A Trip to the Sewers

This is my take on the Justice quest in Act 3. This takes place after Anders' Questioning Beliefs quest (the one where he tries to give Varric the pillow) since I've switched the order around because that's when Anders actually tells Olivia about his plans for the Chantry (so there's no pretend potion to separate Anders and Justice, they just go looking for the ingredients for the explosive together since she knows what's going on).

"Oh, I don't want to touch that."

"Well, I'm not doing it. This was your idea."

"And you offered to help. Demanded is more like it."

Olivia opens her mouth to protest, but stops herself a second later; Anders is right, after all. "You know what, I did," she announces, grimacing at what she was about to do. "Maybe after this you'll see that I meant it when I offered—I'm sorry, demanded— to help."

Taking a deep breath, she holds the air in her chest, not daring to breathe. It's bad enough she's going to be stepping in… that… she doesn't need to smell it as well. She has to will herself to step forward, and when her foot meets the pile of manure it sinks down into it, accompanied by an unpleasant squelch.

"This is disgusting," she mutters, her other foot joining the first in the filth she's stepping in. She silently thanks the Maker that the manure isn't deep enough to reach above her boots as she steps towards the deposit of sela petrae, collecting the crystals as quickly as she can before returning to Anders. Just as she's about to step out of the sewage, her foot catches on something—she doesn't want to know what—and in the next instant she's tumbling forward. Olivia yelps, bracing herself for impact, but it never comes.

Instead of landing face-first in the pile of manure, she collides with Anders, her face landing right against his feathered pauldrons. She lets out a breath of relief that turns into a gasp when she realizes they're both falling towards the ground, and immediately flings herself backwards to counteract their forwards momentum.

They grasp onto each other as they slip and slide, struggling to remain upright, lest they find themselves covered in manure. It takes a moment, but they regain their balance, and neither of them dares to move.

Olivia huffs, spitting feathers out of her mouth, before a grin spreads over her face. "Perfect timing," she breathes.

Anders shakes his head, the corner of his lips quirking upwards in the tiniest of smiles. "You need to be more careful."

Barking a laugh, she shifts closer to him, her arms twining around his neck as his settle at her waist. "You've been saying that for years now."

"I'll be saying it the rest of our lives."

"Probably."

He smiles softly at her, long fingers brushing across her cheek before tucking her hair behind her ear. His gaze falls to her lips, and she closes the distance between them, pressing her mouth against his.

Olivia pulls away first, biting back a grin. "Anders, I love you, but… can we continue this when we're not standing in a pile of shit?"

It takes a moment for him to register what she's saying, his brows furrowed as he processes her words, and when he does he bursts into laughter. She tugs him out of the pile of manure and joins him, until they're both doubled over and heaving.

When they compose themselves, they continue on their hunt for more sela petrae, until Anders decides they have enough and they run home as fast as they can. Their filth-covered boots are kicked off before they even get into the cellar, tossed aside to be worried about later, and they continue stripping as they make their way to the bathing room.

Cleaning each other is a welcome activity after spending so much time in the sewers, and when they finish they remain in the tub, content to sit together while the water cools around them.

"You know I would sift through mountains and mountains of manure for you, right?" Olivia murmurs into his skin, fingers gently tracing over the scars on his back.

"Liv…"

"I mean it," she continues. Anders looks over his shoulder, meeting her gaze. "I know you're worried… about the plan, about telling me, about letting me help…"

"I just want to keep you safe," he says quietly, voice just above a whisper.

"I know." Olivia looks away for a brief moment, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "But we'll never be safe until mages are free… and after we see this through, together, we'll be one step closer to that freedom." Anders maneuvers around in the tub, water sloshing over the sides, until he faces her. She shimmies closer to him, resting her head in the crook of his neck as he holds her tight. "We'll make it through this."

"I hope so, love," he sighs. "I hope so…"