, both trying to hide small smiles. Aidan's hand kept brushing Dorian's as they walked, and the man didn't seem like he cared to stop it, meaning Dorian's nerves were set a light with every brief moment of contact. Dorian suddenly felt hypocritical for his words to Eve on how she was with Cullen as he now felt the nervous childhood boy with a crush coming back out of him.

However, their trip to the kitchen was never going to last as just when they walked past the stables, heading across the courtyard, they were interrupted. A messenger for Aidan pulled him aside, leaving Dorian to wait as he went over to the scout to receive it.

The moment Aidan had moved away, Dorian was accosted by Keller.

"Maker's breath," hissed Dorian in surprise when the man greeted him beside him suddenly. "What are you doing here?"

Keller raised an eyebrow. "I…work here, Dorian…"

Dorian glanced at the stable behind him, "Right…" he muttered, "Well, hi…" he added, looking away to see Aidan still talking with the scout.

"Dorian…" Keller said quietly.

Dorian turned back to him, about to somehow tell him to go away politely, when the man had leant in swiftly to quite suddenly capture Dorian's lips into a kiss.

Dorian pulled back immediately, completely taken off guard, and completely annoyed. "What-" he began furiously. "Keller I told you I wasn't interested."

Keller looked quite abashed, "Sorry…" he muttered with a small, resigned sigh. "Stupid advice from a friend."

"Advice from a-?" Dorian repeated madly shaking his head. "What I am the first man to hit on you?" he sighed in disbelief. The man blushed and Dorian released he might have been close to the truth with that one. "Kafass…"he muttered under his breath. "I… apologise for leading you on," he said a little tersely, keeping his voice quiet. "But I'm interested in someone else."

As he said that, his eyes flickered up to look at that 'someone else'. He saw that Aidan was holding a small package in his hand, the scout now gone, but seemingly looking anywhere else but at Dorian. The mage's heart sank. "And I have a terrible feeling he has just gotten the completely wrong idea," he muttered quickly, walking away from Keller immediately.

"Aidan-" he began, not even sure what he was going to say. How could he casually mention that he hadn't wanted nor welcomed that kiss?

But, Aidan cut in quickly, still not able to look him in the eye. "Hey…" he muttered casually. "So, uh, something's just come up and I have to go…" he said very quickly.

Dorian's eyes widened slightly in concerned surprise. If he hadn't been sure that Aidan liked him before, his reaction to this was building that certainty.

Aidan went on, "Uh, and this is actually for you," he muttered, passing Dorian the little package. "Don't be weird or angry about it like I know you're inclined to be," he added flatly. "I found out I could get it with a small favour from a friend, so it wasn't anything to do with the Inquisition," he continued, feeling like he needed to explain himself for some reason. "So you don't have to worry about that…" Aidan began to move away. "See you later," he said quickly, his eyes shifting passed his shoulder briefly to Keller's direction before he looked away from both of them. "Thanks again… for last night," he added, rubbing the hair on the back of his head, before turning away quickly and walking off.

Dorian stared after him, so taken aback with surprise he didn't know what to say. The parcel, his reaction to having obviously seen that kiss… they had Dorian's mind reeling.

Dorian was about to hurry after him, when a piece of the wrapping slipped on the parcel and Dorian caught a glimpse of what it was. He stopped in shock, removing the other wrapping to completely reveal his birthright amulet.

His heart swelled immensely in his chest, while an odd part of him was half inclined to be mad at him as Aidan had said. Dorian had wanted to get this himself, he particularly hadn't wanted Aidan to influence his chances of getting it back with this position in the Inquisition. But, then… Aidan had said this had nothing to do with the Inquisition. A personal favour? But, that meant he was still indebted to him. Though Aidan certainly seemed as though he didn't want Dorian to see it like that. That settled it for Dorian. He wasn't an idiot. And he was finished waiting. It was time to start properly hitting on Aidan. Though… perhaps after he'd made sure matters were straight regarding the kiss he had miss-seen.

Aidan was only partially listening to the scout who had just given him Dorian's birthright amulet from Ponchard, the man trying to tell him that Leliana wanted to know of any other connections Aidan had so that she could use them to the Inquisitions benefit. But, he didn't care to hear more about that, his eyes caught as he looked back to Dorian.

But, he could not hold his gaze there longer than a second. Because in that heart freezing second he had seen Dorian with his lips attached to another man. The image had knocked every bit of mirth out of him and he felt a slow, horrible trickle of regret rot through his stomach.

He couldn't hang around to talk about what he'd just seen. It wasn't fair for him to react like this. He and Dorian weren't together. But, he hadn't realised how quickly his feelings had grown for the man as that sick feeling of jealousy scorched through him without his control.

He quickly excused himself away from the scout and then Dorian, giving the mage his amulet quickly before ducking off. He then avoided the company of anyone else for the rest of the morning. He headed to the tavern at a less shameful hour in the early afternoon, bumping into Eve on the way.

"It's not about our parents," she said quickly before Aidan could say anything. "I just wanted to tell you, we are heading out tomorrow first thing. Missions to do," she added with a small smirk.

Aidan breathed out in relief, feeling quite stressed to be back in the castle. "Good…" he muttered. Eve smiled at him, her eyes a little hesitant as she was worried her brother was still mad at her. But, he smiled back, though the smile did not quite reach his eyes. "Hey, I'm… happy for you, by the way. With Cullen," he added quietly.

Eve blushed, her smile turning shy. "Then, why do you seem so glum?" she asked softly, surprising Aidan with her response.

"What? I'm not…" Aidan said quickly, but his mind flashed to Dorian. Eve frowned at him, but Aidan looked at her seriously. "Really," he told her seriously. "Also, I needed to talk to you."

Eve raised her eyebrows, "Oh…?" she said slowly in confusion.

"Yes," Aidan said very seriously. "Birds and the Bees. You and Cullen."

"Aidan!" Eve hissed immediately. "Do not give me that talk. Are you kidding me?"

Aidan finally smiled genuinely. "No, young lady, I am not," he said teasingly. "I feel I need to give you the appropriate reaction that any good big brother, father or mother would do. You need to be careful, and take things slowly."

Eve's face burned scarlet against the snowy sky. "I cannot believe you," she muttered in mortification. "I have… urgent Inquisitor stuff to do. So I'm going before this conversation gets any worse."

Aidan smirked, watching her stalk off. "Just keep my words in mind, Evie!" he called after her, chuckling slightly under his breath. He turned away, walking quickly through the snow till he finally reached the warmth of the tavern.

The dull sounds of clinking pints, laughter, music and chatter a welcome sound to his ears. He strolled past the tables, heading to the bar, when a conversation caught his attention.

"Can you believe the Commander's nailin' the Inquisitor?" murmured a tipsy soldier. "Good on him, right? She's smoking."

"Yeah, he hit the jackpot with that one. Lucky bastard-"

"Excuse me?" Cullen's low, angry voice suddenly surprised both soldiers and Aidan as a dark eyed Cullen furiously eyed the two men.

One swallowed in pure fear. "N-nothing, Commander-"

"The Inquisitor," Cullen cut across sharply. "Is not a prize or a trophy. Nor is her personal life any of your business," he said lowly. "If I ever hear you talking about her in such a way again, you will wish you never joined the Inquisition."

Aidan raised his eyebrows in impressed surprise. The commander stalked off, his soldiers watching him go in terrified silence. Aidan was ready to punch them in the face, but Cullen's shaming approach was just as satisfying without the bruised fist.

He continued to the bar, his mind slipping back to Dorian again as he thought of Cullen and Eve. He wondered if he should ask about that kiss. Maybe it was nothing. Or… maybe he was seeing that man now? Aidan shook his head in distaste at the thought. He paused at the bar, ordering a drink from Cabot when a visiting noble woman approached him.

"Excuse me," she said sweetly and Aidan smiled at her briefly.

"Hi," he said politely.

She smiled graciously. "I hoped you might be able to help me…"

"Well, the possibility is always there," Aidan said lightly.

She gave a small laugh, "I just wondered about your friend over there, I've see you with him before…" she gestured across the room to where, of course, Dorian was sitting with the Iron Bull. "The handsome one… with the moustache?"

Aidan gave a small, dry and disbelieving laugh, "Dorian," he said flatly, glancing at the table too. "Yes?"

"Well… is he…?"

"He… isn't really interested in… women…" Aidan said quickly.

The lady laughed, "Oh good," she said swiftly and Aidan frowned in surprise. She grabbed the arm of a man that sat behind her at the bar. "Because he is interested in him."

The man smiled, he had pale green eyes and thick brown hair. Quite handsome, but nothing… incredible. Aidan couldn't help but wrinkle his nose slightly in annoyance. Yet another man after Dorian's affections? "He's… not single either," he said suddenly before he could help himself. He clamped his mouth shut immediately after the words were out of his mouth. What? He stared at the drink he'd just received, taken aback by his own words. What was he doing?!

The man looked disappointed, "With who?" he drawled, glancing over at the table. "Is it serious?"

Aidan struggled not to scowl, he glanced at the table, thinking wildly. "…The massive Qunari bloke over next to him," he said sharply. "And he's the real jealous type."

The man raised an eyebrow before turning away quickly without another word. Aidan shook his head, turning away with his whiskey, his eyes wide with shock at himself the whole time. He had no right to do that. Why in the void had he just said that? He was going too far with the jealousy nonsense. He had no right to be that way. He could not sabotage Dorian's potential sex life just because he didn't want him sleeping with anyone else, and yet would not make a move on him himself.

"Hey, Aidan," The Iron Bull was calling him to their table. Aidan looked at them quickly, his cheeks flushing still. Dorian was watching him intently and Aidan couldn't hold his gaze.

He slowly walked to their table, standing casually next to it, but not taking a seat. "Dorian's been looking for you," smirked Bull immediately, and Aidan caught Dorian throwing him a furious glance.

Aidan raised an eyebrow. "And your first thought was to look in the tavern?" said Aidan flatly to Dorian, examining his glass. "Insulting and… accurate," he added dryly.

Dorian looked at Bull in irritation. "Can we speak alone?" he said quietly to Aidan.

Aidan's eyes flickered to his briefly and he forced a smirk. "What could you possibly have to say that Bull couldn't hear?" he said annoyingly.

Dorian frowned at him. "Something to do with that parcel you gave me," he said stiffly.

Aidan sighed, tapping his finger against the side of his glass. "Fine…" he muttered, gesturing away from the table and heading to ta quiet corner of the room.

Dorian followed quickly, ignoring the Bull's keenly following stare. "You got my amulet back for me," Dorian stated quietly when they were away from everyone.

"I told you not to be weird about it," snapped Aidan. "It wasn't a big deal, I didn't do it so that you'd owe me; I just did it for you. OK? So can we drop it?"

"Aidan…" Dorian said with a reserved sigh. "Thank you… for getting it for me. I...am incredibly grateful, and I… will repay you. No matter what you say."

Aidan sighed, "I don't want you to repay me…" he said back quietly.

"Well I'm going to," Dorian said immediately, watching Aidan closely as the man still wouldn't hold his gaze. "I also wanted to bring up… anything you might have seen this morning…" he said a little hesitantly, not sure how to approach this.

"You obviously mean Keller kissing you," Aidan said immediately, taking Dorian very much aback. "Yes that is why I left," he continued, continuing to shock Dorian. "I just didn't want to… give Keller the wrong idea if you're seeing him. I'm sure he wouldn't like us being alone together all that much…"

"What?" Dorian said madly in disbelief. "I'm not… seeing Keller," he said in shock. "He kissed me to try and start something that I turned down."

Aidan paused, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. "I see…" he said quietly. "Well I… might have misread that."

"You definitely did," Dorian said firmly. "Though, I can't understand how," he added, "I didn't reciprocate for a second."

Aidan tapped the side of his whiskey glass, feeling an odd sensation building in his chest. He was very glad of what Dorian was saying… but he still felt guilty for the way he kept reacting. Though he greatly wanted to start something with Dorian, and he clearly didn't want Dorian involved with anyone else. He knew that he shouldn't… Dorian deserved better than that. He deserved someone that wasn't so … 'messed up'. "Well…" he said slowly. "Now that's sorted… I, uh… will let you get back to it…" he muttered, gesturing back to the Iron Bull.

Dorian frowned immediately. "Why don't you join us?"

Aidan shook his head, "I've had far too much alcohol in that last 24 hours," he muttered, throwing Dorian a half-smile. "I assume you're coming tomorrow morning?" he added, hoping Dorian would not push for him to stay. He needed some time to sort his head out.

"Unfortunately," said Dorian slowly. "I hear we are going to Emprise du Lion," he added dryly. "More snow."

Aidan smiled briefly, "You're favourite," he muttered. "Well, see you in the morning then," he added quickly, before turning away, leaving his empty glass on a table before walking out.

Dorian couldn't understand his attitude. Why had he not brightened more when he knew the truth about Keller? Dorian frowned, deciding he better go make sure the Bull wasn't reading into everything he just saw.

He sat back down across the table, opening his mouth to begin, when Bull spoke first.

"Can you believe it?" he chortled lowly. "Some orlesisan guy just came over here to sate his curiosity…" he continued, and Dorian began to frown. "Turns out Aidan just told him you and I are an 'item'," Bull began chuckling loudly this time.

"What?!" hissed Dorian immediately, his voice sharp.

"Ahh, don't worry, Vint," Bull waved a hand dismissively. "I squashed the rumour before it could start," he said with a resigned sigh. "Though I'd of loved to encourage it…"

"Are you sure Aidan said that?" Dorian demanded quietly.

"Yeah," grunted Bull, still smirking. "I think he's the jealous type," he added in a mock whisper.

Dorian was feeling a very strange mix of emotions. He felt elation at the thought of Aidan being jealous. Again. But, he knew he should not be. He should be annoyed if anything. But, he couldn't seem to stop that annoying little smile forcing its way onto his lips.

Dorian had hoped to speak to Aidan more. That was the sole reason he managed to drag himself out of bed so early to begin marching through the snow.

But, any attempts at private conversation in their group that day were verging on impossible.

Sera was with them.

Aidan was keeping very much to himself, throwing Dorian numerous surreptitious glances. While Dorian was also trying to watch him without being noticed.

And Sera had taken it upon herself to be the practical joker for the day. Which, as Blackwall reminded him, was not so out of the ordinary. But, it had ended in him losing his coat over a cliff that evening. It had been an accident, yet still something Sera thought simply hilarious, but had Dorian thoroughly disgruntled.

So in the end it wasn't till that night that Dorian was finally able to get Aidan alone.

Aidan was on watch, pulling his coat tightly around him, the cool night air blowing quite a breeze through their little camp, leaves rustling and fluttering past his feet on the ground.

He sat up a little on the log when he heard footsteps behind him, turning to see Dorian emerging from his tent to walk over to him.

"It's not quite your turn to take watch yet," he said quietly, watching as Dorian took a seat beside him on the log.

"No," agreed Dorian lightly and Aidan noticed he looked freezing, the cool breeze probably slicing straight through his clothes and into his skin without a coat. "But, I was awake anyway, and it will be my turn soon enough. Plus," he added, glancing at Aidan. "You keep running away every time I try to speak with you so… now I have you cornered," he smirked slightly.

Aidan sighed, looking down to the dying fire. "I'm… sorry about that," he muttered quietly.

"So you admit it," smirked Dorian, finding it easier to ignore his lightly fluttering stomach when he acted aloof.

"Yep…" agreed Aidan quietly; he had been doing a lot of thinking about Dorian all day. Torn between selfish desire and what he thought best for Dorian. He glanced at the mage again, looking at him for a long moment before suddenly moving to shrug his coat off. "Here…" he said quietly, shuffling closer and laying the coat over Dorian's shoulders. His arms lingered around him a moment longer than necessary before he took them back, looking away again.

Dorian was looking at him in surprise, the kind gesture causing his heart to tingle in his chest. He had never had someone do that for him before… it felt… very nice. And, perhaps it was the situation, with the light trickle of the stream nearby, the dull crackling of the still lingering fire before them casting a warm glow over the two or even just how close Aidan was sitting to him… but it had felt very romantic. A feeling he had been getting a lot recently.

"Thank you…" he said quietly, but he went to take it off again. "As much as I'd like to keep it, I shouldn't make you suffer for the demise of my own coat-"

But, Aidan smiled despite himself, quickly putting his hands out and holding the coat on Dorian's shoulders. "I don't need it," he said softly, and Dorian was finding the tenderness to his voice was making his heart skip erratically in his chest. "I'll be going to bed soon enough anyway."

He slowly took his hands back, making sure Dorian wasn't about to take the coat off again, smiling when the mage gave in, pulling the coat tightly around himself. "Very… chivalrous of you," Dorian said quietly, finding that Aidan's warm scent was all over the coat and he smelled… amazing. It was intoxicating.

Aidan smiled crookedly at him and Dorian's stomach flipped and he was now the one unable to hold his gaze. "Knight in shining armour, remember?"

Dorian rolled his eyes, trying to swallow down his resurgence of ridiculous nerves. "Here we go…" he muttered, but he was smiling. "Although it's lucky you're being so chivalrous," he added, glancing at Aidan with a somewhat curious smile. "I have a… what's the turn of phrase down south? A 'bone' to pick with you?"

"Really? Interesting…" muttered Aidan. "If it's about that book you were reading in the library… yes I took it. But really. You're hogging all the good books."

Dorian couldn't stop a slight laugh, "That wasn't the bone no…" he said in amusement. "Though I was looking for that book."

"I'll give it back," smiled Aidan quietly. "So… what's the metaphorical bone then?"

"Well…" Dorian continued, "I have it on good knowledge that you informed that stranger last night that the Bull and I were… an item."

Aidan's stomach flipped, "Ah…" he said slowly; yet another shameful moment of his behaviour recently. "That… yes I'm… sorry about that."

Dorian looked a little surprised. He wasn't expecting a straight out apology. He was expecting him to make up an excuse, a reason… perhaps for him to laugh and say it was some kind of prank with Varric and Bull. "You… are?" he asked finally, voicing his confusion.

Aidan kicked a leaf on the dirt before them with the toe of his boot. He nodded to the ground, "Yes, of course," he continued. "I… shouldn't have said that."

Dorian was frowning now, "So… why did you say that?" he asked slowly, his curiosity too strong.

Aidan sighed, unable to look at Dorian. "Well he… seemed like an ass."

Dorian raised his eyebrows. "He… seemed like an ass? That's your reason?"

"Yes, I know, I should have left the decision up to you," Aidan said a little tersely, beginning to feel uncomfortable. "But he was… being perverted," he lied a little wildly, "And… then I said that you were with Bull so that he'd… stop…"

"That's it?" Dorian said, eyeing him closely through the dim light.

Aidan didn't look at him in the eye, shrugging his shoulders. "Yep…"

"There was… no other reason?" urged Dorian.

Aidan started absently drawing in the dirt with his boot. "Nope. No other reason…"

Dorian frowned, "So this was like a… 'friendly' mission to protect little Dorian from the evil and scary world of men out there then, was it?" he asked, watching carefully for Aidan's reaction.

Aidan finally turned to him, giving him a very dry look. "No…" he said flatly. "Obviously I know you are capable of taking care of yourself." He sighed roughly, looking away again. "Look… I'm sorry. I'll… tell everyone I'm with Bull if that makes it up to you. And you can… do whatever you want with that guy."

Dorian bit his lip, having to face away to hide his smile as he heard a definite tone of bitterness to the end of his sentence. Dorian was now certain Bull was right and that Aidan was jealous. The man was a terrible liar for this sort of thing. As he realised this, he couldn't stop a small, disbelieving laugh that tumbled from his lips. Aidan leant around, trying to see Dorian's face suddenly. "Was that… did you just laugh?" he demanded, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Dorian sighed turning to face Aidan and not hiding his smile this time, "Sorry…" he said with a chuckle. "I'm… not actually mad."

Aidan stared at him, "…You're not…?" he repeated slowly.

Dorian chuckled again, "Well I was a little annoyed," he explained smiling. "I mean… Bull, did you really have to say him? Can you imagine the rumours?"

Aidan was still frowning, "Well he… seemed the most intimidating," he said slowly, still feeling a little unsure about the whole situation. "So… I'm confused. Why aren't you annoyed that I… potentially ruined your night…?"

Dorian laughed again, "You're joking," he said in amusement. "I would never have said yes to that man."

"Oh…" Aidan said, the smallest of smirks tweaking his lips. But, he turned away quickly, "Well… anyway, I won't try to ward off men from you again…" he added, shaking his head slightly as he still couldn't believe he'd done that.

"You might be surprised, you know…" Dorian said quietly, eyeing the small smile on Aidan's lips.

"About what?" asked Aidan, looking at him from the corner of his eye.

"Who I would say yes to…" Dorian continued, something to his words causing Aidan's spine to tingle. "If the question was posed, that is."

Aidan's skin was tingling all over now, "That… makes it sound like you have someone in mind," he said quietly.

"Does it?" mused Dorian, looking over to Aidan, his heart fluttering in his chest.

Aidan looked up to meet his gaze just as another cool blow from the wind streamed through the camp, twirling more leaves through the air.

A small smile hooked the corner of Aidan's lips as he noticed one leaf get caught between two strands of Dorian's hair. Distracted by this, he sat up a little, "I never thought I'd see a hair of yours out of place," he said quietly, already subconsciously lifting a hand to Dorian's hair to remove the leaf. "You have a…"

He stopped suddenly, hand still out stretched about to pull the foliage out of Dorian's smooth, dark hair. His eyes flickered to Dorian who was watching him very closely and he knew he was thinking of the same memory. The old leaf in the hair trick. Dorian's heart was positively pounding in his chest as he thought the same thing, trying to hide his immediate reaction. Aidan's breathing picked up, his heart skipping wildly and his eyes darted to Dorian's lips briefly as he was certain the mage had just inched a little closer.

Aidan swallowed, "leaf… in your hair," he finished finally, his skin now tingling all over and his stomach jolting. He noticed Dorian's eyes flicker to his lips and his breath caught in his throat.

"Well…" Dorian said quietly, his heart fluttering madly in excited suspense at what he hoped was about to happen, "are you going to get it out?" he asked, a slight tone of impudence to his voice as he inclined his head ever so slightly to the side. A tiny smile hooked the corner of Aidan's mouth and that little bit of daring cheek was all it took.

Before he could think better of it… before he could change his mind or talk himself out of it… he leant in swiftly, eyes closing, his hand disappearing into Dorian's hair and he pulled the mages head closer. Dorian didn't hesitate, he met Aidan half way, his arms moving to pull him closer without further need of an invitation, surreal disbelief clouding his mind, as finally their lips met.

Dorian felt as though he had been struck by lightning as searing heat coursed through his veins, his heart swelling in his chest, while every nerve in his body tingled and blazed all the way through to his fingertips. Nothing had ever felt so right. It was like a damn had broken between them, Aidan's fingers tightening in Dorian's hair, his other hand wrapping around Dorian's waist while his lips were warm and urgent as they continued to ignite this blazing kiss.

Dorian's arms snaked further around Aidan's back, every fibre in his body tingling as lustful desire began to burn through his veins, heat pooling in his stomach and he tilted his head, parting his lips and pushing Aidan closer to deepen the kiss.

A thrill went down Aidan's spine as Dorian kissed him back so passionately and the smallest of low moans escaped the back of his throat as he was desperate for this kiss to never end. They both lost track of time as time itself seemed irrelevant around them until finally they had to pull back, their physical need to breathe finally winning out over their need to keep their lips aligned.

Aidan's eyes fluttered open to meet Dorian's shining, silver ones and, Maker, he had never seen Dorian looking so gorgeous. His hair was ruffled like never before, his still parted lips a little swollen from their passionate kiss and his eyes full of deep, heated desire. Aidan wanted to kiss him again just looking at him, also very aware of how uncomfortably tight his pants already were.

Dorian was thinking the very same thing as he looked back into Aidan's gorgeous, brown eyes, lidded with lust as they looked directly at him. But, not only lust was held in those warm irises, but also a deep, tender look of emotion, vulnerability… hope.

Aidan blinked, his hand still lost in Dorian's hair as his thumb subconsciously stroked the smooth strands gently. He wasn't sure what to say, stunned into silence by that kiss. A kiss which had been the single most amazing kiss of his life. Something he desperately hoped Dorian had felt too.

Dorian's arms were still wrapped around him and the mage did not want to take them back. He finally opened his mouth, ready to say something when,

There was a rustling from behind them, Aidan's eyes snapping away from his over his shoulder as they heard voices.

Sera's voice talking to Eve could just be heard as the two made their way back from goodness knows where as neither Aidan nor Dorian had realised they were gone. Aidan pulled back quickly, forcing Dorian to take back his hands.

Aidan's heart, already beating very quickly, sped up even further as he panicked about what to do. Eve seeing this before they even knew what this meant would not be helpful right now. Aidan looked back to Dorian, "Uh…" he muttered quietly, looking over Dorian quickly; the mage looked adorably aroused. He quickly reached up to smooth out some of Dorian's hair, a little smile on his lips despite his panic. Then he pulled back again, "I should go…" he said quickly, his eyes sweeping over Dorian's face one last time as the mage looked ready to protest, "Goodnight…" he added quickly, standing up and ducking away before Dorian could say a single word.

He disappeared into his tent the moment Eve and Sera stumbled into the camp.

"Your watch it is?" said Eve, smiling at Dorian. Then, her eyes looked him over, her smile turning suspiciously sly. "You look… flustered."

Dorian raised his eyebrows, still feeling thoroughly dazed and unsure of what to say. "Can't say I know what you mean…" he muttered finally.

But, Eve pressed on. "Isn't that Aidan's coat?" she asked, her smile growing.

Dorian eyed her carefully. "He… left it after he finished his watch, Eve," he said lowly. "Go to sleep, you nutter. It's the middle of the night."

Sera giggled, having been watching the two of them. "Have you and Inquisities big bro got something goin on?"

Dorian struggled not to roll his eyes, though his heart thudded in his chest. "You're both being ridiculous," he sighed, wondering if Aidan was listening to this whole conversation the man had left him with.

Eve merely smiled knowingly, before nodding, "Goodnight then…" she said smirking. "Night Sera."

The elf disappeared into her tent, as did Eve and finally Dorian was left alone, Aidan's intoxicating scent still surrounding him through his warm coat while he could still sense the touch of his lips against his own.

A/N Thank you for all the support :) Have a great Easter everyone!