A/N: Now, here is a new twist. This short series of fics will be me trying my hand at song fics. I hope you enjoy them. This features my Male Mage Warden from my previous stories: "Kissing Has Two Ss, Right?" and "Brothers, Bound in Blood."

For this fic, you might want to tune to "Looking Through Your Eyes" from the Quest for Camelot Soundtrack.

I own none of these, by the way.

The Warden grunted and gave one final heave, snapping the cart axle back into place. Finished, he blew out a breath and stood up, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"There, that should do it," his smooth voice told the dwarf merchant, Bodahn Feddic.

"By the stone, it looks good as new!" Bodahn exclaimed. "When we hit that rut coming down from the castle, I thought the old girl was done for! Where'd you learn how to do that?"

The Warden chuckled, placing his hands on his hips. "When you grow up confined to a tower, you tend to get bored and pick up a trade or two to pass the time."

"Well then, that leaves me even more in your debt. What does that bring me up to now?" The dwarf asked, smiling.

"Call it an even infinity."

"Ha! Well, either way, I'll say it again. My boy and I are lucky to be traveling with you," Bodahn said.

The Warden nodded and smiled back. "The feeling is mutual, Bodahn. You and Sandal get some rest tonight."

Unbeknownst to the Warden, a pair of striking blue eyes were watching him from a distance, a warm smile curling underneath them.

Clank.

Clank.

Clank.

As Alistair stripped more and more pieces of his armor off, he continued his protest.

"Are you absolutely sure?" He asked his friend.

"I'm positive," came the Warden's reply.

Alistair paused his disrobing, looking uncertainly at the man he trusted with his life.

"You know, you can sit this one out, Nicolae," he said. "Let me take tonight's watch. You, of all people, could use some rest after...after..."

"Thank you, Alistair, but I'll be alright," the Warden interrupted, knowing exactly what he meant. "I could use the time to think."

Alistair, now standing in his shirt and shorts, begrudgingly relented.

"Just give a shout if you change your mind," he said.

The Warden turned and gave his friend a smile. "I will. Rest well."

Alistair nodded, though his face was still full of concern. He clambered into his tent.

The Warden looked around the campsite. It seemed everyone was now retired to their tents for the night. He planted his staff firmly into the ground beside him and sat down before the roaring glow of the campfire.

He leaned back where he sat and looked off into the distance. Even shrouded by the night sky, the dim outline of Redcliffe Castle could still be made out. The Warden could hardly believe it hadn't even been a full day since...well...since the day he sent his oldest friend away.

The firelight danced across the Warden's face, lighting up his hazel eyes and accentuating the black flames tatooed around his eyes and chiseled cheeks.

The Warden sighed and hung his head. He sincerely hoped Jowan would be alright, that he would somehow make it in some far-off place and leave his troubled past behind him. The damndest thing was, even if Jowan did just that, the Warden would most likely never know. It wasn't likely he would ever see Jowan again.

"May I join you?" a female voice asked, tearing the Warden from his thoughts.

He turned and saw Leliana standing there, her hands folded in front of her with a gentle smile on her face. The smile flew to the Warden's face as well, but he quickly cleared his throat and looked down, growing sheepish.

"I have the watch tonight, Leliana," the Warden tried to explain. "You should get some rest."

"And leave you by your lonesome? I won't have it," the Orlesian girl stated before sitting down next to him by the fire. She was not taking "No" for an answer.

The Warden smiled and made no protest. In reality, he was already feeling better in her company.

"A Sovereign for your thoughts?" Leliana asked.

The Warden stared ahead at the flames, blowing a tired breath through his nose. "They're mostly about Jowan. I'm wondering if I made the right decision."

Leliana's brow kneaded with concern. "I told you, Nicolae, the decision to preserve life is always the right decision."

"Even a life as unstable as Jowan's?" The Warden asked.

"Especially such a life."

The Warden smiled and turned to face Leliana. She was truly a beautiful soul, inside and out. She always knew exactly what to say to keep him on the straight and narrow.

For a few moments, the two sat in contented silence by the fire. Eventually, Leliana looked up into the night sky.

"I enjoy the nights at camp," she said. "The night always seems more peaceful to me, safer."

Look at the sky, tell me what do you see?
Just close your eyes and describe it to me.

"Perhaps," the Warden replied. "But still, there could be plenty of things lurking in the shadows."

"Downer," Leliana accused.

"Realist," the Warden corrected.

Leliana turned to him, arching a playful eyebrow.

"Well then, that's why we stand guard together," she said. "Just like we have before, passing the time with talk."

Leliana looked down, feeling slightly embarassed. "Well, I talk and you listen mostly. Sometimes...I worry I bore you."

The Warden turned to her, shaking his head and smiling. "Bore me? There are limitless applications to knowing every type of Orlesian flower."

Leliana playfully shoved his shoulder. "Now you're making fun of me!"

"Never!" The Warden replied, chuckling. "I would never mock a Bard. That's courting disaster!"

Now the both of them were laughing. Leliana took a playful swipe at the Warden's head but he caught her hand in his. In that moment, they froze, hands clasped together. The Warden looked into Leliana eyes and she looked into his, their smiles growing in the silence.

The heavens are sparkling with starlight tonight.
That's what I see through your eyes.

Their hands parted and fell to their sides. Leliana frowned slightly, wishing they had stayed where they were. She knew what she felt for him. That much should be no secret, but she feared some things, such as the feelings of a woman, escaped him, Grey Warden though he may be.

The Warden cleared his throat again, drawing her fair face up to meet his.

"Listen, Leliana, I need to tell you something," he said, though he struggled in getting the words out.

"Yes?" Leliana replied. She was as attentive as she could muster, looking him straight in the eye. If this was what she was thinking it would be, she wanted him to say it himself.

"You...you've always been there for me." the Warden stated simply. The look in her beautiful eyes was making every little butterfly in his stomach flap its wings a million times per minute.

Leliana felt her cheeks begin to flush, but she kept her eyes locked on him.

"I want you to know how much it's meant to me, with Jowan, with everything," the Warden told her. "Sometimes it feels like our journey will never be finished...but you..."

The Warden paused and broke eye contact, chuckling nervously.

"You...you make me feel like I can always go on."

Now it was Leliana's turn to look away. She felt the blushing rushing to her cheeks vigorously and fluttering rose in her chest. The Warden wasn't done yet, though.

"And for that, I wanted to thank you," he said. "And tell you that...well...I..."

Leliana looked to him again.

"I..." The Warden smiled, sighed and shook his head. Why were words suddenly becoming impossible?

Leliana just smiled in return.

I see the heavens each time that you smile.
I feel your heartbeat just go on for miles.

"Do you remember that night of the party in Denerim?" Leliana asked him.

"Before or after Wynne nursed Alistair and I back to health?" the Warden replied, smiling at the memory.

"After. When I told you that, when you felt like telling me...something...you wouldn't have to feel afraid."

The Warden did indeed remember that. She had kissed him on the cheek that night and it had been easily one of the most wonderful feelings ever to grace him in his life. The memory of that feeling spurred his courage on.

"I care about you, Leliana." The Warden finally said. "I want you to know that."

Leliana's cheeks grew rosy nearly instantly.

And suddenly I know my life is worthwhile.
That's what I see through your eyes.

"I...I care about you too," Leliana said.

She began inching closer to him by the fire.

"You are...our leader...and my friend...and...sometimes..."

Their sides were now touching together, washed in the heat of the fire's glow.

Here in the night, I see the sun.

"Sometimes..." Leliana continued, in a near whisper, her face inches from The Warden's. "I think m-maybe...we could be more than that."

The Warden's throat felt as though it was swelling shut. He was so close to her face right now. All he would have to do is come a little bit more...

"More...more than friends?" He asked.

Leliana suddenly felt insanely embarrassed, hanging her head and shaking it.

"Look at me, stumbling over my words like some ill-educated peasant girl," she chastised herself. "Some bard I am."

Instinctiely, the Warden propped up her chin on his strong hand, turning her face up to meet his.

"You needn't worry, Leliana," he assured, his smile comforting. "I feel the same way about you."

Here in the dark, our two hearts are one.

Leliana's eyes shot open, pulling away from him. "You...you do?"

The Warden smiled and nodded. She was cute when she was flustered.

"But...but no one ever told me. You...you felt the same way and didn't do me the courtesy of informing me?" she asked.

Now it was The Warden's turn to panic. His stomach dropped out. Had he just messed this up before it even started?!

Before he could open his mouth and possibly cause even more damage, a sudden rustling cracked through the night air, drawing both their heads in the direction of the dark woods. The Warden shot out his hand and his staff flew into it. They both stood up, on their guard.

"Darkspawn?" Leliana asked.

"Maybe," The Warden replied making his way around the fire to the edge of camp, Leliana following.

"They've never come this close to camp before," The Warden noted.

The nearest large bush in front of them rustled violently. The Warden tensed, his grip on his staff tightening. He held it at the ready, staring straight ahead at the bush, ready to put down whatever was hiding in it.

Suddenly, a playful Mabari lunged out of it, plowing straight into The Warden. His staff went flying from his hand as he landed hard on his back, his face immediately assaulted by wet tongue.

"Ack! Pfft! Halleth! Stop!"

The Warden laughed as he wrestled with his faithful hound. Leliana laughed herself, finding the scene in front of her to be absolutely adorable.

Satisfied, Halleth happily barked and then scuttled off his master and back toward camp. The Warden struggled for breath from all the laughing as he lay on the ground, staring up at the beautiful night sky.

"Fear not, m'lady," he joked. "I shall protect you from the dastardly beast!"

The night was sky was now blocked from his vision by the beautiful bard's face, now lying on top of him. His heart nearly stopped as he felt her body on top of his, heat spreading through his every limb.

She just smiled down on him. She was going to get what she wanted.

"Chivalry is so dead," she whispered through her smile.

Overcome by her beauty and what he felt for her, The Warden reached up, grabbed the back of her head and pulled her lips down to his. He kissed her softly at first, deepening it longingly as the two warriors embraced the powerful feelings they didn't have to hold back any longer.

It's out of our hands.
We can't stop what we have begun.
And love just took me by surprise.
Looking through your eyes.

Alistair smiled and shook his head, watching the whole scene through the crack of his tent flaps.

"You dog," he whispered. "That's the real reason you wanted the watch, then."

To give them privacy, he closed the tent flaps and lay back in his tent, smiling.

"About bloody time."