Just a one shot I thought of and wrote. Far longer than I expected. Enjoy!
Solona had a secret.
A secret that the young woman dared tell no one.
No one, that is, until now.
Her movements were brisk, yet cautious and slow, nervous, yet ecstatic, as she walked among the great halls of Skyhold. The great castle, once home to many, was now only home to a few. Many of the Inquisition members and the Inner Circle parted ways after...everything.
The fall of Corypheus.
The betrayal of Solas.
Many left the stone walls of Skyhold. Solona did not. She had nowhere else to go. Nowhere to call home. The blood mage supposed she could leave, and return to the Korcari Wilds, and live amongst the Chasind. Live as she once did, among the beasts and the Wilder folk.
Perhaps she would have returned to that life, at one point, when things were most bleak, and scary.
But now?
No.
Never.
Never again.
Never again would she think of going back to that life.
Not with Cole by her side.
Not after finding hope again.
Solona used to be afraid.
Afraid of almost everything.
Afraid of what would come after the Inquisition.
She never expected herself to have no fear.
There was no room for fear, or doubt.
Just hope.
Hope, and happiness, and nervousness, that rested within the cloth enveloped gift within her slender hands.
She held onto the gift as if it were the most gentle thing in the world, her thin fingers lightly wrapping around the cloth, protective and tender in her fury. Her footfalls were light and soft, confident, excited, yet cautious and nervous. Her eyes of a deep oceanic hue were bright and vivid, sparkling and illuminating with rays of gentle light. Despite the mirth held within her eyes, there was another. There was anxiousness, and worry.
Solona never knew that she could feel all these opposing emotions all at once. But the strongest feeling was the feeling of finally relieving her secret.
Telling someone.
Letting someone else know.
It was an all consuming, almost burning desire. The young woman felt as if she was going to explode soon if she would not tell someone. Anyone.
But she did not want just anyone to know.
No.
She wanted just Cole to know.
Cole, and no one else.
Because Cole was all that mattered.
Solona could feel it. A faint red hue cascading across her normally pale cheeks in her mirth, smile growing wider and wider as each step brought her closer to her favorite person in the whole world! She would not wait to see his reaction!
But if he already knew, somehow...well, that would pop Solona's bubble. She would not be surprised. Cole was human. Mostly. But he was still fairly in tune with the spirits of the Fade. He still had his spirit-ish moments. Sometimes.
She felt it rising, as she now saw the Fade-Touched Boy. Felt the butterflies within her stomach fluttering all about.
Cole smiled, a warm and almost timid smile, upon having seen her and moved to approach. Both stopped upon reaching the other, the blonde greeting the blood mage with a tender kiss upon her brow, "Hello, Solona."
The affection, while simple and chaste, caused the dark haired woman to smile even wider, though there was a hint of shyness that graced her lips and flushed cheeks, "Hello, my love." The mage cooed, tone soft and tender, one of her hands letting go the cloth in order to curl her smaller fingers around his larger ones, feeling the warmth of his hand.
It was sweet.
Cole was sweet.
And Solona disliked that his gentle antics could make her revert to a child. She didn't understand why she acted so, sometimes. Normally she didn't act so shy...it was probably just due to her nervousness. It was a nervousness Cole picked up upon, for his blue eyes shone with concern behind his straw colored bangs, "Solona? Are you okay? You are flushing...?" His own fingers curled to gently squeeze Solona's, as if to ensure her he was here, should she need anything.
The woman responded with a laugh, quiet, gentle. Nervous, "Yes, Cole...I'm fine. I just...hhave a gift for you." Solona spoke softly, her other hand carefully sliding the enveloped gift into Cole's free hand. And now her nervousness was at its peak. Yet she was ecstatic! Excited! The dark haired mage could not stop smiling! She was smiling so much her face hurt!
"A gift? For me? Thank you." The Fade-Touched Boy accepted the gift, looking upon it, studying it. His hand did not let go of Solona's, despite the sweating and dampness of her palm. Rather than letting go of the woman's hand, Cole used his free hand to carefully unfold the cloth.
Solona couldn't stop herself. The woman was bouncing on her heels, as if an excited child anticipating playtime. Her hand gripped Cole's tightly as she watched.
The gift was two mini dolls of themselves, made from cloth and leather, straw, yarn and button eyes. Both dolls sported a stitched on smiley face. The tiny dolls, however, were joined. In between them, holding their hands, was a doll less than half their size, limbs short and stubby, features blank.
Cole looked upon the gift, brows furrowing in confusion. He looked to the dolls, then to Solona, then to the dolls, and then back to the blood mage, "...Solona?"
The woman was beaming! And still bouncing on her heels, excitement barely contained, face seeming to be perpetually flushed red in mirth, eyes bright.
It looked as if the mage was about to explode.
Solona's smile remained wide, and her head nodded vigorously, nigh breathless in her simple response, "Yes!...Oh, my sweet boy, you're going to be a daddy!" The mage then found herself throwing her weight at the taller man, arms tightly wrapping around Cole's lithe form, the carefully hidden bulge of her belly now being felt.
Cole instantly found his arms wrapped around the woman, family of dolls still in his hand. For an instant, he was confused. Shocked. And then he smiled, a wide, joyous smile. blue eyes sparkling behind golden bangs. He looked to the family of dolls, then to the woman in his arms. His arms tightened around her, and his lips pressed tenderly, lovingly against her brow. The kiss was held for several seconds, before Cole briefly pulled away, and found himself nuzzling his head into Solona's hair and shoulder, hat now lopsided and at risk of falling.
Cole pressed himself into the mage, inhaling her scent. A ball formed within his throat, and a hitch of breath escaped him, followed by a deep, yet shaken, exhale. His body trembled, shoulders heaved, and his hat fell to the ground.
Cole did not bother to pick it up.
A quiet sob escaped the blonde's throat, and he felt Solona's grip upon him tighten, a hand rubbing upon his shoulder to soothe. The woman tilted her head to kiss the blonde's cheek. her lips tender and becoming stained with his softly flowing tears. Solona herself was fighting back the hot tears that now threatened to spill over her lashes. Of all the outcomes, she didn't expect Cole to cry...and now she was starting to cry...She didn't want to!
Her fingers curled almost desperately onto his leather shirt, Solona's breath hitched and uneven as she struggled not to cry. She was failing, and when she spoke, it was soft, and strained, yet earnest and genuine. Naked. Vulnerable, "I...I love you, C-Cole...I do...Thank you...Th...Thank you for saving m-me...for giv-giving me hope...when I thought I hhhad none..."
Cole saved her.
He always saved her.
Always.
He saved her from the battlements.
He saved her from trying to fly.
He saved her from Corypheus.
He saved her from Him.
He saved her from herself.
He saved her from the past, and was giving her a new future.
A hopeful one.
Solona never thought she would just...feel like this.
She never thought expecting a child would feel so...happy. Light. Hopeful. Like nothing could ever go wrong.
Like nothing bad existed in the world.
Not like last time. Where she was scared and confused and alone.
Not like last time. Where the conception was not made in love.
Not like last time. Where her child died never knowing love.
Died before he could truly live.
"I...I always want to love our baby...him, or her...I want our baby to never not be loved...to never question, to never doubt. I want to love him-or her-like...like..." Solona struggled to find the words she was searching for, her tongue wagging faster than her mind could, face pressed now into Cole's neck, "I want to love our baby enough for two babies, bec...be...because I never want to forget him...Just like I never want to forget you, Cole, or-hmmm!"
Solona found herself quieted and muffled by the blonde pressing his lips upon hers. The mage didn't fight for her freedom of speech, not after she felt Cole's hand lovingly caress her heated cheek. She figured it was the nicest way Cole could tell her to shut up.
The kiss was held, simple and pure, and when their lips broke apart, the blonde lightly pressed his brow against Solona's, golden strands mixing with black, their noses touching. His red rimmed and wet blue eyes met with hers.
The blonde was smiling. Not only within his lips, but with his eyes.
The blood mage's hands moved to cup both sides of Cole's face, her lips lightly pressing against his chin. The man's hand moved from Solona's reddened cheek to one of her more feminine hands, gently clasping over one.
The woman felt her partner's lips once more brush against her forehead, then her nose. then her cheek. Her fingers lightly caressed his jaw, fingertips trailing his skin. Her other hand guided the Fade-Touched Boy to her belly.
Cole's touch was gentle, tender. As if the woman carried the most precious thing in the world in her belly. Which to Cole-she did.
The man smiled, and then his lips pressed together, tongue lightly moving to wet his lips. He appeared unsure what to feel. He felt so many different emotions! He didn't know what to do!
Cole then opted to speak, tongue tied and fumbling with his words, a hand still over her stomach, feeling and experiencing, "I...Solona, I...I do not know how to say 'thank you'. It isn't enough. I do not think any thank you I give will ever be enough...I will try. I will try, for you. For...for our...our baby."
And then, the man smiled, wide and joyous, "You make me so happy! I will try! To be a good papa! I just hope I will be good enough. Thank you...Thank you so much. For making me more...me. Human. Thank you for making me real. More real. Realer. I, I am sorry, if I am not doing this right. I hope I am."
The blood mage smiled, lightly pecking the man's cheek, "Do not worry, Cole. You are doing just fine. You always were."
That made the blonde's smile even wider, "Thank you...my face hurts!"
"Mine does, too!" Solona beamed, laughing slightly. Who ever knew smiling could hurt this much?
The young man then pulled away, if ever slightly, smiling as he looked at the family of dolls in his hold, then to his hand still resting upon Solona's stomach. He never wanted to take his hand off her belly!
"You know, I'm glad you didn't know. I tried really hard to hide it. Until I was sure, and built up my nerve...and got all the sewing finished...I thought you would have known." Yeah. Solona procrastinated more than she had to.
Cole simply smiled, "That is okay, Solona. I thought you were getting fat!"
And Solona's smile instantly died.
And just as it died, it returned followed by a light laugh, "Oh, Cole...You're too innocent for your own good..."
Cole tilted his head, as if in confusion, "What? I would still have loved you anyway...Did I say it wrong?"
The blood mage shook her head, "No, Cole. You know, I have the perfect name for our baby! Coleslaw!" Solona chirped.
The blonde was silent, as if digesting the name. He smiled.
"I like that name!"
...Oh.
Maybe Solona should have specified that it was a joke?
Thank you for reading!
I finally have more free time to write, so I will update Stories in the Ink soon. I have not written Cole in a long time, and I'm sure the writing shows.