Leliana purred upon waking up. As soon as she did, she felt his lips against her forehead. A gentle, soft kiss. It made her smile and she stretched, purring some more, before snuggling into his chest.

"Bonjour, mon amour," she whispered sleepily, eyes still closed. She hummed when he tightened his grip around her, his palm rubbing a slow circle into his back. "Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I have in the past year," came the reply, accompanied by a kiss to her hairline. Leliana hummed and playfully rubbed her nose against his chest. She brought her hand up from around his waist and rubbed his side.

"It goes both ways, my love," she told him and touched her lips to his throat. Giggling at how he shuddered, she kissed his chest next. "It goes both ways."

The Fifth Blight was over. Order was restored. With Queen Anora securely on the throne, Ferelden seemed to be on recovery road. After the beginning of the official celebrations the previous day, the new monarch had asked them, in confidence, to aid in the rebuilding efforts. Those who chose to remain – her, Alistair, Solona, Zevran and Aedan – had agreed.

Leliana knew it was the right thing to do. If not them, then who? The others all had other plans and had departed Denerim. It was sad, watching them go. Their time together, although tainted by darkness, had been one of friendship and camaraderie. She would treasure it always. Always.

Alistair sighed and pressed his forehead against hers, eliciting another giggle. Leliana had come to love these tender moments in the morning. He was at his cutest when he was drowsy, although he said the same about her.

"I love you," he breathed. Leliana felt his words against her lips, rather than heard them. "I love you very much, Leli."

Gently, she placed her palm upon his chest. Pressed her lips to his. When his arms coiled around her tighter, she slid her hand up his chest, over his shoulder and rubbed the back of his neck.

Knowing without doubt that he was hers, and she his, gave her more comfort than her faith in the Maker. It had been a surprising revelation, but with Him, there was always room for doubt. This, what had blossomed in her heart for the man she called her lover, was beyond it. that warm, palpable feeling was locked away somewhere lofty, where the shadow of neither doubt nor fear would ever touch it. That sense of certainty and security helped her sleep as peacefully as she had been.

And she knew that it was the same for him.

Upon ending the kiss, she leaned back, stretching against his arms, and opened her eyes. Found him smiling. His hair was tousled, and his warm eyes twinkled with mirth. He couldn't stop his teeth from peeking out.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You're so pretty," he replied happily, voice rising a few octaves. "I just want to squeeze you and hold you and snog you all day."

Leliana laughed and patted his cheek fondly. "Is that not what you've been doing the last couple of days?"

"Well, yes, but, you know what I mean!" he insisted. "You're just so bloody adorable, I can't even."

"You need to have your eyes checked."

"So I can see better how beautiful you are? Yes, that's a pretty good idea. I might do that."

With a snort, Leliana squeezed his cheek. "Wow. That was-"

"Cheesy?" A wide grin. "I know, right? Cheese is something of a speciality for me, I don't know if you know this."

"Oh, really?" She raised a brow, her lips quirking into a smirk. "Do tell."

"Mhmm." Alistair nodded frantically. "I'm too Gouda be true."

"Oh, Maker," Leliana cackled, burrowing into his chest again. "That's horrible."

"The cheese?"

"You."

"Good. The day you call cheese horrible is the day I die."

"I would never. I grew up in Orlais. Best cheese in all of Thedas." She settled in snugly, placing her cheek against his chest. "We should go. After our work here is done."

"I'd like that." She felt his fingers steal through her hair and sighed, her lids fluttering closed. "We leave for Highever today, though, right?"

"Mmhmmm," Leliana replied. A yawn escaped her because of his ministrations, but she didn't mind. They wouldn't be leaving until after noon. "I love you, Alistair. So much."

"I know." His voice was gentle, lulling. "Now sleep. You need it."

Leliana wanted to, but she fought through the drapes of drowsiness to ask a final question. "What about you?"

"I'll sleep too." She heard him stifle a yawn, and smiled to herself. "I'm not getting up until they break down the bloody door."

"Mmm. I love you."

"I love you, too, Leli. And I can't wait to start this life with you."

She wanted to see that she felt the same way, that spending a few months of relatively undisturbed downtime with him was all she wanted now – and for the rest of her life, if possible – but sleep stilled her tongue.

Instead, Leliana pressed a final kiss to his chest, right over where is heart beat for her, and settled in to sleep.

A/N: Hello, children. After a big ass bout of writer's block, I decided to write this. For those of you who've read Of Bards and Bastards, the parent story, this is not a sequel. Just some moments I wanted to include but couldn't/didn't for whatever reason. I don't know how long this'll run. Frankly, I don't even know when the next update will be. I'm publishing as I write, so we'll see. That said, I hope you enjoy whatever this turns out to be. It feels good to write them again. Damn good.