Chapter 36: Reconciliation

The initial impulse had been to celebrate the Inquisition's success, but Theo ordered a hold on the festivities. He did not send for just his father: but for his entire family to come visit from Ostwick. He had a promise to himself that he had to make good on. The prospect of seeing his parents and siblings didn't scare him the way it used to. He'd faced far worse, including the entire Orlesian court. He could handle his older siblings and their noble spouses, and even his nieces and nephews. He was actually looking forward to it.

He poured another glass of wine and sipped it before the fire in his room. Only Josephine came every so often to see to him or ask about another detail for the impending celebration, but she always stayed at the bottom of the stairs. Only servants and Fiona's most talented healers came up regularly.

Leliana and Cassandra had gone to Val Royeaux, and word arrived that Cassandra had been named Divine Victoria; Leliana took her position as the Right Hand of the Divine, while Vivienne was named the Left Hand, as well as the overseer of mage politics. They had a long way to go in reforming the Chantry, but Theo did not doubt that Cassandra was up to the task. She had, after all, formed the Inquisition when no one else would follow her.

"Are you drinking without me again?"

Theo smiled and padded over to the bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress. "Would you like a bit?" he asked Dorian.

"Anything to wash away the dreadful taste of this healing potion," Dorian said. His face was pale and his smile brittle; his eyes tired, but clear. His naked torso was bandaged, though some bruising showed around the edges. His hair was mussed up, his mustache askew, and he needed a proper shave, but he was the most beautiful man Theo had ever seen.

Theo had knelt there in the sudden silence after Corypheus's defeat, wondering why it had to be Dorian, and not him. He'd stared at his hand through a growing film of burning tears, swallowing against the suffocating lump in his throat when Cullen shouted for him. "Theodane! He's breathing! Barely, but he's alive!"

Theo's heart leapt into his throat and his mouth went dry as he stumbled over to Dorian. Cassandra and Cullen knelt beside him. His robes were torn and bloody, and he was losing a good deal of blood. Theo could see the white of his ribs and his stomach clenched. "There is a spirit of healing here," Cassandra murmured, her hand hovering over Dorian's body. "There may yet be a chance."

It was Bull who, already covered in dried dragon's blood, carried Dorian over the mountain passes back to Skyhold. They only stopped once to rest, and though they were all exhausted from the fight they maintained the brutal pace until Skyhold was in sight. Soldiers rode out to meet them and the horns blared a victory salute but Theo hardly heard any of it. He pushed through the cheering crowds, past a stunned Josephine and Leliana, and called for Vivienne and Fiona's best healers.

It had been touch and go for a few days. Cole had mysteriously appeared, but he stayed near Theo and he smiled. "My friend is helping him," he whispered as Theo stood at the foot of the bed, gnawing on his bruised knuckles. "The mage, she's a spirit healer. Her spirit talks to my friend, the one who is with him."

Theo knew Cole was only trying to help; but it was disconcerting nonetheless.

He spent nights curled into a nest of spare blankets and pillows by Dorian's side. He did whatever the healers asked of him, and he even found himself praying to the Maker. He hadn't done that in ages.

Then Dorian's fever broke; the day after that the spirit healer smiled and said there was no blood or other fluids in his lungs. Another day after that and Dorian's eyes opened slowly and it was all Theo could do to keep from gathering him up in a crushing embrace.

As Dorian grew a bit stronger and his injuries began to heal, Theo learned to change the bandages around his torso and chest. Just now he helped Dorian sit up. He handed over his glass of wine, and Dorian sipped at it before sighing. "Be gentle?" he asked with a slight grin.

"Always," Theo said, unwinding the bandages. The bleeding had stopped; there was some sign of infection, but the healing potions were helping. The bruises were ugly, but would fade in time. It was the scarring left behind by Corypheus's claws that was by far the worst. Dorian glanced down and sighed before averting his gaze. "Dor. Look at me," Theo said softly. He cupped a hand to Dorian's cheek. "They're only scars."

"You know what a vain creature I am," Dorian said.

Theo rolled up his sleeve and rested Dorian's hand over the twisted scar tissue on his arm. "You love me in spite of my scars. I can do no less for you." He took a fresh roll of bandaging and gently wound it around Dorian's chest. "You're alive, which makes you the most ravishing man in all of Thedas." He lightly kissed his forehead. Dorian actually smiled.

They took their meals quietly in the room. A few days later Josephine brought word that the Divine was en route from Val Royeaux, and word came that the Trevelyans were mere days out from Skyhold. Dorian's strength was returning, and Theo was able to spend nights in bed with him again; though he clung to the edge of his side, fearful of accidentally hurting Dorian in his sleep. Now he knew how Dorian had felt all those times Theo himself had nearly died; how the mage had managed to remain so strong, he would never know. Even as Dorian healed, the fear of somehow losing him again ate away at Theo.

Josephine came to greet them a couple days later. "Inquisitor, your family has arrived. Dorian. You are looking far better than the last time I saw you," she said, but her voice was teasing and her eyes sparkled.

"Yes, I will say that 'bleeding to death red' has never been a good color on me," Dorian teased back. Theo had helped him shave, and he'd styled his hair and mustache. To anyone unfamiliar with what had happened, Dorian looked healthy; only Theo could see the slight pallor that still clung to him, and the way he tired easily. "Are you ready for your grand victory celebration?" Dorian asked. "It's likely it will continue for weeks on end. You did literally save the world, after all."

"As long as you're with me I'm ready for anything," Theo told him.

He thought it would be awkward seeing his family; he hadn't seen his siblings since before the Conclave, and he'd left things on a sour note with his father. But his mother embraced him tightly, while Matthias's daughters giggled and flitted about. "Father told me you supported the mages because of me," Maranda said, gathering her youngest brother in a warm hug. "Between our ages and Circle politics, we were never able to be close, but I hope that changes," she told him.

Gwyneth and her husband were expecting another child; her son kept staring at Theo with wide eyes. "I've offered to teach him the sword, but he'd rather take to the bow," Gwyneth's husband said with a laugh. "Your influence was quite far reaching."

Theo chuckled as well. "I may have a few tips for him." He clasped hands with Matthias next. "We'll go to the tavern at some point when things have quieted down. Have a drink for Gave," he said.

"He'd be proud of you," Matthias said. "He always thought you could do a lot with yourself. I did too. I'm glad I have the chance to tell you that."

Theo was glad that Dorian didn't bring up the spider story to Thisbe; Theo recalled the incident, and what it had done to him in the Fade. But he'd been given a new chance at his life and his relationships with his family, so he pushed his old bitterness aside. "Good on you, little brother," Thisbe said, reaching up to ruffle his hair. Theo blushed and tried to fix it.

"It's hopeless and you know it," Dorian murmured, the first words he'd spoken. "I've long given up on him ever taming his hair," he said more loudly with a nod of greeting to Thisbe. "Dorian, of House Pavus, formerly of Tevinter."

"Dorian and I…" Theo began, but Thisbe was smiling.

"Father was telling us on the trip. How did you manage to snag him?" she asked, but her eyes were sparkling and she laughed. "Is there a final Trevelyan wedding in the future? Maker, please say yes!" she exclaimed, and even as he blushed and Dorian laughed Theo wondered why he'd let the bitterness of the past cling to him for so long.

Besides, he had spent so long thinking he had no future; now that he had one, his options were wide open. It was at once scary and completely freeing.

"I was wrong to meddle," his father said when the initial excitement had calmed down and they sat quietly sipping Antivan brandy that Josephine had brought out. Even though there were plenty of servants around, she insisted on checking their drinks every so often; Theo had to smile, knowing she was eavesdropping. He even caught her grinning when she thought he wasn't looking. "I've always thought about what I wanted for my family and my children. I wanted what was best. And perhaps what I thought was best… just wasn't," he said. He held out his hand in reconciliation, but Theo leaned out of his chair and hugged him. "This is… unexpected," Bann Trevelyan said with a nervous laugh.

"With all the times I nearly died, I think it's time for me to let go of pain and grudges," Theo said. "We were all just trying to do what we thought best."

More nobles arrived at Skyhold through the course of the day. Josephine and Theo greeted each with a smile. Dorian retired, opting to take a light dinner in the room. The night wore on and eventually Theo slipped away into the tavern where Bull and the Chargers were leading a raucous ballad. Theo grabbed a drink and joined in; the lyrics would make even a mercenary blush, but it was good to laugh after the formal proceedings of the afternoon.

"Shit, Boss, Corypheus? He was the Tevinterest Vint in the history of all Vints!" Bull said when the song had ended. It might have been Theo's imagination, but Bull seemed… drunk. "And we kicked his fucking ass! And killed his fucking dragon!" More cheers; salutes with mugs, ale splashing over rosy faces and to the floor.

Theo drank more, but tried to keep from getting drunk. He wanted to remember this: the exuberance, the sense of true victory. The first steps toward rebuilding a brighter future.

Most of Skyhold slept while the tavern party raged on, and Theo slipped out into the night. The air was crisp and clean and there was no fear gnawing at him for the first time in well over a year.

He heard the sound of hooves clattering into the courtyard, and looked to see who'd arrived at this late hour. A stable hand took three horses while the riders kept to the shadows. Theo slid into the shadows himself, moving quietly through the soft grasses. The trio headed for a small door just off the stable yard, and he moved like a ghost to intercept them.

"Arriving a bit late, Most Holy?" he asked with a grin as he melted into the dim light of the stable yard. He ducked out of the way of Leliana's flustered punch. "You have to admit, that was good. I never thought I'd get one up on you," he told Leliana.

Cassandra removed her hood. She was not dressed in the fine vestments of her new office. Vivienne stood nearby, attempting to be disapproving, but failing. "Sister Nightingale, I'm afraid that won't do," she said, but she was trying not to smile.

"If the Inquisitor is the only one to whom I must yield, that is acceptable," Leliana said with a shrug. But her eyes were shrewd, and Theo knew that there was little chance of catching her off-guard again.

"I must say. This is much different than our very first meeting," Cassandra said. She smiled and her eyes sparkled in the dim lantern light. "When we first met I thought you would be the enemy; yet your support led me to this point. And I'd daresay we also share friendship as well." She clasped Theo's shoulder, warrior to warrior.

"Friendship with the Divine will prove useful," Vivienne said.

"I suppose I am friends with the Divine," Theo said. "But… I was friends with Cassandra first. I'd never have done nearly as much as I did without you behind me." He embraced Cassandra, who clasped him back; after a moment Leliana joined in on the hug, and Vivienne merely huffed and looked away.

Theo led them through the back corridors of Skyhold to rooms that had been prepared for their visit, understanding their desire for privacy from the prying eyes of the many guests who'd come for the celebration. "Any word from Solas?" Theo asked Leliana before he left her for the night.

She shook her head. "I sent my little birds far and wide; it's as if he'd just disappeared."

Theo looked down at his hand. He would probably be so marked forever. While he was used to it now, he would have liked more time for Solas to explain more details. The elf had seemed despondent upon seeing the broken orb after Corypheus's defeat, but unwilling to discuss it. He'd followed them listlessly, but in his anxiety over Dorian, Theo hadn't realized it when Solas had simply slipped away.

He would have to be content with knowing that his mark would always be a mystery.

There would be a grand gathering tomorrow, the likes of which Skyhold had never seen. Divine Victoria would bless the Inquisition and its leader. It was rumored that even Empress Celene would appear, and if not her, at least Grand Duke Gaspard. And Theo was certain that Varric was already working on a book about everything they'd done.

But for now there was only one place he wanted to be. He slipped into his quarters and locked the doors behind him. He was surprised to see the warm orange glow of a fire in the hearth. "Thought you'd be asleep by now," he said to Dorian as he entered the room.

"I dozed a bit." Dorian lazed in the bed, propped up on several pillows. He'd unwound the bandaging from his chest. He gestured to the space beside him. Theo grinned and pulled off his shirt as he went, and slipped onto the bed beside Dorian. "You know, when I first left Tevinter I had no idea where I was headed. Even when the first breach happened I didn't know why I was here, or what I was meant to do."

Theo gingerly wrapped his arm around Dorian's shoulders. Dorian leaned into him, barely wincing at the movement. It felt good to hold Dorian again, even if he felt the need to be tentative. "That makes two of us," Theo said with a smile. "I don't have it all figured out yet, but I think I have a good start."

"We've both come a long way, haven't we," Dorian said, lacing his fingers with Theo's.

Theo smiled and kissed Dorian's forehead. "I'd say that's a bit of an understatement."

There would be parties and speeches and ceremonies starting practically at dawn, if Josephine had anything to say about the schedule; but tonight it was just the two of them, alone with a fire crackling in the hearth. Theo had been the unwanted third son who became the first Inquisitor in centuries; he'd managed to bring peace, even if it wasn't perfect. But tonight he was just Theo Trevelyan: in love with, and loved by Dorian Pavus. And in spite of all he'd done and all he'd become, that was more than enough.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read this story! It's been an amazing journey and I've loved watching Theo and Dorian grow individually and together. Thank you so much for all the support; I can't begin to say how much I appreciate it. They will make other appearances; I can't let them go this easily.