Dorian stared down at the stinking clump of quillback intestines in utter disgust. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"What's the matter, Dorian?" Alec smiled at his expression. "It's dragon bait. What did you expect? Did you think an Abyssal High Dragon would enjoy snacking on petit-fours and caviar?"

"It's not that." Dorian wrinkled his nose when he caught another whiff of the foul smell. "I mean, yes, it's that, too, but contrary to your assumptions I'm not too delicate to put up with a little discomfort for a good cause. But why in Thedas do you want to lure out the dragon in the first place?"

"You heard Frederic." Alec grinned. "It will be a momentous achievement in draconology. We're doing it for science."

"Alec! This isn't a joke!" Much as he appreciated Alec's sense of humour as a rule, there was a time and place for it, and it was not the desert in the midday heat. "Look, we don't have to do this, just to please that madman. The dragon hasn't attacked us or any of our people. Leave it alone. No one in their right mind would intentionally bait a dragon."

"Why not? Aren't you at least a little tempted?" Alec's eyes were shining with excitement, but Dorian knew him well enough to detect the underlying notes of nervousness in his voice, the faint trembling of his hands. "We'll be dragon-slayers, just like Hawke or the Hero of Ferelden! Besides, I bet there will be treasure. And Harritt got really excited when I mentioned dragon scales and webbing."

"Oh, for Andraste's sake, Alec! We can buy them, if you really think we need them. No need to risk our own lives." Dorian shook his head, furious at Alec for coming up with yet another feigned reason. "And since when are you so eager for glory? Leave the dragon hunting to the Pentaghasts. At least they know what they're doing."

"Well, we have one of them with us, so we should be fine." Alec was still affecting a light-hearted tone, and it was driving Dorian mad. "And Bull can't wait to take on a dragon. He's been badgering me for months. Come on, Dorian. We can't avoid fighting dragons forever. There's three of them in the Emprise by the last count, and Corypheus-"

"Oh! That's what this really is about, isn't it?" Of course. Why hadn't he seen it earlier? Dorian fought the urge to grab Alec and shake him. "You want a practice run before you face his red lyrium dragon."

"Yes. No. I-" Alec broke off, averting his gaze. "Look, if you must know, I… I'm frightened to death of Corypheus' pet. Ever since Haven, half of my nightmares have been about that gaping maw of teeth closing in on me." When he turned back, his lips were set in a determined line. "I need to face my fears, Dorian. No one can see the Inquisitor run and hide like a scared little boy. It was bad enough at Adamant. I nearly fainted when that thing showed up."

And yet you didn't run. You're still selling yourself short. Dorian didn't speak his thoughts aloud. It was clear that Alec's mind was set, and no amount of reasoning would deter him from risking his life on this fool's errand. "You really think we stand a chance against a full-grown high dragon?"

Alec shrugged. "We won't know until we try. But hey, if we don't, then who does? With the three of you at my side..."

"But that's just it!" Dorian had to make one last attempt. "Why don't we take more people with us? The Chargers would be willing to help, I bet."

His lips set in a stubborn line, Alec shook his head. "I'm not asking anyone else to risk their lives. Our troops aren't expendable." He placed his hand on Dorian's bare arm, and he was no longer trembling now. "We won't need them. I can do anything knowing I have you at my back, Dorian. Anything."

"Well, then." Dorian sighed in resignation. "Let's go and set the traps."

Cassandra cursed irritably, fiddling with her torn leather breeches. When the dragon had struck at her in the throes of death, its razor-sharp claw had sliced clean through her padded cuisse, leaving her with a nasty gash on her left thigh that needed tending. She'd already taken off most of her armour and found a poultice to place on the wound, but it wouldn't stay in place. It was hard to see what she was doing in the dim light of the campfire, and her hands had begun to shake from the effort of suppressing the pain.

"Let me help you." A tiny magelight popped up right next to her leg, and before she could protest, Dorian was on his knees next to her, running a gentle hand along her leg. "You need a healer."

"It's nothing. A flesh wound." She flinched when he lifted the poultice, reopening the gash.

"I'll see what I can do, but your breeches are in the way." Dorian's tone was calm and factual. "They need to go."

Before she could protest, he'd taken a slim dagger from his belt and swiftly cut away the leather, baring her thigh. Against her will, she tensed. It felt strangely intimate, to be half naked on the ground with him kneeling between her legs, his hands on her body. Don't be silly, she chided herself. It's hardly the first time a man is tending to your wounds.

Dorian noticed her discomfort. "Don't worry, my dear. I can assure you that the sight of your leg, aesthetically pleasing as it may be under normal circumstances, won't awaken any improper feelings in me. I'm quite immune to your charms." His smile was almost wolfish. "Now, if it was Alec's shapely thighs we were talking about…"

"How's he doing?" Cassandra glanced over to where Alec had fallen into a drugged sleep on his bedroll, occasionally whimpering when the pain in his burned arm flared up.

They hadn't bothered with tents. Normally, they would have returned to Griffon Wing Keep straight away after killing the dragon, but their mounts had bolted when the beast had attacked from the air. They were all battered and bruised, and there was no way they would be able to walk all the way. So they had sent Frederic of Seurault back to the Keep with a message, and were now waiting for the Chargers to come and pick them up.

"He'll be fine." Dorian's voice was full of tenderness. "Burns are always painful, but I've done what I could. I've forced him to drink the last of our potions, and the healers at the Keep will take care of the rest. I just wish I was better at healing spells." He looked down at his hands with an almost comically resigned expression. "Isn't it weird? I can do so much damage with these hands, but when it comes to helping others, I'm all but useless."

"The damage you did helped us a lot." Cassandra winced when he tightened the bandage on her leg. "Without your spells, we'd never have taken down the beast. Thank you."

Dorian made a small, dismissive noise, but she could see he was pleased. She was about to say more, when the sound of approaching hooves told them their reinforcements were near. Bull got to his feet and reached for his horn. He, too, was a little unsteady, having taken a nasty blow to his crippled leg.

It didn't take long for the Chargers to find them. Krem slid off his horse in a movement full of fluid grace and embraced Bull with a loud whoop. "You really did it, chief? You killed a dragon?"

"We sure did." Bull's loud guffaw echoed all through the valley. "Ah, Krem, you should have seen us. The dragon didn't stand a chance, right, Seeker?" He didn't wait for her answer, just went on, his scarred face lit by a wide smile. "Cassandra never flinched, just stood there and faced it, bold as brass, staring it down, while I went for its hamstrings with my axe. And Alec rained down arrows on its wings so it couldn't get off the ground any more. Oh, yeah, and Dorian had a few good spells up his sleeve, too. Froze it in place so we could catch a breath." He laughed again. "It was an epic fight, boys. Bring on more dragons, I say. We can take them all!"

Cassandra couldn't believe her ears. When she turned to face Dorian, she could see his shoulders shaking with barely suppressed laughter.

"Funny." She was far too exhausted to call Bull out on his boasting, so she kept her voice down, but it had to be said. "I seem to remember the fight… differently."

"As do I." Dorian's tone easily matched hers for dryness. "He forgot to mention the bit where he was lying on the ground screaming for help after the dragon had swept us all off our feet with a swipe of its tail."

"Or the moment when Alec's left arm caught fire and he had to drop his bow and hide behind a stone column." Cassandra shook her head. "And how about when you were down to your last lyrium potion and had barely enough power left to throw up a barrier over the four of us? Or when I dropped my sword right when I could have made the killing blow?"

"Yeah, well…" Dorian chuckled again. "I guess his version of the story makes us sound a lot more impressive. Proper heroes can't be seen to have flaws."

"It guess you're right about that." Another wave of pain hit her, and she would have given anything for an elfroot potion. "Though I have to admit I don't feel particularly heroic right now."

"Come on, Cassandra." He took her arm and helped her to her feet. "Let's get back to the Keep. We all deserve some rest."

Alec's head was spinning. What in the Void is going on here? Maker, it wasn't as if he couldn't hold his drink. In all his misspent youth, he'd never been the first to call quits. Then again, he'd never drunk with a Qunari before.

"To killing a high dragon, like the warriors of legend." Bull grinned at him, raising yet another glass of maraas-lok. "What's the matter, boss? Had enough?"

Alec attempted a quick mental calculation, but it was hard to say how much of the strange brew he'd had already, because Bull kept refilling the glasses before they were empty. Too much, in any case. If he was quite honest, he wasn't sure he'd be able to make it to the door without help, let alone back to his quarters.

"Blight it, Bull, what is this stuff?" Maker, it was an effort to speak clearly. How was he ever going to get out of this without embarrassing himself? "I think I-"

"Don't worry, boss." Bull grabbed a passing servant girl by the sleeve and whispered something in her ear. She disappeared with a quick nod.

"Have some water." To his relief, Bull removed the half-full glass in front of him and replaced it with a pitcher of clear well water.

Drinking it helped clear his head a little, but even so, he felt decidedly tipsy. "Thanks, Bull. I think I'd better call it a day."

"Wait." Bull stopped him with a hand on his arm when he tried to get up. "I'll take you to the door."

"No need… Ooops." Shit. The floor lurched beneath his feet, and he was sincerely grateful for Bull's steadying grip on his elbow.

To his credit, Bull didn't laugh, just got to his feet, and carefully guided Alec toward the door. The cool air was a welcome relief, but he had no idea how to cross the courtyard – until he saw Dorian coming toward him. Thank the Maker! Dimly, he felt Bull give him a little shove, and then he was in Dorian's arms, and he felt so good and smelled so good and Alec couldn't help kissing him, he just couldn't, and-

"Alec! Not here." Dorian didn't sound mad, but he firmly pushed Alec back, much to his chagrin. "Come on. I'll take you home."

Somehow they made it across the yard. It was easier to walk in a straight line with Dorian's arm around his waist, though the light was too bright in his eyes and made his head hurt. No amount of squinting would help, so in the end, he just gave up and closed them, leaning his head against Dorian's shoulder.

"Maker, Alec, what have you been drinking?" Dorian's voice was warm and tender in his ear, and his low chuckle sent pleasant shivers down Alec's spine. "You could at least have saved some for me."

"Sorry." Dimly, Alec realized that they were on the stairs leading to his rooms, and then Dorian kicked the door open and dragged him across the threshold. "I just didn't think you'd want it, you know. I'd have shared with you." He leaned against Dorian's firm, solid body and earnestly caught his gaze. This was important. "I'd share anything with you. I love you."

"Well, that's nice to know." Dorian's lips were twitching. "You're cute when you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk," Alec protested, even as Dorian manoeuvred him into a chair and knelt at his feet to remove his boots. "Just in a good mood. And horny."

"Are you now?" Dorian was smiling openly now. "Come on. I'll take you to bed."

"Good plan." Alec saw no reason to object when Dorian helped him out of his shirt and pants and made him lie down on the bed. "Come here."

"I don't know…" Dorian hesitated. "Think you're going to be sick?"

"I never am." His righteous indignation was so great that he sat up quickly, groaning when he felt the bed spin. "I'm a Marcher. Everyone knows we have ironclad stomachs."

"All right. Don't get mad at me." Gently, Dorian pushed him back into the cushions and quickly threw off his own clothes. "I'll come in with you if you promise not to puke all over me."

"I swear." And then Dorian was with him in the bed, and he felt so good, his skin so silky and soft, and Alec happily snuggled up against him, inhaling his scent. "Thanks for taking care of me. That's so sweet of you."

"It's fine. Now sleep." Dorian breathed a light kiss on his cheek, but Alec turned his head and caught his lips, pulling him in for a proper kiss.

All right, maybe he was drunk, but he wasn't too far gone to appreciate having a naked Dorian in his arms. There were a number of things he could think of doing in a situation like this, and none of them involved sleeping. Much to his relief, his body was fully on board with the idea.

When he finally let go of Dorian's mouth, his lover was breathing faster, too, and Alec rolled his hips wantonly against him. "I don't want to sleep. I want you to fuck me."

"Alec!" Dorian sounded mildly shocked, but at the same time, his cock twitched eagerly against Alec's thigh. "Blight it, you need to sleep this off first. You're in no state to-"

"Oh yes, I am. Feel." His head still felt woozy, but his cock was getting harder by the minute, and he guided Dorian's hand down there, moaning loudly, when he felt his familiar touch. "Please. I want you. You feel so good inside me. No one else has ever felt as good. Only you." He'd have been embarrassed to talk like this at any other time, but tonight it was easy. And it had the desired effect.

"You-" Dorian moaned helplessly. "You are impossible. All right. If you insist."

And then his mouth and hands were everywhere, and Alec lost himself completely in his caresses, urging him along, begging for his cock, babbling incoherent nonsense. Only when Dorian finally pushed deep inside him, did he fall silent, suddenly too overcome to talk.

"Are you all right?" Dorian sounded a bit worried, but Alec didn't want him to worry. He wanted him to be happy, insanely, mind-blowingly happy, just like he was.

"It's all good. Just…" Instinctively, he arched his back, and yes, the angle was perfect, and he groaned, deep in his throat. "Just you. Only you."

"Maker, Alec!" Dorian cried out his name and he felt it, with crystal clarity, even through the haze in his head, felt the exact moment when Dorian lost control.

But it was fine, it was all good, because Alec was so ready for him that he could take it, all of it, and he wanted Dorian's deep, hard strokes, he welcomed them with every fibre of his being. And then Dorian grabbed him by the hair, yanking back his head, and suddenly there were no words any longer, and all he knew was that he was close, so close to coming, until a last, perfectly placed thrust sent them both over the edge. And he was falling, floating weightlessly through space and time, grounded only by Dorian's sure touch on his flank.

Afterwards, he felt too heavy and exhausted to even open his eyes. There was so much he wanted to tell his beloved, so much he wanted him to know, but when he weakly tried to speak, Dorian gently shushed him. In some dim recess of his mind, Alec noticed Dorian disentangling from him and cleaning them both up, then pulling the soft blanket over both their bodies. By the time he extinguished the candle at their bedside, Alec was already fast asleep.

A huge thank you to my wonderful beta suilven, and to all of you who have stuck with me so far. :)