A/N: Sorry it's been ages. I do hold out some hope that there may be a bit of Sebastian in store for us in DA3, but I'll admit a lot of my dreams were dashed with the death of the planned DA2 expansion. Alas, it may ultimately lie with us, the fans, and fanfiction to imagine what happens next with Seb, so I won't mark this collection complete just yet.

Description: Late Act 2, directly following All That Remains. My imagining of a scene following the death of Leandra.

Warnings: none.

Helpless

A vase holding white lilies sat on the sideboard. The scent of them followed Sebastian up the staircase.

His footsteps felt heavy as his right hand ran up the banister, taking one step at a time.

He felt awkward and useless as he approached the doorway, stopping just short of the frame. He'd never seen Hawke's bedchamber before, but it didn't feel like it should. The new found intimacy rang hollow. Moments like this, of loss and pain, left their mark. He stifled his desire to cough as protectiveness pressed in on him, threatening to make him choke.

It was too quiet, her gasping breaths the only sound he could hear over his own pounding heartbeat.

She sat with her back to him, on the softness of a neatly made bed.

A lump formed in his throat at the sight of her. He couldn't swallow around it. He couldn't pretend that he understood completely, the enormity of it, yes, losing everything, but not the responsibility he knew she bore for it.

His armor felt bulky and uncomfortable, it weighted him down as his eyes followed the lines of her house robe. Back bent, she had her face buried inside small white hands, her shoulders sagging under the weight of her grief.

Perhaps coming here had been a mistake. Maybe what she really needed was time alone.

He felt his teeth clench, wondering at the evil men do. Now was not the time to quote the Chant. Unable to think of what he could possibly say or do, he retreated in silence, passing the Guard Captain on his way out the mansion's front door.