AN: Oh, the pain of once again leaving you with an insanely short chapter due to NSFW content. Come check out the whole thing on Archive of Our Own, under the username Unstoppablei. Link on my profile, if you're into that kind of thing (don't forget to copy and paste). Thanks!

CHAPTER 20: Completions

Errol hesitated at the entrance to his room. She hadn't entered it in what felt like a long time. The walls were almost completely painted, and just as beautiful as they had looked in the Fade, though the artwork was different. He was painting one now, his back to her, his arm reaching upward to swipe a black shadow across a blank space.

"You can come in," he said, without looking. "Unless you wish to stand there staring."

"I… okay," she said, edging inside. He turned and put the palette down, looking at her expectantly. "I… we… Leliana thinks you should accompany us to Halamshiral."

He seemed a little surprised, then wary. "In what capacity?"

She looked away, biting her lip. He walked toward her, his cold exterior cracking. "Errol, what is the matter?"

"I don't like it," she snapped. "She wants you to pose as a servant."

Understanding washed over his face. "It makes sense," he said thoughtfully. "I assume she wants me to act as reconnaissance? Perhaps interact with the palace's elves? Intriguing idea."

"I don't like it," she repeated. He tilted his head.

"I have played many roles in my time. Why does this one upset you?"

"You… you're not a servant!" she said, gesturing toward him. "You can dress like a hobo all you want but I won't have them say you're serving me, or anyone. You're too proud for that."

He chuckled lightly. "You've found me out."

"What?"

"Did you know, vhenan, that the word Solas means Pride in elven?" he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She scowled.

"I told you not to call me that anymore."

"It's just a word… vhenan." He dropped his hand. "But you are right, playing the servant does not come easily to me. However, we must all play our parts if we are to save the Empress and defeat Corypheus. Just don't ask me to fetch you anything."

"I won't," she said, then hesitated, torn between leaving and asking some of the questions that had been weighing on her. Being around him had become a delicate dance - she couldn't do it for too long, or he would try to draw her in, like a wolf circling prey. His aloof act didn't last very long anymore.

"Was there something else?" His hands were behind his back, once again the academic. She overthought everything now: was it an attempt to make her comfortable, to throw her off balance before the next attack? Or was he just simply standing there?

"I've been wanting to ask you… about what happened in the Fade. The Nightmare speaking English, my language."

"It's an interesting revelation. What would you like to know about it?"

"You've been in my head in the Fade. My memories. Does that mean you speak English?"

He shook his head. "Everything since the moment you set foot here has been in the Common Tongue. The Nightmare had to sift deep inside of you to pull out your language." He paused, his blue eyes searching hers. "What did it say to you?"

"What did it say to you?"

He smiled a little. "Point taken."

"What if someone came to my world? What would happen?"

"Planning a trip?"

"What? No. I'm talking about Corypheus or one of his lackeys."

"Ah." His face relaxed. "It would be similar to your experience coming here, I think, though modified as your world has no Fade to reform your body. The intruder would be a spirit, and perhaps would need a host body to survive. It's all speculative. They also would absorb knowledge as you did, including imprinting the most prominent nearby language. It's a fascinating prospect, but hopefully one we will never see come to pass. We don't know how such a crossing would affect your world, being as it is without magic."

"Fascinating isn't really the word I'd use. Terrifying, maybe."

"You still wish to return?" His voice was soft.

She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Oh, I… no, not really. I couldn't live in that world again, I've changed too much. But I do wish there was some way that I could say goodbye. They've kept me on life support for so long, it's been what, almost a year and a half now? They must be grieving every day. If I could just tell them that I'm okay, let them know that I'm happy, or at least, happy-ish…" She laugh self-deprecatingly. "Stupid thought."

"Nothing is impossible," he murmured, then looked at her. "I will make preparations for Halamshiral immediately."

It was the night before they were to leave for the Winter Palace. They would be over a week on the road, traveling in style for once, as a display of power to the nobles of Orlais. And while there would be some privacy in the fancier-than-normal tents erected at night, there would be precious little of it.

Errol knocked on Cullen's door and he opened it immediately, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her inside.

"Good," he said, sounding a bit crazed. "Help me with this."

"Cullen, what are you…" Errol looked and saw that the bookshelf had been pushed away from the wall. "Are you rearranging your furniture?"

"Not exactly," he said, moving to the other side of it. "Can you lift the far end? Is it too heavy?"

"I spend most of my time scrambling up rocks and fighting people, I'll be fine," she said, bending her knees and bracing. "Plus, magic!" She reached out with her magic and shifted the heavy shelves. "Where to?"

"The door."

She paused. "Come again?"

"I am barricading the door," he said grimly. "No one is getting in or out of this room tonight." He met her eyes across the bookcase. "Now, lift."

They strained, and with the help of magic the door was soon completely covered by the huge bookcase. Errol stood and wiped sweat from her forehead, admiring their handiwork.

"Not good enough," Cullen said critically, hands on his hips. She noticed that he was barefoot, in nothing but a long-sleeved shirt and leather pants, his hair mussed like he had been running his hands through it. "Put up a barrier. And make sure that the hole in the roof is covered as well."

"What kind?" she asked, still confused but humoring him.

"Both protective and soundproof."

Understanding dawned on her. "Ah." She waved her hands and concentrated, and the barriers sprang up. "There."

"They'll hold even if you lose concentration? They won't bother you or drain your energy?"

Errol shook her head. "Once they're there they're there, and I can forget about them unless they're broken."

"Good," he said, coming up behind her and sweeping her hair away from her neck. He leaned in, his voice pitched very low. "Now take your clothes off and sit on my desk."

She jumped a little. "Cullen—"

Gently he turned her and backed her into the bookshelf, his hand cupping her cheek. "The barriers are up, Errol," he breathed. "The door is barricaded. All of Skyhold could burn tonight and there will be no interruptions, by Leliana or anyone else. I intend to have you all to myself, and I intend to have you over—" he pressed a kiss to her neck, "and over—" a kiss to her jaw, "and over—" a kiss to the corner of her lips, "and over again."

AN: So sad I have to leave it here! But you know where to find the rest!