"This one looks important." With a sigh, Nate tossed Megan a letter from the pile in front of him. "More important than the rest, at least."

They were taking advantage of the grey, drizzly weather to make some headway into the heaps of paperwork that had accumulated during the past few weeks, when the weather had been unusually nice for a Fereldan summer. Now it was solidly back to normal, and it was high time to catch up on their not-so-pleasant duties.

Frowning, Megan took the letter from Nate and carefully broke the seal. The Redcliffe coat-of-arms. Weird.

Carver had opted out early in the process and was stretched out on their bed instead, wearing nothing but a pair of breeches and engrossed in an Orlesian romance. Unfolding the parchment, Megan threw him an envious glance, but she had to admit that he wouldn't have been a big help anyway. Quickly, she scanned the letter.

"It's from Arl Teagan," she said. "He's asking for our help in closing a Deep Roads Entrance that's opened up near Redcliffe. There have been Darkspawn sightings and he's worried it might get worse."

Nate shook his head. "You don't simply walk up to a Deep Roads entrance and close it. It's a tad more complicated than that."

"True." Megan chewed her lower lip. "But it's definitely Warden business, now that the Inquisition is no longer here to help us out." She sighed wistfully. It had been a big help, actually, to have Alec and his people around to deal with such threats. Now, with the Inquisition disbanded, the burden had fallen squarely on the Wardens' shoulders again. "I think you should go, Nate." She handed him the letter.

"Me?" He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd want to go yourself. Refresh your memories, that kind of thing."

"Nah." Megan shrugged. "Teagan and I didn't part on the best of terms during the Blight, and from what I've heard he's gotten a lot less agreeable in the meantime." And that was putting it mildly. Leliana's description of the Arl and his behaviour at the Exalted Council was not fit to be repeated in polite company. "But it has to be a nobleman. They're an arrogant bunch down there at Redcliffe."

Nate sighed deeply. "I'll go if you think it's necessary. Can't say I'm looking forward to it, though."

"Let me see." Carver got to his feet and walked over, embracing Nate from behind, so he could read over his shoulder. "But you'll be gone for weeks, maybe months!" He almost pouted. "I'm going to miss you."

Megan watched the muscles in his arms and shoulders play as he tightened his embrace, and she swallowed involuntarily. "Damn it, Carver, put some clothes on. This is distracting."

"You think?" He threw her a fiery glance. "Good. I'm bored anyway."

"I know you are." Megan couldn't help but smile. "And so am I, but we need to get this sorted out. And I'm going to miss Nate, too, but-"

"It's at least two weeks' journey." Nate sighed again. "Besides, my point still stands. I can't close the entrance all by myself. This is a job for dwarves. And maybe a mage or two."

"Then take Anders. And Thorin and Sigrun." Megan was beginning to get impatient. "Dworkin and Voldrik can go, too, if you're worried about the technical side. But we can't just ignore this. It's going to look bad if we do."

"All right, I get it." Nate raised his hands in defeat. "It's just-" He broke off, looking almost embarrassed.

"What?" Carver gently nuzzled Nate's neck. "What is it?"

"Well…" Nate was almost blushing. "If you send Anders, Thorin, and Sigrun with me, it means I'm sharing a tent with Anders, right? And if we're gone for a month or more… I guess what I'm trying to say is, would you mind if we-"

"Oh!" Megan felt a sudden burst of understanding dawn. After all, it wasn't exactly news to her that Nate and Anders were attracted to each other. And with the two of them all alone, in a tent, far from home… "No. No, of course not. I mean, I could hardly expect… Right, Carver?"

To her surprise, Carver didn't agree right away, though. Instead, he bit down softly on Nate's shoulder, then proceeded to gently lick the bite. Nate shivered all over.

"Well, I don't know…" Carver sounded almost playful. "I might agree. But what about Zevran?"

"What about him?" Nate looked genuinely confused. "Do you think he'd mind?"

He had a point. Anders and Zevran had a pretty pragmatic view of their relationship. Not surprising, perhaps, considering their respective backgrounds.

"Probably not." Yup, Carver seemed to be in a rather provocative mood. "Just… With Anders gone, Zev is bound to get lonely. I guess I'd like to know if you have any objections to Meg and me offering some… comfort while you're gone?"

"Ah." Nate was quiet for a moment, considering his reply.

Which meant that Megan actually took the time to think about her own feelings. They weren't clear-cut, not by any means. True, the three of them had invited Anders and Zevran into their bed on a few memorable occasions, and she had no regrets about them. But this was different. She knew Nate had had a hard time warming up to the idea of having Zev there. There was no way she was going to risk a jealous scene, just to have some fun with her former lover. And yet, if Nate and Anders were free to do as they pleased, it seemed only fair that they should have the same freedom.

"It's okay." Nate's reply tore her out of her thoughts. He was leaning back into Carver's embrace with a wry smile, and Carver responded with a low moan, his hand trailing down Nate's chest and stomach. "I'm hardly in a position to complain, right?"

"That's not what I was asking." Carver had grown serious, and his hand stilled in mid-motion. "We're not bargaining here, and if you're not okay with it-"

"It's fine." Catching Carver's wrist, Nate turned around in his arms so he could kiss him. "It really is," he repeated. "I trust you both."

"Good." Megan stepped close behind him, burying her hand in his long, dark hair and pulling back his head for a kiss of her own. "I love you. And you, Carver."

Carver didn't reply, but he didn't have to. They knew they were good.

The first tenday after Nate and the dwarves left for Redcliffe was a busy time. Most of Nate's duties had fallen to Carver, and while he was perfectly able to handle them, it meant a lot of extra work. When he fell into bed at night, he barely had enough energy left for a quick bout of love-making with Megan. Anything more elaborate seemed out of the question.

Finally, things settled down a bit. A patrol returned from the Deep Roads battered but elated, having slain a broodmother and eliminated a nest of darkspawn that would have caused them considerable trouble in the future. The next day, a group of five new Wardens underwent their Joining without a hitch, all of them surviving the procedure – which was a rare enough occurrence that it deserved to be celebrated.

Megan readily agreed when Carver suggested a party, and the servants at Vigil's Keep, glad for a change in routine, provided a festive dinner that was enough to satisfy even a Warden's appetite. They feasted and drank and danced, and some of them snuck off for other pleasures. At the end of the evening, Carver dropped onto the bench next to Megan with a contented sigh.

"Some party, eh?" Putting an arm around her slim shoulders, he pulled her close to breathe a kiss on her cheek. "It's a pity Nate's not here."

"True," Megan purred into his ear. She looked lovely tonight, in her short dress, her hair all tousled from the dancing. "But it's time to call it a night, don't you think?"

Her hand was resting on his thigh, safely hidden under the table, and now it was moving upwards with practised swiftness.

He stifled a gasp as she caressed him through his breeches. "Damn it, Meg."

"Come on. No one cares." Her voice was warm and sultry in his ear, and as he buried his face in her hair to hide his blush, her scent was nearly overwhelming. "I want you. Now."

"All right." With a shaky nod, Carver got to his feet, pulling her up with him. "Night, everyone." He was proud of how steady he sounded. "Have fun."

They left to a chorus of answering voices. The others would probably keep partying for a few more hours, but that was fine. Maker knew, they needed this, considering the horrors they faced on a daily basis. Carver pulled Megan closer and headed for the door, but just as they were about to leave, Zevran appeared from the shadows near the doorway.

"Ah, my Warden." His eyes were raking hotly up and down Megan's body. "You're leaving already?"

Megan smiled brightly back. "Yeah. We're going to make our own fun tonight, I think."

"Is that so?" Zevran was really close now, almost touching them, and Carver swallowed. "And you're going to send me off all by myself to my cold and lonely bed?" The assassin sighed theatrically. "So cruel, cara mia. It's not like you at all."

Megan was giggling at his words, and Carver didn't bother to hide his eyeroll. "Oh, come off it, Zevran. There's no need for you to sleep alone, and you know it. Half of our Wardens would be only too happy to warm your bed."

"Ah, but I don't want them." Zevran's hot gaze left Megan's body, only to be transferred to Carver instead, and Carver had to admit that it was nice to be on the receiving end of that look. It made him feel attractive and wanted – which was exactly what Zev wanted to achieve, of course. He was almost tempted to play coy a little longer, just to see what else the assassin would come up with to seduce them.

Next to him, Megan had tensed up, too. "Zev." Her voice was heavy with arousal. "Tell us what you want."

Zevran favoured her with a genuine smile. "You know it, cara. You know I want to be with you and your gorgeous brute of a man. Let me join you tonight."

Carver wasn't sure he liked that description of himself, but he really had no objection to the suggestion. As a matter of fact, he was sincerely glad he'd cleared this with Nate in advance, because he was by no means sure he'd have been able to resist Zevran anyway.

"Right." He cleared his throat. "Fine with me. Meg?"

"More than fine." Taking Zevran's hand, Megan tilted her head toward the staircase. "Let's go up."

Moments later, they were in their suite, just the three of them now, and it was still a tad awkward. Carver was relieved when Megan poured wine for them and they settled at the table. He'd been afraid they would head straight for bed, and he really needed a little warm-up time.

"Tell me a story from the Blight year." He leaned back in his chair, taking a deep sip of the wine. He loved hearing about that time, before he'd met Megan. It was one of his few regrets that he hadn't been with her then, when she and her companions had fought the Archdemon. "Come on. I know the two of you were up to all kinds of mischief."

"Ah, but I wouldn't call it mischief." Zevran was all wounded innocence. "Now, it's true there were a few missions that weren't suited to the bright light of day, but-"

"Aw, come on, Zev." Megan was clearly enjoying herself reminiscing about those days. "Remember when we broke into the jeweller's shop in Denerim? And that time back in Orzammar, when we stole the shield? Actually," She turned to face Carver. "That's a really good story. You see, there was this guy called Vartag Gavorn, and he had a family heirloom…"

Both she and Zev were laughing by the time they had finished the story, looking happy and relaxed and all kinds of gorgeous, and Carver felt ready to take the game a step further. "And afterwards?" He cleared his throat.

"Oh, afterwards…" Megan and Zevran exchanged a conspiratorial glance. "We celebrated, just the two of us, in our room." Megan shivered pleasantly at the memory. "It was quite a memorable night."

Zevran threw Carver a sly look. "Would you like to hear the details?"

And suddenly, the atmosphere was heating up, faster than Carver would have believed possible. "I think I would. Or even better…" He pushed his chair back a little, his eyes never leaving Zevran's face. "Show me."

Megan inhaled sharply. "Carver!"

But she didn't object when Zevran pulled her to her feet and embraced her tightly, kissing her hard and deep. And Carver couldn't take his eyes off them, not for a moment, because they were so damn beautiful together. Zevran's hands seemed to be everywhere on Megan's body, teasing, caressing, dancing over exposed flesh with an assurance born of long familiarity. Carver was almost jealous, because she responded so enthusiastically, but he knew he was being silly. Megan belonged with him, him and Nate, and this, as exciting as it might be, was just a pleasant interlude.

"Carver? Is this okay?" Megan was panting heavily, but she was looking at him with genuine concern, and he knew she would stop the moment he asked her.

He nodded. "Don't stop."

And as their clothes came off, he mirrored their actions, throwing off his own shirt and breeches until he was naked in his chair, stroking himself slowly as he watched them embrace over and over. When Zevran dropped to his knees in front of Megan and put his mouth on her, she cried out, clinging to his shoulders, and Carver had to stop, had to keep his hand still, or this would have been over far too quickly. She was just so incredibly beautiful like this, all worked up, her lips half open and her breath coming in quick gasps. And Zevran was clearly enjoying himself, too, his cock hard and proud and lovely.

They were moving over to the bed now, and Megan was arranging herself on all fours, with an inviting look back over her shoulder. Zevran didn't need any more prompting. With a heartfelt sigh, he aligned himself and slid inside her without a moment's hesitation. Once again, Carver had to take deep, long breaths and close his eyes to regain control. So hot.

He spared a brief thought for Nate, wondering if his lover was lying in Anders' arms right now, but the idea only served to fire him up further. Not even in his wildest dreams could he ever have imagined a scenario like this before meeting Megan and Nate, but now it was real, real and immensely exciting, and he loved them both for taking him out of his comfort zone. He was a lucky guy indeed.

Zevran had begun to move now, and Megan wasn't idle either, pushing back into each of his strokes, moaning softly as he reached around her and caressed her. They looked gorgeous and sinful, and Carver wasn't sure how much longer he could bear being a mere watcher.

Just then, Megan turned her head to look at him, and her eyes widened, her tongue darting out to lick her lips. Zevran followed her gaze, always attuned to her reactions, and he groaned, deep in his throat.

"Carver. Won't you join us?" Zevran's voice was rough with want. "I think it's time."

Carver wasn't going to argue. Slowly, he got to his feet, wondering what his next move should be. He wanted Megan's mouth on him, wanted it badly, but then there was Zevran, lithe and golden-brown and beautiful, and he knew how good that silky skin felt.

"Carver!" There was a note of urgency in Zevran's tone, and it decided him. Settling behind Zevran, Carver embraced him from behind, moving with him as he pounded into Megan, and yes, that was perfect. His cock was pressed hard against the other man's back, sliding smoothly against soft skin, and it felt so good he wanted it to last forever.

But Zevran clearly had other plans. Twisting around, he pulled back, ignoring Megan's vocal protests, and kissed Carver, biting down on his lip hard enough to draw blood. "Your turn."

And before Carver could argue, Zevran had slipped away, leaving him to take his place. Megan was mewling with impatience until he acquiesced, burying himself deep inside her with a single stroke. She cried out, arching her back, but Zevran was already there, kissing her, drinking her sighs from her lips, whispering words of encouragement. There was no way Carver could hold back, no way he could stop himself from pounding into her, hard and fast, and within moments, they both cried out, both shaking with lust and relief.

It took a moment for Carver to get his bearings, but then his gaze fell on Zevran, still magnificently hard, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his eyes full of fire even as a small proud smile played around his luscious lips. He exchanged a quick glance with Megan, and then they both pounced on Zevran.

Carver went straight for that beautiful cock, sucking it in deep with a heartfelt sigh of enjoyment. Megan was kissing Zevran, teasing his sensitive ears with her tongue and teeth, rolling his nipples between her fingertips. It took them no time at all to make him come, to make him scream and writhe and shudder between them, stripped of all control for once. Carver swallowed with relish, grinning from ear to ear, while Megan laughed triumphantly. Yes. Good. Zevran deserved this in every sense of the word.

They all fell asleep together, in a happy tangle of limbs, and when they awoke, there was a second round of love-making, far more restrained and quieter than the first, but no less satisfying. Afterwards, they headed down for breakfast together, ready to face a new day. When Carver met Megan's gaze over the breakfast table, he felt his heart speed up. Yup. I'm a lucky guy.

Nate was staring into the camp-fire's flames, trying to chase away the melancholy thoughts that were lurking just at the edge of his consciousness, when two soft warm hands settled on his shoulders.

"Are you all right? You look tired." Anders' grip tightened, just the slightest bit, and Nate felt the familiar warmth of a restoration spell wash over his body.

"Oh Maker, yes." There was no way to hold back his moan of pleasure.

All the little aches and pains that came from a long day on the road were gone, disappeared, just like that, and he felt immediately ready to take on the world again. Even his cock perked up with interest, but then that was no wonder. They had been on the road for more than a week now, and so far, Anders and him had barely even touched. The first two nights had been simply too uncomfortable, with the rain coming down in thick sheets, soaking the tent plane. They had spent the next two nights in inns, in crowded common rooms. Then Thorin had been hit by a bandit's arrow, and Anders had spent a night at his side, making sure the wound was healing properly. And afterwards, he'd been so exhausted that he'd simply fallen asleep the moment his head had hit the bedroll.

No, Nate mused wryly, so far, there had been a decided lack of erotic adventures. But then that wasn't really the point of the whole exercise anyway. Or maybe he was just getting old. Thorin and Sigrun seemed to have no trouble finding time to have some fun, judging from the muffled noises coming from their tent. Clearly, they weren't overthinking every move.

"Thank you," was all he said aloud. "I needed that."

"You're welcome." Anders was grinning from ear to ear. Obviously, he hadn't missed his spell's side effect. "Feeling better?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Much better." Nate grinned back. With anyone else, this would have been embarrassing as hell, but he and Anders went way too far back for that.

"You sure?" Anders' grin made way for a concerned frown. "You were looking sad right now. Sad and exhausted."

"I'm fine." Nate reached for a branch to stir up the flames a bit. "Just a bit homesick, that's all. I miss them."

"Yeah, well…" Anders sank down by his side with a deep sigh. "I miss Zev, too. Especially at night."

"Do you now?" Nate chuckled softly, but then he, too, grew serious. "Anders?"

"Mmhmm." Anders' head was leaning against his shoulder now, in a gesture that was both affectionate and flirtatious.

"You and Zev… Are you doing okay? Does he care about you?" Nate couldn't help but ask. He always felt slightly guilty about Anders, for not loving him more, for not being able to be with him.

"Sure." Anders' tone was light. "Don't worry about us, Nate. We're both too damaged to call it love and be all romantic about it, but we're fine. Or at least as fine as we can be."

"You're not damaged!" Nate felt a fierce surge of protective anger. "You're-" But before he could finish, he froze in motion. "Damn! Darkspawn!"

Thorin was already crawling out of the tent, buckling on his armour and cursing under his breath, and Sigrun wasn't far behind. They had just enough time to form a protective circle around the civilians' tent before all hell broke loose.

It wasn't a particularly large group of enemies, Nate realized as he sent off arrow after arrow toward their attackers. By daylight, this would have been a piece of cake, but in the dim light of the fire, not even he could aim with perfect certainty. He was glad when one of Anders' fireballs lit up the sky, taking out at least five genlocks in one swoop. Thorin was already in the thick of things, his axe mowing down the attackers like swathes of grain, and Sigrun had disappeared into the fray, striking quickly where she was least expected.

Minutes later, it was all over. They dragged the corpses to the side of the clearing, to be burnt in the morning, and Anders did a quick check for wounds. Apart from a small scrape on Sigrun's upper arm, where a hurlock's axe had grazed her, they were all unharmed, much to Nate's relief. They washed off the blood in a little stream nearby, assured their travelling companions that all was well again, and then Thorin and Sigrun disappeared into their tent again.

Nate lingered near the fire. I should get some sleep, too. But he couldn't. He was far too worked up from the fight, buzzing with energy and excitement, and when Anders gently touched his shoulder, there was no way he could stop himself. With a rough groan, he backed his friend up against a tree, grinding against him so hard he saw stars, and claimed his mouth in a rough, greedy kiss.

Anders made a small surprised noise in the back of his throat, but then he went pliant in Nate's arm, kissing him back with total abandon. He tasted of lyrium, its faint metallic aroma unmistakable on his tongue, and Nate found that it only turned him on more, that strange, not altogether pleasant taste that, to him, was uniquely Anders.

His trembling fingers made short work of the mage robe's fastenings, and then he was touching bare skin, soft and warm and smooth, and he groaned, completely overcome. Anders returned the favour, feverishly unlacing his breeches, just as eager to touch, to feel, and moments later they were skin to skin, cock to cock, rutting against each other in a wild frenzy that was as glorious as it was unrefined.

And all the time they were kissing, rough, desperate kisses, as if they wanted to devour each other, teeth clashing, tongues fighting for dominance, a fierce struggle that echoed their earlier fight for their lives. Nate's cock was throbbing so hard he thought he would burst any second, and Anders was whining into his mouth, too far gone for words. They came within moments of each other, spilling over both their stomachs, their juices mingling as they thrust against each other.

"Fuck, Nate." Anders was panting hard, swaying on his feet, only held upright by Nate's firm grip. "You're crazy."

"Yeah?" Nate couldn't stop the laughter bubbling up in his throat. "Well, you weren't complaining too much a minute ago."

He allowed himself one more kiss, a soft, lingering one this time, full of tenderness and gratitude, before he pulled back, carefully rearranging Anders' robes. He doubted anyone had seen them in the darkness, and he wasn't ashamed of what they'd done. Still, there was no need to advertise it either.

Quietly, they returned to their tent, lying down side by side, combining their bedrolls to share what little warmth there was. The ground below them was hard an uneven, and the air was damp. And yet, as Nate drifted off to sleep, he felt better than he had in days.

All the hugs and thanks to my super lovely beta suilven. :)