A few minor dramas this week have dealt a bit of a blow to my self confidence and left me in dire need of cheering up. So I decided to take to heart the old adage of getting back on the horse after you fall off it and wrote myself some fluffy Nanders smut. ;D (It's a standalone because we've got a few chapters to go before "Unseen Forces" gets down and dirty).

Cookies for spotting the "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" reference, I couldn't help myself.


"Do you know what I still haven't gotten used to?" Anders asked. He was currently cuddled next to Nathaniel, both men nude and sweating from their earlier activities. "Sex in a bed."

"What?" Nate looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Having sex in a bed all the time," Anders elaborated. "In the tower it was pretty much any available corner or storeroom. And, on one memorable occasion, in the Chantry." He grinned impishly.

Nate rolled his eyes. "I do not need to know about your past sexual exploits, Mage."

"Mmm, jealous?" Anders nipped playfully at Nate's earlobe.

Nate shivered at the sensation."Of course I am." He wrapped an arm around his lover, pulling the man tighter against his body. "I'm perfectly content with believing I'm the only man you've ever been with."

Anders laughed. "Alright, fine. I was a virgin before I met you. Does that make you happy?"

Nate nuzzled Anders' neck. "Very."

"As I was going to say," Anders tugged a little on Nate's hair to get his attention, "I was thinking maybe we should try something a little…different, some time."

Nate tilted his head up and looked at Anders warily. "Different how?"

Anders was getting that look on his face, that lopsided grin that Nate didn't trust. It usually meant he was up to something. "Oh, I don't know." Anders ran a fingertip along Nate's jaw. "Maybe we could try having sex somewhere else." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Nate's ear. "Somewhere more…nontraditional. More open."

Nate looked at his lover incredulously. "You want us to have sex in public?"

"No, no!" Anders backpedaled hastily. "I don't want other people to watch us. It's more about, you know, the danger." Nate was still confused. "Like, we might get caught," Anders tried to explain. "But, we wouldn't, of course," he added hastily.

Nate frowned, biting his lower lip. Was Anders no longer satisfied with him? For all their joking, he knew Anders had been very popular whilst living in the Circle Tower. And while Nate had no doubt that Anders was completely devoted to him, he sometimes wondered if the more adventurous mage might get bored with him.

"What's wrong with how we are now?"

Anders sensed his lover's worry. "Nothing, Nate, honestly." He smiled tenderly at his rogue, cupping the other man's chin with one hand. "You are everything I've ever wanted, I promise." He pulled Nate into a deep kiss to prove his point.

After they parted from a kiss that left them both breathless, Anders rested his head on Nate's shoulder, idly tracing patterns on his chest with one slender finger. "Haven't you ever thought about doing something daring, sexually?"

Nate shook his head. "No," he said honestly. And immediately felt like the most boring man alive. But he couldn't help it—he was conservative by nature. He had never thought of himself as the type of person to be…experimental in the bedroom. Or out of it, as Anders was now suggesting.

Anders made a tiny noise of frustration. "Maker, Nate, it's not as if I'm asking you to dress up like a woman or something." He looked up at Nate and grinned. "I'm just suggesting having sex somewhere besides a bed."

"Like where?"

"An empty hallway, somewhere like that. Or outside maybe." Nate shook his head firmly at that suggestion. "Alright," Anders conceded, "not outside then. But there's lots of little nooks and crannies around the Keep."

Nate sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Anders had tried to explain to him before the thrill of being intimate somewhere that others might catch you, but he'd never understood it. "I don't know about this Anders…" he trailed off.

The mage began to pout. Maker, Nate hated it when Anders pouted—it made him want to give the mage anything he asked for. And of course Anders knew that and used it to his advantage, though to give him credit he didn't use it too often.

"Please, Nate." Anders looked at him, his deep brown eyes rivaling those of a downtrodden puppy's. "Can't you just do this one thing for me? After all the things I've done for you?"

It didn't help that Anders had shimmied down Nate's body and was now resting his head on Nate's thigh. He gasped as Anders ran his tongue along Nate's growing erection. "Not fair," he mumbled. Anders just grinned at him as he closed his lips around the head of Nate's shaft. He eased his mouth down Nate's length until his nose was brushing against the dark curls at the base. Nate fought to keep his hips still as Anders fluttered his throat a few times.

Anders grasped Nate's hips, pinning them to the bed as he slid his mouth up and down Nate's shaft. Nate twined his fingers in Anders' hair, gripping almost painfully. His hips writhed uncontrollably as he fought against his lover's grip at his waist. He tightened his hold on Anders' hair in warning, and the mage began slowly pulling back, sucking hard at the last inch still in his mouth. Nate cried out as he orgasmed, Anders' loosened grip finally allowing him to buck up into the mage's warm, wet mouth as he spilled his seed.

Nate was trying to get his breath back as Anders crawled back up to lay beside him, drawing him into a deep kiss. The taste of himself as Nate explored his lover's mouth with his tongue was intoxicating. When they finally parted from the kiss, Anders stuck his lower lip out in another seductive pout.

"Please, Nate?"

Nate sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'll think about it. Though I'm not sure if it's something I can get in the mood for since I don't understand what the appeal is."

Anders grinned. "Oh, don't worry about that—I'm sure I can motivate you."

Nate growled at him, though his smile gave away his amusement. "I swear, Mage, the things I do for you..."

Anders just laughed at him and snuggled into his arms.

oOoOo

"I'm not wearing any smallclothes," Anders whispered in Nathaniel's ear at breakfast the next morning.

Nate looked at him blankly. "You never wear smallclothes."

Anders scowled at him. "Be quiet, I'm trying to seduce you."

Nate chuckled. "Since when do you need to seduce me?"

Anders took a bite of his porridge. "You said I needed to get you in the mood." He grinned at the rogue. "I figure it'll take most of the day to get you properly motivated, so I thought I'd get started early."

It took a few moments for Nate to realize that Anders was referring to their discussion from the previous night. "I said that I would think about it. I didn't say yes."

"But you didn't say no, either," Anders smiled playfully. "I just need to convince you."

Nate smirked. "And how do you intend to do that?"

Anders winked at the rogue. "I'm going to drive you mad with desire, of course." He slid a hand between Nate's legs and gently squeezed to emphasize his point.

Nate started coughing to mask the groan that had escaped his lips at Anders' touch. He glared at the mage as he pointedly removed the hand from his lap. "Perhaps you could wait until after breakfast?"

Anders leaned in close. "Whatever you want," he whispered seductively into Nate's ear. He nipped at Nate's earlobe before leaning back, a sly grin on his face. Before Nate could gather his wits enough to respond, the mage was gone.

Anders was true to his word. For the rest of the day, the mage took every opportunity he could to get under Nate's skin. No matter where Nate went, Anders seemed to find an excuse to be nearby. He made a point of standing just a little too close to Nate, 'accidentally' brushing up against him or squeezing his backside.

Nate spent a good part of the day in the practice yard, training some new recruits. Anders, commenting that he had nothing better to do, watched them from his place near the edge of the yard. Any time Nate looked over at his lover, Anders would wink at him or smile invitingly.

"You need to concentrate," Nate barked out at one of the men he was training. The young man seemed capable of hitting the target only when everything around him was completely still and quiet, and after he'd had a minute or two to get himself ready. "When you're in the middle of a fight, your enemies aren't going to be polite enough to wait patiently while you line up your shot. A battle is noisy and chaotic, and you need to learn to block out all of the distractions."

Nate grabbed up his bow and walked over to where the man was standing, positioning himself in front of the target the man had been aiming at. Seeing some entertainment in the works, several nearby soldiers came over to watch with the trainees. Nate nodded at them. "A little distraction, if you would."

He pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back as everyone began yelling and the warriors in the group banged their weapons against their shields. He sensed movement out of the corner of his eye as Anders came up to stand by his side.

Nate nocked the arrow and pulled the string back. He was eying his target, a moment away from releasing the string, when he suddenly felt warm breath in his ear as Anders began blowing into it. Nate tried desperately to ignore the press of Anders' warm body against him as he fired the arrow at his target. He watched in dismay as the arrow sank into one of the outer rings, missing the bulls eye by nearly a foot.

The yells of distraction turned into howls of laughter. Nate glared at the mage. "I will get you back for that."

Anders smirked. "I look forward to it." He sauntered out of the yard, casting one last lascivious grin back at the rogue.

Nate felt stretched tighter than his bowstring as he stomped through the hallway, headed for the baths. As he turned the corner he saw Anders, leaning casually against the wall. He grinned as he saw Nate approach. He walked over towards Nate and ran his fingers through the rogue's dark hair.

Leaning forward he ran his tongue along the shell of Nate's ear. "Have I convinced you yet?"

Nate growled as he grabbed Anders by the arm and pulled him down the hallway into a small alcove hidden in shadows. Anders pinned him against the wall, kissing him fiercely. Nate groaned as he felt an insistent tongue thrusting into his mouth. He pulled Anders closer to him as the kiss deepened.

Anders slipped a hand inside Nate's breeches and began stroking him. Nate moaned loudly as he thrust up into Anders' hand. Anders chuckled lowly. "Shh! We don't want to get caught, remember?"

With Anders' hand wrapped around him, stroking him almost roughly, Nate finally understood the attraction of this. The idea of someone walking in when Anders was buried deep inside him, thrusting into him—of someone watching as Anders pleasured him—made his cock twitch.

Anders grinned as he noticed the reaction. "Changed your mind, have you?"

Nate tugged on the tie that held Anders' hair back, pulling it free so he could run his fingers through the blond locks. "Shut up," he gasped, as Anders picked up his pace.

"The things I do for you," Anders teased. Anders removed his hand, ignoring Nate's grunt of protest. He spun Nate around so that he was facing the wall. Nate thrust his hips out invitingly.

He stifled a moan as he felt a slick finger press into him from behind. Anders added a second finger and thrust into Nate, stretching him. Nate rocked his hips backwards, urging Anders' digits deeper. Anders crooked his fingers and rubbed up against a particularly sensitive spot deep inside of him. Nate whimpered with need as he felt Anders rubbing against that spot over and over again.

He heard a rustle behind him as Anders pulled his robes aside. His hands braced against the wall, Nate bit down on his wrist to stifle his groan as he felt Anders slide into him. The mage paused once he was seated fully inside, giving Nate a chance to adjust to the intrusion.

Anders grasped Nate's hips as he pulled out slowly, pausing for a beat before thrusting back inside. Nate pushed back with each thrust, pleading with Anders to go faster, deeper. Anders picked up his pace, pounding into Nate over and over. He adjusted the angle of his hips so that he was pressing into that pleasurable spot with each snap of his hips.

Nate buried his face in his arm, crying out with pleasure as Anders grasped his erection and began pumping it in time with his thrusts. Anders' pace became erratic as he neared his climax and he began stroking Nate faster, determined to bring the rogue over first.

Unable to contain himself, Nate howled his lover's name as he came hard, spilling into Anders' hand. Anders followed soon after as Nate tightened his muscles around him, biting Nate's neck as he came.

The two men stood there for a few moments, panting with exertion. Anders finally pulled out and Nate turned around and wrapped his arms around the mage's waist. He twined his fingers in Anders' hair as he pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

Anders eventually broke the kiss and nuzzled against Nate's neck. He looked up as Nate began chuckling. Nate tightened his arms around his lover. "You," he said, smiling, "come up with the best ideas."

Anders laughed. "Well, I'm glad I was able to properly motivate you."