At the Well

CONTENT:
Rating: Mature
Flavor: Adventure/Drama
Language: yes
Violence: no
Nudity: no
Sex: no
Other: none

Author's Notes:

Pivotal scene. It's hard to believe we finally got here! Actually, expected to be here by the end of year one of writing... :X

At the Well

==#==

"Let's go outside," Zevran said to Bannon. "It is crowded in here."

"Sure."

Today had been a quiet one - compared to fighting slavers in the Alienage - but no less busy. There were more banns to meet, and all their problems to address. Teagan had arrived with the Redcliffe guards. Now the estate felt more secure.

They'd at least had a chance to pick up Bannon's new drakeskin armor, and very handsome it was, a beautiful shadow grey. Zevran had drooled, but at least it wasn't black enough for him to take it by force.

As they'd left the armorer's, some street urchin had run up to Bannon and pressed a note into his hand. "Wha-?"

"For the Grey Wardens." The kid scurried off.

"Who-?"

"What's it say?" Alistair asked with biting curiosity.

"'Wardens: it is imperative for the safety of Ferelden that you meet me in the south alley behind The Cultured Pearl at dusk, signed A Compatriot,'" Bannon read. "Translation: 'Come into our trap so we can kill you. Love, the Crows.'" He crumpled the note up and tossed it over his shoulder.

"The Crows?" Alistair looked around in concern, which is something Zevran had already been doing. "You mean, it's a trap?"

"Yeah, it's a trap."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"Should we go?"

Bannon sighed. "No, Alistair. It's a trap."

"Bu-u-u-ut since we know it's a trap...? We won't get trapped?"

"Alistair, the only way to keep from getting caught in a trap is to not go into the trap."

"Unless it takes place in a brothel," Zevran added. "That might be worthwhile."

"Just... no," Bannon said after a brief moment thinking. "If the Crows want to kill us, they're just going to have to work harder. We're not cooperating."

"But what if someone really did need our help?" Alistair asked.

"Then they'd find a better way to ask," Bannon assured him. "Come on."

Now Bannon wondered if Zevran wanted to talk to him about the Crows. They walked to the side yard, near the well. If Zevran wanted to bolt, to flee the Crows... Bannon felt a pang of fear. He had to convince the assassin that it was safer to stay. Stay with the royally-tough-to-kill bastards who would protect him.

He was wholly unprepared when Zevran said, "I want to give you something."

"Oh you do?" Bannon smirked.

Only, Zevran wasn't being lewd. "Well, si. And why should I not?" he said a bit defensively. "You are always giving us gifts, like those fine Antivan leather boots. So I figured, why not return the favor?"

"All right," said Bannon, still a bit off balance.

Zevran paced off a few steps, retrieved something from his pocket. Then he returned, a bit of jewelry glinting in his grip.

He didn't give it to Bannon right away. He stared at it a moment as if lost in thought. "This," he started, turning the ring so the light caught small emerald and ruby chips. "This is... well, a bit of a trophy." Now he warmed up to his self-aggrandizing tale. "It was my first solo assignment, to slay a Rivani prince. When I came upon him in his chambers, he was wearing this earring... and little else." The corner of his lip curled in a lascivious smile.

"After our dalliance, and when I had dispatched him, I took it. A memento of my first mission as a full-fledged Crow." He shrugged with a grin. "Now I'd like you to have it.

"That's..." Bannon hesitated. Zevran wanted to give him a ring. But it was an earring. Yet still, a prize for the assassin. "It must mean a lot to you," Bannon ventured, fishing.

"What? No. Well - as a fond token of that memory, to be sure. But it was just a whim, really. Something pretty that caught my eye."

He sounded so flagrantly careless about it. A bit too much so? Was Zevran trying... to tell him something? "What does it mean?"

"Mean?" Zevran scoffed. "Why does it have to mean anything? It is a trinket. I thought you might like it. You do not like my gift? Just say so. Or at least pretend to be gracious."

"No, I am, but-"

"Take it," the assassin insisted. "Wear it if you want. Or keep it in a chest, or sell it, hock it, or give it to someone else. Throw it away if you want. It does not matter to me!"

But I want it to matter.

Bannon was almost certain Zevran was on the cusp of admitting... well, something. That Bannon was more than an easy lay, a matter of convenience and distraction. Or just someone Zevran wanted to keep close for protection.

Should he push for more? Or would that just push Zevran away, make him close down, withdrawing behind his defenses? If he made the wrong move, it would spell disaster for this relationship.

Zevran's eyes darkened. "Look, if you don't want the earring-"

"I do." Bannon stepped in to grasp the ring and Zevran's fingers. "But I want to make sure to properly thank my benefactor." With a subtle tug, he drew the assassin closer, and kissed him.

Just a soft, gentle kiss, lingering, but not too long.

==#==

Bannon kissed him.

And Zevran's mind went blank.

There was a clatter from the direction of the kitchens, and Zevran jerked back, one hand going to his dagger as he tensed for fight or flight. He saw a water bucket still rocking on the ground. Well, they must have scandalized someone in this insular country.

He turned back, but the thief had vanished. Zevran raised his hand to touch his lips, but stopped. They still tingled with at least the memory of Bannon's kiss.

But what did it mean?

==#==

Bannon had kissed him.

Zevran paced back and forth outside the dining hall. What did it mean? It was just a kiss. They'd kissed before - plenty of times. It wasn't a passionate, 'rip my clothes off and ravage me right here' kind of kiss. Still, it wasn't a quick chaste peck, either. It was just a kiss.

Yet Bannon never kissed him where others might see. And they had been seen - surely that wasn't on purpose! But it was a clear probability, so why had Bannon done it?

As a thank you for the earring.

Zevran stopped, staring sightlessly at a decorative urn as his mind whirled. A thank you for the earring...

But what did that MEAN?

Zevran growled in frustration. Running a hand through his hair, he continued pacing.

He didn't know what it meant. All right, then fine. It was in Bannon's court, now. He would either wear it or discard it - Zevran ignored the unexpected sharp pain that thought engendered. Or, knowing him, he would hock it.

And then Zevran would have his answer. Until then, no use worrying. Right. He would carry on as usual. Whatever happened, happened. It was beyond his control. Fine. He would dust his hands off and be done fretting.

Then Wynne came bustling around the corner. "What's going on?" she asked.

Wynne might have some insight, Zevran's mind traitorously thought. But how did she know something was going on? Brasca, did that servant tell the whole estate that he and Bannon had been kissing? Was there a mob of outraged Fereldans coming to lynch them? Burn them at the stake? "What?"

"Anora's handmaid is here," Wynne said urgently. "Something's wrong."

"Anora?" Zevran wracked his off-balance brain. "She's like the queen or something?"

Wynne gave a huff of strained annoyance, and dragged him into the dining hall.

==X==

End Notes:

Should he push for more? Or would that just push Zevran away, make him close down, withdrawing behind his defenses? If he made the wrong move, it would spell disaster for this relationship.

I swear, I sat on this dialogue screen for LITERALLY (and i mean non-figuratively) for at LEAST fifteen minutes! In fact, I didn't sit, I got up and paced.

Is he trying to say something? What's he trying to say? Should Bannon push it? Does he need a push? Will he get pushed away? If he's not pushed, will he run away? WHAAA!?

At long last, my roleplaying buddies got their revenge - after all my characters with issues they had to delicately deal with, now it was my turn! ARGH! (aka: so fun!)

now some of you zevran purists out there think that NOT pushing zevran is a mistake. well. fine. :P but bannon has a better idea...

(oh wait... did i just hear a scream... coming from somewhere in the vicinity of slovakia...?)