Dorian hesitated before collecting his things, casting an odd sideways glance at Rin.

"I uh…" he began, feeling quite awkward. "Have something that I… think is yours…" he murmured, not looking at Rin in the eye and moving toward the entrance of his tent.

Rin watched him curiously, wondering what it could possibly be. Then, Dorian came back out of his tent with a long, slender bow in his hand and Rin was certain his heart had stopped in his chest, a wealth of emotion on the brink of cascading over him.

He stared, not noticing how nervously apprehensive Dorian looked, pure disbelief coating his face. "That's… my bow," he said very quietly, slowly taking the delicate weapon from Dorian's hands. "I can't believe…" he murmured, that overwhelming wash of emotion suddenly coursing through him, making him feel dizzy. His fingers traced the carvings gently, his eyes beginning to feel hot as his thought of his father. He swallowed with immense difficulty, staring straight at his bow. "Dorian…" he said in a voice that was almost inaudible, "You… have no idea what this means to me." Rin slowly looked up at Dorian, wanting to hug him, kiss him… do something to show his gratitude. But, he was struggling enough with words. "How did you…"

"Fenris saw it," Dorian said quickly, his heart beating far too fast. "He recognised it... from that time with the pirates," he added with a slight smile.

Rin looked back as his bow, still feeling foggy with disbelief. "Dorian… thank you," he said very seriously. "I…" he couldn't believe how inarticulate he was right now. He cleared his throat quickly. "Why did you get it?" he asked finally, confusion coating his quiet voice. "I… thought you thought I was dead…"

Dorian swallowed quickly, his stomach lurching. "I uh… bought it before the explosion," he lied quickly.

"Right," said Rin just as quickly, his cheeks flushing slightly, "Obviously." Of course. Why would he have bought it after that? Rin felt stupid for having asked. "Well I… can't thank you enough," he said seriously, meeting Dorian's eyes, feeling a little flustered now. "And I'll repay you. I actually have some coin now," he added, trying to smirk but still a little too overwhelmed to do so. "Turns out I'm incredible at gambling," he continued, not really sure why he was continuing, but he was beginning to speak quite fast. "Varric's my main source of income, you can ask him; apparently I'm dwindling down his savings with dumb luck…" Oh no, he was rambling now. Rin: shut up. "But, to be perfectly honest, dumb luck seems to be my specialty." Rin wanted to internally slap himself. This was worse than his inarticulateness. He cleared his throat amidst his rambling. "So anyway…" he added quickly, "I'm sure I have enough to cover it. Was it expensive? I hope it was. Is that strange?"

Dorian's eyebrows slowly went up his forehead as Rin spoke, a small smile curling at his lips; he hadn't seen him so flustered before. He was… well there were no other words for it: incredibly cute like this. But, he did wonder what specifically had put that blush in his cheeks and caused him to be this nervous.

"You're being ridiculous," Dorian said when he finally got the chance, still smiling. "I don't want you to repay me. It shouldn't have been taken from you in the first place. Just… let it be a gift."

Rin looked at Dorian for a long moment, wondering if it would be too much to say, perhaps you could let me repay you in 'another' way… But, he wasn't sure what kind of reaction that would receive. And his treacherous nerves were already causing him to make a fool of himself so far. For all he knew, Dorian may not be interested anymore. They'd had their night… that was supposed to be it. And from what he knew of Dorian's past with men… he wasn't a relationship sort of guy. Rin would probably embarrass himself even further if he brought about the dreaded 'feelings' talk.

How was that even on his mind anyway? Maker's breath, they had a million other things to be concerned with right now. This time magic situation being primary.

However, Rin was saved not only from having to work out what to say, but also from embarrassing himself further, by Fenris who came over to them, all of his gear packed.

"Well come on," he insisted. "Get a move on," he smirked at Dorian. "I know you're used to people doing things for you all the time, but you supposedly gave that all up, remember?"

Dorian rolled his eyes, shaking his head in annoyance at Fenris, "Very amusing," he said dryly before glancing one more time at Rin then moving to pack his stuff.

"He didn't even know how to pitch a tent properly," Fenris added to Rin in dark amusement.

Rin smiled slightly, picturing Dorian struggling with that while a sarcastic Fenris watched on, probably thoroughly enjoying himself. Rin couldn't believe that they'd even been travelling together. "I'm sure you were very helpful then too," he said sarcastically.

Fenris chuckled, "Of course," he said smirking. His eyes slid to the bow in Rin's hand. "So is it yours then?" he asked curiously.

Rin nodded, "It is. I really didn't think I'd ever see it again."

"Well I guess you weren't completely mad for buying it then," sighed Fenris to Dorian when he came back to join them with his gear.

Dorian panicked, not wanting Fenris to let slip that he'd bought the bow after the explosion. "No, well you're wrong about most things, aren't you?" he quipped sternly and Rin smiled again, deciding Dorian and Fenris had the most bizarre relationship with each other. "Let's go," he added, making them walk with him to Cassandra, Varric and Solas. "As much as I'm sure I'll detest the weather the closer we get to the Frostbacks…"

That evening most of the conversation around the camp fire revolved around Alexius and time magic. Rin noticed Dorian watching him a lot, but he'd quickly look away if Rin tried to catch him out. But then, Varric brought out the rum they'd found the previous day; something Cassandra and Solas didn't seem interested in as they moved away, leaving Fenris, Varric, Dorian and Rin to enjoy themselves.

Dorian moved around the circle to sit himself right beside Rin as Fenris and Varric were involved in a long, catch up conversation.

"So do you think the Seeker is going to let me live?" he asked quietly, a small smile curled on his lips that had been stuck there most of the evening - particularly after a few shots of rum.

Rin chuckled, "Don't worry about Cassandra," he told him honestly. "I was her prisoner when I first woke after the Conclave," he explained. "She just… takes some warming up to. I think I'm close to being allowed to call her a friend now."

Dorian smirked, "She's got quite a stink eye…" he murmured, glancing over to her. "Perhaps more broody than that one," he added nodding his head over at Fenris. "And Varric actually calls him broody."

Rin laughed quietly. "There's some competition there, for sure."

"Varric is also calling me Sparkler," Dorian added with a frown of displeasure. "I'm not fond of it."

Rin's smile grew with amusement. "Well I just get 'Herald'," he said grumpily. "At least yours is a little more creative."

Dorian smiled, but he looked at Rin curiously for a moment, then, "So tell me honestly," he said lightly. "Are you the Herald of Andraste?"

A smile played around Rin's lips and he took a sip of his rum. "Do… you think I am?" he asked with a curious smirk, putting his glass down by his feet.

Dorian smiled again, then suddenly picked up Rin's left hand from his lap, taking the elf immensely by surprise. Rin's heart jolted in his chest as Dorian ran his fingers softly over the mark on his palm. "Let's say I do…" he said lowly, his eyes catching Rin's.

Rin chuckled quietly. "Then I'd say you've helped yourself to more than your fair share of that rum."

Dorian smirked, still holding Rin's hand, palm up, in his own. "As true as that may be," he said lightly. "I'm sure I'll stick to my answer in the morning."

Rin shook his head smiling. "What I also think," he continued, leaning a little closer to Dorian. "Is that you're fascinated by the magic of the mark and you've been dying to look at it all evening."

Dorian chuckled, "That may be true too," he admitted, smiling at Rin through the flickering light of the camp fire.

"Well go on then," smirked Rin, nodding at his hand that Dorian still held. Dorian smirked, but took Rin up on his offer, looking back to his hand with great interest.

"What's it like?" Dorian asked quietly after a moment, his fingers causing an array of tingling sensations through Rin's skin as he continued to softly trace the mark.

"The mark?" Rin confirmed quickly, his stomach fluttering with nerves that were only slightly settled by the warming liquor he'd been drinking.

Dorian reluctantly gave Rin his hand back nodding.

"It's uh… strange…" Rin muttered looking down to his hand that was back in his lap and feeling a little cold without Dorian's touch now. "I certainly don't think it makes me a Herald," he added, glancing up at Dorian with a smirk. "And I… don't like it."

Dorian raised his eyebrows, smiling slightly in amusement. "If that mark is the reason you're still alive," he said quietly. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you and say that I do like it."

Rin smiled, his stomach doing a little flip. "I suppose there is that…" he agreed quietly. "So then," he added swiftly. "Any conclusions? Am I magic now like you?"

Dorian chuckled, "I've never seen anything like it," he said simply. "Which was to be expected really. Can you feel it still?"

Rin looked down at the mark briefly before meeting Dorian's gaze again. "I can feel it all the time…" he murmured. He frowned slightly, "Honestly… it sort of freaks me out," he admitted quietly.

Dorian frowned too in concern, "What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

Rin stared at the mark for a moment, slowly clenching and unclenching his fist. "It feels powerful…" he said finally, his voice still very quiet. "And… I… don't feel as though I have control over it…" he added, speaking so quietly now that Dorian had to lean in quite close to hear him. He looked up, his eyes catching Dorian's that looked almost golden with the fire reflected in his silver irises. "Wouldn't that frighten you?"

Dorian held his gaze; he could tell Rin clearly didn't normally tell people that as the elf looked rather vulnerable having just admitted his fears to Dorian. "It most certainly would…" he said quietly, now looking down to Rin's hand again and he suddenly thought just how lucky the world was that it was Rin with this powerful mark.

When they finally arrived back at Haven, stowing their horses away in the stables, Dorian was watching the people's reactions to seeing the Herald of Andraste with interest.

Rin seemed quite uncomfortable any time anyone addressed him as such, and he certainly didn't look like he liked it if they offered a slight bow. Dorian smiled a little at that; he certainly wasn't the power hungry type.

His smile then became quite amused as he noticed the amount of 'swooning' looks Rin was receiving from a number of the women about the place.

"Someone's Mr Popular…" Dorian murmured to Rin as they walked along the snow dusted path in Haven.

Rin glanced at him with a wry look. "Mm," he mused. "In Haven maybe, I think I have more haters than lovers outside of here…"

Dorian's stomach did an odd flip when Rin said 'lovers' and he suddenly wondered if… he'd been with anyone since him. He certainly would have the option it seemed. But, that thought made his stomach curdle with distaste.

Rin glanced at Dorian when he didn't say anything, but then smiled in amusement when he noticed a few little white flecks of snow had landed in his moustache.

Dorian caught his gaze, "What's that smile for?" he said frowning.

Rin raised his eyebrows, smile growing. "'That' smile?" he questioned. "It's a type, is it?"

Dorian felt the back of his neck warm slightly. It was true; Rin had many different smiles and Dorian liked that he knew perhaps nearly all of them. "Yes," he said nonchalantly. "What's amusing you?"

Rin laughed, his heart skipping a beat because Dorian did know what smile that was. "You have snow in your moustache," he said still smiling and Dorian scowled immediately, quickly moving a hand to brush the offensive flakes from it.

"Were you going to tell me? Or were you planning on amusing yourself with it a little longer?" he quipped, but he had a smile beneath his now snow free moustache.

Rin chuckled, "Well I did tell you," he retorted smirking. "And it was very becoming, don't worry," he added slyly.

Dorian gave him wry look. "White spotty moustaches are becoming to you now? You've been away from civilised society for too long."

Rin laughed again; he'd missed this quite a bit. "Well… I mean it was a bit cute," he shrugged, hoping he wasn't blushing too noticeably.

This time Dorian's stomach flipped with nervous enjoyment and he let out a surprised laugh. "Cute?" he repeated, seemingly pretending to be appalled. "Goodness, now I know we need to get you some help."

That same smile still twisted around Rin's mouth and he chuckled, watching the path ahead of them. "What would you prefer I found it?" he quipped lightly.

Dorian looked at him, unable to wipe the smile from his face. Then, "You can find it cute," he said softly after a moment making Rin's heart skip in his chest at his tone. Then he added quickly in his usual voice, "But don't go spreading it around. I have a reputation to uphold, remember? There's no such thing as a cute pariah."

Rin chuckled again, "Well, maybe you're the exception," he said smirking, and this time the blush had reached his cheeks, but that only made Dorian's smile grow.

"Well, apparently so," he smirked, enjoying himself quite a bit.

But then, "Herald," Cassandra said sternly walking over to them, her eyes flickering between the two. "…Dorian," she added, eyeing the mage. "The others are ready in the war room for us to discuss what we learned."

"A war council?" quipped Dorian idly, holding Cassandra's steady gaze. "Sound marvellous. Shall we then, Rin?" he added turning his smile back on Rin who was watching him in amusement.

Cassandra pursed her lips and rolled her eyes before walking away ahead of them whilst grumbling under her breath.

"You shouldn't antagonise her," chuckled Rin as they followed her steps. "Or she'll never like you."

"Nonsense," smirked Dorian. "I wasn't antagonising her. At any rate, you seemed to enjoy it."

Rin laughed quietly. "Maybe," he said slyly. "But, then I enjoy a lot of things that I shouldn't."

Dorian raised his eyebrows, still smirking, "Is that so? I think we might have that in common."

Rin smirked at him one last time as they reached the door that Cassandra had just disappeared through; the war council on the other side. "I'm sure that's true," he quipped idly. "So… are you ready?" he added seriously, not sure how the others would treat him, but determined to make sure they knew he was to be trusted.

Dorian gave him another smile, "How bad could it be?" he said before they opened the door and went in.

Dorian walked slowly down the hallway in Haven's hall that evening, nearly rolling his eyes as he thought of the conversation that went down in the War Room regarding Alexius. The Commander of their forces, Cullen, had wanted to disregard the mages still, despite the time magic situation, and seek out the Templars help to close the breach.

But, Rin at least had stood his ground, backed by Leliana and Josephine, and a plan had been set. A dangerous plan as it used Rin as bait. But, one that should work.

Dorian stopped suddenly in his tracks as he neared the main exit, hushed voices echoing down a narrow hall to his left. And he was almost certain he'd heard his name.

Hesitantly, Dorian went down the hall, listening closely. He stopped, narrowing down the voices to a room on his right, now able to hear them fairly clearly.

"Having him here is only going to cause us more problems…" Cassandra was saying lowly.

"People will always talk, Cassandra. He's here to help, and we need all the help we can get," Leliana replied smoothly.

Cassandra sighed roughly, "We think he is here to help," she said tersely.

"I didn't say I wouldn't do my job," Leliana replied straight away, and Dorian could almost hear the smirk in her voice. "I'll be watching him. I already have people looking into what he's told us. If he's lied at all, we'll know. But, he's an old friend of Rin's, he-"

"From what I gathered," Cassandra cut across. "They were a little more than 'friends'."

Leliana had to stifle a girlish giggle. "Really?" she said and she must have been smiling. "I didn't realise Rin was fond of men…" she pondered. "Though… actually that makes a lot of sense now that I think about it…"

"Leliana," snapped Cassandra sternly. "My point is that Rin…" she sighed roughly. "He's sweet. I'm sure… he could be blinded if he held a soft spot for this mage."

Leliana sighed, "He's sweet, yes. But, he's not stupid, Cassandra," she said quietly. "But… you are right. Here to help or not, people are selfish and Rin doesn't realise how much influence he has as the Herald. A clever person could use him to get what they want. I'll… keep an eye on it. What does Varric's friend, Fenris, think of him?"

Cassandra sighed lowly, "I don't like going through the long train of who vouches for who. Varric vouches for this 'Fenris' but we don't know him. Fenris seems to be of the opinion, though he admitted it quite begrudgingly, that Dorian would do nothing to hurt Rin."

"Hmm…" murmured Leliana. "Well, hurting him and using him are two different things. Not to mention the rumours alone could be detrimental to the Inquisition… A Tevinter mage pulling the Herald's strings?"

"Now you're seeing it from my perspective," said Cassandra dryly.

"Still," Leliana said swiftly. "For now the most pressing issue is this time magic situation. We need his help."

Dorian moved away from the door suddenly, having heard far too much already. Cold anger built in his veins and he hurried down the hall. Of course. How could he have expected any different? He was a 'dread mage of Tevinter'.

He stomped out of the main hall, pulling his coat tightly around him as the freezing night air bit into his skin, his boots sliding slightly on the frosty path. He made a beeline for his cabin that he'd been shown earlier, deciding to just call it a night. There was nothing he could do to change their minds right now, nor did he feel like he should have to. He wasn't even sure what it would take to convince these damn Southerners that not every Tevinter countryman was an evil villain.

For them to think that he'd ever use Rin for personal gain... It was disgusting; they truly had no idea what type of person he was at all. The fact that his and Rin's personal life was already up for discussion made him furious as well. It was none of their business. But, people never can seem to help sticking their nose in where it isn't welcome.

If Rin held a soft spot for him…

Well, if Rin held a soft spot for him he'd be the luckiest man in the world. And of course he'd wondered it since the moment his brain accepted the ecstatic truth that he was alive. But, they hadn't spoken of their night together once, and there had been times when either of them could have mentioned it… but neither had. 'I don't always want just sex you know…' He could hear Rin's comment from such a while ago now as clear a day in his head. But, he was sure Rin would have mentioned something by now if Dorian was any different to the other men he'd been with. Wouldn't he?

Suddenly, Rin was right before him in the flesh. "Hi," he smiled brightly, his green eyes glinting in the light of the moon.

Dorian was a little taken aback, far too immersed in his thoughts. "Rin," he spluttered. "What are you… doing?"

Rin raised his eyebrows, smiling slightly. "I'm going to the tavern…" he said slowly. "I didn't think that was such an odd thing to do. Would you like to join me? I'll buy you a drink," he smirked.

Dorian's stomach flipped and he couldn't hold Rin's gaze. "Actually I… think I'm just going to call it a night."

"…Oh," Rin said, unable to hide his disappointment. "Everything ok?" he checked, frowning slightly in concern.

Dorian forced a smile. "Don't worry, just because I'm turning down alcohol doesn't mean the world is ending…"

Rin smiled dryly, glancing at the huge, looming breach in the sky. "Really want to test that theory?"

Dorian laughed slightly despite himself. "Well you're here to save the world aren't you?" he smirked. "So it won't end."

Rin laughed, "You've certainly jumped on the whole 'Herald of Andraste' band wagon haven't you?"

"Well I'm sure I wouldn't have been as quick had it not been you," Dorian smiled.

Rin blushed slightly, glad the dark night sky should hide it. "I just don't know if you're being serious or not sometimes," he said idly.

Dorian smirked. "I'm being serious," he said lightly. Then he glanced back at Haven's main hall where light had flooded out upon the snowy ground as the front doors opened once more, Leliana and Cassandra walking out. "Anyway," he said briskly, turning back to Rin. "Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning."

He went to walk off, but Rin frowned, following him quickly and laying a hand on his arm. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked lowly, peering at him in concern through the moonlight.

Dorian's heart skipped a beat at the contact and the care in Rin's eyes. "Far more than alright," he quipped quickly. "So insulting, Rin. I prefer terms like… 'extraordinary' or 'marvellous' certainly not alright."

Rin smiled wryly, not really believing him. He sighed, "Fine…" he relented. "I'll stop pestering you. But, if you change your mind… the offer is still there."

"To buy me a drink?" checked Dorian with a very small smile.

Rin smiled too, "Yes."

Dorian inclined his head, "Another time then. I'll hold you to it."

Rin chuckled, "Don't you always?"

Dorian gave him one last smile, turning away again and feeling bitterly annoyed at the pit of his stomach, wishing he could take him up on that offer right now. "Goodnight, Rin."

Rin watched him walk away feeling thoroughly disappointed. "Goodnight Dorian…" he murmured before turning away himself and heading once more for the tavern, though not at all in the mood to go anymore.

A/N Quicker update! Yay! Thank you again animexchick for your amazing review! It means so much, as you know, so thank you! Also thanks everyone for the faves/follows :) I hope everyone is still enjoying the story.