There and Back Again Ch. 119-120

"For me?" I cocked my head to the side, confused.

"I know how you feel about daily showers." He grinned. "Not that I'm complaining - you in the shower is one of my favourite things."

"Show me," I whispered, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck, raising my lips for a proper kiss.

He indulged me, deepening the kiss and invading my mouth with his tongue; I gasped as he reached down, tightened his grip, and lifted me like a child into the tub. We separated long enough to get clean, using the luxurious soaps and shampoo sitting on a little table next to the tub; Alistair finished first, his short hair taking less effort than my long curls, and he took the opportunity to run his soapy hands down my back, then over my shoulders while I lathered my hair. I hummed happily as he pressed his thumbs into a knot in my neck.

He stepped closer, his chest pressed to my back, and his hands wandered down my front to cup my breasts. One soapy thumb teased my nipple, the other held my shower head, playing the water across my breasts and down my front. His teeth found my neck, and I could feel his erection pressing against my lower back as I leaned into his embrace.

I moaned and pressed my ass back more firmly against him, hair forgotten as I reached out blindly for the wall in front of me, needing something to brace myself against. One of Alistair's arms wrapped around my waist, tilting my pelvis, and I felt his length between my legs, searching for entrance. I spread my legs further and gasped as he entered me, stretching me deliciously and hilting himself in one swift plunge.

And then it was all sensation - his hands, one still teasing my hard nipple, the other now aiming my shower head at the apex of my thighs, the water tickling at my clit; his length inside me, filling me, just this side of too much; his lips and teeth on my neck and shoulder; the slickness of the wall my fingers scrabbled against for purchase. The little bathroom was starting to steam up, and my breath came in frantic bursts as I tried to hold back, keep myself in one piece as the feeling of him overwhelmed me.

I was vaguely aware that Alistair was probably less than comfortable, crouched as he was to accommodate my shorter legs, and that the water from my shower head was spraying across the room as he lost control of his aim; I was aware, but I didn't care. Only we mattered, only that he didn't stop, only that he held me as I shrieked into orgasm in his arms, shuddering and writhing as all thought fled.

When I came back to myself, we were kneeling in the half-full tub, water running down the walls and dripping from the ceiling; I was perched in Alistair's lap, while his length softened inside me and he panted, his forehead pressed against my shoulder. I groaned softly as he slipped out of me, and he readjusted us so that he sat in the tub and held me sideways across his lap. His big hands stroked my arm and back soothingly, and I twisted to meld my mouth to his once I'd finally caught my breath.

"Andraste's panties, that was..." He shook his head, apparently at a loss for words.

"Mmhmm," I agreed, settling my head against his shoulder sleepily. "I love you, Alistair Theirin."

"Oh, Sierra." He tilted my head back and kissed me again. "I don't think I'll ever get enough of hearing you say that. Or of you, just in general," he finished with an endearingly shy smile.

Suddenly he twitched, muscles jumping beneath my bottom. "Maker! We're going to be late for dinner."

A little bit over an hour after Varel had left us, clean and more-or-less dry, I followed Alistair back through the winding corridors of the Vigil towards the dining room. I was certain we couldn't be going the quickest way - or else the place really was designed by a mad man - but we hadn't had time to explore and find a shortcut. The other Wardens' rooms were empty when we went past, and Alistair and I both blushed when we realised we were going to be probably conspicuously late.

Once we reached the main floor, we were able to follow our noses to the dining room. The noise echoing down the hallway as we approached was incredible; I could hear Oghren's drunken laugh - heh heh heh - over the sounds of talking, laughter, and eating, and Alistair and I exchanged smiles before racing through the swinging door to see everyone.

There were multiple tables in the hall, currently set up in a large square configuration so everyone could see everyone else; food was piled atop more tables around the periphery, and servants circulated through with wine and ale. There were a lot more people present than I expected; our group had apparently been joined by a large number of dwarves, who were sitting along the far side of the square, eating and drinking while quietly watching the proceedings. I was distracted from figuring out who they were, however, when a strong pair of arms ripped me out of Alistair's grasp and swung me in a circle.

I looked up to see Conrad grinning down at me; his green eyes sparkled, and his usually flawlessly coiffed ginger hair was a mess. He looked content, and I guessed he was happy to see me, if the smile was any indication. When he finally deposited me back on the ground, breathless and giggling, I almost fell as I was thumped enthusiastically on the back by another ginger - this one a dwarf.

"Toots!" Oghren roared, and I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at the obviously inebriated dwarf. "Thought you'd never get here. You two spend any more time playing hide the sausage, and you'd have missed the grub altogether!"

Alistair smacked Oghren good-naturedly upside the head while I groaned and hid my face in my hands; finally Leliana rescued me and drew me into a conversation with Bel, whose stutter had continued to improve until it was barely noticeable now. I grasped his forearm warmly, and then tilted my head to the dozen or more unfamiliar dwarves across the room as I prepared myself a plate from the generous dishes on the sideboard.

"Who're our guests?" I asked, as a servant delivered me a glass of wine, and I settled into a seat between Bel and Leli. Aedan and Alistair had been called to sit alongside Nathaniel and Varel, and the rest of the Wardens filled out the other two sides of the square. I noticed Rolan sitting at the end nearest the dwarves, eating quietly, alone. He hadn't even glanced at the mages, as far as I could tell, and I wondered what Conrad had said to him over the past few months. Maybe he won't be as big an ass as you think...yeah, right.

"Legion of the D-dead!" Bel's enthused answer pulled me out of my daze. "Not Kardol's, but one of the other companies. We hired local hunters to find the Deep Roads tunnel collapse you warned us about, and found an entire company of the Legion being attacked by darkspawn. Rescued them, and - with the help of Dworkin - killed a handful of broodmothers. Figured you'd want to m-meet them, so we dragged them back with us."

I blinked as I processed that information. Kal'Hirol, already cleared? The Legion of the Dead - alive? I looked at the dwarves more closely, and there, in the middle, found a familiar face - Sigrun. She was talking to another dwarf, a broad smile on her pretty face, her hands gesturing animatedly as she spoke, while the recipient of her enthusiastic chatter grunted and avoided eye contact. I chuckled. Seems even her comrades can't get used to her overwhelming cheerfulness. I remembered Sigrun from the game - at the end, going back into the Deep Roads to die, full of survivor's guilt - and wondered when the unexpected consequences of my presence in Thedas would stop surprising me.

Something else struck me. "Wait - Dworkin? He's here?"

Bel nodded. "He's mad as a...actually, I don't even know, but he's here. Collapsed h-half of that Thaig on the broodmothers with some Lyrium bomb. Trevian was so angry! But we killed a lot of 'spawn, and none of them were the talking kind."

"Is Dworkin's brother here too?"

"Voldrik. Yeah, somewhere. They're n-not very sociable, those two. Dworkin's too crazy, and Voldrik's too gloomy."

I smiled, relaxing. Not that I hadn't trusted the stone masons Sereda had 'loaned' us, but I knew Voldrik was capable of fixing up the Vigil to withstand everything the Mother could throw at it. If they worked together, who knew what would happen! I'd just have to convince Nathaniel and Aedan to fund him - and find him some stone to work with.

"What about Wade and Herren?"

"Yes, they're here too."

"The basement?"

"Some of the tunnels have been collapsed for years - Varel's had crews d-digging them out. They may be passable, but they aren't safe. Lost a soldier in a collapse the first time we tried to get through. Found an Avvar tomb - left it alone. Figured Arl Howe can decide what to do with that. When the digging is done, we can clear out the t-tunnels and have Voldrik fix up the Dwarven door. He confirmed he knows how."

I smiled broadly. "I'm so happy! Maybe this won't be the unmitigated disaster it could have been." I thought about all the things that could change, as things stood - Sigrun's Legion company surviving was just the beginning. I imagined thwarting the major attack on the Vigil that gave the Architect more Warden Blood, preventing the Mother's forces from destroying the city...

Thedas without Justice. Without Vengeance.

What would that even look like? Kristoff hadn't come to Ferelden, so there would be no body for the spirit to inhabit, and no reason for the Wardens to go poking around in...what was that place called again? I spent a few distracted moments searching my brain for the name of the zone where Justice joined the Wardens in game, and drew a complete blank. But the Wardens would never go there, so we'd never have to see Anders being possessed, Kirkwall being blown up...

What would that mean for the mage-templar war? I couldn't even start to wonder, but just had to hope that it could only be an improvement. Surely there was some other way to handle Meredith. Maybe my warning to Greagoir would make a difference...

It certainly couldn't get any worse.

Right?