A/N: This story is something that's been floating around in my head for some time now. I hope you like it. In my rush to pour it out, it is probably laden with errors, so feedback is greatly appreciated.

This story is dedicated to somebody who will probably never read this, but if they do, I hope they know it's for them.

Warning: Lemons from Chapter 1 onwards

Chapter 1: Changes

He stood up and locked the door to their cabin. This was going to be their last mission together for some time. Charlotte and her supporters had not long vanquished the darkness spreading over Albion and while there was still work to do rebuilding the nation, royal duties were starting to pile up. She knew she would be bound to the castle indefinitely after this. He knew this too. His life would pull him in a different direction. She would return to Bowerstone and he was to stay in Aurora to oversee works here, until the security of the region could be guaranteed.

Ben walked over to Charlotte, who hadn't taken her eyes off him since they entered the room. She sat on the edge of her bed with her legs crossed and he sat next to her before falling back onto the mattress, with his legs dangling off the edge and his hands behind his head. Charlotte moved further onto the bed and rolled onto her stomach to face him, propping her face up on her hands.

"You never usually lock the door, Ben," she broke the silence, staring into his eyes.

He grinned. "I don't usually have a reason to," he said before shifting closer to her. He stared back at her and her heart fluttered.

"Oh? But you do today?" she asked, moving to lay down on her back, closer to him again. Their hands were so close and she resisted the urge to weave her fingers between his.

"You tell me. Why are we both here?" he maintained his gaze on her.

She bit her lip. "Things are going to be different now. No more roaming through the wilderness shooting stuff together."

He chuckled. "I hope we can still do that occasionally. But you're right. It feels very final." Charlotte thought she saw regret in his eyes, but perhaps she was just feeling it in her own. "You didn't bring anyone else here, though. No other advisors, not even Reaver."

Charlotte shrugged. "I don't usually. So why is that so weird?"

He paused and was searching her face for answers. "You can feel it too, right? It's not just me?" He was the only person she felt she could be honest with. So she nodded her head slowly and he smiled. She hadn't seen him smile without a smirk before and it made her own smile spread across her face.

She sighed, trying to remain reasonable. "Something changed somewhere along the line. I don't know when."

"I do." Ben rolled onto his side and ran a strong, calloused hand along Charlotte's jaw before tucking some stray hair behind her ear. "When we first started making fun of Swifty's moustache."

"Ben, that was when we first met, remember?" she looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"I know. Nothing changed for me. I've only just come to see what I lost while I had other things in sight." He smiled down at her as he pulled her close. He ran his fingers through her hair and she purred. Charlotte closed her eyes and nestled into him. He felt so warm against the chill of the night. It didn't last long, as when she went to wrap her arms around him, Ben stood up, blew out the lantern and moved to stand in front of the large window. He pushed the heavy drapes aside and leaned on the windowsill.

Charlotte followed him. "Ben? What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I know about Elliot."

Charlotte looked at the floor, a twinge of guilt flowing through her. "I know about Page, too."

They stood in silence, looking out over the desert. Their lodgings were right on the edge of the Auroran desert. So desolate, but beautiful. The moon was full and the sands were full of shadow and light. She looked at him. The moonlight hit all of his features and it hit her how much she cared for Ben. In a much deeper way than she ever felt for Elliot. She realised how cold she was feeling now they were apart. Ben noticed her shivering and embraced her.

"You should really stop wearing shorts to Aurora, you know how cold it gets." He looked right into her eyes.

She shrugged. "I don't really care."

"You should. Think of the trouble I'll be in if the Queen returns to Albion with pneumonia?" he half-laughed.

She smiled and shook her head. "I mean… right now, I don't care about anybody who isn't in this room."

He placed his fingers below her chin and gently lifted her face. His eyes darkened and his voice lowered, "neither do I." Ben gently planted his lips on Charlotte's. "You look really beautiful tonight. Even though you always do," he stammered. Charlotte noticed, usually Ben was over-confident and sarcastic. She liked this side of him, too. She wasn't sure how to put her thoughts into words, so she kissed him back, hoping he wanted this as much as she did.

She deepened the kiss, opening her mouth and he immediately pushed his tongue in to find hers. She lightly bit down on his bottom lip and he moaned into her mouth. He held her tightly before moving one hand through her hair. She bit his lip again, enjoying how excited it was making him. This time he tugged her hair as she did it. She gasped in surprise and he did it again. He turned her around and pushed her against the wall adjacent to the bed. With strong, trained hands, he held her wrists against the wall. Her breathing became more laboured as he started running kisses from behind her ear, down to her clavicle. He nipped at her neck repeatedly as he enjoyed hearing her whimper and lightly shake. He did the same down the other side, biting harder as her tolerance increased. He only stopped once he heard her squeal. She could feel him smiling as he went and she let her body finally feel everything it had for him which she had repressed for so long.

He moved his face up to hers, both looking at each other with lust. He kissed her passionately as he removed his grip on her, moving his hands to unlace her shirt. As it dropped to the floor, Ben moaned and ran his hands down her sides, making her shiver. She unbuttoned his jacket and shirt hastily and tossed them onto the floor. She held him close and ran her hands over his torso and back, growing more excited as she felt years of muscles and scarring beneath her fingertips. As she was exploring his body, he unhooked her bra and ran his hands over her breasts. He pinched them gently, making her squirm and grow impatient. Her fingers found his belt buckle and she unclasped it, throwing it next to his jacket. She fumbled with his zipper and buttons and had loosened them when he pushed her onto the bed. She squirmed towards the pillows but he grabbed her legs and dragged her to the edge of the bed. He slid off her shoes before unzipping and sliding off her shorts. Once they were also on the floor he stopped to look at her. His breath hitched in his throat. Her hair spilled across her chest and her pale skin looked radiant in the moonlight. Charlotte looked up at him and saw more than lust in his eyes. He'd waited a long time for this, too.

She smiled at him, the sight of him half-naked in front of her was making her burn with anticipation. He kicked off his boots and removed his trousers. His erection sprang free and she could see how much he was wanting this. "No underclothes Ben? I'm not even surprised." She rolled her eyes playfully. He laughed deeply. "What can I say? I don't like being constricted."

Charlotte giggled as he crawled onto the bed, stopping once he was over the top of her. He kissed her sweetly, before staring at her intensely. "You're sure you want this, darling? You know it could change things."

She smiled at him. "Nobody has to know," she said glancing away from him for a moment, thoughts of Elliot and Page fleeting across her thoughts. She brought her attention back to Ben. "It won't change anything when it comes to my feelings for you. I don't think anything could change that."

He smiled before dipping down to kiss her. He rested himself on his forearms as he moved to her chest, biting down on each of her nipples. Every time she squirmed he could feel himself get harder. He moaned as her breathing grew more and more shallow. With his tongue teasing her chest, he brought his hands to her smallclothes. He gently brushed his palm along her centre. He could feel the wetness through the cloth and he groaned. He removed them and she gasped as the cool night air reached her heat. Ben could feel his heart beat harder as he lowered his head to run his tongue over her folds. As he pushed his tongue into her he brought his thumb down to play with her clit until Charlotte wasn't able to stay quiet anymore. Ben was pushing her to come undone. He had total control over her. She started to move herself into his face as her pleasure built up. As she started to squirm more frantically, Ben removed his thumb and mouth. "Ben, please don't stop," she panted.

"There's no way you're coming without me. I want to feel you around me when you do," he smiled as he saw that turned her on more.

Ben stood at the end of the bed and Charlotte dragged herself in front of him. He kissed her, hand wrapped in her hair, pulling it as their kiss deepened. She moved her hands to feel his length. She wrapped one hand around him while the other ran up and down his muscular thighs. She broke the kiss to move her mouth around his cock, pumping the base of his shaft as she sucked on him. His grip on her hair tightened as he grunted. "Fucking hell, Charlotte." He started to move her head up and down, forcing himself further into her mouth. She massaged his balls as he threw his head back in pleasure. Then, she stopped.

"Oh come on, Charlotte!" he said with an exasperated sigh.

She shook her head. "You're not the only one who can tease, you know."

She giggled as he turned her away from him. He wrapped his arm around her and ran his finger over her clit. He then removed it and gently slapped her ass. She arched her back. He slapped it, hard this time. She gasped. He did it again, before running his hand on the emerging red mark. He ran his hand over her pussy again. She was wetter than before, it was starting to leave trails down her thighs. He slapped her one more time before throwing her down onto the bed.

"I've never wanted somebody so badly in my life, Charlotte. Tell me you want me," he returned his fingers to play over her clit. When he was only getting moans in response, he stopped.

"Ben, it's not been want for a long time. I really need you. I need you so badly right now."

He smiled as he pressed himself against her entrance. They were so energised, both knew it wouldn't take much to send them over the edge.

"Please, Ben."

With that cue he placed one hand underneath her head, and kissed her deeply as he slid into her. She was so warm and wet, he entirely lost himself in her. She cried out in pleasure, calling his name repeatedly. "Ben, please don't stop" she cried out as he rubbed her clit while sliding in and out of her. He rolled them onto their sides, lifting her leg over his. She pressed himself closer to him and he squeezed her breasts.

"Ben I'm so close, please let me come."

He shook his head furiously. "Not until I say so."

She whimpered as he grabbed her hip and pumped her furiously. He knew he couldn't hold off much longer, but a voice he was trying to keep quiet kept telling him to make the most of this. It may never happen again. He wanted to give her as much pleasure as he could. When he could feel her getting tenser he slid out of her, making her ask for it.

"Please Ben?" she whimpered.

He kneeled in front of her, grabbed her hand and pushed it down onto her clit. "I want to see you do it," he said as he grabbed his shaft in his own hand and started rubbing himself hard. She stared at him as she put two fingers in his mouth. He sucked on them and bit them before she removed them and started drawing them over her clit. As she got more excited she pushed them into herself, arching her back into them.

"Fuck," Ben growled. She smiled at him, before closing her eyes as the pleasure continued to build. He could feel himself reaching his own limit. Before she realised what was happening, he pinned her hands to the bed and he entered her. She wrapped her legs around his back and squealed.

He stared at her. This was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. "Charlotte?" he whispered, right into her ear. "Come for me, right now."

And with that he felt her walls clench as he spilled into her. They writhed together, both of them moaning. Ben kissed Charlotte deeply and he stayed inside of her as they caught their breath and heartbeats. He withdrew and rolled besides her, clutching her tightly. They gazed at each other through hazy eyes. Fatigue from the entire day had started to wash over them.

"Ben?" Charlotte whispered. "Please don't leave me tonight."

He looked back at her with incredulous eyes. "Charlotte, I don't ever want to leave you."

She smiled. "I'm so tired but I don't want to waste our time together."

He smiled. He turned to retrieve his watch from the dresser. "It's already 5am." He held her tightly. "We don't even have time to waste," he half-smiled. His heart felt heavy. He knew that in about an hour their little world would be destroyed.

"Sometimes I wonder if we're together in an alternate universe," she said to him with closed eyes.

"What's our life like there?" he said, closing his eyes to join her fantasy.

"Happy." She smiled. "Some kids. A nice house in Brightwall. I'm teaching at the Academy and you've started up a new soldier's barracks just out of town in Mistpeak for the Royal Army. We do normal things like gardening on the weekends."

"Three kids, I think. Maybe four. I guess we should factor in five as a possibility, things happen after all!"

Charlotte giggled. "It's a beautiful thought isn't it?"

Ben sighed in approval. "Mmhmm. Listen Charlotte. I don't want this to be it. A one-night stand in the middle of the desert. I know we've slept together before but… I really need you to know that this isn't all you are to me."

She ran her hand down his cheek. His stubble tickled her fingers. "I know. And you're so much more to me than I even know how to say." She hadn't opened up to him like this before, and she was surprised when he grabbed her hand and kissed it, and it broke a part of her to see the sadness in his eyes.

"You'll be back next year for an inspection, yeah? I don't know how to say this. But if nothing else, I would love it if we could see each other. Once a year. I don't care where in Albion or Aurora it is. But I need to see you again."

"Ben of course you will," she had wondered if he had forgotten his place in the Royal Army. Then she realised the depth of what he meant. "This doesn't have to be it."

He smiled as sleep finally claimed him. Charlotte held him tightly, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep with only an hour left of being together. She was missing him already.