Title: Symmetry

Summary: Alistair's innocence and Danica Amell's practicality may define them, but they can also be shared. Surrounding their first night together, they reflect on their becoming.

Disclaimer: BioWare owns all; I just play in their pond.

Author's Notes: This one-shot is set in the world established by Through the Blackest Nights. The title insisted on being invited out to play, given the various ways in which it can be seen in Alistair and Danica's thoughts and feelings for each other.

Reviews are always welcome!

He wonders where his nerves have gone.

He smiles, slightly, as he sees the abstract art of nature in the patterns of frost climbing the pane at his elbow, the snow beyond flying through the air with gleeful abandon. He remembers telling her just after Summerday, at this very window, that he liked to imagine stories etched into the glass as the frost took hold, that he wished he could hear the secrets the season whispered in the rime. He remembers losing his breath when she pressed her hand to the pane and convinced it to give him its crystal confidences even under the summer sun.

All afternoon, distracted by the hesitation and desire of their last truly private conversation and the subtle seduction in their every glance since, he has obsessed over the smallest details. He knows her, and wants to show her she's entitled to wish for things beyond the limitations she's carried with her from the Circle. There is wine, there is fruit, there is the silk of the robe she doesn't yet know she owns spilling down a bedpost.

He wants to indulge her, because he knows she won't indulge herself.

He smiles, slightly, as he admires her practicality once more. He remembers her efforts to mask her amusement as he fumbled, days earlier, about telling her there had been no other before. He remembers her laughing, recalling an old jest about an interlude with a pirate, and again when he confessed to having sat red-faced in the common room of a whorehouse while his fellow Warden had retreated to her ship.

All afternoon, as new arrangements for the evening to come presented themselves in his mind, he has remembered her sincerity in telling him not to worry. She knows him, of course, and would know that won't stop him, but she told him impishly that there will be plenty of time to practice. He still doesn't know what to think of the fact that under the nerves of his inexperience he was somehow relieved to hear there had been others, before, for her.

He wants to give her the experience of what it should be, because he knows now what it was during her time in the Circle.

He smiles fully now, as the door is opened and he looks away from the poetry of winter to meet her arrival. Maker, but she looks amazing, even as uncomfortable as she clearly is. He thinks this may be only the second time he's seen her opt to wear a dress, and wonders if it's possible to fall for her all over again knowing that she chose it as a gift to him. She smiles, now, and for the first time he sees she's no longer uneasy hearing his remarks on her beauty.

Ever since this seduction began, he has waited to draw her into this room and out of herself. The night is young, and he wants to give her something new. He knows her, enough to be sure that even if she won't indulge herself, tonight, she will indulge him.

Maybe he knows where his nerves have gone after all.

She wonders where her nerves have gone.

She smiles, slightly, as she leans back against the frigid sill, admiring his sleeping form, the line of his hip and the broad expanse of his back retreating under the sheets she couldn't bring herself to replace. Tea had been left outside the door, the guards discreet enough to look away as she lifted the tray and slipped back into the suite. She has never before lingered over anything, but this morning she is content to sip and savor as she feels the press of winter at her back, watching the slumber of the man who had indulged her.

All morning, she has taken care not to wake him. Even were she not aware of the demands of his duty, she wonders if she would have liked him to see her struggle to accept the intimacy he offered, something she hadn't until this morning thought she would ever have. She knows him, and wants to show him he's entitled to take for himself even as he gives so freely of himself to those who surround him.

She wants to indulge him, because she knows he won't indulge himself.

She smiles, slightly, as she is touched by his innocence once more. She remembers the gentle horror that he felt so openly as he heard, in months past, of any of the various truths of Circle life she found herself sharing with him. She remembers his solemn promises to show her a better world than she had known, and the calm wonder that befallen her when she realized his absolute sincerity.

All morning, moments from the night before have played through her mind, small hints and secret pleasures of their courtship sneaking into the subtle seduction offered by the trappings of an intimate evening. He knows her, of course, and would know she'd never have been aware that so much could be shared without a word. She still doesn't know what to think of the fact that she'd learned so much about him, and herself, and them under the miracle of their touch.

She wants to give him the experience of what it can be, having seen he knows what it was during her time in the Circle.

She smiles fully now, seeing him wake and shift onto his back, stopping his movements with a lifted finger even as the color on his face signals his awareness that he is fully exposed to the room. He no longer seems uneasy when she expresses her attraction, and she wonders if it's possible to fall for him all over again knowing what he chose last night as a gift to her. He smiles, now, and for the first time she sees there may be something playful amid the innocence she hopes he keeps.

Ever since this seduction began, she's known his fascination with her magic and has more yet to show. The day is free, and she wants to give him something new. She knows him, enough to be sure that even if he wants for her, today, he will indulge her.

Maybe she knows where her nerves have gone after all.