Zevran wrapped his girlfriend in a blanket, to keep her warm as they sat on his rooftop. Each with a glass of brandy in their hand, he broke his own rule and brought the whole bottle, heart quivering nervously in his chest.
The damp chill on the air felt grounding, the discomfort of cold, relaxing. Zevran, while having a strong need for Nyla to know everything, found it unfathomable she would do anything but walk away.
"Do you have any secrets left, Nyla, that you do not wish to share? That you believe would have me walk away?"
"Yes, I have at least one that comes to mind. Though, if I believed you would walk out on me for it, I wouldn't be with you right now." Hoping he didn't demand her secret now, she sighed to relax herself. "I wouldn't want a partner who would walk out on me, anyway. Has that happened to you before?"
Zevran shook his head and Nyla had never seen him so pensive, never felt so far from him. "Zev?"
"Hmm?" He couldn't look at her as he sipped on his drink.
"Do you want me to start?"
"I suppose. Though, I am not sure how0."
"I can ask a question." She watched him closely, her heart clenching in seeing him so apparently tortured. "Let me be curious?"
He nodded and sipped his drink. "Sure, why not."
"Tell me about the tattoos on your face."
"Always knowing exactly how to get to the heart of every fucking matter, Nyla, how do you do this?" He chuckled with a sad sigh, taking another sip he put the drink down to slow his intake. With a glance at her, he looked forward again. "My tattoos are something I chose to cover something else."
"It was a beautiful choice." Nyla spoke softly, watching him closely.
"I am aware. This is why I chose it." He shrugged and clasped his hands in his lap. "And thank you for saying so."
"I wish I felt closer to you right now." Reaching a hand toward him he backed away from her touch.
"Nyla, I do not wish to be touched." He sighed and looked down. "I do not mean to be cold, I need distance right now."
"I understand. It just feels like you're punishing yourself unnecessarily." She spoke gently, missing the man who offered touch and kisses so generously; still loving him deeply. Fighting the urge to say I'm not going anywhere, she moved forward. "What were the tattoos a cover for?"
"They covered something gang related." The desire to drink intensified, and he tempered the impulse. "A symbol, I will not go into that. Back in Mexico I was in a gang called the Crows."
"Mmm…" Nyla nodded. "It's common for kids estranged from their natural families to get involved in things like gangs."
Her softness, openness, willingness to hear him annoyed him. "Nyla, I was orphaned, but a nice family adopted me. There is no excuse."
"You're being hard on yourself. Sometimes the feeling of abandonment, just knowing you were left behind by your parents, even if it wasn't intentional, even if you don't remember it… just knowing can leave us with a desire for more. Leave us feeling empty, even resentful. Looking for anywhere to belong."
"And you get this from being a psych major, I wager?" He rolled his eyes, masking it with another drink, feeling frustration with himself for lashing out at her; he respected her more than this.
"Yes. And I understand it a little more because I am an orphan. Left to my own devices, wandering and looking for somewhere to belong. Nothing like what happened to you, but I feel like I can identify with you to some degree." Every annoyed sigh and roll of his eyes made sense to Nyla; he was deflecting her care, believing he deserved none, and she was going to keep giving it to him.
"What happened to me, Nyla, is myself." He sighed and put his drink down. "I am not trying to beat myself up. It is simply true. I meddled in places I did not belong despite myself, knowing things were wrong, seeking something. I did not know what. It was probably as you say, but I did not feel like I did not belong with my family. I do not know what I was seeking."
"You don't have to know, love. Nobody is demanding an answer to that question." She spoke patiently, sipping on her own drink, and turning to face him. "You got away from this life, somehow." A stormy painting flashed in her mind's eye, and her heart ached for him.
"Yes, when it was too late." He sighed. "At first, I was not part of them, yet they were… welcoming. They asked me to tattoo them. That is how I befriended them. Tattooing. I honed my skill on them and they paid generously. They were kind toward me. Buying tattoos, inviting me places where I might tattoo more people, have a few drinks. I met a girl, she was seventeen, same as me. I tattooed her a lot."
"Rinna?" Nyla asked softly, and he flinched.
"Mm hm. That was Rinna. She became my lover first, and not long after, my girlfriend. She was bold, had dark hair and dark eyes like you. Not so pale. I digress. I am not speaking to compare you to her. Just musing."
"You can muse." Nyla smiled. "I imagine it feels good to talk about her. You can if you want."
"There is not much to say. I remember her face-" he scrubbed his cheeks with his palms, "what she looked like. I remember my care for her. It does not matter."
"All of it matters," Nyla whispered, taking a drink as he glared at nothing, facing forward. She let it roll off of her and kept loving him.
"After a time of tattooing them, they asked me to do something small. Drop something off somewhere, innocuous looking envelopes and small packages. I had figured I was doing something illegal, but I figured, who gives a shit about a little pot? What trouble could this be? It was no trouble. I dropped things off, I left. Innocuous." Zevran shrugged and sighed. "They made me feel appreciated. Paid well for tattoos and tipped me a little extra for just making a little side trip on the way home. I was able to save enough to buy mi madre a car, so she did not have to walk so much and pay cab drivers to take her to work. It seemed a good arrangement."
"They started you out small." Nyla spoke softly. "Offered you a lot of compensation. You were able to provide for your family, buy your mother a car. What an ideal arrangement."
"Yes. They took me under their wing. I get it, I fell for the trap." Running a hand through his hair, he scrubbed his face again, took another drink, and he put his glass back down with a loud clunk. He picked it up again, looked at it, put it back down. "I wish I had not done that. I do not wish to break my nice things. I hope it did not crack."
"I'll get you another," Nyla whispered, watching every movement, every frustrated gesture, every tormented gaze; she wanted to touch him so badly.
"The deliveries were fine, I was used to them. One evening they asked for a ride. I figured, why not? Drop them off, wait five minutes, drive them home. Delivering a person instead." Zevran shrugged.
"Oh, fuck." Nyla, with her skin tingling with fear and anger, reminded herself to remain gentle.
"It was actually quite fun to have my friends with me for a drive. I was not entirely naive, I knew they were likely delivering or picking up some illegal thing. But I thought, well, how bad could it be? I had no trouble before, doing their errands." Despite his every effort to keep his knee still, it jumped neruotically. "This one was not a little thing. There was gunfire, my car windows busted, bullet holes in the side. It was… not good." He took another drink. "My glass is leaking. I cracked it."
"I'll get you another," Nyla whispered, offering him her glass. He waved it away and picked up the bottle. "What happened? Were you hurt?" She thought hard, trying to remember any scars; she would have absolutely noticed any scars.
"Nobody was physically hurt. I became hardened and angry. The fear I felt that day... I stopped tattooing. I stopped working on my art and I worked for them. I saw what monsters they were, and somehow I was ready to be one of them." He brought the bottle to his lips and drank, putting it back down.
"Oh." Nyla spoke, her stomach clenching, fingers tight around her glass, she took a long swig.
Any moment now. Zevran waited for her to leave and she hadn't moved. He kept his eyes forward, watching her drink and pull the blanket tighter around herself in his periphery. "I did their errands. I drove them around. New bullet holes, new car, it did not matter. Shootings were not so common. I only saw three." He scrubbed his face with his palms with a strained sigh. "Four. I saw four shootings."
"That's very hard, Zev. That's really terrifying." Nyla put her drink down and sat up straight. "How are you right now?"
He chuckled through his nose. What the fuck kind of question is that? "Stressed."
"Stressed." She repeated him. "I would be more than stressed. I would feel a lot of remorse. Shame. Fear. I would be pretty pissed off, too."
"Do you wish to hear the story or make inferences on how I should be feeling?" He fought her off, wanted to glare at her, but he couldn't even look at her.
"I want to hear the rest of the story, love." She saw his eyes mist over and brow furrow at her words. Her arms ached to hold him, to jump on him and squeeze him until he squeezed her back. "I'm here for it. Please continue."
"They asked me to do something despicable and I was far too okay with it, Nyla." Furious with himself, he didn't' feel like he deserved to speak such a beautiful name, of such a beautiful woman. "Find the nephew of some rival, and rough him up a little. Just hit him once or twice, no big deal." He sighed deeply, shaking his head. "I do not think hitting someone is no big deal! Why did I think it then? What was wrong with me?"
"Zev… did… did you kill this man?" Her heart sank, she felt as if she could vomit. Is this what he thinks I will walk out on him for?
"A boy. Perhaps fifteen, not much younger than me. And I hope not." Scrubbing his face again, he glowered at the city lights with a shudder. "The boy said hola to me, with a smile." His stomach lurched, and he swallowed it back down. "I only hit him once, and he hit the ground hard, blood from his head. I made an anonymous call to get him help. I did not mean for it to happen."
"That was good, though, right? You did what you could." She watched him closely, her heart pounding, "You did the right thing after all, though."
"I believe I… did my best to correct my mistake. The Crows were watching me, assessing me. They saw my panic as the boy hit the ground. They heard me on my phone, calling for help." Sighing, he scrubbed his face again. "They told me they were giving me twelve hours to run. A head start. The next time they saw me, I would be killed on sight. So…" Zevran picked up the bottle and drank from it. He wiped at his cheeks with the back of his hand. "I called Rinna, of course. I told her what happened, and to come with me. That we would go to San Francisco and start a new life."
"So… fuck." Nyla sat up straight and the blanket slid from her shoulders, trying to get a grip, to prepare herself for the rest of his story. "So you… you got pulled into a trap. A common one, this is how they do it, Zev. They get them young, they train them, they desensitize them a little at a time. This… none of this was your fault, you know that, right?"
"I was an ass." He shrugged, his eyes cast down. "Naive."
"You did exactly what any other lonely and estranged boy would do." She spoke more passionately, wishing he would just look at her.
"So you're saying this was normal behavior?" He chuckled, "Cute."
"Yes, Zevran. I'm saying it was normal behavior. Zev, look at me." She moved closer to him, despite her efforts not to cry, tears slid down her cheeks. "Love, I want you to look at me." She fought the urge to say I'm not going anywhere, knowing it would just give him another reason to feel pangs of denial and annoyance.
He looked down at the roof and shrugged. "I wish my eyes to be over here." Zevran ached that she kept calling him love, and he swallowed back tears, heard the telltale throaty sound of tears in her voice.
"Where is Rinna now?" Nyla gave up trying to pull his attention. Staring out at the city, pain lined his stare and he looked so far away. Telling the past should not hurt this much. Has he had any therapy whatsoever? Nyla realized she was ill-equipped to deal with this; he wasn't just telling a story, he was reliving his trauma with improper support, and then she had pried. I'm fucking him up!
"Well." He stared at the city lights, squinting just a little bit to make them look like stars on fire, as he was wont to do on occasion when comfort was needed. "They lied. They did not give me twelve hours, they were following me. Once I got to Rinna's house, they fired on us. Rinna actually… jumped in front of me. She said she loved me." He heard the unmistakable sound of Nyla's withheld sobs as she cupped her mouth, but she sounded so far away. "She was my height, you see."
His voice, soft enough to be a whisper, Nyla's heart was almost pounding too loud in her ears to hear him. She hiccuped in her attempts to withhold sobs, reaching for him with a soft gesture but not touching him. He was wiping his face again, he didn't even have to tell the rest of the story, but she let him.
"She was hit somewhere here." He gestured to his face with an open palm. "Me behind her." He closed his eyes and waved his hands along the sides of his face, reeling backward for a moment and then sitting up, letting his hands flop helplessly on his lap. He shrugged, "Then Zevran ran." He swiped at his cheeks. "My face, my shirt, sometimes they still feel... wet."
"Oh no. Oh my god... I'm sorry!" Nyla jumped up and stomped away from him; nervous energy wracked through her body. "Holy fuck, Zevran."
There she goes. Zevran smiled; a breathy chuckle through his nose. He shook his head, and then she was stomping back to him; that part was surprising.
Nyla had no fucking clue what to do. Her lover was right in front of her, swimming in his trauma, he needed real help, what the fuck was she supposed to do? Fuck… fuck… how do I do right by you? Standing over him, his stare was so far away, he hadn't shed a single tear as he kept wiping his face. Just like your night terrors you poor, beautiful creature.
"Zevran." She spoke loudly, to get his attention and disrupt his thousand-yard stare. He looked up at her, startled, inquisitive, as if wondering what she could possibly want. She bent down, moved his hands from his lap and straddled him, facing him. Taking his face in her hands, he averted his eyes, and Nyla wiped his cheeks for him so he wouldn't have to. Her softness and urgency brought tears to his eyes. "Look at me, Zevran." She pressured him a little more, her voice soft and imploring, "Look at my eyes. Look at me. Look." It took everything he had, but he did. "See? I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Gentle hands ran over his cheeks again. "It's gone. Nothing is there." Her forehead rested against his and she wept for him. "You're clean."
"Why are you crying, Nyla? Don't." Voice cracking with withheld tears, he couldn't understand, didn't want to. His shoulders trembled as his face felt dried by gentle sweeps of his Nyla's loving hands, but how? He began to weep for the first time in so long. "Why are you doing this?" Body trembling, Zevran leaned into her; her tears, her care settled in his chest, pushing away everything else, and it spilled out his eyes, down his cheeks, dripping from his chin. His love's arms wrapped around him, rocking him gently, weeping with him, his face rested snug against her bosom. He had never cried over this, never over her. Breath coming in hiccups and gasps, he clung to her; trust overwhelmed apprehension, and Zevran was grateful to be in this woman's arms, grateful to have someone to wrap his arms around as he wept like this.
It was such sweet relief for Nyla to hear him, feel him crying in her arms. Exactly what he needed: to purge the tangled hurt that lived within him, haunting him as he slept. When she rocked him, his tears intensified, so she kept doing it; he moved with her. Zevran's arms tight around her, she held him more firmly, arms and legs around him. Cheek resting on his head, Nyla realized, just like her, Zevran had lost everything all at once, and perhaps this was what drew them to each other in the first place.
"I'm so sorry." She kissed the top of his head and sniffled. "Nothing you have said would make me want to be away from you." His grip on her tightened and he cried at the sweet ache accompanying her words. "You're still wonderful, Zevran." Sinking into the warmth of her, he let tears flow, and Nyla stayed with him; hands in his hair, kisses on his head and face, legs around him, holding him firm, whispering sweet things he only half heard, but they soothed him.
When tears subsided, Zevran still had his girlfriend and his life, he came out the other side of the storm whole and in love; this was perfect. Nyla had held him in his weakest moments, still held him, and he trusted her fiercely. When he looked up at her with a refreshed smile and swollen eyes, he felt newly-born, and she smiled back at him, tender touches on his cheeks as she swept his tears away.
"Okay, amor?" She purred in his accent, staring into his eyes with a smile and a sexy tilt of her head, and he laughed, nodded, pulling her in for a gentle kiss.
"Okay, amor." He spoke after he pulled away. "Of all our intense moments together, that is easily one of the top five."
"Easily." Nyla smiled, returning his kisses, hands still cupping his face, legs still around him.
Reaching over and grabbing the blanket, Nyla wrapped it around his shoulders, and with his arms Zevran tossed it over hers, cocooning them. They had no words, only tender touches, satisfying kisses, basking in the warmth of each other. Kisses, sighs and caresses, they laid back, curled into each other, and stared at the sky.
"How are you feeling, Zev?" She adjusted her head on his arm to look at him, eye-to-eye.
"Amazing. Refreshed. I feel like not crying anymore and doing fun things instead."
"Ooh, fun things. I'm game. What's on your mind?"
"Girlfriend's garter belt." He chuckled. "So hot. Too hot."
"Those are good thoughts, no?" Nyla mimicked his accent with a smirk.
"You are too hot." Hnngg… Sighing deeply, he collected himself. "What are you thinking about right now?"
"Somehow I didn't expect you to return the question." Her face felt warm, she cleared her throat. "Other stuff. You know, I feel less cool now, with my not-sexy thoughts."
"Oh? Tell me the thoughts, and the feelings that come with them."
"A… very poignant demand…" After several moments of thought she spoke, "It's too hard, I think. Maybe I'll… possibly tell you the thoughts later."
"I want them now." He raised his head and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Those things you refuse to share are always the best things when I get them out of you."
"Fuck you." Nyla cackled, unsure if she wanted to kiss him or fling him off the roof. "You are not allowed to know me that well."
"Alright." He sat up with an exaggerated grunt, swinging a leg over to straddle her.
"Wait. No. God dammit." Her stomach muscles tightened and giggles were impulsive. His hands rested on her waist. "Fuck. You're not going to win this one."
"Wrong words, Nyla." Wiggling his fingers, she squealed and squirmed, and her resolve cracked so easily.
"I am falling for you really hard!"
"I know this." Zevran grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head with a mischievous smirk. "There is more, yes?"
"Damn." She sighed meeting his eyes, "Sometimes, in very big moments where I feel closest to you, I think I love you, and then things calm down, and I start being an adult again. I am falling so hard for you."
"Mmm. Zevran was not expecting that." He hung his head and chuckled. "Same, brave Nyla."
"I know this," Nyla mimicked his accent, stuck between adoration and frustration. "And I'm not brave, you tortured me." The pouting was real.
"Oooh, poor tortured Nyla. I should make it up to her somehow." He crooned playfully, his lips an inch from her ear. "Tienes una sonrisa muy bonita." You have a beautiful smile. Zevran had no words to describe how satisfying it was when she gasped and trembled beneath him. After a few moments of slow, indulgent kissing, he jumped up and offered his hands. "Let's go dance."
"What? Where?" Nyla grinned, as he helped her up gently. "I love dancing!"
"I know this! In my bedroom." He smiled, encouraging her to hold tight onto his arm.
Whether it was the alcohol, or the catharsis he had just been through, Nyla couldn't say, but he seemed happy, light, loose, playful, and there was a distinct lack of 'cool guy Zevran' smirking at her. She loved him either way, but this Zevran was refreshing and adorable! He held her arm tight to help her in the window, making sure she didn't hit her head; so sweet!
"Turn on my monitor and find us some music! Computer is on." He went back outside to retrieve their drinks and the blanket.
Taking a moment to look around his room, she appreciated the orderliness to it. Canvases, though there were many, were lined up against the wall, and she desperately wanted to go through every one of them; especially the hidden one, covered and on an easel. A stack of sketchbooks on his bedside table beckoned her, but it seemed more fun to go through his things when he would be there to tell her about them. This made her feel warm and teary, just how badly she wanted to be near him all the time, how close she wanted to be. She wanted to know everything about him. Reaching for a tissue from the box on his bedside table, she wiped around her eyes. Oh god, my eyeliner… looking in the mirror, she was an absolute mess with dark streaks down her face, didn't he care? Oh my god… he didn't laugh or say any fucking thing- she threw a tissue away in a wastebasket near his bed, filled with other balled up tissues. Visions of Zevran jerking off in his bed hit her hard and she almost hurt herself.
"Oh god. Oh my god." She grabbed another clean tissue and began cleanup of remaining eyeliner on her cheeks.
"Okay amor?" Zevran spoke, crawling in the window. "Something happened?"
"Tissues!" She stammered, still trying to catch her breath, "Eyeliner. Everywhere, Zevran."
"Yes. Perfect face was a mess for a moment there." He shrugged and turned on the computer monitor, and turned toward her to smile. "It was very cute. I am going to-" draw it later "... find us music, yes?"
"Is that your screen saver?" Every version of every selfie they took together she watched go by for 3 minutes straight in awe. "Oh my god, I love watching this."
"Mmm. Same. We are so pretty!" He hugged her from behind, arms around her waist, chin on her shoulder. "What music would you like?" Opening spotify, he cringed a little when his 'Nyla' playlist was right there.
"I have a Zevran playlist." She smiled, feeling bashful. "I'm barely tipsy, Zev. I want to be very drunk."
"That sounds good. Seeing you good and drunk would be fun, I think."
"Same." She picked up the brandy. "Shots?"
"No shots of my good brandy, Nyla!"
"I'll buy you more." She sighed. Stop saying that! "I mean, when I get paid. If you think this is good, you should try my Courvoisier. Remind me when we're at my place."
"Sounds good." He shrugged, "But we are still not doing shots with my good brandy. Come on downstairs, we will find something."
"It's 1AM, is this okay?"
"There is no bedroom curfew on Friday night, Nyla. They are probably playing Mario Kart right now."
"Oh my god, they're fucking adorable."
"I know this! I cannot fucking stand it," he spoke, exasperated. Nyla laughed and took his hand, they ran downstairs together.
"Zevran! Sketchbook Girl!" Anders spoke excitedly. "Margaritas!" He turned on the blender and shouted, "Want one?"
"Yes! With extra salt and lime, please!" She was still shouting as the blender stopped, "This is awesome, thank you!"
"You don't have to yell at me." Anders withheld a giggle and pointed at her with a spoon. "Zevran likes his margaritas the exact same way. You two can't just come down here all adorable like this and like the same shit right in front of us."
"Yes, I'm so glad you came down to ship us some more," Leliana snarked with a wry grin.
"Oh, that..." Nyla spoke nonchalantly. "I had already forgotten about it. You seem to be stuck on it, though."
"Oh, for fuck's sake." Leliana turned bright red and sipped her drink. Looking at Zevran, his eyes were a little swollen, and she wondered if he had been crying. Watching the couple closely, they appeared excessively happy; Zevran standing behind Nyla, sweeping her hair out of the way so he could place gentle kisses on the back of her neck.
"Here." Anders handed Nyla her drink. "Now get somewhere, you're both giving me cavities."
"I think we should play drunken Jenga." Leliana spoke with a smile.
"A game that goes nowhere?" Nyla giggled trying to imagine it and sipped her drink. "Oh, so good, Anders! Thank you!"
"Anders does well at drunken Jenga. I do okay. Zevran knocks over the entire table." She laughed and pushed the chair next to her with her foot gently and motioned for Nyla to sit. "Zevran can talk like the soberest man when drunk, but then you ask him to do anything at all-"
"You're asking for disaster." Anders handed a glaring Zevran his drink. "Extra salt on the glass, extra lime, just like his fucking girlfriend! Didn't even tell us. "
"He tortured it out of me." Nyla spoke incredulously. "And then, he starts doing yoga in my living room. In his… fucking... buh… brief... smallclothes... with his hair in a messy bun on the top of his head… god! He was hell bent on torturing me that day, I swear to god."
Zevran watched her curiously, wondering how far into the story she would go. When she took another drink, he teased with a smirk, "And then what, Nyla?"
Wide eyed, she choked on her margarita, coughing and sputtering for a few moments, continuing when she caught her breath; she could not let him get away with this. "Well, long story short, I pushed him up against the wall, stripped him, and then blew him. In that order."
Raucous laughter followed, and Zevran had no idea why he was so surprised she went there.
"Impossible to win with this one, I can tell already." Anders put four shot glasses on the table, a bowl of sea salt, a bottle of tequila, a plate of limes and a box containing the Jenga game.
"It really isn't." Zevran shrugged. "Just have to know where the buttons are."
"He knows where the buttons are." Anders waggled his eyebrows and opened the box, plunking it on the table, and slowly pulling it away, leaving the tower ready for play. "I'll go first, then Sketchbook Girl, then Leliana, and then Zevran. Counterclockwise."
"Clockwise." Leliana corrected.
"Thank you." He grabbed a block. "'Dealer's Choice.' This means I get to pick who takes a drink, Nyla." He poured a half-shot and slid it to his left. "We're going to do half-shots. I don't want to kill Sketchbook Girl, I just want to see her wasted."
"I know, could you imagine the mess?" Leliana cackled; Anders nodded emphatically. "I bet she's a stripper."
"Mmm. Alright. I see how it is." Nyla tossed back her shot, chasing it with margarita. "Let's do this." She reached over and took a block. "It just says 'date.'"
"You pick a date for the night. The date has to take a shot every time you do." Anders spoke patiently.
"Anders." Nyla smiled at him. "If I'm going down, you're coming with me."
Leliana looked at Zevran. Brief communication, quick pointing fingers, I've got Anders, you get Nyla. They nodded their agreement.
"For fucks sake you could have said it out loud." Nyla sighed. "Leliana is your babysitter, Anders."
"Oh I saw. They're so stealthy!" He grinned, nodding to Zevran. "You're turn, bro. By the way, your tiny girlfriend thinks she can drink me under the table."
"I am average height!" Nyla pressed a palm to her chest in incredulity, already feeling the alcohol.
"You are tiny." Leliana sipped her margarita, her legs crossed, sitting upright and proper, ignoring that she missed her turn, and the order of operations was already completely fucked and they weren't even drunk yet.
"You stand tall and wear heels, Nyla, but you are small." Zevran reached for a block, not yet drunk enough to cause a disaster. With a smirk, he looked at Nyla. "Youngest person drinks."
"I'm not small, you're small!" Nyla glared at him.
"Si, part of Zevran's charm," he smiled at her.
Anders poured their drinks. "Cheers," she spoke, chasing her shot with a sip of margarita, she chuckled, "Oh my god. This is a fucked up game."
"Yes." Leliana smirked, holding up her block. "Fresh meat."
"OOHH! Who of us has had sex most recently!" Anders laughed hard, far too excited.
"Does oral count?" Nyla furrowed her brow and chewed her lip.
"Yep." Anders slid her a shot.
"Zevran was there. Doing stuff... at the same time..." Nyla cleared her throat. "And don't forget your shot too. Fucking… cat face on your shirt."
"Oh nooo the worst insult!" Anders spoke in a high pitched voice, wiggling his fingers and rolling his eyes. He reached for a block. "Nose goes!" Everyone but Nyla immediately placed a finger on their nose.
"Fuck. I'm drinking again, aren't I?" She sighed. "Don't think I'll forget this cheating. Cheers." She took a shot with Anders. "Feelin' good, honey?"
"Great! You, however, are slurring, and shouting." Looking at his roommates, he smiled, "We have a drunk with no ability to modulate her voice. Prepare yourselves."
"Am not shouting." Nyla looked around at them. "Ah. I heard the slur. Leliana, all sober as fuck. This is crazy." Nyla reached for a block. "Accent speak?"
"You pick an accent, and you have to speak with it for the rest of the game." Leliana chuckled, pretty sure she knew what was about to happen.
"Perhaps I shall use the sexiest accent I know." She mimicked Zevran, sitting back and crossing her arms, her lips in a subtle smirk. "Though, the possibility of giving myself spontaneous orgasms is real."
Anders laughed to the point of falling out of his chair, Leliana lost good margarita through her nose, and Zevran palmed his face. "The instructions were to pick an accent, not pretend to be Zevran, no?"
"And if this is how I wish to play, then it should be okay, no?" She resumed smirking, and shook her hair, waving it off of her neck in a dramatic gesture. "Or is this turning you on as well, amor?"
"Stop!" Anders cackled from beneath the table. "Stop! I can't!"
"I believe it is Leli's turn?" Nyla purred, smoldering across the table at Zevran. His pursed lips and repressed laughter made Nyla want to try even harder. "Anders should come up from beneath the table, unless he is going to make himself useful down there, no?" Zevran cackled, and Nyla was excessively pleased with herself, even thrusting her fist into the air with a hissed "Yesss! Boyfriend laughter!"
"OH MY GOD!" Anders barely managed to climb back into his chair, holding his stomach and catching his breath. "Stop!"
"I'm picking one." Leliana's voice was nasally, having spent the last few minutes blowing her nose, laughing hysterically and coughing. "Baby got back." Anders handed her a shot. "Okay this is when I give a drink to whoever I think has the nicest ass." She drank the shot immediately.
"She does that every time!" Anders spoke over the laughter, "It never gets fucking old!"
"She is not wrong, no?" Nyla spoke through laughter and a hiccup, nodding at Anders.
"Nope! Zevran's ass is too muscular for my taste, you have a chronic case of white-girl butt, and I just don't have one." He looked at Zevran, "Your turn, woodland prince."
"Wha-" Nyla cackled and leaned toward him. "Excuse me? White-girl butt?"
"Kinda small, a little flat. It's not really an insult until he says it." Leliana pursed her lips at him. "Don't give her an ass complex, Anders, we're already convincing her she's tiny, that's enough."
"She stopped doing the accent… Nyla, you have to take a drink now." Anders waggled his eyebrows at her.
"So do you, tall asshole." Nyla purred, leaning back and folding her arms across her chest. "And it would serve me to know all the rules, in the future, no?"
"Do I act like this?" Zevran furrowed his brow at her playfully. "I do not say no after every sentence."
"It's pretty close." Leliana giggled. "A little exaggerated."
"But not by much. Cheers, Sketchbook Girl." Anders watched her, and they drank their tequila half-shots at the same time. "Nobody gives a fuck about these limes I cut up." He took one and put it in his mouth.
Zevran reached for a block. "Moving violation."
"Two for Zevran, none for us." Anders looked at Nyla expectantly. "I'm guessing none for you either."
Nyla spoke like Zevran, quirking an eyebrow. "Tell me the fucking rules, tall asshole."
Zevran cackled gleefully, pointing at her; that was definitely him. "Very nice, amor."
"One drink if you have had sex in a car, two if you have had sex in a moving car." Leliana explained.
"Excuse… Zevran, I do not know exactly how you had sex in a moving car… someone was watching you, no? Why do I wish to have the particulars of this? Fuck. No, I have not had sex in a car." Nyla found it difficult to maintain the accent through the jealousy, turn-on, befuddlement and drunken slurring. When she looked around, Leliana was pointing at Zevran, laughing, and Anders was saying something about a dog house.
"Come now." Zevran spoke, holding his shot glass, "Zevran's girlfriend is crazy, but not that kind of crazy." He drank, and put a lime in his mouth.
"Thank you, amor. Your faith in me is endearing." Nyla nodded to him. "Tall asshole, it is your turn, no?"
"It's hilarious when you do that!" He reached for a block. "Never have I…" Leliana and Zevran held up 3 fingers. "Hold three fingers up, Sketchbook Girl, you'll get it. Never have I ever done ecstasy. Nyla, you innocent little angel." Nyla, the only one to not lower a finger. Anders paused for thought.
"Never have I ever masturbated in someone else's house. Everyone? NICE! Sketchbook girl is blushing and staring at Zevran do you see this? Don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady," he slurred playfully, pointing a lazy finger at her. "Okay, anyway... never have I ever had sex at work. Nobody?" He looked at Zevran, "Better get on that one, then. Okay, what will get Nyla to put those fingers down. Never have I ever... had an orgasm from only the sound of Zevran's voice."
"Shit." Nyla giggle-snorted. "Leliana did you just lower a finger?"
"Yes, but I'm joking." She smiled and raised her finger back up. "And you're not."
"A-fucking-mazing." Anders laughed, "I can't believe that's even a thing. What would that be? Voice... fetish? Is there a word for that?"
Zevran shrugged, Nyla blushed and tried not to imagine Zevran's sultry purr. "I believe it is called auralism, do not ask how I know this, cat-shirt. I am not here to get… kink shamed."
"Moving on." Anders bounced in his seat, "Getting Sketchbook Girl to lower more fingers, hmm. Never have I ever... smoked pot. Nyla, seriously? Never? What the fuck? "
Leliana took the bottle from Anders and took over pouring shots, one for herself and Zevran.
"Really, Sketchbook girl? How sheltered were you?" Anders leaned on the table and squinted at her.
"I was busy doing other things!" She answered defensively. "It just never came up. It's not like I'm a no to it."
"HA! You forgot the accent! Take another shot!" Ander cackled and pointed.
"I believe you must also take another shot." Nyla slurred smugly.
"Fuck I keep forgetting that." He drank with her. "I love and hate this game. Your turn."
"It says for me to strip?" She looked around, confused. "That is a bit extreme."
"Just one piece of clothing." Zevran chimed in. "An earring or your necklace will suffice."
"Ahh, rules are rules, amor. Jewelry is not clothing," she purred in with her Spanish accent, standing up and grabbing the hem of her dress.
Several catcalls, Zevran not included, echoed through the kitchen.
"Called it!" Leliana did a victory dance in her chair. "She's a stripper!"
"Nyla… do not…" Zevran sighed and chuckled, shaking his head. "My girlfriend gets naked when she is drunk, Leli... Leli... I both hate and love this."
Leliana grabbed his shoulder and playfully shook him for a moment before pulling herself together. "Fucking yes! Don't stop there, Nyla!" Leliana laughed and whistled. "Garter belt! Yeah!"
"I bought it for my date." Nyla's accented slur was accompanied by a happy sigh as her dress hit the floor.
"Nice bra." Anders nodded. "Zevran, your girlfriend is stacked."
"Anders, please." Zevran sighed, "Do not stare at my girlfriend's rack."
"I'm staring at her bra." Anders, while having no significant attraction for Nyla, did have a penchant for tormenting Zevran. "It is a nice bra, don't you think, Leli?"
"Lovely. Model it for us." She whistled again.
Anders nodded emphatically, watching Zevran squirm in his periphery. "Yes, stand up and do a few turns."
"Do not think I am averse to doing such a thing." Nyla chuckled and slurred in a poorly mimicked accent, drinking a melted margarita. "I'm literally ten minutes from doing that without provocation."
"Holy shit you're loud." Anders furrowed his brow at her.
"Quit harassing Nyla and pick a block." Zevran palmed his face. "Please."
Leliana carefully removed a piece. "Everyone drinks!" Pouring four shots, they clinked their glasses together, and drank.
Zevran reached for the tower, carefully grabbing one and knocking out another. "Fuck. Now I must do both." He smiled at Nyla. "Top swap." He pulled off his shirt and held it out to Nyla; she didn't take the shirt, simply sat there stunned and staring at his bare torso.
"No that's not how it works." Leliana giggled, "A top for a top, not a shirt for a shirt. So-"
"Oh, I have to take my bra off? A tragedy." Nyla reached behind herself.
"Nonono, Sketchbook Girl, I'm pretty sure you might regret that one later." Anders spoke quickly. "Let's not."
"Rules are rules." Leliana shrugged. "Might as well quit if we're not going to follow the rules."
"Zevran forfeits." He pointed at Nyla's dress splayed out on the kitchen floor, "Now we can put our clothes back on."
"Spoilsport." Nyla's bra unhooked, and she slid it off her arms, throwing it at him.
"I almost saw Sketchbook Girl's tits!" Anders had his eyes covered with his hands the moment he saw her going for it.
"They're nice!" Leliana was having difficulty staying in her chair, laughing. "Nyla strips! I want to keep her! Zevran! Can I keep her?"
"No, Leli I saw her first." Zevran smiled, completely giving up on trying to rescue sober Nyla. "Fine. Nyla's tits are out. Might as well continue."
Standing up, Nyla slipped on Zevran's dark blue button up. "It is a little tight across the chest." She undid a few buttons so she didn't pop them off the shirt.
"Same." Zevran laughed, sliding bra straps up his shoulders. "Little tight over the shoulders. You may look now, Anders."
The laughter that occurred among the party shook the table and sent the wavering tower crashing down, blocks flying everywhere.
"Game over!" Nyla jumped up, raising her arms triumphantly. "Good game! Yes! I need to cuddle something!"
"Nyla, put your dress back on, please." Zevran pressed his fist against his pursed lips. Her breasts were about to pop those buttons, her garter belt was showing beneath the length of the deep blue shirt complementing her eyes, and it was killing him. Curves, bosom, eyes, garter belt, those long fucking legs… uuuughh!
"Alright but I'm not putting the bra back on." She pulled the shirt off over her head.
"Dammit, Sketchbook Girl!" Anders covered his eyes again. "Why do I have to work so hard to protect your honor! I mean, it's your honor! Jesus Christ!"
"Oh please, you innocent little fawn." She slipped her dress over her head. "I'm decent, and Zevran is still wearing my bra."
"It is uncomfortable and itchy, you poor women." Zevran fumbled behind his back. "Someone help Zevran out of his girlfriend's bra." Anders reached over and undid it with a quick snap of his fingers. "Thank you. I do not usually have this kind of trouble freeing one from a bra."
With an hand on Zevran's shoulder and an earnest gaze Anders spoke, "Anytime you need help getting out of Sketchbook Girl's bra, I am here for you, bro."
"Anders," Nyla slurred, "Cat-face-shirt, I have told you like a million times, I don't draw, and you keep calling me Sketchbook Girl. It doesn't even make sense. Why are you still calling me that?"
"Would you lower your voice, by like, a million decibels?" Anders tried changing the subject, seeing Zevran cringe.
"Sorry." She whispered. "Go on then."
"I don't know... you had that book with you… and um, you were at the table… it was… in your hand… and Zevran… you know… Zev was... in the kitchen… It's too cute, the name just stuck, okay this is too much fucking pressure!" Anders pressed his palms on his eyes.
"Woah, woah, calm your tits, cat-shirt-face." Nyla chuckled, rubbing his back for a moment, her eyes on Zevran's shirtless form, "I get it. Make us more margaritas."
"Give yourself a minute to let the tequila hit you, and then we'll decide." Anders spoke seriously, and his roommates gasped.
"Anders is babysitting Nyla." Leliana stared at them in awe, and then looked at Zevran.
"He cannot even moderate himself." Zevran clung to Leliana in exaggerated awe.
"But she's so tiny and I provoked the drinking challenge and she's… so tiny!" He stood up and squeezed her, the top of Nyla's head barely reaching his chest.
"I'm not fucking tiny!" She raged, unable to resist a hug, she wrapped her arms around him.
"It's like getting hissed at by a kitten!" Anders giggled and pet her head.
"Stop petting me!"
"Okay, Zevran wants his kitten back." Stumbling a little Zevran picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and stole her away to the living room.
"No… wait… you can't just-" Nyla tried to protest as Zevran flopped onto the wraparound couch with her, snuggling up in the corner with her on his lap. "You can't just pick me up and put me wherever you- oh my god, you were right. They were playing Mario Kart."
"Margarita Mario Kart night." Anders shrugged and plopped on the couch on his stomach to face them. "When we're not busy we do this sometimes."
"That's amazing!" Nyla cackled.
"Lower your voice a little." Anders spoke patiently.
"Like this?"
"That's… the exact same, Sketchbook Girl."
Pausing for breath, Nyla cleared her throat, sighed, and tried again. "Okay, this is my normal voice."
"I give up." Anders laughed and looked around the room. "Leliana what are you doing? I'm going to go get her."
"Zev, am I really that loud?"
"Yes, amor. You are quite loud."
"What about now?"
"Exact same as before."
"Now you're both fucking with me." Nyla giggled.
"Try whispering."
"Like this?" Nyla whispered.
"Okay, yes. Now, try speaking only a little louder than your whisper."
"Is this good?"
"No! No you're loud as fuck again, Nyla." Zevran chuckled, pulling her more snugly against him. "Try again, starting from whisper."
"Good god, Zevran, just let her talk loud." Leliana sat on the couch. "Where's Anders?"
"Went to find you." Zevran shrugged.
"Weird." Leliana put her drink on the end table. "I better go make sure he's okay."
"Okay, how about now."
"Still very loud, Nyla. I wonder how this is confusing for you?"
"I don't feel confused, other than people just keep calling me loud. How about now?"
"No, darling. Try again, starting from whisper."
Anders walked in and flopped on the couch with a pout, laying on his back. "I couldn't find her. Sketchbook Girl is not going to learn, Zev. You can stop trying to teach her."
"This is amazing. How are they passing each other like this?" Nyla cackled. "GOD they are so cute! Why do you suppose they aren't dating after all this time?"
"There you are." Leliana sighed with obvious relief. "Are you teleporting around the house again?"
"Portals, this time!" Anders moved his legs, Leliana sat, and he rested them on her lap. "Stop shipping us."
"I do not know." Zevran mused. "I think perhaps they are afraid of risking a friendship they value."
"Ah. Yes." Nyla turned sideways in Zevran's lap to face Leliana and Anders, leaning her cheek against his bare chest. "I can imagine Leliana has been burned before, hurt very deeply. She's guarded."
"We're right here." Leliana chuckled nervously. "It would be appropriate if you shipped us this hard when we weren't here. And most appropriate if you didn't ship us at all."
"Intimacy issues." Zevran nodded, "On both of their parts."
"Oh for sure." Nyla sighed, nuzzling her cheek against his smooth skin. "Do you suppose they are still single and not seeing other people because they're secretly shipping themselves?"
"I see people!" Anders spoke up.
"Yes, you see idiots." Leliana laughed.
"Oh, interesting." Nyla sat up excitedly, and Zevran stopped her from tumbling off of his lap. "He sees idiots?"
"There was that one girl… her shoes were consistently an embarrassment to shoes. She came in here wearing flip flops! "
"NO!" Nyla gasped.
"I know! More than once! And they weren't the same flip flops either. She had a collection! Ugh! And there was that guy, what was his name… who cares. He was needy and always spending the night. Ugh." Leliana sipped her drink. "He wore nice shoes though."
"Oh! Anders is bi like Zevran!" Nyla interjected. "Does that bother you?"
"I'm also bi." Leliana nodded. "It doesn't bother me one bit that Anders is also bi, because I get what that means."
"What does being bisexual mean to you?" Nyla asked, and Zevran jiggled beneath her with withheld laughter, resting his forehead on his sweet girlfriend's shoulder. "I'm straight so I don't know what that would be like."
"Just because they're in a straight relationship, it doesn't take their bisexuality away. And just because a person likes both genders, it doesn't mean they have to have both genders."
"So he's loyal?" Nyla bit her lip.
"Yes. He's never fucked around on anyone."
"That's true. It just feels wrong." Anders muttered.
"An excellent attribute I value highly." Nyla nodded. "That's a deal breaker for me."
"Yes! Me too!" Leliana nodded.
"Zevran, make this stop. It's getting confusing!" Anders looked up at him, pleading. "Sketchbook Girl, you can stop now."
"Stop what?" Nyla slurred waving a drunken hand at him dismissively, "I'm trying to talk to Leliana, Tall Asshole. The thing I value most, apart from loyalty, is having my partner as my best friend."
"I value that, too. Very much. I hope I have that someday." Leliana agreed enthusiastically. "Is that what you have with Zevran?"
Nyla paused for thought, a relaxed smile graced her lips as she looked at him. Golden-brown eyes, soft and familiar, he returned her smile. "Yes. It makes me happy to think about."
"That's sweet. That's exactly what I want someday." Anders spoke up. "You two are so perfect for each other. And, see, it's okay that we ship you because you're in a romantic relationship already."
"Alistair was my best friend, too. I seem to have a lot of luck forming romances with men I deeply respect and have curiosity for and… really deep connections. I want to feel connected in all the ways. One man I can bond with and rely on in every way. Without, you know… making him overextend himself. I'm paranoid about that."
"It makes her hide her feelings, this tendency to believe she is too much." Zevran sighed and sat up straight. "I do not like it."
"Nyla? Hiding feelings?" Leliana cackled. "When?"
"Lots of times. I don't believe she knows I am noticing." Zevran shrugged, "I get it out of her sometimes, but I back off when she is near crying. It is not my intent to torment, I just wish to know her."
"Talking about me like I'm not right here," Nyla muttered.
"Feels weird, doesn't it?" Anders pointed at her and chuckled, "and really, it's hard to miss the loudest person in the world."
"Alistair? Is that one of your exes?" Leliana spoke, sipping idly on her drink.
"The only ex. High school sweetheart." She leaned against Zevran, his hands caressing her back and shoulders. "We were set to graduate college at the same time. Our um... wedding was planned and... can I have a margarita now?"
"Sure." Anders spoke, jumping up from the couch. "Just stop yelling all this really epic, sad shit."
"Wait… they know about...?" Nyla swallowed. I'm not crying here, right now, while I'm drunk. I am absolutely not that person.
"My fault." Zevran spoke softly, stroking her hair and tucking it behind her ears. "I wished for them to know you, too."
"I didn't mean to upset you." Leliana got up and sat closer to them.
"I'm not!" Nyla sat up abruptly, and Zevran caught her from tipping off the couch again. "I'm fine. I'm drinking with friends, my life is different, it's all in the past, I'm totally good."
"But you sound upset as fuck." Anders called from the kitchen over the sound of the blender. "How long in the past?"
"Liiiike one year, ten months and eleven days." Nyla turned toward Zevran and wrapped her arms and legs around him. He sighed, squeezing her close.
"Stop yelling sad shit, Sketchbook Girl." Anders came in and held out a drink to her. "I hate to interrupt the most disgustingly cute cuddles I have ever seen in my life, but I made you a drink. And yours is here on the table, Leli, whenever you want it."
Nyla reluctantly pulled away from Zevran and turned around, "You… you… look at this tiny umbrella in my drink!"
"Tiny, like you."
"I'm not-" Nyla raged, but Anders was already skipping toward the kitchen to make more margaritas. "Anders! I've never hit anyone in my life and I have the sudden urge to."
"You know-" Leliana hiccuped, "oh, scuse me." She leaned toward them with an exaggerated slur, "I want to ask you a thing."
"Madam," Nyla giggled, "you are drunk."
"And you are shouting." Leliana pointed a playful finger and booped Nyla's nose. "I'm trying to ask a question. Earlier, when you came down here it looked like you both had been crying. And I was like, 'did they break up orrr what the hell is going on here?'"
"We were bonding." Zevran spoke, not willing to wait to see how far Nyla would go with her sharing.
"That resulted in lots of tears." Nyla nodded. "Everything is fine, though. No real fights or anything."
"Well good because if you broke up, I wouldn't know who to destroy at this point. One of my dearest friends of six years, almost seven, or… hm, no I know exactly who I would destroy. Nevermind!"
"That's…" Nyla sighed and sipped her drink, "That's insane, Leliana. No pressure, Zev, but if we break up, I'm going to be destroyed."
"Pfff." Zevran chuckled, "I am certain Nyla is a keeper."
Nyla squealed, Leliana rolled off the couch and stayed there, lying on her back and resting her legs on the cushions. "Zevran Arainai, I never thought I would ever hear those words out of your mouth!"
Nyla turned her head to look at him. "Exactly how intoxicated are you? And don't make me make you get up and walk, I'm really comfortable."
"I often cannot tell how drunk I am until I am walking, if I am being honest." Zevran shrugged. "Currently, I am waiting for Anders to barge in here and start blasting The Cure."
"Oh good idea!" Leliana hopped up and went for the stereo. Music played. Her hips moved, she snapped her fingers, and prowled around the room with dramatic arm gestures. "His favorite song. You're going to love his spicy shimmy."
"You're kidding me. Love Cats? I love this song! " Nyla's giggles were uncontrollable as a joyful shout carried from the kitchen over the sound of the blender. "Anders is dancing his way in here with two margaritas, Zev. Zevran why is this happening? Anders is a belly dancer?!" Nyla squealed with joy and put her drink down so she could get up and dance.
Zevran watched them contentedly from his spot on the couch; if he tried to do anything else, someone would likely get hurt.
Leliana finally had a chance to make her death threats, Anders had a chance to be the responsible party for once, his girlfriend got on famously with his best friends, and he learned she is the loudest, most obnoxious drunk he had ever known in his life.
They danced to Love Cats in the living room, flashes of his girlfriend's garter belt tantalized him and he was going to enthusiastically remove it later- or leave it on, he smiled; everything was perfect.