Chapter 38

"Right," said Alistair as he sat down beside Leliana and opened up his journal. "I came to gossip."

Leliana lifted a brow. She looked at the journal. Alistair held it up.

"This is where I write down notes."

"You are very meticulous."

"Hey, if I have to do something, I do it properly."

"It is a good policy." She nodded. "Does it also extend to the people you do, or no?"

Alistair almost dropped the quill. He opened his mouth. Then he closed it again. Finally, he just sighed.

"Why are you like this?"

Leliana shrugged. "It is a valid question, Alistair. I am emotionally invested in your reply, you know."

"Yes, I'm sure you are." He grimaced. "But like I was saying before you distracted me: gossip."

"So you find me distracting?"

"Damn it, Leli."

It had been a rather long day of walking, and at the end of it, Alistair had been happy to find that neither he nor Leliana would be on guard duty that night. Aedan had given him the news with much smirking and winking, but Alistair knew better. It was too soon.

So after dinner, he'd asked Leliana whether he could invite himself to her tent for a talk. She'd readily accepted. And now there he was, getting all flustered with the innuendo. He did it to himself, really.

But she just laughed and scooted closer. "What is this about, Alistair?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask you about some of the party members," he replied. "I've had more than enough time to form my own opinions about them, and I just wanted to see if yours are any different."

"That sounds like fun," Leliana replied with a grin and sat up cross-legged. "Go ahead and ask. I have not gossiped in a long time."

"Right." Alistair opened his journal and dipped his quill into the inkwell, poised to write. "What do you think of Oghren? You must have an opinion on the smell, at least?"

Leliana crinkled her nose. That told him more than any amount of words would. "Other than that... I quite like him."

Alistair nodded. "I would, too, if he could stick to the ribald stories and not so much with the belching and projectile vomiting. How he lifts his axe is a mystery."

"Ah, but he does lift it. That is the point."

"Hmm. And if you point him in the right direction, he charges, too."

"He has... gusto, I'll give him that."

"What about Sten?"

"He's a softy," she answered immediately. "He is a softy and you can't convince me otherwise."

"I mean." Alistair scratched the back of his head with the quill. "The way he looks at with those eyes... creepy."

"Softy."

"And he's so quiet for someone so big," Alistair went on. If he didn't stop the 'softy' spiel before it began, she'd go on and on about it. "He doesn't seem quite so bad as the Chantry tells us, either. According to them, the qunari philosophy sounds so vile and evil. Yet he's so reasonable."

"Do you believe everything the Chantry tells you, Alistair?" She smiled wanly. "The Chantry tells us that most claims of visions and such are usually people's minds playing tricks on them. Wishful thinking at best."

She had a point there. "True enough. But he is dedicated, I suppose."

"And a softy."

"Yes, yes. But what about Zevran? Do you trust his vow?"

"Absolutely. He is genuine in his efforts to help us."

Another prompt reply. "That's... an awful amount of trust to place on someone who tried to kill us, you know."

"Zevran and I... we've lived similar lives." Leliana was silent for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. "I understand him. Better than most people."

He studied her as she said it. She seemed... sad, in a way. Why that was, he didn't know.

"I trust you," he told her quietly. "And I trust your judgement."

She smiled at him. "So who is next on your list?"

"Morrigan."

"Ahh, of course."

"She still your friend?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

She laughed. "I must confess, I did not like her much in the beginning. She was very standoffish and cold. I thought her a vile fiend."

"Uh-huh," Alistair said encouragingly as he wrote furiously. "Keep it coming, Leli."

"But I think she has grown much over the course of this journey. But you still don't like her much, do you?"

"Well, other than the fact that she's a complete and utter bitch... no, I don't like her at all." Alistair put down his quill and frowned. "She's evil. And mean. How Aedan did it, I don't know."

"You poor baby. Did the mean witch hurt you with her flaming words?"

Alistair rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Yes. Indeed I do. Are we done?"

Alistair closed his journal and nodded. "Yep. My curiosity has been sated."

"But mine hasn't."

He looked up. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

Twirling her braid with her fingers, Leliana smirked. "What do you think of me?"

Alistair knew danger when he heard it. "You know exactly how I feel about you."

"Indulge me." She smiled up at him. "Please?"

Oh, the smile. Always the smile! I am doomed. Doomed!

"I... honestly, I don't know what to make of you." He sighed and looked at the ground. "Sometimes, when you're not looking, I look at you. Your face, I mean." He heard her snort and shook his head. "You just look so... so sad. I felt guilty about taking you away from your life."

"It was my choice, Alistair."

"I know." He shrugged. "I still felt bad. Back then anyway. Now I don't think that way." He looked up and smiled at her. "All right, then. What do you think of me?"

"I think you are really damn cute."

He felt her hands on his cheeks and her lips on his and just like that, she was sitting on his lap again. Alistair didn't even know how she moved so fast but he wasn't about to ruin the moment with needless question.

Especially a hot moment like this. Hoo boy.

The kisses were slow, insistent and hungry. Leliana's arms snaked around his neck and she pressed herself against him. Alistair placed his hands on her waist and did his best to keep pace. One could only improve with practice, and he'd been getting a lot of that over the past couple of days.

He slid his hands down her back to her hips and up again and she hummed quietly against his mouth.

Well if she likes it...

Alistair, in a fit of exploratory curiosity, and emboldened by Leliana's sounds, lowered his hands down further and cupped her buttocks tenderly. Before he knew it, he had squeezed and kneaded and pulled her hips against his.

Fuuuck!

Leliana grunted and rewarded his curiosity by nibbling on his lower lip. Alistair didn't care. He was beyond such normal everyday emotions such as caring. No, he had just ascended to a higher plane of existence where nothing really mattered anymore.

Who knew butt could be so potent? What did Wynne say when she caught me staring at Leli's butt before? Enraptured. Well, I'm really fuckin' enraptured now.

But apparently Leliana wasn't as enraptured with his mouth as he was with her butt for she pulled away a little.

No! Don't take this glorious adventure away from me! I beg you come back Leli I–

His overactive mind came to an abrupt and deafening halt when he felt her tongue on his lower lip.

"Fuck," he said quietly.

"Alistair." There was a quiet intensity to her voice. Her eyes were twinkling with amusement. "Would you like me to teach you how Orlesians use tongue?"

It was at that moment that Alistair knew he would be occupied for the rest of the night.

"Yes, please."

A/N: Next chapter will be from Aedan's POV.