#fic: gadrabble

[lockewrites]

For the DADWC: “Stay here tonight.” with the pairing of your choice!

From this prompt for @dadrunkwriting

Warden x Alistair || SFW || 1294 wordsAO3 & FF

Alistair comforts Genevyve after dealing with the near-destruction of the Ferelden Circle.

To be so close but still outside of Kinloch Hold was strange, like she was a young girl who’d run away from home and hid in a little fort just behind the house. Genevyve tossed and turned in her bed, unable to settle her mind enough to even think of sleeping. Frustrated, she got up and crept through the docks’ inn and out the front door.

The night was draped in a heavy fog that crawled across the lake and to the Circle tower. It was eerie and unsettling, but she was already in such a disturbed state of mind, it mattered little. Genevyve wandered along the road between the inn and the docks until she reached damp wood and sat down.

Her feet dangled over the edge, the toes of her boots just barely skimming the water’s surface. She looked out across the lake and at the imposing tower.

Never did she imagine she would see her home, for lack of a better word, flooded with abominations and Templars so eager to eradicate every last mage under their watch. Never had she seen Greagoir so hateful or Cullen so… 

She shook her head. Death piled upon death; those she had grown up with, spent her entire life with, dead. Some felled by their fellow mages-turned-abomination, others by the Templars who embraced the chance to slay “dangerous” mages.

Her eyes burned as tears welled up and spilled onto her cheeks. Genevyve wiped the back of her hand under one of her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Can’t sleep?” a voice asked from behind her.

Genevyve shook her head.

“I don’t blame you,” Alistair said, sitting beside her. “It can’t have been easy to see the Circle like that.”

She gave a sharp laugh. “What do you mean?” she asked. “The Circle’s always been full of Templars just waiting for a reason to kill mages and mages looking for an excuse to turn into abominations and exact revenge on the Templars.”

Genevyve wiped her eyes again.

Alistair lifted his arm, as if to wrap around, but seemed to think better of it as he returned it to rest on his leg. His feet kicked at the water as the two of them sat in silence. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to snap at you, I’m just… you’re right. It wasn’t easy to see that.”

“I understand,” Alistair said, glancing at her.

She didn’t return his look, rather she remained fixated on the tower. She wanted to tell him he didn’t, he couldn’t understand. She wanted to argue that, yes his fellow Wardens died, but he didn’t watch them die. He didn’t have to kill some of them himself. He didn’t lose the people he grew up with: he had only been a Warden for a year. These people had been her family. This had been her home.

But he didn’t deserve such malice. He’d come to comfort her, and she was simply in too much pain to readily accept it.

Too long had passed with no word from her, but she could think of nothing to say that wasn’t fueled by anger and despair.

“Is there…” Alistair began, seemingly pondering his words. “How can I help? Is there anything I can say? Anything I can do? I’m… I’m at a loss, but I want to help.”

With another deep breath, Genevyve tried to push her unkind thoughts aside. She looked at Alistair, meeting his eyes and finding them full of sincerity, and she felt a guilty twist in her gut.

“Not sure I deserve it,” she muttered. 

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Why wouldn’t you?”

Rather than answer, Genevyve let her head fall against his shoulder. As though taking it as permission, Alistair wrapped his arm around her, giving her a soft squeeze.

“I wonder,” she began, “if I should’ve allowed Jowan to perform the ritual.”

Alistair tensed beside her, but she didn’t acknowledge it.

“I couldn’t have cared less that it involved blood magic,” she continued. “I was just afraid the arl would refuse to help us if we let the arlessa die. But she was willing… and who knows how many of Redcliffe’s people have died since we left. Having to travel here, and then having to clear the Circle? We’ve been gone for so long.”

“I’m sure the others have been handling things,” Alistair assured. “Leliana is probably working with Teagan to protect those that can’t fight. And Morrigan and Sten probably have a disturbing amount of fun killing those walking corpses.”

Genevyve chuckled, but Alistair’s lighthearted words weren’t enough to settle her mind.

“Maybe I should’ve sent Morrigan to convince the Circle the help us,” she said, shaking her head.

“That would’ve guaranteed Redcliffe’s destruction,” he said. “She would’ve pissed off the Templars, and they would’ve destroyed Redcliffe themselves in retaliation.”

She let out an actual laugh this time.

“You made the right choice,” Alistair said. “The Circle needed us anyway.”

“Not everyone would agree,” she replied. “I think Cullen would’ve preferred it if we hadn’t shown up. He would’ve wanted the Right of Annulment invoked.”

“You know him well?” Alistair asked.

“I thought I did,” she said, casting her gaze downward. “I never would’ve thought him capable of being so hateful. He came to the Circle about a year ago, and he’d been one of the kindest Templars. And I… cared for him.”

Geneviye lifted her head, and Alistair let his arm fall from her shoulder.

“We should get some sleep,” she said.

“Yes, we should.”

Alistair pushed himself to his feet and held his hand out to help Genevyve up. He held his arm out for her to take, offering with it a goofy grin. She took it and smiled at him, feeling a little lighter after speaking with him, even if she didn’t share all of what was on her mind.

He led her back to the inn and to her room.

“Stay here tonight,” Genevyve blurted.

Her cheeks burst into a deep shade of red as she realized what she’d said. Alistair’s own did the same, just as deep despite his darker skin tone.

“Y-you want me to…”

“I meant, uh,” she stammered, “i-if you’re comfortable… I don’t, uh, I don’t want to be alone.”

“You want me to sleep with you?” Alistair asked, his voice cracking a bit.

She waved her hands in front of her.

“Not like that!” she said. “I meant actual sleep. Forget it. It was a stupid thing to ask.”

Alistair adamantly shook his head. “No, no,” he said. “It’s fine. I can… I’ll stay with you. I did say I wanted to help.”

His voice lost some of its panic, and he stepped further into the room, stopping beside the bed. Genevyve hesitated, but she too moved toward the bed and clumsily climbed under the blanket. Once she was situated, she held the covers open to invite Alistair into the too-small bed.

Crawling in beside her, Alistair adjusted himself to try and fit comfortably. Genevyve turned to her side, giving him just a little bit more room. No matter how far to the edge she clung, her body rested against his, and there seemed to be no avoiding it.

‘Are you… are you comfortable?” he asked.

Genevyve nodded. “Thank you, Alistair.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. 

He continued tweaking his position. After a moment, he added, “I’m not really sure where to put my arm.”

In an act of boldness, Genevyve took his hand and pulled it across her torso.

“Better?” she asked.

He nodded, rustling their shared pillow.

Genevyve closed her eyes and tried to use the awkwardness she felt as a means of distracting her from the nightmare of the Circle. Eventually, she slipped into sleep.

[rowdy-revenant]

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