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Renegade makes it a point to check on each of her companions nightly. She never used to, trusting them to take care of themselves, and she is quite sure that in a couple of weeks she’ll stop. But since they’d lost Haven not too long ago, Ren found it harder to sleep at night if she didn’t patrol Skyhold and account for each of them, make sure they were all okay. It’s weird, she tells herself – soft – but nice.
Nearly all of them were awful at retiring for the day. Well, some of them were alright, like Cassandra and the three mages. The ones who frequented the tavern were usually always caught up in drinks and conversation long into the night, though she didn’t have a problem with this; at least they were having fun. Her oh-so-beloved but frustrating advisors, however, seemed content to work themselves to the bone. It happened at Haven, and Skyhold was no different. Ren had come close many times to physically dragging Cullen and Josephine away from their desks. (Okay, she never would, but she wanted to.)
Leliana’s the one that she’s sure she’ll have to eventually throw over her shoulder and carry to the kitchens just to get her to eat. The other two are hard pressed to stop working, but they would usually take it to their rooms. Leliana didn’t seem to know how to turn off at all. It was admirable, made her the one Ren went to for advice the most, but it also made her want to punch something.
(She blames what happened at Haven, in all honesty. She doesn’t want to bring it up with Leliana though; the idea that she’s working herself raw over something that wasn’t her fault makes Ren’s insides ache.)
Ren leaves the tavern with a small plate of food and a mug of water, and makes her way to the mage tower. Of course there is still light coming from the rookery, and of course she finds Leliana hunched over her desk as she reads some reports.
“You’re going to ruin your back if you keep standing like that,” Ren says when she reaches the top of the stairs.
Leliana looks up at her almost lazily. “I’m stretching.”
Ren shrugs and sets the plate and mug on a free space on her desk. Leliana nods her thanks and Ren leans against a nearby beam. “Have you slept at all since I was here last night?”
Leliana doesn’t answer, just takes a long sip of water. Ren tries to look stern, despite being quite distracted by the movement of her throat. “Leliana.”
“…I took a nap.”
“Leliana.”
“I have a bedroll,” Leliana says, gesturing behind her, where there is indeed a bedroll near some boxes.
Ren groans, running her hands over her hair then gripping her horns. “Please tell me you have a room and you haven’t been sleeping on the floor for weeks. Cullen has one in his office, if he got a room and you didn’t-”
“Inquisitor. Yes, I have a room,” Leliana sighs. “I slept on the ground for a year, might I remind you.”
Ren huffs. It was hard to argue with her when she pulled out that card. “I can worry about my best girl, can’t I?”
Leliana glances at her with that look she gets when she wants to appear professional but is secretly flattered. “I appreciate your concern, but I am fine. Truly.” She pauses, turning her head until her neck pops. “Now I’m fine.”
Ren furrows her brow, mimicking the way Leliana was leaning on her desk. Leliana refuses to move and their foreheads almost touch. “Why do you do this?”
“My… job?”
“Not even Cassandra throws herself into her work like you do.”
“Oh, of course she does, she just has a shield.”
“Don’t try to distract me, you know what I mean. Come on, what’s wrong?”
Leliana looks her in the eyes, and Ren admires the way she doesn’t look intimidated by their closeness or their size difference. “I am not the only one here who-”
“Shh, I know,” Ren cuts her off by leaning forward more, letting their foreheads press together, and something in Leliana shifts just a bit. It’s kind of bold, and she’s almost surprised Leliana lets her do it, but one thing she’d noticed from months of playful flirting was that little touches like that seemed to really ground Leliana. It makes Ren wonder how often she was given affection just for the sake of it over the years. “Talk to me. Just you and me, little bird.”
Leliana breathes slowly for a while, then pulls back with a long sigh. “Nothing’s wrong. I simply take my duties seriously, Inquisitor.”
Ren sighs as well, a hard exhale through her nose. “Hm. Okay. Alright. I don’t believe you, but I’m not going to pry into your business. You’re the spy, not me. I just hit things.” Leliana hums a small laugh, and Ren leans back to give her space, perching on the edge of her desk. “I get it, you have a very important job. But I don’t want you, any of you, working yourselves sick.”
Leliana nods, taking a seat in her chair. “Again, I assure you, I’m fine.”
“The way you’re holding your shoulders says otherwise. Very tense, even for you.” Leliana lets her shoulders fall deliberately, straightening up. “You need to relax. I can help with that.”
“Oh?”
“Oh sure. Big hands are good for more than just punching, you know. You ever need a back rub, neck rub? Just gotta take that armor off and come find me.”
Leliana raises an eyebrow. “Are we playing this game now, or do you make such offers to Cullen and Josephine as well?”
Ren grunts. “Okay, first of all, I’m offended. Why would I want to see Cullen naked?”
“My, that is what you’re saying then-”
“And second, no, I’m not as forward with Josephine... it’s different with her.” That eyebrow raises higher. Ren ignores it. “But sometimes she lets me rub her wrist. It’s nice after all that writing. And well, besides, those two actually know how to unwind and go to bed when I ask them to.”
“I know how to… unwind.”
“Ah, again, I don’t believe you,” Ren smirks, standing up. “You ever want to learn how, you know where I’ll be, we’ll figure something out for you. Work those kinks out of your neck… scratch an itch. Have some fun,” she winks, walking backwards a bit. “My bed is very large, you know, and I have no one to share it with.”
Leliana leans forward on her elbows, hands folded under her chin. “You’re trying oh so hard to truly get my armor off, aren’t you?”
Ren holds up her hands. “If you want me to stop, tell me and I will right now.”
“Whenever did I say that?”
Ren laughs. “Oh, I do adore you. Please eat. Take a break.” She waits for Leliana’s nod before turning to the stairs. “Good night, little bird.”
She hears Leliana sigh. “Inquisitor.”
Ren takes one more walk around the courtyard before that restlessness leaves her, and she returns to her room. She’s just finishing up getting ready for bed when someone knocks on her door. She growls, midway through unbuttoning her shirt, and goes to answer. “I just got back, if this isn’t important, my fist is going through your face.”
“You’d never dare.”
Ren shakes her head at the voice, and when she opens the door, Leliana simply greets her with a quick eyebrow raise at her partly open shirt. “Maker knows I could never mess up that pretty face.” She steps aside to let her in. “Just couldn’t stay away, could you, little bird?”
“You made an offer,” Leliana says once they’re near the bed. “I would… like to take you up on it.”
Ren blinks slowly. “I said… a few things, back there. Did you want the bed? I don’t mind sharing, that would be fun. As long as you’re finally sleeping.”
“You’re either playing dumb, or you have no idea what to do with women once you succeed in seducing them.”
“I am great with women, thank y-” Ren makes a face, then realizes Leliana is tugging one of her gloves off, and some of the latches and buckles of her armor are undone. “… Oh. Oh. Are-are you sure?”
“Is this not what you’ve wanted since we first met?”
“Well, yes, but I didn’t think it would happen. I… I didn’t come off as pressuring you, did I?”
“No, of course not. I know what I’m doing.” The other glove comes off. “Perhaps I’d like to see what those hands can do, yes?”
Fuck.
Ren’s not quite sure why she’s so flustered. This is indeed what she’s wanted to hear for a while, but she honestly thought she and Leliana would forever have a simple, playful “I’m down if you are, too bad you aren’t” kind of relationship. Suddenly having Leliana come to her now has thrown her for a bit of a loop. (It doesn’t help that Cassandra had recently put a definite stop to any idea of them having a thing. But then again, Leliana is… not Cassandra.)
Ren looks down to unbutton the rest of her shirt. Hey if Leliana was starting to, she might as well too. “Okay, you know I’m on board for this, but I need to make absolutely sure that you are. I’m always the one that flirts, you’ve never made the first move before-” She looks up in time to see Leliana toss her hood at her face. She freezes, just to make sure it doesn’t snag on her horns, and takes a page out of Sera’s book, letting out an excited quiver. “The hood is off. The hood is off, I’m taking that as a yes!”
She hears Leliana laugh amidst the rustle of fabric and chainmail. “Indeed, Inquisitor.”
“If we’re gonna do this, can I get you to say my real name?”
“No, your name is odd.”
Ren snorts loudly. “Well, excuse me! Your name… is, is, it’s lovely, I don’t know why I just tried to lie to your face.”
“I am fond of it.” She feels a warmth in front of her, the hood gently being lifted from her face and tossed aside, and she finds Leliana standing before her wearing only her smallclothes.
Ren has imagined this scenario, often, and she always assumed if it were to happen she’d react with the usual confidence that she did in battle. Perhaps immediately going for it and tackling her on the bed.
Instead she finds herself wide eyed, hands awkwardly hovering, and making what she thinks might be a low bleating noise. The real thing is much better than her imagination, and she curses that armor for hiding the curves of her hips and muscles from expertly wielding a bow for years. It hits her that she’s never seen Leliana without her armor, not even without her gloves. Suddenly this seems a lot more vulnerable and intimate.
“You are… unfairly pretty,” she manages to choke out, fingertips just grazing the skin of Leliana’s ribs.
Leliana looks quite pleased with herself having reduced someone so much bigger than her to a nervous mess, but Ren doesn’t miss the hint of a shiver as soon as she touches her. “You’re not so bad yourself. You still appear to be clothed, however. Something must be done about that.”
“Easy, little bird. My room, my pace,” Ren laughs as she runs her knuckles up and down Leliana’s sides. “This is absolutely doing it for me, but any do’s and don’ts I should know first?”
“I was… not expecting that, but I appreciate it,” Leliana rests her hands on Ren’s forearms. “I have scars…. It’s alright if you touch them,” she adds quickly when Ren stills her fingers and locks eyes with her, “it can’t be helped. But please try to not linger.”
“Okay… alright. No problem.” There’s a story there, she can tell by her tone, but she doesn’t dare ask. “You can touch mine if you want, by the way. Anything else?”
“No.” Leliana starts to run her nails over Ren’s abdominal muscles. “You?”
“Nope.” Ren quickly walks forward and leads Leliana backwards until her back hits a wall, cutting off her squeak by kissing her firmly.
Kissing Leliana is definitely better in reality than just imagining it. The heat that had been pooling in her stomach since that hood hit her face triples and they’ve just started. The pleased little hum Leliana gives doesn’t help, and Ren makes it back at her, longer and deeper in her throat.
Leliana pulls back just enough to lightly snort. “Did you just purr at me?”
“Qunari thing, don’t, don’t worry about it,” Ren mumbles, capturing her lips again almost desperately. Desperate certainly isn’t a feeling she likes to have, but this is something she’s wanted since they met, and she really can’t help herself.
She feels Leliana melt against her, wrapping her arms around her neck, as Ren lets one hand wander over her ribs, kneading down to her hips and up again. She brings the other up to run through her short hair, thumb brushing over her cheek. Leliana sighs and Ren takes the moment to slip her tongue past her lips.
“Rough…” she hears Leliana murmur absently, and she pulls back.
“Sorry? Did you want it rougher, or..?”
Leliana shakes her head with a sheepish laugh. “No, no, I’m sorry. I meant your tongue… It surprised me. Seems I’m learning many new things about qunari tonight, yes?”
“I’ll teach you whatever you want. Later.”
“You can be rougher, if you’d like,” Leliana says, tipping her head back as Ren trails her lips down her jawline. “There’s no need to be so gentle, I won’t break.”
Ren smiles against her skin, moving her hand to cup her cheek. “I don’t know when this will happen again, I’m savoring it.” Leliana sighs again. “If you want to be rougher, then I encourage you to punch me in the face.”
“Inquisitor, no.”
“Your loss,” Ren says, running her tongue over Leliana’s pulse point and getting a low groan in return. She starts to suck, then thinks better of it and moves lower to where her neck meets her shoulder. Probably not a good idea to leave marks where her armor won’t cover. Well okay, it’s a very good idea, to her, but not a smart one.
Ren takes her time giving Leliana’s neck attention, it seems to be a rather sensitive spot. Actually, she seems to be a bit sensitive in general, Ren is finding. It’s subtle, but every little movement of her lips and hands gets a reaction from her, a shiver, a moan, a sigh. It’s certainly not out of the ordinary, but since this is the same woman who can walk around Skyhold, in boots, without making a sound, Ren finds it interesting. It makes her wonder if Leliana is naturally that responsive, or if she really hasn’t been with someone intimately in a very long time.
She feels Leliana drag the nails of one hand down her back, the other coming up to gently tug at the thick braid she hadn’t gotten around to undoing earlier. Ren responds by sucking a bit harder on a spot on her collarbone. Leliana arches against her and they both groan.
“Done with this wall?” Ren asks against her skin, feels Leliana nod as she kisses back up her neck and meets her lips again. She slips an arm behind Leliana’s back and half leads, half carries her to the edge of her bed. As soon as her legs hit the bed, Leliana starts to impatiently grab at Ren’s shirt. Ren grunts a half laugh, forgetting that she was still mostly dressed. She gives Leliana a little push, an invitation to sit, as she steps back and quickly strips, making a mental note that she should probably find more outfits that didn’t have so many buckles. By the time she’s tossing her smalls to the side, she realizes that Leliana had followed suited and removed her own smalls, and they were now both completely naked.
Her earlier statement still applies. Leliana is unfairly beautiful.
“My, you are very fit,” she hears Leliana say, breaking her out of her mild distracted stupor.
“You are unreal. Just… Maker’s balls,” Ren groans, crawling on the bed and meeting Leliana’s lips again, easing her on her back. “Oh, sorry,” she mumbles between kisses, “should’ve said breath.”
“It’s alright,” Leliana laughs, one hand back to Ren’s braid. “Flatterer.”
Ren wants to touch more, do more, but she’s happy to lay there for a while and continue kissing her, relishing the feel of skin on skin, and the little noises Leliana makes as their tongues meet. She finds it relaxing; and her companion seems to agree, from the way Leliana’s movements were becoming sluggish and her sighs sleepy.
“Hey,” Ren pauses, and Leliana blinks at her slowly. Ren suddenly remembers that Leliana has not slept in an entire day, maybe even two, and there’s no way that’s not affecting her. Maybe the wall was better, Ren thinks, bringing her hand up to smooth over Leliana’s hair. “Aw, little bird, you’re really tired, aren’t you? We can stop if you want. Just sleeping is still an option.”
“No, no, no, I’m alright,” Leliana says, shaking her head. “We can’t stop, we’ve barely started. Maybe... if I were on top? I do prefer that.”
“Eh, laying on my back is awkward. My horns get in the way.” Ren runs her fingers through Leliana’s hair in slow, steady strokes, gently scratching here and there. She’s always thought her hair was pretty, all bright and fiery and silky; it’s a shame she hides it under that hood all the time. Is that a little braid? She must have missed that earlier, it’s cute.
“That’s not helping…” Leliana murmurs, eye closed, voice low and groggy. Ren laughs, shifting to bring her left hand up to brush Leliana’s bangs aside, trailing her fingers over her temple and down her cheek, then up again. Leliana’s making little halfhearted irritated grunts between sighs, but this might be the most relaxed Ren has seen her in a while.
Which was entirely the point of all of this. She makes a note of that for later.
“C’mon,” Ren says, moving her hand down to nudge at her hips, “on the pillows.”
“I don’t want to sleep,” Leliana grumbles.
“I got that, stubborn,” Ren snorts, sitting upright. For all her fuss, Leliana whines quietly at the loss of the fingers in her hair. “I just want you more comfortable, okay? We’re at a weird angle anyway.”
Leliana huffs (Ren can’t tell if she’s really that grumpy or if she’s just being a little shit, but she makes a mental note to force her to finally go to sleep when they’re finished, even if she has to lay right on top of her) and they both shuffle around until they’re laying properly on the bed, Leliana against Ren’s many pillows. Ren goes back to kissing her, Leliana humming in approval, hands on either side of her face.
She runs her lips and fingers down each side of her neck, licking over the just forming bruises from earlier, down to her shoulder where she bites at her skin. Leliana arches against her, hands tugging almost painfully at her braid, and Ren bites a bit harder, nipping her way down her collarbone, leaving little marks in her wake. She drags her teeth down the space between her breasts and Leliana squirms under her.
Ren hums, shifting to slide a hand over to cup one of Leliana’s breasts. “Impatient bird,” she says, kneading just a touch roughly, and Leliana breathes a soft moan. Ren spends some time working at smooth skin, fingers rubbing circles, then ducks her head to replace her hand with her mouth, running her tongue over the nipple.
Leliana jerks under her. “That’s different…” she says, and Ren smirks a little, dragging her tongue in a rough upward stroke. “Good different.” Ren sucks and bites here and there, hard enough to leave a mark in one spot, then switches to the other breast and gives it the same attention.
She waits until Leliana’s breathing comes in steady pants before continuing downward. Leliana makes a quiet noise of protest and Ren laughs inwardly.
“Tease,” she mumbles, letting out a hard exhale. Ren imagines her blowing hair out of her face.
“It’d be teasing if I were lower,” Ren says, running her hands slowly up and down Leliana’s sides, from her ribs to her hips, pressing firmly into her skin. “Relax.” She feels more than hears Leliana huff again as she kisses over her torso, across her ribs and down her stomach. She goes slowly, sucking and licking, being mindful of any scar her lips brush. Leliana doesn’t seem to notice, at least, taking carefully measured breaths, letting out a little groan when Ren finds a sensitive spot.
Ren moves down over her lower belly, then lower still, only to deliberately skip over where she knows Leliana really wants her, pressing a kiss to her inner thigh. Hey, she never said she wasn’t a tease.
She feels Leliana’s nails dig into her scalp just a little too hard. (Luckily Ren doesn’t mind that kind of thing.) “You are insufferable sometimes.”
Ren responds by leaning forward and running her tongue over her clit.
Leliana cries out, lurching up to grab at Ren’s horns. “Oh! That is… that is what I wanted, thank you.”
Ren smirks mentally, licking again, up the length of her slit in a steady stoke, then to her clit again. She gives it a quick suck, then another just to hear the sound Leliana makes again, reaching up to circle her clit with her thumb as she licks her open. Ren feels Leliana’s grip on her horns tighten as she runs her tongue through her folds, the slick at her entrance.
Leliana moans low in her throat, and Ren pushes in deeper, thrusting her tongue and licking at any spot that makes Leliana’s breathing hitch, her hips twitch. The thought occurs to her to pause, continue the lazy pace she’s been trying to set all night, but she doesn’t, keeping the strokes of her tongue firm, tightening the hard circles of her thumb. Leliana makes a quiet noise almost like a whimper – not a sound Ren ever thought she’d hear from her – as she shudders, muscles tensing and flexing against Ren’s tongue. Ren licks her through her sudden high, until a tug at her hair signals her to stop, and Leliana lets herself fall back against the pillows with a soft thump.
Ren pulls up and rests her cheek on Leliana’s hip, running a hand over her stomach as she waits for her to catch her breath. “That was a little fast, hm?”
“Do not tease me,” Leliana says with a hard huff. “It has been… a long while.”
“Wasn’t judging,” Ren presses kisses against Leliana’s belly, trailing up all the way to her shoulder. “Just thinking I might have to tell Sera you have a weird thing for neck kisses.”
Leliana keeps her eyes on the ceiling, but the way her brow furrows makes Ren laugh. “I do not, and why would she want to know that?”
Ren snorts, “It’s kinda cute that you think she wouldn’t.”
Leliana turns her head enough to press her lips to Ren’s forehead, but not quite in a kiss. “Did you…?”
“No, I don’t have a weird neck thing.”
“Inquisitor.”
Ren snorts again, raising up on her elbows. “I didn’t, but it’s alright, don’t worry about me,” she says. Never mind the fact that she’s been aching pretty much since they started; but tonight isn’t about her, she thinks. She can always take care of herself later. Tomorrow. While thinking of this moment. Many times. Leliana seems to disagree, rolling her hips up against Ren’s.
“That doesn’t sound very fair, now does it?” she says with a hint of cheekiness.
Ren’s body jerks, and she braces herself up on her hands. “O-oh, okay? Can you come again?”
“I am not that tired.”
“Right. Alright.” She tugs at Leliana’s hips, signaling her to sit up, pressing her back against the headboard as she leans in to kiss her. (Despite what she said, Ren is sure if Leliana stays on her back, she will fall asleep.)
Leliana hums, gladly putting her arms around Ren’s neck and pulling her closer. She breaks the kiss enough to trail over Ren’s cheek, tongue against the tail end of the scar across her eye. Ren wastes little time running a hand down Leliana’s belly, between her legs, returning a thumb against her still swollen clit. Leliana moans just as she moves to Ren’s ear, and Ren clenches at the sound.
“Y-you can skip the foreplay…” she says.
“Sorry?” Leliana breathes against her jawline.
“I’m dying over here, little bird.”
“You said you were alright,” Leliana laughs quietly. She shifts to graze her nails down Ren’s neck to her chest, down her abdomen and lower, running her fingertips over the slick at Ren’s slit. Ren shudders rather violently. “Are qunaris quite sensitive?”
“I’m just very attracted to you,” Ren says, sliding a finger through Leliana’s folds and pressing inside. Leliana’s hand stills and she groans, still sensitive herself from her climax, and Ren responds as well to the feel of the wet heat around her. Ren pumps her finger slowly, keeping her thumb against her clit, pushes in deeper. She slips in a second finger.
“Is this okay?” she asks, and Leliana nods quickly. She returns the favor and easily pushes two fingers into Ren, palm against her clit, and they both take a moment to breathe.
“This is nice, huh?” Ren says, voice a little strained. Leliana huffs and turns to press her face to Ren’s shoulder.
“You are odd.”
“You put me in charge,” Ren hums, rocking her hips in time with the slow thrusts of her fingers.
She pushes in further, and hooks upward a little until she finds the spot that makes Leliana cry out. They both work their hands into a rhythm, Ren pressing in deeper with her longer reach as she quickens her pace, rubbing hard against her clit. Leliana shudders, muttering something sharp sounding in Orlesian as she comes, and the feel of her clenching hard around her fingers is more than enough to send Ren over the edge as well.
Ren brings her other hand up to run through Leliana’s hair as they pant together and wait to catch their breaths. She suddenly becomes very aware of the nails of Leliana’s own free hand digging into her back; but she’s never been bothered by a little bit of pain. Leliana inhales deeply and lets it out in an even slower sigh, the hand at Ren’s back relaxing as she slumps, just a little.
“Are you okay?” Ren asks.
“I am,” she replies, and sounds sincere.
“Was that a curse?”
“Yes.”
Ren snorts, turning her head to press a kiss to Leliana’s temple. Leliana pulls her hand away, and Ren does the same, leaning back to reach behind and wipe her fingers on the covers. (Hey, it’s her bed, not like she cares.) Leliana simply sucks her fingers clean.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ren puts a hand on her chest, “I didn’t realize you were trying to work me back up again.” Leliana just blinks at her innocently. Ren huffs through her nose as she slips off the bed to make pulling back the blankets less awkward. “I repeat, you are unfairly pretty. Get under.”
Leliana appears to heavily debate between the merits of staying versus leaving for her own room for a good 40 seconds, before her exhaustion wins and she shifts to crawl under the covers. Which is a good thing, as Ren would not have been afraid to uphold her mental promise to keep her there.
“That’s my bird,” Ren says as she adjusts the pillows - proper support is the only way to sleep on your back when you have horns – and settles in. “So, do you cuddle?”
“No,” Leliana deadpans, eyes closed. “Do you?” Ren grins and wraps her arms tightly around her, pulling her closer. “Oh. Of course you do.”
Ren loosens her hold, giving Leliana the chance to pull away if she wants; she doesn’t, seeming content to stay tucked against Ren’s side. Ren keeps one arm around her, rubbing a hand up and down her back, the other scratching through her hair. “Promise you’ll sleep? You won’t wait until I’m sleeping then go back to work?”
Leliana nods with a small stretch, mumbling something that might be “Promise” or might just be nonsense. Maybe she had been considering leaving – Ren’ll never truly know what’s going on in that spy head of hers - but she seems too tired to even think about it now.
A long stretch of silence follows, during which Ren had been sure Leliana fell asleep, until she stirs just slightly, murmuring a barely audible “Thank you.”
It’s still mostly dark when Ren wakes up the next morning, dawn perhaps an hour or two away. She rolls over on her side and finds Leliana sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in her smallclothes and slipping on the simple shirt she wore under her armor. “Sorry if I woke you,” she says without even looking.
“It’s alright,” Ren reaches out to run her nails down Leliana’s back before her shirt falls all the way down, scratching lightly. “Were you up long?”
“No, not long,” Leliana sighs at the little bit of affection. “You won’t need to be up for a while. You should go back to sleep.”
Ren leans forward to hook an arm around Leliana and pulls her back against her chest. “Or you could hug me again,” Leliana says, though she does relax. “I know you love that.”
“I do,” Ren laughs, slipping a hand under Leliana’s shirt and rubbing at her stomach. Leliana gives a pleased little hum. “You don’t have to leave so soon. You can stay and sleep some more.”
“I will, in my own room,” Leliana assures. “I think it would be best if I were not caught sneaking out of here. Few are awake this early.”
Ren shrugs one arm. “I suppose that’s fine, if you prefer your own bed. Oooor…” she props herself up on an elbow and tugs Leliana closer. “We could go again?”
Leliana scoffs, but not unkindly. “Oh come now, did you not just say I should sleep?”
“It counts if you’re sleeping with me.”
“It’s still no, Inquisitor.”
“Ugh, alright,” Ren lets the arm holding her up slack and she flops against her pillows. “Some other time? Could be a fun regular thing. Doesn’t have to be sex, we can just kiss sometimes, if you’d like.”
Leliana is silent for a moment, then gently nudges out of Ren’s hold to sit upright and turns to face her better. “You are aware… I cannot offer you more than this?”
Ren knows what she means, and while she hadn’t intended to ask for anything more than some fun for a night, it still kind of stings, just a little. Of course she knows that nothing would ever happen between them, but maybe she fell asleep just a bit more hopeful than she expected. No matter, though. Nothing she can do except respect Leliana’s wishes.
“Well… I understand. Truly,” she says. “Is it alright if I still express that I find you very attractive? I can’t stop that.”
A half smile tugs at Leliana’s lips. “I do not understand why you hold such affection for me, but it is appreciated.”
“My bird, what’s not to like about you?”
Leliana huffs, looking at her like she wants to argue, but she shifts enough to lean down and kiss Ren’s cheek. She pulls back, pausing for a beat, then kisses her on the lips as well. It’s much gentler than the kisses from before, like a little taste of the intimacy Leliana was fully capable of but kept hidden, and would be locked away again as soon as she left the room. Ren is a bit dazed when Leliana sits up.
“Perhaps in another lifetime, Your Worship,” she says as she moves to the edge of the bed and stands.
Ren laughs quietly, rolling over on her stomach. “Thank your Maker you didn’t call me that last night. I would have dried up faster than when I look at Solas.”
Leliana makes a choked noise as if she just barely stopped herself from laughing out loud, and Ren feels very proud of herself. She watches as Leliana finishes changing into her under clothes and armor, a lot of various, possibly unnecessary pieces.
“Putting all of it on just to take it off again when you get to your room?” she says as Leliana tugs her hood on, but doesn’t pull it up over her hair yet. “Unless you can sleep in armor.”
Leliana glances at her over her shoulder. “Perhaps I can.”
“That’s a rumor to spread around if I ever heard one.”
“Speaking of,” Leliana turns and gestures between them, “this does not leave this room. You know this, yes?”
Ren groans and presses her face to her pillow. “Little bird,” she whines, “come on. Not even a little bragging?”
“I’m sorry, Inquisitor,” Leliana says, sounding just a touch amused, and Ren hears her boots padding across the room until she gets to around where the stairs would be. “I suppose… you can tell Sera.”
Ren gasps a little more dramatically than she meant to and flings herself upright on her elbows. “I can?!”
“Can she keep it between the two of you?”
“I’m sure she will if I ask nicely, she has a lot of respect for us.”
“Me as well?” Leliana’s eyebrows raise and Ren can’t tell if she’s touched or confused, or both. Ren nods; Sera doesn’t have quite the level of the raging affection for Leliana that Ren does, but they talk about her frequently, and she rarely has anything negative to say about her. (She calls her pretty, a lot.) Leliana hums and pulls her hood up. “Well. I’ll see you at the war table, Inquisitor.”
“I adore you!” Ren calls as Leliana heads down the stairs leading to the door, and while she can’t see her face, she certainly hopes she got one last smile out of her.