Evelyn was chewing on the pad of her thumb. "I had just grown up with that idea, that Wardens were the heroes. Always. I mean, the king of Ferelden was one. The goddamn Hero of Ferelden. Blackwall."

"Blackwall seemed unaffected. As for the King and the Hero, we found neither within the walls."

"I think it was more the fact that we could have." She shook her head. "You must think I'm silly to keep going on about this. It was just that I always thought of them as the ones that saved... everyone else. I didn't expect to have to save everyone else from them."

The loud boom of thunder stirred them both. The rain continued outside the thick glass pane, sky streaking with lightning. "So much for dinner, then." Solas pulled the blanket higher as she shivered.

"Couldn't we have them send something up?"

"I could head down there, fetch whatever it is you would like."

She put her hand on his arm. "No. Stay. It will let up eventually."

Solas eased back against the headboard, her arm wrapping over his middle with such fluidity, such comfort. That such a familiar gesture could cause such a giddy reaction in him, even after everything he'd endured... it made what was to come that much harder. The thought was an unpleasant one he tried to crush under a bootheel, stamping it down lest it spoil the feeling of butterflies in his chest.

"We should talk, you know."

Her words caused the anxiety to rise again. "Oh? About?"

She snorted. "You're kidding, right? Take your pick. We should probably talk about what happened at Adamant, of course. But also what's going to happen after... after we return. After our," she propped her head up on her fist. "What did you call it?"

"Our momentum?"

"No, before that. This morning."

"Ah, that would be the 'great forward leap.'"

She smiled lazily. "That would be the one."

"Did that need discussing? I thought I made my intentions toward you rather clear."

"Maybe just so I can relive it," she sighed. "I feel like such a child, but I'm sorry. I'm excited. We feel so much more real."

"This has been real for months, or have you not heard the song?"

He received a halfhearted pillow swat to the face. "I really try to forget the fucking song. I should have enacted some sort of epic vengeance for that."

"Yes, the reign of Inquisitor Trevelyan and her famous crusade against the arts."

"Just the ones referring colorfully to my nethers, thank you very much."

He frowned slightly, lips parted. "I did mean to say something about that one. It was not the fruit I would have chosen."

"Sweet Andraste, shut up." They both laughed quietly. "Anyway, I'm glad. To know that you're mine."

"I have been yours since the beginning, you know."

"I didn't. Say it again."

"Which part?"

She put her head on his chest, the remnants of her side braids unraveling themselves. "The forever and ever part."

He undid the coils of a braid with his finger. "I will love you forever, just as I always have."

"You didn't always know me."

"Would you like me to say I did not truly exist until I did? It would not be a complete lie."

She shook the hair back from her face before settling back down. "I'm just hoping that I can be the thing to end your fear. The one we saw, in the Fade, I mean."

"I think we all die alone, Evelyn. It is not an uncommon fear."

"No, but it also wasn't the one everyone else had, which means it must hold some particular worry for you." She traced a small circle on his skin. "Is it because you were alone for so long? Is that why that thought terrifies you?"

"We have gone from love and devotion to my deepest terrors already? I thought we would pace ourselves a bit better."

"I can't stop thinking about it."

"I know." He ran his hand through her hair, then rested it against her back. "I suppose I often find myself alone when things matter most. It was not a trend I wished to continue." Solas let the feeling wash over him as he counted slowly in his head. Five... six... it dissipated to his great relief. "I think I was feeling tired of being alone, before I met you. That is the energy that demon would have fed off of. All the anxieties and fears we felt most poignantly from the explosion at the Conclave to that moment. Fear of being alone becomes more sharp once you know you no longer have to be."

"I guess that would explain mine, as well."

During that moment they'd shared in the Fade, he had caught a glimpse of the tombstone in the back corner, weathered as if it had stood for years. It bore her full name and a single word, failure. "Yours was unsurprising, all things considered. The fate of everything rests on your shoulders. Failure is a worthy fear."

"That makes me feel so much better."

"I was trying to be comforting."

"I know. I'm teasing. Mostly." She rubbed her chin against his chest. "Do you want to know what I'm afraid of right now?"

"Telling people?"

"Some more than others."

"We can practice. Now, pretend that I am Warren."

"Don't be disgusting. No. I can't. Not after what we did on the floor earlier."

"Fine. Pretend Warren is here, in the room."

"... my earlier point stands."

He made an exasperated sound. "You know what I mean. What would you say, were he here?"

"Give me a moment to get dressed?"

"Please."

Evelyn rubbed at her face and sat up a little. "I suppose I'd start by telling him that you and I have decided to live as if we are in love openly."

"As if we are?"

"Because we are." She glared at Solas. "And that I am no longer entertaining any other offers."

"What do you think he will say?"

"'Why the fuck are you talking like that? ' most likely."

"Fine, I won't help. I can find dinner instead." Solas again made to leave the bed.

"No! No. Stay put. I'll be serious. I can be serious." She pushed her hair back over her shoulders and sat up a little straighter. "Warren, I'm in love. I'm an adult woman and I'm in love and if I'm going to survive this thing I need to keep my wits about me. I can only do that if I have Solas with me. I love him. And I do think it's high time I'm married, but for the right reasons."

He smiled, his eyes shining. "Do you think that will persuade?"

"I don't give a fuck if it doesn't. It's the truth." Outside the window, another ear-splitting thunderclap.

"I thought you said this would pass."

"I never claimed I could control the weather."

"This forever thing seems much less appealing after learning that. I guess we'll starve." Solas heaved a dramatic sigh, "I could go out, there were no tombstones proclaiming my fear of water."

"Stay, just a little longer. I had another idea." Evelyn dove beneath the covers.

"Should we ask Warren to leave first?" he laughed and then winced as she bit his hip, hard. "Evelyn?"

"Mmm-hmm?" came the muffled reply.

"I do love you, you know."

She tossed the blanket back over her head and grinned up at him. "I know. Tomorrow, let's tell everyone, okay?"

He fought to keep his smile from shaking. "Okay."

"But not tonight. Tonight, you're just for me."

He sat up quickly, pulling her upward before turning to flip her onto her back. "I am always just for you. I want everyone to know it."

Evelyn let an evil grin spread across her face. "You're going to have to work hard. We're competing against the storm."

He found it wasn't hard work at all.