Sten had been apprehensive about attending this meal. When the Warden had been invited to dine with the nobility of Denerim, he assumed that she would take the potential king and leave him to a pleasant evening. He thought of it fondly. She had managed to find him a book in Qunlat and he had not a chance to read it yet. He would have sat by the fireplace, the hound at his feet. Perhaps he would chat with the witch if she had discovered anything interesting in her research.

But no. He instead had been dressed garishly in clothes that did not fit him and confined to a chair that creaked suspiciously under his weight. He felt as obvious as a raven among doves and he could feel the stares of those who had never seen a Qunari before.

He was half tempted to leave as the Stewart announced Alistair's arrival. He looked up to see his companion and felt his heart skip a beat.

Tabris stood beside him, her long dark hair flowing down her back with white flowers braided into it. Her lips were redder, soft and almost pouty as her eyes met his. And her eyes...the dress matched them perfectly, a soft velvet green that clung to her figure. He felt ashamed as he watched the curve of her hips as she sat down across from him, Alistair beside her. She smiled shyly and looked away from him.

The meal was served, a rather bland Ferelden dish that turned Sten's stomach slightly at the appearance. He ate politely, glancing up at her with admiration when he was certain no one saw. The Warden was beautiful; he had known that from the start. But on the field of battle, covered in thick armour, crying out orders...it seemed incomprehensible to him that this delicate creature before him was one and the same. She seemed so small to him and so vulnerable surrounded by those who wished to manipulate her, to deceive her.

His attention shifted as Arl Eamon stood, raising a glass to the group. Sten refused to lift his glass with the others, scowling at the wine that had been sitting in front of him all evening.

"My friends," Eamon greeted, gesturing towards Alistair, "I want to thank all of you for your support in these coming days. With all that has happened, it is good to know we can trust on old friends. And new friends too. Will you not toast with us, Qunari?"

Tabris shot him a pleading glance and he grimaced, picking up the glass with disgust.

"To peace."

"To peace," the hall echoed before drinking.

Sten glanced at the wine and put it down. He looked back at Tabris, seeing her lips further stained with the drink. He noticed Bann Teagan beside her, wiping a drop of the wine from her lips with his thumb. She blushed slightly, smiling at him.

Sten's instinct was to jump over the table and knock the man to the ground. He was imaging sweeping her in for a kiss, claiming her in front of them all when he was growling. Quite audibly.

He bit his lip, noticing the reaction of those around him and without a word, he left the table, walking as dignified as he could back up to his room. He shut the door loudly behind him, causing the hound and Morrigan to look up from the bed in concern. A moment later, they heard a light knock at the door before Tabris entered.

She asked quietly, "Morrigan, can you give us a minute?"

Morrigan grumbled, picking up her books and whistling the dog to follow her out the door. Tabris closed it behind them and turned, snarling towards Sten.

"What the hell is your problem?" She shouted, throwing her hands in the air, "I ask you to do one thing, one thing! You can't play nice for like three seconds? I know they're smelly humans who just get drunk and are so uncivilized or whatever shit, but this is important. I don't care if this isn't your country, but you can't just roar at people whenever you like!"

Sten bowed his head and she stopped.

"Are you...blushing?"

Sten turned away from her, resting his arm against the mantle of the fireplace. She walked to his side, waiting for him to look at her again.

"I know you don't like these people. I get it, I really do," she said, her voice starting to lose some of its ire, as he turned back to her. Her lip trembled as he leaned in close, cupping her face in his hands as he kissed her.

She gasped as he carried her to the bed, pushing her down into the sheets as he kissed her again. He growled into her ear, his lips so close to her skin, as he murmured, "They aren't a problem until they try to take what is mine."

Tabris grinned as he rose, throwing his shirt to the ground. She tried to hide her smile from him as he brought her into his arms, kissing her fiercely as his hands tore at her clothes, ripping the dress from her before tossing it to the ground. She gasped as he pushed her legs apart, his mouth meeting her sex fiercely. She cried out, her legs wrapping around his head as he tried to kick off the remainder of his clothes.

He tasted her as she came, whimpering as her legs trembled around him. Naked, he pushed her further into the bed, kissing her deeply before pressing his arms into the mattress, cradling her with his body.

She nuzzled against his neck before he pushed her back down, his hand resting on her chest as his other hand pushed open her legs, his cock hard throbbing at the sight of her splayed before him, her lips still red as wine.

He pushed into her, his hand coming to cup her head as he held her to him. He grunted as she kissed him, letting him hoist her into his lap as he moved her up and down his cock. He growled into her neck, feeling her moans vibrate against his lips.

"You are mine, kadan," he grunted, his nails digging into her hips, "You are no man's but mine. Tell me."

He pulled her back by her hair as she groaned happily, her hand trailing down between her legs to touch herself as he bucked into her, pushing her down into the bed as he thrust.

"Only yours," she murmured between hungry kisses.

He felt her tremble underneath him and he quickened his pace, pushing as deep as he could, his hand still grasping the back of her head protectively. He felt the shudder first, pushing into her as he came, roaring. He rolled to his side, pulling her to his side. She kissed him, her hands against his chest softly as she smiled.

"If I had known you had no self control, I never would have worn that thing," she chided.

He said nothing then, watching her flush cheeks, her long black hair tangled around them, her green eyes vivid as they met his. This was the Warden he knew, stripped from armour, from finery. The one he loved.

As they leaned in, their foreheads touching, their lips a breath from each other, she smirked and said, "Or maybe I would have worn it a lot sooner."