AN: So, once again, my apologies for slow updating. My writing fire had died down quite a bit the past few months for some reason, but I have not and will not be giving up on this story! Anyways, this is a very, very short chapter, more an interlude really, and it is almost entirely made of fluff, because I didn't want all this fluffy goodness to be tarnished by the seriousness of the next few scenes. Those scenes that were originally going to be put in this chapter are already mostly written out, so expect another update sometime in the next couple days. In the mean time, enjoy the fluff!


"You know, Warden, it will be quite difficult for you to see an attack coming if your eyes never leave the Chantry girl's backside."

Her eyes widening, Catherine stopped in her tracks and turned to give Morrigan her most withering glare. She had indeed been caught. Ever since they'd left the Circle Tower, Catherine couldn't help but see that desire demon wearing the guise of an unclothed Leliana, which always left her wishing rather fervently that she could see the real thing. Which is how her eyes seemed to always end up staring at certain parts of the red-haired woman's body.

Unfazed by the glare she was receiving, Morrigan simply smirked and continued on past the fuming mage, further down the road that would lead back to Redcliffe. Slowly, the Warden turned to look towards Leliana, who was, much to Catherine's relief, grinning.

"Enjoying the scenery, are we?" the bard seemed to purr the words out, making Catherine's head suddenly feel a little lighter and her cheeks much hotter.

"Um, well, it is kind of hard not to," Catherine said slowly, flashing the redhead a small smirk that she'd been carefully saving for just the right moment.

"Oh my," Leliana giggled, "That shy smile you promised me certainly didn't disappoint! And you did manage to surprise me with it, I'm quite impressed."

"So do I get a reward?" Catherine asked with a laugh as she moved up next to the bard so that the two could continue down the road together, "That is how the whole quest thing works, right? The charming hero does something for the stunningly beautiful damsel in distress and she rewards said hero. You're the storyteller here, but if I'm not mistaken the reward is usually a... kiss."

"Hm, I don't know about being the damsel in distress," Leliana gave the mage a frown that was nearly convincing, but the laugh that followed gave it away, "Though I do like the 'stunningly beautiful' part, do go on about that."

"Oh no, no changing the subject!" Catherine exclaimed, crossing her arms and giving the giggling redhead as stern a look as she could muster, "You owe me!"

"You know, usually the hero has to do something actually heroic, like slaying something evil, before they get their reward," Leliana pointed out, "And I don't think smiling shyly counts."

"'Slaying something evil'?" Catherine raised her brow towards the bard, "Um, I don't know if you've noticed, but I do that on a daily basis! In fact, now that I think about it, I've done dozens of heroic deeds and never got a single kiss for any of them!"

"Izzy gives you kisses all the time!"

"That doesn't count!" Catherine pouted, "If I don't get some real kisses from a beautiful lady soon, I might not have the motivation for more heroics."

The bard seemed to consider this, finger tapping at her chin as she watched the mage out of the corner of her eye. Then, before the mage even realized what was happening, Leliana had grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her so she was facing the other women with only a few short inches between their lips. The bard's fingers slowly traced their way down the mage's arms as she looked directly into Catherine's widened eyes.

"Hm, I suppose it would be irresponsible of me to let our gallant leader go without proper motivation," Leliana said quietly, grinning as her arms looped around the Warden's waist and her face moved closer at what seemed to the mage to be a tortuously slow pace.

If someone interrupts us this time, I can't be held accountable for what I might do...

The mage had just enough time for that one last thought before she felt the silken softness of Leliana's lips and all thoughts of anything else were quickly forced to the side as she became absorbed in the kiss. As she wrapped her arms around the bard, Catherine savored the wonderfully pleasurable sensations and did her best to memorize every last detail of the redhead's lips and tongue as the two women stood pressed against each other in the middle of the road.

Catherine wasn't sure if they stayed like that for a few seconds or a few ages, but she did know that however long it was, it wasn't long enough.

Damn lungs and your need of oxygen!

Gasping for air as they pulled just barely apart from each other, the two women wore wide smiles as they gazed into each others eyes. They would have been quite content to stay like that for much longer, but the sound of a throat being softly cleared made them both suddenly jump apart and turn towards the noise. They both blushed as they found Irving, a few other mages, and a half dozen templars. All of whom, with the exception of Irving, were gawking at the two women.

"My apologies for interrupting," Irving said, smiling, "But I believe it was you, Catherine, that said we needed to get to Redcliffe as quickly as possible."

"Oh, um, yes, of course," Catherine stammered for a moment before continuing on hurriedly, "Me and Leliana were just waiting here for you guys to catch up to let you know that the others have cleared the road ahead. No ambushes waiting for us. So, let's go!"

"Good save," Leliana whispered with another soft giggle.

Grabbing the other woman's hand, the mage quickly turned them both back around to continue down the road at a quick pace. The bard, for her part, simply laughed as she was dragged along.

"You know, I wonder if I should be upset that you seem so ashamed to have been caught kissing me," Leliana said teasingly once Catherine had decided they were far enough away from Irving and slowed their pace.

"It's not that," the mage said as she brought a hand up over her eyes, "It's just, well, Irving has this knack for stumbling upon me when I'm in the middle of kissing some girl, and it's always so awk- what's wrong?"

Catherine turned to face Leliana as the redhead suddenly stopped. The bard had her hands on her hips and was giving the bemused mage a very displeased look.

"'Some girl'?" Leliana huffed, "I'll show you 'some girl'!"

And then suddenly Catherine found herself being pulled firmly against a delightfully soft, warm body as sweet lips came crashing down upon her own in a fierce kiss. For a moment, the mage was too taken aback by the passion of the kiss to respond in kind, but then her own desire for the red-haired seductress kicked in and she returned the kiss with equal feeling.

They didn't even have enough time to use up all the oxygen in their lungs before the sound of a throat being cleared interrupted them.

Oh damnit, not again, Catherine thought, her cheeks flushed with both desire and embarrassment as she pulled away and turned to once more find the mages and templars standing there behind them, Irving now grinning and the others still gawking.

"Waiting here to tell us the road is still clear?," the elder mage asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah yeah, very funny. We're in a hurry, I know," Catherine grumbled and pointed her thumb towards Leliana, who was currently grinning like the cat that found the cream, "It's her fault you know."

"Yes yes," Irving said with another chuckle, "It was always the other girl's fault."

Blushing an even deeper shade of red, Catherine once again took hold of Leliana's hand and dragged them forward.

"Just how many 'other girls' have there been, hm?" Leliana poked the embarrassed mage in the side, making her squeal slightly.

"Hey! Not that many!" Catherine swatted at Leliana's hand playfully before her face turned suddenly serious and she continued quietly, feeling suddenly very self-conscious, "You do know that I don't think of you as just 'some girl', right?"

The bard smiled brightly, giving the mage's hand a squeeze as she leaned over to place a soft kiss upon Catherine's cheek.

"Of course I do, my dearest one," Leliana said softly, leaning her head onto her companion's shoulder. The mage rested her head against the bard's and let out a contented sigh as they continued down the road together, hand in hand.

With the comforting warmth of her bard next to her, the future suddenly seemed a lot brighter to Catherine.