Author's Note: My dear readers, I love you, and hope you enjoy!
The scattered tinder of the fire continued to softly pop and crackle but it was a mere whisper in the growing darkness. After the screaming died away, even the sea seemed oddly quiet. From his stunned place on the ground Krem could only stare up at the force that was Marian Hawke.
She stood in the midst of the decimated bodies of the Venatori agents, blood dripping from her hair as if she had just bathed in the crimson liquid. The warrior said nothing as she receded from the depths of her berserker rage. He had not known that she knew the ancient Dwarven technique. He had not known that she possessed Templar abilities either. The shock of seeing her rip a lyrium potion free of one of the mage's belts and down it as if it were a shot of whiskey, the light that had shone from her as she cast a powerful smite, the wings…by the Void, he had never seen anything like it before, a demon in the guise of a vengeful angel.
Marian took another deep breath then slowly turned to face the Chargers as she placed her blade back into its sheath at her back. Blood sloshed in the bottoms of her greaves as she crossed the sand towards Krem. Absentmindedly she bent to retrieve a cloak from the ground and wrapped it around his shoulders as she knelt in front of the wide eyed brunette. Their eyes met, something unspoken passing between them, then the warrior woman moved away to free the others.
By the time she had assisted Dalish to her feet, Marian was feeling the effects of using both of her suppressed abilities simultaneously after so long. She needed to tell Krem…she needed him to know…the tall warrior turned to look back at the now upright Lieutenant. Her face was spattered red, but she seemed to not even notice, her eyes sparking slightly as she opened her mouth as if to say something. The sound of hoof beats suddenly could be heard approaching, with all the vigor that only a Tara Trevelyan led rescue party could.
The Inquisitor, Garrett, Dorian, Casandra, a bandage ridden Iron Bull, and Varric all burst onto the scene with a collection of firesome war cries, that almost instantly died on their lips as they took in the sight of the blood soaked beach. "Andraste's frilly white nickers," the storyteller gasped as Bull clamored to the ground. He rushed forward, staggering a bit, until he could get a good look at his remaining men. "They're alright Bull," Marian said quietly as she cast the rescue party a grin. "We're all okay."
"Nug-shit-soaked-hell dear girl," Dorian hissed through grit teeth as he and Marian's brother moved to her side, their collective magic seeking out any wounds on her body. "Is…is any of that blood yours?"
"I don't think so but…Dorian?"
"Yes dear?"
"I'm sorry about the blood." Almost instantly Marian's eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out, her limp body wetly slapping against the Tevinter man's chest as he caught her. He shifted her up into his arms and cast his lover a look before moving back to his mount to get the unconscious warrior settled in for the journey home. Garrett moved off to where the others stood speaking in low tones to the Chargers. The big mage stepped up to Bull's side as the Qunari spoke to his Lieutenant, a harsh pained looked covering the one eyed warrior's face as he did so.
"You okay Cremisius," the raven haired mage asked, worried by the look Iron Bull was giving the young brunette. Krem nodded, licking at his cracked lips as he pulled the cloak at his shoulders more tightly around himself.
"Yes…thanks to your sister…I…I had no idea that she…she knows how to enter a Berserker rage and Templar abilities?"
"She does," Garrett said carefully his mind beginning to whirl at this new information, "however she hasn't used either of those abilities since, well to be frank, since we faced down Meredith in Kirkwall." Something shifted in Krem's gaze as he nodded then cast his eyes elsewhere. "We should get your men up on the horses and start back to Skyhold," Garrett said then. "I can heal most of their wounds as we go."
"She knows now…" Iron Bull's eye moved to Krem's face as he pushed a tankard in front of his Lieutenant. The other Chargers were busy arguing about something regarding the effectiveness of curved blades vs straight ones.
They had been back in Skyhold for a few days, all of his boys were alright, and for his part, The Iron Bull couldn't have been more content. But Krem…he had been a different matter. Ever since returning to the Inquisition stronghold he had been distant and reclusive. He avoided the training yard like the plague, and Bull didn't think a siren could convince him to go near the Keep. He had known that it had something to do with Marian Hawke, but until now, he hadn't known the specifics.
"So," the Qunari rumbled before taking a drink from his own mug.
"Those Venatori…they were going to…they cut open my shirt an' they figured it out…" A deadly silence hung between the two friends as Iron Bull's mind bit down hard upon his own memories of what had happened when they had first met. "An' Marian was watchin'. She was hiding behind some rocks, I don't know how long she'd been there but she came flying out after they pinned me…so now she knows, and I didn't even get the chance to tell her myself! I've wanted to, but then…I didn't really know what we were, things have been so difficult, and she was dead, but then she wasn', but then she was broken, and now…" The Lieutenant sank forward to clutch his head in his hands, fingers digging back into his hair.
"Now you are safe Krem…she didn't even wait for reinforcements before she took off you know. She asked me if you were alive and when I said you were the last I had seen you, she jumped on her horse and took off."
"She's a Hawke, they are a heroic people," the brunette said, though there was a glimmer of excitement in his tone.
"Whatever you say Krem-puff," Bull retorted with a loud huff. "But you'll never really know if you keep hiding out in here…which I mean really isn't much of a hiding place. She's going to show up here eventually. But I suppose that's why you insist on sitting on that side of me, so it hides you from the door. You're thinking that if she walks in with the intent of finding you you'll be able to literally run away."
"For all I know she'll want to kick my ass Bull!"
Just then the door to the Herald's Rest opened and in strode none other than Marian Hawke. She was a beautiful ifs slightly terrifying sight. Her hair was loosely braided and hung down over one shoulder. She was devoid of her armor this evening. Instead a fitted cream tunic and warm brown leggings shielded her form, leading down into a worn looking set of black boots. She smiled warmly at Bull then suddenly the Qunari leaned back, exposing Krem to her view, as he looped an arm around his friend's shoulders anchoring him in place.
"Hawke! I haven't had the chance to buy you a drink as thanks for saving my boys just yet, come have a seat with us! I need a mug of your finest whiskey over here," he added calling out to the grinning barkeep. Marian's smile remained in her face as she walked over to the table, her gaze falling to Krem's face.
He could feel his heart in his throat, his lungs collapsing beneath those brilliant blue orbs. Bull abruptly stood, one hand remaining on his lieutenant's shoulder as he offered the auburn haired warrior his vacated seat. She sank into the chair easily, seemingly unaffected by her proximity to him. He didn't know how to take her casual effortlessness. Was this her version of ignoring him? Or was this the calm before the storm? Or worse, was she merely pretending to feel so natural, and hiding disgust behind that smile of hers?
So went Krem's personal hell for the next hour. He kept his head down, his eyes on his ale, and did not dare to speak a word.
Suddenly a hand pressed down on his left thigh, sending a fiery jolt through his body. He stared down at that hand for a long moment as everything else faded to muffled background noise, then his gaze carved a path up to a strong wrist, then progressed further up a long lithely muscled arm until his eyes met Marian's. She grinned at him, her lips soft, pulling up at the corners and setting a spark loose in the depths of her eyes. "Could we talk?"
She wanted to talk…never a good sign, even if delivered with such a disarming grin. The brunette licked his lips but only managed a small nod in response. Then that hand moved to clasp his and Krem found himself being tugged out into the night. He followed numbly, panic shimmering just beneath the surface of his skin. The tall warrior led him back into a secluded corner behind the tavern and abruptly pushed him against a wall. This is it, he though as he swallowed hard. She was going to give it to him, he just knew it. Screamed questions of betrayal…perhaps he could survive that, she had at least been generous enough to not unleash upon him in front of the other patrons of the Herald's Rest.
"Krem…I'm sorry for how I was acting before you and the Chargers left. I know I was being pitiful, and you were right to be upset with me."
"I…what?"
"You were right…did I screw things up between us so badly that now you don't even want to look at me? Or…was it…was it what happened on the Coast?" The beautiful warrior backed off a few steps nervously biting her lower lip, "I know that my berserker state is…not a very welcoming sight, and my Templar abilities make me look a bit odd as well…"
"Woah woah, wait," Krem cut in looking stunned. "You're…you're not…Marian I know you saw what happened when my shirt was cut away!"
"Yes."
"And," the brunette was having a very hard time, watching as the warrior's face moved into a look of slightly bemused confusion. "And that…?"
"Do you like me Krem?" That question caught him off guard, but it was something he instantly knew how to verbally respond to at least.
"Yes," he said softly but firmly. "And I know that you know that…I also know that you didn' know about…I should have told you about me."
"Cremisius," Marian's tone was gentle as her hand lifted to cup one side of his face. "It was a bit of a shock when I first realized…but come on. I was in love with a man who had a spirit of Justice living inside of him. A set of nice tits are not going to deter me."
"But you like men, and while I am a man, I'm still not a man in a physical sense."
"I like you Krem! Maker's balls! You could wear dresses, call your-self a man, and come fully equipped with both sets of bits for all I care! As long as you are you, that's what matters the most to me. I haven't been attracted to anyone since Anders, physically or otherwise, and yet here you are. Slipping around my carefully constructed defenses so expertly that I didn't even know it was happening until it was too late! I…I don't know if what has been growing between us is love, but I know I feel something for you, and whatever it is I want more."
Krem stared, certain that his mouth must have been hanging open a bit. She wanted more. She wasn't yelling…she wasn't running…she wanted more! Elation swelled through the Tevinter man's chest, bubbling up inside him until he felt as if he could fly. She wanted him! His gaze roamed her face, her beautiful, currently questioning, face as silence stretched between them. He didn't know what to say in response to her confession, so he said nothing. He simply reached out, wrapped an arm around the startled warrior's waist, twirled her back so that she was pressed against the wall, and kissed her.
She let out a small shocked sound and for a split second Krem wondered if he had picked the wrong course of action. Then her arms slinked around his neck, anchoring him against her as she pressed her lips more firmly against his. His hands clutched at her back, resting comfortably in the small curve there as he deepened the interlude. For a moment he abandoned her mouth and pressed a nibbling kiss against the side of Marian's long neck just beneath her ear. She shivered in response and let out an utterly feminine noise that made Krem's stomach fill with heat.
"Bloody hell Marian, you can't make sounds like that an' expect me to be all gentlemanly," the brunette quipped with a smile as he gave her a quick peck before pulling away.
"My ex blew up a Chantry and started a war across Thedas…maybe I have a thing for bad boys with no concept of restraint," the auburn haired beauty said with a laugh. In response Cremisius rolled his eyes as he shook his head.
"By the Void woman you are trouble if I ever saw it!"
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet Cremisius Aclassi."
