“What do you think?” Rook asks Neve, holding up two shirts. He lifts a deep purple silk shirt with a feathered collar and a ridiculously low placket, “Overtly seductive or..” He lifts up a simple red tunic with a loose collar, “Covertly suggestive?”

“I think they’re both bad,” Neve replies from the sofa.

Rook sighs and turns to his wardrobe, tossing the two shirts back inside. 

Neve draws from her pipe and exhales. “You’re thinking about this too hard. Just go as you normally are.”

“Lucanis is the First Talon now,” Rook says, “What I normally am is likely not good enough anymore.”

“Rook,” Neve chuckles, waving away the thought. “How we talk, how we walk, what we wear; these are just masks that cover up who we truly are. Lucanis was trained to see through all of that. If he likes you, then he likes you. Nothing you wear is going to sway that.”

“I don’t know, Neve. Crows have an eye for style.”

“Is this about what the Crows think or how you feel about him?”

Rook looks himself over in the mirror, noting the scruff and tired expression. He tugs on his Warden fatigues, adjusting the fit. “I suppose you may have a point.”

“I normally do,” Neve replies with a quaint smile.

A few knocks rack against the door to Rook’s room. Rook calls out for the guest to enter and, to his surprise, it’s Lucanis.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” He asks, looking to Nev, then back to Rook.

“Not at all,” Rook says, closing his wardrobe.

“I was just leaving,” Neve says, standing up. “Play nice you two.”

The door closes and Lucanis holds up a bottle and a couple of wine glasses. “I thought we’d spend the night here instead.”

“Viago might not appreciate us missing dinner,” Rook chuckles, unburdening Lucanis of the wine bottle. 

“I told him I wanted some time alone.” Lucanis sets the glasses down on the candle lit table. “He’ll understand.”

Rook takes a seat on the sofa and grips the neck of the wine bottle. Magic pulses from his fingertips and the cork starts to twitch and turn. “As long as he doesn't poison us the next time we visit.”

Lucanis sits down close to Rook. Close enough for their knees to gently graze each other. Rook’s heart speeds up. He looks over to see Lucanis’ dark eyes gazing straight into his own. He feels the crow’s hand press across his shoulders. 

“I wanted to spend tonight with someone I adore,” Lucanis says softly.

“Should I leave and let you find them?” Rook replies with a grin. The pulsing of his magic swells. 

Lucanis smiles. “I’ve already found my mark,” he says, leaning forward.

Rook leans in, feeling Lucanis’ breath caress his lips. 

POP! CRACK!

The two jump up from the sofa in surprise; eyes wide. Rook’s magical party trick was given a bit too much energy, causing the cork to shoot out and crack the aquarium.

“Shit.” Rook puts the bottle down and rushes to the glass, using a simple spell to repair the damage. Being in the fade made such things childishly easy. Removing the cracks barely took more than a few seconds. The fish would live to swim another day.

“There,” Rook says, turning around. “Good as new-”

Lucanis rushes in and shoves Rook into the glass, enclosing his mouth over the warden’s. The crow presses his hands up against Rook’s fatigues, sliding them up his chest and curling his grip around Rook’s throat. It was a whirlwind with little time for Rook to think.

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A stitch of pain stabs at the back of Rook’s head; he winces. The wound from Solas’ ritual site is still sore even after all this time. That knock into the glass didn’t do it any favors. The warden attempts to regain control by reaching around and pulling Lucanis’ hair. The assassin gasps and takes a step back, giving Rook an opening to work with.

An attempt was made to move back to the sofa, but the struggle knocked them off course. With a sudden push, Rook ends up knocking over his own Antivan coffee maker from a side table. It clatters across the floor, breaking apart. 

Rook stumbles off to the side, taking a moment to catch his breath. This was NOT how he thought their time was going to be like. His pulse was rapid. The back of his head hurt. A bead of sweat was running down the back of his neck. Something wasn’t right here.

“I make better coffee anyway,” Lucanis says nonchalantly, tossing up a devilish grin after.

The warden huffs and rushes him.

Charging a master assassin was not high on the list of smart ideas made by Rook. Having practiced this many times before, Lucanis wraps his arms around the mage and spins to the side. A combination of momentum and technique that typically ended with a broken neck. Lucanis makes a slight adjustment. Rook falls backward onto the sofa and Lucanis lands on top, pinning him down.

Rook gasps as Lucanis leans down and kisses his neck. 

“Now, I’ve got you where I want,” Lucanis whispers. He leans back and starts removing the straps of Rook’s fatigues.

“There are easier ways to do this, Lucanis,” Rook says, attempting a chuckle. A lot of his breath had been knocked out of him though. He closes his eyes and lets the crow pull open his shirt.

Lucanis leans down and kisses Rook’s torso. First on the abs, then over the heart, next at the neck again, and as he gently kisses the space behind Rook’s ear, he whispers, “Are you ready to feel how sharp my talon is?”

Repulsed, Rook opens his eyes. “Stop.”

Lucanis freezes, then leans back up. “Is everything alright? Was this too much? I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just-”

Rook presses a hand against Lucanis’ chest. “What are you doing? This isn’t you.”

The crow frowns and scoots off of Rook. “Illario suggested I should be forceful. He said that any warden he’s been with prefers to let someone else be in charge. That I should be more like him, in short.”

“Well, you definitely took charge alright,” Rook replies, rubbing the back of his head. 

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” Lucanis apologizes.

Rook shrugs. “Stop taking dating advice from Illario and we’re square. I want to spend time with you, not your cousin.”

Lucanis sighs. “I’m sorry. This was a mistake.” He moves to leave the sofa, but Rook quickly leans up and grabs his arm.

“Don’t go,” Rook pleads. “Let’s talk this out.”

A quiet moment passes. Rook could see an inner dialogue taking place in Lucanis’ mind. Likely a small debate between himself and Spite. Whatever was silently said, Lucanis eventually relents and sits back down.

“You deserve someone better than me,” Lucanis says quietly. “If I was after a target, I’d know exactly what to do in any situation. Being with you though? Being in a relationship? Courting? Wooing? It’s like..”

“Me trying to swim?” Rook chuckles. “So, you haven’t been in a relationship before. Nothing a little practice can’t fix.”

“It’s more than that though,” Lucanis states. “I live to take lives. You fight to save them from the blight. What if we’re not together the way we like because our differences are insurmountable? I’m worried we’re fighting for something we can’t change.”

Rook ponders that statement, but shakes his head. “I don’t think we’re so dissimilar.”

Lucanis picks his head up and looks to Rook, waiting for elaboration.

“Well,” Rook starts, “we’re both highly trained at killing things and we both have some kind of demon inside us. Mine doesn’t talk to me, but when it starts calling, I’ll let you know.”

Lucanis gives a disapproving scowl. “That’s not funny.”

“And..” Rook continues, “We both think we’re not good enough for each other. Now that you’re First Talon, I feel like I need to be more like the Crows for them to accept me as your companion. By some strange logic, I feel like that would make you happier in the long run.”

“And I also feel like I need to be something that I’m not to be with you,” Lucanis replies in turn.

Rook touches the side of Lucanis’ face, who leans slightly into it. “The only thing I want you to be is with me. By my side and watching my back. We can face whatever comes next as long as that’s true.”

Lucanis reaches up and gently grabs Rook’s hand, kissing it on the knuckles. “And the crows already regard you as family. If not that, then a strong ally. Worthy of respect. As long as you stand by my side and watch my back, that will also be true.”

Rook chuckles. “I think we just wrote our wedding vows.”

Lucanis grins. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“I intend to savor every moment of this.” Rook leans forward and softly kisses Lucanis. He wraps his arms around the crow and they gently, slowly, tenderly fall back onto the cushions. A pair of wings glow up from the sofa and, with a sudden hard wing beat, the candles in the room flicker out.

Some hours later, Rook wakes up with a chill. He pulls the blanket closer and realizes that Lucanis was not there. However, Rook does hear a strange metal clanking somewhere in the room. 

Leaning up to take a look around, Rook finds a naked Lucanis crouched by the broken coffee maker. The assassin looks over at Rook with a purple haze over his eyes, biting and chewing on the broken metal. 

“Spite! No!” Rook shouts. “Spit that out now!”