Force of Nature

I did some quick research on lightning and I don't know if this would actually work… but who cares, it's magic. Also, since Hawke totally shot fire and lightning out of the Staff of Parthalan (the staff Olivia uses) in the Destiny trailer, a staff which technically does fire damage in-game, I headcanon that mages can shoot whatever magic they want out of their staves, and whatever type of staff it is just boosts that type of magic over the others.

The loud, rumbling boom of thunder jerked Olivia awake, her body tensing at the sudden sound. As startled as she was, it took her a few seconds to realize what was going on and that she was in the safety of her own home, curled up in bed with a rather handsome mage.

"Shh, sweetheart, it's just thunder," Anders murmured, rubbing his hand up and down her back to soothe her. She sighed and burrowed into his embrace, enjoying the feeling and warmth of his skin pressed against hers.

"Being a light sleeper is great when you're living on the run," she said, her voice hoarse from sleep. "Now… not so much." Anders chuckled, and she smiled at the sound. "I didn't zap you, did I?" she asked cautiously. She tended to accidentally summon up sparks when startled awake, and she'd zapped him on more than one occasion because of it.

"No," he replied, pressing a kiss to her hair. With that settled, she let herself relax again. The soft pitter-patter of rain hitting the windows and his steady breaths and heartbeat almost lulled her to sleep again… until she realized that rain was bad.

Olivia pulled her face back from the crook of his neck and met his gaze, her eyes wide. "We were supposed to have a picnic today!" she whined. "You were supposed to be mine all day, and now our plans are ruined!" She let out an annoyed huff. "You're going to drag us down to the clinic now, aren't you?"

"I promised you that we would spend the day together, and I intend on keeping that promise," Anders said, smiling softly at her.

She shot him a mischievous grin, having already thought of a back-up plan. "It's the perfect weather to stay in bed all day…"

He smirked at her, lightly brushing her sleep-mussed hair from her face. "I like that idea." She giggled and pressed her lips to his, barely hearing the thunder in the distance as she lost herself in his kiss. Anders abruptly pulled back just as things were starting to heat up, his eyes alight with excitement. "I have an even better idea," he said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before starting to get out of bed.

Olivia's jaw dropped as she watched him get dressed… he wasn't supposed to be putting clothes on. "What exactly is this idea of yours?" she asked, and he turned that damnable smirk on her.

"You'll see," he said. Anders grabbed her clothes and tossed them at her. "Get dressed, we're going out."

"Out? But it's raining!" He ignored her, leaving her alone in their room. "Anders, you get your ass back over here, now!" she called out.

"No!" he shouted back, sounding as if he were already halfway down to the kitchen.

Cursing him under her breath, Olivia got dressed and angrily stomped after him, not pleased with the random turn of events. That idea of his had better be worth it, or Maker help him, she'd roast him alive.

…

"Where are you taking me?" Olivia asked as Anders dragged her through Kirkwall, both mages completely soaked with rain. It was at least the fifth time she'd asked him, and he gave her the same answer he had the previous four times:

"It's a surprise."

So she stopped asking where they were going, and let him drag her out to a small cave on the Wounded Coast. The break from the rain didn't do much, since they were already drenched, but it was still better than having raindrops pelting them as they moved.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, exasperated. "And if you tell me it's a surprise, I swear to the Maker, I'll burn you where you stand."

Anders stepped up to her and reached around her, plucking her staff from her back. He held it in front of her, a devious glint in his eyes, and she tentatively wrapped her fingers around it.

"We're going to have another lesson in controlling your magic," he answered, and she furrowed her brows, confused.

"In the middle of a thunderstorm? We're going to get struck by lightning or—" Olivia shut her mouth, suddenly realizing what he meant, excitement bubbling up within her at the idea—he wanted her to control the storm's lightning. Her excitement at such a feat was soon followed by fear, apprehension settling in the pit of her stomach at the magnitude of his plan. "Anders, I've never done anything like this before," she breathed.

"You're an extremely powerful mage, Liv," he began. "It's nothing you're incapable of."

"I know that, it's just… this is a thunderstorm we're talking about. A force of nature."

"You are a force of nature," he said, but it still didn't completely reassure her. Anders smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Are you scared?"

"Absolutely not!" she shouted, glaring at him. Olivia sighed, her fingers nervously tightening on her staff. "You know I don't have good control over big spells… what if I can't do it?"

His expression softened, his honey eyes boring into hers. "Do you trust me?" he said softly, and she nodded.

"With my life."

He held out his hand, and she took it, curling her fingers around his. "You can do this. I know you can." She nodded and Anders lips twitched up into a grin. "Then let's go have some fun." Olivia grinned back at him, laughing as he pulled her back out into the rain. She stood in the middle of the open area outside of the cave, taking a deep breath and looking up to the storm clouds.

"Okay, how exactly does this work?"

Anders stepped up behind her, pressing his chest to her back, his arms wrapping around her waist. She smiled as he kissed her cheek, his stubble tickling her wet skin. "You're going to draw the lightning to you, and once you've done that, you can control it and redirect it."

"Oh, that's all," she said sarcastically, and he huffed a laugh.

"Hold your staff upright from the ground," he ordered, and she did as she was told, pressing the bladed end of her staff into the sand, holding the middle of it with both hands. "Now, charge it as if you were going to cast an ordinary lightning spell. It will draw the storm's lightning to you, so be ready to channel it through your staff like the normal spell."

"And if I end up electrocuting myself?"

"We'll both get electrocuted," he declared, holding her more securely. "I'm not letting you go."

"Okay," Olivia said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She concentrated on reaching the raw power and energy inside her, on drawing on her mana and creating her own sparks. Electricity began to crackle over her hands, and she focused it into her staff, the red orb that topped it beginning to glow as the sparks danced upwards from her hands. An instant later she felt electricity surge into her staff, and she immediately harnessed its energy, channeling it along her staff.

She opened her eyes just in time to see the lightning bolt that she'd attracted fizzle out, her staff crackling with energy until she lost control and it dissipated. She did it.

"Maker's breath, Anders, did you see that?!" Olivia shouted, whirling around in Anders' arms and excitedly bouncing up and down. "I did it! Andraste's flaming knickers, I actually did it!" She threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight. He laughed and held her close, until the nearby rumble of thunder startled them apart.

"Now see if you can redirect it," Anders challenged, and she flashed him the shit-eating grin she wore into battle before planting a quick kiss on his lips and venturing out a few feet away from him. Closing her eyes again and letting her head fall back, ignoring the raindrops landing on her face, she repeated the whole process, charging up her staff.

As soon as she felt the surge of energy that signified the lightning had struck the tip of her staff, she pointed it at a nearby rock, trying to channel it like she normally did. The lightning flew out of her staff and hit the rock, the bolt of electricity so powerful it made parts of it crumble.

Olivia turned back to Anders and just laughed. She stepped back up to him and sighed, unable to contain her happiness. She lived for the times she could let loose and use her magic, and he'd shown her another extraordinary thing she could do with it. "Thank you for this," she started, incapable of telling him just how much this meant to her. "This is amazing and I can't wait to do it in a real fight, and without you none of this would have been possible."

He was smiling softly at her, and she brushed away his wet hair from where it was sticking to his forehead. He let out a short laugh and did the same to her. "You're welcome, love," he muttered, cupping her cheek with his hand. She leaned into his touch, and he kept staring at her, a water droplet sliding down to the tip of his nose.

"What is it?" she asked, her heart hammering in her chest from the way he was looking at her.

Anders huffed, shaking his head and finally looking away from her. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing," she protested. "You've told me not to hold back, and I haven't. You should listen to your own advice."

"Very well," he said, conceding to her. "You're beautiful like this. Happy… using your magic…free…" He dropped his hand from her face, his brows knitting together. "I wish it could be like this all the time. That we didn't have to hide ourselves because of who we are."

"I have that with you, Anders," Olivia murmured, moving closer to him. "It's so much more than I ever had, and for now, that's enough." He went to argue, but she shushed him, placing her finger on his lips. "But one day it will happen for us, for all mages. We won't stop fighting until it does. I promise."

Satisfied with the tiny smile that earned her, she pulled her finger back and replaced it with her mouth, pressing a tender kiss to his lips.

"I love you, Liv," he said, nuzzling her face, his forehead resting against hers.

"I love you , too." She reached around him and took his staff from his back, handing it to him before taking his free hand and tugging him out into the open space before them, shooting him a wry smile. "Now… let's make some magic, shall we?"

…

After spending hours spewing magic in the middle of the thunderstorm, they returned home, completely drenched and covered in mud. Leandra scolded them for their appearance, but they just laughed and scurried upstairs, stripping off their wet, dirty clothes and jumping into the bath.

Sitting back against Anders, comfortably submerged in hot water, Olivia couldn't help but think that the wonderful idea he'd gotten that morning had definitely been worth it.