This is a side project that has nothing to to do with my other Dragon Age serials. While I never played an "Alistair as a Grey Warden" Origins ending, I have made Bethany a Warden multiple times so far, seeing it as a better life for her. Alistair has always been a good friend to almost all of my Wardens so this is my way of giving him a bit of a happy ending. Updates to this will be much more sporadic than those for my stories, but I do plan on completing this one.
As for the title of this series it comes from the Goo Goo Dolls song which I find appropriate for an Alistair Romance theme.
Alistair couldn't keep his eyes off their latest recruit. He made sure to scowl as best as he could so as to not arouse - well, not appear to be becoming aroused in anyway by her presence. Being one of the senior Wardens in their party, as they freely marched through the Free Marches, he elected to hang to the back of the group and silently weigh the pros and cons of attempting small talk with the young Apostate, err, Mage.
"What're you giggling about", she asked over her shoulder.
Alistair froze in mid-step and uttered the longest syllable in his life, "Uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh".
"Fine, fine don't tell me", she continued marching on leaving him behind.
Apparently his inner dialogue was alot less silent then he thought. Alistair tripped over his own feet before catching his balance and toddling up beside her. His act of embarrassment he'd chalk up to a form of ice breaking.
"So you're - from Ferelden?" he asked her cautiously, almost half expecting to catch her stave across his face in response.
She said nothing.
"I happen to be from Ferelden myself. Redcliffe, specifically", he had continued as if his previous question was more a statement.
The girl cleared her throat and simply stared forward, avoiding his gaze.
"I knew a Mage, kind of like you, although right now she's charged with running all of Amaranthine and the entirety of the Grey Wardens of Ferelden", he learned from his time trying to gather armies to fight The Fifth Blight that a bit of ego stroking could a long way to fostering some goodwill.
"You knew my cousin?" she finally acknowledged Alistair and actually turned to face him, her eyes carried a hard look of skepticism.
"Cousin? You're - Hawke."
"No, thats my brother. I'm Bethany, thank you very much, and my mother's name is Leandra, Leandra Amell."
"Interesting", Alistair mulled over the information briefly in his head. This revelation was completely unexpected. The girl Bethany was related to his best friend, his Wardening partner, his saviour from the sentence of Kingship. Although, it was this same friend that got him in bed with - it was better for him not to think upon it.
After a while he noticed she continued to stare at him as they walked side by side.
"And?"
"Oh, sorry, uhh, she's a feisty one. All fireballs and freezing spells. The Darkspawn would sometimes come charging at us, this great wall of snarls and foul odors then ZAP they'd be frozen in their tracks then FWOOSH they'd be charbroiled. A scarily, fantastic woman", he chuckled.
Bethany laughed along with him, "So how did you two-?"
"Duncan", he answered right away. It hurt a bit, his mentor's name had conjured up old wounds, memories that haunted him as much as the Taint-driven nightmares.
"Duncan who?" she drew out the last syllable and it left her lips puckered, almost invitingly so. He shook his head briefly to break his obvious stare.
"I'm sorry, I'm terrible about these things. Duncan is - was the Warden-Commander of Ferelden, the title your cousin currently holds, and he picked me up from The Chantry about six months before he visited the Circle of Magi and conscripted her."
Bethany raised an eyebrow, "The Chantry? You were a brother?"
"Not exactly, uhh, I was in training for service as a... Templar."
Any hint of a smile dropped from her face as she turned away while the ever familiar awkwardness of silence then made itself at home.
He lost her, she was an Apostate living in fear in Kirkwall and here he had to open his gob and tell her he was training alongside her lifelong pursuers. Alistair sighed to himself and let himself fall behind again, resigned to having his foot planted firmly in his mouth as per usual.