I know chapter 17 was smut, but...I wanted to do this chapter before I forgot it...so...smut! And some teasing from Zev later! NSFW for extensive...fingering.

I follow Leliana upstairs after eating enough food that I feel I may explode later. I drank a little, not much, but enough to give me a buzz in the back of my mind. It'll wear off shortly. I hope. I don't want to go to bed with a headache.

On the bright side, I'm kind of excited. This is the first time Leliana has offered to cut my hair for me, and I would rather have someone else holding scissors to my head. She'll make it neat and even without impaling my skull. I would make it look haphazard and shitty with the occasional drop of blood dripping onto my hands.

Stepping into our room, I briefly wonder how smart it was to take the one next to Zevran's, but the thought is wiped away when Leliana turns and stands up on her toes to give me a kiss. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer, savoring the feel of her soft lips on mine. My other hand slides up her neck to tangle in her hair, but she pushes me away, smirking.

"Haircut," she says tauntingly. I resist the urge to scowl as she leads me by the hand to sit on a chair. "Shirt. Off." I do as told, throwing it across the room at an angle so it hits her in the back of the head while she rummages around in her pack for her pair of recently bought scissors. Leli ignores me and my shirt for the moment, opting to find her scissors first. Then when she finds them, she throws my shirt back at me before running around behind my chair.

"Sneaky," I comment.

She giggles as she winds her arms around my neck. I flick my shirt aside and twist so I can look her in the eye. Her hands hang on my chest and her chin is set in the crook of my neck so that her mouth is right beside my ear. "I like your hair this way."

"Mmm. I don't," I say. "And you already agreed to cut it."

Leli sighs, playing with the strands of hair on the back of my neck. "Well, I suppose I can do it as long as you don't tell me to pluck your eyelashes out and throw them into a campfire."

"I was actually going to offer them to you as a present," I say.

She smacks my shoulder, laughing, as she releases me. I feel Leli walk so close to the chair that the back of my head is against her stomach. Thoughts of what I would really rather be doing right now swirl through my mind and I clench my fists, digging my nails into the palms of my hands hard enough that all I can focus on is the pain. It helps at first, but then I feel her hands in my hair, playing with it rather than cutting, and I have to squeeze my eyes shut.

"Please stop."

"Stop what?" Leli asks a bit too innocently.

"Stop teasing me," I say flatly.

She laughs, runs her hands through my hair once more, and then sets to work. For a brief moment, I think I'm safe, but then she starts being a little rough about it. I bite my tongue to stifle the groan straining to come out of my throat. Leli either doesn't care what she's doing to me, or is having far too much fun doing it to stop. Either way, she's well aware of just how much I'm enjoying the feel of her hands in my hair, and is purposely doing it like she does when we're together. The thoughts return and I let out a strangled gasp. I hear her laugh quietly to herself, amused, as she begins snipping away.

I quickly find that listeninge to the sound of the scissors' blades to be distracting enough to help, so I focus on it. Once in a while, Leli will pause in the cutting of my hair to brush it off my shoulders, or blow it off. Then she'll sneak in one little run through my hair before resuming her task. The feel of her fingers ghosting over my skin, or the light tingle of her breath on my neck makes concentrating on staying in this chair all the more difficult. Several times I'm more than tempted to whip around and shove her up against the wall before ravaging her. The idea of it crosses my mind more than once, and those thoughts lead to dirtier things as I imagine her sprawled out beneath me, crying out my name in ecstasy. It doesn't help any that she's got her entire body pressed against my back.

Her free hand slides down my neck, over my shoulder, and down my chest to get rid of small pieces of brown hair. She gets so close to my belt, but then drags her hand back up to move my ear away from the blades of the scissors. When the hair there is trimmed, she leans forward to blow the flecks away. The sensation sends tingles down my spine and goosebumps to my skin.

"You're killing me," I breathe.

"That's the idea," Leli says pleasantly. "Hold these, will you?" She offers me the scissors and I take them from her, slightly confused.

"Don't you-?"

"I need to brush the rest of your hair down first."

Oh Maker.

She wipes hairs off the back of my neck before running a hand up into my hair with a light touch. My eyes drift shut of their own accord and I lean back into her hand, breathing deeply. Instead of turning my blood hotter, she manages to make the motion soothing, and I feel her eyes on me while she does it. After a few minutes of using one hand, Leli's other hand joins her first, and she ends up playing with my hair. The feeling is so intoxicating and yet so calming that I'm not sure what to do with myself, and then she takes the scissors back.

"You enjoy this," I say. "You enjoy torturing me."

Leli giggles as a few strands of hair fall on my shoulder. She flicks them away before leaning down and pressing her lips to the recently cleared skin. Her own hair tickles my face for a brief moment. "I really do," she whispers, breath hot on my exposed flesh. "I like to make you squirm." Then she straightens and resumes cutting my hair, humming to herself.

"I'll make you squirm," I retort.

"I'd like to see you try."

She takes as long as she possibly can to finish my haircut, but once I know she's done, I lean back to stare up at her, eyes blazing. She has tossed the scissors onto a nearby table and is now leaning down to wrap her arms around my neck again. I have no idea how she manages to look sweet and innocent after that display, but she does as she rests her cheek on my bare shoulder to stare at me.

"I love you."

I bark a laugh. "That's not getting you out of this, but nice try." Leli sighs in defeat, closing her eyes briefly before forcing them open.

"I'm tired?"

"That won't save you either."

"And what will?"

"Accepting the inevitable," I say, pressing my lips to hers in a brief kiss.

She giggles and begins tracing small patterns on my torso, smiling at nothing in particular. "So I see you enjoyed your haircut then?"

"More or less," I say. "But..." I trail off in an attempt to bait her.

"But what?" She blinks, confused, and for a half a second, I think she's serious. Then I see the glint in her eye and I leap to my feet, grabbing her by the arms. I pull her against me and walk us into the wall, placing my face so close to hers that I can feel her breath on my face. I often find myself wanting her against a wall. Hmm.

"But now I'm bored," I whisper. "And you look...entertaining."

She shivers, visibly swallowing. "I don't see how I could possibly entertain you."

"Oh, I'm sure you can find a way," I mutter. I have my hands braced on the wall on either side of her head, but now I move my one down to her shoulder, running my fingers down her sleeve slowly. I make a point of holding her gaze while I trail my fingers down her arm, over her ribs, and down to her hip. I pause there, leaning slightly forward so that my lips brush over hers in the slightest. Then I drop my hand lower and grab her leg, hooking it over my hip. When I talk, I come so close to kissing her that I'm tempted to not play games with her. "You are quite entertaining for me now." Leliana's eyes flutter shut and her breathing quickens as I press myself against her.

"And you say I tease you," Leli says.

"You do," I say. "And you're going to have to suffer through it as I have my way with you."

I press my body to hers and close the distance, crushing my lips to hers. At first, I start the kiss gently, running my hand up and down her thigh, enjoying her shivers. It's so hard for me to ever get the upper hand that I want to savor the moment. But I also want her to think that I'm going to give in and snap when I have no intention of it.

Slightly annoyed, I tilt her head to the side to deepen the kiss.

"Why is it," Leli starts, pulling away from me, "that I always find myself against a wall or a tree when I'm with you?"

"I like you against walls," I admit, forcing the words to come out of my mouth with enough volume that it doesn't at all seem that I'm embarrassed about it. Still, I feel my face redden and I fix her with a hard stare, begging her to argue.

"Oh, so you think about it quite a lot then?"

Fuck. How did she turn it back to me?

"Yes," I say. "All the time. Every time I see you I think about pushing you into the wall and having my way with you."

Leli almost looks thoughtful as she stares past the side of my head. After a while, she says, "We could stay here." I jump, so taken aback that I nearly drop her. She raises a brow. "What?"

"It...it's just that...wouldn't you rather...er...not be trapped between me and a stone wall?"

She laughs. "You think I haven't found myself in stranger positions?"

My eyes go wide and I swallow, resisting the urge to ask her what positions she's talking about, and settle for feeling a little possessive. I don't usually think of her like an object, but Maker dammit all, she's mine. And I don't like to share. Thinking of her with other people (other women for crying out loud!) only makes my possessiveness worsen.

"Isn't it...uncomfortable though?"

"Aedan, I've been in stranger positions to get information from someone," she says. "Yes, my back may hurt in the morning, but I'll get over it. Besides," Leli presses her mouth to mine, "I like you a great deal more than those other people." Her hand traces patterns on my shoulder blade. "Perhaps you could persuade me?"

I gulp. "Maker, Leli. Stop with the damn teasing!"

"Aren't you supposed to be teasing me right now?" she asks. "Wasn't that a part of your plan?"

"It was," I say, swallowing past the lump in my throat. I won't deny that I want to strip us both right here and right now and do everything under the sun to make her scream my name, but I'm not as mean as I try to be.

"So what happened to that?"

"You happened," I growl under my breath. She giggles, eyes alight with amusement. "You know, I may love you, but on some days, you pain me."

"That's my job," Leli says.

I don't let the conversation continue. I step her back into the wall so that she's left hardly any room to breathe and kiss her so hard that my head spins. Her nails dig into my shoulders as I press my aching member against her center. My hand grasps at her leg, pinning her to me.

I move my lips to her jawline, pressing hot kisses down the column of her throat, and her breath hitches. She smells faintly of road dust and something else. That flower, maybe? It's sweet, intoxicating even. It only makes my blood burn hotter and my desire spiral higher. I love the way she smells all the time, but it becomes so overwhelming when we're this close that if we're not wrapped around each other like this, I quickly become distracted.

My hand slides up her leg to her abdomen, slipping beneath her shirt to run over her stomach. I have her leg locked around my hip with my arm and elbow, and my other drifting dangerously close to her hips and the waistline of her pants.

As my lips brush over her shoulder and neck, she arches into me with a breathy gasp. I take the noise as incentive to keep going, so I turn my hand and pull her shirt over her head, flicking it off my wrist impatiently. I return my mouth to hers, probably as far as I'll get with the teasing, and allow my lower hand to slip between us. Leliana stiffens for a half a second before tightening her grip on me. Her breath quickens as I move my kisses back down her throat to her shoulder. I suck on the soft skin and start rubbing her through her pants. Her hips jerk forward, and for the first time tonight, she cries out.

"Maker Aedan!"

I allow myself a small smile while she shakes and quivers. Her hands grasp at my shoulders for something to hold onto, and while I want her like nothing else, I'm more focused on making her writhe. So I reach behind her back and undo the clasp of her breastband, pushing it off her without so much as a glance down. My thumb brushes over her nipple and she arches into my touch, whimpering.

Her chest heaves against mine, straining for air that she can't seem to find. She's trying desperately to free herself and even the score, but I keep her pressed to the wall, giving her little wiggle room.

I feel her drag her nails down my back as she moans, leaving red marks that'll undoubtedly be there tomorrow. I don't really care; I'll gladly sport the marks when I go out to spar with Alistair. As long as Zevran isn't there, nobody will say anything.

Leliana gives a sharp cry and holds me against her, whimpering and mewling through her climax. I let her hold onto me, but I don't stop my touching. Within seconds of finishing, I have her crying out as she hits her release again. She's shaking so hard that she really does have to hold me for fear of falling. Even after she gets through her second wave, she still rolls her hips on my hand to urge me on.

"Aedan...!" She screams my name loudly enough I know someone outside heard her, so I move my mouth up to hers. Leli moans into my mouth as I slide my tongue over her own. "Please..."

I kiss her cheekbone. "Please what?"

She fists what little hair of mine she can in her impatience. "I...I want..." Her breath is coming in ragged gasps and pants, worn out but still driven enough to want more. "Aedan...please I...unnh...I need..." I remove my hand from between her legs and she whines, rolling her hips on my member. A wave of lust washes over me and I bite her shoulder to stifle my groan. I can practically hear my heart hammering in my head. Once I've regained control of myself, I begin undoing the laces of her pants. I push them off her before setting to work on my own.

"Tell me what you want and I'll consider it."

Leli laughs, sounding breathless. "You know."

"I want to hear you say it," I growl. "Say it or I walk away." I step out of my breeches and kick them away, doing the same with her pants. "Well?"

Just as she goes to answer, I start rubbing her through her smallclothes. I see her chest heave in annoyance. "I...I want..." I put pressure on her and she cries out, hips jerking against my hand. "Please Aedan...I want...I want you."

A grin forms on my face before I kiss her, thoroughly wiping away any witty retort she might be thinking of. "Was that so hard?"

"Y-yes," she stammers breathlessly. "No more...teasing?"

"No more teasing," I agree, voice cracking slightly. "I promise." In the back of my mind, I thank the Maker that I'm about to burst and give in. I want to, but I'm so stubborn that it's not fair for either of us.

I start to kiss her again, but outside I hear a very familiar Antivan accent 'say', "Animals!"

Leli laughs and I step away to pull on my trousers again before marching to the door. She shuffles around behind me as I yank open the door. There stands Zevran and Cyrus, the latter actually red-faced and embarrassed, but the former grinning wildly. The elf raises a blond brow expectantly and makes a show of peeking over my shoulder. I jerk the door shut so he can't see what he's looking for, but that only makes him revert his attention to me, and my momentary forgetfulness earns me an appreciative stare from the assassin. Normally, that would make me a stuttering idiot and I'd look as embarrassed as Cyrus does now, but I don't have it in me now.

"Willing to share?"

I growl low in my throat, to which he responds with a laugh. "I'm not amused, Zevran. Why don't you save everyone the trouble and go find a prostitute like you usually do?"

He wiggles his brows suggestively. "Ah, but alas, I already have! I thank you for your concern, Warden, but it is unnecessary."

I scowl, taking brief note of my sister coming upstairs with Alistair in tow. I start forward, muscles clenching in preparation to hit him. "Woah, woah, woah! No!" Elissa steps between us, arms outstretched, eyebrows furrowed. "I know Zev can be annoying, but you can't just go around punching people, brother."

"Er...I'm pretty sure Zev deserves it this time," Cyrus says.

Elissa snorts. "He always deserves it, but-"

"Hey!"

"-Aedan knows better." My sister fixes me with a hard look. "Don't you?"

With an annoyed grunt, I drop my fist. I glare daggers at the shorter elf past my sister's shoulder. "Yes," I snap. "For now."

"You can punch him all you want after the Archdemon is dead."

"Good." Without another word, I whip around and reenter my room, slamming the door shut behind me. Someone in the hallway laughs (I wouldn't be surprised if it was Elissa). Leliana's in bed now, facing away from me, blanket pulled up to her shoulders. I can't really say I blame her; I'm not exactly in the mood now that Zevran's successfully managed to embarrass me and piss me off all at once, so I just crawl into bed after her. My arm slides over her abdomen only to be covered by hers. A smile creeps onto my face and I pull her into my chest, pressing my lips to her neck.

"I thought you said you were done teasing," Leli whispers, sounding wide awake. "Did you lie to me?"

The next morning, I find getting dressed to be far more difficult than it usually is. This is one of the few times Leli has stayed in bed until I woke, and watching her gather her clothes up and throw the necessary pieces on before her armor is distracting. I barely have my breeches on by the time she's ready to start our day of preparing for the Landsmeet, and she gives me a disapproving, but amused, look.

"Do you need help getting dressed?"

I clear my throat awkwardly as I feel my cheeks flush. "Uh...no, thanks. I was just...distracted."

Leli laughs knowingly, rolling her eyes. "Sure, call it what you like. Now hurry up; you and I both know I'm going to have to help you into your armor."

I nod hurriedly as I pull my shirt overhead and tug on my metal-plated boots. Leliana brings me my chestguard, allowing me to get it on before crouching beside me to tighten the straps on my ribs. I busy myself with adjusting the chain collar and the strap that holds my shield to my back. When she steps away, I flex my legs, freeing the skirt trapped under the metal guard on my torso. While I go track down the Cousland sword and shield, she tosses my gloves and pauldron at me.

"I'll see you downstairs," she says.

"Make sure my sister doesn't eat everything before I get down there!" I call after her.

Leli snorts indignantly. "I'll be too busy trying to get myself food. How am I supposed to protect some of it for you?"

I groan, exaggerating the sound, and send her downstairs laughing. I fidget with my shoulder guard and my weapons before chasing after her. She's already in the dining hall of the Cousland estate, sitting next to my sister while Morrigan and Wynne argue about something I'd rather not know about.

Dropping onto the bench beside Leliana, I shoot her a half-sarcastic glare, but she just shrugs, smirking. Not a minute later, Zevran and Cyrus choose to grace us with their presence, and sit across from us. Talith scoots closer to Morrigan to avoid the Antivan assassin, but luckily for him, Morrigan doesn't seem to notice.

"So I heard some very interesting things last night," Zevran says conversationally.

Elissa chokes on her water. "L-like what?"

"What on earth would possess you to ask a question like that while we're eating?" Leli snaps.

My sister laughs. "What can I say? I'm a curious person. So Zev! Spill it; I want to know!"

He opens his mouth to verbally explain my...escapades with Leliana last night when Fergus joins us. The Antivan turns to face my older brother, eyebrows drawn together appreciatively. My brother doesn't notice Zevran's staring until he's halfway through biting an apple, and at which point, realizes everybody at the table is watching him.

"What?" Fergus asks.

"Oh nothing," Elissa says, waving it aside. She resumes eating, so the rest of us take that as our cue to do the same, but Zevran keeps his eyes locked on my brother, and Fergus squirms uncomfortably.

"All right, what the hell is he staring at me like that for?"

"You are a very handsome man," Zevran says. I had been getting a drink, but when he says that, and my brother's face blanches, I nearly choke on the water from stifling a laugh. "It seems to run in the family, no? An attractive bunch of Fereldan nobles? I wasn't aware Fereldans could look this amazing."

Fergus looks to me for help. "Are all of your friends like this?"

"Nope, just him," I say. "Get used to it."

"Zev flirts with everyone! Right?" Elissa says. The Antivan nods, grinning.

"Especially the attractive ones," he says. "Or the ones with big bosoms." He gives Wynne a pointed look all the way down the table, but she ignores him. Zevran sighs sadly, turning back to us, and adds, "Unfortunately, nobody here seems to fancy me as much as I them. Would you like company later, Ser Cousland? I'm sure I can make it worth your while."

Elissa and I laugh out loud at our brother's face. "Ah...no, thank you," Fergus says. "I am not...in the habit of keeping men as company."

Zevran's face falls. "That is the same thing your brother told me." He looks wounded, like a kicked puppy, while he picks at his food. His demeanor changes back to his usual one quickly however, done with his attempts at pity. He lets us eat in peace for a while, but eventually, he says, "So, Elissa, you wanted to know what I heard last night?"

My sister glances at Leli once and says, "You know what, on second thought, no, I don't. Not if it's sexual, anyway."

"Damn," Zevran says. "I'm sorry I didn't get to tell everyone about your prowess, my friend." He directs the last statement at me and my face reddens, but I'm not sure if it's from embarrassment or annoyance. "You seem excellent in pleasing your woman." Alistair groans, Elissa's jaw drops, Leli clears her throat nervously, and I clench my fists. He is lucky that my sword is by my foot and not on my hip yet.

"Good morning." My head snaps up and around to see my mother standing in the doorway, a pleasant smile on her face. "I trust you all are having a good breakfast?" She sits at the end of the table, dangerously close to Zevran, and looks at us expectantly.

"Well, some of us are, Your Grace," Wynne says.

Mother blinks, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"Maker, yes!" Elissa exclaims. "And before he starts yammering on, I'm out!" She leaps to her feet. "Let's go Alistair."

"Right behind you," he says, scrambling to grab his things and get up.

Elissa points at Leli and I. "Meet us by the Alienage in an hour." She points at Zevran next. "And you keep your mouth shut, or I'll let Aedan clobber you before that dragon is dead." With that said, Elissa and Alistair leave before Zevran begins saying something inappropriate again. The warning was pointless; we all know that he'll say something further, and we all know Elissa really won't let me hit him before the Blight is over.

Zevran is polite enough to wait for Elissa and Alistair to be gone, however, and then he looks to Leli. "Did you at least make it hard for him?"

She blinks, eyes narrowing suspiciously as she tries to find the sexual meaning to his statement. "Um..." It clicks in my mind just as she says, "Yes...?" I groan while he laughs, hiding my face in my hands. She looks between us, confused. Not much escapes her, but this went right over her head, and she looks to me to explain it. Somewhat reluctantly, I lean over to whisper the explanation in her ear, and her eyes widen. "Zevran!"

"Yes, my bard?"

Leli cracks a grin and looks down at her food as she says, "That was actually amusing."

"Ha ha!" Zevran exclaims victoriously. He turns to my mother, smiling apologetically, and I have to resist the urge to fling myself across the table at him. "I am sorry, Your Grace. I only intend the highest of compliments to your family."

"Thank you...?"

"Tis true," Morrigan says. "Although he may go about it in a strange manner."

"Yes!" Zevran says, jumping on his opportunity to gain Morrigan's support. "I only wish for you to know you have mothered very aesthetically pleasing children while you yourself are very...attractive." Before my mother can say anything, he gets to his feet. "Now if you'll excuse me, I will go spend my sovereigns at the Pearl. Good day." He winks at me. "And keep up the good work, my friend."

When Zevran is gone, my mother looks at me, eyes wide in shock. "And where did you find that one?"

I throw my hands up innocently. "Elissa did it, not me!"

She sighs, saying, "The sad part is I actually believe you."