A/N: Sorry for the delay! Between my move, work always seeming to be crazy, and switching back and forth between this fic and my X-Men one, it takes me longer than I want to write these chapters. Thanks so much for your patience, reviews, and favorites! This one's a bit of a filler chapter, I'll be working up to 'In your heart shall burn' fairly soon I expect.
Max tossed and turned all through the first night in camp after the Inquisition concluded in Therinfal. Images would surface of his fight with the demon, how Envy's lightning fast reflexes tested every muscle of his body to falter. There were no missteps, not as long as Cassandra and Cole fought by his side. When he could finally take no more of the restless thoughts that pervaded his mind, he crawled out of his tent and found Cassandra who sat at the camp fire, tending to her blade.
"Can't sleep?" She asked without looking up, somehow knowing it was Max behind her.
"No, I couldn't get Therinfal out of my head." Max rubbed at the sore muscles in his neck and sat next to the seeker. "Why aren't you asleep? Everyone else is." Max threw a look over at Iron Bull, happily snoring a few feet away against a tree trunk.
"I require little sleep, and besides, I like to keep watch." Cassandra replied, Max noted the subtle nuances in her voice that were always accentuated by her Nevaran accent. Her complexion shone luminously next to the fire; Max felt like a moth to a flame, and she was the latter.
"If I only had your resolve, but I like sleep too much." Max drew his knees up and stared at the fire, still worried in the back of his mind how his sister was doing. They hadn't received news of Redcliffe yet.
Cassandra turned to regard him, their eyes finally meeting. "But you do have it. I saw it when we went up against that demon, don't discredit yourself. I've not known many men outside of the order who would not hesitate to fight a beast like that. At least not one from noble lineage." The compliment pleasantly surprised Max, he still was not used to these rare candid moments with Cassandra.
"Oh, well I appreciate that, Lady Cassandra!" Max felt a blush creep up on him, his nerves threatening to lock him up. He forced it down. "You were quite a sight yourself. In action, I mean. Er-" Maker, he was an idiot. Cassandra laughed at him.
"I know what you mean, Maxwell." A small smile lay hidden at the corner of her mouth. "We should spar when we have a moment back in Haven. It would be nice to train with someone that isn't one of Cullen's recruits." Train with Seeker Cassandra from the famed dragon hunting clan Pentaghast? Max was in heaven. Her understated beauty made it even more worthwhile to Max to have a chance to spend time with her.
"I'd love to." Max gave his usual charming smile, glad she was warming up to him.
"I suggest you get your rest then, if you're going to spar against me, you better be ready." They both stood up, ready to head to bed. When she turned, Maxwell's eyes lingered on her back before moving back to his tent. Thoughts of training with Cassandra accompanied his dreams that night, a much better option than dreaming of corrupted templars and demons.
X
Hawke's ass was tired of riding horseback to get to Haven. Never in his life had he travelled as much as he had since he started helping the Inquisition, but a little voice in his head kept telling him it was worth it. He missed all his friends in Kirkwall, but just Varric was better than nothing. At least Evelyn was by his side, that's what he told himself, and he was definitely right. The way her lips felt on his that night was hard to get out of his head.
Her small hands placed gingerly on his broad chest, her body just so slightly inclined to lean in, soaking up the moment. He cursed himself for ending the kiss, but he had to. He certainly wasn't going to have his way with her in the middle of nowhere; Evelyn deserved better than that. And so he had to stop himself, even though every fiber of his being went mad with lust for the way she touched him.
Maybe it wasn't just that. A part of Hawke felt it right to distance himself from Evelyn, like he didn't feel worthy of her deep down. Evelyn was a very caring person he could tell; he saw it in her everyday. She usually went out of her way to help people, even though she played it off. It was the same way back at Redcliffe. Hawke was nothing but trouble. Sure, he had helped people, but he drew a target on his back over time and that wasn't something he wanted to bring her into.
They didn't speak as much as they usually did when drawing close to Haven.
"Brother!" Evelyn was already scrambling off her horse before Hawke could register who was waiting at the gates. Max rushed to his sister's side, crushing her in a hug.
"Champion." Commander Cullen greeted the mage. "I trust your journey was well?" He asked as Hawke walked his horse to the nearby stables. The two men watched the siblings reunite as they exchanged pleasantries. Hawke was quick to notice the former templar particularly eying Evelyn.
"It was, Commander Cullen. Not too much trouble my staff couldn't handle." Hawke took care to say, already feeling prickly at how the man looked at Evelyn.
"That's, uh, good. Well, I'll leave you to it then." The blonde man said in his usual stoic tone before walking away.
"Yes, leave me to it!" Hawke muttered under his breath, barely audible, but enough to catch Harritt's raised eyebrow. Damn Evelyn for making him feel jealous! She had no idea he was, but damn her all the same.
The feeling brought back unpleasant memories of the countless times he had to deal with Isabela and her drunken suitors over the years. Most of them were nothing to worry about, but Isabela liked to flirt, especially when she was drunk at The Hanged Man. After many a night going home with swollen knuckles and a bruised ego, it was safe to say jealousy wasn't something Hawke was entirely interested in revisiting again. Hawke looked at Evelyn who seemed so carefree, genuinely happy to be back at Haven and reunited with her brother, and couldn't fault her then.
"Ugh, I need a drink with Varric." Hawke blew his hair out of face before resolving a cold, hard drink with his best friend was the ideal way to get out of his funk and back to his usual self.
X
Evelyn was more than relieved to be back at Haven. She had heard so little of her brother's success at Therinfal, as soon as they were done greeting one another, they set out to find their cabin and catch up.
"You look well rested, how long ago did you get back?" Evelyn asked as she sank down into a chair, ready to pull her boots off.
"Just two nights ago. Cassandra and I did our best to get back as soon as possible to make sure the templars transition here would go smoothly. I was a little worried when I heard the rebel mages would also be joining us, I won't lie." Evelyn detected the mistrust in her brother's voice. She waved it off.
"Don't worry about them, Hawke and I have them covered, brother." The mention of the mage brought the kiss back to Evelyn's mind. Ah, how agonizingly teasing had it been! She had not forgotten it. How could she? No one quite had the lips Hawke did.
"Good. I am happy you were successful, I didn't doubt you for a moment." Max set down a pair of mugs and poured them a round of cider before settling in next to Evelyn.
"Pray tell, dear brother. What did happen with the templars? I heard some rather curious tales of demons." Evelyn didn't know a whole lot of the subject, but knew it must have been serious if even an inkling of the rumors were true.
"I see word gets around fast! Well, when we arrived…" When he was done telling her all the debaucherous details, she sat there unable to think of anything to say, so she just sipped at her cider with both eyebrows raised.
"It's all true! Both of our adventures do have one thing in common though, one that is bothersome." Max's tone shifted, Evelyn could sense the mood changing in the air.
"The Elder One." They spoke the name at the same time, their unique bond still obviously intact after being apart for the first time in their entire lives.
The twins sat in silence, pondering who this villain truly was, why he was obsessed with them. They only ever sat like that when something weighed heavily on them, deep in thought. It took hearing the dinner bell three times to break them of their trance. Pretty soon they would be formulating a plan to incorporate both the mages and templars to help close the breach, they'd need a full belly and plenty of rest to be up for the task to come.