Roses

This takes place shortly after "Whistles."

*Rosaia, Talia, and Yael aren't mine.

Isabel awoke slowly, rolling over to conceal her eyes from the morning sunlight filtering through the windows. She stretched out her entire body and yawned, one arm aimlessly reaching for Alistair. When she realized his side of the bed was empty, she snapped her eyes open and jerked upright, glancing around his bedroom. His jacket was gone, as were his shoes and gym bag. He'd left her alone in bed again.

Now that she was awake, she might as well get ready for the day, even if it was a little earlier than usual. Isabel angrily huffed as she got up, changing out of the shirt she was wearing—one of Alistair's—and pulled on one of the spare dresses she kept in his closet. When she finished stomping around his room as she dressed, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand, noticing something that didn't belong.

Right next to her phone was a single red rose, a note attached to its stem. With a sigh, she read the note, two simple words etched onto it: I'm sorry.

Isabel rolled her eyes as she started typing out a new text to him on her phone.

Nice apology, but it doesn't change the fact that I woke up alone. Again.

Within seconds, her phone beeped with his response. I was running late and I didn't want to wake you.

You're in trouble and I expect you to make it up to me later, she replied.

I will.

Good.

…

Upon arriving at work, Isabel found yet another rose waiting for her on her desk. Biting back a smile she pulled out her phone again.

Oh, you had time to come here, but not enough time to wake me up?

I had it delivered, he texted back, and she could picture the stupid grin he most definitely had on his face.

You're still in trouble.

…

A few hours later, Isabel anxiously pushed open the doors to the conference room F.U.'s board always met in. She took her usual seat and pretended to be working on her phone to avoid interacting with the other board members who didn't think she belonged there… especially the bastard who killed her family. It was bad enough she had to spend an entire hour in the same room as the man.

"Is there an Isabel Cousland here?" At the sound of her name, she looked up from her phone, finding a flower delivery guy with a red rose in his hands. Despite the disapproving and curious looks she was getting, she grinned as she accepted the rose from the man. She ignored everyone else in the room, opening up the little note attached to the flower.

Hope this helps you get through the meeting.

She smiled to herself, her heart warming in her chest. Alistair was making it very hard to stay angry with him. In fact, any bitterness she'd felt about waking up alone had vanished the instant she read the note.

The board meeting was about to start, but she managed to send him a quick text.

I love you.

I know.

…

Determined to thank Alistair for all of her roses, she set off to find him in the college's local café before heading back to work. It was about time for his lunch break, and she knew he always came to get a grilled-cheese sandwich—which he argued was the best grilled-cheese sandwich he'd ever had.

Isabel's eyes scanned the café when she walked inside, but she didn't see her boyfriend. But she did see someone else she knew.

She slid into the seat opposite of everyone's favorite creative writing professor, folding her hands up and resting them on the table. Varric looked up from the papers he was grading, shooting her a smile.

"What can I do for you, Princess?"

Isabel glared at him. "You know I hate it when you call me that," she grumbled, before getting to the point. "I'm looking for Alistair."

"Coach Cheesy?" She rolled her eyes at the ridiculous nickname Varric had given her boyfriend. "He was in here getting food not too long ago. You just missed him," he finished.

"Thanks, Varric," she replied, standing up and smoothing out the skirt of her dress. "If you see him, tell him that I'm looking for him, all right?"

"You got it, Princess."

…

When Isabel returned to work, rose number four was waiting for her on her desk—with another note attached.

I dropped this one off myself, was scrawled on the paper in Alistair's familiar handwriting, as well as a winking smiley face. Shaking her head, she sat down and got to work.

…

After a ridiculous amount of work that made Isabel wish she wasn't the one running her parents' business, she returned back to F.U.'s campus for her last few appointments—and to find Alistair, who was apparently M.I.A. He hadn't answered any of her phone calls, and every time she texted him, he replied with something along the lines of "Busy, can't talk now."

Needless to say, she was getting frustrated again.

Isabel barged into Zevran's classroom, finding him and Rosaia in the middle of a conversation.

"Have you seen Alistair?" she asked, exasperated. "He's not in his office, the gym, or the football field."

"I haven't seen him since I walked in on the two of you yesterday," Rosaia said dryly. Zevran snickered and Isabel rolled her eyes, letting out an irritated growl before leaving and slamming the door behind her.

…

After taking care of more work-related things, Isabel headed over to the football field again, knowing she would finally find Alistair. The team had practice and since he was an assistant coach, he had to be there. He wasn't getting away this time…

… or maybe he was, since the football field was empty—no football players or coaches in sight.

Isabel was ready to give up, until she saw Talia and Cassandra walking back to the locker room together after their respective practices. They informed her the football team had just finished practice and that they had a meeting to prepare for the big game on Friday.

Isabel walked to Alistair's office as quickly as she could in heels. Somehow, he knew she'd end up there, because there was yet another red rose on his desk waiting for her, another note attached to it.

This meeting will take forever. I won't be home until after dinner. Hopefully this rose will help?

With a sigh, Isabel took the rose and called it a day. She had one last thing to do before she could go back to his apartment and mope until he got home.

…

As she approached Yael and Andy to discuss M.A.G.E.'s upcoming meeting with the college board, Isabel noticed something distinctly red in the med student's hands. Her jaw dropped as he presented her with another rose.

"You're kidding me," she murmured, taking the flower.

"Nope," he said, an amused smile on his face. "Alistair found me after one of my classes and asked me to give this to you."

"Is he trying to apologize for something?" Yael asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Sort of," Isabel replied, trying to hide a smile. She tenderly held the rose to her chest, focusing back on the two students in front of her. "Let's get to work, shall we?"

…

Isabel returned to Alistair's apartment later that night, all six of her roses in tow. As she arrived, she saw a delivery guy from her favorite take-out place leaving the building. Someonewas going to have some delicious food for dinner. Since Alistair wouldn't be home until later, she'd probably just whip up something quick for the two of them. He was easy to please—as long as it had cheese in it, he was happy.

She unlocked the door to his apartment, opening it to quite the surprise. Alistair was home, a whole bouquet of red roses in his hands, and that lopsided grin of his that made her heart melt lighting up his handsome face.

"You're home," she breathed, and he nodded. With an excited giggle, she ran to him and jumped into his arms.

He held her close, burying his face in her neck. "I'm home," he muttered. Isabel pulled back and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before wrinkling her nose.

"It smells like burnt food in here," she pointed out, and Alistair laughed, nervously scratching the back of his neck.

"Well, I may have tried to cook again…"

"Ali, you didn't!"

"I did, and I, uh… burnt it, as usual." He handed her the bouquet of roses and stepped into the kitchen, gesturing to the table, completely covered in delicious food. "But, I ordered from your favorite place, instead."

Isabel met his gaze again, absolutely stunned. "You… you did all of this for me?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I wanted to make it up to you… for leaving without waking you up this morning," he said with a shrug, a tinge of a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

She huffed. "You made up for it with the third rose." He stood up straighter, pleased with his success, and she placed the roses down and smiled at him. "Thank you," she said quietly, pressing her lips to his.

When the kiss broke, he smiled down at her, his hand gently caressing her cheek. "I love you, Izzy."

"I love you, too."

They kissed again, and before they could get carried away, Alistair pulled back, clearing his throat. "What do you say we dig into that food before it gets cold?"

Isabel grinned at him. "Let's eat."