It had been a long day for Marian Hawke. As she entered her estate, she replayed her encounter with Knight-Commander Meredith over and over again in her head: 'Your continued freedom is at my sufferance.' The warning was made when Marian refused to help her track three apostates.
The idea of standing her ground and putting up a fight had crossed her mind for a brief moment-but she knew fighting Meredith in a building filled with templars wasn't a good idea. Even if she managed to get out alive, it was unlikely that she would be able to continue living in Kirkwall.
Had she had nothing to live for, perhaps she would have taken the risk, but the image of Anders plagued her mind. She couldn't risk being sent to the Circle or being executed for killing or attempting to kill the Knight-Commander.
So, after a rough day acting against her better judgement and sending an innocent young man to the Circle, and killing other two mages that wouldn't have turned into abominations had they not been cornered by templars-all Marian wanted was to see the man she considered to be her better half and get lost in his embrace.
She would have no such luck that night though; Anders had sent word he wouldn't be returning that night, there were too many patients at the clinic. Though it frustrated her, Marian knew his willingness to help people in need was one of the reasons she loved him.
As she walked up the stairs to her room, Marian considered stopping right there to turn around and go join him at the Clinic; if they couldn't have a moment for themselves, at least they could work together helping patients; she wasn't an expert healer like him, but she was capable of easing pain or closing an open wound. Something urged her to do so, but the rational part of her mind reminded her how very tired she was, and of how little help she would be with her magic almost entirely drained.
Perhaps it was best Anders didn't see her that way. He might ask her what she had been working on, and then Marian would have to tell him about Meredith's coercion… and she was certain she could do without an outburst from Justice. He had so much on his mind already, she wasn't going to get him any angrier at the Knight-Commander and the Templar Order in general.
Marian undressed and put on a nightgown before taking the time to unbraid her hair. She had missed her evening meal-acting against her principles usually soured her appetite; she only needed to get into bed and drift off. Tomorrow would be another day after all, and considering all she had done for the Knight-Commander, it was unlikely that Marian's presence would be requested at the Gallows in the morning.
The last thing she wanted to think of was work: no bandits, no conspiracies, no templars, no blood mages, no demons nor abominations, no fighting at all. Hopefully, it would be just Anders and her tomorrow.
After a few minutes of lying on her side with her eyes closed, Marian opened them in silent frustration and disappointment. She had gotten used to having Anders sharing her bed every night; of course there were nights he had to stay up late in the Clinic or working on his manifesto, or just doing research for… she didn't know exactly, but he did read a lot. Normally she managed to sleep without him, she wasn't the needy clingy type, but that night she really missed him.
Marian resigned herself to solitude and moved to Ander's side of the bed, resting her head on his pillow-she inhaled deeply to smell him. If she didn't have him in the flesh, at least she could have his scent. With a sigh, she cursed as she realized the sheets had been changed, there was no Anders' smell on either side of the bed, only the scent of the soap Orana used to wash sheets.
Frustrated, Marian jumped off the bed and went to the wardrobe, opening it to take out Anders robes. Sniffing, she concluded Orana was too good of a maid: there wasn't a hint of Marian or Anders' scent. Putting the clothes back into the wardrobe, she saw one of Anders' older robes and an idea crossed her mind.
Marian pulled it out and laid it on Anders' side of the bed. She thoughtfully cupped her chin. What little mana she had would be enough to stuff that robe with magic; hot air would have to do. With a twist of her fingers, she watched as Anders' robe fill out; she focused mainly on building the muscles in the sleeves and the lines on his wide torso - even if the robe could reach the floor and she could shape Anders' legs, it was unlikely she could manage to entangle her own legs with the airy ones she created.
The spell was simple, but it required focus to be sustained-the moment she'd let it go, the air would dissipate and the illusion would break. Marian laid down next to the air-stuffed robe and placed her head on what pretended to be Anders' chest. Marian was pleased at the warmth the robes emanated - as if they had a real body underneath - and placed an arm around its torso to hug it.
Now, if only she could create a heartbeat and have the chest rise and fall with breath, the illusion would be almost perfect. But no illusion could compare to the real Anders, so she couldn't really complain. Marian could, however, control the robes and have an arm placed around her back; the hand was missing though, his fingers tracing small circles on her waist until either one of them fell asleep.
Well, at least she had some sort of warm body embracing her. And even though many important parts were missing, she could pretend it was him she was hugging and thus close her eyes and try to sleep. The spell would probably break once she managed to reach dreamland, and perhaps the illusions would be better there-if the Fade were kind enough to give her Anders.
Marian was almost there, about to cross the line between consciousness and dreamland, when a known voice startled her awake and breaking her spell instantly.
"Marian?" asked a confused Anders from the threshold of the bedroom. Only the hearth illuminated the room, which could have led to further confusing assumptions due to the dim light. "What's that?"
She blushed-she actually blushed-as Anders approached the other side of the bed to examine the limp robe lying there. Marian immediately sat up and opened her mouth to say something, but finding no reasonable and non-embarrassing ways of explaining herself, she closed it again.
"This robe…"Anders arched his eyebrows as he took his robe from the bed and looked at it."I'm not sure I understand what you were doing." He looked at Marian with a dumbstruck expression. He probably would have commented on her blushed cheeks had she not seemed so nervous.
"I was… well… I" Marian stuttered uncharacteristically. Pausing for a moment to rearrange her thoughts, she took a deep breath and steadied herself to speak clearly. "I guess I just needed a warm body to cuddle with."
"And you used one of my old robes to create one…" Anders chuckled and looked at her in amusement-but that was not all. There also was that glimpse of warmth on his eyes, as if he were considering just how adorable Marian was in that moment.
"It was either that or asking Sandal to come snuggle. I don't think Bodhan or Orana would have complied," she shrugged slightly, trying to cover the embarrassing subject with a bit of innocent sarcasm.
Anders laughed a good hearted laugh, and when he turned around it was only to walk to the wardrobe and deposit the robe there. "When I first got here, I actually wondered what in the world you were doing with another man in the bed."
"You didn't think I was…"
"No, certainly not. I know you better than that," he conceded simply. Marian watched him with interest as he also took off the robe he was wearing, her blush fortunately fading-or so she hoped. "I just found it odd - it didn't seem to make sense. If you were going to cheat on me, you wouldn't do it in our bedroom. You'd be more careful." The last part was said jokingly, and Marian grinned a little, amused by his good mood.
"This season's cold temperatures aren't helping the most humble in Darktown; I didn't think I'd manage to come home before midnight.," he commented on a more serious note before getting into the bed.
Marian silently sat in the middle of the bed while Anders got under the sheets. She only laid down again when he gently grabbed her arm to pull her down with him.
"I take it you still want to cuddle?" For him, it was funny to see how she bit her lip and considered refusing the offer. Before she could reply, Anders kissed her tenderly on the lips. When he spoke again, his eyes were closed, and he breathed against her slightly parted mouth, "Surely you find me more appealing than an old, magically-stuffed robe?"
"I don't know, Anders. The robe didn't make me blush like a teenager," Marian replied in a teasing manner - although she meant the blushing part. As she spoke, she cuddled against him, placing her head in the space between his neck and his shoulder, and pressing her lips gently on his skin; one of her hands searching for his own, if just to entwine her fingers with his.
"Because the robe couldn't appreciate how adorable you look when you blush," he said, and shifted a little to kiss her forehead; their hands found each other and Anders squeezed hers lovingly.
Marian smiled against his skin; for a few moments they both remained silent and still as they relaxed, their breathing soft and regular. She noticed Anders was about to fall asleep, but for her there was still something on her mind; so she untangled her fingers from his and moved her hand to cup his cheek, gently caressing it with her thumb.
"You will be busy tomorrow, won't you?"
Anders opened his eyes to stare into hers, as if trying to read her true intentions. "Probably. I can't know for sure how many patients will show up at the Clinic, but if today was any indication…"
"I'll go with you," she said with much determination on her voice. A tiny smile appeared on her lips. "So I can help and you can finish sooner… and we can spend more time together."
Anders leaned closer and kissed her on the lips again, a shock of emotions flooding through both of them as their lips parted and the action deepened. Before it could get too far, however, Marian parted the kiss and bit her lower lip in slight frustration. Anders opened his eyes to look at her curiously.
"Can you hold that thought for… about eight hours?" she sighed softly. "I am so tired."
"Anything for you," he conceded and kissed her forehead again. Marian rolled on her other side to lay her back against Anders' torso; he embraced her with one arm and she held his hand. Thus they cuddled together and fell asleep.
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A/N: Thank you so much to my lovely beta Amanda. You rock. :) And also to everyone kind enough to read and review!