Dorian spotted them as soon as he walked into the hall, seated with Varric at the dwarf's usual table by the fire. From the looks of things their resident storyteller was regaling Aldaron's sister with some wild tale, likely of the Inquisitor's many exploits.
The resemblance between the siblings was obvious. The girl had the same wild blond hair as her brother, though longer and tied back in a messy braid that ran down her back. Their faces were similar, too, despite that hers was bare of tattoos. But where Aldaron's eyes were such a dark brown that for a long time Dorian had mistaken them for black, the girl's were lighter, hazel. Dorian found himself wishing he'd had a chance to meet Aldaron's parents, but he shook the thought from his head as he approached the table.
"Good morning, Inquisitor," he greeted, smiling as Aldaron turned his face up toward him. But the smile faltered a little bit when he caught the hazel gaze of the young girl at his lover's side. It had been a while since Dorian had seen such open distrust directed at him. He supposed the girl had every reason not to trust humans after what had happened to her. But this was his amatus' family, whom Aldaron obviously cared for very deeply, so Dorian was determined to do his best to get along with the girl. "I fear we haven't had the chance for a proper introduction," he said cheerfully, to hide his nerves. He shouldn't be nervous about meeting a teenage girl, how utterly ridiculous.
Aldaron seemed to pick up immediately on what Dorian was doing, because he sat up a little straighter in his seat before speaking. "Dorian, allow me to introduce my younger sister, Asheani. Da'ean, this is Dorian, he…" the elf floundered for a moment, "is the Inquisition's head researcher on history and magical theory."
"You make me sound so terribly dull, Inquisitor," Dorian chided, though the complaint carried no weight. It was a valiant effort to describe Dorian's work for the Inquisiton. "It is an honor to meet you, Lady Lavellan," he said, turning his attention back to the girl and bowing at the waist.
The distrust never left the girl's eyes as she watched Dorian. It made him uncomfortable even though he knew it was justified. He did want to make a good impression, however, and heaping on the charm had always worked in the past, particularly with young girls. It certainly worked on Aldaron. Of course, he'd never had to deal with Dalish women before.
"Da'ean, this is usually where you say it's nice to meet him, too," Aldaron prompted when his sister remained silent. He tried to sound casual, teasing, but Dorian could hear the slight strain in his voice. Was his lover nervous, too? Afraid that his sister might not approve of his taste in romantic partners?
"That's quite alright," Dorian assured as he sat down across the table from Aldaron. Best to keep his distance for now so the girl didn't think he was trying to steal her brother's soul. It had been a while since he last had to worry about that. "I have that effect on people. And I imagine this all must be terribly overwhelming." Food was already laid out on the table for breakfast and Dorian busied himself putting items on his own plate, "All this commotion and finery, and then to be confronted with my illustrious presence?"
Aldaron chuckled softly, and Dorian felt a tiny shred of relief. Heaping on the charm had always worked on him; Dorian was only hoping it would also work on his sister.
"You can ignore him," Varric piped up from the mage's side, "He's all talk. Nothing to be scared of at all."
"You wound me, Varric," Dorian exclaimed in mock dismay. "I have a reputation to uphold, you know. Evil magister, and all that? You can't just go around telling people that I'm nice."
"See what I mean?" Varric said to the girl, who was looking a little less suspicious now, but was still remaining silent. "All flash, no heat."
Dorian scoffed at the reference, Asheani looked briefly confused, Aldaron laughed until someone cleared their throat behind him. Dorian had been too distracted to notice Leliana approaching the table, of course the woman could be incredibly sneaky when she wanted to be. "Sorry to interrupt," she said with a pleasant smile. "Inquisitor, could I borrow you for a moment? It will only take a few minutes, I promise."
"Yes, alright," Aldaron replied, but his smile was gone, expression settled into 'serious Inquisitor face' as Sera had aptly named it. "I'll be right back," he assured his sister before rising from his seat.
Dorian watched him go until he and Leliana had disappeared behind the door to Josephine's office. Since the war had ended it was unusual for any of the Inquisitor's advisors to interrupt him during a meal, but Leliana was set to leave for Val Royeaux in the next few weeks to take up her new mantle as Divine and there were likely a lot of last minute tasks to see to before she handed the position of Spymaster over to her successor. Taking his eyes from the door Dorian poured himself a cup of tea and raised it to his lips as his attention fell once more to the quiet young girl across the table.
"Are you in love with my brother?"
Dorian choked on his tea and fell into a rather embarrassing coughing fit. At his side Varric burst into laughter. "Excuse me?" he gasped when he eventually regained control of his throat, though his voice came out weaker than he would have liked.
"Are you in love with my brother?" the girl repeated, barely blinking as she stared across the table at Dorian.
The mage felt his cheeks heating up uncomfortably. "I…" he stammered, finding himself at a loss for words. No, not at a loss, but an unwillingness. The word 'love' had never crossed either his lips or Aldaron's, at least not in the common tongue. It had never needed to. And Dorian was no fan of syrupy declarations anyway. "That is…" he tried again, but found the words continued to stick in his throat, as they always had.
"You'll have to forgive him," Varric interjected, finally prompting Asheani to take her eyes off of Dorian. "They don't believe in emotions in Tevinter."
The distraction allowed Dorian a split second to compose himself, "Yes, that is rather why I left," he said curtly, hiding the thundering of his heart behind a well-practiced veil of sarcasm.
"But are you?" the girl asked again, insistently.
"I…" Dorian stammered again. "Wait, just a moment. What makes you think there is anything going on between your brother and myself?" Although it was hardly a secret anymore. Aldaron had seen to that two months ago when, drunk on watered down ale and high on victory, he had kissed Dorian in full sight of every single reveler in the tavern. The word had spread quickly and not a day later everyone in Skyhold was well aware of their Inquisitor's romantic interests. And apparently happy about it. Prior to that evening their relationship had been Skyhold's worst kept secret, but even now Dorian was still trying to get used to the idea that they had nothing to hide so it wasn't as though they went about flaunting their relationship. And this girl had been here less than a day, during which she had seen Dorian and Aldaron together for perhaps half an hour at most. How could she possibly have figured it out?
"I saw you kissing last night," Asheani said.
Varric chuckled under his breath, "Busted. You'll have to come clean now, Sparkler."
"I'll thank you to stay out of this," Dorian snapped. He knew what answer this girl wanted, and he knew that saying 'yes' wouldn't be a lie, so why couldn't he say it? Yes, he did love Aldaron, even though he had never said as much. That was the problem, wasn't it? He'd never said it to Aldaron, never said 'I love you', so how could he say it first to someone else? The girl was still waiting for an answer, and she was remarkably patient and shockingly unyielding for someone of her age and size. "Don't you think this is a conversation we should be having with your brother present?" he argued, grasping at straws and knowing full well why she'd only spoken up after Aldaron left. "Oh look, there he is now." With great relief Dorian saw the door open and Aldaron step back out into the hall, sharing one last word with Leliana before heading back to the table again.
Asheani looked over her shoulder to confirm that he was telling the truth and Aldaron quickened his pace to join them again. "What did I miss?" he asked as he sat back down.
"Your sister is quite the gossip, did you know that?" Dorian asked, unable to hide how flustered he still was.
Aldaron frowned a little, glanced over at the girl, who was now playing innocent, and then asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I'm guessing she saw the two of you canoodling last night," Varric said, looking far too amused by the situation. "And is trying to give Sparkler the shovel talk."
"There was no canoodling!" Dorian protested vehemently.
"What?" Aldaron asked in surprise. He turned to his sister, who had the decency to look embarrassed, and then sighed in exasperation. "I'm so sorry, Dorian," he reached across the table to give the man's hand a squeeze. Dorian was still a bit flustered, but he returned the gesture all the same. "I had no idea she was going to say anything about it." That was little comfort, some warning that she knew of their relationship would have been nice. "As for you," the Inquisitor frowned and turned back to his sister, releasing Dorian's hand. "We talked about this, Asheani."
"You talked about this?" Dorian squawked. And Aldaron hadn't thought to say anything?
"But he's a shem," the girl protested indignantly. "Mae and Bae and Keeper always said not to trust shemlen."
"This is different," Aldaron argued.
"No it's not," Asheani objected. "They were right. Keeper tried being nice to the shemlen in the city, she tried to help them, but now everyone's gone because of it! First they took you away to this place, then they hurt everyone else! All they do is hurt people. The whole clan is gone because of shemlen like him!" With tears in her eyes the girl pointed an accusing finger across the table at Dorian.
"Asheani that's not fair," Aldaron tried to argue, but his sister was having none of it.
"You've been around them so long you can't see it anymore. You're becoming one of them," the girl accused.
"That's not true," Aldaron protested, and Dorian saw the hurt on his face clear as day. This was not a conversation for the main hall. Already they were drawing attention. And Aldaron was getting upset.
"Why don't we all take a deep breath and calm down," it was Varric who took the chance of interrupting the siblings. "Before either of you say something you'll regret." Unfortunately his words seemed to go unheard.
"It's your fault Mae and Bae are gone!" Asheani continued. "You care more about your shemlen than your own clan, or you would have done something to help! You wouldn't have let them all die."
Aldaron was shocked into silence, eyes wide and brows drawn together in dismay. He looked on the verge of tears and that concerned Dorian greatly. "You can't possibly believe that's true," he said, and had to restrain himself from going around the table to comfort his lover. That would probably only make this worse. "Aldaron did everything he could. But we were rather busy at the time trying to stop the end of the world."
"Nobody asked you, shem," the girl spit out with such venom that Dorian physically recoiled in shock.
"Don't talk to him like that," Aldaron leapt to his defense, an even further shock. "Dorian is a good man."
Asheani tensed, clenched her jaw and her fists in indignant rage. "You like him more than you like me," she snapped, and stood up quickly before fleeing across the hall and out the door to the gardens.
Aldaron was on his feet, her name on his lips and a hand reaching out after her, but the girl was gone and he did not immediately move to chase after her.
"Leave her be, Treehugger," Varric advised, "Give her some time to get used to the idea. I know your folk aren't big on strangers, and she's got plenty of reasons not to trust us. We are the big scary organization that took her brother away."
Slowly, Aldaron turned back toward them and took his seat, but he still looked concerned. "Relax," Dorian said, "Nothing can happen to her here. The most dangerous thing in that garden is Mother Giselle, and after this display I think your sister can handle her." But Aldaron did not seem comforted. His gaze was fixed firmly on the table and his shoulders were tense. "Are you alright?" Dorian asked in concern. The girl's words had been harsh, and Dorian knew well how much worse it stung to hear such things from family.
Aldaron took a steadying breath before answering in a steady voice, "Yes," but even as he said it the Inquisitor gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
Varric nudged him in the ribs, as though Dorian hadn't noticed as well. Aldaron was not alright, but this was not a conversation for the main hall. Not when they'd already drawn so much attention. The Inquisitor still had a reputation to uphold. "Well, I find I've lost my appetite," Dorian said, pushing his plate away though he'd barely touched the food. "Time to get back to work, I think. I've started some new research, would you care to see, Inquisitor?"
Aldaron raised his eyes from the table and looked across at him, confused for a moment before he seemed to catch on. "I would love to," he answered. Maybe even a little relieved for the excuse to get out of here. So Dorian rose from his seat and promised Varric a game of Wicked Grace at the tavern later before taking his leave, Aldaron hot on his heels as he slipped out of the hall.
"Are you alright?" Dorian asked as they stepped into the relative privacy of the rotunda. The space had been cleared out of all of Solas' possessions (in storage somewhere now) but no one had quiet decided what to do with the unfinished murals yet. All of that went easily ignored, however, as he turned to face his lover. Aldaron's gaze was on the floor, his expression twisted in anguish. Asheani's words had been harsh, and struck right where Aldaron was most vulnerable. "You know it wasn't your fault," Dorian said gently. Aldaron just nodded mutely, his eyes still fixed on the floor. Not a terribly convincing display. "It wasn't your fault," he said again, more insistent.
"She thinks so," Aldaron said quietly.
"People think lots of things, it doesn't make them right," Dorian replied.
"But she's my sister!" Aldaron exclaimed, and then quieted down quickly with a wary glance up toward the rookery. "And she thinks I… She thinks I betrayed the clan."
"You did nothing of the sort," Dorian said. They had been over this before more than once. "In fact, you did everything in your power to help them, as I understand."
Aldaron nodded slowly, and clearly the words were getting through to him somewhat. "Do you think she hates me because of it? Because I wasn't there for her?"
"From the way she was attempting to defend your honor the moment you stepped out of the room I think it's safe to say she doesn't hate you," Dorian replied. It seemed more like the girl hated him, actually. She probably blamed him for every way that Aldaron had changed in their time apart or every bad thing that had ever happened to him. "She doesn't mince words, your sister."
"No, she doesn't," Aldaron agreed. "She's always been like that. Last night she…" the elf hesitated and looked down at the floor, fidgeting nervously and cheeks slightly pink. "After you left she asked if we were… married."
"Married?" Dorian asked. He wasn't sure if he should feel shocked or embarrassed or laugh at the notion. "She saw one little kiss and thought that?"
"She's only thirteen," Aldaron argued, "And with the clan things were… less complicated." He fidgeted more, shifting from foot to foot and wringing his hands. Why was he so worked up about this? The Chantry wouldn't even let them get married (before, at least, now that wasn't so certain). But would the elves? Dorian wondered suddenly. He didn't know the first thing about Dalish marriage customs. If the world hadn't been ending, would Aldaron be married by now? Off in the woods somewhere, filling the world with more elves? Dorian couldn't picture that at all, and he didn't want to anyway.
Did Aldaron want to get married? Regardless of whether or not it was actually possible, was that something his lover wanted? He had certainly never given any indication, if that was the case. It was such a foreign concept to Dorian. All of his life marriage had seemed more like a death sentence than something to covet. Of course Aldaron's upbringing had been very different, and his ideas about romance still largely unjaded. Swallowing back the sudden embarrassing bout of nerves, Dorian actually had to turn away for a moment to compose himself. "Naturally, you corrected her?" he asked when he could face Aldaron again.
"I told her the truth," Aldaron assured him, but he frowned a little bit.
Meaning what, exactly? Dorian was hopelessly muddling up this conversation, as he had a tendency to do whenever talking about their relationship. "Well, good," he said curtly, afraid that anything else would just make the conversation worse. To his great relief, Aldaron seemed to accept the answer.
The elf dropped the subject, but was silent for a short moment before he spoke again. "What did Asheani say to you?" he asked.
"Oh, that…" Dorian hesitated, still uncomfortable. No, not uncomfortable, shy. Dorian Pavus shy, what a laughable idea. "She… She asked if I loved you. It caught me off guard."
Aldaron sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I had no idea she would say anything. I'm sorry; I should have warned you that she knew about us."
"I do, by the way," Dorian interrupted before Aldaron could continue apologizing for things that weren't his fault. He would have appreciated a warning, yes, but doubted that would have prepared him any better for the girl's question. The statement did break the elf's train of thought, and he turned dark eyes up toward Dorian. "Love you," he clarified, and for once the words came easy. Shockingly easy. He watched Aldaron's eyes go wide and his jaw drop open as though he couldn't quite believe what he'd heard. "Well there's no need to look so surprised."
"I'm not, I…" Aldaron stammered, still staring up at Dorian. Such a terrible liar sometimes. Then he smiled, small at first, then widening into a grin. "I love you, too."
Now it was Dorian's turn to be stunned. He knew. Of course he'd known how Aldaron felt, but he'd never realized that hearing it spoken aloud would make such a difference. Moving without thinking, he took Aldaron's face in his hands and kissed him hard. The elf let out a muffled squeak of surprise, but relaxed again soon enough, melting against Dorian as he returned the kiss. When they parted both were breathless and Aldaron's face was flushed. "Well," Dorian commented, "I'm glad we've finally got that out in the open."
Aldaron chuckled softly. "Did you still want to show me that research?" he asked.
"Did you ever truly want to see it?" Dorian asked in reply.
"Not really, no," Aldaron admitted.
"Good, because I don't actually have anything to show you," Dorian grinned. "At this point I would suggest taking the servants' halls back to your quarters and staying there for the rest of the morning, at least. Maybe longer."
"Mmm…" Aldaron smiled at the idea, "As nice as that sounds," he murmured, and reluctantly pulled out of Dorian's embrace, "I should go find my sister."
"Of course," Dorian answered quickly. He knew Aldaron was probably sick with worry regardless of how safe the girl would be in Skyhold. She had been thought dead a day ago, after all. "How very selfish of me."
"It's alright to be selfish sometimes," Aldaron commented, the hint of a smile playing at his lips.
"You stole that line from me, you little thief," Dorian said in amusement and watched that smile grow wider. "But I'll accept a rain check this time. Tonight?"
He watched the regret wash over Aldaron's face and knew immediately what the answer would be. "I don't know if she's comfortable being alone yet," the elf said softly. "I'm sorry. I know it's not fair to you, but…"
"But frightened children are more important," Dorian finished for him with a sigh. "No, I understand." He had never officially moved into the Inquisitor's quarters, but he had been living there for months now and somewhere along the line had begun thinking of it as 'their' room. How nauseatingly domestic.
"Just for a few days, I promise," Aldaron told him. "I'll talk to her."
"I don't think she's very keen on me," Dorian commented. It was embarrassing how much acknowledging that hurt. "And completely without reason, too. I mean, look at me. What's not to like? Although, I suppose I am the nasty human who is deflowering her brother. I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be under constant suspicion. I don't miss it as much as I'd thought."
"I'll talk to her," Aldaron promised again, and leaned up to kiss him softly, a gesture that Dorian eagerly accepted. "She just doesn't know you yet. I'm sure she'll like you when she does."
"Of course she will, everyone does," Dorian replied flippantly, hiding the fact that he was actually concerned that she might not. And what would Aldaron do if his baby sister never approved of her brother's relationship? Dorian was only just getting used to the idea that no one around here disapproved of their relationship. Difficult after a lifetime of shame and fear. He tried to tell himself that Aldaron wouldn't choose loyalty to his family over Dorian, but he didn't actually know that.
"She will," Aldaron repeated, as though he knew exactly what Dorian was thinking. "She just needs a little time. This is probably all overwhelming for her. She's never been away from the clan before. I'll talk to her," he promised for the third time. "Maybe we can all have dinner together in private. I… I really want you to get along."
"As do I," Dorian was quick to assure him. And he had been trying before the girl had started yelling and accusing him of things. "Hopefully she'll be more willing to hold an actual conversation later."
"I'll see you tonight, then?" Aldaron asked.
"Of course," Dorian replied. "The chance to be interrogated by a teenage girl? How could I pass that up?"
"Dorian…" His lover admonished gently.
"Yes, I know, I apologize," Dorian sighed. He had serious doubts that this dinner would be anything but awkward and unpleasant. That being said, Dorian had sat through his fair share of awkward and unpleasant dinner parties in his lifetime, what was one more? "She's your family. I will be on my very best behavior, no matter what she says about me, I promise."
"Thank you," Aldaron said sincerely. He pressed another soft kiss to Dorian's lips and then stepped away, out of the man's reach before either of them could be distracted again. "I'll see you tonight."
"I wish I could say I was looking forward to it," Dorian told him honestly. "But I'm just hoping it won't go as terribly as breakfast."
"So am I," Aldaron sighed before turning to leave. Dorian watched him until the door cut off his view, then turned and headed up into the library.
