I need prompts for this story, guys! You want to see a scenario or anything in particular, drop it in a review or PM me! This chapter is for the guest reviewer, who seriously reviewed just as I was finishing up with chapter 25. I feel awkward writing wedding scenes, so this is gonna be the night Aedan leaves for Weisshaupt. So y'all get some smutty feels! And bare with me, this is my first time writing smut from Leliana's POV. So...without more rambling...chapter 26!

This...this is where Aedan leaves me. We agreed to part ways at Val Royeaux, and here we are, almost a month later, stopping at an inn just within the city walls. The thought of being without him makes me sick, and when we order supper, neither of us really pay much attention to it. We're both Grey Wardens, but not even that appetite will make me eat. He's going away for at least six months. Six months. I hate being away from him for even a day, but six months? It'll crush me. I've become so dependent on him that it scares me.

"Justinia is probably looking for you, Leli."

I look up from my potatoes to see Aedan's eyes locked on me. "I know," I mutter. "I just...I don't want to leave you."

He gives me a comforting smile and reaches across the small table to take my hand in his. I flip my hand over almost immediately to squeeze my fingers around his, swallowing deeply. "Nor do I want to leave you, but someone has to go look for a way to fix this blasted problem of ours, and Elissa can't because Ferelden needs her."

"Let me come with you." I hate sounding so needy, but the thought of him being so far away for so long...

"You know why you can't," Aedan whispers. "The Divine needs you."

Those words irritate me beyond belief. "I'll have to choose between the Chantry and the Agents at some point. Why not now?"

"Because right now, all the Agents are is a small cult with no real chance of survival," he says. "You need to be able to fall back on the Chantry if this thing blows up in our faces." He pauses before adding, "That, and if it does blow up, we'll be tried for treason, and convicted. At least this way you can claim you were just spying on us for Justinia."

"Aedan, I can't—"

The look he gives me cuts me off. "I don't want you to get caught up in this if I can help it. Please...if this goes south and Elissa, Alistair, and I get arrested, tell her you were just spying on us. I don't want to see you die, Lel. Please."

I look back down at my food and shake my head once. "I've already told her where I stand on the matter. As soon as the Agents gain a shred of credibility...I won't be the Left Hand anymore."

His face falls and he looks away as soon as I look up. "It was Elissa, wasn't it? She forced you to choose between Justinia and us, didn't she?"

"Justinia... Aedan, I love her, but not as much as I love you, or Elissa, or Alistair. It would've been the Agents regardless of what Elissa did or didn't say." I swallow past the lump in my throat to say, "But...yes, Elissa made me choose back in Kirkwall. Hope...I was afraid she'd hurt me, or Elissa, or someone innocent. Cyrus stopped her, thank the Maker."

"I don't like the way Hope glares at you when she's taken over Elissa, or the monster she turns my sister into."

"Elissa only bonded with her because she was worried about you, Aedan."

"That doesn't mean I have to like the spirit," he says defensively. "I can love my sister and hate things she's done. Bonding with that...that thing...is one of them."

I sigh as he shifts his gaze back over to me. "Fine, fair enough. Let's not get into this now, all right? I just...I want to enjoy the last few hours we have together."

Aedan gives me a small, almost sad smile as he nods. "Yes, I can agree with that." I glance around the dining room carefully; we chose a booth as far away from the rest of the patrons as possible, but I still don't feel comfortable. "I'm going to miss you."

My gaze flicks back over to his and I return the sad smile, squeezing his hand gently. He does the same, running his thumb over my knuckles. " I'm going to miss you too." More than I probably should.

"I won't be gone long," he promises. "After all, I have you to come back to, right? Or...I will. And you're good incentive for me to work my ass off."

"I hope so."

He laughs a little, shaking his head in amusement, and continues, "I'll be back before you know it, Leli. Then you can spend the first few days nagging me for having messy hair. Make up for all the time you missed."

I crack a smirk at him. "I'll be too busy fussing over the scars you'll undoubtedly bring back."

He visibly shudders, but the grin tells me it's a joke. "Berating me over getting injured. As if the wound didn't hurt enough in the first place, no, I have to deal with you and the silent fury." I roll my eyes, only half amused, as I stare at him over my wineglass. Sweet, with a honey aftertaste. Much better than some of the wine I've tasted, but it's definitely not the best. And the honey aftertaste...that just confuses me. I've had a few wines spiced oddly enough to leave that flavor behind, and while it tastes...nice, it's not something I look for.

"I'm going to worry about you," I whisper at our hands, unable to meet his eyes as the words leave my mouth.

He squeezes me again, leaning over the table to peek up at me. "It's just Weisshaupt. A few hundred Grey Wardens, plenty of food to keep me good and fat. There's nothing to worry about, Lel."

"But you won't be here," I say forcefully. "I won't get to see you in the mornings, or sleep next to you, or...or..." I trail off and shake my head, letting out a bitter laugh. "Listen to me prattle on. I sound like some lovesick fool."

He smiles comfortingly. "So? I find it sweet that you care so much."

"Of course I care. I love you, Aedan."

"I love you just as much, if not more," he replies. "It's nice to know you'll miss me, though. I didn't expect any different... I just..." He shrugs, unable to find the words he's looking for. After a few minutes of staring at our hands, he releases me and withdraws to his side of the table. "Let's finish eating, and head to bed, all right?" I nod once, but I still don't have much of an appetite. He doesn't seem to either, but he eats regardless, watching me with his brows furrowed. "You have to eat, love."

"I'm not hungry," I say, shaking my head again. "I think...I'm just going to go to bed."

He frowns as I get to my feet. "Are you—"

"I feel fine. I'm just tired." I get up quickly and retreat to the back of the inn, heading up the stairs hidden behind a wall, and wander all the way to the opposite end of the hallway. Once I've come to the door of our room, I go inside, and kick it shut behind me before locking it. Aedan has the key; he'll be able to get inside when he comes up. And after what I just did, that probably won't be for a while.

I take a moment to collect my thoughts, pull myself together, before stripping out of my armor and down to the clothes I wear beneath it. Throwing the leathers and blues into my heap of equipment, I hop onto the bed, and roll under the covers almost immediately. This isn't the nicest inn by far, but neither is it something you'd find in a poor city, so the bed isn't all that bad. It's actually nice, or as nice as any bed would feel after being on the road for a month.

After staring at the door through half-lidded eyes, I make some annoyed noise in my throat and roll over, slipping further under the green blanket. The far wall offers little in the way of entertaining me, so I let my eyelids drift shut. I start falling asleep at just about the exact same time the door opens and closes. The shadow on the wall tells me it's only Aedan, and I close my eyes again, settling back in for sleep while he does his best to get out of his armor as quietly as possible. Eventually, after so many curses I think he's probably pissed off the Maker, he crawls into bed behind me.

I'm not even looking at him and I can feel the awkwardness of the stare he's giving my back.

His hand brushes over my shoulder gently as he scoots closer. "Are you awake?" I grunt my answer and he sighs. "This is going to be our last time together for a while, Leli..."

"I know."

He shifts a bit. "I want to be with you tonight. J-just in case—"

I look at him over my shoulder, brows drawn together. "You'll come back."

"I don't know that."

The fear of that...of him possibly never coming home...it terrifies me. "You'll come back," I repeat, this time more forcefully. "Promise me, Aedan."

He smiles sadly. "I promise."

I roll over and press my lips to his briefly. "Good." His hand brushes over my cheek as he leans forward so our foreheads are touching. "I'm going to miss you."

"You've said as much," he says, forcing out a strained laugh. "But I promised to come back, didn't I? So don't worry about me. I'll be back before you know it." I shake my head slightly, irritated with myself for making him promise me something he might not be able to do. "I keep my word."

I know he does...but he might not come back alive. I can't stand the thought of it. It makes me cold, sends chills down my spine. The thought of losing him, of never being able to hold him again, it terrifies me. I don't know how I'd go on without having him. I'd be just as depressed, if not more, as I was when I finally got out of that prison. No...I would be far more upset than I was after that. Losing Aedan...it would be the end of my world.

Without thinking, I press my lips to his again, much harder than I did only a few seconds ago. He kisses me back just as roughly, shifting around so he leans over me. I go to wrap my arms around his neck when he shifts his lips to my jaw. My breath hitches in my throat and I press myself closer to him. The warmth spreading through my body puts me in overdrive, and I give his shirt an impatient tug towards his head.

"Off," I whisper.

"Straight to the point, hmm?" Aedan muses, laughing.

"I don't like playing games."

"Oh, the irony." He pulls away, leaning on his left to take his shirt off. He flicks it across the room with a swipe of his wrist before fixing me with an expectant stare. "Your turn." I sit up and pull my shirt overhead, raising a brow at him as a challenge. "You know...I never tire of looking at you. Even with your scars, you're perfect." That makes my cheeks turn red. And, of course, that makes him smirk at me as he reaches out to run his thumb over the one Marjolaine left when she betrayed me. His brows knit together as he frowns at it. "I'll never understand how anyone could think of you like she did."

"That's because you didn't know me before I joined the Chantry," I say softly. My voice gets stuck in my throat when I try to continue. "I...my friend said I was like her once and I was proud of that."

"They didn't know you, then," Aedan decides. "You're nothing like her."

"You didn't know her," I snap. "You didn't know what she was like."

"But I know you wouldn't turn on me," he says as he sits up. "Would you?"

I shake my head. "No, never."

"Then hold onto that," he says, scooting closer. "You're better than Marjolaine could ever be." I crawl onto his lap while he talks, putting us on eye level, and wrap my arms around his neck as I tilt my head to the side, frowning slightly. "You believe me, don't you?"

I shrug a shoulder, leaning my forehead into his, and squeeze my eyes shut. "I want to."

"You should," he says. "It's true." I laugh once, but it's dry and humorless. "What?"

"It's nothing. I'm just still in awe that you can't see what I am."

"My wife? I can see that perfectly clearly." He kisses me briefly. "Besides...I love you, flaws and all. If I didn't, we wouldn't be sitting like this, now would we?"

"That's...probably true."

His hand slides up my back so he can push me closer. "It is true. All of it. I don't understand why you can't see that." I give him another halfhearted shrug and he rolls his eyes before kissing me again. He draws it out long enough that my lungs ache for air, but I don't want it to end. He doesn't seem to want it to either, and it turns into breathless panting against the other. "I'm going to miss this."

"Then stop interrupting," I mutter.

He shivers, laughing. "Sorry."

With a huff, I press my lips to his again, running a hand up into his hair. He pulls away sooner than I thought he would, rolling us over again before kissing along my neck. I let out a whine as I fidget and squirm beneath him. That's just unfair; he goes right for my neck every time and I can't do anything but writhe in frustration. Still, I won't tell him to stop it. The feeling of his lips on my throat and my jaw is too much for me to handle most of the time.

He waits for my whining to turn into moans to kiss the juncture between my shoulder and neck, and by then, I can't deal with either of us still having clothes on. I jerk my hips against his to get the point across, but he only groans and bites down on my skin to keep from crying out. My head falls back and my back arches as I let out a noise somewhere between a gasp and a moan. He doesn't normally do that! Maker's breath, I can't... I don't even know anymore. It's so easy for him to arouse me and all I can do is lie here and take it. The ache is so strong that I roll my hips on his again, and he jerks back this time. I moan and tighten my grip on him, tugging on his hair impatiently.

"There you go," he whispers, pressing a kiss just below my ear. "Moan again."

"Aedan, please..."

He thrusts against me again and I cry out, bucking into the movement. "Good. Keep that up and I'll move faster."

"And you say I tease you," I pant.

He chuckles. "I'm teasing myself." The statement is so absurd and ridiculous that I can't help laughing. "What? It's the truth. I have you ready and willing, and yet I make myself wait just to mess with you." I laugh again, rubbing my cheek on his as he plants a kiss under my jaw.

"The worst kind of torture."

"Depends on the way you look at it," he muses. Before I can reply, he raises his mouth to mine, giving me a kiss so painfully sweet that it makes my heart ache. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I feel the smile as he kisses me again, rougher this time, hungrier. His tongue slides over my lips and I open up for him, moaning softly. He tastes like the wine from earlier, but not overbearingly so. It's...gentle almost, like it's there but not there at the same time. I lose myself in the kiss, chest heaving as I sneak in little gasps of air. He's shifting around, moving and touching my hips, but I'm not really paying that much attention. Not until I feel his fingers graze over my skin, and I jump, brows creasing together.

"How do you do that?"

He leans back a little, brow quirked in amusement. "Do what?"

"Undress me without me noticing."

He shrugs a shoulder. "Perhaps you should pay better attention?" He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, running his hand up my leg, stopping just below my breast, and I huff at him, frustrated. "What?" he asks innocently.

"You," I say, pulling him back down so I can kiss him. He chuckles as he moves away, brushing his lips over my cheek. "Maker's breath, Aedan! Please..."

"Only because you asked so nicely." He leans back and kicks off his pants before settling over me again, pressing his lips to mine before entering. My back arches as I let out a breathy gasp, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Oh Leliana... I don't know if I'll be able to leave..."

"Then don't."

Aedan presses his lips to my neck before giving a sharp thrust forward. I whimper over the feeling and raise my hips to meet his. He groans right next to my ear, sending little tingles of warmth through my body. "I have to."

And I hate how right he is. He's doing this for us, doing this so we don't have to succumb to the Calling.

Before I can reply, he starts moving again, settling into a rather...energetic pace. I match his thrusts with my own, moaning with each push he gives. He's rough, squeezing my waist and my hips, biting my neck and shoulders, and I enjoy every second of it. I push myself closer every chance I get, holding onto him tighter than I probably ever have. My heart races from the straining; my stomach lurches with each of his movements. It feels so unbearably good that I don't know how I hold on.

I hook one of my legs around his waist, moaning breathlessly as he drives himself deeper. My fingers curl in his hair, grasping at it and tugging for him to go faster, and he obliges, letting out a moan of his own. The sound is so rare from him that I don't know what to do with myself. It makes my blood burn in my veins, makes me want every inch of him against me, and I squirm closer, pressing my chest to his. I can feel him panting, straining for air as badly as myself. But I'm touching him, and in my dazed mind, that's all I want. His skin his hot, warmer than I remember it ever being, and just begging to be touched.

My hands roam over his back and sides, tracing patterns not even I understand. I flex and grasp at him, pulling at his ribs, digging my nails into his shoulders when he does something I like. All it takes is me doing it once and he gives an erratic thrust out of time with his pace.

"Maker, Leli! Don't...don't do that." I laugh once as I press my lips to the side of his neck, squeezing my eyes shut when he jerks again. "You're going to...be the end...of me."

"You'll die...happy," I pant, nipping at his throat. He groans as he thrusts, burying his face in my shoulder, and pulls my other leg around him, aiming to turn me into a writhing mess beneath him.

And it works.

He hits that spot repeatedly, pounding into it, and all I can do is buck against his hips, crying out with each twitch. His teeth graze over my shoulder, alternating between kissing and biting, as he trails down towards my chest. How the tables have turned so easily! He's a sneaky man.

As his lips brush over my chest, I find my hand tugging on his hair again. I'm shaking so badly that I can't take it, so close but so far at the same time. "Aedan... I need m-more." I gasp as he draws my nipple into his mouth, teasing me with his tongue. "Harder," I whimper, tugging on him. "Please...! I'm so...so...close..." He hums around my flesh, sending pleasurable tingles over my skin in a rush of heat. I moan and arch into his touch, dragging my hand down his back.

He doesn't even have a pace anymore. He's moving so quickly that I can barely keep up with him, and my throat is raw from crying out so many times. We're both hanging on by threads. I can feel it creeping up on me, making me shake and twitch violently, but still...not quite there. It's the most frustrating thing ever. I can't describe how much I hate it, being stuck so close to finishing, but having it waved over my head like I can't ever get there.

Aedan jerks another time, grunting out my name as he finishes. The rush of warmth and the way my name sounds throws me over the edge, and I cling to him, crying out his name as I fall into wave after wave of trembling. His hand braces me against his chest as I shake, whimpering through the aftershocks. I can feel his heart pounding as he pants and holds himself upright with one arm. We stay locked in each other's embrace until he catches his breath and I stop shaking, and he flops onto his side, tugging me into his chest.

"I'm going to miss you," he whispers. "More than anything."

I squirm closer, burrowing into his arms, and allow my eyes to drift shut. "Just be safe."

He kisses the top of my head. "Always."

The next morning is quiet, awkward, and every time we speak, it's forced. Neither of us want to move out of the bed, and we waste away most of the morning in each other, trying to get as much time together as possible. We didn't really sleep last night, and I'm exhausted from all the times we went at it. Sore everywhere, but it's a good feeling, and laying next to Aedan is the only thing I ever want to do. He makes me feel safe, accepted. He doesn't care what I've done before we met, looks at me like I matter to him.

And I'm about to lose all of it.

"It's almost noon," he whispers. "We both need to go. The Divine needs you and I need to go to Weisshaupt."

I bury my face in his chest, sighing. "I hate this."

He runs his hand up and down my back soothingly. "I do too, but I'll be back before you know it."

"It'll feel like forever."

Aedan laughs softly, giving me a reassuring squeeze. "Don't get into too much trouble without me, all right? It's my job to get smacked around, not yours."

"I've gotten hit by plenty of things. I'll be fine."

"You're going to worry about me, right? So let me worry about you. You'll be in more danger than I will. I'm just going to be stuck in a fortress all day everyday. You...you'll be off doing...whatever it is the Left Hand of the Divine does."

I squeeze my eyes shut and wrap an arm around him. "Aedan...please don't leave. I can't stand the thought of being away from you."

He snorts. "You're the one who left after the Blight, not me."

"And I regretted every minute of it." I swallow nervously, disgusted with myself for being so attached to another human being. "I don't like being separated. I can't sleep most nights and I worry about you constantly."

"Think of it like I'm coming back, then. The minute I leave, I'm on my way through a long path home."

"It's not that easy."

He sighs, resting his chin on my head as he thinks. "Leliana, I don't want to go either. I hate the thought of it just as much as you do. But I love you, and I'll always come back for you. I promise."

I wish that promise was as certain as he sounded.