The rest of the train ride goes without anything too noteworthy, much to Evelyn's dismay. She isn't too sure herself what she expected to happen between her and her supermodel of a body guard, but she certainly didn't picture the pair of them spending the better part of the journey to Ferelden fast asleep. She didn't realise it before, but Evelyn is tired. Not that it has anything to do with her restless nights since meeting her Mr Rutherford. Oh no. That has nothing to do with it at all.

The synthetic female voice announcing their arrival over the speaker is what jerks her awake from her dreamless slumber. She gingerly sits up straight, rubbing her now sore neck, a direct result of her awkward sleeping posture. It takes her groggy eyes a while to adjust to her surroundings, and when they do, the first thing she notices is Cullen's vacant seat opposite her.

Evelyn quickly grasps the opportunity to check herself in her powder mirror. She is halfway through sprucing up her hair when the carriage door slides open, and Cullen steps in, carrying two wrapped Orlesian baguette sandwiches in his hands and beaming warmly down at her.

"Good afternoon," he greets her as he takes his seat opposite her. "I took the liberty of getting us something to eat. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I chose the safe route and bought you a ham and cheese sandwich."

"Thank you," Evelyn smiles sweetly and takes the baguette from Cullen's hand, unwrapping it immediately. "I'm starving!"

"I thought you'd be," Cullen smiles before taking a bite of his own baguette. "Slept well?"

"I did," Evelyn replies after swallowing her first bite. "A bit too crooked for my neck, but good nonetheless. How about you? You went out like a light!"

"Did I? Travel always makes me drowsy. You should see me on a plane. I don't think I even remember the last time I was awake during landing."

Evelyn laughs out loud at that, covering her mouth with her hand in case there were morsels of food in there. The train stops in the Frostback Mountains not too long after that, and they both grab their luggage and descend onto the platform to see Varric already waiting for them with a warm smile plastered across his face.

"Varric!" Evelyn calls out excitedly, pushing her way through the crowd standing between her and her manager. She literally flies into his welcoming arms, and she grins happily as he squeezes her tight, almost lifting her off the ground in his enthusiasm despite his shorter stature.

"Hey there, beautiful," he murmurs affectionately. "Damn, I've missed you."

"And I've missed you," Evelyn replies, stepping back from the embrace and giving him a tender kiss on the cheek.

"Ah, and there's Curly!" Varric beams up at Cullen.

"Curly?" Evelyn echoes, glancing up at Cullen with a raised brow. He averts his gaze and rolls his eyes with poorly concealed exasperation, the colour quickly flooding to his cheeks and ears.

"With a glorious golden mane like that, what else could I call him?" Varric smirks with a wink directed at Cullen, who purses his lips in response.

"Shall we get a move on?" he asks with all the politeness he can muster. "We've attracted quite a gathering."

Evelyn's head instantly snaps up, and she groans internally when she sees all the eyes and camera phones that are trained on her.

"Let's go," Evelyn murmurs, quickly sliding on her shades as she follows Cullen to the train station's exit. She pauses when she feels a strong, warm fingers wrap around her wrist, and she looks down to see an incredibly smug looking Varric right beside her.

"Looks like someone's got someone else wrapped around her little finger," he winks, keeping his voice low enough for only Evelyn to hear.

"What the hell are you talking about, Tethras?"

"'Said Evelyn aloofly in an attempt to appear clueless'."

"Oh no, not this again!"

"What?" Varric chuckles lightly.

"This narrative thing you always pull! Do you do this to everyone?"

Varric smiles warmly and places his hand on the small of Evelyn's back.

"No," he replies light-heartedly. "Just the people I love, gorgeous."

"Inquisitor, please! I won't let you die!"

Evelyn yanks her hand away from the strong grip of her Commander, tears glistening in her eyes.

"This isn't just about us, Commander. You know that. Thedas' safety is at stake. I have to do this. Now please," Evelyn tugs her hand again, but the Commander's grasp it too strong around her wrist. "Let me go."

The Commander's lips come crashing down against Evelyn's, and he kisses her chaotically, with the urgency of a man who is certain that he will never be able to kiss his beloved again. He holds on to her, hands desperately clutching at her, pressing her against him as though desperate to forge their bodies into one.

"CUT!"

Evelyn and the man immediately pull apart and step back to a comfortable distance that one would maintain with an acquaintance.

"That was great," the director smiles. "Excellent start to the shoot. Let's all break for lunch and be back here by four, shall we?"

"Good job," the actor opposite Evelyn smiles at her. "I'm not usually accustomed to nailing a scene in one take."

"Neither am I," Evelyn smiles back.

The actor fumbles with his costume armour and looks down at his greaves, giving Evelyn an opportunity to turn around and catch a glimpse of Cullen, who is patiently standing by the camera crew with a takeaway coffee cup in his hand. He smiles at her and gives her a thumbs up, and she beams back at him, feeling that familiar emotional high whenever he was near her.

"Are you off to lunch, then?" the actor asks her, snapping her back to reality.

"Umm, yeah, I am," she turns back to him and replies.

He's really handsome. I mean, really. As in, if it wasn't for Cullen, I totally would be super into him.

Alistair. Evelyn remembers when he first burst onto the scene ten years ago, taking the film industry by storm with his ridiculously incredible good looks and endearing persona. She was just a teenager back then, and she'd be lying if she denied having more than a few posters of him plastered onto her bedroom walls and school locker.

"Is that your man over there?" he asks with a cheeky grin and the gentlest nudge in her ribs. She raises her eyebrows and follows his gaze, blushing furiously when her eyes land on Cullen. He was already keenly observing the pair of them, so their eyes lock for a second before he quickly diverts his gaze, his hand flying up to perform that trademark neck rub of his.

"Err, no, that's my bodyguard, Cullen," Evelyn smiles politely.

"Why does he seem so familiar?" Alistair asks and scratches the stubble on his chin. "I could swear I know him from somewhere..."

"He was a champion boxer. Maybe you've seen him on TV?"

"Maybe..." Alistair continues to gaze thoughtfully at Cullen before the shrill ring of his phone makes both Evelyn and him jump. "Excuse me," he smiles politely at her. "It's my wife."

"Of course," Evelyn replies sweetly. "I'll see you after lunch."

Evelyn immediately strides towards where Cullen stood, unable to help grinning like a fool when their eyes meet yet again.

"Time for lunch?" he softly asks her with a smile.

"Yes, please," she responds. "I'm starving! I'm not even going to change out of my costume. Let's go."

Cullen chuckles and throws his empty coffee cup into a nearby trash can.

"Lead the way," he smiles and gestures with his hands for Evelyn to walk ahead.

Evelyn blushes as she walks towards the set's exit, the butterflies springing into life in her stomach.

"There's a quaint family-owned restaurant not too far from here," she tells him as they descend down a spiraling staircase to the courtyard. "We'd still have to drive though, if we want to make it back on time for the next scene."

"Not a problem," Cullen responds gently. His smooth, soft voice is like a gentle caress to Evelyn's ears.

As they walk side by side to the parking lot beyond the fortress' gates, Evelyn imagines what it would be like to hold his hand. She sneaks a side glance at his right one, her stomach flipping when she sees just how strong and large it is. Her eyes linger on his fingers, pale and long, yet calloused and thick; fingers that belong to a war-hardened soldier.

Thanks to the fortress' secluded location, it is incredibly difficult for the media to harass them here, but Evelyn isn't optimistic about what to expect in the restaurant they are heading to. It is located in a little village called Haven, which has been pretty much off the map until the film producers decided to shoot the production in Skyhold, so she may be in luck, but judging from the attention the little village has been getting since the cast and crew's arrival this morning, the idea of a peaceful lunch seems more than a little improbable at this point.

Once they are in the car, Evelyn finds herself re-living the passionate on-set kiss with Alistair, and she closes her eyes as she imagines Cullen's lips moving so urgently against hers instead. She blushes intensely, the heat radiating through her cheeks when she considers that he is literally less than a foot away, completely oblivious to the vivid workings of her overly-imaginative mind.

"Evelyn?"

Evelyn's eyelids flutter open, and she turns to look at Cullen, a warm smile automatically forming on her lips.

"Yes?"

He holds her gaze for a fraction of a second before focusing on the road again, the smile on his lips mirroring hers.

"I thought you'd fallen asleep," he explains softly.

Evelyn relaxes into her seat and lets out a long breath, still smiling as she admires his perfectly chiseled profile.

"No," she responds. "I was just... thinking, that's all."

"Penny for your thoughts?"

One side of his lips—the side without the scar- stretches to widen his smile, turning it into that trademark crooked grin that never fails to weaken Evelyn's knees.

Oh, you know. Just fantasising about what it would be like to ravage your lips. No biggie.

"I was just hoping that the paparazzi will leave us alone during our lunch."

What? I didn't lie! I was thinking about that. Earlier. Before all the kissing took over.

As if right on cue, they turn around the corner in their car and are greeted by a mob of flashing cameras, some of the photographers even going far enough to literally press their cameras against the car windows.

"Fuck! I knew it! I just fucking knew it!"

"Don't worry. We'll lose them. There's a tavern not too far from here that not many people know about. Came across it a long time ago when I first joined the army."

"Anything to get away from this madness," Evelyn says, sinking low into her seat and hiding behind her oversized shades.

Cullen skilfully manoeuvres his car around the establishment and drives off into the woods. As he drives them away from the mad flurry of the media, Evelyn turns around in her seat to look out the rear glass, worried about the possibility of being followed.

"They can't tail us in this forest," Cullen tells her reassuringly when he catches a glimpse of what Evelyn is doing. "That's what makes this tavern so hard to find. Only the oldest locals know about it. My friend's father took us there one night when we went on leave for the first time."

"Sounds charming."

Evelyn glances at the time on the dashboard and groans in disappointment.

"We don't have much time left before I need to be back on set," she grumbles.

"It's all right," Cullen smiles. "We'll order it to go."

The smooth and gentle reassurance in the way he speaks to her makes Evelyn feel as though everything will be absolutely fine as long as he is around. To put it simply, she feels safe. He makes her feel safe.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like to eat?" he asks her as he pulls over the car by the tiny parking lot. "They have all the standard pub grub you'd get in any other tavern in Ferelden."

"Anything you'd recommend?"

He smiles as he unfastens his seatbelt.

"They serve excellent Parmo and chips. That's what I'm getting myself."

"I'll have that too, then," Evelyn says.

"Excellent choice," Cullen grins as he opens the car door and slides out of his seat. "I'll only be a moment."

Evelyn leans across to his side of the car and looks out his open door at where he is standing.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along and wait with you?" she calls out.

"We'll wait here in the car," he responds with a smile. "One can never be too safe with you ridiculously celebrated actors. You might cause a stampede in there."

He winks at her before turning around and disappearing into the tavern, completely oblivious to the effect that mere gesture had had on Evelyn.

Maker's breath, Evelyn swallows and sinks back into her seat, resting her head against the headrest. Maker's holy breath.

True to this word, Cullen emerges from the tavern a few moments later, sliding off his Ray bans as he open the car door and gets back inside, the now familiar scent of his musky cologne flooding Evelyn's nostrils.

"All good?" Evelyn smiles.

"All good," he repeats. "Now, we wait. It won't take too long. There's hardly anyone in there."

"Did anyone recognise you?"

"Oddly enough, yes," Cullen responds with genuine surprise. "The bar keep picked me out instantly, even though it's been ten years since I was last here. I was just a boy back then."

"How old are you, anyway?" she asks him.

"Thirty this year," he replies. "You?"

"Twenty two."

His eyes widen at her response, and his eyebrows rise up slightly, clearly surprised by her response.

"I look older, I know," Evelyn smiles knowingly. "I get that all the time."

"N-No! That's not it at all! It's just that...you just seem much more mature than someone in their early twenties, that's all."

Evelyn laughs at his stammered reaction.

"Yeah, I get that all the time, too," she says. "When I was sixteen, people would swear I was in my late twenties. Heck, when I was twelve, I could get into 15 and over movies at the cinema without a second glance!"

Cullen nods with a faint smile, his cheeks still red as he suddenly becomes incredibly fascinated with the steering wheel.

Evelyn silently gazes at him for a moment, taking in his every feature. Her eyes roam over the planes of his face, admiring the chiselled cheek bones and defined jaw, the pointed nose that slightly slopes upwards at the tip, the full, pink lips, slightly pale due to the Frostbacks cold, but otherwise soft and so perfectly...just...perfect.

She does not realise that, while she has been lost in her fantasies, Cullen was staring directly back at her. She blinks when she realises this, and her face is flooded with heat, but when he does not look away, neither does she.

They both jump when a sharp knock emanates from the window on Cullen's side of the car, and they look out to see an elderly man carrying a plastic bag with a kind smile on his face.

"Oh, it's our food." Cullen immediately rolls down the window and takes the bag from the man.

"Here you go, young Rutherford," the man says. "Two Parmo's and a side of chips." His grey eyes move over to Evelyn, and his smile widens as she takes her in, his eyes instantly lighting up. "I say, Mr Rutherford! You never told me you got married! And to such a beautiful young lady, too!"

Evelyn purses her lips to stop herself from bursting out in laughter, and she quickly meets Cullen's gaze, covering her lips with her hand when she sees the deep crimson shade creeping across his cheeks again.

"This is Evelyn Trevelyan, John," Cullen responds politely. "She's...err..."

"Girlfriend," Evelyn cuts in with a confident smile. "A pleasure to meet you, John."

She leans across and extends her hand out for John to shake.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lady," the old man smiles, his kind eyes crinkling.

"Well, we've got a bit of a schedule to stick to, I'm afraid," Cullen says as he restarts the engine. "It was so good to see you again, John."

"And you, Mr Rutherford, and you," John grins, taking a step away from the car. "I can't tell you how happy I am to know that you've met a beautiful lady to call your own. Take care now. And maybe give us a visit sometime before the ten year mark next time, young man. You hear?"

"I hear," Cullen grins and waves at the man before rolling the window back up.

"Wait," Evelyn says. "Aren't we going to pay him?"

"I already have," Cullen responds as he focuses on reversing out of the parking lot. "Back inside when I ordered."

Evelyn frowns at him and crosses her arms, turning to look out the window.

"You didn't have to do that," she mutters.

"I wanted to," he responds simply.

Evelyn feels his gaze on her and turns her head to meet it, all annoyance instantly evaporating as soon as his warm, golden gaze locks on hers.

Fuck me, I am so far gone with this guy.

"Aren't you going to get started on that?" Cullen asks, nodding at the plastic bag of takeaway on her lap.

"I'll wait till we're back in Skyhold," Evelyn replies. "Don't want to mess up the rental now, do we?"

"Don't worry about it," Cullen smiles.

"No, it's all right. I'll wait."

See, the truth of the matter is, it is kind of hard to eat anything when your stomach is tied in knots and filled with butterflies, which is exactly the state of Evelyn's stomach right now.

They arrive back in Skyhold without incident, and the parking lot is a little more packed with parked vehicles then it was when they left, which meant that they were running late.

"Thanks, Cullen," Evelyn smiles gratefully as they pull over. "For this," she gestures at the lunch on her lap. "And for the whole paparazzi fiasco back there. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Cullen pulls up the handbrake and turns off the engine before sitting back in his seat and smiling at Evelyn. He makes no move to get out of the car.

Evelyn feels glued to her seat. Her eyes dart around the deserted parking lot, her heart racing in her chest and almost jumping out her throat.

"I..." she lets out a nervous laugh and tucks her hair behind her ears. "I'm really glad Varric found you. As my bodyguard, I mean."

"I'm glad he approached me," Cullen replies softly.

Evelyn raises her gaze from her lap and up to his face, feeling so nervous, she could throw up.

"Well," she moves a shaking hand to the door handle and starts to open the passenger door. "I'd better get going before the director, Teagan, bites my head off."

Cullen merely nods, silently watching her as she starts to step out of the car. Just as both her feet are out on the ground, she feels a strong, yet warm and gentle set of fingers curl around her wrist, stopping her from moving any further. Surprised, she turns around to see what was wrong, but before her brain could even begin to form any sense of the situation, Cullen's lips cover her own, sending Evelyn into a momentary state of shock.

She gasps, and completely ignoring the plastic bag of food hanging around her wrist, she raises her hands up and snakes them through Cullen's hair, her head spinning and her mind and heart racing.

His strong hands plant themselves on either side of her face and hold her there as he deepens the kiss, a strangled moan escaping through his lips.

Evelyn does not know for how long they sat like that in the deserted car park. She does not know for how long their lips moved against each other, softly and urgently at the same time, with all of their pent up feelings finally given some semblance of expression and release. She does not know how late she is to set, and how angry the cast and crew would be at her tardiness. But, as unprofessional and out of character as it is for her, Evelyn does not care. And neither, judging from his reluctance to let her go, does Cullen.

Note: just a note about Evelyn's age: she's twenty two in this story and in templar enchanted as well, but only because i'm twenty two and i tend to headcanon my characters as being the same age as me if they don't have a set age in-game. so by all means, please pretend she's your age and just ignore the number. it just makes the story a bit more real to me by including their ages, but it isn't important to the storyline at all.