Loose Tongues And Tight Lips.

The wine was beginning to make the room sway a little, and he was feeling very giddy.

"No, no, no, you have to really grab hold, squeeze it tight, then rub," Neri said, barely stifling a giggle.

Olivia and Ella were watching her with bemused expressions, both of their cheeks rosy from the alcohol; Lenny, despite his usual shyness, was actually smiling, and Maxime couldn't stop the giggle that burst from his lips.

Neri swished her head around to him, her bright brown eyes dancing with mischief. She smiled crookedly at him. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, beardy?" She winked at him.

Maxime could feel his cheeks burning. "Well, I do have quite a lot of experience with sanding staves."

Neri's eyes darkened dangerously, her crooked smile turning into a predatory grin. "Of course," she leaned in close to him, "I bet yours is very smooth."

Maxime giggled again, and immediately put his hand to his mouth to try to stop himself.

Neri grinned broadly, her eyes focused on something behind him, and Maxime turned to see Rafael at the end of the table in animated conversation with Varel; Maxime turned back to the smirking elf at his side, but couldn't stop his own smirk forming.

Oh Maker, Rafael is going to kill me!

Their relationship had been a difficult one. Every single person Rafael had ever loved had died horribly or betrayed him; it meant he never opened up, never let anybody in. But somehow Maxime had touched the rogue's cold, broken heart, and filled it with warmth once again - despite Rafael's best efforts to fight and deny it. Even so, the rogue never showed public affection, and it often took a lot for him to warm up in the bedroom too; the rogue always struggled to turn off, to relax. But Maxime knew he cared about him, it was there in the slight smiles Rafael afforded him in public, or the way his fingers lingered when passing a plate of food, or how their eyes always seemed to find one another. And in private –

"Do you need some alone time?" Neri asked knowingly, her chuckle a husky rumble in her throat.

Maxime coughed to cover his embarrassment. "Nope, not at all!"

"We're calling it a night," Olivia said, rising to her feet with Lenny.

"I think I will too," Ella said with a yawn. "It was lovely to meet you, Neri." They both hugged.

Most of the table was empty by now, some had left to play Wicked Grace in the guest hall, Most of the others had left to avoid the drinking competition. Rafael was sitting at the head of the table in talks with Esteban, Varel and Gable, which left the dwarves and Marchers at the other end still drinking away and laughing loudly.

"Why do you hide your relationship?" Neri blurted, and none too quietly either.

Maxime glanced at Rafael nervously, but the rogue looked like he hadn't heard a thing; he was deep in thought as Esteban spoke.

"Everyone he ever loved died, or betrayed him. He closed off his heart to protect himself and others. It took him a long time to let me in, and it's hard for him to show any of it," Maxime gushed sadly.

Neri cupped his face, her almond shaped eyes sad. "But you're so full of emotion! It can't be easy to bottle that all up?"

Maxime's lip curved downwards, and his own eyes filled with tears. "It's not. But if it keeps him happy, I'll gladly do it."

The elf looked down at her lap. "I know what that's like," she mumbled.

"Which part?" he asked gently.

"Both, bottling feelings up, and doing something for someone you love, just to see them happy."

Maxime inclined his head to better see her face, her cheeks were glistening. "Oh Neri, don't cry!" He rubbed her shoulder gently.

She lifted her head with such a sad look on her face. "Have you told him you love him?" she asked in a whisper.

Maxime shook his head slowly. "No," he said softly.

"Tell him, won't you? Don't let the words stick in your throat, it's important," she almost begged, as she squeezed his hands.

He nodded.

"Good," she said, her lips breaking into a weak smile. She wiped her tears and stood. "I'm going to join the drunken fools. Coming?"

He smiled but shook his head. "I think I've had enough tonight. You go ahead though, show them how to really drink," he said with a grin.

She nodded her head. "Alright, good night," she said with a quick glance at Rafael and a wink to Maxime.

He drained the rest of his cup, and stretched back in his chair to glance slyly at Rafael. The rogue seemed to sense his stare, and looked up at him. There was a hint of a smile at his lips, and with that Maxime gave him a curt nod, and rose to his feet.

The castle was quiet as he walked through its dark halls; even the drunken laughter and shouting of the Wardens was soon lost to the thick stone. He climbed the steps to the East Wing, and made his way to his room at the back of the Keep. With a creak the door opened; he left it slightly ajar, stripped out of his robes, and flopped onto the bed. The quilts were cold against his flushed skin, and he nuzzled against them.

He was just starting to drift off when the bed shifted, and Rafael leaned over him, the rogue's breath hot against his neck. He opened his eyes; Rafael was staring at him intensely with his stormy grey eyes, but it was not the kind of intensity Maxime wanted to see, there was no heat or desire behind it.

Maxime sighed. "What are you thinking about?"

Rafael clenched his jaw, and rolled on to his back to stare up at the ceiling. "Neri," he admitted in a huff.

Maxime snorted. "Something I should know about?"

Rafael let out a huff of hair through his nose, and turned to look at him. "What do you think of her?"

Maxime smiled roguishly. "Well, she's certainly pretty. I love her hair, and her eyes are like pools of chocolate…"

"I meant as a person," Rafael growled.

Maxime giggled. "I know," he said breathlessly, running a hand over the rogue's hard chest.

The rogue cocked a dark eyebrow. "How much did you drink tonight?"

"Mmmm, a fair amount," Maxime said as he planted a kiss against the rogue's neck; Rafael tensed but didn't' stop him, so he continued to kiss him lazily.

Rafael looked back up at the ceiling. "We need to find out how Neri survived; the First Warden has asked me to investigate."

That sobered Maxime up very quickly, and he leant on his elbow as he looked down at his lover. "Why does he want to know?"

"He said he needed to know if she's done something that could endanger us all, or if it's something that could save future Warden lives," he said in a formal tone; it was always work, work, and more work with him.

Maxime sighed. "That makes sense, I suppose."

"He said I was to get answers, by any means necessary," Rafael said bitterly, his nose crinkling in disgust.

Maxime frowned. "She's a fellow Warden, our sister. How far are you going to go to get answers?"

"I don't know," he said softly.

"You won't hurt her?"

"Of course not," he dejectedly said, as he rolled out of bed swiftly. "Get some sleep, Max. I'll see you in the morning."

Maxime nearly called out, but his voice died on his lips, and then the rogue was gone and the door was creaking shut. He let out a long sigh and flopped back down onto his pillow. Rafael had a reputation for always getting the job done; it was something Maxime knew he was both proud and ashamed of. He had told Max about some of the things he had done to get by, some of the jobs he had taken to survive.

As a Warden things weren't much different sometimes. They were given orders and they followed them, it was always about the greater good. But it was different when it was your own sister. Maxime should have known Rafael would never hurt Neri; it was only the alcohol loosening his tongue that had made him say such a thing. He would need to apologise to the rogue in the morning. With a groan he rolled onto his belly and hoped sleep would take him quickly. He knew it wouldn't though; he always slept poorly without the rogue at his side.

A/N: Welcome new followers - thank you for following and faving and thank you so much for the reviews guys, please keep them coming! So glad you seem to be liking my OCs so far. As I've said to a few of you, a handful of them will survive... the rest are darkspawn fodder so don't worry too much about knowing who they all are and stuff, just yet. And finally a huge thank you to my beta ElyssaCousland, you rock!

Rafael's up next. I also have a Tumblr (where I'll be posting snippets of the stuff I'm working on) and a Deviantart (where my terrible artwork is) now - links are on my profile.