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Erenya and Zevran lagged in the back of the traveling party to afford them a small amount of privacy. The future Queen and King of Ferelden led them toward Denerim for the final battle against the Archdemon. The shift in leadership allowed the luxury of spending time with Zevran without everyone looking to the Warden for guidance, the first time in a year.The smile on Erenya’s lips faltered when her eyes caught sight of two small children playing out in the fields of a nearby homestead, giggling in a game of tag. Her gaze trailed after them as they dipped through the wheat, reaching for one another with tiny hands, shouting while their parents watched their rowdy group pass with weariness from their front porch. She didn’t realize her pace slowed until a tug on her hand urged her forward, Zevran’s fingers intertwined with hers.“Pepe, you’ve become lost to me.”The sound of his beloved nickname for her drew her away from the fantasies forming in her thoughts. With a shake of her head, she released herself from a ridiculous notion, how nice one of her own might be, with Zevran’s golden hair and her freckles. She never wanted children before, even when Valendrian and her father expected it of her, so why this sudden desire? And with it, the knowledge that it would never become a reality, Alistair’s words about the Warden curse ringing in her head.She knew why the swell of want, another tug on her hand as Zevran slowed his pace to match hers, concern growing on his face. “What is it?” He motioned toward the playing children with his unbound hand, earning a sharp glare from their parents. “Is that something you want? Children?”“Doesn’t matter,” she mumbled, dashing forward and dragging him with her. “Wardens can’t conceive.”He quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing, his grip on her hand tightening. He let the unsteady silence linger a moment between them before jumping onto the next subject, a critique of her form when in battle, their continuous disagreement. She snapped back at him, feigning irritation, but wordlessly thanked him for the subject change.Later that night, the two took their posts as look-outs to give Shale a break, not that the golem ever requested one. According to her, the squishies were just as entertaining as standing watch. There, on that grassy knoll, as Erenya picked blades of grass and split them into pieces, Zevran resurfaced their earlier discussion.“Did you ever want any?”She sighed, though she knew the topic would arise sooner or later. In truth, she hadn’t been able to forget it, the sight of those shemlen children, imagining standing in their parents’ place with him.“I didn’t think I did.”Attentive as ever, he picked up on the absent ending to her reply. “But?”“It’s expected, in the alienage. You marry, have children, help with the declining population. It’s not a choice.” Drawing her knees up to her chin, she rested her face against them, arms locking them in place. A sigh escaped her parted lips. “And the Wardens, well … that wasn’t exactly a choice either.”“I see,” he said, and she knew he did. His head leaned into her shoulder, his hair tickling down her back while his arms folded around the small package she made herself.
“It’s stupid.” Her bottom lip began to quiver as tears pricked her eyes. She buried her face between her arms to attempt to hide the rush of emotion spilling down her cheeks. “I didn’t want them anyway.”Lips planted themselves at the nape of her neck, a soft, “Shh, Pepe,” whispered against her skin as he tightened his hold on her. Goosebumps ran along her skin as his hands slipped under the hem of her shirt, held flush against her back. “For you, I would steal one hundred bambini if only to stop your sadness.”She cracked a smile at that, a small chuckle breaking through her muffled crying. Her fingers released where they dug into her calves to wipe away from of the dampness from her cheeks. “You are … really something, you know that?”“A devilishly handsome and incredibly charming something.” He maneuvered himself so that his hand skirted further up her back as he laid her against the grass, the blades tickling where they touched her bare skin. His face hovered above hers, blocking the moon from her view. “Pepe, there is nothing I would not do for you.”Her heart fluttered with his words, a warmth like molasses spreading outward through her. She reached up, running a hand through his hair while her mouth tilted up to capture his. The weight of his body pinned her to the ground as he wiggled into a comfortable position that allowed their kiss to continue uninterrupted.When her lungs burned with lack of air, she broke the kiss, struggling to maintain control of the corners of her lips as a smile grew upon them. “One hundred is a lot,” she teased, offering a quick kiss on the tip of his nose.“I am happy to hear you agree. I had hoped you would not desire one hundred, but you are a complex person, my dear Warden.” He kissed her again, softer, drawing a reply away from her lips and into his. “I would not have you any other way.”