Prompt : Pie

When the small elven woman informed him that Lía was in the kitchen, Anders thought she was there looking for something to eat. The woman had an appetite unlike anything he'd ever seen, but she swore up and down that it had everything to do with the Taint.

But when he pushed open the heavy wooden door and laid his eyes upon her, he could see that she most certainly was not merely looking for a snack.

Lía was moving around the kitchen like her arse was on fire, grabbing at ingredients and utensils he couldn't have begun to name. She'd given up her armor for a pair of trousers and an ill-fitting tunic; her hair was tied back away from her face, flour smudging the apple of her cheek. He lingered in the door for a moment, watching her as she kept running around, checking the fire, smashing what appeared to be fruit into the bottom of a bowl, rolling out a sheet of dough on the countertop.

"What in Andraste's name are you doing, woman?"

Lía's eyes flew up to his, her lips parting in a small "o" of surprise. She recovered quickly, however, and kept running around, but not before offering him a wide smile. "What's it look like? And don't call me woman."

Anders laughed at that, shutting the door behind him and moving farther into the room. This was one of the most amusing things he'd seen lately. It wasn't merely the fact that someone was baking a pie. It was the idea that she was baking a pie. "I didn't realize Growing Up as Nobility included lessons in pie-making."

She shot a mock-glare at him over her shoulder as she leaned closer to the fire, hooking the poker around the grating that hovered above the flames. "You do realize we're surrounded by sharp pointy things right now, right?" Straightening herself out, she hurried over to the counter, giving the bowl of filling a quick stir. "If you want any of this, you'll be nice."

"Do I even want a taste?"

Dipping her index into the thick red jelly, Lía lifted it up and popped it into her mouth. He watched as her eyes fell closed, and she gave a quiet groan. The sound that emanated out of her was nothing short of intense pleasure.

"On second thought," he made his way around the counter, resting a hand casually on her lower back, "I'm pretty sure I do."

Her hand dropped to the counter, "Well, try it, then."

She'd expected him to dip his own finger into the filling, but, really, she should've known better. This was Anders after all. His hand curled around her wrist, pulling her middle finger and thumb down against her palm before dipping the same index into the thick red substance. He then lifted it up to his mouth, suckling happily on the digit. "Ooh, this is quite good."

Lía laughed heartily. "You're horrible, but thank you." She tried to take her hand back only to find that he was still clasping onto it rather tightly, mouth moving to the other fingertips. Well, this hadn't been what she expected. "I have to get the pie cooking," she whined, giving her hand another tug. He released it with a lopsided smile that was nothing but wicked. "You can have them back when I'm done. I have this one and one for Varel."

"Such a shame," he replied, leaning against the counter and watching as she returned to her work. "Why are you doing this anyway? I can imagine the faces of those poor elves when the Arlessa stormed the kitchen."

Grinning to herself, Lía turned her attention to settling the thin layer of crust onto the top of the pie. "I didn't storm the kitchen. I asked them. Politely." She paused, nearly gnawing on her bottom lip as she focused on settling the dough on at the precisely right angle. When everything was to her liking, she shot him another, smaller smile. "But they did all go as pale as anything."

He followed her as she picked up the pie and made her way over to the fire. This was certainly an intriguing twist in his opinion of Lady Cousland. "So how'd you learn to bake anyway? It doesn't seem like a really helpful gift for the Commander of the Grey."

"Oh?" she asked, grabbing for the iron poker to slide the grating back into position. "Do you have any idea how quickly cookies raise morale?" When he merely nodded, she smiled, giving a little shrug. "Nan spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I spent a lot of time with Nan. I picked up things."

"So she let the Teyrn's daughter play with fire? How did you manage that one?"

Lía shot him a look as she dug a hand into the bag of flour and spread it onto the counter. "I can be very persuasive, you know."

He grinned, "So I've seen, but that's hardly proper conduct for a child."

No sooner had his comment fallen into relative silence did he hear a distinct thwack closely followed by the sensation of a stinging backside. His torso arched as he struggled to see the damage, and he muttered something about indecency as he dusted at the white hand print on his robes. When he looked back at her, he could see her shoulders bobbing as she stifled her laughter. "That's what you get," she snickered, lifting the remaining dough out of the bowl and placing it onto the counter. "I'll have you know that I have other means of persuasion."

A challenge was poised on his lips when she gave him the single saddest, most pathetic face he had ever seen. Her already large eyes seemingly doubled in size, and her bottom lip jutted out. Did he see her chin quivering? Her eyes becoming glassy?

"Maker, woman," he half-gasped, clutching at his chest, "I can feel my heart breaking."

At that, she brightened, leaning over to place a small, apologetic smile on his lips. He seemed perfectly fine after that, but she still felt bad. "Now now, there's no need for that. Look, try this." Digging a spoon into the much darker substance she'd be filling Varel's pie with, she lifted it up to his mouth. "They're his favorite, evidently. But it stains, so be careful."

He lapped the filling off of the spoon and made sound that was torn between surprise and delight. "I want that one," he laughed, "Have you tried it?"

Scooping up another spoonful, Anders rested a hip against the counter and pressed the spoon to her lips. She rolled her eyes before opening her mouth, waiting for him to tip the spoon over. He did, but not all of the filling landed on her tongue. Some dribbled onto her bottom lip, threatening to spill onto her tunic. She let go of a low whine of disapproval, but was quickly silenced when he leaned forward, free hand curling around the back of her neck to pull her into him.

Lía murmured something he didn't catch into his mouth, and it took all of his power to keep from smiling. She really didn't know when to be quiet. Then again, he had the same problem most of the time.

His fingers laced into her hair as he held her close, dropping the spoon onto the counter and palming the flesh of her hip. Her hands came to rest on his chest as she rolled onto the balls of her feet, her body pressing into his as closely as she could. The sugary sweet filling flavored the kiss, staining their tongues and the splits in their lips.

When he pulled away, he let go of her with much reluctance, dragging the pad of his thumb along his bottom lip to wipe away any of the filling. He couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit smug when he saw her stand there for a moment, eyes still shut, before taking a short breath, releasing it with a small smile. "You're right," she said, her voice little more than a purr. "That one's much better. I wonder if Varel would miss the measly little confection."

"Does he know that you're in here, or was this going to be a delicious surprise?" Anders asked her, moving to stand at her back. He rested his chin on her shoulder, eyes not entirely focused on the pie considering his vantage point. She managed a dimpled grin when she felt his arms curl around her, fingers teasing the fabric of her tunic just above her bellybutton.

"A delicious surprise," she chuckled, "The other one was supposed to be a delicious surprise, too, but you barged in on it."

Burying his nose into her hair, he placed a pair of kisses on the tender underside of her jaw. "And I'm not sorry for it, either." She could tell that he had an idea. It was just so painfully obvious, as it always was. "So... if Varel doesn't know he's receiving a pie, he certainly won't be all that upset if said pie never makes it to him, yes?"

"Evil."

"Well, maybe a little."

Lía laughed. "Fine, but you're only going to help me eat both of them if you leave right this instant and let me finish." He nodded, giving her throat another barrage of tiny kisses before finally backing away, nearly making it out of the kitchen before he heard her call out to him in an almost sing-song tone, "I expect to find you in my quarters in an hour."

"I wouldn't dream of disappointing you, my lady," Anders said, words heavy with suggestion as he dipped in an extravagant bow before turning and leaving her to finish her task.